Disclaimer: Yada yada yada…
A/N: (cowers) Yeah… hi, guys… heh heh… been a while, huh? (braces for impact of sharp pointy things being thrown) I'm sorry it took so long! I really am! I had a lot of crap to deal with, but I'm doing better now and am (obviously) writing again!
So… yeah… um… reviewer responses:
Ladyhawk89- sweet! I so love that movie! XD
Ixchen- glad you liked it! Sorry I took so long!
Pillarchick- heh. Glad you approve, cuz. Email me some time!
Houshichick08- thank ye kindly!
Erica6060- "really cheese more"…?
Kill Kikyo- um, glad you like it, but its not over. Not by a long shot:D
DramaQueenABZ- heh. Me too! There's something refreshing about Koga's arrogance. Plus, he's just so blunt! I love that! (It's fun to write)
Inuyashachick04- don't worry, this is very much an Inu/Kag fic.
Kgirl9113- thanks! Glad you like it!
Luvluvpettyhue- don't worry, even if it does take me a long time to update, I won't quit writing. I hate it when a fic I'm reading just stops, so I wouldn't do that to ya'll.
KiwiTNT- thanks for reviewing! I'm sorry to have made you sad! Don't be! Be happy! Here! Look! New chappie!
Sammery- lol awesome. To be honest, getting your review was the last straw in making me get back on the ball!
On with teh show!
02-23-06 A/N: Git-R-Done!
…
…
"Sango-chan!" Kagome shouted from over the stranger's shoulder.
"What the HELL is going on here?" Sango was rage personified.
The boy with Kagome gently but quickly put her down before he got in trouble. Sango glared at him angrily as her stunned friend ran to her side. He just pointed a silent finger at Inu Yasha, as if tattling on him.
Sango followed his finger to the other boy. The one in the red shirt. With silver hair. And …pointy ears…
Sango decided to begin the introductions, since the other three seemed incapable of coherent speech patterns.
"Ah. Anata wa Inu Yasui desuka?"
"Ah. You must be Cheap Dog, huh?"
Kagome snorted at her friend's pun. It might have been an honest mistake, but judging by the way Sango was looking at the boy's somewhat less than 5th Avenue attire, Kagome knew better.
And by the soft growl coming from the hanyou across the room, Inu Yasha didn't miss the jab either.
Kagome stopped snickering. From the looks these two were giving each other, nothing short of an alien invasion would distract her friend and Inu Yasha from open warfare.
"…Sango-chan—"
Suddenly, all eyes were pulled to the source of boisterous and growing howls of laughter from the newcomer.
"Oi! What's so funny, runt?"
Wiping a tear from his eye, the so-called "runt" straightened and addressed Inu Yasha with an insolent smirk.
"I'm just laughing at you. It seems this lady has managed to give you a truly perfect name. I thought you looked like an over-grown puppy, myself, but even a puppy knows when to be afraid of his masters…"
More growling. "Who the HELL do you think you are!" Inu Yasha sniffed the air and realized his opponent was a full-blooded wolf youkai. That explained the 'master' remark.
Sango and Kagome felt suddenly out of the loop. The stranger, ignoring the question completely, continued to push his luck as he prodded the incised figure across from him.
"I mean, how perfect is that? 'Cheap Dog'. Brilliance! I only wish I'd thought of it first…"
And with that, the laughter began anew.
Inu Yasha, deciding he'd had just about enough of this guy, was cracking his knuckles and mentally mapping out his route of dissection when, to his shock and horror, Kagome moved into his war path.
The only thing more surprising than that was the words coming out of her mouth and that for once they weren't directed at him.
"How DARE you! Just who do you think you are? You can't just waltz in here and start picking a fight!"
Stunned, the stranger tried to defend himself in vain. "But he was chasing you! You were in danger and I saved you!"
"Excuse me? Did I ask for your 'help'? No! Everything was under control until you came in here, grabbed me and started acting like you owned the place! You can't treat people like this!" And to head off the comments she knew were coming, she added, "Or non-humans, for that matter!"
The demon began to feebly defend himself. "He-Hey…"
"No! You should be ashamed of yourself! You've never even met this guy before and yet you feel you have the right to make fun of him? What if I started making fun of you? Hmm?"
Realizing he was on a sinking ship, the boy tried to foist the blame to anyone else.
"What about her?" He pointed to Sango, who had been standing, dazed, while her friend tore the stranger a new one. "She said it first!"
Kagome slapped his hand away, nearly steaming with anger now.
"Leave her out of this! Or is it safer for you to run away and hide behind a woman?" The stranger's spine stiffened with the last comment.
Meanwhile, Sango was regaining her temper, though she was not sure who to blame for its original loss, and decided it was time to assuage her friend. Sango knew only too well what happened when Kagome lost her cool. She also had a funny feeling that this guy wasn't going to stay meek for too much longer. Kagome had an innate talent for finding people's buttons and smashing them with a large hammer.
"Hey… it's okay, Kagome-chan! I'm sorry for calling him that… I just was upset by walking in and seeing… well, what I saw…"
"Hmph." Kagome wasn't really mad anymore, but she had this guy ready to cream his pants and kind of liked it…
"Futari ga baka…"
"A pair of idiots…"
Sango just nodded knowingly as she took Kagome's arm.
"Souda, ne… Ja… Apato ni hirugohan de tabe mashou, ne?"
"Isn't that the truth… So… why don't we go back to the apartment and have lunch, hm?"
"…Eeh. Chottomatte, kudosai."
"… Sure. Just a minute, please."
And with that, Kagome turned to the pair of ancient women and told them she was going on her lunch break and that they could handle these two… problems. Then, Kagome grabbed her purse from the other side of the room, returned to her friend's arm, and left the building while being followed by four sets of silent and bewildered eyes.
The little old ladies had never seen her go off like that before… and in defense of the handsome one who'd been coming by so often lately, no less… very interesting… the cogs began turning before the crones even knew it.
With the shriveled pair in their own world of other people's business, the two boys were left with nothing to do but stare at one another and try to figure out what had just happened.
…
…
Kagome had never laughed so hard in her life.
"Sango-chan… (gasp) Stop! Please! I'm gonna…(wheeze) gonna pee… my pants!"
Her best friend was relentless.
"Or was it more like this?" Sango asked as she donned a face dripping of utter stupidity and vapid shock. Her jaw was forced slack and back as she shrugged her shoulders, effectively making it look like she had no neck at all. Kagome erupted all over again as Sango began chuckling at her friend. In a terrible imitation of a deep voice that sounded like a thirty-year old pre-schooler, she sang out, "She started it!"
They'd been making fun of the boys for almost an hour now, and the management and wait staff was losing their patience, not to mention Kagome's diminishing control over her bladder.
As soon as they'd left the DMV, they'd started laughing about it. Kagome couldn't get over Sango's reaction to everything.
"The one with the hair… ooh. Not bad!" she said as she fanned herself. While Inu Yasha was by no means her type, she had to admit her friend was on to something there. That stranger wasn't too shabby either, though. But neither seemed boyfriend material.
Kagome could do better, she thought to herself as her friend ranted about the events leading to the scene she'd interrupted.
Now they were sitting in a nice (but still cheap) Mom and Pop restaurant with their barely-touched salads long wilted and complimentary breadsticks half eaten, half on the floor surrounding them and in each other's hair.
All in all, it'd been a good day— and it was only 3 o'clock.
…
…
When Kagome walked into the door of the DMV office she was in for quite a surprise.
Namely, it didn't open.
Are? Hen desu…
What the? Odd… She looked in through the window and saw things almost exactly as she'd left them.
Figures. Old biddies probably left as soon as the boys were gone. Come to think of it, that would have been something to see… Inu Yasha and …what is his name? Hm. Oh well… those two just standing there shocked…
She giggled again, fondly at the thought.
I seriously thought that Sango was going to kill someone. But that "Inu Yasui" thing was really funny. I wonder when she thought that one up? She's so smart that way…what time is it? I have speech class in a few hours… but I really don't want to bother… we're reviewing for the test today, anyway… well, that settles it. I wonder if the gym's open…
Kagome wasn't big on "working out," really. But one of the first things she did when she got to America was to locate the most convenient means of bathing she could find. She'd heard horror stories from others who'd come back from staying in America, who said no one here took real baths but only showers… she shuddered to think of it.
But Sango had helped out. She'd done some scouting and found a little gym nearby that had a hot tub available for all members to use.
And right now, it was calling Kagome's name.
But first, she'd check in with Sango and see if she wanted to come with.
…
…
Sango had wanted to come, so Kagome was glad that she'd asked. She didn't know why, but she felt very much in a gossipy kind of mood. She wanted to have a girl talk.
But she didn't know how to bring it up. After lunch, for whatever reason, they hadn't brought Inu Yasha up again.
So as they soaked in the gym's hot tub, Sango took the first step.
Kagome's face was lying on her folded arms on the tub's rim before, and she wasn't really paying attention to the conversation, thinking instead about Inu Yasha.
"So… you like him, don't you?"
"What!" Kagome's face said she'd all but forgotten that Sango was even in the same room with her, nonetheless that she was capable of speech. To cover her mistake, she tried feigning innocence. "Ah… er… that is… What do you mean?"
In return, Sango's face warned Kagome that she was pushing her luck.
"No! Of course not! Wait, who? Who do I like?" Kagome was avoiding eye contact at this point. But that only made Sango pursue all the harder.
"You know who! You so do. And don't bother trying to hide it, 'cause you suck at it."
They stared at one another for a few moments and started laughing.
"Seriously, though, Sango-chan. I don't like him. I barely even know him!"
"Good. Exactly. Besides, he's got some serious anger issues. I don't know if I'd like you dating someone like him, even if he is Japanese."
"Sango! What a thing to say! Honestly, that's the way my grandpa thinks. Race doesn't matter."
"I suppose. But he can speak Japanese, right?"
"Yup."
"Well, that is a plus. Or maybe not… Then you can't say nasty things about him while he's around. You'd have to wait until he left the room or something."
"SANGO! Come on! What is with you! You should be ashamed of yourself. Besides, it doesn't matter because I don't like him!"
"…Right. You don't like him."
"Right."
"Which is why you've been dreaming about him?"
"Ri—SANGO!"
And thus began the water fight.
…
…
"I can't believe we got kicked out over something like that!" Sango was furious. "Old women slip and break their hips or whatever all the time, right?"
Kagome was still laughing. "She only said she thought she'd broken her hip. Besides, she wouldn't have fallen if you weren't the one to nail her with the beach ball that made her lose her balance, though."
"That was a pretty good shot, you've got to admit…"
"Sango-chan, you're terrible! That poor old lady got hurt!"
Sango's stare said, 'You've got to be kidding me.' "Did you see her earlier?"
Kagome just stared suspiciously.
"I'm serious! That old lady has some serious spunk! She teaches a water aerobics class for senior citizens. I was watching the other day, and those old guys can move!"
Kagome started to snicker again. Sango continued her protest. "Besides, she'll probably just sue the gym and get a huge settlement. She should thank us! Not have us kicked out for a month."
"Yeah, yeah… if you say so. You should be a lawyer, Sango-chan. I bet you'd be good at it."
"You think so?"
"Oh yeah."
"I don't think I could do it. I hate lawyers." Sango shuddered. "Vultures. All of 'em. Besides, have you ever seen an attractive lawyer?"
Kagome raised a finger to answer but was cut off.
"—That wasn't part of a TV show?"
Kagome put her finger down again. "Good point. Its like they have a union or something that doesn't allow anyone under 40."
Sango laughed. "Besides… I just… couldn't do it."
"Why not?"
"Because. I have a conscience!"
"If that's all, I think they remove those once you pass the bar…"
The girls giggled all the way home.
And were still giggling when they went to bed.
Kagome hadn't laughed so much in a long time. Probably since she'd been in America, actually. But it wasn't that bad here. She liked it, actually.
She went over her schedule for the next day as she fell asleep.
Math class at 8, then to work, Inu Yasha… and um… Inu Yasha… what's after that? I know there was something I was supposed to do… hmm… and… Inu Yasha… no class in the evening… but there was something special about tomorrow… Friday… something about… Friday…
But she fell asleep before she could remember what it was she'd forgotten.
…
…
SOMEWHERE OVER THE PACIFIC OCEAN
The occupants of the airplane were all soundly sleeping, save one young man. Hojo was wide awake, which was obvious by the fact that his legs where bouncing in a nervous manner, at the same rate as when the plane had left Japan nearly 5 hours earlier.
He was an attractive guy, all in all. There wasn't anything in particular that made him appealing, but when you took him as a whole… he was a cutie. He had light brown hair, combed in a way that practically made mothers shove their daughters into his path, and soft brown eyes that made any child in the area immediately gravitate to him. He had broad but gentle shoulders, implying that he was made for sports, but they were just a hobby.
All in all, he was pretty close to perfect.
Well, almost. There was one major issue.
This attractive young man was, in fact… an idiot. A sweet idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.
The flight attendants had all been gossiping about how cute he was and fought over who would offer him complimentary whatever.
But once the first one had returned to report, they gave up.
"He spent the first ten minutes—TEN minutes! —telling me about how good it was going to be to see some Higurashi chick again. Then he went on to explain that she's an exchange student and friend of his and she was always on the sickly side growing up, so he's been SO worried about her…"
So he was left to his own for the remainder of the eighteen-hour flight.
But he didn't mind at all. In fact, he didn't even notice that the attendants avoided him like the plague and all the passengers around him had gone to the bathroom a very long time ago with out returning to finish their conversation about Ms. Higurashi.
It made no difference to him. He was going to see her again, soon. And if all went well… who knew? Maybe she'd be coming home with him. That was part of the reason why he'd come in the first place. He'd been thinking about her constantly since middle school and these past few months that she'd been gone had cemented his feelings for her.
He was in love. And he was going to tell her today. Well, technically, tomorrow, since the flight was so long… but anyway… he was going to tell her. And ask her if she loved him, too.
Glancing at his wrist watch, he just couldn't sit still. There wasn't anyone around who was awake that he could talk to but he just had so much nervous energy…
Why did America have to be so far away?
…
…
Kagome woke to the sound of her alarm and for the first time that she could think of, she was happy to hear it.
I slept through the night! Hah! Take that!
She smiled to herself. It was gonna be a good day.
She was humming softly as she drank her coffee while waiting for the bus. She didn't even care that they were getting back the test she'd flunked in math today.
Something important is gonna happen today, I think. A milestone or something like that. Point is that today is going to be good. And nothing is going to change that!
She smiled again, proud of her optimistic attitude, even though she hadn't a clue what brought it on.
The bus was coming –and right on time! That was unusual. Kagome took it to be a good sign and took another sip from her mug while she waited for the bus to come to a full stop.
Behind her, there suddenly was a ruckus as two men began shouting and pushing. It had nothing to do with her, though, so she tried to ignore it and edged away slowly.
Or at least that was the plan.
The curb was uneven where she thought it was level, and she stubbed her toes, tripping in the process and turning her beverage into an accessory to boot.
By the time her face had returned to its natural hue and she'd tidied herself up, she looked up in time to see her bus turn the corner ahead of her.
Kagome had missed the bus.
Perfect. Now I have to go home and change or go the rest of the day with a huge stain… but do I even have time to change? I don't want to be late; the professor locks the door and makes you wait outside, so if you're late, you might as well not have come at all!
But I can't afford to miss class!
(sigh) I guess I'll go looking like this… hopefully I can get out of the office today early so I can change before my evening class, at the least.
Inu Yasha's gonna have a field day with this…Kagome grimaced as she began the long walk to school.
This was NOT a good way to start the day… And something told her that it was only going downhill from here.
…
…
A/N: Well, there you go! Another chapter, though a bit on the short side… (frump on me) but I wanted to start a new chapter for the next meeting with our puppy-kins. XD
Toodles!
M-