I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!
Speech Key:
"The" – Oral/Normal Speech
'The' – Thoughts
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!
AN: This'll probably sound a bit choppy, but I'm sick and I'm a little out of it…So please forgive me if there are any errors of any sort! Oh and my updates for this story as well as my other Digimon story could be a bit infrequent or just really unpredictable since school starts up again next week and my hands'll be tied and I'll only end up updating when I can. Plus, I have way more on my plate now and I'm beyond swamped with work and stress...
Let's see, there's been a few questions through my PM system asking if I'd put up drawings or sketches of Mimi and Kagome's album covers as well as their logo. To be frank, I plan on doing that, but I don't know when I'd be able to get them up since I'm going to be real busy in the coming week as school's starting up again. So while I have a lot of the sketches done, I don't know when I'll be able to get them up onto my DeviantArt (once again, whose link is on my profile page). But, on the bright side, I do have the sketch of my version of Sorcermon up, so please go to my DeviantArt page to check it out or if you feel too lazy to do that, then just copy and paste the following link and take the spaces out to take you directly to the image:
tsukiyotenshi . deviantart art/Sorcermon-429414826
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!
-The Ninth Child-
xX-The Cure of Light and Compassion-Xx
The DigiDestined both new and old cheered as they all continued knocking out Control Spire after Control Spire. The large group was separated off with some put into groups while others went at the Spire alone.
"Well, that should do it for today," Kagome commented to Sorcermon, "Don't you think?"
The Mage Digimon nodded. "We've covered quite a bit of ground today. For now we should get back to your world and regroup with the others to see if there's anything else that needs to be done."
Kagome nodded and allowed her Digimon to lift her into his arms as he flew them over to a small lone monitor just sitting at the roots of a tree.
An image of Kari falling from Nefertimon flew threw her mind before an image of a controlled Andromon took its place.
'Whenever I see things like this, it always means something bad's going to happen…' Kagome groaned.
-Hamasaki Academy; Computer Lab-
"Well done, everyone," Izzy said, looking up from the screen where the map of the Digital World was displayed with areas in black and white declaring which area was free of a Control Spire and which was not. "Greymon's destroyed another Control Spire and I think we have just enough time to destroy one more before we go home."
"Why don't we let Greymon handle that one, too?" Matt suggested, leaning up against one of the tables.
"I don't think he can," Tai shook his head. "The one Izzy's talking about is too far from where Greymon is right now."
"Then we'll go instead," Davis spoke up while the rest of the new DigiDestined nodded in agreement.
"But—" Tai protested, trying to stop his sister.
"Don't 'but' me, Tai Kamiya," Kagome said firmly. "I didn't have another violet vision like before, so it'll be fine, and I've already rested up since that time so don't worry so much."
"Besides," T.K spoke up, trying to ease the older teen's worries, not seeing the worried look his own brother was throwing the raven-haired girl, "we'll stick together and if things get too difficult, we'll just come back and tackle that Spire tomorrow."
Tai looked torn. On one hand, having his sister go in a group was reassuring, but on the other, having her go when she'd recently recovered the backlash she'd received from those visions of Gabumon and Gomamon wasn't something to take lightly.
"Okay, you can go," the brown-haired teen sighed finally. "But you need to promise, all of you, that if things get too tough, you'll come straight back here, no ifs, ands, or buts about it, okay?"
Kagome nodded while the rest gave sounds of agreement.
"So let's get going!" Davis exclaimed as he held out his Digivice before the computer screen, the older teens watching as the group disappeared into the Digital World once more.
-Digital World; Desert-
"So where's the Spire?" Davis asked when the group has successfully phased into the Digital World, the In-Training Digimon back to their Rookie forms.
The group, it seemed, had phased into the alleyway of an entirely metal city within a dome in the middle of the desert. Gleaming buildings and skyscrapers towered all around as pulses of electricity ran through them at different intervals, indicating that this particular place was certainly high-tech and technology based.
"I'd say somewhere over there," Kagome answered dryly, pointing to the tall, dark, and pointy shape in the distance, seemingly towards the centre of the city.
The maroon-haired boy flushed as the rest of the group chuckled. "Let's just go and get this over with already!" he stomped off out of the alley and in the direction of the Control Spire before anyone could stop him.
"Hey, wait!" T.K shouted, going after his classmate. "Don't just go off like that, we don't know they're any—"
"Guards?" Davis said nervously, pointing to the copper robot-Digimon marching their way.
"Intruder! Intruder!" the robot Digimon chorused together, arms out before them and eyes red.
"Those are Guardromon," Gatomon said with narrowed eyes, "trying to get past one isn't hard, but try it with an army and you'll be looking straight into their Grenade Destroyer attacks!"
"I don't think this is the time to be standing around and gawking!" Kagome reminded loudly.
"Digi-Armour Energize!" the group said in unison.
"Veemon Armour Digivolve to: Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"
"Hawkmon Armour Digivolve to: Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"
"Armadillomon Armour Digivolve to: Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!'
"Gatomon Armour Digivolve to: Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"
"Patamon Armour Digivolve to: Pegasusmon, the Soaring Hope!"
"Kudamon Armour Digivolve to: Sorcermon, the Mage of Compassion!"
"Gold Rush!" Digmon launched the drills on his hands and face at the Guardromon, hitting them square in the chests where the Dark Rings lay coiled just behind a small valve, destroying them and causing the Guardromon to still.
"Star Shower!" Pegasusmon flew high into the air, his wings giving a mighty flap as they released clusters of stars at the Guardromon.
"Flame Fist!" Flamedramon pulled back his arm before pushing forward, launching three to four small fireball from his fist, hitting the Guardromon's Dark Rings, causing them to go still.
The rest of the Digimon fought their best as well, but combined with the other three Armour Digimon, Nefertimon's Queen's Paw, Halsemon's Eagle Eye, and Sorcermon's Crystal Barrage could only do so much.
"They just keep coming!" Davis exclaimed, watching as the more Guardromon went offline, even more would take their place. "There must be hundreds of them!"
'This isn't a part of my vision,' Kagome watched her surroundings with narrowed eyes. 'But it doesn't mean that whatever I saw won't happen; just that it's not going to happen yet.'
"We need to pull back and go home!" Kagome shouted.
"What?!" Davis turned to the oldest of the group. "Are you crazy?! I've never been a quitter!"
"Davis we all promised Tai that if things got too tough, we'd go straight home!" T.K retorted.
"But—" the maroon-haired boy tried protesting.
"Stop being so stubborn!" Kagome yelled. "There's just too many of them to keep up with! We need to get out while we have the chance before this situation gets any worse!"
"Let's go!" Kari nodded.
"Oh, all right," Davis groaned when he saw the girl of his dreams agreeing.
Each of the Armour Digimon began glowing as a coloured beam of light zapped back into each of the Digivices, the Digimon returning back to their Rookie forms.
"Now let's head for that portal!" Yolei ran ahead with Hawkmon, the rest following behind her into the alleyway they'd landed in when they first came.
"Digi-Port: Open!" the lavender-haired girl shouted, holding her Digivice before her at the small television monitor. The familiar pale-bluish light erupted from the screen as Yolei and Hawkmon were sucked in.
The same things happened to Cody and Armadillomon, Davis and Veemon, and T.K and Patamon when the children held their Digivices out before them. Unfortunately, neither Kagome nor Kari had their chance to go back home because a Guardromon appeared over the ridge.
"Grenade Destroyer!" the copper-robot Digimon shot two missiles at the girls, only to miss and hit the small monitor that was their gateway home.
"Look out!" Kagome shouted, holding her sister close to her as she tackled the younger girl out of the way of the blast. The raven-haired girl led them to a smaller wall that jutted out in the alleyway, giving just enough cover to prevent from being seen.
"Great so now we can't leave," Gatomon plopped down onto the ground.
"Kari, send the others a message," Kagome ordered. 'Our portal here won't be taking us home, but maybe if we get out of the city, we can find another one…But how can we get past all those Guardromon?'
"Way ahead of you," Kari replied, typing away on her D-Terminal. "Hmm, there's no spellcheck on here…I hope they don't mind."
"You know if things get too rough for you two," the feline Digimon suggested, "just say the word and we'll just Armour Digivolve."
"That's nice of you to offer," Kagome smiled despite the situation, "But I think we should save that for when we really need it. And if we want to get out of here in one piece, we will."
The~Ninth~Child
"Okay, I think now's a good time for you to Armour Digivolve!" Kari panted as she and Kagome leaned up against a building to rest, despite the flock of Guardromon heading for them.
"Intruder! Intruder!" The copper-robots chanted.
"Digi-Armour Energize!" the siblings chorused.
"Gatomon Armour Digivolve to: Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"
"Kudamon Armour Digivolve to: Sorcermon, the Mage of Compassion!"
Nefertimon quickly knelt to let Kari onto her back while Sorcermon picked Kagome up, but rather than carrying her bridal style as he usually would, this time he positioned her in the crook of his left arm against his chest, telling her to hook her arms around his neck to stay stable.
"Grenade Destroyer!" a few Guardromon positioned atop a few of the buildings shot missiles at the girls and the Digimon.
"Queen's Paw!"
"Crystal Barrage!"
Nefertimon's rubies made contact with the missiles, destroying them while Sorcermon's crystal shards did the same.
"There aren't any more TVs in this area, Kari!" Nefertimon told her partner.
"Then we'll just need to find another one in another area!" Kari answered.
"How?" Sorcermon asked as they flew, trying to avoid the Guardromon's attacks. "We don't even know which way to go!"
"Away from here should be all the directions we need!" Kagome yelped as Sorcermon took an unexpected dive to dodge a barrage of missiles that was headed for them.
"Hey!" Kari said suddenly. "Nice of you to drop in!"
Kagome looked into the direction her sister was shouting and saw T.K riding in on Pegasusmon while Flamedramon came leaping in with Davis tucked close to him.
"Grenade Destroyer!" a cluster of Guardromon launched their missiles at Kari and Nefertimon.
The sphinx-like Digimon dodged the projectiles as best as she could, but wasn't able to turn into time before avoiding an inevitable crash, causing her to revert back to Gatomon.
"Equus Beam!"
"Flame Fist!"
"Crystal Barrage!"
The three Armour Digimon let their humans down onto solid ground before launching their attacks at the approaching Guardromon, destroying the Dark Rings and causing the copper-robots to grow still.
"You're my heroes!" Kari exclaimed at the two boys.
"I think it's safe to say that you saved the both of us," Kagome added.
"Well it was more me than T.P other there," Davis bragged.
"Yeah rig—Wha?" T.K looked at an approaching Guardromon they hadn't seen coming. "Let's go, Pegasusmon!"
"Wild Mane!" Pegasusmon shot needle-like hairs from his mane towards the Guardromon, destroying the Dark Rings around the small valve on its chest.
"Let's go while we have the chance, Kari!" Davis said, directing Kari int eh direction he intended to go.
"I don't think that's possible," Kagome said worriedly.
"Why?" Davis asked before looking at what Kagome was staring at to see a tall android Digimon. "Why can't these guys ever be small?"
"It's Andromon!" Kari shouted happily.
"I am Andromon, I have one mission: To seek and destroy my enemies with my Lightning Blade," Andromon recited. "I am programmed to destroy the enemy; you are the enemy."
"He's not the Andromon you know, Kari," Kagome said, feeling a malicious aura cloaking the good of Andromon's. She blinked once and saw a dark misty-coil around his body, trapping the light aura of Andromon with the dark mist originating from and being strongest at the neck, where a Dark Ring was situated. "A Dark Ring is binding him," she added when her sister was about to speak up.
"Man you girls are making friends with all the wrong people!" Davis complained. "Flamedramon, it looks like you'll have to use all your power!"
"You got it!" Flamedramon nodded. "Fire Rocket!" he launched himself into the air and cloaked himself in flames before charging down at Anrdromon.
"Lightning Blade!" Andromon countered Flamedramon's attack, causing the Armour Digimon to fall out of the air back in his Rookie form.
"Veemon!" Davis shouted, going over to his partner. "Are you okay?"
"Star Shower!" Pegasusmon launched a barrage of stars at Andromon, only for them to be blocked and countered the saem way he'd done before.
"Lightning Blade!" with one hit, Pegasusmon fell back into T.K's arms as Patamon.
"Andromon!" Kari pleaded. "Please, you know us! Why are you doing this! Don't you remember us? How we all fought side by side?"
"Kari, we don't even know if it's the same Andromon!" T.K protested. "We need to get out of here as fast as we can!"
"It's him," Kagome said quietly. "It's him, but his own aura is being suppressed by the Dark Ring."
"Even so," T.K shook his head, "he can't hear us!"
"And how do you know that?" Kari asked. "We won't know if we don't try!"
"As much as I like all this arguing," Davis broke in, "He's heading right for us!"
They watched as Andromon stalked forward before halting suddenly.
"Ice Illusion!" Sorcermon created a couple thick bands of ice around Andromon, causing the android Digimon to fall over from the added weight.
"Hey, here comes the cavalry!" Veemon exclaimed.
"I'm glad we're not too late," Halsemon said as he flew in with Yolei on his back.
"Hi guys, what's up?" Digmon said as he burrowed up from below the concrete/ "I thought since I was here, I'd build this place a subway system!"
"Hold still you pile of scrap metal," Digmon said when Andromon broke free of the iced bonds and stood up, ready to attack once more, "Gold Rush!" He lauched his drill heads at Andromon, only for them to bounce off the android's ChromeDigizoid body without a scratch left behind.
Digmon blanched. "Uh, that comment about scrap metal? Yeah that was just a joke!"
"Is everyone okay?" Tai asked as he ran onto the scene with Cody at his heels.
"Tai, it's Andromon!" Kari said pleadingly.
"What?" the brown-haired teen looked at the Digimon and his eyes widened. "Andromon, slow down, buddy. Don't know who we are? Who I am? It's me, Tai!"
Andromon looked hard at the teen for a moment before he began speaking. "Oh…Tai," he said in a considerably warmer voice.
Unfortunately, it was then that the Dark Ring must have sensed Andromon breaking from its control because it began crackling with electricity, causing the android Digimon the shout in pain. As though he were out of control, the Digimon ran forward towards Kari and Kagome, who stood close to her sister to try and protect her.
"Look out!" Tai shouted.
Lucky for them, as Andromon was reaching out for them, his body froze, only inches from their faces.
"Andromon, you know us," Kagome said soothingly.
"Can't you remember?" Kari begged.
"I…am…trying!" Andromon managed to get out, thought it sounded strained.
"We took a picture together," Kari said, a tear trailing down her cheek. She reached out to grasp one of Andromon's hands while Kagome did the same for the other. Neither noticed when their Digivices
The android Digimon looked hard at the girls, his body still frozen in place. "Yes…Picture…Picture…DigiDestined…Friends…I love Jigsaw puzzles…now I see the complete picture!" The red glow of Andromon's eyes died away as he placed Kari back on the ground gently.
"Kari, Kagome," Andromon spoke to the girls. "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused." He took a hold of the Dark Ring around his neck and pulled hard until it shattered beneath his fingertips.
"Andromon!" Kari smiled in relief.
"Mhm!" Andromon nodded with a smile. He turned around to face the Control Spire. "That Control Spire is responsible for all this; well, no more! Gatling Attack!" Two missiles fired from his chest towards the black tower in the distance, causing it crumble.
At once, all the Guardromon who were on the ready to attack, let down their arms and became still.
"Are all of these Guardromon going to stay like this, Andromon?" Kagome asked.
"No," Andromon walked over to one of the prone Guardromon, "their programs were rewritten by the Digimon Emperor. They just need to be reprogrammed; watch." He punched the Guardromon's chest and destroyed the Dark Ring before extending wires from his body to hook into the Guardromon. "Actually, when I finish reprogramming the Guardromon, I'll stay here to protect them in case the Digimon Emperor returns."
"I feel fresh as a daisy!" the newly reprogrammed Guardromon pumped his fists, causing everyone to break out into laughter.
"I think it's time we head on home," Kagome said, smiling at Andromon. "But it was very nice to see you again!"
-Hamasaki Academy-
By the time they'd all returned to their world with their Digimon, the sky was already beginning to darken while the colours of the sunset slowly fading.
"Izzy?" Tai asked, when the saw the auburn-haired genius sitting on a chair before the terminal with an annoyed look on his face. "Have you been waiting this entire time?"
'What do you think, big brother?' Kagome sweat-dropped.
Instead of answering, Izzy placed a finger to his lips and shushed them. "Let's go," he whispered.
"I'm really disappointed in all of you!" Izzy spoke angrily. "I just got a call from Matt, he told me about what happened with Kagome and Kari. And I'm very angry about not being notified about these things until the last minute!"
"Izzy?" Kagome called quietly, interrupting the auburn-haired teen. "Wasn't there something else you wanted to see us about?"
"What?" Izzy blinked for a moment and then nodded. "Oh yeah, that's right. With some help from Kagome and my friend Willis, in America, we've managed to discover that these new Digivices had three different settings. Digital, Detect, and Discover; I figure that we should call them D-3s from now on. Prodigious little devices, aren't they? Anyway I think—" Izzy's eyes bulged suddenly, when he heard a grumble.
"Can we finish talking after we eat?" DemiVeemon asked.
"That's right, I completely forgot," Tai smacked his forehead. "Dinner! Our parents are waiting for us! The food's probably cold and soggy by now, but for my mom, that'd be an improvement!"
Kagome gave her brother a small smack to his shoulder.
"Come on, let's go!" Davis shouted as everyone ran in the directions of their homes.
The~Ninth~Child
"Oh no, I completely forgot!" Tai stopped before their apartment building.
"What's wrong?" Kari asked worriedly.
"I told Mom, you'd be staying at Sora's tonight," Tai grinned sheepishly at Kagome. "And she covered for you when I asked so…"
"You said—ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?!" Kagome looked at her brother in disbelief. "Did you forget that Sora's babysitting her cousins tonight? Joe or Izzy might have some room, but they don't exactly live close to us! Where the heck am I supposed to go now?!"
"Why not my place?" came a voice from behind them.
The sibling turned around to see Matt walking towards them, his guitar case slung over his shoulder and his schoolbag in his hand. "I figured that Tai wouldn't have worked everything out besides the excuses, so I asked my dad if you could stay over. Of course, he thinks that we'd be working on a project or something, so I got a few things started beforehand."
"No, I couldn't do that—" Kagome began.
"You can't refuse now," Matt smiled gently at the raven-haired girl. "My dad already agreed and is expecting you."
"But—" Kagome tried protesting.
"Go with Matt tonight," Tai told his sister, "We'll sneak out an overnight bag for you when we get inside." He turned to Matt. "I'm trusting you with my sister, if anything happens—"
"I'd be Digi-Chow," Matt grinned wryly. "Garurumon already told me to look after her; I know what'll happen if anything happens to her."
Tai looked at Matt for a moment and nodded. With that, he and Kari left to go to their apartment, while Matt, Kagome, and Kudamon waited for Kagome's overnight bag.
"I really am sorry about this," Kagome shook her head. "Did he really have to say that I'm staying at Sora's tonight? Couldn't he just tell Mama that I was going to come home late since I was working on something important with Sora? At least then I could go home…"
"Yeah," Matt chuckled, "Well, you know how Tai is. He's gotten better with the rushing in before thinking, but something I don't think he thinks things through enough before taking action. Anyway, it's no problem. Dad's only gonna stop by for dinner before leaving for his night shift at the TV station. I'll take his room and you can take mine."
"What?" Kagome squeaked, flushing lightly. "No, it's okay, I can just kip out on the couch or something! Really!"
"No way," Matt said firmly. "Besides, my dad would kill be about manners and all that."
"All right…" Kagome sighed, when she realized that there would be no way to deter the blonde from his decision.
"Kagome!" They heard Tai called as loudly as he dared at that time. They looked over to see Tai running over to them with a violet square-shaped bag. "Here, I packed you laptop in it, too just in case you needed it to keep up the charade."
"Thanks," Kagome slung the bag over her shoulder.
"Call me when you get there, okay?" Tai told his sister as he gathered her into a tight hug while dropping a kiss onto her forehead.
"I will," Kagome nodded before walking off with Matt. "I'll see you tomorrow!"
-Ishida Residence-
"We're home!" Matt called as he and Kagome stepped through into the house.
"I can see that," Hiroto Ishida nodded, peeking up from behind his newspaper.
"Dad, this is Tai's sister, Kagome," Matt introduced the raven-haired girl, who gave a small bow in greeting.
"It's nice to meet you, sir," Kagome smiled lightly.
"Same to you," Hiroto bowed his head slightly. He squinted at her face for a few moments. "You look familiar…have we met before?"
Kagome and Matt blinked in confusion. "I don't think so?" the raven-haired girl said slowly.
"Oh well, it's probably my mind playing tricks on me again," Hiroto shook his head before going back to read his paper.
"Well, we'll just be going to put our stuff away and I'll come out and get dinner started," Matt told his father as he guided Kagome into his room.
The~Ninth~Child
"Well, here we are," Matt said as he placed his guitar case and schoolbag down. "You can make yourself comfortable, and if you want a shower, the bathroom's right down the hall."
"Thanks," Kagome nodded, placing her things down on Matt's bed.
An awkward silence fell over the two while Kudamon just looked on at the teens with amusement.
"Well, I'll just get dinner started, then," the blonde said finally, after taking his school blazer off and slinging it over the chair at his desk. With that said, he walked out of the room.
"Something wrong, Kagome?" Kudamon asked.
"More like what isn't wrong," Kagome groaned quietly. "Leave it to Tai to make up excuses without thinking first! Sure Matt's my friend, but—"
"It feels strange to be here without someone else," Kudamon finished.
Kagome nodded with a sigh. "I'm thankful that Matt gave me a place to stay for the night, but it still doesn't change the fact that it's still a little awkward; friend or not."
"You'll get through it," Kudamon nuzzled his partner's cheek affectionately. "It's just one night and then you two can go back to the way things were." 'Or more if either of you decided to open your eyes…'
Kagome pet her Digimon lightly before placing him down on the bed. She dug through her overnight bag and dug out the pair of pajamas that Kari had packed for her, only to flush.
"Kagome?" Kudamon looked at his partner's flushed face worriedly. "Kagome, what's the matter?"
"Is Kari trying to make things even more awkward than they already are?" Kagome muttered, looking at the articles of clothing she held in her hands. "She could've just packed a pair of pajama pants and an old T-shirt!"
Now curious, Kudamon hovered up from his place on the bed and made his way to his partner to see just what embarrassed her so much.
The~Ninth~Child
In her hands, Kagome held a boat-neck periwinkle dress that had short puffed sleeves and an empire waistline, the bottom ending at a little below mid-thigh and violet lacey ruffles along the edges. Along with that was a pair of cream leggings with violet and periwinkle stars scattered over the fabric that stretched to an inch or two below her knees.
The~Ninth~Child
"I don't see what's wrong with them," Kudamon cocked his head. "They look quite pretty, actually, and I'm sure they'll look wonderful on you. But…why haven't I seen you wear these before?"
"They were a gift from Kari last Christmas," Kagome grimaced lightly, "I think she said something along the lines of how I should be wearing something cuter…" 'Of course that doesn't explain why she sent these along now of all times…'
"If you've had them, why won't you wear them?" Kudamon asked.
"I guess it's because in my usual clothes, I know I won't stand out, and in these I will," Kagome sighed. 'That and because I've known my friends for a while, they tend to forget I'm a girl sometimes…'
"You don't like the attention," Kudamon stated.
Kagome shook her head, sighing. "Oh well, there's not much I can do now," she reached into her bag and retrieved a lavender towel before walking out the door, letting Kudamon back onto the bed before she left.
The~Ninth~Child
Moments later, Kagome walked out of the bathroom in the outfit she'd picked up, rubbing the last of the water from her hair.
"I'll bring you something to eat after Matt's dad leaves for work, okay?" Kagome told her partner as she packed away her uniform and towel into her overnight bag.
Kudamon nodded as he curled up and closed his eyes.
"…think she said her name was June," Kagome heard Hiroto speak to his son.
"Yeah?" she heard Matt answer nonchalantly.
By now Kagome had walked into the dining room, but it seems that neither father nor soon had noticed, so she opted to lean against the doorway and listen on until they saw her.
"She said she'd meet you at Morrielli's Friday at 8," Matt's father said as though his son never said anything.
"What's Morrielli's?" the blonde asked.
"The most expensive Italian restaurant in town," Hiroto said as though it were everyday news.
Kagome tried stifling a giggle as she saw the scowl on Matt's face.
"Hey," Hiroto commented, "What's that? It smells great!"
Matt blanched and looked down at the charred food. "Uh…dinner's ready?"
Kagome lost the battle as a string of giggles poured through her lips, making both males look at her, surprised, not having heard her come.
"Kagome?" Matt blinked at the raven-haired girl, his eyes unconsciously lingering on her form a moment longer then intended. "How long have you been there?"
"Long enough to know about your impending date," Kagome chuckled, walking into the room in a pair of white slippers Kari had thought to pack. She made her way over to Matt, shut off the stove and took the pan out of his hands. "You go sit down, I'll make dinner tonight."
"What?" Matt tried protesting. "But—"
"Just think of it as my way of saying 'thanks'," Kagome told the blonde as she put the pan in the sink and quickly zipped around the kitchen, pulling ingredients and such out.
Father and son watched in bemusement as the teen managed to whip up a pasta dish sautéed with vegetables and some meat as well as a good amount of flavourful seasoning in a matter of moments. Before they knew it, plates with said dish were served before them with chopsticks sit beside the plates.
"How did you—" Matt's father sputtered, looking at the steaming plate set in front of him.
"When you live with my brother who can only make rice omelets," Kagome chuckled, "You learn to adapt. Besides, I often had to make meals or snacks when I had to take care of Kari." She looked on at the father-son pair that just looked at their plates as though afraid to even touch them. "With all due respect, I think you'll like it, or at least I hope you do since that's all I could find in the kitchen right now."
Carefully the two picked up their chopsticks and took a small gathering of noodles into their mouths. Tears fell down their cheeks as a look of bliss appeared on their faces. 'Real food!'
"I'm guessing you liked it?" Kagome asked amusedly when the Ishidas had dug into their plates and polished off the meal in what seemed like seconds.
"Liked it?" Hiroto looked at the girl incredulously. "That was the best meal I've had in a while! I'm a horrible cook and while Matt can do some, it's definitely not something like this!"
"Dad!" Matt flushed lightly. It was true, though. While Matt knew how to make some meals, they were relatively simple and quick, but never anything like what Kagome had made them tonight. He glanced at the clock. "Uh, Dad, shouldn't you be going by now?"
"What?" Hiroto looked up at the face of the rooster clock T.K had gotten him as a gag gift and saw the time. "Yeah, you're right; I need to get going now if I don't want to be late." He stood up from the table and placed his dish and silverware in the sink before going off to pull on a light jacket and his shoes.
"Don't stay up too late, okay?" Hiroto said as he walked to the door. He stopped just as he gripped the doorknob and turned around to give Matt a look.
"No funny business." Matt's father seemed to tell the blonde teen with his eyes, causing him to flush lightly while Kagome just gave him an odd look.
"Bye," Matt and Kagome waved to the older man as he stepped out of the apartment.
They waited until the door closed with a soft click before releasing the breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding in.
"That was awkward," Matt rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about him…"
The~Ninth~Child
"So how did you end up getting a date with Davis' sister?" Kagome asked as she typed away on her laptop.
Matt looked up from where she was writing at his desk and groaned. "Apparently she's some boy-crazy fan of mine; she somehow figured out that I was lying to her when I was making an excuse for why Davis would be home late. The next thing I know, she's telling me that I'll be picking her up at 8 and slams the door in my face!"
Kagome only laughed at the blonde's complaining, ignoring the sudden pang she felt.
Ciao,
TsukiyoTenshi