InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Centre ❯ "This is your conscience speaking..." ( Chapter 1 )

Hey guys, how's it going'? Did you all read the prologue? Because if you didn't, you might not understand some of the things that are going to follow, and I don't want any of you to be as lost as I am, lol. Oh, and many thanks to Kawaiibabe14 for being my first reviewer for this fic! If you hadn't pointed out that it had posted two prologues instead of one I probably wouldn't have noticed until it was too late, lol. Anyways, here's chappy one - enjoy and R&R!

 

Disclaimer: Sorry, I forgot to write one of these for the prologue, so here's a two-in-one kinda deal, mmkay? I don't own Inuyasha or anything related to the original anime/manga.

 

Chapter One: Conscience

 

 

“…And so, due to your regular teacher's illness, I will be supervising this class until further notice.” The young man's voice was strong and steady as he swept his eyes around the circle of faces that surrounded him. “My name is Hashimoto Katsuki, though you may call me Katsuki if you wish. Any questions?”

 

A light murmur ran around the circle of listeners, before settling into silence once more - everyone was enjoying the lazy, sunny morning too much to want to break the quiet.

 

The small group of people were standing in the middle of a large, grassy courtyard, surrounded on all sides by the towering white walls and polished wooden doors of the Centre. Overhead, the sun shone warmly in a bright azure sky, and the warmth coupled with a small breeze was making everyone sleepy.

 

Katsuki glanced around the group again and gave a small smile. “Good. I'll do roll call, and then we can begin your lessons.”

 

Another murmur, then silence as Katsuki began to read names off a piece of paper.

 

The knot of people standing in a loose circle around their new teacher was a decidedly odd mix. There were both girls and boys, all between the ages of about fifteen and twenty, and each person was dressed in a simple white gi regardless of their gender. This wasn't what made them unusual, however.

 

No, it was the fact that half of them weren't even human that did that.

 

Claws, fangs, animalistic ears, tails, strangely coloured eyes, cryptic designs on skin… There were many attributes that set the demons apart from the other half of the group, but what really made the separation obvious were the mistrustful, contemptuous looks that these strange few directed towards the more normal-looking mikos.

 

A boy near the back of the group shifted, trying to work the stiffness out of his muscles without looking like he wasn't paying attention. He was good-looking in an unearthly kind of way, with long, silvery hair and almost cat-like golden eyes. Two small, white dog ears poked through the hair on the top of his head, marking him as a half demon instead of a full-blooded one. One gleaming fang showed slightly as he stifled a yawn. Flexing clawed fingers, the boy allowed his attention to drift away from Katsuki's voice.

 

~ Inuyasha…~

 

The boy's body gave a small jerk and his ears pricked as the voice floated into his head. He knew that voice - serene, calming, and most definitely feminine. But wasn't she supposed to be teaching a different class right now?

 

~ Inuyasha…~

 

His name drifted through his head again, as if blown there on the gentle breeze that tugged at his gi. Mentally, he strained his ears, trying to figure out if it really was her. He knew that she had the ability of thought-speech—she was the most powerful miko here, after all. Inuyasha felt excitement build in him at the thought that she might actually be acknowledging his existence, and speaking to him no less!

 

~ Inuyasha, this is your conscience speaking. ~

 

This last thought wavered slightly in what he knew to be poorly-contained laughter. A low, irritated growl worked its way out of Inuyasha's throat as he finally recognized the voice. It wasn't her. It was her.

 

“Kagome,” he muttered under his breath, clenching his fists in annoyance. He should have known that damn miko girl would find a way to piss him off even when they weren't face to face. So, she had learned how to thought-speak, had she? Great. Just great.

 

The sound of muffled giggling bubbled in his head, and Inuyasha flattened his ears against the sound. Bloody, irritating, stupid, giggly, damn miko girl. ~Go away, ~ he thought, not really expecting her to hear him. He had never actually gotten the hang of thought-speech.

 

~ But Inuyasha, I'm your conscience! Don't you want to chat? We haven't talked in forever! ~

 

More laughter.

 

Inuyasha was surprised that she had been able to understand his thought-speech, but the feeling was quickly smothered by a fresh wave of annoyance. ~ You're not my conscience, you stupid girl; now get the hell out of my head! ~

 

~ But I am your conscience. ~

 

~ Are not. ~

 

~ Am too. ~

 

~ Are not! ~

 

~ Am too! ~

 

~ ARE NOT! ~

 

~ AM TOO! ~

 

“NO YOU'RE BLOODY WELL NOT!” Inuyasha exploded, whirling around to look at the dark-haired girl standing near the other side of the group. Kagome Higurashi had one hand clamped over her mouth to stop the flood of laughter that threatened to spill out, but at the sight of his face she couldn't help herself. She wasn't the only one who was laughing though—the rest of the group was casting amused glances his way and snickering.

 

Inuyasha felt himself go red as he realized that he had just shouted out for no apparent reason. Slowly, he turned to face a confused-looking Katsuki.

 

“Is something wrong, uh…” The teacher consulted his list. “Inuyasha?”

 

Inuyasha smiled nervously, secretly fuming and planning all the many ways in which he could kill that miko girl when class was over. “Oh, no Hashimoto-sensei, I just… er…” His voice stuttered to a halt as he realized that there was no real explanation for his outburst, except to tell on Kagome. And tattling on your fellow classmates was just not something you did at the Centre.

 

“I'm sorry,” he finally gritted out. Kami, how he hated those words - they sounded so degrading, and lowering himself was against everything in Inuyasha's nature.

 

Katsuki gave the boy an odd look before nodding. “Try to contain yourself in the future, Inuyasha.”

 

“Yes, Hashimoto-sensei.”

 

The new teacher smiled slightly and ran his eyes down his list before announcing, “Well, that's everything that I needed to address. Morning classes will begin now. You all know what to do.”

 

There were many muted sighs as the demons and the mikos separated and started heading to their respective classes. Inuyasha, still slightly red, reluctantly followed the small bunch of demons out of the large courtyard and into a smaller open area. It figured that the first lesson today would be individual unarmed combat class. It wasn't that the hanyou disliked fighting—hell, it was one of his favourite things to do. No, the reason he loathed this class was because of who taught it.

 

A sudden blast of wind knocked all the young demons off their feet, and there were many grunts of surprise and discomfort as they landed heavily on the ground. Standing in what had seconds ago been empty space was a tall wolf demon dressed in furs. His black hair was tied back in a high ponytail, and his brilliant blue eyes shone mockingly at them from a handsome, tanned face.

 

“Tsk tsk,” the demon scolded tauntingly. “What if I had been an enemy hell-bent on ripping you limb from limb? You have to constantly be on your toes, ladies.” This slur, tossed out in a sneering tone, caused the one or two females in the group to scowl as they stood slowly.

 

Inuyasha clenched his jaw and picked himself up, discreetly rubbing at his hip where it had collided with a small rock. Kouga, that arrogant bastard, the hanyou seethed. He's barely older than we are, but he thinks he's some kind of god. I bet I could take him in three seconds flat…

 

This thought was cut short as Inuyasha felt a hard fist connect with his stomach, knocking him back to the ground.

 

“Come on, Mutt-face, weren't you listening to what I just said? You've got to constantly be on your guard!” Kouga flashed a fanged grin at him before turning to face the rest of his class. “Alright, ladies, find a sparring partner and show me your best!”

 

A few of the young demons mumbled, “Yes, Kouga.”

 

The wolf demon shook his head in mock pity. “When I give you an order, I want to hear `Yes, Kouga!', got it? Now you try.”

 

“Yes, Kouga!” the demons barked out, moving into partners and beginning to practise. Even though none of his students really liked him, Kouga had the grudging respect of all who had seen him in battle.

 

Inuyasha was casting around for someone to pair up with when a clawed hand gripped his shoulder painfully.

 

“Not you, Mutt-face,” Kouga said, his grin returning in full force. “You're partnering with me.”

 

“Oh, what a dream come true,” Inuyasha muttered under his breath. Again, a fist swung out of nowhere and sent him reeling backwards. The hanyou instinctively caught his balance and glared up at his instructor.

 

Kouga tapped his pointed, elf-like ears and smirked. “Demon hearing, half-breed. I guess you wouldn't know how good it is, being a hanyou, but you should have at least been able to block my swing. What did I just tell you about keeping on your toes? Now stop fooling around and fight me properly.”

 

Inuyasha growled and launched himself at the grinning wolf demon, his fists a blur of colour as he sought to get a hit in on his instructor. Kouga skilfully blocked every punch, though he had lost his smirk and was frowning slightly in concentration.

 

Then, suddenly, he wasn't there anymore.

 

The hanyou lowered his fists slightly, ears flicking back and forth as fast as his eyes as he tried to locate his opponent. A whooshing noise, like the wind through tall grass, was the only warning he had as Kouga streaked up from behind him and landed a kick in the middle of Inuyasha's back that sent him sprawling forwards.

 

A stream of colourful curses spurted from the half demon's mouth, muffled by the dirt his face was embedded in. He could feel Kouga's contemptuous stare on the back of his head, and his blood began to boil with demon rage. If he didn't calm down, he might loose control like he had those few times before and then there was no telling what he might do. As much as he hated Kouga, the thought of killing one of his instructors didn't really appeal to Inuyasha. Calm down, he told himself. Just calm down. Think of something else, anything else…

 

~ Hey, Inuyasha—guess who! ~

 

The sound of Kagome's laughter-filled voice distracted him enough that his anger sputtered and died. I guess I should have been more specific, he thought, heaving a long-suffering groan.

 

Today was going to be a long day…