The Skaters Edge

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Alpine



“You ready for this Sango?” I look to my best friend as we merge onto the floor and roll away from the men. We are the only humans left and the rink besides Miroku and the few spectators that are there to cheer us all one. The rink itself has emptied out quite a deal. We are moving towards the center to where Ayame and 2 other demon women stand, holding their helmets under their arms as they wait patiently.



I can’t believe how very striking Ayame is. She has the most beautiful shade of red hair and jade green eyes; I could swear she was Shippo’s sister by how similar the two look. I really wish I was that pretty; she must have all the men drooling over her. I know she only has eyes for Kouga though; she has since I met her a few years back and from the sound of it, she has all but thrown herself at him since she was a child. The guy was just too dense for his own good. Why would he go and pine over someone like me when he has a beauty like her wanting nothing more than to rip the clothes off his body and ravish him. I don’t get men, they are confusing.



“Of course I’m ready… I was born ready.” She says to me with a smirk and a wink. She always knows the right thing to say to make me feel better when I get worked up like this. I must have visibly relaxed because as we stand waiting for instruction, she bumps me with her hip and I start laughing. The other girls just look at me like I’m nuts, but what the hell do I care.



“Alright ladies… I have an announcement.” Says Kaede as she looks at us, nodding her head as she sees us all come to attention. I let my eyes and thoughts drift right past her though as I see InuYasha standing talking to Sesshomaru. They appear to be having a heated discussion. I can’t help but be fascinated by the two gods standing in wait. They are just absolutely magnificent. Both of them with their beautiful soft, silver hair and golden eyes…



“… it is my pleasure to welcome you both. The lady demons are also extended a hearty congratulation for them making the demon team.” I hear Kaede say and quickly snap my head to attention as I hear the clapping from all around. I blush as I realize I have totally spaced out on what she was saying as I was paying attention to the boys. Sango just looks at me and shakes her head, laughing slightly.



“We both made the team Kags… Weren’t you listening?” She leans in and whispers. She moves away quickly as I see her look over to the sidelines where InuYasha and Sesshomaru are now clapping with everyone else. “I see, you were paying attention to other things.” She turns to me again just shaking her head.



“Kagome…” Kaede says to me.



“Yes ma’am, I deeply apologize for not hearing you. What did you say?” I bow to the woman I view as an aunt and mentor. She huffs slightly and the demons just laugh at me. I am starting to get really embarrassed now as I hear the laughter from the guys. I am now starting to get pissed and my aura starts to flare at this.



“Kags, calm down.” Sango says to me as I start to glow the deep amber as my eyes change color slightly. I take a few meditative breaths and look to the other demons that have moved away from me. I can see the slight twinge of fear in their eyes and I give them a satisfying smirk knowing that I could do this to them.



Kaede clears her throat, “I said that you and Sango have made The Rockets. The competition was not as stiff as we anticipated and you both did exceptionally well, even better than we all expected. This next round is strictly for our guest,” she inclines her head to the other side of the rink where Mr. Nakimishi is standing. “to deliberate on the choice or choices for Nationals.”



She looks at the other girls now that I have had my explanation. It slowly starts to sink in then, I have made it. All of the hard work that I have put in has come to a head and I have done it. On top of that, Sango made it as well, we have done everything together these past few years and now there is another endeavor for us to take on together. I feel tears of joy sprout from my lids and I let them slide down my cheeks silently with a huge smile on my face. I have never cried this much in my life as I have in this one single night.



I look over at InuYasha and the look of respect and congratulations are written all over his face. I can see that he is very proud of me, even though we don’t know each other very well. He must know how much hard work I have put into this. He winks at me with that crooked, one fanged smirk that is so deliciously sexy.



“It is time for the final round for the women tonight. You are all the very best, humans and demons, so I fully expect the best race of the night from you ladies. False starts means dq and we will only stop once for one, we will go 400 meters in this final race. There will be one winner and that woman will be given an audience with Mr. Nakimishi so he can further evaluate your skills. Do you all understand?” Kaede turns to look at all of us as we all put our helmets in place, nodding our understanding as we move to the line as she takes up her post by the cone.



I tighten the straps on my helmet. My stomach is full of butterflies and my heart is racing. I know the demons can hear how nervous I am and I try to calm myself. I look over to the other side of the rink as I feel Sango get into position next to me; I see Kouga and Hojo standing there. Hojo is giving me double thumbs up; I roll my eyes at this. Kouga only winks at me seductively and I continue to roll my eyes, that guy just doesn’t give up. I did lead him on a little bit but that is nothing for me to feel too bad about. Just a bit of fun trying to get my mind off InuYasha.



“Bitch, he is mine. Keep your lousy hands off of him.” I hear a terse growling whisper next to my ear. I snap to attention and see it is from none other than Ayame. She looks pissed. I can play her little game if she wants that. If she thinks she is the only one who can talk smack, she is highly mistaken.



“Take him if you think you can. I took what I wanted from him a few minutes ago, and let me tell you… Not really that great of a kisser… He’s a little bit too docile for my tastes, really quite weak.”



I take a moment to look down at my nails as if they are the most interesting thing in the world as I nonchalantly continue, “I wonder if he’ll ever get it through his thick, dense skull that I don’t want him, he is rather slow you know… Anyhoo…I have my very own grand prize waiting for me after I kick your ass.”



I look over to InuYasha and give him a wink. My body is on extreme edge but the tone of my voice would make Lord Sesshomaru proud at the dignified manner of my demeanor.



“Why you…” She spits at me as I feel her start to lunge at me. Sango steps in front of her though, with fists raised to protect me.



“That’s enough!” Kaede yells.



“I’ll wipe the floor with you stupid fucking bitch.” She says to me with venom.



“Good luck with that…You haven’t had the pleasure of tasting my dust yet, let’s just make that a reality, shall we?” I say to her as I take my stance.



Everyone is now on the line and poised to begin; the anticipation is palpable. The rink is deathly quiet, knowing that this should be the best race tonight brought forth by the women.



As usual with a race of this magnitude, time slows down for me. I wonder if it is the adrenaline pumping through my veins or if there is some other force at work. I look to the left to see Kaede and then to the right to see the boys and move my head down, waiting for the signal.



“On your marks… Get set…” The whistle blows and I make a mad dash off the line. I do not hear the whistle again, which means no one had a false start. This should be a fair race. I don’t take note of anyone else until after the 2nd corner and into the straight away since all of my attention is on my feet and moving them as fast I possibly can.



I lift my head to look in front of me, fully expecting to see Ayame there. To my utter surprise and delight, there is no one in front of me. I am in the lead… I couldn’t believe it.



We make it to the 2nd lap and I feel someone breathing down my back. It is Ayame with Sango clinging to her as close as humanly possible in order to draft her, instead of me. I look over my shoulder once more as we move into the 3rd lap to see a VERY pissed off Ayame. I don’t think she has ever lost a race in all the years that I have known her and here I am, a human, kicking her ass.



As we come into the final stretch, the unthinkable happens. I hear a loud screech as we round the last corner to the last 25 meters. A loud thump comes shortly there after, indicating that someone has indeed hit the floor and quite hard at that.



I was not going to lose my focus now, not when I was just a few yards from getting what I wanted so desperately bad. All the sweat and tears and training would feel like it was for nothing if I didn’t pull through and win.



The whistle blows as I cross the finish line. I pump my fists in sheer and utter joy at the release of the sound. I rip my helmet from my head and turn to see my best friend… who is not standing there like she usually is.



What I see shocks me… I look over to see everyone rushing onto the floor over a mass of blue on the floor… Oh my Kami!!! Sango is the one who fell. I knew it must have been pretty bad if she wasn’t on her feet already.



I roll over as fast as I could and push the onlookers out of my way so I can be by my best friend. She lay on the ground, seemingly unconscious. I see her helmet is cracked and Kaede is holding her head still, so her neck does not move. I am once again thrown into hysterics as I see the blood coming from the corners of her mouth.



I drop to my knees next to her, “Oh Sango… Please be alright… Please be alright…” The waterworks are working again on me as I lean over my best friend, weeping like a child. Miroku has moved to her other side and is gently holding her hand and running soothing circles over her palm.



“Serves the stupid bitch right for drafting me the way she did.” I hear from the side as chuckles start to erupt from the demons that I just raced against. I can believe what I am hearing; Ayame is actually taking responsibility for what just happened. I knew better than to think that Sango would just fall.



“She shouldn’t have been so close, so what if my back truck just happened to come in contact with her boot. No one saw it.”



I slowly start to sit up as I realize quickly that the demons in the center of the rink are moving away from me at break neck speed. I see Ayame’s eyes grow wide as I look at her with unrestrained fury boiling over.



Oh no…She is not getting away from me. My body is now working on it’s own as I stand and start to move towards her gracefully. I can tell she is trying to get away from me by the struggling, but she has not moved an inch. It is then that I see a small line of gold extended from my hand that is wrapped around her midsection like a rope.



My eyes are no longer the beautiful azure that they normally are; they are deep gold with blue flecks and my whole body is glowing brighter than it ever has before.



“You fucking cunt!!!! You did this to my best friend ON PURPOSE!!!” I scream at her as everyone, including Kaede moves away from the scene. This leaves Sango unconscious in the middle of the floor with only Miroku by her side. He is chanting with his hand raised in prayer, obviously trying to fight the effects of my power.



“You are going to have a little taste of why I am the most powerful miko in the area.” I say to Ayame with deadly venom dripping form every word as the width of the rope grows larger to encompass her whole body.



Miroku has given up on his chanting and has moved away from the scene. I can see the look of pain on his features. I can even see Sesshomaru wincing slightly as my aura moves around my body and takes in Sango on the floor as well.



Ayame is crying hysterically as I see the ends of her hair starting to singe. Her red hair is turning dark brown and the jade eyes she once sported are now a muted hazel color. I realize very quickly that I have purified the demon blood that runs in her veins and I have turned her into a human without actually killing her. I don’t give two flying fucks though. She has the audacity to hurt my best friend and then cry and whimper like a baby? You have got to be kidding me.



The power is building and building and it is about to explode… I say a small prayer so I don’t hurt anyone that does not have anything to do with this. The blinding golden light explodes in a million sparkles of light as I crash to the ground and lose myself to the darkness. Before the darkness takes over completely, I hear a thud and manage to see the now human Ayame fall to the ground in a lump.



He looks up slightly as he sees his silver bangs turn to inky black. He pulls his braid around is body and sees it is black as well and moves his hands to where his now human ears are, “Shit, she fucking purified me too.” InuYasha swears to himself as he takes off like a bat out of hell to the center of the rink where his intended mate is lying motionless.



“Houshi! Get your fucking ass out here and help your bitch, she’s coming to.” He yells to his best friend. Miroku looks at InuYasha stunned at his rapid change from hanyou to human. He looks out at the floor and sees Sango sitting up and Kagome motionless next to an equally motionless Ayame.



“Sango, love! Don’t move, you have been seriously injured and we don’t know if you have any extensive damage yet.” Miroku says as he gets on his knees next to the beautiful woman. She removes her helmet carefully and looks into his eyes. She sees there utter concern over her person.



“I am perfectly fine, what are you going on about anyway. I just fell, no harm done.” She flexes her hands and goes to wipe her face of the excess sweat that was there. She brought her hand down and notices blood coming from the corners of her mouth and gasps. “What’s this? I don’t have any injuries, why am I bleeding?” she looks to Miroku for an answer.



He looks at Sango and then turns to InuYasha, who is now cradling Kagome in his arms speaking hopeful words to try to get her to come to. Everyone has made their way back out on the floor as the commotion dies down.



“Let us move off the floor for now. Demon, hanyou and human males please join me for a moment at the center of the rink.” Kaede says to the men standing around.



Sango looks at InuYasha who reluctantly sets Kagome on a bench. With a shake of his head to her, he knows she will watch her for the moment. He is only going out to let them know that he would not be racing anymore tonight, to hell with Nationals. Kagome was far more important to him.



“I am very sorry for the inconvenience that this evening has caused you. I would like to suggest that you all return tomorrow at 2:00 in the afternoon to resume your finals.” Kaede says to all the males in the center of the rink, who have all forgotten about Ayame who is still lying motionless on the floor. No one has moved to help her since they all witnessed her treachery.



Mr. Nakimishi has joined them on the floor now, “Yes, I will return tomorrow as well. I apologize that this can not be finished this evening but due to the circumstances, I feel this is for the best. Since I will not be able to view the abilities of the two women tonight anyway. I feel it is only fair to give everyone a sporting chance.”



“Hn.” Sesshomaru grunts. “This Sesshomaru shall return tomorrow at the designated time.” With that he swiftly twirls in his spot and moves off the floor to his awaiting mate and vassal.



“That’s fine with me baa chan. We’ll see you tomorrow.” InuYasha rushes off the rink to his waiting mate with worry etched in his features, not really thinking too much of what tomorrow might bring for them both.