Overdue
By Thyran
Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha. Never have, never will and never want to.
Author's Note: This is just a prologue or a 'flash-forward' so don't mind the size.
Prologue
Behind her, stretched the endless rows of torches glittering in the darkness. Even from the top of the cliff she could still hear the clinking sound from the mines. The same sound she'd heard for the past thirteen years. Day and night.
She heaved herself over the edge with a gasp, and crawled forward. Her fresh white Kimono was torn and muddy. The cut under her eye stung as her salty tears slid down her cheek. She doubted she would survive even so high above the city, but she had to try.
How long had it been?
She glanced at the sky. It couldn't be much longer now. She gripped the rough bark of a nearby tree to steady herself as she rose, to get a better view. She moved forward, and looked out, way out into the sea.
Before her, ran the dark, inky sea, enclosing the island, blocking their escape. Its profound waters extending for miles under the clear sky. The water seemed to be calm and steady. The weather was unusually nice that evening. The moon shone clearly overhead, illuminating the waves with a beautiful white glow.
There it was.
The moon caught the wave as it rose and instead of moving on to the next one, it lingered as the wave grew in size. She sucked in a quick breath as she saw the wave quickly begin to rise out of the ocean, standing out from the rest.
She clenched her jaw tightly, watching the high tide on the beach, quickly retreat back into the ocean. It was as if the ocean was sucking up the tide to fuel the uplifting wave. This wave which was increasing in size at such a terrifying speed, it was already classifiable as the predicted tsunami.
Kagome felt a huge rush of adrenaline course through her body and she fidgeted. Fear and instinct commanding her to run and save herself. Shock and stupefaction keeping her frozen to the spot.
Finally she managed to tear her eyes away from the giant wave, but only when Inuyasha arrived. He jumped up and over the side of the cliff with a lot more grace and ease that she had done. Had there not been a gigantic tidal wave coming her way she would have felt a little flustered in her torn kimono. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second before she turned back to watch the terrific mass of oncoming water. They had about thirty seconds.
"What do you think you are doing you imbecile?!" Inuyasha had to yell over the rush of the wave. He landed beside her and without a moment to waste he took the dazed girl's hand to tug her away.
Caught by surprise, Kagome stumbled with a choked sob. Her whole body was tense in fright.
The hanyou rolled his eyes due to the lack of cooperation. He was trying to save her life and all she could do was dawdle… Instead, he captured her around the waste to flip her over his shoulder where he could hold her ankles securely so she wouldn't fall. Despite the situation, Kagome let out a light squall of protest. Inuyasha ignored her and dashed off, in a nearly hopeless attempt to save them both.