She sat in the darkness praying those possessive red eyes would not find her suddenly she felt a hand run down her back "You awoke me little miko and your debt to me shall be repayed. There is no escaping your fate."
.qxxp.
A cool air blew through the trees as dusk quickly overtook the once blue sky.
The animals around began to return to their homes for the night while the nocturnal hunters prepared themselves.
Meanwhile young women's feet pounded heavily against the dirt covered ground of the hill she was attempting to run up, as sounds of her erratic heartbeat pounded heavily in her ears.
Behind her a figure ran fluently as they steadily moved closer and closer to the young woman as she urged her legs to go faster.
She knew the end of her exhaustive chase would come soon as she was only mere meters away from the safety zone but the endless running was finally catching up with her and the person behind her was growing ever closer.
'I can't just give up now!' she thought determinedly as her legs seemed to find the strength to push her forward just enough so that the individual chasing her seemed to lose speed and disappear from her view.
'Excellent!' She thought proudly as a smirk made its way onto her face "Not too much further now!" She chanted to herself happily as the safety zone came into sight and with no sign of her follower behind her she continued her fast pace ready to end this.
Suddenly out of nowhere a ghostly howl filled the air and she was tackled onto the ground by a figure shrouded by darkness into the bushes on the side of the dirt track.
Wincing in pain at her butt from the fall she quickly tried to move her arms to assess that everything was still in one piece only to discover that she could not move her arms.
Eyes widening in fear she turned her head to stare up into the glowing red eyes of the creature in front of her.
The red eyes stared back in an almost possessive manor as it opened its mouth sharp teeth glinting warningly at her as it started to growl.
Panic overriding her senses she began to shakily open her mouth ready to let out an almighty scream when the creature above her began to laugh.
Immediately the image of a dark beast with red eyes faded away to reveal a blue eye boy grinning wolfishly at her.
"Looks like I win again Kaggy!" The boy said triumphantly still grinning while getting off the girl who was giving him a look of terror.
"What's up Kagome? Upset cause I bet you? Or could it be I managed to scare little 'Gome!" he said teasingly which managed to snap Kagome out of her surprise saying "No! Of course not Kouga you dork! You just startled me! Why did you tackle me anyway it was only a race!"
His grin firmly in place Kouga just continued to chuckle holding a hand out to the girl who was still sitting awkwardly in the bush "Lighten up Kagome! You have to admit the face you made when I was sitting on you was hilarious! You're giving me ideas on how to scare you on Halloween!" he said teasingly.
Taking his hand she slowly stood up and rubbed her butt and back which took the brunt of the fall "Yeah, yeah it was hilarious Kouga! Just ask my butt and back which you managed to hurt in the process!"
"Awww! Did you want me to kiss them better?" He said teasingly with a wink in her direction to which she snorted and quickly replied "No way in hell wolf boy! Now let's just finish up this run and get home! I hate being out with all these cows around! So creepy!" a small shiver running down her back.
Nodding his head he started a slow jog once again up the dirt track "That's right! Wouldn't want to be out here when the demons leave the forest! Especially so close to Halloween and all that!"
Shaking her head she quickly caught up to him "Be serious Kouga! A murderer could be behind any one of these trees!"
He let out a snort of laughter "Yeah right Kagome! We live in the country! A town with about bloody 50 people and you think a murderer would come here of all places! I think I'll stick with my demon theory!"
"Whatever Kouga!" she said disapprovingly as they followed the path down through a small forest of trees "Everything's always demons and paranormal stuff with you! Ha! You're going to tell me soon that a demon haunts here too!"
"Well…" He started but was cut off as Kagome let out a snort of laughter "Oh come on Kouga be serious! You can't scare me with this bullcrap!"
Expecting him to start laughing along with her she was surprised when she saw he had stopped running at the base of an overly large tree with a sombre expression on his face.
Stopping her jog she slowly began to walk over to him and the tree "Why did you stop Kouga? You can't be tired already!" she joked but it fell on death ears as Kouga seemed mesmerised by the tree which had flowers and other kinds of offerings around it. It was also fenced off by some string and wood with what looked like bits of paper with weird symbols on it.
Wondering what had caught his interest she followed his line of sight up into the branches of the old tree and swore she saw a flash of what she thought to be the red eyes from before.
Quickly shaking her head to try and dispel the thought of those eyes from her mind she focused back onto Kouga; carefully she placed a hand on his shoulder which seemed to awaken him from his thoughts.
"Everything okay Kouga? You looked as though you had seen a ghost!" She said lightly trying to his expression through the darkening night.
He took a moment to respond "Yeah… It's just… Have you ever heard of the curse supposably associated with this tree?"
She shook her head "No! I've only been living here since Christmas Kouga! I haven't spoken to a lot of the locals around here other than you!"
"Well it was said that there was once an evil demon sprit bound to this tree by a priestess who guarded over this town, but in the end the priestess died and so to keep the demon appeased offerings are left here every year in the weeks leading up to Halloween" Kouga said his eyes now focused on the gifts below.
Kagome looked at the tree once more then back at Kouga "You can't seriously believe that! Demon stories have been out-dated for years! You're going to have to do better than that Kouga if you wanna scare me!"
"Choose not to believe it Kagome but it is said that unless the demon is appeased it could break the seal that holds it to this tree and take revenge on the town's people plus the descendants of the priestess who sealed it here" Kouga said looking worriedly at Kagome.
Letting out a laugh she turned away from the tree began to slowly jog away from the young man "Well that demons not getting anything out of me I'm afraid! Now let's get going it's got to be around 7:30 now and my mother's going to kill me!"
Following after Kagome, Kouga took one last glace at the old tree before shaking his head and running off.
Glowing red eyes watched them from the high branches of the old tree before they once again vanished from sight.
.qxxp.
Steam filled the air as Kagome sank into the water of her bath tub "This is amazing!" she sighed happily her muscles relaxing after all the running she had done previously with Kouga.
"Nothing like an amazing bath to make you feel fantastic!" she said happily to herself as she reached out of the tub and pressed some buttons on her mp3 player before leaning back into the warmth of her tub once more.
Looking around her blue bathroom she noticed the only window which was small enough and high enough so that no one could see through was getting foggy so she quickly leaned over and flicked on the fan before immersing herself completely.
Holding her breath she felt the heat from the bath making her even more tired than when she had first entered the bath.
She couldn't believe how much her life had changed since they had moved out to the country! Before moving they lived in an old shrine owned by her grandfather who was constantly preaching about demons and otherworldly things so much so that she now found herself immune to such tales.
Although it was so close to the city and often allowed her to easily get into the heart of the city without having to drive through the insane streets. She had friends and a life there but it all changed when her mother decided she needed a change of pace and moved them all to the country.
At first admittedly she was a little angry. She had made her whole life in her old place but she understood why they had to move.
Her mother was unhappy and not that she didn't love her grandfather it's just the memories of kagome's father kept her from being able to move on in life.
Unfortunately he had died shortly after her mother gave birth to her younger brother Souta in a car crash on the way home. After that her mother began to struggle with caring for two young children and trying to support them all so she moved in with her grandfather.
Her mother had never really been the same since then.
So it was off to the country far away from her friends, her old hangouts and most importantly her own life.
But she tried to make the best of it all for her mother and how could she not after everything her mother gave up to raise them.
Despite all this the move hadn't been as terrible as she first expected she started at a new school and made new friends including Kouga.
Looking up through the clear water towards the window she found herself staring into red eyes.
She instantly panicked and broke through the water rubbing her eyes furiously trying to get the water away before daring another look at the window.
Cautiously she looked through the window and let out a sigh of relief the red eyes she kept seeing were no longer there.
"Damn Kouga and his stupid stories." She grumbled agitatedly as she sunk back into the tub.
She thought she was past being scared by stupid stories and now here she was hallucinating about some red eyes.
She really couldn't blame Kouga completely after all it began a month or so after they had moved to the small town.
Randomly she would imagine those piercing red eyes especially when she was running around the old dirt tracks.
Her own imagination just wouldn't quit.
Deciding that obviously all the heat had probably gotten to her she quickly cleaned her hair and everywhere else before hopping out of the bath to dry off before making her way to her bedroom.
Letting out a tired yawn she switched on her bedroom light only to wish she had never turned it on.
Blood was pooled beneath her now open window with a dead bird with claw marks on its tiny chest right in the center of it.
All she could do was scream.
.qxxp.
She sat silently in her living room mortified by the sight she had just walked in on.
She felt dumb after all it was just a bird but her heart was still beating uncontrollably as if she had seen this before.
Suddenly footsteps coming downstairs grabbed her attention "All right Kagome everything's been taken care of. It seems like the poor dear was attacked by a wild animal and tried to seek shelter in your room." Her mother said carefully placing a loving hand on Kagome's shoulder.
Kagome tried to push her fears as far back in her mind as she could and smiled reassuringly at her mother "Ah thanks so much mama! I just panicked when I saw all that blood. Thanks so much for sorting it out for me."
Returning the smile Kagome's mother moved to go into the kitchen "That's fine dear. It would be very unnerving to walk in on something like that but I'm glad you're okay! Would you like something to eat?"
Shaking her head Kagome carefully got up and made her way to the stairs "No thanks mama. I think I just need some sleep."
Nodding her head in agreement Kagome's mother sent her a loving smile "Sleep well then sweetie. Love you!"
"Love you too mama!" she called from the stairs.
"Nighty night cry baby!" Her younger brother Souta called from his room.
Letting out a growl she opened his door "Shut it runt! Goodnight to you too squirt"
"Hey! I'm not sma-" He tried but was swiftly cut off as she completely closed his door letting out a chuckle as she made her way to her own room.
Once in her door way she cautiously reached a hand out and flicked on the light, to her relief there was no bird or other dead creature waiting for her.
Closing her bedroom door she walked over to the window looking out at the crescent moon shining brightly over the trees that surrounded her house.
Placing a hand on the window sill when she felt a sharp prick.
Quickly bringing her hand up to her face she found a small splinter in one of her fingers.
Looking down at the window sill she noticed some small indents in the wood from what looked like claws.
This meant whatever had killed that bird had been on her window sill and possibly still in the room.
Taking a deep breath she quickly scanned the rest of the room trying to find any more evidence that the creature managed to enter further into her room but found none.
With a sigh of relief she made sure her window was locked and closed her blinds trying to put it behind her.
"It was probably just a wild animal wanting to get the bird back and it heard me coming so it left… yeah that sounds completely plausible…"She said to herself reassuringly as she slipped under the covers.
"Now to get some sleep and tomorrow will be just fine." She mumbled to herself as she once again scanned the room "Stop being paranoid Kagome! Your 18 year old girl now, you can't let things like this get to you."
Shutting off the light she softly closed her eyes determined to place all the events of tonight behind her.
Little did she know what awaited her.
.qxxp.
"Class, can anybody tell me what year this town was founded?" The teacher asked the small classroom of only 12 students "Ahhh yes, Miss Himiyuki thank you."
Meanwhile Kagome was up the back with Kouga trying to take notes despite her best friend's attempts to pester her.
It had been a few days since the bird incident and she was happy to report that no other wild animals had tried to enter her room plus she hadn't spotted those red eyes around anywhere.
Suddenly a small square of paper hit her in the head.
Picking up the small piece of paper she shot him a look and prepared to flick it back when he made hand gestures to actually read the note.
Looking at him sceptically she opened the note
Hey Kaggie,
Your coming to the festival this Friday right?
She actually had no idea there was a festival this Friday night so she quickly scribbled back
There's a festival on? Since when? How can a town this small actually have a festival?
Flicking it back over to him he let out a small chuckle and wrote back to her before once again giving it back
Yeah! You know how I told you about the demon who is bound to the tree well it's for the priestess and him.
She let out a snort quickly scrawled a reply
Wow you guys really do believe in that demon aye? Well it beats sitting at home watching TV I guess I can come!
Sending it back over she watched as he grinned and began to scrawl something back when the annoyed voice of Miss Himiyuki interrupted them "Miss Higurashi and Mr Ookimai is there something you would like to share with the class?"
Kagome blushed while Kouga simply smirked replying "Not at all teach! Me and Kagome are going as dates to the festival!"
"WHAT? SINCE WHEN WAS IT A DATE?" Kagome roared forgetting they were in the presence of their teacher and fellow classmates.
Kouga simply smirked while Miss Himiyuki's glare turned deadly "Higurashi! You will not behave like that in my class! Out to the hall RIGHT NOW!"
Realising she had been played she sent Kouga a glare before walking out of the class her face on fire.
'Damn that Ookimai!' she cursed mentally as she sat down outside of the classroom 'What a pain! At least I don't have to listen to Miss Himiyuki's voice anymore.'
Sitting there in silence she looked at the hallway where she was sitting.
Everything the walls were made out of brick which made it look old and it reeked of a musky odour which at times during summer seemed almost suffocating.
It was such a small school that different grades of students were put together in classes. Right now she was in her final year of school and was looking forward to moving onto higher study the next year.
A cold wind blew through the hall despite no doors or windows being open 'It's an old building so of course it would be drafty.' She reasoned with herself until she looked up in front of her at the lockers which had the word PAYMENTetched into the paintwork.
'That... wasn't there before was it?' she thought looking around trying to find the culprit but saw no one.
She was about to get up and inspect the lockers when the door to the class opened and Miss Himiyuki's appeared "You can come back in now Kagome dear."
With one last glance around her and quickly hurried back into class taking her seat wondering what the hell was wrong with her.
Kouga saw the nervous look on her face and was about to send over another note when Miss Himiyuki announced to the class they would be doing an assignment on different aspects of the town's history in honour of the upcoming festival.
"Who wanted to investigate the tale of the demon and miko?" Miss Himiyuki asked looking around the room and was surprised just how quickly Kagome's hand shot up.
"Ah yes Miss Higurashi! It's all yours then. Now who would like to investigate the town's agricultural heritage?" Miss Himiyuki asked as Kagome once again tuned out.
She didn't know what had exactly possessed her to choose that project but she had a feeling that whatever she found out would help her discover the reason for these weird hallucinations.
Or she at least hoped they would.
.qxxp.
Alrighty guy's here is the first of three chapters for my Halloween special! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm hoping the next one will be a lot longer!
The next chapter I have mostly written out but I'm still debating on whether this story will have a happy ending or a scary ending just to keep with the Halloween theme!
Well thanks again for reading!