Disclaimer: The characters are trademarked, and the plotline of the series Inuyasha is copyrighted, by Rumiko Takahashi.
Author's Note: I can still write, it just takes a lot longer now, because my short-term memory got damaged. So I have to read the entire story over again, each time I want to write a new chapter… But I have so many supportive reviewers! You all say nice things like "The fanfiction is still good!" Thank you very much, indeed.
So, this chapter is dedicated to all the reviewers of Chapter 31! You were one of them, weren't you? Yes, you were. Of course, you were!
A Distant Promise – Mini-Chapter # 32
"You owe me!"
Over the phone, Shippo's voice sounded more frustrated than he truly was. Actually, the entire proceedings had been rather amusing. "And your roommate, Mariko, she is completely nuts. How do you deal with her, every day?"
"I don't," replied Kagome, sagely declining to answer the question. "But thank you for helping me! We are almost to Kyoto. How did the scavenger hunt go?"
"Hn," scoffed the fox-demon gruffly. "Mariko actually found someone at the end of it, oh wonder of wonders."
The laughter that had been forming inside her chest, ever since Shippo telephoned, burst free. Giggling wildly, Kagome held the mobile-phone away from her ear for a moment, while she calmed. "Wait!" she asked breathlessly, "Wait, I thought the scavenger hunt was fake?"
"Yes, it was." With a sigh, the kitsune finished sadly, "But my ingenuity pales in the face of human hope. Mariko kissed the one that she believed to be her suitor. He did not protest."
After Shippo disconnected the call, Kagome spent several more minutes snickering uncontrollably in the passenger seat, although she tried to keep herself (reasonably) quiet out of respect for her companion's sensitive ears. Looking in Sesshoumaru's direction did not help matters, either. He appeared intrigued and vaguely amused. Which was exactly how she felt. Oh, damn! Now, she would have to explain, and he would probably laugh at her too, for roping Shippo into such a ridiculous endeavor.
"I told him to distract Mariko, while I escaped for the weekend. My roommate wanted to see me in the blue dress, very much! I thought she would make me model for her!" gasped Kagome, with mock-horror. "So, Shippo told Mariko that her secret-admirer had sent her a message… and the message sent her to another place… and another…"
Another snort escaped her lips, without permission. Slowly, Kagome felt her ears redden, from the effort required to clamp down on her laughter. The snickers were building into outright giggles again.
Naturally, Sesshoumaru did not look impressed. But then, he never did. Surprising this white-haired dog-demon took far more effort than it was worth.
"And at the end of her search, she found what she wanted to find," he finished the story on her behalf. Arching one brow, he glanced in her direction, away from the road. "Your laughter implies this is unexpected."
"Well… of course!"
"Nonsense," he intoned calmly. "Humans are talented at seeing only what they wish to see."
"Hey!" grinned Kagome, unable to loose the laughter inside her heart. "I resent that. Youkai do the same."
A few hours later, after they deposited their bags into the rooms, he watched her investigate the suite. Her face melted into a brilliant smile, each time she discovered a new feature in the hotel. Even the connecting doors between their rooms seemed to captivate her attention.
And for some reason, this pleased him. Certainly, she was merely impressed by the sitting room, because she had never been to a hotel room that had one… but… for some reason, it felt like a personal compliment. It was an easily misinterpreted gesture, as the fox-kit said, taking a girl on a trip like this. But not for Kagome; no, she seemed not to have an avaricious bone in her body, so she took things at face-value.
He had expected to see her surprise, and her happiness, so he did. He had never expected her to misconstrue this gift, and she didn't. Maybe she was correct, and even youkai interpreted the world in a self-interested fashion.
