Well, I did a little better this time, right? Only 3 weeks for this chapter. For some odd reason I just wasn't motivated to write this story. Took watching a music video by Velvet Revolver to motivate me. That's kinda strange, huh?
And in case you didn't notice (although it is kinda hard to miss) I changed my penname. I was tired to Deppfan...so I changed it. Makes sense, right?
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The Reluctant GladiatorsChapter 10: Despair
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September 24, 2004: 12:45 AM22 Students Remain
Inuyasha leaned heavily against a tree and attempted to catch his breath. His shoulder felt like it was on fire. And it still hadn't stopped bleeding. The crude bandage Miroku had made was soaked through with blood and it was beginning to drip down his shirt. It hurt like hell.
Miroku looked at his friend worriedly. The screwdriver must have done more damage than he had originally thought. Of course Nazuna didn't exactly stab him gently. And then the first time I tried to take it out I failed, which of course would cause more damage. And then when I finally pulled it out I probably caused additionally damage as well. And of course the screwdriver couldn't have been one of the skinny ones. No, it had to be thick.
"Fuck Miroku, your damn bandages are doing shit," groaned Inuyasha while tenderly kneading his injured shoulder with his free hand.
"Sorry Inuyasha, but it seems I've failed to discover the art of mending a hole with a bag," replied Miroku dryly. "I did the best I could with what was available."
"I know. Well, no use complaining. Let's continue our search," said Inuyasha while straightening back up.
"You sure? We can take a break if you need it."
Inuyasha quickly shook his head. "No need to do that. That will just waste time. This wound isn't deadly, merely an inconvenience."
"Inuyasha, you're in pain. And an inconvenience can get you killed. You are not alert because all of your attention is focused on your shoulder. You're walking with your head down. And you have no weapon. You could have your sword back but unfortunately your free hand is too busy clutching your shoulder to carry it. You can't go on like this."
Inuyasha glared at his friend. "So I'm a hazard to your health I take it? Fine, than continue on without me. I'll catch up eventually."
"That's not what I meant," sighed Miroku. He pulled out his map and held it so Inuyasha could see too. "We're somewhere around F5. The doctor's office isn't even a mile away from us. We could make it there in less than an hour. I'm sure there will be something there we can use to ease your pain and the bleeding. After that we can renew our search of the girls."
"But we're so close to the houses," said Inuyasha. "What if they're in the houses?"
"Inuyasha, I wish to find them as soon as possible too. But we also cannot allow your condition to worsen. You haven't failed to notice that your wound is still bleeding; the longer it is allowed to bleed the weaker you become. We have to go to the doctor's office."
Inuyasha closed his eyes tightly. He sighed in resignation and reopened them. "Fine, you win. We go to the doctor's office. But we walk fast, take no breaks, and spend as little time as possible in the office. Got it?"
Miroku smiled and clapped his friend on his good shoulder. "I wouldn't have said it any differently."
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"Yura!" exclaimed Rin while rushing to the girl's side. "What happened? Are you ok?"
Yura allowed a few tears to fall down her face. "Oh Rin! I'm so glad I found you! I'm so scared!"
Rin placed a comforting arm around Yura's shoulders. She led the distraught girl to the tree she had been sleeping against. "Here, sit down and tell us what happened."
Yura lowered herself to the ground. She inwardly smirked. "It was horrible," she began while staring at her hands. "The twins, Hiten and Mantan, found me. They...they...they wanted to kill me!" she said in a rush.
Rin gasped and brought a hand up to her mouth. "No! How did you get away?"
"They were arguing. Mantan wanted to kill me fast and be done with it. Hiten...he wanted to have some fun first and then kill me."
Rin pulled Yura into a hug. "You poor girl! You must have been terrified!"
Yura sniffled and nodded her head. "While they were arguing I managed to sneak my weapon out of my bag, I got a hammer. I held it behind my back. Hiten eventually won the argument. He walked over to me...he was grinning and practically licking his lips. When he reached me he grabbed my waist. He...he...kissed me. While he was kissing me I swung the hammer and hit him in the head. His blood...sprayed all over me. When he fell to the ground Mantan immediately jumped at me. He scratched my face and punched and kicked me. I was scared. I started kicking my legs. I got a lucky kick between his legs. As soon as he was off me I ran away as fast as I could."
Rin stared at the girl in shock. She couldn't believe how brave Yura was. She never could have done any of that. "You must be exhausted Yura. I can't believe you've already gone through all of that. You can sleep now, me and Sess will keep an eye out for you."
Yura smiled gratefully at the girl. "Thank you Rin. I knew I could trust you."
Rin smiled one last time before standing back up and walking to Sesshoumaru. Yura relaxed the tree and shut her eyes. But she wouldn't sleep yet.
I can't believe how easy that was. Rin is so gullible. I could have said anything and she would have lapped it up like a thirsty dog. I'm not so sure about Sesshoumaru, but Rin will most likely convince him to trust me soon enough. All I have to do is bide my time and they'll both be mine.
"Can you believe all she's went through?" said Rin softly.
"No, I don't believe it," replied Sesshoumaru stiffly.
"I know, it's incredible. She is so strong."
"Rin, you misunderstood. I meant no, I really don't believe her. She's hiding something. And whatever it is isn't good."
Rin looked shocked. "How can you not believe her? Why would she lie to us?"
"Rin, what is the purpose of this game?"
"So you believe she's playing?"
"I don't know what to believe. But I find it hard to trust Yura so fast like you did."
"So now you think I'm being stupid?"
Sesshoumaru grabbed both of Rin's shoulders and looked right into her eyes. "I never said that. But I am playing safe. I don't want to trust everyone we come across. Trusting the wrong person could get both of us killed."
"You trusted Kouga easily enough. What makes Yura any different?"
"Plenty. Kouga had the opportunity to kill you but he released you as soon as I put down the gun. Yura has yet to have the opportunity to kill us. I've been holding the gun since she's arrived. If she was playing she wouldn't have had the chance to kill us yet."
"What do you think we should do?" asked Rin. She understood what Sesshoumaru was saying. It didn't mean she didn't trust Yura anymore, just meant that she would humor her best friend.
"Only one thing we can do. Keep watch over her. Don't let her be the only one awake."
Rin sighed. "Fine, we'll watch her. But I'm still positive she is to be trusted."
Sesshoumaru didn't reply. He sat against a tree across from Yura. He leaned the shotgun against his shoulder and stared at the supposedly sleeping girl. I know you're awake. And I don't believe a word of your story, except that you killed someone. You forgot to take the pieces of teeth out of your knuckles and I'm sure if we find Mantan's body his mouth will be completely intact. Your eyes betray you. They are cold and calculating, not fearful like someone in your story would be. You won't get a chance to kill us. I won't let you.
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Kouga turned his head to look at his trailing companions. "Tired already?" he joked.
"You can't get rid of us that easily," replied Ginta, quickening his pace so he was walking alongside Kouga.
"Besides, someone has to watch your careless ass," remarked Hakkaku, opting to stay in the rear.
"Aww, aren't you so sweet and caring," cooed Kouga. "My heart is swelling with my love for you." He batted his eyelashes at Hakkaku.
"You pull off the flirting girl too easily. That worries me," said Hakkaku with a grin.
Kouga stopped walking and when Hakkaku caught up he quickly punched him in the shoulder.
"Ooh, nice comeback Kouga," said Ginta.
"Very," agreed Hakkaku. "And do you have any idea where you are taking us? Did your thick head come up with an idea yet?"
"Hey, I don't see you smart asses thinking of any ideas," retorted Kouga.
"That means no," whispered Ginta to Hakkaku.
Kouga rolled his eyes. "If either of you taken the imitative to look at a map you would have guessed where we are headed. But of course since you are both lazy slackers I shall tell you. We're going to the hills. I'm hoping that if we climb to the top of one we can get a better picture of the land. And that hopefully it may miraculously give one of us an idea on how to get off this island."
"Yes, that makes sense," said Ginta thoughtfully.
Hakkaku clapped Kouga on the shoulder. "Way to go. I knew that eventually you'd have to have a good idea. And I must say, this place is a good place to start having them."
Those words sunk into all three of them and silence settled between them all. They were trying hard to keep the mood light. The last thing they wanted or needed was for depression to take over them. Depression would pretty much sign their death wish. And so ever since they left Sesshoumaru and Rin the conversation had been light. They talked about sports, girls, cars, anything except the island and Kazuhiko. To start down that path would be too destructive.
Ginta looked down at his butcher knife. He turned the deadly blade until he could see his reflection in it. He wasn't surprised to see that his eyes had taken on a haunted look. Even with the strive for light conversation the game was never far from his mind. He was constantly searching the surrounding areas for any glimpse of another student. He couldn't help but smile wryly at the sight of his wilted mohawk. Only a couple of the spikes were still standing straight up, the others were all on their way to collapse. And his previously immaculate blonde hair was now covered in dirt and it even had some leaves stuck in it. And he hadn't even been out here for seven hours. It was insane.
"Hold up guys," said Hakkaku suddenly.
Both Kouga and Ginta froze. Ginta brought the knife up. At the sight of his friends Hakkaku couldn't repress a slight chuckle from escaping his lips.
"Relax, I just have to take a leak."
"You idiot," growled Kouga. "There are better ways of telling us that than how you did."
"No kidding," scowled Ginta.
"Heh, sorry about that. I'll think of a better way to say it next time," said Hakkaku before disappearing behind a tree.
"Damn straight you will," grumbled Kouga. While waiting for Hakkaku to finish up he pulled out his map.
"So where are we?" asked Ginta.
"I believe we are in either F3 or F4. F3 doesn't become a dead zone until 4:00 AM so we're still safe if that is where we are. If we continue east we should eventually come to the hills. Then we just start climbing."
"Great, let's continue on," said Hakkaku coming out to join them.
Kouga put the map away and reshouldered his bag, and once again took the lead. For 30 minutes they walked in silence.
Ginta suddenly reached out and grabbed Kouga by the shoulder. At the surprised and worried look of his friend he quickly explained, "I think I saw a shadow a little to our left. And it looks like there is a clearing over there as well. You think someone should check it out, you know, to make sure if there is someone they won't sneak up on us?"
Kouga nodded. "Yeah, that sounds logical. All right, I'll go. You two stay here."
"Hold on, why you?" asked Hakkaku. "There's a slight risk to the person who goes. So I'll go."
"I think I'm the one who should go since it was my idea," argued Ginta.
All three friends stared at each other, worry clouding their eyes. None of them wanted to go. But then none of them wanted to send their friends in their place.
"Well, why don't we all go in at different places?" suggested Hakkaku.
"That would be the best," agreed Kouga.
Once that was decided on the three made their way to the small clearing. They split up but kept within seeing distance of each other. As one they stealthily made their way into the clearing.
It was occupied. Kouga stumbled backwards into a tree. Hakkaku yelled in surprise. Ginta fell to the ground and vomited.
The bloodied and single-eyed body of Mayu stared sightlessly up at the night sky. Her mouth was opened in what looked like a slight grin, but her teeth were broken and blood was pooled in her mouth. Flies had already discovered her body and were crawling around her empty eye socket. Luckily the body was still fresh enough so it didn't smell.
"Oh fuck," moaned Kouga when he found the missing eye. He fell to his hands and knees and threw up.
Ginta wiped his mouth and crawled to Kouga. "I think...that was a bad idea I had."
"No kidding," said Hakkaku, joining them as well.
"Let's get the fuck out of here," said Kouga, leaning back against a tree.
Ginta, eager to leave the clearing as fast as possible, jumped up and hurriedly left. Hakkaku grabbed one of Kouga's hands and pulled him to his feet. They left the clearing but when they got out they didn't see any sign of Ginta.
"Fuck, where did he go?" mumbled Hakkaku, his eyes scanning the surrounding forests faster and faster. Dammit Ginta, why did you have to take off like that? What if there actually was someone out there?
"Ginta!" shouted Kouga. Screw secrecy, we have to find him.
"Over here guys!" came Ginta's voice, slightly muffled as it moved through the trees. "I found the hills!"
"You bastard! Why did you run off like that?" yelled Kouga.
"Sorry, but I thought I saw someone through the trees so I moved closer to investigate. Instead of a person I found the hills. Are you guys coming?"
"Why the fuck would he investigate on his own?" mumbled Hakkaku.
"Same reason why you or I would. To prevent possible harm to our friends," replied Kouga.
"Yeah, but that doesn't make it any less stupid."
"You guys walk slower than my grandmother!" shouted Ginta. "Are you coming?"
"Yes we're coming. Don't get your panties in a knot," yelled Hakkaku. "Damn, he always was the impatient one," he said a little quieter.
Kouga snickered under his breath. "Damn, how far away did he get? We weren't that far behind him."
"He probably ran and forgot about it. So he thinks it should take us the same amount of time to get there," replied Hakkaku wryly.
"I heard that!" said Ginta in annoyance, his voice a lot clearer. "So that's why you guys are taking so long. You're complaining about me? Nice friends you ungh!"
Hakkaku's eyes grew wide with fright when Ginta stopped talking with a grunt of pain. "Ginta?" he shouted. When he heard no response he grew frantic. "GINTA!"
Kouga grabbed Hakkaku's arm and took off at a dead sprint to where they had heard Ginta yell. They saw the hills through the trees and sped up. They soon saw Ginta on his hands and knees. When Ginta heard them he lifted his head.
"Get out!" he hoarsely said.
"Not without you," replied Kouga, kneeling by his friend. "What happened to you?"
Hakkaku leaned his friend back and both he and Kouga gasped in shock at what they saw. A throwing star was firmly imbedded in Ginta's chest.
"No fuckin way. I'm fuckin dreaming. This isn't real," mumbled Hakkaku as he stared at the throwing star.
Kouga's eyes grew red with rage. He saw Ginta's abandoned butcher knife and picked it up. He rose to his feet and slowly scanned the surrounding area. "Whoever the fuck did this get your fuckin ass out here NOW!" he shouted in rage.
"Kouga! NO!" shouted Ginta vainly. Kouga ignored him.
"Who the fuck did this?" screamed Kouga, his hand clenching the knife so tightly his knuckles were turning white.
"Kouga, whoever did it is probably no longer here," said Hakkaku gently. He was sitting behind Ginta and cradles his friend's body against his.
Kouga turned to his friends. "Who did it?" he asked dangerously.
"Ka...Kagura," said Ginta softly before lurching into a coughing fit.
The knife fell forgotten to the ground as Kouga dropped to his knees beside Ginta. "What do we do?" he asked frantically.
"I...I don't know! It's in his fuckin chest!" yelled Hakkaku in a panicked voice.
Kouga saw blood beginning to dribble down Ginta's chin. "Shit, let's turn him on his side so the blood can drain."
"Blood? Drain?" said Hakkaku, his face turning white.
"Internal bleeding," responded Kouga while gently rotating Ginta so the blood could drain safely out of his mouth. "Has to be lungs with where the star is."
"That's...that's not deadly, is it?" asked Hakkaku softly.
"Hakkaku...don't be a fuckin moron," coughed out Ginta. "I'm dying, both of you know that. It would be hard for a doctor to save me at this point."
Tears dripped down Hakkaku's face onto the back of Ginta's shirt. Ginta felt them. "Hell, don't you be crying for me. Sooner or later one of us was bound to die. I'm glad it was me and not one of you."
Hakkaku pulled Ginta into his lap and embraced him from behind. "Why are you so fuckin impatient?" he cried softly.
"Guess that's my curse," replied Ginta, leaning his head against Hakkaku's shoulder. "Fuck, it hurts."
Kouga sat in front of his two friends; the tears falling freely down his face. His hands gripped his thighs tightly. He knew Ginta was dying. Knew his friend was almost dead. He never knew it would hurt this much. He could do nothing for his friend. He was powerless. Completely powerless. There was nothing at all he could do to help Ginta. "I'll kill her Ginta. I won't stop until Kagura is dead," he said, his voice dripping with grief and anger.
"Don't do that to yourself Kouga. Don't worry about revenge," said Ginta. He closed his eyes.
"Ginta? GINTA!" yelled Kouga, grabbing both of Ginta's shoulders.
Ginta opened one eye. "Yeah, I'm still here. But shit, it feels like I'm slowly drowning."
"It was his lung," said Hakkaku in grief.
Kouga made eye contact with Hakkaku. Hakkaku closed his eyes tightly and nodded. It almost looked like that slight nod pained him.
Kouga cleared his throat. "Ginta...you can let go now. We know you're in immense pain. Who fuckin knows how you managed to hold on for this long."
Ginta opened his eyes and smiled weakly at Kouga. "Both of you get off this island."
Kouga nodded as he couldn't trust his voice not to break.
"Thanks," whispered Ginta. His eyes closed and his body relaxed in Hakkaku's arms. Kouga could almost see the tension leaving his friend's body as he watched. He picked up one of Ginta's hands and felt for a pulse.
"Is he...?" trailed off Hakkaku.
The pulse was faint but still there. "No."
Both Hakkaku and Kouga remained in that position. Hakkaku embracing his dying friend and Kouga monitoring the pulse. Neither would leave until they knew it was over. They would give Ginta the comfort of dying in the arms of his friends.
Kouga felt the pulse weakening and slowing as the minutes dragged on. With a start he realized he didn't feel one any longer. He pressed his fingers deeper into Ginta's wrist. He felt nothing. His eyes widened in fear and his hands shook. He felt for a pulse on Ginta's neck. Nothing. Placed his hand over Ginta's heart. Nothing. He gave a strangled cry and jumped up. He stumbled in a daze to a tree. Drew back his fist and punched as hard as he could. "NOOO!" Kouga fell to his knees and leaned his forehead against the tree. Sobs silently wracked his body.
Hakkaku watched but didn't move. He realized he was now holding a dead body. But it didn't matter. It was still Ginta. Hakkaku clutched Ginta tighter. When Ginta's lifeless head rolled forward Hakkaku immediately eased it back onto his shoulder. He sat like that for a few minutes before gently lowering his friend to the ground. He stood up and felt his knees quivering. He walked over to Kouga and knelt down beside him. He threw one arm around Kouga's shoulders and leaned his forehead against the side of Kouga's head.
Kouga didn't move. They didn't know how long they stayed in that position. No words were uttered; silent comfort was all they offered one another. They silently grieved over the loss of their friend. And the loss of hope.
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Aww, the first death of a good person. Well, Midoriko was good too, but you never got to hang out with her. So, the first death of a good person who was actually played a part in the story. Nothing is working out for anyone in this story. Sess and Rin are in the midst of a traitor. Inu and Mir have to take a side trip before they can find the girls. And Kouga and Hakkaku just lost Ginta. Poor guys. I think they all need a hug. Well, I'm not going to predict when I'll have the next chapter out as last time I said 2 weeks and it wasn't true. So, please review, and I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible.
Review Responses:
Mewie: Aww, you were getting worried? Heh, didn't mean to worry anyone with my prolonged absence! And yeah, I don't know if Sess would have gotten away that easily...but I didn't want to go into his past in that great of detail with lawyers and everything. So I slacked. Hahaha, guess I shouldn't give Yura a pen, eh? Who knows what she could do with it!
Guardians of the Hell Gate: Yea! You're still with my story! Heh, sorry about not updating soon...but my motivation for this story left me for a little bit. You can thank Velvet Revolver for getting it back!
Silverkitsunekagome: Ooh! For one of the all time bloodiest movies, Kill Bill 1 has got to take the prize. That movie was so awesome. But I found much of the violence funny...does that make me morbid? Oh, I'll check out your one-shot, I just haven't gotten around to it yet, but I shall!
Draconic ban-sidhea: Heh, you're right, you shouldn't have to choose between Battle Royale and Inuyasha. You should get them both for free. That would be the best. Glad you liked the explanation of Sess's past, I was hoping that die hard Sess fans wouldn't want to hunt me out and kill me for doing that to him. But everyone thought it was good, so I guess I'm safe...at least for a little bit. Now, when they start dying...I may have to run for cover!
Keirra-shadowcat: Heh, thank you for letting the late chapter slip by this once! Hmm...and will anyone get off the island? Maybe there will be a victor and everyone but one person will die. Or maybe someone will think of a great idea and save the day. I guess you'll just have to wait to find out! Hehe, glad you liked the Jaken description. Such a slime he is.
Suzie: Hehe, so glad you love this story! And sorry about my slower updating, this time wasn't cuz of college, but cuz of lack of motivation. I've said it before, but I must say it again, god bless Velvet Revolver for giving my motivation back to me.
Momo: Cool, this is the only horror story you like? Well, it is kinda unlike the other horror stories out there. No vampires or bloodthirsty monsters. This is horror cuz it's scary that a bunch of 9th graders are trying to kill each other. Like a real kind of scary instead of a supernatural scary. Heh, I hate real horror stories, well, horror movies. I love reading scary books, but I can't watch horror movies. They freak me out so much!
Animecutie: Heh, well, happy belated birthday! I couldn't get it up for your birthday, so hopefully this will do! And don't worry, I shall never forget about this story. If I ever have a prolonged absence like I did it just means I'm either busy or lost motivation for a little bit. But I shall always come back to it until this story is complete. Hehe, such an abundance of faces you have. The only one I ever use is this one: Well, thank you for all of your compliments, you were so nice in your review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Bold eyes: Hehe, one of those lazy days where you don't want to sign in? I have those a lot. But then, I'm one of the biggest slackers and procrastinators you could ever meet. Glad you enjoyed the last chapter. Well, it looks like Inu and Mir finding Kag and Sango will be postponed for a little bit as Inu's shoulder just won't stop bleeding. Stupid Nazuna and her evil screwdriver!
BabyLemon: Awesome, animecutie led you to my story? I'm glad you gave it a chance and even happier that you like it! And don't worry, I won't ever give up on this story, I love it too much to just stop writing it! Hmm, I don't even know if Kouga had a crush on Kagome, I've been trying to decided on that for quite awhile now, but haven't come to a decision yet if I'm going to include Kouga's infatuation with Kag in this story. Well, welcome to my story, and hope you continue to enjoy it!
Hart: Haha, don't worry, you didn't offend me at all. In fact, it's cool being called a sick twisted bitch when it comes to this story! Heh, glad you love this story, and yet, you absolutely must read Battle Royale. My story is nothing compared to the actual book. And yeah, a dinner fork would be a good weapon, especially if you aim for the soft parts of the body...like the eye! The throat would also be another good place to aim, that's nice and soft and easily torn. Haha, thanks for wishing me luck with the killing, such a cool thing to wish someone luck on!
Brittanga: Yeah, I think you're right. I don't quite remember how all the minor characters died. But I took the non-Inuyasha first names, and most of the last names, from the class list in Battle Royale. Heh, I'm not creative enough to come up with my own Japanese sounding names.
Luckykittykagome: Haha, guess you're just too big of a nutcase for even them to deal with! And don't worry about taking so long to review, I'm just glad to have you back. And groundings definitely suck, I haven't been grounded in like...5 years now I think, but I remember when I was...and it sucked. Haha, nice halloween costume. A pixie stick...eating pixie sticks. I'm guessing you were on a sugar high for the party? Hehe, and don't worry, the disturbing work shall continue, I think I'm sick though...I enjoy writing about pain and gore and grief. I think I may need those doctor's help!
Misguidedangel: Hehe, glad you like my story even with the goriness at times. You got a little bit more in this chapter, hope it didn't bother you too much!
