"Wow, what is this stuff?"
Nicole raised an eyebrow, looking at the little kitsune as he drank down a 12th glass of the liquid she had given him. He grinned, holding it out again, and she sighed, pouring another glass.
"It's called water." She said dryly
Shipp frowned, sniffing the water. "No…it can't be! I've had water before…this tastes so good!" He gulped down another glass and let out a burp. He licked his lips happily. "Is it magic?"
"Ya." Nicole said with a smirk. "The magical fairies from France purify the water then sell it to snotty Americans and us filthy rich people for an arm and a leg."
Shippo paused, looking at his glass. He then looked at Nicole, smiling. "What kind of fairies?"
"Sorry Nicole…seems sarcasm is something else I need to teach Shippo about." Kagome said with a smile.
"You can also teach him what happens to your bladder when you drink 12 glasses of water." She glanced at Shippo, who was suddenly quite pale. "Let me put a towel under ya chico…this is brand new leather."
"How the hell can you afford this?" Ian/Inuyasha asked. "I mean…who are you?"
"In this life or my past one?"
Mark sighed, leaning back. "Is it sad that I don't find that question crazy?" He paused, watching his hand 'walk' towards Sandy's behind. He quickly swatted it away before she noticed, though he did frown when Kirara stared at him, getting ready to meow. He drew his finger across his throat and she understood, settling for happily laying on her master's lap.
Nicole looked up at the ceiling of the limo, closing her eyes, a soft smile on her face. "I was born Neko, the cat youkai, of a tribe from the north. That was 595 years ago, but we will say 600 to round up. For 87 years, I lived in a pride with my family and friends, hunting and generally living a normal youkai life. Then came the argument."
A dark shadow passed over the young woman's face, and for a moment, Kagome could have sworn she had transformed back into her feline self. But the dark look passed, and she was human once more.
"After that argument, I left my pride and went out on my own. I was still young in demon terms…still stupid. For 7 years I lived all alone, living off the land, becoming more wild, more of an animal. Then Naraku attacked me…and Ryu saved my life. We mated shortly after, and after a botched attempt to kill all of you…" She flashed a weak grin that caused everyone but Kagome to shiver slightly. "I was reborn."
"And in this life?"
Nicole smiled, leaning back. "In this life, I am Nicole Lopez, born in Detroit, Michigan…that's in America…and raised by two great parents."
"Wait." Sandy said, raising an eyebrow. "Lopez…why do I recognize the name Nicole Lopez?"
"Madam, we are here."
Nicole nodded, grateful to ignore Sandy's question. "thank you." She turned to the group. "We're at our apartment."
"'our'?" Mark asked.
"Mine and Ryan's." Nicole said calmly. She stood up, bending her back to let her be able to leave the limo with relative ease, then helped the rest of the group out. They all looked up, their jaws slack, at the towering upscale apartment complex.
"Loaded." Ian said quietly. "They try to kill us, get a penthouse. We kill demons, we live in an orphanage. I hate the gods."
&&&
"Uh…you might want to close your mouths."
The group kept them open.
Nicole and Ryan's apartment was so huge that huge wasn't even a good word to use to describe it. It was bigger the first floor of Kagome's house. The group had entered the living room, which had fine wood flooring that stretched out as far as the eye could see, tasteful rugs places in a few key spots. The walls were white, display cases littering their surfaces with odds and ends that they couldn't make out form their position. There was a leather couch and recliner surrounded the entertainment system that featured a plasma TV and stereo system. Just to the left of that was a door leading to a balcony overlooking the Tokyo cityscape.
the kitchen and dining room were on a raised level that separated them from the living room. There were no walls, giving the main area a larger feel, not that it needed it. A large cherry oak table and chairs revealed the American influence that Ryan and Nicole had. There would be no kneeling on the floor for them. Their kitchen, from what they could see, was state of the art, with top of the line appliances.
"When you said you were loaded…" Ian/Inuyasha said quietly.
Shippo grunted, dancing about the ground, his eyes nearly watering. "Where is your…your…" He struggled, trying to remember that word Kagome had taught him. He let out a sob of frustration.
"The bathroom is through that door." Nicole said.
Shippo darted forward, running into an open room…and Nicole gasped. "That is the closet! Get out of there!" She ran after the kitsune, screaming something about not destroying her shoes.
The others slowly made their way into the living room, checking it out. Mark was looking over the TV, marveling at it's design and how beautiful it was. Kagome was gently pressing her hand into the leather of the couch, shocked at it's soft, silky feel. She had always thought people were just exaggerating when they described leather being smooth and super soft…but now she knew the truth. She resisted the urge to leap onto the furniture and just fall asleep.
"Oh…my….god." Iad said, staring into the cupboards.
"Ian! That isn't polite!"
"Some much ramen!" He said, his eyes nearly flying out of his skull. Not just ramen…but all sorts of rice dishes. And below that, soups and mixes. He ran to another cupboard, and groaned, taking in the junk food. "Once again, I hate the gods!" He said, frustration mixed with envy.
Sandy was staring in shock at one of the display cases, her eyes wide, her hand gently pressing against the glass. Nicole emerged form the bathroom, holding Shippo like he was a bag of trash.
"Someone take the kit here." She said with disdain. "and would you mind teaching him the difference between a toilet and a bath tub."
"Shippo!" kagome shouted, grabbing him. He blushes, looking up at Kagome, embarrassed.
"I'm sorry Kagome…but I was about to explode, and then she got mad, and shoved me in the bathroom, and then I looked for the big bowl, just like you said, and I saw that tub thing and that was the biggest bowl…what are you looking at Sango?" Shippo shifted gears, leaping out of Kagome's arms and ran over to where Sandy was standing. Kirara leapt off of Sandy's shoulder, moving over to nuzzle Nicole's leg.
"Seems she senses feline DNA." Nicole said. Kirara hissed and nipped her finger, then licked the wound. "…that was for me turning Sango into a demon and making you evil, right?" Kirara meowed and Nicole nodded. "Then we are even."
"Sango…" Shippo said, tapping her head lightly with his little fist
"sandy." She said quietly. "Are these real?"
Nicole glanced over Sandy's shoulder and nodded. "Yea, those are my medals."
"Your 2 gold medals." She turned around and looked at the woman. "Two Olympic gold medals…you won gold at the Olympics?"
Kagome gasped. "Is that true!"
Nicole shrugged. "Gymnastics, for team and individual."
"I knew I recognized your name!" Sandy said, running over to her. "You are the Nicole Lopez that won America the gold two years ago…you got a perfect ten on the balance beam!"
"Cats always land on their feet." Nicole said, shrugging off her accomplishments. "Oh, are you guys hungry?" She walked over to wear Ian/Inuyasha was drooling, staring at an ice cream cake he had just found. It wasn't ramen…but it looked so good…. "Let's just…cut this open, shall we? Before you turn my apartment into a pool." He merely nodded.
"You're rather…humble." Mark said. "I would think that if you are as rich and famous as you appear to be…that you would be…"
"Showing off?" She said. She turned to get a knife, and paused, glancing up to see Mark's eyes glued to her ass. "My face is up here Miroku."
"Mark."
"Mark is the teen that asked the question…Miroku is the perverted chico staring at my behind. Only my fiancée can look at that." She took out some plates and began to slice the frozen treat up. "And yea, I am humble. Me and Ryan are grateful for our second chance at life, so we aren't going to go risking it by being asses. We know what it's like to have bad lives, so we try not to tempt the gods." She held out a slice of cake. "Who's hungryyyyyyyy!" Nicole let out a cry as she was trampled, the teens rushing to get a slice.
"Thanks!" They all shouted, attacking their treat. Nicole smiled and took a slice for herself. She was about to ask them what the hell was going on, and how Kagome had met up with what Nicole assumed were the reincarnations of her friends, when she heard the door swing open.
Ryan entered, setting his guitar case down. He wore a tattered leather coat and a pair of black leather pants with flames racing along each leg. He sighed and let the door slam shut. "The concert was wild, love, I wish you could have been there." He walked up to her, giving her a kiss. "Hello Kagome….uh, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Shippo and Kirara." He shrugged, and pulled off his coat and shirt. Sandy and Kagome froze, eyes glued to his rock hard chest, sweat making his pecs glisten in the lights of the apartment. He walked over to the couch and flipped on the TV, still standing. "Any good shows on?"
"Uh..Ryan?" Nicole asked.
"Nope." He then reached for his buckle and began to undo his pants.
"What are you doing?" Ian/Inuyasha shouted.
Ryan smirked. "You guys are all hallucinations. There is no way you can be in this time. I must be pretty buzzed form that second encore." He grinned, a wicked gleam in his eye. "So, get down here Nicole and let's burn off some tension." He grabbed Nicole and pulled her onto his lap. "Always wanted to try this with people watching! Granted, you can't see them…"
"Uh, Ryan…they are real."
Ryan blinked. "…really?"
"No, we aren't!" Sandy said, her eyes glazed over. "You can go ahead and get undressed.
"And you call me a lecher." Mark grumbled. "Though, I wouldn't mind seeing Nicole…"
"It's true Ryan." Kagome said. "Nicole found us…and offered to help us."
Ryan looked at them, and quickly rebuttoned his pants, then covered himself up with his shirt. "Well….this is kinda awkward."