Chapter 14:
The small group had lunched at a little Vietnamese restaurant, where Tamisé knew the owners. Although the food wasn't exactly what he was used to, Inuyasha was comfortable there, since he could use chopsticks. Kirsten warned him away from the spicier foods, after he mentioned that he did not care for them.
Tamisé inquired as to how Kagome's date had gone, raising an eyebrow at Kirsten.
"We didn't have a chance to speak to Kagome this morning. She was still sleeping when we left. But she came in at a reasonable time."
Inuyasha laid down his chopsticks and stared at his plate. "He kissed her," he whispered.
"What was that, Yasha?" asked Tamisé.
Inuyasha cleared his throat. "He kissed her. I saw."
Kirsten put an arm about his shoulders. "Don't take it so seriously, Inuyasha. It's common for a guy to kiss a girl goodnight when they've been out together. Even on a first date."
"And just how did you see them? Were you up in that tree again?" Tamisé was grinning at him.
Inuyasha swallowed and nodded. "I couldn't sleep until I knew she was safe home."
"Okay," said Jonathan. "Is David still alive?" There was laughter in his voice.
Inuyasha snorted and turned his head. "Keh! 'Course he is."
Tamisé knocked Jonathan in the arm and changed the subject, seeing that Inuyasha was upset. "What say we go back to the house and pick up Kagome and do a little more sight-seeing? Would you like to see Chinatown, Inuyasha? Or perhaps the Art Gallery or Museum? We have time for a movie, if you like." He snapped his fingers. "I know – we'll grab everyone and go to the Science Centre. The kids can run around there to their hearts' content. How about it?"
"Sounds like a plan," Jonathan said, putting his napkin on the table. "Ryan loves going there."
"Alright then. It's settled." Tamisé motioned the waiter over and asked for the cheque.
OoOoOo
Two hours later, Inuyasha was standing on a platform with his hand held firmly against a huge metal ball, while his hair lifted all around him and stood on end.
Now, how did I get talked into this?
Kagome was down in the audience, laughing and snapping pictures of him to send home, and probably to show their friends in the Feudal era as well. The demonstrator was talking about electricity and how the Van de Graff generator worked, and warned Inuyasha once more not to remove his hand.
Geez, I'm SO glad that I can provide these stupid humans some amusement.
The generator reminded him uncomfortably of the time those three obnoxious monkey sprites had magicked his hand onto a massive boulder. At least this time, he was a prisoner of science, not magic, and the demonstrator had reassured him that he was able to turn the equipment off at any time.
At last, the demonstrator powered down the generator, and allowed Inuyasha to step off the platform after his hair had settled once more about his shoulders. He shook hands with Inuyasha and thanked him for being such a good sport.
Down on the floor, Ryan launched himself at Inuyasha and grabbed his leg.
"Wow! You were great!" the child said. "You should have seen yourself, Yasha."
Inuyasha ruffled the child's hair. "I was great, huh?"
"Oh yeah! I would have been too scared to go up there – but not you! I don't think you're scared of anything, are you?"
Inuyasha smiled down at the child. I'm scared of a whole lotta things, kid. But the trick is not to show it.
"Oh, Inuyasha," Kagome chortled. "Just wait until everyone back home sees these pictures!"
"Wonderful," Inuyasha muttered, allowing Ryan to take his hand and drag him off towards another nearly incomprehensible display. Although he now understood English, Inuyasha still could not read it and had to rely on the others to translate it for him.
But there was no denying that he was intrigued by the place. There was almost nothing that you could not touch and so much to see. Tamisé and Jonathan spent a great deal of their time explaining things to the two little boys, and incidentally, to Inuyasha as well. Inuyasha was not permitted to touch any of the computers at TDN, but here, he could bang on a keyboard all he wanted, although he had to be coached by Kirsten to get any kind of result. He had stared, fascinated, at the space display. Secretly, he had always believed that Kagome was having him on about mankind going to the moon.
Inuyasha was disappointed when the children tired out and the adults decided that it was time to leave before the whining started.
"We can always come back again," Kirsten promised him. "Did you like it?"
He nodded enthusiastically. "But can we skip the generator next time?"
OoOoOo
It was almost a relief to get into the office on Monday morning. Inuyasha had scarcely spoken to Kagome the rest of Sunday, since he was afraid he would lose his temper if the subject of David came up. He had seen a dreamy look on her face several times in the evening, and it had bothered him so much that he had retreated to the willow tree in the park. He would have spent the night in the tree if Jonathan hadn't come looking for him and convinced him that his bed was much more comfortable.
Sharon was at her desk when Inuyasha and Kirsten arrived. She was chewing a nail nervously and even more nervous when Kirsten asked her to step inside her office with them.
"I heard what happened on Friday, Sharon," Kirsten said without preamble. "You understand that that was entirely inappropriate behaviour."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Sharon hung her head and twisted her hands together. Inuyasha felt sorry for the girl, but Kirsten had explained that she had to be reprimanded.
"Inuyasha has insisted that he does not wish to make a complaint, and has indicated that an apology for the incident will be acceptable. I'll step outside for a few moments."
Kirsten left the room, closing the door firmly behind her.
Sharon was even more nervous, if that was possible, and Inuyasha could smell the salt of tears that hovered in her eyes.
"I'm very sorry, sir," she said. "It won't happen again."
Inuyasha stepped forward and took up her hands. "Some of it was my fault too, Sharon. I shouldn't have let you touch me to begin with. But my head was aching badly and you did help me. You see, I've spent much of my life alone, and I don't always know what's app – appro… appropriate, either. Can we just say that we both made a mistake?"
"Alright." Sharon sniffled.
Inuyasha reached behind him and grabbed a tissue from the box on Kirsten's desk.
"Here, use this. Kirsty freaks if you use your sleeve."
Sharon gave a strangled laugh and took the tissue to blow her nose.
"Thanks, Inuyasha. And thanks for not getting me fired. You could have, you know."
Inuyasha shrugged. "I know. But Kirsty counts on you a lot, and you've been with her for a long time."
Sharon moved by him to put the tissue into the garbage can. As she passed him again, he gently took her arm.
"Sharon… I want you to understand that I'm in love with someone, and that's not going to change. At least, not until she tells me she doesn't want me. I'd like to be friends with you, but that's all. For now, at least."
The girl nodded. "Sure. I'd really like that."
"Alright then." He nodded. "As far as I'm concerned, Friday never happened."
"Okay."
Inuyasha ushered her out of the office and watched as she sat down. Kirsten was down the hall chatting to someone, but ended the conversation and meandered back to them.
"All settled?" she said.
Inuyasha nodded. "Done and forgotten." He smiled down at Sharon. "But I hope the dinner offer is still open."
"Any time."
"Okay, then. And Sharon… the next time Inuyasha needs a massage, book one of the massage therapists for him instead of trying to do the job yourself. All right? Ken or Consuela would probably suit him."
"Yes, Ma'am."
"And stop 'ma'aming' me, willya? I know I'm old, but I'm not ancient."
"Okay."
"Now… let's get you into the sensor suit, Inuyasha. I had an inspiration last night, and I'm going to let you try to take apart one of my sparring robots." Kirsten grinned at Sharon. "How about you come downstairs with us, Sharon?"
"You mean it?"
"Sure. But you're still not helping Inuyasha get the suit on." Kirsten smiled and winked. "You might want to bring that box of tissues with you."
OoOoOo
Kirsten looked around the observation room, wondering how so many people had managed to squeeze themselves in, despite the monitoring equipment. The news that their Japanese guest was going to try to take apart a sparring robot had apparently travelled fast. Even Tayne had come down to watch.
"Goodness," Tayne said quietly in Kirsten's ear. "I had no idea that our little half-demon was so… so… Is it hot in here, or just me?"
Kirsten grinned. "He seems to have that effect on a lot of females, and it confuses the hell out of him. I'm surprised he has that effect on you, Tayne."
"Hmmph. Maybe I'm going to go into season early this time around. I wish Milan was back at home."
"How's his mother?"
Tayne shook her head. "Not well at all, I fear. It's just a matter of time now."
"Sorry to hear it."
Tayne nodded in acknowledgement. "Shall we get this show on the road?"
"Cerberus, where's RD-1? We're all waiting and it's getting crowded in here."
The computer did not bother to reply, but opened an access panel for the robot to enter the training room.
Kirsten watched as Inuyasha took several steps backward as the robot entered. RD-1, or Ardy, as Kirsten affectionately called it, was one of the older sparring robots. It stood a good seven feet tall and was humanoid in appearance. It did not have the grace and fluidity of newer models, but made up for it in brute strength and speed. Ardy was designed to come apart when it was hit in a certain manner and with a certain amount of force, but it took Cobra's or Dragon's strength to do it.
Cerberus was controlling Ardy and had the robot make a proper bow to Inuyasha. The half-demon stared for a moment, then bowed in return, a little disconcerted by its actions.
"Don't draw Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha," Kirsten said through the intercom. "Let's see how you do against Ardy on your own strength."
Tayne made a small sound of amusement beside her as Inuyasha turned his head briefly towards the control room and gave a feral grin.
"Like I need Tetsusaiga to open a tin can."
"Ardy is ready any time," Cerberus said. "Are we talking or are we fighting?"
Inuyasha flexed his claws. "I'm gonna take you apart."
"Brave words, my friend."
Inuyasha tossed his head and growled. He made a leap at the robot and was knocked flying. He landed hard on his backside, shaking his head from side to side.
How'd that happen? Gods, it's faster than I thought it would be.
The robot stood over him, immense and threatening. Inuyasha felt a flash of fear until he remembered that Cerberus was controlling it. But who was controlling Cerberus? A huge metal fist was coming at him, and he managed to roll out of the way, and stumbling to his feet. A leap and kick at the robot's back had Ardy staggering forward until it regained its balance.
"Nice," Cerberus said.
Ardy turned rapidly, swinging a fist his smaller opponent. Inuyasha dodged, backflipping a good ten feet away. The robot came at him in a flurry, and for the next few moments, everything seemed a blur to the observers.
"Iron Reaver!" Inuyasha screamed, jumping into the air as high as he could manage without hitting the ceiling. Claws swung – connected with a steel limb, which gave way – and Ardy was minus his left arm.
Both Kirsten and Tayne started, then looked at each other uncomfortably.
"Did you know he could do that?"
Kirsten shook her head. "I get the worst feeling that there's lots he hasn't told me about himself. Remember, our pal there is used to keeping secrets – it's what's kept him alive."
There were murmurs around the room from the watchers. Sharon found herself clutching at Kirsten's arm.
"I didn't know he was so strong," she whispered.
"You learn something new every day," Kirsten muttered to herself irritably. She was going to have to have a chat with her little silver-haired friend. She needed to know everything, if she was expected to help him improve his skills. But from the looks of things, it seemed that he didn't need any help from her.
By this time, Inuyasha had drawn Ardy into a running battle, using his speed and agility to run circles around the larger robot. Ardy was fast, but hardly as fast as the half-demon. Inuyasha would dance in close for a couple of blows, then move out of the way before Ardy could respond. There was a gasp of amazement from everyone in the room as Inuyasha built up enough speed to run along two of the walls before leaping onto Ardy's back just behind the head. One swipe, and the head fell to the floor, bouncing and rolling until it hit a wall. Ardy toppled over as well, as Inuyasha jumped clear, landing crouched on the floor, watching warily to see if the robot could still move.
The control room exploded with cheers and howls of approval. Tayne winced at the noise, but smiled indulgently. Kirsten opened the intercom so Inuyasha could hear the cheers.
"Hear that, Inuyasha? That's all for you."
Inuyasha's ears twitched at the noise coming through the intercom. He grinned as he stood and bowed in the direction of the control room.
Before he knew it, the room flooded with people, all of whom seemed to want to touch him, to pat him on the back and arms. Someone ruffled his bangs, while someone else tugged gently at one of his ears. He laughed in exultation as TC threw an arm about his neck and hugged him, yelling, "You did it! You did it!" Then suddenly, everyone withdrew to allow Tayne and Kirsten to approach.
Tayne stopped a few feet away, then bowed.
"Just amazing, Inuyasha," she said.
He returned the bow. "Thank you."
Kirsten bowed as well, but said nothing.
"Sensei," Inuyasha said.
"Perhaps it is you who should be teaching me," Kirsten said softly.
Inuyasha took the few strides that would bring him to her. He went down on one knee and took her hands in his clawed ones.
"No, no, sensei," he said. "Please…I still need you to teach me. That… that was good enough for common demons, but it's not good enough to get Naraku."
"If that wasn't good enough to get Naraku, then I'm not sure I can help you," Kirsten said.
"Oh – cut it out, Kirsty," TC said. "You're the best this stupid planet has to offer. Of course you can help him."
A murmur of agreement went around the group. Inuyasha saw the hesitation in the small mutant's eyes and he squeezed her fingers.
"If you are the best – then it's you I need," he said. "There are things you can do that I can't – and that's what I need to learn. And…" he grinned up at her, "…you promised that you'd make me a Weaponsmaster."
Kirsten sighed and wondered why she was allowing those huge golden eyes and that lop-sided grin charm her into something she felt she might regret. But he was right – she had promised to make a Weaponsmaster out of him – and she did not go back on promises.
"Get up, baka," she said fondly and biffed him on the side of the head. "We've got work to do."
