Crashing Down

She was lost in darkness. Time had once again stopped on this very moment. This moment of sorrow, this moment of when she came to realize she was alone. Left in the coldness of her own heart. She called and called for someone to reach her through the darkness, but sadly no such thing happened. Although nothing occurred, she still stood patiently, waiting for someone...anyone to give her their hand and pull her away from where her own self-misery lived. It was the day her loving mother and her only brother had passed away, and now she was left to face the world alone...

Her chocolate brown eyes suddenly opened as she gasped for air. Breathing heavily she thought, 'haunted by the same dream again.' She sat up still, reassuring herself that it had just been a dream. Calming down she looked to her window. The sunlight that had once made its way into her bedroom without notice had faded away this cloudy morning. She sighed and averted her view to her alarm clock. In big, bold numbers it read 7:09.

"Ah, dammit, not again!"she spat out before jumping out of bed. She rapidly walked over to the bathroom, clutching her slender body from the cold. Looking appalled at her once beautiful image in the mirror, she quickly undressed and walked directly into the shower. Turning the handle, she waited for the warm water to wash over her. Once the soothing water touched her gentle skin, a shiver went down her spine. She hummed softly to herself while washing off her body with a lavender scented body wash. Her shampoo also smelt of fresh lavender. After rinsing out her hair, she walked out grabbing a white towel and wrapped it around to conceal her perfect figure.

Getting dressed quickly in her crimson school uniform she made her way downstairs and began cooking breakfast. After doing so she sat down at the kitchen table to eat her meal. Quietly staring around the room, she sighed deeply after a moment. Their family of three had lived in this house for quite some time. Although it was not their house or land, she still loved this home she had grown up in. The house was actually owned by the Takahashi brothers, who also owned some big corporation. Although they had never formally met, she had seen the younger sibling attending her high school. Their own home, or should I say mansion, was not too far off since it was their land. When her mother was still alive, she would pay the rent, but since her mother's life had ended, she did all the work to make ends meet. To obtain the money to take care of herself, she would work long and extra hours at this quaint little cafe owned by her mother's old friend after school hours, finishing up her studies during her breaks.

"Great. Today's the day the rent is due and I still don't have the money," she stated aloud while rummaging through her wallet, but she did not wear a worried expression because today was also the day she got her paycheck at work.

Not looking forward to the school day ahead, she got up after noticing she would be late if she did not leave this instant and walked outside. Her beautiful raven-black hair arose slightly in the light breeze. After taking in a deep breath, she slowly trudged along the sidewalk, staring at the path ahead. The sky still had not cleared up, giving her a gloomy feeling as she reached school. Ignoring her sudden sad mood she walked into the school through the front doors. Making her way to her locker, she noticed someone looking for her. The girl was straining her neck trying to find someone in the huge crowd moving through the hallway. She had very dark brown hair tied in a high ponytail with a pair of deep brown eyes much like the ones she had herself.

"Kagome!" the girl yelled after recognizing her through the groups of people.

"Oh, hey Sango," Kagome replied after reaching her friend. She was about to ask if they should wait until the crowd died down to get to their lockers, but just as she opened her mouth to ask, she heard a SLAP! Continuing the slap, she heard an enraged Sango yell "PERVERT!"

A man walked out from behind Sango, rubbing his now bright red cheek. He had black hair which had been tied into a little ponytail in the back of his neck and the deepest violet eyes you had ever seen. " So, what's up Kagome?" he asked casually once his cheek had turned a lighter shade of red. A stupid grin had been plastered onto his face.

" Miroku, will you ever change?" she asked him back while bonking him on the head with her hand. "Stop grinning like an idiot while your at it too." Miroku just chuckled and looked back to Sango. Her dark bangs were covering her face and her hands had been balled into fists. Frightened by the look of rage in her eyes when she tilted her head upward, he instantly stated that he had to be somewhere and rapidly walked away.

"I will seriously murder him violently if he touches my ass one more time," Sango said still glaring at the back of Miroku's head as he disappeared into the crowd.

"Oh, come on Sango, we're gonna be late and I don't wanna get yelled at," Kagome urged as she pulled her friend down the hall. Opening her locker, Kagome grabbed her textbooks and looked over to Sango, who was also ready to go. She glanced up at the clock hanging in the hallway. " Oh my god! We only have one minute to get to class!"she shouted. Kagome once again grabbed onto Sango's arm and started sprinting through the hallway. Sango gave Kagome an astonished look, but she just ignored it. She suddenly made a sharp turn around the corner and before she knew it, her head had hit the floor hard. Groaning slightly, she put her hand up to her head to help ease the searing pain.

"You should watch where your going, wench."

Kagome slowly opened her eyes to see a guy standing in front of her. His arms were crossed over his chest with a frown on his face while he glared down at her. Sango helped Kagome up while she glared back at him. He stood there, still staring at the girl he had bumped into with his deep amber orbs. His long silver hair fell just below his waist. She recognized this person as one of the Takahashi brothers. Kagome decided to exaggerate her tone of voice when she replied just so she could annoy him..

"Ohhh, Inuyasha, I'm ever sooo sorry. I didn't realize it was you"

"Feh. Shut it, girl. I don't need your sarcasm." he stated not taking his eyes off of her. His gaze was making her nervous, but she still didn't remove her glare from his. Suddenly, the late bell rang. Kagome looked up at the clock.

"Shit, c'mon Sango!" Kagome said as she left Inuyasha standing in the hallway by himself looking back at her.

After the two girls had been yelled at for their tardiness, they both took a seat next to each other. Kagome began pondering to herself about the encounter she had just had with Inuyasha. 'My god, he is sooo annoying and arrogant too,'she thought. 'He must think he's so cool cause all the girls are always drooling over him. It's people like him that make me gag. He didn't do such a great job on a first empression in my book, but...he is pretty hot. Woah, I think I'm getting carried away here.'

"Kagome!"

"WHAT?" she yelled back loudly as she was forcibly snapped out of her thoughts. She was glaring at the person who had been calling her name for the past two minutes. He was a demon with long black hair tied in a high ponytail.

"Miss Higurashi, is there a problem?" the teacher questioned sternly.

"Sorry, I, uh, wasn't paying attention" Kagome said after realizing that she was still in the middle of class. After the teacher had turned back around to continue writing something on the board, Kagome whispered back to the guy who had wanted her attention earlier.

"Kouga! What do you want?" she asked with a hint of anger in her voice. Without saying a word, he merely took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and threw it onto her desk. After unfolding the note she began reading it. "Will you go out with me this weekend?" She groaned in annoyance before taking out her pen and writing a reply on the paper. Throwing it, she waited for the note to make contact with the back of his head. When it eventually did, Kouga growled and turned around to see who in the hell had thrown paper at him. Giggling, Kagome pointed to the ground. When he realized that she had written him back, he happily picked up the note and unfolded it. A small frown was placed upon his face after reading its contents. Kouga turned back around, looking at her with pleading eyes. Kagome just shook her head in rejection and stuck her tongue out at him. His frown deepened and he turned back around while pouting.

After class was over Sango and Kagome walked out together. "So...what happened with Kouga in class?" Sango asked grinning wickedly.

"God, Sango, it was nothing. He just asked me out again and I rejected...again," Kagome responded.

"Wow, he must really like you. Maybe you should give it a try. I mean he keeps asking you out like every week ever since you met him at the beginning of the year. "

"Yeah, its extremely annoying!" Kagome stated." Well, what about you and Miroku? You like him, don't you?"

She looked back at Kagome with a surprised, yet blushed expression and then suddenly burst out laughing. " Hahahahaha...hell would have to freeze over again and again...and again before I ever fell for that stupid perverted bastard."

"Hahaha, sure..."replied Kagome sarcastically.

Sango turned around and nudged Kagome in the ribs for her comment. She got a groan from Kagome as she rubbed her injured side. " So, you wanna do something after school today, since it is Friday?" Sango asked after Kagome's pain had reduced.

"You know I can't . I have to go work at Kaede's today," she replied. "How about on Sunday?"

"That's perfect! Well, I gotta get to my next class so I'll see you later,"Sango said smiling before she left Kagome in the once again crowded hall.

After the last bell rang signaling the end of the school day, Kagome waved goodbye to Sango and left for work. She walked to the shop eagerly. She always enjoyed working there, especially since it was owned by her mom's old friend Kaede. The only problem was that it was located in a shady part of town and she always walked down there.

Although nothing had happened to her while she had been going to the shop and coming back home, she still felt an unsafe feeling. That feeling was not from her fear of getting hurt by someone...it was the feeling that came from deep within the coldest part of her heart. Especially when she was walking home at night...alone. They say its tough being alone with your thoughts. She had to deal with the sorrow that lived and breathed within her everyday walking home. Even when she was lying in bed at night. Those exact thoughts and feelings could drive her to the brink of insanity, bringing tears of hurt to her deep, tender eyes. But... she was strong. She could walk with her head held high and smiling, putting those thoughts behind her.

When you are forced to stand face to face with these thoughts, your dark self, you must not run from it...because no matter where you hide it will always catch up to you. The truth is that it is part of you. As long as you live, it lives. So, why run? Look it straight in the eyes and don't back down. Headstrong and you will be able to move on with your life, because all it is now is a faded memory cast away in the darkest shadows of your mind. By looking at her, you'd never be able to guess that she of all people had gone through that same pain that so many others had gone through. You'd never think she would be able to understand, because she was one of the lucky people to be able to put it into their past and walk forward...

At the shop:

"Kagome, hurry and take these to table three!"another employer ordered.

"Ok!" Kagome responded while taking the tray from the girl. "Thanks Yuka."The girl smiled back as Kagome left to deliver her drinks. After handing them out at Table three she ran to Table five and gave them their bill. "Man, I'm totally exhausted," she complained to Yuka when she got back to the front counter. Then Kaede scurried out from the back.

"Ah, Kagome, how are ye child?" she asked smiling warmly.

Kagome, returning the smile, replied,"I'm just great. Thank you for asking. How about you?"

"I'm just fine, child. Here you are,"Kaede urged as she handed Kagome an envelope.

"Oh, wow. Thanks, Kaede. I really needed this to pay my rent,"she said before she embraced the old woman.

"Oh, no problem, child. You can go home now, your shift is over. Remember to be careful, its dark outside."

Kagome waved goodbye and took off for home. It had already gotten dark just as Kaede had said, so she took out a flashlight from her book bag. She always carried one for safety during the night hours. A cool breeze blew through the night air. It blew Kagome's hair back as she walked, shining the light ahead to luminate everything in front of her.

Suddenly she heard a THUMP ahead of her. She stopped dead in her tracks. Her breaths became short and quick. She could hear her heart beating louder and louder. A shiver went down her spine in the cold air as she hugged herself to keep her body warm. Questioning herself if she should walk forward or not, she stared straight ahead into the darkness. Summoning all her courage she cautiously took a step forward, shining the flashlight ahead. Not seeing anyone, she let out a sigh of relief and started walking at a normal pace once more. Looking up, she noticed an alleyway up ahead. When she heard heavy footsteps coming from the alley, her pace once again slowed to a stop.

She finally decided to keep walking when she heard silence once more. When she reached the edge of the alleyway she shined the light to see if anything was there. Moving the flashlight up and down, she finally came to the conclusion that no one was. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she turned to continue. Suddenly someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the alley. She opened her mouth to scream, but...nothing came out. She tried to pull away from the man who was pulling her deeper into the darkness, but he just tightened his grip around her arm. "Let go of me!" she finally managed to say. In return the dark man paused and looked at her. She stared back at the man. All she saw was his figure, it was too dark to see his detailed features. She noticed that this man was very tall and he smelled of alcohol. His scent was making her dizzy and she fought to keep her balance.

Suddenly, she was thrust onto the wall. Her head hit the brick wall violently. Groaning she fell to the ground. She couldn't get up, her head was throbbing with too much pain. She slid her hand to the back of her head to stop it, but the throbbing did not lessen. Something trickled down her hand. Removing it, she looked down at it in horror. When she realized her slender fingers were covered in a red substance, she gasped loudly. She looked upward to see the man's gaze looking down at her. "Why?" Kagome whispered in such a soft voice it was barely heard. All the man did was smirk wickedly and kick her in the ribs. She groaned louder as she rolled away from him, clutching her side to stop the pain. "SOMEONE, HELP!" she screamed as she noticed the man advancing towards her. He held something in his hand. When Kagome saw that he had a pocket knife in his possession, she began crawling in the opposite direction.

The man got hold of her foot and pulled her back, flipping her around. Putting himself on top of her, the man put the knife to her throat and his other hand over her mouth. "It doesn't matter if you scream. No one can hear you. So, no one would know if I killed you now would they?" he said looking into her eyes. 'He's right,'she thought, soft tears slid down her cheeks from her chocolate brown eyes as she gazed up at the horrible man on top of her. 'I mean, I have no family. Mom, Grandpa, Sota...all of them are dead. Who's gonna save me now?' More tears threatened to fall. 'I have no one. I thought I could escape it, but now I've been brought back into that same darkness and this time there's no where to go. I can't fight it anymore.' The man pushed her down more into the cold stone ground.

She whimpered in his grip. His smell was washing over, it was becoming difficult to keep her eyes open. Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. 'Wait...what about her friends...and Kaede? Sango and Miroku had always been there for her, even when her parents had died. So had Kaede. They still cared about her, she couldn't give up yet. Just because most of my life hadn't been great doesn't mean I should miss out on the things that are to come. No, I can't!'

A determined look swept across her face. With all the strength, Kagome managed to kick the man off of her and stand up using the support of the wall. She tried limping towards her book bag to pick it up, but the man quickly jumped up and ran towards her. Before she knew it, her head had once again made contact with the wall. Cautiously, she opened her eyes to see that she had been put into the same position as she was on the ground. She began to squirm around in his grip, but this time he began squeezing her throat. It became harder and harder for her to breath. Her eyes widened as she gasped for air again and again. When she was just about to go unconscious, she pushed him with all her might. Surprised by her sudden action, the man stumbled backwards. Kagome stood, her hand on her throat, taking in deep breaths. More tears were visible on her already tear stained face, as she grabbed the wall for support. The man became furious, glaring at her he came closer. He suddenly grabbed her and threw her onto the ground.

Her body slid and she came to a stop after hitting the trash cans. Another groan escaped her lips. Barely opening her eyes, she saw that the man had now found her bag and was rummaging through it. Trying to stand, she fell back from the weight on her legs. She was too tired and petrified to do anything. She heard an evil laugh coming from the dark figure. He was hovering over her bag holding her purse in his hand. He instantly took the purse and put it in his back pocket after discovering it. Walking over to Kagome, he once again picked her up by the throat and slammed her against the wall causing her to whimper and unleash more tears. He leaned in close to her face and whispered into her ear seductively, "Heh, you're mine now." Him breathing in her ear caused her to whimper once more. Kagome shuddered in his gaze and tried to avert her view, but he grabbed her head and forcibly made her look at him face to face. "Are you scared of me?"

"Why? Why are you doing this to ME?" she screamed at him. He placed a finger over her lips, shushing her.

"Its too late now." That was the last thing he stated before he began choking her again. She couldn't resist anymore. She had became extremely weak after trying to get away from him before, leaving her with no strength whatsoever. All she could do was put her hand up to try and pull off his, but unfortunately, she was too exhausted. She even tried yelling out again, but running out of breath made it impossible. Finally in the end she managed to say,"Help me..." but it was barely audible. Leaving her with no other choice then to give up, she merely closed her eyes and awaited her end, teardrops still streaming down her face.

She was about to breath her last breath of air. She had almost been strangled to death. All she could hear was the loud pounding of her own heart from beating so fast. She had lost all her sense of feeling. Everything below her neck was numb, she was losing herself. He was about to tighten his grip for the last time, and she new it would be over, but...the tighten of his hand never came. His suffocating grip had disappeared. Before she new it she had collapsed to the ground. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was...silver...

After throwing the wicked man against the brick wall, he waited to see if he was still conscious. When he noticed there was no movement coming from the man, he turned his view to the injured girl lying on the ground. He walked over to her and picked her up bridal style. She whimpered as her wounds seared with pain when he had made the attempt to pick her up. He stared down at her. He realized that this was the same girl he had run into in the hallway. The only girl who had talked to him so rudely. An annoyed expression came over his face as he remembered the incident. He brushed some of her bangs to the side and wiped away a few of the tears that had stained her delicate skin. Grabbing her bag, he turned around. He began walking towards the end of the alley with a smirk hanging from his lips.

She was once again consumed in the darkness. Why? Why does this same darkness come back to haunt her again and again. She was running out of air. She clutched onto her throat, taking in deep breaths rapidly. 'No, not again,' she thought. 'NO!'

She awoke with a sudden jolt of her body, causing her to grasp her side from the pain. She winced at the throbbing in her head. After relaxing a bit, she wiped the cold sweat that had developed on her forehead. Sighing deeply, she rested her head down on the comfy pillow, which was feeling softer than usual. She grasped the crimson, silk sheets around her to calm herself down. Regaining her senses, she realized one thing and started freaking out again.

"Where in the hell am I?

Chapter 1- Making of a Love Contract: END

Please review for there to be another chapter, my goal is 5 reviews! Thanx a whole lot!