Inuyasha POV:
I glanced at the clock. 4:52, plenty of time left.
After looking around the empty school gym, I turned back to my punching bag. I slammed my bare fists into it, putting my whole driving force into the blows to ram them home. A loud tearing sound pervaded the area as my arm went straight through the thick leather. I cursed as I picked up a roll of duct tape to cover the hole.
After another half an hour, the bag that had once been pitch-black was now covered in large splotches of silver. I was in the process of taping yet another hole shut when the janitor walked in and gave me a hearty glare.
"That's damaging to school property you know. I could report you." He said bitterly. Guess he doesn't like his job.
"Yeah," I called over my shoulder while packing up the equipment. "But you won't."
"Who's to say I won't?" He asked angrily as I approached him. I walked in silence until I was right next to him. I narrowed my eyes and spoke threateningly.
"I do." He gulped visibly. Even if he did report me, I didn't give a crap.
As I exited the school building, someone walked toward me with an easy, loping, gait. (A/N: If you've read my story 'A NeverEnding Night' you will recognize this guy! And no, it's not Sasori. I threw him into the pits of hell. With Kikyo, hopefully. :P) His pale brown hair was spiked up in the front with gel, making it easy to see the markings on his face. Cobalt blue vertical triangles ran with their bases hidden in his hair line, and the tips accenting his sharp eyebrows. His eyes were also cobalt, flecked with orangey-red, like leaping sparks.
"Inuyasha Taisho?" He queried. He was standing right in front of me now. We were a near perfect match in build and height: tall, but not gangly; muscled, but not overly so; handsome, but not to the extent that we would be harassed like Sesshomaru.
"What's up?" He smiled and stuck out his hand.
"Hoshi Warbeak. I'm your opponent in tomorrow's boxing match!" He said. I grasped his hand. He had a firm grip, but it was obvious that he didn't want overt animosity between us, else he would have tried to crush my hand rather than shaken it. "Just thought we should be acquainted before the match, ya know? In any case, pleased to meet you." With another fanged smile he pulled back. "May the best man win, eh?" I responded with a wolfish grin.
"Yeah. May the best man win."
XxXxXxXxXxX
Later that night I pondered the meeting with Hoshi Warbeak. He was obviously a hawk demon. We seemed evenly matched…
I pictured his face in my mind, contemplating his looks. Not bad. Unfortunately, his looks might not be so handsome after tomorrow. I sighed again and rolled over in bed. Whatever. As I drifted off to sleep I thought about the upcoming boxing match.
Nothing to worry about. I said to myself confidently. Nothing at all.
Kagome POV:
It was after school and the tension crackled in the air like an electrical storm. Boxing matches took place every two weeks. Inuyasha had won the first one, and been in the hospital for the second. The third match took place in five minutes.
Inuyasha seemed totally relaxed. I was the one who was panicking. I really didn't want to see him get beat up, but I didn't want to leave and seem uncaring either! I bit my lip and realized that they were slightly chapped. I looked around for my purse before realizing I had left it outside on the stone picnic table. I stood.
If I ran, I could still make it back in time. Miroku gave me an inquiring look, and I raised a finger to indicate that I would be back in a minute. I bolted out the door in search of my bag.
Inuyasha POV:
The match began with the ringing of a bell. Hoshi and I stepped together for the beginning of the first round.
We danced around to try and take stock of the others skill. At last I figured that the fight wouldn't progress if nothing happened, and threw a punch at his face. He ducked and barely avoided the blow as he aimed a counter-hit at my body. I blocked with my gloved hand and brought a glancing blow across his cheek. His eyes flashed. It was now that the fight really began.
What seemed like an unorganized flurry of punches to an outsider was really a complicated pattern of assaults, defense, and counter attacks to Hoshi and myself. We traded blows back and forth in the second round.
He was good. I would give him that. He just wasn't good enough. He lasted through the third round as well. It was his speed that was saving him. His hits were few, but hard. My right eye was swollen from a blow received early on, but Hoshi was bleeding from his mouth.
During the in-between time of the rounds I searched the crowd for Kagome. She wasn't there! Maybe she went to the bathroom… but then again, I had the lurking suspicion she hadn't.
Kagome POV:
It should have been easy to get to the table and grab my purse, but I couldn't.
Naraku and Kagura were there, talking. To be honest, Naraku and his siblings creep me out. A lot. I hid behind the corner of the building and waited for them to leave.
"Naraku," Kagura began, "Why do you hate the younger Taisho brother so much? What's his name…Inuyasha?" Naraku nodded.
"Yeah. Inuyasha." He hissed. "Filthy mutt. You really want to know why I'm after him?" he asked, glancing sideways at Kagura. She gave an exasperated sigh.
"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't have asked!" she cried huffily.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. I'll have to go back a ways though…" I listened as though hypnotized. Why was Naraku after Inuyasha?
"It all started with my human life as the cat burglar, Onigumo. (A/N: No, not a person who steals cats. A person who scales walls like a cat.) I had several faithful followers… but one man was planning mutiny. So, I sent him on a raid that would ensure he would get killed. A woman named Kikyo held valuable, ancient objects in her home. We never raided it though, due to her guard dog Inuyasha.
I sent him without telling him about that filthy stray dog Kikyo had taken in. I had watched them before. Inuyasha never left Kikyo's side. Even if he was out of sight, he was there. I was sure that the traitor would die.
But he didn't." Naraku paused for a moment to glare balefully at Kagura. "I can't really complain though." He muttered, just loud enough to reach my ears. "After all, it's thanks to Inuyasha that I have this." He said, gesturing to his body.
"Anyway, the man I sent to steal from Kikyo returned while I and the rest of my men were at a hotel. He was missing an eye. Most apparently, Inuyasha had gouged it out. He set the room ablaze, and everyone in it died. Except Onigumo.
Charred to a crisp and burned so deeply that his nerves had been fried. He lay there and waited for death. It never came.
Kikyo came and hid me from the authorities. As she cared for my wounded and broken body, I fell in love with the priestess. But Inuyasha stole her. All I wanted was to have a body so that I could be with Kikyo. So Onigumo gave himself to the demons, and thus, Naraku was born." His voice rose into a low, evil, chuckle. "None of Onigumo remained but his hatred Inuyasha and love for Kikyo.
With my new shape-shifting abilities, I took Inuyasha's shape and mortally wounded Kikyo. She shot Inuyasha and died. I figured that the mutt would die as well, but he didn't.
That dog permanently screwed up my life. I'm going to pay him back. In any way possible. Come on Kagura. We have things to do."
The pair rose and left, but I remained frozen. Naraku killed Kikyo? In Inuyasha's form? So Inuyasha was innocent and Kikyo's hatred was misdirected… I almost screamed on the spot.
I darted out and snatched up my purse before bolting back into the school. I totally disregarded the fact that there was a boxing match going on. I had to tell Inuyasha what I had heard. Right now. Before I forgot…
Inuyasha POV:
Hoshi's strength was flagging. One of the great things about being a half breed is that you get human persistence coupled with demon energy. These aspects combine to form a seemingly never-ending well of strength that could last for days.
As my opponents speed ran out I began to score more and more hits. After a while I spotted my opening.
I made a feint at a body-hit and when he moved his arm to block I flashed my left arm up in a powerful uppercut, slamming it heavily into his jaw. His feet left the ground for an instant before gravity took him and stomped his face into the mat. It was over. He didn't even try to get back up.
I had gained supporters, if not necessarily admirers, so the cheering was at least noticeable this match. I looked around. Kagome still wasn't there. Her voice suddenly rang out above the chattering of the crowd.
"Inuyasha!" she cried shrilly. I turned to the direction her voice was coming from and was nearly bowled over by her running into me. I caught her and looked at her wide eyes, full of mingling shock and fear.
"What?" I asked, wondering what was wrong. "What happened?" She leaned in close to me.
"I need to tell you something!" She whispered. I jerked back as her lips tickled my ear.
"What the hell is up then? Tell me here!" I cried. She shook her head desperately.
"I can't! We need to go somewhere no one can hear!" She gave a shudder as she remembered something. "Besides," she added, "If I tell you here, there's a good possibility you will kill someone." This surprised me. Did she mean I might kill someone out of ecstasy or anger?
"Um, okay… We could go to my house… I guess…" I thought guiltily of my undone laundry piling up in the corner and of how I hadn't dusted or vacuumed in a few days for lack of time. Kagome nodded briefly.
"Miroku, Sango, and I will meet you outside. Hurry up though, alright?"
XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Kagome POV:
I quickly told the three of them all that I had heard, watching Inuyasha's reaction. For a moment he didn't move, but I became aware of a low, rumbling growl, like an angry dog.
"I'm gonna kill that bastard. Right now!" He yelled and came to his feet. Miroku grabbed his arm and pulled him back.
"What the hell are you thinking Inuyasha? If you kill him, you'll get caught. And this time, they won't just throw you in prison to hang around for fifty years like a grounded child! This time," he stated more calmly, "they won't hesitate to kill you."
"Then what are we going to do?" asked Sango. "There's no way we just let this slide. Is there a way to clear his name?" Inuyasha jerked his arm out of Miroku's grip.
"No, dammit, no! Argh! There is no way I can just sit here and do nothing!" he bellowed.
"We're not doing nothing, my friend," Miroku said calmly, "we're strategizing. Most likely a concept you've never heard of, unfortunately…"
"You shut up." Inuyasha snarled. I put a thoughtful finger to my lip.
"I wonder, does Kikyo know Naraku killed her? She does seem to hang around him and his freaky siblings a lot. Are we sure they're siblings?" I interrogated, glancing at Miroku. He shrugged. "Anyway," I continued, "We don't necessarily need to nail him for killing Kikyo. If we can catch him doing something else illegally, we can get rid of him just as easily and tack the charges for Kikyo's murder onto the end… And I'm almost certain he's doing something illegal." Inuyasha shook his head with another growl.
"I still don't like it… Kikyo…" he murmured. I sighed internally. He still loved her. Of course he did, why did I expect any different? Mirkou suddenly clapped his hands together in one swift, decisive movement.
"Meeting adjourned! We'll just have to keep our eyes peeled for anything suspicious, alright?" he crowed. The rest of us agreed in muted tones. As I left Inuyasha's house, I felt something unsettling about this problem. Somehow, I didn't think we were going to be able to find much on Naraku that easily. He was much too crafty for that.
Naraku POV:
I lounged in my throne-like chair, one leg thrown carelessly over its arm.
"Kikyo…" I purred. "I have been good to you, have I not?" Rage bubbled beneath my calm surface, and I knew she could feel it. Stupid, foolish wench. She thought she knew everything. She knew nothing.
"Yes, Naraku." She replied stiffly.
"I have kept my end of the deal and not harmed Inuyasha in anyway, correct?"
"Yes, Naraku."
"So why," I asked, at last allowing some of my displeasure to leak into my tone, "Are your services less than satisfactory?"
"I apologize, Naraku." She said coldly.
"Yes," I sneered in return. "Apologize. And fix whatever the problem is. Remember, I have no real need of you. I could use anyone, but my generous nature is allowing me to use you, for your benefit. Leave me." I commanded. She swept out of the room, and I allowed a cold smile to spread over my lips. Three birds with one stone, I thought. Inuyasha will die trying to avenge Kikyo, Kagome will try to save Inuyasha, and Kikyo will die in her service to me.
"Naraku?" It was Kagura.
"Yes?"
"You don't really intend to let Inuyasha live, do you?"
"No. I have something special for him. An especially painful, slow, special something." I said with some relish.
And the same goes for you fool. The same goes for you.