My Daughter!
Chapter 9: Like Mother, Like Daughter
Shinta walked into the room and found Haruko-san folding papers. Which was strange since that was Mila's hobby. She seemed very concentrated and he coughed in his fist to get her attention. She quickly looked up at him and gave a small smile. Shinta smiled back, "The tailor will take a few more minutes but he will be here soon."
Haruko nodded and turned back to her work. Feeling uncomfortable, he took a seat across the table from her. The room was quite small but it was big enough for a lot of people to mingle in. "Is—Is that a paper crane?" he asked, needing the silence to be broken.
Haruko looked up at him again and smiled, "Hai. Your brother, Mila-kun, showed me how. He'll be back anytime now, he just went to get more papers."
"Hn." Shinta thought, how strange. Mila was usually the bashful one in the family. He barely even spoke to anyone. But now it seemed that he was opening up to someone, a girl at that.
"Ah, brother!" he turned around to see Mila looking surprised at him, he had a stack of papers in his arms and he smiled shyly, "I didn't hear you come in." with that, he walked to Haruko's side and put the papers down on the table.
"Hey." Haruko greeted with a welcoming smile. Mila smiled back and sat beside the hanyou girl. "Oh, wait, what's that?" she nodded to Mila's back where there was a paper rose on his belt.
"Oh this? It's just a paper rose." Mila took it out and showed it to her, smiling. "I made it earlier. Do you like it, Haruko-san?"
"Hai!" she smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "It's really attractive!" she complimented.
Mila blushed and smiled wider, "Well, then, you can have it."
"What? Me?" Haruko asked with a smile, pointing to herself in disbelief.
"Hai!" Mila nodded happily, "Consider it as my gift to you."
"Arigatou, Mila-kun! That's so sweet of you!" Haruko said with a wide smile, accepting the paper rose. She stared at it for a while then put it behind her ear, making her look like a doll with a rose. "I'll keep it safe." She promised.
Shinta sat still, watching the two speak to each other. Mila had never talked so much before. He couldn't remember a day that Mila said so many things and smiled so many times. What changed his brother?
"Excuse me, Shinta-san, Mila-san. I have arrived." They all turned to the door and saw a pretty young woman, maybe as old as Shinta who wore a beautiful red kimono and had with her a basket of all the things needed, including the dress.
"Ah, Arisa-san, welcome. Please come in." Shinta politely stood and bowed to the attractive woman. Arisa bowed back and came in, quickly setting up the workspace. Shinta turned to Haruko who, by now, had put down the papers and smiled goodbye to Mila. "Haruko-san, come here please." He called gently.
Haruko politely smiled at him and stood to come closer. Arisa looked up at her and smiled, she smiled back. "I'd like you to wear this, Haruko-sama." She said, taking out an all white kimono top. (A/N: I don't know what the heck its name is, sorry) Haruko put it on and smiled.
"I like it." She said softly. "But I can't wear that." She gestured to the skirt.
Arisa raised a brow at her and asked, "Is it not to your liking?"
"Oh no, it's not that. I'm just…not used to wearing skirts." She said, "I usually wear pants." She admitted. Spending her life in training, with the boys and years alone with her father was enough of an influence to make her wear men's clothes more often than girls.
"Oh?" Arisa said, a bit offended. She was acting like a princess and it made Arisa very annoyed.
"It's alright, Arisa-san." Shinta smiled, "Let's just make it into pants." He looked at Haruko's cold expression but found it shattered for she was biting her lower lip.
"Alright." Arisa said through gritted teeth. No one had known this but Arisa was also attracted to Shinta. He was one of the most handsome men in the village and he was responsible and intelligent. An eligible bachelor, so to speak. He was a warm man but never opened up to anybody. Almost every woman in the village wanted him. Including her. And right now, she was a little jealous of the hanyou girl, but she wouldn't admit to that anytime soon.
Suddenly, while they were working quietly, Shippou and Kayo came running around into the room. They were playing tag and were squealing with delight as Shippou kept changing forms and Kayo kept finding him! Getting intoxicated by the childish mirth, as if it was a contagious virus, Haruko started laughing loudly. She instinctively covered her mouth as a princess should and tried to subdue her giggles.
She didn't notice how her laughter attracted Shinta's full attention. Instead of reprimanding Kayo for disturbing them like he should, he found himself staring at Haruko's smile. Only, she quickly covered it with her sleeve, the one that covered her hands. He would find a way around that.
He turned to Arisa and said, "Can you make the sleeves shorter, Arisa-san?"
"The sleeves, Shinta-sama?"
"Hai." He turned to Haruko who was still smiling at the children, and soon a smile appeared on his face. "Definitely the sleeves."
"YOU'RE CRAZY!" Inu-yasha said, waving the girl away, wishing she would just leave him alone. But Kagome persisted, following him as he walked away.
"Please, Inu-yasha! Please! Promise me you won't wish to be a youkai!"
"HELL NO!"
"Pretty please?"
"No! Where the hell do you come up with these things!"
"Please just promise me Inu!"
"NO!"
"Please, Inu-yasha, I'll do anything!" Kagome pleaded, stopping in front of him, successfully blocking his way. Inu-yasha leaned closer to her, stopping when she was already blushing since they were face-to-face, noses almost touching. He glared down at her, why was she making him promise this all of a sudden?
"Anything?" he asked suspiciously. Was it so important to her?
"Anything!" she looked and sounded desperate enough. But no! This is important for him too! He wouldn't give up his dream of finally becoming a youkai! He would finally be treated either with fear, or as an equal! No one would ever look at him as a curse again!
But Kagome was really starting to annoy him. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. Something that would go his way either way. He grinned wide and pulled back, straightening his stance. "Well then, if you do this one thing, I'll promise I won't wish to be a youkai."
"What? What?" Kagome asked anxiously. She would definitely do anything! She was determined! No matter what it could be!
"You have to…" Inu-yasha started, "Kiss Sesshoumaru."
"What!"
"On the lips."
"What!"
"Under the full moon."
"WHAT?"
"In you underwear."
"WHAAAAT!"
"Would you stop that already!" Inu-yasha looked annoyed but was laughing triumphantly inside. He knew Kagome would never do anything like that, so she wouldn't be bothering him. And he wouldn't have to promise her anything! It was a win-win situation! I'm so smart, he thought.
"But Inu-yasha—" Kagome pleaded.
"No! It's either you kiss Sesshoumaru on the lips under the full moon in your underwear or I won't promise anything!" he declared stubbornly, crossing his arms proudly.
"Sit!" thump! "Inu-yasha!" Kagome started, her fists becoming white knuckled. How could he ask her to do such a thing! How could he! He was such a hentai! He knew she would never do anything like that! So infuriated was she that she couldn't even look for the words to say to him. She shook in anger and found only one word to say, "Sit!" thump!
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