Silver Beast: Cats and Dogs
(Friday, April 10th - 7:30 PM Kwakiutl Reservation - 5 months, 16 days and 10 hours remaining)
Kagome and her family arrived just as the sun set over the reservation. The crescent moon hadn't risen to its full zenith yet so most of the party was still residing in the grand hall. It took them some time trying to find a parking spot in the lot since every Society family within the residing area was invited to attend the celebration. Even from the far side of the property they could hear the blaring party music and see the strobe of colors from the party lights reflecting off the neighboring buildings. When they walked into the room they were blown away with how wild the party was. It wasn't even 8 pm and the DJ already had the dance floor packed. Along the walls of the grand ballroom were long tables covered in food and a bar for people to get drinks.
Towards the back of the room by the main entrance were round tables set up for people to sit at or play board games. The walls of the grand hall didn't stop the party from expanding outside either. There were bouncy houses, a volleyball court, corn hole, water balloons, frisbee golf and a few other outdoor games as well. It was obvious by the rowdiness of the crowd that they were the ultimate party animals. Not wanting to miss out on the wonderful food they'd heard so much about, the Higurashis made their way over to the buffet tables. While they were waiting in line they heard howling and cheering coming from the far end of the bar.
"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" cheered the large crowd gathered around the bar.
"Do you know what's going on?" Kagome asked the cat demoness standing in front of her.
"Huh? Oh! That's just Bankotsu showing off again." the cat demoness said.
"Isn't that whose party this is for?" Sota asked just as the cheering turned into celebratory howling. They could see as the crowd parted slightly that there was a single thunder demon with a long black braid standing victoriously in the center.
"Yep. He's the birthday boy." The cat demon chuckled. "He's really cool once you get to know him but he can be an ass when he's drunk. I'd leave him alone with the guys if I were you kid. You might end up looking like a burnt pretzel if you do."
"Duly noted." Sota said just as Bankotsu wrestled a lizard and boar demon to the ground with little effort. He'd just turned 15 last summer. There was no way he'd be able to keep up with a 25-year-old meathead like Bankotsu.
"I'm Sango by the way." The cat demoness smiled.
"Kagome." Kagome nodded in kind as she welcomed her handshake.
"You guys must be the Americans everyone's been talking about." Sango said as they reached the front of the line.
"Yep! This is my younger brother Sota, my mom Alice and my Grandpa Bob." Kagome said as they began to load up their plates with food. Her mouth watered when she noticed that homemade pasta salad with pepperoni and olives was on the table.
"Nice to meet you!" Sango laughed as she looked down the line at her family. "My little brother Kohaku is running around here somewhere and my dad Tom is the head cat of our clowder. He's most likely at the bar with Chief Mattiki ready to break up any fights."
"I'm sure we'll meet them sometime." Mrs. Higarashi said as Kagome loaded her plate with a large helping of pasta salad.
Kagome inwardly moaned with happiness when she saw the banana pudding bowl at the far end of the dessert table. It was loaded with vanilla wafers, chopped bananas and layered beautifully with whipped cream. Two of her favorite dishes were on the menu tonight on top of half a dozen other dishes she loved. Her plate was already overflowing with food. She'd have to grab a cake plate to get everything she wanted. Worrying about maintaining her figure went out the window tonight. It was a party damn it and she was not about to let her figure come between her and her taste buds!
"You guys want to sit with me?" Sango asked. "There's still some empty spots at the table my stuff is on."
"That's very kind of you." Mrs. Higarashi smiled. "We'll come find you after we get our drinks."
"Perfect!" Sango smiled as she went towards the right side of the room. "See you in a bit!"
Once they'd gotten their drinks they made their way over to the table. Kagome was almost there when she slipped on a puddle of Kool-Aid on the floor. She watched in horror as her plate of food landed upside down on the ground.
"Ah man!" Kagome whined, as Sango and her mother went to help her clean up the mess. She nearly broke down into tears when she noticed the dirt and grime now covering her precious pudding. "I was so excited to eat that!"
"Why don't you go get in line again before the food's all gone?" Mrs. Higarashi offered.
"Fine…" Kagome sighed as she tossed the dirty napkins and wasted food into the trash can.
To her disappointment all of her favorite foods had been picked clean by the time she'd made her way through the line. She was lucky that there was at least one chicken wing for her to gnaw on and a spoonful of cheesy potatoes left. It pissed her off that some parent was too lazy to clean up after their kid. One of their elder members, like her grandpa or Totosai could have really gotten hurt slipping on that punch. Since she was already ruining her diet she supposed she could just binge on Doritos later.
"That's all you're going to eat?" Inuyasha asked as he came up behind her.
"What?! Oh no, I had a plate earlier but I slipped on some Kool-Aid and ended up having to throw it all away." Kagome said, as she tried to ignore the large plate of food he was holding.
"Oh, that sucks." Inuyasha frowned as he looked at the single chicken wing and tiny portions of sides on her plate. It made him feel like a pig with all his food on his plate.
"I know! All of my favorites were on there too." Kagome groaned as they began to walk through the bustle of people.
"Like what?" Inuyasha asked.
"Pasta salad and banana pudding." Kagome blushed.
"That's it?" Inuyasha smirked in amusement.
"I had other stuff but yes, mostly pasta salad and pudding." Kagome giggled, making his smirk widen. "Where are you sitting at?"
"Don't have a seat yet." Inuyasha shrugged.
"Want to sit with my family and I?" Kagome asked. "Sango said there were some seats left at the table."
"Sure." Inuyasha nodded as he reached into one of the coolers to grab a fizzy drink. "I haven't hung out with Sango in a while."
"Why's that?" Kagome asked as she picked up a bottle of water.
"Cats and dogs don't always get along." Inuyasha shrugged. "The clans only ever get together when it's time to party. Us werewolves however don't have a problem hanging out with either of them. If Sango's family didn't live an hour away from here we'd probably hang out all the time."
"That's good to know." Kagome smiled just as they sat down at the table.
"Who's your friend Kagome?" Grandpa Bob asked as he inspected the unfamiliar male sitting next to his granddaughter.
"This is Inuyasha. He's my friend I told you about from Tama." Kagome blushed as she tried to ignore the knowing stares from her family.
"Oh good! I was hoping we'd run into you tonight. I wanted to thank you for taking such good care of her when she got stressed in class." Mrs. Higarashi smiled, making both Inuyasha and Kagome blush an adorable pink.
"What's the backstory on that?" Sango asked before taking a sip of her grape soda.
"Our stupid ancient history teacher got all excited about werewolf conspiracies when they were going through the Kwakiutl tribe history. It caused a huge debate to break out in class." Inuyasha grouched as he popped a grape into his mouth.
"What kind of debate?" Sango asked.
"They argued over what would happen if they managed to kill and capture one." Kagome growled as she stabbed her food with her fork. "They talked about skinning and eating them or hanging their heads on walls like animals! Don't they realize that werewolves are evolved humans? They'd practically be committing cannibalism!"
"Oh gosh…" Sango paled. "I bet that was a bit overwhelming to be locked in a roomful of potential murders."
"That, and the humans who call me their friend wear holy amulets. I accidentally got burned by one on the way to the nurses office." Kagome said, making Sango's eyes widen. "I felt so claustrophobic and nauseous. Had the teacher not excused me from class there's no telling what would have happened."
"Any number of things." Sango nodded.
"Thankfully, when I was being taken to the nurses office my friend and I ran into Inuyasha. He took care of me after that." Kagome blushed, making Inuyasha smile.
"I also heard you protected her when she was having a vision." Grandpa Bob added. "We owe a great debt to you boy. Thank you for keeping my granddaughter safe."
"N-no problem. Totosai assigned me to protect Kagome and Sota while at school." Inuyasha blushed as he continued to eat his food.
"I'm aware." Grandpa Bob smiled. "I'll be sure to inform him on the good job you're doing."
"Keh." Inuyasha blushed as he bashfully went back to eating.
He could feel everyone's approving stares on him as they ate. He normally stuck to himself and did his own thing. Now being the center of attention while receiving positive reinforcement, he wasn't sure how he felt about all the praise; especially from Kagome's grandfather. Since receiving the elderly man's approval, his inner beast hasn't stopped purring with happiness in his mind. Very rarely was his inner self so at peace. What was it about this girl and her family that made him feel this way? As he took another bite of his dinner he took a quick glance in Kagome's direction from under his bangs. He couldn't help the soft curl to his lips when he noticed how happy Kagame looked.
Although she too had a blush to her cheeks from being embarrassed, the tender smile painting her soft lips with the bright shimmer in her baby blues showed her true feelings. It was apparent that she was just as pleased to have him being her protector and wasn't embarrassed to be by his side. She welcomed him into her life, into her pack and warmly called him friend. The fact that her family welcomed and accepted him with such title, even as half werewolf made him feel good, really good. He swore right then and there to always protect her. He'd proudly defend her against any foe if only to see her smile. If only he knew what that promise would bring in the future.
-s-
"There's my beloved Sango!" purred a raccoon demon as he came up behind her and looped his arm around her shoulders.
"Miroku…." Sango growled in warning when he nuzzled into her neck and licked along the shell of her ear. "You're making a scene."
"Nonsense my love." Miroku grinned as he enjoyed the cinnamon spicy twist to her orange and ginger scent. "Am I not allowed to greet my future mate?"
"I am not your mate you sneaky, womanizing, swindler." Sango pouted, making everyone at the table's eyes shimmer with amusement.
"Sure you're not." Miroku smirked as he looked around the table. "Hey Inuyasha, how's it going?"
"Eh, not much." Inuyasha shrugged. "This is my new classmate Kagome and her family. They just moved here from America."
"Pleasure to meet you." Miroku smiled as he took Kagome's hand in his and placed a chaste kiss on her knuckles.
"Hands off pervert." Inuyasha growled as he grabbed Kagome's hand away much to Kagome's surprise.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." Miroku apologized as he leaned back in his seat beside Sango. "I did not realize you changed your mind about taking a bitch."
[End of Chapter 9]