Disclaimer: Inuyasha's not mine....but the roads are!!!! Mwuahaha, I know have my G2, which means I can drive without a parent in the car! Ahahahaha!
A/N .........................Eh, heh. Don't kill me...? Okay, I'm REALLY, REALLY, INSANELY SORRY for not updating in so long, guys! I got banned from the internet again and then kicked out of my precious basement (where I always type these beautiful chapters). That really cramped my writing style, not to mention the fact that I had to focus a bunch on my school work ('cause my teachers give me a test in each course like, once a week). So I picked away at this chapter, but it also didn't want to get written because a lot of it was informative stuff (which isn't as fun to write, if you could guess). But then I was released from my ban for the holidays! Yay! And I worked furiously to get this silly thing out! So I really hope you enjoy it and that it makes up for my bad, bad updating!
Hehe, Kayzer, I find those "mature audience" warnings on Inuyasha absolutely hilarious! I almost laugh every time I see them.
FlamingRedFox, wow! Thank you SO much for all of your awesome compliments. You made me squeal...–blushes– Ask Spacewolf, she was there with me when I read your review. I'll try to keep living up to your expectations!
Tanwen–Whitefire, well... Ice dancing and figure skating are actually two different things. Ice dancing is more like actually dancing on ice, whereas figure skating is more about tricks and uh...technical stuff, I guess. Lol, I don't know a lot about the two, but I DO know there's a difference, and I decided to make Rin and Sesshoumaru ice dancers instead of figure skaters. Okay? And also, yes, I know fluff is a term, and that I basically what oranges and grapefruits are, but see, we wondered, why didn't fluff didn't a citrus terms as well as lemons and limes? So we made up its citrus terms. :) And join the Naraku and Kikyo maiming team, hmm...? The proposition has merit, but then who would we make fun of? Sesshoumaru would be the only one left... ;)
Oh, and random person, did I say Naraku was ugly at some point (I'm not accusing you, I just genuinely can't remember)? I mean, I know I said he was creepy, which he is, and every time the group looks at him, they have to shudder because well... Whenever they see him, they have the mental picture of him in a speedo stuck in their minds and honestly! that is just nasty, lol! Yes, I know Inuyasha's past needs to be touched on a bit, and I'm coming to it...you'll just have to wait a couple more chapters is all. –wink– Though, the others don't really have interesting pasts. I mean, they're just normal, everyday teenagers who've pretty much been in the same place all their lives and haven't done anything too intensely interesting... Lol, but I'll try to touch on their backgrounds as well. Thanks for your comments!
Sorry I couldn't respond to everyone; there was around seventy–three reviews! But I loved all of your comments and greatly appreciate your faith and support!
IMPORTANT!!!: Okay, guys; while I was banned, I FINALLY finished that ski tutorial I promised you! I greatly, GREATLY advise ALL of you to read it so you can better understand everything that's going on around the ski racing. I explain a lot in this chapter, but I think the ski tutorial will help you even more; especially to visualize the courses and such. Please go read it immediately! If you go to my bio, click on what's set up as my homepage. Then link to the ski tutorial from there! My good buddy Calum set up the layout and such on that site so yay for her! Without her, you wouldn't be able to see the ski tutorial at all! –round of applause– Now what are you all waiting for? Go read it! BEFORE you read the chapter!
..:V:..
"Uuuhhhnnn..." Inuyasha groaned as he rolled over onto his side in order to shut off his beeping alarm clock. "Wanna...sleep...more..."
"Inuyasha! Better wake up!" Kouga's voice yelled through his bedroom door. "Today's the big day, remember? ...Well...the first big day, anyways. Tomorrow will be the second... Anyway, get up!"
Inuyasha yawned and rubbed his bleary eyes for a moment before what Kouga was saying sunk into his brain. Then he shot up in bed and glanced around frantically. "Right!...Right!...Crap!...Crap! Gotta get ready; fast!"
The silver-haired boy hastily jumped out of bed and made his way out to the bathroom, passing a harried Miroku and Kouga on his way. After a quick ten minute shower, Inuyasha raced back to his room where he practically jumped into his clothes and speed suit, and where he bundled his long mane into a low ponytail that trailed down his back.
Exiting his room, he raced for the kitchen and arrived roughly at the same time as Kouga. His eyes searched around the tiny space for something quick to eat. "Aha!" he declared as his eyes landed upon a candidate. "Pop Tarts!"
"You know what they say," Kouga shrugged. "A good breakfast full of all the right nutrients prepares you for an active day!"
Inuyasha grinned down at his chocolate fudge pop tart. "Exactly!" he agreed. "I mean, where would we be if we didn't have healthy foods like Pop Tarts? We'd probably be forced to eat junk food breakfasts such as plain Cheerios, Whole Wheat Bran, or oatmeal. Thank god someone is thinking of our nutritional needs!"
Kouga nodded his head in agreement and swiped a couple of his own Pop Tarts.
"I feel pretty, oh so pretty! I feel pretty and witty and bright! And I pity any girl–er–guy? who wasn't me last night!" Miroku sang as he waltzed into the kitchen, brushing the last few knots out of his hair.
Kouga and Inuyasha shared a look before both looking down suspiciously at their Pop Tarts.
"I feel charming, oh so charming! It's alarming how charming I feel! And so pretty, that I hardly believe it was real!" Miroku continued, dancing over to the counter where the box of Pop Tarts still lay. "Did you see that pretty girl in my arms last night? How more attractive could she be? Such a pretty face, such a pretty dress, such a pretty smile, such a great smooch she gave me!"
Kouga and Inuyasha began coughing loudly in order to cover up their snickers.
"I feel stunning! And entrancing! Feel like running and dancing for joy! For I'm loved by a pretty, wonderful girl!"
Kouga raised an eyebrow. "That didn't rhyme..." he muttered suspiciously.
"I feel pretty, oh so pretty, that the ski club should give me its key. A committee should be organized to honour me. I feel dizzy, I feel sunny, I feel fizzy and funny and fine! And so pretty, I think Miss Naraku can just resign!" Miroku continued singing, oblivious, as he plucked a Pop Tart out of its box and began heating it in the toaster.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kouga began thumping each other on the back as they started to choke on their breakfast. "I think they must have added an extra nutrient in these Pop Tarts," Kouga managed to get out, pretending that was the real reason they were practically asphyxiating.
After repeating a previous verse, Miroku finished off his morning song with, "I feel stunning, and entrancing! Feel like running and dancing for joy! For I'm in love, and I'm such a pretty, wonderful boy!"
"Ah," Inuyasha observed. "He fixed his rhyming error."
"Ahhhhh!!" Miroku sighed loudly as the toaster popped and he retrieved his goods.
"It's such a wonderful morning to be alive, wouldn't you agree?"
"Umm...sure..." Kouga ventured. "But anyways, I take it your date went...fairly well last night?"
Miroku turned and gave him an enormous grin. "Oh, no; it was the worst date in the history of dates. But Sango still kissed me anyway! And now she's my girlfriend officially! Ahh, Sango... You're so pretty, oh so pretty–"
"Ack, no! DON'T start that again!" Inuyasha interrupted him, scowling.
"Tsk, tsk, so grumpy, Inuyasha," Miroku scolded tauntingly.
"He's just jealous because Kagome didn't kiss him last night," Kouga said, winking.
"Ahh," Miroku said in understanding. Then he went over and patted Inuyasha on the head. "Poor Inuyasha. Maybe if you were as charming, oh so charming as me..." He trailed off at the racer's murderous glare.
"I don't think I need any of your charm, thanks," Inuyasha said scathingly. "And I certainly wouldn't get jealous over a stupid, petty thing like that. It's not even remotely in my nature to get jealous." With that, he nodded his head and crossed his arms stubbornly.
Miroku and Kouga shared a look. "Should we leave now before he makes even more of a fool and liar of himself?" Kouga asked.
"Might be a good idea..." Miroku agreed, nodding before wolfing down his heated Pop Tart.
Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched. "If we didn't have to go now anyway, I would make you two seriously reconsider that decision. As it is, we have to go quickly to get the girls so we can get out on the hill early and–" He was interrupted by a knock at their condo door.
"I'll get it!" Miroku chirped cheerfully as he scampered out of the kitchen. Kouga and Inuyasha watched him go with raised eyebrows.
"Yeah..." Inuyasha muttered. "You do that..."
A second later, they could hear the door being opened and the voices of the girls floating in.
"Hey, Miroku!"
"Good morning!"
"Um...hi, Miroku..."
Inuyasha and Kouga shared a look. "Was that Sango sounding somewhat nervous...and happy to see Miroku?" Inuyasha asked as if he hadn't heard correctly.
Kouga shrugged. "Miracles do happen."
Kagome's voice drifted to them as she and the others approached the kitchen. "So, Miroku, are Inuyasha and Kouga ready for the big race tod–ahhh!" She and the other two girls stopped dead in the doorway, staring at the two boys before abruptly turning their backs to them and standing rigidly straight.
"Nope! Definitely not ready! We'll–uh–just wait here while you guys...don some appropriate clothing," Ayame said in a high–pitched voice.
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked, confused.
"Inuyasha, sweetie," Kagome started in a sickeningly sweet voice. "I'd like to bring it to your attention that you're wearing spandex!"
Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up and he looked down at himself. "Uhh, no, I'm not. These are just our speed suits." The girls didn't react. "For racing," Inuyasha continued. "They provide less air resistance; they allow us to go faster, hence the name 'speed suit'." The girls still didn't turn around. "Oh, for crying out loud, they're not that bad!" Inuyasha protested, crossing his arms in a huff.
"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Sango muttered before joining hands with her friends. "Alright. Come on, guys, we can do this." Slowly, with their eyes screwed shut, the three girls shuffled around until they were once again facing Kouga and Inuyasha.
"Okay, on the count of three, we open our eyes," Ayame said in a determined voice. "One...two..."
"You know," Miroku interrupted. "There must be some spandex in those suits. They stretch like crazy and then fit so tight."
"Ack!" Kagome cried. "Abort countdown! Abort! Abort, I say!"
"Ooookay," Sango said shakily. "We really can do this. I swear. I'm not disillusioning myself. No; never. Alright, just breathe...relax, breathe, and just...open your eyes..."
"You do realize that all the racers will be wearing speed suits," Kouga piped up.
Sango shuddered horribly before covering her still–closed eyes with her hands and spinning around. "I just can't do it, guys! Go on without me!"
"No way!" Kagome argued. "We can't possibly do it without you! Come on, Sango; be strong!"
The boys rolled their eyes and walked around the girls in order to put on their outer ski wear while they continued talking.
"Alright, I've got a plan," Ayame said. "We just look at their faces; nothing else."
"Good idea; let not thine eyes stray lower," Sango said in a reverent tone.
"Ahhhh!!!" Kagome screamed suddenly.
"What is it?" Ayame asked frantically. "Are you alright?"
"N–no..." Kagome replied shakily. "I just... It's that... Kouga said all of the racers would be i–in the spandex suits a–and it just occurred to me t–that that means that...N–Naraku...Naraku will... Oh, maaaan...!"
"Gah! Horrible mental image!" Sango burst out. "I vow here and now never to open my eyes again!"
From the condo door, Miroku rolled his eyes before getting an idea. "Oh, Saaaango!" he called in a highly creepy tone.
"Ahhh! Where's the pervert? Where's the pervert?!" Sango babbled, opening her eyes and searching frantically around herself.
"Over here," Miroku said. "And 'the pervert' happens to be your new boyfriend. Don't I get any leeway?"
"Oh, no; definitely not!" Sango said emphatically. "If I gave you an inch, you'd grope all over me!" With this, she turned around to glare at Miroku, only to discover all three boys by the door, completely bundled up in their normal ski pants and jackets, not an inch of spandex to be seen. They all also looked quite impatient as Kouga checked his watch for the time. "Oh...you're all...clothed. When did that happen?"
"Wait–it's safe?" Kagome asked. "Are you sure? Everything's covered?"
"Yeah, everything's covered!" Inuyasha snapped. "Well...for now, anyways. We're gonna have to take off our outer gear for the actual race and all..."
"You just have to go and keep making things worse, don't you?" Kagome asked bitterly as she opened her eyes and made her way towards the boys, Sango and Ayame following.
"Naturally," Inuyasha responded with a boyish grin. "Now, we just have to get our helmets and we can head out."
"Your helmets?" Ayame asked.
"Yeah," Kouga answered her as Inuyasha went to their respective rooms to search for the headgear. "All racers must wear helmets on the course, or else they're not allowed on it. We should probably wear our helmets anyways when we're just skiing for fun, but..."
"But you're boys, and the need to look cool takes precedence over the need for safety," Sango finished dryly.
"Yeah, that about sums it up," Kouga nodded. "Though we still look cool with our helmets on," he added cockily.
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Of course you do."
"Here we are!" Inuyasha announced, returning to the group with two helmets in his hands. Handing one to Kouga, the others noticed it was varying shades of swirling blues and was shaped in such a way as to provide minimum air resistance.
"Jeez, even their safety gear is shaped to provide speed. I don't even want to know how fast you guys can manage to go," Ayame said in wonder.
"Who knows, but you can bet it's bat out of hell fast," Inuyasha grinned, fitting his own helmet on his head. This one was varying shades of red, and at the top, right above the opening for his face, a red, snarling dog could be seen clearly. Then, Inuyasha took a little bag out of his pocket and took out some different goggles than the ones he had been wearing up until then. Holding them up, he said, "This are my lucky goggles. I never race without 'em."
Kagome looked closer and every time she moved her head to look at them from a different angle, a couple of snarling dogs would come into view, looking for all the world as if they were in the third dimension. She giggled. "I'm sensing a trend here, Inuyasha. First the Tetsusaiga skis, then your helmet, and now your goggles."
Inuyasha shrugged with a grin. "What can I say? My family's into dogs. Anyways, at least my speed suit isn't covered with snarling dogs."
"No, that's where your fascination with red kicks in," Kagome responded dryly. "Although I do admit that the flames coming up the arms and legs are cool, they're still red, and I think you need to see someone about this unholy obsession."
"Yes, mommy," Inuyasha mocked. Kagome gave him a flat look.
"Okay!" Miroku broke in. "Here's a novel idea! How about we head out to ski now?"
"Wow, Miroku!" Sango exclaimed. "You're a genius! I would have never thought of that! Clearly, it didn't occur to these two either!"
Inuyasha and Kagome turned to glare at the new couple. "Alright, alright; we get it; we're going!" Inuyasha grumbled. "Jeez...some people..."
Once they had all trooped out of the condominium complex, they popped into their skis and headed for the main building of the ski resort.
"What do we have to do here?" Ayame asked as the boys led the way.
"We have to get our bibs," Inuyasha replied with a shrug.
The girls shared an uneasy look.
"Uh...excuse me?" Kagome asked. "Bibs? What are you, three?"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Not those kind of bibs, dummy. These bibs are for racing. They're just square pieces of cloth that go on your chest and back and which are attached by thin straps. They have your number on them."
"Your number?" Sango asked, still somewhat confused.
"Yeah," Kouga answered. "The numbers determine in what order all of the racers go down. If you have the number twenty-seven, then you'll be the twenty-seventh racer to go down the course."
"And your number changes with every race?" Kagome deduced.
"Yup," Kouga said. "Otherwise it wouldn't be fair. I mean, the first racers have the difficulty of creating the best line and path for the course and pushing all of the fresh snow out of the way. And by the time the last skiers go down, there's pretty much a set course which is quite rutted and difficult for the lesser experienced racers to manoeuver. So they always have to change the order of racers so everyone has a chance at every type of course."
"But that's not very fair that the course is completely different for some racers than for others!" Sango protested.
Inuyasha shrugged. "That's another aspect of ski racing. You have to be good enough so that you know how to change your tactics enough for different types of courses. It's all part of the thrill."
"Some thrill," Ayame muttered. "You're likely to fall and break your leg or something."
"I don't think there's a sport out there that doesn't involve some risk, Ayame," Miroku piped up. "These numbskulls just chose this insane one."
"Says the one that excels in ski jumping," Sango giggled.
"Yeah, well..." seemed to be all Miroku could think of to respond.
They arrived at the ski lodge and laid their skis along the rack before trudging inside. After shoving through massive amounts of racers also retrieving their bibs, Inuyasha and Kouga checked in and received their own. Kouga ended up being twenty-nine and Inuyasha turned out to be number thirty-seven. With that settled, the group headed for the gondola. As they began the lengthy journey to the top of the mountain, Sango spoke up.
"So, guys... What's the agenda for this morning?"
"Well..." Kouga started thoughtfully. "First we have to take a few warm-up runs to get us all limbered up and ready..."
"...Then we have to go do the course inspection..." Inuyasha continued.
"Course inspection?" Ayame asked. "What's that?"
"You'd think that'd be fairly obvious," Inuyasha muttered to Kouga.
"Hey!" Ayame said, smacking Inuyasha on the arm. "So–orry if we're ski racing illiterate, but give us a break! We had hardly heard anything about it before we came here!"
Kouga sighed tragically. "I have a girlfriend who knows virtually nothing about my greatest obsession. How is this ever going to work out?"
"Hey!" Ayame protested jokingly as she turned from Inuyasha to her boyfriend who she then proceeded to also smack on the arm.
"Anyways," Sango interrupted. "What's course inspection?"
Miroku decided to rise up to the challenge of answering her. "Course inspection is basically about fifteen minutes or so for all of the racers to slow skid down next to the set course and inspect it. They get to memorize the layout of it and start to plan how they're going to react to different parts of it. That way, steep inclines, sharp turns, or tricky terrain won't surprise them and they can prepare for their best possible run."
"Ah," Ayame said in understanding. "Makes sense, I suppose."
"Yes," Miroku responded. "But only the racers and their coaches are allowed on the course inspection and all of the racers must have their bibs clearly showing."
"So we're gonna have to take a hike when it comes around time for this course inspection, then?" Kagome asked.
"Yup," Miroku answered. "And then we can wait with them at the top of the hill for their turns. A bit before they go down, though, we'll head down to the bottom by a different hill and watch them come across the finish line."
"Awesome," Kagome said, nodding as the gondola came to a stop at the top of the mountain. The group shuffled out and collected their skis from the holders before stepping into them and preparing for their first run of the day.
"Greetings, Inuyasha," a slithery voice reached their ears just as the group was about to go down a hill.
Turning around, Inuyasha's upper lip curled in disdain as he regarded Naraku.
"What? Do I not merit a horrible morning greeting as well?" Kouga snarled at their rival.
Naraku flipped a superior glance at Kouga before turning back to Inuyasha. "You provide no competition for me, wolf-boy. Therefore, I have no need to address you."
Kouga lunged at the arrogant racer and was just barely held back by Miroku, Sango and Kagome. "Easy, Kouga," Sango said. "He's definitely not worth it."
"What do you want, Naraku?" Inuyasha growled.
"Oh, nothing much, my ruffled opponent," Naraku responded gaily. "Just thought I'd come over and wish you...luck before I wipe the hill with your sorry–"
"Could we please keep this civil?!" Ayame demanded. "It's only a race! Jeez, you don't need to get so nasty over it all!"
"Oh, but nasty is my middle name," Naraku said in a creepy voice while winking at Kagome.
Kagome shuddered and shrank behind the rest of her friends. "Um...can we just go now, guys?" she squeaked. "He's freaking me out..."
Inuyasha glanced worriedly at Kagome before turning back to Naraku. "Leave us alone, Naraku. I don't need any luck to beat you today; that'll be easy enough on its own!"
"Say what you like, Inuyasha," Naraku said in a sly voice. "But I'll be sure to win today."
"Keh!" Inuyasha exclaimed, his hair flipping over his shoulder as he turned abruptly. "Come on guys; let's get out of here. I like to hang around trash as little as possible."
The others nodded and glared at Naraku as they started off down the hill. Naraku watched them go with a superior expression on his face.
"Heh. You should have taken my offer of luck, Inuyasha," Naraku said, narrowing his eyes as he fingered an object in his pocket. "Because you're going to need it."
..:V:..
"So what's the course look like, guys?" Miroku asked as Kouga and Inuyasha returned from their course inspection with Myouga.
"Ehn," Kouga said with a shrug. "Doesn't look TOO bad, I suppose, but there are a few tricky spots."
"Yeah, we're gonna have to watch out for that delay, eh?" Inuyasha said conversationally.
"Say what? Delay?" Kagome broke in. "What's that?"
"Well, remember how I told you that a race course goes back and forth as you weave around gates?" Inuyasha asked.
"Yeah..." Kagome said slowly.
"Well, a delay is when you go through one gate, turn to go the other way across the hill, and find another gate smack-dab in front of you. But after going through this gate, you don't turn again. You keep going straight, where you'll find yet another gate. At this second gate, you do turn after going through it, and then you continue on with the rest of the course. But it's tricky, see, because you have to remember not to turn around the first gate, which at that point in the course, you're very used to doing," Inuyasha explained.
"Oh, so they try to psyche you out, huh?" Kagome asked.
"Yeah, that and it's a subtle way to shift the course over to another part of the hill," Kouga responded. "Say the original course was kind of headed for some trees or something; then they stick a delay in and the course is back in the centre of the hill. I mean, it's not as if they intentionally set the course at the beginning to head for the trees, but ski runs often twist and turn on the way down to the bottom, so sometimes they can't help it."
"Oh," Sango said in understanding. "So other than this delay, the course is pretty straight forward?"
"Well..." Inuyasha said. "I suppose... I mean, if you're just talking about it going back and forth and back and forth consistently. But there's about a dozen pitch changes where the hill suddenly turns steep or flattens and whatnot..."
"Uh huh..." Ayame said, though not sounding very understanding. "I guess we'll just let you two sort all of that out then..."
"Yes, they better come sort 'that' out then!" said a steamed Myouga as he skated up to group and rapped Inuyasha and Kouga's poles with his own. "Come on, you two! You'll never be prepared for the race at this rate!"
"Aaaahhh...perhaps we should go..." Inuyasha said as if he'd thought of the idea himself.
"Yeah, okay," Miroku agreed. "These lovely ladies and I will do a couple more runs and then meet you at the top, 'kay?"
"Sounds good!" Kouga said as he and Inuyasha were practically dragged off by their irate coach.
Miroku chuckled. "Inuyasha and Kouga are always nearly giving Myouga a heart attack. They always seem like they don't want to train, or that they don't train at all, but truth is; whenever they ski, they train. Whenever they go down a run, they're trying to improve their skills and prepare for the next race they might be in. They also often sneak out to night ski. You can't see quite as well at night as you can during the daytime, so they say that it also helps them prepare for unexpected obstacles in the course." He shrugged. "Whatever works for them, I guess. Me, I prefer jumping."
"Speaking of which, you really should try to pursue it, I think," Sango said. "You're really amazing! ...At, uh, jumping, that is." She coughed to cover her embarrassment. "But, yeah... I know you've competed a couple times here and there, but if you competed more, I'm sure you could do even better! You really are an awesome ski jumper."
Miroku gave her a considering look. "You know...who knows...I just might pursue it. Ooh, now I've got an itchin' for jumpin'. Let's head over to the jump park; we've still got about forty-five minutes before the race starts."
"Sure!" Ayame agreed.
"Sounds cool," Kagome nodded enthusiastically.
The three girls and Miroku then headed to the jump park where they proceeded to goof off and have fun. Miroku gave Kagome and Ayame brief lessons on jumping and helped Sango improve her skills even more. The girls also begged him to show off his own skills for them, which he was more than happy to do. "Anything to impress the ladies," was his comment before getting smacked playfully on the arm by Sango.
Once their forty-five minutes were ticking to a end, the four friends starting making their way back towards the race hill. Once they arrived at the top of it, they noticed that it was starting to get quite loud and busy. Dozens of racers were milling and crowding around near the racing hut, stretching, warming up, and preparing their skis for the race. Fortunately, the girls and Miroku managed to squeeze through the crowd and find Kouga and Inuyasha without too much difficulty.
"Oy! Kouga! Inuyasha!" Miroku called as they approached the two racers.
"Hey, man!" Kouga said, looking up and waving a hand from where he was squatted and adjusting his ski boot. "We're almost ready to go here; just gotta wax our skis and strip down to our speed suits."
The girls cringed at hearing this. "Ack; must you?!" Kagome pleaded.
Inuyasha shrugged. "If we wanna win, we must."
"Well, it's just not...I mean, I...hmph. I just don't like it. It's...it's not cool!" Kagome said in a huff, crossing her arms indignantly.
Sango grinned and took up the boy's side as she spotted a perfect opportunity. "What's wrong, Kagome? Don't feel comfortable having Inuyasha strip down to spandex in front of anyone but yourself?" she asked in a mocking tone. Soon, she burst out laughing as both Inuyasha and Kagome's faces turned bright red.
"H–hey!" Kagome protested. "That's–that's not what I meant! I...I mean, you think even I like to see him in–in spandex!? N–no way! I think it's indecent! It's wrong! ...Hey, weren't you on my side this morning...?"
Sango laughed again and smirked. "But I can't just skip over these glorious opportunities when you so willingly give them to me, Kagome! You left yourself wide open!"
Kagome hung her head, her face still red. "I did, didn't I?"
Sango put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Yes, you did. But don't worry; I'm sure Inuyasha would be glad to strip down to spandex for you anytime!"
At this, Inuyasha made a sound quite akin to choking and his face, if possible, turned an even darker shade of red.
"What's going on over here?" Myouga asked as he approached the group with what looked like an oversized stick of deodorant in his hand. "Are you two being distracted again by these girls? Inuyasha, what's wrong with you? Are you sick?"
Inuyasha thumped his chest a few times before letting out a cough. "No, no... I'm just peachy, Myouga. No thanks to you, Sango..." he muttered to her.
"Just doing my civil duty," Sango said with a salute and a devilish grin.
"Yeah, sure," Inuyasha responded sarcastically, before turning back to Myouga and his skis.
"Alright, ready to wax your skis, boys?" Myouga asked to his two pupils as he held up the object in his hand.
Kouga and Inuyasha nodded and flipped their skis over on the ground so their bottoms were facing up. Then Myouga took off the lid of the deodorant-like bottle and began to smear a substance all over the racers' skis.
"What is that?" Ayame asked curiously.
Myouga looked up at her before proceeding with his work. "Oh, this is insta-wax. You spread it over the bottoms of the skis now, and in just a few minutes it'll be dry and ready to go. It helps the ski slide better on the snow, thus helping the racer to go faster, but it wears off after a few runs so you always reapply some before each run," he explained.
"Cool," Sango said, watching his actions closely.
"Skis all come with a layer of wax already on them," Myouga continued, "but that base wax won't wear away so quickly. It's durable and only comes completely off with wax dissolver spray."
"Why would you want to take it off at all?" Kagome wondered. "If this wax is so great and all, I mean."
"Well," Myouga started. "Every once in a while, and usually the night before a race, we'll take the spray and dissolve off all the wax. This allows us to then completely sharpen the ski. When the wax is on, we can sharpen the sides of the ski, but not the bottom. So once we're done sharpening the skis up, we pour hot wax on the bottoms again and smooth it out and dry it with an iron. But that won't get the bottoms completely even, so then we take a wax scraper and smooth out the bumps and such in the wax."
"Wow," Sango blinked. "I didn't realize it was such an involved process."
"Well, it's a true sport, and in order to play it well, you need top–notch equipment," Myouga shrugged as he turned and started applying the insta–wax onto Kouga's skis. "Though this wax process is far more important for GS than for slalom. In slalom, how you do is mainly based upon your skill and your fast manoeuvring capabilities, whereas in GS, it's all about speed."
"Crazy," murmured Kagome in awe.
"All racers from one to nine, please line up at the starting hut!" an official–looking man yelled out to all the gathered racers. Obediently, the racers called for shuffled forward; all of them wearing speed suits, helmets, and their bibs tied tightly around their torsos.
"What's the starting hut?" Ayame asked curiously.
Miroku jumped in to answer this question. "The starting hut is where the racers start the race. Individually, they go through this little hut and pause at this narrow doorway. Across the doorway is a thin stick that goes up to about your shins or knees. When the official man in the hut beside the racer tells them to go, they push off as hard as they can. Once the racer's shin touches the stick, it's brushed aside and the timer starts. There's usually a fairly steep ramp right outside of the starting hut, so the racer can gain speed and momentum right off the bat. And oftentimes, the racer's start determines how fast his final time is. The start can really be crucial."
"Wow, this stuff can really be intense," Kagome said. "I never thought it could possibly be so in–depth."
"Kinda rules out the everybody–bombs–the–hill–at–once–and–whoever–reaches–the– bottom–first–wins theory, doesn't it?" Inuyasha asked with a grin.
"Yeah, just a bit," Kagome agreed with a matching grin.
"Now, are you two pretty much ready to go?" Myouga asked, standing up and facing his pupils.
"Yeah," Inuyasha said as he secured his bib over his speed suit. "I think we're pretty much ready for when the time comes." He then recovered his coat which he'd tossed on the ground and quickly bundled himself up in it. When Kagome gave him a curious look, he responded, "These speed suits are freakin' freezing! I'm not standing out here for twenty minutes, freezing my butt off!"
"Damn straight!" Kouga agreed, zipping up his own coat. "Now; time to keep warm!" With that, he and Inuyasha started jogging on the spot, which looked quite humourous since they were doing it in ski boots.
'Whatever keeps your limbs warm, I suppose,' Kagome thought to herself with a giggle.
The little group chatted for a few minutes while Kouga and Inuyasha kept warm and soon enough, it was nearing Kouga's turn to go down the course. He took off his jacket and ripped off his zippered snow pants before then huddling beneath a long warm-looking cape Myouga provided.
"Are you ready, Kouga?" Ayame asked excitedly.
"Never been more ready for anything," he responded in a determined tone. "This one's mine. I'm all over it like a wolf on a scent."
"Well, good luck," she said before leaning up and kissing him quickly. Kouga looked at the others watching them and, surprising, blushed.
"Alright, that's enough of that," Myouga cut in. "Come to the line up, Kouga. And will someone take his pants and jacket down to the bottom? He'll be plenty cold without them."
"I will!" Ayame volunteered happily. "I want to see him come across the finish line anyways."
"Yes, it is more exciting to be at the bottom than the top," Miroku agreed. "Shall we go down too?" he asked the two remaining girls.
Sango nodded her head eagerly, but Kagome said, "I think I'll stay up here a bit longer. I'll come down right before Inuyasha's about to go down, okay?"
Miroku nodded. "Sounds good. Good luck, guys!" he called to Kouga and Inuyasha, who were moving towards the line up at the starting hut. With that, he and Sango and Ayame started down a nearby hill.
"Here; come on," Inuyasha said, grabbing Kagome's hand and heading down so they were right beside the exit of the racing gate. "We can see Kouga start off from here and cheer him on."
"Awesome!" Kagome said, smiling. "This is so exciting! I can't wait!"
"Hey, Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha and Kagome spun around to see Kikyo and another tall girl with dark hair peeking out from the edges of her helmet approaching them. Inuyasha grinned and waved them over. "Hey, Kikyo! Kagura! Kouga's just about to go down!"
"Awesome," the new girl, obviously Kagura, remarked. "We'll stay and watch then. Kanna's on her way up, now. She wanted to take another run since she's in the later numbers."
Inuyasha nodded. "Cool." Then he got a sly look. "You guys ready for me to kick your butt again?"
"Ha!" Kikyo barked. "I don't think so, macho man. I'm all over this race, like clay on a pot."
"Maybe," Inuyasha argued, raising an eyebrow. "But I'm all over this race like a dog on a bone."
"Well, I'll beat you both," Kagura cut in. "I'm all over this race like a feather on a bird."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "What's with all the analogies?" she asked.
Inuyasha shrugged. "We always come up with new ones when we get together at a race. It's kind of like a game. Wonder what Kanna's will be this time...?"
"Probably something to do with her camera," Kagura said, rolling her eyes. "She always carries that thing around with her."
"True," Inuyasha chuckled, turning back to the starting hut. "Hey, here comes Kouga!"
..:V:..
Naraku glanced around at the other racers before casually moving away from his own skis, drying with the insta-wax he had just applied. He made sure that Myouga was busy helping Kouga get ready to go down for his run and that Inuyasha and his friends were distracted down by the racing hut before making his way over to Inuyasha's skis, which were lying unprotected.
Deftly, he removed a bottle from his pocket and proceeded to spray the substance within all over the bottom of his rival's skis. Once his deed was complete, he chuckled and replaced the bottle within his jacket's pocket and casually made his way back to his own skis.
..:V:..
"Racer ready; three, two, one, go!"
Inuyasha and the girls watched as Kouga practically shot out of the starting gate.
"Whoo! Yeah; go, Kouga!" Kagome cheered loudly along with Kikyo and Kagura.
"Go, go, go!" Inuyasha yelled, rapping his poles together as if clapping.
Kouga zoomed through the first gate and rapidly approached the second one. Soon, he was out of sight, over the hill.
Inuyasha grinned as they made their way back up towards his skis. "Kouga looked like he had a really great start. He should get a wicked time if he kept it together."
"Yeah, it looked like he really improved his jump start," Kikyo commented. "So I guess you guys haven't been completely lazy, huh?"
"Lazy?!" Myouga exclaimed, approaching the group. "These two are the worst slackers in the world! I don't know how they manage to do so well..."
"Just because we don't like training with you doesn't mean we don't train at all," Inuyasha muttered.
"You pay me to train you; doesn't that mean anything to you?" Myouga asked irately. As Inuyasha began to open his mouth, however, the older man waved his hand. "Anyways, no time for that now. You have to get ready; you're up soon!"
..:V:..
Ayame shifted anxiously as they waited for Kouga to come into view. "Ooooh...where is he? Didn't they announce he was coming down ages ago?"
Miroku put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Calm down, Ayame. It always seems longer than it really is. Relax; he'll be here soon."
"I suppose so," Ayame responded, wringing her hands. "I just hope he does alright is all and–"
"Hey, here he comes now!" Kagome said, pointing up the hill.
"Where? Where?!" Ayame demanded, snapping her head around. "Oh! Yay! Go Kouga!!" Along with Ayame, all of the other people crowded along the bottom of the hill began cheering enthusiastically.
As they watched, the blue–clad racer streaked like lightening down the hill, weaving first around one gate before shooting across the hill towards another. As he neared the bottom, he crouched down until he was in a tuck position and gathered even more speed.
The cheering and clapping increased and as the sun glinted off of Kouga's goggles and helmet, he shot across the finish line, pumping his fist in the air. "Woohoo!" he cheered as he swung his skis to the side and skid to a stop, flinging up snow at the closest bystanders. Eagerly, he lifted his goggles off of his eyes and checked his time on the digital time screen. The numbers read twenty-seven seconds and forty-three milliseconds.
Kouga then quickly made his way over to the small group awaiting him before he was hugged tightly by Ayame. "That was so great, Kouga! Your time was faster than any of the others that we saw go down right before you!"
"Well, we can easily see what place you're currently in," Miroku said. "Let's head over to the scoreboard before Inuyasha comes down."
"Sounds good," Kouga agreed as he popped out of his skis and walked over with the rest of them to where a woman was standing beside a large whiteboard. Every time a racer would cross the finish line, she would quickly record their time with a black felt marker. Checking over the list of times quickly, the group confirmed that Kouga did indeed have the fastest time so far. Every other racer was at least a half a second behind him.
Glancing back at the hill, Sango sneered and announced, "Oh, look. Naraku's coming down."
Kouga squinted up the hill. "And he's looking pretty fast, too..."
The four friends watched as their nemesis screamed across the finish line with a time of twenty-seven seconds and thirty-eight milliseconds. "Holy crap!" Sango exclaimed. "He beat you by five milliseconds! That's so close!"
Kouga glared at Naraku as he responded, "Yeah, that's how close these races come to. But damn him! ...I'll beat him next run..."
Once Naraku had come up to the scoreboard to check the other racers' times, he smirked at Kouga. "Too bad, wolf–boy. Maybe next time...though, I severely doubt it."
"Jack off, Naraku," Kouga spat. "At least Inuyasha'll beat you."
Naraku let out a bark of laughter and replied in a sly tone, "Oh, now, I doubt that even less..." Not giving them a chance to respond, he made his way back to join the rest of the crowd, leaving them to look curiously at his retreating back.
..:V:..
"Are you ready, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked excitedly.
Inuyasha smiled. "Yeah, I think so. Just have to strip down to my speed suit. And come on; they're not that bad. It's not like they're skin–skin tight or anything."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Alright. They're not that bad. But still; they should never have been created! They're...they're indecent!"
Inuyasha laughed. "Well, you go tell the manufacturers and I'm sure they'll stop making them or change them for you no problem!"
Kagome smacked him playfully. "You're making fun of me again."
"Would I do that?" Inuyasha responded with a smirk.
"Every minute of the day, if you could," Kagome muttered in mock irritation.
Suddenly, Myouga scurried up to them again, clapping his hands. "Come on, Inuyasha. No time to dawdle; it's practically your turn!"
"Alright, alright! I'm coming!" Inuyasha protested, his hands up as if in defense.
"Good luck, Inuyasha!" Kagome cheered, quickly giving him a hug and, shyly, a kiss on the cheek. Before she could see his reaction, she spun around and went back to where she had left her skis. Popping into them quickly, she half turned and gave a wave, saying, "See you at the bottom!" before turning back around and heading down a nearby hill.
Still in the same spot, Inuyasha was sporting red cheeks, though not from the cold wind. He half raised his hand in a wave long after Kagome had retreated from sight and there was a foolish grin tugging at his lips.
Myouga sighed in exasperation. "Are you going to make goo–goo eyes all day, or are you going to race?!" he snapped, waving a hand in front of Inuyasha's eyes.
Snapping out of his little daze, Inuyasha's cheeks reddened even more and he quickly turned back towards the starting hut. "I'm ready to race and win!" he exclaimed, heading towards the line up, Myouga behind him with his skis.
"Now, remember," Myouga lectured as they approached the tiny hut. "Keep your cool and cut in as close as you can to the gates. Tuck as much as you can; which should be most of the course for you. Don't let that delay catch you off guard and pick up as much speed as you can, anywhere you can."
"Gotcha," Inuyasha said, taking a few deep breaths as he became next in line to go down the course. Myouga gently lowered his skis down to the ground and Inuyasha lifted one of his boot behind him. Myouga quickly scraped off the excess snow he gathered on the bottom of it before the silver–haired racer clipped it into his ski. They then repeated the process with Inuyasha's other boot. Inuyasha lowered his goggles into position and limbered up his arms and legs as he waited. Soon, the racer in front of him went down and he moved into position in the narrow passage. The timer stick was in front of him, and he carefully lifted his poles over it, sticking them in the snow where racers before him had. This way, he was leaning over the stick and the only thing preventing him from sliding down the ramp was his poles.
Taking a few more deep breaths, Inuyasha went over the course again in his head, memorizing where he had to make every slight adjustment to give himself an advantage, as he waited for the official in the room beside him to give him the go–ahead.
After a few moments, the official man opened the window between them and asked, "Racer number thirty–seven; Inuyasha Dareshi?"
"Yes," Inuyasha confirmed.
The man nodded, checked something and then said, "Racer ready; three...two...one...go."
Inuyasha lifted one ski and slammed it down, using it as a way of jumping in the air, as he propelled himself forward with his poles. This way, he launched himself out of the starting gate, the timer stick brushed aside, and he started off the course with quite a bit of speed.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at the first gate and whooshed through it, knocking it a bit with his shoulder, he was so close to it. He set up high for the second gate and rolled his ankles so he was already in line for the third gate as he raced through it. Inuyasha continued with this pace for most of the course, making slight adjustments when the hill steepened or flattened out, and trying to pick up as much speed as he could. For some reason, though, he didn't feel like he was going quite as fast as he was able.
The delay didn't take him by surprise and he continued right through it to the next gate where he then proceeded to turn. He was tucking down low for most of the course, and hitting the inside poles of the gates lightly with his shoulders. He saw the end and crouched down in his tuck as low as he could go, hardly paying attention to the last few gates which he breezed through. He raced across the finish line and skidded to a stop within the fenced in area, snowing all of the people just outside of it, watching. He quickly checked his time and found it to be twenty–seven seconds and ninety–seven milliseconds. Since the time was meaningless to him until he found out what the other racers achieved, he turned around and headed for the opening in the fence in order to join his friends.
He got a bad feeling in his stomach at Kouga's slightly disappointed look. "What? What is it? Is that a horrible time?" Inuyasha asked with a slightly panicked tone. Kagome, who had joined the others at the bottom, also wore a bit of a worried look as she looked at Kouga.
"Well..." Kouga responded, scratching the back of his neck. "Your time was a lot better than most, but my time was twenty–seven seconds and forty–three milliseconds and Naraku's was twenty–seven seconds and thirty–eight milliseconds..."
Inuyasha lifted his goggles on top of his helmet and gaped at Kouga. "Are you serious?! I was behind you guys that much? What the hell went wrong?! How the hell did Naraku get ahead of me so much?!"
Kagome bit her lip and stepped forward. "It's okay, Inuyasha; I'm sure that you'll–"
"No, it's bloody not okay!" Inuyasha snapped, smacking her outstretched hand away. "What the hell's going on?! This shouldn't be happening!"
"Oh, come on, Inuyasha!" Sango protested, angry at how he had yelled at her friend. "It's only fifty–nine milliseconds!"
Inuyasha growled. "Milliseconds are everything in this sport! And I should have been matched if not beating Naraku in them!"
"Stop making accusations!" Ayame pleaded. "So you had a bad run; it's okay. You can't expect to be perfect!"
Inuyasha glared at the group. "I didn't have a bad run. It was damn near perfect! So how come I'm so far behind...? What the hell did I do wrong...?" he trailed off with almost a lost and pleading expression on his face. When no one answered him, he turned around and skied back towards the ski lift.
"I feel bad for him; really I do," Sango tried explaining herself. "But if he didn't get a good run, it can only be because of something he did during it, can't it? Does he have to act as if something's wronged him?"
Kouga, who had been quiet during the little exchange, spoke up, "Something has wronged him. Inuyasha knows his own ability, and so do I. He should have been equal to Naraku and I, if not better. It's one thing to be behind us by a few milliseconds, but he was more than half a second behind us! That just not right; especially since he said nothing went wrong on his run. This is so weird..."
"I agree," Miroku spoke up as well. "Though I don't have any way of explaining it, this is really abnormal."
Sango assumed a guilty expression. "Do you think I was too hard on him? I didn't realize–"
"It's okay," Miroku reassured her. "He'll know you wouldn't understand completely. I'm just wondering if he could possibly salvage anything out of this... He's so far behind now..."
Kagome was still cradling her hand from where Inuyasha had smacked it. "I...I think I'm going to try and find him. I mean, I think at the end there, he thought it must've been something he did. He's probably beating himself up about it right now..."
"Yeah, go try to find him," Miroku agreed. "We'll head back up to the top after Kikyo, Kagura and Kanna come down and hopefully meet you there as they prepare for the second run down."
Kagome nodded and headed off quietly.
"This race has taken a decidedly sour turn..." Ayame remarked gloomily as she watched her friend go.
..:V:..
"Did you find him?" Sango asked as she saw Kagome approach. They had all rejoined at the top of the hill after watching all of the other racers come down and making sure none others provided much competition. It appeared that currently, Naraku was in first and Kouga was in second. A couple racers were ahead of Inuyasha, placing him in fifth. Kagura was currently in first for the female division, with Kikyo only a couple milliseconds behind, placing her in second. Kanna was also close behind, placing her in third. The second round of racers had started to go down, and Kouga's second turn was nearing.
Kagome wore a disappointed look. "I searched a bunch of hills, but didn't see any sign of him."
"It's okay, Kagome," Sango said in a comforting tone. "I'm sure he's fine."
"But remember what Myouga told us the first day we met him? Inuyasha's never lost a race... This must be hitting him doubly hard..." Kagome said in a depressed voice.
"Hello, ladies," Naraku's slippery voice greeted as the black–haired racer came up to them. "Did I hear something about Inuyasha being missing? Oh, how horrible!"
Kagome turned and glared at Naraku. "Shut up! You don't care; you're probably gloating!"
"Oh, but I do care," Naraku said in sincerely. "It's simply dreadful that he's missing; and especially after that horrible time he got on that first run." Naraku couldn't keep the smirk off of his face.
Kagome fumed. "You–you–! You no–good, dirty, inconsideratecreep!" With that, she swung her foot and nailed Naraku right in the shin with her ski boot. He howled and gripped his shin tightly, cursing. Glaring, he hopped off to where he left his skis with his coach.
"Whoo! Way to go, Kagome!" Sango cheered, giving her friend a hug.
"I hate that smug, conceited–" Kagome continued to rant.
"Found Inuyasha?" Kouga interrupted, walking over.
Kagome's shoulders slumped. "No. I don't know where he went."
"Well, he better show up soon," Kouga said with a worried expression. "If he doesn't show up for his second run, he'll be completely disqualified from this race."
Kagome gasped. "He wouldn't–I mean... There's no way... He'll show up, won't he?!"
Kouga gave her a concerned look. "I don't know...nothing like this has ever happened before..."
"Kouga!" Myouga bustled over. "Come on! The wax on your skis has dried now so you should be good to go. Oh, where is that other silly pupil of mine?! I didn't say he could go off and have a temper tantrum!"
"Oh, give him a break," Sango cut in. "He's been dealt a hard blow."
"Well, his break is over," Myouga snapped. "He can get over it. This is ski racing; what did he expect, to win every single time? And it's not like he could change it now; it's in the past. All he can do is try to get a really good second run. Which he could be preparing for if he were here!"
The others sighed dejectedly before Kouga shuffled forwards. "Well, it's about time for my run, guys. I'll see you down at the bottom."
"Wait!"
Everyone turned around as Inuyasha skated rapidly towards them. "You're here!" Kagome exclaimed, practically pouncing on him as she gave him a hug.
"Yeah, I'm here," Inuyasha grumbled. "But, Kouga, man; listen. Obviously, I'm pretty much out of the competition; well, as far as the gold goes, anyways." As Kouga opened his mouth to object, Inuyasha continued, "No, really. You and I both know I'm too far behind to fully catch up now. But you still have a really good chance at kicking Naraku's butt. With your last run, you were only five milliseconds behind him; there's plenty of opportunity to beat him by more than that this run!"
Kouga looked at his friend in surprise. "...You want me to beat him?"
Inuyasha gave him a meaningful look. "Don't you?" he asked pointedly.
Myouga looked worriedly at the racers lined up at the starting hut before turning back to his pupils. "Kouga–" he began.
"I'm ready, Myouga," Kouga said with a determined look. He nodded at Inuyasha and lowered his goggles over his eyes. "Get me ready." With that, he and Myouga started for the line up of racers.
"We'll meet you at the bottom, Kouga!" Ayame called as she, Miroku and Sango headed for a nearby hill. "Good luck! And good luck to you too, Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha gave them a half wave before quickly reaching into the breast pocket of his ski jacket and retrieving some of his own instant wax. Without a word to Kagome, who was still standing near him, he popped off his skis and started furiously smearing the wax on their bottoms.
"So..." Kagome began awkwardly. "You're not giving up, right?"
Inuyasha looked up and gave her a confused look before continuing with his work. "Why would I give up to Naraku?" he spat bitterly.
"Well..." Kagome said, scuffing her ski boot in the snow. "You said yourself that you couldn't win the gold. I just thought that maybe you–"
"Look," Inuyasha stated, rocking back to sit on his heels. "I don't care about winning anymore. It's clear that I'm not getting gold, so I guess I can just try my best from here. Normally, that's not a ton of inspiration, but I've got plenty of inspiration from other sources. There's no way in hell I'm going to let Naraku show me up like this. Overall, my combined times probably won't match his, but at least I can have some satisfaction if my time on this run beats his. That ought to wipe the smug smirk of his face..." With that, Inuyasha quickly finished waxing his skis and he stood up abruptly.
"Oh..." was all Kagome could think of to say for a moment. "Well...I agree! Kick his sorry butt! He completely deserves it! I hate him and he's creepy and he's nasty and he's mean and he's scary and I really, really don't like him and I think that–"
"Kagome; calm down," Inuyasha said, gripping her by the shoulders. Strangely enough, there was a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "I'll beat him, alright? If not for the hatred between us, then for all the ways he's weirded and creeped you out."
Kagome beamed at him and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Thanks," she mumbled into his ski jacket.
Just as Inuyasha was starting to hug her back, they heard from the large speakers set up along the course, "Time for racer number twenty–eight: twenty–eight, thirty–four. Racer number twenty–nine, Kouga Haruko, now on course."
The two snapped their heads around to look towards the starting hut. "Oh, no! We missed him go down!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Well..." Inuyasha started thoughtfully, an arm still around Kagome's waist. "You wouldn't be able to make it down the hill before him to cheer him on from there, but you could go down now anyways. Naraku should be going down soon, and we can only hope now that Kouga's time will be much better than his. And then I'll be down soon after..."
Kagome smiled up at him. "Okay. I'll wait for you at the bottom. Knock 'em dead, Inuyasha!" she exclaimed, making a fist with her glove.
"Sure will!" Inuyasha replied as Kagome went back to her discarded skis and clipped her boots into them. "See ya!" He waved her off, but once she was out of sight, his arm slumped back down to his side. "How did this turn out so wrong...?"
"Inuyasha! Snap to it!" Myouga declared, scurrying up to him. "Soon it'll be your turn and you're not even stripped down to your speed suit yet! Hurry up!"
..:V:..
"Come on, Kouga!" Ayame yelled at the top of her lungs. Sango and Miroku spotted him coming down as well and began cheering loudly, Miroku rapping his poles together for more noise.
Kouga flowed rapidly down the hill, cutting so close to the gates, they could swear he would just go straight through them, instead of around. He was picking up massive speed and was already tucked low. He easily skied through the last few gates and practically flew across the finish line. As soon as he was able, he turned and looked at his time: twenty–seven seconds and thirty–two milliseconds.
"Yes!" he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. With an elated face, he skated off to the opening of the fenced in area, where he surrendered his bib to an official, and then rejoined his friends.
"Awesome run, Kouga!" Ayame said excitedly, giving him a hug.
"Yeah, that was beautiful," Miroku agreed. "You improved your time by eleven milliseconds! That's great! Now we just have to see how Naraku does..."
"However he does, I don't think I could've gone faster," Kouga admitted, breathing hard. "That felt like the fastest I've ever gone!"
"Hey, guys!" Kagome greeted as she skated up to them. "How'd you do, Kouga?"
"He was amazing!" Sango informed her. "His time was twenty–seven seconds and thirty–two milliseconds!"
"Awesome!" Kagome said. "Congratulations, Kouga! Let's see Naraku beat that...!"
The group didn't have to wait long for after a few more racers, an official announced over the speakers that Naraku was on course. They waited anxiously until he came over the hill and thenstarted tobite their lips nervously as he looked like he was really moving quickly.
"Do you think he looks as fast as Kouga?" Sango asked anxiously.
"I don't know..." Ayame said nervously as she picked at the fingers of her gloves.
They all held their breaths as Naraku sped down the course, weaving expertly around the gates, until he finally raced across the finish line. They quickly checked his time: twenty–seven seconds, forty milliseconds.
"Woohoo!" Ayame cheered. "He wasn't nearly as fast as you! In fact, I think he was slower than his last time!"
Kouga grinned. "Now we just have to figure out if my combined timebeats his."
"Um...lemme think..." Sango said, screwing up her face as she concentrated. "Well, uh...I can't quite remember what his first time was exactly, but I'm pretty sure yours beats his!"
Kouga laughed, though it was a bit tight. "Well, I guess we'll find out at the little awards thingy right after the race. Or we could check over with the whiteboard..."
"Well, that would ruin the suspense, wouldn't it?" Ayame asked, grinning. "And besides, Inuyasha's about to come down!"
"True," Kouga conceded.
Ayame turned out to be right when after two more racers, it was announced that Inuyasha was currently on course.
"Come on, Inuyasha... Come on, Inuyasha..." Kagome started a little chant. Soon their whole group was chanting it, and even a few other bystanders waiting at the bottom.
It wasn't long at all until Inuyasha came speeding over the hill and rocketing down the run. He was in a deep tuck and practically took each gate out with his shoulder as he passed. He expertly rolled his ankles back and forth to easily carry himself through the last few gates and sped like lightening across the finish line. Everyone looked at his time, which turned out to be twenty–seven seconds and twenty–eight milliseconds, before bursting into applause and cheers.
Inuyasha skated out of the fenced–in area, handing in his bib on the way, before making his way towards his friends. He saw Naraku on the way and, seeing that he looked quite peeved, Inuyasha gave him his most condescending smirk. "Oh, what's wrong, Naraku? Did my time beat yours?"
"Smirk all you like, Inuyasha," Naraku declared, glaring at him. "But my time beat yours overall. Who's really the loser?"
"Only the one with no sportsmanship," Kagome spat as she and the others walked up to the two.
"Bah!" Naraku scoffed as he turned to skate off. "I'll see you pathetic twerps later."
Kagome watched him go with a disgusted expression before turning back to Inuyasha. "That was SO amazing! You totally kicked his butt big time!"
Inuyasha gave her a half–hearted grin. "Yeah... Well, that's what usually happens. I still can't understand..." he trailed off, shaking his head.
"So when exactly is the little awards thingy?" Ayame piped up.
"Well, after all the racers go down, the officials will have to tally all of the times. We can eat lunch then. It usually takes about a half an hour to an hour. Then, they'll probably hold them right outside of the lodge," Miroku answered her.
"Well, then how about we finish watching the rest of the racers and then head over for lunch?" Kagome asked the group.
"Sounds like a plan!" Sango exclaimed after everyone else nodded.
They all waited and watched the rest of the racers for a good half an hour more. Kikyo, Kagura and Kanna all had good runs for females, though their times were closer to Inuyasha's first run than Kouga or Naraku's. Kikyo's time was faster than both Kanna and Kagura's, and Kanna's was then faster than Kagura's. They would have to wait until the awards to figure out what placing each of them had.
The little group all headed to the lodge, though the overall mood was distinctly less cheerful than it had been earlier on in the morning. Everyone ordered their lunch and ate it quickly, all of them nervous over what the outcome of the race would be. There was little conversation, and the girls weren't sure whether to be happy for Kouga, or sympathetic for Inuyasha. As they were finishing up, an announcement rang throughout the lodge that the results of the race were in and the awards would be taking place directly outside.
Excitedly, Ayame latched onto Kouga's arm and practically dragged him towards the exit, the others following and dumping off the remains of their food in the garbage. Outside, a large crowd was gathering, comprised of racers, coaches, officials and other various fans.
As they were shoving their way through the crowd, attempting to get closer to the front, Sango was jostled by a rather familiar silver–haired young man. Turning towards him to tell him off, she instead dropped her jaw before shouting, "Sesshoumaru?! Where have you been all day!?"
Sesshoumaru actually bore what resembled an uncomfortable look. "Well...we got word that Rin's grandmother, who lives nearby, fell down the stairs and severely twisted her ankle. Since no other member of her family lives around here, and she doesn't have her G2 yet, I felt it was my obligation to driveRin to the hospital to make sure her grandmother was okay. We tried to get back as soon as we could, but apparently we just missed the race..."
"Yeah, too bad!" Rin piped up from behind Sesshoumaru before coming into view. "I wanted to see my favourite racers go down!"
"Gee, it's just like you to show up too late," Inuyasha muttered to his brother as he crossed his arms.
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow and was silent for a moment. "...Did you lose, brother? Is that why you're so bitter and unreasonable?"
Inuyasha glared at him. "Shut up! It's not like you care, anyway!"
"Calm down, Inuyasha," Miroku broke in calmly. "I'm sure Sesshoumaru tried everything within his power to make it here on time. You can't ask for more than that."
"I'd never ask anything from him..." Inuyasha snapped, tossing his head to the side.
"Alright! Let's begin handing out the awards, shall we?" a voice boomed out over the crowd. Everyone was immediately silenced. "Okay, beginning with the female division for this morning's GS race... We have in third with a combined time of fifty-sixseconds andforty-five milliseconds:...Kanna Yotaka!"
A small girl made her way to the podium they had set up and stepped up on the lowest platform. She had bleach blond hair which was almost white, and there was hardly any expression on her face. An official woman adorned her with a bronze medal and shook her hand.
"In second place with a combined time of fifty-sixseconds andthirty-one milliseconds...we have Kagura Ishitaru!"
The tall dark–haired girl sauntered up to the podium grinning, and stepped up onto the second highest platform. The official woman graced her with a silver medal and a handshake as well.
"And in first place with a combined time of fifty-sixseconds andtwenty five milliseconds...is none other than Kikyo Hakori!"
Smiling broadly for the first time Kagome had seen her, Kikyo slowly made her way through the crowd and stepped up onto the top platform, receiving a gold medal and her own handshake.
The three girls posed for a few pictures together and then quickly jumped off the podium and rejoined the crowd to allow for the male winners to take their places.
"Okay, then! Now it's time for the top male racers!" the announcer boomed. "In a surprising turn of events today, the third place goes to Inuyasha Dareshi, who had a combined time of fifty-fiveseconds and twenty-fivemilliseconds!"
Inuyasha's head shot up in surprise. He knew his second run was better than any other's, but he didn't think he could have received anything with his first run.
"Go on!" Kagome said excitedly, nudging him forward. "That's you!"
Hurriedly, Inuyasha shoved his helmet and goggles, which he had been holding, into her hands, and started making his way up to the podium. He stepped up on the lowest platform and received his bronze medal and handshake just like the female racers.
"Aaaaand...oooh, this was a close one, folks! The first and second place winners were just separated by zero point zero three seconds! This just came right down to the wire! So...in second place, with a combined time of fifty–fourseconds andseventy–eight milliseconds, is...Naraku Querei!"
"What?!" a voice screeched from the crowd. It was soon apparent that it belonged to none other than Naraku himself as he approached the podium with a scandalized expression. "That can't be right!"
The announcer gave Naraku an apologetic look. "Sorry, sir, but we tallied the scores and yours came in second. Best to get on the podium and receive your medal."
Naraku, with a high affronted expression on his face, mounted the second highest platform as he was told and received his medal in disgust. He refused to shake the official woman's hand, however.
With a raised eyebrow over Naraku's actions, the announcer turned back to his sheet of paper and called out, "Which means that our first place winner...with a time of fifty four seconds and seventy–five milliseconds is...Kouga Haruko!"
There was a huge round of applause and cheering as Kouga jogged awkwardly in his ski boots towards the podium. He had a huge grin plastered on his face and he practically bounded up to the top platform. He happily received his gold medal and vigorously shook the hand of the official woman. Naraku jumped off of the podium before any pictures could be taken of him, but Kouga and Inuyasha stayed for a few moments to pose for a few.
When the excitement finally died down somewhat, Kouga and Inuyasha made their way back to the others, Kouga ecstatic and Inuyasha subdued.
"Congratulations, Kouga," Sesshoumaru said in a monotone voice. "And good job, Inuyasha, for not completely disappointing me."
"He means you did a great job!" Rin translated happily.
"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha brushed it aside as he continued walking past the others. "I'm going back to the condo to get my Tetsusaiga skis. Then I'll go try them out somewhere on the mountain. I'll catch you guys later."
The others gave each other concerned looks. "Do you want any of us to come with you?" Miroku asked uneasily.
Inuyasha didn't turn back around; only lifted a hand as if to wave him off. "Nah, I'd rather just hang out by myself right now."
"Okay..." Ayame called back uncertainly. "See you later, then!"
"Come on, guys; let's get some more skiing in before the end of the day," Kouga said. "I have to practice my slalom moves too, anyways..."
As the others started off towards where they had all left their skis and poles, Kagome stayed briefly behind. She continued watching Inuyasha's retreating back and saw how his shoulders slumped and his head bowed. With worry in her eyes, she whispered, "This has hit you harder than you've let on, hasn't it...?"
..:V:..
A/N Holy beeeeeep! This chapter is freakin' on its twenty–first page! What have I done?! collapses Now that's been my longest chapter ever. I REALLY hope it made up for my insanely long absence, I really do! I'm sorry I made Inuyasha...lose (ack, it made my heart bleed when I originally planned it out; I really didn't want to make him lose!), but sadly, it had to be done. It's just unrealistic that he's never lost a race and he never will lose a race, so...I had to make it happen. And it'll set up nicely for the next chapter. (I'm warning you now, if you seriously complain and shout nasty things at me for making him lose, he and Kagome will never hook up! This is crucial, alright?! ...Eek, I should shut my mouth up now before I give away more than I want to...)
ANYways, it's not the end of the world because there's still another race, right? The slalom! And plus, Naraku didn't win, eh? Kouga did! Yay, Kouga! Go, Kouga! We love you, Kouga! You rock our socks! Wow, I've been writing all day and it's starting to do funny things to my mind...
But what DID Naraku do to Inuyasha's skis...? Dun, dun, dun... How will that ever pan out? Will he somehow get brought to justice? Or will he run away giggling and carve an evil hideout in a lonely mountain somewhere where he will continue to come up with devious and dastardly plots?! –gasp– Oh, the possibilities!
Anymewho, look at me ramble. Hope you've had a good time with this NOVEL I've written you and I'll be wandering off to write the next chapter of In the Shadows now... Actually, better save that one for tomorrow; I'm spent for tonight...
Okay, bye now; don't forget to leave me a comment about what you found cool, interesting, funny, disgusting or whatnot about the chapter! Here's a quote left by a wonderful reviewer, Hayai-hakai (though it was originally by Albert Einstein), "Only two things in this world are infinite; the stupidity of humans and the universe." Oh, and as a bit of a festive comment (courtesy of the comedian George Carlin): Santa Claus is so jolly because he knows where all the naughty girls live. Eh, heh, kinda crude, but you'll forgive me, right? ...Right...?