It is I, Jjah-Jjah! There's lots of flack going around, but I think I can
handle it. Oh well. My second exam is the day after tomorrow and it's
gonna be fun fun doodle dum.... Yeah right. Anyway, I had to re-type this
darn thing twice because I didn't like it... Hopefully it's ok now... Still
not completely thrilled.
Oh and I've got a new muse in addition to Ed, the purple lawn flamingo. You know in Cowboy Bebop how Vicious had that evil crow-toucan thing? Well, that's my muse.. I named him Vib, which for those of you who are wondering is an acronym for Vicious' Evil Bird. It works. Oh well...
And now onward! To the bat mobile! (Vib: reviews! JJ: Whatever)
Hieis/Kuramas-Angel: Alright! Thank you!
Defafaeth Mechqua: :D Thank you!
Sukera: Thank you! And thanks for the review!
Mirokou Sempai-Crazy: Thank you! I really look forward to your reviews! I have a feeling Sess-chan is going to be saving her life a lot more... I guess... Oh! Somebody's cooking cheese in my kitchen and it smells good! :D
Kariisme: Thank you for your review!
Crimson Colored Cloaked Figure: Than you! Hope to hear form you again!
Sesshyangel: Well, for wanting to be a piece of orange, it's a song. It goes: I wish I was a little piece of orange, I wish I was a little piece of orange, I'd go squirty squirty squirty over everybody's shirty, Oh I wish I was a little piece of orange! As for the description of Sess-chan as anal retentive, I think it fits... Maybe HE wouldn't use those exact words, but Sesshoumaru strikes me as a person who would be a stickler for details and would try to plan out all his options in advance so as not to be caught off guard. Or that's my opinion anyway...
CayoteSorrow: Thanks for the review!!
JSR: Here's more! Thanks for the review!
UltaAnimeFangurl2004: Thank you!
ash211: Oooh! Thank you! You're nice.
desy: Er.. Well, I don't think I'm going to go into what happened to Rin. I love Rin and all, but I'm trying to keep this story concentrated in the present. I guess you can just assume that Rin grew up, had a happy life, got married and died... I'm not going to go into what happened to Miroku and Sango either, so just assume that all the humans from the past are dead and that's it... Hope that's ok. Thanks for the review!!!
Vic18: Thank you! I love reviews that talk about the way I write. Thanks again!
Sessh's BabyGrl: Thank you! And no, a lot of people aren't going to get to come back, but some are...
Alright!!! Disclaimer time!
Disclaimer: Oh, I'm too bored to think up anything particularly original that isn't pure flummery... Oh well... Inuyasha? We don't own no stinkin' Inuyasha!!!
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Chapter Five: Don't Think There's Not
As long as Sesshoumaru lived, he would never understand how someone who had nearly been stabbed to death the night before could be so chipper.
"Alright. Shopping, shopping, shopping." Chirped Kagome, "We need to go shopping. We need to get groceries, a new rug, and some more clothes for you..."
The Taiyoukai said nothing. He just watched Kagome zip around the house like a woman possessed.
"We should start with groceries because, you know, we've gotta eat right? So, let's go!"
"Kagome."
"Yes?" The hyper miko stopped on her way out the door.
"Do you not need money if you are meaning to buy food?"
Kagome stared at him blankly for a moment, and then blushed. "Oh yeah... Right..." Despondently, she ran back into the house and upstairs. Sesshoumaru stared after her. Something was wrong; the miko was not acting normally.
"Ok. I'm ready, let's go..." She ran past him, but the youkai caught her before she could get very far.
"Kagome."
"Yes?" The miko smiled and tried to pull away. She could sense what he was asking even if he would not put it into words.
The youkai stared at her silently for several minutes, his only movement the occasional blink. It was easy to see that he was not being fooled.
"Alright!" She yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm just still a little freaked out about last night, that's all."
"Being attacked and stabbed is not a small thing. Perhaps you should stay here today."
"No. No, these things need to be done, and besides," She smiled a real smile up at him. "If I don't do something I'll go insane..."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "I will be with you."
'That sounds familiar...' Kagome mused internally. But this time it seemed to mean something.
"Let's go then."
It was a beautiful morning and absolutely nothing looked amiss. They neared the bottom of the stairs and Sesshoumaru was pleased to note that there were no signs of struggle from the night before. The ruffians had gotten off easy. If he ever caught their scent again it would be the end of them.
Kagome sighed. It really was a such a nice morning. It almost made it seem as if the horror of last night was nothing but a nightmare. Still, nothing numbed the realization of the fact that she had almost died. She looked over at Sesshoumaru. He had saved her. She could hardly believe it, but she was still undeniably grateful.
'I've always had somebody to rescue me...' She thought. 'What am I? Some kind of damsel?'
"Hello Kagome!"
Kagome jerked back to reality at the greeting. Coming down the sidewalk towards them was Mrs. Yamato, one of the shrine's regular visitors.
"Why, good morning Mrs. Yamato!" Kagome smiled. "Are you going to pray?"
"Of course! What else would get me out of bed this early?" The woman smiled a smile that quickly faded as soon as she saw who was standing behind the girl. Kagome realized what, or rather who, she was looking at and blanched. She had completely forgotten about the way Sesshoumaru looked! It wasn't everyday that a really tall guy with long white hair, pointy ears, golden eyes, claws, and strange markings on his face just strolled down the streets of Tokyo.
"Who's your friend Kagome?" Mrs. Yamato said unsurely.
Kagome laughed nervously in answer. "Well, he's..." She turned to look at him and stopped in mid-sentence. His hair was still white and his eyes were still gold, but everything else about him was different... His ears weren't pointed, his markings were gone, and his claws had become blunt human nails. He really looked human! Had she missed something? She guessed yes, considering the extremely amused look on his face. Or was it in his eyes? Sesshoumaru was as hard to read as a waterlogged Greek newspaper.
"Er... Yes. He's my assistant. Just helping out around the shrine..."
Sesshoumaru gave a slight bow in greeting and the woman seemed assured. "Very well then. Have fun wherever you two are going. See you, Kagome!" The woman continued off towards the shrine.
"See you later!" Kagome called after her. She waited till the woman was out of earshot and then she turned on her companion.
"Why the heck didn't you tell me you could do that?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Sesshoumaru smirked. "Come now, you didn't think I would just go walking among humans and alerting to them that I'm a youkai, did you?"
"No, but what did you do?" She tilted her head and looked closely at the youkai lord. He really looked weird.
"It is only a concealing spell. I always use it when I'm out in public."
Kagome nodded in understanding. Part of her felt kind of warm and tingly that he'd trust her enough not to use the spell around her. The other part reminded her that there wasn't a point of him hiding his true nature from her when she was already aware of it. However, there was still something that didn't quite fit.
"If you always wear it , then how come you looked like a youkai when I found you?"
"I was simply too drained to maintain the illusion." Well. That was simple. With that explained, they continued their trek to the grocery store.
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"And tofu..." Kagome muttered to herself, placing the item in the cart. She was just picking things out as she went along, and since Sesshoumaru would be eating a large portion of it, she sent him off to find some things that he would like. She hadn't seen him for a while. Initially, she was worried, but then decided that if he could live over five hundred years without getting killed, then he could certainly manage to survive a grocery store.
When she got to the bakery section she got a loaf of bread and a batch of fresh baked cookies. The bakery section also had a particularly good view of the meat section and this is how Kagome saw a sight that she would not soon forget.
Sesshoumaru was standing looking into one of the freezer case in the middle of the aisle with an expression in his eyes that reminded Kagome of little kids peering into a candy store. He must have smelled her coming, because he looked up from the meat and over at her. Then he looked at the meat again, and then he looked back at her and kept on doing it until she very nearly burst into a fit of laughter.
She wheeled the cart up beside him and smiled broadly. "Well. I've always wanted to try Atkins. What do you want?"
The inu youkai looked at her. "Everything."
Kagome snorted. "I can't spend that much! How about we pick out some steaks and some hamburger. We can cook them on the grill! I think we have a grill stored somewhere at home. And, then you pick out a couple of other things you would like and I'll get some fish for oden. How's that sound?"
Sesshoumaru was too busy picking out the best steaks to pay any attention to the question. Kagome scowled and went over to the fish counter.
Several minutes later the shopping cart contained amounts of beef, pork, chicken, and fish sufficient enough to feed a miniature army.
"You think you got enough?" Kagome asked, shooting the youkai an exasperated glance.
"Quite." Sesshoumaru answered. Kagome shook her head and pulled a bag of charcoal down off the shelf.
"How about when we're going home, I carry the light stuff and you do the heavy lifting?"
The youkai raised a brow. "Of course. I would not think of leaving you to carry anything beyond your ability..."
"It's not that it's beyond my ability, it's that it'll just be a lot easier if you carry the heavy stuff!"
"Of course."
The miko's eye twitched as they stepped into line and no more words were spoken. At least until they were about halfway through the checkout when Kagome remembered, quite by coincidence, a particularly heavy thing she'd forgotten to get.
"Oh crap! I forgot something, I'll be right back. Hold down the fort, ok Sesshoumaru?" The miko was off before he could reply. When she returned, she stood behind him, so he couldn't see what item she had gotten, but whatever it was it sounded heavy. Unfortunately for Sesshoumaru, he only saw what he was expected to carry after it had already been paid for and Kagome was waiting expectantly for him to pick it up.
"You have got to be kidding."
"No, I'm not. We're out of it."
"I refuse to even touch it."
"Well, you have to. You said you'd carry the heavy things and that's the heaviest thing there is."
"..."
"Oh, come on! It isn't like it's an affront to your dignity or something!!!"
"This Sesshoumaru absolutely refuses to carry a sack of kitty litter!"
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Fifteen minutes of arguing later, Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands walked behind Kagome trying to use her body as a shield between the outside world and what he was carrying.
"You're such a baby. Nobody cares."
Sesshoumaru shifted the bag of charcoal that he was also carrying and let out a very displeased growl.
Before long, they were back at the shrine. After putting the groceries away, Kagome went in search of the grill. She remembered seeing it when she was going through the store rooms to make sure there weren't any more evil masks that she needed to know about. She eventually did find it and drug it out into the sunlight. She also discovered the reason it hadn't been in use. One of the legs was bent, it couldn't stand upright. She sighed in disappointment as Sesshoumaru walked over.
"What is wrong?"
"The grill's broken. I'm sorry. Looks like we aren't going to be cooking anything on it."
Sesshoumaru's eyes seemed to glow for a moment as if the thought of not being able to cook all the lovely meat they'd bought was too much to handle. Then the youkai crouched down and grabbing the leg of the grill, bent it back into shape.
"Fixed." He said.
"Indeed!"
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The next task of the day was going to buy a new rug.
"The last one was tan, but I think a blue one would look better this time."
"It is your house."
Kagome smiled. "At least it is until my family gets back..." She caught her companion's questioning gaze. "They'd like you. I think they're all crazy. They never minded me going through the well or Inuyasha. Well, except Grandpa. He was always yelling, 'Youkai!' and trying to cover him with wards. They weren't really wards though, just pieces of paper he drew on. It was actually kinda fun to watch."
Sesshoumaru nodded, but she wasn't sure that he really cared.
Once they had found a rug to Kagome's liking with the right dimensions, they exited the store with Sesshoumaru carrying the rolled up rug on his shoulder. They started back, talking comfortably all the way. Neither of them noticed they had an audience.
"Hey! Look, there's Kagome."
"Who's that guy with her?"
"He sure is hot!"
"You know, he sure looks a lot like Kagome's description of that old boyfriend of hers."
"The one that dumped her for that other girl?"
"That's the one!"
"You don't think she's gotten back together with him, do you?"
"Oh no, I sure hope not!"
"Maybe it's not him."
"It has to be! I mean look at him!"
"Kagome really deserves better. If she keeps on getting back with him, she's just going to keep getting hurt."
"We'll just have to do something then..."
"I've got an idea!"
And it was thus that the three girls Ayumi, Yuka, and Eri hatched their sinister plot.
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Kagome ran her fingers over the new living room rug. It was a lot nicer looking than the last one. "We still need to get you some new clothes." She stated.
"You do not have to trouble yourself."
"Sure I do. You need to have more than just one outfit. What if something happens to it? Besides you can't wear shrine clothes forever, you know."
Sesshoumaru's countenance had not improved and Kagome walked over to him, concerned.
"Are you worried about me spending money on you or something?"
She could tell by the silence that it was so.
"Don't worry about it. You're my friend, I can't help but, well help you."
He seemed to be surveying her with his cool gaze. "And I have become you friend so quickly? Just like that?"
"Time has nothing to do with it. Friendship is just friendship. You don't have to worry about it. Anyway, you can pay me back later, ok?"
"Later. As much as I hate to admit it, I have nothing."
"Please. You don't think you're going to be in this situation forever, do you? They just took away your lands, they didn't take away who you are. You'll always be Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands. It's in everything you do. You'll live a long time, you know. I can't see you not getting your lands back eventually. After all, they are your lands, not theirs..."
Sesshoumaru looked at her with something in his gaze that she could not identify. It was a blank stare beyond a blank stare. 'Something's missing.' She thought to herself. 'Something inside him is gone and I don't know what it is.'
"Perhaps." He finally answered.
"Good. Now let's get out of here. I'll bet you look good in modern clothing..."
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The youkai was still brooding, albeit in a dignified way, when they arrived at the department store. It wasn't the closest one to the shrine, but it was having a sale, so Kagome hoped she would get some good deals. However, it was significantly long walk that took them through some of the more crowded parts of the city, something Sesshoumaru did not appear to enjoy. Kagome felt for him. After experiencing the sparsely populated peace of the Feudal Era, she did not much like crowds either.
"Ok..." She said absently as they entered the men's clothing section. "What exactly do you like to wear?"
Sesshoumaru did not answer and indeed appeared to have completely zoned out.
"And I take it, you don't like clothes shopping?" Kagome asked.
Sesshoumaru did not reply.
"And I also take it that you approve of the penguin's plans to take over the world?"
The Taiyoukai looked at her sharply and raised a brow. So he was listening... Whoops.
"Look, the faster you participate, the faster we'll get out of here, ok?"
Reluctantly, he nodded and started through a sales rack of pants.
Quite a while later it became apparent that clothing in Sesshoumaru's size was not in overflowing abundance. Kagome was beginning so see why he hated shopping for clothes.
"Well... Try this on..." She sighed, shoving a random shirt into his hands. The inu youkai looked at her and then looked pointedly at the shirt's loud hula-girl print.
"Ok, so maybe it isn't...you... But at least it's your size!"
Sesshoumaru's expression clearly said, no dice.
Kagome sighed heavily and slouched over dejectedly. Sesshoumaru disposed of the shirt by tossing it over his shoulder with a flick of his wrist, where it landed on a mannequin. Then the miko trudged over to another rack and started the hunt once again. They hardly had anything in his size! It was almost as if the gods were against them. Apparently there weren't too many people around who were as tall and long-limbed as the former lord.
The clothing rack she was searching through was circular. She smiled, suddenly feeling nostalgic. She remembered back when she was young and how she would hide in the circular racks while her mother shopped. It was like a little secret world, a cave, where no one else could get in. Plus, it was always loads of fun to leap out and scare the crap out of the person looking at the rack. On whim, she pushed back the clothes so she could see that hollow space once again.
Or at least, she would have seen it if three people she knew hadn't been jammed into the tiny space.
"Eeep!!" Kagome shrieked. The rack shrieked back and the miko fell and landed on her behind. Suddenly, the clothing rack exploded and three girls shot out of it and ran away, leaving a trail of clothes behind them. Kagome sat there on her butt for a while, blinking confusedly, a pair of khaki pants adorning her head. Sesshoumaru, who had come over to find the source of all the ruckus, stood beside her.
"What just happened?"
"I don't know... But I think those were my friends Yuka, Ayumi, and Eri."
Kagome finally shook her head, and pulled herself onto her feet. She brushed herself off and when she saw the look Sesshoumaru was giving her, realized there was a pair of pants on her head. She looked at them as she pulled them off and then smiled broadly.
"Hey! These are in your size!"
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And that's the end of that... chapter... I have to go eat barbecued chicken now, so care to compare!!!! And press the button of perpetual grape juice that everyone loves!!!! R&R...
Tata, JJ
Oh and I've got a new muse in addition to Ed, the purple lawn flamingo. You know in Cowboy Bebop how Vicious had that evil crow-toucan thing? Well, that's my muse.. I named him Vib, which for those of you who are wondering is an acronym for Vicious' Evil Bird. It works. Oh well...
And now onward! To the bat mobile! (Vib: reviews! JJ: Whatever)
Hieis/Kuramas-Angel: Alright! Thank you!
Defafaeth Mechqua: :D Thank you!
Sukera: Thank you! And thanks for the review!
Mirokou Sempai-Crazy: Thank you! I really look forward to your reviews! I have a feeling Sess-chan is going to be saving her life a lot more... I guess... Oh! Somebody's cooking cheese in my kitchen and it smells good! :D
Kariisme: Thank you for your review!
Crimson Colored Cloaked Figure: Than you! Hope to hear form you again!
Sesshyangel: Well, for wanting to be a piece of orange, it's a song. It goes: I wish I was a little piece of orange, I wish I was a little piece of orange, I'd go squirty squirty squirty over everybody's shirty, Oh I wish I was a little piece of orange! As for the description of Sess-chan as anal retentive, I think it fits... Maybe HE wouldn't use those exact words, but Sesshoumaru strikes me as a person who would be a stickler for details and would try to plan out all his options in advance so as not to be caught off guard. Or that's my opinion anyway...
CayoteSorrow: Thanks for the review!!
JSR: Here's more! Thanks for the review!
UltaAnimeFangurl2004: Thank you!
ash211: Oooh! Thank you! You're nice.
desy: Er.. Well, I don't think I'm going to go into what happened to Rin. I love Rin and all, but I'm trying to keep this story concentrated in the present. I guess you can just assume that Rin grew up, had a happy life, got married and died... I'm not going to go into what happened to Miroku and Sango either, so just assume that all the humans from the past are dead and that's it... Hope that's ok. Thanks for the review!!!
Vic18: Thank you! I love reviews that talk about the way I write. Thanks again!
Sessh's BabyGrl: Thank you! And no, a lot of people aren't going to get to come back, but some are...
Alright!!! Disclaimer time!
Disclaimer: Oh, I'm too bored to think up anything particularly original that isn't pure flummery... Oh well... Inuyasha? We don't own no stinkin' Inuyasha!!!
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Chapter Five: Don't Think There's Not
As long as Sesshoumaru lived, he would never understand how someone who had nearly been stabbed to death the night before could be so chipper.
"Alright. Shopping, shopping, shopping." Chirped Kagome, "We need to go shopping. We need to get groceries, a new rug, and some more clothes for you..."
The Taiyoukai said nothing. He just watched Kagome zip around the house like a woman possessed.
"We should start with groceries because, you know, we've gotta eat right? So, let's go!"
"Kagome."
"Yes?" The hyper miko stopped on her way out the door.
"Do you not need money if you are meaning to buy food?"
Kagome stared at him blankly for a moment, and then blushed. "Oh yeah... Right..." Despondently, she ran back into the house and upstairs. Sesshoumaru stared after her. Something was wrong; the miko was not acting normally.
"Ok. I'm ready, let's go..." She ran past him, but the youkai caught her before she could get very far.
"Kagome."
"Yes?" The miko smiled and tried to pull away. She could sense what he was asking even if he would not put it into words.
The youkai stared at her silently for several minutes, his only movement the occasional blink. It was easy to see that he was not being fooled.
"Alright!" She yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. "I'm just still a little freaked out about last night, that's all."
"Being attacked and stabbed is not a small thing. Perhaps you should stay here today."
"No. No, these things need to be done, and besides," She smiled a real smile up at him. "If I don't do something I'll go insane..."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "I will be with you."
'That sounds familiar...' Kagome mused internally. But this time it seemed to mean something.
"Let's go then."
It was a beautiful morning and absolutely nothing looked amiss. They neared the bottom of the stairs and Sesshoumaru was pleased to note that there were no signs of struggle from the night before. The ruffians had gotten off easy. If he ever caught their scent again it would be the end of them.
Kagome sighed. It really was a such a nice morning. It almost made it seem as if the horror of last night was nothing but a nightmare. Still, nothing numbed the realization of the fact that she had almost died. She looked over at Sesshoumaru. He had saved her. She could hardly believe it, but she was still undeniably grateful.
'I've always had somebody to rescue me...' She thought. 'What am I? Some kind of damsel?'
"Hello Kagome!"
Kagome jerked back to reality at the greeting. Coming down the sidewalk towards them was Mrs. Yamato, one of the shrine's regular visitors.
"Why, good morning Mrs. Yamato!" Kagome smiled. "Are you going to pray?"
"Of course! What else would get me out of bed this early?" The woman smiled a smile that quickly faded as soon as she saw who was standing behind the girl. Kagome realized what, or rather who, she was looking at and blanched. She had completely forgotten about the way Sesshoumaru looked! It wasn't everyday that a really tall guy with long white hair, pointy ears, golden eyes, claws, and strange markings on his face just strolled down the streets of Tokyo.
"Who's your friend Kagome?" Mrs. Yamato said unsurely.
Kagome laughed nervously in answer. "Well, he's..." She turned to look at him and stopped in mid-sentence. His hair was still white and his eyes were still gold, but everything else about him was different... His ears weren't pointed, his markings were gone, and his claws had become blunt human nails. He really looked human! Had she missed something? She guessed yes, considering the extremely amused look on his face. Or was it in his eyes? Sesshoumaru was as hard to read as a waterlogged Greek newspaper.
"Er... Yes. He's my assistant. Just helping out around the shrine..."
Sesshoumaru gave a slight bow in greeting and the woman seemed assured. "Very well then. Have fun wherever you two are going. See you, Kagome!" The woman continued off towards the shrine.
"See you later!" Kagome called after her. She waited till the woman was out of earshot and then she turned on her companion.
"Why the heck didn't you tell me you could do that?! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Sesshoumaru smirked. "Come now, you didn't think I would just go walking among humans and alerting to them that I'm a youkai, did you?"
"No, but what did you do?" She tilted her head and looked closely at the youkai lord. He really looked weird.
"It is only a concealing spell. I always use it when I'm out in public."
Kagome nodded in understanding. Part of her felt kind of warm and tingly that he'd trust her enough not to use the spell around her. The other part reminded her that there wasn't a point of him hiding his true nature from her when she was already aware of it. However, there was still something that didn't quite fit.
"If you always wear it , then how come you looked like a youkai when I found you?"
"I was simply too drained to maintain the illusion." Well. That was simple. With that explained, they continued their trek to the grocery store.
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"And tofu..." Kagome muttered to herself, placing the item in the cart. She was just picking things out as she went along, and since Sesshoumaru would be eating a large portion of it, she sent him off to find some things that he would like. She hadn't seen him for a while. Initially, she was worried, but then decided that if he could live over five hundred years without getting killed, then he could certainly manage to survive a grocery store.
When she got to the bakery section she got a loaf of bread and a batch of fresh baked cookies. The bakery section also had a particularly good view of the meat section and this is how Kagome saw a sight that she would not soon forget.
Sesshoumaru was standing looking into one of the freezer case in the middle of the aisle with an expression in his eyes that reminded Kagome of little kids peering into a candy store. He must have smelled her coming, because he looked up from the meat and over at her. Then he looked at the meat again, and then he looked back at her and kept on doing it until she very nearly burst into a fit of laughter.
She wheeled the cart up beside him and smiled broadly. "Well. I've always wanted to try Atkins. What do you want?"
The inu youkai looked at her. "Everything."
Kagome snorted. "I can't spend that much! How about we pick out some steaks and some hamburger. We can cook them on the grill! I think we have a grill stored somewhere at home. And, then you pick out a couple of other things you would like and I'll get some fish for oden. How's that sound?"
Sesshoumaru was too busy picking out the best steaks to pay any attention to the question. Kagome scowled and went over to the fish counter.
Several minutes later the shopping cart contained amounts of beef, pork, chicken, and fish sufficient enough to feed a miniature army.
"You think you got enough?" Kagome asked, shooting the youkai an exasperated glance.
"Quite." Sesshoumaru answered. Kagome shook her head and pulled a bag of charcoal down off the shelf.
"How about when we're going home, I carry the light stuff and you do the heavy lifting?"
The youkai raised a brow. "Of course. I would not think of leaving you to carry anything beyond your ability..."
"It's not that it's beyond my ability, it's that it'll just be a lot easier if you carry the heavy stuff!"
"Of course."
The miko's eye twitched as they stepped into line and no more words were spoken. At least until they were about halfway through the checkout when Kagome remembered, quite by coincidence, a particularly heavy thing she'd forgotten to get.
"Oh crap! I forgot something, I'll be right back. Hold down the fort, ok Sesshoumaru?" The miko was off before he could reply. When she returned, she stood behind him, so he couldn't see what item she had gotten, but whatever it was it sounded heavy. Unfortunately for Sesshoumaru, he only saw what he was expected to carry after it had already been paid for and Kagome was waiting expectantly for him to pick it up.
"You have got to be kidding."
"No, I'm not. We're out of it."
"I refuse to even touch it."
"Well, you have to. You said you'd carry the heavy things and that's the heaviest thing there is."
"..."
"Oh, come on! It isn't like it's an affront to your dignity or something!!!"
"This Sesshoumaru absolutely refuses to carry a sack of kitty litter!"
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Fifteen minutes of arguing later, Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands walked behind Kagome trying to use her body as a shield between the outside world and what he was carrying.
"You're such a baby. Nobody cares."
Sesshoumaru shifted the bag of charcoal that he was also carrying and let out a very displeased growl.
Before long, they were back at the shrine. After putting the groceries away, Kagome went in search of the grill. She remembered seeing it when she was going through the store rooms to make sure there weren't any more evil masks that she needed to know about. She eventually did find it and drug it out into the sunlight. She also discovered the reason it hadn't been in use. One of the legs was bent, it couldn't stand upright. She sighed in disappointment as Sesshoumaru walked over.
"What is wrong?"
"The grill's broken. I'm sorry. Looks like we aren't going to be cooking anything on it."
Sesshoumaru's eyes seemed to glow for a moment as if the thought of not being able to cook all the lovely meat they'd bought was too much to handle. Then the youkai crouched down and grabbing the leg of the grill, bent it back into shape.
"Fixed." He said.
"Indeed!"
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The next task of the day was going to buy a new rug.
"The last one was tan, but I think a blue one would look better this time."
"It is your house."
Kagome smiled. "At least it is until my family gets back..." She caught her companion's questioning gaze. "They'd like you. I think they're all crazy. They never minded me going through the well or Inuyasha. Well, except Grandpa. He was always yelling, 'Youkai!' and trying to cover him with wards. They weren't really wards though, just pieces of paper he drew on. It was actually kinda fun to watch."
Sesshoumaru nodded, but she wasn't sure that he really cared.
Once they had found a rug to Kagome's liking with the right dimensions, they exited the store with Sesshoumaru carrying the rolled up rug on his shoulder. They started back, talking comfortably all the way. Neither of them noticed they had an audience.
"Hey! Look, there's Kagome."
"Who's that guy with her?"
"He sure is hot!"
"You know, he sure looks a lot like Kagome's description of that old boyfriend of hers."
"The one that dumped her for that other girl?"
"That's the one!"
"You don't think she's gotten back together with him, do you?"
"Oh no, I sure hope not!"
"Maybe it's not him."
"It has to be! I mean look at him!"
"Kagome really deserves better. If she keeps on getting back with him, she's just going to keep getting hurt."
"We'll just have to do something then..."
"I've got an idea!"
And it was thus that the three girls Ayumi, Yuka, and Eri hatched their sinister plot.
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Kagome ran her fingers over the new living room rug. It was a lot nicer looking than the last one. "We still need to get you some new clothes." She stated.
"You do not have to trouble yourself."
"Sure I do. You need to have more than just one outfit. What if something happens to it? Besides you can't wear shrine clothes forever, you know."
Sesshoumaru's countenance had not improved and Kagome walked over to him, concerned.
"Are you worried about me spending money on you or something?"
She could tell by the silence that it was so.
"Don't worry about it. You're my friend, I can't help but, well help you."
He seemed to be surveying her with his cool gaze. "And I have become you friend so quickly? Just like that?"
"Time has nothing to do with it. Friendship is just friendship. You don't have to worry about it. Anyway, you can pay me back later, ok?"
"Later. As much as I hate to admit it, I have nothing."
"Please. You don't think you're going to be in this situation forever, do you? They just took away your lands, they didn't take away who you are. You'll always be Lord Sesshoumaru of the Western Lands. It's in everything you do. You'll live a long time, you know. I can't see you not getting your lands back eventually. After all, they are your lands, not theirs..."
Sesshoumaru looked at her with something in his gaze that she could not identify. It was a blank stare beyond a blank stare. 'Something's missing.' She thought to herself. 'Something inside him is gone and I don't know what it is.'
"Perhaps." He finally answered.
"Good. Now let's get out of here. I'll bet you look good in modern clothing..."
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The youkai was still brooding, albeit in a dignified way, when they arrived at the department store. It wasn't the closest one to the shrine, but it was having a sale, so Kagome hoped she would get some good deals. However, it was significantly long walk that took them through some of the more crowded parts of the city, something Sesshoumaru did not appear to enjoy. Kagome felt for him. After experiencing the sparsely populated peace of the Feudal Era, she did not much like crowds either.
"Ok..." She said absently as they entered the men's clothing section. "What exactly do you like to wear?"
Sesshoumaru did not answer and indeed appeared to have completely zoned out.
"And I take it, you don't like clothes shopping?" Kagome asked.
Sesshoumaru did not reply.
"And I also take it that you approve of the penguin's plans to take over the world?"
The Taiyoukai looked at her sharply and raised a brow. So he was listening... Whoops.
"Look, the faster you participate, the faster we'll get out of here, ok?"
Reluctantly, he nodded and started through a sales rack of pants.
Quite a while later it became apparent that clothing in Sesshoumaru's size was not in overflowing abundance. Kagome was beginning so see why he hated shopping for clothes.
"Well... Try this on..." She sighed, shoving a random shirt into his hands. The inu youkai looked at her and then looked pointedly at the shirt's loud hula-girl print.
"Ok, so maybe it isn't...you... But at least it's your size!"
Sesshoumaru's expression clearly said, no dice.
Kagome sighed heavily and slouched over dejectedly. Sesshoumaru disposed of the shirt by tossing it over his shoulder with a flick of his wrist, where it landed on a mannequin. Then the miko trudged over to another rack and started the hunt once again. They hardly had anything in his size! It was almost as if the gods were against them. Apparently there weren't too many people around who were as tall and long-limbed as the former lord.
The clothing rack she was searching through was circular. She smiled, suddenly feeling nostalgic. She remembered back when she was young and how she would hide in the circular racks while her mother shopped. It was like a little secret world, a cave, where no one else could get in. Plus, it was always loads of fun to leap out and scare the crap out of the person looking at the rack. On whim, she pushed back the clothes so she could see that hollow space once again.
Or at least, she would have seen it if three people she knew hadn't been jammed into the tiny space.
"Eeep!!" Kagome shrieked. The rack shrieked back and the miko fell and landed on her behind. Suddenly, the clothing rack exploded and three girls shot out of it and ran away, leaving a trail of clothes behind them. Kagome sat there on her butt for a while, blinking confusedly, a pair of khaki pants adorning her head. Sesshoumaru, who had come over to find the source of all the ruckus, stood beside her.
"What just happened?"
"I don't know... But I think those were my friends Yuka, Ayumi, and Eri."
Kagome finally shook her head, and pulled herself onto her feet. She brushed herself off and when she saw the look Sesshoumaru was giving her, realized there was a pair of pants on her head. She looked at them as she pulled them off and then smiled broadly.
"Hey! These are in your size!"
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And that's the end of that... chapter... I have to go eat barbecued chicken now, so care to compare!!!! And press the button of perpetual grape juice that everyone loves!!!! R&R...
Tata, JJ