A/N: Helllloooooo my loves! Sorry about the delay, last weekend was WindyCon, so…
Speaking of, if bits of this seem weird, it's only because they were written at Four AM in the Schaumburg Hyatt's lobby in my notebook… which I promptly fell asleep and started drooling on… heh… yeah…
Oh, on a side note… Sabby and Akane are new chars, I'm sorry if I confused anyone. Sabby was mentioned briefly in the last story… Points to the person who guesses who she is!
To the… two of you who read these things. I like you two. So I'm gonna give ya a warning. This story is going to get rather dark, very fast. Starting next chapter. And darker with every chapter that passes. No darker then SWK was, just… dark for longer.
Disclaimer: So not mine. Except for Aiko, Siri, Sabby, Akane, Haruka, the plot, uhm… Inu-Yasha… *steals him and hides him behind her back* I own him, really!
This chapter is for Kaze-Chan. 8 songs? You rock my world, babe.
My love, do you ever dream of
Candy coated raindrops?
You're the same, my candy rain
Candy Rain
Chapter 3
Kagome straggled into her hotel room and collapsed on one of the twin beds. "I… hate… airplanes!"
Aiko glanced at the pair of feet hanging over the edge of the bed. "Feelings mutual." She agreed, dropping her bag on the ground. "Which room did Sango and Siri say they were in?"
"243." Kagome responded promptly. "I'll call 'm, but mostly I wanna sleep."
Aiko nodded, dragging out a pair of pajamas and dragging them over her head, somehow managing to strip her top at the same time. Shaking her head at Aiko, Kagome picked up the phone and dialed the room extension.
"Hey?" Siri's tired voice picked up.
"Hey, Siri. What're you guys doin'?"
"I'm going to sleep." The blonde smirked, glancing over her shoulder at her room mate. She covered the he speaker with her hand. "Sango, whatcha doing?"
"Geroff the phone, I wanna call Miroku." Came the reply.
"Already talked to him." Called Kagome's voice, muffled by Siri's hand. "He and Inu-Yasha are crashing, too."
"Siri nodded, absently pacing toe room. Sango, you hear that?" she turned the thermostat up a few degrees. .
"Uuuu-huh. What's the schedule after that?"
Siri plopped down on the bed, leafing through the information packet. "Mm… there's a tour tomorrow at ten AM. That's in six hours. But it repeats another four hours after that. Course, if we take the later tour, that only gives us three hours to get ready for the Broadway show"
"Sleeping for ten hours sounds good." Kagome agreed. "Should we meet in the hotel lobby like… a half hour before then?"
"Sounds good. I'll call the guys."
"Kagome nodded in tired agreement. "k. thanks."
"No problem, babe." Came Siri's voice as she hit the 'talk' button on the phone and put it back in the cradle.
"Aiko, set the alarm, wouldja?" At her friend's agreement, she muttered a half-vocal goodnight and began the struggle to sleep away her jetlag.
§
Pulling her jacket tighter around her arms, Kagome snuggled against Inu-Yasha for extra warmth. "The idea of a double-decker bus tour of the city is cute," she muttered, "but not so great in reality when it's winter." Sango, in the seat behind her, nodded vigorously. The six had crammed into two rows on the bus, Aiko, Kagome, and Inu-Yasha pressed together for warmth in the front, Siri, Sango, and Miroku cuddled in a blanket behind them. Well, at least Sango and Miroku were—Siri, as usual, didn't seem to notice in the slightest.
"So not cool…" Aiko muttered.
"C'mon, you guys, it's not that bad. It's only an hour long trip and it's been 52 minutes at last." Siri pointed out.
"GOOD." Wailed the others, clutching each other. They paid little attention as the driver completed his spiel and they passed by the harbor—and consequently, the Statue of Liberty before pulling to a halt in front of their hotel. They tripped over each other as they piled out of the bus in a rush to reach the warmth of the hotel lobby, just beyond the double doors.
"I'm hungry." Miroku opinioned, glancing around for food.
"When are you not?" Aiko muttered, earning herself a glare.
"Actually, I agree with him, for once." Kagome admitted sheepishly. "Isn't there a little hotel restaurant around here somewhere?" Siri pointed dryly. "Ehehehe… right…" Kagome muttered.
They placed their orders at the counter and settled back in a large booth to wait. Their food was out promptly—possibly due to the look Inu-Yasha and Miroku were giving the poor waitress who delivered their drinks—and the conversation faded as they dealt with their munchies.
They were just figuring tip and picking up their stuff when the door creaked open and they heard a familiar settling into the booth behind them. "Haruka?"
Siri turned over and stood on her knees to see over the back of the booth., "Thought it was you! Hey, I…." She trailed off when she saw the group of people her Dorm Supervisor was dining with.
Kagome, Sango, and Aiko followed Siri's example, peering over the edge at the sound of Haruka's name, to find themselves met by a Sabrina's piercing blue eyes. "Do you guys MIND?"
Siri's mouth snapped shut and her lips pressed into a thin line. "I have more of a right to talk to my friends as you do, Sabrina. You don't even have a right to exist." Five sets of hands covering her mouth and five arms wrapped around her middle prevented her from continuing that train of thought or lunging at the other girl.
Sabrina opened her mouth to respond but was similarly stopped by a smaller girl who laid a hand on her arm lightly. Sabrina seemingly remembered herself and shook her head in apology at the black haired girl. Siri was bundled out of the booth and restaurant quickly. Before they slipped out the door, Kagome traded a small smile and a wave with the other girl.
§
Miroku, cradling a hand with a clear set of bite marks on the palm, shook his head. "Honestly, Siri, what's between the two of you anyway."
Siri shrugged.
"C'mon…" Sango urged. "We need to know if there's a reason we restrain you or if we should just let you pound the bitch."
Stony silence.
"Who was the little girl who was with her?"
"Feh."
"You're officially not aloud to spend any more time around Inu-Yasha."
Kagome shook her head, herding out the peanut gallery… namely, the two males. "I'll explain later. Go. We have 2 hours to get ready for the show. That's by far not enough time."
They were out the door before Miroku had a chance to make his comment about "helping" them dress.
§
"We were roommates." Siri admitted over her gnocchi campagnola. She chewed on another tiny dumpling. "Before I moved into Shikon Dorm. I had the money to be in a larger room, obviously, so did she, we were actually sharing one of the suites in the dorm building across from yours."
Jaws dropped. Everyone knew Siri's parents were wealthy, but she rarely flaunted it. The suites were huge, two roomed plus one bathroom for every two room. A far cry from the Shikon dorms, which featured one bathroom for the entire floor and crammed four people into one tiny room. "You… you were in one've those places and you switched to the cheapest dorm on campus!?" Miroku stuttered. Siri flushed, picking at her food.
"Sabrina and I didn't get along. It was a matter of principle.." she muttered. Inu-Yasha snorted.
"Principle? Those things are nicer then the frat and sorority houses!"
"Yeah, never get her to tell you how much those things cost a term." Kagome muttered around a mouthful of Eggplant Parmesan. Siri shot her a dirty glare.
"What about the little girl?" Sango prodded.
"Akane." Siri grinned a bit. "She's Sabrina's cousin. Sweetest little thing… she's only 17, smarter then me in some ways… and very close to her cousin."
"17?" Inu-Yasha interrupted. "She looked more like 13."
"I dormed with her last year." Kagome added. "She spent most of the time with Sabrina, though. Siri used to switch beds with her and come hang around with me on weekends."
"How come her parents couldn't afford to have her living in the lap of luxury? If she's that close to her cousin, you'd think her aunt and uncle…"
"Sabrina's aunt and uncle are even more snobbish then Sabrina and my parents combined." Siri interrupted, pulling a face. "And they looked down on Akane because her father was a Japanese immigrant and her mother was Vietnamese war bride or something."
Sango blinked. "So?"
"So?" Siri shrugged bitterly. "She's 'low class.' Bad blood." The three still looked lost.
"Think of it the way Sesshomaru felt about the majority of humans." Kagome elaborated. Sango, Miroku, and Inu-Yasha let out 'o's of enlightenment.
"Oook…" Miroku was clearly chewing on thins, thinking for one. "So you like Akane… why the grr argyness between you and Sabrina?"
Siri's face closed off. "It's personal."
§
"That was great!" Siri cheered, spilling out of the theatre with a crowd of other people.
Kagome dabbed at her eyes, shoving down sniffs. "It was so sad, though…" She murmured, wiping a stray hand across her cheeks and clinging to Inu-Yasha's hand with the other. Sango and Aiko nodded in agreement, clinging to each other. Inu-Yasha shot Miroku a helpless look, Miroku only smiled and shook his head.
"It was funny, though." Siri countered. "One've the best productions of it I've ever seen. The silhouetted scenes was incredibly well executed."
The others blinked at her. "You've seen it before?"
"My parents bought me the special edition DVD after I wore out three copies on VHS."
"No WONDER she's not in tears…" Kagome muttered. Siri stuck her tongue out at Kagome and walked off, humming under her breath.
"Attend the tail of Sweeny Todd,"
"Attend the tail of Sweeny Todd!" Aiko and Sango seconded from behind her.
Miroku shook his head. "Honestly, you two, I really think it's the last scene that deserves most of the credit."
Inu-Yasha shook his head. "I didn't get it." The other five sweatdropped.
Siri and Kagome worked at trying to explain it to him, at the same time, talking over each other. They only succeeded in making him more confused.
"Horses!" Sango cried out, startling the three out of their argument. Three heads looked up at the same time to glance at where she was pointing.
"HORSES!" Aiko and Kagome seconded. Siri blinked.
"So?"
The three excited girls ignore her. "Innnnu-Yasha, can we go for a carriage ride around the park?" Kagome's eyes were wide. "Pleeeeeeease?"
Inu-Yasha blinked, eyes fixed on the large beasts. "Uh… sure?"
Whooping, Kagome grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the line of waiting carriages. The others followed, Aiko edging herself behind Siri.
"Are they safe?" She hissed as Inu-Yasha and Kagome clambered into one carriage and Miroku gallantly lifted Sango into another. Siri snorted.
"Are you kidding? For these things were any more mellow they'd have to be sedated." She steered Aiko around the carriage, leaving a wide berth between them and the horse's feet. "May I?" she asked the driver. Seeing she knew what she was doing, the woman flashed Siri a smile and gave her a thumbs up. Siri stood in front of the horse and motioned Aiko to stand behind her so they wouldn't startle the animal by touching it behind it's blinders. The horse blinked at her. Grinning, Siri leaned down and breathed gently in the horses nostrils. The horse perked it's head up and let a woof of air back at her as she reached up to stroke it's cheek. "Try it, Aiko." She instructed, taking a step back. Timidly, the taller girl stepped foreword and stroked up the horses nose. "We need carrots." Siri remarked. "Wanna go for a ride?"
Aiko still seemed unsure. "He seems calm enough… then again, maybe not." She backed away hurriedly as the horse stamped his foot. Siri shook her head, clucking to sooth him. "You mind, Sir?"
Siri grinned. "I'll live." She assured the other girl ad the two carriages carrying their friends pulled up to the back of the line. She grabbed Aiko by the hand to drag her to join them. "C'mon." Kagome was bouncing and Inu-Yasha looked like he was trying to be bored, which was never a good situation. Sango and Miroku joined them, and together the oversized group bounced their way back to the hotel.
§
"Hey, Sango, you wanna come up to the room with me?" Miroku asked quietly as they made their way up the circle drive in front of the hotel. The girl blinked for a moment before catching on and nodding.
"Uh…. Sure!"
Inu-Yasha wailed softly, watching them. "the teachers are getting even more tissy about curfew since we're 'representing the school.'" His matronly imitation of the rather prissy school dean was exactly on target. "I should probably go chaperone those two before they get all of us into trouble."
Kagome winced and nodded her agreement, reaching up to hug him. "Sorry, babe. I'll see you in the morning, k?" He returned the hug and nodded, heading off after the lovers with a rather pitiful expression on his face. The three girls followed them up in the second elevator, reaching their floor and heading down the hall to Aiko and Kagome's room. "Wanna come in?" Kagome asked, slipping her card-key in and turning the handle as the little light flashed green.
Siri shook her head. "No thanks. I should probably go wait in case I need to help Inu-Yasha drag Sango out of there." Kagome snickered, giving the other girl a hug.
"All right. Talk to you in the morning, then, I wanna go shopping." Siri cheered in agreement, waving before starting down the hall to her own room. It took her a minute to locate her room-key—she noticed with a slight grin she had Sango's to, and kept it for blackmail. Immediately inside the room she kicked off her shoes, flipping the light in the bathroom on as she walked down the short, narrow hall towards the beds. She flipped the light on another lamp as one hand absently reached up to unclasp the earrings from her earlobes. She was reaching for the brush when something caught her attention in the mirror. Turning slowly, she blinked.
A single, long-stemmed red rose lay diagonally across her pillow.
AN: WOW that took a long time. Heh, sorry folks. Nothing really to say, I guess, except it took me FOREVER to find a good set of song lyrics. Most of them have been designated to chapters—or certain events—already.
Jezunya: Thanks! And yeah, in case you didn't catch it up above, Sabby and Akane are new. But don't worry, you'll get plenty of them in the next two chapters.
Strawberry Goodness: thanks! And do you mind if I use that idea? Cuz it's just SO CUTE! Ehehe…
Tipi: nope, haven't given up yet! Bwaha. Thanks for reading!
My love, do you ever dream of
Candy coated raindrops?
You're the same, my candy rain
Have you ever loved someone
So much you thought you'd die?
Giving so much of yourself
It seems the only way
Tell me what you want,
and I
And I will give it to you '
Cause you are
My love
Did you ever dream that it could be so right
I never thought that I would find
All that I need in life
All I want, all I need now
I know I know I found it in you
I found it in you 'cause you are