Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

Summary: Little by little, she was starting to let him into her world. Seeing things as she saw them; experiencing life as more than just a spectator's sport. Soon, they would both be free from their memories.

Pairing: Itona/Kagome

Free

Chapter One: Secrets

Kagome heaved as she struck the wooden post with the palm of her hand. Golden eyes watched her form intently; carefully looking for any exposed weak points. She lifted her knee and buried it into one of the many limbs that protruded from the training tool. The teen's eyes narrowed as she fought the urge to wince at the impact it had on her flesh. A dark bruise was sure to form after this.

"That's enough." Her onlooker commented as he casually glanced at his watch, "Time to leave." She sighed, bringing her leg back down from its target. As expected, a dark mark was already starting to take root beneath the pale flesh. Kagome shrugged her uniform jacket over her clothing. Every morning always started out like this. Wake up early, train, eat, get ready, train a bit more and then they'd make their way down the long, treacherous staircase that connected this shrine to the outside world. The teen cast a subtle glance at her guardian. His face was as impassive as ever however there was a small line that trailed across the space above his brows. Something was bothering him. Azure eyes snapped ahead. Asking would procure no results. If he wanted to tell her than he would, otherwise she'd remain in the dark.

Their steps down the staircase were measured and full of meaning. How many more days did they have? The promised meeting was nearly at hand. A fist clenched at the young woman's side. Would this training suffice? Did she need to spend more time working on her upswing? What of her defense? How much longer did those people expect them to endure this torture? Memories of a brilliant fire and smoke billowing into the night sky caused a shudder to run its course through Kagome's body. She could still practically taste the vile copper of blood in her mouth. Her tongue instinctively ran itself along the roof of her mouth and over the back of her teeth. Satisfied that the brief sensation was merely a reflection of her memory, she continued down the path. The street below had now become visible.

Silver hair blew gently in the wind, casting a false sense of placidness upon those who laid their eyes upon the man beside her. He was not gentle nor was he warm. The man who had so dispassionately voiced his disagreement with this current situation, was as far from fatherly and nurturing as a male could possibly get. He was cold, calm and collected. Nothing ever riled him. Nothing ever scared him. Nothing, absolutely nothing, could ever shake him. Except today.

Kagome couldn't erase the feeling of foreboding as her guardian turned on the ball of his foot and made his way down the familiar path to his office.

Do not cause trouble.

He would say.

As if I'd want to.

She'd retort.

But today they did none of that. Instead as she watched his back slowly disappear into the mess of colors and movement of Tokyo, a feeling of fear crept into her soul. Her clenched hand began to bleed. She turned and began the long, tedious trip to school. The girl's heart skipped a beat. For just a moment, she feared that all would be lost before she'd return home. Azure eyes closed briefly. The faint sounds of horrified screams followed by bones cracking like glass beneath a heavy weight echoed in her consciousness. It'd never happen again. She swore to it. No matter what she'd never let such a tragedy occur again. Not now. Not ever. The cloth of her shirt rubbed against the flesh of her side irritatingly. Pale fingers loosed their grip as the blood coursing over them slowly began to dry.

Never Again.

He was watching her. She could feel his eyes upon the back her head like needles in a pincushion. A slight prick of aggravation brushed over her. Higurashi Kagome was many things, but patient was not one of them. She dropped the tip of her pencil on the paper of their pop quiz. The answers had already been filled in several minutes ago. She was now only waiting for the last of her classmates to finish their exams as well. Resting a cool cheek in the palm of her hand, the teen dropped her pencil's tip against the paper again—watching with mild fascination at the tiny streaks of grey left in its wake. The sensation of being watched intensified. A small smirk began to form at the corners of her mouth. Well, perhaps she could get a little pay back. His intense staring had been irritating her for so long, so maybe it'd be good to agitate him as well—shared suffering was always the best.

Without further hesitation she picked up her pencil again and dropped it. Over and over again, she listened as the object created a mildly annoying tap, tap, tap sound that echoed in the otherwise quiet classroom. White eyes narrowed though the strange, wide grin never faltered.

A noncommittal grumble slowly floated from behind her. Terasaka leaned back in his chair as he balanced a pen over his lip. His oversized foot suddenly kicked out and smacked into the metal leg of her desk. Kagome's eyes narrowed as she turned to give him a mild, yet surprisingly dark glare. The young man merely shrugged as he threw a glance towards their blue-haired classmate: Shiota Nagisa. The girl's expression soured. So he really did intend on going through with the plan? How idiotic. As if something of that mediocre degree would work on a beast like their teacher. Though she certainly had to question Nagisa's own sanity for agreeing to such a stunt as well.

Kagome leaned back and allowed her eyes to close—her pencil long forgotten. This was not something she wished to witness. The quiet swish of a knife cutting the air followed by their class's collective gasp at the surprise attack tipped her off that the assassination was now underway. Unable to sit back any more, she glanced up at the scene. Their mad science project of a teacher was currently attempting to back away from his bloodthirsty student, only to find himself trapped in the wicked embrace of the teenager. Then all hell broke loose.

A flurry of BB's sprayed across the classroom forcing many of the teenagers to duck and cover. Kagome swiftly raised her arms and held them in front of her face as the barrage of pellets smacked nearly harmlessly against her skin. It barely stung compared to the training exercises her guardian put her through daily. Once the last attack fell to the floor like a glass marble, Terasaka leapt from his seat behind her and charged up to their downed classmate.

"Yeah! We did it!" The ox of a boy cawed, throwing a cocky smirk her way. Azure eyes narrowed.

"But at what cost?" She tilted her head down and looked over Nagisa's unconscious form. A thick layer of mucus or other type of substance seemed to have covered his entire body. A sickening feeling settled over her as bile rose in her throat. They looked so similar. Flashes of inky black hair being strewn across crimson stained marble floors briefly echoed in the back of her mind. The familiar taste of copper in her mouth returned.

The young woman knelt down and gently shook the blue-haired male. He groaned then slowly opened his eyes.

"Are you hurt?" Kagome queried as she gingerly peeled the husk away from him. Nagisa shook his head in confusion. It was then that an ominous cloud spread over the classroom as an all too familiar presence appeared behind the crowd that had gathered.

"Terasaka. Yoshida. Muramatsu…" A voice boomed from behind the three boys, "I take it that you three were the ones responsible for this?"

All eyes were drawn to the now ominous figure of their teacher looming over them. His usually cheerful expression had been replaced by one mottled with fury. Unusually bright yellow skin darkened to something akin to ash as the lines around his eyes deepened into crevices.

Wind whipped around the classroom, within a matter of seconds their teacher had returned. The sound of wooden objects hitting the floor of their classroom echoed in Kagome's ears. What the hell was he doing?

"Here's the deal kiddos," The creature began, "The agreement I have with your government is that I can't harm you." The baritone of his voice dipped into something monstrous. A familiar chill went through the young woman's spine. This was one enemy she knew she couldn't defeat. "But there's a catch. If you pull another irresponsible stunt like that again, there's nothing that says I can't harm someone else. Family. Friends. Everyone in the world except for you if I feel like it." Her hands fisted at her sides. So this was how he was going to play his cards? That was fine. All the more reason for her to find a way to kill him. Azure eyes sharpened on the inhuman being standing before them. No one threatened her family. She didn't give a damn who he was.

"Go on, threaten us! I ain't afraid of no squid! Where do you get off blowing up the moon?" The oversized ox of a teen beside her piped up. Despite his strong words, tears formed in his eyes as he legs shook beneath his weight. Terasaka was just as frightened as everybody else. It was only his sense of reputation that kept his mouth running at this point. She promptly reached out and slapped the base of her palm against his jaw, forcing it to clamp shut.

"So what you're really saying is that the next time we try to kill you, you'll just go after our family? Is that it?" Kagome took a step towards him, uncaring of the consequences at this point. "Or am I missing something here? Because I thought we all agreed that the main point of this class is to try to eliminate you by any means necessary."

The creatures face suddenly lit up like a game show. Half turned red with a semicircle following the contours of his cheek, while the other half turned a deep shade of purple with two angular lines coming to a point at the center.

"You're exactly half right and half wrong!" With that a yellow tentacle fell upon Nagisa's head. "The point may be to kill me but not by 'any means necessary' as you put it."

The students were rapt with attention, "The goal here is to improve your skills in a safe environment. If any of you act so irresponsibly again I'll take my leave of this classroom. Do we have an understanding?" His voice was stern yet full of concern. It was a strange feeling for a person like herself. Azure eyes slid closed. She could comprehend his reasoning. The breath she'd been holding slowly released. Her hands unclenched. This wasn't a battle she needed to fight right now. There were other things she needed to focus on—particularly the 'meeting' that was to occur in a few days time.

"Understood." Kagome offered her hand to Nagisa, helping her classmate rise to his feet. With a swift turn the young woman grabbed Terasaka by the scruff of his neck and dragged him back to his desk; all complaints and flailing limbs being completely ignored.

This was all so strange yet she didn't find herself disliking it. Maybe having a genetically modified octopus as a teacher wouldn't be so bad?

Kayano's voice was suddenly heard over the low chatter of the class, "He's un-killable right? Korosenai means un-killable in Japanese, so what about Koro-sensei?"

Another piped up, "Yeah that sounds like a great name! What do you think Koro-sensei?"

A pair of white eyes blinked at them in mild confusion. Then there was a gentle murmur of agreement from the rest of the children. It was at that moment that the dynamics of their dysfunctional yet endearing class had started to take root.

Kagome crossed her arms and relaxed her posture. She could still feel Koro-sensei's eyes on her. Particularly focused on the dark bruise upon her thigh. Her fingers instinctively intertwined themselves with the fabric of her skirt and gently tugged it over the small injry. This one was going to be extremely eagle-eyed. Keeping her family's little 'secret' under wraps from his prying eyes was going to be a tough job.

Still, a small smirk spread across her lips, she couldn't wait to test out her strength on him. Even if she still had a long way to go, it'd be nice to see just how well she'd stack up against a Mach Twenty monster.

Sesshoumaru glared at the figure hovering nosily over his paperwork. The clock above his desk struck five past three. The girl was sure to be leaving her school soon. The dark-haired intruder smiled amicably at the irritated man. He thumbed his fingers lightly over the cedar of the opulent desk.

"I take it that she's adjusting well under your care?" The voice was smooth.

"Should I be the one you're asking?" The silver haired man tilted his chin, "Would it not be more prudent to make these inquiries with the girl herself?"

There was a thoughtful hum, "The girl? Do you not refer to her by name? You've allowed the other to call you a far more endearing term."

Sesshoumaru felt the pinprick of irritation needling the back of his neck, "That is of no concern of yours."

"Ah, Ah, Ah." His visitor tutted, "Don't forget that she is my job." He sat down in Sesshoumaru's seat and gestured for him to sit upon the simple, wooden one across the table. "Take a seat. There've been a few changes." It was of no shock that the man refused the notion—choosing to stand instead.

"Changes? I thought we agreed that there'd be no surprises." Golden eyes narrowed suspiciously.

A pair of violet eyes darkened minutely, "Why do you think I'm here? This way it won't be a surprise."

Sesshoumaru encouraged him to continue with a simple nod.

"The meeting will be pushed forward to tomorrow night." If he expected an outburst, he would be sorely disappointed. Kagome's guardian barely blinked at the revelation. "Not only that but the one who'll be proctoring her exam has changed as well."

Sesshoumaru spoke up, "Has Kouga become incapable of proctoring the exam himself?"

The male shook his head, "No. He's as healthy as a horse. Rather, a few of the council members thought it'd be more beneficial to test her abilities against a stronger opponent." Violet eyes began to resemble shards of glass. Sharp, cold and unforgiving. "She'll be pitted against Jakostu. It'll be a two round match as before. However there is still one rule that is still being debated amongst the council."

This did not bode well for Sesshoumaru.

"They're attempting to make an inclusion that Jakotsu be given the ability to tag out. The one to replace him should he tag out is still being decided."

"In other words they want her to fight Bankotsu." The silver haired male stated simply.

His visitor nodded gravely, "I don't need to tell you how dangerous that would be for her. With the stipulations as they are, the consequences could be dire should she fail."

"I'm well aware." Sesshoumaru drawled in annoyance. He needed no reminders of what was at stake.

"I've already spoken with Tsubaki. Kikyou will only be permitted to partake in spectating the event. She shall not be allowed to contact Kagome in any way, shape or form." The dark haired male leaned back in the oversized seat. It almost appeared as if he were sitting upon a throne instead of at a desk. "Both Tsubaki and your father believe that it'd be too risky to let the girls near each other." There was a slight snort in his otherwise smooth voice—he was obviously peeved by this notion as well.

"Risky for whom?" The silver-haired male inquired with a rare bite of sarcasm.

A wide smirk spread across the lips of his visitor, "Now that is the question." He rose from his throne, brushing past the man with ease. "Since the official message has been passed on I can give you my personal one."

Silver-brows quirked ever so slightly, "What might that be?"

The smirk turned vicious, "Grind them to dust. A dose of humiliation is good for the soul you know." The door quietly clicked shut behind him as he left, leaving Sesshoumaru to contemplate these new changes. Only one night. That was all they had left to prepare. With an index finger and thumb, he rubbed the line of his brows, brushing the hair there to and fro.

This just left one last option for them. He only hoped that she'd be willing to do it. As if on queue his phone rang. He glanced at the number. It was familiar enough. With a flick of his thumb, he flipped the device open.

"Hello father. To what do I owe the pleasure?"