Hello and welcome back to Lessons of Love, written by the ever so talented author, KeiChanz! Haha. Okay, introductions down and over with, I really have nothing to say except for enjoy this chapter because I certainly enjoyed writing it!
Happy reading!
Lessons of Love
Lesson Two: Adapting to your Daughter's and Cat's Morning Graces
-X-
Mornings may or may not be the best part of the day, but for some, the morning is the most important time of day. It is the time of day where families are all together, having breakfast and sipping coffee and orange juice before the children deport for school and the parents head off to work. So if you're having trouble adjusting to your hyper child's morning routine of waking you up, just remember that you should be thankful that you even have a child and just keep chanting to yourself, "Thirteen more years, thirteen more years, thirteen more years…" And if it's your cat that's giving you problems? Refuse him his favorite food. Or at least cut it short. You don't want him making your couch his recent clawing post. And if all else fails? Two words: Snip snip.
-X-
"Mmm…more grass yogurt in the cake flower, Renaldo…"
Sleepy tawny eyes slowly opened to irritably look at the human sprawled out on her stomach on the bed in nothing but a tee shirt and panties. Upon closer inspection, the eyes noticed a trail of drool rolling down her chin from her gaping mouth before a wide yawn escaped a fanged mouth.
Deciding that it was about high time his owner got up and made him some breakfast, the fat, fur-covered body languorously stretched then prowled its way toward the less than charming slumbering human and crawled atop her back with some effort before mewling and digging blunt yet sharp claws into the fabric covered back.
The dozing human yelped then jolted awake onto her hands and knees, sending the fat feline sailing through the air, a frantic cry of "No Jerry, I wasn't cheating on you with Alfred!" commencing from her before promptly tumbling onto the floor in a tangled heap of human and bed sheets with a startled screech.
Struggling to escape her imprisonment of white cotton bed sheets, Kagome Higurashi finally managed to poke her head out; her tousled black hair framing her face messily as brown eyes blinked confusedly at the air in front of her.
Renaldo, Jerry, and Alfred? Jesus, she was such a whore in her dreams.
Releasing a snort, Kagome shook her head and squiggled out of the bed sheets, grumbling the whole time until she was finally on her feet. So much for sleeping in, Kagome thought as she stole at glance at her clock. She yawned and stretched slowly before realizing that something didn't feel quite right.
"Wait a minute…" Glancing down, Kagome's eyes widened at her bare legs.
"Where're my pants?!"
A deep mewl sounded from her left and Kagome blinked before taking a step forward to find her Calico cat Buyo sitting his fat self onto a pair of purple cotton pajama bottoms with the words "Cat Nap" imprinted in black on them everywhere.
The young woman's brow furrowed in confusion. "How the heck did they end up there…?"
Deciding the matter unimportant after some thought, Kagome shrugged then flounced her way to the bathroom, ignoring her feline's indignant wail of protest. Shouldn't she be making him breakfast right about now?
-X-
His bed was moving. Was that normal? Thinking for a moment, a feat not so easily accomplished this early in the morning, and finally deciding that within his household, yes, it was indeed normal, he rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, but the insisting sound of a high-pitched voice prevented him from achieving that goal in which he strived for.
He inwardly groaned. Why did he have to have such a morning-adaptable offspring?
"…'pa, Papa, Papa, Papa, Papa—"
Each "Papa" was emphasized by a jump and each time his daughter's tiny feet hit the mattress, the silver-haired hanyou grunted and decided to play dead, praying his hopeless hyper daughter would cease her rather annoying way of waking him up. Maybe this was why he never bothered to buy an alarm clock…
But alas, his playing dead proved to be fruitless for his insistent offspring who apparently knew better and continued her endless mantra of "Papa." Groaning loudly to show his disapproval, Inuyasha Takashi rolled over onto his back and glared evilly at his princess nightgown-clad daughter, who had stopped her jumping and mantra when he rolled over.
She smiled brightly in return. "G'morning, Papa!"
Inuyasha yawned and dared a glance at the clock across the room.
6:57. What, she couldn't wait three more minutes? Or sixty?
"See if you get any breakfast after this," Inuyasha grumbled to his daughter before sitting up and stretching, hearing several satisfying pops.
Shaninri giggled and bounced some more.
Heaving a sigh, the hanyou swung his legs over the bed and scooped up his overly awake daughter, tucking her under his arm and earning a delighted squeal from the child as he headed toward the door in nothing but a pair of plaid boxers. Shaninri giggled and squirmed the whole way down to the kitchen, knowing her father wouldn't drop her, even when he loosened his grip several times and pretended like he was about to let her fall.
When father and daughter stepped into the kitchen, Inuyasha gently deposited Shaninri into a chair before walking over to the refrigerator and digging around in its contents. "Whaddaya want for breakfast, Shan?" he asked absently, forgetting his earlier threat of depriving her of breakfast and pushing a jug of milk aside and spying what looked like a half-eaten moldy ham and cheese sandwich stuck to the back wall. He wrinkled his nose in disgust. Somehow he already knew how it had gotten there and who the culprit was.
"Fruit Loops!" his daughter chirped behind him merrily.
Heaving a sigh, the half-demon father shook his head and grabbed the jug of one-percent milk, closing the door then heading to the cupboards to search for the box of his daughter's desired breakfast cereal. He swung open the door and frowned slightly when he found that they were down to only two boxes of cereal: the aforementioned Fruit Loops and Cheerios.
He scrunched his nose. They'd have to go grocery shopping in the near future sometime, something he was not looking forward to. Shopping was a woman's job, not the man's. But he should have thought of that before he and his only daughter's mother divorced and went their separate ways in life.
Inuyasha idly wondered what she was doing right now as he poured the brightly colored cereal into a plastic bowl. Probably sleeping, he thought with a smidgen of jealousy. The milk followed the breakfast food shortly afterward and purchasing a spoon from a drawer, Inuyasha walked back to Shaninri and set the bowl in front of her, sticking the spoon in its contents then fetching a glass of orange juice he knew she'd want.
Shaninri silently watched her father meander about the kitchen, crunching happily on her Fruit Loops and wondering what he was thinking about as he prepared his own breakfast of buttered toast and coffee. The child wrinkled her nose. Ewwww, coffee. How did he manage to drink that icky smelling stuff?
"Papa?" Shaninri asked, setting down her spoon and taking a gulp of orange juice.
"Yeah, babes?" he responded, taking a sip of his freshly brewed coffee and almost moaning at the taste. Caffeine, life's wonder drug. What would he do without it?
"How can you drink icky brown stuff? It smells bad." She wrinkled her nose again in emphasis.
Inuyasha chuckled and set his mug down on the counter, collecting his toast and tossing it on a plate. "Smells bad, huh? To you it might, but to me coffee is essential if I want to function properly. Especially this early in the morning." He shot his daughter a meaningful glance.
She giggled.
He shook his head. Children. What can ya do? "It's not so much as the smell or taste that appeals to me, but the caffeine that comes with it."
"Caff-een?" Shaninri echoed, cocking her head to the side.
"Something that helps me wake up in the morning."
Her mouth formed an "o" and she nodded. "Can I try some?"
Inuyasha raised a brow at his daughter but shrugged, secretly wondering what her reaction would be to the bitter beverage. "I thought you said it smelled bad?" he asked her, grinning when she blushed and pouted. He chuckled and set the mug next to her bowl of now soggy cereal.
Blinking, Shaninri curiously peered into the mug with amber eyes, watching the steam rise up and disperse into the air. Tilting her head, she slowly made to stick a finger into the liquid when her father's sharp "Careful, it's hot" caused her to rethink that action. Scrunching her nose in thought, the youngster sat there for a moment before finally coming to a decision and grabbing her spoon from the bowl of cereal, she dunked it into the dark brown liquid, the milk clinging to it causing the beverage to go to a lighter shade of brown. She watched in fascination for a few seconds before carefully withdrawing her spoon and staring at the drink now situated in the silverware.
Inuyasha watched silently with a small half-grin on his face, looking amused with his arms crossed over his bare chest and leaning against the small island situated within the center of the average sized kitchen. He mentally sighed when she dipped her milk-covered spoon into his coffee. Oh well; a little milk wouldn't hurt. When was the last time he even had any? He didn't think he'd had a taste of the white beverage since Shaninri's age, give or take a few years. He couldn't stand the taste of it and he never would. Inuyasha didn't know about her, but he didn't quite take to the notion of drinking a liquid coming from a cow's udder. He inwardly cringed. Gross.
The five-year old child studied the drink closely for a few more seconds before slowly raising the spoon to her mouth and then popping the utensil between her lips. Instantly her golden eyes widened and she yanked the spoon from her mouth, her face contorting into an expression of disgust as she wiggled in her chair, waving her hands up and down while chanting, "Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew!"
Inuyasha out-right laughed at his daughter's reaction. He had expected her to not like the taste of black coffee, but her reaction was priceless. Where was the camera?
His laughter eventually quieted down to chuckles and when he finally managed to get another look at his child, he laughed again when he saw her quickly gulping down the milk in her bowl, soggy Fruit Loops and all. The glass of orange juice, he saw, had already been emptied. Probably when he was laughing the first time. Inuyasha snickered.
"Shan, what am I gonna do with you?" he said to himself but she must have heard it because she huffed and sat back in her chair, a cute pout sporting her young features.
"I didn't know it was gonna taste that bad," she confessed sulkily and Inuyasha chuckled.
Shaking his head with a grin, the adult half-demon scooped his daughter up in his arms and positioned her so she was facing him with her small hands clutching his shoulders and her legs hooked around his abdomen. He smiled affectionately at her and nuzzled her nose with his own, eliciting a giggle from the child in his arms.
"C'mon, beautiful. Bath time," he said and Shaninri squealed before squiggling her way out of his arms and onto the floor, shrieking with laughter as she peeled through the house.
Inuyasha playfully growled and hightailed it after her, chasing his hyper daughter through the rooms. He couldn't wipe off the grin that was on his face the whole entire time. Despite the way of waking up, mornings were definitely his favorite time of the day.
Shaninri Takashi didn't get her bath until well after 7:30.
-X-
"Buyo, get your fat fur-covered butt back here with that!" Kagome yelled as she chased her Calico feline through her apartment, her right foot sockless and a sneaker waving in the air from her hand. How the stupid cat had managed to steal her sock without her notice was beyond her since he was bound to make at least some noise from his obese body.
God, she hated mornings.
Growling impressively for a human under her throat, Kagome stopped running and glared at the bathroom door where she had seen the feline flee for cover in. "Alright, Buyo. Either you give me back my sock or no breakfast for you." It was a threat that Kagome knew would work.
Not even ten seconds later, the sock-stealing feline skulked back into the living room, her sock hanging from its mouth. Kagome waiting until he was sitting in front of her with the sock at her feet.
She glared down at him. "You're still not getting a whole lot this morning, even if you did bring me back my sock." Kagome snatched up the garment and stalked to the kitchen, grumbling under her breath about fat cats and expensive socks.
Buyo yowled his objection.
"Shoulda thought of that before you stole my sock, you fat fiend!"
She pulled on her sock and shoe then ran her fingers through her still damp hair with a hand, using the other to open the pantry and grab a pouch of special diet cat food. She didn't think it really worked, but it was worth a try. Hey, as long as he ate it, he didn't have to know that it was secretly trying to make him thinner.
Kagome ripped it open and dumped only half of the contents into his bowl, sealing the rest away in a bag and storing it in the fridge.
Buyo glared at her from his spot on the floor next to his dish.
"Stop that. You can stand to shed a few pounds. Or thirty," Kagome stated before preparing herself a breakfast of strawberry poptarts and cappuccino. Ah, French vanilla cappuccino. She lovingly looked at the most incredible and most brilliant invention of all time that sat upon her counter top: the cappuccino maker. Honestly, what would she do without it? It wasn't so much as the caffeine she favored since she really had no problem at all with waking up in the morning, but the divine taste of the French vanilla flavored liquid as it ran down her throat had her addicted to the stuff. She could probably live off of it if she wanted to.
Sitting down at her two-person table, Kagome was just about to take a sip of her precious steaming cappuccino when her phone rang from the kitchen counter. Groaning aloud, Kagome stared longingly at her hot mug with a whimper before scowling and stomping over to her phone, eyebrow twitching as she picked up the receiver.
"This had better be good, Sango. I was just about to enjoy a nice hot steaming cup of French vanilla cappuccino," Kagome threatened. Her friend didn't need to see the pout now sporting her features.
"How'd you know it was me?"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Who else calls me this early in the morning?"
"Point," her friend laughed and Kagome sighed. "So sorry to intrude on your worshiping hour of cappuccino, but I was wondering if you were doing anything today."
Tucking the cordless phone between her shoulder and ear, Kagome walked back to the table and took a bite out of a poptart, her brow furrowing in thought. "Well, I was gonna go shopping today since I'm down to my last box of poptarts. Then I hafta go to the park at noon," she answered, licking her lips and eyeing the still steaming beverage.
"You and your poptarts, Kagome." Sango snickered.
"Hey! They're the best things ever created next to cappuccino. If it weren't for poptarts, I'd be starving right now."
"Sure. Anyway, you said you were going to the park. What for? You meeting somebody there or something?" Kagome didn't miss the hidden meaning behind the words and she rolled her eyes. Trust Sango to pry into her personal life. Kagome inwardly sighed.
"As a matter of fact, Sango dear, I am meeting someone there."
"Oh? Do tell."
Kagome sat down and debated on whether or not she should tell her best friend about her encounter with the two half-demons she met at the park last night after work. But knowing Sango, she'd want to know everything that transpired between them and Kagome really wanted to drink her cappuccino before it went cold. The steam was already lessening!
The young woman sighed. She might as well because she'd eventually end up telling her anyway. Might as well just get it done and over with. "I went to the park last night after work just for some fresh air and I met two half-demons there."
"Half-demons?" Sango echoed and Kagome nodded before she realized her friend couldn't see it.
"Yeah. One of them was a little girl named Shaninri. She was so adorable, Sango! She has the sweetest smile and her laugh is just so cute." Kagome giggled at the memory and decided that her cappuccino had been neglected long enough and took a small sip. She moaned inwardly. Bliss.
"What about the other one? You said there was two," Sango prodded, sounding genuinely interested.
Kagome's thoughts of the cute little girl dispersed and in their place developed the memory of Shaninri's father. She scowled and took a vicious bite of her poptart. "Oh, don't get me started on him, Sango! He's Shaninri's father and he was so rude to me! All he did was glare at me last night and he didn't even take my hand when I offered a handshake. He didn't even seem too pleased that we're meeting at the park today as well." Honestly, she had no idea someone could be so rude when they have such a sweet and innocent child for a daughter.
Sango snorted from her end of the line. "Huh. Wonder what crawled up his ass and died?" she questioned allowed and Kagome snorted a laugh.
"Whatever it was it certainly wasn't being friendly to his insides."
Sango laughed and Kagome joined her.
When they both calmed down, Sango spoke again and Kagome could hear the grin in her voice. "Meet me at the gas station at the corner of Blackhouse and we can go shopping together. Miroku's still sleeping and I can probably manage to steal the keys to the Hummer." Her friend didn't need to see her to know that her best friend was grinning.
Kagome snickered evilly. "You're bad, Sango."
"Yes. Yes I am."
The two friends shared another laugh and after saying their goodbyes, Kagome hung up the phone and grabbed a jean jacket to go with her ensemble that consisted of a dark red sweater and blue jeans before grabbing her purse and a thermos of hot cappuccino then exiting her apartment, locking the door behind her.
-X-
I'm very pleased with how this chapter turned out. Weren't you? Well, I like it. :D Isn't Shaninri so adorable? -Squees!- I hope this chapter is met to your expectations. If you see any spelling errors and the like, please tell me and I'll go back and fix them. n.n Thanks!
Oh, and by the way, Shaninri's name is pronounced "Shawn-in-ree." Just to clear up some confusion that might have developed.
Until next time,
Keiz