The Boardwalk

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha (sadly...^_^;). Rumiko Takahashi does.

"It's gonna be great!" Kagome said cheerfully as she pedaled along on her bicycle. "A day at the beach...what could be better? Right?" She turned to look at the white-haired half-demon who was perched behind her. His eyes were closed, and his head nodded slightly.

"RIGHT, Inu-Yasha?!" she shouted loudly into his ear.

He jolted awake at once and whipped out his sword. "What?? What?? What is it??" he said, looking around in bewilderment.

Shaking her head, Kagome turned back to face the road. "You didn't have to fall asleep. Am I that boring to be around?"

Inu-Yasha stared at the back of her head, and her dark hair streamed back to tickle his nose. For a moment, he was caught in a fuzzy trance. "Of course you're boring," he retorted, sheathing his sword. "The only reason I hang around with you is because you're a Shikon-shard detector. Haven't you figured that out yet?"

She laughed, leaning forward in her bike so she could pedal faster. The breeze felt so wonderful, so cool and warm at the same time, mixed with the soft morning sunshine that settled into her skin. Even Inu-Yasha's crude remarks couldn't ruin her mood today. She closed her eyes and breathed the air in deeply.

"Hey! Watch where you're going! You can't steer with your eyes shut!" he barked over her shoulder. The road ahead was speckled yellow with shore grass, and a handful of palm trees loomed on either side of them. In the distance, the sound of screams could be heard coming from tall, undulating structures. "Is the place really that great?" he asked, eyeing the roller coasters warily. "It doesn't sound like much fun to me."

"They're screaming because they're having a good time. Because of the rush," said Kagome lightly. "Don't worry, you'll know what I mean when you try it."

"Heh. No way am I getting on one of those things."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not!

"Yes you are!"

"Fine, I'm going back then." He sprang off the bike.

"Sit!!" Kagome sang out. She heard a satisfying thud in the ground behind her and tried to smother her giggles at the thought of poor Inu-Yasha, glued to the ground. As much as she would've liked to see it, she kept on riding ahead. He'd give in quickly, she knew it.

"I'll pay you back for this, wench," she heard him growl, trailing after her grudgingly. She grinned. It was so much fun teasing him. As she pulled into the bike parking and locked her bike securely, Inu-Yasha stood in wonder, taking in the sight. The sparkling, deep-blue ocean on one side, an enormous jungle of rides and entertainment on the other. The place was packed with people, and the multitude of the crowd amazed him. He'd never seen that many people all in one place before.

"It's called a boardwalk," said Kagome, laughing at his expression. "C'mon, let's go!" Grabbing the sleeve of his robes, she started to pull him toward a cluster of video games. Curiosity overcame him, making him forget to be annoyed; he allowed himself to be dragged all the way over to a flashing, colorful game with loud music coming from it. A young child was stomping on four colored tiles with arrows on them. On the screen before him, pictures moved and swirled dizzyingly.

"What...is that?" asked Inu-Yasha, staring into the screen. Drawing his sword, he reached out and prodded it inquisitively. The screen suddenly darkened, and some words flashed ominously across it. "Wha-?" He took a step back.

"Waaaaaah!" A defeaning wail came from the little boy, who had stopped stomping. "You! You made me lose the game!!" He pointed accusingly at Inu-Yasha, who looked up guiltily.

"Uh...I...I didn't mean to...aargh!" He clamped his hands over his ears and backed away from the boy, who had started wailing like a siren again. "Kagome! Make that sound stop!" he pleaded.

All of a sudden, it did stop. There was Kagome, crouching down next to the kid and offering him some coins. The boy grabbed them out of her palm and skipped off. "What a devil," said Inu-Yasha, coming over to her. "You had to pay him money to make him leave?"

"It's not money," she said. "They're tokens. Used for playing video games. See?" She stuck her hand under his nose, but before he could get a better look, she whisked them away. "Let's use some of these!"

Inu-Yasha watched as Kagome inserted three of the coins into a small opening below the screen. "Wait-" he blurted with uncertainty. She was already on one of the metal platforms, stepping on a panel. "I don't know how to do this!"

"Oh c'mon Inu-Yasha! DDR's fun!" The song started, and Kagome yanked Inu-Yasha onto the platform beside her by his beaded necklace. "Just step on the arrow when it comes to here on the screen, okay?" she pointed out.

"Hmm...would I rather be embarrassed horribly by dancing on some stupid arrows, or be pancaked to the ground by a-"

"Too late!" Kagome laughed delightedly as she stepped on the torrent of arrows that were flying across the screen. Her points were rising steadily. Just like old times, when she had gone to the arcade with her friends on weekends to escape the stress of studying. She glanced at Inu-Yasha and pressed her lips together so hard that they turned white.

Clumsily, he was lunging and stumbling over his feet, giving frantic little hops every now and then as though the seat of his robes was on fire. In ten seconds, his side of the screen flashed "Game Over". He just stood there, frozen with embarrassment, until the song ended.

Panting, Kagome turned to him. At his expression, she clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from bursting. "Um...you got an E, Inu-Yasha. Good job!" She grabbed his arm and steered him away from the game before onlookers could say anything.

He moped silently for a while, not saying a word to her, until he found that he was being shown into a large plastic log floating on a current of water. He stopped cold.

"What NOW?" Inu-Yasha demanded. "Don't think I'll let you trick me again!"

"Hurry up, please," said an attendant. "People are waiting."

"Don't worry, I'm not tricking you! It's just...a kind of boat ride!" said Kagome. She jumped inside the log and pulled him in after her. When they were both seated, the log rushed forward and began to ascend a steep slope. The ground grew further and further away from them. Inu-Yasha dug his nails into the plastic sides of the log.

"Why do I get to sit in the front?" he snapped, whirling around to look at Kagome. The log turned level and began flowing forward again, this time faster than before.

"You'll get more water that way," she said, smiling innocently. "By the way, look ahead. I think I forgot to mention the...ah...waterfall."

"What?!!" His eyes popped out of his head. There, a few feet ahead- air. A clear drop to the bottom. His throat went dry.

He felt Kagome press against him, her arms clinging tightly around his waist. "Get ready!" she called out, her voice muffled into his shoulder. His heart had two seconds to flutter like crazy before it plunged straight down.

Note: I hope you liked the start of my first Inu-Yasha fanfic...heck, every one of my new fanfics seems to be a "first" right now since I just started.^_^ So, what didya think? Good? Okay? Bad? Smellier than rotten cheese with little fuzzy green things growing on it? _ Sorry I had to end it here, but I'll keep going, I promise! I would appreciate comments and/or criticism of any kind to help make the story better!