Chapter 12: LIVING IN FAST FORWARD
"No! Not that way you dimwit!" Koga yelled at Inuyasha as his younger cousin attempted to back the truck and boat trailer down the loading ramp. "You're turning the wheel the wrong way! Haven't you ever backed up with a trailer before?"
"Shut the hell up! If you think that you can do it better get your ass in the truck!" Inuyasha yelled back. "I didn't ask to be the driver."
"Well after the last time we were here and you frickin' didn't undo the tie-downs on the boat, you've been banned from dealing with that part," Koga yelled back.
"And yet you trust him not to sink the truck," Bankotsu said completely amused with the entire situation.
"Shut the fuck up Ban!" Inuyasha roared from the cab of the truck.
"It was Sesshomaru's idea and it's his truck so it's not my problem if that happens," Koga answered laughing as the boat he was currently standing in suddenly rolled backwards. "Knock it off you little prick!"
Inuyasha was laughing too hard to answer at first. After coughing and managing to catch his breath he hollered an insincere, "Sorry! I hit the gas instead of the break."
"Yeah and I'm going to hit you upside the head when I meant to swat at a fly," Koga grumbled.
Bankotsu shook his head and looked over in the opposite direction where Sesshomaru and the others were unloading the steel ramp they had brought.
'I guess being Wonder Boy has its advantages.' He thought regarding the fact that the rangers had allowed them to even bring the ramp into the camping area. If anyone else had showed up with it they would have laughed in their faces and sent them packing with a ticket just for thinking about it.
"Fuck!" Inuyasha yelled, bringing Bankotsu's attention back on the task at hand, directing where Inuyasha was supposed to be going.
"Inuyasha!" Koga yelled as Inuyasha threw the truck into 'drive' in an attempt to get it out of the water which it was sitting in almost up to the cab.
Instead of slowing pulling out of the water, Inuyasha panicked and slammed his foot down on the accelerator sending the truck jerking forward and the rear tiers spinning in the water as they tried to grip the slick concrete surface of the ramp. Koga was thrown off the back of the boat when the trailer was roughly pulled out from under it. Bankotsu was laughing so hard he almost went to his knees.
"Seriously what the fuck! I knew you were stupid, but my God, do you not have a single brain cell?!" Koga yelled after he finished spitting out what must have been a gallon of lake water he had swallowed.
"If Bankotsu had been doing his job it wouldn't have happened!" Inuyasha yelled back as he put the truck in park and jumped from the cab.
"If you knew how the hell to drive it wouldn't have happened!" Koga continued to yell as he swam for the boat, grabbing onto the ladder that hung off of the back.
"Look I've had just about enough of your shit. The damn boat's in the effin' lake so what's the problem?"
"The problem?! I'm fuckin' soaked!" Koga bellowed from the front of the boat where he now stood.
"So you took a swim a little sooner than you thought," Inuyasha said nonchalantly, feeling quite brave since Koga was stuck on the boat and he was standing safely on shore.
"You. Are. Dead," Koga growled doing a damn fine impression of Sesshomaru.
"Why don't you dock the boat before you kill him?" Bankotsu suggested when Koga looked like he was about to jump off of the boat.
"You're lucky you little punk," Koga said as he moved to start the engine of the boat.
He flopped down in the driver's seat and turned the key that was in the ignition. The engine kicked to life and Koga slowly made his way over to the dock that they had been assigned to for the next few days. Inuyasha and Bankotsu watched the entire time and once Koga had jumped out of the boat and had it secured, Inuyasha took off up the ramp towards the still running truck.
"If you want a ride you better get in now," Inuyasha yelled over his shoulder as he slammed the door shut.
"You better get going," Bankotsu laughed as Koga started running up the dock and leaped onto the concrete of the loading ramp. "He's in a real hurry to end your life."
"Shit!" Inuyasha cursed as he caught sight of Koga running towards the bed of the truck in the rear view mirror.
He sped off, the boat trailer rattling behind him as he drove towards the campsite. Maybe he could manage to get there and out of the truck before Koga caught up to him. Then all he had to do was hide behind Kagome. Yes hide. Living to see another day was far more important at the moment then worrying about what the others would say. Koga was in a serious foul mood and normally Inuyasha would have just fought back, but he also knew when Koga said he was going to kill him the way he did...he probably was. Kagome was the only one that would be able to stop him. Which brought up a whole other problem; getting past Sesshomaru to get to Kagome. Inuyasha pulled the truck to a stop in front of the toy hauler at their camp site and quickly had the engine shut off and was out of the truck sprinting towards the group he prayed held Kagome. He cautioned a look to his left and saw Koga barreling across the grass towards him.
"Fuck!" Inuyasha hissed as he pushed himself harder. "Ka...gome!"
The entire group turned to see Inuyasha running for all he was worth towards them. Kagome stepped forward worried that something was seriously wrong. Maybe someone had been hurt while they were launching the boat. This was Inuyasha and Koga they were talking about. Those two could manage to get hurt walking on an even surface, let alone add water and moving vehicles mix.
"Inuyasha? What's-" She was cut off when Sesshomaru grabbed her hand.
She turned to look at him then looked to whatever had caught his attention. It was Koga flying across the grass directly towards Inuyasha.
"Obviously he's done something stupid. It'd be best to stay out of it," Sesshomaru directed.
Kagome then noticed that Koga seemed to be soaking wet and could only imagine what had happened. She decided that Sesshomaru was right. Plus Koga was obviously out for vengeance the way that he was quickly catching up to Inuyasha. Koga sprinted the last ten feet and launched himself at the still running half-demon. With a surprised yelp Inuyasha tumbled to the ground with Koga on top of him. He somehow managed to get onto his back and attempted to block his face for the hit he knew would be coming. Koga roughly grabbed Inuyasha by his t-shirt and started slamming him against the ground.
"You...little...if you ever...I will kill you." Koga managed through clenched teeth.
"Koga don't kill him!" Kagome shouted in a fearful tone.
With one last good slam, Koga let Inuyasha go and pushed himself to his feet. Inuyasha was sputtering and gasping for breath, but he would live. Despite being as angry as he was about being wet, Koga never really had an intention to kill the little twit.
"I'm not going to kill him. Yet," Koga said as Kagome walked towards them, followed by the others.
"What the hell did he do?" Ginta asked.
"The little bastard tried to sink Sess' truck, then he about drowned me when he took off back up the ramp knocking me off of the boat."
Jakotsu was the first to burst out laughing quickly followed by everyone except Sesshomaru.
"What happened to my truck?" He asked coolly.
"He backed the damn thing into the lake. It was just about up to the cab," Koga clarified.
"Your stupid truck's fine," Inuyasha grumbled as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. "I'm glad that I now know the truck rates higher than I do," he added with a scoff.
"It's worth more," Sesshomaru said without a hint of sarcasm.
"Sesshomaru!" Kagome gasped before reaching out to swat at his arm.
"What?" He asked with a smirk. "I'm joking," he added after an intense glare from Kagome.
"You better be," she mumbled knowing that he could still hear her.
"It's like ninety degrees out here. Why the hell are you so upset about being wet?" Hiten asked as Koga attempted to wring the water from his shirt.
"Shut up," was Koga's only reply.
"Well the ramp's ready. Wha'dya say we test it out?" Hakkaku asked the group.
"Let's go get the bikes," Hiten suggested excitedly, walking off towards the toy hauler.
The others were quick to follow and Kagome helped Inuyasha off of the ground.
"Are you going to try it?" He suddenly asked.
"The ramp? Of course," she answered with a laugh.
"No. Not just the ramp. I mean it," he said in a much lower tone.
"Oh that. Probably not. No...definitely not," she corrected herself, then added. "At least not while he's around."
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Kagome pedaled for all that she was worth knowing that she had to have enough speed to get up the ramp she was quickly approaching. The slight downhill slope helped out a lot and now she knew why Sesshomaru had insisted on this campsite and placing the ramp where he did. It was going to make her life much less difficult if she wanted to play with the big boys and jump off of the ramp into the lake. For some reason this whole idea seemed slightly insane to her. It was totally different than going off of a ramp into a foam pit. What if her leg got caught somewhere on the bike and it pulled her under before she could get free? At least she didn't have to worry about her pants getting caught around anything, wearing a bikini definitely solved that problem. But that only brought on a whole new one. When she landed in the water at what she assumed would be a great deal of force, she would probably lose her top. Right then and there she decided that she was thinking way too much. If it happened, it happened. So some of the guys got a free show? With that thought she decided that she'd just have to check to make sure that she was covered before she attempted to exit the lake.
Once in the air above the water, all thoughts stopped for her and by reflex she performed a Seat Grab before pulling herself back over the bike and landing in the cool water. Seconds passed before her head popped above the surface with her laughing. After taking several deep breaths she dove back under to retrieve the bicycle. Grabbing onto it with both hands and kicking off from the muddy bottom. She thanked her lucky stars that the bike was aluminum and basically weightless as she made her way to the surface once again. After a few more gasps for air she awkwardly swam towards the shore where Sesshomaru was waiting for her. He was standing in the water up to his waist and as soon as she was within reach, pulled the bike from her hands effortlessly.
"That was nice and simple," he said with a soft smile.
"It was my first run. I didn't want to scare away the competition," she joked.
Once again they were engaged in a battle to see who could throw down the best trick. Although this one was even less formal as their first had been. The winner would be decided by everyone, not by a collective score. Everyone was participating except for Sango and a moody Miroku. He had been against coming to the lake knowing that he wouldn't be participating in any of the activities. At least at the house he could hang out in the air conditioning and watch TV. Kagome jogged up the embankment and flopped down onto a beach towel that was spread out next to the blanket that the couple was sitting on.
"Great job Kags!" Sango said flashing her a bright smile.
"Thanks." Kagome chirped in return. "Hey, Miroku?"
"Yeah?" He answered somewhat flat, lying on his back looking unseeingly at the sky above them.
Kagome frowned. He'd become slightly depressed in the last couple of days and she was bound and determined to put an end to it.
"I've got an idea I'd like to run past you," she said with a grin.
"Really?" He asked peevishly. "Does it involve both you and my lovely girlfriend? As well as myself of course."
Kagome giggled; glad to see that he hadn't totally lost his fun spirit.
"In fact it does," she answered in a seductive tone, deciding to play along.
"Mmm. I'm listening," Miroku said pushing himself up onto one elbow so that he could look at her. "What does this...idea of yours involve?"
"It involves plastic, lots of duct tape, and little clothing," Kagome answered after carefully choosing her words.
"Sounds like fun," he said with a wink and a smirk.
"Fantastic," Kagome said as she stood up. "Let me go get the stuff and I'll be right back. Then we can get started."
"We're going to do this out here in front of everyone?" He asked with a chuckle.
"Oh yes. Trust me. You'll enjoy it," she promised with a wink of her own before walking off towards the toy hauler.
"I don't even want to know what she's got planned," Sango said with a sigh.
"I can't wait to find out," Miroku said once again laying on his back.
Kagome returned a short few minutes later with her hands full. She was carrying several large sheets of clear plastic, a roll of saran wrap, and a roll of duct tape. She again plopped down onto her beach towel before moving to her knees and carefully lifting Miroku's casted leg up onto her thighs.
"Just what are you planning?" He asked when she began wrapping the sheets of plastic around his cast. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind."
"What did you have in mind?" Kagome asked innocently before running the roll of duct tape around the plastic she had just finished with.
"I...it wasn't this," he answered, now slightly concerned.
"I said it involved plastic and duct tape," Kagome reminded him with a giggle.
"And I seem to distinctly remember you mentioning little clothing," Miroku added.
"Well Sango and I are already in swim suits and you're in board shorts. I'd consider that little clothing," she said as she moved onto wrapping the saran wrap around her previous work before adding yet more duct tape. "There you go. Now you should be water proof."
"Water proof?" He asked.
"Yeah, now you can go swimming with us," Kagome said happily as she stood up and reached down to grab his left arm. "Come on Sango get his other side."
Sango stood and grabbed his right arm, the two of them hoisting him up to his feet.
"Ladies, I really am flattered by all of your attention, but I have no desire to set foot in that lake."
"Oh no?" Kagome asked as she pouted.
"Come on Ookie-bear," Sango whined. "Come swimming with us."
"I thought that we discussed not using that name outside of the bed room?" Miroku asked quietly.
Kagome giggled and couldn't resist.
"Please Ookie-bear? It won't be the same without you."
With a deep sigh Miroku relented.
"Alright ladies, but I'm only going in to appease you both. I hope that you'll be kind and remember that the next time I would like something from either of you."
The girls nodded quickly, helping the less then agile man down the embankment and into the shallow water. Bankotsu sailed over head nearby and landed in the lake after preforming a Hart-Attack. He easily brought the bike to the surface, since he had never let go of it, and swam towards the small group that now had Miroku in up to his waist.
"I hope you've wrapped that thing in plastic," Bankotsu joked.
"I always do," Miroku answered with a smirk before he received a smack to the back of the head from Sango.
He simply laughed. Kagome over looked the perverted comment because of two reasons. She had no room to say anything as she had two minutes before been acting the very same way and the second was that she was just happy to see him doing something other than sitting on his ass feeling sorry for himself.
"Kags you're up after Hiten," Bankotsu informed her as he made his way closer to the shore.
"Okay," she answered, determined not to lose focus on where Miroku's hands were at all times.
"I think that I'm deep enough now that you can let go," Miroku said reluctantly.
The girls hesitantly pulled their hands away from his upper arms and let him stand on his own. He had to admit the water felt great and it was an even better feeling to be doing something other than sitting around. He allowed the water to support his body and carefully began swimming, making sure not to kick with his injured leg. Sango soon joined him and Kagome got out of the water so that she could go grab a bike. Hiten was up which meant that she need to get to the top of the hill and be ready for her go. She wasn't sure what trick she would do. As she casually walked up the hill and stole the bike that Jakotsu was holding her mind raced.
'What's something that I need to practice? What would catch their attention? What the heck had Sess done? I was too busy with Miroku to watch. Great. He'll probably ask what I thought of it when he comes to get the bike from me.'
"'Kay Kags. You're up," Koga said, suddenly standing next to her.
"Huh? Oh, right," she breathed.
She let the momentum of the hill get her started until she was about half way down then she began pedaling. Once she was up the ramp and into the air she pulled her body upwards, letting her feet hook under the handle bars. She had decided at the last second to do a Cliff Hanger since she was planning on putting one in her trick list for the Monster Games and she'd only done one once. After a graceful fall into the water she again dove down to retrieve the bike and started towards the shore where Sesshomaru was again waiting for her.
"You seem to be fond of that trick," he observed.
"I am. It's really fun. Oh but don't think for a second that it's replacing the Stripper," she added with a poke of her finger to his chest.
"That trick is a curse I'm forced to endure," he said unhappily, hanging his head.
"A curse? Please," Kagome snorted. "It's not a curse if you win with it."
"Hn."
Kagome giggled at Sesshomaru knowing he didn't really have a problem with the trick. They walked side by side back up to the top of the hill where Sesshomaru readied for his second go.
"What are you planning on doing?" Kagome asked.
"It's a surprise," he said with a grin.
"Oh no. I know that look. What have you invented now?" She asked in a worried tone.
"If I tell you it won't be a surprise now will it?" He asked softly. "It's nothing that's going to get me killed. I'm trying it into water. What's the worst that could happen?" He attempted to calm her down, but the cocky edge to his voice only made her more nervous.
"Just don't drown," she warned.
If he wanted to try something...he was going to try it, whether she protested it or not.
'Hypocritical punk.' She thought as he began to pedal down the hill.
By the time he got to the ramp he was going faster than anyone had all day and he looked like he was setting up for a back flip.
'That's an awful lot of speed for a normal back flip. I wonder what variant he's going to do.' Kagome thought as she continued to watch her man.
He rocketed up the ramp and into the air pulling his body and the bicycle into a flip without a variant of any kind. Then he pulled the bike around for a second time with a slight over rotation before landing in the water with a huge splash. It took a handful of seconds for everyone to realize what they had just witnessed. Sesshomaru had just done a double back flip; the first that anyone had ever seen. Everyone began cheering and yelling. Kagome stood rooted to the spot until Bankotsu grabbed her arm.
"Did you see that?! That was unbelievable!" He yelled excitedly.
Kagome gave a weak laugh and an even weaker, "Yeah."
Not bothering to wonder why she didn't seem absolutely thrilled about what her boyfriend had just done, Bankotsu followed the others down the hill towards the shore where Sesshomaru was just barely getting out of the water. Kagome knew better than to be overly excited. If he was trying this trick out on a bicycle then the next step would be the motorcycle. She also knew that he would spend every waking moment working on the trick so that he could use it at the upcoming Monster Games in the best trick competition. She shook her head and put on the best smile she could manage at the moment.
'This is what he does. It's a huge accomplishment. Be happy for him. What did you expect when you started dating a freestyler? All they do is push limits.' She told herself as she began down the hill.
Sesshomaru was already half way to her when she started down the hill and in a few more feet he had her tightly wrapped in his arms holding her off of the ground.
"Please tell me you watched that time?" He asked unable to hold back the excitement in his voice.
"I sure did," she answered smiling.
Knowing by the tone of her voice she was worried about what would come next with the trick; he set her down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
"Kags I know what you're thinking. I just wanted to see if it was possible. I'm not going to do it on a dirt bike."
Her eyes brightened as well as her voice.
"Really?"
He smiled.
"Yeah."
"Good," she said before running her hand around the back of his neck to pull him to her for a congratulatory kiss.
"Hey!" Inuyasha shouted as he ran towards the couple. "When we get home are you going to start working on that into the pit?"
"No," Sesshomaru answered right away.
"Wh...what?! You're joking right?" Inuyasha asked flabbergasted.
"No. I'm not trying it on a dirt bike."
"Why the hell not?!" Inuyasha shouted.
"Because I don't feel the need to," Sesshomaru said, finally releasing Kagome from his hold so that he could turn towards his brother.
"Are you nuts?! You would win gold with that trick anywhere you went!" Inuyasha continued.
"Or he could break his neck," Kagome said quietly.
"...oh. I see," Inuyasha said slowly with a smirk. "She's got you whipped."
As much as Sesshomaru wanted to rip his brother's throat out for that last comment, he decided not to for the time being. He gave a soft chuckle.
"Little brother, there are far worse things in this world."
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Kagome sat lounging across the large rear seat of the boat watching as Bankotsu wakeboarded behind them. Sesshomaru was driving and Koga sat next to him waiting for Bankotsu to fall so that he could have his turn.
"We should have set a time limit," Koga grumbled to himself.
"You'll get your turn," Kagome laughed, looking over at him through her sunglasses.
"He's been out there twenty friggin' minutes already," Koga continued.
"Don't be pissed because he's better then you," Kagome teased.
"Shut up you," Koga grumbled shooting her an angry look.
"Kagome could wakeboard better then you," Sesshomaru said, finally entering the conversation.
"Hey!" Both Koga and Kagome protested.
Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder at a grumpy looking Kagome and smirked.
"What?" He asked innocently.
"You made that sound like anything but a complement to me," Kagome growled.
"It wasn't meant to sound that way towards you," Sesshomaru apologized. "I merely meant that you could do better than Koga and you've never wakeboarded before."
"Oh," Kagome said looking over at Koga once more who looked furious.
"Get that asshole in here so that I can show you just how I can wakeboard," Koga said as he stood up.
Sesshomaru slowed the boat down causing Bankotsu to lose all momentum and fall into the water on his back.
"Hey!" He shouted. "What the hell?!"
"Koga's decided that you're time's up and he needs to get all manly and prove that he can wakeboard," Kagome hollered back.
"Kagome!" Koga shouted as Sesshomaru laughed.
"What?" Kagome asked turning to him once again. "Isn't that what's going on?"
"No," Koga growled as he pulled his life preserver off of the back of his seat and slipped his arms in it before zipping it up.
Bankotsu had finally unclipped his feet from the wakeboard and swam towards the back of the boat where Kagome was waiting to grab the board from him. After he hauled himself into the boat Kagome threw a towel at him while she handed the board to Koga. Bankotsu unzipped his life vest and slipped into the chair that Koga had been in moments before. They all watched as Koga sat on the back of the boat while he locked his feet onto the board then slid off the back into the water. After a second of awkward floundering, he was on his back and ready to go. He wrapped one hand loosely around the rope that was attached to the handle he would eventually hold in his hands.
"Alright," he yelled and Sesshomaru slowly moved the boat forward.
Koga easily grabbed onto the handle when he finally got to the end of the rope and was up in a couple of seconds after that. Sesshomaru increased the speed of the boat and once there was a good wake going Koga began to show off, jumping from one wake to the other.
"He's such a nerd," Kagome sighed.
"Aren't you going to go Kags?" Bankotsu asked completely uninterested in watching Koga show off.
"Nope, I don't know how," she answered turning to look at him briefly before looking back at Koga.
"You're kidding? Really? I figured that you would be a pro."
Kagome shook her head while she laughed.
"Just because he tries everything doesn't mean that I do," Kagome said with a smile and used her thumb to point at Sesshomaru.
"I beg to differ," Sesshomaru said after making a weird noise that didn't quite qualify as a snort. "She's far more adventurous then she's leading you to believe."
"Oh?" Bankotsu asked slyly, taking Sesshomaru's comment different then Sesshomaru had intended.
"Notuh. Get your dirty mind out of the gutter," Kaogme said pointing a finger at Bankotsu when she noticed his smirk. "Miroku's beginning to rub off on people."
"We'll if you're so adventurous, then why don't you try it today?" Bankotsu asked.
"I'm okay. Really," she answered as she turned back just in time to watch Koga wipe out. "Oh jeez that looked like it hurt."
Bankotsu stood and walked to the back of the boat stopping to stand next to Kagome while Sesshomaru slowed the boat down to almost a stop.
"Koga! Bring it in! Kags wants to go," Bankotsu yelled through his cupped hands.
"We just got out here!" Koga yelled back.
"God he's dense," Bankotsu mumbled before shouting, "No not go in! She wants to wakeboard!"
"Huh?!"
"N...no I don't! Just keep going Koga," Kagome stammered as she stood up.
"Aw come on Kags, we've been trying to get you out here for over a year," Koga said as he made his way closer to the back of the boat.
"Just try it once," Bankotsu added as he grabbed her life vest that had been lying next to her on the seat.
As she protested and Koga climbed in the boat, Bankotsu helped her into her life vest and zipped it up.
"Okay you're ready," He said happily as he helped her to sit down on the back of the boat.
"No, really, I...I'm fine just hanging out," she continued to protest.
"Koga you drive," Sesshomaru said as he too came to the back of the boat.
"But...I wanted...aww. Fine," Koga said before turning towards the driver's seat.
Kagome looked over her shoulder at Sesshomaru as Bankotsu locked her feet onto the board.
"You'll be using a lot of knee to stay balanced," Bankotsu offered a tip.
"If you feel like you're going to go down, let go of the rope," Sesshomaru added.
Kagome nodded slowly and allowed Bankotsu to help her into the water. He held her hand and helped to pull her around onto her back. Sesshomaru grabbed onto the line that was tied to the boat and held it up from the water.
"Hold onto this until it gets to the handle then grab onto that. You'll start facing forward, but you'll have to turn your body sideways quickly. Tuck you knees into your chest as best you can and push up while the boat pulls you forward."
Kagome again nodded. She'd watched them wakeboard countless times, it was easy. Or at least that's the way they all made it look.
"Okay Koga. Slow," Sesshomaru directed.
Koga pushed the throttle forward, slowly increasing the boat's distance from Kagome. Soon she reached the end of the rope and grabbed the handle with a death grip. She had her knees tucked in and when the boat yanked her forward she went with the momentum and let the line pull her arms forward to the point that she felt her arms would be ripped off. She never managed to get up out of the water, but landed on her face when she finally let go of the rope.
"Oh, guess we should have told her to keep her arms close to her chest too," Bankotsu said casually.
"Are you alright?!" Sesshomaru shouted across the water.
After floundering for a moment, Kagome was once again on her back bobbing up and down with the waves from other boat's wakes.
"Yeah. Now what?" She asked.
"I see that she's determined," Bankotsu said with a grin.
"Now she'll be out there all day until she gets it," Koga said with a hint of amusement.
"Koga circle around so she can get the line again," Sesshomaru instructed.
Koga did as told and soon they were almost directly next to Kagome.
"So this time, keep your arms in tight. Don't let them get pulled out. At least not until you're up," Sesshomaru said as he tossed the line out towards her.
Kagome gave a determined nod and grabbed onto the line.
"Okay Koga," Bankotsu said and the boat slowly moved forward again.
Kagome tucked her knees and when she finally gripped the handle in her hands she held them tight against her chest, bracing for the pull. When it came she pushed up like she'd been told and once she was somewhat balanced she turned her body to the left so that she was now sideways. As the boat picked up momentum and she picked up speed she got a little braver and let her arms out.
'Wow. I'm doing this.' She thought with a smile.
"Good job Kags!" Bankotsu shouted from the boat, but it was impossible for her to hear him.
She continued to stay up while Koga did large circles around the lake. Soon her arms were sore and she realized that they hadn't told her what to do when she was done.
"Hey!" She yelled. "What do I do when I want to stop?"
"Let go!" Sesshomaru yelled back but again she couldn't hear what was said.
"What?!"
"Let go!" Sesshomaru half turned towards Koga. "Slow down so she doesn't face plant to hard when she finally figures it out."
Koga nodded and the boat slowed considerably. The rope went slack and Kagome let go of it. She used her built up momentum so she could continue to glide across the surface, but she soon lost her balance and fell to the side landing on her back. Koga pulled the boat around and drifted closer to Kagome's floating form. She was working on unclipping her feet when Sesshomaru jumped into the water next to her.
"Here," he offered as he unclipped her right foot. "It can be awkward."
"Thanks," she chirped. "That was really fun."
"See? Aren't you glad that you tried it?" Bankotsu asked from the boat.
"Yeah, now my arms are all sore," Kagome complained as she swam for the ladder.
"You did really well. Getting up and staying up on your second try is something you should be proud of," Sesshomaru said as he handed the wakeboard to Bankotsu.
Koga threw Kagome a towel and then moved from the driver's seat knowing Sesshomaru would want it back. Sesshomaru climbed up the ladder and into the boat before Kagome tossed him the towel she had been using.
"I'm totally starving now," Kagome said as she unzipped her life preserver.
"Imagine my surprise. You're always hungry," Koga said with a chuckle as Sesshomaru slipped into the driver's seat and pushed the throttle forward.
"Shut it you. You know what sounds good?" She asked as she sat down onto the seat next to Bankotsu.
"Haven't a clue," Koga answered.
"Guess," Kagome said with a smile.
"I have no idea," Koga said with a sigh.
"Come on...guess. I know you'll get it," Kagome said cheerfully.
"Uh...a sandwich?" Koga guessed.
"No," Kagome said dejectedly. "I thought for sure that you would get it."
"There are so many things that you could have said. How was he supposed to guess exactly what you wanted?" Bankotsu asked with a laugh.
"He's normally pretty good at that game," Kagome said still sounding upset that Koga hadn't guessed what she had wanted.
"What is it that you want Kags?" Koga finally asked.
"Hot dogs," she said beaming.
"Those do sound good actually," Bankotsu said his mind now also stuck on food. "Thanks a lot Kagome. Now I'm hungry."
"Sorry," she said with an innocent smile.
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A/N: Aww good times! Fun fact: I don't know that much about wakeboarding. Which I'm sure was painfully obvious. I did try it once like a million years ago. I fell on my face 6 times in a row and then decided that I'd stick to sports that don't involve me trying to balance on water!
Re-posted on: December 8th 2016
