Last Chapter on Isn't Life Juicy: Somehow, Kajuu Juusu's had seemed to survive its first grand opening day and remain in tact -- with a great amount of success, in fact. All it took were a couple of Osuwari orange smoothies, a potent concoction the smoothie shop's manager, Kaede Imouto, had made. Thanks to her, Kagome Higurashi can now finally put the half-dog demon, InuYasha Takahashi, in his place with a simple sit command.
As for Rin Meirou, Kajuu Juusu's store owner, she has now finally gotten over that her four employees are all slightly deranged. She doesn't know whether to be thrilled or miserable with the success of her store -- because now she's officially stuck with them.
It won't be too bad working with: a pervert, a physically strong pissed-off girl that injures the pervert every two seconds, a half-dog demon that is forced to follow the command of a girl who seems to be emotionally unstable and enjoys causing pain and misery to others, and an elderly lady who loves to concoct strange spells up and test it on her own employees -- right?
For her sake and personal health, Rin really hopes she's right.
Too bad she's oblivious to the drama that's bound to happen in her very own shop.
Author's Note: It took me all night to figure out what exactly I was going to write for this chapter -- because although I made a storyline and plot and everything for this story, I didn't really go into detail what this chapter was going to really be. Hopefully this chapter turns out well. I really hope you all enjoy reading it -- just 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 THREE
Flavor of the Week
"I wish that I could make her see,
She's just the flavor of the week.
She makes me weak."
-----
Breathe in…
Breathe out…
Concentrate...
Do not lose your focus.
C'mon Sango girl,
You can do this…
You can do this…
You've only punched that damn pervert in the face a million times.
Why should this be any different?
This is not at all any different.
You just can't kick the crap out of him.
That's all… Perfectly fine.
Besides, I've beaten guys twice his size and way better than him…
This should be a cinch…All I have to do is --
WHAT THE HELL, IS HE GOING TO REACH FOR MY ASS AGAIN!
IN THE MIDDLE OF A MATCH?
THAT HEEENTAAAAAAAIIII!
Everyone in the room gasped as Sango Taijiya lost her first Tai Kwon Do match.
The person that was even more surprised than Sango herself was the challenger -- Miroku Houshi.
After a minute or two the shocked headmaster finally regained his composure.
"Ch-Challenger Two was unable to defeat Challenger One! Challenger One wins this battle!" the Tai Kwon Do Master, Kiuchi-sensei, announced with hesitant disbelief.
No one cheered.
No one clapped.
They just stared at the girl whose reputation as "The Girl Exterminator" had shattered right before their very eyes.
But the funny thing was, Sango wasn't even worried about any of those eyes…
Except for the intense azure eyes that were practically seeing right through her.
She didn't understand or comprehend what had just happened.
She didn't know why she had reacted that way or what bothered her so much.
She didn't even grasp the fact that Miroku Houshi had simply just gotten under her skin.
All she understood, knew, and grasped was her desire to smack him in the face.
But Sango couldn't even though she so desperately wanted to.
It was technically against the rules because she lost.
"YOU WHAT?" Kagome exclaimed as both her jaw and the lunch tray she had dropped to the floor. Her chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise as she searched for any sign of dishonesty on her friend's face -- but Sango's expression said it all: she was completely defeated.
"I lost…I LOST! AUGHHHH!" The dark-haired girl shouted angrily as she balled her hand into a fist. She really, REALLY needed to punch someone -- and fast or else Kagome was going to go flying into the air in a couple seconds.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I LOST MY FIRST TAI KWON DO MATCH TO THAT…THAT HENTAI!" Sango screamed heatedly as she practically squeezed the life out of her milk carton in frustration. The raven-haired girl started to feel sorry for her friend and the container of milk -- the poor milk carton. What did it ever do to Sango?
Kagome sat there feeling pity for the milk carton, but then suddenly noticed something strange about what her friend said.
"Wait a sec…you lost -- TO MIROKU!" Kagome could hardly even believe that because on a daily basis she knew that Sango could absolutely beat the crap out of him -- and she had even seen it done a couple times right in front of her dark brown eyes. It was just scientifically impossible for her to lose against him. Unless…
Kagome took a huge gulp and a deep breath before stepping into territory that should absolutely NOT be stepped into. She prepared to fly into the air as soon as she looked at her friend with pink made-up brown eyes -- and then asked her the big question.
"Hey Sango…haveyoueverthoughtthatmaybeyoumightactuallylikeMirokuasinlikelikeasinmorethanafriendsortaway?"
Sango glared at her raven-haired friend, obviously annoyed.
Kagome just closed her eyes, ready for take off.
"Yes, no, maybe -- I don't know! I couldn't even understand a single word that you just said!" Sango answered, irritated at her friend's ridiculous question -- and even just a little impressed. Who knew her raven-haired friend could talk so fast?
Kagome took another breather and had decided this was the best way to die -- at the hands of her best friend. Because once she translated the question for her friend, she was positively going to get strangled. She even said a little goodbye speech in her head.
'Well world…it was nice knowing you. Goodbye forever to my family, and friends -- especially Sango, without whom my death would never been possible. I'm especially going to thank her, for strangling me and all. I'm not really going to miss living…because my life sucked and everything, but I sure am going to miss sitting that insufferable jerk until he was seven feet deep in the ground. Those were good times, good times…'
As Kagome created the speech in her mind, she asked the question slowly so her friend could understand it. She no longer had any regrets -- since she was going to die finding out the answer.
"What I said was…Sango, have you ever thought that you might actually like Miroku? As in like-like…more than a friend?" When Kagome had finally finished the question, she was glad that she had made up that little goodbye speech in her mind while she had the chance -- because Sango looked like she was just about to kill her.
"Oh…no…you…did NOT!" Sango hissed as her hands were just about within strangling range of the raven-haired girl's neck. Kagome prayed that she would at least find out the answer before she died.
But surprisingly, her best friend's hands went past her neck -- and straight towards the garbage can that was behind her. Sango stood up and with remarkable strength hurled the tin full of trash at a nearby picnic table on the campus -- just nearly missing the heads of a couple girls gossiping.
"You should be glad that I threw that garbage can instead of you." The dark-haired girl sat down proudly, obviously glad to blow off some steam.
Kagome imagined the scattered litter around the ground to be her bloody guts and body parts. It was not a pretty picture at all. Boy, was Kagome glad that the garbage can was right behind her…or else, who knew what would've happened?
Don't answer that.
It was a rhetorical question.
Kagome didn't even want to know.
"So that was an obvious 'no'." Kagome said nervously as she sipped at her soda. Just as she had finished drinking the last few drops of it, she turned to throw the soda can away -- already forgetting that Sango had flung it into a whole other galaxy a couple minutes before. Kagome was still getting over the frightening experience.
"Well of course it was a no. What did you think I would say! That I loved him or something? Please, who do you think I am?" Sango laughed at the very idea of it -- the thought of it was not even possible! It was the probably the most ridiculous, most unreasonable thing that Sango had ever heard! HER LIKE MIROKU? Never in a million, billion years! She would never consider him even beyond a friend -- or even a friend for that matter! It was just plain stupid to even think such a thing.
"Gomen, gomen! I was just wondering, that's all." Kagome stubbornly crossed her arms and closed her eyes, deep in thought. "But if you ask me, Miroku seems to bother you a lot more than he should."
Sango's grin immediately disappeared when her raven-haired friend said that. After all, she did have a point -- she still couldn't figure out why the damn pervert bothered her so much. Usually she would just ignore him, but now…something felt different every time she slapped him. Sango had no idea what exactly she was feeling (Extreme anger? Stress? Embarrassment? Indigestion?) -- but all of this thinking made her flustered.
"Well why wouldn't he bother me!" Sango shouted to no one in particular.
Kagome started as her friend yelled. The raven-haired girl thought that the subject was already closed since her friend didn't say anything for awhile -- she never would have guessed that Sango was still thinking about what she said. Kagome studied her as she started to complain about Miroku.
"One, he's a pervert. That's pretty much self-explanatory." Sango ranted on as she held up a finger for emphasis. "Two, he keeps groping me! You'd think the guy would get it after the first couple smacks in the face but no, this is Miroku we're talking about -- practically the biggest and most persistent lecher in the world! He just won't give up!"
Kagome thought she was either hallucinating or had some post-trauma brain damage from the brutal trash can incident earlier or something -- because she could not believe her eyes! Did Sango Taijiya just smile?
"Not to mention those lame pick-up lines! Which brings me to my third and final reason -- he's a womanizer. How could he ever stay with one girl if he's always using that same 'Will you bear my children' line to any one belonging to the female species! He's a skirt-chaser and a major flirt! It's repulsive…"
Was Kagome that shocked about a tin can full of trash? She definitely needed a cat scan now -- because Sango actually looked a little sad. Her mouth was in a deep scowl, but her pink eye-lined brown eyes were filled with hurt and pain. Kagome knew that although her friend looked all tough and strong on the outside, her eyes practically gave away to what she was really feeling in the inside.
"Besides…how can you go around saying those kinds of things without actually meaning them? It's stupid, really…going up to some poor girl like that who might actually believe it." As Sango finished talking, she looked up at the sky in a daze -- her mind drifting off somewhere, completely forgetting how angry she was ten minutes ago.
The dark-haired girl's behavior confirmed Kagome's suspicions. The denial, the jealous attitude, the dazed expression on her face, the unwillingness to admit it -- it was subtle, but Kagome could tell.
Sango had it bad.
For all Kagome knew, Sango probably wasn't even aware of her own feelings. But it totally made sense now -- and had definitely opened her dark brown eyes to the possibility of a cute, new couple. Kagome thought that they were practically made for each other, despite him being a pervert and her killing him and all. And even though she knew Sango wasn't going to like it, Kagome was determined to open up her friend's eyes as well.
"Hey, Sango…" but Kagome didn't even get a chance to say anything enlightening to her best friend, as a couple of girls came over to their lunch table.
"Excuse me, are you Sango Taijiya?" one of the girls asked. The two of them looked very similar to one another with their dark hair and dark brown eyes -- both of them even had their hair pulled back. The taller girl had a high ponytail, while the shorter one had her short dark hair pulled back low.
Kagome looked over to her friend -- who had now snapped out of her daze and back into reality. Her eyebrows were raised and she had a curious expression her face.
"Yes, that would be me…and who might you be?" Sango asked guardedly. It was obvious to Kagome that her friend had never seen or met them before.
"I'm Suzuna and this is my sister, Satina." The taller girl said, pointing to her sister next to her. "We sat at the table over there where you had apparently felt like flinging the garbage can at."
"Oh…Gomen nasai. Sorry about that! I really wasn't aiming at you guys and I didn't mean for it to be so close to hitting you guys in the head." Sango apologized abashedly. Embarassed, she pointed towards the raven-haired girl sitting next to her. "It was mostly her fault though."
"Yeah, it was…" Kagome agreed absentmindedly, not really paying attention to the conversation. Then after a moment, she responded with a delayed reaction to the accusation. "Wait, what!"
"Well anyway, it nearly missed our heads!" Suzuna said, not allowing Sango to forget it.
"But still, it was a really impressive throw!" Satina suddenly exclaimed excitedly. Suzuna glared at her younger sister, embarrassed with Satina's overexcitement -- but as Suzuna turned toward Sango, she looked just as excited as her sister did.
"So it's true then." Suzuna stated as she and her sister looked at each other eagerly, with the both of them exchanging glances. Sango and Kagome were also exchanging looks with each other -- looks of utter confusion.
"What's true?" Kagome asked curiously. She had no idea what these girls were getting at.
"Sango Taijiya! I can't believe it's her -- I'm having a conversation with her! She even almost threw a garbage can at us!" Suzuna said, her personality changing from pissed-off to gushing fan girl in two seconds flat.
"You're The Girl Exterminator!" Satina cried out, pointing at Sango like she had just witnessed a celebrity -- which she did in a way. Because to her and her sister, Sango was a role model that they had looked up to ever since she had heard of the girl's reputation as the undefeated Tai Kwon Do champion. Well, undefeated up until today of course.
Sango smiled fakely, not sure whether to be flattered or freaked out. She had never had this sort of attention on her -- usually when people heard 'The Girl Exterminator' most people would be scared of her, not admire her.
Kagome on the other hand just enjoyed watching the show. Unfortunately for her she didn't have any popcorn with her, but she did have the next best thing -- gummy bears. Gosh, did Kagome love her gummy bears.
"So are the rumors true, Great Taijiya?" Suzuna said seriously, staring fixatedly at Sango. Sango nearly almost fell over when she heard how the strange girl had addressed her -- while Kagome was already on the ground, laughing her head off. She even started making up a song for the new nickname, with the tune from that cereal commercial: "Taijiya is more than good…SHE'S GRRRRRREAT!"
"What rumors?" Sango asked through gritted teeth. She tried her best to ignore her best friend, but it was very difficult to do since she was singing so obnoxiously. Was Kagome asking to be a trash can?
"We heard that you really lost your first Tai Kwon Do match!" answered Satina, worriedly. "Though Suzuna and I think that it doesn't count -- since it was only practice and all."
"But still! We heard that you lost to Miroku Houshi! I mean, we heard he's pretty good and all -- but you didn't lose to him, right?" Suzuna asked, hoping that maybe all the rumors around the school were lies.
Kagome stopped singing and looked at her friend, concerned. It was one thing to admit that you lost to a friend -- but it was a whole different thing to admit that you lost to a complete stranger, especially one who admires you.
"Yes, the rumors you heard were true…" Sango said solemnly, looking down at the ground, ashamed. She couldn't believe how fast word traveled in Shikon no Tama High. She was going to rip apart to shreds whoever took part in spreading the news around -- and it was going to be even worse than the garbage can…way worse…she could just see the dead bodies all over campus…
"It's true? Great Taijiya, no!" Satina said in despair. Kagome was really close to bursting out laughing again if the girl didn't look so upset.
"We're a bit disappointed to find out that the rumors are true." Suzuna said, obviously a lot more disappointed than she said she was. "I mean…we know Miroku Houshi is pretty good -- great, in fact. His Tai Kwon Do skills just barely match yours, actually."
"The thing is…we didn't think you'd ever in a million years lose to a guy like him." Satina said sadly, her dreams crushed.
"What we mean is…that guy's a bit of a pervert." Suzuna explained.
"He's practically used the same stupid line on all the girls in our class!" Satina said exasperatedly.
"Something about bearing his child or some crap like that…'
"You don't even know how many girls refused him…"
"And how many girls had actually said yes to him…"
"So many girls have seen him peeping through the girl's changing room…"
"This girl in my history class said she was going to the bathroom and she saw him there!"
"He's basically hit on every girl in my homeroom…!"
"He's even hit on us…I mean the nerve of him, right?"
"Some even think they're in love with him and think he's going to propose to them!"
"And we've heard how much of a lecher he is…"
"I heard that he touched this girl's…"
Sango tuned out of the conversation.
She had a sudden loss of appetite and a strong urge to cry.
She hated how she lost her first Tai Kwon Do match…
And it didn't help how the two girls in front of her were disappointed in her.
She knew that if she had lost to anyone other than him,
She would have hated how she lost a lot less.
Sango had even figured that it would have been a lot less painful too.
Even though she didn't exactly understand why.
All she knew was that her chest ached.
And that it was all that damn lecher's fault.
The last thing she wanted to do was hear two girls talk about him.
And hear about all the things that he done with girls and anyone of the female kind.
It just really made her want to throw everyone around like trash cans.
In other words, she was really, really pissed off.
Sango figured that she would take a sip of her milk -- to just do anything that would distract her, but she had forgotten that she had already tortured it a long while ago. Oops.
She turned her head to the side, looking for anything interesting enough to keep her preoccupied. But she realized that was the worst thing for her to do, as she spotted the pervert talking to a group of freshmen girls at some picnic table far off the campus.
Sango's chest ached even more.
She looked around her.
It was almost like she couldn't escape from him.
Her best friend that believed she liked him, the two girls in front of her who gossiped about him endlessly, and him -- who was only a couple feet away.
She couldn't run away.
"DON'T YOU RUN AWAY FROM ME, INUYASHA TAKAHASHI!
I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!"
The silver-haired hanyou ran as fast as he could without getting on all fours. He was even surprised that the damn lecher was even keeping up with him. Usually Miroku would have stopped in the middle of the hallway -- distracted by a pretty face or anything wearing a skirt.
But Miroku was right behind him -- he even passed a girl who was wearing a leather mini-skirt! InuYasha could hardly believe his two golden eyes. What the hell was up with him today?
The half-demon wouldn't have minded asking his perverted friend directly, but he knew that the only reason why Miroku was acting this way was because of The Girl Exterminator he was so in love with. There was no way in hell InuYasha was going to listen to all that shit about 'his beloved/dear/whatever Sango' -- he had heard enough and if Miroku said her name like that one more time, he was just going to throw up all over his love-sick best friend.
InuYasha's stomach had begun to hurt as he started to run faster. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all to order all those chili-cheese dogs for lunch. He had practically inhaled seven of them. He wasn't even sure if had chewed them before he swallowed them. It did seem like a good idea at the time, and InuYasha was starving -- so he thought he might as well…now he wasn't so sure that it was the smartest choice to make…
But InuYasha's thoughts about his lunch choice were quickly interrupted as Miroku started screaming at him.
"INUYASHA! I'M TRYING TO TALK TO YOU! I'VE GOT A MAJOR PROBLEM! ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?" Miroku shouted at the top of his lungs, flailing his arms about dramatically. InuYasha swore he saw the lecher smack a passerby in the process -- he just hoped it wasn't a teacher.
"FINE! IF YOU'RE GOING TO BE THAT WAY…" The violet-eyed teenager, right behind the silver-haired half demon, suddenly jumped on his back -- stopping the both of them in their tracks.
"ARGH, WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR MIROKU!" InuYasha cursed as he struggled against the tiled floor, trying to get up from the ground. It was no use though because Miroku was sitting on his back.
"Now are you going to listen to me?" Miroku said triumphantly, getting up and doing a little victory dance -- on InuYasha's back. The hanyou wasn't sure what was worse: getting sit by the wench or the lecher doing a jig on your back.
"HELL NO." InuYasha said stubbornly. Even though his back was aching like a bitch, there was no fucking way that he was going to give away that easily.
"I don't think you heard my question clearly. Let's try this again…" Miroku said as he dug the heel of his foot into his best friend's back. Then the dark-haired teen leaned in close into the half-demon's dog ears and took a deep breath.
"I! SAID! NOW! ARE! YOU! GOING! TO! LISTEN! TO! ME!" Miroku cried out at the top of his lungs -- right directly into the hanyou's sensitive ears. For a moment, Miroku thought that he had even killed InuYasha. But the half-demon twitched and moved his hand up to massage his ringing ears.
"Fine…I'll fucking listen to you already. Will you just get the fuck off of me?" InuYasha asked, giving in to the treacherous Miroku -- who had responded with a "Glad to!" and a smug smirk on his face. He really could be a bastard sometimes. But still, the hanyou accepted the bastard's hand in helping him up anyway, just because InuYasha wasn't sure if he could even get up by himself.
As soon as the silver-haired hanyou was able to stand up correctly, he noticed that the evil smirk on his friend's face was nowhere to be found. All he saw was a troubled, distressed Miroku -- and his violet eyes that were sparkling with mischief just moments before were darker than ever.
Something was definitely up.
"So what the hell is wrong anyway?" InuYasha asked, genuinely concerned for his friend. Miroku was always so upbeat all the time -- it was just plain weird to see him this way. Usually the pervert got upset with a lot of things, but this was the first time that the hanyou had seen his best friend so depressed. The indigo-eyed boy sighed heavily, which was another non-Miroku-like thing to do -- that's when InuYasha knew it was serious.
"Well…you see…it's kind of hard to explain…" Miroku started off slowly, looking around cautiously at the students in the hallway. InuYasha did the same -- and had found that all of their eyes were staring right at them, particularly at Miroku. They even began to whisper behind their backs as they passed by.
Figuring that they were probably talking about them running around earlier, InuYasha decided to use his keen hearing to eavesdrop on a couple of guys gossiping as they passed by.
"Yeah, dude -- that's the guy!"
"Are you sure he's the one?"
"I'm positive it was that perverted guy."
"Wow…who knew he would be the first one to actually defeat The Girl Exterminator!"
"YOU WHAT!" InuYasha exclaimed right after he had heard that little tidbit from the gossiping teens' conversation. Miroku wasn't so shocked that the hanyou had found out -- even without his super sharp dog-hearing ability, he probably would've heard about it anyway. The rumors of him beating Sango in Tai Kwon Do class were spreading around like rapid fire.
"I beat Sango in Tai Kwon Do class…" Miroku said quietly. He wasn't particularly proud of that accomplishment, actually. He was even more surprised than Sango was when he had beaten her --- because it was way too easy. There was something about Sango that was a little off…Miroku just had no idea what.
"So let me get this straight. You, Miroku Houshi, a guy -- that I must admit isn't too bad at Tai Kwon Do -- had beaten Sango Taijiya, a girl that has a reputation as The Girl Exterminator. Not to mention she's an undefeated champion!" InuYasha said, taken aback. He just could not fucking believe it -- he was absolutely stunned.
"I know! This is absolutely terrible! This is just bad, bad, bad!" Miroku exclaimed in despair as he took his hands and buried his face in them. He was so miserable looking that InuYasha thought that he might even crawl in a little, dark corner and bawl his eyes out. Miroku was pretty dramatic when these kinds of the things happened.
"Isn't that kind of a good thing? For you, anyway?" InuYasha said, trying to cheer up his friend a little. He didn't want to deal with a depressed Miroku, because before you know it, he's got some crazy plan to fix everything -- and it usually involved dragging InuYasha somewhere he didn't want to go.
"Well, I guess so. I mean, no. I mean…I don't know!" Miroku shouted, throwing his arms in frustration. He scratched his dark-haired head in aggravation. "All I know is that Sango's mad at me."
"Well, she was bound to lose sometime. She's just got to deal with it." InuYasha said bluntly. "Uh, and if you didn't notice already…Sango's always mad at you because you keep groping her ass all the time." InuYasha added, pointing out the obvious to him.
"But, this time it's different! She's really, really mad at me!" Miroku said frantically, his deep violet eyes full of worry. "I mean…at lunch, I spotted her while I was talking to a couple of girls -- so I decided to wave to her. And she practically ignored me!"
InuYasha just stared at his best friend skeptically. Was he serious?
The half-demon started to wonder if his friend was just born yesterday or something.
Miroku was a pretty smart guy, intellectual too -- but there were a lot of times when InuYasha just didn't get him.
"Miroku, she always ignores you!" InuYasha said, trying to get the concept through his head. It was strange for the hanyou. Usually Miroku was the one who was trying to make InuYasha understand.
Miroku just shook his head doubtfully at InuYasha's statement.
"No, you don't understand! I know she always ignores me and all that -- and how she always gets pissed at me for touching her and everything…but the look in her eyes. She just looked…like she hated me." Miroku finished, practically whispering the last part. InuYasha didn't know what to say to that, but Miroku started to speak again.
"Besides, she's a good sport. I definitely know that I didn't fall in love with a conceited girl that throws a fit, just because she lost one stupid Tai Kwon Do battle -- it was only practice after all, so it doesn't really count." Miroku said, fully believing it and putting all of that trust in a girl that barely even trusted him.
InuYasha started feeling a little sorry for the pervert.
But all this talk about his love for her was getting a little sickening.
As long as Miroku had a solution to solve the problem, he would go back to normal.
"Have you even ever thought about just talking to her about it?" InuYasha said, thinking that it was the easiest solution -- besides, that's all that he could come up with at the moment.
Miroku's indigo eyes lit up and turned a sparkling shade of deep blue.
"THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT, INUYASHA!" Miroku said excitedly, grinning like a lunatic (which wasn't entirely false, since he acted like one all the time). "That was probably the smartest thing you've ever said during the time of our friendship!" The dark-haired teen was practically jumping up and down and giggling like a little fan girl.
"Thanks." InuYasha said, smirking conceitedly. It was about time that the lecher noticed how smart he could really be at times…
It took a couple of minutes for the hanyou to remember that Miroku and InuYasha were friends since they were in diapers -- and that was a long ass time.
But before the half-demon could get his hands on the little pervert's neck, Miroku had already grabbed a handful of his long, silver hair -- and was dragging him down the long corridor to his goal destination: Kajuu Juusuu's.
The school bell was about to ring anyway, but even if it wasn't Miroku would probably skip class and wait there for her. It was the only place where he and Sango had to be there together, besides Tai Kwon Do class -- which meant she couldn't escape. She would have to talk to him eventually, and he was hoping that he would finally get a chance to talk to her directly and find out what was wrong with her. He was really worried about her.
As Miroku happily dragged InuYasha down the corridor, deep in his own thoughts about the beautiful Sango, the half-demon grumpily tolerated his friend's behavior and treatment to him.
'How did I know that he was going to drag me off to somewhere I obviously don't want to go to? Damn, it's like I'm fucking psychic or something. Goddamn pervert. Well at least he's back to normal. Still, I wish he wouldn't be too cheerful…I mean its bad enough that he's humming -- but now he's practically skipping too! And he's still pulling my hair…Augh! What the fuck? I feel like I'm about to throw up…my stomach hurts like a bitch.''
"Come now, InuYasha -- to Kajuu Juusuu's we go!" Miroku said, nearly skipping down the hallway. The half-demon looked at him incredulously with his amber orbs.
"Kajuu Juusuu's? You have got to be kidding me!" InuYasha rolled his eyes, but didn't complain anymore -- since they worked there after all. But the hanyou was just so damn grumpy…he felt so nauseous. He even started to vomit a little in his mouth.
"TO KAJUU JUUSUU'S -- WHERE ME AND MY BELOVED SANGO, WILL BE REUNITED ONCE AGAIN!" Miroku said theatrically, determination and confidence evident in his voice and in his shining bright indigo eyes. The pervert looked so positive, that he seemed to be radiating off sparkly pink glitter (when really someone just accidentally spilled some on him -- but nevertheless, it was a pretty good special effect).
Right when Miroku had said, 'Beloved Sango' InuYasha loosened his hair from his friend's grip and ran to the nearest trash can in the hallway -- and threw up.
He really was a fucking psychic today.
The hanyou noticed what a mess he made and started to clean himself up…
Completely unaware of the huge mess that his perverted friend was going to make.
"HOUSHI! STOP DAYDREAMING AND START CLEANING UP THIS MESS!"
Miroku snapped out of his fantasies as Sango barked orders at him. He silently obeyed her as he picked up the rag and started cleaning up the table.
His plan was not going the way he wanted it to -- or it wasn't going the way it was in his fantasies anyway (where the beautiful dark-haired girl and he were in a tight embrace, his wandering hand grazing at her bottom).
As Miroku rubbed the cleaning rag into the table in frustration, he snuck a glance at her. Ever since she had come to Kajuu Juusuu's that afternoon, she had given him dirty looks. Not to mention she had suddenly transformed into a screaming dictator. Whenever Sango wasn't yelling at him or ordering him around, she was ignoring him completely.
Miroku fixated his dark indigo eyes on her, hoping to catch a glimpse of her beautiful brown eyes. But her back was turned to him, giving him the cold shoulder. It was like that all afternoon -- and it was now closing time. Was she really that mad about a stupid Tai Kwon Do match?
The dark-haired boy shook his head, trying to shake off those assuming thoughts. His beloved Sango would never be such a bad sport about a simple Tai Kwon Do match like that! But as Miroku stared at her long dark hair, pulled back in a low ponytail, he wondered what on earth could make Sango so mad at him.
He gazed at her back longingly with his desperate azure eyes…
Unable to see how her avoiding dark brown eyes were filled with heartache.
------
"Hey InuYasha! Do you see what I see?" Kagome whispered excitedly to the hanyou as she was peeking through the kitchen door. InuYasha abandoned the sink and the dirty dishes as he squinted through the tiny glass window.
"No…I don't see a goddamn thing!" InuYasha snapped at her. He quickly turned his back at her and started washing the dishes. "Hey wench! Get your ass over here and help me wash these! You have a job too, y'know!"
"Argh…Fine! I'll help you wash the dishes already!" Kagome hissed as she huffily put on rubber gloves and joined the half demon in the task. While scrubbing away at the dishes, the raven-haired girl was deep in thought.
"Hey InuYasha…don't you think Miroku likes Sango?" Kagome said softly, leaving the question hang in the air. InuYasha just scoffed at her serious expression.
"That pervert! He's crazy about Sango…literally! I mean, he's practically obsessed with her! She's probably all he ever thinks about -- which is just sickening! I mean if I were Sango, I wouldn't want a pervert to think about me! Talk about nightmares!" InuYasha shivered at the thought, instantly regretting thinking about it for now gross images started to pop up all over in his mind.
If he ever had a pervert like Miroku obsessed with him…
InuYasha just hoped that the only place that would happen would be in his nightmares.
"Well -- what's wrong with that?" Kagome defended, glaring at the clueless hanyou. She grabbed him by the sleeve and practically shoved his face into the glass window. "Can't you see that he obviously likes her?"
InuYasha carefully studied the two dark haired-teens with his golden eyes. Kagome stood there patiently, waiting for his answer -- having a feeling that he now understood where she was coming from. How could he not? You had to be the most oblivious, dimwitted human being on the planet to not notice how Miroku was looking at Sango!
"What I see is…" InuYasha started off slowly as he narrowed his amber eyes.
"Yeah…? What do you see?" Kagome said, leaning in closer to the hanyou, expecting him to be more enlightened to the blossoming romance in front of them.
"All I see…is a goofy looking Miroku and a pissed off Sango." InuYasha concluded.
Okay, make that the most oblivious, dimwitted half-demon on the planet.
-----
Miroku was getting sick of all the silence and tension in the air.
Looking for any thing to lighten up the atmosphere, he searched the room with his azure eyes -- and found a small little radio on the countertop. He reached for one of the knobs and turned it, landing on a station that was in the middle of the song, "Oops I Did It Again" by Britney Spears.
( …Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah! )
Miroku instantly remembered the words to the song, even though it had been a couple years since he had heard it. An idea suddenly hit him -- and he grabbed a banana from one of the fruit bowls on the table. Then as the 'yeah' part was done, he jumped in front of Sango and started to lip sync.
( I think I did it again, I made you believe we're more than just friends. Oh, baby. )
As Miroku lip synced the words, he saw a look of horror appear on Sango's face.
He didn't blame her. He would be afraid too if someone jumped in front of them and started lip syncing to them with a fruit as a pretend microphone.
( It might seem like a crush…But it doesn't mean, that I'm serious! )
Miroku was starting to really get into it. Not to mention he was well aware that he looked like a complete moron. But as long as it cheered up his beloved Sango…He really didn't mind acting like a total idiot if it meant bringing a smile to her face.
( 'Cause to lose all my senses, that is just so typically me. Oh baby, baby. )
The expression on Sango's face was unreadable -- but Miroku took that to be a good sign compared to the shocked expression on her face seconds ago.
( Oops!...I did it again!
I played with your heart,
Got lost in the game.
Oh baby, baby. )
Nearing the grand finale of the song, he jumped onto a nearby table and started pouring out his heart to Sango.
( Oops!...You think I'm in love.
That I'm sent from above.
I'm not that innocent. )
The song finished out and Miroku looked up, expecting to see Sango cracking up at the sight of him. But she wasn't laughing. Miroku didn't know what she was feeling, because she was staring down at the black and white checkered floor, with her dark brown bangs covering up her eyes and most of her face.
"S-So Houshi…is that how you feel?" Sango said quietly. Not noticing her quivering voice, Miroku just chuckled softly.
"Of course that's how I feel!" Miroku said lightheartedly, glad that Sango was even talking to him instead of barking orders at him. Of course he felt like dancing on tables and lip syncing horrible songs for her! That was all for her and that was what he felt. Wasn't it obvious?
The hanyou wasn't the only one who seemed to be clueless.
Sango stood there silently as her dark brown eyes stared straight down at the checkered floor tile. She felt the bright citrus-colored walls of Kajuu Juusuu's close in all around her.
How could that pervert be so cruel?
It was hard enough to see him flirt mindlessly with other girls, sweet-talking them and using the same old used up pick up lines. But to stand there and watch him parade himself right in front of her -- lip syncing a terrible song that translated his true feelings perfectly to her. It was almost like he was playing some awful joke on her.
Sango got the message after the first, 'Oh baby, baby.'
God, she felt like a total and complete idiot.
Another song blasted out of the small radio, except this time it was a rock song.
( He don't know anything about her…
…I wish that I could make her see,
She's just the flavor of the week... )
Looking up at him for the first time that day, she stared straight into his brilliant azure eyes, with tears threatening to spill from her own eyes.
Before she knew it, she couldn't control herself anymore.
"I'm just some 'flavor of the week' to you, aren't I?" Sango cried out at him as she ran towards the storage room, trying her best not to cry and show him how really hurt she was.
"I'm just some 'flavor of the week' to you, aren't I?"
"Aren't I! Aren't I? Aren't I…"
Miroku stood there, her words echoing repeatedly in his mind.
He couldn't shake off the image of her beautiful dark brown eyes.
Glaring at him, disgusted with him…Hating him.
Allowing a minute for his mind to process what had just happened, random images flashed past his eyes: him beating her earlier in Tai Kwon Do, her glaring at him when he was with a bunch of girls, the gossiping whispers of students, her unreadable expression when he was lip syncing to her, the look in her eyes and the words she had said…
( It's Friday night and she's all alone
He's a million miles away… )
Suddenly regaining his senses, Miroku ran towards the storage room. While turning the knob of the door, he found that it was locked.
"Sango! SANGO! Please, just open the door!" Miroku pleaded desperately as he beat on the door with his fists.
Miroku had finally figured out what Sango's problem was.
Her problem was him.
( Yeah, she's the flavor of the week, She makes me weak … )
"Wow...Miroku really screwed things up." InuYasha murmered as he grabbed a handful of strawberries and munched on them carelessly. They were a great substitute for popcorn, which the hanyou had a craving for all of a sudden. He was getting a good show out of this.
Kagome smacked his silver-haired head.
"Ow! What the fuck was that for, bitch?" InuYasha cried out, spitting chewed up strawberries all over the place.
"Miroku did not screw things up…he just…didn't know that's all!" Kagome said defensively, not wanting to admit that the hanyou was right. "Besides, be a little more considerate! He is your friend after all!"
"He is?" InuYasha asked mockingly, with a 'no, duh!' expression on his face. The raven-haired girl just slapped him harder.
"Argh! Shut up. You just don't understand anything!" Kagome said, her dark brown eyes absorbed on the dark-haired boy, who was practically beating down the door to get to her best friend.
Kagome dreamily sighed to herself, "Isn't that romantic…"
Even though she was ecstatic with her best friend's new love interest, she just couldn't help but feel just a little bit jealous -- he was trying so hard to get to her, just to apologize! Any girl would want that kind of attention focused on her.
But InuYasha sneered at her, immediately crushing all of her starry-eyed dreams.
"Keh! If you think being separated by a door is romantic."
Kagome glared at him and put her hands on her hips.
She had just about enough of this pessimistic, non-romantic jerk!
"Well what would an insensitive idiot like you know about romance anyway?" Kagome said crossly. "Besides, you've probably never had a girlfriend anyway! No girl in her right mind would ever want to date a baka like you!"
In that moment, unwanted memories started to reveal themselves in the hanyou's mind..
A moonlit night…pale blue cherry blossoms…a sharp pain from an arrow wound in his left shoulder…and the dark silhouette of his ex-girlfriend…with her final words still ringing in his ears…"I hate you InuYasha."
An overwhelming amount of pain hit InuYasha.
To tell the truth, InuYasha really had started to forget all about that painful night when he and Kikyou had broken up. Ever since he got the part-time job at Kajuu Juusuu's, it seemed less real and more like a distant memory of the past. With each and every passing day, he was able to let go of the past a little more.
But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't block the incident completely from his mind. Every once in awhile, when someone or something reminded him of his ex-girlfriend…random and painful memories unburied themselves from the depths of his mind and haunted him once more. Why couldn't he just forget about Kikyou?
It was then that the hanyou looked over at the wench's direction.
The answer was right in front of his golden amber eyes.
It definitely didn't help when one of your co-workers looked almost exactly like the person that you wanted to forget about. The first time he had met the raven-haired girl, he accidentally mistook her for Kikyou. You couldn't blame him, the two looked almost identical. But after several weeks of working with one another, and unfortunately getting to know each other, InuYasha realized that the wench was a lot…different from Kikyou.
Suddenly a soft, gentle voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Hey, InuYasha…you know I was kidding right?" Kagome asked, her big dark brown eyes filled with worry and concern. 'What is up with InuYasha? One minute he's sneering at me, the next minute he's staring off into space! I mean, he's always making fun of me --- can't he take a joke?'
InuYasha stubbornly avoided Kagome's worried gaze. "It's nothing."
'What else am I going to tell her? Oh, yeah by the way -- you look almost identical to my ex-girlfriend, who dumped me and ripped my heart out? There's no fucking way I'm telling that bitch…'
Kagome pulled on his silver hair, forcing the hanyou to face her.
"Don't say it's nothing when something is obviously bothering you!" Kagome shouted, staring right into his fierce golden eyes.
That pissed InuYasha off.
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW? Obviously I DON'T want to tell you anything, so why don't you just leave me the fuck alone?" InuYasha yelled angrily. But he suddenly regretted his infuriated outburst as he saw Kagome's expression. She immediately let go of his silver strands of hair.
"O…O…OSUWARI!" InuYasha went crashing down the kitchen floor as Kagome knelt beside him.
"Baka...Baka…BAKA!" The raven-haired girl whispered lividly. The half-demon looked up to find tears welling up in her wide chocolate brown eyes.
"Baka…why do you always have to act so tough all the time? I…I was worried, okay? I'm sorry about what I said earlier…and I'm sorry for being so nosy…I just…you don't always have to be so guarded all the time….I mean…I've never seen you look so sad...But still…Gomen! It's all my fault! I shouldn't have said that childish comment anyway!" Kagome rambled on as tears were threatening to spill from her eyes.
"I-Idiot! It…It wasn't your fault…I shouldn't have yelled at you like that in the first place…" InuYasha stammered self-consciously, unable to hide his embarrassment. God, he was so bad at apologizing and Kagome was starting to make him panic. He absolutely hated girls crying. It just made him feel uncomfortable.
Kagome hit him with her fist. "No, stupid! It was my fault! Maybe if I just shut up! But my stupid comment made you all sad and everything…and I still didn't leave you alone!" She was on the verge of sobbing.
InuYasha suddenly forgot all about his ex-girlfriend, memories of the past, and even the heart aching pain he felt -- all that mattered right now was the raven-haired girl in front of him…and to do everything in his power to make her not cry.
"It's fine, alright! It was MY fault…Now just don't cry or anything."
"NO. It was my fault, InuYasha! I'm so sorry!"
"What are you apologizing for anyway!"
"Because I made you sad! And probably caused you a lot of pain! That's all my fault!"
"Well…you did cause me a lot of pain by sitting me all the fucking time…"
"YOU SEE! IT REALLY IS MY FAULT!"
"W-Wait! I didn't mean that!"
Kagome's tears started to spill from her eyes and InuYasha froze up.
'Oh shit…what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do, what do I do? Fuck fuck fuck motherfucking shit. Why does she have to be so emotionally unstable and cry like this? Augh…stupidstupidstupid. Do I comfort her! Do I put a hand on her shoulder! Do I run away? WHAT THE FUCK DO I DO?'
The hanyou awkwardly patted her raven-haired head.
"I said it's alright, Kagome…Okay? Don't cry anymore."
'Did InuYasha, THE InuYasha, just say my name?'
Kagome looked up with glassy bright brown eyes -- but he immediately averted her gaze, completely and utterly embarrassed. The raven-haired girl just smiled in reponse and wiped her tears away.
"You just said my name, InuYasha…" Kagome said breathlessly in disbelief. She silently wondered to herself if some alien had abducted the hanyou's body...or if she was talking to a robot…of if she was meeting his nicer twin brother. Could this really be InuYasha?
InuYasha didn't say anything. His face was turning redder by the second. He was blushing so much, that he even started to look like a tomato (a cute tomato with silver hair and puppy dog ears).
Kagome giggled, grateful for InuYasha being so nice to her.
For once he wasn't being such an obnoxious, insufferable jerk.
"I'm glad…" Kagome whispered, as she suddenly started to pat the silver-haired half-demon's head. InuYasha sharply turned his head and gave her a death glare.
"What the hell do you think you're doing! It's only okay when I do it!" InuYasha protested, trying his best to look like he hated it -- when secretly, he loved it. Damn his dog-like personality.
"I just couldn't resist!" Kagome squealed innocently as she continued to pat his head. InuYasha sat there grumpily tolerating it.
"(pat)"
"…"
"(pat)"
"…"
"Good Boy, InuYasha!"
"Stop that!"
"..."
"(pat)"
"…"
"(pat)"
"…"
"(stops patting)"
"…"
"Hey…InuYasha?"
"What?"
"Don't you think it's been a little too quiet?"
"Keh! So?"
"…"
"…"
The couple then rushed towards the kitchen door window, suddenly realizing that the incessant knocks on the storage room door had stopped.
(2 AM and she calls me 'cause I'm still awake,
"Can you help me unravel my latest mistake,
I don't love him. Winter just wasn't my season")
Sango unfolded her hands carefully as she stared at the storage room around her. Her back was sitting against one of the walls and she was hugging her knees tightly with her head resting on her arms.
It was hard to believe that she, a girl with the reputation as 'The Girl Exterminator', was hiding in a storage room closet. Yet there she was, sitting on the cold concrete floor -- listening to Anna Nalick's voice coming from the radio outside her door.
('Cause you can't jump the track, we're like cars on a cable
And life's like an hourglass, glued to the table
No one can find the rewind button, girl.
So cradle your head in your hands
And breathe...just breathe…)
The dark-haired girl buried her head in her hands, thoughts racing through her head. She was physically and mentally exhausted -- her head was throbbing and she was all cried out. But as soon as she thought about the pervert, fresh tears came to her sad dark brown eyes.
What was wrong with her?
Ever since Sango had found out Miroku's true feelings about her…something deep within her ached painfully. She was so hurt that she wanted to run away and never see his face again. Yet at the same time, she missed his persistent knockings on the closet door, which had only stopped ten minutes ago.
She just couldn't explain it.
But after much thought and consideration, Sango realized just how stupid she was being. By the looks of it, Miroku had no idea what he had done to her -- except beat her in a stupid Tai Kwon Do match. To be honest, Sango herself didn't even know what he had done to her. She knew that she wasn't angry about losing to him, because although she was shocked herself about the whole thing, she just didn't get mad over those kind of things. After thinking about it in her mind, Miroku was just acting like plain old Miroku…except that whole Britney Spears lip syncing thing. That was just weird.
( Here in town you can tell he's been down for a while,
But, my God, it's so beautiful when the boy smiles,
Wanna hold him. Maybe I'll just sing about it.…)
A playful smile parted her lips as the image of a flaunting lip syncing lecher appeared in her mind. She quickly wiped away the last of her tears, quickly forgetting her angry feelings and aching heart.
Sango glanced at her watch, revealing that she had been sitting there for nearly an hour -- much longer than she had thought. She stood up and dusted off the back of her work uniform.
( There's a light at each end of this tunnel,
You shout 'cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out
And these mistakes you've made, you'll just make them again
If you only try turning around. )
'I should go apologize. I don't even know what came over me. Not to mention these mood swings I'm having…I must be getting my period or something.'
The dark-haired girl ignored the mix of emotions she was feeling and the sharp pain in her chest. As she reached out for the doorknob, Sango suddenly realized how crazy she must've looked to the womanizer -- running away from him and hiding in a closet.
But the lecherous pervert understood perfectly.
Love makes us do crazy things -- that was practically his motto.
Sango just didn't realize what exactly was making her do the crazy things she's been doing lately, that's all…
( Woah Breathe, Just Breathe,
Oh Breathe, Just Breathe,
Oh Breathe, Just Breathe….)
The dark-haired girl took a deep breath and turned the storage room door handle.
Sango stepped out of the storage room closet, planning on looking for the pervert.
But she didn't have to -- because he was standing right outside waiting for her.
"Houshi…" the dark-haired girl spoke softly. For some strange reason she couldn't bring herself to look at him. It was hard to stare straight into his dark azure eyes -- which she felt were fixated on her the second she had come out.
"Yes, My Dearest Sango?" Miroku asked. Even with Sango staring at the checkered floor, avoiding his violet-eyed gaze, she could still imagine the sly smirk on the lecher's face. Not to mention that she wanted to punch him in the face for putting "My Dearest" in front of her name like that -- but she restrained herself.
"I just…I just wanted to say…I wanted to say that…" Sango stammered, struggling to find the right words to apologize. What should she say -- Sorry for running away from you? Sorry for abusing you all the time? Sorry for being an idiot? The more she got flustered, the more self-conscious she started to feel with his eyes watching her.
'Dear, Kami-sama -- why is this so hard to do!
Why does he make me so flustered like this!'
Sango started panicking.
She did the only thing that she thought would calm her down…
(SMACK!)
…And amazingly, smacking the womanizer really did calm her down.
"Ahhh…that's better!" Sango muttered under her breath, her nerves finally relaxed.
"Okay…what I was trying to say was that I'm sorry…really, really, REALLY sorry for being an idiot and for running out on you like that. I didn't know what I was thinking! Oh yeah, and I'm really sorry for smacking you…it was just out of habit I guess."
There, she did it! Sango had finally apologized to the pervert. Now things could go back to normal and she could finally look at Houshi without getting all embarrassed…
But once her pink eye-lined brown eyes looked up, she couldn't find a trace of a sly perverted grin on his face. All she saw was Miroku -- with a red-hand print mark on his face, genuinely smiling.
Even his sparkling azure eyes seemed to be laughing.
At that moment, when Sango looked up and saw him smiling…
Her heart started to pound.
But she didn't notice, because a loud up-beat techno song disguised her racing heartbeat ringing in her ears.
( I still hear your voice, when you sleep next to me.
I still feel your touch in my dreams. )
Miroku's beaming face disappeared -- and suddenly she felt warm, comforting arms envelop her in a tight embrace.
Sango was speechless.
( Forgive me my weakness, but I don't know why.
Without you it's hard to survive. )
"Forgive me, Sango…" he whispered tenderly to her.
That was all he needed to say for Sango to unconsciously grasp onto the back of his shirt.
( 'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling.
And everytime we kiss I swear I could fly.
Can't you feel my heart beat fast, I want this to last.
Need you by my side. )
"What are you talking about, Houshi? I'm the one that should apologize…" Sango murmured softly. She could barely even speak. A rush of emotions was overwhelming her…she didn't know what she was feeling. She was just glad that she had her face buried in his Kajuu Juusu's uniform shirt, because she could feel her face burning -- it was practically going to melt off at this rate.
Miroku pulled her closer to him in response, sending a jolt of electricity throughout her body.
( 'Cause everytime we touch, I feel this static.
And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky.
Can't you hear my heart beat so...
I can't let you go.
Want you in my life. )
They stood there entangled in each other while instrumental techno beats poured out of the small radio on the table counter. It seemed like Sango's heartbeat was matched perfectly with the beat of the song.
"Sango…you're not a flavor of the week to me…" Miroku said solemnly. He wrapped his arms tighter around Sango, "You're the flavor of my heart."
The dark-haired girl started to shake in his arms -- from laughter.
"Houshi! Do you use that cheesy line on every girl?" Sango giggled as she finally looked up into the dark-haired boy's eyes. Even though she was making fun of him, she truly felt ecstatic. A weight seemed to be lifted off from her, and if Miroku wasn't holding onto her so tightly, she very well believed that she was able to float in midair.
The feelings were mutual -- as Miroku's serious expression was replaced with a beaming smile and dancing azure eyes.
"Hey, give me some slack! It took me almost an hour to come up with that line while I was waiting for you to come out of that closet." Miroku joked. But it really had taken that whole time to think of what he was going to say to Sango -- and he had meant it, even if it really did sound cheesy.
With the both of them smiling in a tight embrace, neither one wanted to let go.
Until a certain hanyou and raven-haired girl interrupted their moment.
"Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling. And everytime we kiss I swear I could fly!" Kagome sang excitedly along to the song that was blasting from the radio. She absolutely LOVED this song.
"ARGH! Can you shut the fuck up?" InuYasha growled loudly as he covered up his sensitive puppy dog ears. He absolutely HATED this song.
Kagome tore her eyes away from the window and glared at the whining half-demon.
"InuYasha! Shut up or they'll hear you!" Kagome tried to shush InuYasha -- not wanting to disturb the beautiful spectacle between Miroku and Sango -- but it just made him even louder.
"Well, I'm glad they can hear! But I CAN'T hear anymore because of your goddamn horrible singing!" InuYasha shouted at the top of his lungs. He was too busy worrying about his delicate eardrums throbbing to notice the dangerous glint in the raven-haired girl's fierce brown eyes.
"OSUWARI!" Kagome shouted. How dare he criticize her singing!
"ARGH…I HATE YOU AND THAT STUPID SONG!" InuYasha muttered, his face flat in the ground.
"OSUWARI!" Kagome yelled once again. It was one thing to insult her singing voice, but it was a whole different thing to insult one of her favorite songs of all time.
Satisfied with the amount of pain she caused him, she started to walk towards the kitchen door, curious to see what had become of her friend and the pervert. Maybe they were even kissing? She rushed towards the window, wanting to steal a glance but she didn't get that far -- as one of InuYasha's clawed hands grabbed a hold on one of her feet.
Kagome went flying through the air and landed hard on the checkered floor.
"InuYasha! What was that for!" The raven-haired girl gasped, looking back -- to find the hanyou crawling towards her.
"Y-you…bitch…I'll get you...!" InuYasha murmured, his face still planted firmly in the ground. Kagome was impressed -- she was surprised that he could even move, despite the fact that the subduing spell hadn't completely worn off yet.
"OSUWARI, OSUWARI, OSUWARI!" Kagome yelled, hoping to stop him in his tracks. But the half-demon kept clawing his way towards her, while one of her ankles was held in a death grip.
Kagome was terrified. What exactly was he going to do to her!
The raven-haired girl had only one option: to throw fruit at him.
Struggling to get one of the silver bowls of fruit off one of the counter tops, she grabbed a pineapple and chucked it at the hanyou's head. Then she started to throw oranges, apples, mangos…Fruits were practically raining down on the half-demon's silver-haired head.
And then he had finally reached her, his face inches away from her.
He smirked at the raven-haired girl, giving her a glimpse of his sharp fangs.
Then from behind, he stretched his clawed hands…
And dumped a whole batch of smoothie on her head.
"Take that, Ka-go-me!" InuYasha snicked immaturely, admiring his lovely work. It was just priceless seeing the raven-haired girl covered in a berry smoothie mess. Taking another good look at her, the hanyou started to crack up hysterically.
Kagome's fierce brown eyes were ready to kill.
"ARGH! OSUWARI, OSUWARI, OSUWARI, OSUWARI!" Kagome shrieked at the top of her lungs, but no matter how much she sitted him he was still laughing (even though it was a little muffled since his face was probably glued to the floor by now). "OSUWARI, OSUWARI, OOOOOO---"
A familiar voice suddenly broke Kagome's chain of Osuwari's.
"What is going on here?" Sango and Miroku both asked simultaneously as they stood there in confusion at the scene in front of them. They couldn't figure out why Kagome was covered in a smoothie mess, or why InuYasha's face was practically apart of the floor now.
"Oh shit." Kagome and InuYasha muttered under their breath, both realizing that they were caught in the act (well, Kagome muttered anyway -- InuYasha could barely move any of the muscles in his face since it was stuck in the floor and all).
"I mean…OH! Sango! What could you possibly mean? This is…uh…er… NORMAL Yeah, that's the word! I'm always covered in smoothie and sitting InuYasha at this time….!" Kagome lied horribly. She was such a bad liar, especially to Sango. But it didn't really matter -- she and InuYasha were done for anyway.
"What the fuck was that? That was the most pathetic lie I've ever--"Kagome shoved the hanyou's face deeper into the ground, trying to muffle out his criticizing voice and his mocking laughter. He definitely wasn't making the situation any better.
"What he was trying to say…was that we're sorry for interrupting you." Kagome apologized on her knees, begging for mercy from her best friend. But Sango stared at her unforgivingly.
"Interrupting us from what…?" The dark-haired girl asked dangerously, but Kagome didn't get the hint.
"From you and Miroku hugging of course! It was just so cute! I…" Kagome stopped mid-sentence and suddenly realized what she had done wrong.
'OH SHIT! I SUCKKK!' Kagome thought to herself as she got up and ran past the dark-haired teens. Miroku just stood there watching, amazed at how fast Kagome was running while Sango started to chase after her.
"SO YOU WERE SPYING ON US?" Sango shouted accusingly, ready to strangle the raven-haired girl's neck.
"Spying…is…such….a…harsh…word…Sango!" Kagome gasped in-between breaths, "I…would…say…something…like…supervising?"
"KAGOME HIGURASHI…YOU ARE DEAD!" Sango shouted, ready to treat her raven-haired best friend like a trash can.
Kagome ran like her life depended on it -- which was true in a way.
M e a n w h i l e…
"So, you guys were watching us weren't you?" Miroku asked of the recovering hanyou, whose face was still attached to the checkered tiled floor.
"Mmmhmmf." Inuyasha responded as best as he could. Miroku just smiled lovingly as he watched his beautiful Sango chase her best friend around the shop.
"You really like her don't you?" The hanyou's muffled voice was hard to understand, but the dark-haired teen understood perfectly what his friend was aking.
"Of course I do!" Miroku said proudly, his bright azure eyes sparkling. He turned his head towards the face-planted half-demon.
"I've never seen you laugh so hard before…ever. I was beginning to think that you were an emotionless void, unable to feel." The dark-haired boy kidded with the hanyou, since InuYasha couldn't do anything about it at the moment. He could hear his silver-haired friend muttering curse words and insults at him.
"But Kagome was the one that was able to make you laugh, something that was even difficult for me to do…" Miroku's playful expression suddenly turned very serious, and even though InuYasha couldn't see it, he could hear Miroku's solemn voice clearly, "You really like her don't you?"
InuYasha didn't respond.
Miroku didn't expect him to.
'That's what they all say…' Miroku thought, smiling all-knowingly while shaking his head.
After their conversation ended in silence, Miroku's serious face was replaced with a mischievous grin -- suddenly getting another one of his crazy ideas.
"Now, if you'll excuse me..." Miroku said to the for once silent hanyou. With a playful glint in his deep violet eyes, the dark-haired boy abandoned his half-demon friend and started to chase after his dearest Sango.
"MYYYYYY BELOVEEEED SANGOOOOOOO! WAIT FOR MEEEEE!" Miroku hollered, chasing after the object of his affection.
Sango looked in front of her and behind her.
The dark-haired girl couldn't make up her mind.
She didn't know who to kill first -- the nosy best friend or the annoying pervert.
But once she felt the slight graze of a hand on her bottom, her mind was made up in an instant.
"ARGHHHHH! HENTAIIIIII!" Sango shrieked, as she slapped him across the face and sent him flying into a couple of shelves. She suddenly realized how she hadn't done that in awhile -- and realized just how much she missed it. It felt good to injure the pervert again now that things were back to normal.
Smiling happily, Sango spotted an unfinished smoothie on one of the many tables they didn't clean. All of a sudden, she was struck with a brilliant idea and grabbed it.
"This, Houshi -- is for groping me all the time!" Sango shouted triumphantly as she dumped the smoothie on his dark-haired head. She replayed the victorious moment in her head, mentally saving it in her mind for later.
Suddenly inspired, she seized a handful of fruits from one of the silver bowls on the tables.
"And this…is for beating me at that Tai Kwon Do match we had earlier!" Sango said delightedly, completely satisfied now that she was getting the revenge she had always wanted on the lecherous womanizer.
But, as if in slow motion, she saw all of the fruit she threw -- which was a vast arrangement of apples, pears, and berries of many kinds -- hit an unwanted target, Kagome.
But Sango didn't regret it, realizing that she was chasing after her best friend just moments ago. Kagome had it coming to her, sooner or later. The dark-haired girl reveled in the fact that she had just killed two birds with one stone.
Her triumphant victory was short lived however.
What Sango wasn't expecting was the wrath of Kagome --
When that wrath was unleashed, her raven-haired best friend was just plain scary.
"WHY AM I ALWAYS THE ONE GETTING FRUIT DUMPED ON?" Kagome shouted angrily as she snatched all of the silver bowls of fruit and hoarded them as ammo.
Her fierce dark brown eyes bored holes into Sango.
Once again, the dark-haired girl had no where to escape.
'Why am I always the one cornered?' Sango thought desperately.
And then without warning, she attacked.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!' Kagome roared frighteningly as she aimed all of the fruit she was throwing at Sango.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! MY DEAREST SANGOOOOOOOOOO!"
Sango's life flashed before her eyes.
Something flew at her.
All was dark…
When Sango's pink eye-lined brown eyes fluttered open, she found Miroku on top of her -- shielding her from the fruit that Kagome was pelting at them.
"Are you alright, my beautiful Sango?" Miroku asked worriedly, his face covered with fruit and pulp. Sango didn't know what to say -- did the pervert really throw himself in front of her…just to protect her from flying fruit?
It was just too ridiculous for Sango to comprehend.
"NO ONE GETS IN MY WAYYYYYYYY!" Kagome cried out as she started spraying smoothies on them. But Miroku wasn't going to give up anytime soon.
"YOU ARE NOT GOING TO GET MY BELOVED SANGOOOO, YOU BEAST!" Miroku shouted out heroically as he started to fight back with fruit.
Sango took a moment to look around Kajuu Juusuu's. It was a complete mess: fruits were everywhere, spilled smoothies were all over the place and all over them, tables and chairs were dislocated, and all of their shelves and appliances had practically fallen over. The dark-haired girl suddenly realized that they're job was for them to be cleaning it. It was a total and utter disaster.
Suddenly InuYasha came out of nowhere, finally dislodged from the ground.
He came in between the raven-haired girl and the violet-eyed boy.
With a confused where-the-hell-am-I look on his face, he looked at the both of them.
"What the HELL are you guys doing? You guys are fucking out of your mind!" InuYasha said in disbelief, not realizing how vulnerable his position was right now.
Silence and tension filled the air.
"ATTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!" Kagome ordered, breaking the silence.
"What the fu-" But InuYasha wasn't able to finish his sentence.
Before Sango could even warn the oblivious hanyou, it was too late.
He was already struck down in a couple of minutes.
Sango took one last look at the place and shook her head, completely forgetting about where they were and joining in on the fruit-battling fun.
The four of them were laughing and enjoying the good old fashioned food fight that they were having. It seemed that the fruit-throwing and smoothie-hurling was going to last forever…
"WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?" Rin shouted.
…Until they were busted.
After apologizing and begging for mercy from their boss, Rin Meirou had forgiven them (she was just glad that she found the place covered with fruit instead of it being on fire). She wasn't even that mad about the whole thing -- she was just completely stunned when she saw Kajuu Juusuu's. But after getting over the initial shock, she started to laugh at her employees -- seeing them all covered in fruits and smoothies was just hilarious.
Despite them all laughing about it now, her employees were ordered to clean up the whole mess. It was their job after all and it was what they were supposed to be doing in the first place. Agreeing to stay a lot later than usual, the four employees finally cleaned up the place.
The next day, Rin asked them a question. "What exactly were you guys doing while you were goofing off, anyway?" But she got no response from the embarrassed dark-haired girl, the grinning pervert, the scowling hanyou, and the overexcited raven-haired girl.
Shortly after Rin's inquiring, Kagome came up to her -- whispering the juicy little story eagerly to her boss, informing her on the new relationship that was blossoming right in Kajuuu Juusuu's. Rin's chestnut brown eyes were finally enlightened, and the two girls jumped up and down shrieking enthusiastically.
Suddenly inspired with the story that the raven-haired girl had just finished telling her, Rin got a fantastic idea. After purchasing a dry erase board and decorating it with her handwriting and many different colored markers, she displayed it right in front of the cash register. 'Flavor of the Week' was written in bubble letters on the top, while under it she wrote Kajuu Juuusu's new signature flavor: Berrylicious Fruit Fight Mix.
Rin had also decided to install speakers all over the shop, as well as outside -- which blasted all different kinds of hit songs, such as the catchy rock song 'Flavor of the Week' and the upbeat techno song 'Everytime We Touch'. She even played a little Britney Spears from time to time.
Kagome and Rin were definitely the masterminds of the changes in Kajuu Juusuu's,
While Sango and Miroku were oblivious to the significance of them.
And InuYasha…well, he never knew what was going on anyway.
Breathe in…
Breathe out…
Concentrate…
Do not lose your focus. Breathe in…Breathe out…Concentrate… Breathe in…Breathe out…Concentrate… Breathe in…Breathe out…Concentrate… Breathe in…Breathe out…Concentrate… Breathe in…Breathe out…Concentrate…
C'mon Sango girl,
You can do this…
You can do this…
Let him think he can get me…
Fake to the side…
Wait for it…
AND NOW!
Sango swiftly flipped over her opponent's body.
And just like that it was over -- she had won.
"Challenger One was unable to defeat Challenger Two! Challenger Two wins this battle!" the Tai Kwon Do Master, Kiuchi-sensei, declared.
Everyone cheered.
Everyone clapped.
Sango Taijiya, 'The Girl Exterminator', was back.
Everyone's eyes were staring at her, staring at a girl whose reputation suddenly recovered right before their very eyes.
But the funny thing was, Sango wasn't even worried about any of those eyes…
Except for the intense azure eyes that were practically seeing right through her.
She didn't understand or comprehend why he made her feel the way she did.
She didn't know why she had reacted the way she did whenever he was around her.
She didn't even grasp the fact that she might just be in love with Miroku Houshi.
All she understood, knew, and grasped was her desire to smack him in the face.
But after thinking about it for a couple minutes, she suddenly realized that right now she really didn't want to smack him in the face for once in her life.
Unconsciously, she was secretly desiring to be held by him once more.
And of course, he felt the exact same way -- that moment they shared was all he ever thought about now.
But they didn't say a word, communicating to each other with a little smile and a bow, now that their Tai Kwon Do match was over.
Was embracing your opponent lovingly against the rules?
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: So what did you all think about this chapter? Long, huh? That's what I thought. Honestly I thought that this chapter was going to be way shorter than this, but it ended up being one of my longest chapters yet of '' I have to admit, this chapter gave me of grief -- I had so many difficulties with this chapter and its flow…it nearly drove me crazy! But I'm glad that I finished it. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter because it took me to complete it! So what did you all think about this chapter? Long, huh? That's what I thought. Honestly I thought that this chapter was going to be way shorter than this, but it ended up being one of my longest chapters yet of '' I have to admit, this chapter gave me of grief -- I had so many difficulties with this chapter and its flow…it nearly drove me crazy! But I'm glad that I finished it. I really hope you guys enjoy this chapter because it took me to complete it!
Oh yeah, before I forget -- I just wanted to get a second opinion…
What's Your Opinion: Was the chapter too long? Should I split it up into parts?
I haven't decided whether or not I wanted to split up the chapter or not.
So it would help a lot if you guys could help me out!
I'm still deciding what's going to happen in the next chapter..but there will be a lot more I& K and S & M fluff on the way! Also, check out the cover art for Isn't Life Juicy? -- it's in my profile under the Expressing My Fanfiction section. I'd like to know what you guys think of it!
Author's Review Response Corner
Since this chapter has way too many words in it, I don't want to stretch it out anymore by including Author's Review Response Corner…but I'd just like to show my appreciation and thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter: the critical and fabulous reviews of Pick 'n' mix, the ongoing encouraging support of my most energetic fan tweakinuears, and the reviews of animearlinefreak, Kit, Punk Rock Miko2, Kannilala, and InuFilipinaFan -- this chapter would definitely not be here without you guys!
Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha or any of Rumiko Takahashi's characters. I also do not own the following songs: "Oops, I did it again" by Britney Spears, "Flavor of the Week" by American Hi-fi,"Breathe (2AM)" by Anna Nalick, and "Everytime We Touch" by Cascada.
Thanks for all of your support!
Please don't forget to review!
Until next chapter! -- AK-J.