InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Stream of Consciousness: A LiveJournal Collection ❯ Swordplay: 20th Century Style ( Chapter 77 )

Title: Swordplay: 20th Century Style

Community: First Tweak

Theme: Swordplay

Place Earned: none

Rating: PG

Universe: Canon

Word count: 1,070

Summary: Inuyasha is getting a little cocky about his swordsmanship, and Kagome tries to put him in his place

Warnings: none

 

 

Swordplay: 20th Century Style

 

“Heh…another battle where I do all the work and the rest of you sit around on your asses,” Inuyasha said in mock annoyance. “You should all be grateful I'm around,” he teased, leaning Tetsusaiga over his shoulder haughtily.

 

Kagome rolled her eyes. They had been eating lunch, minding their own business when a large youkai had shown up seeking their jewel shards. Inuyasha had naturally been the first into battle, and he quite simply hadn't needed their help. Any one of us could have killed that youkai, but if you listened to him you'd think he just beat Naraku's younger brother.

 

“Stifle yourself, Inuyasha,” she told him. “That was a small fry.”

 

“Keh! You're just jealous of my expert swordsmanship.”

 

“Please! You swing that thing around like a club!”

 

“Oh, yeah! You think you could do better?”

 

“Hell yes I could!” Kagome yelled back before thinking. It was only when stunned silence greeted her declaration that she realized what she'd just said. Inuyasha smirked, mischief dancing in his eyes, and Kagome knew there was no way he was letting that go.

 

“Prove it,” Inuyasha replied.

 

Kagome gulped, wishing she could go back in time ten seconds and avoid stuffing her foot in her mouth. Making a fool of herself was not on her list of things she wanted to accomplish today. Oh, crap! What am I doing? I can count on one hand the number of times I've held a sword! But there was no backing out now, not when Inuyasha would rag her about it for weeks. At least if she tried he couldn't call her a coward.

 

“I will,” she answered with as much confidence as she could muster, which wasn't all that much. His smirk never wavering, Inuyasha transformed Tetsusaiga to its rustic form and tossed it to her so the blade remained straight up. The move surprised Kagome completely, but with a lucky flail of her arm she was able to grab the handle out of the air, nearly tripping over herself in the process.

 

“Ha!” she cried victoriously, holding the blade before her. Inuyasha chuckled, shaking his head as he moved toward the fruit-bearing tree which was the whole reason they had stopped here in the first place. The ripened fruit had been very tasty with lunch. Inuyasha picked a few pieces of different sizes and put them in his haori before turning to her, tossing a large fruit in one hand tauntingly.

 

“Think you can hit this, wench?”

 

Kagome's response was to square her shoulders and set her jaw in determination, facing Inuyasha with her right foot slightly behind her left in her best imitation of a classic sword-fighting stance. Inuyasha was not impressed, but that would change. She hoped.

 

The hanyou tossed a large piece of fruit towards her in a slow, arching trajectory. Kagome almost grinned; this would be easy! She raised the sword over her head and slashed downward with all her might. She heard a great whoosh and then a small clunk as the fruit landed on the ground, still whole. What the— How did I miss?!

 

Inuyasha was snickering openly now, and Kagome resisted the urge to `osuwari' him. She would not admit defeat!

 

“Zip it! Toss me another one. That was a warm up!”

 

She readied herself again, this time resolving to keep her eye on the target longer and not swing so hard. She didn't have to cut it in half; merely making contact would probably shut Inuyasha up. The fruit came at her again, and employing her new plan, she was rewarded with the satisfying sensation of impact on the blade. The fruit ricocheted slightly to the left, a small gouge in its surface.

 

“Keh. Beginner's luck,” Inuyasha declared before she could say anything. With little warning he tossed another piece at her, this one smaller and thrown harder than the first. Kagome flailed at it awkwardly, and was surprised when the blade somehow hit the target, severing a small chunk. After getting over her shock, she smirked triumphantly and leaned the sword over her shoulder.

 

“Still beginner's luck?”

 

Inuyasha grumbled and pulled out another piece of fruit, this one tiny in comparison to the others. It was hard and unripe, barely half the size of her fist. Kagome knew she had no chance of hitting this one with her current approach; the previous two had been more luck than skill. She needed a new strategy. A thread of memory supplied an idea, and she shifted into a familiar stance, turning sideways and spreading her feet shoulder-width apart, raising the sword over her right shoulder with both hands like a bat. Those three years of softball might come in handy after all…

 

Inuyasha guffawed, motioning toward her incredulously. “What the hell is that ridiculous stance?!”

 

Kagome refused to rise to the bait, simply glaring at him. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, rearing back and hurling the fruit overhand. He didn't use even close to his full strength—it wouldn't have been fair if he did—but that fruit was still humming. Unfortunately for him, Kagome had always been good at hitting fastballs.

 

THWACK!!!

 

Now, her plan had been to smack the fruit way deep into the forest using the flat side of the blade, and then maybe take a mini-home run trot around the clearing. But the trajectory of the fruit off the sword was a little lower than she intended.

 

THUNK!!!

 

“Wah! Inuyasha, are you okay?” she called, rushing over to the prone hanyou. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou were cracking up now, but Kagome's concern momentarily prevented her from joining in. Inuyasha sat up, looking somewhat dazed, an angry red spot smack dab in the middle of his forehead. And when his eyes panned upward and crossed as if to study the damage, Kagome could hold in her mirth no longer. She dimly heard the hanyou stutter a few times before storming off, snatching the sword from her hand as he went.

 

He soon rejoined them, but only because he wanted to get moving. He still wasn't talking to anyone, especially when they still periodically found themselves chuckling at the memory of what had happened. Kagome made him ramen for dinner as a peace offering, which he took without comment. She was quite surprised when he pulled her aside later, speaking quietly so the others wouldn't hear.

 

“Kagome…could you teach me how to swing like that?”

 

 

A/N - Stream of Consciousness is back, everyone! I'm only writing for one Inuyasha comm. at the moment, so updates should come every couple weeks unless I join another.