Fastball
Summary: AU It wasn't just a game; it was a life for Kagome. But it isn't so easy to reach a dream when you've got hounding teachers, nagging parents, and an (attractive) arrogant boy on your back.
A/N: The weirdest things just inspire me; this time it's from the movie Love and Basketball and the end of my Microsoft Word 60-Day Trial. I know the movie sounds corny, and the MW expiration thing was weird, but a. the movie was so incredibly awesome, and b. I'm using Microsoft Processor now. Will the story end happily? Who knows!
Disclaimer: Who, me? I own no Inu-Yasha. Talk it over with someone else, buddy.
Prologue
Nghi
She reminisced nineteen years before- it was strange, because it wasn't like her to remember what she had for breakfast yesterday morning, let alone what had happened almost two decades earlier. But here she was, sitting at the French-décor café with a small cup of coffee in hand and thinking about a little Osaka boy who had made off with her heart once upon a time.
How had it happened, she mused, cocking her head lightly. She remembered hating him, teasing him, pushing him, hugging him, kissing him…. The bad was quick and blurred, and all she could think about- all that her mind would let her think about- was his smell, his eyes, and his smooth, tanned skin in later years.
The coffee was only slightly more than half-full, but her head was more than half-empty already, and she hummed a French tune absently to go along with her surroundings; for once the paparazzi hadn't followed her into such a private and reserved place, and she grinned at a moment's peace. Being so famous had done nothing to alleviate her stress level, and she hadn't been able to take anymore exacerbation and provocation without someone by her side.
The smile faltered accidentally, and she held onto those evanescent feelings for as long as could. Then came the flood of horrible memories- the fights, the hurtful words, the infidelity… and the breakups. She remembered the last ending he gave her, all bitter and no sweet, and she knew it was too long ago and a day to cry over spilt milk and that it would take a lot more to break her than a little, Osaka boy.
The T.V. began talking to the lolling audience, and it pulled her out of the beaten, wayward path just in time to hear"To the big event of sports year, Furiko Inuyasha has been in the hospital for a while now. It is more than a little injury, unfortunately, and fans will be disappointed to hear that he has formally announced his plan to sit out for the rest of the year." A big man nearby groaned loudly and muttered to the gods. "This could be more than a cost for the star player's bill- it might cost the 25 year-old's baseball team the championship this season. More on that with Kaozumi…."
The pastry-cook from behind the counter drawled something that sounded French and sympathetic, and she guessed it was somewhere along the lines of, "Pity." It was true, though, and she quietly agreed; without the backbone of the team, how could they even think about winning? "This is truly one of the most shocking events that has happened in the history of baseball," Kaozumi was saying, and she began to pay a little more attention. "Tabloids have been spreading rumors about this for many weeks, about why Furiko has been out of commission for too long- and especially during one of the most intense seasons. Finally, a reluctant Coach Akiro has scheduled a press interview, and all questions have been answered. For one thing, there was no sex scandal involving him and a fifteen year old minor-" she wrinkled her nose. "-and there were no legal actions against the November restaurant fiasco. On the contrary, both arguments have been settled out of court, and Furiko's reputation remains clean… for now." Kaozumi shifted his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, and she sneered at him silently for making a famous baseball athlete sound like a petty criminal.
"But the latest is sure to shock and displease more fans than ever before- late last March, Inuyasha seems to have torn his ACL during the match against the Dragons." She watched, unfazed as the channel repeated an old segment clip. "Towards the end of the home run, Furiko made a dive for the base, and he strained his leg in the process of it. Upon further X-Rays, the doctors have concluded that it was the long-term effect of putting too much strain on the knee-"
The T.V. shut off, and the baker looked around wildly. "Que! Qui a fait ceci?" He stopped short of a rant, seeing a boy with the dusty remote control in hand. "Vous, le petit garçon, allumez le T.V. maintenant!" The jolly man stamped a few times with his foot and held out a hand for emphasis, but the boy shook his head. "J'appellerai la police si vous ne donnez pas me soutient la télécommande!"
It was all a blur of French and tongue rolling, and she was certain no one else understood the pretty language. But the familiarity of the word 'police' was there, and the little child flung the remote at the man. "Take it then," he snapped angrily. "But I don't need to hear stuff like that about my favorite team." He took off after quickly with his mother trailing after him like a mother goose. She apologized intermittently with the boy's name ("Ryo, Ryo!"), and the baker just rolled his eyes. "Gosses," he muttered under his breath before turning on the television.
It was the end of the report, she realized with a sinking heart; but still, it was better than nothing. It had been eight months of nothing, and everyone was so busy, so at least she would know how he was. Then the news channel did something she never expected- the screen switched from Kaozumi's face to Inuyasha's. "Am I on? Oh- OK. Hey, fans." He waved a little bit from behind the big cast on his leg, and she thought he looked ridiculously cute. "This is Furiko Inuyasha from the Youkai no Tora. Unfortunately, I am confined to this beep piece of beep for about three beep years. And just my luck that it's the beep finals this year." He sighed dramatically, and she wondered if he realized that half the population of Japan had been watching him just then.
"So anyways, send me lots of get-well cards and flowers, everyone. I'm sure I can heal faster with your support." He grinned winningly, and she shook her head. Still saccharine after all this time… and right after such a disgraceful speech, too.
"OK, am I done now? Is the damn thing-" The camera switched back again over to a slightly irate Kaozumi. "This has been Naka Kaozumi, Channel Four."
The room was thoughtful as the news switched over to a few commercials. Then"Ooh, I'm going to buy those pretty tulips I found today and send them to Mr. Furiko!" one woman exclaimed giddily. As soon as the poor lady announced her intentions, suddenly everyone began experiencing a phenomenon one could describe as a 'shopping panic'.
"I'm going to make him a carrrrrrrd!"
"Mr. Furiko likes roses, right? I'm sure he does- I got a ton of those around!"
"I have sixty gazillion fake flowers, and I took flower arrangement classes, too!"
"I'm going to buy him a cute, little teddy bear so he can hug it to sleep every night!"
"Qui a besoin des fleurs? Je vais l'envoyer certains des meilleurs croissants dans le monde!"
Amidst the attempts to clamor into neighborhood stores or purchasing a dozen postage stamps or baking crispy croissants or just frankly trying to outdo one another in terms of who could be more gracious, only she stayed behind, still stirring her lukewarm coffee. She wasn't even sure if she would do anything; she had the visitation access, but it would certainly be most awkward after such a long time in their stagnant relationship- no, 'friendship'. Did she even want to meet him?
More importantly, did he want to meet her?
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