"No way," Eri said, and turned back to the punch bowl.
With seemingly half the student body in attendance this year, their third annual halloween rager was a rousing success. Costume-clad college students filled the house she rented with her three childhood friends, making her glad they'd splurged on the extravagant decorations.
Popping the cap back on the jug of caribbean rum, she added a bit more pineapple juice to the concoction and stirred before grabbing a red cup.
"It's a party foul," the male beside her fumed, "the worst one, considering it's halloween. He has to go!"
Between his temperament and large, muscular build, the green paint on his skin made him look more like The Hulk than Frankenstein's Monster.
Eri rolled her eyes. "I am not kicking him out."
"Why not?" he demanded.
"He's the hottest guy I've ever seen, that's why." Finally spinning to face him, the sexy witch matched his scowl. "He stays."
The black strobe lights on the makeshift dance floor intensified as the deejay sped up the base, causing new dancers to rush the crowded area.
Eri tried to join them, but a strong, green grip on her arm prevented it.
"You turned my cousin away at the door for the exact same thing," he reminded her, unaffected by her murderous glare. "And Oko Yoshimi."
"Oko Yoshimi doesn't have those cheekbones." She wrenched herself out of his hold. "And your cousin looks like a bridge troll. The one day a year he has an excuse to cover that busted grill, and he squanders it."
"Hey guys, what's going on?"
Cutting off his retort, a girl wearing a familiar middle school uniform wedged between them and grabbed a cup.
"Kagome, thank kami. The reasonable roommate." While she helped herself to the newly replenished punch, he pointed across the room like he was fingering a witness. "That guy came to the party without a costume, so you need to kick him out."
Not bothering to look, Kagome seemed more concerned with testing her punch than her friend's accusations. When the first sip satisfied her, she dipped the ladle again.
"As if," Eri grinned tauntingly. "You're only mad because Kiyoko's been drooling over him since he got here and won't give you the time of day."
Kagome giggled behind the brim of her cup, only deepening his glower.
"I'm mad because this is a costume party, and the cost of entry is one costume." Eri rolled her eyes again, and he shifted his focus to the school girl. "If we just let any douchebag in off the street, then it's only a regular party. C'mon Kagome," he pleaded, shaking her arm, "you gotta do something."
His increasingly desperate tactics caused her to gauge the man curiously. He wasn't usually so ardent about following rules. In fact, given his history, he was the last person who should be lecturing anyone in that regard. Now, her interest was piqued.
She finally peered in the direction he had pointed, trying to find the culprit amid the chaos.
"No you don't, Kagome," Eri grabbed ahold of her other arm. "It's our house, it's our party; we decide who stays. Besides," she smiled salaciously, "who's to say he didn't come as a Greek god? He looks like Adonis to me."
As her appreciative gaze lingered, The Hulk grossed his arms.
"Yeah, if Adonis worked at the Men's Warehouse," he grumbled.
"You can't get Armani at the Men's Warehouse, stupid."
"There's no way that's-"
"Excuse me."
The bickering pair hadn't noticed their friend's complexion turn ashen.
She spotted the mystery guest, and as recognition slowly dawned, the rosy tint the alcohol had lent her cheeks had completely drained away, leaving an absolutely stupefied former time-traveler in its wake.
The second the temporary paralysis wore off, her feet began moving forward, taking her on a steady path across the congested room. Her trajectory was clear, and as she weaved dream-like through a sea of socializing monsters, superheroes and dead celebrities, The Hulk finally sprouted a grin.
"She's gonna tell him to beat it!" he said victoriously. "Thank the gods. Thatta girl!"
"No," Eri slapped his shoulder, "she's going to get his number. Go get him, girl!"
Their shouts of encouragement were swallowed up in the noisey room, but if the house was otherwise empty, she still wouldn't have heard them.
It had been years since the well had closed on her for good, but she never gave up hope that one day, one of them would find her again.
She just never expected it to be him.
Calmly observing the wild party with trademark indifference, he made no indication that he was aware of her rapid, purposeful approach- but Kagome knew better. He looked far too casual with his hand in his pocket and shoulder blades propped against the drywall.
"What are you doing here?"
Sesshoumaru arched a brow, barely sparing her a glance as he sipped boredly from his plastic cup.
"The hostess is an old acquaintance," he offered simply before returning chocolate brown eyes to the increasingly debaucherous dance floor.
She never once entertained the notion that it was a case of mistaken identity, but couldn't fathom why tonight of all nights he would bother with the glamor.
"No," she shook her head sternly. "I mean, what are you doing here without a costume?"
Claiming the empty place beside him, she leaned her back against the wall in the same undignified fashion.
"It's a Halloween party," she stressed. "kinda a requirement."
When he looked down, a wry smirk was there to meet him. She thought she saw amusement flash.
"This is a costume," he informed her haughtily.
She gave him a dubious once-over. "What are you, a wall street executive?" she scoffed. "I gotta admit, that is pretty scary."
His red cup concealed his smirk as he took another sip, and she leaned in conspiratorially. "Or do you mean because you're masquerading as human?"
She could picture familiar gold as he pinned her with his condescending stare.
"Isn't it obvious?"
When her confused look answered him, he pushed up off the wall and gestured to himself elegantly. Suddenly reminded just how tall he was, she straightened to get a better look; but after a thorough assessment, shrugged in defeat.
He squared his chin proudly.
"I am a hot dog."
A hot…
Seeing realization dawn, he leaned in close. "Do you not relish it?"
The pun shook her from her stupor, mouth still agape as he took another drink.
"You know, I take it back," she finally managed. "You being funny is the scariest thing I've seen all night. You're even scarier than you used to be."
He only responded with a smile as he fell back against the wall, letting it once again support his deceptively heavy weight. She quickly joined him, taking a drink of her own as she let her eyes rove over him once more.
He was pretending to scan the party, but those brown eyes found her from the corners the second her sly smile sprouted.
"You should have worn some doggy ears or something," she suggested, nearly losing it at the face he made. "No one else is going to get it."
"Are you so certain?"
A devious look glinted in his eye below a thinly arched brow, and as her own knit together, nodded somewhere over her shoulder.
She tuned eagerly to find a familiar- albeit more mature- face still sported his boyish grin. A group of fawning girls giggled around the auburn-haired boy that was charming them, and in the center, a pair of green eyes tore away from their attention and sparkled at her.
"Go on," a smooth timbre behind her urged. "Ketchup."
She looked over her shoulder into eyes dancing with just as much mischief as the young man in the three-tailed fox 'costume.' Rendered speechless, she couldn't decide whether to kiss him, pinch him, or start demanding answers, but her name came from across the room in a voice much deeper than she recalled, and very much missed.
Sesshoumaru resumed nursing his drink as he returned his feigned disinterest to a game of beer pong on the other side of the room, and despite the questions and gratitude building on her tongue, she wasted not another moment before rushing to her friend and leaving him in the dust.
The girls around Shippo pouted irritably when she pulled him into a hug, reducing them to background characters as the epic reunion commenced. By the time the initial how's, what's and when's were taken care of, they'd all taken the hint and moved on, but Shippo didn't seem to mind.
"I think Sesshoumaru followed you here," she said, suddenly remembering her weird encounter with the demon lord in disguise. She twisted around to look back at the wall they'd briefly shared, only to find a pair of inebriated teenagers making out heavily in his place.
"Nah, we took one car."
"You guys are friends?" she asked incredulously, twisting back around. "How?"
Shoving his hands in his pockets with a shrug, Shippo grinned that impish grin. "A lot's changed since you saw me last."
Clearly.
Kagome smiled, letting the party in her periphery fade away completely.
"Fill me in." She slid her hand in his, clasping their woven fingers together. "I've got all night."
With a tug, she led him to the backyard and down a lesser known path through the garden. They found an unoccupied bench, and it was there, in their little sliver of privacy, where she learned everything she'd been yearning to.
---
She couldn't say how much time had passed, but the party hadn't even begun to dwindle when she emerged from the gardens alone. A cute girl had come looking for Shippo, and not wanting to monopolize his entire evening, she assured they could resume their lengthy reunion tomorrow. She was being a bad hostess as it was, having ignored most of her guests the entire night- but she didn't know them all personally anyway.
The smile hadn't left her face as she floated up the stairs like she was in some wonderful dream. If it was, she didn't want to wake. But it wasn't. Shippo was there- and he wasn't the only one.
There were demons in her time. It had all been real.
After a revelation like that, she needed some time alone to let it all settle in. But when she opened the door to her bedroom, she was pleased to learn she wouldn't have it.
"Fairly bold of you to criticize my costume earlier, when your attempt was by far the laziest here."
His back was to her, but she could see the trinket in his hand as he nosily perused her bookshelf. His sharp, contemplative features were visible in the vanity's reflection, but as he appraised the object, she couldn't remember why she had it either. Not at the moment.
"Hey, I didn't have a choice!" Brown eyes found hers in the mirror, and she threw the door closed.
"There was a... wardrobe malfunction, and I was strapped for time on finding a replacement."
"Wardrobe malfunction?" He spun gracefully, having returned her item to the shelf.
"Yeah," she said. "Some douchebag spilled red wine on me last night when I was giving it a trial run."
"Could have passed it off as blood," he suggested easily, smirking when she made a face. "What were you going to be dressed as?"
He prowled closer, reminding her of a predator the way he assessed. His involved attention was beginning to make her fluster.
"Let me guess," he said flatly, "a miko."
"Close." She smiled. "An angel."
The undignified scoff he nearly choked on was not a sound she ever thought she'd hear.
She didn't know whether to be flattered or insulted. Or amazed.
But her tolerance for astonishment had risen substantially this evening, so she channeled his arrogance and lifted her nose.
"Though it could hardly be considered a costume-"
"No, I'd say that's quite a stretch."
If her well of shock hadn't been tapped dry already, his handsome, playful smile might have weakened her knees- for one reason or another.
Remembering she was being teased, she shook it off easily.
"Anyway, it was either this," she gestured sweepingly to herself, and his gaze happily followed. "or being lame and not dressing up at all. I was in a pinch."
"Accurate choice of words."
She lumbered the few steps to her bed and dropped her butt heavily on the edge, the springs bouncing her a few times as she sat. He joined her with a few strides, and she didn't seem bothered when he sat down beside her.
"Does not fit like it used to," he added.
Kagome scoffed, leaning back on her hands. "My body's changed a bit since Jr. High."
He seemed to take that as permission to assess for himself, and his lips curled deviously.
"Indeed."
Blood rushed to her cheeks, and she quickly removed her eyes.
"I'm not the only one," she muttered, pushing herself back up. Her gaze returned to his shyly. "What I mean is: you've changed too."
He looked physically different to her, but she couldn't say he'd changed much- or at all- in that regard. She just wasn't used to seeing him without his whole 'warlord' get up.
...Not that she spent much time thinking about him that way!
Was it his modern clothing, or glamor, that made him look different now? Or was it his… everything else?
"Hn. Perhaps," he conceded, and it was her turn to assess. "I've traded in the swords and armor for a-"
"Hot dog suit?" She grinned cheekily, getting a rush of something down her spine when he let his illusion drop enough for fangs to elongate.
It wasn't fear, but when he leaned down enough to feel his breath on her cheek, it intensified.
"I assure you," he rumbled lowly, "I am still every bit as lethal."
The threat made her shudder, but because the pleasant quality of his voice vibrated across her skin. A lock of hair fell loose from behind his ear, and she didn't think twice about returning it.
"Uh-huh," she teased, tucking back the strand. "Shippo told me about the orphanage." When he pulled away, she sat taller. "And the children's hospital. And the youth center for homeless teens. For every dollar you have made on your 'road to supreme conquest' you've put two into providing secure, loving homes for the needy children of the world- in particular, the ones of mixed racial parentage."
There was mockery in her tone, her smile… but her eyes shone with admiration and… something else. If he was bothered by any of it, he didn't show it.
In fact, he looked entirely comfortable with her assessment.
"You cannot outrun your destiny," he said, lifting a shoulder. "My life has been a good deal more peaceful since I have accepted that fact."
She grinned. "Everyone else's too, I wager."
He seemed to appreciate that, but the cruel curve of his mouth was soon undermined by the way his eyes softened. He tilted his head to the side.
"Have you found peace, miko?"
She was stricken by the question, but then by the answer as well.
Manicured nails curled into the mattress beside her bare thighs, where her scandalous green skirt was now downright obscene on her more mature body.
"I guess- compared to fighting demons to the death for jewel shards," she answered honestly, chewing her bottom lip when his stoic expression remained unchanged.
"Trying to apply my healing talent to western medicine comes with its own stresses… but it's good stress, most of the time."
"You have hung up your miko garb, then?"
"Yep," she sighed sadly, but he detected the relief there as well. She tugged a bit at the green fabric. "I've outgrown it- like this school uniform. But it will always be dear to me."
The wrinkles she'd put there were quickly smoothed out with her palm. As she lost herself to nostalgia, she felt the mattress beneath her shifting, and the fabric of his slacks brushed her bare knee. When she looked up, he was leaning close.
"This One as well."
Her breath caught when he reached for her, but she couldn't move as his fingers brushed against her temple, gliding through her raven strands. She realized distantly what he was doing, but as he tucked the fallen lock behind her ear just as she had done, she felt her eyes drifting shut- where they stayed for several moments.
"I have many fond memories of that uniform," he admitted softly, "but I will not be sad to see it go."
"Me either." When she opened her eyes again, she found gold ones looking back at her from a very short distance.
Teeth scraped her lip before forming a shy smile. "In fact, I can't wait to get out of it."
Chancing a look through steep lashes, she saw the dog demon smirk.
---
Shippo was jostled awake by a firm grip on his shoulder, and upon identifying the offender, pushed himself up from the couch.
"You were gone a while," he yawned, stretching both arms high above his head. A quick glance around the room told him the party was far from over, but starting to wind down. "Where's Kagome?"
Sesshoumaru continued scouring his jacket for debris- a sign the fox demon had learned over the years that meant it was time to leave.
"All partied out?" the kit ventured.
"Indeed." Brushing the last of the lint off his arms, the daiyoukai finally deigned to look up. "She's turned in for the night, but asks that you call her tomorrow. Ready to go?"
"I've been ready for hours!" Shippo popped to his feet, tossing the keys up as he passed. "You're driving."
Catching them, Sesshoumaru offered no argument, simply turned on his heel and strode eagerly toward the door. The house was sparsely occupied compared to when they had arrived, so it was easier to weave through the bodies- less coordinated as they though were.
Shippo was quick to file behind the intimidating dog demon like a pilot fish and allow him to part the seas, but as they made their way out the door, something caught his eye.
"What's that on your neck?"
Brown eyes slid to his young companion as they both slowed to a stop on the front lawn. There, amid a spattering of fake tombstones and discarded red cups, he followed the fox's line of sight and grazed the area lightly.
Something transferred to the pad of his finger, and as he inspected it more closely, Sesshoumaru blamed the hampering glamor for why he'd failed to detect it. That, and spending half the night swimming in the stuff.
His placid gaze returned to the fox demon, who merely arched a brow.
Sesshoumaru shrugged.
"It seems the miko enjoys whipped cream on her hotdog." Placing his finger between his lips, he extracted it with a slight smirk.
"...I don't know whether to prefer that be innuendo or not."
"Take your pick," he said breezily and continued his path to the car.
"You're a monster," Shippo grumbled, falling into step behind.
"Happy Halloween."
***
A/N: Sorry! I saw a pun and couldn't resist it =P. Happy Halloween!