Houken-Jidai
By Seabreeze
A/N: Once again, thanks so much to my reviewers. In this chapter, the foursome get together for the first time (excitement!) and after this chapter, the real plot digs in. The part that makes this story different than others. It's sorta. . . long. * cough *
Disclaimer: See second chapter for more details.
*~*~*
"Hello?"
"Is Sango there?" Kagome asked, feeling a little nervous, over the phone.
"This is she. Is this Kagome?" Sango hoped that it was, or else she felt pretty stupid.
"Yes! Hi Sango!" yes, the cheerful voice was hard to misread. It was Kagome. Sango grinned in relief.
"Hello, Kagome, how are you?" she asked.
"I'm great, but I was calling about Saturday. You up for it?"
"I think I am. What are you planning on doing?" Sango hoped it didn't involve lots of other people. She wasn't really good with crowds.
"I'm not really sure yet, but do you mind if a friend of mine tags along? He's sort of got a thing for you." The last part of this information was whispered, and Sango blushed furiously. Who at Houken-Jidai could have a "thing" for her?
"Um. . . well. . . sure. Is it alright if one of my friends tags along?" she rushed, instantly thinking of the one person who would make things interesting, and certainly more comfortable. Kagome laughed.
"Sure! That'd be great. Talk to your friend about what you want to do, and I'll get back to you so we can decide."
"Alright." Sango nervously picked at her shirt.
"Ok, so I'll call you back in an hour or so, ok?"
"Ok. Talk to you then." Click. Sango sighed and clicked the phone on again before dialing the familiar number.
*~*~*
Inuyasha glared at the group of punks sitting as far from him as they possibly could. They hated him because the rest of the school assumed Inuyasha was one of them, and he most certainly was not. Inuyasha despised them as he despised everyone else. But unfortunately, he was stuck with them in detention for Kaede.
Kaede was one of the few teachers who actually made Inuyasha serve detention, and wasn't frightened to do so. This was half of the reason he stayed, because as much as he'd never admit it, he liked Kaede. That didn't make detention fun, though. Especially since the punks over there were making fun of him. Inuyasha cracked his knuckles and looked warningly at his claws, a growl rising in his throat. Usually he didn't care if people made fun of him, but today he was irritable.
"That's enough out of ye, Inuyasha." Kaede looked up from her grading. She nodded at him. "You're time is up." With a murmur of celebration, Inuyasha coolly left the room. He stopped at his locker to throw all his books in, and slammed it shut to find Sango waiting for him. He leapt a little in surprise and then scowled at her.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" he snapped. Sango crossed her arms.
"Maybe if you didn't make so much noise throwing your books in your locker, your enhanced little ears would've heard me." When Inuyasha didn't respond, Sango continued. "Inuyasha. . . I have a favor to ask you." Inuyasha snorted and glared at her.
"What do you want?"
"Come on, Inuyasha, you owe me. And it won't be so bad."
"WHAT do you want?"
"Well. . . Kagome invited me to do something with her and a friend, and I asked if I could bring you." She cringed, knowing the blow up would come, and it did.
"WHAT??? You want ME to hang out with KAGOME, the CHEERLEADER???" his eyes were bugging in disbelief. Sango glared at him.
"Drop the cheerleader thing already, Inuyasha. And you don't have to hang out with Kagome. Just come with me, please?" Sango was giving him the sad eyes. It never worked, but she always did it anyway.
"No."
"Inuyasha!" she stamped her foot. He sighed resignedly.
". . .you owe me." He watched as Sango's face broke into a full-blown smile, which was entirely rare.
"Thank you." That was another interesting thing about Sango- when she said thank you, she sounded like she actually meant it. She always seemed to get almost sad, but it was gone before he could think about it much.
"When are we doing this, anyway? And what're we doing?"
"Tomorrow. And we're supposed to tell Kagome what we want to do."
"Feh. Say a movie. I don't care."
"I really owe you for this, Inuyasha."
"I know. That's why I agreed."
~*~*~
Sango and Inuyasha gingerly walked up to the entrance of the go-cart racing place. Kagome had called Sango back, and the plans had been laid: Go- cart racing and then ice cream. Then maybe hanging out at Kagome's, if everyone was up for it. Sango knew her hands were cold and shaky for nervousness, and Inuyasha had noticed too. She clenched them angrily; she was trained to fight fear. But this sort of fear was different than what she was used to.
"Get a hold of yourself, woman." Inuyasha's voice was mocking. He always seemed to get that way when she was scared or sad or angry. Not that it bothered her very much. She glared at him.
"Shut up, hanyou, I'm nervous."
"No, really??" Sango whacked him over the ears in annoyance. Sometimes he just didn't know when to stop. "Damnit, woman!" he rubbed his ears tenderly.
"You deserved it," Sango muttered, and at that moment Kagome spotted her.
"Sango-chan!" she cried happily, jogging to embrace her new friend. The two girls were dressed in severe contrast; Kagome in a mini corduroy skirt and jean jacket; Sango in black jeans, a black turtleneck, and over that a pink tank. Inuyasha scoffed at both Kagome and what she said.
". . .chan. . ." he sneered. Kagome let go of Sango and turned to face the hanyou.
"Hello, Inuyasha." She said tentatively. He glared at her in response. Feigning to hug Sango again, she muttered, "Sango. . . Inuyasha hates me. Was this a good idea?" realization hit Sango and she blushed, feeling terrible.
"Probably not. . ." at that exact moment, she felt a large hand grope her butt and she had the strangest inkling it wasn't Kagome. She swirled, blindingly fast, and hit his arm so that the fingers fell loose. She glared up into the face, only to retract in shock. "You!" she breathed, blushing furiously. The deep blue eyes stared down in her, also in shock.
"You're dangerous to sneak up on, Sexy." He grinned and Kagome whacked him with the back of her hand as Inuyasha stared on.
"Sango, this is Miroku. He's a senior, and he's in a band- Criminals By Accident, I'm sure you've heard of them- lead singer."
"Glad to finally know what to call you," Sango said dryly. Miroku took her hand and kissed it, and color filled her cheeks involuntarily.
"The pleasure is all mine, Beautiful Goddess." Inuyasha's laughter was hard to misconstrue, and Sango yanked her hand back quickly.
"Just. . . Sango, if you please."
"Ah! So I may call you Sango-koi?" Miroku's excitement was nearly innocent, but Kagome's hand flew to her face in embarrassment.
"Honestly, I don't know why he INSISTS on embarrassing himself. . ."
"Sango." Sango repeated again firmly. The senior wouldn't make things easy. Not easy, but interesting. . . she shook her head quickly, erasing all thoughts of him. She looked to Kagome for guidance. Kagome was right on cue.
"Shall we get racing?" she asked cheerfully, attempting to make Inuyasha smile. He looked away. Looking defeated, Kagome shrugged to walk with Miroku and Sango, but he had grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the carts.
"We're sharing a cart!" she heard him tell Sango cheerfully. Sango struggled pointlessly.
"I like driving by myself. . ."
"You just don't want to be in a cart while I drive!"
"Well. . . yeah, pretty much."
Kagome giggled and turned to Inuyasha. This would be so much easier if he wasn't so hostile.
"You want to share a cart with me?" she asked. Maybe he would warm up to her if they hung out more. Inuyasha looked at the stand selling tickets and then at Kagome.
"Is it cheaper that way?" Kagome sighed inwardly at this. At least he hadn't sounded annoyed or mocking or angry.
"Yeah." Kagome paused so they could walk side by side, but Inuyasha walked right past her and didn't wait up.
"Come on!" he said impatiently. Kagome sighed again. Tonight would certainly be. . . interesting.
*~*~*
Go-cart racing, despite everyone's fears, had been a blast. Inuyasha had won overall, and he seemed to be bonding with Miroku- when Miroku wasn't grabbing Sango's rear. He still treated Kagome like someone he was forced to hang out with, though, and was quite verbal about his dislike for her. Sango had become increasingly weary of the local rock band's lead singer. She stuck by Kagome or Inuyasha whenever she got the chance, but wasn't afraid to smack Miroku if he got too "friendly".
Going for ice cream, though, was a little more complicated.
Miroku absolutely INSISTED upon buying Sango a waffle cone, and after a few glares from Sango, Inuyasha did the same for Kagome. Reluctantly. VERY reluctantly. Kagome had strawberry; Inuyasha a mix up pistachio, rocky road, and cookie dough; Sango had coffee ice cream and Miroku had vanilla.
The foursome sat down outside the shoppe to eat their massive cones, and Sango found herself comfortable among them. Despite Miroku's pervertedness, he was friendly and fun, and Kagome certainly was as well. Something about the four of them together felt indescribably right, but it was probably just her imagination.
Inuyasha, on the other hand, wished nothing more than to go home. Despite hanging out with her, something about Kagome truly irked him. Like she was biting at him from beneath his skin, yet that was stupid. Miroku was alright, and of course Sango was already his friend. But. . . Miroku and Kagome were popular. And he didn't like popular people, especially Kagome.
Later on in the night, still at the ice cream shoppe, Miroku was trying to convince Sango to take off her black turtleneck.
"It's pretty warm," he was reasoning with a hentai grin. "and you'll have that pink tank on, Sango." Sango blushed furiously, and a man stopped by their table.
"I'm sorry. . . what did you call the girl?" he asked. Sango immediately froze and turned so that her back was to him. Her face radiated fear, but only Miroku perceived this.
"Sango." Inuyasha replied, but he was watching the man suspiciously. The man put a hand on Sango's shoulder, and she stiffened.
"Sango," he repeated softly, as if he knew her. "If you could just turn around so I could see your face. . ." but Sango stood abruptly to run. Unfortunately, the man's grip was strong and he turned her.
"Kami-sama," he murmured, making the sign of the gods with his free hand. His face was pale. "It's like seeing a ghost."
*~*~*
A/N: Ehehe, now the real plot kicks in. Thanks to RK-128 for helping me out :D and all my reviewers who shall be listed below. Scurvy curs.
Liz- thanks, I hope you like what you read of "Houken-Jidai" in the future. Arigato for the kind review ;)
RK-128- well, unfortunately, the faculty's right- at least about me * cringe * but ah well. Thanks so much for you enthusiasm and help and support, it is appreciated. Much. I'm actually about to start chapter 5, and by 4 it starts to get darker, but I want to keep the lightness in it to. If only because it's fun to write ;) Oh, and once I get my K/K one going, I'd like to bounce it off you. I really don't like it so far, but I think if I re-write, it's got potential. Oh yes- and "Imaginary" was simply gorgeous. Amazing, oneesama.
Kiawatha Amara- I'm aiming to dive into both pairings evenly, but at separate times. Because, well, come on. It's Inuyasha, and he's stubborn and arrogant. Both romances will take time to develop, but I hope to do so evenly. Thanks for your review!
CrescentAngel16- this story's really fun to write, so I'll most likely update quicker than my other stories. I'm glad you like it so far :D Merci for the review.
By Seabreeze
A/N: Once again, thanks so much to my reviewers. In this chapter, the foursome get together for the first time (excitement!) and after this chapter, the real plot digs in. The part that makes this story different than others. It's sorta. . . long. * cough *
Disclaimer: See second chapter for more details.
*~*~*
"Hello?"
"Is Sango there?" Kagome asked, feeling a little nervous, over the phone.
"This is she. Is this Kagome?" Sango hoped that it was, or else she felt pretty stupid.
"Yes! Hi Sango!" yes, the cheerful voice was hard to misread. It was Kagome. Sango grinned in relief.
"Hello, Kagome, how are you?" she asked.
"I'm great, but I was calling about Saturday. You up for it?"
"I think I am. What are you planning on doing?" Sango hoped it didn't involve lots of other people. She wasn't really good with crowds.
"I'm not really sure yet, but do you mind if a friend of mine tags along? He's sort of got a thing for you." The last part of this information was whispered, and Sango blushed furiously. Who at Houken-Jidai could have a "thing" for her?
"Um. . . well. . . sure. Is it alright if one of my friends tags along?" she rushed, instantly thinking of the one person who would make things interesting, and certainly more comfortable. Kagome laughed.
"Sure! That'd be great. Talk to your friend about what you want to do, and I'll get back to you so we can decide."
"Alright." Sango nervously picked at her shirt.
"Ok, so I'll call you back in an hour or so, ok?"
"Ok. Talk to you then." Click. Sango sighed and clicked the phone on again before dialing the familiar number.
*~*~*
Inuyasha glared at the group of punks sitting as far from him as they possibly could. They hated him because the rest of the school assumed Inuyasha was one of them, and he most certainly was not. Inuyasha despised them as he despised everyone else. But unfortunately, he was stuck with them in detention for Kaede.
Kaede was one of the few teachers who actually made Inuyasha serve detention, and wasn't frightened to do so. This was half of the reason he stayed, because as much as he'd never admit it, he liked Kaede. That didn't make detention fun, though. Especially since the punks over there were making fun of him. Inuyasha cracked his knuckles and looked warningly at his claws, a growl rising in his throat. Usually he didn't care if people made fun of him, but today he was irritable.
"That's enough out of ye, Inuyasha." Kaede looked up from her grading. She nodded at him. "You're time is up." With a murmur of celebration, Inuyasha coolly left the room. He stopped at his locker to throw all his books in, and slammed it shut to find Sango waiting for him. He leapt a little in surprise and then scowled at her.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" he snapped. Sango crossed her arms.
"Maybe if you didn't make so much noise throwing your books in your locker, your enhanced little ears would've heard me." When Inuyasha didn't respond, Sango continued. "Inuyasha. . . I have a favor to ask you." Inuyasha snorted and glared at her.
"What do you want?"
"Come on, Inuyasha, you owe me. And it won't be so bad."
"WHAT do you want?"
"Well. . . Kagome invited me to do something with her and a friend, and I asked if I could bring you." She cringed, knowing the blow up would come, and it did.
"WHAT??? You want ME to hang out with KAGOME, the CHEERLEADER???" his eyes were bugging in disbelief. Sango glared at him.
"Drop the cheerleader thing already, Inuyasha. And you don't have to hang out with Kagome. Just come with me, please?" Sango was giving him the sad eyes. It never worked, but she always did it anyway.
"No."
"Inuyasha!" she stamped her foot. He sighed resignedly.
". . .you owe me." He watched as Sango's face broke into a full-blown smile, which was entirely rare.
"Thank you." That was another interesting thing about Sango- when she said thank you, she sounded like she actually meant it. She always seemed to get almost sad, but it was gone before he could think about it much.
"When are we doing this, anyway? And what're we doing?"
"Tomorrow. And we're supposed to tell Kagome what we want to do."
"Feh. Say a movie. I don't care."
"I really owe you for this, Inuyasha."
"I know. That's why I agreed."
~*~*~
Sango and Inuyasha gingerly walked up to the entrance of the go-cart racing place. Kagome had called Sango back, and the plans had been laid: Go- cart racing and then ice cream. Then maybe hanging out at Kagome's, if everyone was up for it. Sango knew her hands were cold and shaky for nervousness, and Inuyasha had noticed too. She clenched them angrily; she was trained to fight fear. But this sort of fear was different than what she was used to.
"Get a hold of yourself, woman." Inuyasha's voice was mocking. He always seemed to get that way when she was scared or sad or angry. Not that it bothered her very much. She glared at him.
"Shut up, hanyou, I'm nervous."
"No, really??" Sango whacked him over the ears in annoyance. Sometimes he just didn't know when to stop. "Damnit, woman!" he rubbed his ears tenderly.
"You deserved it," Sango muttered, and at that moment Kagome spotted her.
"Sango-chan!" she cried happily, jogging to embrace her new friend. The two girls were dressed in severe contrast; Kagome in a mini corduroy skirt and jean jacket; Sango in black jeans, a black turtleneck, and over that a pink tank. Inuyasha scoffed at both Kagome and what she said.
". . .chan. . ." he sneered. Kagome let go of Sango and turned to face the hanyou.
"Hello, Inuyasha." She said tentatively. He glared at her in response. Feigning to hug Sango again, she muttered, "Sango. . . Inuyasha hates me. Was this a good idea?" realization hit Sango and she blushed, feeling terrible.
"Probably not. . ." at that exact moment, she felt a large hand grope her butt and she had the strangest inkling it wasn't Kagome. She swirled, blindingly fast, and hit his arm so that the fingers fell loose. She glared up into the face, only to retract in shock. "You!" she breathed, blushing furiously. The deep blue eyes stared down in her, also in shock.
"You're dangerous to sneak up on, Sexy." He grinned and Kagome whacked him with the back of her hand as Inuyasha stared on.
"Sango, this is Miroku. He's a senior, and he's in a band- Criminals By Accident, I'm sure you've heard of them- lead singer."
"Glad to finally know what to call you," Sango said dryly. Miroku took her hand and kissed it, and color filled her cheeks involuntarily.
"The pleasure is all mine, Beautiful Goddess." Inuyasha's laughter was hard to misconstrue, and Sango yanked her hand back quickly.
"Just. . . Sango, if you please."
"Ah! So I may call you Sango-koi?" Miroku's excitement was nearly innocent, but Kagome's hand flew to her face in embarrassment.
"Honestly, I don't know why he INSISTS on embarrassing himself. . ."
"Sango." Sango repeated again firmly. The senior wouldn't make things easy. Not easy, but interesting. . . she shook her head quickly, erasing all thoughts of him. She looked to Kagome for guidance. Kagome was right on cue.
"Shall we get racing?" she asked cheerfully, attempting to make Inuyasha smile. He looked away. Looking defeated, Kagome shrugged to walk with Miroku and Sango, but he had grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the carts.
"We're sharing a cart!" she heard him tell Sango cheerfully. Sango struggled pointlessly.
"I like driving by myself. . ."
"You just don't want to be in a cart while I drive!"
"Well. . . yeah, pretty much."
Kagome giggled and turned to Inuyasha. This would be so much easier if he wasn't so hostile.
"You want to share a cart with me?" she asked. Maybe he would warm up to her if they hung out more. Inuyasha looked at the stand selling tickets and then at Kagome.
"Is it cheaper that way?" Kagome sighed inwardly at this. At least he hadn't sounded annoyed or mocking or angry.
"Yeah." Kagome paused so they could walk side by side, but Inuyasha walked right past her and didn't wait up.
"Come on!" he said impatiently. Kagome sighed again. Tonight would certainly be. . . interesting.
*~*~*
Go-cart racing, despite everyone's fears, had been a blast. Inuyasha had won overall, and he seemed to be bonding with Miroku- when Miroku wasn't grabbing Sango's rear. He still treated Kagome like someone he was forced to hang out with, though, and was quite verbal about his dislike for her. Sango had become increasingly weary of the local rock band's lead singer. She stuck by Kagome or Inuyasha whenever she got the chance, but wasn't afraid to smack Miroku if he got too "friendly".
Going for ice cream, though, was a little more complicated.
Miroku absolutely INSISTED upon buying Sango a waffle cone, and after a few glares from Sango, Inuyasha did the same for Kagome. Reluctantly. VERY reluctantly. Kagome had strawberry; Inuyasha a mix up pistachio, rocky road, and cookie dough; Sango had coffee ice cream and Miroku had vanilla.
The foursome sat down outside the shoppe to eat their massive cones, and Sango found herself comfortable among them. Despite Miroku's pervertedness, he was friendly and fun, and Kagome certainly was as well. Something about the four of them together felt indescribably right, but it was probably just her imagination.
Inuyasha, on the other hand, wished nothing more than to go home. Despite hanging out with her, something about Kagome truly irked him. Like she was biting at him from beneath his skin, yet that was stupid. Miroku was alright, and of course Sango was already his friend. But. . . Miroku and Kagome were popular. And he didn't like popular people, especially Kagome.
Later on in the night, still at the ice cream shoppe, Miroku was trying to convince Sango to take off her black turtleneck.
"It's pretty warm," he was reasoning with a hentai grin. "and you'll have that pink tank on, Sango." Sango blushed furiously, and a man stopped by their table.
"I'm sorry. . . what did you call the girl?" he asked. Sango immediately froze and turned so that her back was to him. Her face radiated fear, but only Miroku perceived this.
"Sango." Inuyasha replied, but he was watching the man suspiciously. The man put a hand on Sango's shoulder, and she stiffened.
"Sango," he repeated softly, as if he knew her. "If you could just turn around so I could see your face. . ." but Sango stood abruptly to run. Unfortunately, the man's grip was strong and he turned her.
"Kami-sama," he murmured, making the sign of the gods with his free hand. His face was pale. "It's like seeing a ghost."
*~*~*
A/N: Ehehe, now the real plot kicks in. Thanks to RK-128 for helping me out :D and all my reviewers who shall be listed below. Scurvy curs.
Liz- thanks, I hope you like what you read of "Houken-Jidai" in the future. Arigato for the kind review ;)
RK-128- well, unfortunately, the faculty's right- at least about me * cringe * but ah well. Thanks so much for you enthusiasm and help and support, it is appreciated. Much. I'm actually about to start chapter 5, and by 4 it starts to get darker, but I want to keep the lightness in it to. If only because it's fun to write ;) Oh, and once I get my K/K one going, I'd like to bounce it off you. I really don't like it so far, but I think if I re-write, it's got potential. Oh yes- and "Imaginary" was simply gorgeous. Amazing, oneesama.
Kiawatha Amara- I'm aiming to dive into both pairings evenly, but at separate times. Because, well, come on. It's Inuyasha, and he's stubborn and arrogant. Both romances will take time to develop, but I hope to do so evenly. Thanks for your review!
CrescentAngel16- this story's really fun to write, so I'll most likely update quicker than my other stories. I'm glad you like it so far :D Merci for the review.