InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Reminisce ❯ Secrets of Heart and Mystery ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimers If you think I'm gonna say I don't own Inu-Yasha, you've just won a prize! And here it is! Chapter 4 of my fic! XD lol

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Aki gazed out at the vast grassland just beyond the edge of her house with only the gleam of the full moon as her light. Her eyes blankly stared without the peacefulness that usually laid hidden in their depths as she sat, her arms folded, at the bottom of the sakura tree she had fallen asleep under only hours ago when dusk was still fresh. She sat there without the slightest intention that she would dare leave this spot. Her eyes seemed to be watching rather than gazing... as if she was waiting... The only movement through the still night was the rise and fall of her chest as she inhaled and exhaled her breaths. Not even the wind was blowing tonight... All was still...

Without shifting the slightest, her eyes darted to the left and her steady even breaths became ragged even as the silent night dragged on. Almost without warning, she shot up and scanned about the surrounding trees, trying her best to control the fear that crept up her spine. Her lips, parted for her jagged breath, were dry with the cool night air, and she paused to gaze off into the distance, fearful of what lay there. In the depths of her mind, she secretly hoped it to be some answer to the strange dream that had, once again, stolen her slumber.

{Dream}

Just over the horizon, a figure drooped lazily over the edge of an old tree, golden eyes set ablaze by the ancient orange globe lowly hanging in the sky. The breeze gently nipped at his white hair, swishing it from side to side in patterns of tranquility as he watched intently for the night to claim its place in the sky. Though this seemed a time of peace to many, something was troubling this boy's mind... something he had tried to push away but continued to linger in the back of his mind, beckoning him forward to find an answer.

"This will be the day..." he thought aloud, still staring blindly forward. "This will be the day I tell her..."

Almost as if his words called her, Aki stepped meekly from the underbrush of a bush, only a few meters below where he sat atop the tree. He caught the noise immediately, turning quickly and locking eyes with her, causing his frame to pause as did hers. Just then, his mind went blank. All he had to tell vanished before he could even recall the fact he had anything to tell at all. The silence only made it all the more unnerving to stare into her hazel eyes that seemed, to him, the reflection of what he had forgotten. So many reasons he was holding back... He wondered why he even let it go this far without it being said... But this was it... He would tell her... now...

"Aki--"

"Inuyasha--"

Both paused.

She blushed and cast her head to the ground shyly. "You go on."

"No. You."

"No, really." She shook her head. "You go."

"O-okay..." Inuyasha could already feel the blaze burn on his cheeks as she stared up at him, waiting for him to continue. He gulped hard. This wasn't going to be easy... "Aki, I... I wanted to say something to you..." He paused once more. Was this right? Should he even bother? No... She was here. What was the use of letting it slip out of his grasp again? Why wait when he had the perfect opportunity right here? Right. He nodded confidently to himself. He was going to say it.

He stared into her eyes for the reassurance he needed, the hope gleaming there a surefire sign that she was ready to know. He gulped again, not sure if he was even ready himself... but it wasn't going to pass him up again... He wouldn't let it.

Leaping gracefully to the ground, white hair flinging about him, he patted the ground beside him, telling her to sit there. She obeyed with little reluctance, if any, and was soon by his side, waiting, once more, for him to finish what he had to say, though the red on her cheeks hid the knowing smile that she managed to hide back. To end the silence for a second time, he coughed, glancing over at her and then back to his foot, folded back into his lap.

"How long have we known each other?" his unusually shy voice came, murmured out so that she could barely hear herself.

That earned him a questionable glance. "Hm? Oh. Maybe a year now..."

"Right... A year... Umm... A-Aki..." the sentence hung.

"Hai?" she responded, patiently understanding his nervousness. He let out a sigh and breathed in deeply, closing his eyes to calm himself, then staring up at the moon now hanging in the sky, a pale halo over his snow-white hair in the darkened skies. This will the day... It will...

"Aki... I... I love you..."

{End Dream}

Completely forgetting the disturbance, Aki let out a longing sigh, falling back to the tree, her hands to her face, trying not to remember. Though it seemed impossible as it was to remember, how could she have forgotten that? Of all things, if she ever loved him, or if he had ever loved her, how in the world was she able to forget? This wasn't right. Her life was beginning to become a puzzle... A large puzzle with small hidden pieces scattered about... invisible pieces...

A tear made its way down her cheek as the odd occurrence in the dream triggered an emotion she had so long ago tried to let go, but before it completed its trail to hit the ground, a light cracking to her left caught her attention and abruptly shot her out of the trance. Sharply turning, she noticed a small figure rush past the brush, its silhouette the only visible feature. It darted quickly to the opposite side of her house and out of her vision before she could make out the species at all. Her brow furrowed at that. What was that little creature?

Lost to her curiosity, Aki pursued the little animal, interested to know what exactly it was and to what its interests had been captured by. It was definitely fast as she soon found out. Just like any other four-legged creature, it ran with a much greater speed than her, turning the next corner faster than she could turn the last, and before she knew it, it was out of sight and the dull whistle of the leaves billowing in the wind returned the night as it was before. It was as if it had disappeared into thin air... Maybe it was just a passing creature of sorts...? No... She shook her head. That wasn't a normal creature... I could feel... I don't know, but I felt something...

She swallowed, trying her best to dampen her dry throat. For some reason, a coldness of some kind shot up her spine... something just didn't feel right... Her heart began to throb in her chest as the anxiety crept into her thoughts, flooding them with worry and fear.

"I should go inside..." she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. Loud enough to prove there was nothing to be afraid of, but low enough to show the cautiousness she kept.

Looking about once more, she spun on her heel and slid the back door open, slipping off her shoes and leisurely stepping down the long hallway to her bedroom, watching her feet with little interest... Daydreaming... She tried not to think... Thinking would bring her to only depress herself again. Sleep was all she needed... she was paranoid. She just needed some rest. Her steps slowed as she continued to lose to her thoughts, not realizing she was even thinking, the dull patting of her bare feet on the wooden planks below her was the only thing she even paid attention to. And even then, she was completely oblivious to the fact she was making any noise at all.

Finally reaching her room, she opened the door, making sure the click was sounded when she closed it, and walking the short distance, sitting on her bed, fiddling with the mood bracelet encircling her wrist. Passionate... Interesting thing for it to say now... I wonder if I was in love with Inuyasha...

Tossing that thought to the side, she got up, bumping gently into her nightstand, the bracelet slipping from her grasp, causing her to lightly gasp at the loss of feeling the light weight on her fingers. Bending down to pick it up, something smaller caught her attention...

That necklace... It must've fallen when I bumped into my nightstand...

She reached for it, her eyes watching the small gleam that reflected from the surface. It was that same strange glow that seemed to mystify her, transfixing her into a trance as she watched the mix of purple, crimson, and pink dance on the small fragment, the light seemingly drawn to it. She blinked and reverted her gaze to the mood bracelet still laying on the floor in front her. With one motion, she swept it up into her palm and walked over to her dresser, placing it the near edge, then glancing back down at the necklace still laying on the floor, its gleam quite visible even for its small size from the distance. It caught her again, pulling her into its depths and making it known that it was there.

Sighing, Aki strode back to the bed where it dropped and bent, barely able to squat before the creak of a door sounded behind her. Her eyes darted in that direction, the hinges squeaking noisily as it swung back and forth with the motion that it had been recently touched...

Without moving, Aki glanced around her room, her heart racing inside her chest as the fear stacked up inside of her, triggering that feeling she had sensed outside... Still knelt to the ground, her fingertips only brushing gently against the jewel, she stayed that way, making sure not to make any sudden movements. She wanted to scream... to call out to anyone for help, but the wiser judgment was to just stay still... It was late... Everyone was asleep. If it turned out to be nothing, she would surely be in trouble. The clock blinked in front of her. That was when she noticed the plug had been pulled. Exactly 12:00 P.M.--midnight--was apparently when it had stopped. Instinctively, she looked down at her wrist to find the leather watch usually strapped there, gone and only the tan of her skin there where it would have been.

Looking about the room once more, she sighed to herself and picked up the tiny jewel between her forefinger and middle. That same coolness entered her veins, causing her to shiver slightly. Her face became pale as she looked over the small pendant in her hand, feeling as if its eerie glow held a secret she did not want to even comprehend at this point in time. Though it held little threat, the uneasiness stirring inside of her kept building up each time she turned it to look at each side... Her eyes narrowed in vague recognition as its faint rays of light let her slip away into it again. She was almost certain she heard a small, indistinct high-pitched ringing emerge from the far away beauty it held within its secrets though the impossibilities of that were quite large.

A loud crank from her doorway abruptly knocked her back into her senses as an icy bolt, a more powered and intense version of what she felt before, shot up her spine, the sudden change sending her body into a numb flimsy state. Quickly regaining her composure and spinning around, her eyes widened in shock and horror as she was met by two pairs of red inhuman eyes boring holes into her soul.

Frightened out of her senses, Aki was beyond her better judgment and screeched a horridly high-pitched ear-splitting scream, causing the large creature to become agitated, its eyes widening and its black pupils thinning to cat-like slits. It roared out in displeasure, a loud howling scream emerged from its maw, rumbling the house and leaving Aki shaking uncontrollably, the necklace dropped to the ground with a light thud from her trembling fingers and its eyes turned straight to it. Grateful its attention was directed elsewhere, Aki slowly, almost shyly, scooted away, making sure to avoid its eye sight and to never take her eyes off of the large masculine creature. She knew that one wrong move could result in a dangerous encounter with its claws or even its teeth, protruding jaggedly from its long wolf-like muzzle that could most easily snap her in half if given the right situation...

This was no time to fool around... One way or another she had get out of here... alive... And she couldn't do that as long as this creature was staring in her direction... She needed a diversion... Something big enough to get its attention, but something of very little value where it wouldn't matter to be destroyed. Where could she find something like that?

A low growl sounded in its throat as Aki scooted further away now almost completely around her bed and to the window on the opposite side of the room. Her body froze again as it made eye contact, its breath heaving out in puffs as her whitened face, torn of its hope, stared helplessly at its large face, its fangs, the warning that her end was to come, silently telling her what was to be her fate... Only a whimper came out of her quivering lips as she awaiting its next move... It crouched on all fours, long legs extended like a predator about to slaughter its prey, mouth opened to its full extent, fully showing its fangs, and eyes locked onto hers...

And the ominous moon, partly clouded over, hanging quietly into the night...

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A/N: Oooh. Cliffhanger! What'll happen? Will Aki make it out of this alive? What will she do? What is this monster? Where did it come from? And, most importantly, what exactly DOES it want with that little jewel? (No, it's not as simple as you might think) Oh, and all you InuxKag/InuxKik fans out there, don't hate my fic cause you see Inu telling another girl he loves her. I'm a fan of Inuyasha and Kagome (though I don't mind Inuyasha and Kikyou because I technically don't hate her. I only hate the her that came after she was resurrected. I have nothing against the real Kikyou) and, trust me, just because you see that so far, don't think "Oh, her fic is horrible. I'm not gonna read it now!" You can do that if ya like, but you really would be just judging it before you even know a fraction of it XP; lol XP; Well, ANYway, here's my next chappie! The fifth is already in progress! If ya want meh to continue (which I probably will anyway XP;;) leave comments please! I at least want one. It can be from anybody XP; New, old, whatever. If I don't get one... *shrugs* I'll probably continue anyway XD;; lol. Well, stay tuned for the next chap! The action begins in this chappie and more of the plot unfolds! Well, that's all for now! Ja ne minna! ^.^