InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hollow Eyes ❯ Live By The City ( Chapter 1 )

Annoying Author Blurb: Why am I redoing a whole story when I have millions of more tasks to do? Who knows, but I hope this certainty pleases some of you out there. Otherwise, I might just go shoot myself. More author notes at the end if you're bothered to read them.

Disclaimer: You have any idea how old this gets after awhile? I don't own.

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Hollow Eyes

By Elementsofmine/elementalspirit125

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Live By The City

(Or Die By It!)

This story is rated PG-13. The ratings vary from chapter to chapter. This chapter is rated R for language and adult situations.

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June 11, 1997 Tokyo, Japan
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The man calmly fitted the bomb into the empty Coke can.

Down below, the celebrations went on, unaware of the imminent destructive end awaiting. The mayor's limousine slowly cruised around the park borders, flanked by police cars and various other men on motorcycles, speaking to each other through remote devices. Tinted windows reflected the sunlight back, sending the guards scrambling for their sunglasses.

Crowds of people acted as one and waved and screamed as the limo went by. Signs were waved, creatively decorated with sparkles and fluorescent colors. More police had to patrol the lines separating the people and the parade, constantly having to scold some mother for absentmindedly letting her toddler wander away.

The man placed the can into a paintball launcher, specially designed and enlarged to fit wider containers. He took aim, watching the scene below with a face blank as the clear sky above. There wasn't much of a chance he'd actually had to light the bomb; he was just the back up to the focal point of the mission.

Mission. Somewhere in the back of his head, something ticked happily away. The word itself reminded him of old spy flicks, where the spies were always men of international flair and style. Where the spies always ended up saving the day…-and- getting the women while they were at it.

-w-w-w-w-w-w-

"Y-you want to…what?"

The pale-skinned woman carefully averted her eyes. "I don't think we were meant to be together. We never agreed on this long a relationship. I think…we shouldn't go any further."

Behind them, a man impatiently drummed along the bar dais. "Can we move your little soap opera outside and let the paying customers in?"

Naraku and Kikyou turned together simultaneously and glared. The man rolled his eyes sardonically but kept silent after that.

Naraku thought for a moment, the event's emotions not touching him yet. Carefully gathering his words together, he chose the blunt phrasing.

"It's another guy."

Kikyou didn't even bother to try and lie. Both of them knew the recent involvement Kikyou had with the group's newest member. Naraku waited a few minutes more, long silence stretching the whole time, before shrugging on his jacket and walking away towards the bar exit.

Kikyou twisted the ring on her right index, pulling hard on it. Yanking it off her finger, she hurled it onto the floor and crushed it easily into bits with a well-aimed stamp of her shoe heel.

"Not regretful at all, eh?"

Kikyou turned in her seat. So the annoying man was still there. Her eyes flickered briefly over him, from his clothes to his long hair, braided in a single braid down his back. A shake of his head when he realized she was looking, and his long bangs parted to reveal a star-shaped scar.

"Yes, I grew out my hair, no, I'm actually not gay, and no, it's actually not a scar. It's a tattoo."

Kikyou mentally weighed her values. The man wasn't bad-looking; certainly striking something in her. Talking to so many men in one night…agreeing to Inuyasha that she would break up with Naraku, telling Naraku himself that after two years it was all over, and now this.

It wasn't like she was flirty; it was just natural for her to sometimes step over other people's feelings.

Her little balance scale in her brain tipped in her favor. Inuyasha and Naraku could go screw each other.

"So…you come here often?"

Kikyou smiled, despite the obvious 'used' line being played on her. Just for this night, she'd play the dumb virgin.

"Actually," she giggled, feeling the stares of men up to five feet away. "I happen to work here as a barmaid on some nights…"

-w-w-w-w-w-w-

His good mood left him as fast as it had come. Get the women…yeah right.

The mayor's car drew closer; the people below cheered louder. The signs flapped harder.

A girl sat beside the man, fingering a can of her own. Kanna liked Pepsi better; her can was emblazoned with the Pepsi trademark and design. Inside the can was a bomb of her own creation, also as deadly as the man's. She stretched from her cramped position on the high-rise rooftop. "Naraku-sama," she called, stifling a yawn that broke free anyways. "Is it time yet? I'm getting awfully sore from sitting here."

The man continued his steady vigil on the streets below. "Almost," he assured the young girl. "The waiting's almost over, I promise." Looking over at the slumped form of the extremely sleepy girl, he noted the too-white tips of her fingers and the unhealthy tinge of blue in her skin. "Here," he said after a moment of thought. Taking off his jacket he threw it over to her. "Keep warm with that."

Mumbling thanks, the girl pulled on the too-large coat over her own wrinkled shirt.

Minutes passed by. The mayor's car drew closer, almost directly underneath the man's position on the rooftop now.

Tiny hairs prickled up, as Naraku noticed nothing had happened. No screams, no yells. A faint static on his belt notified him of a message about to be picked up. Flipping up the remote device from his belt, he glanced at the screen before placing it next to his ear.

The screen had flashed orange; it was the kid's signal.

"Naraku…Naraku, you there?"

Shippo's voice, still barely past puberty, squeaked out. "Something went wrong with Inuyasha's end of the operation. You'll have to step in!"

Naraku patted the launcher. So maybe the chances of him not using it -weren't- that slim. "No worries," he assured the informer. "Kanna and I are the backup, remember? Ever watch those old spy movies? Backups always get the cool fight scene. Nothing bad ever happens to them."

Shippo's disapproving voice squeaked through the speaker. "You're bringing Kanna along? She's only 11! If Kagura ever gets word of this…"

"I know, I know, Kagura'd slay us with the press, her being their star reporter and all. Don't worry; she's still blind to it all. Kanna's young and all, but she's got good aim. I'll take good care of her. Besides, aren't you younger than her?"

An indignant huff met his joking tone. "I'm older by a month, thank you. Besides, I have enough fluff in my brain to go over five adults. I -am- the one supporting the majority of these excursions, do not mock the hand that feeds you!"

Naraku snorted. "Five adults? Doubt it. Besides, we're the ones that provide all the money, that later somehow leaks its way into your department. How much to you get a month now?"

A silence lapsed, followed by a brief whirring sound from the other end. Obviously, the answer to the question was meant to be found out at a later time.

"Now, Naraku!" Shippo's voice called, urgent. "The car is right below your stand now. Aim it carefully and try not to hit Inuyasha! He's still in there obviously. Dunno what went wrong."

Naraku grit his teeth. He had been hoping Shippo would forget about being careful and let him toss the blasted bomb anywhere he felt like. Accidentally killing Inuyasha wasn't that high on his Not To Do list anyways. Dropping the speaker, he beckoned to the girl slumped beside him.

"Kanna, now!" the man ordered, sending his suddenly alert companion to the roof edge. He lit the protruding wick of the bomb with a match. It fizzled, that started to smoke away as the flame trickled down the braided rope. Pumping the handle of the launcher, he sent in burst after burst of air, which ignited the tiny flame. Seeing the flame had just a few more inches to go before it hit the bomb, he yanked on the pull lever, sending out a string of mechanisms which sent the can flying into the air, headed for the limo.

Kanna did the same with her can, firing it slightly farther, onto the other side of the limo.

Down below, a hand came out of the limo to wave at the citizens.

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"Eh? Inuyasha? My boy, don't tell me you won't let up your scowling, not even for your old man's birthday? Guess not, eh?"

Not seeming ruffled by his son's apparent distaste for the ceremonial festivity, the mayor continued waving gaily to his many citizens, not caring what his half-son thought of him.

Obviously not much, seeing the sour face of Inuyasha. Then again, Inuyasha wasn't thinking of celebrating anything that revolved happily around his father at the moment.

He was planning to kill him.

He had everything planned already; the car door to his left was unlocked, perfect for a speedy getaway after the murder. The knife was in the pocket of his pants, sheathed and prepared. All he had to do was stab the old man, kick the door, and run.

But -something- was holding him back. It wasn't as if he hated his father; he usually had nothing to do with him, and likewise, his father rarely ever saw him. But lately, his father had gotten out of hand; something that could mean nothing in the hands of an everyday citizen, but could spell disaster in the mayor's seat.

Drink had addled his brain; smoke had destroyed his mind. Spending hundreds, maybe even thousands, on cigars and beer, Inuyasha's curiosity had been provoked. After all, he had a good reason to pry; it wasn't everyday he was booted out of his room and sent to sleep in the attic because his room was to be converted into a storage room for beer cases. He had only been seven then.

-w-w-w-w-w-w-

"What's going on? Get outta my room!"

His father only waddled around, directing the numerous movers. "Upstairs, upstairs," he replied, not taking in the later demand. "Your new room's upstairs, quit whining for godsakes...not a minute of quiet in this house, never a minute."

The boy tried to stop one mover carrying his mattress. "Give that back," he growled. "That's MINE."

The man only grinned, revealing strangely pointed teeth. Purposely bowling into the boy, he pushed him out of the way before making his way into the hallway. Dumbfounded in shock, the boy could only sit and watch on as the remnants of his room where carried into the attic.

"Why are you moving my room," he asked, weakly. The mayor didn't answer, only directed more men that began carrying large cartons into the now vacant room.

"Wh-what are those?"

"Beer, you inquisitive frog," came the reply, almost gaily. His father was in high good humor.

"In my room? Why?" came the incredulous question.

The mayor turned, stopping his perforations in the room. He stared at his son peculiarly, eyeing him from head to sneaker-clad feet. Taking in a deep breath, and rubbing his temples slightly with his indexes, he breathed through clenched teeth as though attempting to alleviate his biggest headache.

When he opened his eyes once more, he found to his displeasure his son was still there and had -not-, as he hoped, dropped down dead. Turning his back onto his son, he wheezed slightly as he attempted to carry a bookcase out of the room.

"Go away and do…whatever the other boys your age do. Quit bothering the men and me. We're busy, for crissakes!"

An idea dawning upon the round man, he turned around once more to leer at his son with uneven yellowed teeth. "Eh, in fact my boy, head off to the kitchen and wake up that old hag of a cook, Kaede. Tell her to let you play with one of the new kitchen maids, that Mei girl or something. Go on; shoo!"

A persistent pounding drove every pain-exploding nail into the mayor's head. His frustrated son kicked every furniture left in the room -hard-, emphasizing every word in his screamed protest.

"I. Want. My. Room. Back! ::kickkick:: Why. Are. You. Taking. My. Room. ::kickkick::"

"Godammit, dumb boy. Of course I'm moving the beer into your room. The other rooms are filled up already," he replied stupidly.

-w-w-w-w-w-w-

His suspicions were aroused most definitely when he realized the mayor's checkbooks recorded no such thing. His father was most likely bringing in money through illegal sources, and judging by the almost unlimited capital the family seemed to have, it was working.

Inuyasha could -not- allow that.

It did seem silly, to many. Like son, like father, Inuyasha had his father's love for shady dealings, proudly boasting he could best his father already in moneymaking. Lately, his father had been irritated into trying his best to secure laws to fight back the recent string of bombings and sniper shootings. Newspapers accused the mayor of not doing a good enough job, sending him off into masses of fury.

"Me? No good? Complain about me, will they? I pay for their freakin' wages! Just they wait, I'll get them back for this," he had thundered.

Strangely enough, a few weeks later, the critical remarks on the lacking duties of the mayor stopped.

Even with such a deficient guardian, Inuyasha still found a way to live out his life happily. His days prowling the streets were filled with excitement not found anywhere else. The recent bombings excited him, and he always made sure to buy whatever newspaper blaring the latest terror headlines.

Of course, he was excited because he himself did the bombings.

Sadly, not much attention was given to him and his rag-tag gang of friends. More of it sailed over to supposed 'terrorists' from the Middle East.

But now, he was planning his greatest exploit ever. For him, it would be an escapade of no other nature, a regular dazzling magic show.

Now you see me, now you don't…

It would be the 'terrorist attack' of the century. And to believe it had been conducted by a group of teenagers. The brains of the group was eleven.

He had already contacted Naraku and Kouga; they had his back covered if anything went wrong. Everything was fool-proof.

But sometimes, things that are made to be fool-proof sometimes spring leaks…of sorts.

But back to Inuyasha. Now all that was left was for him to stab the man and get over it. Finally making up his mind, he grasped the knife and checked to make sure the privacy screen between the driver and the passengers was closed, before leaning in…

The car suddenly halted, sending Inuyasha tumbling forwards with just enough time beforehand to safely pocket the knife first. Letting out a stream of imaginative language, Inuyasha was sent head over heels, falling over the chair. "What the hell was that for?" he screeched at the driver, even though the screen made it impossible for the driver to hear.

"Watch your tongue," his father cracked out, not even noticing his life had just inadvertently been saved. "Your brother's coming in, make yourself neat and give him some room."

Sure enough, to his horror, Inuyasha saw a lithe man outside the windows drive up on a motorcycle with a police and slide off, walking towards the limo door. Giving a yank to the door, the elder man signaled the police to depart and closed the car door, settling himself into the leather seats.

"My apologies, dear father," the elder brother said, not noticing (or not caring) Inuyasha's abysmal front. "Huge developments at the business today, couldn't get out early."

"My boy!" his father roared in approval, chuckling heavily as he imagined another massive company takeover. Even with the random laws tossed out to ensure the 'safety' of his people, the mayor was still a cruel man; his true nature led him on wild excursions of money and grandeur. The occasional citizen protection laws were made only keep up his support from the citizens. Picking up a cigar, he held the box up to the older brother. "Eh, want one?"

Seeing the shake from his elder son, he shrugged. "Eh, wuss. Suit yourself." Blowing heavy rings of smoke straight into the car interior, the mayor chuckled as though he had told an extremely hilarious joke, rolls of fat jiggling in time with his laughter.

On the floor of the limo, where he was still seated, Inuyasha tried not to puke as the smoke drifted over to him. Coughing profusely while his eyes teared from the smoke, he watched in disgust as his father laughed and coughed repeatedly, hacking up tobacco and the bitter smell of cigars.

A polished shoe kicked out at him, sending Inuyasha rolling across the limo floor. "Watch it, bastard," he growled, holding his side as he winced, trying to sit up.

His brother only laughed, sweeping his silver hair back with an elegant toss of his head. The family trademark, the cold sneer, graced his features before settling back down into a cruel smile. "Nice to see you to, brother of mine," the man replied easily, crossing his legs.

Settling onto the seat across the limo, Inuyasha inwardly fumed. There was no way he could kill the mayor with his brother here. Hoping either Kouga or Naraku noticed nothing was happening and acted on their own, Inuyasha settled himself next to a window, looking up onto the rooftops.

"Trying to find something brother? If you're looking for something smart to say, you're not going to find it outside your window."

Snarling, Inuyasha had to clutch his seat to stop himself from stabbing Sesshomaru instead. The last thing he needed was to-

There. Out of the corner of his eye, Inuyasha saw a Coke can seemingly tumble down from nowhere.

"Eh?" That would be his father, scratching his idiotic head. "What's this?"

Turning about, Inuyasha saw and his eyes widened. Impossible! His father had -caught- the bomb! Even worse, he was now holding it, staring at it as though it was gold that had fallen out of the sky. Leaping up in his seat, Inuyasha made his decision halfway across the limo, unsheathing his knife. Slicing once, twice, across the old man's chest, Inuyasha leapt past a shock-stiff Sesshomaru, kicked the door open, and ran out, narrowly missing a hissing Pepsi can.

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Kikyou turned, wiping a cloth across a dish in the back of the bar. She gestured to the other woman beside her, also busy scrubbing down the glasses and plates.

"Sango, look. Twelve-o'clock. Think we'll feel an explosion?"

The woman grinned foxily. "Hey, we might. Let's see."

Tying a fork onto the window shade string, she watched it swing back and forth until it ceased moving. "We'll be able to see if any vibrations occur with this thing."

Kikyou smirked. "I see someone's been spending time around Shippo. His genius is rubbing off on you…however, I didn't know that could happen…"

Sango gasped and threw a foam bubble at her fellow dishwasher. "You take that back!" Laughing, both girls had a brief soap fight before resuming their duties. "You know," Sango thought aloud. "Shippo's really all by himself in his lab. No machine can ever take the place of human interaction. I feel sorry for him sometimes; he must be so lonely down there by himself."

Kikyou thought for awhile, staring at her hands. Looking up again, she smiled at Sango. "Not true; he's surrounded by so many friends. No one can be lonely with that many friends. We're all together in this."

A door slammed behind them, and footsteps rang down. Seconds later, a head appeared. An amiable smile greeted the two girls.

"Hands up where I can see them," Sango commanded immediately as he started to inch forwards. Raising his hands apologetically, he grinned.

"Can't help being myself sometimes," he replied sheepishly. "God gave these beautiful gifts to women and it's up to men to truly enjoy them."

With a small wave of his hand, the man glanced at the clock.

"Seen the time? Think something's wrong?"

Sango shrugged while Kikyou bit her lip. "Dunno," Kikyou finally said. "Maybe they're just running late."

"Maybe," the man replied, none of them really sounding certain.

Suddenly, the remaining unwashed glasses twinkled as they fell against each other. On the windowsill, the suspended fork began to swing.

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"Hey, what are you doing up here?"

Turning around, Naraku saw the buzzing crowd of men behind him.

"Hey, this place is off-limits! Get off from there!"

Damn it. If the men came up to them, they would no doubt ask what he and Kanna were doing. The child already looked scared. Her lower lip trembled as she slowly backed up to where Naraku stood. Naraku cursed under his breath. The group of men came closer to them. There was no way he could run and help Kanna escape with those men blocking the exit. Closing his eyes and muttering a quick frantic prayer, he grabbed Kanna's hand and pulled the child close to him. "Do what I do, and don't look back!" he whispered. Nodding her head sharply, the wide-eyed child shivered uncontrollably.

As the men came ever closer, Naraku squeezed Kanna's hand and faced the crowd below. Quickly scanning the area below and sighting the two cans still falling, he made quick calculations in his head.

"So long, fellows!" he shouted to the puzzled men. And with a salute off, he pulled Kanna to him and jumped off the building.

As the two figures plummeted off the high-rise, the group of men ran to the building edge and watched the two figures fall. One man stared, watching them fall floor after floor.

"They're s'good and dead nows, nothing can save them!"

As the other shocked-faced men began their nods in agreement, a blast sounded throughout the area.

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Running across the street, Inuyasha heard the confused and bewildered tone of the crowd as he felt their eyes follow him running away. He knew he was fast; years of running away from the police had trained him. Stopping at the edge of the park that divided the streets, he spun around to face the crowd. His inner self told him it was foolish; but he couldn't resist. Waving his arms around to attract more attention, he happily screamed,

"BOMB!!!"

And than he ran, disappearing into an alley and leaving the screaming and yelling crowd behind.

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"So long, fellows!"

And with a jump, they were gone.

Kanna's eyes were squeezed tightly shut as the descent down the building sped up. Her hand tightly clenched Naraku's, squeezing tight but seemingly refusing to let out her fear in screams.

Kicking away from the building when they came to close, Naraku managed to steer their way down the building until they were right above an inflated air mattress, ironically placed right below them. Nearby, a whole set of cameramen and speakers seemed to recording the parade.

"And action!" a man yelled out, directing other cameramen to go scurrying for better angles.

Meanwhile, Naraku estimated they had about twenty or so floors before they became sidewalk pancakes.

"Feet first onto the mattress," he screamed above the roaring wind. Kanna gave the faintest of nods and concentrated on not letting her body flip with the sharply pressing wind.

Five seconds later, bounced off the mattress, quite knocked around a bit, but in other words, fine. The man sitting in the director chair stared at them for a while, looking confused.

"Eh? I thought the stunt actors weren't here yet. Eh, Boto, didn't you say they weren't going to arrive until five?

Boto shrugged, and rotated his camera around. "Hey, wouldja look at that," he called, scratching his head. "I got the whole crazy jump on tape…"

The director immediately broke into an array of shining teeth.

"I love it!" he crowed. "Boto, you said you got that on tape, right? Make copies, send them out to the company, one for every sponsor! Make sure you add a sweeping aerial angle, that's right, zoom and enhance at -exactly- the right moment! This'll be a handful of Oscars for sure!"

Naraku smiled weakly, and pulled Kanna along with him, running quickly behind an alley and yanking off a manhole cover. Pushing Kanna in before him, he leaped in and jammed the cover on above him.

A split second later, what newspapers around the world would later describe as the Japan's remake of the Hiroshima bombing, the explosion vibrated and detonated, sending heavy walls of sound waves slamming into everything in their path as far away as five miles from the limo. A movie crew that had been filming part of the parade had their luck cut out for them; their cameras and tape systems had been specially built to withstand great pressure and had survived the blast. A few months later, 'Project Detonation' hit movie theaters, later winning four Oscars. The highlight of the movie was its amazing leap scene, featuring two mystery actors plummeting from the roof of a nearby building.

Unfortunately, the two -real- stuntmen, which later arrived promptly at five-o'clock, received no recognition.

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Annoying Author Blurb: Eh, I'm back. This rewrite took approximately three days to write, about one hour to post. Let's go through my posting schedule…

1) Post on Fanfiction.net

2) Post on Mediaminer

3) Mediaminer is screwed; yell a bit and post again

4) Rewrite with HTML coding

5) Post on Animespiral with coding

6) Send message through mailing list

7) Send email to those who want to be notified

8) Update website

9) Update bios on all three fanfiction sites

10) Lay back and pant…heavily

If there's any question with grammar, spelling, etc. please feel free to contact me. Also, I've recently been going searching for betas. Anyone want to give it a try…? My email is elementalspirit125comcast.net.

Word To The Wise (elementalspirit125): When you reach the end of your rope, tie it on a tree, hang on, and swing.

Feel free to send any funny 'life' comments you have yourself. They always make my day!