Chapter 2
So Begins The Game
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
InuYasha searched for Kagome. When he reached the middle of the woods, he paused behind a tree and waited. Somebody had to come through sometime. Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder. In total horror, he turned around to see Kagome standing there, with the smile of someone who'd just played the ultimate prank.
She giggled. "Tag! You're out, InuYasha!"
He was speechless. He couldn't believe it. It was the first time he'd ever been taken out. . . by a *girl*. He grumbled and headed back to the hut.
~ ~ ~
Kagome felt so proud of herself. She'd never seen InuYasha so peeved. She decided that his chosen hiding place wasn't the wisest place to hide, being that she'd so easily seen him. She spied Sango and carefully went over to her. "I got InuYasha." She couldn't help but laugh at the look on Sango's face. She then left Sango, and walked a little further out of the woods, choosing a place behind a large rock just where the trees began to thin out. Something rustled, and she spotted Shippou on a low bush nearby.
Now, if she could just surprise Shippou. . .
~ ~ ~
Shippou glanced up after tugging his foot out of a thorn in the bush and saw Kagome spying on him from behined a large rock further off. Her face lit with surprise, and she ducked back behined the rock. Shippou giggled to himself, and ran quietly toward her, hiding behind another tree. He then saw a flash of green and white as Kagome dashed behind a large tree. Shippou quietly made his way to the tree, and climbed up in it. He spied down on her from a lower branch. And then, he pounced. Kagome screamed.
"Tag! Tag!" Shippou yelled, "you're out, you're out!"
"Ughh. . . " Kagome recovered from her scare. "Oh, Shippou, you scared me!"
"I'm sorry, Kagome," he apologized, "Now back to the hut with you!"
"Aww. . ." Kagome whined and went on her way.
~ ~ ~
Kirara was on the lookout. She'd almost been caught by Shippou, but she'd turned the tables on him and was heading in the direction in which the fox-child had run off. She heard a scream. Kagome! She hoped she was okay! She ran in the direction of the scream and saw Shippou clinging to the top of Kagome's head yelling "Tag! Tag! You're out, you're out!" She crouched down and brought herself out of view. Over by another tree she spied Sango. She'd heard the scream as well, and had come looking for the trouble.
When she saw Kirara, she looked over at Shippou, who'd now gone back into hiding, looked back at Kirara, and nodded. That was her cue.
~ ~ ~
Sango watched as Kirara moved out from behined her tree and caught Shippou by surprise. Shippou screamed and took off, but Kirara's bound was too fast for the little kitsune, and Shippou was out in no time. Kirara purred and Shippou smiled at her, laughed, and started back for the hut.
Sango then set out for the monk, before he could reach Kirara. Kagome had let her know she'd gotten InuYasha out earlier, so she had nothing to worry about. She couldn't believe how easy this game was going to be. . .
~ ~ ~
Miroku wasn't having any luck at all. He couldn't find InuYasha anywhere, so he figured he'd somehow, amazingly, been tagged already. He decided to head out of the woods a little, and after a while, he spotted Kirara darting from hiding place to hiding place. He closed in on the little youkai, being careful not to make a sound. . .
~ ~ ~
Back at the hut, InuYasha had laughed at Kagome when she'd emerged out of the woods shortly after him, but quieted when she reminded him that he'd been the first one taken out of the game. They sat back-to-back on a tatami InuYasha had laid on the ground and just. . . waited.
Soon, Shippou emerged. "Kirara got me!" he explained, an he jumped up into Kagome's lap to wait for the end of the game. InuYasha just grumbled, still sulking over being left out first over everyone. A while passed by, and Kirara came out of the woods to join the others. "Kirara!" Shippou giggled, and the creature just purred and curled up next to Kagome.
~ ~ ~
Back in the woods, Miroku brushed himself off. He'd had to pounce on Kirara in order to tag the quick creature. Now, who was left to catch? He knew Sango had to be around. . . somewhere. He headed toward the spring, hoping that maybe just dumb luck would help him find her there.
~ ~ ~
Sango waited behind a tree at the spot where the spring split in two. When no one came, she crossed it and found herself in a large clearing. There was some rustling behind her. No one had found her, yet, had they? Then, the afternoon sun went behind a cloud, and the little clearing became very dark.
She heard the rustling noise again, and whipped around to face the spot where it had come from. When her own eyes proved to her that there was nothing there, she sighed and started off to find the monk.
Her eyes then grew large as two arms slowly slipped around her waist. Miroku's voice whispered in her ear: "Tag." She turned around, trying to figure out why she hadn't reacted at all to his touch, or his voice. She stopped right so that they're noses barely touched. His eyes looked back into her own and he said quietly, "You're out." Sango just stood there for a moment, her breath catching in her chest.
Coming to her senses, she stepped back and attempted to ruin the moment by throwing her hands up and exclaiming, "Well, you got me! Guess your team wins, Miroku!" He just stared back at her, a knowing look on his face. He asked, "Anything we want, right?"
Sango's eyes grew big. "Right," she squeaked. What was he thinking?
"I want two things, " he continued, "a kiss from you. . ."
Sango gulped and rolled her eyes. "And?"
"I'll figure that it out when I get back." He stepped forward, and Sango made no attempt to step back. 'His eyes have little specks of gold in them. . . ' was all she managed to think of before he kissed her.
His lips slid over hers and Sango nearly pulled away. No one - *no one* - had ever touched her this way. But she decided she liked it, even if it did scare her a little. She could feel his mouth open slightly, and suddenly, his *tongue* was prodding at her closed lips. She pulled away with an "Mmph! What are you doing?!"
Miroku held onto her wrists, and looked down at her as if he wasn't finished. "You've never been kissed, koi?"
"No. But I thought you kissed with your lips, not your *tongue*."
Miroku simply smiled and leaned closer to her, his eyelids drooping. He whispered in her ear, "There are more ways to kiss than one, koi."
Sango shivered and wanted to close her eyes and kiss him again.
She was also starting to find his body to be very interesting. There was something about him that made him very. . . *irresistible*.
But, of course, she would never tell *him* that.
He kissed her again, and this time, she parted her lips for him. She pulled back a little though, and told him, "Wait. . . what do I do?"
Miroku smiled against her lips. "Just. . . do what I do. . ." Their lips met again, and Miroku licked the corners of her mouth. She shivered and hesitantly did the same to him. He then swirled his own tongue around hers, and she found this movement to be very exciting. . . like a battle. Her tongue fought his, and the kiss grew deeper and more heated. Sango's head felt light, and she was a little dizzy. The only thing that was keeping her on her feet were her arms wrapped around Miroku's neck.
Miroku broke the kiss for breath. "You. . . you're a fast learner. . ." he said, laughing a little.
Sango smiled shyly at him and blushed. She then, out of nowhere, kissed him quickly once more. "We should go back to the others." She grabbed his hand and began to pull him when he didn't move.
"Do we *have* to go back?" Miroku argued. "This little clearing is nice, and dark. . . and there's no one around. . . " he winked at her.
She punched him hard in the arm. "Come on! We have to let everyone know who won!"
They never noticed the well-hidden pair of eyes that had been on them both the whole time.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Later that night, Sango still couldn't sleep. She went outside again, because for some reason the hut was too warm.
She stopped at the leafless tree, but didn't sit down. Something seemed to be calling her into the woods. She went back inside to get her shoes, unknowingly waking Miroku in the process, who got up quietly to follow her.
Oblivious to her now curious follower, Sango walked leisurely into the forest, glancing at the stars and trying to catch glimpses of any creatures of the night. The something was still calling her - not in a verbal sense of calling her, but in an erratic sort of wind, that was pushing her deeper and deeper into the forest.
The erratic wind finally stopped at the very clearing where Miroku had kissed her. So that's what it was. She couldn't sleep because of these new feelings. She kneeled down at the spring and let the cool water run over her fingers. The moonlight sparkled sweetly in it's reflection, and Sango noticed the romantic blue haze it gave everything.
An unfamiliar voice then interrupted her daze. "Sango?" It was a soft voice, that of a male. Soft, and deep, and definitely not Miroku's or InuYasha's.
In one swift movement, Sango was on her feet. She glanced around when she saw no one. "Who's there?"
A rustle came from her right, and she turned to the spot and glared into the darkness. Her eyes then fixed to the spot, and she saw a set of white robes materialize out of the darkness. The body in the robes belonged to a man, and as the body came closer, a beautiful pale face appeared, surrounded by thick, black, wavy hair. Very long hair. . . Naraku.
Sango wouldn't believe it. She squeezed her eyes shut. Naraku was dead. He wasn't standing in front of her, he was gone, destroyed.
When she reopened her eyes, she expected the spot to be empty, and was preparing to accuse herself of going a little insane, but he was still there. And closer. So close, in fact, that he stared down at her, his eyes almost lovingly boring into her own. His face looked serene and calm, and a small smile handsomely played at his lips.
"Ah, Sango. . . it has been a while." His voice was like honey.
Sango had never noticed these things about him before, and was beginning to wonder why. 'It's some kind of trick,' she told herself. 'Don't look him in the eye and he won't be able to win you over.'
"It is no trick," his voice said.
This caused Sango to glance up at him, against her will. "How. . ."
Naraku chuckled. A beautiful sound. "Your face betrays your thoughts, Sango." He reached up and touched her cheek, caressing it romantically.
Sango couldn't move. She couldn't even flinch. Why? She wished someone would come for her. Someone had to have noticed she was gone. . . hopefully. . .
"SANGO!!" suddenly Miroku's voice was behind her and was shouting desperately for her.
She turned around, and she could see him, his arm outstretched as her ran to her. "MIROKU!!" She moved to run to him, but strong arms wrapped around her middle, bruising her ribs, and then, Miroku and her surroundings vanished.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
omg. . . a cliffy. . . Honey Bee, you evil author, you!!!!!!!!!
*mwahahahahahahahaha. . . *
Hope it's getting interesting! Oh, and the chappies will be longer, I promise! We're just getting started. . . *rubs hands together in anticipation*
Honey Bee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
InuYasha searched for Kagome. When he reached the middle of the woods, he paused behind a tree and waited. Somebody had to come through sometime. Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder. In total horror, he turned around to see Kagome standing there, with the smile of someone who'd just played the ultimate prank.
She giggled. "Tag! You're out, InuYasha!"
He was speechless. He couldn't believe it. It was the first time he'd ever been taken out. . . by a *girl*. He grumbled and headed back to the hut.
~ ~ ~
Kagome felt so proud of herself. She'd never seen InuYasha so peeved. She decided that his chosen hiding place wasn't the wisest place to hide, being that she'd so easily seen him. She spied Sango and carefully went over to her. "I got InuYasha." She couldn't help but laugh at the look on Sango's face. She then left Sango, and walked a little further out of the woods, choosing a place behind a large rock just where the trees began to thin out. Something rustled, and she spotted Shippou on a low bush nearby.
Now, if she could just surprise Shippou. . .
~ ~ ~
Shippou glanced up after tugging his foot out of a thorn in the bush and saw Kagome spying on him from behined a large rock further off. Her face lit with surprise, and she ducked back behined the rock. Shippou giggled to himself, and ran quietly toward her, hiding behind another tree. He then saw a flash of green and white as Kagome dashed behind a large tree. Shippou quietly made his way to the tree, and climbed up in it. He spied down on her from a lower branch. And then, he pounced. Kagome screamed.
"Tag! Tag!" Shippou yelled, "you're out, you're out!"
"Ughh. . . " Kagome recovered from her scare. "Oh, Shippou, you scared me!"
"I'm sorry, Kagome," he apologized, "Now back to the hut with you!"
"Aww. . ." Kagome whined and went on her way.
~ ~ ~
Kirara was on the lookout. She'd almost been caught by Shippou, but she'd turned the tables on him and was heading in the direction in which the fox-child had run off. She heard a scream. Kagome! She hoped she was okay! She ran in the direction of the scream and saw Shippou clinging to the top of Kagome's head yelling "Tag! Tag! You're out, you're out!" She crouched down and brought herself out of view. Over by another tree she spied Sango. She'd heard the scream as well, and had come looking for the trouble.
When she saw Kirara, she looked over at Shippou, who'd now gone back into hiding, looked back at Kirara, and nodded. That was her cue.
~ ~ ~
Sango watched as Kirara moved out from behined her tree and caught Shippou by surprise. Shippou screamed and took off, but Kirara's bound was too fast for the little kitsune, and Shippou was out in no time. Kirara purred and Shippou smiled at her, laughed, and started back for the hut.
Sango then set out for the monk, before he could reach Kirara. Kagome had let her know she'd gotten InuYasha out earlier, so she had nothing to worry about. She couldn't believe how easy this game was going to be. . .
~ ~ ~
Miroku wasn't having any luck at all. He couldn't find InuYasha anywhere, so he figured he'd somehow, amazingly, been tagged already. He decided to head out of the woods a little, and after a while, he spotted Kirara darting from hiding place to hiding place. He closed in on the little youkai, being careful not to make a sound. . .
~ ~ ~
Back at the hut, InuYasha had laughed at Kagome when she'd emerged out of the woods shortly after him, but quieted when she reminded him that he'd been the first one taken out of the game. They sat back-to-back on a tatami InuYasha had laid on the ground and just. . . waited.
Soon, Shippou emerged. "Kirara got me!" he explained, an he jumped up into Kagome's lap to wait for the end of the game. InuYasha just grumbled, still sulking over being left out first over everyone. A while passed by, and Kirara came out of the woods to join the others. "Kirara!" Shippou giggled, and the creature just purred and curled up next to Kagome.
~ ~ ~
Back in the woods, Miroku brushed himself off. He'd had to pounce on Kirara in order to tag the quick creature. Now, who was left to catch? He knew Sango had to be around. . . somewhere. He headed toward the spring, hoping that maybe just dumb luck would help him find her there.
~ ~ ~
Sango waited behind a tree at the spot where the spring split in two. When no one came, she crossed it and found herself in a large clearing. There was some rustling behind her. No one had found her, yet, had they? Then, the afternoon sun went behind a cloud, and the little clearing became very dark.
She heard the rustling noise again, and whipped around to face the spot where it had come from. When her own eyes proved to her that there was nothing there, she sighed and started off to find the monk.
Her eyes then grew large as two arms slowly slipped around her waist. Miroku's voice whispered in her ear: "Tag." She turned around, trying to figure out why she hadn't reacted at all to his touch, or his voice. She stopped right so that they're noses barely touched. His eyes looked back into her own and he said quietly, "You're out." Sango just stood there for a moment, her breath catching in her chest.
Coming to her senses, she stepped back and attempted to ruin the moment by throwing her hands up and exclaiming, "Well, you got me! Guess your team wins, Miroku!" He just stared back at her, a knowing look on his face. He asked, "Anything we want, right?"
Sango's eyes grew big. "Right," she squeaked. What was he thinking?
"I want two things, " he continued, "a kiss from you. . ."
Sango gulped and rolled her eyes. "And?"
"I'll figure that it out when I get back." He stepped forward, and Sango made no attempt to step back. 'His eyes have little specks of gold in them. . . ' was all she managed to think of before he kissed her.
His lips slid over hers and Sango nearly pulled away. No one - *no one* - had ever touched her this way. But she decided she liked it, even if it did scare her a little. She could feel his mouth open slightly, and suddenly, his *tongue* was prodding at her closed lips. She pulled away with an "Mmph! What are you doing?!"
Miroku held onto her wrists, and looked down at her as if he wasn't finished. "You've never been kissed, koi?"
"No. But I thought you kissed with your lips, not your *tongue*."
Miroku simply smiled and leaned closer to her, his eyelids drooping. He whispered in her ear, "There are more ways to kiss than one, koi."
Sango shivered and wanted to close her eyes and kiss him again.
She was also starting to find his body to be very interesting. There was something about him that made him very. . . *irresistible*.
But, of course, she would never tell *him* that.
He kissed her again, and this time, she parted her lips for him. She pulled back a little though, and told him, "Wait. . . what do I do?"
Miroku smiled against her lips. "Just. . . do what I do. . ." Their lips met again, and Miroku licked the corners of her mouth. She shivered and hesitantly did the same to him. He then swirled his own tongue around hers, and she found this movement to be very exciting. . . like a battle. Her tongue fought his, and the kiss grew deeper and more heated. Sango's head felt light, and she was a little dizzy. The only thing that was keeping her on her feet were her arms wrapped around Miroku's neck.
Miroku broke the kiss for breath. "You. . . you're a fast learner. . ." he said, laughing a little.
Sango smiled shyly at him and blushed. She then, out of nowhere, kissed him quickly once more. "We should go back to the others." She grabbed his hand and began to pull him when he didn't move.
"Do we *have* to go back?" Miroku argued. "This little clearing is nice, and dark. . . and there's no one around. . . " he winked at her.
She punched him hard in the arm. "Come on! We have to let everyone know who won!"
They never noticed the well-hidden pair of eyes that had been on them both the whole time.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Later that night, Sango still couldn't sleep. She went outside again, because for some reason the hut was too warm.
She stopped at the leafless tree, but didn't sit down. Something seemed to be calling her into the woods. She went back inside to get her shoes, unknowingly waking Miroku in the process, who got up quietly to follow her.
Oblivious to her now curious follower, Sango walked leisurely into the forest, glancing at the stars and trying to catch glimpses of any creatures of the night. The something was still calling her - not in a verbal sense of calling her, but in an erratic sort of wind, that was pushing her deeper and deeper into the forest.
The erratic wind finally stopped at the very clearing where Miroku had kissed her. So that's what it was. She couldn't sleep because of these new feelings. She kneeled down at the spring and let the cool water run over her fingers. The moonlight sparkled sweetly in it's reflection, and Sango noticed the romantic blue haze it gave everything.
An unfamiliar voice then interrupted her daze. "Sango?" It was a soft voice, that of a male. Soft, and deep, and definitely not Miroku's or InuYasha's.
In one swift movement, Sango was on her feet. She glanced around when she saw no one. "Who's there?"
A rustle came from her right, and she turned to the spot and glared into the darkness. Her eyes then fixed to the spot, and she saw a set of white robes materialize out of the darkness. The body in the robes belonged to a man, and as the body came closer, a beautiful pale face appeared, surrounded by thick, black, wavy hair. Very long hair. . . Naraku.
Sango wouldn't believe it. She squeezed her eyes shut. Naraku was dead. He wasn't standing in front of her, he was gone, destroyed.
When she reopened her eyes, she expected the spot to be empty, and was preparing to accuse herself of going a little insane, but he was still there. And closer. So close, in fact, that he stared down at her, his eyes almost lovingly boring into her own. His face looked serene and calm, and a small smile handsomely played at his lips.
"Ah, Sango. . . it has been a while." His voice was like honey.
Sango had never noticed these things about him before, and was beginning to wonder why. 'It's some kind of trick,' she told herself. 'Don't look him in the eye and he won't be able to win you over.'
"It is no trick," his voice said.
This caused Sango to glance up at him, against her will. "How. . ."
Naraku chuckled. A beautiful sound. "Your face betrays your thoughts, Sango." He reached up and touched her cheek, caressing it romantically.
Sango couldn't move. She couldn't even flinch. Why? She wished someone would come for her. Someone had to have noticed she was gone. . . hopefully. . .
"SANGO!!" suddenly Miroku's voice was behind her and was shouting desperately for her.
She turned around, and she could see him, his arm outstretched as her ran to her. "MIROKU!!" She moved to run to him, but strong arms wrapped around her middle, bruising her ribs, and then, Miroku and her surroundings vanished.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~
omg. . . a cliffy. . . Honey Bee, you evil author, you!!!!!!!!!
*mwahahahahahahahaha. . . *
Hope it's getting interesting! Oh, and the chappies will be longer, I promise! We're just getting started. . . *rubs hands together in anticipation*
Honey Bee