InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pretending to Pretend ❯ Chapter 3

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

 

 

Chapter Three

 

 

 

Over the course of the next two weeks everything went according to plan. They’d agreed that he and Kagome shouldn’t start ‘liking’ each other right away so they spent those first two weeks just acting like the best of friends they really were. The only thing Inuyasha was faking was his good mood, but they really were his best of friends, especially Kagome, so it wasn’t like he didn’t want to hang out with them. They ate lunch together at Hungry Ninja Noodles every day, and as Miroku told his usual jokes, or as Kagome told Inuyasha a story about something that Miroku and Sango had done, the hanyou always laughed accordingly, as if he had no reason at all to feel down. He also didn’t let his secretly sour mood interfere with his studies, because faking happiness or not, he did not want to let Kikyou hurt his grades because school was important.

 

So were extracurricular activities.

 

The two days a week their martial arts circle actually got together at school for practice was the best time for Inuyasha to show Kikyou that he was supposedly fully over his pain, since the stupid bitch had not quit the activity and had looked just as smug as ever when she’d met his eyes from across the room that first time. He’d only given her a polite smile and nod in greeting, like he would do to a stranger on the bus, before promptly turning his back on her. Miroku had had to tell him later about the way her smug grin had immediately turned into a frown, which had definitely lifted his spirits. Knowing now that he could get to her, practicing with their circle was now his favorite part of the school day.

 

Today was no exception.

 

“Don’t think I’m gonna go easy on ya,” he told Miroku as the two men prepared to engage.

 

“Not at all,” Miroku quipped. “But if you are allowed to use your demonic strength then I am allowed to use my own unique skills,” he countered.

 

“There is to be no youki and no reiki,” Renkotsu, one of the senior students, interjected, glaring at both boys.

 

“It’s not his youki I’m worried about,” Miroku replied, but with a friendly glint in his eyes that let everyone know he was only teasing Inuyasha. It wasn’t exactly the hanyou’s fault he was stronger than all of the other students combined.

 

“Don’t worry,” Inuyasha told him then, knowing that his friend wasn’t really worried at all. “I could no more accidentally hurt you than you could accidentally hurt a kitten.”

 

Miroku looked taken aback.

 

“Are you calling me a kitten?!”

 

“Guys, less talkie more flippy,” Jakotsu, another senior student in their circle, said then. He winked at Inuyasha.

 

Grinning back, in a way that showcased his fangs, Inuyasha flexed his claws and charged, causing Miroku to raise his eyebrows in surprise, the houshi barely having time to register what they were supposed to be doing before Inuyasha was upon him. Instincts kicked in, then, and Miroku successfully grabbed Inuyasha’s arm, turned, and flipped his opponent over his shoulder using his own momentum. Inuyasha landed harmlessly on his back on the large tatami mat they’d both been standing on, completely unfazed.

 

“Good, very good,” their unofficial leader, Bankotsu, said then, as Inuyasha bounced back up onto his feet. “Now, Inuyasha, think you can handle throwing Miroku?”

 

Inuyasha wasn’t offended, much. It was a fair question, for a human, and he’d grown accustomed to being on the receiving end of such uncertainties. It wasn’t that Bankotsu was unaware of his superior strength and actually thought he might have a difficult time of it. He was apprehensive regarding his ability to control himself, afraid he really might accidentally hurt Miroku.

 

Granted, he could hurt Miroku rather easily if he were utterly careless, just like a human could actually hurt a kitten rather easily if they were equally careless, but tugging on a human’s arm, to him, wasn’t like a human trying to delicately open the wings of a butterfly or anything else just as sensitive. Humans weren’t that fragile. He knew how much force to use.

 

Inuyasha smash! he thought sarcastically, suppressing a snorted chuckle.

 

While he felt like just sighing, rolling his eyes and nodding his head, he threw on his best smirk since everyone, including Kikyou, was watching. Striking a casual pose he asked, “That depends. How far you want me to throw him?”

 

That earned some snickering from the women (and Jakotsu), save for Kikyou, and rolling his own eyes, Bankotsu just said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Get in position.”

 

Nodding, Inuyasha got ready, and when Miroku charged at him he did the maneuver flawlessly, flinging Miroku around and onto his back without so much as nicking him with his claws.

 

Not that Miroku himself had been worried for one minute.

 

“Okay, now it’s the women’s turns,” Abi said.

 

Before either of them could risk getting paired up with Kikyou, Sango and Kagome immediately buddied up together. While throwing the bitchy miko would’ve undoubtedly been fun – hell, they’d both be willing to wait in line for the privilege – neither of them wanted to let Kikyou throw them afterwards.

 

Fortunately, Kikyou felt the same way and steered clear of the other miko and taijiya, instead sticking to her own little substitute clique from within their circle, since her other friends weren’t around. Abi and Kagura were completely on her side. They were against the notion of dating youkai or hanyou and actually hadn’t started to like Kikyou until after she’d broken up with him and confessed to them that she’d only ever been with him for his money.

 

Yura had been attracted to his exotic looks, at first, loving his hair and not so much minding the ears, but after Kikyou had revealed what had been her tipping point in deciding she just couldn’t stomach being with him, Yura had agreed as well. They thought of Inuyasha as a youkai and thought he should be with his own kind, not comprehending that despite his youkai looks, the youkai of the world would consider him human for having been birthed by one, and would tell him the same.

 

In that moment, the four women hung out in their back corner of the training room while Kikyou secretly kept an eye on what was going on with Inuyasha and the others. She didn’t like that he seemed completely over their breakup. Why should he get to move on with his life as if nothing had happened after stealing over three years of her life? All that hard work landing the perfect, richest boyfriend, down the drain because he’d concealed from her just how much of a mutant he really was. And she’d yet to find another man that was marrying material. She’d gone on a few dates, but it turned out the guys who’d been flirting with her before weren’t willing to pay up, and so far the only guy she had thought would make a good match for her had turned her down because he’d thought she was tainted for having slept with a hanyou.

 

Telling him that she hadn’t actually slept with Inuyasha, that she’d broken up with him after discovering how disgusting he was, hadn’t helped her case because to him, she’d basically admitted that she would have slept with Inuyasha had he looked more human downstairs. As far as that guy had been concerned, it should have been the demonic blood flowing through the freak’s veins that turned her off to him, not the color of his junk.

 

So basically, Kikyou was alone, now, temporary though she hoped it was, unless she settled for a man with less money, of course, but that was so not happening. Yet, every time she contemplated taking Inuyasha back, which she was sure he would do in a heartbeat no matter what Momiji and Botan had claimed to overhear, she threw up a little in her mouth at the thought, so that was definitely not an option, either.

 

How dare he continue to have fun with his so-called friends while she had been forced to get a part-time job as a waitress when he’d stopped paying her rent?! It wasn’t fair!

 

Ignoring it as Abi and Yura took turns flipping each other, Kikyou continued to gaze across the room and watched Inuyasha as he watched Sango flip Kagome, her eyes narrowing at the sight.

 

Aware of but choosing to ignore their audience, Sango and Kagome got right down to business. Sango had the upper hand, of course, since coming from a long line of taijiya meant she’d already had plenty of martial arts training growing up. In fact, she was the reason the rest of them had decided to pick this circle as their extracurricular activity in the first place, since she’d wanted to do it for fun and Miroku had definitely been up for anything that involved his girlfriend showing off her mad skills. He’d also thought that maybe he could actually learn a thing or two, since the self-defense classes he’d taken as a part of his houshi training had revolved around using a shakujo.

 

Even Inuyasha, who didn’t really need to learn human self-defense techniques since he had both his brute strength as well as his youki to defend himself if need be, had been interested in picking up some elegant and peaceful methods of self-defense, just for the hell of it. Kikyou had acted like she hadn’t cared much one way or the other, at the time, but had told Inuyasha in her sweet, fake girlfriend-y way that she wanted to join whatever circle he and their friends joined, so that was her original reason for being there. Kagome, meanwhile, had been interested in learning some techniques she could use against fellow humans, like Miroku, should such a situation ever present itself where that knowledge would be needed. She’d spent a good chunk of her life learning to harness and control her reiki, and she was an expert shot with the bow those days, but those skills would do her little good if she were ever attacked by strange human men in the middle of the night.

 

Not that she ever planned on being in a situation where she could be attacked by strange men in the middle of the night, but that was beside the point.

 

Blinking up at Sango from her position lying flat on her back, it took Kagome a moment to realize she needed to get back up and ready to throw Sango now. Chuckling at the miko’s dazed expression, Sango charged, and Kagome made a grab for her arm and shoulder as she’d been shown, tugging as she turned, intending on throwing Sango over her shoulder, but nothing happened except Kagome almost losing her balance and bringing Sango down on top of her as they both stumbled forward and almost fell. Quickly letting go, Kagome managed to keep them both from going down.

 

“I’m sorry!” the miko apologized through her laughter as she turned to face her friend, the slayer giving her an amused ‘what the hell was that?’ look.

 

“Here, I’ll show you,” a chuckling Inuyasha said as he closed the gap between them, the rest of their circle not paying the foursome very much attention, except for Kikyou of course, who flipped Kagura and let Kagura flip her but then went right back to staring at Inuyasha and the others afterward.

 

Kagome hadn’t even botched it on purpose, and Inuyasha knew that, but he’d immediately stepped up because he’d found it a perfect opportunity to work towards their future fake relationship, and besides, Bankotsu was busy helping another junior student at the moment and had completely missed Kagome’s blunder. They didn’t need Bankotsu, Inuyasha figured, since he knew how the technique worked. So did Sango, but he hadn’t been about to let this opportunity pass him by.

 

“Mind if I flip you?” he asked the taijiya playfully, flashing a fang.

 

Smirking, knowing what Inuyasha was doing but also thinking it was a good idea, Sango readily agreed.

 

“Pay attention, Kagome,” Inuyasha said then as he did the maneuver as slowly as possible. “You want to grip her right arm with your left hand here,” he instructed, grabbing a fistful of Sango’s uniform robe under the taijiya’s elbow. “Then turn your body into hers like this,” he added, turning himself towards his left, almost as if he were going to drape Sango over his back, “and then hook your right arm up and over her right shoulder.”

 

Grabbing another fistful of robe, making sure to be extra careful of his claws, he bent over slightly while also bending his knees a little, Sango’s lack of resistance making it easy to lift her up and over his right shoulder to land flat on her back.

 

“Now that’s a sight I could get used to seeing,” Miroku teased, earning a blush from Sango while Kagome snickered.

 

She knew those two were sexually active now, but Sango was still extremely shy whenever Miroku made his typical, flirtatious comments.

 

“You both make it look so easy,” she said to Sango and Inuyasha, the former accepting her boyfriend’s outstretched hand as he helped her to her feet.

 

Kagome knew Inuyasha’s youkai strength didn’t really have anything to do with it since Sango could have flipped him just as easily.

 

“Guess I need more practice,” she said.

 

Suddenly realizing that Kikyou was not-so-discreetly hanging on their every word, even though she didn’t really get why, Kagome quickly decided to take advantage of Inuyasha’s sensitive hearing to concoct a plan on the fly.

 

Turning around under the guise of watching their other classmates continuing to flip each other using various arm throwing techniques, she positioned herself so that Kikyou wouldn’t be able to see her lips moving as she whispered, “Inuyasha, don’t act like you hear this, but I’m going to insult myself and I want you to praise my archery in response.”

 

While his ear had involuntarily twitched at first he’d quickly played it off as soon as he’d realized she was scheming with him, and as Kagome got her entire plan across it was only the briefest of looks from him as she turned back his way that let her know her message had been received and understood.

 

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be as good as them, though,” she sighed despondently then, meeting his eyes with a sad expression as she gestured to the other students.

 

Hey, if he could fake happiness then she could fake sadness.

 

“I’m such an uncoordinated klutz,” she added, sounding as if she really meant it.

 

Before either Sango or Miroku could say anything, since neither of them had heard her whispered plan, Inuyasha immediately chimed in with a rather harsh, “Nonsense,” as he crossed his arms. Also making sure Kikyou couldn’t see his face at his current angle, he winked at the houshi and taijiya to quickly fill them in on all they really needed to know. “You know how much coordination it takes to shoot a fucking bow?” he elaborated then, feeling Kikyou’s eyes boring into the back of his head. “From what I hear, you were the best shot in your class,” he added, which was 100% true.

 

“I can certainly vouch for that,” Miroku chimed in then, the houshi indeed having picked up on the fact that Kagome’s momentary and somewhat out of character self-deprecation had been staged.

 

But if they weren’t solely just trying to give Inuyasha an opportunity to cheer Kagome up, and had deliberately choosing a topic that also allowed him to praise Kagome’s skill set in a certain field that was above that of Kikyou’s, well then, Miroku was not about to let them have all the fun!

 

“In fact, Kagome, if you signed up for the archery class they provide here for miko, I’m quite certain you would once again be at the top of the class,” the monk added, not really trying to pressure her into joining the class although he was being completely honest in his assessment of her abilities.

 

Unlike the regular archery group at their school for non-reiki users, the class for miko focused equally on channeling reiki as well as aim and overall technique with a bow. Knowing Kikyou was in that class, and not wanting to join simply because she didn’t want to see the bitch any more than absolutely necessary, Kagome had the perfect reply to Miroku’s statement.

 

“I suppose I could join it, for fun, just like Sango wanted to join this circle for fun. She certainly doesn’t need the practice, and neither do I, when it comes to the bow I mean. But the class here is really for people who are still learning, either how to shoot or how to focus their reiki, or both, and I think I would feel weird joining it since I don’t actually need any help in either area.”

 

Burn! Sango thought, the taijiya having to bite her lip to keep from laughing outright.

 

“Well then there, ya see?” Inuyasha continued, not missing a beat. “Even you admit how awesome you are at the bow, so how can you go thinking you’re any kind of klutz? This is just new and different from what you’re used to, but with enough practice, you’ll get it.”

 

“You really think so?” Kagome asked him hopefully, and for a moment, just a moment, he almost found himself getting lost in her stormy blue-gray eyes, until he recognized the almost completely hidden spark of amusement lying underneath the supposed desperation for reassurance.

 

Calm down you idiot, she’s only acting, he quickly reminded himself, as he continued to play along by telling her he was positive she’d be able to master it eventually and that he’d be glad to help her with her training.

 

“Sango would probably be a better teacher than me, but she’ll need somebody to throw, and as much as I’m sure she’d love to toss her boyfriend around...” Both Sango and Miroku snickered at that. “My youkai blood means it’s about impossible for her to accidentally hurt me so I make the better choice when it comes to her, and your, practice dummy.”

 

“You’re a dummy all right,” Kikyou muttered under her breath before turning and walking away with the other girls, Inuyasha’s twitching ears revealing to his friends that he’d heard something, but he quickly shook his head at their inquisitive looks and continued on as if he hadn’t heard anything.

 

He doubted Kikyou had intended for him to hear her. She’d sounded downright upset, which brought him immense pleasure, so there was no way she’d wanted to let him know she was suddenly in a pissy mood.

 

“We can get started this Sunday if you want, just for something to do,” he said to Kagome and the others then.

 

He actually meant it, too. He was tired of moping around by himself when he wasn’t in class. While the pain was still there, he simply wanted a distraction, something to help take his mind off it, and helping Kagome get better at judo would be something he could focus on so that he wasn’t focusing on anything else.

 

“I’m going to take you up on that,” Kagome replied, still playing her part. At the moment, she didn’t really think he was serious, but then, neither had she been serious in her supposed belief of being unable to get the arm throwing technique in the first place. She was sure that if she and Sango practiced she’d be able to get better at it.

 

“In the meantime,” Miroku chimed in then. “What do you say we get outta here and go hit the arcade since I don’t have to work tonight? It’s been too long.”

 

While Inuyasha didn’t really feel like it, he nonetheless agreed, knowing he both needed the distraction as well as it being a part of their plan to help him look as if he were over his heartache. “Sounds good,” he said, with as much fake enthusiasm as he could muster.

 

He suddenly had a tremendous amount of respect for their school’s theatre group.

 

As practice let out and everyone went to change back into their street clothes, after planning a get-together for the following day for their entire group that on the fly Inuyasha said he would attend, which earned him pleased looks from at least some of his other classmates, hanyou and houshi headed into the men’s changing area to get out of their robes while Kagome and Sango went into the women’s changing room.

 

Inside the women’s room, after changing back into their normal clothes, Kagome and Sango were just about to head out when the miko noticed their approaching company and nudged Sango to get her attention. As Kikyou and the others approached from across the room, it didn’t take long before Kagome and Sango found themselves surrounded, backs to the wall with Kikyou standing boldly in front of them and Abi, Yura and Kagura backing Kikyou up. Meeting Sango’s eyes, Kagome nodded when Sango’s lips quirked up a little. They weren’t afraid. Not in the slightest.

 

“I don’t know who you two think you’re fooling, besides Inuyasha of course, but it’s obvious to me you’re only pretending to be his friends, using him for his money like I was,” Kikyou began almost conversationally. “So why don’t you just admit it?”

 

“Because,” Kagome answered slowly and plainly, as if speaking to a small child, “it’s not true.”

 

“We’re actually not pretending to be his friends,” Sango chimed in. “We really are his friends.”

 

Abi looked completely confused by that declaration. “But that doesn’t even make any sense,” she said, as if unable to comprehend how they could possibly really be Inuyasha’s friends. Whether that was because he was a hanyou, or a millionaire, Sango and Kagome weren’t sure, but neither did they care.

 

“Oh, it makes sense for total losers to befriend another total loser,” Kikyou said then, in a much snottier tone, waving her hand dismissively at Abi’s comment before meeting Kagome’s eyes. “I was trying to give you a chance to redeem yourselves, but if you’re going to insist you’re not just using the freak for his money then the only conclusion that leaves me with is that you guys are a band of freaks all sticking together.”

 

Kagome shrugged. “Think whatever you like.”

 

“Like that bullshit about you being at the top of your class in miko archery?” Kikyou sneered. “Yet I never even saw you or Miroku attend the reiki class at our high school.”

 

That’s because there are different levels and we were both placed in advanced, Kagome wanted to say, but instead she only shrugged again, before grinning. “I could give you a demonstration if you’d like.”

 

Kikyou scoffed.

 

“I wouldn’t want you to embarrass yourself.”

 

“You mean like you’re doing by trying to get a new boyfriend, but nobody’ll take you because the whole school knows you’re only a superficial gold digger?”

 

Sango had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, not just at what Kagome said, but also at the looks on Kikyou’s friends’ faces. They looked taken aback, apparently having been under the impression that Kagome was a meek little thing easy to intimidate. Where Kikyou had gotten that impression from Sango had no idea.

 

Of course, Kikyou was no meek little thing, either.

 

“Watch it, bitch,” she spat.

 

Taking the high road, Kagome only rolled her eyes, before grabbing Sango’s hand. “Come on,” she said to the slayer. “Let’s not keep the boys waiting.”

 

That said, since they were both already changed, Kagome led Sango straight through the would-be bullies and out of the women’s dressing room.

 

Meeting up with Miroku and Inuyasha at the entrance to the school, they told the boys about their brief encounter with Kikyou and her cronies while they changed out of their school shoes and into their street shoes. Their story earned amused reactions from not only Miroku, but Inuyasha as well. He was pleased to hear from Sango how Kagome had handled herself, chuckling a little as he found himself wishing he could’ve been there to see Kikyou’s face as she told her off.

 

“There’s bound to be other times,” Kagome said, almost sounding like she was looking forward to it, which had the hanyou laughing again. A real laugh, which was music to her ears.

 

They all headed out to the parking lot, then, and piled into Miroku’s car, their destination the Shikon Arcade.

 

It was a massive building, three full stories of gaming madness. The first floor was filled primarily with first person shooters, beat ‘em up games and car racing games, and contained the snack bar where you could grab a cheap bento or cup of noodles and enjoy a bite while watching your friends pummel each other. There was also a row of Dance Dance Revolutions against the back wall along with three different kinds of air hockey tables. The second floor was filled, wall to wall, with photo booths and the types of games that gave out prizes, like claw machines, and was where most of the younger kids and people who weren’t hardcore gamers hung out. The third floor was split with half of the room dedicated to vintage arcade classics, including everything from Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros. to Q*bert and Centipede, and everything else in between. The other half of the room was filled with computers for online gaming, but good luck finding an available computer because that half of the room was nearly always filled to capacity.

 

Our friends didn’t mind. They usually stuck to the first floor, and this time was no exception as Miroku and Sango immediately gravitated towards their favorite fighting game, while Inuyasha and Kagome headed to the nearby snack bar.

 

At first, Inuyasha automatically tried to pay for his friends’ gaming, but Miroku shut it down.

 

“I don’t want even the tiniest part of your mind able to argue with you that she might have possibly been right about us only befriending you for your money,” Miroku said.

 

“But I know that’s not true,” Inuyasha argued. “You guys were my friends before you even knew I had any money.”

 

“And we would continue to be your friends even if, suddenly and for whatever reason, you lost your fortune and became completely broke,” Sango added, before Miroku promptly paid for her and his game play.

 

Sighing, Inuyasha let it go, but he wasn’t about to let Kagome pull that same crap with him at the snack bar.

 

“You better not think I’m gonna let you buy your own ramen,” he said, his tone of voice playful, as he snaked up behind her while she was placing her order.

 

Blushing cutely, which was not a part of her acting, Kagome wordlessly conceded and stepped aside so that Inuyasha could add his own order on top of hers and pay for all of it.

 

“Thank you,” she answered softly as they headed over to a table to sit down and eat while they watched Sango kick Miroku’s ass again.

 

“One of these days I’m going to beat you,” Miroku promised his girlfriend.

 

“Fat chance,” she answered, as they each frantically pushed buttons, their characters trading punches.

 

“They’re gonna be at it for a while, I think,” Kagome said then, as she slurped her noodles. “You wanna play something else instead of waiting?”

 

“Like what?”

 

Finishing his first cup of shrimp flavored ramen, Inuyasha moved on to his second.

 

“I dunno.” She shrugged, looking around. “One of the racers? Something that’ll give me a fighting chance.”

 

“What? Don’t want your ass handed to you in air hockey again?” he teased.

 

She giggled.

 

“Me trying to beat you at air hockey would be like you trying to beat me at archery.”

 

He laughed again at that. They had been right, before. A few real fleeting moments of happiness were sneaking their way in from time to time.

 

“Hey, I can’t help it if I’m awesome,” he answered smugly. He didn’t even realize until after the words had left his mouth that the mindset of being awesome, at anything, directly contradicted the funk that Kikyou had put him into, thinking he was a disgusting freak of nature that no one could possibly love.

 

Immediately noticing his emotional slip of the tongue, instead of pointing it out by saying something sobering like reiterating the fact that he was, indeed, an awesome individual, Kagome acted as if his offhanded comment wasn’t anything monumental worth praising and merely stuck her tongue out at him, before then asking him which of the various street racing games he’d like to play. On the inside, though, it filled her heart with pride to hear him say something so positive about himself, even if it was only regarding his skills at air hockey, which, granted, was due in tremendous part to his inu-youkai heritage.

 

But to her, that was actually the point, and was what’d made the comment as special as it was. It would be one thing for him to acknowledge something good about himself despite his youkai blood, but he had just acknowledged something about himself that was good because of his youkai blood. Okay sure, it had only been about his skill level at a particular arcade game, but baby steps. She was now certain that she’d eventually be able to bring the old Inuyasha fully back to the surface for real, with no need for him to be faking his happy attitude.

 

“How about Muso’s Motor Madness?” Inuyasha suggested then, also pretending his previous statement hadn’t fazed him, even though he’d actually had a similar moment of reflection to Kagome’s.

 

“Oh, you’re on,” the miko answered, getting up from her seat and tossing her empty ramen cup.

 

Following suit, Inuyasha tossed his two empty cups before following after Kagome to where a row of four car seats complete with steering wheels, gear shifts and pedals sat in front of four giant flat screens. It was a semi-miracle that the game was unoccupied at the moment. Sometimes there was a line of people waiting their turns but the arcade wasn’t that busy since it was the middle of the week. Not that they were complaining.

 

Putting their money into the machines – Kagome let Inuyasha pay for her game without much of a fuss – they sat down next to each other and gave each other mock glares while the computer counted down. Nobody joined them on the other two available cars so for this round, they were racing just the two of them. There were no computer controlled cars, that you raced against at least, and the game required at least two players because all four stations were synced together, so once the race began nobody else could join mid-race and if they put money in their game play would be suspended until the conclusion of the current race.

 

Not your typical car race, Muso’s Motor Madness was an insane illegal street drag race type of adventure that let you choose between a handful of cars and driving characters before sending you through the craziest race track ever concocted. You started on the streets of downtown Tokyo, but shortcuts to your final destination included taking you straight through a shopping mall full of customers and a zoo full of animals. You didn’t get points for hitting anything, and in fact it slowed you down so nobody was supposed to want to hit anything, but if you accidentally did, let’s just say the graphics were not suitable for young children.

 

Not that it bothered Kagome one bit. She wasn’t delusional, and knew damn well the difference between a video game and real life. She’d accidentally crashed her car into a food cart once, sending patrons, noodles, and broken bits of wood flying everywhere; it had actually been rather hilarious but she would never drive so recklessly in real life. One thing the game did have in common with real life, though, was that the computer generated pedestrians and cars not involved in the race were randomly generated, meaning they always changed with each race, so you could never memorize their locations. It really kept you on your toes.

 

Not only could you damage things (or people or animals) that you crashed into, it was even possible to cripple your own car, like if you crashed into the side of a building head on. It was impossible to kill your driver or make your car completely immobile but they’d both witnessed crashed cars that had had to be backed out of the hole they’d made in whatever building before barely hobbling along down the street, ensuring victory for the player with the intact car. The race was not timed and lasted until the first person crossed the predesignated finish line, so that was why the cars would still move no matter how comically damaged they became, so that the race would eventually be over, since getting out and walking wasn’t a command you could control. If your driver got ejected during a rollover he or she automatically got up, brushed themselves off, and got back in the car.

 

As a deterrent to screwing around in the game with no consideration to the people waiting their turn, there was a saved high score that was based on shortest race time, and everyone wanted to beat the lowest race time to put their name next to the current high score. So even though most people took both optional shortcuts, through the shopping mall and zoo, that was because if you managed to get through from end to end without crashing you were guaranteed a significant lead over anyone who chose the street route. It was nearly impossible to get through the mall and zoo without at least small crashes, though, so some people chose the easier route on the gamble that their opponent would screw up and lose their lead. Not that sticking to the street was really easy since there were occasionally red lights to run and crosswalks full of people to avoid, just like in real life, and just like with the computer generated traffic and pedestrians, the traffic lights themselves were also unpredictable.

 

Kagome discovered that fact firsthand when a light she’d always been able to sail right through on green suddenly turned red before she got there. Down shifting, she zipped around the corner and managed the turn without side swiping anyone. She then changed lanes as quickly as she could and turned down another street to wind up heading in the same direction again, the little map in the bottom right corner of her screen showing her that she was once again headed in the right direction.

 

Deciding to stick to the streets this time around because they were at least marginally easier, Kagome smirked when mild cursing coming from her opponent had her glancing at Inuyasha’s screen just long enough to see that he’d chosen the shortcut through the mall and had accidentally crashed into a kiosk of some sort. Even his demonic reflexes were no match for the game’s craftily placed obstacles. A few more crashes and he’d lose the lead the shortcut would have otherwise given him so Kagome made sure to pay extra close attention to her own screen, to avoid any potential crashes herself. Another crashing sound followed by a quiet “Damn it,” coming from her right had the miko giggling but she didn’t glance at his screen again. She just might win this thing.

 

ooo

 

“Best two out of three?”

 

“Kagome...”

 

“Come on! I was so close!” the miko complained playfully.

 

Somehow, Inuyasha had managed to pass her right before she’d crossed the finish line.

 

Laughing a little despite himself and shaking his head, Inuyasha pointed to the four friends he recognized from their college who were waiting their turn at the game.

 

“Oh.”

 

Blushing a little, Kagome had gotten so caught up in the moment of it being just her and Inuyasha that she’d somehow forgotten they weren’t the only ones in the arcade.

 

“You want a chance to get back at me, I’ll fight you in Battle Birds of Paradise,” he suggested then, smiling when her eyes lit up in genuine excitement.

 

“You’re on!”

 

Battle Birds of Paradise was a simple, older style one or two player fighting game. You could fight the computer, or two people could fight each other, and your characters were identical, rather cartoonish looking Birds of Paradise, a type of monstrous youkai that went extinct centuries ago. There was really nothing to the game, you just kicked each other’s asses, but the older game’s somewhat sluggish response times, at least as far as Inuyasha was concerned, were enough of a hindrance that he couldn’t use his lightning fast reflexes to give himself any kind of an edge. In other words, Kagome had a fighting chance.

 

They ended up playing three rounds with Kagome winning two of them. Sango and Miroku finished up their own game play in time to watch Kagome deliver the killing blow the first time, but when Inuyasha asked Kagome for best two out of three, neither Sango nor Miroku were about to say anything to alert the duo to their presence. Of course, hanyou and miko both knew they were there, but Inuyasha was actually having a good time, for once, and he didn’t mind having an audience.

 

When Kagome won the third game all four friends headed back over to Muso’s Motor Madness. They had to wait their turn, but it was well worth it. Miroku ended up winning that time, by a hair, Inuyasha getting passed up at the last second just like he’d previously done to Kagome. The miko had foolishly tried the shortcut through the mall again and wound up dead last with Sango coming in third not too far behind Inuyasha.

 

“Okay, that’s it. I’m just gonna stick to the streets from now on,” Kagome declared as they headed out of the arcade and back to Miroku’s car.

 

“Those shoppers really do come out of nowhere,” Sango agreed.

 

“Had a great time, guys,” Inuyasha said then. “Thanks.” While he said it on purpose, because several other students were within earshot, his words were actually honest. He had had a good time.

 

“Anytime,” Miroku answered as they piled into his car.

 

Offering to swing back by the university so that Inuyasha could get his own car, he waved off Miroku’s concern, not worried about leaving his car in the school’s parking lot overnight. He could easily run to campus from his apartment the following day. In fact, he could probably run to school faster than driving, but such public displays of youkai abilities were generally frowned upon in the human side of town. Doing it just the once, though, he wasn’t worried about it. He’d stick to the rooftops and probably nobody would even notice.

 

Since neither Kagome nor Sango had their own cars, Kagome usually walking to and from school since her place wasn’t too far away, Miroku happily agreed to play chauffeur for everyone in that moment, dropping Kagome and Inuyasha off at their respective apartments before heading to the apartment complex he shared with Sango, although his girlfriend had her own separate apartment on the other end of the building. He planned on just dropping her off at her side of the building, as well, but one look from his girlfriend once they were alone told Miroku that he could skip swinging by her side of the building.

 

They too had waited until they were out of high school to take their relationship to the next level, but it hadn’t taken the lovebirds long at all to ‘christen’ each of their new apartments after starting college. They’d made love for the first time months before that fateful night between Inuyasha and Kikyou at the start of summer break, jumping into bed together practically as soon as their bedrooms had been furnished with one, and the only reason they hadn’t decided to move into one apartment together in the first place was so as not to scandalize Sango’s family.

 

At least they had managed to find two available apartments in the same building. They usually ended up spending the night together in one apartment or the other, although Sango’s parents didn’t know that. Miroku had every intention of officially asking Sango’s father for permission to marry her, when the time was right. He and Sango had already discussed it, and she’d already told him yes, but that he still wanted to do it by the book really meant a lot to her, so she’d refrained from saying anything to her family, even her mother, about how ‘close’ she and Miroku had become.

 

She’d actually felt kind of guilty enjoying such happiness with Miroku since Inuyasha’s bad breakup, and for a couple of weeks there she and Miroku hadn’t been as intimate, but after Inuyasha had started pulling himself out of his funk enough to at least speak with his friends again, he’d said something about it to Miroku once, discreetly, when he’d made a rather obvious sniff in the houshi’s direction before telling him not to let his failed relationship with Kikyou get between him and Sango. Her cheeks still warmed thinking about when her boyfriend had relayed Inuyasha’s not-so-subtle message, but in that moment, as Sango looked Miroku’s way, she knew that Kagome was well on her way to healing Inuyasha’s heart, even if neither of them realized it yet, and so she would no longer feel guilty about enjoying her boyfriend’s company.

 

“What are you thinking about?” Mirouk asked her while stopped at a red light, having noticed the contemplative look on her face.

 

“Just how much I love you,” she answered.

 

Pulling into his designated parking spot at his side of their apartment building, Miroku told Sango he felt the same way with a kiss.