For a prestigious boarding institution that had churned out more Final Selection candidates than any other and whose tuition would make most gag, it wasn't surprising that the school wanted their dorms to be more of a residence rather than just a cattle barn. The decent sized common area was filled with couches, tables and chairs with that lovely twenty four hour coffee bar that was somehow always manned. Despite its amenities and attempts at comfort though, hardly anyone used it which made it a nice place for people to sit and chat rather than trying to squeeze into their cramped living quarters. Especially this close to break.

This evening was no exception. Save one or two other students, it was just them and their coffee. Casually discussing plans. Perfectly normal and not at all dramatic or life changing plans.

"I'm sorry, you want to do what now?" Sango blurted as her eyelids fluttered and her brain tried to process this development. All she thought was happening tonight was the three of them getting together to discuss their trip home and what they wanted to do while in the Capital. Then again, Kagome had produced hot chocolate and had even sprung for take out. Her 'treat'. That should've been a red flag. Nobody ever said no to free food. Feed the tribe and then ask for a favor. Bribery at its most nefarious.

"I want to invite Inuyasha to come with us on break," Kagome repeated nervously before glancing at Miroku who seemed more preoccupied with Sango's shocked reaction than anything. Openly gaping, the poor boy had frozen with his noodles suspended in mid-air. Their journey to his mouth completely forgotten.

"We don't know what we'd be getting ourselves into," Sango huffed indignantly - completely missing the way Miroku was staring at her like she'd grown a second head.

"Exactly. Spending a few weeks together would be an excellent opportunity to get to know him," Kagome countered pointedly, "That is entirely the point. If he does agree to be on our team, I would like everyone to be comfortable with one another."

"Or maybe this will simply be an opportunity for him to size up our weaknesses," Sango huffed, "He already said he was going it alone. Why take that risk?"

"Nobody wants to be alone. Doubt he meant it," Kagome hummed dismissively. Miroku slowly placed his noodles in his mouth and chewed extremely slowly as his nervous gaze flicked between the two girls.

"His father was the first solo act to win in the history of the selection. Pretty sure Inuyasha meant it," Sango clipped irritably causing Kagome to roll her eyes, "Inviting him to spend a lot of time together is opening us up for a disadvantage. Friendly reminder, anything is fair game after the third round."

"His dad was on a team when he was our age," Kagome countered like this was common knowledge which admittedly it was, "The Fab Four just had a falling out. That's all."

Seemingly increasingly more nervous and more than a little irked, Miroku scooped up more noodles with a heavy sigh.

"Yeah, right before the final selection. Huge scandal," Sango sighed before glancing around the deserted common area, "Inuyasha could do the same thing."

"Where was this concern when we made the initial offer?" Kagome asked in a cool tone, "I don't remember you protesting-"

"May I ask why is this-" Miroku tried to interject but Sango either missed his attempt to speak or didn't care. Her mind and mouth were already off to the races.

"I did some mining and dug up some stuff since then," Sango hissed defensively before pulling out the small rectangular index everyone kept on their person. Pressing a single finger to the back, Sango cleared her throat and began reading, "Did you Know Inuyasha's dad had to get a tribunal's order to kick them out? The members initially challenged the motion, but they withdrew their objections a few days later. Only reasonable explanation is that they got some threats and were bullied into giving up."

"Okay, that's unfair and probably wrong," Kagome groaned in frustration, "Maybe there was something-"

"The former wife of the Candidate, who was one of the Fab Four by the way - filed for divorce the day after the tribunal signed their order. I could only get partials but it's damning. Literally cites the order as the cause for her filing," Sango continued summarizing out loud as she glanced up at both friends before putting her tablet back down, "Inuyasha's dad kicked his own wife out. His wife. Who does that?"

"I'm sure there was a good reason," Kagome muttered, "That doesn't have anything to-"

"Kagome, it means we can't trust Inuyasha. An apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Plus, you do realize he murdered his own dad, right? Clearly not someone who can be trusted as a team mate. Especially past a certain level," Sango pressed as her hands tightened on the steel mug in her hands which groaned in protest of the pressure. Eyes widening in surprise, Miroku dropped his hand and cast a quick glance at Kagome with concern written all over his face.

"Okay, that happened when he was three. Where was this concern when we gave him an offer?" Kagome countered with a heavy sigh before pulling up the small tablet that everyone was required to keep on their person. Holding it up so the face recognition would unlock her module, Kagome quickly began swapping to her saved favorites and pressed on Inuyasha's profile.

"Look. Miroku is right. Inuyasha's stats are everything we need," Kagome offered sweetly before clearing her throat and starting to read, "Hybrid naturopath. Top tier kinetic. Canine animorph. Weapon oriented manifest. Regeneration. Grounded aviator. Baseline-"

"I'm not saying his resume isn't impressive. It's one thing to say we want you on our team. It's another to invite him on a cross country trip," Sango interrupted with a scoff as her brain finally got back into gear, "He's dangerous and we don't know him."

"So how do you know he's dangerous then?" Kagome pointed out with a saccharine sweet smile, "Spending a few weeks with him would give us the chance to see if he's a good fit."

"That's not why you decided to invite him. You impulsively got this idea because you saw it was his birthday last Saturday, turned to me and said, and I quote, 'it's just so sad'," Sango pointed out dourly while Miroku remained uncharacteristically quiet.

"Is it a crime to help people who are hurting?" Kagome asked innocently, "His mom died. He has nowhere else to go. He's going to stay here. No one else is staying here. Literally no one. Not even the professors."

"And who is paying for the ticket?" Sango countered with a withering glare.

"He's from the Capital. I'm sure he could pay his own way," Kagome replied without a skipping a beat before continuing to scroll through Inuyasha's profile. Her finger paused and her face crumpled, "Oh. His last known address is in Cheapside. I just thought with his dad and all that…"

Chewing her bottom lip, Kagome stared for a moment longer before shrugging and continuing to scroll.

"I'll call Mama and ask her to book another," she hummed with a shrug, "No big deal."

Sango bristled.

"We do not know him. I don't want to bring someone we do not know home with us," she countered, "Especially someone so dangerous. Inuyasha killed his own-"

"Is this how you talked about me before approaching?" Miroku finally interrupted – offense written all over his face, "You both have known me since primary. We all applied to the Academy to stay together. I cannot believe-"

"Of course we didn't sit here talking about someone we were already friends with. Why are you mad?" Sango huffed while giving the flustered boy a somewhat hurt look, "You're the one who stalked Inuyasha. Bringing him in was your idea."

Miroku bristled.

"My body count is almost a hundred. I killed far more than Inuyasha ever has," Miroku snapped before glaring at both girls, "Before Kagome brought me into the fold, did you sit here and talk about how dangerous I was? Bring up-"

Sango cringed before squaring her shoulders and giving Miroku a reassuring albeit strained smile.

"No. No, of course we didn't. Even if we had, those deaths weren't your fault. Even your profile says their cause of death was accidental," she tried while Kagome clearly struggled to find the right words, "The difference is that we knew each other before we asked if you wanted-"

Miroku huffed before yanking the tablet out of Kagome's hand and angrily scrolling upwards.

"Look. Toga Taisho. Status. Deceased. Cause of death. Homicide. Manner of Death. Accidental," Miroku clipped before holding out the screen, "Right there. Accidental. Why are we talking about Inuyasha like he's some dangerous serial killer? I lost control. He lost control. No difference."

"Fair point," Kagome offered before giving Sango an apologetic yet somewhat chiding look, "Sango, I want Inuyasha to come with us. That's how friendship works. You just pick a human you've met and just do stuff with them. Even if he doesn't join our team, he could still be our friend."

For a long time, Sango simply looked between the two conspirators who were clearly upset with her. It wasn't like her concerns weren't unfounded. Even in the further regions of the country people heard about how the toddler son of the reigning Candidate attacked and killed his father in cold blood. Sure, one could say he lost control but, unlike Miroku, Inuyasha clearly hadn't accepted help or accommodations. He decided to go it alone…

Which meant that loss of control could happen again. Especially in the middle of regularly scheduled battles. One bad hit and Inuyasha might explode or something for all they knew.

Then again, both Kagome and Miroku had a tendency to explode themselves when tensions ran hot so maybe she was overreacting. Judging Inuyasha too harshly before getting the whole story…

It worried her though. His father had been one of the most powerful beings ever to enter that arena and a three year old managed to take him out. A three year old who was now almost a grown man…

"Fine. Fine. I'm sorry," Sango acquiesced even though it made her infinitely uneasy so she ended with a lame joke which was not her strong suit, "People are going to start thinking you're scouting orphans with tragic backstories."

"I really doubt anyone is talking about me. I'm not that interesting," Kagome snorted before taking her pocket-sized tablet back from Miroku and stuffing it back into her jeans pocket, "So its settled. I'll talk to him."

Each student had an assigned space in the dorm. For how pricy the Academy could be and how nice most things were, the rooms where you slept, ate and breathed only provided the bare minimum necessities. Cheap stripped pine with their rough canvas mattresses were jammed in the room which couldn't be larger than a ten x ten space. Everything else came out of your own pocket. Most people who had money brought in their own furnishings and made the drafty room homier. Decorations. Better mattresses or, at a minimum, mattress covers. But Inuyasha was there on a scholarship which paid for his education, room and board. The quilt was a homemade one that had definitely seen better days. The plastic peeling desk was a very old and very unsteady one that he'd found on the side of a dumpster when he first got here. Thankfully, the claustrophobic space had a built-in closet, or he'd still be living out of his suitcase. There was exactly one grime covered window he'd never bothered to clean which provided light during the day and the chipped lamp he'd brought from home illuminated the room at night. His decorations might not be as nice as most, but he thought he'd done a pretty decent job making do with what he had. So what if it wasn't the pinnacle of comfort? No big deal. It'd just be for a few months out of the year, and he spent most of his time in class, studying or training. Wasn't like he was going to be stuck in here for weeks on end with nowhere else to go during breaks.

What a naive little bastard he'd been. In hindsight, Inuyasha wished he would've brought more from home rather than less. Undoubtedly, their small apartment had either been ransacked or cleaned out by now. Everything had probably been gone by the end of that week. All their clothes. Heirlooms. Photographs. It hadn't really hit him until he said out loud that he'd staying here that he no longer had a home to go back to. He didn't have anyone or anything to his name. He wasn't necessarily a sentimental person, but he would've liked to have something. Unfortunately, though, he didn't have anything or anyone because of his poor decision-making skills.

He really was all alone.

Seemed pretty stupid but, upon saying that he was alone out loud, Inuyasha had launched into a downward spiral and spent the last week of school curled up in his room making no noise and wishing he didn't exist. His advisor had mercifully signed off on the absences. This temporary bout of madness wasn't going to ruin his scholarship or impact him in any real way. Mainly, the only person he had to thank for this bit of grace was himself. Apparently, he hadn't taken the Academy up on the offer to take a leave of absence after learning his mother died but he honestly didn't remember them even offering. Where would he have gone anyway? There hadn't been a funeral. Couldn't afford one. From what he'd been told, after the fact mind you, Mother's body had been tossed into the same mass grave all the other poor people and criminals got chucked into.

Inuyasha sniffled and snuggled deeper under his moth-eaten covers. Life with Mother hadn't been perfect by any means. Lack of money aside, she'd basically conditioned him into thinking absorbing power until you puked or passed out was a perfectly normal thing to do. Looking back, the reason she told him to never tell anyone about that - in particular - was probably her way of avoiding getting the authorities involved. Especially when they constantly on thin ice because of what he'd done as a kid. Still, whether their lot in life was his fault or not, let's just call a duck a duck. What she'd done to him would definitely be defined as child abuse at a precursory glance. But he'd been happy to help her. Wasn't like she was making her condition up. She needed help. Without him, she would've died a long ass time ago. He didn't want to be taken away and placed in some home for juvenile delinquents. And she'd made it up to him. Never let it go too far. Defended him when needed. Encouraged him to study and found a way for him to get everything he'd need to succeed if entering the arena really was how he wanted to go. Mother had loved him and while she wasn't perfect, she was still his mom...

She was someone. It was his fault his someone was gone. He should've just stayed. He should've but he didn't.

Inuyasha reached up to wipe away a few of the tears treacherously streaming down his cheek and dampening his pillow.

Maybe getting waived through the first few rounds wasn't a bad way to go. It'd give him some time to get his head on straight and some time to wallow in self-pity. Problem was that the most important rule of survival was that feeling sorry for yourself didn't do a damn thing to save you. Just didn't work like that and if he just laid here crying for two years, he'd get killed off straight away. That's the entire reason the first two rounds were so hard and why so few got through. Couldn't just have a full blown massacre once the little kids gloves came off. Most people couldn't take heavy blows and even if you were strong, all it could take was one bad hit to knock your lights out. Also the reason only the semi-final and final selections got televised. Very, very few people died in the arena but the road there was littered with bodies. That's why places existed like the Academy and other schools who specialized in getting candidates to that final stage. Most people, though, only watched or cared every four years. Cheered for the people they liked.

Inuyasha would be lying if he said he still wanted to go through with the process. Mother had been the whole reason he'd even entered the process in the first place. She needed care they simply couldn't afford and much to his shame, Inuyasha couldn't handle being her medically necessary punching bag any longer. Looking back, his absence was probably what killed her. If he'd been there, he could've stopped it. Just like he'd always stopped it. It was his fault she was gone and now he was going to live with the consequences of his own actions for the rest of his life.

"Inuyasha? Are you in there?" a soft voice called out from the hallway followed by the sound of light rapping against the door, "Its me. Kagome? Look I brought you my biology notes. I thought you might need them."

Reluctantly propping himself up, Inuyasha stared at the door for a long time hoping she'd just go away. There was a second series of light knocks though and he could hear her heart picking up speed from here. She was nervous which meant she'd probably figured out what he was doing in here. Wouldn't've been too hard to do. No such thing as privacy anymore and nothing to stop a well-meaning teacher from sending her his way as a pick me up.

God dammit.

"I don't need your damn notes," Inuyasha barked out before cringing when his voice cracked from disuse. Clearing his throat, he added, "Go away."

The shadow on the other side of the door shifted slightly.

"I have another question for you. If you'll hear me out," Kagome offered sweetly, "I was wondering if you'd want to come home with me and my friends for break. Instead of staying here."

Blinking sluggishly at the door, Inuyasha slowly slid out of the bed and made his way over.

"W-why?" Inuyasha asked – his voice still thick and hoarse from disuse and tears. Trying to stomp down the impulse to immediately agree, Inuyasha listened as Kagome sighed and her heart picked up speed. As strange and awkward as that proposal was, there was a part of him - a desperate, lonely part - that had broken when the reality of his situation finally hit him. It was an undisputed fact was alone. There was no one who could catch him if he fell. No one who would defend or understand him. Then again, if he put a spin on it so he didn't lose his mind, he'd lost everything and now had nothing left to lose.

That didn't mean he was going to ignore a lifeline so he didn't drown. No one ever talked about how much grief felt like fear. It hadn't been so bad to not feel good most of the time, huh? Not going away to school could've been fine. Better even in some ways. Being completely alone was his worst nightmare apparently. He'd just never known…

"Well, I thought it'd be a good opportunity to get to know each other. You can make an educated decision about whether or not you want to be on our team next spring," the strange girl offered without skipping a beat.

"So… you want me to go home with you?" Inuyasha tried to clarify before adding after an awkward silence, "What's the catch?"

"No catch. No obligation. I'll buy your ticket and everything," Kagome added, "But no pressure. Just let me-"

"Who said I can't afford a ticket on my own?" Inuyasha huffed defensively and he heard Kagome's heart skip a beat.

"Well since it's my offer I thought it'd be only fair if I paid so you're not out of pocket," she finally offered, "It'd be rude to make you pay."

Trying to remember how to breathe, Inuyasha stumbled back into the wall and pressed his back against the cold painted brick. This was too good to be true. No one had ever given him anything except damnation. The son of the most powerful champion who'd managed to murder his father. Whose crime had been plastered all over the news. It never mattered that he'd been acquitted. He was dangerous. Should've been drowned at birth. Cast out into the street. Locked up for life.

And yet this girl was going out of her way to include him. Knew he was alone and was extending her hand. Sure, she had an ulterior motive but who cared? Nothing in life was free and maybe while he was in the Capital, he could see whether there was anything left he could salvage. This could be good. Actually. Definitely more than he deserved.

"I-I'll think about it," he managed hoarsely as he slid down the wall and sunk onto the floor. Hopefully, that didn't sound desperate or weak. Shit if he knew though. He could barely hear anything above the pounding in his ears.

"While you're thinking, I'll go ahead and buy your ticket. Just in case. We're meeting outside the main entrance around four. If you want to go, just meet us there okay?" Kagome hummed happily and Inuyasha let out a shuddering breath. A long awkward silence followed.

"It's getting late so I gotta get back," Kagome offered after clearing her throat, "Have a good night, okay? I really hope you decide to come with us."

Inuyasha blinked a few times then furrowed his brow.

"Us?"

"Oh! Miroku and Sango - the two from lunch - are coming too. It should be fun," Kagome clarified before letting out a bemused laugh, "Sorry. I should've clarified. Anyway, good night. If I don't see you tomorrow, I hope you have a good holiday."

Letting his head fall back, Inuyasha nodded faintly and tried to climb out of the hole he'd dug himself. This could be a trap. Probably was a cruel joke. Hope simply wasn't a luxury he could afford and trusting these bastards could cost him everything...

Well, that thought was a joke. How can you lose everything when you had nothing left to lose?