InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Another Yellow Brick For The Road ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 5....Guess it can start off with a bit of religion. And then onto a birthday party. (Church events are based off of author’s actual Sunday morning mass experiences)

“Shino it’s time to get ready!” Putting a pillow over his face to block out the sun, Shino Aburame told his Dad that he didn’t want to go. Poking his head through the door, Gen told his child, “You’re going as long as you live in this house. I let you miss last week because you were out, so you can come this week.” Gen walked in and pulled the pillow off his child’s face whispering, “Don’t make me send the dog in here to get you out of bed.”

Kicking his dad away, Shino said he’d be up in a few minutes. Leaving his son alone, Gen went back into his room where he finished getting dressed. Turning on the radio, Shino scratched his head and put on his sunglasses. Lifting them to rub the sleep from his eyes, Shino checked his computer happy to see that his work was still up. Saving it to his removable hard drive, Shino scratched his chest as he went into the bathroom. Turning on the water he jumped in as soon as it got to warm and let it heat up to his preferred temp.

Shaking his head under the water, Shino let the water wake him up, which took a bit too long as his mother started yelling at him to hurry up. Rushing through his cleaning, Shino grabbed a towel and dried off before rushing to his room as his mother said, “Hurry it up or we’ll miss the start of mass.” Shino could only laugh to himself at his parent’s rushing him off to church. He didn’t mind religion, but the fact that he was eighteen and had his parent’s still dragging him off to it against his will was too much for him to handle.

Heading downstairs in some upscale casual clothes, Shino found his mother tapping her foot from the front door. Fixing his glasses, Shino told her, “I had a late night.” Kicking him in the pants, the woman told him that if he was going to go out late he should do it on Fridays. Looking out the window of the car at her, Shino asked his father, “Can we just leave her here and go out to breakfast?” Alas his request was too late because he realized that his father was in the passengers seat.

Growling at his plan falling apart, Shino put on his MP3's in hopes that his mother would not talk. Problem was, she’d taking out the battery so he was forced to answer her questions of what he had done the night before. When she’d asked, “Did you drink or smoke anything?” Shino screamed inwardly while explaining that the club had stamped his hand telling the barkeeps that he could not order any alcohol. “That still doesn’t answer my other question.”

Rubbing his temples the teen told her, “I didn’t smoke anything, Mother. All I did was dance a bit and listen to the band a few of my friends are in.” Saying that she thought it was a wasted effort to try and make a break in music, Shino’s mother asked how the band was progressing. Staring out the window he told her, “They actually have a chance at becoming a famous band.” Asking what kind of music they played, Shino just laughed and remained silent.

Gen knew what the band played, while he was religious, he was nowhere near the level of his wife. She still thought that heavy metal forced people to kill each other and even joined in a few groups protesting it during the eighties trial against bands like “Twisted Sister.” Gen could care less about the music his son listened to because they’d raised their son to know the difference between music and reality. Granted a lot of music was about real life, but their son was strong enough to handle any situation that came his way.

His parents went on to discussing work as Shino stared out the window realizing the trivial purpose in driving half hour to reach a church. But, it was the church his mother had gone to when she was a child, so that explained part of the mental stupidity in making their weekly commute. Rolling his eyes as they drove past one of the many Catholic churches near where they lived. Thankfully his mother had decided to make the trip bearable by putting on some music. Not that he minded songs from when she was growing up, he particularly liked The Beatles, yet he would have liked his own music to listen to.

Some time later, his mother pulled into the parking lot of Saint Theresea’s Church. Sighing in relief to see that they were a bit early, Yuriko took her husband by the arm while Shino followed shortly behind. Inside, Yuri waved hi to a few of her friends, while her husband talked to a couple of people. Meanwhile, Shino saw a few of his friends and began conversing with them. When he was looking off into the crowd one of the people surrounding Shino asked how the show was.

Telling them that it was the best yet, his friend said, “I hate my parents.” Most of them chuckled but a couple said that going out to clubs and seeing a rock band was something they shouldn’t be doing at their age. Snorting in contempt the girl told the two, “Hey, it’s a fun time and I’ll have you know that I detest alcohol ever since my cousin gave me a glass of wine at her wedding.” Shino told them the club followed every code in the book and that they had bouncers check the bathrooms for any illegal dealings.

Making a face, the two people that complained about them going to clubs left to join their families as Shino spotted his target. Excusing himself from the group, Shino asked his parents, “Is it okay if I go and sit with Kohaku and Ms. Sango?” Seeing the brother and sister, Yuriko and Gen said that it was fine so long as they talked to the parents after the service. Leaving his parents, Shino joined the pair and grabbed a couple of seats in the back muttering, “I can’t wait to leave that house.”

Patting the shaded teens head, Sango whispered, “It’s not so bad. At least you don’t have to go and get the wine and wafer now that you’re with us.” Not saying anything, Shino opened the song book that was placed in the bin in front of him and stood up keeping quiet as most of the congregation sang. He chuckled as Kohaku sang purposely off-key, much to the annoyance of the people in front of him. That didn’t last long since Sango stepped on his foot as warning for him to stop goofing around. Choking back the pain from having a three-inch heel planted into his foot, Kohaku remained silent until the singing stopped.

They listened to the priest give his sermon for the next hour. This week was one about tolerance, not that it really mattered, but it was a good sermon and many people seemed to absorb what the man was saying. Of course Shino got a bit embarrassed when the man said, “We should even be tolerant of those who decide to wear non-perscription eye-wear during church services.” Sango and Kohaku laughed as Shino pulled his sunglasses off and blinked at the sudden rush of light to his eyes. After the sermon there was the obligatory wishing of good will to other people. This was followed by many people receiving a wafer and drinking wine, after that it was a couple more songs and then off to the meeting room for a light morning snack.

Grabbing a donut and some milk, Shino and Shippou took a seat in the corner joined shortly by Sango and Shino’s parents. While the boys ate, Sango said, “Well Shino is doing well in my class, and Kohaku is back on track with his history assignments.” Growling at his sister, Kohaku munched on the pastry in silence as Shino laughed at his mother telling the angered teen he needs to stop with the band. The men could see anger flare in Sango’s eyes for a moment before she said, “He’s passing everything else with A’s and B’s, yet for some reason he just doesn’t want to buckle down on history.”

“He should still concentrate more on his studies than those drawings and amplifying that noise his friends make.” Noticing that his wife was grinding everybody the wrong way, Gen asked her about the her latest book club meeting. Happy that they could turn to something she liked, Yuriko happily stated, “We’ve decided that our next book will be about...” she started to rant about the latest book while Shino and Kohaku decided to head outside for a bit of air. No guilt was felt by the two as Sango was abandoned to talk about a book that she would never read.

Out in the sunlight, Shino pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one. Taking a couple of puffs he said, “I’m growing sick of all her crap.” Snatching the burning paper from his companion, Kohaku took one puff and threw it down on the ground saying that was it for the next few months. Checking his pack, Shino laughed realizing he’d had it since he turned eighteen back at the start of the school year saying, “It could be worse though. I mean I could go to those book meetings with her.”
Hopping up on the concrete railing and while using it as a balance beam Kohaku told him, “At least you have a mom to fret about shit like that.” Shino started to apologize but got cut off as Kohaku said, “My sister was a really good mom figure. And, I still have my grandparents who’ll be up to visit next week.” Asking if he could come over, Shino was a bit surprised to hear Kohaku say at the same time, “They want you to come and visit.”

Shino liked Kohaku’s grandparents, they always treated him and his friends like they were their own children. Seeing as they had lost their oldest son in the accident, Maury and Beatrice seemed to latch on to the friends of their grandchildren. Most thought it was coping mechanism to deal with the loss, and they were right. The grandkids could care less about it being a way to get over the grief, so long as the pair knew when to step back and let a situation work itself out.

The last time they’d tried to intervene in a situation was when Shippou’s parents got into a fight at one of Inuyasha’s birthday parties when they were in middle school. Needless to say, Kohaku wasn’t exactly a welcomed guest around Shippou’s mother. Yet beyond that one incident, the two were well received by the other families.

Staring down at the Sunday School kids playing on the jungle gym, Shino asked, “I take it you told them?” Jumping down from the ledge, Kohaku said that he’d told his grandparent’s pretty much everything. Snorting, Shino wiped some dust off his glasses while saying, “Must be difficult for them knowing what their grandson’s lifestyle is going to be like.” Placing them back on he said, “Yet they are a great deal more understanding than most.”

Settling against the concrete, the shorter of the two said, “Well, they said that they’ve always known since I was a kid that this is how it would turn out.” Shino had to laugh at the comment forcing Kohaku to punch him as he countered with, “Hey, at least they don’t go and protest like your mom.” The speaker expected some sort of remark to defend his friends honor, only to have Shino tell him that he couldn’t disagree with what was true.

Giving his friend a look Shino said, “Well think about what you do for the band. It’s obvious that without some of your talents those idiots would be lost. Although I guess the whole reason for needing a seamstress is a bit out of place.” Dodging a punch thrown by his friend, the taller one mentioned, “But, it would make saving money a bit easier having a person around who can fix up clothes.”

Breaking free from Aburame’s grip, Kohaku said, “Well that’s why I decided to go on tour with them. Even if my grandparents don’t think it wise to do right out of high school the way we’ve decided to.” Just as they had reached that conclusion, Sango poked her head out of the door telling her brother they had to get to the airport. Asking why, Kohaku was surprised to hear that his grandparents were already in town.

“I know they aren’t supposed to be in until next week, but they decided to just drop in on us.” Apolgizing to Shino for having to take her brother away, Sango stepped out of the church saying to Shino, “Also I want to get away from your mother.” The trio snickered as Kohaku and Sango walked off to the car. Hearing his mother shout for him, Shino went back into the church for another hour and a half of boredom.

On another side of town Sakura Uchiha was in the middle of a shouting match with Ino. Rolling around on the floor, the blonde shouted to the pink-haired girl, “Listen ping-pong paddle head, I’m telling you to set me up with your brother!” Breaking free of the leg lock her friend had on her, Sakura got Ino to shout, “No fair!”

Sakura had gotten her best friend into a full-nelson as they laid stomach down on the floor. Keeping her friend still, Sakura shouted, “I’m not setting you up with my brother! Don’t you remember what happened the only time you guys went out on a date?!” Ino continued to struggle, saying that she didn’t care if she’d gotten sick in the car on the way back from the date.

“How was I supposed to know that I’m allergic to trout?!” The two girls continued to wrestle until Kagome came back into her room carrying a tray of drinks and some of the food made for the party. Setting it down on her desk, Kagome pulled the girls apart and told them to calm down asking what the problem was. Catching her breath, Ino told her friend, “Sakura won’t set me up with Sasuke for another date!”

Flopping down onto her bed, Kagome asked why to which Sakura said, “Because my brother doesn’t want anything to do with her!” Ino started to shout about how if hse had another chance she could woe him of his feet. Taking a brownie from the tray, Sakura took a huge bite, swallowed, and shouted, “I’m telling you one more time he said that he doesn’t want to date you!” That drew the line as Kira, Kagome’s mom, barged in telling them that if they could not stop fighting they would have to leave.

The two girls apologized and when the woman was satisfied she left them to go about their business saying that the pizza would arrive in a couple of hours should they be hungry. When she was gone, Kagome told Ino, “Sakura is right, Sasuke doesn’t have that sort of attraction to you.” Ino growled and punched the ground telling them that they just had to ruin her last remaining shred of hope. Pulling on the girls ear, Kagome said to her, “Don’t take it personally, he’s like that with a lot of girls. He’s very picky about whom he goes out with.”

Swallowing the last bit of her brownie, Sakura popped open a soda asking, “Why do you care about going out with my brother so much?” When Ino looked like she was about to attack, Sakura just asked her, “I mean why are you so attracted to him? There are plenty of better looking guys out there. Not to mention his dismissive attitude toward most things.” That got a giggle from the blonde relieving some of the stress Sakura was feelign because of the fight.

Pulling open her drawer, Kagome told Ino to make sure the window was open and moved towared it. Opening the bag she’d gotten from Shippou, Kagome finished off the rest of her gift and flung the end out the window. She’d smoked most of it when she’d gotten home, and the last couple of puffs had her ready to deal with her brother barging into her room asking for his present. Staring at her brother, Kagome told him that it was already among the pile and he’d have to wait to open it with the others.

“Well, you sure as hell suck as a sister.” Going back down stairs, Souta rejoined his friends in front of the television to play a couple of games. While they played some video games, the also pulled out a few board games to kill some time while waiting for the pizza. In the middle of a game of Monopoly the doorbell rang. Grabbing the money his mom had left out, Shippou opened the door thinking there would be pizza, only to find a silver haired guitar player standing on the doorstep.

“Oh, it’s you.” A sudden shock to the chest had Souta singing another tune as Inuyasha punched him right in the chest for his rudeness. Rubbing his chest a bit, Souta punched back hissing, “What the hell was that for?” Handing the kid the present, Inuyasha told him that he should be a bit more polite to his guests. Souta was about to shut the door when a car pulled into the driveway wearing a familiar pizza logo. Giving the guy the money, Souta went and set the food down on the table telling his friends to dig in before his sister and her friends ate all of it.

Up in Kagome’s room, Inuyasha was laying on the bed telling Sakura, “Well all I know is that your brother needs to get a bit more comfortable around people.” Asking what the guitarist meant, Inuyasha told her, “Apparently when your brother dropped off that tire, he got embarrassed from seeing my brother’s chest. His chest! He should be thankful he wasn’t wearing his opened boxers.” Kagome made some comment about wanting to see that which had her boyfriend about ready to snap.

Grinning sheepishly, Sakura said to Ino, “Maybe you should try going after Sesshomaru.” Both girls could see the talk about his brother disturbed Inuyasha. So, in the essence of friendship, the two girls left to grab some food while Inuyasha and Kagome began round two of the argument. Of course by the time they got downstairs, only two pizzas remained and one of them had no meat on it. Growling, at the lack of consideration, the girls took the last Hawaiian pizza and went onto the porch with Mrs. Higurashi.

Setting her diet soda down, Kira snatched a piece of the pizza asking if Sakura had seen the show last night. Shaking her head, the pink haired schizophrenic told the woman, “I’m not old enough to get into the club. And, even if I could get in my parents wouldn’t let me without them being there.” Taking a bite, she chewed momentarily before noisily saying, “Also last night, they were a bit indisposed.”

Ino made a retching noise at the extra emphasis on her best friends choice of words. Laughing loudly, Kira told Ino, “Be thankful she had enough tact to word it the way she did.” Taking another bite she told the girl, “I tried to teach that to my children, but they somehow lack that amount of refinement.” The girls all laughed and went back to eating the pizza while Inuyasha went to bug the hell out of Souta and the guests while Kagome joined in on the torture.

After some time of eating pizza, playing games, and watching Souta wrestle with Inuyasha over the last piece of pie. When it was all over, they watched a movie and let their stomachs settle before having Souta sit at the head of the dining room table. The teen tried to fight having the song saw his ears apart, but his mother shutting off the lights and brining out the cake paralyzed him to the torture that ensued. It would have been bearable if Sakura, Ino, Kagome, and Inuyasha hadn’t decided to add in, “And many more on Channel Four, and Scooby Doo, on Channel Two, and Frankenstein on Channel Nine.”

Blowing out the candles, Souta cut a big chunk of the cake out for himself and then let his cut the rest up for his friends. When everybody had a piece, they all took some ice cream and sat around eating while the teen opened all of his gifts. It was good haul for the kid, and he was happy and thankful for everything he got, and even went to change into one of the shirts his friend had bought him just after opening it.

Once the gifts had been opened, all of the kids parent’s began to show up and take them home. Among the first to leave were Ino and Sakura. Because they had school the next day, the two girls had to leave and get home to finish some homework. Climbing into the drivers seat, Ino started up the car and pulled out after Sakura got into the passengers seat. The drive took a bit longer than usual, apparently even though it was a Sunday most of the city seemed to be heading in the same direction of the two girls.

The two girls chatted about school and the party as they headed off toward the Uchiha residence. When they arrived, Sakura got out to find her mother leaving for work. Stopping the woman she inquired, “I thought you weren’t scheduled for the Sunday shift?” Setting her belt into the car, Janice kissed her daughter saying that she had to cover for a friend who’d come down with a fever. Giving her mom a hug, Sakura was gently pushed away from the woman as Ino hugged her and said goodbye.

Growling at her friend’s audacity, Sakura took her shoes off in the doorway, followed shortly by Ino. Looking into the living room, she saw Naruto and Sasuke in the middle of a fighting game. Yet, as usual it was the type of fighting game that was best done with their mother at work. Keeping to the side of the living room, the two girls watched the twins go on with a leg wrestling match. It went back and forth between the two, but with his years of drumming, Naruto had the upper hand in the match.

Just as Sasuke began to gain the advantage, Ino ruined it by shouting, “Get him Sasuke!” Losing his grip, Sasuke was flung to the side as his younger brother pinned him to the ground in victory. Getting up, Naruto began to gloat and thanked Ino for helping him. Holding a hand to her mouth, Ino began to apologize to her crush. It didn’t work as Sasuke told her that he didn’t care about winning a pointless leg wrestling match.

Stopping his chants of victory, Naruto got his brother into a head lock telling him, “I know you care ya lying punk!” Shouting for his twin to get off him, Sasuke turned it into a full fledged wrestling match by rolling around as his brother kept pestering him to say that he cared about losing. The girls kept their distance when out from the basement their father shouted at them to stop it or else he’d lock up their instruments.

Quickly separating from his younger brother, Sasuke ran to the stairs telling his father, “We’ll stop now, Dad.” Keiji nodded telling his kids that he had a massive amount of work to get done and needed it quiet. “We know that, Dad. Just go back to work.” Threatening to ground his son if he talked like that to him again, Keiji went back into his office while Sasuke went back to the living room and flopped down on the couch while turning on the television.

Grabbing a body pillow, Naruto watched the show telling Sakura, “Mom said that Ino can’t hang out tonight because of that test you have in the morning.” Hearing the girls complain about the rule, Naruto told her, “It’s bot Mom and Dad’s decision so she has to go.” Asking Sasuke if it was true, Sakura huffed at her oldest brother confirming the blondes message, so she after a few moments of shoving her best friend out the door, Sakura went upstairs leaving the twins alone.

Scratching his head tiredly, Naruto asked his brother, “So did you find a date yet?” Grumbling that he hadn’t, Sasuke resisted the impulse to jump on his brother for snickering. Propping his chin into the cup of his hands, Naruto told the grumpy teen, “I don’t care, but I just wish you’d find one so Ino would stop bothering you about it.” Both silently knew that even if Sasuke had gotten a date the girl would whine about it for a long time and go into a long period of depression about losing out to another girl.

“I don’t care if she has an interest in me right now,” mumbled Sasuke as he flipped to a movie channel. Cracking his knuckles against his thigh, Sasuke told his twin, “I have no interest in her. And no it doesn’t have anything to do with that time she threw up in the car.” He’d countered his brother expertly, forcing the blue-eyed teen to prematurely close his mouth, denying him the opprotunity to tease his brother. Sitting up, Sasuke chuckled at the movie while his twin went in to the kitchen to get a drink.

Meanwhile in Downtown Seattle, Sesshomaru sat at his computer petting Kanna while working on his latest contribution. He’d been asked by “The Village Voice,” to write a story about some independent film that had been released the week before. Researching the production process and all the actors in it took up the most time, but upon adding the final period and then his name, Sesshomaru was glad to be done with the work. Setting his cat on his shoulder, Sesshomaru went into the kitchen and began making a tuna sandwhich.

Giving Kanna a bit of fish before adding the condiments, the reporter groaned in exhasperation as the phone rang loudly. Setting the knife down, Sesshomaru picked the cordless up off the wall rack asking, “What?” The voice on the other end sounded offended at the comment. Pushing his cat away from the mayonaise laden fish, Sesshomaru told the person, “Look Naraku, I’m in the middle of making myself dinner. So, unless you have a bit of work for me, do not disturb me.”

“I’m actually calling to tell you that my assistant will be out in Seattle to interview a few bands at the opening of that huge record store near you home.” The response was an unexpected one, leaving Sesshomaru to ask if he would be compensated for having to take responsibility for the girl. Laughing, Naraku put his feet up on his desk telling his friend, “I’ve already deposited a bit of money into your account. It’s only a certain percentage of your usual fee, but as you are not writing a story, you shouldn’t have need to request your usual payment.”

Finishing his second sandwich, Sesshomaru placed the bread loaded plate into the fridge and grabbed a pot telling the man, “You are within reason to do such a thing, so I have no qualms with receiving less than what I get for a story.” Mentioning that he was happy for the silver-haired man to accept his terms, Naraku asked if the reporter was making top-ramen to go with his sandwiches. The question caught Sesshomaru off guard and he nearly burned himself on the gas stove. Laughing loudly, Naraku bid the man farewell and hung up the phone leaving the distraught man to make his shrimp-flavored noodles.

Draining the water from the pot, Sesshomaru put them into a bowl, added the seasoning and grabbed his sandwiches before heading to the living room to enjoy a meal. He’d only gotten a couple of bites into each dish until a knock came from his door. Keeping silent he hoped the person would leave, but like many hopes most people had it was shattered by his father saying, “I know you’re in there so open the door, boy.”

Getting up, Sesshomaru opened the door and let his father into the apartment. Taking off his windbreaker, Teijo looked around the apartment as he mentioned to his son, “I can see you’ve been keeping up on your cleaning.” Moving a stack of papers off the couch, Teijo asked his son, “Been to a bit busy?” Seeing that the boy had a mouth full of food, the Taisho patriarch pulled the cat into his lap and pet it waiting for his son to finish chewing.

Swallowing loudly, Sesshomaru nodded telling his father that he was only able to do dishes and the bathroom lately. Sniffing deeply Teijo said that it was evident that his son wasn’t exactly one to keep up with household tasks. Staring up from his bowl, Sesshomaru set it down asking his father, “Why are you here, Dad?” Teijo continued to scratch the cats belly as she chewed playfully on his hand.

Rubbing his stubble, told his son, “Kohaku’s grandparent’s are in town and I just wanted to get out of the house in case they showed up.” Snorting into his noodles, Sesshomaru started to cough loudly at one of the bits of wheat started going down the wrong tube. Chuckling at his sons reaction, Teijo let Kanna go exploring as he said, “I love them to death, but your mother gets too excited and starts pestering me about the dumbest things when they’re around. So,” he added gleefully,” I’m letting your brother deal with it this time.”

Setting down his sandwhich, Sesshomaru gulped at some water and took a quick breather. He’d been eating too fast and suddenly felt sick. Hearing the low chuckles that would soon erupt into a roarus laughter, Sesshomaru gave a loud belch before telling his father, “I’m going to be by with a guest next week.” Stopping his laughs, Teijo inquired as to who his son would be bringing to their weekly family dinner. Finishing the last bite of his second sandwich, the reporter gave a hearty sigh of content as he told his father, “One of my employers is sending his assistant around to cover that music store opening.”

Stealing the water glass, Teijo took a sip and asked his son, “Are you going to become involved with this assistant?” Glaring at the man, Sesshomaru took his glass back and said that he had a slight attraction to the girl, but long distance things weren’t his style. “Good thing you’ve discovered that about your self,” responded Teijo.” Getting up from his seat, the man clasped his son on the shoulder telling him, “It’s better that you have someone you can come home to rather than worry about when you’ll be seeing each other again.”

When his father was gone, Sesshomaru decided to leave the dishes on the table and get an early nights sleep. Normally he’d go to bed at around one or two, but having worked five hours straight and then eating, he was too tired to stay up and enjoy his shows. Putting a tape in his VCR, Sesshomaru turned the tv on and clicked the record button when he reached the appropriate channel and went into his room. Seeing as his cat had taken over his usual spot, the reporter climbed in and fell asleep thinking about what he was going to do about actually finding someone who could handle dating him, as well as his job.

Some distance away, Miroku was sitting at his computer finishing up some home work and band related material. As he finished the last sentence of his latest paper, the phone next to him suddenly vibrated across the desk. Picking it up, he asked, “Miroku speaking, how can I help you?” On the other end came the voice of a club owner who wanted the band to play their on Friday night. Cradling the phone Miroku told him, “Well, I’ve already said that because of the extra distacne we’d have to drive, added to the fact that we also have a gig the following night and need to come home right after performing, we have the right to charge a bit more.”
“I’m in full agreement with you, Miroku.” Said the club owner in a surprisingly sincere manner. “I’ve already told my production coordinator to add an extra couple hundred for an extra insurance policy should anything happen to the cars or equipment before and after the show.” Upon hearing that Miroku was thankful at the generosity the man bluntly said, “I know how hard it is to go out and do what you kids are doing. In my life, I’ve hand to mouthed my way from gig to gig. And, besides from what I’ve heard from Eric, you guys are worth the extra money.”

Thanking the man, Miroku put the phone back onto the receiver just as his father knocked on the door. Telling him to come in, the teen was not all to thrilled to have his dad tell him, “You’ve got school tomorrow so lights out.” Obeying with hint of displeasure, Miroku shut off all of his electronics, brushed his teeth, and went to bed hoping that he wouldn’t have the living shit kicked out of him by the rest of the band when he explained that they would have to go to Gig Harbor for Friday’s show.