InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Remembrance ❯ Helluva Day ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1

Helluva Day

 

 

Tic. Tic. Tic.

 

 

Stupid clock, Kagome thought savagely. Why can't it be quiet? Does it have to make so much noise?

 

 

No answer.

 

 

Sigh.

 

 

No answer

 

 

I should probably get up. Her ass stayed firmly planted in the very comfy leather armchair. Maybe not.

 

 

Another sigh.

 

 

Maybe I'll just stay here. I mean, why should I go to work anyway? How pointless, work...

 

 

A snore rose from the depths of the dark brown armchair.

 

 

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP

 

 

“Shit!” Kagome leapt at least five feet straight up off the chair, slipped on her newly polished hard wood floor, and collided heavily with the coffee table, spilling several glasses of soda, filled with varying amounts of liquid. All of which was now dripping over the glass top and staining that God-awful lacey cloth her mother had knitted at some point and forced upon her. Out of politeness (or was it fear) she had hung it decoratively off the edge of her coffee table, where it had resided for two years, and was now having its color changed to a rather ugly shade of brown. Hey, at least now she had a reason to trash the thing.

 

 

Kagome regained her balance, after some very undignified slipping and sliding, and several collisions with a rather large trunk propped against the end of the matching leather couch and made her way over to the island in her kitchen, upon which rested her toaster. Smoke was rising suspiciously from the depths of the metal contraption, hinting at the condition of her breakfast.

 

 

She pulled out the blackened pieces of what had formerly been known as bread, and stared at them tearfully. She did not have long to mourn, as her short attention span was soon focused instead on the evil white smoke alarm, still resolutely beeping from its position on the drably beige ceiling.

 

 

She shook a fist pointlessly at the cursed object and turned on the fan. Very slowly the smoke was blown out of the room, through the open window, where it danced joyfully in the light breeze for a few moments before dissipating.

 

 

With another sigh Kagome pulled out the gallon of milk from the fridge and drained a glass as she waited for her new batch of toast to pop up. What a great start to the day, she mused. And now I'll still have to go to work, avoid Koga, not piss off the boss, go home, while avoiding Koga, them sit at home, doing absolutely nothing, besides wishing I had a life, and sleep. And then, I get to do exactly the same thing tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that. Until Sunday, when I'll sit at home all day, wishing my life wasn't so boring. Joy.

 

 

Kagome took a moody bite of toast and sulked.

 

 

§§§

 

 

Kagome stormed out of the open door of the restaurant, whipping around when she heard her boss calling her name. “I don't care if I'm already fired! I quit!” she yelled at the top of her lungs, turning her back on him and raising a solitary finger to wave goodbye to him. I'd imagine you can guess exactly which finger it was.

 

 

The nerve of that guy! She raged. How Dare He?! After all I did for him! I work for him for three years, and he just up and kicks me out! Argh! Mentally, she screamed in frustration at the stupidity of guys like that.

 

 

She stormed down five blocks, earning glares from passersby who glared at her for shoving them roughly out of her way. She made her way through the throng crowding the New York streets to the only place she knew that she could relax. The library.

 

 

The swinging doors were pushed roughly aside and the librarian at the desk glanced up to see a young woman with dark black sticking up all over her head with her eyes flashing red, and, as inconspicuously as possible, ducked slowly down beneath her desk, and started praying that she would be still be alive by lunch time.

 

 

Kagome grinned despite herself when she noticed the cowering librarian. Normally, she would have been quick to reassure the poor woman, but not today. No, today, she was going to be pissed at everyone, and she was going to enjoy it! Nothing could stop her!

And that was the moment when she saw the sequel to one of her favorite books that she had wanted to read since it came out, and nearly passed out with delight.

 

 

§§§

 

 

Sundown found Kagome still reading on the floor in the middle of the library. The book was turning out to be quite boring compared to its predecessor, and Kagome was quite disappointed. I mean, it isn't even set in the same country! Sheesh! Angry now, she snapped the book shut, earning a round of disapproving `shhh!'s from the unseen people using the computers around the corner. She shoved the book back on its shelf, knocking off two more in her anger, and browsed furiously among the other books on the shelf.

 

 

A faded green cover caught her eye. Curious, she pulled it out. The title had been rubbed off completely, only faint imprints in the hard cover left any indication that letters had, at one time, been stamped on. She opened the first page...and sneezed. God, she thought as she coughed and sputtered. When was the last time someone opened this?

 

 

Coughing she shut the book again and placed it in her book bag. Let somebody else deal with the dust. She walked around the bookshelf, and noticed that there appeared to be no-one at the desk. Sighing in frustration she sat down in a cushy armchair to wait for the librarian.

 

 

It was a pity she didn't realize that the librarian was currently sprinting down 3rd street, with her skirt hiked up above her knees, rambling about serial killers in the adult section.

 

 

So, oblivious, she sank into a dream.

 

 

She was in a forest. It was night. The trees around her rustled with the sounds of small animals shifting. A barn owl's screeching rasped through the still air. For a single second following, there was complete silence. Then the rustling started up again.

 

 

She strode calmly through the darkness, slowly at first, but her speed increased gradually. She longed to reach her destination, but she knew not where it was. Blindly she raced through the forest, but she did not stumble. On and on she ran, whipping past the trees, whose branches seemed to be waving her past, whispering to her to move faster.

 

 

Suddenly, the trees opened up, and she stood in a clearing. Before her was a great tree. Its branches stretched high above, but she could not discern just how high. Indeed, the outline of the tree itself was very faint, for the bark was as black as the darkest obsidian. Beneath this tree, there lay a man, with hair so dark, it blended into the tree behind him. His clothing could have been any color before, but now it was the dull brownish color of dried blood. The cloth over his stomach was ripped away, to reveal a lethal wound bleeding sickeningly into the earth around him. The grass upon which he lay was stained with his blood.

 

 

His face was white. There were jagged wounds across his left cheek which appeared to have been rent by the long claws of a beast. His eyes were closed. For some reason, she wanted his eyes to open. She felt as if, if they were open, everything would be alright. She did not know why, but she felt that she would be safe, as long as his eyes were open. But they were not open. They were closed, hiding from the world.

 

 

She had not felt herself move forward, but she was now kneeling on the ground next to him. One hand extended, brushing against the bloodstained grass, and she shivered at the feel of the cold liquid. The hand raised itself past his stomach wound, and rose to caress his face lightly. His skin was cold, like marble. There was no life in such a feeling. She brushed over his eyes, attempting to get a response, but he did not react. Gently she laid her hand on his shoulder, and shook it very carefully. There was no response. Cautiously she raised two fingers to where his pulse should be felt beating through the tender skin of his neck. Nothing.

 

 

No conscious thoughts flickered across her mind, only a small prick of something. Disbelief, maybe? A refusal to accept what all the signs were telling her? Or, was it...guilt? Why should she feel guilt? What had she to do with this unknown man's death?

 

 

Then it hit her. Death. He was dead. Just like that. His life-force had been extinguished. There was nothing left of this man. He was gone. She stared dumbly at the corpse, for that was what it was. Suddenly, a piercing scream left her throat. An answering roar resounded through the forest. She turned to face behind her, and a large reptilian head snaked out from the shadow of the trees, dark ruby eyes glittering sadly, a low crooning vibrating from the throat.

 

 

There was a flash of white light, and Kagome awoke with a gasp.