Last Chapter on Isn't Life Juicy: Rin Meirou, the owner of the hip new smoothie shop Kajuu Juusu's, has mixed feelings about her young employees. She's glad that they're all so energetic, but she's not so sure about all of them already being acquainted with one another. It seems all of them were on bad terms to begin with: Kagome Higurashi and InuYasha Takahashi have disliked each other before they even met. -- and their best friends, Sango Taijiya and Miroku Houshi, aren't getting along very well…or maybe it's just that Miroku is getting along with Sango too well. They're causing a lot of trouble for Rin and the manager, Kaede Imouto. But they'll have to learn to work together because Kajuu Juusu's is about to open!
Author's Note: Here it is -- the long awaited chapter for Isn't Life Juicy? I am so sorry for the long wait, but so many things had been keeping me from writing. School, friends, family -- the usual. I wasn't even sure that I was ever going to update this! But I've been finding myself with some free time this summer, so hopefully I could start writing again and start to finish up this fanfiction -- because that's really what my true goal is: to completely finish a story that I've written. So many times I've given up, started new stories, or just completely abandon a story. But there's something about this story that motivates me to continue writing -- and that's what I want to do. So here it is, finally -- the second chapter of Isn't Life Juicy? I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha or any of these characters.
A n I n u Y a s h a F a n f i c t i o n
Isn't Life Juicy?
An Alternate Universe Pairing Fanfiction
Kagome & InuYasha – Sango & Miroku
By Aienkien-Jitsuni
Isn't Life Juicy?
CHAPTER TWO
How to Make an Osuwari Smoothie
The air was filled with tension around the Sengoku Jidai Outlet Mall. Colorful and attractive flyers were scattered all around the city and many people were anticipating the arrival of the mall's new soon-to-be hot spot: Kajuu Juusu's. Rin Meirou couldn't possibly wait. As the energetic owner of the smoothie joint, she was just itching to open the glass doors and announce to Tokyo that they have arrived -- with smoothies! The wait was practically torture for her because, in just a couple of hours, all of the work, sweat, and tears that she had put into the smoothie business was going to finally pay off and all come together. She could just imagine it…
The smoothie shop was buzzing with all of its customers -- some were ordering and some were sitting in bright red stools against the window, while others sat in the comfy lime green couches of the seating area. Everyone was smiling, satisfied and pleased with their smoothies. The lively, multicolored lights brightened up the whole atmosphere of the shop -- and everyone seemed happy and content, sipping on their Passion Fruit Smash Iced Tea Drink or their Lemonade Smoothie. The kitchen and the front counter sounded busy, with blending sounds and…
"YOU JERK! You messed up this whole batch of strawberry smoothies! Now I have to do it all over again!"
"KEH! Like hell anyone would drink one of your nasty smoothies."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? InuYasha, how many smoothies have you made!"
"…I've made a lot."
"I meant smoothies that were DRINKABLE?"
"WHAT D'YA MEAN? THEY ARE DRINKABLE!"
"If you call VOMIT-COLORED smoothies drinkable…well, then I'm not surprised."
"YOU BITCH! I am more than happy to let you know that many people have tried my damn smoothies!"
"Uh…yeah…and threw up!"
"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY WENCH?"
"I'm saying that they took one sip of your smoothies, ran away, and were screaming at the top of their freakin' lungs -- 'THEIR POISONING US WITH EVIL SMOOTHIES! EVERYONE WILL DIE FROM THESE! RUN AWAYYYYYYYY!' That's what I'm trying to say. I mean, I can't believe you didn't even hear that with your dog-demon ears!"
"…KEH! You're still a wench!"
"YOU INSUFFERABLE JERK…how many times do I have to say it? IT'S KAGOME. KA-GO-ME!"
"C'mon guys, this isn't the time to fight! We've got customers here…and you're causing a scene…actually a lot of them have started staring at you guys."
"My darling Sango is right! We must put aside those differences and embrace each other!"
"AHH! HENTAI!"
(Smack!)
"I was only doing what you told them to do, my lovely Sango!"
"I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO EMBRACE MY BACKSIDE!"
…and the sounds of four employees scaring all of the happy customers away.
Rin was an optimist and always thought positively in situations like this. But still, she couldn't help but worry about her employees and whether or not the opening day for Kajuu Juusu's was going to be a success or end up in an utter and complete failure. Her co-workers after all were a half-dog demon that needed a crash course in anger management and in manners, an opinionated girl that you'd be afraid to get in an argument with, a perverted hentai that couldn't keep his hands off of anything that had breasts, and a tough girl whose strength of a mere smack will send you flying.
They had to be the strangest bunch of teenagers that Ms. Meirou had ever seen.
And even though that was true -- she had to put all of her faith and trust in them…
Because really, no one else did.
Kaede Imouto expertly eyed just the right amount of sugar and quickly added it into the mix of chopped fruits, berries, and herbs. She then added a couple cups of crushed ice and finally blended them all together with the switch of a button.
The elderly woman suspiciously looked from one side to the other. She was working in the main part of the shop, while the rest of the other employees were working in the kitchen.
It was quiet…too quiet.
And then, as if on cue, an argument could be heard from shouting, to yelling, and name-calling (things like "wench!", "you jerk!" and "It's Ka-go-me!" -- Kaede even swore she could even hear some growling coming from the half-demon). Loud clangs and noisy crashes started to erupt out of nowhere. Kaede winced at the thought of them ruining the smoothie shop's kitchen, which was most likely what they were doing at that moment. Then, as things finally started quieting down (probably because the girl and the hanyou ran out of breath from all of the yelling), there was a loud smack sound and a shriek of "HENTAI!" Before you know it, it all started up again.
Kaede rubbed at her temples because her head was throbbing. She was way too old to be babysitting a bunch of teenagers. She sighed heavily and pondered on how she could fix this problem. The opening of Kajuu Juusu's was tomorrow, and even though she had been training them for two weeks, she still wasn't sure if they were going to ever put aside their differences -- let alone pull this off. Naturally with Kaede being a shrine priestess, she would have had faith in everything and everyone, regardless of the situation. Yet the old miko couldn't even muster up any ounce of faith from within her -- and when a priestess, or any religious figure that's basically required to have faith in everyone, gives up on you. Well, you're screwed.
So Kaede gave up and clamped her hands together.
She closed her eyes and deeply prayed with all of her heart.
She prayed that she would somehow find a babysitter for them.
The elderly woman desperately needed one.
But as she was pleading with Kami-sama, she overheard (well, not really because they were screaming) a little bit of -- surprise, surprise -- yet another argument from the girl and the half-demon.
"ARGH! You are such an annoying dog!"
"WHAT DID'YA CALL ME WENCH?"
"Well, you ARE a half-dog demon. I think that title serves you well!"
"You bitch…why I should…"
"Should what? Fetch this spoon? GO INUYASHA! FETCH THE SPOON!"
"OOOOOH SPOON! I mean…YOU WENCH!"
Kaede's prayers were answered and joyous tears were streaming down her eyes. Her headache went away and she finally felt determined to solve this problem, now that she was finally enlightened.
She quietly thanked Kami-sama and smiled to herself while working on her next smoothie. The elderly priestess knew she wouldn't find a babysitter for her teenage employees, but she had something better for them anyway…
"Oh Dear Kami-sama…" Rin sighed to herself exasperatedly. She watched helplessly as a blender exploded -- with a main hanyou at fault and a pink lemonade smoothie mess all over the infuriated raven-haired girl's face (how the half-dog demon managed to blow up the brand new blender…Rin would never be able to figure out).
The usually vibrant woman was all out of energy -- and it was only an hour or two after they had just opened, Kajuu Juusu's. Due to all of the hype and advertising, the grand opening was actually going pretty well, even better than what both Rin and Kaede had expected.
Any person who had just opened up their own business or shop would love to be able to say that their first day of opening was a success. Rin would have loved to celebrate, to relax even. If only Rin didn't have to worry about her own employees.
She stared at InuYasha and Kagome, arguing for the 57th time that morning. Rin didn't even know it was even possible for two people to dislike each other that much, let alone argue that many times. Then she glanced at Miroku and Sango, who were supposed to be working the cash registers -- but they were too busy physically touching each other (the pervert kept groping her, while she slapped him in the face) to actually give the customer the right amount of change.
Rin probably had spent more time keeping an eye on her own employees than her customers. But maybe she should be more grateful -- at least the customers weren't running away like in the nightmares she had last night. They were actually having a good show out of it (they even gave tips for when InuYasha and Kagome started fighting, or when Miroku groped Sango and got punched in the face for it).
Rin found Kaede walking towards the arguing couple. 'Thank Kami-sama! Maybe those two will finally quiet down a bit…I wonder why she's carrying a beaded-necklace?'
The chestnut-eyed woman stopped wondering, tucked her wild black hair behind her ears, and started to get back to work. She was mentally and physically exhausted, and yet she still had a whole day's work ahead of her.
But with her never failing optimism, she looked on the bright side of things.
At least Kajuu Juusu's didn't burn down to the ground.
And with the kind of employees she had…
Well, she should just thank Kami-sama that she was so lucky.
Kagome Higurashi was the unluckiest girl in the world.
She was failing history.
She hated her job.
Her face was covered in pink lemonade smoothie gunk.
And it was all because of that unbearable, intolerable, arrogant, self-centered JERK!
"INUYASHAAAAAAAA!" The raven-haired girl screamed at the silver-haired hanyou, who covered his puppy dog ears from the volume of her voice.
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SHOUTING!" InuYasha growled back at her as he gently massaged his throbbing ears. Kagome screamed in frustration as she pointed at her sticky, smoothie-covered face.
"YOU SEE THIS? THIS IS ALLYOUR FAULT!" Her chocolate brown eyes were fierce -- and were burning holes right though the half-dog demon.
"MY FAULT? IT'S NOT MY FAULT THAT YOU WERE STANDING THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE! YOU COULD'VE BEEN STANDING ANYWHERE ELSE, BUT NOOOOOOO YOU HAD TO STAND THERE. THAT," InuYasha pointed at the pink lemonade goo on Kagome's face, "IS ALLYOUR FAULT!"
"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! INUYASHA, LOOK AT MY FACE!" Kagome could not believe this guy -- was he really serious? What kind of lame excuse was that!
"I'M LOOKING AT IT! HOW COULD I MISS IT! IT'S THE UGLIEST THING I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE!" InuYasha shouted back at the raven-haired girl, clearly not accepting responsibility for his actions (or prepared for the consequences of his actions).
Kagome had just about enough.
The raven-haired girl grabbed a couple of stray strands of silver hair from the hanyou and yanked them real hard.
"OW! WENCH, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" InuYasha screeched in pain but Kagome ignored him as she gave him a brown-eyed death glare.
"Listen here, you thick-headed, egotistical, dim-witted JERK…" Kagome said this in a low, creepy murderous voice that sent chills down the half-dog demon. InuYasha gulped as the girl's grip on his hair became tighter and tighter. He was done for.
"For THE last and final time, my name is Kagome…KA-GO-"
"Kagome. I think that's enough torture for now." Kaede Imouto said calmly as she gently removed Kagome's hands from InuYasha's hair. Kagome was stunned by the interruption while InuYasha was grateful for the old hag's presence for once in his life.
Meanwhile, in the background, the customers that served as an audience were deeply disappointed with the interference -- but gave the two teens a tip anyway since it was a good show while it lasted (though they were really looking forward to Kagome murdering InuYasha).
Kagome quickly started bowing down profusely while apologizing. "Ms. Imouto -- Gomen nesai! I'm so, so sorry for having that kind of unacceptable behavior! It's just that --"
"InuYasha is immature and intolerable? Ye should not worry about it, my child. Besides, I find that to be perfect behavior -- especially around him." Kaede said kindly as she put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. InuYasha's gratitude toward the old woman immediately disappeared.
"What did you say old hag?" InuYasha questioned the manager rudely, but she just ignored him as she pushed the two of them into the kitchen.
In the kitchen, Kagome and InuYasha were staring at two orange concoctions on the stainless steel counter.
"What the hell is this?" InuYasha inquired Kaede again in the same disrespectful manner -- but she stood there calmly and seemed unfazed.
"T-This is uh…a new smoothie recipe I tried out and I wanted both of ye to be the first to taste test it!" Kaede stammered slightly, covering it up with an ol' innocent eye-patched smile. The two teenagers didn't notice.
"I'm parched! I'm sure this is just another one of your delicious recipes, Ms. Imouto!" Kagome said politely as she took the glass thoughtlessly. InuYasha eyed it suspiciously.
"Keh, it probably tastes like crap!" The half-demon said crudely, but nevertheless he took the glass and sniffed it -- Kaede thought she was done for, since InuYasha had such an amazing dog-like ability of sniffing things out -- but she was relieved when he finally took a long, hypocritical gulp of her orange smoothie mix.
After both of them had finished the orange drink, Ms. Imouto had started to chuckle maniacally -- amazed at her own brilliance. She even started to do a little victory jig around the two teenagers, who didn't even know what they had just gotten themselves into.
"BWAHAHAHAHAAHAHA-breathe-HAHAHAHAAHAHA!
YE FELL FOR IT, YE DIMWITS!"
But of course, that was in her mind.
Still, she couldn't help chuckle at them. The two oblivious teens looked at her, curious to what she was laughing at. One certain teenager was more vocal than the other about it.
"What the hell are ya laughing about, old hag?" InuYasha inquired ungratefully. Kagome just tilted her head to the side a bit, wondering as well what their manager was chuckling at. Kaede just smiled and suddenly pulled out what looked like a large, beaded necklace.
"…" Kaede just continued smiling smugly, waiting patiently for their reactions.
"…" Kagome had no idea what it was -- but had never seen such a smug old lady before.
"…" InuYasha was just speechless for once in his half-demon life.
Kagome was finally the one who spoke up.
"Uh…that's nice jewelry you got there, Ms. Imouto." Kagome said pleasantly, trying to get a conversation going. She was as clueless as ever.
"It is, isn't it?" Kaede said, still grinning like a crazy old lady. "It used to belong to someone I know...and put him in his place. I've decided to give it back to him."
"…" InuYasha still wouldn't say anything.
"Oh, well…it's really great and everything…but what has it got to do with us?" Kagome asked again. Poor girl, she was still lost.
"Well, it has everything to do with you two." Kaede said, beaming.
"…" InuYasha couldn't fully comprehend the situation.
"…" Kagome couldn't fully understand what was going on.
"…" And Kaede was just fully enjoying the whole thing --
In fact she hadn't had this much fun in years!
"So…" Kagome didn't know what to say.
"…"
"(smirk)"
"…" InuYasha wasn't saying a thing.
"Err…"
"…"
"(grin)" Kaede just kept on smiling.
"Um…"
"…"
"Err…"
"(smile)"
"Well.."
"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HOLDING THOSE GODDAMN ROSARY BEADS FOR!"
Finally, Kaede had gotten the reaction she had been waiting for while Kagome had jumped at the sudden change in nature of the hanyou. He was quiet for so long and she didn't expect such a sudden shout like that.
The elderly woman chuckled again while she held out the beads toward the half-dog demon, who quivered in fear and took protection in hiding behind Kagome.
"Not so brave now are ye, InuYasha?" Kaede taunted as she kept teasing the cowering hanyou. "When Kikyou were here, ye were ecstatic when she gave you the necklace!"
"YOU AND THAT DAMN NECKLACE STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ME! GOT THAT OLD HAG?" InuYasha shouted to her, but he whimpered with fear as soon as Kaede got within three feet of him. Soon Kaede started to chase InuYasha all around the kitchen.
Kagome stood there for awhile and tried to figure out what was going on.
And all of a sudden she burst out laughing.
It was hard to concentrate while a fearing half-dog demon was being chased by an old lady with a beaded necklace. Kagome really wished she had a camera with her or something, because what she saw was truly priceless.
InuYasha noticed the girl laughing, and soon his face turned a bright shade of red, which made Kagome laugh even harder. "HEY WENCH! WHAD'YA LAUGHING AT!"
Kagome covered up her face and tried to suppress her laughter -- but it wasn't working. "Because…you're running away from an old lady…WITH BEADS! AHAHAHA!"
She couldn't contain herself anymore and she totally lost it.
"SHUT UP, WENCH!" InuYasha was sorry he had even asked and he felt his face was about to melt off from embarrassment -- but hell, he was not going to let that old hag near him with that necklace. Kikyou did it to him once, and he was not going to let some wench look-alike do it again.
Totally abandoning the wench as protection, he ran outside the kitchen and out the door, with his manager hot on his trail.
Kajuu Juusu's was a mad house. The smoothie place was packed with customers -- students, infants, kids, adults, elderly -- customers of all ages. Not to mention there was a long, messy line due to the incompetent teenagers that were working the cashier register, who were too busy with each other than with the customers (although the customers were pretty much enjoying the whole spectacle with the pervert and the pissed-off girl).
It didn't help that there was a hanyou running all over the place with an old lady chasing him with a bunch of beads.
Kagome saw all of this when she walked out of the kitchen -- and was immediately tempted to laugh her head off, but then she got a glance of her boss running all over the place -- completely overwhelmed and completely exhausted.
Trying to fix everything, Kagome immediately tried to solve the whole InuYasha-Kaede-Beads situation. The trouble was that she could hardly get over to them since they kept moving all over the place -- and they were pretty skilled at moving through the crowd. Kagome was even impressed, but she was determined to get them to stop. So after moving through a group of college kids, impatient adults, a bunch of highschool students, a table of elderly people, and rowdy group of little kids who were running all over the place, she finally reached them and tapped her manager on the shoulder.
"Hey, Ms. Imouto! How come InuYasha is so scared of that beaded necklace anyway?" Kagome asked, stopping her elderly manager in her tracks. InuYasha didn't miss the opportunity and quickly got away. Kaede sighed and turned to her young employee.
"Well, ye see this rosary is what can keep that half-dog demon in his place. When I put this around his neck, he will never be able to take it off." Kaede explained to her slowly.
Kagome understood and took the necklace from her, ready to put it around InuYasha's neck but Kaede put a hand on her shoulder before she could go anywhere.
"Ye must listen. Ye see…I had put a spell in the orange smoothies you two had drunk -- linking you two together." The elderly woman explained guiltily.
"YOU WHAT!" Kagome shouted in disbelief -- how could she be linked together with an arrogant jerk like InuYasha!
"Well, ye see…you two had been fighting quite a lot. I had decided that I would bring out this necklace again to put him back in his place -- so that maybe you two would stop fighting and arguing all the time."
Kagome was ready to pull out all of her raven hair in frustration, but she nodded, reluctantly defeated. They both couldn't do anything about it since they were in this crazy mess already -- it was too late to do anything now but to try and just go along with it.
"Okay, Ms. Imouto. What do I have to do exactly since I'm linked with that baka?" Kagome said unwillingly, still resolved to figure this out once and for all.
"For starters, ye have to get this necklace around his neck. Then, ye must say a word -- any word that would restrain him. Do ye understand?" Kaede said, offering the necklace to the teenage girl.
"Yes, I do." Kagome nodded her head solemnly and took the beads into her hand. Then she turned around to find the hanyou standing smugly on the other side of the room. Kagome had to get through all of the same people that she had before to get to him.
She took deep breaths, and went for it.
She pushed through the group of college kids, angered some of the impatient adults as she walked through them, practically ran over the bunch of highschool students, and almost trampled over the table of elderly people.
"Oh shit!" InuYasha had noticed her just as she had reached him. Kagome almost had him -- until the group of rowdy little kids saw her and decided that it would be fun to jump on her.
"ATTACK HER!" The leader of the noisy bunch said to his other little demonic friends and soon tiny arms and hands were grabbing a hold on her and jumping on top of her.
Kagome was nearly fed up but her brown eyes were filled with fierce determination, and just as she was about to fall with little kids grabbing onto her, and just before the half-dog demon escaped from her grasp, she slammed the necklace around his neck and shouted to everyone in the room, since she was practically sick of it all --
"OOOOOOOOOOOOSUUUUUUUWARIIIIIIIII! "
There was a big thud sound while Kagome landed on the floor with a bunch of brats sitting down on her. "AUGH! GET OFF OF ME!" She shouted at them. They quickly obeyed her and ran towards wherever their parents were. She was fed-the fuck-up.
"OKAY, THIS ISN'T A PLAYGROUND! PARENTS SHOULD KEEP A HOLD OF THEIR KIDS, GOT THAT!" Kagome shouted at the crowd of people in the smoothie place, nodding their heads because they weren't sure what she would do if they didn't.
"AND ALL OF YOU -- IN ONE SINGLE FILE LINE PLEASE. WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE LINE UP IN A MOB FORM?" The raven-haired girl shouted at the people who were supposedly waiting in a line. All of them soon fixed themselves up -- and there was one, long organized line. A voice behind the counter started to speak.
"Uh…Kagome? Aren't you getting just a little carried away…?" Sango asked carefully.
"WELL EXCUSE ME SANGO, BUT ATLEAST I'M NOT GETTING CARRIED AWAY WITH A CERTAIN PERVERT INSTEAD OF ACTUALLY WORKING. I MEAN, WE WOULDN'T HAVE THIS LINE IF YOU GUYS WERE ACTUALLY TAKING THEIR ORDERS!" Kagome scolded her best friend harshly. The customers were obviously getting a good show out of this and responded with a collective "Ooh!" Sango's face turned a dark shade of scarlet and cursed under her breath. Miroku smiled, rubbing it in -- but Sango punched him in the face partly because her best friend was right and partly because it was his fault.
"AND WHAT'S ALL THIS TRASH ON THE FLOOR, PEOPLE? WE'RE NOT RUNNING A MAID SERVICE HERE! THAT'S WHAT THE TRASH CANS ALL OVER THE PLACE ARE HERE FOR." Everyone immediately checked under the tables and on the floor for trash and threw it away -- and soon the place started to look nicer and not like such a mad house anymore. Kagome smiled sweetly, obviously happy now that everything was fixed.
"Now that wasn't so hard now, was it?" The raven-haired teenager asked the customers dangerously, and everyone immediately agreed with her.
"Good! Now if all of us will just sit down…" Kagome said, grabbing a chair for a little kid to sit in.
"NO! I don't want to!" The little boy shouted angrily, and Kagome's sweet brown eyes pierced right through him. The crowd just shook their heads, "Poor little boy…" they said to themselves, and quickly ducked under the tables for cover.
"I SAID OSUWARI!" Kagome shouted at the boy. Then, somewhere near the back of the room, there was this big thud sound as someone slammed down to the ground. The person struggled to get up.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR WENCH?" InuYasha shouted as he tried to get the beaded rosary necklace off. Kagome's eyes lit up at the sudden realization of what one word could really do. Completely forgetting about the little boy, who was probably going to have nightmares of evil monsters with raven hair and scary brown eyes, she skipped merrily over to the struggling hanyou.
"What did you call me, dear InuYasha?" Kagome beamed innocently. InuYasha stared at her incredulously.
"Are you deaf? I called you wench, you-"
"Osuwari! " Kagome interrupted.
InuYasha didn't even finish up his sentence as his face slammed down into the checkered floor. Kagome giggled like a little kid as she said the same word over and over again -- she was practically singing it.
"Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari! Osuwari!" The raven-haired girl sang, showing no mercy towards the half-demon.
"Uh…Kagome Higurashi?" Rin approached her dangerous employee cautiously, who seemed to enjoy causing pain and misery way too much. Kagome smiled sweetly, obviously unaware of her surroundings.
"Yes, Ms. Meirou?" The teenager said sweetly. The name of her boss snapped her back into reality. "Oh, yes -- Ms. Meirou?" Kagome stopped smiling and was now back in her 'normal' less crazy state.
"I would really love to thank you for getting Kajuu Juusu's all organized and everything -- except for the fact that you've basically scared all of our customers and yelled at and even tortured your own co-workers." Rin explained, smiling nervously. Kagome looked around her, and a lot of the customers were hiding, some of the little kids were crying, and InuYasha's face seemed permanently glued to the floor -- he was unconscious by the look of it.
"Gomen, gomen, gomen nesai! I am so, so sorry Ms. Meirou!" Kagome started to bow incessantly and apologize like crazy. "I swear, I absolutely swear this won't happen again. I don't even know what had gotten into me! Onegai…please, I'm begging you --just don't fire me!"
Rin looked down at her employee with a surprised and shocked look.
"Why, I wouldn't dream of such a thing! Who do you think I am?" Rin put a comforting hand on Kagome's shoulder and looked at her with kind chestnut brown eyes.
"Uh…you're my boss?" Kagome answered for her, still unsure of her fate. Rin laughed as she tucked her wild, untamed black hair behind her ears.
"I am, aren't I?" Rin chirped absentmindedly, "Well, I wouldn't fire you of course! You just helped me out a ton by putting all these customers in their place and all." Rin said gratefully. "Besides, I'm pretty much sure no one would ever apply here, so you four are all I've got!" Rin added as she quickly went into the kitchen. Kagome wasn't sure if she was kidding or not, but all the customers nodded their heads agreeing with her.
Rin then came out with a batch of familiar orange smoothies. "Since this is the grand opening of Kajuu Juusu's, FREE Complimentary Orange Smoothies on us!" The young woman beamed merrily as everyone cheered and clapped with congratulations. No one even heard the old manager's protest, since her ancient accented voice was drowned out by the noise.
As soon as everyone tasted the delicious orange concoctions, everyone was wondering the same thing. "What are these called anyway?" a voice somewhere in the room inquired. Rin turned her head to Kaede.
"These are great, Kaede! Expected to be, of course. But I'm wondering myself -- what are these scrumptious orange mixtures called?" Rin inquired curiously as she sipped her smoothie. It really was delicious.
"It might as well be called the Osuwari Orange Smoothie." Kaede said not-too excitedly. Everyone in the room was confused, except for Kagome who had fully understood why. It didn't sound half-too bad either -- it had a sort of ring to it, actually.
"Argh…man, did that hurt like a bitch!" InuYasha said, rising up from the dead. The half-dog demon was practically clawing his way up, grabbing onto some customer's table. But before he could even stand, someone asked a question.
"Why is it called 'Osuwari' Orange-" but before that person could fully finish asking the question, InuYasha ended up right on the floor again. Someone else said 'Osuwari!' and then another, and then before you know it the whole room was filled with 'Osuwari's!' and InuYasha's thuds.
Rin walked over to the elderly manager who was sitting there, watching the whole thing, and shaking her head regretfully. "Kaede, what happened?" Rin asked worriedly. She needed all of her employees, and at this rate InuYasha was probably going to die from being Osuwari-ed. The raven-haired employee was also wondering the same thing and joined her boss and manager. "Ms. Imouto, I thought it was only supposed to link me to InuYasha? How come the spell is working on everyone else?"
"Ye see that was the test batch I made. I didn't think anyone else would drink it so I left it in the refrigerator. The spell would only last for a little while on everyone else, of course. It only permanently links the first two people who drink the smoothie." Kaede explained carefully as she looked at the slowly dying hanyou. "Though I do feel sorry for the lad. Didn't mean for everyone to drink that smoothie concoction that I had made."
So the boss, manager, and employee watched helplessly as the customers slowly killed the half-dog demon -- and who were also having a grand time doing it.
Who knew causing a single hanyou so much pain was so much fun?
Miraculously, InuYasha had survived.
And unfortunately for the customers, the spell had worn off for them.
Eventually the Osuwari Orange Smoothie had become a hit -- and Rin decided to make it one of Kajuu Juusu's signature smoothie drinks, although she had to ask Kaede not to include the strange spell ingredients in there for the safety of her employees.
But it was a hit nevertheless, even without the spell ingredients, and it quickly became the most popular drink and was the most sold out smoothie flavor of the day.
InuYasha absolutely hated the infamous smoothie drink because whenever some curious customer wondered why it was called Osuwari Orange Juice Smoothie, Kagome was never too shy to tell them why and demonstrate it just for them. Soon it became known around the whole mall that the Osuwari Orange Juice Smoothie was "The Drink that Could Sit the Hanyou!"
Rin was more than satisfied with the results of the grand opening of the smoothie shop, Kajuu Juusu's. She was ecstatic about its quickly gained success and how wonderful it was that everyone seemed to enjoy all of the smoothie flavors and the shop.
But before she could bask in the glory of her delightful achievement, she took a look at her four employees.
A pervert who couldn't keep his hands to himself, a physically powerful girl who gets pissed and injures the pervert a lot, a raven-haired girl whose fine and dandy one second and can turn into a tyrannical dictator the next, and a crude half-dog demon that cusses a lot and is now under the spell of the emotionally unstable girl.
Suddenly, Rin realized that they were her employees.
And that she was going to be stuck with them for a long, long time.
Was it too late to find new employees?
"My Darling Sango…"
"(smack) HENTAI!"
"YOU WENCH!"
"OSUWARI!"
Most likely.
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: So what did you all think? I really hoped you liked it because I worked hard on it -- even though I haven't written in awhile. It was a lot of fun writing this chapter. I tend to make Kagome a pretty crazy character in my stories, but she does get really into it and hopefully I don't make her too crazy that she goes OOC. But anyway I'm planning on writing the next chapter soon. The next chapter will have some Sango and Miroku romance in it, for all you S+M lovers, since this chapter was basically about Kagome and InuYasha's relationship -- so I'm really going to enjoy writing it!
Author's Review Reponse Corner
Hopefully I'll get many reviews once this story gets going -- but I have gotten some pretty good reviews that I've really wanted to respond to lately.
Review By Pick 'n' mix 2006-04-04 -- on Chapter 3
"I love this story - it's so original. o The idea of a smoothie shop is ingenious. I salute you. XD
Just to say - I didn't realize there would be so much interaction between them at school too... Hmm... if you want my advice, it seems to take the focus off the smoothie shop a little - which is meant to be the main focus, right?
Great job though on the third chapter - I loved it. Your writing gets better and better with each chapter, and the 'When life gives you lemons...' bit is great.
And the ending - I know I'm raving a little, but it's so hard to find such original stories - is brilliant.
Your ending line: 'These young teenagers had a whole lot of lemons that they had to deal before they could start making lemonade smoothies.'
It's such a good wrap up - humourous, suggestive of what's to come, and it really makes me happy! o
Ganbatte on your next chapter - I'm looking forward to it!"
This review is probably one of the most helpful reviews I've ever gotten on It really is helpful, because picknmix is telling me to focus more on the smoothie shop -- which this chapter does. But eventually the characters will start to change and be put into events and situations that are outside of the smoothie shop as the story progresses. Since the first couple chapters take place outside of the smoothie shop, which were really important elements of the plot, I plan to take the characters beyond it. But I'll try to keep focused on the smoothie shop -- that was such a good point.
Thanks for being so patient everyone!
Please don't forget to review!
Until next chapter! -- AK-J.