InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Another Yellow Brick For The Road ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: whymihere 
Sesshomaru on the job, Miroku's date, and a glimpse at Shippou's home life.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Shounen / | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 02.26.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.9K | Visits: 435 | Status: Completed
Sesshomaru on the job, Miroku's date, and a glimpse at Shippou's home life.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Shounen / | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 02.26.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 5.9K | Visits: 435 | Status: Completed
Chapter 3 is here to wheeee
Chapter 3
Grabbing the alarm clock, Sesshomaru gave it a quick look and then tossed it to the ground. He was a bit hung over after the night out with his parents and he needed to get a move on to his next assignment. A few days ago a colleague of his called him telling him about a new job. When he asked what it was the guy said, “You have to cover a show in Mexico. Some sort of fashion thing.” Growling that he didn’t do fashion the guy said, “What about twenty-five grand for your time writing about what fashion designers have made?”
The prospect of nearly thirty-thousand in his bank account was too much to pass up. Pulling some Excedrin out of his night stand, Sesshomaru popped a couple into his mouth and headed into the bathroom noticing his brother up extremely early for a Sunday. Keeping outside the door, Sesshomaru snatched his toothbrush saying, “A bit shocking for you to be out of bed this early on a Sunday, isn’t it?”
Flipping his brother off, Inuyasha spat out the toothpaste hissing, “I have to go to work.” Rinsing his mouth out, the younger of the two wiped off his mouth telling his brother, “Unlike some of us who only work every few weeks, I have a scheduled amount of hours just to get a paycheck.” Bumping his way past his older brother, Inuyasha went off to his room and got dressed while Sesshomaru went about his morning rituals. Shouting, “I’ll be back at around six,” Inuyasha closed the door a bit too hard and knocked a couple of pictures down.
Hearing his mother shout out the door at her youngest son, Sesshomaru saw that his father wasn’t around and asked, “Where’s Dad?” Setting the pictures back upright, Izumi told her oldest that he had to go into work for a few hours. Checking to make sure his bag was all ready, Sesshomaru pulled his ticket out saying, “I’ll leave a message when I check into the hotel.” Giving her a kiss on the cheek he told her, “I’ll be back home in a few days so feel free to leave a couple of messages at my apartment.”
Giving her son a kiss back, Izumi pulled out a brown sack saying, “It’s just some extra food.” Taking it gratefully, Sesshomaru left as his mother shouted, “Be sure to call when you get your hotel room!” Waving goodbye, Sesshomaru climbed into his car and headed off to the airport. He had four hours, but with customs he needed to get there sooner. Driving along I-5 towards the Sea-Tac Airport, Sesshomaru noticed an interesting sight.
Pulling off to the side of the road, he got out asking, “Well, isn’t this an interesting coincidence?” Glaring out from under his car, Sasuke shot his friends brother the bird as he pulled himself out cursing his father. Looking at the car, Sesshomaru noticed that the teenager had pulled off a flat tire, peeking at the youngster he asked, “Why don’t you put on the spare?”
Tossing something into the trunk, Sasuke sneered saying, “Because my father took the spare tire I kept in there a few days ago because he got a flat from a nail in the garage.” Slamming the trunk, Sasuke growled as he realized he didn’t put the tire in there and tossed it into it saying heavily, “Unless you have a spare tire in your car, I’m going to be late for work and possibly fired.”Putting an elbow down on the trunk, Sasuke asked the elder male, “So, do you have a tire I can borrow?
Popping the trunk with his alarm setter, Sesshomaru went over and pulled up some cloth revealing a brand new tire. Pulling it out he rolled it and was surprised to find it was perfect for the teens car. Putting it in place, Sesshomaru and Sasuke fixed the flat in a matter of moments. Setting the car back on the ground, Sesshomaru clasped the younger mans hand saying in a stern voice, “I expect that back in perfect condition.”
Feeling an increase in pressure on his hand, Sasuke squeezed just as hard as Sesshomaru earning a grin of respect. Giving it a shake, Sasuke broke the hold first as he got back into his car. “Thanks for the help! I’ll be sure to tell Inuyasha you’re not a complete dick!” Waving goodbye, Sasuke pulled out of the emergency lane and sped off toward his job while Sesshomaru continued his treck to the airport. Lucky for him it didn’t take too long for Sesshomaru to reach the airport. Even with the delay at helping Sasuke, he had plenty of time to check in.
Heading to the ticket counter, Sesshomaru got all of his paperwork filled out and went through immigration. He had a dog check his bag for drugs, it made no sense since the only drug Sesshomaru ever did was alcohol. And the only reason it was legal because it could be taxed, a topic the journalist had won an award for during his time in journalism school. It even earned a spot in a few papers which opened the door for his career.
When he got to his terminal, Sesshomaru plugged into his tape player and put in one of his many books on tapes. This weeks selection was a Tom Clancy novel and he’d been dying to finish it for years. Opening his carry-on, Sesshomaru pulled out his camera and checked to make sure it had a clear memory. The camera went through batteries like no tomorrow, but Digital cameras were still an imperfect bit of technology when it came to energy reliance. Snapping a few pictures, the demon saved one that he found really intriguing.
Since he was going to a fashion show, he may as well take pictures of people who looked good in certain types of fashion, and who shouldn’t be wearing certain types. This person was of the latter fashion sense. He didn’t know much about style for women, but a bright orange shirt with yellow pants just seemed a bit bold for even a blind person to wear. Putting the camera back in the bag, he settled in for a short nap.
He was woken up by a pair of little girls arguing over who should approach him. Removing his headphones, Sesshomaru told them, “What do you two want?” He opened his eyes to see them blush and run back to their mother. The lady looked to where they pointed and scolded them for bothering the silver haired man. Getting up, Sesshomaru told the lady, “It is fine, they did not bother me.” When he said this, the lady at the counter announced they were boarding first class passengers and those with kids.
Walking over he waited in the line noticing that the two girls were on the same flight as him. Making a face at them, he smiled inwardly as they hid next to their mother blushing. Getting his ticket checked, Sesshomaru found his seat and settled into it listening to his book in peace. He was so relaxed that he didn’t even notice the plane taking off until the stewardess tapped his shoulder. Opening his eyes Sesshomaru grumbled at being bothered and told the woman he didn’t need a drink.
Smiling in a forced manner, the stewardess went back to her rounds leaving Sesshomaru to his sleep. Hours later a massive bump knocked Sesshomaru out of his seat by a couple of feet and he saw the setting sun of Mexico out the window. Rubbing his eyes, he pulled out one of his bottled waters and drank from it until he felt sick. Letting the burning sensation subside, he gave a gasp of relief at feeling hydrated again and put the bottle away.
Off the plane, Sesshomaru began heading toward baggage claim when a voice shouted after him, “Mr. Taisho!” Stopping in his tracks, Sesshomaru saw a young woman chasing after him holding a giant piece of cardboard. Keeping his eyes on the woman, he saw that she had black hair and a slightly curved figure. He’d seen her somewhere before, but as he had just woken up from a dehydrating sleep, his memory was not in the best of conditions.
Shifting his bag, he let the girl catch her breath before he asked who she was. Folding up the sign that held her objectives name, the girl stuck out her hand saying, “Kagura.” Sesshomaru gave her hand a firm squeeze as she explained why she was there. “I work under your friend who is head of publishing at The Times. And you can imagine how mad I was that you were given the opprotunity to write on something such as this.”
Hearing her explain the situation, Sesshomaru figured out that she must have been the one who usually wrote on the fashion world. Stuffing his hands in his pocket, Sesshomaru told her, “I apologize for taking on this job. But, seeing as he hired me I will require you to use your expertise to help me out in judging certain trends and designers.” Kagura beamed at the chance to help out on the project, but as she smiled she told him that she’d only help if he acknowledged her help in the article.
When she was told that he agreed to her terms, Kagura took Sesshomaru’s carry bag telling him, “I’m also pretty much your friends personal assistant so I may as well do what I am normally paid for.” Taking back his bag, Sesshomaru told the girl that his bag had all of his work equipment in it. Giving him a shrug, Kagura led him to the baggage claim saying, “We’ve been given two rooms at the hotel, and they are both connected so that we may work together easier.”
Taking his bag off the luggage belt, Sesshomaru said, “What’s the hotel?” Looking through her address book, Kagura scanned down saying that the paper had decided to put them up in a nice hotel for the first time in awhile. Taking the book, Sesshomaru’s eyes lit up at the four-start treatment he’d be getting. Giving the book back he told Kagura that they’d better hurry and check in so they could go over the guest list and the list of designers.
Looking around, Kagura spotted their driver and introduced them to the man. Tilting his hat he said, “Welcome to Mexico.” Taking the bags, he put them into the trunk and got back into the drivers seat asking, “What hotel are you staying at?” Taking the offered address from Kagura, the driver pulled out of the airport and made his way through the busy streets of Cancun.
Rolling down the window, SEsshomaru took a few snap shots for his collection of exotic location photos. His “assistant,” seemed to be bored with the trip and took to making up some sketches of what looked like a theater. Letting her go about her work, Sesshomaru decided to raid the limo liquor bottles and stuffed them into his bag. Kagura saw this and laughed forcing the platinum blonde to say, “My dad collects these things, even though he can’t drink anymore.”
Moments later the driver rang them saying that they were a few minutes away from the hotel. Packing up her work supplies, Kagura helped Sesshomaru with his new collection of liquor just as the limo pulled to a stop at the hotel. Letting Kagura out, and then Sesshomaru the driver pulled their bags out and gave them to the bellhop before collecting his tip and wishing them a pleasant stay.
As Sesshomaru stood around wondering what to do, Kagura took over and went to the service desk saying, “I’m going to need the keys to room twelve-forty-three.” Looking through the computer, the attendant asked if the person who was registered to the room was with her. Waving her companion over, Kagura had him show his identification askign if that was all the information she needed. Pulling the keycards out, the woman ran them through the computer and handed them over to the new arrival.
Taking him to the elevator, Kagura began telling him about the lay out of the show and who’d be taking the pictures. When he heard that she would be doing it Sesshomaru gave a chuckle telling her, “You sure you can run one of those cameras?” Receiving a hard punch in the arm, Sesshomaru cringed a bit at the sting telling her, “I normally take the pictures myself, but I guess you can take the best and worst outfits while telling me which outfits go to which designers.”
Kagura could tell that Sesshomaru really didn’t want to have to write down anything on the show. When the bell rang on their floor, Kagura brought him to her room and showed him to the table. Sesshomaru had to admit their expense account had been seriously increased to afford rooms like this. The bed was king-size and the television came out of a trunk like object a the foot of the bed. There was a small kitchen nearby, complete with fridge and stove. Looking at his small ruck-sack, Sesshomaru realized he’d forgotten to eat all day.
His stomach gave a loud growl and remembering that he had food in his bag, Sesshomaru pulled out the sack his mother had given him. Opening it, he found a crushed peanut-butter and jam sandwich, destroyed chips, and a warm soda. Dumping it in the garbage, Sesshomaru heard Kagura come out of the restroom where she’d headed after setting Sesshomaru at the table. Hearing the loud growling that emanated from Sesshomaru’s stomach. “I’ll call up room service.” Opening the door, she let him into his room saying, “I’ll have them deliver some to your side as well.”
Hearing the door click shut, Sesshomaru shut his connecting door seeing that his room was nearly identical to Kagura’s. Dumping his ruck-sack in a nearby chair, Sesshomaru found his suitcase near the door. Putting on the bed, he checked to make sure that everything was where it should be. Pulling out a small leather book, Sesshomaru removed his phone card and sat down on the bed dialing the numbers.
When he’d finished the what felt like an hour-and-a-half long dialing procedure, Sesshomaru heard the delightful ring of his family’s phone. Hearing it click and shuffle, he wasn’t surprised to hear his brother ask, “Who is it?” Telling his brother that he needed to work on his answering skills, Sesshomaru was glad to have his brother tell him, “Well, at least I’m not down in Mexico covering....you’re a bastard you know that!”
A bit confused, Sesshomaru asked, “Well little brother, as I sit here in an air conditioned hotel room. I would like to know what conclusion your infantile brain has come up with?” Upon being insulted, Inuyasha told his brother that he was near a beach in almost tropical weather. Taking a moment to think, Sesshomnaru gave a deep laugh saying, “I will be sure to send your girlfriend the pictures of the women you fantasize about while with her.”
Inuyasha began to curse his brother out until their father got on the phone. “Shut up and go do your homework,” was what the man commanded of his son. With Inuyasha’s retreating swears, Teijo asked, “Flight went smoothly, I take it?” Telling his father that it was just a bit too warm, Sesshomaru heard his father say, “Son, work with a blowtorch in the middle of the Nevada sun while fixing a plane’s axle.”
Sighing at his father’s attempt to soudn like a rough-neck, Sesshomaru told him, “Can you make sure somebody stops and feeds my cat please. I forgot to feed her before I left.” Groaning at his son’s stupidity, Teijo shouted up for Inuyasha to call the lady who lived next to Sesshomaru. They had the number of Sesshomaru’s neighbor incase of emergencies, and more often than not they had to call her to feed his cat, Kanna when he left town.
Before Teijo could say another word to his son, Izumi kicked the man out of the way asking, “Did you eat the lunch I packed?” When she got done asking her son about the lunch, Teijo began to say that he was a grown man. Feeling her anger through the phone, SEsshomaru set it down as she began shouting at her husband to go and take his organ stabilizer pills. With her husband gone, Izumi’s voice regained her sweetness asking her son once again if he enjoyed his lunch.
Gulping, Sesshomaru told her that it had gotten crushed on the plane ride leaving him with an empty stomach. As she started to scold him on the importance of eating healthy a knock came from the door. Telling her he’d love to talk about his diet at a later time, Sesshomaru said good bye and went to the answer the knock. Opening the door he found a man standing in his doorway with a tray, letting him in, Sesshomaru put the plates on the table and signed off on the hotel copy of hte receipt while pocketing the other one for business expenses.
Removing the lid off one of the plates, Sesshomaru was glad to be met by the smell and look of a wonderful plate of Pahd Thai. Opening the other one he found a piece of chocolate cake. He was about to dig in when Kagura knocked on the door between their rooms. Opening it he asked, “What?” She asked whether or not she’d ordered a decent meal for him. Saying that it was good, he added, “I’m surprised that you knew I liked Thai.”
Blushing and saying that she didn’t, Kagura excused herself and went back to her meal. Shutting the door, Sesshomaru smirked at her embarrassment and went back to his meal. It wasn’t too spice, but had enough zing to give him a tingle on his tongue. Finishing the meal, he went after the chocolate cake. He warmed it up a bit in the microwave and sat down watching an HBO presentation of, “Scarface.” About halfway through, Kagura asked if she could come in. Telling her it was open, Sesshomaru got up and helped her carry some papers to the bed.
Settling down on the soft mattress, Kagura held out two pieces of paper containing the pictures of two designers. “This,” she said matter of factly, “is Carmen Marc Valvo. He’s been a pretty famous designer since around nineteen-ninety.” Checking a few pictures, Sesshomaru mentioned a sort of European feel to some of his dresses. Amazed at the perception, Kagura told him, “He actually spent a short time in Europe studying art, culture, and many other aspects after deciding not to become a surgeon.”
Taking his glasses out, Sesshomaru took a deep look at the dresses noticing flawless lines in them. Noticing his attempts to figure out the mans design style. Taking some of the pictures away, Kagura set another one down telling him, “And then we have this young lady.” Pulling up the picture he read the name as Kagura said, “Nanette Lepore, who is known more for a gypsy style look than any other designer. She’s currently talking to a company about a perfume deal to distribute in the next couple of years.”
Seeing the colors and look of the dresses, Sesshomaru told his colleague, “Interesting choice in clothing. I should be sure to get a couple of pictures for my brother’s friend.” When asked what he meant, Sesshomaru told the woman, “My brother has a friend who makes costumes for the band he is in.” Saying that she’d get plenty of pictues, Sesshomaru thanked her and put away the pictures telling her, “I think I know enough after this to get a few things written.” Pulling out his lap top, SEsshomaru took the bio’s she’d given him saying, “We have until tomorrow to get ready so I suggest you get your camera prepared.”
The next night, Sesshomaru was dressed in a set of slacks and a dress coat. In the seat next to him at the show, Kagura was wearing a navy blue dress and holding her digital camera taking a few pictures of some of the more famous people at the show. When the music began playing, Kagura took nearly 10 pictures of each model coming down the aisle as Sesshomaru wrote down about some of his more preferred looks. After spending the night looking up different sets of clothes by the designers, Sesshomaru had a good idea of where each one was going with different looks and knew that he was being fair with his opinions.
After Kagura’s third memory card change, the show ended and the two designers came out and gave some bows thanking them for coming to the show. Getting out of his seat, Sesshomaru made his way out of the show hall and out into the warm Mexican night. Pulling out one of his bottled waters, he took a few strong chugs as Kagura came out from the hall amidst the crowd asking, “Is it really that much trouble for a man to sit through a fashion show?”
Putting the bottle in his jacket, Sesshomaru said, “I have no problem with it.” Coughing a small bit he said, “I’m just feeling a bit tired and want to head back early.” Asking why, Sesshomaru simply told her, “I have a few things I need to get done quickly.” Holding up his notes he said, “I have here most of the article. You can add in whatever you want about your favorite outfits and tell Naraku that I’m letting you take some credit as well.” Giving her the notes he added a small bit of paper saying, “This is my brother’s email address, tell him they are for his friend Kohaku.”
Waving goodbye to the woman, Sesshomaru made his way back to the hotel. On his way, he stopped at a small restaraunt to get some dinner. When it came out, he paid and went back to his room to settle in for a nice meal and a nights sleep before catching an earlier flight the next day. When he was about to fall asleep, his cell phone rang from the counter. Gettting up, he snatched the phone up hissing, “You’d better have a good fucking reason for bothering me little brother.”
Snickering, Inuyasha set somethign down in the back ground saying, “Kohaku just called and wanted me to thank you for the pictures.” Muttering that it was no trouble, Sesshomaru began to hang up when his brother said, “And Sasuke’ll be by to drop off your wheel when you get back.” Pausing for a moment, Inuyasha asked, “When are you getting back anyway?”
Sesshomaru checked his ticket mumbling, “I’m catching an earlier flight, so say about ten tomorrow night or something.” Hearing the scratching of a pen, the older of the two Taisho brothers told the younger, “Okay, I guess I should be expecting some visitors. “ Inuyasha told him that his friend would just be by to drop off the wheel and leave. Grunting, Sesshomaru hung up his phone without another word and went back to bed.
The next afternoon, Sesshomaru spent two hours changing his flight plans and got onto the five o’clock flight to Seattle. It went by quickly as he wasn’t hung over for this flight. He even stayed awake for the movie. Not that he enjoyed the movie, but it was a nice distraction from the whining child a few rows back in business class. Once done, he got a couple of soda’s and plugged in his book glad to finally be on the last tape. When it was finally finished, he felt a bit dissappointed at the ending, but felt good at finally finishing a book that took him three years to finish.
Back in Seattle, he got his car and headed home glad to see that nobody had decided to take his car out for a joy ride. Granted the car wasn’t worth too much on the outside, but the engine and sound system inside the automobile. The drive was slow due to the city council deciding to do some road work. Noticing it was past midnight, Sesshomaru made his way up the stairs leading to his apartment to find his door open a crack. Heading in he found Sasuke sitting on his couch playing around with the cat.
Coughing loudly, Sesshomaru asked the teen, “How did you get into my house?” Stopping playtime, Sasuke said that his neighbor had let him in after he paced the floor for ten minutes. Confused, Sesshomaru closed the door asking, “Did she know you were at least a friend of the family’s?” He saw Sasuke pull out a picture of Inuyasha’s birthday party few months prior. Seeing that he was in the picture as well, the older man let it slide saying that he would take a shower before letting Sasuke get his tire.
Playing with the cat a little bit more, Sasuke paid close attention to the sounds in the bathroom. When the water shut off, Sasuke left and got the tire from his trunk. Coming back up, Sasuke rolled it into the closet just as Sesshomaru walked out of his room dressed in his pajamas. Finishing his work, Sasuke turned around to find Sesshomaru with a towel over his head and his chest bare. Blushing, the younger man asked, “Aren’t you cold?”
Averting his eyes to his chest, Sesshomaru said, “If this bothers you then you need to grow up.” Walking over to his kitchen, he pulled out a jug of juice and poured him and his guest a glass. Handing it to the teen he said, “When you get older, a guy without a shirt is a sight that means nothing.” Sasuke knew he had a point since Sesshomaru had covered part of the whole 9/11 attack seven months prior.
Taking the juice, Sasuke sat there in silence for a moment as Sesshomaru put it onto Showtime to watch a movie. As they watched Sasuke asked, “I heard from Kohaku you had a lot of good pictures from that show.” Telling his brother’s friend that he thought the boy could use them for some ideas, Sasuke chuckled telling him, “Well, Kohaku is thankful for the pictures. But, he said that there were too many dresses.”
Snorting Sesshomaru said, “The designers only did women’s clothing. If they had done men’s clothes I’m sure he’d have a few ideas for you and the rest of your band mates.” Nodding in agreement, Sasuke set down the glass and bid the older man goodnight. “Tell my brother to not call me at two in the morning ever again.” Saying that he’d pass on the message, Sasuke left while Sesshomaru finished his movie before going off to bed.
A couple of days later, Miroku was sitting in his room looking through some venues for a few practice performances when his phone rang. Picking it up he said, “If this is a telemarketer I have nothing to say to you.” A light laugh came from the other end of the line telling him who it was. Rubbing his eyes he asked, “Hey, what can I do for ya, Rin?” The day he left practice early, Miroku went to where a girl in their class worked.
He’d had an infatuation with the girl since Sophomore year, and nobody could deny that most of the male members of his class did as well. She was kind enough and was in the middle of the popularity pool. She had many popular friends, as well as an equal number of friends who fit into the, “avoid at all cost,” grouping. Miroku and his band mates all seemed to fit into the, “they’re okay but not all too popular,” crowd.
But seeing as Rin wasn’t the one to judge, Miroku went to where she worked and hung around a bit before finally getting a moment alone with her. She worked at the nearby multi-plex as a reel runner and occasional concession attendant. When he caught her coming out of one of the theaters, MIroku asked, “Rin, can I talk to you?” Checking her watch, Rin said that she would be off in an hour if he wanted to meet her at the coffee store located next to the theater. Saying that he would, Miroku plugged his lap top in and began working on some fliers.
The hour sped by, and Rin was soon tapping him on the shoulder with a cold drink. Taking it gratefully, tasted the juice and told her thanks for getting one for him. Sipping her own iced-coffee, Rin asked, “So Miroku, what did you need to talk to me about?” Gulping, Miroku shut his lap top and asked what she thought about him. Laughing lightly she told him, “I think you and your friends are great. I’m amazed at how well they play and how you get them the gigs that you do.”
Scratching his head, Miroku told her, “It’s not that hard to do really. All you have to do is call them up and get specific times to play.” When Rin asked why they needed certain times, Miroku told her, “Because state law prohibits minors to be in the clubs after a certain time.” Sipping at his juice again, Miroku added, “But, I also wanted to ask you something important.” Rin said that she was all ears.
Taking a deep breath, Miroku said, “Well, I’ve kind of had a crush on you for awhile.” He looked up and noticed Rin blushing forcing Miroku to become even more nervous. Flexing his hands, Miroku looked off to the side saying, “But, ummm well I was wondering...” Sighing he gave in saying, “Our band was hired to play at the prom and well,” he gave another loud sigh and asked, “I was wondering if you wanted to go to prom with me?”
Rin’s face was beet red after he asked his question. In normal male fashion, Miroku took it to mean she was ashamed of being asked by him. He prepared his things but was stopped when she said, “Sure, I’ll go with you.” Stopping, Miroku asked if she was serious. The red left her face a little when she whispered, “I kind of had a crush on you two.” Miroku’s face turned red in the same fashion making Rin laugh, “It’s not that bad is it?”
Shaking his head no, Miroku sat back down asking, “Do you think we could do something before we actually go. Just so we don’t feel weird when dancing?” Saying that she could get them into the movies for free, Miroku followed her back to the theater and joined her in an afternoon movie before saying good bye and heading back home.
Opening the door, he wasn’t surprised to see his mother sitting at the table with some bills in her hands while his dad sat at the table writing out the checks. Going in he asked what was up to which his father replied, “Just trying to get these bills fixed up.” Looking up from his checkbook the man asked, “Where did you go after practice?” Miroku sipped the soda he pulled out of the fridge before telling his dad that he got a date to prom.
Looking up from the electric bill, Maureen asked her son, “Is it that girl you’ve had a crush on since tenth grade?” Nearly spilling his soda at his mom’s ingenuity, Miroku asked how she figured out who it was. Putting the bill back in the envelope, Maureen told him, “Because you had his odd glow around you which tells me that you’ve had a big relief lifted off your shoulders.”
Shirking at his mother’s psychological training, Miroku asked his dad, “Do you think I could borrow the car next weekend?” Saying that it was okay, Manta filled out the last check before getting it ready for mailing. Heading upstairs, Miroku decided to call it an early night.
Now a day before he was to take Rin out, he asked, “So are we still on for tomorrow?” Saying that she was ready for it, Rin asked what they would do. Thinking for a few moments, Miroku said, “I didn’t really have anything planned. But we do have a gig scheduled at a club if you want to go?” Saying that she’d have an outfit ready, Rin said bye as before Miroku hung up.
Picking up the phone he dialed Shippou’s house where he received an unenthused, “I’m all ready for tomorrow Miroku, so get off my case.” Laughing at his friend, he asked the fox if he had a date ready for prom. Growling at being pestered, Shippou said, “I have one and you guys’ll find out soon enough.” Telling his friend that he’d leave him alone for the night, Miroku hung up the phone and went to bed ready for their latest gig and his first official date with Rin.
Meanwhile, Shippou hung up his phone and listened to the sound of his parents latest fight. He couldn’t wait to get out of their house and away from their continuous yelling over the stupidest things. Yesterday it was the trash and now it was the dishes. Listening Shippou counted, “3, 2, 1.” And suddenly the sound of a plate hitting the ground amongst the shouts. Grabbing his headphones he listened to the bands latest track and began figuring out where it could use some improvement as the fight began to die down.
Chapter 3
Grabbing the alarm clock, Sesshomaru gave it a quick look and then tossed it to the ground. He was a bit hung over after the night out with his parents and he needed to get a move on to his next assignment. A few days ago a colleague of his called him telling him about a new job. When he asked what it was the guy said, “You have to cover a show in Mexico. Some sort of fashion thing.” Growling that he didn’t do fashion the guy said, “What about twenty-five grand for your time writing about what fashion designers have made?”
The prospect of nearly thirty-thousand in his bank account was too much to pass up. Pulling some Excedrin out of his night stand, Sesshomaru popped a couple into his mouth and headed into the bathroom noticing his brother up extremely early for a Sunday. Keeping outside the door, Sesshomaru snatched his toothbrush saying, “A bit shocking for you to be out of bed this early on a Sunday, isn’t it?”
Flipping his brother off, Inuyasha spat out the toothpaste hissing, “I have to go to work.” Rinsing his mouth out, the younger of the two wiped off his mouth telling his brother, “Unlike some of us who only work every few weeks, I have a scheduled amount of hours just to get a paycheck.” Bumping his way past his older brother, Inuyasha went off to his room and got dressed while Sesshomaru went about his morning rituals. Shouting, “I’ll be back at around six,” Inuyasha closed the door a bit too hard and knocked a couple of pictures down.
Hearing his mother shout out the door at her youngest son, Sesshomaru saw that his father wasn’t around and asked, “Where’s Dad?” Setting the pictures back upright, Izumi told her oldest that he had to go into work for a few hours. Checking to make sure his bag was all ready, Sesshomaru pulled his ticket out saying, “I’ll leave a message when I check into the hotel.” Giving her a kiss on the cheek he told her, “I’ll be back home in a few days so feel free to leave a couple of messages at my apartment.”
Giving her son a kiss back, Izumi pulled out a brown sack saying, “It’s just some extra food.” Taking it gratefully, Sesshomaru left as his mother shouted, “Be sure to call when you get your hotel room!” Waving goodbye, Sesshomaru climbed into his car and headed off to the airport. He had four hours, but with customs he needed to get there sooner. Driving along I-5 towards the Sea-Tac Airport, Sesshomaru noticed an interesting sight.
Pulling off to the side of the road, he got out asking, “Well, isn’t this an interesting coincidence?” Glaring out from under his car, Sasuke shot his friends brother the bird as he pulled himself out cursing his father. Looking at the car, Sesshomaru noticed that the teenager had pulled off a flat tire, peeking at the youngster he asked, “Why don’t you put on the spare?”
Tossing something into the trunk, Sasuke sneered saying, “Because my father took the spare tire I kept in there a few days ago because he got a flat from a nail in the garage.” Slamming the trunk, Sasuke growled as he realized he didn’t put the tire in there and tossed it into it saying heavily, “Unless you have a spare tire in your car, I’m going to be late for work and possibly fired.”Putting an elbow down on the trunk, Sasuke asked the elder male, “So, do you have a tire I can borrow?
Popping the trunk with his alarm setter, Sesshomaru went over and pulled up some cloth revealing a brand new tire. Pulling it out he rolled it and was surprised to find it was perfect for the teens car. Putting it in place, Sesshomaru and Sasuke fixed the flat in a matter of moments. Setting the car back on the ground, Sesshomaru clasped the younger mans hand saying in a stern voice, “I expect that back in perfect condition.”
Feeling an increase in pressure on his hand, Sasuke squeezed just as hard as Sesshomaru earning a grin of respect. Giving it a shake, Sasuke broke the hold first as he got back into his car. “Thanks for the help! I’ll be sure to tell Inuyasha you’re not a complete dick!” Waving goodbye, Sasuke pulled out of the emergency lane and sped off toward his job while Sesshomaru continued his treck to the airport. Lucky for him it didn’t take too long for Sesshomaru to reach the airport. Even with the delay at helping Sasuke, he had plenty of time to check in.
Heading to the ticket counter, Sesshomaru got all of his paperwork filled out and went through immigration. He had a dog check his bag for drugs, it made no sense since the only drug Sesshomaru ever did was alcohol. And the only reason it was legal because it could be taxed, a topic the journalist had won an award for during his time in journalism school. It even earned a spot in a few papers which opened the door for his career.
When he got to his terminal, Sesshomaru plugged into his tape player and put in one of his many books on tapes. This weeks selection was a Tom Clancy novel and he’d been dying to finish it for years. Opening his carry-on, Sesshomaru pulled out his camera and checked to make sure it had a clear memory. The camera went through batteries like no tomorrow, but Digital cameras were still an imperfect bit of technology when it came to energy reliance. Snapping a few pictures, the demon saved one that he found really intriguing.
Since he was going to a fashion show, he may as well take pictures of people who looked good in certain types of fashion, and who shouldn’t be wearing certain types. This person was of the latter fashion sense. He didn’t know much about style for women, but a bright orange shirt with yellow pants just seemed a bit bold for even a blind person to wear. Putting the camera back in the bag, he settled in for a short nap.
He was woken up by a pair of little girls arguing over who should approach him. Removing his headphones, Sesshomaru told them, “What do you two want?” He opened his eyes to see them blush and run back to their mother. The lady looked to where they pointed and scolded them for bothering the silver haired man. Getting up, Sesshomaru told the lady, “It is fine, they did not bother me.” When he said this, the lady at the counter announced they were boarding first class passengers and those with kids.
Walking over he waited in the line noticing that the two girls were on the same flight as him. Making a face at them, he smiled inwardly as they hid next to their mother blushing. Getting his ticket checked, Sesshomaru found his seat and settled into it listening to his book in peace. He was so relaxed that he didn’t even notice the plane taking off until the stewardess tapped his shoulder. Opening his eyes Sesshomaru grumbled at being bothered and told the woman he didn’t need a drink.
Smiling in a forced manner, the stewardess went back to her rounds leaving Sesshomaru to his sleep. Hours later a massive bump knocked Sesshomaru out of his seat by a couple of feet and he saw the setting sun of Mexico out the window. Rubbing his eyes, he pulled out one of his bottled waters and drank from it until he felt sick. Letting the burning sensation subside, he gave a gasp of relief at feeling hydrated again and put the bottle away.
Off the plane, Sesshomaru began heading toward baggage claim when a voice shouted after him, “Mr. Taisho!” Stopping in his tracks, Sesshomaru saw a young woman chasing after him holding a giant piece of cardboard. Keeping his eyes on the woman, he saw that she had black hair and a slightly curved figure. He’d seen her somewhere before, but as he had just woken up from a dehydrating sleep, his memory was not in the best of conditions.
Shifting his bag, he let the girl catch her breath before he asked who she was. Folding up the sign that held her objectives name, the girl stuck out her hand saying, “Kagura.” Sesshomaru gave her hand a firm squeeze as she explained why she was there. “I work under your friend who is head of publishing at The Times. And you can imagine how mad I was that you were given the opprotunity to write on something such as this.”
Hearing her explain the situation, Sesshomaru figured out that she must have been the one who usually wrote on the fashion world. Stuffing his hands in his pocket, Sesshomaru told her, “I apologize for taking on this job. But, seeing as he hired me I will require you to use your expertise to help me out in judging certain trends and designers.” Kagura beamed at the chance to help out on the project, but as she smiled she told him that she’d only help if he acknowledged her help in the article.
When she was told that he agreed to her terms, Kagura took Sesshomaru’s carry bag telling him, “I’m also pretty much your friends personal assistant so I may as well do what I am normally paid for.” Taking back his bag, Sesshomaru told the girl that his bag had all of his work equipment in it. Giving him a shrug, Kagura led him to the baggage claim saying, “We’ve been given two rooms at the hotel, and they are both connected so that we may work together easier.”
Taking his bag off the luggage belt, Sesshomaru said, “What’s the hotel?” Looking through her address book, Kagura scanned down saying that the paper had decided to put them up in a nice hotel for the first time in awhile. Taking the book, Sesshomaru’s eyes lit up at the four-start treatment he’d be getting. Giving the book back he told Kagura that they’d better hurry and check in so they could go over the guest list and the list of designers.
Looking around, Kagura spotted their driver and introduced them to the man. Tilting his hat he said, “Welcome to Mexico.” Taking the bags, he put them into the trunk and got back into the drivers seat asking, “What hotel are you staying at?” Taking the offered address from Kagura, the driver pulled out of the airport and made his way through the busy streets of Cancun.
Rolling down the window, SEsshomaru took a few snap shots for his collection of exotic location photos. His “assistant,” seemed to be bored with the trip and took to making up some sketches of what looked like a theater. Letting her go about her work, Sesshomaru decided to raid the limo liquor bottles and stuffed them into his bag. Kagura saw this and laughed forcing the platinum blonde to say, “My dad collects these things, even though he can’t drink anymore.”
Moments later the driver rang them saying that they were a few minutes away from the hotel. Packing up her work supplies, Kagura helped Sesshomaru with his new collection of liquor just as the limo pulled to a stop at the hotel. Letting Kagura out, and then Sesshomaru the driver pulled their bags out and gave them to the bellhop before collecting his tip and wishing them a pleasant stay.
As Sesshomaru stood around wondering what to do, Kagura took over and went to the service desk saying, “I’m going to need the keys to room twelve-forty-three.” Looking through the computer, the attendant asked if the person who was registered to the room was with her. Waving her companion over, Kagura had him show his identification askign if that was all the information she needed. Pulling the keycards out, the woman ran them through the computer and handed them over to the new arrival.
Taking him to the elevator, Kagura began telling him about the lay out of the show and who’d be taking the pictures. When he heard that she would be doing it Sesshomaru gave a chuckle telling her, “You sure you can run one of those cameras?” Receiving a hard punch in the arm, Sesshomaru cringed a bit at the sting telling her, “I normally take the pictures myself, but I guess you can take the best and worst outfits while telling me which outfits go to which designers.”
Kagura could tell that Sesshomaru really didn’t want to have to write down anything on the show. When the bell rang on their floor, Kagura brought him to her room and showed him to the table. Sesshomaru had to admit their expense account had been seriously increased to afford rooms like this. The bed was king-size and the television came out of a trunk like object a the foot of the bed. There was a small kitchen nearby, complete with fridge and stove. Looking at his small ruck-sack, Sesshomaru realized he’d forgotten to eat all day.
His stomach gave a loud growl and remembering that he had food in his bag, Sesshomaru pulled out the sack his mother had given him. Opening it, he found a crushed peanut-butter and jam sandwich, destroyed chips, and a warm soda. Dumping it in the garbage, Sesshomaru heard Kagura come out of the restroom where she’d headed after setting Sesshomaru at the table. Hearing the loud growling that emanated from Sesshomaru’s stomach. “I’ll call up room service.” Opening the door, she let him into his room saying, “I’ll have them deliver some to your side as well.”
Hearing the door click shut, Sesshomaru shut his connecting door seeing that his room was nearly identical to Kagura’s. Dumping his ruck-sack in a nearby chair, Sesshomaru found his suitcase near the door. Putting on the bed, he checked to make sure that everything was where it should be. Pulling out a small leather book, Sesshomaru removed his phone card and sat down on the bed dialing the numbers.
When he’d finished the what felt like an hour-and-a-half long dialing procedure, Sesshomaru heard the delightful ring of his family’s phone. Hearing it click and shuffle, he wasn’t surprised to hear his brother ask, “Who is it?” Telling his brother that he needed to work on his answering skills, Sesshomaru was glad to have his brother tell him, “Well, at least I’m not down in Mexico covering....you’re a bastard you know that!”
A bit confused, Sesshomaru asked, “Well little brother, as I sit here in an air conditioned hotel room. I would like to know what conclusion your infantile brain has come up with?” Upon being insulted, Inuyasha told his brother that he was near a beach in almost tropical weather. Taking a moment to think, Sesshomnaru gave a deep laugh saying, “I will be sure to send your girlfriend the pictures of the women you fantasize about while with her.”
Inuyasha began to curse his brother out until their father got on the phone. “Shut up and go do your homework,” was what the man commanded of his son. With Inuyasha’s retreating swears, Teijo asked, “Flight went smoothly, I take it?” Telling his father that it was just a bit too warm, Sesshomaru heard his father say, “Son, work with a blowtorch in the middle of the Nevada sun while fixing a plane’s axle.”
Sighing at his father’s attempt to soudn like a rough-neck, Sesshomaru told him, “Can you make sure somebody stops and feeds my cat please. I forgot to feed her before I left.” Groaning at his son’s stupidity, Teijo shouted up for Inuyasha to call the lady who lived next to Sesshomaru. They had the number of Sesshomaru’s neighbor incase of emergencies, and more often than not they had to call her to feed his cat, Kanna when he left town.
Before Teijo could say another word to his son, Izumi kicked the man out of the way asking, “Did you eat the lunch I packed?” When she got done asking her son about the lunch, Teijo began to say that he was a grown man. Feeling her anger through the phone, SEsshomaru set it down as she began shouting at her husband to go and take his organ stabilizer pills. With her husband gone, Izumi’s voice regained her sweetness asking her son once again if he enjoyed his lunch.
Gulping, Sesshomaru told her that it had gotten crushed on the plane ride leaving him with an empty stomach. As she started to scold him on the importance of eating healthy a knock came from the door. Telling her he’d love to talk about his diet at a later time, Sesshomaru said good bye and went to the answer the knock. Opening the door he found a man standing in his doorway with a tray, letting him in, Sesshomaru put the plates on the table and signed off on the hotel copy of hte receipt while pocketing the other one for business expenses.
Removing the lid off one of the plates, Sesshomaru was glad to be met by the smell and look of a wonderful plate of Pahd Thai. Opening the other one he found a piece of chocolate cake. He was about to dig in when Kagura knocked on the door between their rooms. Opening it he asked, “What?” She asked whether or not she’d ordered a decent meal for him. Saying that it was good, he added, “I’m surprised that you knew I liked Thai.”
Blushing and saying that she didn’t, Kagura excused herself and went back to her meal. Shutting the door, Sesshomaru smirked at her embarrassment and went back to his meal. It wasn’t too spice, but had enough zing to give him a tingle on his tongue. Finishing the meal, he went after the chocolate cake. He warmed it up a bit in the microwave and sat down watching an HBO presentation of, “Scarface.” About halfway through, Kagura asked if she could come in. Telling her it was open, Sesshomaru got up and helped her carry some papers to the bed.
Settling down on the soft mattress, Kagura held out two pieces of paper containing the pictures of two designers. “This,” she said matter of factly, “is Carmen Marc Valvo. He’s been a pretty famous designer since around nineteen-ninety.” Checking a few pictures, Sesshomaru mentioned a sort of European feel to some of his dresses. Amazed at the perception, Kagura told him, “He actually spent a short time in Europe studying art, culture, and many other aspects after deciding not to become a surgeon.”
Taking his glasses out, Sesshomaru took a deep look at the dresses noticing flawless lines in them. Noticing his attempts to figure out the mans design style. Taking some of the pictures away, Kagura set another one down telling him, “And then we have this young lady.” Pulling up the picture he read the name as Kagura said, “Nanette Lepore, who is known more for a gypsy style look than any other designer. She’s currently talking to a company about a perfume deal to distribute in the next couple of years.”
Seeing the colors and look of the dresses, Sesshomaru told his colleague, “Interesting choice in clothing. I should be sure to get a couple of pictures for my brother’s friend.” When asked what he meant, Sesshomaru told the woman, “My brother has a friend who makes costumes for the band he is in.” Saying that she’d get plenty of pictues, Sesshomaru thanked her and put away the pictures telling her, “I think I know enough after this to get a few things written.” Pulling out his lap top, SEsshomaru took the bio’s she’d given him saying, “We have until tomorrow to get ready so I suggest you get your camera prepared.”
The next night, Sesshomaru was dressed in a set of slacks and a dress coat. In the seat next to him at the show, Kagura was wearing a navy blue dress and holding her digital camera taking a few pictures of some of the more famous people at the show. When the music began playing, Kagura took nearly 10 pictures of each model coming down the aisle as Sesshomaru wrote down about some of his more preferred looks. After spending the night looking up different sets of clothes by the designers, Sesshomaru had a good idea of where each one was going with different looks and knew that he was being fair with his opinions.
After Kagura’s third memory card change, the show ended and the two designers came out and gave some bows thanking them for coming to the show. Getting out of his seat, Sesshomaru made his way out of the show hall and out into the warm Mexican night. Pulling out one of his bottled waters, he took a few strong chugs as Kagura came out from the hall amidst the crowd asking, “Is it really that much trouble for a man to sit through a fashion show?”
Putting the bottle in his jacket, Sesshomaru said, “I have no problem with it.” Coughing a small bit he said, “I’m just feeling a bit tired and want to head back early.” Asking why, Sesshomaru simply told her, “I have a few things I need to get done quickly.” Holding up his notes he said, “I have here most of the article. You can add in whatever you want about your favorite outfits and tell Naraku that I’m letting you take some credit as well.” Giving her the notes he added a small bit of paper saying, “This is my brother’s email address, tell him they are for his friend Kohaku.”
Waving goodbye to the woman, Sesshomaru made his way back to the hotel. On his way, he stopped at a small restaraunt to get some dinner. When it came out, he paid and went back to his room to settle in for a nice meal and a nights sleep before catching an earlier flight the next day. When he was about to fall asleep, his cell phone rang from the counter. Gettting up, he snatched the phone up hissing, “You’d better have a good fucking reason for bothering me little brother.”
Snickering, Inuyasha set somethign down in the back ground saying, “Kohaku just called and wanted me to thank you for the pictures.” Muttering that it was no trouble, Sesshomaru began to hang up when his brother said, “And Sasuke’ll be by to drop off your wheel when you get back.” Pausing for a moment, Inuyasha asked, “When are you getting back anyway?”
Sesshomaru checked his ticket mumbling, “I’m catching an earlier flight, so say about ten tomorrow night or something.” Hearing the scratching of a pen, the older of the two Taisho brothers told the younger, “Okay, I guess I should be expecting some visitors. “ Inuyasha told him that his friend would just be by to drop off the wheel and leave. Grunting, Sesshomaru hung up his phone without another word and went back to bed.
The next afternoon, Sesshomaru spent two hours changing his flight plans and got onto the five o’clock flight to Seattle. It went by quickly as he wasn’t hung over for this flight. He even stayed awake for the movie. Not that he enjoyed the movie, but it was a nice distraction from the whining child a few rows back in business class. Once done, he got a couple of soda’s and plugged in his book glad to finally be on the last tape. When it was finally finished, he felt a bit dissappointed at the ending, but felt good at finally finishing a book that took him three years to finish.
Back in Seattle, he got his car and headed home glad to see that nobody had decided to take his car out for a joy ride. Granted the car wasn’t worth too much on the outside, but the engine and sound system inside the automobile. The drive was slow due to the city council deciding to do some road work. Noticing it was past midnight, Sesshomaru made his way up the stairs leading to his apartment to find his door open a crack. Heading in he found Sasuke sitting on his couch playing around with the cat.
Coughing loudly, Sesshomaru asked the teen, “How did you get into my house?” Stopping playtime, Sasuke said that his neighbor had let him in after he paced the floor for ten minutes. Confused, Sesshomaru closed the door asking, “Did she know you were at least a friend of the family’s?” He saw Sasuke pull out a picture of Inuyasha’s birthday party few months prior. Seeing that he was in the picture as well, the older man let it slide saying that he would take a shower before letting Sasuke get his tire.
Playing with the cat a little bit more, Sasuke paid close attention to the sounds in the bathroom. When the water shut off, Sasuke left and got the tire from his trunk. Coming back up, Sasuke rolled it into the closet just as Sesshomaru walked out of his room dressed in his pajamas. Finishing his work, Sasuke turned around to find Sesshomaru with a towel over his head and his chest bare. Blushing, the younger man asked, “Aren’t you cold?”
Averting his eyes to his chest, Sesshomaru said, “If this bothers you then you need to grow up.” Walking over to his kitchen, he pulled out a jug of juice and poured him and his guest a glass. Handing it to the teen he said, “When you get older, a guy without a shirt is a sight that means nothing.” Sasuke knew he had a point since Sesshomaru had covered part of the whole 9/11 attack seven months prior.
Taking the juice, Sasuke sat there in silence for a moment as Sesshomaru put it onto Showtime to watch a movie. As they watched Sasuke asked, “I heard from Kohaku you had a lot of good pictures from that show.” Telling his brother’s friend that he thought the boy could use them for some ideas, Sasuke chuckled telling him, “Well, Kohaku is thankful for the pictures. But, he said that there were too many dresses.”
Snorting Sesshomaru said, “The designers only did women’s clothing. If they had done men’s clothes I’m sure he’d have a few ideas for you and the rest of your band mates.” Nodding in agreement, Sasuke set down the glass and bid the older man goodnight. “Tell my brother to not call me at two in the morning ever again.” Saying that he’d pass on the message, Sasuke left while Sesshomaru finished his movie before going off to bed.
A couple of days later, Miroku was sitting in his room looking through some venues for a few practice performances when his phone rang. Picking it up he said, “If this is a telemarketer I have nothing to say to you.” A light laugh came from the other end of the line telling him who it was. Rubbing his eyes he asked, “Hey, what can I do for ya, Rin?” The day he left practice early, Miroku went to where a girl in their class worked.
He’d had an infatuation with the girl since Sophomore year, and nobody could deny that most of the male members of his class did as well. She was kind enough and was in the middle of the popularity pool. She had many popular friends, as well as an equal number of friends who fit into the, “avoid at all cost,” grouping. Miroku and his band mates all seemed to fit into the, “they’re okay but not all too popular,” crowd.
But seeing as Rin wasn’t the one to judge, Miroku went to where she worked and hung around a bit before finally getting a moment alone with her. She worked at the nearby multi-plex as a reel runner and occasional concession attendant. When he caught her coming out of one of the theaters, MIroku asked, “Rin, can I talk to you?” Checking her watch, Rin said that she would be off in an hour if he wanted to meet her at the coffee store located next to the theater. Saying that he would, Miroku plugged his lap top in and began working on some fliers.
The hour sped by, and Rin was soon tapping him on the shoulder with a cold drink. Taking it gratefully, tasted the juice and told her thanks for getting one for him. Sipping her own iced-coffee, Rin asked, “So Miroku, what did you need to talk to me about?” Gulping, Miroku shut his lap top and asked what she thought about him. Laughing lightly she told him, “I think you and your friends are great. I’m amazed at how well they play and how you get them the gigs that you do.”
Scratching his head, Miroku told her, “It’s not that hard to do really. All you have to do is call them up and get specific times to play.” When Rin asked why they needed certain times, Miroku told her, “Because state law prohibits minors to be in the clubs after a certain time.” Sipping at his juice again, Miroku added, “But, I also wanted to ask you something important.” Rin said that she was all ears.
Taking a deep breath, Miroku said, “Well, I’ve kind of had a crush on you for awhile.” He looked up and noticed Rin blushing forcing Miroku to become even more nervous. Flexing his hands, Miroku looked off to the side saying, “But, ummm well I was wondering...” Sighing he gave in saying, “Our band was hired to play at the prom and well,” he gave another loud sigh and asked, “I was wondering if you wanted to go to prom with me?”
Rin’s face was beet red after he asked his question. In normal male fashion, Miroku took it to mean she was ashamed of being asked by him. He prepared his things but was stopped when she said, “Sure, I’ll go with you.” Stopping, Miroku asked if she was serious. The red left her face a little when she whispered, “I kind of had a crush on you two.” Miroku’s face turned red in the same fashion making Rin laugh, “It’s not that bad is it?”
Shaking his head no, Miroku sat back down asking, “Do you think we could do something before we actually go. Just so we don’t feel weird when dancing?” Saying that she could get them into the movies for free, Miroku followed her back to the theater and joined her in an afternoon movie before saying good bye and heading back home.
Opening the door, he wasn’t surprised to see his mother sitting at the table with some bills in her hands while his dad sat at the table writing out the checks. Going in he asked what was up to which his father replied, “Just trying to get these bills fixed up.” Looking up from his checkbook the man asked, “Where did you go after practice?” Miroku sipped the soda he pulled out of the fridge before telling his dad that he got a date to prom.
Looking up from the electric bill, Maureen asked her son, “Is it that girl you’ve had a crush on since tenth grade?” Nearly spilling his soda at his mom’s ingenuity, Miroku asked how she figured out who it was. Putting the bill back in the envelope, Maureen told him, “Because you had his odd glow around you which tells me that you’ve had a big relief lifted off your shoulders.”
Shirking at his mother’s psychological training, Miroku asked his dad, “Do you think I could borrow the car next weekend?” Saying that it was okay, Manta filled out the last check before getting it ready for mailing. Heading upstairs, Miroku decided to call it an early night.
Now a day before he was to take Rin out, he asked, “So are we still on for tomorrow?” Saying that she was ready for it, Rin asked what they would do. Thinking for a few moments, Miroku said, “I didn’t really have anything planned. But we do have a gig scheduled at a club if you want to go?” Saying that she’d have an outfit ready, Rin said bye as before Miroku hung up.
Picking up the phone he dialed Shippou’s house where he received an unenthused, “I’m all ready for tomorrow Miroku, so get off my case.” Laughing at his friend, he asked the fox if he had a date ready for prom. Growling at being pestered, Shippou said, “I have one and you guys’ll find out soon enough.” Telling his friend that he’d leave him alone for the night, Miroku hung up the phone and went to bed ready for their latest gig and his first official date with Rin.
Meanwhile, Shippou hung up his phone and listened to the sound of his parents latest fight. He couldn’t wait to get out of their house and away from their continuous yelling over the stupidest things. Yesterday it was the trash and now it was the dishes. Listening Shippou counted, “3, 2, 1.” And suddenly the sound of a plate hitting the ground amongst the shouts. Grabbing his headphones he listened to the bands latest track and began figuring out where it could use some improvement as the fight began to die down.