Keeping a Promise by kaoruhana
Keeping a Promise
Kagome looked apprehensive as she and her friends sat around the Kokkuri-san game. She wasn’t sure how she had been convinced to play. After all, Kagome was known as the smart no-nonsense girl who wouldn’t dare try to mess with things like this. They invited trouble and coming from a family which ran a shrine she had been schooled in never messing or playing around with games like these. Nonetheless, her curiosity had won her over and here she was, afterschool in her classroom playing with the game. She and Eri sat across from each other and Kagome gulped before picking up her pen and glancing at Eri before placing her finger next to Eri’s in the center of the board. Taking a deep breath the two girls uttered the words they needed to say.
“Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, tell me when is the date of my death.”
The words uttered, the two girls watched as the pen shifted and finally settled on a date. It was obvious that this answer was meant for Kagome because she was sitting on the side of the circle from which the hiragana characters could be read. The pen hovered between two dates and finally settled. Leaning over Kagome took a look at the number chosen- ten. Whispering the number out loud to herself seemed to trigger the board to move again and she watched with baited breath. This time it immediately swerved to rest on a date: thirty-one. Gulping, she read the number out loud and then watched as the pen hovered in between two numbers before settling on its final choice. It was twelve and when Kagome muttered it the pen sharply swiveled again until it was pointed- writing side up- towards Eri.
Slowly, the girls pieced the dates together and when Kagome realized what the date was she paled. Eri, who had heard Kagome mutter the numbers under her breath also paled. According to Kokkuri-san Kagome was going to die in three weeks on Halloween. Other girls who had seen the date the pen laid out began whispering and soon word of what had been chosen for Kagome spread. Some of her classmates looked at her sadly while others tried to play it off. Sighing, Ayumi Hisagawa, the girl who had suggested that everyone play this game in the first place begged everyone to just let the game continue. So looking at Eri again, Kagome began the process waiting to see what Kokkuri-san would tell her friend.
“Don’t worry Kagome, it’s just a game.” Yuka answered as the two walked home later. Nodding, Kagome agreed with her but inside apprehension was gnawing at her. Growing up on a shrine she had been told to never mess with spirits and to always pay attention to what they had to say. Playing this game itself had been a violation of those rules. And the answer given to her- Kagome wasn’t sure if she could ever not accept it. Halloween had been celebrated by her family but it was still common for Kagome’s mother to always tell her to be careful and not do anything that would or could hurt her. This included spiritual practices. Shaking it off, Kagome bid goodbye and quickly walked up the stairs and into her house. It wasn’t until she’d reached the shrine grounds however that she felt protected. Casting the feeling off, she moved about the house and began doing homework while her mother prepared dinner.
The weeks passed and the extreme paranoia that Kagome had the first day soon gave way to just a weary resignation. It was Halloween and after much pleading and begging on her part her mother had allowed her to go a Halloween party hosted by one of her classmates. Kagome had still felt some fear from the incident with her classmates but it was more of a safety problem she mused. She only felt safe in the shrine now or when she was at school though she chalked that up to her being overly scared. Taking a look at the outfit she was wearing to the party she made any last minute adjustments and walked out. Eri and Yuka had convinced her to be Sailor Mars while they each dressed as Sailor Saturn and Sailor Mercury respectively. She still wasn’t sure how they had convinced her but decided that being part of a team outfit was better than being by herself so she agreed. As she walked downstairs, she met her mother who was waiting in the living room with Eri and Yuka.
“Have fun girls.” She muttered giving Kagome a hug. “Stay safe and let me know if you end up deciding to just spend the night in one of your houses.” The girls all nodded and left talking about the fun night ahead. As Kagome officially stepped off the shrine grounds and onto the stairs leading down she felt as though something was watching her. Shaking the feeling off, she walked with Yuka and Eri to the place where the party was going to be held- Ayumi Hisagawa’s place. The entire walk to the party Kagome couldn’t shake her paranoia and often caught herself glancing around to double-check for her safety.
“Kagome? Are you okay?” Yuka finally asked taking in her friend’s anxiousness. Eri glanced at her as well and gently touched Kagome’s arm.
“You know that was only a game right Kagome? There was nothing to it.” Kagome nodded, trying to dissuade her friend’s worry while attempting to calm herself down with the words as well. Walking further, the friends arrived at the party venue and stepped in finding themselves immediately lost in a crowd of high school students. Somehow they managed to stay together and took in the surroundings.
Ayumi was by what looked to be a makeshift bar with a drink in her hands that was sloshing dangerously. All three immediately realized that the host of the party was already drunk and knew that the party would probably the talk of the school later. Eri, always being the more daring and social one announced that she was going to go off to dance with the cute guy from their classroom leaving Yuka and Kagome alone. The two mingled for a bit, dancing, drinking, and having fun. After a while, Kagome felt the need to use the bathroom and left her friend on the dance floor. She waited in line for what seemed forever and finally walked in stiffening when a cold sensation spread through her. A sudden click caused her to jump and squeak before she turned to find the source of the sound.
The door had locked even though she’d just entered and was sure that she hadn’t locked it. Kagome gingerly unlocked the door only to watch in horror as the lock clicked into place again. She unlocked the door and went on to open it when she felt cold hands pulling her away from the door. Before Kagome could scream, a pale hand was clapped over her mouth. Kagome tried to fight whatever had grabbed her and prayed that this was only someone’s idea of a sick Halloween joke. She turned her face towards the mirror as she fought in her trashing and opened her wide eyes as she saw the reflection. There was a face looking at her from the mirror but it was not hers- the face in the mirror was paler, gaunt, and had a sinister smile painted onto it. She realized that this was something more than a sick joke and her fear began to show itself.
“Yes.” The word caused Kagome to look closely at the mirror again and she saw a reflection of the man holding her. He was strikingly pale with crystal silver hair and gleaming amber eyes. His mouth opened to show gleaming white fangs and Kagome couldn’t help but remark how his grin made her feel so insecure. Her knees quaked and she started crying trying in vain to save herself.
“You should have never left the shrine little one.” The man whispered inhaling the scent of her fear. To know that he wielded such power made him heady with excitement. Nonetheless, he was brought here on a task and he was going to fulfill it.
Sesshomaru was Kokkuri-san’s assassin. He was sent to personally kill victims that Kokkuri sought him for. These were usually victims who Kokkuri-san had already predicted the death of but were protected by some form of spiritual power. His job was to lure them out then trap them and give their soul to Kokkuri-san. The thrill of this hunt excited him but the fear in the eyes of his victims troubled him. He had only become Kokkuri’s assassin because she had become jealous when he’d cheated one of her subjects out of death twice. Angry at being rebuffed the spirit had fought with him until he was forced to bend to her will. Now, seeing the pale face of this teenage girl he wasn’t sure whether she was worthy adversary or not. He had thought she would fight back earlier but was disappointed by her blatant fear. And that was when he felt it.
There was a sharp spike in her aura and Sesshomaru felt the first touch of purifying power in two hundred years. The aura burned him and he hissed digging his claws into the girls arm and watching as her arm became riddled with drops of blood. That seemed to do the trick as her fear managed to take hold and rein in her protective aura once again. Seeing that he now had her under his hold again, Sesshomaru glanced at the door. He felt the barrier that Kokkuri-san had constructed for him to ensure that no one heard the victim before their death. Taking his hand away from the girls mouth he placed his hand on the sword by his side drawing it out of its sheath. Kagome opened her mouth to scream and did so but was panicked when the man behind her smirked.
“Let me go!” She screeched still trying to fight his hold.
“I’m afraid that no one can hear you priestess.” Sesshomaru murmured watching the fear take hold of her body. Her breath came out in harsh gasps and her eyes were wide and darting around looking for an escape. Another smirk appeared on her attacker’s face. Sesshomaru realized he’d have to kill her soon. Kokkuri-san’s barriers only lasted for short periods of time and he had to kill this girl before the barrier gave way. With a sudden movement, he threw his victim against the door and plunged his sword through her chest before she could regain her bearings.
“Never play with Kokkuri-san priestess.” Were the last words he stated before sheathing his sword once again. There was no blood on it- Kokkuri-san had made sure of that by being there with him in the room and taking it from him before it became part of the blade. Her face which had appeared so gaunt in the mirror now looked fuller and gave Sesshomaru a quick glance of approval assuring him that she had been pleased with his job before disappearing. Sesshomaru moved the body of the girl onto the floor and then vanished.
When Yuka went to check on what was taking her friend so long in the bathroom she found a locked door. Knocking on the door and telling her friend to open the door didn’t help much but eventually she heard a click. Opening the door, Yuka’s eyes found her friend- clearly dead on the bathroom floor with a gaping bloody hole in the middle of her chest. Screaming hysterically Yuka turned from the scene and ran straight into a man with long silver hair and pale skin.
“Kokkuri-san always keeps her promises.” He stated before vanishing. Turning back to her dead friend in the bathroom Yuka panicked as she saw no body or trace of blood on the floor. Sesshomaru watching from the side smirked as he eyed his next victim. Yuka, not believing that her friend’s body could disappear so fast tried in vain to search for it only to come up empty handed. Kagome’s body was never found again and two weeks later when Yuka went missing her body was never found just like her friends.
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A/N: Kokkuri-San is a game closly resembling a Oujia Board. It has Hirigana characters of numbers printed on it in a cirlce. Two girls hold a ballpoint pen in the center with a finger and ask the question “Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, tell me when is the date of my death.” The pen then twirls to a date that answers the question about the girls' death dates. I took some liberty with it and made it a little western in terms of how it tells them the date. Also, in this case I connected the game with a female spirit who is vengeful about getting souls and has the power to bend people to do her bidding. The actual game only tells of a spirit but does not paint Kokkuri-san as a spirit who takes action to get her “promises” across.