InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Dark Past ❯ The Fluffy and the Toad ( Chapter 38 )

Disclaimer: Inuyasha: -holding a clipboard with a sheet of questions- And do you own me?

-Glumly- No…

:: Inuyasha: And do you own the copyrights to the series all on me - Inuyasha?

-Says just as glumly while pouting- Noooo…

:: Inuyasha: So then what do you own?

The FLUFFINATOR!

:: Inuyasha: -____________-

 

A/N: Please take NOTE: Inuyasha's father is known as Inu no Taisho. Thus, I have merely shortened it to Inutaisho. That is Inuyasha's father's name in everything I will ever write. So if I get any reviews that ask, `where did HE come from???' I will sic the Fluffinator on you. -nod, nod-

 

 

AGE:

InuYasha: 19

Kagome: 18

Kouga: 19

Naraku: 19

Miroku: 19

Sango: 18

Kaede: 65

 

A Dark Past

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Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Fluffy and the Toad

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`Oh, God, Oh, God, I love him. Oh, God. I love him. Oh, oh, oh God. What's wrong with me? He's my patient. I'm a nurse. Oh, God. Oh, God. I actually love him. I love him. I love him. I love him so, so, so much. It hurts. It hurts. Oh, God. I love him. I love him. I love

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~

 

It hadn't changed.

 

He supposed he should've expected as much - it had only been a few months. . . But. . .

 

Nothing had changed in the least.

 

Inuyasha was filled with both relief and a cold indifference at the sight of his home - `Mansion,' a small voice corrected almost childishly. The word home was one associated with the faint smell of mommy dearest's home-cooking. The word home was associated with dinners at the tables and what are you doing get your elbows off the table. The word home was associated with a family room, or maybe a TV room, or a living room, or whatever it was called where the family would gather late at night - or early in the morning depending on how it was looked at - on the weekend and flick on a movie, maybe even pop some popcorn. . . A home was a place where a family lived.

 

The tips of Inuyasha's fingers ran along the flawlessly painted walls as he walked down the hall. His eyes drifted shut and he swore he could hear his mother's voice reprimanding him like she always used to when he was younger.

 

“Inuyasha! What are you doing? The oil on your skin is going to leave streaks. A little boy doesn't walk like that, anyway.”

 

And unlike all those times when he was younger, he kept his fingers lightly pressed up against the wall as he continued down the hallway. He quite liked how the paint felt against his skin.

 

“Sumimasen, Inuyasha-san.”

 

Inuyasha turned his attention to the girl who he assumed was a maid or something. “Yeah?”

 

“You're called for downstairs.”

 

Damn impatient bastard-of-a-brother. “Yeah, I know. I'm decided to be fashionably late. How'm I doing so far?”

 

The girl colored. “Well. . . uh, your twenty minutes late?”

 

Inuyasha nodded. “Then I think I'll walk around for a few moments. Thanks for telling me, though, I guess.”

 

She bowed - still flushed - before hurriedly making a departure mumbling a farewell.

 

True to his word, he spent several more minutes - nine to be exact - wandering around, letting flashbacks flood his mind as he walked through old rooms and halls. It took him another five to descend the stairs and yet another ten to finally run into his brother.

 

“Little brother.” Golden eyes narrowed.

 

“Bastard,” Inuyasha amiably greeted in turn.

 

“Long time no see. You're finally out of the loony bin, I understand.”

 

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “No, I'm still there. This is just a hallucination you're talking to. No biggie though.”

 

Sesshoumaru was not amused. “I see you have managed to retain your humor as well.”

 

Inuyasha shrugged. “I see you've also managed to keep your severe case of bastard-idos.”

 

The other shook his head. “And it did nothing to improve your intelligence level or vocabulary. Just what good did it do to you?”

 

“Keh. Rot in hell. What did you want to talk about?”

 

“Ah. I'm not the one who wishes to speak with you- - -”

 

“O-em-geeeeee!” a new voice squealed. “It's true; it's true! Fluffy-kins wasn't lying! Inu-Chan has returned!”

 

And then Inuyasha was flat on his back as he was glomped by an overly-hyper blur.

 

Inuyasha managed to keep back a smirk when he saw how comically appalled Sesshoumaru looked. Yes, he managed to repress the smirk - barely. “What's the matter, Fluffy-kins?” Inuyasha asked as he sat up, overly-hyper blur still firmly attached to his neck, much resembling a leech.

 

Sesshoumaru flicked his brother a look that expressed just how much the comment was appreciated before turning his attention to the leech on Inuyasha's neck. “Rin, I think my darling brother needs to breath.”

 

“Fluffinator, shut up. Rin hasn't seen him in sooooo long! Rin was starting to think that he was gone forever. This is a moment to report in history text books: Inu-chan returns to his family.” Rin squealed again. “Rin was starting to think that Inu-chan was gone forever!”

 

Inuyasha couldn't resist the urge to chuckle - all the while wondering how his bastard-of-a-brother managed to find such a hyper-active lover. The two were as different as night and day, really. “And Rin has decided to go back to talking in third person, I see,” he commented with a grin.

 

Rin pouted before leaning back - Inuyasha's neck heaved a huge sigh of relief and took several hungry gulps of air - and answering. “I was just so excited to see you, you jerk.” Really, the only time she ever spoke in third person was when she was speaking purely through emotions or was overly-excited. “Geez,” she continued, rolling her eyes, “now I know why you really don't have a girlfriend. It's not cuz you don't want one - it's cuz you can't find anyone who would put up with your attitude!”

 

 

Inuyasha chuckled heartily and before he could bite it back, replied, “Actually, I hate to burst your bubble, but I do have a girlfriend now.” Almost immediately afterwards, a little chibi-fied, virtual Inuyasha started to bash its head against a very hard brick wall, moaning and cursing out his stupidity at the same time.

 

In the real world, where the real, un-chibi-fied Inuyasha stood, there was absolute silence. Even Sesshoumaru looked slightly taken aback - though it was slightly hard to tell since he still wore a mask of cool indifference. But his usually squinted-into-a-glare-of-promised-doom eyes had widened ever so slightly. That was scary enough.

 

Rin just looked downright comical. Her mouth was opened so wide that Inuyasha was tempted to tease her and tell her that she looked like she was hunting for flies. Her eyes were also wide, but unlike Sesshoumaru, they were so wide that it almost seemed like her eyeballs themselves would just roll right out of their sockets.

 

And finally, it was Sesshoumaru who interrupted the concert that the crickets were holding. A fine brow rose as he slowly asked, “You went into a loony bin and picked up a girlfriend?”

 

“Girlfriend!” Rin squealed.

 

“Is she- - -” Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he thought of the right word. “- - -disturbed? In any way possible?”

 

Rin let out an indignant squawk at her Fluffy-kins' word choice and Inuyasha growled. “Bastard,” he ground out, attempting to keep his temper. “She is in no way a loony tune. Do not talk about her again like that if you like having teeth in your mouth.”

 

Sesshoumaru regarded his brother for a long moment before nodding. “You're protective. That's a step in the right direction. Now, when do you plan on proposing?”

 

“Proposing?” Inuyasha spluttered, not sure what else to say. Surely the bastard wasn't talking about- - -?

 

But, oh, he was.

 

Sesshoumaru nodded. “Women liked to be wooed. Keep that in mind as you think it out. And surprise her. Also, humans are fond of this thing - weddings - so be sure to give her a ring.”

 

“Wedding?”

 

And that time, it was not Inuyasha who had spoken.

 

“My son, I was told that you had found a potential mate, but I did not know that you were. . . quite so serious about her.”

 

Virtual-chibi Inuyasha went back to his brick wall and started chanting profanities.

 

The real Inuyasha shot his oh-so adorable brother a smoldering look before addressing the newcomer. “Father- - -”

 

Inutaisho grinned, golden eyes full of mirth. “I assume you will make plans for her to meet your family, of course.”

 

Another smoldering look to the lovable bastard. “See, that's the thing- - -”

 

Inutaisho held up a hand. “I know that we're all excited about this new development, but there are problems that must be addressed. Inuyasha, come. Your mother is waiting in my office. We need to sit down and discuss a few things.”

 

Inuyasha shook his head at himself and decided that he would clear the air on his. . . marriage to Kagome later. He nodded a farewell at Rin - and was slightly confused when he saw that her eyes had glazed over and she was frowning. As he passed Sesshoumaru, he did his best to discreetly stomp down on one of the bastard's feet, but the older male had an almost feminine elegance and he easily dodged Inuyasha's attempts.

 

So Inuyasha entered his father's office looking fit to kill something.

 

“Sweetie, what's wrong?” Izayoi gently asked, her smooth voice easily carrying over to him despite the distance between them.

 

Her adorable son crossed his arms in a very mature way as he continued to trek across the room and plopped down in his favorite leather couch. “Nothin', mum.” He inwardly cringed at the old endearment. He had called her such all through his childhood and force of habit had him calling her mum even to this moment.

 

“Your mother and I have some. . . things to talk to you about, Inuyasha,” his father informed him as he took a seat next to Izayoi.

 

“I'm listenin',” Inuyasha replied.

 

“First of all, there's something we have to. . .” His father drifted off and clasped his hands together before placing his elbows on the desk in front of him. Inuyasha had to quirk a brow at that. It wasn't often that his father didn't finish a sentence. In fact, this was a first.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I think I should be the one to tell you this,” Izayoi said in her soft voice. “It's. . . well. . . Inuyasha, you have to understand something before I tell you this.”

 

His golden eyes slowly traveled between his mother and father a few times before settling on Izayoi again. “Is it really that bad that you can't spit it out?” he slowly asked, slightly unnerved. His parents had always been upfront and blunt with him. Always.

 

“The center you were at, I run it.”

 

Inuyasha remained silent, his eyes narrowing at his mother as he waited for her to continue.

 

“Kaede is an old friend of the family and I - we - set it up so that it would be Miroku acting as your personal nurse.” Izayoi paused to glance at her mate before continuing, “Kouga and Naraku - well, mostly Kouga - were put in with you to help you feel more comfortable. Naraku's mental stability was being questioned, so he was enrolled for his sake as well as yours. We were. . . afraid, I guess you could say. After the whole mess with Kikyou and MenouMaru, we figured we couldn't be too safe with you. You were. . .” Izayoi drifted off and shook her head slowly, trying to find the right words. “You were just so lost. You cut yourself off from the world - you wouldn't even talk to Rin, and you two had always been extremely close. We were scared you really would lose yourself to your depression. You understand why we did this, don't you?”

 

Izayoi eyes, which had been trained somewhere above Inuyasha's shoulder, slowly traveled to meet her son's. When her dark eyes locked on Inuyasha's brilliant gold, her stomach lurched with nervousness and she went on without waiting for his answer.

 

“When months went by with barely any progress, I wasn't sure what to do. I was afraid that if you were let out, you would. . . do something to yourself or something. And so when I received a report on a brilliant young girl who looked eerily like Kikyou, I decided to remove Miroku from the center for a while and replace him with her - with that young Kagome. I knew it was a risk, but - I suppose that old saying properly fits the situation, doesn't it? `Make it or break it.' It was a huge risk to take with how shaky your relationship with Kikyou was at the time, but in the end, it worked out.” A relieved smile spread across Izayoi's face. “In the end, it all worked out.” She looked over at Inutaisho and repeated, “It worked out well.”

 

“Did you ever stop to think of how I would feel?”

 

Izayoi jerked at the tone Inuyasha used. She wasn't quite sure if it held animosity or not. He had looked away so she wasn't able to see his eyes and judge a reaction, either.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“Did you ever think that- - -?” He cut himself off and looked up at her with a wild fire in the depths of his amber orbs. “Did it even matter how I felt throughout the whole thing? Did my fucking feelings not matter one bit to you? Either of you?” he added, his gaze flicking over to his father momentarily.

 

“Of course it mattered!” Izayoi protested. “That's precisely why we did it! This whole thing was set up for your benefit. I did this for you, Inuyasha. I was so - I was - was so scared about what would happen if- - -”

 

“If your precious son went insane?” Inuyasha asked darkly. “That's right. What would that public think if you had a damaged son?” He spat the word `damaged' out like it was some sort of verbal poison. “Your damaged half-breed of a son.”

 

Izayoi flinched at the harsh words and weakly shook her head. He saw her open her mouth to speak further - `To make more excuses,' Inuyasha mentally added - and then he saw the carpeted floor. He blinked in confusion before realizing that he was no longer sitting on his favorite leather couch but was on all fours on the floor with a prickly hotness spreading in his cheek.

 

“Inutaisho!” Izayoi gasped.

 

And then he understood what had happened. His father had struck him. Inuyasha could only remember a handful of times that his father had ever struck him. In fact, Inuyasha only needed half a hand to count every account. This one included.

 

Slowly, he looked up to lock eyes with Inutaisho. He didn't bother saying anything - rather, couldn't say anything. He could very easily see that his father was furious.

 

“Don't,” his father said in a voice that was slightly deeper with anger, “say such blasphemy in my home. Such language is not to ever be used.”

 

Numbly, Inuyasha realized that his father was angry at the fact that he had called himself a damaged half-breed. Inuyasha pushed himself up so that he was sitting on his haunches and still said nothing.

 

“Like it or not, believe it or not, take it as you will, we did do this for your benefit. Am I wrong when I say that you have found a potential mate?” Inutaisho slowly crossed his arms and Inuyasha closed his eyes.

 

`Kagome.' Her name even sounded sweet, especially after not being in her presence for almost twenty-four hours.

 

`Why are you getting so upset about this?' his youkai asked. `We did benefit greatly from this experience. If they hadn't put us in that crazy funky farm then we wouldn't have met her, now would we?'

 

The words of his distastefully wise youkai were one hundred percent true - not that he would ever tell the stupid thing that - but, still. . .

 

`They didn't have to lie to me.'

 

`They didn't lie to you!' his youkai scoffed. `Had they told you from the beginning what their plan was, I highly doubt that you would've gone along with it, am I right? Of course I'm right, why am I even bothering to ask you?'

 

Inuyasha gave an exasperated sigh. Sometimes he really wished that he could clobber the damn voice. . .

 

`Wait - he said mate.'

 

His youkai seemed taken aback. `You haven't figured that out yet? You think we go around kissing everything with breasts?'

 

`No, but- - -'

 

`For my sake! For once in your life just agree with me! I'm always right! If I say that the wench is our soul mate, then the wench is our soul mate!'

 

Inuyasha scoffed at that.

 

“Well?” Inutaisho asked, snapping him away from his mental argument.

 

“I suppose,” Inuyasha grumbled somewhat bitterly. With that, he rose to his feet and made his way to the exit, still frustrated at his parents and youkai voice for ganging up on him.

 

“Wait, Inuyasha- - -” he heard his mother call but his father interrupted her.

 

“Let him go. He needs to calm down before we discuss anything further.”

 

`Calm down, indeed,' he mentally huffed and ripped the door open. He blinked in surprise when Rin was on the other side of it. She squeaked and nearly fell over backwards before gaining her equilibrium and looking up at him innocently. “I- I wasn't eavesdropping!”

 

Inuyasha couldn't keep the chuckle in if he tried. Shutting the door behind him, he shook his head. “It doesn't matter anyway,” he replied. He was slightly taken aback at how softly he spoke. He was pissed, dammit. And he was supposed to sound ready to rip something to shreds.

 

He decided that it didn't matter if he sounded angry or not and took a step in the direction of his room. Inuyasha nearly stumbled when something latched onto his arm.

 

“Rin was against it, you know.”

 

His golden eyes widened before he slowly turned his head to look at her. Rin had grabbed a hold of him with both of her arms and buried her face in the material of his shirt.

 

“Rin was against it the whole time,” she continued, tightening her hold on him. “Rin never wanted Inuyasha to leave. Even Fluffy was slightly put off by the idea of it. Rin. . . Rin never wanted to hurt Inuyasha.”

 

She sniffled and with a small inward panic realized that she was ready to cry. Inuyasha chuckled and ruffled her hair with his free hand. “Eh, it's alright, Rin. Really, it is. I don't care anymore.”

 

Rin looked up at him skeptically.

 

“Really,” he assured, slipping his arm out of her grasp. “I'm A-okay now.”

 

Rin's dark, chocolate-colored eyes squinted as she observed him before she grinned brilliantly. “If you say so!” she chirped. “Well, Fluffy-kins is probably wondering where I am. Ciao!”

 

A small smile stole over Inuyasha's lips as he watched her skip off. She was a little like Kagome.

 

`Kagome. . . I wonder if she got my present yet.'

 

He sighed gloomily before trudging off in the direction of his room.

 

Geez, he missed that wench.

 

*

 

*

 

The streets were slightly busy between the hours of one and three. She didn't know that. Really, she didn't. She thought that the streets were only overly crowded at rush hour more towards dinner time when everyone was rushing home after work. But she had never had much free time so early in the afternoon, so she had never known that the streets were cramped at this time of day. Otherwise she would've stayed at home or something.

 

She should've been at work, but Kagome found it near impossible to go in today. Kaede had continually insisted on having today off since she had worked a week straight so diligently, even going so far as to spend the night with her patient, being Inuyasha.

 

Kagome decided she didn't want to know how Kaede found out about that one.

 

Mayu had been given to Miroku to look after her for the day and Kaede had smiled and promised Kagome that the doors were not open to her today and that Kaede would call the cops and report her for trespassing if she even came near the building.

 

Awesome boss, no?

 

So Kagome had accepted the time off but found her apartment to be too cramped despite the fact that it was quite roomy. Apart from that, she felt restless. With nothing to do, her mind freely wandered back to Inuyasha. And that just left her feeling mopey. So she had decided that the only thing left to do was to wander around town until she was exhausted enough to go home and take a nap or something.

 

And speaking of Inuyasha- - -

 

Kagome's brow furrowed as her hand slipped into her pocket to tightly grasp the small trinket he had dropped in her pocket. When he had left the center with his mother, she had felt his hand briefly slip into her pocket. Almost immediately after her. . . elegant breakdown had ended, she had dove into her pocket to see what he had left her as a parting gift.

 

Now, more than a day later, she pulled it out again to inspect it.

 

It was a small golden locket. A heart-shaped locket. Her nose crinkled in amusement at the fact that it was shaped like a heart.

 

`Corny-much, Inuyasha?' she mused to herself, smiling sadly.

 

She hooked her fingernails into the grooves along the heart pendant and popped it open to look inside. On either side of the heart, there was a small space big enough for a small picture to fit in. On the left side of the heart was a small picture of Inuyasha. However, instead of smiling at the camera, he looked like he was in the middle of snapping some order or command at the photographer who took the shot.

 

`That's so Inuyasha,' she thought as her chin trembled slightly. Kagome bit her lip harshly. She wasn't going to cry. She was not going to cry. She had cried over it. Boo-hoo, Inuyasha was gone and she was never going to see him again- - -

 

She barely suppressed a sob.

 

`I said I wasn't going to cry!' she snapped to herself.

 

Kagome took a deep breath to steady herself before letting it out in a sigh and continuing down the sidewalk at a brisk pace. So what if she was in love with Inuyasha? So what if she was most likely never going to see him again? So what if she felt like something was eating her heart from the inside out? It didn't really matter. Who really cared about poor little Kagome- - -

 

- - -Yes, hello to you, too, Sango- - -

 

- - -anyway? It's not like Kagome would've had a chance in hell at winning Inuyasha's heart. He was famous and- - -

 

- - -and hold the phone. Rewind and freeze. Hello to you, too, Sango? Kagome backpedaled until she was standing in front of the window of a small cafe. And there, sitting in one of the booths, dressed in a deep green tank-top and dark blue jeans, was non other than Sango. She covered her mouth and laughed at something, leaning forward slightly. Kagome's eyebrows knitted. What had been so funny- - -?

 

- - -Oh, hello, Miroku. Top of the morning to you. How are you on this fine day?

 

`Alright, lemme get this one straight,' Kagome told herself as she stared at the happy twosome. `I was told by my boss that I wasn't allowed to go to work today, I'm not permitted anywhere near the man I love, and now two of my co-workers are together? Wow, I need an Advil. This is enough to give anyone a headache.'

 

`You said it, sister.'

 

`Oh, yeah,' Kagome added. `I also have another voice in my head talking to me at random intervals of the day claiming to be some sort of conscience. And people thought Inuyasha was crazy?'

 

Kagome continued to watch the interaction between Sango and Miroku, far too fascinated to look away, for several long minutes. Under any other circumstances, she would've called the hook-up impossible. Miroku was too much of a pervert to settle with one woman and Sango was always annoyed with the hentai's lecherous personality to give him a second glance. But seeing them sitting so close together, they looked like they almost belonged with the other - like they completed one another or some corny cheese like that.

 

Miroku leaned forward over the table between him and Sango and said something most probably perverted due to the fact that Sango's face grew ten shades redder and she gave her - boyfriend? Lover? - a reproachful look. But Miroku's lips moved again, making up for whatever he had said before, and Sango smiled gently before she also leaned over the table slightly. Miroku moved forward even more and the space between the couple slowly grew smaller. Sango's eyes fluttered before shutting.

 

Blushing hotly, Kagome whirled. That was plenty enough for her to witness. Sure, she was happy for them, but there was no way she was about to witness a make-out session - the first make-out session, maybe?

 

Kagome sighed as her mind traveled back in time and she remembered the first time she had kisses Inuyasha. Or he had kissed her, technically. It had been right after he freaked at Sango and he had been a mite upset. She was sure he had acted on impulse, but. . . Just remembering the electrical sensation that had flooded the skin of her lips was enough for her fingers to idly travel up to her lips.

 

Her other hand slipped into her pocket and curled into a fist around the small locket he had given her. She pulled the necklace out and opened it again for the 9th time and looked at the small picture inside of it. Inuyasha's expression was a priceless one, indeed. Only he could look so adorable while looking so angry and miffed. The crease in the middle of the photo didn't do anything to take away from the quality of the picture at all. And even the small bulge- - -

 

`Wait. . . bulge?' Kagome brought the locket closer to her face so she could get a better look and saw that, indeed, there was a bulge in the picture. She blinked in surprise. `Is there something behind it?' Curious, her short finger nails started scraping over the metal frame of the locket. It jerked open and the small portrait came loose. She peeled it out saw that there was a small slip of folded paper crammed in the workings of the heart shaped pendant.

 

`What the. . .?'

 

Kagome pulled the slip of paper out of the locket and slowly unfolded it. The entire piece of paper was incredibly small and in small, slanted writing was a short message that had her heart skip a beat:

 

I expect this back.

 

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she pocketed the pendant but kept the note between her fingers.

 

`Looks like my day is looking up after all.'

 

*

 

*

 

It was a frog. It had to be. Or maybe a toad. . .

 

Nah. Definitely a frog. Although she had to admit that it was certainly disconcerting to think that there was a human-sized frog-man.

 

“Well, what can I do for you, little girl?” the toad-man asked in a high-pitched, squeaky voice.

 

Kagome nearly burst out laughing. “I need to see Inuyasha,” she managed to choke out behind a hand.

 

Jaken, the tag on his shoulder screamed at the world in bright orange letters. Who hired a frog-man named Jaken for a security guard? Just…. just no. It didn't work. No one was going to take the man seriously.

 

The man - Kagome swore his skin was green, like that Elphaba girl from the comical musical WICKED! - narrowed his eyes and squeaked, “I am not permitted to let anyone in. You included, young miss.”

 

Kagome let out a strangled snort of laughter as she tried to keep a straight face. Jaken, the epitome of gay. Who named their child Jaken, seriously? What mother was that cruel?

 

Wait. . . was his mother and father also toad-people?

 

“I'm sorry to intrude, but. . . Inuyasha dropped something and I need to give it back.”

 

Jaken's slanted eyes narrowed at her. “I've heard that excuse many of times, sister. Move along now. No one is allowed in unless they're expected. And there was only one person who was permitted a visit today and you are not him.”

 

Kagome pulled the locket from her pocket and popped it open so that he could see the picture inside of Inuyasha. “I'm not kidding. See? He dropped this and I need to give it back.”

 

Jaken waved the pendent away like an annoying fly. “It's nice to know that you have a picture of the young Inuyasha, but I highly doubt he would own such a thing. He doesn't have any girlfriends and he's not a gay man. . . At least, I don't think so. . .” he added as an afterthought.

 

Kagome let out a small sigh of frustration. “It really is his!”

 

The green man glowered at her, losing his patience. “Look, if it's really his then give it to me and I'll be sure to tell him about it later on.”

 

“No!” she exclaimed. “Because I also need to speak with him! Please?”

 

Jaken sighed and was about to reply when the large, porcelain gates shuddered. He stood erect in his small booth as the gates slowly opened. Kagome turned to see who was coming out curiously.

 

“Jaken,” a cool voice said.

 

“Yes, sir,” Jaken replied.

 

Kagome raised a brow at the man. He definitely looked like he had lost his way and was trying to get back to the circus, she had to say. His long hair was a lime-green color with hints of white. He was cold and his expression was completely stoic. He was dressed in an unusual outfit. Kagome resisted the urge to direct him back to the nearest circus.

 

“Good afternoon,” she greeted politely.

 

The man's attention snapped to her and his cold eyes flicked over her for a second. “And who's this?” Even his tone was unemotional.

 

Kagome opened her mouth to reply but found that for some reason she couldn't find her voice.

 

A slender brow rose on the man's forehead. “Are you mute now? Well, no matter. You didn't look bright to begin with.” He looked over at Jaken for a second, nodded, and looked back at Kagome again. “While I may not be too fond of Inuyasha at the moment, I know how annoying it is for hookers to hang around. So just leave, I can vouch for him when I say he's not interested.”

 

Kagome's cheeks turned an indignant pink at that and she let out a small squawk. The man didn't wait around to see how she would reply, but instead continued walking past her.

 

She ground her teeth to keep her patience before turning her attention back to Jaken. He squeaked at her murderous look. “I. Want. To see. Inuyasha,” she growled.

 

“I- I'm sorry, but he was the only one allowed in today- - -”

 

Kagome closed her eyes briefly to keep her temper in check before turning and walking away.

 

Plan B time.

 

*

 

*

 

Jaken blinked in confusion. “I'm sorry, I thought we just ordered our monthly ramen three days ago.”

 

The brunette woman let out a high, shrill laugh. “Oh, you are mistaken. This is the finest ramen in the lands. Inuyasha is sure to love it even more than his usual order!”

 

Jaken was unsure of that, but. . .

 

“You said it's a new product?” he asked.

 

The short-haired woman nodded. “Oh, yes! This was just made yesterday. It's the newest, best pro- - -” The woman swung an arm and with the momentum, her head snapped to the right with a jerk.

 

And just like that, Jaken found his eyes were covered with something.

 

“Help! Help! I can't see!” he cried, flailing his arms. When the thing finally fell down due to gravity, he blinked at it. “. . . It's a wig. . .?”

 

He looked up and blinked. “She's gone?”

 

Around the corner, Kagome was clutching her chest. “Geez, that was too close. . .”

 

Plan C, anyone?

 

*

 

*

 

Jaken wasn't sold. . .

 

“Are you sure?” he squeaked.

 

“Ho, ho! Yes, I am!” the young man proclaimed in an obviously fake low voice. Not that Jaken picked up on that, oh no!

 

“Hmm. . . but I'm sure that Miss Izayoi would've announced if we were expecting a doctor today. . . And aren't you a little young?”

 

“Oh no! Not at all my young friend. I am the genius of my class. I graduated from high school early. I am Mr. Tatsuya Mistu- - -” The young man went to take a bow and his hat flipped off, allowing long raven locks to be released.

 

“Hey!” Jaken cried.

 

Kagome winced before straightening back up. “Um. . .”

 

“Don't make me call security!” the frog-man squealed.

 

“O- Oh look!” Kagome cried, pointing at the sky away from the mansion. “A distraction!”

 

“Where?” Jaken cried excitedly. “I don't see it. Where is it? That airplane? Where!?”

Kagome didn't answer right away. Instead she grabbed a hold of the iron gate and started climbing it. When she was half-way up, she called down, “It's there alright. You're just not looking hard enough.”

 

“I see it!” he proclaimed proudly. “I see it- - - Oh, wait. That's another airplane. Where did you say it was- - -?” Jaken turned to look for Kagome and blinked when she wasn't there.

 

“It's there!” he heard her call from above.

 

Above?!

 

Jaken leaned out of the booth and squawked. “What are you doing?! Get down! Get down I say! Down, down, down this instant!”

 

Kagome pulled herself over the top and quickly started climbing down. “I'm sorry, I can't. I need to speak to Inuyasha,” she replied.

 

“No! No, no, no, no, no, no! I cannot allow you to go in!” Jaken pushed a button and the gates groaned as they started to move. Kagome squeaked in surprise before jumping down. Her feet hit the ground with a thud and the gates started to swing inwards. Jaken was running out of his booth to chase after her.

So she turned and started sprinting towards the front entrance.

 

“Wait! Wait! Wait, I said! You there - stop!” Jaken screeched from behind her.

 

`Yeah, sure, toad-boy. I'm going to stop so that you can call security,' she thought to herself as she continued towards the front door. Seriously, how intelligent were people anymore?

 

Her feet worked double time as she climbed the short flight of stairs and she didn't have time to slow down when she reached the top so she smashed right into the door.

 

Kagome groaned before peeling herself off of the slab of wood. Blindly, she groped for the door knob.

 

“Stop right there! Don't go any further! I'm calling security and they'll kick you out!” Jaken was much closer this time. In fact, he was halfway up the stairs. Kagome's fingers finally grabbed a firm grip of the handle and she yanked the door open.

 

“Stop!” Jaken shrieked desperately as he jumped the last stair. Kagome paid no heed to him, however, and slipped inside before slamming the door shut behind her right in Jaken's face.

 

She leaned back against it, making sure to lock it, and heaved a sigh of relief. “That was an adventure and a half,” she panted.

 

“Yes, it was quite the adventure indeed,” someone agreed with her.

 

Kagome jumped, yelped, and whirled to face the newcomer. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw just who it was. “Inu. . . yasha?” she murmured hesitantly.

 

“I'm quite hurt that you would so easily confuse me with my idiotic little brother,” he said. “And who might you be? I thought that we weren't expecting any other guests today besides MenouMaru.”

 

Surprised, Kagome belted, “That was MenouMaru?!”

 

The silver-haired male nodded. “Yes, that was MenouMaru that you saw earlier. I hope he didn't do anything to hurt you. He has quite a temper, though.”

 

Kagome shook her head. “No. No, I'm fine. Anyway, where are my manners? I'm Kagome Higurashi.”

 

“Sesshoumaru Takahasha,” the other replied smoothly.

 

Later, Kagome would duck her head in shame and slap her forehead at her stupidity. Instead of saying anything intelligent like she had originally planned, her eyes widened and her mouth made a small o before she exclaimed, “So you're the bastard!”

----------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------

 

Woo. And there you have it. Fluffy is among us at last. ^_^ The rest of the chapters to this are going to be a little longer, like this one was. About 14- 18 pages on Microsoft Word, to be exact. Oh, I've done an outline and I now know exactly how many chapters there are going to be and everything!

 

Alsooooooo, I have assigned update dates. Exciting, no? You'll finally know when to expect a new chapter and they'll come much more often. The next update date is:

 

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

 

EDIT: I forgot to add: “sumimasen” is roughly translated as “excuse me.”

 

Ja ne!

 

(E/N: I am sorry about my internet!!! It was edited on Easter, too. I was so mad!!! I edited this at 1:20 A.M.,so be happy! Don't you just love this chapter?I do,it makes me happy. I have some major news for you all.

 

I AM GOING TO JAPAN!!! Yes I know I'll put the pictures on a website when I get them. I'm going in June so you have a while to wait but that's okay.

 

So please review for us!!! We need all the praise we can get from normal people `cause everyone we know callsus insane!!!)