Dinner at the Higurashi household was pretty much like dinner in any other
large household I have ever known: everybody talked at once- except of
course Dumber, who only spoke when asked a direct question- and nobody
wanted to clear the table afterward. I made a mental note to call Eri and
tell her she'd been wrong. There really was no advantage, that I could see,
in having brothers: they chewed with their mouths open, and ate every
single Pillsbury Dough Boy bread roll before I'd even had one.
After dinner, I decided it would be wise to avoid my room, and give Inuyasha plenty of time to make up his mind about whether he was leaving with or without his teeth...fangs. I'm not a big fan of violence, but it's an unfortunate by-product of my profession. Sometimes, the only way you can make someone listen is with you fist. This is not a technique espoused, I know, by the diagnostic manuals on most therapists' shelves.
Then again, nobody ever said I was a therapist.
And I'm not.... I'm a miko.
The problem with my plan, of course, was that it was Saturday night. I'd forgotten what day it was in all the stress of the movie. Back home on a Saturday night, I'd probably have gone out with Eri, taken the subway to the Village and gone to see a movie, or just hung around Chihiro's Pizza Parlor, watching people walk by. Hey, I may have been a big city girl, even before, but that doesn't mean my life there was glamorous by any means. I have never even been asked out by a boy, unless you count that time when a over-happy boy name Hojo asked me to skate with him during a couple's only song at the ice rink.
And then I'd embarrassed myself by falling flat on my face. I'm so graceful.
Not. My mom, however, was all anxious for me to throw myself into the social scene of Tokyo. As soon as the dishwasher was loaded, she said to Dumberer, "What are you doing tonight? Maybe you could take Kagome and introduce her to some people."
Dumberer, who was having trouble mixing himself a protein shake- apparently, two dozen jump shrimps and a massive shell steak he's consumed at dinner hadn't been filling enough- no to mention those Pillsbury Dough Boy Bread rolls! - Went, "yeah, maybe I could, if someone wasn't working tonight..."
Dumber, roused at the mention of him, and squinted down at his watch, and said, "Damn," He picked up his jean jacket and left the house.
Dumb looked at the clock and made a tisk-tisking noise. "Late again. He's going to get himself fired if he doesn't watch it."
Dumber had a job? This was news to me, so I asked, "where's he work?"
"Tokyo Pizza." Dumb was performing some sort of bizarre experiment, which involved the dog, and my mother's tread mill. The dog, who was huge- a cross between a St. Bernard and a wooly mammoth, I think- was sitting very patiently on the floor while Dumb attached electrodes to small patches of the dog's skin he'd shaved free of fur. The strangest thing was that nobody seemed to mind, least of all the dog.
"He works in a pizza place?"
Nobunaga, scouring a baking dish in the sink, said, 'he delivers for them. Brings home a bundle in tips."
"He's saving up," Dumberer informed me, a thick white milkshake mustache on his upper lip, "for a car."
"Huh," I said. Not all that intelligent, but then again this was a boring conversation, and Dopey wasn't all that intelligent either. So in a way- it worked.
"You guys want me to drop you anywhere?" Nobunaga offered, generously, "I'd be happy to. Whaddaya say? Want to show Kagome the action down at the mall?"
"Nah," Dumberer said, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. "Everybody's still up in Tahoe for the break. Next weekend, maybe."
I nearly collapsed with relief. The word mall always filled me with a sort of horror, a horror that had nothing to do with demons.
And I had to admit, i wasnt all that thrilled with being "dropped" somewhere. My god, what was wrong with this place? Why hadn't anyone established a decent bus system yet? Hello! It's the twenty-first century!
"I know." Dumberer said, slamming his empty glass down. "I'll play you a few games of Cool boarder, Kagome."
I blinked at him.
He noticed my blunt expression, especially when it stayed that way.
"You never heard of Cool boarder? Come on."
He led me toward the wide screen TV in the den. Cool boarder, it turned out, was a video game. Each player got assigned a snowboarder, and then you raced each other down various slopes using a joystick to control how fast your boarder went and what kind of fancy moves she/he might make.
I beat Dumberer at it eight times before he finally said, "let's watch a movie instead."
Sensing that I had probably erred in some way- I guess I should have let the poor boy win at least once- I tried to make amends by volunteering to supply popcorn, and went into the kitchen.
It was then that a wave of tiredness hit me. There I a three hour time difference between home and Tokyo, so even though it was only nine o'clock, I was tired as if it were midnight. Nobunaga and my mom had retired to the massive master bedroom, but they had left the door to it wide open, I guess so that we wouldn't get any wrong ideas on what they were doing in there. Nobunaga was reading a spy novel, and my mother was watching a made-for-TV movie.
I wondered, as I stood there, waiting for the popcorn to pop, what my dad thought of all this. He hadn't been too enthused about mom's remarrying, even though, as I've said, Nobunaga is a pretty great guy. He'd been even less enthused about my moving out of the west Coast. "How," he's wanted to know, when I told him, "am I going to pop in on you when you're living three thousand miles away?"
"The point, dad," I'd said to him, "is that you aren't supposed to be popping in on me. You're supposed to be dead, remember? You're supposed to be doing whatever dead, partially-demon people do, not spying on my and Mom."
He'd looked sort of hurt by that. "I'm not spying," he'd said, "I'm just checking up. To make sure you're happy, and all of that."
"Well, I am." I'd assured him. "I'm very happy, and so is mom."
I'd been lying of course. Not about mom, but about me. I'd been a nervous wreck at the prospect of moving. Even now, I wasn't really sure it was going to work out. This thing with Inuyasha... I mean, where was my dad anyways? Why wasn't he upstairs kicking that guy's butt? Inuyasha was, after all, a boy, and he was in my bedroom, and fathers are supposed to hate that kind of thing....
But that's the thing about demons... or partial demons. They are never around when you actually need them. Even if they happen to be your dad.
I guess I most have zoned out for a little while because the next thing I knew, the microwave was dinging. I took the popcorn out an opened the bag. I was pouring it into a big wooden bowl when my mom came into the kitchen and switched on the overhead light.
"Hi honey," she said. Then she looked at me. "Are you all right, Kagome?" "Sure, mom." I said. I shoveled some popcorn into my mouth. "I'm gonna watch a movie." "Are you sure?" my mother was peering at me curiously. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, is all.
She looked relieved. "Oh yes. Well, I expected a bit of jet lag. But ... well, it's just that you looked so upset when you first walked into your room. I know the canopy bed was a little much, but I just couldn't resist."
I chewed. I was totally used to this kind of thing. "The bed's fine mom." I said. "The room's fine, too."
"I'm so glad," my mom said, pushing a strand of hair from my eyes. "I'm so glad you like, Kagome."
My mother looked so relieved, I sort of felt sorry for her, in a way. I mean, she's a nice lady and doesn't deserve to have a miko for a daughter. I know I've always been a bit of a disappointment to her. When I turned fourteen, she got me my own phone line, thinking so many boys would be calling me, her friends would never be able to get through. You can imagine how disappointed she was when nobody called except Eri, and then it was usually only to tell me about the dates she'd been on. Like I said, the boys in my neighborhood were never much interested in asking me out.
My poor mom. She always wanted a nice, normal teenage daughter. Instead she got me.
"Honey," she said. "Don't you want to change? You've been wearing those same clothes since six o'clock this morning, haven't you?"
She asked me this right as Dumb was coming in to get more glue for his electrodes. Not that I was going to say anything like, 'well, to tell you the truth, mom, I'd like to change, but I'm not real excited about doing it in front of the hanyou that's living in my room. Instead I shrugged and said, with elaborate casualness, "Yeah, well, I'm gonna change in a bit."
"Are you sure you don't want help unpacking? I feel terrible, like I should have-" "No, I don't need any help. I'll unpack in a bit." I watched Dumb forage through a drawer. 'I better go," I said. "I don't want to miss the beginning of the movie."
Of course, in the end, I missed the beginning, middle, and end of the movie. I fell asleep on the couch, and didn't wake up until Nobunaga shook my shoulder a little after eleven. "Up and at'em, kiddo." He said. 'I think its time to admit you've gone down for the count. Don't worry about it though, he won't tell anyone." He glanced at the sleeping figure of Dumberer.
I got up groggily and made my way to my room. I headed straight for the windows, which I yanked open. To my relief there was no Inuyasha to block the way. Yes. I've still got it.
I grabbed my duffel nag and went into the bathroom where I showered and, just to be on the safe side- I didn't know for sure whether or not Inuyasha had gotten the message wan vamoosed- changed into my pajamas. When I came out of the bathroom, I was a little more awake. I looked around, feeling the cool breeze seeping in.
I found, rather to my surprise, that I was alone.
Really alone. A demon-free zone. Exactly what I'd always wanted.
I got into bed and clapped my hands, dousing the lights. Then I snuggled deep beneath my crisp new sheets. Just before I fell asleep, I thought I felt a presence in the room- besides myself- and felt like someone was watching me.
But that, I'm sure, was just my imagination.
A/N: okay. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!
This chapter was boring and really didn't have to do with anything interesting, but oh well... The next chapter is going to be with Kagome going to her new school!!! DUN DUN DUN!!!!
After dinner, I decided it would be wise to avoid my room, and give Inuyasha plenty of time to make up his mind about whether he was leaving with or without his teeth...fangs. I'm not a big fan of violence, but it's an unfortunate by-product of my profession. Sometimes, the only way you can make someone listen is with you fist. This is not a technique espoused, I know, by the diagnostic manuals on most therapists' shelves.
Then again, nobody ever said I was a therapist.
And I'm not.... I'm a miko.
The problem with my plan, of course, was that it was Saturday night. I'd forgotten what day it was in all the stress of the movie. Back home on a Saturday night, I'd probably have gone out with Eri, taken the subway to the Village and gone to see a movie, or just hung around Chihiro's Pizza Parlor, watching people walk by. Hey, I may have been a big city girl, even before, but that doesn't mean my life there was glamorous by any means. I have never even been asked out by a boy, unless you count that time when a over-happy boy name Hojo asked me to skate with him during a couple's only song at the ice rink.
And then I'd embarrassed myself by falling flat on my face. I'm so graceful.
Not. My mom, however, was all anxious for me to throw myself into the social scene of Tokyo. As soon as the dishwasher was loaded, she said to Dumberer, "What are you doing tonight? Maybe you could take Kagome and introduce her to some people."
Dumberer, who was having trouble mixing himself a protein shake- apparently, two dozen jump shrimps and a massive shell steak he's consumed at dinner hadn't been filling enough- no to mention those Pillsbury Dough Boy Bread rolls! - Went, "yeah, maybe I could, if someone wasn't working tonight..."
Dumber, roused at the mention of him, and squinted down at his watch, and said, "Damn," He picked up his jean jacket and left the house.
Dumb looked at the clock and made a tisk-tisking noise. "Late again. He's going to get himself fired if he doesn't watch it."
Dumber had a job? This was news to me, so I asked, "where's he work?"
"Tokyo Pizza." Dumb was performing some sort of bizarre experiment, which involved the dog, and my mother's tread mill. The dog, who was huge- a cross between a St. Bernard and a wooly mammoth, I think- was sitting very patiently on the floor while Dumb attached electrodes to small patches of the dog's skin he'd shaved free of fur. The strangest thing was that nobody seemed to mind, least of all the dog.
"He works in a pizza place?"
Nobunaga, scouring a baking dish in the sink, said, 'he delivers for them. Brings home a bundle in tips."
"He's saving up," Dumberer informed me, a thick white milkshake mustache on his upper lip, "for a car."
"Huh," I said. Not all that intelligent, but then again this was a boring conversation, and Dopey wasn't all that intelligent either. So in a way- it worked.
"You guys want me to drop you anywhere?" Nobunaga offered, generously, "I'd be happy to. Whaddaya say? Want to show Kagome the action down at the mall?"
"Nah," Dumberer said, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. "Everybody's still up in Tahoe for the break. Next weekend, maybe."
I nearly collapsed with relief. The word mall always filled me with a sort of horror, a horror that had nothing to do with demons.
And I had to admit, i wasnt all that thrilled with being "dropped" somewhere. My god, what was wrong with this place? Why hadn't anyone established a decent bus system yet? Hello! It's the twenty-first century!
"I know." Dumberer said, slamming his empty glass down. "I'll play you a few games of Cool boarder, Kagome."
I blinked at him.
He noticed my blunt expression, especially when it stayed that way.
"You never heard of Cool boarder? Come on."
He led me toward the wide screen TV in the den. Cool boarder, it turned out, was a video game. Each player got assigned a snowboarder, and then you raced each other down various slopes using a joystick to control how fast your boarder went and what kind of fancy moves she/he might make.
I beat Dumberer at it eight times before he finally said, "let's watch a movie instead."
Sensing that I had probably erred in some way- I guess I should have let the poor boy win at least once- I tried to make amends by volunteering to supply popcorn, and went into the kitchen.
It was then that a wave of tiredness hit me. There I a three hour time difference between home and Tokyo, so even though it was only nine o'clock, I was tired as if it were midnight. Nobunaga and my mom had retired to the massive master bedroom, but they had left the door to it wide open, I guess so that we wouldn't get any wrong ideas on what they were doing in there. Nobunaga was reading a spy novel, and my mother was watching a made-for-TV movie.
I wondered, as I stood there, waiting for the popcorn to pop, what my dad thought of all this. He hadn't been too enthused about mom's remarrying, even though, as I've said, Nobunaga is a pretty great guy. He'd been even less enthused about my moving out of the west Coast. "How," he's wanted to know, when I told him, "am I going to pop in on you when you're living three thousand miles away?"
"The point, dad," I'd said to him, "is that you aren't supposed to be popping in on me. You're supposed to be dead, remember? You're supposed to be doing whatever dead, partially-demon people do, not spying on my and Mom."
He'd looked sort of hurt by that. "I'm not spying," he'd said, "I'm just checking up. To make sure you're happy, and all of that."
"Well, I am." I'd assured him. "I'm very happy, and so is mom."
I'd been lying of course. Not about mom, but about me. I'd been a nervous wreck at the prospect of moving. Even now, I wasn't really sure it was going to work out. This thing with Inuyasha... I mean, where was my dad anyways? Why wasn't he upstairs kicking that guy's butt? Inuyasha was, after all, a boy, and he was in my bedroom, and fathers are supposed to hate that kind of thing....
But that's the thing about demons... or partial demons. They are never around when you actually need them. Even if they happen to be your dad.
I guess I most have zoned out for a little while because the next thing I knew, the microwave was dinging. I took the popcorn out an opened the bag. I was pouring it into a big wooden bowl when my mom came into the kitchen and switched on the overhead light.
"Hi honey," she said. Then she looked at me. "Are you all right, Kagome?" "Sure, mom." I said. I shoveled some popcorn into my mouth. "I'm gonna watch a movie." "Are you sure?" my mother was peering at me curiously. "Are you sure you're all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, is all.
She looked relieved. "Oh yes. Well, I expected a bit of jet lag. But ... well, it's just that you looked so upset when you first walked into your room. I know the canopy bed was a little much, but I just couldn't resist."
I chewed. I was totally used to this kind of thing. "The bed's fine mom." I said. "The room's fine, too."
"I'm so glad," my mom said, pushing a strand of hair from my eyes. "I'm so glad you like, Kagome."
My mother looked so relieved, I sort of felt sorry for her, in a way. I mean, she's a nice lady and doesn't deserve to have a miko for a daughter. I know I've always been a bit of a disappointment to her. When I turned fourteen, she got me my own phone line, thinking so many boys would be calling me, her friends would never be able to get through. You can imagine how disappointed she was when nobody called except Eri, and then it was usually only to tell me about the dates she'd been on. Like I said, the boys in my neighborhood were never much interested in asking me out.
My poor mom. She always wanted a nice, normal teenage daughter. Instead she got me.
"Honey," she said. "Don't you want to change? You've been wearing those same clothes since six o'clock this morning, haven't you?"
She asked me this right as Dumb was coming in to get more glue for his electrodes. Not that I was going to say anything like, 'well, to tell you the truth, mom, I'd like to change, but I'm not real excited about doing it in front of the hanyou that's living in my room. Instead I shrugged and said, with elaborate casualness, "Yeah, well, I'm gonna change in a bit."
"Are you sure you don't want help unpacking? I feel terrible, like I should have-" "No, I don't need any help. I'll unpack in a bit." I watched Dumb forage through a drawer. 'I better go," I said. "I don't want to miss the beginning of the movie."
Of course, in the end, I missed the beginning, middle, and end of the movie. I fell asleep on the couch, and didn't wake up until Nobunaga shook my shoulder a little after eleven. "Up and at'em, kiddo." He said. 'I think its time to admit you've gone down for the count. Don't worry about it though, he won't tell anyone." He glanced at the sleeping figure of Dumberer.
I got up groggily and made my way to my room. I headed straight for the windows, which I yanked open. To my relief there was no Inuyasha to block the way. Yes. I've still got it.
I grabbed my duffel nag and went into the bathroom where I showered and, just to be on the safe side- I didn't know for sure whether or not Inuyasha had gotten the message wan vamoosed- changed into my pajamas. When I came out of the bathroom, I was a little more awake. I looked around, feeling the cool breeze seeping in.
I found, rather to my surprise, that I was alone.
Really alone. A demon-free zone. Exactly what I'd always wanted.
I got into bed and clapped my hands, dousing the lights. Then I snuggled deep beneath my crisp new sheets. Just before I fell asleep, I thought I felt a presence in the room- besides myself- and felt like someone was watching me.
But that, I'm sure, was just my imagination.
A/N: okay. PLEASE REVIEW!!!!
This chapter was boring and really didn't have to do with anything interesting, but oh well... The next chapter is going to be with Kagome going to her new school!!! DUN DUN DUN!!!!