As most of you know, Patriot has a well-popular fic on this forum known as "The Girl's Boxing Tournament".

Well, for the longest time, I have thought of making something similar like that. But while Patriot is our boxing-expert, I decided to go in a whole other direction: Mixed Martial Arts.

I have thought of this idea for a while, but I've never really tried it yet. Until now. I think, at the very least, it'll be an interesting experience. So, I bring to you all: The Boy's Mixed Martial Arts Tournament!

“Push it, Inuyasha,” his coach yelled, circling him and the punching bag, a stop-watch in his hand. “One minute left. Push it.”

Inuyasha grinned as he pounded the bag with a big right hook, a punch that had become almost as notorious in the country as he was. Pretending the bag delivered a counter-attack, Inuyasha ducked, then came back up, delivering a powerful left uppercut as he did.

He continued pounding on the bag, hitting it with blows that he knew would knock out anyone it so much as glanced. Yes, his strikes were almost as notorious as he was.

“Done,” his coach yelled, dropping the stopwatch to let it dangle off it’s rope over his neck.

Inuyasha stopped the punch he was about to deliver, took one deep breath, than fell backwards onto the mats. He made a dull thud as he landed on the mats. Blowing away a bit of hair that fell forward onto his face, he began taking deep breaths, using his hands to wipe the sweat of his brows.

From beside him, he heard another dull thud. Inuyasha turned his head to see his coach sitting next to him. “You did well today,” his coach told him. “I’m proud of you, boy.”

Inuyasha grinned. “Any idea when I fight again?”

“I got you scheduled to fight again tomorrow,” his coach replied.

“Who am I fighting?” Inuyasha asked curiously.

“Got you scheduled against Hiten,” his coach replied.

Inuyasha felt a grin spread on his face. Hiten was also a much well known fighter due to his striking power. It was gonna be a stand-up brawl between the two: exactly what he liked. “When and where?” he asked, excited just thinking about it.

“At the Oceanside Arena, 7:00,” his coach answered.

Inuyasha nodded. “Then, I guess I’d better wrap up practice so I can get home early.”

His coach nodded, then stood up and helped Inuyasha do the same. He walked over to another section of the gym, past various mats, exercise equipment, and punching bags, to a corner where a large eight-sided cage sat near the corner. He ushered to a group of people who were training on a mat not far away, then pointed at Inuyasha. “He needs a sparring partner. Who wants to be it today?”

No one stepped forward. Inuyasha felt a sick sense of pleasure. He was such a feared striker, even in his own gym, that no one would step into the cage with him. “No one?” his coach asked, looking at the assembled fighters. When no one still took up the challenge, Inuyasha’s coach sighed, turned to him and said, “let me go get my gear on.” That was what Inuyasha liked to here. No matter how good he became, he knew his coach would always be willing to step up and brawl with him.

As his coach disappeared into his office to grab his sparring gear, Inuyasha walked to a locker next to the cage. Finding locker 803, he opened it and pulled out his sparring gear; a helmet to help prevent hard blows from knocking him out, large padded gloves, and pads to go over his shins. It took him about a minute to get them all on. When he was all ready, he saw his coach emerge from his office in the same attire. “Let’s go, boy!” he yelled, putting a mouthpiece inside his mouth.

Inuyasha grinned, then grabbed a mouthpiece from his locker, shoved it in his mouth and walked up the stairs into the cage. A moment later, his coach followed suit, walking to one side of the cage while Inuyasha walked to the one opposite. One of his coach’s students came and shut the cage door while the others began assembling outside it to watch Inuyasha spar. Inuyasha grinned as he looked at their eager faces, hoping to be as good a fighter as he, then turned his attention back to his coach.

“Right now, don’t hold back,” his coach told him, raising his hands to his face.

Inuyasha nodded, then followed suit. From outside the cage, a bell rang, signaling for the two to start.

Inuyasha quickly covered the distance to the middle of the cage as his coach did the same. Looking for angles, Inuyasha began circling around, waiting for his coach to throw the first punch. His coach circled as well, keeping his eyes fixed on Inuyasha, his hands never wavering from where they were held in front of his face.

As Inuyasha took a step with his left leg towards him, his coach threw out a vicious kick with his right foot that hit Inuyasha’s knee. Inuyasha winced at the sudden lancing pain, but countered with a big right. His coach, momentarily off balance from the kick, didn’t raise his hands in time and the blow hit him on the side of the head. As light burst from behind his eyes, he felt his balance finally give and he slipped, landing hard on his left shoulder.

Inuyasha saw him go down and wasted not a single moment. He pounced on top of him, got a mounted position on top of his coach and started raining down hard punches and elbows. His coach raised his hands to stop the barrage, but his arms quickly fell under the impact of Inuyasha’s blows. Finally, he let his arms fall to the sides. Inuyasha then started pounding hard on his face, punching and elbowing every surface of it as he could.

After a quick moment, he heard a tapping noise from his left and knew his coach had tapped out with his right hand. Stopping a blow in mid-strike, he looked at his coach, who had a cut on his forehead which was pouring blood down the side of his face. While his face betrayed pain, it also held a glimpse of pride. “Good, boy,” he muttered, breathing hard.

Inuyasha grinned, picking himself off his coach’s chest, reaching down with a hand to help him to his feet. From outside the cage, Inuyasha heard his fellow students cheering. It was a quick, easy win for Inuyasha. Hiten. You’d better watch out.

X3 VERY GOOD! ^-^

I'm liking it already! InuYasha vs Hiten...hm...interesting....

You're writing skills are still ery good, and I'm still loving it. ^-^

Please update when you can! ^^

~Kari

Matsuo (IatFry): *blinks* WHOA! I never knew Inuyasha could punch like that. Did you, Shippo?

Shippo: He has his moments, Matsuo.

Sylt: *blinks then grins* Oooo This is going to be a great companion fic to Patriot's Girl's Boxing Tournament! I just know it! :excited: :victory:

Sylt, Shippo, and Matsuo (inuyasha and the Frozen Ryu Youkai): Please update when you may! :excited:

Idea from Patriot, but the funny thing is he hates MMA. XD

Which is why I wrote it.

He inspired me to write this, but in the MMA fashion, not boxing. It's the sport (well, the only sport) that I know, and know well. xD

* * * * *

Okay, so I'm still here at my grandpa's. We just held the funeral for my grandma today. A very sad moment indeed.

So, I'm not able to update. However, I can give you guys the definitions for some words I'll be using during the fights.

Armbar-a basic submission technique. The applier will try to wrestle free one of his opponent's arms. Once there, he will try to swing his legs so that they lay across his opponent's chest with the opponent's arm in between his legs. He will grab the wrist, then using his body, lift his pelvis off the ground, applying pressure to the elbow joint. If not stopped, this technique will undoubtedly break your opponent's arm if too much pressure is applied.
Armbar Demonstration

Triangle-a choking submission technique. This is done by whoever happens to be on the bottom(in MMA, when the fighters go on the ground, they tend to go for the most dominant position: being on top of the other). He will bring his legs up to rest on his opponent's shoulders. He will grab one arm and pull it towards his body so that it lies in between his leg and his opponent's neck. He will then wrap his legs around his opponent's neck, with the arm being in between one of his legs, and apply pressure. This chokes off the blood flowing to the head and brain. If applied long enough, this will cause your opponent to pass out. If held even longer, it could cause brain damage or death.
Triangle Demonstration

Rear-naked choke-another choking submission technique. This is also known as the "Sleeper Hold". You get behind your opponent, wrap one arm around his neck and then grab your wrist with your other arm. For this to work, your bicep must be pushing on one of the jugular arteries, while your forearm is doing the same on the other side. By applying pressure, you choke off the blood to the brain, resulting in the same effects as the triangle choke.
Rear-naked Choke Demonstration

Half-guard-this is one of the guard techniques used by practitioners of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu(BJJ). When an opponent knocks you the ground and gets on top of you, this is done by wrapping your legs around one of the your opponent's legs so that they can't get a mounted position(which I will talk about later). Not as effective as a full-guard, it will save you less punches and elbows than if your opponent gets a mount.

Full-guard-another guard technique. This is done by wrapping your legs around your opponent's waist. More effective in preventing your opponent from getting a mount, if you use your hands, you can also stop a rain of blows your likely to recieve.

Mounted position-a fighter's worse nightmare. This is when your opponent gets on top of you and managed to get his legs over your waist so that he's practically sitting on your waist. This is bad because then unless your much heavier or stronger than your opponent, you have nothing but your hands to stop the heavy blows your opponent will deal to you.

I know some of this might not make sense. Which is why, if you have Spike T.V., I encourage you to watch anything UFC related. The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Unleashed. Maybe even Pride FC if you have it. I encourage you, if you plan to follow up with this fic, then you may want to see what it's like.

As Inuyasha walked out of the Octagon, his coach behind him, he felt like he’d won some world title or something. All the other students were cheering loudly for him, making him feel like royalty.

As his feet his the gym floor, a familiar black haired, young boy approached him. “Great fight, Inuyasha,” Souta told him.

Inuyasha grinned. “I was just training. You haven’t really seen me fight yet. You coming to my match against Hiten tomorrow.”

“Of course,” Souta said, beaming. “Me and the rest of the junior class plan on coming down and supporting you.”

“Great,” Inuyasha said, who started removing his various sparring gear.

“Not so fast, Inuyasha,” his coach said from behind him. “We got another hour of grappling before you can call it quits.”

Inuyasha sighed. His Jiu-jitsu weren’t that great. Neither was his wrestling. He was a striker. Pure and simple. But in the world of mixed-martial arts, if you weren’t mixed, you were done. Nodding, he followed his coach to the mats where for another hour, he had some of the other students try to take him down. Once he was flat on his back, Inuyasha either had to work his way to a submission or to a more dominant position.

After an hour of grappling with the gym’s best jiu-jitsu fighters, it was time to call it a day. He had a big fight tomorrow.

Gathering his gear together, Inuyasha lingered a moment as Souta got all his stuff together. Once he was finished, the two exited the gym and made their way home.



Before Inuyasha even knocked, Kagome had opened the door for him. “Welcome back,” she said with a smile, which Inuyasha returned.

“Hey, Sis,” Souta said, pushing past her and heading to his bedroom.

“What’s got you in such a good mood?” Inuyasha asked, following behind.

Kagome closed the door. “Nothing. Why? You don’t want me happy to see you.”

“You know that’s not what I meant!” he said, annoyed.

Kagome giggled. “I know.” She walked up to him, wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him, a kiss Inuyasha was eager to return.

The moment was cut short when Souta yelled, “yuck! Can’t you guys do that somewhere else?”

Inuyasha pulled back, scowling at Souta. Ever since Kagome’s mother and grandfather passed away, he’d been living with them. It was because of that that Souta took an interest in mixed-martial arts and started coming with Inuyasha to the gym.

Before Inuyasha could answer, Kagome butted in: “You know, this is OUR house. We can do whatever we want, okay?”

“Okay, okay,” Souta muttered. “Just please do that somewhere private. It’s disgusting!”

Before Kagome could retort, Inuyasha told her: “I’ve got a fight tomorrow.”

“Against who?” she asked, dropping the argument with Souta.

“Hiten from Gym Sting,” he replied.

Kagome frowned. “He’s a pretty good striker. But not as good as you. Should be a cakewalk.”

“I hope so,” he replied. Kagome scowled, then leaned forward and kissed him again. This time, it was in encouragement. “You will.”

That was all Inuyasha needed to hear. If Kagome thought he could win, then he knew he could. “So, what’s for dinner?” he asked, tactlessly. “I’m starving.”

-------------

Short chapter, I know. But I wanted to make the pre-fight stuff all one chapter, and then the fight itself a chapter. So, expect an interesting weigh-ins next chapter.

Yeah, Falcon's right, I'm not into MMA really, but if this story has got good other plot things going on like GBT does, I will read this.

And actually, it is a good thing this companion fic uses MMA, not boxing, for the boys. Keeps it from being a complete knockoff of GBT, and I guess maybe shows where combat sports are in the alternate universe this story and GBT are set in: boys do MMA, while girls do Boxing, hopefully with unpadded sport bras on the girls' part. :blue20:

Good story so far Trevor. Very comparable at the moment with GBT.

X3 Great update! Ca't wait to read InuYasha and Hiten's fight! ^^

What happened to Kag and Souta's mom and grandpa? Oo

~Kari

Sorry for the wait. ^^



Inuyasha awoke the next morning, feeling tense and excited at the same moment. This was always how he was the day before a fight. It wasn’t until the day of the fight that it was all replaced with a thirst for victory that would override all emotion.

Rolling over onto his left shoulder, Inuyasha smiled as felt Kagome’s hair brush against his face. Aside from the fact that she was the only woman who understood how important fighting was to him, she was also a professional fighter in her own sense: a boxer. Last night, she told him that she was fighting in a boxing tournament not long from now. It then fell onto Inuyasha to help her get ready, something Inuyasha knew really well.

Deciding to waste any time, he pushed the comforter off his body, swung his legs over the edge of the bed, and stood up. Once on his feet, he stretched his arms high into the air, then fell to the ground, putting his hands in front of him to put him in an automatic push-up position. This was how he started every morning: push-ups.

After fifty quick push-ups, Inuyasha walked to the bathroom and onto the scale. Today was weigh-ins. Which meant that if he wasn’t down to weight, it was gonna be a long day of running, no food and little water. Fortunately for him, Inuyasha was two pounds underweight. He wasn’t gonna eat until after weigh-ins, just in case. But at least he knew he didn’t have to dehydrate himself all day.

Satisfied, he stepped off the scale and walked back into the bedroom. Quietly so as not to wake up Kagome, Inuyasha walked on light feet to the bedroom door, quietly opened it and stepped outside into the hall. Tip-toeing past Souta’s room, Inuyasha walked to the house door, threw on a sweater and some sweat pants, and stepped outside.



Inuyasha had been jogging for about two hours when it was finally time to go back home and get ready for weigh-ins.

The first thing he heard was Kagome asking, “you want to eat today or no?”

“Really don’t think I should,” he replied, “but just out of curiosity, what are you making?”

“Pancakes,” she answered.

“In that case,” Inuyasha responded, taking off his sweater, “I’ll go ahead and have one.”

“That’s what I like to hear!”

Inuyasha grinned, knowing that was always a trap he couldn’t fall for. Even though he had weigh-ins today, if he refused to eat, Kagome thought he didn’t like her cooking. It was a trap he couldn’t fall for, unless he wanted to sleep outside the next few days.



Weigh-ins came quickly that day. Before Inuyasha knew it, he was at the Oceanside Arena awaiting to weigh-in for tomorrow’s fight. Standing outside the room the weigh-ins would be, Inuyasha could feel a day of no water and barely any food taking it’s toll on him. Fighters always considered weighing in one of the worst experiences in fighting. The only thing that brightened Inuyasha’s mood was that after weigh-ins, he, Kagome and Souta would go out for a big dinner and allow Inuyasha to fill himself. It was the only thing that kept a fighter’s spirit up the day of weigh-ins.

From outside, Inuyasha heard the crowd that had gathered begin to cheer. Inuyasha scowled. He would be fighting in the main event against the rather popular Hiten, and knew that the cheers coming from outside meant he’d entered the room and proceeded to be weighed.

The door opened suddenly and Inuyasha’s coach walked through. “You’re up next,” he told him.

“What about him?” Inuyasha asked, tilting his head towards the wall.

“He made weight,” his coach told him. “They’re just now giving the little introduction speech about you before you’re up.”

Inuyasha sighed. The hosts of such events loved to tell the crowd of each fighter’s past experiences. It helped raise interest in the fighters.

Through the walls, Inuyasha heard a voice yell through a microphone, “Ladies and gentlemen, Inuyasha!”

“Let’s go,” his coach told him, leaning against the door frame to make room for him. Inuyasha took a deep breath and walked past his coach and into the room.

His appearance was greeted with loud cheering from the crowd assembled. Inuyasha smiled and waved at them, smiling even wider when he noticed Kagome and Souta in the crowd. A security guard for the event showed up beside Inuyasha and began ushering him to the scale in the front of the room.

Barely containing his excitement, Inuyasha ran to the scale and waved to his fans again. Standing next to the scale was the host of tomorrow’s fights and the official weigh-in judge. The judge motioned for Inuyasha to remove any excess clothing that might ruin the weigh-in results. Inuyasha reached down and removed his shirt, which got a number of cheers and whistles from his female fans, then reached down and pulled off his pants, leaving him standing in the room with nothing on but a pair of trunks.

With his excess clothes off, Inuyasha walked up to the scale and proceeded with the weigh-ins. After a few moments of fiddling with the weights, he stood up and pronounced, “204!”

The room erupted with cheers. Inuyasha had made the weight limit of 205 pounds. Inuyasha flexed his arms for the cameras assembled really quick, then stepped off the scale. The host ushered for him to join him as he did.

Inuyasha knew what was coming next: the official pre-fight stare down. Standing next to the host was Inuyasha’s opponent, Hiten, looking at him as if he wanted nothing more than to kill him where he stood. Inuyasha liked that. It tended to make his opponent’s more aggressive during the fight, which made it all the easier for Inuyasha to find counters and knock them out.

Now standing face to face with Hiten, Inuyasha glared at him, his face mere inches away from Hiten’s. Hiten just glared back with the same animosity Inuyasha did. The crowd cheered, loving all of it.

Then, the host pushed on Inuyasha’s and Hiten’s chests, pushing them away from each other. Weigh-ins were officially over. All that was left was to show up tomorrow and beat Hiten to the ground.



That night, Inuyasha, Kagome and Souta went out and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at a restaurant popular with all the local MMA fighters. Inuyasha, Kagome and Souta had barely stepped in when they heard their names called. Looking around the crowd, Inuyasha spotted their good friends, Miroku and Sango eating at a table not far away.

“What are you doing here?” Miroku asked, joking around as they approached.
“Last I checked, you weren’t fighting tomorrow,” Inuyasha replied. “So what are you doing here?”

“Just enjoying a good meal,” Miroku replied. The two stared at each other for a moment, then laughed.

Inuyasha had met Miroku when he was fighting in America for a bit. Miroku was a tough fighter, who was impressed with Inuyasha’s fighting prowess when he was in America and so he came back with Inuyasha to train and fight in Japan. Since then, the two had become good friends and Miroku had started becoming an even more formidable fighter, training in wrestling, kickboxing, karate, and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu.

“Well, in that case, mind if we join you?” Inuyasha asked.

“Not at all,” Miroku replied.



Inuyasha awoke the next morning feeling great. He’d filled himself plenty at last night’s dinner with Miroku and Sango, got himself hydrated again and the aching muscles he tended to get from training so often felt good as new.

Not wanting to exert himself at all the day of the fight, Inuyasha crept into the living room, sat down and turned on the television. What he saw nearly made him yell.

On the television, his older brother Sesshoumaru was shown punching rapidly at a punching bag. Like him, Sesshoumaru had dedicated his life to mixed martial arts, training under Inuyasha’s father and world-renowned fighter, InuTaishou.

Sesshoumaru pounded on the punching bag for a few moments, then turned to the camera. “I’m Sesshoumaru, defending Light Heavyweight Champion Of The World. To me, making sure I’m properly fed is the key to victory. That’s why I start my morning with Frosted Flakes. It’s what keeps me fit and competitive. So next time you’re at the market, lose the Fruity Pebbles and go with a breakfast cereal that’ll really make an impact.”

The commercial ended there and Inuyasha turned off the T.V. fuming. It wasn’t fair that his brother enjoyed international success, getting asked to be on commercials, while Inuyasha was sitting around trying to gain as much fame as he did. Nothing pissed him off more.

“Inuyasha,” a gentle voice said from behind him.

Inuyasha turned around and saw Kagome standing at the doorway. “Why was your brother on T.V.?”

Inuyasha shook his head. “No reason. Because all he can do is talk. He can’t do the walk.”



The morning’s event quickly fell out of Inuyasha’s mind as afternoon arrived. His coach arrived at about noon, spending a few hours with them. Then, Inuyasha and the group packed up and got into the van his coach got and together headed to the Oceanside Arena for the fight.

They got there in a half hour, the streets jam packed as hundreds of people made their way to the arena for the fights. It came as a relief to Inuyasha when they finally parked outside the entrance and he got out. His blood was boiling, desperate to get into the arena and bang with Hiten. He was determined to make the fight of the night.

Ushered by his coach, Inuyasha made his way to his locker room, clutching Kagome’s hand as his coach led the way. In moments, Inuyasha was sitting on a chair as his coach began wrapping up his knuckles. Just as his coach finished up his second knuckle, there was a knock on the door outside and Inuyasha’s training partners from the gym walked in. “Ready?” one of them asked.

“Hell yeah!” Inuyasha replied, jumping off the chair in his excitement.

“Let me get your gloves on first,” his coach told him impatiently. “Then you can jump around like a yahooligan.”

Inuyasha rooted himself to the spot, letting his coach take his hands and put his gloves on over his hands. One of the advantages to fighting in MMA as in boxing is that the gloves in MMA were nothing more than a thin layer of cloth between his knuckles and his opponent’s body. In boxing, you had all the cushion between your fist and the outside world, making the blows softer than in MMA. It was one reason Inuyasha was able to knock his opponents out as easily as he did.

Jumping around, trying to contain himself, his coach pulled out a couple of pads and had Inuyasha start hitting them. Inuyasha would throw a few jabs, a hard right, then close the distant on his coach, get in a clinch and start throwing knees to the body.

Inuyasha didn’t know how long they did this until one of the referees walked through the door and started walking Inuyasha through the rules. Inuyasha knew them all generally by heart: no knees to a downed opponent. No gouging of the eyes or any part of the opponent’s body. No strikes to the back of the head or the groin.

When the referee felt certain Inuyasha was aware of the rules, he left the locker room. A few moments later, he returned. “It’s time to go!”

Feeling his excitement reach it’s peak, Inuyasha followed the ref out of the room and through the halls that made up the building. Then, taking a corner, Inuyasha noticed a large darkened room opening at the end. From outside, Inuyasha could hear his theme song playing: Face The Pain by Stemm.

Inuyasha walked down the short hall and into the room. It was easily as large as any boxing arena. The crowd gathered by the entrance began cheering and sticking their arms out to Inuyasha, hoping for a high five as he walked past. Slapping the hands of anyone in his path, Inuyasha made his way to the eight-sided cage in the middle of the arena: the Octagon.

After maneuvering through the crowd to get to the cage, the ref who led the way turned around and asked Inuyasha to remove his clothes. Inuyasha did, pulling off his sweatshirt and sweatpants so that he stood in nothing but his trunks. The ref then began to search him, looking for any concealed weapons of any kind. When he didn’t find any, he moved aside for the Ring Side Doctor. The doctor took a firm grip of his head and started applying Vaseline under his eyes and forehead to help with any cuts he might receive.

Confirmed by the doctor that he was ready to fight, the ref motioned for Inuyasha to get inside the Octagon. Inuyasha took the mouthpiece forced on him by his coach, shoved it into his mouth and ran up the stairs and past the cage door into the Octagon. Standing not far away was Hiten, hidden behind mounds of cameras. Tonight’s fights were being broadcasted over the television. This would be Inuyasha’s second time fighting in front of cameras. But he didn’t let it get to him.

Walking over the side of the cage designated as his “corner” Inuyasha awaited for the host to start the ceremony before each fight. Inuyasha turned around and looked outside the cage. He saw Kagome and Souta standing right below him where his coach was also, ready to yell any instructions to Inuyasha. “Ready?” he yelled through the cage.

Inuyasha shrugged. At the same time, the host walked into the middle of the cage with a microphone.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the main event of the evening. Two warriors have now entered the Octagon. Only one will walk away. Introducing first, fighting out of the red corner,” he pointed to Inuyasha, “this man is a kick boxer, who holds a professional record of eighteen wins with one lose. He stands five feet, seven inches tall, weighing in at two-hundred and four pounds. Inuyasha!”

As his name was called, Inuyasha stepped farther into the Octagon and raised his right hand in the air. It got a loud cheer from his legions of fans.

Now pointing at Hiten, the host spoke again. “And introducing his opponent, fighting out of the blue corner. This man is a kick boxer, holding a professional record of ten wins and two loses. He stands five feet, ten inches tall. Weighing in at two-hundred and three pounds. Hiten!”

Hiten did the same as Inuyasha did, but his didn’t get the same reaction. “And when the action begins, our referee in charge of this contest is Dean McCarthey.”

The referee gave a small nod of acknowledgment, then ushered for both fighters to come to him. Inuyasha took a few large strides to the center of the Octagon, where he started staring at Hiten as venomously as he did during weigh-ins. “You both know the rules. Protect yourselves at all times. Obey my commands at all times. Do I have any questions from you?” He looked at Inuyasha, who shook his head. “Any questions from you?” Hiten shook his head as well. “Touch gloves and go back to your corners.”

Hiten and Inuyasha nudged each other’s gloves, then ran backwards back to their corners. It was time.

*blinks* ptf.....*cracks up laughing like hell* XDDD

OMG......I don't know...but that part with Sessh and the commercial....Freaking hilarious....XDDDDDDDD

Oh man!! I was so ready to read an update with InuYasha kicking some ass!!! XD Now I have to wait for a whole other chapter!? Man! XD

Can't wait to read the next one. ^^ Please update again when you can. ^^

~Kari

(Also, if you need the actual hieghts for people, I have a book with the heights fo all the people in it. (And InuYasha is actually about 5'7") ^^;; )

That would be highly appreciated. Thank you. ^^

Now, I need to edit my chapter really quick. xD

Excellent!! Both our stories get the limelight tonight!! I like your knowledge of training, I may just have to tap into it!

XDD Anytime. Just pm me or something whenever you need any heights for anyone. ^-^

The bell sounded, signaling the start of the fight. Inuyasha rushed to the center of the Octagon, hands raised. Hiten followed suit, traveling slower and more cautiously than Inuyasha did. It was clear Hiten was nervous about fighting him. Hiten liked to hurry up and get in guy’s faces, and start hitting them before they could have enough time to protect themselves. But he wasn’t about to charge Inuyasha, a fighter well known for his dangerous counters. He knew if he rushed Inuyasha, he’d either take the blows or block them and come back with nasty counter-punches. It was a situation Hiten wanted to avoid.

Hiten began circling around, making himself a harder target for Inuyasha to hit. Inuyasha circled as well, knowing Hiten had a tendency to stop when he circled and go the other way. Inuyasha decided to wait till then. A second later, Hiten stopped and started shifting his body the other side.

Inuyasha sent a quick left jab that connected with Hiten’s face. Hiten countered with left hook, but Inuyasha pulled his head back and the punch went past his head. Inuyasha closed the distance gained from his dodge, raising his hands closer to his head. Almost instinctively, he began circling with his left hand, trying to get Hiten to focus his attention on it.

Hiten wasn’t an idiot, though. He knew Inuyasha was trying to distract him with the left so that he could come in with his powerful right and knock him out. Hiten went for a leg kick, but Inuyasha checked the blow, raising his leg so that instead of contacting with his knee, it hit him in the shin. As Inuyasha dropped his leg, Hiten rushed him and began throwing some powerful punches. A few connected with Inuyasha’s face through his arms, but Inuyasha shook them away and began looking for a counter. Hiten threw a right hook. Inuyasha blocked it with his left arm and swung away with a powerful right. It hit Hiten in the chin, knocking him off balance and against the cage.

Inuyasha sprang on him like a wounded animal. He threw a few quick, powerful punches at Hiten’s face. Hiten had enough sense to keep his arms by his face, minimizing the damage from Inuyasha’s punches. Deciding to save energy, Inuyasha came crashing into him, abandoning the punches. He wrapped his hands around Hiten’s neck and began delivering knees to Hiten’s body. After two good, powerful knees to the body, Hiten lowered one of his arms to cling to his body, acting as a weak shield against Inuyasha’s knees. He wanted to block them with both arms, but he knew the instant his other hand fell, Inuyasha would be aiming to knee him in the head or resume punching him in the face.

Inuyasha resumed kneeing Hiten in the body, waiting for some sign of weakness that he could exploit. Instead, as Inuyasha lifted his leg to deliver another knee, Hiten pushed as hard as he could on Inuyasha, swinging the two around so that Inuyasha’s back was against the cage and Hiten was the one on the outside.

This was bad. From here, Hiten could start kneeing him and he’d be almost powerless to stop it. So, instead of letting himself be pinned against the cage, he placed one of his legs behind Hiten’s and pushed as hard as he could. It got the result he wanted. Hiten was knocked off balance and the two fell to the ground, Inuyasha pinning Hiten underneath him.

The crowd roared as Inuyasha got the takedown. But Inuyasha didn’t notice. His only concern was what now? He did some wrestling in high school, but aside from that had no quality ground training. He didn’t want to risk that Hiten had started learning some jiu-jitsu since his last fight. If he did, he would be setting himself up for Hiten to submit him. Something he didn’t want.

Deciding it wasn’t worth the risk, Inuyasha pushed himself up from where he had Hiten pinned against the ground and stood up, earning a cheer from the audience. Hiten just lay on his back, his legs slightly in the air, ready for if Inuyasha would attempt to get back on top of him, or rush in with some punches.

Inuyasha showed no inclination to attack, so the referee stepped in. He stood between Hiten and Inuyasha and told Hiten to stand up. Hiten quickly picked himself up and got ready for the fight to begin again, raising his hands up to his face.
Inuyasha immediately attacked with a left jab and a vicious right hook. Hiten dodged the jab and managed to raise his hands to block the hook. Immediately, he countered with a few jabs. One grazed Inuyasha in the chin, but the rest he managed to dodge.

Circling in the middle of the Octagon, Inuyasha began looking for any angles he could use. He knew that a good angle, combined with a vicious right punch would be all it took to end a fight. He had the vicious right. All he needed now was a good angle.

It presented itself as Hiten moved his head to the side to dodge a fake left Inuyasha threw. Seeing his chin exposed, Inuyasha bolted with his powerful right. It was a perfect punch, landing flush with Hiten’s chin. It was a blow that would have knocked anyone else out, but Hiten managed to stay in the game. But the blow did leave some effects. Hiten could feel himself getting lightheaded, and it was harder for him to keep his balance.

Inuyasha saw the opportunity. He pounced on Hiten, forcing him back against the cage. As he connected with the cage, Hiten completely lost his footing and fell to the ground. On the ground now, Hiten could do nothing but raise his hands to his face and prepare for the onslaught that would follow.

His opponent down on the ground now, Inuyasha began throwing all the punches he could, waiting for the ref to stop the fight. Hiten’s legs sprawled out underneath Inuyasha as he began giving in to Inuyasha’s punches. It wouldn’t be long now…

The next thing Inuyasha knew, he felt a pressure on his left leg and was then falling backwards, landing on his back on the mat. Inuyasha, in his desperate attempt to stop the fight, had left his legs exposed. Hiten had wrapped his legs around his and pulled on them, causing Inuyasha to lose his balance and fall.

Before Inuyasha could get up, Hiten was top of him, preparing to rain down blows. Inuyasha, having watched many fights, immediately went into the full-guard position, wrapping his legs around Hiten’s waist and pulling his head close to his body. This made it harder for Hiten to hit him in the head, and made the punches less painful and effective.

Hiten tried to pull his head out of Inuyasha’s grip, but Inuyasha was determined not to let him go. Trying to force Inuyasha to let go, Hiten began delivering punches to his side. Although effective in scoring points for him, they barely did anything to Inuyasha, who was use to people pounding on him constantly.

Deciding that he might as do some damage while he was in this position, Inuyasha pulled one of his hands off Hiten’s head and began delivering vicious elbows to the top of it. Inuyasha delivered a few more elbows when he noticed that the weight on his chest was starting to get lighter. Hiten was trying to pull himself off Inuyasha and back onto his feet.

Determined to keep this fight on the ground now, Inuyasha, in a show of flexibility, removed one of his legs from his full-guard position, planted it flat on the mat and pushed. Hiten, with most of his weight on his feet, was shocked as he felt himself being thrown to the side by Inuyasha’s push. Before he knew it, he had his back on the mat, and Inuyasha was on top of him in a mount position.

Inuyasha knew just how good his position was, and was going to exploit it. Planting all his weight on Hiten’s body so that it would be harder for him to sweep him, Inuyasha began raining down heavy punches and elbows. One of his elbows caught Hiten above his left eye and opened a nasty gash which began to bleed everywhere.

Knowing how painful it was to get hit in cut areas, Inuyasha began focusing all of his punches and elbows on the gash above his eye, trying to avoid hitting Hiten in the eye. It had great success. Every time a punch or elbow made contact with the wound, Hiten winced terribly.

It was truly at that moment that Inuyasha thought he might win. Then came the worst noise a fighter could hear: the bell. The first round was officially over.

X3 Awesome update!

^^;; Sorry, I would post more, but I'm running out of time to be on the computer at school, gotta study for a quiz! See ya. I'll post another reply to this(one that's longer) when I get beck to my dad's.

~Kari

Ugh, at least this is more of a striker's fight instead of a grappler's. Five minutes of doing that constantly just passed? I can imagine. Good first round!

With the first round over, Inuyasha returned to his side of the cage. Also known as his “corner”. As he reached the cage, a door to his right opened and his coach and a few teammates walked into the cage, carrying water bottles, rags and a small stool for Inuyasha to sit on. Fighters only had a minute between rounds. This included rethinking strategy, getting hydrated, getting checked for injury, and taking a short respite. As his coach began pouring water on top of Inuyasha’s head to help cool him down, Inuyasha could see the ringside doctor checking the wound he delivered to Hiten. He grinned at the thought of the pain it must be causing him.

“Look at me!” his coach yelled.

Inuyasha turned to him, realizing he’d been completely ignoring him. “He’s gonna start getting desperate now. Takedowns won’t hurt you, but they’ll start scoring points for him if he gets them. Keep it on your feet, and as soon as you see those hands go down or you see him hurt, you jump in and finish it. Got it?”

“Got it,” Inuyasha replied between deep breaths.

“Now go for it!” his coach yelled, trying to raise Inuyasha’s confidence and get him psyched.

Like that, his team packed up their gear and headed back out the cage door. As the last person left, an official for the fight closed and locked the door behind them. A moment later, Hiten’s crew packed up and left through a similar door to his right. The door was closed and locked, leaving Inuyasha, Hiten and the ref alone in the Octagon.

“Round two, gentlemen,” the referee said, stepping between them. “Are you ready?” he asked Inuyasha. Inuyasha nodded.

“Are you ready?” he asked Hiten. Hiten nodded as well. “Let’s get it on!”

The bell rang, signaling the official start of the second round. Inuyasha quickly advanced to the center of the Octagon, hands raised. Hiten approached more slowly, starting to slide to his right. Inuyasha followed Hiten’s movements, waiting for him to stop or make a bad step before he struck. Hiten threw a quick left jab that Inuyasha blocked with his hands, throwing a counter afterwards. It hit Hiten on his cut, causing it to bleed a little more. Other than that, it didn’t have any effect on him.

Then, just as his coach predicted, Hiten went for a takedown, lunging towards Inuyasha’s left knee. Inuyasha quickly put all his weight on his right foot and braced himself as Hiten locked his hands around his knees and began pulling. Feeling his balance get a little disrupted during the takedown, Inuyasha began jumping up and down on his right foot, trying to keep his balance. He bent forward, placing his body on top of Hiten’s and started pushing up off him, trying to free his leg.

With all the sweat on his limbs, Inuyasha managed to pull his leg free from Hiten’s grip. Standing solidly on his own two feet, Inuyasha began hopping up and down on them, his hands up to his face, waiting for Hiten to lower his guard.

Hiten got up slowly from the crouch he was in as he took down Inuyasha. Fatigue had begun weakening him severely. One of the problems his coach and teammates would always point out was his cardio. Because he generally managed to finish his fight in the first round, his cardio was always the last thing he really thought of. Now, fighting an opponent as skilled as Inuyasha, he wished he focused more into his cardio. He began breathing heavily out of his mouth, a huge hazard as a solid shot to the chin when the mouth was open made it easier to be knocked out. He found it difficult to keep his hands up by his head, instead letting them begin dropping down to his waist or mid-chest. He found it harder for him to keep up with such a fast-pace fighter, such as Inuyasha. It was at the moment that Hiten knew that unless he landed a powerful, lucky shot, Inuyasha would win this fight.

Hiten dropped his hands again and Inuyasha sprang: as soon as the hands went down, he threw a vicious left-right-left combo, landing on Hiten’s head. As the left contacted, Hiten’s knee buckled and he fell.

Inuyasha showed no mercy. He pounced on Hiten, pinning his body underneath his legs and began pounding on his head. Hiten raised his arms to try and block the blows, but they fell quickly under Inuyasha’s barrage. With his hands gone, Inuyasha pounded freely on his head without any resistance. After four solid shots, Inuyasha saw Hiten’s eyes roll back into his sockets and his body go limp. It was at that moment the ref pounced on top of Hiten’s unconscious body, waving his arms back and forth above his head. It was a clear referee stoppage. Inuyasha had knocked Hiten out.

Inuyasha leaped off of Hiten’s body with giddy excitement. The doors on both sides of the Octagon opened up and Inuyasha was being lifted off his feet by his coach and teammates. From the other door, the ringside doctor entered, as well as Hiten’s training group. Slowly, Hiten’s eyes began opening and he began taking in his surroundings. As the doctor started helping him up so he could sit, he asked him, “did I lose?”

The doctor looked at him sympathetically for a moment, then nodded. “Yes Son. You lost.”

Hiten shook his head, earning him a bout of dizziness. The doctor guided him to the stool and helped him sit down. Now firmly on the seat, the doctor began checking him for any serious injury.

In the center of the Octagon, Inuyasha took in the scene beyond the cage: the multitude of fans screaming, applauding and cheering for Inuyasha’s knockout win. Inuyasha grinned like a school boy, a sense of overwhelming joy and pride coming from his victory.

From one of the doors, Inuyasha noticed the host enter the Octagon and turn on a microphone. At that same moment, the referee grabbed Inuyasha by the wrist and pulled him towards him. From where he sat, Hiten got up out of his chair, after earning the doctor’s approval of no serious injury and walked to the ref. The ref grabbed his wrist and faced out to the crowd.

The host began speaking into the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, referee Dean McCarthey has called a stop of this contest at one minute, twenty seconds of the second round. Declaring the winner by knockout, Inuyasha!”

As his name was called, the ref raised Inuyasha’s arm in the air, declaring him the winner of the fight. The crowd cheered and as they did, Hiten walked up to Inuyasha and wrapped his arms around him, congratulating him in a tired and exhausted voice. Inuyasha hugged him back and saying he wanted a re-match sometime. A true show of sportsmanship.

As Hiten pulled away, Inuyasha was approached by the host of the fight. “I’m here with the winner of the fight, Inuyasha. Inuyasha, your second fight since last year’s MMA tournament. How nervous were you coming into this.”

“I wasn’t really at all,” Inuyasha replied. “I knew Hiten was a striker, which worked great for me since I like to fight using counter punches and such. I knew Hiten was gonna be tough, but it wasn’t until the second round how tough he really was. He’s a great guy, a great fighter and I’d love to have a rematch again sometime.”

“Okay, Inuyasha, take a look at the big screen and talk us through this.”

The screen showed Inuyasha when during the first round, right at the end as he got a mount on Hiten and began wailing on him. “Hiten took me to the ground, but I felt like I was the stronger fighter coming into this fight, so I pushed against him as hard as I could from a full-guard. Got Hiten on his back and in a mount and I just started throwing punches and elbows, anything I could to hurt him.”
“Here’s the elbow that cut him,” the host said as the screen slowed down Inuyasha’s vicious elbow that cut Hiten.

The screen then shifted to the final moments of the fight. “I landed a good left-right-left combo. I saw him go down. I got on top of him as fast as I could and just finished what started the first round. I just kept punching him and punching him till the ref stopped it.”

“Well, congratulations on your win. We hope to see you again real soon. Inuyasha, ladies and gentlemen!”

Inuyasha raised his hand in acknowledgment, beaming at the cheers he received from his fans. Hiten had already left and gone back to his locker room, leaving Inuyasha and his team still in the cage. Inuyasha stood in the middle of the Octagon for a moment, then walked towards the open cage door and out it. Following the path cut through the excited crowd, Inuyasha pushed through and soon emerged back into his locker room, where Kagome and Souta were waiting for him. “Great fight, Inuyasha!” Souta commented. “You beat Hiten like he was nothing!”

Inuyasha grinned. “You keep at it,” he said, “and that’ll be you some day. Rate you’re going.”

Inuyasha’s coach walked between them, placing a hand on Souta’s head. “He’s got a ways to go,” he said, “but he’s getting there. Come on. Let’s get those gloves off, get you dressed and go out and celebrate.”

That was Inuyasha’s favorite part. Going out and partying the night after another victory.


----------

Short second round. xDDD

Nice ending! I'm glad that for the first off, you made the sportsmanship top everything at the very end, and no bad blood between the fighters left after the fight. If you need help developing ideas for stuff outside the ring now, I am available.

Okay, good news...

After a long period of time away from the writing scene, I have decided that I shall return!!!

So, I'll be starting work on this fic again.

Look forward to an update soon.

Finally! I was hoping you'd return to finish what you started.

Okay, since I plan on having the next chapter be an absolutely amazing one, I decided to cut this one a little short. Hope you guys enjoy!



It wasn’t until noon that day that Inuyasha finally started to wake up. His eyes stung as he took in the bright light coming through the window. Wincing, he raised his arm up and shielded his eyes from the powerful rays. Inuyasha tried to move, but his head gave a powerful throb as he did. Hangover.

Thoughts of last night’s party came unbidden to Inuyasha’s head: shot-drinking contest, dancing like a mad man with Kagome, starting trouble with the club bouncer. Of course, non of these were really his fault. He was drunk and incapable of controlling himself.

Fighting his throbbing head, Inuyasha swung his legs over the bed, earning a groaning response from Kagome, who lay asleep next to him. Inuyasha smiled, then planted his feet on the ground and pulled himself out of bed.

Five minutes later, Inuyasha walked out of his bedroom dressed in some sweatpants and a sweater. Although it was later than the time he normally went for a jog, he knew he had to keep himself in good shape. In the fighting circuit, he could be called up any moment to fight. He didn’t have the luxury of being able to fight, then take time off before training again. It was train, fight, train more, fight some more. A hard life to live, but the only one Inuyasha knew and ever wanted to.

He quickly tied his shoes, grabbed his mp3 player, and was out the door.



An hour later, Inuyasha walked back through the door, his sweatshirt absolutely soaked. The good thing about the jog was it helped his pounding head. He pulled his earphones out of his head, quickly took of his shoes and made his way to his bedroom.

From the kitchen, Inuyasha heard the smell of cooked bacon and sausage beckoning. “Hungry?” Kagome’s voice rang from the kitchen.

“One moment,” Inuyasha replied. “Just got to wash up really quick.”

“Hurry up before it get’s cold,” she warned.

Inuyasha opened his bedroom door, closing it behind him. He quickly took off his sweatshirt and sweatpants, threw them in the laundry bin, then went into the bathroom to take a quick, cold shower.

Five minutes later, Inuyasha walked out in a pair of blue denim shorts, and a black sleeveless shirt that showed off the expanse of muscles on his arms. He walked into the kitchen to see Kagome preparing three cups of orange juice, while Souta sat at the table, already munching on some of the bacon. “Afternoon, Inuyasha,” Souta greeted.

“Afternoon,” Inuyasha greeted back. At that moment, Kagome finished making the glasses. Inuyasha reached past her, grabbed two of them then walked to the table with them, handing one to Souta.

Inuyasha and Kagome seated themselves and quickly they began digging into the food: bacon, sausage, toast and pancakes. The three ate silently for a moment. Then, Souta spoke up: “Inuyasha, the MMA Tournament is coming up soon.”

Inuyasha frowned and Kagome glanced over at him. “I know.”

“I’m thinking of entering the Junior Division this year,” Souta commented.

“Souta! You’ve only been training for a year!” Kagome reminded him.

“I know, Sis,” Souta replied. “But I think I’m ready. Inuyasha’s really been helping me with my striking, and the guys at the gym have really been helping me work on my wrestling and jiu-jitsu. I think by the time the tournament comes around, I’ll be more than ready.”

“Souta…” Kagome sighed.

Souta turned to Inuyasha. “Inuyasha, if you were my age again, what would you do?”

Kagome turned to him as they waited for an answer. Finally, Inuyasha said, “you guys know me. I’d be in it in a heartbeat. If Souta thinks he’ll be ready…I say we should let him.”

Souta’s face broke out in a huge smile, but Kagome just scowled. “Inuyasha!”

“What?” Inuyasha asked, looking offended. “Souta’s old enough to start competing. What’s good is training if you can’t use it?”

“But can we at least wait until he’s had more?” Kagome pleaded desperately.

“Souta can only learn so much training,” Inuyasha pointed out. “It’s time for him to actually get out there and compete. He’ll learn a lot more and much quicker if he does.”

“What’s wrong with me competing Sis?” Souta asked, turning to her.

“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” Kagome told him.

“I’ll be fine,” Souta told her. “By the time the tournament gets here, I’ll have a solid game in both the stand up and ground game. I’ll be fine and more importantly, I’ll win the whole Junior Tournament!”

Kagome exchanged glances with Souta, then Inuyasha before sighing. “Well, I guess I’m beat then. You can compete…”

Souta burst into cheers. “Thank you, Sis. Thank you!” He got up from his chair, ran around the table and hugged Kagome. “Thank you so much!”

“You’re welcome.” She was angry, but she couldn’t help smiling at how happy this made him.

During the whole exchange, Inuyasha sat back smiling at how good things were.

I can understand Kagome's sibling concerns completely. InuYasha is right though. They both should have asked her about what their mom thought of her when she started actually boxing.

That night, just to make up for earlier in the day, Inuyasha decided to take Kagome on a nice date. Although Inuyasha was a fighter at heart, that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to be romantic and considered “decent” in society.

Dressed in a black suit and tie, Inuyasha stood waiting for Kagome at the door. Souta was with him, his head resting in his palms as he sat on the stairs. “What’s taking so long?” Souta asked, glancing towards the clock.

Inuyasha grinned and leaned closer to Souta. “A lesson for you about women. You can’t rush them. You just gotta sit back and wait. You remember that and you’ll get far with them.” Inuyasha finished with a sly wink that made Souta grin.

At that moment, Inuyasha heard footsteps and turned to see Kagome dressed in a white dress, her black hair falling down her shoulders. She wore a ruby necklace that Inuyasha had given her way back when they first started dating and carried a black purse. “Ready?” she asked, noticing Inuyasha’s stare.

“Yeah…” Inuyasha answered. “You look great.”

Kagome giggled, covering her mouth when one hand. “So do you.”

Inuyasha groaned. He always felt weird when he went out in public in a suit. It just wasn’t him. But that wasn’t about to stop Inuyasha today. Holding out his arm for her, he asked, “Are you ready?”

Kagome took it. “Of course.”



That night, Inuyasha took Kagome to the fanciest restaurant in town. Fortunately for him, his coach’s brother owned it and Inuyasha was able to get in without making a reservation. Have to thank coach later Inuyasha told himself.

After their waiter had shown them to their table and they sat, the two began discussing a most curious topic: Kagome wanted to enter a boxing tournament.

Inuyasha nearly spit out the water he was drinking. “Excuse me?” he asked, swallowing.

“It just seemed like a good idea,” she said. “Kikyo and Sango are both talking about it.”

“But boxing?” Inuyasha asked, skeptical. Kagome wasn’t really the type to fight. She preferred to cheer on the fighters.

“Why not?” Kagome asked, looking hurt.

Inuyasha shook his head, grinning. “You know I’m not gonna stop you,” Inuyasha told her. “If boxing is what you want to do, fine with me.”

“But I wanted to ask you for a favor,” she said.

“What’s up?” Inuyasha asked, taking another drink of water.

“Will you help train me?” Kagome asked.

Inuyasha was about to answer when he heard someone approach from behind him and speak. “Inuyasha…teach someone how to fight. That’s a laugh.”

Inuyasha recognized that voice. Cringing, Inuyasha turned around and faced the newcomer.

“Sesshoumaru,” Inuyasha acknowledged.

Sesshoumaru sneered at his little brother. “Inuyasha. I heard you won your fight against Hiten not long ago.”

“That’s right,” Inuyasha replied.

Sesshoumaru’s sneer grew wider. “Really? I didn’t think you’d ever want to fight again after what happened at the tournament last year.”

Inuyasha knew this was coming. The only reason Sesshoumaru came to see him anymore: to brag about last year.

At last year’s tournament, Inuyasha had made it all the way to the finals. Two hard fights and he was only one more away from being that year’s champion. His opponent for the final match: Sesshoumaru.

Inuyasha had never been more embarrassed or disgraced than that night. Sesshoumaru dominated Inuyasha. First round, Sesshoumaru managed to get him on the ground and pounded him the whole five minutes. Second round, Sesshoumaru kept it on the feet and pounded Inuyasha some more, with Inuyasha only landing three shots the whole round.

The third round came about and ten seconds into it, Sesshoumaru landed a powerful right head kick that put Inuyasha out for four minutes. It was the most brutal knockout Inuyasha has ever felt or delivered.

“You just got lucky,” Inuyasha told him, trying to ignore him.

“Right. Lucky,” Sesshoumaru replied sarcastically. “So you gonna enter the tournament this year, or no?”

“Why do you care?” Inuyasha asked, his temper rising.

“Just curious. Father wanted to know.”

“Why does Father care what I do?” Inuyasha asked, his temper rising more.

“You haven’t heard?” Sesshoumaru asked, looking surprised. “Father’s coming out of retirement. He’s going to be participating in this year’s tournament.”

“Oh, perfect,” Inuyasha commented. Their father had once been a Four-Time Defending Champion before he retired the year after last. “Well, I’m definitely in now.”

“You are?” Sesshoumaru asked, sounding delighted.

“Are you kidding?” Inuyasha asked. “And miss the chance to probably pound on Dad for all he did to me and Mom. Of course I’m entering now.”

Inuyasha’s parents split up when Inuyasha was just a baby. Rather than take care of his ex-wife and son, he devoted all his attention to MMA and to his son, Sesshoumaru, who he claimed was going to be a world champion one day. It was because of him he and his mother grew up in poverty, with Inuyasha having to fight and steal to help them get by. It all became too much though after Inuyasha turned eighteen and his mother committed suicide. The loss of her husband devastated her so much she was never able to recover. The bastard didn’t even attend the funeral!

Coming out of retirement was the chance Inuyasha needed to beat his father up for all the things he put him and his mother through.

Inuyasha turned to face Sesshoumaru. “You tell…Father…that I’m in and that he’d better be in good shape if we have to fight.”

Sesshoumaru sneered. “It’s not Father you should be worried about Inuyasha. I won the title last year. And I plan on keeping it this year.”

With that final note, Sesshoumaru took his leave, leaving Inuyasha and Kagome alone at the table.

Inuyasha turned back to Kagome, who watched the whole exchange without saying one word. “You okay?” she asked, realizing how much this upset him, even if he didn’t show it.

“I’ll be fine,” Inuyasha told her. “Let’s not ruin the rest of the evening though. Let’s put all this behind us for just this one night.”

Kagome nodded with a smile. Inuyasha smiled back. “Let’s eat!” he said.

VERY GOOD!!! Good job updating Trevor, and you've now FORCED me into updating GBT later! Glad to see Kagome's going to be slipping on the gloves!

I forced you?

Great. Makes me feel like a bad guy. xD