InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Another Yellow Brick For The Road ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: whymihere 
duo at work..and how the guys spend a a saturday night at home.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Shounen / | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.19.2006 | Updated On: 03.19.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 6.2K | Visits: 307 | Status: Completed
duo at work..and how the guys spend a a saturday night at home.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction / Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama / Comedy / Shounen / | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 03.19.2006 | Updated On: 03.19.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 6.2K | Visits: 307 | Status: Completed
Slight IM situation. I hope it’s okay since it’s just a part of the chapter and not the actual chapter. anyone wanna draw a few of the pairings i have set...nothing dirty...but you can make it a little sexy...or just make a really funny one.
Chapter 7
“Duo Maxwell,” his mother shouted from the hallway, “get out of bed or else you’ll be late for work!” Her son shouted down that he was too tired to get out of bed and told her to leave him alone. Grabbing a small glass, Madeline filled it with some cold water and headed into his room. Finding him completely zonked out, Madeline took the glass and dumped it onto her sons hair shaking him out of his slumber and onto the floor.
“Mom, what the hell is the matter with you!?” As he began brushing the water from his hair, Mrs. Maxwell started trying to tickle him and say that he was being lazy. Scooting back in an attempt to stop the assault, Duo ended up back against the corner with his mom on top of him wrestling around on the ground trying to get him to wake up. Laughing as she tortured him, Duo noticed his father at the door struggling as he gasped out, “Dad...help me.”
Alexander stood in the door way cleaning his glasses asking his wife, “Why did you get the boy up?” Stopping the onslaught of tickles, Madeline told her husband that he needed to get up and off to work. Putting his glasses back on, Alex said to the panting woman, “He took the evening shift and doesn’t have to be at work until five because he had that show last night.” Asking if it was true, Duo’s father went and pressed the play button on the answering machine in the hall on his way back downstairs.
Getting out of the room, Madeline heard her son’s voice shout out over the voice of the music, “Mom, Dad, it’s me! Listen we’re on our way back now and we should be home around two or so. Don’t wait up, and don’t wake me up tomorrow morning since I switched my shift at work for the evening one! I’ll see you later!” Hearing the date and time play out, Madeline shrugged telling her son the good news about what she had done was he no longer smelt of stale cigarettes.
Sticking his head out the door, Duo glared at the retreating back telling the woman, “And thanks to you I’m also going to be in a bad mood for most of the day.” His mother gave no retort and he went into his room and logged onto the internet. Checking his email he found that Sasuke had sent him one from work during his break. Reading it, Duo could only laugh at reading their band leader had found a date for prom. He sent a reply laughing happily, until he realized that he was the only one without a date left.
Sending the mail, Duo noticed that it was after three in the one and he had best start moving or else he wouldn’t get out of bed at all. Getting into his usual clothes consisting of a tee-shirt and khakis, the braided teen went into the kitchen and tossed his dog a biscuit while nibbling on one himself. His father walked in rolling his eyes at the sight of his son eating a dog treat, earning him the reply, “I think it’s better to be considered a dog than a pig.”
Still chewing on the biscuit, Duo picked up his work shirt telling his parents he was going to hit a few places before going to work. Making sure the child had money, Madeline told him to be home right after work or else he’d be grounded. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be home on time!” Waving to her, the guitarist turned on his tape player as he strolled down the street humming some songs. It was a clear day, which had him feeling a bit better, since he’d come to the conclusion that he’d neither showered nor combed his hair before leaving the house.
He greeted a few people from the neighborhood before hopping on the bus down to the movie theater where he worked. Checking his watch, he could tell that Rin was already at work and probably not in the best of moods. He knew Rin despised working the opening shift, but he had a gig and she was the only person he knew would switch shifts. He even made the comment that it’d be possible for her and Miroku to go on a date later, officially sealing the deal.
Gazing out the window, Duo was oblivious to the little girl peeking her head over the seat to stare at him. As he switched sides, he caught a glance of the girl and asked why she was looking at him. Blushing she said, “You’re pretty.” Duo nearly dropped the tape as the little girls mother told her to watch what she said. As the mother began to scold her, the girl said, “But Mommy, he has really long hair and violet eyes. And I think he looks pretty.”
Keeping himself from going into hysterics, Duo wanted to thank her, yet the mother said, “That may be true, but when you see a nice looking man you call him handsome.” Telling her mother that she understood, the girl told Duo that he looked handsome to which the mother responded, “I’m sorry if she made you feel a bit awkward with that comment.”
Putting the tape into the machine, Duo told the woman and girl, “I’m used to being called a pretty boy so she didn’t damage my reputation.” Smiling at the girl he told her, “Be sure not to lose that honesty, it’s a good trait you have.” Leaning in he whispered to her, “Just make sure you’re careful on how you word things though.” The girl nodded and went back to her seat as Duo pulled the cord as it arrived at his stop.
Hearing the girl shout goodbye to him, Duo waved to her and went into the restaurant that he knew Kiba worked in. Their jobs were located in the same area and Duo knew Kiba would get him a drink. Walking in he saw that Shino was in the middle of his break along with Kohaku. The quartet he knew to work at the restaurant always worked the early shift on weekends. Meaning they got in at nine and got off at four. Settling into a seat at the both, Duo stole a fry asking, “Think one of you could get me a large soda to go?”
Flicking Duo in the head, Shino told the brunet, “You think you could actually pay for a drink one of these days?” When Duo pulled out a five, Shino smirked behind his glasses telling him, “It’s a joke you fool. I’ll get ya one when in a minute, I’m almost done with my break anyway.” Hearing his watch beep, Shino got up mentioning that his break had just finished. Dumping his food on his way to the back, the sunglass wearing teen came back with a large soda and told Duo, “You’re lucky we’re allowed free drinks or else we wouldn’t get away with this.”
Thanking his friend, Duo moved across from Kohaku asking, “So, I hear your grandparents are in town.” Saying with a mouth full of chicken that they were, Kohaku set his sandwhich down asking what it was to his friend. Sipping his soda, Duo told him, “I just want to know why nobody decided to tell me.” He could see that Kohaku could see through the mock pain, Duo told him, “I just want to say hi since I haven’t seen them in a couple years.”
Agreeing to have his grandparents stay home to say hi to his friend, Kohaku excused himself and went back to work as Duo left to go into a cd shop. Saying hello to a few people he knew, Duo started to look through a couple of the discount bins for any good music. Flipping through, he found an old punk cd that was in near mint condition. Checking the price, he pulled out his wallet and gave a silent cheer when he found out he had enough for it. Going up to the counter, Duo paid and was heading out just as Ino and Sakura came in.
Opening the door he asked, “I thought you got off the same time as everyone else?” Ino stuck out her tongue telling him she went in an hour early so she got off an equal time early. When she asked why Duo wasn’t at work the brunet replied, “Rin and I switched shifts because of the gig last night. And also I was trying to see if anyone from school was around that I could ask to the dance.” Huffing, Ino stomped off as Sakura explained the situation.
Reeling through the possible outcomes of Sasuke not going to prom with her, Duo asked if Ino would like to go with him. Keeping a straight face, the girl told him, “Hold on one second.” She ran off to see what her friend would say. Duo watched the girls converse and could see that Ino was unsure of how to handle the situation. Moments later, Sakura nodded and ran back up to him saying happily, “She said she’ll go because it’s better than going with Chouji or Shikamaru. Well actually Chouji would have been her only choice because Shikamaru has a date.”
“So, I’m better than nothing? Well I guess you can’t have all the things you want in life.” Sakura told him that he’d better get going if he wanted to make sure he was on time. Checking his watch, Sasuke was startled to find he had only fifteen minutes before his shift started. Telling Sakura goodbye, Duo ran across the parking lot to his work to see Rin yawning behind the concession counter and rubbing her eyes in a bored fashion.
Seeing Duo walk through the doors, Rin waved him over telling him, “We’ve both got the concession stand today.” Telling her that it was no problem, Duo clocked in with about ten minutes left and checked the stand glad that there was a surplus of supplies. Scratching her head, Rin told Duo, “Just push the candy because some of it is getting a bit old.” Putting his cup in the trash, Duo heard a familiar pair of voices coming out of one of the hallways. Glancing over, Rin waved saying, “Hi guys!”
His suspicions confirmed, Duo growled, “Is it going to be one of those nights where everyone gets to have fun but me?” Naruto stepped forward and ruffled his friend’s head telling him that he should have kept his regular shift or requested the day off like he had. Nodding to HInata with a smile, Duo shrugged saying, “Just make sure you tell your brother I got Ino off his back for a little while.”
“What do you mean by that, Duo?” Hinata’s shy voice asked while looking at one of the preview screens. Duo told them that he’d gotten Ino to go the dance with him so Sasuke didn’t have to fret over whether or not she’d bug him on Monday. Looking back at the braided boy, Hinata asked, “You guys only have about a week left before the dance, are you sure you can pull it off?” She gave out a small squeak afterwards since Naruto pulled her close telling her not to worry.
Seeing Hinata’s reaction, Rin grabbed her hand saying, “I need to have a bit of a girl talk with her.” Going to the back to grab her things and clock out, Rin took Hinata out front and took her away from the doors asking, “Is Naruto hurting you or something?” Her eyes bulging at the question, Hinata steadfastly told her friend that Naruto treated her like a queen. Crossing her arms, Rin nestled against the wall inquiring, “Then why did you look so uncomfortable when he hugged you?”
Rubbing her forefingers together, Hinata looked down saying softly, “Well my family isn’t all that affectionate.” Looking up, Hinata blushed explaining to her, “Well, I mean my parents are very proud of my sister and I, and they tell us they love us all the time.” Sighing she dropped her hands saying, “We just never really hug each other or anything so when people suddenly do that it gets me a bit nervous.”
Putting her hands on her friends shoulders, Rin looked her directly in the eyes saying, “Well you better get used to it, because if I know anything about the Uchiha’s they’re a very caring family and I’ve even seen Naruto and Sasuke hug on occasion.” Hinata began blushing saying that was a bit too much information making Rin go into a short burst of hysterics. Calming down she told Hinata, “It wasn’t in a gross way. More like a congratulatory manner or when they give each other a gift on their birthdays or when they feel the urge to start wrestling. And I bet you’ve seen what that’s like.”
Hinata laughed about the last time she’d seen Sasuke jump on Naruto hugging him. That ended up being a two-second hug and then a five-minute wrestling match until Janice got in on it and pinned them both to the ground. Hinata had been acting as the referee, but unfortunately she never got the chance to do anything short of getting in a one count on Sasuke’s part. Then came Janice pinning them to the ground and shouting, “You two nearly broke the television, AGAIN!” Pulling on their ears she added, “You two are grounded save for that gig you have this week. After that tell Miroku you two aren’t allowed anywhere but work, school and home for the next week.”
Letting go of Hinata, Rin saw Naruto exiting the theater. Telling her she’d se her in English on Monday, Rin went to catch her bus while Naruto asked Hinata if she was ready. Nodding, the pale girl took her boyfriends hand, leading him to the car so that they could pick up dinner. When asked why Rin took her outside, Hinata smiled telling her boyfriend, “She just had to tell me something about Miroku.”
Sneezing, Miroku shook his head and grabbed a bit of tissue paper and blew his nose. When he dumped it in the waste basket, his mother shouted down that it was time for dinner. Saving his work, Miroku went down and grabbed a plate out of the cupboard and filled it with some chicken and other things. When his plate was full he joined his parents at the dinner table and began eating as the two began talking about how their day went.
When asked about work, Miroku swallowed a mouthful saying, “Not bad, just a bit slow because people are only buying pools and sports equipment with Summer coming up soon.” Telling his son that it was the way of things, Manta then asked if he had any other gigs planned before graduation. Taking a sip of water, Miroku told his dad, “Not really, just the usual stuff down at the club, but after prom we’re gonna spend our time getting other clubs to book us around the country.” Looking at his parent’s cautiously, Miroku then asked, “Are you two sure you’re okay with us doing this?”
Setting their utensils down, Manta and Maureen gave each other looks of contemplation when the woman said, “We may not agree with letting you go and do this directly out of high school. But, the seven of you have been saving up since you were children and seem to know what you’re doing and you know how to take care of yourselves.” Taking a breath she then told her son, “And, since there will be seven of you together, six of you being boys, we know that you’ll be all right.” As Miroku took a breath of relief Maureen then added, “Make sure when somebody tells you to stop and get directions you make sure to listen to them.”
Holding up his hand, Miroku loudly stated he swore it upon his life that they would never get too far off the path they had set. Ruffling his kids hair, Manta said to the boy, “You’re too much of a smart ass for us to take you seriously.” Agreeing with his father, Miroku went back to his dinner, and chatted with his parent’s about a going to a party after graduation, they were uncertain of it until they were told it would be held at the Hyuuga’s home, and that was all they needed to hear to make up their minds about the party.
At his family’s apartment, Inuyasha was typing up a paper for English when his phone suddenly rang. Picking it up he wasn’t the least bit surprised to have his brother ask, “Are Mom and Dad home?” Sighing in exhasperation, Sesshomaru whispered, “Would it be a bad idea if I stopped by?” Telling his brother it was no problem, Inuyasha chuckled loudly only to have him yell, “You wouldn’t be laughing if you had this crazy broad hanging off your arm all the time!”
Hearing a woman shout to his brother, Inuyasha knew that this had to be the famous Kagura who worked under Sesshomaru’s old boss. Telling his brother goodbye, Inuyasha went back to his paper when his mom told him to help with the groceries. Saving the work, the teen went and took a couple of bags from his mother putting their individual articles of produce in the fridge. Once all the groceries had been put away, Sesshomaru walked in with Kagura hot on his heels.
“I love this place. It’s so cozy!” The sound of another woman’s voice in the house had Izumi floored. Coming out of the kitchen, she asked her son who the girl was. Before Sesshomaru could even say anything, Kagura extended her hand and said, “My name is Kagura, Mrs. Taisho.” Taking the girls hand, Izumi shook it before the black-haired reporter moved onto INuyasha. Extending her hand once again, Kagura introduced herself but asked, “I take it you’re Inuyasha?”
The teen shook the girls hand politely and was about to say that he was when Sesshomaru pulled him away hastily. Up in his room, Inuyasha angrily asked what his brother’s problem was. Pointing out at the door, Sesshomaru asked, “I thought you said that they weren’t home?” Shrugging INuyasha explained that at the time his brother called they weren’t and that them showing up wasn’t his fault. Rubbing his head, Sesshomaru complained, “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Confused for a minute, Inuyasha heard his mother and the new girl start laughing when it finally dawned on him. Asking his brother the dreaded question, Inuyasha couldn’t contain his amusement when his brother told him, “Of course I’m not dating her. She’s a work colleague and that’s it.” Seeing that his brother didn’t buy it, Sesshomaru sighed saying, “Fine, we had a few drinks last night and well we ended up..” he trailed off before adding, “I don’t have to explain anything about my personal life to you. But, I will say that we are not dating and agreed to remain friends despite last nights events.”
Sitting donw on his bed, Inuyasha laid back staring up at his ceiling muttering, “At least you’re not on her shit list.” Seeing his brother sit down at his desk, Inuyasha rubbed his face telling him, “Kagome’s pissed at me after something I said last night.” His brother wondered what he could have possibly said aloud. Tossing a pillow at the reporter, Inuyasha told him, “I said that her mom was overly protective and needed to cut the umbilical cord.” Getting the pillow back on his face, Inuyasha shoved it to the side asking, “Do you think I should apologize?”
Leaning back and rocking the chair side to side, Sesshomaru told his brother, “I don’t think you should.” Feeling a disturbed look come from his brother, Sesshomaru rapped on the keyboard telling his little brother, “You said the truth, so that’s one bonus point for you. And considering all of the stupid things you’ve told her in the past, this one is ranked in the bottom ten of stupid things you’ve said.” As his little brother began to head out of the door, Sesshomaru stopped the teen and handed him seven pieces of notebook paper.
Staring down at them, Inuyasha mentioned that he had more than enough paper in his room. Smacking the paper, Sesshomaru told him to read it. Opening it, Inuyasha read, “We’ve gotten news that you and your band are up for the chance to perform at our acheivement ceremony. So as a token of good luck we’re giving you all our autographs. And, even though you’re from Seattle, we’ve heard your guys’ sound and hope you’re the ones to perform.” He read the names on the paper and breathlessly asked, “How did you get this?”
Picking something from his teeth, Sesshomaru threw the bit of food away lazily saying, “Kagura had to interview them and when they asked about you I dropped my name and they spent a few minutes writing those out.” Out of nowhere, Sesshomaru had Inuyasha hugging him violently. Patting his brother gently, Sesshomaru told him, “You’re welcome, just make sure you get on that damn show or else my brown nosing will have been for not.” When his brother didn’t let go, Sesshomaru said, “You can let go of me now.”
Sasuke’s day at work had been the worst of the whole groups. Not only had a few customers complained about him being rude when he was in helping a few people before hand, his lunch had been stolen from the fridge and he had to deal with eating some old chips and a stale bottle of water. So, all in all, he was in a very bad mood thanks to a lack of food in his system. He felt the need to stop off and grab a sub when his mom called him saying that Naruto would be picking up some Thai.
When he heard the news he told his brother that he wanted Phad Thai with a little bit of spice. He emphasised the level of spice due to his family always eating the food at it’s normal level and his stomach was a bit sensitive to such things. He would have been home before five-thirty, but because his replacement was late, he ended up leaving closer to six-thirty. Thankfully his family had a tendency to wait until everybody was home before eating.
Pulling in, he was glad to find that both his parents were home, and a bit surprised to find Naruto and Hinata sitting in the living room on the couch. Going in, his dad greeted him saying that they could eat whenever they wanted. Thankful for that, Sasuke went into the kitchen asking, “Did you order mine the way I wanted Naruto?” His brother confirmed that the box was marked and when he took a bite, Sasuke took his container and warmed the food before running into their room to make a couple of calls.
Saying hi to Sakura, who was on the phone with some boy, Sasuke spent the time waiting for his sister to be off the phone by eating and playing a computer game. When he heard her hang up, Sasuke was about to make a call when it rang. Clicking the button he asked who it was, granting him the honor of having INuyasha shout something in his ear about some autographs.
Holding the phone away, Sasuke shouted, “Lower your damn voice!” The silence from the other end gave Sasuke the opprotunity to put phone back to his ear. Listening to a calm Inuyasha explain about how his brother had gotten them autographs from their favorite band. Setting his fork into the food, Sasuke asked, “Are you serious? He got autographs from those guys?” When Inuyasha answered the question, Sasuke ran downstairs, tapped his twin on the shoulder and whispered who Sesshomaru had gotten them autographs of,
Feeling his throat clench, Naruto grabbed a pen writing down whether or not it was a prank. Handing his twin the phone, Sasuke told Inuyasha to repeat the news to his brother. Repeating it once again, Inuyasha had Naruto jumping up and down screaming so loudly that some of the neighbors looked out their windows. Smacking her boyfriend Hinata told him to quiet down and pulled him back to the couch and put her head on his shoulder.
Giving the phone back to his brother, Sasuke said goodbye to their friend and told them to thank Sesshomaru before asking, “Why isn’t she back home?” Looking out of the corner of her eye from her spot on the couch, Hinata told Sasuke about her staying at their place for a couple of weeks. Scratching his head, Sasuke asked, “Mom? Dad? Is Hinata serious about staying here for more than the night?”
Coming out of the kitchen with a spring roll in his hand, Keiji swallowed as he told his son, “Yes she is.” Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Keiji explained the whole situation to his oldest child. “You see, her dad is out of town doing some business and her mother went to join him so that he wouldn’t have to go to some of the dinners alone. So, Hanamori asked if we could watch her while Hanabi went to stay with some of her friends.” The incredulous look of concern from his child forced Keiji to add, “She’s sleeping in Sakura’s room and your mother already put the roll away mattress in there.”
Knowing what his brother was thinking, Naruto pulled on his shirt sleeve saying, “Don’t worry we won’t do anything.” Knowing his brother didn’t believe him, Naruto asked, “Have you met her dad? If I tried anything that guy would either kill me or sue us for more than we could ever afford.” Hinata mentioned that Naruto was telling the truth, which comforted Sasuke more than his own brother’s words.
At Shippou’s house, the sound guy was in the middle of watching an early evening movie. He hated good movies that had to be edited, but because he didn’t own the movie, it was a hand he had to play. Yawning as some people jumped down an elevator shaft, Shippou heard the door open as his father walked in from working some over time. Sitting up he asked his old man, “How’d it go today?” Setting his bag down in a nearby chair, James pulled his shoes off as he groaned in exhaustion.
“Well,” he began, “I finally got all the bugs out of the system so we shouldn’t have any more sudden system crashes. But the microwave broke so I had to eat out of the vending machine on the fourth floor.” He pulled his foot up and began rubbing it gently. Since his wife left he’d been on pins and needles about when the papers would arrive and occupied himself with work. He still had no word as to her location, but taking care of his son took priority.
Sipping his soda, Shippou turned the television down as he mentioned the situation that occurred at work that day. His dad asked him what he said about the situation, at which his son replied “I told him I was doing all right and not to worry about it.” The monotone was unusual for the boy to speak in, but James knew better than to press the situation. He was sure that Shippou was getting all the help he needed from his friends, and the boy knew that his father was doing his best to help him with coping.
Leaning back in his seat, James said, “I take it that we’re gonna be eating left overs tonight?” Confirming the mans inquiry, Shippou said that he’d already eaten and was tired. As his son went upstairs, James shouted up, “See you in the morning.” Telling his dad goodnight, Shippou went into his room and curled up into bed with a book and began to read while his father grabbed some left over food and a beer for his evening supper.
At around eleven, Shippou decided to log on to the net and see if any of his friends were on. Going into Yahoo or “Yahell,” as most were inclined to call it, he found their usual chat room. Since it was one he created, he was able to adjust who could go in and out, and so far it was only him, the band, and a few select friends who were allowed into the room. Scanning the names he said, “We have Kohaku, Kagome, Inuyasha, Sasuke but no Naruto, Miroku, me, Ten Ten, and Rin.” Pointing into the text box he began to type.
Foxfursound: Okay jerks what’s going on tonight
Deathstarninja: Eh not much just waiting for you know who to show up.
Goddessof theskins: are gram and gramps okay with that
Silveraxshredder: really kags I think they know already with sangos big mouth
shrewdconcertplanner: Inuyasha youre such an idiot
medicalwannabe: nice miroku
bluehairedevil: rin how did you get in here
knifethrowingpsycho: I think shippou added her once he found out about miroku and her dating.
foxfursound: damn right I did
bluehairedevil: whatever I gotta go because hinata is staying over while her parents are out of town and mom is going nuts with trying to make sure she and naruto don’t do anything stupid
deathstarninja: I gotta go now because hes shown up and gram wants to bug the living hell out of us about us dating
silveraxshredder: so that leaves me, ten, rin, kags, and you shippou
foxfursound: actually I gotta go to because im just feeling a bit sick talk to you Monday
He logged off the net and went into the bathroom for a quick drink. His stomach had settled a bit, but he was still feeling under the weather. Changing into his pajamas he got under the covers and went to sleep. He woke up feeling fine on Sunday and went to work with no feelings of being sick or anything, but on Monday during his last class he suddenly got extremely nautious.
Running to the nurse, he had his dad come pick him up and take him home. As he lay in bed staring at the ceiling, his friends all came in and asked what the problem was. Swallowing some bile, Shippou told them that he just had a stomach virus and asked what they wanted. Pulling out a picture frame, Inuyasha put it on the desk saying, “A gift from one of the greatest bands of all time.” Shippou looked at it and smiled despite his headache.
“Tell Sesshomaru I said thanks.” Falling off the bed at Shippou knowing where the autographs came from, Inuyasha told the band that he had to get home and help his mom with some things. He was followed shortly by Kagome who had to get home and help Souta with his science homework. Telling them goodbye, Shippou drank some orange juice and asked if there was any homework from his theater class.
Pulling some papers out of his backpack, Kohaku put the work next to the computer telling Shippou, “It’s not due until next week so you can take a bit of time while you’re home sick to do it. It’s our final project for the year so she said that we can half ass it since it’s not really going to count for too much.” Shippou chuckled through his sweat about the project. Most of his class had high enough grades to pass without worrying about it affecting graduation. Of the thirty person class only three had been called up to do any form of extra credit. Thanking his friends for stopping by, Shippou asked them to leave so he could get some sleep.
Leaving him alone, Miroku and Kohaku caught a bus while Naruto and Sasuke got into their car and went home. As they were leaving, Temari stopped by and made him some soup. When he was done, she kissed him goodbye and went off to work her shift at one of the hair stylists near her house.
A couple of days later, all of the seniors decided to skip class and enjoy a day off. Shippou’s stomach had since recovered, and the band had to go to get their suits adjusted for prom. Since it was a short time off, they began figuring out what they could wear. Upon talking to Iruka, they all learned since they were the band they were allowed to dress in a form of casual-formal wear. But, the guys decided that they may as well mix formal and rock.
Kagome had decided on a kind of form fitting top with a flowing, yet modest skirt that she’d bought from Hot Topic. Mix in some mesh stockings and the fact that she had to wear her sneakers for part of the dance because of the drums, she felt it was a very appropriate dress and it shouldn’t cause too much trouble. The good thing was that Kohaku had helped her fix it so that she could sit and play easily without having to rip the skirt portion of the dress in case she had to play a fast song.
Shippou and Kohaku were both going to be wearing regular suits with their sneakers and also a tee-shirt under the tops of their suits. Kohaku’s was a dark blue one that he’d gotten a month before with a bit of money he’d saved up. He’d worn the suit to church, and even on a couple of dates, and now he had to get it dry cleaned. Shippou had two suits of his own, one black, and one a dark brown. He’d opted for the black since it was a formal situation, and the brown was a bit too small.
Miroku, being the only one in the band who had nothing to do during the performances, just had a regular tux that he was going to be wearing for his date with Rin.
Sasuke was a difficult person to figure out because he mostly wore casual. Denim and a suit jacket would have been a good bet, but both he and Naruto detested the feel of denim. So as they sat in the mall looking for a top, Naruto held up a sort of silver sports coat and asked, “What do you think about this one, Bro?” Taking it, Sasuke put it on and looked in a mirror and said that it didn’t look half bad. Grabbing one of his own, a red one, Naruto looked into the mirror with as mile, “Well it may not be my best color but I like it!”
The sight of the twins wearing two sports jackets, black khakis and sneakers, not to mention some novelty tee-shirts had their mother on the floor in stitches. Locking hands they nodded and said, “We’re ready.” Taking the jackets off, the two paid for them and left the store anxious for this one final gig before they could take their act on the road.
Chapter 7
“Duo Maxwell,” his mother shouted from the hallway, “get out of bed or else you’ll be late for work!” Her son shouted down that he was too tired to get out of bed and told her to leave him alone. Grabbing a small glass, Madeline filled it with some cold water and headed into his room. Finding him completely zonked out, Madeline took the glass and dumped it onto her sons hair shaking him out of his slumber and onto the floor.
“Mom, what the hell is the matter with you!?” As he began brushing the water from his hair, Mrs. Maxwell started trying to tickle him and say that he was being lazy. Scooting back in an attempt to stop the assault, Duo ended up back against the corner with his mom on top of him wrestling around on the ground trying to get him to wake up. Laughing as she tortured him, Duo noticed his father at the door struggling as he gasped out, “Dad...help me.”
Alexander stood in the door way cleaning his glasses asking his wife, “Why did you get the boy up?” Stopping the onslaught of tickles, Madeline told her husband that he needed to get up and off to work. Putting his glasses back on, Alex said to the panting woman, “He took the evening shift and doesn’t have to be at work until five because he had that show last night.” Asking if it was true, Duo’s father went and pressed the play button on the answering machine in the hall on his way back downstairs.
Getting out of the room, Madeline heard her son’s voice shout out over the voice of the music, “Mom, Dad, it’s me! Listen we’re on our way back now and we should be home around two or so. Don’t wait up, and don’t wake me up tomorrow morning since I switched my shift at work for the evening one! I’ll see you later!” Hearing the date and time play out, Madeline shrugged telling her son the good news about what she had done was he no longer smelt of stale cigarettes.
Sticking his head out the door, Duo glared at the retreating back telling the woman, “And thanks to you I’m also going to be in a bad mood for most of the day.” His mother gave no retort and he went into his room and logged onto the internet. Checking his email he found that Sasuke had sent him one from work during his break. Reading it, Duo could only laugh at reading their band leader had found a date for prom. He sent a reply laughing happily, until he realized that he was the only one without a date left.
Sending the mail, Duo noticed that it was after three in the one and he had best start moving or else he wouldn’t get out of bed at all. Getting into his usual clothes consisting of a tee-shirt and khakis, the braided teen went into the kitchen and tossed his dog a biscuit while nibbling on one himself. His father walked in rolling his eyes at the sight of his son eating a dog treat, earning him the reply, “I think it’s better to be considered a dog than a pig.”
Still chewing on the biscuit, Duo picked up his work shirt telling his parents he was going to hit a few places before going to work. Making sure the child had money, Madeline told him to be home right after work or else he’d be grounded. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be home on time!” Waving to her, the guitarist turned on his tape player as he strolled down the street humming some songs. It was a clear day, which had him feeling a bit better, since he’d come to the conclusion that he’d neither showered nor combed his hair before leaving the house.
He greeted a few people from the neighborhood before hopping on the bus down to the movie theater where he worked. Checking his watch, he could tell that Rin was already at work and probably not in the best of moods. He knew Rin despised working the opening shift, but he had a gig and she was the only person he knew would switch shifts. He even made the comment that it’d be possible for her and Miroku to go on a date later, officially sealing the deal.
Gazing out the window, Duo was oblivious to the little girl peeking her head over the seat to stare at him. As he switched sides, he caught a glance of the girl and asked why she was looking at him. Blushing she said, “You’re pretty.” Duo nearly dropped the tape as the little girls mother told her to watch what she said. As the mother began to scold her, the girl said, “But Mommy, he has really long hair and violet eyes. And I think he looks pretty.”
Keeping himself from going into hysterics, Duo wanted to thank her, yet the mother said, “That may be true, but when you see a nice looking man you call him handsome.” Telling her mother that she understood, the girl told Duo that he looked handsome to which the mother responded, “I’m sorry if she made you feel a bit awkward with that comment.”
Putting the tape into the machine, Duo told the woman and girl, “I’m used to being called a pretty boy so she didn’t damage my reputation.” Smiling at the girl he told her, “Be sure not to lose that honesty, it’s a good trait you have.” Leaning in he whispered to her, “Just make sure you’re careful on how you word things though.” The girl nodded and went back to her seat as Duo pulled the cord as it arrived at his stop.
Hearing the girl shout goodbye to him, Duo waved to her and went into the restaurant that he knew Kiba worked in. Their jobs were located in the same area and Duo knew Kiba would get him a drink. Walking in he saw that Shino was in the middle of his break along with Kohaku. The quartet he knew to work at the restaurant always worked the early shift on weekends. Meaning they got in at nine and got off at four. Settling into a seat at the both, Duo stole a fry asking, “Think one of you could get me a large soda to go?”
Flicking Duo in the head, Shino told the brunet, “You think you could actually pay for a drink one of these days?” When Duo pulled out a five, Shino smirked behind his glasses telling him, “It’s a joke you fool. I’ll get ya one when in a minute, I’m almost done with my break anyway.” Hearing his watch beep, Shino got up mentioning that his break had just finished. Dumping his food on his way to the back, the sunglass wearing teen came back with a large soda and told Duo, “You’re lucky we’re allowed free drinks or else we wouldn’t get away with this.”
Thanking his friend, Duo moved across from Kohaku asking, “So, I hear your grandparents are in town.” Saying with a mouth full of chicken that they were, Kohaku set his sandwhich down asking what it was to his friend. Sipping his soda, Duo told him, “I just want to know why nobody decided to tell me.” He could see that Kohaku could see through the mock pain, Duo told him, “I just want to say hi since I haven’t seen them in a couple years.”
Agreeing to have his grandparents stay home to say hi to his friend, Kohaku excused himself and went back to work as Duo left to go into a cd shop. Saying hello to a few people he knew, Duo started to look through a couple of the discount bins for any good music. Flipping through, he found an old punk cd that was in near mint condition. Checking the price, he pulled out his wallet and gave a silent cheer when he found out he had enough for it. Going up to the counter, Duo paid and was heading out just as Ino and Sakura came in.
Opening the door he asked, “I thought you got off the same time as everyone else?” Ino stuck out her tongue telling him she went in an hour early so she got off an equal time early. When she asked why Duo wasn’t at work the brunet replied, “Rin and I switched shifts because of the gig last night. And also I was trying to see if anyone from school was around that I could ask to the dance.” Huffing, Ino stomped off as Sakura explained the situation.
Reeling through the possible outcomes of Sasuke not going to prom with her, Duo asked if Ino would like to go with him. Keeping a straight face, the girl told him, “Hold on one second.” She ran off to see what her friend would say. Duo watched the girls converse and could see that Ino was unsure of how to handle the situation. Moments later, Sakura nodded and ran back up to him saying happily, “She said she’ll go because it’s better than going with Chouji or Shikamaru. Well actually Chouji would have been her only choice because Shikamaru has a date.”
“So, I’m better than nothing? Well I guess you can’t have all the things you want in life.” Sakura told him that he’d better get going if he wanted to make sure he was on time. Checking his watch, Sasuke was startled to find he had only fifteen minutes before his shift started. Telling Sakura goodbye, Duo ran across the parking lot to his work to see Rin yawning behind the concession counter and rubbing her eyes in a bored fashion.
Seeing Duo walk through the doors, Rin waved him over telling him, “We’ve both got the concession stand today.” Telling her that it was no problem, Duo clocked in with about ten minutes left and checked the stand glad that there was a surplus of supplies. Scratching her head, Rin told Duo, “Just push the candy because some of it is getting a bit old.” Putting his cup in the trash, Duo heard a familiar pair of voices coming out of one of the hallways. Glancing over, Rin waved saying, “Hi guys!”
His suspicions confirmed, Duo growled, “Is it going to be one of those nights where everyone gets to have fun but me?” Naruto stepped forward and ruffled his friend’s head telling him that he should have kept his regular shift or requested the day off like he had. Nodding to HInata with a smile, Duo shrugged saying, “Just make sure you tell your brother I got Ino off his back for a little while.”
“What do you mean by that, Duo?” Hinata’s shy voice asked while looking at one of the preview screens. Duo told them that he’d gotten Ino to go the dance with him so Sasuke didn’t have to fret over whether or not she’d bug him on Monday. Looking back at the braided boy, Hinata asked, “You guys only have about a week left before the dance, are you sure you can pull it off?” She gave out a small squeak afterwards since Naruto pulled her close telling her not to worry.
Seeing Hinata’s reaction, Rin grabbed her hand saying, “I need to have a bit of a girl talk with her.” Going to the back to grab her things and clock out, Rin took Hinata out front and took her away from the doors asking, “Is Naruto hurting you or something?” Her eyes bulging at the question, Hinata steadfastly told her friend that Naruto treated her like a queen. Crossing her arms, Rin nestled against the wall inquiring, “Then why did you look so uncomfortable when he hugged you?”
Rubbing her forefingers together, Hinata looked down saying softly, “Well my family isn’t all that affectionate.” Looking up, Hinata blushed explaining to her, “Well, I mean my parents are very proud of my sister and I, and they tell us they love us all the time.” Sighing she dropped her hands saying, “We just never really hug each other or anything so when people suddenly do that it gets me a bit nervous.”
Putting her hands on her friends shoulders, Rin looked her directly in the eyes saying, “Well you better get used to it, because if I know anything about the Uchiha’s they’re a very caring family and I’ve even seen Naruto and Sasuke hug on occasion.” Hinata began blushing saying that was a bit too much information making Rin go into a short burst of hysterics. Calming down she told Hinata, “It wasn’t in a gross way. More like a congratulatory manner or when they give each other a gift on their birthdays or when they feel the urge to start wrestling. And I bet you’ve seen what that’s like.”
Hinata laughed about the last time she’d seen Sasuke jump on Naruto hugging him. That ended up being a two-second hug and then a five-minute wrestling match until Janice got in on it and pinned them both to the ground. Hinata had been acting as the referee, but unfortunately she never got the chance to do anything short of getting in a one count on Sasuke’s part. Then came Janice pinning them to the ground and shouting, “You two nearly broke the television, AGAIN!” Pulling on their ears she added, “You two are grounded save for that gig you have this week. After that tell Miroku you two aren’t allowed anywhere but work, school and home for the next week.”
Letting go of Hinata, Rin saw Naruto exiting the theater. Telling her she’d se her in English on Monday, Rin went to catch her bus while Naruto asked Hinata if she was ready. Nodding, the pale girl took her boyfriends hand, leading him to the car so that they could pick up dinner. When asked why Rin took her outside, Hinata smiled telling her boyfriend, “She just had to tell me something about Miroku.”
Sneezing, Miroku shook his head and grabbed a bit of tissue paper and blew his nose. When he dumped it in the waste basket, his mother shouted down that it was time for dinner. Saving his work, Miroku went down and grabbed a plate out of the cupboard and filled it with some chicken and other things. When his plate was full he joined his parents at the dinner table and began eating as the two began talking about how their day went.
When asked about work, Miroku swallowed a mouthful saying, “Not bad, just a bit slow because people are only buying pools and sports equipment with Summer coming up soon.” Telling his son that it was the way of things, Manta then asked if he had any other gigs planned before graduation. Taking a sip of water, Miroku told his dad, “Not really, just the usual stuff down at the club, but after prom we’re gonna spend our time getting other clubs to book us around the country.” Looking at his parent’s cautiously, Miroku then asked, “Are you two sure you’re okay with us doing this?”
Setting their utensils down, Manta and Maureen gave each other looks of contemplation when the woman said, “We may not agree with letting you go and do this directly out of high school. But, the seven of you have been saving up since you were children and seem to know what you’re doing and you know how to take care of yourselves.” Taking a breath she then told her son, “And, since there will be seven of you together, six of you being boys, we know that you’ll be all right.” As Miroku took a breath of relief Maureen then added, “Make sure when somebody tells you to stop and get directions you make sure to listen to them.”
Holding up his hand, Miroku loudly stated he swore it upon his life that they would never get too far off the path they had set. Ruffling his kids hair, Manta said to the boy, “You’re too much of a smart ass for us to take you seriously.” Agreeing with his father, Miroku went back to his dinner, and chatted with his parent’s about a going to a party after graduation, they were uncertain of it until they were told it would be held at the Hyuuga’s home, and that was all they needed to hear to make up their minds about the party.
At his family’s apartment, Inuyasha was typing up a paper for English when his phone suddenly rang. Picking it up he wasn’t the least bit surprised to have his brother ask, “Are Mom and Dad home?” Sighing in exhasperation, Sesshomaru whispered, “Would it be a bad idea if I stopped by?” Telling his brother it was no problem, Inuyasha chuckled loudly only to have him yell, “You wouldn’t be laughing if you had this crazy broad hanging off your arm all the time!”
Hearing a woman shout to his brother, Inuyasha knew that this had to be the famous Kagura who worked under Sesshomaru’s old boss. Telling his brother goodbye, Inuyasha went back to his paper when his mom told him to help with the groceries. Saving the work, the teen went and took a couple of bags from his mother putting their individual articles of produce in the fridge. Once all the groceries had been put away, Sesshomaru walked in with Kagura hot on his heels.
“I love this place. It’s so cozy!” The sound of another woman’s voice in the house had Izumi floored. Coming out of the kitchen, she asked her son who the girl was. Before Sesshomaru could even say anything, Kagura extended her hand and said, “My name is Kagura, Mrs. Taisho.” Taking the girls hand, Izumi shook it before the black-haired reporter moved onto INuyasha. Extending her hand once again, Kagura introduced herself but asked, “I take it you’re Inuyasha?”
The teen shook the girls hand politely and was about to say that he was when Sesshomaru pulled him away hastily. Up in his room, Inuyasha angrily asked what his brother’s problem was. Pointing out at the door, Sesshomaru asked, “I thought you said that they weren’t home?” Shrugging INuyasha explained that at the time his brother called they weren’t and that them showing up wasn’t his fault. Rubbing his head, Sesshomaru complained, “I can’t believe this is happening.”
Confused for a minute, Inuyasha heard his mother and the new girl start laughing when it finally dawned on him. Asking his brother the dreaded question, Inuyasha couldn’t contain his amusement when his brother told him, “Of course I’m not dating her. She’s a work colleague and that’s it.” Seeing that his brother didn’t buy it, Sesshomaru sighed saying, “Fine, we had a few drinks last night and well we ended up..” he trailed off before adding, “I don’t have to explain anything about my personal life to you. But, I will say that we are not dating and agreed to remain friends despite last nights events.”
Sitting donw on his bed, Inuyasha laid back staring up at his ceiling muttering, “At least you’re not on her shit list.” Seeing his brother sit down at his desk, Inuyasha rubbed his face telling him, “Kagome’s pissed at me after something I said last night.” His brother wondered what he could have possibly said aloud. Tossing a pillow at the reporter, Inuyasha told him, “I said that her mom was overly protective and needed to cut the umbilical cord.” Getting the pillow back on his face, Inuyasha shoved it to the side asking, “Do you think I should apologize?”
Leaning back and rocking the chair side to side, Sesshomaru told his brother, “I don’t think you should.” Feeling a disturbed look come from his brother, Sesshomaru rapped on the keyboard telling his little brother, “You said the truth, so that’s one bonus point for you. And considering all of the stupid things you’ve told her in the past, this one is ranked in the bottom ten of stupid things you’ve said.” As his little brother began to head out of the door, Sesshomaru stopped the teen and handed him seven pieces of notebook paper.
Staring down at them, Inuyasha mentioned that he had more than enough paper in his room. Smacking the paper, Sesshomaru told him to read it. Opening it, Inuyasha read, “We’ve gotten news that you and your band are up for the chance to perform at our acheivement ceremony. So as a token of good luck we’re giving you all our autographs. And, even though you’re from Seattle, we’ve heard your guys’ sound and hope you’re the ones to perform.” He read the names on the paper and breathlessly asked, “How did you get this?”
Picking something from his teeth, Sesshomaru threw the bit of food away lazily saying, “Kagura had to interview them and when they asked about you I dropped my name and they spent a few minutes writing those out.” Out of nowhere, Sesshomaru had Inuyasha hugging him violently. Patting his brother gently, Sesshomaru told him, “You’re welcome, just make sure you get on that damn show or else my brown nosing will have been for not.” When his brother didn’t let go, Sesshomaru said, “You can let go of me now.”
Sasuke’s day at work had been the worst of the whole groups. Not only had a few customers complained about him being rude when he was in helping a few people before hand, his lunch had been stolen from the fridge and he had to deal with eating some old chips and a stale bottle of water. So, all in all, he was in a very bad mood thanks to a lack of food in his system. He felt the need to stop off and grab a sub when his mom called him saying that Naruto would be picking up some Thai.
When he heard the news he told his brother that he wanted Phad Thai with a little bit of spice. He emphasised the level of spice due to his family always eating the food at it’s normal level and his stomach was a bit sensitive to such things. He would have been home before five-thirty, but because his replacement was late, he ended up leaving closer to six-thirty. Thankfully his family had a tendency to wait until everybody was home before eating.
Pulling in, he was glad to find that both his parents were home, and a bit surprised to find Naruto and Hinata sitting in the living room on the couch. Going in, his dad greeted him saying that they could eat whenever they wanted. Thankful for that, Sasuke went into the kitchen asking, “Did you order mine the way I wanted Naruto?” His brother confirmed that the box was marked and when he took a bite, Sasuke took his container and warmed the food before running into their room to make a couple of calls.
Saying hi to Sakura, who was on the phone with some boy, Sasuke spent the time waiting for his sister to be off the phone by eating and playing a computer game. When he heard her hang up, Sasuke was about to make a call when it rang. Clicking the button he asked who it was, granting him the honor of having INuyasha shout something in his ear about some autographs.
Holding the phone away, Sasuke shouted, “Lower your damn voice!” The silence from the other end gave Sasuke the opprotunity to put phone back to his ear. Listening to a calm Inuyasha explain about how his brother had gotten them autographs from their favorite band. Setting his fork into the food, Sasuke asked, “Are you serious? He got autographs from those guys?” When Inuyasha answered the question, Sasuke ran downstairs, tapped his twin on the shoulder and whispered who Sesshomaru had gotten them autographs of,
Feeling his throat clench, Naruto grabbed a pen writing down whether or not it was a prank. Handing his twin the phone, Sasuke told Inuyasha to repeat the news to his brother. Repeating it once again, Inuyasha had Naruto jumping up and down screaming so loudly that some of the neighbors looked out their windows. Smacking her boyfriend Hinata told him to quiet down and pulled him back to the couch and put her head on his shoulder.
Giving the phone back to his brother, Sasuke said goodbye to their friend and told them to thank Sesshomaru before asking, “Why isn’t she back home?” Looking out of the corner of her eye from her spot on the couch, Hinata told Sasuke about her staying at their place for a couple of weeks. Scratching his head, Sasuke asked, “Mom? Dad? Is Hinata serious about staying here for more than the night?”
Coming out of the kitchen with a spring roll in his hand, Keiji swallowed as he told his son, “Yes she is.” Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Keiji explained the whole situation to his oldest child. “You see, her dad is out of town doing some business and her mother went to join him so that he wouldn’t have to go to some of the dinners alone. So, Hanamori asked if we could watch her while Hanabi went to stay with some of her friends.” The incredulous look of concern from his child forced Keiji to add, “She’s sleeping in Sakura’s room and your mother already put the roll away mattress in there.”
Knowing what his brother was thinking, Naruto pulled on his shirt sleeve saying, “Don’t worry we won’t do anything.” Knowing his brother didn’t believe him, Naruto asked, “Have you met her dad? If I tried anything that guy would either kill me or sue us for more than we could ever afford.” Hinata mentioned that Naruto was telling the truth, which comforted Sasuke more than his own brother’s words.
At Shippou’s house, the sound guy was in the middle of watching an early evening movie. He hated good movies that had to be edited, but because he didn’t own the movie, it was a hand he had to play. Yawning as some people jumped down an elevator shaft, Shippou heard the door open as his father walked in from working some over time. Sitting up he asked his old man, “How’d it go today?” Setting his bag down in a nearby chair, James pulled his shoes off as he groaned in exhaustion.
“Well,” he began, “I finally got all the bugs out of the system so we shouldn’t have any more sudden system crashes. But the microwave broke so I had to eat out of the vending machine on the fourth floor.” He pulled his foot up and began rubbing it gently. Since his wife left he’d been on pins and needles about when the papers would arrive and occupied himself with work. He still had no word as to her location, but taking care of his son took priority.
Sipping his soda, Shippou turned the television down as he mentioned the situation that occurred at work that day. His dad asked him what he said about the situation, at which his son replied “I told him I was doing all right and not to worry about it.” The monotone was unusual for the boy to speak in, but James knew better than to press the situation. He was sure that Shippou was getting all the help he needed from his friends, and the boy knew that his father was doing his best to help him with coping.
Leaning back in his seat, James said, “I take it that we’re gonna be eating left overs tonight?” Confirming the mans inquiry, Shippou said that he’d already eaten and was tired. As his son went upstairs, James shouted up, “See you in the morning.” Telling his dad goodnight, Shippou went into his room and curled up into bed with a book and began to read while his father grabbed some left over food and a beer for his evening supper.
At around eleven, Shippou decided to log on to the net and see if any of his friends were on. Going into Yahoo or “Yahell,” as most were inclined to call it, he found their usual chat room. Since it was one he created, he was able to adjust who could go in and out, and so far it was only him, the band, and a few select friends who were allowed into the room. Scanning the names he said, “We have Kohaku, Kagome, Inuyasha, Sasuke but no Naruto, Miroku, me, Ten Ten, and Rin.” Pointing into the text box he began to type.
Foxfursound: Okay jerks what’s going on tonight
Deathstarninja: Eh not much just waiting for you know who to show up.
Goddessof theskins: are gram and gramps okay with that
Silveraxshredder: really kags I think they know already with sangos big mouth
shrewdconcertplanner: Inuyasha youre such an idiot
medicalwannabe: nice miroku
bluehairedevil: rin how did you get in here
knifethrowingpsycho: I think shippou added her once he found out about miroku and her dating.
foxfursound: damn right I did
bluehairedevil: whatever I gotta go because hinata is staying over while her parents are out of town and mom is going nuts with trying to make sure she and naruto don’t do anything stupid
deathstarninja: I gotta go now because hes shown up and gram wants to bug the living hell out of us about us dating
silveraxshredder: so that leaves me, ten, rin, kags, and you shippou
foxfursound: actually I gotta go to because im just feeling a bit sick talk to you Monday
He logged off the net and went into the bathroom for a quick drink. His stomach had settled a bit, but he was still feeling under the weather. Changing into his pajamas he got under the covers and went to sleep. He woke up feeling fine on Sunday and went to work with no feelings of being sick or anything, but on Monday during his last class he suddenly got extremely nautious.
Running to the nurse, he had his dad come pick him up and take him home. As he lay in bed staring at the ceiling, his friends all came in and asked what the problem was. Swallowing some bile, Shippou told them that he just had a stomach virus and asked what they wanted. Pulling out a picture frame, Inuyasha put it on the desk saying, “A gift from one of the greatest bands of all time.” Shippou looked at it and smiled despite his headache.
“Tell Sesshomaru I said thanks.” Falling off the bed at Shippou knowing where the autographs came from, Inuyasha told the band that he had to get home and help his mom with some things. He was followed shortly by Kagome who had to get home and help Souta with his science homework. Telling them goodbye, Shippou drank some orange juice and asked if there was any homework from his theater class.
Pulling some papers out of his backpack, Kohaku put the work next to the computer telling Shippou, “It’s not due until next week so you can take a bit of time while you’re home sick to do it. It’s our final project for the year so she said that we can half ass it since it’s not really going to count for too much.” Shippou chuckled through his sweat about the project. Most of his class had high enough grades to pass without worrying about it affecting graduation. Of the thirty person class only three had been called up to do any form of extra credit. Thanking his friends for stopping by, Shippou asked them to leave so he could get some sleep.
Leaving him alone, Miroku and Kohaku caught a bus while Naruto and Sasuke got into their car and went home. As they were leaving, Temari stopped by and made him some soup. When he was done, she kissed him goodbye and went off to work her shift at one of the hair stylists near her house.
A couple of days later, all of the seniors decided to skip class and enjoy a day off. Shippou’s stomach had since recovered, and the band had to go to get their suits adjusted for prom. Since it was a short time off, they began figuring out what they could wear. Upon talking to Iruka, they all learned since they were the band they were allowed to dress in a form of casual-formal wear. But, the guys decided that they may as well mix formal and rock.
Kagome had decided on a kind of form fitting top with a flowing, yet modest skirt that she’d bought from Hot Topic. Mix in some mesh stockings and the fact that she had to wear her sneakers for part of the dance because of the drums, she felt it was a very appropriate dress and it shouldn’t cause too much trouble. The good thing was that Kohaku had helped her fix it so that she could sit and play easily without having to rip the skirt portion of the dress in case she had to play a fast song.
Shippou and Kohaku were both going to be wearing regular suits with their sneakers and also a tee-shirt under the tops of their suits. Kohaku’s was a dark blue one that he’d gotten a month before with a bit of money he’d saved up. He’d worn the suit to church, and even on a couple of dates, and now he had to get it dry cleaned. Shippou had two suits of his own, one black, and one a dark brown. He’d opted for the black since it was a formal situation, and the brown was a bit too small.
Miroku, being the only one in the band who had nothing to do during the performances, just had a regular tux that he was going to be wearing for his date with Rin.
Sasuke was a difficult person to figure out because he mostly wore casual. Denim and a suit jacket would have been a good bet, but both he and Naruto detested the feel of denim. So as they sat in the mall looking for a top, Naruto held up a sort of silver sports coat and asked, “What do you think about this one, Bro?” Taking it, Sasuke put it on and looked in a mirror and said that it didn’t look half bad. Grabbing one of his own, a red one, Naruto looked into the mirror with as mile, “Well it may not be my best color but I like it!”
The sight of the twins wearing two sports jackets, black khakis and sneakers, not to mention some novelty tee-shirts had their mother on the floor in stitches. Locking hands they nodded and said, “We’re ready.” Taking the jackets off, the two paid for them and left the store anxious for this one final gig before they could take their act on the road.