Not an Option
Summary: Kagome Higurashi had seen his eyes after the match with Shuusuke, no one else had realized it, but he had truly contemplated quitting Tennis, not because of the loss of victory...but because of his loss of control...or, lack thereof.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha/Prince of Tennis
Genre: Romance/Angst/Drama
Rated: M for Mature Content
Pairing: Kagome/Akaya
-x-x-x-
'I'm not saying that I condone his behavior, but something about the way those events played out...it wasn't normal.' Kagome watched the ball roll away from the Fudoumine's captain. The injury to his right ankle becoming more and more apparent with every step made. Finally, it was over, and Rikkaidai played victor to another set.
Kagome stepped up onto the court as Tachibana was taken away on a medical gurney. "...Akaya-Kun..."
Akaya turned with a twisted grin on his face, but his eyes didn't match the facial expression. His eyes were scared, terrified, shaken up from what had just happened. "K-Kagome-Senpai..."
Kagome gave a small smile, "come on Akaya-Kun, let's go get some water,"
A hand was placed on her shoulder and she turned to see the Rikkaidai team's vice captain standing behind her. She brushed his hand off her shoulder with a frown before taking Akaya by the hand and walking off the court.
-x-x-x-
"Kagome-San is mad, Sanada-San."
Sanada stared after the retreating backs of Rikkaidai's Ace and his baby sister. If not for the fact that she was his little sister, he would have told her to leave Akaya be and get off the court, but out of all of them, she knew Akaya best, since she was closest to his age group. "Yanagi-San, go and keep an eye on them."
"...hai."
-x-x-x-
"Do you believe in hell, Kagome-Senpai?"
"...do I believe...hmm," Kagome smiled, "I can't say that I do. I believe that the hell we imagine up is due entirely to our own inner demons. We create the place that we are to go, and if our hearts are made up entirely of things that torment us at night, these...inner demons...then we go to a place like that. I think, when you die, it's like falling into a deep sleep, and you either fall into a dream...or a nightmare..."
"I've only had nightmares...ever since I could remember, I've always been afraid of something. I feel like I'm always running away…"
Kagome frowned, turning to Akaya who had stopped walking, she brought her hands to the sides of his face. "Akaya, if you ever feel like running away, come to me. I don't know if I can do anything to ease your fears, but I want to be able to help you. Your eyes..." she traced her thumbs under his eyes and smiled sadly, "I can see your scared, no matter what sinister smile you may be wearing at the time, the horror in your eyes is undeniable."
His eyes widened and for a moment, she thought he might pull away from her, he normally did if someone tried to console him, but his actions next took her by surprise. His arms wound gently, but firmly around her waist as he buried his face in her neck, her hair flying around the two of them at the sudden movement.
She felt tears sliding down her neck, none of which were hers. Pulling her arms from his face, she dropped down onto her knees, Akaya joining her when gravity took over him. Holding him, she rubbed soothing circles on his back as she closed her eyes, neither aware of the eyes which were watching from a distance.
-x-x-x-
Stepping back into the shadows of the trees where he leaned against one of the trunks, Yanagi watched from afar the interaction between the two. He knew just as well as the rest of the team, that there were problems with Akaya, but who was he to intervene with the younger boys' issues?
He stayed in the shadows until finally the sun had started to set. It didn't seem as if the two would be leaving anytime soon, deciding to go ahead and return back Yanagi made to leave when he saw movement at the corner of his eyes. Akaya lifted his head and with those tears defining his cheeks ever so slightly, glistening with the light of dusks sun, he leaned forward and kissed the vice captains sister.
With his eyes slightly wider due to his surprise, Yanagi opened his flip book, he took down some notes before he finally left the two younger Rikkaidai students to their own devices.
-x-x-x-
Kagome was slightly surprised by what had just happened. She had always thought of Akaya as cute, but it was more like a baby brother, never anything more, even still she thought of him as a baby brother, despite the kiss she'd just received. "A...Akaya..."
"...gomen, Senpai..." Akaya stood silently, his eyes shadowed by his bangs as he left back in the direction of the Rikkaidai tennis team.
"...Akaya-Kun..." her voice barely came to whisper as his name drifted away on the wind. Curiously, she couldn't help but wonder, what exactly was going on in that head of his. Standing, Kagome sighed, "...baka..."
-x-x-x-
Sanada looked to his left as he watched Yanagi return, s few seconds before Akaya joined them. "Kirihara-San, where is Kagome?"
Akaya sat down and shrugged his shoulders.
"You were with her, weren't you?" Sanada stood up irritably, the only time he really ever showed emotions such as anger or irritability was when it concerned one of two people. His little sister, or Seiichi. This was one of those situations.
"Nii-San, I'm right here." Kagome walked up as Fudoumine began vacating the court, "You act like I need a keeper."
"As far as I can see, you do."
Raising a brow, Kagome couldn't keep the smartass comment from falling from her lips, "as opposed to your flawless credentials, I'm sure I'm not the only one in our family who requires some supervision, Nii-san." She watched him turn a fierce glare to her and couldn't help but smirk. He knew what she was referring to. Countless nights he would sneak out to his...friend...Seiichi. This was however before he was hospitalized, but still, she recalled how many times he'd sneak in around three in the morning, and she had known long ago of the attraction between the two. "Did I say something that upset you, Nii-san?"
"Kagome, you will be running laps along with the rest of the regular's upon our return."
Rolling her eyes, Kagome shrugged, 'whatever...in the end I can just choose to not show up.'
-x-x-x-
Me: Here is the first chapter to 'Not an Option'! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, let me know what you think, nya~!