InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Setting Them Straight ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter 4! All right! Shio makes his appearance in this chapter! All right! And it's pretty long, too! All right! I still have a picture or Kitty if anyone wants to see it! All right! I'm having fun saying all right! All right! And now I'll stop rambling so you can read! All right!

~*~

"Get away!!!" Inuyasha shouted reflexively at Kitty's tail, swatting a clawed hand at it. Really though, would it EVER learn?

They were all sitting on the floor in the hut while listening to Kitty go on about the differences between America and Japan (leaving out the part about the whole across the ocean thing) and Inuyasha, who didn't particularly care about much besides his ramen, was eating some off in a corner.

Now the hut, not really being all that big, seemed even smaller with four humans (Kaede is with them), two youkai and one hanyou all sitting in it. And because of this, they were all closer together than some of them would have liked. More specifically though, Inuyasha was stuck in a corner behind Kitty, who's tail was relentless with its twitching. It was like it was taunting him! The way it just flicking back and forth right in front of him, as if it were stalking its prey, namely, HIS ramen. But that wasn't the worst part, oh on. Just as predators stalk their prey, they also go in for the kill. Such was what her tail occasionally did, whenever it decided that mocking him wasn't good enough, but it just HAD to put the icing on the cake and inch towards his bowl of ramen ever so… what it must have thought was stealthily.

And Kitty was very, I mean VERY amused by all of this. As she was talking, she was also putting that dark corner of her mind to use by using it to concentrate on what her tail was doing. And the best part was, she could hear him muttering about how irritating it was, as if it was doing everything with a mind of its own. Now believe it or not, Kitty did things like this a lot, and had plenty of experience. Not enough experience to keep herself from laughing at the poor hanyou's troubles, but enough to make comments at such times that prompted the others to unknowingly say something funny so that it sounded like she was laughing with them when she just couldn't hold it in any longer. Ah, the wonders of being multi-taskable.

Now back to where we started.

Inuyasha just couldn't take it any more. He had been patient, he had tried just facing away from it, and he had even *thought* about trying to reason with the thing. But it just WOULDN'T QUIT! It was ruthless! RUTHLESS!!!

So, when it came after his ramen for about the twenty-third time (yes, he had been counting), he yelled at it and attacked… which prompted a fit of uncontrollable laughter from Kitty.

The rest of them went silent as they watched Kitty laugh hysterically at something they were oblivious to, and only when her laughs turned silent from lack of oxygen and she fell onto her side did they see what was so funny.

Inuyasha, who was still behind her, had set down his ramen and gotten up slightly to 'take care of' her tail as he crouched protectively in front of his meal. He swatted a hand at it, and it swished away. He swatted again, and missed it once more.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Repeat.

Everyone watching sweat-dropped.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked hesitantly. "What… are you doing?"

Inuyasha realized that they were all watching him, and so he stopped with a 'keh' and grudgingly went back to his corner and started on his ramen again while watching Kitty's tail with a wary eye.

"It seems that having all of this ramen around has given Inuyasha a paranoid mind," Miroku observed. "Perhaps having such a large bounty to defend from others has sent him over the edge." Everyone nodded in agreement. That seemed logical enough.

Meanwhile, Shippo decided that anyone who could push Inuyasha's buttons like that without getting hit for it deserved praise, and he was now jumping up and down chanting Kitty's name. When she finally managed to compose herself, Kitty gave Shippo and high-five and they chuckled warmly to each other. Inuyasha sent them each their very own dark glare of death as he ravenously devoured the last of his bowl of ramen.

After that, nobody really had anything to say about what just happened…

Kaede cleared her throat, not knowing what else to do to break the strange silence that had fallen over them. The silence was for some, awkward… and for others, it was either amused, comfortable, confused, disbelieving, and of course, on the verge of being enraged. So yeah, all in all, it was just weird to be a part of.

Tossing his bowl aside, Inuyasha said, "So ANYWAY… while all of you were gone wasting time by doing all of the useless things you do, Myoga was here and he said that there's a rumor floating around a small town in the west about an abnormally strong demon. We might find a shikon shard if we go after it."

"Inuyasha, can we go tomorrow? I mean, Kitty's here and all…" Kagome said.

Inuyasha suddenly looked very indignant. "Keh! If you don't think she can handle it, why don't you just send her home?"

"It's okay," Kitty said. Then she gave a jaw-cracking yawn and continued in a tired voice, "I'd like to see how it is, if it's okay with you all."

They all looked at her, slightly confused, and Kagome asked, "Why are you so tired all of the sudden?"

Kitty blinked at her. "Hmm? Oh, well I haven't gone to sleep in two days… I don't really have a normal sleeping schedule. I just take a nap whenever I'm tired… which doesn't happen half as much as it would for a human, but still…" She yawned again. "I'm really tired right now."

Inuyasha muttered something that sounded distinctly like 'weakling'. Kitty simply smiled at him, not taking any offence to that. After all, he WAS a very cranky hanyou all the time anyway, and she DID just spend at least twenty minutes mocking him. "Well… I'm gonna go home and… take a nap," she said, her speech slowing from the weariness that had overcome her so suddenly. But it was always like this… She would be perky one minute, then she'd do something that took up a considerable amount of energy and she'd be all out of the liveliness that she could somehow hold onto for up to four days without sleep. Maybe if she kept herself busy for longer than that, she could go for five. But that probably isn't too healthy…

Kagome nodded to Kitty, and then turned to Inuyasha. "Would that be okay, Inuyasha? I really would rather go tomorrow anyway…"

Inuyasha scowled at the lot of them, and then turned his back to everyone with yet another 'keh'. Oh boy, they were SO lucky that he got a stomach ache from all that ramen, let me tell you. Otherwise, they would be leaving right then and there and they'd never hear the end of his harping over their laziness.

Kitty, who hadn't taken long to figure out Inuyasha's unique communication methods, smiled thankfully at his back even though he couldn't see it and said, "Well then, I'm off."

So Kagome gave her a shikon shard so that she could get through the well, and Kitty was on her way.

~*~

When Kitty had gone back to her… native(?) time, she only took a moment to look around the shrine before finding a place to nap. She saw Kagome's grandfather sweeping the steps, she heard Souta inside watching Aladdin, and she saw Hitomi through the kitchen window chatting like a giddy little schoolgirl with Mrs. H. That was to be expected, though; they WERE sisters, so naturally, they needed more than just a measly 10-hour long family reunion to catch up on each other's lives, living in different countries and all.

Kitty only vaguely noticed these things, along with the fact that Saburo was inside the motor home and looking for some land to buy on his laptop. She didn't pay anything much mind as she made her groggy way to the motor home, and in her spell of drowsiness, she was completely oblivious to the fact that she, for some reason, decided to sleep on top of the motor home rather than in it. Maybe whatever brain cells that were still working and somehow miraculously allowing her limbs to function liked it better outside. Whatever. Time to snooze.

~*~

And so she slept. The cold, metal top of the motor home was rather comfortable, actually, and so she had no trouble regaining every ounce of energy she could possibly retain from a short nap time of only three hours. That's right kids, she went from pooped to hyper in three hours without any sugar. It must be magic.

So now, thoroughly rested, full of gusto, and completely bored, she decided to go see what Mrs. H. and Hitomi were doing. Maybe watching some cheesy after-school soap opera. That'd be mildly interesting… mildly.

As it turns out though, when Kitty let herself into the house, they weren't watching TV. Actually, they were still in the kitchen, sipping at some tea and *still* chatting it up like there was no tomorrow, or even a day after that. They had probably been having what had to have been the deepest conversation Kitty could imagine, since she assumed that they had probably never stopped for the past three hours.

And after they greeted each other and said their hellos, Mrs. H. volunteered to tell Kitty what was so enthralling that they couldn't stop discussing it. Now evidently, when Kitty handed the phone over to Hitomi before she went to the past, saying that Mrs. H. was going to tell her where Kitty was going, Mrs. H. was serious. She didn't make up an excuse or anything, no- she did just as she said, and told Hitomi exactly where Kitty was going.

Then, though, Mrs. H. said that her intentions weren't like that at first; she was going to think up some other plausible explanation for Kitty's sudden lack of existence. But then, once Mrs. H. considered it, telling Hitomi didn't seem like such a bad idea. After all, they were sisters, as I said before, and so they weren't all that different, meaning that Hitomi's acceptance of the situation was just as easy to come to her as Mrs. H's, maybe even easier. Plus, Mrs. H. figured that Kitty may start traveling to the past as often as Kagome, and if she was going to be gone for that long and that frequently, then Hitomi had the right to know.

Some of you might expect this to worry Kitty, but quite frankly, she couldn't hope for anything better to happen while she took a nap. Most of the time she would miss important things while she was asleep during the day… like that time that she missed the part of a conversation where Hitomi told them all they were going to Japan, and so it was a complete surprise to her the day that they had to get on the plane.

But I'm getting off the subject.

So when Kitty found out that Hitomi was now in on the secret, she got caught up into their talk about it. Then she amused them with the short story about how she so easily irritated Inuyasha while he was eating, and before she knew it, Mrs. H. had given her some tea, and time seemed to fly by as she talked with them.

Then finally, after spending about an hour with the two women, she felt like returning to the past.

As she walked by the rental truck parked next to the motor home, she was reminded of the semi-long walk that she would have to take to get from the well to Kaede's hut. Knowing that she would want some entertainment, she got the idea to bring along her CD player.

But when she was wondering if Kagome had ever shown Shippo a CD player, she got to thinking that he might want to listen to the music, too. So she decided to bring something that could let them all listen to music at the same time: her electric keyboard.

Ah yes, her keyboard and all its glory. Good thing it could run on D batteries as well as electricity, because there most likely wouldn't be any random outlets on the walls of Kaede's hut. And the keyboard was better than a boom-box, because it was so much more fun! She was pretty sure that if anyone was going to at least take interest in it, then Shippo would, and he would most likely play with the thing for hours… better take some headphones for the kid, just in case he gets too key-happy.

And hey, why not take that big sack of D batteries in there, too? They'll probably come in handy when the ones in the keyboard run out… what with the fact that Shippo would probably entertain himself with it 24/7, and that Kitty was now turning on the built-in mp3 player to whatever the first song on there was… it happened to be 'You Be Good to Mama' from the movie Chicago.

So, armed with her keyboard and big sack of extra D batteries, she set off towards the well house, which would take her back to the feudal era.

~*~

Sitting against the sacred tree near the well was a slightly disgruntled kitsune/dog demon. Wearing a green and white kimono with fur on the edges of the front, which was slightly open, his green eyes lined with long red lashes narrowed irritably as he remembered why he was even sitting in the spot that was so rudely assigned to him.

~Flashback~

Inuyasha was just sitting there, up in his tree, trying to ignore the seemingly endless re-telling of a victory well-won over a shikon shard from his friend, but the guy needed to get a clue. Sure, they were buddies and all, but as much as Inuyasha got along with the kitsune/dog demon, he didn't particularly care to hear about how he charmed a desperate female into giving him some booty… you know, as in money or payment… but it could be taken whichever way. The shikon shard just happened to be what brought him into town.

So having enough, Inuyasha spoke up.

"Shio, I guess I'm glad that I have more that just a perverted monk now that you -a player/pimp/man whore- are here, but you need to stop talking now."

He just kept going, probably well aware that he was getting on the hanyou's nerves.

Seeing that talking to his friend was fruitless while he was reminiscing, Inuyasha jumped from is branch and onto the ground next to him, where he whacked Shio on the head with the sheath of Tessaiga.

"Hey, man, don't be hatin'!" he said in mock offence.

Inuyasha just grunted an unintelligible something… probably a curse, knowing him…

Not long after that, Miroku, being just a little bit jealous that every girl he tried to 'get his hands on' was always distracted by Shio, got the bright idea to make him wait for Kitty while they started off for the rumored shikon shard. With their demon speed, they would be able to catch up, after all.

~End Flashback~

Shio sighed irritably as he swatted some of his long red hair out of his eye. But then a smirk grew on his face… because, on the bright side (from what he heard from Kagome), Kitty sounded like a fine little cat. ^_^

~*~

Kitty sang along with the keyboard, waiting for the blue and purple time-traveling light to drop her into the past.

"Got a little motto

Always pulls me through

When you're good to Mama,

Mama's good to you!"

The space around her turned to a dim glow of sunlight, so she stood and leapt right out of the well, still singing.

"There's a lot of favors

I'm prepared to do

You do one for Mama,

She'll do one for you!"

When she landed she shut her mouth up tight and turned down the volume on the keyboard, because she DOES have SOME morals, and anyone who knows the next bit of lyrics would only expect this from her.

As she waited for that particular verse to end, she started strutting along the path to Kaede's hut, swaying her hips and doing a dance that matched the song's beat.

She noticed a dog/kitsune demon sitting at a tree- or Inuyasha's tree, to be more precise- and gave him a smile and a wave. It was a nice day, she was well-rested and happy, so why not? Said male demon just winked at her, smirking slyly, but otherwise not moving at all.

That distraction caused the song to progress further than just the one part, but she turned the volume back up anyway and started singing again once she had passed the other presence in the clearing.

"If you want my gravy

Pepper my ragu

Spice it up for Mama,

And she'll get hot for you!

When they pass that basket

Folks contribute to

You put in for Mama,

And she'll put out for you!"

She didn't really like the song all that much, especially with such suggestive lyrics… but she loved singing, she was practically high on cheerfulness, and she wanted music to dance to, so by golly, she sang!

"Are we trying to get across some underlying messages, here?" a smooth voice whispered in her ear, causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. With reflexes like a… cat, obviously… she spun around to face the stranger. It was the same guy she had waved to.

He was shaking with suppressed laughter and mirth as he held up his hands in front of him, saying, "Now, don't be so alarmed! I'm a lover, not a fighter! ^_~"

She slowly turned off the keyboard, never taking her eyes off of the stranger, trying to figure out whether or not to trust him.

A brief silence passed before he waved a hand around in the air dismissively and said, "So anyway, Inuyasha and the others already took off for the shikon shard and made me stay here to wait for you." Then he flung an arm around her shoulders and said with a perfectly innocent expression and an almost childlike voice, "I'm Pimpmaster Shio! But you can just call me Shio."

Kitty didn't do anything but give him a funny look, blush a little bit, and mumble, "I'm Kitty."

"Yes, yes! I have been informed, of course," he replied as he began to walk and also pushed Kitty along with his arm. Kitty was going somewhat reluctantly, though.

Now, anyone reading this should know what Shio is like. If you don't, go read a few of Scorpiogal's stories to get the gist. Actually, even if you don't particularly care to have the best clue of what he's like, you should still read some of her stories, 'cause they're funny as hell.

But anyway…

Anyone who knows what Shio is like knows that he's a pervert; but a different kind than Miroku. He's the kind that plays with a girl's mind until she either gives into him or goes insane.

For some reason though, he didn't really feel like it at the moment, so he was short of things to say. Kitty wasn't talking either, since she was waiting for Shio to say something normal to redeem himself. Kitty was breezy, and she knew it, but she wasn't naïve, and Shio's comments just weirded her out.

Shio was getting bored.

"So what have you there? That thing that was playing the music, what is it?"

Kitty, happy to break the silence, smiled and explained. "It's an electric keyboard. I brought it to listen to music and I thought Shippo might have fun with it too."

Shio raised his eyebrows with interest. "How does it work?"

Kitty held it in one arm while she showed him how to turn it on and pushed a few keys to play 'Hot Crossed Buns', causing him to put his own arm down if he didn't want to get in her way.

"So you can create music with it also? But how did you do that without pushing any buttons before?" Shio asked, his curiosity growing.

"It has a built-in mp3 player."

He nodded, understanding her, and somehow knowing what an mp3 player is. But we won't question his unreasonable knowledge of some futuristic things. That just wouldn't be logical.

They got to Kaede's hut and were about to pass it and just keep going, but then Kitty decided that she didn't want to carry all of her cargo, so she stopped to put it into the hut. But then Shio protested to leaving the keyboard, so she agreed to bring it along the journey.

Inuyasha and the rest of the gang had left only an hour before Kitty had got back to the feudal era, as Shio told her, and the trip to get to where the shard was would probably take a few hours, so they would definitely be able to catch in time so that they wouldn't miss anything.

~*~

So how was it? I had so much fun with the beginning… it was stupendous.

I don't own Aladdin or Chicago.

Reviews = a motivated writer = faster chapters.

^_^