InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Okaeri Nasai, Welcome Home ❯ Skittles and Marshmallows ( Chapter 11 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

::authoress comes out onto stage and bows very, very low::

I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry ^^;; I know, I know. . . I haven't updated in two months, but fear not! For here is yet another happy chapter of Okaeri Nasai.

And this is a gift for all of you wonderful, wonderful reviewers who haven't forgotten about this happy little tale—

And now, as I have nothing else to say—

Okaeri Nasai

Chapter Eleven—Skittles and Marshmallows

—Naraku's Castle—

Naraku watched Kanna's mirror, eyes expressionless, as Koroshiya turned one of the strange girls into a cat. Suddenly he smiled.

“I suppose those girls are not truly that powerful,” he said to himself, “for them to fall victim to that fool Koroshiya.”

“You sent the Beast Tamer to deal with some little girls?” Naraku's eyes flicked to Kagura, who was fanning herself casually from the doorway. “Aren't you putting an awful lot of effort into these three?”

“You underestimate your opponent, Kagura,” Naraku said. “It is a foolish mistake.”

Kagura allowed herself a smile. They must have come close to beating him if he's so on edge. . . I wonder, how badly was he embarrassed in front of Inu-yasha? she thought.

“Naraku.” Kagura and Naraku turned to Kanna, who was looking down at her mirror.

Within it, Koroshiya was kneeling down, reaching for something silver . . . and then he screamed as he dissolved. A pool of acid simmered where his body had been.

Kagura closed her fan with a snap, eyes wide. “What the hell. . .”

Naraku was also stunned. Looking closely into the mirror, he stared at what Koroshiya had been reaching for . . . a ring? He leaned back, mind racing.

This is unexpected . . . whatever powers these girls possess . . . this is the first I have ever . . . what being could cause a youkai to die in such a way using such a small object?

The door to his rooms slammed open, disrupting his thoughts.

Kaguya gracefully stalked over to him. “Naraku,” she said, her tone addressing him in the same one might use if talking to a slug. “I am getting impatient. When will we put this plan of yours into action?”

Naraku snorted softly. “You are as impatient as my incarnation,” he said, flicking a glance at Kagura, who glowered.

Kaguya gritted her teeth. “How dare you put me in the same category as you and your little puppets,” she growled.

“Why you—” Kagura held her fan threateningly, but Naraku held up a hand.

“Enough,” he said. “Kaguya, your restlessness has been taken into account. However, there are several . . . recent occurrences that require my attention.”

“Ah, yes.” Kaguya brushed an invisible speck of dust from her beautiful robes. “I have heard of the strangers that have recently joined the Inu-tachi. And,” she cast a sly glance at him. “I heard a rumour that they put a few rips in that little pelt of yours.”

Naraku carefully kept his face neutral. “I wonder who would dare spread such a rumour.” He rose from the floor, staring levelly into Kaguya's eyes. “Rest assured, our plan will begin . . . in fact, in light of these events, I have decided that we will proceed immediately.”

“Have you?” Kaguya raised an eyebrow, acting bored, but Naraku knew that she was just as eager to rise to power as he was.

“Indeed.” Naraku flicked his eyes back to Kanna's mirror, at the pool of acid that was Koroshiya, and the ring that sat in the grass beside a pile of clothes.

Yes . . . he thought. It would be wise to continue quickly, before whatever force is helping those girls decides to fully reveal itself.

---

Outside of Naraku's palace, Kameko Haru sighed. She was situated on a mountainside, carefully watching the events inside the castle via her orb.

“Naraku,” she said softly. “Are you really that much of an idiot?”

Her thoughts then turned to a few minutes earlier, when that fool of a youkai Beast Tamer had touched Kat's ring. How was she supposed to help those girls if someone stole her gifts?

“And I wonder how Kat will get out this situation. . .” Kameko Haru studied the cloudy sky above for a few moments, then looked back down at her orb. It couldn't really hurt to look. . .

Bluish-silver smoke swirled for a few minutes, then cleared. Kameko Haru blinked, and then laughed.

“Oh my. . .”

---

(Back in the forest. . .)

“KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!”

“Jesus, Meg,” Akkiko said, rubbing her ear. “D'you want to attract every demon in this forest?”

“Kat's been gone for too long,” Meg snapped. “I'm getting worried.”

“Can you worry a little quieter, wench?” Inu-yasha said, hands over his ears.

They had left Sesshomaru behind in the clearing; Kat had not returned, and staying with the youkai was not conductive to finding her.

“Even if she was embarrassed as hell, she wouldn't have wandered that far,” Meg reasoned. “She gets lost too easy.”

“This from the girl who acquired her mother's sense of direction?” Akkiko muttered.

“Shut up! You're the one who went to the wrong class in Grade Seven, and had to run out halfway through!”

They glowered at each other for several minutes before sighing and continuing their search.

“Kat, where are you?” Meg called. Suddenly she tripped.

“Oy, Meg, can you get any klutzier?” Akkiko asked.

“It isn't my fault—something was in my way—“” Meg looked down and saw—

“Aw, what a cute little kitten,” Kagome said, picking it up. It was small with a long tail and ginger-colored fur. Green eyes stared reproachfully at Meg, and it sat up in Kagome's arms and hissed.

“Hey, look at that,” Akkiko said. “It has an ankh on its chest, just like Kat's necklace.”

Sure enough, there was a silver patch on the cat's chest in the shape of the Egyptian cross.

::It would be there:: Kat thought ::Can't you guys see it's me? Come on—Kat disappears, kitten randomly appears—put two and two together, you morons! I mean, how many kittens are there wandering around Feudal Japan?::

“Well, it's a cute cat,” Sango said. Kirara purred on her shoulder. “And Kirara seems to like her.”

“Yeah,” Meg said sardonically. “They can have in-depth conversations about tuna fish, maybe.”

::MEGG!!!!:: Kat hissed.

“Whoa,” Akkiko said, backing away. She had been about to pet it. “I don't think it likes me.”

“Why don't we give it a name?” Kagome said.

“Why do we need to keep it around?” Inu-yasha grumbled. “It'll just be a nuisance.”

“It's cute!” Kagome said. “And we can't just leave the poor thing on its own!”

::Like you COULD!:: Kat grumbled.

“I dunno,” Akkiko commented. “I'm more of a dog person myself . . .”

“By `dog' do you mean . . .” Miroku looked suggestively at Inu-yasha.

-WHACK!!- “I love siblings,” Akkiko grumbled.

“Why don't we call her Skittles?” Meg suggested. Everyone stared at her.

“Skittles?” Akkiko said flatly. “Why Skittles?”

“I don't know,” Meg said. “I like Skittles?”

Kagome sighed, and held the cat up. “How do you like that, kitty? Skittles the Cat.”

::MEG I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!::

Akkiko looked thoughtfully at the newly-dubbed Skittles. “It may be my imagination, but I think that cat is holding back some serious killing instinct.”

“Come on,” Meg said. “Kat obviously isn't around here. Maybe she went back to the clearing where Mr. Sunshine is . . . for some, ah, `quality time'.” Enter Meg's evil grin.

Skittles the cat sat up and hissed.

::HOW DARE SHE!!::

The group tramped back to where Sesshomaru was waiting. While they were gone, Rin and Jaken had shown up.

“Aww!!” Rin burst out when she saw Kat—or rather, Skittles. “Kitty!”

“What is that?” Sesshomaru said.

“It's called a kitten,” Meg answered coolly. “By the way, have you seen Kat?”

Sesshomaru's face did not change, nor did he seem to hear the kitsune.

“You know, the girl you like, can grow wings, et cetera . . . You're not listening.” Meg sighed.

“Oh, can I hold it, please?” Rin asked Kagome.

“Sure,” she said. “Her name is Skittles.”

::ARGH!!::

“Skittles!” Rin giggled. “It's cute!” Taking Skittles the Cat in her arms, she kissed her on the top of her head. Skittles immediately relaxed and started purring. Dammit, she did have a soft spot for this kid. . .

“She likes you,” Kagome said kindly. Rin smiled, and ran over to Sesshomaru.

“Sesshomaru-sama!” she said. “Give Skittles a kiss?”

Sesshomaru looked mildly at the cat, but did not move to aquiest.

“Oh PLEASE?” Rin turned on the puppy eyes. Sesshomaru sighed, taking Skittles from the young girl's arms.

“Yay!”

“If I didn't know better, I'd say that cat was blushing,” Akkiko mused.

Sesshomaru gave Skittles a small kiss on the forehead, and a rather large cloud of 'magic change' appeared, leaving him kissing a fur-free forehead. He did the only thing he could think of—he dropped it.

Meg, Akkiko, Inu-yasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Shippo's jaws dropped open at about the same time the form hit the ground.

The cloud was not dissolving at the rate it should, but while only her silhouette was visible, Kat wasn't an idiot.

::flashback::

Kat dropped her spear as the lightening hit her, searing her skin and causing her to cry out—then it seemed like her skin was shrinking, shrinking until it was all stretched and—

The pain stopped. Kat plopped to the floor, feeling her clothes slip off of her.

::end::

Oh. Shit.

Meg and Akkiko rushed forward. “Kagome, do you have a blanket in your backpack?” Meg called over her shoulder.

Kagome blinked; she had left her backpack and bike hidden in the bushes near where they had defeated the spiked demon. She looked at Inu-yasha, intent on having him go after it. His face was slowly turning the color of . . . his . . . clothes . . .

“Inu-yasha, take this off,” she said, pulling at the fire-rat haori. Inu-yasha flashed her an annoyed glance.

“What for?” he snapped.

“Come on,” Kagome yelled, pulling harder. “Be a gentleman!”

“Excuse me.”

Meg, Kat and Akkiko looked down at Rin, who was holding a long piece of cloth.

She smiled. “Sesshomaru-sama told me to give this to you, Kat-sama!”

All eyes travelled across the clearing to where Sesshomaru was standing; he had removed his armour and was now just wearing a plain white haori.

Kat felt herself go red again, as she put on the silk kimono. She gingerly walked across the clearing. “Um. . .” she fidgeted as she bowed to Sesshomaru's back. “Th-thank you very much, Sesshomaru-sama.”

Sesshomaru turned back slightly, meeting her eyes. He nodded, and then walked away. Rin and Jaken (who was struggling to hold all of his lord's armour) ran after him. Kat coughed as she straightened. Who had been on `magical change' tech that day? They deserved a raise.

Meg suddenly grinned evilly. “So . . . Kat . . . Betcha enjoyed that kiss . . . that is so cute—the kitty and the puppy!”

Kat went bright red. “Oh, yeah? Well, at least it's not the fox-demon and the lecherous monk!”

Meg stopped laughing and glared. The two girls were silent for a moment, and then. . .

“Skittles!”

“Bubblegum!”

“Katsup!”

“Megitos!”

“Overachiever!”

“Mom!”

Shippo looked up, blinking. “Did she just call you Mom? Does that mean that I'm related to her and Sango?”

“What? NO!!” Meg and Kat said at the same time.

“Mom? Does that mean you're not—” Miroku didn't get a chance to finish.

Meg went red. “WHAT KIND OF A GIRL DO YOU THINK I AM, YOU JERK?!” She said, pulling out her trusty frying pan. Two seconds later, Miroku was flying across the clearing.

“Stupid bitch,” Inu-yasha commented. “So, are you?”

Little flames erupted behind Meg. “OF COURSE I'M STILL A VIRGIN!!”

Kagome, sensing the impending explosion sat him.

---

Several hours later, the whole gang had returned to the well. Inu-yasha was less than happy about this.

“Kagome said that she sensed a jewel shard!” he snapped. “Why are we going in the opposite direction?!”

Meg glared at him. “Kat go around in a short little kimono like that,” she snapped back, waving at Kat, who was perched to jump into the well.

“I'll be right back,” Kat said, sweatdropping a little. “I'll just grab some clothes and we can get going.”

“Not really much point,” Miroku said. “The sun will be setting soon. We might as well start fresh in the morning.” He smiled at Kat. “You can take your time in coming back.” He sidled over to Meg. “In the mean time, I know a lovely spot where we can watch the stars, Meg-chan.”

Meg raised an eyebrow at him. “Hey, Kat, mind if I come with you?” Silence. “Kat?”

She was already gone. Meg glowered as she heard laughter come from the well, which was cut off as light shone from within.

“That little bitch,” she muttered, tweaking Miroku's nose. “Watch those hands, houshi-sama.”

Miroku laughed, scratching the back of his head; he brought the hand that had been making its way to Meg's bottom behind his back.

---

(in the modern era)

Kat had emerged from the well and was now dressed in fresh jeans and sweat shirt. After a moment's consideration, she grabbed her backpack and packed a change of clothes as well, lest anymore shape-shifting psychos decided to change her into any other variety of wildlife.

So now she was ready to return to the feudal era. She poised herself on top of the well. And she jumped.

Now, normally pretty lights were supposed to appear out of nowhere, the bottom of the well was supposed to fade into non-existence, and then re-solidify in the feudal era as she gently touched down on terra firma.

Why, then, did she land painfully at the bottom of the well, still in the modern era?!

Kat sat up, rubbing her ankle, very confused. Why hadn't it worked this time? Kameko Haru had given them all the ability to travel to and from the feudal era, so why not now . . .

Kat blinked and looked down at her hand. Her ring was gone. She gulped; it had probably fallen off when. . .

She hated demons. She really, really hated demons . . . Well, some demons . . .

Miroku had said that it was okay to stay overnight. Kat bit her lip; how long would it take them to come get her? It was already darkening outside.

And there was something else—Kameko Haru had mentioned a bond that the three girls had. That was what gave Kat her demon-esque appearance; that was what made her stronger than any average human. Even if Meg or Akkiko did help her through the well, what would happen if she didn't become a demon again? What if the ring was all that held the bond together.

This was not good.

---

(back in the feudal era, at Kaede's hut)

“I've been thinking,” Akkiko said.

“I smell smoke,” Meg grinned.

Shooting her a dirty look, Akkiko continued, “What happened before Inu-yasha got the Tetsusaiga?”

“What do you mean?” Kagome asked.

“You know, what attacks did he use?” Akkiko looked over where Inu-yasha had been coerced into splitting firewood.

“Um . . . He usually used an attack called `Iron Reader Soul Cleaver' . . . Oh! When he was fighting against Yura the first time he used an attack `Blades of Blood'.”

Meg winced as she saw the look in Akkiko's eyes.

“Sweet!” Akkiko jumped up and ran over to Inu-yasha. Grabbing his sleeve, she said, “Come on—you're going to teach me your attacks!”

Meg sighed and called, “Akkiko, I don't think that's such a good idea.”

Akkiko raised a suggestive eyebrow at her. “Aren't you supposed to be stargazing with a certain brother of mine?”

Meg blushed a little. “Maybe . . . but! I was actually just going to check on Kat.”

“Oh yeah. She hasn't come back yet.”

“Kya!” Meg and Akkiko jumped as Kagome leapt up. “I just remember I have a huge physics project due in two days!” She grabbed her backpack and started running towards the forest.

“Hey!” Inu-yasha yelled, and ran after her. “Where do you think you're going?!” Unfortunately, he forgot that Akkiko was still hanging on to his sleeve, and dragged her along with him.

Meg blinked, and sighed. Waving to Miroku, Shippo and Sango, she called, “Be right back!”

---

(in the south)

Sesshomaru paced around the clearing where he had transformed Kat with a kiss. What the hell had happened? How had she been cursed to turn into an animal? Why did he care?

“Meelord,” Jaken approached him cautiously. “I must ask, Meelord Sesshomaru, who was that girl from this afternoon? And why have we returned to this place?”

Sesshomaru was silent. “That is not your concern.” He trailed off as he smelled the air. Something burned not far from here . . . and the girl, Kat; her scent also carried off in that direction.

Sesshomaru silently made his way through the trees, followed closely by Rin and a very confused Jaken. As the burning smell became stronger, he could also sense youkai . . . dead youkai.

He entered a clearing and his eyes wandered to a pile of clothing; reaching for it he found the material to be very strange, and smelling like the girl Kat. And right beside the clothing was—

“Rin, stay back,” he said, and the girl squeaked and jumped back.

“Sesshomaru-sama, what is that?” she asked, staring at the pool of liquid that bubbled slightly and smelled of burning flesh.

He remained silent; Rin took a few hesitant steps forward, and something caught her eye. There was something shining between the pool and the clothing. “What's that, Sesshomaru-sama?” she said, pointing.

Sesshomaru looked down and picked up a ring; he felt a slight shock run up his arm and almost dropped it. What the. . .

“Rin, do not touch this,” Sesshomaru said, dropping the ring. “It is cursed.”

“Oh!” Rin said. “But, Sesshomaru-sama . . . do you think that these may belong to that girl . . . Kat?”

Jaken harrumphed. “Rin, do not bother his lord with such matters. That . . . girl is of no concern to you.” He nodded haughtily, then squawked as Sesshomaru stepped on his back.

“Come, Rin.” Sesshomaru started off once again. The ring had also smelled of the girl, but Jaken was right (for once). She was of no concern to him. She was . . . nothing?

Rin watched Sesshomaru retreat; she looked from the pool of acid and clothes to his back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Something flashed from far off and her skin tingled.

Snapping her eyes open, Rin blinked and looked down at her clenched hand. Opening it, she gasped as she saw the ring that had been on the ground seconds before. How had. . .

Without knowing why, Rin looked to her left, across the clearing. There stood a woman with long hair, golden in color, and pale skin. The child looked into the woman's deep blue eyes; the woman smiled and nodded.

Rin was silent; she nodded back. Then she turned and trotted off.

Sesshomaru stopped after a few moments; he didn't hear Rin's usual skipping or humming. Looking back, he sighed a little when he didn't see her. Jaken bumped into him, not realizing he had stopped.

“Meelor—” Jaken fell over as Sesshomaru stepped over him and doubled back. The little toad-like demon blinked and it clicked at what his master was going after. “That troublesome human,” he muttered, dusting himself off and hurrying after Sesshomaru.

---

(at the well in the feudal era)

Rin scrambled through the clearing, panting a little. She headed towards a weathered well in the centre; reaching it, she took a deep breath.

I hope Sesshomaru-sama is not too cross with me, she thought as she clambered up.

“Rin!” She blinked as she heard Jaken's cry; but she had already jumped, so it wasn't like she could answer him. But she did feel a small hand clamp onto the neck of her kimono.

Jaken held on bravely; but you and I both know that he couldn't possibly hang onto a human that was more than twice his height. Hence, he started to fall into the well after the human child.

“AUGH!! Meelord, save me!” he squawked, grabbing onto a corner of Sesshomaru's haori.

Sesshomaru blinked; why on earth had Rin come to this spot? His brother's scent was thick around here; his, and that girl Kagome he always travelled with. Both were fresh.

In any case, he knew wasn't going to be pulled into a well by a toad demon and a little girl.

He was surprised as he felt a hand on his back; he had not sensed anything or anybody approaching, and yet someone had to be there—he was even more surprised as the hand pushed him forward (with seemingly no effort), causing him to topple ungracefully into the well.

Light shone from the bottom of the well, and Kameko Haru smiled.

---

(in the modern era, at Kagome's house)

“What do you mean you lost your ring?!” Inu-yasha yelled. “That had a jewel shard in it, didn't it?”

Kat nodded, biting her lip.

Meg sighed irritably and smacked the hanyou upside the head. “It isn't her fault that it slipped off when that psycho demon turned her into a cat!” she said sharply.

Inu-yasha glared at her. “She should have realized she lost it sooner! By now, some weak little demon has already picked it up!” He growled and stomped away, fuming.

Kagome shrugged. “Not that it makes much difference; I have homework to do, so we won't be going back tonight.”

“Yeah, but. . .” Kat looked at Meg and Akkiko's rings. “Kameko Haru gave us these . . . I think they are what connect us to the past, strengthen our bonds, and give us our demon powers.”

“So now that Kat's ring is gone. . .” Akkiko blinked. “That bond may be broken.”

“Well, Kagome can sense jewel shards,” Meg said, waving her hand casually. “We'll just find Kat's ring again, and everything will be okay!”

Suddenly Inu-yasha ran back into the room. He looked more pissed off than usual. “Sesshomaru is here!”

Silence.

Kagome dropped her physics textbook with a thunk. “What?! How do you know?”

“His scent just popped up. How the hell did he—” Inu-yasha reached the door, and was just about to open it to jump into the yard, when—

“Kagome!” Meg and Akkiko yelled at the same time.

“Inu-yasha—SIT!!”

As the hanyou went down, Meg sighed. “We can't have you and that brother of yours destroying Kagome's house, you idiot!” She turned to Kat. “Go see what he wants.”

Kat flushed. “Why me?”

“Because you like him. He likes you. It works.”

“But—”

“Go get him!” Without warning, Meg pushed Kat out into the yard. There stood Sesshomaru, Rin and Jaken, all coming out of the mini-shrine. Oh lord.

“Kat-sama!” Rin said cheerfully, waving. “We found you.”

“Eh?” Kat blinked, very confused. “Rin . . . how on earth did you get here?”

“I found this!” Rin said, waving something in her hand. “It's yours, I think!”

“Mine?” As Kat approached, Rin blinked and suddenly turned shy. She turned and ran to Sesshomaru.

“You give it to her, my lord!” she said, smiling. It was in his hand before he could say a word, and Rin was hiding behind him.

Kat blinked as Sesshomaru met her gaze; she could hear snickering behind her. Sesshomaru extended his hand.

“This is yours, is it not?”

Kat looked at his hand. There was her ring. Her eyes widened. “Oh my God!” She took it and slipped it on. A tingle ran through her skin; behind her, Meg and Akkiko felt the same thing. The bond was complete once more.

Kat looked up at Sesshomaru, beaming. She bowed, saying, “Thank you so much, Sesshomaru-sama!”

Meg popped up beside her. “And now I'm sure Sesshomaru-sama would like a lovely escort home!” she said cheerfully. “Go on, Kat!”

Kat coughed a little. Ooh, see if someone doesn't find a large hairy spider in her bed tonight, she thought hotly as she turned back to the three guests. “If you'll follow me.”

Leading them into the shrine, she smiled down at Rin. “Here, take my hand,” she said. Looking at Jaken and Sesshomaru, she continued, “You'll all have to hold onto me.”

Jaken snorted. Sesshomaru glared at him, and he reluctantly held onto Kat's pant leg as she perched on the well. Sesshomaru put a hand on her shoulder, and they all jumped.

Climbing out on the other side, Rin beamed. “Amazing! We are back in the clearing!” She turned to Kat. “I am glad I was able to return your ring, Kat-sama.”

Kat smiled at her. “And I thank you for returning it, Rin-chan.” She caught Sesshomaru's eye and blushed. Bowing again, she mumbled, “I am in your debt as well.”

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. While in that other world, Kat had looked like any other human (although she still dressed oddly), but now she looked more like a demon. Her friends were the same. How could these girls change what they were with no effort whatsoever?

In any case, he wasn't going to worry about it. He probably wouldn't see her again. “Consider your debt repaid,” he said. “I do not require your services.”

“But—” Kat gulped and went on. “Nevertheless, I owe you. The next time we meet, I may be able to help you.”

Sesshomaru turned around.

"What is it you think you can do for this Sesshomaru?" he asked calmly. Kat was right behind him. On an impulse he hadn't known was there, he spun and pressed his lips to hers—hard—for an instant before stepping away.

Before she knew it, he was gone. Rin and Jaken (still shocked to the point of speechlessness) hurried after him. Kat touched her lips, and smiled, just a little.

---

(Back in the modern era, at Kagome's house)

Kat, Meg and Akkiko lounged on Kagome's bed, Akkiko staring at the ceiling, bored, Meg listening to her Discman and Kat reading. Kagome sat on the floor, drinking some pop, physics homework spread on her crossed legs and the floor. Across from her was Inu-yasha, slurping some ramen noodles from his cup.

Chewing, he grunted, “I still can't believe that Sesshomaru actually gave back your ring.”

“Maybe he did it 'cause Rin was watching,” Akkiko said. “He seems to have a soft spot only for her.”

“Naw.” They all turned to Kat. She was blushing gently. “I think that beneath the hard exterior, Sesshomaru is just a big marshmallow.”

A moment later, Inu-yasha was wearing soda. Kagome wiped her mouth and stared at Kat. Then she started laughing very, very hard.

Kat blinked and looked at Meg and Akkiko, who were staring at her with disbelieving expressions.

Inu-yasha shook himself semi-dry and turned to Kat (since no one was going to get an answer out of Kagome for a while).

“So . . . what's a marshmallow?”

# # #

Okay—I was meaning for this to be done for Christmas. Obviously that didn't happen -.-;; So, now this is a New Year's present—and once again, I apologize for the two month disappearance. (Surprisingly, I did not receive any death threats . . . my friends must be sick with something ^^)

And now, I feel the need to explain what I like to fondly call the “insult scene” . . . in other words, when Meg and Kat are yelling at each other. Because this is comprised of inside jokes, I find this explanation necessary:

“Skittles!”—this comes from a quiz (What Candy Are You?) I took on quizilla.com, and, you guessed it—I got Skittles -.-;; Same for “Bubblegum!”, which is what Meg got (wonder what Akkiko would get. . .)

“Katsup!” and “Megitos!”—Akkiko has a habit of coming up with nicknames that make us twitch. These are just two of them (there are many, many more ::twitch::)

“Overachiever!”—a-heh-heh. Okay, so I'm obsessed with my schoolwork (Akkiko, Meg, don't you damn dare say a word!!!) That's where this comes from.

“Mom!”—Meg has a habit of watching out for her friends. She even goes as far as paying for their lunch if they happen to forget theirs . . . or if they make the mistake of not eating breakfast. Hence, mother hen—Mom.

Okay, so—that's another chapter; I hope you enjoyed it, I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas (I know I did) and I wish everyone a Happy New Year! Please review and all that jazz! ^^

Disclaimer: Come on people—do I really need to say this again? ::eyes lawyers and sighs:: Okay, fine. I do not own Inu-yasha, nor do I own any characters/events/objects/places affiliated with Inu-yasha; that all belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, the genius who created the ::cough, cough:: loveable hanyou and all his loveable friends ^^;;

PS—As always, kudos and chocolate-covered coffee beans to Meg, who works wonders on my ::cough:: otherwise pretty crappy writing ^^;; Thank-you forever, girl!!