21Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or YuYu Hakusho.
A Deadly Game
Chapter One,
"The world is made up of two classes-the hunters and the huntees."
-Rainsford, "The Most Dangerous Game"
"Are you sure they said six, Ayumi-chan," Higurashi Kagome inquired of the girl besides her as she looked from the blinking 6:23 on her pink cell phone to her long time friend standing next to her. Both girls wore the same pink uniform that represented their prestigious high school. The duo had been patiently waiting for their friends outside of the carnival entrance where they had agreed to meet nearly half an hour ago.
"That's what Eri's text said," Okamoto Ayumi distractedly replied as she looked at her own cell phone, re-reading the text that she had received the other day. "I don't get it. They should have been out of cram school by now."
Kagome shrugged her shoulders. This would not have been the first time Eri or Yuka was late to one of their meet ups.
"They probably just got distracted," Ayumi reasoned aloud.
At that Kagome snorted unbelievingly and replied, "Right and I'm betting these distractions probably have nothing to do with those guys that Yuka is always gushing about."
"That would be a sucker's bet Kagome-chan. Let's just go in already then. We can always meet up later," Ayumi giggled, grabbing Kagome's hand and dragging her to the nearest ride.
Nodding her head, Kagome eagerly followed the other girl. She loved her friends dearly, but out of the three of them, she was glad that it was Ayumi who had gotten into Meiou with her (how she had pulled off the grades for a school like Meiou had been nothing short of a miracle). Yuka and Eri were just too boy crazy and superficial for her to handle on a constant basis. They were great friends but since she started high school, she just was not interested in the same things as them whereas with Ayumi it was easier to be herself, well most of herself.
Vivid neon lights flashed brightly, lighting up the nighttime sky. The roar of zooming roller coasters, music, and laughter filled the night. Urameshi Yusuke glared at the flashing lights illuminating before him. Any other time he probably would have enjoyed himself at a place like this. But unfortunately he was not there to enjoy the junk food or fast rides, but rather on a mission for the toddler Prince of Spirit World, Koenma. As usual some lowlife demon had escaped the Demon World and it was up to him to deal with the prince's mistake.
"There you are Urameshi, I've been looking everywhere for yah," Kuwabara Kazuma loudly exclaimed, immediately catching Yusuke's attention.
Glaring at the tall red head as he approached him, Yusuke grumbled, "Apparently not everywhere. I've been waiting for you large ass for almost an hour already. Right where Botan said I'd meet you."
"Whatever Urameshi. Hey where's the shrimp and Kurama?"
"They got tired of waiting for you, and they already went inside. Hiei could only pick up a faint energy with his Jagan, but what about you? Do you sense anything," Yusuke asked, looking expectantly at the taller boy.
Kuwabara briefly glanced at Yusuke before starring off into the distance. He focused his spiritual energy and expanded his sixth sense, trying to pick up on any foreign demonic energy. He thought he spotted something for an instant, but it was gone faster than he could blink.
He let his shoulders sag and shook his head no in answer.
"So this is gonna be an old fashioned demon hunt," Yusuke replied, cracking his knuckles gleefully.
Kuwabara nodded his head thoughtfully and spoke, "So what kind of demon are we after anyways? Did Koenma give you any useful information?"
Yusuke snorted and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets as he started to walk in a random direction. "Yeah right. The dumb toddler just knows that a demon energy was sensed somewhere around here."
The curly haired girl had chosen the tallest roller coaster for their first ride. From there they excitedly chose to ride the fastest and tallest rides before Eri or Yuka finally called them as the two were terrified of heights. And it wasn't until more than an hour later and they had ridden nearly all the rides, some more than once, that they finally got a text from the two saying that they would not be able to make if after all.
They had both expected that.
"C'mon Ayumi let's go get some food and then play some games," Kagome suggested. This time she was the one to lead the other girl to the nearest food booth. Agreeing with her, they quickly found themselves in line.
"I hope they have some oden left," Kagome commented, trying to look over the shoulders of those in front of them to see the food. At that, the curly haired girl chuckled at her friend. Some things would never change.
"Don't worry Higurashi-san, from what I can see they still have plenty left," a smooth voice suddenly answered from behind the two girls.
Twirling around, they came in sight of a familiar male in the Meiou's boy school uniform. Long red locks and stunning green eyes immediately caught their attention. On anybody else the pink uniform and red hair would have clashed horribly, but not for Minamino Shuichi. He effortlessly pulled off the look while still maintaining his masculinity.
"Minamino-san," Kagome politely acknowledged him with a small bow. She would have preferred running into Hojo (who, probably because of Eri and Yuka, was still deadest on becoming her boyfriend) than the red head. There was something about him that always put her on guard. He threw her senses off and she was never able to tell what it was exactly that bothered her about him and so she tended to avoid him whenever she could (which was harder than it seemed because they had shared the same homeroom since they both started attending Meiou).
Besides her tall classmate stood a much shorter male with unusually tall hair and wicked red eyes, that made Kagome nervous. And next to him stood death, literally. She could tell just by looking at the blue haired, purple eyed girl without an aura.
She knew avoiding Minimino had been the right decision. But before she could excuse herself and Ayumi, the red head started to talk.
"I didn't expect any other Meiou students to be here," he casually commented as his keen eyes took in his surroundings.
Ayumi let out a giggle, instantly covering her laughter with her hand. She could easily guess the reason for his anxieties. "Relax Minamino-san, we haven't run into anybody else from school. Kagome-chan and I went out of our way to come here."
Kagome started to tune out the pointless conversation as death was pulled into it. The short demon remained silent and uninterested. She kept his gaze on him as he was the biggest threat. He noticed her staring and soon enough red clashed with blue. It was not until Ayumi pinched her arm that she was brought back to reality. She looked expectantly at her friend, hoping she would fill in the gaps that she had missed.
"Shuichi-san asked you a question."
Kagome raised an eyebrow at the use of his first name, but otherwise ignored it, for now. Instead she turned her attention to the red head. "I'm sorry. Can you repeat the question Minamino-san?"
The taller boy laughed good-naturedly and spoke, "I asked if you were nervous about the archery competition this weekend Higurashi? It is the first competition of the season, right?"
Kagome nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. In truth, she had not given much thought to the tournament that weekend. Probably not something she should mention as team captain, but she was confident in the team's skill. They were the best in Tokyo.
"I'm not too worried. It's pretty much a given that we're gonna beat Furinkan," Kagome confidently replied.
The short demon in front of her snorted. And Kagome, not liking the connotation of the snort, returned to glaring at him.
Kurama quickly intervened before the tension escalated anymore between the two. "Higurashi here is the captain of the school's archery club. They haven't lost a tournament since she joined the team."
"Oh wow, that's pretty impressive," the blue haired girl commented.
Hiei turned his head with a huff, and spoke, changing the subject, "We should be going. We came to this disgusting place for a reason."
Kurama nodded his head, and smiled charmingly at Kagome and Ayumi. "I'm sorry but my friend is right. We really should be going. It was good seeing you again Okamoto-san, Higurashi-san."
Ayumi giggled and replied, "No need for such formalities Shuichi-san. Ayumi and Kagome are fine."
Kagome shot her friend a pointed look that mostly went ignored. She did not want the red head to get the wrong idea; they weren't going to be friends.
"See you at school." Ayumi cheerfully waved them goodbye.
Kagome rolled her eyes and grabbed her friend's arm. She started to drag her in the opposite direction.
"Thought you wanted to get some food," Ayumi commented.
Kagome dropped her friend's arm and replied, "I'm not really hungry anymore. And I want to play some games."
Ayumi shot her friend a speculative glance. Anyone who knew Kagome knew how much she loved oden. She rarely passed up on an opportunity to have some. But Ayumi decided to let it go and chose to follow her friend to the nearest game booth.
"That was a waste of time," Hiei commented as the three Spirit World employees wandered around the carnival. The short hybrid glared at all the humans around him, disgusted with what he saw.
Kurama only smiled at his friend's surly attitude. "Maybe, but it's not like we've gotten any real leads."
Botan nodded her head. "I liked them. Though I am surprised you stopped to talk to them, Kurama."
"Well, those two are the only girls in school who I can actually stand," Kurama admitted. "Plus, I wanted your opinion on her."
Botan's grin widened, her eyes lighting up with mirth. "Ooh, interested are you?"
Hiei grunted, not seeing the fox's attraction.
"Something like that. The girl, Higurashi, what did you think of her?"
"I think you have a better chance with her friend. She didn't seem all that interested," Botan replied.
Kurama shook his head and explained, "I didn't quite mean it like that. There's something…different about her."
Botan tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Now that you mention it, she did seem a bit, standoffish. And she was looking at Hiei as if she knew what he is."
Before much else could be said, Yusuke and Kuwabara ran up to the trio.
"Find anything," Yusuke asked, unknowingly changing the subject.
"Unfortunately, no. We sensed its presence when we first arrived here, but I believe it has since fled," Kurama answered.
Yusuke nodded his head and spoke, "You're probably right. Hiei, why don't you survey the surrounding area?"
Without bothering to acknowledge his suggestion, Hiei took off in a flash.
"Botan, you should report back to Koenma and let us know if he has any other information. And the three of us will stick around a little longer, just in case," Yusuke ordered.
"Alright then, later boys," Botan cheerfully waved at the three before taking off.
The last ride of the night was the funhouse, mostly Ayumi's idea. Kagome was ready to head home already. It was getting late and she needed to be up early the next morning to prepare for the tournament. Which was what she told Ayumi, when in reality she was reluctant to enter because she saw Minamino and his friends walk in ahead of them.
"C'mon Kagome-chan, it'll be fun," Ayumi giggled.
"Fine," Kagome relented as they started through the house. It had its typical rooms you would expect in a tacky place like that, floors that moved, crazy paintings, a moon bounce room, and a labyrinth of mirrors. It was in that room that she was separated from Ayumi.
Kagome frowned when she caught her reflections surrounding her every which way. Her hair, which she left mainly untouched, had grown a few more inches. She would definitely need to get that cut. She was starting to look more like Kikyo than she was comfortable with.
She only looked up when she felt the presence of a demon. She had felt it flash up a few times that night, but it had never stayed long enough for her to pinpoint it.
She started to call out Ayumi's name. She just wanted to find her friend and get out of there. But as if her life was some bad horror film, the lights chose that moment to go out. The temperature in the room even dropped, chilling her to the bone.
Cursing her luck, she wandered aimlessly around. The room was pitch black, and she could barely see a thing in front of her. Because of her lack of site, she ended up bumping into another person. Before she could apologize, he started to yell.
"Hey, watch where you're going."
She could make out a faint outline of the boy in front of her. He sounded around her age, maybe younger. Though he was taller than her by a few inches.
She stomped her foot and snapped back, "Well sorry that I can't see in the dark, jerk."
"You could've at least apologized," he retorted.
"I would've if somebody hadn't jumped down my throat," she shot back.
He faltered and muttered, "Whatever."
Kagome's anger dissolved and she giggled. His behavior reminding her of a surly hanyou she once knew. Between giggles she asked, "Lost?"
"Yeah. I've been looking for my friends. Knew coming in here was a bad idea," he grumbled. He couldn't even feel the demon's aura anymore. His whole night had been a bust.
"I know what you mean. How about we stick together then," she offered.
He shrugged his shoulders. The demon was probably long gone and he didn't see any harm. "Sure."
"Great. I'm Higurashi Kagome by the way," she introduced herself.
"Urameshi Yusuke," He grunted in kind.
Nodding her head, the two attempted to guide themselves through the maze. The lights flickered a few more times before finally deciding to stay on, relieving the pair. There was something about the place that was giving off a bad vibe which set them both one edge.
Kagome noticed their reflection by chance on a nearby mirror, or what should have been their reflections. A pair of red eyes met her gaze and Kagome stumbled into Yusuke, freezing. They reminded her so much of Naraku's, so full of malice that it scared her.
It stared at the two appraisingly before smiling, a mouth full of jagged teeth. It chilled both the miko and the spirit detective.
"You'll both do."
The lights flickered and it was gone.
"What the hell," Yusuke exclaimed.
Kagome laughed a little too loud as she stepped away from Yusuke. Shivering, she hugged her arms close to her body for comfort and warmth.
"Probably some sick idea of a joke," she tried to play off
"Yeah…right," Yusuke played along, though his gaze lingered on the mirror. Demons normally didn't get to him. He was Urameshi Yusuke, he didn't get scared. But something about this whole situation rubbed him the wrong way.
"C'mon, let's get out of here," he roughly stated as he turned to the girl besides him and got the first good look at her all night. He was surprised to find that she was kind of cute and that she looked pretty spooked. Seems like he wasn't the only one put-off by their time in there.
Without much thought he took off his jacket and clumsily handed it to her. "Here."
Kagome stared at it, confused for a second before hesitantly accepting it. She was too cold not too. And he didn't seem like a bad guy, plus he was kind of cute.
"Thanks," she mumbled.
Nodding his head, the two finally made it out of the funhouse in an awkward silence. Thankfully standing near the back exit was Kurama and Ayumi, deep in conversation.
"Oi, where's Kuwabara," Yusuke yelled, startling the two.
Kurama looked up, annoyed at the interruption. "Shizuru called, he was needed home."
Kagome ran to Ayumi's side and tugged on her arm. "Can we go now?"
"Sure," Ayumi reluctantly agreed before turning back to their red headed classmate. "I'll see you tomorrow Shuichi-kun."
Smiling politely Kurama spoke, "Good night ladies. And good luck on your tournament tomorrow Higurashi-san."
"Yeah, sure," Kagome rudely stated as she dragged Ayumi away, eager to get home and forget what she had just seen.
Yusuke snorted at the reaction. "Seems like you can't charm all the ladies."
Rolling his eyes, Kurama asked, "Anything interesting happen in there?"
"So you felt it."
"Yeah, what was it," Kurama replied. The two spirit detectives fell in sync as they walked out of the near empty carnival.
"Not really sure, but we gotta deal with it and soon."