InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dances with Demons ❯ Hard Choices ( Chapter 1 )

The Courage of Hojo

Hojo left his home early one Thursday morning with some exitement. It was springtime, and it was time for new beginnings. His friend's girlfriend, Ayami, had just told him the remarkable news over the phone: Kagome Higurashi was coming to school today! In a flash, he had grabbed his bicycle helmet, jumped onto his ride, and sped towards Hensen Street. If he hurried, he might catch Kagome and have a word with her before the bell. The world became a blur of blue sky, green grass, and gray city as he pedalled furiously. His thoughts turned inward.

Ah, Kagome. So lovely and mysterious. Kind and thoughtful. Despite his rapid speed, Hojo's eyes fluttered wistfully and he sighed. An old lady and her dog whizzed by as he veered off the sidewalk and began following a shortcut path into a wooded area. Hojo had always had a bit of a crush on her, but lately his passion had been laced with worry. For some time now, Kagome had been missing classes because of strange and sudden onslaughts of sickness. Sometimes, when he asked her grandfather of her current status, he had to brace himself for the bizarre illnesses that were named (often slowly and awkwardly - poor man, to see his own grandchild worse off than himself - terrible!).

And so Hojo had treasured the times that Kagome wasn't violently ill, and considered her all the more extraordinary from other girls. Strangely, she never looked worse for wear, although she often looked flustered and understandably preoccupied. Hojo remembered one day he had gone to bring Kagome a soft, exquisite quilt that he had knitted (Yes, he could knit. Lots of boys knit, right?!). Her grandfather had taken him aside, thanked him, and told him in grave untertones that Kagome had come down with a foreign disease that colored the body a bright fuschia. Apparently it was very contagious. Yet only the next day she had been sighted storming out of the Higurashi Shrine in her normal pink hue. He wondered if her grandfather, in his age and vexed state of mind, was getting the various diseases Kagome had accululated mixed up. Hojo shrugged mentally and tried to give the matter no further consideration.

Hojo was a modest, unassuming kind of guy, but he was not so dense as some people assumed. Just because he was athletic, popular, and good-looking did not mean he wasn't smart. He knew, for instance, that most of the girls at junior high would jump at the chance to be with him. But Hojo was also a good person. His parents had raised him well, well enough to know that it was wrong to be a part of a relationship that was one-sided. Hojo decided long ago that he would never succumb and pair up with a girl that wasn't Kagome Higurashi. "Call it obsession if you like," Hojo had retorted to his friend Kappei once (who was always trying vainly to set him up), "but there's only one girl in the entire world for me, and Kagome's it." He was confident that he would inevitably win her heart, by sheer determination if not by his own affable personality.

That is why today was so special. Today, he was going to tell her how he felt. She had gone out with him before. Maybe she just needed time. . .

Just then an unbidden alien thought sounded off in his head, and it came from no direction or provocation in particular. It was not Hojo's thought, and it felt dark and menacing:

Your love is so patient, boy. How do you know she will love you in return?

Hojo frowned in response - I don't.

Have you considered that she may have taken another, and that you've wasted all your efforts?

Hojo paused and his lip twitched, I don't suppose. . .

Then you haven't given weight to the rumors.

This was disturbing, not so much that he had been reminded of the rumors, but that he had not cared enough to reflect on them. The word among his classmates was that Kagome had met a boy, a violent boy who was very disagreeable and forceful, and that Kagome had taken a liking to him. Hojo had dismissed the claim - he didn't know of any boy like that and besides, he reminded himself:

She's too sick to visit or have visitors. And why, he added uncomfortably, did that come up, anyway?

No reason, the voice-that-was-not-his-own intoned smoothly. All the same, I would be on my guard for disappointment. If you wish to win her hand, you would do well to keep in mind the qualities she prizes so highly.

Qualities she prizes? Hojo shook his head, but was glad that the strange interior conversation was over. He hoped that that would be the last he heard of it, and that he wasn't going crazy.

Hojo slowed down as he approached a clearing which was also a hill overlooking Hensen Street. If he was to intercept Kagome, he would have to spot her approach from this vantage point. He could see the school, the bank, Wacdonald's, the pharmacy, and other shops. The sun was slowly peeking over the horizon, likely trying to get a better view of Kagome's long, dark hair. Hojo was confident that she could not have come through already, as her home was much farther away than his. He grinned widely and his body bobbed up and down in anticipation. Hojo stopped himself when he realized how he looked like a madman peering down insanely at the early morning pedestrians of Hensen Street.

And there she was! Indeed, the sunlight had found her first and it gleamed lovingly along the rim of her school clothes and face. Kagome was walking along the sidewalk with one hand on her backpack strap, the other held in a fist at her side. Hojo was saddened to see that her countenance was downcast and weary. She was coming close to where he stood now, though he was too high above and concealed by a nearby tree. Hojo pushed his bike and helmet into a group of bushes, fiddled with his hair unconciously, and wished himself luck. Then he descended from the hill quickly and bounded onto the sidewalk. He immediately knew that it had been a mistake to make his visit unannounced.

Kagome had not been looking ahead, and for some reason she was startled by his sudden appearance. She let out a gasp and put both her hands out reflexively. Her backpack plummeted to the ground beside her, and something round bounced onto the sidewalk and towards Hojo. Kagome was fumbling to pick her bag up when she realized that the little trinket she had been holding was gone.

"Oh - ah, I'm so sorry Kagome. I didn't mean to startle you like that!" He said as he picked up the thing, which he recognized as a jewel. . . "Whoa! Hey, this is the. . . this is the Shikon jewel, am I right?" He felt incredibly powerful holding the famous relic in his hand, though he noticed that it was not entirely whole. He could only imagine the people in ancient times that had held the great jewel before him. He stared into the glowing object, past its sleek, shining exterior into its vast depths. Then he looked up at Kagome and stared back at her. He saw something in those blue eyes that was more valuable than any jewel.

You see it, don't you? The terrible voice had returned.

Not you again, Hojo thought quickly, This is ridiculous. I really am going nuts.

She cannot respect anything but power, Hojo. You must understand this. That is why she pines for half-demons and gives her heart to a crude and insolent pup. Her soul is fragile, as is her body. She does not need compassion, she needs to see your will to dominate! Do as I direct, boy, and her heart will belong to you. . .

You're - you're wrong, Kagome is strong! And who are you anyway? How do you claim to know these things!?

The voice chuckled coldly, I have penetrated time and space, and I can give you the power you need. Take the jewel. She will protest, but you must be firm. Bring it to me, and I will give you all that you desire. I can give you the qualities she prizes.

Hojo looked from the jewel to Kagome, from Kagome to the jewel. He began to sweat. "Hojo," he heard Kagome's voice faintly call to him, "Hojo, please, give the jewel back to me. . ." Hojo's hand clamped down tightly on the Jewel of Four Souls.

Be firm. The stern voice whispered again in his ear.

But Hojo cleared his head. He had had enough of this interference. I'll be firm with you. I'll be myself with her, and I've never been powerful. If Kagome chooses "power" over me, why. . . then I'll be happy so long as she is. But I'm not about to change who I am. . . demon. Hojo added the last part austerely. It was one of the bravest things he ever did, though he later discounted it.

The voice growled with inexpressable anger. You are more like him than I gave you credit for, said the evil spirit, And much harder to manipulate, I might add. I can see why the girl enjoys your company. Well then, have your words with her if you believe it will make a difference. I assure you it will not. Go on and tell her how you feel, boy. You may not get the chance again. And with a tart laugh that echoed in Hojo's cranium, the spirit left. Hojo wondered whose voice he had heard, but now that it had faded he was sure he had imagined it.

With a deep sigh of relief, Hojo opened his hand and the jewel fell lightly into Kagome's waiting palm. "Are you alright, Hojo?" Kagome asked tentatively. He stumbled on his own words, "Oh, the um. . . the jewel gave me a bit of a shock, that's all. Really beautiful," but he was looking at Kagome when he said this, "Again, I'm sorry I startled you like that." Kagome looked alot more relieved now that she had put the sacred jewel into a compartment of her backpack. "It's not your fault. I should've been paying attention, but I was thinking about. . . nevermind. It was nothing." She smiled at him warmly.

Hojo had so many things to say to her. How was she feeling? Was there really a boy? What were the qualities she prized? Why was the Shikon jewel not in one piece? And most of all, he wanted to tell Kagome Higurashi that he loved her. But he didn't ask her those things, and he didn't tell her how he felt. At that moment, he realized that he truly was happy as long as Kagome was, and. . . she was smiling now. . . Moreover, he could tell she genuinely liked him. And that was a start. Today, maybe she didn't want him as anything but a friend. Hojo smiled back at her. For now, that was something he could do. In time, maybe he'd summon the courage to say more.

It was springtime, and it was time for new beginnings. Kagome and Hojo walked towards school together slowly, unhurriedly, and talked about whether demons were real or not.

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