Author's Notes: Well first let's just get a few questions that you might have possibly out of the way. Yes, I have read chapter 374 of the manga. Yes, I am still writing this story. If anything, the emotions revealed in that chapter made me even more certain of the Sesshoumaru/Kagura relationship and unlike some people in the fandom that are just throwing in the towel on the series all together, I'm planning on being more active than ever.
Okay that aside, a few other things to note:
One, I'll be out of town next weekend at a convention, so no updates until the week after that.
But—This chapter, is double the length of a normal chapter, so in a sense you are getting two chapters here for the price of one!
If you're interested in seeing original version of this chapter with the added in lyrics- go to my profile and find the link to "Tapestry Fanfics"- the fanfiction archive for me and my friend/beta-reader KellyChan85. There just head over to the "Call Me Tomorrow" page on my section to find my one sketchy fanart, some extended author's notes and the full version of this chapter.
Well, I think that's about it—Enjoy everyone!
I'm pretty sure there's some saying out there about their being a "rhythm of life" or some nonsense of that sort; a constant rhythm or melody through which life continually flows.
For some, that melody is quiet, tranquil and peaceful. For others, it's harsh, brooding and ominous. But whatever it is, it's something that is steady. Maybe it'll have a rise or a fall to the song it's weaving, but in the end- the notes still play out the same.
My life was just like that- a sad, angry, song that only wanted to break free from the notes my Father was writing for me. And now, I'd broken free from that monotonous melody.
Now my song was hopeful, yet a bit feisty, but overall, the song was free to be my own.
And as a song plays out, it seeks to join with other melodies. Other rhythms enhancing the original one that's already there. And then, the two can play in harmony. A perfect blend of lives.
But most of all, I think what I was truly beginning to see was that- you didn't seek out these other melodies. Instead, you let them come to you- let them watch your dance amongst the winds before they decide to reach out and join in.
Slowly, like a treasure box that had been sealed away for years, I was starting to see Sesshoumaru open up. I never expected him to ever thaw completely; he just- wouldn't be the same without his icy exterior built up to some extent.
But at the same time, he was beginning to reach out to me. Taking my song and letting it play along with his own. And as it played, in our hearts- we danced.
Chapter 27: Telephone Operator
The noise level that was muffled for a few moments as the children consumed their cake was slowly rising now as they each finished their piece. And now, a level of anticipation was building as they waited for what came next.
Seeing that they're were all finished with their dessert, Izayoi stood and went to stand beside Rin.
"Are you ready to open your presents now?"
The girl grinned, "Yup!"
"All right then, let's all bring up our gifts for the birthday girl."
Rising like a mass flock of birds, the children all moved over to the pile of gifts. Each pausing to retrieve their present and then gathering around Rin to hand them to her.
Stepping forward first was a black-haired girl; her hair slicked back and twisted into two large buns.
"I'll go first. Here Rin," She said, handing the gift over to the other girl.
Tearing the simple paper off quickly, the brown-haired girl smiled as she saw the contents of the package.
"Oh, it's a paint set! Thanks Souten!"
An orange-haired boy pushed up alongside Souten, "Mine's better," He muttered under his breath.
She stuck her tongue out in return as he walked forward to present his gift.
"Souten stole my idea," He muttered handing the package over.
Once again, the wrapping paper was hastily torn free and Rin looked over the gift.
"Crayons and a coloring pad…thanks Shippou!"
Slowly each of the children continued to bring their gifts forward, leaving the birthday girl with a large pile of dolls, dress-up clothing, and other presents. Finally, there were only two gifts left.
Nervously, a young dark haired boy walked over to Rin. Light blush hiding beneath his freckles, he managed an embarrassed, "Here," before dropping his eyes back to the floor.
Rin smiled and took the present from him, quickly tearing off the colorful paper that hugged the rectangle box.
If possible, once her eyes caught side of what laid beneath the wrappings, Rin's smile widened tenfold.
"It's the game you wanted…right?" The boy stammered, not sure what to take of the girl's extended silence.
She nodded hastily before sitting the box aside and hugging the young boy, "Thank you so much, Kohaku! You'll play it with me right?"
He blushed as he looked to the Princess Dress-Up game.
"Errr….if you really want me to…"
Over at the nearby table, Mr. Taiyoukai spoke up, his comment directed towards Sesshoumaru, "Looks like Rin isn't afraid to get a little crush now and then…"
"Children are apt to such things," He retorted calmly.
"Do you really find love that trivial a matter?"
"I just find it as something that certain novels never portray it correctly," Sesshoumaru remarked, his mind thinking over how all the romance novels of the world tended to be perfection personified, both in the casting and the plot.
"So are you going to write the real story?" His Father asked; a questioning glance towards Kagura not going unnoticed.
Sesshoumaru just frowned, "With such a rushed deadline I don't see how you or Kaguya expect me to write anything."
Knowing not to press the matter any further, the elder man sat back in his chair, "Because inspiration might hit when you least know it."
"If you presume so."
Izayoi walked over to the table and waited quietly until she was certain her husband and step-son were finished with their little discussion.
"Sesshoumaru, its time for you to give Rin your present," She said sweetly, glancing back towards the expectant group of children.
He stood without a word and made his way over to the large package. A silent gesture with his head let Rin know she was to come towards him to receive the gift.
The girl's entire body seemed to be bubbling over with excitement as she unwrapped the gift.
"It's the super-deluxe castle/suite doll house that comes with a moat and a carriage!" Rin rattled off as she hugged around Sesshoumaru's legs.
"I think she's seen the commercial for it a few too many times," Kagura remarked casually.
"Oh!" Rin exclaimed as she remembered one more thing.
Running across the room towards the nearby tables, she paused in front of Kagura.
"And I wanted to thank you for your present too, Miss Kagura."
The black-haired woman blinked.
"I know Sesshoumaru put that book from Bankotsu and Jakotsu in with that stack of gifts. Did he put my name on one of the other ones?"
"But I didn't…" She began, wanting to clear up any possible confusion.
"Yes you did. You came- that's enough for me!" Rin said, her face stretching into a cheerful smile.
Kagura paused then found herself smiling as well, "I guess… I did."
Sesshoumaru came up behind her, a nonchalant hand being slowly placed on the girl's shoulder.
"Rin."
"I know Sesshoumaru. Don't bother Miss Kagura until she feels better," She replied, somehow able to understand everything just from Sesshoumaru saying her name. "But…"
She held the word out as if to extend the question, her eyes glancing down the table towards where Inuyasha sat. Then, looking back up to Sesshoumaru, she posed her question, "Are you two gonna have a dance contest again? I promised my friends they could watch…" Rin said sweetly, shifting her weight from foot to foot as she swayed back and forth.
Inuyasha crossed his arms on overhearing the request, "Keh. I'm not giving him another chance to cheat at it!"
"Sore loser," Sesshoumaru retorted under his breath.
The already irritated young man stood up, his chair clattering to the ground, "Oh yeah, well then I'll kick your ass this time! And if anyone catches you cheating I win by default."
"And who might be the honorary referee?" He asked, eyebrow quirked as he surveyed the guests.
"Mom will," Inuyasha said firmly, knowing that if it came down to it, his Mother would side with him.
"Momma's Boy…" Sesshoumaru thought to himself, not surprised at all by his brother's choice.
Standing without a word, the white-haired man began to walk towards the large machine, "Coming?"
"Keh! Of course I am!"
Kagura blinked as she watched the two brothers walking towards the silver machine. She'd seen them before, walking past the arcades at the mall, but never thought she'd see Sesshoumaru standing in the center of the four squares on the dance pad.
"I cannot believe I'm seeing this…" She murmured, her brain slowly registering what was occurring.
"It's sibling rivalry of the highest caliber. They've been at it for years," Kagome spoke up as she came to sit beside her.
"But…this?" Kagura questioned, still thrown by the thought of the two having a dance-contest.
The young girl laughed lightly, "It started as a joke last year and well… it looks like it's time for a rematch."
"What happened?"
Kagome tapped her chin as she tried to recall the sequence of events that led up to the current dance-off between the brothers.
"Rin had made an offhand comment about wanting to try it and asked Sesshoumaru to show her how. Before he could reply, Inuyasha butted in laughing; arguing that there was no way Sesshoumaru could dance. Of course, being as they are who they are, Sesshoumaru retorted that neither could Inuyasha if that was the case. A typical brotherly bickering match began and it somehow led to each of them on the dance pads out to prove the other wrong."
"I suppose I should be glad my sister is really quiet…"
Glad to see that the older woman was opening up somewhat to her, Kagome perked up, "Oh? You have a sister? What's she like?"
Kagura blinked, not used to speaking about her family outside of her hatred for Naraku.
"Kanna's…odd. She's kinda weird- always wearing white clothes, which looks freaky with her white hair and going around saying something about there being souls in mirrors. I guess my main problem with her is that she's Naraku's little messenger at times. Always ratting me out to him. It's really no wonder my Dad likes her."
Nodding thoughtfully, the young girl offered a slight smile, "Well don't worry about the past. The Taiyoukai family is very nice and I know they'll watch over you now."
Finding the girl's smile infectious, Kagura couldn't help but smile lightly in return, "Yah… they will," She said, thinking back to the note that was on the dresser.
"They really are looking out for me. They aren't going to let Naraku find me. I'm safe with him…"
Looking over to Sesshoumaru, it took her a moment to register that he was indeed about to be involved in a dance-off with his brother.
"And I still cannot believe he's going to dance…"
Standing and grabbing her gently by the arm, Kagome began to tug her towards the two, "Come on. Let's go watch them make idiots out of themselves."
Smirking at the thought of being there to embarrass Sesshoumaru, she shrugged, "Sure- why not?"
Gathered around the dance pad were all the children, all eager to witness the event that Rin had promised them front-row seats to. Nearby stood Izayoi, there to act as referee to insure that neither cheated; her husband stood at her side shaking his head.
"And I'm picking the song in case you have some cheats planned ahead for another one," Inuyasha said smugly, thinking that this time he was truly going to get the best of his elder brother.
"If you wish."
"Don't act all calm like that! I know you were planning to cheat!" Inuyasha retorted.
"Is he always that… high-strung?" Kagura questioned, looking to the younger of the two brothers.
"He's just trying to cover up the fact that he's willingly at a children's birthday party. That whole- 'have to be macho' guy stuff," Kagome explained, shaking her head at her somewhat unique boyfriend.
"So just like Sesshoumaru's trying to act like he's only here because he has to be?"
"Basically."
"Are you going to choose a song or not," Sesshoumaru prodded.
"Hey! Shut-up. I'm just looking for the right one."
"And you claim I am the one with a predetermined battle strategy."
"Oh yeah well…Let's see you dance to this!" Inuyasha said triumphantly as if he'd just chosen the perfect song for Sesshoumaru's downfall.
Golden eyes narrowed as they observed the words on the screen.
"Telephone Operator. Very funny, little brother."
"Let's go," Sesshoumaru said firmly, indicating that by all means- this meant war.
Kagura, on the other hand, was dragging a hand down her face.
"I am never going to be able to live that job down…"
"But you wouldn't have met Sesshoumaru had you not," Kagome piped in, her optimism showing in her eyes.
Red eyes glanced up to Sesshoumaru, and despite herself, she couldn't deny it any further.
"Well…I suppose you're right. At least one good thing came of it."
The music began and the room fell silent. Eyes all focused forward on the unlikely duo set to battle it out via dance.
"Then again," Kagura reasoned, "Inuyasha was the one that reset Sesshoumaru's speed dial. I really shouldn't be surprised that they'd end up battling it out in such a strange manner."
Each arrow passed across the screen, and each of the brothers moved to match it.
All the children were in silent awe, while Kagura just withheld a laugh.
"You know, he's actually very good at this…"
The last chord hit and the machine tallied up the scores.
"You cheated! You had to cheat!" Inuyasha countered as Sesshoumaru's score ended up being somewhat higher than his.
"Now now dear, I didn't see any…" Izayoi began, only to be cut off.
"But Mom- he had to have!"
"Well, now what about a rematch then?" She suggested.
"He'll just cheat again," Inuyasha muttered.
Sesshoumaru continued to watch the exchange, slightly amused at how much of a fiasco his brother was causing over this.
"Then, perhaps we should let their respective ladies compete," Mr. Taiyoukai spoke up, his gaze shifting to where Kagome and Kagura stood.
"Us?" Kagome asked.
"Yeah! Kagome's gonna kick your skanky telephone-operator girlfriend's ass!" Inuyasha said proudly.
Kagome just shook her head, "Inuyasha…be nice."
Red eyes narrowed and Kagura was just about to go up and give the boy a piece of her mind when she felt a tug at her dress.
Looking down, she saw Rin.
"Good luck, Miss Kagura."
"Jeez, no wonder Sesshoumaru goes soft around this kid. You can't help it," The black-haired woman thought to herself.
Stepping down from the dance pad, Sesshoumaru paused alongside his brother. A quiet warning muttered under his breath, "Don't call her that."
"Oooh, defensive much?" He countered.
"Your girlfriend is going to lose."
"Don't say that about, Kagome!" He yelled, then slowly a blush crept onto his face as he realized how loud his outburst was.
The young black-haired girl blushed slightly as well as she paused beside him.
"Um…Kagome, you'd better win."
Knowing that it was his strange way of saying 'good luck,' she shook her head and smiled, "I'll try my best, Inuyasha," She replied, leaning forward to peck him on the cheek as she walked past him onto the dance pad.
Much to Sesshoumaru's amusement, his brother blushed even redder and muttered an embarrassed 'Keh' under his breath.
On the other side, Kagura slowly made her way up beside Sesshoumaru. Not a word was exchanged, but in the moment Kagura caught the set of golden eyes watching her, she knew that Sesshoumaru in his own way was cheering her on.
"Well, here goes nothing…" She thought to herself stepping up onto the silver square.
But as she looked down at the arrows on the dance pad beneath her feet, Kagura realized one tiny problem- she had no idea exactly how to do this.
"Okay, I know you stand here and watch this screen, but…shit…thank you Naraku for keeping me so damn secluded from the world that I…"
She paused as she felt a gentle hand on her side and another on her shoulder.
"Stand like this."
"Sesshoumaru?" Her mind panicked a she glanced over her shoulder and found herself practically nose to nose with him.
"Wha…What the hell do you think you're doing!" She stammered out, trying to hide her embarrassment under her anger.
"You're supposed to be watching the screen," He replied, reaching up and gently turning her head to face forward.
She could feel his lean form pressed against her back as he placed his hands on her shoulders.
"There are arrows on the screen. You move your foot onto the side where the arrow is pointing."
Kagura nodded, finding her throat suddenly dry. She could see as the demo with the "please insert four tokens" over it as it played on the screen.
"Try it," He instructed; his voice warm yet at its usual tone as he spoke softly into her ear.
The black-haired woman took a deep breath to concentrate; knowing fully well that she had to be blushing and that some of the others were surely watching them with interest.
Making a step, she found a warm hand moving down against her leg.
"Towards the center of the square," He corrected her, slowly sliding her foot to where it should be.
"And since when did you become such an expert on this?" Kagura retorted, proud of herself for managing to speak while her heart was racing so loudly.
"Rin is fond of it," Came the only answer.
Another arrow began to move down the demo screen and Kagura moved to match it.
"That should suffice," Sesshoumaru said simply as he released his somewhat intimate hold on her and stepped down from the dance pad.
Kagura stood frozen in place for a moment as her head slowly turned to look at him, red eyes narrowing as they tried desperately to read anything in his expression or movement that could answer her question.
"What the hell was THAT!"
Sesshoumaru on the other hand was dealing with some problems of his own, namely a certain knowing look from his Father.
'Well, well now. What was that?' he could hear the voice of the elder man in his mind.
Frowning and doing his best to hide any semblance of an emotion behind his deadpan façade, Sesshoumaru found himself going back to the unspoken question of his Father's.
"What was that? It's not customary of me to act in that manner…"
Golden eyes narrowed as he looked up to where Kagura stood.
"What is that woman doing to me?"
Kagome smiled as she looked over to the woman beside her.
"Well, it looks like it's up to us to settle this stupid fight," She remarked casually.
"I guess so…" Kagura murmured with a shrug.
"You want to pick the song?"
"Huh?"
"The song we'll dance to. Do you want to pick which one?" Kagome questioned putting in the tokens and waiting for the two-player screen to load.
Looking up at the screen, she watched as the young girl scrolled through all the songs.
"Eh, just pick something. I don't really care…"
"All right," The girl said moving it up a few more titles to land on a specific one, "How about this one?"
Red eyes skimmed over the title, "'Kind Lady'?"
Kagome nodded and Kagura realized what she was going for.
"Inuyasha picked a title to mock me and she picked one to compliment me in return. It looks like he has a nice girlfriend."
"It'll work. Let's just hope I can figure this out…"
"You'll do just fine. Now, here we go."
The screen finished loading the match, the smooth rhythm beginning to play over the machine's speakers. Jazz with a pop under beat laced with a silky singers voice. Each wave of sound pulsating across the room as the two girls intently focused on the monitor before them.
Blinking in synchronization with the music, the arrows appeared on the screen and Kagura poised herself to follow their rhythmic beat. Red eyes following them across the screen and matching their moves.
Little was she to know that she herself was being closely watched.
Sesshoumaru glanced up from where he stood pondering, his eyes following Kagura's movements.
She took the first steps and against his will his mind quietly wondered, "Is that causing pain to her side?"
Shrugging it off as a matter he wasn't to concern himself with, he continued to observe her.
But his mind continued mulling over the situation that had occurred previously, "The matter of assisting her had no pertinence to anything. It was merely instruction."
Kagura missed a step and from the corner of her eye could tell that Sesshoumaru was looking slightly amused by her mistake.
Glaring over her shoulder, she locked eyes with him. Red searing into gold.
"You'd better not be laughing at me!"
He 'hmph'ed' hiding any traces of laughter under it.
"It's rather not worth my effort."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"The situation is laughable no matter what."
"Well it's not my fault if you gave me bad instructions," She retorted, turning back towards the screen and wincing slightly as she moved too quickly to catch a step before the arrow passed.
"The strain is not necessary," He said quietly.
"If you can't fight your own battles, then you're just going to have to deal with the fact that I'm covering your ass," Kagura shot back, her voice steely and determined.
At that, Sesshoumaru almost did laugh. It was ironic how his words about allowing people to assist them when in trouble were now being tossed back into his face.
"There is a difference between dependency and co-dependency," He thought to himself.
"She's depending on me to protect her…"
"But when did it become so natural for me to find myself willingly near her?"
The rest of the song played, the two girls trying to match their steps to the rhythm. But in the end, Kagome had won, leaving it tied whether either side liked it or not.
"Well Sesshoumaru won the first round and Kagome won the second round, so it's just a tie. You four can have a rematch next year," Izayoi said sweetly as she handed a cup of punch over to each of the girls.
But at the words, "next year," Kagura found herself looking back over her shoulder to meet Sesshoumaru's gaze.
"This kind of life…I think I could…get used to it," She thought to herself as she smiled.
"You're just a loner in your home too, aren't you Sesshoumaru?" For some reason he couldn't place, Sesshoumaru found those words echoing his mind.
And slowly putting his thoughts together, he came to one conclusion.
"Her being with me. Is something that I…need."
Preview for Chapter 28:
After getting home from the birthday party, Kagura realizes that they brought home one extra person. Now Rin's spending the night and she's taking it upon herself to see that Sesshoumaru and Kagura become a little bit closer while she's there.