InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / Sailor Moon Fan Fiction ❯ The Roses ❯ The Black Rose Awakens ( Chapter 1 )

 

 

Disclaimer- I do not own YuYu Hakusho, Inuyasha, Sailor Moon, or Card Captor Sakura. They are the property of their respected owners. Well here's the first chapter. Thank You!

“Talking”

`Thinking'

`Telepathy'- this won't come in for a while

 

 

Chapter 1- The Black Rose Awakens

 

Keiko groaned and pushed herself up. She reached up and wiped the sweat off her forehead. She looked down to see the sheets tangled helplessly around her feet and her nightshirt covered in cold sweat. She sat up and yanked off her shirt then untangled her feet.

 

Slowly she left the confines of her bed and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Flicking on the lights she reached over and turned on the facet. After splashing cold water on her face she sighed and gripped the edges of the sink. Slowly she looked up at herself in the mirror and had to bite back a scream at what she saw. She looked wildly over her shoulder but didn't see anything. She spun back to the mirror but the image was gone. In its place was merely her reflection. Sighing she wiped a hand over her face and firmly told herself nothing was wrong, she merely didn't recognize herself so early in the morning. But once she looked back in the mirror she knew that it was a lie. Instead of the long, silky red hair, her hair was a matted dark brown color, cut at her shoulders. Her eyes were also a light brown color, instead of a dark black. There were dark lines under her eyes and very little color in her cheeks. She was an absolute mess, not the beauty she'd seen in the mirror.

 

Sighing, she turned and left the bathroom, shutting the light off as she went. She walked slowly into her room and glanced at her clock, the green digits burning into her eyes, 3:15 a.m. She glanced down at her bed for a minute then turned and opened her closet door. Reaching in, she pulled out her school uniform and placed it on her bed. Then, with slow, sluggish movements, she got ready for school.

 

The day seemed to pass by horribly slow. Classes were a dull effort in which she thought she'd fall asleep at any moment. During lunch she found herself unable to eat and merely pushed her food away from her, resting her head on the table. On her way back to class she merely needed to glance in a window to see that both Yusuke and Kuwabara were following her. Her mind was a steady blank through classes and she found herself unable to be happy that both of the boy's had followed her into class. When the math teacher called her up to solve a problem she could only stare blankly at the board before putting the chalk down and retuning to her seat, the question left unanswered. The only thing she actually registered through the entire day was Yusuke nudging her awake at the end of school. He looked slightly concerned but she waved it off with a smile and followed him out.

 

Later she found herself sitting inside Genkai's temple. Yusuke and Kuwabara were sitting in front of her, arguing about something. Beside her Kurama spoke quietly with Genkai. Hiei was sitting at the end of the table glaring at everyone. She didn't have a doubt in her mind that Kurama had dragged him here. She smiled lightly and reached a hand up to tuck her hair behind her ear but instead had to cover a yawn.

 

Kurama glanced sideways at her, looking concerned. “Are you okay?” he asked. She forced her smile to widen and nodded. He probably would have believed her and let the matter drop if Yusuke hadn't spoken. “Bull shit! Keiko, you were falling asleep in class for god's sake!”

 

The statement brought all eyes to her, even Hiei seemed slightly curious. She simply smiled and waved away the concern. “It's nothing, really. I just didn't sleep well is all.” Kurama blinked and asked softly. “A bad dream?” she nodded. “You could call it that. But I can't remember it, I never do.”

 

Yusuke stared at her. “You've had it before?” Keiko turned her gaze on him. “Every night for the past three months. Every time I have it, it feels like I'm not really sleeping. Like my body's resting but my mind isn't, so I always wake up more tired than before.” “Maybe you're dreaming of a past life.”

 

All eyes snapped to Kurama. He simply shrugged. “It happened when I was a kid. While I had the knowledge of who I was and what I could do I never had the memories that accompanied it until I was six. I really scared my mother when it happened. I was so tired that I was practically falling asleep while walking. It seems the only difference between my situation and yours is that I actually remembered my dreams when I woke up.”

 

She nodded lightly and smiled at him. “Thank you, I guess.” Kurama nodded and reached into his hair. He pulled out his normal rose but instead of red the petals were a light blue, almost silver in color. “Here, I don't know how much it will help but it should help you sleep better.”

He stated holding it out to her.

 

Yusuke frowned, “What is it?” Kurama chuckled as Keiko reached for it. “A creation of mine. It's a simple rose with some sleeping herbs ground into the petals.” The younger boy nodded, seeming slightly confused.

 

Keiko paused, her fingers hovering over the rose as its image changed. The stem turned dark green and the petals faded into black. She blanched slightly as the change made her feel very uneasy. “Keiko?” she looked up at Kurama then back at the rose, which had returned to normal. Shaking her head lightly she took the rose and tucked it easily behind her ear. She thanked him again then made some excuse so she could go home.

 

Once home she found herself staring blindly at the four walls of her room, sitting gently on the side of her bed. Sighing she placed her head in her hands, her fingers brushing against something soft. She immediately pulled back staring in surprise at the rose in her hand. Oh, oh, right. Kurama gave it to her, to help her sleep. Standing she headed for the kitchen.

 

When she got there she searched through the cabinets, pulling out a vase and filling it with water. After setting the now full vase on the counter and dropping the rose in it she leaned against the counter and stared at it. But after a moment the rose changed again, the light petals turning coal black. But before she could react pain shot through her, making her ears rings. Her knees buckled and she fell, sweeping her arm across the table to grab something. She hit the ground hard, feeling more pain shoot through her skull. Distantly, she heard the vase shatter and the pieces rain down on her. In the next instant words and images entered her head.

 

The first was of a group of three girls staring at her. The tallest one was in the middle. Her eyes were a bright sapphire blue and she had long black hair, some of it pulled back into messy braids. The Blue Rose. On the left was a girl with sad purple eyes and black hair that reached her ankles. The Grey Rose. The girl on the right was between the other two in age and had short black hair that just reached her shoulder blades and dark violet eyes. The Violet Rose. That was followed by quick pictures of all three of them lying dead in the ground and a shadow falling over her.

 

Several more images played in her head, better than the others, but those were the ones that stayed with her. After it was over the pain left and she was able to get up. Something dug into her arm, causing her to look down. The pieces from the vase that had crashed to the floor were thrown everywhere when it broke. Carefully she brought her arm up and reached out, pulling the rose from the mess of it. Once she looked down at it she noticed that it was changing. The stem had already darkened and the petals were bleeding into a coal black color. The Black Rose. With the name came an image, the same one she'd seen that morning. One of a young woman with fair skin, coppery red hair, and coal black eyes.

 

Her own brown eyes widened in realization. “I, I am…” she tailed off, the name on her lips. `I am The Black Rose.' Who The Black Rose actually was she had no idea. But it would come in time.

 

Ignoring the glass shards that littered her kitchen floor she headed toward her bedroom, the now black rose held loosely in her hand. Slowly she lay down on the bed, her eyes slipping shut. Dimly she remembered that The Roses were a group of four female demons. But she'd think about the meaning of that realization in the morning.

 

Hey guys. Listen before I forget, is this the right rating or not because it's a bit hard to decide. I really don't want to get in trouble on my first story so can you tell me. Thank you!