And so, after an extended absence, HHR shall be completed as promised. Now that the majority of my time is no longer devoted to Meeting Place, a lot of things are going to be finished. (smiles)

DISCLAIMER: hey, it's been forever since I wrote one of these. You were getting your hopes up that you had finally found Rumiko Takahashi, weren't cha?

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Chapter Five: To Devise

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Inuyasha scowled as he watched the TV in the safety of his room. The door was locked, and he was all bundled up in a pile of blankets. I am NOT hiding from those psychopaths! He insisted to himself, shivering at the thought of that grin on Kagome's face.

She had seemed so sweet when she arrived…it just seemed odd that a creature as happy as Kagome could look so malicious. He struggled for a moment to remember the sight of her true smile, to erase the evil expression from his mental picture, when he realized that he hadn't paid enough attention to her yet. Inuyasha was sure that she had been grinning like a fool during some point of the day, but try as he might he couldn't get a clear thought through his head concerning the second girl.

Feh. Might as well stop trying. Keade will be arriving soon, and then they're both going to stop speaking with me.

So as he watched the reporters outside his home film the old hag entering it, he was struck with a strange compulsion to get out of bed and walk outside. How long had it been since he had really went for a stroll in the sunlight? In fact, when was the last time any of them had left?

There was a knock on his door. It wasn't strong enough to be any of the adults in the building, so…

"C'mon in, Shippou." Inuyasha called.

The young boy walked into the room, still in his pajamas. "Inuyasha, why are you hiding in here? Keade-baba has arrived."

"Excuse me while I scream with joy," Inuyasha remarked.

Shippou gave him a patronizing glare. "You have to remember to respect your elders, Inuyasha. Anyway, breakfast is ready. Come on down whenever you're done sulking for being beaten by two girls."

"I WAS NOT BEATEN!" he yelled after Shippou's retreating back. "AND I'M NOT SULKING! OR HIDING!"

It was a few minutes later that Shippou's full statement hit him. "OY! SHIPPOU! WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN BY RESPECT YOUR ELDERS! LOOK WHO'S TALKING!"

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Kagome stared at the pancakes as if they were infused with arsenic. Catching her disgusted expression, Sango tilted her head and regarded her new friend.

"What's wrong, Kag-chan?"

"There has to be five pounds of fat in these!"

Sango shrugged. "It's a banquet this morning, celebrating your arrival. If you want, I can hunt down some carrot sticks at the store later."

"Store? I thought no one ever left the factory," Kagome said blankly.

Miroku chuckled, sitting down next to her, a heaping pile of chocolate chocolate-chip pancakes before him. "Well then, we'd all starve. How would we ever get water, or nutrition?"

"YOU'RE not leaving the factory until the competition is over," Sango explained. "But we can come and go as we please,"

Kagome sighed. "Gee, thanks."

Shippou streaked into the dining area, wailing something about 'waking the beast'. He was closely followed by a streak of white and red, which tackled him to the ground. The pile of Shippou and Inuyasha rolled across the Candy Courtyard and into the chocolate river with a splash.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU, SHIPPOU!" Inuyasha yelled.

"YOU RUINED MY FAVORIE PAJAMAS!" Shippou yelled back.

Someone cleared a throat in the doorway. The stunned girls (and Miroku) at the table turned towards the sound, and the two splashing in the river froze.

Keade-baba had arrived at last, obviously having taken a while to hobble through the entryway and into the Courtyard.

"Now, now, children. Ye shall go and change those clothes right away, chocolate stains," she croaked.

Kagome twitched. THAT'S my competition?

Across the table from her, Kikyo snorted, obviously thinking the same thing.

Keade hobbled over to the river. Latching onto Shippou's ear, she flipped him behind her and onto the grass. He landed painfully on his butt, whining about being dizzy. Repeating the process effortlessly with Inuyasha, she turned around as quick as lightening and grabbed both their ears, continuing in one fluid motion towards the doors.

"Ye shall listen to me when I am talking, boys."

At the table, Kikyo and Kagome face-faulted. "THAT'S our competition!" they both cried, as the old hag dragged Inuyasha and Shippou out of the yard.

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As Inuyasha waited for Keade to finish scrubbing the chocolate out of his pajamas, he was stuck with an idea. Staring at the bowl she was using for the bleach, he suddenly knew exactly what the first trial would be.

He would have to make sure they had some flour before he called an official start.

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done for now! Yayyy, updates! Sorry this has taken me so long, I really do apologize. I lost my concept map, but I remember most of the fuzzy path that the story was supposed to take…enjoy, mina-san!

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