Cannabis Canine
Naraku began performing a set of sit-ups, exhaling as he bent toward his knees and inhaling when he relaxed onto his back. He didn't let his head touch the floor; he kept it millimeters from touching. If his head touched, he started the set over. Abs so sore that he couldn't eat or sit were enough motivation to keep a perfect sit-up posture. Naraku exhaled again, slowly, controlled, as he lifted his torso towards his legs. Naraku did this several more times and didn't stop until he felt the burning sensation in his stomach. He pushed through a few more sit-ups and finally relaxed on his back when he decided that was enough for that set. He breathed slowly, in through his nose and out through his mouth, glancing at his watch to time his thirty-second rest before starting up another set. He heard the clanking and thumps of weights being lifted and dropped, guys high-fiving and celebrating one another when they completed a set that weighed heavier than their last. Naraku looked at his watch. The last three seconds ticked down. He placed his hands on his head, spread his feet shoulder-length apart and pressed them flat to the floor. Naraku sat up, exhaling again.
When he finished his core workouts, Naraku grabbed a small towel and a bottle of water with vinegar from a rack provided by the gym. He had his own towel for excess sweat, but he didn't want to use his personal towel to clean off the equipment he wanted to use. He often heard many men in the gym state that they weren't afraid of germs or other people's sweat. Naraku wasn't afraid either; he was simply disgusted. The thought of sweat and grime, other than his own, touching his body made him nauseous. Plus, many men found it necessary and, well, manly, to work-out even though they were sick. Naraku wanted nothing to do with that mentality. It was almost insulting to contract an illness from such a moronic person.
Naraku found an empty lifting bench and sprayed it down, folding the towel as he knelt down to scrub and dry it thoroughly. He made sure to wipe the sides, down in the crevice of the headpiece and even down to the part of the bench he knew he wouldn't touch. Next, he sprayed and wiped down the lifting bar he was going to use, scrubbing the grips where his hands would touch the most.
When he finished cleaning his lifting station, he placed the bottle of watered-down vinegar next to the station, figuring he would need it again soon. Naraku took the cleaning towel with him as he walked towards the center of the lifting area where all the weights hung and waited to be used. His lifting station already had some weights hooked to it, but he needed two of the largest weights to balance it out. He placed the towel on the handle of the weight and grabbed it with both hands, carrying it back to his station and sliding it onto the bar. He walked back to the rack of weights and grabbed a second weight in the same fashion, hauling it to the bar and sliding it on. Naraku added a few smaller weights on to the bar, looking to his left when he heard a loud groan, a huge thump, followed by three guys cheering and high-fiving one another. Apparently, one of them lifted something very heavy and needed assurance from his friends.
'Adorable.' Naraku wryly thought to himself when they slapped each other's asses while reciting the usual, "No homo," statement to reassure their friends of their intentions. He didn't mind that they were working out. He was a workout man himself, obviously. He just wished they would keep their voices down and their insecurities about their dick sizes to themselves. Naraku shook his head and readjusted his now-clean bench under the bar so he could lift it without injuring himself.
"Hey man, you need a spotter?" a man asked. Naraku glanced over at him. He was an average height, slightly muscular build. He had tan eyes, long black hair pulled back into a ponytail and piercing blue eyes. Naraku arched an eyebrow.
"No. I'm just maintaining my build. I've lifted this before." Naraku explained simply as he straddled the bench. The man shrugged and nodded.
"Alright. Well, if you change your mind, give us a holler." The man said, pointing in the direction behind him with his thumb.
"Koga, come on! I want to finish this lift before my arms realize what's happened!" another, whinier, voice called out. The blue-eyed man quickly turned and marched away, replying with a sarcastic insult to his lifting buddy and explaining that he was trying to be a good samaritan. Naraku snorted quietly as he relaxed on his back, adjusting himself so the bar was hovering over his chest. He didn't need a spotter or a gym buddy to slap his ass after he finished a good lift. He knew he was good. Naraku gripped the bar and lifted it, feeling a few pops in his arms and grunting.
'I knew I should have stretched more,' he thought crossly. But, he was already there. Naraku lowered the bar slowly, inhaling through his nose. He exhaled through his mouth when he pushed the bar up, almost to the point of where his arms would lock, but not quite. He refrained from rolling his eyes when heard another grunt, loud thump, and more celebrations from the No-Homo Squad.
"I lost count." He whispered under his breath, choosing the last number he remembered and going forward with his set. Naraku performed a couple more repetitions before suddenly, for some reason, his brain decided to spontaneously remind him of Jade from the previous day and how upset she looked. Bruce claimed that she was crying. Naraku's arm locked and he gasped, thinking for a split second that he was actually going to crush his own face, but he caught the bar, carefully nudging it into the holding slots and lowering his arms to his chest.
"Damn." He mumbled, realizing that his adrenaline had kicked in and now he was shaky. Bench press and shakiness never mixed well, so he waited for the nerves to subside. He closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing, making sure it was deep and slow, but his brain betrayed him again. He remembered Bruce's red face of anger as he yelled at Naraku, fearful that he lost another lab assistant and how pissed he was because she was actually good at her job, unlike many others he came across.
'As if it is my fault the previous three were failures,' Naraku clenched his teeth for a moment, but released the pressure. Jade told him she would see him Monday. If she were truly done, she would not have said that….would she? Naraku's eyes snapped open. He grabbed the bar and lifted it again.
'She said she would see me Monday.' He told himself again, the shakiness gone from his limbs. Jade was tougher than that. She would come back.
Once Naraku finished lifting, he cleaned the bench once more and tossed the towel he used into a box where towels were disposed in the gym. He returned the bottle of vinegar water to a shelf and began walking to the back door, which led outside to a track. He preferred blacktop to treadmills and since the season was slowly turning into summer, it was hot outside; more sweat and more burning calories. Naraku tucked his personal hand-towel into his shorts so he could keep his hands free.
"How many miles today?" he asked himself quietly, pressing a button on his watch to switch it into stopwatch mode. He looked up at the sky as he thought for a moment. One lap was a quarter of a mile. He also had to shop for groceries and ensure that his bills were paid for the month.
"Twelve laps," he whispered to himself as he walked to the start line. Naraku made sure his hair was still tied back into a ponytail tightly enough before taking off at mid-pace, starting the stopwatch timer.
Naraku stood in front of his mirror at home after returning from the gym and showering. He untied his towel and stared at himself, turning from side to side, straightening his posture, and flexing whatever muscles he could. He figured he would increase the weight on his lifts for his shoulders and his curls. His arms needed more work. Naraku dropped his towel on the floor, turning his back to the mirror and pulling his hair forward, letting the black tendrils drape over his chest. He turned his head and repeated his ritual.
'Why does my back look so much better than my front? How irritating.' He thought to himself with a scowl. He wanted them to look equally good. Naraku's eyes rested on the dark spider tattoo on his back. He noticed that it looked duller than usual. Perhaps it needed a touch-up. Naraku inhaled deeply through his nose and walked back to his bathroom to dry his hair and dress for the day.
Once Naraku finished drying his hair, the natural wave of his hair returned. He brushed through it one last time before tying it back into a ponytail once more. He pulled on a pair of black slacks over his boxers and buttoned up a light blue shirt on his torso. Naraku stepped into his black dress shoes and tied them, grabbing his phone and wallet. He walked out of his room and into the second room of his apartment. Half of the room served as an office, complete with a dark wooden desk and a matching bookcase that almost touched the ceiling. It was stacked with many different books that Naraku read in his free time or used as references for his research, both official and fun research. The other half of the room served as a small laboratory set-up. He walked over to the little laboratory and slipped on a single latex glove, reaching inside his drawer and pulling out a tiny box that used to house a piece of jewelry that he "purified" and sorted out for more money than it was originally worth.
Naraku whistled a tune as he locked his apartment door and strode out to his car, pocketing the little box, along with his gloved hand to prevent any nosy neighbors from becoming suspicious. In his other hand, his keys jingled as he lightly tossed them in the air, catching them and turning them until he reached his car key. He looked through his sunglasses as one of his neighbors, a tall, slender woman with short, dyed-red hair walked towards him. She moved over on the sidewalk to avoid running into him, but she also checked him out very obviously. It almost pained Naraku at how blatant she was about it. He forced himself to not turn back to her because he knew he would catch her checking out his backside, which was his better side. Naraku reached his black car and dragged a finger along the hood before stopping at his door. He glanced at his finger. No dirt. He smirked. Finally. Something good with no catch.
'On my way.' Naraku texted on his phone before placing his phone in the cup holder next to his arm and turning on his car, backing out of the parking space. He drove out of the lot and turned onto the main road leading out of the apartment complex, which sat back from many busy roads to help drown out the noise and making living quieter and, of course, more expensive. Naraku didn't mind the price when he first moved there. He worked a full-time job and he was the lab assistant before Jade or any of the previous morons, so money was not an issue then. However, once he became a graduate student, he had to give up that full-time job. Naraku received funding for small projects he performed under Bruce's name, but the funding Naraku really needed was the funding for his thesis samples, which were currently wherever the Hell his professor wanted them to be and unfortunately, the fund money went where the samples were, so neither were in Naraku's possession.
"Hm," Naraku looked down when his phone buzzed. He saw the, 'Alright. Good to go' response on his screen and smiled his first real smile of the day, a breath of relief leaving his chest. Pay day was always the best day.
He found a parking space in the lot where he usually met this particular client and parked, stepping out of his car and closing the door. Naraku began walking towards the entrance of the grocery store, both hands in his pockets now. He saw someone mirroring him in his peripheral view and continued into the store. The two men walked straight back until the found an isle that was empty and had no camera views in. Naraku scoped those out long ago. He quickly turned to the man and shook his hand, leaving the small box in his client's hand. Next, they high-fived with their left hands, Naraku gripping the wad of cash and lowering his hand into his pocket.
"I was afraid you couldn't make it," the man said with a smirk, his tone drenched in sarcasm. He flipped his long, black braid behind him and sighed heavily he pulled his hand from his pocket and crossed his arms.
"I'm always up for grocery shopping." Naraku replied, his sarcasm much less obvious. He slid his glove off in his pocket, feeling the relief of another successful deal kick in.
"Me too. I love cookies. I'm going to go grab some. I'll definitely need them after this." The other man said, winking while patting the pocket housing the box Naraku gave him and walking away briskly. Naraku watched him leave the isle before turning and walking back to the entrance to grab a basket. He figured since he was already at the store that he should take advantage of it.
000000
Sango relaxed on her back on the tan couch, one arm propped behind her head, the other hand slowly flipping her phone around and around in her hand. Kagome had left to grab a few groceries at the store and Jade was due to be home within the next few minutes. She noticed her leg was shaking in a steady rhythm and mentally willed it to stop, but it started going again once she looked up at her cat, who was curled up on the back of the couch.
"Kirara, I forgot to bring your toys, didn't I?" she said to the cat, stroking its fur. The feline almost blended in with the couch, maybe a shade or two lighter. She didn't open her eyes, but she purred happily in response. Sango huffed.
'Well, if Jade isn't too busy being weird, we'll have plenty of time to walk around the mall. Maybe I can find a few toys in the pet store.' Sango told herself, checking her phone even though she knew no one had messaged her. She would have heard the exciting flute ringtone if she did receive a message. Sango stretched her arms and legs, yawning tiredly. Once she realized she was getting sleepy, she sat up immediately to wake herself.
"I guess I'll get ready." She said with a smile, standing up and walking down the hallway to the first room on the right. Although Jade was weird, she was entertaining, so Sango wasn't worried about being bored. She and Jade met in Chemistry class and they were lab partners in the lab portion. Jade's humor was a rollercoaster. Sango had only been to the mall to hang out with Jade once before and Jade's most active part was the arcade. The two young women played Dance Dance Revolution until they were drenched in sweat, trying their hardest to out-step the other with each round. Sango remembered how people, guys and girls, cheered Jade, howling like wild animals. When Jade insisted that she was losing and that they should cheer Sango, they immediately howled and cheered for Sango the rest of the matches. It was strange, but it was also fun.
"Sango?" a sweet voice called out. It was Kagome, home from her quick grocery trip.
"Just brushing my hair and changing clothes." Sango called back, placing her brush down after working out the few tangles she had.
"Right! I should change, too! Do you think Jade is okay with eating out?" Kagome asked, sprinting to her room, which was next to Sango's.
"Yeah, just don't ask it like that to her. She'll probably make a lesbian joke." Sango retorted dryly. She heard Kagome snort from the bathroom that was connected their rooms.
"Anyway, I figured we could eat at the mall. That way, we can hang out there for a bit before the movie starts and we can walk to the theater." Kagome explained, quickly running a brush through her soft black hair.
"No arguments from me." Sango assured her friend.
"Do you think Jade will agree?"
"Oh yeah."
"I just don't want to offend her. I feel like she's a bit apprehensive with me sometimes."
"That's Jade. She's like a cat." Sango said, leaning in the bathroom doorway and making a clawing motion at Kagome.
"Yeah, yeah," Kagome replied while smiling.
Once they finished dressing, they met in the living room to evaluate each other's outfits and to play with Kirara, who had awoken from her nap and was ready for some attention. Kagome used the removable strap from her purse as a toy, snaking it around on the floor teasingly. Kirara quickly pounced and pounded the end of it with her paws, rolling over it, and jumping when Kagome wiggled it again.
"She might tear it up." Sango told Kagome.
"It's alright. It's old." Kagome insisted, now dangling the strap in the air, pulling it up when Kirara jumped for it. The two women looked at the door when it opened, Jade walking in and waving to them.
"Ayyyyy," Jade said as she closed the door behind her with her foot.
"I chose the action movie!" Sango chirped, smiling with her mouth open. Jade perked up immediately.
"Oh, right. That's today. Okay. Give me a minute," Jade yawned as she walked down the hallway.
"You forgot?" Sango asked accusingly.
"Yeaaaaah. But I don't have anything planned until nine." Jade replied before closing her bedroom door. Sango shrugged and snickered, looking at Kagome, who was still playing with Kirara. Sango motioned for Kagome to hand her the strap and she did. Sango began twirling the strap in the air, Kirara standing and twirling once before swatting the strap lightly.
"We should get her some toys." Kagome said.
"I was thinking about that right before you came home. I figured I'd grab a few cheap ones at the mall." Sango replied, laughing when Kirara turned belly-up and mewed. It was a cute gesture. She reached forward and stroked her cat's belly a few times, glancing at Jade, who was approaching while dressed and ready to go. Kagome and Sango stood up, Sango handing the purse strap back to Kagome.
"Whoa." Jade said, pointing at her two roommates with both hands.
"What?" Kagome and Sango replied simultaneously.
"I feel so underdressed compared to you two." Jade pointed out with a laugh. Kagome was in a simple white skirt with a yellow shirt and white jacket to match and yellow heels. Sango was wearing fitted jeans with a plaid shirt with coral, white, and pink and coral flip flops. Kagome and Sango snickered in silent agreement. Jade was wearing loose jeans that had a few rips around the knees and were completely frayed at the bottom, meeting her faded green Chucks. Her shirt was a tie-dye mix of faded green and purple and gray. On the front, a printed imagine of several wolves and the words, "The Pack," written in white font.
"We can wait if you want to change." Kagome insisted, absentmindedly petting her white skirt with her hand.
"Nah, I don't mind helping play you both up a few more notches. Not that you need it." Jade spoke coolly, while waving her hand at them. Sango and Kagome looked at one another while laughing.
"Wow. You're a better smooth talker than most guys I've met," Kagome admitted while smiling widely.
"She could give Miroku a serious run for his money." Sango added with a few slow nods.
"I'm the ultimate ladies' man." Jade replied in a deep voice, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Alright, Ladies' Man. Calm down. So, I guess we're ready?" Sango asked. Her two roommates nodded and shrugged, murmuring agreements under their breaths.
"Are you driving, Sango? Or am I?" Kagome asked quickly, digging through her small purse for her keys.
"Actually, I'm electing Jade to be the driver." Sango insisted, jerking her thumb in Jade's direction.
"Yeeeeeeeuh." Jade answered, her hands stuffed in her pockets as her right hand played with her keys.
"Oh, is that alright? You just finished driving for work, didn't you?" Kagome inquired worriedly. Jade shrugged.
"Not a big deal. We weren't too busy today." Jade chirped, looking as mellow as can be.
"Trust me, Kagome. You want Jade to drive. It's a party when she's in charge." Sango stated with a grin.
"Party hardy, bitchesssssssss!" Jade sang with a lisp as she strutted to the door, waving her hips and twirling her keys around her finger helicopter-style. Kagome glanced at Sango with wide eyes and a nervous smile. Sango could only grin devilishly and nod in return.
"Haha, alright, alright." Kagome giggled, hooking her arm with Sango's as they followed Jade out of the apartment, down the stairs and towards her dark green car. Sango sat in the passenger seat and Kagome sat in the back.
"Did your pizzas have the circumference of a giant? Jeez, this seat is back far." Sango stated, reaching under the seat for the lever so she could scoot up and give Kagome more leg room. Jade slipped her sunglasses on and looked over at Sango.
"Oh, no, I had someone in my passenger seat the other day. Tall." Jade explained.
"You mean the guy who drew on your face?" Kagome asked curiously as she leaned forward.
"That's the bitch." Jade replied evenly.
"Someone drew on your face? Who?" Sango quickly turned serious as she stared at Jade expectantly.
"It was nothing. He's the grad student and he felt the need to exert his dominance. So I let him. No big deal." Jade clarified calmly, her hand gracefully moving through the air to match her syllables.
"Do I need to exert my dominance over him?" Sango asked slyly as she placed her fist in the palm of her other hand, cracking her knuckles. Jade giggled as a scene of Sango beating Naraku into a crippled mess played throughout her head.
"If he's bullying you, we can do something about it." Kagome added softly.
"He's not bullying me. He thinks he is, but he's not. I'm….I can handle it. I promise." Jade insisted as she turned her car on. She plugged her MP3 player in, having restored it to its state before Naraku decided to test her patience.
"I need to get you back to the gym so I can teach you some moves," Sango said, throwing out a few light punches and finishing with a stabbing motion of her elbow.
"Okay. Here you go," Jade chirped, handing Sango her MP3 so she could quietly change subjects. It was her evening off. Jade didn't want to think about Naraku. Not after what he did to her the previous day.
"Why is your music so damn organized?" Sango whined jealously. Kagome leaned forward and immediately saw what Sango meant. Every folder had more folders inside, labeled specifically. Playlist for running. Playlist for driving angry. Playlist for a calm drive. Playlist for getting hype.
"Wow." Kagome murmured.
"What do you want to listen to, Kagome?" Sango asked.
"Mmm, I don't care. Something energetic, I guess?" Kagome answered.
"Getting Hype will provide plenty of that." Jade said, backing out of her parking space. Kagome leaned back and put her seatbelt on, but still leaning forward to see the playlists.
"So will Crunk Rap." Sango retorted, scrolling to find that particular playlist. It wasn't that she liked rap music; it was that Jade channeled all music through her body and became an entertainment source for driving. Sango tapped a song and placed the MP3 in her lap, reaching forward to turn up the volume. Kagome sat back and watched as the laid back beat rolled in, Jade immediately bobbing her head to it. She rolled down all the windows and mouthed the words of the song. Sango let the song play for a few more seconds before immediately switching the song. Jade's movements fluidly moved to the new beat as she energetically acted out the lyrics.
"Oh wow, is this really her?" Kagome asked, poking the usually-quiet roommate's arm to make sure she was real.
"To the windoooooooooooooow! The wall!" Jade yelled loudly, point from one direction to the other while her other hand remained on the steering wheel. Sango had joined in the dance with her, laughing as Jade started shaking her head from side to side after stopping at a stop light. Her favorite thing to do was to freak out the people in the vehicle beside hers. Sango leaned forward and saw the family in the next car over shake their heads and point back at them.
Three songs and several dance sequences from Jade later, the three roommates arrived at the mall. Jade parked her car in the first space she could find. They all stepped out of the car and headed towards the mall, Sango and Kagome chatting lightly with each other and Jade standing a few feet back, her hands shoved into her pockets. Jade quickly pulled her hair into a ponytail, placing her hands back into her pockets. Kagome turned back to her and held her hand out to Jade.
"Come on! Walk with us!" Kagome insisted. Jade slinked forward and Kagome hooked her arm with Jade's.
"Alright, so where are we eating?" Sango asked aloud.
"I don't know." Kagome answered.
"Someplace that has food." Jade said.
"Thanks, Jade. Very helpful." Sango replied sarcastically.
"I do what I can." Jade chirped.
"I'd suggest pizza, but Jade probably," Kagome trailed off with a giggle.
"I'll fucking kill myself." Jade added in dryly.
"Alright, then. Deli sandwiches, burgers, steak," Sango listed off, raising her voice over Kagome's hysterical giggling at Jade's reaction to pizza.
"You choose something, Sango. We're indifferent. Except to pizza." Jade stated, her tone taking a false bitterness at the word, "pizza."
"I could go for a steak or grilled chicken." Sango said as she unhooked her arm from Kagome's grasp. She opened one of the glass doors that led into the mall, motioning for her two friends to walk in first.
"I can do that." Kagome agreed. Jade nodded and quietly followed her two roommates to the restaurant set up inside the mall. They were seated at a table within seconds of walking into the restaurant. Jade already knew what she wanted, so she unlocked her phone and signed onto her Facebook account. She made a status and then quickly placed her phone down when Sango and Kagome began speaking.
"I'm going to regret what I'm about to order," Sango announced while shaking her head.
"You don't eat like this often."
"That's true."
"Well," Jade began, planning to say something clever, but she stopped when her phone began vibrating wildly. She thought she was receiving a call, but then she remembered that she was still logged into Facebook and now the notifications were blowing up her phone.
"Jeez, did you forget to deliver a bunch of pizzas?" Sango asked with a bewildered look on her face.
"Those are Facebook notifications. Did you post something political?" Kagome asked immediately after Sango.
"Oh, no. I posted about my stream later tonight." Jade explained, her phone still buzzing violently in her hand. Kagome and Sango looked at one another, sharing the same shocked expression. They slowly looked back at Jade.
"You mean people watch those?" Kagome questioned incredulously. She had watched her brother play video games, but she was always bored after a few minutes. Even Inuyasha and Miroku's frantic and mouthy playstyles got exhausting after watching them for five minutes.
"Yeah! Sometimes, people pay." Jade announced. Again, Kagome and Sango exchanged looks, this time their mouths had dropped open.
"You get paid to play video games while people watch? How?" Kagome insisted, almost ready to pick up a controller.
"Do they have to pay to watch?" Sango added.
"No, no. It's free to watch. You don't have to pay. We just take donations." Jade explained.
"But people pay, right?" Sango pushed, lowering her voice as if they were talking about something illegal.
"Oh yeah. How do you think I keep our internet so pristine?" Jade replied with a smug grin.
"Oh wow." Kagome said, her voice muffled through her hands as Sango threw hers up.
"Only you, Jade. Only you." Sango exhaled. Jade slowly looked at Kagome and then at Sango.
"What? At least I'm not dealing drugs." Jade argued. Kagome and Sango began laughing at her, shaking their heads.
"I used to think you were," Sango admitted while pointing at her friend.
"Really?" Kagome and Jade asked simultaneously.
"You just seemed like that type to me. I'm sorry." Sango insisted, wincing as she finished her sentence.
"Oh. I did it once. Got pulled over. Figured it wasn't for me." Jade told them calmly, taking a sip from her water. Again, Kagome and Sango snorted and laughed, but Jade knew they weren't being spiteful about it.
When they finished eating, Sango ran down to the pet store to grab toys for Kirara. Jade followed Kagome into a clothing store. Jade stood to the side, watching as Kagome brushed through the clearance rack, searching for a new shirt. Kagome pulled a shirt out and gave it a more thorough examination.
"What do you think, Jade?" Kagome asked, turning the shirt around to show.
"Nope." Jade said quickly. Kagome's mouth dropped open.
"Really?" she asked as she felt the blood rush to her cheeks.
"Nah, I'm just kidding. Um, it looks like a shirt." Jade tried again, shrugging slowly.
"Oh, you don't do this kind of thing?"
"Not really. I just wear stuff."
"I can see that. Well, I'm buying it."
"Go for it." Jade encouraged her indifferently. Kagome purchased the shirt and walked with Jade back out into the main corridor. Kagome spotted Sango heading towards them with her own purchase, so she stood off to the side, but Jade broke out into a sprint and Kagome saw a man running towards her, too.
"AAAAHOOOOOOOO!" the man howled, meeting Jade with an excited chest-bump. When they both landed, they high-fived each other and the man began jumping in place.
"You going to Nats?" he asked excitedly. Kagome thought he was going to faint.
"Maybe. We'll see how good I am tonight."
"Sweet, sweet! See you then!" the man stated before running off, meeting back up with his friends who seemed equally excited about something.
"Who was that?" Sango asked Jade, who shrugged.
"No idea. Probably one of my viewers." Jade replied nonchalantly. Sango gave one slow nod, her twisted expression saying everything she couldn't. Jade waved her hands and laughed.
"Let's go work off that steak," Jade suggested slyly, pointing in the direction of the arcade. Sango immediately knew what that meant and smirked.
"Why? So I can stomp you at DDR again?" Sango asked haughtily as she crossed her arms.
"Yesssss!" Jade began bouncing in place.
"Alright, I guess we have time for a round. You want to play, Kagome?"
"No, I'll just watch." Kagome insisted, taking Sango's bag of cat toys and watching as the two women sprinted off in the direction of the arcade. Kagome followed them at a more leisurely place. She figured they would start by the time she reached them. As she predicted, they both were standing on the dance pads right when she walked in. A small crowd had already gathered around them.
"Don't cry when I beat you," Sango told Jade, lightly jumping from one foot the other.
"Okay, I won't." Jade replied. The music kicked in and both women began stomping away on the dance pad. Kagome noticed they both chose the hardest possible difficulty, but they both seemed to be competent with the speed and patterns. Sango's stance was serious; she was in it to win it. Jade's was a little more fluid and carefree. Kagome checked her watch to make sure they weren't going to be late and then smiled when she heard the crowd cheering for her friends.
"Aaaahoooooo! Weed wolf!" a few people howled simultaneously. Kagome looked over at them with a frown. They were standing on Jade's side. Kagome looked at Jade's back and noticed there was more font on the back of her shirt. She squinted a bit, but she was able to make out the letters despite Jade's hasty movements. It spelled out, "WeedWolf."
'Oh, that's why they're howling at her.' Kagome thought to herself, the realization hitting her like a train. The Pack must have been Koga's gaming community and "WeedWolf" must have been Jade's nickname. But, then Kagome's face twisted with a mixture between a frown and a smile. Jade said she tried drug dealing once and then insisted it wasn't for her.
The song ended and Sango had won the match, but not by much. Jade pointed at Sango and insisted her fans howl for her instead, so they did and Sango bowed victoriously. They both stepped off the platforms and walked over to Kagome, who was clapping for them while laughing.
"You're both crazy." Kagome insisted, handing the bag of cat toys to Sango.
"I feel better about that steak now." Sango insisted.
"So, WeedWolf, huh?" Kagome asked Jade slyly.
"What? It's just my nickname." Jade explained with a smile.
"Is it?" Kagome pressed further, now crossing her arms. Sango gulped. She had her own suspicions about Jade, but she knew Kagome was far more rigid about drugs than she was.
"Nah, I smoke. But, not at our apartment out of respect for both of you." Jade stated, crossing her own arms. Kagome shook her head, but she finally exhaled and her expression lightened.
"As long as you keep it away from me,"
"Yoooooou didn't even know until I wore this shirt. That's how low I keep it." Jade pointed out, turning and walking away. Sango and Kagome followed quickly.
"So, why did you wear the shirt?" Kagome asked, raising her voice over the crowd walking through the mall. Immediately, someone across the mall corridor howled, screaming, "WeedWolf," as if it were their last chance on Earth to speak. Jade pointed and waved in their general direction.
"Advertising." Jade answered simply.
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Jade sat down at her desk, two monitors and a laptop glowing with activity in front of her. She had two keyboards with glowing keys and a webcam sitting on one of the monitors. She had music playing for her waiting fans and a countdown on her stream channel to help build up the anticipation. She hadn't streamed for a while and she was almost as popular as Koga, so her chatroom was exploding and moving so fast that she couldn't keep up with reading it. She figured she would slow it down once her chatroom moderators were ready.
"Alright, the Internet bill is paid off now," Jade snickered to herself when she checked her donation box online. Her most faithful viewers had already thrown some money her way and she hadn't even picked up her controller. But, Jade knew better than to get too greedy. Most of what she earned when streaming under her community's name went to the community as a whole to be given to anyone who may need new equipment. If no new equipment was needed, then the money was usually given to a charity. She was the community's accountant. The money was under her control and the only other person who had access to the account was Koga.
"Almost there," Jade murmured, tapping her fingers to the beat of the song playing, which was synched up as her countdown song. When it ended, her night began. Jade had finished her sound checks, her visual checks, and made sure her camera was synched with her stream perfectly. Just a few more seconds now. Jade pulled her headset on her head and loaded up the game. The countdown hit zero and the song played its last note. When she switched monitors, her fans could now see her face up in the corner of the screen.
"Ayyyyyy! This is your friendly WeedWolf streaming live for The Pack! Let's see if I'm KI competition material tonight, shall we?" Jade stated with a grin, wiggling her eyebrows seductively. She leaned forward and saw the chatroom explode with, "AAAHHHOOOOOO" and "WeedWolf!" Jade nodded. She had a few thousand viewers at the moment and it usually climbed after she started playing. She grabbed her arcade stick and placed it in her lap, choosing the option to "fight" online against other players.
"Of course I'm taking my werewolf." Jade answered, spotting someone asking in the chatroom if she was going to main "the wolf" in competitions. Jade chose said werewolf character and chose her favorite costume of his; the mad scientist. When she did, the chatroom exploded with more howls and calls of "WeedWolf." Jade started laughing, waiting for her opponent to choose their character and choose the stage.
"First blood!" Jade shouted as the match started, her werewolf diving forward and catching her opponent's skeleton fighter with a right-handed slash, leading into a short combo and building her meter for more powerful attacks and combos. The skeleton swung its sword and Jade blocked it and the rest of its combo before commanding her werewolf to bite the skeleton and begin another combo.
"You're nothing but bones! I'm a wolf-dog!" Jade stated in a goofy, ferocious voice as the werewolf dived between the skeletons legs, rising up behind it and continuing the hard-to-break combo. She then used her stored meter to begin a combo and take the rest of the skeleton's life-bar, ending the first round. She looked at her chatroom and smirked. It was exploding once more with howls. So, she hit the taunt button to make her werewolf howl in response to them and amp them up more. The more amped they were, the more likely they were to donate.
'Much better,' Jade thought when a notification appeared on her screen to let her know someone donated money.
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'One, two, three, four, five,' Naraku counted off in his head as he laid the bills down individually on his table. He made several more deals and sold some bits and pieces of gold and silver from the jewelry he had no use for. He already paid off his rent earlier thanks to money he already saved up, but now he was making sure the rest of his bills were covered.
"Five and eighty-three. That will do nicely." Naraku said to himself with a smile, taking a sip of tea from his cup. He organized the bills in ascending order before folding them up and placing them in a box. He put a lid on the box and carried it to his bedroom, placing it in the top drawer of his dresser and closed the drawer. Naraku walked back into his living room and sat back down at his table, finishing off his cup of tea and looking out the sliding-glass doors which led to his patio. He twisted the little tea cup in his fingers, his mind gone blank for a moment once he realized he had nothing more to do. Bills were settled, rent was paid, deals were made, and he no weed leftover for himself….what was he supposed to do now? This was his last free evening for a few days. This was going to be his last chance to sleep for a few days, too.
"Hm," Naraku looked to his right when he heard the sound of metallic bars being bitten. He saw his furry hostage chewing on the bars of its cage, but not out of hunger.
"I just fed you." Naraku said to the rodent, placing his cup down on the table and standing up. The guinea pig squeaked in response to his movements. Naraku rolled his eyes, but he walked over to the cage and reached down, scooping up the gray fur-ball with a single hand and pulling it to his chest. The guinea pig purred with satisfaction and snuggled his chest, making no other noises for the moment. Naraku sat down on his couch, letting out a long sigh. He hadn't meant to keep the rodent this long. He took it from the lab months ago. Bruce bought the critter to "liven" up the lab and maybe encourage students to work longer knowing that another living, breathing thing was right there with them. Naraku, not wanting any joy to be had in the lab, took the guinea pig home and then told Bruce that he gave it to the Biology department to feed to their snakes. Bruce got mad. Naraku laughed. Same old situation.
"Ow." Naraku hissed when the guinea pig nipped his hand. When he looked down at the gray critter, it gave a few annoyed squeals before leaping up to his shoulder and settling down. Naraku gave it a single pat on its head before grabbing his remote and turning on his TV. The guinea pig preferred sitting on his shoulder more than any other part of his body. This didn't bother Naraku because it was out of sight and quiet when this happened.
"I suppose I'll return you this week." Naraku said aloud, knowing the guinea pig couldn't understand him. He also knew he was lying. He said he would return it every week since he kidnapped it, or pignapped it, and he never followed through with returning it. Naraku frowned when he actually gave that some thought. Why did he keep the pig? He hated animals. Bruce had already moved on from it, so it wasn't that he was receiving any reactions from Bruce about it. All the creature did was squeak when it demanded food or attention and then it would shit. That was it. It didn't even have a name, as far as Naraku knew. Bruce commanded the lab to think of a name, but the next day, the pig had been "eaten by a snake."
"I'll return you this week." Naraku said again with an exhale, flipping through the channels mindlessly. The guinea pig was already asleep, as if it already knew it was a lie.
