InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Nikanaru ❯ Kung Fu Cheerleader Revenge ( Chapter 3 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

 

It's Al! In all her moody glory.

 

Again, you'll have to type that in yourself. Don't blame me, blame…Well, not this website. They could just kick me off. Okay, then, blame…Dave!

 

Yes, Dave. Go blame him. Go on.

 

Nikanaru

 

Chapter 3:

 

Kung Fu Cheerleader Revenge

 

Or

 

Stuff Finally Starts Happening

 

 

Phys Ed. Dodge ball.

 

Yeehaw.

 

In his own mind, Max held a sort of “Top Five” ranking of his favorite classes. Positions fluxuated depending on the circumstances, such as due dates and upcoming projects, but generally speaking, it went something like this:

 

5: Biology: Largely unremarkable and boring, but the occasional organism that they got to dissect gave the class some major “Groovascious” points.

 

4: Art class: Because the teacher was one of those art-for-art's sake blowhards. So despite the fact that Max had the artistic talent of a walnut, all he had to do was make up some bullshit about how his unrecognizable mess on the canvas represented the self/quest for enlightenment/comments on the social condition/represents everything by representing nothing. If he was convincing enough, it was “A” for effort.

 

3: English: Luckily, not a class where much time was spent analyzing Shakespeare, but mostly spent on students' own writings. Which meant that Max could write scathing monologues, poems, soliloquies, and horror stories about his various pet peeves. Society's foolish embracing of headset phones was the popular topic of late.

 

2: Phys Ed: A common favorite among students, this was a class where they could, for a little less than an hour a day, leave behind their academic worries in favor of physical ones.

 

Like broken legs.

 

Despite the fact that he was constantly suppressing his strength and speed, Max still loved sports. It was exhilarating for him, as though he had an adrenaline lust and needed a good fix. Generally speaking, he tried to stay active and get some good amount of exercise. He tried at times to push himself to his own limits, but the only times he ever got to use his full physical abilities was when he was in the woods at the back of the shrine, or when he was jumping rooftops across town.

 

But the problem was that he always did those alone. He couldn't unveil the full extent of his physical prowess in front of others, and even if he did, he couldn't expect them to keep up with him. And that was…well, boring. So in spite of the fact that he was holding back immensely, a good game of basketball, football, soccer, or hell, even dodge ball was a great rush for him.

 

Furthermore, Max had this downright bizarre “thing” where he felt a compulsive need to go fetch tossed balls.

 

And sure enough, he successfully nabbed the ball that the opposing team had tried to nail him with. And, sure enough, a semi-sadistic grin emerged on his face as he sent the ball sailing right back at his assailant. Not too hard, of course, but just enough to let the other guy know that Max was no pushover. The ball struck true, and bounced off the guy's chest in his failed attempt to claw at it.

 

“YEAH!” Yelled Kato. “Suck on THAT!” He then turned to Max, palm raised in the air, expecting a high-five.

 

“Uh…yeah. Been eating my Wheaties or something.” Max returned with a half-hearted slap. As much as Max liked winning, he wasn't exactly much of a show boater.

 

The hell's with him today? Normally, Kato wasn't either, which caught Max off guard.

 

Several yards away at the volleyball courts, Al turned around at the sound of cheering. There were the boys', jumping and chanting immaturely over an ultimately useless achievement. Typical.

 

She sneered and returned her attention to the badminton court as her team served. The class went on fairly uneventfully, with her playing like a person who had to do it for grades. She was bored out of her skull, not caring to play a game she didn't like with people she didn't like.

 

Speaking of people she didn't like, the sound of a door suddenly slamming open brought her attention to the exits leading out of the main building. Two girls stormed outside onto the courtyards, and it only took a second for Al to recognize them as Yoshi and Kina, two members of the school cheerleading team.

 

Cheerleaders were far from her favorite kind of social group in school. In fact, they were among her least ranking. She always knew them to be vapid, shallow, and downright skanky. Trophy girlfriends for jocks with little to actually contribute to society.

 

What made Al suddenly so interested in them was the fact that at that moment, they didn't look at all like the stereotypical shallow cheerleaders she'd known. Instead, they both wore expressions of immense seriousness and anger. As they marched forth, their body language indicated an obvious urgency, like a cat preparing for a confrontation. And they were making a beeline for the boys' courts. Al found that this peculiar picture caught her interest far more than any insipid round of badminton she was playing.

 

“I'll…uh, be right back.” She said as she excused herself from the court. Given that she wasn't the most popular gal in class, no one bothered to ask her if something was wrong, and their phys ed. coach was supervising another match on the other end of the girls' courts.

 

Rushing, but not running, to keep up with the charging cheerleaders, she saw them both reach the boy's court and confronted the closest male in their vicinity. One who was standing just outside the court in the “out” area.

 

“Which one of these guys is Yamaro Seika?!” Yoshi demanded as she came up to him. The guy was startled, as anyone would probably be when suddenly confronted with clearly enraged ladies. He hesitated, stammered, seemingly unable to complete a full sentence. “Answer me!” She demanded again.

 

“Oh yeah!! I'll bet that hurt like a dirty, rotten bitch!” Kato yelled over the game again, giving Max a slap on the back. Max, kinda just put his hand behind his head and shrugged, kind of getting into the spirit.

 

“Yeah, well, what the hell.”

 

“T…that guy!” The boy stammered, pointing at Max.

 

Catching up to them, Al was about to correct him. She never got the opportunity, though, as Kina and Yoshi immediately marched into the dodge ball court. A few of the boys noticed, able only to offer perplexed glares. Max didn't see them coming, though, as he had his back turned to them as he mimed blowing the smoke out of his freshly shot imaginary pistol.

 

“HEY!” Kina yelled at him as they closed in.

 

Max turned around just in time to see her fist ramming into his face.

 

The entire court gasped as he staggered back, not so much from pain but in sheer surprise. Before he could regain his footing, he received a swift kick to the gut from Yoshi.

 

WHAT THE FUCK?!?!

 

He quickly hopped back a distance to identify his assailants, only to have them charge right at him. This time, Max had enough time to block an oncoming backhand from Yoshi with his wrist. As he defended himself, however, Kina shot foreword and tried a sweep kick on his feet. Seeing that coming as well, he jumped it and hopped back again.

 

“What the hell are you doing?!” Max yelled out to them, but received no response as they shot right after him. In stupor and confusion, all Max could do was block and dodge.

 

Al, the boy's class and their gym coach all gaped in stunned shock as these two cheerleaders just popped out of nowhere and relentlessly assailed Max.

 

Having had some training from his Great-Grandfather in martial arts, he could tell from both Kina and Yoshi's moves that they were clearly well versed as well. Probably more so than him. Max, however, had his natural speed and strength at his disposal, so he was able to keep up with their movements. But he couldn't possibly return any blows because:

 

They were girls, and he was a boy. No one likes it when boys hit girls.

He had no fucking clue what the hell was going on.

If he did try to hit back, he could accidentally rip through them. No one likes it even less when boys maim girls.

 

But the fact that there were two of them wailing on him relentlessly didn't make things particularly simple. He blocked, dodged, defended and parried every shot, but not easily, and he was continually being pushed back. While Max did know some Kung Fu moves, he had never actually sparred with anyone.

 

Soon, he had been pushed back to the bleachers. Seeing little other recourse, he jumped up onto it and tried climbing up to escape the girls. Not much luck there, as they jumped right up after him, still kicking and punching. They moved expertly, hopping from one step of the bleachers to another as they rained blows upon him. Max carefully tried to watch his footing as he kept defending, but took a misstep and went crashing down. He grunted and looked back up just in time to see Yoshi about to heel-stomp his head. Yelping, Max rolled out of the way, dodging barely, crashing down onto another step. He looked back up, only to see her trying again. He rolled, and crashed down another level. Before they could repeat this all the way to the pavement, Kina grabbed him by his hair and pulled him to his feet, while her other hand grabbed his arm and locked if behind him, presumably pinning him. Max could have broken that hold, but had his arm pinned in such a way that no “Human” could break it by brute strength. If he did that, it would mean exposing his superhuman strength.

 

Maybe I could just convince them that I'm a steroid fiend!

 

On the other hand, as he stood there, arm pinned and hair being yanked on, Yoshi was winding her arm back to deck him, and deck him good.

 

Hmm. Be labeled a druggie, or get ass kicked by girls? Shit.

 

“STOP IT!!!” A new voice screamed across the court. All heads turned to another cheerleader, Reya, flanked by other members of the cheerleading squad, She looked at them with tear-filled, and blackened eyes. “What are you doing?!”

 

“Goddamit, Reya, we're gonna make this bastard pay!” Kina shouted back. “You can't possibly want to defend him after what he did!”

 

“That's not even him!” Reya screamed back between sobs.

 

“What?!” Yoshi, still with her fist at the ready, looked over Max, still pinned down. “You're…”

 

“Um…hi?” Max greeted her unsurely, offering a shake with his free hand. “Max Higurashi.” Yoshi and Kina traded incredulous looks a moment before Kina finally released him.

 

“So…” Kina said, looking over the class of mystified males. “Which one of you is Yamaro??” The name ringing a bell for most of the class, heads began scanning the area for that individual.

 

“Um…'scuse me?” Al said, stepping forth. “Yamaro was the guy that you two first asked.” Looks of horror hit their faces. “The guy who went running off that way.” She added, pointing towards the corner around the building, leading to the parking lot.

 

Yoshi and Kina both grunted in frustration and sped off in that direction. Leaving a bewildered gym class, and an extremely bewildered Max.

 

“Wait!” Reya called after them. “Please, don't! You'll just…” She broke into tears again. “He…oh God.” A few other girls hugged her closely, offering her some comfort.

 

“What the FUCK was all that about?” Max demanded as he descended the bleachers.

 

“You know Yamaro??” One of them questioned him.

 

“I…well, I'm aware of him, yes.” Max did know Yamaro. Not personally, but they did take a few classes, this one inclusive, together. Pretty much all he knew of him was that Yamaro was on the school baseball team.

 

“Well that rat fucking bastard…” She began to shout angrily, but quickly controlled herself. “…he…” she now hesitated, looking back at the sobbing Reya, unsure if she should announce it for all to hear.

 

Reya beat her to it.

 

“HE RAPED ME!!!” She screamed, as if unleashing all her pain, all her rage into her voice. “HE FUCKI…kaa!” She choked on another sob before she could continue.

 

The entire class looked wide eyed at her. There was utter silence, save for Reya's wracking sobs.

 

Moments passed until finally the coach stepped forth and took charge.

 

“All right, girls, you get her inside and at the nurse's office.” He instructed. “I'll call the principal, and the councilor. And the cops.” He then turned to the class. “The rest of you, stay here until the end of the period.” With that, the coach escorted the girls inside, while the class continued to just stand there in horrific awe of what had just happened. No one was quite sure what to say, but some murmurs began to emerge.

 

“Jesus, can you believe…”

 

“I knew he was an asshole, but…”

 

“In OUR school? I never thought…”

 

“I hope they chop his fucking shlong off…”

 

Of them all, it was Max who stood in disbelief the most. Nothing like this had ever happened before. Not to him, and not to people he knew. Certainly he knew of rape, but hearing about in the news was nothing compared to actually being there, actually knowing the rapist and actually seeing the raped screaming and crying in rage and sorrow. It was downright shocking.

 

No, Max had never witnessed this kind of drama firsthand. And he didn't like it one bit.

 

Looking off in the direction that Yoshi and Kina had ran off to pursue Yamaro, Max sniffed out his scent. It still lingered. Chances where that, during their fight with Max, Yamaro had had a good head start, a chance to run off and hide. Surely he would at least be caught by the cops at some point, but the cops always did things by the book. He would be arrested, tried, and…MAYBE if things went well in court, charged. Max, on the other hand, presently shared the sentiment of Kina and Yoshi…that the bastard should get a proper beating for what he'd done. No, much worse than proper.

 

Fucker…

 

Max headed towards the building, rubbing his face where Kina had slugged him.

 

“I'm, uh, just gonna get cleaned up.” He let everyone know. Truthfully, the blow from Yoshi had barely even hurt him, but he kept his hand on his cheek to create the illusion that it was actually wounded. No one questioned him.

 

Max rounded the corner leading back to the locker room building. He gave a quick glance around the area to make sure than no one else was looking. When that was assured, he jumped straight up.

 

Five stories.

 

Landing on the roof of the school, Max instantly shot off to the corner overseeing the parking lot. Unfortunately, this was a big lot with a fair number of cars, and thus was a great hiding space. Sure enough, there was Kina and Yoshi, split up and searching all over for Yamaro, shouting threats of violence and demanding that he show himself. Apparently, the bastard had indeed hidden himself, or taken off altogether. Even from his aerial view, Max couldn't see him either.

 

The lot was sandwiched between the school building, a large cement wall and the gate. The gate out was currently closed, so Yamaro still had to be in there somewhere. From his height, Max wasn't in a great position to track scents, but he could determine that Yamaro's was strongest in the Western corner, near the maintenance hut.

 

He took a flying leap off the roof and onto said hut, with practiced speed and silence, avoiding notice. The scent only strengthened, and Max knew that Yamaro was right nearby. The hut was right next to the wall, and when Max peered over the edge, sure enough, there Yamaro was, hiding in the alley between the hut and the wall, behind some equipment. He was peeking out at the lot, checking the girl's position and waiting for the best time to make a break for it.

 

Max wasn't going to give him that chance.

 

Just as Max was about to descend and beat the hell out of him, he found himself pausing as the rush of the moment passed, now leaving room for rational thinking. If he jumped out and exposed himself now, those who saw him leave the courts on the other side of the building would find it odd that Max crossed the school grounds in so little time. And found Yamaro so fast.

 

But besides that, could Max really be certain that if he wailed on Yamaro, he wouldn't kill him? Or even if he only broke a few bones, that was an assault charge right there. Even if it was justified.

 

Damn it.

 

Max paused for just a moment to think things through, all while watching Yamaro and making sure he didn't escape.

 

He should be beaten. But I can't be the one to do it.

 

“I swear to God, I'm going to tear you balls out and shove `em into your eye sockets!!!” Came another furious scream from the parking lot.

 

On the other hand…

 

There were two others who were more than capable, and willing, to deliver the pain Yamaro so richly deserved. All Max had to do was lead them here.

 

I can't just call them, of course.

 

Looking around, an idea hit Max. He ever-so-silently leapt down into the alley just behind Yamaro.

 

Yamaro was still looking nervously at the lot. The girls were now at the other end. If he quietly made a break for it now, there was a chance he could make it to the gate booth, open up the fence and escape. Stiffly, he began to creep out from the equipment he was hiding behind, preparing to make a dash behind the cover of a nearby Mitsubishi.

 

When suddenly, he heard what almost sounded like a dog growling.

 

Yamaro spun around to see a big, blue recycling bin hurling at him.

 

Yoshi and Kina were instantly alerted when a massive crash was heard, along with a grunt of pain. Turing to the maintenance hut, they both saw Yamaro go crashing out from behind it along with a toppled bin and several sheets of paper flying in the wind.

 

They were instantly on him like jaguars on prey.

 

Still on the roof of the hut, Max, with some grim satisfaction, listened to Yamaro's pleas of mercy and yelps of pain as he was beaten bloody.

 

*************

 

15 Years Ago

 

Kagome's room was dusty and dank smelling. No one had set foot in it for almost a year now. The door had been kept shut, and the windows closed. After so long, Sakura was now in there going through Kagome's old things. Had she tried doing this a few months ago, looking at all these possessions and keepsakes that her long lost daughter had had would've been far too painful for her to handle. Over the past two years, she had had to keep the door shut on account of the sorrow she'd be filled with every time she passed by the room. It still was painful now, of course, but recently it had been much easier for her to talk about or do things related to her daughter. It was a doubly good thing because the room had what must have been an inch of dust all over it, and didn't smell great. She'd have to clean it up some, when the opportunity presented itself.

 

“What's doing?” Souta asked as he entered the room, wrinkling his nose at the musty smell and displaced particles in the air..

 

“We need more rubber nipples.” Sakura told him. “He chewed through the last one.” That statement confused Souta in conjunction with what Sakura was doing.

 

“Um…Sis kept rubber nipples in her here?” He asked, seeking clarification.

 

“No, no. I'm looking for that crystal.” She replied. Souta hesitated for a moment as she wondered what she was referring to, but it quickly clicked: The Toku Crystal.

 

During the last months that Kagome had been coming home with Inuyasha, she'd brought back from the feudal era a crystal of sorts. Apparently, back when demons were more populous in the world, some had sought to blend in with the normally xenophobic humans, and certain mystic crystals had been fashioned to help them do just that. During her travels in the Feudal era, she had managed to get her hands on one, and brought it back. It had a remarkable effect: All Inuyasha had had to do was wear it on his person, and his ears, claws, silver hair and golden eyes would simply fade away, replaced with black hair, black eyes, and other perfectly human features. He himself hadn't been too pleased with it, but the effect was strictly an illusion, so he hadn't lost any of his demonic abilities. Plus, it had been much more effective and convenient than that baseball cap he had usually worn. Disguise was a necessity if he insisted on following Kagome around when she was in the city.

 

Kagome had left it in her room with the intent of using it whenever they'd come back, but seeing as how she hadn't for two years now, it had been left sitting around somewhere in there. Sakura was now determined to find it.

 

“Why?” Souta inquired.

 

“I thought I'd take him with me to the store this time.” Souta eyes bulged just a little bit at that piece of information.

 

“What??” He spat out. “Mom, he…well…”

 

“What's wrong with that?” She asked him back. “He acts just like any other baby.”

 

“Besides the whole `chewing through furniture' thing, yeah.” He maintained.

 

“You chewed on things too, kiddo.” She informed him. “He's just actually got the incisors. I…aha!” She finally pulled the crystal out of one of the desk drawers. It had a string going through it, making it a necklace of sorts.

 

“You really sure about this? I mean, what if you run into someone we know? They're gonna start to wonder where this kid came from.”

 

“Souta, it's not like we can just keep Max in the house forever. That's not very healthy.” Souta blinked.

 

“Max??” He repeated.

 

“Right.” She confirmed. “That's his name.”

 

“Oh.” He replied. “Well, I guess we can't just keep calling him `it.'” He paused a moment. “Why `Max'? That a bit of a weird name.”

 

“Because…” She said as she left the room. “…that's what Kagome said she wanted her first child named.” Once again, Souta was stunned with that statement. He jogged after his mom down the stairs.

 

“Wait…what?”

 

“Haven't you figured it out?” She smiled at him. “That baby is Kagome child.”

 

To say that Souta was thunderstruck would be a bit of an overstatement, but when he opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't quite get the words out. Kagome's child? His sister's son? His nephew?

 

Souta had been worried over the state of his mother's mind ever since Kagome had disappeared. Sakura had gone into a spiraling depression over the two years since, and had been in an extremely fragile emotional state, at times acting erratically. Sakura had dedicated her life to her children after her husband's passing, and Kagome's disappearance had taken a chunk out of her very being that would have caused lesser women to give up hope entirely. Souta had wondered if he was the only thing keeping her from going completely off the deep end.

 

But amazingly, ever since the demon baby had appeared, her mood had significantly improved. Souta had been worried at first, but her mother seemed to have been fulfilled with renewed purpose and hope. He at first thought that it had simply been on account of having a new child to take care of, but now this…was his mother deluding herself? He had to handle this carefully.

 

“Uh…how do you figure?” He asked in a tone he was careful not to make sound insulting or doubtful.

 

“Well, for heaven's sake, Souta, nothing ever came through that well except Kagome and Inuyasha. Who else would know to use it?” Souta nodded. Okay, so there was a bit of logic behind her assumption. He did, however, deliberately refrain from mentioning that a centipede demon once came through too.

 

“But…” He nevertheless felt the need to point out. “The kid's a demon.”

 

“Right.” She replied. “Because he's Inuyasha's son.” THAT caught Souta off guard. His sister and Inuyasha? Sure he'd known that the two were always googley eyeing one another, but this…

 

“I'm not sure why she decided to send her son through the well…” Sakura began as she headed for the kitchen where Max was. “…but she wants us to keep him safe and happy. And that's exactly what I'll do.”

 

They approached the old crib where the kid…or Max was now laying in. he gargled, cooed, and make all sorts of baby noises. It was true that he at least sounded like any other human child. Sakura picked him up and carefully placed the loose fitting crystal on him. Both she and Souta watched in fascination as Max's tail just disappeared, his claws retracted, his marking disappeared, his ears rounded out, and his eyes change from gold to blue.

 

Baby Max immediately whined his discomfort, pulled the crystal off of himself and began chewing on the string. Sakura laughed.

 

Looking at the demon features as they re-appeared, Souta's doubts were only reinforced. True, the kid was a demon, but aside from the silver hair and the eyes, he didn't look a thing like Inuyasha. No dog ears on the head, but pointy-elf-like ones on his sides. Also, Inuyasha never had a tail, or stripes on his body, nor a crescent moon on his forehead.

 

And supposing this child was Kagome's son? If Kagome had sent that child through the well, why hadn't she followed right after? There were just too many things about this that didn't make sense. So why would his mother choose to so adamantly believe that? But Souta chose not to voice any of these concerns.

 

Although he was young, he could also tell what his mother had chosen to let this kid represent for her…hope. Hope that Kagome might still be alive on the other side of the well. Hope that she would be coming back. And even if not, hope that her daughter had, for at least a time, been happy enough with Inuyasha to have a child with him. Hope that her daughter's memory would live on in one way or another.

 

What kind of son would he be if he tried to shatter that hope?

 

***********

 

Present

 

 

The restroom was mercifully empty of other people, and of smells. Max looked at himself in the mirror above the sink, noting his completely unmarred features. He looked perfectly healthy and unhurt.

 

Something had to be done about that.

 

He'd seen firsthand the power Kina could put into her punches, and it was a lot. He'd seen what effect they could have on someone when she was pissed off. They'd just bruise, if the victim were lucky. And human.

 

Problem was that Max wasn't. He had no bruise, or even a red spot. Anyone who saw that shot would probably wonder why Max looked fresh as a daisy. Which left one option.

 

Max had a balled up fist pointed right at his own face.

 

Okay, man. Just do it. No hesitation. No chocking. Do it once, and do it hard.

 

He took a few slow strokes, practicing the path his curled up arm should take. His middle knuckle targeting his cheekbone.

 

Three…two…

 

Arm winded back down to his chest, deep breath taken.

 

ONE!

 

As though a malevolent spirit had possessed his arm, he nailed himself right in the face at full strength. He expected to just stagger back a little, but was a little surprised when he sent himself tumbling on the titled floor.

 

Ow.

 

Ew! Oh, God, bathroom floor!

 

Scrambling back up and wiping himself off, he checked his work in the mirror and was pleased to see that he had a pretty decent looking spot that would probably bruise nicely in a few minutes. Smiling, and then wincing at the pain it now was to smile, Max exited the bathroom and headed toward his locker just as the bell rang and people began flowing out into the halls from their classrooms.

 

As he put his books back and got his lunch ready, he sighed in reflection of the day's dramatic events. Events like that had been fairly rare in his life, and he was a little surprised at his own reaction to them. He got furious, which was pretty seldom for him, and came incredibly close to tearing Yamaro to shreds himself. He didn't even actually know Reka personally. Thank God he'd managed to salvage enough common sense to allow the girls to whoop his ass instead.

 

Although I'm pretty sure they did a better job of it than I ever could have.

 

Max had always preferred to keep things leisurely and light-hearted. That's what he'd done almost every other time he'd been confronted with bad news or word of injustices. But actually being there for the incident had changed his outlook entirely. It was a bit weird, even scary how the persona of a self-righteous guy overtook him so easily.

 

Sighing, he closed his locker and prepared to head to his usual lunch table with the guys and get his head cleared with some hopefully banal guy talk. As it happened, they came up from his sides, apparently having taken their time getting out of gym.

 

“Hey, man. Y'allright?” Ciro asked.

 

“Not too bad, all things considered.” Max replied.

 

“Christ, she nailed ya good.” Dai observed, noticing the lovely bruise forming on Max's face.

 

Did she now?

 

“Yeah, I guess. Eh, I'll live.”

 

“Wait, didn't she hit you on the right side of the face?” Joe asked, pointing at Max's left-sided bruise. Max briefly froze.

 

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck and fuck!

 

“Well, obviously not.” He quickly dismissed that notion. “C'mon.” He whirled around with intention to head to the cafeteria and forgetting the subject as soon as possible, but was promptly halted when Kina appeared in front of him.

 

“AAAAH!” Max yelped.

 

“Hey.” She said. “Um, Max, right?”

 

“Y-yeah.” He confirmed nervously. She, of all people, would know where she hit him, and if she saw the bruise was on the wrong side of the face…

 

“Oh, my God.” She lamented, cringing as she saw his cheek. Max had a flash of panic. “I am, like, so sorry about that.”

 

“Oh!” Max reacted, pleasantly surprised that she didn't seem to notice. “No prob. Yeah, no problem at all.” Just in case she would eventually catch on, though, he thought it best to inch away as quick as possible.

 

“Hey, relax. I'm here to apologize.” She approached him with her arms raised in a non-threatening gesture. “Really, I'm sorry.”

 

“I said it's no problem.” He rattled off quickly. “Hey, I'd be pissed off too if that had been my friend. Well, even if it hadn't been my friend. I…I am pissed off. You know, common human courtesy. And all that.” He paused and coughed. “Uh…how is she?”

 

“Oh. She's…being interviewed by some cops. I guess she'd going to be okay. And they're interviewing me later too.”

 

“Why? What'd you do?”

 

“Me and Yoshi found the prick, and well…let's just say that he'll be testifying in court with a toothless mouth.”

 

“Oh.” Max had to pretend to be surprised, as his story was that he hadn't been there to witness their vengeance. “Um…good for you.”

 

“I'm sure. So, no hard feelings?”

 

“No, just, some slightly sore ones.” He smiled at her, just before the lameless of his remark registered in his own mind.

 

Ba-dum-DUM. Idiot. To his surprise, though, she actually giggled.

 

“Hey, you…you got some moves too, huh? You train?”

 

“Oh, well, just casually. Some Kung Fu. Nothing hardcore or anything.” He tried to shrug it off.

 

“Not hardcore? You were defending yourself against two people at once!”

 

“Uh…yeah.”

 

“Listen, anyways, I really feel bad about what I did, so, I was thinking…maybe I could, I guess, take you out or something?”

 

“Huh?” He grunted, wondering what context she'd meant that in.

 

“You know…movie? Dinner? Tomorrow night. My treat?” His eyes widened in clear surprise over this offer.

 

“Oh. Well, I guess I…um, I…actuallymmMMMPHH!” Before he had the chance to reply, a hand from behind clamped down over his mouth, and several other arms wrapped around his as he was dragged back several feet.

 

“S'cuse us just one second.” Joe said. After being taken roughly out of earshot, the guys released their hold on Max and huddled around him like a football team.

 

“Dude, what the hell are you doing?!” Dai growled at him. “Say yes! Don't studder like some fucking gimp!”

 

“Woah, hey! What's the deal? I'm busy with…”

 

“Whatever the hell you're doing tomorrow night, drop it!” Kato hissed at him.

 

“Dude, in case it isn't obvious, in which case I should let you know that it is…” Joe carefully slowed his voice down. “That…is…a…frigging…cheerleader asking you out. And offering to pay for it!”

 

“She's just doing it out of remorse.” Max rationalized.

 

“Who cares?! Do you have any idea what a phenomenal opportunity that is?? I'd kill for that chance!” Dai growled in frustration at his friend's density.

 

“I swear to God, if you pass this up, I will just NOT stop kicking you ass. Now GO!” Before max could argue anew, he was collectively shoved forth and stumbled right back in front of Kina.

 

“Uh…” He briefly stammered, looking between her and back at his buddies, who gave him a series of wide smiles and thumbs up. “I'd…yeah, sure, I'd love to.”

 

“Okay, great.” She smiled at him. “So, tomorrow at seven at the Omni multiplex?”

 

“Sure thing.” He replied, loosing up some.

 

“All right then. I should get back to the principal's office. I guess I'm in trouble for getting bloodstains on the parking lot.”

 

“Well, it needed a new paintjob anyways.” Once again, Max cursed himself in his mind.

 

IDIOT! Luckily, she giggled again as she went off. Seconds later he was flanked by his friends and subjugated to several slaps on the back.

 

“My MAN!” Kato congratulated him. “Way to go!”

 

“Oh, yeah, I was real smooth.” Max sarcastically commented. “I finally got a date, and all it took was some physical violence and two spoonfuls of pity.”

 

“Max, Max, Max…that was not pity. Well, not completely anyways. See, you totally impressed her with that karate shit you did.” Joe confirmed. “You got her hot for you!”

 

“Besides, it's 'bout time you started hanging with some other girl than your grandma and that weirdo.” Dai maintained, making an obvious reference to Al.

 

“Probably, I `spose.” Max considered.

 

“Suppose nothing! C'mon, who's the man, Max? Eh?” Ciro goaded him. Max sighed.

 

Shit, okay, I got a date with a cheerleader! Fuck, it's not like I simultaneously discovered a cure for cancer and AIDS.

 

“I guess I am.” He groaned.

 

“Right.” Ciro put his arm around Max's shoulders. “And, being the man, you will be sure to casually mention what awesome friends you have, so that she can pass the info on to her fellow cheerleaders, right?” Max glared at him.

 

Ah. Of course.

 

***********

 

 

Despite the excitement that had occurred during 3rd period, and some rampant rumors that were quickly spread amongst the local student populace, the rest of the day had gone by quite nicely. The more he thought about it, the more he was looking foreword to going out tomorrow. And that gave him something positive to focus his thoughts on while not paying attention during math or history classes. Neither subject suited him very well, nor were part of his “Top Five” list.

 

Luckily, his last period of the day was the #1 on his list…

 

1: THEATRE!

 

“Why Sir Gregory!” The actor playing Count Worthington shrilled with a pompous British accent. “What is the meaning of this? Have you no shame?!”

 

“Indeed I do, good sir.” Max, playing sir Gregory with what he hoped came off as a more realistic English accent, replied. “Only I appear to have left it in your mother's chemisette.”

 

“Higurashi!” The drama teacher shouted over the giggling students. “If you don't start sticking to the script, I swear to God…”

 

End Chapter 3

 

**************

 

 

Author's Notes: Anyone remotely similar with the Inuyasha series has probably picked up on a few of the hints I've dropped about Max. Just so you know, the characters are supposed to be making their own independent assumptions, based on the knowledge they, as individuals and their respective experiences, have. Not on the universal knowledge we as fans and observer have. They're going to have to figure things out on their own, when the time comes.

 

But, oh, don't go thinking that you, as the observer, have everything figured out either. I've got a good number of surprises up my filthy little sleeve that will be sprung over time. But you can expect that to happen slooooowwwwwlllly.

 

I also really appreciate the advice I've been getting regarding the construction of this tale. Please, oh please, do keep advising me on how I can elevate the level of this story from shitty to just mildly turdy.

 

Gracias.