"Whatever it was you did, it sure worked!" Kunogi praised once they had sat down together for lunch at school the next day. "Since you went, there aren't any more reports of strange things happening!"
"It, ah, wasn't really us at all, Himawari-chan," Watanuki explained bashfully, one hand behind his head, the other holding his rice ball. "We just stood there and watched."
"So, it was Sesshoumaru-sama?" Kunogi asked as she picked some vegetables from her bento with her chopsticks.
"He did more than any of us," Kagome answered, nodding as she chose a strip of chicken from her own bento. "But he really just stood there too. He had assigned the protection of that school to a lesser demon -"
"Lesser?!" Watanuki yelped. "That snake was huge!"
"And Sesshoumaru is even bigger in his true form," Kagome countered with a smile. "But yes, lesser. Anyway, Sesshoumaru had assigned the protection of the school to a lesser demon, but it had basically been sleeping on the job. I suppose the best way to explain was that Sesshoumaru kicked the other demon awake and ordered it to do its job or cede its territory to another demon who would not be so lazy."
Kunogi nodded, wide-eyed, in understanding as she took that information in. "Uh-huh," she said softly. "Um..." she hesitated, and brought out a cellophane bag of cupcakes. "I wanted to thank you for what you did, so I bought these from the bakery near my house... but if it was Sesshoumaru-sama... or another demon I should give them too..."
Kagome shook her head and took the bag from the other girl. "Demons generally disdain human food," she said. "There are some exceptions, but I know that Sesshoumaru is a little bit of a food-snob."
"And the snake?" Doumeki asked.
"Oh, he'd happily eat any one of us," Kagome answered with a small smile. "I will pass your thanks on to Sesshoumaru," Kagome promised Kunogi, "but we're really better off eating the cupcakes ourselves."
Kunogi smiled, nodded, and gestured for Kagome to open the bag.
"Oh! It's you!" a voice called just as Kagome got the ribbon on the bag undone, startling them all slightly. It was a young woman, professionally dressed. "You work at that shop, don't you?" she asked, clearly addressing Watanuki.
"Ah, yes," Watanuki answered, eyes wide.
"And you're a student here? I'll be working here starting tomorrow," the woman said, a smile on her face. "Educational training."
"Really?" Watanuki asked politely, though also clearly surprised.
"Isn't fate an odd thing?" the woman asked with a smile. It was clearly meant to be a rhetorical question.
Kagome answered it anyway. "I particularly like its sense of humour," she said dryly, and viciously bit into her cupcake.
"Eh?" the woman asked, confused, then apparently waved it off. "Things like this always happen to me. They say I've got strong luck. Whenever I think something will go a certain way, it always does. If I want something, I always get it," she boasted lightly.
Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Never had the 'you cannot always have what you want' lesson, then?" she asked lowly, her muttering only heard by Doumeki and Kunogi who sat on either side of her.
"This too," the woman said, and dug a beautifully decorated little tube out of her handbag. "I don't know what's inside yet, but I know it's something perfect for me!"
Kagome narrowed her eyes at the object. She recognised that. She'd helped seal it up in the distant past, about seven years into the quest for the jewel. Before she could say anything though, the class bell sounded.
"Well, I won't be at this school long, but any help you can give me will be appreciated!" the woman said happily, waving as she started to head for the building.
"Did you meet her at Yuko-san's shop?" Kunogi asked Watanuki.
"Yeah," the boy answered.
"What's that cylinder?" Doumeki asked.
"The Monkey's Paw is sealed inside," Kagome answered, at the same time as Watanuki said "I don't know."
"But Yuko-san told her not to open it," Watanuki continued, then his ears caught up with what Kagome had said. "Eh?! How do you know that?"
"What's the Monkey's Paw, Higurashi-san?" Kunogi asked, as she began to pack up her bento.
"It grants wishes," Kagome said shortly. "And she intends to open that container despite Yuko-san telling her not to."
"How do you get that?" Watanuki asked, equal parts curious and worried.
"She said: I don't know what's inside yet. The fact that she doesn't know yet means that someday she will know," Doumeki pointed out. "She fully intends to see what is in there with her own eyes."
Watanuki's eyes widened behind his glasses. "...Ah," he said softly in understanding, and hurried to pack up the rest of the bento and the picnic blanket they were sharing. They had to get to class after all.
~oOo~
Quietly, Kagome changed out of her regular school uniform and into a cream kimono and the grey hakama of her archery club uniform, stuck deep in thought as she dressed herself in the complicated garments automatically. There was a competition coming up, so they had extra practices at the moment. But that wasn't what Kagome was thinking about. Nor was she thinking about some complicated bit of school work or a difficult assignment that had to be done. No, the subject that had Kagome's attention was the young woman attending their school for educational training: Nanami-san.
Kagome was barely aware of collecting her arrows and bow, of moving to take position in front of a target. Her first arrow was dead centre. Her second arrow was so close that it almost shaved the fletching off the top of the first, and likely would have if it hadn't been ever-so-slightly to the right. Her third arrow was just as close, but beneath and barely to the left rather than above to the right.
Kagome reached for a fourth arrow, but a hand over hers stopped her. She looked up in surprise to see Doumeki.
"You are scaring the other club members," he informed her softly.
Kagome blinked and canted her head slightly to the side. "Huh?" she asked, confused.
Doumeki huffed slightly and smirked in amusement at her. "You just released three arrows into the centre of the bullseye in as many seconds," he informed her. "Without appearing to aim, without a glove, and without restraining your sleeve," he added, giving a gentle tug on one of the full sleeves of her cream kimono that was dangling loosely.
The rest of the members of the archery club were wearing off-white kosode that had sleeves which stopped at the elbow, so as not to interfere with the bowstring. Kagome's full sleeves – both in length and depth – really should have given her some sort of problem with her archery. But they hadn't. She'd had to fire a bow in full miko garb enough times that they didn't bother her – even if there was a high wind that would have had the sleeves really getting in the way.
And an arrow a second – an important skill when in a deadly situation – was really extremely fast for the formalised shooting of the club.
"Oh," Kagome said softly, and blushed a little in embarrassment at having inadvertently shown off.
"Oh," Doumeki repeated with a solemn nod. "Come, sit, and talk to me about what is bothering you," he instructed gently, guiding her away from where she had been facing the target and waving for someone else to collect her arrows so someone else could practice.
Kagome, head hanging as she tried to hide her face beneath her fringe, allowed herself to be directed to a corner of the room and sat down.
"It's the Monkey's Paw, isn't it?" Doumeki asked softly, "and Nanami-san having it."
Kagome nodded in silent answer.
Doumeki nodded as well, and repeated Watanuki's question from earlier that Kagome hadn't answered. "How do you know it's the Monkey's Paw in that tube?" he asked, still keeping his voice soft.
"Because I put it there," Kagome answered, her eyes – haunted and dark – flashing up at him suddenly as those words whispered out from between her teeth.
"Higurashi, a word," the deep, commanding voice of Principle Takahashi called from the door of the club. Golden-brown eyes glanced at Doumeki seated, knee-to-knee, with the girl he'd just called. "Doumeki-san, you also," he added.
"Hai, Takahashi-sensei," they both answered, and Doumeki stood first so that he could help Kagome to her feet.
"Excuse the intrusion," Takahashi said with a nod to the captain of the club as the two students he'd called walked towards him and slipped through the door he was holding open. Once they were out, he shut the door. "This one is prepared to trust in your honour and discretion, Doumeki-san," Takahashi said as he led the two students to an out-of-the-way corner.
Doumeki nodded, slightly confused, when the black faded from the principle's hair completely and skin paled, leaving colourful markings standing out. Doumeki blinked in surprise. "Sesshoumaru-sama," Doumeki greeted softly, bowing slightly in recognition of the powerful demon that was also his school principle.
Sesshoumaru nodded in acceptance and turned vividly golden eyes on Kagome. "Miko, restrain your aura," he ordered firmly.
Kagome breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. She released the breath, breathed in again, nodded, and released, then opened her eyes. "Sorry, Sesshoumaru," she said.
"Hn. What has upset you, Miko?" he asked, voice low and hard.
"The woman here for educational training, Nanami-san. When Yuko-san was having Watanuki-san clean out her warehouse, she spotted and was granted possession of the Monkey's Paw," Kagome answered. "She doesn't know what it is yet, but she definitely wants to know what's sealed in that tube, despite promising Yuko-san making her promise never to open it," Kagome explained – having gotten that detail from Watanuki quietly after they had separated to go to their next class. "And apparently she's got the sort of luck that gives her whatever she wants."
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes slightly in thought as he considered that. "Return to your club, or go home," he said at last, and lay a clawed hand on Kagome's shoulder as a parent, older sibling, or dear friend would – to offer comfort. "And do not think of Nanami-san again. What fate has planned for her is not your responsibility. Repeat that, Miko. This Sesshoumaru wants assurances that you understand."
Kagome sighed. "Whatever happens to Nanami-san is not my fault, just because she got her hands on the Monkey's Paw even though I sealed it up tight. I cannot control fate, and what fate has planned is inevitable. To ascribe blame, accountability, responsibility, or fault to myself for things I could not control is counter-productive," Kagome said.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Good," he said firmly, and removed his hand from her shoulder. "Exorcist, this Sesshoumaru asks that you keep watch over the Miko until whatever fate has planned for Nanami-san and the Monkey's Paw has been played out," he requested formally.
Doumeki bowed. "I would have done so without being asked," he answered.
Sesshoumaru nodded in approval, and the black once more overcame his silver locks, his marks faded and his colour deepened until he was once again Takahashi Ichimaru, Principle of Cross Private School. With one last nod to his students, he left them.
"Higurashi-san?" Doumeki asked gently.
Kagome took a deep, slightly shaky breath. "Hai, Doumeki-san?"
"Do you want to go home, or return to club?" he asked.
"I should be alright to return to club," she answered with a smile. "I won't repeat what I did earlier, I promise. Now that I've talked about it with Sesshoumaru, I'll be fine."
Doumeki raised an eyebrow. "Why particularly did you need to speak with Takahashi-sensei?" he asked as he gently placed a hand on Kagome's lower back and urged her to start walking back to their club.
"Because he was there when I sealed it away," Kagome answered softly. "There are things that he knows about me that no one else does. Not even my family. But," she added, and smiled up at Doumeki. "If you decide that I'm not too bothersome to have for a friend, you'll probably get to hear all my stories eventually."
Doumeki smiled slightly back. "I think I would enjoy that," he said. "And you know, you said a whole lot more than Takahashi-sensei told you to repeat," he added with a hint of a teasing smirk about his features.
Kagome shoved him playfully. "He wouldn't have been satisfied if I'd just said that, I know him!" she informed him, a smile on her face again at last.
~oOo~
Kagome was walking with Kunogi, the two of them discussing the pig-tail wearing girl's new 'Piffle Princess' bag, on their way to join Watanuki and Doumeki for lunch. They'd have been there on time, but there had been a minor female emergency when Kunogi realised she'd lost some important feminine hygiene items. Fortunately for her, Kagome always carried a couple spare just in case.
"Sorry that we're so late..." Kunogi said as she pushed open the door that Watanuki and Doumeki had agreed they would have lunch by that day – only for the door to bump into a body, and knock something from their hand. "Ah!" Kunogi yelped, and reached to grab the tube before it could hit the ground and be scratched.
Kagome watched as Kunogi's aura of bad luck clashed with Nanami-san's aura of self-serving good luck around the seal over the tube that held the Monkey's Paw... and as soon as Kunogi handed it back, apologising softly and releasing it completely into the custody of the current owner, the seal broke.
Nanami-san stood perfectly still, eyes wide, as the knot untied itself and the tube slid open in her hold.
The black aura of the Monkey's Paw – an item responsible for taking the lives of many and returning the souls of the dead to their mutilated corpses because of selfish wishes – spilled out in coils of thick, oily blackness.
"It's open!" Watanuki gasped softly.
"I didn't break it did I?" Kunogi asked worriedly.
"It looks like a bit of driftwood," Doumeki noted.
Kagome stepped around Kunogi and took in the absolutely ecstatic face of Nanami-san.
"I don't believe it!" the woman exclaimed happily. "I think it's the Monkey's Paw!"
"I don't believe it," Kagome echoed. "You already forgot the promise you gave in exchange for it."
But Kagome wasn't heard by Nanami-san as she continued to rapture. "I've read about this in my books! The Monkey's Paw is supposed to grant wishes!" she gushed.
"A broken promise means so little to her when she gets what she wants as a result of breaking it," Kagome noted unhappily as she continued on to sit down at the small blanket where Doumeki and Watanuki had laid out the lunches already – Watanuki had taken Kagome and Kunogi's bentos both when they said they had to detour to the bathroom before they could join for lunch.
"Uh... It might not be..." Watanuki protested weakly.
"You never know, and these things are always happening to me," Nanami-san asserted happily. "It's just another sign of my great luck!" she proclaimed with a grin. "I know, let's test it to see whether or not it's real!"
Kagome's eyes widened in panic and she immediately began to pack up the lunch things as quickly as she could.
"Um... If you're not careful, it could turn out bad," Watanuki attempted to caution.
Kagome picked up her bento and turned to her friends and Nanami-san. "Even if you are careful, it will turn out bad."
"I'll be fine!" Nanami-san protested.
"And what about everybody else?" Kagome hissed at the woman sharply, fire in her eyes.
"Higurashi-san," Doumeki said softly, and wrapped a strong arm around her back and lay a large, calloused, but gentle hand on her shoulder. "Calm yourself," he counselled.
Kagome closed her eyes and took a couple of deep breaths. "Thank you, Doumeki-san," she said softly.
"How about this," Nanami-san said, a slightly less confident smile on her face than there had been a moment ago. "The students in educational training have to take gym next, and everybody will have to run, so... I wish it would rain from now until tonight."
Kagome broke from Doumeki's hold and slapped the woman as she moved past her to stand under the cover that hung only above the door.
"Higurashi-san!" Kunogi yelped in shock.
Doumeki moved quickly to Kagome's side to take both shoulders in his large hands, a questioning look on his face, though he remained silent.
"That was a selfish and thoughtless wish," she scolded the woman harshly, eyes blazing over Doumeki's arm before she wrenched herself from his hold to turn and open the door. Then the rain began. She remained dry as she stepped inside,and Doumeki – as he was under the eave over the door – was safe from the rainfall, but Watanuki, Kunogi and Nanami-san were all being slowly drenched by the downpour.
In response to Nanami-san's enthusiasm for the wishes she was making on the Monkey's Paw – as well as the consequences she didn't even stop to think about – Kagome threw herself into her studies and archery club. If she saw Nanami-san approaching, she turned away. If the woman spoke, and provided it wasn't important to her classes, Kagome tuned out. If Watanuki, Kunogi or Doumeki started to talk about Nanami-san and her wishes, then Kagome shut down or gave monosyllabic interjections.
She maintained this coldness until the very last day of the woman's educational training at their school, and she left.
This dedication meant that she was in a position to be automatically chosen to represent the school in the archery tournament. As it would run late, Kagome had packed an overnight bag and would be staying over at Doumeki's house, rather than catching the train back home again in the dark.
She won the girl's division, hands down. Doumeki won the boys too. The end result being that Sesshoumaru had nodded to them both in approval as he took the trophies to put on display at the school. Just for a little while. The trophies did belong to them after all.
A few days after that, Kagome got a letter from Sesshoumaru – maintaining their careful distance now that Kagome was no longer in a mood to be volatile with her powers on the school grounds. The letter stated that Nanami-san was dead, and that the Monkey's Paw was back in Yuko-san's safe-keeping.