I Hate Black Cats
by: Warm-Ice
Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-yasha or any of its character. I do own any OC that may arise in this story however.
Smile! If the rain outside the window won't stop...
Smile! If you failed to do something...
Smile! If happiness hid behind the clouds...
Smile! Even if your soul got slightly scratched...
Smile! And you'll see how everything changes...
Smile! The rain will stop and the ground will dress up in snow...
Smile! And your sorrow will pass by...
Smile! And then your soul will begin to live...
Smile (Translated)--Vitas
It was raining that day.
The clouds were dark in VALE2, a stark contrast to the bright sun the sky had just a few moments ago. She was going home under the comfort a single black umbrella, looking out at the street as people passed her by, in a hurry to hide from the rain. Cars were speeding by; it was always traffic when VALE2 released rain. She shivered just a little, feeling the drizzle splash across her face. The red lights turned green and the hover cars stopped. The people she was surrounded by started their trek across the street while ignoring the bright flashes of holo-commercials above them and Kagome, B-class citizen number 2007103729, did the same.
That night was colder than any other nights she could remember. She had to get home soon. Looking around at the crowd of people, she could only make out the colors gray, white and black. That was always the color of everyone and everything. She had to admit that this world, VALE2—the recreated VALE1 from the people who survived the Great Battle—was dull. Everyday went as planned and everybody kept to themselves. Even she was dull. She was a normal B-class citizen, nothing special. She was training to become the Miko of their shrine (which the government turned into a museum for those who wished to commemorate old traditions from the earlier world, Earth) but other than that, she was just like everybody else.
But everything was peaceful here, the streets are quiet and no one is disturbing anyone. The government has been doing a wonderful job keeping the peace, the monotony.
Just as she was in the middle of the road, she saw between the scurrying people...
A little girl.
She was wet. Her eyes were wild. She was searching for someone, anyone. Her mouth was open but her voice could not be heard. No one even spared her a glance. Somehow, the sight of her compelled Kagome. But she did not stop from walking. That girl was meant to be there. Everything went according to plan after all. She was poor because her parents did not work hard enough and that is the punishment the government gave them. Whatever the girl had, she deserved. That was everyone's belief.
She was well across the street when she, for some reason, turned around. And to her horror, the girl was just standing there, still as a statue and looking as broken as a rag doll.
What is she doing?
Her eyes darted to the stoplight. It was blinking green and turning red. Panic set in and her adrenaline began to pump her heart rapidly. She had never been a hero, never was the kind. But that girl...
With those crying brown eyes...
Wet mop-like hair covering her face...
Thin, dirty old clothes clinging to her small shivering body...
Before she knew it she was already running towards her. The light turned red and the cars started to run. All Kagome, B-class citizen number 2007103729, a commoner whose life was supposedly to become the miko of their age-old shrine, could do was run and push her off the road. She rolled on the floor many times, her mind was practically pouring out of her ears by that point. She could hear the faint gasps and honks of the cars in the background. What had she just done? She asked herself this as she stared up at the dark sky, feeling the purified rainwater assaulting her face. But once she sat up right, holding her head in hand, she found the girl sitting on her muddy lap, staring at her with those wide eyes. All she could say was,
"Are you alright?" Because she definitely wasn't.
The girl nodded dumbly, making Kagome sigh. Well that made one of them. Everyone was staring at them now; the uniformity of everyday life had just been disturbed. She had no time to think because as she got up, the little girl took her hand and pulled her away, giving her no chance to get back her lost umbrella. It surprised her that the girl had such a strong grip for such a dainty little thing. She seemed to be desperate, Kagome concluded, if she was clinging to anyone for help.
It was then that an ominous feeling hit her.
In this world where everything was at peace the way it was—highly intelligent people working all their lives to earn a living, high level technology ruling the world, a world where there was little to no crime rate and everything went according to pre-destined wills of their all powerful government—she had made a splash. And she felt afraid that the ripples she created would come to haunt her. And at the corner of her eyes, as the little girl pulled her into an alley, she realized that a black cat had just passed her.
She remembered long ago, when her father was still alive. It was winter then, and he brought home this little box. It was a music box, he explained to her. He told her that when it was opened, it would start to play beautiful music. But when Kagome opened it, it made no sound. She was only greeted by a dusty ballerina, standing stiff and still. She asked him, where was the music? To which he merely smiled.
"I'll fix it and make it all better. Then the music will come out."
"Why do you have to fix it?"
"Because," he said, closing the old box and taking it from her hands. "It's been broken."
"Why don't you just throw it away?" she asked still, looking over her father's shoulder as he tinkered with it.
He chuckled just a little and God, how she missed hearing his chuckle. "Because I know I can fix it." He said.
She didn't really think anything of it after that. It didn't mean anything so deep to her. But now, as she stood there at the end of an alleyway, face to face with a man dripping with rain, dirt and blood...she knew exactly what those words meant.
His silver hair, an indication that he was not a normal B-class citizen, was like a blanket covering half his face. His posture was horrible but that could be blamed to the cuts, bruises, and burns that his body sustained. His clothes were dirty and ripped and stained and he was standing on a badly damaged leg. His eyes were emotionless but his breaths came in pants. There was blood smeared on his cheek, but there was no wound. He seemed dangerous...but at the same time tired.
Only one word came to her mind.
Broken.
She tried to run away but the girl held her there still, looking up at her with those desperate eyes. In her mind she could hear her asking, why are you leaving me? Kagome grabbed the girl by her arms and cast the intimidating creature looking back at her with cold amber eyes a wary glance before turning back to her. "Listen to me. Stay away from dangerous people like him, okay? No one knows what he might do to you. Now, let's go, I'll take you to—"
But the girl shook her head violently, pulling her into the alley and pointing at him again and again. Kagome looked up at him again, only to find that he narrowed his eyes at her, making a shiver run down her spine. He looked like a wounded tramp, afraid to be touched and dying.
"No," Kagome said, trying to pull her back. "We have to go—"
But the girl lashed out of her grasp and ran to the strange man. Kagome opened her mouth to call her back but to her surprise, he let her hug his leg, the one that was unharmed. His large hand rested gently on her head and he no longer looked like a tramp. Now he looked like a protector. It was then that Kagome understood.
"Alright. I understand. I'll get some help." She said, starting to turn and look for the police, assuming that these two had been robbed.
"No." a low, velvety, almost inhumanly smooth voice stopped her from her tracks and she turned back around slowly to make sure he was the one that spoke. For a moment, she had thought they were both mute. His eyes, on second thought, were not amber. They were golden. And they were gleaming in the darkness. They were gleaming against the colorless life of everything. "No one shall know of us." he spoke again. It was a demand, she realized. Somewhere in her mind she knew that if anyone else was hurt in front of her and declined the help of a police, she'd call him crazy and give him a big fat lecture. But this was different. He was different.
She was going to get into trouble. She just knew it.
"Alright."
(o)---(o)
Authoress' Corner:
Now that I'm officially in college (Woot! Woot!) I have an official and very valid reason for not making any stories other than writer's block-isis. But I seem to find myself with just a little bit of free time and I realize that without writing stories, I have absolutely nothing to do! So here I am with a little bit of a teaser of this new idea that came to mind. I'm not sure how it'll all end but I have a vague idea of how the plot should turn out. Please don't expect me to update regularly because I most probably will just disappoint you there. But I WILL update when I have the time. So to anyone who might have some ideas to share to enrich my unfolding plot, please do give me a shout out.
I hope I'm improving, that's all.
