Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter 11: Making A Move

"No."

"But, Mom… Sesshy can babysit us."

"The answer is still no."

The answer was so simple and yet it had a huge effect on this weekend plan, shattering Inuyasha's hope and excitement at the same time. Izayoi said it so firmly and yet gently at the same time. Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha found that it was hard to argue back with their mother. This made Sesshoumaru glad because he didn't want to babysit the kids. He agreed with the kids' plan because he couldn't find a strong, valid reason to decline them. Now, he had a valid reason to decline them. He didn't really care much in returning Tenseiga since it was too troublesome for him. If it was not because of Izayoi, he would have thrown away the sword.

He just smirked and gave a I-told-you-so-that-mom-won't-let-us-go glare to Inuyasha. Inuyasha fully understood his elder brother's smirk and glare. However, he was too stubborn to give up just like this. It was something that he was looking forward after all. Furthermore, it was too good to pass the chance like this. It was not like he frequently went to an amusement park. Inuyasha was fully determined to go there.

"Look like I don't have to take you to amusement park this weekend," Sesshoumaru smirked.

"But, you promised," Inuyasha said.

"Only if Mom lets us go," Sesshoumaru answered flatly.

"So, if I can convince her to let us go, you will agree to take us to amusement park?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah, right. Like she would agree," Sesshoumaru said mockingly.

"She will agree. Want to take a bet?"

"Sure. If you can convince her, you'll win. I'll take you the amusement park. Plus, I'll buy you anything you want at there. If you lose, you'll do whatever I say for a week," Sesshoumaru said with confident.

Inuyasha hesitated for a moment. Winning the bet meant he can go to the amusement park. However, losing the bet will cause him to be his brother's errand boy for a week. Suddenly, he wished he could control his temper and think before doing something. He cannot just back down from his brother's challenge.

"O….okay. I agree," Inuyasha answered hesitantly.

Sesshoumaru seemed to notice Inuyasha's hesitation and smirked, "If that so, you have five days before this weekend to convince mom."

Inuyasha tried to stay calm and hide his nervousness. He can still beat Sesshoumaru in his bet. He still has five days to change his mother's mind before weekend comes. And, that's what he did for the rest of five days. He tried to persuade his mother to let him to go to the amusement park. However, Inuyasha was not the only one who was busy in the past five days.

At Naraku's castle…..

Princess Ebi paced forward and backward in her room. Should she take the advantage over this situation? Over the past five days, Naraku had locked himself in a room at the North Tower of his castle. Nobody knew what he did in the room. Naraku had ordered everyone to not disturb him. Well, Naraku was not only the one who was busy with his plan. Princess Ebi too had her own plan and wanted to carry it out. She was pretty sure that Naraku wouldn't leave his room for another two days.

This was a good opportunity to pass on. She had been thinking many ways to lure that brat into an open place where she can kill him easily. . An amusement park would be a suitable place. It was easier for her plan to be executed now since that brat was planning to go to such place. It did not matter whether he went alone or with other people. She can always find a way to separate him from his friends at such large place. This should be easy.

"Well, Naraku can't totally blame me if the place that I happen to target is the place where that boy goes," Princess Ebi smirked.

Meanwhile…..

Naraku smiled evilly at a necklace. The necklace was on the floor, at the middle of oddly drawn circle. It has a pure, white crystal on it. The room was very dark. There were only candles to illuminate the room. Naraku smiled satisfyingly at his work. He had spent five days in the room to cast a spell on the necklace. It will need another two days to complete the spell.

"Soon, it will be complete," Naraku smirked.

However, locking himself in the room to cast the spell on the necklace was not the only thing that Naraku did in the past five days. He also had ordered his underlinings to aggressively collect the souls. They needed to collect souls as much as possible before the full moon came. However, things would be very easy if unnecessary interferences did not happen. Naraku really did not like the development of his plan. It seemed there were two people who greatly hinder his plan.

First, the miko named Kikyou. She always showed up to stop them to steal the soul. It was not like she can do anything to threaten them. She can't defeat them alone by herself even though she had a strong spiritual power. However, lately, she was starting to become a threat. She started to gather help from many people such as exterminators, monks and certain tribes of youkai. Since then, it became more difficult to collect souls without a hard fight.

Second, Princess Ebi. At first, Naraku kept her because she was useful to his plan. She can help him to collect more souls for him. However, she was starting to become a nuisance to Naraku. She kept questioning his plan and his reason for letting the little boy alive even though she didn't say it directly to him. Naraku knew she hated that child so much. She probably would kill the boy behind his back if she got a chance. But, he cannot let her to do it because the boy was very important in his plan.

"I better handle both of them before they become a trouble," Naraku thought.

At Higurashi's residence…..

Kikyou sat in the kitchen, drinking a cup of tea. Her little sister, Kagome was still at the school. Kikyou was reflecting what had happened in the past five days. For some reasons, the Soul Stealer had increased the number of their attacks. Within the past five days, hundreds of souls had been stolen. This gave her a bad feeling. It was like they were in a hurry and desperate. As if, they were running out of time.

But, in hurry for what?

Kikyou did not know this. However, she did know that if this kept going on, the city will be in a great danger. Because of that, she had sought helps from exterminators, monks and youkai. She knew she can't do this alone all by herself. Thanked to their help, Kikyou managed to fight back the Soul Stealer. But, it was still not enough to stop Soul Stealer from stealing the soul. This was not the only problem that bothered her too.

For some reasons, there was no news or anything about Naraku since the battle at the lake. Kikyou thought since he had made his appearance at the lake, he would start to show up in every fight. However, he did not show up in any fight. He just sent his underlinings to do the works. It was like he had disappeared. Kikyou knew he was up to some things. Most probably it had something to do with Inuyasha. So far, there was nothing suspicious that happened around him which made Kikyou a little bit of relief. Suddenly, Kikyou heard footsteps running to the kitchen.

"Sis, can I ask you a favour?" Kagome asked, panting for air.

"What is it?" Kikyou asked curiously.

"Can you convince Inuyasha's mom to let us go to amusement park tomorrow? Inuyasha says you maybe able to change his mother's mind," Kagome said eagerly.

"Amusement park?" Kikyou raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah. Sango got tickets from her father to Sunshine Amusement Park. So, me, Sango, Miroku, Kouga and Inuyasha are going there tomorrow. Inuyasha's big brother can babysit us. But, the problem is Inuyasha's mom won't let him go there. Can you ask her to let him go?" Kagome explained.

Kikyou thought for a moment, "An amusement park? This is probably a good chance to get close to the two brothers and get information about them. Maybe I should go with them tomorrow. Besides, no one knows when or where Soul Stealer will attack again."

"I can go with you tomorrow. Maybe his mom will allow him if she knows I will come along," Kikyou suggested.

"Is it really okay? You were busy and looked tired in the past five days," Kagome asked worriedly.

Kagome knew Kikyou did not have proper rest recently. She was busy fighting with bad guys. Sometimes, Kagome wished she could help her sister with her work as a miko. She knew it was not easy to be a miko. Therefore, she did not want to burden her sister with unnecessary request.

"It's okay. Going to amusement park is a good way to relax and rest too," Kikyou said with a smile, knowing Kagome was worried with her health. "I'll give Inuyasha's mom a phone call."

At Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's house…

"For a hundred times, Inuyasha, the answer is no," Izayoi sighed.

Izayoi never expected that Inuyasha can be persistent and stubborn sometimes. Usually, he would just stay quiet when Izayoi said no to him. But, this time, it was different. For the past five days, he had been asking her to let him go to the amusement park whenever he got a chance.

"But, mom, why can't I go? Sesshy can babysit us. Besides, we may find Toutosai-san at the amusement park. Isn't you're the one who insists us to find him to return the sword," Inuyasha tried to reason.

"Well….. Sesshoumaru alone is not enough. The amusement park is too big and you guys are too many. He may not be able to watch over you guys alone. He needs at least another one person to help him in watching over you guys," Izayoi explained.

Truthfully, he did not want her sons to go to amusement park. She had a feeling that something bad will happen. She had tried to shake off this feeling many times. However, it grew stronger and stronger. What if her sons were attacked while spending time at the amusement park? She could not take the risk especially when they had been attacked twice and her husband was not around here.

"So….. If I can find this other person to babysit us, you'll let me go to the amusement park?" Inuyasha asked eagerly.

"I suppose… if I think that person can babysit you," Izayoi answered hesitantly.

"Kagome said she'll ask her sister, Kikyou to come with us. So, if Kikyou-neesan agree to come, you'll let me go, right?" Inuyasha asked persistently.

"Well, if that girl really comes I suppose its okay. If anything happens, at least I know someone can keep them safe," Izayoi thought deeply.

"Well, I guess its okay," she said after thinking for a while.

Suddenly, the phone rang. Izayoi picked up the phone. To her surprise, it was Kikyou. They talked a bit for awhile. Inuyasha heard attentively at their conversation. It seemed that Kikyou had agreed to come along with the children to the amusement park. Inuyasha smiled happily at hearing this. Now, his mother did not have any excuse to not let him to go to the amusement park. After the conversation ended and Izayoi put down the phone, Inuyasha looked at her with bright, cute golden eyes. Izayoi knew what he wanted to said.

"Okay, you can go. Kagome's sister had agreed to come along," Izayoi said weakly.

"Yeeeeaaaaah…. Thank you, mom!," Inuyasha exclaimed, hugging his mother.

He was so happy. His efforts in the past five days were finally paid off. He can't wait to tell his friends and especially his big brother. He grinned. "Sesshy will definitely be surprised." And, he was right. The shocked look on Sesshoumaru's face was priceless. When he heard the news from Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru could not believe it first. He refused to think he had lost the bet to Inuyasha. He thought Inuyasha was making it up. It took him to hear it directly from his stepmother to believe the news.

"There goes my whole month pocket money," Sesshoumaru sighed, thinking what his little brother would tell him to buy.

p.s. Review and comment are always welcome.