InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ On a Leash ❯ Out in Right Field ( Chapter 27 )

Disclaimer: I have books, plushies, and a couple of DVDs…but I don't exactly own Inuyasha himself…

A/N: Well, here I go. I'm just going where my fingers are taking me. Inu and Sess were distracted by what was going on in the room and didn't hear the buzzing. Please use the forum (the Yahoo! Group I started) to debate these things. Anyway, there's not much to report except I'm getting hungry…food…

Dedicated to Notoes (for something that should sound vaguely familiar) and to my mother (because I love her so much).

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Out in Right Field

"So, Kagome was the 'destined' in the hint, while the Shikon no Tama was the 'it'?" Myouga echoed back to Inuyasha.

The half-demon nodded before stretching back on his futon. "Apparently. Mother must have put a double meaning in her words."

"Ah," said the flea demon, hopping onto his master's chest, "your mother was quite clever, Lord Inuyasha. I would not doubt it if your mother did not mention Kagome by name-she was probably trying to protect her."

"I guess so." Inuyasha sighed. The wound on his stomach continued to ache and burn, but as long as he remained still, like Kagome insisted that he do, it wasn't so bad. His ripped tee-shirt had been replaced with a ribbed A-shirt when he returned home, leaving his bandaged torso a bit cooler.

He had returned with Kagome that evening, another courtesy of Sesshoumaru's driver, and had discussed his doings at the gravesite and of the deed and the prophesy with his minute retainer. Myouga always had a thirst for knowledge-and Inuyasha's blood--, and had listened intently from the mysterious prose of Inuyasha's mother's prophesy to the anonymity of the Shikon no Tama.

"Speaking of your fiancée, where is Lady Kagome?"

"I sent her up to bed," he replied, pillowing his head on his hands as he stared up at the rafters; she'd complained that it hadn't been very late and didn't need to be treated like a child. He had still made her go to her room. "She bruised her ankle when at Dad's grave, and she was unconscious for a while afterwards."

Myouga bobbed his head, crossing his two sets of arms. "As you mentioned previously… And Lord Sesshoumaru said that you no longer had to remain incognito?"

"Nope. Thank the gods, too." The hanyou closed his eyes leisurely. "No more bad dog jokes from Miroku and Sango."

"So," Myouga grinned wickedly, "that means that there are new options open to you in regards to Lady Kagome."

Inuyasha cracked open one eyelid. "And you mean what, exactly?"

"Well, now, Lord Inuyasha," the flea hopped up to his master's nose, "you surely have noticed how lovely your appointed fiancée is." Inuyasha grunted, lowering his lid again. "While it is obvious the two of you harbor deep feelings for one another-"

The half-dog demon sat up in a flash, eyes wide open as he caught his vassal between his forefinger and thumb. "Whoa, whoa, whoa-where exactly are you going with this, old flea?"

He made a few strangled noises. "I merely meant that perhaps you can take your relationship to the next level, solidify your claim to her-"

Inuyasha promptly squashed Myouga. "Maybe you and Miroku should get together. I'm sure you two would have tons to talk about." Letting the flea swish to the side, he lowered himself to his mattress again. Inuyasha flopped an arm over his forehead.

I'm free from hiding…Sesshoumaru has the deed, Kagome has the Shikon no Tama…but I know Naraku's not out yet…Kicking his new sheet up onto his torso, he used his other hand to shift the coverlet evenly over his body. He was after the jewel more than the deed to the Western Lands, no doubt. Even if the Shikon no Tama is being guarded by Kagome, Naraku obviously knows how to go about gathering information-he had fake cops and those stupid bee things… It's his turn to make a move…

Inuyasha's musings were disrupted by Myouga's throaty voice asking, "Lord Inuyasha--?"

"What, bug?" he grunted in return.

"How did you know where in that storybook to find the prophesy?" Myouga inquired eagerly, taking residence on the front of Inuyasha's shoulder. "Had you heard it before?"

He shook his head slightly. "Not Mother's prophesy, but it was the book she used to read fairytales from. She used to read to me before bedtime everyday, and she always marked the story for that night with the red ribbon in the book." Inuyasha peered intently at the most obscure part of the ceiling, saying softly, "Mother must have figured I would know where to look…that I would remember…."

After the initial discovery Setsuna's prediction, Miroku had taken Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru aside while Sango, Kagome, and the little girls had gone off to get something to eat from the kitchen.

"I did not want to mention the last part in front of Kagome," the monk had said when the trio of men convened in the same study the deed was residing in. Flicking to the foretold future, Miroku gazed piercingly at Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha. "This part bothered me a little, but I shall read the last bit.

"' Destruction and despair will make the journey difficult, as final battles will be…'" his voice loitered on the last line anyone had heard aloud of the prophesy. Miroku took in a deep breath and continued on in an even, slightly gloomy tone, "'…as final battles will be undetermined, for the future, and destiny, will change as it may. This fated pair will be stubborn and it is up to their own throne of emotion's truths what the final outcome may be…'"

"It is without a definite ending," calmly remarked Sesshoumaru.

"Yes," agreed Miroku swiftly, holding up a hand, "but, listen-there's more."

"Like…?" drawled Inuyasha, his thin patience growing ever thinner.

"'The one who can withstand the darkness with a heart as pure and innocent as a child is the guardian of the Shikon no Tama. Inutaisho's youngest son's betrothed will have come from a Shinto shrine-the place where the sun rests last. Within her grasp is the guardian sword, proof of her predestined alliance. Her powers will set her apart from any other human being, even if she is not conscious of their strength. With her family she will wait for him, and when it is time, they will go forth to the place in which the Shikon no Tama will be kept-the Black Pearl, for if it is tainted with evil, the jewel will indeed become such an opal.'

"Basically," Miroku shut the book once more, "while I highly doubt Naraku was able to even hear part of this prophecy, I know it would have bothered Kagome to know that your mother, Inuyasha, knew so much about her before her mother was even conceived."

"We already heard that the guardian was going to be a miko, and that I was supposed to guard it with her." The hanyou crossed his arms over his chest as he inquired, "But what I wanna know is how did Naraku discover where to find the Shikon Jewel?"

Sesshoumaru's lips twitched. "Father was powerful-"

"Yeah, know that."

"Shut your mouth for once, and maybe you'll learn something," sighed Miroku.

"Whaddya mean shut my mouth for once? I kept my mouth shut the whole time you were speaking," Inuyasha snapped back.

The monk simply leaned over and smacked the half-demon with fist. "Please, continue, Sesshoumaru."

Speaking again, as if the irksome interruption had never occurred, "-and due to his power, many things were entrusted to him-land, money, power, and the Shikon no Tama was among them, for one reason or another. How he came across it, I do not know. Since your mother was a white sorceress, I am assuming that one of the reasons it was brought to them was her barrier-spells as well-like the one that warded us off in the Black Pearl."

"You mean the one at the deed chamber?"

"Indeed. Apparently, she had been expecting Kagome to come with us."

Miroku nodded. "It would seem that way. It would also seem that Lady Setsuna contacted Kagome through her dreams; there are many facets even I do not know about her spiritual powers."

Running his talons through his silken hair, Sesshoumaru murmured, "Then, keeping a close watch on her couldn't hurt. Her dreams may be prophetic."

"She has seen things before they have happened before," admitted Miroku. "I have to concur."

His bedroom had grown quiet. Inuyasha glimpsed down to Myouga sleeping on his shoulder. Plucking the flea demon off and setting him aside in the tin the lemon drops had come in-he had managed to single-handedly eat them all in one day-Inuyasha sat up.

"I can't sleep," he whispered to himself, watching disinterestedly as his sheet fell into his lap. The recent memory rather bothered him; Naraku could easily find Kagome again, and what if he had heard that Inuyasha was still alive and the Shikon no Tama had emerged? Right now, Kagome was asleep upstairs in her little bed…or as far as he knew.

Restless, Inuyasha rolled his sheet off completely and took the Tetsusaiga, which lay beside him, as it did every night. He tottered to his feet and out the sliding door, gripping his katana's scabbard lightly His keen gold eyes watched every shadow that played, able to see things fairly well considering the lack of light; then again, being half-demon had its advantages.

He jogged up the stairs quietly, feeling a sense of déjà vu from when he was human and he'd snuck to Kagome's room. He pushed open the door as quietly as he could and lingered in the doorway, his gaze falling, with some satisfaction, on the resting teenage girl to whom he was betrothed.

Her raven tresses were fanned beneath her waves, a hand was lying over the edge of her bed, and her face was illuminated by the slight glow from the city lights. Inuyasha smirked to himself; how long had it been since Kagome had actually slept in her bed?

Creeping into the room, Inuyasha came beside her and cocked his head to the side as he watched her for a bit more. It wasn't that he was trying to be an up-close voyeur-he'd leave that job to Miroku--, it was that Inuyasha found some solace for his abused heart and soul when he saw that this one young woman's life was still there, intact with all its hopeful innocence that was allowed.

The way her soft lips were parted a tad, and how her long lashes brushed the apples of her cheeks, Inuyasha discovered himself thinking that she slept rather prettily, if that made sense at all. It was then that the half-demon became aware of how much he truly did care about Kagome. Through all the hell he'd forced her to endure, Kagome had never left him (or kicked him out), and she always believed in him.

Dropping to a seated position on the floor, Inuyasha settled himself near his fiancée's bedside. He tucked Tetsusaiga in the crook of his arm and allowed his head to loll forward.

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Half an hour later, Mama left her bedroom, having finished an excellent mystery novel and was intent on drinking one last cup of tea before bed. She passed by her daughter's open bedroom door without a glance, her groggy mind focused intently on the prospect of warm chamomile tea.

Buyo meowed at her as she padded downstairs, so once in the kitchen, she refilled the rotund feline's food dish before continuing with her drink; she only ducked out to lay a blanket over Souta, who was fast asleep on the floor in the den with his controller in hand while PlayStation game he was playing still illuminating the screen.

A cup of water zapped in the microwave and a bag steeping in it later, Mama headed back up to her room. Yet as she passed by her daughter's room, she poked her head in, as she always had since Kagome was a small child, and was delighted to see her eldest child fast asleep with a statue-still hanyou guardian-motionless if one were to discount the lightly flicking dog-ears atop his head.

It was those ears that were the cause of Mama's stifled giggles for her daughter's hand had dropped down and, while remaining in slumber, was gently rubbing at the furry triangles with a faint smile on her face. The dog-hanyou didn't seem to mind because a soft, friendly-growl emanated from his throat and one of his feet was twitching. This half-demon had worked his way into her heart, and Mama was sure, without a doubt, that he had made himself a home in Kagome's as well.

Using her free hand to cover her mouth as she laughed gently, Mama turned away from the adorable scene, shutting the door carefully behind her.

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"Good morning, Higurashi," greeted her nasal-voiced homeroom teacher the next day as she passed him her admit slip from the office. He shifted his horn-rimmed glasses on his thin nose with an even lankier finger. His dark, beady eyes quickly scanned over the piece of yellow paper. "So, you were out for personal reasons yesterday?"

Kagome nodded once, holding her school case in both hands. "Yes, sir. I bruised my ankle very badly the other day-I tripped over my cat coming down the stairs."

He raised his gaze to her. "And now?"

"Oh, I'm just fine," she chirped with practiced ease. "A little rest, some medicine, and an ankle wrap and I'm good as new."

Bobbing his head, the teacher handed the admit back to her. "All right."

She took one hand from her bag's strap to take the slip and, with a bow, toddled back to her seat in the third row, right by the windows. Kagome peered out them for a moment or two, glad that Inuyasha hadn't thrown a fit this morning when she went to school.

Actually, he was already in her room when she awoke. The first thing she had seen was his puppy-dog ears.

He had looked so adorable with those furry, little ears twitching of their own accord. Kagome had gently stroked one of them, enchanted in a dazed way, at that time, at how nice they felt between her fingertips.

Inuyasha had roused, and Kagome had quickly darted her hand back into bed with her. She had smiled pleasantly and wished him good morning; he'd responded with a tongue-curling yawn. For some reason, that doglike action absolutely charmed her. He'd stared at her like she was insane before getting up with a grunt, and muttering something about making sure she was safe during the night.

Even now, Kagome had to smile. It warmed her heart to know he had stayed the entire night in her room, right by her side like…well, like a guard dog. Regardless, Kagome found herself wishing to hurry through school to see him-which was odd, considering she was a humongous bookworm.

Inuyasha maybe a real pain sometimes, but he really isn't a bad person, she thought, watching blissfully as a bird swooped down and lighted on the windowsill. It reminded her that riding on Inuyasha's back high into the sky was something she wanted to do again. Up until the point he got hit by the car, New Years Eve had been so much fun, and Kagome had to remember the devilish smirk on his face, one of absolute delight. He's a good guy at heart-he's just had a lot of unfortunate situations in his life. It's not a wonder that he's so gruff and gets freaked-out when it comes to showing any emotion that isn't angry, devious, sarcastic, sadistic, or hungry…

Kagome blinked once as the bird darted away. I wonder if hungry really is an emotion or just a state-of-being… Maybe Inuyasha's just an exception to the rule…

"Kagome!"

"Hmm?" She pivoted her head from facing the window to her three friends, who came rushing into the room. "Hey, guys."

Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi bee-lined for her desk and all crowded around it.

"Kagome," Yuka began bossily, as she usually was, "you have to go to the game Saturday afternoon."

She tipped her head. "Game? What game?"

Eri rapped on forehead, earning a noise of protest. "Do you always have your nose in your books? The boys' baseball game, silly. Aren't you coming?"

"Hmm…I dunno." Kagome put a finger to her lips. I'm not sure if I should just leave Inuyasha, I mean he…wait! The mental light bulb in her head clicked on. I could take Inuyasha with me. He doesn't have to be in disguise any more-this could be the perfect way to spend some one-on-one time with him that doesn't involve surviving catacomb sentinels or stoic half-brothers.

"Please, Kagome," begged Ayumi, grasping hold of her friend's arm gently. "We really want you to come."

"Well…I think I should be able to go," she said slowly, a grin spreading over her face. "It should be ok."

"That's great!" the other girl cheered, hugging Kagome around the neck.

Eri and Yuka looked at each other, as if sharing some of form of telepathy-or maybe that just came with slightly overbearing personalities.

Yuka started, "Kagome, why wouldn't you be able to? This is the third game so far. You normally like baseball."

"Yeah," concurred Eri, "you sounded hesitant about going." She got eye-to-eye with her pal.

"I still like baseball…" Kagome stated quietly, leaning away a bit. "I just have to check with my mom…" And Inuyasha, she mentally added. "What's with the accusatory tone?"

"Is it because Houjou's on the team?" Eri jabbed a finger into Kagome's shoulder.

"Ow…" She rubbed the spot, glaring at the other girl. "That's why you go, Eri. I go to see baseball, and it has absolutely nothing to do with Houjou."

Giving her an untrusting look, Eri straightened up gradually. "Yes, well…"

"Speaking of Houjou," Yuka snapped her fingers, "he was looking for you this morning, Kagome."

She blinked. "He was? Why?"

"I think he wanted to personally invite you to the game." Resting her gaze on Kagome in a semi-commanding, semi-excited sort of way, she quickly asked, "So are you gonna go talk to him? You really should say yes to him, if that's what he wants."

Kagome glanced up at the analog clock; there was only five minutes before class started. "It'll have to wait until lunchtime when we have break period." Glimpsing from her friends to some of their classmates who had filtered into the room, she sighed.

"Everyone, please try to find a good seat," the teacher said, his chalk squawking a tad as he scribbled messily on the board. "Today we have a special treat-looking at asexual reproduction." He laughed in a wheezing, shrill laugh.

Shaking her head with a guise of distaste, Yuka said in a tone that matched her visage, "Sometimes I wonder if that's the way his kind was created."

"Or maybe," Eri dryly suggested, "it's the only time he gets to hear anything like that. It's probably the closest thing to sex he's ever gonna get to."

Kagome rubbed at her temple with her finger as the pair continued to debate. "They aren't seriously having this conversation, are they?" she asked Ayumi.

Smiling demurely, Ayumi patted Kagome on the back. "They are."

Cushioning her forehead on the palm of her hand, Kagome shook her head with disbelief.

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Biology passed by easily enough. Kagome tuned out part of it and opted to read from her textbook or unnoticeably gaze out the window from the corner of her eye. She excelled at English, and was able to dodge Kouga's smarmy winks when he entered the room for that single period. After that class was Trigonometry, which Kagome admittedly dreaded, but since she worked her butt off, she was passing with a high grade.

Finally, lunchtime came, and Eri and Yuka launched themselves over to Kagome, who apparently wasn't moving fast enough for their tastes. They seized her by the arms and hauled her out-Ayumi simply trotted after.

"We're going to find Houjou," declared Yuka determinedly.

"Guys," moaned Kagome, managing to wrench her arms away from their death-hold grasps, "calm down, would you?"

"Hey, Higurashi," sounded Houjou's voice.

Kagome looked up the hall as Houjou jogged towards them and Eri sighed, "He's so cute.... It just shouldn't be legal!"

The ruddy haired boy smiled when he reached the four girls. "I was wondering if you were going to our baseball game this Saturday."

She nodded. "I probably will."

He beamed. "Really? Great, then I was wondering if you wanted to-"

"Whatever it is, yes," interrupted Eri. "I-I mean, Kagome would love to with you-"

"I can answer for myself, thanks," Kagome broke-in tartly, sending an irritated glare at Eri. Turning a much gentler one on Houjou, she said, "Houjou, what were you going to say?"

The boy smiled amusedly. "Well, I wanted to know if you were free to go grab a bite to eat at Wacdonald's after the game."

Eri and Yuka danced anxiously at Kagome's side, as if they were the ones being asked. "Say yes," hissed Yuka.

"Houjou," began Kagome, folding her hands together, "I'm really sorry, but…"

"Kagome," Yuka hissed again in her ear, "what are you doing?"

Ignoring the other female, she took a deep breath before saying, "I'm…seeing someone."

Houjou stared at her, dumfounded.

"You are?" he asked at the same time as the other three squeaked the same question.

She nodded. "I am. We…we haven't been together very long… So…I think that's very sweet of you, Houjou, but I'm gonna have to decline." Kagome felt awful at the heartbroken look on his face.

"Oh…"

"But, hey," she said brightly, "I bet Eri would love to go with you."

Eri blinked rapidly, absolutely stupefied. "I-I would? I mean," she glanced nervously at Houjou, "I would."

"So, how does that sound?" Kagome smiled reassuringly. "I'm still coming to the game, so I'll cheer you on, ok, Houjou?"

Houjou stared down his nose for a moment, brown eyes cloudy, before he lifted them to Kagome's, the same cheerful sparkle in them. "That sounds great, Higurashi! I'll hold it to you." He looked to Eri and grinned. "We can meet at the pitcher's mound afterwards-if that's ok with you, Takashi."

Eri seemed about ready to either die or go into convulsions. "O-o-o-of c-co-course."

"Well, I better get back to class." Houjou turned and waved. "See you Saturday!"

The group watched as he went off to his break.

Eri stood there slack-jawed, barely managing out, "S-see you…"

"Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Eri this quiet before," remarked Ayumi.

Smirking faintly, Kagome added, "It's kind of a miracle, huh?"

Yuka rolled her eyes. "You're tellin' me…"

Remaining oblivious to their comments, Eri breathlessly said, "He knew my name…"

Kagome shook her head with a sigh. I hope getting Inuyasha to come with me will go pretty well… He's been wanting to get out of the house for ages, so a baseball game should be right up his alley…

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"How did I let you convince me to go to this 'baseball' game?" grumbled Inuyasha as his fiancée bustled about her bedroom, looking for her sunscreen that Saturday afternoon-the warm weather was coming in swiftly, and while most would think she was insane to worry about sunburn in the middle of February, Kagome wasn't ready to take the chance; a person could get skin cancer at any age and time of the year.

Finding her sunscreen in her desk drawer, popped open the lid and squirted some on the back of her hand. "Because I asked you nicely, and I'm cheering a friend of mine on at the game," she replied patiently. "Besides, weren't you the one bellyaching about wanting to go somewhere?"

"I wasn't bellyaching," he protested. "And I never said a thing about this baseball stuff."

Shaking her head, the girl finished applying SPF 45 to her arms and started on her face, neck, and ears. "Inuyasha, haven't you even heard of baseball?"

"Well, yeah. Kikyou left this magazine in my room one time that mentioned baseball." Inuyasha plopped his rump down on Kagome's bed. "I know three strikes you're out, things called 'foul balls', and players swing things called bats at balls." He crossed his arms. "I only know some of the terminology, but I've never seen it played."

"Then let's just go and enjoy the game." Kagome squeezed some more sunscreen in her palm and marched over to her fiancé. "I'm sure you'll like it. Well, once you get used to it, anyway." Dipping her fingers in the lotion, she began smear it to Inuyasha's face.

"What the heck are you doing?" He jolted back, taking a hand and wiping the sunscreen from his cheeks. Taking a bit on his claw, he sniffed it. "What's this junk for?"

"It's sun block. It'll keep you from getting sunburned," Kagome explained. "Why don't you just put some on?"

"Keh." Inuyasha finished wiping the cream from his face. "Do I need to remind you that I'm a hanyou? There's no way I'm gonna burn, I'll only tan. Don't be such a stupid dolt."

The girl stamped her foot. "I am not being a stupid dolt, Inuyasha. Half-demon or not, couldn't you just humor me and-" she cut herself off as she threw her hands up in the air, sending a small globule of sunscreen skywards. "Never mind…just never mind… If you get burned, it's your own fault."

"Which I won't." The yellow sun cream plunked upon the hanyou's head. Commenting dryly as he swabbed it from his silver hair, "Oh that was ironic."

Kagome wiped the excess sunscreen into the bottle and rubbed what residue was left into her skin. "Come on, Inuyasha." She reached over and plucked the remnants of lotion from his hair. She wiped the sunscreen on her jean skirt. "Let's go to the game."

Nodding wryly, Inuyasha mumbled, "Yeah, yeah." Combing his claws through his hair one last time, he followed his fiancée downstairs.

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The walk to the school had been pretty uneventful. Out front of the entrance the baseball field was a few parents, teachers, and members of the booster club selling tickets to the numerous people trolling in. Kagome purchased two and then lead her slightly awed fiancé through the chain link gate to the field; she would have liked to have taken Inuyasha to a regular game rather than some middle school one, but she figured it was probably best to start off small.

Giggling, Kagome trotted over to the bleachers and parked her rump at a spot across from home plate and right near the top. She grinned at Inuyasha as he tentatively took a seat next to her while the players on the field warmed up. "We're the ones in white with the black stripes," she said, pointing at one clusters of teenage boys. "We're the Tigers."

He nodded. "So, who are you playing against?"

"The Dragons."

"Oh…" he drawled before a plucky, female voice shouted, "Kagome! Hey, Kagome!" Inuyasha's eyes darted to the direction from whence the call had come. Jogging towards them was a girl with shoulder length hair.

Kagome beamed. "Hey, Eri. Why don't you sit with us?"

"Sure," the girl agreed, plopping beside Kagome. "Can you believe I get to hang out with Houjou tonight?"

"I'm happy for you."

Inuyasha involuntarily growled at the mention of aforementioned boy's name.

Eri peeked around her friend to see the long haired, dog-eared half-demon sitting on the other side. "Oh, Kagome," she jabbered conspiringly into the other female's ear, "that guy next to you-he's so cute! Beyond cute-he's hot!"

Kagome somehow managed to smile demurely as she heard her fiancé make a nervous cough. "Eri, I want you to meet Inuyasha."

"This is the guy you've been seeing?"

She bobbed her head in response. "Uh-huh. Say hi, Inuyasha."

He grunted, "Hey." Inuyasha still had nightmares from when Eri wanted to check if he was male…

"So," Kagome turned to Eri, while Inuyasha scooted away a tad, "where's Yuka and Ayumi?"

Eri shaded her eyes with a hand. "I think that's them."

It turned out Eri was right, for within a few moments, two other teenage girls jogged up. Ayumi smiled from beneath the shade of her blue sun visor while Yuka immediately hopped up beside Eri.

"This is going to be awesome," Yuka cheered to her friend, as Ayumi sat down next to her. "I can't wait to see how the Tigers are going to crush the Dragons!"

Nodding, Eri announced, "Totally. And guess what? Kagome's brought her boyfriend!"

Yuka gaped. "You're kidding?" Leaning over, she said to Kagome, "You brought him with you?"

Kagome smiled. "Yeah. He's sitting right next to me."

With a sigh, Inuyasha poked his head around his fiancée-for some reason, that term made him more comfortable than 'boyfriend' did-and gave a short bob of his head. He quickly reclined back, waiting for the game to start.

Grinning, Yuka asked, "What's his name?"

"Inuyasha," replied Kagome.

"Uh…Kagome…" Eri and Yuka leaned over their friend. One looked from the other, until Eri took over speaking, "We know you didn't have a boyfriend and everything, and that some mikos still use sorcery…"

Kagome tipped her head. "So-and?"

Eri glanced at Yuka, who in turn said, "Don't you think it's a little weird to turn your dog into your boyfriend?" She missed Kagome's nervous laugh. "I mean, I know you probably needed companionship…"

"Guys, it's nothing like that!" she protested, still giggling anxiously. It was sort of like that, but Inuyasha had always been a half-demon… "It's a coincidence."

Inuyasha shook his head; with those three around, this was going to be some game.

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For the first four innings, the Dragons were up by one. The bases were loaded with two outs, and the Tigers' pitcher (Houjou), was nodding with an unaccustomed seriousness on his face. He nodded as the catcher gave him the signal before rearing back his hand and sending a fast ball at the boy up to bat.

The guy swung and missed.

"Strike one!" called the umpire.

Inuyasha, whose baseball vernacular was considerably better, looked to Kagome. "Two more strikes and the Dragon are back on the field, right?"

Kagome bobbed her head. "Yup. We'll have a short break before the beginning of the fifth, so the teams can re-warm up, and I'll get us something to drink, and some food, too." She watched as Houjou rotated his arm, shifting his grip on the ball. "Houjou's an excellent pitcher."

"Is this the same guy you went to the movies with, Kagome?" the half-demon asked tensely.

"Yeah. He invited me to the game, and to hang out, but I told him I was going with someone else," the girl said, before suddenly bursting into another cheer-as were the rest of the roaring Tigers' fans-as Houjou threw a wicked curve ball, earning the call of, "Strike two!"

Cocking his head, annoyed confusion evident on his face, the hanyou queried, "Who were you planning on going with?"

Kagome tore her eyes away from the game and laughingly replied, "With you, silly!"

Inuyasha smirked at his fiancée as Eri started a chant of, "Let's go, Houjou!"

The Tigers' fans joined in the rooting; Houjou flashed a good-natured smile before returning to a staid visage. He tipped the bill of his cap once and launched another fast ball at the batter. The batter swung right past it and the baseball came to land in the catcher's mitt. With a loud cry of, "YOU'RE OUT!" from the umpire, the batter threw his bat with an indistinct curse and the Dragons took the field.

"I'll be right back," Kagome told Inuyasha above the noise.

He nodded as she squeezed by him and headed to the concession stands set up on the outdoor basketball court. Inuyasha was actually enjoying the game, though some of the smells and noises he could live without, but he liked having Kagome sitting beside him, and leaning over to explain things to him about different aspects of the game; subsequently he wouldn't be so confused.

Inuyasha's eyes scanned over the Dragons, who were playing catch while the Tigers were drinking some water and talking to one another. That Houjou kid was talking to a couple of his teammates; now that he wasn't a concern to the hanyou, as Kagome had turned him down and apparently was taking her friend Eri-he had heard her talking with his fiancée-Inuyasha didn't mind the human brat too much. Kagome wanted to be with him, and Inuyasha was perfectly fine with that. All in all, it was going well.

"Hey, Inuyasha?" Yuka asked, as she and the other two crowded around him as best they could.

Well, he could live without these three. "What?"

"How long have you been with Kagome?"

"Uh…since Christmas." Inuyasha reclined into the chain link fence behind him.

Eri inquired, "Are you treating her well?"

Yuka turned to Eri. "Do you honestly think he'd answer an incriminating question?" She gave a haughty look at the other girl.

"Well, he could've faltered up, or had a guilty conscience if he cared about her," Eri defended.

"That was such a dumb question." Yuka rolled her eyes.

"It was not!"

"Uh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"UH-HUH!"

"NUH-UH!"

As Yuka was about to throw another "uh-huh" at Eri, Ayumi softly queried, "Have you kissed yet?" Eri and Yuka hushed up instantly and stared at Inuyasha expectantly.

"W-well…" he stuttered, feeling red over the face. "N-not exactly…" She wasn't even awake… he mentally moaned.

Yuka pushed Eri out of the way, as she was closest to the hanyou, and interrogated, "What do you mean 'not exactly'?"

Inuyasha held his tongue back to stop from yelling at her; these were Kagome's friends-though he couldn't figure out why-and he knew she would be royally pissed if he made them upset. An angry Kagome was actually pretty scary. He decided to play it safe and just look away without saying a word.

"I guess that must mean no," Yuka sighed before being yanked ungracefully backwards by Eri.

Eri nodded. "How boring."

"Don't you want to kiss Kagome?"

Inuyasha face felt hot, beyond minor embarrassment hot. "I…"

"Hey, Inuyasha," Kagome chirped, clambering up the bleachers with food and drink in hand. Her sunglasses were now perched atop her head-they had been hanging from the neck of her light blue tank top. "I got you a hotdog." She laughed when he gave her a slightly repulsed look. "It's a poor man's rolled up beefsteak, remember?"

Inuyasha nodded once, remembering when Souta explained it. "Yeah, but why do they have to call it a hotdog?"

She shrugged as she passed him his food and a plastic bottle. "I don't know. And I got you some water."

"Thanks." He took a bite out of his hotdog and hastily swallowed. "That's really good!"

Kagome giggled. "I figured you'd like it." She screwed the cap off her water and took a long drink. As she replaced the lid, she turned to her friends, "Where you guys pestering him? Inuyasha looked like he was about to get claustrophobic."

"Well," started Yuka, a bit sulkily, "we wanted to know-"

"Look," blurted out the hanyou, "the game's starting up again."

Ayumi looked to the field. "It is. Let's watch."

Bobbling her head vigorously, Eri bubbled, "I wanna watch Houjou-the-Hunk throw the Dragons back into last century."

"This ought to be good." Yuka dug a bottle of sports drink from her backpack purse. "Even if Houjou does send them back into the Meiji or something."

Inuyasha glanced down at the field and sighed with relief, the warmth still in his face; he hadn't been sure if the game was back on or not.

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Kagome let out a sigh. The Tigers had won by a single homerun in the final inning, and everyone continued to cheer. Eri had run down to greet Houjou, who smiled and scooped her into his arms and spun her around out of sheer excitement; it looked like they were going to be just fine together. Yuka and Ayumi invited Kagome and Inuyasha to the mall, but the girl had declined.

Kagome's reason for sighing was quite simple: this little day had not gone at all how she had planned.

She had figured during school that day that she was going to spend some time with Inuyasha-talk to him, get to know him better. Even if she hadn't asked Eri to sit, she would have, and there was really no polite way to turn her friend down. She could have dealt with Eri, because she would have been preoccupied with Houjou, but when Yuka and Ayumi showed up, Kagome knew her fate had been sealed.

Ayumi would have watched the game, but Yuka was so bossy and nosy, especially when it came to Kagome's love life, that there was no way she would be able to have any form of personal communication with Inuyasha.

Right now, she and Inuyasha were making their way home on foot. The sun was setting, casting a pretty fiery glow on Tokyo and Inuyasha. Kagome blushed slightly as she felt her fiancé's hand brush against her, and one finger wrapped itself around another one of hers. She darted her gaze from straight ahead when she felt Inuyasha stop walking and pull on her finger, signaling for her to cease as well; his face was soft and his eyes were depthless.

"Kagome," he said gruffly, yet in a loving way while he laced all of his fingers with hers and drew her towards him.

She swallowed anxiously. "Y-yes…?" Kagome was now close to him, much closer than she had been with him…ever. His skin looked a little off, a bit dry, and she raised her hand to his cheek. "Inuyasha…"

He didn't say anything as he took his other hand and tipped her chin up, his gaze burning hotly on her.

Kagome could feel her heart speeding up as her fiancé's mouth grew closer to hers. She knew what was going to happen, and her tongue wet her lips slightly.

Inuyasha could feel the inches of space melt away and the dreamy look in Kagome's eyes, and the feel of her hand as it touched his cheek-"SHIT!" he shrieked, leaping backwards.

Kagome, whose hand was till being held by the hanyou, was jerked forward a few steps. "Wh-what's wrong?"

Taking one of his own hands and, pressing it to his flesh, made another yelp. "My skin hurts," he whimpered. "And it feels warm."

"Feels warm?" echoed Kagome. Stepping close to him again, she snickered. "You have a sunburn."

"I do not," protested Inuyasha. "There's no fucking way."

"I told you if you didn't have sunscreen on you were going to get burned." Kagome shook her head.

Growling slightly, he pulled his hand away from his fiancée and touched a claw to his cheek. Once again, a tingle of pain rippled through his cheek. He glared at Kagome as she continued to laugh. "It's not funny…"

She grinned. "Oh yes it is."

"No, it's not!" He crossed his arms firmly over his chest, one of his ears twitching in irritation, which also sent another spasm of pain through his nerve-endings, and another wave of giggles through Kagome. "What the hell?!"

"Your ears got sunburned, too!"

"Damn it! This is not my day!"

Kagome dissolved into more laughter. "I told you so."

"Shut up, bitch."

"I was right, dog boy."

"Yeah, yeah…" Inuyasha groused as they began to trek home again.

"Don't worry," Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder, "we'll put some nice lotion on it when we get home…you big baby," she added under her breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing."

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A/N: I know, it took so long but it was well worth it. I laughed so hard while writing this. Please review! Oh, and as of late, my e-mail has not been participating with me because there's Spyware on our computer. Major sigh. So, please don't send me any forwards or anything, as that takes up a lot of space. Thanks! Baseball is really big in Japan so I thought "why not?" and went with it. If it is necessary to contact me, like Notoes: moonlightshadow@dbzmail.com This is also temporary.

Moonlight Shadow