Disclaimer: Okay, SWAT team, move into position and–what? No, I don't own him! ...yet.
A/N Howdy, folks! Long time no see! Sorry to those of you who I told I would be updating a couple weeks ago. Here's the latest chapter now – the second-last one! And just to assure you all, there will be NO sequel. After this fic is complete, my focus will go entirely to my other neglected fic, In the Shadows.
Congratulations to Puppi and Scyco Sphinx for being my 1600 reviewers!
And guess what, everybody? MY BIRTHDAY IS TOMORROW, FEBRUARY 23! Rejoice! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the greatest gifts you could give me are really long reviews! I love long reviews and just to assure anyone who wondered, I read EVERY SINGLE review and love them all! I'm a little hyper right now so I'll just get out of your way now and let you enjoy my birthday present to you all!
"Remind me of the plan again."
"What is so complicated, little brother?" Sesshoumaru asked, gazing steadily down at his sibling. "You and Kouga escort your dates to the banquet and I shall arrive soon after with the rest of the party."
"Yes, but how? How do you plan to get them in?" Inuyasha asked in frustration as the group of boys and Rin walked towards the girls' condo, all dressed up for the night.
"I'm afraid I'll have to pass you onto my agent for this question," Sesshoumaru responded flippantly.
Inuyasha gaped. "Wha...? You'd pass off your own brother to–?"
"I'm sorry, but Mr. Dareshi has no further comment on this topic," Rin piped up cheerfully.
Everyone's stare shifted from the older Dareshi brother to his ever-happy ice dance partner. "You're...his agent?" Kouga asked hesitantly.
Rin laughed. "Well, not officially. It's just a joke really."
"A joke?" Sesshoumaru broke in seriously. "You said you would do this for me, Rin. You said you would make them stop throwing underwear at me."
"You mean us? Throw our underwear at you?" Miroku asked, confused.
At this, Rin burst into a fit of giggles. "No, not you guys, silly. All of our fans. Fluffy can't seem to get the fans to understand that he doesn't want their undergarments or other personal belongings. 'Course, this is largely due to the fact that he never speaks to them in large groups. So he's nominated me to speak for him as his 'agent'."
The others stared at the two of them for a moment before Inuyasha said, "You two have the weirdest relationship ever." Of course, he was met only with Rin's laugh and Sesshoumaru's silence.
Soon after, they reached the girl's condo door and Kouga rapped smartly to let them know of their arrival. A muffled "Coming!" sounded through the thick door and a moment later, a stunning Ayame opened it to them. She was clad in a strapless dress of a deep forest green colour. It hugged her upper body and flared out in folds just below her hips, ending just below the knees. Around her neck, she was sporting an elaborate necklace with a large green jewel as its centre focus. The top half of her hair was split down the centre and french braided around each side to join in a clip in the back, from which it then flowed freely along with the rest of her tresses. She wore little make-up, but her eyes were undeniably accentuated and their green colour complimented the dress perfectly. The boys couldn't help but stare, even when only one of them was her boyfriend. For his part, he was thanking his lucky stars while pinching himself to ensure that he wasn't just in a dream and she really was his girlfriend.
"Oh, the boys are here?" Sango's voice floated to them. "On time this time? I'm shocked!"
"Sesshoumaru's with them," Ayame responded by way of explanation.
"Ah," Sango said in understanding as she came into view. It was the boys' turn to stare once again.
This time around, a sleeveless maroon dress clung to the curves of Sango's body, accentuating them beautifully. The collar was high around her neck and when she turned around to grab her purse, the group could see how the material of the dress crisscrossed in thin streaks all down the length of her back, exposing quite a bit of flesh. The dress was floor length, but her matching heels could be seen peeking out underneath. Her hair was left brushed and down for the most part, but her bangs were clipped back elegantly and their absence gave her face a whole new sophisticated and mature look. A hint of purple eyeshadow was brushed on her eyelids and her shimmering lips quirked in a smile as she saw the shocked looks of the three boys in front of her. As for Sesshoumaru, he seemed unimpressed and irritated that his male companions had just turned into statues. As for Rin...well...
"Oh, Ayame! Sango! You guys look fantastic! You're going to outshine everyone there! Ooh, I'm so jealous. I look like a peasant in comparison! You too are so beautiful looking and I–"
"You look fine, Rin," Sesshoumaru cut in tersely. "There's no need to yammer on so."
"Oh. Well, okay, then!" she babbled on, still rather happily. "Still, though. You guys look amazing. Where's Kagome?"
"I'm here, I'm here! Just putting on my shoes!" their missing friend's voice called.
Recovering slightly, Inuyasha called back, "Are those the same ones that made you almost sprain your ankle in the snow last time?"
"And what if they are?"
"Are you expecting me to carry you again?" he teased.
"Mleah. No, Inuyasha, I am not. I thought we might take a more paved and stable footing route this time, thanks. Your services are not required."
"Oh good. Because I was thinking of having to charge you otherwise. I could open a whole business, really. 'Inuyasha's Carrying Services. Give me money, I'll carry you somewhere.' What do you think?"
"Oh, yeah. You'll make millions with that slogan. I mean, sign me up as your first customer."
"You already were my first customer. I think it actually dates back to when I saved you from the snowplow that night we met. That means that all this time, you've been getting my services for no charge whatsoever. From now, you'll have pay like everyone else," Inuyasha said haughtily.
"I'm your girlfriend. Now you want to make me pay you? That doesn't seem fair."
"Nor does all of us standing around listening to this ridiculous mating ritual. My contacts mustn't be kept waiting or else the excess bit of this group will never get into the banquet and your flashy gowns and hours of primping will all be for naught," Sesshoumaru interrupted the pair.
"Yes, Sesshoumaru, sir," Kagome said in mocking tone. "Okay, I'm ready." With that, she came the rest of the way down the stairs and into view, completely erasing anything witty Inuyasha might have thought of saying from his mind.
Deviating from traditional styles of dress, Kagome was wearing one of Chinese orientation. It was mainly black, but lined with red accompanied by a red dragon snaking its way up the side of the skirt. Glimmering chopsticks held up the top half of her hair in a small bun, with thin tendrils framing the sides of her face. The bottom half was hanging loosely down around her shoulders and red stud earrings shone from her earlobes. Soft red eyeshadow graced her eyelids and a few bracelets hung from one of her wrists to complete the image.
"You look, uh, nice," Inuyasha gulped.
Kagome's eyes glittered. "Why thank you, good sir. You don't look half bad yourself," she admitted with a light blush dusting her cheeks.
"Very pretty," Rin gushed to the girl. "I wish I could pull off that dress as elegantly as–"
"Rin," Sesshoumaru cut in.
"Right, sorry. Okay, then! Now that we're all ready, let's go to the banquet!" she declared happily, pumping a fist in the air. Everyone regarded the energetic girl with amusement...except Sesshoumaru who had already turned and walked out the door. The others shrugged and followed.
..:V:..
"Kill me now," Kouga moaned as yet another official in a suit walked up on the raised platform to give a speech. Half the racers attending the event already seemed asleep.
"Thanks for the exciting date, Inuyasha," Kagome said wryly.
Silence greeted her.
Kagome looked over to see Inuyasha slumped in his chair, his head thrown back with his eyes closed and his mouth hanging slightly open. Giggling softly, she poked his shoulder. With a start, Inuyasha straightened up, eyes snapping open and looking around in surprise. "What? What happened?"
"You're drooling," Kagome informed him with a serious face.
Red sprouting on his cheeks, Inuyasha cried frantically, "What?" Wiping at his mouth and discovering nothing out of the ordinary, his embarrassed expression turned into a glare at his girlfriend. "Why you..."
Kagome snorted, trying to keep in her laughter and not alert everyone in the hall to how much she wasn't paying attention to the man on stage. To distract herself, she took a last bite of her dinner to polish off her plate, as the other three at the table had done long ago.
Finally, after ten more minutes, the man up front said, "Alright, ladies and gentlemen. We'll just take a short break to clear the tables and then we'll announce the final results of the competition."
"Thank the lord," Ayame exclaimed. "I thought this moment would never come. This was worse than the first one."
"Well, it just became significantly better," Sango's voice sounded behind them. Turning around, the group of four was met with the sight of their previously absent friends and family.
Kagome's face lit up. "Ah, you got in! And you just missed the most boring part! How'd you do it?"
Miroku cast a furtive, almost awestruck glance at Sesshoumaru and then leaned forward conspiratorially. "We've all been sworn to secrecy, but let me just say that damn is he good!"
Inuyasha scoffed. "Sworn to secrecy? That's a load of–"
"No, really, man. I'm not crossing your brother in this," Miroku insisted. Looking around, it was clear that no other member of the recently arrived group was willing to talk either. All looked suitably impressed, however. Sesshoumaru just looked as bored as ever.
"Keh. Whatever," Inuyasha huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Just steal some chairs from the sides of the hall and sit down. They're about to announce my awesome win."
Kagome sighed. "Can't you at least pretend to be modest?"
Inuyasha blinked. "How come?"
She just shook her head at him with a small smile. "Oh, never mind. I suppose you deserve to be at least a little arrogant tonight."
"Too right," he agreed, nodding fervently.
After everyone had secured a place at the table, invading a few others' personal bubbles in the process, and the dirty dinner plates had been taken away, an official bounded up on stage once more.
"Alright, everyone, now it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for! Without further ado, I'd like to announce the results of today's race!" A burst of cheering and applause met this announcement and as it quieted down, the man pulled a folded slip of paper out from his jacket pocket.
The announcements went quickly, starting with the female division. Kikyo had placed third, with Kagura in second and Kanna in first. Kanna's claim of the gold medal was met with much cheering, especially from Inuyasha's table.
Afterwards, the male standings were announced, with Inuyasha and Kouga claiming the top two spots and, surprisingly, Naraku stepping up to third place. However, just as the latter was claiming his medal, another official came dashing into the ballroom and up to the stage to hand the announcer a new slip of paper. Reading it over quickly, the announcer cleared his throat and leaned in to the microphone. "Uh...due to some...extenuating circumstances, I'm afraid Naraku Querei has been completely disqualified from this competition. As such–"
"WHAT?" Naraku's screech echoed throughout the room.
"Ahem, um, as such, Kageromaru Hyoshi shall be bumped up to third place in these slalom standings. Consequently, Inuyasha Dareshi will be moved up to second place in the GS and Juromaru Hyoshi will take third place in that race. If those two last racers mentioned will come see me after the proceedings, an exchange and granting of medals shall take place. And oh, Naraku. I'm afraid you will have to come see the council afterwards as well," the announcer finished, looking in Naraku's direction.
As it was, Naraku was simply fuming, though it also seemed as if he were fighting down his increasing humiliation. Finally, with a huff, he shoved his bronze medal back at the official who had initially handed it to him and stormed out of the ballroom. The room was silent for a good thirty seconds before the announcer coughed nervously into the microphone, commanding everyone's attention once again. "Right...well. Despite that unhappy news, there is still much cause for celebration. Kageromaru! Could you please come up and receive your bronze medal? And then we'll get this dance going as I'm sure it's what you've all been waiting for!"
This announcement was met with enthusiasm and after a brief interlude where Kageromaru received his medal and the boys all posed together for pictures, everyone sprang up and quickly shuffled towards the dance floor.
Soon they regretted it, however, when nothing but vague resemblances of rap rang out across the room. The group of friends all stopped in their tracks, covering their ears. "What kind of an idiot DJ plays rap at a dance?" Sango yelled angrily over the noise.
Kagome groaned. "You can't dance to this... All it has is a beat without any rhythm or tune!"
"Well, to be fair," Sesshoumaru spoke up, "you could always do what everyone else is doing and sway back and forth from one foot to the other. Or, as I like to call it, do 'the metronome'."
With this, he demonstrated by shifting his weight from one foot to the other in time with the beat. Looking around, the group did indeed notice that everyone in the room was doing the same thing, looking like some sort of deranged wheat field blowing in the wind.
"You're right..." Ayame muttered. "It does look like a whole bunch of human metronomes keeping the beat of the music..."
"That's one way of dealing with rap," Kouga spoke up. "But there is another way..."
"And what is that?" his girlfriend asked with a sceptical look.
Inuyasha and Miroku slapped palms to their foreheads. "Oh, no..." Inuyasha muttered to the other boy. "You don't think he's going to...?"
"Oh, I really think he is," Miroku replied with a resigned sigh.
"Wha–?" was all Ayame was able to get out before Kouga dropped to the floor without warning. Looking down in shock, she was even more astonished to see her boyfriend...
"Breakdancing," Inuyasha and Miroku uttered in long suffering tones.
The group could only stare in complete surprise as their friend continued to perform amazing and slightly embarrassing stunts that involved feats of balance and spinning on extremities of his body. They were all transfixed between awe and horror, but they all found different points of the room to focus on when he started in on 'the worm'.
When Kouga finally stood back up, looking suitably impressed with himself, everyone just shook their heads sadly at him. Ayame could only stare at him as if she didn't want to believe her eyes. "You know..." she began shakily. "For the past thirty seconds there...we weren't a couple."
"What?" Kouga gaped and looked around at the rest of his friends as if for support. He wasn't getting any. "Aw, come on, guys! It takes talent and hard work to do that!"
"I can't believe he put time and effort into perfecting 'the worm'..." Inuyasha muttered to Miroku who nodded sadly.
"Hey! It's like a classic move!" Kouga protested. "I mean–!"
"I really wish we didn't have to listen to this music anymore!" Rin cut in, effectively ending the argument. "I can't stand rap!"
Suddenly, the voice of the DJ blared over the sound system. "Alright, you guys having a good time?" He was met with some half-hearted cheers. "Okay, well you guys just enjoy this next song and I'll be right back in a jif!"
The group groaned as another rap song blared across the room. "Excuse me a moment," Sesshoumaru spoke up abruptly. "I have to attend to something."
Before anyone could question the tall man, he had left the group, exiting through the same hallway the DJ had taken. A small "Washrooms" sign was hanging over the entrance.
The next minute or two was passed in relative boredom as the large group of friends tried to come to terms with the miserable situation. All of their relatives still seated at the table looked suitably unimpressed as well. Finally they noticed the DJ returning, though looking considerably shaken up compared to his sure and cocky attitude before his absence. A moment later, Sesshoumaru also returned to their group, looking somewhat satisfied about something.
"O-okay, folks...h-how about a change of pace, huh?" the DJ's hesitant voice sounded out once more. The rap song was abruptly cut short and a salsa number started playing over the speakers. The whole room suddenly seemed to ease up and a few happy whoops rang out.
"Rin, shall we?" Sesshoumaru asked his ice-dance partner calmly, holding out a hand.
Though slightly suspicious about the sudden change in music, she smiled anyway and placed her hand in his. "Gladly!"
As the two of them sashayed off, the rest of the group smiled around happily at each other, except for Inuyasha who felt a bit traumatized after having seen his brother sashay.
He was soon broken out of his reverie, however, when two men in suits came up to the group and beckoned to himself and Kouga. With questioning looks, the two boys stepped forward. "Yes?" Inuyasha asked politely.
"Ah, yes, hello, Inuyasha Dareshi, Kouga Haruko," one of the men greeted them, nodding his head at each in turn. "How are you this evening?"
The boys grinned. "Very well, thanks," Kouga responded for both of them.
"Excellent," the man said, pulling out two business card from the inside pocket of his suit jacket. Handing one to each of the boys, he continued, "My associate here and I represent the National Alpine Ski Association of Canada. We were incredibly impressed with your performances in the races today and Wednesday. Your giant slalom run, Mr. Dareshi, was especially impressive in light of the discovery of Mr. Querei's sabotage."
Kouga and Inuyasha were struck dumb. "Um...thank you very much," Inuyasha managed to stutter out as he shook the man's hand.
"I'm sure you are both aware of it, but the two of you are setting incredible records for boys of your age," the man continued. "Looking at the results of your previous races, it has become clear to us that your talent has increased exponentially and this race has proven that it will only continue to do so."
Inuyasha and Kouga nodded in thanks, still too shocked to speak.
The man straightened a little and fixed his tie. "Now, to the point. The Ski Association is currently scouting for eligible racers to join Canada's alpine race team for the next winter Olympics. We were wondering if the two of you would be interesting in obtaining two of the available positions on the team..."
Silence met him. Kouga and Inuyasha were staring at the man, dumbfounded, while all of their friends stared at them, waiting for their answer. When finally the silence stretched a little too long, Ayame decided to break her boyfriend out of his reverie.
"Kouga...Kouga...!" When he didn't answer, she shook his arm a little. He turned and looked down at her a moment before taking her face in his hands and giving her a heated kiss that left her dizzy.
As Ayame stumbled back to her other friends, Kouga turned back to the man as if nothing had happened. "Are you serious?" he asked him in awe and more than a little disbelief.
"Completely," the man responded with a wry smile as he spared a glance for the shocked Ayame.
"Hell yes, we're interested!" Inuyasha burst out suddenly. Suddenly realizing who he'd shouted at, however, he coughed and looked abashed. "Ah, I mean...we're quite interested in your offer...sir."
The man chuckled. "Very well then. We'll be in touch with your coach and your sponsors. A more thorough meeting will be set up for sometime next week to sort out further details. Until we see you then, enjoy yourself and this party." With that, the two men shook the boys' hands once more before disappearing into the crowd.
A full minute passed before anyone uttered a word. "Wow..." Miroku finally breathed.
"Wow is right..." Kouga agreed.
"And just think," Sesshoumaru spoke up, making the others jump as they hadn't noticed his and Rin's return. "If our good friend Naraku hadn't been disqualified, he might have been offered a position on the Olympics team as well. What a terrible pity for him..."
Inuyasha suddenly gave Kouga a wicked grin. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Kouga raised an eyebrow. "As long as it involves informing Naraku of what his underhandedness has cost him, then yes, definitely."
"Let's go!" Inuyasha said, pumping a fist in the air.
"What–right now?" Kagome asked, grabbing her boyfriend's arm.
"Hey, it's no problem. Kouga and I'll just dash over to Naraku's condo real quick and we'll be back before you know it. Until then, enjoy yourselves!" With a quick kiss to the top of his girlfriend's head, Inuyasha and his partner in crime were gone before she could say another word.
"That guy..." Kagome muttered, shaking her head.
"Well, as we await their glorious return, shall we dance, my dear Sango?" Miroku asked his girlfriend, holding out his right hand.
"As long as you don't strain your arm, I'd love to," she responded, placing her hand in his and following him onto an empty part of the dance floor.
"The past few days have been pretty hectic, haven't they?" Miroku asked quietly as they swayed gently to the music.
Sango hugged him closer, laying her head on his chest. "You can say that again. There was hardly any time to stop and think. I'm glad it's all over now though. No one was seriously hurt in the avalanche, Naraku was justly disqualified, Inuyasha and Kouga did amazing in the races, and they got offered spots on the Olympic race team! It couldn't have turned out better. Unless, of course, none of the bad stuff had happened in the first place..." she frowned.
Miroku rested his head on top of hers and let out a low chuckle. "We were lucky, given the circumstances. And I'm glad we were. Our relationship is just getting started!"
Sango gave him a small nudge. "Trust you to only be thinking of us and our relationship at a time like this..."
"I'm always thinking of you, Sango..." Miroku murmured into her ear.
"...That was incredibly cheesy." she responded flatly.
"It was, wasn't it? I thought you might like it. I've been perfecting my cheese for you."
"Oh, don't try to pull that on me. You had your cheese perfected long before I came along. I don't think anyone's ever had as cheesy or as many pick-up lines as you," Sango said wryly.
"Why, thank you, my dear. I'll take that as a compliment."
"You would..." she muttered. After another minute of silent dancing, she spoke up again. "So now that Inuyasha and Kouga are advancing in their ski racing careers, what are you planning on doing?"
Miroku shrugged. "Well, I'll probably go more of an academic route, to be honest. I may not look it, but I'm a history and math man at heart. In the meantime, though, I think I'll compete in some ski jumping contests. Now that I've broken my arm in addition to that injury I sustained as a kid, I've realized something. I'm probably going to injure myself out here on the ski hill anyway, so I might as well be doing something I really love in the meantime. Don't you think so?"
Sango raised her head from his chest and looked directly into his eyes. "...You're sick," she said bluntly. "That makes no sense at all."
Miroku shrugged and gave her a wry grin. "Ah, well. You love me anyway, right?"
Sango shook her head sadly at him. "You dope..." Nevertheless, she pulled his head down a few inches in order to capture his lips with her own. After a few moments, she pulled away, still shaking her head. "You're going to be the death of me..."
Miroku winked at her. "Ah, but what a welcome death it'll be."
Snuggling her face back into his chest, she mumbled, "Too right..."
Meanwhile, Kagome and Ayame were sipping on some punch when Sesshoumaru and Rin returned from another dance. "Everybody enjoying themselves?" Rin asked cheerfully.
"Definitely," Ayame answered, grinning. "Despite the fact our boyfriends ran off, of course."
Rin shrugged. "Well, sometimes you just gotta let 'em do what they've gotta do. And then–hey, is that what I think it is?"
Three heads swivelled around to see what Rin was looking at. A couple making out in the corner of the ballroom seemed to be the focus of her attention.
"That is hardly anything out of the ordinary, my dear Rin," Sesshoumaru said blandly. "Males and females seem to find it necessary to partake in those sorts of activities anywhere they go. If you had not noticed it beforehand, I'm afraid–"
"No, not that!" Rin said in mock frustration as she lightly slapped his arm. "Who do you see making out there?"
Kagome and Ayame squinted over at the couple. "They do seem familiar somehow," Kagome said slowly. "The woman's obnoxiously orange hair is ringing a bell..."
"Why I do believe that's Cindy!" Sesshoumaru declared. "And with...John?"
"Your stalkers?" Ayame exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah..." Rin said slowly, eyes still transfixed on the image before her. "Who would have thunk it...?"
"Cindy seems...a bit too old for him," Kagome said hesitantly.
"Oh, what's ten or so years when you're...in love?" Ayame said as if unsure herself.
"I'm not sure what to call that..." Rin said.
"Well, on the bright side, maybe they can stalk each other from now on," Ayame offered. "You may never be bothered by them again."
Rin shot the pair another odd look. "Here's hoping..."
The group of four shrugged at each other and turned their attention away from the new couple in order to indulge in some light conversation. Sango and Miroku soon rejoined the group once the music picked up again and five minutes later marked the return of the absent boys.
Inuyasha and Kouga were pushing their way through the masses of bodies, working their way towards the group while holding what looked like pizza boxes over their heads. When they finally rejoined their friends, the others could see that they indeed were pizzas and they all looked quizzically at the boys, waiting for an explanation. For their part, the two boys looked caught between looking indignant and trying to catch their breath from laughing too much.
"What happened?" Sango asked.
Kouga let out a last laugh and then tried to explain. "Well, we went over to Naraku's place like we told you. We stood outside and chucked a few snowballs at his balcony door until he came out. Then we told him what had happened and you should have seen the look on his face!"
"He was soo-oo mad!" Inuyasha cut in. "The next thing we knew, he was chucking these pizzas at us! They must have been from those twenty-some Sesshoumaru had delivered to him two nights ago!"
"Really?" Sesshoumaru inquired, quirking an eyebrow. "How ungrateful of him..."
Kagome shrugged. "Well, I mean given the circumstances, you can kind of underst–"
"If you'll excuse me, I have a call to make," Sesshoumaru cut in as he flipped out a cell phone. As the others watched on in silence, he selected a number from his phone's databank and then held the device up to his ear. "...Yes, hello, Wanda. It's Sesshoumaru. Listen, I need a favour. Could you send one of your male strippers up to Devil's Peak? Condominium A, number 4. ...Yes, it's for revenge again, though that's such a harsh word. You know I prefer to call it someone's reward. Yes, that will be all. Splendid. Talk to you again, Wanda." With a click, he snapped the phone shut.
Everyone else just stared at him. "You...did you just do what I think you just did?" Inuyasha sputtered.
"Don't be so vague, brother," Sesshoumaru admonished him. "You'll never get anywhere like that. Rin, shall we dance again?"
Rin shook her head at him in wonder. "I never thought Naraku would deserve the final revenge treatment from you. You must really hate him." When Sesshoumaru stayed silent with his hand outstretched, she sighed. "Okay, okay. Let's dance."
Kagome stared after them. "What a crazy gu–whoa!" Without warning, she was pulled onto the dance floor and swung around. She was faced with a smirking Inuyasha who quickly pulled her close and swayed in time with the music."Well, hello there," she said, getting over her shock.
"Hello, madam," Inuyasha responded. "I thought you might like to dance on an evening so fine as this."
Kagome grinned. "Well, you thought right. And here I thought it might never happen."
Inuyasha shrugged. "Ah, well there were a few things to take care of. But all business is out of the way so now we may enjoy ourselves."
Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you weren't enjoying yourself when you went to see Naraku?"
Inuyasha let out an guilty chuckle. "Ah, weeeeell..."
Kagome laughed and leaned her head against his chest. "This is a great night, isn't it?"
Inuyasha's hands tightened around her waist. "Yeah..."
"I'm so happy about that Olympics offer!" she continued. "And remember how you didn't think you'd get noticed at all! Look who got totally proved wrong." She poked his chest in emphasis.
Inuyasha took her hand in his and clasped it gently. "Yes, that would be me. But just this once, I don't mind admitting I'm wrong." When Kagome started to open her mouth, he added, "Just this once. It won't happen again. Other than this, I'm always right."
Kagome bent her head back in order to look him in the eye. "We'll just see about that, Mr. Cocky."
"I picked you over any other girl, right?" Inuyasha asked with an insufferable smirk. "I thought you were the best girl around. Are you saying I was wrong about that?"
Kagome's eyes narrowed at him. "Damn you and your arrogant flattery." Inuyasha laughed. "You're a pest, but somehow I like you anyway," she informed him. With that, she reached up and planted a soft kiss on his jaw line.
For the rest of the night, they hardly parted for a moment.
..:V:..
"Damn that Inuyasha and Kouga!" Naraku spat, crushing the empty pop can in his fist as he sat alone in his large condomium. "It should be me on the Olympic team! Some day I'll get them back for this!"
Just then the doorbell rang. Naraku looked up in suspicion from his spot on his couch. "Who could that be? Better not be those two stupid idiots again or I swear I'll kill them..." With an angry grunt, he sprang to his feet and stomped over to the door.
When he opened the door, he was met with the sight of a very built man sporting a police uniform. In one hand he was holding a pair of fluffy pink handcuffs and in the other he held a small portable boom box. Naraku looked at him in confusion.
"Is there a problem, officer?"
A/N And there you have it! A somewhat shorter chapter than I had anticipated, but everything I wanted was added in so there you have it. :P –snickersnort– Poor Naraku...what horrors await him?
One chapter to go, folks! Hold on to your seats! We'll get to the end, I swear! In the meantime, enjoy a funky question – Why do people with closed minds always open their mouths?
And as a special MY BIRTHDAY special specialty, here's a double bonus – What if there were no hypothetical situations? And where would we be without rhetorical questions?