Fastball
A/N: York Bites taste like toothpaste- a little is good for the breath, but too much can kill you. Meanwhile, coconut chocolate is so awesome. Yum.
Disclaimer: Watashi wa Inuyasha o 'own'shinai.
Chapter Five: First Base
Nghi
In the morning Inuyasha ran down the stairs and raced out the doors with so much as a huffed 'goodbye'. Kaoru was perplexed by his rushed behavior; her little boy was 'smooth' and never rushed in any particular direction. (She acknowledged that trait from hanging around Inutaisho too long.) This was the first in a many long years that he seemed so eager to do something… almost like he was motivated. The mothering goals kicked in, and she was immediately filled with hope that her little boy was finally kicking off into the right direction. "Where are you going?" she asked to his fast retreating back; he was wearing his lucky number four shirt today.
He was already trampling through the tall, uncut grass in the backyard by the time she had bustled onto the porch; Kaoru would have to talk about Inutaisho and his slacking house chores. Without a backward glance he answered, "To the baseball field!"
"Without breakfast?" she waved a plate in the air, but Inuyasha was too far to see what was on the dang thing. "I made eggs and sushi!"
"God, Mom, it's eggs and bacon, not eggs and sushi," he grumbled. Then in a slightly louder voice- "No, thanks! I have to do something really important today!" Inuyasha quickened his pace to further the distance; he didn't want a good day ruined.
It wasn't as if he detested Kaoru; she was a nice enough, doting person, but it was somewhat artificial, like something out of a fifties' television show. And not to mention she was flighty and moody, too. One day she would feel like being a good mother and make breakfast like today and do laundry for a bemused Inuyasha. But he had grown used to her random fits of trying to appear as a good mom; he remembered the first time she changed moods, going from sunny to downright nasty, and he knew not to put too much faith in her stability. She changed like a chameleon to its surroundings, and Inuyasha wouldn't be surprised if he came home to find her ranting at something he managed to do in his oblivious state. (He hoped he made his bed this morning; it went by too quickly to tell.)
Thank God a baseball field was nearby; otherwise, the nearest one was five miles down south, and he would have had to wake up at dawn to hitch a ride with Father, and although Inuyasha was on slightly better terms with good, ol' Dad, it wasn't saying a lot. So a baseball diamond within a vicinity of five minutes was golden, almost like God decided to give him this one peaceful haven in life.
Today he reached it in three minutes, and Inuyasha threw down his bat and glove mitt, panting a little bit. It was only ten in the morning, and he wasn't sure if she was awake; any doubt he had about manipulating a girl's feelings to gain an advantage was erased when he had woke up- he gave himself another pat on the back for such an outstanding and logical plan at 12:30 in the morning. (Although the girlfriend/boyfriend part made him slightly ill- he didn't know if he was ready to make such a big commitment at a tender age of eleven yet….)
According to his strategy, once she arrived, he would have to jump at the chance to ask her before any fists would follow; because Lulu was so unpredictable, Inuyasha had no idea how she would react: curse him forever, fall into his arms (he'd let her fall into gravity if that happened), or… something else. But whatever he got, be it extreme or not, he was going to pursue this over and over until he got what he wanted. Of course Inuyasha thought some more about which type of relationship he wanted to establish with Lulu, but none of them worked as well as this 'ship's interaction. (Mother/daughter? There was no way she would play up to that.)
Soon afterwards, they would start 'going out' and do everyday things, like simple talking; Inuyasha had seen Inutaisho and Kaoru try this many times, and it was too easy. ("Hello." "Hello." "Good work?" "Yes." "Got to make dinner." "OK.") On good days, they could even skip that and go straight to the baseball practice. He was smiling, just imagining how awesome he would be two months from now, and it would feel so good to get a home run….
A sharp rustle jarred him out of his daydream, and he turned around to find Lulu standing behind him. She was still covered in a bit of bandages, and Inuyasha thought she looked funny. Then again, he was a little mummified himself. He stared at her, and she did likewise for a moment before dropping her gaze and shuffling for the home run platter. Inuyasha was irritated; he was giving her one of his rare, happy looks, for God's sake, and all Lulu could do was ignore him like a petty mosquito!
But he knew she was like that from the beginning, when she had taken a nasty tumble down the hill; she had just sat there and 'huh?' like the moron she was, so he was disappointed in expecting anything more. Well, he supposed, it was time to kick the plan into action and take it up a knob. Or knock. Or notch. Whatever. "What are you doing here?" Inuyasha blurted out, and he inwardly smacked himself; how did that Spanish show go again…?
"The same reason you're here for," Lulu said, and then she added, "Playing baseball, practicing my swings, and you know… gaining muscle." Today was going to be a good day, Inuyasha thought forcefully- it was plain that Lulu felt some resentment towards his behavior, and he couldn't blame her; he felt twice the despise she felt for him. Wait… how much was scorn times two? Was it even possible?
He shook his head, trying to clear the schizophrenic thoughts; when had he become so nervous? When had his hand begun sweating? When had he begun noticing how hot it suddenly was? Stop it! He shook his head again and pressed on. "Cool."
Lulu looked at him suspiciously, and Inuyasha knew he was failing his grade-A plan. Fast. What the hell…? This was a new experience, feeling flustered, and when a boy was intimidated by something, he usually does what every, normal male does: barge forward tactlessly. "Listen, Lulu-"
"It's Kagome."
"Fine, whatever, Kagome." He barely acknowledged the icy tone. "Yesterday, you batted really… really… really…"
"Really what?" the girl demanded, putting her hands to her hips, and he swallowed everything worth playing for to keep going; it would benefit later, Inuyasha was sure of it. Too bad Kagome was the type to jump to conclusions. "Really bad? Really horrible?" If possible, her tone became downright nastier. "You think that teasing me will make me play worse than before? Well, me playing at my worst is you at your best, so don't go-"
"Well." Inuyasha's hand was turning purple from the tight grip in his fist; was it really worth the better playing to put up with a yakking, paranoid bitch all the time? But it worked; Kagome was quiet and staring at him- it really was confusing to have a boy punch you one day and compliment you the next. "I said you played really well yesterday, and I'm sorry for pinning you to the ground like that," he repeated slowly.
-
Kagome blinked slowly; did he- was it- her ear-? No way, was her first thought. There was absolutely no way in the seven Hells this sonofabrat was apologizing to her, and after she gave him a good kick in the rear, too! The situation was odd, and as she quickly recounted all the times boys picked fights with her, it was not so shocking to find that not one of them had come back to meet and apologize to her… except this one. She assumed it would only be entertainment to take full advantage and reduce him to his knees and have him bow at her feet, and it would be simply humiliating to watch and yet so satisfying.
The problem was that she was not cruel intentionally or unintentionally, and she cursed her ability to forgive and forget so easily; the morals invested in her was a nagger against hurtful actions, and they were all dancing around her head, telling her to accept the compliment-apology duo; it would probably all she could get out of him at all, anyways, so why not take it for its worth?
She realized he was still staring at her from underneath his blue cap, and it was more than a slight discomfort; if it was all a joke, he was very believable with just the right amount of sincerity put into the statement. When his eyebrows furrowed confusedly from the awkward silence, Kagome realized she was still gaping like a monkey. "Oh, um…" she was speechless, to say the least. "Thank you. I don't think I want to play baseball right now, so I'll just go home…" She intended to walk slowly with her head down to discourage him trying a second conversation (Mortifying!), but it became more of a nervous scamper. What was he up to? And more importantly, why was she such a fantastic shade of red?
"Wait!" Inuyasha sounded frantic, but Kagome kept walking. All she had to do was grab her duffel bag and start for the hill (Silly her- she found a path that could have easily taken off forty-five minutes the other day in her trek.), and it was safe….
What she underestimated was his speed; he caught her arm, and she froze like deer in headlight. What to do, what to do, what to do! She had never been in a situation before, where a boy was holding her this way, talking to her this way, looking at her this way… it was enough to drive someone crazy, dammit! His mouth opened and closed like a silent fish, and all Kagome heard was the blood rushing to her head. "E-excuse me?" Her stomach was beginning to churn uneasily; it had been like that since this morning, and she had no idea why Mother was so upset about a small stomach flu at seven A.M. It was nothing a little Tylenol hadn't been able to cure at the time, but Kagome wished she had stayed in bed like Mother ordered before leaving for the grocery store.
Inuyasha looked irritated and shook her arm faintly, which calmed her senses a little, but he opened his mouth to start again, and nausea overwhelmed a good part of her; once again, Kagome missed what he was saying, but she didn't really care at the moment. She had little time to burble something like, "I think I'm going to be sick", but she wasn't really sure. The pain intensified blindingly in her left side, and she remembered thinking that her stomach couldn't be there.
Then Kagome promptly passed out.
-
She looked different. Really different. Inuyasha jostled her, but her eyes were glazing faster, and he began to panic. Either she had a really demented way of conversing, or she was coming down with something bad. He figured it was the latter rather than the former… or the former rather than the latter… what the hell, he figured she was just a demented, little child and, at her feeble request, repeated the question. He was expecting a slap. He was expecting a shock. He was expecting happy joys. For crying out loud, he was even expecting cries of horror.
He was not expecting her to fall into his arms after he asked her to chain herself by his side for the next two months (Or girlfriend; either way worked.). So when that happened, he stood there for a few moments, dumbfounded. Then
"Shit."
-
