Pancake Madness and other stories by Hairann

Nature's Magic Eight Ball

Title: Nature's Magic Eight Ball

Author: Hairann

Theme: The Ultimate Fanfic Tournament Challenge!

Round Three: “To be or not to be.”

Paired with: DestinysTears

Genre: Comedy

AU/CU: AU

Rating: K

Warnings: May cause cavities. This is not connected to Pancake Madness or Summertime fun, simply another story with them as children.

Word Count: 1793

Summary: After being asked a question to which she did not know the answer, Kagome seeks the help of nature's magic eight ball.

Challenge Link: http://www.dokuga.com/forum/29-challenges/46246-the-ultimate-fanfic-tournament-challenge?limit=25

Disclaimer: I do not own the quote 'to be or not to be' or the play Hamlet, both are copyright of William Shakespeare.

AN: Remember to vote for your favorite, DestinyTears's or mine by sending a private message on site to Tangerine Dream.  Also be sure to check out the link above for the other stories posted this round and vote for your favorite outta those :).

...

A young girl of only eight years tugged on the pig tails her mother had put her hair in that morning as she turned her umber eyes to gaze out the class room window. A moment later and one of them was in her mouth, becoming moistened as she chewed away on her hair unconsciously. At the back of her mind an important question begged to be answered, but being unable to do so at that moment, caused her thoughts to wander.

Just outside the window, in the bright afternoon sun, she could see her favorite tree to sit beneath casting shadows on the ground around it. The second hand on the clock ticked, the sound echoing in her ears, as she fidgeted in her seat, lightly tapping her nails against her desk. She wanted, no needed, to get out of that room, but as she turned toward the clock, she growled under her breath realizing only a minute had passed. It had felt like an hour to her.

Completely ignoring the teacher as she droned on about the homework, unaware she had lost her student's attention, the girl turned her attention back out the window already plotting the course she would take in her mind. In exactly two minutes the bell would ring, signaling the end of the day, and at that exact moment she would grab her books, which she had already stacked up on the edge of her desk, throw them into her bag and quickly make her way out of the room.

From there it was a left, a right and another left and she would be at her locker. She would grab her stuff, throwing it into her bag as she walked, and go down a flight of stairs and make another right before finding herself outside. She would then make a beeline for the small garden on the other side of the building before finally making her way to sit beneath her tree and set to work on answering the question weighting on her mind.

Impatience won out and she glanced back up at the clock noticing it had begun ticking down its final seconds. Ten and she was pulling her hair out of her mouth, letting it hang limply from her head, completely forgotten. Nine and her fingers began to inch toward her books, careful not to make a sound least the teacher realize she hadn't been paying attention and tell her to stay after. Eight and her fingers were curling under her books, ever so gently picking them up off of her desk.

Seven and she wanted to growl at the clock for taking so long. Six and she began to worry her bottom lip, anxious to get out. Five and the sound of the teacher dropping her chalk on the board startled her, causing her to drop her books the slight height she had raised them. Four and she knew what she feared would soon come to pass. The teacher would ask her to stay after class to get after her for not listening, for disturbing them.

Three and someone else in the room scrapped their chair, gaining the teacher's attention momentarily. Grateful for the distraction, she turned her attention back to the clock, watching as another second passed. Then just as the bell was about to ding, she noticed the teacher was about to open her mouth to speak and quickly threw her books into her bag. The bell sounded and she was out the door before her teacher even realized she was no longer in her seat. Sighing at the girl's antics, she called after her, “Don't run in the hall, Kagome.”

Having already planned out her entire course, Kagome made it to her tree in record time and was soon tossing her book bag into the grass and carefully arranging her skirt so her skin wouldn't come into direct contact with the ground as she sat down. Once she was sure she was situated as she wanted to be, she placed the large sunflower into her lap. Though it was already passed their blooming season, and in fact was not only almost completely wilted but was also the only one that had still remained this late in the year, it would do just fine for what she needed.

In this one instance, the appearance of the flower did not matter, nor did the scent. She needed it not to brighten up one's day or fill a room with a sweet fragrance, but simply to answer her question. While she already knew what she wanted the answer to be, was already crossing her fingers for it to be the right outcome, Kagome was a firm believer in signs, fate and destiny. She truly believed the flower would give her the answer it was fated to by her destiny and whatever it was, she fully intended on following.

Taking a long, deep breath, Kagome released it with a sigh before picking up the flower and pinching a petal between her small fingers. Plucking it gently, she held it up in front of her eyes, softly whispering, “To be,” to herself before releasing it and allowing it to be carried off in the wind. Selecting the next petal, she repeated her actions, this time whispering, “Or not to be,” as she released the petal into the wind.

“To be,” another petal was plucked, “or not to be,” and another. Again and again she repeated her actions, her words becoming a chant in her ears. Slowly the flower began to lose its volume as she allowed her voice to lull her mind into a sort of meditation. As she did, she thought about what event had set this one in motion. It had been a normal day until well after lunch. She sat in class, did her work, listened to the teacher, as she usually did. Hour after hour she had done the same up until the point she had noticed it.

Sitting on the edge of her desk, about to fall to the floor unnoticed, was a small folded up note. She had no idea who had placed it there or even how long it had been there. Making sure the teacher wasn't watching, Kagome had quietly opened it and read its contents. There wasn't much written; a single question and a name. That was it and it was that very question that she was now beseeching the sunflower for the answer to. Another petal was plucked, “To be,” and another, “or not to be.” Dozens of the tiny, dingy-yellow petals now littered her skirt and the grass around her.

Each one completely forgotten about the moment they had been released into the air, their purpose having been fulfilled. Noticing the petals had been diminished in numbers, and were in fact only a hand full left, Kagome had to stop herself from counting ahead to learn the answer sooner. This was not something to be rushed, now more than ever, she needed to have patience. She couldn't take the chance of losing her place, for fear she might get the wrong answer if she did.

Clearing her mind, Kagome concentrated on what she was doing, watching as each petal that was plucked fluttered to the ground. “To be,” she continued, even as she could see the end of the petals out of the corner of her eye, “or not to be.” Her fingers twitched as she forced herself to keep her steady pace. “To be or not to be,” petals were plucked and released. Taking a deep breath, Kagome released it with a sigh as her eyes fell closed.

Moments passed in silence before a soft smile adorned her face and she finally opened her eyes. Staring down at the sunflower, Kagome's gaze was drawn the the last remaining petal and she gently ran her finger across it before snatching it up and bringing it to her eyes. “So which is it?” a voice called out behind her, causing Kagome to fall backwards as she jumped up, only to trip over her skirt. Laying back, she stared up at the shadowed figure and tried to make out who was speaking to her. “Well?” the voice prompted again and she recognized it as the one who had written her the note.

Holding up the last wilted petal in her fingers, she held it out for him to see with a smile before answering, “To be. The answer is yes. I will go out with you, Sesshoumaru.” Instead of answering, he merely raised an eyebrow in question, not that she could see it as his face was still shadowed by the sun, before shrugging and holding out his hand to help her to her feet. As she dusted off the loose petals, Sesshoumaru scooped up her bag and began walking her home.

...

“Must you tell her that story, Kagome? Surely there are others, just as worthy of retelling,” a deep voice called out from the doorway, startling her. Turning to glare at her husband, she gestured for him to be quiet before turning back to pull the blanket over the sleeping child. Leaning down once she had finished, Kagome gently kissed her forehead before heading out of the room, turning off the light and shutting the door as she passed.

“Sorry, I finally got her to sleep and didn't want you to wake her up. And what's wrong with telling that story, Sesshoumaru? It's her favorite,” Kagome insisted with a smile aimed toward her husband as she began heading down the hall toward their bedroom to get ready to sleep. “And it's mine too,” she admitted as she pulled back the covers and climbed into bed, followed shortly by her husband. Just as she laid her head down on his chest and closed her eyes, the baby monitor started to give off static before their daughter started to cry.

“Stay, I'll get her,” Sesshoumaru offered as Kagome began to sit up and climbed out of bed himself. “Go to sleep, love, I shall return shortly,” he assured her as he threw on his housecoat, stepped into his slippers and began making his way back out of the room. Pausing in the door way, Sesshoumaru called back over his shoulder, “Oh and she is only a month old. I highly doubt Rin has a favorite story yet. But if you keep repeating it every night, she's going to end up with your addiction to flowers.” An instant after he had passed through the threshold, his pillow impacted the doorway followed by the soft giggling of his wife.