Like Riding A Bike
{ 02 July 2009 } Written for Challenge Destiny. Prompt: "Independence."
It took him three years to figure out what he was doing wrong and what he needed to do right, and now that he knew—had solved the mystery—nothing could stop him. Determination lit a fire, setting golden eyes ablaze. Knuckles cracked, shoulders rolled back, and bare feet stepped forward confidently.
"Keh!" he scoffed, laughing off old mistakes. He would not make them again. Today, bright and early on a crisp, summer day, he would redeem himself or die trying to.
Today…
He was going to ride that damn bike.
.
The wench. She thought herself slick leaving it behind: the taunting physical evidence of her existence. So, there had been a girl who'd overcome time and space. She wasn't just a figment of a wild imagination.
The proof was bright pink, slightly rusted, and leant innocently against the back of Kaede's hut. When he'd found it, he'd been flabbergasted, then furious, then…determined. Determined to find what was so special about Kagome's stupid, metal machine.
The first time he tried riding it, he failed spectacularly with bruises, scrapes, and nothing a deflated ego to show for it.
Then today...
After thinking about it, digging up memories of how Kagome had done it when she'd been there, he finally figured it out. Stunned, InuYasha also realized that the wench had done it again. In her strange, innocent way, she taught him something new. The key to riding this bike was...
…to look forward.
Always when he rode, he looked down, not sure if his feet were in the right place or if he was pedaling correctly. Sometimes, he looked behind him, wanting to make sure that the monk, or the kitsune, or the slayer were nowhere in sight.
Both actions had fatal consequences. They caused the bike to wobble, then crash leaving InuYasha angered, bruised, and confused, but no more after today. He finally found the solution. He just needed to keep his eyes on the road ahead, no matter how bleak, or how Kagome-less it looked. Swinging one crimson-clad leg over the bike, InuYasha set out…
…and finally got it right.
Nothing felt more gratifying than the wind running silky fingers through his hair or the care-free feeling he got—almost like flying—as he drove the bike forward. Not downwards. Not backwards.
Forward. Moving on.
.
"I bet you felt that way riding on my back after so long" InuYasha grinned, four years later when the wench—er,Kagome—was there and back in his arms.
Smiling secretively, she snuggled into his warmth, her eyes sparkling with pride, admiration, and love.
"Nah. Doesn't even come close," she whispered.