Chapter 1: Marred
Year: 2062

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He stood in the unlit room as his amber eyes swept across the surrounding in the same mundane fashion every night.

This was her room, he thought silently as he touched the photo that was in the photo frame that stood on the night table. His arms were lovingly wrapped her tiny waist and his head was placed on her shoulder. She smiled sweetly at the camera that was automatically timed.

Instead of walking out of the room like every night, he went and sat on the computer desk. The work area was covered with a very thin layer of dust. He used the sleeve of his shirt and wiped the keyboard and the monitor. He pushed the 'on' button of the CPU.

His remembrance of the things past tormented his mind, sanity and soul.

--

He waited for her in the rain. The park was deserted; one of the swings beside him oscillated by howling wind. He, himself sat on a swing and sung on it.

His long, silver-white hair was immobilized by its wetness from the rain; thus, unmoved by the wind.

There he was, waiting for her. The books in his backpack were probably soaked with water- not that he cared. His mind was on her. She told him the previous night to meet her in a nearby park. Without an ounce of hesitation, he came. By the time he was there, a light drizzle started. He didn't have an umbrella and left his cell phone at home when he rushed to school that day.

The rain poured heavier as time went by. He looked at his Timex.

4:20 pm.

She said to meet her at 3:50 pm. He frowned- an expression that should never be on his beautiful face, for the reason that it marred and was a blemish on the god-like face.

He worried about her. Sakura was never late to any of their previous dates before.

A figure emerged from the gentle rolling hill in a short distance.

The girl was desperately trying to block out the wind- it was proven to be a futile attempt as the howling wind almost flipped the umbrella. The two strands of her black hair framed her heart-shaped alabaster face, while the rest was blown by the wind. One of her hands was holding on to her mini uniform kilt of Etioku High when she saw him.

It wasn't like he hadn't seen what was underneath- with or without underwear.

He smirked at the girl that was running towards him on the muddy field.

"Hey."

The smirk was wiped off from his face by her red, puffy eyes. It was obvious she was crying when she sniffed her stuffed nose.

He flung the umbrella aside- since it had proven itself to be a useless physical obstacle between him and Sakura. He pulled her close by the waist and hugged her feverishly. He had never seen her cry before- and it almost killed him emotionally.

Yes, he admitted to himself. He was very much in love with Tsukyashi Sakura. He never told her he loves her, since he was a firm believer of the saying 'actions speak louder than words.'

"Don't. Please don't." She pushed him away.

He gently lifted her chin and stared into her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Sesshoumaru, I'm pregnant with your baby."

Sesshoumaru was numbed by her words. He had only turned seventeen, and her still being fifteen.

A month ago, it was only their first time and he was using protection.

"I want the baby, Sesshoumaru, but I can get an abortion if you like." She wiped her tears and rain away with the back of her hand.

He slowly pulled her to an embrace again, and kissed her gently on her lips while his right hand caressed her hair.

They deepened their kiss in a matter of seconds.

Soon, their tongues touched.

Sakura's eyes snapped open and pulled out of the kiss.

"Why are we still doing this?" She cried, raindrops as well as her tears ran down her face again.

"If it's alright with you, I don't want you to have an abortion." His normally cold and apathetic voice was gentle.

Sakura was the only girl that ever had the nerve to get past his indifferent behavior and loved him. With her, he learned to care and loved another human being.

Sesshoumaru met Tsukyashi Sakura when they attended Sengoku High together the year before. He was in grade ten and her in grade nine. It was her smile that made him realized she was different than the airheads that passed by him so frequently in the busy hallway. He noticed her for sometime since her locker was beside his. Slowly, she melted the ice in his heart piece by piece with her optimistic view of life and making him see that in deed, his parents wouldn't want him to suffer for so long over their deaths in a car accident a year and a half ago. The grade nines were required to take an exam for the government and because of it, she had to switch school the following year.

Sakura failed the writing part of the exam because she was illiterate. She was born with it. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't understand comprehensions and answered the questions. She retook that category of the exam and still she failed, forcing her to stay in Eitoku High while some of her classmates in Sengoku High transferred back to that school, since they've passed their failed category with ease.

Sakura and others were talked about in Sengoku High. People called the failed students losers of the country of Japan. The girls with the biggest mouths in school called them pathetic. They didn't stay being loud for too long, once Sesshoumaru shot a death glare at them.

Sesshoumaru was the number one idol in Sengoku High- adored by jocks, nerds and girls. Once he shot a death glare at anyone that stood in his way, his fans would punish one severely.

His power over the high school was simply stunning. He didn't have to go out of his way to tell his fans to make a student's life miserable, a simple glare from the dispassionate god of Sengoku High did the job sufficiently to the poor soul that vexed him.

The rain slowed and the downpour became a drizzle as he held her crying form in his arms.

"I was thinking you wouldn't want to have anything to do with it."

"You can come and live with me, I'll love the child as much as the mother." Sesshoumaru pinched her nose lightly in a teasing manner and smiling, "or maybe I'll love the child more than the mother herself."

Sakura punched him playfully on the arm. A smile broke the grimness of her face.

Sesshoumaru was underage as to living alone, but he did it anyway when he bought a condo from his parents' inheritance. His legal guardian couldn't care less about him.

He continued, all notes of teasing were gone, "did you tell your mother yet?"

He felt her stiffened in his arms, "no."

"Sakura," Sesshoumaru stared in her eyes intently, "you have to tell her."

"I know. I am scared. I am already known as a loser in her and her friends' eyes."

"I'll come with you."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Thank you so much. I need all the moral support I can have."

"You don't need to thank me. I should bear the responsibility of the child as well."

Sakura surprised him when she tiptoed and planted a kiss on his lips.

--

That day, they told Mrs. Tsukyashi. It was no surprise that she took the news furiously, yelled and lectured them. Sesshoumaru promised her he would marry Sakura once they reach the legal age. He was even willing to drop school and work to earn enough for Sakura and the baby to live on life efficiently.

Mrs. Tsukyashi refused to aid them and went so far as to disowning Sakura.

She moved in to live with Sesshoumaru. They planned to drop school once her stomach started to swell. Everyday, he would drive Sakura to school and pick her up everyday. It was until one day she told him she was going to a grade 10 camping trip the next morning.

He dropped her off Eitoku High like any other day. When she said goodbye to him and kissed him on the cheek before closing the door and walking off with her one-piece luggage to join the rest of the student body, a cold wind churned a pile of dead leaves beside the car.

An image of a funeral with a portrait of a black and white picture of Sakura above a coffin flashed across his mind.

He palpitated unexpectedly.

Where the heck did that image come from? He wondered to himself, dismissing that short scene.

--

He turned on the news that night and heard the newscaster introducing a survival program called 'Battle Royale'.

"Congratulations to the grade 10 class of Eitoku High! Students, this is the chance for you to redeem yourselves from the bottom caste of the Japanese society! If any of you survive after a week of this healthy program, you will be able to lift your head up and smile at the society again! Yes, some of you will die, but it is a necessity!" The newscaster smiled at her unseen audiences.

Her short speech was broadcasted not only to those who were watching the evening news, it was on radios and the earpieces of the grade 10 students that were cast away to the abandoned industrial island.

Sesshoumaru stared in horror and paled up when the evening news played some clips of the battlefield with sounds such as screams of pain and terror were heard.

From that night onwards, he followed closely with the news- that was the only mean to know what was happening on the island until one night, Tsukyashi Sakura's name was under the death list.

The name of her killer was printed besides hers.

From that night onwards, Sesshoumaru meditated on the meaning of revenge and cursed the name Hanazawa Rui.

--

He opened his eyes.

Hanazawa Rui- one of the TF4; their whereabouts were still unknown.

Sesshoumaru stayed busy and trained himself with books about all forms of fighting techniques and trained with Higurashi-sama, a monk that has been known throughout Japan for his archery and fighting skills. He also read books about guns and weapons. He could easily load bullets and clips for AK-47 and M-16 with his eyes closed.

Bazookas and APGs were a toddler's play.

Everyday, he lifted weight to shape his physique. The medium-sized muscles jumped up when he flexed. His frame could have easily fooled a passer-by into thinking he was nothing but a lanky six-feet tall eighteen and a half year old boy with unique amber eyes.

If the government found out about this teenager, they would have chosen him to work for them as a full-time assassin.

His amber eyes focused on the monitor in front of him. He typed his name, age and the school he was attending in the required fields of the site.

He exhaled slowly; his cursor hovered over the gray button at the bottom of the on-line form.

If he died, he would see Sakura again. If he lived long enough to avenge her death…

He double clicked the button.

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN BATTLE ROYALE 2, KOJITENSHA SESSHOUMARU. YOUR MANUSCRIPT AND TRANSFER APPLICATION ARE BEING SENT. PLEASE WAIT PATIENTLY.

After waiting for a minute, his application showed up on the screen, as well as the name of the high school he would be attending starting from next week onwards that was chosen by the government.

Last year, another set of exams was taken. This time, the grade twelve students were forced to write. Many of them took the exam with fear, since they remembered what happened the year before. Many of the students lined up in shrines to buy good luck charms and prayed to the gods for passing the exam, and if they failed, they were not chosen to participate the survival program.

The survival program was officially known, whereas parents were sworn into secrecy the year before- to the point not telling their children about what was going to take place.

Sesshoumaru passed all the categories, but after surfing on the government's website, he found out students can participate if they wish- something he doubt anybody except him would be doing.

Rumors were said that the TF4 were planning to rise in power against the Japanese government. Rumors were then elaborated that the five survivors were still on the island and somehow gained access to many weaponry across the borders of Japan and were secretly delivered to them.

The department of Battle Royale had indeed saw life on the abandoned island with the satellite. The rumors were confirmed that all members of TF4 were alive. This time, the objective of Battle Royale was to kill all members of the TF4 within three days- a piece of information Sesshoumaru learned half an hour ago by hacking into the director of Battle Royale- a man known as Ashikayai Naraku's account and database.

The soon to be nineteen year old boy tied his silver hair in a high ponytail.

His hair shimmered by the light that was radiated off from the computer monitor.

"This is for you, Sakura. If it is true that you're still alive, Hanazawa Rui, this Kojitensha Sesshoumaru will hunt you down."

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