Chapter 1- A moment's breath
My heart thundered in my ears, my pulse going wild against my neck. I was submerged completely, surrendering myself to it all, along with the odd calmness that accompanied it. My arms slashed with purpose, my legs pumping to a quick pace. It was second too nature to me and I was excellent as it…since unlike most I didn't necessarily harbor the obstruction of breathing. I breathed of course, like all living things do, I just found that it wasn't necessary for me to do it as frequently. I could go at least two minutes (that's as far as I had the balls to push myself) before I felt the need that I had to inhale and replenish my lungs. I was felt like a shark as I tore through the water with an almost predator like vehemence. Kick, Slash, pump, Kick Slash Pump.
My body was fluid, graceful, I was poetry, I was art, and then just as sudden it was over and I was nothing.
Gracefully I rise from the water wiping the liquid out of my scarily pale almost pearlescent silver/blue eyes raising my hands and slicking back the silky midnight black hair (dark as the darkest of nights) that stuck to the pale skin of my face.
"Alright girlies that's enough out of the water, pools closing, though I have to say that if it was up to me I'd keep you here all night. You all look like a bunch of babies out there trying to learn to swim for the first time," Coach Uzumaki growled her wide chest heaving as she blew on her silver whistle. The ring filled the pool and nearly made my ears bleed, I winced and glanced around to see if any of the other girls were having my same problem, but no once again I was alone, they seemed to hardly notice the sound.
It was my second year on Shikon High Schools Varsity Swim team, I was the regional champion and current Aqua Cup Championship First Place Gold medalist. I was first in the school, and region, but on the team I was nobody.
Coach Uzumaki had cornered me one day in the changing room as I was just stepping into the shower (which will probably be the cause of A LOT of therapy later on down the road). Her short cut spiky black hair combined with her square masculine features made me long for at least a robe.
"Listen Higurashi!," she had barked, "I know that your one of those quiet types and all that but listen girl I could really use you as a leader on this team!" I shrunk back from the force of her yelling and the odd sprout of spit that escaped between the gap in her two front teeth. "Umm im very sorry Uzumaki-sensei but I can't-"CAN'T Girl you CAN'T?!" she had yelled stepping towards me, and I guess she saw the slightly wild panicked look on my face (I mean COME ON if Uzumaki-sensei was yelling all passionately and stepping towards 'you' when 'you' only had on a towel you would be panicking too) because she stepped back and raised her hands up as if to say 'Alright I understand, she is a lost cause and therefore I forsake all hope' (though I secretly think it was more of a 'chill for I will not molest you here amongst the shower stalls' sort of gesture), and she gave me sort of a pitying look shook her head and left. I had sighed and after checking that she had indeed left and wasn't somewhere lurking in the shadows I finally took my shower, though I did sort of wish that I was more outgoing. It was like I had two opposite components of me that were battling for control. One side wanted to be wild, passionate, outgoing. The other side wanted to be calm, stoic, and introverted. And the later was always the one that prevailed.
So there I was stepping from the water and onto the cold chilly tile that surrounded the pool. What genius thought of surrounding a pool with tile? Seriously it was like making a popsicle stick out of ice instead of using wood…or something. But it wasn't like I minded, for cold (or any temperature at all now that I think about it) didn't affect me (god what a freak am I?). I followed the herd of giggling dark headed girls into the changing area on the opposite side of the room.
My locker was the beat up red one next to the captains. The whole changing room was done in a coordinating (or so some idiot thought) pattern of blue and red. Every other locker was blue while the other was red, the tile on the floor was a checkered pattern made of red and blue tile (like a checker board except the black spaces were royal blue), blue and red benches, and red and blue shower stalls. It was enough to make any sane person go completely nuts within a few moments.
I opened my locker and pulled out my workout bag as Yuki sauntered up next to her locker with her best friend Eri (and a few hanger-on who hoped to gain popularity by association and therefore followed behind her with a blind devotion-that was thoroughly sickening-at school and even out of school). I don't know I guess the popular people (like celebrities) travel with an entourage.
"You did really well today Yuki-san," One of the girls said. She was a mousy looking chick. I don't remember seeing her before, maybe she was new.
"Shut up Hitomi- you were more than great Yuki-san, you were amazing." Another girl said. She was a junior member…though her name escaped my memory…
"Yeah Atsuki's right Yuki-san…so I heard you were going to Hojo-sempai's party next weekend…" someone else teased.
I glanced at Yuki out of the corner of my eye as I searched through the stuff in my work out bag. Her face was flushed and her eyes were downcast as she fiddled nervously with the end of her lacey frilly white swim suit. "Well…yeah I was invited…" she said embarrassedly. The normal cool and composed Yuki embarrassed?! This Hojo must be something special.
"Oh you are so lucky Yuki, Hojo-sempai is the most popular and handsome boy in the whole school and soon you will be his girlfriend. I hate you your so lucky but I guess I will have to settle with living vicariously through you…oh my little Yuki's all grown up and snagged herself a sexy." Eri teased.
Yuki shrugged and started undressing, and that's were I silently, unnoticeably took my leave. I wasn't as comfortable with nudity as the other girls, blame it on my conservative upbringing but can you blame me? I mean I grew up on a temple for pete's sake.
I slipped silently out of the changing room, out of the pool room, and out of the rec center. The Sakura rec center was were Shikon High School held their swim practices. The sky was pitch black and the street lights were on. And yet this was Tokyo and just because it was a cold windy dark night doesn't mean that there wasn't throngs of people bustling about. Luckily I lived relatively on the outskirts of Tokyo and there wasn't that many people but still…you know.
I walked quietly down the street blending somewhat in the shadows. Another thing separating me from normal (sane) human beings is the fact that I find the night and shadows comforting. I revel in darkness but to most it only provokes fear. I like walking barefoot in the forest at two in the morning when I can't sleep, I love being lulled to sleep by the song of the full bright moon and the chorus of music the wind makes as it whistles through dark shady branches. I am as I previously stated, a weirdo.
The Higurashi Shrine was grand and mismatched. Amongst a quaint neighborhood presented on top of a huge (and when I say huge I mean HUGE) set of stairs was a large magnificent house that was the pride of the Higurashi's. It was a memento of our legacy built back in the feudal ages by my ancestors, who were nobles (or so it was rumored but I suspect that Jii-chan exaggerated a little to attract tourist, you know like how people travel to countries like England and Wales to look at all the boring castles just because royalty lived there). The Higurashi name was one of good standing, but that was all it was-a name. It was like a jewel box made of gold that is completely empty on the inside.
My whole family, supposedly, were made of priests and priestesses who had lived on this land for centuries and took care of the temple that resided here. It all started with my ancestor Midoriko, or something.
So anyway after I had climbed all those stairs I let myself into the house. On the first floor the open hall is flanked by a formal drawing room on the right and a less formally decorated sitting room on the left. A gracefully curving banister leads to the large upper floor hall. There are eight guest rooms, my room, mom's room, and Jii-chan's room. The guest house had long ago been converted into a spiritual relaxation meditation room thingy for Jii-chan. Everyone was, of course, asleep and so I quietly slipped upstairs past all the kooky old antique stuff and into my room. Buyo, the one and only fat lazy cat, was curled asleep on my pillow like he owned the place. I laughed quietly and changed into my pajamas (you know the ones with the moons on them). I eased into the other side careful not to wake his highness (you know that cat is plum evil when he's awakened from his sleep) and drifted off into a peaceful slumber about a silver haired angel.