Disclaimer: All characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Shot Through the Heart

Dead.

They were all dead.

First went that annoying brat who was trying to peek at Kagome in ways he was not allowed to peek at Kagome. Watching him fall was very satisfying actually. Second to go was Kagome's grandfather. Mostly just because he was annoying and always trying to banish him from the house with spells that never worked. Oh! The noises he made when he was hit! Talk about loud. Third was that kid with the whiny voice who kept complaining about every little thing.

Souta could use some less annoying friends.

It was tough to do, and he hated even thinking about it, but Kagome's mother was next. She was RIGHT THERE! He had no choice really, he had to do it. He did think twice about it though.

Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.

Every single one of them.

Inuyasha looked down at the gun in his hand. Well, not every single one. Kagome was still out there. She was armed, and doing her best to take him down. Her last shot nearly hit him, but he was faster than she was accurate.

He was impressed with how stealthy she was becoming, even though she was trying to shoot him in the heart. He couldn't help but grin with pride when he saw her leap across the open area, shoot, and duck into a roll. Smoothly she rolled to her feet and ducked into a safe covered area. He could have taken her out then, but felt it would be bad timing. No reason to tarnish her excellent execution of a move with killing her.

When he was first given the gun, he was uncertain he wanted to use it. And he knew he didn't want to use it on Kagome. But the hunting turned out to be more fun than he anticipated. Everyone tended to aim high, probably aiming for the head, but his instincts kept him low to the ground. Without his feet ever leaving the ground he managed to dodge all of their attempts to defeat him.

Even Kagome's.

The flashing lights were a little disorienting, so he kept his eyes closed most of the time. Besides, it would give his miko a sporting chance at survival. His hearing was muted thanks to the cap firmly on his head, but he still had the advantage.

A shot came low from the left, he barely managed to escape it. Kagome was improving her strategy. She was smart. She was learning. She was going to actually kill him if he didn't start taking this a bit more seriously and kill her first.

She had sworn vengeance after he took out her mother. Was it wrong to think that she had never looked so... well... attractive... as when she was standing there in righteous fury?

At first they had yelled at each other as they dodged and attacked. But now they were silent and stealthy. Deadly. They both knew that time was running out. They had been circling closer to one another, in a roundabout way. The end was coming... for one of them. Poor Kagome.

He could feel the vibrations of her steps as she ran. He could hear her breaths coming heavy and fast, though he knew she was reminding herself to be calm and take slow deep breaths. He could hear her whispering to herself. Once more she shot her gun while rolling to safety. It was a good thing she chose to wear those leg coverings, (skin tight, but only fell past the knees) under her skirt.

She was shooting blind though, he knew he was well hidden in the shadows. Also, had she known where he was, she probably wouldn't have chosen to hide behind the wall where he was standing.

Or would she?

Inuyasha smiled as he heard Kagome's breath even out. She DID know where he was! Somehow he just knew it. He took a moment to enjoy the feeling of having Kagome so close to him. He could feel her presence.

His hand tightened on the gun.

He heard Kagome take a slow deep breath, he took one as well. Then he pivoted on the ball of his right foot and took aim.

Looking down he saw Kagome's gun right in the middle of his chest. It was fitting, since his was right in the middle of hers. All they had to do was pull the trigger and it would all be over.

"Inuyasha..."

"Kagome..."

Taking out the others had been easy. Poof, lights out. He placed his hand on top of hers and looked into her eyes. He couldn't... He couldn't' shoot Kagome.

"Do it," he told her.

Tears filled her eyes. "I... I can't..."

He lowered his gun, and his head. She tried to drop the gun, but he wouldn't let her. Instead... he put enough pressure on her hands to trigger the gun.

"Inuuyaaashaaaaaaa!"

He dropped to the floor, she dropped down next to him. She grabbed onto his hand and held it to her chest.

"Why?" she whispered.

Golden eyes warmed as he smiled at her. "If one of us lives... it has to be you."

She smacked him on the chest.

"Hey! You just shot me there!"

"Oh don't be such a baby."

"Awwww..." cried a disappointed voice from above, "I can't believe he let her win."

"I want ice cream," whined another voice.

Inuyasha closed his eyes, the whine piercing his skull. "Try shooting me again. Maybe this time it will work."

Kagome laughed, then stood up and held up her hand. "Come on, let's go get some ice cream before the others eat it all."

Inuyasha took her hand, reluctantly letting it go as he followed her out of the large room/arena. There, coming down the stairs from the observation booth, were the monsters. How did he let Kagome talk him into even coming to this place? Souta's friends jumped up and down and pulled at his hair and clothes asking a million questions, none of which he answered. Brats. He regretted shooting Kagome's mother as soon as she joined them and took them away to the banquet room they had reserved.

"So... laser tag," said Inuyasha as he took off the harness that held the sensors for the game, then helped her off with hers. "Wasn't too bad."

"Nice dramatic death at the end," Kagome smiled up at him. She took his sensors and turned them in to the clerk with her own.

"Feh."

"Thank you for coming to Souta's birthday party. He will be bragging to his friends for months at how incredible you were at that game."

Inuyasha blushed, and turned to hide his grin. "You did pretty good, too. Where did you learn that jump and roll thing?"

"Movies. Hurts more in real life though, I think I'll be bruised for weeks."

She was hurt?

Concerned, he gently took her arms and looked at the skin, checking for bruises. He pulled the tight, yet stretchy, fabric of her legging to look at her knees. Sure enough, knees and elbows were scrapped, and her arms and legs were sure to bruise. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, he should have been more careful. He should have remembered how fragile humans were. He shouldn't have let her play the game.

He opened his eyes to find her glaring at him. He prayed that he didn't say that last part out loud. Kagome didn't like the word "let" sometimes.

"I'm fine. Quit worrying. You have your guilty face on. Stop that. We're here to celebrate and have fun and eat lots of yummy treats."

They went to get some ice cream at the frozen treat stand nearby, then walked around together while Souta and his friends begged his mother for another round of laser tag. The place was noisy and smelly, he would have been long gone if not for Kagome. She made everything tolerable.

"You should have shot me, Inuyasha. You would have won."

He stopped in mid lick of his ice cream cone, the swallowed. He couldn't hurt her... not even playing pretend. "No I couldn't have."

"It is just a game. Electronic signals, I think. It doesn't hurt at all." She laughed. "Unless you start trying to pull some fancy moves by rolling around on a floor. Good thing they don't look like real guns, Mama would never have allowed Souta to play with one of those."

"I just... I couldn't." He took a deep breath. "You didn't shoot me either."

"I..."

"It was just a game. Electronic signals." He wasn't sure what electronic signals were, but if the argument was good enough for her...

She sighed instead of laughed this time. "I just couldn't."

Inuyasha stopped walking and looked down at Kagome. "Your life," his voice was low and rough with emotion, "Your safety, your happiness. Those will always come first, Kagome. Always."

Ask me why, he begged silently.

Then changed his mind. Don't ask me why!

Instead of answering, she bumped her hand against his. He looked down at it, so pale and fragile next to his, then he let his fingers intertwine with his. His hand enveloped hers. The sight sent a wave of protectiveness through him that was staggering.

He cleared his throat, needing to say something. Needing something else to tie their lives together, something else to bring them closer.

"Why wouldn't she let you play with ones that look like real guns?" he asked instead.

He sighed, wishing he had found something more... more SOMETHING.

Kagome squeezed his hand just a little, luckily she did not let go. She watched the kids playing with their fingers pointed and shouting "BANG". Then she told him about what real guns could do, and Inuyasha was horrified. Then he remembered the shows that Souta would beg him to watch with him, and he made the connection about what a gun really was.

He had been letting Kagome go ALONE to this place? On the small screen in her living room they seemed so small and harmless... now their small and easily concealed size made them seem even more dangerous! At least with a sword you see that coming!

Seeing his panic, Kagome immediately started telling him about laws and safety measures and who knows what else. All he knew was that this world was no safer for Kagome than his own. Letting her roam around here alone was no longer an option. In fact, there was only one way that he could be sure that Kagome would always be safe.

He looked down into her eyes, then leaned his head down to touch his forehead to hers, drawing strength from her closeness. From her scent.

He would just have to stay by her side forever... to keep her safe.

oOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOo oOOooOOoo

Laser Tag rules: There are lots of different rules for laser tag. It can be held inside or outside. From what I've read, you strap on sensors (it varies from chest to head) and you try to shoot those sensors with the gun that sends some sort of electronic signal.

Author's Notes:

See, I have not forgotten this story. It just took a while for me to start working on this chapter. I'm batting around other game ideas, but nothing yet that is for certain.

It was interesting reading about how many variations there are of laser tag. I wrote the story based on what I imagine it is like. Sadly, I have never played it. I want to though. Anyone up for a game of laser tag?