Author's Note: When I was writing this chapter, and I was going back through the story to check details, I just realized that I called the last chapter "Chapter 10", even though it was really Chapter 11. I hope I didn't confuse anyone. I'd also like to apologize for the insane amount of OOCness, but I had to do something about the plot so I could fit the things in later that I wanted. Anyway, I'll stop before I ruin the whole chapter.
Chapter 12: This ain't over!
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Dear Kagome,
How are you? How is school going for you? How is the weather down in Tokyo? How are your friends doing? And your mother? How is Souta doing? I hope everything is going well for you.
As for me, business has been booming up here in Osaka. For a while, it seemed like we were the only business in Osaka. Every day, we had at least 15 new cases brought to us, it seemed. But I think things are starting to calm down. Now that the rainy season is over, there have been fewer traffic accidents, and as a result, fewer people trying to sue each other.
Lucky me, huh? For a while, I was getting tired of being swamped with all that paper work. I'd been meaning to contact you for a while, but I just never seemed to have the time. And now that I do, I was wondering if you were interested in coming to Osaka to spend some time with me? There are a few people I want you to meet, and I'd like for you to get acquainted with the business.
Anyway, I need to get back to my work. I'd appreciate it if you'd get back to me as soon as you can, so I can schedule a flight for you to come meet me.
Dad.
The bottom of the letter listed various phone numbers, a return address, and an email address for Kagome to reach him by. Not that she had any intention of contacting him anyway. "Asshole," Kagome muttered to herself.
Sango stepped out of the bathroom, dressed in her school uniform, and drying her hair. "I'm all done, Kagome. You go ahead," she said, then noticed the paper Kagome held in her hands. "Hey, is that the letter from your father?" she asked.
"This is the letter from Mr. Watase," she affirmed. She crumbled it up and tossed it on the floor, grabbing a towel from a nearby shelf and walking into the bathroom. As she reached the threshold of the door, she turned around and looked at Sango. "Oh, you can read it if you want," she said, and slammed the door behind her.
Kagome's reaction confused Sango. Mr. Watase? What was that supposed to mean? Sango read the letter and tried to figure out what in it had made Kagome so upset. She read and re-read it. What could her father have possibly written to make her so upset?
That was when it hit her. It wasn't what was written in the letter, it was what wasn't in the letter. After disappearing from her life at a time that she needed him most, and not contacting her for two years, there was not an ounce of emotion in the letter. Not a single "I love you", "I'm sorry", or even a measly "I miss you". It was a business letter, not a letter from a father to his daughter after leaving for two years. Poor Kagome was the only thing that crossed Sango's mind.
Kagome stepped out of the bathroom, steam and the smell of scented body wash flowing out after her. "I'm sorry," Sango said, avoiding eye contact with Kagome.
Kagome looked surprised. "What? Sorry?"
"I just never knew. I was so insensitive, and I…"
"Forget it. It's not your fault." Sango went to speak again, but Kagome interrupted her. "Let's just go have breakfast, okay?" Sango nodded and followed Kagome into the dining room.
After they finished breakfast, the girls left for school. When they arrived, many of their classmates sent them wary glances and a few whispered amongst themselves. It was a rare occurrence to see Kagome arrive at school with anyone, let alone Sango. "Ignore them, Kagome," Sango said in a hushed tone.
They walked together to Sango's locker, chatting idly about this and that. Sango began to spin the combination lock that kept said locker closed. "So anyway, I was thinking…" she said as she tugged on the handle. "Damn it. I hate when this happens," she said, and, irritated, she entered the combination again. "Ah, there we go," she said as the stubborn locker finally opened. She tossed in her bag, which was previously slung over her shoulder, and looked at Kagome out of the corner of her eye before she commenced to search for the necessary items for first period. "So like I was saying…"
"Yo! Sango!" a familiar voice called. Sango sighed before she turned around, then glanced at Kagome, who had stiffened in something like panic.
She watched the boy shuffle through the students in between them, trying to close the distance between them. She shook her head in dismay as he turned his lips upward toward any female who cast him an appreciative glance. He even went so far as to wink one blue eye at one of them.
"What do you want, Koga?" Sango practically growled, glancing at Arashi, who had followed up behind him.
"Whoa, there. No need to get hostile so early in the morning," he said, holding up his hands defensively. "What's with the bitch?" he asked, and grinned playfully, gesturing toward Kagome.
Sango's voice froze in her throat. She didn't know what to say at this point. She glanced between Koga and Kagome several times, then opened her mouth to speak, and closed it again.
"It's okay, Sango. I'll just go," Kagome offered, and started to walk away.
"And good riddance," Koga spat.
Sango made up her mind. "Kagome, wait. He'll be gone in a second anyway," Sango said, and glared at Koga, hoping that he'd get the message. He, of course, didn't.
"Sango, what the hell is going on? You hanging out with whores now?" he sneered.
"No, I'm not," she spat.
"What's your deal, Sango? I thought you hated that bitch," Koga said.
"Don't talk about Kagome that way, asshole," Sango countered. "Apologize to her, right now."
By now, they were drawing a considerable crowd of nosy onlookers.
Koga looked at Sango, obviously confused. "Alright then. Sorry, Kaghome," he said, and grinned before turning to give Arashi a high-five.
"Koga, I'm going to give you three seconds to apologize for that as well," Sango warned.
"Sango, seriously. I came over to ask you something. What the hell is your problem?"
"Koga…"
"What, is it hug the whore week or something?" Koga laughed, and a few kids out of the crowd joined in on his cruel laughter.
"Three…"
Koga just stared at her. "You can't be serious."
"Try me," Sango said.
"You're joking right?"
"Two… Your three seconds are almost up."
Koga waved his arms in fake desperation. "No! Please! Give me like five seconds! No, ten! Please, Sango!"
"That's it, Koga. One, bitch," Sango said, and before anyone even knew she moved, the center of Koga's shirt was in a tight ball, clenched in Sango's hand. "Say your prayers, asshole," was all she said before she began to pummel him, planting a fast right hook straight across his left cheekbone.
Koga managed to wrench free of her grasp, and shoved her hard backwards. Kagome could almost see the stars in front of Sango's eyes as her head bounced off of the metal lockers behind her. "What the fuck is your problem?" he shouted, as he began to advance on Sango menacingly.
Knowing that Koga had no problem with hitting girls, Kagome jumped in between the two of them. "Stop it, Koga! You don't want to…"
"Fuck off!" He said, and backhanded her to the ground.
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"I still don't believe you two were fighting over cars yesterday. I mean what's up with that?" Miroku said as he and Inuyasha made their way up the stairs to the inside of the school.
"Get over it, Miroku. I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Inuyasha responded.
"I don't see the difference. I mean either one's fine, right?"
Inuyasha stopped and stared at him. "Miroku, you don't get it, do you? K- I mean, they're both very special to me, alright?"
"Whatever you say, Inuyasha," Miroku said, shaking his head. They started walking again. "So like I was saying before, I was wondering if you knew about…"
"Hey… look up there, Miroku. What do you think's going on?" Inuyasha interrupted, gesturing to a growing crowd surrounding the lockers.
"I don't know, but it can't be anything good," Miroku said.
"It's probably just some idiot…"
"What the fuck is your problem?" shouted a familiar voice.
Inuyasha and Miroku glanced at each other. There was a mad shuffle before they heard the next voice. "Koga, stop it! You don't want to…" Inuyasha and Miroku shoved violently through the crowd.
Inuyasha arrived toward the front in just enough time to see Koga backhand Kagome and see her crumble to the floor. By then, he was only seeing red. He stepped forward, only stopping when Miroku grabbed onto his arm, preventing him from beating Koga into the ground. "What are you doing? Let go of me, you idiot!" Inuyasha hissed.
Miroku, who was still behind Inuyasha, hadn't seen what had happened. He looked around him, and saw Kagome struggling to get up from the ground, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth as Koga stepped past her and toward Sango, who leaned against the lockers, blinking rapidly as if to clear her vision.
Kagome scrambled to her feet, and grabbed at Koga's shirt, trying to stop him before he hurt Sango. He swung around, knocking Kagome off balance and nearly sending her flying to the floor again. "Koga, just stop it, okay? Have you been drinking again?" she asked. "Just calm down, don't do anything you'll regret, alright?" she cautioned, trying to reason with him.
"What I do is none of your business," Koga snarled. Apparently, he was drunk. Again. He pulled back his fist as if he was about to hit her, but she lunged at him and grabbed his forearm, preventing him from completing the move. When he tried to swing with his other hand, she ducked under it, grabbing that arm as well. She wasn't strong enough to hold onto him, and she knew that, but she was going to try anyway. He instead brought his knee up into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and shoving her to the ground again. Kagome took a knee and braced herself as she thought he was going to brutally kick her, but he didn't. Instead, he turned to Sango, who started cursing him again.
"Koga, you asshole. Leave Kagome alone! She never did anything to you. It's me who just cracked you across your face, bitch!" Sango shouted, still leaning against the lockers for support.
Inuyasha finally made it through the rest of the crowd and rushed to Kagome's aid. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.
"I'm fine, Inuyasha. Don't worry about me," she coughed, struggling for air.
Koga stepped up to Sango and gave her a taste of her own medicine: a right hook, firmly planted across her face. But he didn't stop there. He continued to take swing after clumsy swing, as Sango attempted dizzily to block or dodge his blows, only halfway succeeding. He threw a clumsy fist at her, which she easily ducked under. His momentum threw him off balance and his fist landed on the locker behind her.
Sango punched him square in the jaw, sending him staggering back a few steps. She started to advance on him, when she felt a strong set of hands, coming from her right, shove her back into the lockers. She looked up to see Arashi coming after her, and couldn't believe this was all happening. She managed to re-focus herself as he rushed her again, obviously intending to pin her against the lockers. She hesitated for a second, placing her hand on the lockers behind her to keep her balance, then kicked him in the center of his chest, forcing him to stagger back a few feet, where Miroku managed to grab him in a choke hold, momentarily disabling him.
She turned her attention back to Koga, who was already advancing on her. She jumped and attempted a roundhouse kick aimed at Koga, who caught her ankle inches from his face and pulled up, hard, so she fell hard on the ground beneath her. He stood over her, and glared down at her. "You're going to regret ever…" then suddenly, he flew toward the lockers, right over Sango, with Inuyasha at his heels. Before he got the chance to turn around, Inuyasha was already on his back, and grabbed a handful of his hair before snapping his head back and banging his face into the locker three times.
Koga swung wildly behind him and managed to catch a piece of Inuyasha's jaw, sending him staggering backwards two steps. Koga spun around, wiping blood from under his nose. "What are you doing, Inuyasha? This has nothing to do with you!"
"It has plenty to do with me if you're attacking my friends, ass hole!" Inuyasha shouted.
"Back off before someone gets hurt," Koga threatened.
"Damn straight someone's gonna get hurt! That someone's about to be you!" Inuyasha shouted, lunging for Koga once again. This time, Koga was more prepared and dodged Inuyasha's wild punch to the right, and shoved Inuyasha past him, knocking him hard on the ground. He jumped and pinned Inuyasha on the ground, pressing his knees hard into Inuyasha's biceps. Inuyasha was starting to lose his vision when he suddenly saw a flash of dark blue, as Miroku tackled Koga to the ground, struggling to land a decent punch on his face.
Arashi, who was now free, attempted to go after Miroku once more, but Kagome, with surprising strength, kicked him, hard across the shins, sending him crashing helplessly to the ground. Sango took the opportunity to jump on his back and grab onto him in a WWE-style stranglehold. A girl with blonde hair tackled Sango off of him, and started wildly throwing punches at Sango, who was pinned beneath her on the ground. "Sango!" Kagome shouted, lunging for her, when a boy with curly brown hair grabbed her from behind. She recognized him from the night that she'd almost gotten jumped on the street after leaving Inuyasha's house.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said in her ear, holding her uncomfortably close to his chest.
"Let go of me!" she cried, and struggled against his grip, but to no avail as he wrapped his arm part way across her neck, cutting off most of her air supply.
Sango swung wildly at the girl on top of her, and managed to throw her off. Now that she had the upper hand, Sango began to pummel her with well-aimed fists as the girl made a feeble attempt at fighting back.
Meanwhile, Inuyasha ad managed to pry Koga off of Miroku and drag him to his feet, holding his arms behind him, giving Miroku the perfect opportunity to give Koga a hard shot in the face, when Arashi managed to grab Miroku from behind. Koga brought both feet up, using Inuyasha as leverage, and double-kicked Miroku right in the chest, sending both Miroku and Arashi crashing to the floor.
Inuyasha released him in surprise, then Koga turned and threw a wild punch at Inuyasha's face, which he managed to block. Inuyasha lunged at Koga, and he dodged at the last second again, shoving Inuyasha past him, who dropped to the ground and swung his legs at the back of Koga's knees, sending him flying to the ground. Inuyasha scrambled to his feet and pressed his shoe on Koga's throat, applying more pressure with every second. It was all he could do to prevent himself from breaking Koga's neck then and there.
"And where the hell do you get off thinking it's okay to hit girls?" Inuyasha shouted. Koga grabbed wildly at Inuyasha's foot as he started to lose his ability to breathe.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted. Inuyasha looked up and loosened his hold on Koga, only slightly.
"Kagome," he called back. "Are you…"
The guy holding onto Kagome interrupted him, then all at once released her, making his way down the hallway. Miroku and Sango were already making their way in the direction. "Hey!" Inuyasha shouted. "Where are you guys…"
"Someone's coming! Run!" Miroku shouted over his shoulder. The crowd all at once started to disperse, scrambling off in different directions, trying to shove each other out of the way.
Inuyasha immediately released Koga, who scrambled to his feet and started to make his way down the hallway at top speed. "This ain't over!" he shouted over his shoulder.
Inuyasha ignored it, and spun around to face Kagome, who was coughing and holding onto her throat. He grabbed her wrist and started to pull her along with him. "Come on, Kagome! We need to get out of here!" he said, as she lagged behind him. She was having trouble breathing, and kept coughing, so she wasn't moving as quickly as he would have liked. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw that if they didn't get a move-on, they would get caught, and in all kinds of trouble for fighting on campus.
He pulled her around a corner, then into the janitor's closet. Kagome shut the door behind her, and leaned her back against it. She was surprised when Inuyasha closed the distance between them, and, leaning over her, placed his hands on either side of her on the door, and peered through a small slot above her head. She held her breath as she heard a set of footsteps pass by the door, and when she was sure they were gone, she let out a breath of relief. Or, she would have, had Inuyasha not been standing so close to her, looking at her the way he was.
Kagome finally broke the silence. "What now?" she said.
Inuyasha looked at her, somewhat startled at the sound of her voice, as if he had just now realized she was in there with him. "Well, I think we should wait a few more minutes and…" he trailed off, looking over her. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine, but… I could ask you the same question," Kagome whispered as Inuyasha leaned in toward her. She ducked underneath his arm, and grabbed a small white box. "Look," she said. "Here's a first aid kit."
The two tended to their wounds, and Kagome walked cautiously to the door, and pressed her ear against the cheap, wood-like material, trying to hear any noise in the hallway. "I think the coast is…" Kagome started when Inuyasha lunged forward and quickly covered her mouth with his hand.
"Shh… do you hear that? Someone's still out there," he whispered, leaning over her again to peer through the slot again. Sure enough, the voices of two people could be heard as they walked past. "Okay, now let's go," he said, reaching for the doorknob, but Kagome grabbed his wrist.
"Wait a minute, Inuyasha. It's not like we can go to class like this! We're covered in blood still, see?" she said, motioning to their clothing.
"Well we need to get out of here before someone finds us!"
"Where are we going to go?"
"I don't know, but…" Inuyasha stopped, then noticed a box of clothes in the corner labeled 'lost and found'. Obviously, it was clothing that the janitor had picked up, but hadn't gotten around to putting in the office. "Why don't we put those on, and then get out of here?" he suggested. But that didn't turn out to be the best idea. People had obviously lost these clothes for a reason.
The only thing Inuyasha could find was a pair of gray gym shorts, which hovered a good six inches above his knees, and a faded black t-shirt that read 'Ki s m I' Ja n se'. Apparently, before the letters faded away in the dryer, it used to say 'Kiss me, I'm Japanese.' Kagome managed to find an over-sized white shirt that hung almost to her knees, and a too-large pair of red pants. Inuyasha sighed, but at least they could get outside without anyone suspecting them of anything but terrible fashion sense.
Inuyasha reached out and tucked a strand of unruly hair behind Kagome's ear, and rested his hand on her cheek.
"What now, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, blushing at the intimate gesture.
He slowly pulled his hand away from her cheek and grinned, taking her hand in his. "Kagome, let's take the day off."
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Author's Note: I had originally intended for Sango to just punch Koga and that be the end of it, but, as you can see, things just got totally out of hand. Anyway, I've never written a fight scene before, so please tell me how you think I did. Also, I felt that I needed to establish Koga's drinking problem, so I can use that later on in the story to help explain things. It will become somewhat important, but that's all that I'm going to tell you guys!
I still didn't get to explain what's the deal with her father, but I will!
Reviewers: As usual, I want to thank the reviewers for taking the time to review my story. As fate would have it, I have gotten tired of responding to all of them. If I think there's a question that really needs answering, then I promise that I will answer it. I think that this chapter I just don't feel like going through all the effort. I'm in a lazy mood. Rest assured, that I still did receive, and read your review, and I still appreciate it very much. Thank you.
