Continuation of last chapter. And perhaps the funniest thing I've ever imagined Miroku doing. You'll know when you read it.

Well, I wanted to tell you the story about my mom. It's kinda long, so if you don't want to read it, skip this next part in italics to get to the chapter.

A few years ago, one of the news channels and Star 98.7 ( the radio station Ryan Seacrest started on) had a contest for Goo Goo Doll's fans to a free trip to their show in Vegas. So my mom entered like everyday, and amazingly, she won. So at about six in the morning, I'm in my room, and I hear this banging on the front door, and some guy's voice. So I walked out and opened the door, still very sleepy and no bra and there's Ryan seacrest and a new camera and crew outside. They'd been there since like five am. So they rush in and my mom wakes up and comes out, and she's going crazy cuz she won. Did I mention this was live? So then Ryan wants a shot of us packing for our trip, so he goes in my room, happens to open my underwear drawer, and starts rooting around. Finally breaking out of the shock that I was on live TV with my yucky morning face, I freaked and practically pushed him out of my room. He just laughed at me.

So we flew out that day, (coach), and we stayed at the Rio (where the concert was). Well, it turned out that even though we'd notified them ahead of time that I was in fact under 21, and they had said it was okay earlier, that I couldn't get into the show. Soooo...I gambled illegally for a while, called my boyfriend and vented, then ordered a movie, took a bath, etc....

Come midnight, I start to wonder where Lady is (that's what I call Mom). As if on cue, the phone rings. I answer it, and there's a man on the other line, asking if' I'm so and so's daughter. Well they mispronounced her name, so I got confused and corrected them. Then they're like "Yep, we're looking for you. Your mother's downstairs here and she's had a little too much to drink. Could you come down and claim her?"

I've never seen my mom drunk. Tipsy yes since we do drink together once in a while, but never wasted. So I walk downstairs, and there coming down a row of slot machines like a fucking parade is three security guards, and my mom in a wheelchair, wearing this wierd lime green tuxedo jacket, leaned over, puking into a coin cup. I have never been so embarrassed in my whole life!

Well, they escorted us upstairs and helped me get her onto her bed. Then they said I'd have to watch her all night, and make sure to wake her every two hours, just to be sure she was alright.

So I stayed up, watching her moaning and occasionally throwing up, and mumbling that she was sorry. I only said "Don't talk to me, I'm mad at you."

The next morning, she ordered room service for me and we talked and she apologized. Turns out, the jacket was Johnny's. He gave it to her at one point, she's not sure when. She had about twenty drinks on her tab, all white wine spritzers. She's positive she didn't have that many, I think she ordered drinks for other people that night. My family gets generous when we're toasted, or at least I do. She didn't actually remember most of the show. In her interview before it, she looked just fine, happy as a clam.

I have to mention, that even though I love Vegas, it was the wosrt weekend of my life. First night there, one of my contacts ripped, leaving me with only one cuz I was so rushed in packing, I forgot an extra pair. So I spent the entire two days walking into walls LITERALLY, and having the worst freaking headaches ever. Then, not even being able to go to the show, and THEN night of the drunken mother

Holy Crap, I was mad!

Anywho, read on and enjoy!

Ja ne!

~Sabichan~

Shippo stepped into the now quiet living room warily. Everyone was standing there, whispering amongst themselves. What's more, his older brother was very much alive, although his Momma seemed to have a firm grip on his short ponytail.

Suddenly they all turned to look at him. He took a step back when he saw their faces. His mother Auntie Shiori and Sango were crying, but they looked....relieved. And Miroku was smiling wide as

Auntie Rin hugged herself in excitement.

"Hey, What's-"

Before he could say another word, Miro had a hand clamped over his mouth, his gaze focused nervously on Inuyasha's room down the hallway.

"Is he coming, Shippo?"

He nodded mumbling through his hand.

Miro's face paled some as he glanced back at the others in the room. They all scrambled around the room and got into place.

It was odd to watch. First his brother dropped down on his back as Momma climbed on top of him, wrapping her hands around his throat. Then Sango and Auntie Shiori pretended to be pulling her off of him. Auntie Rin just pretended to be talking into her cell phone.

Inuyasha walked in the moment Momma started yelling.

"My poor little impressionable baby, you're poisoning his little mind! Miro! How could you!!?"

Inuyasha laughed at the spectacle before him as he walked over to them. He nudged the other two women aside as he wrapped his arms around Momma's waist. Then, he easily lifted her off of the now blue Miroku and over his shoulder.

"That's it! All of you out now! You're gonna get me evicted if you kill anyone here, and I don't feel like cleaning anything up. You wanna kill him, do it outside."

Shippo watched his mother struggling against the older boy, who seemingly didn't notice as he walked to the door. `Inuyasha sure is strong!' he marveled.

The other women followed him as Miro continued to lay on the ground gasping. Suddenly he turned to Shippo, and grinned mischievously as he winked.

Suddenly it all came together for the young boy. Something was going on, some kind of surprise for Inuyasha- that's why they were all acting like that! They were covering it up!

`But what kind of surprise, and how come no one told me about it!'

He began to pout, but then caught sight of his "big brother" laughing as his Momma tickled him, trying to make him put her down. He fell to his knees and set her on his feet, but continued to be attacked, now by two other pairs of hands.

Laughter rang throughout the room, and in the background, a faint banging noise coming from the apartment below. Rin edged around them all and slipped out the door. No one seemed to notice.

The young boy decided it was time to go save Inuyasha from the tickle police and bounded over to protect him by jumping on his stomach.

That plan did a fine job of backfiring as he became the new target as Inu slipped away.

As the three women continued their play, Inuyasha crawled over to Miroku, still panting from laughing so damn much.

"God they haven't done that since I was a kid!"

"What the chocking or the tickling?"

"Both...Wow...Kind of a trip, huh? Just like old times."

"Very much so. Wish I had a camera." They both chuckled as the tickler began to turn on each other, Shippo against Sango, Shiori against Faye.

"Now I wish Dad was here. He'd get a kick out of this."

"I'm sure he'd find something perverted about it."

"Can you blame him?" He asked quirking an eyebrow.

"Fuck, that's your mom, Miro!"

"I said my Dad would get a kick out of it not me! Now who's the hentai?"

His head jerked to look at the other boy.

"What did you say?"

"What?"

"Did you say Hentai?"

"Yeah..."

"Where'd you hear that from?"

"You know the answer to that as well as I do." He replied coolly.

"...yeah..." He grinned fondly, reminiscing.

"It was Miss Kagome's pet name for me. I found it very endearing."

"Right, endearing..."

"And Sexy! A woman with knowledge of a foreign language, how very attractive! Not to mention her-"

He was silenced by the growl coming from his friend beside him. Realizing he had said just a bit too much, he changed the subject.

"I wonder where Miss Rin went?"

"I think Sess called her. Maybe he's coming home today. He's been gone for a while. Must suck to own a company. Glad I'll never have to deal with all that shit."

"You have no desire to follow in your father's footsteps?"

"Not at all! I'm happy right where I am, making minimum wage."

"Yeah, with a thousand dollar weekly bonus."

Inuyasha blushed some. Sess had a habit of slipping money into his paycheck each week. He claimed it to be a payroll glitch and promised to correct it, yet never seemed to get around to it.

"Yeah, well I never asked for it. I supported me and Mom for all these years, I can take care of myself."

"And what if...what if you were to have someone else to take care of?"

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm just saying...we all know your course of action for if Miss Kagome were to come home. Do you think you could support the both of you without the help of your family?" Inuyasha narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Why are you asking me that?"

"No reason, I'm just curious."

"Well, yeah! It's not like she'd got expensive tastes or something. She's a miko, they're simple. I mean she shops at thrift stores for everything for God's sake. How hard could it be to support her?"

Miroku nodded in agreement, and then turned thoughtful eyes to his friend.

"That song Inuyasha...it's rather fitting that you sang it."

Another blush, and golden eyes focused straight ahead on the panting women crumpled on the floor.

"Yeah. I guess it is kinda...descriptive. It's funny...I used to hate the rain. But now that I think about it, if it hadn't been raining that day, I'd never of talked to her. I would've just got on the bus like usual, and completely forgotten about her."

"Do you regret it, Inuyasha? After all that's happened, do you wish you'd never said anything, just gone on with life as normal?"

"Of course not." He replied without hesitation. " I wouldn't have a life if it wasn't for Kagome. That's why I'll wait for her, that's why I haven't changed anything. I want her to come back to something familiar, so she'll be comfortable. I want her to be at home with me, cause this is where she's gonna stay. and it's not if, Miro...it's all just a matter of time, and I'm pretty sure I've learned to deal with that."

"No, not if...you're right. It's only a matter of when..." His voice was laced with smug amusement which did not go unnoticed by the amber eyed boy. But he shrugged dismissively, not really all that concerned what the perv was thinking about now. He was staring pretty intently at a stretching Sango.

A few moments later, he broke the comfortable silence.

"So what are all of you doing here anyway? You all become some kind of herd of annoyance or something?"

"Well, my lovely Sango and I were just dropping in to see if you wanted to come shopping with us for your brother's wedding present, and my mother and Shippo happened to show up. I believe it had something to do with math. And your mother was going to get `something she left here' from her old room, and check up on you. She was worried you'd starved yourself actually. Can't blame her though."

That earned him a playful punch to the arm.

"What about Rin? That girl just showed up out of the blue and disappeared...Weird."

"Fitting I would say. She's a unique girl, she is. Very hard to find a present for."

"Well I'll come with you, I don't have anything to do until four anyway. Can you drop me off at work?"

"No problem. Just can't pick ya up though." He added readily.

"I wonder if my mom could...No...she's probably got something to do, I'll just take the bus home

tonight. Looks kinda like rain though."