InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Wake Me Up Inside ❯ Chapter 12

Wake Me Up Inside

Chapter 12

Happy Halloween!!

Just in time for my favorite holiday of the year, here's another chapter as my treat to you. ^_^ Though, I'm gonna be nice and warn ya ahead of time. The following chapter contains some course language. But, you didn't expect anything less of the Stooges, did ya? -lol-

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Dave claimed the armchair as his throne while Keito sat on the bedside opposite the chair, and Zach sat at the foot. The blond-haired genius held the teddy bear, examining it curiously. Keito blinked at him and arched a chocolate brow.

"What the fuck, man? Looking for cooties or something?" Dave blurted.

"You read my mind, Prather," Keito nodded.

"For one thing, cooties are head lice. If this is as new as it looks, then I highly doubt it's got head lice. It's a damn teddy bear for crying out loud," Zach shot back sourly. "For another, I was merely wondering about it, all right? So get off my case, dammit!"

"Oohhh... Zach's pissed. How rare," Keito snickered.

`Pfft! That ain't pissed, moron,' the mind of one comatose Yue replied with a snort.

"I'm not pissed. I'm irritated. Merely, that," Zach corrected.

"Whatever, Einstein," Keito retorted while winking his right eye, sticking out his tongue, holding down the bottom lid of his left eye with his left hand, and flipping Zach off with his right.

"Charming, Keito. I'm sure the girls will flock to you if you do that," Dave said flatly.

"Bite me, asshole," Keito defended.

"How about I hit you instead?"

"GUYS! Are you two even capable of being in the same room together for five minutes without fighting?" Zach groaned.

`Dude, you already know the answer to that one. Lost cause,' Yue said, playing part in the conversation even though they couldn't hear him.

"Let me think on that. Uhh...NO!" Keito sassed.

"Zach, we've been hang'n together for a damn decade. What do you think?" Dave answered with a "duh" expression. Zach rolled his eyes.

"Point. I just thought that maybe you guys would grow up a little," the blond shrugged with his nose in the air.

Dave twitched, "What?"

"Dude, why the hell would we wanna grow up? Yue liked us just the way we've always been. Why change?" Keito objected. Zach bowed his head, causing elegantly flowing shoulder length locks to fall across his face.

"Point," the blond-headed boy conceded with a nod, causing those feathery dark golden tresses to billow.

"It's not fair," Dave said somberly.

"Huh?" Keito blinked.

"It's not fair that this happened to Yue. Sure, he was a troublemaker like the rest of us losers, but he saw the good things in us when other people just shrugged and labeled us misfits," Prather explained.

"I know they say bad things happen to good people, but even I have to agree with you. It isn't fair," Zach agreed.

"If fate was trying to make an example of him, they failed miserably," Keito said gruffly.

`Gods, sometimes I wish I was at least capable of smacking you three,' the one they spoke of grumbled.

"People `awww'ed , but then, a month later, how many still gave a damn. He became old news and everyone moved on like he hadn't fuck'n been there in the first place. That so pisses me off!" Keito ranted.

"You know I second that thought," Dave said wryly.

"I third it," Zach added.

`Guys, the world ain't fair. People are asses. It's always been that way, and that's the way it'll always be. Get over it, will ya? Yer suppose to be cheer'n me up, dammit! Not vise versa! Obviously it ain't work'n too well this way, morons!' Yue spat irritably.

Keito got up and stalked over to Zach before snatching the teddy bear out of his hands, "Gimme that."

"Wha - Hey!"

"Don't make me tell you hay's for horses! You're supposed to be the brains, Einstein!" Keito mocked. Zach twitched. Dave smacked himself in the face with his hand.

"How the hell I got mixed up with some as lameass as you, Keito, I have no damn clue," the older man groaned.

"Uhh, I think that was Yue's doing. Wasn't it?" Keito returned with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, I think it was," Zach nodded with a soft chuckle. "As I recall, the two of you were making a fuss about that collage poster we had to do in that report about England in seventh grade English. Yue got pissed at the both of you and made the two of you do it together. Am I right?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it," Dave admitted. Yue's spirit chuckled at the memory.

"God, that was awful," Keito moaned.

"You were worse," Dave sassed.

"Bullshit!"

"Yes, you're a big pile of it. Tell us something we don't know, idiot."

"Uhhh, Mom's invited you guys over for dinner tomorrow night," Keito answered smoothly.

`Hey! Yer a damn meanie, Keito! Fuck'n asshole!' Yue whined. Zach blinked then hauled off and slapped Keito hard up-side the head. Taken by surprise the younger Japanese boy toppled off the corner of the bed that he'd perched on, hitting the floor with a rumpled thump.

"That's called Zach being angry," Zach said calmly. Dave double-blinked before cracking up laughing.

"Holy shit, Zach! Nice!"

"What the hell was that for?!" Keito whined from the floor.

"It's because you were be'n a dipshit!" Dave answered. "You know damn well, Yue would want to come too!"

On the floor, Keito sat up and stared at the teddy bear with a solemn face. His fingers lightly played in it's soft fur as he bit at his bottom lip. "I know," came his voice so quietly, Dave couldn't understand him.

"Huh?" the older boy prodded.

"I know he would," Keito said a little louder as he stood and returned to sitting next to Zach.

"Then why the hell'd you say it?" Dave inquired.

"Maybe because I wanted to make him mad. I'm exasperated," Keito frowned.

"Uh-oh. Red flag. Keito's using big words. Bomb shell alert," Zach blurted, recognizing where Keito was going.

"Every month we come here. We joke around. We beat the hell outta each other. We reminisce about old times. But..." Keito stopped to quickly take a deep breath then let it back out. "Each time, I wonder... when the hell is it ever gonna end? When is he ever gonna wake up and come back to us. Dammit, I want him to come join us at Okaa-san's for dinner. One way… or if it must be, another. I know I come here with the two of ya and act all goofy and shit. I act like everything's hunky-dory. But, dammit, it isn't! I hate see'n him like this! Stuck as a god damn living rag doll… I hate it! More than losing my Dad! I was able to mourn and go on, but, I can't do that here because even though he's a rag doll, he's not dead. Yue's still alive! Yet completely unable to play with us as he use to. It burns me up, dammit!" the young man raved squeezing the teddy bear tightly in his arms as rare tears welled up in his eyes.

`Keito… you've always been the one to take what happened to me the hardest. Believe me when I say everything will be okay in time. This was one of those things that was meant to happen,' Yue's soul said with a sorrowful smile. `Kagome, you'll be shocked when you finally learn how useful that bear of yours has become,' he mused.

Keito closed his eyes and bowed his head when Zach frowned and reached up to give his shoulder a squeeze. He expected that from the blond genius. What he didn't expect was Dave moving to cross the room and give his other shoulder a squeeze as he sat down on the bedside next to him. Keito jolted and darted glassy bourbon eyes up to give his normally surly friend a look of utter shock. David wore a soft expression that made him appear as though he was a guy who was everybody's friend. The group all knew he wasn't, so when he wore such faces, they handled him with extreme care not to damage that soft core that he so openly allowed them to see.

"We feel the same way, Keito. We all miss him. We all hate seeing him live like this. But you have to keep faith that one day, he will wake up. Yue's a strong son-of-a-bitch. Hell, you were there the day he whooped my ass so bloody badly. If anyone can beat shit like this, it's him. You just watch. One of these days, he's gonna get up and smack all three of us," Dave told his moody friend.

"I want to keep thinking that. I really do."

"Then don't quit think'n it. Else, he'll feel sad. He's already got it hard enough as it is," Dave gently scolded. "We're supposed to be here to cheer him up, remember?"

"But I can't be cheerful all the time, Dave."

"No one's asking you to be. I'm just saying don't let feelings overwhelm you here. Anywhere else but here is fine. But, here... it's not fair to him because he can't do a damn thing about it till fate decides to give up and let him. He's fighting a battle in there, himself, I'm sure. With all the time he has on his hands, he's probably fighting tooth and nail to come back to us like he wants. He can only do his best. So we gotta do our best to be here to help him. Crying to him about it is only going to make him feel worse than he already does."

"Well said, Dave," Zach nodded.

"Sorry," Keito mumbled as he slouched. For the rest of the time allowed to them by visiting hours, Dave and Zach talked about video games they'd played recently. Keito put in his two cents every once in a while but, for the most part, remained silent for the rest of the evening.

`If only I could talk,' Yue sighed. `I would tell you everything will be okay, Keito.'

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After the girls decided it was time for some sleep and parted ways for the evening, Kagome sat in bed staring at the journal she had gotten with Inuyasha's new teddy bear. Pen in hand, she smiled and began writing in it. Taking an hour, she filled it's pages with how she came to find Inuyasha and how much it meant to her to have him back, even if he was currently in a coma. Once she was satisfied with her entry, she put the book away and turned off the bedside lamp. Turning over, she settled into bed, letting herself drift to sleep to a mental movie of memories she'd made with her beloved hanyou.

The next morning saw the girls up around eight in the morning. After filling their bellies with a country breakfast of sausage, eggs, and buttermilk biscuits, the three headed outside to enact Beth's photo shoot. Over the course of two hours, Beth went through roll after roll of both colored and black and white film. She took pictures of them with the horses. She took pictures of them with the dogs. She took pictures of them by the house. She took pictures of them in the fields. She took individual pictures, and timed pictures with all three of them. They were having so much fun that by the time Beth finished, they wondered where the time had gone. However, Beth wasn't done with her mischief yet.

"Okay, time for our grand finale. Kagome, you promised me the other day that you would show off some of yer stuff if I brought you out here," Beth grinned. She fetched a modern bow and quiver of arrows from the stable's tack room. "It's time you live up to the promise," she winked.

"Oh my god! Too cool!" Sherry shrieked in glee. Kagome sweat-dropped.

"Okay, okay. You got me," the miko said in defeat.

"Right this way ladies," the nurse chimed as she lead them to the pasture behind the farmhouse. There, the hay bales they'd taken photos on now doubled as targets. Kagome twitched.

"I'm not sure those are a very safe target. I don't want to start a fire," she pointed out with a worried expression. Beth frowned then wandered back to the house. She returned dragging out a hose then turned it on full power to thoroughly soak the hay in water. Handing the hose to Sherry, she then turned to go turn it off. Sherry looked at Kagome and winked before turning the hose on Beth. Beth squealed and ran. Midas and Shadow barked while Kagome and Sherry busted up laughing.

"You are a little devil, you know that Sherry?" Kagome laughed.

"I have my moments," the young girl said proudly. After shutting off the water to the hose, then grabbing a quick change of clothes from the laundry pantry in the cellar, Beth returned.

"That was just evil! You know, what comes around goes around," Beth told Sherry with a mischievous wink. Sherry snickered.

"Sure. Whatever," the child said, blowing off the playful threat.

Kagome slung the quiver over her shoulder then picked up the bow. Being a modern deer-hunter's bow, it was a little different from what she was use to but she'd used many strange kinds of bows in her adventures in the Japanese Feudal Era, so it didn't bother her too very much. The biggest worry she had was the length of time that had passed since she'd shot a bow.

Noticing that the miko was preparing her demonstration, the other two girls quit their bantering and took up places behind her to watch. Kagome withdrew an arrow and knocked it. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the arrow back till the string was taut. Calmly, she took aim, concentrating on the point she wanted to hit. Then, she let her spirit flow into the vessel that the arrow had become. The animals seemed to sense something and became antsy. Standing beside Beth, Sherry shivered slightly as her senses also picked up the sudden spike in power coming from Kagome. Then, at last, the miko let the arrow fly with a snap of the bow string.

The arrow quickly gained a pink aura around it as it shot through the air. Singing, it closed in on it's target, then, with a dull thunk, it made contact with the hay bale. A second later, the hay bale flared brightly pink. Sherry squeaked and hid behind Kagome as the awesome power of the arrow was released with a shock wave that caused the ground to shake. Half a minute passed before the smoke started to clear. Sherry relaxed a little and peaked out to look. She and Beth both gasped in awe when then found the hay bale completely gone.

"Okay, I believe you. I believed you before, but that just totally drove it home!" Beth sputtered with wide eyes. Kagome blinked and turned around to look at Sherry with a tilt of her head.

"You felt it, didn't you?" the miko asked.

"Uh-huh," the child nodded.

"Do you want to try?" the Japanese woman asked as she held out the bow. Sherry shook her head.

"Okay. Well then, shall we pile together and head to Nashville?" Beth asked, trying to keep things moving along.

"Sure," Kagome agreed.

"All right, then. Let's go grab our things and meet up out at the pick-up. And, no Kagome, I'm not going to let you talk me into taking your car just for the sake of gas," Beth said matter-of-factly. Kagome stood with her mouth flopping open at being caught before she even had a chance to say anything.

"Yes, ma'am!" the miko cringed as she turned to head back to the house behind a giggling Sherry.

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It was half past nine when the group of boys Yue affectionately called the Stooges walked through the door. At the sound of shuffling feet, the soul of the comatose young man trained its attention on the three, eager to witness they're usual antics. Dave and Zach seemed to be involved in a discussion about kinds of coffee as they entered while a third person moved in ahead of them to flop into the arm chair with an unceremonious thump.

"Hey! Who said you could steal my chair, asshole?!" Dave's voice bitched from the center of the room.

"Dave…" Zach sighed in exasperation.

"Shut it. I got it first this time," snapped a rather cranky sounding Keito.

"He's right Dave. It's his throne today, fair and square. Now sit down and shut up about it," Zach bossed as he shoved his friend down into one of the two waiting room chairs that were waiting for them today. As their monthly weekend visits had become such a tradition, the weekend crew made a point to add a couple of chairs from the sitting area up front to the room in preparation for their visit.

"Fine. Enjoy," Dave snorted as he dejectedly slumped in the chair Zach had pushed him into.

"I am," Keito said coolly as he brought his feet up and tucked them next to his rear.

"Ass," Dave sneered.

"Bitch," the cranky Japanese boy smiled.

"What?!"

"Enough, you two. Geez, sometimes you both have such a knack for acting like kindergarteners who've watched too much Bevis and Butthead," Zach scolded. Unbeknownst to them, the soul of the group's alpha was laughing.

"Earth to Einstein. We have watched too much Bevis and Butthead. Where the hell have you been, pretty boy?" Keito cracked.

"Busy with his nose in a textbook, no doubt," Dave answered wryly.

"Hey! If it wasn't for me, you two would have never graduated high school. Don't give me that bullshit. Someone has to have some brains in this group," Zach countered.

`What? Are you calling me an idiot? You damn well better not be calling me an idiot, Zach!' Yue mentally retorted.

"That's right. You're our designated driver, Einstein," Dave smiled as he patted the blond boy's shoulder.

`Bastard! Now you have me craving a beer, dammit!' the silent one huffed.

"Speaking of drunken jackasses, you still owe me a new pair of pants for puking on me last month when we were here," the bright lad pointed out flatly.

"Oh yeah. That's right. Hey Keito, run down the hall and steal some pants from one of the ladies' lockers," Dave snickered.

"Whatever," Keito mumbled as he lounged in the arm chair staring at Yue.

"Cute, Dave. Real cute. Don't give him ideas, moron," Zach glared.

Inside Yue, Inuyasha shuddered feeling the weight of Keito's gaze. Though, as Zach and David continued to argue amongst themselves, the hanyou sensed the waning of the younger oriental man's attention. It took only a handful of minutes for that feeling of being watched to vanish.

"Hey, Yamada. Who said you could sleep? That's Yue's job, dumbass," Dave griped.

`Fuck off, Davy,' came Yue's naturally surly reply.

"Leave him be, Dave. Maybe he'll be in a better mood when he wakes up," Zach gently advised.

`Nice pun.'

"Bah! Whatever," Dave grumped as he stood long enough to swipe the black teddy bear from Yue's side. Squeezing the plushie in his fingers, David sat back down. A smirk appeared on his lips. "Hey, remember eighth grade when Keito dared Yue to wear those teddy bear footies on Pajama Day?"

"Oh my god, yes," Zach answered as he erupted into a fit of quiet chuckles. "I didn't think he'd do it."

"Hey, it was either that or suffer his fan club getting a hundred copies of that mug of Yue singing in the shower," Dave reminded him with a devilish grin.

"Man, that would have been icing on Margaret's cake," Zach mused. Dave laughed out right. Yue's soul groaned. Keito merely slept on, oblivious to the conversation.

"Nightmarish thought," Dave shuddered, hugging the bear as his eyes bulged in horror.

"Definitely," the other man nodded. "It's cute," he commented, nodding to the bear.

"Guys aren't suppose to like cute unless cute is female, you Pansy!" Dave scowled as he smacked Zach upside the head.

"I'm not a Pansy! Besides, this is supposedly from a female."

"You are too. And how do you know that it wasn't that Brad dude that left it?"

`Oh for the love of GODS!!!' Inuyasha cried with a shudder. Near by, Keito was dead to the world as he began to snore. Inuyasha sweat dropped, `You can sleep through anything, can't you Keito?'

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"Okay. Are we ready to head out?" Beth asked.

"Can we visit Yue on the way back?" Sherry piped up, green eyes shimmering with hope.

"Sure. In fact, I think it's that weekend when his three crazy friends are suppose to come by," Beth answered thoughtfully.

"Three crazy friends?" Kagome inquired with a look of confusion.

"Oh my gosh! I haven't seen them in forever!" Sherry cried animatedly. "She's talking about Dave, Keito, and Zach. They're Yue's best friends from school," she explained. "They're a little weird. Okay, they're a whole lot weird," she laughed. "But Keito, he's Japanese too! He's really funny. Always pulling jokes and stuff."

"That's them all right," Beth chuckled. "Weird is definitely a synonymous word for those guys."

"Oh! We're supposed to call Yue's folks, remember?" Sherry chirped enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah! Let me go find their number for you, Sherry," Beth said before heading to the library to track down the Taisho family's phone number. She returned a minute later and handed a post-it note to Sherry. "Here you go."

"All right!" the little girl cheered as she ran to swipe up the phone. She dialed the number then held the phone up to her ear. After a minute, she frowned, tapped her foot, then started speaking, "Hi. This is Sherry. Umm.. I'm the little girl that visits your son a lot. Anyway, me and Beth.. er.. Beth and I.. sorry.. we're wanting to ask you some questions sometime if it's not too much trouble. We're going to be out shopping in Nashville for the day, but Beth should be back later this evening. Or if you want, you can leave us a message when you get back and let us know when we can catch you. Umm.. That's all. Thanks. Uhh.. Sayonara."

Sherry sighed as she turned off the phone then set it back in it's carriage. She turned to the other two with a wry frown, "Answering machine."

"That's okay. You did very good at that. Hopefully we'll catch them sometime later," Beth smiled. "Ready to head out now?"

"You bet!" Sherry cheered as she grabbed her cute little purple purse and lead the group out to Beth's pick-up truck.

"So... tell me a little more about these friends of Yue's," Kagome prodded as she walked along acting as the meat in the Sherry and Beth sandwich.

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Penguine: First of all, I want to thank b00kperson for beta-reading this for me. :)

It was a bit of a hard decision finding a place to let this chapter stop at. But in the end, I decided to be a little mean and write a cliffhanger. I don't do many of them on purpose.

There is one question that I keep getting quite often these days. Many of you are asking if Shippo, Sessy, and others will be in this. Yes, they will. However, Naraku will not be appearing in this story. Personally, I think he's an overly used villain. He seems to appear in everything. -twitch- I'm tired of him. And I'm sure, by this point in his life, so is Inuyasha. Naraku's time is over. Inuyasha's won the right to fight new battles. It's the modern world, he's got plenty of new people to piss off and open cans of whoop ass on.

More fun planned in the next chapter.

FFnet Review Replies

Daddie's Pixie: Yes, I've answered those questions before in author notes. However, since you asked so nicely, I'll answer them again for you. It will be quite a few chapters yet before Inuyasha wakes. A specific something has to happen for that part of the seal to break, and I want to give some time for the people around him to do a little more bonding first. This story is just as much about his friends as it is about him. Yes, Shippo, Sessy, and others will appear later on. The only person I can flat out say will not appear is Naraku. New era means new challenges.

Ixchen: You're welcome. :)

Ladyofdragons1: Umm, no. Death threats won't work. I've already experienced a couple of those. Like I've said numerous times before, it's going to be quite a few chapters before he wakes. I have my reasons. And it's not like he's not got a role of his own to play. You get to hear from him too. So sit back, grab some popcorn, and relax.

Miroku-has-darkness: Chopped liver? Again? What'd you do to Sango THIS time? -giggles- I've already said Shippo's going to appear in this too. I've pretty much figured out how and when I'm going to bring in each of the rest of the old cast members. Yes, some will be the same as they were. Some will be different. That all depends on who and what they were before. Not to worry on that one.

Gohan/videlgoten/trunkslover: Did. And will.

Sarah the original: As content of the chapters flows on spur of the moment tap, I can't answer that question because I don't know. I only know approximately when it will happen in the story's timeline. But I won't tell that because I want to keep it a wow button surprise. It'll happen when you least expect it. -cackle-

Demented-Squirral: LMAO!! I love the screen name. Reminds me of one time when I was playing in an Inuyasha rpg with some friends and Miroku somehow got himself turned into a damn squirrel. -cracks up laughing- Of course, you know his next course of action was to try and crawl up into the girls' undies. XD -cough- ANYwho… Yes, the Stooges are definitely a rowdy group in my head. Especially Keito. The other day he popped up and spontaneously started singing the theme song to the old 80s Alvin and the Chipmunks cartoon. T_T* And now… he's laughing at me.

VietGal: Hi. I'm glad you like the story. To be honest with you, I thought it was kinda stupid when I first started writing it. But, it's changed my mind over the months. -lol-

The Shapeshifting Sweete: -lol- Wow. Enthusiastic. -gives you an oreo- Yeah, I'm loving the process of all these people coming together around Yash-kun. Not even I know what to expect from one moment to the next. Especially with the Stooges. They live life without a script. -lol-

KittySand Katie: The character development of Keito, Dave, and Zach has been a little odd. Keito hashed his name, personality, and background pretty quick. I knew who he was six months ago. The other two remained rather grayed for me till I decided to throw them into this story. I knew one would be a bully and the other would be reserved, but I didn't have names for them until near October. After that, the rest has just sorta fell into place. These are three guys that have pretty much wrote their own stories. I didn't even like the name Dave for David's character at first. But he was quite adamant about keeping the name. -lol- In fact, he very rarely even lets me call him David. If I try to call him Davy like Yue does… oh boy do I ever get some `tude. -lol-

Lil' Angel Aj: Nope, can't say that I have. If I did, I don't remember. I've read a lot of Inuyasha fanfiction over the past 9 months. It all kinda runs together after a while for the most part.

TotallyAlike987: `kay.

Silver-white-amber-eyed-kitsune: Will do.

Obsessivekawaiigurl: Hrmmm.. I dunno if she will or not. We'll have to wait and see, won't we? -grin- :: I'm really happy with the response to the Stooges. I was a little worried about that at first, but I'm not anymore. :)

Ariane Juarez: Yer welcome and thank you. :)

Blackrosebunny451: They might. I really don't know. The Stooges call their own shots for the most part.

KawaiiReviewer: Sorry about the other day. I added ya to my list then forgot to put down who you were. When ya came on, I knew ya were from FFnet but I couldn't find the review that listed your sn. Stupid me, it was right in front of my face the whole time. -smacks self in the head- -lol-

DarklessVasion: Howdy howdy. -waves while giggling- Umm.. not sure what to say since I've already bugged you so much this past week. -lol- Hope your Halloween goes well. :) Chat at ya again later. -wiggly finger wave with cheeky grin-

Lord of the Pit: Welcome. :)

Inuyasha: Cool. :)

InuyashaFan: Triple whoopsie!! -blush- Sorry. Will correct those. Thanks for point'n them out to me. :)

Shinzen: I've found a couple of people I can ping via pager. But thanks anyway for the offer. :) I'm glad yer like'n the story. -big grin-

Yoyo Person: Okidokie.

Sweet Cherry: Yep, it will. However it ends up being, I'm sure it'll be good. :)

StarshineWeirdo: Whoa! Dude! That's too cool. I pulled most of it out of my head. -lol- Though there is a similar old farm house out in Flynn's Lick, Tennessee. It's a huge three story plantation house that sits in the middle of a bunch of farming fields and just across the street from Flynn's Creek. It ain't got any stable but it's got it's own mini cemetery with stones dating back to the early 1800s. Very old very cool looking place. Local folks say the place is haunted too. The stories certainly add character to the place. Not that it doesn't have character just by looking at it. -lol- Have you any pictures of your house? I think old homes like those are so cool. Just thinking about all the stories they can tell is enough to intrigue me. -grin-

Suki1: Will keep trying. :)

Catie: I miss that state. I really do. It's been four years since I was there last. :( The longer I go without seeing it and the more I talk about it, the more I miss it. Yeah, there are people there that irritate me, but… the land is so beautiful. And there are so many hidden treasures in it's wooded hills. Maybe next summer I'll finally get to go back. :: O.o! You're a psych major in UTK too? No way!! Too cool! Hrmm… maybe you can help me. It's been a very long time since I've been to Knoxville. And I've never actually been to UT. I went to TTU over in Cookeville. Could I sweet talk you into telling me a little bit about the courses you're taking and perhaps where Zach and Dave might be living in Knoxville? They'd be rooming together in an apartment, but I wouldn't know where nor what it would look like or anything. It'd be a great help for future chapters. :) Email is penguine@mindsjourney.net if you're feel'n up to toss'n me some info to chew on.

Allin656: Ehh.. yeah part of me has itched for him to wake up too. But, like you say, it'd be too fast. Things aren't suppose to be easy. :) I'm glad you're enjoying the story. I will most certainly keep at it and try for an update a week.

B00kperson: Hewwo. -giggles and waves- Shippo's coming. Most likely soon. Though, that depends on how fast I can get time to flow by in the coming chapters. I'm never quite sure what kind of situations will arise so I can never make any solid promises on anything. But, Shippo is indeed coming. :) Arizona… that's another awesome state. The desert is so foreign and different from the landscapes I'm use to. What part of Arizona are you from?

Dragon Firefairy: Hi. I will. :) I'm thankful and honored that you enjoy the story so much. I'm trying to put my best efforts into it. I'm only worried about chapter length in that I want to give as much story in each posting as I can for people. Sometimes that can get a little difficult. But oh well. I do my best. Kaede, I have finally found a place for. I don't know when she'll be appearing. It depends on when a certain part of the story currently withheld decides to reveal itself. It could be before Shippo arrives. I could be after. But, no, she's not the woman in the gift shop. That woman was just an extra. Rin will be in this story too. I've got plans for her as well. Not to worry. -huge grin-

Jioruji Rukuzukieuikuzu: O.o whew what a long name. Anywho, as I said in the author note at the end of chapter 11, the Stooges aren't reincarnations at all. Keito, Zach, and Dave are three entirely new people to the story. As for Sesshomaru, he hasn't shown up yet. He won't for a little while yet. You know how he is. He's gotta be an arrogent ass and do things in his own damn time. -lol- Make's me think of my Dad's white purebred lab, MissT. (MissT for Miss Trouble.) She thinks the same way. She thinks she's the queen of the world and the rest of us are peons born to serve her fluffy white high and mighty ass. -lol-

Toots: I know how part of it's going to happen. The rest will fall into place when the time comes for me to write that scene. But, the few things I do currently know.. I will keep to myself. -snicker- The suspense shall linger for a while… as the Stooges and former Inuyasha crew weave their chaotic tales of toil and trouble around him. -giggles-

Ayame: Okay, I am generally pretty easy to get along with, but the way you barked at me in your review has pissed me off. Out right cussing me out just because you're too impatient to let me tell my story the way my writing muse tells me to write it is absolutely NO way to win over my favor. It's rude. It's offensive. And I won't put up with it. I'm sorry if you don't like the fact that he hasn't woken up yet, but as I've said numerous times before, I have my reasons. You have a right to your opinion, but if you can't say things politely, then don't say anything to me at all. I won't say this again.

Kawaii-ish: Will do. :)

Kats and dogdemons: Heehee. -goofy grin- :: No, Beth is just a close friend and a nurse who's good at her job. She enjoys doing what she does, and it shows in all the effort she puts forth. As for the photography thing, that's an artist's frame of mind. Being as I'm one slowly getting into photography myself, though no where near Beth's scale, I know that if there's a scene that looks appealing and I have a camera around, I'm going to try and shoot a photo or few of it. Good photo-worthy scenes and moments are sometimes hard to come by, so you gotta make do with what you have and shoot when you can. Then hope for the best in the results. -shrug- Beth considers Yue a good friend, so naturally, she's going to try to include him in a few photos. :)

Agarwaen: Yes, Sessy will be appearing. But not till later. And must I really tell you how? Wouldn't that be spoiling it for you? I hate spoiling surprises. -lol-

Meefy Muffin: Oh wow! Another artist. Sure! Go right ahead. Draw away to yer heart's content. :) And no need for apologies. It makes me happy to know that I've managed to conjure such enthusiasm from you and the others reading the story. :)

Sango91: Yes, he will eventually. But I've got a bit of chaos to create before then. -giggles- As for the `sit' thing.. others have asked that question too. Yes, Kagome will try that at some point. But I can't tell you if it'll work or not. You'll have to wait and find out along with Kagome. :)

Luana Tala: Nah. I know it wouldn't happen. Developments in the series since I started writing this have proved that. That's why I'm classifying it as a `what if' kinda story. I agree with you about too many stories out there putting the characters irritatingly strange situations. I'm trying my best to keep people as in character as possible in this story despite the changes to some of them.

WackyWisher18: I've been waiting to write that conversation between Kagome and her family for a long time. -lol- I'm glad that it went over well. :) Yes, it'll be interesting when Kagome meets those three crazy friends of Yue's. Not even I can predict what will happen. -lol- Then again, that's part of the fun, the Stooges bring to the story. They're like gas to a flame. XD -blink- Oh gawd… Everybody run, Keito's into the bean burritos again. -beelines for the door-

Nysoku: I got your review just as I was finishing these replies. XD I'm glad I could provide such welcomed entertainment. I will do my best to keep updating on a weekly basis. New chapters generally come out on the weekends. I woulda had this chapter out earlier but things popped up to arrest my attention when I was ready to post. -cheezy sheepish grin- Man, I was shocked at how many kids I saw at my door this year. Then again, it was unusually warm this year. :) Even the local fire dept. was out cruising the streets in their vans handing out candy. Made me wish I was young enough to trick-or-treat again. -lol-

Mediaminer Review Replies

Luna: I'm glad you're enjoying it. I'm trying my best to keep it interesting and fun. :) As far as updates go, I generally do those once a week on the weekends. Festivities this weekend caused me to be a bit delayed. I'll try to get chapter 13 out a little earlier next weekend. :)

Caliko: Awww.. that's okay. I hope ya get better soon. -huggles-

Angelwings: Hello. :) I'm thrilled that you're enjoying the story so much. Yash-kun will be stuck as he is for a little while yet. Some time needs to pass and one special thing needs to happen for that part of the seal to break. But there will be quite a bit of other things going on till then to keep things interesting. :)

Whew… you guys keep an authoress busy, yall know that? -lol- Anywho, that's all for now. Ciao till next weekend. -waves-