I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. It's my longest chapter ever, I even had to cut it short! D: (been trying to update for a while but fanfiction wouldn't let me... T.T)

Disclaimer: would I be writing a fanfic if I owned Inuyasha? … Though, I'm sure real authors, with real books still write fanfics for fun XD (I know I would Xb)

がんばれ日本! Ganbare Japan! My heart is with you.

Sengoku Gakuen

*.*-*.*-*.*

"Mishaps are like knives that either serve or cut us as we

grasp them by the blade or handle."

- James Russell Lowell

*.*-*.*-*.*

Chapter VI- Survival of the Fittest.

What has gotten into me? Not even that nagging pervert knew about this! The young hanyou thought angrily as he descended yet another floor, his quick pace reflecting his agitated mind. His ears twitched as he heard the peculiar beat of Kai's footsteps –yes, he had even stoop to the level of recognizing the barely distinctive sound!- stop momentarily as if hesitating, and he grimaced, not noticing the way most of the frightened guys were now staring at him. Why should he care? So he kept walking, not even realizing that most of the students were abruptly moving out of his way, parting like the Red Sea. His mind was solely fixed on his incompetence; yeah, that little mistake was going to bite his ass later. That, he was sure.

Halfway to his destination he noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Kai wasn't following anymore. He didn't know why, but that made him feel even more irritated, Good riddance he told himself adamantly. He couldn't really understand the meaning of all this… this anger. Inuyasha clenched his teeth tightly as yet another scared first year got out of his way. Inuyasha was irritated, I shouldn't have opened my mouth he thought scowling –nothing out of the ordinary- as he made out of the school building, across the beautiful garden that adorned the entrance –deliberately stepping over some exotic flowers on his way, rounded the dorm rooms, finally getting to his own building.

He barely knew the guy and here he was, telling him something not even pestering Miroku knew –and that guy had stuck with him since they were kids (even when he had gone away, Miroku kept sending him letters –with scarce replies-, and insisted on screaming 'Hi, Inuyasha!' every time their mothers spoke over the phone.) and perhaps, now that he thought about it… he should really be thankful, someone else –everyone else- would've given up on him already. How the fuck did he end up tal- thinking about this? Ah right, he rolled his eyes, that annoying pubescent.

Inuyasha sighed, massaging his temples with his thumb and middle finger, tiredly opening the door to his room.

He loosened his tie and slipped it out of his neck, throwing his satchel along the way too. The young man slowly moved to his closet and got a clean red plaid shirt, some old dark jeans and a black leather jacket he'd gotten for his last birthday weeks ago. He hung the dark red school blazer –his favorite part of the uniform-, he unbuttoned his long sleeved white shirt and threw it onto his laundry basket along with his pants, and then proceeded to change. As soon as the hanyou was done, he grabbed his math note book, calculator and a red hat he usually wore out of school, seeing as most people seemed to comment on his ears; whether it was their cuteness or their hideousness. Two extremes he didn't particularly like.

He furrowed his eyebrows in deep thought, and nodded firmly to himself as he came to a conclusion. Yeah, some good quality ramen would definitely clear his mind. It always had.

He walked out of his room mildly aware of the dark grey clouds that were starting to creep into the once blue sky. A couple of Jidai Gakuen girls drooling after him were easily ignored too, once his mind was set on ramen there were few things able to gain his attention. His feet automatically taking him to that old ramen shop; just a few blocks away from Sengoku Gakuen on the opposite route to The Coffee Shop, that famous shitty place that didn't even sell ramen. Inuyasha scoffed, thinking of the indecency of not selling ramen.

He came across an old wooden handwritten sign and allowed himself a tiny grin; this place was like a second home to him, and the woman inside like a grandmother.

"Hello, Kaede-baachan" he muttered, taking off his hat as he sat on a stool right across her kitchen area. The place was almost empty as usual, the old TV drowning the place with the latest news. The old woman raised her head at the sound of his familiar voice and frown, tilting her head to the side, her eyes silently inspecting him.

"Inuyasha, you've been coming all week, is something wrong child?" she asked while drying some bowls. She had known him since he was a little boy, when she'd work as a cook in his home. She had worked there for years, but once her elder sister had died she quitted in order to take care of this shop that had been the family business for generation. Inuyasha had always been a faithful costumer, dropping by at least twice a week, but lately he'd come every single day –and it was only Wednesday.

"I just –I'm in the mood for ramen, that's all." He muttered staring at his steeple fingers intently. The old woman rolled her eyes, but decided to drop the subject for the time being –he'd be more willing to let it out once his stomach was full.

"When are you not?" she whispered to herself as she got to work on his ramen. "Do you want the special? I've added an extra boiled egg to that one."

"Sure, sounds good." He propped his chin on one hand and drummed against the table with the fingers -claws, actually- of the other, lazily he turned his eyes to the left and came across two grinning demons he did not want to see at the moment. He grimaced, knowing what would come next.

"Inuyasha-sama, long time no see!" His History/English/Homeroom teacher exclaimed happily, while his PE teacher merely waved.

"I just came out of your class… Myoga-jiji." He answered dryly, his eyes drifting back to his drumming fingers. "What are you doing here anyways?"

"Kaede-san, how much until my ramen is ready?" Totosai whined, completely ignoring Inuyasha, who furrowed his eyebrows and huffed indignantly. That old man was always either ignoring him or making his life a living hell –without really trying.

"You already ate it, Totosai, don't you remember?" Kaede replied patiently.

"Oh, did I? Well, would you be so kind as to prepare me another one? Somehow I'm still hungry." She nodded while Totosai-sensei's attention went back to the old TV.

"So, how are things going with that new roommate of yours?" Myoga-sensei said, in hopes of staring a new conversation. Inuyasha snorted and rolled his eyes at his sad attempt of making the conversation more interesting. He just had to choose the touchy subject…

"You should know, you see me sulking everyday in class. That guy is really annoying; he's driving me up the wall! Very nice old man, now I'm stuck with him for who knows how long..." he said through clenched teeth.

"Inuyasha-sama, he's new; and he doesn't seem to get along with anyone else. I had to do something!" He said desperately, but there was an odd glint in his eyes.

Totosai-sensei snorted besides him. "You're just fol-"

"Look, your noodles are ready!" Myoga-sensei exclaimed, effectively interrupting him. The senile demon blinked and stared at the bowl few a few seconds. Huh, when had he ordered this?

"Oh, Kaede, how nice of you, I was just about to order some" he said while picking his chop sticks and devouring his meal.

I don't know why my dad keeps these goofs around…

Inuyasha snorted again, shaking his head "I can't believe you." He said with a huff, turning back to the old lady while pointing at Totosai-sensei. "And how come his order was ready before mine? Can I have my ramen now?"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong with you." She said simply, her eyes fixed on the steaming noodles sitting next to her.

Inuyasha gave a frustrated groan, his eyes moving from Kaede to his teachers as he tried to –unsuccessfully- contain his irritation. "There's nothing wrong with me! Now would you please just get off by back, you bunch of old geezers. I just came for ramen, alright?" He said through clenched teeth. Seriously, they act like my personal nannies. I should have just stayed in my room 'till I cooled off.

Myoga-sensei raised an amused eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitching ever so often. "Aren't you being a little immature, Inuyasha-sama?" he said, while Totosai-sensei nodded his head contemptuously.

Inuyasha gave a long tired sigh, ignoring the old man and turning to his last resort. He dropped his ears for a better effect. "Oh come on Kaede-baachan, just give me my bowl, already! I don't wanna talk about it right now." he finally whined, his eyebrows furrowed and his lower lip puckered in an almost pout –Inuyasha Taisho did NOT pout, under any circumstances. He was about to use one of his other tactics (he was not going to go into details, but it was pretty effective), but haltered just as Kaede placed the first steaming bowl of ramen in front of him –yes, because he was never satisfied with just one bowl. Ah, finally. They could pester him to their hearts content, he had ramen now. He took a deep breath, his nose easily detecting all of the ingredients Kaede-baachan had used and grinned contently, now he felt a lot better.

He'd said it before; there was nothing like a steaming bowl of ramen to warm his heart.

Kaede-baachan tried to hide a smile "Fine, but you, young mister, are going to tell me what's really on your mind before you leave my shop, got it?" she said pointing at him with a wooden spoon while he gulped down the noodles.

"Whatever" he muttered reluctantly, his eyes stubbornly fixed on his now half-empty bowl and blinked twice. Wow, that was fast.

There was a few minutes of silence as the old woman tried to "By the way, Inuyasha, are you got to visit her this weekend?" she asked softly. From the corner of her eye she noticed the two old demons turn their way apprehensively. Their young master was known to be touchy over that particular subject.

For once his face was serene, calmed, but his eyes were different, distant. "No. I have weekend detention; here" he mumbled, taking a few bills from his jean's back pocket "Buy her some flower for me, I'll just stop by next weekend."

*.*-*.*-*

It was a slow afternoon, and so Sesshomaru Taisho found himself checking on the medical status of the student population and filling some unimportant paper work. His eyes lingered longer on Kai Higurashi's medical record, and he briefly wondered if the information was slightly modified or plainly fictitious; not that he cared, but it was part of his job to know after all. He heard Jaken's erratic footsteps coming from the small reception area, and repressed the urge to grimaced, that lowly demon did not have a single drop of grace in his body.

"Sesshomaru-sama, you have a call." The toad demon submissively said as he bowed politely, cradling the phone in his small hands tightly. "uh, it seems important."

Sesshomaru simply extended his hand, not looking up from his paper work; Higurashi's record, to be precise. "Hello" was his sharp reply. There was a brief moment in which the only sound heard was the muffled voice on the other side of the receiver. "Oh, it's you. Is there a reason why you're calling me?" another brief pause as he grabbed another file "I see. Yes, I met her on Monday, very clumsy girl if I may say so. She's the daughter of that man, is she not? I knew her face was familiar." He commented while turning to the next record, filling the medical status of another one of the students, the conversation not breaking his concentration in the minimum.

His eyebrows furrowed for the fraction of a second, his right hand gripping the pen tighter. "You want me to waste my time like that? I most certainly do not wish to-" there was another paused as the man on the other side of the phone quickly said a few world and Sesshomaru listened to the man´s proposal arching an eyebrow. "… go on."

"Very well. I will do whatever I can then." He said, hanging up shortly after. He raised his head to regard his 'assistant' with a concealed look of annoyance. "Jaken, make sure the fighting arena is empty every evening after seven."

"May I inquire why, Sesshomaru-sama." He asked tentatively, surely his master would tell him, right? It was highly suspicious. He was never this easy to convince, and that conversation had been rather short. Sure, they had communication issues, but his master would definitely not leave him in the dark, right?

Who was he kidding?

Sesshomaru felt like groaning, but that would not go well with his image, so he send Jaken a piercing glare instead, effectively shutting the toad demon up. "Just do it."

*.*-*.*-*

What was wrong with life? Was it too much to ask to hide in peace? Ah, what would she give for a few months of blissful tranquility; but no, he dad had to choose the weirdest place to hide. Kagome frowned, staring out of the window, the slight drizzle slowly but surely humidifying the window glass.

That boy was very stupid.

Kagome sighed, cradling the steaming mug of coffee. The strong smell slowly calming her down, leaving her slightly happier; she had once read somewhere that hot drinks promoted warm feelings, and she sure as hell needed some of those right now. She let the steaming substance roll around her tongue for a few seconds, embracing the distinctive taste, before swallowing.

Why was life so ironic?

"You don't seem very happy." She heard a voice say from her right and her eyes moved from the window to the person standing next to her table –one of the waitresses, she noticed. She had brown hair tied in a high ponytail and was regarding her… or rather him, with a curious expression. Kagome tilted her head, where had she seen that girl before? Curse her inability to remember faces -and names.

"I –uh, I kinda had a small disagreement with someone." She mumbled playing with the salt and pepper containers idly. "It's a long story." Why did people say that anyway? Hers wasn't a long story, was that just a mechanism to attract attention?

I need to get a life…

The girl looked around the café; he was the only one on her section and her manager had left to attend some 'important matters', so what the hell? "I've got time." She said shrugging.

That was not what she was expecting... I guess I can use this opportunity to get some advise, anyway, how much would it hurt to vent a little?

"Fine. Let's create a hypothetical situation, ok?" she didn't want to give unnecessary information, though speaking elusively about the Shikon no tama was nearly impossible. Hmm, which could be the easiest –safe- approach?

She waited for the girl to nod.

"Well, as a random, nonspecific example… Let's say I secretly had a djinn" at the girl's confused look Kagome clarified "–a genie as most people call them, in my power; but that dji- genie only granted one wish. You'd have to think that wish thoroughly, because there are always too many loopholes. One single mistake, one wrong move and that wish can end up in a catastrophe, and then there is no way to take that back. But no one thinks about that, they only want that wish with no care about the consequences. So… the point is, there's a lot of people after my genie; because, let's face it, to anyone else but me it sound amazing, right?" She said arching an eyebrow. The waitress nodded eagerly, looking around the restaurant once before shamelessly taking a seat in front of her.

"So, what's wrong with having a genie then?" she asked, leaning forward in her seat. Here she was, in front of a guy, and he was not even hitting on her, instead he was telling her a fairytale. Yup, a breath of fresh air.

"I'll get to that, don't worry" she said with the flick of her wrist "You can't ask for money, or fame, or power" she said absently, knowing that it was impossible to get money out of thin air, it had to come from somewhere –the Shikon no tama, too, worked under some empirical laws of physics, after all -, and well… fame and power would drive you mad, eventually; and then there was the thing that people wanted to avoid the most; death. "And you certainly can't bring back the dead –at least not completely. Ah, let's not forget there is always the weird megalomaniac who wishes for immortality too." She laughed dryly, staring at her cup of coffee. "Humans, demons… they are all so greedy, hence, that's the first thing that'll come into their minds."

The waitress frowned, rewinding the conversation a little bit "Why not completely?" At Kagome's blank look, the girl rolled her eyes "Bring back the dead."

Kagome sighed, grabbing the salt and pepper shakers and separated them, using the black shaker to pose as the body and the white one as the soul "Because… let's say I still have the body but the soul has already been reincarnated, would it be right to kill that person just so the soul can go back to its rotten body? I say kill because there is no way of knowing if one can take only half the soul. And, if –by any chance- the soul hasn't been through the wheel of Samsara yet, where could I get a vessel for that soul? I'm just assuming right now, because there is no way for me to know if this is possible after all."

"I can see the logic in that." She said nodding "So, what's the point of having that genie if you can't use it?"

The short haired girl laughed sourly. "No idea. I suppose to keep it from falling in the wrong hands." But there is scarcely so much I could do to protect this thing; I'm only human, after all. She thought, taking a sip from her coffee.

The girl sitting in front of her frowned in contemplation, her job long forgotten. "I see… but, what's the point of this story?" she asked tilting her head.

The point…? Kagome's elbow slipped from the table and she hesitated for a second. "Oh, right. It's kinda difficult to explain, but I have this history assignment about myths and well my classmate and I got into a discussion regarding the usages of said djinn, anyway… I need to get into the story, know what I mean?" the other girl just nodded uncertainly, as she saw the boy get back into his storytelling role. "Well long story short, we got into a tiny argument because… our views don't really coincide, we're like water and oil. One last thing, I just need to ask your opinion; this hypothetical person –who really wants this- doesn't know I carry that genie with me so; there is no imminent danger at the moment. My question is: should I automatically consider him an enemy or try to understand his reasons? You know, hypothetically speaking, of course."

The girl chuckled, shaking her head. This guy was getting too involved with his project "I think you should detach yourself from the situation and just watch it unwind. See where it goes; don't act yet, because you have a biased opinion, you think everyone going after your genie is up to no good. Just be cautiously optimistic or something, give it a chance but don't let your guard down. Well… that's what I think." The girl finished, nodding to herself and then smiled slightly. "So… you got all of this by having a disagreement with someone else?" she asked, grinning teasingly.

"Yeah, I'm sure I'm making a mountain out of a tiny, little harmless grain, anyway, I'm a pessimist just like that; but thanks for listening, I really needed to take that off my chest." Kagome said smiling sincerely, her eyes drifted to the window again and she missed the tiny smile, the light blush and the barely suppressed look of surprised delight that crossed the girl's features. Maybe this guy wasn't like all the other ones she'd met; not once did his eyes drifted anywhere below her chin.

"Why… are you looking at me like that?" she heard the boy ask cautiously, his head tilted slightly in confusion.

"Ah, nothing, nothing." She said smiling, but then frowned in disappointment when her eyes moved to the door. "I need to go, my boss just came back. I guess I'll just see you around, bye." She said, giving her a sincere grin and a wave. She waited long enough for Kagome to wave back before she left.

It was a few minutes after the waitress had left that she remembered just who she was. Wasn't she… that Sango girl? She hadn't associated them before because this girl was completely opposed of the one she saw yesterday. Huh, she was a nice girl, and that was a fairly interesting conversation.

I should have this conversation with him eventually.

Eh? Where did that come from?

I suppose everything will be alright as long as… as long as Inuyasha doesn't discover the fact that I have in my possession his ultimate desire, no big deal.

Probably from the same place that had come from.

I need to stop thinking Kagome finished her coffee –which she'd already paid- and left the cozy restaurant, clutching her blazer close to her body as the light rain hit her face.

*.*-*.*-*

She sighed, patiently exiting the locker room and walking toward the bleachers, a book safely hidden in her PE jacket. It had been two days and neither Inuyasha nor she was determined to give in. Oh, no, she was good at giving people the cold shoulder, and if her roommate didn't want to talk to the likes of her then… she would not bother trying to start a conversation. Although, she did feel a bit guilty and she had no idea why. Sighing again, she blocked those thoughts. At least she hadn't been plagued by nightmares since Tuesday; sure, she'd been having a restless sleep, waking up every hour or so, but that was considerably better than those nightmares, even if those dark circles under her eyes begged to differ.

It was finally the end of a long week, a long first week, and what better way to end it than an exciting PE class. Kagome was sitting quietly and successfully unnoticed on the bleachers, a Jules Verne novel sitting on her lap.

She rolled her sleeves up to the elbows -to prevent blood stains, of course- as she lazily looked to her left seeing a mass of students entering the gymnasium and her eyes widened. What was going on? Most of those kids weren't even second year students. She quickly checked her schedule. Yep, this was her next class. She looked up again, trying to find a familiar face. Yep, that was Jakotsu… flirting with Inuyasha, who looked just about to snap. Kagome felt a small grin crept up her face. Ha, it was always amusing to witness these events.

"Hey, what's up? You've been really quiet since Wednesday, is something wrong Kai?" she jumped and turned, finding Shippo and Miroku walking in her direction. She was about to reply when the taller boy interrupted her. He seemed serious and tense.

"Don't bother; both of them have stubbornness issues, Shippo. If Inuyasha didn't tell us, it's only rational to assume Kai won't either." Miroku said dryly as he walked past them. " Stubborn as mules" they heard him mutter under his breath and Kagome raised an eyebrow. Surely she was not that stubborn... Persistent, yes. But stubborn? That was Inuyasha's quality.

"What's up with him? And what are you guys doing here?" she asked tilting her head.

Shippo simply shrugged "He was already in a sour mood when I met him outside." He said standing next to her and she awkwardly got to her feet as she reiterated her second question. "Didn't you know? Today's 'Collective P.E day' that means two classes of every year get to have P.E together. It really sucks, because I'm a first year and sometimes they pair me up with upperclassmen." Shippo explained sulkily, his hand unconsciously rising to pinch the bridge of his nose. "And… I have a knack for losing. That's why I hate Fridays" he muttered dejectedly. Kagome placed a hand on the –surprisingly- shorter boy and gave him an encouraging smile. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

So… this happens every Friday, huh?

Kagome glance around the gym noticing how most of the students had some sort of weapon with them. Huh, weird. Her eyes stopped on a light haired boy standing in a corner, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rising. The feeling was very familiar to the one she had nights ago but not quite the same. He turned to her, his silvery pink bangs covering his eyes and she gulped, clenching her fists tensely.

"Who's that guy?" she asked Shippo quietly, her eyes still locked with the other boy.

"Him? Juromaru? No no, don't look at him so bluntly! God, are you suicidal! Break eye contact!" he whispered harshly, making exaggerated hand gestures to compliment his agitated speech. Kagome just gave him a look and he continued. "I've seen how vicious he can get when he's out for blood." She frowned, staring at the floor in deep thought. He gave her a bad feeling alright, it was just not as strong as the one she had felt before and she felt slightly uneasy. She blinked, trying to clear her mind; surely that guy was just… misunderstood, right? A victim of circumstances, as some people said. "He's really creppy, there are even some rumors that he goes every night to the underground gym. I mean, why would he do that? And why do you ask?" Shippo said in a conspiratory tone, inching closer with every word. In all truth, he'd never spoken to the guy- could he even speak? He didn't care, he'd been in this school for a month and a half and he was already terrified by most of the school's population. These days it didn't pay to be smart.

He saw Kai next to him tighten his lips, frowning pensively. "Nothing, I just have a bad feeling about… he- why is he wearing that metal-like mouth mask?" how could she not notice before? It was a kinda flashy detail.

"Beats me" he said shrugging. "Though the way he's staring so intently at you is kinda nerve-wracking…" Shippo said, fidgeting a little. He was about to sneak his way into another less creepier topic –weather, perhaps? - and sighed in relief when their old, senile teacher barged into the gym.

"Hello peeps" he said rubbing his hands together in barely restrain excitement. "A few announcements before we begin. Remember next Friday is Pandemonium Friday, and the next one is the last day of the cultural festival, and thus, we're having our own little tournament!" he suddenly paused, staring off into space for a few never-ending seconds. "What was I saying again?" he asked, idly scratching his head, a contemplative expression on his face.

In all honesty, was he the only one qualified for this job? Kagome furrowed her eyebrows and tilted her head faintly. There was something fishy about this. "Ugh, I hate pandemonium Friday!" she heard Shippo mumble in a dejected tone. Huh, he seemed to hate any kind of competition. Poor kid.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes "The tournament, old man." Seriously, why couldn't he just retire? Surely he was old enough… by a couple dozen years (centuries perhaps?).

"Right, right. As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted," he said glaring at the silver haired hanyou disdainfully. What the fuck! I was just trying to help! "Today we'll have a little warm up for next week's class. You may pair up if you want, I don't really care. Questions?"

Kagome tentatively raised her hand "What are the rules?"

"Ah, newbie, this would be your first time, huh?" she nodded, still uncertain. Totosai-sensei adopted a pensive look, bringing a finger to tap his nose lightly. "Anything goes. Oh. No, wait. I keep forgetting it. No killing, you'll be automatically disqualified –and suspended for a month; we don't want any legal drama... well the big boss, that is. I could really careless." He said giving a carefree wave.

I-is he serious?

At Kai's pale face, Shippo leaned closer to whisper "We've had some unfortunate accidents... no deaths yet, though." He said with an air of indifference. Though one had to wonder if that statement was as nonchalant as he wanted it to sound, he seemed like an easy target after all.

I guess this means he was being serious…

"Shippo" she said, looking directly at the smaller boy "you and I work together, ok?"

"Ok" he said, fisting his hand determinately. If they paired together they might had a chance of getting out of this relatively unharmed.

"Okay kiddies; grab your armors, weapons, whatever you have and get ready to rumble!" Their teacher grinned gleefully; at last, after a long week it was finally time for a bit of chaos and mayhem, if only for an hour. "Let the chao- games BEGIN!" Totosai-sensei yelled loudly, extending his arms to the sky as he posed magnificently. As soon as those words were said, all hell broke loose. Most of the human boys were running like headless chickens while most of the demon population ignored them, fighting humans was for sissies –unless they were fighting the band of seven, or Shichinintai, as they called themselves; that was always an interesting fight.

This was nothing like her previous PE lesson, yeah a weird wild game it had been, but nothing like this. Kagome took a deep breath, not feeling nearly as confident as she was trying to appear. She quickly ducked when a body went flying past her, Shippo quickly following suit. "S-so, what's the plan?" she stuttered, grimacing when a human boy fell next to her, a purple bruise on his cheek and a scratch on his left shin.

Oh yeah, she was stuck in the middle of chaos.

"Uh, how 'bout… remaining as invisible as possible? It works sometimes." Shippo offered grinning half-heartedly. He turned his head to the guy lying next to her, who was whimpering as he tried to soothe the pain on his leg. "Oh, hey Nobunaga. What's up?" the dark haired boy looked up and smiled in recognition, he gave a tiny wave and was about to retort when his eyes widened and he quickly ducked again, barely avoiding an approaching fire attack.

Her eyes widened considerably wa-was that really Totosai-sensei? She thought horrified as she saw the old teacher merrily spitting fire out of his mouth every now and then.

Shooting a look past Nobunaga, where another boy –Hakkaku… or Ginta? She wasn't really sure- had taken the blow and now was angrily looking for the culprit while rubbing his head. Kagome turned anxiously to Shippo they would get out of here unharmed. "Er –Sounds good enough, we can use the bleachers as an improvised shelter"

"Sure, let's camouflage, we can hopefully get there unnoticed." He said, taking the limp body of an unconscious student as a made up shield. Nice.

Kagome awkwardly grab Nobunaga by the back of his shirt and placing him in front of her hurriedly followed the young fox demon.

"Uh, I'm quite conscious… you're aware of that, right?" Nobunaga asked uncertainly while glancing back at her with a raised eyebrow, after a second his eyes moved to the front once again.

She frowned, wasn't it obvious? "Of course I am. I can't possibly carry a… 190 pounds?-"

"185, actually" he corrected inattentively, his eyes warily taking in his surroundings.

"Right, a 185 pound guy by myself." She commented, pushing him forward. "I'm actually helping you by bringing you along." She said, defiantly walking across the highly dangerous battle field –now she had a shield and a soon-to-be safe haven under the bleachers, there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.

"So Nobunaga, how's Hiyoshimaru?" Shippo asked casually as they kept avoiding the big fights. The clumsy guy nervously looked around before answering. "Oh, he's fine, monking around, as usual. He hasn't gotten me into trouble lately."

Shippo chuckled, his eyes drifted to the ceiling in remembrance. "Remember that time when the cafeteria food kept mysteriously disappearing?" Nobunaga grinned but didn't comment any further while Kagome frowned, feeling confused –and a bit left out of the conversation.

As the little trio –plus the unconscious random student- were nearing their soon to be hiding place, they heard one group of upper class student chatting idly, a tense Miroku fighting close by.

"How are things with that Sango girl, sir?" she heard one of the boys ask loudly. Very subtle.

"Good, good. I'm doing quite a progress." The one who appeared to be their leader said ostentatiously, his body language screaming 'arrogance'. He grinned maliciously, raising his voice slightly "I just want to bang her brains out, anyone can have her after that." he commented cockily, his eyes drifting to Miroku knowingly. He scowled, feeling his fists clenching tightly as his eyes narrowed dangerously into slits. That was it; the arrogant snob had been bad mouthing Sango-chan and yet gloating about his progress all day long. Now that last comment had stroke a raw nerve.

Kagome frowned, not liking this guy one bit. Not a fraction of a second later her eyes widened drastically and her jaw almost hit the floor as she saw calm and collected Miroku throw himself at Kuranosuke and punch him square in the face, all the time growling very much like Inuyasha. She heard Shippo mutter 'That's something you don't see everyday' while Inuyasha snorted, crossing his arms across his chest; the guy did have a backbone after all. He smirked when he heard the distinctive crack of a nose breaking.

"This is about a piece of ass?" Takeda Kuranosuke asked in mocked disbelief, raising his eyebrows in fake surprise; though, the constant blood dripping from his nose ruined the image. Kagome scoffed, already feeling repulsion for this guy; true, she had only talked once to the girl, but she seemed like a nice person.

"Don't call her that." Miroku said wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. This guy was asking for it, speaking about his Sango-chan that way. He lunged back with a mixture of punches and kicks that Kuranosuke could scarcely avoid. "Stay out!" Kuranosuke growled as some of his buddies tried to ambush Miroku. This was his fight after all.

"That's the enthusiasm I was talking about!" she heard Totosai-sensei yell merrily over the cacophony of the fights all around the gym.

"Oh man, this is priceless!" she heard Koga exclaim as the other two wolf demons grinned, nodding in agreement. Both of them winced a second later, feeling the pain of their wounds. Their eyes connected for a second and the wolf demon scowled, quickly breaking eye contact with her.

"Shouldn't someone try to stop them?" Kagome casually asked, looking back at Shippo, who shrugged and tried to move forward to stop them, only to be elbowed by Miroku on the gut accidentally. "…or not." She whispered, sending Shippo an apologetic look. Nobunaga placed an understanding hand on Shippo's shoulder; he'd been on that side of a punch… many times.

"As long as no one gets killed it's alright." She heard Inuyasha mutter. When had he gotten here? Last time she'd check, he was on the other side of the enormous room. He had an old, seemingly rusty sword hanging from a belt on his left hip, something she had not seen before. She almost gasped as saw Inuyasha frown and jump high in the air.

Very high.

"Inu-chan, so glad to see you" he barely had time to move before an eccentric sword hit the spot where he'd been. "Let's see if you unsheathe your sword this time!" the peculiar guy roared merrily as he tried to cut him once again.

"Jakotsu! I was trying to see that fight!" he snapped as his claws cut through the skin of his hand, better make this fast. "Hijinkessou" Inuyasha screamed as the blades of blood flew directly to his intended target. Jakotsu let out a happy squeal –and at that Kagome frowned skeptically- as his sword deflected the attack with some difficulty.

"Come on!" he whined, readying himself for a new attack "I want to see if your sword is as big as mine."

She heard someone chuckle behind her, she turned her head and found Miroku, with a black eye and a few bruises here and there. "I just love Jakotsu's double entendres." He said grinning slightly. "Did you know he's been hitting on Inuyasha ever since last year?"

She decided to just ignore that comment. "Done already?" she said raising her eyebrows, her eyes going back to Inuyasha's fight.

Miroku snorted. "Yeah, that snob doesn't know how to fight. At all." She held back a laugh and refrained from pointing out his black eye.

"Who do we have here." Kagome felt a shiver run down her spine –something that seemed to be happening a lot lately- at the tone of voice and turned her head to glance at the two demons smirking down at Shippo. One of them was stunningly attractive while the other was, well, not so attractive "Uh oh" she heard her friend mutter.

"Who are they?" she asked Miroku quietly as her eyes drifted from Inuyasha to Shippo and those demons.

"Hiten and Manten. The one with the black braided hair is Hiten, the older one –they are siblings- while the one with a face only a mother could love is Manten" she heard Miroku reply, his eyes narrowed slightly, and she ignored his rude comment, for once agreeing with him. "They have a bit of a disagreement with Shippo."

She watched as Manten, the disturbingly ugly demon punched Shippo in the gut, taking pleasure in the little guy's pain. "That's for getting too close to my lil' sister, you brat!" he sneered as Shippo tried futilely to fight back. He tried desperately to hit him with his fox fire but Manten merely laugh it off, sending a blow to his head, stepping aside when the boy hit the floor. "And that is for being a smartass! That'll teach you to watch your mouth. Don't think I forgot what you said on Monday, huh?" He smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, his work was done; he'd leave the dirty work to his brother.

Kagome quickly leaned closer to Miroku "What happened on Monday?"

"Uh, Shippo got into a verbal fight with them. They have this wrong impression… thinking Shippo and Souten are actually going out, and well… Shippo just snapped. That's why Inuyasha was trying to knock some sense into him that day." He answered casually, yet his eyes were worriedly fixed on Shippo.

Ah, that bruised lip really was for nothing…she thought miserably, half-heartedly focusing again on the 'fight', the very one-sided fight, and frowned. Where was the other demon? She moved her eyes from left to right, scanning the place for any trace. Nothing.

She felt a gust of wind and looked up, finally founding her target.

Kagome's eyes widened and her mouth opened in a silent gasp. He, that Hiten guy, he had a long staff with a sharp end; lightning emanating from the tip, and … was he flying? Granted, it was probably because of those weird flaming wheels on his feet, but flying anyway. And he was heading straight to Shippo. A barely conscious Shippo at that. And so she ran as fast as her legs could take her, ignoring Miroku's yells and barely getting there in time to tackle Shippo to the floor just when he was getting up. There had to be something she could be able to do to help him. Ah right, that spiritual force field… but it was too risky, she didn't have enough time. She needed to control her spiritual powers but right now her emotions were running high, and she couldn't concentrate. So she stood there, her feet engraved to the floor, her body paralyzing with dread, akin to a tree about to be struck by lightning.

Hiten gave a sick little smirk –one that made her flesh crawl-, not hesitating for a moment and Kagome felt a familiar sense of fear in her heart. This is it. On the last second she raised her left arm to protect herself while her body shielded Shippo's. Just when she felt the sharp metal begin to scrap her skin, she heard a roar, the pain in her forearm intensifying for a second.

And then it stopped.

"Are you out of your fucking mind! He's only human, jackass!" he spat staring at Hiten, a disbelieving frown on his face; equally annoyed he turned back to glare at the boy sprawled next to the terrified Shippo "And you, what the fuck is wrong with your sense of self-preservation?" he angrily exclaimed, stomping his foot on the floor for emphasis. Kagome gulped, her heart still hammering painfully against her chest, her emotions still running high as she brought her uninjured arm to rest over her forehead; she could've been the first casualty ever.

All in all, it could have been worse… a lot worse.

"Well, that could have been a lot worse" Shippo shakily voiced her thoughts, slowly standing up and helping Kai, who was absently cradling his wounded arm tenderly. She could feel blood creeping through her fingers, and Shippo stared at her worriedly. "You better get that wound treated."

"I'll go in a minute" she breathed, trying not to sound too amazed as she stared at Inuyasha's back baffled. Who could ever understand how his mind worked? They spend two days ignoring each other, she was sure he hated her and yet, he kept helping her. His words said something yet his actions demonstrated something completely different.

At that moment she decided she would listen to Sango's advice. Maybe the boy was not that bad, hell, maybe they could even get along –but that would take time… and perhaps an incredible amount of patience.

"You filthy hanyou!" Hiten snapped taking flight again, and distracting her from her thoughts. "Mere trash cannot defeat me!"

"You insolent little fucker!" Inuyasha yelled clenching his fists and leaping after him. "I'll show you who'll end up as a pile of shit!" so poetic she thought wryly.

Yeah, it would take a whole lot of patience.

"Oh, yeah? Show me what you got puppy" he spat disdainfully as Inuyasha flexed his fingers threateningly, blood already dripping from his claws as he prepared his next attack.

Well, she was willing to give it a try.

*.*-*.*-*

*Baachan: granny

Agh, now I understand why people take months to update!

I had one of the most boring weeks of my life –and my life has been pretty uneventful lately. My aunt went out of the country and left me in charge of her house, that included my grandma and my sort of great grandpa, who kept complaining that he was gonna die Every. Freaking. Hour – he's a 100… and I bet he's going to be the one who will bury me- and it was a pain! There is no internet, no cable, one of the TV's has 13 channels –only 6 work, and the TV has no remote (it was made BEFORE the remote control was even invented T-T )- and the other TV doesn't really work…. So yeah, I read a lot. I was supposed to stay until Friday but then my aunt called and said she would stay there until Monday because of a party.

(Ok that was like 3-4 weeks ago, but it still counts as a boring experience, right? … right?)

So, please be nice a leave a review T-T sucky? Not sucky? (any thoughts you want to share?)

Interesting discoveries (maybe?) next chapter, plus Saturday's date with Rin and her friends.

Mistakes? Let me know. I barely read it once… so…

P.S: I, uh, I might not update for a while… classes started last week, and university seems to suck the life out of me.

Oh by the way thanks for the reviews! 8D

Angel, CasedClosed621, Inuyashalover4ever, Sonyadore, Inuyashalovergirl4ever

And thanks to everyone else for reading, as long as you like it I'm happy.

Until next time,

Creature of the Grid.