Life with Koga

Chapter 10

By Alicia Maxwell

"Oh come on Alicia.  It isn't that bad," Koga attempted to cheer me up when he noticed I was still upset even after I'd slept on it.  "So our boys have started dating.  So what?  Kuro's twenty and Heroki's twenty-five.  You must realize they're growing up."

"They're still kids!" I insisted.  "Besides, what if they're going out with girls who aren't nice?"

"Alicia, do you really think Kuro and Heroki could be that stupid?" Koga asked.

"I don't know… Their dad seems a little dimwitted.  Maybe they inherited their father's brain as well as his looks," I replied.

"That was a cheap shot!" Koga yelled.

"All the same, I'm not happy about this," I sighed.

"Oh come on.  I'm sure the girls are ni--."

"Sh! Look!" I pointed through the trees to a clearing below.  Down by the edge I could see Kuro Heroki and two girls.  The one girl I could clearly identify as Tsurai, Ginta and Ichi's eldest daughter.  She was almost twenty, which would place her around the human age of twelve.  She had dark blue hair that would extend halfway down her back if it weren't tied up in a ponytail, though some of her hair did hang down in front of her ears on both sides, and red-brown eyes.  Tsurai had bangs that were always going every which way, though they weren't as bad as Rem's.  Beside Tsurai was Akai Yuki, the eldest daughter of Hakkaku and Taka.  She was a bit older, twenty-five years and six months of age, if human she'd be about thirteen and a half, and she was quite lovely for being Hakkaku's child.  Her fur was black, her eyes were ice blue, and her hair was black.

"Ah looks like we might have blood-ties to Hakkaku and Ginta both someday," Koga said.

"Why does that scare me?" I asked.

"Because you're afraid our grandchildren will take after their grandfathers and be as dumb as rocks?"

"I think so," I nodded.  "Isn't it a little soon to be thinking about grandchildren though?  They won't even be capable of having children for at least another ten to fifteen years."

"Yeah so?  That doesn't mean I can't think about it," Koga replied.

"You really like to get ahead of yourself don't ya?" I narrowed my eyes on him.

"Why not?  It's better than being behind myself," he laughed.

"What do you think they're doing down there?" I asked.  Almost as if on cue, we suddenly saw a flash and an explosion in the air.

"I can't be entirely sure but… I think they're setting off fireworks…," Koga blinked at the shiny red explosion above.

"Oh great…," I groaned.  Then I sniffed the air, "and is that burning sugar I smell!?"

"I don't know but is there something wrong with burning sugar?" Koga asked.

"Hell yeah!  It's highly flammable!  You could torch up a quarter of this mountainside with a gram of sugar and a match!"

"Oh my…"

"Tas'kete Kami-sama… I'm thinking evil thoughts again."

"Evil thoughts?"

"Thoughts like, 'If I die now, would that be okay?'" I answered.

"You are not dying on me!" Koga yelled.

"Oh hey mom!  Hey dad!" Kuro waved.  "What's up!?"

"Are you kids burning sugar down there?" I demanded.

"Yeah, why?" Kuro asked.

"Stop it! Sugar is dangerous to burn!" I yelled.

"Really?  We didn't know that," Heroki said.

"I did," Tsurai mumbled.

"Tsurai!  What do you think your father would do if he knew you purposely lit a highly-flammable substance on fire!?"

"Nothing!  My dad doesn't even understand what 'highly-flammable substance' means!" she laughed.

"That's true," I said, "but I'm sure your mother does!"

Tsurai nervously fell silent.  Her mother Ichi was a smart and strong woman who did not hesitate to punish Tsurai harshly for any misdeeds she committed.  Tsurai new this and she grew nervous in fear of what her punishment may be.

"I'm glad you see things my way," I smiled.  "If you put any and all fires out down there, I might actually approve of you going out with Kuro.  Well?"

Tsurai stood there looking at me for a while, analyzing what my approval meant.  I assumed she reached the correct conclusion because she quickly put out the fires.

"You aren't as bad as I thought you were," I told her.

"Same here," she replied with a mischievous smirk on her face.

"Grr…," I growled.

"Calm down, Alicia," Koga insisted.  "Calm down!"