Disclaimer: "I have some great news!" (Super Ceech)
"You own Inuyasha?" (Readers)
"No, but I just saved a ton of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico!" (Super Ceech)
A/N Lol, I love Geico commercials...but I'm just joking...I have no car insurance...sigh...
Anymewho, HOLY COW!!! ...Buh buh...? 75 reviews for ONE update...?! Let me sit down...
Alright...(gulp)...all mention of that shocking response aside, I'd like to congratulate xo-Kagome-ox for being my 600th reviewer! I forgot to mention it last time so I'm taking the time now! :) Oh, and now I've ALSO made it to 700 reviews! Wowzers... Thank you D-E-V-L-41 for being my 700th reviewer! This is insane...
Salut, Lusankya! ;) I have indeed been to Quebec multiple times, but in fact, we have poutine here too in Ontario. They actually now sell it in our school cafeterias...
And I apologize for the extended delay; my summer's quite busy and hectic this year, it's nuts! I'm trying, guys...
Oh, also! There were a few weird typos in the last chapter, as many or all of you noticed. They were not of my doing, however! In my original document, everything's fine...but I guess when I uploaded to , they screwed it up or something...grrr...
The most noticeable place is here: (this is the correct version)
"Inuyasha, take me; I'm yours!" Jodi proclaimed before launching at him. Unfortunately for Kagome, Jodi ended up sprawled across her lap, reaching her hands out towards you not?" Kagome asked, looking down at the seemingly mentally disturbed girl invading her personal air bubble.
There ya go! I hope that makes more sense now...hopefully nothing screws up with this upload...
..:V:..
Sesshoumaru calmly surveyed the crowd stopped in front of him. "Jaken!" he said, holding out his left hand towards his coach. "The pepper spray, please."
"Yes, Sesshoumaru! Right away, Sesshoumaru!" the little toad-like man babbled as he began scrounging in his many pockets.
As soon as the mob had heard the words, "pepper spray," however, they all began to turn and slink away as quickly as they could. All except Jodi, that was, who insisted to stay by Inuyasha, and Myouga, who still needed to discuss something with his trainee.
"Inuyasha, honey-muffin-cupcake-fudge-cookie-cheesecake-ice cream-surprise! I love you so much!!! I can't wait for our glorious wedding and for our honeymoon, I wanna go to Macquarie Island!" Jodi cried gleefully as she pounced on Inuyasha and began to hug the life out of him.
"Uhhh...where the heck is Macquarie Island...?" Kouga asked in confusion as the others attempted to pry the obsessed fangirl off of their friend.
"Macquarie Island is a remote island in the middle of nowhere," Sesshoumaru replied calmly. "Supposedly, it's a part of Australia..."
"Ah...I see..." Kouga said, though it was plain that he didn't "see" at all.
"Jaken!" Sesshoumaru said with a hint of a sharp tone to his voice.
"Ah, yes, right away, Sesshoumaru!" Jaken said, plucking a bottle from one of his inner pockets. "Here it is, Sesshoumaru!"
Sesshoumaru took the bottle from his "coach" without so much as a "thank you" and proceeded to expertly spray the harmful substance straight into the rabid fangirl's eyes. Jodi screamed and clawed at her now-closed eyes, freeing Inuyasha from her death grip.
"If ever there was a time to make your escape, brother," Sesshoumaru said to Inuyasha, "I believe now would be it."
"Right!" Inuyasha said, agreeing with his brother for once, as the whole group, save Sesshoumaru, quickly ran or skied away. Sesshoumaru instead insisted on sauntering in a dignified manner, leaving the fangirl to try and clean out her eyes.
"Now, Inuyasha," Myouga said. "Come with me!"
Inuyasha groaned, but figured he'd been avoiding Myouga long enough and that his coach would never leave him in peace until he had conversed with him about the matter of great importance; whatever it was.
"Can we tag along?" Ayame asked Myouga innocently.
Myouga glanced at the over-sized group and was about to protest when Sesshoumaru said, "You might as well, Myouga. They want to know and they'll probably find out anyways."
"Oh, so you're with him...?" Sango asked, confused.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Yes; Myouga informed me of his intentions and I felt I must join the discussion as it is a matter that involves...our father..." he said delicately.
"D-Dad...?" Inuyasha asked in a choked voice.
"Yes," Myouga said briskly. "Now, if you don't want me giving up on you entirely, I suggest you follow me to a meeting room in the lodge I've reserved. There's already someone there, waiting for us."
Everyone other than Sesshoumaru and Myouga glanced at each other in confusion before shrugging and following the skiing coach. They left all of their skis and poles on the ski rack and walked into the lodge, glancing fearfully around for any members of the large crowd that was chasing them earlier. Fortunately, the way was clear, and the large group made their way further back in the lodge and went into a large room that branched off from the main section. Once inside, Myouga shut the door behind them.
There was a long table down the centre of the room and many seats were tucked up against it. At the head of the table opposite the group sat an older man, obviously the one Myouga had mentioned a moments before. The man had gray hair only around the sides of his head, for the top was bald. The little hair he did have was pulled back into a scrawny ponytail behind his head. The old man also had a limp gray mustache and a scraggly gray beard just off the tip of his chin. Bulging eyes looked out from the man's face as he studied the large group before him.
"Everyone," Myouga said, indicating the man. "This is Toutousai. Toutousai, this is Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru, and their many followers."
"We've already met," Sesshoumaru said nonchalantly as he took a seat on one side of the table. Inuyasha immediately hastened around to the other side so he didn't have to sit near his brother. Everyone else quickly took a seat around the long table.
"Now," Toutousai spoke up. "Down to business; and might I say, this is a fairly serious matter."
"Sure, old man," Inuyasha brushed him off as he leaned back in his chair. "Just get on with it, will ya?"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome whispered from her place beside him. "Be more polite!"
"Yeah, yeah..." Inuyasha muttered, looking pensive. Something seemed to be on his mind.
Toutousai looked darkly at the insolent boy. "Maybe I should just pack up my things now and begone..." he muttered, almost to himself. "I don't see how you're in any way worthy of this honour..."
Inuyasha was quick to grow irritated. "Just spit it out! If this has something to do with our father, I wanna know about it!"
Toutousai looked affronted. "Well, ALRIGHT, young man. Hmph, you don't have to yell at me. Let's see...how to begin... Well, as we all know, your father died four years ago-"
"Wait a minute-what?!" Kagome broke in. She turned to Inuyasha. "He did?!"
Inuyasha was looking down at the table where one of his clenched fists was resting. "Yes," he muttered.
"Well...well..." Kagome was at a loss for words. "Is your mother still around, at least?"
"His mother passed away two years ago," Sesshoumaru said calmly when Inuyasha didn't respond.
Kagome gaped at the boy beside her. "Wow...I never knew... Why didn't you tell me?"
Inuyasha shrugged casually while avoiding eye contact with her. "The subject never came up... What does it matter, anyway?" he added somewhat bitterly. "They're dead. Get over it; I have!"
Kagome looked at Inuyasha sympathetically and reached under the table to grasp his free hand with her own. The startled boy turned to finally look at her, his eyes full of emotion. When he saw her understanding expression, Inuyasha gave her a small grin of gratitude and then turned back to Toutousai. His hand gave hers a gentle squeeze under the table.
"AS I was saying," Toutousai continued, looking appalled that he was interrupted, "Your father died four years ago, but before then, he was the great ski racer known as Inutaisho Dareshi. He was on the national ski team and was known widely around the world as possibly the best racer of his time. Now, just before he died however, he started a project with me that is not so well known to the world..."
The group around the conference table leaned forward slightly as the old man captivated their attention.
"Now Inutaisho knew his sons were devoted to their two separate sports and he wanted to create something in their...honour, I suppose is the most appropriate term," Toutousai said. "But I suppose I could say create something to show his love for them or create something especially for them..." he continued muttering softly to himself.
"Oh, we get the point, for crying out loud!" Inuyasha said. "Just get on with the stupid story!"
Toutousai cleared his throat rather hastily at the rude remark. "Erm...well, yes. Anyways, he decided that for you, Inuyasha, he would make a new brand of ski; a slalom ski that would be fast, manoeuvrable and exactly fitted to your amazing skills. And for Sesshoumaru, he would create a new brand of skate that would be comfortable and perfect for every move he needed to execute."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Whoop-dee-do... Whatever happened to these skis and skates anyway...?"
Toutousai glared at the insolent teen. "I was just getting to that. You see, Inutaisho and I were only ever to create one prototype of the skis and skates before he died. I then decided I would wait to give you two your destined equipment until you were each seventeen. As you might have already deduced, Sesshoumaru has already received his advanced skates; the Tenseiga skates," Toutousai finished proudly. Then his expression drooped. "Unfortunately, however, he refused them and I still carry them around with me."
Rin turned to regard the stoic man beside her incredulously. "You what?!" she near screeched. "How could you refuse an elite brand of skate made by your father especially for you?!"
Sesshoumaru shrugged calmly. "Have you looked at them?"
"Have I looked at them...?" Rin muttered in bewilderment to herself. "What does it matter what they look like...?"
Toutousai lifted a box up onto the table. "Actually, I have the Tenseiga skates right here if you'd like to take a look. There's nothing wrong with them, really."
Toutousai lifted the lid on the box in front of him and gingerly lifted out one of the special skates. He then proceeded to pass it to Ayame, who was on his left and she past it on to the next person and so on and so forth until it finally reached Rin, who was on Toutousai's right. Everyone gaped at the fancy, elite-looking skate; especially Rin who kept glancing incredulously from the skate in her possession to the expressionless man beside her.
"How could you refuse this?!" she demanded. "I see nothing wrong with it!"
"Rin..." Sesshoumaru started, looking like he was desperately trying to control his indignation. "The laces...are pink," he finished with a strong tone of finality.
Rin stared at him. "That's it...? You refused your father's awesome skates because the laces are pink?! Why didn't you just change the laces?!"
Sesshoumaru sniffed primly. "Father wouldn't have wanted me to change any aspect of them. So instead of wearing those "Tenseiga" skates with the offensively pink laces, I now wear the Tokijin skates, which have red laces."
"But red is-" Inuyasha was about to comment on how red and pink were so similar when Sesshoumaru slowly and deliberately took out his pepper spray again; which he began toying with it with his fingers.
"Yes, brother?" Sesshoumaru asked delicately, but meaningfully.
Inuyasha swallowed, eyeing the can that had caused Jodi to scream and furiously claw at her eyes. "Red's a good colour," he said hastily.
"That's what I thought," Sesshoumaru mused, not taking his hand off of his pepper spray as he surveyed the other members of the group at the table. No one else offered their opinion.
"Sooo..." Inuyasha spoke up after a brief silence. "If he got the Tenseiga skates, what did I get?"
"Ah, yes," Toutousai said, reaching under the table for a new package. He hauled up a long ski bag and slid it across the table to where Inuyasha was sitting. "Those are the Tetsusaiga skis; designed especially for you in a slalom race. You wouldn't use them for GS because as you can see, they're shorter, which gives you more of an advantage in a slalom course, but less of an advantage in a giant slalom one."
Inuyasha, Kouga and Miroku nodded in understanding while the others just looked on blankly. "Um..." Ayame said, confusion clearly etched into her features.
Kouga took it upon himself to explain. "A shorter ski means you can turn more, faster. It has a shorter turning radius," he said as if that explained everything.
"Ah..." Sango said delicately, clearly not understanding in the least.
"Ah, forget it," Inuyasha said when Miroku opened his mouth in order to try his hand at explaining. "Just know that shorter skis are better for slalom races and longer skis are preferred for GS. We could go into a huge explanation about why, but it'd just waste time and you'd probably end up not understanding anyway."
The girls shrugged. "Whatever..."
Inuyasha unzipped the ski bag and gently took out one of his new, elite slalom skis. They were sleek and shaped appropriately for quick turning and manoeuvring. Red and black colours swirled together throughout the length of the ski and at the back, the word "Tetsusaiga" was printed in black letters. At the front of the ski, melded in with the black and red colours, was a snarling white dog baring its ferocious fangs.
"Awesome," Inuyasha whispered as he removed the other ski from the bag. He handed one to Kouga for inspection; Kouga in turn, whistled his approval for the new brand of ski.
"Oh, sure," Sesshoumaru muttered, somewhat bitterly. "His skis are cool colours, but I get pink... The Tetsusaiga colours should have been mine!"
Rin rolled her eyes. "Oh, get over it," she said, clearly stating what everyone was thinking. "You don't need 'cool colours' to be an awesome ice dancer. And I mean, come on. Hardly anyone's going to see the laces when we're skating! And we can hide them with your costumes! And, honestly now; if you can wear something fluffy every time you skate, surely you can live with pink laces!"
Sesshoumaru didn't say anything for a moment. Then, grumbling, he conceded, "Well...I'll take them and carry them around with me while I think about it. That doesn't mean I'll use them!"
Toutousai made an exasperated sound. "Oy! At least someone can talk some sense into the boy! I've been lugging this equipment around with me for ages! Please; take it off my hands! I've got to get back to my shop before my customers go beserk!"
"Your shop?" Kagome inquired. "What do you sell?"
Toutousai looked at her as if she were insane. "What do you think? Sports equipment of course! That's why Inutaisho came to me in the first place!"
"Oh," Kagome said, somewhat subdued. "Okay..."
"Hey, have you or are you going to make more equipment of the Tenseiga and Tetsusaiga brands?" Miroku asked politely.
"Well..." Toutousai mused, stroking his scraggly beard. "I haven't made any more as of yet. You see, those were only the prototypes...they've never been completely tested. I was hoping Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha could try them out before I made any more models... I don't know if Sesshoumaru ever will now, but perhaps you, Inuyasha, could try the Tetsusaiga skis in the upcoming competition I've been hearing about...?"
"Will I ever!" Inuyasha exclaimed, a gleam in his eyes as he continued to examine his new possession.
"Ah, good then," Toutousai said, packing up his things and standing up. "Then I will leave them to you to practice with before the race. And I sincerely hope you can match up to your father's immense skill and somehow be worthy of those skis." With a last look at Inuyasha as if to say 'you could never be worthy of those skis I made,' Toutousai grasped a walking stick that was beside him and hobbled out of the room.
"Weird old man," Inuyasha muttered once Toutousai had left. "I don't like him much...but I gotta say, I already love these skis!"
"Well, then, dog-turd, why don't we go skiing some more so you can try them out?" Kouga suggested as if he thought Inuyasha was the stupidest thing on the earth...which probably wasn't too far off from his actual thoughts.
"Yeah, yeah...whatever, captain," Inuyasha said, reminding Kouga of his hairdo the day before.
"Hey, guys!" Rin said cheerfully. "I've got another idea! Sesshy and I were just about to head back to the skating arena to practice; did you guys want to come along? Then you can hang out and skate with us!"
Inuyasha looked uncomfortable as he eyed his new skis. "Er...well, um..." he started to protest.
Sesshoumaru's toying with his pepper spray can increased until Inuyasha and everyone else's attention was drawn to it. "I think it would be in your best interest...brother," he said, not wanting Rin to be unhappy.
Inuyasha gave the can an uneasy glance. "Um...sure, Rin. Whatever..."
Rin clapped her hands together happily. "Alright! Well, let's head over right now, then!"
"Umm...call me crazy, Rin, but uhh...I didn't think of bringing my skates..." Kagome said. Ayame and Sango nodded in agreement.
"Hmm...well..." Rin said, seeming to consider something. "I have a bunch of extra skates...and you all look about my foot size...maybe you guys could fit into mine!"
"And what about the guys?" Ayame said, looking at Kouga, Miroku and Inuyasha.
"Oh, we always bring our skates," Miroku said as if it were no big deal. "Rin always drags us out skating one way or another so we're constantly prepared!"
"Ah," Sango said in understanding. "Okay, then! Let's go!"
Inuyasha sighed and looked mournfully at his skis before re-packing them in their bag and picking them up. He followed all the others out of the room and out of the lodge. Everyone then separated to go to their separate condos to prepare for an afternoon of skating. Myouga left to go off and find the departed Toutousai and Sesshoumaru, Rin and Jaken waited by Kagome's van for all of the others.
Not fifteen minutes later, everyone rejoined and piled into the large van, Jaken inevitably having to ride in the trunk due to the number of people outnumbering the number of seats. After a short drive, they ended up at the skating arena. They entered the large building and made their way down to the changing rooms.
Sango, Ayame and Kagome found that Rin's skates indeed fit them and soon the girls were all suited up and ready to skate. Inuyasha, however, had a plan to carry out.
"Hey, Sesshoumaru!" he called as he walked up to his brother, who was preparing to lace up his Tokijin skates. "I think you should wear the Tenseiga skates this afternoon."
"And I think not, brother," Sesshoumaru said, easily brushing the matter aside.
"Well, I think so," Inuyasha insisted. "Or else I'm going to the media with all the photos I have of you going through puberty! For example, all of those times you posed in front of the mirror in nothing but your boxers?"
Sesshoumaru glared at his brother for a moment before slowly holding out his hand to Rin. "Rin..." he said in a dangerous voice. "Hand me my Tenseiga skates."
Rin quickly handed her partner his pink-laced skates and scurried out of the way. Sesshoumaru slowly and deliberately put them on and tied them on, never taking his eyes off of Inuyasha as if to accentuate his point. Once finished, Sesshoumaru stood up to his full height and glared down at Inuyasha. "There, brother. I'll wear these stupid skates; which means those horrible pictures must never be released...to anyone."
Inuyasha smirked. "You're safe...for now." With that, he went off to another corner of the change room to put on his own skates.
When everyone was laced up and ready to go, they all clumsily staggered out to the rink.
"Do you guys practice every day, Rin?" Sango asked the girl.
"Pretty much," Rin conceded. "We've got to keep up our skill level and constantly try to improve! So we come skating every day when the rink is empty. We skate until the Zamboni arrives to clean the ice," she informed them.
"Cool!" Ayame said cheerfully as she gingerly stepped out onto the ice. The boys followed right after her, and so did Rin.
"Any complaints?" Rin asked Sesshoumaru teasingly as he tested out his new skates.
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "I refuse to answer that," he said as he skated away. Rin grinned as she realized that the skates must be really elite to evoke no complaints from the great Sesshoumaru.
As Sango stepped onto the ice, she slipped and started to fall forward. Miroku, however, was quick to grasp onto her forearm and steady her. She looked up into his concerned face and gave him a quick smile. "Thanks," she said. "I haven't been skating for a while so..."
Miroku gave her a reassuring smile. "No problem, Sango! Do you want me to skate with you until you get your ice-legs back?"
"Umm...sure," Sango agreed with a smile. "That'd be nice."
The two slowly skated off down to the other end of the rink together as all of the others made their way out onto the ice.
Kouga offered his hand to Ayame and, with a blush, she accepted it. They began skating around the rink hand in hand, talking and laughing together.
Rin and Sesshoumaru immediately began practising their ice dancing moves, which included jumps, spins and lifts of many sorts. Kagome looked on in awe for a moment or two before Inuyasha waved his hand in front of her face in an irritated manner.
"Hello! Earth to Kagome! You gonna skate or just stare at my brother and Rin all day?" Inuyasha asked her, smirking at her embarrassed expression.
"Well...hey!" Kagome protested. "I've always been more of a watcher of skating than an actual skater..."
Inuyasha chuckled. "Well, come on and skate! Now isn't the time to watch!" He grabbed her hand and pulled her forward, but she almost immediately lost control of her feet and tumbled into Inuyasha's chest.
A blush on her cheeks, Kagome lifted her head enough to look up at the boy who was holding her in his strong arms. She giggled softly. "I told you I'm not much of a skater... I've actually only been skating a few times, and that was with my school a long time ago..."
Inuyasha grinned at her distress. "Do I have to teach you how to do everything?" he joked.
Kagome made a face. "You're just smug 'cause you're a...a do-it-all, you...you...laugher at my humiliation!"
"That's right," Inuyasha laughed at her pathetic insults as he straightened her on her skates. Then he took her hands gently in his own. "Now, allow me, rookie."
Kagome stuck her tongue out at the jest, but allowed Inuyasha to slowly lead her around the rink; him skating backwards and pulling her slowly along by her hands.
The afternoon continued on in much the same manner; Sesshoumaru and Rin practising their ice dance moves and techniques, Kouga and Ayame skating happily together, Miroku helping Sango to reacquaint herself with the ice, and Inuyasha helping Kagome learn how to become a better skater.
"So..." Kouga said to Ayame as they skated side by side. "I thought you were a swimmer, not a skater."
Ayame grinned. "And I thought you were a ski racer, not a skater."
"Touché," Kouga conceded. "But skiing and skating are alike in many ways, if you think about it. So if you're good at one, it doesn't take much time to be good at the other. Especially if you have an overly-cheerful ice dancer that drags you skating every time you see her."
"Hey!" Rin said playfully as she and Sesshoumaru passed the pair on the ice.
Ayame laughed. "I suppose that makes sense... Well, I just skate frequently with my family and such so...you know...I'm not spectacular, but I'm not completely horrible either!"
Kouga chuckled. "Well, you're good enough for me!"
Ayame was left to ponder the double entendre as they continued skating.
"Hey, it's coming back to me now!" Sango said, smiling with her feeling of success.
"Ah," Miroku said happily, but somehow also with a bit of a disappointed air. "I'll just...let you alone to skate now then, shall I?"
As he started off in a different direction, Sango came to a quick decision. She hastily reached out and grasped Miroku's arm. When he turned to look at her inquiringly, she stuttered, "Um...well...you know...you could keep skating with me...that is...if you want to..."
Miroku smiled and quickly nodded his agreement, keeping his hands under control for once.
Later on in the afternoon, when it was nearing four o'clock, the Zamboni machine began to emerge from its normal resting place; though the driver seemed slightly perturbed about something. Everyone began shuffling off of the ice, except for Rin who stayed to perform one last jump.
Upon her landing, however, her ankle seemed to twist the wrong way and, with a cry of pain, Rin collapsed on the ice; directing in front of the Zamboni. The driver noticed her, but didn't slow down. He began fiddling furiously with his controls, but the machine wasn't stopping. "There's something wrong with the brake!" he cried out anxiously. "I can't stop it!"
Rin's eyes widened and she tried frantically to get up, but her ankle caused her too much pain and she fell back onto the ice with a whimper of pain.
Sesshoumaru launched himself back onto the ice yelling, "Rin! I must save you, my one true-" Everyone held their breath. Was he going to say what they thought he was going to say? "-ice dance partner!" he finished. Everyone let out a disappointed sigh.
Sesshoumaru skated quickly where to where Rin sat on the ice. Quickly crouching and scooping his precious ice dance partner up in his arms, he darted out of the path of the Zamboni, glaring at the driver. Once he had safely deposited Rin with the others, off of the ice, he skated back to the Zamboni and yanked the emergency brake. Then he calmly took out his pepper spray from the inner folds of his clothing and sprayed it into the driver's eyes.
"Maybe you'll think twice next time before being so careless as to almost run over my ice dance partner!" Sesshoumaru said scathingly as the driver yelped and began to rub his burning eyes.
As the others gaped at him in astonishment, Sesshoumaru came back toward the group and picked up Rin again. Without another word, he stalked off to the change rooms.
"It just goes to show..." Inuyasha muttered, watching Sesshoumaru walk away. "Never get on Fluffy's bad side..."
..:V:..
A/N Hey, guys! There ya go! Don't ya just love Sesshoumaru? I was feeling fun today so I wrote you an info chapter, a humour chapter, and a fluff chapter, all in one! Didja like it? I hope so! Don't forget to tell me your thoughts!
And I just wanted to inform you all that I'll be leaving for ten days on a nice vacation to Newfoundland so I won't be able to write during that time! So sorry, but I hope this was a good chapter to leave on! My going away present to all of you, lol! Don't worry, I'll be back soon enough! Talk to ya later, and remember: A truly wise man never plays leapfrog with a unicorn.