The Games of Life by Phoe Nix
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: Please don't sue me. Please don't sue me. Please don't sue me. Inuyasha does not belong to me. I just want to imagine with words for a while. I will repeat it each chapter so you don't sue me.
Author Note: I wanted to try my hand at ‘The Drabble.’ I cannot limit myself to 100 or 500 words, however.. Somewhere around 1000 words each, with the unifying theme of games. To be updated sporadically. Do know that I will call these vignettes. Sounds sexier than one shot collection.
~*~
The Games of Life
By
Phoe Nix
~*~
"Not even you can ruin my day, you big nasty toad demon.” Kagome called out to the rabid youkai that had dashed into the path they were walking.
"Jewel Shards,” it croaked.
"No, no, my name is Kagome. I’d like you to meet my friend, Arrow.”
Kagome, bow in hand, pulled the string back. “Toad, Arrow.”
"Arrow, Toad.” She fired.
The beast disintegrated in a burst of a pink light.
"Oy! Do you have to get your miko dust everywhere?” Inuyasha griped from behind her, batting the pink glitter off his haori with one hand, the other relaxed at the hilt of his sword
"That’s two for me and none for you,” she sang out to her dog-eared friend.
"Lady Kagome, your skill has increased greatly in the past few months. Maybe Inuyasha would be more receptive if you didn’t flaunt it in his face. Modesty is a wonderful virtue in young women.” The houshi offered as they ambled along.
“Shut it, Monk. You are the last one to be talking about virtue,” a smile on the taijiya’s face despite her warning. “Besides, all Inuyasha has to do is keep up.”
Kagome, bow and arrow in place again over her shoulder, called out to Shippo, “Young kit, dance with me in celebration.” She picked up the little fox youkai, and started to waltz with him in measured steps down the path. “One and two, and three and four.”
"You’re so silly Kagome,” Shippo giggled.
Kagome dipped the kit low, one arm holding him, one arm outstretched. “Why Sir, you dance divine.”
It was a beautiful spring day, Naraku was quiet on the Western front, and Kagome had graduated high school a week ago. With one of the great sources of stress in her life removed, life just seemed so much more vibrant.
"Wench!” Inuyasha called.
"Yes, Dog Boy?” Kagome replied sweetly.
Inuyasha huffed at her response. “We are not going to get any ground covered with you hopping around like a plucked chicken.”
Kagome, perching Shippo on her shoulder, fell into step with the hanyou.
"Why Inuyasha, if you wanted to dance too all you had to do was ask.”
"Feh! As if.”
"Do you even have any idea where we are going?” she teased.
"You said you felt a shard in this direction. So that’s where we are going.”
"Okay.”
The comfortable silence only lasted for a minute.
"Let’s play a game, guys.”
Sango and Miroku shared a glance. With her growing powers, the miko had blossomed into a mischievous young lady. Miroku thought it was the borne of the girl’s desire to be a role model to the fox kit. Sango, privy to the miko’s inner thoughts, knew it was really because Kagome had learned to see the brighter side of things. She was just that kind of person.
"What did you have in mind, Lady Kagome?” Miroku asked.
"It’s a game called Onomatopoeia.”
"Stop making up words Wench.” Inuyasha said.
"Stop being a stick in the mud, Mutt.” Kagome elbowed the hanyou in the side, and smiled pleasantly at his sharp intake of breath. “Besides, this one is easy. Just think of a word that is also a sound. Like Hiss. It’s the word and the sound it makes.”
Shippo caught on first and piped up, “Zip!”
Miroku raised his hand, jiggling the prayer beads over his kazanna. “Buzz.”
Sango just had to out-do the monk, raised her boomerang, “Whizz.”
Kirara trotted over to Kagome, hopped on her other shoulder, and meowed.
Kagome giggled, petting the fire cat “Come on Inu, even Kirara had one.”
"Ooo, I know the perfect one for him!” Shippo cried.
They all looked to the kit, waiting for his answer. The little youkai was ever the clever one.
"Out with it,” Inuyasha demanded.
Shippo replied. “Thud.”
"Come here you little twerp.”Shippo disappeared in a flash with an irate hanyou on his heels.
Kagome doubled over in laughter as Inuyasha chased after the giggling kit down the path. Judging by the way two immature demons darted around, they would be covering a lot of ground in the day’s travel.
"Let’s play a different game,” Kagome call out to the two. “You can get him back a less violent way Inuyasha.”
Inuyasha gave up the chase. “How?”
"This one is also a word game called Antonyms. One person picks a word, and anyone else can say the first opposite word that comes to mind. Then just keep it going with another word.”
"How am I supposed to get the runt back with that?” Inuyasha huffed.
Kagome glared at him.
“I’ll start,” she said, “and maybe you’ll catch a clue.”Then she pointed to Inuyasha, “Boy.”
Inuyasha paused and then, quicker than she gave him credit, smiled wickedly. He pointed at Shippo, “Girl!”
"Hey!” the kit cried.
"Don’t get mad, get even,” Kagome advised.
Shippo stared pointedly at hanyou, and said, “Stupid.”
Kagome replied first, pointing to herself, “Smart.”
Inuyasha scoffed and she stuck her tongue out at him.
"Priestess,” Sango chimed in.
"Monk,” said Miroku.
Sango snorted, “Pervert.”
Miroku sighed dramatically, hand over his heart. “Prude.”
Shippo jumped out in front of them all, flexing his tiny muscles, “Demon.”
"Human,” Kagome offered.
Inuyasha scooped Kirara up, and held her in the air for display, “Kirara.”
Miroku shook his head at the antics, and then replied, “Inuyasha.” The half demon was definitely a dog.
"Miroku,” the hanyou fired right back.
Kagome beat everyone to the punch, “A nun.”
She shrugged off Sango’s amused stare. “Did you think I’d say you? You balance him by knocking sense into him. Which is not necessarily opposite.”
Sango, pink in the cheeks, gave it right back, “Kagome.”
Miroku tapped his chin before he said, “Sesshomaru.”
"No way that prick is her opposite,” Inuyasha said. “He is just a cold-hearted bastard.”
"And you are only proving my point,” the monk said wisely, “Kagome is a warm and loving woman with superior parentage.”
Kagome contemplated the Miroku’s assertion aloud as she walked. “I think Miroku’s right. If we were to take all the not-so-nice things you have said about your brother and compared them to me. None of them would apply. I’ll allow it.”
"Kagome,” Sango said.
"Sesshomaru,” she replied, glancing back at them, not really sure when she’d gotten ahead. “The yin to my yang. I got it.”
"Kagome!” This time from Inuyasha.
She walked into to something solid; someone tall and solid. Kagome glanced up, and supplied the answer they wanted. “Sesshomaru?”
Contrary to Inuyasha’s belief, the demon lord was quite warm.