InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Just Another Ghost Story ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

A/N: I had to do it, I had to make my life even more complicated by starting another story. What can I say, I have a very short attention span and I'll be finishing Only Half soon anyway. Thanks to all my loyal reviewer who say my writing is awesome and support me in my career as an author or journalist. That means a lot to me.

MAJOR DISCLAIMER: The plot for this story is from a book by Frank Peretti, The Hangman's Curse. If you haven't read the book, read it, it's totally awesome. So I don't own the plot of the story. About 95% percent of the writing is my own, some of it is taken from the book because it is so totally awesome. So just so you, MOST OF THE WRITING IS MY OWN, this is just my version of the book with a little romance thrown in.

-009

Chapter One

Kouga was infuriated with himself and so were his teammates. This was the most important game of the entire basketball season, and he was blowing the entire thing. The score was now tied 53 to 53 and there was only a minute left on the clock, they were surely going to have to go into overtime. The coach would be furious, Kouga glanced over at the said man.

Coach Matthews was a tall, muscular, middle-aged man with short, brown hair that had streaks of gray in places. A permanent frown was etched on his face as his star player seemed to be losing his touch. Kouga had just gave his fourth and final foul this quarter, one more and he would be taken out of the game. Now they were lining up on the Cougars side of the court so their center could make two foul shots.

Kouga grimaced as he stepped up to his place on the left side of the basket and wiped the sweat of his hands onto his jersey. He knew their center would make the two shots, he would have to make a three pointer if he wanted to win the game, a two pointer if they needed to tie. Unfortunately, the coach didn't except ties. He only hoped that he wouldn't blow it this time. Kouga took one more glance back towards Coach Matthews as the referee quickly explained the foul shot rules, even though they all knew what to do anyway. Matthews made the signal to get the ball and call a time out, Kouga nodded and turned back to the game.

The first shot was made, it swished into the basket. A roar from the Cougars side of the stands erupted as Kouga cursed inwardly. The center dribbled the ball and made the second shot, it bounced off the rim. Kouga leapt up and caught the ball before signaling a time out with his hands. The referee blew the whistle and the clock stopped with thirty seconds left. The Tigers huddled around Coach Matthews, the five boys on the court panting hard.

"Kouga," Matthews spat. "What the hell is wrong with you, boy?" Kouga just stared at the wooden floor, sweat dripping from his forehead. "Well, I don't care what's going on in your head, you go back out there and start playing for real, you hear me." Kouga nodded. "Good, don't blow this." The huddle dispersed and the five boys who were originally playing headed back to the court.

The Cougars were still in the middle of their huddle as they took their places. The referee passed Kouga the ball, and he started to dribble it absentmindedly. He looked up into the stands and grinned as he saw a bunch of his friends cheering for him. Then his eyes locked with another's steely gaze. Miroku was sitting on one of the balcony seats, and there was a six feet radius of empty seats around him, since no one wanted to be next to the strange boy. He was dressed entirely in black, the only color he owned. His skin was pale, and his eyes and lips were covered in black liner to make him look even more dead. His ears, eyebrows, and tongue were pierced, and on his shoulder was a tattoo of a burning skull. Sango was beside him, looking equally horrific in her black skirt and shirt.

Kouga could feel himself begin to shudder as he stared at the two school punks. And his inside, he could feel a very unwanted emotion. No, he thought. No way. I am not scared of those two freaks. He glared at the two as if saying, "I'm not afraid of you". Miroku only smirked.

"Oh, you're scared," he muttered. "I can tell by the way you keep blowing this game." Sango laughed. Miroku then stared to hiss, "Naraku..." Kouga snapped back to reality as the referee blew the whistle and the Cougar team headed back to the court. Ginta started running towards the other end of the court as Kouga dribbled down. Then the name Naraku reached his ears, and his heart stopped.

Everything started playing in slow motion as the roar of the crowd warped and distorted. Kouga could see his teammate Ginta, turning around and trying to yell at him for not passing the ball, but no sound came from his mouth. He couldn't hear anything at all, just sound of his own heart as the pulse started to sped up rapidly. Then Kouga gasped as he saw a ghostly figure standing under the basket across from him. He stopped and held the ball in his hands as his mouth began to tremble with an uncontrollable amount of fear.

A pale figure of a boy stood, his clothes tattered and ripped, pale lips parted in a sinister grin. His head was cocked grotesquely to the side as if the neck were broken, and his thin hand was reaching out to him. Now, Kouga was not even aware of the game, his heart was racing, sweat soaking the back of his jersey. He had never known fear, until now. Suddenly, time came back to normal, but the boy was still there with an eerie gray glow around his frame.

Kouga dropped the ball and took off on a dead sprint to the other side of the court. The Grant High School crowd was on their feet, shouting. They had never seen their center run so fast, but it was in the wrong direction, and without the ball. Coach Matthews was cursing profusely.

"Kouga, what the hell are you doing? I'm going to skin you alive," but Kouga wasn't listening. All he wanted was to get out of that gym, away from the boy. He tripped over a water bottle and slammed into the wall, falling to the ground. One of the Cougar team players came up and grinned, mockingly.

"Hey thanks a lot Kouga, you just helped us win the game." he said as he offered a hand up. Kouga was just staring up at the ceiling, eyes wide with freight as he started mumbling random things. His arms were swatting at the air, his body shaking and writhing as is he were having a seizure. The boy took a step back.

"Hey are you okay?"

"Naraku!!" Kouga shouted, arms still flailing in the air. "Naraku!!" Coach Matthews came running to Kouga's side and slapped him across the face.

"Kouga, Kouga snap out of it." Kouga didn't even react, he was still screaming and shaking. "Dammit, we need a medic over here!! Hey, help us out over here." Matthews cried as he and members of both teams tried to hold the boy down. Finally, doctors rushed to the scene. There was no need to check for pulse or breathing, the poor kid had plenty of both. Finally, Kouga was strapped to a stretcher and being wheeled to a ambulance. He had calmed down from exhaustion, but not before muttering one last word. "Naraku." Coach Matthews cursed.

"It's happening again."

Miroku and Sango quickly stood up and walked towards the stairs into the parking lot. They jumped into a black convertible and Miroku careened out of the driveway.

"All right," he said to Sango. "Now Kouga will be just like all the others."

A/N: This will probably be the shortest chapter, but there was no other good part to end it. And I had to keep you interested. So what did you think? Tell me.....-009