InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Laying Down the Law: Abuna i Dansu ❯ Ghost Dance Part I ( Chapter 4 )

Here we go with the next chapter. This is going to be one half of a larger chapter; Ghost Dance is pretty lengthy and meat thick with material, so I thought I'd cut it in half to give you guys a break after chapter 2, which was hulking and huge. So here it is; thanks for everyone's positive reviews. This chapter is a lot to think about because I introduce a lot of Wildcats, so keep your eyes out for catchphrases to remember them by; I describe them all in characteristic ways to make it less of a deluge, or at least try to. Read the note at the bottom for other news. Love ya!

 

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Ghost Dance: the rebellious dance of the Lakota tribe as they showed defiance towards their settler leaders.

 

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Sesshomaru drummed his fingers atop the table, sighing to himself as the morning heat caused sweat to roll down the back of his neck. It was the morning of their first day of school and the gangs had been at work since 5:30 in the morning, hoping to get work done in the peaceful cool before they were forced to retreat within the confining walls of their high school.

 

A sheet of paper lay before Sesshomaru, bearing his neat cursive hand; his phone was on the table near his right hand, recently used. Rin noticed these things immediately as she sat down in the chair beside her boyfriend, pretending to be preoccupied by her own paperwork.

 

"Did someone call in with an order?" she finally asked, keeping her brown eyes trained on her work thought her mind was drifting elsewhere. She had a feeling that Sesshomaru's thirty minute phone call hadn't been about an order at the warehouse.

 

The dog demon wiped away the sweat forming on his brow with the back of his aristocratic hand; he seemed as though he weren't going to answer Rin's question, though he eventually murmured, "No."

 

Rin observed the boy, who was currently capturing his long white tresses in a high ponytail, and tried to decipher whatever that was in his eyes; was it sadness? Or worry? Being Sesshomaru's girlfriend was a full time job, seeing as though his emotions had to be decoded, his words pondered and his actions deliberated. Nothing about Sesshomaru Taisho was straight forward or easy and now he wasn't eating; Rin was finding herself practically at a loss for the first time in their nearly four year relationship.

 

"Who was it on the phone then?" Rin pried. She continued to focus her eyes on the paperwork, though Sesshomaru knew at a single glance that she couldn't even see the words before her.

 

Sesshomaru removed his glasses and folded them neatly atop a nearby stack of files, replying placidly, "No one you should worry about, Koi."

 

Rin pursed her lips but said nothing, pretending to stack the papers more neatly before giving her boyfriend a tight nod and leaving the table. The thin dog demon repressed a sigh, watching Rin as she hurriedly made her way towards the kitchen area, before rubbing his eyes tiredly; Rin was obviously not in the right mood to talk about Thursday nights and he wasn't even going to bring it up. Especially when his phone call had been from a potential new client.

 

In the front of the warehouse, the mechanics were working busily away on their many busted vehicles, talking and laughing as many sung along with the loudly blaring radio in the corner.

 

Kagome was sitting on the work bench enjoying a beer as she watched Shitora and Ranbou tuning up an electric blue Kawasaki motorcycle. The radio, located near Kagome's left hip, was currently between songs.

 

"...and that was Beautiful Girls by Sean Kingston right here on KGRD, Grind radio straight from America," the DJ announced merrily, going on to talk about some sort of contest as Ranbou rolled his eyes.

 

"Fuck, I hate that song," he growled, mimicking in a high voice, "'Suicidal, suicidal,' yeah, well I'll kill 'im so that suicide ain't got nothin' to do with it!" The wolf continued to wrench away at a loose bolt, muttering about the song mutinously.

 

As Shitora snorted and Kagome laughed at Ranbou's sour face, the DJ progressed into the next song, saying, "And by popular demand, here's Rasheeda's 'Bubblegum,' for all the ladies out there who want a little something in return."

 

As the raunchy beat began to play, many girls in the warehouse let out yells of delight and began rocking in rhythm with the bass line. Shitora unconsciously began to sway her hips to the song as she adjusted the odometer, mouthing the words as she dutifully turned the screw driver. Ranbou's eyes widened as he heard the lyrics "chew up on my bubblegum" and his gaze became inexplicably glued to Shitora as she continued her oblivious dance.

 

"Like what you see, Ran?" Kagome joked, winking broadly at the wolf as he turned to her with wide eyes.

 

Ranbou joined Kagome by the work bench, still watching his girlfriend rocking with the beat on the motorcycle. "Hell, she doesn't even know she does shit like that."

 

"Maybe," Kagome drawled in a sly reply. "But from a girl standpoint, girls are a lot more conscious than you think we are when it comes to being sexual."

 

Just the sound of the word "sexual" coming out of sweet Kagome's mouth made Ranbou visibly wince. "Yeah, well I prefer to think of Sukini as a totally non-sexual being, thanks."

 

"And that's possible to do...how?"

 

Ranbou hesitated a glance back in Shitora's direction, eyes following the back-and-forth motion of his favorite behind just long enough to convince him that Kagome was entirely right; ignoring his girlfriend's inherent sexuality was impossible. Without even offering Kagome another word, Ranbou walked quietly up behind Shitora and leaned down, wrapping his strong arms around her waist as he planted a rather sensual kiss on her exposed neck.

 

Shitora stopped moving in surprise but soon smiled craftily. "Begging for forgiveness?"

 

The wolf groaned silently as he recalled their argument the day before; if he recalled correctly, it had been entirely centered around Shitora's chances of making the advanced dance squad. He hadn't meant to seem unsupportive, but the idea of simply showing up in the South Tokyo dance balcony and leaping to the head of the class was absurd; Ranbou had never seen Shitora dance and could only believe that her bragging was merely Taisho arrogance. When it really came down to it, Ranbou hadn't exactly said anything apology-worthy the day before; Shitora simply had thin skin when it came to her personal abilities being questioned.

 

Sighing, Ranbou released his hold and moved until he was standing in front of the bike, staring Shitora in the eyes as he leaned over the handlebars. "Look, baby girl, I wasn't tryin' to be a bastard or anything. I was just sayin' that the dance program was a little tough and I didn't know how much you knew about it. I didn't want you goin' in there and gettin' your feelings hurt or something. I mean, I've never even seen you dance either way, so I wasn't presuming anythin'; I bet your fuckin' great! I was just warning you cause I was nervous for you."

 

Though Shitora looked defiant at first, her anger seemed to melt away as Ranbou explained himself; something about that sincere look in his ice blue eyes was enough to make her forgive him on the spot.

 

Remembering the harsh words she'd sent in Ranbou's direction the day before, Shitora sighed and said quietly, "Yeah, I know. But...dancing was all I did up at school. It's all I was known for, you know? I just...if I didn't dance here and I wasn't the best, I wouldn't know what to do. I didn't want to think that I might not make it, that was all."

 

Kagome smiled to herself as she watched the couple working out their problems piece by piece. She knew for a fact that Shitora and Ranbou hadn't spoken after their fight the previous day; Shitora had complained quite loudly about the whole ordeal during the girls' kickboxing workout that evening. While many of the girls found their now mandatory kickboxing lessons oppressive, since the boys had practically forced them all to take self defense classes, several of the girls were finding them to be quite stress-relieving. Kagome rolled her sore shoulder as she bitterly remembered Shitora taking out some stress on her arm.

 

Meanwhile, Ranbou and Shitora were beginning to talk in a more amicable manner. "So, how did it go?" Ranbou asked.

Shitora crossed her arms smugly and replied, "I was the best, no doubt about it." The arrogance and pride in her voice was enough to make a mafia boss seem humble. "There was only one girl anywhere close to beating me out, but I took care of her."

 

While Ranbou blinked in mild surprise, Kagome interjected warily from her position on the tool bench. "Took care of her? How so?"

 

"Just showed her what real dancing is all about," Shitora replied dismissively.

 

While Kagome continued to glance worriedly at Shitora, Ranbou was dealing with the news of his girlfriend's recent triumph in the dance department. Ranbou felt almost guilty for not knowing how good Shitora obviously was; anyone who was "the best" at South Tokyo was arguably the best anywhere in town. He would know if the girl he spent every day with was so excellent at something, wouldn't he? Perhaps Shitora was blowing things out of proportion and was simply bragging. Yes, he comforted himself, that has to be it. He would've known if she was truly a great dancer.

 

"...the type of girl you wanna chew all o' my bubblegum, I'm the type o' girl you wanna take to yo momma h-"

 

The music on the radio, which had been background noise until this time, cut off with a rather abrupt noise. The workers in the warehouse all turned in surprise as the familiar voice of the Tokyo evening newscaster blared over the speakers, cutting through the morning air unnervingly.

 

"We interrupt your regularly scheduled broadcast to bring this important news flash. Government officials have recently confirmed in a public press conference that the recent outbreak of the demonic Silim's disease in France was the work of bio-terrorists."

 

The silence in the warehouse was deafening as sweat ran cold on the back of every demon neck. Glances were exchanged and gasps escaped through trembling lips as the Southern gangs digested the truth like a bitter pill. The normally warm morning air seemed to have lost its heat as the newscaster continued.

 

"Turn it up!" Inuyasha called urgently, jogging towards Kagome as he wiped sweat and grease from his furrowed brow.

 

Kagome obliged and the announcement soon rang through the metal workings of the warehouse ceiling like a deafening clatter. "The French Center for Disease Control and Prevention President, Pierre Sanclaude, claims that Silim's disease, which is spread by a bacterium known as silim typherium, was discovered in cultivated areas on the doorknobs, windowsills, eating utensils and communal writing implements in the Jeunes Dirigeants Academy for elementary age students. Sanclaude suggests that the bioterrorists were examining the most successful way in which to infiltrate a common living society by using the school as a controlled test environment. While officials state that there is no immediate danger to those of us here in Japan, world leaders are currently preparing to gather at Washington, D.C in the United States to discuss possible measures of damage control. News coverage will continue as officials further their investigation."

 

The news bulleting came to an end and Kagome numbly flipped off the radio, finding the idea of listening to the remainder of "My Bubblegum" almost disrespectful. The gang members were quiet and almost confused as they shook their heads and clapped each other encouragingly on the back. Kagome and Inuyasha were, by this time, gripping each other's hands, mouths drawn and grim. Though Sesshomaru's face was unreadable, Rin could see the sadness in his eyes; this news was a devastating dose of reality even to the violent gangs of Tokyo.

 

"Who the fuck would test Silim's on a bunch of school kids?!" Ranbou roared, causing several to jump at the sudden noise.

 

In a startling display of anger, Ranbou threw the wrench he was holding to the ground wherein it broke into several pieces; the force of his demon throw had cause the metal to splinter and crack. Shitora remained unmoving even as her boyfriend held his head in despair.

 

"You know what this means, right?" Hakkaku said, voice shaking with rage and fear. "Somebody out there is trying to do the demons in."

 

And it was true; Silim bacteria had no effect on humans and the teenagers were fully aware of this fact. Kagome, however, was new to Knockturn's five demon diseases. Practically wincing at the question she was about to utter, Kagome asked Inuyasha quietly, "What's Silim's disease?"

 

Inuyasha turned to face her solemnly, still holding her hand tight within his grasp as his amber eyes glittered with anguish. "It's one of the five diseases that demons can get. Basically, if you have Silim's, you go blind and your body starts to eat itself alive from the inside out. It attacks your organs until there's nothing left of you; it even continues after death until your nothing but a pile of ash. Silim's never stops."

 

Kagome's honest brown eyes were wide and her mouth slightly agape as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks. In a moment of weakness, she had begun to imagine small, innocent children laying prone in a hospital, crying out for the parents they couldn't see and screaming from the pain in their insides. It really brought Ranbou's question to mind; who would do such a thing?

 

Sesshomaru stood slowly, clearing his throat and attracting the full attention of his followers with this small sound. "It's nearly 8:00. I suggest that everyone proceeds to school to clean up before classes start."

 

After a motionless, silent moment, the gang members began shuffling around, replacing their tools numbly in the boxes and gathering their things to meander towards the school. Inuyasha felt as though he were moving through molasses, what with the way his feet were unfeeling and his hands were cold. His mother and father had told their children about the horrors of Knockturn's diseases as though they were a fairytale, but now they were actually a threat to his way of life. Reality was looming far too close to perfect Tokyo.

 

9191919

 

Gan ran a hand loosely through her damp hair as she began unlocking her locker in the girl's locker room. Girls ran to and fro, laughing easily as though that morning's disconcerting news announcement had already been forgotten; Gan hadn't forgotten, but the idea of this supposed outbreak left her skeptical. There was little connection between France and Japan and therefore, this all meant relative little to her. Of course she sympathized with the plight of the unlucky children and their families, but it was so far away she could barley bring herself to care. Gan the Gun had other problems at the current time.

 

"You're hair is very beautiful."

 

Glancing up at the kind voice from her right, Gan was surprised to see that, for once, the comment seemed to have been directed at her. This was the first time since her coming out that any girl outside her close-knit group of friends had spoken to her and the Shark second-in-command was tempted to glance around in case this was all just a misunderstanding. But the kind girl sitting on the bench beside her smiled encouragingly, her lively blue eyes sparkling with kindness. Gan returned her gaze to this newcomer, a blonde who seemed simply cheerful to be alive as she sat, long legs folded artistically beneath the bench as she removed her street shoes. She was so thin she was almost waif-like.

 

"Sorry, are you talking to me?" Gan asked disbelievingly, violet eyes wide at the prospect.

 

"Yeah," the other blonde replied kindly; her voice was warm and accepting. "I've just been looking at it for a few minutes and it's really beautiful."

Gan blinked confusedly; it had been so long since someone other than Akago paid her a compliment that she'd practically forgotten what to do with them. "Um, thank you," she replied awkwardly, a smile playing at her lips. "I'd have to say that yours is a good deal more well kept than mine, though. I've never been able to get my hair to shine like yours does."

 

The girl laughed good naturedly at Gan's comment, replying, "Oh, it takes a lot of products to get mine to do anything, I swear. I'm Shale Johannsen."

 

"Gan Kiretsu." The girls shook hands, one pale and soft, the other muscled and calloused. Though Gan should've felt embarrassed by her rough worker's hands, she was finding it rather impossible to feel bad about herself in Shale's presence.

 

"Are you new here?" Gan asked conversationally as she begun changing into her school uniform, still wincing at the very sight of the skirts.

 

Shale nodded. "Yeah, I just moved here from America."

 

"Oh?" Gan's eyebrows raised . "Where in America?"

 

"New York."

 

Gan watched Shale as she pulled on her knee socks, which slid smoothly over her sun kissed shins in an almost effortless way. "That's a long way for you, then.'

 

But Shale merely gave a small smile. "I needed a change, I guess you could say."

 

Their conversation was interrupted as a crash echoed through the locker room and many turned their heads to look at the disturbance. A green haired girl had been ruthlessly hip-checked into a group of nearby lockers and was currently leaning awkwardly against them, small frame huddled in on itself as she gathered her wits about her. The airy brunette who had so easily disposed of her slammed her locker door shut resolutely before waltzing out of the room with her bag over her shoulder. A group of thin, well built girls began whispering and jerking their heads as the green haired girl blinked her crimson eyes dully and stumbled down the row of lockers towards Gan and Shale, who had already exchanged a confused glance at the goings on.

 

The green haired girl sat quietly down on the bench just feet from Shale and Gan, bending to remove her tennis shoes and ankle socks. After a brief silence, during which Shale bit her lips and the green haired girl continued to act as inconspicuous as possible, Gan narrowed her violet eyes and looked fiercely up at the gaggle of whispering girls nearby.

 

"Clear off, why don't you? Nothing to see here," Gan said in a clipped, commanding tone.

 

After realizing that they'd practically been issued an order by none other than Gan the Gun, the girls ceased their talking and hurried towards the locker room door, shirt tails flying as they went. Gan shook her head slightly and returned her gaze to the petite, crimson eyed girl, who was now pulling on her knee socks, eyes still glued to the ground.

 

"Are you okay?" Shale asked, eyes glimmering with concern as she addressed this small girl.

 

When the girl in question looked up, Shale and Gan nearly gasped; three painful looking claw marks, recently scabbed over, marred the girl's pretty cheek. Self-consciously reaching up to cover the scars with her hand, the girl replied quietly, "Yes, I'm fine."

 

"Did those girls do that to you?" Gan asked, nodding her head towards the scars.

 

The girl shook her head. "No, they didn't. They've just been pushing me around a little this morning; I expected it."

 

"What would make them do such a thing?" Shale asked, blue eyes troubled as her voice began to heighten in pitch; this was all making her rather distraught and Gan could see it clearly on the girl's beautiful, delicate features.

 

"Dancer politics; nothing to worry about," came the girl's reply.

 

After a moment's silence, during which the green haired girl began pulling on her school slippers, Gan finally said, "I'm Gan Kiretsu and this is Shale Johannsen. You don't have to worry about dancer politics with us." Gan had already noted the limp condition of Shale's left leg and determined, through a logical process, that she was likewise not enrolled in the dance program.

 

"I'm Mizumi Tousen," the girl said, managing a small smile before tentatively sticking out her hands to shake with both other girls. "I guess you guys not being in the dance program is a plus for me."

 

Gan mulled over the name Tousen for a moment before quirking her eyebrow; this was certainly an interesting twist in the current state of things. Though she'd know about Ryuu's sibling for quite a while, she'd never even seen a picture and had imagined her long gone until now. Even as she sat there in a demure silence, Mizumi bore an undeniable resemblance to her brother.

 

Shale furrowed her blonde brow, as though thinking rather hard about something. "You remind me of someone I've met lately. Green hair...not many people have it, so it must've been that...hm..."

 

"You probably mean my brother," Mizumi replied, voice trailing off; it looked as though this would be another dead end in her social life. Every person who'd recognized the relation between her and Ryuukoytsusei had either begged her forgiveness and fled or spat at her feet and fled. Either way, she wasn't enjoying the implications of her last name as of late.

 

But Gan merely smiled wanly. "You two look so much alike it's uncanny. I never imagined by the way Ryuu spoke of you that you two were so close in age. I rather thought you were a small child."

 

Mizumi furrowed her brow and smiled almost excitedly. "So you actually know my brother? Like friends?"

 

Gan paused, as though weighing options. "I suppose 'business acquaintances' would make him happier, but I guess you could call us friends. Our gangs were allies for most of my years here."

 

At the word "gang," Shale's smile faded and she shook her head. "That's something about this place that I just don't understand. In America, gangs were nothing like this. They weren't as...what's the word..."

 

"Legitimate? Organized? Financially centered?" Gan offered.

 

"Stereo-typically Hollywood?" Mizumi joked.

 

Shale laughed at this last suggestion, despite the indignant frown on Gan's pale face. "We're not Hollywood," she protested lamely.

 

But Mizumi simply turned and replied, "This morning, my brother and his friends were wearing black leather with studs and motorcycle boots. They sat in a dark warehouse and fixed cars and then they smoked cigarettes and, wearing aviator sunglasses, rode their expensive motorcycles to school. And some of them even carried their girlfriends in their sidecars."

 

Gan was silent as Mizumi and Shale regarded her expectantly. Finally, she scoffed, "The Dragons are quite different from the rest of us," while knowing all the while that Mizumi had a point about this all.

 

"What year are you?" Shale asked Mizumi interestedly, before turning towards Gan as well. "You too, Gan, you never said."

 

"I'm a sophomore," Mizumi replied.

 

Gan answered in turn, "And I'm a senior."

 

"I'm a senior too," Shale said brightly as she slipped on her final shoe.

 

A second pair of footsteps entered their row of lockers and Mizumi smiled at the newcomer, a redheaded girl with a rather large chest. "Hey, Fennella," she said happily, pleased to see her new friend respond with a garrulous lion smile.

 

"Morning," the girl replied, grinning fiercely; the smile was almost so ferocious that Mizumi half expected the girl's fangs to show through her protective mask.

 

"Fennella, this is Shale; she's new here, a senior," Mizumi introduced happily; the thought of bringing together all of her newly acquired friends was rather pleasing.

 

Fennella leaned over the bench, extending one of her strong freckled hands to shake with the waify blonde girl. "Nice to meet you, I'm Fennella Macharyas, call me Fenn."

 

"Shale Johannsen," the blonde replied, blue eyes still sparkling with that happiness which never seemed to desert her.

 

"And this is Gan," Mizumi finished.

 

Gan turned and seemed to notice Fennella for the first time just as the redhead glanced up and noticed the famous Shark second in command. Both gazed suddenly turned steely and Fennella lowered her eyebrows, barking gruffly, "Yeah, we've met."

 

With a scowl on her smooth blonde face, Gan gestured rather angrily in Fennella's direction. "Too many times, we've met."

 

"And every time I left him a scar," Fennella said smugly, green eyes glittering with malevolence. "Oh wait, my mistake. I meant 'her.' And all this time I thought I was fighting a really lame gay boy."

 

Gan snorted. "Oh that's right, try the gay joke, you won't be the first or the last. Besides, I pushed you into the ocean that winter. How was the water, lion? Did it suit you fine?"

 

Fennella only continued pulling on her knee socks, not even hesitating Gan a glance. "Not as cold as the knife I once stuck in your arm."

 

"I broke your wrist."

 

"I bruised your back."

 

"I cut off half your hair."

 

"I bit your neck and drank your blood."

 

Gan seemed to ponder this for a moment, turning to face the horrified expressions of Mizumi and Shale. "Yes, that's true. But don't worry, I shot her."

 

Shale let out an audible gasp, covering her mouth daintily with one thing hand. Mizumi looked aghast, though rather unsurprised considering the circumstances, and the two bickering girls only continued to lock gazes, even as they gathered their things and began stalking towards the door. They both began walking very quickly before bursting into brisk runs, trying to beat each other to the door, and the inevitable happened as they bowled over other girls and eventually reached the exit.

 

They got stuck in the doorway.

 

Shale and Mizumi exchanged glances before hurrying after their new friends, watching as the firmly lodged girls grunted and tried to push their way out of the narrow opening. Several students in the hallway had stopped to watch, many looking confused while others just rolled their eyes and laughed at the reunited rivals.

 

Gan and Sesshomaru just happened to be passing by when a familiar voice shouted, "I'll have your scraggly tail for this you arrogant lioness wench!"

 

"Oh, update your lingo to the twenty-first century, ya stupid-ass tranny bitch!"

 

Both leaders raised their eyebrows and turned tentatively towards the growing crowd near the girl's locker room, exchanging glances before making their way carefully through the crowd. The students parted reverently for Akago and Sesshomaru who were met with the sight of Fennella and Gan stuck in the doorway, a tall blonde and a short green haired girl trying to pry them loose from behind.

 

Akago scratched his white head curiously, glancing through his spectacles at his second in command. "Gan, what on earth have you been up to this morning?"

 

At the sound of her leader's voice, Gan wrenched her gaze up, eyes bugging and furious. "Oh, she started it!"

 

"As if, you little b-"

 

Sesshomaru interrupted swiftly, "Fennella, that's enough."

 

Though Fennella might not have wanted to, she managed to hold her tongue under Sesshomaru's orders, satisfying herself by glaring vehemently at Gan, who was still struggling beside her; in the end, being part of Ayame's core meant that Sesshomaru was the lion demon's supreme leader. When Gan caught Fennella's fierce eyes, she scowled even wider and reached up, tugging on Fennella's mane-like hair fiercely. This elicited a sound from Fennella which could only be described as a roar, one which should only issue from the deepest throat of a murderous lion. Many onlookers in the surrounding crowd grew wide-eyed, though others only shook their heads; it had only been a matter of time before Fennella broke her cover and opened herself up to the violent revenge of the Leopard demons. The Lion-Leopard quarrel had been fairly widespread that summer, though the North-South war had overshadowed it by far.

 

Gan winced as Fennella roared in her ear. "Quiet down, you little savage," the blonde barked disdainfully.

 

Akago sighed heavily, dropping his messenger bag to the floor before walking calmly towards the commotion. "Gan, Fennella. Stay still for just a moment. Is it really so hard to get unstuck?"

 

"My shirt is caught on the door jam-"

 

"And my blazer is stuck on the hinge-"

 

"And both of their bags and zippers are caught together in the middle," Mizumi interjected from inside the locker room.

 

"And the door is rather narrow," Shale finished, cocking her blonde head curiously to the side; everything truly was smaller in Japan.

 

Akago blew out a stream of air, focusing his crimson eyes on the situation at hand with a critical element to his stare. He reached forward and unhooked Gan's shirt from the door jam as Mizumi carefully extracted Fennella's blazer from the hinge. As the two stepped back to admire their work, Shale leaned in and began nimbly undoing the many knots which had sprung up from the collision and subsequent twisting and struggling.

 

Finally, Akago glanced over the two girls at Mizumi and said, "Now if you pull Fennella and I pull Gan, they ought to just come free, yes?"

 

"That should work," Mizumi replied, shrugging as she took hold of Fennella's arm.

 

Akago took Gan's hand in his and then counted, "One, two, three!"

 

The girls came loose with the sound of shifting material and both gasped in relief, savoring their freedom only for the slightest second before turning to continue their argument. Akago rolled his eyes, taking Gan forcefully by the shoulders and maneuvering her down the hall. "That's quite enough, Gan. It's been a pleasure ladies, good day."

 

"Bye," Mizumi mumbled, brushing off a stray thread from her blazer jacket which had obviously come from someone's sweater; what a way to start the morning.

 

"Ugh, I hate that boy...girl! Dammit!" Fennella exploded, throwing her arms akimbo as her mask spell fell completely away, threatened by her rage. Claws seemed to appear from her finger tips and long, dangerous looking fangs sprouted from her gums. Suddenly, her friendly green eyes were a daring yellow.

 

Shale, who looked rather troubled by all the shouting, asked bewilderedly, "Did she really shoot you? With a gun?"

 

"I'll say she did!" Fennella roared in response, jerking up her shirt hem and revealing a red and white scar just above her skirt band. "And she was looking to get my heart, she's just a shitty shot!"

 

Though this was decidedly untrue, Mizumi and Shale just exchanged confused glances as they walked with Fennella down the hall, listening to her rant about Gan the Gun and their numerous encounters in the past. Even though Fennella and Gan didn't get along, Mizumi wasn't completely deterred; she was determined to gather together a group of friends and both of them were going to be in it. It would just take a little persuading, it seemed. Nothing too difficult...if not rather dangerous to everyone's physical wellbeing.

 

9191919

 

"I guess everyone has enemies," Kagome murmured as she and Inuyasha broke away from the dissipating crowd. Both had watched with great amusement as Gan and Fennella battled it out in the doorway, but soon the excitement ended and everyone was off to class.

 

Inuyasha pulled at his school tie, which constricted his neck, and replied offhandedly, "Yeah, Gan and Fenn never got along. Fenn was always in the dispatch team that tried to break up Shark drug deals and she always got into it with Gan when we went on missions."

 

Kagome giggled and reshouldered her bag as she joked, "Oh, missions? Like James Bond? Or more like Men in Black?"

 

This caused her boyfriends to roll his amber eyes and the hanyou reached out, squeezing the back of Kagome's neck in a way which caused her to shiver unpleasantly. "Hey, this was serious shit, don't laugh!"

 

But this didn't seem to stifle Kagome, who continued chuckling. "Did you wear masks? And carry utility belts? Please say yes..."

 

Inuyasha merely scoffed as he turned to enter his English classroom on their left. Kagome pouted slightly as she made as though to continue down the hallway, but Inuyasha poked his head out to say, "Sometimes we wore masks," before ducking back inside. Kagome grinned widely, since she knew Inuyasha was simply having fun with her; it was nice to see him smiling after that morning's frightening announcement about the Silim's outbreak. The students had been somber for at least half an hour, but the outbreak was too far away to infect the peaceful reality of their school-life. It seemed that, unless it directly affected gang life, the teens of Tokyo cared about nothing but their internal affairs.

 

Kagome shook her head free of any and all thoughts concerning extra-academic issues and refocused her attention on the schedule in her hands. According to this, she had French first. But where on earth was the language wing? The school was so enormous, she found it rather ridiculous that they expected her to find her way without a map.

"...I'll fuckin' lay you out, bitch, you better watch where you steppin'!"

 

At the sound of this harsh voice, Kagome almost rolled her eyes in despair; it sounded like Enju was up to her usual tricks. A glance down the hall proved Kagome correct; Enju looked a good deal less threatening in her school uniform, though she was still standing erect and angry like a hissing cat. Several of Kagura's more thug-like Vixens were lined up before her in their scandalously short skirts, arms crossed and eyes hard as they obviously prepared for a confrontation. Kagome set her jaw and lowered her eyebrows; when was this girl just going to give it up and stop trying to get into fights?

 

"Five against one, wolf," one of the girls growled, staring down at Enju with hateful eyes.

 

Kagome walked briskly up, positioning herself fearlessly in front of Enju. "Two against five," she corrected. "And if I so much as say the word, you'll be easily outnumbered."

 

As though to prove Kagome's statement true, a few Wildcats down the hall were already looking up from their morning activities, as though preparing to join the fight if necessary. The Vixens still scowled, though rather uneasily, until one of them finally said, "Let's go."

 

Enju lurched forward, as though to pursue them, but Kagome's arm shot out to bar her way.

 

One of the Vixens called, "You're next, Higurashi," as the scantily clad girls disappeared around the corner, though Kagome hardly looked perturbed. As the Vixens disappeared, the other Wildcats in the hallway eased visibly and began inching their way to class, once more talking amongst themselves where there had previously been a rather uncomfortable smattering of silence. Enju seemed to be shaking with rage, though Kagome couldn't be sure, and it wasn't until she turned to address the girl did she see the absolutely murderous look on the wolf demon's face.

 

"That was my fight!" Enju growled, sounding more like a hissing cat than a howling wolf. "What right do you have to get involved in my fights?!"

 

As though ignoring the girls protests, Kagome crossed her arms and said sternly, "Stay away from the Vixens, Enju. If we need to fight them, Rin will let us know."

 

"I'm ready to fight them now!" Enju replied rudely, taking a step nearer to Kagome until their noses were practically touching. "And if I really wanted to, you couldn't stop me, human."

 

This caused Kagome to frown. "Stop with the 'human' stuff, Enju, we're all on an equal plain."

 

"Please!" Enju scoffed, rolling her angry yellow eyes. "The day you're equal to me is the day I fucking die!"

 

One of the Wildcats who'd decided to leave the hallway for class turned at the sound of the growing argument, her blood red lips turned down in a frown. Enju caught the girl's eyes over Kagome's shoulder and called, "What about you, Sasha? Do you think demons and humans are equals? Tell this bitch who's boss in this town!"

 

Sasha bit her lip, crimson eyes narrowing as she walked slowly towards the pair before her. Her silver hair was pulled back in a slender ponytail, though several pieces were falling contentedly over her winter pale face; she looked almost ghostly, but her voice was rich and kind. "Enju, I think you should step down. Kagome is Kijo now."

 

While Kagome offered the silver haired girl a small smile, Enju only cried out with frustration. "What the hell is wrong with all of you?! Why isn't anyone fighting back?! She's trying to take Kikyo's place and we can't just let her!"

 

The desperation in Enju's voice made her already vehement yellow eyes seem roving and mad. Sasha stepped forward quietly, looking demure in her school uniform but somehow gently insistent. "Enju, it's over, give it up," she urged, extending a hand as though trying to get Enju to calm herself.

 

"Listen to her, Enju," Kagome agreed, returning her chocolate brown gaze to her dissenting follower. "You can't keep this up forever."

 

"Oh yeah?!" Enju demanded, moving rather suddenly so that she practically pressed Kagome against the wall. "Fucking watch me!"

 

Without so much as another word, Enju reared back her right fist and delivered a devastating blow to what should have been Kagome's face. At the last minute possible, Kagome ducked forward and listened to the sound of splintering and cracking plaster above her, silently thanking the Gods that the cracking and splintering hadn't been from her own skull. Enju obviously had the physical power to back up her words.

 

Enju cried out in pain and anger as her fist entered the wall of the school hallway, coming in contact with wood, paint, plaster, nails and pipe. Somehow, her bloody and broken hand seemed to have gotten lodged inside a tangled web of utilities and she grunted, trying to tug her fist free just as Fennella and Gan had struggled so valiantly ten minutes prior.

 

Sasha watched the goings on fretfully as Kagome ducked calmly out from under Enju's outstretched arm, hands placed easily in her blazer pockets. As she reshouldered her messenger bag, she straightened up to address Enju with a quiet fire in her eyes. "You've got a lot of rage, Enju. And I know it's not directed just at me."

 

With this, Kagome turned to address Sasha, who's crimson eyes were glimmering with troubles. "Sasha, how do I get to the language wing?"

 

"T-turn right at this corner and go to the end of the hall," Sasha stuttered in reply, pointing with one clawed hand.

 

Kagome noticed her abnormally sharp nails, quietly recognizing that a demon had just sided with her over another of their kind, and nodded thankfully. "Well, I better get to class, seeing as though none of these teachers know me and being late makes a terrible impression. I'll be seeing you, Sasha."

 

Kagome turned on her heels and began walking distractedly away, already involved in her schedule once more despite her recent brush with near death by Enju's fist.

 

"Oh, and Sasha?"

 

The silver haired demon looked bewilderedly up from the ground, which she'd been studying in overall confusion. "Yes, Kijo?"

 

"Get Enju's hand out of the wall for me."

 

With one final smile, Kagome disappeared down the corridor, leaving Sasha staring at Enju, who was still struggling valiantly against the forces restraining her hand.

 

After grunting and tugging for another moment, Enju glanced angrily over her shoulder at Sasha's confused face. "Don't say a word."

 

9191919

 

"I forgot all the French I ever learned this summer," Ranbou growled, tugging at his tie as he and Shitora meandered inside the French classroom.

 

"It's okay, just act like you have something caught in your throat and that kinda makes French sounding words," Shitora reasoned, shrugging her thin shoulders as a smile played on her lips.

 

Ranbou grinned and reached back his hand, pinching Shitora's plaid backside and laughing as she gave a jump and a shout. "Ranbou!" she exclaimed, trying to sound outraged though she desperately wanted to smile.

 

"The French are pretty frisky, it's gettin' me inspired," Ranbou replied defensively, winking at his girlfriend.

 

"Ranbou, keep your hands away from my sister's ass," came Sesshomaru's bored but commanding drawl.

 

Ranbou and Shitora glanced up at Sesshomaru, who was sitting near the back of the room with Gan and Akago, obviously discussing something rather pressing. Ayame was reading through their French book at a desk nearby while Miroku twiddled his thumbs, absent-mindedly watching as a girl in the front row bent over to grab her pencil and her underwear showed.

 

"Yeah, well, I didn't know you was sittin' there, sorry Shomo," Ranbou covered, deciding that mustering up a humble blush was not necessary; Sesshomaru looked more tired than angry.

 

"Did you study French at school, Shitora?" Akago asked disarmingly, smiling despite the sour look on his second in command's face; Gan was still smarting from her run in with Fennella.

 

Shitora nodded as she took a seat beside her brother, Ranbou on her other side. "Yeah, I mean, it was an all girl's boarding school after all. Where else would French be required for three hours a day?"

 

Just as Shitora said this, Kagome came meandering through the door still staring at her schedule; glancing up, she looked bewilderedly around to see if she'd actually found the right classroom and was pleasantly surprised by the sight of her friends. "Oh, hey guys; is this AP French Lit?"

 

Shitora grinned and nodded, patting the empty desk behind her. "Sure is; take a seat, Kags."

 

The friends sat atop their desks, facing one another as they waited out the remaining five minutes until the start of class.

 

"Does anyone know how to cuss in French?" Ranbou asked curiously, glancing around the circle.

 

Akago smirked. "I do."

 

This caused the others to grin and Shitora urged, "Come on, Akago, say something really dirty."

 

The white haired demon thought for a moment before saying silkily, "Ta mere suce des bites en enfer."

 

As he said this, Gan's face grew rather red and she murmured, "Akago, that's disgusting!"

 

"Whad he say, whad he say?!" Shitora asked excitedly, amber eyes wide with delight.

 

But Akago grinned and replied, "Your mother sucks cock in hell."

 

The group burst out into laughter while Gan merely shook her head in disdain. Akago winked in his second's direction, saying, "Oh, come now Gan. You know a few dirty phrases."

 

"Out with it," Kagome declared, smiling craftily at her friend.

"Yeah Gan," Miroku urged, chuckling. "Throw out the goods."

 

Faced with the hopeful faces of her friends, Gan finally rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, saying dully, "Va te faire enculer." When the others looked expectantly at her, Gan translated gruffly, "It means 'go ass-fuck yourself.'"

 

Again, the friends were roaring with laughter. Kagome entered in, "Our teacher taught us stupid insults. Like 'Vous êtes aussi utile qu'un frein à main sur un canoe,' which is something like 'your as useful as a handbrake on a canoe.'"

 

While the others continued laughing, Shitora mused, "We could probably come up with some. Like, 'Ta mère doit t'avoir battu sur la gueule avec le bâton de laideur.'"

 

Ayame snorted with hilarity. "Your mother must have beaten you with the ugly stick?"

 

This caused the others to laugh even harder.

 

"How about this one: 'Prendre vos places tout de suite ou je vous enverrai tout au bureau.'"

 

The teenagers froze and turned towards the new voice, which belonged to a blue haired man with several piercings and a scar which stretched across the bridge of his nose onto both cheeks. He was wearing a dress shirt and slacks, complete with his teacher's identification badge, and the students sobered immediately. Kagome recognized this man as Kayo-sensei, the same teacher who had demanded that Gan accept skirts at the supply line the day before.

 

"Can any of you translate that for me?" Kayo asked almost patronizingly.

 

His black eyes fell on Kagome, who realized that this was a sort of silent demand to answer his question. Swallowing, she replied quietly, "It means 'take your seats or I'll send you all to the office.'"

 

"Bingo," Kayo replied sarcastically, nodding to the group. "Then I suggest you do that. Quickly."

 

The friends quickly climbed from the desktops into their seats and folded their hands neatly, still exchanging laughing glances as the bell rang and the final students hurried inside. Kayo walked with great authority towards the front of the room, wherein he wrote his name in Kanji on the chalk board, placing the chalk on the railing before turning to address the quiet room of students before him.

 

"Welcome to AP French Literature, ladies and gentlemen. This is going to be the most ridiculous class you'll ever take and I'll tell you why: I am completely ridiculous. I'll make you work so hard you think I'm trying to make you quit and that's because I am. I'd love for you to quit because that's fewer papers for my to grade and therefore more time for me to do things I actually like. So if you're already scared out of your mind, please leave." He paused and no one moved. "It's your funerals. If you ever got anything less than an A- in French, you shouldn't be here and this is a big mistake. I didn't choose any of the portfolios I received where this was the case, so if you haven't been the top of your French class for the past three years, my mistake; I didn't mean to put you here. Feel free to raise your hand or run out the door at this time." Still, no one moved. "Well, that's too bad for me because there's still 16 of you. Every night, you will have 30 pages of written work and an hour of recorded voice exercises to do. Overall, this should take you about two hours. These are verbatim assignments, due every day without fail; I will add nightly homework on top of that to throw in a little variety. So, you might end up with three hours of French homework a night."

 

As he said this, Kayo wrote down the assignments on the board and turned to find the entire classroom of students staring at him with open mouths and expressions of true terror. The man smiled cruelly. "Oh yes, that's right. Three hours. And every night I'll enjoy the idea that you're slaving away in hopes that you'll make better than an F in this class. As far as grading goes, you all currently have F's. Not blank slates, but F's. I'll add points to your F averages as you earn them. Everyone in this room is sitting on top of a big fat 50 average. How does that make you feel?"

 

The students stared back at him with horror apparent on their faces.

 

"Excellent. Now the point of this class is to study Literature. You'll continue your study of the French language along with whatever reading we're doing at the current time. We'll read two novels this year." At the sound of such a small number, the students eased visibly in their seats. But Kayo smirked. "Oh I'm sorry, let me be specific: two novels, three novellas, twenty one short stories and six essays. So yes, only two novels." The students' faces returned to their previous states of despair. "Each novel will occupy one half of the year and you'll read the other stories over them. Our first novel is Les faux-monnayeurs, which is so complicated that you couldn't even easily understand it in Japanese, let alone French." Kayo reached behind him and retrieved a stack of books, passing them systematically down the rows to every student. "The first short story is La Parure, which is very sad and will leave you feeling lost, alone and unhappy." As Kayo passed smaller pamphlets containing the short story down the rows, he asked cheerfully, "Any questions?"

 

The students exchanged glances but remained tight lipped, feeling as though their souls weighed about fifty pounds a-piece; so much for the rumor about senior year being the "best year of school."

 

The rest of Kayo's French class continued in this manner until the bell rang forty five minutes later, leaving the dazed students to shove their new books in their bags and make their way numbly out the door.

 

"Have a good day now," Kayo called after them, waving happily.

 

Akago scowled at the ex-Shark leader as he made his way out the door and muttered, "You're enjoying this far too much."

 

"That I am, Tsume, that I am," Kayo agreed, giving the boy a fatherly slap on the back which sent him reeling.

 

"Okay," Shitora said almost leadenly as she, Kagome, Miroku and Ranbou made their way down the hallway. "So, basically, when we get out of practice at 6, we'll get home, eat dinner and shower. So then that's 7. And then we'll do our French homework. That's 10. And then when we finally finish that, we get to do our other homework. Then we get up at 5:00 to go to work."

 

The others groaned and Shitora winced. "Yeah, just checking to make sure we were all on the same page."

 

Kagome covered her eyes with one pale hand, shaking her head solemnly; with her course schedule in its current state, she could only hope that she wasn't being taught by an entire school-full of teachers like Kayo. If she was, then perhaps it wasn't too late to drop out and apply for work at a Stop-n-Go.

 

As she made her way towards her English classroom, Kagome murmured bitterly to herself, "And they wonder why Japan has the world's highest high school suicide rate..."

 

9191919

 

The air was warm and inviting in Tokyo as workers and students alike broke for their lunch hour, gravitating towards the outdoors as the demons began to sense the falling presence of summer. South Tokyo High was no different and friends began gathering on the wide lawn to eat their packed lunches, laughing and kicking off their shoes as they reclined on the living green blanket of grass.

 

Kagome munched dully at her tuna sandwich as the sound of Gan's perfect French met her ears and fell away. For the past fifteen minutes, they'd been passing around Les faux-monnayeurs, reading it aloud and translating the goings on in each paragraph before throwing the novel to the next person. Those who weren't in French were listening quietly, glad to allow their minds to drift after a morning of strenuous mental exercise.

 

"...Et le baron a pris la main de la dame, plantant un petit baiser au dessus de lui avant de la mener de côté," Gan finished, rolling her eyes at the pretentious manner of the book before passing it down to Ranbou, who was laying with his head in Shitora's lap as she dropped peanuts in his mouth. The book was about twenty separate relationships, as far as Gan could tell, and every person was interwoven with the other nineteen. It was terribly confusing and the group had since given up trying to understand it, settling for simply translating it and moving on.

 

"Who's turn is it to translate?" Ranbou asked boredly, glancing around the circle as he let the book fall on his chest.

 

Akago twirled a piece of grass absent-mindedly between his fingers as he murmured, "The baron asks the lady to dance, she accepts, they talk about the weather, and now he kisses her hand and asks her to step aside with him."

 

"Actually, he led her aside," Ayame corrected, rolling her emerald green eyes. "This whole book is a misogynistic message." Kouga laughed slightly as he ran his fingers through her glossy red curls, admiring the sunlight as it danced across her face. He spoke no French but found the sound of it soothing, almost like a lullaby.

 

As for those who spoke French, their boredom was reaching its peak. Ranbou sighed heavily, holding the book above his face as he focused his ice blue eyes on the small text. "Le coup manqué, je suis prédisposé pour demander si vous me participeriez le paysage..."

 

The wolf demon trailed off and glanced around the circle, noting how Gan was picking at the grass, Akago staring at the sky, Ayame and Miroku both staring unfocused into the distance and Kagome seeming as though she might drift off into sleep. Sesshomaru already had, by the looks of it; his amber eyes were closed as he lay flat on his back beneath the overhanging oak tree, Rin likewise asleep with her head on his stomach. Apparently, the ridiculous book had worked its magic and every person in the vicinity was growing bored despite their actual knowledge of the language.

 

"...Parce que j'aimerais avoir tendrement ma façon avec vous," Ranbou continued suddenly, a mischievious smile playing on his lips.

 

Shitora blinked, wondering if her demon ears had just picked up such a thing. She glanced down at Ranbou, who winked roguishly at her; it seemed as though he was going to alter the book to make it slightly more enjoyable. First the baron had been asking the lady to accompany him to the countryside and now, all of the sudden, it was because he wanted to "have his way with her," as Ranbou had put it. Shitora giggled slightly, glancing around as though waiting for the others to catch on.

 

"Vous voyez, ma chere dame, je suis dans la crainte de vos seins stupéfiants. Ils sont juste la bonne taille, qui est très important, parce que j'ai besoin de quelque chose pour tenir quand nous avons le sexe bruyant et odieux. Un petit coussin pour le pousser."

 

At the phrase "sexe bruyant et odieux," meaning "loud and obnoxious sex," several pairs of eyes snapped towards Ranbou, whereupon gaping mouths followed. Ranbou continued garrulously. "La madame, les « jambes » sont le mot du jour. Allons de retour à mon endroit et est étalé le mot."

 

Miroku burst out laughing at this statement as Ranbou passed him the book, trying not to smile as he said casually, "Alright, who's turn is it to translate?"

 

"What the hell is so funny?" Inuyasha asked confusedly, glancing at Kagome.

 

"Yeah," Kouga chimed in. "I thought you said it was boring."

 

"Well then, allow me to translate," Miroku said happily, glad for a distraction from the monotony of Kayo's assigned ready. The boy cleared his throat before relating comically, "My dear lady, I am predisposed as to inquire whether you would accompany me to the countryside..." here Miroku trailed off, glancing around the circle for dramatic effect as he prepared to launch into Ranbou's raunchy storyline; by this time, the non-French-speakers had turned to observe the laughing circle and were listening intently. "Because I would dearly like to have my way with you." Some gasped and others laughed as he continued. "You see, my dear lady, I am in awe of your amazing breasts. They are just the right size, which is very important, because I need something to hold onto when we are having loud and obnoxious sex. A little cushion for the pushing. Madame, 'legs' is the word of the day. Let's go back to my place and spread the word."

 

The friends laughed loudly and fell upon one another as they clapped in appreciation, egging Ranbou on as he stood and began taking long, sweeping bows. "Merci, merci," he jeered, grinning rakishly at the onlookers.

 

Due to their laughter, many failed to notice as a pair of calculative yet somehow misgauged footsteps made their way across the grass towards the Southern cores. Inuyasha just happened to glance up and notice the newcomer, grin falling quickly as he tapped Kagome's shoulder; Kagura had come to talk, it seemed.

 

The hilarity came to an abrupt halt as the others noticed the Vixen leader standing just inches from their circle and Ayame frowned, adopting a hard business face. "Later, Kagura, Rin is busy."

 

Kagura's blood red eyes strayed to Rin, who was still sleeping soundly with Sesshomaru's thin stomach as a cushion, but the smile on her crimson lips proved that Rin was not her target this time. Placing a long-nailed hand on her popped hip, Kagura said silkily, "I'm not here for little miss Wildcat princess, Saitou. I'm here for Higurashi."

 

Kagome concealed her surprise and instead stood slowly, meeting Kagura's eyes with her own strong brown ones. "What do you want?" she asked shortly.

 

The two girls continued to stare unmoving at one another, causing a tense air to descend on the grassy grounds. The others exchanged glances, as though wondering if things were about to come to blows, but Kagura finally broke the silence with her ever wanton voice. "I want to extend a challenge, Higurashi. My girls said that you tried to corner them in the hallway today."

 

Kagome snorted and rolled her eyes. "I wish you could've been there to see five of your 'poor cornered girls' running away from just me and one of mine. Obviously they knew that two against five were pretty shitty odds for them; wouldn't want to hike up their skirts any higher, just in case a policeman might slap them with indecent exposure in a public venue."

 

There were muffled chuckles from around the circle as everyone turned to conceal their mirth in their sleeves; this was a serious stare-down affair between two leaders and they needed to hold their tongues.

 

The flash in Kagura's crimson eyes caused a shiver to run down Kagome's spine, though she showed no fear; obviously, her comment had struck a sore spot in Kagura. The Vixen said quietly, "Meet me at warehouse 49 by the docks at 7:00 tonight for a little one on one. Then we'll see who gets the last laugh." Without so much as another word, Kagura turned on her heels and stalked back towards the Northerners, who were eating sullenly near the Northern wall, as though trying to be closer to familiar territory.

 

Kagome watched her go, shaking her head slightly before retaking her seat beside Inuyasha. All was quiet as the girl returned to her sandwich before Inuyasha said, "You know it's a trap, right?"

 

The girl scoffed, mouth full of food. "Duh, she'll probably have twenty or thirty girls standing there with knives and chains or something. I'm not going, she can have herself a little party."

 

Inuyasha nodded vaguely, watching Kagura growing smaller as she walked off into the distance towards her friends; his hanyou instincts were pestering him, almost like a persistent itch, and he almost reached up to scratch his neck in response. His seppanyoukai, the inner half demon, was beginning to grow more potent as the days went by. It had been bothering him rather badly for the past few days, making him wary and cautious like one of his clan elders, always worrying about every little thing.

 

As a simple reflex, he thought rather angrily, Jesus, cut it out you stupid spirit; I don't need shit from you too. I got troubles from every direction; Kagome's having trouble breaking in, Shitora is getting edgy and Sesshomaru looks like fucking Jack Skellington. So cut it out, alright? The hanyou almost snorted; as though his seppanyoukai would actually answer back.

 

Those are everybody's else's problems, nitwit; focus on your own.

 

At the sudden voice, Inuyasha gave a small yelp and sort of scrambled back away from his sandwich, thinking for a moment that the beef had spoken to him. Kagome jumped at her boyfriend's sudden movement and watched him scuttle away from his lunch, face the very picture of terror. The girl raised her eyebrow and exchanged glances with Sango, who was watching the scene with mild interest.

 

"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked tentatively, raising her eyebrows. "Is...everything okay?"

 

Inuyasha blinked his amber eyes, beginning to slowly crawl on his hands and knees towards the sandwich he'd just dropped, reaching out one clawed hand to pick it up gingerly. He held it up to his face, squinting as though looking for the answers to the universe in the layers of meat, mayonnaise and lettuce.

 

"Hello?" he asked after a moment.

 

Kagome frowned and glanced over her shoulder at the others, who had by this time become aware of the fact that Inuyasha was attempting conversation with a sandwich. Sesshomaru lifted his head, woken from his nap and took in the sight of his brother addressing his lunch.

 

"At last he's found someone worthy of his company," the great leader murmured, allowing his head to drop back to the grassy floor as he resumed his rest.

 

"Yash?" Miroku asked, violet eyes confused. "Dude, are you talking to your sandwich?"

 

The hanyou glanced up so quickly that some of his friends gasped in surprise. He pointed to the beef in particular, whispering conspiratorially, "It just talked to me!"

 

"And I thought I got hit hard in practice yesterday," Kouga mumbled, shaking his head.

 

I'm not in the sandwich, dumbshit.

 

"AH!" Inuyasha cried out, instinctively throwing the sandwich in Shitora's direction.

 

As her brother clapped his hands to his head in horror, Shitora cocked an eyebrow and picked up the beef hero, looking at it every which way before saying almost despairingly, "Yeah, he's lost it."

 

"Please, someone tell me you heard that voice," Inuyasha practically begged, glancing around the circle with wide amber eyes.

 

When his friends all slowly shook their heads, regarding him with rather deep concern, the hanyou whined, "Aw, shit, I'm goin' crazy! I'm hearin' voices!"

 

I'm you, ya stupid ass. You know, little guy in yer head?

 

"WELL GET OUT!" Inuyasha roared, standing up violently and pointing up at the sky as though the voice had come from the clouds.

 

The group was consumed with silence before Akago asked confusedly, "Inuyasha, who exactly was that directed at?"

 

"The guy in my head!" Inuyasha replied without thinking, gesturing angrily at his temple.

 

The friends exchanged numerous glances, looking completely weirded out by this whole affair, before a look of dim comprehension dawned on Ayame's face. "Inuyasha, do you mean...your youkai?"

 

The silver haired hanyou stared at her a moment before rushing towards her, startling both Kouga and Ayame into falling backwards onto the grass. "It said it was me; is that what it means?"

 

Ayame stared silently up at Inuyasha, who was smiling rather crazily about two inches form her nose; when she finally found her voice, she squeaked, "Um...yes?"

 

The hanyou gave a short barking laugh, pounding his palm triumphantly with his fist. "I'm not going crazy!"

 

"That's pretty debatable," Ranbou muttered, causing Shitora to muffle a laugh into her hand.

 

"Hey, this is kinda cool!" Inuyasha said, crossing his arms rather smugly with a smirk playing at his lips. "Now my instincts can actually talk to me!"

 

"You mean they haven't been?" Shitora asked, brow furrowed. "My youkai's been talking to me since I was nine."

 

There was a brief silence before Inuyasha grew rather red in the face and hissed, "What?"

 

That's right numbskull, yer a late bloomer. You was too busy bein' an idiot when I talked to ya, so I decided to play it cool for, oh, I dunno, seven or eight years?

 

"Okay, why the hell do you have a Brooklyn accent?" Inuyasha demanded aloud, eyes angled upwards as he talked to his own mind.

 

"That's like asking why mine doesn't even speak Japanese," Shitora replied dryly, absently picking the tomatoes off of Inuyasha's once thought demon sandwich and taking a bite. "It only speaks Madra, and not even Japanese Madra. It's some weird dialect and I can't understand it half the time."

 

"What's 'Madra'?" Kagome asked curiously.

 

"Dog tongue," Ranbou replied as he picked at the grass. "I think 'Madra' is like the old Greek for dog or somethin'."

 

Akago and Gan both laughed at this and as Akago continued laughing, Gan corrected, "If by Greek you mean Gaelic..."

 

Miroku chuckled. "I like how out of all the sex jokes we make all day long, they think a historical reference joke is funnier."

 

Inuyasha, in the meantime, was making strange facial expressions as he retook his seat, now rather deep in conversation with his seppanyoukai.

 

Wait...so you're my seppanyoukai? Why are you talking to me just now?

 

Cause I was gonna wait till you wised up, but somethin' big is about ta happen and I had ta tell ya. Weird shit's about ta happen, my friend. Really grade-A weird shit.

 

Approximately thirty feet from Inuyasha and his friends, Enju was peering out gingerly from behind a large tree trunk, watching every movement of Kagome Higurashi with her calculative yellow eyes. She'd seen and heard everything starting with Ranbou's dirty interpretation of Les faux-monnayeurs and only minutes later, had witnessed Kagura issuing her challenge to the Wildcats' newest Kijo. The wolf demon scowled thoughtfully, shaking her head at the encounter; why in the world wasn't Kagome going to take the challenge?

 

"Enju, what are you looking at?"

 

At the sound of Seila's wine rich voice, Enju whipped around and faced the rest of Kagome's core members, who were eating lunch in a circle nearby. She'd abandoned her lunch several minutes before and had yet to eat a single bite due to her clandestine activities behind the tree.

 

"Do you know what just happened?" Enju demanded, ignoring Seila's question and crawling hurriedly towards the others.

 

Knight glanced up from her ramen, bright blue eyes hazy and disinterested. A summer breeze ruffled her oddly purple hair as she discarded a fake looking carrot from her noodles and replied boredly, "Not a clue, Enju. Let me think; Kagome-dono sneezed and you're about to punish her for her weakness."

 

Katia, who was sitting beside her oldest friend and rival, gave a snort of laughter as she sipped lazily from a coke can; despite her demeanor, the leopard demon was always watching, always observing, constantly calculating as her blue and yellow eyes swept the circle before her; something about the air amongst the group was tense and unnerved, as though everyone were waiting to enter a battle.

 

Knight, besides her snide remark in Enju's direction, had said nothing during the meal so far and seemed to be staring bullets at Lea Skinner, the golden-haired youkai who had stood up for Morioka and mouthed off to Kagome in the locker room the day before. Katia suspected that, judging by Lea's occasional returned glance, their hatred for one another was coming to a head. The two dog demons had never gotten along based on principal arguments in the era of Kikyo's leadership and Katia had a general feeling that their warring feelings concerning Kagome weren't helping their already sour relationship.

 

The dog demon Kaira was periodically glancing up at Enju, as though waiting to drag her backwards if the impetuous wolf demon made a break for their new leader. Her oil black and blood red hair was braided back so that, at every second and from every angle, Enju was visible; she hadn't stopped watching her since the previous morning.

 

Seila's muscular shoulders and enormous cannon arms had been twitching uncomfortably since English, Katia noted; the wolf demon's ocean eyes hadn't missed a single one of Kagome's movements and she seemed to content to continue watching her leader, ensuring her safety from ill-wishers' wrath. Her black head hadn't moved from Kagome's position since lunch began and Katia realized that, no matter how threatening Enju may have seemed, Seila was uninterested in the upstart and more interested in the Vixens fifty feet to the South.

 

Sasha kept biting her lip. It was Katia's experience that, when Sasha bit her lip, she was nervously mulling over a recent experience or encounter. The astute leopard demon was unaware that only that morning, Kagome had enlisted Sasha's help in pulling an enraged Enju's fist from the wall; though the cast on Enju's hand had not gone unnoticed, most of the Wildcats had merely dismissed it as a product of the wolf demon's frequent fights. Frankly, Sasha had dealt more with Enju that morning than she'd ever intended to.

 

Morioka was frowning prettily as she read her English homework sternly, ignoring Lea as she would occasionally look over to ensure that no harm had come to her doll-faced friend. If Katia's observations were serving her well, she was almost positive that Morioka's normally passive green eyes were glittering with annoyance, particularly when Lea paid her attention. It was a well known fact that Lea hated Kagome and Morioka was quite loyal to her; their friendship might well have been splintering.

 

It wasn't these girls that made Katia nervous. She knew where they stood on her new leader and it affected her little; knowledge was power, after all. No, it was those girls who had yet to speak their views which irked her; arguably, the most silent Wildcats were the most dangerous and many of them were angling their eyes downward, lest someone try to read their faces to uncover their ideas, their passions, their loyalties. Perhaps a more aggressive approach was in order.

 

"Nyx Hattori, what say you about our new leader?"

 

Many glanced up at this question, though the one in question merely wiped her mouth politely and continued jotting down strange words in her notebook; she seemed to be translating a Latin verse for her Ancient Studies class. The girl was altogether a thoughtful looking person, her silver eyes like two great quarters in her intelligent head; though her naturally black hair had been stained with platinum streaks of the palest blonde, the rest of her looked practically untouched by the surrounding world.

 

When Sasha gave the Nyx's shoulder a shake, her head snapped up and her eyes focused on Katia, her pupils mere thin slivers of black in all of that mesmerizing silver; she was obviously a cat demon and was, in this case, descended from the Jaguar clan.

 

"Did you say something, Katia, and if so, is it urgent? I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment."

 

Her voice was soft but commanding, a terrifying sound to Sasha who fretted visibly beside her. Morioka's wide and innocent eyes watched Nyx thoughtfully, though behind them lay the merest traces of fear; many were afraid of Nyx Hattori's far superior intelligence.

 

Katia, however, was quite unfettered. "I asked what you thought of Kagome-dono. I haven't heard your opinion yet."

 

Many of the girls turned their gazes to Nyx, as though waiting to hear what the most intelligent Wildcat had to say; obviously, her opinion was important to many of her friends and would most likely sway the vacillating vote. Finally, she smirked mysteriously and murmured, "Fides nemo, perdo nusquam. Fides secus, perdo panton."

 

"Don't throw your Latin at us, Jaguar," Knight said testily, giving Nyx a withering blue gaze for her troubles.

 

"It means 'trust no one, lose nothing, trust wrongly, lose everything.' If that doesn't answer your question, then you'll simply have to wait and see what I think," Nyx continued, smirking smugly before returning her eyes to her Latin.

 

"And what about you, Mae'Ora?" Katia asked suddenly. "You might be able to read minds, but none of the rest of us can; what are you thinking?"

 

The girl who replied was laying on her back staring up at the clouds, blood red lips a stark contrast against the silver hair which flowed around her curvaceous frame like platinum water. Her startling body was nothing compared to her startling eyes, the same blue as Knight's but somehow more frightening. When she chuckled, a shiver ran through Sasha's shoulders.

 

"Kagome isn't your problem, Katia."

 

The leopard marks on Katia's face distorted as her eyes narrowed. "What does that mean, sorceress?"

 

The way in which she uttered this word was so very disdainful that Mae'Ora found herself unable to contain the purring grin which landed itself on her full mouth. "It means that your problem is sitting a lot closer than that. Look around like I know you always do. You know what I mean."

 

When several gazes strayed towards Enju out of mere habit, the wolf demon grew enraged and leapt to her feet, clenching her good hand threateningly in Mae'Ora's direction. "You wanna go, Santayouko?!"

 

"Do you want me to summon the demons of Poseidon to drown you alive, Enju?"

 

At this simple threat, Enju's face fell and she unconsciously backed away; she knew that Mae'Ora had the power to do what she suggested and the wolf shivered. Her fear of water was something she liked to keep under wraps, yet being constantly around a sorceress-mind reader made keeping private thoughts rather difficult.

 

"Dissenters will be the death of us all," Mae'Ora finished ominously. "Just ask Mixmatch what she thinks and I'm sure you'll understand my meaning."

 

Katia looked to Mae'Ora's immediate right where a girl was leaning back on her hands, legs open wide like a man might recline. The short beneath her school skirt were visible, though she seemed not to care as she regarded Katia levelly with the eyes which warranted her name; one a cold blue and the other an angry red. When she turned just right beneath the sunlight, Katia could swear she saw red stains in the girl's normally black hair; after all, she'd spilled a good deal of blood in her past encounters. Not as much as another in the circle, but quite enough to warrant caution in her midst. In truth, Katia disliked Mixmatch, otherwise known as Kasai Jaganshi, with a searing passion.

 

Kasai grinned ferally, leaving her razor sharp fangs in full view as she regarded the leopard demon with her strange un-matching eyes. "She's a little too uppity, know what I mean? Might need a hit or two to cut her down to size."

 

"Down girl," Lea murmured patronizingly, though she smiled grimly; obviously, someone shared her thoughts on the most pleasant way to deal with Kagome's forwardness.

 

"Don't touch Kagome-dono," Seila said automatically, turning to look at Kasai with a threatening glare. "You'll answer to me."

 

"You might be built like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but you'd be surprised what kind of bodies a little fire will burn, Seila...even ones like yours," Kasai replied, laughing quietly but crazily.

 

When Seila made as though to stand and challenge the violent girl, a dark voice interrupted the confrontation, causing the entire circle to freeze. "Fire only burns what can't escape, Mixmatch. And wolves had been dodging out for centuries, so I wouldn't threaten someone fast enough to flee."

 

Katia's mouth drew a tight line as she glance cautiously over at the cold speaker, who was sitting nonchalantly against the nearest tree trunk. Though the hair which covered her shoulders was red, the bangs before her carnal eyes were the stark white of a new winter's snow; something about this girl frightened her comrades and they grew silent, watching her intently as though debating over whether or not to leave the area or refrain from sudden movement.

 

Katia cleared her throat and mumbled, "Nana," as though greeting her for the first time that day.

 

The aforementioned Nana looked up rather quickly, causing the other girls to draw in hissed breaths as they leaned away from her eyes, the same oil black and angry red of Kaira's hair. Yet something about those eyes was far more frightening than anger could ever be; something about those eyes made Katia want to simply run.

 

Seila however, grew rather red faced and said boldly, "The wolf clan had always been loyal and they always will be. It's your kind who should be called into question."

 

"My kind?" Nana asked, so quietly that the humans struggled to hear her. "Exactly what is my kind, wolf? Do you mean assassins? Or mercenaries? Or...could you mean the shadows?"

 

Where as before the tree's shadow had only covered Enju and Nana from the blazing sun, the other Wildcats suddenly found themselves covered by the tree's overhanging branches; strangely enough, the branches were several feet away. Sasha gasped and Lea stiffened while Knight began scrubbing at her arms. "Get this fake shadow shit away from me, you dirty uchitoru-hebi. I don't want any of your evil magic near me."

 

At this comment, Nana's previously smug face grew sour, as though she'd been stung, and the shadow drew back as quickly as it had extended. While the girls breathed a sigh of relief, Nana muttered bitterly, "That's what I'll always be to you, what my kind will always be, isn't it Knight? 'Killing Serpents' or makers of evil magic. You'd do well to remember that the shadows have protected you more than once."

 

"I never asked for a murderer's protection," Knight barked in reply. "You may not have cared about Kikyo, but I can see by the way you look at Kagome that you're siding with her." As she said this, Knight pointed an accusatory claw at Enju, who had remained rather quiet since her outburst at Mae'Ora. "Anyone who sides with Enju is against the Wildcats and against our Toumoku."

 

"Rin is none of my concern," Nana replied coolly.

 

"Say her name with respect," Seila demanded immediately. "It's Rin-dono or Toumoku to you and you agreed to be subservient to her when you joined."

 

Nana's eyes snapped towards the wolf demon. "The shadows are subservient to no one, wolf."

 

"No one but the sun," Katia said smoothly. Her eyes were rather teasing as she challenged daringly, "If your shadows are so powerful, then go on; send them to Kagome right now. See what happens to you."

 

At first it looked as though the assassin would do nothing, but eventually her oil-blood eyes grew steely and dangerous. "You challenge the wrong person, Maretti. And now you're leader will suffer."

 

Before Katia even had time to regret her words, a strange shadow seemed to grow from the other side of the tree, extending towards the leaders of the South with a frightening rapidity. The shadow was not black, as shadows often are, but held the strange misty quality of a storm, turbulent and electric. Seila leapt to her feet and made as though to lunge for Nana, but Mixmatch took the opportunity to attack her greatest enemy. Red and blue eyes clashing hideously, she leapt with her claws outstretched, whereupon small flames seemed to dance on her fingertips like candle lights. Seila just barely escaped the fire, twisting to the side at the last moment as he muscular frame crashed to the ground.

 

The flurry of movement caused the other Wildcats to stand to their feet and claws extended while glances were venomously exchanged. Kagome's core had grown tired of their differing opinions and were fully prepared to settled it with violence.

 

Meanwhile, Kagome and the others were talking mildly amongst themselves, sharing stories of their first morning in school as the summer breeze played teasingly with their hair. All was well and calm until Akago's eyes snapped up and grew a frightening gold.

 

The others grew alert as his hand shot forward and an ancient spell began spilling from his lips. "Kodaijin no jaaku na kurayami ha taiyou no raito no shita de, bunkai suru!"

 

Kagome managed to catch a glimpse of a rather strange misty mass of black and silver over her shoulder before it broke apart into slivers and shattered, as though it had been solid glass. It disappeared into thin air, just as smoke might drift into the sky, and her brown eyes grew troubled. "Akago, what was that?"

 

"That was a spell which that stupid sorceress should learn to keep hidden beneath her loose tongue!" Akago practically roared with an anger quite unlike his gentle character. He leapt to his feet, causing his white braid to swing like a whip as he began storming towards the nearest oak tree with a fire in his step.

 

The others exchanged glances as Gan murmured a curse and hurried to follow her leader, golden hair and skirt fluttering behind her. Eventually, the group rose in tandem and began hurrying after their friends, eager to see what had caused the strange shadow to appear at their side.

 

As they rounded the tree, Kagome's eyes expanded in horror and disappointment; her core members were turned upon one another, looking prepared to do fierce battle. Without another thought, she hurried forward, shouting, "Stop this right now, all of you!

 

When no one moved, Kagome frowned wickedly and yelled, "Have you lost your minds?! Put down your claws!"

 

Though several of the girls desperately wanted to follow these orders, they knew that many of the others would not; they couldn't let down their guards lest Kagome be threatened by her enemies, most of whom were standing right in that very circle. Mixmatch licked her claws so carnally that Knight tensed and prepared to attack.

 

Kagome growled angrily, "I will shoot so many bullet holes in the next person to move that I'll be using your body as a vegetable strainer!"

 

At the word "bullet," the girls seemed to recall to mind Kagome's frightening display against Enju only the day before. She certainly hadn't hesitated to draw her gun and, based on this fact alone, the group simultaneously relaxed, albeit reluctantly.

 

Kagome watched as fists lowered and eyes averted; with slow and calculated movements, she broke through the circle between Knight and Katia, glaring around at her followers coldly. "Do you think this is going to solve our problems?" When Enju snorted, Kagome rounded upon her so fiercely that the wolf demon stumbled backwards. "Don't think I can't see that cast on your hand, Enju; I'm not stupid or powerless like you make me out to be, am I?"

 

Enju's face darkened so visibly that Knight let out a barking laugh. "Kagome ripped on you, didn't she?"

 

At this suggestion, Inuyasha's eyebrows raised instinctively; Shitora and Ranbou exchanged glances while Rin stood idly by, arms crossed as she watched her Wildcats fighting stupidly amongst themselves. This was Kagome's time to lay down the law and she couldn't interrupt, however badly she wanted to do so.

 

Instead of smiling proudly, Kagome looked at Knight with fire in her stare. "Enju did that to herself; I don't have to use violence to solve my problems like all of you."

 

Knight reeled back as though slapped while Katia regarded Kagome with a certain sort of regret in her stare; if only she hadn't dared Nana so boldly, Kagome might not have ever known about this situation. Yet, somehow, Katia knew that all of it would come back to bite her Kijo in the end; with so many against her, not even her loyals could protect her forever.

 

"You can't have seen enough violence to claim that, Kijo," Lea interrupted, saying the word 'kijo' with incredibly sarcastic disdain.

 

"She could shoot you down in minutes, Skinner, make no mistake," Seila said roughly, as though she wanted to speak with her claws.

 

But Kagome's arm barred her way. "Seila," the brunette murmured in warning. Immediately, Seila stood down and lowered her eyes to the ground.

 

"Kagome can't use her gun to control us forever," Nana said finally, walking away from Akago, who had been lecturing her fiercely about using her magic in the public eye.
"What is metal against the shadow which shields it?"

 

Kagome turned to stare Nana fearlessly in the eye, realizing that this girl had been the one to attack her only moments ago; her white bangs couldn't hide the condescending humor in her red and black eyes, a fact which made Kagome angrier than any of the rest of it. That one of her girls should speak to her like a child...it made her want to scream in frustration.

 

"I don't think we've had the pleasure," Kagome said icily. "What's your name."

 

It wasn't a question, so much as it was a demand, and Nana noted this with a cruel smile on her twisted lips. "My name is nothing. Just like you."

 

"Don't speak to her that way, uchitoru-hebi," Knight yelled, eyes blazing. "You and your dark magic aren't welcome here!"

 

"No," Kagome said immediately, never turning to face Knight even as she spoke to her; her eyes remained trained on Nana. "Don't say that, Knight; she will always be welcome here because she's one of ours and the Wildcats will not break. Isn't that right, Toumoku?"

 

Rin's face was still, almost like a pond in winter, as she replied quietly, "That's right, Kijo."

 

Nana's face was unreadable, though her eyes said it all; something in those cruel eyes had grown almost warm in that moment, as though the thought of being part of a family, of a unit, made her almost pleased. Kagome witnessed this subtle transition, though she didn't address it. Instead, she turned back towards the group at large and said strongly, "I'm going to be at the warehouse after school doing a butt load of French homework." At this, Ranbou, Shitora, Ayame and Miroku groaned and hung their heads; they'd almost forgotten. Kagome continued, "Anyone who wants to talk to me can do so then; anyone who wants to join me...you better be damn good at conjugating past-tense French verbs into the indicative on command."

 

As this was obviously a joke, many of the girls allowed relieved smiles and laughed, exchanging glances; maybe it was really go to be okay. Finally Kagome said, "You all can go back to what you were doing." Looking pointedly at Enju, who refused to meet her eyes, Kagome asked sardonically, "Do you like that better than 'dismissed,' Princess Enju?"

 

Enju said nothing, obviously properly embarrassed and put in her place. Satisfied that her job was done, Kagome turned and began walking back towards her lunch, leaving her friends to turn and follow. Akago lingered behind only momentarily, saying stiffly, "If you even so much as think a spell, Nana, I'll curse you back into the days of your forefathers."

 

He turned to go and suddenly rounded back on the group, saying hotly, "And Mae'Ora, stop trying to read my thoughts. Or anyone else's for that matter. Don't think I won't know."

 

Mae'Ora's blood red lips curled into a sort of uncaring smirk as she shifted her curvaceous body, watching Akago go with a light in her eyes. "I do believe you just got told off by your superior, Nana," she crooned, ignoring the fact that she'd just been scolded as well.

 

Nana remained quiet and retook her seat against the tree, sinking into deep thought as her snow white bangs shadowed her eyes from view. Even while Nana was silent, Enju's rebellion still burned; Kagome had humiliated her and dishonored the Wildcats by turning down Kagura's challenge. The wolf demon bit her lip so hard that she nearly drew blood as she stared vehemently down at the grassy floor; if Kagome wouldn't stand up for her gang, Enju would. She would face Kagura and she would uphold the honor and dignity of her sisters. Then Kagome would know exactly how unfit she was to lead.

 

9191919

 

That was complicated. Sorry. The plot is about to get really intense, so beware; this is nothing in comparison to my ridiculous JKRowling-esque plot web that you're all about to uncover and groan at.

 

I've got some adorable art here from Kyra Komarniski, who also goes under the name Mad Max (huge grin.) Chibi characters away! Follow this link to my new deviant art:

 

http://macfenn.deviantart.com/

 

I'm hosting Kyra's images here and right here right now state that I in no way own them and they are all her work; I say that in the picture comments and titles, but just to make sure.

 

If anyone would like to draw fanart of some of the new Wildcats, that would be fantastic; like let your imagination run wild. Take Nana, Knight, anyone, draw them. Please oh please. I'm begging you. PLEASE.

 

PLEASE DRAW THE WILDCATS!

 

Ahem. Kay. Love you guys. Look for the second installment in Ghost Dance coming up here real soon.

 

KOLU