Chapter One

Author's Note: Pairing tallies for Kagome are at the end of the chapter.


Bright and early Monday morning, Kagome languidly entered her first period class and took her seat, admiring the overwhelming amount of vacant desks. She arched a brow and soon noticed a large section of her bangs protruding from the bun she had decided to sport this morning. With a roll of the eyes, she untied her locks letting them cascade all the way down her back until they touched the chair. Partially irritate, she exhaled at her unkempt strands of hair, and tried in vain to fix them with her springy fingers.

"Uhh…" someone faintly mumbled as they entered the room. "Uhh…"

Sensing an overwhelmingly negative aura, Kagome—not too surprised—looked to the side and watched as a small pale figure limped towards a desk situated on the other side of the classroom.

Her eyes widened upon recognizing the figure.

"Kimoto-san," she whispered, distraught. Although never having the pleasure of speaking with him personally, Kagome had seen him around school but not for some time; for few weeks he had been on a leave of absence because of what those fiends commenced.

Those bloody F4 bastards.

They ruined Kimono-kun; all because he had the decency and backbone to tell those four troublemakers off.

"What gives you the right to be so arrogant!? Forget this F4 crap!"

Now Kimoto was paying the price. Mere hours after uttering that sentence he was branded: found in his locker was a red card with the emblem of the F4. From that point on, his life was a never-ending nightmare. From taunts and beatings to being pelted with garbage and chased by his fellow classmates, he was constantly harassed, both verbally and physically.

It looks like he's here to gather up his things. She realized, watching his actions from the safety of her desk. He looks so pale and limp. Steep eye bangs lined his lower lids while his eyes looked dead and dull. His skin was too pale to be considered healthy, and his hair appeared dead and matte. Out of the corner of her vision, she noticed his hands were trembling as he struggled in vain to open his desk drawer. What was once a rich and suave young man was reduced to nothing but rubble; it seemed like all of his youthfulness and life was zapped right out of him.

She pursed her lips together. I've got to help him¸ she realized. Without thinking, Kagome rose from her chair and sauntered towards his desk, intending on providing some assistance.

"Um, Kimoto-san, would you like some help?" She inquired politely.

Kimoto didn't even bother to look up; he merely continued to slowly pack away his belongings.

Kagome tried again. "Kimoto-san, do you need any help?"

Once more, Kimoto did not answer.

To this, Kagome sighed and wandered back towards her desk, plopping herself back down into her chair. Once again, she exhaled and leaned back into her chair with a groan. Well, that was worthwhile, she thought sarcastically.


There was a reason Kagome was passing through the northern portion of the school this afternoon. With classes terminated, she had her extracurriculars to attend. Twice a week in the afternoon, she had practice with the archery team and three times a week she had practice with the kendo team. As it was Tuesday, that meant it was archery… and boy, had she been looking forward to it. Archery, to her, had become a means of releasing her pent-up frustrations. In lament terms, when preparing for practice, she would shut her eyes and picture everything, everything she had endured throughout the day and merely reflect on it. Truly and honestly reflect, which aided in calming herself down enough to almost always land a perfect shot.

She knew her team members were impressed with her shooting. To them, she was the best on the team, and they never failed to brag about it. That was a perk that made attending practice worthwhile. Although the praise was nice—and Kagome would admit that it did make her feel good—it was not the main aspect she enjoyed the most. What she personally preferred was the fact that the team actually saw her as a person. Not once had they belittled her for her lack of status or gender. They merely evaluated her on skill alone, and after that first practice when she landed a perfect shot each time, she had more than proved to them what she was capable of: that she was a strong woman and not one to be messed with.

Because if they do, they'll wind up with an arrow stuck to their backs, she thought with a laugh.

Sweat dripping from her forehead, Kagome decided to cut through the school's northern hallway to reach the front faster so that she could get home sooner. But it's not like anyone will be waiting for me there, she thought with a frown. On account of the distance separating the Higurashi Shrine from Eitoku Academy, Kun-loon had thought it would be best for Kagome to rent an apartment closer to school. It would cut down her commuting time by more than half, and made the most sense since Kagome would be staying later at school due to her in involvement in her two athletic clubs.

While the convenience is nice, I can't help but miss Mamma, Souta-kun and Gramps… the apartment is way too quiet. With the two bedroom apartment being within walking distance to Eitoku, Kagome knew her mother had lucked out when finding it. Although the rent was a little higher than what they originally intended to pay, with Kagome working part-time as a server in a café, she and her family managed to rake in enough to pay the monthly rent.

I can't wait until the end of the month when I can return home and see them all… luckily I'm not entirely alone up there, I still have Kirara. The two tailed neko made for good company, but sometimes her presence wasn't enough. Even if it was nice to have someone greet her when she came home, and cuddle with when sleeping or trying to study, Kagome longed for the company of her family. At least twice a week she would call them, and spend a few good hours on the phone catching up, or merely talking about small, non-incidental topics. Before her travels down the well, she had been actively involved in her family life. She would spend hours outside playing with her younger brother, help her mother prepare dinner, or attempt—no, struggle being the better word—to endure her grandfather's lectures on the Japanese history.

Kagome shuddered at the thought. It was still heard to sit still for an hour (or more) and listen to her grandfather talk… or ramble about history—or what he believed to be history. Seven out of ten times, he would either get his facts jumbled or wrong, or start to vent on a topic that would bother him for no seemingly coherent reason.

While I hate those talks, I still can't help but miss them…

Kagome sighed, feeling dejected.

It was at this point, when wandering down the hall, that she soon witnessed a rather unfortunate sight. Tucked off to the side were several students walking with garbage cans in their hands, intending to dump the trash into the nearby dumpster outside. Kagome had assumed the kids were assigned on classroom cleanup duty, which had surprised her a little. It was the first time she had students willingly get their hands dirty. Nonetheless, this wasn't the incident that surprised her. Far from it, what had shocked her were two boys exiting from the classroom clutching brooms in their hands… and one of those boys happened to collide with Tsukasa Domyouji, leader of the F4.

The boy had fallen to the ground with a thud, along with his broom, yet Tsukasa remained still… yet on closer inspection, it appeared as though part of the broom had dirtied the bottom portion of his pants. Because of that, Domyouji had gone on a rampage.

He had blandly ignored the boy's insistent apologies, and even possessed the audacity to push him back down onto the ground when he attempted to stand up. To make matters worse, playboys Soujiro Nishikado and Akira Mimasaka decided to join in by knocking the other boy down to the ground, and kicking the two empty trashcans that were standing beside the classroom door.

All throughout the corridor their laughter resonated and only continued to increase as Tsukasa instructed the boy—who was still lying on the ground—to clean his sullied shoes by blowing on them! When Kagome witnessed the sight of the boy actually scrambling to get on his knees, bow, and then start to puff his cheeks and blow like crazy, she couldn't help but gape in shock.

The other students didn't seem too startled, but one brunette with two short braids looked partially agitated. Kagome, curious, watched her actions for a moment, and noticed the way she was gripping the rim of the can tighter making her knuckles turn white. It seemed that she, like Kagome, was appalled by the behaviour these four boys had managed to instil within the school.

It's like they see the rest of us as nothing but tiny insects which they can pick on, stomp on and toss to the side like nothing without restraint. The thought and sight made her blood boil. Those boys were nothing but spoiled brats and more than deserved proper punishment.

Kagome started to breathe heavily. She dropped her bag to the ground and heard it land with a soft thud, but she paid it no attention. Her eyes and ears were zeroed-in on one target: Tsukasa Domyouji. A flash of red briefly flashed through her vision as she watched the hot-headed leader pass by the remaining students with his head held high. He and his three followers paid her no attention as they passed by her; however, Kagome eyed each of them in disdain. Her eyes narrowed partially as she took several steps forward and grabbed the now empty trashcan that lay on the ground. Her right hand cupped the top of the can tightly making slight indentations line the inside of the container. She raised the object above her head and straightened her arm slowly bringing it backwards. The remaining students seemed to notice her intended action, and quietly begged her to reconsider.

"Please don't!"

"Idiot, stop that before you do something you'll later regret!"

"Ahh! What are you doing?!"

But Kagome took all their warnings in passing and did what she had to do. With her right arm back and arched to the perfect degree, she thrust it forward sending the trash can flying and making it hit her target square in the head… or this case, to be precise, the back of his head.

Tsukasa, who hadn't been expecting the attack, went face first to the floor, startling his three friends, who whipped their heads around to lock eyes with an agitated Kagome.

"What the hell?" Nishikado Soujiro uttered. "Did that girl just throw a garbage can at Tsukasa's head?!" Insanity seemed to coat each word that escaped his lips, making the thought seem all the more mindboggling.

"You got that right, jerk!" Kagome screamed loudly making her peers jump back in fright, except for one … the same girl from before who seemed to be the sole person that was openly annoyed by the F4's behaviour.

Kagome continued. "What fuels that dimwitted mentality of yours to act like such a hotshot?! You four strut around the joint acting like you're "so superior" which does nothing but make my skin crawl! Did anyone ever tell you that you're all freak shows to be around?! Plus, that arrogant display just now was enough to make me hate you four with all my guts!" Kagome screamed the last few words especially loud, keenly noticing the way Domyouji and the other three were watching her. Domyouji looked pissed, while Nishikado and Mimasaka appeared amused. Hanazawa Rui, on the other hand, merely watched the sight with a neutral expression.

Kagome arched a brow, unimpressed.

Tsukasa then spoke. "Girly, do you even realized what you've commenced?"

Kagome's eyebrow merely rose slightly higher. A sudden chill ran down her spine making her slightly regret her past action. Inwardly, she cursed herself. Idiot! Without thinking, she had acted on instinct and merely chucked that can at Domyouji's head without any care… until now.

Shit.

When obtaining no response, Tsukasa started to smirk. That arrogant look made Kagome snarl and ball her hands into fists. Heaving a large huff, she was prepared to retort when someone beat her to the punch.

"W-Wait a minute! Can't this all be settled somehow?" The five of them looked to the side and noticed the brunette with braids walking forward. She didn't stop moving until she stood right beside Kagome.

Kagome could feel the anger radiating off her, which made her twitch with joy. Finally, someone besides her was tired by these jokers' ruthless games.

"In case you didn't realize it, the boy who tripped had apologized to you! Yet, you brushed his apology off like it was nothing!" She took a side swept view of Kagome from the corner of her eyes. "While someone's actions might've been unorthodox in getting your attention, there is a valid point behind her decision!"

"Which is?" Tsukasa dared to challenge her.

That seemed to piss off the girl even further. "It means that you four are despicable people—but you especially! Your holier than thou attitude is starting to irritate me, jerk face! You act all high and mighty, but in the end, you're just hiding behind your father's wealth!" She shouted indignantly. "Don't talk so big when you've never earned anything on your own!"

Kagome started to smile. The girl had spunk and enough sense—unlike the majority of the students here—to not bow down to these idiots in condolence and treat them like royalty.

I'm starting to like this girl, she thought to herself.

The student body and F4 seemed to possess opposing opinions though. Shortly after the newest outburst, a circle had engulfed them. Kagome and the girl stood in the centre while the students surrounded them and the F4 stood a few feet away, nonetheless looking highly imposing.

It started to get quiet all too soon, which made several sparks shoot through Kagome's veins.

Shit. She cursed again. This was not good.


Author's Note: I decided to jump right into the action… akin to the physical manga, we get right into the start of the action. Before anyone mentions the changes I made to how Tsukushi yells at the F4, I thought this method would be best. It's always stressed how she's longed to have someone stand up to the F4, and in my mind, when I visualize her seeing Kagome taking the initiative to actually stand up to them and tell them off, I can see her joining in… then regretting it later. x3 But with Kagome on her side, this time things will be different.

Here are the pairing results thus far:

Rui – 4

Akira – 2

Soujiro – 0

Other – 0

I'm open to any suggestions; the more the merrier. When seeing a few people vote for Rui and Akira, I had originally thought of maybe doing a love triangle situation, since that does occur for Tsukushi… and why not Kagome? X3 It would make for an interesting read and writing on my part, since out of the entire F4, Akira and Rui are the two most considerate. If anything did happen, I can honestly and wholeheartedly see them both step back and let Kagome decide for herself. Unlike Tsukasa who would merely beat the person to death or treat them horridly (like how he actually does with Rui), I can't see Akira doing that to Rui… he would value the friendship too much to simply toss it aside—or better yet, he would be willing to put his feelings aside to let his friend be happy. The situation can be reversed too, since Rui would do the same—heck, he actually does in the anime and manga… But it still doesn't mean the neither one would fight for the rights to her affections. X3

My apologies on the ramble, I just like those two a lot… same with Soujiro, even though he's a playboy. X3

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I'll be aiming to update again. I'm keen on hearing your thoughts regarding the pairing (and possible love triangle if you want) or if there's any pairings you might prefer, feel free to mention them… Heck, it could even be fun to write about Kazuya showing some interest in Kagome. :3

I'm open to anything, really. Same with any ideas you might want to see happen in the story.

Anyhow, this is getting kind of long. So, all the best and until the next,

-TFSA

P.S., Has anyone watched the Korean Drama version of Hana Yori Dango? I just started too, and I'm loving it. :3 I have to admit, I had my doubts about some of the people they had chosen to play the characters (like Rui, for instance), but the more I watch it, the more I realize the casting director (or whoever selected them) chose fabulous actors. They're all great, and they really help bring the story to life. I guess I'm a bit addicted to it right now... but I can't help it. x3