Tokyo, Japan
The most important things in her life were governed by chance. When she was fifteen, she was young and innocent and too inexperienced to know any better. She fell down a well and started a new turn in her life; she went on a quest that would change her forever and meant everything to those she held dearest. She stumbled across a boy eternally bound to a tree. She released a wild and untameable soul that would grow to rule her heart.
When she was seventeen, her second life was crumbling. The early days were easygoing, but as time passed the stakes rose and every adventure started with a solemn, serious air. Each one ended with another casualty and another scar in a heart that would never heal. She saw that boy kiss that girl, and she was gone agin, biting back her tears with angry screams and modern comforts. And that's when she met a new boy. One from her world, understanding, and ignorant of the pains and crippling wars of the years gone by.
She left the past behind forever, a quest completed, a heart broken, and a small round jewel purified out of existence. Without the balanced power in the small gem of souls, the well no longer served its purpose as a gateway between the things that are and the things that were.
Four years passed, and it was purely by change that she chose to go to that café that day. Outside, winter drifted over the busy city streets and populated countryside. Cold winds whipped scarves and jackets, light and powdery snowflakes drifted on the wind before finally landing, and the cars slowed to a near standstill in the hopes of avoiding seasonal tragedy. Higurashi Kagome was one of many university students sloughing through the unplowed streets in the hopes of reaching a warm and welcoming home. She stuffed her hands deep in her pockets and buried her chin in the lip of her coat, doing her best to dodge the bite of the frost.
In the face of a furious winter and long trek home, Kagome peeked in the windows of a café as she passed and saw salvation. She trudged to the door and pushed it open, smiling as the bell jangled and warm air rushed over her fake. She snagged a table on her own and puffed on her hands, willing feeling back into her fingertips.
Behind her, a pair of girls were having a lively conversation in some European language or another and the music held a certain Spanish lilt, even if the words were in her own native tongue. She could smell the coffee brewing, and it only served to fuel her craving or something warm and comforting. The table was small and round and had lavish, curled writing around its rim. The place was painted in red and gold, with the feel of something stylishly out of date.
The waitress came and she placed her order. She knew that the girls she knew by heart would adore a little corner like this. It was just to their tastes, and to be honest, she was sort of enamoured herself.
Kagome sighed and took a tentative sip of her drink. She went over all the things she had to do tonight – with school, she was almost always busy, not to mention a part-time job, her social life, and a full-time boyfriend. She absently rubbed the scar that carved a jagged line over the back of her hand – it was one of exactly four. She knew where each one was – they burned sometimes, late at night. Her shoulder, her back, her hand, her side. Kohaku, a demon, an demon, the Shikon no Tama – she'd grown quite inventive over the years when answering tricky questions. The girls rambled on, their words thick and throaty – German? – and something that sounded very much like Inuyasha rolled off their tongues.
The name 'Inuyasha' felt as normal to her ear as it was to hear someone comment on the weather. Then she truly thought about the name – the unusual, rare name; the title of a boy that she knew long ago. She tensed as a cold chill crept up her spin. Wait – what?
"Did you – Inuyasha?" Kagome choked, turning slowly around. The two women – one blond and fair-skinned, the other dark-haired and surprised – started back, stumbled by her intrusion. She knew she was being rude, but… was it really possible? Could he have survived this long? Could he have somehow come through the well? How could…
"I – yes, miss. Inuyasha," the darker one replied. Her speech was impeccable, her looks were native – she was Japanese, for sure. She was also a little put-out with Kagome's interruption.
"I knew an Inuyasha… I just… I'm very sorry. It's such an unusual name, it made me think of him," Kagome explained softly, feeling the flush creep up her face. A few other patrons were staring.
"It is an unusual name. I've never heard another one like it… except, perhaps, his brother's."
"Sesshoumaru," Kagome murmured.
"Yes… that's it. Did you really know him, then? You must have! He didn't say that he had relations over here," the girl continued, beaming. Kagome swallowed thickly and gripped her chair. She felt like the room was spinning – or maybe that was just her. Faint, ecstatic, shocked, weak, and the past was gaining on her. She could almost smell the woods and the huts and the burning bodies in the villages they found too late.
"He's… here?" she asked. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know the answer."
"Yes, just for a couple of weeks. He's staying at an apartment near here, actually – the white on, just down the road and across from WacDonald's? Room 333. You should drop by and say hi, if you're old friends," the girl replied. Kagome nodded numbly, and let her chair scrape loudly across the tiled floor as she stood. She nearly tripped over her own bag as she headed for the door, her drink forgotten.
Outside, the wind whirled the flakes and stirred the snow already on the ground. Kagome let the door bang shut behind her, staring unseeing at the traffic as it crawled down the street. Her heart beat faster, her hair tumbled carelessly, and she wondered whether she should step left or right. Right was home, left was Inuyasha.
She tried to push all of the questions from her mind by thinking of the boy she foolishly left behind; brash, rude, brave, protective, and a softy at heart – but there was one thing that stubbornly remained.
Why hadn't he ever come to find her?
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Author's Note: Well, there you have it! I worked really hard on this so read and review, please. I'll have the next chapter up soon:)