City of Angels
by Rikaku
General Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I own this plot, Touken-san, Akari-chan, Raikou-kun, Sagi-chan, Fukeru-chan, Kuyamu-kun, and Yoko-san.
Genre: Romance/Angst/Adventure (I hope…)
Written: January 3, 2006, January 4, 2006, January 7, 2006, and January 8, 2006
Posted: January 8, 2006 – Revamped: January 13, 2006
Author's Note: Thank you to my reviewers. I got this one out as soon as I could… sometimes school really makes me stressed. Oh, the homework… Maybe I should go find Raikou-kun. He has a beautiful policy for anything that annoys him…
Chapter 2: Emotionally Exhausted
---
On the streets of a bad neighborhood in Esashi, there stood a well kempt house. It was whitewashed, like so many of the others, but unlike the adjacent houses, this one had a beautiful garden growing near the porch. There were flowers of all kinds, different colors and shapes, lining the perimeter as well as a rose bed in the backyard. The only window facing the street was befallen by a shadow.
Staring out the window with bottomless hazel eyes, a young woman ran her hands through her dark brown hair. Stifling her sigh, once again, she turned and paced the room, dull and empty, following a wear pattern that was years in the making. The floor was a dull grey color, with many cracks, but the distinct trail of the woman's feet was obvious. A door on the other side of the room swung open as a tall figure came through and stepped in front of the woman.
"Oh, for Kami's sake, Akari-chan, quite pacing! You're actually wearing a trench in the cement!" The young man scolded, grabbing the woman's shoulders, effectively stopping her from advancing. He glared down at her with his bright green eyes, his red hair, cut just above his shoulder, swaying from his movement.
"But it has been years – years, Raikou-kun – since he left! How come he didn't tell us where he was going? Why hasn't he written yet? What if-" Akari stopped short as Raikou shook her and said, "You see! This is why I tried not to tell you, but no, you had to see what he was up to! Just sit down and be calm. He's strong. Nothing will happen to him." He waved his hands and huffed.
"This is why you never get a woman into men's business." Raikou turned his back on Akari, throwing his hands in the air, but that was all she needed. "Why you little prick!" She hissed, springing on him, sending both of them toppling to the floor. "Kami forbid you actually have a brain!"
They both rolled, tangled limbs flying, until they came to a stop when Raikou hit the wall. "Damn wall." He muttered, sitting up and rubbing his back, before glaring down at the girl in his lap. "You know better than to jump me! It's war!" He shouted as Akari jumped up and dashed out of the room, trying to find an escape. Grinning, Raikou chased after, yelling, "Time for Bloodshed! War! Bloody Hands! Gunshots! Raise Hellfire!"
Shouting back and forth as they played a game of tag, the man thought, 'Well, at least she's not worried anymore.'
---
Sango and Kagome waited in anticipation for the announcement of the new student. They had no idea whether she, for it was obvious that the transfer was a girl, would be a stuck-up snob or the quiet, mellow type. If it were the latter, they were pretty sure the girl would still be able to hold her own in a fight. After all, who ever heard of weaklings surviving in Muzukashii?
"May I present to you the one, the only transfer from Muzukashii to Kyōiku High, Satsujin Inuyasha Shihai!" Doing a sweeping bow, Touken-san directed his hands to the door, as the doorknob began to turn. The few seconds it took for the new student to open the door became antagonizing minutes.
Kagome began to think frantically about possible scenarios. 'It's no doubt that this 'Inuyasha' is a girl. What kind of guy would walk around with that name tagged to him? It means female dog demon, after all. But what if our new student hates me and decides to bully me? What if she's really mean and tries to kill everyone one day? What if Kouga and Miroku try to play the girl? Will she be able to hold her own against those two?' All of Kagome thoughts ceased as soon as the door swung open, revealing the shadows in the hall.
"You may come in." Touken-san mentioned to the new student, who took a reluctant step forward. The shadows seemed to surround her, blocking her from their view, until she stepped into the class fully. The entire class gasped as they saw the full effect of Touken-san's words. The long, beautiful, shiny black hair; the long legs; the delicate features…
…All on a male, who looked bashfully at the rest of the class…
---
'Kami.' Inuyasha thought, quite distressed by Touken-san's description of him. 'Great, now I feel like a homosexual… or a transvestite, at the least…' "You may come in." Touken-san stated. He stepped into the classroom, hearing the gasps from his classmates. Thinking quickly, he walked forward to the center of the classroom, where his teacher stood, the mischief glinting in his eyes openly.
"Now, everyone, I'd like you to say 'hi' to Satsujin-san here!" Touken-san grinned. Glaring at him, a student at the front shouted, "What the hell? I thought that our new student was supposed to be a girl! This girly-guy isn't what I was thinking of!" Several more gasps were heard as the student shot upward, knocking his chair back onto the floor.
"Now, now, Yagikin-kun. Please calm down!" Touken-san sighed, apparently tired of having to deal with Yagikin's attitude on everything. This was an everyday occurrence, for the past three and a half years for Touken-san. However, Inuyasha was not going to take any crap from this egotistical high schooler, so he stalked forward dangerously. Quite surprisingly, the teen was taller than him.
"What the fuck did you just say!" Inuyasha hissed out menacingly, fisting his hands at his sides, glaring up through his bangs.
"Fag. Go back to your closet. Not even a mother could love a face like that." The other kid waved Inuyasha off. Taking his time, partially to control his anger and partially to examine the situation, Inuyasha looked over the boy.
Unlike most kids in the class – who had natural hair colors only – this one has short, spiked hair, black with green streaks, and a jade headband. He had blue eyes and was staring directly at Inuyasha. Wearing dark blue jeans and a white T-shirt and accessorized with thousands of chains and tattoos, the boy looked like the typical delinquent. Finally breaking the glaring contest, a girl yelled from the back, "Don't be an idiot Kouga-kun! He's our new student, from Muzukashii! While I'm at it, how the heck did you get in here!"
Snorting, the boy named Kouga glared at the girl a little. "Tsuka-chan," He called in a mocking voice, "It's called a window. Besides – I don't think this girl here could beat anything up. Probably why the he-she left his other school!" Before anyone could say another word, Inuyasha sprang into action.
Grabbing Kouga by his forearms, Inuyasha twisted them behind his back, quickly kicking his left leg at Kouga's knees. When Kouga's legs gave out, Inuyasha gripped his hair and yanked his head up, bringing his own down to glare at Kouga. Twisting his arms, like he'd been taught as a young child, Inuyasha heard the casual snap of Kouga's wrist breaking and didn't even bat an eye. Leaning down closer, Inuyasha spoke, low and darkly. "You ever, and I mean ever cross me again asshole, I'll make sure your life is a living – bloody – Hell. Got that?"
Nodding vigorously, eyes wide and frightened since he couldn't break the Inuyasha's grip himself, Kouga was released from the hold. Checking his hands, Kouga was quite surprised when he found that he couldn't move his right wrist. "I think it is broken." Touken-san said quietly from the spot at the front of the room, where he had watched the entire scene quietly. Looking up, Kouga asked, "Can I go to the nurse?" With a quick head bob from his teacher, Kouga ran out of the door and down the hall to the nurse's office.
Sighing to himself, Touken-san sat on his desk and looked at Inuyasha. "Well, it looks like a congratulations are in order." Receiving a blank look from Inuyasha, he continued, "You were the first one to have not tried to pound Kouga to death in two seconds, and you are the only one who actually beat him when you did go after him. I'm impressed." Clapping wearily, the teacher suddenly became serious. "But that does not mean that it is okay to run around and beat people up. Since you were provoked, taunted quite meanly, and this is your first day, I'll let this one slide. But-"
"I am deeply remorseful about the incident with Yagikin-san, Touken-san. It will not happen again. On my honor." Inuyasha quietly interrupted, his voice soft and mellow as he bowed low to Touken-san. Everyone in the class was shocked at his sincere apology and change of attitude. One minute Inuyasha had been hot-tempered and looked positively murderous; now he was the epitome of a good student who was quiet, knowledgeable, and composed.
Blinking quite a few times, Touken-san nodded and said, "Very well. I accept your apology. Please take a seat near Kuyamu-kun and I shall begin with our roll call." Sitting down in the back right corner, Inuyasha just slumped. 'Who knew that this persona would be such a difficult task? This is a job for the social agents, not me. One more roll… one more player in the game.' Groaning for what seemed the millionth time, Inuyasha took out his school supplies and tried to keep up with the day.
---
"I'm telling you; you had it coming! Never mess with anyone from Muzukashii High!" Ayame Shōnin scolded her cousin, Kouga Yagikin, during lunch hour. "I heard that a girl who was trapped by one of the fiercest gangs in all Tokyo beat them all and got away unscathed! She was a freshman at that high school!" Looking at her cousin, she sat back down from her pacing. "I don't think you should mess with this Satsujin character. He could be very dangerous if provoked too much."
Turning around to her lunch, Ayame began to eat, handing Kouga half of her tuna sandwich. "Thanks…" Kouga muttered sullenly. It was such how Kouga acted when beaten – not that he was beaten often – but when he was, Kouga would sulk for a good few months. Especially when the victor of the match had been a homosexual freak. "But what has he got on me? I'm taller, and I have more muscle; I should be able to wipe the floor with him!"
"Kouga-kun, you just don't understand. It's probably his style, and he most likely had real life or death fights at Muzukashii. He just is more experienced. Besides that, you should know from training with me that height and strength aren't everything." Ayame devoured her sandwich and looked at Kouga. "Now, I want to see this Satsujin; can you point him out so I can have a go?"
"Fine, fine. Give me a minute to spot his sorry ass. You can even beat me when you're mad enough, so you've got this fight in the bag." Ayame smiled at the compliment, whilst Kouga just shook his head and continued searching the crowd. "Let's go see if he's outside." Kouga suggested, gathering up his things. Bobbing her head in agreement, Ayame picked her own backpack and began to trot towards the door.
Outside there weren't as many students, seeing as the sky promised rain. "Ooh… Weather's gonna be a bitch on the way home…" Ayame muttered. She turned to Kouga. "If it rains, I'll kick your ass until you give me a ride, got it?"
Raising his eyebrow, Kouga nodded and said, "For my dearest cousin, a ride. You know, I'd give one to you anyway… right?" Rolling her eyes, Ayame looked up to the large tree at the edge of the school property. Frowning when she spotted someone there, she called, "Okay! Who's sitting in my tree!"
Kouga turned just as the figure emerged. Standing next to the trunk of the sakura tree was a very serious looking boy. "Satsujin-kun?" Kouga said in surprise, watching as said boy walked around the tree to pick up his own stuff.
"So this is the infamous Satsujin-kun, eh?" Ayame cracked her knuckles, giving him a once over. "You don't look that tough, but that's probably what got Kouga's ego got smashed! I'm Shōnin Ayame, Kouga's better and younger cousin. Pleased to make your acquaintance!" Looking up, Inuyasha just shook his head and rushed past Ayame's outstretched hand, mumbling a quiet, "I'm honored to make your acquaintance, Shōnin-san. Please forgive my hurry." Not once did he stop, but kept on going towards the cafeteria, head down.
Staring at the black-haired teen's back, Ayame remarked, "Well that was interesting. He doesn't seem like the type from Muzukashii High…" Kouga nodded in agreement as Ayame turned back to the tree, flopping down near the base. "Oh well! Let's finish lunch!"
Sitting down next to the trunk, against the roots, Kouga responded distractedly, "Sure Ayame-chan…"
---
Hurrying through the front door of the school, Inuyasha was quite surprised to not meet any resistance. "Oh Kami, the security is severely lacking…" He looked up and shook his head. "Not good… The weather this time of year is very dark and damp."
Walking out of the gates, off the school campus, Inuyasha turned and sprinted to an alleyway, yelling out as fast and loud as he could. He dropped his backpack near the dead-end, praying that it wouldn't get stolen. Jumping over the fence, he slid down to the other side before seeing what he'd come out for.
Lying back up, a young girl looked up to the sky blankly, not even trying to move. There were cuts and bruises all over her pale skin, but her clothes were intact. Several of the deeper gashes on her arms and legs were still bleeding a red river. It was a miracle that she hadn't passed out from blood loss. Hearing Inuyasha's footsteps, the girl painfully turned her head, before letting out a small shriek of discomfort. Recognizing him as a male figure, she tried to get up, but due to her injuries, she fell back to the alley pavement. Jogging, Inuyasha came up to her side and carefully put a hand on her shoulder, shaking her a bit.
"Are you okay?" He asked quietly. He smiled a bit when the girl's eyes cleared a little to give him a glare that clearly said 'Did you have to ask, idiot?'. "Okay, stupid question. Where does it hurt the worst?" Obviously too exhausted to move much, she rasped out, "Left leg." Nodding his head, Inuyasha looked at her leg.
It was badly twisted the wrong way, all of the blood dried and cracked over her skin. Several cuts, wide and deep, were still bleeding, showing that whoever had done this left as soon as they heard Inuyasha coming as noisily as he could down the alley. Carefully lifting up her leg, hearing a small groan of protest from the female, he saw that her ankle was swollen baldly, as if she broke or sprained it. "Hold still for a minute." Inuyasha whispered, "You'll be fine in a little bit."
The girl nodded lightly, closing her eyes and falling asleep in the comforting presence of Inuyasha. Bowing his head, he began to mutter, delicately holding the girl's leg up. White light surrounded the two figures as everything else went black.
---
Laying her head down on a desk in study hall, Kagome stared out the window. The teacher was out of the room, so everyone was yelling and throwing spitballs, paper airplanes, pencils, and pretty much anything else they could get their hands on. Someone poked her in the back, prompting her to turn around.
"Yes?" Kagome asked, a bit annoyed at now being a potential target for the various flying objects. She came face to face with Ayame Shōnin, the school's good girl gone bad. Obviously having spent so much time with her cousin Kouga had defragmented parts of her brain.
"Hey Kagome-chan. I was wondering if you saw that new kid yet." Ayame casually asked, waving her hands about like she was going to hit somebody. The answer was mostly likely just that.
"Well, yeah. I've seen him, since he and I have the same homeroom class." Kagome blinked as Ayame got hit with a paper airplane and covered her ears just in time for the other girl to scream, "Who the hell threw that!" With everyone in the class cowing at the redheaded teen's anger, Ayame appeared satisfied and only offered a quick, "Better not happen again!"
Turning back to Kagome, Ayame smiled and said, "Sorry about that Kagome-chan." Curling her fingers around her pencil, she began to mindlessly flip it in the air. "So you've seen him. What do you think? Think I could take him on, or am I over my head if I challenge him at the dōjō?" Blinking out of surprise, Kagome furrowed her brow in thought.
The Shōnins were a dōjō family, and had lived in one for the better part of the 1800s. They still owned it, but had now moved inside a nice house about three miles away. Ayame's father still took challenges, mostly in martial arts and kenjutsu, but he was a very adaptable man. They were one of the few successful dōjōs in the entirety of Japan. Being an only child, it was Ayame who would take over the dōjō when her father retired. So far, she only tried twenty challenges, out of the hundreds that came every year to test their skill, but she had beaten all of her opponents.
Kagome thought back to how Inuyasha had disabled Kouga in class that morning. He moved with calculated swiftness, and was obviously adept at fighting. Whether or not that was martial arts, Kagome had no idea. Figuring in that Inuyasha was a male – he had to be built tougher than Ayame even if he seemed like a girl at first glance – Kagome decided that Ayame wouldn't be able to win. That was not how she told Ayame though.
"I'm not too sure if you'd win or lose. I don't even know if Satsujin-kun knows martial arts or if that was street fighting. In all honesty, unless I see a full fledged fight between him and Kouga-kun, I wouldn't know unless you tired." Gulping at Ayame's beaming face, Kagome had the feeling that she sent her friend on a death march.
"Well, I'll ask him. If he says no, then there's nothing I can do, huh?" Leaning back, Ayame said quietly, "Teacher's at the door Kagome-chan; you should turn around and pretend you were reading." Facing the front of the class, Kagome picked up her long forgotten book and wondered what was going through the redhead's mind.
---
Wearily walking to his last class of the day, Inuyasha was positive he would pass out soon. He was stressed and completely exhausted from his early expedition to do much of anything. Opening the door to the Home Ed room Inuyasha off handedly wondered how he would tell the teacher that he was allergic to bad cooking. 'You know you're about to die when you make jokes like that…' He thought, taking a seat and dropping his unhealthily heavy backpack on the floor next to his feet.
Looking around, he was surprised to find that he knew absolutely no one. The teacher went to the front of the room, appearing after the bell rang and the stragglers snuck into the class. While she called roll, Inuyasha slumped in his seat even more, wanting to get out of the building created by the devil himself.
'The building that not even the devil could stand to be in… and that is why he created it – to use against his foes.' Snapping out of his daydream by the teacher calling his name and telling him to go to a work group, Inuyasha almost, almost, slammed his head on the desk to take a nap, but restrained himself. Once at the group table, Inuyasha eyed the group of girls that glared at him when he sat on a stool.
"What am I to do?" He asked tiredly. A girl with her hair up like his, in a high ponytail, just said, "Take a nap or something. Don't bother or-"
Not even waiting to hear the rest of the instructions, Inuyasha lay his head against the wall, still sitting on the stool, and promptly fell asleep. Only, of course, he was woken by the continuous ring of timers and shuffling of cookie trays only fifteen minutes later. "A guy can't get a descent nap, ne?" He muttered, turning around just in time to see the pair of girls burn their hands trying to take out a tray from the oven.
"Ouch!" They hissed, and sucked on their finger. Jumping off his stool, Inuyasha walked to his backpack and pulled out his mini-first-aid kit. Taking out the burn cream, he walked to his group and grabbed each of the girl's hands, much to the teenagers' protests. After putting the cream around the burn, along with a band-aid. Inuyasha then walked over to the oven and pulled the tray out with his bare hands, plucking a cookie off the tray to eat.
"Hmm… You know, these aren't half bad." He mumbled out through the cookie he ate. The girls on his team – who he earlier heard called Tsuka Sagi and Hikari Fukeru – were astonished, and pretty frozen for a while before they thanked him for the burn cream. "No problem, as long as I get more cookies." Tsuka smiled and nodded to the plate, saying, "Of course you can have more! These were cookies for the group; that was the assignment."
Sheepishly thinking that he had been in a sleep-like state when the teacher announced the project of the day, Inuyasha just grabbed five more cookies and said, "Pig out!"
Both girls laughed lightly, watching Inuyasha try to stuff all five cookies in his mouth at once. "For the world record!" The girls cheered, trying to encourage Inuyasha's natural born stupidity when it came to cookies. 'Never could resist stuffing them down my gullet when mom made them…'
---
Walking home from the school, Kagome and Sango chattered happily about many things, ranging from the awful mystery meat on the lunch front, to the new kid. Kagome talked most of the time, because Sango was trying to keep her backpack strap from snapping.
"…and can you believe that he was the one you ran into in the hall!" Kagome chirped, bouncing up and down while Sango readjusted the backpack strap. Looking her friend up and down, Sango questioned, "Did you have a lot of sugar?"
"Not really… just a pack of M&Ms, and one sugar cookie from Kikyou-chan at lunch. So, can you believe it?" Kagome happily responded while thy neared their houses. "Yes I can believe it! When did Kikyou-chan give out sugar cookies!" Sango asked since she hadn't gotten one of Kikyou's famous cookies; they were legend at the school after Kikyou had made and brought enough for the entire junior class on her birthday the year before.
"You can? Kikyou-chan gave them out right before I scuttled off to the gym room, remember?" Opening the door to the Higurashi household, both Kagome and Sango walked up the stairs, knowing that no one else would be home until five. The clock only read four, so they had an hour to fool around before getting down to some serious studying.
Frowning, Sango opened to door to Kagome's room and dropped her backpack on the pink and white bed. "No I don't. I was at the drinking fountain!" Kagome dropped her backpack next to Sango's and sat on her green-carpeted floor. "Oh, that's right. Sucks for you!" Kagome beamed at Sango's furious face before shifting to a nervous expression. "Now, now, Sango-chan. Let's not do anything irrational."
"Sure, Kagome-chan." Sango rolled her eyes and sat down before springing back up. "I have an idea! Why don't we do homework now and ask your mom later if we can go to Kikyou-chan's apartment complex. I hear that the new kid lives in the complex down the street!" Sango grinned happily, pointing her index finger towards the ceiling, looking expectantly at Kagome.
"Sounds like a plan to me. Let's get busy!"
---
Ending Note: 4,033 words this time – getting longer! One week isn't that bad, considering my schedule, right? Feel free to comment on my story. Important: Do you think that I should change the rating of this story? There is going to be lots of references to Inuyasha's appearance, most of the being very rude and inconsiderate, so I'd like to know if anyone thinks that the rating should go up, all things considered… And then there are going to be other random things, like severe gore, that is to be considered. Plus this is supposed to be angst, so don't expect everyone to be all happy forever… not like Inuyasha is happy right now… What adult in their right mind would really like to go back to high school! That doesn't include those who had a good high school experience…
Please comment on my story… Thanks.
…Has anyone noticed that the button for reviewing doesn't work all the time?