Well, I'm starting this one on a night just after a hockey game and I'm dead tired. I usually write the best at times like these, but also, usually, can't stay up for very long. I've decided to stay with the same profile. I suck so much because I only remember four of my faithful reviewers to notify them! I apologize once again! I hope you all find your way back to my story!

So, once more into the breach, people, if anyone's reading.

"The TV child cannot see ahead. Why? Because he is too busy seeing and understanding the present." Prof. Marshall McLuhan, University of Toronto, Unknown Date.

Chapter 8

The two young girls then passed out several bowls of rice and pork, plates of sushi and even offered everyone saké, none of which anyone would take.

"Could you make an extra plate, with a smaller portion, if you please?" inquired Sango.

"Oh, for your cat?" asked Sykora.

"No. It's for our other friend outside," she said simply. "I'm angry at him, but if he starves. . . I won't have anyone to take my anger out on. Kirara's getting his and Shippo if he wakes up. Although you know, it might be good punishment," she finished, thoughtfully.

Sykora surprised, obeyed and set out a plate with a fairly small fraction compared to the other's plates. "Enough?"

"No. Give him less. I want to give him a taste, but not be satisfied," she wickedly scowled. Sykora cut it down more than half and was left with a miniscule amount of the food she started with left on the small, clay bowl. The rest of the table, including the hosts, were flabbergasted with this show of malevolence. "Perfect."

Sykora handed her the plate. Sango then turned to Inuyasha, and asked, quite politely as if nothing had happened, "Could you take this out to him?"

Inuyasha, feeling extremely in the middle replied, "Sure." Not that he needs it, the way he ate. How long is she going to stay mad at him this time? He propped himself up off the floor to grab the bowl and walk to the outside, where coincidently, it was raining. She doesn't even have the decency to let him inside anymore. Walking outside, he hollered, "Miroku!" The monk who was just outside the door, sitting knees to his chest, looked up at the food plate in Inuyasha's hand and stood up to take it.

"Thanks," he mumbled, disgraced at the amount of food on it.

"I told you, women have a sixth sense, Miroku," Inuyasha scowled as he walked back into the temple.

"Oh yes, I'll make to sure to listen to the great and wise Inuyasha next time!" Miroku joked.

"Yeah, me, wise! That'll be the day Miroku!" With that, Inuyasha fled inside from the summer rain of the sky.

The feeling inside hadn't changed very much. It was still fairly uptight and unwavering as of yet. They were all scarping down their food and were careful not to leave any room for conversation. Inuyasha knew that saké would more than likely lighten the mood in here but would cause anyone to make fools out of themselves and probably wake up to find out they'd done something they would most definitely regret. He'd would rather spend a boring evening eating rather than have their little party here, spiral out of control.

He sat down in his previous spot, watching the others. With great effort, for fear of being spoken once again, he picked up his rice and pork and shovelled a more than generous amount into his mouth. He winced as Akitoki open his mouth to speak.

"So Kagome, how goes your travels?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, same old, same old!" she replied, very flustered and nervous. It seemed she despised the spotlight at the moment for fear of how Inuyasha would react to her communicating with Akitoki.

"I see. . ."

"Have you heard anything about a Shikon jewel shard around here?" asked Sango, while she had the chance.

Akitoki seemed surprised at the question but answered just the same. "None. I probably would have heard about something that important happening around my village. We're fairly small and news travels on swift wings."

"When my brother came home, he couldn't stop talking about you people," were the interrupting words of the older girl, Serenity. "Especially you," she said, pointing at Kagome.

She was mortified at this and elected not to say a word as the rest of them just stared. She continued shovelling more rice into her mouth as per the distraction she saw Inuyasha had been using.

Sango, meanwhile, hadn't been paying attention to any of this. How is it possible that the rumours were false? They're usually very legit; the villagers who informed us were fairly scared. Then, why? Why would anyone go through the trouble of bringing us here? Silence continued in the small structure, while outside the tempest's tapping continued as it had intensified. She looked outside with a most thoughtful look on her face.

"Inuyasha, where are you going?" Kagome had asked after he had stepped up and walked toward the door without saying a word or giving any indication to anyone.

"I'm goin' for a walk," he replied, his mind on something else.

Kagome stared after him and huffed out an angry murmur as she returned her gaze to her food, putting on face that would have rivalled Sango's just a few moments before. The twp younger hosts were starting to wonder how these strange people came into their company.

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I KNOW friggin' short! I'm sorry, I can only hope it'll be longer next time ok? Ok.

Peace out!

Nolan