Hello all! I started writing this story quite a few years ago, and I'm sorta thinking of picking it back up again. This is mostly because I am about halfway through with watching "Inuyasha- The Final Act", and it has me inspired! Before I start to write more material, though, I figure that I should "fix up" some things. Lets just say the first draft of this story is not exactly filled with million dollar sentences. hehe. SO! I am gonna just work my way through each chapter and make things (hopefully) a little higher quality.
Now...without further ado...
PRESENTING THE...not so new...BUT IMPROVED...CHAPTER ONE! *lots of fanfare*
"Miss Higurashi," I slumped in my chair. "Umm...how long is this going to take, exactly?" I waited a few moments for her to answer. When I looked up, she was staring at a page of the history textbook we had been using. Something about the frustrated look on her face told me she was deep in thought. So, instead of interrupting, I waited for her to say something.
I was impatient to finish studying, though. I had to keep myself from daydreaming about sitting in the tiny garden that I kept in a corner of my back yard. I sometimes missed the garden that i grew before that. It was bigger because there was much more room at our house in California. That was the least of my problems, though. Everything had been so much harder for me, school-wise, since I'd moved to Tokyo five years before. I spoke Japanese fluently by then, but it still took me twice as long, as the rest of the kids, to understand the lectures. I didn't even want to move to a whole new country, in the first place! But, you know parents. You're automatically expected to tag along when their workplace tells them to go somewhere. So, there I was, stuck in another tutoring session with Miss Higurashi, my Japanese History teacher. I couldn't even begin to fathom how she could be so enthusiastic over the subject! It's all politics, and memorizing dates, and... My train of thought was broken when she suddenly looked up from the page.
"Oh! I'm sorry Rose! What was I saying again?" Miss Higurashi was only in her early forties! She certainly wasn't old enough for her memory to be slipping!
"Um, right here." I pointed to the middle of the page we were on.
"Really? We're only there? Hmmm I'll tell ya what. We can work on it at my home, tomorrow! Also, it will give you a chance to see a real shrine," She said, cheerfully as always, but she still seamed a little bit out of it. I wondered what it was that put her in this weird mood all of a sudden.
"Oh! Ok!" I said, almost as cheerfully as her. I was glad to be free! So, I said a quick goodbye and began packing my things, but, as I was about to close my textbook, I paused for a moment. I wanted to see what Miss H. had been looking at for so long. My eyes skimmed the page. This isn't anything special… Suddenly, I noticed a picture at the bottom of the page. It was a photo of some sort of ancient tapestry. On the woven fabric was an... interesting scene...to say the least. I-its some type of monster! I thought. Just looking at it sent chills down my spine! The creature had four arms and looked almost like a mutant dragon. Eww. Under the picture was the description "youkai (demon)" I slammed the book shut, quickly, and stuffed it into my backpack. Now, that's my kind of history lesson! It was only when I looked around that I realized Miss H. had already grabbed her purse and left.
"I'll just have to talk to Miss Higurashi about it tomorrow." I thought, out loud, as I rushed through the classroom door.
I guess something about that picture stayed in my mind, because, as soon as I got home, I sprinted to my computer and typed the keyword "youkai" into the internet search bar. Finally something interesting! I thought, as I opened up webpage after webpage.
The next morning, I jumped out of bed. It was Saturday, and my favorite day of the week! I tugged on a vintage sweater and my faded blue jeans, and then practically skipped to the bathroom. When I reached the sink, I looked at myself in the mirror. My reddish brown hair was a mass of knots. So, I spent about five minutes untangling it back to its former, smooth state. As I was working on this, my mom called up to me.
"Rose! Finish getting ready! You have tutoring today!" As she said this, I subconsciously continued to brush out my tangled hair. In a moment of disappointment, I accidentally pulled down hard on one of the hair-knots and the handle of my brush snapped off in my hand. I threw it in the trash with a sigh. My sulky mood only lasted a moment, because I suddenly remembered where class would be held! I also remembered the thousands of questions I had for Miss Higurashi about the interesting monsters called Youkai.
Maybe today's lesson won't be boring after all…
"Grrr! Why does the entrance have to have so many steps?" I grumbled as I carried my bike up to the shrine. Finally, no thanks to the bike, I made it to the top of the stairs.
"I… just gotta …sit for a...sec…" I said in between gulps of air. I sat my bike down at the arched gate, and stumbled my way in. After I turned the corner of one of the buildings, I found a huge shady tree with a bench under it. I practically limped over and collapsed onto the bench. I rested my head back against the stone wall that surrounded the entire property, and almost fell asleep. But then I noticed the big gash that marred the front of the, otherwise beautiful, tree. Being a nature lover, this made me a little sad. I got up and hopped the little fence that surrounded the tree. I rubbed my hand over the gash, intending to inspect it, but I jumped back, startled.
"Whoa! D-did it just…pulse?" I exclaimed, totally shocked. I didn't get a chance to find out because, suddenly, Miss Higurashi walked out of her house in the direction of the building closest to me. She luckily didn't notice me as I jumped behind the wide trunk of the creepy tree. I watched, not knowing what else I could do without her find out that I'd been snooping around, as Miss H. walked over to the building. Just as she was about to step through the door, I caught a glimpse of something, in her hands, that sparkled in the sunlight. After she went in, it only took her about thirty seconds to come back out again. I breathed a sigh of relief, but, as I watched her leave, I noticed she had tears in her eyes. I definitely didn't want to disturb her now. So, as soon as she was back inside her house, I ran like mad toward my bike. Then I stopped in my tracks. As I was passing the open door of the building, that Miss H. had just left, I saw another glint of light from inside. I couldn't help but be curious. So, I cautiously walked into the unlit room and down the stairs. I was surprised to find an old well and even more surprised to find that the sparkly object, lying on the closed lid, was a fragment of some sort of jewel.
Just a warning, if you read past the chapters, that have little notes saying that I've updated them, the story may not match up in some spots. So, maybe it would be best to wait until I've fixed the next chapter to continue reading. Still, you can read on, if you'd like! I don't plan on changing anything major. I'm just working on adding more detail and making things flow better.
Anyways, thanks bunches to anyone who actually re-read this chapter! There is more on the way! Please review, as always!