o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Love and War
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Inuyasha glared at the girl standing in front of him. "What do you mean two weeks? We've got shards to find, woman!"
"I'm sorry, but I can't get out of it. My family is going away for two weeks, and I'm going with them!" Kagome screamed.
"Like hell you are!" he yelled back arrogantly. He grabbed her wrist as she tried to storm past him to the well.
"You can't hold on forever, you jackass," she said, annoyance seeping through her voice.
"What are you gonna do about it?"
"Don't make me say it, Inuyasha!"
"Keh! If it weren't for this stupid rosary you'd have no power over me, wench!"
"What, are you saying I'm weak?"
"You are weak. How many times have I saved your life now?"
"If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be in danger so much anyway!"
"Excuse me? Was I the one that left my time period? Did I shatter the sacred jewel? Because last time I checked, this was all your fault! Stupid humans... always making problems they can never take care of."
"Humans are not weak, Inuyasha."
"Right, whatever you say."
"Humans can do stuff better than demons, and I'm gonna prove it to you!"
"Oh yeah, and how are you gonna do that?"
"Come with me," she said as she dragged the unwilling hanyou over to the well.
When they appeared on the other side of the well, Inuyasha leapt out of the well, leaving a very annoyed Kagome behind. 'I'll show that jackass,' she thought venomously.
"Souta!" she called stepping into her front door, "Souta, I need to borrow your paintball equipment."
"Sure thing," he said, "let me go get it."
"What's paintball?" Inuyasha asked.
"You'll see," Kagome answered teasingly.
"Keh, I don't see how this proves that humans are better than demons."
Kagome just sighed in annoyance.
Within an hour they were back in Inuyasha's time. Kagome had everyone meet in a large clearing surrounded by forest near Kaede's village. She explained the rules of Paintball to every and showed them how to sue the equipment.
"Keh, I still don't see how this makes humans better," Inuyasha said, now thoroughly bored and annoyed.
"It's obvious, isn't it?" Miroku chimed in before Kagome could explain. "Kagome wants us to have a contest to decide the matter."
"Yes, that's it exactly," Kagome acknowledged.
"So what do I get if I win?" Inuyasha asked with a toothy grin.
"If you win then... I'll stay here instead of going on that trip with my family."
Inuyasha's ears perked. That was good enough incentive for him. "So what are the teams?"
"You and Shippou against me, Miroku and Sango," Kagome said, smirking.
"WHAT!? No fair!"
"What's the problem? If demons are better than humans than it should still be no problem for you?"
"Yes, but, Shippou's just a kid, and, that's just not fair!"
"Tough, it's going to be humans against demons. That's the only way to prove which one's better."
Inuyasha grumbled, but agreed. The two teams set up on opposite ends of the clearing. After a long stare down, Kagome called out, "I'm going to count down from five, and then we'll start.
"Five!"
Inuyasha's grip tensed. There was no way anyone was going to last long in this clearing.
"Four!"
"Hey Shippou, when she hits one, give me a big smokescreen, okay?"
"Three!"
"Why?"
"Two!"
"Just do it, and then run for cover in the forest with me, okay?"
"One!"
Inuyasha could see the streaks of yellow tearing through the smoke as he made a dash for cover. He made it deep into the forest and leaned behind a tree while he gathered his wits.
"They went that way!" He heard Sango's voice call from behind him.
Plink-plink. Inuyasha looked over to where Shippou had been sitting, a mere five feet away from himself. The boy was splayed out on the ground, covered in yellow paint and whimpering in pain. Inuyasha hung his head solemnly. The poor whelp never stood a chance.
He didn't have much time to gather his thoughts though, as a hail of gunfire erupted around him. He needed a plan if he was going to get out of this situation cleanly. Thinking quickly, he removed his red haori. He didn't like the plan, but he didn't really have any choice. He tossed the garment to he left, waited half a second and then dove right, turning and firing upon his attackers. He heard a loud yell as he flew, doing a commando roll and hiding behind a large boulder for cover.
"Miroku! Are you alright?" Sango's voice called. Inuyasha frowned. Where was Kagome in all of the action? She hadn't said a word, and he couldn't pick up her scent. 'That wench,' he thought, 'She must have disguised her scent with one of those perfume things.'
He inspected his gun briefly. He was running low on ammo in this clip, and had only two more left. Miroku was out, but that still left Sango with at least a clip and a half, and he was almost certain that Kagome hadn't fired a single shot so far. They had him outclassed. 'Damnit,' he thought to himself angrily, 'what am I gonna do if I run out of ammo?'
Inuyasha's thoughts were broken by another round of gunfire. 'Damn, they must have spotted me.' He inspected his clothes. With red and white clothes and silver hair, he stood out among the trees like a sore thumb. 'Damn them and their camouflage gear. Why didn't I get any? Man, they are such cheaters.'
He looked back to the gun in his hands. The paint his gun fired was green. Inuyasha got another idea he didn't like. Being as stealthy as possible, he emptied one of his clips and broke the paint balls over himself, covering his hair and back completely. He began slowly creeping away on his stomach. 'I hope this works...' he thought.
He got away cleanly, and noticed Sango was still firing the occasional pot shot in the direction of the rock. He took a closer look and realized she had Miroku's belt around her shoulder. 'Of course!' Inuyasha thought as he had an epiphany, 'Shippou's out, but his equipment isn't. If I could just double back to where he was...'
His thoughts were broken off again by a single shot. This one came from a new direction. 'Kagome...' Inuyasha thought venomously. Another paintball exploded a few feet away. 'You are a terrible shot.'
Inuyasha waited for another shot, which came a little too close for comfort for him, before getting up and sprinting into the forest. He ran, circling back around behind Sango, who had noticed him on the move and was chasing, low on ammo and unable to get a clear shot. Inuyasha rolled behind another tree, a mere ten feet from where Shippou still lay twitching. Inuyasha shook his head solemnly. He would have revenge for his fallen comrade.
He faked running in the opposite direction before diving and grabbing Shippou. He rolled back behind the safety of his boulder, and stripped the young boy of his weapon and ammo. Inuyasha now sported two guns Rambo style, with ammo belts crossing over his chest. He tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and tied it around his head, holding the hair out of his eyes. Now he was ready.
He leapt over the safety of his boulder, charging directly at Sango. "THIS IS FOR SHIPPOU!!" He screamed as he unleashed a flurry of paintballs on the dazed woman. He gave a fierce yell as he emptied both guns on the poor woman, who was now completely covered in green paint. "Now it's your turn, Kagome!" he called menacingly.
He was answered by a paintball flying inches from his face. He turned in the direction it came from and saw Kagome, perched atop a hill in the distance. He smirked at her, knowing she could see him clearly through the scope. After a long showdown, Inuyasha made a dash for the hill. He dodged paintball after paintball, leaping from side to side as he dashed down the clearing towards Kagome. As he approached, he let loose a flurry of bullets, reveling in the pained shriek he heard. At last, victory was his! He approached Kagome's body with a smug grin on his face. "Ne, wench, what'd I tell you? Demons are better."
No response. He became annoyed. "Did you hear that wen-"
A splash of yellow paint covered him a moment before he noticed the straw sticking out from under Kagome's shirt. She stepped out from behind a tree to his right. "You were saying, Inuyasha?" She giggled.
Inuyasha slumped to his knees, hanging his head in defeat. "I can't believe it," he said, looking at his yellow-stained clothes. "I can't believe I was bested by a human."
"Get used to it," Kagome said smugly. "Oh, and Inuyasha?"
"What is it?" he asked somberly, dazed by his defeat.
"Sit."
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Inuyasha sunk low into the water, only showing his face above the nose. Not only had he been defeated and sat, but the stupid paint wouldn't come out. His hair was now green with yellow streaks, and that made him very unhappy.
Inuyasha scowled as he remembered the look on Kagome's face as she watched him plummet to the ground. She always did it with a smile, which never failed to piss him off. "Keh, stupid rosary..." he bubbled under the water.
"Inuyasha?" He heard a familiar voice call, "Inuyasha, I need to talk to you!"
"What to do want, wench?" he asked from his seat in the springs.
Kagome emerged from the forest and blushed when she found him in the hot springs. "Umm, I wanted to talk to you about today..." she said, trying to look in another direction.
He noticed a familiar red cloth in her hands, now splattered with yellow. Another reminder of his defeat. "Keh! Come to rub it in some more?"
"Actually, I wanted to apologize," she said, slightly shocking Inuyasha. "I kind of took it too far after I won, and I wanted to say I'm sorry for sitting you, and then dancing on you, and laughing, and making fun of you, and-"
"Yeah, I get it." Inuyasha said, his bad mood returning.
"Uhh, yeah, well..." Kagome began again, unsure of herself, "I just wanted to ask if you wanted me to help wash the paint out of your hair and clothes."
Inuyasha thought for a second, before moving over to the edge of the springs where she was standing. "I guess I could use some help..." he said, turning away from her.
He felt Kagome's fingers rub some sort of potion into his hair. The scratching sensation was soothing, and he sunk slowly into the water. "Hey, stay still, I'm trying to work here!" Kagome said, a mock-scolding tone entering her voice.
They sat in silence for a while, Inuyasha's eyes drooping as he became more and more relaxed. Kagome was the first to speak. "Ne, Inuyasha, I was wondering... My family has an extra ticket for the airplane, and I was thinking... do you want to come on that trip with me? I mean, if you don't that's okay and stuff, but I was just wondering, since we have the extra ticket and all..."
Inuyasha thought about it for a moment. If he couldn't spend time with Kagome in his time, then time with her in her time was the next best thing, right? "Keh, I suppose I could grace you with my presence," he said with a cocky grin.
Kagome smiled. It was nice to know he cared, even if he showed it in funny ways. 'You know what they say,' she thought to herself. 'All's fair in love and war.'
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
A/N: Heh, hope you enjoyed this little one-shot =). The idea came to me at my friend's house, and I don't really know why, because neither of us are in to paintball at all.
The next chapter of Werewolves is on the way, for all of my faithful readers, as well as another chapter of Lost Prophet, which is finally off of its suspended status =). Anyway, that's all for now.