(A/N: Sorry about the delay, everyone. I just wasn't quite in the mood for writing in the past two weeks, and not only that, when I tried, I wrote stuff that didn't even make sense. ^__^ Longest chapter so far to make up for it. Also, I'd like to recommend this really good fiction I read the other day called, "Legend of the Labyrinth" by Chris-san. It's an Inuyasha fic as well, but for some reason I found it was really interesting, so check it out later! ^_^ and the other stories in my favourites I'd also check out as well! For now, enjoy the chapter! By the way, the ending might get a little citrus, so if you're offended by that sort of thing, don't read it. ^_^) The Red Card Stop It *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Kagome could only stare disbelieving at the scene playing before her, rolling quickly through like viewing it on a TV screen on fast forward. First, she could barely catch what Inuyasha was saying, but she was sure he was speaking because his lips were parting slowly, occasionally flashing a terrifying smirk. It looked as if some evil spirit just overtook his body...and it scared her and presumably the other students to no end. And now she sort of wished she could read lips, because all of a sudden he appeared angrier, shaking the boy madly whilst yelling some words Kagome recognised as, "fucking" and "sorry". She figured she'd hear much better if she just scooted up a little in the crowd...but she ignored that thought and stayed put. Meanwhile, Inuyasha seemed to get even angrier with his victim dangling by the neck. So maybe the boy did harass Hojo quite a bit, but he didn't deserve this kind of treatment! No one did! His face was turning an unusual colour for a face, and his pleading eyes looked like crystal glass, about to shatter. Her heart tugged with sympathy for the boy...but her body refused to move. 'But why...why can't I say anything? Why can't I storm up there and stop him? Why is everyone just watching this with mild amusement?' Kagome thought desperately while trying to convince herself to go up there and stop Inuyasha, slap him, anything! But he appeared as if he wouldn't even recognise himself anymore, let alone her. She also knew that if she just stood there like all the others for too long, it would probably lead to the end of a life. Sadly, her legs slopped like jelly and she knew inside, she was deeply terrified of this monster, this monster whom she used to joke around with, tease, and even annoy once in a while. Now his piercing red eyes made his old gold eyes seem normal in comparison, and they irradiated even in the dark hallway. His normally fit muscles bulged out more than they ever have before. Not that she ever stared on purpose, of course... One thing was puzzling her even more on top of his bizarre behaviour. Just earlier this morning he was just being the normal, annoying jerk that he was, and here he was about to murder someone! There had to be something wrong with him...and when he was sane enough, she was going to demand an explanation from him... But for some strange reason right then, all she wanted to do was walk up there and hug him and reassure him ...bring him back...he seemed so clueless...so lost... "Anyone..." Kagome whispered sadly, lowering her head to the floor slowly, feeling no better than the other useless people. "Please...stop him...bring back the old Inuyasha, before he actually does kill someone..." Silence. It couldn't be helped now...the boy was probably going to die, and after a week or so of mourning everyone at this school will forget him and continue their snobby, selfish lives. Inuyasha was going to kill even more people on his insane murderous path, most likely her, too. Nothing good seemed to be coming out of this...perhaps she should call the police? Nah, they'd probably rush here and do nothing once they realised it was the oh-so- wonderful Inuyasha. Then all of a sudden, Kagome snapped her head up to see Miroku and Kouga show up out of nowhere, and they looked pretty determined to stop their friend...Miroku even ignored the wink of the beautiful new exchange student. "Inuyasha! Stop it, you're going to kill him!" She heard him shout and she watched intently as he tackled his friend from behind. Kouga had jumped in to help out as well, and he held back both of Inuyasha's arms with all his might, though it appeared to be harder than it looked. Inuyasha was huffing and thrashing around, and Kagome swore she heard some growling in there. "LET ME GO...YOU ASSHOLES!" She could hear him scream in pure rage, and the two men were having terrible difficulty holding him back. Just then, she noted since Inuyasha was now fighting back against his friends with both hands, the boy was nowhere to be seen. Glancing down immediately, she saw he now lay unconscious on the floor, his hands as white as paper, his body limp, not moving an inch. Kagome shakily brought her cold hands to her lips, the person looked exactly like a corpse, all still and pale. To top it off, she'd never seen one before, except in movies...and a sick feeling rose to her stomach, making her a little wheezy. Meanwhile, everyone else just stared on at the rumble happening between Inuyasha and the two Y4 members, not bothering to take even a glance down at the boy. 'Why is everyone just watching them fight? Does...does nobody care there's...just somebody on the floor? Half dead?!' Kagome screamed to the others, her lips moving but nothing coming out. Not able to stand it much longer, she shrieked while pointing at the body, ""Somebody call the paramedics! He's going to die!" And without realising it, Kagome spun around and dashed out of the room, never wanting to turn back around. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* "I'm such an idiot!" Kagome swore to herself as she slapped her head. She hadn't wanted to go home after school because she'd only think more about it, so instead she found a nice little spot on a swing in the park, just dangling lightly back and forth. Judging by the sky, she had probably sat here for two hours or so, because it was starting to get dark already. And to tell the truth, she really couldn't care less. "Why?" She heard a tiny little voice squeak all of a sudden. Turning her head around, she spotted a cute little boy with red hair swinging on the swing next to her. When had he gotten there? She hadn't seen him... "Why what?" She asked, giving him a sweet smile. "Why did you call yourself an idiot? My brother always calls me that when I make him mad. Did you make someone mad?" He replied, grinning at her. "Hi, little kid." Kagome smiled widely, completely ignoring his question. She got off her swing and kneeled down where she was. It was late, and this kid seemed to be alone. "Where's your mommy? Are you lost?" "I'm not a kid! I'm a man!" He retorted, punching his chest with one tiny fist to make a statement. Kagome giggled and climbed back onto her swing, kicking off to sway lightly. "Of course you are, now where are your mom and dad?" The kid stared blankly ahead, paused for a second, before turning away. Obviously he didn't want to answer that question... "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." She reasoned, smiling politely. Poor kid probably had no parents. "My name's Kagome." He whipped back around and smiled at her excitedly. "I'm Shippou! Nice to meet you!" "Nice to meet you, Shippou. Now why are you here by yourself?" Just because she wasn't going to talk about his parents didn't mean she wasn't going to ask where he was from. "No fair! I asked you first!" "Asked me what?" Kagome asked, puzzled. "Why you called yourself an idiot!" Kagome giggled nervously. What in the world was she supposed to tell this little boy? The truth? Yea, some guy she knew tried to kill someone today...that would be a good thing to teach him. "Um...I'm calling myself an idiot because I got in a fight with my good friend today." Good enough, the kid wouldn't suspect a thing, and it was kind of true in a weird sort of way. "Really? Why?" Shippou stared at her attentively. 'None of your business!' She wanted to yell at him, but couldn't bring herself to because he was staring at her with the most adorable face. "Because they're jealous that I've got another friend!" "Why?" "Well, um...he kind of thinks that I'm his only friend, you see. And he hurt someone else because he was so mad." That hadn't anything to do with her. Maybe Inuyasha was just having a bad hair day or something...and now that she thought more of it, why was she blaming herself over something he did? She wasn't responsible for his aggressive behaviour! "Do you like him?" Shippou suddenly asked, looking as serious as he sounded. Kagome's cheeks dotted with a deep pink as she chose to stare down at the sand at her feet. Kids nowadays were growing up way too fast! Laughing nervously, Kagome pretended to not understand him. "Wh - who might you be talking about?" "The guy that hurt someone!" The boy explained as if Kagome was the slowest creature on this Earth. "HIM?!" Kagome stammered, he was talking about Inuyasha? She didn't like that jerk! He was a jerk! A jerk... "Of course not!" Shippou was confused. "You're friends but you don't like him? I thought friends liked each other." "They do! But, um..." And here she thought Souta was annoying! Kagome twiddled her two fingers together skittishly, not knowing quite how to answer his question. "You like him as a friend but not anything more?" The kid interrupted, almost reading her mind. Kagome stooped her head slightly, giving him her answer. "Do you like the other guy then?" "Um..." Now there was a hard question. But wait, why is she spilling her feelings out to some kid on a swing? She didn't even know the answers to these questions herself! "Let's just say I like them both the same. Not any more then friends, all right Shippou? Do you want some cake or something? My treat!" Kagome offered, changing the subject. Now all she had to do was take him to her work place, give him a piece of cake, and drop him off at the police station...Kagome patted her back mentally. "You can't like them both the same!" Shippou yelled, oblivious to her favour. "Because nobody likes anyone the same! There must be something they do that makes them more likeable!" Kagome sighed and thought hard about that. "Well, it's actually not that easy, Shippou. What about this then? Do you like your mom or your dad better?" "I liked my mom better." He replied without a thought. Kagome regretted her question as soon as the word, 'liked' escaped his lips. "See?" He continued, leaning back on the swing playfully. "It's not too hard. Now who do you like better?" "I...I don't know...and why do you even care?" Kagome snapped, in a stage of denial. Why couldn't she like them both the same, damnit? "I dunno." He shrugged. "I'm just helping you out." "And how is this helping me out?" "Well," The boy explained wearily, trying to do a flip on the metal chain. "Since obviously that guy doesn't want you to have another friend, you should choose the one you like better, and spend time with him. No point torturing yourself, right?" Kagome was speechless. Just how old was this kid anyways? But, taking his advice into serious account, Kagome pondered this. Sesshoumaru did already have a girlfriend, sort of, but he was kind to her...occasionally. Inuyasha was, well, just Inuyasha. "I don't know!" She screamed to no one in particular, angry with herself for making her brain think so hard. She slowly lowered her eyelids and was so angry she thought she was going to hurt something. "I don't know...Shippou...tell me, what should I do? Should I forget both of them? I can't do that though..." Pure silence reached her ears. "Shippou?" Forcing her eyes open, she noticed Shippou had gone. But...she would have seen him run away, wouldn't she? "Weird kid..." She mumbled silently and stood up, plopping her backpack on her back and started away for home, so exhausted that she didn't even see the large pink bubble floating nearby... She knew she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight with all that was going on in her mind at the time. Let alone any studying time...there was a huge math quiz tomorrow and she knew jack about the topic. "Shit!" She yelled suddenly, remembering something terribly important. She had irresponsibly left her math textbook at school because of the fight! There was nobody she could really call for notes, except for Hojo. But he wasn't even in her math class...and since she was only about three blocks from the school, she decided she would just run in there and grab it as quickly as she could. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* 'When...did I get so out of shape?' Kagome huffed as she stepped on the first ascending step leading towards the main door of Wakashu. She had a hand over her chest, breathing heavily. Making her way up the stairs one at a time, Kagome still couldn't get something off her mind. That boy...Shippou was it? She wondered where he came from, and why he could just disappear like that those two times...normally, she would be panicking at the sight of something abnormal like that, but now, she was too tired to care. And why did he say the things he said? Could she have perhaps dreamt him? Kagome circled her temples with her fingers, trying to calm down. Reaching the door and expecting it to be locked due to the time, she was surprised to see it click open easily. 'At least I won't have to get the janitor.' She thought to herself light-heartedly, stepping onto the floors of the building and carefully closing the door behind her. It was pitch black inside, with the faintest tint of light from the windows, but still dim enough that she could fall unknowingly. The school appeared to be some sort of dungeon or laboratory, with the science jars and skeletons popping out of the windows in many classes. Kagome was feeling a little tingly being all alone in a place like this, but she scared away that thought by thinking of the time Inuyasha poked her on the shoulder with the skeleton's finger in science class, scaring the living daylight out of her. He left the class with a red slap mark across his face...served him right. She giggled to herself again, reminiscing the times when Inuyasha was just his normal annoying self. 'I guess you don't appreciate what you've got until you lose it...' She thought sadly, trying to figure out how that saying was true in Inuyasha's case. So she misses the obnoxious, stuck-up, moron, when he's replaced with a murderous monster? The choices here weren't exactly attractive... She slowly strolled past the gym, after she barely broke something coming down the stairs. How was she to know there were so many steps? The humongous gymnasium reminded her of PE class, which then lead to her remembering the time Inuyasha stole her shoes and...wait, that was today. Suddenly, she swore she heard a distant moan coming from somewhere in the school...and she could feel Goosebumps all over her arms, and legs, and most likely her neck and face as well. She'd often read horror novels where the innocent teenage girl was isolated somewhere, and then some sort of murderer would jump out of nowhere and stab her in the back, or strangle her, etc. And to think she used to think those books were so thrilling to read. That compared to being in the real thing, was like an ant, to the hugest, most disgusting crawly thing on the planet. "I'm not scared..." She breathed out silently, trying her hardest not to give in to just spinning around and dashing out the doors. But, then she would have come in here for nothing...and she absolutely HAD to get those notes. And of all the lockers in the school, she gets the one furthest from the main door. Fate just loved her, didn't it? A slight rumble stirred from nowhere, and Kagome realised that it was only her stomach. Or at least she hoped it was...the fear building inside of her was getting uncontrollable. Sweat was gleaming down her forehead and her eyes were bright and alert. It didn't calm her any, so she did what anyone would do in a scary situation. She sang. "I'm a little teacup, short and stout. Here is my handle, here is my...stout?" Kagome couldn't remember that part of the song, so she decided to repeat the only song she could think up nonetheless. "I'm a little teacup, short and stout, here is my handle...here's my locker!" Kagome spotted her locker sitting in its usual place. Scrambling to the lock in record time, Kagome flipped the combination as fast as she could, and when she pulled the round metal part with all her might it wouldn't budge. 'How come almost every freakin' time I'm in a rush the lock never opens?' Kagome panicked, still turning the lock crazily, begging for it to open. And just like on cue, the lock clicked open with a tiny tug of her wrist, and Kagome immediately plucked the lock off the locker. "Finally!" She congratulated herself loudly as she yanked open the metal door. Smiling, Kagome instinctively stuck her hand into the unclear space, only to feel the cool surface of the metal. "What the...?" "Looking for this, bitch?" The blood-curdling voice sent hives down her stomach and shooting back up. She yelped and flipped around cautiously to face the intruder, she could only stare with her jaw dropped to the floor. Even in the dark light, she could still make out his face. He was leaning against some lockers like earlier that day, when he cut up her runners. His eyes were probably twice as red as they appeared to be from where she saw them in the hallway, but there was something else distinctively wrong with his face. His normally sharp fang was now showing noticeably, and if she wasn't mistaken, there were some faint purple lines on his flawless face. Was that...? In his clawed hand was her math textbook. "I...Inuyasha...I..." She couldn't bring herself to speak, his appearance was enough to make her cower down into a corner and sob her eyes out. But she wouldn't give him that satisfaction. "What's the matter, wench?" He growled, stepping closer to her with each word that slipped past his mouth. "Cat got your tongue?" He could tell she was scared...no...more like petrified. If she was acting like she wasn't, she was failing miserably. 'As if her shaking knees weren't a big enough clue.' he snickered to himself. And the way her glassy eyes just stared at him, pleaded with him... He rather liked it. "Inuyasha...I - I..." She still couldn't talk properly yet, and from the way she was gazing at him, she was looking at him with fear, horror, and worst of all, pity. She pitied him, he could tell. And that set on an even larger blaze inside of him. Why the hell did she pity him? He should pity her for being so goddamn weak, and poor! She took in a deep, calming breath. As hard as that was... "Inuyasha...are you okay?" She whispered, inching away from him as discreetly as possible. But, Kagome never was a fortunate girl. She backed up right into another set of lockers with a crash...as if he would let her get away to begin with. She glanced up at him to see him frozen in his spot, chuckling madly to himself, eyes shut. 'This is it! My one chance to escape...' Kagome thought excitedly and turned to dash down the dark hallways. At the speed she was running, one leg before the other, one ahead the other, she could have been in the Olympics. After a fair distance, she was starting to get tired, with the predator now out of sight and nothing to shock her into running again. A blur of white flashed before her eyes in a split second and before she could even think about what was happening, she was forcefully shoved against a wall by a rough hand. "Where the hell do you think you're going?" He hissed into her ear, and she could feel the hairs there rising from his warm breath. Her struggling attempts didn't seem to work, so she just relaxed and put on the fakest smile she could manage. "Inuyasha, are you alright?" All of a sudden a fist embedded into the wall beside her head with a loud bang, and missed her right ear by a centimetre. She didn't have to turn to know that the wall was splitting slightly and little grains of sand were dropping onto the floor. Whimpering slightly, Kagome shrivelled down a bit, her heart pounding so fast she could swear it stopped beating altogether. Inuyasha was leaning in to her, his normally grinning mouth now in a large frown. "Bitch...I've never been made that much a fool in my fucking life!" He shouted loudly in her face, and she had to shut her eyes tightly to block out some of the shock she was feeling. Inuyasha wanted to slap her across the face...wanted her to see what it was like to be hurt. She was always so happy go lucky, and so nice to all the boys too...Sesshoumaru, Kouga, Miroku, and that damn asshole Hojo. She practically dove for the chance to go off with one of them. But why was he so particularly angry at her now? He never really minded too much before... A quite whimper reached his alert ears. "Inuyasha...why...?" He glanced down at her, her throat trembling and her entire body just trying to put as much distance as possible between them. Then, not knowing why, he brought his lips down to her collarbone. Kagome's eyes almost bulged out of her head when she felt that warm contact of his lips to her heated skin. First he threatens her, and now he kisses her? He just didn't make any sense anymore...all she knew was that this odd tingle in her stomach was no longer from fright, but from the odd sensation she felt when he slowly dragged his hot tongue up her jaw. "Oh god..." Feeling uncomfortable, she grabbed his shoulders and attempted to push him away from her, seeing as he was already invading her personal space. His shoulders were stiff, and he obviously didn't want to move from where he was and what he was doing. "Inuyasha...I don't want this..." She grumbled out, pushing his hand away when she felt his hand resting on her hip. "I don't..." He only ignored her again this time, and placed a light kiss on her trembling lips before intruding her mouth with his tongue, his fang lightly scraping her lip. She mumbled something to him in a blur, but he only took it as a groan. It wasn't until Inuyasha reached under her blouse with his hand did Kagome screech, and warm tears started dripping out of her delicate eyes. She gripped his wrist lightly, shaking as she did so and putting no force into it. "Inuyasha...please...stop..." She sobbed, lowering her head to shield her tears. Inuyasha stayed still for a minute or so, the sight of Kagome crying while looking like a mess stung his heart. And it pained him even more to realise he was the one to inflict this hurt onto her. Just then, a warm glow spread throughout his body, and he could feel the usual gold colour of his eyes slowly seeping back, and his claws and fang shrinking away slowly to a decent length. The stripes on his face disappeared without much thought. When Inuyasha was finally back to normal, his first thought was, 'Why the hell am I at school now?' And after he glanced down at the girl whimpering before him, it was, 'What the fuck have I done?' *~*~*~*~*~*~*~* (A/N: The thought on all your minds right now must be, "Sorena, you suck! Now Kagome will never have a relationship with Inuyasha after that! I hate you!" But no fear, all. We all know Kagome's a nice, forgiving girl right? She should get over it. Unless I don't make her get over it and she'll ignore him for the rest of the story. ^__^ Am I that evil? Well, you'll have to ask yourselves that. Oh yea, and Shippou is sort of a mysterious character in this... I also just realised that the ending plot is anything but original, I've seen tons of fics like that, but oh well! That's how it is in the manga, so that's how it'll be. I'm deciding to follow the manga more now, but I will write everything myself, like dialogue and thoughts and action, just using the ideas. ^__^ And most importantly, I LOVE MY REVIEWERS! Honestly, I'm not what most people would call a writer. I don't jump at the chance to do it, and I'm not exactly good at it. I still love to read and write Inuyasha fics though, don't get me wrong. But sometimes I read other stories and look at mine and say, "What the hell am I writing here?" So, if it wasn't for all your support out there, god knows I probably would have given up long ago. ^__^ Love you all, and thanks for the encouragement!) *~Sorena~*

Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5 Ch6 Ch7 Ch8 Ch9 Ch10 Ch11 Ch12 Ch13 Ch14 Ch15 Ch16 Ch17 Ch18 Ch19

Fanfic home