Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. The characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi!
Author Note: The hard drive on my family's main computer is broken so to those of you who are patiently awaiting an update on H.K.S: I'm so sorry! Also, school for me begins next Monday. I'm going to a completely different school, not mentioning the fact that this is my senior year, so bear with me if I don't update as often. Thanks!
Chapter 13
His Heart Is Owned
A tall and slender girl stepped out from the front seat of a silver Porsche. The sunlight splashed across her immaculate, red school uniform. She nodded politely at the man seated at the driver's seat and then strode away carrying an air of superiority.
She approached the entrance of Shikon High and pushed against the metal pad. The door opened with a clang that sent echoes down the barren hallway. The faint outlines of a smile could be seen on the girl's pale face. Her dark brown eyes danced merrily as she began to recall memories little by little. Two years hadn't changed the school at all.
"Excuse me miss," Her brown eyes swiveled to the right and stopped when they focused on a pair of gray eyes belonging to a salt-and-peppered haired man. He was dressed in normal clothes, but had a police cap tilted precariously to the right, on what appeared to be a balding head.
"Yes? How can I help you officer?"
The man scratched the side of his head rather awkwardly. "Well, ma'am-"
She let a small laugh escape her lips. "I am a student, sir."
The officer appeared stumped for a minute, but seconds later, relieved himself from discomfort by laughing at his own blunder. His laughter was forced and clearly a dramatization. "But of course I knew that!"
She merely smiled at his charade and nodded.
"If you are new to Shikon High, then you'll need to speak with the secretary."
"I am a returning student," she replied calmly. The man, identified as Officer Ryo by his nametag, stopped mid-speech. For the past year and a half, the new officer made it his duty to recognize and greet each person that entered the building. Why then, he wondered, was it so difficult putting a name on this face? She vaguely resembled someone, but her gracefulness and maturity had him doubting his word.
"K-Ka something…hmm," He tapped his chin. "Forgive me if I'm wrong…I am an old man after all…but…is your name Kagome?"
"No, sir. I believe we have a misunderstanding here," The girl pushed aside several strands of long jet-black hair that rested on her shoulders. Her seemingly flawless tendrils reached the lower regions of her back and were tied into a low ponytail with a white ribbon.
"I've returned after two years absence…my name is Kikyo."
:-:-:
Sango tried to make herself look small. "I can't believe I let you drag me into this…"
The two were currently seated in the stands, at a preferable distance from where the boys would start practice shortly. A couple of coaches lined the field conversing with each another and comparing game plans. Sango thanked her lucky stars that she and Kagome weren't the only ones that showed up to watch soccer practice. Apparently, a handful of other kids thought it would be a productive way to spend a Tuesday afternoon.
"Gods, Miroku's going to think that I stalk him…or something like that…"
Just as she spoke these words, the huge brass doors that separated the inside of the school from the soccer field opened to reveal the captain and co-captain. Behind the leaders, concealed by a thick wall and shrouded in darkness, stood the twenty-eight members of the team. Inuyasha was a sight for sore eyes in his red uniform. He stood proud and upright with his chin pointed up and his chest puffed out. His long silver hair was tied back, and because of this, his gorgeous amber eyes gleamed when touched by the rays of the afternoon sun.
If anyone managed to tear their eyes away from Inuyasha, an almost impossible feat indeed, they would come to see that the person that stood beside him was not Miroku, but a brown haired young man by the name of Hojo. The handsome, chivalrous young man was a female favorite, but failed to fetch as much attention because he seemed only interested in one girl in particular: Higurashi, Kagome.
"Stretches! Warm ups!" One of the coaches hollered, and then blew his whistle. The thirty boys jogged out in two perfectly straight lines then stopped midfield and split themselves into five even rows, each with six members. The team synchronized their stretches when doing pushups and sit-ups.
"Ten laps! Let's move it!" More whistling followed this command. The team did as they were instructed without breaking a sweat. Up in the stands, Kagome could do little but gawk like everyone else. "Ten laps! I can barely do half of that in gym class!"
Sango laughed, but didn't quite agree since she herself liked to run. The older girl's eyes busily surveyed the field, in search of Miroku. Half of the team, Inuyasha's half, was dressed in red while the other half was dressed in navy blue. From what she knew, the two sides would be playing each other after preliminary drills.
"He's probably dressed in blue," Kagome mumbled.
"What?" Sango ceased to stare and centered her attention on the girl seated beside her.
Kagome shrugged. "Miroku. I'm saying that he's probably dressed in blue." Sango blushed and averted her eyes so that they had no chance of wandering.
"I-I wasn't looking for him!" She hopelessly denied. Kagome quirked a brow but didn't tease. Instead, the younger girl did her friend a favor by joining in the search for Miroku. Sango was the first to spot him and she gave it away when she gasped.
Kagome's eyes darted around frantically. "What? You found him?"
Sango nodded pathetically and pointed. "He's right there."
As Kagome had suspected, Miroku was dressed in blue. The color suited him well as it accentuated the color of his eyes. Sango found that she had a hard time looking away from the playboy--despite the fact that she'd already seen him half-naked; a fully clothed Miroku was just as yummy looking as one dressed in swimming trunks.
The coaches had every player line up on one end of the terrain and then had them skip, gallop, and jog across the field. Occasionally, a stop command would be called out and players were asked to do a particular amount of jumping jacks. Then came the final exercise. Players dribbled around the field three times and then had to weave their way through orange cones in a single file and stop on command. Only after every player completed this task would the match officially begin.
"They're starting the match!" Sango felt a tug at her sleeves. She looked to the center of the field and noticed instantly that the team had separated; blue team to the left and red to the right. Fortunately, Kagome happened to choose seats facing the middle of the field.
"You chose good seats, Kagome-chan," Sango said, keeping her voice neutral.
Kagome blushed and pointed somewhere downwards. Sango looked. The two were seated in the bleaches, second row to the bottom. She but had to crane her neck upward to be able to peer over the miniature fence. Wedged close to the granite wall were several benches. If someone were standing there, then they would only be a couple feet away from where Kagome and Sango sat; in other words, talking distance. Coincidentally, the only people who sat on benches were the players…
"Kagome!" Sango jumped in alarm. "You did this on purpose!"
Kagome grinned, fire burning in her eyes. "You bet I did!"
Somewhere in the fields, a pair of brown eyes was staring up at the jubilant brunette dressed in green. The owner of those brown eyes prayed that she would look his way just once.
"HOJO! ARE YOU LISTENING!" The coach was yelling right into the ear of the culprit and sending his brown hair tousling. "YOU ARE NOW A CAPTAIN SO START ACTING LIKE ONE!"
Hojo nearly collapsed from shock but still had the strength in him to salute. "Y-Yes Sir!" Those that witnessed the scene below questioned if he had lost the ability to hear after that traumatizing experience. Kagome looked with sympathy to where the boy stood blushing from head to toe. "Ah, poor Hojo-kun!"
"Speaking of Hojo," Sango said slyly. "You do know that the poor boy has harbored feelings for you since the sixth grade, riiight?"
Kagome shook her head dissuasively. "No. We're just really good friends, that's all."
"Oh please!" Sango snorted. "It's so obvious that he wants to be more than just friends," Kagome stared incredulously at Hojo, and then back at Sango.
"And besides, I didn't say that you felt the same way…so your friendship excuse won't work, Kagome-chan."
Kagome's lips opened and close like a fish underwater. "I--but--no--we"
"He likes me?" Kagome wheezed out the last part, as if it were the most startling piece of information she'd ever heard. Sango rolled her eyes languidly and nodded. Either Kagome was a good actress, or she had been genuinely unaware that Hojo liked her all through junior high.
"Oh I can't believe this!" Sango murmured. "You're telling me that you never knew?"
"Let's just watch the game," Kagome glanced shyly at Hojo, catching his eye for a split second. As punishment for not paying attention to the coach when he lectured on defensive and attacking tactics, Hojo had to dribble around the field five times while the rest of the players did one last exercise.
"Ok, the match starts now!" Kagome clapped her hands briskly. The teams stood huddled in circles and listened to the commands of their captain for a brief period of time. Then, ten players on each side scampered about the field, standing in their designated posts.
Inuyasha played forward position for his team and Miroku midfield, so it was no surprise to find Kagome and Sango staring at opposite sides of the field in different areas. Occasionally though, Kagome would glance at Hojo without meaning to. All through the game, the coaches would reprimand Inuyasha for hogging the spotlight.
"Takashi, TEAMWORK!" Mr. Hattori had his hands waving up in the air like a lunatic and his beet-red face was screwed into an expression of absolute dissatisfaction. "I can't stress this enough!"
The sophomore geometry teacher, Mr. Taisho, served as another coach and he yelled just as loud as Mr. Hattori did. "Takashi, get off the field!"
Protest broke out in the winning team, the loudest coming from Inuyasha.
"You can't just kick me out!" Inuyasha snarled, glaring at the head coach.
"That's an order," Mr. Taisho grounded out. He held a clipboard in one hand and swiftly pointed to the benches with his other. Inuyasha growled softly under his breath, but followed the orders of the only man who could possibly get him cut off the team permanently.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Inuyasha chanted the mantra while sulking to the benches.
"Here he comes," Sango whispered. The corners of her lips curled up.
"And he's angry too," Kagome's brows were woven in perplexity, but instead of running away, the schoolgirl tackled the problem head on. She conquered the few steps that divided them and stopped at the gate, which reached her hips and was the only borderline.
"Inuyasha, are you ok?" Her voice came out sounding stronger than expected and caught the hanyo's attention almost immediately.
"Kagome," He mustered a lazy grin. "And here I thought you weren't going to show..."
She stuck her tongue out playfully. "Yeah well, I did. You got a problem with that?"
He laughed. He actually laughed.
Kagome felt inclined to sit, so she sat on the fence with her back away from Inuyasha. Twisting her body round, she managed to get comfortable and talk to Inuyasha at the same time. "You didn't answer my question, baka." The instant the word came out, she held her breath. 'Would he be ok with me calling him that?'
"Keh, I've been better." His voice trailed off for a moment, then came back stronger. "Anyway, Mr. Taisho's being an ass--he's afraid that one day I'll break a leg or something and the whole team will fall apart."
Kagome bit her lower lip and nodded as she gave him her undivided attention.
"The man has no faith in his players!" Inuyasha cried out. He fisted his hands together and frowned as he stared out into the field. "And because of his insecurity, I get benched."
"Maybe it's for the best?" Kagome suggested. His amber eyes flooded with confusion, but he wasn't mad. This convinced Kagome that it was safe to push further.
"This way, the players can learn to trust one another…instead of always passing the ball to you." Inuyasha thought this over before a smile played on his lips.
"Maybe you're right," he mused.
She sighed happily and glanced up at Sango. At that instant, the stands erupted with cheers and applaud. Sango jumped up and clapped wildly. Kagome spun around quickly, but in her haste, she lost her balance. Inuyasha was the only one close enough to hear her yelp and in an instant, his arms were encircled around her waist, while hers clasped around his neck. He stumbled back a pace, his eyes wide with shock when he found that he too was loosing control.
Moments later, Inuyasha found himself sitting on the ground kicking up dust. Kagome sat atop his lap, in a more bridal style position. Oddly, her arms never left their position around his neck. And Inuyasha, he had one arm snugly around her waist, the other acting as a lever to keep them propped up.
"Are you…" he barely finished his sentence before she interrupted.
"I'm ok!" Kagome turned ten thousand shades of red (at least, it felt like it).
Reluctantly, the brunette untangled her arms from his neck, and he followed her lead by removing his arm from her waist. Both persons scooted away from the other with heads down to hide their furious blushing.
"W-Well," Inuyasha coughed nervously. "Um…"
Kagome brushed off invisible specks of dust from her green skirt. "S-Sorry, Inuyasha." She wanted to laugh at the absurdity that it only took a simple fall to turn to the two into blubbering idiots. Inuyasha was the first to attempt to stand. He grasped at the wall, and pulled himself up before offering Kagome his hand. She gratefully accepted and (to her hidden delight) felt a wondrous sensation work its way through her body. His clawed hands were callused, a sure sign that he was a hard worker. They were warm and gentle with her own. But it was depressingly inevitable that he would have to let go.
"I-I'm gonna have a word with coach," Inuyasha muttered absentmindedly. Kagome bobbed her head in affirmation, seemingly lost in a daydream.
He grinned in reply. "I guess I'll see you around then."
Kagome waved, and then whirled around when she felt a tapon her shoulder.
"What happened?" Sango asked. "All I could see was the top of Inuyasha's head…and I think you were sitting beside him. What were you two doing on the ground?"
"Ah, I'll tell you later," Kagome kept her head low.
"You're blushing!" Sango accused.
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
"Am not!"
"What are you two arguing about?" A feminine voice purred. Two pair of brown eyes turned to the newcomer whose tight and revealing clothing identified her as the one and only Yura. A mystery girl that oddly resembled Kagome accompanied Yura. She gazed longingly at the soccer field, not acknowledging the rest of her surroundings.
"That's none of your concern," Kagome replied snappishly.
"Humph! I was only trying to start conversation," Yura had her hands on her hips. "But regardless, that's not what I came here for."
There was an evil glint in her eyes. "I want you to meet Kikyo." She motioned to her left. Kikyo didn't move her head, but her eyes shifted to the side. When she saw Kagome, she held her gaze as if analyzing the younger girl. Then, her fascination returned to the field.
"There is something that I would like to do," Kikyo explained humbly. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Kagome and Sango." With these closing remarks, she glided down the last step, opened the gate, and walked on.
Kagome stepped through the gate and seated herself on the first row next to Sango. "That was strange…how did she know my name?"
"I might've mentioned your names on the way over," Yura ushered Sango aside and sat in between the two girls.
"Why would someone like her have friends like you?" Sango asked suspiciously.
Yura linked her arm around Sango's shoulder and exclaimed loudly. "I'm everybody's friend!" Sango blushed when just about everybody looked her way, including Miroku. 'Why oh why does it always have to be ME?'
Miroku flashed her a lopsided smile and waved. Sango was in the process of waving back when it suddenly occurred to her that maybe he was waving at someone behind her. She lowered her raised hand and looked back. The space was empty. A sense of giddiness washed over her entire body, and she turned back around and smiled.
The match had resumed; meaning that Miroku was too preoccupied to be staring around like an idiot. Sango sighed. Opportunity not grasped.
While Sango wallowed in her own misery, Yura fixed her attention on Kagome.
"I knew from day one that you would have an advantage over Inuyasha," Yura examined her nails carefully.
"And why is that?" Kagome asked nonchalantly. She was really too busy thinking about Kikyo and her haunting presence to care.
"Kikyo." That had the human girl's full attention causing Yura the demon to giggle charmingly. Yura twirled a lock of her ebony black hair, smiling slowly as if she knew a secret. "I would guess that by now you realize just how similar the two of you look."
"Are you saying that Inuyasha likes me because I look like her?" Kagome was taken aback by the implication.
Yura cackled. "You're a smart girl, figure it out."
"I--I don't understand," Kagome looked out at the field, then looked back at Yura.
"You see, Kagome, Inuyasha's heart…it belongs to Kikyo."
:-:-:
From the way that he stood, she could only see the back of his head. He was watching the game with his hands crossed. Kikyo serenely strode towards him, hands to her side. When she reached him, however, she placed one hand on his shoulder and kept it there as he turned around to face her. The expression on his face was that of pure shock. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She reached up to cup his chin, raking her fingers delicately across the smooth, shaven skin.
"Inuyasha…" she smiled tenderly. The demon remained rigid and silent.
"K-K-Kikyo," Finally, he choked out her name, his voice quivering for the first time.
A/N: Yes,I know it was short. I just really wanted to get this chapter out before school started. So let's see...I've introduced Kouga, Hojo, and Kikyo. Now it's time for all the drama andaction!Wouldn't this be an appropriate time to say, 'Buckleup your seat belt kids'?