Sorry for the lack of update for the past months. My computer crashed the other week and all my documents, essays, stories, etc. were gone. I was furious. I remember I made a backup, but unfortunately, I misplaced the CD when I moved to my new apartment. . My dad tried to move the files from my old hard drive to my new one, but it didn't work. Furthermore, the cost of transporting files/repairing my old hard drive from a professional computer specialists cost an estimate of $1000 U.S. I wasn't that pleased for one bit. My dad said he will try to find a cheaper specialist who can help. If you guys know any company that helps transfer some of my files from my old hard drive to my new one under a nice price that is LOWER than $1000, please inform me.
Fortunately, I had printed a copy of the unedited version of chapter 10. However, it was half-finished and some of the stuffs I added weren't on there. (sigh) The chapter on my comp was already ¾ done! Well, I should be lucky that I printed the old version of this chapter. No use crying over spill milk. It took me awhile to remember what I wrote on this chapter, so if you notice some errors/grammars, bare with me. I'm quite tired from trying to remembering every single thing from the lost new version. But as a bottom note, I want to say thank you to all of my reviewers! You guys actually cheer and motivated me to actually rewrite this chapter again.
Disclaimer: At the moment, I'm sparring with Takashi over the legal documents of Inuyasha. :p
The Wrong Soul Mate
Chapter 10: Muffin
To say the least, he was a bit embarrassed about last night, but somehow relieved at the same time. He felt much lighter, especially that burden in his chest slowly dissolving away. Not that he admits it was her in the first place that helped him with his own problem. To be honest, he doesn't know what to say to her when he sees her. He can't just say, "Hey Rin, thanks for last night. I finally felt much better." He inwardly groaned. If Miroku hears him saying that, he knew for sure that his best friend would think of some perverted thoughts.
If only he had an hourglass so that he can revert time to go back to that moment when he talked to her. He sighed again. If only things were that simple.
Heck, it could have been in his sensitive moment. It was not like him to actually confess something serious like that. He was Inuyasha for Christ's sake!
"Thinking about something?" Miroku inquired as he sat down next to him with a cup of tea in his hand.
'Speak of the devil. I must have a long life.' He took a long sip of his coffee before he simply answered, "Nothing."
"Yeah sure…" Miroku paused. "Oh and I saw Rin went upstairs last night." He added for amusement.
"Get your mind out of the gutter Miroku. Is that all you can think about?" His hand was itching to throw his cup of coffee at him.
Miroku gestured his hands in self-defense. "I wasn't thinking of such thing Inuyasha! I simply said what I saw last night. You, on the other hand, was implying some Rated R moments."
A small blush appeared on Inuyasha's cheeks. "Why you…!"
He continued on. "And I am shock to hear that my dear friend just accused me of thinking nothing but women and their—"
A familiar cough sounded behind him. "And their what, Miroku?" Sango asked as she tilted her head and sat down next to him.
The black hair man just smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Their knowledge of course!"
Sango gave him a look which clearly said, 'Yeah right.'
"And may I add, you look lovely today, Sango." He smiled at her innocently.
"And may I also add, there won't be any fingers left if you don't move your hand away from my ass?" She eyed his hand suspiciously.
"Why, I would never do—"
'And here goes their usual conversation routine.' Inuyasha thought annoyingly before taking another sip of his coffee. And to make things worse, the ticking sound from the clock on the wall started to irritate him somewhat.
Tick tock.
"Sango, you have something on your mouth, let me wipe it for you."
Tick tock.
"No that's okay, Miroku. I can do it myself."
Tick tock.
Inuyasha frowned when a certain girl was absented from the table. 'She's late.' It was not like her to be late for breakfast like that. Shoot, the last time she missed a meal was when… to be frank, he didn't recall if she did miss any meal of the day at all. To her, there's breakfast, early snack, lunch, after-lunch snack, dinner, and after-dinner snacks. It was amazing that all those foods managed to fit into her small framed body.
Just now, the second hand of the clock just passed the number six and yet, she hasn't made an appearance.
He gazed at the kitchen entrance, not noticing that Sango was following his gaze. She tilted her spoon a bit before opening her mouth to say, "She won't come down for breakfast today, even to work. You don't have to worry Inuyasha—"
On impulse, he blurted out. "Who say I'm worried about that girl? She can get sick for all I care." He made a disgusted look to hide his embarrassment.
'What happen to the nickname Wench?' Miroku and Sango both thought at the same time as they secretly eyed each other.
"Well just to let you know, I don't think Rin is able to go to work today. She caught a cold,"
'From last night…' He remembered it was a bit chilly last night, and he did recall that she was shivering a bit when a breeze swept by them. How could he forget that she's a human being? He could easily pictured his half-brother saying, "Human are weak, that's why they get sick easily."
"But I don't think it's that serious though." Sango continued on. "Last I check, her temperature was below 90 degree. I want to stay here to take care of her, but I have to finalize the company's finance records for Sesshoumaru."
Miroku added. "Maybe you can ask Sesshoumaru if he can—"
"No, I seriously doubt my jerk-of-a-brother would say yes. You know how he is." Inuyasha interrupted, still pondering about Rin.
"Now that I think about it… hey Sango, do you remember that time when Sesshoumaru berated Inuyasha for that typo on one of the documents? We could easily hear him from a far!" Miroku commented.
The hanyou narrowed his eyes. "It was just a small misprint!" He barked. "And I last recalled your ear was against the door, listening to our conversation!"
"Keep it down you two!" Sango shouted. "Do you want Rin to wake up because of all that noises you guys are making!" She got up and walked towards the main door, muttering about stupid hanyou and former monk.
They both gaped as they watched her disappeared at the corner.
"You know, I kind of like it when she's in a feisty mood." Miroku followed her lead. "That's my Sango alright!"
Inuyasha only shook his head in reply as he took a last sip of his coffee. He then gazed up at the ceiling in a worry expression before he made his way out.
---
As both of their cars became speak of dots at the distance, Kagome finally tore her eyes away from the window as she made her way downstairs. Although she liked how Sango really cared for her, she silently wished for those three to just go to work as quickly as possible.
Walking into the kitchen, she examined some of the utensils hanging up against the wall as she gently tapped her chin. It looks like all the tools that she'll need are here, now all she need was those two.
In a few seconds, they will be here.
The clock ticked three times.
'Okay, a few more seconds.'
The second hand moved past the number six and then nine, and then…
The T.V. was turned on from the living room.
"Hey this is cool! This box has people inside!" A small kid's voice shouted across from that room.
'Finally they are here.' Kagome made her way towards the living room and spotted Sakura and Takeo watching 'the box'. "About time you two got here."
"Good morning, Kagome!" Saku responded, not even moving her gaze from the T.V. screen. 'Is this how Inuyasha saw me when I watched T.V.?'
"Hey Saku, if you pressed this button on this remote thingy, the box switched the people around!" The little boy showed her the remote and pressed one of the buttons. "See!"
"Cool!"
Kagome smiled at their childish behavior. It was kind of cute in a way. "I remember Lady Kaede told me that you two were supposed to do something for me…" She gently tapped the side of her forehead, indicating that she was thinking. "I forgot what it was. Maybe I should go ask her…"
"Wait!" The two little immortals shouted in unison.
'Bingo.' Kagome inwardly smiled in her head.
"Here's the recipe!" Saku walked over and handed her a piece of paper. "It's not exactly like the one like Inuyasha's mom though." She pouted.
"Yeah, that spirit guardian won't even let us enter the spirit world!" Takeo added.
"And you know what? He called us 'brats' too!" Saku complained. "And instead, we got it from the Cooking God."
"Stupid guardian…" The boy muttered.
Kagome chuckled. "It's okay. As long as we can make muffins that are edible, I'm fine by the recipe." She gave them a reassuring smile. "Are you guys ready to make some delicious muffins?"
"Yeah!" Saku got up excitedly and skipped to the kitchen. "Let's do some baking!"
Takeo just rolled his eyes as he went back being intrigued by the T.V. screen.
"That means you too, Takeo." Kagome clicked her finger, and then the T.V. screen faded to black.
"Aww man." He got sulkily and walked towards the kitchen reluctantly. "Why can't we just ask the Cooking God to do it for us instead?"
Kagome just shook her head. "Whose knows, if we finish baking, we might even have time to watch 'the box'."
The boy's eyes brightened before he stepped into the kitchen.
Again, she shook her head in amusement. "Kids…" She murmured.
…A few hours later…
After many rotations of mixing the flour together, it finally puffed out like a balloon. At that instance, Kagome gave a sigh of relief before putting the long wooden spoon at the side of the bowl. She never knew that baking required a lot of strength. It looks so easy when she saw how the chiefs cooked and baked on the Food Channel. 'Cooking shows can be real deceiving.' She mused. 'Well at least I have a nice break right now…'
"Do you think it's time to mix the chocolate chips with it now?" Saku questioned as she gazed at Kagome's masterpiece.
That nice thought of getting a little piece of relaxing soon escaped from Kagome's vision. 'Another stirring…' She sighed. Maybe she should have asked the Cooking God for help, but then again, how would that be special?
She frowned. 'Special? Why would I?' She closed her eyes in frustration. 'Because you want him to feel at home again, you idiot, like when he was little with his mother.'
"Kagome? Are you there?"
She opened her eyes to stare at a pair of hazel eyes. "Yeah. I'm back." She gave a small smile before adding, "Yes, I think it's time to add the chocolate chips now."
Saku widened her smile. "For a minute there, I thought you were about to give up!"
"This Kagome never give up!" She said cheerfully. "I was surprised that baking can be quite exhausting though."
"Just look at the bright side, Kagome. We will have two dozens of chocolate chip muffins at the end!"
Somehow the number of muffins that she has to stir didn't cheer her much.
"Takeo, can you pass the chocolate chips bag to us?" Saku frowned when all she heard was, "Mmmm…"
They both turned their heads to see Takeo's mouth smeared with chocolate as he popped another chocolate chips into his mouth.
"Mmmm…" He tilted his head. "You want some?" Takeo lifted one of the chocolate chips at them.
One-third of the bag was empty. "Takeo!" Saku got up and smacked him across the head. "You don't suppose to eat those! Those are for Inuyasha!"
"Owww…" The boy rubbed at the side of his head. "But it was too good to resist…"
Kagome chuckled, remembering what she did when she first tasted chocolate. She can't blame the kid. The moment you take a bite of a chocolate bar, your body soon becomes addicted to it. She remembered the first time that she ate chocolate, Inuyasha's drawer of sweets in his office desk turned out to be empty at the end of the day.
"You are right, it is good!"
"See, I'm right."
Their voice interrupted her thoughts as she looked at them. "Hey! Save some for the muffins you two!"
"Heh, heh, heh…" Takeo rubbed the back of his head.
Kagome shook her head in amusement. 'Those two.' She then suggested, "How about this, when we are done baking, you two can have some of the muffins."
Takeo's eyes widened with anticipation. "Really!"
Kagome nodded.
"Pig." Saku muttered.
"Fine, I can have your share." Takeo said.
"Who said I don't want some?"
"But you said—"
Kagome interrupted before World War III started. "Then we are pigs then." She chuckled as their faces exploded in laughter.
"True, true…" As their laughter died down, Takeo got up and walked towards Kagome with the chocolate chips bag in his hand. "Here's the—" And before he could utter another word, he slipped on a large amount of flour on the floor. Hence, he accidentally let go of the bag as it landed right smack on Saku's head. Saku, on the other hand, unintentionally smacked the honey bottle to soar across the air as she landed on her butt.
Watching the scene unfolded before her very eyes, Kagome's hand quickly caught the bottle upside down before it was dropped into the bowl. "Whew. That was close." She sighed in relief.
"Umm, Kagome. It's dripping." Takeo pointed to the honey dripping from the bottle's lid.
Her eyes widened when she noticed a small amount of honey was dropped into the bowl, mixing with the flour and all the ingredients inside. She then quickly flipped the bottle to be upright before catching it again, and put it on the table.
Saku narrowed her eyes at Takeo. "Look what you did!"
Guilt was shown across his eyes as he tried to avoid her gaze. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
Disappointment quickly disappeared within her as Kagome noticed the remorse written across his face. "It's okay Takeo. These muffins will have an extra surprise ingredient in them." She smiled at him, reassuring that she was not mad anymore.
Saku took a deep breath before she reached her hand down to her friend and looked the other way.
Takeo gazed at her hand before averted his eyes to hers'.
Saku had the urge to roll her eyes as Kagome's chuckles echoed behind them. "Inuyasha is going to be here sooner or later. It's better if we finish baking these muffins on time."
Still, Takeo's didn't make a move.
Kagome gazed at them, making a happy prediction of those two in the future when they become adults.
"This hand is not going to wait forever. If you don't want to touch it, it's fine by me." She was about take her hand back when suddenly as quick as lightning, Takeo's hand shot up and grabbed it. He lifted himself up as he grinned at her, knowing for a fact that his best friend was not mad at him anymore.
"Awww, puppy love." Kagome commented, breaking the spell between those two.
"Ewww…" They automatically let go as they wiped their hands at the side of their attires. "Gross."
"Like I ever want to be with her like that!" Takeo retorted.
"Like I ever thought of you like that!" Saku barked.
Kagome sighed. 'Kids…' She shouldn't have said that, but to be frank, it was a Kodak moment when she saw their expressions.
"I don't have coodies!"
Well, it was time to make a diversion before all hell breaks lose. "Okay, let's go back to baking!"
---
Inuyasha waited as his finger tapped impatiently on the counter. 'How long does it take for people to make congee?' He thought. Ten minutes has passed already.
AN: As a footnote, congee is rice porridge that can be mixed with any ingredients like chicken, seafood, etc. You usually eat in any Asian countries, restaurant, and families. Those are good, especially when you are sick.
If another minute passed again, he was about to barge into the kitchen and yell at the cookers to hurry up. He doesn't have all day. Right on cue, a waitress walked out from the kitchen with a bag in her hand.
"About time." He muttered as he took out his wallet.
She walked over to the counter with a big cheerful smile on her face. "Chicken congee, sir?"
"Yeah. About time it's done." He retorted.
The waitress' smile wavered for a bit before answering, "In order for the food to be delicious, our cookers take their time to make sure that the dish is perfect for your tas—"
He interrupted. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. How much?" He wasn't in the mood to hear some speech about the essence of food. Inuyasha wouldn't be that angry if the cooker didn't 'take' their precious time slowly in making this soup. What's so hard in making congee? He has a sick person to go to for Christ's sake who has an appetite the size of China.
Again, her smile wavered. "It's 720 yen, Sir."
He handed her the amount of money before he took the plastic bag off the counter without another word to her.
The waitress finally released her sigh as she watched him walked out from the store. "And I thought wolf youkai are harsh."
---
"Eh buddy! It's time for lunch!" Miroku exclaimed as he walked into Inuyasha's office to see an empty chair and no Inuyasha. He frowned before walking back and asked Inuyasha's secretary. "Where's Inuyasha?"
She shrugged before taking her purse out. "He left early, but he didn't mention where he was going though."
"Oh…" He tapped his chin in question. 'Where would he be then?' He then shrugged his question off. 'Oh well… now Sango, here I come!' He smiled as he headed towards her office.
---
"This is good!" Takeo commented as he munched on a muffin. "It looks a bit weird when Kagome was baking it, but I never thought it would that delicious!"
"I agree." Saku smiled before taking another bite of her muffin.
"I heard that!" Kagome's voice echoed from the kitchen. "I may be washing the dishes, but that doesn't mean my hearing is that bad."
The two young immortals chuckled. "Kagome, Kagome…" Saku said.
They both became silent when they heard a key turning from the main door.
"Uh oh." Takeo holds his muffin still as they watched the key turned slowly.
"Let's go!" Saku whispered before they vanished in thin air.
The door opened and in came Inuyasha with the plastic bag in his hand. He furrowed his brow a bit when he heard the sound of running water from the kitchen.
He went inside to investigate and boy, was he shocked by what was happening in front of him. Rin, who was supposed to be sick, was humming an unfamiliar soft tune while washing the dishes gently.
"Saku, Takeo, why are you so quiet all a sudden?"
He didn't say anything, but stared at her back. Her hair was tied up in a pony tail and she was wearing an apron filled with sunflowers designs. For a second there, the image of his mother flashed before his eyes.
The sound of the flowing water stopped and before he knew it, Kagome turned around as she wiped her hands in a white cloth.
Her eyes widened in surprise. "Inuyasha! Why are you here at this hour?" 'Those two! They left without saying a word that he arrived!'
"What are you doing?" He walked over to the table, but stopped abruptly when he sighted a plethora of muffins on it.
"Um… I…"
"You made those?" He asked softly, still gazing at the muffins.
There was something in his eyes that she couldn't decipher. It wasn't anger that for sure, but it was like watching a lost puppy finally found his mother. Happiness wouldn't come close to what she was feeling right now. She was nervous as the silence stretched on. To be honest, she was hoping he would say something, yell, scream, or even a whisper than him being this quiet. It was just plain scary.
So she did something when she was put in this situation—she talked… swiftly. "Yeah I made those. Well, I think you might be wondering why I'm not in bed. I mean I'm not sick or anything. I mean I was, but I'm feeling okay right now. After I heard about what you said last night, I just want to make those for you so—"
"You talked too much." He bluntly interrupted.
Okay, she was hoping he would say something nicer to her than frankly said that.
"I was trying to be nice, and this is what I get," she murmured.
Inuyasha with a blank face walked slowly to her.
Somewhat baffled, yet scared at the same time, Kagome nervously said his name. "Uh Inuyasha?"
He didn't say anything as he came closer to her until he was only a couple of inches away.
If she didn't feel the fast pounding in her heart, then she was lying. All she heard right now was the rapid beating of her heart. She passed the strange feeling away as nervousness.
He stopped as he looked deeply into her eyes. Without realizing it, she closed her eyes in return, afraid that he might yell at her.
"You have something on your nose."
"Huh?" She opened her eyes in bewilderment.
"There." He took his index finger and wiped the white smudge on the middle of her nose. "I think it's flour." He wiped it on her apron before turning swiftly away. He didn't even noticed the blush on her cheeks as he went back to stare at the muffins.
Then he did the one thing that surprised her the most, he turned around and gave her one of his rarest warm smile. "Thank you."
This was the part where people supposed to say "You're welcome," but instead, she gaped in surprise. Luckily, it only lasted for a second. She smiled back as she walked towards the table. "It's not the best muffins out there like your mother's, but I hope you like it."
He blushed as he looked the other way. "Yeah whatever."
'He actually blushed!' Her smiled didn't wavered a bit, but when she saw the plastic bag in his head, curiosity got a hold of her. "What's that?" She pointed at it.
"Oh this?" He put it on the table and unwrapped it. "Well, I thought you had a fever, so I bought you a bowl of chicken congee. But…" He emphasized the last word before continuing. "If you are not sick, then I guess this is a wast—"
Kagome managed a fake cough which didn't go unnoticed by him. "Cough, cough. Yeah I think I need that. Cough, cough."
He should have known. If he mentions any kind of food, she would definitely want it.
Kagome closed her eyes in content when the smell of hot chicken congee filled her nostril. She then opened her eyes in anticipation. "Thank you Inuyasha!" She hopped in two feet and hugged Inuyasha with most of her strength. "That was nice of you!"
"Uh…" A red flush appeared at his cheeks again.
As swiftly as the hug came, she let go of him before making her way to get two bowls. "Let share the chicken congee together and after that, I want you to taste the muffins!"
"Yeah sure…" He whispered as he averted his gaze to the chocolate chip muffins. For once, he's going to eat muffins again. Even though it was not made by his mother, he can't help but smiled at Rin's determination.
…After a couple of minutes passed by…
"Well?"
Inuyasha didn't say anything as he continued to munch on the muffins.
"I know it's not exactly like your mother's but… it was the best I can do, so what do you think?"
The only sound that came from him was the soft sound of his chewing.
She frowned. "If you don't like it, just say so. I would rather hear the truth than a lie."
"You want to hear the truth?" He finally responded.
Still unsure, she drawled on her words. "I guess so."
He tossed her one of the muffins. "Try one."
Kagome caught it and looked at it. Even though she made it, she hasn't tried it yet. 'Here goes nothing.' She was expected the taste to be bland and without flavor when she took a bite of it, but instead, her tongue was filled with this delicious mixture of chocolate, bread, and a tint of honey. "Hey it is good! I dare say so myself if you don't mind."
Inuyasha chuckled. "Do you want to know something?"
"I hope it's a good thing." She then took a big bite of the muffin.
"The muffins actually taste like the ones that my mother made." He softly replied as he gazed at the mountains ahead.
Her eyes widened in amazement. "Really!"
"Yeah." He quickly glanced at her. "I think her secret ingredient was honey."
Kagome nodded in contentment. 'When I see those two, I should thank them next time.'
"I was quite surprised that you can bake. For a minute there, I thought the muffins will taste like burnt bread with no flavor."
"Hey!" Kagome slapped him gently on the back. "What's that suppose to mean?"
"It means that although you eat a lot, I mean A LOT, I've never expect you to know how to cook." He then tapped his chin, pondering. "Hmm, but then again, if you eat a lot then you must know how."
"Hmph. And I was about to say, you have a chocolate smudge on your face too."
"Huh? Where!" Inuyasha took a napkin and wiped randomly near his mouth.
"Not telling." Kagome smiled as she took another bite.
"Keh. You're just jealous that my face is handsome." He boasted with his usual trademark smirk.
Kagome laughed. "Yeah you are so handsome Inuyasha that my poor heart can't take it anymore." She replied sarcastically.
"Keh. Whatever." He paused a bit. "Hey, who are Saku and Takeo? You mention their name earlier in the kitchen."
Sweat dropped. "Uhh… it was… a song! Yeah a song!" Kagome cheerfully replied. "Where are you Saku and Takeo?" She sang it off tune.
"That the weirdest song I have ever heard of. But then again, you are weird." He answered quickly before taking another bite of his muffin.
"Hey!"
---
"Is that all she can come up with?" Takeo asked as they watched them from where they were sitting—the tree. "Was a song?"
Saku sighed. "That's Kagome for sure."
AN: To be honest, I actually like this new version than the former lost chapter. . I added more to this one than the last one. And for some of you guys who asked if Shippo will make an entrance, he will.
Recommendation: Love and Marriage by Mistress Storm Crow. This is one of those most heartfelt fanfics I have read this month. I nearly cried at some scenes. Mistress Storm Crow knows how to portray each character so nicely that when they cried, you cried along with them, and when they are elated, you can't help yourself from smiling too. In addition, she knows how to mix comedy with drama. One minutes you crying, and the next, you're laughing your butts off. It's a must read for any day! And plus, it's completed!
Anim3-for3v3r: You were actually the first one to guess some of the plots correctly in this chapter. Good eye.