InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Little Acts Of Kindness ❯ Chapter One ( Chapter 1 )

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

A/N: This story has a moral that I hope gives a positive message to those who are reading. Rating just to be safe. This deals with some issues that may not be for young readers (like those under, say, 10 years old) but I'm sure that it's nothing you haven't heard before.

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The rain fell mercilessly, relentlessly pounding onto the ground. The clouds were dark. The city hadn't seen the sun for three days in a row.

A dismal shadow was cast over the entire city, hanging over the heads of the people, ever present, never changing. It was as if someone had erased the sun and with it the energy and light and spirit of the usually bustling town. Or taken a paintbrush and painted the whole city gray with despair and gloom.

And still the rain fell.

Then suddenly, the clouds parted, leaving a small gap between them where light streamed through like a beacon of hope for all to see.

A solitary feather fell from the sky.

x

Higurashi Kagome was awake.

She sighed. 'I'll never get used to getting up this early.'

She shot a venomous glance towards her alarm clock which read 7:00 a.m. in bright green numbers. 'I guess I'll just have to get used to it!'

She performed her usual morning routine, and was ready to leave by 8:00 so that she could reach the college by 8:30.

"Bye Mom! Bye Souta! Have a good day!" she yelled. Grabbing her coat, she stepped outside. "Oh! It's raining!"

She quickly went back in to find her umbrella, and walked out the door.

'Brr… It's colder than I thought it would be!' she thought to herself as she wrapped one arm around herself for warmth while the other arm held up the umbrella up as she walked.

She looked around at the sea of people traveling on the narrow sidewalk, each one carrying an umbrella. People were scattered everywhere, and she had to keep her wits about her so as not to run in to anyone.

Suddenly she was pushed aside gruffly from behind as a man charged through the crowd, obviously not concerning himself with what happened to anyone else. She wasn't knocked down, but was furious nonetheless. She was about to yell, "Watch it!" when the same man pushed down another unsuspecting person, this time knocking him down onto the ground. The inconsiderate man just kept on running like nothing had happened, continuing to shove others out of his path.

"Jerk!" Kagome cried out angrily at the rude stranger's retreating figure before rushing to help the man who had been pushed down onto the wet ground. The contents of the bag he had been carrying – a few notebooks and a pencil – had fallen onto the sidewalk, and were quickly soaking due to the heavy downpour.

"Damnit!" the man cursed under his breath.

Kagome crouched town to help him gather his things. She noticed on the front cover of one of the books that the stranger's name – Inuyasha – was written on it. 'Strange name,' she thought.

"What a jerk! I can't believe he did that without even apologizing!" she ranted. "Ah, my name is Kagome. Here, let me help you with your stuff. It's soaking wet!"

She took an opportunity to study him more carefully. He had long, white hair that was mostly hidden by his hood. He wore all black – an oversized black sweater, black baggy pants, even black shoes and socks. He also had on a tight black toque. She could he was about her age. He seemed to be the only one outside without an umbrella, and he was dripping wet. 'He looks almost like a shaggy dog that's been out in the rain for too long because his owner was neglecting him.'

The stranger – Inuyasha – looked up at her, searching. In a hoarse voice he asked, "Why?"

Kagome was taken aback by the unexpected question. She met his gaze and was shocked by his eyes. They were golden – a beautiful, pure gold; but that wasn't what had surprised her. It was the look he had given her; so dead, so utterly lifeless that she wondered how he could even be living. Such pain and sadness were mirrored in those eyes that she could scarcely stand to look into them. 'If eyes are the window to the soul, then this man has no soul.'

She shook her head. 'Don't be stupid, of course he has a soul. Everyone has a soul,' she contradicted herself.

All these thoughts and more crossed her mind in a matter of seconds. Kagome blinked, rapidly recalling his strange question.

"Pardon?" she asked, not quite understanding what he was implying.

"Why?" he repeated, and he broke their eye contact as if afraid to look at her, or maybe afraid to be seen. "Why help me?"

"Why help you? Well, I guess because I thought you needed help. And maybe because I'd like to think that you would return the favor." Kagome reached out, putting a hand on his arm in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture, and smiled.

Inuyasha winced as if he had been stung and pulled his arm back instantly. He hastily grabbed his bag and stood up. She did as well.

"I'm not worth it," he whispered so softly that the rain almost carried the words away. Only Kagome heard; only Kagome listened.

"I…ah…" she stammered, not quite knowing what to say. 'I only wanted to help, but I think I ended up hurting him more than helping him.'

Inuyasha turned around wordlessly. He walked away, leaving her standing in the rain.

Kagome shook her head as if to make it all go away. Realizing that she would probably be late for class, she hurried off, thoughts of her strange encounter running through her head.

And the rain continued to fall.

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