New chapter.

Sorry, no responses tonight. Or long author's notes. I'm posting this as fast as I can, beacause I REALLY have to go to bed. School tomorrow. Blegh.

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Sugarsprite.

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The lake is tranquil and calm today, even though it makes a strange shhhhing noise, which startled me greatly upon my arrival to my summer home yesterday night.

Ever since my implant has been switched on, the world's been an inspiration to me. Who would have known that refrigerators make growling noises? Or that telephones make a 'Tling Tling,' sound before they're picked up? Or that men have much deeper voices than females? Or that crickets make a 'shreeep shreep' noise all night.

Everything's so interesting.

And mysterious.

And Kagome's coming today.

With her family, but still, I get to see her.

My parents have organized a five day party for all those involved in my operation. We're all coming to the big house on the shore where we'll meet, but then I get to take the Higurashis, Miroku and Sango to Taisho Island, our private isle in the middle of the lake.

I usually am the one to spend the most time on Taisho Island. It's small, only a quarter of a mile long, and half that wide, but still, it's pretty much my summer lair, where I can be alone whenever I want.

I hear a crunching noise and a growl. I jump, turn around, finding the source of the noise to be Miroku and Sango arriving in his car. I wonder how he convinced her to be trapped in his car for two hours.

They get out, and slam the door, making me flinch. As much as I love noises; loud ones have no appeal to me. I remember the pleasure I had slamming them in my house, causing my parents considerable displeasure.

I can only grunt in response to the new noises. No eloquent replies, just "Uhhhg?" and "Uhhhg..." and "Uhhhg."

Sango and Miroku both sign and speak, so they do both when they talk to me. As Miroku is my audiologist, and Sango is my speech therapist, they both agree that gradual emersion is the way to go with me.

"Hehloh!" says Sango. "Hello." She signs. "Thank you for inviting us!"

"Yer wehlkum." Says father.

'Yer wehlkum.' A proper response to the sounds 'Thahnk yoo'. 'Thahnk yoo's' equivalent being the sign when you take your outstretched hand bring it down from our lips. 'Thahnk yoo' thank you.

At least I'm learning.

"Hey Inuyasha" speak/signs Miroku. "How's the implant?"

"A little overwhelming."

"Ah, you'll get used to it."

"I still can't talk." I sign, "It's annoying."

"You will." speak/signs Sango, "We're going to start therapy this weekend."

My father smiles, not having understood half of the conversation, and says something like: "Kum wiv me. Eye'll shoh yoo ware yoor rooms arr. Eenooyasha my name! I understand it!! haz been wayting all day for his gests, and eye ecspekt he'll wanna wayt for the others"

I watch while Sango and Miroku are lead into the house by my father, leaving me alone on the porch.

I walk around to the corner, where the porch looks over the lake. It's pretty. The water is calm, with a few tranquil waves dancing about on the surface. A seabird flies about, making a cawing sound as it dips its wings along the surface of the water. I sigh, Which makes a 'haaaahhhhh' sound, I've discovered. and sit on one of the big deckchairs on the porch. When is she going to come?

Kagome.

I wonder what her name sounds like. I know mine's Eenooyasha, but I've never heard anyone say hers... or maybe they have, and I just don't know what it sounds like.

The crunch or tires on gravel makes my implant loose all the noises from the lake.

The Higurashis.

They're here.

Dr. Higurashi opens the front door of her old looking minivan, and opens the passenger doors, allowing her brood to descend from the vehicle.

Souta comes out first. The little kid looks as though another few minutes with his teenaged sisters would have ended with him disemboweled and thrown off on a highway somewhere. A very annoyed Kikyo walks out next, dressed in hip-huggers and a white tee-shirt.

Whoa.

She actually looks... nice. Like, normal, nice. Like, nice in a way that means she's not looking at me like I'm the one who's going to give her a secure, rich life. She smile and waves at me.

Kagome walks out from around the other side, a light blue, knee length sundress gracing her delicate frame. She catches my eye and smiles at me. A secret smile. A smile that makes me feel...

Wait! REALITY CHECK, TAISHO INUYASHA.

It was a kiss goodbye. It didn't mean anything, just goodbye. You shouldn't be feeling that. It was nothing.

Just goodbye.

Kagome walks up to me, "Are you any better than when I last saw you?"

"Yes." I sign. "A lot better, thank you."

She smiles again "And your hair's different."

Oh yeah. My hair.

It's currently longish, black, and pulled back into a ponytail, hiding the spot the doctors had to shave off a bit from behind my ear. I luckily have enough hair to cover the short spot. But it looks different than the last time she saw me with it visible, which was when I was hiding from Miroku in Sango's office. The other times I had a huge bandage covering most of my head.

"Yeah, it's not very nice looking, and the bad thing is I'll just have to wait until it grows back."

"I actually like it. You look older."

"You like it?" She likes it? Remind me to pull it back more often. "Well... do you want to come inside?"

"That would be lovely." She signs.

What if...

It would never hurt to try...

I offer her my arm.

She takes it without any hesitation.

Things... they can only get a better, can't they?

I take her hand in my own. Her hand is cool and dry; it seems so tiny in my palm that I'm scared it'll break.

She squeezes my hand.

I catch her eye. She smiles up at me and we walk inside.

And this is only Monday.

I have six more days. And I love everything.

Especially her.