Shunkan Sentimental

The Toad Who Would Be Prince

     Daylight brightens the lands of Feudal Japan, as it always does. Within the coolness of the calm waters of a pond, Kagome is swimming, having a wonderful time, and Kaori is bathing, her own version of relaxation. Kagome is wearing a striped swimsuit; her school uniform, a towel, and a floatie lie on a nearby rock, in case she is in need of them. Kaori is completely in the nude; in the nearby grass, her combat uniform (survival getup) lies.

     Kaori runs her fingers gently through her soaking hair, a faint smile on her face. Ah, there's just nothing like taking a relaxing bath in a random pond after almost getting brutally murdered by another demon just a few days prior. She rings out some of the water in her hair. I wonder what we'll deal with next time. Spiders? Snakes? Ducks? I really hope duck demons don't actually exist; it'll ruin the way I think about normal ducks. She glances to her right, watching Kagome swim away from her again. At least, for now, we've got another moment of peace.

     Kagome stands up in the water, near her discarded items, and raises her arms in the air. "Oh, wow. That was so nice." She sounds completely relaxed, blissful. "The water is clean. The air is fresh. It's not so bad being in the middle ages."

     Kaori snorts, overhearing; it's not like Kagome was using an indoor voice outdoors. "Yeah, until a demon attacks us again for the jewel shard," she mutters. "Or for no good reason." I can't wait until that matter finally gets resolved; it'll be nice, not having to worry about getting jumped at any given second. She pauses the movement of her hands. That is if Kagome chooses to get rid of the damn thing once it's complete again; keeping it intact will only place a near permanent target on our backs, again. She sighs lowly. "Here's to a bright future at the end of our journey..." she whispers.

     Nearby, Inuyasha rests on a tree, having a very brief conversation with Myoga that appears to be completely one-sided; they've been on the road for three days, by the suggestion of Myoga himself, as a better means of locating the missing jewel fragments. Thus far, they've had no luck. Myoga mainly ignores Inuyasha, in favor of watching the females from a safe distance; then, of course, he chooses to get a closer look. However, something flashes past them, too quick to be fully seen; Inuyasha jumps off the tree and chases it.

     Kagome, leaning over to splash herself in the face with water, hears something behind her and turns around. She screams. Kaori, fully on alert now, quickly moves towards her in the water; she'll fight naked if she has to. Inuyasha, in midair above the pond, looks towards them, surprised by the sudden scream; he lands on a rock in the pond and struggles to balance himself on it (but only for a moment). "Huh?!" Seeing that she, nor Kaori, are in immediate danger, he complains, assuming the scream was for a different reason. "Jeez, would you not scare me like that? It's not what you think."

     Kaori glances towards him. "She's wearing a swimsuit; she has no reason to be screaming at you in the first place." She puts her hands on her hips, staring at a trembling Kagome again, still slightly cautious about their surroundings. "What happened?"

     Kagome continues to look a bit panicked. "You're right," she tells her adopted sister. "It wasn't 'cause of Inuyasha. It's my clothes." She points in the direction of where her belongings had been; hopping from rock to rock, with Kagome's clothing in grip, a little white monkey can be seen, however briefly. A whistle sounds not long after the animal disappears into the forest.

     "..." Kaori sighs in relief. "I'll leave y'all to it, then." She starts walking back to the other side of the pond, where her own clothing remains. "A harmless animal and its possibly human master sounds like a job for two, not three." She takes her time, getting out of the pond and gathering her clothing. "I'll catch up!" Briefly, she watches Inuyasha, then Kagome, run off to follow the thief before putting on her outfit again. Then, she follows suit, catching up to them quickly. "Uh..." She stares, speechless; the monkey is running in circles, arms raised in the air, and Inuyasha's foot is pressed against the face of a human male. "...Should I come back later?"