InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pride, Pomp, and Circumstance ❯ Chapter 2

A/N: Well, I'm not sure exactly what I expected, but I didn't get a ton of reviews for the first chapter - only three between MM and FF. But, those reviews were very positive, so perhaps I am actually doing something right. :] So, I'd like to thank theknightcallsmyname, SplendentGoddess, and Suzeheart, though I'm sure my former expository writing teacher would be appalled at all the sentence fragments. Anyway, enough talking! Let's get the show on the road.

 

Disclaimer: I do not own anything remotely affiliated with Inuyasha; hence, the reason it's called fanfiction.

 

 

Out of damp and gloomy days, out of solitude, out of loveless words directed at us, conclusions grow up in us like fungus: one morning they are there, we know not how, and they gaze upon us, morose and gray. Woe to the thinker who is not the gardener but only the soil of the plants that grow in him.

-- Friedrich Nietzsche

 

 

 

 

“Souta! Kikyou!”

 

That couldn't be them. Those bodies were fakes, like the dolls used on crime shows. They had to be. No one could be that pale, that bruised. She rushed forward. She had to show the paramedics their errors. How could they not have seen when it was so obvious? Right?

 

Suddenly her headlong rush was stopped by a mass of arms, snaking in from the shadows of her peripheral vision to ensnare her. She struggled against her binds. “NO! Let me go! Souta! Kikyou!”

 

Numbly, she realized her voice sounded wrong. That couldn't have come out of her mouth - it was far too raw, too throaty, too broken. She didn't sound like that. Not even all the tears could have had that effect. Of that she was certain. But why did that voice mirror the thoughts in her head?

 

But that didn't matter. She had to get to them. She spun quickly, intending to claw away from her faceless captors. Her stomach plummeted when her eyes focused upon her intended victim.

 

He wasn't faceless. Instead, she found eyes, piercing and murky, narrowed though his lips twisted in a morbid smirk that marred his seemingly handsome face. Upon seeing her eyes, widened in fright and recognition, his lips blossomed into a gloat. “It's useless to struggle, my little princess,” he whispered throatily.

 

She froze, as if obedient to his desires. The hands that restrained her - were they hands? She dared not look - gripped her tighter, slithering around her legs, her arms, her torso. Tighter, tighter they gripped. There was no way arms could wrap around her like that. She had to know… She flicked her eyes away from her captor's face, and nearly heaved at the sight.

 

Snakelike tentacles had worked their way along nearly every inch of her, leaving in their wake a reptilian slime. She gasped for breath. If she screamed, would anyone hear her? Would they help her? Her lungs didn't seem to work. Maybe the man - no, the monster - was restricting her chest, preventing her from taking a sufficient breath. There was no way she was going to survive. No one would help her even if they did see. She was going to die; she knew it. There was no getting out of this. She was going to be murdered by the hands - tentacles - of some sick, perverse freak.

 

“Daddy's not here to protect you this time,” he crooned in a tone almost tenderly, as if to provide a balm for her involuntary quivering. She flinched away as he leaned in closer, and squeezed her eyes shut as his binding tightened further and pulled her toward him as well. His breath ghosted across her face, and a warm, wet, roughness caressed her cheek as he tasted her terror, cleaning the tears she wasn't aware she'd leaked.

 

“And I always get what I want.”

 

oOoOoOo

 

Kagome shot up in bed, inhaling as if brought back from near death by asphyxiation. Trembling and gasping for much-needed oxygen, she clutched her blanket as though it were her lifeline, her anchor among crashing storm waves. Slowly, her heart rate slowed and cognition returned.

 

Instead of calming, her shaking only intensified, though anger now replaced fear. She fervently rubbed at her cheeks, erasing the evidence of her weakness. `Chikushou!' She slammed her fist on her nightstand in frustration, causing the small lamp, cell phone, and alarm clock adorning it to hop and rattle in response. She wasn't supposed to be weak. She wasn't weak. And he wasn't supposed to follow her across the Pacific. And she wouldn't let him.

 

Grumbling, she averted her eyes from the crumpled navy blankets, the physical manifestation of her inability to calm down the night before after finally returning from her emotional attempt at escaping poorly suppressed memories. Obviously that had translated to when she had finally drifted off, perhaps three hours earlier, as well. Kagome turned hazel eyes instead to her alarm clock instead. 5:27 - a full two hours before she intended to rise.

 

She flopped back onto her abused pillow and let out a long sigh, releasing her pent-up tension and pondering the errands to which she needed to attend. She thought back to the night before, remembering the three idiots who had trailed her all the way from the library. They'd been bugging her sporadically in class - her foreign immersion class for potential immigrants, intended to ease the transition from student visa to green card to citizenship. Now that she considered it, she realized the trouble first started after a class discussion on finding jobs. Work was limited on campus, and until the student had lived in the U.S. for at least a year, he or she would be ineligible for a work permit. She'd nonchalantly mentioned her father's trust fund at some point, not even thinking of the consequences, and somehow they'd also found out she resided on her own in an off-campus flat. That, combined with her god-awful alias (seriously, who in their right mind would name their daughter “princess child?”) must have fueled some jealousy, she mused.

 

But now that the stranger had managed to draw more unwanted attention to herself - there was no way that the three would leave her alone now. Kagome's brow furrowed and she clenched her jaw as her frustration grew once more. Damn busybody! She could have handled herself just fine, thankyouverymuch. But noooo. He had to come up and reaffirm their belief that she couldn't live without some big, strong man carrying along the helpless little damsel in distress. She ground her teeth and snorted in response to her sarcastic thoughts. As if!

 

And then he had to mistake her for Kikyou! Fuck, she was sick of that happening. The girl was a full four years older than her. How the hell did people keep mistaking her? It's not as though they had looked that much alike, even before she…

 

No, she couldn't start thinking about that again. Shaking her head to rid herself of unpleasant thoughts, Kagome quickly attempted to spring out of bed, and nearly tumbled when the sheets tangled around her legs refused to give. She was not having a good day, and it wasn't even six yet. All she needed was—

 

A shrill ring broke the early morning silence of her apartment, and Kagome jumped reflexively. Her feet caught in the still-tangled sheets, then slipped sideways against the fake wood floorboard. Before she could react, she'd landed with an audible smack, smashing her hipbone and shoulder on the cold floor. “Ite…” she moaned pathetically to herself.

 

Crawling over to her nightstand, Kagome grabbed for the device vibrating innocently on the top of her nightstand, groping slightly in the dim dawn light. The asshole calling would be sorry, that she knew. She'd give him a piece of her mind, and no way in hell was she censoring herself to - she looked at the name on the screen, expecting to see an unknown number - Mama?

 

She stared dumbly at the screen for a full minute, unaware of its continued ringing and vibrations. It wasn't until the noise ceased as the call went to voicemail when she finally snapped out of her reverie. Kagome sighed ruefully. Perhaps she was bipolar, for her emotions to change this quickly? She certainly wasn't pregnant, nor was it that time of the month, she noted after flipping open her phone to check the calendar. And shouldn't it be wrong to feel depressed because one's mother called?

 

She needed a distraction, she decided. There was no way she could get to sleep again - especially now - so she might as well do something useful. After kicking her sheets off of her legs, fucking things, she hopped up and made her bed. Somehow, it took a fraction of the time it normally did and provided her no therapeutic relief. Kagome sat gingerly on the edge of the bed - careful not to wrinkle it - and considered her room. Eyeing her half-full laundry basket, she decided her next laundry duty wasn't until later that week at the earliest. And that wouldn't help at all to curb her rampant thoughts.

 

Her eyes finally settled on her tennis shoes. Of course! She'd go for a run. And in the early morning, she was sure the streets would be virtually empty, allowing her to go undisturbed. Somewhere in the back of her mind, her doubts whispered that this was the same as last night, she was being weak; she was allowing her emotions to control herself. `No,' she denied to herself. `It's different. I'm handling it. I'm confronting it.'

 

Pulling off her nightgown, she quickly dressed into her running shorts and a sports bra, forgoing a shirt because of the intense humidity present even this early in the morning, evident by the fog coating the outside of her bedroom window. She quickly donned her socks and shoes, then pulled her hair back, tangles and all, into a harsh ponytail, then bounced briskly out of her apartment, skipping her stretches in her impatience. Nothing would stop her. She would conquer all obstacles, including herself.

 

oOoOoOo

 

“Goddamn mutt!”

 

Inuyasha was not having a good night… day? Morning? Whatever it was, it fucking sucked.

 

First of all, there was that fucking cunt. Bitch had led him all over the city last night (never mind the fact that she probably would freak if she had actually known the big bad monster was looking for her) just to give her that fucking pair of shoes. And he had never found her, so now he was stuck with a fucking pair of girl shoes, too. He should have pitched them in the nearest dumpster. But he probably deserved it for always having to play the fucking hero, if nothing else.

 

The high-pitched yap continued from somewhere directly above his head, in his upstairs neighbor's flat, and Inuyasha swore again. Fucking hell. How did they sleep through that damn thing's racket?

 

It wasn't as if he didn't like dogs - fuck, he was practically half-dog himself, as an inuyoukai - but in his mind, that thing didn't count. It was like a miniature puffball of… of cuteness. Any self-respecting dog would be ashamed of itself. And that was before it opened its trap with that high-pitched “bark” - if you could even call it that. How the hell was anyone supposed to sleep through that thing, even without youkai-enhanced hearing? How the fuck did its owners manage? And then, on top of that, the owners had to give it some fucking ridiculous name. He was pretty sure they called it “Booger.” Yeah. Real cute.

 

He had been hoping to get some sleep. Even though the slight sunlight signified the return of his youkai blood, running around the night before as a human, coupled with the mental stress, had taken a lot out of him, and damn it, he was tired.

 

The puffball yipped again, and Inuyasha threw his pillow across the room in frustration, swearing loudly. Better that than the alternative, to rip it apart with his newly returned claws. But that was only because all the feathers were a fucking pain in the ass to clean up. If it weren't for the fucking feathers, he'd shred pillows all the time. It was cathartic.

 

The yipping continued undisturbed, and he grudgingly admitted that he needed to get out, despite his resolve from the night before to mope around in his apartment all day. Pulling on his shoes and grabbing his keys, he ran down the stairs, stifling his childish urge to kick his up stair neighbor's door in frustration. He couldn't resist slamming his car door, however, and he grumbled when the engine of his beater turned over twice before spluttering to life.

 

“Goooooooood morning loyal listeners! I'm Rick, here with your weather on this lovely August morning. The humidity is currently at ninety percent, and don't expect any rain to bring some relief, folks! Especially for those of you living in the city, it's gonna be hot, hot, hot today!”

 

Inuyasha jabbed the mute button on his radio, effectively shutting up the giddy weatherman. Fuck. It should be illegal to be that happy, ever.

 

He drove in silence until he'd reached his destination. Though traffic was practically nonexistent at this hour of the morning, the smooth ride to work did little to alleviate his mood - it didn't allow him to take out his pent-up frustration on horrendous drivers, he concluded as he roared into a parking spot. Grabbing his drawstring bag of equipment that rested, as usual, on the passenger seat, he stormed out of his car and through the front lobby of the building, slamming doors nearly hard enough to shatter the glass.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Inuyasha noticed his coworker look up at the sound of the door slamming, oblivious to its inherent warning. “Good morning Inuyasha! How are you on this wonderful morning?” he chirped good-naturedly.

 

What the hell was with everyone's good mood? Couldn't they see that it definitely was not a fucking good morning? “Shut the fuck up, bouzu.”

 

He continued on his path with hardly a glance in the dark-haired man's direction, nearly busting the door to the employee's only changing room. He should have hit it harder. Maybe then the fucking idiots would get the picture sitting in front of their fucking faces.

 

Despite the wall now separating them, he could still hear the conversation that followed his stormy entrance, and his ears, although hidden from sight, flicked back to catch every murmur.

 

“Do you have any idea what is bothering Inuyasha today, Totosai?”

 

“Maybe it's that time of the month,” Totosai whispered conspiratorially, then cackled to himself.

 

Inuyasha slammed his locker as loudly as he could, pleased when it reverberated around the locker room, and Totosai squeaked audibly out in the lobby. He was going to get that old man back, one of these days. And then the fucking monk, for being so goddamn happy.

 

Maybe then they'd realize how fucked up he was. Maybe then they'd stay away from him. It would be better for everyone.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Every slight noise seemed to be amplified. She tiptoed silently along, edging around the corner and checking to assure herself of a clear path to her target.

 

 

 

 

 

oOoOoOo

 

Something about Inuyasha.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Kagome goes to her new foreign immersion class for the first time and meets Sango. She decides to act differently, and when Sango invites her to hang out, Kagome accepts.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Something else about Inuyasha.

 

oOoOoOo

 

Sango picks Kagome up at her flat, and surprise! Sango wants to go to the gym - that's her idea of “hanging out.” She talks about how her dad was a champion boxer in his time, and how that influenced her to start, and how now she works out all the time. Kagome, interested, decides to take on Sango. Sango knocks her out briefly, but admits to having an unfair height and weight advantage, and says that Kagome has the most natural talent she's ever seen. Kagome doesn't admit to getting some fighting lessons before she left Japan, pretending she'd never hit anyone before in her life. Sango convinces her to try a few lessons. She says she'll introduce Kagome to the best person for teaching raw fighters she's seen, and Kagome gets her first glance of hanyou Inuyasha.

 

oOoOoOo

 

We see Kagome from Inuyasha's perspective. He only sees her slight frame, as she's only about 5' and weighs around 100 lbs. He assumes that she's someone who just wants to try to be tough because of her new hair cut, and refuses to teach her, saying he doesn't teach girls, especially wimpy, wanna-be girls like her, who look as if a strong wind would blow her away. Kagome loses her temper for the first time.

 

 

 

A/N: And there it is! My second chapter! I'm not quite happy with it (I don't feel like I quite captured the essence of Inuyasha, haha), but I had to really churn this one out, as I didn't have time to sit down and revise (more on that at the end).

 

It's amazing how much I had to bust my ass to get this out. I've never been much for planning things out (even my most recent expository work, a 12-page research paper on euthanasia/assisted suicide), but I've found it makes churning out these fanfic chapters much more difficult. I kind of have a general idea what I want to happen, and a few really detailed scenes that write themselves, but coming up with the extra stuff for each chapter? It kicks my butt! Perhaps I should look into asking for a beta… But thank god I didn't delude myself into studying for a degree even remotely related to literature.

 

Let's see… about the Japanese. As I've said before, I don't speak Japanese, other than the bits I've picked up from subbed anime (can't stand the dubbed crap) and other fanfics. I did do some online dictionary searching to find the words I needed, but… well, I do speak two languages other than English, and let's just say I know how well online translators/dictionaries sometimes work. :]

 

So obviously, if anyone out there actually knows Japanese and I'm making some grave error, please inform me!

 

I would like to credit FrameofMind, from whom I got the idea to use the Japanese surname Koyabashi. For more information on the name, you can see her notes in her fic God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. My reasoning wasn't quite the same as hers, but it's a neat fact.

 

Fun fact: there is actually a “House of Pain” amateur boxing gym, located in Denver. When I was researching boxing, I came across it, and I just had to use it, since it was so over-the-top.

 

If you have any other questions, always feel free to ask. As for the next chapter, I'm not sure when it will be out. I'm flying out tomorrow morning, across the country, to begin the next chapter of my life. Unfortunately, for the first seven weeks of said “chapter” (otherwise known as basic training), I will not have any Internet access. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up around mid-August (and I may go back and revise this chapter as well). Wish me luck!

 

And with that, I ask that you please, please review. :]