Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha but he and I could write a bad romance. Oh-oh-oh~. I don't own that song either.
Chapter 21:
"How many eggs would you like with your miso?"
Kagome cheerfully complied with the man's request for two, plopping them onto the plate with the wrist of an amateur chef. She wiped the sweat from her brow, allowing her exhaustion to flash across her face in this moment of peace.
There was only so much the Miko Scouts could get done by themselves: every time they poured soup, flipped an egg, or turned the stove on, Sango and Kagome were there, ready to insure that the girls didn't burn themselves. They had thought it would be easier to manage the girls once Sesshomaru arrived, but his attention was entirely focused upon his charge, Rin. The Youkai Scouts were making a mess in the other kitchen, and between Miroku's flirtatious remarks and Inuyasha's snapping, the Miko Scout Troop Leaders were clinging desperately to the last, pathetic shreds of patience they had left.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Inuyasha.
"What are you talking about-?" she turned around to face the scowling half-demon. His shaggy silver hair seemed to stick out in all directions, as though the air around him was static. His golden eyes looked nearly bloodshot; she guessed that the stress of having to keep some dozen little boys from blowing up the shelter was a new and wretched experience for him.
"You let that guy have more than one egg! That means we gotta' make even more!" his voice cracked on 'more' and his hand was twitching enthusiastically.
Kagome giggled. "That's all? From your yelling I would have thought I'd accidentally given that man my eyeballs."
"Might as well have! I'm gonna' lose my eyeballs if those brats don't get out of the kitchen!"
"Well…why don't you have them wash dishes instead?" she suggested, turning back to the counter where a woman was waiting.
Kagome was startled by the lady waiting to eat. She had long brown hair done up into a bun on the top of her head, and her eyes were a smoldering red. That she was a demon did not surprise the Miko Scout nearly as much as the fact that she was wearing very expensive clothing and her skin was flawless and impeccably clean. Not even the neatest people in the shelter looked like they'd just had a facial.
"How can I help you?" she asked, ignoring Inuyasha's incessant rejections of her idea for them to wash dishes.
"Oh, nothing…it's just…"
Kagome saw her looking back into the kitchens. That wasn't what worried the Miko Scout Leader. The woman continued to stare, for minutes, Kagome was sure.
Inuyasha was beginning to have the same concerns.
"Hey lady, if you're not gonna' eat nothin', then scram! We've got other people to feed!"
The strange woman seemed snapped out of a trance.
"Excuse me," she snapped before slowly stepping away from the counter and making a bee-line for the nearest exit.
As soon as the door had slammed behind her, Kagome turned back to Inuyasha.
"What do you think…?" she asked quietly.
"Who knows. All sorts of crazies come in here. Ain't our problem," he dismissed the issue as though he were shooing away a fly.
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I guess I just can't seem to think straight about a lot of things, lately. I didn't know things like that could mess a person up so much…" she turned away from him, doing little to hide the slight tremble in her voice.
She felt two clawed hands land gently, but firmly, upon her shoulders.
"I'm here," he murmured, low but loud enough for only her to hear.
Kagome smiled softly and reached one of her hands over to place it atop his own. He didn't need to say anything more; she knew he would do whatever he could to help her.
"You always have been," she whispered as he stroked his thumb along her hand.
For a moment there was nothing in the world but the two of them, their hands a reflection of a lovers' embrace. He was her rock, her strength, and she was his light, his trust. The shelter was no five star restaurant, nor a beautiful park, nor a magnificent promontory, but to them it could have been…
"You sly dog, no pun intended, getting close to Kagome!"
…had there been no trouble-making witnesses.
"Miroku…!" Inuyasha growled as he ripped his hand away, a fresh blush staining his cheeks. Kagome looked at the ground, her own face as red as the sun on the Japanese flag.
Although they were making some progress in their blooming relationship, Miroku's teasing was no less embarrassing.
"What? Can't a guy give his friend a little compliment every once in awhile? Oh, don't pay any attention to us, Kagome! He knows I'm just giving him a push in the right direction!"
"Shut up, or I'll give you a push out the window!"
"You don't mean that!"
Kagome laughed as the mark of her shyness faded away. She didn't turn around, even when she heard the sound of something breaking. Rather, she faced the elderly man who stood in front of the counter.
"What would you like, sir?" she asked cheerfully.
The man began to raise his pointer finger, but Kagome's attention was broken temporarily by the sound of another smash.
"Inuyasha! I didn't think you would actually do it! Stop it, you'll scare the people away! I'm sorry, sir, can you please repeat that?" she tried to extinguish her agitated air.
"B-behind…" the man pointed slowly behind her.
"Behind…?"
As Kagome turned her head she was promptly hit in the face with something cold and aromatic. It dripped down her face slowly, and once past her initial shock and disgust, she realized it was miso soup.
The shelter was silent as Kagome swiped her hand across her eyes, thankful that no one had thrown the actual bowl at her. Immediately she beheld her little brother Sota, holding a ladle dripping with the same contents that covered her cheeks. He was frozen, and she could tell by the look on his face that he hadn't meant to hit her but…
As things began to register once again, she took notice of the broken bowls of miso soup and a few Miko Scouts covered in the liquid. A couple of the Youkai Scouts had egg in their hair.
From this painfully clear evidence, she deduced that a food fight had been going on behind her back the entire time.
"INUYASHA!"
(divider~)
"For the last time, Kagome, how was I supposed to know what they were doing? Wasn't there someone back there with them?
"Apparently there wasn't!"
While the Youkai and Miko Scouts did not have the privilege of finishing their fight, they did have the pleasure of watching their Troop Leaders argue back and forth about who should take responsibility.
As Inuyasha had more or less explained it, he had taken Miroku by the collar of his shirt and was busy finding a place outside where he could beat the man senseless. Sango had seen the spectacle and followed so she could get a hit or two in. And of course, when Rin saw the parade, she had decided to tag along, and thus Sesshomaru was obligated to leave as well.
While everyone's behavior was immature, Kagome was convinced that if Inuyasha had just been a man from the start, nothing would have happened.
"Well, sorry! Next time I won't try to comfort you!" he snapped, though as soon as he said it he blushed.
"That's not the issue! Why can't we be, uh, nice to each other in public?"
"What the hell do you mean? I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Ugh! Sometimes Inuyasha…!"
Miroku and Sango were busy explaining to the man who ran the cafeteria on Sundays why there would be two less bowls than he had previously counted, and promising the necessary compensations. Despite his initial surprise, he thanked them anyway for their help and praised their work for the majority of the morning.
"Let's talk about this later, okay?" Kagome pleaded, now fully conscious of the twenty-some pairs of eyes trained upon their every action with the intention of being entertained.
"Later? In his apartment?"
"Miroku. You're a dead man!" Inuyasha roared, set on tearing the gym teacher to bits.
"Done and done," said Sango in a blasé tone after punching Miroku passionlessly in the gut. He quickly, and predictably, collapsed to the pavement.
"Will we ever get along?" Kagome asked no one in particular; maybe Tessaiga, Inuyasha's car.
As she got no comprehendible reply, she let her head fall lightly upon the rear view mirror, musing that she must have been the person least suited to lead Miko Scout Troop #15.
(divider~)
"Well, Kagura?"
The female demon in question took a seat in the chair farthest from her boss, relishing in the perpetual darkness of his quarters.
"Everyone's there: Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, and the woman who looks just like Kikyo."
"Isn't that nice? They're all working together. This will make everything smoother. Much smoother."
She listened to his icy fingers drumming on the wood of his desk, and she could just make out the sickening smirk spread across his pale face.
"Excuse me for questioning you," she began, though not repentant at all for doing such a thing, "But wouldn't it be more difficult if all four of them are in the same place? They won't let anything happen to their children, after all."
The moment of silence that followed caused her heart to pick up speed, and she clutched her chest a little as the stabbing pain overwhelmed her.
"Kagura, Kagura. This is why you depend upon me," he chuckled menacingly, "You haven't seen the big picture. If they're all there at one time, then I don't have to worry about anyone coming to lend a hand, and after all, if I know anything from observing, it's that that wretched half-demon scum Inuyasha wouldn't let me touch a hair on his woman's head. I wish I could have seen him beat the man I sent senseless, after he tried to rape poor, naïve, little Kagome. It's really too bad that the dumb wretch was nabbed by rival gang members before I could get the details. Still though, even if Inuyasha's affections for the girl weren't certain, the other woman, Sango cannot help but protect Miroku. She's much kinder than she let's on. So you see, Kagura, they would beg me not to hurt their loved ones, rather than fighting me with nothing to lose. Besides, don't tell me you've forgotten about the wild card in this operation?"
She grimaced.
"No, I haven't forgotten. But…there was a…a demon with her…" Kagura blushed slightly as she pictured the stunning silver-haired man standing in the kitchen, his deep golden eyes deadly and focused.
"Oh, do you mean Sesshomaru? Inuyasha's brother is even more pathetic than he is. He won't be a threat to us, not after she's been taken from him."
"Look, Onigumo-!"
"For the last time, Kagura, I don't go by that name anymore. They've figured it out," he leaned back in his chair. "Call me, Naraku."
"Alright, Naraku. Listen, this scheme had better work! We've lost Goshinki, Musou, and Hakudoshi, all thanks to your misguided plans!"
Naraku clenched his jaw.
"Kagura, do you still…want that heart?"
She swallowed; he smiled.
"Then you will do as I order without question. If you don't, well, there's not much I can do."
Kagura sighed, resigning herself to servitude for just a bit longer.
"Understood."
After the door was shut and she had departed into the night, he stood. Turning to the large window behind him, he jabbed his fingers between the blinds to allow but a glimpse of the moon to pierce him. His thoughts seemed impeccably coherent now, as he approached the day for which he had waited what felt like an eternity to accomplish.
"This is it, Inuyasha. Either you shall have the revenge you seek, or…"
His face contorted into a grin.
"…you will die trying."
AUTHOR NOTE
I'm Johann Sebastian BACH!
Haha, get it? I'm lame? What? Well, yeah, I guess you're right. :)
So, I FINALLY updated! It's been a really long time...I think it's been four months or something, which is WAY too long to go without a post or an explaination. I'm very sorry for the wait, and I hope you guys can forgive me! I'm so lucky that I have such patient and kind readers!
Now about the content of the chapter...if I were the one in charge of feeding at a homeless shelter, I would have reported them to the po-po. However, this is an innocent, sometimes very idealistic story, and it would be hard to resolve the plot if Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango were being sued and were banned from being involved with the scouts any longer! I'm really happy with the InuKag fluff in this chapter, as I don't think it'll give anyone a cavity, but I hope it made someone 'aww' or faint. Just kidding :). Anyway, Naraku is unveiled in this chapter OFFICIALLY (even though I know most of you -all of you probably- figured out long before now who he really was)! I'm so thankful that he is called by three different names in the show (that is just asking for aliases)! I hope I didn't give away TOO too much, but you all can probably tie up any ends that I might have left vague. I'm not good at plot twists, I'm afraid, but hopefully there'll be one or two things you didn't see coming. Also- I hope you guys appreciated my dog pun for this chapter (it seems like I have one in most chapters)! I'm very cheesy, I'm afraid! :) One more thing: I'm sorry about the 'divider' things. It's the only way I can figure out how to seperate sections, since dashs don't seem to register in this word document anymore...
Alright, so, plot aside, I have some really cool news about something that happened to me in May of this year. It is Inuyasha related, I promise!
This year I went to Animazement which is an anime convention in North Carolina (go Tarheels!), and every year they have special guests from the anime industry. Well, this year, they announced that Richard Ian Cox (Inuyasha's English voice actor) was going to attend and I just about fainted! But this story gets even better! Just about a month before the convention, they announced that Kappei Yamaguchi (Inuyasha's Japanese voice actor) would ALSO attend! I literally screamed my head off. Both actors AT THE SAME CONVENTION. I was lucky enough to see the panel that they did together with Noriko Hidaka (Kikyo's voice actress). It was also really cool because not only was this only the third convention that Mr. Yamaguchi had ever attended in the U.S.A, it was also the first time he and Mr. Cox had EVER MET! Historic convention, to be sure (in my book haha, as an Inuyasha fan). To get to the meat of the story, to get an autograph from Mr. Yamaguchi, you had to get in line for a ticket, and they only gave out about, 150 or 200 for the whole convention. By some miracle I managed to get one, and was blessed to be one of the only people to get an autograph from BOTH of Inuyasha's voice actors on the SAME DAY within two hours of each other!
Sorry for spazzing about that, but it was literally one of the most amazing experiences of my life (Mr. Yamaguchi allowed me to take a picture of him with my cell phone and he was nice enough to shake hands with me. He is such a kind person! Mr. Cox was nice to me too!) If there is a convention near you, email the people in charge and ask them to invite these guys! They're really cool! :)
Thank you for reading this inexcusably long author's note (and for putting up with my fangirly story), and thank you so much for reading How to Build a Fire! If this is your first go around reading it, I appreciate you for giving of your time and I hope you will continue reading :)! And if you're one of those readers who have been reading this story with its sporadic updates for one or two years, thank you so much for your continued support :)! You all mean so much to me, and I'm touched by all the reviews and favorites I've gotten for this story! You all make my day, and I'm so blessed to have some of the sweetest, nicest people on earth as my readers!
Please, leave me a review to let me know what you think: things you liked, things you thought could have been better, OoC-ness, etc. I love hearing from all of you, and if you haven't reviewed yet, please do so! It makes me really happy! :) :) :)
I will TRY to update again soon, but as I begin the college application process and prepare for my final year of high school, other things will probably take first priority. However, know that I won't stop writing this story. An update will come...eventually! ;)
Have a Great day, and I hope you liked this chapter!
Byebee:3
TohrutheGreat