don't know about u guys, but i'm ready for an UPDATE! a looooooong one at that! get comfy, cuz this is easily the longest chapter i've written so far XD disclaimers. enjoy!
After the morning chores, Dad beat me pretty bad in another spar, but I defended myself enough so I could at least walk away from it. Afterwards, Mom everyone we were going through the well, much to Shippo's dismay. "But Kagome," he whined, "I just got back! You'd think you were trying to avoid me!" God, Shippo, grow up. You're older than me!
Mom and Dad went first, and Kanume immediately followed them. I sighed. Here goes…I jumped in, and was surrounded by light. Next thing I knew, my face was in the dirt, and I heard Kanume laughing at me. "Look, Mommy!" she said. "Inukashi lands just like Daddy!" Mom said something, but I wasn't paying attention. I jumped out, and we headed towards Grandma's house.
When we entered, Mom yelled, "Mom, I'm back!" I saw Grandma come down the stairs, and Kanume ran over to hug her. "Grandma!" she yelled, and Grandma laughed as Kanume started telling her some kind of story about what happened to her some random day. I just looked around. I was always curious about most of these 'modern-day inventions' as Mom once called them.
One object in particular captured my interest today. It looked like a little silver box with s weird tube coming out of it. When I looked closer, I saw that there were buttons on it. A lot of buttons, actually. I looked over my shoulder, and everyone was talking. Except Dad, who was looking at what Mom always called a T.V. I picked up the box and accidentally pushed a button.
A little T.V. turned on, but all it showed was what I pointed the tube at. There was a big button that looked like it was supposed to be pushed. I got everyone in the T.V. and pushed it. There was a flash, and I almost dropped the box. Everyone looked over at me, and I felt the blood rush to my face.
"Oh, you know how to work a camera?" Grandma asked me. Mom's jaw dropped, and I asked, "A what?" "A camera." she repeated. "You can take pictures with it." Dad was looking at the small T.V. over my shoulder, but all it showed was everyone looking back at me surprised.
Mom finally found her voice. "Who taught you to do that?" she asked me. Uh-oh. I'm gonna get it now. "Uh, no one." I answered. "I just saw you guys in the little T.V. and pushed a button. I swear, that's it!" Mom and Grandma walked over to me, and Grandma grabbed the 'camera.' She started showing me how to use it while Mom muttered something to Dad about me.
Grandma showed me how to take and look at pictures and handed the shiny thing back to me. Mom and Dad were still talking while I looked through pictures. I saw one of Mom and Dad, looking about my age, wearing the weirdest clothes I'd ever seen. There was a sign behind them that said 'Prom Night.'
While Kanume sat and talked with Grandma, I looked at Mom and said, "Hey, Mom, what's a prom?" Mom smiled, and Dad smacked himself on the head. "A prom-" Mom started before Dad cut her off. "It's where you wear weird 'fancy' clothes, go to a building full of weird people, listen to weird music, and do some weird dances. They're just weird."
"Inuyasha!" Mom said. "Don't listen to him. A prom is when you dress up to look handsome and you go dance with girl to slow music. It's very romantic. Why?" She was walking towards me, and laughed when she saw the picture.
"What's so funny?" Dad asked, joining us. "Look." Mom answered. "He found our prom picture." Dad looked away, face flushing red. "Dad, if they're so weird, why'd you go?" I asked. I noticed Grandma and Kanume were pretending they didn't notice us. "Your mother asked me to." "That's it?" "Yeah."
"Wait, Inuyasha." Mom cut in. "That's not the only reason you went." Dad's face flushed deeper, and he walked into the kitchen muttering, "Whatever." I looked at Mom and asked, "Why did he go?" Mom giggled. "At first when I asked him, he said there was no way he was going." she said. "But then, one day he saw Hojo, a boy who was obsessed with me ask me. Before I could even answer, your father was suddenly standing next to me, telling Hojo 'sorry, she's going with me.' And after that, he went." "Really? That's all it took?" I asked. "Yep. He even went to the next one."
"You mean, there are a lot?" I asked. "Well, it's put on by the school." I almost completely lost interest. School was the most boring thing Mom had ever talked about. "In high school, there's one every year. But only Juniors and Seniors can go, unless you're invited." Junior? Senior? What? She must have seen the confused look on my face, because she quickly added, "Junior and Senior are your last two years of school."
While I was busy absorbing everything I'd learned, Mom suddenly said, "Hey, Inukashi, why don't you talk with Grandma for a bit?" and went into the kitchen. When she walked back out, Dad was following her, and they went upstairs.
Curious, I said, "Grandma, I'll be right back." and followed them. Grandma said, "I think your Mom wanted you to stay down here." I pointed up the stairs and said, "But, the bathroom…" Grandma just said, "Oh!" and nodded her head, getting sucked back into Kanume's conversation.
I walked into the bathroom, but strained my ears to hear my parents. "But Inuyasha-" "No, Kagome!" "Why?" "Kagome, we're not moving here, and that's final." "Inuyasha, think about Kanume!" "What's Kanume got to do with this?" "I want her to go to school, Inuyasha!" There was a brief silence, broken when Dad almost exploded. "School? That place you always seemed to hate? No!" "Inuyasha, no one likes school, but-" "Then why bother going?" "Because if you do, you can get a good job and get a lot of money. Then our kids could live normal lives!" "What's wrong with the Feudal Era? It's normal enough!" "No it's not, Inuyasha! There's demons everywhere! You're even teaching your own son how to use a sword!" "That's normal!" "Not here, Inuyasha!" "Well to me, demons and swords are normal!"
"Okay, Inuyasha, then think about it like this: it's safer here." "Not even close! How many people did I save that day?" "Inuyasha, that was over fifteen years ago." "Okay then, what about when I saved you from those punks?" "Inuyasha, don't!" "Kagome, they were undressing you against a brick wall! How the hell is that safe?" Mom started crying. What the Hell? Undressing her? "Inuyasha, stop! You know I don't think about that!"
Mom's cries were muffled, probably into Dad's chest. "Kagome, I'm sorry, but you know I'm right. I could barely protect you when you were here. How am I going to protect all three of you?" Mom just kept sobbing. "Kagome, please, don't do this to me!" I smelled even more tears. Is Dad even crying? "Kagome…" Dad's voice was shaky, like he was on the brink of tears.
Time passed, and Mom stopped crying. "I know you think that way, Inuyasha. But please, at least think about it a little?" Dad must've nodded his head. "Thank you." As quietly as I could, I went back downstairs.
When I got back down there, the T.V. was off, but the 'radio' was on. There was some awesome noise coming out of it. Suddenly, my head was jerking up and down slightly. I gave in and by time I was downstairs, my whole body was moving from the sound. Grandma burst into laughter, saying something about 'rocking out.'
Then the words came in. They didn't really seem to fit the song, but I liked it anyway.
One, two, five four.
Me, count, so poor. (Do the count, do the count, do the count now.)
One, I can count to one,
Two, I can count to two,
Three, I can count to three,
Four, I can count to more!
One, what comes after one?
Two, what come after two?
Three, what come after three?
Four!
I can only count to four! I can only count to four! I can only count to four!
I can only count to four! I can only count to four! I can only count to four!
Count!
As I was 'jamming out' Mom and Dad came back downstairs. Mom almost fell over laughing, probably at me, and Dad's eyes widened. "I remember these guys…" he muttered before joining me.
One, you can count to one,
Two, you can count to two,
Three, you can count to three,
Four, you can count to more!
One, what comes after one?
Two, what come after two?
Three, what come after three?
Four!
We can only count to four! We can only count to four! We can only count to four!
We can only count to four! We can only count to four! We can only count to four!
As the guy screamed the word 'numbers' me and Dad looked around. No one moved, so we took a bow, and everyone burst into another laughing fit. "Inuyasha," Mom finally managed, "you really like Psychostick, don't you?" "Is that was that was called?" I asked. Knowing something about music, I asked, "Who's it by?"
When she got her laughing under control, Mom said, "The band is Psychostick. That was Numbers. Every time your father hears them, he stops what he's doing to listen to it." "I remember the first time I heard them," Dad started, "was a few days before we got married. They played a sandwich on the radio!"
"How?" I asked. Mom snickered, and said, "It was a song, but the whole thing was trying to convince you it was a sandwich. Here!" Mom said, grabbing what she called an 'iPod.' She moved her finger across it a little, then plugged it into some cord attached to a big box she called a 'speaker.' I quickly found out why.
Some more guitar-that's what it's called! Finally remembered!-started, and soon the words. Dad and I started rocking out again, and soon Kanume and even Mom had joined us. Grandma just sat there and laughed, taking pictures on the small shiny box.
Next thing I knew, I was on the ground, looking up at everyone's worried faces. Again. I felt tingly as I sat up. "What happened?" I asked. Mom suddenly started laughing. "You were rocking out so hard you passed out!" she said, which let to everyone else laughing. I just sat there, getting angry. Calm down. No need to ruin the good time…
After everyone had calmed down, Mom walked into the kitchen and came out holding a glass bottle and three glass cups. She sat the items down on the table and sat down. "Kagome, Inuyasha, would you like a drink?" My parents had shocked looks on their faces. What's with them? She just offered them something to drink.
Grandma was filling one of the cups when Inuyasha answered, "Sure. Couldn't hurt, right?" Mom sheepishly followed him across the living room, saying, "I guess one drink won't kill me." When Grandma had finished filling one glass, I realized how thirst I was. I quickly snatched the glass and drank the liquid.
"Bleh!" I said as I swallowed it. It was gross. It burned my throat. It made me even thirstier. "What was that stuff?" I asked, sticking my tongue out. Mom, Dad, and Grandma just looked at me, astonished. "What?" I asked. Grandma took the glass back from me, and Mom said, "Inukashi, that was alcohol!"
Not understanding, I shrugged my shoulders and said, "So? What's alcohol?" "Illegal for your age." she answered. Grandma filled the three glasses with this 'alcohol,' but I kept on inquiring. What had I done wrong?
"Why? Does it kill people my age?" "No," Mom started, "but it gets you drunk and it's really bad for you." "Then why are you drinking it?" I asked, suddenly feeling dizzy. I grabbed the edge of table for support. "Whoa."
"Just forget it-Kanume!" Mom yelled as Kanume grabbed a glass. Grandma got it away from her before she could drink it. "Tell you what." Grandma said as Kanume looked at her, confused. "I've got some juice in the refrigerator you can have." Kanume's eyes lightened up, and she asked, "That purple stuff that tastes like grapes?" Grandma nodded her head, and turned to me. "Inukashi, could you get her some juice? You know what it looks like, right?"
I nodded my head and almost fell over walking across the living room. Dad grabbed my shoulder and led me to the couch. "You sit here for a minute. I'll get the juice." He led Kanume to the kitchen.
Suddenly, I felt…how to describe it, heavy? But I felt like I was floating at the same time. It felt…good, actually. Grandma held a glass out to me. "Quickly, before your dad gets back." I looked over to Mom, and she was smiling, whispering, "Quick, quick!"
I gulped the stuff down. It burned my throat so bad I started coughing. Did they poison me? I almost started panicking, but Mom came over and sat next to me, telling me it was okay, that it was normal.
Suddenly, I felt indescribable. I felt like I was spinning, but saw nothing was moving. I was so confused. "Mom, what's happening?" I asked. My words were a little slurred. Her and Grandma just laughed. "My little boy's first drink." Mom said just before Dad and Kanume returned. Kanume went straight upstairs, probably to Mom's old room like always.
I sat on the couch, dazed, watching the adults. My eyes were barely open, and the more they closed, the more dizzy I felt. They talked laughed, drank, talked some more. Yet somehow it was interesting. Then my eyes closed. I felt myself move, something lightly tap my head, and was suddenly very comfortable.
I was shaking. No, someone was shaking me. What do they want? I opened one eye, and Mom looked worried. I instantly sat up, not wanting to worry her. "What's wrong?" I asked, my words barely understandable. "You just hit your head on the table! You're bleeding!" she yelled. I put my hand to my forehead, and sure enough, there was blood coming from the right side. I looked at the table to see a blood spot on the corner.
Mom took me up to the bathroom and had me sit on the lid of the toilet as she bandaged me. "Mom?" I said halfway through. "Yes?" she looked at me. "Should it hurt?" "Probably." she answered. At least you're honest. "How long am I gonna be dizzy like this?" I asked her. "You'll feel better in the morning." she said.
"All done!" she said a few seconds later. We started walking downstairs, but I almost fell in the middle of the hallway. I felt one arm go over Mom's shoulder. "Bedtime for you." she said as she helped me to her old room. "I'm part demon." I said. No shit idiot! Why did I just say that?
"I know." she said, opening the door. Sadly, Kanume was already asleep on the bed. I pulled my arm back and stumbled towards the stairs. When I got there, I looked back at Mom, who was trying to get me back to the room. "I just need some help down these stairs." I said before I fell down them face-first.
I don't really know what happened. I just remember getting up afterwards, walking to the couch, the adults saying something to me, then I was asleep.
I woke up falling off the couch the next morning. I groaned loudly as I got up. My head hurt.. Grandma walked in from the kitchen holding a 'coffee mug.' "Good morning." she said, sounding like she had a headache too. "How'd you end up on the floor?" "Rolled, I guess." I answered. I put my hand to my head and felt a bandage. "What the-?" I asked, going up to the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and saw a bloody bandage. I ripped in off and saw my forehead caved in on the right.
What the Hell happened? Mom! I rushed down the stairs, worried for Mom, when I suddenly saw her slowly walk out of the room that had belonged to my great-grandfather before he…anyway, she walked out of the room, holding her head.
"Mom!" I almost shouted. "Are you okay?" She looked at me, then to my forehead, and said, "Just hung over. You?" She's not worried? What the Hell? "I don't know what 'hung over' means, but are you sure? No cuts, nothing?" I asked, checking her arms and forehead.
She gently pushed me away. "Inukashi!" she said. "What's gotten into you?" "Look at my head!" I told her. "I'm the only one that got hurt?" "Yeah." Mom said. "You don't remember?" I shook my head. She sighed. "Come sit down." she said. "Have I got a story for you."
She told me what had happened last night as she ate some small, white circles she called 'Tylenol.' She said it helped for headaches, so I ate a couple. As she told the story, my memories of the previous night returned.
I heard a knock on the door and a loud groan in return, Dad letting everyone know the knock had waken him up. The front door opened, and I heard my Uncle Sota shout, "Mom, I'm here!"
did anyone notice the reference to Master of Nightmares before Kagome explained it? if u did, u get a virtual cookie XD anyway, reviews help a lot. laters!