Inu Yasha was going along with the Asano kids’ (wimpshit) plan to deal with their scary relatives only because Kagome threatened to sit him so hard his kids would be born with their faces mushed into the delivery table if he didn’t. He still favored the tried-and-true Kill The Bastards method for its cathartic side effects and the way it kept his enemies out of his face for all eternity. Shunusuke’s planning schpeel had included lots of peace and love nonsense, which was backed up by Miroku the Buddhist Priest, who declared that all life was sacred (unless it was demonic and trying to kill him, in which case it was Air Rip fodder). The idea of killing Sesshomaru had met with a somewhat more favorable response from Kagome and her feudal friends, but only if the demon lord tried to kill them first.
        "And here I just thought he was an insufferably conceited boor," Shunusuke mused with a wry smirk. He opened the lid on the cooler he’d fetched from the condo and offered a can to Sango: "Ice Tea?"
        Since that was one of the standard contents of Kagome’s voluminous pack, Sango accepted the can and popped the top with practiced ease. "Sesshomaru’s a real creep," she told Shunusuke pointedly. "He wants the Tetsusaiga even though he can’t hold it without getting the skin burned off his palm."
        Kagome nodded as she accepted a tea from Shunusuke and took a sip. "It wasn’t even designed for him! Inu Yasha’s dad made it to protect Inu Yasha’s human mother and then he put it in his tomb when he died and hid the tomb in Inu Yasha’s eye. If he’d wanted Sesshomaru to have it, he’d have given to him, not hidden it in Inu Yasha’s eye. I think Sesshomaru just wants it because he can’t stand the idea of his half-breed little brother having anything of their father’s.
        Myouga snorted from Inu Yasha’s knee: "That sounds like something Lord Sesshomaru would think! He was perfectly content to stay out of Lord Inu Yasha’s life until he realized where their noble father’s tomb was hidden." The little flea demon sighed and shook his head. "Now he’s obsessed with taking the Tetsusaiga from its rightful owner!"
        Inu Yasha caressed the Tetsusaiga’s hilt and remembered his brother’s words when he’d arrived with Hisui. While Sesshomaru had been curious about the sword’s whereabouts, he hadn’t seemed terribly keen on claiming it. It was as if it had become a moot point. "I don’t think he wants it anymore," he spoke up after a moment.
        Everybody looked at him in surprise. "Why do you think that?" Kagome asked.
        Shunusuke tossed him a can of Coke, and Inu Yasha took the time to open it and take a few sips before replying. "He called me childish for hating him because of the Tetsusaiga after all these years. I don’t think he’d figured out that I’m here from the past and it hasn’t been four hundred years, or whatever, for me, like it has for him." He thought about it for a while more while his companions mulled over his words, drank cooling beverages and munched on crunchy-salty snacks Kagome called "pretzels". It was nice sitting in the sun by the sea. Too bad all those people were around, he thought, otherwise this would be a great place to be alone with Kagome. He closed his eyes and imagined himself sitting with Kagome on a blanket in the sand under the moonlight. He hastily chased that thought from his head before he got a dopey grin on his face, and the others wanted to know what he was so happy about.
        "I think Sesshomaru got where he is without the Tetsusaiga," Inu Yasha said as he watched seagulls wheel overhead, "so he doesn’t need it anymore." He shrugged and let his gaze fall on Kagome, then Shunusuke. "I guess we’ll know when he sees I have the sword with me now."
        Meanwhile, Inu Yasha had to grit his teeth and go along with Shunusuke’s stupid little plan to pretend nothing was wrong, just as Hisui had told everybody to do or she’d hurt Kagome’s family. Kagome wanted to call home to make sure her family was safe, but realized that might make Hisui hurt them. Maybe Inu Yasha’s idea of killing the bad guys wasn’t so bad…
        The gang hung out on the beach for most of the afternoon, firming up their plans, playing in the surf and getting great suntans (except for Sango, who refused to have anything to do with the bathing suit idea). They hoped this would give any of Hisui’s or Mikoto’s spies the idea that they were following orders and acting like all was well. Also, it gave Shunusuke the opportunity to work his wiles upon Sango, much to Miroku’s ire. Every joke of Shunusuke’s that got so much as a smile out of the demon hunter earned Asano a nasty glare from the priest. Not that Sango showed any romantic interest in Miroku, but, dammit, he saw her first! The guy was built like a bloody ox, though, Miroku thought unhappily, unconsciously comparing the size of Shunusuk’s arms to his own and not being very happy about the results.
        "Hmph! Asshole!" Miroku rolled over to let his back get some sun and wondered how badly Sango would beat him up if he asked her to rub that sunblock stuff into his skin. Well, that might be a bit too forward, especially compared to how charming Asano was being. He opened one eye a crack to see what the happy couple were doing now and thought he might have to wretch. They were checking out her arsenal and talking about the joys of Bushido. Figured Mr. Wonderful was some kind of samurai. Miroku made a quiet, disgusted noise and turned his head so he could watch bikini babes instead.
        "Oy, Miroku!" Shippo chirped from the nether region of the towel. "Kagome says you’ll get a sunburn if you don’t put some of this on your back!"
        The priest sighed miserably. "I can’t reach my back, Shippo."
        Pause. "You don’t think I’m gonna put this stuff on you?!"
        "Guess that leaves Sango and her new boyfriend," Miroku grouched back, "but they’re a little busy right now."
        Everybody on the towel shut up for a few seconds, then Shunusuke said: "I’m sorry. I had no idea you two were an item."
        "We are not an item!" Sango shot back with a blush coloring her cheeks.
        Miroku quipped cheerfully: "There, you see, Shunusuke, there’s nothing to stand in your way. Better be careful, though: She hits hard."
        "YOU JERK!"
        Pummel.
        Shunusuke gulped as Miroku’s eyes rolled up into his head and the priest collapsed onto the towel with an assortment of lumps on his skull and a black eye. "Really hard…"
        "Cut it out, you guys," Shippo cried and pointed in the direction of the hotel at an all-to-familiar white-haired couple who were headed straight for them. "it’s Hisui and Sesshomaru!"
        Miroku emerged from his battered haze at Sesshomaru’s name and sat up to see for himself, hands wrapped about his throbbing skull. Lo! It was indeed The Enemy. The two demon lords walked hand in hand along the beach with happy smiles on their faces, ignoring the stares of the other beach goers. Inu Yasha and the others paused in mid splash out in the surf to gape at them in disbelief. Hisui wore a tasteful black one-piece bathing suit that zipped up the front, and Sesshomaru wore a tiny black Speedo™. The sight of him in a tight bit of next-to-nothing made Sango, Kagome and Rei blush up to their ears. That was nothing compared to what happened next: Sesshomaru paused, pulled Hisui around by the hand, hugged her against him and kissed her passionately. As his enemies watched, his hands slid down her back to her butt, to push her more tightly against him. This didn’t seem to offend Hisui in the least. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and one of her knees bent to allow her leg to rub against his. When they were done with their little show, they looked into each other’s eyes with steamy expressions, then giggled and ran up to Shunusuke.
        "Um," Hisui began shyly, "can we use the condo for a few hours, Shunusuke?" She giggled and snuggled against Sesshomaru’s arm.
        He put his arm around her and bent to nip her ear with his fangs. "And be left alone?"
        Shunusuke sputtered and nodded. "Be my guest."
        The lustful couple linked hands and ran for the condo, still giggling. Inu Yasha, Kagome and Yuki emerged from the sea and stood by the towel to watch them go. Myouga hopped from his napping spot in the middle of the towel to Sango’s shoulder to get a better view.
        "That was weird," he said.
        Everybody nodded their dazed agreement.
        After a few seconds, Miroku asked: "Did she say ‘hours’?"
        "Whoa…" admired Shunusuke.
        With a completely innocent expression, Miroku turned to Kagome and quipped: "With any luck, Kagome, it runs in the family!"
        She looked puzzled. "What does?"
        Yuki and Shunusuke chuckled and grinned wickedly at Inu Yasha, who turned bright red and beat the crap out of Miroku.

        The horizon was turning shades of orange and purple, and still Hisui and Sesshomaru hadn’t emerged from the condo. The little group of hungry beach bums had polished off everything in Shunusuke’s cooler and were trying to figure out what to do about dinner, since nobody had remembered to bring their wallet with them.
        "Don’t you have a tab, or something?" Kagome asked the Asano kids, who shook their heads.
        "They don’t do that here," Shunusuke explained.
        "What about your dad?" Kagome persisted. "He wants you to act normal, right? Kids always ask their parents for money."
        That was met with a disgusted snort from both Shunusuke and his sister. "There’s nothing for it," Shunusuke sighed, "we’ll just have to risk walking in on them."
        "WE?!" Everybody else exclaimed.
        "You can risk it," Inu Yasha told him pointedly. "I ain’t going anywhere near that place with them in there, doing that!"
        "Me neither," Kagome agreed and was seconded by everybody but Miroku and Shunusuke, who had already volunteered to go. Sort of.
        Everybody stared hard at Miroku until he gave in. "Alright already! I won’t go, either!" He cringed. "Just don’t hit me again. I’m all out of uninjured flesh."
        Sango humped and tossed her head. "Well if you weren’t such a pervert, you wouldn’t get hit!"
        "If you weren’t such a bitch, I wouldn’t get hit," Miroku muttered under his breath and got hit by Sango, Kagome and Yuki.
        He regained consciousness, fully dressed and sitting in a high-backed leather chair in a pleasant, well-appointed room full of chatting people. His companions were dressed, too. They must have returned to Shunusuke’s house to get their clothes. He wondered with a little smile what they found when they arrived. Heh. Better not think about that too much, or he might wind up with a few more lumps.
        He looked around, trying to guess where he might be: There was a round table in front of him. To his left, Kagome, Inu Yasha and Shippo shared a long, curved leather chair. Yuki was in a chair on his right, then Sango and Shunusuke. On the table were plates, chopsticks and a teapot. Everyone had a cup of tea either in their hand or in front of them. There was even a full cup placed in front of him on the table. He looked around the room: Lots of potted plants and watercolor paintings that looked Chinese. The floor was paneled in large squares of alternating light and dark colored wood. Strange devices with short paddles on them slowly turned overhead. They stirred up a pleasant breeze, so Miroku deduced they were fans, though he couldn’t guess what was keeping them turning at such an even rate. The walls were covered with paper printed with a pattern of bamboo leaves that were only the barest shade paler than the sandy-colored paper. There were lots of other tables in the room, but only the ones in the corners had big benches, like the one Kagome, Inu Yasha and Shippo sat on. A long counter made of bamboo stood against the wall directly across from him. A man and a woman prepared drinks behind it, pouring the liquor from bottles and squirting it out of hoses. People sat at the counter, as well as the tables. He supposed the place was tasteful. It certainly looked rich and there was no doubt about its popularity, if the crowd was any indication.
        Just as he was about to ask where he was, a cheerful young woman appeared at Yuki’s shoulder and took a small pad of paper and what Miroku presumed to be a writing instrument from a pocket in her apron.
        "Are you ready to order?" She asked them in a very perky voice, then noticed Miroku was awake and added with a smile for him: "Oh good, you’re awake! Would you like time to look over the menu, or do you already know what you’d like to eat?"
        "You look delicious," the priest thought but wisely kept it to himself. Poor girl must think he’d just walked off a battlefield with all the bruises he could feel on his body and face. Maybe when he’d recovered. He smiled at her, which hurt a bit. "What is everyone else having?" There, that was probably safe. Who knew if people in Kagome’s time at the same things people ate in his time. He’d just get whatever Kagome did and trust her to like good things.
        Apparently, the gang had come to a consensus about supper while he was unconscious, because their spokesperson Shunusuke ordered one item: Yose Nabe (vegetable and seafood pot), which sounded great to Miroku. He was just relieved to know food hadn’t changed in four hundred years. Miroku ordered a bottle of sake.
        While waiting for supper to arrive, they gossiped about Hisui and Sesshomaru, theorizing whether it was true love or just great sex (or both), and if they could use the relationship to their advantage. Their drinks arrived (Miroku being the only one having something with a kick to it), but just as they started to relax, Mikoto popped by the table to ask how they were and what they’d ordered for dinner. Since he didn’t seem inclined to hang around, they answered his questions through forced smiles, then Kagome got stupid.
        "How’s my family?" She asked with cold courtesy, and Mikoto’s smile grew suddenly stiff.
        "Alive," he replied tersely. "It wasn’t my idea to threaten them, I assure you." He looked around the room for a moment, then leaned close to Kagome’s ear. "My people are protecting them. Hisui doesn’t know."
        Kagome didn’t buy that for a second, not any part of it. Hisui was almost godlike in her ability to read minds (or so everyone else seemed to think), and there was no way Mikoto was on her side, since Inu Yasha had stolen the shards from him in the first place. "Yeah, right."
        Mikoto looked confused. "I still want the shards, Kagome," he explained, "but threatening you or killing your family won’t put them in my hands. There are other ways to get what you want than violence and petty threats. I suppose you find that surprising coming from me."
        She wasn’t the only one. Even his own children were skeptical, but said nothing.
        Kagome folded her arms across her chest and frowned. "If you’re really on our side," she asked darkly, "then tell us why Hisui wants us to act like everything’s normal to keep my family alive? Why didn’t she demand the shards instead? That’s really what she wants, isn’t it?"
        Everybody looked at Mikoto expectantly, but he just shrugged. "I’m not sure. She hasn’t talked about the Shikon Jewel for centuries, but I can’t image she’s really lost interest in something that powerful. She wouldn’t tell me why she’s doing things this way, just commanded me to obey."
        "Like she commanded you to threaten my family?" Kagome snorted.
        He smiled. "That was never commanded, so maybe she was counting on me to try to protect them. Hisui Oukami works in strange and mysterious ways."
        "’Strange and mysterious’, my ass!" Inu Yasha barked. "She’s deranged!"
        Mikoto’s jaw tightened and his eyes sparkled dangerously. "That’s my mother you’re talking about, little boy. Watch your mouth."
        Inu Yasha reached around to where the Tetsusaiga was hiding behind his back. After spending an afternoon pretending all was well with his world, he was spoiling for a little soothing violence. Fortunately for the restaurant, he was sitting next to Kagome, who gave him the look she got right before uttering the "S" word, so he settled down with an unhappy growl.
        "So what are we supposed to do?" Yuki asked. "What’s normal to Hisui?"
        "Not normal to Hisui," her father replied, "normal to you. What do you kids usually do when you’re here? I seem to recall you throwing some kind of party every summer…" He raised a curious eyebrow at each of his children in turn. "Or am I thinking of the dance the hotel puts on?"
        Yuki shook her head. "No, Daddy," she sighed, "Shunusuke and I usually host a party when we’re here."
        "Who feels like going to a party?" Shippo pouted. The others agreed with him.
        Mikoto gave the kitsune a scary grin. "It would make Hisui happy…"
        Groans all around the table.
        "She wouldn’t be there, would she?" Kagome asked, knowing the answer before Mikoto even opened his mouth.
        "Of course," he told her cheerfully, "what jet-setter doesn’t love a party? It fits her image. So! What kind of party will it be?"
        "A funeral?" Shunusuke muttered, and got cuffed in the head by his father. "We have to think about it."
        "You should plan it for tomorrow night," Mikoto told him in a no-nonsense voice, making it more an order than a suggestion. Then he nodded to himself and smiled at all of them again. "Yes, I think that would be perfect. I’ll speak to the hotel manager tonight. Any preference on a room?"
        Since their father was leaving them no choice, Shunusuke and Yuki put their heads together and made a decision, committing themselves to hosting a big party whether they liked it or not. "Someplace where we can have a band, or at least a DJ," Yuki said, "and a bar. Oh, and finger food, too."
        "I think tomorrow night is too short notice," Shunusuke added. "Better make it Thursday night."
        Mikoto shook his head firmly. "No. Tomorrow."
        "What’s the big deal, Dad?!" Shunusuke shot back incredulously. "So it’s another day. What? Is Hisui planning to kill us on Thursday?"
        Mikoto rolled his eyes. "Don’t be childish, Shunusuke. Just do as I say."
        Grumble-grumble. "Fine."
        "Tomorrow it is, then!" Yuki exclaimed, resigned to the inevitable. Anyway, she thought, a party might be just what they all needed. Yeah, like a hole in the head. She watched her father weave around the tables and leave the restaurant, presumably to arrange for a party room with the manager. Why did Hisui want them to act normal so badly? Maybe she just a big control freak who got a thrill from scaring people into indulging her every whim. Hm. In that light, she wasn’t quite as fabulous as Yuki had thought she was.

        By the time the gang headed back to the condo for some well-earned (in their opinion) R-and-R, the party plans were finalized, the room reserved, and arrangements made with the hotel to advertise it to its guests with posters and little cards slipped under people’s doors. Party theme: Austin Powers Groovy Shindig. The only ones in the group who got it were Shunusuke, Yuki and Kagome. For the others’ benefit, they’d dig the movie Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, on DVD in the Asano condo, which was mercifully free of shagging enemies.
        "It’s perfect," Yuki explained as Shunusuke loaded up the DVD, and the rest of them settled in with chips, dip and soda, "the second movie just came out in theatres, so everybody’ll be in the right mood!"
        Inu Yasha growled at her. "If you say so."
        "You’ll dig it, baby," Yuki replied with a grin, earning herself and even meaner look from the baffled dog demon. "It’s shagadelic!"
        "Whatever."
        As Shunusuke sat on the floor between Inu Yasha and Sango, he said: "The important thing is what they’re wearing. You’re supposed to dress up like it’s the sixties, like the people in the movie."
        Kagome sat next to Inu Yasha and gave him an encouraging nudge. "Hope you can read fast. Those subtitles go by pretty quick."
        "Huh?"
        "The movie’s in English," Kagome told him. "But it’s translated into Japanese with words at the bottom of the screen."
        Oh great. Not only was he being made to watch some weird form of entertainment, it was in a foreign language, too. "I’m going to bed—" He started to get up, but Kagome pulled him down again.
        "Oh, come on, Inu Yasha," she pleaded and fetchingly batted her eyes, "it’ll be fun. We need fun, right?"
        "We need an army," he snorted back, then whined: "I don’t feel like reading."
        Kagome put her hand on his thigh, making him forget everything else he planned to complain about. "You can read, can’t you?" She teased.
        He narrowed his eyes and showed her his fangs. "Of course I can read. I just don’t feel like it." He leaned back against the couch where Miroku, Yuki, Shippo and Myouga were sitting and pouted. "I’ve had a rough day."
        "And we haven’t?!" Shippo, Yuki and Sango exclaimed at the same time. Shippo added a kick to the back of Inu Yasha’s head for good measure. "You’re such a big baby, Inu Yasha."
        Inu Yasha twisted around, grabbed for Shippo’s foot and missed. Kagome had to practically sit on him to keep him from chasing the little kitsune around the room. "Inu Yasha! Grow up now!"
        The action froze. Inu Yasha flopped back down beside her with a hurt look. Shippo snuggled back against the arm of the couch. The copyright info popped up on the TV screen, so Shunusuke fast forwarded to where the movie actually began. "Let’s just watch the movie, ok?" He suggested.
        They got through the big dance number, then the set up before Inu Yasha got tired of trying to keep up with the subtitles and just watched what the people were wearing. What weird clothes, he thought. And that hair… Did that woman have a rat on her head, or what? He rather liked all the cute girls dancing around in short dresses, though. That was interesting to watch. The men’s clothing was horrible. No way was he wearing anything like that.
        After a while, an interesting little revelation insinuated itself into Inu Yasha's brain: The people in the room were arranged in couples, except for Shippo and Myouga (who would kill him if he suggested they were a pair). Kagome sat next to him, Shunusuke sat next to Sango and Yuki sat next to Miroku. Hmmm…
        When the movie ended, Inu Yasha was the first to express an opinion: "That sucked. There is no way I’m wearing stupid clothes like that."
        Yuki ruffled his hair, and he gave her a wicked snarl. "You don’t have to dress exactly like one of them, you could dress like…" she thought about it, then suddenly brightened. "Like a rock star from that time! You could be, um…um…"
        "Jim Morrison!" Shunusuke exclaimed and gave the demon a companionable thump on the back.
        Inu Yasha was suspicious. "Who?"
        "Not The Who," Shunusuke said with a straight face, "Jim Morrison."
        "Eh?"
        "Sorry. Bad joke." Shunusuke got up and put away the Austin Powers DVD, then rooted around in the cabinet for a while. "Ah! Here we go. This’ll help." He stuck the little disk into the machine, then stepped back to let it do its thing. "An Evening With The Doors," he declared. "That was Jim Morrison’s band: The Doors. This is a movie of one of their concerts." He sat down and added: "Morrison’s dead, by the way, but he’s huge legend. Very cool. Watch."
        They did. "Is he drunk?" Was Sango’s first question.
        "Stoned," Yuki replied.
        "Drugs," Kagome explained.
        "I like his voice," Inu Yasha said, getting surprised looks from his friends. "What? I like music." He growled, then went back to watching the movie. After a while longer, he declared: "I want to dress like him. He’s cool."
        Kagome was stunned. What else didn’t she know about her favorite grouchy dog demon? Now he liked American classic rock. What was next? The Beatles? The Rolling Stones? Would Inu Yasha want to act like Mick Jagger? She tried to imagine Inu Yasha with big lips, grooving around stage singing Jumpin’ Jack Flash and just couldn’t do it without giggling.
        The object of her amusing fantasy poked her in the arm and demanded to know what was so bloody funny. "Nothing! I was laughing at something else."
        "Do you think he’s funny?" Inu Yasha asked cautiously and pointed at the screen. "Will people laugh at me if I dress like him?"
        Kagome took another look at Jim Morrison in his leather pants and sweaty shirt unbuttoned down to his belt. Then she put Inu Yasha in those clothes. Hm. She’d already seen him in leather pants (very nice) and she’d seen his chest, too (also nice). No, not funny at all. "I think you’d look cool as Jim Morrison," she admitted shyly.
        That decided it: Inu Yasha would be Jim Morrison. With long white hair instead of curly black hair. No biggie. They were now ready to party. Rock ‘n’ Roll, baby, yeah!