AN:-jaws dropped, eyes wide-WHAT THE HELL? 11 REVIEWS FROM ONE CHAPTER!??? glances at reviewers are you guys nuts? Why are you reviewing? This thing isn't that good... hopeful puppy eyes is it?
Well, I'm absolutely stunned... I mean, I know there are really really good authors out there who practically scoff at only 11 reviews, but, dude, I am stoked! I mean, think about it... over a third of my total reviews came from the last chapter, alone... sigh you know, I could get used to this...
Annnnnyyyywaaay, mainly, all that blubbering was mean saying thank you to all who reviewed. In more recent news, I have technically finished chapter 10... see, the situation is that as I was writing it, it ended up being really long... so I split it into chapters 10 and 11... soooo, chapter 10 is done, and chapter 11 is merely paragraphs from being done.... aaaaannnddd, for those who have waited very patiently, a tad bit of some rather familiar mushiness will show its face... plucked straight from the show, might I add!
And now, with a last thank you to all who reviewed, enjoy chapter 8.... andyes, you will all finally find out what I meant about Sesshoumaru's secret identity...... heh, although I highly doubt any of you will be prepared for it when you do..... hee hee....
hEyKyRa13
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Protect Me
Chapter 8
A Day in the Life
Ring Ring
A long, slender hand did not pick up the phone, but instead pressed the speakerphone button.
"Sango," said the voice calmly. "What do you have to report?"
"Well, things are going relatively well," was the woman's reply. "Two weeks, and Naraku's still in France with his negotiations. I know you're gonna say don't take things for granted, but for the time being, I'm daring to enjoy myself. Kagome's doing really well at Kaede's place. She's fitting in really nicely. Kaede loves her."
"Good to hear. And our favorite anti-hero?"
A sigh was heard, and Sango paused before continuing. "Let's put it this way, Sesshoumaru. I have newfound respect for you as a suffering older brother."
Unknown to Sango, the dog demon grinned. "Glad to know I've finally been appreciated for my services."
"Don't let it go to your head," Sango warned teasingly. "I can certainly see some of the family resemblances."
Sesshoumaru's grin fell. "Excuse me?"
"The guy is stubborn, irrational and unreasonable. He practically picks fights just for the sake of arguing, and according to Kagome, he snores like an earthquake."
"What makes you think I snore?"
"Just a rumor from the Queen of Gossip, herself."
Sesshoumaru's eyes widened. "Sango, you better not-"
Click.
Sesshoumaru frowned, suppressing the urge to groan. A claw irritably jabbed at the speakerphone button and his eyes snapped to the window by his door, over looking the rest of the office.
"RIN!"
Kagome looked up from her cookies, tilting her head curiously at her friend.
"Something up?"
Sango turned to Kagome and grinned devilishly. "By now, only Sesshoumaru's blush level."
Kagome's jaw dropped in mock astonishment. "Sesshoumaru can blush?" she replied disbelievingly, reaching for a glass of water.
Another wicked glance from Sango as she laughed. "According to Rin, he can turn a very healthy purple as a response."
"Response to what?" Kagome asked, taking a gulp.
"Fluffy puppy poo."
As quickly as it went down, the water was instantly sprayed out of Kagome's mouth. The poor girl nearly choked on the liquid as she gasped for air, laughing so hard her cheeks turned red.
Having bared through this already, Sango merely smiled and nodded, taking as much pleasure in sharing the information as Kagome was in receiving it.
It took quite a while before Kagome would settle down, and as she slowly regained her breath, Inuyasha and Miroku came back.
"Hello, ladies," Miroku exclaimed jovially. "Did you miss me?"
"Hardly," Sango retorted.
Kagome opened her mouth to say likewise, but at one glance at Inuyasha, she suddenly saw a shorter, younger looking Sesshoumaru before her, and once again became victim to her own torturous laughter.
Inuyasha eyed the giggling girl warily before glancing toward Sango. "What's her problem?"
Sango chuckled, shaking her head. "Trust me, you don't wanna know."
The hanyou took one last glance at Kagome before snorting, rolling his eyes. "Whatever."
The young man walked past the pair of girls towards his room when he paused, glancing back again at Kagome. She had started to laugh so hard, she was now on the ground, rolling from side to side. Eyes slid up to the bar where Kagome's chocolate chip cookies were abandoned. With a sneaky grin, Inuyasha turned away from the door and started for the cookies. Taking a large step over the girl's form, the hanyou helped himself to a handful.
Popping one in his mouth, Inuyasha grinned smugly, and started making his way back to his room when he was suddenly stopped. He looked down.
"I don't think so, buddy," Kagome told him, recovered from her laughter enough to latch herself onto his leg.
"I thought you were occupied," Inuyasha questioned, tugging lightly.
"Not occupied enough to overlook you trying to steal my cookies!" she informed him, squeezing even tighter. "Now, put them back and step away from the cookies."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You sound like my brother."
Kagome bit her lip. "Please… don't mention him," she begged, fighting the urge to break down again.
The young man quirked an eyebrow, but wisely decided he didn't want to know. "Whatever, just let go."
"You first!"
"No! After all my protecting, I think I deserve them."
"Right, so says the guy who claims he's gonna kill me after the trial!"
"Oh, come on! You know I was just joking!"
"Oh really? How do you know I know that? You think I know you that well?"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "We've only been living together for half of a month! Geez, how much more experience do you need?"
"You call that experience!?" Kagome exclaimed, laughing sardonically. Finally releasing his leg, she pulled herself to her own feet to get into a better position for arguing.
On the other side of the room, Sango and Miroku exchanged glances. "Here we go again," Sango mouthed while Miroku nodded.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha snapped defensively.
"It means that we haven't lived together at all!" Kagome shot back. "Living together means talking together, watching movies together, eating together, doing more than staring at each other's bedroom doors!"
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes. "And how, do you propose, I eat at all, much less with you, if all you ever do is make food but then turn around and say I can't have any!?"
"So much you know! Half of the things I make are for you, but whenever you waltz in, you can't just be a gentleman about it, perhaps giving me a compliment or even saying thank you! No, you just cruise in and demand, demand, demand, like I'm your slave or something! So by the time you're done, I get so fed up with you I tell you to make your own food!"
"You know," Inuyasha replied, trying to calm his irritation, "for someone whose life is at risk every single day, you'd think you'd be more grateful for all this. You're awfully picky."
"Don't try to screw this around on me!" Kagome retorted. "I may appreciate everything Sango and Miroku and Sesshoumaru have done so far, but you do nothing but insult me, so how can I appreciate that? Heck, even Kouga's been more supportive about all this than you have!"
"Uh oh," Miroku whispered to Sango. "She shouldn't have mentioned Kouga."
At the wolf's name, Inuyasha snarled. "Are you kidding? All that mangy wolf ever does is bat his eyes and send you giggling like some love-struck little girl. I do way more than he ever does."
"Oh yeah?" Kagome asked mockingly. "Name one thing."
Flustered, now, Inuyasha glared down at her, knowing that Kagome knew he was unable to answer. With a smirk, Kagome turned to Sango and Miroku. "Hm, maybe it's just me. Sango, Miroku, neither of you remember anything, do you?"
The two exchanged glances, debating whether or not to enter the argument.
Not waiting for them to respond, Kagome returned to Inuyasha, who stood with his arms to the side, fists long forgetting the cookies they held clenching tightly, crumbs falling to the ground unnoticed. "Seems that the idea of you being worthy of my appreciation is unanimous."
"Fine, then!" Inuyasha screamed, throwing the remaining crumbs at Kagome, who dodged them easily, smirking smugly. "You think I'm so useless, maybe I ought to not even bother coming out of my room!" he yelled, storming out and into his room.
"All right, then," Kagome called sweetly. "I'll have to ask if Kouga can start protecting me, but I'm sure he won't mind."
"Screw Kouga!" Inuyasha shouted back. "And screw you, too, wench!"
Kagome nodded, already predicting his next words. Screw everybody…
"In fact, screw everybody!"
"Yup, knew it," she muttered to herself, sighing. Shaking her head, she moved toward Sango and Miroku when she paused, inspired. With a small smile, she twisted back into the kitchen, ripped a sheet of paper towel from the stand, and in it wrapped a few cookies. Glancing at the two agents, she held a finger to her lips before comically tip toeing to Inuyasha's door and kneeling. Sliding the wrapped cookies underneath the door, she stood up and called, "Thank you, Inuyasha!"
"Mmprh!" Was his muffled reply, but Kagome distinctly heard movement as he silently accepted the treats.
Kagome giggled, feeling pleased with herself. Someday, I'll get through to him, she told herself confidently.
Ding Dong
"Oh, Sango, would you get that?" Kagome called, retrieving a broom to sweep up the cookie crumbs. "That's probably Kaede."
"Sure," the girl replied, hopping to her feet to get to the door. Sure enough, as she opened the door, there was the old woman, smiling. "Grams! Hi!"
"Well, hello, Sango," the old woman replied. Leaning over to see past Sango's shoulder, she saw Miroku smile and wave. "You, too, Miroku."
"Hi, Grandma!" the young man said.
"What brings you here, Grams?" Sango asked.
Kaede smiled and stepped out of the way. "Well, I have a town council meeting to attend, and Kikyo volunteered to watch my grandson for me."
Sango peeked behind Kaede's form. She frowned. "Is he coming by later or something?"
Kaede blanched and looked behind her, stunned to see nothing but empty space. She whirled around, looking up and down the hallway. "Oh, drat! He's gone off again!"
"Maybe we can help find him, Kaede," Sango suggested. "What does he look like?"
"He's small, only but about ye big," she said, holding her hand just below her knee. "Bushy, carrot red hair and big blue eyes, he's really the sweetest thing."
Sango nodded, being sure to remember all the details. "Okay, what's his name?"
"The child answers to-"
"Shippo!"
Both women turned at Kagome's voice to find her holding back a small kitsune cub from the plate of cookies while the child struggled, straining his fingers for the treats that were just out of his reach.
"But, Kikyo!" the child whined, still squirming. "All I want is just one!"
Sango laughed. "Kaede, I think we've found your grandson."
Miroku nodded thoughtfully. "But he's a fox demon, though, correct? How'd he end up becoming your grandson?"
Sango's face fell as she glanced at Kaede's suddenly sorrowful expression. "The lad's parents were good friends of mine. When they became sick about a year ago, I told them I'd take care of little Shippo for them. After they died, I legally adopted the boy and he became my official grandson. The poor dear wouldn't speak for weeks after they passed. Became a real terror for all the babysitters I tried to arrange for him. Kikyo's the first he's ever opened up to-"
"Granny!" Shippo wailed, throwing the woman a tearful gaze. "You say I can have a cookie, right?"
Despite her grief at the memory, Kaede offered the child a small smile. "Aye, child. You may-"
"Hah!" Shippo claimed triumphantly, looking up at Kagome.
"-After you've eaten your dinner," Kaede finished, winking at Kagome before she turned to leave.
"Awww! But Granny!"
Kagome giggled, putting the defeated-looking cub on the ground and leaning close to his ear. "Hey, why don't you go say hi to Inuyasha while I make dinner. I bet he has some toys for you to play with."
"Really?" the child exclaimed, perking. At Kagome's nod, the boy bounced off to go wreck havoc on the sulking hanyou.
"Way to distract the kid, Kagome," Miroku congratulated.
"Not only that," Kagome agreed, "but watching the two of them together provides better entertainment than satellite TV!"
"How so?" the young man asked.
Kagome held up a finger, shaking her head and smiling. "No, just give it a second or two more and you'll-"
"WENCH!"
"See?" Kagome whispered, grinning as the hanyou threw his door back and stormed out, little Shippo latched onto his leg like Kagome was earlier. "Yes, Inuyasha?" she asked sweetly.
"Why the hell do you always send the twerp to bug me!?" he screamed.
Kagome smiled as she turned to fill a pot with water for dinner. "Because Shippo likes you. Because I need to make dinner. Because I find personal pleasure in watching you two together."
Sangoleaned over to Miroku, whispering, "What's the score, now?"
Mirokupaused, counting off his fingers. "Um, I think it's Kagome-14, Inuyasha-2, Kaede-6 and you come in second place with 8."
Sango nodded, pleased. "Good," she replied, turning back to the arguement at hand.
Inuyasha sneered. "You find personal pleasure in any damn thing that happens to piss me off, you wench!"
"Watch your language," Kagome admonished with a grin though she did not disagree with him, setting the pot on the stove to boil.
"Damn you," was his only reply as he leaned down to pry the kid off of his leg. Grabbing him by the collar of his shirt, he held him up to eye level. "Leave me alone, brat!"
"Hey, Inuyasha? What does 'wench' mean?" the boy asked curiously. "And 'damn'? And 'piss'?"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Maybe you'll find out when you're bigger, runt."
"When will I be bigger?"
"Later."
"How much later?"
"Just not now, okay?" Inuyasha yelled, getting frustrated.
"But when?"
"Don't you ever shut up!?" he screamed, throwing the boy onto the couch. Miroku had to scramble out of the way so he could land safely on the cushion, narrowly avoiding crashing onto the floor.
"Inuyasha!" Sango exclaimed, rushing to the child's side. "What do you think you were doing? You could have hurt him!"
Sango pulled the child out from between the cushions where he was stuck, only to find, to her surprise, the kid giggling incessantly. Bouncing out of Sango's arms, he scurried up to Inuyasha, jumping up and down excitedly at his feet. "Can we do that again? That was fun!"
Inuyasha growled, eyes snapping to Sango. "Trust me, if I could hurt the little squirt, I would have done it long ago!"
With that, he brushed past the child and stomped back into his room, locking the door. Shippo got to his feet and smiled. "Hah! You think a lock can keep me away?" With that, he leapt into the air and burst into a puff of pink smoke. When he landed, he was a tiny spider, scurrying off under Inuyasha's door.
"Don't you ever worry about Inuyasha harming him?" Sango asked, doubtfully. "The guy's not exactly the most patient, especially with a kid like Shippo."
"True, but Inuyasha'd never hurt Shippo," Kagome told her confidently.
Sango quirked an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure?"
Kagome shrugged, brandishing the cutting knife she was about to use on the vegetables. "Shippo's only been here a few times, but you can tell when he's with Inuyasha. The guy'll get all macho and try to push him around, but he never does anything super harsh. If he throws him, he'll make sure it's onto something soft. If he punches him, he'll do it in a way that won't really hurt him. I can tell he restrains himself a lot."
Sango nodded understandingly, smirking. "Who would have guessed he'd be such a softie for kids?"
"Shippo's had it pretty tough, for a kid," Kagome replied softly, smiling. "I guess Inuyasha can relate."
"Looks like there's more to our hanyou friend than meets the eye," Miroku remarked thoughtfully.
Kagome nodded. "He acts so tough and indifferent, but sometimes, I don't think that's the real him. Sure, there are the times when he completely gets on my nerves, but…"
Sango laughed. "Well, that certainly doesn't sound like the Kagome I know. Actually taking pity on the guy you can hardly stand? All you two ever do is argue!"
Kagome nodded, giggling. "And boy, is it fun!" she admitted. "But still, I can tell. He acts a lot like my brother did when he was trying to act so grown up- he'd sulk around, biting off people's heads, but really, he just kinda lonely inside."
"And you're going to fix his loneliness?" Miroku assumed.
The girl shrugged, smiling. "Why not? If we're going to be living together for a while, might as well make the best of it, right?"
Sango grinned. "Good for you, Kagome."
Kagome smiled, dropping the vegetables into the boiling pot. "Afterall," she continued rather wistfully, "I can understand what it feels like to be lonely."
In his room, Inuyasha sighed, quirking an eyebrow at the sleeping child on his bed. Little Shippo jumped on it for so long, he wore himself out. Right now, the hanyou sat in his plush leather chair seated beneath the window, watching the boy, thoughtfully.
His ears twitched back and forth as he listened to Kagome speak. Brows furrowed heavy over troubled golden eyes.
You think you've got me figured out, girl, he thought scornfully, frowning. You think you know it all. You have absolutely no idea.
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AN: Still on ground, laughing HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH..... Fluffy ..... ha ha ha ha ha ha.... Puppy......ha ha ha POO!!!!!! wipes tears from eyes ahhh, now that was funny! Good times, good times......
Review Responses: (yay! There's a bunch!)
uniquechic: Sarcasm is my middle name..... well, technically its Marie, but if I were to change it, it'd be sarcasm.... yeah, well, as for your friend.... Monica, I apologize if my fiction has inspired your friend to cause you any harm.... it was meant for Miroku, not you.... and is Sesshoumaru a crossdresser?.... heh heh, isn't he technically one already?.... He looks way too girly to be manly.... glances at Sesshoumaru, sharpening claws... heh heh, although one swipe from his claws can definately change an opinion, though, right?
infynitistars: I am glad you're enjoying this... hee, and to be honest, I was grinning like a Chesire cat.... or rather, Chesire Kat (Kat's my name, btw) while I was writing it... chapter 2 is, so far, one of the best in terms of Sango and Miroku squabbling.... I felt it was a good way to introduce them, you know?
BlackDiamond-Dragoness: I'm happy you like it. I have chapters waiting in reserve as I continue writing, so you hopefully won't have to wait that long...
I love Kouga!: personally, I like Kouga, too.... he's way cool, even though I prefer Inuyasha's hot-temperness... anyway, I'm glad you're pleased.
meece: eyes wide Genius!? Me!? You gotta be kidding, right?...... right?........ blush .... thanks.....
eeyargh: smile glad to know my cliffhanger was appreciated... I was rather proud of it, myself... and no, I didn't know about the Yuri, thing.... yeah, Hojo might stand out a little more... but, I dunno, I wanted him to be memorable....
Varethane: You're formula is correct.... the more they hate each other in the beginning, the more impactful their actual slow bonding will be... and don't worry, I'm actually working on it right now... as for all your questions, well, I'm afraid you're just going to have to be patient. Charles was a random spurt of inspiration, and has absolutely no purposeful reference to anything or anyone whatsoever. Glad you're liking it all, though.
kyoko-the-lonely-demon626: smile you're always such an awesome reviewer. Thank you so much.
Moo: Thank you for reading my fic in the first place. I will try to update, soon.
Keyo-Red Angel of Hope: grins and salutes back At ease, soldier! giggle and thank you for your excess of compliments, once again... hee, dot dot dot... hee...
Next Chapter: Someone dies... I think I shall leave it at that.... my, I'm feeling rather evil, aren't I?