Disclaimer: I own nothing. AN: Hey everyone! This last chapter took forever to write because endings are always challenging to write. It was especially for me because I write all this stuff quickly, and now I have to try to go back and ATTEMPT to tie up the ends... It's been such a long journey, and the time comes now when I need to be ending this fic...*sob*, and I really hope it lives up to you guy's expectations. Extremely long ending chapter. Here goes: The Red Card *sniff* Chapter 19 - Goodbye, Friend *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~         The bright fluorescent lights of the warehouse room dimmed the flickering candlelights immensely. Not one sound could be heard that one split second the person's gloomy face lighted up.         A dark haired man, perhaps a little taller than Inuyasha, stood there wearing a white robe and a...was that a mask? It appeared to be a monkey's mask of some sort. So THIS was the psycho talking to her all this time...         Shippou was standing by his feet, half his body hidden behind the man's cloak. He appeared to be terrified.         "Shippou..." She whispered sadly, feeling awful about yelling at him earlier. He was just a kid...but what was a kid doing with a monster like this man?         "Shoo, brat." The man hissed. Shippou ran eagerly into a nearby room.         Inuyasha had rested a reassuring hand on Kagome's shoulder, and judging by the way she quivered when she watched the man, it was noticeably obvious that she had either never seen him before, or was just terrified to death of him.         Just what had the asshole done to Kagome to make her so terrified of him? He was going to bloody damn well find out.         "Inuyasha! GET OUT OF HERE!" Kagome continued screeching, still pulling with all her might but was pulling uselessly on the dead tight ropes. Inuyasha hadn't had enough time to rid her of the ropes before baboon face had showed up.         "Quick, run for it, Inuyasha! I mean it! Please..." She trailed off and her face turned to the side, away from his glare. "I'll never forgive you if you don't..." Her voice was slowly lowering, as if each word was tearing her to little itty-bitty pieces.         Inuyasha had a future...and well, she didn't. If she was lucky she'd still be working at the Happy Muffin at the end of all this. Worse off, if Inuyasha were to be killed because of her she'd rather die a hundred horrible deaths involving Kikyou and Yura.         "SHUT THE HELL UP, Kagome! I said I wasn't going to leave and I won't!" Inuyasha barked back at her impatiently, his top row of teeth gnawing on his bottom lip. Kagome didn't know whether to feel loved or angered right then.         "Why the fuck aren't you saying anything?!" Inuyasha glared at the masked man even harder. "You drag us here and don't even fucking talk?!!"         The stranger did not make a sound, but rather stood there, his emotion unclear because of the mask shielding it. Oddly, he seemed to be taking more interest in their conversation.         "Who cares what he does right now, Inuyasha? If he isn't moving it's better for you!" Kagome demanded and edged her face towards the open door Inuyasha had come through. She could still feel the cool wind brushing against her bare ankles. "GO!"         Inuyasha was just ignoring her now, his attention focused completely on the unmoving man. Something had to be done to get his attention...he was being such a moron! She spun her head around in an attempt to find anything to get his attention onto her, and caught the first thing that entered her view.         The candles.         She tipped over slightly with one foot pushing off since the chair wasn't bound to the floor. The frightened girl had her hair drooping above the small flame, centimetres away but without actually touching it. "INUYASHA! If you don't get your ass out right now I swear I will light my hair on fire, and I'm serious! Don't try to stop me." She warned. "GET OUT!!!"         She knew inside that if Inuyasha had turned to look at her and then stormed out the open doors, her heart would be torn, stomped on, and spat on. What she was pleading for him to do was the exact opposite of what she really wanted him to do...         When the words "hair" and "fire" finally reached his hanyou ears, Inuyasha flipped around so quickly she couldn't reply and pushed the chair back onto the floor harshly. He hissed under his breath, "Kagome, if you try that again I won't hesitate to hurt you."         At first his tone of voice shocked her, but when his lips curled into a small grin she relaxed. Calmly, she stared up at his face and noticed Inuyasha had broken out into quite a heavy sweat.         "Inuyasha...are you okay?" She asked worriedly, wanting desperately to place her hands on his cheek and reassure him. 'I wonder when I started caring so much for this oaf...' She locked gazes with him for a second. "You shouldn't have come..."         "I'm fine." He grumbled absently and turned back to the man. He paused for a moment before staring at the girl in the chair again. "And Kagome?"         "Yes?"         "I won't go." He flashed her a quick smile.         'Why...why was he being so annoyingly stubborn?' Kagome closed her eyes shamefully. 'If...if only I wasn't so stupid and left the party that way...Inuyasha wouldn't have to do this right now...' Kagome had to hold back a sob emerging from her throat.         "Are you two quite finished yet?" Finally, the baboon man had spoken impatiently, and in the same voice as the one eerily haunting her from behind for the past few days.         "You sick sonofabitch - what the fuck do you want from me?" Inuyasha spat out, already cracking his knuckles in anticipation. "And I'll rip you to pieces for dragging Kagome into this!!!"         "You know, Inuyasha..." The low voice interrupted suddenly and pointed a hand towards the exit not too far away, "I just want to tell you that you may leave alone now if you choose. The door is wide open."         "Keh! Like hell I will."         "Good." The baboon head nodded grimly. "I hate cowards."         Inuyasha snorted. "What are you doing in a baboon mask anyways, freak? Too scared to show me your real face?"         "Hardly." His tone of voice remained even. "I just don't believe it's necessary." He plastered face turned slightly to glare at Inuyasha. "You...you are one sick bastard...you know that?"         "That's my line." Inuyasha spat back angrily only to have him not respond. "Listen, if you want money..."         Instantaneously a gun was revealed from underneath the bamboo man's cloak and directed at his head. He spoke fiercely, his tone the angriest Kagome had ever heard. "You think I want your filthy money? That's all it is to your family, isn't it? A bribe. You can buy anything with it, can't you?"         "Money is everything. It can make you happy and keep you off the streets." Inuyasha challenged back, trying to piss him off enough to keep the gunpoint away from Kagome. "I can't think of one thing you can't buy with it."         The man tsk'ed and casually waved the gun around in the air. "What about some dignity?" As if his own reply was hilarious, the man burst out cackling, his fingers tapping dangerously on the gun. "You don't remember me, do you? For four years I've been carefully planning each aspect of this revenge, and finding out all about your every move...AND YOU DON'T REMEMBER A FUCKING THING?!!"         "How did you know everything we did? There's no way you could have followed us everywhere!" Kagome yelled from her seat. Inuyasha sent her a chilling glare, as if for her to be quiet.         "Of course not." The masked man's face cooled down a bit. "I had an assistant around. Hey! Why don't you come out here?" He called out to no one in particular and used the gun to motion from behind some of the boxes.         A tall man stepped out from the shadows behind the large boxes, his hair a light shade and his body not as well built as Kagome would have imagined an assistant's to be. But when he emerged from the blackness...that face could have been recognised anywhere, anytime.         It couldn't have been him...no way in hell...anyone but him! 'Of all the people I would have guessed...'         Kagome gasped loudly and could not believe what her eyes were seeing. She refused to believe that her friend...her good friend...was siding with this sicko? And against Inuyasha? But why? There was no reason for him to...         "Hojo-kun?! What in the world are you doing?" Kagome called out to him determinedly, rocking her chair to accent her point. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!"         "Hojo, you fucking wimp! Only you would do something like this!" Inuyasha growled ferociously from where he stood. "You make me sick."         The boy remained silent before turning to sit down on a nearby chair. His face appeared drained of energy...         "HOJO! TALK TO ME!!!" Kagome screamed desperately, "TELL ME WHY YOU'RE DOING THIS, PLEASE!"         "HE makes you sick?" The baboon man interrupted Kagome angrily. "The only one here making anyone sick is you!" He again pointed his gun towards Inuyasha, but his voice bellowed more loudly than before. "For four years...four horribly long years...everything you've done was leading up to this...but now I can finally have my revenge!!!"         "Four years?" Inuyasha repeated tiredly, his face washed with confusion. "I still don't know why you want revenge on me...you're a fucking lunatic."         "HOJO!!!" Kagome cried even harder, her chair constantly pounding on the warehouse floor. "WHY AREN'T YOU TALKING TO ME? AREN'T WE FRIENDS?"         The man chuckled at Kagome's antics as he faced his gun towards Inuyasha again. "Isn't it sad, Kagome? And he was your best friend too..."         "Shut up...what have you done to Hojo?" She glared at him evilly, her face hot from the exhaustion. "Hojo would NEVER do anything sick like this!"         "Me?" He gestured at himself. "He came to me himself. But an hour ago I had someone put him out so he wouldn't change his mind halfway through this."         "Like hell he did." Kagome retorted, her hands still tugging at the ropes, as if she expected them to magically let go. "And how would someone as innocent as Hojo POSSIBLY know you?"         "Oh? You don't know? We went to the same middle school..." She could hear him smirk under his mask. "Such a nice guy, until he started talking about you, Kagome."         "What are you talking about? Hojo never said anything about someone like you!"         "I really, really like this Kagome girl...but she only sees me as a friend. What should I do?" The man imitated Hojo in an obnoxiously high- pitched voice. "But she's going to this rich school...Wakashu or whatever. I can't afford it."         "Hojo doesn't sound like that!!" She retorted angrily. "And he COULD afford it, asshole! His family made a good business choice a while back!"         "And you believed him?"         "Of course I did! How else would he be able to come to our school, have that summer home in Otami, and that boat? He never had those things before!"         "Oh that?" The man began chuckling again. "I paid for the tuition fees, and the boat and house were mine."         Kagome growled. "You're lying."         "Well, think about this, in all this time did you actually see that boy with a lot of money, or anything rich? Other than my house and boat, of course."         "Well, no..." Now that she thought about it, Hojo never showed her any of the money he had, not that people did stuff like that. But other than that her friend never seemed to have the big money he claimed he had. "But why was he dragged into all this?"         He imitated Hojo's voice again. "There's this rich jerk at school who keeps hitting on Kagome! I hate him! Kagome deserves better than him! She deserves me!"         Hojo...Hojo said that? She never actually thought he looked at her 'that way'. He was always just a friend...         Just then she remembered the last thing he told her at the party. "You should know that by now, and you...don't you know that it bothers people to see you two together? Well, it does, Kagome. And I thought I should be the one to tell you that, seeing as I'm one of those people."         "Hojo doesn't like me in that way!" She convinced herself out loud. "And even if he did he never told me anything about it!"         "He's a quiet guy. Likes to keep his emotions inside, kind of like someone, right Kagome?" She ignored him. "In fact, he was the one who suggested this excellent plan. You know, kidnapping you first."         He could have been lying, she kept telling herself. But for some reason now it seemed like he wasn't. And that hurt.         "Oi! Don't fucking forget about me!" The very pissed-off Inuyasha shouted angrily, his hand forcing into a tight fist. "But now that I now what momma's boy here did, it makes my day a hell of a lot better!"         It made his day better? What in the world did he mean by that? "Inuyasha? What are you talking - ?"         Before she could even finish her sentence, Inuyasha had leaped forward at an insane speed and slashed his hand down in front of the man's face. "Show me your face!"         The man fired his gun.         From where Kagome sat she could see the bullet slowly pierce the air and scratch Inuyasha's right shoulder blade. "INUYASHAAAAA!!!!" Was he out of his freaking mind?         He landed gracefully on his feet, and slowly backed up towards Kagome with one hand supporting his lightly bleeding shoulder. "I'm fine, it's just a scratch."         The man; however, was stumbling slightly, his hands touching his mask to make sure it was still in place. He spat, "You bastard..."         Then suddenly, a line sparkled across the face of the mask, and the two split pieces crumpled to the floor.         The mask was destroyed...and the man's face glowed in the lights. Long, black curly hair and a stern expression on his pale face. Kagome was positive she had never seen him in her life.         But Inuyasha started sweating extremely heavily, and Kagome watched horrifically as his face became more and more petrified by the second. It was like he had just woken up from the most terrifying nightmare in the world. "Inuyasha?"         It just went in one ear and came out the other, as he continued sweating and mumbling something unreachable to her ears. He was staring at the floor, having completely forgotten about his injury now. This Inuyasha looked absolutely insane.         She stared at the black haired man again, exactly what had he done to Inuyasha to make him so frightened? "Who are you? And what have you done to him?"         "The question is what he has done to me." He replied coldly, and Kagome shuddered at the evil aura emitted from this man. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE WHAT HE DID TO ME!!!"         She gulped audibly, her hands trembling from his tone of voice. "What...what did he do to you?"         He scoffed. "Why don't you ask him?"         "No fucking way...no way..." Kagome could hear Inuyasha's repeated mumblings in the air, "No...way...but how - could you? You should be dead!!!"         The man laughed loudly, and she was glad he had a mask on all this time; because his laughing face was so corrupt it was deeply disturbing. "Inuyasha! You're pathetic! I love it!" He burst out cackling even louder. "This is worth everything I went through!"         "BUT I KILLED YOU, NARAKU!" Inuyasha screamed madly, his hands fisting into his hair. "YOU DIED!!!"         Inuyasha killed this guy? Wait...then that mean he was that guy Miroku told her about...the guy Inuyasha beat to death. But that didn't make any sense...         The man snorted. "I did. And with the money your folks handed over for my death my parents bought this nifty jewel called the Shikon no tama from some monk. And look at me now."         Kagome stared at him confusedly. "What? There's no such thing! You can't just BRING someone back to life! Stuff like that just doesn't happen!"         "But it does, Kagome. You said that about the memory cleansing too." Naraku looked over at the confused Inuyasha staring at the floor, his face pale from the shock. He paced over to Inuyasha slowly and kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him flying across the room. "Hmm. I'm a lot stronger too."         Kagome's heart flapped at the suddenness. "STOP IT! YOU'RE HURTING HIM!"         Naraku smirked. "I'M hurting him? He's the one that killed me four years ago, Kagome. All I want is a little revenge."         He made his way over to the limp Inuyasha lying on the floor in agony. Naraku kept kicking him when he was down! That's not fair! "Inuyasha! Watch out!"         Inuyasha turned only to have a foot collide harshly with his face. "ARGH!" Then it happened again. And again. Then the foot crashed into his sore stomach repeatedly.         Kagome barred her eyes together dead tight. Inuyasha's screams of pain and anger tore at her like a chainsaw ripping her apart, and she could do nothing at all.         All she could hear was the constant 'oomphs' and the scraping of the floor when Naraku's foot was preparing for another kick in the face. "STOP IT!" This was entirely her fault. "STOP HURTING HIM! HIT ME INSTEAD!!!"         Then suddenly everything stopped.         Kagome cautiously blinked one eye open to see Inuyasha lying about six meters from her, his face covered in bruises and scabs, and blood was slowly seeping downwards into his mouth. "No..."         She started looking around hurriedly, where was Naraku? Then out of nowhere he appeared in front of her as if he had transported there. He towered above her in her seat as he turned back to glare at Inuyasha, who was lying there with his face facing the two of them. "Hm...it's not enough."         "Stop already..." She cried loudly, warm tears already starting to leak out of her tired eyes. "Haven't you gotten your revenge yet...?"         "Not enough. But you know, Kagome." She did not like his tone of voice. "I think I know why Hojo and Inuyasha like you so much now. You're a very intelligent and pretty girl."         She would have barfed if she weren't so surprised by that comment. She spoke sternly, "What are you trying to say?"         He smiled mischievously. "What about this, then? You give me a small kiss, and I'll let the two of you go. How about that?"         "DON'T DO IT, KAGOME!" Suddenly they could hear Inuyasha's angry shout from the floor, his eyes stoned with anger. "I'D RATHER DIE THEN HAVE YOU KISS THAT BASTARD!"         "Don't listen to him, Kagome. A small kiss. That's all I ask. And then the two of you can go home."         She stared at him evilly, ignoring the screams of protest from ahead. "One kiss and you promise to let me and Inuyasha go home safely? And you'll NEVER bother us again? And you'll go away forever?"         "I swear on my mother's grave that I'll let you and Inuyasha go home safely, and never bother you again and go away forever." He repeated.         She really didn't want to. She REALLY didn't want to. But then, the overpowering urge to save Inuyasha was battling with her morals, and saving Inuyasha won. She lowered her head grimly. "Fine."         "KAGOME! YOU FUCKING BITCH! DON'T YOU DARE!!!" He was already trying his hardest to pick himself up from the floor, and he looked like he was ready to explode from the anger.         "I'm sorry, Inuyasha." She whispered loudly enough so that he could hear. His shouting didn't stop.         "Smart girl." Naraku smirked and gripped her chin harshly with one hand, before lowering his face down to level with hers.         Kagome squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as she possibly could, not wanting to have any images imprinted in her mind to scar her permanently. When his lips made contact with hers, she stilled uncomfortably. She was trying her hardest to envision Inuyasha as the one kissing her but that was nearly impossible when he was hollering in the back.         Expecting the already too-long kiss to end, she pulled back from him, only to find his other hand cup behind her head and pull them closer, his tongue already seeping into her mouth. "Mmph!"         What she would have given right then to have her hands back to beat the living daylights out of him...         He was passionately kissing her now, and she was so grossed out she made the one mistake of opening her eyes. And then she saw it.         That look on Inuyasha's face. He looked absolutely disgusted with her, and his eyes were forced open painfully. They were so filled with anger, hate, and betrayal...he probably thought she was enjoying this...         "MMMPPPHH!" She screamed to the mouth covering hers, he said one SMALL KISS!         And finally, he backed off. The horrible aftertaste would probably linger in her mouth forever. "You tasted so good, Kagome. I couldn't resist."         Inuyasha had rolled to his other side now so that he didn't have to watch them anymore. 'Oh god, oh god...I'm so sorry Inuyasha...' He was saying that just to anger Inuyasha more, if that was even possible. "There. Now let us go! I kept to your damn promise!"         He licked his lips before snapping his fingers in the air. Four men appeared from another doorway...the four from that night! What were they here for still?         The all stalked over to Inuyasha, before bending down and starting to beat him with all their might. She could not believe what she was seeing. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, NARAKU? YOU PROMISED ME YOU'D LET US GO!!!"         "True. I promised you I'd let the two of you two go home SAFELY. I'll arrange for a safe car to take the two of you home once I beat the shit out of him, like he did me four years ago."         "GET OVER IT ALREADY!" She screeched annoyingly. That meant she just had that disgusting kiss for nothing? "You're the cheapest bastard I've ever seen! You keep kicking Inuyasha when he's down, and now it's four against one! And now you mess with our promise!"         "Like I said, I'll do anything to have my revenge. Even if it is cheap." He smirked again. "And, Kagome. Don't tell me you didn't enjoy that kiss we just had."         She tried her hardest to block out the grunts of pain coming from Inuyasha. "I HATED IT! It was the sickest thing I've ever done!"         "Hmm." He wasn't even listening to her anymore! Rather, he was staring at a nearby log of wood. He walked over and grabbed it in one hand and lifted into the air. "I've dreamed about this for the longest time..."         The four men backed off to let him near Inuyasha, who was now trying his hardest to breathe. Naraku stepped on his stomach harshly. "Goodbye, Inuyasha." He swung the heavy block of wood over his shoulder to wham it right into Inuyasha's leg.         Kagome could hear the snapping sound in his leg. He...was going to die from it! "NOOOOOOO! STOP RIGHT NOW!!!" It was hopeless. Naraku continued beating him with that wood.         Just then, not knowing how she did it, she leaned forward so her feet touched the floor and sprung off. She was going to save Inuyasha no matter what...         She landed right atop of Inuyasha so quickly the other four couldn't stop her. And at that exact second the weapon came whacking down on her back. "Ahhhhhhhhh!!!"         The pain was so unbearable...Inuyasha made it look so painless. The tingling in her back felt like a thousand bricks smashing atop of her, with needles being forced into it at the same time.         She heard a faint, "...Kagome?" from beneath her as she slowly closed her eyes. She couldn't take it anymore, so she did the first thing that came to her mind.         She fainted. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~         "Oh..." Kagome moaned as she slowly flickered her eyes open. "It's a dream..." She always did that. She always had a nightmare, and when she woke up it would take her a minute or so for her to realise that nothing she dreamed had happened.         This wasn't one of those times.         She sat up only to first discover a bursting pain in her lower back. But she was no longer in her seat. "Ow..." Wait...where was...         Someone was undoing her ropes from behind, and Kagome turned to spot a tiny face. "Shippou...what are you doing?"         "Getting you out of this, Kagome." He continued scratching at the ropes until she felt the tension loosen. Finally, she could move freely.         But something she couldn't understand. Why was Shippou helping her? "Shi...Shippou? What's going on? Why are you helping me?"         He lowered his head sadly. "Naraku had killed my parents, and was threatening to kill me unless I was a bait for you. But now that he's dying it's okay. I'm sorry, Kagome."         "It's alright, Shippou. But - " Kagome gasped at the sight she took in as soon as she saw clearly. The four men attacking Inuyasha earlier were sprawled out on the floor, all soaked in pools of their own blood. "What happened...?"         He sighed. "After you were hit by Naraku, Inuyasha seems to have gone mad. He just got up like he was perfectly fine and beat the crap out of those four." He pointed at them.         Kagome stared at Hojo not lying far away from them, pale white and passed out on the floor. That sight made her sick, no matter what Naraku said he did. He was still her friend. "What...what the hell happened to Hojo?"         "His soul left his body. It's been too long since his pressure point was pressed."         "Then he's...dead?" Kagome gulped and had to hold back more tears forming in her eyes. "No way..."         "Don't cry. Inuyasha's getting Naraku now. We have to get out of here, Kagome."         She immediately spun around to see Inuyasha's back to her, holding Naraku's neck tightly against the wall. Naraku's body was completely battered up, and his expression was full of fear.         Shit...Inuyasha was in his demon mode again. Memories of the last time that happened flooded into her brain. After he was through with Naraku he was going to come to them!         She didn't know whether to be happy or scared at this. After all, if he hadn't transformed they would both be in a worse situation.         "What he's doing is useless. Naraku won't die unless the Shikon no tama is removed from his neck." Shippou snorted.         "What? Why didn't you say that earlier?" But would Inuyasha listen to that? Wasn't he insane now? Anyways, it was worth a try. "Inuyasha! Take out the jewel from his neck!" She called.         At first he stilled, but eventually he seemed to get the message and tore his fingers into Naraku's neck to bring out a glowing purple ball soaked in blood. Kagome had to look away as Naraku's body dissolved into bones.         Inuyasha shoved that ball into his pockets and turned to the two of them. 'Great...Naraku's dead and he's nuts.' She looked at the petrified Shippou next to her.         Inuyasha started walking towards them now, one slow step at a time. His head was lowered to the floor, but he could see where he was going.         "INUYASHA! Snap out of it!" Kagome screamed madly, "Remember me? Kagome?"         "Ka...go...me...?" He repeated slower, still taking one large step at a time.         "Let's run for it, Kagome!" Shippou yelled and grabbed her hand, and the two of them raced for the door. A blur of white flashed above her and appeared in front of them at the door. Inuyasha smirked evilly.         That was it. They were going to die.         She quickly hid Shippou behind her leg and shrivelled back. There was no point in running...he could easily catch them. She would really miss that stupid idiot though, and her family, and Sango, and the rest of the Y4 idiots.         He slowly walked up to her, but sadly his eyes were covered by his bangs. 'I wanted to see his eyes again...' He was so close now...his nose a mere millimetre from her own.         She drew in a deep breath and waited for the attack to put her out of her misery.         His warm breath was breathing onto her face. "Boo."         "What?" Kagome opened her eyes and saw the gleam of Inuyasha's golden eyes. "You're...?"         Inuyasha burst into a laughing fit. "You should've seen your face, Kagome! It was classic!"         "What?" Kagome had to hold her breath. This had to be a dream. "But you're...weren't you in your demon mode?"         "I was. But when that Shikon thing touched me, I had this warm feeling and I was back to normal in a second. I think it also cured my injuries. I feel - "         He didn't get a chance to finish as Kagome lunged at him immediately and threw her short arms around his neck. He missed her warmth so much...         "I wanted to do this..." She mumbled into his chest comfortably. "For so long...I couldn't believe you actually came...and didn't leave me...and I..." He nose was all stuffed because he could now feel the wetness of her tears on his shirt.         "Don't worry about it...we're okay now, see?" He grumbled right back, his chin resting lightly on the top of her head. "But don't think I've forgiven you for that kiss with Naraku."         She froze from where she was. "What did you say?"         "Keh. I still can't believe you actually kissed him. That was fucking disgusting. You know I would've rather died than have you kiss him, Kagome?" He snorted. "Why must you always go around flirting with other men?"         Kagome cracked her knuckles together dangerously. "INUYASHA...!!!" *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~         "Hey, man. High school's over, I mean, can you believe it?"         "I can't believe it. What school are you going to?"         Wakashu Private School was full of buzzing students here and there...that may have something to do with it being the final day before graduation.         "Hey, Kagome!" The girl with the two braids turned around in the hallway to see Miroku and Kouga running towards her with wide smiles on their faces. Miroku had a full wine bottle in his hand. "It's the last day before grad. Have a drink."         "I'll pass." She shook her head politely. "And you aren't allowed alcohol on school property, I thought."         "Whatever, Kagome." Miroku snorted as he checked out another girl coming down the hallway. "Anyways, you hear what Sess's up to?"         "No, what's up with him?"         "He's going to move to France. Next Friday." Kouga added.         "Aw...I'll miss him. But I'm glad to hear that. Kagura's probably bored without him around." She snickered to herself. The two guys just rolled their eyes. "Wait. But next Friday is Hojo's funeral!"         "He's going to it and leaving right after."         "Oh..." She stopped. She still couldn't believe Hojo was gone. And just like that. His life was way too short. She sniffled quietly.         "Great." Kouga pointed at Miroku. "You made her cry!"         "Me? It's you!" He glared at him angrily.         She wiped her eyes with a smile. "I'm okay. Just thinking about Hojo again."         "I still can't believe he actually did that." Miroku muttered quietly. "I always thought he was just this really dense guy."         She nodded. "Who didn't? But you know, I still don't think he did anything wrong. I'll always remember him as a friend of mine who unluckily passed away. I'm sure he had a reason for whatever he did, so I forgive him."         "She says that now, but if he were alive she'd probably kill him again." Kouga nudged Miroku and they both started laughing.         "I would not!"         "Hey, nice hairdo! How much did you pay for it?" Came a loud cackle from down the hallway.         Kagome stuck her tongue out at Inuyasha angrily. "More than you did for yours, obviously."         "That comeback was terrible." He stated playfully before wrapping his arm around her neck. "So how've you been? Glad you're graduating?"         "Whoo! Lovebirds!" The other two chanted happily.         "What are you going to name your first child? Inugome? Kanuyasha?" Miroku teased. "Those names sound goddamn horrible."         Inuyasha blushed and punched his friend angrily. "Hey, shut the hell up."         Just then Kikyou and Yura trotted past them in their high heels and shot Kagome a dirty look. When they left she could hear them muttering, "The Y4 are so over. Old men are so much better."         She snickered at the two. 'Wow...I can't believe everything's come to an end...oddly enough, I still wish high school would continue...'         Inuyasha stared down at her weirdly. "What's wrong with you? Constipation?"         She looked back up at him. This idiot...this idiot here had put her through endless torture...but then again, in the end he always managed to make her smile. That day if he hadn't shown up that nutcase would've killed her. She would not forget the bubbly feeling she felt when she saw him in the doorway. And that wonderful hug he gave her when he first showed up to save her...she could never forget that.         And she would make damn sure he didn't forget either. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ AN: *Sob, sob, sob*. The ending of 'The Red Card', wow, it's been almost a year. I really hoped it lived up to you guy's expectations. I see every review you guys send me, and I appreciate each and every one. So thanks tons for supporting this story for so long! Check out 'Pirate Pash' if you want to read any more my work. Until next time, *~Sorena~*

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