Hating to Lose by QuothTheDragon

Hating to Lose

Disclaimer: Do Not Own Inuyasha =(

“So you’re telling me that we have to make Naraku angry in order to finally defeat him?” Kagome asked incredulously, looking at the small pack in front of her.

                “Exactly, miko,” Sesshoumaru stated, a miniscule hint of impatience in the taiyoukai’s voice, “Rin overheard the wind witch and void youkai discussing the last time Naraku got truly angry.”

                “Well, now we need to know what makes Naraku angry,” she stated hopefully.

                A week ago, the blue-eyed priestess never would have thought to be in this situation. She had been minding her own business, making ramen for the rest of the Inu-tachi, when she had been kidnapped! Again! Imagine her surprise when she realized that her kidnapper was Sesshoumaru. Now she was standing in the middle of a dense forest with the cold lord himself. To make the situation even odder, he was telling her, of all people, how to defeat Naraku.

                Now, she had to figure out what made Naraku angry. Why was she even here? She should be at home, hanging out with friends, being normal, going to school. She was even missing Yuka’s volleyball game to be here! Kagome really hoped they were winning.

                “Wait, that’s it! I know how to do it!”

                A single, silver eyebrow was raised at her exclamation.

                “Naraku hates to lose! Think about it, he couldn’t stand losing Kikyou to Inuyasha, and now he can’t stand losing the Shikon no kakera to us. So, now we need a surefire way to make him lose. Maybe I can think of something when I go home tomorrow. You’re going to help us, right, Sesshoumaru?” Kagome’s blue eyes looked up at him, sparkling in her excitement and hope.

                “Hai, this Sessoumaru will lend you his aid.”

                “How can we contact each other if we think of something?”

                “This Sesshoumaru has something that may be of use,” he stated in his usual stoic tone. He reached his hand into his haori and pulled out a bracelet. It was a curved band of silver with a royal blue crescent moon in the center.

                “It’s beautiful,” the miko breathed softly, before she remembered something raher important. “Sesshoumaru, I almost forgot. I know a way to repay you for you helping us. Kaede has been teaching me healing techniques and I think I can restore your arm.”

                Silently, he revealed his left arm from under his haori sleeve, which Kagome now realized was slightly longer than the other sleeve. She blushed in embarassment.

                “Oh, of course you would be able to handle it on your own. I meant no assumptions on your strength. I must commend you on being able to make your opponents underestimate you so much.”

                His right hand reached up and took her left wrist, somehow slipping the bracelet onto her wrist at the same time.

                “Think of me with the intent to see me and I shall know you have an idea,” he murmured quietly, slowly allowing Kagome’s hand to drop back to her side.

                “Oh, wow, thank you Sesshoumaru. It really is beautiful.”

                They stood there for a moment in an almost awkward silence.

                “Can you take me back to camp before the others worry?” He nodded and she smiled.

                Picking her up, bridal style, the golden-eyed taiyoukai ran back to an area near the campsite of the Inu-tachi. He gently let her down onto the ground and the miko turned to face him.

                “Thanks for everything, Sesshoumaru.” Wary of his armor, she latched onto him for a quick second. As she disappeared into the direction of the campsite, the taiyoukai was left standing there in a small amount of disbelief. Silently, he turned and left. The miko would be the death of him, he decided.

oOo

                Kagome returned home the next day, immediately calling up Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi for a bit of girl time. They were to meet up at WacDonald’s in an hour. Kagome quickly got ready and ran down the stairs.

                “ Okaa-san! I’m meeting Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi in a few minutes. See you later!”

                “Kagome, you just got back-” her mother stopped when she saw her daughter disappear down the shrine stairs. Sighing, she went back to cleaning up after lunch, wondering what had her daughter so excited.

                WacDonald’s wasn’t too crowded, thankfully. Kagome had started disliking crowds after being in the wide open spaces of the Sengoku Jidai for so long. Her friends were already there, and they beckoned her over to there booth.

                “What are you getting to eat, Kagome?” Ayumi questioned.

                “Oh, I already ate. Home-cooked meals are more nutritious.”

                “That’s good. You need to keep up your strength. So, have you seen Hojo-kun lately?” Eri asked slyly.

                Yuka’s eyes went wide. “Oh, guys. Real nice. I just lost the game.”

                Eri and Ayumi groaned too. “Now we lost too.”

                Kagome sat there, wide-eyed and confused. What were they talking about?

                “What’s the game?” she asked curiously.

                “To not think or talk about the game,” Eri groaned, “I was winning for so long too, Yuka. That was cruel.”

                “Huh?” she said eloquently.

                Ayumi huffed, glaring at Yuka. “It’s simple, Kagome. There are three rules. Rule One: You are playing the game. Rule Two: Whenever you think about the game, you lose. Rule Three: You must announce when you lose the game. You get it?”

                “Yeah. It sounds fun. Is there any way to win?” she asked curiously.

                “No,” Yuka said, amused at the other two, “mainly because even if you forget, if someone around you loses the game, you’ll remember. It’s a vicious cycle.”

                Thinking about it for a moment, she realized the potential it had.

                “You guys are the best, but I have to go. I’ll call you next time we can meet up.”

                With that, Kagome ran out of the restaurant and sped home. She had to get through the well.

                “Okaa-san! Where’s my pack?”

                “In the kitchen, dear. Where are you going?”

                “I have to go back.”

                “Today? But you just got back. You can at least stay for dinner,” her mother said wearily.

                Kagome looked at her mother with sad eyes. “Sorry, okaa-san, but I tihnk I’ve found the way to destroy Naraku. Then I can be home for dinner after going to school all day,” she said, a slight smile on her face. Her mother brightened at that.

                “Okay, but I want to see you for more than a few hours next time, got it?”

                Kagome nodded gratefully. The miko sped out of her house and to the well house. She quickly jumped down and reappeared in the past. When she finally made it to the top of the well, she concentrated on the bracelet and Sesshoumaru. It warmed slightly against her skin, and taking that as a sign that he was coming, settled down to wait.

                A half hour passed and kagome was surprised that Inuyasha had yet to come get her. Maybe he hadn’t picked up on her scent? Those thoughts left her mind as she felt Sesshoumaru approaching. Standing up and brushing off her skirt, the blue-eyed girl waited for his arrival.

                “Sesshoumaru!” she called out when he revealed himself. “I’ve got it. I know how to deafeat Naraku!”

                His silver eyebrow raised in question.

                “Okay well first I have to say that I lost the game. Now, the game I’m referring to has three rules. Rule One: You are playing the game. Rule Two: Whenever you think about the game, you lose. Rule Three: You must announce when you lose the game. It’s so simple. If we can spread it around and Naraku hears about it, all we would have to do is announce that we lost the game in front of him, which would make him think about the game, and thus lose. What do you think?”

                After a moment, Sesshoumaru answered slowly, “It does seem plausible. We shall have to try it out. I can spread it among discrete messengers, perhaps convieniently in the area of one of his minions.”

                “I can tell the villagers we meet on our travels. They should be more than willing to learn the newest game being played everywhere,” she said seriously, but there was a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

                He nodded in agreement. “We shall meet periodically. I will come to you if I find something, and you shall alert me with the bracelet if you find anything.”

                Kagome nodded, a determined glint in her eyes. “We can do this. We can finally beat Naraku and keep him from hurting anyone else.”

                They parted and Kagome headed to the village to tell her friends the good news. Sesshoumaru went to spread the word of the game through his messengers. Both hoped the plan would work.

oOo

Over the past few months, the Inu-tachi and Sesshoumaru’s messengers had been spreading the game across the countryside. There had been no word of Naraku, and the group was thankful. It gave them time to prepare for the final battle. Everyone’s reactions to the plan were hilarious. They stared at her like she had turned into a youkai or something. After one long, drawn out, perfectly logical discussion, they decided the plan was the best shot they had, especially with Naraku’s history of hating to lose.

In every village they had come across, the rules of the game were spread. Soon, they would walk through a new village and hear shouts of “I lost!” followed by a chain reaction of people yelling at that person.

The time for the final battle finally came. The Inu-tachi was on the way back to Kaede’s village when Kagome’s bracelet began to burn. Sesshoumaru had warned her that it would react like that when he approached the final battle.

“Naraku’s coming!” she shouted, alerting the rest of her group.

They immediately stopped and readied themselves. Sesshoumaru appeared suddenly, causing Inuyasha to begin cursing him.

“Inuyasha,” she said sharply, “he’s an ally. Stop being so immature.”

He grudgingly nodded and went back to being alert. Kagome caught Sesshoumaru’s eye and he nodded slightly. They had their plan in place.

“Kukuku…the inu brothers have actually allied with each other to face me? What an honor,” Naraky sneered, stepping out from the nearby forest. The tachi could hear the various noises from his usual generic demon horde coming from deeper in the forest. Inuyasha readied Tetsusaiga, Miroku was ready to unleash his kazaana, and Sango had Hiraikotsu ready to fly. Sesshoumaru merely inclined his head ever so slightly towards Kagome. It was time to put the plan in action.

“Oh man! Guys, sorry to interupt and all, but I just lost the game!” she groaned, trying to hide a smirk. The effect was immediate, everyone but her, Sesshoumaru, and Naraku were groaning and mumbling to themselves. She even thought she heard a few curses directed towards her from Inuyasha.

                Meanwhile, Naraku was cycling through a few interesting shades of reds and purples.

                “NO!”

                Everyone looked for the source of the shout, and much to their surprise, found Naraku with his head bowed and fists clenched at his side. They all froze. Was the fearsome hanyou finally having a meltdown?

                “No! I will not lose!” In a flash, he jumped forward and grabbed the few Shikon shards from Kagome, and jumped back.

                Grinning evily, the spider hanyou reached into his haori and pulled out the rest of the Shikon no Tama. With an unusually crazed look in his eyes, Naraku dramatically fused together the Shikon no Tama. Everyone was shocked, they hadn’t ever expected this to happen. Before anyone could even think to spring into action, Naraku made his wish.

                “I wish…that I WIN THE GAME!!!” Everyone gasped. That was against the rules!

                Suddenly the skies darkened and Naraku looked slightly apprehensive. The evil hanyou’s crimson eyes widened and had gasped loudly, drawing everyone’s attention back to him. He attempted to say something, but a swirling vortex opened up underneath him and he was quickly sucked in.

                “He’s gone? Just like that?” Inuyasha asked.

                Miroku unveiled his kazaana, only nothing happened. “He’s gone!” he exclained joyously. The perverted monk turned to Sango and took her hands in his, a sparkle in his eyes. “Now you can bare me those children!”

                His head was then reacquainted with Hiraikotsu, its one true love.

                Sesshoumaru glanced over to Kagome, who was watching her friends with a soft smile. He approached and led her into the woods.

                “Miko…” he exhaled slightly, and started again. “Kagome. I am not one for long, drawn out conversations, and I am not skilled in sharing my emotions, so I will be blunt. Will you allow this one the honor of courting you?”

                Kagome looked up into those beautiful golden eyes. Her heart had been feeling more and more for the handsome taiyoukai in front of her during the past few months.

                “I can’t say that I love you, but there’s something there. I would love to allow you the honor of courting me.” They shared a smile and walked back into camp.

                Shippou was being chased around by a screaming Inuyasha. “You brat! You did that on purpose. Now I lost the game! You’re going to get it!” And the chase continued. Kagome let them have their fun just this once. She glanced up at her companion and smiled. The future was looking rather bright without that devious game-playing hanyou.

                She groaned aloud. “I just lost the game.”

By the way- you all just lost the game! mwahahahahaha-cough-choke-wheeze

Reviews are loved. Please tell me what you think!

~QuothTheDragon