aw man, my throat's killing me-- though Im sure u didnt need 2 know that. -sweatdrop- well, I may feel like a pile of crud, but Im writing the next chapter anywayz!

disclaimer: if u dont recognize a character, chances r he/she is made up by me. (hey, that rhymed)

chapter 3

"Man, where is he?" An eleven-year-old Miya looked at her watch. 3:09. School had let out almost ten minutes ago, and Kaori still hadn't come out of the building.

"Hi, Miya!" A girl with dark brown hair walked up to her friend cheerfully.

Miya sighed. "Hey, Akiko," she said, never taking her eyes off the school doors.

There was a brief moment of silence before Miya's friend spoke up. "Umm... what're you doing?" she asked.

Miya groaned. "I'm waiting for my stupid brother to get the heck outta school! If he's the one that hates it so much, then why hasn't he come out yet?"

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"So, can you come?"

Kaori hadn't moved since Haruko walked up to him and asked him to come to her party next Saturday. "I... I, uh... I..."

"Kaori?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Can you make it?"

"Uhhh... can you get back to me on tha--"

"KAORI!"

Kaori gulped, his eyes widening with fear. "I gotta go, Haruko. If I'm still alive by tonight, I'll call you about the party," he said quickly.

Haruko smiled. "Okay, then," she said laughing, "See ya."

"See ya!" With that, Kaori ran ran outside as if his life depended on it, because... well, it did. If Miya ever caught up with him, he knew he'd never live to see the age of twelve. As he zipped past Akiko and Miya, he quickly said hi to the two girls and ran for his life to his house, Miya then chasing after him.

"Bye, Akiko!" Miya called.

"See ya on Monday!" Akiko called back.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Kaori eventually slowed down, running out of breath. It was only then that his sister caught up with him. "Okay, spill," Miya said, her voice indicating she wanted an answer, "What took you fifteen minutes to get out of school on a Friday afternoon?"

"Okay, okay," Kaori said panting, "I'll tell you. (pant pant) You know that (pant) girl in my class, Haruko?"

"Mhmm," Miya nodded.

"Well, (pant) she invited me to her (pant) party next week, and--"

"And you like her, don't you?"

"Well, I-- That's (pant) none of your (pant) business."

Miya smiled, satisfied. "Right." Momentarily, they were in front of their house. Miya opened the door and shouted, "We're home!"

"Hey guys!" called a voice.

Kaori and Miya's eyes widened. They slowly walked into the living room to see their 26-year-old sister on the couch waiting for them. "RIKO!" they both shouted excitedly. The twins ran to their sister and hugged her. She laughed.

"Yeah, I missed you guys, too," she said.

They both let go of her. "What're you doing home?" asked Miya. (a/n: if Riko's 26, she would've just graduated college, right? Im thinking she could live w/ a friend for now)

"Baby-sitting," Riko answered simply.

"...Us?" Kaori asked. Riko nodded. "How come?"

"Because your dad and I are going out for the night," said an all-too-familiar voice. Kaori and Miya turned around to see their parents standing by the door.

"What for?" Kaori asked again, somewhat clueless.

"Kaori, are you forgetting what today is?" asked Inuyasha.

Kaori paused. "Uuuhhhhh..."

Miya rolled her eyes. Clueless. She gave her brother a gentle smack on the arm. "It's Mom's birthday, you lunk-head."

A drop of sweat rolled down the back of Kaori's head. "Oh right!" he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck, "I- I knew that. Really, I did."

Miya rolled her eyes again. Absolutely... clueless.

"Sooo, where are you guys going?" asked Riko.

Kagome smiled. "Well, we're just gonna walk around town, see what there is to do..."

"Are you two going on a date?" Miya asked smiling.

Kagome and Inuyasha blushed, staring at their daughter wide-eyed.

"Miya!" Riko whispered in disbelief at her younger sister.

Miya looked at Riko. "What?" she asked. Riko just sighed.

"Well, we should be back before you two have to go to bed," said Kagome, "Riko, remember, call us if anything happens."

"Got it," said Riko.

"See ya, guys," Inuyasha called, walking out the door with his wife.

"Bye!" Kaori and Miya shouted.

"Later!" called Riko. The door shut. "So, what do you guys wanna do?" she asked them. The twins shrugged. Then Riko got an idea. She picked up her purse and took out a video game. "You sure about that?"

Kaori and Miya got a look at what she held in her hand, and their mouths dropped open. "You got us the new Yu-Gi-Oh game?" Miya gasped.

Riko nodded with a triumphant "M-hm." Hey, she knew what her family liked.

"That doesn't even go into stores 'til next week," said Kaori.

"True," Riko replied, "But Kohana's dad works at the place where they made the video game, and she managed to pull a few strings for you two." The twins hugged her tightly.

"Riko, you're the best!" Miya exclaimed.

Kaori added in, "Yeah, you rock!"

Riko smiled. "Well, I do try."

Kaori and Miya set the game up on their PlayStation2 and played for a while, Riko watching them most of the time and taking a break to do something else every now and then. Once they were done, though, they were almost immediately bored. "Riko, what else can we do?" asked Kaori.

Riko shrugged. "Whatever you guys feel like, I guess," she said.

That was when Miya got an idea: "Can we go to the Feudal era for a while?" she asked, perking up a little.

Her sister had an unsure look on her face. "I don't know, guys," she said, "I mean, Mom and Dad could be back soon and I don't want anything to happen." Then she acted out a demonstration of what she would say if something did happen: "Oh, sorry, Mom, Kaori's not here. He's back in the Feudal era getting his wounds healed by Kaede because a giant, ferocious demon kicked him in his--"

"Pleeeeease?" Miya begged. Then she gave her sister a pair of big, sad, puppy dog eyes, knowing that that was one of her only weaknesses.

"Guys," Riko said with a huff, "I can't take you. I'm expecting Silver to come here to help me watch you two."

"Surprise him," said Kaori, "He'll probably be happy that you came to him instead."

"Guys..."

"Just give us ten minutes?" Miya suggested.

"Uh--"

Then they both gave her a puppy-dog-pout.

Riko sighed. "Fine. But when I say we're leaving, we're leaving. You two got that?" The twins nodded, happy that they were able to defeat their older sister. "Listen, if there's anything you have to bring with you for whatever reason, go get it now."

Kaori and Miya nodded again. "Yes, ma'am," they both said before going off to their rooms to get their things.

After they left, Riko hung her head with a sigh. "When will I ever learn?"

uh, maybe I'll stop there for now. but I promise, chapter 4 will be up ASAP

till then! ; )