I do not own InuYasha or Magic Knight Rayearth in any way, shape or form!
Speech Key:
"The" – Oral/Normal Speech
'The' – Thoughts
PLEASE READ BEFORE BEGINNING CHAPTER! Seriously, read it!
AN: Hm, it seems like the chapters are just getting a little longer with each one I write… Not sure if that's a good thing or not…
Now, I know I have some anonymous reviewers and while I'm glad they're reading I'd just like to ask that any anonymous reviewers just take some creative liberties when it comes to the penname bit. If they have an account, then questions would be much simpler to answer through PMs, since I feel that answers should be given to those who asked and those answers would be for their eyes only. I rarely answer anonymous reviews through the chapters of Author's Notes unless it can't be helped.
If they don't have accounts, then maybe a creative name to set yourselves apart from each other? It doesn't even need to be a complicated one! Anything but the 'Guest' penname that seems to be growing in the usage trend! I have no clue where it started in the first place, but I'll admit that it's an annoying trend at that… I like to see creativity, but that trend just seems like a quick do-and-done thing where little to no creativity is exercised, probably because a penname seems to be a trivial thing?
Anyway, it's just a suggestion and the rants of an overworked student that's more than ready for Thanksgiving break to come about anytime soon. So don't think much of it!
Anyway, I hope you all like this and please remember to review, but if you've nothing polite to say then don't bother saying anything at all!
~A Match of Two Souls~
oO-She's Here!-Oo
"Ne, Hikaru-chan," Koizumi Chiyo commented, brushing a strand of her chestnut hair back from her face, "You seem a lot more hyper than usual!"
"Yeah," Akiyama Izumi nodded, her cropped caramel hair bobbing with the gesture, "What's up?"
The three girls were having lunch in the classroom today when they noticed their enthusiastic scarlet-haired friend even more excited than usual. She'd practically been bouncing in her seat the whole day through thus far!
"My cousin's coming to live with me!" Hikaru burst out, eyes practically glowing with excitement.
"Cousin?" the girls chorused.
"That's what you're so excited about?" Izumi sighed. "I can't stand my cousins and you're excited about yours living with you?"
"Kagome-neechan is the most beautiful and nicest person I know!" Hikaru told her friends. "She's in her third year of high school so I know she'll be busy, but she always makes time to have a fun! She says that life's too short to miss out on the little things."
"High school girl?" Chiyo squealed in excitement. "So did anyone take her out yet?"
"'Take her out'?" Hikaru parroted with a confused tilt of her head. "But why would anyone want to hurt my Neechan?"
"Hu-Hurt? Who said anything about her getting hurt?" Now Chiyo was confused. How could Hikaru get that out of what she said?
"But you just asked if anyone took her out?" Hikaru pointed out. "Neechan can fight pretty well, so she can't be hurt much, but why would you ask if anyone hurt her yet?"
Chiyo's head was beginning to hurt from trying to understand the thought process of her ever oblivious friend.
The caramel-haired girl pondered the situation, which was actually becoming quite funny, she had to admit. But she couldn't understand how Hikaru managed to draw such radical conclusions from a–Unless… a light-bulb went off in Izumi's head as she realized where the confusion was coming from. "Wait, I know what's going on!"
The other two girls turned to the chestnut-haired girl questioningly. "Huh?"
"Hikaru-chan, when Chiyo-chan asked if anyone took your cousin out, she meant out on a date!" Izumi explained. "Like with a boyfriend! She didn't mean if anyone actually hurt her!"
"Wait, what?" Chiyo asked. "I thought you knew what I meant; I didn't think you'd take it a whole different way!"
"Sorry," Hikaru rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I thought you meant if anyone defeated Neechan, so I got confused." She then remembered what Izumi had just explained. "Oh, dates? Um, I'm not so sure about that. I know that Neechan doesn't have a boyfriend, though!"
"So is it okay if we come and meet her?" Chiyo asked.
"Probably not today," Hikaru said apologetically. "Neechan's not coming home until a little later tonight. Maybe we could all go out tomorrow or the day after?"
"It's a date!" Chiyo and Izumi winked with a giggle.
"Hikaru, calm down, she'll be here soon," Satoru said calmly as he sat at the low table with his brothers, sipping at a cup of tea.
The girl in question was rushing around making sure everything was, at least in her eyes, perfect. Her excitement was practically visible as they could see her bouncing off the walls. Kakeru and Masaru could only chuckle at their younger sister's antics.
"But I can't!" Hikaru moaned. "What if she doesn't like the way I decorated her room? I've got to go and redo it right now, before she gets here!" The scarlet-haired girl made to run off towards said room when she was grabbed around the waist and pulled into her second eldest brother's lap. "Masaru-niisan!"
"Maa maa, Hikaru," Masaru said calmly, with a hint of amusement. "Calm down like Satoru-niisan says; Kagome'll be here soon. You already went on a cleaning frenzy, so I'm pretty sure the house is squeaky clean!"
"And Kagome'll like however you decorated her room, so don't worry so much!" Kakeru grinned. Their sister had been so adamant that she be the one to decorate Kagome's room that she hadn't let anyone see it. Not even Hikari! Despite their pleas to see what she did, Hikaru remained steadfast in her decision that Kagome would be the first one besides Hikari to see the room which, coincidentally, was right next to her own.
It felt like hours until they heard the doorbell ring. "She's here!" Hikaru jumped out of Masaru's lap and took off for the door.
"Neechan!" they heard Hikaru squeal followed by a soft 'THUMP'.
"Hikaru!" a sweet voice exclaimed. "Oh, I missed you so much!"
By now, the three Shidou brothers had made their way to the front where they found the amusing sight of Hikaru snuggling into Kagome who lay on the ground. They grinned. It was just like Hikaru to do something like this.
"Hikaru, why don't you let Kagome get up and we can show her the room you decorated for her," Satoru said amusedly.
"Eh?" Hikaru stopped nuzzling the older girl for a minute, looking confused before realizing what her brother had said. "Oh right! Gomen, Neechan!"
"It's alright, Hikaru," Kagome laughed. "I didn't mind!" She turned to her other three cousins with a smile. "It's great to see you again, Sato-niisan, Ma-kun, Keru-kun! You don't look like you've changed much!"
"But you have," Masaru chuckled as he and his brothers took in the changes of their cousin.
Unfortunately, because Kagome was seldom in the Modern Era due to her duties that lay in the past, she hadn't been able to keep up contact with the Shidou siblings. An email here and there, maybe a short phone call or letter was about as good as it got for them.
But to see her as she was now was a bit to take in for Shidou brothers.
Her raven hair hung to just below her knees with a thick section braided over her head. Her petite figure was clothed in a cream dress, white leggings and black flats. But what caught their attention the most were her eyes. Minty eyes that seemed to hold a wealth of knowledge shone with a glow of unknown strength.
Their cousin had changed.
They could feel it.
"Come on, Neechan, let's go to your room!" Hikaru started tugging on the older girl's hand.
"Alright, alright," Kagome chuckled. "Just give me a chance to get my things?"
"I'll help!" Hikaru said energetically. She darted forward and grabbed two large duffels and zipped inside.
"That was…" Kagome blinked.
"Hikaru!" Kakeru laughed. "Besides, she hasn't let anyone even in to your room! Says you'll be the first one besides Hikari to see it!" He slung a bag over his shoulder as picked up a box in his arms and made to follow after Hikaru.
"Really?" Kagome asked Masaru and Satoru. "She hasn't let anyone see it?"
"No one," Satoru shook his head with a chuckle. "She was excited to hear you were come to stay with us. She made plans to decorate your room and hasn't let anyone in, not even to help, since," Satoru took the last box inside while Masaru took the last of Kagome's luggage, despite her protests.
"Tada!" Hikaru announced as she pulled the shoji door aside to let everyone look at the room she'd decorated for Kagome.
"Oh…" Kagome covered her mouth in surprise.
"Whoa…" Masaru and Kakeru whisteled.
"You've done a wonderful job, Hikaru," Satoru smiled, making the scarlet-haired girl flush with a sheepish smile.
The room was painted in a periwinkle and navy gradient. in addition to the colour-scheme, it looked like Hikaru had even stuck glow-in-the-dark stars onto the ceiling.
"Hikaru," Kagome breathed, "This is beautiful!" She caught the younger girl into a tight embrace. "Thank you!"
"It was nothing!" Hikaru rubbed the back of her head. "I just wanted to give you the perfect gift to welcome you home!"
You as she might have been, Hikaru had never forgotten the gift her cousin had given her. When she had been about ten years old, Hikaru wanted to move her room closer to the backyard, and therefore, Hikari. Kagome, who had been visiting at the time, was determined to decorate Hikaru's new room as a little gift for her younger cousin.
The room had been painted a pale pink with red accents; tiny pictures of dogs and flowers had been brushed onto the walls afterwards in all sorts of colours as an extra detail. Simple as the design had been, Hikaru cherished it. She hadn't changed how the room looked since, save for her furniture and small knickknacks.
"Now I know why you were covered in blue the other day," Kakeru rubbed his head with a low whistle. He thought back to how Hikaru had bustled into the kitchen, asking for a bucket, paying no mind to the fact that she was nearly covered from head to toe with varying shades of blue.
"It took a while to get it all just right," Hikaru giggled nervously, "I wanted it to be perfect."
"Well, then, I think you'll be glad to know that it was absolutely perfect, Hikaru!" the ravenette squeezed her cousin once more.
"Why don't we all get to bed?" Masaru suggested. "It's late right now and I'm sure Kagome's tired from the trip. We can talk in the morning when we're all well-rested."
Everyone agreed as they began to filter out of the room. "Oh!" Hikaru stopped and looked back at Kagome. "Would it be okay for you to hang out with me and my friends tomorrow, Neechan? They wanted to meet you when I told you about them."
"Of course," Kagome nodded, "I'd love to meet your friends!"
"Oyasumi, Neechan!" Hikaru called out as she shut the door behind her.
"Oyasumi, Hikaru!" Kagome answered back.
Adieu,
TsukiyoTenshi
