I'm really really really sorry for taking so long with this chapter. I can't believe it took over a month to get this chapter to you guys. ::bangs head on table:: I'm such a bad authoress. I hope you don't hate me. Well, in hopes of making it up to you this is my longest chapter so far. And it features heavily everyone's favorite demon lord. Who is not a demon lord in this story...but that's beside the point. I hope you enjoy it.

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The Reluctant Gladiators

Chapter 9: Memories

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September 24, 2004; 12:20 AM

22 Students Remain

Jaken barreled through the trees, not caring who happened to hear him. He was furious. Sesshoumaru didn't even try to find him. Jaken knew he had taken off with that annoying girl as soon as she came out of the law office. He just knew that had to have been the case. Jaken gripped the handle of his axe tighter and continued his search of them.

Jaken Mimura was a short kid with a very bad acne problem. His face was almost drowning in pimples and he even had a few warts thrown in for good measure. He was also built like a twig, almost no muscle, or fat, to speak of. He wore thick rimmed glasses which made his eyes appear a lot larger than the actually were.

Jaken's idol was Sesshoumaru. He wanted to be just like him, tall, well built, and handsome. He loved the fact that Sesshoumaru was the star player of the basketball team. He loved it so much that he had begged the coach to let him become Sesshoumaru's personal assistant. He would do anything to get closer to his idol. He was ecstatic when the coach said he could. So Jaken made sure to always have fresh water and cool towels at all the games. During practice he would fetch all of Sesshoumaru's balls. And on rare occasions he was allowed the privilege of washing his uniform. Jaken loved it.

That was the reason Jaken was now fuming at Sesshoumaru. Jaken did everything for him and he couldn't even wait for his assistant. Jaken blamed it on Rin. He believed that Rin was trying to turn Sesshoumaru against his ever faithful assistant. That girl, she will pay for poisoning Sesshoumaru's mind against me. I'll make sure she will pay.

It never occurred to Jaken that Sesshoumaru didn't think of him as a friend. That idea seemed preposterous to Jaken and so it never crossed his mind. It didn't even register in his mind that Sesshoumaru knew Rin longer than he knew his assistant. He just assumed that since he did so much for Sesshoumaru it would make sense that Sesshoumaru would value him as a friend.

Jaken now made his way north. He didn't know why he chose north, but it felt right. It felt like something was pulling him to travel north. After awhile he decided it was because he and Sesshoumaru had such a close bond that he just knew where his idol was. This caused his chest to swell with pride. He couldn't wait to find Sesshoumaru, he was positive Sesshoumaru would be thrilled to have his loyal assistant on his side. He would realize the girl was useless and get rid of her. Then Sesshoumaru and him would find a way off the island. His hands itched in anticipation of finding his idol. He swung the axe a few times through the air. For a second he saw the girl's face in the path of the axe. He realized he had a smirk on his face.

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Sesshoumaru shined his flashlight on the map one more time. Content they were out of B3 he clicked off the light and put it and the map back into his bag. He looked at the tired girl currently yawning beside him.

"We can rest now, we're in B4."

Rin glanced at Sesshoumaru with drooping eyes. "Are you sure? Should we go further just to make sure?"

Sesshoumaru sighed. He was completely positive they were out of B3, in fact he was pretty sure they were at least a ΒΌ of the way into B4. "We can go a little further if you'd like," he responded. He wanted Rin to rest but knew she wouldn't be able to if she were afraid they were in a dead zone.

Rin nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that," she said.

Sesshoumaru gently grabbed Rin's upper arm and led her through the forest. He had to have a hold on his friend, she was so tired she was on the verge of tripping over any branch that happened to be in her path.

For another 15 minutes the two friends walked silently through the trees. After the 15 minutes passed Sesshoumaru stopped. "Rin? We are going to rest now. There is no chance we are in B3."

Some tears sprang to Rin's eyes. "How can you be sure? Did you pass a sign that said 'Leaving B3, Welcome to B4'? Hmm? Did you?" she asked, her voice rising in volume. "Shit Sess, I don't want to die! I don't want to go to sleep only to have my fuckin head blow off! I don't want to go to sleep to never again open my eyes and see you!"

Sesshoumaru drew the now hysterical girl into his arms. The shotgun fell forgotten to the ground, there were more important matters at hand then worrying about self-defense. "Shh, we're not going to die," he soothed.

Rin clutched his shirt and sobbed into his chest. The feel of the collar wrapped around her throat caused her to panic. She knew in it there was a bomb just waiting to go off. She wanted to claw at it until it came off, but she couldn't. Kazuhiko said it would explode if they messed with it. She didn't know if he was telling the truth or lying just to scare them. But she knew one thing. She wasn't going to find out.

Sesshoumaru rubbed her back in small, comforting circles. The exhaustion and stress of this situation had finally overwhelmed his friend. And if it wasn't for remaining strong for Rin he was knew he wouldn't be handling the situation as well as he had been. As it were he had been calm and collected the whole time. The only time he had come close to panicking had been when Kouga had threatened Rin. And that had been panic for Rin's safety, not for his own.

"I'm sorry Sess," came Rin's muffled voice. "I'm sorry for acting stupid. You would probably be better off by just abandoning me. You stand a higher chance of dying the longer you stay with me. I don't want to be the cause of your death. I couldn't handle that."

Sesshoumaru pushed Rin away from him. He placed one hand beneath her chin and forced her eyes to meet his. His eyes were blazing with anger, it was the only emotion that he showed. Rin quivered slightly at the amount of anger visible in his eyes, she couldn't recall a time when he had ever shown this much anger towards her.

Sesshoumaru's voice shook slightly when he spoke. He was trying to contain his anger and what Rin had just suggested. "I didn't think you were being stupid. I didn't blame you for breaking down like that. I could never blame you. It's Kazuhiko I blame. But, now you are being stupid. You are telling me to abandon you. That is the stupidest thing you have ever said. How could you even suggest that? I would be nothing without you Rin. Nothing. We are in this together, no matter what happens. You are the one person I would do anything for without thinking about the consequences. You are like my little sister, you're the only family I truly feel I have. So don't you ever suggest something like that again. Have I made myself clear?"

Rin thickly swallowed and nodded her head. How could I have ever said something like that? Sess wouldn't see it as him abandoning me, he would see it as I abandoning him. How could I have said something so heartless and cruel to him? I'm horrible... Fresh tears sprang to Rin's eyes and she flung herself into Sesshoumaru's arms. "Oh Sess, please forgive me! I don't know why I said that! I'm so sorry!"

"There's nothing to forgive Rin," said Sesshoumaru softly. "And I know why you said that. You're exhausted and stressed. You're practically falling asleep on your feet. No matter what you say you are resting now. And if you are still concerned about us being in B3 then I'll carry you. But you are going to rest." Sesshoumaru spoke in a voice that left no room for argument.

Rin smiled weakly at Sesshoumaru. "Fine, you win. In both things. We can rest now and the fact that we are in B4."

"Good, I'm glad you finally see it my way," he replied while stooping to pick up his shotgun. He pointed the gun at a thick tree. "We'll rest against that. You sleep first, I'll take the first watch."

Rin followed Sesshoumaru to the tree. They sat down side by side and leaned back against the tree. Almost in unison they sighed. Sesshoumaru smiled and Rin giggled softly.

"Hard to sleep when you're laughing," said Sesshoumaru gruffly.

A normal person would have thought that was a cruel thing to say. But Rin knew him. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "You big dummy," she teased. "You made me laugh so it's all your fault."

"Hard to sleep when you're talking," replied Sesshoumaru, a smirk now planted on his face.

Rin jabbed his side with her elbow. "You're an idiot. But I love you for it anyways. Good night my big idiotic, overprotective brother."

Sesshoumaru wrapped his arm around Rin's small shoulders. It was the only comfort he could offer to his friend. Rin took it gladly and was soon sleeping.

Sesshoumaru kept his free hand on the shotgun. His eyes and ears were alert for slightest threat of danger. But his allowed his mind to wonder. He thought of the sleeping girl beside him who didn't leave him back when that incident occurred. She stayed faithfully by his side throughout it all. He was positive she had saved him.

The incident happened when they were in 6th grade. Sesshoumaru was deep into his dark, brooding nature at that point. Rin was worried for him, she knew what was going on at his home, she knew why he never talked to anyone except for her. Knew why he was depressed.

Flashback

Sesshoumaru entered the classroom and walked directly to his seat beside Rin. He made eye contact with no one even though his seat was in the back. He sat down and immediately crossed his arms over his chest. He stared blankly into a wall.

Rin looked at him worriedly. "Sess, did he do it again?" she asked, loud enough for him to hear but soft enough so no one else could.

Sesshoumaru said and did nothing. He kept his face impassive. He had learned long ago that if he showed no emotion he couldn't get in trouble.

Rin wasn't fooled in the least by him. She gently grabbed his arm and rolled up his long sleeve. When she saw the bruises marring his skin she clenched her jaw and rolled his sleeve back down. "Sess, you have to tell someone! You can't just let him continue to do this to you!"

Sesshoumaru shrugged his shoulders. "I'm used to it by now."

"That's wrong. You should not be use to your dad hitting you."

"He's not my dad. He's my step-dad."

"I know that, but that makes no difference. You can't allow him to do this to you."

Sesshoumaru said nothing. There was nothing to say.

When he was in kindergarten his mother discovered that his dad had been cheating on her. She divorced him and won custody of Sesshoumaru. His mother immediately moved them to Tokyo. That was when Sesshoumaru entered Rin's kindergarten class. At that time he had still been confused, as well as hurt, that he wasn't able to see his dad anymore. He would hear his classmates talking about their dads and he would grow silent, which was the main reason why he was always so silent. He didn't want anyone to know that he was fatherless.

But he found a kindred spirit in Rin. Sesshoumaru knew the best thing that ever happened to him was when he finally decided to talk to the girl who was following him around. They became fast friends and his life was looking up for awhile. Then a year later his mother remarried. His name was Akito, and Sesshoumaru hated him.

Akito treated him like a slave, constantly pushing Sesshoumaru to work harder and faster. His mother had no power over Akito, if she tried to help Akito would threaten her. Sesshoumaru soon grew to be exhausted, he would go to school everyday with bags under his eyes and sore muscles. He was never in the mood to talk to anyone, after all, no one else was living like him. No one would care. No one but Rin. She was the only one he would talk to, she was always there for him. If anyone else ever tried to ask him something or talk to him he would ignore them.

Then in 4th grade Akito hit him for the first time. In the beginning of the abuse Sesshoumaru would fight back, if not physically then with words. But the more he fought the harder Akito hit. So he quickly learned to bite his tongue and say nothing that could lead Akito to hit him more or harder. He eventually learned to withdraw in upon himself, he would be awake, Akito would be hitting him, but his mind would be elsewhere. It was the only way he could get through it. He also became a pro at hiding his injuries from everyone, classmates and teachers alike. The only person he couldn't fool was Rin, she had known him so long she could tell whenever something was off.

At first Sesshoumaru tried to pass it off as nothing, he tripped on the stairs, he fell out of bed, any excuse to avoid talking about Akito. He was afraid she would pity him, he was afraid she would think he was weak. He couldn't handle it if his best friend thought that of him. But she eventually found out. And Sesshoumaru discovered that it was a good thing she found out. He discovered just how loyal of a friend she was. Whenever someone would comment on Sesshoumaru's appearance or attitude she would immediately jump to his defense. Whenever he would bite someone's head off at school with his harsh words she would talk to the person so they wouldn't be angry with him. She knew she was taking he anger he had for his stepfather out on his classmates. If it weren't for Rin he would have truly been alone.

But in 6th grade his home grew to be even more horrible. He discovered that Akito was hitting his mother as well. Just last night he had been beating her up when Sesshoumaru intervened. Akito grabbed his arm and threw him into the wall. And then when he was finished with his mom he had continued with Sesshoumaru.

"Sesshoumaru," began Rin."

"Just shut up, all right? I don't want to talk about it," he snapped, recrossing his arms and facing away from Rin. He immediately regretted his words but he didn't feel like apologizing. He didn't feel like talking.

The rest of the day Sesshoumaru stayed silent. Anger and hate for Akito was brewing in his mind. Rin had tried a few times to talk to him, but every time he would either completely ignore her or tell her to shut up.

After school he decided to walk home. His home was a good 10 miles away, but he didn't care. He didn't want to go home. He didn't want to face Akito again.

He had finally arrived home at 8:30. As soon as he walked in the door he knew something was wrong. The house was completely silent. Normally the TV would be on or his mom and Akito would be yelling. He dropped his backpack on the floor and began the slow trek upstairs. When he reached the second story he could hear faint sounds coming from the master bedroom.

Something urged him to walk to the bedroom. Something inside told him to reach out and open the door. Inwardly he knew he shouldn't, he knew that whatever would meet his eyes would be horrible. But he did it anyways. He opened the door.

A sight that would haunt his nightmares for years greeted him. Blood was spattered over the walls and Akito was wrapping the still body of his mother in a sheet. He could see the blood staining the sheet; he could see the bullet holes in her chest. He saw the pistol lying forgotten a mere 5 feet from him.

Akito looked up at the sound of the opening door. "Where the fuck were you all day?" he growled. "I've told you before to come straight home after school. I've fuckin told you that before!"

Sesshoumaru flinched at Akito's raised voice. But then something in him snapped. He saw his mother's lifeless body. He heard Akito yelling at him saying he was going to kill him. He heard Rin's soft voice telling him everything would be all right.

"You're right Rin," he mumbled under his breath. "Everything will be all right, if Akito is dead."

"What the fuck did you say?" said Akito dangerously. He dropped Sesshoumaru's mother's body and rose to his full height. "I said, what the fuck did you just say? Look at me and answer the fuckin question!"

For the first time in over a year Sesshoumaru met Akito's glare head on. For the first time he felt strength surging through his body. "I said, everything will be all right. If you're fucking DEAD!" he shouted right before diving for the pistol.

Akito dove at the same time. Sesshoumaru reached it first. As he fumbled with the foreign object Akito tackled him. The next moment was a blur for Sesshoumaru. All he remembered was Akito punching him in the face. He remembered pulling the trigger; he had no idea where he had it pointed. A deafening bang, and then silence. He opened his eyes, he never realized he had closed them, and saw Akito holding a hand to his bleeding abdomen.

Akito glared at the boy. "You fuckin brat! Give me the fucking gun! Give it to me NOW!"

Sesshoumaru felt like someone else was controlling his body. He saw his arm raise the pistol until it was pointed at Akito. He saw his finger resting on the trigger. His mind silently screamed at him to put the gun down, to get out, to not shoot again. But Sesshoumaru's body wouldn't listen. His finger pressed the trigger again. He saw Akito's body lurch backwards. He dropped the gun and ran from the room.

Police arrived about 15 minutes later. The neighbors had called in reporting gunshots. The police broke down the front door and found Sesshoumaru shaking in the corner of the family room. They soon discovered the dead bodies of Akito and his mother. When they checked Sesshoumaru they saw the bruise forming on his face from Akito's last punch. They saw the bruises and scars all over his body.

No one blamed Sesshoumaru for what he did. In fact, very few even knew of what really happened that night. At school it was told that his parents had died in a car accident, as that was the easiest path to take. Only Rin knew what really happened that night, and it would stay like that.

He went to live in a foster home. His real dad didn't want him, as he was happy with his new wife and son. And Sesshoumaru was so cold and withdrawn that no one would adopt him. No one wanted him.

To fight the depression that was taking him over Rin suggested he start playing basketball. So almost everyday after school Rin would go with Sesshoumaru to the basketball courts and play with him. Most of the time there was very little conversation, but it didn't matter. Just the fact that Rin was still with him after she knew what he had done was enough. Sesshoumaru wouldn't trade her friendship for anything.

Their endless hours of playing the game paid off. Sesshoumaru made the school's basketball team every year. His depression started to lift. He still wasn't a social person. He didn't want anyone else to find out about that fateful night back in 6th grade. The only person he talked to was Rin. But then, she was all he needed.

End Flashback

Sesshoumaru sighed and tried to chase the memories away. It wouldn't do any good to drag them back up. It was over. It was in the past. He was over it. He still had Rin, that's all that mattered. Most of his classmates thought he was cold, no one could understand why Rin liked him so much. But that was a secret neither one would divulge.

It was really quite simple. Both had saved the other, both had given the other a new chance at life. If not for the other neither one would have made it. They shared a bond nothing could break or even damage.

Sesshoumaru relaxed against the tree. He listened to Rin's gentle breathing and felt the memories wash away. Someone walking through the woods caused him to jump.

Rin immediately opened her eyes and glanced at Sesshoumaru fearfully. "Sess? What's wrong? Why did you jump?"

"I heard someone," he whispered. He gripped his shotgun and stood up, Rin following him.

"What should we do?" she asked, gripping Sesshoumaru's shirt tightly.

"Let's just wait. Maybe they'll pass us without seeing us."

It didn't look like they would be so lucky as to have the person pass them by. The sounds got louder and they were coming in their direction.

Sesshoumaru quickly picked up his bag and motioned for Rin to do the same. He had decided to try and slip by in another direction.

Rin reached down to grab her bag. However, her hands were slick with sweat and she failed to get a good grip. She lifted it about a foot and then it slipped from her grasp. The resounding crash echoed through the woods. They had given away their location.

Sesshoumaru quickly reached out and pulled Rin behind him. There was no chance of escaping unnoticed now. He held the shotgun up.

A shadowy figure stopped about 30 feet away. They couldn't make out who it was.

"Rin? Is that you?" called out a tentative voice.

Rin stopped shaking and stepped around Sesshoumaru. "Who is it?" she called out.

"If I come out will you shoot?"

Rin glanced at Sesshoumaru and he reluctantly lowered his gun. "We won't shoot. Come out."

The figure moved and stepped into the small clearing. The moonlight filtering through the trees was enough to make out the student and their appearance.

Rin gasped. It was Yura. And she was covered in blood.

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I hope you guys don't hate me for doing that to Sesshoumaru. But I was trying to think of a plausible reason for him to be so cold and withdrawn. Heh...that's the best I could come up with. But I wonder if him killing Akito will come back to haunt him later...hmm...I wonder...And I also wonder what Yura is going to do...hmm...Well, in hopefully good news I believe I know how most of next chapter is going to go, so once I start writing it it should come out with little or no trouble. So I'm hoping to have it done in 2 weeks maximum. None of this month long waiting, I still can't believe I did that to you guys. Sorry again.

Review Responses:

Guardian of the Hell Gate: Heh...sorry this update took so long. Hope you still like my story!

Moonglow Gal: Hmm, actually, I wouldn't mind knowing what you do when you get angry. Since I'm pretty sure at some point you will be angry with me, so I need to know how to defend myself against you. Well, I hope you're still enjoying this story!

Mewie: Hehe, I'm glad you're finding the map useful. I know I wouldn't be able to survive this story without it. And I'm also happy that you liked the intro to both Shippo and Kikyo. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter, even though it took a long time coming!

Draconic ban-sidhea: Hehe, your library doesn't carry Battle Royale? You know, somehow that doesn't surprise me...not only is it a foreign book but it is pretty controversial as well. I think the only way you'll be able to read it is if you go out and buy it, but it is worth the money. I've read it 3 times now, and it's still a good book!

Tsuki no mizu: I'm glad you're liking this story! Wow, it left you speechless? I'm sorry I took so long with this chapter, hopefully you're still reading it!

Shadow-Wolf-Jedi-Demon: Hehe, I'm glad you like the twists I'm throwing in for you. I hope you liked this latest one. And your sister is taking 19 credits? Wow, I feel sorry for her. I used to be taking 17 credits...then I dropped my english class, so I'm down to 14 now. And I can't remember, did I send you a map or not? Well, I'm glad you're liking this story, I hope you continue to read it!

Shadow-kitten: I'm glad you liked Shippo's past, and don't worry, there will be more Shippo soon. I'm sorry about taking so long to post this chapter, I hope you'll forgive me some day. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Lilaznmiko22892: Hehe, awesome, I'm so glad you read Battle Royale now. That's one reason why I wanted to write this story, get more people to read that book! I've read the book, and I have the first manga, but I don't think I'm going to continue with the manga. The book is just so much better. And you are correct, Naraku is the Kazuo copy. My fav characters were Shinji, Shuya, and Shogo, all three were completely awesome in my opinion. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Wolfgrlmac: Hehe, I hope you didn't stare at the computer screen until I finally updated. That would have been awful. I'm glad you liked the way the dead zones were read off, I was actually thinking for quite awhile on how to have them read off. Thanks for the review and hope you liked this chapter.

Gizmo369: Yeah, I know exactly what you mean about Kikyo. I don't care for her, but I really can't bring myself to hate her either. I just keep thinking that she was a victim just like how all of Naraku's other targets were. Well, I'm glad you're enjoying the story!

Animecutie: Hehe, yup, I am an authoress, it would be quite weird to see a guy with the name 'deppfan'. Or actually, the correct word to use would be 'scary'. Heh, sorry for taking so long with this chapter, I hope you're still reading and liking it!

Luckykittykagome: All right, I'm going to give you a phone number, I want you to call it immediately. Ready for it? It's 1-800-I-NEED-HELP. Got it? Yes, I do realize that it has too many numbers, but it's a special place you are calling, so they are allowed more numbers. Now you go there, and tell them deppfan sent you cuz you laughed at a story where everyone was going to die. They ought to be able to help you...

Lady-of-the-darkness: Haha, I guess it's a good thing people like you aren't in this story. There wouldn't be much of one. Everyone's head would just blow up! Wow...that sounded kinda cold...hehe. Well, I hope you're still enjoying this story, thanks for the review!