Kagome was the first to arrive, near to sunset. Her mother had driven her over in her minivan, curious to see what kind of house her daughter's almost-boyfriend lived in. It was as elaborate as she imagined it would be, large enough to house two or three families comfortably.
Her two little brothers were scrambling to see out of the backseat window. There was Souta, the spitting image of Kagome, except for the age and gender and short hair. A younger boy, definitely the strangest-looking one of the group, was latched to his neck and obviously sitting on his older brother's back. Shippou had vibrant orange hair and a penchant for wearing clothes of the teal color. If he hadn't known any better, Sesshoumaru would have thought he was female, what with his large seagreen eyes.
Inuyasha, after calling Kagome and the other two, had gone and talked a little to his brother, describing their families to him. Shippou had been adopted. All three of them had no father. They had a grandfather that took care of their shrine's grounds and spouted nonsensical historical facts. Their mother was a novelist and stayed at home. With the earnings from her books and the shrine, they lived quite comfortably although not lavishly.
Sesshoumaru locked eyes with the mother and he bowed his head to her. She blinked a few times in surprise before also bowing her head, smiling. It was like a silent exchange of protection for her daughter. There was something about the woman that commanded respect, just like his own mother.
Kaede peeked out from behind Sesshoumaru's back and waved at Kagome's mother, who turned the car off and got out to speak with her. They had known each other for quite awhile. Souta and Shippou, agreeing that the turning off of the car signaled it was okay for them to come out, slid out of the car and ran across the front lawn.
Kagome screeched at them to behave and to stop running over the perfect lawn, but they stuck their tongues out at her and laughed and ran some more. Shippou was the fastest despite his small size, which was half of Souta's. Kagome, fed up with the both of them and forgetting the reason she had yelled at them in the first place, sprinted after them. Inuyasha, who had taken a shower and had just then gotten dressed and stepped outside, dashed after them barefoot.
The white-haired one watched them silently. Some other time he might have been irked to have them kicking up grass and dirt, but a sense of apathy had taken over him. He didn't know if it was a good type of apathy or not, if there was such a thing, but he'd worry about that later.
Kagome had caught ahold of Shippou, a great feat considering he had been zigzagging in order to throw her off, and Inuyasha had caught Souta and was carting him around under one arm just as two motorcycles rumbled up the driveway and parked themselves on the other side from the minivan.
One was a bright sandy color with black metalwork. The other was a dark purple with black, cloud-like swirls. The riders took their helmets off.
The brighter bike had two riders, one a teenager, the other a middle-schooler. The female was clad in black tights and a magenta-and-white-striped, body-hugging top that stretched mid-thigh. Her dark brown hair was pinned back in a high ponytail, the fringe touching midback. Eyes the color of cherry wood, clad in their own magenta eyeshadow, smiled at them all.
A boy slid off of the bike where he had been sitting behind her, a pair of ripped jean shorts and a baggy camouflage top covering his thin frame. His hair was pulled back in a high ponytail as well, but significantly shorter. His bridge of his nose was covered in freckles. He went over to the edge of the driveway, watching the other children in the yard, but respectful enough to not join in.
The other biker was definitely male, even before taking off the helmet. His hair was black and barely touched his shoulder, but now it was pulled back into a tiny rat-tail at the nape of his neck. He was simply wearing black jeans and a solid purple t-shirt. His eyes were, surprisingly, blue with a hint of purple.
Sango started walking towards the house, stopped fifteen feet from Sesshoumaru and bowed the upper half of her body. He inclined his own head. As soon as he straightened his neck, he noticed the boy moving closer to the girl, and his hand reaching forwards...
Only to be smacked away by her own, and without even having turned to see what he was doing. It was instinct born of repetition and necessity.
"Can't you behave yourself, Miroku? We're at someone else's house!"
"So I can misbehave if we're somewhere else?" he asked cheekily. Which earned him a painful-looking slap on the face.
Yes, Sesshoumaru thought, I hope my decision does not come back and bite me in the posterior... Or grope me, as it were...