Disclaimer: InuYasha belongs to: Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Media, Shogakukan, Sunrise, Yumiuri TV and the other foreign manga rights companies.
A Game of Touch
Kagome woke up a little excited and a bit anxious. Today was the day Inuyasha had scheduled a football game with his friends and family. She was nervous because she knew Inuyasha's older brother, Sesshoumaru, was in town and that Inuyasha would be forced to invite him along. Thus forcing 'this Sesshomaru' to attend. A plus side to it was having the chance of seeing her old gang from high school and college that she had lost touch with. But mostly, she was looking forward to seeing him.
It had been a couple of years since Kagome had seen him and she wondered if he had changed much. In high school she had been head over heels infatuated with him. Of course, everyone knew except for Sesshoumaru. He graduated and remained completely oblivious to her overwhelming affections.
Kagome could remember the first time she met him. Well she didn't actually meet him; just sort of bumped into him, knocking down both the books in his arms and hers as well. It was weird that all of their meetings afterward involved her knocking down something of his, or tripping over him.
The woman knew she was klutz when she was around Sesshoumaru. And every time it happened, the inevitable awkward collision, like the first time. He'd help her pick up her books or whatever she had dropped and each time their hands would touch a jolt of electricity would race through her. It was hard to look away from him when they ran into each other. She would look into his eyes and instantly she'd be captivated by their amber hue. Sometimes when they "met" up, he would walk her to her next class and they would talk. Well, she would do most of the talking. It was nice to have his attention, even if it was for a brief moment.
From that first day and that initial shock, she wanted nothing more than for him to become an integral part of her life. Every now and again when she thought back, she would regret having not taken the chance and making her feelings known to him. 'Ah, well, no time for moping,' With that she refocused her thoughts.
One thing she wasn't looking forward to was seeing Kouga again. He was a nice guy but he annoyed her beyond all reason. He made decisions about her relationship status with him without including her in the decision making process.
Now, all she had to do was get ready. She was going to take a quick shower, throw on some cute athletic wear, and grab a quick bite to eat. Her next stop would be Sango's place to pick her up before they both went to meet up with everyone else at the park.
"Hey, Sango, where's Miroku?" Kagome asked as the two women exited Sango's apartment.
"He's going to meet us. He was with Inuyasha last night and I guess he spent the night over there," Sango supplied.
"So Kagome…you ready to see Sesshoumaru today?" Sango asked the apparently nervous woman.
"As ready as I'll ever be," Kagome replied.
"I cannot believe you still have feelings for him! Don't you think it's way past time to move on?" Sango inquired.
"Yeah, I know Sango. I've tried to date though…it just never seems to work out with anyone."
"It would if you would stop comparing them to him. You act like he was some great love that you lost. You two didn't even date and you're so hard up for that dweeb," Sango pointed out.
"You may be right, but a girl can still dream, can't she? And he is not a dweeb. He's just unusually quiet and very, very smart."
"Yeah, whatever. We better get going. I can hear Inuyasha yelling from here."
When Sango and Kagome arrived, just about everyone had made it to the park. And to both Kagome's and Sango's surprise, little Shippou, who really wasn't so little anymore, was there and Rin had made an appearance.
"Shippou! Rin! I'm so happy to see you two," Kagome said cheerily as she approached them, tackling them with hugs. After Kagome hugged Shippou she noticed how his cheeks lit up and turned a rose color.
"Kagome!" Kouga said as he ripped her hands away from Shippou and turned her towards him. "How's my woman? I haven't seen you around much and you never answer your phone when I call."
"I'm sorry, Kouga. I've just been really busy, you know, with work. Yeah, that's right work," Kagome responded before she forcefully pulled her hands away from the overly amorous wolf youkai.
"Why don't you leave Kagome alone, you stinkin' wolf," Inuyasha said to Kouga after he shoved the wolf out of the way. "Anyway, we have a game to play. How about we play girls against the guys?" Inuyasha suggested smiling mischievously as he folded his arms across his chest.
"I think we should pick team captains and then they can decide who all are on teams," Ayame said as she pushed Kouga farther away from Kagome.
"I'm a team captain," declared Inuyasha. Everyone knew not to argue with him. It would go a lot smoother if they didn't. "I think Kagome should be the other," he said. 'She'll pick based on who she likes and not who's actually any good,' he thought smugly.
Everyone immediately agreed so Kagome really didn't have a chance to back out. "Fine," she reluctantly accepted. "But who gets first pick? And what are we playing up to?"
"The first team with 10 touchdowns wins. Heads or tails?" asked Miroku.
"Heads!" yelled Inuyasha. So that left Kagome with tails.
Miroku flipped the coin in the air, caught it as it descended and slapped it on his arm. "Inuyasha picks first."
"Sesshoumaru," he said, smiling like the Cheshire cat. 'They'll never beat us with that jackass. He hates to lose, too.'
Kagome looked back and forth at the group. "Sango."
Inuyasha and Kagome continued to go back and forth choosing their teammates. In the end, Inuyasha had Sesshoumaru, Miroku, Yura, Bankotsu, Kikyo, and Hiten on his team. While Kagome ended up with Sango, Kouga, Ayame, Jakotsu, Shippo, and Rin on her team.
"I want to go on the record and say how unfair I think it is for humans to play this sport with demons and we have children on our team!" complained Jakotsu.
"Quit gripin'. If you're upset about your team, it's your captain's fault," Inuyasha said while pointedly looking at Kagome. 'This will be a breeze.'
"Come on, guys. Let's huddle," Kagome said trying to divert everyone's attention for her blatant disregard for picking players based on skill and ability.
She gathered everyone in a group and looked around to make sure Inuyasha wasn't snooping. "Okay, guys. I know we can do this. I really have no idea about his game but who's to say we can't win? Jakotsu, you're that nickleback-thingy that throws the ball," Kagome said.
"Quarterback," Kouga supplied.
"Oh yeah…right. Anyway, since Kouga is the fastest, when he gets open, pass him the ball."
"Guys, we have to keep in mind that Inuyasha's team may have more of the brute strength, speed, and testosterone, and a general idea of how to play but we have the brains and creative genius. We will exploit their weaknesses and that team has loads of them. No getting distracted."
"Sango, your primary objective is to distract Miroku with your ass anytime he gets anywhere near the ball," Kagome ordered Sango. Sango rolled her eyes in a huff and gave a short nod.
"We have to figure out a way to use Rin against Sesshoumaru. From what Inuyasha says, he really does have a soft spot for the girl." Turning to Rin she said, "Rin, I want you to manipulate Sesshoumaru with your sweet little girl charm. Rin, are you up for it?" Kagome looked at Rin, who smiled with glee and nodded vigorously.
"Okay, Jakotsu, you go after Bank and Hiten. You know how nervous you make them." Jakotsu looked all too pleased with his particular assignment and smiled deviously.
"Shippou, I know you'll love this task. It is specially designed for you," Kagome said, narrowing her eyes and rubbing her hands together in pure mirth. "You are to take down Inuyasha by any means necessary."
"With pleasure," Shippou readily accepted. His emerald eyes lit up with demonic glee.
"Now that leaves me and Ayame to take care of Kikyo and Yura. I'm a faster runner than Kikyo but she has me on strength. She may be the hardest player to get. Don't worry, I'll figure something out. Sango, I want you to be my back up when you can." Little did she know Inuyasha would do that bit of work in her stead. "Yura's not too bright so, Ayame, she'll be easy to get around. You know she has that weird obsession with hair and grooming products. Throw a comb and make her fetch it or something."
"Okay, now we can discuss our secondary and tertiary objectives, just in case they start predicting our primary movements," Kagome said as they continued to discuss the various game plans and tactics.
Meanwhile in Inuyasha's huddle: "Okay guys, they're a bunch of girls and kids. And we all know women suck at sports so this shouldn't present too much of a problem. They probably don't even know what a football looks like," he said while laughing at his jab. "Now here's the game plan, give the ball to either me or Sesshoumaru since we are the fastest. The only one that will probably give us any problems is Kouga, so everyone go after him."
As Inuyasha spoke, he failed to notice the hitch in Kikyo's breathing pattern or the dark irritated look that came over her facial expression. His memory also failed him in this because, if it had not, he would have remembered what an ultra feminist Kikyo was and would not have made that remark so callously. 'If I had my quiver right now, his ass would be a fixed to a tree.' She thought as she started taking deep breaths to control her inner rage.
Sesshoumaru stood around, looking his usual aloof and unconcerned manner. 'This entire charade is beneath one such as me. My father will pay for this upon my return.' He looked around for Kagome and found her bending over talking to her team in a huddle. 'At least there is something that will make this little event worthwhile.' He was broken from his reverie by the approach of Rin.
"My lord, this will be so much fun. I can't wait to tell my friends about this game. Do you think I will be any good? I don't want to disappoint my team." She said all of this while giving him her best puppy dog eyes.
"Rin, you will do fine," Sesshoumaru answered as he patted the child on her head and sent her off towards her team.
"Okay, team, let's go," Kagome said after having won the coin toss for who goes first. She got into hiking position in front of Jakotsu and, after calling out the hike, she hiked the ball to Jakotsu.
Jakotsu looked long to see Rin wide open. He threw the ball to Rin and it looked like a definite overshot for the girl. Somehow, she miraculously jumped high enough in the air to reach the ball, gently set herself down upon the ground, and made a mad dash towards the end of the field where her team's touchdown was located.
The opposing team saw this and immediately looked around Rin accusingly for Sesshoumaru. Inuyasha felt a minute breeze as his hair lifted and sensed Sesshoumaru come up right behind him. 'Just great, this bastard is helping out the little runt.' He thought wryly and grimaced in disdain.
Inuyasha's team got in hot pursuit of the lovely little Rin. They were very close to taking her down when a fierce growl ripped through the air causing all members of his team to halt their chase.
Sesshoumaru knew he had to guarantee Rin's success. The look she gave him coupled with Rin's sprint and fierce determination written all over her face would not allow him to let her falter. 'And why did she have to call him by the quirky nickname she gave him?' He just could not let her be disappointed by not making the touchdown or helping her team. She would not fail on his watch! Sesshoumaru continued to growl low holding his fellow teammates at bay until her little feet crossed the border of the touchdown.
Rin reached the touchdown and threw the ball down. She leaped and jumped in the air with glee. "Rin won! Rin won!" she yelled. Then she turned and made a beeline towards Sesshoumaru. She hugged his legs tightly and rubbed her face against his knees.
"You did well, Rin," Sesshoumaru acknowledged. Rin rewarded him with one of her beaming smiles and he winked at her in return.
"Thank you for helping Rin reach the ball." She whispered to him, knowing he would hear her. With that she turned and left him going toward her team.
"Good going, Rin! See, team, that's the kind of spirit I'm talking about," Kagome said to her teammates. 'There's a sucker born every minute,' she thought in regards to Sesshoumaru, 'Such a softy.'
Now it was Inuyasha's team's turn with the ball. Each team got ready and in position for the hike. Hiten hiked the ball to Inuyasha. Inuyasha saw Miroku was open and threw the ball to him.
Miroku headed towards their touchdown. As he ran he saw in his peripheral vision that Sango had dropped something and stopped to bend over and retrieve it. The thought occurred to him that her current position would give him ample opportunity to rub her bottom. His mind, completely off the task at hand, immediately turned to Sango, "Why, Sango, let me help you with that," he said as he extended his hand to cup her rear with no thought to the pigskin in hand.
Sango immediately rose and snatched it to send it flying towards Kouga. Kouga then took off at break-neck speed down the field toward his team's end of the field.
"Dear, Sango, why must you wound me so? I come to help you out and you use my chivalry against me," Miroku said in mock hurt, grasping at his chest as if he were really in pain.
"You snooze, you lose, monk," Sango said as she hit his bottom and took off to support her team--which really wasn't needed because Kouga made it to their goal in record time.
"We score again! Woo hoo!" cheered Kagome as she started to do her happy dance in the middle of the field.
"Don't get too happy. It's only two touchdowns. You have eight more to go." Inuyasha then turned to Sesshoumaru, "Hey royal asshole, would you get your head in the game? You could have caught Kouga easily. We can't lose to some silly little twits." Then he said lower, "How do you ever expect to impress Kagome if you can't win some sorry imitation of a football game?"
Sesshoumaru, in his usual manner, ignored him and walked off unperturbed in the opposite direction.
Her team began to gather to get ready for their turn to snap the ball. Kagome took a glance at Inuyasha and saw that he was piping mad. She was pretty sure she could see smoke rising from the top of his head and out of his cute doggy ears. "Okay team. They may up their defense, he's really upset. I mean the way we scored those two points was pretty embarrassing for them. Remember our objectives."
"Hut, hut, hike!" Kagome said as she snapped the ball to Jakotsu. Jakotsu passed the ball to Shippou. Shippou rushed the ball toward the other end of the field. As he ran down the field he saw Inuyasha and Hiten waiting for him. "Kagome!!" he shrieked in fear.
Out of nowhere Kouga and Ayame appeared to clear the way. Shippou kept running. He saw Bankotsu heading towards him. "Kagome!!"
Sango leapt into his vision and tackled Bankotsu. "Run, Shippou. Keep going!" Sango ordered.
Shippou ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He saw both Yura and Miroku approaching him.
"Quick, Shippou, pass me the ball," Kagome insisted. "Once you do, take them both down."
Shippou passed Kagome the ball and turned on Yura and Miroku. He pulled out his mushrooms and sent his whole stash after the two.
Kagome raced forward. She was almost there, just a few more feet. 'Where the hell did he come from?' she thought as she felt herself collide into the immovable wall of Sesshoumaru. "Ooomph."
She felt herself falling backwards. Preparing to hit the ground, she closed her eyes and awaited her fate. When the expected fate did not come, she slowly opened one eye and found Sesshoumaru holding her closely. "Higurashi, we really must stop meeting like this," he said as he settled her on her feet.
Kagome looked up at him and blushed, slightly embarrassed by her predicament. She went to push away from him but he held her steady. She continued to try and get him to release her and in doing so she got the chance to feel how solid he was. 'I guess he's not so soft after all.'
"You cheated. Now let me go," she demanded.
"I did no such thing." Sesshoumaru settled her on her feet and released her from his hold. As she walked away, he felt the urge to let her know what he thought of her play.
Kagome stopped mid stride when she felt a hand against her rear. 'Did Sesshoumaru just feel me up?' She turned on him, "And just what was the meaning of that? What do you take me for? Some kind of easy-"
"Kagome, chill out. It just means good play. Geez," Inuyasha butted in. "Now, let's get back to the game."
"Oh," Kagome said after abruptly being cut off from her tirade. Kagome turned, looked at Sesshoumaru, and saw the hint of a smirk on his face. She narrowed her eyes at him. 'Unbelievable!' She huffed as her blushed deepened and walked away. 'Alright, if he wants to play, we shall play.' She thought vengefully. "Hmmph."
WHACK! Immediately, all eyes were on the crumpled form of Miroku on the field. "Sango, my love, I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your play."
"Save it, monk." Sango walked away.
Sesshoumaru finally decided to participate in a serious manner, although reluctant to do so. After scoring a touchdown, he walked towards the middle of the field. Rin approached and grabbed his knees again. "Good job! You're so fast, I bet there is no one as fast as you." As she left to go back to her team, she beamed up at him and struck out hitting him square on the derrière.
Now to say Sesshoumaru was taken aback was an understatement. "Rin."
"Yes?" She looked up to him concern written all over her face. He never used that tone with her. "Kagome said it was how I showed you that you played a good game. Did I do something wrong?" Her eyes widened with slight trepidation.
"Hn. You may return to your team." He turned and looked at Kagome, who had the biggest smirk ever painted across her face. 'So she wants to play. She will see that this Sesshoumaru is more than a formidable opponent.'
Now that the score was five to seven, with Inuyasha's team at five, it seemed the game had gotten pretty intense.
"Okay, guys, it seems like Sesshoumaru is zeroing in on me. If I have the ball he won't let me get two feet before he ends my hopes of getting anywhere near the touchdown. So whatever you do, don't give me the ball," she told them exasperatedly. 'I can't believe he tracked me like that and then he proceeded to play with me and let me think I would get there. Big idiot! So unfair, he should not be able to use his demon abilities like that.'
Kouga slid up to Kagome, "So, Kagome, you wanna get something after the game?" As Kouga talked he was inching his hand to give Kagome one of the butt taps that seemed to be going around. It must have been alright. Even Sesshoumaru got hit by Rin. He was almost home when a threatening growl rang in his ear. He quickly put his hand back on his hip, where it belonged, and took a sidewards glance at Sesshoumaru before quickly turning his head in the opposite direction.
"Kouga, I promised Sango I'd…uh…uh...go shopping with her later and to the movies," Kagome answered, looking over to Sango to make sure she heard.
Sango gave her a nod and shook her head. 'Pathetic,' she thought.
Several plays and two-hand touches later, the scores were tied with each team having nine points respectively.
Each team got ready for the final play. The outcome of this play would determine who would win. Kagome was hoping their final stunt would work.
Jakotsu hiked the ball to Kouga. Kouga threw the ball to Ayame. Ayame ran down the field towards her goal.
Hiten made his way towards her and you could see he was trying to charge so he could send an electric current her way. Just as he reached a level to stun and was prepared to send it at her, Shippou popped on the scene and sent one of his fox trick devices at him that doused him with water and shorted him out. Hiten glared angrily at Shippou, who only taunted him and quickly scampered away.
Ayame continued on her way. Bankotsu was in her line of sight but not for too long as Kouga ran him down.
Then there was Yura, who finally got her chance to participate in the game.
"Yura!" Rin screamed. Yura turned to her. "I love your hair! Would you please do Rin's hair like that?" Yura could not resist the child's charm and easily folded. She began to put Rin's hair up in ponytails.
'Three down, three to go,' thought Kagome. She really couldn't count Kikyo as an opponent. If anything, Kikyo had been acting more like a bystander. Kagome continued to head down the field towards Ayame. She knew Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had their eyes on her, trying to predict her next move. 'Perfect,' she thought deviously.
As she got closer to Ayame, she motioned for her to pass the ball to her. When she did, just as Kagome predicted, the two brothers were on her. Now it's time for my secret weapon. She removed a small pouch and when they got close enough she busted it and sprinkled it around her like pixie dust.
The brothers immediately halted. Inuyasha collapsed to the ground in a dead faint. Sesshoumaru stood perfectly still and closed his eyes.
In the time that the brothers were occupied, Kagome speared the ball to Sango who had just knocked Miroku out for rubbing her rear. Sango took off down the field easily, eluding Kikyo who wasn't really putting up much of a defense.
Sesshoumaru easily recovered from the miko's little stunt and was now tracking the football. He quickly sent a glare her way before he began his takeoff towards the Sango. Just as he moved to run, something landed on his chest and wrapped itself around his neck and back. He looked down and, to his amazement, Kagome was clinging to him. "You do know it is impossible for you to tackle this Sesshoumaru?"
"I'm not trying to tackle you," she answered. To herself, she thought, 'Just distract you a little bit…' as she glanced back to see Sango progress toward their goal.
"Release me, onna," Sesshoumaru commanded and Kagome hugged tighter in response.
Sesshoumaru did not have time for this. He could reach Sango with the little miko attached to his person. And tried to do so but immediately was brought to a halt.
'Oh no, he's gonna still go for it. Think, Kagome, think!' With that, she went with the first idea that came to mind.
Sesshoumaru stopped mid stride. 'Did this…did she just…is she...' "Miko, why are you biting the neck of this Sesshoumaru?" he queried, looking down at the clinging girl.
Kagome looked up to him a bit worried, 'Oh I've done it now. Stupid Kagome! Oh well, I better make the most of it. This is likely the only chance to do this.' She thought as she continued her ministrations. A strangled sound started coming from him and she felt rumbling from his chest. Seconds later, the girl glanced back to see Sango make her way across the finish line. She dropped down and began to do her happy jig completely oblivious to the heated male behind her with blood-shot red eyes who currently watched her every move. When she finally came down from her high, she looked around the field and her eyes rested on the only other person standing on the field. 'That's weird, where'd they all go?' Kagome looked around the field for help and amazingly the entire field was empty of everyone except for Inuyasha's unconscious body. 'They left! I can NOT believe they left me! They left me with a psycho crazed demon lord who is going to shred me to pieces and then melt my remains so my family will have nothing to bury!'A low growl broke her from her reverie. Gulp.
"Oops." She offered scantily. "Sorry."
"Now, now Sesshoumaru. It's not what you think." Kagome tried to console. It didn't work because she could have sworn she heard another growl. 'Oh shit, what'll I do?'
'I'm dead. Inuyasha, please wake up and get your brother.' At that thought Inuyasha started to become alert.
"What the hell happened?" he said while rubbing his nose. He sat up and looked around. His eyes locked on the only two who remained on the field. He looked back and forth between Kagome and Sesshoumaru. Noting his brother's guise told him he should immediately get on the move.
"Good luck, Kagome," he said as he sprinted off, exiting the field.
"Inuyasha, get back here! Don't leave me! Please!" Kagome pleaded.
Sesshoumaru kept staring at her. He knew it unnerved the little priestess and he was enjoying her reactions immensely. 'This will be very agreeable.' He smiled darkly.
Kagome saw his smile and knew it didn't hold in it anything good for her. "I'm so sorry," she tried. One step back.
A growl was Sesshoumaru's response. A step forward.
"Really sorry," she whimpered, baring her neck. Two steps back.
Another growl, a pleased one. Two steps forward.
'Now that didn't sound right…' The panicky female bolted, running as fast as she could in the general direction of the parking lot.
The predator in him reveled in chance to chase its prey. Especially this particular prey. However brief this chase would be, he would surely enjoy it. In an instant he appeared in her line of sight, forcing her to turn around and go the opposite direction. He kept it up and sometimes he would run alongside her or trail her closely breathing on her neck.
The game went on for a good ten minutes before Kagome got fed up. She stopped and narrowed her eyes at him, "If you are going to kill me would you please get it over with already? I'm getting sick of all this running."
No sooner than she finished her statement, she found herself tossed over the demon's shoulder.
As Kagome's friends came out of hiding, they stared down the field. "You think we should help her?" Sango asked.
"Nah…" The dog-eared boy responded, looking at his long time friend desperately trying to escape his brother's hold. He shook his. "Exactly what did she do this time?"
"This," Jakotsu answered and bit Inuyasha on the neck. Inuyasha let go a high-pitched scream and leapt as far away from Jakotsu as possible.
"DON'T YOU EV-" Stopping mid rant, his cheeks burned red as he looked down at the sweet and lovely Rin.
"Good play, Yasha," she said as she beamed up at him, hand still in the air.
'What the hell!? I got bit by Jak and felt up by Rin,' he thought as he reflexively caught the football. His ears perked up when he heard Miroku yell, "Smear the Queer!"
"Oh shit!" Inuyasha took off down the field with all other players in tow. Kagome and Sesshoumaru were completely forgotten by all.
Not too far in the distance, an individual, being carried like a sack of potatoes, stopped her struggles and completely resigned herself to her fate.
A/N:
Big THANK YOUs to Angel, Nobody, and LC Rose!
YAY! I have officially popped my cherry as a fanfic author. Woo hoo! Let me know if it was as good for you as it was for me…haha. I consider myself a Greedy Gretta when it comes to reading fanfics and felt it was way past time that I contribute to the fandom of my favorite pair. If you have time, feel free to leave any and all feedback. Yep, that's right, flames are more than welcome (I guess I feel you haven't completed your initiation process into the fanfic author world until you have been properly flamed). So bring it on! I really do yearn to improve as a writer so please throw all the help you can my way. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it! Ta Ta for now.