The Field Trip from Hell
Sara sighed as she leaned over to pick up yet another toy her children had left out in the middle of the floor. The four-year-old twins were insufferably adorable, but, like most five-year-olds, revelled in making a mess of anything and everything they could. Although she had to spend it cleaning, Sara enjoyed the few hours she got to herself while they napped. Today, however, rather than being able to finish and have half an hour or more to read while waiting for them to wake up, she would be interrupted.
"Yo! Sashiburi!"
Sara flinched when she heard the voice. "Oh, GOD-"
"Yes?"
"What are *you* doing here?" She turned around slowly, half-sighing, half-groaning when she saw the owner of the voice-exactly the person she had been expecting...and hoping against.
The person grinned at her, waving from a seat at her kitchen table.
"Ugh, what do you want, Isami?" Sara didn't have the time or patience to deal with spoiled goddesses right now, any more than she wanted to deal with this one in particular.
Isami looked mildly offended. "That's hardly any way to talk to your friend."
"That's because you're not my friend, so talk or get out." Sara put her hands on her hips and tried to look intimidating.
The goddess snorted. "Close enough." She shrugged, crossing her arms over her somewhat impeding chest and trying to look intimidating right back at Sara. She couldn't keep it up for long, however, and finally dropped her arms, going back to her normal wide grin. "All right, all right, let me see the twins and I'll tell you."
"They're seeping."
Isami leaned back in her chair, smirking. "I'll wait."
Sara glared, but went to get them; dealing with crankly toddlers was well worth getting Isami out of her house.
Several minutes later, Miyo was sitting in Isami’s lap, rubbing her eyes, but otherwise fine, while Touga was running circles around the other three to see how long it would last before they got annoyed.
It lasted about three circles before Isami put out her arm, caught the boy around the torso the next time he passed, and held him there. “Quit struggling, brat,” she said, mussing his hair. “Don’t you want to hear about your Papa?”
“Huh?” both twins chorused in unison.
Across the table, their mother looked just as surprised. “What are you talking about, Isami? How do you know about him?”
“I have my sources,” the goddess smirked again. “Besides, he’s a hard one to miss, with that hair. He’s doing work for the Sanbutsushin of late, so I see him every month or so.” She wrapped her arms around the twins to hug them. “I keep telling him what he’s missing, but he never listens.”
Miyo just giggled. “Does that mean he’ll come visit more?”
Touga wiggled to get down, and Isami half-dropped him. “We don’t need him to come visit, Miyo.”
Isami snickered, and set Miyo down, too, nudging her brother with her toe. “Go play, you two.”
Sara watched them go with glazed-over eyes, mind several years in the past.
Noticing this, Isami raised an eyebrow, but let it be, instead getting up to get some tea.
“Hey.”
Sara and the twins looked up, Sara blinking in surprise when she realized who was sticking his head in the front door. Miyo and Touga took two seconds flat to figure it out, and Touga went diving for the visitor.
“PAPA!”
His sister, never as outgoing, stayed back by her mother, content to watch silently as her father grabbed her brother and hoisted the boy onto his shoulders.
“You must’ve grown three inches since I saw you last.”
Touga grinned. “I eat all my vechables!”
“It’s ‘vegetables’, Touga,” Sara corrected.
He made a face. “Yeah, those.”
Sara shook her head and looked to the boy’s father. “How long are you staying this time, Gojou?”
He half-shrugged, making Touga lose his balance. The boy grabbed onto his red hair in an attempt to stay seated. “Ow!”
Sara coughed to cover a chuckle. “It’d be nice if you could stay for more than a couple days this time.”
Gojou sighed; this was not a new conversation. “I know.” He reached up to remove Touga and put the by on the floor. His mini-mirror image sulked before running behind his mother and grabbing his sister to drag her out from her hiding place.
“Come on, Miyo!”
“Touga, don’t force her.”
Gojou crouched down, not oblivious that he was the source of Miyo’s shyness. “Miyo-chan, I’m not going to bite.”
The little girl squeaked, trying to dive for her mother again, but her twin held her fast. She whimpered, a sound almost puppy like in nature.
“It’s okay,” Gojou assured her again.
She looked up to Sara, who smiled. “Go on.” Hesitantly, she stepped forward, let Gojou pick her up.
Smiling, he hugged her. Miyo giggled, fine now, and latched onto him with all her might.
Isami sniggered. “What’s that look for?”
“Huh?” Sara looked around, snapping out of her reverie. “What look?”
“That lovesick bakamono look.”
Sara snorted and scowled at her. “None of your business, meddler.”
The goddess smirked briefly before adopting an innocent face. “That hanyou is quite the catch, isn’t he?” Sara sent her a glare, and she continued. “I must admit he gets my heart going sometimes-“
“I’m sure he gets other things going,” Sara snorted derisively.
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you? But I’d never dream of touching your man.”
“He’s not mine.”
“Oh, but he is.”
Sara scowled, sick of Isami for the time being. “Say what you came to say and then get the hell out. I don’t have time for you.”
“Saa…”
Both looked up suddenly in response to a scream from outside.
“Miyo!”
She shrieked again. “MAMAAAA!”
Sara was already up, running to the door.
Isami was in no such hurry; she already knew the twins would be find. Smirking to herself, she leisurely lit a cigarette before disappearing to reappear outside. She leaned back against the wall to observe the unfolding scene.
Sara was in the doorway, jaw dropped, staring.
Miyo and Touga were huddled together behind a young man with black hair and a monocle. Several feet away, a blonde monk-at least, Sara thought he was, only he was smoking-leaned against a jeep, watching two more men. These two, a short, more teenaged-looking one, and a redhead, were finishing off a fight with several mid-level youkai.
Sara did a double take. “Gojou!”
Having finished the youkai off, he turned, grinning at her. “Yo.”
Isami started snickering.
Sara ignored her, going to the twins instead. They both glommed onto her, and with some difficulty, she picked both of them up.
The monocled man smiled. “Such cute children.”
Miyo giggled, uncharacteristically vocal for being in the presence of strangers. She smiled back at the man. “Tasuketekure arrigatou, Oniisan.”
“He’s an Ojisan, Miyo,” Touga interjected, making a face.
Sara face-faulted, but the man took no offense, chuckling instead.
“Whichever you like.”
Gojou joined them, the teenager following him. “Sara, meet Hakkai.”
Hakkai bowed at the waist, a formality Sara hadn’t seen in years. “Yoroshiku.”
“Ano…Hajimemashite,” she replied, bowing her head and upper torso as much as she could without upsetting the twins. Miyo reached to her father, who took her, leaving Sara with just Touga.
Gojou turned Miyo so she was sitting on his arm, facing outward. “And the twins, of course,” he said to Hakkai. “Miyo and Touga.” Miyo beamed at him, and he patted her head.
“Not to be presumptuous, but they are yours, aren’t they?”
Gojou nodded.
The teenager, meanwhile, was bouncing around behind them, whining about food. Sara face-faulted. “Who’s that?”
Hakkai put a hand on the boy’s head to stop him. “Calm down and say hello, Goku.”
Goku looked at Sara and the twins, grinning. “Did you know the erokappa’s been cheat-“ He was cut off by a whack on the head from Gojou “Hey! That hurt, gokiburi!”
“Deal with it and learn when to shut your damn mouth, bakazaru!”
Touga grinned and clapped. “Bakazaru!”
“Touga, what have I told you about not repeating what your father says?”
He made a face and shut up.
Ignoring Goku and Gojou-clearly a reflex he was familiar with-Hakkai smiled at Sara. “Sorry to bother you, but could we perhaps stay for the evening? We’re all quite exhausted.”
“Ah, of course.”
“Shall we go in? They’ll come inside when they’re finished.” Hakkai motioned over his shoulder, indicating Goku, who was having his face pulled by Miyo, and Gojou, who looked ready to fall over laughing. “Or when Sanzo intervenes.” Hakkai added as an afterthought.
“Sanzo?”
Hakkai nodded, pointing out the man next to the jeep, who was being pounced as they spoke.
“SANZO-SAMA!”
He went down; Isami was about an inch taller than him, after all.
“GET OFF!” he shouted, puling himself up as he smacked her as hard as he could with a paper fan. There were nerves throbbing all over his forehead.
Sara didn’t’ want to see anymore, and turned towards the house, Hakkai following