Drat! I'm SOOOO sorry for the long delay! I know I said I would have this
all out by the time I was back from Spring Break, but dangit! I was lazy
and school was interferring. Right now I'm about to graduate High School so
there's a lot of last minute stuff to do and tests to take.
Okay, the next chapter isn't done yet, but by golly I think it's about time I kept going at it. And I wanted to thank everyone for reviewing, but fanfiction.net had that page that said "site experiencing overload...please come back later" and I was like "dangit" cause I wanted to thank everyone personally and answer stuff. Well, I'll do a separate page next time for all who reviewed, k? (although I DO remember that someone said they wanted to know how I did on the test I took a long time ago. I got a B. Yay! But I took another one, the more recent, and got a C ~_~ But the good thing is I moved up a rank in my class. I went from 3rd place to 2nd (in a class of 6 periods with a total of 108 students so that's REALLY good)).
Until then enjoy the fic and I'll try to get the next chapter out ASAP. Personally, I like how I wrote a certain part...
The Life of a Star
By Inuyasha-loves-Kagome (A.K.A. Inu-chan)
Disclaimer: Yawn.
~*~^_^~*~
Kagome packed as fast as she could. She was so excited! A break from everything was like Heaven on Earth. She had heard that a break every now and then was good for you, and boy, she did now know it. All she could think about was what she would be looking forward to. There were no thoughts about Suboshi, concerts, stress, practicing, or even memorizing songs.
I'm glad he said yes Kagome thought as she folded a pink shirt she would use on one of the days. I should have known he would though. He practically does what I tell him. He's a good manager. Annoying, but a good manager nonetheless. He understand that I need a vacation every now and then. And he even agree to that last concert that Sango suggested. I'm gonna have to start planning that further with Suboshi when I get back.
Stopping in her frantic packing to look around for anything she could be forgetting, she saw the picture frame (picture side down) on her counter. Sadness crossed her features and she walked over, reaching out and picking it up with trembling fingers.
In the frame was a picture of her taken a few months before the record companies got a hold of her, telling her they liked the sound of her voice. There she was, a few years younger, holding a cordless microphone as she wore the dress she had worn to that party that Naraku had dedicated to her. She was smiling and looking at the camera, looking as if she were already famous and taking a picture for a fan. What she saw next made a few tears sting her eyes. Her little brother was also in the picture, goofing off into the camera and making faces while her mother was in the background with her father, both of them dancing to her song. The only one not in the picture was her grandpa because, obviously, he was taking the picture.
She sniffed a little and wiped her eyes. This had been the only picture she had dared to keep. It was the most recent one of her with them. All the other ones were back at her old house, hidden away from view. Back then she had been too afriad to see them, but now, thanks to Inuyasha, she felt she could go back to her old house and look through them to try to remember the good times rather than feel sad over them. She would make sure to request it on the last day of her vacation.
She walked back to her suitcase and packed the picture in there with the rest of her stuff. Although she had always hated looking at the picture, she never went anywhere without it.
When she was satisfied with what she was taking, she closed the suitcase, picked it up, and walked out the door. This was going to be so much fun!
~*~^_^~*~
"All set Kagome-chan?" Sango asked excitedly as she helped pack suitcases into Inuyasha's very expensive, red Chrysler Convertable. Sango herself was excited. She had been studying way to hard recently so she thought she deserved this vacation.
Kagome smiled at her, the wind picking up for a few seconds, rustling Kagome's blue sundress with a tiny matching blue open-vested sweater and Sango's yellow sundress with matching open-vested sweater. Both girl's had planned on wearing the same thing, although in different colors because they felt it was funner that way. "Of course Sango-chan. I haven't been to the mall in ages."
"And of course both of you lovely ladies will be glad to be in my company," replied a rather arrogant voice, one that was coated enough to sound innocent and matter-of-factly rather than arrogant.
They both rolled their eyes. "In your dreams Miroku," Sango replied as she looked through her bag and pulled out some sunglasses and a hat. "I thought you'd wanna be incognito, Kagome-chan, so I brought these along."
"You actually think just that will hide Kagome away from the people?" a rather annoyed, yet very familiar voice commented. "She'll need more than that."
All three of them turned their heads and were greeted with Inuyasha wearing rather casual clothes. They consisted of slightly baggy jeans and a red t-shirt with a picture of Cloud and Sephiroth fighting. His midnight black hair was tied loosely down his back. He was holding up a blond wig. "With something like this there'll be no way anyone can recognize her."
Kagome's eyes widened in complete shock as she pointed to the mass of curly blond hair in his hand. "You...actually expect me to wear that ball of fur on my head?"
He tossed it to her with a scowl. "If you want to enjoy the day without anyone knowing who you are then you're going to have to wear it. Sango can apply make-up and contacts so that it'll look even more real."
Now it was Sango's turn to appear shocked as she pointed to herself. "Me? You expect me to do that? I don't know how to do it. I'm not a make-up artist."
"Well, you're the most qualified. Miroku and I are boys. We wouldn't know how to handle make-up."
Both Sango and Kagome immediately covered up their mouths with their hands as they looked at each other through the corner of their eyes and giggled. "Oh, you'd be surprised."
Inuyasha burrowed his brows while Mirokue raised his. "What do you mean?" Inuyasha inquired. He seemed to be very curious to learn what they had to say.
Sango looked at Kagome and made a hand gesture, almost as if inviting her inside a house. Kagome caught on and began. "Well, there was this one time Miroku--"
Miroku had caught on faster than a bullet flew and dashed over to Kagome in order to cover her mouth. "Ehehehe. Crazy girl. She doesn't know what she's talking about."
But he couldn't silence the both of them. Sango decided to take over while Miroku followed her, dragging Kagome alone the entire way. "Miroku was in love with this girl one time when we were little--haha, you missed-- but she said she didn't like anyone who wasn't pretty and didn't know how to handle make-up and be like her mommy--still missed. So he went home and practiced make-up and there was even this one time where he wore it and went over to the girl's house--Miroku you might as well give up--huff huff. The girl, upon seeing him, thought he was a ghost and ran off screaming to her mom, who sent her husband to chase Miroku away from the house."
"Sango!" Miroku whined, letting Kagome go as the three of them laughed out loud in mirth, completely enjoying the story. It was a nice way to start the new day, by completely teasing Miroku, who deserved it in a way.
"Fine," Miroku huffed, crossing his arms with a tinge of red on his cheeks. "I'll do her make-up. Only because I'm a good guy."
All three of them simultaneously coughed into their hands, a word strangely familiar to "Right" being heard, although not to Miroku who was still fuming.
With that they all boarded the car, Sango and Inuyasha in front, and Miroku, Kagome, and Jake in the back. Inuyasha warned time and time again for Miroku not to even *think* about laying a dirty hand below her waist or anywhere in the chest area. That had earned a well-earned smack from Kagome and a similar scolding from Sango. Miroku merely gave them innocent looks while Kagome smiled at Sango and Inuyasha angrily pointed out that Kagome wasn't smacking Sango.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome growled as Miroku was straightening her wig to look real. "Sango is a girl. With her, it's concern, with you it's just plain old pervertedness."
"So, I guess concern from me is pervertedness now, huh?" he said as he steered through the streets of Tokyo.
"It is when a boy says it. It sort of means they're thinking about those areas themselves."
"I am not!" Inuyasha argued back. "I was just telling him not to even think about it!"
"Well let Sango do the telling! It's better for her to do it because she's a girl and coming from a girl it seems like honest concern rather than perverted jealousy."
"I am not jealous!"
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not!"
"Not this again," Sango groaned. "Why must the two of you insist on acting like children?"
"We are not acting like children!" the two of them barked at her, then went right back to arguing, although now they had forgotten why they were arguing in the first place. It seemed more a battle of wills now. Whoever held out the longest won.
"STOP IT!!" Sango screamed, giving firm looks of anger at them and quieting them down faster than a loud yell at a very quiet person. "Look, if the two of you keep arguing like this, not only will you blow Kagome's cover, you'll also looks stupid, immature, and you'll ruin this vacation! So calm down and enjoy this trip or I'll haunt the two of you when I die!"
Kagome leaned over to whisper in Miroku's ear. "Sango's scary sometimes, huh?"
"Y-Yeah," Miroku shivered, his hands tightly held onto the seats. Kagome giggled and eventually got him back to working on making her look different.
~*~^_^~*~
When they arrived, they discovered that the mall wasn't as packed as it normally was. Perhaps that was due to the fact that it was a weekday and many were either working or at school. Those who didn't work, were on vacation from work, or ditched school were there, making a small population inside.
Kagome's excitedness grew the more she gazed at the many-stored facility. There were many people going in and out, many of them families and older people, and some young people who were either there to hang out with friends or go into the theater and see a movie. Kagome had brought along a good amount of extra cash from all the money she earned from singing and selling CD's. I'm totally going to spend it all! Many new clothes and gifts for my friends!
Inuyasha parked and they all climbed out of the car. By now Kagome's disguise was done. Her hair was curly at the ends, blonde, as went to about her waist. Miroku had inserted crystal blue contacts, a deeper color than her normal eyes, and had applied the same color eye shadow to her eyes. All this topped off with rosy blush and pink lipstick as well as the sunglasses and hat Sango had still suggested. There was no way anyone would tell it was her.
"So what should we hit first?" Kagome suggested, looking all around the first major department store. The door they had come through was in the baby clothes section and it was causing Kagome to be a tad bit wistful. She was longing for the day when she would finally marry the man of her dreams and start a family with him.
"Well, seeing as how this is so you can relax, Satomi," Sango said, using Kagome's fake temporary name, "I think we should let you decide."
"Clothes!" Kagome didn't even allow herself to think about it. She had wanted to see what was in for the longest time. Sure, there were always things from France, Italy, Mexico, and the United States coming in, but she wanted to wear the latest fashion among regular teenage girls in Japan.
"Oh great," Inuyasha moaned. "And as usual the men's job is to just sit and watch you try all the different possible combinations in the store till you bleed it all dry. How many possible clothes combinations do you think they'll make Miroku? I bet you 10,000 yen it's 150 each girl."
"Well I say 150 for Sango, 100 for Satomi and I raise the stake to 20,000 yen."
"You're on, looser boy."
"You guys are actually betting on this?!" Sango hissed.
"Sure," Inuyasha shrugged. "It'll make it less boring. This way we'll actually pay attention rather than nod and repeat the 'uh huh, that looks great' comment."
Needless to say, he was hit twice in one day, making it some sort of record with him and his smart-ass comments.
"Come on Sango, Jake-san," Kagome called, walking off with them at her sides. "Let's get to work before the day is done."
"Inuyasha," Miroku prodded Inuyasha with his finger. "Are you alive?"
When Inuyasha had straightened himself, they rejoined the group. Kagome went in with many sets of clothing at once (going in with the max which was 6) but took longer than Sango because she had to be careful when she put on a shirt or else her wig would fall off. Jake was on guard in the meantime, looking all around for anyone suspicious or anything of the sort. During his guard duty, a regular saleswoman approached him with a complaint, thinking he was just a regular security guard and never thinking how weird it was that there was one guarding the girl's dressing rooms. It took a while for him to convince her he wasn't a security guard and that he was just standing there for fun. This earned him a puzzled look, but she went on her way to someone who really was a guard.
Finally, billions of combinations later, the boys came up with the results of the girls' "clothes adventure". Sango had tried on 125 outfits and Kagome had only tried on 97. Being as how Miroku's guess was closer, Inuyasha was forced to shelf over 20,000 yen. This resulted in Inuyasha being grumpy every time Miroku would brag about what he would spend the money on.
Next, it was time for the boys to drag the girls to whatever store they wanted to go to. They all ended up heading over to the video game store filled with the hot newest video games just out in Japan. They were having a special exhibition for every new game, which happened to be Final Fantasy X-2, One Piece, a new installment to the Yu-Gi-Oh card game (for Gameboy Advanced), and the newest Pokemon games, Ruby and Sapphire.
"Look at Yuna!" Kagome commented, heading over to the FF X-2 display which featured a huge life size poster of Yuna in her new clothes. "The first game was good, but now she's gonna be totally awesome with her gun."
"Feh," Inuyasha said dryly. "She doesn't look as hot as Rikku does. But hey, I guess I can't complain. This is a game what guys are looking for. A girl in a skimpy costume shooting down enemies with guns and showing a hell of a lot of skin while doing it."
*BONK*
"Sango, I do believe this game shows Girl Power rather than Perverted Boy Power," Kagome went back to commenting as she dragged Sango off towards another display.
"Inuyasha," Miroku sighed, already a game in hand for purchase. "You really need to stop giving reasons for Satomi to hit you."
"Shut up Miroku," Inuyasha bit back while on the floor. He looked at the cover of Miroku's game and gave a dry look. "I should have known you would have gone fishing for that game."
Miroku held his game up high and with pride. On the cover were a bunch of skimpy girls in bikini's and all of them were playing volleyball. (A/N: I saw the commercial for this game a long time ago but I forgot what it was called. It's a perverted game for the boys though) "Of course I would look for it. Ever since I saw this game on TV, I had to have it."
Inuyasha picked himself from the floor, muttering something that sounded like "pervert", and headed over to the Pokemon games. This display had been for a while now and barely anyone was playing it. Mostly people were over trying out FF X-2 or One Piece, games that were really popular and people were REALLY looking forward to playing. Inuyasha saw as Kagome cheered and beat Sango's Pokemon up to a bloody pulp. Each one had 3 Pokemon; Sango's had all fainted while Kagome's were all in top shape.
"No fair!" Sango remarked. "You cheated somehow."
"How can I cheat? I just know a lot about Pokemon. I was once the Pokemon Master when I was about 13. No one could beat me."
"Move over Sango," Inuyasha butted her out of the way and took one of the controls. "I guess I'll have to show this "Pokemon Master" a thing or two."
Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "You actually think you can win me?" She turned back to face the screen. "Bring it on!"
And the game began. Kagome, who had picked Chikorita, Pikachu, and Kadabra, took the blue side of the display. Inuyasha, who took Steelix, Pidgeotto, and Machamp, took the red side of the display. The display was constructed in a circular way so that each player faced each other and didn't get to see their opponents Pokemon. Only the ones that were sent out were shown.
"Are you ready picking your Pokemon Inuyasha?" Kagome teased, looking at her nails as if she had already picked her Pokemon a long time ago.
"Let's go," Inuyasha said, not even letting any emotion play on his face. Kagome was surprised to see him like that because she noticed that he was really concentrating on what he was doing.She grinned. Probably wants to try his best so he can win. He knows he can't win against me. He was foolish to even try.
"Game start!" the game announced in its robotic voice. Both Kagome and Inuyasha sent out their Pokemon's, Pikachu and Pidgeotto.
"Ha!" Kagome cheered. "Flying type Pokemon are weak against electric! This battle is mine!"
Still Inuyasha showed no emotion. He simply manuvered his Pokemon to start the battle. His Pidgeotto struck Kagome's Pikachu, depleting its life bar down to half.
"What?!" Kagome yiped. It just wasn't possible. There was no way a flying type Pokemon would weaken her electric type so fast. She stared at the screen in amazement. How did he do it? She grinned evilly. No matter. With one thundershock attack, it'll go down and that will be the end of that Pokemon. She commanded it to do a thundershock, but was shocked to see that it didn't instantely faint Pidgeotto. What sort of strategy is he using?
"Hehe," Inuyasha mocked from his side of the display. "What's wrong Kagome? Finding out that you're not as good as you thought you were?"
"What sort of trick are you pulling you great big cheater?" Kagome yelled, causing many people inside the store to look her way. They saw that a battle was going on and decided to see what it was all about.
"Trick?" Inuyasha said innocently. "What trick? How can I possibly pull a trick? It's something called skill, something you don't have."
"What do you think I was when I was 13?!"
"Someone who got lucky."
Kagome growled. "We'll see who got lucky." She made Pikachu do agility but again it didn't make Pidgeotto faint. "What sort of defense did you place on that bird?!"
Inuyasha laughed mirthfully. It was his turn finally and Pidgeotto did Peck. That caused Pikachu to faint dead away. "Well, one down, two to go."
By now there was a humongous group, all wanting to see the very skilled ones who were dueling it out, one claiming to be a Pokemon Master. Kagome sent out her second Pokemon, Kadabra. With that one, she was finally able to cause Pidgeotto to faint. Kagome jumped up and down in happiness. "I finally got your Pidgeotto! Yay! Yay for me!"
Inuyasha made no comment and again showed no emotion. He sent out Steelix, the second evolved form of Onix. Kagome was again follied and lost. Inuyasha made fun of her once more, but then showed no emotion when Kagome sent out her last Pokemon, Chikorita. With one Vine Whip, Steelix was knocked out. It was finally time for the last battle, the one who would decide the winner. All the people, even Sango and Miroku who had been arguing before over his choice in game, came to watch.
They were down to the last of their HP. It was Inuyasha's turn, and so far by how Inuyasha's Machamp was hurting Kagome's Chikorita, he would win if Kagome's attack missed. Kagome was forced to put all her hope on Chikorita's Razor Leaf. If for some reason it didn't completely knock the rest of the his life bar, Kagome was a goner.
I'll admit she thought as sweat poured down her forehead. I've never had someone who was so challenging. Not since the other Pokemon master who had dyed silver hair and fake doggy ears. That guy was a punk. He was the only one who I couldn't beat.
The life bar went down, down to the point where it wasn't even seen. Kagome's face broke out into the happiest smile ever as she began to dance around, happy that she had been able to wipe the smirk off Inuyasha's face. "I won! I won!"
"Uh, Satomi?" Sango called uncertainly.
She stopped dancing a second to see Sango and the fact that she was pointing at the screen. Curiously, she looked over...
...and found that Chikorita had fainted!
"WHAT?!" Kagome wailed, completely going balisitic. "How?!"
Inuyasha came over from the other side, Miroku at his side. "Well, well, it seems you lost. There was still 1 HP on my bar. I hit your Pokemon and knocked it out just in time."
Miroku raised Inuyasha's hand. "The winner and new Pokemon Master!" Everyone cheered.
"Well," Inuyasha began, "not really. I was already one of the Pokemon Master's out there. But I guess I'm still keeping my title with no loses so far."
"You...?" Kagome blinked. "You were a Pokemon Master the whole time?"
"Yup. It was nice seeing the look on your face when you discovered I won rather than you."
Before an explosion from Kagome could break out, Sango came between them, her stomach rumbling. "Well, now that that's over, how about we get something to eat? I'm starving."
Inuyasha began walking away towards the food court. "You're right. All this battling and winning is making me hungry."
All of them followed Inuyasha, although Kagome had a little something in mind for him later to get him back.
~*~^_^~*~
With his father now back in the office, Sesshoumaru was back to his job as assistant to his father. His father had been very proud that Sesshoumaru had handled the business quite well, as he had always expected of his son. Sesshoumaru had told his father about the phone call and about installing the phone tracker so he would be prepared the next time they called. His father had thought that a good idea.
As Sesshoumaru was writing in his office, his real secretary, Keiko, came through the door. "Sir, there's a Detective Jaken to see you."
"Send him in," he ordered, standing up.
She left, and only a second later, Jaken came in. Sesshoumaru greeted him and made him sit down before sitting down himself. "So, what have you found out so far?"
"My sources led me to a secret base just by Tokyo Bay. Apparently their boss sent that man to not only try to kill you, but he was also responsible for putting poison in your father's food. All the men that were there were arrested. The only one not present was their boss."
Sesshoumaru was not relieved to hear that. It was the boss that mattered. They could arrest a hundred guys and still he would be able to send out more people. "Did they tell who their boss was? Do you know anything about him?"
Jaken shook his head. "None of his men want to talk. The police are interrogating them right now. There are some clues however." He dug into his jacket and pulled out a packet of pictures. He handed them to Sesshoumaru, who looked through them one by one. Each one looked like it could have been taken from a survellance camera inside the base. It showed the long table with many people seated at it, the boss at the head. He looked closer but couldn't tell who he was. For some strange reason he was covered by a large black winter coat, the kind the mafia bosses wore. His face was hidden by a large black hat.
Sesshoumaru tossed the pictures down on the clear glass desk. "These pictures are worthless. His damned face is hidden!"
Jaken went and fished through the pictures. He picked one in particular up and handed it to Sesshoumaru. "You missed this one. It's the closest we could get to seeing something about him that would reveal who he is."
Sesshoumaru looked at it and saw that it was the boss without his hat. He had long, slightly curly, black hair that went down his back. His hair was hiding a large red circle, probably a logo of some kind. He trust it back into Jaken's hands. "Well, make sure you find him. My father's business is in danger."
Jaken collected the pictures and stood up. "Of course Sesshoumaru- san. I'm already on it. You know I always get the job done." He bowed, then headed out of the room.
~*~^_^~*~
"Asaka!" my mom called from the stairs, her voice hoarse from crying. "Come on honey! It's time to go."
The house was very gloomy, everyone with sad faces. I remember that day as well as I remember how dark it was outside and how cloudy. It was raining for many days. It was so strange. The day it started to rain was the day some man had come to the door telling my parent's three people from the family had died. I was in the living room watching my favorite show. I heard how my mom gasped before beginning to cry. She was yelling out things like "My sister! Dad! Oh my god! Kami-sama, please don't take them!"
I had been curious. I went towards the front door and asked my dad, who was hugging her close, what happened. He told me my aunt, her husband, my cousin, and my grandfather were all found dead the day my older cousin was giving her first concert. We were all going to go see her since she invited us, but were were running late.
I hadn't known them all that well, but it was well enough to get me crying and running up to my room. In the living room I could hear the news report stating that they were in fact dead and that it had been my cousin who had found them.
I felt sorry for her.
It was the worst funeral in the world. The rain wasn't letting up and everyone wore black. I knew it was neccessary to, but I still hated it. I sitting in my seat as the priest in Buddist robes said prayers for them. My mother and some other relatives who were all the siblings of my aunt and uncle all held little boats with Chinese candles. It was so their souls could be guided to heaven.
The last one to send a boat off was my cousin. She looked terrible. She had been standing under the umbrella of some American man, her bodyguard they told me later. She moved from under it, getting wet in the rain, then bent down to let the boat go. Her eyes were so cold, so lifeless. It was as if her own soul was following those boats.
In a way, I felt it was true.
After she had let her boat go, she said a few words to the American and both of them left. I knew she was in pain. She was suffering. She didn't want to stay any longer. I knew if the same thing happened to my family I would be just like her. I prayed everyday to Kami-sama after that to protect my family.
Only days afterward, my family was asked to move into the shrine my cousin had lived in. She hated that house now and didn't want to return. It belonged to the family and could never be sold, according to what the will my grandfather wrote. So we moved in.
That was when I believed Kami-sama didn't hear me. No sooner had we moved in then a man in a large black suit came to the door and took my family away. He didn't take me because he told me I had a job to do. I had to stay and take care of the shrine so no one would know the truth. He said I had the power to block out the tree's magic, something I didn't understand. He didn't explain it to me though. He just said that as long as I stayed and didn't let anyone near the tree, my family would be safe and when he was done with his job, I could have them back.
Of course I agreed. What else could I do? I stayed and played the role of a shrine maiden. I had no other choice.
I still don't understand what he meant by my power could block the tree's magic, but I never questioned it again.
But with Shippou here, maybe I can find out. The only question is, if I choose to let him near the tree...
...will my family die?
~*~^_^~*~
The day had proved to be as fun as she expected, even if she lost a match to Inuyasha. She knew it wasn't over either. There were still two more days ahead of them.
Everyone except Inuyasha and her were asleep in the car. She kept quiet and pretended to be asleep though. She just let her head rest against the cool car window as she gazed outside to the fading light of the day. They were all headed for a hotel since the theme park they were going to was pretty far away. She was excited. Two more days and there was nothing that could ruin it.
With happy thoughts in mind, she decided to snooze a bit before they reached the hotel. It felt nice to sleep...
To be continued in part 12:Theme Park Fun!
Okay, the next chapter isn't done yet, but by golly I think it's about time I kept going at it. And I wanted to thank everyone for reviewing, but fanfiction.net had that page that said "site experiencing overload...please come back later" and I was like "dangit" cause I wanted to thank everyone personally and answer stuff. Well, I'll do a separate page next time for all who reviewed, k? (although I DO remember that someone said they wanted to know how I did on the test I took a long time ago. I got a B. Yay! But I took another one, the more recent, and got a C ~_~ But the good thing is I moved up a rank in my class. I went from 3rd place to 2nd (in a class of 6 periods with a total of 108 students so that's REALLY good)).
Until then enjoy the fic and I'll try to get the next chapter out ASAP. Personally, I like how I wrote a certain part...
The Life of a Star
By Inuyasha-loves-Kagome (A.K.A. Inu-chan)
Disclaimer: Yawn.
~*~^_^~*~
Kagome packed as fast as she could. She was so excited! A break from everything was like Heaven on Earth. She had heard that a break every now and then was good for you, and boy, she did now know it. All she could think about was what she would be looking forward to. There were no thoughts about Suboshi, concerts, stress, practicing, or even memorizing songs.
I'm glad he said yes Kagome thought as she folded a pink shirt she would use on one of the days. I should have known he would though. He practically does what I tell him. He's a good manager. Annoying, but a good manager nonetheless. He understand that I need a vacation every now and then. And he even agree to that last concert that Sango suggested. I'm gonna have to start planning that further with Suboshi when I get back.
Stopping in her frantic packing to look around for anything she could be forgetting, she saw the picture frame (picture side down) on her counter. Sadness crossed her features and she walked over, reaching out and picking it up with trembling fingers.
In the frame was a picture of her taken a few months before the record companies got a hold of her, telling her they liked the sound of her voice. There she was, a few years younger, holding a cordless microphone as she wore the dress she had worn to that party that Naraku had dedicated to her. She was smiling and looking at the camera, looking as if she were already famous and taking a picture for a fan. What she saw next made a few tears sting her eyes. Her little brother was also in the picture, goofing off into the camera and making faces while her mother was in the background with her father, both of them dancing to her song. The only one not in the picture was her grandpa because, obviously, he was taking the picture.
She sniffed a little and wiped her eyes. This had been the only picture she had dared to keep. It was the most recent one of her with them. All the other ones were back at her old house, hidden away from view. Back then she had been too afriad to see them, but now, thanks to Inuyasha, she felt she could go back to her old house and look through them to try to remember the good times rather than feel sad over them. She would make sure to request it on the last day of her vacation.
She walked back to her suitcase and packed the picture in there with the rest of her stuff. Although she had always hated looking at the picture, she never went anywhere without it.
When she was satisfied with what she was taking, she closed the suitcase, picked it up, and walked out the door. This was going to be so much fun!
~*~^_^~*~
"All set Kagome-chan?" Sango asked excitedly as she helped pack suitcases into Inuyasha's very expensive, red Chrysler Convertable. Sango herself was excited. She had been studying way to hard recently so she thought she deserved this vacation.
Kagome smiled at her, the wind picking up for a few seconds, rustling Kagome's blue sundress with a tiny matching blue open-vested sweater and Sango's yellow sundress with matching open-vested sweater. Both girl's had planned on wearing the same thing, although in different colors because they felt it was funner that way. "Of course Sango-chan. I haven't been to the mall in ages."
"And of course both of you lovely ladies will be glad to be in my company," replied a rather arrogant voice, one that was coated enough to sound innocent and matter-of-factly rather than arrogant.
They both rolled their eyes. "In your dreams Miroku," Sango replied as she looked through her bag and pulled out some sunglasses and a hat. "I thought you'd wanna be incognito, Kagome-chan, so I brought these along."
"You actually think just that will hide Kagome away from the people?" a rather annoyed, yet very familiar voice commented. "She'll need more than that."
All three of them turned their heads and were greeted with Inuyasha wearing rather casual clothes. They consisted of slightly baggy jeans and a red t-shirt with a picture of Cloud and Sephiroth fighting. His midnight black hair was tied loosely down his back. He was holding up a blond wig. "With something like this there'll be no way anyone can recognize her."
Kagome's eyes widened in complete shock as she pointed to the mass of curly blond hair in his hand. "You...actually expect me to wear that ball of fur on my head?"
He tossed it to her with a scowl. "If you want to enjoy the day without anyone knowing who you are then you're going to have to wear it. Sango can apply make-up and contacts so that it'll look even more real."
Now it was Sango's turn to appear shocked as she pointed to herself. "Me? You expect me to do that? I don't know how to do it. I'm not a make-up artist."
"Well, you're the most qualified. Miroku and I are boys. We wouldn't know how to handle make-up."
Both Sango and Kagome immediately covered up their mouths with their hands as they looked at each other through the corner of their eyes and giggled. "Oh, you'd be surprised."
Inuyasha burrowed his brows while Mirokue raised his. "What do you mean?" Inuyasha inquired. He seemed to be very curious to learn what they had to say.
Sango looked at Kagome and made a hand gesture, almost as if inviting her inside a house. Kagome caught on and began. "Well, there was this one time Miroku--"
Miroku had caught on faster than a bullet flew and dashed over to Kagome in order to cover her mouth. "Ehehehe. Crazy girl. She doesn't know what she's talking about."
But he couldn't silence the both of them. Sango decided to take over while Miroku followed her, dragging Kagome alone the entire way. "Miroku was in love with this girl one time when we were little--haha, you missed-- but she said she didn't like anyone who wasn't pretty and didn't know how to handle make-up and be like her mommy--still missed. So he went home and practiced make-up and there was even this one time where he wore it and went over to the girl's house--Miroku you might as well give up--huff huff. The girl, upon seeing him, thought he was a ghost and ran off screaming to her mom, who sent her husband to chase Miroku away from the house."
"Sango!" Miroku whined, letting Kagome go as the three of them laughed out loud in mirth, completely enjoying the story. It was a nice way to start the new day, by completely teasing Miroku, who deserved it in a way.
"Fine," Miroku huffed, crossing his arms with a tinge of red on his cheeks. "I'll do her make-up. Only because I'm a good guy."
All three of them simultaneously coughed into their hands, a word strangely familiar to "Right" being heard, although not to Miroku who was still fuming.
With that they all boarded the car, Sango and Inuyasha in front, and Miroku, Kagome, and Jake in the back. Inuyasha warned time and time again for Miroku not to even *think* about laying a dirty hand below her waist or anywhere in the chest area. That had earned a well-earned smack from Kagome and a similar scolding from Sango. Miroku merely gave them innocent looks while Kagome smiled at Sango and Inuyasha angrily pointed out that Kagome wasn't smacking Sango.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome growled as Miroku was straightening her wig to look real. "Sango is a girl. With her, it's concern, with you it's just plain old pervertedness."
"So, I guess concern from me is pervertedness now, huh?" he said as he steered through the streets of Tokyo.
"It is when a boy says it. It sort of means they're thinking about those areas themselves."
"I am not!" Inuyasha argued back. "I was just telling him not to even think about it!"
"Well let Sango do the telling! It's better for her to do it because she's a girl and coming from a girl it seems like honest concern rather than perverted jealousy."
"I am not jealous!"
"Yes you are!"
"No I'm not!"
"Not this again," Sango groaned. "Why must the two of you insist on acting like children?"
"We are not acting like children!" the two of them barked at her, then went right back to arguing, although now they had forgotten why they were arguing in the first place. It seemed more a battle of wills now. Whoever held out the longest won.
"STOP IT!!" Sango screamed, giving firm looks of anger at them and quieting them down faster than a loud yell at a very quiet person. "Look, if the two of you keep arguing like this, not only will you blow Kagome's cover, you'll also looks stupid, immature, and you'll ruin this vacation! So calm down and enjoy this trip or I'll haunt the two of you when I die!"
Kagome leaned over to whisper in Miroku's ear. "Sango's scary sometimes, huh?"
"Y-Yeah," Miroku shivered, his hands tightly held onto the seats. Kagome giggled and eventually got him back to working on making her look different.
~*~^_^~*~
When they arrived, they discovered that the mall wasn't as packed as it normally was. Perhaps that was due to the fact that it was a weekday and many were either working or at school. Those who didn't work, were on vacation from work, or ditched school were there, making a small population inside.
Kagome's excitedness grew the more she gazed at the many-stored facility. There were many people going in and out, many of them families and older people, and some young people who were either there to hang out with friends or go into the theater and see a movie. Kagome had brought along a good amount of extra cash from all the money she earned from singing and selling CD's. I'm totally going to spend it all! Many new clothes and gifts for my friends!
Inuyasha parked and they all climbed out of the car. By now Kagome's disguise was done. Her hair was curly at the ends, blonde, as went to about her waist. Miroku had inserted crystal blue contacts, a deeper color than her normal eyes, and had applied the same color eye shadow to her eyes. All this topped off with rosy blush and pink lipstick as well as the sunglasses and hat Sango had still suggested. There was no way anyone would tell it was her.
"So what should we hit first?" Kagome suggested, looking all around the first major department store. The door they had come through was in the baby clothes section and it was causing Kagome to be a tad bit wistful. She was longing for the day when she would finally marry the man of her dreams and start a family with him.
"Well, seeing as how this is so you can relax, Satomi," Sango said, using Kagome's fake temporary name, "I think we should let you decide."
"Clothes!" Kagome didn't even allow herself to think about it. She had wanted to see what was in for the longest time. Sure, there were always things from France, Italy, Mexico, and the United States coming in, but she wanted to wear the latest fashion among regular teenage girls in Japan.
"Oh great," Inuyasha moaned. "And as usual the men's job is to just sit and watch you try all the different possible combinations in the store till you bleed it all dry. How many possible clothes combinations do you think they'll make Miroku? I bet you 10,000 yen it's 150 each girl."
"Well I say 150 for Sango, 100 for Satomi and I raise the stake to 20,000 yen."
"You're on, looser boy."
"You guys are actually betting on this?!" Sango hissed.
"Sure," Inuyasha shrugged. "It'll make it less boring. This way we'll actually pay attention rather than nod and repeat the 'uh huh, that looks great' comment."
Needless to say, he was hit twice in one day, making it some sort of record with him and his smart-ass comments.
"Come on Sango, Jake-san," Kagome called, walking off with them at her sides. "Let's get to work before the day is done."
"Inuyasha," Miroku prodded Inuyasha with his finger. "Are you alive?"
When Inuyasha had straightened himself, they rejoined the group. Kagome went in with many sets of clothing at once (going in with the max which was 6) but took longer than Sango because she had to be careful when she put on a shirt or else her wig would fall off. Jake was on guard in the meantime, looking all around for anyone suspicious or anything of the sort. During his guard duty, a regular saleswoman approached him with a complaint, thinking he was just a regular security guard and never thinking how weird it was that there was one guarding the girl's dressing rooms. It took a while for him to convince her he wasn't a security guard and that he was just standing there for fun. This earned him a puzzled look, but she went on her way to someone who really was a guard.
Finally, billions of combinations later, the boys came up with the results of the girls' "clothes adventure". Sango had tried on 125 outfits and Kagome had only tried on 97. Being as how Miroku's guess was closer, Inuyasha was forced to shelf over 20,000 yen. This resulted in Inuyasha being grumpy every time Miroku would brag about what he would spend the money on.
Next, it was time for the boys to drag the girls to whatever store they wanted to go to. They all ended up heading over to the video game store filled with the hot newest video games just out in Japan. They were having a special exhibition for every new game, which happened to be Final Fantasy X-2, One Piece, a new installment to the Yu-Gi-Oh card game (for Gameboy Advanced), and the newest Pokemon games, Ruby and Sapphire.
"Look at Yuna!" Kagome commented, heading over to the FF X-2 display which featured a huge life size poster of Yuna in her new clothes. "The first game was good, but now she's gonna be totally awesome with her gun."
"Feh," Inuyasha said dryly. "She doesn't look as hot as Rikku does. But hey, I guess I can't complain. This is a game what guys are looking for. A girl in a skimpy costume shooting down enemies with guns and showing a hell of a lot of skin while doing it."
*BONK*
"Sango, I do believe this game shows Girl Power rather than Perverted Boy Power," Kagome went back to commenting as she dragged Sango off towards another display.
"Inuyasha," Miroku sighed, already a game in hand for purchase. "You really need to stop giving reasons for Satomi to hit you."
"Shut up Miroku," Inuyasha bit back while on the floor. He looked at the cover of Miroku's game and gave a dry look. "I should have known you would have gone fishing for that game."
Miroku held his game up high and with pride. On the cover were a bunch of skimpy girls in bikini's and all of them were playing volleyball. (A/N: I saw the commercial for this game a long time ago but I forgot what it was called. It's a perverted game for the boys though) "Of course I would look for it. Ever since I saw this game on TV, I had to have it."
Inuyasha picked himself from the floor, muttering something that sounded like "pervert", and headed over to the Pokemon games. This display had been for a while now and barely anyone was playing it. Mostly people were over trying out FF X-2 or One Piece, games that were really popular and people were REALLY looking forward to playing. Inuyasha saw as Kagome cheered and beat Sango's Pokemon up to a bloody pulp. Each one had 3 Pokemon; Sango's had all fainted while Kagome's were all in top shape.
"No fair!" Sango remarked. "You cheated somehow."
"How can I cheat? I just know a lot about Pokemon. I was once the Pokemon Master when I was about 13. No one could beat me."
"Move over Sango," Inuyasha butted her out of the way and took one of the controls. "I guess I'll have to show this "Pokemon Master" a thing or two."
Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "You actually think you can win me?" She turned back to face the screen. "Bring it on!"
And the game began. Kagome, who had picked Chikorita, Pikachu, and Kadabra, took the blue side of the display. Inuyasha, who took Steelix, Pidgeotto, and Machamp, took the red side of the display. The display was constructed in a circular way so that each player faced each other and didn't get to see their opponents Pokemon. Only the ones that were sent out were shown.
"Are you ready picking your Pokemon Inuyasha?" Kagome teased, looking at her nails as if she had already picked her Pokemon a long time ago.
"Let's go," Inuyasha said, not even letting any emotion play on his face. Kagome was surprised to see him like that because she noticed that he was really concentrating on what he was doing.She grinned. Probably wants to try his best so he can win. He knows he can't win against me. He was foolish to even try.
"Game start!" the game announced in its robotic voice. Both Kagome and Inuyasha sent out their Pokemon's, Pikachu and Pidgeotto.
"Ha!" Kagome cheered. "Flying type Pokemon are weak against electric! This battle is mine!"
Still Inuyasha showed no emotion. He simply manuvered his Pokemon to start the battle. His Pidgeotto struck Kagome's Pikachu, depleting its life bar down to half.
"What?!" Kagome yiped. It just wasn't possible. There was no way a flying type Pokemon would weaken her electric type so fast. She stared at the screen in amazement. How did he do it? She grinned evilly. No matter. With one thundershock attack, it'll go down and that will be the end of that Pokemon. She commanded it to do a thundershock, but was shocked to see that it didn't instantely faint Pidgeotto. What sort of strategy is he using?
"Hehe," Inuyasha mocked from his side of the display. "What's wrong Kagome? Finding out that you're not as good as you thought you were?"
"What sort of trick are you pulling you great big cheater?" Kagome yelled, causing many people inside the store to look her way. They saw that a battle was going on and decided to see what it was all about.
"Trick?" Inuyasha said innocently. "What trick? How can I possibly pull a trick? It's something called skill, something you don't have."
"What do you think I was when I was 13?!"
"Someone who got lucky."
Kagome growled. "We'll see who got lucky." She made Pikachu do agility but again it didn't make Pidgeotto faint. "What sort of defense did you place on that bird?!"
Inuyasha laughed mirthfully. It was his turn finally and Pidgeotto did Peck. That caused Pikachu to faint dead away. "Well, one down, two to go."
By now there was a humongous group, all wanting to see the very skilled ones who were dueling it out, one claiming to be a Pokemon Master. Kagome sent out her second Pokemon, Kadabra. With that one, she was finally able to cause Pidgeotto to faint. Kagome jumped up and down in happiness. "I finally got your Pidgeotto! Yay! Yay for me!"
Inuyasha made no comment and again showed no emotion. He sent out Steelix, the second evolved form of Onix. Kagome was again follied and lost. Inuyasha made fun of her once more, but then showed no emotion when Kagome sent out her last Pokemon, Chikorita. With one Vine Whip, Steelix was knocked out. It was finally time for the last battle, the one who would decide the winner. All the people, even Sango and Miroku who had been arguing before over his choice in game, came to watch.
They were down to the last of their HP. It was Inuyasha's turn, and so far by how Inuyasha's Machamp was hurting Kagome's Chikorita, he would win if Kagome's attack missed. Kagome was forced to put all her hope on Chikorita's Razor Leaf. If for some reason it didn't completely knock the rest of the his life bar, Kagome was a goner.
I'll admit she thought as sweat poured down her forehead. I've never had someone who was so challenging. Not since the other Pokemon master who had dyed silver hair and fake doggy ears. That guy was a punk. He was the only one who I couldn't beat.
The life bar went down, down to the point where it wasn't even seen. Kagome's face broke out into the happiest smile ever as she began to dance around, happy that she had been able to wipe the smirk off Inuyasha's face. "I won! I won!"
"Uh, Satomi?" Sango called uncertainly.
She stopped dancing a second to see Sango and the fact that she was pointing at the screen. Curiously, she looked over...
...and found that Chikorita had fainted!
"WHAT?!" Kagome wailed, completely going balisitic. "How?!"
Inuyasha came over from the other side, Miroku at his side. "Well, well, it seems you lost. There was still 1 HP on my bar. I hit your Pokemon and knocked it out just in time."
Miroku raised Inuyasha's hand. "The winner and new Pokemon Master!" Everyone cheered.
"Well," Inuyasha began, "not really. I was already one of the Pokemon Master's out there. But I guess I'm still keeping my title with no loses so far."
"You...?" Kagome blinked. "You were a Pokemon Master the whole time?"
"Yup. It was nice seeing the look on your face when you discovered I won rather than you."
Before an explosion from Kagome could break out, Sango came between them, her stomach rumbling. "Well, now that that's over, how about we get something to eat? I'm starving."
Inuyasha began walking away towards the food court. "You're right. All this battling and winning is making me hungry."
All of them followed Inuyasha, although Kagome had a little something in mind for him later to get him back.
~*~^_^~*~
With his father now back in the office, Sesshoumaru was back to his job as assistant to his father. His father had been very proud that Sesshoumaru had handled the business quite well, as he had always expected of his son. Sesshoumaru had told his father about the phone call and about installing the phone tracker so he would be prepared the next time they called. His father had thought that a good idea.
As Sesshoumaru was writing in his office, his real secretary, Keiko, came through the door. "Sir, there's a Detective Jaken to see you."
"Send him in," he ordered, standing up.
She left, and only a second later, Jaken came in. Sesshoumaru greeted him and made him sit down before sitting down himself. "So, what have you found out so far?"
"My sources led me to a secret base just by Tokyo Bay. Apparently their boss sent that man to not only try to kill you, but he was also responsible for putting poison in your father's food. All the men that were there were arrested. The only one not present was their boss."
Sesshoumaru was not relieved to hear that. It was the boss that mattered. They could arrest a hundred guys and still he would be able to send out more people. "Did they tell who their boss was? Do you know anything about him?"
Jaken shook his head. "None of his men want to talk. The police are interrogating them right now. There are some clues however." He dug into his jacket and pulled out a packet of pictures. He handed them to Sesshoumaru, who looked through them one by one. Each one looked like it could have been taken from a survellance camera inside the base. It showed the long table with many people seated at it, the boss at the head. He looked closer but couldn't tell who he was. For some strange reason he was covered by a large black winter coat, the kind the mafia bosses wore. His face was hidden by a large black hat.
Sesshoumaru tossed the pictures down on the clear glass desk. "These pictures are worthless. His damned face is hidden!"
Jaken went and fished through the pictures. He picked one in particular up and handed it to Sesshoumaru. "You missed this one. It's the closest we could get to seeing something about him that would reveal who he is."
Sesshoumaru looked at it and saw that it was the boss without his hat. He had long, slightly curly, black hair that went down his back. His hair was hiding a large red circle, probably a logo of some kind. He trust it back into Jaken's hands. "Well, make sure you find him. My father's business is in danger."
Jaken collected the pictures and stood up. "Of course Sesshoumaru- san. I'm already on it. You know I always get the job done." He bowed, then headed out of the room.
~*~^_^~*~
"Asaka!" my mom called from the stairs, her voice hoarse from crying. "Come on honey! It's time to go."
The house was very gloomy, everyone with sad faces. I remember that day as well as I remember how dark it was outside and how cloudy. It was raining for many days. It was so strange. The day it started to rain was the day some man had come to the door telling my parent's three people from the family had died. I was in the living room watching my favorite show. I heard how my mom gasped before beginning to cry. She was yelling out things like "My sister! Dad! Oh my god! Kami-sama, please don't take them!"
I had been curious. I went towards the front door and asked my dad, who was hugging her close, what happened. He told me my aunt, her husband, my cousin, and my grandfather were all found dead the day my older cousin was giving her first concert. We were all going to go see her since she invited us, but were were running late.
I hadn't known them all that well, but it was well enough to get me crying and running up to my room. In the living room I could hear the news report stating that they were in fact dead and that it had been my cousin who had found them.
I felt sorry for her.
It was the worst funeral in the world. The rain wasn't letting up and everyone wore black. I knew it was neccessary to, but I still hated it. I sitting in my seat as the priest in Buddist robes said prayers for them. My mother and some other relatives who were all the siblings of my aunt and uncle all held little boats with Chinese candles. It was so their souls could be guided to heaven.
The last one to send a boat off was my cousin. She looked terrible. She had been standing under the umbrella of some American man, her bodyguard they told me later. She moved from under it, getting wet in the rain, then bent down to let the boat go. Her eyes were so cold, so lifeless. It was as if her own soul was following those boats.
In a way, I felt it was true.
After she had let her boat go, she said a few words to the American and both of them left. I knew she was in pain. She was suffering. She didn't want to stay any longer. I knew if the same thing happened to my family I would be just like her. I prayed everyday to Kami-sama after that to protect my family.
Only days afterward, my family was asked to move into the shrine my cousin had lived in. She hated that house now and didn't want to return. It belonged to the family and could never be sold, according to what the will my grandfather wrote. So we moved in.
That was when I believed Kami-sama didn't hear me. No sooner had we moved in then a man in a large black suit came to the door and took my family away. He didn't take me because he told me I had a job to do. I had to stay and take care of the shrine so no one would know the truth. He said I had the power to block out the tree's magic, something I didn't understand. He didn't explain it to me though. He just said that as long as I stayed and didn't let anyone near the tree, my family would be safe and when he was done with his job, I could have them back.
Of course I agreed. What else could I do? I stayed and played the role of a shrine maiden. I had no other choice.
I still don't understand what he meant by my power could block the tree's magic, but I never questioned it again.
But with Shippou here, maybe I can find out. The only question is, if I choose to let him near the tree...
...will my family die?
~*~^_^~*~
The day had proved to be as fun as she expected, even if she lost a match to Inuyasha. She knew it wasn't over either. There were still two more days ahead of them.
Everyone except Inuyasha and her were asleep in the car. She kept quiet and pretended to be asleep though. She just let her head rest against the cool car window as she gazed outside to the fading light of the day. They were all headed for a hotel since the theme park they were going to was pretty far away. She was excited. Two more days and there was nothing that could ruin it.
With happy thoughts in mind, she decided to snooze a bit before they reached the hotel. It felt nice to sleep...
To be continued in part 12:Theme Park Fun!