InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Laying Down the Law ❯ The Race Part II ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Hey everyone, how we doin? There was a nice rousing response to this story as soon as the fourth chapter went up and thank you so much to all my reviewers thus far, listed below, much love! I drew my own version of Ranbou and attached it to the story, so you can go take a look. Shitora will now be arriving in chapter 8 because I had to split up what would've been chapter 4; sorry, but all the more description to be made.

Kinuski-Chan- By the way, I started working on a new chapter of Mild Interruption just for you! Expect it in one or two days!
Lil Kags
Princess in Training
Blackrosevampire15
NICELY DONE
Darksaint
Princess Angel
Cold Kikyo
Kay
My Sinful Deed
Belovedlight
Yoshiko Furu

Disclaimer: Simply, I don't own Inuyasha. Which really throws a wrench in my pistons, if you know what I mean.

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Miroku took a deep breath, savoring the smell of gasoline and exhaust; this was his niche. With a sigh, he leaned back against his car, waiting for Gatenmaru to arrive at the starting line, wondering if the moth demon had any new tricks up his sleeve. Gatenmaru was known to be an excellent racer, of course Miroku could easily take him on. A familiar face caught his eye and Miroku turned, smiling at Sango as she walked towards him.

"Are you ready?" she asked, smiling a little.

The boy shrugged. "I couldn't say. I never know if I was ready until I've finished the race."

Sango laughed, a sound like music to Miroku's ears, and she replied cheerfully, "Well, I think your ready."

"That means a lot to me Sango. I couldn't have done it without you," Miroku replied with that familiar glint in his eyes, that one which held Sango's rapt attention. Her breath caught in her throat and she might've remained there had Gatenmaru not pulled up to the line in his Eclipse.

The moth demon exited the car, glaring wickedly at Miroku. "Ready to lose, Houshi?" he asked, his slightly aristocratic drawl bringing a frown to Miroku's face.

"We'll see," the boy said simply, giving Sango one last parting glance before ducking back into the driver's seat. Despite his own confidence in his skills, Miroku couldn't help but be slightly wary of the upcoming race. Gatenmaru was a formidable opponent.

Inuyaha suddenly appeared at the window, leaning in slightly to get a better look at his best friend's face. "Doin' alright, Roku?" he asked, excitement evident in his eyes.

Nodding slightly, Miroku replied, "Always." When he said nothing more, Inuyasha patted him gruffly on the shoulder and turned on his heels, returning to the sidelines and standing beside his brother.

Akago's little sister Kanna, a likewise eery looking albino with lifeless eyes, walked dully to the road between the two cars, holding the red flag in her pale hands. Gatenmaru stole a glance at Miroku before they began, grinning sadistically; if he only could, the moth demon would wipe the road with Miroku's remains, not to mention the scrap metal of his car. When Gatenmaru fought against an opponent, he felt the need to dispose of their very last pieces without a single regard for their pain. He, like his gang brethren, was cruel and merciless.

Kanna glanced at each driver, satisfied with their nods of approval, and she raised the flag, bringing it down with a flapping jerk. Miroku floored the gas pedal and the RX7 squealed on its tires, burning rubber off the starting line and pulling just ahead of Gatenmaru. At first, Miroku felt almost afraid of his car's power, if not for a split second, before he narrowed his eyes in a determined fashion and tightened his grip on the wheel. A glance in Gatenmaru's direction proved that the moth demon was slightly startled by Miroku's aggressive driving and Miroku nodded grimly; good.

They arrive at the five second mark, with only five seconds remaining in their ten second stretch of highway, and Gatenmaru growled angrily; that damnable Houshi was almost a wheel's length ahead of him now and something had to be done. Jerking sideways on the wheel, Gatenmaru sent his car against the side of the RX7, relishing in the sound of metal grating upon metal. Miroku, stunned by the bold move, gritted his teeth and watched the moth demon out of the corner of his eye. Frustrated by his opponent's blatant ignore of his driving techniques, Gatenmaru prepared to bump Miroku once more, but the Fang driver saw him coming.

As Gatenmaru jerked sideways on the wheel, quite viciously at that, Miroku depressed the brake, falling about a cars length behind the Eclipse. Gatenmaru's breath caught in his throat for just a moment as he saw the building approaching through his windshield, yet he had not even time to scream. The impact was incredible, crunching the entire hood like an accordian, as the Eclipse met the building wall, a terrible explosion of sound. Miroku hit the gas once more, rocketing over the finish line, victorious.

Gatenmaru gave a shout of rage, throwing open his driver's side door and crawling his way out of the car's wreckage. His angry crimson eyes caught the streetlight as he made several ferocious gestures in Miroku's direction. Miroku, in turn, didn't even bother stopping on his returning voyage to the starting line and, as soon as he arrived, the car was surrounded by ecstatic Southerners.

Inuyasha ran up to Miroku, slapping hands happily with his best friend while exclaiming, "Fucking wicked, Roku! That move was awesome!"

Sesshomaru was right behind Inuyasha and he, too congratulated Miroku on the impressive win. "That's your driver's intuition, I think Miroku."

But this praise could've meant nothing, had Sango not arrived just on time to agree. She threw her arms around Miroku in all her happiness, screaming shrilly, "You did it! You did it!"

Miroku returned Sango's hug gratefully, looking down at her bottom from his head's perch on her shoulder. Ah, that familiar hump. Without a second thought, his hands squeezed around Sango's cheeks and she grew increidbly red in the face. Despite Miroku's recent victory, she wouldn't take his groping and she smacked him hard across the face, stomping off in the other direction. She'd never been so insulted in all her life; there she was, trying to congratulate him in his win, and he had to grope her in front of everyone! The nerve!

Sighing slightly, Miroku turned and accepted compliments from a few other Southerners before driving his car back towards the general parking. Without a lull in the action, the motorcycle races began. Now, despite the apparent interest in car racing, the motorcycle races were the hightlight of the evening. With the car racing, there was an entire frame between the driver and the road. With the motorcycle races, there was nothing but heavy breathing and prayers.

First up was a Reikon named Tachi and a rather burly looking Dragon, both riding on street model Yamahas. The race was quick and sweet, with the Dragon managing to pull ahead of Tachi for a last second win. There was a brief lull in the action as the two motorcyclists pulled back up to the starting line, the Reikon looking thoroughly discomfoted by his loss. The other gangs milled about, waiting for the next race, but little did they know: one of the scheduled racers was sleeping off a concussion in the back of Bankotsu's car.

Rin pushed her way through the crowd, looking frantically around for Hiten. No one recalled seeing him during the last race, which was strange; normally he was a very social and amiable character. Shifting her eyes anxiously back and forth, Rin saw absolutely no sign of the boy. Finally, she saw Bankotsu talking with Jakotsu, beer bottles in hand as they discussed the last race.

"Bank!" she called.

The boy looked up, nodding slightly. "Hey Rin, having fun?"

The girl shook her head violently, replying, "I can't find Hiten and he's supposed to be on the line now!"

At these words, Bankotsu and Jakotsu exchanged dreading glances; they hadn't even thought of that little detail. Turning back to Rin with a placating smile, Jakotsu began slowly, "Actually, Rin, Manten kind of knocked Hiten out ten minutes ago and...he hasn't exactly woken up yet, so..."

"WHAT?!" Rin practically screamed, nearly pulling out her hair in frustration.

The brothers cringed slightly as her anger washed over them in turbulent waves, sending chills down their spines. They didn't even have time to apology, as Rin turned on her heels and wandered aimlessly around the crowd, muttering feverishly, "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do..." It was then that she caught sight of a familiar face, tuning up Kouga's motorcycle as he watched from his perch on the hood of Inuyasha's red Toyota Supra.

"Ayame!" Rin screamed out, practically bubbling over with relief as she saw her dear friend standing there, eyebrows raised curiously.

"Rin..." Ayame replied tentatively in return, crossing her arms in a sort of expectant gesture.

Putting on her most convincing smile, Rin saddled up beside her friend, ignoring Kouga's very existence as he observed the scene. "Well, Hiten was supposed to race this race, but...he's kind of unconcious."

Ayame's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she regarded Rin with disbelief, but her leader cut her off before she could get a word in edgewise. "Now don't freak out, but we need you to race. Please."

The redhead's breath caught in her throat as she digested these words and, for a moment, she thought Rin was joking. Only when their opponent was female did the others allow the Wildcats to race, but never against the males. The gang leaders, outnumbered Rin in deciding that the races were too dangerous for girls to participate in when another boy was involved and these rules were at least two years old. Ayame hadn't raced since the rules were put in place.

Before she could think her answer through, Ayame found herself saying, "I'll do it."

Kouga began to protest this decision, but Rin quickly clamped a hand over his mouth and said brightly, "Great! Get your ass to the starting line."

Rin grabbed Ayame by the arm and began tugging her forcefully towards the starting line; as she stumbled away, Ayame managed to meet eyes briefly with Kouga, nodding with an excited smile in his direction. She was making history with this race! Kouga's eyes, however, reflected none of her happiness; they only exhibited fear.

Rin and Ayame arrived at the starting line just before the Northerners claimed forfeit victory and Rin pushed her friend forward. "Here's our racer," she proclaimed proudly.

Everyone craned their necks to see Hiten, but were surprised when they found Rin gesturing to Ayame Lang. There was a brief moment of silence, during which the crowd wondered whether Rin was joking, and finally the majority of the onlookers burst out laughing. The seriousness on Rin's face had simply set them over the edge and they fell about the street, slapping their knees in all their hilarity; a girl? A girl race a Shark boy during a race? How funny was that?

At this point, Bankotsu came to the starting line, rolling Hiten's motorcycle with him, wondering who Rin had found to take Hiten's place. When he saw Ayame waiting there expectantly, he glanced around, looking for any sort of male racer. When he found none, he returned his wide eyes to Ayame, who gently took the handlebars from his grasp, thanking him quietly. Ayame was determined to ignore the jeering crowd as she put on her visored helmet; she would show them just what sort of woman she was. For the first time, the girl looked sideways to assess her opponent and groaned; it was Irigaru.

Irigaru was a panther demon with sinister yellow eyes and slick black hair, known for his cheap shots on the race track. He had little skill, but more than made up for his lacking skill level with his ridiculous cheating habits. He'd sent at least four racers to the hospital and was consequently banned from the races for certain periods of time. Though the North never argued with the Souths sentences, they grinned and waited for the next time Irigaru could race; they loved the bloodshed. Irigaru had just come back from his latest ban and was ready for a reunion race. A dirty reunion race.

As soon as Rin turned around, she was bombarded by her fellow leaders, all of whom looked furious. Ranou threw his arms akimbo, screaming, "What were you fucking thinking, Rin?!"

"Ayame? Racing Irigaru? You might as well just send her to the guillotine!" Bankotsu agreed.

Sesshomaru, unlike his two friends, was not volatile or loud when angry; he was strangely quiet. "Rin," he barely whispered. The girl turned slowly to meet his gaze, apprehension shining through her strong facade. "Why did you not consult us first?" Sesshomaru continued, amber eyes locked on his girlfriend's brown ones.

The girl blinked, suddenly adopting a rather irritated posture. "Because you would've said no! Look, Ayame's one of the best racers out here, male or female, and you all know it. By only allowing her to compete against the Vixens, you're stifling her chance to improve! I mean, which one of the Vixens can even hike their skirt up high enough to get on the damn bike?! I will not have my Wildcat shoved back in the shadows fixing all of your fucking bikes! She deserved some fucking credit!"

With each word she spoke, Rin grew more confident in her own anger and soon she was moving forward, gesturing wildly as the three male leaders exchanged slightly frightened glances. It was said that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and Rin proved this statement true. Bankotsu, Sesshomaru and Ranbou had witness countless gang fights, rapes and murders, but the sight of Rin's furious face ranked up top with the five most terrifying sights of their lives.

Sesshomaru, almost used to his girlfriend's temper, regained control first. After remasking his expression, he crossed his arms and stared Rin down. "Can't you prove your feminist point some other time? When the opponent isn't Irigaru?"

"Ugh, don't you see?! That's the freaking point, Sesshomaru! God!" Rin exclaimed with a passionate sigh, turning on her heels and massaging her temples. With that, she strutted angrily towards the crowd, which parted generously to let the wrathful woman through.

Ranbou and Bankotsu exchanged glances behind Sesshomaru's back, laughing slightly at their friend's misfortune; he was in the dog house now.

Over on the sidelines, Kagome and Inuyasha were commenting on the races, enjoying each others company and, dare they admit it, having fun. When Kagome saw Ayame ready herself at the starting line, she mused quietly, "I didn't know Ayame was racing tonight."

Inuyasha followed Kagome's gaze, mouth dropping slightly. "That's cause she wasn't...but I guess she is now," he murmured finally. "That's really weird."

"What?" Kagome asked confusedly; in her opinion, a last minute driver change was nothing odd.

But Inuyasha just shook his head. "Girls aren't allowed to race boys, especially not in the cycle races. We just don't do it."

This shocked Kagome. "Why not?" she asked indignantly.

Inuyasha merely shrugged. "Because it's dangerous and we want the girl's safe. The motorcycle races tend to get a little rowdy and this guy is definitely gonna start something." Kagome looked to where Inuyasha was pointing, taking in the sight of Ayame's opponent. "That's Irigaru Shin, the cheating, lying bastard of the Sharks. He's a mean sonofabitch; I'm surprised they're letting Aya race this one, considering its against all the rules and against Irigaru."

Kagome shrugged. "I don't know..."

The crowd muttered their opinions in a sort of mutinous hum, wondering what would come of this strange change in the program. Ranbou, Bankotsu and Sesshomaru just stood sternly at the crowd's head, pretending as though they couldn't hear the gang members murmuring obscenities; a girl, racing? What were the leaders thinking?!

Kouga pushed people this way and that as he struggled through the crowd, finally coming to stop in front of the leaders. "What the fuck?!" he all but roared, addressing his brother, leader and friend with an air of anxious disbelief.

Ranbou sighed, beginning peaceably, "Ko, we know it's against the rules, but Ri-"

"I don't care about the fucking rules! She could be killed, Ranbou!" Kouga interjected angrily, gesturing wildly towards the road.

Sesshomaru placed a pacifying hand on his best friend's shoulder, turning him gently around towards the starting line. "Kouga, have a little faith. Let's just see what happens."

The more Ayame readied herself at the starting line, the more confident she became; she'd watched all four of Irigaru's cheating races and she knew all his tricks from observation. Unlike the headstrong male riders, she knew how to read her opponent and did so with careful precision; she wasn't about to let this race slip through her fingers. Not after she'd waited for so long.

Kaguya strode out between the cyclists holding the red flag and she raised it, meeting eyes with both riders. Everyone held their breath as she raised the flag, letting it out with woosh as she lowered it swiftly. Ayame gunned the throttle and took off like a bullet from the starting line, pulling up neck and neck with Irigaru in the first second. She lowered herself over the handlebars, staring through wide and focused eyes at the road ahead of her. In her periferal vision, she could see Irigaru drifting towards her right side, coming dangerously close to touching. He was making his first attempt.

With a jerk, Ayame swerved out of Irigaru's way, just as he swung his arm out to the side, hoping to knock her off her motorcycle. The Southern spectators gasped and yelled obscenities, while the North just gave disappointed moan; they were sad to see him miss. Ayame ticked off the seconds in her head; they had five left. Glancing down at her speedometer, a rush of adrenaline coursed through her veins: 175, 176, 177...

It was then that Irigaru, irritated by his initial miss, decided to try again. Once more, his motorcycle began drifting in Ayame's direction, wheel's nearly touching as he prepared to make his second move. Ayame could see his arm tensing, preparing to strike, and she made a split second decision.

As Irigari swung out his arm, Ayame threw her right arm out to meet his and they clashed. Ayame was prepared for the hit, yet Irigaru hadn't expected any sort of retaliation; he'd never received any before, and he certainly wasn't looking for aggression from this girl. Irigaru's face broke into a frightened frown as he felt himself swerving off balance and he had to shift to the side, just to prevent himself from falling; this was the only opening Ayame needed.

In that one remaining second, Ayame rocketed forward and pulled ahead of Irigaru, crossing the finish line mere milliseconds before him. Ginta, who was currently on finish-line duty, held up his left arm to denote the left hand rider's victory; Ayame had won.

The South broke out in the loudest cheer yet, fueled by Ayame's female victory and her impressive moves on the road. While Irigaru hadn't expected retaliation, the crowd certainly hadn't and was thoroughly enflamed by this show of feminine strength. Ayame rode quickly back to the starting line, only to be engulfed in someone's waiting arms. Kouga's familiar scent entered her keen wolf nose and she felt her heartbeat slowing; she felt so safe in his embrace.

"God damnit, you scared the shit out of me," he whispered in her ear, holding her closer still. "But you were amazing."

Ayame beamed with pride as Kouga's praised caressed her ears; if nothing else, it made the victory worthwhile to hear him say that.

Practically the entire Wildcats gang suddenly surrounded Ayame, pushing Kouga out of the way as the girls squealed and yelled their triumphant warcries. This win was quite an event for the girls, as they'd never approved of that ridiculous "same-sex race" rule, and their own Ayame had broken the stupid tradition. Rin, especially, was excited and threw her arms around Ayame, leaping up and down while screaming raucously.

It took practically half the remaining gangs to clear the Wildcats from the starting line as the chastened males tried to set up the next race without admitting their embarrassment. Kouga returned his focus to his own race and put on his helmet, cracking his knuckles routinely; he lived for the race and it was mere minutes away. He glanced to the side as Kuranosuke Takeda pulled up to line, face emotionless and mouth closed as always; Kuranosuke was known as the Silent Prince for, truly, he never spoke. Everyone could only assume he was wicked hearted, for his involvement in the Spyders was quite enough evidence to convince any Southerner and most Northerners. He was almost uncatchable on his modified Kawasaki ZX-10, but Kouga was determined to beat him; his honor and that of his gang was at stake.

The Vixen's second in command, a painted up girl named Yura, strutted out to raise the flag, dressed in a strapless leather dress which rose up to show some of her ass; the men from the North drooled as part of her black lace thong showed while the men from the South just gagged. Frankly, they found it disgusting. Yura smirked at both crowd reactions, raising the red flag in her pale hand before brining it crashing down to her knees.

Kouga and Kuranosuke sped like bullets from the line, immediately powering up to 120 mph to begin their steady climb. Unlike the other races, Kouga knew this would come down to who's motorcycle was faster and he only took a steady breath, which seemed strangely loud in his helmet; he only hoped Ayame's modifications had done the job.

Kuranosuke put on a sudden burst of speed, pulling ahead of Kouga's bike, but the wolf demon wasn't at his limit yet. While saying silent prayers to the Buddha, Kouga gunned the throttle as far as it would go, lurching forward as the bike accelerated to its end. 178, 179, 180, 181, the motorcycle continued going faster as Kouga urged it forwards, ignoring his opponent's impassive face. The scenery sped by, a mere blur of color and noiselessness; the only sound to be heard was that of the motorcycles, healthy roars and screams as the engines pumped away.

Kouga leaned forward on the bike, sweat dripping down his face inside his helmet as he felt heat exploding inside of him; one more inch, just one more inch. Ayame's face flashed briefly through his mind and Kouga practically threw the bike forward, nosing just ahead of Kuranosuke as they crossed the finish line; he'd done it, all thanks to her.

Ryuukoytsusei, by this time, was thoroughly fed up by the North's abominable losses and decided he would make a stand. Walking through the crowd earlier, he'd seen Kouga and Ayame working on the bike together and, suddenly, the Dragon demon had a seemingly brilliant idea.

As Kouga pulled back up to the starting line, Ryuu stepped forth from the crowd, jeering, "Hey, wolf shit, you always give your bike over to women? You can't even turn on the damn thing by yourself, they just gotta turn you loose and set you off!"

The North began to thrum with excitement as Ryuu started trouble, which they'd been waiting for all night long. Fueled by his friends' encouragement, Ryuu called out once more, "Your little mechanic girlfriend showed you up; she won by almost half a tit, which is pretty wide, seeing as though that slut's a motherfuckin' DD!"

The North let out a loud sound of approval as Kouga narrowed his eyes angrily, barring his fangs in a frightening display. "You sonofabitch!" he screamed irately, jumping off the motorcycle and flying towards Ryuu at the speed of light. Kouga had always been fast, but this was by far the swiftest he'd ever gone; he appeared before Ryuu in less than a second, suddenly upon the Dragon demon from all side, punching, biting, and scrapping.

Sesshomaru let out a curse, muttering something obscene about Kouga's short fuse, and hurried forward to break apart the fight, trying to ignore the growing shouts of both the North and South sides. He managed to pry Kouga off of Ryuu, who staggered backwards, mildly stunned by the wolf's ferocity. Ryuu was certainly a formidable warrior, but Kouga was enraged by his shot at Ayame and could barely be contained; never before had even Ranbou seen the youngest Ookami brother so angry.

Holding tight to Kouga's arm, Sesshomaru said dangerously, "Kouga, get a hold of yourse-"

But before he could even finish the warning, Kouga broke free of the leader's grasp and lunged forward once more towards Ryuu, who was trying unsuccessfully to pop his jaw back in place; the Dragon didn't even see Kouga coming. Kouga landed what some still swear was the most devestating punch in Fang history, a blow which sent Ryuu literally flying backwards off his feet. The Dragon demon landed with a sicking thud on the concrete just short of the crowd's edge, unconcious for what would surely be several hours.

Sesshomaru hurried forward and grabbed Kouga viciously by the arm, dragging him backwards as the wolf demon calmed his heavy breathing. The Fang's leader tossed Kouga bodily into the Southern crowd, shooting him a terrifying warning glance before jerking his head towards his fellow leaders. Bankotsu, Ranbou and a tight-lipped Rin stepped forward, standing even with Sesshomaru as Naraku, Kagura and Akago met them in the center; Ryuu's absence was painfully obvious in that moment and the air was tense with hatred and resentment.

"It appears you've won," Naraku said quietly, observing Sesshomaru through simmering crimson eyes.

Regarding his enemy smoothly, Sesshoomaru replied in kind, "It appears we have."

The leaders were about to part ways when Naraku seemed to suddenly remembered something important. "Oh, Taisho."

Sesshomaru turned slowly to meet eyes with the loathsome Spider leader and regarded the man expectantly. Finally, after observing Sesshomaru with a smug look of odd satisfaction on his face, Naraku said with a hint of humor, "I look forward to seeing you at the next territory meeting. I'm sure you'll find a few of my suggestions to your...liking."

And with this cryptic warning, Naraku turned his back on Sesshomaru and waved to the North crowd, gesturing for them to return to their cars and leave the racing area. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes momentarily before walking with his fellow leaders into the Southern crowd, which was churning with excitement. Not only had they won the race, but they'd witnessed a good fight as well. If you could hardly consider it a fight, that is; Ryuu never did get a punch in.

The lesser gang members began to vacate the area while the core groups lingered behind, discussing the race in hushed tones. While the others seemed excited by the race, the Cores couldn't help but be slightly worried; with Kouga's fight and Naraku's threat weighing heavy on their minds, they dreaded what might be in store for the South in the near future.

Kouga was just putting on his helmet to leave when someone put their hand on his shoulder. He turned slightly, seeing his brother Ranbou standing stiffly there, face quite serious in the moonlight.

"Kouga, that was really stupid," he said honestly.

The youngest Ookami brother only rolled his eyes, preparing to ride off despite his brother's comment. Before he could do this, however, Sesshomaru was upon him.

"Kouga, what the fuck were you thinking?" the Fang leader asked angrily, amber eyes turning a threatning pink color as they progressed slowly towards red; everyone knew that, should Sesshomaru or Inuyasha's eyes go red, one should seek shelter in a sturdy building. This color change never meant anything good.

"Oh, c'mon Sesh, you heard what the bastard said about Ayame! I couldn't let that go!" Kouga protested, seeming more desperate to prove his point than anything.

"You've got to learn to control your temper," Sessshomaru insisted, still unconvinced.

Kouga rolled his eyes viciously. "Please, if anyone said that shit about Rin, you would've ripped out their fucking intestines and you know it!"

The fierce dog demon was silent for a moment as he realized there was no way to commmon-sensically dispute this point; eventually, Sesshomaru just narrowed his eyes and proclaimed stiffly, "Pull something like that again, and you'll be the ones without your intestines." The leader had spoken. With this, he turned on his heels and strode towards his car, silver hair undulating back and forth like a clock pendulum.

Ayame walked slowly up to Kouga, tapping him on the shoulder. "Um, Kouga?"

He turned his head so quickly that his neck snapped and, while nursing his aching neck, Kouga asked breathlessly, "Yeah?"

Ayame blushed a little, glancing down at her feet. "Thanks for...defending my honor and...well, you know..." she trailed off, feeling as though she could never truly express her gratitude.

Smiling slightly, Kouga replied, "Anytime."

The gang members began to slowly dissipate until the street was empty, no signs of gang activity present except for the spray painted finishline and a few empty beer bottles. The South had soundly defeated the North and were ready for a good night's sleep, never knowing what the next morning might bring. So was life in the day of a gang member.

Wow, this chapter took me a good three hours to write, but I damned proud of it, lol. I felt as though I started running out of words for "angry," though. I didn't think to pull out a thesaurus, because I'm resourceful like that and everything, but I'm pretty sure I wasn't too bad. Repeating words is one of my number one pet peeves with writing, unless its parallel structure or something intentional like that. Reviews are welcome, as always.

KOLU