AN: Yes, it has been forever. I'm sorry, guys. And forgive the funky
spacing and indentation... ff.net likes to fuck around with me.
Disclaimer: not mine.
Chapter Five
November Rain
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
"Meggie...
Meggie?
MEGHAN!"
"Uhn..... Siri? What are you doing here?"
"Mommy and Daddy told me to come here."
"Whaa?"
"I went to mommy and daddy and they said to come here because they were asleep."
"Siri... i's... four in the mor'ing, Whas goin' on?"
"I had a bad dream." Simply.
Sigh. "Wha happ'ned?"
"I was asleep and there was a monster gnawing at my belly from the inside and when I woke up my stomach hurt."
"Siri...--"
"Siri...? Siri! Wake up!"
"Huzzawha? The thing with Inu-Yasha's luggage wasn't my fault!"
Kagome blinked, amused, and sat back on her heels, looking down at the blonde. "I'll keep that in mind. It's time to get up."
Blink. Blink. "Oh..." Siri struggled into a sit, finding herself greatly impaired by the mess of blankets tangled around her thighs.
"Beginning to notice something?" Kagome asked sweetly.
Siri frowned up at her. How can she be sitting... and still be above me.. unless she's on my bed, but... "Why am I on the floor?" Kagome smirked. "Good question. Next question?" Siri untangled the blankets and contented herself with making horrible faces at Kagome's back. The brunette had turned away and was finishing her packing.
"Woaaaah..." Kagome turned back to the blonde.
"Woaaaah, what?"
Siri slipped her pajama bottoms off her hips and held them up with one hand. The other hand she slipped into the slash across the side of the thigh. Her arm fit in halfway to her elbow. Kagome whistled.
"How did that happen?" she asked, taking the pants from Siri and examining the rip. It was clean up and down, as though cut with something sharp. Siri shrugged, pulling on a pair of jeans and taking them back.
"It's not on a seam." She sighed, poking at it. "I'm not gonna be able to repair them right. I'll have to buy a new pair." She pouted, shoving them into her bag. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Sir.... They're pajama pants. Does it matter if you there's a patch
showing?"
"I'm a seamstress. This is a matter of pride, Kagome!" Kagome's biting reply was cut off by a knock at the door. "Is everyone fully clothed?" Miroku called.
"Would you really stay out there if we said no?" Siri muttered.
Kagome giggled. "All clear, Miroku."
The ex-monk poked his head in. "Where have you two been?"
"Huh?" Both girls exchanged looks. Miroku blinked at them.
"The tour?" More blank looks. The monk sweatdropped. "Ok, y'see, this is a school trip. Thus, on this trip some of the tours we take are mandatory, and educational. Like for your world history class? We go and study the sights of the American Revolution. Y'know. Some of the really important ones, like where the place where they signed this little thing called the declaration of independence..." He watched as the girls left the room, rubbing his now-sore head lightly. "Ok, ok... you didn't have to hit me that hard...."
§ "Dude, you two are so late..." Aiko greeted them when they arrived. Both looked sheepish. Sango rolled her eyes.
"Actually, you're only two or three minutes late. We sent Miroku up to fetch you before it would turn into a major issue."
The aforementioned returned a half step beside them and took cover at his girlfriend's side, pouting. "They hit me."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure they did. What did you do?"
He pouted more. "Would it kill you to be sympathetic?" She grinned and shrugged as the last few stragglers ran up.
"Are we all here?" the teacher at the front of the group called, scanning the crowd. The students nodded. "Right then. Let's get to the bus." As one, the glacier of kids seeped towards the doorway. Anxious for more room, the six dropped to the back of the crowd, slipping into the frontmost seats on the bus, split into threes. Kagome, Inu- Yasha, and Siri felt a shifting behind them, and the back of their seat depressed as someone rested their weight atop it.
"Nice of you to join us." A soft voice hissed maliciously above them.
Kagome looked down and sighed, and Siri turned her head, eyes narrowing. "What do you want now, Sabrina?"
Sabrina looked innocent. "Why should I want anything from you, Sierra? I'm just making a comment."
"Wait, and remind me again, who asked you to voice your opinion? Or do delusions of grandeur just give you the right to voice it whenever you feel necessary?"
"Sabrina? Siri?" seated beside her cousin, Akane looked uncertainly from one to the other. "Come on, you guys... don't fight..." both ignored the younger girl.
"You're certainly in a position to lecture me on courtesy, Sierra, considering you just delayed the tour for the entire class."
"Like there weren't people showing up after us. And you're known for your punctuality."
"Sabrina, Siri, please!"
"Hey, I was here, wasn't I?"
"Your sense of manners are just lacking in... other areas." Siri's eyes focused on the back of the bus, pressing her lips together.
Sabrina turned, eyes locking onto the same target. "Oh, get over it Sierra. That was a full year ago! I can't believe you're still sulking over it." The bus screeched to a halt in front of the museum and Kagome and Inu-Yasha took their chance, bundling Siri out of the seat quickly. Miroku, Aiko, and Sango followed. Sabrina growled after her, only restrained by Akane's tiny hand clutching her elbow.
The two separated groups rejoined inside the doors, safely away from all hissing brunettes. "what was going on back there?" Miroku asked, frowning. "All we could here was mutters, but it didn't sound very nice."
"Sabrina decided to use Siri as a scratching post and Siri followed suite." Kagome muttered. The others groaned.
"Must you two continually bicker?" Sango asked, a bit desperately as they hovered near the back of the tour group.
Siri's face darkened. "Until she apologizes? Yes."
"Siri, I really think you are dragging the grudge a bit too far." Aiko put in, crossing her arms. "Whatever she did can't have been that bad."
"It was."
Aiko through her hands up in disgust. "How are we supposed to know if you won't tell us what happened, then?!"
"Fair point, Siri." Kagome pointed out. The tour began moving. None of them
paid any attention to the docent. "You might as well, and get it over with..." Siri continued to look stubborn.
"We're not going to stop asking until you do." Miroku stated flatly, staring her down.
She sighed slightly, wrapping a curl around her finger. "Fine... fine..." She grumbled. "You know how freshman year, I shared a dorm with Sabrina and Kagome was splitting with Akane and two other girls?" The assembly nodded. "Well, it was pretty simple... Sabrina didn't mind me because I was rich. She tolerated Kagome because Akane liked her. They got along reasonably well... we had quite a few classes together freshman year, before we decided on majors. Kagome and I struck up a friendship a few weeks into term... on weekends, we began switching rooms so that Akane could stay with Sabrina in the Dorm Of Poshness while I stayed over with Kagome. Sometimes Akane and Kagome would both come over and spend the night in our dorm, since we had room. We did the basic college girl thing... makeovers, parties. Sometimes the boys. People started calling us 'the four musketeers,' since we were always around campus together."
"Muskrat tears?" Inu-Yasha frowned. "What did you have to do with muskrats?"
Siri looked bitter. "Well, for Sabrina, if you just took the 'rat' part..." Kagome e lbowed her. "Right. Musketeers. In the early, mid 1600s the king of France had an elite band of soldiers trained in the use of muskets. Like guns." She added hurriedly for the other's benefits. "At any rate, there's this famous book about four of them who save the country from a tyrant by doing the Queen's bidding, which actually means they stopped the King from finding out about her British boyfriend. Anyway, even though they had these great honking guns, their real call to fame was that they were incredible duelists, which actually means they started mock-fights with each other in taverns so that the others could steal food during the distraction. They were great friends and always banded together to help one another, so their motto became "one for all and all for one," which actually means that they split the profits evenly after they bullied townsfolk out of their money. Each of the original three had some secret vice: one was incredibly vain and money grubbing, one a womanizer, the third was a drunkard."
Miroku looked impressed. "They may have been more crooked then me."
"None of them were supposed to be holy men." Aiko pointed out. "And at least they spread it out over four of them."
Miroku pouted, but acknowledged the point. "Still, helluva set of role models.. Ok, you were close. So what happened?"
"I met a guy." Siri said simply, shrugging. "Cute, funny, sweet, loving... basically perfect. We were together almost the full year. Towards the end, we just... drifted a bit and broke up, but stayed friends. Then Sabrina started dating him."
"You had a problem with that?" Sango asked, tilting her head to the side.
"It wasn't so much they were dating, but... I could see them getting closer. So I asked her if there was anything between them. She said no. So I kept noticing them getting closer and I asked her again a few weeks later and told her if there was I didn't mind. She said no again. The third time, she finally confessed they were going out. So I talked to Kagome about it... And she said she already knew. It'd been going on for a month. So I went to Sabrina and just asked why she'd lie to me..."
Kagome coughed.
'Ok, maybe more of a demand." She took in her roomie's expression. "I didn't yell that much! Anyway I found out it had been going on for almost 5 months... and we'd only broken up 2 ago... So I got kind of upset with him..." Another gentle cough.
"Was he the one we saw at the store in New York when you were making faces at her?" Sango asked. Siri nodded.
"So... you're mad because of your boyfriend cheated on you with her?" Inu- Yasha asked to clarify.
"No." Siri's face darkened. "I've never been a huge proponent of monogamy and he wasn't either. I just couldn't stand the fact that they lied to me..."
"And you don't think that's a bit extreme?" He raised an eyebrow.
She shrugged. "You know lying is one of my pet peeves. Remember how angry I
got when I thought you were pulling my leg last year? And repeated lying, even though they knew I knew they were lying. So I called her out on it... we had a bit of a fight..."
"They had a screaming match in the middle of the Quad, with him caught between." Kagome translated.
"Unsurprisingly, he chose her over me, and, well.... Well." She sighed.
Miroku blinked disbelievingly. "You're still mad at her? Over that?"
"Not over that. They can have each other with my blessings for all I care. I'm mad at her because she's a bi--" She caught Kagome's glare. "Brat." She finished slowly. "And she never apologized. Or admitted what she did was wrong."
Sango frowned. "Seems a little odd. I mean there's a lot worse that she could have done."
Kagome blinked innocently. "Like what?"
"Like all these murders-- are bad! Murders are bad, yes, she could have murdered someone. Which would have been bad."
Kagome's eyebrows were up as Miroku gave his girlfriend a hard elbow to stop the blabbering. "Yes. I suppose a murder would be bad."
"We're going back to the bus." Aiko interrupted. "We have to get to Washington." Grateful for the break in conversation, the others followed her back, slipping into their assigned seats. Left atop Siri's backpack was a thick, heavy parchment envelope with her name in elegant script across the top. Quenching the sick urge to open it, she slipped it into her backpack, then glanced back-- Aiko was turned away, caught in conversation with Sango-- hurriedly, she drew the envelope back and tore it open, drawing out the paper inside-- her own face spread across the page, eyes closed in sleep (she refused to ponder grotesque other possibilities,) expertly sketched and inked. Hands shaking, she crumpled it up and stuffed it into the very bottom of her bag. Aiko frowned, turning over. "Sir? Everything ok?"
"Bug." The blonde replied shortly, hoping it would cover. "Big bug." She added a bit desperately.
"Eeew." Aiko shuddered and nodded. "You kill it?"
"Yeah..." Siri nodded, sending one final glance at her bag.
§
"This is your nation's Capitol?"
"Famous for its rats." Siri agreed cheerfully, hopping off the bed lightly.
Aiko blinked dubiously. "What is there to see here?"
"More American history." The blonde answered promptly, grabbing her friend's bag and tossing it on the far bed. Aiko groaned loudly and turned away from the window. "Ah, come off it. We're only here for a day, anyway."
"What, the liberty bell didn't bore you to death? Along with the long, droning speeches on the Constitution and Declaration?"
"Actually, I found them fascinating." Siri replied cheerfully, crossing to the door and picking up the newspaper
"You didn't even have a cheese steak."
"That would be the vegetarian part, yes." She replied as she pattered back across the floor
"Weirdo."
Siri grinned and shook her head. "Go to bed, Aiko." Siri advised, dropping the paper on her bedside table. In bold type, the headline proclaimed 'entrail eater kills 4 in Philadelphia"
§
"You realize curfew was three hours ago?"
Kagome raised her head from his shoulder, looking up at him. "It's not 4 AM yet!" Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow, nodding his head towards the clock embedded in the spire of a building. She blinked at it. "Oh.." He laughed, shifting slightly. "Ah, shuddap." She muttered. He only laughed louder. "Inu-Yasha!" she hissed, turning around and raising to her knees so she could glare at him. "We're going to get caught."
"Kagome, we're on the roof." He reasoned gently, looking at her. "Who's going to hear us?"
She huffed, crossing her eyes and dropping down so she was kneeling. "You could."
"I'm a demon." He reminded her. She placed her hands behind her and leaned back, pouting.
"Yeah, I noticed."
"...Kagome?" She turned her head away. "Kagome!" He yelped. "Hey, I thought we talked about this!" He reached out and covered one of her hands with his. "Kagome, please, talk to me..."
She flipped her hand over and grabbed his, scooting backwards suddenly and dragging him with her. "Gotcha!"
The Youkai sniffed, leaning foreword on his elbows with as much dignity as he could muster, glaring up at the giggling form above him. "That was not very nice." He commented. She started giggling harder. "Kagomeeeeee, don't laugh at me!" He whined.
"See how you like it!" She responded, dropping back onto her knees, giggling the entire time. He sniffed, pushing himself up and squatting in front of her.
"That. Was. Not. Nice." With each word, he poked her, moving upwards from her stomach on 'that' to tapping her nose on 'nice.' He scooted closer, one of his knees brushing her stomach. She was still bent over with giggles, so he laid a hand on her shoulder gently. "Kagome?"
"Y-yeah?" She choked out, looking up at him. She blinked, startled to find him so near.
You got a new boyfriend.
No.
"Kagome?"
Why did you do that, Kagome?
No... no, please...
This is all your fault...
"Kagome! Kagome, listen to me..."
"no, please..." She whispered softly, tears tracking down her face. "I didn't, no..."
"Kagome!" He shook her gently, causing her hair to swing free from where it had previously been tucked behind her ear. "Kagome, it's all right, it's just me. Inu-Yasha. Hojou's not here, baby, they locked him up in an asylum, remember? It's only me."
"I-Inu?" He nodded pushing back her hair.
"It's only me."
She sniffled and slumped against him. "I thought... I thought you..."
The Youkai sounded resigned. "I know. It's all right."
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
"Kagome... Don't-- it wasn't your fault--"
"I'm sorry..." She whispered, shooting to her feet and running for the elevator, leaving one very confused Youkai behind her. §
"Hello? Space cadet?" Kagome blinked, focusing on the finger whizzing
towards her at a seemingly impossible speed. It bounced off her forehead and backed up a few inches, speeding towards her once more. Automatically, she raised her hand in defense, grabbing the finger on its next approach. Siri gave her a strange look. "You ok? You're sort of out of it."
"Yes." Kagome answered stoutly, then changed her answer to "No. Maybe. I'm not sure-- I had a fight with Inu-Yasha last night."
The other three girls lounging about the room sat up suddenly, eyes widening. "What? Oh-- are you all right?"
"Yes, but... It was my fault. I had a Hojou moment, and I just... spazzed."
Aiko frowned. "Kagome, my brother is the most severe screw up that side of the Atlantic. You went through a lot last year, Inu-Yasha'll understand."
"I know." Kagome confessed, flopping on her stomach. "At least, I think... but I must've hurt his feelings so much... and it's happened before, so why shouldn't it again? He doesn't need this kind of crap... maybe... it would just be better if we broke up... He could lead a normal life..."
"Kagome!" Sango cried. "We're talking about the man who saved you from becoming stew meat, among other things. He's a -demon- living in the modern world-- I don't think it's possible for him to live a 'normal' life. And I know he wouldn't want to, if you weren't in it."
Kagome still looked doubtful. "Last summer... when I was still being all skittish... It hurt him so much, I could tell. It isn't fair for me to keep putting him through that."
Siri narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you're not looking for the easiest way out for yourself?"
Kagome bristled at the accusation, then shook her head. "Maybe. I don't know. I'm just... confused." All three went over to hug her lightly. "C'mon. go talk to him, you'll feel better. I promise."
"Curfew's in... a half hour."
Siri grinned brightly. "Just enough time for you to get there and apologize. Let's go." She hoisted the brunette up. The other two followed, bouncing to their feet and hustling the girl out the door.
"S'kinda spooky out here at night." Aiko commented as they slipped out the door and headed across the park that separated the boy's hotel from the girl's.
"No 'kinda' about it." Sango agreed, fingers itching for a weapon. News photographs, mainly featuring kids' bodies with sans entrails, flashed through her head. She shook them away and clung to the others as they moved under the trees. The park had no interior lights, the only light came from those along the perimeter, and as a result just about everything was a shadow within a shadow. Handy for causing double-takes, scares, and... feet? Frowning, Sango broke away from the clutch and started towards the shape. "Stay here, guys." She commanded.
Of course, they didn't listen, following on her heels. She crouched at the side of the path, pulling back the bushes. Let them go so she could clutch at her mouth, turning her head away and closing her eyes as tight as she could, and screw the redundancy. "Oh, god..." Siri blabbered at her back. "Oh my god, oh my..."
When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain
We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain
But lovers always come and lovers always go
And no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away
And when you take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
Just knowin' that you are mine
All mine
So if you want to love me then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
In the cold November rain
Do you need some time...on your own
Do you need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you
Sometimes I need some time...on my own
Sometimes I need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone
And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
Disclaimer: not mine.
Chapter Five
November Rain
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
"Meggie...
Meggie?
MEGHAN!"
"Uhn..... Siri? What are you doing here?"
"Mommy and Daddy told me to come here."
"Whaa?"
"I went to mommy and daddy and they said to come here because they were asleep."
"Siri... i's... four in the mor'ing, Whas goin' on?"
"I had a bad dream." Simply.
Sigh. "Wha happ'ned?"
"I was asleep and there was a monster gnawing at my belly from the inside and when I woke up my stomach hurt."
"Siri...--"
"Siri...? Siri! Wake up!"
"Huzzawha? The thing with Inu-Yasha's luggage wasn't my fault!"
Kagome blinked, amused, and sat back on her heels, looking down at the blonde. "I'll keep that in mind. It's time to get up."
Blink. Blink. "Oh..." Siri struggled into a sit, finding herself greatly impaired by the mess of blankets tangled around her thighs.
"Beginning to notice something?" Kagome asked sweetly.
Siri frowned up at her. How can she be sitting... and still be above me.. unless she's on my bed, but... "Why am I on the floor?" Kagome smirked. "Good question. Next question?" Siri untangled the blankets and contented herself with making horrible faces at Kagome's back. The brunette had turned away and was finishing her packing.
"Woaaaah..." Kagome turned back to the blonde.
"Woaaaah, what?"
Siri slipped her pajama bottoms off her hips and held them up with one hand. The other hand she slipped into the slash across the side of the thigh. Her arm fit in halfway to her elbow. Kagome whistled.
"How did that happen?" she asked, taking the pants from Siri and examining the rip. It was clean up and down, as though cut with something sharp. Siri shrugged, pulling on a pair of jeans and taking them back.
"It's not on a seam." She sighed, poking at it. "I'm not gonna be able to repair them right. I'll have to buy a new pair." She pouted, shoving them into her bag. Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Sir.... They're pajama pants. Does it matter if you there's a patch
showing?"
"I'm a seamstress. This is a matter of pride, Kagome!" Kagome's biting reply was cut off by a knock at the door. "Is everyone fully clothed?" Miroku called.
"Would you really stay out there if we said no?" Siri muttered.
Kagome giggled. "All clear, Miroku."
The ex-monk poked his head in. "Where have you two been?"
"Huh?" Both girls exchanged looks. Miroku blinked at them.
"The tour?" More blank looks. The monk sweatdropped. "Ok, y'see, this is a school trip. Thus, on this trip some of the tours we take are mandatory, and educational. Like for your world history class? We go and study the sights of the American Revolution. Y'know. Some of the really important ones, like where the place where they signed this little thing called the declaration of independence..." He watched as the girls left the room, rubbing his now-sore head lightly. "Ok, ok... you didn't have to hit me that hard...."
§ "Dude, you two are so late..." Aiko greeted them when they arrived. Both looked sheepish. Sango rolled her eyes.
"Actually, you're only two or three minutes late. We sent Miroku up to fetch you before it would turn into a major issue."
The aforementioned returned a half step beside them and took cover at his girlfriend's side, pouting. "They hit me."
She raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure they did. What did you do?"
He pouted more. "Would it kill you to be sympathetic?" She grinned and shrugged as the last few stragglers ran up.
"Are we all here?" the teacher at the front of the group called, scanning the crowd. The students nodded. "Right then. Let's get to the bus." As one, the glacier of kids seeped towards the doorway. Anxious for more room, the six dropped to the back of the crowd, slipping into the frontmost seats on the bus, split into threes. Kagome, Inu- Yasha, and Siri felt a shifting behind them, and the back of their seat depressed as someone rested their weight atop it.
"Nice of you to join us." A soft voice hissed maliciously above them.
Kagome looked down and sighed, and Siri turned her head, eyes narrowing. "What do you want now, Sabrina?"
Sabrina looked innocent. "Why should I want anything from you, Sierra? I'm just making a comment."
"Wait, and remind me again, who asked you to voice your opinion? Or do delusions of grandeur just give you the right to voice it whenever you feel necessary?"
"Sabrina? Siri?" seated beside her cousin, Akane looked uncertainly from one to the other. "Come on, you guys... don't fight..." both ignored the younger girl.
"You're certainly in a position to lecture me on courtesy, Sierra, considering you just delayed the tour for the entire class."
"Like there weren't people showing up after us. And you're known for your punctuality."
"Sabrina, Siri, please!"
"Hey, I was here, wasn't I?"
"Your sense of manners are just lacking in... other areas." Siri's eyes focused on the back of the bus, pressing her lips together.
Sabrina turned, eyes locking onto the same target. "Oh, get over it Sierra. That was a full year ago! I can't believe you're still sulking over it." The bus screeched to a halt in front of the museum and Kagome and Inu-Yasha took their chance, bundling Siri out of the seat quickly. Miroku, Aiko, and Sango followed. Sabrina growled after her, only restrained by Akane's tiny hand clutching her elbow.
The two separated groups rejoined inside the doors, safely away from all hissing brunettes. "what was going on back there?" Miroku asked, frowning. "All we could here was mutters, but it didn't sound very nice."
"Sabrina decided to use Siri as a scratching post and Siri followed suite." Kagome muttered. The others groaned.
"Must you two continually bicker?" Sango asked, a bit desperately as they hovered near the back of the tour group.
Siri's face darkened. "Until she apologizes? Yes."
"Siri, I really think you are dragging the grudge a bit too far." Aiko put in, crossing her arms. "Whatever she did can't have been that bad."
"It was."
Aiko through her hands up in disgust. "How are we supposed to know if you won't tell us what happened, then?!"
"Fair point, Siri." Kagome pointed out. The tour began moving. None of them
paid any attention to the docent. "You might as well, and get it over with..." Siri continued to look stubborn.
"We're not going to stop asking until you do." Miroku stated flatly, staring her down.
She sighed slightly, wrapping a curl around her finger. "Fine... fine..." She grumbled. "You know how freshman year, I shared a dorm with Sabrina and Kagome was splitting with Akane and two other girls?" The assembly nodded. "Well, it was pretty simple... Sabrina didn't mind me because I was rich. She tolerated Kagome because Akane liked her. They got along reasonably well... we had quite a few classes together freshman year, before we decided on majors. Kagome and I struck up a friendship a few weeks into term... on weekends, we began switching rooms so that Akane could stay with Sabrina in the Dorm Of Poshness while I stayed over with Kagome. Sometimes Akane and Kagome would both come over and spend the night in our dorm, since we had room. We did the basic college girl thing... makeovers, parties. Sometimes the boys. People started calling us 'the four musketeers,' since we were always around campus together."
"Muskrat tears?" Inu-Yasha frowned. "What did you have to do with muskrats?"
Siri looked bitter. "Well, for Sabrina, if you just took the 'rat' part..." Kagome e lbowed her. "Right. Musketeers. In the early, mid 1600s the king of France had an elite band of soldiers trained in the use of muskets. Like guns." She added hurriedly for the other's benefits. "At any rate, there's this famous book about four of them who save the country from a tyrant by doing the Queen's bidding, which actually means they stopped the King from finding out about her British boyfriend. Anyway, even though they had these great honking guns, their real call to fame was that they were incredible duelists, which actually means they started mock-fights with each other in taverns so that the others could steal food during the distraction. They were great friends and always banded together to help one another, so their motto became "one for all and all for one," which actually means that they split the profits evenly after they bullied townsfolk out of their money. Each of the original three had some secret vice: one was incredibly vain and money grubbing, one a womanizer, the third was a drunkard."
Miroku looked impressed. "They may have been more crooked then me."
"None of them were supposed to be holy men." Aiko pointed out. "And at least they spread it out over four of them."
Miroku pouted, but acknowledged the point. "Still, helluva set of role models.. Ok, you were close. So what happened?"
"I met a guy." Siri said simply, shrugging. "Cute, funny, sweet, loving... basically perfect. We were together almost the full year. Towards the end, we just... drifted a bit and broke up, but stayed friends. Then Sabrina started dating him."
"You had a problem with that?" Sango asked, tilting her head to the side.
"It wasn't so much they were dating, but... I could see them getting closer. So I asked her if there was anything between them. She said no. So I kept noticing them getting closer and I asked her again a few weeks later and told her if there was I didn't mind. She said no again. The third time, she finally confessed they were going out. So I talked to Kagome about it... And she said she already knew. It'd been going on for a month. So I went to Sabrina and just asked why she'd lie to me..."
Kagome coughed.
'Ok, maybe more of a demand." She took in her roomie's expression. "I didn't yell that much! Anyway I found out it had been going on for almost 5 months... and we'd only broken up 2 ago... So I got kind of upset with him..." Another gentle cough.
"Was he the one we saw at the store in New York when you were making faces at her?" Sango asked. Siri nodded.
"So... you're mad because of your boyfriend cheated on you with her?" Inu- Yasha asked to clarify.
"No." Siri's face darkened. "I've never been a huge proponent of monogamy and he wasn't either. I just couldn't stand the fact that they lied to me..."
"And you don't think that's a bit extreme?" He raised an eyebrow.
She shrugged. "You know lying is one of my pet peeves. Remember how angry I
got when I thought you were pulling my leg last year? And repeated lying, even though they knew I knew they were lying. So I called her out on it... we had a bit of a fight..."
"They had a screaming match in the middle of the Quad, with him caught between." Kagome translated.
"Unsurprisingly, he chose her over me, and, well.... Well." She sighed.
Miroku blinked disbelievingly. "You're still mad at her? Over that?"
"Not over that. They can have each other with my blessings for all I care. I'm mad at her because she's a bi--" She caught Kagome's glare. "Brat." She finished slowly. "And she never apologized. Or admitted what she did was wrong."
Sango frowned. "Seems a little odd. I mean there's a lot worse that she could have done."
Kagome blinked innocently. "Like what?"
"Like all these murders-- are bad! Murders are bad, yes, she could have murdered someone. Which would have been bad."
Kagome's eyebrows were up as Miroku gave his girlfriend a hard elbow to stop the blabbering. "Yes. I suppose a murder would be bad."
"We're going back to the bus." Aiko interrupted. "We have to get to Washington." Grateful for the break in conversation, the others followed her back, slipping into their assigned seats. Left atop Siri's backpack was a thick, heavy parchment envelope with her name in elegant script across the top. Quenching the sick urge to open it, she slipped it into her backpack, then glanced back-- Aiko was turned away, caught in conversation with Sango-- hurriedly, she drew the envelope back and tore it open, drawing out the paper inside-- her own face spread across the page, eyes closed in sleep (she refused to ponder grotesque other possibilities,) expertly sketched and inked. Hands shaking, she crumpled it up and stuffed it into the very bottom of her bag. Aiko frowned, turning over. "Sir? Everything ok?"
"Bug." The blonde replied shortly, hoping it would cover. "Big bug." She added a bit desperately.
"Eeew." Aiko shuddered and nodded. "You kill it?"
"Yeah..." Siri nodded, sending one final glance at her bag.
§
"This is your nation's Capitol?"
"Famous for its rats." Siri agreed cheerfully, hopping off the bed lightly.
Aiko blinked dubiously. "What is there to see here?"
"More American history." The blonde answered promptly, grabbing her friend's bag and tossing it on the far bed. Aiko groaned loudly and turned away from the window. "Ah, come off it. We're only here for a day, anyway."
"What, the liberty bell didn't bore you to death? Along with the long, droning speeches on the Constitution and Declaration?"
"Actually, I found them fascinating." Siri replied cheerfully, crossing to the door and picking up the newspaper
"You didn't even have a cheese steak."
"That would be the vegetarian part, yes." She replied as she pattered back across the floor
"Weirdo."
Siri grinned and shook her head. "Go to bed, Aiko." Siri advised, dropping the paper on her bedside table. In bold type, the headline proclaimed 'entrail eater kills 4 in Philadelphia"
§
"You realize curfew was three hours ago?"
Kagome raised her head from his shoulder, looking up at him. "It's not 4 AM yet!" Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow, nodding his head towards the clock embedded in the spire of a building. She blinked at it. "Oh.." He laughed, shifting slightly. "Ah, shuddap." She muttered. He only laughed louder. "Inu-Yasha!" she hissed, turning around and raising to her knees so she could glare at him. "We're going to get caught."
"Kagome, we're on the roof." He reasoned gently, looking at her. "Who's going to hear us?"
She huffed, crossing her eyes and dropping down so she was kneeling. "You could."
"I'm a demon." He reminded her. She placed her hands behind her and leaned back, pouting.
"Yeah, I noticed."
"...Kagome?" She turned her head away. "Kagome!" He yelped. "Hey, I thought we talked about this!" He reached out and covered one of her hands with his. "Kagome, please, talk to me..."
She flipped her hand over and grabbed his, scooting backwards suddenly and dragging him with her. "Gotcha!"
The Youkai sniffed, leaning foreword on his elbows with as much dignity as he could muster, glaring up at the giggling form above him. "That was not very nice." He commented. She started giggling harder. "Kagomeeeeee, don't laugh at me!" He whined.
"See how you like it!" She responded, dropping back onto her knees, giggling the entire time. He sniffed, pushing himself up and squatting in front of her.
"That. Was. Not. Nice." With each word, he poked her, moving upwards from her stomach on 'that' to tapping her nose on 'nice.' He scooted closer, one of his knees brushing her stomach. She was still bent over with giggles, so he laid a hand on her shoulder gently. "Kagome?"
"Y-yeah?" She choked out, looking up at him. She blinked, startled to find him so near.
You got a new boyfriend.
No.
"Kagome?"
Why did you do that, Kagome?
No... no, please...
This is all your fault...
"Kagome! Kagome, listen to me..."
"no, please..." She whispered softly, tears tracking down her face. "I didn't, no..."
"Kagome!" He shook her gently, causing her hair to swing free from where it had previously been tucked behind her ear. "Kagome, it's all right, it's just me. Inu-Yasha. Hojou's not here, baby, they locked him up in an asylum, remember? It's only me."
"I-Inu?" He nodded pushing back her hair.
"It's only me."
She sniffled and slumped against him. "I thought... I thought you..."
The Youkai sounded resigned. "I know. It's all right."
"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
"Kagome... Don't-- it wasn't your fault--"
"I'm sorry..." She whispered, shooting to her feet and running for the elevator, leaving one very confused Youkai behind her. §
"Hello? Space cadet?" Kagome blinked, focusing on the finger whizzing
towards her at a seemingly impossible speed. It bounced off her forehead and backed up a few inches, speeding towards her once more. Automatically, she raised her hand in defense, grabbing the finger on its next approach. Siri gave her a strange look. "You ok? You're sort of out of it."
"Yes." Kagome answered stoutly, then changed her answer to "No. Maybe. I'm not sure-- I had a fight with Inu-Yasha last night."
The other three girls lounging about the room sat up suddenly, eyes widening. "What? Oh-- are you all right?"
"Yes, but... It was my fault. I had a Hojou moment, and I just... spazzed."
Aiko frowned. "Kagome, my brother is the most severe screw up that side of the Atlantic. You went through a lot last year, Inu-Yasha'll understand."
"I know." Kagome confessed, flopping on her stomach. "At least, I think... but I must've hurt his feelings so much... and it's happened before, so why shouldn't it again? He doesn't need this kind of crap... maybe... it would just be better if we broke up... He could lead a normal life..."
"Kagome!" Sango cried. "We're talking about the man who saved you from becoming stew meat, among other things. He's a -demon- living in the modern world-- I don't think it's possible for him to live a 'normal' life. And I know he wouldn't want to, if you weren't in it."
Kagome still looked doubtful. "Last summer... when I was still being all skittish... It hurt him so much, I could tell. It isn't fair for me to keep putting him through that."
Siri narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure you're not looking for the easiest way out for yourself?"
Kagome bristled at the accusation, then shook her head. "Maybe. I don't know. I'm just... confused." All three went over to hug her lightly. "C'mon. go talk to him, you'll feel better. I promise."
"Curfew's in... a half hour."
Siri grinned brightly. "Just enough time for you to get there and apologize. Let's go." She hoisted the brunette up. The other two followed, bouncing to their feet and hustling the girl out the door.
"S'kinda spooky out here at night." Aiko commented as they slipped out the door and headed across the park that separated the boy's hotel from the girl's.
"No 'kinda' about it." Sango agreed, fingers itching for a weapon. News photographs, mainly featuring kids' bodies with sans entrails, flashed through her head. She shook them away and clung to the others as they moved under the trees. The park had no interior lights, the only light came from those along the perimeter, and as a result just about everything was a shadow within a shadow. Handy for causing double-takes, scares, and... feet? Frowning, Sango broke away from the clutch and started towards the shape. "Stay here, guys." She commanded.
Of course, they didn't listen, following on her heels. She crouched at the side of the path, pulling back the bushes. Let them go so she could clutch at her mouth, turning her head away and closing her eyes as tight as she could, and screw the redundancy. "Oh, god..." Siri blabbered at her back. "Oh my god, oh my..."
When I look into your eyes
I can see a love restrained
But darlin' when I hold you
Don't you know I feel the same
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
And we both know hearts can change
And it's hard to hold a candle
In the cold November rain
We've been through this such a long long time
Just tryin' to kill the pain
But lovers always come and lovers always go
And no one's really sure who's lettin' go today
Walking away
And when you take the time to lay it on the line
I could rest my head
Just knowin' that you are mine
All mine
So if you want to love me then darlin' don't refrain
Or I'll just end up walkin'
In the cold November rain
Do you need some time...on your own
Do you need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone
I know it's hard to keep an open heart
When even friends seem out to harm you
But if you could heal a broken heart
Wouldn't time be out to charm you
Sometimes I need some time...on my own
Sometimes I need some time...all alone
Everybody needs some time...on their own
Don't you know you need some time...all alone
And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody
You're not the only one
You're not the only one
Don't ya think that you need somebody
Don't ya think that you need someone
Everybody needs somebody