A/N: HEY PEEPS! WOOT! TEN DAYS UNTIL MY BIRTHDAY AND ELEVEN DAYS UNTIL I GET MY PERMIT!!!! :-D

So, here's the schedule. Today I have updated chappie 16, hooray! On Monday December 15, I will post chappie 17, yay again! And right before Christmas, I will post chappie 18! WOOT! That's three chappies in a month! It should be a record!

Um...I don't know what else to say...so just read!

Disclaimer: There's too many of these, geez. I don't own anything, ya know? Like DDR or cake or half of the birthday song...or Sesshoumaru's ass...Inuyasha's abs...Naraku's beard...LoL!

The birthday song in this chappie doesn't have a perfect rhythm to it or a beat. But if you must know, I got the idea from the Funny Birthay Song on You Tube, the one that sounds kind of western. So yeah. Imagine the beat whichever way you want. It can be to Mozart or your favorite rock song or whatever! :-D

ENJOY THE CHAPPIE!


Oh My Gods! 24


Her eighteenth birthday was the best day of her life.

Not.

It should be among the times she held special in her heart, but no! Her stupid teachers decided to assign essays at the same exact time--hell, she even had to write a damn essay in gym class about how to play volleyball! What the heck was that?! They conspired against her, recognizing it was her birthday weekend and plotting her death with their weapons being pointless five-page essays.

Stupid teachers.

Not only that, but her apartment was empty. No, her stuff wasn't stolen; everyone was just gone. Even Sesshoumaru failed to be present! She could've dealt with a cranky, coffee-deprived dog demon in the morning--she hardly cared about his glares potent enough to freeze her from the inside out as long as she had some kind of company!

She was going insane!

They all just disappeared...she woke up this morning only to find her bed empty and no grumpy Inuyasha in sight--he had as much homework as she did so he was bound to be irritable. Rin and Sesshoumaru apparently believed Saturday mornings were the best times to have random dates, as stated by the note they left behind.

Well, they sure have gotten closer the past five days...

Anyway, where was she? Oh yeah, her friends were abducted by aliens. She had no where else to turn to so she walked across the hall to Miroku and Sango's dorm only to find it empty as well. It was no surprise with Ayame--she was barely in a dorm in the first place. Kouga...she didn't know his weekend habits, so his absence was justifiable.

Miroku and Sango, however... Hmph, they joined Rin and Sesshoumaru on a morning date.

Gah! Did everyone forget that it was her birthday today?!

Oh right...she never told anyone.

Kagome gloomily sighed as she rode her bike to her shrine home, hoping that her family's bustling energy cheered her up. It was all her fault not one of her friends was present for her birthday, one she deemed incredibly special, but she would just have to deal with it. For some reason, the thought of telling them her birthday scared her.

Perhaps it was because a tiny part of her refused to accept the notion of her getting married.

Ugh, another thing to depress her. While she still wasn't considered an adult by society until the age of twenty, she was now legally able to marry, either way.

Phooey.

"Well, Kags, here goes nothing." It was already evening, and her friends were still no where to be found, so the miko decided it would be nice to visit her family.

She ascended the numerous steps in front of her while hauling her atrocious pink bike as well, and wasn't surprised to be met with complete tranquility.

Not a thing was out of place. Buyo was no where in sight... Heh, the fat lazy cat hardly left the warm comfort of the house, so...

Kagome placed her bike alongside the wall of the shrine home and leisurely slid the shoji screen doors open. She took her time removing her shoes, and put them on a rack beside the entrance before treading onto the fluffy beige carpets. The miko silently praised her mother's cleaning abilities--the house was impeccable.

Furthermore, the inside of the house reflected the outside's serenity...

Don't tell me no one's home! The last thing she needed was for Souta to have another one of his Saturday morning indoor soccer games in which her mother and grandfather enthusiastically attended. Surely they at least expected me to come over on my birthday...

She wasn't selfish, but she could use some presents and cake right about now!

The raven-haired teen neglected to even shout her presence in the home and strode into the kitchen, yawning on her way there. As she pretty much anticipated, her mother wasn't in there preparing supper. Yup, no one was going to wish her a happy birthday, she supposed.

Kagome sighed in dismay. "I might as well get some shut-eye..."

Half way up the steps to her room, however...she heard some kind of commotion coming from the family room. It sounded like someone was shushing another person to be quiet, and was that growling she heard? If no one was truly home...certainly Buyo couldn't make those noises alone.

She shook her head as a smile upturned her frowning lips. Standing before the closed door to the family room, Kagome mused if she should humor her family and go upstairs, or just go inside. Of course she opted for the latter and slid the screen door open...

"SURPRISE!!"

...but she definitely wasn't prepared for what met her gaze.

"O-Oh my...gods..." Her chocolate eyes instantly brightened at the sight of all the people in her family room...celebrating her birthday! "Wow..." Coherent thoughts weren't processing through her brain at the moment.

"Kagome! I'm so happy to see you!" Souta latched onto his sister before any one else had the chance to, almost threatening to cut off her air supply with the huge bear hug he gave her. "Happy birthday, Sis!"

"Keh! She probably thought we abandoned her on her birthday..." Inuyasha was here! The smirking hanyou was standing beside his older brother, who nodded in response to his statement, looking bored as ever.

Rin was bouncing on his left, balancing her excitement with his boredom. "No way, Kags! How could we leave you alone on your most special day? You're eighteen now!" She then turned to the smirking hanyou and beamed at him. "And so are you, mister!"

"K-Keh!" He ignored it for the most part...

"Kagome! It was horrible! These...these insane people forced me to remain quiet about this party and allow you to suffer! Oh my poor mate--fear not! I, Kouga, am now here to brighten your day!" Even the wolf demon prince had been invited...but she wished he would disappear when he enveloped her in a hug, causing Inuyasha to growl.

"Stop it, Kouga! We agreed to control your amorous behavior towards Kagome while Inuyasha's watching, remember? You don't need to make him jealous every second of the day."

Ayame, too? The miko felt tears pinprick her eyes! Everyone was gone this morning because they were helping set up my surprise party... I feel so loved!

"What?! I'm not jealous of that wolf crap!"

The fiery red-headed wolf demon princess huffed and crossed her arms, rolling her emerald eyes at Inuyasha. "Says the mutt who wants to rip out my boyfriend's throat..."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Ayame, that I'm not your boyfriend?! Geez! Kagome is my only lover!"

"WHAT?! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

"Kouga, look what you did! Be a good little wolf and let go of Kagome right now before you're girlfriend makes you."

"But you're not--"

"NOW!!!"

Miroku and Sango stood off to the side, shaking their heads at Kouga's regular display of affection, which drove Sesshoumaru to glomp his brother on the head to control his rage. Either way, the wolf ended up releasing the miko and obediently stood by a self-satisfied Ayame.

At least he managed to indirectly render dog turd with swirly eyes...

But when a certain ex-monk's hand began to wander down Sango's lower backside--why was she standing next to him?--Inuyasha wasn't the only one with swirly eyes...

Kagome cleared her throat of the emotional lump preventing her from speaking, and faced her mother and grumbling grandfather graciously. "I love you guys so much! Thanks for doing this for me!" She knew Gramps must have griped over the amount of demons in his home...

Mrs. Higurashi chuckled and drew her daughter into a warm hug. "It's what you deserve, dear! Happy eighteenth birthday!" She then turned to her future son-in-law. "You, too, Inuyasha!"

He glanced away from his glaring contest with Sesshoumaru. "Um...thanks." Not like he really cared about his birthday. "Oomph!" But, he made the mistake of looking away from his opponent and ended up with swirly eyes again.

What a lovely present...

"Well, now that the birthday girl is here," Miroku interrupted the mini fights simultaneously occurring in the family room with his smooth, charming voice, "let's get this party started!"

Souta was acting as the DJ today, and upon receiving his cue to begin his job, he played the first song on the CD he had provided for entertainment. Kagome grinned at what it turned out to be.

"The Chicken Dance?" She laughed at his excited nod. "Oh well, you're the DJ, not me!"

"Oooh! This brings back memories, doesn't it, Sessh?" Rin glanced at her fiancé, only to see him glowering at Kagome's younger brother. "What's up with you?"

"I hate this song...bad memories..." He shuddered, recalling the grueling school dance Rin had forced him to attend. Gods, he had sworn never to dance like a chicken ever again!

She merely shrugged like the merciless devil she was deep inside. "Still doesn't mean you're not dancing with me!" And Rin dragged him to the middle of the family room--the designated dance floor--while ignoring his protests.

There weren't much to begin with, but sheesh!

"My lovely Sango," the chestnut-haired woman glared at her boyfriend when he offered his arm to her, "would you like to accompany me in the Chicken Dance?"

"No." The chilling vibes flaring around her should've been enough to scare any man off, yet Miroku wasn't any man. He was her man--as much as she'd like to sell him to slavery.

"Ah, you wouldn't like to, but you will anyway," he replied with a chipper smile and copied what Rin had done, hauling his unwilling girlfriend out into the 'dance floor'.

Sango was left cursing Miroku's interpretation of her words in his favor--he pulled the same trick all the time! At that moment, Sesshoumaru and Sango bonded on whole new levels... They both abhorred the Chicken Dance...

Heck, they might flee home and blog about it.

Eventually, Ayame forced an equally unwilling Kouga to show off his chicken moves. Ack! Kagome's grandpa was doing the Chicken Dance, too! And with Rin and Miroku on either side of him! Ohoh, it was only now that Sesshoumaru and Sango felt abandoned...

Even Kouga became a bit miffed when he was dumped for an old geezer who could do the chicken dance better...

Kagome grinned as she watched her friends mingle and enjoy themselves. She took the chance to look around the family room, decorated with balloons, banners, a variety of colored streamers, and much more in honor of her and Inuyasha's birthday. It hardly mattered that she felt like a kid again stuck in a house party--it felt good to have a bunch of people celebrating her big day!

Not to mention the cake looked terrific! It was three layers topped with white, red, and green frosting--partly to accommodate Inuyasha's favorite colors, as well. His name was scribbled on it under hers, and all in all, she couldn't think of a better person to share her birthday with.

But he'd most likely eat all the cake...

The miko was still smiling when he moved to stand beside her, taking in the sight of his brother practically glaring daggers at the old man stealing all of his fiancée's attention. "You're not joining in, wench?"

"Nah, I can survive without the chicken dance," she responded, smirking at him. "Why don't you go ahead and shake your tail feathers for me?"

"Keh! I don't have a tail, much less tail feathers."

The miko laughed. "So, how did you all know today was my birthday, huh?" Her friends were a bunch of sneaky conspirators...

Inuyasha smiled. "Souta told me and I told Rin and she told Sesshoumaru and he, for some reason, told Miroku and he told Sango and she told Ayame and she told Kouga and--"

"Ok, I get the point!" Kagome didn't want to know about the long list of people in this chain of secret plotters! Of all the people--Sesshoumaru?! Gods, she never would have thought! Then again...she never would have imagined him dancing the Chicken Dance...

Anyway... "I'm guessing you and Souta are pretty good friends."

"He likes to talk to me about stuff. What you can't teach me, he does." The hanyou shrugged, thinking nothing of the younger boy's devotion to him. "He's the one who's most excited about us getting married."

"Well, I think it's good he has a new male role model after Dad died. Congratulations--you are officially Souta's big brother!"

"You're a little late, wench. He already calls me Inu no Nii-chan."

"Aww! That's so cute!" Kagome hugged a frozen stiff Inuyasha, overwhelmed by older-sister emotions the hanyou would never hope to comprehend. "My little Yashie is a big brother!"

"Hey, stop calling me that!" Damn Barbie Girl song!

The wench had said they were going to record a music video, but he had failed to decipher her hidden meaning: it will be publishable material. She had shown everyone at their lunch table their incredible singing...

Sesshoumaru had yet to stop shooting him pitying looks... He wasn't mentally unstable, dammit!

"Come on Yashie, let's go party!"

"I hate you..."

"Ah ah ah," she wagged her finger at him admonishingly, "no hating before cake is served!"

"Hey, you two bystanders over there!" Rin finally had enough of the chicken dance and marched up to the couple not participating in the day's entertainment. She cast them a half-hearted glare, annoyed that they merely watched people make a fool of themselves, yet made no move to join them. "When in a loony bin, do as the loonies do!"

Inuyasha attempted to free himself from her iron grip. "But Rin! We don't want to--"

"Baloney! If Sessh can do it, then so can you two!"

It was futile to protest...Rin had her way with people...

...no wonder Sesshoumaru was whipped...perhaps literally...

Err...neither Inuyasha nor Kagome wanted to know.


"Alright, peeps! We're gonna have a dance off!"

After everyone had their share of degrading songs for the night--ones in which everyone except Mrs. Higurashi danced--DJ Souta deigned it necessary to spice things up. He lived up to his one-day career and donned baggy clothes and tinted sunglasses, and even kept his voice smooth, as though he wasn't just a kid in middle school.

Oh well!

"But it's not the kind you're thinking--I'm talking DDR!" Kagome and Sango groaned while Rin and Ayame cheered--they were DDR fanatics. "Now, the winner get's...the satisfaction of winning!"

Inuyasha scoffed. "What a great prize..."

"That reminds me, we still have to go to the arcade, Sessh. Remember the prize we won from the contest during the Halloween Dance?" Run turned to her fiancé, who leaned against the wall, nodding to her inquiry.

"You guys won tickets?" Kagome asked. Rin beamed and nodded. "Inuyasha and I went there on Monday. It's awesome, trust me!"

"Cool! I can't wait to try it out!"

"Everyone's been raving about it for weeks," Ayame piped up, grinning as her emerald eyes brightened in excitement, "and my little wolfie is taking me next week."

"Ayame!" Kouga shouted, having heard her stupid pet name for him. "Calm your ass down!"

"Oh, it's calm, Kouga..."

"No comment."

Mrs. Higurashi soon brought out two DDR dance pads and laid them in front of the large LCD television in the family room. With a friendly smile, she then left the room, dragging a protesting Gramps along with her. He wanted to dance with Rin and Ayame again...

Sesshoumaru and Kouga were merely glad to see him leave... They looked like pair of evil witches about to start cackling alone in a dark corner.

Anyway...

Souta took a few seconds to hook the game up prior to facing the others. "Ok, it's girls vs. guys. Since it's Sis and Inu no Nii-chan's--" he had to pause when Kagome abruptly broke out in a fit of "aww's" at his name for Inuyasha, "--birthday, they're up first."

"What?!" Inuyasha flushed, gaping at his 'little brother' in shock. He had no clue what DDR was or even what those odd looking mats were for! Was he supposed to sleep on it?! If he went up there now, he was going to lose to the wench! It would ruin him! "No way in hell!"

"It's not hard, Inu no Nii-chan!" Souta attempted to assuage the hanyou, smiling at him honestly. Kagome still had stars in her eyes in the background... "All you have to do is match the arrows on the TV screen with the ones on the dance pad using your feet. Here, I'll play the preview."

The raven-haired boy shifted through the options in the menu screen and played the preview for a confused Inuyasha, who was accompanied in Confuzzled World by Sesshoumaru and Kouga. They blinked as they caught on to the object of the game, and they gradually understood what they had to do.

It still seemed pretty difficult, though...

"Now that we all know what we're doing, let's dance!" Souta grinned and beckoned Kagome and Inuyasha to choose their mats. The hanyou immediately took the one on the right, sticking his tongue out at his fiancée.

The miko, however, took control of maneuvering through the menu, and was in the position to choose their song. She sifted through the various music selections until she found the perfect--and her favorite--one: Butterfly.

"Oooh, Kagome! Pick the heavy version!" Why was Rin so hyper today? Perhaps she had shared Sesshoumaru's 'revitalizing' coffee this morning...

Yet she complied, nonetheless. Hey, she might not like it, but she was good at DDR. Let's see if my fiancé can handle it. "Ready, Inuyasha?" The miko turned to him only to smirk in pre-victory.

He returned it zealously. "Hells yeah."

Ay, iyaiyai

Ay, iyaiyai

A-a-a iyaiyai

Where's my samurai?

After the brief intro, the arrows came in at full speed--thank god Inuyasha had good reflexes! He was hanging in there, while Kagome mastered the moves with a smile. Neither of them had missed an arrow yet, getting perfects all the way. Souta conceded that his sister was secretly a fanatic like Rin, and his inu brother was...well, he had demon advantages!

I've been searching for a man

All across Japan

Just to find, to find my samurai

Someone who is strong

But still a little shy

Yes I need, I need my samurai

If Kagome tried hard enough, she could relate the lyrics of the song to her and Inuyasha, in a sense that is. He was strong, but still a little shy...he wasn't a samurai though, but a damn good fighter. Oh, what the heck! She was too busy moving her feet in tune to the beat to think about him!

Now she was blushing...

Ay, ay, ay

I'm your little butterfly

Green, black, and blue

Make the colors in the sky

Ay, ay, ay I'm your little butterfly

Green, black, and blue

Make the colors in the sky

Up, down, right, up, down, left, down-right, right-left--gah! It was enough to make him nearly trip on his own feet! Inuyasha concentrated on hitting the arrows at the correct time, but as the song progressed and sped up, it became increasingly hard! And the wench did this with ease!

Down, left, up, up, right, left, left, down, right, down, left--he officially disliked DDR!

I've been searching in the woods

And high upon the hills

Just to find, to find my samurai

Someone who won't regret

To keep me in his net

Yes I need, I need my samurai

Naturally the girls were rooting for Kagome while the guys cheered Inuyasha on; all except Sesshoumaru of course who noted his brother lacked fluid movements. The family room was filled with wild roars, sugar-high people--ahem, Rin--and a madly dancing couple facing off in an ultimate game of success: DDR.

At some point, however, Inuyasha messed up while Kagome still had a perfect streak. He became so frustrated that he stomped on all the arrows without even glancing at the screen, snarling at the stupid dance pad while he shouted at the piece of crap. He hated it! His reflexes were great, but dammit--the song was too fast!

And why the hell were there so many arrows?!

Ay, ay, ay

I'm your little butterfly

Green, black, and blue

Make the colors in the sky

Ay, ay, ay I'm your little butterfly

Green, black, and blue

Make the colors in the sky

"Kagome is the winner!! WOOT!" Rin and the rest of the girls high-fived the panting raven-haired teen. The guys shook their heads at the failure of a hanyou they were graced with. Heck, he was still furiously stomping on the dance pad, even after the song ended.

"I swear this piece of shit doesn't work! It doesn't WORK!!" Inuyasha growled and cursed the makers of DDR while his fiancée fleetingly praised them. Yup, they were at odd ends.

"No, little brother, you just lack finesse." Sesshoumaru brushed back his luxurious locks of silver hair behind his ear and rolled his honey eyes, pushing the agitated hanyou off the dance pad. "Watch and learn."

Inuyasha crossed his arms and huffed. As if the pompous bastard could do better than him! "Keh! More like watch and claw my eyes out."

"Yay! I'm gonna win you, Fluffy-kun!" Rin spared him a cheerful grin before choosing the song they were to dance off to. In the end, she chose an upbeat, heavy-version one: Moonlight Shadow. "Don't hurt yourself trying."

"Hn." He didn't need to issue a challenge for it was already won--by him.

And two minutes later...

"It's a tie!" Souta clapped his hand since it was the first tie between two people he had ever seen in his entire life! Both Rin and Sesshoumaru received the same scores! "Wow, I wish I was as good as you two! You did great for your first time, Sesshou-aniki!"

"Kawaii! You're so cute!!" Kagome bear hugged her brother, ignoring his pleas petitions for the right to breathe. "I love you sooo much!" Everyone stared at the gone-crazy-because-my-little-brother-is-adorable miko.

Moving on...

"Piece of advice, brother," Sesshoumaru lazily glanced at the peeved hanyou, who still couldn't believe the silver-haired immortal had not failed miserably and instead received an A grade. "Finesse. Get some."

"Shut up with the finesse crap! You looked like a freakin' ballerina!"

"Mhm, and you looked like monkey trying to break dance."

"...?"

"Exactly."


A/N: SHORTENED!