Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Monkey Wrench ❯ Synecdoche ( Chapter 19 )

Disclaimer: Me no own…you no sue!

 

A/N: Rin is a junior in High school…and Sesshy is the all star senior basketball player. This is theme #25 of the 30_kisses themes.

 

The Other Side of the Fence

 

Rin sat at the bike racks, playfully bouncing the big orange basketball while she waited. Finally a boy ran up, his heavy duffle bag weighing on his shoulders. He skidded to a stop in front of her. “Kohaku…you ready to go home?” She tossed the ball towards him and he caught it.

 

“Sorry Rin, I have to go to a surprise practice. We have a game in two days and I have to be there.” He bowed his head, and she nodded.

 

“It's alright. I'll wait I guess. I have nothing else to do. Is that alright with you?” He nodded.

 

“Yeah, but I got to go right now.” He took off at a run leaving Rin in his wake. She smiled and scooped her bag up on her shoulder. She walked towards the basketball courts, staring off into space. She sat on some nearby lunch bench and pulled out her math book. It wasn't long before she heard the sounds of the team gathering on the courts. She put her math book back in her bag and diligently watched them shoot hoops and dunk on each other. A whistle sounded and a guy in their typical practice uniform walked forward, a ball under his arm, and assembled the team in a line. Rin jerked back when her eyes fell over his lean muscular form. He had short spiky silver hair, and an odd shade of greenish-yellow eyes. He was muscular, thin, but still sculpted. When his jersey moved she saw the tip of a blue tattoo on his shoulder. He was absolutely beautiful. She had never seen him before.

 

“Ok guys, Coach Kentari will be late. He had a quick athletic meeting to be at. He should be here in a bout twenty minutes.” A few of the guys chuckled and high-fived each other. “That doesn't mean we're going to goof off. We have a game in two days, remember? Now let's split into two lines and do shooting drills and stretches.” He pushed the ball to the first guy in line. “You first Taijiya.” Kohaku bounced the ball and then shot and took his place at the end of the second line to make room for the next player.

 

Drills continued for the next half hour and then the couch had them work on court sprints, passing and developing certain plays. As dusk rolled around Rin stood and jogged to the girl's locker room. Suddenly feeling up to a game of one-on-one with her close friend, she shucked her skirt and flip-flops and put on a pair of swat pants and tennis shoes. As she strolled out of the locker room she tossed her tick dark brown hair up into a messy ponytail and waited for the huddle to break. As the crowd dissipated she saw Kohaku, holding a ball and looking very displeased, having a discussion with the silver-haired god from before. The silver-haired guy patted Kohaku's shoulder and took off towards the locker room himself. Rin strolled up to Kohaku and took the ball, holding it between her hands. “Up to some one-on-one?” She smiled. He gave her a blank look and replied,

 

“No.”

 

“Aww, come on, I'll let you win…” She shot the ball and smiled as the chain-net made a clinking sound. A faint grin spread on his face.

 

“You wont have to, cause I'll beat you on my own.” He ran and grabbed the ball. “Check.” He bounced that ball to her and she bounced it back. He dribbled around her and then moved to shoot only to have the ball knocked away.

 

“She dribbled past him and called out. “First to seven!” She reached the three-point line, and shot. The ball went in. “One…” she retrieved the ball and bounced it to him. He dribbled it towards his basket and turned doing a `fade away three'. She jumped to block but heard the chain chink anyway.

 

“One…” He smiled. She rolled her eyes.

 

“I let you have that one. It's the only one you're gonna get, so enjoy it.” They played for a few minutes until both had scored almost evenly. She got the ball back and stood at the three-point line just dribbling. He laughed as she dribbled it and made for an offensive move. She shot and backed up a few steps. The ball hit the rim and then bounced out. She ran towards it but smacked into Kohaku as they both reached for the ball. “Oof.” She flopped down on her butt and looked up at him. The closing of a door faintly registered in her mind. “Meanie!” She whined. Kohaku caught the ball and placed it under his arm and reached down for her. She reached up and stood then snatched the ball away from him.

 

“Hey! Cheat!” She ran towards the basket.

 

“It's only cheating if you get caught!” She tossed the ball up and watched as it went in. “Six!” She turned and did a little celebratory dance. “One more and I own you! Oh wait…I don't need to kick your butt in Basketball to own you.” She giggled and watched as he bounced the ball in and began another play. “So the score is six to six.” She walked up to him and defended her basket. Kohaku backed into her slowly and then tried to turn around her but only succeeded in getting the ball stolen away from him. She dribbled the ball and stopped at the free-throw line. Before she could shoot however she felt arms wrap around her midsection and pick her up off the ground. She dropped the ball and giggled/screamed as Kohaku carried her towards his basket. “Kohaku that's cheating! Foul! Foul!” Her feet met the ground but suddenly tangled with his and they both fell to the floor. She looked up at him a mock glare on her face. “That is so cheating Kahaku Taijiya!” He just stared at her. A voice in the distance drew them both from their stupor.

 

“Taijiya, you lay on her much longer you're gonna suffocate her!” Both their gazes turned towards the locker room. The silver-haired god was standing there, duffle bag slung over one shoulder, ball under the opposite arm, a smirk on his face. Rin shoved Kohaku away from her and scrambled up to get the ball. “Playing some one-on-one?”

 

“Yeah.” He helped him up. “Oh, Sess, this is my closest friend Rin. Rin! This is Sesshomaru, our all-star player this year.” He motioned to the `god'. She nodded and picked up the basketball.

 

“Hey…” Sesshomaru turned back to Kohaku. “Remember, playing one-on-one is good, as long as you're playing, not goofing off.” He winked at Kohaku and then turned to go without another word to either of them. Rin stared after him. She walked over to her stuff and placed the ball down.

 

“Ready to go?” She stood up straight and took her hair out. He nodded.

 

“One sec. I need to go get my duffle and then we can go.” She nodded and took off her tennis-shoes and replaced them with her flip-flops. Kohaku walked up and took out his keys and drove her home.

 

Rin sat in her backyard, the little porch light just barely enough to see the ground where she stood. She looked up at the stars silently. She smiled as a star zipped through the sky. “Rin! Telephone!” Her mother called from the back door. She stood and grabbed the phone.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Rin?” Kohaku's voice sounded on the other end of the conversation. “Hey, it's me Kohaku.”

 

“Hi Kohaku.” She sat back down in her chair from before.

 

“Uh, yeah, I was calling because I was supposed to give you a ride home tomorrow, but we have practice again, so unless you wanna wait?”

 

“Sure, we can play some more one on one so I can kick your butt again.” That earned her a laugh.

 

“That will not be happening. So you'll wait and we can do what we did today?”

 

“Yeah. That sounds like fun.”

 

“Great, I'll see you tomorrow then.”

 

“Alright. Bye.”

 

“Bye.” She hung up the phone and looked back up to the stars. It was unusually hot today, for being almost March anyway. She scurried inside and grabbed her suit.

 

“Mom, I'm gonna take some laps alright?”

 

“You don't think it's too cold dear?” Rin shook her head as she grabbed a towel.

 

“Nah, I can turn on the pool heater if need be. I haven't swum since polo got out. I'll only be a few.” Her mom nodded and turned off the remainder of the lights downstairs.

 

“Ok, well, I'm going to bed now. Don't be up too late alright dear?” They bid each other good-night and Rin ran outside. She tossed her towel onto a chair and dove beautifully into the pool. She came up and let out a little squeak.

 

“C-cold….” She swam to the edge, pulled herself up and ran to the heater. She turned it on and waited for the hum to signal that it was doing its job. She dove back into the pool and came back up. “That's a bit better.” She took laps across the pool for the next hour or so. She dunked herself and climbed out via the stairs. She grabbed her towel and dried off as best she could. With her towel wrapped around her she walked over to the heater and turned it off and made her way inside. As she rounded the corner she kicked a basketball. “Ow.” She glared at the ball and then at the gate. “That bum of a guy over there always looses his basketball over here. He's just lucky I always throw them back.”

 

~The next day~

 

Rin tossed her bag down by the gym. She smiled as Kohaku rushed up towards the door. “Kohaku, I'm gonna take laps for swim. Wait for me?”

 

“Yeah, yeah. Sure. See you later.” And with that he was inside the locker room and out of sight. She sighed and rounded the corner to the pool.

 

“Coach Taru, can I take some laps for a while?” The younger looking coach looked up from her clipboard and smiled.

 

“Yes, go ahead. I'll be here `til later, so take your time.” She entered the office, leaving Rin all by herself. Rin shucked her clothes, revealing her bright blue two-piece bathing suit. She mounted the diving board and walked to the edge. Pushing off she did a beautiful 3.5 turn swan dive, entering the water with hardly any splash. She began her drills and before she knew it she found Kohaku standing by the edge.

 

“Ready to go Rin?”

 

“Yeah, almost let me finish my last drill. It will only take like two more minutes.” She grabbed the edge and made to push off again.

 

“No, its now or never. You can finish your drills at home.” His voice was agitated. She frowned and climbed up the side ladder. “And don't think you're getting in my car soaking wet like that.” She paused behind him. Gritting her teeth, she shoved him into the cold water. She turned towards her clothes and saw two people standing there watching the confrontation. She picked up her towel and wrapped it around her body as she head Kohaku sputtering behind her. “What the hell was that for?”

 

“You don't have to be such a jerk.” She slipped on her sandals and shoved her uniform into her bag. She turned to him angrily. “You know, I'm sorry you have a bad time at practices. I'm sorry you are stressed out.” More of a crowd had gathered. “But that is no reason to treat me and my passions like crap. My passions are swim and polo, your is basketball. I swim, do drills and practice for polo games. You play basketball for fun, do drills and practice for basketball games. We do a lot of the same things. You would absolutely kill me if I dragged you away from practice or didn't let you finish your drills. Why is it different with me? Just because you're done doesn't mean I am. I waited for you…even took extra time to try to help you feel better after a hard practice. You should have the courtesy to do the same for me.” She tightened her towel as the crowd began to buzz slightly. “And as for having your car get wet. You don't have to worry about me being the one tracking in the water.” She turned and marched through the crowd, not even bothering to turn when she heard him called her name.

 

Sesshomaru watched the exchange and found himself siding with the strange girl he'd only met once before. He made a mental note to take it a little easier on Kohaku during practices since it was really him who was doing this to him. Dropping his duffle bag as the girl, this Rin walked by he walked over to Kohaku and held his hand out over the edge. Easily he pulled him over the edge and onto the dry cement. The boy sputtered and grumbled to himself. “You know, she is kinda right. She did take the time and make the effort.” Kohaku looked up and glared slightly. She stood and fished his bag out of the water and turned back to Sesshomaru.

 

“Thank you for your opinion Sesshomaru. Next time, I'll make sure I ask for it.” He began to ring out his jersey and shorts.

 

“No wonder she tossed you in the pool. You can be a real ass at times.” Sesshomaru glared at him. “I was meaning to tell you at the end of practice, good job, you're coming along. Keep it up. Now I don't think I will.” With that he left a stunned, and very wet, Kohaku in his tracks.

 

~Later that night as Rin's house~

 

Rin came up from under the water in time to hear her mother say that she had a phone call. It was Kohaku. “Tell him I'm finishing the drills he didn't let me do earlier. I'm quite busy and to leave me alone. In fact while he's at it…tell him to jump off a bridge.” She went back under and her mother regretfully told the boy that she was busy. Her mother clicked the phone off and set it down on a table. About ten minutes later Rin heard the phone and grumbled as she climbed out of the pool. She grabbed her towel and sat in the chair. She vaguely registered a sliding glass door opening, but she assumed it was her mother coming for the phone. She clicked phone on and answered.

 

“Hey Rin, it's me Kohaku.”

 

“Oh, you didn't get my message before? I told you I was busy doing my drills you wouldn't let me finish. I'm quite busy. Don't call me anymore, in fact go jump off of a bridge.”

 

“Wait Rin. I don't see why you're getting so bent out of shape. I didn't do anything wrong.”

 

“Ohmigod!” She restrained from throwing the phone into the pool. “You insensitive jerk. If you were in practice, doing your last set of drills and I ran up and said `lets go, now or never.' You would be very mad at me and I would have to wait for you to finish. What makes me different?”

 

“You weren't at a practice!”

 

“I practice on my own. So I can be the best for the next season!”

 

“But you could do that at home right?”

 

“My pool is half the length, a third the depth and does not let me practice dives. You know what…I'm going to hang up now. Don't call back!” She clicked the phone off and slammed it down on the table.

 

Sesshomaru snapped his attention to the fence as he heard a phone hit a table. He had heard the conversation but shook of the nagging feeling that he had heard that voice before. He picked up his basketball and began to bounce it. Lazily he shot it up and it swished as it went through the hoop. It bounced over his head and hit against the wooden fence. He walked over to it and bent down, his gaze involuntarily looking through a small wood-knot hole. His jaw dropped as he saw `Taijiya's girl'. She was glaring daggars at the phone on the table. She stood and he crouched more comfortably in the bushes, compelled to watch her.

 

“I don't know why I'm friends with him! It's so typical jock of him. Treats girls like crap…” She walked around the pool and sat in a reclining chair. She swiped her towel over herself to dry off. A sad, hurt look crossed her features. “I wish he wouldn't be so insensitive. He never used to be that way. I wonder if they're all like that…or if its just him.” She frowned deeper. “Why do I even care?!” She stood and roughly pulled her towel around her body. “I know where he gets it…That all-star he seems to be friends with.” Sesshomaru choked at hearing the mention of himself. He felt a glare press his features and waited. He hadn't done anything to make her think harshly of him. He hadn't really talked to her at all. “They think because they are gorgeous they can make people feel bad or treat them less.” She snatched up her goggles and started towards the door to her house. “It has to be that Sesshomaru. I mean sure he's gorgeous, but that doesn't give him the right…” She stopped as she heard someone by the door. She dashed away from the door towards the gate. It clicked shut just as Kohaku stepped through her back door and into her yard.

 

“Rin?” He walked towards the pool. He had a basketball under his arm. He looked around, knowing she was hiding somewhere. “Rin, come out. I want to talk. I don't understand what's going on.” No answer. “Rin, I'm not kidding! Come out. I want to talk to you now!” No answer. “Rin!” Her voice floated down to him from her upstairs bedroom window.

 

“I'm not your girlfriend or your whore. I answer to my parents and me. That's it. I don't want to talk to you right now Kohaku, go home.”

 

“Rin, come down, I don't understand why you're mad.” She didn't move from her window. “Rin! I'm not joking get down here!”

 

“No! I'm not coming down just because you bellow for me. We're not at school anymore. You're on my terf…get the hell away from me!” She slammed her window shut on a fuming Kohaku. He slammed the ball down on the ground with a frustrated growl. He started towards her back door but stopped as her voice yelled at him again. “Don't even bother it's locked and my parents left. I suggest you go out the back way.” Her window shut again and Kohaku grumbled as he stomped out the back gate. Sesshomaru frowned. He'd never seen Kohaku like that before. He really had issues with ordering people around. No wonder she was so mad and made a scene back at school. He didn't like it. No one had the right to treat others like that. A glare formed on his face and he shook slightly startled. Since when did he care about the affairs of younger students. He didn't. He let his basketball stay in the bushes and walked inside.

 

~The next week~

 

Rin had been avoiding Kohaku all week. It was getting downright hard. He was persistent and very angry. She shook her head as her flitted through her mind once more. She shoved her books in her locker and then slammed it shut. “Rin?” she whipped around to see her addresser.

 

“Rury, you startled me.” She smiled at her short friend and then quickly glanced down the hall. A quick gasp escaped from her lips as Kohaku came into her field of vision. She took off. “Sorry, Rury, gotta run!” She was gone. Kohaku growled as he watched Rin take off in a run away from him. He was seeing red. No one avoided him like this when he didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't fair he couldn't even talk some sense into her. The bell rang and he shot his fist out into the nearest locker.

 

“What did the locker do to you, Taijiya?” Sesshomaru's silky voice floated to him. He turned and looked at his friend.

 

“The locker didn't, a girl did.”

 

“Poor boy. Get your heart ripped out by the love of your life?” Sesshomaru blanched at

the feelings that drifted forward at the thought his statement conjured. He felt angry, and…jealous. Why should he be jealous?? He shook it off and waited.

 

“Nah, that girl Rin. Ever since she tossed me into the pool, she's been mad. If anyone should be mad and avoiding someone it should be me avoiding her and being mad at her. She tossed me into the pool for crying out loud.” His face twisted into a mean glare.

 

“Well, girls are girls, and you did kinda interrupt her drills.” He replied casually.

 

“But, it was just swim…she wasn't even doing anything.” Sesshomaru was going to reply when a proctor walked by and told them to each go to class.

 

The last bell rang and all the students fought to get out of the room. Rin sighed as the door shut and she hefted her bag to her shoulder. Cautiously she walked out of the room and took off towards her locker. She switched this book for that book and these papers for those and then shut it and left. The sidewalks were crowded so she felt at ease as she walked along the quad. A hand grabbed her arm and pulled her to face a being. She glared at Kohaku as he held her arm. “Let go Kohaku!” She tried to wrench her arm free, but he only tightened his hold, making her wince. “Kohaku you're hurting me. Let go!” A crowd had gathered around her and him, not quite sure what was going to happen.

 

“You listen Rin. I've been trying to talk to you all week. You have no reason to be mad.”

 

“I have every right to be mad. LET GO!” He tightened his hold. She hissed and stared at him, a bit afraid. He was actually hurting her. She was sure she'd have a bruise tomorrow. “Kohaku, you're hurting me…” She pleaded. “Let go…”

 

“NO! Not until you get over what happened. You have no reason to be mad. You will listen to what I have to say.” He jerked her arm towards him. “Do you understand?”

 

“Kohaku, let go of me…” She fought at his hand. “You're scaring me. Let go!” She could feel tears welling up in her eyes. A pale hand clasped the wrist holding her upper arm and she jerked her gaze to the face belonging to the man of the arm.

 

“Let her go Kohaku. This isn't the way to fix things.” Sesshomaru bit out lowly. He was mad. He had never felt so overwhelmed by anger before.

 

“Stay out of this Sesshomaru…” He seethed.

 

“Kohaku…let go.” Sesshomaru's grip on his wrist tightened. He was holding a pressure point, it wouldn't take but a little more pressure to get him to let go if he needed to. Kohaku glared at Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru tightened his grip and watched as Kohaku's hand went limp and Rin was able to get away. She looked fearfully at Kohaku and then cast her glance at Sesshomaru. She turned on her heel and took off at a full run. Kohaku growled.

 

“I just wanted to talk to her, Sesshomaru!”

 

“You were hurting her!”

 

“Was not, I wasn't even holding her hard.”

 

“Any harder you would have pinched off the rest of her arm.” He cast Kohaku's wrist away. “Stay away from her. Let her come to fix things. And when she does…don't you dare lay a finger on her.” Sesshomaru glared at the younger boy. “Or I'll personally make you sorry for it.”

 

“What do you like her or something?” Kohaku seethed.

 

“I just dislike woman abusers. Stay away from her if you know what's good for you.” Sesshomaru grabbed the strap of his backpack and made his way to his car, leaving a mad Kohaku in his wake. The crowd buzzed around the scene. There would be stories tomorrow. Sesshomaru shut the door to his little pick up and started to drive home. Around the corner he saw Rin's form walking home. He pulled to a stop next to her. “Get in. I'll take you home.” She shot her gaze up to him fearfully. She shook her head and grabbed her bag to run. “I'm not going to hurt you Rin.” He tried to make his voice sound friendly. It was odd and gruff to his ears. “Please, let me take you home.” She bit her lip but nodded and silently walked around the truck to get into the passenger side. She didn't look at him, or even up at the neighborhood for that matter. She stared down at her hands for a long while. “Are you alright?” He asked concerned. She nodded. “Rin…look at me…” She shook her head. “Rin, please look at me.” Slowly her gaze slid up to his. Tears swam in her deep chestnut brown eyes. His heart began to thud a little faster in his chest. “Are you alright?” He prodded again. A tear fell, and then another.

 

“No…” She whispered and wiped at her tears. It broke his heart to see her so upset and afraid, no matter how odd it may sound. It really did bother him. He parked in a parking lot and gently slung his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and cried harder.

 

“It's alright. Just cry…” He felt awkward. He'd never had to be gentle to a girl…at least not like this. They usually never cried to him like this. They knew he really couldn't care less if they were hurting or not, but with Rin, he didn't want to see her cry at all. He patted her head gently as she cried on his shoulder. After a few moments she was reduced to mere hiccups. She pulled away and wiped at her eyes. “You all better?” He looked into her eyes. They were swollen and red from her crying, but they still sparkled. It was then he actually realized how beautiful her eyes really were. He was struck by the fact that she was a very attractive. He had never really noticed before. She nodded and looked back out the window.

 

“I live just around the corner, how did you know where to take me? I wasn't saying anything on the drive here…”

 

“I live around the corner too. Actually just up the street from here.” He started the truck and continued the drive to his house. Rin stared at her house as he pulled up next door.

 

“But…” She pointed out the window, not moving from her seat. She then pointed at the house they were parked in front of. “You live here?” He nodded and got out. He opened her door and slung her backpack over his shoulder,

 

“Come on, best get you inside.” He took her wrist and walked her dazedly to her front door. He knocked and waited for someone to answer the door. Her mother was the one to answer the door and she smiled placidly at him and then looked back to her dazed daughter.

 

“Can I help you?” Her queried.

 

“Actually, I was just dropping Rin off from school. I live next door and saw her walking on the way so I decided to give her a lift.” He took her pack off his shoulder and gently handed it to Rin. “Now that she's safe and sound, I best be getting off.” He nodded quickly and made his way back to his house. Rin silently walked into her house and up to her room.

 

“Rin, dear, are you alright?” Her mother called. There was no answer as Rin shut the door to her room,

 

~Time elapse~

 

Rin came back down the stairs, basketball and towel in hand. Her mother quirked an eyebrow. “Planning on playing basketball from the pool?” Rin shook her head and smiled.

 

“No, I couldn't decide if I wanted to play basketball or swim today…so I figured I'd bring both and decide once I got outside.” Her mother nodded and walked into another room.

 

“Just don't stay out too long. Too much practice will wear on you, dear. You need to be sensible alright?” Rin sighed and smiled to herself.

 

“Alright. I'll just swim for a little while tonight.” She called and shut the back door. She tossed the ball and it bounced into the grass next to the fence. She quickly dropped her towel on the chair and dove into the cool water. She let out a little yelp at the temperature but continued to swim. If Sesshomaru were here…he'd laugh at me like he always does. That boy is so… she sighed mentally as she swam. She and Sesshomaru had been spending quite a bit of time together around school. She liked it cause she felt safe from Kohaku, and she was with the cutest guy on the face of the planet, and she was falling for him. She sighed, who wouldn't?

 

Sesshomaru held his basketball in his hands. He was still angry. After a week, he was still mad. It was crazy! He wanted to snap Kohaku in half. She was supposed to be his best friend. Best friends didn't hurt each other, or get mad like he did over a stupid argument. He shot the ball and watched as it swished through the net. He grabbed the ball and stopped as he heard her little yelp on the other side of the fence. Her scared, brown eyes floated to his memory and he groaned. He slammed the ball against the back-board and realized belatedly that it was going to go over the fence, yet again. He listened as it bounced hard off the concrete and then grimaced as he heard a splash and an annoyed `ow'. Water on cement was the next thing he heard and then her voice at the fence. “That was mean Sesshomaru.” He turned to the fence and peered through one of the slats and found himself staring deep into one of her brown eyes. The ball came over the fence and landed with a muted thud in the dirt next to him. “Next time you want my attention, just ask for it.” She turned from the fence and grabbed her towel to dry off. He didn't draw away from the fence as she sat in the chair and dried her hair, nor as she stood and gathered her things and went inside. He pulled back and stared at the ball sitting next to him. He shook his head,

 

“I didn't just do that.” He sighed and went back to shooting hoops. He heard his gate open and then click closed. He caught the ball and then turned to look at Rin now standing in his backyard in a pair of dance shorts, tennis shoes and a tank top. “What are you doing in my backyard?” His voice was biting more out of shock then anger.

 

“Well, you injured me with the basketball cause you wanted my attention. Well I wasn't going to just ignore it, so I'm here…you have my attention. What do you plan to do with it?” She grinned and quirked an eyebrow. She appeared so calm and collected, and dare she think it, confident on the outside, but inside she was sweating like crazy. She was standing in the yard of the all-star basketball player of her school, he was a god and she found herself crushing on him the longer she looked at him, granted she had been hanging out with him for the past week, it was still nerve racking. He just stared at her and then a small smile formed across his lips. He bounced the ball to her.

 

“Check…” She caught the ball and looked at him curiously.

 

“You expect me to play the all-star of our team and win?”

 

“No, I expect you to play the all-star of our team and lose…miserably.” He grinned and she turned her back to him, holding the ball.

 

“You are much too cocky. Why don't we make a wager…” He grinned, Perfect. I couldn't have planned it better. He nodded.

 

“What do you want if you win?” She thought, and grinned wickedly.

 

“Public recognition that I beat you,” He smiled, “To the entire basketball team.” His smile disappeared.

 

“Alright…and when I win…you have to go to the celebratory dance with me tonight…in what ever I pick out. I'm thinking a nice tutu and a frumpy shirt ought to be perfect.” She blanched. He'd actually make her wear it she thought. She nodded. “Be prepared to be humiliated!” She sniffed and rolled her shoulders.

 

“I wont be needing to.” She dribbled the ball and bumped into him, trying to keep the ball away from him. She turned and twisted the other way. Seeing an opening she took the jump fade-away and smiled as the swish sounded. “One…so what are we going to?” She caught the ball and tossed it to him.

 

“Five.” He bounced the ball to her and she bounced it back. He turned and backed his way towards the hoop. It was no contest, she was as good as his. He turned and dodged her hands and took the shot. It bounced off the backboard and into the hoop. “One…” She rolled her eyes.

 

“It's the only one you're going to get…” She took it out and then bounced it back in. She dribbled quickly and shot, but it bounced off the rim and right into the hands of her opponent. A quick lay-up and he turned and smiled at her.

 

“Two.” She sniffed.

 

“You got lucky…” She dribbled and moved to the outside rim to take a fade away shot. It bounced high off the back board and then into the court. She darted forward and made the rebound. She dribbled and made a quick lay-up. “Two.” He took the ball out and bounced it to her and she surprised even him when she managed to steal the ball and sink another basket. “Three.” He growled, she was good. He took the ball out once more and took an aggressive three point and smiled as it went swish right through the net.

 

“Three.” She took it out again and tried to make it towards the basket, but was stopped quickly when he stole the ball and stood at the free-throw line. The ball bounced off the backboard and went into the net. She grimaced. “Four. Game point.” She bounced it in again and tried an aggressive tactic instead. It was game point after all. Seeing he wasn't going to back down she turned and backed up, still dribbling. He was firmly pressed against her, feeling each movement she made. He turned playful and gently placed a kiss to her neck, just below her ear. She gasped and stopped. He quickly stole the ball and made a dunk. “Five.” He smiled triumphantly. She sputtered.

 

“You cheated!”

 

“How?”

 

“You…You…” She growled and glared at him. “I'm not going to the dance with you. You didn't win fairly.” He deflated. She wasn't supposed to get so bent out of shape about it. He sighed, he knew what he'd do. He handed her the ball.

 

“How about this…you make the next point, you win. I make it, I win.” She took the ball and glared at him suspiciously, “Deal?”

 

“Deal.” She bounced it in and then began her play. He wasn't trying, at least not fully. She turned and shot and smiled as it went into the basket. She jumped up and laughed, eyes closed. “I win! I…” She gasped as strong arms came around her and a pair of warm lips settled against her gently. She looked at him, her eyes stuck open in pure shock. Slowly she shut her eyes and melted into the kiss. She felt like putty in his arms. One of his hands came up and framed her jaw delicately. He eased her jaw open and kissed her fully. She would have gasped if she could. She was too focused on the kiss. After a few heady moments he pulled away and trailed feather-light kisses along her jaw.

 

“Yes, Rin, you do win. I'll give you public recognition.” He placed a kiss to her collarbone. Her skin was salty from the sweat, but she still tasted sweet to him. Gently he sucked leaving his mark there. “Will you still go to the dance with me?” He kissed her shoulder gently, “Please?” She gasped. The only place she wanted to go with him at the moment was his bedroom, or hers…She shook her head clear and gently patted his shoulder.

 

“Yes, but if you don't stop this…I'm not going to be able to walk on my own.” He let out small chuckle, something he never did. He released her and looked at his watch.

 

“The game is in about an hour…and the dance is immediately afterwards. Well, providing the players get a few minutes to shower.” He smiled, “Want to join that part as well?” She blushed.

 

“Sesshomaru!” She hissed out embarrassed.

 

“Just thought I'd ask. So if you don't want to go to the game, why don't you show up at school around nine thirtyish…I'll call if it ends sooner.”

 

“No, I'm going to the game.” She smiled, “I wouldn't miss the look on the teams face when they find out…” He groaned.

 

“I would…” He shrugged, “I have to go get ready. See you later.” He placed one more breathlessly hot kiss to her lips and then walked inside to get a quick, cold shower before the game. Rin stood dumbfounded in his backyard, thoughts zipping through her head. She heard a window slide shut in his house and began walking towards the gate. Tonight is going to be interesting…she thought curiously.