Touch of Heart
Summary: Kagome Higurashi, after being homeschooled for so long, moved to a new home to live with her fiancé; her 'second' family takes the initiative to place her in his school. It was bad timing, perhaps. Her family had been taken from her; she wasn't there to stop the blood.
Anime: InuYasha/Battle Royale
Couple(s): Kagome/Kazuo
Genre: Romance/Angst
Rated: M
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Let the Games Begin
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Here is a theoretical question. If you have the ability to save someone's life, should you? Even if it meant you might be killed, should you not at least try to save them?
Kagome made to stand up and move in the direction of the dying boy only to have her hand gripped tightly by Kazuo. She was pulled down in her chair and her chair was pulled closer to his own desk. His hand didn't leave hers as he watched the body on the floor twitch, tears pooling and mixing with the blood splattered on the ground around the boys' body.
"NOOOOOO~! YOSHITOKI!"
It was sad, what this man was doing, it wasn't human. It couldn't be legal! The worst part was, it was just a TV show. Kagome watched as Shuuya ran out of his seat towards the dying boy, his aura still there, just flickering, wavering and barely a faint glow. However, the girl, Noriko, was the one to beat him to the body. She was the one to intercept the next bullet. At this point, Kagome couldn't hear anything that was being said. Her ears burned with the echoing gunshot and their words were all meshed together.
~BANG~
The blood was everywhere; this time, the bullet had pierced the girls' leg. More murmurs, more words which she was blocking out unknowingly so. And more blood...
~BANG~
"YOU PSYCHOTIC SON OF A BITCH!" Shuuya wasn't happy. He was anything but happy. He was angry, yelling loudly at the instructor. "NO MORE! NO FUCKING MORE!"
Kagome was sure another person was going to be shot, but Shinji was the one to prove that thought faulty. She turned her attention away from the gun being pointed at Shuuya, and her attention stayed on the smooth talking Shinji as he ran across the tables and flipped to the side to punch Shuuya and send him flying backwards.
"Let me get this straight, the man with the gun says "stay in your seats" and you take that to mean...jump around the room like demented grasshoppers?" He sneered, "The two of you will return to your seats now! Understood?!"
Shinji cracked his knuckles and walked forward, his direction was made obvious as his eyes never left the teachers, and his steps were growing closer and closer to the monster holding the gun. Almost simultaneously, six machine guns were pointed straight at him. Shinji smirked, stepping forward so that his forehead was pressed to the barrel of the gun. "How much per dead body?"
The room went quiet, stunned by his gall.
"How much do they deduct from your fee for every..."contestant" you take down?"
"What's this now? What do you know, boy? Do you think you have something to hold over me?"
Kagome could see the drop of sweat run down Shinji's cheek, she knew he was scared shitless, but what he was doing, had put the asshole up front at a standstill too.
"You said forty-three starts the game, but now there is only forty-two. How much money do you forfeit at forty-one, forty, or thirty-nine?"
"Heh, we were only supposed to have forty-two, so technically, this works out best."
"Yeah, but I'm betting these penalties run kind of steep. How badly are the ratings affected if there are too few of us to make a run for the oh-seven record? I'll bet there are all sorts of penalties for fucking up that particular cash cow, "sir"..."
"Sir!" Her voice carried throughout the class. She stood up and pulled her hand free from Kazuo's. He'd comment no doubt later about this.
"Yes, Miss. Higurashi?"
"Some of us would like to continue with the rest of the lesson. If you don't mind."
Shinji met her eyes as Kamon turned his attention to Kagome as well. He gave a small smile of appreciation, but his features hardened not even a second after.
"Right, very well. You..." he turned to Shinji, "I almost bought into that, you had it so well prepared. Now sit down, before I forget I'm in a good mood now."
Shinji chuckled, "One more thing, sir."
"What is it, make it quick. I'm beginning to remember just why I loathe teenagers so much."
"Well, it's just, the odds are in favor of a girl winning...you killed him, and forty-two, while it does break down, it is twenty-two girls and twenty boys. That just isn't fair. Noriko's wounded, sir..."
"Ah...I see. Male pride, yes. Perhaps we should postpone the show until two male replacements can be found, eh? Or, better yet...why not just even the odds hear and now, and clear the air of any misconceptions there may be of your lives being of any worth to me." He laughed.
"Wait! Are we not men?! What are one or two extra girls?"
"Delightful! And faux macho, now get the fuck back to your seat! Let us continue for the young Miss. Higurashi."
Kagome turned her eyes and listened silently to a couple girls whispering off to the side of her.
"Unbelievable! No talking should be a fucking given!"
Kagome watched the knife slice through the air, and as it stuck itself into the center of a female's forehead, she wondered momentarily, if they would make it out of the classroom to even get a chance to survive this slaughter show. She fell back dead on another girls' desk, but no one said anything. He continued on about inherent abilities. A piece of paper was placed down on everyone's desk.
"Now, I want everyone to write down, "I will kill" followed by the name of a classmate, and then repeat until all of your classmates' names have been written."
"Sir?"
Kamon turned to Kagome, "Yes, Miss. Higurashi?"
"I'm afraid that today is my first day...I don't know anyone's name. In fact, I didn't care to even ask anybody."
"I see...then leave it blank, everyone else, please continue."
Once everyone was done, he went on to say the rules, "I suggest everyone pay close attention, it'll be your lives if you don't." A soldier brought in a bunch of bags before Kamon continued. "Attend! These are your supply packs. One for each of you...within, you will find water, field rations, a map, a compass, and a watch. As well as a randomly selected weapon, with which you will...heh, why belabor the obvious. Each bag contains a different weapon, variety being the spice of life. Or so I've heard." He laughed.
His words met a wall as Kagome chose not to listen to the next part. More insults the children, some advice on not letting their guards down.
"Right then, logistics!" He drew out a map and set it up on a grid, "We are on an island. The entire island is your arena. There are no "out of bounds." No safe zones. The X indicates your current location, the school. I will be in the school premises throughout the competition. Before any of you get bright ideas of overthrowing the compound, I've been doing this for a while, so it won't be easy. In here, I will be overseeing the troops who will be here monitoring your progress, or lack thereof."
Kagome ran her hand over Kazuo's, and let a small smile grace her lips, though...it didn't reach her eyes. He tightened his grip on her hand and didn't let it go as Kamon continued the rules.
"The ocean is not an escape option, and anyone foolhardy enough to try such a course of action...will be used for target practice. Coastal patrol has orders to shoot to kill. Collateral damage is no issue, as the previous residents were only too happy to sacrifice their homes and island for the good of the Program. Patriots all...but I dare digress...phone and power lines are all down, as are the water mains. Still, feel free to use any standing structure to your best advantage. Hide if you feel you must...I'd advise against it. You be flushed out, sooner or later, by the more ambitious. Attend!"
Kagome looked over the grid, letter by letter, number by number, and wondered where this was going. She vaguely recalled the Program, and had never really watched it except for seeing the girl who'd won awhile back.
"Note the grid. The island has been divided into somewhat equal zones. These zones, at any moment, can and will be designated danger zones. The danger zones will be P.A. broadcast. "D-4 is now a danger zone, as of twelve-fifteen." Or whatever the time may be. Now this brings us to our next topic, the fashionable collars around your necks have been fitted with very high-tech. They are very effective, and should it receive the appropriate signal...explosively lethal. That said, the school grounds become a permanent danger zone once the last of you passes through the perimeter. Oh, and the collars also relay vital signs and locations to our computers. So, should you all band together and refuse to fight...and twenty-four hours passes without an elimination...all of the collars detonate. All die. No glory. So sad. File that under, you snooze, you lose!" He grinned, "It's kill or be killed, little warriors! We all on the same page?"
Kagome felt a piece of paper slip into her hand and she glanced down, smiling, she passed it on to the lackey of Kazuo's that was stationed on her left.
"Excellent! You'll be exiting at two-minute intervals, effective immediately. Starting with...our recent transfer...Miss. Kagome Higurashi. Come forward, my dear. A bag for the lady, gentleman..."
Kagome took the back with carful fingers, it was heavy, but she didn't let her hand lower any when handed the bag. She simply shouldered it and went on her way. She knew where she was going. The words on the small piece of paper he'd passed her way were embedded into her head.
~ Meet me at the southernmost end of this rock and be careful. ~
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Me: Here is chapter five, I hope you all enjoyed!