A/N: New chapter- FINALLY. ^_^ Despite the evils of writer's
block and my internet connection's stubborn refusal to come back
from the dead, I have updated it! Bwaa-ha! I RULE!
"High Stakes Fashion Show"
"Hello," Souta said finally.
The red-eyed death kitty meowed and Buyo swooned like a schoolboy.
"Hello," the monk said with a faint smile. "Dreadfully sorry to drop in like this and all, but might you know where Inu-Yasha has run off to?"
"Sorry, haven't seen him," Souta replied. "You coming out, or what?"
"Kagome-chan would kill us," Sango muttered.
"Only if Inu-Yasha didn't beat her to it," Shippou put in sourly.
"An excellent idea, my boy!" Miroku said cheerfully, already sitting next to Souta and ignoring the exterminator and kitsune with unlikely ease. "Say, I don't suppose there are any nubile young ladies about at the moment, hmm?"
"Nope, just me and Grandpa," Souta told him.
Miroku looked crestfallen. "Really? Shoot, I wanted to meet a girl from Kagome-sama's world."
"You could try her school," Souta suggested helpfully.
"Another brilliant epiphany!" Miroku exclaimed in delight, clapping his hands together. "And knowing Inu-Yasha, he's sure to be there as well!"
"Houshi-sama . . . " Sango growled in exasperation, clambering up over the side of the well.
"Do you want to sit around all day waiting for them?" Miroku asked rhetorically.
"Of course not, but-!" she protested. Too late: he was already gone. "Houshi-sama, you idiot!" she yelled, running after him. "We can't go out there dressed like this!"
"Then we won't!" he called back, and the pair disappeared inside the house, evidently to go closet raiding.
Kirara raised her kitty eyebrows and gave Buyo and Souta a dubious look.
"So," Souta said finally, turning to Shippou. "Wanna play catch or something?"
"'Kay." The kitsune shrugged. "Kirara's the ball."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was lunchtime, and Kagome was having some degree of difficulty avoiding her friends, her enemies, and their questions. The name "Kouga" kept coming up, and with it uncomfortable queries. This was not a good thing, for obvious reasons.
Neither was looking up and finding Inu-Yasha in the tree she was eating lunch under.
"What in HELL are you doing?!" she shrieked, and the hanyou dropped down on top of her.
"Looking for you, bitch!" he yelled.
"I SAID I'd come back on Saturday; now buzz off!" Kagome shouted, throwing her lunchbox at his face. Unfortunately, he caught it and began to devour its contents. "Hey!"
"What, no ramen?" Inu-Yasha gave the box an annoyed look, and Kagome struggled to repress the desire to sit him all the way to China. While doing so, it occurred to her that he was not wearing the usual feudal ensemble, but instead a red trenchcoat, black fedora, and combat boots; which might've passed for something akin to an acceptable outfit had they not been in the middle of a schoolyard. His hair was even braided- very bishounen.
Inu-Yasha idly twirled his rosary around his gloved fingers for a second, thoughtfully regarding the remains of Kagome's decimated lunch. Finally, he tossed it about fifty meters over his shoulder (Kagome was momentarily gratified to see it hit Shikako in the back of the head), and turned serious eyes to Kagome's, lowering violet-tinted sunglasses and making her stomach do the queasy thing.
She really WAS out of it lately- it had taken her a good three minutes to see that her boyfriend (stop, rewind, DELETE) the jerk was dressed up like a cross between Vash the Stampede and Duo Maxwell, with just a hint of steampunk fashion thrown in for spice.
"Where did you GET that?" she asked finally, and Inu-Yasha's expression immediately brightened (well, for Inu-Yasha at least).
The hanyou jumped to his feet and very smugly strutted in front of Kagome a few times. "Your gramps gave me a slice of plastic to get some native clothes a while back, just in case I ever needed 'em," he explained smugly. "Now, worship me; for I possess snazzy sunglasses and a funky trenchcoat and can make random scenes go flowery and/or pastel-colored on whim."
'No more anime for Inu-Yasha,' Kagome silently decided. Then he pulled a bouquet of roses out of his coat and dropped them in her lap with a dazzling and very out of character smile. ' . . . well, okay, maybe just a LITTLE.'
"Uh, not ta interrupt romantic cliché #206 or whatever, but can I borrow yer notes, Kagome-chan?" Makoto inquired dryly as he suddenly walked up with all the dramatic timing of any sex god/plot device, and Inu-Yasha blinked at him in disbelief. Kagome started silently panicking.
" . . . You cut your hair," the hanyou remarked after a long, awkward silence.
"Why's everybody keep SAYIN' that?" Makoto complained. "Geez, if it's such a damned problem I'll just grow it out again!"
"Kagome . . . " Inu-Yasha began in his "this is a very suspicious situation I am observing and you'd damn well better be able to explain each and every nuance of it" tone.
"Ah, this is Obana Makoto, Inu-Yasha!" Kagome said hurriedly. "Makoto-kun, this is Inu-Yasha. My . . . um . . . something I can't make up right now."
Inu-Yasha GLARED. "This is the guy who gave you a ride to school?" he demanded of Kagome. "Well, I see where the reference to the bozou came from now. They look enough alike to be the same person."
He quirked a questioning eyebrow at Kagome and she slapped her forehead as she realized what he was implying. 'Kagome no BAKA!' she screamed mentally. 'Of COURSE they're reincarnations- how hard was THAT to figure out?!' And as Kagome went on mentally berating herself, Shindo Akitaka strolled by and things got more screwed up.
Shindo/Kouga/whoever he was today clamped a hand down on Inu- Yasha's shoulder, demanding, "Kid, what do you think you're trying to pull in that get-up? Get in uniform!"
Inu-Yasha turned to face the teacher and blinked in mild surprise. "What're YOU doing here?" he asked in disbelief.
"He's a TEACHER, you idiot!" Kagome hissed, but Shindo looked just as shocked to see Inu-Yasha as the other was to see him.
"You're supposed to be dead," he said weakly.
"You wish!" Inu-Yasha snapped, automatic response kicking in. "Please tell me you aren't bugging Kagome again!"
Makoto's eyebrows went UP. "Excuse me?"
" 'Again' . . . ?" Shindo repeated in confusion. Then a slow, dismayed look of understanding dawned on his face and he suddenly looked very old. "That Kagome's dead, Inu-Yasha," he said quietly, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders, and Kagome raised her own eyebrows when she heard him use the hanyou's given name.
"What are you going off about?" Inu-Yasha demanded.
"Just . . . come with me, okay? We need to have a little talk," Shindo said carefully in a tone with which one might talk to a lunatic. "You wouldn't mind, right, Kagome?" He gave her an imploring look and she understood what was going through his mind.
He thought Inu-Yasha was five hundred years older and had gone senile. Maybe he'd seen him a few times over the centuries; maybe not- the fact was, he remembered the hanyou and seemed acquainted with the concept of insanity.
How long COULD you live without losing your mind, anyway?
But still . . .
"Osuwari," she said simply, and Inu-Yasha hit the ground with an outraged yowl, his rosary flashing bright blue.
"The hell . . . ?!" Makoto choked, nearly falling over.
Shindo paled considerably. " . . . Makoto. Leave," he whispered.
"What?!" Makoto exclaimed. "No way! What's goin' ON here?!"
"Some old friends are getting together," Kagome replied softly, never looking away from Shindo's rigid form. "It's okay, Makoto- kun. I'll explain later- I promise."
A troubled look crossed the boy's face, but he finally just shrugged. "Whatever, 'Gome-chan," he said with false disinterest. "I'll bug off if ya want me ta. Catch ya after school."
As soon as Makoto was well and truly out of earshot and bothering Hojou again, Kagome turned back- just in time to be swept up into a crushing embrace by Shindo, incidentally. Inu- Yasha might've protested (read: ripped out his marrow), but the wolf youkai began to sob before he could even stand again, and Kagome quickly returned the hug.
"Kouga-kun," she said worriedly.
"I've finally gone insane, haven't I," the youkai mumbled, burying his face in her hair and breathing deeply. "Your scent, though . . . I had forgotten- but this is it. This is you. You're alive."
"Yeah, Kouga-kun," Kagome replied quietly. "This is me."
* tbc . . . *
. : review. it's your patriotic duty as a would-be citizen of Japan : .
"High Stakes Fashion Show"
"Hello," Souta said finally.
The red-eyed death kitty meowed and Buyo swooned like a schoolboy.
"Hello," the monk said with a faint smile. "Dreadfully sorry to drop in like this and all, but might you know where Inu-Yasha has run off to?"
"Sorry, haven't seen him," Souta replied. "You coming out, or what?"
"Kagome-chan would kill us," Sango muttered.
"Only if Inu-Yasha didn't beat her to it," Shippou put in sourly.
"An excellent idea, my boy!" Miroku said cheerfully, already sitting next to Souta and ignoring the exterminator and kitsune with unlikely ease. "Say, I don't suppose there are any nubile young ladies about at the moment, hmm?"
"Nope, just me and Grandpa," Souta told him.
Miroku looked crestfallen. "Really? Shoot, I wanted to meet a girl from Kagome-sama's world."
"You could try her school," Souta suggested helpfully.
"Another brilliant epiphany!" Miroku exclaimed in delight, clapping his hands together. "And knowing Inu-Yasha, he's sure to be there as well!"
"Houshi-sama . . . " Sango growled in exasperation, clambering up over the side of the well.
"Do you want to sit around all day waiting for them?" Miroku asked rhetorically.
"Of course not, but-!" she protested. Too late: he was already gone. "Houshi-sama, you idiot!" she yelled, running after him. "We can't go out there dressed like this!"
"Then we won't!" he called back, and the pair disappeared inside the house, evidently to go closet raiding.
Kirara raised her kitty eyebrows and gave Buyo and Souta a dubious look.
"So," Souta said finally, turning to Shippou. "Wanna play catch or something?"
"'Kay." The kitsune shrugged. "Kirara's the ball."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was lunchtime, and Kagome was having some degree of difficulty avoiding her friends, her enemies, and their questions. The name "Kouga" kept coming up, and with it uncomfortable queries. This was not a good thing, for obvious reasons.
Neither was looking up and finding Inu-Yasha in the tree she was eating lunch under.
"What in HELL are you doing?!" she shrieked, and the hanyou dropped down on top of her.
"Looking for you, bitch!" he yelled.
"I SAID I'd come back on Saturday; now buzz off!" Kagome shouted, throwing her lunchbox at his face. Unfortunately, he caught it and began to devour its contents. "Hey!"
"What, no ramen?" Inu-Yasha gave the box an annoyed look, and Kagome struggled to repress the desire to sit him all the way to China. While doing so, it occurred to her that he was not wearing the usual feudal ensemble, but instead a red trenchcoat, black fedora, and combat boots; which might've passed for something akin to an acceptable outfit had they not been in the middle of a schoolyard. His hair was even braided- very bishounen.
Inu-Yasha idly twirled his rosary around his gloved fingers for a second, thoughtfully regarding the remains of Kagome's decimated lunch. Finally, he tossed it about fifty meters over his shoulder (Kagome was momentarily gratified to see it hit Shikako in the back of the head), and turned serious eyes to Kagome's, lowering violet-tinted sunglasses and making her stomach do the queasy thing.
She really WAS out of it lately- it had taken her a good three minutes to see that her boyfriend (stop, rewind, DELETE) the jerk was dressed up like a cross between Vash the Stampede and Duo Maxwell, with just a hint of steampunk fashion thrown in for spice.
"Where did you GET that?" she asked finally, and Inu-Yasha's expression immediately brightened (well, for Inu-Yasha at least).
The hanyou jumped to his feet and very smugly strutted in front of Kagome a few times. "Your gramps gave me a slice of plastic to get some native clothes a while back, just in case I ever needed 'em," he explained smugly. "Now, worship me; for I possess snazzy sunglasses and a funky trenchcoat and can make random scenes go flowery and/or pastel-colored on whim."
'No more anime for Inu-Yasha,' Kagome silently decided. Then he pulled a bouquet of roses out of his coat and dropped them in her lap with a dazzling and very out of character smile. ' . . . well, okay, maybe just a LITTLE.'
"Uh, not ta interrupt romantic cliché #206 or whatever, but can I borrow yer notes, Kagome-chan?" Makoto inquired dryly as he suddenly walked up with all the dramatic timing of any sex god/plot device, and Inu-Yasha blinked at him in disbelief. Kagome started silently panicking.
" . . . You cut your hair," the hanyou remarked after a long, awkward silence.
"Why's everybody keep SAYIN' that?" Makoto complained. "Geez, if it's such a damned problem I'll just grow it out again!"
"Kagome . . . " Inu-Yasha began in his "this is a very suspicious situation I am observing and you'd damn well better be able to explain each and every nuance of it" tone.
"Ah, this is Obana Makoto, Inu-Yasha!" Kagome said hurriedly. "Makoto-kun, this is Inu-Yasha. My . . . um . . . something I can't make up right now."
Inu-Yasha GLARED. "This is the guy who gave you a ride to school?" he demanded of Kagome. "Well, I see where the reference to the bozou came from now. They look enough alike to be the same person."
He quirked a questioning eyebrow at Kagome and she slapped her forehead as she realized what he was implying. 'Kagome no BAKA!' she screamed mentally. 'Of COURSE they're reincarnations- how hard was THAT to figure out?!' And as Kagome went on mentally berating herself, Shindo Akitaka strolled by and things got more screwed up.
Shindo/Kouga/whoever he was today clamped a hand down on Inu- Yasha's shoulder, demanding, "Kid, what do you think you're trying to pull in that get-up? Get in uniform!"
Inu-Yasha turned to face the teacher and blinked in mild surprise. "What're YOU doing here?" he asked in disbelief.
"He's a TEACHER, you idiot!" Kagome hissed, but Shindo looked just as shocked to see Inu-Yasha as the other was to see him.
"You're supposed to be dead," he said weakly.
"You wish!" Inu-Yasha snapped, automatic response kicking in. "Please tell me you aren't bugging Kagome again!"
Makoto's eyebrows went UP. "Excuse me?"
" 'Again' . . . ?" Shindo repeated in confusion. Then a slow, dismayed look of understanding dawned on his face and he suddenly looked very old. "That Kagome's dead, Inu-Yasha," he said quietly, putting his hands on the boy's shoulders, and Kagome raised her own eyebrows when she heard him use the hanyou's given name.
"What are you going off about?" Inu-Yasha demanded.
"Just . . . come with me, okay? We need to have a little talk," Shindo said carefully in a tone with which one might talk to a lunatic. "You wouldn't mind, right, Kagome?" He gave her an imploring look and she understood what was going through his mind.
He thought Inu-Yasha was five hundred years older and had gone senile. Maybe he'd seen him a few times over the centuries; maybe not- the fact was, he remembered the hanyou and seemed acquainted with the concept of insanity.
How long COULD you live without losing your mind, anyway?
But still . . .
"Osuwari," she said simply, and Inu-Yasha hit the ground with an outraged yowl, his rosary flashing bright blue.
"The hell . . . ?!" Makoto choked, nearly falling over.
Shindo paled considerably. " . . . Makoto. Leave," he whispered.
"What?!" Makoto exclaimed. "No way! What's goin' ON here?!"
"Some old friends are getting together," Kagome replied softly, never looking away from Shindo's rigid form. "It's okay, Makoto- kun. I'll explain later- I promise."
A troubled look crossed the boy's face, but he finally just shrugged. "Whatever, 'Gome-chan," he said with false disinterest. "I'll bug off if ya want me ta. Catch ya after school."
As soon as Makoto was well and truly out of earshot and bothering Hojou again, Kagome turned back- just in time to be swept up into a crushing embrace by Shindo, incidentally. Inu- Yasha might've protested (read: ripped out his marrow), but the wolf youkai began to sob before he could even stand again, and Kagome quickly returned the hug.
"Kouga-kun," she said worriedly.
"I've finally gone insane, haven't I," the youkai mumbled, burying his face in her hair and breathing deeply. "Your scent, though . . . I had forgotten- but this is it. This is you. You're alive."
"Yeah, Kouga-kun," Kagome replied quietly. "This is me."
* tbc . . . *
. : review. it's your patriotic duty as a would-be citizen of Japan : .