Yuppie: Young Urban Professional. A person in his/her 20's who holds a professional job (doctor, lawyer, engineer, scientist, professor, etc…) and, stereotypically, lives a comfortable and luxurious life with high pay

--

It was something that he felt he was born to do, to act upon the stage. Feeling the cold, hard but welcoming platform under his feet, Jakotsu minded the younger ones who were watching him in awe as he performed a miming trick, switching over to a graceful dancer, a mental patient, a posh city slicker then to a nobleman of the early renaissance, all done with the appropriate gestures and voices.

Eyeing his drama teacher who had been eyeing him for an audition ever since he was in middle school, Jakotsu flashed a smile. He knew he would get the part, no doubt about it. As he finished off his performance by mimicking a spoiled princess, a great deal of applause came from the other impressed older students, many of them twinkling in their eyes with anticipation of the new arrival.

"Well, that was my most humble performance," Jakotsu said his mock speech in a foreign accent, creating more laughter once again. "And I hope that I have inspired some of you to follow in the footsteps of not any other actor you see in the movies, let alone mine, and instead create your own footsteps so that others can see what you have accomplished."

--

"Excellent work, Jakotsu. I really do appreciate you giving this presentation to the others. You're just as good as I heard from your former teachers, perhaps even better." The teacher placed his hands on the desk in his office. "And as for the audition for the play, I don't really think that will be necessary."

"Oh, but I do, sir. After all, me getting the part without even auditioning would be most unthinkable! Don't you think so? I know the older students would be mostly displeased."

"Very well then. Let's have it." He shuffled through a portfolio and pulled out several sheets of paper. "It says here that you are trying out for…let's see here…"

"Henry Drummond, sir." Jakotsu pointed out. "I'm trying out for Henry Drummond."

"That's right. Let's see the action."

Jakotsu cleared his throat and threw on an old, ragged overcoat and a pair of glasses borrowed from Suikotsu. He opened his arms wide and started to pace the room, and soon enough Henry Drummond came to life and he was speaking to the judge, the persecutor, the attorney, the defendant, the jury and all the spectators.

"Can't you understand?" he spat. "That if you take a law like evolution and you make it a crime to teach it in the public schools, tomorrow you can make it a crime to teach it in the private schools? And tomorrow you may make it a crime to read about it."

He made a very dramatic pause as he glared at the invisible audience, charisma twinkling in his eyes. He pounded his fist into his open palm and yelled, "And soon you may ban books and newspapers. And then you may turn Catholic against Protestant, and Protestant against Protestant, and try to foist your own religion upon the mind of man. If you can do one, you can do the other. Because fanaticism and ignorance is forever busy, and needs feeding."

By this point he turned to the wall, talking to the invisible judge most mighty. "And soon, your Honor, with banners flying and with drums beating we'll be marching backward, BACKWARD, through the glorious ages of that Sixteenth Century when bigots burned the man who dared bring enlightenment and intelligence to the human mind!" and he slammed both his hands onto the most nearby desk.

To his surprise, a trickle of sweat dropped from his forehead and Jakotsu wiped it away with the back of his hand. He smiled and turned to his teacher.

"How was it?"

"You weren't you." He said, quite pleased. "You were Henry Drummond. Welcome to the cast, Drummond. You did a hell of a job."

--
Bankotsu found himself heading to the vending machines once again. It had been quite a day without even a single joint, and his stomach was already bitching for food to make up for it. He craved chocolate milk. The money in his pocket, he went to the nearest hallway, gave his money to the machine and got his milk. He was too busy drinking it that he didn't see the figure coming up behind him.

"OH MY GOD!" A hyped-up Jakotsu squealed. "I GOT THE PART!"

"Are you serious?" Bankotsu exclaimed. "I don't believe it! That's fuckin' awesome!"

"Thank you! Oh my god, I'm so happy; I can't wait until we start practicing!"

"Well I'd come to watch you, but unfortunately I have to be taught by the little snobby rich bitch…"

Bankotsu didn't even get a chance to finish his sentence as he was backhanded in the back of the head by an unknown. He gnarled and whipped around angrily. "What the hell, faggot!"

Kouga stared calmly. "I don't want anyone saying shit about my cousin, retard…especially coming from someone like you."

"Oh ho, you were the princess' cousin, were you?" Bankotsu growled. "Well I never knew. I should have, though, seeing that you both got the same retard genes. I hope no one in your family got into the whole idea of fucking each other, that'd probably take the whole…"

Bankotsu was fisted hard in the face by a very angry Kouga. "I'm gonna cave your face in, you prison bitch!" He yelled in between punches that hit some and missed some. However, he flew back and banged into the lockers and a garbage can as Jakotsu landed a perfect kick across his chest, a wild scowl on his face. By this time, a considerable crowd had gathered and no one in their right mind had summoned a teacher.

"Don't touch, bastard."

"You shouldn't be here, flaming homo." Kouga teased with a smirk on his lips. "You should be in middle school, where you belong."

"I have a right to be here as much as you do." he defiantly said.

"Well, you also have the right to move to an all-male school if you want to. Tell me, which one of you is the pillow-biter? Is it braid boy here?"

"Fuck you!" Bankotsu yelled and attempted a fake punch. As Kouga blocked it, he flung his stronger left hand and drove it into his opponent's jaw but received a blow to the abdomen at the same time.

"Hurt much?"

"You wish, you piece of shit." Looking at the crushed milk carton on the floor that was dribbling itself of chocolate milk, he glared at Kouga. "Which reminds me, I never got to finish my drink." He said slowly. "I strongly suggest you make up for this."

Kouga smirked. "How much do you need?" he said as he pulled out his wallet and started counting bills. "Do you need this much?" a few bills were flung and fluttered on the floor. "Do you need more?" Kouga kept going as he kept flinging bills from his wallet. "How about this much?"

Bankotsu kept quiet, not saying a word. By this time a small pile of bills had scattered themselves over the open space between the duo, and no one in the student crowd dared to call a teacher or to pick up the bills. They knew better.

"How much is this?" Kouga closed his wallet. "I'm sure with this you can pay your rent for the next year or so. AND you'll have enough left over for your drinks."

Kouga walked away, triumphant and victorious; a very sordid way of winning, but victorious nonetheless. Bankotsu stormed away in the opposite direction with Jakotsu following. Even as the students scattered, no one dared touch the money.

Later that moment, a passing custodian became extremely lucky.

--

Inuyasha looked in the mirror, humming a random tune to himself as he checked himself out in the mirror quite self-consciously. The outfit was perfect, his breath was minty fresh, and his hair was still a bit damp from the late shower he had just taken. But remembering that Kagome had always loved his hair, wet or dry, he decided to skip the blow dryer and looked for his shoes. Just as he was getting ready to head out the door, he felt someone staring at him from the back.

"Where are you going?" Sesshomaru inquired icily. He had a file folder tucked under one arm, a coffee mug in the other hand. Slight dark pigments circled under his eyes. "Get your ass back to bed."

Inuyasha sighed and didn't bother to look back at his brother. "Look, I told you this afternoon that I was going out with my girlfriend, alright?"

"No you didn't."

"Oh yeah, I did. It was you who wasn't listening because you were working on your work."

"I have a job to hold, alright? And I have a patient that needs much medical attention. After all, I DO make the money, pay the bills and still have the leftover cash to buy your niceties. If father hadn't forced me to let you move in while he went off to Berlin, I'd kick your poor little ass out to the street."

"I'm going out anyways. Later, yuppie." Inuyasha started for the doorknob as Sesshomaru kept it shut with his hand.

"No you aren't, dear brother." He said, looking down at his younger counterpart. "You're supposed to be in bed. It's almost twelve, and I don't want you going out."

"Look…" the silver-haired younger sighed in disdain once again. "I haven't seen my girlfriend for, like, weeks. Alright? She called last night and told me she was back from Hong Kong, so she wants to meet me. Plus," he said with a contemptuous grin, "we haven't done it in awhile. Does it make you angry that you haven't gotten any in a long ti…"

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" Sesshomaru was not one to lose his cool, but hearing the damned brat talking to him like that made him boil over. He practically threw Inuyasha out into the hallway by the collar of his silly shirt and locked the door with a huff. He then groaned in disbelief and took a long sip out of his now cold coffee mug. He had let go of his file folder and all the papers had fallen out.

'Oh, I'll whip that twerp just right. Just wait until father comes back from Berlin!' he fumed at the thought as he picked up all the papers. He set them on the mahogany dinner table and started to head for his room when he remembered he had forgotten to pick up the evening newspaper. He rolled his eyes, unlocked the door and opened it.

He found himself facing Kagura, his next door neighbour. She was in her bathrobe, her silky ebony hair piled up into a wet towel, her flawless face graced with a small bruise on her left cheek. She jumped slightly at the sight of him.

"Oh, um…hi, Sesshomaru." She stuttered. "How are you?"

"I'm pretty fine, just getting the paper for today." He said coolly.

"So…what are you doing?" he asked as he set aside the advertisements into the recycling bin.

"Oh, I'm just reading…the news." She said. "I have a habit of reading everything in the hallway, you see. It's kind of funny, but Naraku always gets angry when I'm not in there making him a sandwich or cleaning the closet." She joked.

"Naraku?" Sesshomaru asked. "Who might he be?"

"Oh, he's my live-in boyfriend." She slightly blushed. "I live with him and his cousin."

Sesshomaru perked his ear to hear more, for he was very interested. But that seemed like that was all she was going to tell him, so he gave up. He patiently waited for her to finish the paper just in case she had anything left to say when a male voice called for her, making her flinch.

"Coming!" she called back. "Well then, I guess I'll see you around."

"I guess so." He said and watched her go.