InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Speed Limit ❯ Meeting the team. ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah. I don't own Inuyasha. Happy?! *grumbles*

Speed Limit

= Meeting the team =

"Please don't do this to me! Please!"

She begged and muttered a silent prayer to any god that was listening to her, hopes still high as she decided to try one more time. Biting her lip nervously, with a trembling hand she reached out and turned the key.

The little blue family sized van revved up it's engine, gave a sharp shudder, stopped and then groaned letting out little wasps of smoke escape from underneath it's hood.

"This can't be happening!" she said letting her head drop to the steering wheel while one hand griped it's side and the other still clutched the car key. "Why me?!"

Her only response was the hiss of the over exhausted engine.

Stepping out of the car she walked around it to face it's front and then placed her hands on the hood. She immediately regretted that action as she felt a soaring pain burn her fingertips, provoking her to jerk away and let the hot piece of metal covering drop with a bang.

"Owowowow!" she whimpered trying to cool down her hands by flapping them madly about. Not that it helped.

Sucking each finger in turn to alleviate the throbbing, she glanced up and down the road for any signs of life. Nothing. Not even a speck in the horizon to indicate that someone would come to her rescue, no buildings or payphones nearby, nothing. Just vast fields of fresh green grass and a few bushes and trees decorating the sides of the deserted highway.

Leaning against the little Volkswagen she sighed in remorse. Sure, being the nice person she was she had volunteered to drive over to her Grandpa's house to check on him and help him out with the shrine. That meant driving out of town...and that equals to three hours behind the car's steering wheel.

Now don't get any ideas that this girl thought that a bad thing, as a matter of fact, she thought the complete opposite. She loved the feeling of control and how the wind seeped through the open window while the car was in motion to ruffle her hair.

Most of all she loved the feeling of speed. That was why she had chosen this deserted highway, so she could step on the accelerator and go as fast as the speedometer would allow her to. If she had been caught by a policeman, she was certain that her conditional drivers license would have been taken away from her.

And then again, her speeding had still gotten her into trouble. Trouble meant that she was now stranded and that she would get a tongue lashing from her Mother when she got home. It could be worse though, she could have crashed or even worse yet, could have gotten stranded with her annoying little brother. Now that was torture.

The smoke had stopped and the hood seemed to have cooled down enough for the girl to lift it up quickly and steady it to look at the battered engine before her.

She blinked and then stared.

'Oh boy! This doesn't look good,' she said to herself looking down on the complex system of wires, tubes and other little things that composed the working organisms of a car.

She leaned over to get a closer look and poked at one of the wires. Could this get any worse? She had no clue about mechanics!

She lifted her head to gaze out onto the fields and their velvety carpets, a little gust of wind sending a ripple through them moving about the long grass stems. It was a nice autumn day, if not a little chilly and the few trees that lined the highway seemed to be shedding golden and rusted leaves from their sturdy branches. As beautiful as the scene was she had other more important things to do other than admire her surroundings.

The winds picked up and she wrapped her light pink sweater more tightly around her, her eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Aha!" she cried in triumph, disrupting the silence of the highway. "The manual in the glove compartment! You stupid girl, why didn't I think of this before?"

Opening the drivers door she crawled over the passenger's seat and pulled down the small compartment door. Ruffling through it's contents she searched for the instruction book.

"Where is it?" she mumbled.

She emptied the compartment's contents onto the car's floor but there was no sign of the manual. She searched under the seats just in case she had dropped it while she pulled the stuff out, but still there was no sign of the book. She checked the boot and the little compartment where the first aid kit was kept to no avail.

Kami had a strange sense of humor. Strand her in a deserted highway, with no means of communication, no manual, no nothing. Very funny. Lady luck must have had something to do with the whole plot too. The devils.

"No radio!" she cried in desperation as she tried to tune onto a music station only to hear an annoying buzzing sound. "This can't be happening!"

But sure enough, it was happening. She didn't know of what she would die first; starvation or boredom.

Resting her back against the passenger's seat she spread her legs over the space left and looked out of the window at the red and yellow trees. Slowly her mind started to drift off into dreamland as she continued staring at scenery outside.

HONK! HONK!

"KYAAAAAAA!" the sixteen year old girl screamed as she jumped up and hit her head on the car's ceiling.

"Hey there! Need a hand?"

The young girl turned round to face the newly arrived stranger while rubbing the bump on her head. She hadn't even seen the car approach. That and she was in the middle of a very interesting part of her little day fantasy.

To her surprise she found herself staring at a guy in a large black Dodge pick up truck. His dark hair was pulled neatly into a small, low ponytail and his dark blue eyes were staring into her own with concern.

"Ummm...I think so," she said sheepishly and blushed at the whole mess she had ended up in. "My car sorta blew up on me and doesn't want to budge."

The young man smiled, displaying a set of perfectly white teeth and stepped out onto the road. He was dressed in a casual dark purple jacket and a matching T-shirt underneath with some loose baggy jeans. He didn't look bad, he must have been a little older than herself, 19 maybe, but definitely handsome.

"Well let's take a look at this little baby of yours, shall we?" he said rubbing his hands together and took a look at the car's engine.

Tapping his chin in thought he reached over and checked the oil and water first. Then he looked in deeper seeking out any mishaps in the machinery.

"Well that's all in order. The water is fine, no shortage. And the oil is filled up to where it's supposed to be," he said and turned to face her while frowning. "That could only mean one thing."

"What?" she asked fearing the worst. She had the feeling it was something she really didn't want to hear.

"Well, it seems that the vehicle has been run to the point of exhaustion and has caused one of the fuses to melt and the battery seems to have been wasted completely, though that is understandable since the battery is an old model and bound to run out sooner or later. But all in all this girl needs to go to the doctor to get fixed up," he said and shut the hood.

The young girl groaned and slumped against the car. Yup! Kami-sama and Lady Luck were certainly playing an evil joke on her.

"Say... If you want me to I can tow your van into town. I've got a garage over there and I could see what I can do for it. I specialize on motorbikes but I've worked with cars before..." he said glancing back at his truck as he said this and then back at her.

"Really?! That would be great! Where are you heading to?" she asked the anxiety and helplessness she had felt earlier vanishing, her hopes back at full force.

"Tokyo."

"This is great! So am I!" she cried with glee. "By the way my name is Hirugashi, Kagome."

"Tanaka, Miroku," replied the man taking her outstretched hand in his and sending another of his dazzling smiles her way. "But please just call me Miroku, never liked being called Miroku-san or sama, makes me feel old."

Kagome giggled. "Got it."

Miroku grinned at her and walked over to his truck. The back of his automobile was stuffed with new bits and pieces of machinery for the garage, along with two brand new, top model engines and a few 4mm Pirelli tires.

He scowled as he searched around for something to hook Kagome's car to his. He still didn't understand why he had been sent out to get all that junk, the company had a delivery system, for God's sake! They should make use of it! And what about Chikao? This was his job afterall. Oh yeah...That's right. Damn idiot was on vacation.

'But then again, I wouldn't have met such pretty girl if I hadn't come to pick up all this stuff. A pretty damsel in distress...just waiting for her knight in shinning armor to rescue her...'

He grinned at his train of thought as he finally found what he was looking for and went over to the little Volkswagen. Once he finished securing the large iron hook that connected his truck to the little van's bumper he stood up from his crouching position in front of the car's nose and stretched.

'Better go tell the girl I'm all done,' he thought.

He found her bending over an over-sized bag going through it's contents, her attention set on what she was searching for. Unable to resist he approached her unnoticed, his hand twitching as he reached out tentatively and then-

"There we go!" Kagome said suddenly straightening up with two candy bars in hand.

Miroku yelped and fell to the floor, heart beating wildly.

"Um... Are you ok?" Kagome asked gazing down at the attractive young man on the ground.

"Sure! I just...tripped! Yeah, that's it! You know there are rocks everywhere on this deserted road," he said dusting himself and laughing nervously.

Kagome looked around for those pestering rocks but found none. She gave him a puzzled look and then held out her hand.

"Chocolate?" she asked.

"Uh... No thanks," he said still a little jumpy. "We should get going, it's getting late." With that he started to lead her over to the truck.

Again he was tempted. And it didn't help that he had one hand on her back. Only a few more inches down...His hand started to crawl.

Kagome felt his hand slip. Immediately she tensed, quickly held the passenger's door open and slid inside. Maybe this guy's intentions weren't that good after all.

Miroku sighed discretely in disappointment as he closed the passenger's door for her. He had been so close! Slowly he walked round the car and climbed in behind the wheel.

Checking to see if the girl next to him was settled in he caught her fiddling with the hem of her skirt nervously while taking quick glances at him.

'I knew it!' he thought happily to himself. 'I'm just too irresistible.'

"Miroku?" Kagome asked quietly looking down at her lap.

"Yes?"

Kagome took a deep breath and tried to calm down. It wasn't everyday that she asked a guy this.

"Are you -I mean-will you...em..."

Miroku raised an eyebrow. He chuckled internally at her flushed face and how she seemed to be gripping onto her skirt.

'She probably wants to know if I'm single,' he thought.

"Are you one of those guys that takes advantage on stranded girls?" she blurted out, her hands clutching her pink flower printed skirt tightly.

Miroku was stunned. He hadn't expected that. Gods! Anything but that. Since when had people started to think so low of him?

Kagome studied the guy's face. He seemed shocked. Waving a hand in front of his nose she saw him blink then focus on her, his expression a little hurt.

"No," he replied slowly. "What made you get that idea?"

"Well...Your hands had been-" she stopped and realized that maybe he hadn't really wanted to grope her and that she was acting rather foolishly. She blushed, embarrassed at her mistake.

"I'm sorry. Never mind what I just said. I'm just a little anxious to get home, I promised my mother I'd be there before it got dark."

"No problem," Miroku nodded in understanding and set the car on the move.

"Thanks."

He glanced over at the girl who was offering a friendly smile. It was warm and honest, even comforting. And it made him feel guilty for wanting to grope her. But he couldn't help it really, her soft curves had been screaming at him to be touched, to be felt. It was just instinct.

"So, tell me. How did such a beautiful lady as yourself get stranded in the middle of a deserted highway?" Miroku asked turning on his never failing charm.

If you couldn't get her one way you'll get her the other.

************************************************

The virtual track disappeared from his sight leaving him in utter darkness sitting on top of the simulator's motorbike. He was getting better, he'd finished his last lap in 3 seconds less than his last time. Now that was good news.

He wrinkled his nose as he remembered being told that the upcoming race had been canceled because of maintenance problems on the tracks and been moved three weeks from today.

"Hey that was great timing! Though you still need 20 minutes less if you want to beat-"

Gripping the handle bars to his motorcycle he emitted an incoherent growl, trying to swat away the annoying boy with the clip board in his hand that had just yanked his helmet off, exposing him to the bright light inside the room they were in.

The boy grinned and jumped out of the way.

"Getting slow on your reflexes?" he called out tauntingly.

The boy received a slap over his head sending him face forwards to the ground.

"That hurt!" he whined clutching his nose as he got up.

The older boy sitting on top of the motorbike snorted. "You deserved it. And don't compare me to that scum bag, I'm way better than him."

The 12 year old beside him rolled his eyes and walked down the small hallway and up the short set of stairs that led to the small apartment on top of the garage. It was a little dirty and quite messy but still, it was a place were the Sengoku Jidai racing team could lounge about after a hard day of work.

The older racer slid off the simulator's bike and followed the team's "secretary" up to the apartment where he was now sprawled out on the couch.

Ayabito, Shippou was the youngest member of the Sengoku Jidai's team. Considering his age he was more intelligent and clever than most. His technology skills were impeccable and he could do nearly everything with a computer, not to mention that his avid little brain could process information quickly and was able to store it for later use.

Even so, Shippou's appearance didn't live up to his advanced stage of mind. He was rather small for a 12 year old and had bright orange-red hair, along with two curious green eyes.

He first became interested in motorbikes when he came across a new motorbike racing game at the arcade, since then his liking for the sport and the machines it involved grew. On his 10th birthday Shippou's parents decided to take him to a small motorbike racing event just outside Tokyo. That was were he first encountered the Sengoku Jidai racing team.

At the time Sengoku hadn't been very famous, it participated in minor events such as the one Shippou had attended to on his birthday. It had been integrated by two brothers and a close family friend of theirs, one brother being an unbeatable racer and the other a skilled business man, while the family friend took care of the motorbike's management.

The racer had had unusual talent, his addiction to speed and love for it had won him every race he participated in. That and his brother's smart tongue, along with his friend's assistance had gotten him to the top of the ladder, but after an unfortunate accident he vowed never to race again and retreated from his position in Sengoku.

Shippou yawned, reaching out for a bowl of left over chips on the table in front. Wondering if there was anything worth watching on T.V he began searching for the remote control.

"Looking for something?" called a voice from behind.

Turning round Shippou came face to face with the remote control dangling in front of his face.

"Give me that!" he said trying to grab it but failing.

"Why should I? You hogged the remote all day yesterday, it's my turn now," said the older boy holding the remote above young Ayabito's head.

"Kouga!" Shippou whined.

Minamoto, Kouga smirked and plopped onto the couch beside the Sengoku's secretary and turned on the TV to watch a program of his liking while the latter stuck his tongue out at the racer.

Kouga had been the Sengoku Jidai's original racer's replacement. He was good and had won many championships for the team, keeping them in-between the best of the lot but still, he lacked the spark that the initial racer had had. Though all in all, nobody was complaining as long as Kouga kept on winning.

Kouga settled in for a Jean Van Dan film that had been playing and Shippou decided that he had better things to do, thus he left the racer alone and headed for the laptop on top of a small desk on the far corner of the room.

A little peeping sound was made and the computer was on and running, ready to consume the information typed in and file it into it's hard drive.

"Don't move Fraser! Or the girl dies!"

"Claude!" cried a shrilly feminine voice. "Do as he says! You've got to stop Ranvoski from getting his hands on the merchandise and save your brother!"

A moment pause and a the typical suspense music filled the room.

"No. I will not leave you to die Stephanie, not if I can help it."

A sudden explosion was heard from the television screen, followed by lots of shooting. A louder more realistic bang was produced.

"Hey guys! I'm home!"

It took quite a few moments for Shippou to realize that the voice hadn't come from the screen but had actually sounded very much like someone he new.

"Miroku!"

Said person chuckled giving them a little wave from where he stood in the door way.

"So what did you bring back? Did you get some new tires for your adding collection on your stomach or did you buy some hold fast screws to secure your head?" teased Kouga turning the T.V off.

Miroku put a hand to his heart and feigned a hurt expression. He wasn't a very good actor though.

"You have wounded me. I thought that you loved me!"

"The day I will love you is the day pigs will fly and Silvester Stalone will wear a pink tutu."

"It seems that that day is closer than you think Kouga, dear! Pigs have already flown Via Express and rumors say that Stalone is taking secret ballet classes," smiled Miroku, eyes twinkling.

"Just go throw yourself off a cliff and save me the hassle," retorted Kouga with a huff.

"Oh brother! Will you two ever grow up?" said Shippou walking over to stand by his newly arrived friend.

Kouga looked over the little boy critically and then put a hand on his head and one on his own.

"Well I don't see you growing any taller," he said ruffling up Shippou's hair before stepping away with a grin.

"I'm seriously considering hitting you over the head with that screw driver over there," Shippou said eyeing mentioned object that lay on the floor bearably visible by all the junk clattered around it.

"Hey! I have been looking for that!" said Miroku moving away from the doorway to retrieve his long lost screw driver.

Shippou kept on watching the 'weapon' as it was lifted up from the floor.

"May I borrow that? I only need it for a moment," he asked.

"Sure, just don't break it, I'll want it later on," Miroku said handing the 'weapon' over and chuckling as he caught Kouga's worried face.

"Hey! Chill out man! I was only joking when I said that earlier," the star-racer said holding up his hands in defense.

"I suggest you run," warned Shippou taking a step closer to his victim.

Before Kouga could take the younger boy's advice, however, he was tackled to the ground by Shippou, screw driver completely forgotten and left aside. With a grunt Kouga had managed to take the lead and was now engaged in a friendly wrestling match with the Sengoku's secretary, as the team's mechanic watched from the side lines.

"Ahem!"

Both men froze in the act and turned round to face the doorway. That was when they saw her. Until then they hadn't acknowledged her presence, but now that they had finally noticed her they jumped away from each other, both ashamed of their childish play.

Seeing the awkwardness of the situation Miroku went over to the girl's side and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm so sorry! I really am absent minded," he said apologetically and then pointed at each of the boys in turn. "That man over there is Minamoto, Kouga. He's the team's star racer."

"Hey there!" Kouga said flashing her one of his killer smiles and giving her a little wave.

"And this is Ayabito, Shippou. He's the team's computer tech and file storer," said Miroku waving his hand over at the short boy as the latter gave her a polite nod and a toothy grin.

Kagome stood motionless for a few seconds, realization finally dawning on her as she stared at the Sengoku's team members. Slowly a shy smile crept onto her face.

"Pleased to meet you. My name is Hirugashi, Kagome," she said taking a small bow and then turned round to look at Miroku. "You didn't tell me that you were part of the Sengoku Jidai racing team."

"Uh? You know about us?" Miroku asked her in disbelief.

"Of course I do! Your name is all over the sport head lines!" Kagome exclaimed.

"You mean his ugly face is all over the headlines, along with our name," pointed out Shippou jerking his head over at Kouga.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" yelled out the racer poking the younger boy on the head.

Kagome laughed and the bickering stopped instantly making the boys smile sheepishly.

"You guys are funny," she said giggling.

Both of them blushed, while Miroku observed the scene in amusement.

"Miroku," said Kagome clasping her hands together in a grateful manner and continuing. "I have to thank you once again for all your help, I really don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"Well..." Miroku trailed off, his eyes taking over a glazed look.

His hand started twitching uncontrollably as thoughts of Kagome 'repaying' him flooded his head.

Shippou glanced at his spaced out friend immediately perceiving what he was thinking. Pinching Miroku's arm before the mechanic ended up with a nasty slap mark on his cheek, Shippou offered Kagome a smile, meanwhile ignoring Miroku's yelp.

"There is no need to repay us. Miroku just has a kind heart. Right, Miroku?" Shippou said giving him a warning glare.

"Yeah that's right...Kind heart..." Miroku mumbled.

Kagome smiled.

"It's really getting late so I better be on my way. Ayabito-san, Minamoto-san, I hope to see you around tomorrow!" she called as she turned to leave with Miroku at her side. She paused and added, "By the way I think you need to clean out that room! It looks like a hurricane hit it or something." Then both headed downstairs and outside.

Both Kouga and Shippou rushed over to the window just in time to see the Kagome call for a taxi, get in, wave good-bye to Miroku and drive off.

"She's hot," commented Kouga as he watched the taxi drive out of sight.

"I guess you could say she is pretty. She seems like a nice gal," said Shippou and went back to his computer which he had left on the whole time.

The garage's door was heard closing from downstairs and a pair of footsteps climb up to the second floor.

"She's coming back tomorrow?" questioned Kouga as he watched Miroku enter and then flop down into an armchair.

"Yup! I found her by chance stranded on the highway and told her I would fix her car," the other replied.

"Aren't you a lucky lecher! I'm surprised you came back in one piece," said Kouga resuming his previous position on the couch.

"She thought I would take advantage of her," Miroku admitted shamefully.

Kouga sat up straighter eyeing the man in front of him sharply.

"What did you try and do to her?" he asked icily. He hadn't meant to sound so cold but somehow it had just come out that way.

"Nothing! You know I would never do that! I do admit I like to feel but I would never go further without asking permission first!" cried out Miroku waving his hands in the air to emphasize his point.

Kouga grunted, satisfied with the answer provided. He didn't always act this way towards Miroku. Sure, he knew about his friend's lecherousness but it had never bothered him before. Was it that girl? He had only met her for a few minutes and still she had struck him as something out of the ordinary.

Little did he know that that girl, Kagome, would change their lives forever.

************************

A/N: Hello people! Like my new story? If you do please review! If you don't please review! If don't but you do still review! One thing is for sure I WON'T CONTINUE UNLESS I GET REVIEWS! Arigatoo! ^.^