Hey everybody! Jade here to bring you superior fanfiction! Or something. You guys really inflated my ego with those reviews! Well, technically it was Teresa's chapter, but since I'm in on the whole storyline, I feel a sense of pride.
To the one known as '.': We do not do the pairings thing. We do not tell everyone who the pairings are so that there's absolutely no suspense in the story. We love to keep 'em guessing! And don't worry; the story will do plenty of that.
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.
Warnings: Swearing, sexual innuendo, and rolling with Shippo's posse.
Wicked Game
Chapter Two
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"Can I carry your books?" A bright-eyed girl asked Shippo Maboroshi eagerly. He scrubbed a hand through his ginger locks, feeling slightly uneasy. He knew a lot of the other rich kids who were popular had no problem ordering "lesser" people around and making them fetch things, but Shippo didn't think he'd ever get used to the idea of having lackeys, or slaves, or whatever they were called.
It's hard to make friends with people that are falling all over themselves to do stuff for you…
"No, I've got 'em Mizuki." Shippo gave her a warm smile. "But thanks for offering."
"I thought you were looking a little tired." Mizuki explained, her eyes wide with concern. "Are you sure you don't want me to?"
"I promise I'm fine." Shippo tried to reassure her.
"Hey, Shippo." Inuyasha stepped up beside him and immediately fell in step with the slightly shorter boy. Inuyasha was rarely seen in the same vicinity as a textbook, so it didn't surprise Shippo that the other boy didn't have one at all. Mizuki and a few other girls flocking about Shippo gave Inuyasha disapproving looks. Shippo couldn't say he blamed them; Inuyasha wasn't exactly courteous to the girls that were always following the ginger-haired boy around. Inuyasha turned, looking at something behind Shippo's head that must have appeared to him as the center of their group. "You guys, piss off."
"We're not guys." One of the girls, Koume, said in protest, her voice barely shaking.
"Like I give a shit." Inuyasha gave them one of his most threatening looks. "Now get lost," and right on cue, he cracked his knuckles menacingly. The girls squeaked and scampered a few feet behind them so that they were still following, but out of his reach.
"Can't you be a little nicer to them?" Shippo asked, even though he privately had to admit, he thought it was nice not be nagged about whether he was thirsty or hungry or if he needed anything at all, really.
"No." Inuyasha snorted. "Your stupid fan girls are crazy. There's only one way to get rid of them."
"You do a fabulous job." Shippo told his friend dryly. Sometimes, he wondered how Inuyasha and he ended up being friends. Shippo always tried to be nice to everyone, while Inuyasha made absolutely no effort whatsoever to make friends with anyone. If possible, Inuyasha seemed to be making negative amounts of effort in that respect.
"Fabulous job, eh?" A sly male voice spoke up from just behind them. "I hope you two weren't having fun without me."
"Shut up, Miroku." Inuyasha groaned and turned, hitting the twinkling, purple-eyed playboy in the arm with much less force than he would hit most people. That was about the only advantage Shippo could readily identify to being Inuyasha's friend. He didn't hit you as hard. "You're a fucking weirdo."
"Shippo," Miroku seemed unfazed by Inuyasha's actions. "I was wondering if you had seen my abettor; he left me to speak with one of the fine young ladies of our school, and I have not seen him since."
"You mean your fellow sex offender?" Inuyasha instantly translated. They all knew who Miroku was referring to, and it was clear that Inuyasha would never give Hiten the time of day, much less keep track of where he was at any given point in time. It was well-known that the two boys avoided each other like the plague.
"I haven't seen Hiten anywhere." Shippo shrugged. "Did you ask Bankotsu?"
"I have not had the happy pleasure." Miroku wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.
"We can go ask him." Shippo spoke up helpfully once more.
"Fuck no, that fucking Jakotsu is always around him." Inuyasha shot the idea down instantly. Even though his voice was gruff, his eyes displayed what could only be described as terror.
"Okay, we won't." Shippo rolled his eyes at the dark-haired boy. "Just because Inuyasha's scared of Jakotsu."
"I'm not scared of him." Inuyasha told them, sticking his chin out defensively.
"Oh look, he's coming this way." Miroku commented in a casual voice, and Inuyasha immediately ducked his head down while looking around wildly for some form of escape. "I was just kidding."
"Thanks a lot, asshole." Inuyasha looked thoroughly infuriated that he had just shown he was, in fact, quite terrified of the feminine young man. Shippo really didn't understand his friend sometimes.
"I'll continue looking for him, then." Miroku shrugged and merrily went on his way.
"SHIPPO!" Five voices chorused at once, and Inuyasha groaned to show how thoroughly annoyed he was with this newest bit of company.
"Hey guys." Shippo turned hesitantly, trying to put on his best friendly smile. The five boys who had called out were standing before him, backs ramrod straight as though they were soldiers at attention. On the first day of school, Shippo had caught someone pushing around the smallest member of their little group and had stopped the perpetrator with ease. The group had been following him around ever since that day, convinced Shippo would protect them from everything.
That's shoving a lot of responsibility on my shoulders…but they're alright.
"They're almost as bad as the psycho fangirls." Inuyasha muttered under his breath. Shippo refrained from rolling his eyes, even though it was very, very hard.
"We've been looking for you." Ippou told him eagerly.
"We saw all the transfers!" Jippou added on.
"And two of them got to eat lunch with the Five!" Sanpou jumped in.
"Just 'cause of Rin!" Shihou nodded.
"Just 'cause!" Gohou repeated. Gohou had been the one who Shippo had "saved."
"I don't see why everyone makes such a big ass fuss about the Five." Inuyasha folded his arms coolly. "Oh, big deal, they've got lots of money. So does practically everybody else." Shippo agreed with this statement. He thought the way the Five were held above everybody else was a bit on the ridiculous side, but he didn't really see any sense in complaining about it. It was just the way things were.
"Hey, Shippo, have you seen Miroku?" Hiten appeared out of nowhere just then. The red-eyed boy glanced past the boy he had just questioned and saw Inuyasha. As soon as their eyes locked, they were glaring viciously at each other.
"Yeah, I just saw him. He went that way." Shippo answered, ignoring the glaring contest and pointing toward where he had last seen Miroku prancing off.
"So get moving, man-whore." Inuyasha jabbed a thumb in the direction Shippo had pointed in.
"Nobody asked you, Mini-maru." Hiten retorted.
"Mini-maru?" Shippo repeated questioningly.
"Because he's a shorter, less attractive version of Sesshomaru." Hiten explained with a smug look on his face. "See, he didn't bathe for so long that his hair just turned black."
"God, can't you just go fuck Shippo's groupies and leave us the fuck alone?" Inuyasha asked scathingly. Everyone knew that Inuyasha hated to be compared to Sesshomaru. Truly, it was a low blow on Hiten's part to bring up Inuyasha's far more popular and widely admired older half-brother.
"Whatever, notice that they're all Shippo's?" Hiten put his nose in the air as he turned. "You're just jealous that you can't find one woman who would date you, unless maybe it would get her close to your brother." With that, Hiten walked off.
"We are not groupies." Souten, the toughest of the girls who followed Shippo around, glared at Inuyasha angrily. She looked like she just might jump on the dark-haired boy and beat him senseless if further provoked.
"Stay back there," Inuyasha waved a dismissive hand at her, clearly not worried, "with the other stupid girls."
"Here come the Five!" Ippou was peering further down the hall, and Shippo could see the crowd of students was definitely parting in the middle, a sure sign that the Five were approaching.
Shippo had to admit that they looked something like royalty as they walked down the hallways so impressively. Kagura at the lead, a smug look on her face, flanked on her right by Kikyo, who looked like she could care less about who was around her, or even where she was, and on the left by Tsubaki, who was doing a terrific imitation of Kagura's smug sneer. On Tsubaki's left side was Sango, who had a much more approachable expression. Out of all of the Five, Sango definitely looked like the easiest to talk to. On Kikyo's left was Yura, who was waving at a few of the people she actually knew, and smiling and winking at any boy she thought deserved that much attention.
Then, flooding in the wake that they left behind, was a veritable train of lackeys. At the front was Rin, the most respected of the lackeys, who was waving at almost everybody she could see and calling out their names in greeting.
"Hi Shippo! Hi Inuyasha!" Rin gave them a winning smile. Shippo waved back and Inuyasha tried his best to look like he didn't care who was waving at him, but he did give the bright-eyed girl a two-fingered wave. No one knew exactly why Rin was so well-liked. She was super friendly without being annoying, and everyone speculated that even the ice-cold Kikyo couldn't resist her amiability.
The rest of the train consisted of the lesser known lackeys, like Tsubaki's Momigi and Botan. Trying to step in front of Rin and walk closer to the Five was Ayame, who was known for being one of the biggest gossips in Yuufuku Academy.
Strangely, Shippo was reminded of when they were all much younger. They had all gone to the "right" elementary school and subsequently, the "right" middle school and now they were in the "right" high school. He remembered that in elementary school, Kagura walked down hallways like she owned the place, but at her side there hadn't been any of the other members of the Five. Only Kagura and her twin brother.
Some people thought that Jakotsu could have been part of the Five, and that he was definitely girly enough to fit in with the others, but no one knew why the duo, who had once been inseparable were now rarely seen together.
As soon as the Five had cleared through, the crowd surged back together, and Miroku came up to them for the second time that afternoon.
"I can't find him anywhere." Miroku sighed dramatically as soon as he was within speaking range.
"Miroku, tell your girlfriend to keep his fucking mouth shut." Inuyasha was obviously still brooding over the "Mini-maru" comment.
"My girlfriend…?" Miroku trailed off, looking confused. Then the answer seemed to dawn on him and he grinned. "Oooh, Hiten was here."
"Yeah, he was looking for you." Shippo explained. "He went that way." Shippo gestured in the correct direction.
"Give me a few minutes, I don't want to accidentally catch up to the Five…" Miroku had a very mischievous look on his face. "I had a bit of an unfortunate encounter with Sango earlier today…she doesn't seem all that thrilled to see me, and I fear her comrades might try to permanently displace me from her company."
"Grabbed her?" Shippo guessed.
"Something like that." Miroku didn't seem the least bit ashamed by it. "If Hiten had not left me to my own devices, surely I would not have thought to seek entertainment elsewhere…"
"Stupid Hiten." Inuyasha muttered. Miroku straightened his shirt quickly and winked at Koume, who was crowding about with the rest of Shippo's fangirls. She blushed and looked down at her feet quickly. Then he gave them all a smile before he walked off in search of Hiten once more.
Only a few minutes had gone by when Hiten came back up through the hallway and approached Shippo, doing his best to completely ignore Inuyasha, who growled in hostility as soon as he spotted the red-eyed boy.
"Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be sucking Miroku off in a closet somewhere?" Inuyasha shot the insult towards Hiten.
"Miroku was just here." Shippo thought it was best to just not interfere with the boys' skirmishes.
"I don't want to hear what you think about when you're alone, Mini-maru." Hiten wasn't paying attention to the ginger-haired boy, who just shook his head at the futility of his situation.
"Hey, you!" Inuyasha snapped his fingers at the fangirls. "Shippo Groupie Four…or whatever your name is! How about you take Hiten here, and you can pretend he's Shippo, and he can pretend you're Miroku, and you guys can work out your issues together."
"I knew it was destiny that we would be reunited!" Miroku was suddenly at Hiten's side, putting an arm around his shoulders. Hiten shrugged him off.
"Dude, stop." Hiten punched Miroku in the shoulder.
"Inuyasha, if in your desperation, you need to pretend that someone else is me, you need only ask, and then you can have the real deal." Miroku gave Inuyasha a suggestive look and Inuyasha scowled as though he might throw-up.
"I don't want gonorrhea of the teeth, thanks." Inuyasha flipped off the purple-eyed boy.
"How do we know you wouldn't give him something?" Hiten immediately jumped to Miroku's defense.
"Virgins don't have STDs." Miroku was still smiling, obviously used to Inuyasha's harsh mouth.
"Shut up." Inuyasha snapped.
"Excuse me." They turned to see a very self-important looking Ayame standing in the hallway, her hands on her hips. "I'm looking for Bankotsu; I've got a very important message from Kagura."
"An important message?" Hiten looked skeptical.
"Well, originally Sara was supposed to take it, but I volunteered to do it instead." Ayame explained, as though the boys would be interested in this sort of information. "So, do you know where he is? I've got to find him."
"What's the message?" Miroku looked somewhat intrigued. "It does seem that she favors Bankotsu a bit over the others…"
"Maybe you should stop hitting on all her friends and lackeys." Hiten grinned. "Not that I can blame you, Yura's pretty hot."
"Yes, she certainly is." Miroku nodded in agreement. "Although I must speak up for Kikyo, who is so unattainable that it is unbelievably appealing."
"That's way out of your league." Hiten informed him. "Sango seems less immune to you."
"Um, hello?" Ayame looked annoyed that she had been momentarily forgotten. "I have to get this message to Bankotsu, but if you guys don't know where he is…"
"What's the message?" Hiten repeated Miroku's earlier question.
"She wants Bankotsu to come over to her house after school." Ayame replied, looking as though this task being entrusted to her made her far superior to the boys. Well, she seemed rather pleased with herself before Inuyasha did a surprisingly good imitation of Ayame and caused the girl to flounce off angrily.
"Cute." Shippo told his friend.
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Stretching himself out over the cushions on his large window seat, a young man with dark hair and fathomless hazel eyes, found his gaze drifting toward the small gap in his curtains. Other than the strip of light, still as intense as in the morning, the room was slowly getting darker and darker as the sun moved away from where it had previously flooded the large living area.
He watched a large black car come up the drive and park at the front of the house. The driver got out in a series of practiced, mechanical motions, moving around to the back of the car, and then opening the door so that the passenger might exit the vehicle. Out stepped a tall young man with a long black braid and beautiful, ocean blue eyes.
So you're here today…
Because when she calls, everyone comes to see her.
The young man took hold of a cushion that his head had been resting on, and in a swift movement, threw it across the room, knocking an expensive vase off a table and onto the floor, where it shattered with a satisfying clatter.
It didn't matter to him, and no one would notice that he had broken another one. The maids would clean it up without questioning him. He got up, very carefully avoiding stepping in the mess, and sat at his vanity with a deep sigh.
He picked up a tube of lipstick and opened it, slowly applying it to his lips.
Do you think she's as pretty as I am?
Or did you secretly come here to see me? Mother would never allow it.
His lips curled upwards in a somewhat devilish smile. His sister could have everything she wanted. She could have the whole world.
But she couldn't have him.
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Dun, dun, DUN! I know, somewhat evil. And what is everybody else up to? I guess we'll see next time who will play the…Wicked Game. Ehehehehehehehe. Okay, I'm a dork. Please review though!
