Of This World And Yesterday
Sometimes the things I do astound me
Mostly whenever you're around me
-Bjork, Like Someone in Love
Chapter 17- Rings
Brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes, Sango tried to relax in the seat. It was slightly difficult to do so, flying along at such a speed, wedged in so tightly. Haruka and Michiru were punctual that morning, insisting on getting out and beginning work as soon as possible. They'd picked up Miroku on time from Mamoru's apartment, the two of them packed into the backseat of Haruka's sports car, Kirara in her purse stuffed between them. Judging from the other cars on the road, Sango was able to determine the blonde haired senshi drove a very expensive car, and that she also liked to drive it very fast.
Each member of the two assembled groups went their own ways that day, and it still seemed a bit strange to be working separate from Kagome, Inuyasha and Shippou. Well, perhaps not separate, but without them right there with. She slipped another glance forward, able to see Michiru's profile slightly better, sitting in the passenger seat, diagonal from where Sango sat behind Haruka. The senshi of the sea sat composed, hands folded lightly in her lap as wind flew in through her open window, sending wavy long hair fluttering around her face. Her Aqua Mirror lay under her hands, unheld, though resting. She would glance at it every once in awhile, then return her eyes to the road ahead, periodically checking for any signs it may give her as to the whereabouts of Karasu.
Inuyasha, as expected, tailed Kagome to school, once again delegated to watching from across the street. Most of the student body and faculty had recovered from the 'pipe bomb' that supposedly went off, a mask for the attack on Kagome's school. Most of the senshi had classes of their own, Mamoru going to the university to study, the Inners and Hotaru to their own respective schools. Kami, as expected, stayed home with Setsuna. Oddly enough, Shippou passed the opportunity to go with Inuyasha, saying he'd rather help out at the Outer's house, helping Kami with her household chores as well as with Setsuna. The eldest senshi still slept, her forehead slightly warm as though with a low grade fever. They kept a light blanket over her, fearing if they removed it she may catch the chills.
Curling up a bit more into the seat, Sango lightly rubbed Kirara's head, scratching under her chin to reassure the firecat as they whipped around another corner. That earned her an uncomfortable mewling noise, and she felt Kirara's ears twitch under her hand. They'd been out all morning, driving up and down Tokyo, though concentrating in the Juuban district. Ami's incomplete trace had given them at least a partial guess as to where Karasu may have hidden herself. Unfortunately, Michiru's mirror was reflecting nothing but images of the past; the Tomoe Research Facility, Mugen Academy and various other sites they'd seen over the course of their battles with the Death Busters. Now they were retracing their steps, swinging past still blocked up areas from yesterday, where the police had sectioned off sections of streets near the Arcade. Most of it had been cleaned up, but due to the damage to some buildings, it was under some light construction, rerouting traffic.
"Anything, Michiru?" Haruka asked lowly, not taking her eyes from the road as she floored it though a yellow light.
Aquamarine eyes turned to the mirror once more, seeing them reflected back at her in the smooth surface. "No," came the reply. "It remains still."
Haruka's hand tensed on the steering wheel, both from the response and from the fact she had just stumbled into another round of traffic. Too many cars blocking the road was beginning to irritate her. After a moment, she jerked the wheel, sending them down a side street and coming out on another road. "You two pick up anything?" she asked again as an afterthought, sparing a glance into the rearview mirror and checking to see the others expressions. Both looked a little green from the constant weaving in and out of traffic, but both seemed to be surviving.
The houshi responded first, shaking his head slowly. "No. But we're moving too fast for me to recognize anything anyway."
She chuckled, smiling wryly. Well, that was one way to suggest they slow down. Considering it, she shrugged, pulling over and parallel parking along the side street, unbuckling her seat belt as she turned off the car. Michiru hit a button on the door beside her, and the windows began to scroll up while Haruka opened her door and stepped out onto the curb, pulling back the seat for Sango to wriggle her way out.
Cars were backed up along the street, others apparently being aware of the shortcut and making use of it to get around the repairs. The sidewalks were busy, people moving along on their various tasks, many with large shopping bags.
A bit wide eyed, Sango looked up, half turning around as she recognized the sporting goods store she had bought her biker shorts at. They were back in the shopping district, crowded with people flowing past the four emerging from the expensive sports car.
"That's where we bought Kagome's bow and arrows yesterday," Sango mentioned, gesturing towards the building across the street, pointing it out. A man moved in the glass display cases, putting up sale signs on baseball goods, straightening out a cap on one of the mannequins.
"You bought Kagome-sama a bow?" Miroku asked, glancing at Sango as he avoided a knot of people headed their way.
The reply was a nod, and Sango carefully lifted her purse over her shoulder, making sure not to whack Kirara in the head with an elbow. "Yes. We thought it'd be a good idea for her to have them, in case of an emergency. She'll at least be armed."
"This is the shopping district," Michiru told Miroku, slipping her mirror discreetly back into its dimensional pocket. The people ignored the motion, too busy with their own lives to notice a disappearing hand mirror. "There's mostly stores here, a few cafes and bistros as well if you're hungry. It's as good a place as any to begin searching on foot."
Haruka stuffed her hands into the pockets of her khakis, leaning against the hood of her car and glancing around as Michiru spoke. There was a lot of ground to cover without driving, though she supposed this would be a more detailed search than simply driving by everything quickly. "We can spread out this way. Head out in pairs and cover more ground. Miroku, you and I will head out towards-"
A hand on her arm stopped Haruka from giving out further orders, and she blinked to see Michiru tilting her head to one side and watching Sango and Miroku. She wasn't Sailor Venus, incessantly wanting to pair people up, but on arriving back at the Higurashi Jinja with their car, she'd seen the other two in the courtyard together for a moment, before they realized they had company returning, suddenly leaping apart, Sango a interesting crimson shade. She fought a smile at the thought, deciding to play along. Haruka was likely planning on keeping Miroku with her to keep an eye on him; she doubted the houshi would attempt to hit on Haruka the way he would with Michiru. Sending him off with Michiru was an open invitation to trouble.
"Sango has been in this area before. Why don't we let them have some freedom, ne? It's not as though they're children. Besides, school will be letting out in a hour or so. The Inners will be roaming around to help, everyone can meet up again then. Do you think you can handle an hour on your own in the area? I'm sure you'd be more comfortable working together than with one of us."
"Michiru!" Haruka began to protest, thinking this was illogical. Sending two people from the past running around in downtown Juuban was not exactly a good idea, in her mind. "They can't go around on their own, it's..." she lowered her voice to keep from being overheard, "...they don't know anything. They wouldn't know what's strange from what's normal for this time."
"Then we'll look for what's familiar," Miroku told her a bit defensively, folding his arms and frowning at the suggestion he was incapable of taking care of himself. It was a well meaning thing to do, but also implied that he and Sango were incompetent. "The daimon creatures are some kind of hybrid with youkai, which we are familiar with. That's why we were brought here. We can handle an hour of your era without supervision."
Sango had planted herself beside Miroku, and between the two of them and the red eyed stare of Kirara, Haruka blinked in surprise, then relented slightly. "I'm not trying to say you can't take care of yourselves, but you might get lost, or need help...."
There was a clicking sound, and Michiru slipped something off her wrist. "Haruka, you have your communicator, ne?" Without checking for a reply, Michiru handed hers to Miroku, causing Haruka to stand up straight, beginning to protest again. With a small smile, Michiru smoothed out the pale yellow sundress she wore, slyly glancing upward towards her partner. "Ah, Haruka, don't tell me you don't want to be stuck alone with me?"
Haruka felt a little trapped. Why was everyone suddenly scheming against her?
"Fine, fine," she grumbled. "One hour. One. We meet back here in one hour, and see if anyone had any luck."
Miroku was flipping the communicator watch over in his hands, trying to figure it out. Over his shoulder, Sango was trying to get a look at the strange contraption herself, Kirara curiously peering upward to see what the two humans were staring at so intently. "It has several buttons," Miroku finally managed. Haruka groaned, running a hand through her hair. This was a bad idea.
Michiru stepped a bit closer, pointing at the different symbols marked into the watch. "Different symbols for each of us," she told them, glancing this way and that before continuing. A finger tapped the top of the communicator as she pointed things out. "The time reading is at the top. When this looks like three o'clock..." she drew a figure in the air, then again on the display, "...it's been one hour. To get Haruka, press this," she lightly tapped a yellow symbol on the outer edge, a circle with a crown. Promptly, Haruka's pocket began to beep lightly, and she sighed, taking out her own comm and turning it off. "If it's an emergency, we'll come right away."
"Alright," Miroku said as she stepped away, smiling at her explanation. Miroku was looking at the watch face thoughtfully, trying to commit it all to memory. "One hour then. When it looks like a three and two zeros after it."
"Are you two sure you can handle this?" Haruka asked, still not being entirely fond of the idea. "We don't need to stick too close to the shopping district...the point is to spread out."
"We can handle it, Haruka-san," Sango told her firmly, resting a hand on the bracelet on her left wrist. The stone was warm to the touch, evidence of the spell cast on it and the power Setsuna had shown Kami how to lay within. She was still uncertain of this future world, but growing more confident. Besides, she wouldn't be alone today, and if houshi-sama tried anything with any of the girls of this era, she wanted to be there to whack him for it. "One hour."
With a final sigh, Haruka shrugged, looking around. "Well, Michiru, want to head up that way?"
"I suppose," she agreed, growing a bit more serious as work presented itself once more. "Ja ne, Sango, Miroku..." she hesitated, then a small smile crept back. "And Kirara. Be careful."
After a moment, they disappeared into a swirl of people in the street, backs turned and walking with familiar ease into the crowd.
Haltingly, Miroku and Sango looked around. Cars swept by past them on the street, honking noisily as the people within them headed about their daily business. Some of their confidence from a moment before ebbed away as the world spiraled much larger. Tall buildings pressed in from above, making each suddenly realize how very small and alone they were in comparison, now that Haruka and Michiru were gone. "Strangers in a strange land," Miroku murmured, as Sango nodded in mute agreement beside him. "We'll be fine," he continued, glancing at her as she brought her gaze back from the looming buildings. "Stay close to me."
She gave him a sour look.
The familiarity of her worry broke a bit of the tension, and he gave her a wry grin, returned after a moment.
Together, they headed down the street.
From the high scaffolds of a towering building, a black bird rustled his feathers. The last day had been full of circling, wandering, flying in rings and keeping a watchful eye on the people he had been instructed to, and gratefully staying away from the cruel peckings of the Hikawa Jinja crows. He shuffled on his perch, lifting a wing and inspecting the injured patch of flesh and feathers. It was healing well, and rapidly, the last of the sleek black feathers coming in even as he watched. Though his beak, he snorted, flapping his wings and settling in again to be patient. Good eyesight allowed him a clear view of the space far below, updrafts from the street keeping him cool from the sun's shining warmth.
He decided to head back towards home. There was little he could do when they started separating in the morning, and he knew that if any of them finally managed to search out his home nest, he'd want to have his mistress do something about it. So he kept to the scaffolds, sniffing the wind and keeping his slit-pupil eyes open for familiar faces.
It was not until late afternoon that he spotted two people, walking along the street and making quiet conversation. Their appearances were familiar to him, having seen them in the distance the previous day at the Higurashi Jinja, while circling high overhead. It took only a moment for Evermore to flit off the high ledge, taking wing and soaring after them.
Their way was slow, and on occasion they would pause to look in a store window, the long haired one curiously glancing through the panes of glass in the dress shops and boutiques. But the hesitations would be only momentary, and they would be on their way again, slowly but steadily working their way towards the remains of Mugen Academy.
When they reached the point of exiting the shopping district, Evermore turned on a wingtip, catching an updraft and letting it carry him swiftly forward, gliding rapidly along, passing by the two familiar faces and hurrying ahead. The empty office building had an open window in the back, one always left open, especially for him. Slipping inside, he glided across the empty floor, backwinging and landing as he reached the door to the corner office.
The door was ajar, and he could hear breathing coming through as he stuck his head in, hopping inside and again taking to wing. Clothes lay neatly draped on the back of the chair at this room's desk; evidence that sometime over the course of the day, Karasu had woken up, taking enough time out of her rest to change into pajamas. A cd player sat atop the desk, piles of various kinds of music in neat stacks beside it, cd's towering into the air. A portable tv was tucked into another corner, sitting on top of a dresser. At the moment, his partner was curled up amid cream colored sheets, black hair flying out across the pillow as she slept.
He began cawing, flapping his way around the room and hoping to make enough noise to wake her up. Her brows drew down in sleepy annoyance, and there was a grunt from her as she rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head and hiding her face into the mattress. He'd seen her sleep like this before; it was the one thing she liked to indulge in, otherwise being an incessant overworker. Occasional hibernation from which it took nearly an earthquake to snap her out of. Sniffing, he squawked louder as he landed on the headpost of her bed, flapping his wings and making as much noise as he could. His efforts earned him a hand reaching out from the covers and rudely whacking the alarm clock off the bedstand.
Seeing that, he stopped squawking and tried another tactic, feeling a bit pleased with himself for getting a bit of revenge. Sharp talons dug into the mound in the covers, sending her leaping upright with a screech as he flapped his way into a safer area.
"You...." Karasu growled as she flipped over, untangling the covers and rubbing her rear end as she glared blearily around the room. The black bird kept away for a moment, knowing that she'd whack him if he got too close at the moment. She was waking up, straightening out a tank top and grey boxer shorts as she searched the room for her attacker. "Evermore, you bastard...what do you think you're doing?"
He squawked again, tentatively hovering closer, then diving in and latching onto her forearm before she could swat at him. At the contact, broken, fragmented images began to fill her mind, not quite panicked, but layered with feelings of worry on behalf of her familiar. As she recognized the stream of thoughts, and the path they were showing her outside, her anger faded and she began to sift through them. First the shopping district of Juuban. Then closer images, streets she could just begin to pick out.
Karasu leapt out of bed, dislodging Evermore as she realized what the bird was trying to tell her.
Two of them were coming.
Close. Too close.
Out of her room in an instant, she was running barefoot across the floor of the office building, heading towards the elevator that would lead her back to her laboratory. Moving down into the darkness, she could hear Evermore's wings in the silence, then saw him glide along ahead of her towards her reflective pool. It took her only a moment to make her way there, dropping to her knees beside it and waiting for it to show her what she wished.
In her black eyes, the images reflected. The two figures walking steadily out of the shopping district and closer towards Mugen Academy, making their way towards the ruins of the building down the street from her own empty offices.
"Damn it...." she murmured, a hand balling into a fist and banging against the lip of the scrying pool, hard enough to send ripples through the water and to disrupt the image there. Annoyed at herself for causing the images to float away, she waited impatiently for the water to grow still again, wanting to know if any others were in the area. After a moment, the water cleared, the mirror's surface showing her another pair of people. Like the first two, they were also wandering, though she was able to pick out the name of one of the stores. They were headed the opposite direction, apparently split up to cover more ground.
Her mind whirled. Attacking the first ones would succeed in only making the area look suspicious- it would scream that someone was trying to hide something, especially if they realized just how close they were to Mugen Academy's burial site. For all she knew, they were on their way there deliberately. But if she attacked the others, would they be able to call for help? If they could, then attacking them would be best, leading the others away unobtrusively, thinking the danger was further away. If they could not....
She glanced at Evermore. If she released him with orders to be seen, or even to attack some weaker human...a child, perhaps...it would be enough to get their attention, and lead them away towards her main target, the more distant pair. It would be suspicious that way, but Evermore would look less powerful than a kugutsu, not resembling an old enemy.
It took only a moment to cross the floor of her laboratory, eyes flicking over her rows of poised poppets on the shelf. One of the spots was empty, the one Eudial figurine broken already. There was no time to create a daimon hybrid, not with them so close. Instead she would need to distract them some other way, with something strong enough to be dangerous, and effective enough to keep that kazaana out of the way. If she could take one of these out now, she would.
After a moment, she snatched one of the figures off the shelf.
This one would do.
It took a little while, but after the first few minutes, Sango and Miroku began to relax. For the most part, the people shopping ignored them. There really was nothing odd to notice other than the fact they stared a little more at things than any normal person would; after all, Sango was back in her wine colored dress, and Miroku in his long sleeved blue shirt and black pants. Their clothing could not give away their identities as people currently time displaced, and Kirara kept herself in Sango's purse, occasionally poking her nose out and enjoying the free ride.
"It's not so different from home," Miroku told her as they passed a vendor selling baked pretzels. The smell of the cooking food lifted into the air, slightly tinged with salt. "People still sell things, and others look. Just...larger. Much larger."
Sango agreed silently, pausing again to glance inside one of the store windows. He waited for her, realizing that shopping seemed to be the timeless women's sport, and Sango was slightly curious as to the fashion trends. Kagome's school uniform or occasional other outfit seemed like an oddity in the past. Now, seeing the way people here were usually attired, the uniqueness of the uniform faded as curiosity about general styles grew. They'd passed several stores, both women's and men's, hesitating at the windows before one of them would remember why they were out, and they would leave again. This time though, Sango had hesitated at something other than clothes.
"Jewels," she murmured, placing a hand to her cheek as her eyes roamed over the display. Absently, she realized Miroku had come to peer inside with her, and they both took a look at the layout of glittering gemstones. Black velvet filled the case, amethysts and sapphires laying on top, bright halogen lamps inside catching on the facets and setting them to their brightest glitter. "Beautiful..." she breathed after a moment, a finger lightly tapping against the glass. There was nothing like that in their era; nothing so perfectly cut and fashioned that she had ever seen. Even the glass was rare, so hard and difficult to find.
Beside her, Miroku glanced at the profile of her face. The light from the display reflected in her eyes, making them brighter, and it caused him to smile slightly. "Let's go in for a moment."
The suggestion made her lift her head, and she looked at him, startled. "Oh, no, houshi-sama, we should keep going. We shouldn't just stand around and just look at things." Her protest softened slightly, and she glanced away, eyes sliding back towards the jewelry. "We don't have time to have fun."
Miroku followed her gaze, then looked at her again. "I'm sure it will be fine to stop for a moment. We will never get the chance again, once we return home."
That made her lift her head again, and she looked at him evenly. He returned her gaze, waiting for her to decide. Slowly, she agreed, aware of the way he spoke. "Are you sure?"
"Everyone seems to just go in and out, without necessarily buying things. If we're just ordinary people out for an afternoon stroll, then it would be expected for us to stop every once in awhile."
He half turned, waiting for her to follow, and after a moment she did. The concept of glass doors had seemed quite amazing the day before, but they were a bit more used to it now, and Miroku took one of the handles, pulling it open to let Sango through as she gently pushed Kirara back inside the purse, gesturing for her to be silent. Red eyes blinked up at her for a moment as she sunk into the purse's shadows, wriggling and then growing still.
Inside, it was quiet, soft classical music playing over the intercom system in the store. Bright chandeliers hung from the ceiling, providing warm white light from above, reflecting off the silvery edges of glass cases. There were customers here and there, a clerk helping one couple by unlocking a case and drawing out an emerald necklace, much to the pleased expression on the woman's face.
Holding the straps of her purse a bit more tightly, Sango looked around the store wide eyed, eyes roaming across the chandeliers, the rich carpet, and the various items of jewelry on display. She moved towards one of the closer cases, noticing that the top was also made of the fine glass, letting her look downward and see the jewelry as well. Miroku kept a step behind her, trying to keep from staring around to satisfy his own curiosity at the place. In here, there were enough gems to keep a person set for life. It was more than any daimyo would ever have, and in this era they kept everything out on display to just look at. He wondered how they protected it all.
Sango had paused at one of the cases, eyes catching on an array of clear stones. They looked like liquid water, like unmeltable ice frozen hard and still, cut to catch the light that was shed upon them from the bright lamps inside the case. Black claret velvet heightened the contrast of prismatic light, tiny rainbows caught inside the gemstones. There was one was set like teardrop, slightly tilted on a white gold band, smaller stones splashed around its edge. "This one is so beautiful," she whispered, trying not to leave smudge marks on the clean glass.
Behind the case, a figure moved, and Sango glanced up to see a woman appear, smiling. She wore a fashionable, trim black suit, her dark red hair pulled back in a neat bun at the nape of her neck. "Konnichiwa," she greeted, including Miroku in her smile. "Can I help two you with something?"
"Ah...um..." Sango tried, not really sure of herself. She remembered how Setsuna and Kami had acted in the clothing stores the other day, simply taking blouses and skirts off the racks and urging her to try them on. Here, though, the items apparently for sale were locked up, and the way of looking at them quite different. This felt like a worse idea by the moment, since she had no idea what to say. If she asked to look at something, would she have to buy it? Things like this were sure to be expensive, and she didn't have any money. Not that she'd really know how to count it out even if she did. "We're...just looking at the jewelry." she managed after a moment.
"Yes," Miroku agreed after a moment, realizing that it would be easy for either of them to make a mistake with another person questioning. "They are very pretty. They look rather expensive, though."
That brought out a chuckle from the woman, and she waved her hand. "These are actually on sale this week," she told them, not really noticing the odd glance exchanged between Sango and Miroku. Was the jewelry not always for sale? Was it sometimes just too look at? Did it belong to someone else? "They are very lovely. It's a summer special I'm running all week. So you two are in luck."
"Ah..." Miroku faltered a bit, trying to figure out what to say. "Something you're running all week? Are these your jewels to sell?"
The woman laughed, nodding. "I'm Osaka Natsumi, and OSA-P is my store. I just got this set of diamonds in less than a week ago, and they've been quite popular." She smiled a bit more at Miroku, then turned to look at Sango. "Is there anything you'd like to look at or try on?" She tilted her head, trying to get a better look at Sango's hands. They were clasped together, as though slightly nervous. Looking between the two, she tried not to laugh without something being said. Out shopping for diamond rings and acting nervous? It was sweet, and she'd seen the type before. "Well, you look like you have slim hands...one of these will probably fit nicely. Anything you'd like to try?"
Sango looked from the woman to the display again, eyeing the teardrop shaped diamond. Osaka-san had said 'try on' and that was what Setsuna and Kami said she did with clothes...and they hadn't bought everything she'd 'tried on' so it was likely this was the same way. Maybe the jewelry was locked up just because it was so expensive. "Y...yes..." Sango began reluctantly, glancing at Miroku, who was shrugging. "The...the pretty one...that one, there."
Osaka-san knelt down a bit, taking a key off her bracelet and unlocked the case, drawing out a bit of black velvet and the ring Sango had pointed out. "Excellent taste," she told Sango, laying the pieces on top of the glass. Then she glanced at Miroku, who was just standing there and watching uncertainly. An amused smile formed on her lips, and she picked up the ring, handing it to him. Young couples were so adorable, but sometimes so clueless. "Why don't you slip it on her finger to see if it fits, ne?"
"Me?" Miroku blinked, half backing away as the woman pressed the ring towards him. He wasn't really sure why he had to do it.
"Ah, don't tell me you're afraid to touch her!" Natsumi laughed, shaking her head and urging him to accept it. Sango had suddenly folded her arms, looking annoyed. Well, he'd tried to touch just about everything other than her hand before, so putting a ring on her finger really shouldn't be a problem. There was that, and he didn't want Sango being reminded of his little wandering hands problem for the rest of the day, storming around being irritated with him.
Reluctantly, he accepted the ring, reaching forward and sliding Sango's hand out from where she had folded it. She kept her head down, and he realized she was blushing slightly, biting her lip and trying not to look embarrassed as he tried to slip the ring on.
"Other hand."
Both started, turning to see Natsumi leaning on her elbows on the case. She was waving a hand airily, pointing at them.
"Other hand. Left, not right."
Miroku hesitated, then took Sango's other hand, slipping the ring over her finger until it stopped. She held it up to the light of the chandelier, letting it catch in the facets, watching the rainbows play inside the prism.
"I...think it fits..." Sango managed, trying to fight the blush away. This felt very odd for some reason. It was just a ring. A very pretty, beautiful ring, but just a ring. Looking at the woman again, she smiled faintly. "It's lovely."
"Arigatou," came the reply. Then a curious, "When did you two meet?"
"Meet?" Miroku repeated, looking at Sango. "I don't know...it's been a few months now, hasn't it?"
"Yes...how many new moons has it been since I met the rest of you?"
Miroku shook his head. "I haven't kept count. We could ask Kagome-sama or Inuyasha when we see them later today."
Natsumi was a little confused by the conversation. It almost sounded like they didn't know what she just asked them. "But you are looking for rings?" she persisted.
That interrupted them, and they glanced at her. Sango looked down, lightly cradling her left hand, where the ring lay. She smiled gently, then began to slip it off, pulling it away and handing it back. "We were looking, Osaka-san. We really don't have enough money to buy something like this, even though it is 'on sale' this week."
A sympathetic smile formed on Natsumi's face, and she nodded, placing the ring back inside the case. "I see. It's all right, and understandable. Sometimes you have plans, but not the money to back them up just yet. It's hard just starting out. Everything is so new and different."
Sango and Miroku exchanged glances. "Everything is very...new and different, Osaka-san," Miroku agreed, wondering what the woman was thinking. Was there some connection between rings and being someplace new? He couldn't think of any, but then this was five hundred years after the time he was familiar with. Maybe it was a new custom.
Natsumi was nodding in agreement, locking the ring back up. "I wish you the best of luck then. Please, feel free to come back if you decide to get the ring after all. We keep them under warranty, and we also have a down payment program."
"Uh..." Miroku stuttered, trying to figure out what 'warranty' and 'down payment' meant. He recovered quickly, smiling. "Arigatou...but we can't. We will be sure to return if some money comes our way. You have some very lovely jewelry, Osaka-san."
"Arigatou," she bowed, straightening up and smiling. Then she blinked as she noticed the young man suddenly turn away, a frown deepening on hs face. The young woman with him was following his gaze, stepping half away as she noticed a new person enter in the door.
Osaka-san wasn't very sure of why there was a sudden tension in the air. It was warm outside, but when the doors opened to admit the woman, it felt like a winter gust of wind accompanied her. There was something unusual in the way the newcomer carried herself, something haughty and yet calm, possessing a certain carelessness. She stood framed in the glass doors, clothed in a sleek blue and black dress, a light blue hat tilted on the side of her head, contrasting to straight white hair, which fell around her shoulders. Ice blue eyes slipped across the store, settling on Sango and Miroku. A smile formed on her lips, and she lifted a hand to show off a heavy bracelet on her wrist.
"Taiji-ya-san, houshi-sama. I, Viluy, at Level 202 Death Busters...shall defeat you."
Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake~Omake
Osaka Natsumi wasn't very sure of why there was a sudden tension in the air. It was warm outside, but when the doors opened, it was as though a jungle heat swept through the store. A figure was framed in the doorway, a bizarre woman with green skin, wearing a nearly non-existent, skimpy tiger-striped bikini, with gigantic pink petals for her hair.
Yes, it was a Random Youma from the Sailor Moon anime.
Random Youma #1: ROAR!!!!
Everyone in the room was stupefied by the bizarre-ness of Random Youma #1. At least until Sango sighed, folded her arms and glanced at the gaping Miroku beside her.
"Well, houshi-sama. You want to try asking that thing to bear your child?"
Miroku: blink blink Uh....
I have entirely too much fun playing with Sango and Miroku.
Bwahaha.
I had the idea for the OSA-P scene, and Kagome knowing what rings (particularly ones with diamonds) mean, the scene didn't fit for Inuyasha and Kagome. I think I cackled though the writing process of that entire scene.... Thanks go out to Quicksilver for supplying the name of Naru's Mom. (I'm not sure if it's ever said. She's just 'Naru's Mom.')
Obviously, with the end of this chapter, we're back to plot again. ^.~
Til next storytime.
~Queen
Coming up next, in Chapter 18: Stalemate-
If she moved against the humans, the cat would attack. To try to escape the cat, the humans would have enough time to reach her, drawing any weaponry they had as they came. Either way, she could take out one, but in the end, not be able to finish off all of them, failing. Though at the same time, she knew that no matter who she hit, she would take out at least one member of their fighting force. Also, she could easily hit someone in their audience, and that they could not allow. That meant one thing.
Stalemate.