Chapter 3: First Day at Karakura High
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Bleach.
It was the first day that she would be attending her new school, and Kagome Higurashi was still feeling a nervous about going somewhere where she didn't know anyone at all. Although she was still a little shaken from the previous nights events, she had resolved herself to ignore the strange occurrences. After all, she hadn't had a decent night's sleep in a while, so perhaps the strange things that she had heard and seen the previous night were just hallucination brought about by her lack of rest.
Tying the bow on her new high school uniform, the young priestess looked at her reflection in the nearby mirror, checking herself from head to toe to make sure that nothing was wrong with her appearance. Reaching for her brush, she straightened her beautiful raven colored hair, while giving the end a gentle wave in a similar fashion to the way she had always worn her hair. Pushing her bangs away from her eyes, she took one last look in the mirror. Finally satisfied with her appearance, Kagome shuffled downstairs to find her aunt already waiting for her.
"Good morning Kagome…" Haruka greeted, flipping on omelet out of the frying pan and into a plate. "I just made breakfast for you… You need to be well rested and energized on you first day in a new school."
"Thanks." The younger girl replied, talker her plate from her aunt and sitting at the table. Picking up her fork, she took a bite of her breakfast food. "Delicious." she commented, taking another bite of the omelet. "I don't think I've ever had such a tasty omelet. The eggs are so light and fluffy, and the other ingredients are perfectly seasoned."
"I'm glad you like it." The older woman replied, giving her niece a warm smile. "Think nothing of it, it's just a little something that I threw together."
Kagome shook her head, returning her aunt's kindness. "It so delicious, it's tastes like it was made by a professional chef."
Haruka smiled again at the compliment. "You might say that." She said, winking at the young priestess. "Although I never told you this, I used to work at a restaurant when I was younger."
"Really?" Kagome asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice. "So, is there a reason why you quit, because I can only imagine how good your other food tastes, if this omelet is just something that you threw together at the spur of a moment."
"Thank you for the compliment dear, but just imagine how many things I would have missed if I had settled for spending the rest of my life as a cook. I've actually worked a number of jobs after that, but it took me awhile to discover my true passion for medicine."
"My mother says that you went to medical school and eventually became a pediatrician." Kagome said.
"Precisely…" she confirmed, looking quite cheerful as she spoke. "I always loved having children around, but let's just say that my luck with men was hardly better than your own." Kagome's expression softened a bit as she heard her aunts last few words. Her thoughts shifted back to Inuyasha for a second, but she quickly recovered her resolve so that her aunt would not see her in her depressed state.
"My apologies…" Haruka added, having caught her niece's moment of weakness. "After what you told me yesterday, I should have known better than to say something so inconsiderate."
Kagome smiled warmly at her aunt, grateful to have such an understanding person to talk to. Her aunt reminded her of her mother in more than a few ways… Perhaps her mother had put a good amount of thought before sending her to live here in Karakura Town.
"Oh, look at the time." Haruka indicated, holding up her watch again. "It's about time I left for work. Would you like me to give you a ride, Kagome?"
The young priestess nodded her head. "That would be nice, thanks."
Haruka stood up from her chair, walking over to the door and slipping on her jacket and shoes as she prepared to get going. "Very good then… It's not really that far, but I think I should show you how to get there so that you can make it on time, and find your way back home by yourself."
"Thanks… You won't be here when I get back?" Kagome asked, a hint of curiosity in her voice.
"I'm afraid not, dear" her aunt replied, looking slight disappointed. "I'm working overtime at work today, and I won't be back till later tonight. I hope it's not a problem…"
"No, I'm fine…" she replied, smiling in emphasis.
Haruka stepped forward, opening the door and gesturing for her niece to go first. The young priestess hesitated for a moment before heading out the door and getting into the passenger's seat in the car. "That's the spirit." Her aunt replied, locking the door behind her and taking her spot behind the steering wheel. Placing the key into the ignition, Haruka slowly backed out of her relatively small driveway. The car's occupants remained relatively silent, both of them looking remarkably content as they enjoyed the ride. After a few minutes, Haruka pulled up beside the gates of a large high school, allowing Kagome to exit the vehicle and step onto the sidewalk.
"I'll see you later tonight." Haruka said to her niece through the open window. "Good luck, dear." She replied with a small wink before driving off down the road.
Watching her aunt's car disappear around the corner, Kagome slung her backpack over her shoulder and headed off towards the main entrance to the school. Taking a look at her surroundings, she began to take in every detail that she could see. The school looked like any other high school. There were a lot of people roaming the area, mostly students from the look of their uniforms, and a few custodians tending to the school grounds. Looking at the building itself, she saw that the rooftop was fenced off, and students were roaming around up there as well. All in all, the place seemed pretty normal. Shifting her focus back to the situation at hand, she entered through the main door, shuffling past other students as she turned into the main office.
An older woman sat behind the desk, her curtains of frizzy brown hair hanging loosely as they framed her facial features. She also wore a pair of glasses, but the spectacles were rather thicker and old fashioned when compared to the more stylish glasses that Kagome's aunt had been wearing. "How may I help you?" the woman asked, shifting through piles of intense paperwork as she attempted to clear her workspace.
Kagome simply giggled to herself as she watched the secretary's attempt to sort through the paperwork. Clearing her throat in a professional manner, she managed to regain her composure. "My name is Kagome Higurashi, and I recently enrolled in this school. I came here to receive my schedule for the classes that I signed up for."
The secretary reached into the filing cabinet behind her deck, shuffling through a few hundred pages before she was finally able to locate the proper folder. "Ah, Higurashi was it?" she asked, placing the beige-colored folder on her already crowded desk. Searching through the folder, she quickly withdrew a few sheets of paper, all of which she placed in front of Kagome. "All right Higurashi, here's your schedule and a map of the school. All of classes have a marked classroom and instructor. If you need any help, feel free to ask."
"Thank you…" Kagome said with a small bow, taking the small packet of papers and tucking them away in one of her binders.
Bowing again, the young priestess scooted out of the office and took out the map, which she had received along with her schedule. Glancing at her schedule, she quickly memorized the room number and teacher's name. "I guess I have to report to my homeroom first…" she said to herself more than anyone else. "Hmmm… classroom 1-3…" she muttered, her eyes shifting towards the map.
Before she could finish searching for the location of the right room, a soft tap on the shoulder caught her attention. Turning around to see who had addressed her, Kagome caught sight of a boy with short, bright orange hair standing behind her, and from the look of his uniform he was a student from this school. He wore a grim expression, but something about his eyes made him seem less intimidating.
"Did you say classroom 1-3?" the stranger asked, lifting an eyebrow slightly. Looking down at Kagome, the boy gave her a slightly puzzled expression. "Hey you… … You must be new here." He commented, staring at her for a few seconds.
The young priestess simply nodded in response to his statement, finding it a little odd that a complete stranger would be so up front with her. Thinking quickly, she bowed her head for a second. "Yes, I just recently enrolled here." She replied, flashing him a nervous smile.
The orange-haired teen simply groaned in a stoic manner, looking completely indifferent to her presence. "Anyway… you said you were looking for classroom 1-3." He asked, shifting his gaze back to her. Kagome nodded again, unsure of what to think of the young man that stood in front of her. "I have the same homeroom… C'mon, we should really get to class." He stated as he begun to walk away from her. Kagome just stood there for a few seconds before she realized what was going on.
"Well, are you coming?" he asked, glancing backwards at the reluctant girl. Kagome quickened her pace as she attempted to keep up with her classmate. After a few seconds, she found herself walking beside him. "So, my name's Kagome Higurashi." She said, attempting to make some conversation with him.
The boy remained silent for a few moments before answering. "Ichigo Kurosaki…" he replied, still not looking her directly in the eye.
Although she was still surprised at how gruff and uptight a person could seem, she couldn't help but snicker at the sound of his name. As soon as she did this, he stopped for a second, turning back to face her with a sour expression on his face. Unfortunately for her, it was apparent that her little fits of laughing had not remained unheard.
"What's so funny?" He asked, looking slightly annoyed by her snickering.
Kagome stopped for a second, turning back towards him in an apologetic manner. "I'm sorry, but that's an unusual name for a boy… I mean… strawberry" she replied, letting out another small snicker.
"What do you mean by that? My actually means one who protects…" he replied, a small vein pulsing on the side of his head. "Sheesh, Why does everyone always assume that my name means strawberry?"
"I'm sorry…" she apologized, feeling slightly guilty at her. "Your name just sound similar, that's all." She added, trying not to further offend Ichigo as she continued to mutter a medley of hurried apologies. To her surprise, the orange-haired teen simply raised his hand to silence her rambling. "Forget about it…" he said, turning his back to her. "You didn't do anything wrong, and we should really get going so sensei doesn't give us detention for being late.
Kagome gave him a warm smile before following him into a nearby classroom. Looking around the room, she noticed how lively all of the other students seemed to be. A group of girls sat together in the corner, whispering together, and groups of random students were scattered around the classroom, talking excitedly. As far as she was concerned, everything seemed completely normal. Unfortunately, her sense of normalcy was interrupted by a new arrival.
"HEY ICHIGO!" a brown-haired boy shouted, leaping into the air towards the spot where they stood. Kagome stood completely still as the boy next to her thrust his leg in an upward motion, kicking the brown-haired student directly in the face. The powerful impact set him flying a few feet back, causing him to collide violently with a desk and hit the ground with a loud thud. "Not now Keigo…" Ichigo shouted, stepping on top of the boy's body as he walked across the room.
The hyperactive student named Keigo simply bounced back up, rubbing his bruised face as he prepared to yell back. Although he had opened his mouth to say something, his eyes caught sight of the hesitant girl who had just entered with Ichigo. "Hey Ichigo, who's the hot new transfer student that you brought with you?" he asked, turning red as his eyes began to wander. Leaping forward like a spider, Keigo wrapped his arms around her.
"Uh… I'm Kagome Higurashi…" she replied nervously, a drop of sweat running down her forehead as she began wondering what was wrong with this guy. Pushing her weight against him, she gently wriggled out of his grip. A soon as she was free, the young priestess gave a sigh of relief, but cringed slightly as fist came down on Keigo's head.
Looking up, she had expected to see Ichigo again, but this time it was a girl with spiky black hair and a stern expression stepped out from behind the hyperactive male, catching his body and shoving him into a chair. "Sorry about that…" the girl replied, casting her semi-conscious classmate a look of disapproval. "That's just Keigo for ya…"
Kagome simply nodded. "It's okay, I guess… He just seems a little bit overeager." She replied, glancing at the battered boy sitting in the chair.
The girl standing in front of her simply smiled politely, trying to make a good impression. "Anyway, I'm Tatsuki Arisawa…" she said, introducing herself to the young priestess. "And you are?
"Kagome Higurashi…" she replied, bowing slightly. "I recently transferred into this school, and today is my first day."
Tatsuki nodded in response. "Anyway, I'm sure you'll get the hang of this place. Who knows… I'm sure we'll all be good friends." As soon as she had finished her sentence, a red-haired girl wearing glasses leapt out and pushed Tatsuki out of the way.
"I'm Chizuru Genoci…" the girl said, eying Kagome in a similar fashion to the way Keigo had done minutes before. "Not bad… she replied, staring a Kagome's breasts. I've seen bigger, but they're still quite nice… Maybe we can do something together after school…"
Having spent so much time with Miroku in the feudal era, it didn't take Kagome very long to figure out what this strange girl was thinking, but somehow it felt even more unsettling when the same notion was coming from another girl. Kagome took a step backwards, another bead of sweat running down her forehead she began wondering how strange this class was. She had seen a lot of weird things in her journeys… but the people that she had known in the modern era were much less bothersome, or so she had thought until this moment. However, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud thump as Tatsuki punched the girl in her face.
"Enough of that…" Tatsuki shouted, a large vein throbbing in her forehead. To the young priestess's surprise, the second girl stood back up, her face showing signs of equal ferocity. Scooting away from the shouting girls, Kagome immediately chose this gap in time to make her escape from the strange encounter.
Shuffling through a group of student's Kagome looked for the boy that had helped her find the classroom. Although she did not know him very well, the fact remained that he was probably the most normal of the four people that she had met so far. Spotting him by the window, she saw that he was already talking to some people who she assumed were his friends. The group consisted of Ichigo, an orange-haired girl with enormous breasts, a large dark-skinned man who towered over the other students, a tall boy with glasses, and a shorter girl with raven black hair and beautiful violent eyes.
Unsure of what exactly to do, the young priestess approached the group in a hesitant manner. To her surprise, the orange-haired girl shot away from the group and began walking towards her in a cheerful manner. "Hi… you must be the new girl that Kurosaki-san told me about." She greeted in an excited manner. "I'm Orihime Inoue, what's you name…"
The young priestess looked slightly taken aback by this new girl's outgoing nature, but managed to answer her question. "Kagome… My name is Kagome Higurashi…" she choked out.
"I know, since you're new here, you should come over and meet everybody else? I'm sure we'll all be good friends, Higurashi-san." Orihime replied, practically dragging the reluctant girl over to where the others were already talking. Kagome simply shrugged to herself as Orihime led her over to Ichigo, trying her best to hide the awkward expression on her face, although the task became much more difficult when everyone from the group shifted their focus on her.
"C'mon Higurashi-san, introduce yourself." Orihime said, giving her a cheerful smile.
"Uh… hi… …" Kagome greeted, attempting to create conversation with these complete strangers. "My name is Kagome Higurashi, and I just transferred here from another school…" Ichigo shifted his focus towards her, looking completely indifferent as usual. The large dark-skinned man made a small grunting noise, inclining his head slightly in response, and the boy wearing glasses shrugged his shoulders, straightening his spectacles in a scholarly manner.
The shorter girl in the group was the first to speak. "Nice to meet you, I'm Rukia Kuchiki, the transfer student from last semester." She replied, giving Kagome what she probably intended to be a welcoming smile. Kagome returned the gesture in an awkward manner, wondering why all of these people were acting so serious.
Rukia simply nodded in response. "So, Higurashi-san… where are you from?" the petite girl asked, attempting to push conversation.
"I came from a small Shinto Shrine called Higurashi Shrine outside of Tokyo. I grew up there my entire life…" she replied.
"Sounds like a fascinating place to live…" the boy with glasses responded, having stood up to get a closer look at the new transfer student. Although Kagome wasn't quite sure about it, he seemed to be staring at her with a fascinated expression. "My apologies for my earlier rudeness, my name is Uryu Ishida…" he stated, straightening his glasses again as he spoke. Kagome simply nodded, giving him a warm smile.
"I'm Sado Yasutora…" the large man next to her replied in a deep, monotone. The young priestess jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, trying to hide her surprised reaction before it became noticeable. She had honestly been wondering for a moment if the giant could even speak or not. "Nice to meet you." She replied, giving him a slightly awkward expression.
Ichigo, who had noticed her reaction, finally spoke up. "Don't worry about Chad, he's not much for words, but he's not a bad guy either." He stated, looking down at Kagome. "So, tell us more about yourself." Orihime chimed in, shifting Kagome's focus back to her.
While the young priestess spoke to Orihime, Rukia, Ichigo, Chad, and Uryu appeared to be discussing something in hushed tones… after a few moments, the four of them simply nodded in agreement, having seemingly agreed on whatever subject they had been talking about. Ichigo began to say something in protest, but was silenced by Rukia who merely planted her fist into the side of his head, resulting in an angry grunt from the orange-haired teen.
Having heard his groan, Kagome turned around, but the four of them seemed to have returned to whatever they were doing. Although she couldn't quite put her finger on it, there was something about these five people that didn't seem entirely normal. It wasn't really in the way that they acted or the way that they spoke… it was just a strange vibe that the she was getting off of them. Still, they seemed nice enough. Before she could think any further on the situation, the door to the classroom opened up, and a woman with glasses and short hair entered.
"Settle down!" she cried, resulting in an immediate reaction from her students. All conversation came to a sudden halt as everyone sat down in his or her designated seats, leaving Kagome standing awkwardly in the center of the classroom.
"As you can see, we have a new transfer student…" the teacher stated, gesturing towards Kagome, who simply nodded and walked to the front of the room. "Kagome Higurashi is it." She asked, turning to the young priestess. Kagome simply nodded in response, bowing her head slightly as she turned back towards the class.
"I'll be your teacher, Ochi-sensei…" the instructor replied, smiling at her new student. "Well, now that that's settled, I would like you to take a seat over there." She replied, pointing to the seat near the back of the classroom. Kagome simply nodded in agreement. Noticing that everyone was watching her, and not wanting to be the center of attention, she hurried to her seat near the rear of the classroom. After she had taken her seat, the class shifted their attention back to Ochi-sensei, who simply nodded in a resolute fashion.
"Ah, very good…" Ochi-sensei replied, looking over the classroom as she quickly checked to see if everyone was present. Tucking her folder under a stack of papers, the teacher gave her class a strange grin. "Welcome back… please hand in last week's essays." She replied, watching her students digging through their notebook's to find the assignment.
Kagome sat back in her seat, watching the rest of the class go about their business. While she was trying her best to concentrate on the designated material, she was finding it harder and harder to keep up, since she had transferred from a completely different school. Her performance in Japanese class was seemingly proficient, but the rest of the classes left her feeling a little bit awkward. Looking up at the clock, she realized that half the day was over, and it was almost time to eat lunch.
As the bell rang, she headed off to eat the meal that her aunt had been kind enough to prepare for her. Opening up the bag, she smiled at the thought of what Haruka had told her this morning about her time as a professional cook. Peaking into the bag, she found a small bento containing some homemade sushi rolls, and a small box of juice. Walking forward, she left the building and entered the school grounds. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a moment to enjoy the light breeze.
"Hey, Higurashi-san. Do you wanna come sit with us?" a familiar voice called. Staring up from her bento, Kagome caught sight of Orihime Inoue and Tatsuki Arisawa, the latter of which was looking as cheerful as ever.
"I guess so…" Kagome replied, following the two girls to their table. The area was already occupied by a number of her classmates, including the strange red-haired girl that she had met this morning. Taking a seat next to Orihime, she began to eat in silence, before pausing and realizing that all eyes were on her.
"So, Higurashi… tell us about herself." Tatsuki said, looking genuinely curious.
"Yeah, tell us…" one of the other girls chimed in.
Kagome layed her chopsticks down on the table, smiling in a slightly embarrassed fashion. "All right… Well let's see... ... I grew up outside of Tokyo at Higurashi Shrine… a historical landmark managed by my grandfather that has been owned by my family for generations."
"That sounds cool Higurashi-san, maybe we can all go and see it one day." Orihime replied excitedly.
Tatsuki simply smiled. "Yeah, that does sound like an interesting place to grow up. It must've been cool to be around so much living history."
"You don't know the half of it..." Kagome muttered so that only she could hear it.
"So, are you into that sort of thing?" Tatsuki asked.
"Not really…" The young priestess lied, since she herself had practically become a part of that feudal history in the past year. "I'm not really into it, but my grandfather's really obsessed with the old legends though. He's got an shed filled with ancient artifacts from the Sengoku period of Japan, and he really loves to retell the old legends and stories behind each piece in his collection."
"Doesn't sound as interesting when you put it that way." Another girl commented, looking rather bored with the idea.
"Don't listen to her." Tatsuki replied, pushing said girl aside. "So Higurashi-san, how do you like the school?" she asked.
Kagome shrugged again, a slightly conflicted look appearing on her face. "Well… … I'm not entirely sure yet. It doesn't really seem any different from other high schools that I've seen, but my old school was a bit quieter than this." She replied. Before she could say anything else, an pair of hands came out from behind Orihime, seizing her by the breasts.
"There are my little honeys…" Chizuru shouted, giving Orihime's boobs a good squeeze with her hands. While the other girls didn't look overly surprised, Kagome simply stared on in shock. Not only that, but she found herself genuinely surprised that Orihime was taking it so well. Before Kagome could comment on the scenario, Tatsuki shot forward like a bullet, seizing the school lesbian by her waist and dragging her backwards away from the table. Chizuru struggled against her captor's grip, creating a small exchange which resulted in the two girls tumbling backwards and landing on the grass.
A bead of sweat ran down Kagome's face a she watched Tatsuki reprimand Chizuru for her inappropriate actions, the latter of which continued to argue back in an angry rage at having her fun cut short. Turning away from the two quarreling girls, Kagome began to imagine what the rest of the semester would be like... After a moment, she came to one conclusion. At the very least, things were not going to be boring.
After a few minutes of contemplating her question, Kagome turned back t wards Orihime. "Hey Inoue-san..." she called, an awkward expression etching its way onto her face. "How come you didn't get upset back there?"
Orihime simply smiled again, her cheerful demeanor apparently undisturbed by the bickering that was still going on behind her. "Tatsuki usually protects me, so I don't worry about things like that happening." she replied, not even bothering to spare a glance at the two girls grappling on the lawn like wrestlers. However, her response earned a nod from another one of the girls. "Yeah, you should have seen what Tatsuki did to Keigo Asano yesterday when he tired something like that. Orihime's just too nice to let something like that bother her most of the time, which is why some guys like to take advantage of her…" the second girl stated, earning a few additional nods from the rest of the table's occupants.
"I see…" Kagome said, her thoughts returning to the perverted boy that she had met this morning in Ochi-sensei's class. Looking back, she saw Tatsuki dragging Chizuru back to her seat by the ear, a sour expression on the redhead's face as the tomboyish girl plopped her into her chair and sat down next to her to keep her in check.
It was then that Kagome realized that this was going to be an interesting year, even without demons in her life. Bearing this in mind, Kagome's thought's returned to Inuyasha. She hoped that no matter where he was, he was all right. Although it broke her heart... he was probably dead along with every other demon. After all, there were no demons left in the modern era. A small tear flowed down her cheek as this thought entered her mind, but she immediately wiped it away. No matter how much she loved him, she would not allow it to rule her life forever...
With Ichigo
Ichigo Kurosaki glanced down from the roof at the school grounds, taking a small bite out of his sandwich. Looking back up, he eyed his friends in a curious manner. All of them had been there this morning, and from the brief exchange that they had, it was clear that they were all curious about that new transfer student Turning to the raven-haired girl, he gave Rukia a concerned expression, which the petite girl returned.
"So…" he began. "What do you think is the deal with that Kagome girl, anyway?"
Rukia shook her head, looking slightly confused about the subject in her own regard. "I can honestly say that I'm not entirely sure myself, but she had a colossal amount of spiritual pressure for an ordinary human… It's almost as strong as yours was when I first met you." She replied. "In any case, it's definitely different than a Shinigami's spiritual powers, but it seems far too developed to belong to an average spiritually aware human. No… Although I'm not sure, I can tell that it's not just spiritual awareness, but something much more refined."
The orange-haired student shrugged in response to her answer, turning to someone else for an answer. "Hey Uryu, what do you think? Do you recognize that kind of reiatsu?"
"Not really…" Uryu Ishida replied from his spot in the corner. "I may have lost my Quincy powers back in Soul Society, but that doesn't mean that I cannot sense her aura… I believe that her reiatsu closely resembles that of a Quincy, but there are obvious differences, and I am not entirely sure what she is either."
"Chad…"Ichigo asked, turning to the large man standing beside Rukia.
"I'm not sure…" the imposing man replied in a deep tone. "But it's different from my powers and Orihime's powers. For all we know it could be something entirely new…"
Ichigo let out a small groan, looking curious but calm at the same time. "I guess that basically ends our little search." He replied, sitting down on the roof. "Oh well, it's not like this really makes any difference to us."
"Not so fast Ichigo…" Rukia replied. Although her tone was controlled, the petite woman sounded a little bit apprehensive. "She had a large amount of spiritual power, and that probably means that the hollows will sense her reiatsu, and will probably go after her so that they can devour her soul." Rukia added, her expression hardening.
Ichigo simply shrugged again. "Well what do you want us to do about it? It's not like we can follow this girl around and protect her twenty-four hours a day." he argued.
Rukia simply nodded in agreement, striking up a thinking pose as she began to contemplate on what they could do. After a few moments, her head shot up, a new expression appearing on her face. "Hmmm… Maybe Kisuke Urahara knows something. He might know more about whoever or whatever this girl is, and maybe he can help."
"So, you think we should go and visit hat-and-clogs after school to question him?" Ichigo asked.
"It sound like a decent course of action." Uryu replied, glancing over the side of the building at Orihime, who was still with the other girls. "I personally think that we should tell Orihime too."
"Fine..." Ichigo replied, exchanging a collective nod with the rest of the group, Chad following up with his usual grunt.
Note to Readers: Well, there you have it. Not much action yet, but the explanation chapters haven't ended yet. Maybe next chapter I'll finally be able to conclude the development and begin the actual plot of the story. Please review, it gives me the motivation to write more chapters and update the story faster. I would like some well-rounded critiques, and story ideas if anyone will be kind enough to share their opinions.