Lessons of Love

Lesson Three: Dealing with Impromptu Meetings

-X-

When confronted with the object of your current irritation, try to remain calm and collected; poised and patient. Be aware that he or she might make a few degrading comments, or perhaps try to goad you into losing your temper and humiliating yourself in public. Do not rise to the bait. You want to remain the mature one for the duration of the confrontation and reacting to juvenile goading and belittling annotations. Remember, you are the one who wants to be in control, not the other way around. And if all else fails? Get 'em with the chair!

-X-

"You're joking!"

Her friend sounded absolutely aghast and Kagome snorted aloud as she pushed her cart down the dairy products isle, eyeing the different assortments of creamer. Hm, pumpkin spice…that was new.

"You'd better believe it, Sango," the young teacher affirmed, grabbing the pumpkin spice and tossing it into her cart. "He actually cornered me, under the staircase, and wouldn't let me leave until I agreed!" Recalling how the arrogant wolf demon had forced her into agreeing to go on a date with him had Kagome fuming all over again and she scowled, clenching her fist around a carton of one percent milk in her hand.

Sango whistled low and shook her head, carefully plucking Kagome's fingers one by one off the poor milk carton and swiftly snatching it. Any more pressure and it probably would have exploded. "Wow, Kagome," she said, swapping the dented milk carton for another one. "I never knew Kouga could be so…"

"Manipulative? Arrogant? Asinine? Selfish?"

"…I was gonna say insistent, but whatever creams your Twinkie."

Kagome snorted at her choice of expression and suddenly realized that her hand was empty. Wasn't there a milk carton there a second ago…? Shrugging, she continued on down the isle toward the next one, glancing over the quickly scribbled shopping list she created in the car, deducing that all the dairy products were in the cart.

Sango rolled her eyes with a smile and pushed her own cart after her friend, nabbing a few things as they meandered through the next isle which was mostly cereals, breakfast items, crackers, and other foods classified with them. Kagome immediately zoned in on the poptarts and her friend only sighed and bypassed her toward the oatmeal. For some reason, the only thing Miroku ate in the mornings anymore was Maple and Brown Sugar oatmeal. As she dumped two boxes into her cart, she idly wondered when his arteries were going to start clogging up…

-X-

"No, Shaninri."

"Pweeaaase, Papa? I promise to be good an' clean my room an' do what you tell me an'…an' be good an' not be bad an'—an' not hide your sleeping shorts in the fridge no more! I pwoooomise! Ple-e-e-e-e-a-a-a-a-a-s-s-s-se, Papa?!"

Kids say the darnedest things sometimes.

Ignoring the looks that ranged from amused to scandalous to disapproving, Inuyasha sighed and leaned against the half-full shopping cart, dragging a hand over his face and shooting his daughter an exasperated look. Vaguely he was reminded of that really stupid commercial where that bratty kid threw a tantrum in the store because he couldn't get what he wanted. "Shan, I told you you could get one thing. You got one thing. Now it's either that—" He gestured to the box in her hands. "—or those." The treat she was begging for.

Shaninri visibly deflated and stuck her bottom lip out, her honey eyes going liquid as her smooth brow wrinkling slightly in a frown. Inuyasha knew the look well and pointedly ignored it, instead crossing his arms and arching a black brow in obvious inquiry.

His daughter peeked up at him, saw his defiance, and heaved a long-suffering sigh before leaning up on her tip toes and dropping the box in her hands into the cart, her ears lowering in defeat. She bit her lip and peeked up at him through her lashes again.

He shook his head. "Don't give me that," Inuyasha admonished and started pushing the cart forward again, unaffected by her pouting from a few years of experience. "I told you to pick one thing, and you got it. End of discussion. Now stop moping and c'mon, we're almost done. Just a few more things in the dairy section and we can go home." He continued onward, not once looking back at his still pouting offspring.

Said offspring continued to mope just to spite him and hopefully guilt him into letting get those Gummie Bears. But, alas, her pouting was fruitless because after several minutes he was still ignoring her and Shaninri huffed, scrunched her face up, and stuck her tongue out at him.

Inuyasha's ear flicked before he looked over his shoulder, golden eyes staring down at his daughter. "Wanna do that again?"

Shaninri gaped, blushed, then ducked her head and muttered out a quick "No-Papa-sorry."

Suppressing the smug grin, Inuyasha nodded then continued shopping. This really is a woman's job…dammit…

Thus father and daughter commenced grocery shopping, the latter's head bowed with small furry ears drooped low on her head under her signature red beret.

They passed the baking isle, snacks, meat, household supplies, the bakery, the cereal isle—

Shaninri froze and stared down the shelves packed with breakfast foods and accessories, taking a delicate sniff then stretching her face into a wide grin. Sneaking a glance at her father, who seemed oblivious that she had stopped, the young half-demon giggled silently then darted down the isle, disappearing from view.

-X-

"Alfred? Renaldo? Jerry? What the hell, Kagome! Since when are you such a whore in your dreams?"

Kagome laughed and wiggled her eyebrows at her friend, eliciting a bout of giggles. "Hey, if I can't get the real thing, I might as well dream it," she said with a shrug, neglecting to mention that she had asked herself the same thing. Or more like told herself.

The two friends shared a laugh and continued down the isle, breakfast items crossed out on their diminishing grocery lists.

"Miss 'Gome!"

"What—?" Kagome turned around, saw a flash of silver and red, and then something small barreled into her, nearly knocking her over and succeeding in knocking the wind out of her. "Oomph!"

Sango watched with wide eyes, confusion evident in her expression. "Uh, Kagome…?"

"What the…" The schoolteacher blinked down at the wide amber eyes that smiled up at her and her own chocolate orbs rounded slightly in recognition. "Shaninri? How…what are you doing here?" She frowned then looked around, failing to see another flash of silver and gold. "Um, are you here with somebody…?"

The young hanyou smiled brightly and nodded, tightening her hold around Kagome's hips. "Uh huh! Papa's here too, but he's over at da milk stuff looking for milk."

Sango giggled at the answer and Kagome's frown deepened a bit. "Does he know you're gone?"

Shaninri's smiled faded and she looked a little sheepish. "Um…"

"Shaninri!"

"Well, that answers that question."

Kagome grimaced and lifted her eyes to see a very relieved – and very pissed off – Inuyasha running down the isle toward them and Sango gaped openly. "That's her father?" she whispered harshly and Kagome nodded resignedly.

The child at her waist bit her lip and turned around to face her father, head bowed and looking like she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"Shaninri Izayoi Takashi, don't you ever, ever do that to me again, do you hear me? The second I noticed you were gone—" Inuyasha stopped, took a deep breath and knelt down before his daughter, taking her frail shoulders into his hands and giving her a gentle shake, staring hard into her averted eyes. "Look at me, Shan." She bit her lip and kept her gaze averted. However a sharp growl solved that problem quickly. Ignoring the two curious women hovering close, Inuyasha pressed on. "I don't know what the hell you were thinking, but whatever it was, don't do it again. What if it wasn't Miss Higurashi that you saw? What if you'd mistaken her for some other woman who don't like half-demons?"

Shaninri flinched and her golden eyes glistened with the threat of tears. "Papa…"

"You scared me, kiddo. I thought somebody snatched you or—" He stopped himself for the sake of his daughter and released a breath, shaking his head and wiping away a stray tear from his daughter's cheek. "Just…don't do that to me, okay?"

Sniffling, the chastised Shaninri nodded and wrapped her small arms around her father's neck. "I'm sorry, Papa. I didn't mean to make you afraid."

Inuyasha sighed and stood up with her in his arms where she then promptly hid her face in his neck. "I know, Shan." He nudged her cheek with his nose affectionately. "Give me a smile?"

His daughter mumbled something and tightened her grip around his neck.

The hanyou father sighed and patted her back. "Alright, you little monster, you can get those crackers or whatever it was that you wanted earlier. Alright?" He ducked his head and tried to catch her gaze with his own.

Shaninri shifted in his arms and turned her face toward him slightly, golden eyes identical to her father's hopefully. "Really?" she whispered.

Inuyasha couldn't stop the small smile that quirked his lips. "Really. Now c'mon. Smile for Papa."

Biting her lip softly, the young half-demon eased her grip on his neck and then graced him with a small, trembling but genuine smile.

Inuyasha grinned and gave her an Eskimo kiss. "That's my girl."

She giggled.

"Ah…is she okay?"

Ears twitching, the half-demon suddenly seemed to remember their audience and blinked down at the two women staring curiously at the child in his arms. Instinctively he growled and moved away from them, shielding his daughter with his arms as best as he could. "She's fine," he mumbled and rubbed her back absently.

Feeling a little awkward from watching the display of affection between father and daughter, Kagome smiled and shifted her weight. "Uh…I was going to find you if she told me you didn't know she was gone. But I guess it was unnecessary." She laughed nervously.

Inuyasha grunted in reply and made to ignore them and return to his abandoned shopping cart when a dull thud and a muffled curse reached his ears. Turning back around with a raised eyebrow, he was met with the sight of Kagome rubbing her ribs while glaring at Sango who was currently smiling brightly up at him.

"Uh…"

"Hi. I'm Sango, Kagome's best friend. She's talked about you, but I haven't had the…pleasure of meeting you." She stuck out her hand and Inuyasha automatically took it with his free one.

"Uh…sure…" He winced and tugged his hand back. Damn, she had a strong grip for a wench.

He never shook my hand… Kagome sulked quietly then immediately wondered at the thought. Wait, since when did I care if he shook my hand or not?

Another jab in her ribs had her shooting another glare at Sango who was looking at her pointedly then flicking her gaze to the two half-demons. Rolling her eyes, Kagome grumbled before crossing her arms and sighing. "Sango, Inuyasha. Inuyasha, Sango." Then she smiled brilliantly at Shaninri. "And that adorable little girl right there is Shaninri. Shan, this is Sango, by best friend."

Aforementioned child un-hid her face from her father's neck and peeked at the nice lady from yesterday. A small, shy smile graced her young features and she waved with the tips of her tiny clawed fingers.

Sango's eyes softened and she smiled warmly back. "Hello, Shaninri. It's so nice to meet you, doll."

Shaninri blushed and her smile widened a bit. "It's-it's nice to meet you too, Miss San…San'o." If this woman was bestest friends with Miss 'Gome, then she must be nice too, the young half-demon surmised.

Both women giggled at the mispronunciation of Sango's name and didn't bother to correct her.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Inuyasha suddenly interrupted but before he could make to leave – again – Kagome stopped him.

"Oh, Mr. Takashi—"

"Inuyasha. Mr. Takashi is my brother," he snapped. He'd be damned if he was ever called Mr. Takashi. It was like calling him Sesshomaru. He mentally shuddered at the thought.

"…Inuyasha…" Kagome drawled, narrowing her eyes to indicate she did not appreciate his snap. Must remain calm… "About this afternoon, it's still on, right?"

He snorted. "Well, as far as I know, yeah." He narrowed his eyes. "Why, you cancelling?" Damn, he didn't want to tell his already upset daughter that she wouldn't be able to go to the park today…

Kagome clenched her teeth and fisted her hands. "No, Inuyasha, I am not cancelling. I just wanted to let you know that I might be a little late due to some work issues. Is that okay with you?" Tch, like I need to ask permission from this pompous asshole.

Rolling his eyes, the half-demon scoffed and waved it off. "Keh, whatever. Just don't keep me waiting, got it? I have better things to do than wait for your late a—wait for you." And with that, he turned around and headed back down the isle to his abandoned shopping cart. Hopefully it was still there. Shaninri's coat was in that thing…

"Jerk," Kagome muttered and she hoped he heard her. Judging by the flick of his white fuzzy ears, he had. Poor Shaninri if she had to put up with that every single day of her life. She pitied for poor sod of a woman who married him. She didn't bother pondering over the fact that she had yet to see said woman or why it was he that was shopping, not the wife.

With a huff, the schoolteacher whirled around, grabbing her cart and charged toward the cashiers, leaving a rather amused Sango behind. Like hell she was going to be in the same store as him anymore.

-X-

Note: If you feel that Shaninri's behavior isn't associated with a six year old, please feel free to tell me and give me some pointers on how she should act. I'm not that good with child development and ages and stuff. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

And that's it for chapter three. I was gonna keep going, but I figured it's been long enough since I've updated this, and I didn't wanna keep you guys waiting any longer. I'm truly sorry for the long time in waiting. Since I last posted chapter two—

Ohmigod, it's been more than a year since I've last updated this. I feel like total shit. OHMYGAWD I'm so sorry. ;_; I had no idea it's been that long…God. I promise the next update won't be that long. No, really! I'm so sorry.

Damn…chapter two was posted May 8th, 2007. And a lot of things have happened since then. Family problems, school crap, graduating from school, summer college classes, my nineteenth birthday, other birthdays, getting my driver's license, staring college at the end of August… I'm actually a college student. Pretty weird, huh? When I first started writing, I was in…seventh grade, I think. Or sixth. Somewhere around there. Heh.

I doubly promise that you will never again have to wait a year for an update for this story, or any of my stories! Feel free to remind me of this.

Um. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next time, to the park!

Until next time,
Keiz