Chapter 3: Fighting Love

-O-

She followed him out of the house, his tall shadow striding in front of her smaller one on the concrete. She looked up at the moon. It seemed to be glowing, almost blue. She breathed in deeply; feeling like the night was alive. Yes, tonight was perfect for a good fight.

They walked down the street until they came to an old abandoned park. The swings, whose chains were rusted from lack of use, creaked in the slight breeze that picked up occasionally. The trees surrounded the entire area, making the moon's light flicker across her face. Mitsu stopped ten feet going in and waited for Sano to take his place across from her.

He walked a distance then turned, his grace showing in his every move. She spread her feet, ready to fight. Her blood sizzled with the thought of fighting him. He was powerful, and she could see it. She knew that he would be. But that wasn't the only reason that she wanted to fight him.

Her father had told her once that you could learn a lot from someone by fighting with them. I thought it sounded stupid. Of course my father always solved problems with fighting, but now Inuyasha's words seemed to ring true. She felt that Sano would reveal some of himself in this battle. She hoped so at least.

"You ready?" she taunted from across the grass and dirt.

"Are you?" he replied softly, and then his image blurred. She smirked. This again! She wouldn't be tricked this time! She turned and quickly brandished her claws as his face reappeared just in front of her. As she thought he would! He gave her a smirk and his eyes flashed with excitement.

She brought her claws above her head and chanted, as her father had taught her, "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" The flashes of light shot from her claws, heading straight for him. A loud boom assaulted her ears as a cloud of smoke erupted in front of her. She looked forward expectantly. Had she gotten him?

The smoke cleared, but the sight of a fallen Sano did not meet her eyes. A slashed tree instead was what she saw. He'd dodged it! She looked around wildly, searching for him. He'd escaped, but he wouldn't make it next time. She frowned in anger. Where was he!

She heard a shout, and looked up just in time to see Sano up above her. He'd hid in a tree and sprung from it. He was now falling straight for her, his arm lowered, ready to punch. She tried to move, but her movements were in vain. A sharp pain cut across her jaw, sending her flying into a tree. The tree almost snapped from the impact. She closed her eyes and readjusted her jawbone, wiping her arm across her lip, where blood dripped down her chin.

She stood up, swaying slightly. He would pay for that! She thought, a slow smile forming. "Nice!" She called out, sounding genuinely impressed with him.

He gave a modest shrug, something she'd never seen him do. "I do what I can…" he replied loudly, using sarcasm thickly in his words. She almost laughed. He was joking with her! He'd never so much as teased her and here he was making a joke for her amusement! Was he truly revealing himself…?

"Here I come!" Mitsu called out, a scant laugh escaping her lips.

Soon, they were fighting less fiercely, as if they weren't out to kill each other. She would dodge his punch, then she would send him a kick, but he would easily evade her. Soon, it was like sparring with her father. It was almost…fun! And the best part of it was: Sano was enjoying it too.

They went at it for some time, hours it felt like. It ended not as she'd planned it would. They were going at it, she sending punch after punch, he dodging every one. She was working him toward a tree, as he stepped back after every dodge. Soon, his back was to the tree, and he had nowhere to move. He looked surprised, not even trying to hide it. She wore the look of victory on her face as she stood before him, bloody lip and all.

She raised her arm to send the blow, but before she could, Sano jumped forward, grabbed her shoulders, and pushed her onto the ground.

The wind was knocked out of her as she hit the ground. She looked up, ready to send him her best glare, but stopped. He was on top of her, his hands still holding her shoulders, but much less fiercely than she would have thought. He was leaning forward, panting somewhat.

All she could see was his face. Him. Sano. His eyes were so close she thought she would fall into them. His hair hung down, the tips just touching her forehead. He was looking at her like no one ever had. His eyes held an emotion she couldn't pinpoint, but when she saw it, her stomach flipped and her heart raced. There position didn't help.

He smiled, a true-blue, all the way smile, one that made him look even better than before. He'd been handsome in their past meetings, but…wow! She saw his smile, and remembered her father's words. He had opened up to her. And all it had taken was a punch to the jaw.

His eyes locked onto hers and between breaths he spoke. "I…win."

She gasped as he began to lean towards her. He wasn't going to-to…kiss her, was he! She could only watch as he leaned still closer till he was a tiny inch away. Then he inhaled deeply, closing his eyes for a moment as if in deep thought. He was smelling her again. Why? Before, he'd done it to test her fear. Why was he doing it now?

His eyes were still closed as he said lowly, softly, "Your smell is…sweet…"

Eep! Her scent was sweet! What could she say to that?

"You smell good too." She replied quickly, sounding way too loud for her taste. She felt like punching herself. Idiot!

He opened his eyes wide, his surprise clearly shown. He looked incredulous for a minute, and then he did something she never thought he would do. He laughed.

-O-

A figure sat poised in a tree, high above the scene taking place below. The girl watched as the two demons fought, each one punching and kicking. She watched the half-demon sail into a tree, then the male demon as he landed gracefully and prepare for the next attack. Soon, the fight ended with the dog demon winning.

Ayume hissed under her breath. Another demon…he would be trouble for her. How had she missed him? She let her thin red tongue flick out for a second before receding. Yes, she wasn't mistaken. He smelled of demon, full-fledged. So why wasn't he noticed sooner? Had he hid his scent?

She put her fist in her hand, smiling evilly. It didn't matter. She had done what she wanted, and she would get revenge on that damn half-demon for beating her. She looked at the dog as he reached out a hand to pick up the girl from off the ground. She would take care of him as well, using a stone to kill two birds.

She hissed once more and drew back further into the shadows. Soon, she thought. Soon.

-O-

"Mitsu…wake up, dear…"

A voice drew Mitsu out of her dream. The image of a smiling Sano rippled and faded until she only saw black. She was awake, and the voice that had awakened her was her grandmother's. She opened her eyes sadly, wishing she could dream some more, and mumbled, "Is it time to get up, already?"

She smiled sadly and gave Mitsu a small pat on the head. "I'm afraid so."

Mitsu got up and went to the shower straight away, something that had become routine ever since she arrived. As she stood underneath the steaming water, she thought back to the night before. She could picture Sano leaning over her, smelling her, calling her scent sweet, and laughing at her comment. Her heart skipped a beat as she thought of him, wishing she knew why she was in the first place.

She dressed swiftly, running down the stairs to eat her breakfast. Sota was seated at the table as usual, newspaper in hand. He was always reading the headlines before he went to work. She walked over and said happily to the sports section, "Good morning, Uncle Sota!"

He moved the paper aside and sent her an odd look. "Are you okay?" he asked, eyeing her cheery smile and bright face.

"Of course!" She replied, bouncing off to take her place at the table.

Mrs. H, instead of her son, seemed pleased with Mitsu's attitude. She smiled as she sat the plate of eggs and bread on the table in front of her granddaughter, commenting, "It's nice to see you in such a good mood, dear."

Mitsu smiled at Kagome's mother before digging into her meal, humming all the while as she did. Sota stared at her the whole time, not even bothering to read his newspaper. He looked confused by her, almost suspicious of her actions. She ignored it, feeling happier than she ever had before.

After finishing her meal, she washed her dish in the sink and before she left, bent down to give her grandma a kiss on the cheek. She walked out of the kitchen, waving to her uncle. "Bye, Sota!" she called.

Soon the sound of her footsteps became distant, then gone. Sota looked at his mother, exclaiming loudly, "What's wrong with her?"

Mrs. H reached for a dishrag to scrub at a pan and replied simply, "She's in love."

-O-

Mitsu walked to school, feeling the best she'd ever had. How could it be that she'd gotten so happy? Even she couldn't explain it clearly. She smiled widely to anyone who passed her way along the sidewalk, and even ventured to say a kind, "Good morning!" She'd never felt so free! What was it that made her this way?

She saw the tall white building come into view, and actually looked forward to this new day of school.

Walking into the courtyard, Mitsu stood there for a moment, basking in the morning sun and the feel of so many people around her. At home, she'd only had Nimiko, Ko, and Kenai as friends. Now, people her own age surrounded her. How she would miss it!

That thought dulled her good mood significantly. Home…it seemed so long ago when she had been sitting in trees all day, fighting with Inuyasha, and learning card tricks from Shippo. When would she return? She looked around her at all of the girls and boys deep in conversation. She honestly didn't know…

A few people were starting to look at her, standing there in the middle of the courtyard, seemingly doing nothing. She sent them all a quick glare and shouted, "What!"

They all quickly turned away, ignoring her. She walked past them, up the steps, and through the double doors into the school. The rush of cool air met her and she relaxed. The morning had been quite hot! She went to her locker almost mechanically. As she collected her books, she thought of her uncommon good mood. What had brought it about, she asked herself again.

An image of Sano passed through her mind.

Sano? No! How could it be him that caused her happiness? Another part of her whispered back, because he's strong and handsome, gentle and kind…you could think of tons of reasons. Not to mention he saved your life! Ok, she sighed, so he could cause her happiness. But didn't he also make her mad, even hateful?

It was true; he had bothered her in the beginning. His suave attitude and manner made her blood boil, but…once she'd seen his emotion when he saved her, and again when they fought, she felt warmer towards him. So maybe, maybe…she was actually starting to like him…

The object of her thoughts suddenly came into view. Sano was walking down the hallway, all of the girls swooning over him as usual. He merely let the smallest smirk grace his features, then return to his cold mask. She waited for his eyes to land on her, for his gaze to meet her own, but his cool gray orbs passed directly over her head. She watched him walk past, feeling as though he had taken her heart with him.

-O-

Mitsu spent the rest of the day in silent emptiness. She could only think of Sano the entire time. She could see his smile when he truly meant it, and she could hear his laugh float through her head. They had had fun, hadn't they? So why, then, had he ignored her?

Wait a second! She yelled mentally. Why do I care what Sano does?

Her heart knew the answer to that question more easily than she thought. Because she truly did like him…a lot.

She put her head down on her desk, her eyes misting over. Why was her only friend in this wide world of Kagome's a cold jerk? She smirked riley. It would be just my luck.

The bell rang just then, making her snap to attention. The students began to file out one by one. Mitsu couldn't bring herself to follow them to lunch, and instead decided to go to the roof, a place she hadn't been to since…the incident.

She climbed the stairs and pushed aside the heavy metal door, revealing the high noon sun. She blinked a few times, readjusting her eyes for the harsh light. Once she could see again, she made her way to the chain-mail fence on either side of the entryway. Leaning against it, she slid down until she sat on the hot cement floor, her knees drawn to her chest.

She listened to the sounds of honking cars (Cars and most anything else she didn't know about was covered, thanks to Sota and Grandma), the sounds of talking people down below in the courtyard, the wind blowing softly over her skin, cooling her from the sun's heat. This world was so different from home. Some of it, though, was the same.

She could remember plenty of summers with the sun beating down on her back like a weight on her shoulders. She could still remember the burns she had received for inheriting her mother's pale skin. Ko had even made fun, saying, "Your face is as red as your fire-rat shirt!" Naturally, She gave her a nice welt on the forehead for the comment.

Thinking of home made her suddenly homesick. She missed dad terribly; his smile and his comfort, how could they have been so easily forgotten? Mitsu stood up, thinking of everything she had left behind. She wanted to go home.

She began to walk, but stopped, when Sano came to her mind. Could she leave him to return to her other life? She thought back to how he was toward her that morning, how he had simply passed her over like she was invisible. He wouldn't care if I left, She thought. And…I guess…neither would I! Yes, I would leave, whether he knew or not.

With that decided, She ran to the edge of the building and jumped clear over to the next. Mitsu didn't care about being seen anymore. What would it matter? She was leaving, and anyone who did happen to see her would simply be called crazy without any proof. So she continued to run and jump from rooftop to rooftop. Each leap she took, she felt like she was leaving something behind. She knew what it was, or rather, who it was, but tried hard not to think of it.

When she finally reached the family shrine, a lone tear escaped her eye. She quickly brushed it away, feeling angry with herself. No! She would leave, and never regret it. Sano…she would simply have to forget him…

"Right. I'm going, and I won't look back." She said aloud, resolutely.

A slick, familiar voice hissed not far behind her. "Leaving so soon…?"

Mitsu's heart skipped a beat. Without turning, she whispered, "I thought I took care of you." Louder, she snarled, "What do you want?"

A footstep. She was walking closer. "What I want…" Another step. "Is you and that damn dog demon…" She was inches from Mitsu now. "Dead." She finished, her tongue making the remark all the more menacing.

Mitsu turned slowly, her fear only surpassed by her anger. She glared at the snake demon. This girl wanted her out of the way only so she could be the top demon in the school. Mitsu growled low. She also wanted Sano dead. Could she let that happen?

"You think you can kill me?" Mitsu questioned, flexing her claws openly.

Snake Girl looked up, her finger tapping lightly on her chin. "No…I don't think so." She returned her gaze to Mitsu's, whom was growing more apprehensive by the moment. What was this girl up to?

Snake Girl leaned in closer, a vile grin on her face. "I'm going to have you do all the killing for me."

Suddenly, Mitsu dropped to the ground, clutching her head. What's happening to me? She cried internally. The chanting had returned, but this time it was like a yell rather than a whisper. She couldn't hear anything except the incoherent voices booming in her mind.

"No!" She screamed, knowing what would happen next. Sure enough, she felt the void closing in around her. The darkness spread at the corners of her vision as she sunk away from the view of the ground. She didn't know what to do. She kicked and fidgeted, hoping her efforts might quell the spell being cast upon her. The voices grew louder, almost angrier.

The voice, the girl's voice, it filtered in between the noise in her brain. The command was one that she could not bare.

"Kill the dog demon."

She saw the scene change as her eyes rose to meet those of the snake girl's. The girl was smiling wickedly. Mitsu felt tears forming in her eyes. She was under her spell. What could she do? She fell deeper into her self, the image growing even further away. No! She reached out a hand, as if to catch hold of something, stop herself from falling. It was no use.

She saw the dark envelope her eyes, blocking her sight. She tried to scream, but it was as if her voice had left her. Tears fell down her cheeks, but she couldn't wipe them. The girl's evil voice reached her still.

"Kill Sano!"

Mitsu's voice returned one last time as she gave an earth-shattering cry.

"NO!"

The voice returned, whispering sinisterly, "Yes."