CHAPTER ONE: THE HANYOU
Nothing escapes amber.
It becomes trapped inside, preserved forever, even as a memory. Pleasant or painful, it is all caught.
Until it dies, it will be forever within the cool stone.
Pain is no exception. When the world is seen through amber, everything feels like hope is gone. With memories, pain can also be caught and remembered. Fear can also be trapped within, causing the bearer of such beauty to feel lost.
Amber eyes see so much prejudice…
Until there is someone to heal it all away.
The school population was busy bustling through the halls. The sounds of locker doors slamming was heard as an echoing rumble. It seemed that everyone had someone to turn to, even if it was just an acquaintance that had only just made their presence known to engage in frivolous talk.
But among the crowds, someone was all alone.
A boy stood, about sixteen years of age, and yet bearing the knowledge that one would never comprehend even if they surpassed him, proceeding to quietly open his locker. Within his eyes of amber, an image of something nobody besides him would ever keep rested. His beautiful silver hair fell over his shoulders, and upon his head were two triangular dog ears, white and soft as falling snow.
He was InuYasha, a total outsider, rejected…a freak, the devil's child, the pathetic Hanyou…
The Hanyou…
Even though the world was, in a scarcely noted way, "peaceful", what with the demons and humans living in perfect harmony, those words didn't mean anything to the half-demon.
…Because only the humans and the demons were mentioned.
Not Hanyous.
Hanyous were the dirt in the world. A thing gone wrong. An abomination, a total mistake…
At the aftermath of the war against the two opposing forces, a swift truce had been drawn up. At that time, the fact that some of those forces had come together in unity, creating what now was known as a Hanyou, was almost not even perceived. When it grew, it was noticed, and everyone was torn apart. The blame went onto the products of the love of the two forces, not the creators. Hanyous were a sign of the devil. They were forbidden, and usually were the cause for disownment. Everyone was terrified.
That is, until, the Hanyou rules were put in effect.
The rules caused utter joy to the world. Everyone immediately took action and violence to a higher level.
The way InuYasha was treated, he was forced to believe that all he ever wanted was never going to be his. Not acceptance, always feeling pain…and never being loved…these dreams had been abandoned so long ago.
Poor InuYasha had accepted the fact that he was alone.
He would occasionally try fighting back, but that wouldn't ever work.
They were just too strong.
The school was INFESTED with rumors and Hanyou haters and punishers. There was even a hallway that was so bad; InuYasha could never use it. They called it the "Hanyou's worst nightmare".
As the door opened, several notes fell out. He sighed. He picked them up, and placed them in a nearby trash can. He knew what they said. The painful insults had been said to him all his life.
The trash can has less trash in it than my locker with threats, thought InuYasha.
He was always being abused, teased, insulted…a huge list.
InuYasha shut his locker, and began to walk down the hall. People pointed at him, laughing, sneering, and exchanging pitiful glances…everyone laughed shallowly, gossip and rumors spreading through the halls.
InuYasha didn't care.
A demon slammed him onto a locker as he passed through. Deep pain shot through InuYasha's side as the locker and he collided.
"Outta my way, lady!" the demon said as he smirked at the hurt Hanyou.
Anger coursed through his veins as he saw the marks left on his arm from the side of the locker. There were several slits of blood, and some of the skin had been cut. InuYasha brushed his shoulder furiously. After a while, it still hurt mildly, but he continued to amble past the sea of teenagers to his first period class.
InuYasha sat down at a desk where there was no one else, and about five seconds after he did, the bell rung.
"You're LATE, InuYasha Taisho." Mr. Umide sneered. Everyone smothered their silent laughter.
This just isn't fair! InuYasha wanted to say, --I got here seconds before the stupid bell rung, and now you're telling me I'm LATE? InuYasha merely opened his textbook and said "I'm sorry…" but inside, he was fuming with anger.
"Today we are learning a way to solve algebraic expressions. First question: 2x-(4)+7y would equal to..." Mr. Umide paused for someone who knew the answer.
InuYasha wrote down some notes and raised his hand.
He could only plead mentally for him to actually answer, because he knew the rule for Hanyous in the classroom. No talking out loud. The punishments for disobeying the rules were harsh. REALLY harsh.
"Koga?"
"Umm…I didn't raise my hand, sir…I dunno the answer…" said Koga, thinking hard.
Pick me dammit!
"Kagura?"
"Dunno, don't ask me!"
Why the hell won't you pick me? InuYasha desperately wished that the Hanyou rules weren't so strict so that he could just answer the question.
A large demon interrupted Kagura and Mr. Umide's argument, reading the answer off of InuYasha's notes.
"That is correct." said Mr. Umide.
That wasn't fair! InuYasha looked down at his paper. The correct answer, HIS answer!...It had been stolen by some lowlife demon that had read his notes…
InuYasha didn't bother to raise his hand for the next questions. He just sat there, writing notes on the subjects that were discussed. He would go home at the end of the day, handle his job, and study extra hard that night.
The periods slipped through InuYasha's fingers like quicksand until the annoying bell of "freedom" finally rang. InuYasha sighed, and walked out of the stupid school building. He sighed as he passed the beautiful houses on the way to the convenience store in which he worked in. Then it came back. A scary fragment of a memory of him in a house, all alone…with that creepy…he shuddered. It was so…bizarre…not worth remembering…
He had work to do.
A lot.
The damn Hanyou rules clearly stated that Hanyous had to work after hours for one hour, cleaning up. They earned a little bit of extra money by doing that. About 3 to 5 dollars…
At work, InuYasha got 15 dollars, which was 10 dollars less than his fellow employees did. (As soon as he had been admitted to his crap hole of a job, everyone got a raise.)
It was still enough money to pay for InuYasha's tuition, but not enough to really support himself. He had only one shirt, which was a bit too large and two pairs of baggy pants, which he always washed thoroughly in the mornings to get the bloodstains off. And shoes were way too expensive, so his were very small…And it was so hard to find food…When he couldn't afford it, he would scavenge in the depths of a forest, or a trash can, and if he ever got too desperate, he was forced to beg. He had never gotten anything by that, so he did it as little as possible.
InuYasha stepped in through the automatic doors of the store, sighing as he went to the employee's changing room. He changed into his boring white shirt, black pants, and a black. He then hesitated to put on a black cap over his dog ears.
Hey. Maybe they won't notice. He thought to himself.
Are You KIDDING? That's the MILLIONTH time you've ever said that, even to yourself. PATHETIC. How the hell are you supposed to be tough when you're hiding under a stupid unnoticeable hat? Like I said seconds before: PA-THE-TIC.
"That voice…" whispered InuYasha.
"Who are you talking to?" asked a man curiously, sneering at the "disease".
"Oh. I said something? I didn't notice. Sorry…" InuYasha blushed in embarrassment.
You're not in a good mood today…Listen, you have to stop talking to me. It's gonna get me into trouble.
Aww! Is the Hanyou scared? It's going to get US into trouble. Not just you. I am a part of you. You are a part of me. I'm just a part of you that hasn't been truly revealed yet. Call me your split personality. You'll meet me very soon. I've been with you before that crazy ma--
DON'T. SAY. ANYTHING! InuYasha shut his eyes.
The voice laughed.
A cruel, soft laugh.
Fine. Coward. You think you're so tough? Why are you worried about the past?
I'M NOT A COWARD! InuYasha defended himself.
The voice was silent now.
InuYasha sighed in relief, and left the changing room. He was instantly dragged from the stupid high school abuse to a boring store job that involved walking around the aisles, looking for someone who needed help with something, and scanning labels.
There was usually a two-partner-switch thing going on. It was something like first one person walked the aisles, while the other one scanned, and then they switched positions.
The people who created the Hanyou rules had thought of everything, haven't they?
Hanyous had to do it all. No switch. No lunch break.
Not that there were much Hanyous left…
About three years before, a law had been passed that any Hanyou born from then on would be drowned instantly.
InuYasha had been liberated of that horror, because he was already 13 when the law had been put into action.
Because of that, his parents were thought of as criminals.
His parents had done the most unspeakable thing the world could ever think of.
InuYasha was the disgusting and sinful THING that came to be by his parents.
And they were killed, no, murdered, for doing such a horrible thing.
Just by having him before the law had even been thought up. He was left alone to deal with the world's despicable beatings, the law only making things worse.
His parents had brought something evil, alien, just plain DIFFERENT into the world. They were hated by all.
If they were still alive, they would be treated almost worse than InuYasha.
InuYasha's worst fear was seeing his mother go through the beatings, the insults, the death threats…she had been so frail, so delicate, so beautiful…His father would be feared by all, though. Everyone would try to get out of his way.
InuYasha closed his eyes, and tried not to remember the painful last memory of his parents.
They had been so sweet…so innocent, understanding, and caring.
His brother too. Although they had fought a lot, he had always apologized.
And now they were all gone.
And had left a bad thing that should have been abandoned at birth alive…
A THING.
A hideous, dog eared punching bag.
He was walking down the aisles. No one approached him; everyone seemed to know where things were.
Either that or they didn't want a Hanyou to help them.
Well, at least he still got paid.
That was enough for him.
He began to walk down the spice aisle. It was usually his favorite aisle (besides the pasta aisle that had ramen in it) because the sweet smell of cinnamon, basil, oregano…it dulled his pain…it took away the horrible scent of pain.
He stayed there, inhaling the sweet smells, when something caught his eye.
A girl.
He had never seen such a girl. Her long, midnight-tainted black hair surrounded a beautiful pale face. She was as tall as his shoulder. Her head was facing front. She had her eyes closed, and seemed to be concentrating on something.
InuYasha's heart pounded. Something about this girl…so beautiful…so soft…
Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump…
He just had to call out to her.
"Excuse me…!" InuYasha called.
The girl calmly opened her eyes and smiled. She stared at him.
To her, he was gorgeous, unique; with long hair, tainted by starlight. It was so pure…like a clear crystal prism; the store's light was making his hair shine. It cascaded down his back like a waterfall. A white waterfall... His face was perfect; not a blemish in sight, and it was shaped beautifully.
But…
…there was something in his eyes…a LOOK…
…A look that completely pained her heart.
A look of fear that would permanently be etched in those beautiful amber orbs, for nothing escapes amber.
The barrier around the poor Hanyou's tormented heart was melting as he stared at her.
Oh wow, her eyes made him lose it. They were large and full of curiosity, and were a deep dark mahogany brown color.
So deep…like an ocean that you would fall into.
So deep…
"Hello. Can…may I help you with anything?" he asked, knowing the harsh answer that was to come.
"Um…yes please…there's something I need from that shelf, but I can't reach it…" she said, pointing to a small container of cinnamon higher than she could reach. She tried hard, standing on the tips of her toes, reaching, and almost grasping the container. InuYasha reached up at the same time for the container, and their hands softly made contact.
The poor Hanyou's face was red with embarrassment. He looked over at her face and it was also crimson. She was smiling. After an awkward moment, he could not help but smile back. She began to laugh softly. To hi, it was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard. It was so innocent…
He looked up and saw that their hands were still touching each other. He pulled away rapidly, still holding the cinnamon. His heart rose up to his ears and down to his stomach. He felt sick for a moment…and in pain. What was this…?
She looked a bit surprised when he pulled away. "I'm sorry…" he said, the sick feeling remaining inside him. The girl smiled, and said, "It's okay…There's really nothing to be sorry about…"
"Y-yeah…" Yeah there is… InuYasha was confused. Then it hit him. Obviously this girl had no idea what he was…yet. He suddenly felt dirty. If he didn't tell, he would be cheating her. If he did…well since when had rejection been something new? She would find out sooner or later…
"I'm Kagome Higurashi." she said sweetly.
"Um…I-InuYasha…" the boy muttered.
Kagome (as he now knew) smiled yet again, this time seeming to savor the name. "InuYasha…I like that name." She smiled.
He sighed with relief, but the feeling STILL lingered. He gave her the cinnamon and their hands touched slightly as she grasped the small container. She smiled very warmly as she held it. "Thank you…"
She looked up at him. "Hey…I think I saw you at my school today…Do you go to Akari?"
InuYasha nodded, surprised. He had never seen her around. …Maybe because he never really wanted to tell them apart. He had no friends, he had never had friends, and fate screamed at him everyday saying he never would.
"I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow at school!"
He shook his head, and she was almost at the end of the aisle. Her long hair was flowing behind her. She looked back, and he looked away, blushing madly. She laughed, and continued her way out of the aisle. When no footsteps were heard, InuYasha turned to the end of the aisle, and began to slowly walk into the next row of condensed items, looking for someone who needed help.
She hadn't been scared or…well; basically, she didn't have any of the usual reactions when they looked at him. He was the last thing that they wanted to see. But…no one had ever been so kind to him. This girl…she had put him at a loss for words. The feeling he was experiencing…what word could possibly describe the wave of emotion that was passing through him? Every corner he saw her gorgeous hair, her beautiful face…her hand…
They had touched. The remembrance of the touch of her hand made his skin tingle and his body numb. Had a camera been watching? Did he break one of the Hanyou rules? Would he be arrested? The fear was overcome by something else. He began to feel tired. When was the last time that he had slept? He was always up late studying for exams. He usually got home at 9:00 p.m.
Sleep…
He needed to capture sleep desperately.
Wait. He needed to work. He needed to pass school.
Seeing that once again nobody wanted to be helped by the likes of him, he went over to his favorite aisle.
Ramen…
He looked at the collection of ramen cups…so many, and they were all so tasty…but he was broke, and could only dream. God is torturing me. He thought. He sighed. Maybe if I work harder I'll get an extra dollar…And then I can buy ramen…
Then he realized the flaw in his plan. No microwave—no ramen. He thought he was going to die. This was so not fair, and a ramen restaurant did not actually cost cheaply.
The closing hours soon came, and InuYasha had to work for one hour more. He sighed. Feh! They left me a mess to deal with! He thought as he got the broom.
Why me?
The employees all sneered, and threw more litter on the floor, just to add onto the poor Hanyou's burden.
"Why don't you sweep yourself up too? You're trash too!" a demon employee snickered as he threw a styrofoam cup at the ground.
It wasn't only the employees that made him clean up their trash. The customers would purposely litter the store with their trash, just shrugging it off, and saying, "Oh well, the Hanyou will clean it up after hours anyway."
"Why me," wasn't really that necessary to think.
The reason it was him was mainly because he was the half-breed, the outsider, the HANYOU.
And the damn Hanyou rules…
InuYasha rapidly scrubbed and swept the store until it was almost sparkling. He stared into the empty aisles.
It looked so…eerie…an empty silence…
Like the house where the murderer was…
He shook his head when the horrible memory took hold of him. Like a nightmare had gripped him, he was breaking out in cold sweat. It was that terrifying for him.
InuYasha continued to work hard on making the store clean.
Soon, the clock read 8:47, and it was time for InuYasha to change into his casual clothes and head for home.
"Here's your money," the boss said nonchalantly, straightening his tie and handing InuYasha a 5-dollar bill. He immediately snatched his hand away from the 5-dollar bill as soon as the Hanyou laid his claws softly on it, as if the boy were harboring a deadly contagious affliction or something MUCH worse. "Thank you Mr. Aenaisago!" InuYasha said courteously as he swung his backpack over his shoulder.
He practically ran out of the store.
END OF CHAPTER ONE…