ONCE AND AGAIN
By Jodie-chan
Chapter 9: Happy Thoughts?
It was a beautiful Sunday morning; Kagome was the last one to get up. She got to bed late last night finishing her work again. She felt a little better now knowing the fact that her 'jerk' boss reconsidered the last ad concept she made after so much humiliation she got from him.
She took a shower and started to go down stairs. The smell of pancakes tickled her nose; she could even hear some laughing and giggling over the kitchen.
She peeked over the door and saw her family gathered around the dining table feasting with pancakes, bacons and hot chocolate.
"Morning Mom, Souta and Inari-chan." All the heads turned on her direction.
"Ohayo dear!" Her mother said smiling.
She walked over the table but her son jumped up and hugged her. He's a very sweet boy.
"Morning Mama!" He said and started giggling when his mother tickled his sides. She sat with them and ate break fast. They talked every now and then. Her mother would ask her about her job and so many other things they haven't talked about for quite sometime.
"Mama! Inari and Uncle Souta are going to the park! I'm gonna ride a horse!" The boy squealed happily.
"Park? When?" Kagome looked at her son and her brother with a lifted brow.
Inari was going to answer her mother when his Uncle Souta shot him an I'm-gonna-do-the-talking look. The kid shut his mouth and smiled from ear to ear.
"Inari-chan kinda tricked me to take him to the amusement park and I couldn't take it back. I already promised him so I have to take him today. Please neechan please!" He pleaded to his sister.
Kagome looked doubtful but she saw the excitement in her son's eyes and she didn't want to break his heart. Besides she still has some work to finish that day, it's the only way she could make up for her son, at least through her brother.
"Ok… But! Don't get too excited yet." The two slumped their shoulders. "Souta you have to take good care of your nephew, keep an eye on him. Don't let him out of your sight and don't let him eat too much junk foods and candies ok!" She said while wiggling a finger in her brother's face. Souta gulped nervously before nodding.
"All right!" the kid jumped from his seat and kissed his mother's cheek.
"Inari-chan, behave ok and don't give your Uncle a head ache." She said smiling and hugged her son.
"Inari's a good boy!" The kid said and run over to his grandmother. He hugged and kissed her too before dragging his Uncle from his pancakes.
"Aww! Slow down Inari-chan! You're breaking my hands!" He said frowning.
"You're so slow!" Souta rolled his eyes.
"Bye mom, neechan! We'll be home by 4!" He called out. Kagome and her mom just followed until they reached the door.
"Just don't forget what I told you and take care!" They waived goodbye to the two.
"So, dear what will keep you occupied today?" Her mom asked her with a genuine smile.
"Ohh mom I'm really sorry I can't help you with the chores. It's just that I have to finish my work. But I'm gonna make it up with you soon after all these big projects in the office…" She said apologetic.
"Dear it's ok, I know you work so hard and I understand. Just go ahead and finish everything you have to finish so you can still have time to relax and get ready for the 'big day', tomorrow right?"
The big day is tomorrow's client's presentation where it would be decided if they would get the account or not if the client would like their ad concept. She told her mother about it and she's equally excited. Her mother knows how much she loves her job.
"Yeah, that reminds me. I gotta get back to work." She hurried back to her bedroom where she made a little office for her work and her mom tended to the house chores.
Inuyasha went home at last. After so much convincing from his mother that his Dad's not going to bug him again to date some stupid girls, he decided to come back to the mansion.
He lazily dragged himself from the bed to take a shower and change. He wore a faded baggie jeans, red shirt and sneakers. He planned to unwind, some place where he could relax his mind.
Down stairs, he saw his mother on the garden talking to her orchids collection. His father's not around which is a good thing for him. He sneaked behind his mother and kissed her cheek.
"Morning orchid queen!" She turned around to face his grinning son.
"Morning to you too 'bad ass prince'." His mother teased.
"Hey! What's with the 'compliment'?" He asked curiously while lifting a brow.
His mother looked at his son accusingly and turned to spray her orchids.
"Inuyasha, you should learn to control your temper. Don't expect everyone to tolerate that attitude of yours and don't take your anger to someone else who doesn't even know your situation." She turned to look at her son again who was gaping.
"How did you know about that?" He was dumbfounded. He knew he couldn't just get away with it now without a nice long preach from his mother.
"Miroku told me." She calmly said sitting on one of the garden chairs. That only indicated a mother and son talk.
"Stupid Miroku and his big mouth! I thought he only has a 'cursed hand', now he has a 'cursed mouth' too! I'm gonna kill that letch!" he muttered to himself angrily.
"He was just concerned to that poor employee Inuyasha. Don't take it on him; I bugged him too to tell me everything. And of course he couldn't say no to me." His mother said grinning.
"So now it's all my fault… like I was the bad guy…" He said frowning trying to win his mother's sympathy, but he failed.
"I didn't say it that way, what I mean is, you should be more considerate of your employees, and be sensitive of their feelings. Not because you're the boss and you pay them doesn't mean you can say whatever you want to say that would hurt them afterwards and might affect their work. Inuyasha, if you have a problem don't bring it to your work, be professional. You're lucky I didn't tell your father about this." She finished with a threat.
"So I'm lucky then huh." He rolled his eyes and took his car keys from his pocket.
"Where are you going?" She eyed his retreating son curiously.
"Just wanna catch some fresh air…" He stopped and turned to his mother.
"Mom… I … I'm sorry about that. I just need time to relax. I really didn't mean it that way… maybe I just got carried away." He sighed, his expression softened. He looked tired.
"Don't be sorry on me, that poor girl is the one you owe an apology." Her mother noticed the tired expression form his son. She knew what it was. "It's all about the divorce thing, isn't it?"
"Yeah, can't help it sometimes. I don't know… what Kikyou did, I felt so… betrayed. I hoped so much… I thought we still have a chance, to complete our family…" He trailed off, remembering things, pained him enough.
His mother took pity on him. She fully understands what her son feels. As a mother nothing could hurt her more but to see her son suffering.
"I know and I understand what a family could make to change a person's heart. Look at your brother, he maybe the coldest person in the world but he melts when it comes to his family, to his wife and children. What having a family done to your brother is beyond our understanding, yet it's a good thing."
"Can't believe it myself either. Ok, stop the drama, I gotta go!" His expression changed abruptly. His mother made a face.
"Don't stay out late!" His mother called out. Inuyasha rolled his eyes just as he turned to leave and hurried to his car.
"Inari-chan can we rest for a while, I'm too tired running around and riding those rides." Souta complained to his nephew.
"Hump! Ok. Can we sit there?" He said pouting while pointing a finger on one of the benches under a big tree.
The amusement park was crowded. Children and parents even teenagers were everywhere. There were many different rides and game booths that everyone would certainly enjoy.
The two walked over the bench under the big tree and sat. Souta relaxed for a while closing his eyes when he felt his nephew tugging on his shirt.
"What again?" he opened his eyes and looked at the boy.
"Lookie, lookie!" He said while pointing a finger on someone, his lips protruding on the direction of his pointing finger.
"What? Who?" Souta scanned the area but he couldn't see what the boy was pointing.
"The man with the hair!" The boy shouted and Souta rolled his eyes.
"Duh. Almost every men here have hairs." He said frowning disregarding the kid's last statement.
"Uncle Souta! The man with the white hair in the mall!" Inari shouted once again that his uncle almost dropped from his seat.
"Jeez you're really loud!" he said clutching his ears. He scanned the crowd once again and saw the man his nephew was talking about in one of the game booths. His brain worked automatically.
He took his nephew's hands and they walked over the 'man with the hair'. Souta counted one to three before tapping the guy's shoulder.
Inuyasha turned around irritated to look for who ever might be the one who distracted his shooting. He's in a shooting booth, where little plastic soldiers were the targets.
"Who the he…!" He cut off his foul word when he saw the kid's face that he met in the mall a couple of days ago.
"Hi! Do you remember us? Me and my nephew… the one who got lost…" Souta said smiling.
"Who wouldn't? The kid with the weird name who almost killed Barney…" He snorted.
"Inari!" The kid bounced up and down excitedly. Inuyasha looked down at the boy, the feeling's coming back. He smiled a little when he saw the excitement from the kid's face.
"So mister, are you here to have some fun?" Souta asked him while he continued his game. He gave the gun back to the guy in the booth and turned to Souta.
"Sort of." He said with a smirk.
"Really? Well, if you want you can come with us." Souta suggested eagerly. Inuyasha looked doubtful but decided to take the offer besides the kid was fun to be with.
"Yeah sure." He calmly said.
"That's cool. By the way I'm Souta." He said and shook his hand.
"Inuyasha." He only said and shook his hand back.
Inari only looked at them both innocently. He tugged Inuyasha's shirt.
"Mister can we go now? I wanna ride the horse!" Inari squealed happily and dragged both of them over the Grand Carousel.
"Inuyasha-san, why are you here really? You don't seem to be enjoying much? Just curious…" He said shrugging his shoulder.
The two were looking over the railings of the Grand Carousel, making sure that the kid's fine while riding the horse on it.
"The truth? I just drop by to see if this park is still here. I used to go here when I was a kid. My mom used to take my best friend and me. Though there weren't much rides before." He said eyeing the entire place.
"So this park is really old it means…?" He looked at him curiously.
"Don't look at me like that I'm not that old." He cut the boy off before he could make a nasty comment on his age.
"Sorry, I'm just curious." He shrugged.
They've been exhausted; they ran around and rode every ride they passed. The kid was the most enthusiastic of their group. It's almost lunchtime so they decided to eat on one of the restaurants in the park that served ramen, Inuyasha's favorite. They all eat ramen after Inuyasha convinced them that it's the most delicious noodles in the world.
After lunch, Inari started to dragged them again to the game booths and rides. They complied as usual but both scowling.
"Come! Come!" The kid shouted while waiving his hand on their direction. They lazily followed
"Does he ever run out of energy?" Inuyasha asked Souta plainly.
"Not a chance. As long as his excitement never runs down, he's unstoppable. That's why he always tricked me." Inuyasha laughed at his comment.
They end up in the Roller Coaster ticket booth. The two looked at each other. Kids like Inari's age are not aloud on that kind of ride. It's too dangerous.
"Inari-chan, you can't ride on that. It's not for the kids. It's dangerous." Souta looked at his nephew trying to convince the boy.
"But Inari wants to ride that!" he whined.
"Kid look, that guy over there will not allow you to ride on that coaster because it's illegal and dangerous for small kids. Come on we'll just find another ride." The two started to leave when the kid screamed.
"No! No! No! I want to ride on that!" He whined some more and wouldn't stop until they convinced the operator to let the kid ride the coaster. Inuyasha even bribed the guy. Money talks.
Souta didn't ride with them. He stayed down and waited for the two when he spotted a group of teenage girls munching on cotton candies.
He combed his fingers through his hair and walked over the giggling girls. He trusted Inuyasha to take care of his nephew, besides he did it once, maybe he'll do it again. He took his chance, hoping to get a girlfriend soon.
The Roller Coaster stopped and Inuyasha and Inari got down. The boy didn't look affected at the entire ride; he even looked happier and giddy.
Inuyasha didn't see Souta. He tried to look around but the teener was nowhere to be found. 'Where the hell is he? I knew it, he planned to leave the boy with me so he can have some fun!' he thought irritated.
They still looked more but failed to catch a glimpse of his face. He held on Inari's hand while looking around when the kid saw the Ferris wheel and tugged him to take the ride.
"Inu-chan! Ferris Wheel!" He squealed happily, jumping up and down. Inuyasha's eyes widen.
"What! No way! I can bear the Roller Coaster but not that thing!" He's afraid of heights. He looked down at the boy and saw the tears that started to form from his eyes.
"Inu-chan is angry, Inari wants to ride Ferris wheel please?" His eyes drooped, his shoulders slumped and he started to sniff.
'Oh crap! Now he's crying. Where is Souta! Damnit' he mentally cursed. He can't say no to the kid so he decided to give in although he knew what the consequences are.
"Ok, ok, stop crying, will you. We're gonna ride on it." He sighed. He didn't know why he let this kid bent his will.
He lined up to the ticket booth and bought two. They got inside, the Ferris wheel started rolling and the kid was bouncing and waving at the window.
Inuyasha was beside the kid. He's not moving much; he felt like his insides was doing somersaults when the Ferris wheel moved faster. He clutched his stomach and he felt like he's going to puke anytime soon.
When they got down, Inuyasha had swirls in his eyes. He rushed into the nearest trash bin and throws up. Inari followed him and eyed him curiously. He looked a little guilty.
"Inu-chan, I'm sorry." He said quietly and looked down. Inuyasha turned to face the boy.
"It's alright kid, I just ate something bad, that's why." He said calmly trying to cheer the boy up when they spotted Souta a few feet away from them.
He held Inari's hand and walked over the unsuspecting teenager. His back was turned on them. He tapped his shoulder with a lifted brow. Souta turned around and saw a very pissed Inuyasha tapping his foot on the ground, arms crossed over his chest and with an arrogant smirk.
"Eh he he. Hi Inuyasha-san! How's everything?" He asked while trying to look innocent.
"Smart ass, aren't we?" He looked at the teenager who only gulped when they heard the teenage girls gasped and giggled.
They swarmed over Inuyasha, which annoyed him too much. He hated it when women swooned over him. Miroku is the only person he knows that enjoyed so much of that kind of attention.
"What's with the long hair?" Souta muttered jealously.
"Inu-chan, piggy back!" Inari demanded. The kid seemed to notice his irritation.
"Excuse me. I have something to do." He said to the drooling teenagers and crouched over the boy. He turned his back on him and let the boy hopped.
"Souta let's go and stop flirting for God's sake!" He called out to him while starting to get away from the girls.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He said and waived to the group of girls.
Souta caught up with them. Its already afternoon and the sun's starting to set. They walked over the parking lot when Inuyasha noticed that the kid on his back was warmer.
The boy was fast asleep and his head lay on his shoulder. Inuyasha felt his forehead and it was warmer. Inuyasha nudged Souta.
"Souta, I think your nephew has a fever, he's warm." Souta was alarmed and felt his nephew's forehead.
"Oh crap! He has a fever! What time is it Inuyasha-san?" He panicked remembering how his sister would react when they got home.
"It's quarter to four." Inuyasha said while looking at his wristwatch.
"Oh Kami we have to hurry! I promised my sister we'll be home by four and now Inari-chan is sick! I'm dead again!" He took the kid from Inuyasha's back.
"Don't worry I can drive you home, just tell me how to get there." He offered seriously.
"Thanks Inuyasha-san! You're so kind!" He said gratefully.
"Keh! That's nothing besides this kid needs to rest. He probably just exhausted. Don't worry too much." He said eyeing the kid's pale face, but he's worried too.
He led them to his car. Souta gaped when he saw his black Jaguar X type, one of his car collections.
Souta gave direction towards their house. It wasn't hard to find since it's located in an old shrine. Inari didn't stir in his sleep even until they reached the place; that made Inuyasha worry for the kid's condition.
"It's ok, if we stop here Inuyasha-san. I still have to climb the steps anyway."
Souta took the kid and flung him in his arms. He turned to Inuyasha before climbing the steps.
"Inuyasha-san, arigatou. Are you sure you don't want to go inside and have some tea?" Inuyasha shook his head.
"Nah, I don't think so. I have somewhere else to go to. Maybe next time."
He bowed a little and headed to climb the shrine's steps
Inuyasha just looked on until the two emerged from the top and disappeared from his view.
'Mom is right, even the coldest person like Sesshoumaru melts when it comes to his family, to his children. That kid wasn't even mine… what if I have one of my own…Silly! Dream on Inuyasha! Dream on!' He felt another old feeling of loneliness…like he always has…
Author's Note:
Sorry, kind of late updates, but I did update anyway, my PC still not working I guess it's a browser problem, don't have budget for a new one so I'll stick to internet cafes' for a while plus I'm still doing my internship at the hospital and all…quite busy, if I were to describe it. Anyway, all I wanted to say is " ARIGATOU GOZAIMASHITA MINNA-SAN! That's for never stop reading and reviewing…and waiting…hehehe…coz' I'm a bad case of a bum ass…lol.