It took her two hours to reach her destination. She couldn't have explained why she kept walking along Route 95, away from the scattered motels, gas stations, and towards that shimmering Oz-like skyline of Vegas in the distance.
She only knew she wanted to be there, inside of the globe of exciting buildings and shapes. Where the lights were numerous and mysteriously winking at her like stars.
The sun was tipped down below the Western Peaks of the red Mountains that surrounded the glittering Oasis.
Her hunger had gone from sharp pangs to grinding distress to a dull ache. She considered stopping for food, to rest, to drink, but there was something therapeutic about walking..one foot in front of the other..her eyes never straying from the tall, shimmering hotels that lie in the distance.
What was it like inside? She wondered. Would everything be glossy and polished, colorful and borderline gaudy?
She imagined an atmosphere of sex and gambling, desperation and triumph, with subtle undertones of seductiveness...
...Men with hard eyes, and women with wild laughter...
She wanted a front two seat for everything. To live and see and experience. She wanted the crowds and their noise, the hot blood and the cold nerves.
Everything.
Everything that was the complete opposite of what she'd had before. Most of all, she wanted to feel- strong, crushing emotions. Towering joys and breathless excitement.
And she'd write about it all, she determined, shifting her messenger bag which was filled with her notebooks and manuscript pages, weighted like a stone. She'd write, tucked in some corner of a room, looking and watching all of it.
Stumbling with exhaustion, she tripped on the curb, then righted herself. The streets were crowded, everyone seemed in a rush, somewhere to go. Even at dusk, the lights of the city winked and gleamed.. beckoning.
Come in, take a chance..roll the dice...
She saw families of tourists—fathers in shorts with legs pink from the unforgiving sun, children with wide eyes, mothers with frantic and overwhelmed looks.
Her own eyes were wide, eyes glazed with fatigue. A man-made volcano erupted in the distance, drawing up a roaring noise of screams and cheers from a crowd who'd gathered to watch.
She watched with a gaping mouth and wide-eyed wonder, as the crowd jostled her around.
Dazed and Dazzled, she wandered aimlessly, gawking at huge sculptures of Greek statues, blinking at absurd neon signs, passing by fountain's that gushed rainbow colored water.
She found wonderland.
It was loud and gaudy and unapologetically adult, and she was lost and fascinated by it all.
Just like Alice.
She found herself standing in front of twin towers, as white as the moon, joined together by a wide curved Bridge with hundreds of windows surrounding the building.
A sea of flowers, both wild and exotic, surrounded the place.
Guarding the entrance to the bridge was enormous —six times Larger than Life— Indian War Chief on a great black wolf-oni.
His face and bare chest were gleaming copper. His warbonnet flowered with winking stones of Reds, amythest, and greens. In his hand, he carried a lance with a diamond bright tip.
'He's so beautiful..' was all Kagome could think. 'So proud and defiant'...
She could have sworn the statues dark eyes were alive and fixed on hers.
Daring her to come closer..to go... inside.. to take her chances.
Kagome stepped into The Tashio on watery legs and swayed against a sudden rush of cool air.
The lobby was immense! The tile floors were a bold geometric pattern of ruby and sapphires that made her head spin.
Cacti and palms grew regally out of pottery urns. Spectacular floral displays adorned with polished tables smelling so sweet that the scent of the lilies brought tears to her eyes. She walked on, amazed by the waterfalls that rushed down the stone walls into ponds filled with bright koi fish...Sparkling lights shimmered from huge crystal and gold chandeliers. The place was a maze of colors and flashes, brighter and more brilliant than any reality she'd ever known or even dreamed of.
There were shops, the offerings in the windows as glittery as the chandeliers. She watched as an elegant brunette debated between two diamond necklaces the way another might consider her choices for vegetables.
Laughter bubbled up in Kagome's throat, forcing her to cover her mouth in order to keep it in. 'Now wasn't the time or place to be noticed,' she warned herself. She didn't belong in such an elite environment.
Machines were everywhere shoulder-to-shoulder with their faces spinning with colors and shapes. People crowded around them, standing sitting on stools, pulling coins from red plastic buckets to feeding busy machines.
She watched, captivated as a woman pressed a red button then wait for the spin to end then screen with the lightest triple black bars lined up in the center. Money poured out into a silver bowl and in musical Rush.
It made Kagome grin.
Here was the place of her dreams.. fun Reckless and impulsive. Here was where possibilities both Grand and small were obtained..and lost.
And it was loud, messy, and hot.
She never gambled before in her entire life—not with money anyway. Money was something to be earned saved, and carefully watched. But her finger slipped into her pocket the last of her crumpled-up bills seem to be pulse with heat against her skin.
'If not now then when?' She thought to herself and another bubbling giggle she could no longer quite control.
'What good was $9.37?' It would buy her a meal she told herself biting her lip. 'But then what?'
Light-headed, with her ears ringing oddly she walked down the aisles, blinking owlishly at people and the machines.
'They were willing to take a chance,' she thought, that's why they were here. So isn't that why she was here?
And then...she saw it.
It's stood alone..big and bright and simply fascinating. The machines face was made up of stylized stars and moons, the handles nearly thick as her arms, and top with a huge, shiny, red ball.
It called itself the 'Tashio Assination'.
JACKPOT! It proclaimed in ruby-red lights that flashed on and off..making her dizzy. Bright-white diamonds dotted along a black strip.
She starred, dazed at the number showing within the blinking lights.
$1,900,79.37
'What an odd amount... Nine Dollars and thirty-seven cents,' she thought again. Whilst fingering the money in her pocket.
Was this a sign..perhaps?
'How much did it cost?' She wondered.
She stepped closer, blinking to clear her wavering vision and struggle to read the rules.
It was a progressive machine, so the numbers would change and grow as players pump their money.
..'Play for a dollar..' she read but that wouldn't get the jackpot even if she lined up the stars and moons on all three lines. To really play, she would need to put in $4, nearly all the money she had left in the world.
Take a chance.. a voice seemed to whisper in her ear.
Don't be foolish this voice was Prim, disapproving, and also way too familiar. You can't throw your money away!
Live a little... there was excitement in the whisper..full of seduction. What are you waiting for?
"I don't know.." she muttered .."And I'm tired of waiting!" She snapped at herself.
Slowly with her eyes fixed on the face of the challenging machine, Kagome dug into her pocket...
A/N:
Next up, Inu! Pretty sure this is just all human with implied supernatural aspects.
Who should be Inu's siblings?
ALSO, I ORIGINALLY WROTE THIS STORY AS A ATTEMPT AT TWILIGHT (BELLA/SETH) CHARACTER PAIRING. THEN SCRAPED IT BECAUSE IT WASN'T WORKING, AND I HATED HOW I PORTRAYED SETH.
Also, I'M ON DOKUGA, WHER THIS SAME EXACT STORY CAN BE FOUND BUT WITH A SESSHOUMARU AND KAGOME PAIRING. AND I NEED FRIENDS.
THANK YOU.