#- Merry Christmas, Inuyasha! -#
An Inuyasha Fanfic by Tobu Ishi
-Part 5- In Which All's Well That Ends Well, and Our Heroes Learn the Value of Timing...and Locks
________________
"...Makkana no hana no tonakai san wa, san wa!"
Climbing in the back window of Kagome's bedroom, Inuyasha and Kagome could faintly hear Sota and Shippo in the living room, merrily caroling away at "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer". In fact, from the sound of it, they seemed to be in the midst of a crowd of delighted teenage girls...
"Aww, they're so cute!"
"Adorable..."
"Look at the little one, isn't his little tail cute? Do you think it's real?"
"No way."
"I wanna pet it!"
Kagome sweatdropped. "I thought Shippo was going to stay in Sota's room..." she muttered. Inuyasha sighed.
"So did I. Dumb fox-brat..." He blinked suddenly, gazing thoughtfully at the door. "Hm...the kogitsune is distracted. You know what this means, of course."
"Not exactly," Kagome dubiously replied. The hanyou's face split into a rare grin.
"More food for us!" he declared, already halfway to the door. "Got any ramen out there?"
Shaking her head, Kagome followed him. "Well, at least I know you're feeling better; your appetite is back." Honestly, she didn't mind; Inuyasha had earned his food this time. "And no, actually, we don't have any ramen ready..."
His face fell, but Kagome smiled.
"...however, if you want some, I'll go fix you a bowl. Two, if you can eat them."
As if there was any question of that. It was one happy hanyou who sped down the hallway of the Higurashi's house, beelining toward the kitchen...
Just then, Kagome, following in his wake, was startled to see him suddenly...stop. She frowned; now that was something she had never seen him do when ramen was in the offing. Glancing this way and that, Inuyasha swiveled his ears slightly, blinking curiously...then suddenly strode to the coat closet and abruptly slid the door open.
"Ack!"
"Kyaa-!"
Two very startled young humans-and a sprig of second-hand mistletoe-tumbled out onto the hallway floor at the hanyou's feet. Inuyasha crossed his arms, tapping his foot slightly with a what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing look on his face. Taking a step forward in alarm as the pair toppled into view, Kagome suddenly went red.
"Miroku!!"
Looking rather sheepish, the houshi began to discreetly disentangle himself from Sanna, who was trying to do up the top two buttons of her dress without making it too obvious what she was doing.
"Ah. Inuyasha...Kagome-sama. I can explain..."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Knowing you, Miroku, you probably can. In fact, it would probably be pretty funny to stay here and listen to you, except that I have ramen to make...so, I'm letting you get away with this one. I won't tell my mother you were necking in her closet-"
"Arigatou Kagome-chan!" Sanna squealed, looking very pleased and already starting to tug Miroku back in the direction of the aforementioned 'hideaway'.
"-but only if you two stay out of trouble for the rest of the night. That means *no* more closets. In fact, just to be safe...stay in the living room."
Miroku glanced away rather sullenly and Sanna pouted, but the combined glares of Kagome *and* Inuyasha were too much to stand up to, and they reluctantly got to their feet, heading for the living room and...not quite touching. Though it was a close call...
Watching them, Inuyasha shook his head. "He's irrepressible."
"Actually, so is she," Kagome said with a grin. "I'm not surprised they ran into each other. Birds of a feather and all that. So, ready for that ramen?"
Inuyasha just looked at her. Kagome giggled.
"Okay, okay, stupid question. Let's go."
"...and two years ago, he tried to give me this weird sticky green thing in a bottle that he said was lucky kelpie hair from Hokkaido!"
Inuyasha shook his head, helping himself to another cookie. "Your grandpa is one weird old geezer."
"You're telling me? At least he'll have a decent excuse for me not being at school for a few days after vacation...a deadly stomachache. Or maybe just obesity," Kagome chuckled, reaching over the hanyou to grab a cookie of her own from the tray on the side table. The two of them were sprawled on the sofa, polishing off the party treats and joking around and generally having a grand old time. It was after midnight, and most of the guests had gone home to bed, so that they could leap up in the morning for presents.
"Sanna-sama, you are the loveliest maiden I have ever met...will you bear my-"
*whap!* "Shut it, monk!"
Well...almost all the guests.
Miroku scowled, reaching up to wipe chocolate off of his cheek from where Inuyasha's well-placed fudge missile had landed. "I was simply asking Sanna-sama a question, you boorish hanyou."
Sanna blinked. "Um...Miroku, sugar, it's almost one in the morning. I think I'd better get on home."
"Of course, sweet lady," Miroku agreed, laying on the charm to the last. "Still, there are many perils between here and your residence, I am sure. Perhaps I might walk you home?"
"Oh, no you don't," Shippou said, giving the potted plant next to him a dirty look that would have been quite threatening if his eyes had been focused. "You gotta come home with us, Miruko...ku...yeah..." Sota had long since gone to bed, but Shippou had refused, saying he was no baby and was going to stay up just as long as anybody else. So far, he had progressed from sugar-high to limp and sleepy to somewhat incoherent.
Miroku gave the kid a funny look, then sighed. "I fear I must retract my earlier offer, Sanna-sama. The fox...I mean, the child is about to pass out where he sits. I have to get him home to bed."
"All right then," Sanna agreed, smiling sweetly. "It was fun. Hope I see you around sometime, Miroku-chan!" With that, she stood on tiptoe to give him a resounding smack of a kiss, then sashayed off into the night. "Merry Christmas!"
"...Wow..." was all Miroku had to say, a grin spreading across his face. Inuyasha snorted, flicking crumbs from his gi.
"Oh, hooray, hooray. Miroku got a smooch. Let's all wave the victory flag."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh, lighten up, Inuyasha. I mean, how often does one of Miroku's misguided courtships actually go right? We should all be happy for him."
A sweatdrop ran down Miroku's face. "Uh...thanks, Kagome-sama...I think." Walking over to where Shippou was still glaring unsteadily at the plant, he scooped the little guy lightly into his arms and turned toward his friends on the couch. "I thank you for inviting me to this wonderful festival of yours, Kagome-sama, but I'm afraid that Shippou is going to end up brain-damaged if he stays awake much longer. Please tell your mother the same from me tomorrow morning, when she gets up."
Kagome smiled. "No problem, Miroku. It was...interesting having you here."
"It was a very educational experience to be here!" Miroku called cheerfully over his shoulder as he walked out the door toward the well house. "Oh, and...Happy Christmas!"
"Well, he got it almost right," Kagome muttered, amused in spite of herself at the monk's usual absurdity. She started to say something else, but the words were lost in a jaw-creaking yawn.
"I'd better head back, too," Inuyasha said. "You need to sleep for tomorrow, and I'd just be in the way at a family celebration." He started to stand up, but stopped when he felt a small hand grab his arm. "Hm?"
Still sitting on the couch, Kagome looked at him with wide blue eyes. "Oh, Inuyasha, do you have to go? I was having fun talking to you..."
The hanyou blinked. *'Oh, Inuyasha, do you have to go'? What happened to 'Bug off, dog-boy, I've got important things to do'? Kagome's never seemed sad about me leaving the real world...what's going on here?* Of course, Inuyasha didn't dare say that; instead, he tried for a casual, "Fun? Really?"
"Well, yeah," Kagome said, frowning thoughtfully as if just realizing the truth of her own words. "I mean, we almost never just talk like this, without getting in an argument or something."
"I can fix that for you, you know," Inuyasha offered a bit sarcastically. Kagome actually looked dismayed.
"No, really, you don't have to!" She offered him a tentative smile. "I like things better this way..."
Had Kagome always looked beautiful when she smiled, or was that a recent development? Inuyasha couldn't remember; still, at that moment he would have traded the entire Shikon no Tama part and parcel, just to keep seeing that smile...
The clock on the mantel chimed one, and the spell seemed to break. Inuyasha went a bit red, then strode to the door. "I have to go now..."
Kagome leapt to her feet and followed him. "Wait! Inuyasha-"
He halted a step from the well house door, looking over his shoulder at her. "What?" His face was a study in indifference, but his heart was hammering like a drum. He'd seen how Sanna had bid Miroku goodnight...was this another holiday tradition?
And...what if it was? If so, then it might mean as little as that stupid kiss under the mistletoe. A scowl darkened his face, and he turned his face away, pretending to scrutinize the various scrolls slapped on the wood of the well house to ward off anyone dumb enough to wander in inannounced.
"I...Inuyasha?" Kagome said, softly and a little uncertainly. Why did he look so frustrated all of a sudden? She reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder; he tensed, but didn't move away from her touch. "What's wrong?"
"I," he started, then promptly shut up again. *How do I phrase this without sounding like an idiot?!* "Um...Kagome...I...don't want you to kiss me."
"What?"
"I-I mean, not like that!" Inuyasha backpedaled, cursing his stupid mouth and the way it always seemed to fire off the exact wrong words at the wrong time. "I mean, there's a lot of tradition around today, or at least I noticed there was, and..." Hesitating, he turned to face her properly, meeting her eyes. "And...if you're going to kiss me, I want it to be because...well, because you like me. Not because of a dumb tradition."
There; he'd said it. Shutting his eyes in embarrassment, he waited for he wasn't sure what...
And felt fingers brush his hair gently out of his face. Inuyasha's eyes flew open again, to see Kagome looking fondly up at him. "You crazy hanyou, you just don't listen, do you?" she scolded. "When I said I loved you, I meant it. What, are you calling me a liar?"
Inuyasha's mouth had once again deserted him; he couldn't seem to say a word. Happiness had that kind of effect when it was bubbling up inside you like a fountain. Instead, he settled for a quick shake of his head.
"Good," Kagome said, smiling, and Inuyasha realized that she was standing so close that the heat from their bodies warmed the frigid winter air between them... "Then I won't kiss you."
"What?" Inuyasha yelped.
"Well, you said you didn't want a kiss, didn't you?" Kagome said, her eyes sparkling. "So I won't kiss you, then. There's your Christmas present!"
Inuyasha stared at her, utterly confused...and then he realized. She was teasing him. Well, two could play at that. He grinned.
"Fine," he said, taking a moment of pleasure in the surprise in her eyes at his instant agreement. "But that doesn't mean..."
And without warning, he caught her around the waist, dipping her back in a move he'd seen in one of the old movies they'd watched at the party. Kagome let out a little squeak of surprise-
"...that I can't kiss you," Inuyasha finished, and proceeded to do just that.
By the time they finally got around to things like standing up straight and getting their breath back, both of them were smiling, a little pink in the cheeks, and very, very happy. Kagome snuggled into Inuyasha's arms with a sigh of contentment.
"I think that was my best Christmas present yet," she whispered into his ear.
"Even better than that kelpie stuff?"
"Absolutely," Kagome agreed... "Oh, that reminds me...I have to go to bed, or I'll still be up when Santa arrives."
"Who?" Inuyasha inquired.
She shrugged. "He's the one who supposedly brings all the Christmas presents, according to tradition. Guy in a red suit, with white hair."
"Hmm...sounds familiar," Inuyasha said. Kagome grinned.
"Ri-ight. Well, tell the others I'll drop by tomorrow after presents, okay?"
He nodded. "I'll come and get you."
About to tell him no, Kagome hesitated. Would it be so bad, to have him swing by the house on Christmas morning? Perhaps not...
Then again, technically it *was* Christmas morning. Sighing, Kagome let go of the hanyou and stepped away from him. "I really do have to go to bed, Inuyasha. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
"Okay," he agreed, and turned to go into the well house. As he reached the bottom of the steps, he turned to look back up at her.
"Merry Christmas, Kagome!"
"Merry Christmas, Inuyasha!" she called back, and as Inuyasha hopped down the well and through the moonlit forests of the Feudal era, Kagome headed back through the softly crunching snow to her own back door and bed.
And overhead, the same winter stars shone on two young people who had just formed another strand in the bond that held their hearts together.
*#*#* Merry Christmas to All, and to All A Good Night! *#*#*
__________________________________________________________________
(Author's Notes-) Well, I finished it. I finally finished it! Can you believe it? Yowee...I come back from vacation, and suddenly I'm tying up loose ends on half the old fics in my files. Not that that's a bad thing. ^_^
Thanks to all of you who reviewed this! I hope you'll give an opinion on the last chapter there. And a special thank you to all of you who dropped by for a look after I mentioned this fic in Fun With Chemistry; it was your fresh input that inspired me to finally finish the job. Arigatou gozaimasu! And...Merry Christmas! -tobu ishi
ps- Yes, I know it's August. It's supposed to be cute. Humor me, ne? ^_~*
An Inuyasha Fanfic by Tobu Ishi
-Part 5- In Which All's Well That Ends Well, and Our Heroes Learn the Value of Timing...and Locks
________________
"...Makkana no hana no tonakai san wa, san wa!"
Climbing in the back window of Kagome's bedroom, Inuyasha and Kagome could faintly hear Sota and Shippo in the living room, merrily caroling away at "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer". In fact, from the sound of it, they seemed to be in the midst of a crowd of delighted teenage girls...
"Aww, they're so cute!"
"Adorable..."
"Look at the little one, isn't his little tail cute? Do you think it's real?"
"No way."
"I wanna pet it!"
Kagome sweatdropped. "I thought Shippo was going to stay in Sota's room..." she muttered. Inuyasha sighed.
"So did I. Dumb fox-brat..." He blinked suddenly, gazing thoughtfully at the door. "Hm...the kogitsune is distracted. You know what this means, of course."
"Not exactly," Kagome dubiously replied. The hanyou's face split into a rare grin.
"More food for us!" he declared, already halfway to the door. "Got any ramen out there?"
Shaking her head, Kagome followed him. "Well, at least I know you're feeling better; your appetite is back." Honestly, she didn't mind; Inuyasha had earned his food this time. "And no, actually, we don't have any ramen ready..."
His face fell, but Kagome smiled.
"...however, if you want some, I'll go fix you a bowl. Two, if you can eat them."
As if there was any question of that. It was one happy hanyou who sped down the hallway of the Higurashi's house, beelining toward the kitchen...
Just then, Kagome, following in his wake, was startled to see him suddenly...stop. She frowned; now that was something she had never seen him do when ramen was in the offing. Glancing this way and that, Inuyasha swiveled his ears slightly, blinking curiously...then suddenly strode to the coat closet and abruptly slid the door open.
"Ack!"
"Kyaa-!"
Two very startled young humans-and a sprig of second-hand mistletoe-tumbled out onto the hallway floor at the hanyou's feet. Inuyasha crossed his arms, tapping his foot slightly with a what-the-hell-do-you-think-you're-doing look on his face. Taking a step forward in alarm as the pair toppled into view, Kagome suddenly went red.
"Miroku!!"
Looking rather sheepish, the houshi began to discreetly disentangle himself from Sanna, who was trying to do up the top two buttons of her dress without making it too obvious what she was doing.
"Ah. Inuyasha...Kagome-sama. I can explain..."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Knowing you, Miroku, you probably can. In fact, it would probably be pretty funny to stay here and listen to you, except that I have ramen to make...so, I'm letting you get away with this one. I won't tell my mother you were necking in her closet-"
"Arigatou Kagome-chan!" Sanna squealed, looking very pleased and already starting to tug Miroku back in the direction of the aforementioned 'hideaway'.
"-but only if you two stay out of trouble for the rest of the night. That means *no* more closets. In fact, just to be safe...stay in the living room."
Miroku glanced away rather sullenly and Sanna pouted, but the combined glares of Kagome *and* Inuyasha were too much to stand up to, and they reluctantly got to their feet, heading for the living room and...not quite touching. Though it was a close call...
Watching them, Inuyasha shook his head. "He's irrepressible."
"Actually, so is she," Kagome said with a grin. "I'm not surprised they ran into each other. Birds of a feather and all that. So, ready for that ramen?"
Inuyasha just looked at her. Kagome giggled.
"Okay, okay, stupid question. Let's go."
"...and two years ago, he tried to give me this weird sticky green thing in a bottle that he said was lucky kelpie hair from Hokkaido!"
Inuyasha shook his head, helping himself to another cookie. "Your grandpa is one weird old geezer."
"You're telling me? At least he'll have a decent excuse for me not being at school for a few days after vacation...a deadly stomachache. Or maybe just obesity," Kagome chuckled, reaching over the hanyou to grab a cookie of her own from the tray on the side table. The two of them were sprawled on the sofa, polishing off the party treats and joking around and generally having a grand old time. It was after midnight, and most of the guests had gone home to bed, so that they could leap up in the morning for presents.
"Sanna-sama, you are the loveliest maiden I have ever met...will you bear my-"
*whap!* "Shut it, monk!"
Well...almost all the guests.
Miroku scowled, reaching up to wipe chocolate off of his cheek from where Inuyasha's well-placed fudge missile had landed. "I was simply asking Sanna-sama a question, you boorish hanyou."
Sanna blinked. "Um...Miroku, sugar, it's almost one in the morning. I think I'd better get on home."
"Of course, sweet lady," Miroku agreed, laying on the charm to the last. "Still, there are many perils between here and your residence, I am sure. Perhaps I might walk you home?"
"Oh, no you don't," Shippou said, giving the potted plant next to him a dirty look that would have been quite threatening if his eyes had been focused. "You gotta come home with us, Miruko...ku...yeah..." Sota had long since gone to bed, but Shippou had refused, saying he was no baby and was going to stay up just as long as anybody else. So far, he had progressed from sugar-high to limp and sleepy to somewhat incoherent.
Miroku gave the kid a funny look, then sighed. "I fear I must retract my earlier offer, Sanna-sama. The fox...I mean, the child is about to pass out where he sits. I have to get him home to bed."
"All right then," Sanna agreed, smiling sweetly. "It was fun. Hope I see you around sometime, Miroku-chan!" With that, she stood on tiptoe to give him a resounding smack of a kiss, then sashayed off into the night. "Merry Christmas!"
"...Wow..." was all Miroku had to say, a grin spreading across his face. Inuyasha snorted, flicking crumbs from his gi.
"Oh, hooray, hooray. Miroku got a smooch. Let's all wave the victory flag."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Oh, lighten up, Inuyasha. I mean, how often does one of Miroku's misguided courtships actually go right? We should all be happy for him."
A sweatdrop ran down Miroku's face. "Uh...thanks, Kagome-sama...I think." Walking over to where Shippou was still glaring unsteadily at the plant, he scooped the little guy lightly into his arms and turned toward his friends on the couch. "I thank you for inviting me to this wonderful festival of yours, Kagome-sama, but I'm afraid that Shippou is going to end up brain-damaged if he stays awake much longer. Please tell your mother the same from me tomorrow morning, when she gets up."
Kagome smiled. "No problem, Miroku. It was...interesting having you here."
"It was a very educational experience to be here!" Miroku called cheerfully over his shoulder as he walked out the door toward the well house. "Oh, and...Happy Christmas!"
"Well, he got it almost right," Kagome muttered, amused in spite of herself at the monk's usual absurdity. She started to say something else, but the words were lost in a jaw-creaking yawn.
"I'd better head back, too," Inuyasha said. "You need to sleep for tomorrow, and I'd just be in the way at a family celebration." He started to stand up, but stopped when he felt a small hand grab his arm. "Hm?"
Still sitting on the couch, Kagome looked at him with wide blue eyes. "Oh, Inuyasha, do you have to go? I was having fun talking to you..."
The hanyou blinked. *'Oh, Inuyasha, do you have to go'? What happened to 'Bug off, dog-boy, I've got important things to do'? Kagome's never seemed sad about me leaving the real world...what's going on here?* Of course, Inuyasha didn't dare say that; instead, he tried for a casual, "Fun? Really?"
"Well, yeah," Kagome said, frowning thoughtfully as if just realizing the truth of her own words. "I mean, we almost never just talk like this, without getting in an argument or something."
"I can fix that for you, you know," Inuyasha offered a bit sarcastically. Kagome actually looked dismayed.
"No, really, you don't have to!" She offered him a tentative smile. "I like things better this way..."
Had Kagome always looked beautiful when she smiled, or was that a recent development? Inuyasha couldn't remember; still, at that moment he would have traded the entire Shikon no Tama part and parcel, just to keep seeing that smile...
The clock on the mantel chimed one, and the spell seemed to break. Inuyasha went a bit red, then strode to the door. "I have to go now..."
Kagome leapt to her feet and followed him. "Wait! Inuyasha-"
He halted a step from the well house door, looking over his shoulder at her. "What?" His face was a study in indifference, but his heart was hammering like a drum. He'd seen how Sanna had bid Miroku goodnight...was this another holiday tradition?
And...what if it was? If so, then it might mean as little as that stupid kiss under the mistletoe. A scowl darkened his face, and he turned his face away, pretending to scrutinize the various scrolls slapped on the wood of the well house to ward off anyone dumb enough to wander in inannounced.
"I...Inuyasha?" Kagome said, softly and a little uncertainly. Why did he look so frustrated all of a sudden? She reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder; he tensed, but didn't move away from her touch. "What's wrong?"
"I," he started, then promptly shut up again. *How do I phrase this without sounding like an idiot?!* "Um...Kagome...I...don't want you to kiss me."
"What?"
"I-I mean, not like that!" Inuyasha backpedaled, cursing his stupid mouth and the way it always seemed to fire off the exact wrong words at the wrong time. "I mean, there's a lot of tradition around today, or at least I noticed there was, and..." Hesitating, he turned to face her properly, meeting her eyes. "And...if you're going to kiss me, I want it to be because...well, because you like me. Not because of a dumb tradition."
There; he'd said it. Shutting his eyes in embarrassment, he waited for he wasn't sure what...
And felt fingers brush his hair gently out of his face. Inuyasha's eyes flew open again, to see Kagome looking fondly up at him. "You crazy hanyou, you just don't listen, do you?" she scolded. "When I said I loved you, I meant it. What, are you calling me a liar?"
Inuyasha's mouth had once again deserted him; he couldn't seem to say a word. Happiness had that kind of effect when it was bubbling up inside you like a fountain. Instead, he settled for a quick shake of his head.
"Good," Kagome said, smiling, and Inuyasha realized that she was standing so close that the heat from their bodies warmed the frigid winter air between them... "Then I won't kiss you."
"What?" Inuyasha yelped.
"Well, you said you didn't want a kiss, didn't you?" Kagome said, her eyes sparkling. "So I won't kiss you, then. There's your Christmas present!"
Inuyasha stared at her, utterly confused...and then he realized. She was teasing him. Well, two could play at that. He grinned.
"Fine," he said, taking a moment of pleasure in the surprise in her eyes at his instant agreement. "But that doesn't mean..."
And without warning, he caught her around the waist, dipping her back in a move he'd seen in one of the old movies they'd watched at the party. Kagome let out a little squeak of surprise-
"...that I can't kiss you," Inuyasha finished, and proceeded to do just that.
By the time they finally got around to things like standing up straight and getting their breath back, both of them were smiling, a little pink in the cheeks, and very, very happy. Kagome snuggled into Inuyasha's arms with a sigh of contentment.
"I think that was my best Christmas present yet," she whispered into his ear.
"Even better than that kelpie stuff?"
"Absolutely," Kagome agreed... "Oh, that reminds me...I have to go to bed, or I'll still be up when Santa arrives."
"Who?" Inuyasha inquired.
She shrugged. "He's the one who supposedly brings all the Christmas presents, according to tradition. Guy in a red suit, with white hair."
"Hmm...sounds familiar," Inuyasha said. Kagome grinned.
"Ri-ight. Well, tell the others I'll drop by tomorrow after presents, okay?"
He nodded. "I'll come and get you."
About to tell him no, Kagome hesitated. Would it be so bad, to have him swing by the house on Christmas morning? Perhaps not...
Then again, technically it *was* Christmas morning. Sighing, Kagome let go of the hanyou and stepped away from him. "I really do have to go to bed, Inuyasha. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"
"Okay," he agreed, and turned to go into the well house. As he reached the bottom of the steps, he turned to look back up at her.
"Merry Christmas, Kagome!"
"Merry Christmas, Inuyasha!" she called back, and as Inuyasha hopped down the well and through the moonlit forests of the Feudal era, Kagome headed back through the softly crunching snow to her own back door and bed.
And overhead, the same winter stars shone on two young people who had just formed another strand in the bond that held their hearts together.
*#*#* Merry Christmas to All, and to All A Good Night! *#*#*
__________________________________________________________________
(Author's Notes-) Well, I finished it. I finally finished it! Can you believe it? Yowee...I come back from vacation, and suddenly I'm tying up loose ends on half the old fics in my files. Not that that's a bad thing. ^_^
Thanks to all of you who reviewed this! I hope you'll give an opinion on the last chapter there. And a special thank you to all of you who dropped by for a look after I mentioned this fic in Fun With Chemistry; it was your fresh input that inspired me to finally finish the job. Arigatou gozaimasu! And...Merry Christmas! -tobu ishi
ps- Yes, I know it's August. It's supposed to be cute. Humor me, ne? ^_~*