Backstabbed: A Rurouni Kenshin - Inu Yasha cross-over fic.

Oh happy day! Four out of five band members are excited about the fic! Casper (back-up guitar), Luke (bass) and Spectre (drums) have read and enjoyed(?) what's been posted so far. D`O`S hasn't read it at all, but that might be a good thing…Chaos-chan's brother would think it very bizarre. I haven't gotten a hold of the singer yet; I don't know his screen name. So I have no input from him.

This chapter has a new addition: Kamatari Honjou. You may be saying "who the hell is that?!" so I'll tell you. Remember the cross-dresser from RK? That would be Kamatari. Not many people know his name. Chaos-chan wrote a talk show spoof featuring him and I decided to add him into my fic. I kinda like him…He's a cutey! ^_^v

-DE

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Kerri's alarm clock went off precisely at six-thirty the next day, same as every morning. She dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom. This is it, she told herself, the last day of school. I'll only have to see those people again at graduation. Then I will be free…

As she showered, she thought over the argument she had with Katsuhiro the night before. He kept insisting she couldn't walk home alone. She told him she'd done it a million times before. Her parents didn't care at all. She would be fine. He argued against it, saying it wasn't safe. It was dark and cloudy and all she had on was black clothes. She could get hit by a car. No one could see her. So what? Was her come back. No one would miss her. It didn't matter if she was dead. He kept pressing the matter, maintaining the thought that she could not walk half an hour to her house in the dark. The exchange ended with her telling him to go to hell.

She'd come to understand something then. It didn't matter how much she liked him. He would still do things the same as every one else, being concerned only when it looked good. This was something that would never change.

He had been very angry. Undoubtedly, he had learned something about her too. She wasn't all she seemed. She wasn't as quiet and sad. She was strong in the respect that she knew what she wanted and how to get it. She didn't need to be hidden from the world as every one thought. She could indeed stand alone, just as tall, just as strong. Hadn't she proven that to the world already?

Feldspar High was in an uproar that day. People were busy cleaning out lockers, returning text books, library books and other things. Every one had something to do.

Kerri walked slowly to her locker and spun the lock. Yanking the door open, she surveyed its contents. There wasn't much there. Old assignments, notebooks, texts…No pictures of friends. She didn't have any to put up. The only thing taped to the inside wall was a picture of her and Sojiro that he had doodled in her psychology notebook the previous semester. Written in black Sharpie, in Sojiro's loopy scrawl, was the quote "Nothing's as real as it really seems." He had gotten that from a Random song.

She pulled the picture down and stuck it in a folder in her bag. It was the only thing worth saving. Everything else was trash. Rising, she gathered the papers, notebooks and handouts, then headed into the bathroom. The nearest trashcan was in there and she intended to dump everything and be done with it before first period started.

After her papers settled into the trash can, she turned to leave, pushing the door open with her foot. Then something caught her attention and she stopped, turning back to make sure she'd heard correctly.

Some one was crying.

Four years Kerri had been going to school there and never before had she cared if some one was crying in the bathroom. Usually, it was a prep. Usually, they were upset over some stupid, minute thing. Usually, it didn't matter.

For whatever reason, Kerri crept down to the end stall from where the crying came. She cautiously pushed the door open, expecting to see some blond bimbo crying her eyes out, mascara smeared down her face.

Instead, there sat Misao.

The upperclassman's brow furrowed. It was unusual to find Misao upset over something. She was usually quite the optimist, bounding around the school excitedly, full of energy. However, there was no mistaking the freshman, her long hair pulled back in a braid. It was most definitely Misao.

"Um…" Kerri wasn't sure what to say, "…Are you okay, Misao?"

"He's gonna leave me for good this time…" The girl sobbed, "I'm gonna be all alone…He'll go away…"

Suddenly, Kerri understood. Aoshi was going away in two months and Misao would be stuck there in Feldspar. Of course Misao wouldn't want school to end. She had known it would happen, but she wasn't ready for it. This was the one time the girl couldn't follow her beloved Aoshi where ever he went. "He won't leave you all alone." She lied. It was important that Misao not know the cold, hard truth. Not just yet at least. "He loves you, doesn't he?" Love. Love was just a word. It was something she would never find.

"If he loved me, he wouldn't leave me…" She wiped her eyes and looked up, a miserable expression on her face. Her heart ached. This was true pain like she'd never known before. She hugged herself, trying to block out the hurt.

"Get up!" Kerri demanded, "Sitting here in a toilet stall isn't going to help any." God, what am I saying? I've really lost it now. "You've got to tell Aoshi how you feel about this."

"I can't. Going to Broadview has been his dream since he was ten. He won't give that up for me. I want him to be happy there and not think of me hating him for leaving."

So this was love. Misao was throwing aside her heart to keep Aoshi happy. Most people didn't learn anything on the last day of school. Kerri learned what true love was. It was putting aside yourself for some one else. That was love.

Kerri's eyes went wide as she offered Misao a hand. She was seeing herself reflected in the girl's eyes, all the anguish, the pain, it was all there, all hidden by the smile Misao was forcing.

Misao washed her face and looked in the mirror. "I look terrible. Aoshi's going to know I was crying." She fretted, "I can't let him think I'm upset." She dug in her bag for cover-up and mascara, then touched up her make-up.

The older teen watched with interest as Misao made herself pretty for Aoshi. Then she picked up her bag and smiled at Kerri. "Thanks." She pushed the heavy door open.

"I understand now." Kerri said quietly as she followed the freshman out of the bathroom. "I understand everything." She saw something in Misao that was unexplainable; some deep devotion, the same devotion she saw everyday from Sojiro. But he was her friend; she didn't like him like that, no matter how much he did for her.

"Did you have a good cry last night, Kerri?"

"Naraku!" She turned to face the boy. Looking at him was like gazing into a mirror. As much as Kerri despised the demonic teenager, she couldn't deny how alike they looked. Both were thin and pale, with scraggly hair and dark eyes. They always wore black and always looked like they could use an extra hour of sleep. Naraku was just about the only person in the whole school whom Kerri felt more sorry for than herself.

"What did Sesshomaru think I would do to you?" He asked bleakly, "Why was he afraid of me?"

"Naraku…" What she saw in his eyes then was something other than malice. He looked almost sad.

"You and I are one in the same, Kerri. Neither of us belongs here in Feldspar. You understand this. You know it's true." He edged towards her, drawing his face very close to hers as he had the night before. "You are me."

She felt terror wash over her. Naraku was so cold and empty, so frightening. "No." She whispered, "No; I'm not like you." I have dreams. I have hopes. I'm leaving this God-awful place in August. I'm not like him at all…She pushed him away. "Don't get near me, you demon. I'll never be like you. I have a heart."

"So do I." He drew back a little, "And much like yours, it was destroyed and blackened."

"I don't have a black heart!"

"Stop fighting it. You know it's true. No matter how much you deny it, you're like me. Unlovable. Unwanted. Misunderstood. You feel it everyday, that feeling that you should be somewhere -anywhere- else. Because no one here loves you. Welcome to the dark side of the moon, Kerri Mortisen."

"Stop it!"

"It's true."

She stared at him, a sinking feeling in her heart. Naraku was right. No one there loved her. Not her parents, not her so-called friends, not any one. Her eyes widened with horror. This couldn't be. She wasn't like Naraku.

"This is how I feel after weeping such a great deal. Have you ever cried so much that your eyes have dried?" Sojiro came flouncing down the hall, singing a Random tune. His voice, slightly girlish, distracted Naraku and disrupted his chain of thought. At the sight of Kerri's best friend approaching, the junior scowled and disappeared into a sea of students moving down the main corridor.

"You look like you've seen a ghost, Kerri. What's wrong?" Sojiro stopped before her, his book bag slung over one shoulder and bulging with papers.

"I hate Naraku…" She grumbled.

"Who doesn't?" He smiled cheerfully, his head tipped to one side as if trying to understand what was bothering her.

"He makes me think to much. I always get so frustrated when he tells me things because they go against everything I've ever believed."

"Ah, I see. Just like me and Kenshin. I used to get so angry listening to him talk. But that was before…" He just sort of trailed off, but then, he didn't need to say more. Kerri knew he was referring to Makoto Shishio, the man who had corrupted him in his youth.

"Don't worry about it, Sojiro. After today, I'll never have to see him again. I'll never have to see any of them."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too. But we'll visit, right? Skeeverton and Fairbrook are only an hour apart."

"Yeah…but it won't be the same." He heaved a sigh, "Remember all those nights I hid in your attic?"

"Yup. I had to do something…You certainly couldn't sleep outside. Your family was so rotten to you and you were my only friend. It wasn't your fault, what your dad did with your mom. It didn't seem fair to me, even back then."

"See why I'll miss you? You understand me."

She smiled sadly. She truly would miss the boy. He was like a brother to her. "You understand me too. I promise I'll make a big sacrifice on my part and call you all the time."

"Thanks." He smiled happily.

She tried to force a smile. The thought of leaving Sojiro was not a pleasant one. He was, after all, her only friend. What would she do without him? Who would she cry to? How could he leave her?

"Hey; Kerri, Sojiro…C'mon! It's time for the Pep Rally!" Kagome breezed by, her hair in a ponytail flying behind her. She was dressed in her cheerleading uniform and smiling broadly.

"You go on ahead." Kerri said quietly. She had no desire to go to the pep rally, but knew it was inevitable. She just wanted to delay it a while. "I have a book to return to the library before I forget." She turned towards the library, "See you guys later."

Sesshomaru was not in the library. Kerri searched for him for a while before remembering that he would already be in the gym. Band members went early to warm up. He needed to make sure his cello was in tune.

She returned her book and headed out the door. The halls were empty then; every one must've been in the gym already. She plodded down towards the room, thinking to herself about how everything would change once she left.

The pep rally dragged on. Kerri thought she would never get to leave. The day was over as soon as the damn pep rally ended. She fidgeted in on the bleachers, impatient to get home. She hated pep rallies, hated the idea of school spirit and hated the cheerleaders. They were too perky for her.

She looked around. Sojiro was sitting with Kenshin and his friends. Sesshomaru was with the rest of the band down on the floor. His brother, Miroku and Sango were all sitting near the cheerleaders and yakking away with Kagome. Every one had some one to hang out with, even Naraku. He and Kikyo were loitering near the door looking bored.

She sighed. Being alone sucks.

Glancing to the top row of the bleachers, she saw one other person all alone: Kamatari Honjou. He was perched in the corner, staring off into space, a dreamy look on his girlish face. Kamatari was not some one Kerri knew well. In fact, she hardly knew he existed most of the time. He didn't have a single class with her in the four years she attended Feldspar. Not too many people enjoyed Kamatari's presence. He was loud and somewhat obnoxious and also a known cross dresser. People thought he was weird.

Kerri crept up the bleachers, dragging her book bag behind her. After four years, she had a sudden urge to talk to the would-be girl. "Hi." She said quietly.

Kamatari looked at her, blinking his brownish-orange eyes. "Yes?"

"Um, we don't know each other but…My name is Kerri. I saw you all alone up here and I was alone too…"

"I like your shirt. It's cute."

"What? Oh, thanks."

Kamatari's gaze wandered up towards the ceiling. "I know who you are. You're Sojiro's friend. He really likes you."

"I didn't know you knew Sojiro."

"Yeah, we go way back. Both of us thought the world of Shishio…Guess I still do. Sojiro's matured beyond that though. He's his own man now. I suppose I'm still trying to be Shishio's woman." He sighed, then turned to look at Kerri. "You're a pretty thing. Why are you wasting your time? What are you waiting for? Sojiro's not going to feel the way he does about you forever."

She felt her face growing red. "We're just friends."

"Oh, that's right. You've got a thing for the artist. Word to the wise: don't lie to yourself. Who are you trying to fool? The world? Or your own heart. Sojiro will always be there for you, but he may get tired of waiting and when you realize what he means to you it will be too late. Don't settle for less than you deserve."

"But-"

"Don't give me 'buts.' Don't say you love the artist. Love is a tricky thing. It's not always what it appears. Sometimes it's completely different. Don't let Sojiro suffer any more because you don't 'love' him."

"Kamatari, you don't understand."

"No, you don't understand. I know what it's like to love someone so much you'll do anything for them even if they don't love you back. I know what it's like to be rejected." He looked at her for a moment, daring her to say something back.

She stared at her hands where they lay in her lap.

Kamatari frowned. Kerri's shoulders were shaking. She seemed upset. Her long hair fell over her face, hiding her expression. He could guess that she was crying. He'd cried the same way before.

"Why does it have to hurt so much?" She whispered, "Why? Why can't he love me? Why can't any one?"

"Sweetie, you've got to love yourself first. Who's going to love you if you don't love yourself?"

Kerri sighed. It was hard to love herself when she was so screwed up. It was hard to love herself when no one else did. "I'll try, but I don't think I can do that."

"I didn't say it would be easy." Kamatari said slowly, "I just said you need to do it." He paused, "Oh, look, the band's packing up. We can leave now." A smile crossed his face, "It was nice meeting you, Kerri."

"Yeah, you too." Kerri surprised herself by saying this. She truly meant it. Kamatari was very nice. "You think…Maybe we can hang out together over the summer? Like, go to the mall or something?"

"I'd like that." He grinned, "You could use some new clothes. Clothes with color in them. I've seen you around. You're always so depressing."

"I'm always depressed."

"Well, we'll take care of that." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and scribbled something on it, "Here's my number."

"I'll call you later." She slipped the paper into her bag, "See you, Kamatari."

"Bye, Sweetie."

Kerri watched with interest as the boy wandered out of the gym. He intrigued her to no end. How could any one wander around like that, dressed as the opposite sex? He must have had so much confidence. Every one had thought Kamatari was a girl for the first two years of high school. Not many people knew he was a guy.

Feeling unusually happy, the girl sauntered out of the building. She would be back only twice more; once for prom -if she went- and for graduation. She'd made a new friend, she never had to see any of her old "friends" again and she was done with school. Life was surprisingly good.