InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Delusions ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Author’s Notes: We are heading back in time...I mean forward. Time-travel is so confusing! I know that a lot of people don’t care too much for original characters but getting to know this one is important to the story. Don’t worry, this is not her story but we do get to see the world from her eyes from time to time, mostly in the hopes of shedding some outside perspective on our main characters. And, Yes, this chapter is kind of a filler but I promise the good stuff is coming!

Delusions Chapter Five Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to some violence, and coarse language) Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

It was Monday morning at junior high. Amaya wasn't like some of her friends and actually enjoyed school, it was important for her to excel, but today she really wished she could have stayed in bed. The school day had not officially started yet, so she and her classmates were mostly socializing while they could at each other's desks and while she would normally use the time to half study, half talk with her friends she sat doubled over with her arms crossed on her desk and her head laying upon them. She had felt fine this morning getting ready for school and even on the way, but now, sitting at her desk in homeroom with her friends chatting around her, she couldn’t shake this strange feeling. Waves of nausea were hitting her sporadically but they came and went with no rhythm and it seemed as if this were being caused by an intense smell that came from everywhere. Her friend, Mei, looked over to her and took notice of Amaya’s unusual withdrawal from her normal behavior. “Hey, you don't look so well. Are you feeling OK?” “Huh?” She groggily sat up and looked over at Mei, “Oh, no, I guess I'm not.” “Yeah, you look really pale,” offered another girl. It seemed that everyone around her had stopped talking about what had happened over their weekends to comment on their classmate. Amaya could almost hear their hushed talking. As her friends all began to remark upon her diminished countenance Amaya suddenly sat straight up, eyes wide, and put a hand to her mouth. A small hush went through her group of friends as they watched Amaya’s actions. After a few seconds she vaulted out of her seat and made a dash to the lavatory. Mei nodded in confirmation, “Yep, knew she was going to be sick.” Amaya ran the water in the lavatory and splashed some water on her face. ‘Was it something I ate?’ she pondered. She glanced in the mirror and noted her complexion did look quite ghastly. ‘Maybe I am just having one of those twenty-four hour bugs. Etsuko-kun was sick and he handed me a pen the other day. I should punch him for infecting me!’ She tried to settle down. Her violent thoughts were just a byproduct of her unease. She took a deep breath and left to get back to homeroom. As gracefully as she could muster, she walked into the room and made her way to her seat and sat down. She felt the eyes of her classmates were on her as they all still talked amongst themselves. Hana, another friend, gave her a concerned look, “Maybe you should visit the nurse?” “That's really the last thing I want to do. We have exams soon and I really don't want to miss anything.” Groaning she laid her head back down onto the desk. Mei smiled and laughed, “You would be concerned about that! But you shouldn't. You have the highest marks in the class! I don't think one sick day is going to hurt you. I can’t even remember the last time you were sick” Amaya grimaced at her friend. ‘Me, either,’ she thought. Perhaps Mei was right and she should go visit the nurse. Hana chimed in, “I can take notes for you if you'd like?” Another wave of nausea hit her and she clutched her stomach. “You’re right. I don't think this is going to get better. I think I caught that bug that's been going around.” Both girls visibly shrunk back, “What bug? I don't think anyone has been sick lately,” Hana said. Neither girl wanted to get sick, apparently, so they tried to keep a respectable distance. Amaya rolled her eyes, “Oh, calm down. You won't get sick just by looking at me. I'm going to see the nurse.” She looked to Hana, “I appreciate the notes. I'll see you guys later.” “Later,” the girls waved as Amaya picked up her things and headed out to the nurse's office. The rest of the class had gone back to chit-chatting and seemed oblivious to her departure. The bouts of stomach pain seemed to increase a bit as Amaya made her way to the school nurse with all of the chemical disinfectant smells. She hoped that the nurse would excuse her for the day... she, honestly, did not think that it would hurt to try and sleep off this illness in the comfort of her own home. The quick trip into the nurse's office provided Amaya with an excuse for the day that she had desired. Rest and fluids is what the nurse prescribed but Amaya just hoped that she could make it home without getting sick. On the way, Amaya wondered about her mother after seeing her sitting outside the well-house, ‘She’s been seeming kind of sad lately. I don’t really know why. Her and papa haven’t been fighting...at least that I’ve noticed…not that they see each other much anyway…’’ She then thought of her current circumstances, ‘I hope Mama’s not angry that I am missing school today. She’s always going on about how important attendance is.’ It didn’t take long for her to reach the Higurashi home. The smells that instigated her nausea seemed to be getting worse as she got closer to home. She was just thankful that she had made it to her house before she embarrassed herself in public by spewing her stomach contents all over the place. As she neared the house she looked over to the shrine and noticed that her mother’s jacket was laying outside on the ground. ‘Mama must have forgotten her jacket this morning...guess I had better grab it for her. Ha! I bet she is ticked that she left it. She probably doesn’t even know where it is.’ Clutching her stomach she walked over and stooped down to pick it up. As she was kneeling a small cat appeared from behind the shrine. “Mew,” it purred as it slinked over to Amaya. “Awe! Here kitty, kitty.” Despite feeling sick, she always had time for cute animals, plus, she almost felt used to the dull agony now. The cat walked over to Amaya and began to rub itself against her legs. Amaya pet the small cat, “You are just too cute. Where did you come from little girl?” She placed the jacket in the crook of her arm and lifted the cat up. Absently scratching the cat behind the ear with her free hand she looked around the shrine. “Do you live somewhere around here? Or have you been trying to make a home here in the shrine, silly kitty?” With her odd illness in remission for the moment she decided to do a quick investigation. She walked around the perimeter of the shrine and looked around. There were no houses that were too near to the property, but the cat could have come from anywhere, really. Perhaps it had decided to take up residence in the shrine. It was a refuge from the elements and the area surrounding them most likely provided game for the cat to hunt. Realistically, the cat was probably a drifter; always on the lookout for the next sap to give it its next free meal. “Are you hungry little kitty? I think there is some leftover chicken in the fridge. Let’s go see what we can whip up for you, OK?” The small cat mewed as if in agreement and continued to purr in Amaya’s arms. It seemed quite content to be held, which was unusual for a feral cat. She guess that it probably was a gypsy cat then. With cat in hand, Amaya made her way to the kitchen in search of kitty sustenance. They did not have any cat food, but Amaya was pretty sure that she had seen leftover chicken somewhere from a meal a few nights ago. There, on the shelve all tidy, just as her mother would leave it, she found the leftover chicken. She sat the cat down and, wondrously, it sat down and waited patiently. “Wow, you must be some cat. Any other cat would take off. But you get some nummies for waiting pretty kitty.” The cat just meowed and continued to wait. Amaya set to preparing the chicken. It was already cooked so she just set to chopping it into bite-size pieces and popped it into the microwave for a few seconds to even out the temperature.  She found a small saucer and placed the food into it and set it on the floor in front of the waiting cat. “Here you go, kitty.” As the cat began to dig into its treat, Amaya gave it a pet and then left the kitchen to head to her room to lay down for a bit. Once she reached her room she didn’t bother to even take her blazer off before she flopped into bed and drifted off. It only seemed like moments had passed since she had closed her eyes. She was woken by an odd feeling on her fingers; a little bit like damp sand paper brushing her fingertips. Her arm had fallen to dangle off the side of the bed while she slept. As her senses returned to her she slowly glanced down to see the cat licking her fingers. “So, I feed you and this is the thanks I get?” she asked the small feline. With a sigh she sat up. Only an hour had passed since she had returned home. ‘Not much of a nap,’ she thought to herself. Oddly enough though, she was feeling better. Absently, while sitting on her bed in thought, she fiddled with a necklace she always wore before standing up. It was nothing more than a rough red spinel stone in a silver setting that hung simply off of a long silver cable chain necklace. Her great-grandfather had gotten it for her when she was very young and Amaya never took it off for sentimental reasons. It had become a form of worry stone to her. With the house to herself until her parents got home from work, she wondered what to do with her free time. ‘Maybe study? Nah…’ She walked back down to the living room and turned on the TV. The small cat had followed her down and jumped onto the couch. “I see how it is. Just make yourself at home. I’m sure once Mama and Papa see how sweet you are they will let me keep you. That is...if you plan on staying.” The small cat had curled up and was taking a cat nap of some sort, obviously making itself at home. Amaya sat down next to the cat and began to flip through the channels. Go figure, nothing was on. Settling on some obscure channel, she sat back and began to think about her mother and her connection with the shrine outside. She knew that her mother hadn’t realized that her little trips out there had not gone unnoticed by the entire household. Papa had not noticed since he was rarely at home anymore due to work, but she had. She’d mentioned it to Baachan before who just shrugged it off and said, cryptically, that everyone had a way of dealing with their inner demons and that this was her mother’s way. Curiosity got the best of her and she got up, leaving the sleeping cat, and walked out to the shrine. ‘What is it that draws Mama out here?’ she wondered. Slowly, she approached the shrine. She’d never really paid much mind to the shrine or the well-house in particular. Her mother had never let her near it when she was younger and once she grew older she had lost interest in it all together. Now she began to wonder at why? Why hadn’t she been allowed to go near it? It’s not like the well was dangerous. It was closed and it is not like she was strong enough to remove the lid from the well when she was younger. Maybe her mother had some sentimental reason for keeping her away. But what reason could any sane person have for keeping everyone away from a shrine with a well inside? Was it haunted? Amaya walked inside. As soon as she entered she gasped when she saw what looked like some sort of explosion that had blown off the lid to the well. ‘Very, very strange’, she thought. She walked down the steps to the well. Her mother’s purse and coffee mug were strewn at the foot of the well. Her curiosity quickly turned to apprehension. She then took note of the strange feeling she was getting from the place. She began to fiddle with the pendant on her necklace again; something she did when idle...or worried. Had something bad happened to her mother when she returned to grab her things this morning? “Mama?” Amaya called out. ‘Did she fall into the well? Is she hurt?’ She rushed to the edge of the well and peered down, but all she could see was darkness. “Mama, are you down there?” she called out again. Maybe she had fallen down to the bottom of the well and was knocked unconscious. Amaya’s imagination raced with the worst scenarios. She couldn’t see the bottom of the well and she felt compelled to check. She climbed over the edge of the well and began her descent. The air tasted stale. There had been a lid on the thing for many years, which would explain that. It felt colder as well, and Amaya’s skin began to prickle as she reached the bottom. Of course, she hadn’t thought to bring a flashlight or her phone; anything that could shed light down at the bottom of an unused well, but she hadn’t really expected to be spelunking, either. Thankfully, the well had dried up long ago so she did not have to worry about water or the possibility of finding something...or someone floating down here. She slowly walked to the other side of the well and blew out a sigh of relief when she did not stumble upon her mother’s unconscious form. If she wasn’t here then she must be somewhere else. Amaya hurriedly began her ascent back up. She didn’t remember there being any vines on her climb down. She didn’t remember there being any sunlight shining down the well, either.

Next time on Delusions…… ….Sango was in tears from Kagome’s story. Miroku and Shippō both looked quite stoic. Inuyasha, on the other hand, had left during Kagome’s retelling. She had not noticed him leave, so she was not sure what he did or did not hear. Either way, it hurt her more than she cared to say or show. ‘Does he not care? Or does it make him angry?’ she thought, but she did not let her face show these feelings. She had laid out her heart and he could not be bothered to even hear her out….