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Torn
Chapter Three: Akki's Past
Ayame sat in silence in the back seat of Inuyasha's car, Kagome and Inuyasha in the front, chatting away about "what a bitch Kikyo was".
She, actually, found their conversation quite intriguing.
Ayame had never, truly, been around people who gossiped. Sure, the people she hung out with while waiting to kill someone, but not really otherwise. And to talk about Kikyo? This was great.
"So how do you like high school?" Inuyasha asked Ayame over his shoulder. "Better than being home schooled"
Ayame looked at him oddly, then suddenly remembered that she had lied about being home schooled. "Oh…yeah"
"I bet," He smirked. "This way you can actually meet people"
"Too bad you had to start it off bad with Kikyo." Kagome laughed. "There's no way she'd let you on the squad now"
Ayame stared blankly at Kagome. "Squad?"
What is she talking about?
"You're trying out for the cheerleading squad, aren't you?" Kagome said.
This idea had never crossed Ayame's mind. Would it get her closer to her target?
"I haven't thought of it." Ayame admitted. "Why?"
Kagome shrugged as Inuyasha pulled up in front of the Higurashi shrine. "You just seem like the right kind of girl for it"
She lives here! Ayame thought with surprise, stepping out of the car and staring up the many steps to the shrine, totally forgetting about the squad idea.
But Kagome hadn't forgotten.
She linked arms with Ayame and started pulling her up the many stairs towards the house. "You should totally try out"
Ayame's mind switched back to Kagome's idea. "Um…what do we do, exactly?"
"Well," Kagome smirked. "What we do is go to all the big games, basketball, football, you name it, and cheer on the teams"
"Basketball?" Ayame smiled, noting how Kouga was on the team. "What about track?"
"Um…no, not really track. Not unless they get to the city finals or something, then a few of us go. Why?" The girl asked.
Ayame shrugged. "No reason"
Kagome smirked at her, but said nothing.
What's with the smile? Ayame wondered.
They walked into the large house, Kagome yelling as she took off her shoes, "Mom I'm home! I brought Inuyasha and Ayame"
"I don't know if this is a good idea." Ayame said. "I can just go…home"
"No it's fine." Kagome grinned, grabbing Ayame's arm and dragging her though the house towards the strong smell of cooking noodles. "Mom! Hey Aya are you hungry?"
"Um…sure." Ayame said.
Inuyasha grinned, appearing at Kagome's side. "Ramen, ever had it? It rocks"
"Inuyasha loves it." Kagome laughed.
"Hey sis!" A small boy grinned, walking out of the kitchen, a can of soda in his hand. "Inuyasha!"
Inuyasha smiled and patted the kid on the head. "Hey there Souta, what's up?"
Souta shrugged. "Nothing much, I have soccer practice soon…Hey Kagome, who's this?"
"Oh, sorry!" Kagome smiled. "This is Ayame. Ayame this is my kid brother Souta"
"Nice to meet you." Ayame smiled down at the twelve-year-old.
"Hey Ayame, have you ever heard of that girl, Akki?" Souta asked.
"Here he goes!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes, walking into the kitchen.
"God Souta, is that girl all you ever talk about?" Kagome groaned. "Sorry Ayame, he's obsessed with that assassin girl, Akki. He's been following her killings for over a year now, he tells everyone who walks in the door about her"
Ayame smirked, her interest sparked. "So, Souta, what do you know about this…Akki, girl?"
Souta grinned, looking like a little kid at Christmas. "Well I'll call you two when the ramen is ready." Kagome sighed, shaking her head sadly. "Okay?"
"Sure, thanks." Ayame smiled.
"Come on Ayame," Souta said, grabbing her wrist and pulling her wrist and dragging her through the living room.
He's strong for a kid. Ayame thought with a short laugh.
Souta stopped suddenly at a book case, pulling a small photo album from under a pile of old looking books.
"See?" He said, pulling open the book, revealing scrapings from newspapers neatly set up along the pages. "She's pro"
Ayame nodded, looking silently at the clippings and words.
There was one article, in particular, that caught her attention
YUMITO HITARI KILLED: AKKI STRIKES AGAIN
Tokyo, JAPAN-- Tonight, not one door will remain unlocked. Yes, Akki has struck again.
Early this morning, the body of Yumito Hitari was found in his home, the ever-so popular and familiar trademark slit throat told police who had done the man in.
Akki, the young and yet famous assassin, had struck again.
"This girl needs to be contained." Lieutenant Nagasaki said early this afternoon. "For over four years now she has been terrorizing Tokyo, taking out person after person"
"Though all of Akki's hits had been against the biggest gangs in Tokyo, her murders are still wrong." Nagasaki said. "If anyone has any information on this girl, contact the police at once."
"Wow." Ayame smirked. She knew of Nagasaki, he'd been watching her movements for years now, but as close as he got to her Ayame was always a step ahead. "That's interesting there Souta"
"Isn't it?" Souta smiled. "Akki is amazing, I wonder how she got so good. Do you think that she's on a mission right now?"
Ayame nodded. "I'm sure she is"
Yeah keep telling yourself that there girl. Ayame scolded herself. But you should really be watching Kouga, not be here with this kid.
Souta's next words broke Ayame's thoughts and almost floored her.
"I want to be like Akki one day." Souta said.
Ayame gasped and turned to him, her blue eyes flaring. "What?"
"I think it'd be cool." Souta shrugged.
Deranged child!
"No way!" Ayame snapped at him. "Don't you ever, ever think that again Souta! What Akki does is terrible! Don't you ever think that again!"
Souta looked oddly at her. "What's up with you?"
"Just…don't think that okay?" Ayame sighed, turning from the scrapbook of her life. It was true that even though Ayame was Akki, that she willingly killed for a living, she still thought it was wrong.
She sighed and closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around herself, her hair falling down and shading her face.
"Ayame? What's wrong?" Souta asked, his small hand resting on her arm.
Ayame shook her head. "Nothing. Let's go see if they need some help with the ramen, okay?"
XxXxX
Kouga sighed, tossing his keys onto the kitchen counter, dropping his books beside the keys.
"Hey Kouga." Ginta said from the table, a can of soda in his hands, his books spread out in front of him. "How was practice?"
"Good." Kouga answered, pulling open the fridge and grabbing a can of pop, cracking it open and taking a swig. "Usual"
His track coach, Mr. Hausa, had worked the team extra hard that day, making them run lap after lap around the field.
Not that Kouga minded.
Much.
He sat down next to Ginta, his blue eyes scanning over the other teen's books. "Whatcha doing?"
"History." Ginta answered. "Where's Hakaku? Isn't he with you?"
"Nah," Kouga said. "He said he had things to do and he'd be home later"
Kouga had been living now with his two best friends, Ginta and Hakaku, for over a year now. After getting in some…trouble, with a gang leader, both his parents had been killed and Kouga was forced to move from his own home to live with the other two teens, who had also been orphaned by Naraku.
But, it seemed, that Naraku wasn't after Ginta and Hakaku like he was Kouga.
Kouga had, just that day, found out from a "contact" that Naraku had just dispatched an assassin to take him out.
"No way!" Ginta laughed when Kouga told him. "That guy has to learn to let go of things"
"I'd be pissed too," Kouga laughed. "If someone had turned in half my men, causing me to go into hiding for a while"
Ginta smirked. "Hopeless, there's no way that assassin can get near you"
Kouga shrugged. "Who knows?"
"Yeah, but the last two failed." Ginta pointed out.
Kouga laughed, remembering the two former assassins that Naraku had sent after him. They'd all ended up dead in the end. This new assassin would be no different.
"Well I'm going to go and rest for a while before the game." Kouga sighed, getting up from the table and waving over his shoulder. "I'll get dinner after the game, okay?"
"Sure." Ginta answered.
Kouga walked down the dim hallway towards his room, sliding the door open and stepping inside.
He flopped down onto his bed, closing his eyes. He had a basketball game in an hour.
Damn.
Naraku had, over a year ago, asked Kouga, who had worked for him, to lead a heist under the police's nose. But Kouga had, almost too late, seen the light and turned on his men, running to the cops and having them arrested.
He had, then, told the police about Naraku, but he'd gotten wind of the incident before and had gone in hiding already.
A few months after, Kouga had returned home from school, only to find his mom and dad on the kitchen floor, dead. He'd run.
Naraku had, initially, tried to take Kouga under his wing and make him a great assassin, but Kouga had refused, this leading to the whole incident.
Since the day of his parent's murder, Kouga had watched Naraku's movements very closely, until he noticed something vaguely familiar.
A girl. A girl Kouga's age who Naraku had gotten a group of men to teach the ways of an assassin.
The girl's name was Akki.
Or that was, at least, the name the media had given her, for no one but Naraku knew who she really was. For Akki had killed all the men who'd trained her out of revenge for her families death.
"Too bad she didn't know who was really behind it." Kouga mumbled, his eyes opening. Like Kagome's brother, who Kouga had met only a handful of times, Kouga had watched Akki for a while, longer even, than Souta.
But Kouga wasn't obsessed. He just wanted to meet Akki, at least once, so he could tell her everything he knew.
Kouga sighed and sat up, pulling off his shirt and grabbing his jersey from his dresser, pulling it over his head. "Well, I doubt I'll meet her anytime soon anyways."
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