A special thank you to…

Maxjudocat…xxxHallia…Rach (aka pokiepal)…Clouds of the Sky…TwilightZelda…iamthefish…ffgirlmoonie…angelqt1231…Avelyn Lauren…Mistress of Demons…Punk Rock Miko2…melancholy …chiclet180…manga-is-my-anti-drug…MeiunTenshi…sweetrosie…TouchofPixieDust… AznxAngel…Goddess of the Moonlit Sky…bdrake07…Amaya Mishugosha…Kit-Kat…Watching Eternity…jesse10132… angelfeet…Amaya Mishugosha…

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The Stamp Of Gold

And Now For Something Completely Different

A story by Pwalefriend

…

The next morning rose bright and sunny and actually quite alarming. Somehow Inuyasha managed to spend the first three hours of his day searching everywhere for Kagome, throwing tantrum after tantrum, and not seeing any other living creature. He didn't see a single servant, he didn't see or hear a single horse or bird. He didn't even encounter any Elementals, though Clingy spent a good deal of time looking for Inuyasha as well.

Perhaps I should explain better.

The reason Inuyasha didn't see any non-humanoid animals is because there was a huge storm brewing and they were all keeping quiet and hunkering down.

The reason Inuyasha didn't see any humanoid animals is because they were all greatly enjoying his incredibly comical displays of distress.

Except for Kagome.

She had already left with her family.

It also took Inuyasha three hours to remember that it was Sunday.

…

"Hey, Shippo…" Rin said, sitting down next to her friend. Shippo looked up at her. Satsuki, who was sitting across the room, looked up.

"Yeah?" Shippo asked.

"Shippo, do you think I'm pretty?" Rin asked very seriously. She looked straight into her friend's eyes. "I want an honest answer."

"Yeah, Shippo!" Satsuki said, looking a little angry. "Do you think that Rin is pretty?"

"…Erm…" Shippo was…horrified. Frightened, scared, terrified, petrified, paralyzed, alarmed, panicked, terrorized, filled with fear, spooked and scandalized. Shippo was between a rock and a hard place and he knew it. So he did the only thing that a sensible little lad like Shippo could do. He stood up, politely bowed to his two female friends and the turned and skedaddled away as diplomatically as he could manage.

Rin and Satsuki were both rather put out. For a minute or two. But then they started arguing over the yellow crayon and the cowardice of their dear playmate was completely forgotten.

…

And then it happened.

When it happened, it happened in the kitchen.

"…You know, I just realized something." Said Mrs. Yoshi as she rolled out the cookie dough.

"What did you just realize?" Her friend, Mrs. Lee asked as she stirred a nearby pot of soup.

"I just realized that none of us have had a single vacation in over twenty years."

Nearby Kaede, who had been dicing carrots for a salad, froze. She turned to the women.

"You know," Kaede said wonderingly. "I do believe your right!"

"She is too!" Said one of the menservants, who was particularly good at math. His real name was rather unpronounceable, with a lot of X's and K's and Y's, so everyone just called him Joe. "Twenty-five years, to be precise!"

Mr. Lee, the husband or Mrs. Lee, who used to be a lawyer, blinked in surprise.

"Why!" He exclaimed. "That's a violation of our contract!"

"Really?" Kaede asked, surprised. She hadn't known that she'd had a contract…Actually, she wasn't even actually hired or anything. She just lived there.

…Frightening, the things you realize when you think about the specifics of one's life. Luckily for her, Kaede didn't think about it.

"Yes!" Mr. Lee said, pulling out a copy of his own contract that he kept on his person at all times. "It says so right here! We're supposed to get a vacation every year!"

People began to crowd around, pushing and prodding. Craning and careening. Everyone was eager and enthusiastic when they heard the words "vacation" and "violation" and "contract" all in the same five seconds. It always meant something good for you, or something bad for someone else. Occasionally you were the unlucky sod who it was bad for, but then it was always good to know before hand so that you could hopefully have enough time to run away.

"Hey!" One person shouted. "Mine says so too!"

"And mine!"

"Mine as well!"

"Count me in!"

"Vacation? I'm all set!"

"Mine says it!"

"Right there! Right there in writing!"

It soon became quite apparent that everyone, every last single servant, had been denied their rightful yearly vacation for the past twenty-five years. As soon as this was realized violence naturally broke out as tempers rose.

Kaede called order.

"There's a very simple answer to this!" She said. "Let's go on vacation…right now."

"Vacation?" Kagura said, poking her head into the kitchen. "Who's going on vacation?"

"We are." Said Mrs. Yoshi.

"What a coincidence!" Kagura said. "I was just coming down to tell you guys that Sango and Miroku have eloped and that Sesshomaru and I are taking the kids and going to the Bahamas. We can buy you lot tickets as well, if you like."

"…When did this happen?" Kaede asked, surprised.

"What? The elopement or the deciding to go on a trip?"

"Both."

"The elopement will happen in five minutes, and we're going to leave on the trip half and hour ago." Kagura turned to leave, but then remembered one thing.

"Oh!" She said. "And if someone could help Mrs. Higurashi with her bag, she's having a little trouble getting it out the window."

And then Kagura left, leaving behind a silent staff.

After a few moments Kaede got up the empathy to speak.

"Okay." She said. "Let's just take the crazy lady's money and get out of here."

And so began what would turn into one of the most…bemusing day of both Inuyasha and Kagome's life.

Naturally, neither of them were present for the occasion.

…

Am I tired?

Yes I am!

Did I write this at an Ungodly hour?

Yes I did!

Does it make any sense?

I don't think so!

Do I love you guys!

Yes I do!

It's the night before Christmas, and all through the house, my parents are waiting for me to go to sleep. And so is my brain. Actually…I think my brain already went to bed and is waiting for me to realize that I'm asleep.

Please…Just be happy that it makes as much sense as it does. I was finished with about 13 pages when I realized that for 10 of those pages I had rambled about Kohaku being a knitting guru and about the complexities of the chicken anatomy.

Not that I know anything about either knitting guru-ness or chicken anatomy…

…

Okay…I'm going to bed now.

…

Happy Holidays!

I'm afraid that the Review Lion has also gone on vacation. All she left was a gift basket of ears.

Sincerely

Pwalefriend