Just so everyone knows, I'll be going out of town on Saturday (going to LA). I'll be getting back on Thursday, so don't expect any updates until Friday at the earliest. Now on to the chapter!
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The Reluctant Gladiators

Chapter 4: Betrayed

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September 23, 2004; 7:30 PM

25 Students Remain

Recently Deceased: Midoriko Ogawa

When Yura heard the gunshot in the distance she dove into the closest set of bushes and huddled up into a ball. With shaking hands she opened up her duffel bag. She now knew that at least one student was playing and so she decided at that point to play as well. She wasn't going to let one of her classmates sneak up on her and kill her when she wasn't even prepared. When she first looked in her bag all she saw where her food rations and water bottles. She frantically pushed those aside in search of her weapon. When she found it she thought it was a cruel joke. There was no way that it could be considered a weapon. But when she saw nothing else but the other items that were provided her face fell.

"Shit."

It was a dinner fork.

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When Inuyasha's name was finally called he walked outside to wait for Miroku. The first thing he saw was a black lump on the ground. He didn't want to go near it but when he thought it could be a student who was still alive his conscience got the better of him. He cautiously walked up to the still figure. When he reached it he gagged and sank to his knees.

The lifeless eyes of Midoriko stared up at him. She had a hole in her chest where the bullet had entered her body. A thick pool of blood surrounded her and her uniform had been stained a deep red with the substance.

Inuyasha crawled backwards until he ran into the wall. He slowly made his way back to his feet and leaned against the wall, his arm resting against the wall and his forehead against his arm. He took deep breaths trying to calm his queasy stomach and racing heart. When he heard Miroku step outside he looked to his friend. He saw Miroku take a step towards the body and he immediately reached out and grabbed his shoulder.

"Don't go any closer Miroku. It's too horrible. You don't want to see," he choked out.

Miroku looked terrified. "Sango…"

"NO! Kagome and Sango are ok. It's Midoriko. Someone shot her."

Miroku sagged his shoulders with relief. He hated himself for thinking it but he was glad it was Midoriko and not Sango or Kagome. The last thing he wanted to come across were the dead bodies of those two girls. That would be a hit to his heart he wouldn't be able to survive.

Besides for Inuyasha, Sango and Kagome knew him the best. They were the only other ones who understood him. The four of them met in 1st grade but they didn't actually become friends until 3rd grade. Before then it was just Inuyasha and him. But in 3rd grade the teacher had put them together for a group project. Sango had dropped a box of crayons and as she was bending down to pick them up Miroku got the uncontrollable urge to reach out and pat her butt. So he did. The reaction was instantaneous. Sango squealed while Inuyasha and Kagome punched him. It looked like a scene that had happened countless times before because their movements flowed together. When Sango recovered from her shock she glared at Miroku who smiled innocently back. Then for some odd reason they all started laughing. Ever since then they had been a group, none of them had better friends then the ones in the group. And within the past year Miroku had developed a crush on Sango and Inuyasha had one on Kagome. But neither of them ever told the girls. It seemed weird to them, like they had known the girls so long it felt wrong to suddenly have a romantic interest in them. Now Miroku was cursing his inability to express his true feelings towards Sango. He vowed that once they found them, which they definitely would, he would tell Sango how he felt.

Miroku looked at Inuyasha who was still leaning against the wall. He knew he had to get his friend out of the area because where they were standing would soon become a dead zone. He took a hold of Inuyasha's upper arm and guided his friend away from the dead girl. Inuyasha let himself be led for a while but eventually he regained his strength and walked beside Miroku.

"Let's go find the girls," said Inuyasha.

Miroku nodded his head and together the two friends plunged into the surrounding woods.

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Hiten and Mantan Kotohiki quietly walked through the woods. They were twins but by looking at them you wouldn't think it. Hiten was well built with a handsome face. He had thick brown hair, which he kept in a braid running down to his waist. Mantan was overweight, had a pale complexion, and had mousy brown hair. If it weren't for Hiten's popularity in the class Mantan would have been a prime target for being picked on. But as it were Mantan was never picked on and was tolerated by the class.

Hiten glanced back at his struggling brother. He sighed and slowed down so his brother could catch up. They had heard two gunshots and so were trying to get as far away from the law office as possible. Hiten had earlier pulled out his map and they were aiming for the houses on the southwest of the island. But what Mantan didn't know was that Hiten had also seen his weapon. It was a bottle of poison. For some reason Hiten felt compelled to keep that info to himself.

"Dammit Mantan, can't you walk any faster?" growled Hiten.

"I'm sorry. I'm going as fast as I can!" cried Mantan.

Hiten kicked a nearby tree and clenched his fists in agitation. His slow, stupid brother was slowing them down too much. If there was anybody near them they wouldn't have a chance of escaping. And anyone with a quarter mile could probably hear his brother's bellyaching.

Mantan, seeing his brother grow impatient, quickened his pace. He had sweat streaming down his face and he was gasping for air. But he wouldn't beg his brother for a break. He knew Hiten could have left him a long time ago but he had stuck with his slower brother. Mantan was eternally grateful towards him. He thought that if he and Hiten stuck together they could overcome anything.

Hiten stared in frustration at his brother's rendition of 'hurrying.' It truly was a pathetic sight. Then he watched as Mantan tripped over an exposed tree root and went sprawling on the ground. "Fuck," he cursed under his breath. As Mantan struggled back to his feet Hiten crouched down and brought his duffle bag in front of him and shielded it from Mantan's view.

Hiten unzipped his bag and rifled through it until he found the poison. He brought it and a water bottle out. He cautiously looked over his shoulder and saw Mantan resting against a tree trunk. He opened the poison and the water bottle. He drank a little of the water and then proceeded to pour the poison into the bottle. Oh god, what am I doing? Do I really plan on poisoning my own brother? But if I don't he'll wind up getting both of us killed. He's too slow and loud to hide from anyone. I won't be able to protect him. If we continue on like this someone will track us down and attack us. And they'll kill him in a painful way. His last moments will be full of agony. But if I poison him he won't be hurt. He won't have bullet wounds or blood pouring out of his body. Yes, the best thing I can do for my brother is save him from an agonizing death.

With his mind made up Hiten stood up and walked over to his brother. He knelt down by his gasping twin and unscrewed the poisoned water. He held it out for Mantan.

Mantan smiled gratefully at his brother and took the bottle from his hand. "You're too good brother. I owe everything to you. I would never want another brother." Mantan brought the bottle to his lips and drank in deep gulps.

Hiten looked on in horror. He couldn't believe what he had just done. He had poisoned his brother. His brother who loved and trusted him completely. His eyes widened in fear when Mantan began coughing violently. He caught him in his arms when Mantan fell forward. Hiten sat on the ground and pulled Mantan into his arms.

Mantan rolled his eyes back to look at his twin. It felt like his whole body was on fire and slowly being destroyed from the inside. It felt like his stomach was melting. "Hiten…brother…what's wrong with me?" he gasped out.

Hiten thought for a moment about lying to his brother. It would be so easy to let Mantan die without him knowing it was Hiten who killed him. But he quickly decided against it. The least he could do for his brother was tell him the truth. "I'm sorry. I poisoned your water." Hiten was aghast at how it came out. It sounded cold and horrible, it sounded like Hiten didn't care.

Mantan lurched out of Hiten's grasp. "What the fuck did you do that for?" he yelled. A fit of coughing soon overcame him.

As Mantan crouched on the ground Hiten placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. Mantan jumped back as if Hiten's touch burned him.

"Don't fuckin touch me!" spat out Mantan. He could no longer support himself and collapsed to the ground. He lay sprawled out on his stomach.

Hiten clawed his hands into the ground. He didn't even notice the tears flowing out of his eyes. "Mantan, I don't know why I did that. Something possessed me."

Mantan met Hiten's eyes, his eyes blazing with hatred. "Well I do know. You let that bastard Kazuhiko win. He said minds would break. Well let me tell you dear brother," Hiten flinched at how Mantan said that, "your mind lost. You couldn't even last two hours out here. So maybe I'm dying now but you'll soon follow me. You're too weak to last out here."

Hiten stared at his dying brother in disbelief. He had never heard Mantan speak with such anger or ferocity before. But then again, he also never had his brother betray him. Hiten realized he deserved everything Mantan threw at him. "Is there anything I can do for you?" he choked out.

"Yes."

Hiten looked up with hopeful eyes. "What is it? I'll do anything!"

"Go die and rot in hell."

Hiten was speechless. He didn't know how to respond to that. He didn't know how to get his brother to understand that he was sorry. Shit, if he poisoned you would you forgive him? Hiten's eyes fell when he realized he would be just as hateful as Mantan. He stared at the ground and missed Mantan's last breath. When he looked back up his brother's lifeless eyes greeted him.

A great sob tore its way out of his chest. He crawled to Mantan and pulled his dead brother into his arms. I did this to him. I murdered my own brother. And I did it in a sneaky, underhanded method. And he loved me. I betrayed my own brother. I killed my family. Mantan's right, I do deserve hell. But…but…I didn't mean to! But I had poured the poison and handed my brother the bottle with my own hands. No one forced me to do it. I did it all myself.

Hiten ran his fingers through Mantan's hair. "Mantan, I'm so sorry," he sobbed.

A rustling in some nearby bushes caused Hiten to put his brother down and stand up. He could hear two girls talking. Suddenly they appeared and stood in shock at the scene in front of them.

Sango and Kagome froze. They looked from the dead body of Mantan to the crouched Hiten. It was plain to them that Hiten murdered his brother.

Hiten stared at the girls. Fuck, they probably think I'm a murderer. But I'm not because I'm sorry for it. But they won't care. They'll think I'm evil. They'll hate me. They'll want to kill me. But I can't let them do that! I have to survive!

Without warning Hiten lunged at Kagome. He caught the girl off guard and rammed into her chest. They fell to the ground and he began clawing at her face and neck.

Kagome screamed in surprise when Hiten charged her. She tried to fight him off but she was too weak and Hiten was driven by insanity.

Sango tried to pull Hiten off of Kagome but all she succeeded in doing was getting punched in the stomach. As she gasped in pain she caught sight of her rope poking out of her bag. She ran over to it and pulled it out. She held it so that about a foot and a half was between her hands. She pulled it taunt and then lunged at Hiten. She managed to wrap the rope around his neck and pull it tight.

When Hiten felt the rope encircle his neck he stopped attacking Kagome and tried to pull the rope off his neck. But he was already weakening. The rope was digging into his neck and cutting off his air supply. He started flailing his arms behind him. When he heard a shriek he realized he had gotten lucky and landed a hit on the girl choking him.

Kagome looked on in horror as Sango choked Hiten. She wanted to scream to Sango to stop but her voice failed her. All she could do was sit frozen as Hiten's face turned blue and his eyes finally glaze over.

When the struggling stopped Sango left go of the rope. Hiten's body fell to the side. She brought one hand up to her face and felt the scratch Hiten gave her. It ran from the corner of her left eye to her chin. There was a slight sting to it but it wasn't too bad. She looked at Hiten's body.

"Oh fuck. What did I do?" she said in horror as she stumbled backwards. Her hands were shaking as she bent down and threw up. As she heaved Kagome stood back up and hurried to her friend's side.

When Sango stopped throwing up she wiped her mouth. She straightened back up and walked a few steps and fell to her knees. She began punching the ground as hard as she could. She ignored the pain that flared up in the fists and arms. She ignored Kagome yelling at her to stop. "I killed someone. I choked someone. I'm a murderer. I'm no better than Naraku. I killed a classmate. I deserve to die as well," she cried as she continued to beat upon the ground.

Kagome knelt in front of her friends and grabbed her fists. When Sango fell forward Kagome caught her. She rubbed Sango's back as the girl sobbed on her shoulder. "Don't you dare compare yourself to Naraku. He killed in cold blood. You only killed because you were saving me. You do not deserve to die. Don't you dare ever say that again."

Sango only sobbed harder. "How can you even look at me Kagome? I didn't have to kill him. I could have stopped as soon as I got him to stop attacking you. He could still be alive right now. But I didn't. I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him because he attacked you. I'm a murderer Kagome."

"Sango, I would have done the same thing as you. I don't blame you for any of it. He attacked without warning. He gave no reason for attacking us. Sango, Hiten had gone insane. He killed his brother. If we let him live he would have gone after us again."

"I don't want to do this Kagome. I don't want to be forced to kill again. I don't want you to have to kill. I want to find Miroku and Inuyasha. I want to find them so we can find a way off this island. They'll know what to do."

Kagome held her friend tighter. "We find them Sango. We will find them."

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Hmm, I ended on Kagome and Sango the past 2 chapters. I'll need to stop that. But next chapter (which won't come til Friday) we will be checking in with some of the others besides the main four. Not quite sure who yet as I have yet to write it, but it will focus on some of the other characters. As always, please review!

Review Responses:

Draconic ban-sidhea: Yea! Another transplant from Mind Reader! I'm always looking for more readers who don't mind blood and gore! But it's a bit different than my other story, huh? And I couldn't resist making Naraku get the first kill, it's completely AU but I am trying to keep the anime personalities as much as possible. So Naraku will definitely be the bloodthirsty student. And there will be several alliances that form, but you're right, you'll just have to wait and see who's in them!

Tanoliko: I really liked your review, I'm glad to see that there are other people who appreciate this fic even though it's not humor or romance and that it is and will always be dark. And I definitely recommend you reading the book. How the author describes the scenes and the emotions the kids are going through is a hundred times better than I could ever dream of writing! And I had to laugh at the 'let the story write itself' as that is what has been happening since I started writing! I knew some of the rough details like the relationships people have with one another, but I had no clue how the actual story would go until I started writing. That's how I always write-I don't know the meaning of 'planning ahead.' Well thanks for the wonderful review and I hope my story never loses it touch for you!

Mewie: Hehe, I guess I better start thinking of interesting ways for students to die. I'm open to suggestions! And I'm glad to see that you liked the map. I must say, the map and list I made more for my benefit so that I wouldn't get lost in my own story! But I'm definitely glad to see that you also find them useful. Just two other great ideas I borrowed from the book.

Moonglow gal: Wait, would it be sweet to have Kag and Inu die together, or sweet for you to kill me? From your review it sounded like it could go either way! If it was sweet for you to kill me, let me know. I would like some time to gather my weapons and prepare for your attack on me! : )

Rae-wolf-demon: Hehe, I'm glad you're liking this story. I'll see what I can do about your Kouga request.