InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Laying Down the Law ❯ Getting Air and Grabbing Guns Part II ( Chapter 26 )

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

Okay, so continuing with chapter 23. Now to the meat of it all. BTW, thanks to all my reviewers who constantly beg for reviews and jokingly say they stalk me and are in love with me. Seriously, ya'll make my day. My friends are like, "200+ reviews? what the HEYALL?" which is how people in texas say "hell." At the end of the chapter, I have included a chart of Texas equivalents to words you say daily.

Thanks to Rae-Chan, who let me know that I was doing too much Ran/Tora; I do that when I fear writing another section because, hell, I made them up, I can make them do anything and its "in character." But the others...are hard. But I'm getting better! There's lot's of Inu/Kag in this chapter! Thanks Rae-Chan!

Also thanks to the person who said they would write me a lemon...I lost your email and I didn't record the name and I've forgotten who you are, but don't fret, you're in my good books for LIFE cause I can't write sex. Haha. Email me again! Kolu02@yahoo.com. The lemon is coming I'm sure.

Alright, enjoy everybody.


Sunlight flickered off the barrel of the pistol in Kagome's hand as she squinted, allowing her chocolate brown eyes to set a straight path down the gun sight. The feeling of cold metal in her hands was invigorating yet frightening, though Kagome could think of no better feeling in the world than that of power mixed with a slight hint of danger. Hiten felt a shiver run down his spine as he observed the girl judging the gun, a beautiful creature caressing a homicidal weapon. He'd never even connected Kagome with guns, but he could tell as she held it, aligning the sight with the mid afternoon sun, that she'd held one before. Many times before.

"Kagome, is that...loaded?"

Blinking, as though remembering Hiten for the first time, Kagome turned her calculating eyes to meet his unsure crimson ones. "Yeah, it's loaded."

"Oh."

Glancing down at Rin's convertible, under the seat of which Kagome had withdrawn the hand gun, Hiten couldn't help but feel slightly suspicious. Why would someone bouncy, bubbly and flirtatious like Rin keep something like a pistol in her car? Furthermore, why did Kagome know about it? And why in the world did she even know how to use the thing? It was, frankly, a bizarre situation for Hiten. He was all for women's rights, but the entire lot of boys in the gangs were fiercely overprotective of their girls. Weren't 300 watch dogs enough to satisfy them? Watching Kagome's pretty face solemn like a stone as she observed the weapon seemed so...wrong.

"You look like you know what you're doin' with that thing," Hiten mentioned casually, eyebrow arching gracefully over his forehead.

Kagome just shrugged, spinning the pistol with an eerie carelessness on her index finger. "I've shot a few times."

"Hm, weird," Hiten murmured, almost to himself, before realizing he'd uttered the words aloud. Unfortunately for him, Kagome had managed to overhear.

"Excuse me?"

When faced with Kagome's irritated glare, the scorn of women everywhere descending down upon him, Hiten could barely formulate a coherent sentence. "Well," he stuttered, trying to make up for his blunder, "I just never thought you were, you know, violent. Not that guns make you violent, depending on how you use em and shit, but, you know, you seemed like a...well, maybe a..."

"A what?" Kagome challenged.

"Maybe a...pacifist? I dunno, you could've hit people all those times before, gotten angry at people, and you never did."

Just from the earnest look in his eyes, Kagome knew Hiten was far from joking in the matter. After a moment of bone chilling, speculatory glances, she finally replied, "I was a pacifist once, I guess. But then I realized there was a problem with being a pacifist."

Bankotsu narrowed his eyes menially, muscles tensing despite his awareness. "What problem?"

"I might have been a pacifist, but lot's of people weren't."

With this, Kagome turned on her heels and began walking resolutely in the direction of the airport's South side. Hiten, momentarily stunned by the situation, had to shake his head clear of thoughts before jogging after his charge, wondering all the while whether or not she really needed protection in the crowd. While a girl carrying a gun on the streets would normally be a cause for alarm, most people at Race Wars were toting weapons; you never knew who migh be lurking in the audience. This realized, the two made their way silently across the concrete ocean, never stopping to speak or pausing to reflect on their lives; it simply wasn't the time.

The Exterior Events were held in quite an informal way, like side entertainment for those less interested in racing or bored with cars. To the far left, a crowd of interested onlookers shouted encouragement to their favorite fighters, who battled within the ring created by their audience. Every once and a while, a hearty cheer went up when a particularly gruesome punch was landed, but most were getting rather used to the bloodshed since their were practically no rules.

In the middle, was the ever popular drinking contest, which seemed to be drawing quite a crowd as a Jackrabbit and a Fang went up for the trophy. Beer sloshed this way and that, working in tandem with the encouraging screams of friends and gang members. Both contestants looked thoroughly drunk and about ready to pass out, though the only things keeping them awake were the yells.

On the far right, however, stood a much more serious crowd, awaiting the start of the famous Race Wars Shooting Competition. While the gangs loved to participate in light banter and fun games, they were perfectly aware that shooting was no matter to joke about. Bullets could kill and, therefore, should be regarded with a sort of reverance and respect that the gangs rarely paid. In kind with this belief, the crowd was solemn and whispered amongst themselves as the shooters began to assemble at the head of the crowd, standing behind a duct tape line some twenty feet from twenty paper targets, suspended on a wire at about 6 foot eye level. Hiten glanced over at Kagome's determined face and nearly shuddered; she looked positively frightening.

Kagome walked boldly towards the front of the crowd, ignoring the scandalized look on nearly every face. She couldn't understand the skepticism radiating from all those who looked upon her until a rather kind faced Cobra held her back with one strong arm. "Watch out, girl, they're about to start shooting up there.

Cocking an eyebrow, Kagome shot back rather sharply, "At a shooting contest? No way."

The boy blushed quite violently, glancing at Hiten with questioning eyes. Hiten just shrugged his tane shoulders, saying, "She's competing, Brick. Don't stand in the lady's way, let her through."

Brick, scratched his blonde head confusedly, removing the arm blocking Kagome's way at a slow, reluctant pace. Kagome burst through the crowd, arriving where the other shooters were assembling in no time. Gan, who was chatting with a few of the other competitors, called out, "Kagome!" before beckoning her over.

Two of the men in Gan's group were recognizeable, to Kagome, who'd had the pleasure of making their acquaintances a few times during her stay at Race Wars. One was Razz of the Rhythms, who's many facial piercings gave his confused expression a rather odd twist; a few of his blonde dreadlocks were beginning to escape his tree trunk thick ponytail, but Kaogme's presence seemed to be attracting all the attention he was currently willing to give. The other recognizable face belonged to Fucking Mad Max, whose gnarled skin contorted grotesquely as he let loose a soul chilling grin. His violet eyes seemed to take in every inch of Kagome as she approached with her pistol, demeanor fearless and unfazed by the circumstances. Kagome was the only girl competing at the shooting range.

"Hey, Kagome, meet some friends of mine," Gan mentioned, gesturing to the group of men surrounding him.

Nodding briefly to the others, who nodded back, Kagome locked eyes briefly with Razz and Max, who both allowed small smiles; originally, her presence had startled them. Now it just amused them.

"Alright everyone," announced a leather clad Jackrabbit, drawing the attention away from Kagome's entrance. "We're ready to start. Shooters, line up in front of a target."

The shooters did as they were told, twenty shooters standing strong in front of their paper targets. As soon as the announcer took a head count, noting the number of contestants, he raised his voice over the melee, bringing the crowd to quiet. "The rules are as follows," he shouted. "Every man...or woman," he added, stealing a glance at Kagome, "must hit their mark in the two closest rings to the center at the very least. Any farther from the bullseye and you're out. Argue with the judge's call and we'll have you...escorted away." At this, two burly looking Rhythms stepped forward, strong faces set in frightening straight lines. The crowd went silent, knowing that dispute would not be an issue. "After every round, the remaining shooters must step back to the next duct tape line. So, everyone in the audience is gonna have to step back with them. Don't walk behind the competition. If you get shot, it's your own fucking fault. Shooters, does everyone have a gun of the pistol and six shooter variety?"

The shooters raised their guns above their heads, proving every weapon do be small and light weight. The announcer nodded, turning grimly to face the crowd once more. "On my mark."

Kagome drew in a deep breath, clearing her mind of Inuyasha's angry face, his bloody body, and Miroku's burning car remains. She immediately forgot about complicated relationships, her adjunct membership to the Wildcats, that familiar poisonous feeling of guilt and worthlessness she got whenever she stood with the others. Today she would prove herself. Today she would make her presence known and understood to all those who witnessed her gun. Today she would become a Wildcat if it was the last thing she did.

"One!" the announcer shouted.

Pistols and six shooters raised in a chorus, metal glimmering dangerously in the light. Shooters aligned their eyes along the sights, glaring at the paper targets as though they told the future with their simple bullseyes.

"Two!"

Hamers cocked back under strong thumbs as the air grew silent and the other Exterior Events came to a brief close; concentrating beneath the chaotic sounds of the shooting competition was much too taxing. The entire South Side of the airport seemed to still in that one breathing moment as the paper targets lay still in the motionless air.

"Mark!"

Shitora stared at the ramp before her, looming like a great giant before her David's slingshot. Her red Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14 gave a rumble beneath her as she revved the engine, deaf to all but her heartbeat and erratic breathing. It wasn't that trick riding made her nervous, but simply that it made her excited. She loved to think her chances of winning were greater than the sum of her height, but she knew that, up against Skull, Bones, Bankotsu and Jun, her chances of winning were slim to none. Oh fucking well, she thought carelessly, letting loose a wild grin, at least I have great boobs.

Revving the engine, Shitora let loose a wild scream and urged the bike forward, picking up maddening speed as she rocketed forward. The wind ripped her white hair backwards with a startling force, leaving it to flow like a great silver mane behind her as she approached the ramp ever still. The crowd watched in rapt anticipation as Shitora began the ramp's incline and, in a single moment, the Ninja powered itself into the air, red case gleaming in the sunlight. Shitora removed her hands from the handle bars when she reached an acceptable height and placed them adjacently on the seat, pushing herself into a momentary handstand before turning a 360 back into a sitting position. Whistles and wild cheers met her feat and Tobi Skull looked thoroughly amused.

Ranbou shook his head mildly, clapping all the while with a small smile creeping up on his lips.

"She's quite something, aye mate?"

Slightly startled by the voice, Ranbou glanced over to meet the eyes of Benkan Bones, whose cherry bomb hair seemed to straighten even taller with his impish grin. The lean Jackrabbit switched his eyes back and forth between Shitora, who had just made a flawless landing, and Ranbou, whose eyebrows were indefinitely raised.

Ranbou offered his friend a grin. "Yeah, she is."

"Bet she moves like that all the time, aye?" Benkan prodded, grin growing lecherous as he elbowed Ranbou knowingly in the ribs with one razor sharp arm.

At this, Ranbou merely shrugged. "I wouldn't know."

"Wouldn't know? The man who fucks everything in a skirt?" Benkan asked incredulously.

Benkan's face was a stark blank as Ranbou continued clapping, letting loose a brief howl as Shitora grinned at him in the crowd, walking excitedly back towards the center ring. Their eyes met momentarily, revealing a feeling much deeper than the usual infatuation, and Ranbou's smile softened. Benkan didn't miss the look which passed between the two and his mechanic's mind began quickly piecing together the fragments of their rag-tag love affair.

"You're falling, aren't you Ookami?"

At this, Ranbou only lowered his eyebrows and quirked his lips in a disbelieving stare, replying boredly, "Naw, not me, Bones."

"No, you are, I just saw that look!" Benkan continued, poking Ranbou's naked chest with one long nailed pointer finger.

"Eh, keep your claws away, snake breath," came Ranbou's dismissive reply; during their entire conversation, his eyes never left Shitora.

Back at the front of the crowd, Shitora jogged up to meet Tobi, whose sky blue eyes were twinkling with mirth and excitement. "Well done, sheila," he said appreciatively, taking Shitora in a brotherly, one armed hug. Immediately upon his touch, Shitora felt an electrifying shock consume her and she allowed her eyes to drift briefly back to the crowd, where she found Ranbou's eyes almost instantly. He looked fit to kill, if she could put a euphimism to it, and it was only a second later that she realized what effect Tobi's physical nature was having on her boyfriend. She was used to the Jackrabbits giving her hugs, picking her up, kissing the top of her head, snapping her bra; frankly, gang members seemed to be physical creatures in general. If Ranbou was going to have a problem with that, then his problems would most likely be ongoing.

"Whoah," Tobi murmured mildly, arms jerking back at a rather quick pace. Shitora looked mildly confused, but soon saw a thin line of blood appear on one of the blonde's tan, muscled arms, dripping carelessly down the contours of his bones.

"What happened?" she murmured, glancing around at the cheering crowds, naive to the goings on at the center circle. She soon glanced over at Ranbou, who's arms were crossed and eyebrow lowered. She could see him palming something small and circular, almost like a pebble; the ground was littered with rocks and gravel across the entire air force base, a product of ill-keep and forgetfulness by the government. She put together the recent goings on quickly and her tiny lips pursed with indignation; Ranbou was using his demon strength to flick pebbles at Tobi, who seemed to put together the events almost as quickly as Shitora.

"Awful protective, isn't he?" Skull murmured, wiping off the thin trail of blood as his skin began to heal at demonic speed. "Excuse me for hugging a girl I've known since we were ten."

Shitora huffed out an irritated breath, hissing almost inaudibly, "You are so going to get it, Ranbou."

Deciding to get on with the competition as though nothing had transpired, Tobi glanced over at Jun, whose orange red hair was shadowing his young face from view. "You next, then, Jun?"

Jun didn't startle at his name and only shrugged, walking calmly towards the parked bikes near the ramp. The competition continued in earnest.

"Sputtering, you said?"

Ayame continued jotting down information on a Rythym's car, nodding every once and a while as he described what sounded like a failing engine. The potent scent of motor oil and electricity reverberated around the Mechanics tent, mixing with the sound of drilling and hum of excited gang life. Countless cars were lined up in rows of headlights and bumpers, hoods open like saluting soldiers. Ayame thanked her customer for his business and taped the note she'd just jotted down onto the fender, glancing at the line of cars awaiting her exptertise. Just as she did so, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

"Still racking up business?"

Chuckling, Ayame placed her hands over Kouga's, which were locked securely around her hips. "Yeah."

"Hell, Aya, you've got at least ten more jobs than anyone in this room," Kouga murmured, glancing at the car corral for the first time.

"What can I say?" Ayame replied, shrugging lazily. "Everyone wants to see me greased up bending over an engine. It's a common fantasy."

"One of mine for sure," Kouga replied wolfishly, spinning Ayame around and hoisting her up until he was carrying her like a baby in his arms. She began to laugh, telling him incoherently to put her down and leave her to her work, though he seemed unwilling to do either.

Sesshomaru and Rin lingered near the mouth of the tent, watching Kouga and Ayame enact their romantic scene. "Ah, young love," Rin cooed, lacing her fingers with Sesshomaru's.

The dog demon chuckled, cocking one silver eyebrow as he muttered, "And here I thought they were working so dilligently on the orders and instead, they're running around like two love struck idiots, not even touching a wrench. I feel cheated."

Rin giggled slightly, giving her boyfriend's hand a reassuring squeeze. "Aw, c'mon, Sesshy, you knew they couldn't resist such a romantic scene!"

Glancing about the room, eyes landing momentarily on grease puddles, tire tracks and discarded tools, Sesshomaru responded wryly, "When we start to find this scene 'romantic,' you know we've spent too much time under the hood of a car."

"Or too much time in the back seat of the car," Rin joked smoothly, winking one mischeivious brown eye. Sesshomaru grinned and seemed to be running through mental film of their most recent back seat encounter. Rin eventually rolled her eyes and smacked his rear end lightly. "Not the time or the place, Sess."

"But we could make it the time and place," came Sesshomaru's reasonable reply.

Despite her attempt to adopt an irritated face, Rin couldn't help but curl her lips in a small, sardonic smile. "Sex hound."

Before either couple could continue their playful banter, Inuyasha came skulking into the tent, face downcast and hands shoved angrily in his pockets. A cloud of gloom seemed to accompany him and Sesshomaru's smile melted slowly down to a frown, leaving his once happy face in its normal state of apathy. "Oh, look who decided to ruin my mood with his presence."

Rin sighed, rubbing the small of Sesshomaru's back with one tiny hand. "Don't let him affect you, he's just pissed because of his fight with Kagome."

Inuyasha continued his gloomy march until he reached the Fang's car corral, where he promptly leaned back against a fire red Mazarati and lit a cigarette. Kouga and Ayame watched him for a moment before their happiness seemed to deflate and Kouga set Ayame gently to her feet, shrugging his shoulders when she gave a heavy sigh. Inuyasha's bad mood seemed to douse everyone's flame.

"Yash, what's got your thong in a twist?" Kouga asked crudely, cocking one thin eyebrow.

At first, the wolf received no reply; thinking his question ignored, Kouga threw up his hands and turned to walk away. Inuyasha's low tone voice stopped him in his tracks, however, when Kouga was no more than ten feet away from the corral. "Women. Damnit."

Turning slowly to face his fellow gang member, Kouga echoed, "Women?"

"Women."

Ayame's eyebrows settled at a dangerously low line on her face, adding to the fierceness of her bare crossed arms. Kouga stepped quickly in front of her, however, hoping to prevent a feminist outburst while simultaneously solving Inuyasha's problems. "What about women, dude? Kagome? That fight you had, is that it?"

"Part of it," Inuyasha said darkly, tiring of his newly lit cigarette and throwing it carelessly to the ground. "And the other part is I'm just fucking sick of this whole 'dating' thing. I mean, it's not like we're gonna get hitched, so why waste my time?"

Kouga blinked, ice blue eyes fluttering in and out of view at an alarming rate, before he finally said, "Well, I think marriage is kinda beside the point, dude." Inuyasha only snorted and Kouga's confusion deepened. "And what's this shit about wasting your time?"

"They're all the same, Ookami, all of em. Give em an inch and they run a mile in the other fucking direction. Turn your back for one goddamned minute and they're sucking some other guy's cock, know what I mean?" Inuyasha drawled, amber eyes unfocused as he glared at the ceiling, white hair falling in curtains around the Mazarati.

By this time, Ayame had grown thoroughly enraged by the anti-woman statements and decided, for her and Inuyasha's combined health, to move far, far away from the conversation. With this opening staring him in the face, Kouga closed the gap between Inuyasha and himself, leaning against the Mazarati with a similar arrogance to his posture. "So, this is about Kikyo then?"

"Naw, it's about women in general. All of em are like that, I found out the hard way. I mean, Kagome was gonna stand up there presenting cars trying to look like a slut. And looking like a slut for anyone but your boyfriend is like cheating, right?" Inuyasha asked, obviously wrestling quite seriously with this matter.

Kouga mused over the suggestion for a moment, dark hair floating gracefully in a stray electric fan wind. "I dunno, dude. That sounds like a shaky rebuttal to me. Cause if you guys get dressed in the morning and she gets looking slutty, its for you. As soon as you leave the house, everyone else is open to look. You agree?"

Inuyasha's already thunder dark face seemed to grow a hideous shade of jealous green-black, contorted like a Picasso painting. "But she shouldn't look slutty everyday, man, that's...cheap."

This, however, seemed to only raise Kouga's eyebrows another centimeter as he glanced at his girlfriend, who was discussing business with a fellow mechanic across the tent. She was wearing a red bikini top and a pair of tight leather pants, red curls spiraling down her back like a waterfall. Kouga could barely make out the points of her stiletto heels, stark against the airport's concrete floor. "Aya looks slutty everyday. Except when she wears, like, her overalls. All the girls look slutty everyday. It's like a Wildcat tradition or something."

"Yeah, but Kagome's not a Wildcat."

At this, Kouga glanced away from his girlfriend and met Inuyasha's eyes, seemed almost confused but recognitive. "I always forget that. Why do you think they haven't asked her yet?"

Inuyasha snorted, toeing a dead cigarette butt with his boot. "For the same reason I ain't kissed her yet. We're all holding on to Kikyo."

"Mark!"

Shots exploded across the airforce base, alerting all those in the general vicinity that either the shooting contest had begun or that the Fangs and the Tarantulas had finally come to their wit's end.

When the dust cleared and all shots had been taken, the mediator jogged forward, examining the targets before announcing, "Shooters 1, 2, 6, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, and 20 remain. The others, please step back from the line."

Grumbling and griping, the unnamed shooters stepped back into the crowd, guns dangling disappointedly at their sides. When the remaining shooters stood alone, they glanced up and down the line to assess their competition. As expected, Gan the Gun stood tall at station 9, bullet straight through the center of the bullseye. Several Jackrabbits were left, as they often held shooting contests for fun at their headquarters, and grinned at each other from stations 1, 12, 13, 17, 18 and 20. Razz glanced over at Mad Max, whose gnarled face was completely blank and still; shooting had always calmed him. Razz's bullet had gone through the ring just outside the bullseye in station 15 while Max's was slightly closer to the center in station 6. As the shooters glanced around, several of them blinked and stayed their eyes on the shooter in booth number 2.

Kagome stared straight ahead at her target, the bullseye of which was conspicuously missing. Razz returned his eyes to Max, who happened to meet his gaze, both of them looking slightly startled. Gan, however, seemed completely unsurprised and merely smiled to himself, pretty face calm and unaffected. He simply glanced down at his gun and began polishing a smudge on the barrel.

The Jackrabbit next to Kagome in station 1 let out a low whistle, grinning full fanged as he looked at Kagome's target with a pair of keen yellow demon eyes. His sky blue dreadlocks, held in a high ponytail at the top of his head and tipped with beads, clanked together as he turned to face the girl beside him. "Nice shot then, girl! Give me a hit for that!"

He held out his hand and Kagome grinned a little in response, slapping hands with the friendly Jackrabbit. As far as she could tell, he was British like Max and quite like the rest of his gang, sociable and kind. All the Jackrabbits she'd met thus far wore baggy, ripped jeans covered in braids and patches with a running jackrabbit on the left back pocket. She supposed it was like their equivalent to the leather jackets worn by the other gangs. They seemed to enjoy being original.

"Thanks. How'd you do?" she asked, glancing over at his target. The bullet had impacted the target what appeared to be a mere quarter of a centimeter from the bullseye. "You were really damn close," she commented menially.

Shrugging, the blue haired demon replied skeptically, "Eh, I've been closer in me time. How long have you been shooting, love?"

"Ten years? Somewhere around then, when I was seven or eight," Kagome replied.

"Heh, longer than me," the Jackrabbit said with a rueful smile, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly.

"Aw, c'mon now, Axle, you missed the fucking bullseye!"

The Jackrabbit with whom Kagome was speaking turned at what was obviously his name, grinning when he met eyes with Mad Max. "Right? My bad, mate."

"You're damn right its your fucking bad," Max responded, grinning crazily all the while; Kagome couldn't recall seeing him quite so friendly with another person except for possibly Inuyasha. "One of us has to finish this fucking thing."

Turning back to Kagome, Axle said with a smlie, "That's me best mate Max. Known him since we were round six or seven; we're both from Cheapside."

"In London?" Kagome asked incredulously.

Axle raised his eyebrows. "What, you think I talk like a Cockney for fun then?"

"I guess not, I just never put Max together with London I guess," Kagome mused, trying to mesh ideas of tea-sipping royalty with Max spewing "fuck" at brunch with a crumpet in his hand. "So you knew him before the...tailpipe incident?"

Axle sighed, eyes growing almost weary. "Yeah, I did. Favorite with the girls before then, but he hasn't dated since. He wasn't sour like he is now before then, either."

Before Kagome and Axle could speak further, the mediator stepped forward and said, "Alright, everyone present for round two, step back to the next duct tape line."
The competitors exchanged glances and stepped back in unison, stopping when their toes rested just behind the duct tape line. This move left them a neat five feet farther than their first shot was from the mark. Once more, the mediator began his count.
"One."

...raise...

"Two."

...cock...< br>
"Mark."

bang.

At the trick riding competition, the festivities had continued for an entire four rounds and no one had given up the chase yet. Every contestant seemed perfectly matched for his or her other opponents and executed the chosen trick with remarkable precision. The audience remained rapt to attention, despite the nearly unbearable heat. So far, Shitora, Jun, Bankotsu and Benkan had set the precedent with their tricks for the others to follow. Now, it was Tobi's turn.

The blonde grinned wildly, fangs glimmering in the light, as he adjusted his headband and strutted on up to his motorcycle, a silver Kawasaki racing bike. It had a red skull spraypainted on the side to denote his ownership and he gave the drawing a brief pat before mounting his bike. "Top this," he said confrontationally to his opponents, shooting them the middle finger before spitting out his cigarette and revving the engine.

Tobi took off like a shot, a mere blur against the hum of Race Wars life as he ascended the ramp, rocketing off the incline with such force that he gained almost twice the air that the others had. Many in the crowd gasped as he flew through the bright blue afternoon, grinning crazily with a rush of adrenaline. And then Tobi Skull did the unthinkable.

He let go of the handles.

Flying free in the atmosphere, Tobi tucked his head to his chest and rolled twice in midair, straightening out like a board to gain momentum towards his falling bike. He caught the handlebars deftly, placing himself down on the seat and bringing the motorcycle in for an incredibly hard pressed landing. The crowd began cheering and hefting their beers almost immediately, pleased with the obnoxiously difficult trick, and the other riders merely exchanged stone faced glances.

Ranbou tried to ease his breathing, but he couldn't seem to calm it; the thought of Shitora attempting such a trick rather frightened him. She was by no means a trick rider by trade, which Tobi, Benkan and Jun were, and she didn't have the natural talent for it that Bankotsu did. To perform that trick, she would need a little more than two weeks of practice.

At the head of the crowd, Bekan clapped sardonically for Tobi as he made his way toward them, bowing cleverly to the crowd. "Well done, Skull, a trick to capture your narcissism and your love of crowd pleasing."

Tobi only winked at his best friend, neither accepting nor denying the claims made. Bankotsu was smirking to himself while Jun's face remained ever impassive, but Shitora had a rather strange look in her eyes. Benkan, who was standing directly beside her, tore his gaze away from Tobi, who was bowing even deeper to the crowd, and asked casually, "Doing alright, sweetheart?"

Shitora managed to crack a small smile and said quietly, "I think I better leave this one to the professionals."

Tobi's keen ears caught this statement and he whipped around, looking quite outraged by it all. "What?! You're conceeding?!"

"Well, its a little out of my skill range, Skull, and we both know that," Shitora reasoned, raising an eyebrow in the boy's direction.

Blinking, Tobi adopted an almost guilty expression as though he were purposefully kicking Shitora out of the competition. Rubbing the back of his neck embarrasedly, he murmured, "Well, shit, sheila, I didn't mean to..."

"Tobi, it's a competition," Shitora reminded him, winking saucily in his direction. "I was kinda dragged into it anyway. Besides all that, I know how it's gonna end."

With that, Shitora held up both her hands to show a conceed and jogged towards Ranbou, who looked more than a little relieved. "You did great, baby..." he started.

"Don't you talk to me, Ranbou," Shitora hissed, voice almost inaudible in her ire. "If you can't learn to share me with the 6 billion other people on this planet, you better learn not to have me at all."

Ranbou blinked, obviously realizing that she was referring to his stone flicking earlier in the competition. Lowering his eyebrows, he began to say something only to find himself cut off once more. "Don't even say anything. You're already in the dog house as it is." And with this, Ranbou's mouth clamped shut and Shitora turned on her heels, stalking away from the trick riding and, more importantly, her possessive boyfriend. Ranbou could only watch her go and he sighed, too fuming to even remember the rule he and the other boys had imposed upon the girls, now called the "Big Brother Rule."

Crossing his arms, Ranbou decided to wait until the competition was over; he shouldn't ruin his day over one little fight with his girlfriend, right? Right.

"Impeccable. How are they doing it, mate?"

Max shrugged, reaching into his pocket for a case of cigarettes. "God only fucking knows. Look at his posture, fucking incredible." His eyes narrowed as he observed Gan, who raised his gun with a practiced precision and set his violet eye on the sight, finger barely touching the trigger of his six shooter. The slope of his back was perfectly curved in as straight a line as man could make, his arm outraised perpendicular to his back. The very sight he made was almost godly, sillhouetted against the sunlight as yet more people joined the growing throng of spectators.

Axle jumped at a hand on his shoulder, so focused on the competition that he could barely even hear the goings on around him. Hiten's crimson eyes glittered mischieviously at the distress he'd caused the Jackrabbit and he grinned. "Alright there, Ax?"

"Fine," Axle grunted. "Busy watchin' the match, mate, jus' like everyone else."

"Right," Hiten murmured, throwing his cigarette to the ground and crushing it beneath his boot. "I'm gonna go on ahead and catch up with Bank at the trick race, hear he's in the finals or somethin'. You keep an eye out on Kagome for me?"

Raising an eyebrow, Max asked rather caustically, "What, you her bloody brother or something?"

"Nope, just a rule we put in place after some shit went down in Tokyo. All the girls gotta have a chaperone during the race and, don't tell them this, but for a few weeks after we get home too," Hiten explained. "We don't trust Naraku. Not a fuckin' bit, man."

"Well, I don't blame you mate. Nobody trusts that crazy gaff. Alright, we'll watch her," Axle reassured him, giving Hiten a meaty pat on the shoulder. Smiling, Hiten nodded and disappeared into the crowd, ambling towards the trick race.

Hiten had almost arrived at the trick race when someone shouted his name, alerting his attention from the South. Glancing up, Hiten waved to a shirtless Inuyasha, who jogged up, tan skin glistening with a fine sheen of sweat. There was grease smudged on his bicep, a telling sign of the machine shop. "Hey, Yash, you been workin?"

"Yeah, tryin' to take my mind offa Kagome," Inuyasha replied, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

Hiten raised his eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Did it work?"

"No."

"Mhmm. What you up to now then?" Hiten asked conversationally, trying not to damage Inuyasha's already wounded pride.

"Looking for Kagome. I'm gonna talk it out with her," Inuyasha admitted, amber eyes glittering with resentment; he was obviously forcing himself to do this and by no small means. Hiten knew it must be eating his friend up inside to admit such a thing as self wrong.

"She's at the shooting competition, but I gotta go man, I'm off to the trick race," Hiten said, glancing down at his watch.

Inuyasha nodded, thanking Hiten before walking off in the direction of the shooting competition. He could barely make out a large crowd gathered around the shooting arena, still and quite as the competitors continued their match. He narrowed his gaze, trying to make out Kagome's face in the audience, but to no avail. He managed to make his way around the large crowd to the front, nodding to familiar faces, even to some unfamiliar ones who knew the Taisho name. When he caught sign of Max and Axle at the front, he jogged up to him and slapped hands with the Jackrabbit and Scorpion, smiling smally in greeting.

"Hey, you guys seen Kagome?" The friends snorted simultaneously, chuckling to one another. Inuyasha narrowed his gaze and crossed his brawny arms with a hint of irritation. "Yeah, what's so funny?"

Axle shook his head, placing a hand under Inuyasha's chin and turning his face to observe the competition before him, which he hadn't even bothered to recognize. "There's your girl, mate."

Inuyasha's jaw went slack and his eyes widened to the size of tea plates as he observed his beautiful girlfriend, normally friendly eyes cold and calculated as she zoned in on the target before her. "What...the...hell," came his only words, detached and confused.

Max grinned, contorting his mutilated face in a twisted shape. "You're late, my friend. We're already in the sixteenth round and neither of them is showing signs of fucking slowing."

Indeed, Kagome and Gan stood side by side, having moved from their stations to stand adjacent to one another. They were already a round fifty feet back from the target, though standing in the strangest position. Each of them had twisted their body so the they were profiled against the sun, heads turned to face the targets as they shot under their left arms. The mediator shouted, "Mark!" and the guns exploded again, startling Inuyasha, who was not at all prepared. He jumped slightly, covering his sensetive ears, as the surrounding demons winced. Gunshots were not among their favorite sounds.

Blinking, Inuyasha squinted, trying to make out the targets from such a distance. The mediator stepped forward when the smoke had cleared, observing both targets with keen demon eyes before turning and announcing. "Bullseye on both counts!"

Many in the audience applauded and whistled, while others groaned and some gasped. Inuyasha heard someone behind him murmur, "God, the fucking sixteenth time in a row!"

Inuyasha could barely even comprehend mortal sound as he said woodenly, "S-sixteen?"

"That's right, mate," Axle said jovially, giving Inuyasha such a forceful pat on the back that the half demon vibrated with the hit. "Your girl's a regular hot shot."

"I didn't even know," Inuyasha mumbled, words mushy and undefined in his confusion.

Max laughed at the expression on his face, saying skillfully around his cigarette, "And you call yourself a boyfriend, mate? Your fucking out of your tree, my son."

Even though he knew Max was partially joking, Inuyasha couldn't help but feel slightly guilty from the remark. Even in his humor, Max had a point. Shouldn't a boyfriend know if his girlfriend could shoot well enough to rival Gan the Gun and make sixteen bullseyes in a row? Shouldn't he know things like that?

Gan held up his hand to the mediator, pulling bullets from his pocket and unlocking the barrel to reload his six shooter. Kagome sighed, glancing up at the sweltering sun and wiping sweat from her brow. She reached down for the hem of her tank top, beginning to peel it off her skin..."You ain't goin' up there in that, not so all those other bastards can stare at you like some oversexed barbie!" Kagome's eyes pinched closed as she tried to force herself to continue removing the shirt. "Like anyone would take a fuck that cheap!"

As quick as the sixteen shots she'd fired that afternoon, Kagome's hand dropped from her shirt hem and she tried to ignore the tears pricking at her eyes. Gan glanced up at Kagome as he deftly reloaded his gun. "Are you alright, Kagome?"

Kagome blinked, turning away from Gan as more tears joined the ones collecting in her eyes; in that one moment, she missed Inuyasha so much she could barely even breathe. Wasn't that a strange reaction? This was the man who'd called her a whore, told her she was "oversexed" and called her a "cheap fuck." She'd fought with him over something ridiculous and stupid, so why should she miss him at all? It was his fault, right? But all she could think about in that single moment was Inuyaha's strong arms surrounding her, that smell of mint and machinery which she'd come to love; there was something so carnal and yet so safe about it. Why couldn't she stop thinking about him?

"Kagome?"

"What?" she asked quickly, wiping away her tears and glancing over at Gan.

Gan's eyes held something sad as he observed her rather pitifully on the outside. On the inside, female Gan was nearly in tears of rage and indignance. After those ridiculous things Inuyasha had said to Kagome that morning, she was still missing him? Oh, perhaps Akago was the mind reader, but Gan was smart enough to figure it out for herself...himself...whichever self Gan had assumed at the moment. Frankly, Gan had found whatever gender lines he'd or she'd once had dissolving as of late. He, or she, wasn't sure what he or she was anymore. Man or woman? Or...boy or girl? Could Gan really consider him or herself grown at this point? Gan was still masquerading as a boy when her genetalia defined her as a woman. But didn't her persona define him as a man? He was definitely more of a man than woman when it came to most reasoning and behavior. But didn't she still feel that woman's sympathy in situations like this?

Blinking away his thoughts, Gan the Gun assumed his outside figure and glanced down at the gun in his hand. Men and women were on the same plane when weilding weapons like guns; no matter who fired it, someone still died and a family still wept. So did gender really matter in the end? Gan had once read an article saying that women were better shooters because of their steadiness and ability to retain focus for a longer period of time. In effect, Gan was currently disproving this theory to all those in the audience and proving the theory to himself. Funny, he thought, smirking bitterly. There's two women in this competition and no one will ever know.

"You seemed like you were about to cry just now," Gan mentioned, fixing Kagome with a level violet gaze.

His gaze was so intense that Kagome was nearly forced to look away, finding it rather hard to concentrate on her words while simultaneously trying to hold back her tears. Nodding quickly, she choked out, "I was just overcome by...the heat."

Dropping the last bullet in the barrel, Gan said quietly, "Yes, the heat. You do look a little flushed. Would you like to sit down for a moment?"

"No, I'm fine," Kagome assured him, heart nearly shattering as she stood there. She wasn't sure why her fight with Inuyasha had taken so long to catch up with her, but this was neither the time or the place for an emotional breakdown.

"If you're sure," Gan replied, eyeing her warily. Whether or not it was Kagome missing Inuyasha or actually sucuming to heat stroke, neither of them were things to play with.

Nodding strongly, Kagome announced clearly, "On to round seventeen."

The mediator, not sure what had transpired between the two competitors, nodded and thought for a moment, saying, "Alright, how about the opposite shooting hand then?"

Gan and Kagome both let out small groans, exchanging dreading glances before passing their guns over to their opposite hands.

In the crowd, Inuyasha was puzzling over the small hint of salty water he'd caught on the air, obviously that of tears, and for a moment he'd imagined them falling from his Kaogme's eyes. But no, their fight wouldn't affect her like that; after all, she was probably still consumed with too much rage to feel any sadness. It was then that Inuyasha noticed both shooters switching gun hands.

"What are they doing?" he asked curiously.

"They exhausted all ten duct tape lines," Axle explained, "so the judge had to start making up weird positions for them to shoot in; Max and I dodged out by round eight, missed the second ring, both of us, on that same round. But you missed them shooting between the legs; that was my favorite. And they still made a bullseye, incredible."

Inuyasha watched solemnly as Kagome hefted the pistol in her left hand; he vaguely recognized the gun as the one Sesshomaru had once given to Rin for added protection. They'd been about sixteen then, he remember, and his brother had been going out with Rin for a year and a half already. They'd been ruling together for...three years? It seemed like forever ago to Inuyasha, but he could still remember Sesshomaru presenting Rin with a shining black pistol, saying quietly, "For when I'm not there."

And as Kagome stood there, holding one of the most classically dangerous weapons known to man, Inuyasha couldn't remember seeing her looking more beautiful, even with yet more tears of their crumbling fight pricking her eyes. Sighing, he glanced down at his feet for a moment; he'd caused those tears. Max seemed to notice his distress for he gave the hanyou a gruff pat on the shoulder. "Ease up, mate."

At that point, Kagome felt a familiar presence behind her and she turned her head ever so slightly, catching a familiar flash of silver and amber, mixed with gleaming tan, in the corner of her eye. Inuyasha; she could feel him, his presence surrounding her, reminding her how close and yet how far away he was to her.

"One."

Inuyasha saw Kagome turn and he tried to smile for her, but found himself unable to create any semblance of happiness in his face. The scent of salt acosted his nose once more and he closed his eyes, persuading himself not to look at her as she stood there, gun upraised, looking so beautiful.

"Two."

Don't think about him, girl, just don't think about him. You don't need him, you're a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a shit like Inuyasha to complete you....but if all that's true, why do I want him to be upre, holding me, right now? Why can't I make myself stop crying? Tears were now streaming down Kagome's face, though no sob escaped her lips. Gan didn't have to turn to know Kagome was crying; readjusting his left hand grip on the pistol line, he cocked back the gun, feeling an overwhelming sadness smother him like a blanket dousing a flame.

"Mark."

Two shots exploded, leaving a trail of smoke from the old guns as their masters squeezed the triggers. Gan's eyes closed unconciously after the shot; he could feel the bullet stretching out from him like a road, impacting the bullseye with a hair's less precision than could be done with his right hand. Kagome, on the other hand could feel nothing. Nothing but loss, on two counts.

The mediator examined the bullseyes with a tape measure and turned to the crowd, announcing, "We have a winner!"

There was complete and total silence from the crowd. Rechecking his assessment, the judge shouted, "By one fourth of a centimeter, the winner is..." Inuyasha closed his eyes and his breath caught in his throat; he hoped she won, he really did. But something in his gut already told him the truth.

"Gan the Gun of the Tokyo Sharks!"

The crowd erupted with applaused and Gun opened his eyes, staring down at the concrete with little emotion resembling a winner. Kagome forced a smile and stuck out her hand, shaking with a likewise wooden Gan, whose violet eyes held a fraction of sympathy which touched what little of her heart Kagome could access. As the crowd rushed forward, congratulating Gan the Gun and collecting bets from one another, Kagome made as though to sneak off to the side, away from the suffocating mass of people. Frankly, she didn't want to see anyone right then.

"Kagome! Wait, Kagome!"

At the sound of Inuyasha's voice, Kagome turned on her heels and began walking rather quickly away from the crowd, ignoring shouts of congratulations and "you were amazing, better luck next time, babe." Words, colors, feelings, they were all a blur as Kagome broke into a slight stumbling run, tears streaming down her face; she was angry at the world. Angry at Inuyasha for being ignorant and stubborn and distracting her during the shooting competition, angry at the Wildcats, her own cousin, for ignoring her merit, angry at Naraku and his gang for causing trouble and blowing up Miroku's car, angry at her father for dying. She wasn't sure where her father had come into this, but while she was angry, she might as well include everyone responsible.

Inuyasha caught up with her easily, catching her before she fell to the ground, and wrapping his arms around her. Despite the fact that Inuyasha was at least one half of the reason she hated everyone and everything, Kagome couldn't help but feel a great relief as soon as that scent wrapped itself around her. Inuyasha sighed, smoothing her hair with his calloused hand and saying quietly, "You did your best, Kagome. You were great."

Still slightly enraged, Kagome pounded uselessly on his chest, crying, "You think this is about the stupid shooting contest?! This is about you, you stupid, stubborn, dumbass! You made me this way!"

Inuyasha felt another wave of guilt pass over him and he sighed. "I know. I was wrong, I should've known you were only trying to help Sesshoomaru and I had no control over your actions. It was my fault and I promise to respect you from here on out."

Kagome stared at him unflinching for a moment, mouth agape and confused, until she shouted, "You idiot, you're not supposed to be nice! You're supposed to be a big, retarded loser and keep on yelling at me! Damnit, Inuyasha!"

Smiling roguishly, Inuyasha asked, "Does that mean you forgive me?"

"Fuck! Yes!" Kagome exclaimed, practically bursting into hysterical tears. She didn't pretend to understand this day and all its complexities. All she knew was that she could never be close enough to Inuyasha in that moment. Burying her head in his chest, she sniffled quietly as Inuyasha ran his fingers across her lower back, soothing her in a way that not even her own mother could.

After a moment, a feeling of daring boldness seized Inuyasha and he realized that Kagome was the only woman he needed. It wasn't Kikyo or Kikyo's memory that would sustain him, keep him going, make him feel alive. It was Kagome and only Kagome who could do that and he wouldn't let her get away again; deep down, he was still holding on to Kikyo, but they could deal with that when they came to it. Now was now and it was time.
Reaching down a hand, Inuyasha caught Kagome under the chin and tipped it slightly upwards, forcing her tear struck brown eyes to meet his amber ones. This done, he leaned down and captured her lips with his, the salty taste of tears lingering on her lips. Kagome fell easily into the kiss, like sinking into a hot bath after a moment's hesitation. A solitude surrounded them, a quiet and motionlessness unlike anything she'd ever experienced, and Kagome knew his lips on hers was the only real sensation of love she'd ever need. Sure, he was crass, rude, headstrong and stubborn, but none of this prevented him from approaching true perfection in Kagome's eyes. Inuyasha was her man and that was all that mattered.

"No way. That didn't just happen."

"Skull..."

"No, Bones, it didn't just happen. That little punk didn't just show us up."

"Skull..."

“NO, BONES, IT DIDN’T JUST HAPPEN!!”

Sighing, Benkan turned to Bankotsu, whose smirk still remained firmly set in place. “I do believe Skull is in some kind of intense denial, ay, mate?”

Jun sauntered quietly up to his competition, pocketing five hundred dollars with a small smile on his face. "Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen."

Bankotsu nodded his head in tacit approval, the only thing Jun ever really needed, and clapped a distraught Tobi on the shoulder. "Hey, not many can pull off the 1080 flip twist, Tobi. Hell, I didn't even think he could pull off a flat 1080, but to add that flip twist? Well done."

Ranbou walked forward, giving Jun a brief noogie before grinning and saying, "Nice, kid. Real nice."

"Thanks, Bo," Jun said quietly, looking away from the older wolf's gaze in slight embarrassment. Of everyone, the other wolf demons teased him the most and he dreaded facing them should he fail to redeem himself. But the approval of all his heroes was worth the approval of millions.

"See you guys later, I gotta go do somethin," Ranbou said vaguely, waving farewell before turning on his heels and stalking in the direction where Shitora had gone an hour before.

Bankotsu shook his head, unable to keep from laughing. "He's got it bad."

"Very bad," Benkan agreed.

"Very VERY bad," Tobi grinned.

"And he's in the dog house again," Jun finished, the four of them grinning endlessly and watching Ranbou's ponytail swishing ridiculously behind him, as it always did when he was in a foul mood.

Shitora was actually on the other side of the airport, sitting in a circle of lawn chairs with a few of the more intellectual gang members. At Race Wars, they often pulled up chairs and debated life's mysteries, tattooed and smoke-scented as they were. Shitora often felt enlightened and alive as she sat their discussing the origin of her own beginnings. Today, especially, was a good day for intelligent reasoning.

"The question of right and wrong lies in the eyes of the beholder and it always has. There are only a few specific wrongs that all men can agree on," a blonde Cobra said, taking a long draw on his cigarette.

"Agreed," chimed in a Jackrabbit, nodding his braided head serenely. "Every man can agree that something like child pornography is wrong and that ill fueled murder is too. But that's when questions like abortion and all that shit come in. And no three people can agree fully on them."

"Abortion," the blonde Cobra said with a chuckle. "I believe in the life of the child."

But the Jackrabbit looked thoroughly taken aback. "The life of the child? Imagine growing up the son of an unwed mother who sells herself to buy drugs, that's not a life. That's what many children would grow up in if abortion weren't there."

The two began to argue, but Shitora, often the mediator, said loudly, "I believe in circumstancial regard."

The two men quieted and glanced at her, obviously awaiting her continuation. "Circumstancial regard, the idea that each case is different to the next. If a mother is in a position such as the one you just described, she should get an abortion in the first trimester. If a mother feels she is "unready" for children but could support one if she needed to, in a household she would be comfortable in, she should go through the pregnancy and have the child. If she's ready then, she should take care of it, if not, give it up for adoption. If the mother is substancially ill, abort. If she doesn't like children, let it live and decide for yourself. Each case is different."

When Shitora finished, the others in the circle snapped their fingers as was tradition when a most intelligent comment was made. At this point, Shitora stood, silver hair falling about her as she crushed her deadened cigarette beneath her boot toe. "And with this I leave you."

There were asorted goodbyes and the blonde Cobra glanced up, saying, "Tora, you want me to take you to Bo or Yash or Shomo? You remember what they said about walkin' alone."

Shitora only snorted, amber eyes tinged with bitterness as she stretched her back like a cat. "Oh, I remember, Bogo, I just wish I didn't. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

Nodding, Bogo lifted a hand in goodbye and returned to the newly initiated conversation concerning the creation of the world. Shitora walked for a few minutes, making her way towards the other side of the airport, when she began wishing for another cigarette and reached into her pocket, removing one and lighting it with the lighter in her pocket. Just as she did so, a movement caught her eye and she blinked, glancing up to meet the blur. She saw nothing in the crowd, only gang members talking amongst themselves and a few selling wares in their booths. Sighing, Shitora continued walking, albeit a bit faster.

As she walked, Shitora felt a certain discomfort, though she dared not spare a glance behind her, and she continued on as though she sensed nothing. It wasn't until the hairs on the back of her neck froze erect that she recognized something amiss. Before she could even speak another word, a man stood in her path, a man whose face was horribly disfigured from what looked like a recent fight. She would never forget those eyes, eyes the color of blood.

Bokoru made no advance, but let the men behind him speak for his position. Shitora was surprised to see him alive, nevertheless with friends at Race Wars; she'd imagined that, if he were alive, he'd skipped town by this point. But no, there he stood in all his boldness, thick oxen arms crossed and scratched, torn face contorted with bitterness.

"So you really are fucking Ookami now," he bit out, obviously referring to the newly consummated relationship.

Shitora said nothing, finding herself curiously speechless in the face of a man whom she feared so deeply. Stumbling backwards, she made as though to run but lost her footing on a piece of gravel, falling to the concrete at a startling pace. Bokoru's companions, whose faces she didn't recognize, advanced steadily upon her from all sides, releasing their claws almost simultaneously. She gulped; all demons. She might've had a chance with one or two humans, a weak spot in the circle from which to escape, but there were none. And as much as she hated to admit it, she was only half demon and it would only carry her so far in a fight.

"At first, I was gonna go find your shit boyfriend and fuck him up for what he did to me. But then I realized the best way to fuck up a guy is to fuck up his girl. Or just plain fuck her," Bokoru said with a chilling conviction. "So one of those, if not both, is gonna happen. Right fucking now."

At these words, Bokoru's insane eyes began to widen and he made as though to lunge for Shitora, who felt quite prone as she lay there, frozen with fear for the second time in three days. Before Bokoru could reach her, however, a low growl interrupted his rage.

"Not wise."

Shitora's hopes began to lift as she turned, wondering if Ranbou had finally arrived to rescue her, though she found herself thoroughly surprised. The frightening man before her was, indeed, someone quite different from Ranbou.

Her savior's clawed hand rocketed forward, catching Bokoru around the throat with such a fierce intensity that a trail of blood spilled carelessly down the ox demon's chin. Crimson eyes met blood red and they lit like a gasoline aided fire, though one withered much quicker than its opponent. Bokoru began to tremble with his own fear as his assailant growled, a sound which rumbled in his gut and brought a chill to the surrounding summer air. "Touch her again. I dare you, boy."

Blubbering in quite a disgusting manner, Bokoru said something intelligble, eyes wide and sparkling with hypoxia. Finally, finding it not worth his time, Bokoru's captor released his pathetic quarry and grunted, "Run. Now."

Bokoru and his friends scattered like cockroaches at a footstep, scurrying off in every which direction with Bokoru traveling the fastest he'd ever flown by foot. As soon as the Cobra and his posse were gone, Shitora steadied her breathing slightly, trying to make herself seem fiercer than she felt. "Don't expect a thank you."

Ryuukoytsusei turned to face her, allowing his eyes to leave Bokoru's retreating back, and his crimson eyes seemed to give her a once over, as though checking for injuries. The action was quick and ever so slight, but Shitora caught it sure enough. Green hair fluttering out behind him, Ryuu reached down one massive, clawed hand to Shitora, who stared at it as though it held the plague.

"I wouldn't dare expect a thank you, Taisho," he said in his quiet snarl.

Shitora ignored Ryuu's outstretched hand and struggled to her feet, legs shaking so badly she could barely even stand. Nevertheless, she met his gaze and growled," I can take care of myself, thank you very freakin' much!"

Ryuu smirked. "Without your chaperone, whose to say you can, hm?"
Bristling, the silver haired hanyou spun on her feet, angry that other gangs had heard about South Tokyo's recently imposed rule. "Shut up, I'm not a pup fresh out, I can fight my own fights."

"Yes, you seemed to be handling that Cobra quite well," came Ryuu's sarcastic reply.

When she didn't answer for a moment, Ryuu made as though to take a step forward, but she finally hissed bitterly, "It's different with...him. I owe you one, Dragon."

And with that, Shitora walked stiffly and quickly in the other direction, hurrying towards the side of the airport where she'd seen Ranbou last; consequently, she'd already decided that Ranbou would never know about this incident. Ever.

Ryuu watched her go, feeling that strange feeling engulf him once more, and he briefly began to wonder if his former second in command's words were coming true. "Someone once said, 'forbidden pleasures alone are loved immoderately; when lawful they do not excite desire.' Just make sure your forbidden fruit doesn't come back to poison your guts, leader."

Shaking his great emerald head, Ryuu lit a cigarette and took an angry drag, spewing out the smoke with such a force that it curled some feet in front of his face. Helping the Taisho girl was a one time thing and he'd done it spontaneously, just to enter a fight. As he walked, Ryuu repeated this reasoning like a mantra in his head, hoping he could convince himself fast enough to forget his forbidden pleasures. But he could already feel the poison consuming his flesh.

"Orion's belt."

"Where?"

"Right there. Follow my cigarette...see?"

"Ohh, yeah. And there's the big dipper."

"I think that's the little dipper, Sango."

"That's pretty fucking big for a little dipper, don't you think?"

Miroku chuckled and adjusted his back muscled, which were sitting uncomfortably on a metal plate atop the RV. He and Sango, by use of the ladder, had climbed to the roof for some night stargazing, something which would be almost impossible in Tokyo; the bright lights of the city were beautiful, but nothing compared to nature's lights in the country. Sango smiled slightly, rubbing Miroku's stomach with the flat of her hand; he was almost like a toddler, the way he enjoyed stomach rubs.

"Kagome and Inuyasha made up," Sango said casually.

"Mmm, I know," Miroku chuckled around his cigarette. The smoke curled upwards like an uncoiled spring, dancing with the stars they'd set aside their time to watch. "I knew Inuyasha wouldn't hold out for long. He had to apologize sometime. In the same day."
It was Sango's turn to laugh. "Isn't that the truth. He's so weak for her, it's kinda cute."

"Cute is one word. Disgusting and hypocritical are others."

"Haha, you're so funny. But I heard she was crying and everything, right after the shooting contest. A lot of people who saw it said she cried during the contest, like it was already getting to her then. As soon as Inuyasha got there, the water works turned on," Sango continued, feeling to warmth of Miroku's chest through his muscle shirt.

Miroku's violet eyes reflected the stars as he furrowed his brow. "I heard about that shooting contest, it was the talk of the airport all afternoon. Some guy in the mechanics tent said Kagome and Gan shot bullseyes for sixteen straight rounds. And even when she lost, Kagome was in the first ring of the target. I mean, I would expect that from Gan, but Kagome? It's...Kagome! I didn't even know she shot!"

Glancing away from Miroku, Sango pretended to focus on the stars as a feeling of guilt consumed her insides. She remembered quite clearly that night several weeks ago when Kagome had shot the girls away from a one night massacre at the Dragon's bar. They never had told the boys the whole truth.

"It wouldn't bother me if you knew something, Sango."

Jumping slightly at her boyfriend's voice, Sango glanced up at Miroku, though his gaze was focused primarily on the night sky. The profile his face caught against the night was quite breathtaking, but Sango was preoccupied with his words. How did he always know?

"It wasn't a big thing. She just helped us out once."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Miroku's mind began sifting through experiences and encounters in the past few months. He was a people person and remembered the way that people interracted with one another more than words of pictures. He remembered noticing a distinct change in the way the girls regarded Kagome soon after the incident some weeks ago. He knew the girls had ended up in a not so savvy bar, but he wasn't quite sure the specifics. None of the other boys were either, to his knowledge. But now several questions were raising surrounding the events of that night.

"She didn't shoot someone, did she?"

"No. More like shot as a wager to get us out of trouble."

"Oh. As long as it all ended up okay."

Sango smiled slightly, cuddling close to Miroku as he reached up a strong hand to run his fingers through her hair. She loved his faith in her and, frankly, in everything. Not many people in the gangs had much in anything anymore, after everything they'd seen and gone through, but Miroku was different. She doubted that he'd ever stop smiling.

A voice from below interrupted her thoughts. "Roku, you up there?"
"Yeah!" Miroku shouted back, not even bothering to sit up. "What's up?"
"The closing ceremonies start in ten, stupid, that's what's up!"

Miroku sighed glancing down at Sango with half hooded eyes. "What do you say, my queen? Do you want to weather the insufferable court at the evening ball?"

Chuckling, Sango sat up and stretched, replying, "Why my king, trying to get away from the banquet? Shameful. We must attend as reigning monarchs."

"If you insist, your majesty," Miroku said sardonically, lip curling comically. Sango laughed and offered Miroku a hand, leading him towards the ladder and practically dragging him down to earth. At the foot of the ladder, they could easily hear screaming, shuffling papers, and squeaking zippers inside the RVs; the ending ceremonies at Race Wars were always big amongst the gangs. Every gang would stand and make a presentation talking about their year's earnings and goings on in their precinct. It was almost like a happy little catching up amongst old friends, while simultaneously a good business presentation. The best presenters were guaranteed good deals and promising alliances for the next year.

Sango sighed. "Hold on, I have to go beautify myself."

Miroku grabbed her around the waist before she could hurry inside the RV, mumbling into her neck, "Oh, but Sango, you're always beautified."

"Flattery will get you no where, Houshi," Sango joked, giving him a quick peck on the lips before hurrying inside the RV.

The activity inside the girl's RV was almost maddening as Shitora, Ayame and Rin ran back and forth, grabbing for bras, panties and skirts with their jackets in hand. Kagome and Souten were playing a calm, quiet game of chess in the seating area, seeming almost oblivious to the goings on around them. Sango sighed and grabbed a bra off the ground, taking off her bikini top and hooking the bra behind her; no doubt there would be several drunk boys running around and going braless was hardly prudent.

"Check," Souten said quietly, earning a huff from Kagome.

"You're really good at chess, Souten," Kaogme muttered.

As Sango walked over, picking up a leather corset from one of the chairs, she said conversationally, "So, Kagome, I heard you went out with a bang at the shooting competition today?"

"Hardy har har, bad pun," Kagome said sourly, screwing up her face. "I got second. I could've won if Inuyasha hadn't distracted me."

"I heard you were crying."

"Like I said, Inuyasha distracted me. Checkmate."

Rin ran past the table, sceaming, "Gotta go, we're already ten minutes late!"

"What?!"

The girls hurried out the door, finding the boys tapping their feet impatiently outside. There was a slew of angrily exchanged words as the cores of the Wildcats, Fangs, Cobras and Reikons sprinted towards the large mechanics tent at the center of the airport. They could already hear applause as the announcer spoke from a microphone at the head and they muttered curses, hurrying themselves even more. Many of the girls struggled in their high heels, exchanging annoyed glances at the fast pace, though none of the boys seemed close to stopping.

"So what is this thing exactly?" Kagome asked between breaths.

"It's where all the gangs get together and brag and give awards; its kinda like the Oscars for us," Kouga explained.

"Oh...so why is it so bad that we're late? Can't we just sneak in the back?"

Inuyasha snorted, dropping back beside his girlfriend. "We could do that if we didn't have to present first. Since we were on top last year, we present first and the other gangs try to top us."

"That and Sesshomaru is hosting because we were on top last year," Rin reitterated, looking slightly worried.

"Oh."

As they neared the tent flap, they could hear the announcer say, "To begin, my own gangs of South Tokyo." By this time, it was obvious that Sesshomaru was behind the microphone. There were were a few shouts and whistled as they applause started up again, rearing to an almost frightening height. "Again, the gangs of South Tokyo? All of you better be here."

"We're here, damnit," Ranbou said loudly, alerting Sesshomaru's attention as they processed inside, out of breath and irritated by their own lateness.

The cars and tools had been cleared out of the mechanics tent and gave way to at least one thousand chairs, making the entire area seem quite cavernous. Filled with cars, the tent hadn't appeared so enormous, though it seemed almost endless now. Kagome made as though to find a seat, but Rin grabbed her wrist and assured her, "Don't worry, you're as much a part of us as you'll ever be."

Kagome paused, not quite sure what to make of this comment, but there was no time to ponder between then and arriving at the stage, which was just a big platform with a microphone and a sadly scratched podium. As the Southern gang cores piled on the stage, joining the already present Sharks core, Sesshomaru raised his eyebrow and lowered the microphone, preparing to pass it off to Rin. "You couldn't have been on time for once?" he muttered, earning growls from many of his friends.

Rin nodded and took the microphone, putting a few papers on the podium. She addressed the crowd confidently. "Hey, I'm Rin Takeyama, leader of the South Tokyo Wildcats." There were several cat calls and whistles at this, to which Rin only smirked. "We grossed 1,000,023 yen this year. We worked on a total of 792 cars this year..."

Sango leaned over and said into the microphone," 793, I just fixed Razz's Mazarati 5 this afternoon," waving to Razz in the crowd.

"And 432 motorcycles," Rin continued, only to be interrupted by Ayame on her other side.

"460; thank you Jackrabbits for riding your bikes to steaming piles of shit," the redhead said with a wave, earning a hurrah and several glass clinks from the Jackrabbits and laughter from the rest of the room.

"And we grew by 45 members," Rin finished.
Kagome glanced down from the stage where a table of about ten people were writing furiously on pads of paper. She leaned over to Inuyasha, asking, "Who are those guys?"

"Secretaries from all the gangs, they're recording all the stats," he explained, glancing down at the table for a look himself.

Rin nodded to the crowd, showing that she was done, and applause broke out, with several whistles and increasingly drunken yells. Next, Bankotsu stepped forward, unfolding a piece of paper and grinning garulously at the crowd. His braid seemed slightly neater than usual and, as Hiten and Jakotsu flanked him on either side, it was hard to tell who was related to whom.
"Hey guys, I'm Bankotsu Hayashi of the South Tokyo Cobras." Bankotsu was practically cut off by cheers from the Jackrabbits, who obviously found solace in their fellow trick riding gang. Bankotsu gave them a raised hand and then glanced down at his paper for reference. "We grossed 8,000,000 yen this year, roughly speaking. We won 27 major inner city trick competitions, acquired," he stressed the last word, giving the audience a meaningful glance and earning laughter; he was obviously referring to stolen items. "We acquired magically through our own personal merit and blessings from the great Buddha, 2390 car engines." The tent roared with approval, as many of them had "acquired" engines from the Cobras due to theri magical blessings. "And we also succeeded in breaking our personal record set in 1997...we broke a total of 23 federal laws!"

This time, their was a standing ovation as Hiten, Jakotsu and Bankotsu pumped their fists in the air, drawing laughs from the other Southern Tokyo goers. Ranbou stepped up to the podium, neglecting to bring a piece of paper with him at all, though he seemed to know his stats quite well. "Yo, I'm Ranbou Ookami, leader of the South Tokyo Reikons, Assassination unit 1."

As Ranbou introduced the gang, Kagome leaned over to Inuyasha and asked confusedly, "Doesn't every gang give the same stats? Bankotsu's were different from Rin's. And what's assassination unit 1?"

"Each gang gives stats that pertain to them personally," Inuyasha explained patiently. "And the Reikons are one of 6 assassination gangs in Japan, but the first established. They're stats are gonna be a lot different than anyone elses.

"This year, we grossed 11,024,000 yen," Ranbou continued, smirking modestly at the crowd as they let out low whistles at the gross. "And fixed a total of 295 motorcycles. Now for our assassination stats." The room fell silent, as these stats were nothing to laugh or joke about. "We performed 15 assasinations by reason of danger of exposure to South Tokyo Gang private affairs, 24 assasinations by reason of crimes against South Tokyo Gangs, and 2 assasinations by reason of attempted rape and battery agianst our women. And we cut off a couple of dicks too, but those numbers aren't important."

At the sound of "rape" and "battery against women" several of the audience members booed to show their disapproval of such incidents. Shitora, however, was too preoccupied with her own personal thoughts to notice the crowd reaction; Ranbou had said "2" assassinations by reason of attempted rape and/or battery. She knew one of those was Kagai, the Dragon who'd seen fit to rough up Kagome at a race, but that only left Bokoru. Sesshomaru had filled her in on the known assassinations when she arrived a month or so ago and he hadn't mentioned another rape case, so did that mean Ranbou was mistaken? Did he think he'd murdered Bokoru that night? Shitora quickly decided that she couldn't tell him Bokoru was alive or he'd be on a man hunt for the ox demon's head. Besides that, Shitora didn't want him to worry; Ranbou had enough to worry about as it was.

Ranbou gave a nod of his head and there was a great rumble of applause throughout the tent, along with a few friendly shouts of his name; Ranbou was quite popular amongst the gangs. Lastly, Sesshomaru walked confidently up to the podium and the room fell silent with respect for their allpowerful leader. It was hard to speak of the way the gangs regarded Sesshomaru, what with his handsome, aristocratic air and practically flawless manners. He seemed almost out of the realm of mortal comprehension when it came to intelligence and his reasoning was impeccable. The only fault he had lay in pride, of course none of the men in the room would dare raise a finger about such a sin; everyone present was guilty of it.

"I am Sesshomaru Taisho, leader of the South Tokyo Fangs. This year, we grossed 21,000,054 yen. We won a total of 157 car races and 105 motorcycle races. We fixed 1095 cars and 1048 motorcycles. We grew by 10 members." It was well known that the Fangs were an elite bunch and you must be pretty special to win a seat in their court. The core members were practically thought of as untouchable. The crowd was silent, shaking their heads at the sheer immensity of the Fangs' stats, and the room made no sound for a few moments before someone began to clap and others soon followed, giving way to whistling, shouting and name cheering. Sesshomaru smiled and stepped back from the podium, allowing Akago to step forward with his index.

As soon as Akago approached the microphone, several people seemed confused; though the knowledge of the Sharks' move was well known, it hadn't reached all the outerlying areas. Akago continued fearlessly nonetheless. "I am Akago Tsume, leader of the South Tokyo Sharks. This year, we grossed 14,000,067 yen. We fixed 25 cars and 1069 motorcycles, and traffiked 8000 kilos of a substance I'm sure you're all familiar with." There were several chuckles throughout the room as pot smokers slapped hands with their friends, yelling out their appreciation for the finest weed this side of the equator. "We grew by 25 members, give or take."

Amidst the clapping, Sesshomaru stepped forward to the podium, face unreadable. "Next is North Tokyo."

As Naraku and his gangs walked stiffly yet smugly towards the front, the South Tokyo gangs filed down the stairs on the other side of the platform. The South Tokyo gangs took seats in the back of the room near the exits, lighting up cigarettes almost immediately and adding their smoke to the growing cloud. Inuyasha glanced around annoyedly, hating having to sit in one place for so long. Kagome glanced over and noticed his irritation, the twitchy manner with which he held himself, and reached for his hand, interlacing their fingers and rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb; her mother had always done that ato comfort her. Inuyasha smiled slightly, white ears twitching as smoke tickled his fur, and Kagome stifled a giggle; she had to admit his ears were cute.

Despite Kagome's hand in his, Inuyasha couldn't shake the feeling that something besides this gathering needed his attention. Glancing around the room, his eyes danced across faces of familiar friends and old enemies, recognizing almost every person but failing to validate the dreading feeling in his gut. It was tugging him towards the exit, but he wasn't sure why. After a moment, he remembered the most recent event during which his instincts had pulled him away; the explosion of Miroku's car.

"Kagome."

Kagome glanced away from the stage at Inuyasha's whisper, locking eyes with his steady amber gaze. "What?"

"Will you go outside with me?"

"Why?"

Inuyasha looked fitfully towards the exit, wondering what could possible be so important that it pulled him at a time like this. "I don't know, I need to go outside. Please?"

After a moment, during which Kagome searched Inuyasha's eyes, she nodded and they stood quietly, making their way out the door to the notice of only a few friends. Rin furrowed her brow and turned to Sesshomaru, asking quietly, "Where are they going?"

"Where do you think they're going, Koi?"

Rin scowled at the typical male response, ignoring Sesshomaru's smirk, and glanced out the door in the direction from whence they'd gone. She clapped absentmindedly as North Tokyo finished their presentation, which was short and foul-tongued. South Tokyo was hardly worried about their Northern competitors since they now only had two working gangs. With the Sharks gone and the Vixens laying around waiting to give head, the Tarantulas and the Dragons were failing to pick up the slack; together, the gangs had only grossed 20,000,000 yen. Sesshomaru wondered airily how Naraku could even entertain the thought of owning and caring for Salter Street when he barely had enough money to maintain himself.

Outside, Inuyasha held Kagome's hand tightly as he glanced around the airport base, bathed in the black ink of night. The moon cast silver shadows over the tents, which flapped in the summer breeze, but nothing seemed out of place. His ears twitched, however, as he caught wind of a sound over his shoulder, back in the direction of the South Tokyo RVs. Placing a finger to his lips, Inuyasha glanced at Kagome and began leading her softly in the direction of the buses.

When they arrived, they stopped just short of the area and stood, slightly conecealed behind a falling tent tarp. The wind blew directly on Inuyasha's face as he took in one familiar scent, a caustic leather, grease and tobacco combination; Mad Max. The other scent wasn't quite as familiar, though he'd smelled it a few times before. Blood, sweat and dirt: it was that of Bootleg, the leader of the Kyoto Scorpions. The Scorpions were like the Tarantulas of Tokyo, causing problems and just generally being a bad spirited lot. Max had joined when he was quite young, though most of his friends were Jackrabbits; it was always a wonder to Inuyasha how Max had ended up with such a seedy bunch of people.

Soon, voices became discernable on the wind. The first was Bootleg's hoarse snarl. "You mangy bastard, you're ruining the whole fucking thing! It was you who took off the bombs before!"

Kagome's eyes widened and she glanced over at Inuyasha, recognizing the mention of the car bombs. Inuyasha nodded, face almost as incredulous, and they listened intently to Max's casual reply. "Damn right I fucking did, mate. I don't know why you gotta take a fuckin' deal from that Tokyo smeghead just to make ends meet, Bootleg, that's not the way we used to work. I'm ashamed to call myself a Scorpion, know what I mean?"

Bootleg let out an irritated roar, startling Kagome as she latched on to Inuyasha's arm; she had no idea what this fellow looked like or even who he was. And what she could gather from his tone was nothing pleasant. "Make ends meet, you selfish asshole?! I'm keepin' you all the fuck alive with this deal! Besides, when the Fangs are on the way out, Naraku said that North Tokyo'll be the next one on top. Then we'll reap the benefits; that's why I'm leader and you ain't. I can look ahead!"

"What, an kill the Fangs in the process? Over my fucking dead body!" Max shouted, obviously angered by Bootleg's insinuation. Kagome had never heard him quite so serious and enraged, even through the week's trials and tribulations.

"You're outta the Scorpions, Max; you been a thorn in my side for weeks now, spittin' all this moral crap, and you're out! Good luck finding strong morals in our world, you crazy bastard!" Bootleg screamed, leaving the scene in a rush of chains and leather. As he came into view, Kagome wrinkled her nose; he was bald, crimson eyed and scarred in the face, wearing a full length leather coat with several chains adorning the fabric. She could see that Bootleg's choice wear was all black, which made his deathly pale face even more fiersome. Her hold must've tightened on Inuyasha's arm for he let out a small grunt, letting her know the danger had passed; due to the wind's direction, Bootleg had failed to catch their scent on the wind.

Inuyasha pulled Kagome out of hiding, insisting it was alright, and made his way carefully around the back of the RV; Max was sitting atop Sesshomaru's Saleen S7 Twin Turbo, staring up at the moon with a cigarette between his lips. "Evenin', chaps," he said dully.

Kagome glanced down at her feet, noticing a pile of recently deactivated bombs, about the size of her thumb and the shape of a cigarette lighter, lingering near a stack of tires. She shivered, looking away from the scene at the rows of parked cars and motorcycles before her, all of them belonging to friends and near family. If Max hadn't been there...she shuddered to think.

Inuyasha and Kagome clambered atop the Saleen and sat, Inuyasha between the two of them, staring at the moon as though it held secrets to their pasts and futures.

"Thanks, man," Inuyasha finally said, clapping Max on the shoulder.

Max gave a nod, managing a small grin as he slipped off his Scorpion jacket. "Never liked him anyway, know what I mean?"

The three were silent for a while before Kagome said quietly, "So he was the one sabotaging the cars."

"Guess he was, then," Max agreed, sighing deeply. "He and Naraku were always chums, guess that shoulda been my first fucking clue. Bootleg...he's got a way in the underworld around Kyoto, getting Naraku what he wants when he needs it. Has a few weapon hookups too; that ass knows more about machine guns than I do about bombs, it's fuckin' sick."

Inuyasha snorted. "He's creepy, that's for sure. And weird. God, I hate weird people."

"You're pretty weird, Inuyasha," Kagome commented, shrugging menially.

Max had a hearty laugh at this and Inuyasha just scowled, tapping Kagome lightly against the head, causing her to giggle. "Eh, pretty weird my ass." After a moment, when everyone had sobered, he asked, "So, what we gonna do about this?"

Shrugging, Max jumped down from the car and stretched his lithe limbs, moonlight catching off his cherry red mohawk and numerous piercings as he turned his gnarled face to address his companions. "If I were you, I'd tell Shomo and let him deal with it; it's his beef with Naraku. But that's just me."

"Alright, good idea, man," Inuyasha conceeded, nodding as Max turned to leave. "Thanks again."

"If you could, you'd do it for us," was all Max said in reply, waving as he disappeared against the darkness of the night.

Inuyasha and Kagome didn't move for several moments, discounting linking hands for the second time, content to think blank thoughts and stare uselessly at the sky, hoping to forget about the troubles of the past few weeks. Kagome sighed. "What the hell is going on, Inuyasha? Naraku and now Bootleg, bombs, rapes, murders? What the hell is going on?"

Sighing, Inuyasha lifted his amber eyes to met those of the moon, reflectin the craters an caverns on its surface. "I don't know, Kagome. I don't know."

Yeah, another chapter finished! I worked on this one mostly over Thanksgiving weekend because we went home to Tennessee and the only thing to do in a town with no internet and no walmart is to write. So I forced myself to do the dreaded chapter, filled with so much stuff that I was afraid I'd forget some of it. But I didn't!

Thanks to all the reviewers. I know that's lame and overused, but seriously, it makes me feel good about myself and the better KOLU feels, the more she writes, consequently. Or when I'm pissed, I turn out chapters like the one where Inuyasha went demon and Sess and Rin broke up. I got a D on my math test that week, angst.

So, your Texan dictionary for words you use that have western equivalents:

"Hell" morphs into "hey-all," phonetically.
"With you" becomes "witcha."
"On the" becomes "ona."
"Car" is "truck."
"Truck" is "the Ford," regardless of the make.
"George W. Bush" is "Dubya," or, in deeper parts of the state, "The Savior of our Free Nations."
"Soft drinks," are "Cokes," again, regardless of the make.
"Acorns" are "akerns," phonetically.
And my personally favorite, "gay" people are "ho-mo-SECKS-ualls" with a stress on the "secks," but in the country they're "queers."

That was your Texan dictionary. Donno why I put it in there, guess I felt giddy. Alright, Sorry for the long wait! Love!

KOLU

Thanks to Rae-Chan, who let me know that I was doing too much Ran/Tora; I do that when I fear writing another section because, hell, I made them up, I can make them do anything and its "in character." But the others...are hard. But I'm getting better! There's lot's of Inu/Kag in this chapter! Thanks Rae-Chan!












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