Disclaimer: AH-HA! Now, I own a Dr. Pepper can (with Dr. Pepper IN it) as well as pj's, slippers, and a pencil. Just not Inuyasha...(sniffles)
Ok, here I am again. I'm in the middle of typing Biology notes up. Ugh...talk about boring. There's like, two pages! And after that, I have history notes to type. And since I'm at the computer with free time to waste, I figured I might as well start on this chapter. I hardly even checked over the last chapter, b/c my little sis was in here talking to me, and I guess I was a bit distracted. So I hope everything was ok, and no one had any trouble figuring it all out!
In other news, if anyone's been keeping up with the manga in Japan, you would know about the sad thing that happened. Yes, folks, I am very upset with what happened recently. Naraku has killed off one of my favorite characters (sniffles). I really hope he suffers a long, painful, horrid death...he so rightly deserves it! (angry face and slamming fists down on table).
Chapter 9-Hide-n-Seek in the Dark
Miroku finally decided to join the other three in their search for the children. Kagome and Inuyasha grouped to search the upper floor. Miroku and Sango joined up to search the lower floor.
Sango and Miroku had already searched through five of the many rooms, and there was no sight of either of the kids. "This is going to take forever, Miroku!" Sango said. "There are so many rooms. Kagome and I were hoping they'd be in one of the main rooms, but they weren't. Why would they go in any other room?"
Miroku shrugged as he looked under a table. "I don't know. But I'm gonna strangle them when I find them. Knowing our luck, they'll be in the last room we-"A rustling sound hushed him. He looked at Sango, who had heard it as well. She motioned her head to the closet door that lay slightly ajar. He nodded in return. They both tiptoed quietly over to the door. Miroku set his hand on the doorknob, and Sango was beside him, ready to hit or grab whatever was in there. Miroku jerked the door open, and Sango reached in and grabbed onto something. "Gotcha!" She yelled, pulling out the little girl. "Rin?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side.
"Rin," Miroku started, "WHY are you in this room? And further more, WHY are you in the closet in this room?" The little girl fidgeted with her fingers and suddenly, the floor became quite interesting for her to stare at. Sango still held Rin out at arm's length and raised her eyebrow, waiting for the child to speak up. "Rin?" Sango asked.
"Well, ya see, Shippo and I are playing a game." Rin said, finally looking up at Sango, hoping that the elder girl wouldn't get mad. Kikyou always got mad whenever Rin played games with Shippo. Kikyou would always scold her; "You're a servant here. You don't play around. You aren't supposed to befriend your masters. When you grow up, and you are still his servant, do you actually think you'll be able to talk to him like you're friends?" The answer was of course, always no. Even though Rin didn't realize this, Kikyou was right. If you are too friendly with your master in public, people will think you have no respect. Therefore, they would belittle you even further. It was one thing to have a friendship with masters in the home and out of the public eye, but it was another to be walking down the street and carrying on a conversation with a demon. Unless it was the master who started it, and mostly dominated the conversation; if you only spoke once or twice, or to answer questions, it was all right. Any other circumstances though, and it'd be forbidden by society.
But instead of scolding Rin, as Kikyou had done, Sango's expression seems one of relief and her eyes twinkled as her face softened. She remembered the days when Kagome and her played with their master's grandchildren. She understood what it was like to be a servant child and have the freedom to play. It was a gift not many servant children were given. Sango knew that if you had been given that chance, take it while it lasted, because usually, once you grew up, it wasn't allowed any longer. Which was something she found strange about this household. It was as if everyone were friends here. Everyone got along with each other, and seemed to look at each other as equals. Even the rare occasions she had spoken with Lord Sesshoumaru, he didn't treat her like dirt, or a speck of nothingness. Inuyasha definitely didn't see them as most masters did. He saw them all as dear friends. He even joked around with them, letting them get the better of him and embarrass him at times. This was something that shocked Sango beyond belief. Even in their old home, she and Kagome treated their master with utmost respect. He wasn't mean to them; he was kind. But at times, he didn't even seem aware of their existence. He, like nearly every other demon, treated his servants like they were just objects. Objects that they bought and owned, and were easily replaced. Demons viewed humans as if they were just a possession, they viewed them the same way they viewed a table or chair, or a lamp, or a simple book. Sango thought it was disgusting...and it was. But it was different for them here. They were treated like living things...like friends, and close friends at that.
"What game are y'all playing, Rin?" Sango asked, finally putting the girl down.
Rin smiled brightly. "Hide-n-seek!" She yelled happily. Then clamped her hands over her mouth. "Shh...he might find me. Then I'll lose." She whispered.
Miroku grinned and chuckled a bit. Then he happened to take notice of the room. It had darkened greatly since they had been in there. He noticed for a while that the sky was growing gray with angry clouds outside, but it wasn't until now he noticed just how dark it had become. He looked out the window, which was hazy and streaked with rain. He watched the lightning as it seemed to sword fight in the distance. He heard the rumble of thunder, and the growl of the wind on the window.
"Oh, great. It's storming." He sighed.
Sango looked out the window to see how bad it was. "It's really dark. I can hardly see in here. I wasn't paying that close attention I guess." She said as she held on to Rin's hand.
They walked out of the room, and were walking down the dark hall, making their way to the kitchen. About halfway down though, a bright break in the sky was seen through a nearby window and a crash seemed to fall right on top of it. Rin screamed and clung to Sango, burring her little face in Sango's black dress.
Miroku glanced at Sango, "That was close. Too close really. I'm surprised it didn't put the power out."
(But since the characters have such amazing luck, and this is my fic...) Another crash was heard and darkness blanketed them quickly. The lights had gone out.
"Damn." Miroku muttered.
Kagome followed Inuyasha, who had his nose in the air and was sniffing at it. She had to admit it was something strange to watch; a boy, sniffing around in the air like some kind of dog...dog? Well, duh, he was part dog demon. She knew that. But this was something she never saw before, and it was quite amusing. He threw open the door to one room, and walked around. She watched at he glared around the room.
"That little brat's in here somewhere." He whispered to her. So quietly, they looked under tables and chairs, behind curtains and doors, inside closets and drawers, and in nooks and crannies. They didn't see him though, and were confused for a moment.
"Inuyasha, I don't see him. Are you SURE he's in here?" Kagome asked.
"Inuyasha glared at her. "Of course I'm sure, idiot! I said he was in here, so he's here." He barked.
"This 'idiot' has a name." She said, anger tinting her voice.
"Feh...whatever." He responded.
"Excuse me? 'Whatever'? I didn't ask for your attitude, so don't get mad with me. All I said was I don't see him, I never said you were wrong." Kagome said back to him, quite irritated with his tone.
"I'll say whatever I want to say to you. If you don't like it, deal with it. And I'll call you whatever I wanna call you. It's you who should watch the attitude. You belong to me, don't forget it." He said, only inches from her face.
Her eyebrow raised at his last comment. "I belong to you? I don't belong to anyone." She said crossing her arms.
He inched even closer. "You forget your place. You do belong to me, I bought you. So you are mine." He whispered, his nose touching hers.
"I'm not just some sort of possession. I'm a living thing, I'm not just a piece of your junk that you can do whatever you want with." Anger rose in her tone as she said this.
He smirked. "You may not be a piece of junk, but I can do whatever I want with you."
She backed up at hearing this. Her heartbeat sped up. She began to open her mouth to say something, when she heard the snapping sound of close thunder. She screamed and jumped a bit. Then screamed again when something large and pink fell down in front of her. The large pink thing suddenly grew smaller, and took on an appearance similar to Shippo's. She looked at it closely.
"It is Shippo!" Kagome thought aloud.
The little kitsune smiled innocently and laughed nervously.
"Why you little-"Inuyasha began as he jumped at him. Unfortunately for Inuyasha, the lights decided to go out at that precise moment after a sharp crackle was heard outside. Shippo dodged his attacker, and scrambled up to Kagome shoulder where he knew he'd be safe.
"Kagome...I'm scared!" Shippo wailed.
"I'll show ya scary ya lil twirp!" Inuyasha growled.
Kagome scowled at him, she knew he would be able to see her face with his good sight. "Inuyasha, be nice, please. He's just a kid."
"I don't give a rat's ass what he is! Do you have any idea how long we spent searching for him?" Inuyasha yelled.
"I repeat, he's just a kid! They run around and hide and stuff. It's what they do!" Kagome retaliated, equally angered.
"Yea, well I wasted my time to go looking for him because you were worried he might be hurt, and here he was, not hurt, hiding on the ceiling!" Inuyasha yelled.
"Well it's not like you were doing anything important! So it wasn't wasting your time!" She yelled back.
"I was too!" He said.
"Like what?" She questioned. Truly curious about what he did do up in his room all the time.
"None of your business." He mumbled, crossing his arms as he said it and poking his nose up in the air.
"It's not like it matters now anyway. Because the electricity's gone out." Kagome said reaching out to find him. She finally caught on to his arm. "Let's go back down to the kitchen. I'm sure the others will be there." She said.
So Inuyasha led them back down to the kitchen. As Kagome had said, the others were sitting at the table. The room was actually light considering how dark it was outside. That was due to all the candles that filled the room with a soft glow.
Sango looked up at the three who entered the room, two of which had a scowl on their faces. "So, I take it you found Shippo?" She asked.
"Obviously." Inuyasha replied with a snort.
Kagome rolled her eyes at him. "Yea, we did. And it seems you guys found Rin." She stated.
Miroku and Sango both nodded their heads.
"It's a good thing Lord Sesshoumaru isn't here tonight. I wouldn't be able to cook." Miroku said with a sigh.
They were all sitting at the table playing a game of go fish. They listened to the sound of the pounding rain as they played the card game. Lightning still danced outside, and thunder still shook the sky, seemingly close. Then, another sound was heard. It sounded like the shattering thunder. But for some reason, it caught Inuyasha and Shippo's attention. The humans looked at them curiously.
"What is it?" Sango questioned worriedly.
"That wasn't thunder." Inuyasha stated. His ears twitched rapidly, and he looked around at the ceiling, almost as if he was trying to pinpoint the location of something. He could hear faint footsteps.
Shippo looked at the elder demon. "Someone broke in." He said in a shaky voice. The others snapped their heads toward Inuyasha. He simply nodded, still trying to figure out where the intruder was. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.
"What's the matter Inuyasha?" Kagome asked quietly.
"They're coming downstairs; this way." He said. "And they aren't stopping by for a friendly visit."
Dun dun dun...o0o...another cliffie. Doncha just love those? This took a couple of days to write. It's been a mess here with all those stupid storms whacking us here in SC. Which is why it rained in this chapter! I guess you could say I was inspired. I swear, it's been raining so much here! We even had a duck in our front yard yesterday. o0 No lie. It was white, and we have no idea where it came from. It's gone now, but still...we were all like, "Where did THAT come from?"
Oh, and I owe Prepare For I Am The Sugar Kitten a cookie. Here ya go! (gives Kitten cookie) See? If you review, you get a cookie. (nods head knowingly) You get special treatment, if only you'd review. (hint hint nudge nudge)
