Null and Void
Ch. 1 Reversal
null [nʌl]
adj
1. without value or consequence; useless
2. lacking distinction; characterless; a null expression
3. nonexistent; amounting to nothing
Listless and rendered comatose from the thirteen hours of driving, Kagome awoke to the faint sound of radio talk show hosts and the constant grinding of gravel and rubber tires.
Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, a cold chill of the air conditioning found its way down her arms and she shivered.
"Here, Kagome. Put your sweater on."
She rolled her eyes but accepted the periwinkle knitted sweater eagerly. "If you'd turned the ac down I wouldn't need this dad."
Masaaki Higurashi smiled but said nothing as he sipped his morning cup of coffee.
"Impossible, I have to have my morning coffee, you know that. And I'd overheat if I didn't have something to cool me down afterwards. Ah, the wonders of air conditioning."
She frowned lightly at his silliness. "Why coffee? It stains your teeth you know."
"But I'd die without it." he said jokingly.
She shrugged her shoulders and stretched out her arms, leaning back against the leather seat interior of the car. "Then I'd inherit your car! Good idea right?"
She smiled and stole the cup from her father, sipped the coffee, and then rejected the bitter taste.
"You know, eventually you'll have to grow up and learn to enjoy the taste of both coffee and adulthood Kagome, it's a bitter fate. I bet you can't wait!"
Mr. Higurashi tousled his daughter's hair in an affectionate way as he returned his focus to the gps and map he held in his lap.
"Oh please dad, not before you grow up first! Stop with the jokes, they're not funny."
As Kagome left her father to study the map intensely, eyebrows furrowed, she stared at the endless fields of grass and felt the drop of her stomach and the pang of homesickness that had found her when she was in school.
"Hey… dad?" She peered towards her father who was concentrating on the roads.
"I was thinking about attending Shikon University next year, you know… instead of having to spend the year away from you guys at Tama."
As if surprised, Mr. Higurashi pursed his lips disapprovingly, "after all that fuss you made about how Tama University would be the best decision for you?" He snickered, "I knew it from the beginning, you're still a child at heart. You can't handle the adult world."
"No it's not! That's not it!" Kagome raised her voice exasperatedly. Well, almost.
"I miss you, and Souta and mama too."
Warmth. Happiness. "I miss you too Kago."
And then.
Screams of pain.
Brilliant lights flooded her eyes and her limp body was tossed forwards in a violent reaction. The blaring of car horns and the screeching of tires flooded the air with a cold, instant fear.
It all happened too fast for anything to be done.
The sounds of glass shattering into a million pieces, the strong pull of the seat belt around her chest, and a hot splash of thick liquid hit her face before Kagome could yell out.
The van went tumbling through the air like a baby bird falling out of its nest. So helpless. The earth reshaping the vehicle each time it bounced against the unforgiving ground.
Till, silence… and the only sound to be heard was the steaming of the engines.
The air had been forced out of her lungs and Kagome was again left comatose, her body unable to move of its own accord. Finally, breathing heavily, she urged some life into her arms. Lifting her shaking hand towards her face she smelt the acrid stench of blood, everywhere.
She struggled against the seatbelt and her body's paralysis, "d-dad...?"
Blurry vision clouded her mind, as the last image imbedded in her memory was the silhouette of a body in the headlights.
OOC: So tell me what you guys think! I'm hoping to stick with this story and continue it till the end.
