Strike
AN: So, I was bowling, and being as wonderful at it as I am (coughs), I started thinking about ways to get strikes. The whole "think of something you don't like" theory came to mind, and as it did, so did this fic! Which, pretty much killed any strike ideas after that because I was formulating this, lol. Come to think of it, this is really my first AU story. I've never been too into it, but recently I've been warming up to it. Yeah, enjoy! Oh yes! Inuyasha own don't I.
It was just another Saturday night at the bowling alley. People came and went, having a good time with their friends while trying their best to break 100. It was during this usual hubbub that they walked in. They had been together for a few months now, and had finally ended up picking this place as the spot for their next date.
"I haven't been bowling since I was a little girl," Sango laughed as they walked up to the counter.
"I'm sure you'll pick it up again in no time," Miroku replied, grinning at her. "Besides, even if you don't, I can always help you."
She rolled her eyes as she told the worker her shoe size and began heading off to find a ball. Miroku paid and did the same, although he seemed to find the right weight quickly and went to the lane they that had been assigned to start changing his footwear.
She finally found one that she felt she could manage and joined him, trying her best to adjust the old laces. Their relationship had really been one of the best she had ever been in. Miroku was smart, funny, good looking, and almost always seemed to know the right thing to say. If only it wasn't for that one problem...
Sadly, as she was hunched over her work, she failed to notice that problem begin to settle into the lane next to theirs. Three of it, to be precise, all wearing small T-shirts and tight jeans.
Miroku noticed right away, as usual. He looked at them and grinned. Three single girls having a night out was not something he wanted to miss out on, even though he all ready had one that had willingly come with him.
The girls noticed him and giggled. Oh, yes, they were willing enough!
"Do you want to go first?" Sango said, finishing with her second shoe and grabbing the ball she had selected.
"Uh, no, you go ahead," he quickly replied, turning his gaze back to the girls. They giggled again.
"Okay," she answered, not noticing where her date's attentions were and going up to the lane. Wait, which fingers was she supposed to use? And what leg was she supposed to start with?
After a few seconds, Sango though she had finally remembered what the proper style was and began swinging the ball back behind her.
"So, what are you ladies doing here tonight?"
THUD. She had stopped in mid-stride, her arm still extended behind her while the bowling ball began rolling back toward their seats. He wasn't... Was he?
She turned and looked. Sure enough, Miroku was leaning on the edge of his plastic chair and goofily grinning at the three women the next lane over. She sighed. Why did this always have to happen?
Sango debated with herself for a moment as to what she should do. As much as she liked Miroku, he did this way too often. In fact, she had even started growing tired of telling him to knock it off. She didn't know how those girls could seem so interested, especially noticing her there!
She glared at him for a moment, and finally picked up her ball, giving another look back at the flirting male.
"Do you come here often?" he asked, still smiling as the girls looked between themselves, as though they were trying to see which should answer.
X
"Every once in a while," one finally answered, trying to hold back her giggles with the other two.
"Hey, Miroku," Sango called angrily, crossing her arms and frowning. "It's your turn."
He looked back at her, slightly nervous. "Uh, you know, come to think of it, my hand his really bugging me," he said, rubbing his right palm. "Maybe I'll just watch this game."
She glared at him for a moment longer. "Fine," she eventually answered, turning and picking up her ball again.
Miroku turned back to the girls, who seemed confused. "So, how good are you at bowling?" he asked, his grin returning.
"Well, we could probably be better," another answered, a small smile on her face.
"Really?" he replied, seeming to be deep in thought. "Well, maybe I could help you out a bit!"
X
The girls giggled again. "Sure," the first one answered, and she got up to get her ball.
Miroku went over into their lane, seeming to not notice the death look Sango was shooting in his general direction. "Okay, let's see what you can do," he said, getting behind her.
The girl took a few steps and bowled, only to have it land in the gutter after a few feet. She laughed a little. "See? I'm not very good."
"Now, now," he answered, sounding as smooth as he could, "let's see what we can fix." He went up behind her and grabbed her arms.
X
She once again giggled, her two friends starting to whisper amongst themselves. "Okay. What do I need to do?"
"Well, first, you need try and picture a line going from your hand to the first pin," he said, putting his head on her shoulder and moving her arm slowly back and forth for a while.
X
Her laughs were starting to sound uncontrollable. "Yes. And then what?"
"Well, why don't you just try this for now?" he said, stepping back and looking at the other two girls.
She tried again, this time managing to hit two of the corner pins. "Hey, I think it worked!" she said, smiling.
"Yeah, you're looking better all ready!" Miroku replied, returning the smile.
X
"So, who's next?" he asked, looking at the other two.
The one who hadn't spoken to him yet got up and bowled. She knocked down about four on the left side before turning around and looking at him. "How was that?"
"Good..." he began, walking up to her and letting his eyes scan up and down her body.
X
"Let's see here. Could you try showing me how you bowled again without actually having the ball?"
The girl laughed a little and pretended to bowl, keeping her eyes on him the entire time.
"What if you tried bending you knees a little more?" he said after a few moments, standing next to her and demonstrating. "That might help," he finished with a grin.
X
The girl took her second turn, this time having the ball end up in the gutter shortly before it got to the pins. "Oops!" she said, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"Well, I guess this means I'll just have to help you again next round," he answered, smiling. What could possibly go wrong on a night like this?
"You must be next," Miroku said to the remaining girl, offering her his hand so she could stand up. She snickered a little and took it, looking at him shyly.
X
As she started getting ready to throw, he suddenly walked up behind her. "Wait a minute," he said. "You need to hold the ball right, first. You've put the wrong fingers inside of the holes."
"This is how I've always done it," she answered quietly.
"Well, let's fix it, shall we?" he said, his smile growing bigger as he put his hand over hers and positioned her fingers in the appropriate places.
X
As the girl started giggling with her friends, Miroku noticed something odd. The alley had become strangely quiet. He didn't think that everyone else had just finished their games and left, and yet he could only recall hearing the crashes of pins coming from one other lane recently.
The girl went up and bowled, knocking down three pins.
"See, what did I tell you?" he said, putting his hand on her shoulder and smiling.
X
There it went again. That one other lane that still seemed to have bowlers. Miroku turned to the other girls, but noticed that they were pointing and staring at something.
It was at this point that he finally saw where everyone else had gone. A large group of people stood behind them, whispering to each other as they stared intently at something.
"What's going on?" he asked the other two girl, the third poking her head over his shoulder.
X
He finally saw what everyone had been staring at. There was Sango, her face cold and intent, waiting for her ball to return. He tried as best as he could to make his way over to her, wondering what this crowd was finding so interesting. Not that he didn't usually find a lot of things to be interesting in her, but having so many people looking at her was beginning to make him feel uneasy.
The ball finally came back and she picked it up, immediately walking toward the ready pins. She took a deep breath, frowned a bit more than she was, and with speed and agility that he never knew she had, she made quick work of all ten of the pins.
X
Suddenly, the crowd began cheering and rushing toward her. Sango's expression remained the same.
Miroku blinked in confusion and looked at the screen that displayed the scores. His jaw dropped in amazement.
"300!" he exclaimed, fighting his way through the crowd toward his girlfriend, grinning like mad. She glanced at him for a moment, her face not lightening up any before she turned back to the inaudible people congratulating her.
Miroku put an arm around her shoulder. "I thought you said you hadn't bowled since you were little!" he said with a laugh.
"I haven't," she replied coldly, glaring at him for all she was worth.
Miroku backed away. Okay, something wasn't right here...
"Are you serious?" one of the people who worked at the alley said after hearing her comment. "Then how did you get a perfect score?"
"Oh you know," she answered, angrily glancing at Miroku one more time, "I just used that old trick of imagining something you really wanted to hit as the first pin."
Miroku gulped. Oh, he was so dead!
AN: Yeah. If any of you can bowl, I'm sure you noticed that I know next to nothing, lol. I know I should be working on Consequences, but hey, I just updated, and the next chapter will be done shortly! Besides, I wanted to get this done while the inspiration was still fresh. I debated with having a more fluffy ending, but I thought that this was best. It probably could have been much better, but let me know what you thought!