InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love Remains ❯ Ch. 5: Conversations With The Dead & Further Celebrations ( Chapter 6 )

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

~*A/N: Pocky! While xmas shopping today, I took a small detour to Suncoast's anime and manga section, to discover box upon box of these delicious little sticks. No more internet ordering necessary, pocky lovers! Anyway, onto the next chapter. Enjoy!*~

DISCLAIMER: *curled up in a ball, rocking* I don't own it... I don't own it... *men in white coats barge into room* No! I have to write... My computer!

Japanese translations:
hentai: pervert
irokichigai: sex maniac
koi: love
ototo: younger brother


Chapter 5: Conversations With The Dead and Further Celebrations

Inu-Yasha stood on his patio, dumping a bag of charcoal into the grill. After dousing it with lighter fluid, he threw a lit match, a fireball shooting into the air. "Inu-Yasha!" Miroku called from behind him, causing him to turn.

"Well, if anyone didn't know where you lived, they would be able to find their way now," Sango giggled, holding Miroku's hand.

"Ice?" Miroku asked, holding up a bag.

"Hai, arigatou," Inu-Yasha reached for it, placing it in the cooler next to him.

"What was the deal with the fireworks a minute ago?" Hiten asked, walking up with his latest girlfriend, Aki. The girl stood there quietly, blushing at the ground.

"Just firing up the grill," Inu-Yasha smirked.

"Is that what you call it?" a female voice came from around the corner. Seconds later, Kirara, one of Inu-Yasha's oldest friends, came around the corner, her boyfriend, Shippo, behind her.

Inu-Yasha responded by sticking his tongue out at her. "Anyone want a drink?"

"Beer," Miroku said. "And Sango'll take a wine cooler."

"Beer's fine by me," said Kirara, sitting at the picnic table.

"You know I don't drink," Shippo spoke when Inu-Yasha turned to him, holding up the bottle of water he brought with him.

"Sorry, forgot. How 'bout you two?" Inu-Yasha turned to Hiten and Aki.

"A beer will be fine," Hiten said, and Aki just nodded.

Inu-Yasha shrugged, 'She sure is quiet,' as he turned to retrieve their drinks from the cooler.

"So, Yash, I'm assuming you have grilled before," Sango asked warily.

"Ano... actually, I never have," Inu-Yasha scratched the back of his head, laughing uncomfortably.

Sango sighed, "Then I'll do it."

"Arigatou, Sango-chan."

"Oh, isn't my Sango just amazing?" Miroku asked no one in particular. The group just eyed him warily.

"So, Shippo," Inu-Yasha attempted to change the subject, "how's little Hikage doing? You guys find a babysitter okay?" Shippo and Kirara had a two-year-old son, and were planning to be married... eventually.

"Hai, Kirara's parents have her for the weekend. Something about a church festival, and us needing 'quality time' together," Shippo shrugged, taking a sip of his water.

Kirara walked up, wrinkling her nose, "They're so weird sometimes, really. Kaasan mentioned something about giving Hikage an ototo or imoto... she's not so subtle with her hints these days."

Shippo's eyebrows were now hidden by messy red bangs. "NANI?!" he said, turning to Kirara, gaping.

Kirara merely shrugged in response, drinking her beer. Inu-Yasha chuckled, patting his friend's shoulder. "Yash! Where's the meat?" Miroku drew his attention.

"In the fridge, I'll go get it." Seconds later, Miroku took the tray from Inu-Yasha's hands, carrying it to Sango, who stood over the grill. Inu-Yasha turned to talk to Hiten and Aki, who had been silently sitting to the side.

"HENTAI!" A resounding "smack" hung in the now still air. "Not in public, you irokichigai!"

"Sango, koi, I just can't help it. Whenever I get near you..." Miroku was stopped mid-sentence as Inu-Yasha grabbed him by the back of his shirt, pulling him away. Sango turned back to the grill, her face red with anger.

"Baka, when will you ever learn?" Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes at his friend, releasing him.

"Yash, have you ever taken a good look at Sango's..." Inu-Yasha raised a hand to cut him off.

"I REALLY don't want to hear about Sango's ANYTHING." Miroku crossed his arms in a pout. A faint giggling came from Aki. Everyone gaped at the girl, who had been silent up until that point.

"Your friends are a little weird," she said to Hiten in a stage whisper.

"Hai. That's why we all get along so well," Hiten wrapped an arm around her shoulders, smirking at his friends' shocked faces.

"What's that smell?" Kirara asked, sniffing the air. The group was all pulled out of their stupor, trying to identify the smell in the air.

"Kami-sama! The burgers!" came Sango's cry, as she turned around to quickly flip the burgers. "Yash, they're almost done. You might want to get the other stuff."

After enlisting Shippo and Miroku's aid, all of the food was laid on the picnic table. "Dig in, minna!" Hands shot out, grabbing plates and filling them with food. A hush fell over the group as they all munched happily.

"So, Yash, how's it feel to be twenty-one?" Miroku asked between bites.

"Yuuryou. Although I don't know how long I can keep this pace up," Inu-Yasha replied, taking another bite.

"What did you end up doing yesterday, anyways? I tried calling, but I only got your machine?"

"I... ano... I visited... Kikyo," the last word was hardly a whisper.

"Oh." The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, and Inu-Yasha pondered on the day before. The day had been sunny and warm, a gentle breeze had ruffled Inu-Yasha's hair as he kneeled at her grave. He had laid a bouquet of wildflowers on her headstone, and spoken to her for hours. The tears had flowed freely, and he held nothing back. He told her everything he had been too afraid to say in life. On the drive home, he had felt peaceful.

"So, Yash, ready to open your presents?" Shippo asked, pulling his friend from his reverie.

"Did you say 'presents'?" Inu-Yasha smirked, tossing the forgotten burger aside and standing up.

"Open mine first!" Miroku handed him a package, an evil glint in his eye.

"Do I want to?" Inu-Yasha eyed the package suspiciously, quirking an eyebrow at his friend's eagerness.

"It's perfectly safe, chigiri. It's from both of us," Sango smiled at him. Reassured, Inu-Yasha tore into the paper, and opened the box. He pulled out another, smaller box, and a picture frame. Suspended in the frame was a block of glass, which rotated on a wire, so that two pictures could be displayed. One side held a picture of Inu-Yasha and Miroku, taken at a bonfire party the summer before. The other side was a picture of Miroku holding Sango in front of him, Inu-Yasha next to him, holding Kikyo. A lump caught in his throat at the memory, his fingers idly brushing across her image. "I don't remember that other box," Sango's voice caught his attention, and he hastily set the frame aside.

"You don't? I'm sure you do," Miroku subtly winked at his girlfriend, but she crossed her arms and examined him carefully. Despite his suspicions, Inu-Yasha opened the box, and produced... a sucker. Miroku and Hiten immediately collapsed into peals of laughter, and Inu-Yasha glared at them.

"Is that... are those... breasts?" Shippo asked, leaning over Inu-Yasha's shoulder to closer examine the candy.

"Hai," Inu-Yasha grunted, still glaring at the laughing heap that was once Miroku and Hiten.

"Tag, you're it!" Hiten choked out between fits of laughter.

Sango tilted her head to the side, a puzzled look on her face. "Inu-Yasha, why would my boyfriend be giving you a sucker in the shape of a woman's breasts? And why does Hiten find this so amusing?"

Inu-Yasha set down the sucker, softening his expression as he turned to the girl. "A year or so ago, the three of us were driving aimlessly, and decided to stop at the porn shop. Miroku wanted to get a new pipe. Hiten couldn't find his I.D., so the guy wouldn't let him in. He waited while Miroku and I looked around. We must have been in there for a while, because Hiten called Miroku's cell phone, wondering what was taking so long."

"So, I decided," Miroku had regained his composure, and stood next to Inu-Yasha, placing a hand on his shoulder, "to buy something as a consolation prize for our unfortunate friend." A thoughtful hand went to his chin, "I never did get that pipe. Oh, well. Hiten was not amused, to say the least."

"Then," Hiten came up, also now under control, mimicing Miroku's earlier movements, "I wrapped it up and gave it to Miroku for his birthday. The look on his face was enough to make Yash and I crack up. So, Miroku and I decided it was Yash's turn."

Inu-Yasha growled at them, and they quickly took their hands from his shoulders. Sango giggled, and Shippo and Kirara gave into all-out laughing fits. Even Aki let a giggle slip past her lips. Inu-Yasha sighed, shaking his head. 'Hai, my friends are definitely weird. But I wouldn't trade them for the world.' He then tackled Miroku and Hiten, and they wrestled as the sun went down, smoke from the grill circling lazily into the sky.


~*A/N: So there's a light and fun chappy for y'all. I was going to split up the two days, but I figured you were all sick of depressing chapters, and, quite frankly, so am I. So, go to Suncoast and buy pocky! Did I mention that I love pocky? Hmm... *wanders off, munching pocky* Happy Thanksgiving! Ja ne, minna!*~