Shikon Private School™
Chapter Twenty-Five (25)
The End.
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"Rin?" Falloriane's voice snapped her out of her stupor.
"Y-Yes?!" she exclaimed, breaking her out of her trance.
"You do understand what is expected of you once again, correct?" his voice was almost complacent; she quirked a smile--as if one who had mercilessly slaughtered so many could possibly have a gentle tone.
"Yes. But this is good-bye...isn't it?"
Falloriane's blood-red pupils widened slightly; did she really like this place that much? It looked like the usual stuck-up rich kids school, it was amazing how she even managed to fit in. "This is your farewell," he stated, hoping she would not notice the quaver in his voice.
She didn't, sighing once more as the Leagarian picked up speed, flying at semisubsonic levels.
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"Sessh?" InuYasha hesitantly poked his brother's motionless form, never before had he seen his older brother look like this, skin chalk-white, eyes hidden by his bangs.
"InuYasha, better leave him a-"
"I'm going to go get her back." Sesshoumaru interrupted.
"What?!" the group exclaimed. A cold glare was shot back at them (InuYasha couldn't help relax a little; the old Sesshoumaru was back!) "I didn't mean all of you simpering fools, I meant me." and with this said, he proceeded to walk in the direction Falloriane had taken off in, gaining speed until all that could be seen was a white blur of light. The acting group stared as the light slowly vanished. Tumbleweed blew by. No one said a word.
"Feh. That idiot, the first time he even tries to save something, he doesn't even-"
"InuYasha! How can you possibly say that?" Kagome said, looking strained (this time, she interrupted-payback!), then, turning to the group of people: "I think we shold go help Rin, after all, she's our friend!" Sango nodded, and upon seeing Miroku not do anything, she yanked a tuft of his hair down, forcing his head to bob up and down.
"Why do we have to help her?" Naraku sneered, "Since the beginning of this school semester she has done nothing worthwhile, interrupting classes, bringing along that crazy teacher, and causing general mayhem." Kagura nodded, along with Kikyo.
"And she stole Sesshoumaru from me!" Kagura added.
"Oh for God's sake, Sesshoumaru was never yours!" InuYasha roared, plenty tired.
"But he would have been-"
"No he would NOT have been your beloved boyfriend!" Kagome screeched back, InuYasha's rush of adrenaline going into her, "He loves Rin, it's obvious! Why won't you people acknowledge that? (InuYasha's jaw dropped at that) I know this year has been different to say the least, and so many things have changed! But haven't some things changed for the better? Hasvn't anything improved with her simply being there?" she cast a glance through the crowd: Koga and Ayame, grudgingly raising their hands as well, Sango looking happy despite Miroku's red cheek, Kaede and Shippo simply holding hands. And last at InuYasha, who she thought was simply a good-looking jerk before her eyes opened to his inner personality.
"Well, I for one am glad that Rin came to Shikon Private School, and I am going to make sure she stays. Without her, I would have never known all the sides of InuYasha, and I would have never met him enough to say that I love him! (InuYasha choked on air when she said this) So who's going to come with me?" A loud cheer was given from the crowd-slash-audience.
"Then let's get going!" Kagome said, as Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Kaede, Ayame, Koga, Akiko and Kohaku trooped after.
"I'll come too," InuYasha grumbled, staring at the fascinating dirt floor, and Kagome smiled, glad there was no 'feh' in the sentence.
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Sesshoumaru was making good speed, the smell of the Leagarian was getting stronger than ever, meaning it has either stopped or was decreasing in speed.
He stopped as he noticed that Shikon Private School was out of his vision range. Wherever Falloriane was taking Rin, it was more than ten kilometres away. Shaking his head to clear any unsettling thoughts of doom, he continued, gaining speed and hoping that it was just him against Falloriane, that was already enough for him.
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Falloriane stopped at a huge, ancient oak tree, swooping down the forest at unsafe speeds, stopping so suddenly that Rin was thrown off.
"Good job, Falloriane!" Artemis clapped, stepping out of the shadows. Rin's face was impassive, she kept thinking: "Be like Sesshoumaru, be like Sesshoumaru, be like Sesshoumaru." Artemis patted Falloriane's head happily and beamed at Rin.
"So you're ready?"
"...No. I'm not."
"Whyever not?" Artemis' brow furrowed lightly as she wondered why on earth Rin didn't want to proceed.
"Because I want to say good-bye to my friends." Rin's voice was steady. Artemis' eyes widened, making Rin see just how 'innocent' she looked.
"Friends?" Artemis echoed, "Rin, goodness, what has that school done to you? You know everyone is scared of you. You have never had any human friends."
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Sesshoumaru stopped in the shadows, silently as ever, and heard Artemis saying: "You never had any human friends." His eyes widened immensely; it was so obvious she was involved in this conspiracy!
"Wow, I would have never known she was part of this plot," Ayame's voice hissed. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened even further and he was SO close to screaming: "What the beep are you people doing here?!" Thankfully, InuYasha covered his mouth for him.
"Shhh...you don't think we'd let you run off and leave Rin to be saved by only you, right?" Kagome joked. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed (as he pried InuYasha's hand off his mouth) his brother's wench did not know how close she was to the truth. Koga shushed them all, motioning to Artemis who was still talking.
"All you've ever had as friends are Aqua, Emerald, Kara, and Fianli. Everyone fears you for them. You know this, it's been repeating so many times." her eyes were fit for a summer day as the aqua-blue gems glowed in the nightime air. "But we found you, and accepted you, letting you live normally and even having other people befriend you, but time is the issue." she sighed, as if Rin were a toddler that had been caught stealing cookies one too many times. "And you can only live in an illusion for so long. And the time for compensation is now."
Rin's knees felt weak, her impassive face wearing off far too easily, her eyes widening as the world became blurry with Artemis' cold final words.
"Face reality, darling, you have no friends."
"That's not true!" Kagome screamed. "She does have friends, people that would follow her for fifteen miles just to make sure she comes back with us!"
Rin's eyes widened as Sesshoumaru appeared in front of her, face impassive as ever. She didn't mind; him being here was good enough.
"Well, what do you know?" Artemis grinned, "Rin, why don't you tell you lovely 'friends' what your agreement to me was!" her face could only be lit up in even more delight, as if she had planned this out (which she probably had). All eyes went to Rin as the Elementalist swallowed and began her tale.
"Well, I was born a while back...fifty years ago actually (collective audience gasp) and my childhood was spent as a spoiled princess, everything I wanted, but companionship. Well, eventually, I met four elements and they became my friends. But my family was scared of my overwhelming power which to this day, I still cannot control, so an advisor was placed with me (Artemis waved crazily, no surprise there...). I was desperate to venture into the outside world so a deal was struck."
"Between you and Artemis?" InuYasha said blatantly.
"Duh." Koga said, rolling his eyes at the dog-demon's stupidity.
"Continue," Ayame said, pushing the two glaring boys apart.
"The deal was, because friendship with the elements cost me my mortality (Sesshoumaru's eyes widened at this, remembering a past conversation) that for a year, I could live like a regular person but at the end of that time, my advisor would erase the time period and give all those touched by me a subtraction that would go into her and her sister's lifespan."
The audience was in a braindead silence.
"It means that whoever she meets, Artemis and her crazy sister will subtract a year from their life and add it onto theirs." Akiko said, rolling her eyes; these people were supposed to be smart!
"Ohhh..."
"And now, that one year is over and it's so convenient that all of you trooped here so I won't have to go there to fetch you!" Artemis said, and she snapped her fingers. Suddenly, everyone was encased in glass domes. Crashes and clanks could be heard everywhere as the students tried, to no avail, to break the restraining solid.
Artemis snickered: "You shouldn't even try, the only thing that'll cause these darlings to retract is-"
SHMPLAT.
"Pure Miasma." Naraku said with a grin as he, Kikyo, Kanna, Hakudoushi, Kagura, and the teachers and parents that were left outside came out of the forest.
SHMPLAT. SHMPLAT. SHMPLAT. SHMPLAT. SHMPLAT.
All the domes melted away as the less-than-exhilarated captives stepped out.
Artemis' eyes widened, now here was a situation...or not. "Wow, Rin, your friends are actually pretty good!" she smiled, and then said, "Since you've obviously won, (the crowd gave a collective gasp; this was not the completely defeated ending they were hoping for) I'll take your burden off you!" she proceeded to close her eyes as a silver thread connect her and Rin by their right wrists.
"Wait, what does she mean by 'take your burden'?" Kagome inquired, looking at Rin's calm expression. The Elementalist winked, a sure sign that everything was okay.
BOOM!!
A supersonic explosion knoicked everyone off their feet as Artemis and Falloriane took to the sky.
"But if on the incidence that Rin is able to make a true friend, then I will take Aqua, Emerald, Kara, and Fianli out of her hands..."
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"Rin?" A tired, but worried voice woke her from her slumber. She cracked her eyes open, and felt her heart lift. Surrounding her were people who cared enough about her to chase her across half a continent, get trapped in glass domes, and even wait for her to wake up. Surrounding her were her friends.
"Glad you're awake," he said with a quirk of smile upon his lips as she hugged him with all the force left in her.
"Thank you, thank you for everything." she cried tears of happiness. Here, was where home was.
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a not-so-epilodge-epilodge
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"Akiko?" Sesshoumaru stepped into the room where his third cousin twice removed was packing up her belongings.
"What? You know, it was pretty fun here, I can see why you want to stay, but I've realy school back in the US of A." she said, rolling her eyes as she envisioned the not-much-saner-than-here classroom.
"Thank you for your help," Sesshoumaru muttered, eyes staring at the photo Akiko, no Amanda had in a corner of her suitcase. Perhaps...?
Amanda's eyes widened, Thank you? It was like he had finally found his manners! "Wow, two days, Fluffy, two days, and she's managed to make you say thank you, and I've been trying for thirteen years!" Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes; he knew this was a bad idea from the beginning. But Akiko smiled and said, "You're welcome, do send me some pictures of your wedding!" she screamed, before promptly slamming her suitcase shut and dashing out the window.
"BYE!" she called, as she hopped into a waiting carriage, of to the US of A...or wherever she was headed.
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"So how was the thank-you?" Rin kidded around, as a ruffled Sesshoumaru walked though her door.
"Remind me to never listen to your ideas ever again." he grumbled.
"Even a marriage proposal?" The dog demon's jaw promptly hit the floor (okay, not really, but it would have) "Just joking!" Rin laughed, Akiko was brilliant with her plotting.
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"So." Naraku's eyes remained fixated on the interesting glass window.
"So." Kikyo responded; the floor was such a gorgeous shade of peach.
"So...since your darling InuYasha is going out with Kagome..."
"And your darling...dang. You don't like-like anyone, do you?"
"...you excluded, I suppose."
"Wanna go out?"
"Sure, I need some fresh air," Naraku proceeded to exit the room with a winning smirk on his face, knowing precisely what Kikyo had really meant.
"That son of a beep!!" she raged, fuming about how he had set her up, he proeeded to turn around and kiss her.
"Better?" he sniggered, as she touched her lips.
"Much...better..." she said, voice light, in a daze.
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"That was so cool!" Shippo exclaimed.
"Yeah, Rin and Arti were attached by a string and then BOOM!" Kaede said, arms flailing wildly, trying to make out the size of the explosion.
"It was so much bigger than BOOM!" Shippo argued. "It was so, so, big, it was like, BOOOOOOOOOOOM!" he said, flailing his arms and tail.
"It wasn't that long, it was only BOO-Hey!" Both of them were lifted into the air by a very annoyed wolf-demon.
"BOOM!" Koga roared into their faces, dropping both of them onto the floor. "That's how the explosion was, okay? Now shut up."
Ayame snickered, it was hialrious how worked up 'Koga-kun' could get over little things. "Hey, Koga, be gentle, we're supposed to be baby-sitting them, bot teaching them how to make explosions!" The wolf demon glared a Sesshoumaru Approved Glare in her direction that said: "YOU are supposed to be babysitting them I am supposed to be outside not babysitting them."
"We're not babies!" Shippo protested.
"Yeah, you two aren't much bigger than us!" Kaede added.
Koga rubbed his temples, "When is the next beeping shift?"
Ayame sniggered: "Two hours."
"ARGH!"
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"..."
"..."
"...you're quiet one, aren't you?"
"..." Kanna stared ahead, little to no expession on her face.
"...well, I suppose quiet people aren't that bad, right?"
"..."
"...never mind...what are your grades right now?"
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"Sango, I wanted to say that I shall stop my perverted ways, and my heartless ditchings of you for other prettier, younger, smarter, stronger girls and learn to love you with a love so pure that the-"
"Why the pause, Miroku?" Sango turned around...to see Miroku not there.
"Hello, lovely lady, what is your-"
SLAP!
"Stupid monk, I sincerely have too high hopes for you..." Sango grumbled, dragging a comatose Miroku back to his cabin.
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"Artemis?"
"Shyeah?" the hyperactive witch was currently chilling at the Bahamas once more. With Falloriane of course.
"Whatever happened to Perci?"
"Oh, she went back to teaching in Finland, because Shikon wanted a Greek teacher."
"Okay, that means you're not signing up, right?" Apolla said cautiously, knowing full well that her twin was capable of forging a Greek birth ID.
"Nah, I think I'll take back my old hobby of gardening." Artemis grinned insanely, taking out two packages of seed, cake mix, and chocolate. Apolla paled, the repairman was going to be called soon...
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"...Kagome?"
"Yes, InuYasha?" the black-haired priestess turned to look at the half-breed. She loved how the sun glimmered off his hair, making it look golden, like his eyes.
"What you said while rescuing Rin..."
"I said a lot of things, which one are you talking about?" she flipped her hair over her shoulder, knowing precisely what InuYasha was trying to get at, but feeling like she might as well have the fun of giving a hard time.
"About..."
"About?" she thanked God for her long hair, so cleverly hiding her insane grin; Artemis was probably rubbing off of her!
"About when you said..." he took a deep breathe, "when you said you loved me?"
"I do, InuYasha." her eyes glimmered with uncertainty, hope, joy, and fear of rejection. "What about you? What are your feelings for me?" Her hair blew a little as the wind changed its course. He slowly turned towards her, the sunset setting the scene of a romantic evening.
His lips against her gave her the answer she had been praying for.
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SNAP-FLASH!
"Hah-hah!" Kagura snickered, this would be hilarious blackmail material.
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THE END!
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It's been almost two yearssince I've started this fanfiction so I wanted to say a heartfelt thank you to the people who made this story possible: the readers. Thank you so much for putting up with my laziness and lack of good writing. There will not be a sequel, but that's okay, right? Thanks so much ot everyone!
MoonMagicks
January 6, 2007
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