Chapter Seven:
Chopsticks and Schemes
Now at Kaede's hut, everyone sat around an outdoor fire, since the hut wasn't big enough to accommodate all of them. Well, to put it this way: they could all fit, but there wouldn't be enough room to escape Miroku and Tora's hands.
Enough said.
So, a list of all present: Kagome, Inu-Yasha, Kaede, Shippo, Miroku, Sango, Kirara, Kagura, Kouga, Venita, Lunia, and Tora. Yes, definitely not enough room to escape with so many at attendance.
"Goodness," Lunia thought, "it's too quiet around this fire. People should be talking, laughing, telling stories, or something. Even one of my curses wouldn't be able to condemn such silence!"
Venita was thinking along the same lines as she watched everyone's faces, "I wonder what everyone's thinking about? For surely if they have nothing to say, then at least their thoughts must occupy them. From the dreamy look on Tora's face, he's trying to imagine some poor woman without her clothing and Miroku's attention seems to be directed towards Sango's rear... nothing new. K-chan and Inu-san seem to be thinking about something important, which would be good if I knew what exactly crossed their minds. Lucky for them, I don't."
The sound of chopsticks tapping each other made Venita come out of her musings. Normally the interruption would annoy her, but in this instance, the meddlesome wolf had to suppress a smile.
Inu-Yasha and Kagome had reached for the same piece of meat, and both were now blushing as they withdrew their chopsticks. Inu-Yasha used his chopsticks to place the meat on Kagome's plate while he got himself a different one; the deepened blush on his face the only sign that he hoped no one had seen the act of kindness.
Truly, when was Inu-Yasha lucky?
Nine pairs of eyes had seen the act and filed it away in their memories. The nine of course being: Venita, Kouga, young Shippo, Kaede, Lunia, Kagura, Tora, Miroku, and Sango. Yes, all of them had seen it, and would now discuss it in the woods later on when those oblivious among them went to sleep.
One could feel sorry for the blissfully unaware miko and hanyou.
But by the mischievous glints in the eyes of the nine, none of them were inclined to feel sorry. All that mattered was the Master Plan.
"Sleep well oh ignorant ones," Tora thought as his 'matchmaker mode' took over his mind, "tonight begins the first stage of our 'little' operation."
Unseen by the chosen targets, a nod rippled through the group. This was of course followed by an all-knowing smirk, led by none other than Lunia.
"Heh, they'll never know just when the world turned upside down."
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Two hours later in the woods... (protected of course by a shield that allowed everyone inside to see and hear all around them, but no one outside to do likewise).
"We are gathered here on this night for an emergency meeting." Tora announced, sitting down on a rock to the left of Lunia.
"I know all of you here saw what I did at dinner, so that means our plans must begin tonight. Since we've never all met at once, let's abandon all other plans and come up with a new one." Lunia stated, her arms open to embrace a new idea.
"I've got one." Venita said, raising her right hand.
"Do tell, Chan-chan, we're dying to hear it."
Whispering her plan into Lunia's ear, since Venita sat on her right side, everyone watched as Lunia's eyes widened at the idea.
"That, Chan-chan, is just what we needed. If only we'd been smart enough to drug their food!"
"I could help ye with that." Kaede offered.
"Yes, I know you could; however, we'd need to wake them up again... not exactly the easiest to explain."
"I've got that covered, too," Venita smirked, "someone with exceptional mind capabilities need only wake them with a simple nightmare. Then, we get the overly-stubborn hanyou to accept tea, which will be the drugged substance. Perform the same task with an unsuspecting K-chan, and we're in business."
Venita received blank looks.
"Is that a mastermind or what?" Tora asked, his voice filled with awe.
Lunia sniffed and wiped away an imaginary tear, "I'm so proud. I raised her so well."
"But there's only one problem." Sango voiced.
"And what would that be?" Lunia asked, her defensive side coming through.
"Just who has the capability of creating nightmares and placing them within the minds of others?"
Lunia and Venita smiled while pointing towards Tora, "He does." They chorused.
Everyone smiled, and Lunia continued speaking, "The rest of you may not need to be present, but who wouldn't want to watch? I do believe the only ones we'll be needing will be the following: Kaede, Tora, and Chan-chan."
"What do you need me for?" Venita asked.
Tora shrugged, "For one thing, it's your idea and you should be the one to make it happen. Another thing is that we may need you to convince Inu-Yasha to come down out of his tree and accept tea in the first place."
"I see another problem." Miroku said.
"What?" Tora asked.
"Won't Inu-Yasha be able to smell any kind of 'sleeping aid' we provide?"
Lunia, Venita, and Tora thought this over. All three turned to Kaede.
"I do have in my possession a tasteless and scentless herb that aids with sleep."
The three beamed.
"You are a genius." Tora said.
"A woman after my own heart." Lunia smiled.
"I love you." Was Venita's contribution to the praise being given to Kaede as the white-haired demon gave the priestess a hug.
A little startled, Kaede smiled and nodded her thanks.
"Well, I'm going to turn all of this over to Chan-chan." Lunia said, watching Venita's confused expression.
"Why do I bother to think?"
Lunia shrugged, "Because you're so good at it?"
"Not the reason I had in mind, but all right," Venita faced the others, "you're all welcome to follow and laugh, but I only really need Tora-kun, Kaede-sama, and Kagura-san. Make no noise until they're safely asleep."
Kagura blinked, "Why do you need me?"
"Because, Kagura-san, you control wind."
"So?"
"The wind does not blow in our favor tonight. I need you to make it blow upwind so as not to give us away and make Inu-Yasha-san run. Got it?"
"Hai." Kagura said as she stepped up to where Venita, Tora, and Kaede already stood.
"All right, I see no point in dragging this out, so let's be on our way."
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Inu-Yasha couldn't remember why he'd woken up, but he knew that his head hurt. Looking up, it seemed he'd fallen out of his tree, but that was impossible. He never fell from his tree.
Grumbling to himself, Inu-Yasha found himself walking to where the fire still burned. Adding wood, and still mumbling, Inu-Yasha sat down, taking no notice as the wind suddenly changed directions.
Kaede came out of her hut and seemed startled that Inu-Yasha was there.
"What are ye still doing up?" She asked, as if she didn't know.
"Couldn't sleep." He muttered just loud enough for her to hear.
"What a shame. I'll get ye some tea."
"No thanks."
"But Inu-Yasha, if ye cannot sleep..."
"I said no thank you."
Putting a determined look on her face and about to scold Inu-Yasha for not accepting help, Kagome came from out of the hut in her pajamas while rubbing sleep from her eyes.
She blinked at the sight of Inu-Yasha, "What're you doing here?"
"Is it such a miracle that I can't sleep?"
"Uh, no, it's just that..."
"Sit down and I'll make ye both some tea." Kaede interrupted, knowing that if Inu-Yasha refused once more, Kagome would set him straight.
"How many times do I have to say no th..."
"You're so impossible, Inu-Yasha! Why don't you just accept a little help once in a while?"
Suppressing the chuckle that threatened to pass her lips, Kaede quickly made her way into her hut and grabbed the tea she'd already made and hidden underneath a cloth in the corner of her hut. She waited a few moments more for a dramatic effect.
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Venita and the others sat patiently on the branches of trees, waiting for the moment when both Inu-Yasha and Kagome collapsed onto the ground in sleep. It had been easy enough to push Inu-Yasha out of his tree, but pushing him and not waking him up first was quite an accomplishment.
Kagura helped with that, too. Wind was so convenient.
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Bringing out the tea, Kaede offered the tray with two cups to Kagome.
"You're not having any?" She asked.
Venita gulped, Kagome's good nature hadn't even been brought up.
"It is not I who cannot sleep."
"Then why are you up?"
They all had to hold down groans.
"Damn goody-goody nature..." Tora cursed.
"Just making a last check on the village to make sure everything is in order."
"Kaede-sama is my new hero..." Venita thought, cheering inwardly as she watched the aforementioned priestess offer the remaining cup of tea to Inu-Yasha.
"Hn, I coulda told 'ya if anything weird was goin' on," he scoffed as he accepted the tea, "but with Venita-sama here and coverin' this place with her aura like a blanket, I don't think anyone with even half a brain would set foot here."
Nodding silently as the two sipped their tea, Kaede could only wait until they'd finished-- and collapsed-- to give the signal.
"Kaede-san?"
"Hai?"
"Do you know where Venia-chan went off to? I thought maybe she'd come sleep in the hut with me, but I haven't seen her since dinner. And everyone else, too, seems to be missing. Do you know anything about this?"
"No, Child, I know nothing of the Lady Venita's whereabouts, any more than I know anyone else's. Just drink your tea and get to bed, I'm sure ye will be joined soon enough."
"Oh if Kagome only knew how soon she'll be joined.... this is too good. Chan-chan is becoming more like me everyday," Lunia thought, a realization coming to her in the same instant, "if this keeps up, she'll be my equal in no time. That means I could pass on the duty of Moon Goddess a little earlier than previously planned. Which would then mean an early retirement... heh, I'll have to keep that little plot to myself for a little while until I can get things in order."
Not too long after, both Kagome and Inu-Yasha set their teacups on the tray. Kaede bowed her head at them and went to put the tray into her hut to wash the cups later. When she came out, Kagome's head had fallen onto Inu-Yasha's shoulder.
Kaede whistled once and watched as Venita and Tora almost immediately shot out of the trees and grabbed the sleeping pair.
"Follow me." Venita said, getting a better grip on Kagome as she dragged her friend into the hut onto her sleeping bag.
"Now where am I putting him?" Tora asked, already having a good idea.
"Just put him right there and his instincts will take care of the rest. We don't have to worry about shielding our scents because seriously; with K-chan that close, would you be able to smell anything else?"
"Nope."
"Didn't think so."
Walking out of the hut and smiling to Kaede, both wolf and tiger grinned up at everyone else in the trees.
"Mission accomplished." Tora beamed, stretching his limbs that had cramped up as he crouched on his tree branch.
"All right, we'll all need to get some sleep and probably plug our ears for the scream we're bound to hear in the morning. I'd advise to make sure you're all far away when that happens. Agreed?"
"Hai." Came the chorused response as everyone went to bed in their own chosen place.
A smack sounded from behind the hut. Apparently Miroku would have to find his own place to sleep.
Saying goodnight to her accomplice Tora, Venita found Kouga leaning against a tree with his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest.
Saying goodnight to her accomplice Tora, Venita found Kouga leaning against a tree with his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest.
"Did I ever tell you that you are one evil bitch?" He asked, eyes still closed.
"But I'm your evil bitch."
"Damn straight," he said, opening his eyes and gathering Venita into his arms, "where do you want to sleep: far away, or close to see events unfold?"
"I'll plug your ears if you plug mine." Venita offered.
"Up in a tree it is." Kouga said, jumping up onto a solid branch that overlooked a good-sized area around Kaede's hut.
Kouga sat with his back against the tree's trunk while Venita leaned against his chest, her head turned to the side to rest on his shoulder.
"Goodnight, Koishii. I love you." She whispered, giving his shoulder a small nibble.
"As I, too, love you, my Fire Wolf."
Venita smiled, and rubbed her cheek against her love's shoulder, falling asleep almost instantly. Her thoughts were mainly focused on the reaction that would most likely follow the 'discovery' she and Tora had created for their friends.
Oh the possibilities were endless, but sleep just had to ruin the wonderful images Venita's mind was creating. There was really no need to jump ahead to that scenario just yet. If she hadn't been so comfortable, Venita would have slapped herself upside the head for thinking such dirty thoughts. She was plotting with Tora too much if she were already beginning to think like him.
Sighing in defeat, Venita gave up her consciousness to sleep, the cure for all things...
Until the morning came.
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A/N: I'm so glad I finished this chapter among other chapters from other stories on yet other sites :-)
Please, do tell what you think! ::puts on witch hat & holds out cauldron of candy:: may not be Halloween just yet, but you gotta get in the spirit of things!
Anyhow, I did mean it when I said you could offer up ideas, & I've already gotten one reply to that.
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Erhem… time to give thanks to my reviewers:
Kagome2691— Thanks for your encouragement, I try to post as quickly as I can.
animegirl0404— If you think that's all Venia-chan's gonna do to Inu-san, stick around, there's more to come… muahaha…
Flaming Soul— So sorry I haven't e-mailed you back yet… TT.TT been busy with all this updating stuff… grrr….. ::gives chips & candy::
Yea, so now that I've said thank you…. ::dances around:: could some (or all, just don't click on your web browsers at once) check out my original stories?
I have one completed story: Demon's Desire & 2 others that are awaiting to be updated….the site is & I'm Koinu-chan if you're looking me up on the directory, page 31 :-)
Thanks again! (I try too hard, don't I?) TT.TT
