Chapter 1:
The class was only supposed to go on for an hour and a half, but it seemed to last a lifetime. The minutes just refused to tick away as they were supposed to. Father time must've stopped the clock. Her chocolate eyes stared at the digital clock on the wall. She tried with all her might but still the green numbers didn't waver, as if mocking her, one minute passed by.
She released an angry sigh and put her head on her cool desk, not caring about her notes.
"Ms. Higurashi? Why do you think Higurashi Law Firm is so successful?" her professor called to her from his podium.
Quickly picking up her head, she answered, "It probably has something to do with the devotion of its employees." she tried to fight the blush that was starting to warm her face. As embarrassing as it was to be called out in front of such a large class, to be called out because the professor saw you basically falling asleep, was more attention than she was ready for.
"I'm sure you're right. Very good, Ms. Higurashi. Now try to keep you head up please." The professor continued on with his lecture, with no end in sight.
She wasn't worried about being called on. Kagome knew and would always know the answers. When you're grandfather is the founder of one of the most prestigious law firms in the country, law becomes part of your very being. She was able to see the angle and legal side of everything in her daily life. That is why all her professors and friends weren't shocked to find out that she was going to follow in her grandfather's footsteps and pursue a career as a lawyer. After all, it was to be expected.
'I don't even have to try to get the job.' She thought to herself as she watched her peers, scribbling down notes as the professor spoke about the use of Latin in legal jargon. 'Everyone knows Gramps wants me to take over the Firm. It's not even a question anymore.'
When papers started shuffling and a cacophony of backpack zippers started to sound, Kagome knew class was soon to be released. Attempting to be less obvious than the rest of the students in class about her eagerness to be gone, she quietly placed her half written notes in her folder and slipped that into her bag. Finally the professor said what everyone had been waiting for, "Class dismissed, have a good day!"
All the students filed down the man steps of the teaching theater, and Kagome was happy to take a breath of fresh air when she exited the building.
The university was gorgeous this time of year. Although traditionally autumn is what was thought of at the beginning of the year, the summer's heat had yet to fade.
Being a third year she had seen it change from summer to fall to winter to spring and to summer again. Now, after the scorching temperatures of summer, came the preview to fall when all the trees that shaded the campus were full and emerald green. The air was crisp and would even have been cold, had the sun not kissed her skin.
Walking through central campus, Kagome smiled and waved at some her fellow students that passed her. She did everything a well raised heir to a million dollar Law Firm would do.
"Kagome!" she heard her friend call to her from somewhere in front of her. In seconds, she saw her tall girl's head, bouncing over the crowd of people.
"Hey Sango!" Kagome reached out to childhood friend, and genuinely smiled for the first time all day. "How was Business Law?"
"Boring as hell, as usual. I think I want to switch to Criminal Law." She said as she fell into step beside Kagome.
"That would probably suit you a lot better." Kagome laughed, picturing the woman besides her questioning the criminals without fear or hesitation.
Sango was aggressive. She was loud and opinionated, and somewhat of a feminist. It's what made her such a good Law student. On top of a 'kick ass and take names' attitude, Kagome had always envied Sango on her ability to use nonverbal communication to get her point across, as well as understanding the things that other people didn't have to say.
"Yeah, well I'll have to go talk to my advisor, but I'm sure it'll be fine." Sango pulled up her long brown hair into her signature high pony tail.
"Are you finished for the day?" Kagome asked as she readjusted her book bag.
"Yep! Headed back to the hall now! What about you?"
"Yeah, I just finished my last class. I'm headed back to the hall too."
Now knowing that they were headed towards the same destination, the girls walked, talking about the trivial triumphs and errors of the day. Campus was large and had many students, but while walking through the heart of the school, most would think that it was small. It had such a cozy feel, thanks to all the greenery and trees that seemed to cocoon the university from the wilds of the city surrounding it.
The girls walked for about fifteen minutes, until finally they reached their destination. The house was 2 stories, and painted a pristine white with blue shutters. It had a wraparound porch with a few pillowed chairs close to the doorway. The yard was clear of trash and weeds, and the flower beds were all well taken care of. It looked a lot different than many of the other fraternity/sorority houses.
The hall was home to the Shards. The Shards was an elite all girl sorority for Law students at the university. The sorority was small and tight knit, and that's why Kagome liked it so much. When she had joined her first year at the university, there had been a sorority of 20 women. Now a few years later, there were only 7, herself included. Soon it would be time for the house to be filled with new sisters, but for now, Kagome appreciated her home's quiet drama free air.
Kagome reached the door first and let herself in, Sango behind her.
"Hello? Anyone home?" Sango called first, dropping her back pack onto a couch in the large common area.
"In the kitchen!" a voice carried over the wooden floors. As the two girls got closer to the kitchen they could hear someone humming.
Kagome couldn't help but smell the air. "Cookies." She rubbed her flat stomach, her mouth salivating from the thought of a chewy cookie.
"Mmmm, cookies." Sango smiled as she quickly made her way towards the kitchen a bit faster. "Rin you better have made me some Potato chip cookies!"
As the two friends entered the kitchen, they saw the petite girl, pulling out a cookie sheet from the oven. The kitchen was a mess of bowls and beaters, sugar and spices.
"Rin," Kagome started, "going through a rough time with Sesshomaru?" Kagome took a seat at the small kitchen table.
"Why is it whenever I bake, you all immediately think Sesshy and I are having problems?" The girl called Rin, set the tray of cookies on a cooling rack, and wiped her hands on a pale pink apron which was dotted with flour.
"It's probably on account of the fact that whenever you and Sesshy are having problems, you have a tendency of baking." Sango said, her words somewhat muffled by the chocolate chip cookie in her mouth. "But please, fight all you have to! Keep the cookies coming!"
Kagome laughed at her friend and walked over to Rin. The girl was shorter than Kagome, with a petite build. Her hair was light brown and fell to the middle of her back. Many people under estimated the young woman because of her small stature, but Kagome had lived with her for nearly three years, and she knew better. Behind Rin's kind eyes was the heart of another ferocious lawyer.
"So if you two aren't fighting, then what's with the sweets?" Kagome asked, laughing some.
"They're for the banquet tonight. Don't you remember Kagome?" the answer came from a red hair girl, towel drying her hair in the door frame.
"Oh my gosh, I almost forgot!" Kagome remember. "Thank you so much Ayame! I would've completely forgotten."
"No probs." The girl smiled a wolfish grin. Her green eyes sparkled as she cornered a platter of brownies, discarding her damp towel in the laundry shoot.
"Ayame! Don't even think about it!" Rin said. "By the time the banquet starts I'm not going to have anything left. You guys are going to eat it all!"
"Nonsense!" Sango smiled. "We're just making sure that all of them meet up to your incredible baking standards. Don't want the partners of the big Law firms eating soggy brownies."
Kagome listened to the girls she had become so close to talk and laugh amongst themselves. 'They really are like my sisters.' She thought smiling to herself.
"Well I need to go and figure out what I'm going to wear. Can you girls remind Eri, Yuka, and Ayumi? I don't think they remember either?"
"Sure thing. Those three are lucky you're such a mother hen, Kagome. Or else they wouldn't make it to anything." Sango chuckled shoving another cookie in her mouth, some of the crumbs stuck to her fingers.
"Oh and Sango? Can you make sure they've practiced their harmonies? If we're going to put on this show for the firms we have to be flawless."
Kagome pushed away the thoughts of the small performance. Since the sorority had been founded, many of the sisters had been musically inclined. It was a tradition that had stayed strong, so the Shards tried to incorporate it into any type of function they were involved in. Whether they were fundraising or simply the entertainment, it had been a way from Kagome and all her sisters to identify not only with themselves, but with the people around them.
So all her sisters accounted for, Kagome made her way up the stairs to her bedroom at the far end of the house. Kagome walked past Sango's room, and giggled when she saw her friend's cat Kirara playing with a paper ball on the floor. While the other girls, left their doors ajar or open, exposing their lives to the rest of the residents, Kagome kept her's shut at all times. She both enjoyed her privacy and had something to hide.
Upon entering her room, she sighed quietly and leaned her back against her closed door. She took a deep breath and reveled in the clean vanilla scent her room had. This was her sanctuary. Her bed was properly made, quilt pulled up and tucked under her pillow, and everything was in place. The air of her room was light and tranquil. It reminded her of the summers she spent with her mother at her family's shrine.
She hadn't seen her mother or her brother since she left for college. It was strange since they had been such a tight knit family, but she knew her mother understood how important school was to her. She had gotten so busy trying to make everyone proud that she just didn't' seem to have time for family. Even gramps who was in the same city, was hardly at the top of her priority list to see. Pushing all these things to the back of her mind, she made her way across her room to her small balcony.
Her room was considered the master suite. The girls had been nice enough to let her stay there, after a relatively heated debate on who would get it. It was only fitting that the only person, who didn't want it, would get it. The balcony and it's view of the lake that was hidden behind the property was one of the finer touches of the large bedroom. She pulled open the French doors and the wind blew in with the scent of jasmine which tickled her nose. And just like that she felt it.
She dropped her things onto her bed and quickly removed the large sheet covering something in the corner of her bedroom, beside her balcony. The large canvas was blank with just a few smudges from a pencil outlining a possible idea.
She pulled up the stool that was beside the easel and with a stroke of creative genius began her work of art. She dabbed and brushed, pulling out a bag full of painting tools of different shapes and sizes. Her mind went wild, painting the vision that she saw in her head. The smell of jasmine. That's all she had needed to imagine this piece.
Using the light of the fading sun she painted the vines of jasmine that would encircle the bottom of the castle overlooking the sea. Touching a small brush into a little speck of black paint on her palette, she started to work on the shadow of a figure peeking from a window. She could imagine the look on the woman's face as she looked out onto the sea, as the ever changing tide beckoned to share some of its freedom.
"Kagome?" she vaguely heard on a knock on her door. "Are you almost ready? We're going to have to leave pretty soon. We need time to set up the stage." She was pretty sure it was Sango's voice.
"I'll meet you there." She said, never setting down her brush. It needed to be finished. Kagome used a feather light touch to cascade the woman's dress in the window so that it would dance on the sea breeze.
Kagome sang quietly as she painted, drifting off into another world.
"In the sea, the fish have learned to fly.
On the moonlit night, on wings of silver,
As the enchanted star
Sail's serenely by…
Do they know…"
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The room was bustling with men in suits and women in long dresses that floated at their feet. Caterers carried plates of food for the guests to snack on while others carried trays of champagne. The banquet was being held in one of the nicest hotels in town. It was sure to be a big event. Sango had heard word that Kagome would be named heir to Higurashi Law Firm this night.
"Where the hell is she?" Sango said, wringing her satin gloved hands. She picked up the long train of her fuchsia dress as she began to pace behind the make shift stage set up.
"Didn't you call her?" Ayame said, quietly tuning her violin. "I thought that's what you said you were going to do before we left?"
"I did! I knocked and she said she would meet us here! It's not like her to just miss something." Sango was really starting to get nervous now.
" I heard her. She did call her." Eri said.
"Maybe she fell asleep or something?" Ayumi started to say but was cut off by Yuka, "or maybe she got caught in traffic."
"Here calm down. Let me call her." Rin, pulled her cell phone out of a strategically placed pocket in her dress. The six girls saw their sister dial her cell phone and put it to her ear. Rin counted the rings but was finally sent to voice mail.
"Hello my beautiful Shards!" an elderly man peeked around behind the stage. His suit was expensively tailored and the gold cufflinks gleamed even in the dim lighting of the room. "How are you all doing this fine evening? Are we ready for a wonderful performance?"
"Yes Mr. Higurashi!" Sango walked and embraced the powerful man. "We're just waiting for Kagome."
"Waiting for Kagome?" Mr. Higurashi's face turned a bright red. "The banquet is about to begin and you mean to say that she's not here yet?"
"Yes sir. She said she would meet us here." Rin cut in, saving Sango from the wrath of the powerful lawyer.
"But she didn't arrive. We've tried calling but haven't gotten any answer." Ayame set down her violin.
"Ugh…that Kagome." The man seemed old and fragile then as he placed his hand on his cheek and shook his head slowly. "No matter, I'll deal with her later." Rolling back his shoulders into the posture of the once strong business man, he turned from the girls to break the news to the rest of the party.
A/n: Alright, chapter 1 for my new story is complete. This is my new and biggest project since Sexy and the Demon is now finished. I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter. More to come soon! Read and Review review review!
Love,
Syn
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