Chapter 9. Hard To Handle Attitude
Gomen minna! I'm too lazy to update. Kagome-chan has to remind me everyday to write this ff! . Gomen!
Also, much thanks to Kagome-chan for fixing my grammars. My grammars are so horrible...::sigh:: I doubt any of you guys can put up with it. lol Arigatou gozaimasu, Kagome-chan!
Last time we looked at Chibi Kagome, she was twelve. Now two weeks have passed and Chibi Kagome has stayed the same. She just could not grow any older. Inuyasha is very tempted to throw her into the water hoping she'd grow older, because that's where Chibi Kagome got older for a few times.
Sango came out from the kitchen with a pot of stew in her hands. Her mind seemed to be wondering about her beloved brother, and she did not notice the light snickers behind her. Almost instantly after a slap was heard, the pot of stew fell to the ground. Sango turned around and saw a wide grin on Chibi Kagome's face. "Hey. What was that for?" Sango raised an eyebrow at the preteen in front of her. "You looked like you were occupied. I just wanted to give you a moment of freedom." Chibi Kagome skipped to the door and she suddenly turned around and facing Sango. "Oh right. Inuyasha told me to tell you to hurry up. Everyone is starving." Chibi Kagome pointed to the spilled stew on the ground and snickered. "Looks like you have to make it again, Sango-chan." Sango's fists started to shake beside her thighs. 'Goodness. I don't think I can take much of this. Kagome-chan, once you come back to us, I'll definitely avenge for this.' Sango thought to herself and began cooking again.
Chibi Kagome was satisfied at the effect she had on Sango. She stopped skipping happily when she spotted Shippo playing with Kirara a few yards in front of the hut. She walked over and sat her butt between Shippo and Kirara. "What are you doing, Shippo?" She saw Shippo digging the ground with a plastic shovel and Kirara digging with her paws. Shippo and Kirara both stopped digging and looked at Chibi Kagome with a little worry. They were both wondering what Chibi Kagome would do to them this time. "Kagome always gives me candies. I buried some of them underground so I can enjoy the sweets when Kagome went home." Chibi Kagome stared at the ground, and she suddenly had a "brilliant idea." "You know what? I'll help you dig them back out. It'll take less time and you can enjoy them sooner." Shippo's face beamed with happiness while Kirara snuggled closer to Shippo and away from Chibi Kagome. Chibi Kagome took the spare shovel and started digging as well. Not so much after a few minutes, they found a glass jar with lots of sweets in them. "Found it! Arigatou Kagome!" Shippo held the jar loosely in his small hands. Chibi Kagome saw her chance right there. She grabbed the jar and ran away. While she ran, she yelled to Shippo, "Thanks for the treat Shippo! I'll ask the older me to bring you more candies!" Shippo looked at his empty hands. Nothing's in his palm except for the dirt. He missed his Kagome, the one who brought him sweets, but not the one who stole them from him. Shippo's nose became tingly at the remembrance of Kagome. He started pouring out tears like there's no tomorrow.
Chibi Kagome walked on a path in the forest with candies in her hands. She popped a chocolate into her mouth and enjoyed the lavish of its taste. It did not take her long to finish the whole jar, for there were not lots of sweets to begin with. She held the empty jar in her hand and continued walking.
A baby monster suddenly attacked Chibi Kagome from the front. Somehow she saw it coming, and she held the jar more tightly. She knew she's ready to fight back. Out of nowhere came Inuyasha's voice. "Get down Kagome!" Chibi Kagome's temperature rose up a few degrees and yelled back, "I don't need your help! You should just sit and relax!" Inuyasha suddenly fell onto the ground from the air. 'What the hell just happened? Her "sits" didn't work before! Why is it working now? Wait a minute. It doesn't hurt as much as usual. Damn that wench, maybe her power is coming back.' While Inuyasha's trying to figure out what had just happened, Chibi Kagome was beating up the baby monster with her jar. She continuously smacked the baby monster's head with the jar. [Mannie: now children don't try this at home.] One could tell the monster was a male from its reproductive organ. Chibi Kagome's naughty mind came up with another torturing method. She dropped the jar and kicked the monster, aiming at its most sensitive area. The baby monster let out a gruesome cry and ran away. Inuyasha was shocked at the scene. Chibi Kagome had chased away a monster without any help. A big sweatdrop slid down to his chin and he gulped. He surely did not want to mess with this preteen right now.
Another day's gone and the night fell upon the people. Chibi Kagome was sound asleep in the hut, but a group of people gathered around the fire. They looked like they were chatting about something.
"What should we do? Kagome's not growing any older." The man in a purple robe said.
"Do you think I should try to throw her into the water again?"
"Inuyasha, you've tried that at least ten times in the past two weeks. Nothing came out of it." The woman spoke as she polished her giant boomerang in her lap. The kitsune next to her spoke as well. "She stole my candies today."
"She slapped me in the butt and made me spill the stew"
Everyone sighed heavily. They sincerely hoped that they could live to see Kagome turned back to normal. Inuyasha sat with his legs crossed and his arms crossed in front of his chest. His head shot up and said, "I think her powers are coming back. This morning in the forest, she accidently said 'sit' and the rosary pulled me to the ground." Everyone looked at him. They appeared to be amused. "It's not funny that I got sat. Anyway, her powers came back, but it's not that powerful." The woman stopped polishing her boomerang and asked the boy with dog ears, "how so?" "Because when I fell, it wasn't as painful as it was when Kagome was 15."
Everyone nodded and became quiet. They each sank in their own worries.
The next morning everyone woke up to find a beautiful young miko sitting across Kaede. She wore a white haori and light pink pants. She stood at the sight of the gang and bowed. "Ohayo minna-san. Watashi wa Nakashima Miyuki desu." Kaede stood as well, and said to them, "This is Miyuki from a village nearby. She's the miko there. When Onee-chan was alive, Miyuki-san would always come over and share her experience with us. Miyuki-san is a very powerful miko. Before the Shikon no Tama came to Onee-chan's possession, no demon would dare to come near us." The miko in pink blushed at such compliment. She thanked Kaede and explained the reason why she came.
The sun rose much higher in the sky now. Inuyasha and the others were still in the hut. They were in a trance. They were going to be rescued by this miko with long black hair and two pink ribbons on the side. Miyuki was her name. She's the powerful miko in the nearby village. She sat with her back facing the door and a delicate mirror in her lap. Everyone had their own questions but none had dared to break the comfortable silence among them. Chibi Kagome picked this moment to show her grand entrance. She came out from the room rubbing her sleepy eyes. She mumbled a few inherent words and sat next to Inuyasha. "Is breakfast done? I'm starving." Chibi Kagome paid no mind to the stranger sitting among them. All she could think about was food. Miyuki saw what she came to see. She began to speak, "Kagome-san. It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Miyuki. I don't think I'm much older than you are." Chibi Kagome finally looked at Miyuki and she responded, "I don't really care how old you are. Who are you anyway? Are you our maid? Is breakfast done? If not, why are you sitting and talking? Go make breakfast already!"
Everyone was shocked from what she had said. None of them had imagined Chibi Kagome could be this rude. Sango turned to Miyuki and apologized. Miyuki simply smiled and said, "I had forgotten that none of you had eaten anything yet. It's my fault and I apologize. I'll cook as my amends." Miyuki walked into the kitchen and after a few moments, she came out with a pot of rice, and another pot of curry. [Mannie: did curry exist back then?] After everyone had eaten, they focused on Chibi Kagome again. Now that the preteen was full of energy, she did not want to stay inside. Miyuki stopped Chibi Kagome, "Kagome-san. I need to have a few words with you." Chibi Kagome was getting irritated, but she held it in, because the woman in front of her made good curry. "You can do that later! Now let me go out or else." Miyuki's definitely amused. "Oh? What would you do if I refused?" Chibi Kagome could not take it lying down. She launched toward Miyuki. No one was fast enough to stop Chibi Kagome. Miyuki held up her left hand and chanted. Chibi Kagome was tied up by invisible ropes and she was thrown to a corner of the room. Miyuki sat down and asked, "I can see doubts in your eyes. What do you want to ask?"
Miroku's first to ask, "Are you serious when you said Kagome could not grow anymore?" Miyuki nodded, "Her power could only help her to grow as such. Without other outside source, she could not turn any older." Sango then followed the conversation, "What are these outside sources then?" Miyuki smiled, "That's a very good question. For now, you'll need this object from the village in Osaka. You'll find the village very easily. The entrance has two giant stone dragons. The residents there are quite wealthy and generous. You should have no problem obtaining the object that you need."
Inuyasha became impantient, "So what is this thing that we need?" Miyuki answered calmly, "I can only tell you one for now. You'll have to find Kinji Wakatsuki. He's a famous priest residing in that village. He's very knowledgeable. He'll be able to tell you everything that you need." She paused for a few seconds and continued, "You will need an orchid. However, this orchid is very special. It'll only blossom at dawn when there's a full moon. You can distinguish it right away because it will glow under the fading sunlight. There are poisonous ones as well. Those glow in bright red. The one you need glows in silver." Inuyasha interrupted, "What happens after we got the orchid?"
Miyuki said with a soft smile, "This is where the wealthy villagers come in. You'll need to prepare a tub of hot water and a quarter pound of gold powder. Sprinkle the gold powder into the tub and gently stir the water for three minutes. Kagome-san will have to hold the orchid in her right palm and then let the water covered her from head to toe. Also, she needs to wear a white cotton kimono for this ritual. You need to do all these on the night of the full moon, and before the night ends. If you succeed, Kagome-san will grow a year older. However, if you fail..." Miyuki lowered her head and her bangs covered her eyes. Shippo asked, "If we fail, then what would happen?" Miyuki faced everyone again, "Then Kagome-san will have to stay like this forever."
At noon, everyone got ready to head to the village in Osaka. After they heard that Kagome would stay that way forever, they all decided to leave immediately. They did not wish to put up with this preteen's attitudes anymore. The night after tomorrow would be the night of full moon. They could not waste this opportunity. On their way there, they had slaughtered a few weak demons and tasted a few more stunts from Chibi Kagome. At night, they set up a camp on a vacant place and got ready to head to the village. No one could sleep except for Chibi Kagome and Shippo. The grown ups leaned on the trees and chatted. "Can you believe that Miyuki found out all these simply from a sacred flame?" Sango asked. She remembered Miyuki saying that she prayed to the sacred flame which never burnt out. Inuyasha only "keh-ed" and said, "I don't really care how she found out. I just don't want to put up with her stinky attitudes anymore." Miroku laughed, "Seems to me it's a pot calling a kettle black." Inuyasha held up his fist and said, "What did you just say?" They laughed and soon, they went to their own spot and fell into slumber.
Kagome-chan here! Lets all give a big round of applause to Mannie for actually updating when I told her to! ::Kagome and reviewers clap cuz of update:: Now it's up to me to do the next chap. Given that I'm balancing at least 4 fics right now it might take awhile. Plus, school is starting soon(on August 30th to be exact) so I'll have to devide my time wisely. Probably the next story I'm going to update is TDH(The Distant Hanyou) then this one. They're both 2 of my most popular fics. (However, TDH is the most popular). I recommend to any of you who haven't read it, that you read it and review. Thank you and please be patient for the next update on this!