Alright, I know I said that I didn't want to publish this until I finished The Pain of Goodbye, but I can't wait any longer! I have so many good ideas that have to come out. It probably isn't healthy that I get half of my lemony ideas from my science teacher. I hope you enjoy, and the original title for this was Innocent Angels.

Chapter One Started on: January 15, 2007

W I T H O U T W I N G S

Chapter One: Evil Angel

" Put Me to sleep, Evil Angel
Open your wings, Evil Angel
Fly over me, Evil Angel
Why can't I breathe, Evil Angel"

Evil Angel by Breaking Benjamin

The afternoon was sunny, as it usually was around this time of year. The students and faculty of Tokyo High School were slowly dragging through another school day. Summer vacation was just around the corner, and everyone was anxious for the final bell of the year to ring, sending them off into a great summer break. But for now, they had to endure the work they were given.

Miroku Houshi was sitting in math class with his friends Kagome Higurashi, and InuYasha Takahashi. Lucky for them, math was their last subject of the day. After this they could go home and enjoy themselves. Miroku and all of his friends were high school seniors, and had enough of the same school for four years in a row.

"Miroku, could you please solve this problem for the class?" Hatsumomo Sensei called from the black board at the front of the room. Miroku looked up from the notes that he was writing to study the problem. He looked intensely at the math problem, and examined it for a few moments.

" Fourteen." He answered confidently. Hatsumomo Sensei smiled, "that's correct." She replied and wrote the answer on that black board. As Miroku was sitting down InuYasha scoffed in annoyance, " show off. You always get good grades."

In response, Miroku just smiled, and answered, "well, I made it my top priority to get good grades in school."

InuYasha just turned around to the front of the room, so he would no longer risk the possibility of getting called on from sensei. Miroku looked up from his notes and looked up at the clock. There were only about twenty seconds left until the final bell.

He stared at the clock intently, waiting for the final bell to ring, sending a message that he was free to go home. He watched as the second hand seemed to go around at a snails pace. He couldn't wait to leave, to be able to stretch his legs after hours of endless sitting in uncomfortable wooden chairs.

Finally, the bell rang. The sound of freedom. Thank god it was Friday. Miroku grabbed his bag and stuffed his text books and notebooks inside.

' I can't believe how much homework we have tonight.' He thought sadly, and walked out of the class room toward his locker. The hallways were crowded with students and teachers alike. They were getting ready for the weekend ahead. When Miroku arrived at his locker he set his bad down on the floor beside him and began to put in his lock combination.

It wasn't long before he felt a pair of hands come over his eyes. "Guess who?" a cheery voice sang into his ears. It was Shima, Miroku's girlfriend of two years. She was always perky and jumpy, and loved to pass on her cheer to her other friends. Miroku smiled.

"Um, let's see...," He joked, giving Shima a little giggle, "mind if I have a little hint?" He asked playfully. Shima shook her head, "Nuh-uh. You have three guesses."

"Okay, I think it's..." Miroku began, but before finishing his thought, he turned around swiftly, freeing himself from Shima's grasp, and playfully grabbed her by the waist. "Shima!" He cried.

The sudden touch of Miroku's hands against her body made Shima yelp a little, catching the attention of some students in close range of them. She was blushing from embarrassment as the kids watched her. She smacked Miroku's hand, "Don't do that, you know how ticklish I am." She whispered sharply. Miroku, who was still getting a kick out of the whole episode, smiled and responded, "I'm sorry, I just can't resist."

Shima smiled, "that's okay." She answered, and rested her hands on his chest. Miroku was still laughing softly, making Shima mad. "Stop laughing, you jerk." She said.

"If I don't? Are you going to give me a spanking?" Miroku asked slyly.

"Maybe I will." Shima playfully added. She moved her hands from his chest and reached up to wrap her arms around his neck. She gave him a kiss, which was responded by a group of kids whooping and hollering at them.

'Ugh, damn Freshman. Way to ruin a moment.' Miroku thought angrily as he left Shima's lips.

"Are you coming to my swim meet today?" Shima asked, "You'll get to see me is a bathing suit." She teased, pressing her breast against Miroku's chest, giving him a taste of what he would see if he came.

"Of course." He answered, "but I have to get home. I have a mountain of homework tonight and I want to finish it before I do anything else."

"Okay."Shima said grinning. She gave him another quick peck on the lips and ran out of the building toward the parking lot. Miroku turned around to his locker and gathered the rest of his books that he needed for the night. He followed Shima to the lot too.

XXX

Arriving home at approximately three forty-five, just like he did everyday, Miroku opened the door to his house. He removed his shoes, and placed them on the small bamboo mat by the door way. His mother wouldn't be home for another hour or so, and his father was over seas on important business.

Well, at least that's what Miroku, and his mother were told. When Miroku was about fifteen years of age, his father received a letter that he was sent on important business. He didn't bother to say what it was about, where he was going, or even how long he would be gone for. It wasn't such a big deal, because no matter how busy he got, he always found a moment or two to write Miroku a letter once or twice a week. At this, he had never failed.

Miroku carried the heavy weight of his back pack into his bedroom up stairs, where he would begin his studies. He started with History, just because it was the longest assignment he was given. He sat down at his computer desk and began typing his work.

It wasn't too long when he heard the front door open and close again. 'Mom must have gotten off early today.' he thought.

"Miroku?" She called to make sure that he had gotten home safely.

"I'm up here, mom." He called back. He heard the sound of his mothers feet patter up the stairs into his room.

"You got a letter in the mail today. Looks like it may be from dad." She said, handing him a envelope that she pulled out of the pile of mail in her arms. After handing him the latter she made her way down the stairs and hollered, "I'm going to start dinner."

"Okay." Miroku answered, still opening the envelope. When he got it open, he discarded the torn envelope into the trash can beside his bed, and unfolded the note. After taking a good glance he thought to himself, 'jeez dad. Did you write a letter or a novel?'

Dear Miroku,

How have you been? It's been a while since I have been able to sit down and write to you. I haven't seen you or your mother in almost four years. How has she been? I miss the both of you dearly, and I was hoping I could see you guys soon. I was hoping to leave around the holidays so I could spend them with you. It doesn't look like that's going to happen this year though. The reason why I am writing to you know is because I haven't been entirely truthful the the both of you. The reason I'm over seas isn't on business like I said before.

Miroku gave a triumphant grin as he read that last line, "I knew it all along." He whispered. He decided to read the rest of the note to see what was really going on.

The real reason I'm over here is because the war was getting very bad and they needed more men. I was chosen to go over for them. I didn't want to say anything to you then, but now that you are older I feel that I can tell you. Don't tell your mother about it. It will only make her upset, and that's something that I don't think either of us can handle right now. I'm sorry that I lied to you. I hope to hear from you soon. I keep my lap top with me at all times, so you can send me an E-mail if you want. I promise to write back when I have the time. Send me a picture of you sometime. I also want to see what this new girlfriend of yours is like. Well, I love you, and tell your mother that I love her too. Keep me in your prayers.

- Dad

Miroku couldn't believe what he just read. "Dad was drafted?" He asked in awe. He let out a long, frustrated sigh, and opened his drawer and placed the letter inside, making sure that his mother never found out. "Oh dad, what have you done?" He asked. He was in pain knowing that his father had been lying to him and his mother. He decided that since he had time, he would write back to his father. He turned on his computer and went to his mail.

Without even checking his mail, he went right to writing his father a message in return.

Dear Dad,

Hey dad, it's me. I got your letter today. Things have been fine, and mom still talks about you all the time. I'm a little disappointed that you felt the need to lie to us, but I guess I understand. I hope you come home soon, and in one piece.

Well, other than that, I have been doing good. I'm going into college next year. I have been making school my top priority, just like I promised you. I haven't gotten anything lower than a B in almost three years. I was on the hockey team in my Sophomore year, but I guess that I just lost interest in it. Yes, I ave a girlfriend. her name is Shima Yamamoto, and she's eighteen like me. I'm actually going to meet her later on tonight for her swim meet. We were crowned king and queen at out Senior Prom. That was a fun night. I hope you can write back soon, and I promise to pray for you every day.

-Miroku Hoshi

Before sending his father the message, he looked into his pictures and found a picture of him and Shima together and attached it to the note, just like his father wished. After reading it over again to make sure that he said everything that he wanted to, he sent it.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his mother walk up the stairs again. She walked into his room to see what he was up to. "Did you read it?" She asked.

Miroku nodded and smiled, "yeah, I did."

"Well what did he say?" she asked anxiously.

"He said that he misses the both of us. He didn't say when he'll be back, and he said that he loves you. He also said that he wanted to hear about Shima." Miroku answered. His answer was responded with by his mother giving him one of her warm smiles. She was happy to hear that he was okay, but she wouldn't be for long if she ever found out the secret he was keeping from her.

"Speaking of Shima, don't you have to go to her swim meet tonight?" She asked.

Miroku nodded, "yeah, I got it all taken care of. I just have to finish up my home work, shower, and then I'll be ready."

His mother left him to his own business, and went back down stairs to finish preparing dinner. Miroku, on the other hand, went back down to studying.

XXX

At around 5:30 Miroku finished his home work. He still had just enough time to shower and get ready to meet up with Shima. He hadn't even changed out of his uniform yet, so he was happy to finally wear something comfortable. He grabbed a pair of blue jeans, that were beginning to fade at the knee, and a black tee shirt. He held them up in front of his face to see if they needed to be ironed or not. ' No, they look pretty good to me.' he thought, and carried them into the bathroom with him.

After he got out of his nice, refreshing, hot shower, he got dressed and ran down stairs. His mother stopped him before he was able to reach the door. "Wait, aren't you going to eat before you go?" She asked. Miroku shook his head.

"I can't stop now, I'll just get something on the way there." He answered.

"Oh, okay. Have fun, and drive safely." She replied. Miroku always assured her that he would.

It wasn't long before he pulled into the schools student parking lot and found a place to park. He got out of his car and locked it up. He looked around the outside of the school. School always seemed much different when it was closed. Students that were normally forced to wear uncomfortable uniforms all day, were wearing their casual clothing. The parking lot was filled with loitering students. Some Miroku recognized, some he didn't, and some he wished he never saw. The building itself looked darker, and eerie without students and teachers filling the hall ways and class rooms. It didn't even seem like the same building.

He was snapped out of his little thought when he heard a voice call out to him. He looked ahead to see Kagome and Inuyasha waiting for him at the entrance gate of the school pool. Kagome was waving him over, so Miroku waved back to let her know that he spotted her.

"I didn't know you guys were coming tonight." Miroku said giving Kagome a hug to greet her, just like he had ever since they were in grade school together.

"Of course we came. It's a big event tonight. It's the semi-finals, and we came to cheer Shima on." Kagome answered.

"Well, you did. I came to see the hotties in bikinis." Inuyasha mumbled under his breath. Unfortunately for him, Kagome had some kind of super hearing ability and heard every word of it.

She turned around and gave him an evil looking glare, "what was that?" She asked angrily, and pinched Inuyasha's face so hard, it felt like she was going to pull it right off.

Unable to take the abuse anymore, Inuyasha decided to cave. "Ouch! Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" He yelled. Kagome let go of his cheek, and Inuyasha gently rubbed the red mark that she made.

"Heh, that looks more like a hickey than a bruise." Miroku laughed, making Inuyasha blush in embarrassment. "Shut up!" He yelled.

Behind them the gates were opening, making it okay for them to go in and find a spot to sit and watch the competition. Kagome sat at one end, and Inuyasha sat with Miroku at another, making it possible for them to talk about guy things without the risk of being brutally attacked by Kagome.

Kagome nudged Miroku softly with her elbow. "Look, there's Shima." She told him, pointing down toward the edge of the pool where Shima was talking to a friend of hers that came to watch her compete as well. Kagome caught her attention by waving one hand in the air and calling out for her, "hey Shima! Up here!"

Shima looked up and waved at Kagome. She saw Miroku sitting next to her, and blew him a kiss. Miroku put his hand up in the air and pretended to catch it. He smiled and waved back at her.

He watched as Shima turned around to face the pool, meaning that her back side was facing him. He always wondered why the school was okay with having bikinis instead of regular single pieces- but, dammit, was he happy with their choice! It was a tight blue bikini, with the school's emblem in white on the left cup, and the butt. Miroku stared at her figure from afar.

"Nice moon, huh?" Inuyasha asked, noticing that Miroku was carried away in thought. He jumped at his voice, and blushed a deep red at the thought.

"I wasn't looking at her butt! I was looking at the pool water! I was wondering how they manage to keep it so clean." Miroku lied. Though the pool water was unusually clean, Inuyasha didn't buy his excuse.

"It's okay if you were looking. She's your girlfriend after all." Inuyasha said casually before leaning back and closing his eyes, trying to get as much rest as possible before the match began. Miroku was still blushing. Even if Shima was his girlfriend, he never made it so obvious that he was stealing a few glances at her body. That was the first time he was noticed for his actions.

The sound of the horn broke him from his train of thought. That sound meant that the competition was starting. Inuyasha had opened his eyes, so to make sure he didn't miss anything. Kagome was next to him cheering and clapping along with everyone else in the crowd.

The announcer came on the intercom.

"Good evening, and welcome to the girls swim team semi-finals! We have the top five best female swimmers from five different high schools." The announcer began. " Swimmer number one is a Senior from Sakamoto High School. This is her third year on the swim team, please welcome Kurumi Bansu!" The announcer cheered, pointing to the girl at the far end of the pool. People from Sakamoto High School were cheering her on.

The announcer cleared his throat before introducing the other four girls. "Swimmer number two is a Senior from Iwata High School. This is her second year on the swim team, please welcome Kokoro Hiritani!" Cheers followed this girls introduction as well.

After two more names, the announcer got to Shima who was at the farthest end of the pool. "And last, but certainly not least, we have a Senior from Tokyo High School. This is her third year on the swim team, please welcome Shima Yamamoto!" he cried. Shima's name being called was followed by Kagome's cheers and squeals. Miroku let out a whistle, hoping for her victory.

All five girls were positioned at their starting points. They waited for at least a minute. Everyone was wrapped up in the intensity of the situation. Finally, the starting whistle was blown, and the girls were off. The first match was just a simple race. Followed by breast stroke, butterfly, freestyle, and so on.

Before anyone even knew it, three hours had gone by. It was getting closer to nine o' clock and it was down to the final race of the night. This one was just a simple race, but whoever won this match would be sending their team to the finals. The two remaining competitors were Shima and Kokoro from Iwata High School.

Both girls were at their starting points, waiting for the final race to begin. There was so much tension in the crowd that you could almost taste it. The whistle blew and both girls dove in as fast as they could. When they got to the half way point, both girls were neck and neck with each other.Shima, being as stubborn as she was, would not accept defeat. She strained herself and moved even faster.

Though her muscles were in pain, she didn't stop. She could feel Kokoro catching up with her, so she pushed herself as far as her body would let her.

"Go Shima! You can do it!" Kagome cried from the stands.

That little bit of encouragement was all Shima needed to win. She reached the edge of the pool only a second before her competitor. She could hear screams and cheers coming from behind her.

"Shima Yamamoto is the winner! Tokyo High School will be back in two weeks for the finals!" The announcer cried. Shima was helped out of the pool by her coach.

"Good job." Her coach told her, and rewarded her with a few pats on the back. Shima smiled. She was happy she was able to win for her team. She was greeted by Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kagome, who came racing from their seats to congratulate her on all of her hard work.

Kagome hugged Shima with all her might. "You did it!" She squealed. Kagome let go of her. Miroku was next. Shima hugged him tenderly and gave him a peck on the lips. He smiled down at her, "You did good, tonight."

"Thank you." She said smiling, and rested her head on his chest.

"Want me to walk you home?" He asked. Shima looked at him in confusion, "Walk? Didn't you drive here?" She asked. Miroku nodded, "Yeah, but I can come back and get the car tomorrow."

He looked up at Inuyasha and Kagome, "You guys want to come with us?" He asked. They both nodded. They waited while Shima showered to get the smell of chlorine off her body, and got dressed. She came out and smiled, "Ready?" She asked. Everyone nodded.

They walked out of the parking lot, and turned to look back at the school one more time. Everything was closing and getting dark. They turned their attention back to the side walk.

The way home they were talking, joking, and acting like,well, teenagers. They talked about the swim meet and what happened to them over the weekends. They arrived at the intersection of Sakura and Taki, which was only a few streets away from where Shima lived.

Miroku looked ahead and saw a young girl standing under the street sign. She only looked to be around eight or nine years old. "Hey, look at that little girl up there." Miroku said, catching the attention of everyone else in his group.

"She looks so young." Shima spoke up.

"It's way too late for some one her age to be out alone." Kagome added.

"Maybe she's lost." Inuyasha said.

Miroku walked forward and approached the girl softly, and slowly, careful not to frighten her away. He knelt down beside her, "hey," He spoke. The girl turned around with a scared look on her face. "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you." She assured her. "What's your name?"

"M-my name is Natsume." She spoke shyly, looking down at her feet.

"Well, Natsume, isn't it a little late to be out here all by yourself?" Miroku asked softly. The little girl began to blush, "I'm waiting for someone." She answered.

"Waiting? Are you waiting for your parents?"

Natsume shook her head, "no my mother is dead. My father is the one who told me to do this anyway." she answered.

"Do what?" Miroku asked, his eyebrow cocked curiously at her answer. Just then a car pulled up, and the window was rolled down. The person inside the car was a shady looking man, and he gave the girl a sinful, and perverted smirk.

"Well, you are just my type, little girl." He said. He opened the door as a sign for the child to crawl in. Before she had a chance to, Miroku grabbed her by a frail arms and asked her again, "what is your father making you do, Natsume?"

Natsume began to cry, "He told me this is how I can make money. I have to do it, or he'll hit me again. Please let me go!" She cried, and broke free of his grasp. The man in the car began to speak, "Hey buddy, this is my whore, go get your own." She yelled. Natsume crawled into the car and shut the door behind her. Miroku watched in disbelief as the car drove away out of sight.

"I-I can't believe this." Miroku said to himself. Of all the rotten things he had seen, this had to be the most foul of them all.

XXX

That night Miroku was sitting lying on his bed. His friends were already safe at home, and sleeping. Miroku couldn't sleep. He kept seeing the young girl in his mind. He kept having disgusting images of her, being forced to please a much older man in ways that were unforgivable.

He sat up, and with a clear head he told himself, "Something has to be done about child prostitution. It's sick, and wrong in all ways." He looked at his reflection in the mirror beside his bed, "I have to do something." With that plan carved into his brain, he shut the lights off, crawled under the covers, and fell into a long, and uncomfortable sleep.

Chapter One completed on January 16, 2008

Yay, my first story of the new year! I hope you enjoy chapter one!