InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Smokes and Mirrors ❯ Anger Management ( Chapter 21 )

Smokes and Mirrors

 

Chapter 21: Anger Management

 

Hatred.

 

It is a feeling that runs deep within the human being. It is the easiest emotion to ignite, yet the hardest to ignore, repress or forget. Hatred is the consequence to an action performed beforehand, much like most sentiments. In some occasions, it takes a certain amount of time for the anger to surface. In other cases, the action performed by one is unforgivable to the point where the consequence manifests itself immediately.

 

If this odium is not repelled in some form or way, it will remain bottled up until it no longer can remain hidden in the depth of one's core. Those who reach their limit can lose themselves in the blink of an eye. They give in and allow their anger to take complete control of their body, mind and soul.

 

Some people succumb to the feeling of being hopeless and helpless. They cry out in pain and self loathing, they try to take their own life, to end their heartache. Sometimes, they would attempt to drag others along with them in hopes of not dying alone, never wanting to be alone in their grief.

 

Others let the fury and hatred consume them to such extent, they become thirsty for blood. They lash out in blind rage and eliminate anyone in their path. They would do anything to prove their strength to everyone, to show that they can and will survive, that they don't need a single person, always wanting to stand on their own two feet.

 

In either case, those people tend to forget who they are. The difference between good and bad, between friend and foe, turns into mist that eventually evaporates as their dark thoughts devour them whole.

 

 

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

 

 

Kagome stood before the famous tree, staring at its branches, searching for solace.

 

By the time she had turned away from Kikyo's sprawled body on the floor, the teacher finally made an appearance. At the sight of the bloody-nosed unconscious girl, Ms. Stukino, as well as a few other students who snapped out of their stupor, ran straight to the new girl's aid. Kagome left without another word, not interested in dealing with their questions. She wasn't going anywhere specific. She simply let her feet be her guide, carry her to where ever they wanted to go.

 

And now, here she stood before Sota's tree. It loomed above her threateningly, the small breeze moving nothing but a few dry leaves. The tree offered no support, no safety and no barrier against the outside world. Unlike the first time she saw it, the giant plant seemed to be rejecting her, as though it were ashamed to have her standing so close to it.

 

She didn't know how long she stood there, but the longer she did, the more unwanted she felt, and she hated it. Why? Why did the tree refuse to give her the comfort she so desperately needed? Tears welled up in her eyes. The thought of her father refusing her, disowning her because of what she's done, what she's become, stung deep. Strings tied themselves to her heart and kept tightening with every few seconds. Her stomach turned and her lungs constricted, preventing proper breathing.

 

An image of Kikyo flashed in her mind's eyes for not more than a moment's thought. The sound of her cousin's head cracking against the tiled floor resounded in her head.

 

The wind blew harder than earlier, lifting the dead leaves and blowing it all in the teenager's direction.

 

Kagome closed her eyes, ducked her head in shame. “I'm sorry.” She managed to croak out through her quivering lips. She hadn't meant to hurt Kikyo too badly. She just wanted to damage her pretty little face and bring her ego down a notch, not kill her. She lost her control and that scared her. No, it didn't scare her. It terrified her.

 

Her nose prickled and her eyes stung. Her body trembled as she took in an unsteady breath. Willing herself to calm down, she finally managed to open her eyes to look upon the tree again. All signs of the frightened little girl disappeared behind two walls of brown colored ice.

 

Kagome knew there was no point in staying anymore. She managed to get herself a couple of days worth of detention, if not expulsion, and the tree obviously didn't like her anymore. She doubted anyone of the students here liked her at all. She might as well go home and start packing her bags.

 

She turned in the opposite direction, set in her destination. She hadn't taken more than a few steps before she realized a mob of teens was homing in on her. Ahead of the group were seven guys, everyone's site intent on her. Kagome knew there was no point to keep walking; they would simply block her way. She's been in one too many of these gatherings to not know what they really were. She stood her ground, glancing once more at the tree prior to locking eyes with who she guessed was the leader. She watched them advance from her right as the other teens, seeing something brewing about, also closed in on her. Eventually, Kagome was surrounded.

 

She took a deep breath, trying to keep her irritation at bay. Now was not the time to pick a fight with her. They should know better with all the rumors that followed her around. Apparently, the youths here didn't take the well warned recommendation to stay the hell away from her.

One of the seven, the tallest and biggest of them all, stepped forward. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” His voice was gruff and loud.

 

Keeping her tone neutral, Kagome answered him. “No one important.” She pushed past him, hoping they would all just drop it and leave her alone.

 

He wouldn't take it. “I'm not done with you.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her back to her previous position.

 

Little did he know, laying his hands on her was mistake number one. The sound of bone breaking under intense pressure and a cry of agony rang through the clearing. The kindest looking and the shortest member ran to their fallen comrade's side. Kagome watched in silent amusement as the two tried to sooth their friend and do something about the arm bent in the wrong direction.

 

Some teens took a step back in shock, different sounds of astonishment and disgust coming out of their mouths, as a couple more ran for the school entrance. Certainly to get someone of authority to break this up before it really got ugly. However, Kagome paid them no heed. She knew they wouldn't make it back in time.

 

“Bitch!”

 

The fattest of them all launched towards her, his face contorted in anger at what she's done. Kagome braced herself for the impact. She wouldn't go down that easy, though. She threw her bag as far away as she could and crouched just enough. Precisely as the large one was upon her, she shoved her right fisted hand towards his stomach. They both stood, paralyzed in motion by the outcome. They looked at each other, then at the fist buried in layers of body fat. Kagome looked up at his face once more, eyes wide in sick fascination.

 

Did he know just how chubby he was? Did he know it wasn't healthy?

 

The boy had a grin plastered across his face. Moving too fast for his size, the teen delivered a hard blow to the girl's head. From time to time, it pays being hard headed… Kagome fell backwards, her skull now thumping in rhythm to her heart beats and in an incredibly deafening sound. While still laying down, she closed her eyes shut and grabbed both sides of her head. She groaned as everyone's screeches and bellows grew louder and louder. By now, they were all shouting `Blood, blood! Blood, blood! ', the lot of them looking forward to witnessing someone's downfall.

 

Kagome's opponent stood by her side, a sadistic grin on his face and ready for round two. He bent down, his right hand going straight for her neck. He hauled her up with ease as she uncontrollably clawed at his hand and arm. Soon she found herself raised a good foot in the air. Her breath caught in her throat, her instincts to survive kicked in.

 

Kagome brought her leg back and swung it forwards. Almost immediately, her opponent dropped her, his hands automatically going straight to his sweets. His eyes bugged out as his facial expression told the audience how painful it truly was. He dropped to his knees and that's all she needed. Rising to her feet, her own pain and dizziness forgotten, she delivered a side kick to his cranium. He twirled in spot, his body following the direction of his head, before he fell flat on his belly.

 

Enraged, the remaining three rushed her together. She dodged two hits, but the third sent her to the ground, the back of her head never hurting so much beforehand. The feminine one and the bald guy each grabbed her by their respective sides and lifted her up to her feet. The long braided confidently smirked at her. Kagome felt the air escape her lungs in a rush as his fist connected with her abdomen. She coughed, straining to catch her breath.

 

Gay guy found it funny, while baldy thought it amusing to twist her injured wrist. The three chuckled at the sight of a spot of blood making its way through her long sleeved shirt. Kagome winced, not at the pain, but at the idea of having to see her doctor again to get the stitches redone.

 

Braid-boy stepped closer to her, lifting her chin and locking eyes with her. “You see,” he started. “I normally don't hit girls, but seeing as how you broke Kyokotsu's arm and humiliated Ginkotsu…” He trailed off. All humor left his voice, his fist tightening by his side. “Someone's gotta put you in your place.”

 

Kagome struggle to break free, but was having a hard time at it. Her head was spinning and she couldn't understand a word her adversary was blabbering. All that registered was she had to get out of this before things got really ugly, and not for them, but for herself. She gazed at the leader, pretending to be paying attention just long enough to see right through him.

 

`Typical', she thought.

 

As he fisted hand headed towards her face, she managed to trip the bald guy. Ms Bald intercepted the blow with his shiny head. Mr. Braid momentarily lost his momentum in his surprise and tripped over his own footing in his failed attempt to stop Mr. Bald from hitting the hard ground.

 

Mr. Gay was shocked long enough to forget about his grip on the girl, giving her the upper hand. Kagome ripped her arm away, grabbed his wrist and managed to twist his entire arm backwards. Successfully dislocating gay guy's shoulder, his cry of pain didn't faze her the least bit as he, too, joined his friends in Lala land.

 

`Pressure points.' She absently thought to herself. `You gotta lov'em.'

 

Ms. Braid rose from his spot, rage obvious on his twisted face. She regarded him anxiously as his blurry image come closer and closer to her. She blinked in futile effort to get her eyes to focus. She was tired, her head hurt, she lost too much blood for one week-end, she didn't feel like losing anymore, and this guy seemed oblivious to the danger standing in from of him. He raised his fist again and ran towards his rival. Kagome, however, was a good deal faster. Much in the same manner as Kikyo, the leader of the seven stumbled back, his hands to his bloodied nose trying to stop the flow of red liquid.

 

Now that the tables were turned, the teen found himself at Kagome's mercy. She slowly advanced on her pray, all sign of humanity within her gone from her eyes. The shouts had quieted down a while ago, the youths now looking on in unsettled aw and fright. She paid them no mind. They didn't even exist to her eyes. All she saw was him, the one she believed responsible for her misery, her pain, her torture.

 

“STOP!”

 

A frantic voice broke through her haze. Kagome did as told, but wasn't sure why. Someone ran into her back. Still lost in her world, she twisted out of the other's small arms, backhanding the interloper in the process.

 

Everyone gasped, shocked at the turn of event.

 

The intruder was a boy. As she stared at his retreating form, she realized she knew him. The sadness and fright in his gaze were like daggers to her heart. She didn't understand why or what just happened. There was too much turmoil in her mind for her to be able to process the events.

 

“Kagome.” He spoke so softly, if she weren't staring at him she wouldn't have known he said anything. “Kagome?” he asked again as he slowly back away. The boy was shoved forward by some unknown force. Images of her surrounding slowly filtered through her gaze.

 

The boy started backing up again, only to be pushed towards her yet again. This time, though, he wasn't alone. Two arms kept the boy in place. Following the intruding appendages, fury filled her up. The boy paled beyond belief, his eyes growing in fear. Kagome closed in on the two boys. Her left hand hooked itself in the smaller boy's shirt while the right retracted in preparation. The young teen shut his eyes, waiting for the hit. His body jerked back, but the girl's grip was strong enough to keep him from falling. The pain, though, never came.

 

Opening his eyes, he saw Kagome's attention was on someone behind him. She loosened her grip, allowing him mobility. The boy looked back over his shoulder and saw the crumpled form of a very pissed off Amara glaring back at the furious girl.

 

“This will be your last warning.” Kagome somehow managed to make her voice work as she ground out her words of advice. “Keep your filthy paws off my little brother.” Her voice was so cold, so terribly bitter that it chilled every being in hearing distance, including Amara, straight down to the bones.

 

Without another glance at her cousin, Kagome picked up her discarded school bag. Turning her back on her brother, she mumbled an apology and walked away.

 

`Yup', she absently thought. `I definitely have to pack my bags.'

 

 

***

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A.N.

 

First thing first: I'm glad I'm finally up to date with my FF(dot)net profile. Now my updates will be done for both MediaMiner and FanFiction at the same time! YAY!! Okay, that put aside, I've decided to change how I put my Shout-outs. I will only reply if need be. So any questions or criticism… you know what to do!

 

Note of Warning: what I've written at the beginning is my POV. It's not necessarily true and I am no professional in psychology or anything related to the way people's brain works. I'm a programmer, not a psychologist.

 

In this chapter, I wanted to bring out Kagome's softer side. The Kagome we know best and love is still somewhere in her. It's just been locked away and only makes cameo appearances when she's weakened by her emotions. Also, I've added the infamous Band of Seven. Can you guess who's who? lol!

 

Shout-Outs!

 

Thanks to:

 

MM(dot)org

miaa_hiaa: Thanks for the offer. I've tried getting a beta once, when I first started writing over six years ago. But that turned out to be a complete headache for the both of us. I'll still consider it though. Thanks again!

 

psycho*: lol! Unfortunately, that was the last of Kikyo for a while. It all depends on if I made this story longer than what it's supposed to be or if I put in a sequel. It's too early to say though. It was very refreshing, though, to write such a scene! (grins) I'll see if I can fit her in again… somehow.

 

FF(dot)net

Nomadgirl66 (lol!) - LemonadeChick - TurtleHugs (soon my friend, soon…) - InuyashaHanyouJajuama

 

AnitaThePapermaster: lol! Let me guess, you don't like Kikyo? lol!

 

foxcat: nothing is without a reason. At least that's my reasoning. Sango is involved because she's more-or-less taken the spot of big sister since Kagome hasn't been all that great at it and was rarely home. Miroku is sort of involved because he kind of took up the spot of big brother that Sota doesn't have. As for Inuyasha… well you know. His entire family is envolved, so how can he not be involved? lol! Anyway… Thanks for the errors! I duck my head in shame. Recently, I haven't been doing my usual 5 time check-up before posting… I guess it shows, huh? I'll be more careful next time. Thanks, again.

 

AnimeAngelz: Well, I certainly had fun writing it! lol! BTW, I have a question concerning your fic: I get the feeling Kikyo is one of the good guys (or girl…) working undercover with the bad guy. Am I wrong? I hope not, cuz that type of Kikyo certainly kicks but in my books! lol!

 

Well, that's all. Thanks for reading, and… yeah… that's it… I think… (*thinks to herself*) this is the longest chapter I've written… (*thinks some more… shrugs*) Okay, that is all. So thanks for reading, and I'll catch y'all next week! Till then, take care. C-Ya!

 

Quote: You cannot be angry or emotionally upset as long as you control your voice. - Jack Dalton