Hi everyone!^_^ I'm baaaccckkk!!!!
Heh, yeah, so here's the deal; now that I'm with my bf in Canada, I have about five hours with nothing to do while he's at work, and thus I have time to work on my fic and draw and stuff!^_^ Yay! I truly am sorry that I haven't updated in a while, and to be honest I really missed it, but things were really busy and even when I had time, I can never write with someone looking over my shoulder, you know? So for all of you who are still there and will be reading this, thank you sooooo much! I might still have a bit more difficulty until I can get Microsoft Word, but I truly am sorry, and I hope that things will be more back to normal now.^_^
With that said, I'm going to try and remember to put this into my bio, but if something like this happens again and you want to know why, my live journal username is caj_trixie. I'd post the addy here, but for some reason it wouldn't let me upload properly with it here. 0.o;
That should be about it! I'd tell you what color we're in, as I think we're getting close to blue, but my bf's comp doesn't have microsoft word, and therefore has no highlighted sections.^_^; Sorry! But, what I can tell you is that there is one more semi-fighting chapter after this where the fabled Powerpoint presentation is (if you don't know what I'm talking about, you'll see.^_~). After that it's a little angsty, and we should be in the blue, or the not so friend to the realization that they have feelings for each other section.^_^
Anyway, sorry if that was confusing! Heh, if it was, just ignore it and read on.^_^ Enjoy!^_^
Oh, P.S. I don't own Garfield either.^_^;
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters in it. If I did I'd be rich, but I'm not... and if I had lots of money I'd probably spend it on anime anyway so pleeaasseee, don't sue me.^_^ lol
Oh, and as always,
_= thoughts *_* = sound/ italicized "_" = speech
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*Recap:
"Fine, don't worry, but you know you like him." The two girls got in Sango's car and sped off. The city flew past them in a blur of bland colors and familiarity. In the car however, both were in their own world. Through the music, nothing could be heard, and so Sango, her steering wheel, and maybe her window were the only ones to notice a slight sound escape her lips as she drove, and the smile that decided to grace her presence.
"Maybe."
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Do the Math
Chapter 8: Star Gazing
And so it was destined that things were to become much, much worse. Over the next few weeks, the petty battles within their war had been mostly spent, leaving room for larger, more practical and embarrassing stunts. Things were no longer about who could eat what first, but who could get a better grade on a math test or win in so many rounds of video games. Everything became a battleground as soon as both Inu Yasha and Kagome touched it, as if the entire world were some kind of otherworldly fighting game with badly dubbed voices, or as if they were both some chemical, harmless at first, but when put together explode and blow up a classroom. This is what it was like, and people had begun to learn to keep their distance.
It was a beautiful, sunny morning when their latest tutoring session was to take place. Kagome had gone to Inu Yasha's house early that morning to study with his father while Inu Yasha was asleep. She would win this time no matter what. Eyes red and mind sharp from being awake for most of the night before, Kagome entered their home and sat down in the living room, head buried in her geometry book, until the faint rustling of cloth could be heard, followed by a loud yawn and some sharp clanging from bottles being moves in the refridgerator. Kagome only grinned as Inu Yasha walked past the living room, practically dropping his bowl of sugar crusted cereal when he saw her sitting there waiting for him.
As both watched each other, not moving and barely willing to breathe, it felt as if the Earth had stood still. One would almost expect to hear crickets chirp if it were that time of night, as no other sounds could extend into their barrier. They were in their own world, interrupted only by a faint breeze which decided to blow past, informing both parties as to the tension in the room. For a split second, the barrier of knowledge and strength that Kagome had tried so hard to build the night before began to wear off. Inu Yasha had walked in yawning with that cute little puppy dog yawn of his, tongue curled and everything. He stood before her in a pair of old, grey Garfield boxers that were so worn in parts that any more abuse would easily cause them to be seen through. They hung loosely from his hips, obviously slackened with use, and his bare chest barely dared to heave, even slightly, to obtain the oxygen his body craved once he spotted her there. His long, silver mane was dishevelled and almost unruly, just begging to be brushed as small tendrils flowed from his shoulder and across his flesh, as if finally emerging from a river of snow, melting from the heat of his skin alone. From his left shoulder hung a white blanket, torn from his bed during the night only to drape across his form and trail behind him on the wooden floor below. It had become slightly soiled with the random dust and dirt one would normally find about the house, but still seemed to be as crisp and clear as a winter's snow. And finally, there was his slushie bowl of cold cereal; Kagome could smell the sugar from where she sat, and yet it was smothering a bowl of bran flakes. How something healthy could go so seriously wrong, she never knew, but it did make her want some. After an all-nighter, her body needed a little jolt to keep her going. All in all, the truth was that Kagome had had an almost irresistible urge to cuddle him like a large plushie, to smile and watch as he continued on his way upstairs, probably to fall asleep while eating his cereal, allowing small flakes to stick to his face, only to slide away onto wherever surface he had happened to be on at that point in time. Of course, she would've laughed at him, but silently, as not to wake him up. That is, if she had dared to follow him at all, something which she sincerely doubted. Unfortunately, her good spirits lasted not but a moment and changed when he turned to look at her. Where she should've laughed at his expression, she was actually sort of disappointed at the loss of the cute puppy face, replaced by one of competition, surprise, and an almost sort of malice that she'd grown to expect as of late. In truth, she kind of enjoyed their little war. Seeing that glint in his eye, that spirit, though clashing against her own, it was rather refreshing to find one who believed in something so strongly. Now, if only he didn't believe in competition so strongly, especially against her. All of her thoughts came, once again, to a dead stop, however, as Inu Yasha slammed his condensation laden bowl on the wooden table, spilling a trickle of white, silken milk down the edges, and onto the plush carpet below their knees. He in his boxers, and she with her book, they looked deeply within each other's eyes. One with cinnamon, one with amber, and both set on one goal; the battle was on.
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'But, aren't you worried?" Mrs. Higurashi shifted her short, ebony locks slightly and looked curiously at the phone a moment. Smiling brilliantly, she went back to preparing the kitchen and secured the phone between her shoulder and her cheek once more.
"Of course not!" she chirped, "They are spending time together aren't they?" On his end of the line, Mr. Khioto nodded briefly, a slightly worried expression still ingrained in his features.
Both kids had been waging war on one another all morning by way of a tutoring session. What had once been a joy for Mr. Khioto to watch was now almost painful to sit in on. After studying a bit with Kagome that morning, Inutaisho had left the room for a brief moment, only to return to those two already going at it. He hadn't even been aware that Inu Yasha had awoken. As he retreated back to the living room and had sat down, Inutaisho immediately felt the change in the air from what it had once been, and soon left. The intimidation was too much for him. It had been that way all day, and they had only just left, not more than a minute before, heading toward the Higurashi household. Mr. Khioto, after sighing in relief, had thought it best to warn Mrs. Higurashi, but it seemed that she had already known. A woman's intuition can be a scary thing sometimes, a scary thing indeed.
"True, but I'm not sure that this is the way we should want them to be spending time together. Have you seen them battle it out? I'm half surprised they haven't killed each other yet," Mr. Khioto sighed and rubbled his temples forcefully, "We haven't had any peace in weeks, and I'm sure it's the same there. Maybe we should do something about this?"
"It is true," Mrs. Higurashi said thoughtfully, "that they have been fighting a lot, but think of it this way: Kagome's grades are up, as are Inu Yasha's I'm sure,'' after a quick confirmation from Inutaisho, she continued, "my father has had less than half of his usual load around the house, giving him some well deserved time-off; they're spending time together, actually, most of their time together; they have both had plenty of exercise, and I promised my daughter that she'd be tutored until she finished piecing this plate back together. As it stands, she's getting it finished a lot more quickly because of her rising test scores. If they are fighting and for a bad reason, it only brings her closer to leaving if she wants, but honestly, I think they both enjoy it."
"I must agree father." Inutaisho spun toward the sudden intrusion only to find Sesshoumaru standing behind him; "Let him do as he wishes. Perhaps some good will come of this and he'll be out of our hair for good."
"Sesshoumaru!" Hands on hips, Sesshoumaru's mother glared him straight in the eyes.
"Mother please..."
"That is no way to speak of your brother!"
"Inutaisho, it's sounds like you're being ganged up on back there. The kids are here; why don't I call you back later?" Mrs. Higurashi giggled at the random sounds of fighting in the phone, and smiled as he, only too gratefully, agreed. It was only moments later that Kagome, looking beyond utterly exasperated, walked in with Inu Yasha, Souta in tow.
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"Hands off! It was my game!"
"It's *my* house!"
If Kagome hadn't been a girl, fists would've been flying by now. Outside, the sun had begun to set, bringing darkness to both the day and the spirit; for some reason the days had become shorter, or at least the sunlight hours had, and the chilliness didn't help fend against the ever-growing gloom settling in that night. Thankfully, there had been a night light that evening, so to speak. The sparks that had been flying between Kagome and Inu Yasha well covered the darkness that had settled in, but they didn't seem to be helping the Play Station 2, and if anything, were worsening its fate.
"Actually," Souta looked back and forth between his sister and Inu Yasha, "it's Momma's house, and it's *MY* game." For all of its worth, that statement received a glance, at most, from the two bickering, before being brushed off completely. Aggravated with the lack of attention, Souta ran off to see if he could get a little pampering from his mother instead, stopping only to watch the two behind him bickering about the game from above his Play Station 2. He shook his head slowly and began his trek to the kitchen once more. "And I thought *I* was supposed to be immature..."
Time passed slowly for Souta. His mother was busy in the kitchen, just starting dinner, and his sister and idol were duking it out over *his* PS2. With the lack of both parental and video entertainment, he was left with three options: help jii-chan with chores around the shrine; watch the battle in the living room with mild interest, or go outside and play soccer by himself. He did what any normal person would have done; he chose number three. Running upstairs, Souta changed from his heavier, orange shirt to a lighter white and green one, and turned on the back lights before running outside. Jii-chan hadn't been to that part of the shrine yet, so it was still pretty dark. Soccer ball in hand, he set forth to play until he was called in for dinner.
"Kagome, Inu Yasha, could you come here a minute?" Still in the living room, Kagome paused their game, earning more than a few glares from Inu Yasha, and turned toward the door. Both teens immediately turned to one another.
"It's your fault! What, me? I didn't do anything!" After a few moments of sizzling, Kagome sighed in resignation, stood up, smoothed her skirt, and rose to join her mother in the kitchen, Inu Yasha soon joining them.
Within the kitchen, Mrs. Higurashi was gracefully moving about, doing this and that, cooking and cleaning, all of the things that a mother might be seen doing. Her short, ebony hair flew around as she walked this way and that, and the apron that she wore, clean twenty minutes ago, was soddened with little particles of food. As the two walked in, Mrs. Higurashi turned and smiled that wonderfully sweet, motherly smile, and the two couldn't help but feel a little more comfortable. Mrs. Higurashi could always do that to you. As she happily wiped her knife on a clean spot on her apron and set it down on the counter, Mrs. Higurashi stepped up to them and held out a piece of paper and some yen.
"Could you two go to the store and pick up a few items for me? I need these for dinner." Kagome smiled and took the list and money from her mother's outstretched hand, while Inu Yasha stood there, suddenly uncomfortable. Kagome's mother was always so nice, much nicer than any other person he'd ever met. He had absolutely no idea how to act around her. Kagome, breaking Inu Yasha from his thoughts, called after him from the kitchen doorway, and they both moved wordlessly toward the front door. It's better to say nothing than to say something mean and upset a mother. You have less of a guilt trip that way.
"Oh, and by the way Kagome," the teens stopped in the doorway, schooled their faces into cheerful ones (or as cheerful as Inu Yasha would show), and turned to face her, "it certainly is nice to see you two spending time together." The smile on both of their faces faltered, and each stepped back almost unnoticeably. Both blushing furiously, Kagome sputtered, managing a strangled 'bye Mom", while Inu Yasha spit out some intangible insults, obscured mainly by the fact that he had turned away, obviously trying to hide his rising blush.
As the two walked out of the yard, Mrs. Higurashi could only smile and shake her head; they were so cute.
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Ugh! What was that about? Why did I do that?! Inu Yasha mentally growled at himself. How could he have been so stupid?! It must've been that Kagome's mother caught him off guard... right? That was the only reason he could think of, the only thing different. Why did she have to say that to them? More importantly, why should he care?
Inu Yasha sighed softly. A pair of golden eyes closed momentarily, reopening to find a focus with Kagome. She had been on his mind constantly lately. Of course, it was always how he could upstage her or what he could do to make her look like an idiot, but why did he care so much? Why did she evoke such strong feelings in him, even if they were only those of competition? He'd never been this hard on anyone before. Then again, since he couldn't just punch her and be done with it, there was really nothing much he could've done otherwise. As Inu Yasha watched, a slip of raven locks fell from behind Kagome's ear and ran against her face. Bending to match every curve and contour, it tickled her, dancing across her flesh in the driving wind, and she, with fluid motions, pushed it back into place. He noted that she didn't seem upset right then, but that's not to say that she didn't have that certain spark in her eye. It was always there, but she looked more peaceful right then, in that moment, more contemplative. As Inu Yasha thought this, Kagome turned to look at him, meeting him eye to eye. Both blushed, then glared at one another before turning away and scowling.
Kagome had begun remembering an old "Got Milk?" commercial which took place in a monastary. She had begun to wonder what it would be like if you couldn't talk for the rest of your life, and highly doubted that Inu Yasha could've lasted a day. When a string of hair began to tickle her, she put it back behind her ear and looked over to find Inu Yasha already staring at her intently. Embarrassed about being caught, she immediately blushed and turned away. If he had seen her, she never would've heard the end of it. The two walked in silence for a few minutes, each with their own thoughts.
"Errr, Kagome?"
"Hai?" Both stopped for a moment.
"What were you thinking about?'" What, no jokes, no battles, just a simple, honest question? Surprised, no matter what adverb you may add to it, was no where near strong enough for what she felt. The air seemed seemed to grow thicker around them with each passing second as he waited for an answer, and Kagome only wished she had a better one to give.
"I was thinking about how hard it would be to live in a monastary. You wouldn't be able to talk for the rest of your life." Inu Yasha only smirked, not a challenging or mean one, just an honest smirk.
"Feh, I don't think you could keep your mouth shut for a whole two minutes, much less a life time." Inu Yasha realized his mistake the second it left his mouth. You do not joke with someone after you've been fighting with them, not like that at least. As realization truly hit him, his face fell and he backed away, about to reassure her that he meant no ill-will. As he had expected, the humor hadn't seemed to register in Kagome's mind, and she took to it quite harshly.
"Hah, you can't keep your mouth shut for five seconds, much less two minutes!" Sure, it had been his fault that they had started fighting again, but it was kind of cute when she was mad over nothing, and his self control had been questioned. There was really only one choice for response. A fellow had to uphold his honor and dignity didn't he? (umm... 0-o.;)
"You're on!"
Cheeks puffed and bloated with oxygen, each held their breath, trying to be more quiet than the other. No insults were traded and nothing was pointed out with words, only fierce, competitive glares. The berating silence lasted through the entire trip to the market and all of the way back to the Higurashi shrine, even so far as the front door. Upon stepping through the door, Mrs. Higurashi greeting them lovingly.
"Ah, there you are! Did you get everything?" Kagome nodded. "Good. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, and Inu Yasha, you're welcome to stay and eat with us." Inu Yasha grimaced; now he had a problem. Inu Yasha had to answer her, but answering Mrs. Higurashi would require sound. Sound meant that he'd lose, and Inu Yasha *didn't* lose (ha!). Then again, if he didn't answer her, he'd be rude to the nicest person he knew, a mother even, and probably offend her. Kagome wouldn't be mean enough to hold it against him... would she? Smothering a sigh and gathering his nerves, Inu Yasha turned to Kagome's mother and shook his head.
"No thank you Mrs. Higurashi. It's getting late and I have to get home." Though a little crestfallen, Mrs. Higurashi smiled and nodded.
"Well, if you change your mind you're always welcome. Now, both of you out of the kitchen. I have to finish making dinner." As they were shooed out, Inu glanced over at Kagome warily. She still looked a little mad, but it didn't seem that she was going to say anything about their bet. Tieing isn't as bad as losing right? Well, he would've won anyway, so he'd just count that as a win for him.
As they entered the living room, Souta could be seen playing on his PS2. It had taken no time at all for him to dive for it once the older teens were out of the house, and he had no intentions of giving it up now. He did, however, send a sad, almost puppy face toward Inu Yasha.
"Inu no nii-chan, you and nii-chan have been gone for a while. It's late. Are you going to stay for dinner?" Shaking his head, Inu Yasha moved towards the living room clock.
"Keh, it can't be *that* late." Looking at the time, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He hastily gathered his books and, bidding Mrs. Higurashi goodbye, bolted out the front door, practically jumping down the shrine steps as he went along. He was moving so quickly that Kagome almost couldn't see him.
I wonder what spooked him so much. Kagome looked at the clock that Inu Yasha had peered into only a moment before and shrugged; nothing was out of place. Souta just looked at his older sister and shrugged before returning to his video game. Kagome sat on the couch a while, watching her brother play until dinner was ready, and they both went into the kitchen to eat, leaving a warm couch and a, still running, Play Station 2 behind them.
During her time of silence on the way home, Kagome had had many opportunities to think. Looking toward the sky, she had noticed that the clouds had been receding, and after dinner left the house to go look at the sky. Slowly, but surely, the clouds floated across, creating a sea of soft, billowy mounds of grey and white. If it had been brown she would've sworn that they were mashed potatoes, but she couldn't have imagined the clearness of the night beneath. The sky was perfectly black, backing each star with a smooth layer of warmth and brightness. It was as if millions of fireflies were lighting up the night, flying around in the heavens to shine upon the Earth alone. Being the night of the new moon, there was no moon in the sky to outshine the stars, and the unobstructed view of twinkling stars lit up her heart. It was truly the perfect night for star gazing.