Hey all, I'm back. A little over a week for this update, that's not too bad, is it? Well, hope you enjoy this chapter!

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The Reluctant Gladiators

Chapter 13: Predator and Prey

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September 24, 2004; 2:00 AM
20 Students Remain
Recently Deceased: Kikyo Matsui

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Kagome glanced at her friend who was sleeping fitfully in the corner of the foyer. She wished there was a way for her to help her friend. But she had doubts that Sango would have an easy time getting a good nights sleep. She had a feeling that every time Sango closed her eyes she would picture Hiten dying at her hands.

Kagome sighed and resumed her silent vigilance over the front of the house. She had yet to see anyone but her nerves were still on edge.

Sango mumbled something incoherently but stayed asleep.

Kagome silently prayed for Inuyasha and Miroku to stay safe. She hoped on one level that they were also hiding out. But deep down she knew they wouldn't stop searching until they found Sango and her.

Sango clenched her hands into tight fists and shook her hand.

Miroku pushed her so hard she fell to the ground. His body suddenly seemed to dance in the air. But it was a dance of death. Sango watched in horror as blood sprayed from his chest. He fell like a rag doll to the ground and his head bounced lifelessly against it. She stayed frozen as his head turned to face her. Blood dripped down his face; there was a hole in his cheek, a bullet lodged firmly in his face. Three more bullet wounds riddled his body, two in the lungs and the last in the stomach. His shirt was quickly stained a lethal red. He attempted to smile at her. She didn't move when Naraku walked up to Miroku. He smiled at her with nothing but malice showing in his eyes. His eyes almost seemed to glow red like how she always imagined the devil's would. She watched him raise his pistol until it was pointed at Miroku's face. And she still couldn't move. And still Miroku did nothing but smile gently at her. Sango saw Naraku pull the trigger. She heard nothing. But she saw all traces of Miroku's face explode.

"MIROKU!"

Kagome almost screamed when Sango suddenly shouted Miroku's name. She immediately faced her friend and was surprised to see Sango shaking, tears streaming down her face.

Kagome moved to Sango's side. "Sango? What happened?" she questioned softly.

"M-Miroku," she stammered, her face ashen white and tears running down her face as if a dam had been broken behind her eyes. "H-He saved me…b-but then N-Naraku shot him. He shot him directly in the face!" she said with such heartache Kagome drew her into her arms.

Sango shuddered against Kagome's embrace. Her voice was muffled against Kagome's shirt but she still clearly heard what Sango said. Almost too clearly.

"I…I couldn't move. Miroku saved me and I just stared when Naraku walked up and shot him. And all Miroku did was smile at me. I let him die and yet all he did was smile."

Kagome smoothed Sango's hair with her hand. Her heart wept for her friend. She couldn't even imagine having a nightmare like that. She couldn't imagine watching Inuyasha, or any of her friends, die.

"Shh," she soothed. "It was just a nightmare. Naraku didn't kill Miroku. Both he and Inuyasha are still alive."

"How do you know?" asked Sango, her voice completely drenched in sadness.

"I feel it in my heart," answered Kagome. And she believed it. She had complete faith that Inuyasha and Miroku were alive and searching for them. "You'll see. We'll join up with them. We'll find each other."

"Kagome, the dream felt so real. I can't erase the image of Miroku dying from my mind."

"It was just a dream," comforted Kagome. "For what we've been through already, especially you, you can't expect to not dream. But don't worry, we'll find them. Just believe that we'll find them."

Sango withdrew herself from Kagome's embrace and smiled gratefully at her friend. "I guess I'm being silly, huh? Getting worked up over a dream. You're right Kag, I shouldn't let it bother me."

"Sango, it's not silly. And if it didn't bother you I'd be worried."

"Afraid I'd gone insane?" asked Sango.

A small smile landed on Kagome's lips. "Yeah, something like that. And I don't care for my best friend to go insane anytime soon."

"Don't worry Kag. I'll stay around for a long time to bug you in a non-insane way," quipped Sango.

"That's a relief," said Kagome with a smile. It was good to have her friend back.

"Well, since I'm up do you want to sleep now?" asked Sango, arching her back and stretching her arms above her head. She felt her shoulders crack and shook them out.

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"All right, I'll keep watch, you go ahead and rest."

Kagome nodded and relaxed against the wall. She closed her eyes and let sleep claim her a few minutes later.

Sango sighed and stared out the window. She silently prayed for Miroku and Inuyasha to stay safe. She willed them to walk out of the woods in front of the house. True, she told Kagome she was ok. Back to normal, or at least as normal as one could be in these circumstances. But in all actuality she wasn't. She didn't think she'd ever be ok again.

Fresh tears began forming and silently gliding down her face. She made no effort to hold them in or wipe them away. She simply listened to Kagome's steady breathing and tried to repress the memories of Hiten's death and Miroku's murder. It wasn't working. Nothing was. She somehow knew that the only way to repress Miroku's murder was to find him alive and well. And the only way to wash Hiten's blood off her hands and forget that memory would be to have death claim her.

From the corner of her eye Sango saw movement. She jerked and pressed her face against the glass to get the best view possibly. She let out a shaky sigh when there was no movement.

Must have been a small breeze. Or my imagination acting up again.

She was about to relax again when she saw several bushes that were clumped together shake. As she continued watching a head poked out from between them.

Sango covered her mouth with her hands before she could shout out. Taking a deep breath she removed them and gently shook Kagome awake.

"Eh? Wha..?" grumbled Kagome. "I haven't been sleeping for that long, have I?" she asked when she saw Sango staring at her.

"Barely five minutes. But Kag, there's someone out there," whispered Sango anxiously.

At this statement Kagome's eyes flew open. "Where?" she asked. "Who?"

Sango pointed in the direction where she saw the head. "That way, in a clump of bushes. No idea who it is."

"What should we do?" asked Kagome, her face pressed to the window. "The person looks like they're going to come here."

"Escape," replied Sango without a moment's hesitation. "The house isn't safe anymore."

Tensely nodding Kagome gripped her bow and stood up. She glanced out the window one more time. "The person is walking this way. Let's go."

Grabbing her boomerang and bag Sango jumped to her feet.

Kagome reached down to grab her bag when she changed her mind. Instead of picking her bag up she picked up an arrow. Nodding to her bag she asked, "could you bring that?"

"Of course," said Sango. Slinging Kagome's bag over her shoulder along with her own she followed her friend out the back door of the house. As soon as they stepped foot in the backyard they realized their mistake.

"Shit," groaned Sango staring at the 7 ft brick wall surrounding the house.

"Damn, this thing completely slipped my mind," said Kagome in an irritated voice. She cursed herself for forgetting. After all, she and Sango had picked this house because a brick wall surrounded the backyard. If they had been forced to break a window it would have been shielded from all except who also went in the backyard. And now what used to be protecting them was now their prison.

"We have two choices," began Sango. "Attempt to jump the wall or walk out the gate and hope the person doesn't see us."

"The gate is on the same side of the house the person is," said Kagome.

"Yeah. So we jump?"

Kagome stared at her friend. "Can you jump a 7 ft wall?"

Despite the situation Sango couldn't help the small grin that landed on her face. "No. What I was actually thinking was for you to boost me up then I can haul you up." She eyed the imposing wall. "I think that's our best escape."

"Well, it is our best idea so far. Let's try it." Kagome moved to put down her bow and arrow when the muffled sound of breaking glass was heard.

"The front window," whispered Sango.

Kagome notched her arrow loosely in the bow and motioned for Sango to follow her. They stealthily made their way to the side of the house with the gate and cautiously peered into a window looking into the family room.

As they watched in anticipation of seeing who the mystery person was a light suddenly snapped on, light spilling out into the yard. Both girls jumped back in shock, both doing surprisingly well in holding in their shouts of surprise.

They slid to the ground, their backs pressed against the house. Through the wall they could hear footsteps growing steadily louder. Both were too frozen in fear to even attempt an escape.

Kagome clenched her bow and arrow tighter and Sango gripped Kagome's upper arm firmly.

The latches of the window were snapped open.

Both girls pressed themselves as close as they could to the wall.

The window slid open. They could hear the student's breathing, Kagome could have sworn she head the heartbeat as well.

"Is someone out here?" asked a hard, feminine, voice. "If someone is then show yourself, don't fuck with me."

Kagome and Sango said and did nothing. They barely breathed.

"Fuck, I could have sworn I saw a face," grumbled the girl. "Goddamn cowards, why is everyone a fuckin coward in this game?"

The window slammed shut with such violence the panes shook. The footsteps slowly receded and soon the light was off.

Kagome and Sango eachlet out huge sighs of relief. As one they got on their hands and knees and crawled to the gate.

"That was Nazuna, wasn't it?" asked Kagome softly.

"Yeah, I'm sure of it. And from how it sounded it appears she's playing," answered Sango, her voice tinted with anger.

"Let's leave before she thinks of checking the backyard," said Kagome while standing up. She unlatched the gate and tentatively pushed it open, praying it wouldn't creak.

Her prayers were answered and the gate soundlessly swung open. She notched the arrow yet again and began the slow trek into the open.

Sango followed; repeatedly glancing behind her to be sure Nazuna hadn't spotted them. The bags were slung over her left shoulder and in her right hand she had her boomerang.

They were a mere 15 feet from the safety of trees when the front door slammed open.

"Take one more step and I swear I'll throw these knives right into your fuckin backs," said a dangerous voice.

Kagome and Sango turned around to see Nazuna standing in the front lawn 20 feet away from them. In her left hand she clutched a half dozen steak knives. In her right she held a single knife.

"We don't want to fight," said Kagome.

In response Nazuna sneered. "Too fuckin bad. I do." Drawing back her right hand she threw a knife as hard as she could.

Neither Sango nor Kagome could see the knife hurtling through the air. They didn't see it until it landed in the ground three feet to Kagome's left.

"Steak knife," breathed Sango quietly. "Can't aim those well, not meant for throwing. She'd have to be lucky to hit us at this distance."

"Run for it?" asked Kagome.

"Yeah. That would be best."

"On three."

Sango nodded and readied her muscles to turn and run on three.

"One."

Nazuna grabbed another knife.

"Two."

She readied it for throwing.

"THREE!"

At the same time Sango spun on her heel and ran, Nazuna threw the knife, and Kagome fired an arrow.

Both Nazuna and Kagome shouted in pain and surprise before Kagome ran as well.

After running for a few minutes both Sango and Kagome slid to a halt. Sango grabbed Kagome's shoulders.

"What happened?" she frantically asked. "I heard you shout. Are you ok? Did you shoot Nazuna?"

"I'm all right," assured Kagome. When Sango let her go she rubbed her left arm. "But I was lucky. The knife she threw did hit me in the arm. But instead of the blade it was the handle. I'll have a bruise, but at least no bleeding. And I didn't shoot her. I fired an arrow to the side of her. It probably frightened her a bit which is all I was hoping for."

Sango sighed in relief. "Thank god you aren't hurt."

"Yeah. So, what do we do now?"

Sango grinned at her friend. "I'm starving. What do you say we find a reasonably safe spot and eat?"

Laughing softly Kagome quickly agreed.

The two friends found a well-covered area and opened their bags in search of food. They had survived another encounter. But while they ate they both wondered how much longer their luck would hold out.

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Sesshoumaru leaned his head back against a tree trunk. He closed his eyes to mere slits and watched the girl he was sure would turn out to be a traitor. Rin slept peacefully beside him, completely oblivious to the fact that both Yura and Sesshoumaru were awake.

Yura also leaned against a tree, albeit a bit tenser than Sesshoumaru. She knew Sesshoumaru realized she was awake. But she wouldn't give him the pleasure of seeing her act awake. She still feigned sleep.

"I know you're awake," whispered Sesshoumaru coldly. He felt not an ounce of warmth towards the girl. He trusted her about as much as trusted Kazuhiko.

Yura said nothing and kept her eyes closed. She knew she was treading on thin ice in staying with these two. But Rin trusted her completely. And as long as Rin trusted her she would be safe. Now all she had to do was bide her time. All she had to do was wait for the opportunity to kill Sesshoumaru. Once he was dead Rin would be a cinch to take out. And then Yura would have a shotgun.

Rin rolled over in her sleep and landed on a sharp rock. With a small groan she opened her eyes and sat up.

Sesshoumaru glanced at his friend. "You ok?" he asked in seeing the slight sign of pain in her eyes.

Rin rubbed the point on her back the rock bit into. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just the pleasures of sleeping in the woods," she replied. "Well, since I'm up do you want to sleep? I'll keep watch for us."

Sesshoumaru thought for a second then shook his head. "Not safe for me to sleep," he said slowly. "She isn't sleeping," he said, directing the comment towards Yura.

Rin narrowed her eyes slightly. "Are you still going on about that Sess? She had a traumatizing experience and we're going to help her."

"Help her in what way?" growled Sesshoumaru. "Give her the perfect opportunity to kill us? Should we both conveniently fall asleep so she can bash that hammer through our skulls? Should I just give her the shotgun now Rin? 'Here you go Yura. We trust you not to shoot us.' Is that what you want to do?" Sesshoumaru's voice was low and dangerous and he glared at Yura, hate clouding his normally calm eyes.

Rin cautiously slid away from Sesshoumaru. When she spoke her voice quivered. "Sesshoumaru, you're scaring me," she said tentatively.

At Rin's scared voice Sesshoumaru let out a deep breath. He felt his muscles relaxing. He rubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed. He didn't want to admit it but this situation was getting to him. It was bad enough just being on the island, possibly being stalked and hunted by his own classmates. But it grew ten times worse when suddenly a possible hunter was sitting a meager ten feet away. He kept waiting for any movement from Yura. Any sign, word, facial expression, anything he could use against her. He knew that without solid evidence of her treachery Rin would never believe she was evil. But Yura was clever. She let not a single emotion cross her face the whole time Sesshoumaru was speaking out against her. She was evil, this he knew, but to the world she appeared to be a victim.

Rin crawled back to Sesshoumaru's side. She took one of his hands between her two smaller ones. "Sess, you're exhausted. Please, get some sleep."

"I can't," he sighed.

"Sess, why don't you trust me? I'll watch Yura, I promise I will. And the moment she wakes up I'll wake you up."

You don't understand, thought Sesshoumaru. You can't wait for her to wake up. She never fell asleep. She's watching and listening to us right now.

When Sesshoumaru only stared at Yura with hate Rin gently placed one hand against his cheek and turned his head until he was facing her. "Trust me," she pleaded. "Please, get some rest. I'm worried about you Sess. If you're tired you won't be alert. I don't want anything to happen to you because you're tired."

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes. He was scared to agree with her but knew her words held truth. Being tired in this game would mean death. He steeled his nerves and opened his eyes. He tersely nodded and was rewarded with a bright smile from Rin.

Without a word Sesshoumaru reached down a picked up the shotgun that was lying beside his outstretched left leg. Bending his right leg up he leaned the shotgun against his right shoulder, the muzzle pointing up into the night sky. Wrapping his right arm around it he clenched the barrel in his hand. He laid his left arm on top of his right knee, effectively creating a barrier around the gun. If anyone tried to extract it from his grasp he would know.

"If you hear or see anything, even if you aren't sure if it really existed, wake me," ordered Sesshoumaru.

Rin nodded, happy that her friend was going to take her advice. "We'll be fine, you'll see," she soothed. "Now just sleep."

Sesshoumaru sent one more heated glare in Yura's direction then closed his eyes. Sleep overtook his mind and body a few minutes later.

Rin leaned back against a tree alongside Sesshoumaru. She tilted her head back to try and catch a glimpse of the stars through the thick foliage of the woods. Ever since she was little the stars were always able to calm her nerves. She found solace in the twinkling lights far overhead, the fact that they always shone no matter what occurred in the world. She kept her ears tuned in for any odd sounds but let her mind wonder.

Yura waited another 15 minutes before warily opening one eye. She saw Sesshoumaru with his head hanging down, completely dead to the world. Rin was daydreaming while looking into the sky. She was completely oblivious to the fact that Yura was staring directly at her.

Yura let a smirk grace her features. This had been too easy. She moved slowly inch by inch until her hammer was resting in her lap. Rin still hadn't moved. Stupid girl.

Yura brought her legs beneath her. She rose up on one knee, planting her other foot firmly in front of her. She gripped her hammer in her right hand. Her left hand touched the ground in front of her. She looked like a feline ready to pounce on her unsuspecting prey.

Yura unknowingly licked her lips and a predatory smile lifted her lips. Her white teeth shone in the dark. She tensed her muscles. She pounced.

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My goal is to have the next chapter up before I go back to class which is the 18. Especially with how I ended this chapter. So let's all hope I can get it out before then. I look forward to your reviews (not so subtle hint ).

Review Responses:

Tsuki no mizu: Hehe, guess that isn't too bad if you felt like vomiting! I'm glad you feel bad for Kikyo, she wasn't a bad person in this story so I was hoping not too many people would cheer when she died. Thanks for the review!

Draconic Ban-sidhea: Haha, not just the 9th graders who don't know much about medical stuff. The sophomore in college doesn't know much either! Hehe, so you actually know people who read textbooks for fun? I don't know whether to be amused, disgusted, or frightened! As always, thanks for the review.

Naomi-Starcloud: Hehe, well we can all hope that someone can kill Naraku. But with how he's going who knows! And I tried to inject a bit of humor into the Miroku/Inu scene to try and lighten the mood somewhat. This story is pretty much dark from start to finish so I try to inject some humor with certain groups of people. And you're right about having to wait to see how the story turns out because I don't even know yet! (although I do know how it's going to end, just not how it's going to get there.)

Shadow-Wolf-Jedi-Demon: Glad you liked the Naraku/Kikyo scene. Naraku truly is just an evil bastard. Haha, don't worry, I could never make Sesshy and Rin bf/gf as that would just seem too sick to me. Hm, and is Jaken going to kill Rin? Guess you'll just have to wait and see! And did you get the map? I sent it to you but just checking to make sure you got it.

Karmarox: Glad you like this story! And of course I'm updating it. I'm going to keep on updating it until it's complete. I could never leave a story partially completed!

miSS-yUnz: glad you liked it! Thanks for the review and hope you liked this chapter as well!

Aly: Haha, I only slam my head into walls by accident, but it seems to happen a lot. I should learn to turn on the lights when I'm trying to traverse my house in the middle of the night. I tend to run into walls, chairs, and exercise equipment when I don't (and the exercise equipment hurts…a lot…). And definitely read Battle Royale! It's quite violent at times and it has a tad bit of sexual content, but one of the best books out there in my own humble opinion. Haha, and don't cry, I'll always update this story, I love it too much to not update it! Well, thanks for the review and hope you continue to like this story!

Ryuu no Taiyou: Aww, I made you cry? Here, my Sesshy plushie will cheer you up. Haha, well, you got a tad bit of Kag in this story. But Inu and Kag aren't together yet…and will be awhile before they get together as another major event is going to happen before they finally find each other. Hope you continue to like this story and thanks for the review!

Keirra-shadowcat: Haha, yeah, I made the scene with Kikyo a little gruesome, but it's all good, right? And yup, Miroku's pretty brave (and has a strong stomach) for being able to stitch up Inuyasha. Haha, seems you had a lot of injuries. I've only broken my finger, had appendicitis, and had a dead catfish thrown into my leg (verrrry long story…but quite funny IMO). Hehe, and my reviewers never waste my time no matter what they talk about (unless if it's a flame, then it is a waste of my time). I love hearing from you guys! Haha, and I think you're right about everyone hating Naraku. Well, thanks for the review!