A week had passed since InuYasha and his party arrived
back home. Since then, several new relationships have begun
to blossom. Sesshoumaru decided that Rin was in dire need of
some friends, so he arranged a little play date for her. He
took her over to Kagura's place, so that she could play with
the kids. Inside the house, Hakudoushi and Kohaku were
having an argument about who had a better voice, out of Ayumi
Hamasaki and Puffy AmiYumi.
"...No," Kohaku said, shaking his head, "I believe that AmiYumi's voice is an original sound. It's far superior to that of Hamasaki's."
"Oh, stop it now," Hakudoushi protested. "Ayumi's voice is much more original."
"You're just taking her side because she performs one of our theme songs." Kohaku rebutted.
"Thanks for making my point," Hakudoushi answered, sticking his tongue out. "Her voice is good enough to perform our themes, AmiYumi's is not."
"Do you know what I think?" Kanna said, walking into the room. "I think you are both idiots."
Hakudoushi jumped to his feet and stomped over to his sister. "What was that?" he exclaimed angrily.
"Has either of you two actually heard either of these voices?" Kanna whispered. Hakudoushi and Kohaku were both silent. "I rest my case," she said. Then there was a knock on the door, and Kanna went to answer it. As she was doing so, Hakudoushi whispered to Kohaku, "What does she know anyways?"
Kanna opened the door. Standing there, several hundred feet tall, was Sesshoumaru, and Rin was hiding behind him. "Hello, Kanna," he said. "Rin has a play date with you today, is this correct?"
Kanna nodded and motioned for Rin to come in. After a little hesitation, she finally stepped through the threshold. Sesshoumaru smiled at her, said his goodbyes and left.
[He had a little project to get started on...]
Kanna led Rin into the living room where Kohaku and Hakudoushi had already begun to play videogames. Rin sat down on the couch, took one of the pillows and seemed to hide behind it, peering out from it to watch the boys play their game.
Kanna cleared her throat. "Excuse me," she said. She got no answer. "Excuse me," she tried one more time, and again nothing. She walked calmly over to the game and switched it off. Much protest from the boys later, she decided that the four of them should go play outside in the snow. And so, away they went.
Before they were outside, Hakudoushi was a little skeptical of letting in a new person join their little clique. "We don't need any more girls," he said. He was still in that phase where girls were disgusting and covered in cooties. That is, of course, until he saw her against the bright background of the snow.
Her dark brown hair flowed seductively, seeming to taunt Hakudoushi. Of course, it wasn't. Kanna was really the only person there who even knew what the word 'seductively' even meant. But still, Hakudoushi knew she was taunting him. As he nearly drooled over this beautiful angel, he was completely oblivious to the outside world, and was struck in the back of the head with a snowball.
Sesshoumaru was appalled by Juuroumaru's behavior. It wasn't civilized at all. He acted like a wild animal. But, that would soon change. Sesshoumaru decided to teach him to be more civilized, like him.
(Uh, uh, yes, uh... The Pacific Rim economy is still a tad shaky for my taste...)
Unfortunately, Sesshoumaru didn't quite know what he was getting himself into. Naraku couldn't even control Juuroumaru, so what hope did he have? This would take a lot of work, but he knew he would be able to pass him off as a gentleman soon. He would, or die trying.
While Juuroumaru was snoring loudly, Kagura was in the middle of eating her lunch. She looked down at her plate, which was still pretty much full. She sighed and pushed it away from her. She wondered why Kouga hadn't come to visit her. He didn't still hate her, did he?
(Impossible... How could anyone hate me?)
"I'll go visit him," she muttered aloud. Then, without thinking, she started her journey to Kouga's cave. It wasn't a long ways from her house, but with all the snow it would seem like miles. She scoffed and brought out one of her feathers, and flew to the cave on it.
The wolves picked up her scent right away, and stood before the entrance of the cave, blocking her. As she approached, one of them started to growl.
"I don't have time for this!" she exclaimed. "Let me in now! I need to speak with Kouga."
One of the wolves started towards her, but a voice from the cave stopped it.
"Kouga's not here," Ginta said, exiting the cave.
This shocked Kagura. "Where is he then?" Ginta shook his head. She stepped up to him and looked him right in the eye. "Where is he?" she spoke slowly.
Ginta hesitated, and then he spoke, "He went to try to find out some information on the ice army." Kagura stepped back with a confused expression on her face. "He's pretty shaken up-"
"What happened?" Kagura asked with concern. "Is he okay? What's wrong?"
Ginta shook his head again. "Kouga said that Fuyuka's come back." Again, Kagura put on a puzzled face. "Come on," he continued, "We should talk about this in the cave." He led her inside and continued his story.
"Who is Fuyuka?" she asked, sitting down.
"Fuyuka is Kouga's older brother," Ginta answered.
"What," Kagura said with an expressionless face and tone of voice. "How is that possible? I happen to know that Kouga doesn't have a brother."
"You're right," Ginta smiled. "He has a half brother." Kagura sweatdropped. "That's all I know, though."
Kagura scoffed. "What good are you?" She stood up and started to walk out of the cave. Then she turned around and asked, "Now then, where did you say Kouga is?"
Mukotsu had just finished making himself a batch of popcorn in the kitchen. He took his bowl, dimmed the lights, sat down on the couch and turned the television on to his favorite program: Majo no Jouken.
[A Japanese soap opera.]
Just as he had settled down, what seemed like a storm came crashing through the house. Kikyou shoved open the front door and slammed it behind her, which was too bad for the poor soul behind it. It smacked Jakotsu right in the nose, causing him to fall backwards into the snow.
"What's wrong now?" Mukotsu growled angrily as Jakotsu entered the room, his hand over his nose.
"What's wrong?" Kikyou exclaimed. "That's what's wrong!" She pointed to Jakotsu, who was trying to stop the blood from gushing from his nose.
Mukotsu rolled is eyes. "I'm all for arguing," he said sarcastically, "But would you mind doing it where I can't hear you?"
Kikyou walked over to him, picked up the bowl of popcorn and dumped it on his head. Jakotsu started to giggle, but Kikyou shot him "the look." He stopped immediately. She walked away, clenching her teeth and balling her hands into fists.
"What did you do this time?" Mukotsu asked, lifting the bowl from his head and trying to salvage the popcorn.
"I don't know," Jakotsu answered, sitting down beside Mukotsu. "She's been acting really moody lately."
Mukotsu let out a deep breath. "Us Shichinin-tai, we never were good with relationships. Remember the time when Renkotsu was in college?"
(The annual college dance was a great place to pick up chicks, and Renkotsu knew that. He scanned the dance floor and saw several good-looking chicks. All of which were already dancing with their dates. He continued searching until finally he saw a vulnerable looking girl. Sweet, pretty, easy.
Renkotsu walked up to her, introduced himself and asked if she would like to dance. But before she could answer, Bankotsu ran up to them and asked Renkotsu "How could you make out with Akane? How could you do this to me?"
Renkotsu smiled uncomfortably at the girl, and as he and Bankotsu walked away, he whispered sarcastically "Yeah, that didn't make us sound gay at all...")
"It's like a curse," Mukotsu continued. "And there's nothing you can do about it. You were doomed from the start."
"I didn't start this," Jakotsu said angrily. Mukotsu just smiled. "What?"
"You did too start it. Who was the one that offered to 'cheer her up'? Who was the one that took her out? Who was the one who slept with-"
"Okay," Jakotsu said, getting up. "Okay, I get it. Maybe I did have this coming."
"Now how are you going to fix it?" Mukotsu whispered. And for once, Jakotsu was silent.
Kagome never would have expected a thing like this from InuYasha. The room was filled with candles. Romantic music was playing. It was the works.
"I think that we haven't been spending enough time alone together," InuYasha smiled. Kagome blushed, and said nothing. The surprise of it all left her speechless.
The song changed over. It was First Love, by Utada Hikaru. Kagome sighed pleasantly as she and InuYasha sat down to their romantic dinner. She listened to the calmness of the music and felt tears starting to flow out of her eyes.
"What's wrong?" InuYasha asked. "Too spicy?"
Kagome smiled and shook her head. "It's perfect."
InuYasha returned the smile. "Kagome," he said after a long pause, which let the music settle into Kagome's head, "I love you."
All this was almost unbearable for Kagome. All she could think of was the song that was playing. She didn't say anything for the longest time, and decided it would be best just to say the first thing that popped into her mind. "And I love you, Matsushima Nanako!"
"...No," Kohaku said, shaking his head, "I believe that AmiYumi's voice is an original sound. It's far superior to that of Hamasaki's."
"Oh, stop it now," Hakudoushi protested. "Ayumi's voice is much more original."
"You're just taking her side because she performs one of our theme songs." Kohaku rebutted.
"Thanks for making my point," Hakudoushi answered, sticking his tongue out. "Her voice is good enough to perform our themes, AmiYumi's is not."
"Do you know what I think?" Kanna said, walking into the room. "I think you are both idiots."
Hakudoushi jumped to his feet and stomped over to his sister. "What was that?" he exclaimed angrily.
"Has either of you two actually heard either of these voices?" Kanna whispered. Hakudoushi and Kohaku were both silent. "I rest my case," she said. Then there was a knock on the door, and Kanna went to answer it. As she was doing so, Hakudoushi whispered to Kohaku, "What does she know anyways?"
Kanna opened the door. Standing there, several hundred feet tall, was Sesshoumaru, and Rin was hiding behind him. "Hello, Kanna," he said. "Rin has a play date with you today, is this correct?"
Kanna nodded and motioned for Rin to come in. After a little hesitation, she finally stepped through the threshold. Sesshoumaru smiled at her, said his goodbyes and left.
[He had a little project to get started on...]
Kanna led Rin into the living room where Kohaku and Hakudoushi had already begun to play videogames. Rin sat down on the couch, took one of the pillows and seemed to hide behind it, peering out from it to watch the boys play their game.
Kanna cleared her throat. "Excuse me," she said. She got no answer. "Excuse me," she tried one more time, and again nothing. She walked calmly over to the game and switched it off. Much protest from the boys later, she decided that the four of them should go play outside in the snow. And so, away they went.
Before they were outside, Hakudoushi was a little skeptical of letting in a new person join their little clique. "We don't need any more girls," he said. He was still in that phase where girls were disgusting and covered in cooties. That is, of course, until he saw her against the bright background of the snow.
Her dark brown hair flowed seductively, seeming to taunt Hakudoushi. Of course, it wasn't. Kanna was really the only person there who even knew what the word 'seductively' even meant. But still, Hakudoushi knew she was taunting him. As he nearly drooled over this beautiful angel, he was completely oblivious to the outside world, and was struck in the back of the head with a snowball.
Sesshoumaru was appalled by Juuroumaru's behavior. It wasn't civilized at all. He acted like a wild animal. But, that would soon change. Sesshoumaru decided to teach him to be more civilized, like him.
(Uh, uh, yes, uh... The Pacific Rim economy is still a tad shaky for my taste...)
Unfortunately, Sesshoumaru didn't quite know what he was getting himself into. Naraku couldn't even control Juuroumaru, so what hope did he have? This would take a lot of work, but he knew he would be able to pass him off as a gentleman soon. He would, or die trying.
While Juuroumaru was snoring loudly, Kagura was in the middle of eating her lunch. She looked down at her plate, which was still pretty much full. She sighed and pushed it away from her. She wondered why Kouga hadn't come to visit her. He didn't still hate her, did he?
(Impossible... How could anyone hate me?)
"I'll go visit him," she muttered aloud. Then, without thinking, she started her journey to Kouga's cave. It wasn't a long ways from her house, but with all the snow it would seem like miles. She scoffed and brought out one of her feathers, and flew to the cave on it.
The wolves picked up her scent right away, and stood before the entrance of the cave, blocking her. As she approached, one of them started to growl.
"I don't have time for this!" she exclaimed. "Let me in now! I need to speak with Kouga."
One of the wolves started towards her, but a voice from the cave stopped it.
"Kouga's not here," Ginta said, exiting the cave.
This shocked Kagura. "Where is he then?" Ginta shook his head. She stepped up to him and looked him right in the eye. "Where is he?" she spoke slowly.
Ginta hesitated, and then he spoke, "He went to try to find out some information on the ice army." Kagura stepped back with a confused expression on her face. "He's pretty shaken up-"
"What happened?" Kagura asked with concern. "Is he okay? What's wrong?"
Ginta shook his head again. "Kouga said that Fuyuka's come back." Again, Kagura put on a puzzled face. "Come on," he continued, "We should talk about this in the cave." He led her inside and continued his story.
"Who is Fuyuka?" she asked, sitting down.
"Fuyuka is Kouga's older brother," Ginta answered.
"What," Kagura said with an expressionless face and tone of voice. "How is that possible? I happen to know that Kouga doesn't have a brother."
"You're right," Ginta smiled. "He has a half brother." Kagura sweatdropped. "That's all I know, though."
Kagura scoffed. "What good are you?" She stood up and started to walk out of the cave. Then she turned around and asked, "Now then, where did you say Kouga is?"
Mukotsu had just finished making himself a batch of popcorn in the kitchen. He took his bowl, dimmed the lights, sat down on the couch and turned the television on to his favorite program: Majo no Jouken.
[A Japanese soap opera.]
Just as he had settled down, what seemed like a storm came crashing through the house. Kikyou shoved open the front door and slammed it behind her, which was too bad for the poor soul behind it. It smacked Jakotsu right in the nose, causing him to fall backwards into the snow.
"What's wrong now?" Mukotsu growled angrily as Jakotsu entered the room, his hand over his nose.
"What's wrong?" Kikyou exclaimed. "That's what's wrong!" She pointed to Jakotsu, who was trying to stop the blood from gushing from his nose.
Mukotsu rolled is eyes. "I'm all for arguing," he said sarcastically, "But would you mind doing it where I can't hear you?"
Kikyou walked over to him, picked up the bowl of popcorn and dumped it on his head. Jakotsu started to giggle, but Kikyou shot him "the look." He stopped immediately. She walked away, clenching her teeth and balling her hands into fists.
"What did you do this time?" Mukotsu asked, lifting the bowl from his head and trying to salvage the popcorn.
"I don't know," Jakotsu answered, sitting down beside Mukotsu. "She's been acting really moody lately."
Mukotsu let out a deep breath. "Us Shichinin-tai, we never were good with relationships. Remember the time when Renkotsu was in college?"
(The annual college dance was a great place to pick up chicks, and Renkotsu knew that. He scanned the dance floor and saw several good-looking chicks. All of which were already dancing with their dates. He continued searching until finally he saw a vulnerable looking girl. Sweet, pretty, easy.
Renkotsu walked up to her, introduced himself and asked if she would like to dance. But before she could answer, Bankotsu ran up to them and asked Renkotsu "How could you make out with Akane? How could you do this to me?"
Renkotsu smiled uncomfortably at the girl, and as he and Bankotsu walked away, he whispered sarcastically "Yeah, that didn't make us sound gay at all...")
"It's like a curse," Mukotsu continued. "And there's nothing you can do about it. You were doomed from the start."
"I didn't start this," Jakotsu said angrily. Mukotsu just smiled. "What?"
"You did too start it. Who was the one that offered to 'cheer her up'? Who was the one that took her out? Who was the one who slept with-"
"Okay," Jakotsu said, getting up. "Okay, I get it. Maybe I did have this coming."
"Now how are you going to fix it?" Mukotsu whispered. And for once, Jakotsu was silent.
Kagome never would have expected a thing like this from InuYasha. The room was filled with candles. Romantic music was playing. It was the works.
"I think that we haven't been spending enough time alone together," InuYasha smiled. Kagome blushed, and said nothing. The surprise of it all left her speechless.
The song changed over. It was First Love, by Utada Hikaru. Kagome sighed pleasantly as she and InuYasha sat down to their romantic dinner. She listened to the calmness of the music and felt tears starting to flow out of her eyes.
"What's wrong?" InuYasha asked. "Too spicy?"
Kagome smiled and shook her head. "It's perfect."
InuYasha returned the smile. "Kagome," he said after a long pause, which let the music settle into Kagome's head, "I love you."
All this was almost unbearable for Kagome. All she could think of was the song that was playing. She didn't say anything for the longest time, and decided it would be best just to say the first thing that popped into her mind. "And I love you, Matsushima Nanako!"