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might own Inuyasha? If so, what are you taking? I want some of it!
Things to do to keep from losing your mind....
Kagome pulled her hair up loosely into a pretty clip, leaving a few tendrils to fall around her face. She wanted it up off her neck because it could get really hot while she was dancing. She was in such a good mood! 'Dancing all night without a shard in sight! Hey, that rhymed!' There would be no slavering demons trying to kill her (at least she hoped not!), no rude impatient dog demons insulting her, no pervert monks trying to cop a feel of her backside.Just music and fun, under the stars! She sang softly to herself:
Anybody could be that guy The lights are low and the music's hiiiiiiiigh.
She picked up a fresh scented cologne from her dressing table, sprayed it into the air, then twirled into it, still singing. Bad idea.
"Eeech!" she spat! "Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, YUCK!" She had managed to get a mouthful of the airborne cologne while hitting a high note. She grabbed up a glass of water she had on her bedside table, and took a big swig, then ran to the bathroom and spit it into the sink. Her mouth still tasted awful, but was a little better.
Hands on either side of the sink, she looked up at herself in the mirror. The girl who looked back had red, watery eyes and tears rolling down her cheeks. Damn! She grabbed some tissue, and blotted the tears. Back to her room to touch up her make-up.
Just then, Souta called up the stairs, "Kagomeeeeeeeee! Your DATE is here!" She thought she might have heard a bit of disapproval in his voice. Knowing Inuyasha was his hero, she knew why. She checked the clock.
'Hmmph! Ten minutes early!' she huffed to herself. 'Of course, I suppose it's better than when Inuyasha comes days early and expects me to drop everything to return with him immediately!' She called out, "Be down in a few minutes!"
When she finally made her appearance, she once again looked fresh~faced and lovely. Houjo gazed up at her as if she were a goddess descending from on high. He couldn't believe his good fortune! An entire evening with this amazingly beautiful girl, and in front of all their friends to boot. Everyone would surely know that they were a pair. And hopefully tonight he would find something interesting to talk to her about, so he wouldn't bore her silly.
"Good evening, Kagome," he said, blushing slightly. "You look beautiful." He held out a gift bag.
"Thank you, Houjo-kun." Kagome, for her part, blushed furiously. She wished he would stop bringing her all these gifts. She never knew what to do with them. She silently cursed her grandfather for all the stupid illnesses he claimed she had. If only he would tell everyone she had terrible allergies and had to live on a strict diet of chocolate and instant ramen. Then she could at least feed her gifts to Shippo and Inuyasha.
She opened the bag to find a little metal cylinder with a lid. Frowning, she took off the top, and was greeted with the pleasant aroma of rosemary and lavender.
"It's an aroma-therapy candle. Good for soothing the nerves and promoting better sleep," he explained.
Mmmmm. maybe he could keep bringing her gifts after all. "Thank you, Houjo- kun. It's lovely." She turned to see Souto, arms crossed on his chest (he must have learned that from a certain half dog-demon!) and watching them disapprovingly. Handing him the bag, she said, "Will you take this to my room, please? We need to get going if we're going to get to dinner."
Souta harrumphed at her, ('Wow, he really is taking this hero-worshipping thing a bit too far! Next thing I know, he's going to be wearing all red and refusing to cut his hair.') but took the bag and headed up the stairs. Kagome grabbed a long swathe of soft fabric and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Ready, Houjo-kun?"
He offered her his arm, and the two of them went out the door. From the staircase, Souta scowled. 'Inuyasha is so much cooler than that idiot! And I know my sis likes him. Why does he have to have that stupid dead woman following him around?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
By the time Inuyasha emerged from the well on Kagome's side, the sun had set and the sky was painted in great gashes of red, gold, and purple. The Hanyou stepped cautiously out of the well house, not wanting to encounter any stray worshippers who might scream at the sight of him, or worse yet, want to play with his ears. He sniffed around a bit, but although Kagome's scent was fresh, it was clear that she was no longer there. There was another unfamiliar scent along with hers ~ that of a male. And a male that was obviously glad for her company. Inuyasha let out a low, threatening growl, but of course, it was lost on its intended victim, as he was long gone. And he had taken Kagome with him.
He put his nose to the ground intent on following the scent, but when he reached the curb he swore under his breath. The scents of Kagome and her "date" ended there, meaning that they had left in one of those noisy metal things with wheels. Now what?
Just then, Souta came out of the house. "She's already gone." He said it a little resentfully, but that was lost on the frustrated hanyou.
Inuyasha didn't waste time on greetings. "She said this dance thing is at her school. Where is that?"
Souta eyed him for a minute, considering the best way to handle this. He might be only eight, but he's not stupid. He is very well aware that jealousy is a powerful motivator, especially to Inuyasha. "Why do you want to know?"
Inuyasha floundered for a moment, but fell back on the old standard, "So I can protect her and the shards, of course."
'Hmmmph. Yeah, right! These teenagers are so stupid!' "Why? Did you see a demon sneak up through the well?"
"Well...no." Inuyasha reluctantly admitted.
"I think she should be ok. We don't have many demons hanging around in modern Tokyo. And Houjo should be able to protect her from anything else that comes along. He's real good at sports." He also thought his sister could probably tongue-lash anyone into wishing they were never born, but he left that bit out. If one didn't know better, they would think he had been taking lessons in tormenting their hanyou friend from Miroku. "Anyway, she isn't at the dance yet. They went out to dinner first."
"Dinner? Why would they go "out" for dinner? Why didn't they eat it here?" Now he had something else to worry about. 'Are they having one of those picnic things Kagome likes so much? Just the two of them?' Someone had just taken the knife and heated it before again twisting it in his gut.
The younger boy rolled his eyes. Inuyasha was much older than he was, but sometimes he could be so dumb. "They went to a fancy restaurant for dinner." When the hanyou gave him a confused look, he elucidated, "It's a place where you go and sit at little tables with candles and romantic music and they cook and serve dinner to you. At least, that's what the place they went to is like. It's my sister's favorite restaurant." He watched Inuyasha's face while he explained, and saw confusion replaced with something like panic mixed with anger. He was going to add, "Houjo likes my sister a lot, to take her to such a romantic place," but decided against it. He didn't want the guy to have a meltdown.
"How do I get there?" Inuyasha asked through clenched teeth.
"How should I know? I don't drive!"
Inuyasha began to pace out of frustration. He had to find them! He wasn't sure what he'd do when he did, but he had to find them. Kagome probably wouldn't approve of him slicing the stupid, weak human male in half with his claws. And Tetsiaga probably wouldn't respond because it probably wouldn't consider saving Kagome from her date "protecting" her. He raked his claws through his hair in agitation.
"Ok, so what about the dance? Where is the school?"
Souta motioned vaguely in the direction where the sun had set, "Over there."
But all Inuyasha could see where buildings and more buildings. There was no way he could find her from her scent out there. There were too many other distracting smells, too many other people to mask it. "Which one is it?"
The little boy grinned, "I could show you, but you have to wait till I eat my dinner."
Inuyasha growled in frustration. Souta added, "Like I said, she's not there yet anyway."
"What about your mom and your Grandfather? Are they going to just let you go off into the night with me?"
"Mom's away at her sister's, and Grandfather is already asleep. He's had the flu, so he's slept a lot this week." He said matter-of-factly, turning his back to his audience and heading back into the house. "If you're hungry, I'm heating up noodles with chicken and vegetables."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Back in the house, Souta served up two steaming bowls of food and set them on the table. Inuyasha sniffed tentatively, and finding the aroma delicious, went to work with his chopsticks. The contents of the bowl disappeared in a little less than three minutes. He tipped the bowl to his mouth and greedily drank the broth, letting some of it spill out the sides and onto the table.
Meanwhile, Souta's bowl was still completely full because he had been too busy gaping at Inuyasha. Someone was gonna have to teach him some table manners if he was ever going to come home with Kagome to eat. He couldn't believe that his sister hadn't smacked some into him already.
"Uh, you want some more?"
"No. Let's go."
The boy just sat and stared disbelievingly at his companion. "I'm not done yet. I haven't even started. Do you eat like that when my sister is around?"
"Like what?"
"Like a pig?"
"I don't eat like a pig!" The Hanyou snorted. 'Do I? Is that why she likes the human guy better?'
Souta sighed and turned his attention to his food. Inuyasha tapped his fingers on the table impatiently, but when it had no effect on the boy, he got up to look around. 'I see Kagome isn't the only stubborn one in this family!'
His attention was caught by a group of framed photographs on a wall. He knew about photographs because Kagome had brought her Kam-oo-rah through the well a couple of times, and when she came back after that, she had the pieces of paper with magical images of himself, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kaeda on them. He walked over and studied the photos with interest. There was one of Kagome's mom in a red kimono, standing with a man in formal dress. They both looked very happy. He could see clearly that the man had Kagome's eyes and and smile. Or rather, she had his. There were some family portraits, too. One was of the family when Kagome was very little, and Souta wasn't in that one. The next was of Kagome's parents, her Grandfather, little Kagome, and baby Souta. There was a similar one with both children older; Souta being maybe 4 or 5 years old. Then last one was the most recent, with a big hole where Kagome's Dad should have been. He felt a little tug in his heart. The smiles in this photo were much sadder than in the others. He knew what that felt like.
In another picture, a family of four sat near the ocean. A skinny little dark haired girl and her mother wore those strange bathing costumes that Kagome had worn in his time. The tiny boy and the man wore short pants. The family was covered with sand, and all of them were smiling cheerfully. Another picture that must have been taken the same day showed the little girl bending down next to very small boy. The boy was crouched by a small pool of water, and had a seashell in his chubby hand, holding it out proudly toward whomever had held the camera. He realized with a start that the little girl was Kagome, and the little boy was Souta. He couldn't help but smile at the little girl, and imagined her with little ears on top of her head, the way she might look he and Kagome had a daughter together. 'Hmph! Where did that come from?'
Moving on to the next photo, he saw a young Kagome, maybe 11 years old, with her raven hair tied into two tail-looking things on the sides of her head, and dressed in a short dress with a flared skirt and a big letter T on the front. She had a long shiny stick with two sort of ball-looking things at the ends held in the air over her head. She had one leg bent in front of her, with her toes pointed and resting on the ground. At her feet were two shiny red and white things that were pouffy like Shippo's tail.
There were pictures of Souta wearing one of those hats Inuyasha sometimes had to wear when he came to visit to cover his ears, holding a long shiny club, or without the hat, but with a black and white spotted ball on the ground in front of him. There were more pictures of Kagome as in different costumes, posed in silly positions, but always with her cheerful smile and shining eyes commanding the attention of the viewer.
The last picture took him by surprise. It had to have been taken fairly recently. Within the last year or two. Kagome looked very much like she did now, maybe a little younger as her figure wasn't quite as "womanly" as it is now. She was dressed in a white, flowing costume that draped her body with some kind of filmy material, and was dotted with flowers. Her hair loosely fell around her shoulders. Her legs were all white, and on her feet were pink shoes, with ribbons that tied them to her ankles. In this photo was also a boy, with black legs and a long tunic, tied at the waste. He stood behind Kagome with one arm outstretched, and the other (Grrrrrrrrrr) on her slim waist. Kagome was standing (he couldn't believe this) on the very tip of the toes of one of her feet, the other leg stretched out behind her. One arm extended gracefully above her head, the other rested lightly on top of the boy's outstretched hand. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her. The boy, he had decided to ignore. But Kagome was magnificent! So beautiful, so graceful.
So mesmerized was he that he didn't hear Souta's soft footsteps behind him, or even notice his presence until the boy said, "She's pretty, isn't she? She used to be a really good dancer. She was the principal dancer in her company. That's her in a ballet called "Giselle," about spirits of young women who lure their lovers to their deaths." Souta smirked at the irony behind Inuyasha's back.
Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, but voiced his first concern, "Who's that guy?"
"I dunno. Just some guy from the company who was playing her lover. Kagome's spirit couldn't bring herself to let her lover die in the end. So I guess he was the lucky guy in the group."
"He was Kagome's lover?"
"No," the boy said impatiently. "It was just a show. You know, like TV or theater. It's not real. It was just for entertainment. Besides, I think that guy likes boys better than girls."
"Oh...Is that what she's doing tonight? That kind of dance?"
"Nu-uh. She doesn't do that anymore."
Inuyasha was still staring at the enchantress in the photograph. "Why not?" even though he knew the answer.
"She doesn't have time anymore. She's can barely keep up at school, let alone do anything extra. She's always with you." He watched the hanyou as he said this, and saw sadness in his usually proud eyes. "Are you ready to go?"
Inuyasha shook himself out of the melancholy he had fallen into, and remembered why he was there. Without answering, he put his hand on the boy's shoulder and lead him out the door. Once outside, he took his charge onto his back, and leapt off into the night in the direction the boy had indicated.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A little dull? Sorry. As for the ballet Giselle: If there are any die- hard ballet lovers reading this, you will know I fudged a little with Souta's synopsis of the plot. Work with me guys! I had to make it fit.
Thank you one and all for your encouraging and helpful reviews. I think the most frequent message is essentially, "Hurry up and post, would you!" I am doing my best, honestly. I would rather do this than most of the stuff I have to do. But, life rears it's ugly head, and I have other responsibilities. So, please hang in there with me. And please continue to review. It makes me a better writer, and inspires me to get it done quicker.
Things to do to keep from losing your mind....
Kagome pulled her hair up loosely into a pretty clip, leaving a few tendrils to fall around her face. She wanted it up off her neck because it could get really hot while she was dancing. She was in such a good mood! 'Dancing all night without a shard in sight! Hey, that rhymed!' There would be no slavering demons trying to kill her (at least she hoped not!), no rude impatient dog demons insulting her, no pervert monks trying to cop a feel of her backside.Just music and fun, under the stars! She sang softly to herself:
Anybody could be that guy The lights are low and the music's hiiiiiiiigh.
She picked up a fresh scented cologne from her dressing table, sprayed it into the air, then twirled into it, still singing. Bad idea.
"Eeech!" she spat! "Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, YUCK!" She had managed to get a mouthful of the airborne cologne while hitting a high note. She grabbed up a glass of water she had on her bedside table, and took a big swig, then ran to the bathroom and spit it into the sink. Her mouth still tasted awful, but was a little better.
Hands on either side of the sink, she looked up at herself in the mirror. The girl who looked back had red, watery eyes and tears rolling down her cheeks. Damn! She grabbed some tissue, and blotted the tears. Back to her room to touch up her make-up.
Just then, Souta called up the stairs, "Kagomeeeeeeeee! Your DATE is here!" She thought she might have heard a bit of disapproval in his voice. Knowing Inuyasha was his hero, she knew why. She checked the clock.
'Hmmph! Ten minutes early!' she huffed to herself. 'Of course, I suppose it's better than when Inuyasha comes days early and expects me to drop everything to return with him immediately!' She called out, "Be down in a few minutes!"
When she finally made her appearance, she once again looked fresh~faced and lovely. Houjo gazed up at her as if she were a goddess descending from on high. He couldn't believe his good fortune! An entire evening with this amazingly beautiful girl, and in front of all their friends to boot. Everyone would surely know that they were a pair. And hopefully tonight he would find something interesting to talk to her about, so he wouldn't bore her silly.
"Good evening, Kagome," he said, blushing slightly. "You look beautiful." He held out a gift bag.
"Thank you, Houjo-kun." Kagome, for her part, blushed furiously. She wished he would stop bringing her all these gifts. She never knew what to do with them. She silently cursed her grandfather for all the stupid illnesses he claimed she had. If only he would tell everyone she had terrible allergies and had to live on a strict diet of chocolate and instant ramen. Then she could at least feed her gifts to Shippo and Inuyasha.
She opened the bag to find a little metal cylinder with a lid. Frowning, she took off the top, and was greeted with the pleasant aroma of rosemary and lavender.
"It's an aroma-therapy candle. Good for soothing the nerves and promoting better sleep," he explained.
Mmmmm. maybe he could keep bringing her gifts after all. "Thank you, Houjo- kun. It's lovely." She turned to see Souto, arms crossed on his chest (he must have learned that from a certain half dog-demon!) and watching them disapprovingly. Handing him the bag, she said, "Will you take this to my room, please? We need to get going if we're going to get to dinner."
Souta harrumphed at her, ('Wow, he really is taking this hero-worshipping thing a bit too far! Next thing I know, he's going to be wearing all red and refusing to cut his hair.') but took the bag and headed up the stairs. Kagome grabbed a long swathe of soft fabric and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Ready, Houjo-kun?"
He offered her his arm, and the two of them went out the door. From the staircase, Souta scowled. 'Inuyasha is so much cooler than that idiot! And I know my sis likes him. Why does he have to have that stupid dead woman following him around?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
By the time Inuyasha emerged from the well on Kagome's side, the sun had set and the sky was painted in great gashes of red, gold, and purple. The Hanyou stepped cautiously out of the well house, not wanting to encounter any stray worshippers who might scream at the sight of him, or worse yet, want to play with his ears. He sniffed around a bit, but although Kagome's scent was fresh, it was clear that she was no longer there. There was another unfamiliar scent along with hers ~ that of a male. And a male that was obviously glad for her company. Inuyasha let out a low, threatening growl, but of course, it was lost on its intended victim, as he was long gone. And he had taken Kagome with him.
He put his nose to the ground intent on following the scent, but when he reached the curb he swore under his breath. The scents of Kagome and her "date" ended there, meaning that they had left in one of those noisy metal things with wheels. Now what?
Just then, Souta came out of the house. "She's already gone." He said it a little resentfully, but that was lost on the frustrated hanyou.
Inuyasha didn't waste time on greetings. "She said this dance thing is at her school. Where is that?"
Souta eyed him for a minute, considering the best way to handle this. He might be only eight, but he's not stupid. He is very well aware that jealousy is a powerful motivator, especially to Inuyasha. "Why do you want to know?"
Inuyasha floundered for a moment, but fell back on the old standard, "So I can protect her and the shards, of course."
'Hmmmph. Yeah, right! These teenagers are so stupid!' "Why? Did you see a demon sneak up through the well?"
"Well...no." Inuyasha reluctantly admitted.
"I think she should be ok. We don't have many demons hanging around in modern Tokyo. And Houjo should be able to protect her from anything else that comes along. He's real good at sports." He also thought his sister could probably tongue-lash anyone into wishing they were never born, but he left that bit out. If one didn't know better, they would think he had been taking lessons in tormenting their hanyou friend from Miroku. "Anyway, she isn't at the dance yet. They went out to dinner first."
"Dinner? Why would they go "out" for dinner? Why didn't they eat it here?" Now he had something else to worry about. 'Are they having one of those picnic things Kagome likes so much? Just the two of them?' Someone had just taken the knife and heated it before again twisting it in his gut.
The younger boy rolled his eyes. Inuyasha was much older than he was, but sometimes he could be so dumb. "They went to a fancy restaurant for dinner." When the hanyou gave him a confused look, he elucidated, "It's a place where you go and sit at little tables with candles and romantic music and they cook and serve dinner to you. At least, that's what the place they went to is like. It's my sister's favorite restaurant." He watched Inuyasha's face while he explained, and saw confusion replaced with something like panic mixed with anger. He was going to add, "Houjo likes my sister a lot, to take her to such a romantic place," but decided against it. He didn't want the guy to have a meltdown.
"How do I get there?" Inuyasha asked through clenched teeth.
"How should I know? I don't drive!"
Inuyasha began to pace out of frustration. He had to find them! He wasn't sure what he'd do when he did, but he had to find them. Kagome probably wouldn't approve of him slicing the stupid, weak human male in half with his claws. And Tetsiaga probably wouldn't respond because it probably wouldn't consider saving Kagome from her date "protecting" her. He raked his claws through his hair in agitation.
"Ok, so what about the dance? Where is the school?"
Souta motioned vaguely in the direction where the sun had set, "Over there."
But all Inuyasha could see where buildings and more buildings. There was no way he could find her from her scent out there. There were too many other distracting smells, too many other people to mask it. "Which one is it?"
The little boy grinned, "I could show you, but you have to wait till I eat my dinner."
Inuyasha growled in frustration. Souta added, "Like I said, she's not there yet anyway."
"What about your mom and your Grandfather? Are they going to just let you go off into the night with me?"
"Mom's away at her sister's, and Grandfather is already asleep. He's had the flu, so he's slept a lot this week." He said matter-of-factly, turning his back to his audience and heading back into the house. "If you're hungry, I'm heating up noodles with chicken and vegetables."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Back in the house, Souta served up two steaming bowls of food and set them on the table. Inuyasha sniffed tentatively, and finding the aroma delicious, went to work with his chopsticks. The contents of the bowl disappeared in a little less than three minutes. He tipped the bowl to his mouth and greedily drank the broth, letting some of it spill out the sides and onto the table.
Meanwhile, Souta's bowl was still completely full because he had been too busy gaping at Inuyasha. Someone was gonna have to teach him some table manners if he was ever going to come home with Kagome to eat. He couldn't believe that his sister hadn't smacked some into him already.
"Uh, you want some more?"
"No. Let's go."
The boy just sat and stared disbelievingly at his companion. "I'm not done yet. I haven't even started. Do you eat like that when my sister is around?"
"Like what?"
"Like a pig?"
"I don't eat like a pig!" The Hanyou snorted. 'Do I? Is that why she likes the human guy better?'
Souta sighed and turned his attention to his food. Inuyasha tapped his fingers on the table impatiently, but when it had no effect on the boy, he got up to look around. 'I see Kagome isn't the only stubborn one in this family!'
His attention was caught by a group of framed photographs on a wall. He knew about photographs because Kagome had brought her Kam-oo-rah through the well a couple of times, and when she came back after that, she had the pieces of paper with magical images of himself, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kaeda on them. He walked over and studied the photos with interest. There was one of Kagome's mom in a red kimono, standing with a man in formal dress. They both looked very happy. He could see clearly that the man had Kagome's eyes and and smile. Or rather, she had his. There were some family portraits, too. One was of the family when Kagome was very little, and Souta wasn't in that one. The next was of Kagome's parents, her Grandfather, little Kagome, and baby Souta. There was a similar one with both children older; Souta being maybe 4 or 5 years old. Then last one was the most recent, with a big hole where Kagome's Dad should have been. He felt a little tug in his heart. The smiles in this photo were much sadder than in the others. He knew what that felt like.
In another picture, a family of four sat near the ocean. A skinny little dark haired girl and her mother wore those strange bathing costumes that Kagome had worn in his time. The tiny boy and the man wore short pants. The family was covered with sand, and all of them were smiling cheerfully. Another picture that must have been taken the same day showed the little girl bending down next to very small boy. The boy was crouched by a small pool of water, and had a seashell in his chubby hand, holding it out proudly toward whomever had held the camera. He realized with a start that the little girl was Kagome, and the little boy was Souta. He couldn't help but smile at the little girl, and imagined her with little ears on top of her head, the way she might look he and Kagome had a daughter together. 'Hmph! Where did that come from?'
Moving on to the next photo, he saw a young Kagome, maybe 11 years old, with her raven hair tied into two tail-looking things on the sides of her head, and dressed in a short dress with a flared skirt and a big letter T on the front. She had a long shiny stick with two sort of ball-looking things at the ends held in the air over her head. She had one leg bent in front of her, with her toes pointed and resting on the ground. At her feet were two shiny red and white things that were pouffy like Shippo's tail.
There were pictures of Souta wearing one of those hats Inuyasha sometimes had to wear when he came to visit to cover his ears, holding a long shiny club, or without the hat, but with a black and white spotted ball on the ground in front of him. There were more pictures of Kagome as in different costumes, posed in silly positions, but always with her cheerful smile and shining eyes commanding the attention of the viewer.
The last picture took him by surprise. It had to have been taken fairly recently. Within the last year or two. Kagome looked very much like she did now, maybe a little younger as her figure wasn't quite as "womanly" as it is now. She was dressed in a white, flowing costume that draped her body with some kind of filmy material, and was dotted with flowers. Her hair loosely fell around her shoulders. Her legs were all white, and on her feet were pink shoes, with ribbons that tied them to her ankles. In this photo was also a boy, with black legs and a long tunic, tied at the waste. He stood behind Kagome with one arm outstretched, and the other (Grrrrrrrrrr) on her slim waist. Kagome was standing (he couldn't believe this) on the very tip of the toes of one of her feet, the other leg stretched out behind her. One arm extended gracefully above her head, the other rested lightly on top of the boy's outstretched hand. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her. The boy, he had decided to ignore. But Kagome was magnificent! So beautiful, so graceful.
So mesmerized was he that he didn't hear Souta's soft footsteps behind him, or even notice his presence until the boy said, "She's pretty, isn't she? She used to be a really good dancer. She was the principal dancer in her company. That's her in a ballet called "Giselle," about spirits of young women who lure their lovers to their deaths." Souta smirked at the irony behind Inuyasha's back.
Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably, but voiced his first concern, "Who's that guy?"
"I dunno. Just some guy from the company who was playing her lover. Kagome's spirit couldn't bring herself to let her lover die in the end. So I guess he was the lucky guy in the group."
"He was Kagome's lover?"
"No," the boy said impatiently. "It was just a show. You know, like TV or theater. It's not real. It was just for entertainment. Besides, I think that guy likes boys better than girls."
"Oh...Is that what she's doing tonight? That kind of dance?"
"Nu-uh. She doesn't do that anymore."
Inuyasha was still staring at the enchantress in the photograph. "Why not?" even though he knew the answer.
"She doesn't have time anymore. She's can barely keep up at school, let alone do anything extra. She's always with you." He watched the hanyou as he said this, and saw sadness in his usually proud eyes. "Are you ready to go?"
Inuyasha shook himself out of the melancholy he had fallen into, and remembered why he was there. Without answering, he put his hand on the boy's shoulder and lead him out the door. Once outside, he took his charge onto his back, and leapt off into the night in the direction the boy had indicated.
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A little dull? Sorry. As for the ballet Giselle: If there are any die- hard ballet lovers reading this, you will know I fudged a little with Souta's synopsis of the plot. Work with me guys! I had to make it fit.
Thank you one and all for your encouraging and helpful reviews. I think the most frequent message is essentially, "Hurry up and post, would you!" I am doing my best, honestly. I would rather do this than most of the stuff I have to do. But, life rears it's ugly head, and I have other responsibilities. So, please hang in there with me. And please continue to review. It makes me a better writer, and inspires me to get it done quicker.