~*~Muted Words~*~
§Clean Slate§
~Friday~
'This place is ordinary. Typical school. Cream-colored paint over big bricks. Boring tile. Oh man, my new school is an asylum. I'm surprised they didn't put padding on the walls,' thought the new student. This new student was male, had long, jet-black hair held up in a ponytail high on his head, amazing blue eyes, and an outfit that mostly consists of black. He had a black t-shirt with the words 'Nope, don't care' in red on the front and black baggy jeans with a chain dangling from his pockets. Black sneakers adorned his feet while a black watch hung from his wrist. Although, the strangest piece of clothing was the black wrap that took up half of his right forearm.
"So Mr. Higurashi, you and your sister and cousins are going to be joining Shikon High School. Well, as principal, let me welcome you and tell you that if you need anything, you can come to your guidance councilor or me. By the way, where exactly is the rest of your family?" questioned the principal, Mr. Mori. He didn't seem that bad. Slightly balding gray hair. Slightly over-weight. But he seemed nice enough. That's why the young man sitting in the chair across from him liked him. Unlike most, he didn't judge on clothes or style. He was open-minded.
"They're at home packing the rest of our stuff away. And please, call me Kouga."
"Well Kouga, now that you have your schedule and handbook, you can go to your first class. Remember, if you need me just come here." Mr. Mori stated with a smile.
"Thank you, sir," Kouga replied politely. With that, Kouga left the office to find his first period class. 'Writing. Damn! I wake up just to fall back asleep again. Oh well, I'm sure Kagome will let me borrow her notes. She loves that class. I guess she has to. If she didn't care then how would she be able to write those lyrics for the band.'
As Kouga continued to think, he failed to realize the fact that he just walked past the class he was supposed to be in. Backtracking, he opened the door and looked around. There were Writing posters on the walls. Not to mention desks, people, teacher, and a whiteboard. What caught his interest the fastest were the people. It seemed as though the class was divided into two groups: preps and punks. Preps in the front. Punks in the back. He knew immediately were he wanted to sit.
"Well, I take it that you're the new student. Though, I was told there would be four of you," pondered the young teacher, Miss Sora. She was young, pretty-faced, and like the principal, didn't care what he wore.
"Yeah, there are," Kouga said, finally acknowledging that the teacher was talking to him. "My sister and cousins are at home trying to finish putting away all of our stuff."
"Oh. I thought that they'd be here with you."
"Nope. I lost in Rock-Paper-Scissors. You'd swear those girl's could read minds." Kouga sighed, remembering how exactly he ended up coming to school in the first place. Even his argument that he could lift things they wouldn't be able to was shot down when Sango picked him up with one arm. Stupid Hiraikotsu. She would never be damn near as strong as she was if it wasn't for that goddamn boomerang. However, Kouga didn't have much time to reminisce on his losses because Miss Sora snapped him out of his thoughts by asking her next question...err...request more like. "So, tell us more about yourself."
Shit. He'd have to answer this one carefully. There was a lot in his past that not only he, but also Rin, Kagome, Sango, even Kohaku, and Souta, didn't want these people to know about. It's why they decided to leave their old school, friends...well no, not friends, they didn't have any so they couldn't really leave them, and home to escape the pity looks, callous remarks, and even the environment. It was too painful. Brought back too many memories. After all, they were trying to heal. That's very hard when your surroundings keep re-opening the wounds. "Okay. My name is Kouga Higurashi. I'm in a band called 'Faded' with my sister and our cousins. I'm a fifth degree black-belt and my favorite weapon is the sword." Kouga finished and smirked at the astonished faces of the majority of the class and even the teacher. He could only imagine their faces when they heard what his life had been. The reason he is the way he is.
"Wow. What kind of music does your band play? What do you do?" the surprised teacher questioned.
"I'm the lead guitarist, and we play gothic rock."
"Interesting, well Kouga, you may take your seat between Ginta and Sesshoumaru." The two said people, who were apparently talking with the rest of the group, jumped at the sound of their names being called. Needless to say, this made it very easy for Kouga to find his seat. On the other hand, getting to it was a completely different story. It was in the back, with the punks. Good. Kouga didn't want to sit with the preps. The problem was simple. In order to get to the back of the classroom, he had to pass through the enemy.
So, of course, while the teacher had her back turned, one of them couldn't resist attempting to trip him. Major mistake. Kouga may not be able to predict moves like he knew Kagome and Sango could, but he can easily see when a foot is stretched out if he can see the lightning quick attacks sent to him by either Sango, Kagome, or Rin when they spar. He gave that credit to his training as a black belt. Like hell he'll fall over a foot.
"You might want to look where you stick your foot. I have the tendency to break things that get in my way," Kouga whispered so seriously that it seemed like he was telling the truth. It had an impact on the offender. Almost immediately, the foot went back to where the other one was, but the eyes of the owner gave him a look of pure hatred.
Kouga smirked. These people had no idea what he was capable of. It could be fun. He finally found his seat only to receive looks from the people he sat by. Now these were his kind of people. You could tell by the look of them that they didn't care if people hated them. Kouga turned to the person on his right.
Silvery white hair, golden-amber eyes...actually. Two people fit that description. Both were male, but the one that sat next to him had markings on his face. A bluish-purple crescent moon was on his forehead, there were two red-violet streaks across each of his cheeks, and there was red lining on the top of his eyelids. The other guy didn't have any of those features but he seemed to have a more boyish face and get out in the sun more.
"Alright class, today we are going to work on a project to be presented on Monday."
The class groaned.
"Oh, don't worry. This will be a fun project. You get to choose your groups as long as they have at least three people in them. The assignment is to create a song that portrays a certain thought of feeling. Instruments are optional though you at least have to clap your hands to some sort of rhythm. And not all off you have to sing since it can be embarrassing if you can't sing, but I'm sure you'll all do fine. You have the rest of the class period to work on this. Feel free to talk as long as you work on your project." Miss Sora finished. 'Good,' thought Kouga, 'all I have to do is tell Rin, Kagome, and Sango that we have to perform for school. All of our songs have meaning. Piece of cake.'
InuYasha and Sesshoumaru looked at each other and grinned. Simple. They were already in a band called 'Half-Breed' with Miroku, Ginta, and Hakakku. They didn't have to do anything, which left more time to interrogate their new guest.
"So Kouga, what's your band like?" began InuYasha, who moved with the rest of the people in the back to sort of form a circle to talk easier.
"I have a better question. Who are you people?"
"I'm InuYasha. That's Sesshoumaru, Miroku, Ginta, Hakakku, and that's Ayame." InuYasha pointed to the people who he was addressing. "Now answer my question?"
"Faded was formed by my cousins, Kagome and Sango, Rin, my sister, and me. Rin is the drummer. I'm the lead guitarist and depending on the song Sango or Kagome play guitar too. Sango either plays guitar, bass, or keyboards. Kagome is the lead singer."
"Is she any good?" questioned Sesshoumaru.
"Kagome? Oh man. There is nothing like her. It's amazing. Unlike anything ever heard before. She can sing like a fallen angel."
"Fallen angel?"
"Yup. An angel would sound happy and joyous. Kagome has this melancholy sort of sound. Heavenly, but sad."
"Wow," Ayame thought aloud. Then she smiled. "If she's as good as you say she is then maybe she can put Kikyou in her place. That bitch really needs to learn she isn't the queen of the universe."
"Who's Kikyou?"
"Her." Ayame pointed over to a group of giggly girls. The girl that Ayame was indicating sat at the center. She had long, straight black hair, pale skin, cold brown eyes, too much make-up, and preppy clothes to match. "I would kill to see the look on that dumbass's face when she has been dethroned of best female singing voice in school."
"Don't worry. You will. But speaking of dumbasses, who did I threaten?"
"Oh him," Miroku said. "That's Naraku. Bastard King of this school. Thinks he is better than us just because his parents don't have to work to get money like our families do. They play the stock market and received a fortune from some dead relative. Even brags how they won the lottery, and that none of the other people in this school have."
Kouga started to laugh. It was all too funny.
"What's so funny?" InuYasha asked rudely. Neither he nor anyone else thought it was funny that Naraku treats everybody like shit because he was loaded and didn't have to work for it.
"I'm sorry," Kouga said still laughing a bit. "My family won that Win for Life bonus thing. We get $15,000 a week." However he stopped laughing when he continued. "We also got millions from that lawsuit."
"What lawsuit?" everyone asked at the same time.
Shit. Kouga didn't want to get into that. It was a part of his past that he wanted to keep secret. Oh well. He couldn't back down now. He just had to be careful. Kouga knew that Kagome would be upset if he revealed more than what she told him he could say if he was asked about his past. He had to tell them. Though you could hear some of the pain in his voice as he spoke.
"Yeah. I'll tell you about it but keep in mind it really isn't my story to tell. Really, it's Kagome's since it involved her so I can only tell you what she said I could mention.
"Well, a while back, Kagome had some 'health problems'. It took a lot out of her and it lasted for two years. So, during the six months she was getting her strength back and everyone was celebrating her good health, our fathers both die in a car crash. To top it off, her 'health problems' came back again and another year of her life was taken away until the problems were gone.
"However, she was left weaker than before and in a huge depression. So she went to a physical therapy doctor and a psychiatrist. The physical doctor gave her medical steroids to help boost her energy while at the same time the psychiatrist was prescribing anti-depressants and sleeping pills."
"Holy shit," InuYasha so eloquently put it.
"Damn right holy shit!" said the angry Kouga. "Because those jackasses didn't conference like they were supposed to, my little cousin had a seizure. No one would have known if it wasn't for Sango. To this day I am thankful that those two are twins. Even if they are fraternal and hardly look alike anymore, they still have that bond where they can tell what the other is thinking or if they're in pain. If it wasn't for Sango, Kagome would be dead all because of those damn doctors. Kagome was in a coma for a week on life support."
"Wait," Ginta interjected. "Why would those medications have such a drastic effect on her?"
"Kagome was weak. Really weak. She would sometimes collapse because her legs would give out. Those drugs practically choked her body. It didn't matter that she was taking the meds like she was supposed to, they still had the same effect."
"This sounds sort of like how Elvis Presley died. Just without the alcohol addiction and less pills." Hakakku connected.
"Yeah, sort of."
"So, how is she now?" InuYasha asked. It interested him. His dad was a doctor. Granted he is a good doctor. He would never let any of this happen to one of his patients. Then again, he was a cancer specialist. But still, it was amazing that those doctors were so irresponsible.
"Well, she sort of recovered from that. There are still some times where she gets some effects but for the most part, we know how to take care of her. If we can't, the hospital knows us pretty well. Though I don't think that is something to be proud of under the circumstances."
"What do you mean by 'sort of recovered'?" Sesshoumaru pondered. He, too, was interested in this story.
"I can't really say. That's part of our life story that I've been banned to talk about. Actually, I really don't want to talk about it either. Let's just say that the story doesn't end there. That that's not even the worst part," Kouga sighed. He looked out the window. That was hard. Sure it didn't show on his face, but he worked hard on that mask. Beneath it, he was almost in tears. Images of that time ran through his head. The ambulance carrying his cousin on a stretcher, his aunt crying desperately, those tubes practically growing out of Kagome, the only things keeping her in this world. It was one of the most horrifying experiences in his life.
"My God! That's terrible," Ayame voiced. "Although, it is kind of cool about that twin thing. It really came in handy. I wish I knew twins like that."
"Ayame!!" InuYasha and Sesshoumaru nearly yelled at the same time. "We're twins like that."
"Oh yeah. Guess I forgot that."
"I thought so," Kouga thought aloud, "but why are you the only one with marks on your face?" he asked Sesshoumaru.
"I was born with these. They're my birthmarks. My father has them also. Just not exactly like mine."
"So, what do your sister and cousins look like," Miroku questioned. He was well known for being a pervert. So naturally, he wanted to know if they were good looking.
"Actually, I have pictures. They told me to keep them as a joke so I 'don't forget about them'."
Kouga took out his wallet and searched for the said pictures. He especially liked these. There was one for each of them. Each one having the weapon they were the masters of.
"Found them." The look on their faces was priceless. Kouga was willing to bet they were expecting pictures of smiling faces. That they weren't prepared for this.
"This one is Rin, my sister." This picture had a diagonal view of her. She was poised for attack and her eyes were hidden by her bangs. The daggers in her hands glinting dangerously.
"This is Sango, my cousin, the older twin." This picture was a frontal view. The Hiraikotsu at the ready on her back with her hand on the grip. Again, her eyes were shadowed by her bangs.
"And this, this is Kagome." This picture had a side view. Her bow was drawn with a few arrows loaded, just waiting to be released. And just like the others, her eyes were veiled with her bangs.
"Why do they have weapons with them?" Sesshoumaru noticed.
"Those are the weapons they mastered. Like me, they're black belts. Those three are pretty hard to spar with. I said before that I could swear they could read minds. I know for a fact that they can predict moves. Well, Sango and Kagome diffidently can, I just think that Rin knows me to well."
"What kind of weapon is this?" Miroku asked, gesturing to the picture of Sango in his hand. Out of all of the pictures, he liked her's the most.
"That's the Hiraikotsu. It is basically a big boomerang. Throw it, and it comes back. It may not look like it but it can cause a lot of damage. That thing is heavy. She knocked down quite a number of trees that way."
"Does she spar with that?"
"Yeah. But mostly as a defensive weapon and she would never really throw it at us. Swing it at us, yes, but never try to do much harm."
"And what about Kagome?" InuYasha asked. He may not be a pervert, but this girl caught his interest. "Can she really shoot that many arrows at once?"
Kouga nodded. "She can shoot at any target she wants. In fact, the reason that she has a more old fashioned bow is because it is easier to shoot more than one arrow at the same time. I'd sure hate to be at the end of one of those. She's very accurate."
"And Rin?" Sesshoumaru found it remarkable that these young women had such talent in the art of fighting. He wanted to know what this one could do. That, and he found her rather attractive.
Kouga chuckled. "She loves those daggers. And she's damn good with them too. One of her favorite pastimes is to tricks with them. Spin them in her hands, toss them in the air and catching them, hell, she likes to just throw them at a target. The list is endless. And, again, I'd hate to be at the end of her daggers."
The bell rang and it was time to go to the next class. 'Science. Sango's favorite. I wouldn't be surprised if I get Rin's favorite subject for third period. Yup. Math, my sister's best class. Where's my favorite subject? Oh, there it is. Physical Education, eighth period. Damn! Why the hell does it have to be the second to last period of the day?' Kouga thought dejectedly.
Classes flew by with a similar routine. Walk in, tell a little about himself (little being the key word), make way to seat (after avoiding the preps' hopeless attempts to embarrass him), sit in seat, listen to teacher, do what he/she says, wait impatiently for bell to ring, and head to next class. Thankfully, some of his new friends were in his classes so he wasn't alone. So after hours of 'suffering' the educational system, it was finally time for lunch.
"Hey, Kouga!" came the cry of two people.
"Hey, Ginta. Hakakku."
"We were wondering if you'd like to sit with us." Stated Hakakku.
"Yeah, we know that you probably don't have anywhere to sit. There's plenty of room." Ginta continued.
"Thanks. It would be great."
So, after they bought their lunches, they went to sit at the table where the rest of his new friends were.
"So Kouga, what was your other school like?" Miroku asked.
"It sucked."
"Why?"
"Well, for starters, Sango, Kagome, Rin, and I had no friends. Sure, we don't care if people hate us. It just would have been nice to have people outside the family care about us. That's why my cousins, sister, and I are so close. We depend on each other for support. There's no one else to."
"So you're glad you have us, ain't you?" InuYasha assumed.
"You could say that. I have to admit, it's a relief to be able to talk to guys for once. Sure, there are Souta and Kohaku, but they're to young to actually talk to."
"Who're they?"
"Sango's and Kagome's little brothers. Kohaku is eleven. Souta is nine. Great kids, just can't talk to them like I could someone my age."
"Honestly, I wouldn't complain if I had three beautiful women in my house."
"Miroku! Can't you go one day without being a pervert?!"
"My dear Ayame, that would go against everything that I am. Do you really want to risk me becoming a member of Naraku's posse because I am hiding my true self?"
"Seriously Miroku. You'd think that with your infatuation with the opposite sex that you've had learned how to respect them."
"Ayame, that hurts," Miroku said with a pout.
"I'll warn you now Miroku," Kouga warned, "if you dare hurt Sango, Kagome, or Rin, I will castrate you. And believe me, the other guy didn't like it."
Miroku gulped. 'I really, really, really hope he's just kidding'.
With that happy note, the bell for the end of lunch rang. Seventh period dragged on endlessly and, to Kouga's great relief, it was at last time for Gym. One problem. Even though he really didn't have a problem with the school outfit. Red t-shirt, black shorts. 'Cool school colors'. However, it was the fact that the gym attire prohibits wearing extra apparel is what has him the most concerned. That black wrap that he had on his forearm acted as a cover. Yet again, another way to hide his past.
"Kouga!" came a voice. Strangely enough, he knew this voice. It was one from his past. Turning to the owner, Kouga was surprised at who he faced.
"Mr. Tachi! What are you doing here?"
"It seems that I'm your Gym teacher. How have you been? How is everybody?"
"Better then expected. But that's sort of what I wanted to ask you about. Am I allowed to wear this?" Kouga gestured to the wrap.
"Isn't that where you were..." at Kouga's fierce nod he stopped. Now he understood why he didn't want him to continue. There were people behind him. Kouga didn't want them to know what happened to get that scar underneath his wrap. "Yes, of course you can wear it."
"Thanks Mr. Tachi."
"No problem."
The rest of class went without a hitch. Sure, InuYasha and the rest wanted to know what the whole 'black wrap' thing was about, but it was obvious that Kouga wasn't going to talk. So they just dropped it.
It was in the middle of the last class of the day that the most action happened. It was like slow motion. Kouga was sitting in class talking to his friends when the worst thing possible could have happened.
"Kouga!!! Kouga!!! KOUGA!!!!"
Kouga's head shot up at the sound of his name being called. It was ringing through the halls, getting closer to its destination. Everyone was looking towards the door, as if it would suddenly burst open. Which it did.
The person standing in the door was a young woman with dark black hair, chocolate eyes, small little freckles, black clothing that, like her hair, was sopping wet due to the pounding rain, and a terrified expression.
"Rin. What are you doing here? What's wrong?"
"We gotta go. Now," Rin panted as she made her way to her older brother.
"Why? Rin, what happened?" Kouga was worried. Rin was rarely ever upset. Something bad must have happened. She was shaking; tears were streaming down her cheeks. This was bad.
"We were packing and cleaning...everything fine...but...but...just collapsed...hardly breathing," Rin's wild, whispered rant concluded. She was so tired that she lost all the strength in her legs. Thankfully, her older brother picked her up and placed her on his back for carrying. Kouga didn't need to hear anymore. He knew what happened. Without so much as word, he left with the exhausted Rin on his back. He was going to the hospital.
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~Friday~
'This place is ordinary. Typical school. Cream-colored paint over big bricks. Boring tile. Oh man, my new school is an asylum. I'm surprised they didn't put padding on the walls,' thought the new student. This new student was male, had long, jet-black hair held up in a ponytail high on his head, amazing blue eyes, and an outfit that mostly consists of black. He had a black t-shirt with the words 'Nope, don't care' in red on the front and black baggy jeans with a chain dangling from his pockets. Black sneakers adorned his feet while a black watch hung from his wrist. Although, the strangest piece of clothing was the black wrap that took up half of his right forearm.
"So Mr. Higurashi, you and your sister and cousins are going to be joining Shikon High School. Well, as principal, let me welcome you and tell you that if you need anything, you can come to your guidance councilor or me. By the way, where exactly is the rest of your family?" questioned the principal, Mr. Mori. He didn't seem that bad. Slightly balding gray hair. Slightly over-weight. But he seemed nice enough. That's why the young man sitting in the chair across from him liked him. Unlike most, he didn't judge on clothes or style. He was open-minded.
"They're at home packing the rest of our stuff away. And please, call me Kouga."
"Well Kouga, now that you have your schedule and handbook, you can go to your first class. Remember, if you need me just come here." Mr. Mori stated with a smile.
"Thank you, sir," Kouga replied politely. With that, Kouga left the office to find his first period class. 'Writing. Damn! I wake up just to fall back asleep again. Oh well, I'm sure Kagome will let me borrow her notes. She loves that class. I guess she has to. If she didn't care then how would she be able to write those lyrics for the band.'
As Kouga continued to think, he failed to realize the fact that he just walked past the class he was supposed to be in. Backtracking, he opened the door and looked around. There were Writing posters on the walls. Not to mention desks, people, teacher, and a whiteboard. What caught his interest the fastest were the people. It seemed as though the class was divided into two groups: preps and punks. Preps in the front. Punks in the back. He knew immediately were he wanted to sit.
"Well, I take it that you're the new student. Though, I was told there would be four of you," pondered the young teacher, Miss Sora. She was young, pretty-faced, and like the principal, didn't care what he wore.
"Yeah, there are," Kouga said, finally acknowledging that the teacher was talking to him. "My sister and cousins are at home trying to finish putting away all of our stuff."
"Oh. I thought that they'd be here with you."
"Nope. I lost in Rock-Paper-Scissors. You'd swear those girl's could read minds." Kouga sighed, remembering how exactly he ended up coming to school in the first place. Even his argument that he could lift things they wouldn't be able to was shot down when Sango picked him up with one arm. Stupid Hiraikotsu. She would never be damn near as strong as she was if it wasn't for that goddamn boomerang. However, Kouga didn't have much time to reminisce on his losses because Miss Sora snapped him out of his thoughts by asking her next question...err...request more like. "So, tell us more about yourself."
Shit. He'd have to answer this one carefully. There was a lot in his past that not only he, but also Rin, Kagome, Sango, even Kohaku, and Souta, didn't want these people to know about. It's why they decided to leave their old school, friends...well no, not friends, they didn't have any so they couldn't really leave them, and home to escape the pity looks, callous remarks, and even the environment. It was too painful. Brought back too many memories. After all, they were trying to heal. That's very hard when your surroundings keep re-opening the wounds. "Okay. My name is Kouga Higurashi. I'm in a band called 'Faded' with my sister and our cousins. I'm a fifth degree black-belt and my favorite weapon is the sword." Kouga finished and smirked at the astonished faces of the majority of the class and even the teacher. He could only imagine their faces when they heard what his life had been. The reason he is the way he is.
"Wow. What kind of music does your band play? What do you do?" the surprised teacher questioned.
"I'm the lead guitarist, and we play gothic rock."
"Interesting, well Kouga, you may take your seat between Ginta and Sesshoumaru." The two said people, who were apparently talking with the rest of the group, jumped at the sound of their names being called. Needless to say, this made it very easy for Kouga to find his seat. On the other hand, getting to it was a completely different story. It was in the back, with the punks. Good. Kouga didn't want to sit with the preps. The problem was simple. In order to get to the back of the classroom, he had to pass through the enemy.
So, of course, while the teacher had her back turned, one of them couldn't resist attempting to trip him. Major mistake. Kouga may not be able to predict moves like he knew Kagome and Sango could, but he can easily see when a foot is stretched out if he can see the lightning quick attacks sent to him by either Sango, Kagome, or Rin when they spar. He gave that credit to his training as a black belt. Like hell he'll fall over a foot.
"You might want to look where you stick your foot. I have the tendency to break things that get in my way," Kouga whispered so seriously that it seemed like he was telling the truth. It had an impact on the offender. Almost immediately, the foot went back to where the other one was, but the eyes of the owner gave him a look of pure hatred.
Kouga smirked. These people had no idea what he was capable of. It could be fun. He finally found his seat only to receive looks from the people he sat by. Now these were his kind of people. You could tell by the look of them that they didn't care if people hated them. Kouga turned to the person on his right.
Silvery white hair, golden-amber eyes...actually. Two people fit that description. Both were male, but the one that sat next to him had markings on his face. A bluish-purple crescent moon was on his forehead, there were two red-violet streaks across each of his cheeks, and there was red lining on the top of his eyelids. The other guy didn't have any of those features but he seemed to have a more boyish face and get out in the sun more.
"Alright class, today we are going to work on a project to be presented on Monday."
The class groaned.
"Oh, don't worry. This will be a fun project. You get to choose your groups as long as they have at least three people in them. The assignment is to create a song that portrays a certain thought of feeling. Instruments are optional though you at least have to clap your hands to some sort of rhythm. And not all off you have to sing since it can be embarrassing if you can't sing, but I'm sure you'll all do fine. You have the rest of the class period to work on this. Feel free to talk as long as you work on your project." Miss Sora finished. 'Good,' thought Kouga, 'all I have to do is tell Rin, Kagome, and Sango that we have to perform for school. All of our songs have meaning. Piece of cake.'
InuYasha and Sesshoumaru looked at each other and grinned. Simple. They were already in a band called 'Half-Breed' with Miroku, Ginta, and Hakakku. They didn't have to do anything, which left more time to interrogate their new guest.
"So Kouga, what's your band like?" began InuYasha, who moved with the rest of the people in the back to sort of form a circle to talk easier.
"I have a better question. Who are you people?"
"I'm InuYasha. That's Sesshoumaru, Miroku, Ginta, Hakakku, and that's Ayame." InuYasha pointed to the people who he was addressing. "Now answer my question?"
"Faded was formed by my cousins, Kagome and Sango, Rin, my sister, and me. Rin is the drummer. I'm the lead guitarist and depending on the song Sango or Kagome play guitar too. Sango either plays guitar, bass, or keyboards. Kagome is the lead singer."
"Is she any good?" questioned Sesshoumaru.
"Kagome? Oh man. There is nothing like her. It's amazing. Unlike anything ever heard before. She can sing like a fallen angel."
"Fallen angel?"
"Yup. An angel would sound happy and joyous. Kagome has this melancholy sort of sound. Heavenly, but sad."
"Wow," Ayame thought aloud. Then she smiled. "If she's as good as you say she is then maybe she can put Kikyou in her place. That bitch really needs to learn she isn't the queen of the universe."
"Who's Kikyou?"
"Her." Ayame pointed over to a group of giggly girls. The girl that Ayame was indicating sat at the center. She had long, straight black hair, pale skin, cold brown eyes, too much make-up, and preppy clothes to match. "I would kill to see the look on that dumbass's face when she has been dethroned of best female singing voice in school."
"Don't worry. You will. But speaking of dumbasses, who did I threaten?"
"Oh him," Miroku said. "That's Naraku. Bastard King of this school. Thinks he is better than us just because his parents don't have to work to get money like our families do. They play the stock market and received a fortune from some dead relative. Even brags how they won the lottery, and that none of the other people in this school have."
Kouga started to laugh. It was all too funny.
"What's so funny?" InuYasha asked rudely. Neither he nor anyone else thought it was funny that Naraku treats everybody like shit because he was loaded and didn't have to work for it.
"I'm sorry," Kouga said still laughing a bit. "My family won that Win for Life bonus thing. We get $15,000 a week." However he stopped laughing when he continued. "We also got millions from that lawsuit."
"What lawsuit?" everyone asked at the same time.
Shit. Kouga didn't want to get into that. It was a part of his past that he wanted to keep secret. Oh well. He couldn't back down now. He just had to be careful. Kouga knew that Kagome would be upset if he revealed more than what she told him he could say if he was asked about his past. He had to tell them. Though you could hear some of the pain in his voice as he spoke.
"Yeah. I'll tell you about it but keep in mind it really isn't my story to tell. Really, it's Kagome's since it involved her so I can only tell you what she said I could mention.
"Well, a while back, Kagome had some 'health problems'. It took a lot out of her and it lasted for two years. So, during the six months she was getting her strength back and everyone was celebrating her good health, our fathers both die in a car crash. To top it off, her 'health problems' came back again and another year of her life was taken away until the problems were gone.
"However, she was left weaker than before and in a huge depression. So she went to a physical therapy doctor and a psychiatrist. The physical doctor gave her medical steroids to help boost her energy while at the same time the psychiatrist was prescribing anti-depressants and sleeping pills."
"Holy shit," InuYasha so eloquently put it.
"Damn right holy shit!" said the angry Kouga. "Because those jackasses didn't conference like they were supposed to, my little cousin had a seizure. No one would have known if it wasn't for Sango. To this day I am thankful that those two are twins. Even if they are fraternal and hardly look alike anymore, they still have that bond where they can tell what the other is thinking or if they're in pain. If it wasn't for Sango, Kagome would be dead all because of those damn doctors. Kagome was in a coma for a week on life support."
"Wait," Ginta interjected. "Why would those medications have such a drastic effect on her?"
"Kagome was weak. Really weak. She would sometimes collapse because her legs would give out. Those drugs practically choked her body. It didn't matter that she was taking the meds like she was supposed to, they still had the same effect."
"This sounds sort of like how Elvis Presley died. Just without the alcohol addiction and less pills." Hakakku connected.
"Yeah, sort of."
"So, how is she now?" InuYasha asked. It interested him. His dad was a doctor. Granted he is a good doctor. He would never let any of this happen to one of his patients. Then again, he was a cancer specialist. But still, it was amazing that those doctors were so irresponsible.
"Well, she sort of recovered from that. There are still some times where she gets some effects but for the most part, we know how to take care of her. If we can't, the hospital knows us pretty well. Though I don't think that is something to be proud of under the circumstances."
"What do you mean by 'sort of recovered'?" Sesshoumaru pondered. He, too, was interested in this story.
"I can't really say. That's part of our life story that I've been banned to talk about. Actually, I really don't want to talk about it either. Let's just say that the story doesn't end there. That that's not even the worst part," Kouga sighed. He looked out the window. That was hard. Sure it didn't show on his face, but he worked hard on that mask. Beneath it, he was almost in tears. Images of that time ran through his head. The ambulance carrying his cousin on a stretcher, his aunt crying desperately, those tubes practically growing out of Kagome, the only things keeping her in this world. It was one of the most horrifying experiences in his life.
"My God! That's terrible," Ayame voiced. "Although, it is kind of cool about that twin thing. It really came in handy. I wish I knew twins like that."
"Ayame!!" InuYasha and Sesshoumaru nearly yelled at the same time. "We're twins like that."
"Oh yeah. Guess I forgot that."
"I thought so," Kouga thought aloud, "but why are you the only one with marks on your face?" he asked Sesshoumaru.
"I was born with these. They're my birthmarks. My father has them also. Just not exactly like mine."
"So, what do your sister and cousins look like," Miroku questioned. He was well known for being a pervert. So naturally, he wanted to know if they were good looking.
"Actually, I have pictures. They told me to keep them as a joke so I 'don't forget about them'."
Kouga took out his wallet and searched for the said pictures. He especially liked these. There was one for each of them. Each one having the weapon they were the masters of.
"Found them." The look on their faces was priceless. Kouga was willing to bet they were expecting pictures of smiling faces. That they weren't prepared for this.
"This one is Rin, my sister." This picture had a diagonal view of her. She was poised for attack and her eyes were hidden by her bangs. The daggers in her hands glinting dangerously.
"This is Sango, my cousin, the older twin." This picture was a frontal view. The Hiraikotsu at the ready on her back with her hand on the grip. Again, her eyes were shadowed by her bangs.
"And this, this is Kagome." This picture had a side view. Her bow was drawn with a few arrows loaded, just waiting to be released. And just like the others, her eyes were veiled with her bangs.
"Why do they have weapons with them?" Sesshoumaru noticed.
"Those are the weapons they mastered. Like me, they're black belts. Those three are pretty hard to spar with. I said before that I could swear they could read minds. I know for a fact that they can predict moves. Well, Sango and Kagome diffidently can, I just think that Rin knows me to well."
"What kind of weapon is this?" Miroku asked, gesturing to the picture of Sango in his hand. Out of all of the pictures, he liked her's the most.
"That's the Hiraikotsu. It is basically a big boomerang. Throw it, and it comes back. It may not look like it but it can cause a lot of damage. That thing is heavy. She knocked down quite a number of trees that way."
"Does she spar with that?"
"Yeah. But mostly as a defensive weapon and she would never really throw it at us. Swing it at us, yes, but never try to do much harm."
"And what about Kagome?" InuYasha asked. He may not be a pervert, but this girl caught his interest. "Can she really shoot that many arrows at once?"
Kouga nodded. "She can shoot at any target she wants. In fact, the reason that she has a more old fashioned bow is because it is easier to shoot more than one arrow at the same time. I'd sure hate to be at the end of one of those. She's very accurate."
"And Rin?" Sesshoumaru found it remarkable that these young women had such talent in the art of fighting. He wanted to know what this one could do. That, and he found her rather attractive.
Kouga chuckled. "She loves those daggers. And she's damn good with them too. One of her favorite pastimes is to tricks with them. Spin them in her hands, toss them in the air and catching them, hell, she likes to just throw them at a target. The list is endless. And, again, I'd hate to be at the end of her daggers."
The bell rang and it was time to go to the next class. 'Science. Sango's favorite. I wouldn't be surprised if I get Rin's favorite subject for third period. Yup. Math, my sister's best class. Where's my favorite subject? Oh, there it is. Physical Education, eighth period. Damn! Why the hell does it have to be the second to last period of the day?' Kouga thought dejectedly.
Classes flew by with a similar routine. Walk in, tell a little about himself (little being the key word), make way to seat (after avoiding the preps' hopeless attempts to embarrass him), sit in seat, listen to teacher, do what he/she says, wait impatiently for bell to ring, and head to next class. Thankfully, some of his new friends were in his classes so he wasn't alone. So after hours of 'suffering' the educational system, it was finally time for lunch.
"Hey, Kouga!" came the cry of two people.
"Hey, Ginta. Hakakku."
"We were wondering if you'd like to sit with us." Stated Hakakku.
"Yeah, we know that you probably don't have anywhere to sit. There's plenty of room." Ginta continued.
"Thanks. It would be great."
So, after they bought their lunches, they went to sit at the table where the rest of his new friends were.
"So Kouga, what was your other school like?" Miroku asked.
"It sucked."
"Why?"
"Well, for starters, Sango, Kagome, Rin, and I had no friends. Sure, we don't care if people hate us. It just would have been nice to have people outside the family care about us. That's why my cousins, sister, and I are so close. We depend on each other for support. There's no one else to."
"So you're glad you have us, ain't you?" InuYasha assumed.
"You could say that. I have to admit, it's a relief to be able to talk to guys for once. Sure, there are Souta and Kohaku, but they're to young to actually talk to."
"Who're they?"
"Sango's and Kagome's little brothers. Kohaku is eleven. Souta is nine. Great kids, just can't talk to them like I could someone my age."
"Honestly, I wouldn't complain if I had three beautiful women in my house."
"Miroku! Can't you go one day without being a pervert?!"
"My dear Ayame, that would go against everything that I am. Do you really want to risk me becoming a member of Naraku's posse because I am hiding my true self?"
"Seriously Miroku. You'd think that with your infatuation with the opposite sex that you've had learned how to respect them."
"Ayame, that hurts," Miroku said with a pout.
"I'll warn you now Miroku," Kouga warned, "if you dare hurt Sango, Kagome, or Rin, I will castrate you. And believe me, the other guy didn't like it."
Miroku gulped. 'I really, really, really hope he's just kidding'.
With that happy note, the bell for the end of lunch rang. Seventh period dragged on endlessly and, to Kouga's great relief, it was at last time for Gym. One problem. Even though he really didn't have a problem with the school outfit. Red t-shirt, black shorts. 'Cool school colors'. However, it was the fact that the gym attire prohibits wearing extra apparel is what has him the most concerned. That black wrap that he had on his forearm acted as a cover. Yet again, another way to hide his past.
"Kouga!" came a voice. Strangely enough, he knew this voice. It was one from his past. Turning to the owner, Kouga was surprised at who he faced.
"Mr. Tachi! What are you doing here?"
"It seems that I'm your Gym teacher. How have you been? How is everybody?"
"Better then expected. But that's sort of what I wanted to ask you about. Am I allowed to wear this?" Kouga gestured to the wrap.
"Isn't that where you were..." at Kouga's fierce nod he stopped. Now he understood why he didn't want him to continue. There were people behind him. Kouga didn't want them to know what happened to get that scar underneath his wrap. "Yes, of course you can wear it."
"Thanks Mr. Tachi."
"No problem."
The rest of class went without a hitch. Sure, InuYasha and the rest wanted to know what the whole 'black wrap' thing was about, but it was obvious that Kouga wasn't going to talk. So they just dropped it.
It was in the middle of the last class of the day that the most action happened. It was like slow motion. Kouga was sitting in class talking to his friends when the worst thing possible could have happened.
"Kouga!!! Kouga!!! KOUGA!!!!"
Kouga's head shot up at the sound of his name being called. It was ringing through the halls, getting closer to its destination. Everyone was looking towards the door, as if it would suddenly burst open. Which it did.
The person standing in the door was a young woman with dark black hair, chocolate eyes, small little freckles, black clothing that, like her hair, was sopping wet due to the pounding rain, and a terrified expression.
"Rin. What are you doing here? What's wrong?"
"We gotta go. Now," Rin panted as she made her way to her older brother.
"Why? Rin, what happened?" Kouga was worried. Rin was rarely ever upset. Something bad must have happened. She was shaking; tears were streaming down her cheeks. This was bad.
"We were packing and cleaning...everything fine...but...but...just collapsed...hardly breathing," Rin's wild, whispered rant concluded. She was so tired that she lost all the strength in her legs. Thankfully, her older brother picked her up and placed her on his back for carrying. Kouga didn't need to hear anymore. He knew what happened. Without so much as word, he left with the exhausted Rin on his back. He was going to the hospital.
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