A/N: Yo! I'm taking time out of writing chapter 14 of Kinetics to bring you this- Lost Prophet, the companion fic to Kinetics that I had originally planned on calling St. Patrick's Day. I made that decision the other day when I busted out the Lostprophets CD, "The Fake Sound of Progress", which I think summarizes Miroku's darker side perfectly.
Anywho, on with the first chapter, the title track from the aforementioned CD.
Oh, did I mention this is Miroku's POV?
Disclaimer: I am poor.
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Lost Prophet:
Track 1: The Fake Sound of Progress
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Somebody told me that I'd always have to bow,
if that was true, I would have fallen apart, by now,
the more you think, the less you act their way,
so can you hear this?
The fake sound of Progress,
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I sighed as the bus pulled into the school, rolling like... well, for lack of poetics, like an old bus rolling into a school parking lot. I was too tired to think of anything poetic that night. And who do we have to blame for that? Her.
That's right, Sango Murasaki. I swear, in the past week I went from being completely indifferent to being her absolute number one enemy. Because of one, single, accidental gesture, a glance at her general direction, she made my week a living hell.
And we still didn't finish the assignment.
And that bastard Inuyasha, my best friend, had been too damn lovestruck to help. Not that it's really his fault... but I swear, he couldn't have talked to me for more than 2 minutes without mentioning Kagome. And the worst part is, he totally denied that there was anything between them! I mean, I'd probably get distracted easily too if I were hanging around a babe like Kagome all the time, but to say that it wasn't love? That's just poor!
Anyway, back to the topic of my rant. Sango is one of the most popular girls in our High School, Eisenhower High. In fact, now that Kagome was one of us, she was very possible the most popular. And I, heh, forgot about that part, I was the second most loathed figure in the school.
I'm Miroku Kenjishi, nice to meet ya.
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Never reason with a foe,
but is that unkind?
Looks like I've lost my mind, once again,
I know it all sounds so contrived,
but it's not to me,
you know I've got to be, more than this,
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I stood, tapping my foot impatiently as I waited for her to step down from the bus, so that we could make arrangements to finish our assignment. I scowled as I saw Inuyasha walking towards his car, laughing, with Kagome following. I could have sworn that those two were gonna have sex by sunrise. Out of corner of my eye, I saw Shippou sigh and hang up the nearby payphone angrily. Looks like he needed a ride… which was great, because I needed someone to talk to.
I smelled her before I saw her, stepping off the bus with an eloquence that betrayed her true nature. I had to hold my nose or risk damaging it from the amount of perfume she was wearing. I can't possibly understand how Inuyasha, with his super-human sense of smell, could have possibly come within fifty feet of her without passing out. The mind boggles…
She looked at me crossly, with her nose slanted up I the air, as if it were degrading to speak to me. I honestly cannot comprehend that school of thought. She didn't even know me, what offended her?
I have to admit, I did have a pretty nasty reputation as the school prankster back then. But hey, if they were too dumb to fall for it, was it really my fault? I mean, it's not like I didn't give them warning signs…
So, yeah, sorry, I have a habit of going off topic like that. Sango glared at me for a few seconds, and I swear I think she expected meto get down on the ground or start groveling or something, because after a few moments she looked away and huffed audibly. God she was so stuck up!
So, yeah, then I turned to her, and I said, "Hey, when do you want to get back together to finish this project?"
She turned to me, put on a cocky little grin, and said, "I don't, but because I don't really have a choice, I'll meet you at Romano's tomorrow at 1:30." And then she walked away, not caring to hear me scream at her that I couldn't because I was supposed to go car-watching with Inuyasha tomorrow. But part that little part of me that makes wild assumptions, also the part that controlled 90% of my conscious activity, seriously doubted he and Kagome would be awake by then ANYWAY, so after about 5 seconds of bitching to the air, I shrugged and walked off towards Shippou.
I wondered how he was taking the whole Inuyasha and Kagome thing, considering that he had a well-known crush on the girl since his first day at this school a few weeks before. Ah well, if he were troubled I'd be able to bring him out of it.
What are friends like me for, anyway?
No, seriously, what? I'd like to know.
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Don't frown, don't scorn,
Because I walk a different street than you,
You look, so worn,
I bet that life has got you torn,
But it will, never get,
to me,
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I looked over to Shippou as we drove to my house. Turns out his parents were out of town, and he didn't have a key, so he was going to have to stay at my place. Funny, but it seems like everyone's parents were out of town that night. Heaven knows Kagome and Inuyasha didn't have much parental supervision that night.
Right, so, I turned to Shippou, and I said, "Hey, what do you think, you know, about Inuyasha hanging out with Kagome?"
I never really was one to work around words. I just say what needs to be said… no need to get all poetic about it. He looked thoughtful for a minute after I sai that, and then he looks at me, and he says, "I'm happy for them, really. They seem happy together." And the way he said it, and the look in his eyes, there was no way I would have ever doubted him. Shippou was damned mature for being two years younger than me. Surprised me on several occasions.
"You know, Inuyasha's been worried that you were angry or something. I mean, after that first day, you were hardly speaking to him. And just who were you talking to on the phone all the time?" That last bit had been bothering me for some time now. On our week-long class trip to California, he'd spent almost five days locked up in his room, talking to some unknown person on the phone.
"Well… I guess I was at first but… well, then I met Kirara, and well… I don't really care anymore."
"Who's Kirara?" I asked, a curious tone dominating my voice.
"She's… well…" he blushed, and I could tell that he was embarrassed as all hell. I decided to be nice this time and let him off the hook…
"Ah, whatever," I said, brushing it aside, "There's not gonna be anyone home, so you wanna rent a movie or something, you know, hang out for a while? I'm not very big on sleeping."
"Sure," he said, the blush lingering, and his voice maintaining the embarrassed tone. One thing was for sure: Shippou was a very outward person.
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Somebody told me that I'd always have to bow,
If that were true, I would've fallen apart by now,
The more you think, the less you act their way,
So can you hear this?
The fake sound of progress,
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I sighed as I lay down in my bed. I thought I was a night-owl, but damn. Shippou outclassed me in the energy department. He wasn't ever hyper either… he just had a larger store. I wondered if he stayed up like this every night…
I looked over at the wall… 4:30 am. In just nine short hours I'd be back in the throes of evil, taking instructions from the Bitch Queen herself. I smiled to myself… Bitch Queen… it had a nice little ring to it. And oh, so fitting. I swear, we would have finished a lot faster if she actually did something, rather than just sit and "make sure I did it right." God, that's almost as lame as telling your parents "I was doing research for a paper" when they catch you smoking pot or something.
I hoped tomorrow… err, actually, today rather, would never come.
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And I feel the way you hold,
Hold me back from this,
Chances that I missed, now they're gone,
Apathy is all I sense, the feelings too intense,
Sitting on the fence,
Can't decide,
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I sat, miserable, working on this damned project from hell, flinching under her stare every so often. I couldn't take it any longer, I was gonna snap, and I swear I should have. If I had given her a piece of my mind then… well, that's just another of the many moments that think of alternate outcomes for. As I was just about to, though, who should walk in but my old buddy, Inuyasha, arm draped around Kagome and a huge, goofy smile plastered on his face. I knew I was right about them. I'd have to congratulate him later. Meanwhile, I noticed Her Bitchyness shaking her head disapprovingly. Wasn't Kagome her friend? Why couldn't she just be happy? I had a feeling that in a few days, Kagome would find herself heartbroken in right wing girl's room, like so many others to find love at such a young age. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm kind of a hopeless romantic.
Anyway, I knew all about that bathroom, dubbed "The Newsroom" by the female population of our school, from one of my earlier and more ingenious pranks. That was the room where you went to find out which girl slept with which guy, how many times, and how much of a slut she was for doing so. The walls held more information than a phonebook. I even found one comment dating back to 1983, about a girl who is now one of the school guidance counselors. Coincidence? I think not!
Anywho, Sango had just been saved by the bell by my best buddy and his "mate". Heh, that was good. I'd hafta rank on him about it later. You see, my good pal Inuyasha was born with a rare defect that gave him both dog ears and a heightened sense of smell. Other strands of the disease included Shippou's strange fox tail.
I saw them turn to leave, a somewhat hurt look on Kagome's face, and decided that I needed a short mental health break. I looked over at Sango, and decided that two could play her games. "I'll be right back," I said, standing up and walking out the door without paying attention to her protests.
"Hey, wait up!" I called, running to catch up to the pair. Kagome seemed to have gotten over the episode from inside, and it might have been my imagination, but I' pretty sure I saw a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes. Damn, that Inuyasha was smooth!
"Yo!" called aforementioned playa as the turned to meet me. "How's your little 'study-date' going?"
I laughed facetiously. "You mean my luncheon with her Royal Bitchyness? Why I don't know, I suppose you'd have to ask her, if she ever thaws out."
Kagome giggled. Oh yeah, I'm witty. Who's the man? Kenjishi's the man! Alright!
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Don't frown, don't scorn,
Cause I walk a different street than you,
You look, so worn,
I bet that Life has got you blown,
But it will, never get,
To me,
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I sighed as I slowly walked back to Romano's, the small Italian restaurant, which was usually my favorite hangout. But not today…
I shrugged off her glare as I sat down in my seat. Today was just not going my way…
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Somebody told me that I'd always have to bow,
If that were true I would have fallen apart by now,
The more you think, the less you act their way,
So can you hear this?
The fake sound of progress,
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I threw my hands up in defeat. "Fine! If you don't like it, why don't you do it?!" I stood up and stormed across the restaurant to the bathroom, thoroughly frightening the other two customers. Why the hell was she so damned unreasonable all the time? It pissed me off to no end. I mean, if were gonna be forced to work together, might as well try to be pleasant about it. No reason to be bitchy about every minor detail.
I glanced over to our table as I stepped out of the bathroom, and to this day I swear she was staring. As soon as she saw me, she turned her head away, looking quite flustered. It was obvious that it was going to take more than that to win our battle of wills.
But I was all for a little game of cat and mouse.
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All these words, unaccounted for,
Never feel another day,
All the stars and I need more,
Make them go away,
Tell me now, can you hear the sound,
Of all these people falling down,
Going back into the ground,
Make me smile again,
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I laughed as I ran down the streets, all of our work held tightly in my arms, along with her purse. I could tell she was surprised by my speed, but let me tell you, when as many people are after your ass as there were mine, you learn how to be fast. I turned and jeered, giving her a few precious seconds to catch up before taking off again down another street. I felt like it was third grade again. I honestly couldn't remember the last time I had had as much fun. I stopped and turned, deciding that I'd had enough of our little game, and was surprised to find that she had almost caught up to me. This did not do her any good, however, since that was the reason we were rapidly falling to the pavement. I opened my eyes to find hers, inches away. And just for a second, I thought I saw something other than hate in those big green eyes.
She was happy…
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Somebody told me that I'd always have to bow,
If that were true I would have fallen apart by now,
The more you think, the less you act their way, So can you hear this?
The fake sound of progress,
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A/N: Yo! Man, that was fun to write. I should have you know, that was my first venture into the world of First-Person storytelling, but it won't be my last. Hell, how could it, this is a companion fic, ne? Anywho, chapter 14 of Kinetics is about ¼ of the way done, and coming along nicely. Expect to see some familiar happenings, because that's what this fic is all about ^.^