InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Tales of the Night ❯ Night I: Glimpse ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Title: Night I: Glimpse
Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of Sengoku Otogizoushi - InuYasha or Yuu Yuu Hakusho. InuYasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Viz Media, ShoPro Entertainment, and Shounen; while Yuu Yuu Hakusho belongs to Togashi Yoshihiro, Shueisha, Viz Media, and Shounen. No profit or money of any kind is made from this fan-created crossover.
Warning(s): Slight spoilers for the end of InuYasha.


A young dark-headed boy paused outside of his sister's door, looking into its cracked opening. The rhythmless, though constant, tapping of a pencil against a desk had caused him to pause and watch in worry as his sister created the noise without noticing, or caring for that matter, while she stared off into space at nothing. He knew something was wrong with her, especially since she could no longer return to the past. The well had disappeared, then reappeared so Inu-no-nii-san could bring her back. Kagome had cried as she told them it was over. His heart was broken for her, but he was determined to help her. It was his turn.

"Souta," his mother said. He turned around to look up at her when she placed her hand on his head. The smile that Kagome had inherited greeted him, though it was tired. "It's late and you have school tomorrow. Go to bed, you can talk to Kagome in the morning."

He sighed and hunched his shoulders. He glanced once more into his sister's room, noticing that she had not noticed their conversation. "I just worry, mom. She's been so distant and depressed..."

"And she'll talk about everything when she's ready to. Give her a few more days," she said. She moved her hand down to his shoulders as she steered him away. "All we can do is be there for her when she's ready. You know how she is."

"I guess," Souta mumbled as he closed her door all the way.

The sound caused Kagome to jump, her pencil flying across her desk to land in an open textbook. With a grimace, Kagome closed her books and shoved away the notebooks full of notes and late homework. One month, that was how long it had been since she had returned and she was close to being all caught up at school. It had only been a few months ago that Kagome had pined to have that kind of time and freedom to continue her education, but that had been while she had been in the Sengoku Jidai. The life she was now living had been the greener grass on the other side.

Yet it was so normal that she was stuck in a rut of it. She wanted to go back to the time and people she had left behind.

Kagome blinked back tears and the heartache as she pushed away from her desk to walk to her bed. One day she knew she would have to face her feelings over being stuck in one time, but she would rather deal with them later; everyone was too elated with having her back that she did not want to burden them with her dolor. Only her family had an idea as to how much she was locking away, but they never pushed her to talk. She was grateful for that: she did not feel much like talking at the moment. Maybe when her memories and feelings faded a bit more and she accepted that this was her life now, then she would open up and talk. For now, all she wanted to do was pine over her memories.

A sigh escaped her lips and she fingered her pajamas. The were flannel and powder blue and new, given that she could not look at her old pajamas without feeling nostalgic. Even her school uniform was new. The short green skirt and white sailor top with the red tie had been exchanged for a longer grey, white and red ensemble from her high school. She contemplated changing, but she already knew that with the thoughts her mind was following she was not going to be sleeping anytime soon. For just a while longer, her mind wanted to stay locked on its thoughts of youkai and adventures too surreal to be believable. A tale of time travel, a jewel of power, youkai and magic, and death... Forever to be her story never to be told.

Kagome dropped her hand from her pajamas in order to head to her window. With practiced ease, she opened it and breathed in the muggy summer air. Even this had become part of her rut: her wondering leading to her wandering. Her memories would lead her to open her window to watch the branches of ancient Goshinboku as they swayed in the night winds which would then lead to her climbing out her window and down the tree to enjoy the calm of twilight. Always she would wander throughout the streets and realize how much had changed throughout the centuries.

She was tired of it all already.

So many of the stories she had read when she was younger focused on the adventure, the love, the drama, the climatic battle between good and evil. All of them ended a couple of chapters after that, never detailing the life the hero went back to live. Only now did Kagome realize why that was: with the nemesis dead, there could be no hero. The hero also had to die, giving up a life of adventures and battles and friendships forged through combat... Those all had to come to an end, just as those books did. A normal life was nothing worth writing about after such fantastical adventures. And after having had a taste of the fast-paced, on-the-edge lifestyle, Kagome found it hard to be satisfied with a simpler, more materialistic life.

Those thoughts took hold of her feet and took her down a different path that night. The first step to breaking a rut was always to do something new and different. Though Kagome did not consider going to a park as something "new and different". Yet she still went. For the few weeks she had been home, she had gone out of her way to avoid any traces of nature, or any traces of her adventure. Nature was easier to avoid in the twenty-first century version of Tokyo given how there were only pockets of it surrounded by the impersonality of concrete and man-made wonders. Her eyes took in the sights of trees and grass, and the familiar scents of dew and pollen reached her nose. She realized she had missed it more than she knew.

Kagome followed the concrete path, immersing herself in the simplicity of all things natural. It was familiar enough for her to be at ease for the first time in days. Sitting down on the first bench she came across, she smiled at the feeling of companionable solitude. Letting her head fall back so she could see what stars she could, Kagome whispered, "Why does everyone want this kind of life?"

The stars only twinkled back through the haze of pollution and artificial lights unwilling to give up their secrets for something as paltry as a pondering. Kagome was not expecting an answer either. She only took comfort in the fact that those same stars had existed five-hundred years ago, and that those left behind were seeing them as well. Pulling out of her memories and feelings, she stood and turned to head back the way she came. Back to the monotony she had taken a break from.

That was when she saw him, resting among the low branches of a tree. The darkness of the night accentuated his pale skin and black clothing, even as the leaves sought to conceal him from sight. She was captivated with that one glimpse of him, frozen in place as her heart beat out of control. He was youkai, proof that her adventure in the past had not been a dream. How could she ever doubt it was a dream when she was staring right at a creature she had believed to only exist back then?

When his eyes opened and stared back, she would swear her heart stopped beating. Here, in a park in Tokyo, she was staring a youkai in the eyes. She was sure she looked a fool, her eyes and mouth wide with alarm, and that he was scowling at her. That was the only sign of emotion she noticed before he was gone. She was left staring at the spot he had been barely a second ago as she felt the gradual return of her senses. Placing her hand over her heart in a futile attempt to slow its furious beating, Kagome wondered just who he was. Would she see him again? She frowned to herself as she realized she wanted to gaze upon his form once more. He had to be the first youkai to not attack or kidnap her on sight. It was different, in a nice way.

Her pull to him was undeniable. He was the excitement she had been missing from her life, she was sure of it. And while that one moment may be the only one she would get with him, she did not think it would be enough.


A version of this chapter was posted to the livejournal community 30_Nights for their theme #026: Frozen moment at first sight.
Word count: 1484
Edited: 3 June 2010