Convivial
By: The Hatter Theory
National YoYo Day
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Inu Yasha
AN: National YoYo Day was June 6th
Update 4/4. And this concludes the game of catchup I've been playing. See you guys on Father's Day.
Kagome woke to the smell of breakfast, which in and of itself unusual given the last few weeks. Sesshoumaru had made a point of being gone before she had woke, and the change was encouraging. Smiling widely, she didn't even both to change into normal clothes before going downstairs, calling out a bright greeting. He nodded in return, smiling as she tried to straighten the mess her hair had become in sleep.
"That smells amazing," She chimed brightly. "Want help?"
"And risk my new kitchen? Sit," He told her, a smirk firmly in place. She stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes, but walked over to the table anyway.
"I was sure-"
"That you warned me," Kagome told him, sticking her tongue out and adding raspberries for effect. Sesshoumaru said nothing, but she swore she saw his eyes roll toward the ceiling before he turned back to the stove. Kirara jumped up on the table, offering a plaintive mew.
"I can smell bacon girl, no worries," Kagome promised.
"I took the day off from work," He informed her as he slipped eggs onto a plate. "Was there anything you wanted to do today?"
"I haven't thought about it," She admitted.
"There's a street festival in Shibuya."
"That could be fun," She told him, smiling when he handed her a plate, noting the extra bacon and immediately handing a piece to Kirara, who jumped from the table and went to eat her treat by the window, where the sun was pouring in and warming the floor.
"There has been a delay with Inu Yasha's visit. Chu'si passed yesterday, and Tala must stay for a time while a new medicine woman is initiated. They'll be arrive on the nineteenth."
"I'm sorry," Kagome murmured. "Do we need to go for the-" She stopped, feeling that saying the word funeral would be indelicate, somehow. Though she'd barely known the old woman, she had felt a respect for her, despite the disconnect. Out of Tala's pack, Chu'si had been the only one she had met in America that had treated her no differently than Inu Yasha or Sesshoumaru. She had, in many ways, reminded her of Kaede.
"Chu'si will be cremated tonight. It is a very private ritual, and while we are considered family, we are not part of their pack," Sesshoumaru explained. Kagome nodded, flushing when she realized that she was relieved that she wouldn't be forced to go. She hadn't been to a funeral in years, and she knew she wouldn't have anything to say about the healer, would have no real feeling to offer other than a passing wish to have known the youkai better.
"You seem troubled," He offered quietly as she nibbled at her eggs.
"I feel badly for being sort of, of happy that we don't have to go," She admitted. "Like I'm a bad friend."
"They view death very differently than we do," Sesshoumaru told her. "Inu Yasha told me, after seeing it for the first time, for Chu'si's mate. They rejoice as the body burns and the ashes are swept away to be split between the earth and sky. They return to where they came from."
It was poetic, but Kagome wondered if the beauty of the sentiment made it any easier to lose someone.
"They will be coming though. Tala wants the children to have fun before their school year starts again. I couldn't make reservations at the hotel we were originally going to stay at, there is a convention of some sort, so the rooms are all booked."
"What about the other hotels?" She asked, grateful for the subject change.
"Almost everything in the area is booked, and I would like to avoid the crowds," He admitted after swallowing.
"It's the beach in summer, a crowd is inevitable. Plus it'll give the kids more children to play with."
"I suppose. But reservations remain the problem. Everything I've looked at is either booked or substandard," He admitted.
"Have you just checked here, or have you looked at other islands?"
"I hadn't thought of the islands," He admitted, slightly chagrined.
"Well, Shippou and Souten are coming too, right?" Kagome asked. "How about Nago? Most people will think it's too hot now that it's summer, and it'll be like a mini honey moon for them."
"A sound plan," Sesshoumaru agreed. "I need to look over the hotels there," He began.
"We both can," Kagome laughed. "Besides, I have to use my super powered laptop for something other than a word processor, or else it might turn on me."
He chuckled quietly as she got up, rushing from the table to her room to retrieve her laptop bag and brought it downstairs. It was normally forbidden to have a computer open while eating, an unspoken agreement between the two of them, but she felt that since they were doing something together, it would be alright. Sesshoumaru said nothing as she booted it up, sliding her chair and plate closer to his.
There were only twenty two hotels on Nago, most of them boasting beautiful beachfront scenery. As Kagome learned, this was somewhat of a misnomer, as there was beachfront scenery, it was just half of a mile away, seen through the towering condo like hotel windows.
"This one looks nice," Sesshoumaru said. "I haven't stayed there before."
"There are villas," Kagome added, clicking the link and surprised by the pictures that immediately popped up. "This looks gorgeous, and it's right on the water. They even have docks and boats to rent."
They both scrolled through the pictures, growing more and more impressed as they looked. A private restaurant and bar, live bands inside and outside of the hotel, a private beach of the bluest, clearest water Kagome had ever seen, and private docks where several small sailboats where docked. The villas looked extravagant, like opulent mansions in miniature.
"Do you like it?" Sesshoumaru asked, giving her a half smile that said he already knew her answer.
"It looks amazing," Kagome agreed sheepishly. Amazing and expensive, but she supposed mentioning that to someone who owned their own jet was, at best, a little silly. "You've gotten me spoiled," She admitted.
"I suppose it was inevitable," Sesshoumaru said in an aggrieved tone. "Perhaps I should put you on an allowance and force you to get a job."
She stuck her tongue out, surprised when he moved, quick as an arrow, to pinch it lightly between the points of two claws.
"I warned you," He smirked, not releasing it.
"Rog rought y rounge," She joked, crossing her eyes. He released her tongue, wiping his fingers on his napkin.
"I'll make reservations. You should go get ready."
She made quick work of finishing her orange juice and running upstairs, listening to him begin speaking to a hotel clerk and arranging reservations. Excited at the prospect of the upcoming vacation and the day ahead of her, she pulled on a simple pair of shorts and tank top, knowing it would get hot during the festival.
Feeling better than she had in weeks, she put her hair in a messy bun and grabbed her purse, intent of getting as much out of Sesshoumaru's canceled workday. When she bounced down the stairs, he was just hanging up, seemingly satisfied.
"Everything is taken care of," He told her, smiling confidently. She dropped her purse in her chair and helped him clean up, finding a comfort in the return of their routine. She rinsed and he put dishes in the dishwasher, and when she grabbed her purse again, she gave Kirara a quick scratch on her head before telling her goodbye.
"Are you comfortable in a car, or would you rather take a bus?" He asked quietly.
"How about bus?" Kagome asked. "I trust you, but today is just one of those days," She explained, a smile on her face. He nodded emphatically, understanding what she meant even if she couldn't articulate it.
"I rented three villas," He told her as they rode the elevator down.
"Three?" She asked, surprised.
"Hnn. Most of them seem geared towards couples, but there were a few family sized ones. Inu Yasha's family will be staying in one. I have no desire to be woken by screaming children in the middle of the night," He replied archly, making her giggle as they stepped out.
"And the two others?"
"Shippou and Souten are newly mated. I have no desire to be woken by them either," He snorted, making her choke on the giggle that had been about to escape until she actually thought about what he was saying.
"Good call," She muttered, coloring brightly.
"I thought so. We will share the other. They are all neighbors, but they are far enough apart privacy should be a non issue."
"I call dibs on the one with the hot tub," She said impishly as they walked at a leisurely pace to the bus stop.
"They all have hot tubs," He chuckled. "The bathrooms apparently differ, but little else." He listed off other features, each one making the villas sound more luxurious than even the pictures conveyed. When the bus came, he was silent, paying their fare before choosing an empty bench. She sat next to him, more excited than she had been before and counting down the days to the arrival of her friend and his family.
"We'll take the jet again. But I do have one stipulation to this," He told her, eyes narrowing. She stilled.
"What?" She asked cautiously.
"No laptops, no textbooks, no work."
"But-" She started, ready to protest the terms. Her essay for her professor, to attain the coveted assistant position, was due in exactly a month, and they would be vacationing for over a week.
"No work," He told her firmly. "You will be with us, and Inu Yasha and Tala are coming all the way from America."
It was a guilt tactic, and it was working. He knew the softest spots she had, and all of them involved family and the pack.
"I'll go crazy without something to do in the evenings," She countered.
"Pleasure reading. Nothing for school." It wasn't negotiating, although someone else, who didn't know him, might have assumed so. It was her only option. Otherwise, he might actually do something drastic. She wasn't willing to chance her work being thrown into the ocean or melted by his poison, so she nodded her head slowly. He was going to win regardless.
"Fine. But I get to decide what pleasure reading is," She said, voice petulant.
He had the grace to nod and smile, looking amused, and not nearly enough to look apologetic.
"Alphas," Kagome muttered, so low no one but he could hear it.
"You are correct," He chuckled.
She was still trying to figure out some way around the stipulation when they arrived in Shibuya, where the crowds had already grown thick and different street musicians had stationed themselves, playing everything from small hand drums to guitars.
She took his hand, tugging him over to where several game booths had been set up. In a small pool shimmering goldfish caught the light, swimming in lazy circles as the vendor held up the little paper fans to catch them with.
"I've never been able to get one," She admitted.
"Perhaps it is for the best, or would you like to bring back a treat for Kirara?" He asked, laughing when her mouth made a small 'o', the truth of that becoming evident the moment he mentioned it. She nodded, following him to another booth, and then another.
He watched her play games, not once joining in, although she wasn't bothered by it. He did make fun of her skills, or apparent lack of them, as they moved along. From the games they examined the various and random objects street vendors had brought, everything from home made soaps wrapped in paper declaring their magic abilities to hand blown glass art.
He bought them lunch, skewered meat balls and dango, and she shot off, grabbing a cone with a large wad of cotton candy on it. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes when she stuck it in his face, bringing up a hand to push it away. Crestfallen, she pulled a piece off and was about to eat it when he sighed and nipped it from her fingers using his teeth, earning a laugh.
They had almost made it through the whole of the festival, having looked at almost every tent, that Kagome stopped, eyes catching on the jewelry displayed.
"If you're waiting for permission, you have it," Sesshoumaru laughed.
"I wasn't," She started, stopping immediately and blushing hotly. Stepping into the tent she looked at the tables, surprised by the quality. A sign boasted that it was all handmade and every piece was unique, and she had to admit to herself that everything she saw was different from it's counterparts. Perusing through it, she stopped at the jewelry table, eyes lighting on a delicate chain on a stand, dipping down from the weight of a blue stone crescent moon wrapped in delicate silver, tiny beads scattered along the wire itself.
A hand reached past her just as she was reaching for it, and a distressed sound came from her throat until she turned, seeing Sesshoumaru behind her.
"Lift your hair."
She did as she was told allowing him to lean in and clasp the necklace around her neck. A finger ghosted over her neck once, making her blush before he was pulling away, eying the necklace and nodding.
"Do you like it?" The saleswoman asked. Kagome turned back to the table, a mirror right in her face. Flinching back she looked down where the pendant lay suspended between her collarbones.
"I do," She admitted. Most of the other jewelry had been too abstract or busy, but the pendant was perfect.
"How much is it?" Kagome asked, shrugging her purse off her shoulder. But Sesshoumaru had beat her to the punch, his wallet open and several bills in hand. The saleswoman made change and gave Kagome a small box with a business card taped to the top before turning to another customer.
"Thank you," Kagome murmured quietly.
"You're welcome."
She linked her arm with his, enjoying a companionable silence as they walked through the rest of the tents, and on the bus ride home she fiddled with the pendant, running her fingers over the wire. Sesshoumaru remained silent, but it felt like a satisfied silence as they finished the trip back to their apartment.
He even let her help cook stir fry.