InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fairytale: The Sun Child ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: Mediale

“The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be”

Special thanks: Thank you to my betas, darkenedmoonlight and the Bog Witch!

X.o.X

Fairytale

Chapter One: Imprisonment

Higurashi Kagome shifted uncomfortably, feeling amazingly out of place. Her blue eyes glared at the bell, still ringing obnoxiously behind her, as if it was to blame for all the attention she was receiving - twelve pairs of shifty eyes watching her every move. Twelve people, each different and darker than the other.

She was afraid of these twelve - if not more - people, yet only a year ago, Kagome had been in the time called the Feudal Era by some, but to her it was a land that truly couldn't described. Despite the fact that she had been somewhat of a hero in the warring states, she was a fairly average teenager -that just so happened to be failing history—and any other girl of Kagome's age would rightfully by scared by these shadowy figures.

Ironic isn't it?

An unnaturally tall figure stood in the darkness of corner, dressed in all black and leather even though it was summer outside, and it was clear to Kagome that the bookstore definitely wasn't air conditioned, much to her disappointment. Most of the other persons in the room were very similar; only one woman seemed even close to normal. That was until Kagome got a good a look at her face. A face painted with twenty shades or more, she eventually lost count, of make up and paint.

“Can I help you?”

Kagome let out a squeak, feeling like she was a canary in a room of ravenous cats.

“Y-yes. I'm—looking—for—some—books—on—WorldR 12;War—II,” Kagome blurted out, turning her head around with deliberate slowness.

A toad like man cocked his head to the side in the most annoying way. “Do you always talk so fast?” The girl opened her mouth, but the man held his hand up. “Nevermind. Stay here girl,”

Kagome didn't need to be told twice, probably because the reason was that she was frozen to the spot, and at the moment she truly wasn't sure if she could even take a step forward. She wasn't exactly sure of the reason, and spent the little time of silence to ponder and try to clear her head.

That man looked so familiar…As if I've seen him before…

A spindly hand tapped her on the shoulder and once again Kagome was practically flying through the air.

“A jumpy brat aren't you?” the man sneered, pushing a small case of books forward.

Kagome's eyes flashed over towards the short man, giving him an icy glare. Her hand snapped out and grabbed the books, “I am not a brat,” Kagome answered through pursed lips, pulling her shoulder away from his grasp. The man let out a yell of surprise, teetering from foot to foot when his source of balance had disappeared. He groaned when his feet landed on the old floor, loosing an inch or two of height.

“You look like a child on your tippy-toes,”

The man blushed, his skin oddly enough turning a strange, puke green beneath the rosy cheeks. “Money. Six hundred thousand yen,” the tiny man demanded.

Kagome scrunched her nose in thought “That much?”

“Girl, you're saving. There are five books in that case. It's a bargain. Now hand it over before I change my mind,”

Kagome sighed, digging into the pocket of her green skirt. Quietly she counted out the money, slipping it into the man's hands.

“Nice doing business with you,”

Kagome didn't answer. She held the books close to her chest as she exited, glaring at the obnoxious bell once again. Kagome, of course, did not have the best hearing but she could've heard a mutter of `bloody wench'. Her reply was simple.

“Blasted toad,” the miko murmured under her breath.

“Kind right. Indeed, indeed,”

The voice was lost behind the roar of automobiles and Kagome's steps as she hurried home. Maybe if the seventeen-year-old girl had listened she would have found that the voice would've have stirred past memories. Memories of the adventures that Kagome had once experienced only a while ago. A year and three months to be exact, but to her it seemed like a lifetime.

X.o.X

“Kagome! My most beloved in the whole wide world!” a deep, masculine voice yelled out joyously. Kagome turned around startled. The greeting clearly was not what she had expected to get once she walked through the shrine door. A redheaded man wrapped around her, pulling Kagome into a crushing hug. His face was a perfect caricature of joy, as he beamed down at her.

“Wha—“Kagome cried. She blinked several times. Many thoughts came to mind, but she only managed to blurt one out.” What are you doing here?”

“You don't want me here!” The man cried out in surprise. His full lips pouted at her, and he released his arms around her. “I come all the way down from a business meeting in Eden and you don't even want me here. I think I could burst out into tears,”

“Uncle Mosouka, calm down!”

The young man crossed his arms across his chest, his bottom lip beginning to tremble. “How can I, when my own niece doesn't want me here?” Mosouka stomped his foot on the floor, like a bad-tempered child.

“I-I was just shocked Uncle. I haven't seen you with your red hair.”

“So you do want me here?” the man asked cautiously, raising a slender eyebrow. “Though, you did notice my beautiful hair.”

Over the past few years Mosouka had been quite prone to dying his hair, and from the age of sixteen to twenty-seven he had efficiently dyed his hair at least fifty different shades of colours. Each one just as flamboyant as the last.

“Now that, that little drama is over, how `bout we discuss your love life?” Once again the grown man had transformed into a child, dancing in circles around the younger girl. He clapped his hands together, bending to whisper into Kagome's ear. “I promise I won't tell,”

Mosouka nodded, as if to reassure her, giggling when he saw Kagome blush violently. “So you do have a new love interest,”

From somewhere in the kitchen Kagome heard her mother call out to her brother-in-law. “Leave Kagome alone! How would you feel if someone was butting into your dramatic life?” The woman poked her head out from the doorframe with a sigh, waving a finger at Mosouka like he was a candy-stealing infant.

“I would tell of course,” the man declared, as if it was the most obvious thing. “Anyways you know that I just adore love stories. They're absolutely romantic,”

“I'll never get you politicians. `Souka, you're weird enough for the both of us,” Kagome's mother sighed. “Kagome can you go check on your brother. He's been awfully quiet, and he hasn't been feeling quite right,”

Kagome nodded, noticing the glances that the two adults were giving each other. Adult talk. “Yes Mama,” her daughter replied dutifully.

Even after she had gone through, she still didn't have a place among the adults. They never told her what they were whispering and discussing in the kitchen, all alone. She was almost seventeen, and probably older than most people her age.

Oh well.

Her lips thinned into a straight line when she reached Souta's room. He was fourteen, and he should've been able to take care of himself. It wasn't to say that she didn't care for him, per se, it was just that she felt like a mother whenever she nursed him when he was ill and their mother was out doing errands or at least something of the kind. Somehow Souta reminded Kagome of Shippo when she slipped into her motherly mode.

Kagome poked her head around the corner, staring at the lump in her brother's bed. It stirred, and she waited to see her brother's head poke out. Sure enough, a messy black clump of hair appeared from under the sheets and soon after a face appeared.

“Hey Kagome,” Souta moaned. “Is Uncle `Souka here?”

“How did you guess?” she asked, smiling coyly.

“Only Uncle can make that much of racket. Another of those secret meetings, hunh?” Souta asked. He wasn't quite as clueless as before. “So watcha doing here? It's a Wednesday.”

“Your point?” Kagome asked defensively. The window behind her brother's head was turning an inky black, but the outline of the Goshinboku was still clear. Only a few inches wider and she could've seen the well house. “It's been more than a year. I just can't go and try every single time. I know what's going to happen Souta, and so should you. You can't just keep expecting Inu Yasha to show up and be the hero again. It isn't going to happen,”

“So you've given up,” Souta whispered.

“I haven't given up. I'm just being realistic,”

“Fine then, realistic Kagome. Tell me what happened to the fairytale,” he demanded.

She honestly would never have guessed that Souta one day would become so interested in her life—even if it was told in exciting bits just like a fairytale. Even though he was fourteen it was almost guaranteed that Kagome would at least tell him a story every other day. At first it had been so her family could get an idea of what she had been through, but now it was like a routine and a tradition that they didn't want to break.

“What happened to the fairytale?” Kagome answered. A puff of air escaped her lips, as she realized she had been holding her breath. The memories were always so vivid, and at times she could just slip into them and imagine they were happening all over again. The good memories, the bad times, and the magical time when the wind ruffled her hair when she was slipping through time. Kagome closed her eyes, savoring the cool darkness.

“Once upon a time there was a miko. A miko so powerful that all demons feared her. Even the people cowered before her, scared of what she could do. They weren't used to this power from a mere human. Youkai, yes, but never a human. She was so powerful she could do the work of a hundred samurai and not once flinch. Her name soon became known without the lands, and youkai now would fear her name; Midoroko.

“So they found a weak body, a body corrupted with secret lust for Midoroko. Slowly demons of all powers, shapes and sizes joined forces. Finally, they were strong enough to fight the miko. They struck at night and expected to win quickly but they didn't. Their fight lasted for seven days and seven nights.

“Midoroko began to weaken and so, when she was near the gates of death and hell she let out an amazing burst of power. She sealed her soul and the soul of the other demons to create a jewel that was known as the Shikon no Tama.

“Soon the jewel went into the hands of another miko, but her tale ended tragically in a star-crossed love affair. She had the jewel burned with her so it would cause no trouble but her efforts were wasted. The jewel came back with a mysterious girl that seemed to be from some new place all together. She shattered the jewel and many began to seek it. The young miko had promised to find all the Shikon shards.

“It seemed like the jewel would always be cursed with misfortune but the girl was too blind to see. She made friends with a lecherous monk, a fiery tajiya, a scorned hanyou and an orphaned kitsune. They soon became a group that would risk everything for each other. They were not only a fighting team but a family. A family because they all had lost something whether they noticed it or not.

“Soon when all was going well, and they expected the battle against a youkai that was evil. Like in Midoroko's time the demon had been created by a man that lusted over the miko before the girl's time. Just like in the tale of Midorko the fight lasted seven days and seven nights. The group of misfits began to weaken but the girl did something no one could expect. Not even she expected it.

“When they all thought it was certain death, she jumped in front of all of them and let out a burst of purifying power. Every ounce of energy was put into it and she began to feel pain. Pain that can't be described. It worked and they won, but in a way the girl sealed her fate.

“Now like the mikos before her she is imprisoned. Stuck in a new time altogether,”

Tears pricked her eyes when the story had finished. Her brother had fallen asleep near the end but she had continued anyways. “Good night,” she whispered as she flicked the light off.

X.o.X

Kagome brooded as she sat on her bed. She brooded at the broken alarm clock that she had never truly fixed. She brooded at the window sill that she left open every single night, no matter the weather in case Inu Yasha did appear. She brooded at everything that she could find that reminded her of the past. It was safe to say that Kagome was an expert brooder, most likely one of the best in all of Tokyo.

“Why?” she whispered painfully. “…Why me? What did I ever do?”

She collapsed on the bed, her head hitting the pillow with a thump. A pillow, so soft, so feathery, so comforting. Kagome closed her eyes, trying to block out the tears. The tears that always welled up when she told Souta a story. Her story.

Silently, she closed her eyes musing and brooding in complete darkness. Flashes of her adopted family smiling, laughing, fighting, screaming for her help. She wasn't there anymore. A lump formed in throat, and she closed scrunched her eyes even tighter together.

Flashes of herself lying by the well, covered in blood from the last battle. Her lying on the ground with a sprained ankle and wrist. Her just sitting and staring sadly and daydreaming about what they were doing. Then a picture of the dark bottom of the well. Wet. Wet from her own tears.

It was stupid. Silly. Immature. She knew it but she couldn't let it go. She couldn't let the past escape her grip. Even now she was forgetting details without seeing them everyday. Their faces were becoming blurry, escaping through the cracks of her memories.

“I never even got to say good bye,” Kagome choked out.

She looked down at the sheets underneath her, bland, just like how she felt. Her hand forcefully punched the mattress beneath her. Her jaw hurt from it being unconsciously clenched in a pain that seemed to be inside of her. Even though it sounded cheesy, it was like her soul felt cracked. Broken, almost.

That night she cried herself to sleep.

X.o.X

Blanket Disclaimer: I only own the plot and a few characters. The rest belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

X.o.X

The place where the author talks about virtually nothing: I want to thank SerenityIce and Anime Revolution for the absolutely wonderful reviews. I'm just glad that the first reviews I received were so great. I hope I don't disappoint you. I do have to say that this chapter did not turn out how I wanted and it took me several tries to finally get I wanted—just ask darkenedmoonlight if you doubt me.

Anyways, I so wanted to make Mosouka a blonde but then I realized that Fairytale: The Sun Child was going to be surrounded by blonde, handsome and ultimately attractive people. So…he's now a redhead—but maybe one day he'll become a platinum blonde man.

-Mediale

(End of Chapter One: Imprisonment)