Darkness was everywhere. I stood upon it, I gazed at it, I even breathed it in with every short weak gasp that escaped my lips. I threw my head around, digging out any last hope of light with my eyes, only to find that the darkness had multiplied exponentially. Once I gave up searching, the cold, icy grip of the air around me began traveling up throughout my arm, slowly growing closer and closer to my heart, as if it was aiming to devour it whole.
I threw my arms around myself shaking from the frosty aura as if it would somehow make me warm again. One last time I frantically looked around. "Mom! Sis! Somebody! If you're there...just say something!" A stinging pressure on my back caused me to lose what strength I had left in my legs and I fell to the ground. Tears emerged from the corners of my eyes and threatened to roll down my cheeks before I could rub them away.
"...(Y/N)...! (Y/N)..!" A familiar voice. I jerked my head up and tried to concentrate, but that only resulted in pure hell. It almost sounded as if the voice was coming from everywhere, every single possible direction! Up, down, left, right, all directions made me want to claw at my temples until only a bloody pulp remained.
My face grew warm and sweat trickled down my brow and past my jawline. I covered my ears in an attempt to block out the noise, but to no avail. "...Are you in pain?" A deep menacing tone could be heard, but this time I knew exactly where it was coming from.
I whipped around to face a tall figure with long flowing dark hair. His silhouette stood out against the darkness, seemingly darker than the darkest night. My eyes drifted over him, trying to make out obscure features that would probably prove no use to myself. But, my eyes finally landed on where his face would've been, had the darkness allowed me to see it.
"Who..." I gulped and gathered my words with thought. "Wh-who the hell are you...!?" I grasped myself tighter than I had before, fear swelling up my insides making me feel sickeningly swollen. I could feel every one of my own nails driving themselves into the pores of my skin.
I almost felt the man smile in the dark, an amused look plastered all over his invisible features. Once more, he asked. "Are you in pain?"
I shivered in silence, letting the awkwardness take it's hold in the air before either of use dared to speak another word against the stillness that screamed it's very life at us. "Does it look like I'm not in pain!? I feel like I'm dying, as if I've swallowed a thousand needles!" My own desperate yelp surprised myself, I hadn't expected myself to give off a voice like that.
And then, just as if I HAD swallowed a thousand needles, a searing pain cut itself through my throat, threatening to rip out all that was in it. My hands shot to my throat, holding it in a protective manner as if something else may try and cause it pain. I gave the daunting black figure a ferocious glare to which he returned with a silence that seemed to ice itself over the whole entire space like a glacier that entrapped it's victims within it.
Just as the silhouette moved as if it was about to speak again, it was interrupted by the familiar voice that cried out once again. "(Y/N)! (Y/N)!" Rather than the soft pleading tone that it had before, this tone sounded surprisingly more impatient and demanding. I turned and cast a sidelong glance to my left as if the owner of the voice would magically be there standing in front of me, hands out, offering free warmth and comfort.
But once I returned from my hopeless delusions I forced my gaze back to where the man was, or would have been, had he still been there. Like a trick he disappeared out of thin air, and just to make sure he did, I waved my hand wearily out in front of me just to make sure my eyes weren't going bad on me. But I quickly had them returned back to my throat which was better than before, but not by too much, I could still feel the burning from within it.
"(Y/N)! (Y/N)!" My pounding headache returned and I shut my eyes quickly and tightly, oddly meeting what I didn't expect to be bright fluorescent lights, hanging down from the pearly white ceiling of my bedroom.
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Half shocked and half dazed I slowly began taking in the bright, blinding surroundings of my bedroom. My desk was off to my left, the dead alarm clock on it facing me with an evil grin. I blinked a few times to myself before noticing that there was a person kneeling close to my bed, their face twisted with irritation.
The woman stood abruptly. "This is the last time I'm telling you, (Y/N)!" she slung a bag over her shoulder before beginning to depart for the door. "Just saying, but it's not my fault if you're late!"
Finally, after a few more moments I nearly leaped from my oh so sweet bed sheets into bitter realization. It didn't take long to throw on my uniform and lift off from the house, but unfortunately I did have to skip breakfast if I really wanted to at least try to make it on time.
On the way out of the door, I eye my sister strolling down the side of the house, scanning the walls like something seemed somehow imperfect. I waved at her as I passed. "Thanks for waking me up, Ana!"
She quickly shot me a look of annoyance and just before I was out of earshot she yelled. "Don't think I'll do that every day, you friggin' brat!"
I scratched my head and chuckled guiltily as I continued my marathon down the busy street. Everyone always complains about my temper and attitude ALL of the time, but they just haven't encountered my wicked elder sister's wrath yet.
Being a pro home designer and all, of course she has to keep herself in check around the customers, but at home she's just a pure demon! She's hot-headed, nasty, and sometimes uses the most vulgar language! I clenched my fists in frustration just thinking about it, but, I have to hand it to her though. She did manage my upbringing one way or another, paying all the bills and finances, she has to be some god to keep up with all of that boring stuff.
Rounding the last corner, the school finally entered my vision. It wasn't anything grand, just a simple middle school, but BOY I couldn't WAIT to finally leave this place! After so many years of utter suffering I was finally in my last year! I was ecstatic to know I soon was going to graduate and officially become another high schooler in a fancy uniform, at least one that was a lot less tacky than the white and green sailor uniform I'm forced to wear now. As I neared the gates to the school I looked sadly down at the shabby clothing. Sighing, I finished my jog strong to the entrance of the classroom, met by the several gazes of students and the morning bell.
Awkwardly, I stumbled to my seat, taking note of the teacher's frosty glare. I swore that she could've frozen me to the spot if she so wished. I returned her attention with my graceful sitting onto my chair (which I should say wasn't graceful at all). Crossing my legs and arms, I stared her down for a few extra moments.
Everyone was juggling into their own seats when one of my friends, Emiko, leaned over to whisper into my ear. "So what's the story today? Huh, (Y/N)?" She sounded almost excited to listen to my nearly daily morning outcomings.
I leaned back, tipping my chair and resting my hands on the back of my head. "Same as always!" My voice came out like a complaint. "My sister hustled me outta bed and it felt like it took eons to get here."
Emiko hummed a response of disappointment. I almost retorted it, but the teacher pointed her ruler at the both of us and warned us about talking after the bell rang, or else we'd be in deep shit. Of course, that was put in my own words.
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In the time that it took class to end, I could've rewritten the entire story of the Kiyo-hime ten times over! A sigh of relief escaped me as I plopped myself onto the grass, the earth perfectly shaped to bring my back comfort. My two friends sat beside me, happily breaking out their lunch, as their long awaited break was here.
Asano gave me a curious look over her lunch. "(Y/N)? Are you not gonna eat?"
"Nah, didn't have enough time this morning."
My face twitched in annoyance at Emiko's stifled laughter. "Can't you guess Asano?" She continued swallowing her fried chicken before continuing. "She was late, same as always!"
Asano's face dipped with a worried, but disappointed smile sprawled all across her delicate features. "Again?" She turned a little bit to face me, though my eyes were shut. "Do you at least have a proper reason this time?" She shifted her weight on one hand to emphasize her disappointment.
Although I was the one being questioned, Emiko just began laughing more abruptly than before. She waved her hand in a side to side motion at Asano. "Of course not!" I peeked one eye out, warning Emiko passively of her childish antics. Not surprisingly, she ignored them. "She had to be woken up by Ana again! Can you believe that?"
I furrowed my brows in annoyance and spoke up in order to save my reputation from being a sluggard. "I was late for a different reason, stupid!" They both tossed me curious side-long glances, expectantly waiting for more. "I was having some weird nightmare. Nothing like I'd ever seen." I shrugged it off, but Asano just had to keep the questions coming.
"What about?"
"Hmm..." I thought about it for a second, trying to return to the previous events of this morning. My face crinkled up in deep thought. "Well... It was really cold and dark..."
Asano and Emiko nodded in approval and encouraged me to go on with their oh too obvious stares.
I opened my eyes and looked at the clouds. "I was hurting all over, mostly just my throat and head though." My eyes widened as if in realization. "Oh yeah! There was also this strange guy in my dream too."
Asano cupped her mouth in deep surprise while Emiko leaned closer to me with a hungry smile formed on her lips. "Oh boy oh boy! (Y/N)'s dreaming about some guy?! Furthermore, what do you mean by strange?" She was practically on top of me with only my arms and hands to keep her at bay.
Asano's look of surprise quickly faded into a look of even more disappointment as she swiftly picked up her bottle of water and began speaking in between sips. "I'd say strange suits her best though."
Furrowing my brows and creasing my forehead I yelled at her. "Whadd'ya mean, 'strange suits me'?!"
Emiko laughed and nodded. "Can't say I disagree!"
"What the- It's not like that at all though!" Before I could explain further, I was cut off by the bell. "Wait a sec!" I tried catching the two of them before they ran off to their next class.
"See you later, (Y/N)!" Emiko waved sarcastically. "Fill me in on all the juicy details later!" Flashing me a quick peace sign she disappeared into the herd of students with Asano on her tail.
I slowly lowered my hand from it's rapid waving of my fist at Emiko's dumbness, and then slowly raised it to my throat and head, recalling the pain from this morning. 'That pain from earlier... It was way too real to be a dream...' I lowered my hand once more and gazed at it solemnly. But before I got too deep into thought and skipped my next class, I clenched my fist tightly and began running back as fast as I could to the gym.
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I tied my hair back into a tight pony tail and checked my uniform one last time before starting my way out of the locker room. However, before I could begin swimming through the endless sea of girls in gym outfits, a certain name caught my attention.
"Hojo?! Are you serious?" the cheery squall of teenage girls filled my ears.
"Yeah, yeah! Mayu are you sure about that? Rumor has it that he's already got his heart set on someone!" One of the others jeered on.
"You can't help falling in love!" The girl at question clasped her hands together in a dramatic fashion. "Just like I can't help but fall in love with him!" She spun in a few circles for dramatic effect. "Ahh! He holds my heart captive!"
The first girl spoke up again. "I guess you're right, I mean, does he even have a chance with that girl? She's almost always absent! Say, what was her name again?"
"Kagome- right?" The name sounded somewhat familiar, it's been tossed around in a few conversations before this one, nothing new. Yet somehow for today, it was the peak of my interest.
"Yeah her! Gosh, she's been sick so much, sometimes I wonder if it's safe to be comin' to school when she does!"
They weren't wrong, Kagome was sick most of the year so far, meaning Hojo probably didn't have the slightest chance with her. Plus, another rumor was that she already had it in for somebody else. Poor Hojo doesn't even know what he's getting himself into. Still, it wasn't nice to gossip about someone else, so like the kindhearted person I was sometimes, I called out to them.
"Hey, you guys comin'?" The girls looked at me then at the sea of girls now quickly clearing out from the locker room.
"Y-Yeah, thanks!" Lover girl responded., and before long her and her lackeys made their swift escape out the door and onto the field.
I stood for a few seconds in deep thought. Hands on my hips and head lowered in concentration. "Kagome...huh?"
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Finally, at long last the end of the day was here. "Who's in charge of cleanup?" My heart sank immediately. I looked away, as if not making eye contact would magically erase my name from the long schedule of cleanup duty.
"It's (Y/N)!" Emiko chimed in happily, an arrogant smile lighting up her face.
I shot her a glare letting her know that whatever was on it's way, she had it coming to her. But she only smiled and waved goodbye to me next to the classroom's door. And before I knew it, everyone else was gone.
The room was filled with this pristine silence, while I lay unmoving at my desk. I peered over at the many cleaning supplies littered in the corner, waiting to be picked up and used, but definitely not by me. I closed my eyes and sighed tiredly. Leaning back I kicked my feet up onto my desk, glad no one was here to stop me.
I stared up at the ceiling in thought. 'Today was a long day...' I closed my eyes. 'Weird realistic nightmares, my sister's grumpy good-morning attitude, my friends, and last but not least the endless gossip of the one and only Hojo.'
I gave the tools in the corner one last somber look before deciding I'd wasted enough time, but before I had the chance to even touch one, a grave feeling rooted itself deep within my chest.
My eyes widened, and I straightened myself slowly as I began scanning the whole room, filled with a dreary silence like a weight upon my back. 'M-Maybe it's nothing...' I feigned ignorance, but I could tell, something was definitely off. I reached once more to the tools on the ground, when suddenly I was interrupted by a screaming that tore itself through my ears and into my head. I threw my hands up to my ears. What the hell is this? My heart beat faster, and not in a good way. The high pitched noise shaking within my eardrums soon became much louder, much louder than I would have wanted it to be.
"AAHHH!" I dropped to my knees, when I remembered the nightmare from earlier. "No... It can't be... Can it...?"
I tried looking up, but my vision was trembling and I saw double what I should've. Long strands of (H/V) colored hair also prevented me from seeing clearly. Right then, menacing laughter made its way into my already drumming ears.
I couldn't take it, not now not ever, and on the edge of insanity I screamed. "WHOEVER THE HELL YOU ARE, STOP MESSING WITH ME!"
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First chapter of one of my first fan-fictions! Thanks so much for reading! This is however only chapter one of this series, I plan to make it hopefully lengthy! For this series although it is an anime x reader type I do plan to have at least one romantic relationship sorta thing in here! Stay tuned!