Disclaimer: I own none of the Inuyasha characters, but the ones you've never heard of are mine.
Behind Enemy Lines
Chapter 1: Keepers
Grace stirred her coffee lazily with her straw as she waited for school to start. She stood leaned up against the gate of her high school Mitsuwa Academy across from Tenhi Academy, her schools rival.
And why do you ask were they rivals? Simple,
Mitsuwa and Tenhi were elite schools for some of the richest people in town, however there were some vast differences not including uniforms. The largest of these was that Mitsuwa Academy was made up of a vast feline population while Tenhi was mostly canine.
This was the reason for the nearly violent rivalry. No one on either side ever associated with anyone from opposite sides. It was Taboo and an immediate with drawl. Last year a girl from Tenhi and a boy from Mitsuwa had dated and the girl had been cornered in one of the bathrooms and her face had been rearranged. From what Grace had heard the boy was still in the hospital.
It wasn't as if they hadn't tried to get along, but cats and dogs….it was just a blood bath; literally and figuratively.
The sides hated each other so much recently the heads of each sector had been sending out assassins to get rid of their enemies. Council meetings were a war zone filled with snarls and hisses.
Last week it had gotten so bad the Mayor had had to send in the police and a team of SWAT guys.
Grace shook her head, flicking her claws as a few of the freshman dogs turned to look at her and whistled only to be herded by the upper classmen who glared across at her. She waved with a cheeky smile and they all turned away in disgust.
It was always fun to watch their reactions and goad them on, especially since the annual campus invasion was today.
It was usually a competition of strength or agility; almost like football between the humans.
She moved her eyes across the road and stiffened suddenly. A group of four cats was heading toward the front gates of Tenhi.
With a roll of her eyes she reached into her bag and pulled out a small black baton. She set down her coffee and began making her way across the street, ignoring the stares she was receiving.
Grace had never been one for social calls which was why she had been chosen as a Keeper.
There were four on each campus and they were usually the strongest or the stealthiest. By no mean was she the strongest, she knew but she was damn good at getting around. The Keepers had been employed a few years ago as a mutual force to keep the peace. Even if the co-protectors didn't like each other they worked well at holding the snarling masses at bay.
It was Grace's and the others job to keep the cats on their side and the dogs on theirs no matter the cost. At the moment she was wondering where her back-up was.
Her long legs carried her over quickly as she met the felines with a mock smile.
"Good morning boys." She supplied making them stop and look around nervously. The baton in her hand was gripped tightly and her stance was ready to move. She wasn't however ready to get the onslaught of dogs behind her.
"Get on your side, Cat." Someone behind her snarled but she ignored it in favor of watching her own. Cats were not as simple as dogs were. They were all sneaky and very manipulative.
Her blue eyes focused on her school mates and she took a step forward.
"Go on guys. Let's not start anything today." She kept her voice calm although she knew she wouldn't be able to take the dogs and the cats at the same time.
The cold nipped at her finger-tips as she relaxed and began to heard them back toward Mitsuwa when someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder.
It all happened at once and she was suddenly in the middle of a death match between the smaller group of felines and the brutal dogs.
To her left one of the younger freshman was engaged in a punching match with a white haired inu-hanyou.
She snarled and jumped between them knocking the hanyou off his feet and the freshman backward. Grace spun around to spot an ookami using his claws to cut down another cat and lunged.
He spotted her before she hit however and threw her over his head but she shot her hand out grabbing the back of his shirt and flipping him. His blue eyes looked up at her in shock but she was gone to the next group only to find her back up had finally arrived.
He was tall and slim yet incredibly intimidating.
His uniform of black slacks, white shirt and light blue jacket made him look older than he was. Short white hair framed his face, parted down the side to rest on his noble brow above his slim glasses.
He held a samurai sword in his left hand in warning to the oncoming students. Beside him stood a smaller male, in the same uniform with black hair that was pulled into a small pony tail at the nape of his neck. His violet eyes narrowed as he held back the two cats she'd pulled from the fray, with a golden staff that had a few different rings signifying monkhood. With a click the baton she held in her hand slid out into a long black staff which she twirled expertly and backed up to them.
"You're cutting it a bit close dontcha think?" She teased. The smaller of the two responded with insults on his tongue.
"What's one less cat in the world?" Grace hissed but didn't attack. She was caught off guard as a large flow of youki shot through her subduing the Tenhi students and making the Mitsuwa's stand on edge. She spun and chanced a look at the tallest of the three to see he hadn't moved but the energy crackled around him.
In mere moments the front gate was cleared except the three Keepers. Grace relaxed and retracted her staff and moved toward her school when a low growl stopped her.
"Next time, don't wait to stop them Cat." She turned her head and lifted her brow at the inu-youki.
"Next time don't almost get me killed, dog boy."
She didn't bother to stop for his next comment, tuning it out as she went over the recent encounter. That was strange. She'd never seen those two before. Were they new Keepers?
The cat shrugged her shoulders and picked up her bag, walking through the gates of her school as they closed. Ah, well. Perhaps Nadine had heard something?
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes on the small form walking away from them. Beside him Miroku held their bags. His eyes were down toward the ground, making it look as if they were conversing normally.
"So she's the one?" The inu-youkai nodded.
"Hell of a spit-fire, ain't she? I'm surprised Koga let her floor him like that." Sesshomaru turned and led his friend into Tenhi.
"If she's smart, she won't go through with her mission tonight." The monk chuckled beside him, winking at a blushing freshman.
"Since when has a Keeper ever backed down from a challenge?" Suddenly Sesshomaru stopped and finally focused his golden eyes on the shorter man.
"That's exactly what I'm counting on."
I wasn'tplanning on posting this just yet but...something just felt right about it so I hope you like this. Give me some feedback if you'd like. It be truly appreciated. Thanks for reading!
WolvenTemptress
