I don't own these characters.

12: The art of being bold

Kikyo noticed something strange around her job and she just had to question it. Suikotsu had been out for a few days and she had noticed that his friends were no longer hanging around outside of the clinic. So, she wondered what happened. She could not help it because it had been behavior that had been going on for months and now it suddenly stopped. Also, as far as she knew, Suikotsu never missed work from the time he had begun at the clinic.

A nurse around the medical center told Kikyo that Suikotsu was out with an emergency illness and would probably be out for a week, maybe more. She was sorry to hear that. Sure, the man was irksome, but he was a good guy and she did not wish any ill will toward him. She did hope that he got better soon for a number of reasons; one being that his patients needed him and the clinic needed him. She did not plan to send him any well wishes, though, believing that it would only encourage him.

Another nurse had the gossip on Suikotsu's friends, claiming that they had come down with the same illness. Kikyo supposed that made sense considering they all hung around each other. She was not so sorry for them because she was glad that they were no longer cluttering up the sidewalk outside of the center. People were no longer nervous just walking into the place because they had to go by several gang members.

Kikyo went about her day as usual. She found herself having lunch with Sesshomaru again, which she did not mind or even think much of. Sesshomaru was of like mind in that thinking. He dreaded the day when he was going to have to go back to being in Abi's company and he knew that was coming soon because Kikyo and Midoriko just had to around each other sometime and he was right.

After over a week of having Kikyo himself and no Abi around, the bird demon called him in the morning to say that Midoriko was meeting Kikyo for lunch and if he wanted to, she and he could spend some time together, pretending to like each other again. He had agreed just in case his father found out about him leaving Abi in the care of Midoriko for so long. He could already hear the lecture that the older demon would give him about leaving his responsibilities to someone else and not being a gentleman and blah, blah, blah. But, he would pay that price if Midoriko would just keep Abi with her forever, but he knew that was impossible.

--------------

Kikyo studied her elder sister for a moment as they took their seats for lunch. There was something different about her sister. Midoriko seemed, well, she supposed the word would be "happy." It was not that her sister ever seemed sorrowful or depressed or anything like that and on the surface she did not look any different than she usually did. Still, to the middle sister's trained eye, Midoriko seemed different; it was actually something that Kaede had noticed too.

"Are you all right, Kikyo?" Midoriko inquired curiously because of the way her younger sister was staring at her.

"I'm fine, sister. Are you all right?" Kikyo countered. She was not the one practically glowing, after all.

"I'm very fine," Midoriko answered.

Kikyo nodded. "I suppose being social and going out actually agrees with you then," she remarked.

The lawyer seemed to go tense for a second, but that went away quickly. Kikyo noticed, but she did not think anything of it. She just figured that her sister was being self-conscious because she had brought up something that Midoriko was not quite comfortable with discussing since it was so far from her norm. Kikyo could and would respect that by trying to broach the subject tentatively. She knew that it would probably be best to just leave the subject alone to avoid making her elder sister uncomfortable again, but she was rather curious about how Midoriko was getting along with Abi and if being with Abi would open her up to being more accepting of the idea of having at least one friend.

"I'm glad for you if that's the case," Kikyo added to her comment.

Midoriko was not sure what to say. "Thank you," she muttered.

Kikyo decided to let the subject go for the moment. It was clear that her big sister was uncomfortable with the topic and that was why she decided not to talk about it. Instead, they talked about things that usually went on about, like art and the state of the world.

Midoriko was curious about something though and she brought it up halfway through lunch. "How are things at your job? Is that young doctor still trying to steal you away from your demon?" she inquired.

"Suikotsu hasn't been in for a while. Apparently, he's been sick. His unruly friends also seem to be suffering from some illness," Kikyo answered.

"I'm torn on this issue," the elder sister remarked.

"I know how you feel."

The sisters were not sure if they felt sorry because Suikotsu and the others were ill or if they felt good because it meant that there would be no trouble around the medical center while the group was away. The sisters were compassionate, but they were also pragmatic, which often clashed with their compassion. They supposed that they could just not feel one way or another about the group being sick.

They dropped the subject and moved on to something else to speak on. They both quietly wondered how Sesshomaru and Abi were getting along. They figured as long as the pair of demons did not murder each other then they came out okay and the two had already proven that they could come together and a death not be imminent.

--------------

"You know, this doesn't impress me," Abi teased Sesshomaru as they sat down to eat in a fine restaurant.

"Abi, the day I try to impress you will be after a full frontal lobotomy," the dog demon replied.

Abi laughed a bit. She supposed that she missed Sesshomaru's dry counters to her uncalled for snaps. She did not have that with Midoriko, but she did not really want that Midoriko. She just wanted to get on Sesshomaru's nerves when they were together. It was better than forcing out the civility and everything; it was more natural.

"I'm sure Kikyo would like you more with the full frontal lobotomy. You might turn fun," the bird demon commented.

"She likes me just the way I am," he said through gritted teeth. Out of everything she could have said, bringing up Kikyo was not something that he liked, especially her implying that his beloved could like him more than she already did.

"You might think that, but if she's anything like her big sister, she's waiting for you to do something wild and fun, like break your spine and take her dancing," she stated.

Sesshomaru did not look entertained by her words, which Abi noticed. She did not really care, though. She would know when she went too far and she was certain that she had not even come close to the line.

"Don't act like you know Kikyo so well just because you've gone out with her sister a few times," he seemed to admonish her.

"I'm just saying if she's anything like Midoriko, she's a very outgoing female underneath that calm exterior," she replied.

"I take my angel out enough, thank you. I don't need you telling me what's underneath her exterior."

Abi smirked and decided that she was going to seriously mess with him. "I suppose you have pealed back all the layers on when it comes to your little angel, hmm?" she remarked.

"Could you be a little more crude?" he countered.

"I could, but it wouldn't be very fitting for a princess now would it?" she pointed out, still smiling.

"I don't think I've seen you do anything that is fitting for a princess," he commented. "Especially a demon princess," he added.

"Meaning what?" she inquired. Her smile vanished quickly because of his little addition. There seemed to be more to it than just the words.

"What exactly do you think you're doing with Midoriko anyway?" he inquired.

"I don't see how that's any of your business," she replied, turning her head up at him for having the gall to ask her such a thing.

"Humans aren't like demons, you know. I know you might enjoy chasing her right now, but you're not going to catch her," the dog demon pointed out.

Abi did not say anything immediately. She smiled, like a smart-aleck devil. He was unmoved by her expression, obviously calling her bluff with his aloof nature. She did not stop smiling, but she did reply.

"Don't worry about who or what I'm trying to catch. You just worry about holding on to yours," she stated.

"I have mine," he said firmly.

"Then leave me to my running. I'm enjoying it and who's to say I won't catch my prey? What do you know about her except that she's your beloved's protective older sister?" she inquired in an almost bitter tone.

Sesshomaru was shocked by the emotions in her voice, but he did not show any signs of that. Well, it would seem that Abi was chasing Midoriko, but from the tone in her voice, he suspected that it was for more than lust. He did not think too much on that; it was not rare for demons to be attracted to friends on a sexual level. It was odd for Abi, though.

"Your opinion on humans has changed rapidly," he noted, not looking at her now.

Abi nodded while looking away herself. "Was Kikyo like that with you?" she asked quietly.

Sesshomaru was silent for a moment. Did he really want to bond with Abi over such an issue? He supposed looking at it as "bonding" would not help, but he guessed that he should watch over the sister of his beloved and perhaps assist a fellow demon that had fallen into a similar trap as himself.

"Well, something like that. I tend to look at her and her sisters as the exceptions of their race," the dog demon commented.

"Well, I did figure that much. I mean, no human could possibly be on the same level as Midoriko," she muttered.

"You shouldn't bother with thinking about it."

Abi shrugged because he had a point. Why should she bother thinking about it or talking about it with him? What did he know? Well, he was only dating Midoriko's little sister, her mind pointed out. It did not matter. Just because he knew Kikyo well did not mean he knew Midoriko well and she was aware of that.

Sesshomaru let the topic fade into their memories. He did think that Abi was wasting her time if she was pursuing Midoriko for something beyond a friendship, but who was he to complain? She could waste her time. He would not mind because it would keep her out of his hair and it would occupy Midoriko to give him more time with Kikyo. It worked out for him and as far as he was concerned, that was all that mattered.

--------------

"How was your lunch with Sesshomaru?" Midoriko asked Abi as they met up to just to hang out for a couple of hours. Midoriko did have to get home to Kaede, well in her opinion. Abi did not see why Midoriko insisted like she had a toddler at home and not a teenager. The princess bet that the youngest sister was aching for some time alone in the house to do crazy teenager things.

"I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but he has to be the most amazing lay on the planet for your sister to put up with him," the bird demon replied, exaggerating as she had tendency to do when it came to the dog demon.

Midoriko made a stunned face; obviously, Abi was pretty right on the mark about the first part of her statement. That was certainly something Midoriko did not want to hear and her psyche was slightly scarred from photos thanks to her sister's late husband. Abi was not too sure if she wanted to laugh at Midoriko's expression or console her by taking the words back. Since the words could not return, she settled on snickering.

"What, pray tell, is so funny?" Midoriko asked with a deadpan expression on her face. She disliked it when Abi started laughing around her. She knew it was not malicious or mean-spirited things that caused the princess to laugh, but she just did not like being laughed at.

Abi reached out and put her hand on Midoriko's cheek. "That expression," she honestly answered with an amused smile.

Midoriko pulled away and fixed her face. "What would you like to do for the couple of hours I have to spare?" she inquired to change the subject.

Abi's smile transformed into a predatory smirk. "Oh, what would I like to do," she practically hummed.

Midoriko only rolled her eyes. The pair hung out for a while, just wandering the city, and Midoriko got home a little later than usual. Surprisingly enough, to her anyway, nothing was wrong. Kaede was the in the living room, watching television, eating potato chips, and doing her homework; it was just the way she typically did her homework. She smiled when she noticed her big sister standing in the entrance way to the living room.

"Hey, you have good time out?" the younger female inquired.

"I did," Midoriko confirmed. "Has everything been all right here?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Kaede answered. She was actually glad that Midoriko was a little late. It would give her big sister a chance to see that the world would not come to an end if she was left on her own for a little while. Maybe it would get her big sister to understand that it was all right for her to stay out late on some nights.

"So, what do you want for dinner?" Midoriko asked while heading to her bedroom to change out of her work clothing.

"Fish," Kaede replied.

"All right."

They had leftover fish from last night, so that would be a snap to heat up. Kaede thought that she might be able to talk about Midoriko's friend with her and let her elder sister understand that it was all right to stay out for a reasonable hour. She thought that it was great that Midoriko was getting out, so she wanted to encourage it.

Midoriko was rather stunned that when she came in Kaede was doing exactly what she would have been doing if the older sister was there. The apartment had not been burned down or blown up. Maybe the baby of their bunch was old enough to be left on her own for a little while, she considered as she changed her clothes, but she was not so sure. She was apprehensive with notion of leaving Kaede alone and also with staying out later than she generally did. Perhaps it was really just staying out that frightened her.

She knew that her baby sister was growing up and she could accept that, but her new social life frightened her. She wondered if Kikyo had been so scared when she made the acquaintance of her husband; Midoriko would not even speak that blasted hanyou's name in her mind. She supposed that Kikyo should have been scared when she met that liar, but Kikyo was braver than she was it would seem because Kikyo had taken the plunge. Hell, Kikyo had even gotten married to that bastard and then did something even more daring by carrying on an affair with Sesshomaru while being married. Kikyo might not seem it in her mannerisms, but she was bold. She was possibly the boldest one of out all of them.

"What would Kikyo do?" Midoriko found herself wondering and she thought that was rather inappropriate for the eldest to think.

She left her room and heated up their dinner. She called Kaede when the food was done and the teenager practically flew to the table; Kaede loved fish, even if it was leftovers. The two sisters sat down at their little table, eating together as they did every night.

"So, what did you and Abi do today?" Kaede inquired.

"Nothing much," Midoriko answered.

"You know, it's all right for you to hang out with her later. I'm all right by myself or I could always go to Kikyo and Sesshomaru's place," the teen offered up. She especially liked that second idea because it meant also spending time with Rin.

"That's all right. I'm fine the way I am."

"You shouldn't be so shy about having a friend. Having friends is great," Kaede declared with a grin. "Especially a best friend. Like me and Rin, we do everything together. We love spending time together, so I can understand that with you and Abi, except you guys don't get to see each other at school like me and Rin. That's why I think it's okay for you to stay out later," she explained, smiling all the way through.

"I'll take your words into consideration," Midoriko replied, hoping that it would get Kaede to drop the subject. She did not want to talk about it with Kikyo, so she definitely did not want to speak on it with Kaede. Her sisters would not understand anyway.

"Seriously, you should be proud to have a great friend and do as many fun things as possible with each other, like me and Rin. I mean, even today, we did some great stuff together, like jump a cafeteria table with our skates."

"What have I told you about taking your skates to school?"

Kaede winced slightly; it seemed that she was getting carried away and telling on herself. She laughed nervously and tried to wave off the question and statement. Midoriko was not buying it.

"I'm in trouble, huh?" the teen muttered.

"Yes, no more TV for the night and stop taking your skates to school. I don't want another call from one of your teachers or worse, the principal," Midoriko chided her sister.

"The principal only called that one time."

"You do realize some kids make it through their entire high school career without the principal ever calling their homes? You managed to get break that honor two weeks into the school year," Midoriko pointed out.

"Well, Kohaku knew this great place to grind rails—" Kaede started to explain herself.

"The stairwell in the school is not a great place to grind rails," Midoriko argued.

"Well, yeah, if the principal's a total hardass about things," the teen muttered.

"What did you just say?" Midoriko inquired because she was certain that she had heard wrong. Her baby sister had better not had just used a cuss word in front of her.

"Nothing!" Kaede eeped.

The teen decided to eat her food now without talking before she got into any real trouble. She returned to her homework when she was done with her food. Midoriko washed the dishes and sighed. She really was the meek one out of the trio, she thought. Kaede did all kinds of crazy things, especially if her skates were involved, and Kikyo went after what she wanted. But, it was not the same thing, she argued with herself. She was in a very different situation than they were.

Besides, they were allowed to act out, in her opinion anyway. Kaede was the baby of their group, so she was allowed to be immature and a little crazy. She had the safety net of believing that if she got into any trouble, her older sisters would be there to save her. It was an idea that the elder sisters encouraged because they would be there no matter what for Kaede.

Kikyo, in theory, had a similar excuse. If she was to get into trouble, she should be able to go to Midoriko. Time had tested that theory and it seemed to fall threw whenever it was tested, yet Kikyo probably stilled believed in it. Midoriko liked to believe that it was all right for Kikyo to believe in it because she felt certain that the next time Kikyo needed her, she would be there. She should be there because she was the eldest; that was how she felt anyway.

Being the oldest meant that she needed to set a fantastic example, in Midoriko's opinion anyway. She had to be the one that never missed a day of work, that provided whatever was needed for her sister, and that always did what was supposed to be done. She had to be punctual, if not early for everything. She had to be neater than everyone else; she had to stand straighter than everyone else; she just had to be better than everyone else to show her sisters that they could do anything. In short, she felt like she needed to be perfect. She needed to do everything right.

Midoriko sighed. She had done this to herself, she told herself. She had made herself meek, always hiding behind her sisters, always using them as a crutch, even though they were supposed to use her as a crutch. But, they could stand on their own for the most part and now they were trying to push her to do the same. Should she obey? She was not sure and it weighed on her mind.

----(New day)

"You seem distracted," Abi noted, speaking to Midoriko. They were having lunch again after a few days apart.

"I was just thinking," Midoriko said as if that would get the princess to dismiss the subject. She had already had to deal with Kikyo telling her that she seemed distracted on the days that they had lunch.

"About?"

"Nothing important."

Abi was not looking to accept that answer. She leaned onto the table and took Midoriko's hand in hers. She waited to see if the human female would pull away, which happened early on when she touched Midoriko. Midoriko seemed to consider pulling away, but she took a breath and remained there. Abi smiled.

"Now, how about you tell me what's going on in that gorgeous head of yours?" the bird demon requested with a bit of a purr.

"It's nothing, really," Midoriko insisted while fighting back a blush at being complimented. It was not often someone told her that she was gorgeous.

"You know I'm not going to stand for that. Tell me what's on your mind. You know I'm not going to let up until you do," Abi pointed out.

"I've been wondering what my sisters would do if they were in my position," Midoriko admitted in a low tone. She sounded rather ashamed of her thoughts, which was something that her companion was used to after spending some time with her.

"Are you sure you weren't wondering what they would do if they knew your position?"

"Well, that too," the human muttered, sounding even more ashamed of herself.

"You all seem so close, why do you even worry? Did Kikyo worry when she hooked up with Sesshomaru?" Abi inquired, thinking that she was helping because she doubted that Kikyo had been ashamed of herself.

"Yes," Midoriko easily answered.

Abi was taken aback by that answer. She did not know the facts behind how Sesshomaru and Kikyo had gotten together. Kikyo had been worried, but as Midoriko recalled it, Kikyo had not been ashamed. In fact, she had declared that she was not ashamed of her relationship with Sesshomaru back then, even though she had been married at the time. Perhaps she had been thinking on it too much, Midoriko considered. Kikyo would probably just accept things and go with them, she told herself. That was how Kikyo was, but she did not seem to be the same way.

"You worry too much. Humans worry too much," Abi commented, turning her mouth up because she was upset that she had been unable to help.

"Some of us have cause to worry since everything in life isn't handed to us on a silver platter," Midoriko retorted.

"Some of us seem to like feeling sorry for ourselves, even though they know they don't have cause to worry."

"What do you know about?" Midoriko huffed almost as if she was offended.

"Don't get bent out of shape," the princess urged her friend, tightening her grip on Midoriko's hand.

"I have a responsibility and I have to uphold it," Midoriko argued.

"You have a responsibility to yourself too, you know? You make it seem like you have to be a saint. Kikyo is already grown and she surely wouldn't want you acting almost untouchable. From what you've told me about Kaede, hell, she might think it's cool. She sounds like fun loving kid."

"They're not so carefree and I…I…it's just…not right."

"You should have faith in them, as they have faith in you. They're going to find out one day, unless you plan to deny yourself for the rest of your life," Abi commented.

Midoriko looked away. She had faith in her sisters, she said to herself. They were her sisters. They were as close as family could possibly get, but they were not above fights and rifts. She and Kaede had little tiffs every now and then, which she guessed could be expected because they lived together. With Kikyo, things were worse than that and the appalling behavior had been more on her end than on Kikyo's, in retrospect anyway. What if Kikyo reacted as she did? It was such a frightening thought that she began shivering, which Abi noticed because she was still holding Midoriko's hand.

"They would understand. It might take a while, but I don't think anything could split you all apart. I've seen you with Kikyo and I've heard you talk about Kaede. You should have faith in them and faith in me," Abi said.

"I want to…" Midoriko whispered.

"It's safe to trust us. We're here for you," Abi continued on.

Midoriko nodded, but she focused her eyes on the table and not on the person at the table. Take a chance, her mind urged her. Be bold, she ordered herself. Be bold, like them, just once. Maybe they would forgive her boldness as they all ultimately forgave each other. Sometimes just took longer than others. She looked up and smiled at Abi, who smiled back.

----(New day)

Kaede went to bed after checking in Midoriko's room one last time. She was not sure why she thought that Midoriko might be in her bed now when she had not been there the last ten times she checked. She was not worried about Midoriko not being in yet; her big sister had said that she might be out late that night and left a long list of instructions for Kaede to follow. She had gotten along quite well on her own for the night. It felt good to know that Midoriko was relaxed enough with leaving her alone now to go have a good time, even though Midoriko had left that list with some of the simplest things on it, like telling her to make sure the door was locked. It also felt a little odd to be going to bed without Midoriko in the apartment.

Still, she went to her room and crawled into bed, happy to know that for the first time ever as far as she knew that Midoriko was hanging out on a Friday night. She had even called Midoriko earlier that night, teasing her, but telling her to have a "kick ass time." Obviously, her excitement for her sister had gotten the better of her and she had gotten scolded for the language, but that did not bother her. She was so glad that Midoriko was out, clubbing as far as she knew, which was a weird thought in and of itself.

Keade could not imagine Midoriko at a club. She doubted that she had ever seen her sister dance or drink. So, she could not figure out what Midoriko might be doing in a club, but she did hope that the eldest was having a good time. Well, that was probably a given since Midoriko was not in by the time she was going to bed. Midoriko was probably having the time of her life, which was fantastic and about damn time in Keade's opinion.

In the morning, Kaede got up and was going to tease Midoriko relentlessly about her night out. She practically flew to her big sister's room, even though she knew that Midoriko typically did not wake up until an hour after she did on Saturdays. She leaped into the air and landed on Midoriko's bed, planning to land on her big sister, which she sometimes did, even though she was almost the same size as her older sister. The only thing was that the bed was empty. Midoriko was not there.

Kaede was a bit perplexed by that. She wondered, had Midoriko not come in at all? She crawled off of the bed and found it made as it had been last night, minus the wrinkles that she had just created. She went to check the bathroom to see if Midoriko was in there, but found it empty. The kitchen was just as empty, as was the living room. Kaede was alone and she believed that she had been all night. Midoriko never came in. Kaede, not sure what to make of that, panicked and just started crying, thinking that something horrible happened to her big sister.

--------------

Next time: oh where, oh where has Midoriko spent the night?