Heh. This is my first Inuyasha fanfiction, and it's an M/S. Oh, and an AU, yes, I thought I should mention that.

Did you know it probably took me longer to code this then to write it? And it looks horrible.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of Inuyasha and Co. and the lyric courtesy of Coldplay and their song Clocks which I don't own.



Fusillade
Chapter One: Unchanging





"Lights go out and I can't be saved
Tides that I try to swim against
Brought me down upon my knees
Oh, I beg, I beg and plead..."





Wisps of smoke rose from the cigarette butts and faded into the air.

How she loathed the smell of smoke.

The basement itself however, smelled musty, of sweat and blood. Dust could be seen in the air by the light that shone from aged lamps hung from the ceiling. Rusty chain and wire fence surrounded and closed the two opponents in to only each other. Jeering and catcalls could be heard all around them, from spectators fighting to get closer to the metal cage.

A loud voice boomed above the chaos. "Our first competitor, who is looking to increase his five match winning streak, I have the honor to present to you, Ryota!"

The young man at one side of the enclosure stepped forward and bowed to the spectators, waving arrogantly.

There was uproar from the crowd, loud cheers as well as some adamant insults.

"And his challenger, the newest addition to the fighters here in the underground leagues, as well as the first female, everyone welcome Sango! Time to place your bets!"

There were cries of disbelief as Sango stepped forward, gritting her teeth as the male dominated crowd shouted rude comments at her.

"Hey, why don't I pick you up after the fight and you can wrestle with me!"

Sango just closed her eyes and breathed slowly. It wasn't about them. She had to have a mindset.

A bell clanged, signaling the beginning of the fight and Sango pushed all other distractions away other than her opponent. They circled each other for a few moments, sizing each other up. He already had a confident look in his face, seeing how she was a young woman still. He lunged at her, arms outstretched. Sango quickly ducked her head and brought her knee into his stomach. He bent over, and she brought her elbow down on his back, flipping him over onto his back on the mat. He quickly recovered, jumping to his feet, and charging at Sango again. He brought his fist back to punch her, but she moved past him and brought her leg around her, gathering momentum to kick him squarely on his back. He stumbled again, this time falling flat onto his face.

"A second counter and takedown! Our new fighter is giving Ryota quite a struggle!"

Becoming increasingly infuriated, Ryota rose to his feet once more and swiftly threw a fast punch at his female opponent, which he missed. She was quick, but she was too much of a defensive fighter. After missing a few more shots, he landed one squarely on her gut. She lurched, and he used the opportunity to bring his elbow around her arm and throw her over his head.

"A one arm takeover by Ryota! He brings Sango to the ground for the first time in the match!"

Sango clutched her gut, but ignored the pain, which quickly dissipated as she focused on the fight.

Ryota, realizing his advantage, quickly brought his heel down into Sango's stomach once again, causing her to groan out loud. He straddled her, pinning her arms down with his knees, and brought his fists down onto her face. Sango could feel the blood in her mouth as his bony fists crashed into her cheek. She stared defiantly up at him, as he raised his arm back to punch her again. She moved, and his fist hit mat. Seizing the distraction, Sango brought her knee up and into her opponent's groin. He tensed, and she tucked both feet underneath him and pushed as hard as she could, the muscles in her legs flexing as he was thrown a few feet away from her, still clutching his appendages.

"Is Lady Sango using underhanded tactics here? Anything goes in this ring, as long as its hand to hand combat!"

She held victory in her hands now. She ran over to him and dropped her elbow into his stomach. Kneeling over him, she punched him repeatedly, standing up before he could mirror her previous move. He got to his feet again, blood running down his nose. She ducked his punch, brought her elbow to the side of his face, squatted and tripped him.

Frustrated, he scrambled to his feet once again, and grabbed Sango by her throat, raising her up into the air. The sudden halt of air to her body made her vision blurry, but she took the easy way out again and kicked him in his most sensitive spot. He buckled, dropping her, and she gasped for air.

He was weakened, and she wasn't interested in drawing this fight out any longer. Sango charged forward, putting her hands down in a front flip. She brought her outstretched leg down onto her opponent's head, and he crashed to the mat in a heap.

Breathing heavily, she placed her foot squarely onto her fallen rival's chest and ground her heel in, while the tumultuous crowd surrounding her counted to three.





*





Unwrapping the tape around her wrists and feet, the winner of the match sat on a bench that was a placed for the fighters away from the crowd, which was now anxiously awaiting the next scheduled fight. She drank greedily from a water bottle, and then poured the remaining contents over her head.

Sango looked up as a man who looked to be in his late thirties approached. "Good job tonight girl," he stated, handing a clip of bills to her. "You did well. Won your fight. In your first night too."

Sango, who was too tired to question the man, simply nodded and put the money into her bag. "We'll schedule you in sometime next week, alright?"

"Sure," said Sango softly, now pulling on her coat. "I'll be ready."

"You could be a great fighter you know. Maybe even win the championship."

She laughed softly, almost bitterly. "I don't need a championship to prove anything. I just need the money."

He studied her countenance. "I can't help wondering...what a young lady like you is doing in a place like this..."

"I can't help wondering that myself."

She shook his hand, and walked up the stairs and out the door, into the cold air of the city.

Pulling her coat more tightly against her, Sango read off of a piece of paper, trying to find her apartment complex. It was one of the less luxurious ones in the city. Not quite ramshackle and not quite middle class, but somewhere in between. It wasn't what she would have wanted for herself, but with the extra income from the underground league, it was just affordable enough. Successfully locating the building, she went up the elevator and to her residence.

Sango flicked on the lights and promptly dropped her bag onto the floor. She shrugged off her jacket and threw that on the floor as well. The room was still full of opened and unopened boxes, tape and belongings strewn everywhere.

She stumbled to the washroom, turned the tap on and splashed some water on her face. It still stung from Ryota's punches tonight. However, there was no visible bruising, aside from a tint of redness, which would probably go away in the morning. After brushing her teeth and a quick shower, the exhausted fighter plunged onto the makeshift bed in her room, trying to ignore her aching stomach.

"I have no family." A simple statement.

"I'm all alone in this world." The simple truth.

Why did her family have to die the way they did? She missed her old home, not in the bustling, loud city, but in a cozy, rural area. She missed her father and brother, and how they were such a close knit family. They prayed for her mother often, and kept a candle lit and incense burning for her throughout the day, only extinguishing it before they retired to bed. Sango's father had promised her they would continue to live a happy life. She enjoyed school, and every family in the neighborhood there knew one another.

If it weren't for that ... that incident, she would still be with her family and friends, studying martial arts with her father, and taking Kohaku to the fair. She wouldn't have to be fighting in a dirty, illegal, underground league after hours just to pay the rent of her low-class apartment.

She stared into the empty darkness of the room, remembering everything.



Recently, she had begun staying after school to help out some of her teachers and tutor some of the younger students. Her younger brother, Kohaku, was growing annoyed with waiting for her every day, so she had started to send him home earlier with a friend.

It was one of these days like any other, and she was walking back to her home. She could remember everything about that day. How dusty the road was, the wildflowers that grew in the ditches, the azure blue of the sky, most prominently, the smell of smoke. It sickened her.

As she came closer to her neighborhood, the smoke smell became stronger, and irritated her nose. She brought her arm up over her nose and mouth, breathing through the fabric. She came closer and closer to her home, and the smell became more and more profound. She dropped her bag onto the dust and broke into a run. That was when she saw her home. Her home engulfed in flames, smoke pouring out of every open window, her neighbors gasping in awe of it all.

Fire trucks and police cruisers were scattered all around the perimeter of her home, a few littered her lawn screaming instructions to one another.

"Father! Kohaku! What's going on!" she cried. She kept running towards her house, stopping to rip through the police tape, when strong arms held her back. "Let me go! My father! My brother!" Sango cried, tears flying from her eyes.

Firefighters were running through her home, dousing the flames as best as they could, but they had become too strong.

The officer who had stopped her tried his best to comfort her. "Calm down, just calm down," he tried to say in a normal voice, but his words were shaky. Sango spun around and grabbed the front of his uniform.

"What happened here? Where is my family?"

The officer who had grabbed her looked lost for words. Sango struggled to get towards her home.

"Let me go! I have to save my father and my brother! Get them out!"

She screamed herself hoarse. She was holding her throat, which was rapidly growing dry.

"GET THEM OUT!"

Suddenly, all the firefighters started shouting to one another in a panic, and began pushing people away from the house. They pulled Sango along with them, but she still adamantly refused to be led away.

It seemed to happen in slow motion. She was violently struggling against the two officers and some of her friends that were holding her back. Being a strong fighter, trained by her father, she broke out of their grasps, and ran towards her house. She ignored them screaming for her to stay away.

"Father, Kohaku! Get out of there! You have to get out!"

There was a loud explosion, and a deafening crack, as the house gave way. Sparks and flaming debris shot everywhere, littering the fields. The impact of the collapse threw Sango backwards. She shielded her face with her arms as she was flipped over onto her front and skidded across the grass.

Something whipped her across her back. It was hot, and it burnt through her clothes, searing her very skin, but she didn't have the strength to shake it off. All around her, the screams were echoing, and the pieces of her house were scattered all around her in flames.

Sango lay still, her eyes still open in shock. She felt the earth waver beneath her. Everyone was dead. It hadn't even been a day yet; she hadn't even turned seventeen yet. She was all alone.

Coughing, Sango swiped at her eyes angrily and rolled onto her side, clutching her stomach tightly, which lurched in response. "I never said good bye to my father. I never even told my brother how much I loved him before he left. All that I could say was…I'll see you when I get home. I didn't. I thought I would. I didn't"

Did they ever find out what caused the fire?

Investigation was inconclusive.

What good would knowing what caused it do. They were gone. She was alone in this new city. This supposed, ' new beginning.'

Things would never be the way they were.

"I will try my best to continue my life… for you."

She gave herself a mental shake and attempted to let sleep come to her. It was already very late, and she needed her strength for another long day tomorrow.

After all, it was going to be her first day at the local high school.



--

*cough* Ahh I know that was very . . . bland. I don't know what I'm doing. So review and tell me what I should be doing.

The first thing I'd like to apologize for is the horrible way the fic looks. I had alot of problems formatting it, I couldn't get the html codes to display properly, and I really wanted to publish this story. I sat in front of the computer uploading and uploading for two hours and THIS is what happens. I'm really sorry everyone. I was so disappointed in how it came out, and it makes the writing seem unkempt and messy. If anyone can help me out with the HTML codes, please please come forward! If I can fix it up I WILL re-upload it again because I feel awful.

Last note, I don't have a beta reader or input from others or anything like that, so anything you have to say is important!

Fusillade: Chapter One
Written 02/29/04

Uploaded and HORRIBLY formatted
March 1st, 2004