Chapter Thirteen: Silence isn't always golden

Written: December 24, 2012

Author's Note - Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everyone.

Kagome stared at the cow and the cow stared back at her. "Hatsuharu-san?" she murmured, reaching out to touch the animal. "Is that you?"

The cow groaned, "Unfortunately."

Kagome got to her feet and dusted herself off. "How did this happen?"

"You fell onto Haru when I came in the room," Kisa moved towards them.

"Kisa, you shouldn't be explaining this." Haru sighed, shaking his head.

Kagome blinked and crossed her arms over her chest. "What's going on exactly?"

Kisa and Haru exchanged glances. "I guess we can't keep it a secret," the little tiger sighed and sat down. Kagome watched her curiously.

"Keep this a secret you mean?" She asked, pointing towards Haru. The cow scowled her way. In return, she stuck out her tongue. Kisa sweat dropped and nodded.

"We can just have her memory erased," Haru stated calmly. "It's not that big of a deal."

"No!" Kisa jumped to her feet. "I don't want Kagome-chan's memory erased." She scrambled away from Haru and closer towards Kagome, wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Kagome-chan," she sobbed, hugging her tighter, "I don't want you to forget."

"Forget?" Kagome raised a brow, eyeing Haru suspiciously. "Just what do you mean by having my memory erased, Hatsuharu-san?"

Haru rolled his eyes. "This isn't the best place to talk. We should go somewhere quieter."

"Why not uncle Shigure's house?" suggested Kisa.

"That's fine with me," Haru groaned. "But we better wait until I—" Boom! A colourful explosion of colours erupted in the air. Kagome's mouth opened and she nearly fell back on her rear as she saw Haru return to his original form… with no clothes on.

"Kami!" she screamed, covering her eyes with her hands. Kisa turned cherry red and looked away.

"Haru… please change quickly," she advised.

"…" Haru made no reply, already beginning to put on his shirt.

Excusing them themselves from the studio, Kagome, Kisa and Haru walked towards Shigure's, the air tense and brittle. Kisa insisted on holding both of their hands throughout the walk, thus ensuring that the little tiger was in between them. From time to time, Kagome heard Haru mutter and grumble under his breath. Though she couldn't always catch what he was saying, she was sure she had an overall idea.

Upon arriving at Shigure's and knocking on the front door, no Tohru or Yuki came to greet them. "Sissy?" whispered Kisa. She peered around the side of the house and in a window and saw no signs of her favourite female brunette. "Maybe they're not home?" She mumbled sadly.

"Shigure should be home," Haru said and knocked—more like banged—on the door. "I overheard him on the phone today; he was saying that he's got another deadline coming up for his latest book."

Kisa's face paled, "Poor Mitchan."

"Mitchan?" repeated Kagome, confused.

"She's Shigure's editor," Haru explained, twisting the door handle. "Shigure always drives the woman insane; usually to the point of wanting to commit suicide."

"!"

Kagome's mouth nearly fell off its hinges. "Are you serious?"

When no answered the door, Haru grunted, "Yep."

Beads of sweat formed behind Kagome's head. "Heh… heh," she laughed, fearful.

"No one's answering the front door; maybe we should try the back?" Kisa suggested.

"Why not," Haru shrugged his shoulders. The three of them moved towards the back of the house and saw that the sliding door was open and Shigure lay sprawled out on the outdoor hallway conversing with Ayame. When noticing the three children, he raised a hand and smiled.

"Why, hello there."

Ayame turned around, perplexed. "Who are you talking to, Gure-chan? I thought Yuki and the others wouldn't be back for hours."

Shigure's grin widened. "Why Aya-chan, it's none other then Haru, Kisa-chan and Kagome-chan."

"Haru and Kagome-chan?" exclaimed Ayame, his smile twice the size. Jumping to his feet, the snake turned himself around and extended his arms out wide. "Kagome-chan, Kisa-chan and Haru, we welcome you three!"

"Why didn't you answer the front door?" Haru asked, his gaze moving right past Ayame.

Shigure laughed, tapping his chin with a fan. "Well, that's a hard question to answer."

"You two were too lazy, weren't you?" Haru stated dryly.

Shigure sweat dropped and laughed hotly. "Oh Haru, what would give you an idea like that?"

Haru rolled his eyes and pointed towards the empty bottles of sake. "Oh." Shigure's mouth formed a perfect O shape. "I suppose that is good evidence." He laughed again, but this time opened the fan, attempting to conceal himself.

"Idiot," Haru looked away.

Meanwhile, Kagome and Kisa were busy chatting with Ayame. "So Kagome-chan, it's been a while since we've last seen each other. You must simply catch me up on everything's that been going on." He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear, "How has Haru been treating you?"

Kagome backed away, her face bright red. Kisa glanced towards her teacher, question marks hovering above her head. "Kagome-chan, are you feeling okay?"

"Fine." She exclaimed and sat down on the ground, "Never better."

"Hmm?" Kisa and Ayame exchanged glances.

"So, on another note, what are you three kids doing here?" By now, Shigure was up on his feet, stretching his stiff muscles. "With Tohru-chan and the others gone, I assumed we wouldn't have any visitors today."

"Where did they go?" Kisa asked.

"To the grocery store, the post office and a few other places," Shigure answered. "Aya-chan tried to go with them, but poor Yuki wouldn't let him. Isn't that right, Aya-chan?"

"Quite certainly, Gure-chan," he sniffed sadly. "They said that—"

"Shut the crap right now," Haru stated coldly, interrupting Ayame.

Ayame gaped. "Haru, watch your language. You're standing in front of two beautiful young ladies."

"Ayame, this is important." Haru heaved a sigh, glancing back in their direction. "Today when I went to pick up Kisa-chan from her dance class, a little… dilemma occurred."

"What sort of dilemma?" Shigure's eyes sparkled, mischievous.

Kisa stepped forward and said in one breath. "Haru transformed in front of Kagome-chan."

"…"

Utter silence.

This was not good.