I don't own Inuyasha, or a high school, but why would I want one? Anyways, enjoy, review, and smile every once in a while so the grumpy elves don't get you ENJOY!

Akiko: Good bye

"Huh?" Miroku gaps as he helps Koga up.

"Yeah, huh?" Koga mutters, glaring at me.

"What? It's the truth," I shrug. "Can't change it, though as regrettable it is."

"Oh, come on now! You can't hate your grandmother, Aki!" Ash-toll smirks.

"Aki?" Kagome raises a brow.

I clench my fists. "I keep telling you, it's Akiko!"

"Aw, you're just a bit grumpy is all," Ash-toll smiles.

I groan and Mari runs inside, leaving a blood trail from her palms. I can tell she's upset, so I guess she decided to sit with someone she can't really get mad at: Rin. I hear crashing and look in, seeing Mari tripped on something. Rin tries to get up to help, but Sesshomaru walks next to her and rests a hand on her stomach, keeping her pinned. Mari shoves herself up and yanks a dagger out of her neck like she was flicking a fly off her shoulder. I look back at Kagome and sigh, knowing this is going to have a long explanation to it.

"Kagome, can you keep Ash-toll out here and SILENT while I get Inuyasha?" I grit my teeth. "I'd hate to repeat myself."

"Sure, go ahead," she nods, understanding something's wrong.

I run off in the direction they headed, leaving Kagome and the rest to deal with Grandmother F*CK.

Mari

D*m woman…D*M HER TO HE**! I drop the dagger with a loud clatter on the floor and huddle up in the corner, hugging my knees and resting my left cheek on my right knee. I hear Sesshomaru scoff and I clutch my sleeves of my kimono tighter. I mutter under my breath some curses I probably shouldn't repeat in my head and feel someone rest a hand on my shoulder.

"You know, slayer," Sesshomaru mutters, "If she's huddled up like that, it means she wants to be left alone."

"Why would you care?" Sango snaps.

He doesn't answer. I snarl to myself and hug my knees tighter, furious and trying to keep it in. Sango rubs my shoulder blade and I can feel Rin's stare. I know she cocks her head to the side and hugs her knees with her single arm, which makes my left elbow ache at the thought of it snapping off. I sigh and drop my arms, letting my legs straighten and my head to turn to just face down. I glance at Sango and grin a bit, allowing her to smile. She thinks it's real, but it's only half real. I glance outside and snarl to myself again. Ash-toll, just sitting there awaiting Akiko. I never understood her. I feel something picking at my mind and I twitch as I feel a slight jolt.

"You know you want to rip her throat out," Kagura taunts.

"Shut it," I mutter under my breath.

"Huh?" Sango asks.

"Nothing," I turn to the wall, not really wanting to talk about that wind demon.

She slumps and rubs my shoulder blade again, knowing I'm dealing with something. Being called 'wretched' gives you a hint that something bad happened. I look up at the ceiling and shut my eyes, letting my head fall onto the wall behind me. I hear a shuffling and a SLINK! I open my eyes at the smell of my own blood. I look down and I see that dagger I dropped in my wrist. I tug it out blankly and pierce it through the wood, knowing full well it'd stay in the wood. I close my eyes again and I hear a RRRIP! A SLINK follows soon after. I feel at my wrist and it's there again. I pull it out and throw it at the opposite wall, eyes still closed. I huff harshly, not in the mood for games. CRACK! SMASH! PLOP! PLOP! SLINK! I feel once more at my wrist and the dagger is there again. I push myself up, storm onto the steps, yank out the dagger with a torn vein, and hurl it at some horse. I huff and turn, clutching my fists, and I hear a SLINK, WHOOSH! I duck and cover my head, hoping it'd miss me. It did, and then I heard a scream.

"CR*P," I mutter bitterly, shoving myself up. I look up at Rin and see the dagger barely missed her right ear. I huff and stand, brushing dirt of my kimono, and dragging my body over next to Rin, setting myself down and taking the dagger out of the wall. I insert it inside my wrist, giving up, and hug my knees again, facing forward. Unfortunately for Rin, I'm on her left, which I guess is sort of an insult. I sigh and dig the dagger deeper, watching as a fifth of the blade went into my wrist. I shut my eyes and feel the sun against my face, then a rough hit to the head.

I look down to see a rock lying on my lap, a bit of blood on it. I feel at the gash to feel traces of dirt and I grit my teeth. I take the rock and force the deadly fox fire on it, morphing it into various things. Rin watches, so I try to be appropriate for twelve-year-olds. One is a sword through a samurai, and she looks at me questionably.

"Is that inappropriate?" I wonder. "Because I saw this when I was twelve and my Pa said it was perfectly normal."

"Normal doesn't translate to appropriate," she reminds. "Also, I'm just wondering why you'd bother remembering that."

I smile, this time for real. "I have my quirks."

"Obviously," she giggles.

I melt it into a woman, and then realize it has a striking resemblance to my ma. Rin smiles and rests her chin on her palm.

"She's pretty," she opinionates.

I smirk. "She is, isn't she?"

"Who is she?" Rin wonders.

"I'M…BACK…!" Akiko pants, her back against Kota's and her arms entwined with his. Her legs are scrunched up against her lower torso and Kota's expression tells me he's enjoying her on him. It's weird, but what can you do?

I stand and clutch the rock, spreading it all across my hand and forming a mold of my own hand, making sure the fingers are bent a bit and my nails are practical claws. Akiko jumps off of Kota, making him do a temporary pout face, and she sighs at the sight of Ash-toll, crossing her arms.

"You can get in now, before we all get stares," Akiko mutters.

I groan and sit flat down, glancing at Sesshomaru from the edge of my eye and rapidly flinging the mold off my hand and smashing it an inch from his head.

"SH*T," I grumble.

Rin crosses her stump with her arm and I shrug. "He threw a rock at you and you threw a sharp, stone hard mold of your clawed hand at him. Does that make a lick of sense to you?"

"Nothing she does is sensible!" Ash-toll mutters. "Complete idiot she is!"

"I'm right here," I snarl.

"Bad thing to, since you could hurt any of these poor dears in a blink!"

I stand up, fists clenched and being watched carefully by Sesshomaru. "You're acting like they're your precious little children!"

"Well, mine all died and I WONDER WHY!" she snaps.

"MA DIED BECAUSE OF A DRAGON DEMON BY THE TITLE OF IRA!" I scream, receiving a few glances. "HEX DIED OUT OF AN ACCIDENT WITH WILD HORSES AND DRAGON-HORSE-THINGS! LASTLY, JADE WAS AN UTTER B*TCH! SHE DESERVE WHAT SHE GOT!"

"MARI, THAT'S ENOUGH!" Akiko scolds, her expression stern.

"SURE, PROTECT THE B*STARD, I DON'T GIVE A F*CK!"

I run out, blood streaming out of my eyes. I hear someone trying to catch up with me, Sesshomaru calling at them.

"Rin, get back here!" he orders.

"MARI, WAIT UP WILL YA?" Rin pants, being human and all.

I come to a jerky halt and clench my fists, angered. "Why should I?" I grit my teeth.

Her running stops. "Just what happened?"

I look down, hiding my face. "She knew."

"Knew what?" Rin pleas. "Please, you're my friend, I want to help!"

I soften my hidden expression and release my fists, letting loose a stream of blood. "Knew about the collision."

(Flashback) Aki was trying to contain her little bundle of hyperactivity, Akiko. Natasha was in his human form, making sure his tail was somewhat hidden from the eyes of humans. Aki didn't care about what humans thought, just what her family thought. If Natasha thought she was being loud, she'd be difficult and be silent until he got the picture and went on his hands and knees and begged for her to talk. That was everyone's favorite thing about Aki; she was difficultly independent. Akiko apparently inherited that trait somewhere, since she wanted to get down, and kicked and kicked until Aki put her down. I witnessed this, since I was in Akiko for most of her life. Ash-toll, Ma (Aki's) mother, didn't live far from this Southern village. It was frigid, for some reason, but neither of us argued against it. Since Akiko was the main body, I guess she was the one doing all of this. Ash-toll cam outside her little hut and smiled at the little girl before her eyes.

"This is my little gift?" she laughed.

"Now Ma, that's mine, I'm sharing," Aki smirked, Natasha hugging her shoulders as if not to let her go.

Ash-toll apparently sensed something in Akiko, that being me. She dragged Akiko inside and Aki was remaining outside, telling Natasha about all the great times she had there as a youngling. Ash-toll gripped Akiko's shoulders and sighed.

"Wretched curse," she muttered. "I can't believe you had to have it."

"Huh?" Akiko blinked. She never believed a word of what her grandmother said until a while later, more like two months ago.

"You have a twin, an evil one at fact. She collided with you during birth and in order to survive, you two collided to form a Ari, two souls in one demon. Ari are dangerous, and the one usually at fault is the one trapped in the other. Your twin is the evil one, and if she ever comes out, kill her, don't let her live. She's a wretched curse who should've never been born!" Like I said, Akiko didn't believe a word of it. (End o' Flashy!)

Rin blinks, gapping. I can tell because it's not that hard to guess a simple human reaction. "She was wrong; you're not wretched! Naïve, but not wretched!"

I smirk. "Ari are rare, valuable to. If they split and both parts lived, that's even greater. Ari have extreme power, but both halves contain a different ability that no other demon of their nature can learn."

"You?" she asks.

"Anything to do with fox fire is my personal, so I guess the varying of the heat," I shrug. "Akiko is probably her ENORMOUS PRIDE!" I tease from a distance.

"HA, HA, MARI!" I hear Akiko call. "NOW GET YOUR AS* IN HERE!"

Rin looks at me and sighs. "I thought you were acting like a child," she smirks.

I look up and see a butterfly. I watch it and hold out my index finger, awaiting it to land. Once it does, I take out a daisy from my kimono and set it on that, planting the end of the flower stem in the side of the path. Rin smiles and I glance at the stump, shuddering.

"Get your forearm reattached, will you?" I tease. "I mean, I'd like to keep in my air."

She rolls her eyes at the ruined punch line and places a hand on my left shoulder blade, gently pushing me back to our temporary residence. I pause and grab a rock, forming a figure that looks like my mother. I run back to the flower and set it next to it, carving 'AKI' into the ground in front of it. I concentrate and place a barrier around my tribute to Ma, hoping she'd accept it.

"It's beautiful, Mari," a voice whispers.

I hug my knees and bury my head between my knees, sobbing blood out of the pain I had out of missing my Ma. Rin rubs my back and prays, me following her in her prayer. Inuyasha comes out and stares at us as we pray to a flower, a petrified butterfly that remains alive, and a stone. I smile and stand along with Rin, still allowing blood to flow down.

"Akiko," I hear Inuyasha call, "your sister went crazy."

"Sit," Kagome commands.

I laugh as I hear him thud onto the ground, more blood passing through my eyes. Rin pats my back and slowly leads me back, Inuyasha rising up. He squints at the tribute and thinks about it. He widens his eyes with realization and smacks his head, standing up and sitting in the corner of the hut. Rin pushes me through the entrance lightly and Ash-toll scoffs.

"Scum," she scoffs.

"Aki doesn't think so," I mutter.

Aki knew, I realize that now. Akiko smiles and I guess she knows that now as well. Pa was left clueless like usual. Ash-toll stiffens and Shippo scratches his head.

"Who the He** is-"

Inuyasha clobbers his head. "Finish that and you die."

"Inuyasha!" Kagome exclaims.

"I forgot why we're here," I shake my head.

Rin giggles and I glance at Sesshomaru smirking. My eyes feel like melting. Did he just smile? Oh crud he was smacked hard. Rin chuckles at my expression and sits down. I sit down next to her and she's struck with a sudden realization. I poke her upper left arm and she turns, understanding that I want to know what she realized.

"Mari is Ari with a 'M'," she whispers.

"What's an Ari?" Miroku asks. Of course he was listening.

Rin blushes and my eye twitches, showing annoyance. Ash-toll moves to answer, but I step up.

"An Ari is the result of two demons combining into one during birth. They're extremely rare, and I'm not mentioning the other because of your personality, Miroku," I chuckle. Rin smirks, guessing his personality in a snitch. "There're only two Ari in the world that have been separated and both halves living to tell the tale. Akiko and I are one, the other…well that's unimportant. One half of the Ari is typically good, one bad. Last time I checked, there's only ten Ari in the world since the beginning of time. I'm not sure how exactly fate chooses who to make Ari, but it happens."

"I have a guess who was declared the bad half," a male voice grumbles. It's Koga, and he glares at Akiko.

"What did I do?" she demands.

"First week," he states.

She ponders and blushes. "That was Kota's fault."

"NO IT WASN'T!" Kota screams.

I exchange glances with Rin and she rests her head on my shoulder, tired out. I pat her head and I fall asleep as well, smiling at the thought of my Ma.

Rin

Somebody roughly shakes my shoulder, making me awaken. I flutter my eyes to see Akiko, a worried expression on her face. She huffs and shakes me again, making sure I'm awake.

"What?" I grumble.

"You haven't noticed?" she points to my left arm.

I turn to see the forearm and elbow are secure, but I also notice a slight cut on my thumb knuckle. It's not large, but large enough to be noticed.

"Where'd I get that cut?" I ask.

"That's…never mind then…anyways, Inuyasha and the others are going tomorrow, and Sesshomaru said he's also leaving tomorrow, so if you have anything to discuss with Mari, now would be a good time."

I sigh and push myself up, gentle with the forearm. I walk out and Mari is on the roof, catching fireflies and releasing them so they land on her nose. She spots me and waves, sliding down and landing on her feet. I smirk and we walk in the direction of South, just talking. Mari likes various things that resemble tranquility, and she loves to sleep because it gives her energy and dreams. She also likes racing, but she can't do that with me or that'd be cheating. She's also not that religious, but she's connected to the Sacred Jewel for Demons out of pure creating half of it. The only reason she was able to make it is because she was calmed down by the thoughts of friendship, love, and courage, and she was wise enough to follow directions and identify her own sister. She was also wise for watching everything Akiko did so if she was released, she'd know what to do. I admire her for that.

We continue and I spot that monk and his group, roaming the streets at expected reports of demons. Mari tries to stuff her tail in her kimono, making me laugh, and she can't fit it in. The monk spots her and her bushy pale orange tail, dragging me away from her.

"Woman, you know this is a demon, right?" he asks.

"Yes, and she's my friend!" I snap, yanking my right arm out of his grasp. "I'd appreciate it if you'd leave her alone."

Mari whimpers and ducks behind me, shivering like crazy. She's not scared much, but it is freezing out. "A demon is a demon miss," he sighs.

"A human is a human to, but you don't see demons randomly slaughtering them!" I argue.

He raises a brow. "You wouldn't happen to know a young girl who follows a demon, would you?"

"Yes…let's just put it at the fact that she should be dead, but a stupid cure had side affects and…I think you can get it."

His eyes remain calm as he catches on. "So you're still following demons."

"A demon. This is a friend I made. As long as you don't P*SS her off, she's perfectly fine."

"Please don't say P*SS," Mari whispers. "It's rude."

"Says the girl who runs out on people."

"Okay, how'd you get in this mess then, smarty?"

"A gray hand, how many times do I have to repeat that?" I turn to her.

"A lot apparently," she smirks.

I pat her head and her ears prick up, wriggling. I giggle and turn back to the monk, 100% somber.

"We'll be on our way now," I bow my head.

Mari and I make our steps, and I'm grabbed by the monk on the wrist, yanked to the side, and Mari jumps out of the circle in time to retrieve me and run off. Like I said, I'd loose a race against her hands down. I hear a crash and a slash and I look forward, screaming. Bandits.

"Hey, there are two women!" one howls.

"Pretty to," another laughs.

"Get away, get away," I whisper continuously to Mari. "Please for the love of Buddha get away!"

She turns to leave, but there are yet more bandits in front of us. "Just kill me," she mutters.

I drop off her back and swipe out Kana, not forgetting about my sword for a second. They laugh and I scowl, not about to let them kill Mari like they did with the rest of my family. Yes, I said 'rest of my family'. I slash at one and he falls, headless. Another laughs and swings at me, but something shoots through his chest and causes him to fall. I look to see Lord Sesshomaru's whip. I hit the ground, dragging Mari along, and he charges at the other bandits, making us plenty of room to get away. Mari sighs and looks at her wrist, showing me a nasty scrape.

"Kagome might be able to fix that," I shrug.

"Yeah…"

Suddenly, it's quieter than usual. I turn onto my back to see Lord Sesshomaru offering his hand to help me up. I accept it and he yanks me up with no effort, making sure I don't trip on my own two feet. He drops my hand and faces down at me.

"Rin, we're leaving," he says, turning and walking away.

I sigh and turn to Mari. "I hope we see each other again."

She digs around and hands me a mirror of sorts. The frame is black with a white rose top that never dies (you can see the difference) attached onto the top frame. I smirk, understanding the reason, and hug her momentarily, running after Lord Sesshomaru.

"Good bye, Mari!" I wave.

"Good bye, Rin!" she waves back. "Don't forget to watch your-" I trip onto my left arm. "-step. I think I jinxed that one…"

I push myself onto my knees. "You think?" I laugh.

I push myself up and my legs feel numb. I look down and see a deep line crossing both backs of my shins. I curse under my breath and I'm suddenly lifted up onto someone's back. I look to see Lord Sesshomaru, placid looking as ever. I hug his neck and I swear he smiles at the gesture, not minding at all.

Inuyasha

"Mari, you ready?" I call.

"HOLD ON!" she struggles to get the jewel to stay in her hand without it pushing itself out. I roll my eyes and smirk, understanding her kind nature.

I glance over at the little tribute Rin and Mari made yesterday, smirking wider. Aki is Mari and Akiko's mother, and Aki was murdered, taken away from her twins. I can feel their pain, I lost my mother. Mari jumps out, the pearl tight in her hands and she smiles at me.

"Ready!" she declares.

"Obviously," Koga grumbles.

"Just because you were eaten alive by some old grouch doesn't mean you have to be so grumpy," Natasha reminds.

"Yeah, yeah!"

"Hey, he's just trying to help," Kota sighs.

"Ditto."

"Koga!" Mari calls. "I think Yoshihiro found some food. Can you go check?"

"Sure, Mari," he shrugs.

I roll my eyes and Kagome comes up and kisses my cheek, making me blush. "What was that for?" I raise a humored brow.

"For being nice for a whole minute," she teases. She kisses my cheek again and walks over to Akiko and Sango, while Miroku tags with Shippo and Natasha. It's a regular day, but I can tell it's a bit difficult for Mari. She had to say good bye to a new friend, but with our luck, it won't be long until we see each other again. I walk next to Mari and she starts juggling fox fire, managing to balance some on her nose. Yep, just a regular day. Some lands on Miroku's robes and it starts to spread. Almost everyone but Mari, Akiko, Kota, and I try to put it out, but we're just laughing. Yep, a regular, happy day.

A.N: How'd you like it? Review please and I'll make some more fan fictions soon. I type for these almost every day, so.