Half of Yuu, Half of Me

A Gift

  Woo! Chapters out a day late, but still. Anyways, school started two days ago and I already have two assignments. Best way to start a year.

  The days drag on by, each day not much different from the next. All my half-siblings go to school in a town that is about an hours drive away. They say it's fun. Is it really though? I always wonder. From what they've told me it sounds even worse than being cooped up like I am. They have work to do, they have to listen to the commands of their teachers and they have to interact with others. Yeah, terrible. Gran says at one point I may have to start school too. She also says I have to do extra work to catch up for all the other years of school I've missed. Great.

  Shinya is back finally home from school. We talk about trivial things like the weather and what we hope our Gifts will be. Gifts are the abilities that all witches alike gain when they are offered three items that are important to us and we drink the blood of one of our ancestors. The Gifting is accompanied by a ritual. Our mother's gift was strong healing so Shinya hopes he inherits a gift similar to that. In the back of my mind I hope I receive a gift like my father's.

   Krul walks by haughtily, scoffing when she sees me. She's hated me since I was born, today's actions are no different from any other day. She continues walking but glares at me before she leaves the room. She slams the door to her bedroom.

  Gran comes in.

  "What was that noise?" She asks, looking back and forth between the two of us.

  "It wasn't us it was Krul," I say truthfully.

  "Wow, way to tattle," Krul shouts from her room. I ignore her. She was the one who made the noise. I only responded to Gran's question. Akane waltzes in from behind Gran then joins me and Shinya on the retro sofa in the living room. She smiles at me and tells me not to worry about what Krul said. She didn't have to tell me, I was doing that anyways.

  Gran sighs. She puts her hands, weathered with time and use, on her bony hips.

  "Teenagers," she says, smiling a little. "Anyways, Yuu. We have to talk."

  "What do you want to speak to me about?" I ask.

  "You're going to start school next month for various reasons so you're going to have to study before your term begins," she looks over my face, judging my reaction. I keep my stare blank, unemotional, "you will begin in the sixth grade since you're 11."

  I keep staring. I don't want to go to school. I ponder over the thought for a minute before nodding. I may as well give it a try. It can't be as bad as I imagined it.

                         ?¿?¿

A month later...

NEWSFLASH: It can.

   The food is disgusting, the people are disgusting, the place is disgusting, I am disgusted. Other than my half-siblings and myself, there is only one other witch in this school. She is a prestigious white witch who goes by the name of Shinoa. Her family is part of the council that controls the actions of white witches all over Japan.

  I noticed her sitting about halfway across the room from me, surrounded by crowds of disgusting people. She was popular, funny and had friends. Compared to me, the dumb, anti-social emo kid who sat in the back and didn't give a shit, she was in a whole different world apart from mine. School got ten times worse when she got up, walked across the room and set her lunch tray right across from mine, bringing the crowd of people right along with her.

  I've never been a fan of interacting with others apart from Shinya, Akane and Gran. Could you imagine how I would react when the chatty crowd of pre-teens started seating themselves around me when the seats around Shinoa ran out? I bet you could. People can imagine almost anything, but that's beside the point. I froze like a frog that was being stared down by a large twisting snake, immobilized by fear although some disgust was mixed

   Ew, ew, ew. They're way too close for comfort. Oh god, I think one of them is touching me. Ugh, why did this have to happen to me? Discomfort spread throughout my body as I cringed repeatedly as they came near me. I didn't want to make contact with Fain.

  Shinoa looked at me, seeming to notice my discomfort. She spoke to her groupies and asked them if she could have a moment alone with me. They obliged and walked away, mostly clearing the area. Shinoa watched as they left. Once she was sure they wouldn't overhear us two conversing, she leaned forwards and spoke.

  "How's your day going, Blackie?"