Beyond the Void
- Prologue -
--- I do not own Inu Yasha or any of the characters of that series. All other characters in this story, however, are MINE!
The small room was cloaked in shadow due to the lack of light, and deathly quiet, until a horrified scream broke through the veil of slumber. A panting girl lay in it's wake, tightly clutching a silver locket to her chest and shaking slightly as sweat beaded on her brow. Her blankets were thrown askew as she hastily rose from her bed and searched the darkness for the door, the light-switch being next to it. Luckily, the room was quite small and easy to navigate, and the switch was found with little difficulty. Breathing deeply, the girl flicked the switch up and a flood of fluorescent light poured out of the ceiling.
The room, when finally in view resembled more of a barrack than an actual bedroom. Four grey walls, accompanied by a cot-like bed and a small closet greeted the girl when her eyes finally adjusted to the illumination. Scanning over the contents of the room, the girl sighed in relief. She had only been dreaming, again. This nightmarish vision seemed to be occurring more and more these days, ever since she was assigned to the Agnes. Saving her thoughts of the dream and it's significance for later, she hastily made her way the black closet, pulling out a pair of black uniform pants and a white tank.
'Can't be running around the ship in underwear,' she smirked to herself, 'the boys could be awake.'
Realizing her nest of hair was in complete disarray, she opted to tie it back, using a black band that she always carried around her wrist. She studied herself in the small mirror on the door, staring into her own deep, blue eyes. She grimaced slightly when she found the dark circles taking refuge beneath her eyes. Sighing, and nodding in indifferent acceptance to her tired reflection, she turned on heel and made her way towards the metal door.
"Open." was all it took for the portal to split in two and allow her access to the outside hall. She proceeded through the open door and peered down the hall. Scanning both directions and finding no observers, she turned back towards her door and told it close. Once the door had completed it's task, the girl began down the left path of the dimly lit hall, nearly jogging due to the cold of the metal floor.
"Damn, I knew I should've grabbed my boots." she whispered to herself.
She continued down the hallway, passing several metal doors, much like her own, until a light flicked on in the open room ahead of her; the only obstacle before her destination. Stopping dead in her tracks she waited nervously for someone to emerge, until a burst of laughter sent her reeling towards right hand wall, the same wall that shared the open door. Inching her way cautiously, she finally came to the entrance, as another burst of laughter broke loose, nearly startling her. Peering inside, she then groaned at the sight before her.
Two young men were arm wrestling in the mess hall, both apparently intoxicated, empty bottles surrounded them, a silent audience to the dueling pair. The darker haired man appeared to be winning, but the other man quickly took control and slammed the dark haired man's fist to the table. Crowing over his victory, the light haired man began to dance, in honor of his triumph. The dark haired one only yawned.
"All right, you got that one, H-hojo," the dark haired man slurred. "Letss do best two outta three."
"Hey, no way, man! I've all ready beaten you sseven times!"
"Oh, come now, be reasonable. You've only beaten me twice, and only because I allowed it to occur." the dark haired man smiled smugly.
"Bull shit, Miroku! I'm not that drunk!" Hojo interjected, while nearly tripping over a chair.
They continued on like that completely unaware of their hidden audience. The girl sighed and shook her head.
'I'll deal with them when I come back.'
Sneaking by the door quickly, the girl arrived safely to other side, and then continued on her way. Reaching the end of the hall, she paused before a large metal door. She stared at the door for a few moments, as if willing herself to see through it. Realizing that to be impossible she placed her right hand on a screen to the right of the massive door. The monitor above indicated that she was approved for access and the massive, steel door shifted to the side. Slowly, she entered.
She was greeted with a chorus of mechanical "beeping," and dozens of flashing monitors of various sizes. In the middle of it all was a young man, no older than 17, sitting in chair, facing away from the room's entrance. A myriad of various cords and wires appeared to connect his head and the monitors to one another. Before him was the largest monitor, which he seemed to be completely fixated on.
"Souta…" the girl whispered, all most inaudibly as she fiddled with the locket that adorned her neck. She stared at the back of the boy, cautiously making her ways towards his seated form. A soft growl permeated her consciousness and her eyes snapped towards the source of the interruption. At the feet of the boy was a large, feline-like creature, it's black eyes staring up at her. The girl gave a sigh of relief and smiled down at the gold creature.
"Naz, you shouldn't startle me like that." she softly chastised. The feline only yawned and shook it's great, white mane in response. The girl then continued on her trek towards the boy, now only feet from him. Slowly, she reached out her free arm and rested her hand on the boy's shoulder. Though the boy did not move, the large screen before him flashed to her military profile. She smiled at that.
'He knows me, even through touch alone.' Reaching the boy's side, she kneeled down, one hand still resting on his shoulder, the other clenching her necklace.
"Souta," she whispered into his ear, "how are you?" the boy's emotionless blue eyes shifted towards her, earning another smile from the girl. "I had another dream, or nightmare, really. The same one as last time." the girl's eyes shifted towards her chest, where her hand tightly gripped the heart of the necklace. Realizing her knuckles were beginning to turn white, she loosened her hold on the locket and brought it up to eye-level.
It was a simple silver locket, oval in shape, with a lily carved into the surface. Removing her hand from the boy's shoulder, she traced her fingers over the small flower. Gently tugging at the clasp, the locket opened, revealing two tiny portraits. One was of a young girl, no older than 10, with dark brown hair and freckles. The other was of a young woman, with straight black hair, her face closely resembling the girl who gazed upon her. Tears began to from in the girl's eyes and she quickly closed the locket before her emotions got the best of her. Souta's eyes were still fixed on the woman beside him, unblinking and seemingly indifferent.
Smiling up at him, the girl tucked the locket into her tank and placed her hand back onto his shoulder. His eyes fixated themselves once again on the large monitor. Standing, the girl ran her hand alongside the boy's cheek, and then turned away from him. As she made her way back towards the large door, the feline stood, stretched, and then followed her, a soft growl alerting her of his intent. She waited beside the door for great dane-sized cat to reach her before placing her right hand on another screen, opening the door once more. Turning back towards the boy, she sighed.
"Goodbye, Souta… I love you." and with that she left the room, Naz in tow. Souta looked straight ahead, his face emotionless, as he whispered, "Goodbye, sister." And the doors closed.
Once the door was shut, the girl collapsed onto the floor in front of it, choking down her sobs and fighting her tears. Naz looked at her sympathetically and sat down beside her slumped form.
'Souta, poor Souta!' she exclaimed in her head. 'He doesn't deserve that! He's just a kid, damn it! Why?… Why does it have to be this way?…' Souta was the powerhouse for the Agnes, or more like the main conduit for transferring the power from the main computer of Orb to the control system for the ship they now reside in. Nothing happened on the Agnes that Souta didn't have some power over. The entire ship was controlled in that small room, by a single person; her brother.
Souta had been raised by machines since his birth, their mother having died during labor. She had been four years old at the time, and had lost her elder sister only weeks before losing her mother. Her father was of little consolation to her, he was often shut in his office or his lab, working non-stop… But now was not the time to dwell on the past, not when the future was at hand.
Having finally calmed her trembling body, the girl rose, and dusted herself off. Looking down at the solemn Naz, she ruffled his mane, and smiled as he attempted shake it back into some semblance of order. Just as she was about to comment on the futility of such an act, a harsh crash resonated through the hall, followed by slurred yelling and breaking glass.
"Damn it, I for got about those two!" the girl cursed as she sped down the hall, an amused Naz running alongside her. When she reached the commotion, she found Hojo and Miroku bleeding and laughing on the hall floor, arms around each other's shoulders, as they attempted to sing. Neither noticed her stomp closer to them until both men were hauled up by their shirt collars, face to face with an angry, and cranky young woman.
"Why, iff it isn't our dear little Kaagome!" smiled a split-lipped Miroku, who then attempted to put his arms around the girl, until swift knee to the groin changed his mind as he opted instead to roll around on the cold floor groaning. Hojo attempted to free himself before he met the same fate, but instead tripped over the sprawled Miroku and crashed haphazardly on the floor beside him.
"What the HELL, do you two think you're doing?" she shouted, her face turning red from strain. Hojo only looked up at her like a wounded animal while Miroku continued to recover. Sighing gruffly, Kagome shook her head and leaned against a wall. Naz took his place beside her, his black eyes full of amusement. A wheezing Miroku was the first to speak.
"Come now, Kagss, we were only celebrating our "all most" arrival to our desstination. By this time tomorrow, (hiccup) we'll be landing on Earth!" with that he lifted his empty bottle to the sky, Hojo following suite.
"Did you have to beat the shit out of each other to do it?" Miroku thought on that for a moment.
"Perhaps not, but, as the Roman's said, 'When in Rome!'"
"That doesn't even make sense, idiot!" Kagome groaned. Miroku only continued to smile, his lip bleeding more because of it.
"It's not all Miroku's fault, Kagome, he'ss just a sore loser." a nice save by Hojo.
"I am not ssore loser, Hobo. You forget, that I let you win several times, if only to boost your confidence, ssince you're sooo lacking." Miroku smirked. Hojo growled and lunged at the smiling bafoon but was stopped short by Kagome's vice-like grip around his waist.
"Cut it out, both of you!" both men submitted and sat on the floor, one smiling victoriously, the other fuming under his breath.
"Now, you two are coming with me to the infirmary, I can't have you looking like bums in front of the Ambassador, whom we will be meeting with in only 43 hours! I swear, arg-never mind! Just come with me!" Kagome stomped off down the hall. Miroku shrugged and lazily picked himself up off the floor. Hojo followed, still muttering curses under his breath. Naz followed behind the pair, making sure there weren't any stragglers.
WOOT WOOT! I decided to redo/revamp my previous idea (this one is more hardcore O.o) ! Hope you enjoy! R&R!
- Cheery Tomato