InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The 500 Year Engagement ❯ The 500 Year Engagement - The Show's a Hit, but... ( Chapter 23 )

The 500-Year Engagement

The Show's a Hit, but…

By Majicman55

 

Disclaimer: The characters from “InuYasha” are not mine; they are the intellectual property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not benefit financially from these writings. I just like to play with the characters.

 

 

As Mama Higurashi sat at her desk at work and, per her daily routine, began downloading her email, she pondered the events surrounding yesterday's “show.”

 

It had been a surprise when Kagome had asked for a volunteer and pulled the odd-looking gentleman out of the crowd. Mama had seen enough rehearsals to know this wasn't part of the program. But then the youkai had shown its true form and she realized her daughter had sensed its presence and acted to protect the spectators.

 

Despite being terribly frightened, Mama had kept her wits enough to pull Sota back into the house where she had crouched by a window, peeking out and hoping the battle wouldn't move their way. It would have been less nerve-wracking if Sota hadn't kept springing up and yelling things like “go, sis!” and “way to go, InuYasha!”

 

Then there had been the moment of horror when Mama had watched as Kagome's three friends had all fainted, still clearly in harm's way.

 

Fortunately, Midori and Rin had pulled the three unconscious teens to safety. Well…relative safety, anyway, considering the size the “thing” had grown to, its arms waving around almost obscenely.

 

She had watched Kagome with pride as she realized how their roles had reversed: Mama was now depending on Kagome to protect her. She watched in amazement as the youkai probed in her daughter's direction, withdrawing each tentacle in a shower of sparks every time it touched some invisible barrier.

 

She watched as Sango rushed to help Kagome…and covered Sota's young eyes when she realized what the tentacled youkai was trying to do to the taijiya. “Hentai!” Mama flushed slightly and squirmed as she realized she found the memory…erotic.

 

She shook her head to clear her thoughts…and then noticed that her email had finished downloading. All but five messages were spam.

 

On a lark, she looked through the unsolicited messages. “Am I single and looking? Well, I am single…” She sighed. All the stimulation arising from having Kagome and InuYasha “sleeping” in the house had her considering looking again.

 

She frowned at the thought of all the batteries she had run through in the last month and made a mental note to check out rechargeables.

 

“Credit card offer, credit card offer, lose weight.” Well, at least she didn't have that problem. “Cheap airline tickets, catering, get a degree at…wait a second.” She went back to the previous email. “Catering for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries…”

 

Mama remembered her conversation with Kagome the night before after the (fortunately) small amount of debris from the battle had been cleared away and her school friends had recovered and gone home.

 

Kagome had told her about the pregnancy test “forced” on her by those same friends and had suggested that it was time to get back to work on planning her and Sango's double wedding.

 

“Catering, huh?” Mama's eyes narrowed as she remembered how her daughter had been lured into a trap by a phony mailing. She picked up her phone and called a friend in local government.

 

Yes, the business was on the up and up. Yes, they did hundreds of catering jobs a year. The company was legitimate. Mama thanked her friend and hung up. She pursed her lips, then clicked on the link that read “So you're planning a wedding…”

 

 

******************

 

 

<DING>

 

Mr. Sato and Kano both turned to face the man sitting behind the PC.

 

“Is that a hit?” asked Katashi.

 

The man grinned and nodded.

 

“A hit?” said Kano.

 

Mr. Sato sat back. “It means she has clicked on a link in the email we sent her.” It had been a gamble, spoofing a legitimate company's web site. “She's nibbling at the bait. Now we'll see if she takes it.”

 

“You would do well not to use fishing analogies.”

 

Before the hacker could think about Kano's remark, there was another ding. The man smiled. “Gentlemen, she's hooked.”

 

“Enough of the fishing references!”

 

Mr. Sato looked over to see Kano running his fingers over his lips and grimacing, as if reliving a bad memory. “Take it easy. It means the girl's mother has fallen into our trap.”

 

Kano strokef his lower lip, growling. “This had better work, Sato.”

 

Katashi poured himself another drink.

 

Mr. Sato and Kano watched as the hacker modified the catering company's standard reply letter and sent it to Mrs. Higurashi. She would be “contacted shortly by a company representative.”

 

******************

 

 

When she returned with her tea, Mama noted that she had already received a reply to her request for more information. “Fast service,” she thought as she read the answer. She would receive a call at home, possibly even this evening. There was even a special, direct phone number for contact with her assigned representative.

 

 

******************

 

 

Kagome's ji-chan looked up from the paper when he heard a knock at the back door. There stood the monk and a smiling taijiya, holding a steaming dish. The old man smiled. Sango had turned out to be a good cook and it was nice to have home cooking for lunch instead of the usual microwave meals. “Hello.”

 

“We made too much for lunch. Would you like some?” It was a little game they played. Sango always made too much for lunch.

 

“Most kind of you.”

 

Sango set the dish down in front of the old man. She noticed the picture in the newspaper that Kagome's ji-chan had carefully folded and laid on the table. “What's that? Isn't that the shrine?”

 

Miroku looked over Sango's shoulder. He wasn't proficient with modern-day writing yet, but he did pick out the headline. “Shrine Sensation?”

 

“It is a story about our show. A review, if you will.” The old man picked up the paper and read, “This reporter was dubious when he heard that the Higurashi Shrine was offering a `re-enactment show' that would feature a monk, a taijiya and even youkai, as well as the standard priestess. I even pictured the youkai as being something like one of those Chinese dragons - a large costume with people inside - but the performance truly was a sensation.” Kagome's grandpa set the paper down momentarily. “See that? A sensation!”

 

“Hmmm. Go on,” said Miroku.

 

The old man started reading again. “The show started innocently enough with a young girl, dressed as a priestess, delivering an introduction and then asking for a volunteer from the audience. This reporter watched as the priestess selected a `volunteer.' It was obvious from his appearance that the man was a plant…”

 

“A plant?” interrupted Sango. “He was an octopus youkai.”

 

Grandpa looked at her a little sourly. “It's an expression. It means the reporter suspects we placed, or `planted,' the man in the crowd.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Ahem.” Grandpa continued. “…yet neither I nor the crowd was prepared for the big surprise: the priestess was somehow able to `reveal' the volunteer to be a youkai.”

 

“Yes, that was a surprise,” remarked Sango.

 

“Indeed,” said Miroku, one eyebrow arching.

 

Kagome's ji-chan read on. “In rapid order, the priestess was attacked by the youkai, the monk and taijiya raced to her side to help, the taijiya was lifted into the air by one of the youkai's tentacles, and another youkai-like creature made an astonishing leap into the fray to rescue the taijiya from the first youkai's probing tentacles (in this reporter's opinion, they should leave that part out if they really want family audiences).”

 

“For some reason, that youkai reminded me of you, Miroku.”

 

“You wound me deeply, Sango.”

 

The old man raised one eyebrow and continued. “By this time, however, most of the crowd had fled. The exceptions were this reporter, three high school girls who had fainted together, and two other girls who were brave enough to pull them to `safety.'

 

“When this reporter discovered that the old priest who had been selling tickets was now cowering behind the shrine's sacred tree, he decided that it was time to retreat to a safe distance.”

 

Grandpa lowered the paper. “I was not cowering! I was merely waiting for my chance to strike!”

 

The monk blinked once, twice…then smiled. “Of course.” He smiled and indicated the paper again. “How does it end?”

 

“Hmpf.” The old man skipped over several paragraphs. “When I returned to the shrine grounds, they were empty. Everyone involved with the show had retreated into the house…with the exception of the old priest, who was sweeping the grounds.

 

“Exactly how they did the special effects, this reporter has no idea. There were no traces remaining of the attacking youkai. Again, however, this reporter advises that whoever is running the show at the Higurashi Shrine leave the hentai bits out…and, maybe, tone things down just a bit so they don't scare off the crowd.

 

“Aside from that, it was a great show.”

 

 

******************

 

 

InuYasha, Tetsusaiga at the ready, stared across the clearing at his brother. The Great Lord of the Western Lands stood poised to attack. The only reason he hadn't struck so far was to give some nearby villagers a chance to get settled.

 

The two brothers were in a large field outside the miniature village created by Kagome and located on their estate…although this miniature world was much larger than the one on the island. In fact, in scale terms, it was approximately twenty by thirty-five kilometers.

 

The villagers were descendants of people who had chosen to live there when Kagome had first created the miniature world. If they asked to be released into the outside world, they would be. The few who had asked had come back almost immediately, telling such tales that no one else wished to try it. Besides, aside from their occasional battles, Lord Sesshoumaru and InuYasha made sure that their lives were peaceful and prosperous.

 

The elders told of a time when Lord Sesshoumaru, InuYasha, several other youkai and their mates and children, had moved into their world - which Kagome had then sealed off from the outside world. It had lasted for nearly five years, and only occasional rumblings felt in the ground itself reminded them they were still connected.

 

But then the miko had unsealed them and most of the youkai, their mates and children, had removed themselves. Only InuYasha and Kagome remained with them, although they were often visited by their friends. It was only a few months ago that InuYasha and Kagome had ventured forth. The villagers missed them.

 

It had been a golden age.

 

Now the villagers lined the field on which the brothers were about to do battle. On one side, they carried banners in support of InuYasha; on the other, in support of Lord Sesshoumaru. Vendors hawked their wares to the crowd. One last child, who had been a little slow getting to the sidelines, reached his father…who then hoisted him to a better seat on his shoulders.

 

Lord Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. “Ready, InuYasha?”

 

 

******************

 

 

The contest was over.

 

The spectators had gone home. InuYasha and Lord Sesshoumaru, both covered in nicks and cuts, were sitting against trees in a small grove at one end of the field of combat.

 

InuYasha watched a small girl dash back to her parents, a scrap of paper with Lord Sesshoumaru's autograph on it in hand. “You didn't have to do that.”

 

“She reminded me of Rin.”

 

“I meant…you didn't have to use your claws to sign it with my blood.”

 

“Do you see a pen on me?”

 

InuYasha gave up. Sesshoumaru was being Sesshoumaru. “There's something I need to talk with you about.”

 

Lord Sesshoumaru shifted to face InuYasha directly. “You wish this Sesshoumaru's advice, little brother?”

 

The hanyou shrugged. “It's these sea youkai. I thought you said there was a treaty.”

 

“Hai.”

 

“We were lured to the beach, where Kagome was attacked by a shark youkai. Then, during the show, we were attacked at the shrine by an octopus youkai.”

 

“Hn.”

 

While Sesshoumaru was thinking, InuYasha reached out struck him on top of the head with his fist.

 

“Hn. What was that for?”

 

“That was for the case of `Chicken of the Sea.' I finally got it.”

 

Lord Sesshoumaru smiled. “It certainly took you long enough.” But then the Great Lord of the Western Lands turned pensive. “These attacks must be taken seriously, InuYasha. It is quite possible that someone has divined the truth about your mate and the fate of the Shikon no Tama.”

 

“Keh. That's what I was thinking.”

 

“Do you believe this Mr. Sato you and Kagome were having trouble with is involved?”

 

“Maybe…but he's ningen, not youkai.”

 

“Nevertheless, this Sesshoumaru will look into it. However, you had better remain on your guard, little brother.”

 

“Feh. I can take care of myself and Kagome.”

 

“Hn.” The Great Lord of the Western Lands frowned. “Be careful around special occasions, manufactured or otherwise.”

 

“Keh?”

 

“This youkai seems to either set you up or take advantage of occasions like this show of yours to attack.”

 

 

******************

 

 

Mama Higurashi was just finishing the dishes from dinner when the phone rang. She turned off the water and walked out of the kitchen to answer the phone.

 

Kagome's ji-chan was out on another date and Sota was up in his room, doing homework. Kagome was probably visiting with Sango and Miroku, while InuYasha was off somewhere.

 

“Moshi-moshi.”

 

The man identified himself as being from the catering company and asked if he had reached her at a convenient time.

 

Mama sat down and picked up a pen to take notes. “Hai.” For the next several minutes, Mama answered questions and took notes.

 

Yes, the wedding would be at the shrine. Kagome's ji-chan, who was a priest, would perform the ceremony. There would be just under two hundred guests (including several youkai, but Mama didn't tell the man that).

 

Mama answered several more questions and agreed to look over a menu that would be emailed to her overnight.

 

She gulped slightly at the amount of the deposit, but hung up with a feeling of satisfaction.

 

The planning for the wedding was underway!

 

 

******************

 

 

“You mean we have to wait a month for the wedding?”

 

Mr. Sato looked across his desk at the angry youkai and poured himself another drink. “That's right. It's not like I can decide exactly when they get married.”

 

Kano was growling. The delay made him nervous.

 

On a whim, Katashi pulled out a glass and poured Kano a drink. “Why don't you try this? It might calm your nerves. It calms mine.”

 

Kano eyed the glass suspiciously. “Sometimes your nerves are a little too calm.”

 

“Just drink it. It might do wonders for your personality.”

 

“What?”

 

Katashi realized that the alcohol was making him a little too brave. “I merely meant that it will help you to relax.”

 

Kano grumbled again, but drank the liquid. It burned, but left a pleasant feeling behind. “I believe I'll try another.”

 

Katashi smiled. “That's the spirit!” He poured Kano, and himself, another drink.

 

Then another.

 

And another.

 

 

******************

 

 

Hours later, Katashi Sato awoke to the first sun rays penetrating the window of his bedroom, which adjoined his office. He had a vague recollection of emailing the computer hacker to tell him to send Mrs. Higurashi a catering menu for her daughter's wedding - and then going out for the evening.

 

He and Kano had gone out, drinking.

 

He could recall the first part of the evening, but then things had gotten fuzzy. He remembered that Kano had suddenly wanted to try every drink in sight. He remembered the unfortunate incident when they had both gotten hungry and wandered into the sushi bar…and how he had barely convinced Kano to leave without eating the chef.

 

He remembered going to another bar, drinking even more and picking up a couple of B-girls. He gasped and rolled over.

 

He sighed in relief when he discovered that the girl was still there - that all of her was still there - and that, apparently, he had finally actually had sex with a girl before Kano could eat her. He just wished he could remember it.

 

He got up quietly and left to check his guest room.

 

Unfortunately for Mr. Sato, when he opened the door, he was greeted with a sight that didn't exactly help a hung over stomach. “Good morn…ULP!”

 

Mr. Sato watched as a pair of weakly-kicking legs descended into the maw of a partially-transformed Kano. As Katashi watched, horrified but fascinated, the feet dropped out of view and, with a blue/green glow reminiscent of seawater, Kano transformed fully back into his human form…and belched. “These ningen girls are great, Katashi. You have fun with them all night, and have a snack in the morning.”

 

That was enough for Mr. Sato. Within seconds, he found himself praying to the porcelain goddess. Dimly, he thought he heard a scream coming from his own bedroom, but he was too sick to care.

 

Minutes later, as Mr. Sato sat on the edge of the bathtub, recovering, Kano walked by the open bathroom door and tossed him his wallet.

 

“You should be more careful. I found your girl going through that.”

 

“Did you…urrrkk…throw her out?”

 

Kano rubbed his stomach and belched again. “Nope, but don't worry. I got rid of her for you.”

 

Mr. Sato did a little more “praying.”

 

 

******************

 

 

“You've been fighting with your brother again.”

 

“Feh.”

 

Kagome examined the cuts that practically covered her mate's body. Some had healed…with only slight scars left behind that were already disappearing on their own. She ran her hands over his body and a pinkish glow emanated from them, healing wherever she touched.

 

“That tickles.”

 

“Hmpf. Who `won' this time?”

 

“The bastard.”

 

“InuYasha!” Kagome looked around. “Sota might overhear you.”

 

“Feh. “ The hanyou stretched as Kagome finished her work. “I let him win.”

 

“Oh, sure.”

 

“Oi, I have to let him win now and then or he won't fight me.”

 

“Uh-huh.”

 

“Anyway, he thinks there's a youkai behind all this. A sea youkai. One who's found out about the jewel.”

 

Kagome sat back, sighing. “I was afraid of that.”

 

“He did say one other thing that made sense.”

 

“Hmmm.” Kagome had decided to check if her mate had any more nicks and cuts where she couldn't easily see. “What's that?”

 

“He…umm…said that…” InuYasha wriggled around on the bed, obviously enjoying the attention. “He said that, whoever this was, they tended to either set us…UP!” The hanyou took a deep breath. “…or they take advantage…ummmm…of our situation.”

 

“Hmmm.”

 

There was a knock at the door and a smiling Mama Higurashi stuck her head in. “Oops.” The door closed rapidly.

 

“Mama!” Blushing, Kagome pulled her hand out of InuYasha's hakamas. “Come in, Mama.”

 

The door opened again, hesitatingly. Both mother and daughter were still blushing. Both, by unspoken agreement, didn't refer to what had just happened.

 

“I wanted you to know that I talked with the caterer this evening and I've already started planning the wedding.” Mama smiled. “They're emailing me a menu and I'll need you to go over it with me.”

 

“Nothing spicy!” exclaimed InuYasha.

 

Mama grinned at the memory. “No curry, then.”

 

“InuYasha?”

 

The hanyou looked over at his mate, who looked worried.

 

“Yes, Kagome?”

 

“What your brother said.”

 

“Oh……OH.”

 

Mama looked confused. “Kagome?”

 

 

 

 

A/N: Well, obviously I'm not getting this done by the end of September. More like the end of October. But I'm still working on a Halloween one-shot, plus I'm sketching out a new, longer story which should start around Thanksgiving.

 

As always, please read and review. Thanks! Oh, and again, more reviews = more inspiration for new chapters.

 

On a personal note, sorry for the delay in updating, but not only is this a busy time for me, but I've been helping out a friend who has severe personal problems. I can't go into it, of course, but it's rather depressing and has made it hard to write comedy. Fortunately, the situation seems to be coming to a resolution, so I should be able to get back onto a more consistent publishing schedule. At least, I hope so.