A/N: For the 'Parallel' theme on Dokuga's LJ comm - this one was for the one-shot contest. It totals at 1403 words.

Originally posted on August 12, 2010. It won third place (yay!), but I delayed in posting it because it still needed some edits. I guess I wasn't done saying all that I wanted to, lol.

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Sucker Punch

"So, they're in a clinch thirty seconds into the fight. Both are bleeding already, and the end of the round is whole minutes away." Kagome paused and took a deep draft of her beer. "I always thought clinches looked funny. Two guys all cuddly and close, with their arms around each other's necks?"

"Hn." Sesshoumaru leaned forward and swept her drink away from her hands. "It's a tactical position used to hold an opponent in place to deliver close-range strikes. It is not cuddly."

Kagome smiled and took back her beer. "And I'm not drunk," she said with a laugh. "Just making a point. It's very Greco-Roman, if you think about it."

"The story," reminded Sesshoumaru with measured annoyance in his voice.

"Right." She swiveled on her bar stool and brought her hands up, curling them into a pantomimed clinch. "So, there they are, practically leaning on each other, already tired as hell. All of a sudden, the human rushes the demon, forcing him against the cage wall. The demon wraps his legs around the guy - so Greco-Roman! - and tries to take the human to the ground."

Sesshoumaru looked unimpressed. "I would imagine he was successful."

Kagome poked him in the shoulder. "It's a good thing you don't gamble!" she crowed. "The demon got him to the ground, alright. But not before the human forced his elbow beneath the youkai's chin and forced his head back. Not tucking your chin and landing on the ground with the back of your head? Lights out!"

A trill of amusement went down her spine as he scowled at her. "You were rooting for the human, I take it?"

"I bet on him," she clarified. "And I walked away with such a haul."

"Was it the money or the fight that puts this fight on top of your list of 'best ever'?" he asked.

She drained the last of her drink. "Both," she admitted. "I'm just pointing out that it's fun to watch David beat Goliath."

"Are you suggesting that I allow some parallel to David win in a match against me?" Sesshoumaru muttered with a frown.

Kagome shook her head. "I'm saying that you should be expecting everyone to be cheering for you," she said.

He sniffed. "I don't expect that."

"And," she continued, "I'm saying that you never really know who is David and who is Goliath. Not until you get into the ring."

She reached out and touched the blueberry-colored bruise that was still forming around the taiyoukai's eye. The bleeding on his brow had stopped, but his lid would swell shut before it got better. "They should get better seals for demonic powers," she murmured.

Sesshoumaru brushed her hand away, although she thought that his fingers lingered on hers for a millisecond longer than necessary as he did so. "My regenerative abilities are impressive. This is the only way to make the fight equal," he said.

"Well, you should be able to heal as fast as your body lets you after they take off the seal, then," Kagome replied. "You shouldn't have to let your injuries remain. Especially if someone hits you after the fight is over."

He turned his good eye on her - bright, golden and unmarred by bruised flesh. "What would be the point of that?" he asked.

Kagome laughed softly as she slid off of her seat. "You have a strange sense of honor, Sesshoumaru."

"You're leaving?"

"I think they're going to kick us out, soon enough," she said, pointing to the clock above the bar. Last call had been awhile ago. "And I have to get some work done before this weekend is over." She tucked a few bills - enough to cover both her and Sesshoumaru's drinks - under her half-empty beer bottle. "My treat this time. You racked up the cash for me tonight."

He shrugged. "It would be easier to bear if that vermin had not decided to throw an extra punch after I defeated him."

"Getting sucker punched isn't really something to be ashamed of," Kagome said, glancing at his injury again. "I don't think he's going to be invited back."

"That is the shame," said Sesshoumaru. "I would have relished the chance to fight him again."

"I'm sure," she said with a small smile. When he didn't move, she tugged at his sleeve. "Well, come on, great-and-powerful Taisho. It's late."

"Taisho?"

Kagome turned to the table closest to them, where a man with three inches and seventy pounds on Sesshoumaru was slowly and unsteadily getting to his feet. "Sesshoumaru Taisho?" he sneered again, slurring the S's. "The fighter?"

She felt the the taiyoukai go still behind her; she heard the soft sigh that escaped him. "Friend of yours?" she whispered.

"No," he murmured, "but this is not the first time this has happened. Move away, Kagome."

The barrel-chested drunk took a step towards them, and she was inclined to do as Sesshoumaru had asked. The stranger didn't seem to notice. "You lost me a lot of money, Taisho!" he bellowed, making the entire bar go quiet. "Magatsuhi should have won that fight!"

"You're blaming me for your poor bet?" Sesshoumaru asked with a cool that Kagome would have marveled at, had the drunk been a little less threatening. His size and intoxicated state seemed to rattle the building.

"He was my fighter! A man could depend on Magatsuhi to win," the man snarled. "And you murdered him!"

It was over before Kagome even knew it had begun - she shouldn't have been even mildly concerned for Sesshoumaru's sake. The drunk's wild, swinging punch hadn't even touched the dog demon before he was sent flying into the table that held a graveyard of empty bottles. The wood bent and broke under the man's weight, and he groaned before slipping into unconsciousness, although Kagome wasn't sure if that was from Sesshoumaru's counter-attack or the booze.

"You should leave," Sesshoumaru sighed. "You don't want to be connected to this."

"And you?" she asked, her eyes still wide.

"I will answer the police's questions," he replied, nodding to where cowering bartender was whispering into a cellphone. "I'm accustomed to it."

Kagome hesitated only a moment before she pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "Alright," she whispered before stepping around the remnants of the table and heading towards the door.

She made it out just as the sound of sirens rose in the distance. Sprinting across the street, she tucked herself into the dark doorway of a closed shop until she saw two patrol cars roll up to the bar, their lights still flashing. When the officers got out, their hands on the batons at their sides, she let out a breath.

She knew exactly who she should talk to.

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"Miroku!"

The man in blue stopped on the stone steps and turned to look at her. "Kagome?" he asked. Frowning, he descended the steps and stopped in front of her. "What're you doing here? You're not supposed to be around 'til Monday. Is something wrong?"

She frowned up at the police station. "Sesshoumaru Taisho got taken in for a bar brawl about an hour ago. He broke a guy's jaw. I need you to get him out."

He sighed. "I can't do that, Kagome."

"You can," she insisted. "Please? It was hard enough to avoid the patrol that showed up at the bar..."

"You were there?" he interrupted.

She sent him a glare. "No, I'm psychic about when people get arrested in this town," she muttered. "Point is, I can't have him locked up. You know they'll throw the book at him if he gets in front of a judge because of his past. But I kind of need him." She shook his arm. "When have I ever asked you to do something for me?"

"Pretty much every day since we became partners," Miroku muttered.

Kagome nodded cheerfully. "Right. And this is what we're supposed to do for each other," she said before turning earnest again. "Come on. It's for my case."

He sighed again, looking more and more weary with every second. "I'll clear it with the captain," he said. "But this isn't out of the goodness of my heart, Detective Higurashi. I expect a favor or two in return."

Her smile was a little too brilliant, but she couldn't seem to hold it back. "Send him out here. I'll take him home."

"Yeah," Miroku muttered. "That's what I'm afraid of."

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A/N: The fight Kagome describes at the beginning is roughly what happened at UFC 116, between Gerald Harris (who won with the vicious and amazing move) and Dave Branch. It's on YouTube, but be warned, the announcer is *terrible*. Still an awesome KO though.