Ch. 4 - Battle!
"Why the hell not!?" Hojo yells furiously.
"Because I just don't like you that way! Get it through your thick head! I do not now nor will I ever love you!!" Kagome snaps back.
"Why can't you at least pretend that you like me!?"
"I DON'T!" She screams.
-No wonder she wanted to hit him the day I met her. He does nothing but try to force her into a relationship she doesn't want.- Suichi backs up into the office door, intent on hiding behind it.
"C'mon Kagome! I'm the most popular guy at school!" Hojo whines. "Doesn't that matter to you!?"
"No! It doesn't! A guy doesn't have to be popular for me to like him! I could care less how popular he is!"
"But I could give you everything!"
"I don't want everything! I don't need everything!"
"You never want anything from me!"
"I DON'T LIKE YOU!" Kagome fumes. "Get it through your thick head! I do not like you that way! I WILL NEVER LIKE YOU THAT WAY!" She reaches over and smacks Hojo. "Now leave me alone or I'll call security!"
"…" Hojo is silent for a few minutes as a red hand print appears on the side of his face. Kagome turns and runs off down the hall.
"Kagome…" Suichi makes it seem as if he just walked out of the door.. He stares at the silent Hojo for a few minutes before speaking. "Where's Kagome?"
"… She ran off on me. I guess I messed up again." Hojo shakes his head. "Maybe next time…" He leaves, walking in the opposite direction from Kagome.
-He's not even sorry for upsetting her! That bastard!- Youko growls in Suichi's mind. –He's really starting to piss me off! I otta-!- -Enough.- Suichi cuts in. –Let's just find Kagome and make she's ok.- -I'll get him later.- -No you won't. He is not our concern right now, Kagome is.- -So now you want her. Took you long enough Red.- -I already told you Youko, I do not want her that way.- -Do so. You just won't try.- -She's not ready for a relationship right now, haven't you noticed that?- -Fine. Let's just go find her and make sure she's ok. She might give us a hug.- -You never give up.- -Maybe if we're lucky we'll make her so happy, she'll give us a kiss!- -You're unbelievable.- Suichi wakes off in the direction Kagome had run in. –C'mon Red!- You continues to talk in his mind.-What girl could not fall for me?- -You need to check your ego.- -There is no girl whose heart I cannot steal! No one can fight against the Legendary Fox Thief Youko Kurama!- Suichi finds Kagome out in the schoolyard sitting up in a tree. "Kagome?"
"…Suichi. Sorry, I didn't mean to run off. There was… a huge spider. It jumped and scared me." She attempts to smile, but fails.
"You should've told me you were scared. I would've left the office earlier."
"I … did not wish to disturb you." Kagome shifts slightly on the branch. "Um… Suichi?"
"Yes?"
"I… um…"
"Yes?" He prods her.
"I … can't get down." Kagome drops her head in embarrassment.
"…" Suichi starts laughing.
"…It's not funny!" Kagome's face turns pink.
"Why did you limb the tree if you can't get down?"
"I can too get down!"
"Without help?"
"…" Kagome looks down at Suichi. "… sometimes."
-C'mon Red! We can catch her and sweep her off her feet!- Youko prods Suichi. –Just let me take over for a bit.- -Stay out of this Youko.- -But Red! Think of the possibilities! She would owe us a favor for helping her! There's no way she'll say no to me!- -Shut up Youko. This is my time.- "Alright, I'll help you. But you're going to have to trust me."
"…Ok… you're not gonna drop me a, are you?"
"You have to trust me to catch you."
"…"
"You're going to have to jump."
"I thought you would just make sure I don't fall getting down."
"This is the quickest way for you to get down. Just trust me."
"…Please don't drop me…"
"I won't drop you. You can trust me."
"…" Kagome releases her grip on the branch, sliding off and falling towards the ground. She closes her eyes as the ground becomes closer. She feels something wrap around her and lower her gently onto soft grass.
"You can open your eyes now." Suichi whispers in her ear. "I told you that I would catch you" Kagome slowly looks around. Her face shades a light pink when she realizes that she's holding onto Suichi. She quickly lets go of him as Suichi lets out a laugh. "Let's go home, shall we?" He offers hand to Kagome. She just stares at it for a minute of two. "I won't bite, I promise." –I would love to, that is, I'm sure you'd love the job of being my mate.- -Shh. Go away Youko.- -What? I'm not hurting anyone. And what if she likes me?- -Humans tend not to take well to demons. You of all people, should know that by now.-
"…" Kagome looks up at him and slowly takes his hand. Suichi gently tugs her out of the school yard and out, onto the sidewalk, headed towards the Higurashi Shrine.
After supper Suichi walks into the living room to find Kagome laying on the couch lazily flipping through channels on the tv with the remote. He turns to leave but is caught in the doorway when the bored tone in Kagome's voice reaches his ears. "I won't byte, I promise."
"… I said that to you earlier…"
"Well I'm bored, come play a game with me."
"…ok." Suichi walks into the room. –Might as well not complain if she's going to willingly let me near her.- -That's it Red! Sweep her off her feet!- -Youko!- -This is your opportunity to get her to fall for us!- -Shut up Youko!- -But she's cute Red! And she's willingly going to share the couch with us!-
"Have a seat and pick a game." Kagome shifts to make room for him on the couch and pushes a stack of video games over to him. There is a big THUD from upstairs. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Kagome leaves the room
Corin walks in and takes Kagome's spot on the couch. "So… Suichi…"
"Yes?"
"You are a formidable opponent. But I will defeat you in the end."
"We tied."
"As the Pancake Master, a tie will make you my opponent until I win the battle."
"What if I just say that you win?"
"No! I will defeat you in battle!" Corin puts Soul Calibur into the player and grabs a controller. "I will not allow you to threaten my position as the Pancake Master. I challenge you to another duel tomorrow morning." He rapidly pushes a few buttons on the game controller. "HA HA! You fail!" Corin drops the controller and runs out of the room.
Kagome walks back into the room. "…Corin was here… wasn't he?"
"Um… yes. How do you know?" Suichi questions.
"That." Kagome points to the game screen, with Sigfried dancing across the screen with his huge sword. "No one else can make that character dance. He must've owned you, badly."
"Well…"
"I wouldn't worry about it. I can't beat him either."
"I didn't even get a chance to move."
"Yeah… well… that's Corin for ya. Want to play a different game?" Kagome suggests.
-How about a game called 'see how long you can withstand Youko before you fall for him'?- -Youko! Hell no!- -C'mon Red! You're such chicken!- -I'm not going to push her if she doesn't want to be pushed.- -Who says she doesn't want to be?- "How about a card game?"
"Ok… regular cards or actual game cards?"
"Whichever you would prefer." Suichi answers.
"How about… Rack-o?"
"What kind of game is that?
"You have a container with 12 slots in it with numbers on the side counting by 5, up to 60. You will be given 12 cards and you must put them in the order they are given starting from the back. Once all your numbers are set you must pick up a card from the pile every turn, you either switch it with a card you already have, or discard it The first player to get their numbers in order from least to greatest starting at the front wins."
"A number game… alright."
After a few minutes Kagome jumps up in excitement. "I win! I win! Ha ha! I beat you!"
"…" Suichi checks her card holder. "… I guess you did." –Red! You lost! How could you! You're better at math then she is!- -Sorry Youko. She was faster at getting the right cards then I was.-
"I win! I win!" Kagome dances around. "Yay!" She hugs Suichi. The mental conversation going through his head comes to a complete stop.