InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Children of Light ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

Sweat beads down her forehead and rolls down the small of her back. Struggling to keep her breath, to keep from crashing to the forest floor she fights to push the panic to the back of her mind.

"Oh God, what if I don't make it? What if… no! …can't think that." She grits her teeth and pumps her calves harder against the cold forest earth. Surprising herself with a grunt and a burst of speed at her bodies need to carry her to her destination.

Flashes of trees and greenery can still be seen in the auburn glow of the setting sun. Giving the impression of a forest caught on fire that will not burn. A flash of red in the horizon catches her eye.

"Wait… please, hang on… don't…" she bites the inside of her cheek and pushes herself harder. Her body teetering on the edge of exhaustion from the exertion. Suddenly the earth shakes and sends her catapulting through the air and over the brush to an open clearing. She lands with a thud. Rocks scratch at her legs, her arms. The sky overhead darkens with the first rays of the sun dipping into the horizon. A flash of white and snatches of gold cause her heart to clench. The smell hits her nose.

"No…no… please no"

She looks down at the dirt beneath her hands. The earth that is now drenched in the same dark colors that reflected in the sky's fiery hues just moments ago. But why can't she see… why is everything getting so dark? Why can't she hear except for the sound of her heart thundering in her ears?

She reaches her hand out, attempting to touch, to find…something…someone… but where? Through the haze and darkness quickly descending around her she slowly begins to make out an image, but just for a moment. The pounding of her heart, of her blood rushing to her head makes it difficult to see, to hear.

The unexpected piercing cackle, a hellish laugh, slices through her bleary vision and rips through her plugged ears, causing her eyes to snap open as sound invades her senses once again.

White hair…falling.

The spine chilling laugh pitches to an unimaginable volume. Like nails racking down a chalkboard, she cringes and covers her ears with her hands and shuts her eyes to block out the noise, the sight. She can't look… no… not this way. Not him… anything but him. Why? She was too late… too late.

Slowly she looks up to see a mane of white just feet from her own fallen form. Still and unmoving. Her heart and her soul clench in a fiery rage that threatens to consume her entire being.

"Noooooooooo!" She screams out, reaching for the silken mane. A scream that threatens to tear her soul from her body. Tears sting her eyes as the darkness closes around her. With the final echo of her blinding scream, there is a flash of brilliant white and violet light that chases away every shadow, threatening to burn away vision, before darkness envelops the world once again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~End Flashback~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She bolts up in bed and clenches her chest with her hand, gripping at the white cotton material of her top as she struggles to breathe. Sweat covers her arms, her neck. She could feel it beading down her back.

Breathe.

She takes a deep breath, attempting to slow her rapid heartbeat. That… that dream. Again. But why?

For years she had been having the same dream. The same heart shuddering emotions that would finally wake her from a darkness she feared she would never escape. Tucking a stray strand of black raven hair behind her ear, she turns to pull her legs over the side of her bed as she begins to feel her heart rate slowly return to normal. Continuing to clutch at her chest with her hand, she slowly stands and walks out of her room. Catching a quick glance at the alarm clock on her way out; 3:12 am. She briefly closes her eyes, sighing with relief. She was finally done her college classes and thankfully didn't have school the next day.

Feeling somewhat better, she releases the grip on her chest and takes another steadying breath as she walks out to her TV room. She hastily brushes past the rows of bookshelves crammed with all her favorite fantasy and sci-fi authors when she hears a light thud and looks down at the carpeted floor to see what she had accidentally knocked off the shelf. She bends down to pick up the dark, smooth object cradled in her hands, running a finger thoughtfully over the smooth surface as she looks deep into the tiny pinpricks of light dotted within the stone.

It was the only attempt at glassblowing she had ever made. It was just after she had discovered her adoption, and discovered also, that no one had any records of her real family. She had literally been dropped on a doorstep, basket and all. Hurt over not knowing who she was, or where she came from, she had instinctively created the little glass jewel she held in her hand. To her, it was the universe. The stars. The same stars that shone overhead, that knew who she was, and where she came from. The stars that had witnessed her birth and seen her grow. The stars that had watched over her all her life. The stars were the only things that remained constant in her life. No matter where she was, who she became, what she did. They were always there, and it made her feel safe knowing that. Knowing that at least those stars knew the truth to her past.

Sighing, she pushes the overwhelming thoughts from her mind, and gently places the treasured glass stone back on her bookshelf. Her finger lingering on the smooth cool surface for a moment more, before turning and continuing to her original destination. Her balcony. Carefully opening the sliding door, she steps out into the warm night breeze.

"Mmmmmm" She sighs contently to herself as the warm air softly envelops and caresses her still sweaty skin, wrapping her in a cool, silken blanket. She sits down on the little bench that she had placed on her balcony when she first moved in, so she could have a place to sit on warm nights and watch the city skyline and most importantly, a place to watch the stars.

"Why?" She wondered, as her mind brought her back to the reason she was outside in the first place. Why did she keep having these dreams? Already the images were starting to fade from her mind. Already she was loosing that feeling, that sense of loss brought on by the dream that felt so real to her moments ago. So real it had threatened to consume her spirit. Now it was just a fading memory. A memory you struggled to grasp onto, but could never really hold, no matter how hard you tried. Was there a man this time?

Every time she had the dream, it was something different. Another piece to the puzzle. Like a story slowly unfolding. Only, she didn't know what the story was supposed to be about. But tonight, tonight something was different. Bringing her legs up to her chest, she wraps her arms around them as she rests her cheek on her knees and looks out at the city lights dancing on the horizon.

Tonight there had been something more. A flash of white, or was it silver? It played itself in her memory, taunting her, tugging at her mind, daring her to remember. And gold. There had been a flash of gold hadn't there? And something else. She was sure of it. But she couldn't quite place what it had been. It had felt normal in her dream, but she knew in her waking thoughts, that it wasn't quite right.

She closes her eyes for a moment, hoping to reach back into her mind and bring back the fading fragments of her dream. If she could just reach out…

Her eyes snapped open.

Reach out. Why did that thought squeeze at her heart? Why did it threaten to spill tears from her eyes? She gives a soft sigh and pushes the emotional turbulence she feels into the pit of her stomach. It was just a dream. Nothing else. She had to learn to just let these things go. She knew she had an overactive imagination. She knew that sometimes she let her daydreaming interfere with her waking life. But she couldn't help it.

When she wasn't at school or daydreaming, she was reading. Her nose pressed into one of her many fantasy novels. She couldn't get her hands on enough of them, which was evident by the crammed books in her TV room. Everything from Anne Rice to Terry Brooks to J.R.R. Tolkien and hundreds more in-between. She disappeared into the worlds of dragons and wizards. Elves, trolls, demons and vampires. These worlds seemed more real to her then her own life.

Of course, she knew it was most likely due to the fact that she had been adopted and didn't know who her real family was, and most likely never would, not that she would ever complain. Her adopted family was wonderful, and she loved them dearly, but she always felt out of place. Like she never really belonged anywhere. The thing that was funny to her was that she had always felt that way. Even before she had uncovered the truth about her adoption. She had always felt that a part of her was missing, but she could never understand what it was. Discovering the adoption had only confirmed her feelings. She lived every day with an ache in her heart, never really questioning it. She just took it in as part of who she was.

But when she lost herself in her stories, just for a while, that ache receded. She felt like she was home, like she belonged. There was something in all those stories she read that felt familiar to her somehow. Almost like she could sense the true realities hidden in the words somewhere. After all, the saying was that every legend had begun with a grain of truth embedded somewhere in its beginnings. Before the stories had been passed on and changed with every re-telling until the real story was lost, only to be replaced by some extraordinary mythical legend.

Oh, she knew that almost everyone, at one time or another, usually as children, wished for such things to be true with all their hearts. But this was more then that with her. She would read about battles and adventures with demons and monsters. Become entranced in the love stories of two mismatched souls, from two different worlds, who would fall so completely in love with each other that they would move heaven and earth to be together. The magic's, the mysteries, all these things she read caused her to experience a feeling almost like déjà vu, she would call it, if it wasn't impossible for her to feel déjà vu about such things. But the stories calmed her, soothed her somehow. Helped her to feel that just maybe, there was more to life then the everyday regular existence. There simply had to be.

Naturally it had come as no surprise to anyone that knew her when she had decided to take writing classes. She wanted to be an author. She wanted to write. To write about all the possibilities that life could bring, and to touch on the stories that brought people's hearts and inner wishes to the forefront of their minds.

Unsurprisingly, her friends had laughed at her when she had dared to tell them once about all the things that she felt. They just couldn't understand her feelings or the wild ideas in her head. After that, she never really brought it up again. Her friends just laughed and told her that she was just lonely and that she needed a good man to love in her life. But she knew something she could never tell her friends. A secret she kept hidden from everyone.

Kagome wasn't capable of falling in love.

She closes her eyes briefly before taking another deep breath and standing up. Walking to the railing of her balcony, she lays a hand on the cool surface of the metal. It wasn't that she was incapable of falling in love, she hoped, just that her heart and her soul refused to let anyone in, no matter how hard she tried. Her x-boyfriend Hojo had tried so hard to break through her tightly constructed barriers, but there simply wasn't anything he could do. Learning to fly would have been an easier feat. The worst part was that Kagome didn't know why. She just didn't know why she wouldn't, couldn't, allow him close to her. She was tired of being alone.

Tucking yet another stray strand of hair behind her ear, she looks up at the night sky. The moon had been new a few nights ago and was just starting to show itself again. A very thin white fingernail against the night sky. She takes in the smooth glowing radiance of the stars overhead as a gentle wind picks up and lifts a few strands of her hair and gently blows them across her face. A lone tear escapes from the corner of her eye as she quickly wipes it away.

There was something different about tonight. She could feel it. Something inside her was tugging at her…

~~~~~~~~~

The sounds of heavy breathing… panting… running… can be heard in the forested night air. The silence, unbroken, save for the breaking of twigs and the sound of heavily padded feet running hard on solid earth. Tiny stars peek through the canopy of trees overhead, illuminating the shadow of a low running figure. The sounds of panting and labored breathing become louder as the shadowed figure crashes through the underbrush.

~~~~~~~~~

…telling her to open, to break free. With a sigh, she closes her eyes and opens her heart, her soul, to the world around her. Straining to hear every sound around her with all her senses. Struggling to reach out to the universe with her will, her spirit. Willing the loneliness she felt in her heart to go away, or to be fulfilled.

"Please…" she softly whispers to the night sky. A silent prayer to whatever gods were listening to her now.

"Please, I don't want to be alone anymore. Please, bring me…bring me the one that will ease this hurt in my soul".

~~~~~~~~

The sounds of heavy panting and hard running abruptly stop. A crouched figure in a wooded area unconsciously looks up to the night sky. The figure, shrouded in shadows, rises up to its feet and inhales the scent of the air around it through its nose, sniffing, at whatever had drawn its attention.

"What the?" His nose could pick up no intruding scent besides the heavy musk of the earth and trees. He wonders what he could be sensing.

~~~~~~~~

…as she whispers her final words, a silent plea, sent out to the heavens looking down on her, she feels something begin to stir in her heart, right in the middle of her chest. A warmth that begins to seep into her body. A stirring she can't quite explain. All she can think is that it was time. She was ready. She didn't know what it was that she was ready for, what it was that was coming, only that she felt time slipping away, like a dream you struggled to hang onto, moments after waking.

"I'm ready" she whispered softly.

~~~~~~~~

"Agggggggrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhh!" The shadowed figure screams and falls to his knees. His silver hair cascading down around his shoulders as his hunched form becomes illuminated in a small patch of moonlight, through the canopy of trees.

He clutches his right hand to his chest and grits his teeth, as his left arm supports him by digging his claws into the earth and acting as a crutch.

"What… what's going on?" he questions through gritted teeth, as his heart races, pumping blood through his system, faster then even he is capable of running. His mind screams at him to answer the call. But answer what?

~~~~~~~~

"Where are you?" She softly calls to the darkness.

~~~~~~~~

"Agggrrrhhh!" he screams out painfully again as he digs his claws deeper into the earth. His forehead now almost touching the cold earth as he hunches his body over in an attempt to quell the sensations running rampant in his body.

He can feel the need calling to him, building within him. His heart thundering in his chest, the only sound he is now capable of hearing. His blood rushes to his face and pools around his throat, building the sensation to call out. His panting grows heavier as his eyes screw shut in a grimace. He clutches his right hand tighter to his chest, willing the pain to stop. To make whatever force had gripped him, to release him.

~~~~~~~~

…"Please find me"

~~~~~~~~

A sudden violent shiver courses through his body. Unable to control the pounding of his heart, the blood collecting in his face and unable to fight the need to answer whatever unknown call had ignited the fire in his blood, he jumps to his feet, throwing his head back, as his white mane of hair flows and burns with a white fire behind him. He opens his mouth and releases an earth shattering howl into the night that rips all strength from his body.

"Awooooooooooooooo"

~~~~~~~~

Kagome's eyes snap open as her heart begins to beat rapidly in her chest, threatening to break through her rib cage. She tightens her grip on the railing before her, surprise and shock written on her features as an unearthly howl rips through the dark and quiet city.

A sound that rings through her heart and threatens to smash open her soul. She staggers under the force and falls to the warm cement ground of her balcony. Her eyes flutter close while her mind hazes over as the pounding of her heart finally gives way to images of silver and gold as she slips into unconsciousness.

~~~~~~~~~

He collapses on the ground. His eyes heavy, his throat hurting and strained from the power released behind the soul shattering howl. But the ache in his heart, he was glad to discover, had immediately receded and the need to call out had quieted. His breathing slowly returning to normal, he takes deep, steadying breaths through his mouth and nose. His energy and body drained beyond all rational thought.

His eyes close tightly as his exhausted mind releases him to dreams filled of raven silk and blazing blue sapphires. Inu Yasha quickly slips into a deep sleep, with one last coherent thought embedding itself unknowingly into his heart.

"I'm here".

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