Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. But I do half-own a dancing monkey on a unicycle named Bobo. Dance Bobo, dance! (The other half is owned by Moonlightwolf)
A/N ...Okay, hello! –ducks as random pointy objects are thrown at self– Yeah...about that updating thing... Sorry to keep you all waiting so long –random dude walks by and coughs, "sixmonths!"– Yeah...shut up, you... Who asked you, anyway? –looks at all other unsatisfied readers– Yes, I'll admit, I was very late, in the wrong, forgive me, forgive me, grovel, grovel.
Now, as to why I was late, there's one big reason. And it WASN'T, as one reviewer so KINDLY suggested, because of procrastination. Nor was it due to writer's block. No. It was that other bane we all know and love. School. I'll give you an idea of what my workload was like, shall I? Too bad, you're getting it anyway. I want it to be very clear that I did not not update in so long of my own free will. A typical day in the life of Super Ceech in the past six months was utter hell. Well, more like four months, because I did have time to update In the Shadows once in February.
Anyways, I took Biology, Chemistry, French and Sociology (in french) this past semester. And it was my last year of high school. This meant that everything was that much easier, right? Yeah, whatever. So, as I was saying, I had an extremely tough time. I had multiple assignments due each week, usually about two labs due a week, French and Société projects and essays due every other week or so... I oftentimes had tests for three of my subjects to write during the same week, sometimes on the same day... There were oral presentations that needed to be prepared and performed and such... Normal, everyday homework that I didn't even get half-done... And to top it all off, I had two large Independent Study Units to research and write for French and Société, and exams to write for all four subjects with hardly any time to study. Oh, and let's not forget that I had dance classes, soccer practices, and soccer games almost every night of the week. Now try doing all that, and THEN find the time to procrastinate. I'll tell you; it was a miracle I even got out alive.
I'm not trying to whine. I'm not trying to complain. It just kinda ticks me off when people accuse me of purposefully doing something as if to smite them or something. There was no need to jump to conclusions. I left multiple notices in my bio page to let everyone know what was going on with my life. I'm sorry, but I'm not about to make a false update to get your attention. That's just not fair.
Okay, I'm cooling off now. Really, it wasn't as bad as I made it seem... The majority of you are really, really awesome and I want to thank you for having such an incredible amount of patience with me! I'm so sorry I left you all hanging; I know how much you've been waiting for this chapter and I really didn't mean to put it off for so long... Please forgive me!
On a very happy note...King of the Hill had its very first birthday back in January! Yay! Calum drew a picture for the occasion and if you wanna see it, you just have to go to her deviantart account, which you can get to by clicking on her homepage link. It's swimming around in there somewhere...
Also, I've passed ONE THOUSAND reviews! This is incredible, guys! Thank you so much! And special thanks to Shirka, who was the lucky one thousandth reviewer! Also, I passed one thousand, one hundred reviews, and the reviewer that made that possible was Mona! Thanks a million, guys, for making me feel so special!
Heh, heh, many of you had some interesting ideas of what Naraku did in the last chapter and what will come of it, but I cannot divulge any answers on those matters as of yet... You'll just have to wait and see... And, yes. I'm aware of the "typos" found in the last chapter. But most of them are not of my doing. I speak of course about the smushing of words together. This site loves to do that to me every now and then... We all remember the paragraph with Jodi on the chairlift, don't we? Since there is not much I can do, or since I really don't feel like grappling with the site, let's just move on and forget about it, shall we?
Alright, I don't have much else to say and I've dragged this out for a while so now I'll leave you to read a chapter which I think just may make you all like me again...!
P.S. to Kealilah: Ha! I win! I updated first! Your secrets are mine!
As Inuyasha flowed down various hills in his new Tetsusaiga skis, he could almost forget about his painful loss earlier that day. His new skis were more than he could have ever hoped for; they slid easily on the snow and they turned on a dime.
But as soon as he finished each run, his memories of the events in the morning came back to him. He kept running them through his mind, trying to determine where exactly he'd gone wrong. But nothing came of it. He couldn't come up with a truly solid answer as to why he was so slow on his first run. Maybe the pressure had gotten to him for the first time? Maybe he had made numerous tiny mistakes along the way and, in the end, they added up? Maybe he wasn't giving it his all?
No, no, no! he shouted at himself. None of those possibilities make any sense! There must be a different reason. I've felt pressure before, but not enough to screw myself up. And during the run, I felt fine. If I did make some mistakes, and they added up in the end, they wouldn't add up to that much of a loss! I was behind by more than half a second! And I was giving it my all, dammit! Or very near close! Wasn't I...? Ergh, why am I looking for an explanation as to why I lost? It could have only been because of something I did... What the hell did I do wrong?
Inuyasha sighed from his seat on the chairlift and lifted the restraining bar as he reached the top of the mountain. Hopping out of the chair, he made his way towards the ski lodge perched on the peak of the mountain. As a group, they hadn't been to this lodge very often, but at the moment, he was looking for the nearest place of escape. After locking his valuable skis against the provided ski rack, Inuyasha headed inside, head bowed.
At the cafeteria area, he ordered a hot chocolate and then took it with him as he journeyed to the top level of the lodge and found a free corner table. As he nursed his drink, he let his thoughts run freely through his mind once more. In doing so, unreasonable doubts inevitably popped up to question his skill and ability.
How could he have ever professed to being one of the top racers when he couldn't even identify what he did wrong during his race? That was something worthy of an amateur. And did he expect to win every single time? That was even worse.
But he'd been winning all his life. Granted, not every single little race, but every big one that had counted. To make it so far, and to lose now was a huge blow to his pride, his self–esteem, his dignity and his sense of what he had always perceived to be right. Why even hope to do well the following day in the slalom race if he couldn't even perform like more than a mere beginner? It was obvious that he couldn't even discern his own racing ability so how was he supposed to win now?
Inuyasha snorted and thumbed the rim of his cup. What a fine sight he made, moping in here over his sorrow of losing. What would his father think of him now? All Inuyasha had ever wanted to do was live up to his legacy, but now that he skied with a heavy and doubtful heart, he wasn't sure that would happen. Confidence, and perhaps over-confidence, had always been his strength. Now that that had been, in one morning, stripped of him, how would he get up the guts to go out there the next day and race as if nothing had happened?
He wanted to bang his head on the table. This couldn't be happening. Why him? Why now? After making it so far and achieving so much, why bloody now?
"This seat taken?"
Inuyasha looked up with a start. "K–Kagome? What're you doing here?"
The raven–haired girl shrugged and smiled. "I split off from the rest of the group a little while ago when they wanted to go into the bottom lodge for a break. I wanted to continue skiing a bit, so I came back up to the top. After a couple runs, I noticed your skis lying on the rack and figured you must be inside since, you know, they are one of a kind. Thought I'd come in and see how you were doing."
"Oh," Inuyasha said softly. Then, tearing his gaze away from hers and casting his head to the side, he muttered, "I'm fine, okay? No mere race can affect me that much. So just go continue skiing, alright?"
Instead of heeding him, Kagome sat down in the seat she had indicated earlier and adopted a worried expression. "Inuyasha... It's normal to feel disappointment, you know. Even...devastation if it were your first time to lose..."
Inuyasha gave her a glare. "Will you stop trying to make something of this? I said I'm fine, alright?"
Kagome grit her teeth, but forced her irritation down. He was understandably upset and getting angry with him would only make matters worse. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. "I'm not saying you're weak or anything, you know? Just that it's understandable to feel a little lost. Everyone gets crushed once and a while, you know? And like it or not, Inuyasha, you are human, which means these feelings visit you sometimes too."
"Crushed, hm? Thanks for putting it so delicately," Inuyasha said sarcastically, causing Kagome to wince.
"Oookay, bad choice of words there," Kagome admitted with a cringe. "Look, Inuyasha–"
"Save it," Inuyasha cut in shortly. "I don't need your pity, alright? You don't know what I'm feeling so I'd prefer it if you held off on the therapy lecture, okay? I'm fine. And when I say I'm fine, I mean it. I'm not lying for kicks."
"There's such thing as denial, you know," Kagome said loftily, hoping to lighten the mood.
It was apparent her attempt failed when Inuyasha's features darkened. "Do you have to stick your nose in everything? Can't you just drop it and leave me alone for once!"
"Inuyasha–" Kagome started, reaching across and putting a hand on his shoulder.
Inuyasha knocked it aside roughly. "Isn't any of this getting through to you? I want to be left alone! As in me; by myself. As in you; not here, gone, lost! And if you can't figure that out, I guess I'll just have to leave myself!" With that, Inuyasha downed the rest of his drink, picked up his helmet and mitts from the table and started to move away.
Kagome finally snapped and stood abruptly up from the table. "Why won't you talk to me!" she demanded. "All I'm trying to do is help! And you're just pushing me away!" Inuyasha turned and some of her fire died as she saw the raw emotion reflected in his eyes. She continued in a slightly broken voice. "...Why? Why won't you let me in...?"
"Because it has nothing to do with you," Inuyasha stated sternly, hiding his eyes from her underneath his bangs. "Just let me deal with it on my own." That said, he turned once again and abruptly made his way out of the lodge.
With a sigh, Kagome sunk back into her chair and held her head in her hands. "Nice going, Kagome," she berated herself. "Real smooth... Now he probably wants nothing to do with you. And I thought we had started to... I thought we..." After a few halting breaths, Kagome slammed her fist down on the table and attempted to push her emotions aside. With a slight growl, she snatched up her equipment and also headed for the exit. She could only hope that skiing would distract her from the deep hurt she was feeling.
..:V:..
"Kouga, you go get our drinks!" Sango pleaded as she made herself comfortable at the table the group had selected to sit at in the lodge.
"No way!" Kouga refused with a smug expression as he put his hands behind his head and leaned back against the nearby wall. "I'm not serving anyone today; not after my spectacular performance this morning. You should all be serving me!"
"Boo!" Ayame, Sango and Miroku protested while grinning. "Come on..." Ayame begged.
"Too bad, so sad," Kouga taunted. "You ain't getting me up from this seat for the world. One of you guys go."
"Fine!" Ayame sniffed. Turning to the others, she asked, "Rock, paper, scissors?"
Sango and Miroku nodded and started to raise their fists.
"This is pointless," Sesshoumaru spoke up from where he and Rin had been silently sitting at the end of the table. "I'll go get your pathetic drinks." With that, he rose gracefully and glided away towards the cafeteria area.
Sango, Miroku and Ayame looked at each other and shrugged. "Works for me!" Miroku said cheerfully.
"I could go for more days like this..." Kouga sighed, leaning back.
"Don't get too comfortable yet, dirtbag," came a slimy voice from behind the group. Everyone turned to see Naraku standing there, his arms crossed over his chest as he looked down on them.
Kouga leaned forward and rolled his eyes. "Oh, look; it's the silver medalist, guys! Let's all give him a hand; after all, he did almost beat me."
"Ha, ha, your humour overwhelms me," Naraku retorted sarcastically. Then his voice went flat. "Almost enough to make me laugh even."
"Aw, did we catch you in a bad mood, Naraku?" Kouga taunted. "What a shame. You know, I'm very close to feeling sorry for you. And yet...so very far away..."
"Heh," Naraku smirked. "You can laugh now, Kouga, but when I'm through with you tomorrow, you'll wish you'd never been born."
"You think you can take me?" Kouga retorted. "And what about Inuyasha? Dismissing him so easily?"
Naraku laughed. "You saw his pitiful performance this morning. If that's the best he's got, my win is already in the bag!"
Kouga shot up from his seat. "You think you already have this whole thing under your belt? Well then, you have a whole other thing coming to you. I'm not a pushover, as I believe I proved today, and if you think Inuyasha's out of the running, you're dead wrong. What happened to him this morning was a complete fluke; nothing more. Tomorrow morning, he'll be back stronger than ever and you'll be the first one on his list of people to take down!"
"Oooh, your words frighten me," Naraku cried in mock terror. "But unfortunately, I don't believe them. If you ask me, Inuyasha's starting to lose his edge. So much for the great Dareshi prodigy."
"Who is this dude, anyway?" Rin whispered to Ayame who was sitting next to her.
"Another ski racer. Name's Naraku. Big time rival of Kouga and Inuyasha. I don't know if you can tell, but they don't get along too well."
"Gee, you think?" Rin responded, turning back to the "discussion" between Kouga and Naraku.
"Inuyasha hasn't lost anything," Kouga snarled back at Naraku. "I would think that his second run down today would show something to that effect."
"It was rather impressive," Miroku interjected. "I think you would have a mighty hard time besting or even matching it, Naraku."
"Yes, well–" Naraku started, but was interrupted as Sesshoumaru returned with the group's drinks.
"Excuse me, ma'am," he nodded to Naraku as he brushed past him.
"What did you just say?" Naraku growled in a low voice.
Sesshoumaru stopped dead and turned back to regard Naraku more closely. After a few moments and a quick once-over, Sesshoumaru's eye brows shot up into his hairline. "Oh, dear..."
Naraku got tired of being scrutinized and snapped, "What are you gawking at?"
Sesshoumaru blinked a few times as if nothing else in the world could surprise him after this. Speaking carefully, he responded, "A very pretty man, it seems."
Kouga and Miroku snorted and snickered behind their hands. Ayame leaned over to Sango and said, "Somehow, I don't think Sesshoumaru's looked at his own appearance in the mirror lately, do you?"
"Shhh!" Sango hushed. "He's doing us a favour; we can critique him later."
"Uh, Sesshoumaru; allow me to introduce to you Naraku," Miroku said gallantly, though still barely suppressing snickers. "He is also a ski racer and–"
"Ah, yes; the one who obtained a higher place than my brother in the race today," Sesshoumaru cut in smoothly.
"I think the term you're looking for there is 'beat'," Naraku replied with a smirk. "I'm the one who beat your younger brother today."
"Are you now?" Sesshoumaru said in a non-committal voice.
"Indeed," Naraku said, smug expression still in place. "I'm also the best damn ski racer in this competition."
"So is that why Kouga beat him then?" Sango whispered to Miroku with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, even if you are the best racer – which I seriously doubt – you certainly aren't the wisest," Sesshoumaru commented dryly.
"Oh? And how is that?" Naraku demanded.
"Well, you still appear to be in my way and any second now, you'll be sporting Rin's hot chocolate down the front of your pants," Sesshoumaru responded in an emotionless voice.
Naraku gave him a bitter smile before saying, "You're just as insufferable as your pathetic excuse for a brother!" and stalking off to another area of the lodge.
Sesshoumaru watched him go through slitted eyelids. "No one refers to my pathetic excuse for a brother as a pathetic excuse for a brother except me..." he said in a lowered voice. "This means war..."
"Uh oh..." Rin said quietly.
"Is this bad?" Sango asked curiously.
Rin shifted nervously. "Um... Well, let's just say the last person Fluffy made war with checked himself into a mental institution..."
"Eeeee..." Kouga responded as they all took a careful step back from the plotting ice dancer.
..:V:..
Kagome didn't know what to do with herself. After Inuyasha had stormed out on her, she had gone out skiing again, hoping to distract herself. Unfortunately, every time she skied down a run, all of Inuyasha's instructional tips floated through her head, only aiding in reminding her of him further. There was nothing to do on the ski hill that didn't inevitably trigger a memory of the two of them together. And, in turn, these memories always seemed to trigger a chain reaction that caused a twinge of pain to go through her heart. And so she had retreated to her shared condo, where she currently sat, staring out the window and trying to sort through the millions of thoughts running through her head.
It had been silly all along to think that her feelings for Inuyasha would come to anything, really. He didn't want her in his life like that, intruding in all his personal matters and wanting to be a part of them. And especially after only knowing him for that short amount of time. Who was she to be so presumptuous?
And yet...she did want to be a part of his life. She couldn't help it. Even though he could be rude and arrogant for a good part of the time, when he let his guard down, he could be one of the sweetest guys on the earth. Kagome would never forget how he taught her so much about skiing, how he got those ice dancing tickets and backstage passes for her as a birthday present, how he bought her that beautiful necklace she had been eyeing that day in the town...
And all for her. Wait. All for her. Then did that not mean anything? Those things couldn't have been just out of friendship. He hadn't helped anyone else out with their skiing. He had only helped her. He hadn't gone so out of his way for anyone else. He had only done so for her. He didn't ask anyone else to the awards banquets. He had asked her.
Or was she just disillusioning herself? Hoping there was something between them when there was nothing? This fight was bringing all of her doubts into sharp focus. And yet...whenever he had embraced her, through a hug or during a dance...she just couldn't ignore the sensation it caused. She felt so safe and warm...so protected. It gave her the sense that her feelings were being returned. Was it all just in her head?
But nevertheless, whether he had feelings for her or not, she should never have pushed him like that. He had clearly told her that he wanted to be left alone and yet she hadn't been able to let it go... She just hated to see him in so much pain! All she wanted to do was help...offer him some comfort. But she should have known by now that that wasn't how Inuyasha coped with things. He thought that others would perceive him as weak if he opened his heart to them. But she didn't think that way! He was one of the strongest people she'd ever known... But she knew that keeping his feelings to himself would eat him up from within. She had just been trying to prevent that...
Kagome sighed and leaned her head against the glass of the window. Regardless of her intentions, she had chosen her course of action poorly. She would have to apologize to Inuyasha later, but it this time it would be different. This time it would be with a heavy heart. This time she couldn't presume anything about the two of them. This time she wouldbe crying inside.
..:V:..
"How about this one?" Ayame piped up, indicating a hill. Miroku, Sango, Kouga and Ayame had decided to go out skiing again and this time, even Sesshoumaru and Rin had joined them.
"Too easy," Sesshoumaru sniffed.
Ayame looked at the black diamond rating with a raised eyebrow. "Uhh...mistake me if I'm wrong...but aren't you a skater; not a skier? How are you so good at this?"
Miroku let out a short laugh. "Are you suggesting Sesshoumaru might less than excel at something? My dear girl, that's just not how he operates."
"Yes," Rin added, adopting a high air. "Fluffy must never be inferior at any activity in which he partakes. To be so would be like...really, really bad!"
"Nice one," Kouga said dryly.
"Thanks!" Rin responded, happy as ever. Kouga rolled his eyes.
"Children do not amuse me," Sesshoumaru declared in a flat voice before starting to shuffle away.
"So sorry, oh great one," Sango said in a reverent voice as she bowed to him. "We shall attempt to put on a façade that is more appropriate for our age level."
"You do that," Sesshoumaru said, unmoved. "Meanwhile, I'll be going down that hill over there."
Ayame looked over and her jaw dropped. "D-double black diamond? Are you insane?"
Sesshoumaru shrugged. "Stay here if you like. I, myself, have other things to do." With that, he skated towards the hill and disappeared over the top.
Shaking their heads in bewilderment, the rest of the group followed, albeit the girls took the run extra carefully. Though once they had navigated their way through what seemed like a minefield of moguls, they all saw that Sesshoumaru had stopped a little ways above the bottom of the hill. Curious, the group skied up beside him and stopped.
"Something up, Fluffy?" Rin piped up, seeing Sesshoumaru fixing his gaze towards the bottom of the hill with an almost intense or thoughtful look on his face.
"How interesting..." was all Sesshoumaru said before abruptly starting off again, picking up speed as he zoomed down the rest of the run.
"Ehn?" was all anyone else had to say in reply.
..:V:..
"Naraku, just how did you manage to pull ahead of Inuyasha by so much in the race this morning?"
"Well, I know I have certainly improved since the last competition," the black-haired racer replied as he faced a crowd of reporters near the main lodge. "I've been doing nothing but training hard and always keeping my goal in sight. But, judging from Inuyasha's performance this morning, he may have been going in the opposite direction. It's obvious he's been slacking off and not taking this competition seriously. And that's how winners are determined from the losers. The person willing to go the extra mile will always come out on top."
"So you really think Inuyasha might be losing his edge?"
Naraku adopted a smug expression. "If you ask me, Inuyasha never really had an edge. Up until now, it's all been dumb luck that's earned him all his FIS points. But this morning's race showed the only true thing he's capable of: losing."
"What about Kouga Haruko? He slipped ahead of you this morning to come in first!" one particularly intense reporter questioned, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose as she held out a microphone to the cocky racer.
"Ah, yes. Haruko," Naraku muttered bitterly. "It was just a fluke, really. I've beaten him in every other race, and I'll do it again in the slalom race tomorrow. That much you can be sure of. His technique is really quite amateurish; but considering he and Inuyasha share a coach, it's to be expected, I suppose. I think–"
Naraku was abruptly cut off as a shower of snow hit him full force and caused him to lose his balance and topple to the ground. Sputtering and brushing some of the snow out of his face, Naraku glared upwards to see Sesshoumaru standing not so far away, looking slightly smug.
"Oh, so sorry," Sesshoumaru said, as if in surprise. "Didn't see you there."
The reporters watched on for a few moments before one approached Sesshoumaru tentatively and said, "Are you not the older brother of Inuyasha Dareshi?"
"Why, yes; I am," Sesshoumaru replied smoothly. "Shame about his placing this morning."
Like moths to a flame, the rest of the reporters flocked over to the silver-haired man, leaving Naraku still on the ground, covered with snow.
"Do you think Inuyasha is losing his edge?" a second reporter asked eagerly.
"Well, I certainly wouldn't consider it as such," Sesshoumaru said loftily. "This morning was just a minor setback; Inuyasha is capable of much more talent than this, as much as I hate to admit it."
"So you think your brother can come back in the race tomorrow?"
"If he keeps his head on straight and doesn't brood over this one loss. If you look at Inuyasha's history of races, you'll notice he's never lost a major one that's mattered before. It's not in his nature to lose. He is a Dareshi, after all," Sesshoumaru responded.
"Hey! I'm still open for an interview, you know!" Naraku declared, standing up and trying to obtain the reporters' attention. Unfortunately for him, however, all of their attention was fixated on Inuyasha's brother.
"So why do you think Inuyasha lost this morning?" another reporter piped up to Sesshoumaru.
Sesshoumaru gave a small shrug. "Who can say, really? It's highly unusual. In fact, you'd almost have to expect...foul play." That said, Sesshoumaru stared meaningfully in the direction of Naraku, who was now brushing himself off. As Naraku lifted his head to stare back and the reporters all turned to look at him, Sesshoumaru suddenly said, "Oh, you're still all covered with snow! You know, I truly am sorry for that. Come on; I'll buy you a drink, shall I?"
Naraku glared back at Sesshoumaru, who had a completely straight face, and then glanced around at all the expectant reporters. Knowing he couldn't show a bad attitude in front of them, he responded through clenched teeth, "A drink would be...lovely."
"Well, off to the lodge, then," Sesshoumaru said, gesturing towards the building. Naraku nodded bitterly and turned to walk with the silver-haired man, always mindful of the reporters behind him. They passed Miroku, Sango, Ayame and Kouga along the way, all of which who watched the procession with raised eyebrows. Coming up on the door of the lodge, Sesshoumaru sprung forward in order to open it and gesture towards Naraku. "After you, madam–sir! Sir! I said sir."
Naraku glared intensely at the nonchalant Sesshoumaru before making a sweeping entrance through the door. Sesshoumaru followed and, snickering, so did the rest of the group. A few reporters branched off from their swarm and trailed in after to observe.
Once inside, Sesshoumaru led Naraku over to a table and held out a chair for him as if attending to a lady. Stiffly, Naraku sat down and Sesshoumaru excused himself in order to go get the drinks. Unsure of what to do themselves, Miroku, Kouga, Sango and Ayame discreetly sat down at a separate table, but one that was close enough to be able to hear everything that would be exchanged between Sesshoumaru and Naraku.
Sesshoumaru quickly returned with a couple cups of hot chocolate and placed one before Naraku before seating himself across from the black-haired racer.
"Thank you," Naraku said with a stiff smile.
"Of course," Sesshoumaru responded cooly. "Anything for one of the top racers."
Naraku eyed Sesshoumaru for a moment before saying, "I wouldn't have thought that the brother of a loser would be sharing drinks with a winner."
"Ah, yes," Sesshoumaru said, taking a sip of his drink and setting it back on the table. "Yes it is rather odd that it would turn out this way. And isn't it also odd that my brother would have his worst racing day when you have one of your best...? But I guess that goes to show you just how fickle Lady Luck can be."
Naraku eyed Sesshoumaru suspiciously as he wasn't sure whether the man was just commenting on the circumstances or actually accusing him of something. "...What?" he asked darkly, deciding on the latter.
As if he hadn't heard him, Sesshoumaru held up a small packet. "Sugar?" he asked obliviously.
"Wha–? Er, uh...no. No, thanks," Naraku stuttered, obviously confused.
Sesshoumaru nodded before tearing open the packet anyway and dumping the contents into Naraku's drink.
"Hey! I–uh..." Naraku feebly protested.
"Yes?" Sesshoumaru inquired innocently.
Naraku shook his head. "Nothing. Whatever..."
"So..." Sesshoumaru spoke up after taking another sip of his own hot chocolate. "Shame about Kouga coming in ahead of you, isn't it?"
Naraku gave Sesshoumaru a questioning look. "...Are you being serious?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Sesshoumaru asked back as if the question had been inconsequential.
"Aren't you his friend?" Naraku pushed again. Meanwhile, Sango, Ayame, Rin and Miroku were attempting to hide Kouga from sight lest Naraku turn around and see he was right behind him.
"My dear gir–boy, we're not talking about my feelings regarding him, we're talking about yours," Sesshoumaru brushed him off. "So?"
"What's Sesshoumaru doing?" Sango whispered to the others.
"Just keep watching," Rin instructed. "Sesshy's a menace to the mind, I tell you. He'll spin Naraku around in circles so many times, he'll think he's seeing double."
"If you say so..." Ayame said, shoving Kouga's face closer to the table.
"Hey!" the black-haired boy protested.
"Shhh!" the others quieted him.
"You don't want him to see you. That'll ruin it," Sango told him, turning back to Sesshoumaru and Naraku's conversation. Kouga pouted for a moment, but kept his mouth shut."Well, I'm certainly a much better racer than that Kouga," Naraku was saying. "It's inconceivable that he came in first."
"Yes, he didn't really do anything to deserve that title, did he?" Sesshoumaru remarked blandly.
Naraku gave him an uncertain look before replying, "Uh...no. Not at all."
"Because you're the best," Sesshoumaru supplied, gesturing towards Naraku.
Hesitancy flashed in Naraku's eyes as he felt like he was being led on. "Erm... O-of course."
"And always will be," Sesshoumaru finished with a nod of his head.
Naraku had finally had enough. "Are you mocking me?" he demanded of the silver-haired man across from him.
Sesshoumaru's eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch. "Me? Mock you? I would never do that to you. Not to–" Sesshoumaru lifted his cup and directed the next part of his sentence into it, "–such a fraud as yourself."
The dialogue came out muffled and Naraku shook his head as if hearing things. "What was that?" he asked cautiously.
Sesshoumaru finished taking a swig from his hot chocolate and placed it down on the table in front of him. "I said I would never do that to such an outstanding fellow as yourself," he replied as if it were obvious.
Naraku adopted an uncertain expression. Deciding he wanted to get out of Sesshoumaru's presence as quickly as possible, he began to down his hot chocolate as quickly as possible.
"Now, now! If you drink that too fast, you might get a stomach ache," Sesshoumaru admonished. "Especially with all that sugar in it and all. You should really cut back on the sweet stuff, you know." Sesshoumaru cast a knowing look at Naraku.
Naraku lowered his cup and shot Sesshoumaru a bewildered look. "Wha...?"
"We have to keep our top racer in top shape, after all," Sesshoumaru continued. That said, he downed the rest of his own drink. Pulling the cup away from his lips, he tapped its bottom rim down twice on the table before releasing it.
"That's our cue," Rin whispered to the rest of the group.
"Say what?" the others asked in confusion.
"It's time to conveniently pull him away," Rin explained as if it were obvious.
"But he's in the middle of jerking Naraku around!" Kouga protested.
"Yes, well, he doesn't want to overdo it, though, does he?" Rin asked back. "Come on. He's toyed with Naraku just enough to leave him a little baffled, but still relatively grounded. He's broken the ice."
"I don't really know what's going on..." Sango said uncertainly. "But it seems like you two have done this sort of thing before, so I guess we'll just have to go with it..."
"Trust me," Rin replied. "Fluffy has it all under control..." She got up and started heading towards Naraku and Sesshoumaru's table. The others shared a look before getting up and following her.
"Oh, here's where you've been!" Rin declared as if in surprise upon spotting Sesshoumaru. "We've been looking all over!"
Sesshoumaru looked up as if disconcerted. "Rin, can't you see that I am in the middle of–"
"Oh, come on!" Rin interrupted. "You can share drinks with...him any time! We wanted to go to the pool. Right, guys?"
Rin turned to look at the surprised group behind her. After a second of silence, they all started replying at once.
"Oh, yeah; sure!"
"We really want to go!"
"As soon as possible!"
"The day isn't getting any–er–younger...!"
Sesshoumaru sighed as if faced with an obligation that was completely unavoidable. Turning back to Naraku, he said, "Well, I'm terribly sorry, but it appears as if my presence is required elsewhere. I hope that the drink has smoothed things over with the snowing incident?"
"Uh...yes. Yes, it's all...forgotten..." Naraku replied slowly, the wheels turning in his head.
"Well, then. I must be on my way then. Good day!" With that, Sesshoumaru stood up and followed the rest of the group out of the lodge.
Naraku watched them go with a smirk. "The pool, eh? If you think I'm a pushover, Sesshoumaru, you've got another thing coming... I'll see you soon..."
..:V:..
"Stupid girl..." Inuyasha muttered as he glided down the run he was currently on. "Sticking her nose where it doesn't belong... Where did she get off assuming how I felt? Never mind if she was right or not!... I mean, I don't care if she was right, it's the principle of the matter! She's butting into private matters – my feelings are not open to discussion!" he declared emphatically as he skidded to a halt at the bottom of the hill and prepared to board the chairlift.
A few moments after hopping on the chairlift and fuming silently, however, Inuyasha sighed. "I guess she was only trying to help..." he grudgingly conceded. "And I was a little harsh... But still! I'm not some emotional wreak who needs to be coddled! I can get over this on my own... And I've only known her for a week and a half! Does that mean I should let her enter every aspect of my life?
"No...but I guess I could've cut her some slack... She was a part of the events this morning... So I guess she had already entered that aspect...
"But this is an area of my life she could never understand! She doesn't know how important this is to me, or how crucial it is to my future career! This isn't just something I do for fun; it's something I want to dedicate my life to. This loss is going to jeopardize all that! She just doesn't get it!
"...'Cause I never gave her a chance to... I've never told her my plans for the future. How could I assume that she should know?
"But generally you at least know when someone wants to be left alone!" Inuyasha argued with himself. "And it's not like I didn't tell her enough times nicely. She just wasn't getting the hint! How's was I supposed to get the point across without being a little nasty? Maybe she was the one in the wrong!
"...It all comes back to what she was trying to do, though. She was trying to help me..." An overwhelming flash of guilt coursed through Inuyasha as he thought about this statement.
This girl had swept into his life so recently and yet had since caused him so much happiness. A myriad of emotions had come to visit him during the short time he had known her; amusement, frustration, anger, anxiety, joy, and this fluttering feeling in his stomach that wouldn't go away as long as she was around. He found himself thinking about her in a way he had no other; a way beyond the friend–friend relationship they had established early on. There was something about her that attracted him to her and whenever he had held her in his arms, he had never wanted to let go... She was kind, sweet and considerate, and always brought out the best in everyone. Even him. He'd never been so open and comfortable than when he was with her and it was something he could get used to.
And this girl who made him feel so many different things had just been trying to help him. Him. He didn't know of anyone who would go so far out of their way and take so much of his crap in order to help him out. But here she was. Or there she was, rather. He had shoved her away like a piece of garbage. Kagome didn't deserve that.
But now that he had pushed her away, should he just act like a dog with its tail between its legs and beg her to come back to him? He'd gotten what he wanted, hadn't he? He was now free to brood over his troubles without her interference. And yet...she deserved some sort of apology, didn't she?
Ugh. Apology. That was his worst area of expertise. He could shoot down a ski race course at speeds unimaginable, jump off a ski jump and pull numerous stunts in the air, outrun stalkers, fangirls and reporters, and yet a simple apology was enough to make him consider cutting his losses and running away to France.
And then again...him being in France wouldn't help Kagome any.
At that time, the chairlift reached the top and, frustrated, Inuyasha hopped off. The skiers on the chairlift behind him shared a sceptical look over having heard the silver-haired boy have such a heated argument with himself about something they knew nothing about. And all for naught. Inuyasha skied off with even less of a clue of what he was going to do about the situation than when he began the argument.
..:V:..
"So I guess when you said we wanted to go to the pool, you actually meant we were gonna go to the pool?" Kouga asked Rin as the group entered the part of the main building that headed towards the pool. The sun was lowering as the day neared evening.
Rin shrugged. "Why not? I do feel like swimming and we haven't been able to go swimming together yet!"
"Well, we've been swimming already," Miroku muttered. "And it was a traumatic experience."
"Come on!" Rin chirped. "It'll be fun!"
Ayame smiled. "Yeah!"
"I don't know..." Kouga said uncertainly.
Nevertheless, the boys and girls split off to go to their respective change rooms to change into their swimming gear. Much to the boys' chagrin, Sesshoumaru changed into tight, navy blue Speedo shorts. But since they'd seen worse, they shrugged it off. Grabbing their towels, they headed out to the main pool deck only to come into full view of Naraku in all his glory. He was lounging on a lawn chair in his ever-so-concealing Speedo.
"Yup. That was what I was afraid of," Kouga said, sighing in defeat.
Miroku, Sango and Ayame all bit their lips and averted their eyes as quickly as possible. Rin gasped in shock and stepped swiftly behind Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru, in turn, glanced down at his own swimming gear, then back at Naraku's and muttered, "So he wins this round..."
The others gave Sesshoumaru a funny look before starting to disperse towards either the hot tub or the pool. Before Kouga could dip one toe into the water, however, the door to the girl's change room opened and a group of five girls swarmed out. Upon spotting Kouga, they giggled among themselves and then approached him tentatively. As Kouga eyed them cautiously, the group pushed one brown-haired girl forward.
"H–hi Kouga..." she said tentatively, staring at the floor and blushing bright red.
Kouga looked around uncomfortably for some sort of escape. Unfortunately for him, the rest of his friends were looking on with great interest. Hesitantly, he looked back at the girl. "Uh...hey," he responded.
With the encouragement of her friends, the girl continued. "You...you looked really awesome today in the race." Giggling, the girl ran back into the group of her friends, her face flaming.
"Er...thanks," Kouga replied. Almost as one, the girls suddenly swarmed the poor boy, showering him with questions, comments and praise.
Meanwhile, all of his friends on the side were snickering among themselves. All except Sesshoumaru, who remained expressionless, and Ayame, who looked slightly peeved. Deciding she didn't like the situation, Ayame went in. Squeezing through the group of giddy, star-struck girls, she latched onto Kouga's arm.
"Sorry, girls!" she said loudly to the swarm around them. "But I'm gonna have to steal him away for a bit!"
Hearing this, the girls pouted and looked up at Kouga for confirmation. Sighing in relief, Kouga wrapped an arm around Ayame's shoulders and said, "This is my girlfriend, Ayame."
This apparently didn't satisfy them and the girls continued to encircle the two and pester them with questions.
Meanwhile, Naraku was getting up from his lawn chair and approaching Sesshoumaru, Rin, Sango and Miroku. "Well, well, look at who we have here," he said with a smirk.
"Ah, Naraku," Miroku said thickly, doing his utmost to keep his eyes locked onto Naraku's face and nothing else. "Always a pleasure."
"Whatever, vermin," Naraku replied distractedly. Looking around, he adopted a cocky expression. "What; no Inuyasha? Was he too cowardly to show himself? Too ashamed of his pitiful failure to come out in public?"
"Aren't you ashamed to come out in public with that face?" Sango shot back.
Naraku raised an eyebrow towards the furious girl. "What are you; his girlfriend? Surely he doesn't have that bad of taste."
As Sango growled, Miroku stepped in front of her and regarded Naraku with an extremely stern expression. "No, she's my girlfriend and if you speak to her in that tone again, I will make sure your voice matches your feminine features."
"My, what a disgruntled group we have here today," Naraku responded smugly.
"Was there something you wanted?" Sango asked dangerously.
"Well, I was going to congratulate Inuyasha on his fantastic placing this morning, but again, it looks like he's much too busy sulking to make an appearance. Ah, well. Maybe another time. I'll talk to you chumps later." Laughing, Naraku stepped around the group and headed over towards where Kouga and Ayame were still occupied with the swarm of girls.
"Well, hello, ladies!" Naraku introduced his presence. "What have we here?"
The girls turned immediately and a few of them swooned upon recognizing the speaker. "Ooh, Naraku! You got second today! You're sooo amazing!" the girls giggled and simpered.
Naraku flashed them a sparkling grin. "Why don't we leave Kouga and his girlfriend alone and talk about this over there?" he proposed, nodding his head back towards the lawn chair he had abandoned. In response, the girls giggled and swooned some more, and then followed after him eagerly.
As Kouga watched them go, he muttered, "I don't know whether to thank him...or to shake my fist at him."
Ayame shrugged and the two of them made their way back to the other group. As they approached, they heard Sango speaking to Sesshoumaru in an annoyed voice, "You could have jumped in at any time, you know. He was insulting your brother, after all."
Sesshoumaru cast her a disinterested gaze. "My dear girl, there's a sort of finesse to these things. It simply wasn't the time. But have no fear; Naraku won't win this competition. He has little style..." That said, Sesshoumaru turned and made his way towards the hot tub.
Everyone except Rin rolled their eyes and made their way towards the pool. For the next hour, everyone amused themselves one way or another. Swimming races were held between Sango, Miroku, Kouga and Ayame, along with splashing and water wrestling fights. Rin joined in a few of the games, but Sesshoumaru chose not to "reduce himself to that level". For the most part, Sesshoumaru either lounged in the hot tub, careful not to get any of his hair wet, or lounged in a lawn chair, observing the others. Meanwhile, Naraku kept up his position in his own lawn chair, with the star-struck girls giggling and fawning over him.
Near the end of the hour, when Sesshoumaru and Rin were both sitting in the hot tub, the former leaned forward. "Alright, Rin. It's time."
Rin perked up. "Time for what?"
"Time to play with our favourite fellow once again," Sesshoumaru explained, nodding his head towards the ever-smug Naraku.
"What are you going to do this time?" Rin asked curiously.
"Well, first, you and those other friends of Inuyasha are going to do something to get his attention. And then I'm going to do...that thing."
Rin's eyes widened. "You're not!" she whispered, half in fear and half in amusement.
"Oh, yes," Sesshoumaru confirmed. "But here's what I want you to do..."
Once Sesshoumaru had finished detailing his plan, Rin lifted herself out of the hot tub and make her way over to where the rest of their group was holding a competition to see who could hold their breath the longest underwater. Getting their attention, she explained what Sesshoumaru had in mind. Grinning, they all nodded and got out of the pool.
"Hey, guys! How about we have a contest to see who can make the biggest cannonball splash?" Sango suggested loudly.
"Yeah!" Ayame agreed readily.
"Hey, I could go for that," Miroku agreed as well.
"Sounds like fun," Kouga said, nodding.
"What a great idea!" Rin said enthusiastically, as if she hadn't heard it before.
"Who should go first?" Ayame asked.
"Allow me," Miroku replied with a bow.
He then made his way over to the diving board and mounted it. Bouncing down on the board, he made a terrific leap more towards the side of the pool than the centre, and curled himself into a ball. He hit the water and a large splash flew up, showering Naraku and his fawning girls a few metres away. Emerging from the depths of the pool, Miroku jumped out onto the deck and then stopped in semi-surprise to see Naraku glaring at him.
"Oh, dear..." Miroku said with a shocked gasp. "I am terribly sorry. Didn't mean to cause any inconvenience." With that, he walked back towards his friends, whistling.
Ayame was next up, producing a slightly smaller splash, but once again hitting Naraku and his girls, who shrieked as a result. One by one, Kouga, Rin and Sango also took their turns, making sure that Naraku was thoroughly soaked by the end of their little "contest". Not that they paid much heed, but Sango remarked at the end that Kouga had ended up having the biggest splash.
It was as Naraku and his girls were wiping the water out of their eyes and hair that Sesshoumaru chose to make his move. Rising gracefully out of the hot tub, Sesshoumaru sauntered casually towards the boys change room. Consequently, he had to pass Naraku and his girls on the way.
"Alright, here's where us girls must avert our gaze," Rin said to the rest of the group, looking away from the scenario that was unfolding before them.
"Why?" Sango asked with a frown.
"Just do it!" Rin begged. "Or you'll succumb to the charm!"
"Uhhh...okay..." Ayame agreed, obligingly closing her eyes.
Meanwhile, the girls surrounding Naraku were suddenly captivated by the man walking gracefully towards them. Rivulets of water flowed down his godly body, leaving a sheen in their wake. His many muscles rippled and bulged under his smooth skin as he took one step after another, each one bringing him closer to the swooning girls. The girls eyed his chiselled pecs and washboard abs with great interest, all of sudden forgetting about the black-haired boy behind them.
As Sesshoumaru was passing, he raised a hand and flipped a portion of his long, silky silver hair over his shoulder. The girls had to bite their lips to keep from whimpering. Their restraint was broken, however, when he passed them and they noticed his firm, rounded buttocks defined by his tight spandex shorts. As if that wasn't enough, Sesshoumaru stopped just past the group and looked back in order to deliver a coy wink. This was too much for the girls to resist and they all scrambled to get up and follow after him. Not watching where she was stepping, one drooling girl even stumbled and fell into the pool beside her.
"W–wait!" Naraku cried after them. "Where are you going? Don't you want to hear about my triumph over Inuyasha?"
Unfortunately for Naraku, the girls completely ignored him as they trailed after Sesshoumaru like lost sheep. The silver-haired man entered the boy's change room and shut the door with a click, causing all the girls to moan. One pawed pitifully at the door while another sat down and stared at the piece of wood that separated her and the god who had just entered their lives.
"Uh, I think it's okay now," Kouga muttered to the girls.
Rin opened one eye to check on the situation. "Yup, it's safe now," she confirmed.
Sango and Ayame both opened their eyes as well and noticed how the scene had changed. "What happened?" Ayame asked, looking to her boyfriend.
Kouga had a confused look on his face. "I'm not really sure... Sesshoumaru just kinda walked past them, flipped his hair and winked...and then all the girls just got up and tried to follow him..."
Miroku shook his head in awe. "That man is amazing!" he exclaimed. "He is like THE chick magnet! I am sooo–" he got a look at Sango's face, "not jealous!" he saved himself. "Not jealous in the least when I have my lovely Sango." He laughed nervously.
Sango raised an eyebrow.
A few minutes later, Sesshoumaru emerged once again on the pool deck, this time fully clothed. The girls all squealed at his reappearance and flocked around him.
"Why, hello," Sesshoumaru greeted them amiably. Noticing their eager expressions, he asked, "Would you allow me to escort you fine ladies somewhere to get a drink?"
Giggling, they all nodded while blushing bright red.
"Well, then how about you go get changed and I'll meet you at the entrance?" Sesshoumaru suggested smoothly.
"Okay!" the girls shrieked, running towards the girl's change room.
Once they were all through, Sesshoumaru called, "Rin? Would you like to accompany us?"
"Sure!" Rin bubbled. "Just give me a sec!"
As she turned to go retrieve her towel, Sango asked, "Doesn't that bother you? Him taking out all those girls?"
Rin looked at Sango as if she had three heads. "Why would this bother me? This is hilarious!" Shaking her head, Rin grabbed her lost towel and practically skipped towards the change room. "We'll catch up to you guys another time! We had a great day! See you later!"
Sesshoumaru nodded to Rin before turning to Naraku, who was left soaking wet and devoid of girls. "Good day to you, Naraku. It was a most enjoyable pleasure." With the faintest hint of a smirk, Sesshoumaru turned and re-entered the boy's change room.
Naraku growled. "Why that little...! I'll get him! I'll teach him not to mess with Naraku!"
Kouga rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay, pal. You do that. Meanwhile, we're taking off."
The others nodded, grabbed their towels and then headed towards their respective change rooms. Naraku was left alone in the pool area with naught but a lone water wing to call his friend.
..:V:..
Kagome was still in the girls' condo when Sango and Ayame trooped in later that evening. The two girls were laughing and joking about something and Kagome couldn't help but feel jealous at their obvious happiness. Her friends looked like they had had the time of their lives when she, Kagome, was feeling lower than dirt.
Not wanting to spoil their good moods, she put on a bright smile and went to greet them. "Hey guys! What's up? How was the pool?" Sango and Ayame had come back a little while ago to retrieve their bathing suits. They had invited Kagome to come along with them to the pool, but she had declined, claiming to have a headache.
Sango and Ayame looked at each other and giggled. "It was hilarious!" Sango said. "Sesshoumaru made Naraku look like a total loser! Aw, you really needed to be there..."
Kagome gave them a rueful smile. "Well, you know I would've liked to be, but..."
"Oh, yeah," Ayame spoke up. "How's your headache?"
"Well, it's starting to die down now, but earlier it was really bad," Kagome lied.
"Hey, well if it's better now, why don't you come with us over to the boys' condo?" Ayame suggested. "We just came by to drop off our bathing suits now, but we were gonna head over there to hang out for the rest of the night... Maybe watch a movie or something."
"I don't know..." Kagome said uncertainly. She didn't feel up to a lot of fun and games.
"Oh, come on!" Sango encouraged. "You don't want to stay here alone in this dreary condo, now do you?"
Kagome looked at her friends' hopeful faces and grudgingly conceded. "I suppose not... Yeah, I guess I'll come."
"Yay!" Ayame cheered as she and Sango draped their wet bathing suits and towels over the back of a couple chairs. "Now grab your jacket and let's go!"
Kagome reluctantly took her coat off the coatrack and followed her two friends out of the condo. They made a quick dash across the resort to the boys' condominium complex and swiftly ascended the inside stairs. Sango knocked on the door which was almost immediately opened by Kouga.
"Hey, girls! Come on in," he welcomed Sango and Ayame. Catching sight of the third girl, he said, "Ah, I see you found Kagome! Too bad we can't say the same about Inuyasha..."
Sango and Ayame shot him concerned looks. "He hasn't come back yet? Aren't you guys worried? It's getting kinda late, you know?"
Kouga scratched the back of his neck. "Nah... He's done this sort of thing before. He'll come back soon enough. He just needs some time to think. Ya gotta give him his space."
Kagome bowed her head. You couldn't have told me that earlier, could you, Kouga?
"So anyway," Kouga continued. "Why don't you guys come in? Inuyasha will be back when he gets back. There's not much we can do for him. I'm not trying to be insensitive; that's just the way he is. So we can either worry about him when he wouldn't want us to, or we can watch the Princess Bride. Any takers on the latter?"
Sango and Ayame grinned. "I'm in!" they said simultaneously.
"Um...I think I'll pass," Kagome said, following the other girls inside and hanging up her jacket on the coatrack.
Kouga raised an eyebrow. "And what you would like to do instead would be...?"
Kagome shook her head. "No, no. You guys go ahead with the movie. I'm just..." she spotted the other set of doors across the condo, "gonna go out on the balcony and think for a bit." That said, she started making her way towards her destination.
"But Kagome!" Sango protested. "You can't go out without your jacket! It's too cold!"
Kagome waved her off without looking back. "It's not that bad. It's actually a bit warmer tonight." She opened the balcony door, went outside and closed it firmly behind her.
"Crazy girl..." Sango muttered. "Doesn't she realize it's still winter, warm night or no?"
Kouga shrugged. "I'm sure she'll come in before she gets too cold."
Just then, Miroku came in from the kitchen with a bowl of popcorn. "Who's ready for the movie?" he asked, popping the first kernel in his mouth.
Reminded of the movie, the three standing by the door eagerly made their way towards the TV area. Kouga popped the tape into the VCR and they all sat back to watch, handfuls of popcorn at the ready.
About fifteen minutes into the movie, Inuyasha came through the door, stomping his feet to rid his boots of the clinging snow. He brushed off any other excess snow and removed all his ski gear before he turned to the group already present in the condo.
"Hey, guys..." he greeted them, though somewhat subdued.
They all looked up from the TV to give him anxious looks, as if he were about to crack and fall to pieces right there in front of them.
"Hey, Inuyasha," Kouga responded first. "How's it going, man?"
Inuyasha shrugged and looked around. "Where's Kagome?" he asked, sounding if he was unsure he wanted to know the answer.
Sango nodded her head towards the balcony. "She went out there a little while ago... Said she needed to think or something..."
A flash of guilt flickered across Inuyasha's face and he sighed. Turning away from the questioning looks of his friends, he quickly put on his regular snow boots and made his way across the condo to the balcony doors.
As soon as the sliding door was shut behind him, Sango spoke up again, "Doesn't anyone realize it's winter? He'll need a bit more than boots to keep him warm out there!"
"I wonder what all this is about..?" Miroku queried.
"Yeah. Did something happen between them?" Ayame asked.
"Well... There is one way to find out..." Kouga mused.
..:V:..
Kagome was leaning over the balcony railing, watching as snowflakes flurried to the ground from the skies above when she heard the door behind her open and shut. She kept her gaze steadily forward until an unexpected voice caused her to start.
"Hey, Kagome..."
Kagome closed her eyes and ducked her head. Of course it was him. The one person she couldn't stop thinking about and mooning over had come to torment her in person now. Life was just that good.
In order to hide her state of mind from him, she set out to accomplish her earlier decision. "Look, Inuyasha. I wanted to apologize for earlier this afternoon. I was completely out of line... I mean, I should have considered how you wanted to handle the situation and should have just let you be. I had no right butting into your affairs like that. It was totally not fair to you. It was even kind of selfish of me, really. Thinking I could come along and fix all your problems..."
Inuyasha stared at the girl in front of him incredulously. "What are you doing?" he asked in surprise, though it sounded accusatory.
Expecting anything to come out of his mouth except that, Kagome turned around to face him, startled. "I–I'm apologizing..." she stuttered under his stupefied gaze.
"Why?" he demanded, still in shock.
Kagome gave him an uncertain look. "B–because of all those things I just said...?"
Inuyasha finally seemed to come out of his stupor and walked over in order to lean on the balcony railing next to her. Not being able to look at her, he too gazed out at the snow that was now rapidly descending. "Kagome... You shouldn't be apologizing... You didn't do anything wrong, really. I...I was being a jerk. I do that a lot, you know. I mean...you were just trying to help...and I blew up at you."
"But, Inuyasha–" Kagome started, but was cut off.
"Don't," Inuyasha interrupted, turning to face her. "I don't want to hear it. I don't want you to apologize for something that wasn't your fault. If you didn't clearly understand how I felt, it's only because I didn't let you. And therefore, the fault lies with me."
"But I feel terrible about it... Can you forgive me for the way I acted?" Kagome pleaded.
Inuyasha shook his head. "No. Because there's nothing to forgive. Didn't I already tell you?"
"Yes, but–"
Inuyasha held up a hand to silence her. "Just...listen to me for a minute." He turned back and focussed his attention on brushing some snow off the railing. "I...I've been racing since I was a little kid and I intend to keep racing for a long time to come... I've accumulated a lot of FIS points over the years, and I was hoping that this competition would be the one to tip the scale..."
"Tip the scale for what?" Kagome asked, a confused look on her face.
Inuyasha sighed. "I was hoping this would be when the important people started paying attention. You know...like provincial and even national team coaches... I want to pursue ski racing as my career, Kagome. I want it to be my life. I want to break records, turn heads and accomplish things no one else has. I want to be up there in the big leagues, pitting my skill against all others. But...this loss... All it will accomplish will be to show how much better Kouga and Naraku are than me. Not that I hold anything against them as racers... But this was my chance, you know? And I came in so far behind them as to be non-existent in the grand scheme of things..."
Kagome's eyes softened. "I never knew so much was riding on this... Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to make a big deal of it at the time... You don't need to worry over me and my problems. There are more important things," Inuyasha said.
"I can't think of any right now," Kagome said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder and shifting slightly closer. This is something a mere friend would do, isn't it? she thought desolately to herself.
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "How about having some fun with the others and enjoying your ski trip birthday present?"
Kagome gave him a flat look and dropped her hand back to her side. "Yes, there is that, if you're going to be difficult about it."
Inuyasha laughed at the look on her face. "Sorry..." he said mockingly.
Kagome allowed herself a small giggle before turning serious once again. "But, really, Inuyasha... You didn't tell me about this before because it was your own business and you didn't want to reveal it... I should have respected that. You don't need me butting into your personal life–"
"Kagome, will you listen to me?" Inuyasha demanded, a tad impatiently. "You know the life of Inuyasha Dareshi that's shown in all the tabloids? That's my public life. This; here on the ski hill with the six of us together? That's my personal life. You're part of that. You're in my personal life whether you want to be or not so it's hardly a matter of butting into it."
Kagome looked away with an uncertain look still on her face. Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. What was going on? Why was she suddenly so sure she wasn't welcome in his life?
"If you say so..." Kagome said. "But I was still way too presumptuous. Just because I've gotten to know you over the past week and a half doesn't entitle me to know everything about you and all your personal problems. I'm just a friend, after all..."
Her last sentence stopped Inuyasha cold. It sounded as if she were on the verge of tears. As she kept talking about her error in judgement, Inuyasha eyed her closely. Was that why she was so upset? Because she thought he trusted her no more than a friend? Then this whole fight wasn't, to her, about whether she had been in the right or wrong...it was whether or not he had any feelings for her. Well, of course I d–er...I mean, I...might...harbour some sort of...ahem...feelings for her...
Coming back to attention, Inuyasha realized that Kagome was still babbling. What is she still going on about? he wondered. I can't reassure her enough, can I? Not with words, anyway...
A split second consideration and deliberation made up his mind. This was something he had wanted to do for a while now, and something he knew he wouldn't regret. With a slight grin, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome around the waist and pulled her towards him. Her incessant apologizing was abruptly cut off as he captured her lips with his own and she presently went limp in his arms.
Kagome nearly jumped out of her body when Inuyasha grabbed her. And when he kissed her, electric thrills shot throughout her body. This was the last thing on earth she was expecting and she went limp from shock. As his lips moved against her own, she struggled to regain control and start her brain working again. Finally realizing what he had been trying to tell her all this time, she slowly started responding more and more enthusiastically. His arms tightened protectively around her waist and she gasped, allowing him to deepen the kiss with a slight growl.
Feeling Kagome soft lips respond against his own, Inuyasha felt a surge of dizziness sweep over him. The intensity of the kiss was making him light-headed, but it was an almost welcome feeling. Kissing Kagome was a sweeter sensation than he could ever imagined and he was pretty sure that it quite thoroughly got his point across. The snow flurried madly around the two, but the heat they were sharing was more than enough to keep them warm.
When they broke away, out of breath, Kagome's face was flushed red. Not knowing what to say, she stuttered, "Uh...w-why...er...uh–" She was once again cut off when Inuyasha leaned in and kissed her once more. Actually, I think we can just leave it at that... she hastily decided, giving into the kiss and wrapping her arms around Inuyasha's neck as his hands became entangled in her hair.
The second time they parted, they stayed in each other's arms, gazing softly into one another's eyes as they tried to regain their breath. Knowing that he now had Kagome's unwavering attention, Inuyasha felt it was time to put his feelings into words. "Kagome, I..."
A slight scuffing noise stopped the two teenagers cold. Turning their heads slowly back towards the sliding door, they saw it was open a slight bit and four heads were watching the two of them with unerring interest. Noticing that they had been spotted, Kouga spoke up. "Oh! Well, hello there. Uh, we were just...checking on the weather. Yup. Still winter! Hey, guys; wasn't there a movie we were watching?" he asked the other three above him.
"Oh, yeah!" Ayame responded, scrambling up and hastily retreating back into the condo.
"Yeah, it was at the good part...!" Sango agreed, following.
"Where did that movie get to...?" Miroku muttered, getting up and looking around himself as if he'd lost something. Kouga and he swiftly made their own way back in towards the TV.
Inuyasha and Kagome stood stock-still, faces bright red. The moment was broken, but not shattered. Kagome let out a small giggle, and Inuyasha gave her a soft smile. Knowing he could tell her how he felt later, he backed up and gestured towards the door. "Wanna go watch a movie?" he asked.
Kagome nodded, letting out another giggle. "Yeah..." she said. "Plus...it's kinda cold out here, you know?"
"Yeah," Inuyasha agreed, holding the door open for her before following her inside. "Maybe we should have brought our jackets..."
A/N There. You see? An extra long chapter (though not as long as the last one – this one was only on its eighteenth page) full of humour and muchos fluff at the end.Man, there was an unusual amount of angst earlier, though, wasn't there? At least, for this fic. We've never seen anything like it before! Le gasp!And what was that? Inuyasha and Kagome FINALLY kissed? Who woulda thunk it...?
Yay! Naraku humiliated à la Sesshoumaru. Go Fluffy! Did anyone drool on their keyboards when he walked by the fangirls? If so, you might wanna clean that up...
Anymewho, gotta get going so I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Tell me what you thought and...ahem...I'll try to update the next chapter a little sooner this time, okay? And as a last farewell, here's a quote left by Inu's Only: Three could keep a secret if two of them were dead. Ciao for now!