Chapter One:
My eyes fly open, and I find myself wincing because of the bright lights…
As soon as i regain my sight, I find myself staring at a boringly white ceiling, and a bright yellow hanging light.
The first thought that strikes me is … my ceilings not white.
The next thing I know, I'm sitting upright, staring in fear at my surroundings.
My single bed, white curtains… what am i in, a hospital? A mental hospital? I really don't know what to think.
My heartbeat is pounding loudly in my ears... and I'm shaking slightly. Question after question pours through my head, Where am I? Why am I here? How do I get home?
Etc. etc. – standard panicking, and freaking out procedure.
There's a knock on the door, and I start, grasping the sheets close to me.
"C-come in?" I manage to choke out, knowing that those two words had been coated in fright.
A man, in about his 20's peaks his head around the corner, eyeing me skeptically.
I stare back at him fearfully.
After a second or two, he looks away, and calls over his shoulder, "Kaede! She's awake!"
A whole mob of women form at the door, all wearing white kimono's, peering in at me critically and judgingly.
"Nothing like what I expected." One muttered
"Could pass for a kitsune." Another scoffed.
"Priestess? My-"
They caught me looking back at them, and their ridiculing was reduced to whispers.
Great. In an unknown place, for unknown reason and first thing hat happens? I get a load of crap from people I don't even know. I'm about ready to curl up into a ball and die, when they finally move away, and their voices become hushed and respectful.
"Be quite, why don't you?" a voice sighs, and the women all nod and bob their heads reverently.
I'm prepared for the worst- for the freak of freaks… maybe an old woman with graying hair, an eye patch, a withered, wrinkled face…short stature…
But what I see is much more surprising.
A girl, of about 13 years old, stands in the door way, hair pulled back messily behind her, and a curious look on her face. Crazily enough, she's somewhat short, AND she has an eye patch over her right eye.
With a small wave of her hand, the women back off, and hurry down the hallway, gossiping away, most likely about me.
The man is standing next to the door, like a soldier or something, waiting for a command.
"Rikichi, I can be alone for a few minutes, can't I?" the girl asks, still looking at me.
"y-yes…I suppose…" he replied slowly.
She shoots him a sharp glance, and he hurries off , to who knows where.
The girl approaches me almost silently, eyes scrutinizing me…yet not in the way that the older women had. While theirs had been critical, and down right rude, her stare was searching, and kind. Finally she reaches my bedside, and sits on the edge of the bed.
I draw slightly away from her. Scared. Which is absolutely, positively stupid right? I mean scared, of a girl who's 3 years younger than me? But one can never be too careful… right?
"I'm Kaede." She tells me quietly, almost shyly, "Kaede Kon." She offers me a smile, which I force myself to return. Yet I'm more than positive it looked highly strained.
"Kagome…" I mutter in reply. At this point in time, and this current situation, I'm not wiling to give out my last name.
"Higurashi, right?" she inquires.
I freeze up, and I get a little cold.
"i… yeahh.."I reply tentatively, heart rate increasing again.
"I'm not a stalker or anything." She puts in quickly, "but, my parents talked about you're family a lot… I think we're…. cousins? Or something?"
I study her face. It didn't look all too familiar, but the hairstyle…
As if she knows what I'm thinking, she fishes something out her pocket.
"You of course wouldn't know me. But maybe my- " she pauses for a moment "-sister?" her voice is hopeful, underlined with sadness as she says the last word.
She flips the picture over and I give a start. It was a picture of an 18 year old girl with long black hair, pulled back like Kaede's and dark, thoughtful eyes.
Kikyo- I think her name was… the only reason I knew was because relatives frequently told me I look like her… and we have a picture almost identical to it at home among all the other family photos.
"That's my older sister, Kikyo." She murmurs quietly. "She died last year in… an accident." She mumurs softly, though there is a hint of pride in her voice as she says it.
"I remember Kikyo." I find myself saying softly, "my mom says she went to a really nice, exclusive, hard to get into school… "
Kaede laughs.
"Hard to get into? Completely- if you don't meet certain criteria. Exclusive? Right on the mark. Nice?" she laughs again, "I think that's up to you to decide. "
I stare at her, wondering what the hell is going on.
"Welcome, to Sengoku Academy!"