Sooo, I know you guys have been waiting around for a new chapter of Novus Lux for like three weeks, but I've been really busy, so here's this to chew on instead! It's a cute little one-shot with Inuyasha and Kagome, and while they're the versions of themselves in Novus Lux, I don't actually know if this is going to happen in the story. I just kind of felt like writing it, and since I didn't have time for much else, it got written instead of a new chapter. I hope it's sufficiently entertaining. :)

One Shot: KO

KO!

"Hah!" Kagome shouted, as she initiated the final knockout sequence.

Inuyasha groaned.

"I told you I'd kick your ass!" She said, as she gleefully pounded the buttons of her game controller, nearly knocking over her gin and tonic. "Now you owe me another six-pack of my choice!"

"Remind me not to make any video game bets with you in the future," he grumbled. Stupidly, he had challenged her to a showdown at three of her fighting games: Street Fighter, Soul Calibur II, and Mortal Kombat, betting her a six-pack of beer for each game that he'd win. Inuyasha now owed her three six-packs.

Kagome stuck her tongue out at him, tossing her controller aside as her character on the screen executed a celebratory beheading.

"Aw, is Inuyasha jealous of my mad skills?" She leaned a little sideways on the couch, giving him a playful pitying look. She gave a small hiccup, ruining her attempt at fake sympathy.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. "Not really. You'd probably suck at DDR right now."

"Nuh-uh!" She exclaimed, rising to the bait. She might be a bit tipsy and silly at the moment, but she was pretty sure she still had her feet firmly under her.

"I dunno…" Inuyasha smirked.

"Oh, you are so on!" She said, jumping up to set up the mats.

As she scurried around hooking up wires, he watched, shaking his head. Apparently she holds her alcohol better than I thought. They were drinking gin and tonic at Kagome's suggestion ("Old games are better with alcohol!" She had declared when he came over.), and she was on her third. So was Inuyasha, but he didn't think he was feeling the buzz quite like she was. Though from the steadiness of her hands with the wires, perhaps he was mistaken.

"All done!" Kagome sing-songed. "You better not ruin my DDR mats with your claws," she admonished.

Inuyasha looked down at his bare feet. They had taken off their charms for the time being, so both his demon features and her spiritual markings were clearly visible. He wiggled his toes. The nails were just starting grow out again where he'd trimmed them, coming to a short point. He looked back up at Kagome, and saw that she too was considering his toes.

"Put some socks on."

"That'll give you an unfair advantage!"

"Then I'll put some on too."

"Fine," he groused, reaching to grab his socks from where they lay atop his tennis shoes.

Feet covered, they stepped onto the mats, Kagome scrolling through the list of songs. She threw Inuyasha an evil look, set the difficulty to the highest setting, and selected "Pluto Relinquish" from the song list.

Inuyasha gaped at her. "You've got to be kidding."

"Nope." Now it was her turn to smirk.

"We're both going to end up on our asses."

"We'll see about that." She grinned at him impishly. "Ready?"

He turned his face back to the TV screen in response.

They started the song.

As they stomped their way around their mats, it became quite clear that neither of them would have been able to beat the song even if they had been sober. Their feet were a blur of chaotic movement, but they were missing half of the steps. Despite the fact that they were both failing miserably, Inuyasha was faring ever so slightly better than Kagome.

"Jesus…Christ…!" She exclaimed breathlessly.

"It was…your…idea…idiot!" He returned, staring intently at the screen, trying to keep up with the arrows dashing across the display.

"Don't call…me…that…!" She turned to glare at him. The small movement caused her to overbalance and her socked feet slipped from under her. She crashed into Inuyasha just as the last of the arrows skittered across the screen.

Inuyasha didn't have time to react, concentrating as he was on finishing out the song. They fell in a heap of tangled limbs and curses.

"Fuuuck…" groaned Kagome, rubbing her jaw where it had connected with Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Bloody Hell!" Inuyasha had smacked the back of his head on the edge of the wooden coffee table.

They lay for a moment nursing their bruises, unconscious of their slightly compromised position. Inuyasha's legs were twined with one of Kagome's, and she was lying heavily on his arm. His fingers began to tingle from the pressure.

"My arm's falling asleep," he said, glancing at her a little sheepishly.

"Oh…sorry…" Kagome sat up slowly off of his arm, disengaging her legs from his. She could feel her jaw swelling.

Inuyasha followed suit, wincing as the back of his head thrummed and his world spun briefly. Blinking, he glanced at Kagome. She was gingerly pressing a finger against her jaw, where it was already a nasty shade of pale green. He felt guilt well up in him, despite his own injury; he'd felt her jaw smack his shoulder.

She was working her jaw experimentally when suddenly Inuyasha was in front of her, a gentle hand on her chin. He turned her jaw so he could get a better look at the bruise blossoming there. She felt his warm breath on her face.

"Sorry…" he muttered, so softly she almost didn't hear it. "I'll get you some ice," he said louder.

He stood up and turned, starting to walk away, when he heard Kagome gasp.

"What?" he said worriedly, turning back.

"You're bleeding!"

"I am?"

She nodded mutely, gesturing to the back of his head, where a red streak decorated his silvery white hair.

He frowned, reaching up to feel the spot where he'd hit his head. His fingers encountered something sticky, but he could no longer feel the cut underneath.

"I'm fine—" he started to say.

"No you aren't!" She jumped up from the floor and dragged him back to the sofa, shoving him gently but firmly to a seat.

Ignoring the pain in her jaw, Kagome scooted in behind him to take a look. She pulled aside his soft hair where it was smeared with red, looking for the source of the blood.

"Really, it's fine—" Inuyasha started to pull away.

"It's not!" She put a restraining hand on his arm. Kagome found the knot on his head, but there was no cut. "Why isn't…?"

"I'm a demon, remember? I heal quickly."

"Oh. Right…." She removed her hands from his hair with a little reluctance. There wasn't any blood, but there was still the knot. It couldn't have felt particularly pleasant, but Inuyasha didn't seem to think much of it.

He turned to face her on the couch. "And you aren't a demon, so that needs some ice."

He left her sitting on the sofa as he went to her kitchen.

"Where are the plastic bags?" He called.

"In the drawer to the right of the sink!"

Inuyasha pulled out a ziplock bag and went to the freezer to crack some ice out of a tray. He stood for a moment, letting the cold air wash over his face. It helped smooth away the warm feeling of Kagome's hands exploring his hair and scalp, which he thought he'd probably enjoyed a little too much. Just get the goddamn ice.

He tossed some cubes into the bag and grabbed the towel hanging from the fridge handle.

Inuyasha found Kagome still sitting on the sofa, looking lost in thought as she pressed a finger delicately against her jaw. He crossed the room in a few short strides, and she looked up absently, sticking her hand out to take the bag of ice from him. He stood frozen for a split second in indecision before he sat hastily next to her and softly held the bag of ice to her injured jaw.

Kagome sat for a second with her hand still out, the weight on the sofa next to her and the sudden presence of cold on her face leaving her momentarily too shocked to move. Her eyes darted over to him. His face bore an odd expression, a mix of guilt and tenderness that she hadn't seen before. She raised her hand to take the ice pack from him, but he didn't move, and instead she ended up with her hand awkwardly covering his. She started to take it away when his unoccupied hand brushed her hair gently off her other cheek. Kagome turned more fully toward him, expression questioning, her hand still tentatively atop his.

Inuyasha's golden eyes locked with hers. "I'm sorry," he said for the second time, running his fingers gently through her hair.

She gave a little shiver. "I-it's okay…I'm okay, I mean, you don't have to—" clawed fingers interrupted her protest, laying softly on her lips. His breath bathed her cheeks in warmth as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Yes," he almost growled, eyes hooded, "I do have to." His hand drifted away from her lips.

She couldn't help herself. Her chin tilted until she felt her nose brush his.

Inuyasha felt her movement, their noses touching, pausing, then sliding past. He let the ice pack fall on the cushion, instead carefully cradling her jaw in his palm. His eyes closed.

I am so KO'd.

This was an experiment writing romantic scenes, so I hope you liked it! I need some practice at it before I tackle it in my larger Novux Lux story, so feedback would be much appreciated! I want to work out the kinks in how I write so I don't end up with more editing than I have to (there's a lot of that already, haha). Anyway, let me know what you think if you feel so inclined. :)

-ebj