Inu-Yasha had spent the two days hyping himself up for a really good fight, while Miroku had meditated on what would happen. His mind kept going until after the battle, and he couldn't help but wonder, if the battle really mattered at all for his own outcome.
And now, they were walking towards the castle's battle arena, where they would help purge the city of its criminals and make some pocket money, and maybe earn a name for themselves. Miroku was analyzing the other contestants on their way, and Inu-Yasha was trying to contain all the energy and fighting spirit he had. Miroku knew that most of them would fight their battle in the same way that they approached it.
Inu-Yasha would surely start kicking ass as soon as he got there, he was sure. As for himself . . . he would fight just as hard, but he wouldn't be as aggressive in his approach. They were both talented fighters, with their own strengths and talents, and they'd both won several battles of their own, he could tell. So who would win this one? He was only thankful that he wouldn't have to go head to head with the hanyou. He was sure he may not be able to win that one, without resorting to his tamaana, and he didn't want to do that. Miroku wasn't sure, but he thought he could feel the beginnings of a friendship stirring between them, and he certainly wasn't about to get that started off by sucking out Inu-Yasha's soul.
In no time, they had approached the arena, where they were to check in. Inu-Yasha didn't bother approaching the line, but merely walked by the window, and shot his middle finger up to the sign in clerk, who rolled her eyes and marked down his attendance.
Miroku, not having such familiarity with the clerks, had to stand in the line, and wait his turn. Which he didn't mind really. It appeared there were many females competing in this tourney. Quite a bit of them had really cute behinds-er . . . faces, that is.
A particular one caught Miroku's eye, not because of her looks as much as the extremely large boomerang she had slung over her shoulder. He slithered up to her, his lecherous grin on full, and tapped her free shoulder.
She swung around, and red eyes gleamed back at him.
"Yes?" she asked, sounding extremely bored.
"Er . . . I was just wondering Miss . . . "
"Kirara."
"Miss Kirara, what your weapon is?"
"What does it look like?"
"A giant boomerang . . . "
"There you go."
"Well, does it have a particular name?"
"It's called a Hiraikotsu."
"Oh, is that what those things looks like?"
"Apparently."
"It's just, I thought only nobles were allowed to carry them."
"I am a noble." She responded, still sounding tired, but interested in the man's lack of knowledge concerning her identity.
"Oh! I didn't know nobles participated in this sort of thing." He answered honestly.
"I do." She said, before turning back around, slapping his face lightly with her blonde hair.
He eyed the black ribbons tied in her braids, considering tugging them right out, but thought better of it, and sighed dramatically, waiting for his turn to reach the front.
Meanwhile, Inu-Yasha was seated in the shadows of the lower arena, watching as the criminals were brought out. He chuckled; he would win this thing without any problems.
"What are you laughing at?"
Well. Looks like there's a problem.
Inu-Yasha swung his head back, and found himself being stared down by a wolf demon.
"I'm laughing at the lack of competition and the poor excuses for opponents."
"Oh, I'll be your competition," he answered, blue eyes glaring, "hanyou."
Inu-Yasha's ears twitched violently, the only indicator of how that comment affected him. Before he could utter a 'witty' retort, the demon had moved away in a trail of dust, for no reason other than to boast his immense speed. Inu-Yasha glared at the now empty space, before turning back to face the arena. Instead of seeing the crowd however, he saw the purple of Miroku's hakama.
"Yes? What, are we friends now?" Inu-Yasha asked bitterly.
"Why, I'm so glad you asked Inu-Yasha! I'd be honoured to be your friend!"
Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes, but on this inside he was reeling. He'd never had a friend before. Sure, he had Myouga, but that old man was more of an aide than a friend. A friend . . .
The trumpets blared, and all of the contestants lined up across from the criminals. On the final note, the chains that bound the criminals released, and the battle started.
Miroku killed two with one blow, while Inu-Yasha slashed through about five in a row, gathering their badges quicker than lightening. The killing continued as more and more criminals were being released from the undercells. The kisai who maintained the scoreboards kept the top three competitors' names up. A quick glance told Miroku that he, Inu-Yasha, and another named Kouga were in the top three.
Miroku landed a punch in an elderly man's ribs, and whacked him upside the head with his shakujou, while keeping his eye on the criminals around him. They had no weapons, but that didn't mean they weren't trying to fight back.
It went on like this for a while, Inu-Yasha and Miroku changing places on 1st and 2nd on the scoreboard, with the faceless Kouga remaining at third. Until suddenly Kouga rose to number one, and no matter how many badges Miroku and Inu-Yasha gathered, they weren't topping him. Inu-Yasha growled from deep within his throat, and began killing on double time, trying to catch up to the wolf demon.
Noting that he wasn't having any luck, and that Kouga almost seemed to be moving at a leisurely pace, Inu-Yasha grew suspicious. He glanced over at Miroku, trying to convey his thoughts with his eyes. Miroku didn't quite get the message, but to his credit, he figured that the wolf demon who was smirking at Inu-Yasha, and being glared at in return was probably Kouga.
Knowing he couldn't outright attack Kouga without being disqualified, he thought quickly, and threw an ofuda on the man that Kouga was about to slay. Upon touching the man, Kouga cried out, and the concentration he had been maintaining to fool the kisai was broken, and Miroku watched as the standings came out as they should be, with Inu-Yasha in first, himself in second, and the feisty girl he'd met earlier, Kirara, in third.
'Well,' Miroku thought, 'there went the fist major block in the road. I guess it'd be too much to ask that the rest be as easy to bring down as that one.'
He picked up the ofuda, and the badge, and sighed, as he sent his fist into a random criminal's face. It was going to be a long day.