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Gifted
Chapter One
: Paethön :
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"Happy birthday, Higurashi."
Kagome turned to the brunette boy behind her and smiled warmly at his blushing face. "Thank you, Hojo," she said genuinely, while taking the gift basket he held out to her. Eri, Yuka and Ayumi all cooed from their desks' seats. Once Hojo looked away, rubbing at the back of his neck in nervousness, Kagome glared over to her friends. The three girls grew silent, but couldn't help some of the giggles which escaped their lips.
"I know how you're on the archery team and I mean…" Hojo's voice grew faint. "I thought you'd get sore… sometimes, not-not that you don't stretch or anything, but I'd figured you'd appreciate somethings that could loosen your muscles l-like tea and heating pads and…" The stuttering junior high boy eventually trailed off and began to pick at the ends of his black uniform sleeves.
Kagome smiled once again and gave a small bow, "I really appreciate the thoughtful gift, Hojo. Thank you."
Hojo stopped fidgeting with his uniform and grinned at her toothily, "I-I-I'm glad!" He gave her a quick bow in return and hurried out of the classroom, into the hall, where a few other junior high boys were waiting for him.
Kagome sighed. She sat at her own desk next the three girls dressed in a their green, red and white uniform. The girl dressed similarly set the newly recieved basket down.
"So, so, so," Eri teased, wiggling her brows up and down, "looks like someone's got a crush on you."
Ayumi wrapped her hands together. Kagome could practically see stars sparkling in the girl's eyes. "Isn't that so romantic? He got you a gift thinking of ways to make you comfortable."
"That's definitely boyfriend material," Yuka added in.
Kagome shook her head, "Come on you guys, Hojo's just really thoughtful, that's all."
There was a sudden loud crashing outside of the classroom and Kagome stood, along with the other girls. "What was that?" Ayumi asked.
"Beats me," Yuka said.
Eri began to dig through her schoolbag, looking for her phone, "Wonder if it's a fight."
Kagome rushed out of the classroom, ignoring her friends' calls after her. There, standing in the hallway, holding a younger boy against the wall by his collar, stood the unanimously feared Inuyasha Taisho. Of course, despite him being half-demon, Kagome, the ancestor of a Shrine Maiden, found him to be nothing more than a big bully, abusing the reign of terror he held because of his blood heritage.
"Why don'cha look where ya' walk next time, huh?" Inuyasha's golden eyes narrowed, his sharp canines glistened in the light.
Kagome approached the boy and the few students that had begun to crowd around the incident moved out of the way for her. "Taisho," Kagome cut in, speaking to the boy formally, "this is too much."
Inuyasha moved his attention over to the girl. His eyes widened once he realized who was speaking and released the younger boy that had supposedly bumped into him. Kagome watched as the young boy ran off only to then give a swift bow to the silver-haired boy, which of course left many muttering. The Kagome Higurashi bowing to a half-breed?
"Thank you, Taisho," Kagome thanked, only to be answered in silence. Inuyasha shoved his clawed hands into his uniform's pockets, turned on his heal and walked away.
Kagome felt a weight on her shoulder and realized it was Eri, "That's right, you better run!"
"Eri!" Ayumi chided, having followed after the girl, "What if he decides to come back?"
Kagome fought the urge to roll her eyes, "Come on, you guys, enough." She turned sadly to Inuyasha's retreating figure, "He's dealt with enough problems, already. Why else do you think he lashes out like that?"
"Oh, Kagome, Kagome, Kagome," Yuka hooked an arm around Kagome's waist. "So considerate, you're even nice to the bullies."
Kagome shrugged, "It's not like anyone is born mean, there's always a reason behind everyone's outer appearance."
The school bell, whether taking the opportunity or not, rang.
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Kagome rubbed at her shoulder, a little sore from today's archery practice. She was actually looking forward to Hojo's sweet gift and felt a bit lighter on her feet as she walked towards her locker. She was alone on her walk; Eri, Yuka and Ayuma having long since gone home. The girl brushed out her green, uniform skirt and turned the corner into the locker area of the school. A warmth suddenly panged in her chest and she grabbed at it. As soon as it was appeared, it was gone.
"What was-?" Kagome wasn't quite sure what to call such a sensation. She stood, unsteadily, "Should I go to the nurse's?" Looking through one of the room's windows, seeing as how the sun was mostly set, Kagome wondered if the nurse was still even on the grounds.
She shook it off to the best of her abilities and made the rest of the way to her locker, hoping that is was something as docile as heartburn. Although embarrassing to have, she figured it was harmless as opposed to a serious medical condition.
Kagome stared at her locker's door, to find it hanging open, a bright pink light shining out of it. "Did someone leave a flashlight in my locker?" the girl asked aloud. She walked over to the locker and the light dimmed exceptionally.
Inside, Kagome Higurashi found a small, brown box, its lid giftwrapped to the top. Kagome picked up the, what she assumed to be, present and observed the odd thing. "A secret admirer?" she speculated and looked around, wondering of the shy crusher was still near. The middle school girl then noticed the folded piece of paper inside the locker and she reached for it, opening the thing.
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Hello, player and welcome to the game.
Although for some of you, as opposed to others, this gift is entirely unexpected. Along with you, I've given something similar to thirteen other players, making fourteen of you in total.
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Kagome stopped reading and turned the paper over, "What is this? A joke?" She scrunched her nose, "It's not a very good one, just kinda," a chill ran down her spine, "creepy." Instead of throwing the thing away, she decided to continue reading.
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Understandably, this may be confusing at first. I have chosen each of you because deep down, within those sweet - and not so sweet - little hearts of yours, there is a desire. To put it simply, I am making what you want most a possibility. Within the box there is a small gift that you are meant to keep safe and away from others.
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Kagome's eyes moved back to the box that she had yet to of opened. Why would someone go to such extents to play a silly little prank? She went back to the note.
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It's a game and like all games, there are guidelines to follow and rules that are not meant to be broking:
There is only one way to win and that is by killing and taking or you, yourself, will be killed and taken from. Whoever is the first to collect every single gift will have their deepest wish granted. Remember, if you do not want to participate, soon enough someone else who is a better team player will find you, kill you and take your gift.
Best of luck to you, player.
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Kagome felt nauseous, strangely enough. "Weird sense of humor," the girl murmured to herself and folded the piece of paper back to its original state. She debated whether opening the box was even worth her time. "Probably just some fake spider," Kagome reasoned and pulled at the red ribbon, freeing the box's lid.
Peering inside, Kagome removed the top and reached into the box. After finding the thing's contents, she pulled out a small shard of what she thought to be glass. "This doesn't even make any sense," Kagome stated. What sort of punchline was a pink glass-shard? The girl shook her head and re-wrapped the strange gift, shoving it into her book bag.
Kagome set the piece of paper in her locker and grabbed her outside shoes, replacing them with her white, inside shoes. She stood back, after putting her proper footwear on and stared at the note, still unsure of the whole "joke." Grabbing it and re-reading it over, Kagome looked for something she could have missed.
"Let's see." she mumbled, "'Hello, player… blah, blah, blah… thirteen players… rules… one way to win… Best of luck to you-'" Kagome's eyes grew as they repeatedly scanned the final line. She was certain it had said "player," of course it said "player," she wouldn't have imagined it. But, there, before her very eyes, the note read her own name.
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Best of luck to you, Kagome Higurashi.
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Kagome shoved the note back into her locker and ran to the train station.
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Author's Note:
What'cha think? Good, weird, some sort of weird-good hybrid? Let me know! Strange concept I wanted to write out, not sure how well it will do, but I'd love for your opinions.
Many questions that are yet to be answered like WTF was the heartburn episode? And the note? Who wrote it, may not be who you think… or is it?
Question's comments, concerns? I'd love to address them in the next A.N. (Also, if there are any grammatical errors that my picky eyes seemed to miss, I'd appreciate a mention.)
Until next time… Best of luck to you, player.