Shift Chapter One, an inuyasha fanfic

I hope that this would be a better chapter and improvements may be seen. Hopefully the story has morphed into something better.

Summary: Even the most immovable will eventually shift. Change is only definite.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, and I apologize for any similarities.

Special Thanks: To my Beta, filledelmer, and Nyphetamine for the lovely review.

Apologies: To spdsgirl.

Chapter One: At The Beginning

I don't want to get lost, please hold on to my hand tightly.

A lonesome figure stood in the secluded dance studio. Sighing, the figure approached the CD player next to the windows with quick, light steps. Inserting the disc she carried with her, she pressed the play button. As the first bars of music resounded across the room, she readied herself for the moves she was about to execute. Reaching the third count of the music, the figure started carrying out graceful jumps and leaps across the room. Despite the light and airy moves and the upbeat music, one could not help but feel the sadness and lonesomeness that radiated of the petite figure. As the last bars of the music died off, she pulled one last jump before getting into her ending position.

Silence prevailed as the figure collapsed to the floor sobbing. She simply could not do it without him. The feeling she had felt of being unique and special during the time with him had vanished, leaving behind the empty shell she was before. The pain she had felt the first time was nothing in comparison with this. It hurt her worse now than it did before, now that the feeling was again imprinted so freshly in her mind, and she was once more losing it all over again.

She remembered the person who had let her first know the feeling of being in love and later on the pain of heartache. Her first love was rash, at times running headfirst into dangerous situations; it was because of his rashness that any semblance of a relationship had started in the first place. If only he had questioned his decision to initiate the relationship at the beginning, maybe if he had, she would not be in this predicament now. It was too late and she was too tired to play the maybe game- questioning the possibilities and different outcomes. Endless nights had already been spent without sleep and doing so, she was unwilling to waste time doing so now.

The relationship had started out unsteady. The sense of protectiveness she had mistaken for love was nothing more than that of brotherly love. Despite how he had tried his best not to hurt her, she had still been wounded. The ordeal had left her heartbroken and empty. It caused her to view herself as merely a stand-in and replacement. It had also been a blow to her confidence, which was an essential key needed in pursuing her dreams. Although it had seemingly propelled her to excel better, she knew that was not the case. The daily pressure was crushing her; it had mounted up and had eventually suffocated her. The need to achieve perfection was overwhelming and she never seemed capable of achieving it. It fluttered in and out from her finger tips, so close yet so far.

The endless quest for perfection just left her so tired and empty. Her daily routine was to wake up, eat, practice, eat, practice, eat, practice some more and finally collapse in bed from exhaustion. The repetitive cycle of her daily life left her with little chance of contact with anyone, let only her family. A year of such a cycle had left its toll on her, and Sango, a close friend of hers and one of the few that had been in contact with her through email, had finally snapped. Deciding enough was enough; Sango had sat down that day and sent her a rather animated email, making the comparison of a laptop and her. If she recalled correctly, it went along the lines of:

"My wretched laptop needs to be charged every other hour, and I can't even finish a document on the way home before it is running out of battery! How about you? Don't you need to be recharged sometime?"

The rest of the email had been filled with threats and with expletives punctuating every other line. If that had not clued her in, the fact that the email had been in bold and red fonts did. Knowing that it was a rarity for anyone to hear Sango being so uncouth in her language, she understood the seriousness of the situation she was currently in. Limiting herself to little contact with people and closing herself off from contact with her close friends and family had been a stupid thing to do, especially in the time her need for their support was the strongest. She had slowly begun to see the effects of being deprived from the support she so craved. Depression had slowly been taking its hold on her.

Taking a look in the mirror, she saw that the once optimistic girl was no longer there, left behind was a woman hardened and hurt by her last relationship. Eye bags and dark eye rings marred her porcelain complexion, the twinkle in her azure eyes long gone; her lustrous black hair had lost its radiance and was left hanging limply against her shoulders. She decided that it was time to revisit her past and charge her battery, as her friend had recommended.

Defiantly, she had booked a flight back to Tokyo, breaking free from her busy schedule. She was determined to have her long needed rest. She had missed her family dearly, and sorely missed the care and concern they had shown to her. Being brought up in a close-knit family, the inability to see them on a daily basis had been difficult on her. Having a career that had her situated half the world away from her family was tough on her. After all, she thrived from the support of her family, and without them, she was hardly herself. She had only been able to persevere and fulfill her dreams with their help before. Without them there and coaching her in what to do, she was at lost. This was also the reason for her being so out of sorts.

Getting off her flight, she had cleared customs without any problems before she proceeded to the baggage collection corner. She spotted her luggage effortlessly and waited for it to come by on the conveyor belt before picking it up. Exiting the area, she immediately headed to the waiting area, where her family had promised her they would be. She had taken little more than half a step before she saw her brother, Souta, waving enthusiastically and calling out her name loudly. She grinned and waved before quickening her steps. Her mother who was sitting down on the bench instantly stood up when she noticed Kagome's presence; beaming, she enveloped her with a hug. Her grandfather proceeded to tell her he was happy of her return before stuffing another relic in her hand and telling her the purpose of it. "To purify demons," that is what he had said. She smiled before cursing her stupidity for jumping at the chance that would take her away from the one that hurt her so and allow her to have a chance to breathe but yet also away from those she was so close with. Allowing her brother to take the baggage from her hands, the family headed to the car park where their transportation was parked.

Closing her eyes, she savored in the moment as they made their way home in the family car. With her mother driving and her grandfather sitting upfront, Souta was left to sit next to her. He was currently recounting the last sports meet he had, where he had managed to come in first for the track event. She gave a saddened smile as she watched him recount the story with the help of his hands. She had missed an amount of Souta's high school adventures through her own selfish actions.

Much had changed during the past year and she had missed a lot, but she would make up for it all. Her mother's hair had grayed in the past year, and she knew that her grandfather was not as robust as he used to be. As the eldest daughter, she had responsibilities, and she promised herself that she would fulfill them. She was foolish to think only of her own self before, making the decision to relocate mainly based on her own feelings. She knew her family had also needed her to be around yet she had only considered her own needs. It was because of her self-centeredness that they had suffered too. She would not be so selfish again; even a possible meet up with her first love would not daunt her spirits. She was very happy that she had returned to her hometown and to where her family was. She wanted to be around for her family and would be undeterred by the matters of her heart. She knew that her family would be around to support her if she needed them and wanted to be around for them as well, to return the favor. In good spirits from her reunion with her family and the decision she had just made, she smiled brightly before announcing that she would cook for the family the following night. Elated, the little family headed back to the family shrine. She still had a lot of catching up to do over dinner, and to add on to her joyous mood, her mother had just told her that she had cooked Kagome's all time favorite—oden!

It felt as if nothing could spoil the special time she was having with her family, but like in all cases, something would have to go wrong. Exceptions were not to be made, and fates had just decided to stick their hands into her life and interfere with it. Something or rather a certain someone would upset the plans that she had just made. He would make a mess out of her life as likewise she would do with his, and despite all their determination, they would never manage to get their life back into the order it had been before. However, it was this disorder in their life that made it even happier for them than it had been before.

She was not expecting it, but she would be falling into yet another bittersweet relationship again. Her ending, a union between two so contrasting forces was nothing like she would ever envision it to be.

---------------------------------------- To Be Continued ---------------------------------------------

Author's note: Thus concludes this chapter. How come the story was hardly read or let alone reviewed? It left me depressed. I heard it had something to do with the shortness of the first chapter; so since this one is much longer, I hope I get my reviews, so start reviewing. If I get lots of reviews, I'll update much faster instead of waiting a whole month like in the case of this one. A thank you in advance to all who review!

xarisax