Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I give all my thanks to Rumiko Takahashi for bringing that extraordinary story to life! You rock!
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW EACH CHAPTER INDIVIDUALLY! I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE THAT! :D
GRAAAAAA! For some reason, this site decided to delete my latest three chapters, as well as, it seems, all your reviews. I have no idea how that happened, but I am now re-posting them. The reviews MIGHT show up again, but if they don't, I'm gonna go and re-post all your reviews from the anonymous reviewers' thing. (Cause I'm just OCD that way, and I like seeing the number go up. XD)
IMPORTANT: It's your fault if you don't read this and therefore get confused ;P. This chapter, and the chapter to come, take place before Rin's run-in with Menomaru and Gatenmaru.
.x.x.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE: WHY STUPID GET TO KNOW YOU GAMES ARE INHERENTLY EVIL
It was nice in the park.
That was all I could think about as I sat beside Inuyasha, with our sleeping baby, on the green, soft grass by the lake. That was all I could think about as the wind ruffled my hair, as his silver locks glistened in the bright sun, as he watched me feed crumbs to the begging ducks. All I could think was that it was nice… just nice.
It was nice in the park… much nicer than I had thought it would be.
At first I'd thought it would be awkward. Just me and him, just me and him and the baby, just us, in the park, eating ice cream by the pond… Almost like a date, a voice in my head had told me. Almost like you're a couple.
That thought was what had made me nervous as we collapsed together onto the ground, the water inches away from our toes. That was what had made my heart race, my jaw clench. The fact that it was almost like a date… that it was almost like I was on a date with him…
Almost.
But it was nice in the park, and the more I thought about it, the more surprised I was.
The nervousness, the shyness, the awkwardness? Long gone. I found it impossible to be shy with him, to be nervous in his presence, because despite my new feelings for him, he hadn't changed. He was still Inuyasha. Still the first guy I had ever truly despised, still the first guy I had ever truly had feelings for. Still the first guy who made me want to rip his face off just by grinning at me, and yet at the same time, with just a slightly different kind of grin, took my breath away.
Still the first guy to save my life. Still the first guy to turn it upside down.
Smiling slightly, I wondered what the hell was wrong with me. Turning my face into the sun, I asked myself whether it was worth it. What were feelings, in the end, anyway? Just feelings… just ever a glimmer of hope, a flicker of desire, a spark of curiosity… just feelings. And unless acted upon, that was all they would ever be.
Could I act on my feelings? And were they worth the confusion and anxiety they caused me?
Letting the sunlight bathe my face in a golden glow, letting my new necklace rest cool against the skin of my chest, I closed my eyes.
It was nice in the park.
.x.x.
Fifteen minutes later
"Keh, no way."
"Why not?"
"You're crazy."
"Come on, why not?"
"Why?"
I thought about that for a little. Why had I even suggested it? Why had I brought it up?
Shrugging, I told him, "I don't know. It'll give us something to talk about, I guess. And besides, it couldn't hurt to know each other better."
Inuyasha quirked an eyebrow at me. "Wench, I think I know you pretty well already."
I bristled a little at that—partly because of the small smirk he cast my way, partly because I couldn't tell whether he was being honest or trying to get under my skin. Inuyasha has a talent for that. Ambiguous comments, I mean. I've noticed that he'll say something, something which I should've just made up some stupid retort for and let pass, something which barely mattered, and instead of doing what any normal person would've, I would spend the next ten minutes agonizing over the meaning behind the comment. The intent behind it, the freaking motive. And then, at the end of the ten minutes, I won't have an answer.
Other than to tell myself that Inuyasha has no such talent; I'm just crazy.
"Well, I'm glad you feel like you've known me all your life," I teased, rolling my eyes at him, "But in case you've forgotten, we've only known each other for two weeks."
Two weeks… when I thought about that, about how much had happened in such a short time, I couldn't help but be blown away.
"Two weeks, huh…?"
The tone in his voice made me look up at him. It was… it was almost… no. Heck, no.
Inuyasha? Thoughtful? Keh.
At that I almost laughed.
"Alright, wench," he said unexpectedly, facing me, "Let's play this get-to-know you game. Even though it's a meet-and-greet game for morons."
Ironic, isn't it? That I would suggest something I used to think was the epitome of moronic, and he would think it was moronic, and I would glare at him for agreeing with me?
Life is a metaphor for irony, I guess. Or maybe irony is a metaphor for life… or… or….
Screw it.
"But," Inuyasha added, a disturbing smirk climbing upon his face, "Let's twist it up a little bit."
Oh no.
I didn't like the tone in his voice one bit. I didn't like the creepy smile or the sparkling golden eyes or the predatory, I'M GONNA EAT YOUR GUTS- esque excitement which crept into his face. Not one bit. You hear me? NOT. ONE.
And I really hoped that my evident apprehension would make him forget what he'd been going to say, but it didn't work.
Crap.
"What kind of twisting it up?" I asked warily, eyes narrowed.
"To make it interesting," he explained. Eyes glowing, he told me, "You have to promise to tell the truth, the absolute truth, when I ask a question. And then, if you lie or refuse to answer… I dare you to do something, and you have to do it."
I stiffened.
It was fair, I had to admit. I wanted to play a moronic get-to-know-you game where we take turns asking each other questions. Why, you ask? Isn't it obvious?
I wanted to know more about him, and I wanted him to know more about me. And… finally… I wanted to know if he felt the same way about me as I did about him.
So this was my master plan.
Now, would I actually ask him that question? If you think I will, then you're even crazier than I am. Duh. No. No, I'm just going to beat around the bush like some stupid girl, maybe analyze his facial expressions, maybe ponder the tones and twitches in his voice and the light in his eyes like some stupid, obsessed schoolgirl spying on a hot guy….
Jeez. I can't believe I'm actually doing this.
So, anyway, yeah. I wanted to play the game. I also thought it was as moronic as he did, so if he wanted something in exchange, something to make the game more interesting, it was okay, right?
Yes.
Scary?
Of course.
"Fine. Same goes for you," I told him.
I'm a moron.
Inuyasha grinned and said, "Great."
But then a thought came to mind and I said, "Wait. Unless you have some other superpower or something, how will you be able to tell if I'm lying?"
Shrugging, he said, "Demon powers. We're good at telling if people are lying."
"Oh."
Wait… wait, wait, wait.
Narrowing my eyes, I growled, "But then I won't be able to tell if you're lying."
And then, just because he had to, just because he just wanted to dig under my skin, rip it up, and make me jump up and itch myself like crazy trying to dig him out before I went insane and died, Inuyasha folded his arms behind his head, grinned cockily, and said, "But you already agreed to the rules, wench."
Moron. I'm a double moron.
And he's a jerk.
"Jerk," I growled. "Fine. Whatever. We're playing by an honor code, though! So you'd better not lie or I will S-I-T you!"
Again, a pretty moot threat, because I couldn't tell when he was lying.
And Inuyasha knew it.
"Sure," he said, casting a smirk my way. "So… you ask first."
Me first, huh?
Getting my act together, I searched my mind for a question. What could I ask him? What did I want to know?
"Why are you so arrogant?" I asked, smirking a smirk of my own. "Is it genetic, or is it something you've worked hard to be?"
Inuyasha growled at me, but after a moment, he grinned right back. "Both, wench. So, now it's my turn. Uh… why does it annoy you when I say keh?"
I laughed at that unexpected question. "I don't know… it's just, you say it too much! I'll ask you a legitimate question, and you'll just keh at me!"
"What? Keh!"
After a beat of dead silence, we both cracked up.
.x.x.
"What's with the random questions, wench?"
"Look," I said, smirking, "Unless you want me prying into your private life, just answer it."
He rolled his eyes. "Keh. I don't have a fucking favorite color. They're just colors!"
"Why do you curse so much?"
"My turn. Uh… why do you care about cursing?"
I shrugged. "I don't know. It's crude, it makes you sound like an uneducated idiot…."
Inuyasha looked at me almost seriously and said, "You know that's a fluke of society, though, right? I mean, hell, if everybody went around saying fuck and shit and—"
"I don't need a list!" I interrupted, trying not to laugh.
"Fine, fine. Touchy," he said, smirking. "Anyway, if everybody in the whole world went around saying stuff like that, then it'd be considered okay. Right?"
I had to stop and consider that for a moment, because I realized that he was right.
And that he had me interested, and had taught me something I'd never actually thought about before.
.x.x.
"You ever had any boyfriends?" Inuyasha asked almost offhandedly.
Of course, when the boyfriend subject came up, I was immediately uneasy. "Why do you want to know that?"
Play it cool. Like you don't care. Right.
"It's not your turn to ask a question," he said. "Just answer mine."
Sighing, I said, "No. Haven't I told you that before, though?"
"Keh. Maybe. So… did you ever like anybody?"
"My turn," I reminded him.
Inuyasha smirked. "Nope. You asked if I'd told you that before, and I answered."
"WHAT?"
He had to be kidding.
"That's what happened."
THE JERK WASN'T KIDDING.
"Ask the next question," I growled.
Inuyasha, obviously taking pleasure from my evident torment, said again, "Did you ever like anybody?"
Did I. Not do I. Just… did I.
That was past tense, right?
"No," I said slowly.
If he thought something was off about my answer, he didn't tell me so, but I could've sworn I saw his face twitch.
"All right," I said, glaring. "My turn."
What could I ask? Not about girlfriends. I knew better than to bring up Kikyo again. That was not an experience I wanted to relive.
Although now that I thought about it, that was the experience which brought us together.
"Uh…"
"Keh, gonna ask anytime soon?"
I rolled my eyes and fished for a question, and we continued the Q and A.
.x.x.
"Why do you hate your brother?"
"Sesshomaru?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "Keh. He's a bastard. Enough said."
"No, not enough said," I growled. "You made me spill my entire freaking past to you, including Hojo—"
"Hobo—"
"Hojo," I said pointedly, "And Ayumi and Eri and even Suzuna, for crying out loud."
"She sounded like a bitch," Inuyasha said cheerfully.
Grimacing, I said, "Isn't that what I spent the last five minutes describing to you?"
He shrugged. "I don't know why you let her bother you. I mean, come on. She sounds like all those other stupid popular girls—bitchy, cliquey, and thirsting for revenge. Why let them get to you?"
I sighed. "I often asked myself that, but while she was picking on me or Rin, I couldn't exactly take time to ask myself why I bothered to listen to her. And it's not like I let her pick on me. I mean, I would spit fire right back at her as soon as she took a step toward me!"
Inuyasha grinned. "I bet you would."
And for a second I forgot all about my question about Sesshomaru, because it was one of those breathtaking grins which I wanted to capture on camera and save forever. One of those warm grins that scarcely saw the light of day. One of those grins that made me feel special.
"Hey," he said suddenly, "If we ever see her, point her out to me, okay? Usually I don't hit girls, but bitches don't count."
I had to laugh at that. And as we continued questioning each other back and forth, I let the Sesshomaru thing drop. Sure, my whole interrogation idea wasn't going how I thought it would… sure, I was the one spilling my whole life story and he was the one revealing nothing… but what had I expected?
It didn't matter, anyway. When he grinned that grin which made my heart soar, it made up for everything.
.x.x.
"What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?"
Inuyasha grimaced. "No way I'm going to tell you that."
Grinning widely, I said, "Then it's time for a dare… hmm… I wonder what I'll make you do."
He was backed into a corner, and he knew it.
"Evil wench," Inuyasha growled. "When I was eight, there was this girl I liked—just a little kid crush—and we were playing soccer in gym. I wanted to impress her by running really fast, so I did, and I ran so fast that I bumped right into a wall, got knocked unconscious, and pooped myself. Happy?"
Happy? More than that. I was cracking up.
"Alright," Inuyasha growled, "Now… what's your most embarrassing moment?"
That sobered me up real fast.
.x.x.
"Want a Tic-Tac?" he offered, holding out a small box of Tic-Tacs for me.
I nodded, grinning. "Sure. Now it's my turn."
Inuyasha's confusion showed in his eyes when he objected, "No, it's not! It's my turn!"
"Not anymore," I said smugly. "You asked if I wanted a Tic-Tac. I said sure. That was a question, and that was my answer."
Inuyasha swore.
.x.x.
"Okay," he muttered. "What's the worst thing that ever happened in your life?"
That was an easy one. Not easy to talk about, but easy to answer.
"My dad dying," I said softly.
I didn't elaborate, and he didn't make me.
"Sorry," he muttered. "Okay, after that, I owe you a personal question. Go."
A personal question? Tilting my head slightly, I asked, "What's your biggest regret?"
Inuyasha stared at me. "Regret?"
"Yeah, stupid," I said, smirking. "Even arrogant idiots have regrets."
To my surprise, Inuyasha looked away.
"Hey," I said. "You okay? You going to answer or not?"
There was a moment of silence before he said something I had never, ever expected. He said it so low that it drifted past my ears and I had to ask for it again.
Raising his voice a little, he said gruffly, "Acting like an asshole around you."
My eyes widened.
Me? His biggest regret was… being mean to me?
"I… uh…."
"Oi! I said it! Now just ask a fucking question and get it done with."
Surprised, taken aback, I said, "It's your turn."
Maybe I would have been angry at him for snapping at me. Maybe I would have been hurt. But after what he'd just told me, I couldn't find the strength to be angry.
For a moment we were quiet, and I saw him looking at me. Slowly, his eyes traveled downward, until they rested on the spot on my chest an inch or two beneath the junction of my collarbones. And there they remained, and I watched his face as he frowned, as something churned in his eyes.
Finally he said, almost surprised, "You're still wearing my necklace."
I smiled. "Of course. If you were me, would you even leave the house without this? Would you go anywhere without it?" Voice softening, I added, "And besides… I love it."
Inuyasha smiled. And then he went and ruined it by saying, "Keh. You better."
"Sit."
Inuyasha slammed to the ground, muttering a string of curses and violent threats which made me laugh until my sides ached.
Seems like there's a comeback for the Inuyasha Grin after all.
.x.x.
"Okay… uh…"
"Anytime," I said lazily, smirking at him.
The game had lasted much longer than either of us had thought it would, but somehow we weren't bored. Somehow, in the course of the game, we'd ended up lying next to each other, on our backs, heads inches apart, staring up into the blue sky above us.
It was really, really nice in the park.
"All right," Inuyasha said. The smirk in his voice worried me, but I hid my fear.
That is, until he said, "If you want me to ask a question so badly, then…."
Inuyasha stopped. And although that might have relieved me, it also terrified me to the core.
Why was he smirking? WHY DID HE STOP?
Inuyasha's face was uncharacteristically serious when he said, "Oi, wench. Do you… like anybody now?"
I think that it was that question, in combination with his oddly serious face and curious eyes, which made my delicious little Tic-Tac take a journey down my air pipe.
"Excuse me," I growled, eyes watering, "While I choke… on my Tic-Tac."
Inuyasha burst out laughing.
The guy has got to be disturbed.
When Inuyasha's cackling and my coughing had subsided, we were left at a mutual understanding. AKA: Inuyasha had asked a question. I had to answer it, or risk whatever dare Inuyasha could come up with.
And knowing Inuyasha, he'd think of something imaginatively awful.
"Couldn't you ask a different question?" I pleaded.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and, to my shock, smirked and said, "Wench, from your red face, it's obvious you like someone. So I'll change my question."
Was he serious? Would he really leave it at that?
When his smirk evolved into his trademark grin, I knew the answer was no.
"Who do you like?"
Unable to breathe, I began to wonder if that Tic-Tac had made it into my lungs. If that were the case, Inuyasha would be indirectly responsible for my death. How ironic.
"You've got to be kidding," I growled, voice low to tell him that I wasn't in the mood for jokes.
"Nope," he said smugly. "No way. So… truth or dare, wench?"
Standing, red-faced, I said, "Neither! Idiot! I—it's personal! Why would I tell you? You'll tell Miroku, and Miroku will tell the whole world and—"
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
The sudden, spat demand, the sudden fury in Inuyasha's eyes, made me jump almost a foot into the air. But as much as his outburst shocked me, the voice which breathed down the back of my neck made goose-bumps spring along my arms.
"Careful, darling. Don't want to trip."
I didn't need to turn around to know that it was Gatenmaru.
DISCLAIMER2: BWAAAAA! I ALMOST FORGOT! I DO NOT OWN THE PHRASE, "Excuse me, while I choke on my Tic-Tac." (nor do I own Tic-Tacs... O.O). That very funny sentence belongs to xXthenextbookwormXx and her sister. :D
A/N: Thank you to ninjagurl512, purduepup, k and ai, Tomatosoup inc., beautiful-surreal, BGuate224, iheartinuyasha, LunaP, Daichilover, bear lover, ILoveInuyasha4Eva, Skittle Dog (x2, because you weren't logged in last time and I didn't know you reviewed! DX), rossgirl1997, eragonlover1, sesshomaruandrin1, inuyashafan71235, k and ai again XD, Aneko, ai again XD (this review made me laugh, by the way :D), and Inu-Yasha lov3r1 for reviewing! Love you guys, and I love all of you!
This chapter would probably be a cliffy… except that the next one's going to come out in about half an hour… XD O.o
REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW BEFORE YOU READ ON, PLEASEEEEEE! :D
