-
Miroku frowned. It had almost worked.
I'll do it next time, he decided, running up the stairs.
He poked his head into his room. This place really is a mess, he thought.
Miroku's desk was piled with comic books and random doodles. A basketball rolled in his chair, and shirts were draped over it.
Clothes were dumped every which way and his schoolbooks were stacked in the corner. They were the only things organized it his room. Which figured, because he never used them.
A peanut butter and jelly sandwich lay on the floor.
"Ew," he thought, frowning in disgust.
"Wait, isn't this my third grade lucky key chain?" he said aloud, picking it up from under his pillow. "It is! And look, it's Mr. Bananas!"
Mr. Bananas was a gray stuffed monkey. It had one eyeball; the other was a sewed on button. Miroku grinned in delight, forgetting the candy he was chewing on, and it fell on the floor, adding to his pile of garbage on the floor.
"I think I'll clean this all later," he nodded, turning on his computer.
-
Inuyasha thought for a moment and scribbled down a few ideas while Kagome was puttering around in her tiny kitchen, trying to find snacks that she could spare.
He really didn't want to make her spend any more money on him, when he knew he deserved nothing. "Um, I'm not really hungry," he told her.
Kagome looked relieved but tried not to show it. "No, that's okay, we have some food," she said weakly.
Inuyasha looked at her.
"Well, if you're sure..."
"Of course I am! Do you think I'm lying?" he snapped, defensively. So what if he was lying? It was for Kagome's own good.
"Let me see your list," she said, ignoring his comment.
She shoved the piece of paper from his hands.
"How to earn lots of money fast," she read. "Get a job...beg...steal?!"
Even though it wasn't that funny, she burst out laughing. It felt good to laugh. To release all her anxiety for a moment.
"What?" he said, grinning. "I know the right people to steal from." He was happy to know that he could do something right, even if his remark was stupid.
"But seriously," Kagome said. "Getting a job is the only way—the only legal way—"she said pointedly, "to pay back the...um...thousands I spent."
He shrugged. "Job it is."
She handed him a newspaper. "Look for ads."
"What? Why me?" he pouted.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Fine, fine."
After about fifteen minutes, just before Kagome was about to snatch the newspaper from Inuyasha and look herself, he said, "Aha! The 'A Little Bit of Everything' Store! Bonus pay for those who apply today!"
Kagome smiled. "That's perfect! Let's go!"
"Now?" Inuyasha asked.
"Bonus pay for those who apply today," Kagome quoted.
-
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Kagome frowned, looking around.
There was a hole in the wall, and half the roof was blown off.
"Hello?" a voice boomed. Inuyasha turned. A wrinkled old man with a cane and bug eyes stared at him.
"I'm Mr. Manager—yes, that's really my name—what can I do for you today?" he asked.
"We both want to apply for a job," Kagome started to say, fishing out her note cards she had written. It was cramped with tiny handwriting—her speech for the job interview.
"I think that we'd make great additions to this store because—"
"Great!" Mr. Manager interrupted. "You're hired!"
Inuyasha's eyes widened. Kagome waited for the punch line, but none came.
"What?" Mr. Manager demanded. "We are very desperate here! The weirdest people come here."
Kagome and Inuyasha blinked.
"Why," he continued. "It seemed like just yesterday—wait, I think it WAS yesterday—when this pigtailed martial artist burst in here ahem, Ranma with a panda, a pig, and a cat!"
"Are they the ones that broke the roof?" Inuyasha joked, as Kagome stared.
Mr. Manager frowned. "No, that was the group with the girl, dog, cat, and rat." Fruits Basket
Kagome's mouth dropped slightly.
"Um, what exactly do you SELL here?"
"Everything," Mr. Manager smiled. "And you two are starting now."
-
Kagome flicked a piece of dust from the counter as she drummed her fingers impatiently. Inuyasha had picked up a comic book from the pile he was (supposed to be) sorting out and was now absorbed in it. Kagome could've sworn that you could hear the boredom radiating from the room.
Then she sighed, staring at clock. It had only been twenty minutes.
The manager had said that the store was full of excitement (and bruises), but so far, it had been a huge bore...
-
A boy with a red Chinese shirt and pigtails bounded in the shop with an old, fat man. The two were fighting, and other boy with a bandana was at their heels.
Inuyasha abruptly looked up and dropped the comic book. Kagome straightened.
In one breath, she smiled cheerfully and said, "Hi, I'm Kagome, welcome to this store, how may I help you today?"
"I'm Ranma, he's my pop, and this is P-chan—"
Bandana Boy whacked Ranma on the head. "Quiet, fool!" He yelled. "WHO'S P-chan?"
Kagome gasped, but Ranma's "pop" merely stared at them, bored.
Then, a girl opened the door. She had long, purple hair and a short skirt. A really short one. Shorter than Kagome's...
Arms flung out, she ran over to Ranma and hugged him. Hard.
"Wha—Shampoo?" he muttered.
"Shampoo! I really must protest—" a boy with huge glasses started to say. Unfortunately, the swinging door slammed shut, right on his face.
Inuyasha dropped his comic book and Kagome gaped. This seemed like a cartoon-like movie scene.
They had a feeling things would get more interesting.
