Light Pink and Tainted Violet
Chapter 1
Apart from the usual middle school field trip from surrounding wards or the very occasional wannabe History connoisseur, few visitors stumbled upon the Higurashi shrine asking for more than a keychain. When the magic had been lost and tourists had started flooding their red gates, she wasn't sure. Perhaps flooding was an overstatement – ten to twenty souls a day, and considering not nearly half of them made purchases, could barely fill a pot of soup, much less flood it.
The beginning of June had brought along the rainy season and although it didn't make the city any less crowded, not that many were keen on climbing the hundreds of steps leading up to the shrine with water dripping down their backs. It didn't help that Grandpa Higurashi shooed away the ones that would make it to the top but immediately turned to the small makeshift gift shop they had designed and not the shrine itself.
"Grandpa!" she yelled from the door, her left hand no longer attempting to cover her hair from the rain so she could usher the woman in. "Stop harassing our clients! Please, come inside."
The slim figure hesitated before gracefully running to the shop, a flimsy dust rose umbrella covering most of her face. Shaking it dry before stepping in, the young girl flashed her a shy smile while fixing the non-existent wrinkles on her beige trench coat.
"Here, let me take that for you," Kagome said while grabbing the umbrella and setting it aside. "I do apologize about him. He's been getting grumpier ever since stationery and dangos became our main line of business."
The girl laughed. "That's alright. Although I was actually hoping to find some hot tea. Is that the greatest offence that qualifies one to be chased around with a broom?"
"In Grandpa's book, might as well have set the sacred tree on fire," she replied with a smile before turning her attention to the old man standing outside in the rain. "Would you please come inside? The storm is getting worse!"
Sighing loudly, Kagome returned her attention to the girl. "Uhm, I think I'm down to matcha. Would that be okay with you?"
"Oh, no please, I don't mean to trouble you!" the woman held her hand out politely while looking around. "It looked enough like a traditional tea house from afar…"
"No, no, it's alright! This is actually connected to the kitchen. Used to be the entrance but now we just go around through the living room," Kagome explained while opening a sliding door on the left of the counter.
"That's very kind of you but I feel like I'm intruding…"
"I'm inviting you in, I'd hardly call that intruding. Besides, the shop is empty, and I doubt that will change for the remainder of the afternoon," she mused. "Please, have a seat!"
The tall brunette cautiously stepped inside and gracefully sat on the tatami pointed by the other girl. A soft ball of fur suddenly moved from under the table and watched her inquisitively, startling her for a second.
"Oh, sorry, that's Buyo. Grandpa II and my personal pillow," she offered with a smile. "So, matcha? I haven't really bought anything else in a while. Don't really see the point as that's all tourists ask for."
"Oh," the other girl exclaimed while eyeing the overweight cat and tightening her hands around herself. "I wonder why that is."
"Well, my guess is that green is picture-perfect," she shrugged with a laugh.
"So, I'm not the first one you've invited in for a cozy afternoon snack?"
"You are. Though I've had clients inviting themselves in," she giggled at the mortified expression splattered across the young girl's face. "It's alright. Grandpa took care of it."
"The ominous way you just put that doesn't make me less anxious, as harmless as your grandfather appears to be."
Kagome laughed heartily. "Let's just say we have a collection of broken broomsticks that we use to straighten the young trees."
Looking around the place with interest, the girl's dark brown eyes landed on a long string of old family portraits decorating one of the walls. Some seemed to go back hundreds of years and its colors had started to fade. Others were still standing the test of time. Carefully examining them left to right, she noticed one of the most recent ones had been savagely torn, the cuts akin to the shape of a knife that completely disfigured the face once behind them.
"It takes a special kind of lack of manners to actually barge into someone's home like that, but to damage their propriety?"
"Hm?" Kagome turned around with two cups in hand and followed the gaze of the other woman. "Oh, no! Thankfully that wasn't any crazed tea-seeking trespasser. It's been that way for- uh, well, ever since I've known myself, really."
"Thank you," the brunette bowed slightly and took the warm cup with a smile, but the movement made something shift inside her coat.
Before she could compose herself, a small golden-like feline with dark rouge eyes slipped from her coat onto her lap, coming face to face with the fat cat and causing it to jump backwards and hiss.
"Oh- my, who's that?" Kagome put the other cup down and reached under the table for Buyo to attempt to calm it down.
"I- I'm so sorry. I shouldn't – have!"
"No, it's okay," she reassured her calmly. "This guy just isn't all that used to furry company anymore. Though I've always known him as sociable with other animals, so that was odd..."
"Yeah, uhm," the girl fumbled with her hair nervously, a stark contrast to the beautiful creature on her lap that sat gracefully without as much as a sound. "This is Kirara. I r-rescued her, yesterday. She was, uh, stranded. On the side of the road."
Kagome nodded, not wanting to push the matter as it seemed to make the other woman uncomfortable for some reason.
"She's absolutely beautiful. This fella is probably just shy around such a nice-looking lady;" the girl said gently and continued to soothe the tense cat in her arms whose fur had started to spike around its spine. "So, I know her name but I'm yet to be trusted with yours."
The other girl smiled warmly, her demeanor a bit calmer. "Sango. And you are?"
"My name is Kagome," she answered. "And please, make yourself and Kirara comfortable. I'm just gonna put Buyo in the bedroom and save us all a few scratches."
Kagome got up from the mat and quickly skipped upstairs to tuck the cat in its blanket. Coming down a moment later, she found Sango slowly playing with the pink collar around the cat's neck.
"Phew. Now that that's done, would Kirara like a yummy treat?"
Sango smiled. "That's very kind of you."
"No problem," she answered. "I have these fish cakes that Buyo loves. They look like taiyakis but are actually filled with sardine paste."
"Right…" Sango seemed to ponder. "I- uh, I'm actually not that sure she'd like that."
"Oh, okay," Kagome thought for a bit before taking the jar from the aisle. "Well, even if you've just met her yesterday, she looks like a treat girl to me! And it doesn't hurt to try."
"It's not… that," the other girl replied, her nimble pale fingers still playing with the collar.
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked softly.
Sango sighed and looked the other girl in the eye. A cloud of worry seemed to fog her vision for a moment before she unclasped the pink collar. The lean female cat closed her eyes and when they opened up again the dark rouge had been tinted bright ruby, her previously slightly rounded irises sharpened to slits. A once fluffy golden tail split into two even pieces that graciously wagged only once and fell on the floor.
Kagome stood frozen, jar of treats still in hand and mouth agape. Not a minute had gone by and she finally decided to mutter.
"That's a really cool trick."
Sango smiled with uncertainty at the lighthearted joke and petted the small feline's head.
"I didn't find her on the side of the road. She came to me."
Kagome walked over to them and sat down slowly as not to startle Kirara.
"That wasn't an accident," the other girl added. "I had heard of them before. Of creatures that came to you, when you were at your lowest point. When a loved one passed."
Kagome tightened her hands around the ceramic pot, her pulse quickening the slightest. She had heard of them too. It wasn't an ancient tale with nothing but dusty scrolls to prove its authenticity. She had heard recent stories but didn't pay them much mind. But seeing was believing and unless she had been imagining things or her newest friend's cat had been possessed, that was enough for her.
"I'm really sorry," Kagome whispered, coming to her senses on what it meant for Sango to have received such a gift.
"It's okay. It was my boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend, actually. Horrible scumbag that didn't deserve the air he breathed," she continued after breathing in deeply. "He was hit by a car. Hit-and-run," she paused before speaking again. "That wasn't an accident either."
Kagome sat quietly, absorbing the puzzlement that struck the other girl's face.
She decided to skim over the last words and after a minute of pondering how to voice her confusion asked, "I thought it was supposed to be… uhm, well, you don't seem to be all that heart-broken."
"Exactly, I'm not," Sango agreed without hesitation. "That's what I don't understand…"
Kagome listened to the sound of the rain pouring louder and louder outside and was thankful for it for a minute as she had no clue what to say. Deciding that mulling over it wasn't going to get them any answers at the moment, she opened the jar that sat on her lap and offered a small biscuit to the small cat who took it instantly.
"So, were you worrying she was a blood-sucking demon that only ate babies, cow intestines and frog eyes?"
Sango watched Kirara chewing carefully on the biscuit and petted her with a small smile.
"Well… not the intestines…"
Kagome laughed. "Not the intestines."
A clear ring of the bell that sat atop the shop's door alerted them that someone had come inside.
"Well, I better go. Before someone thinks I'm a crazed tea-seeking trespasser and sweeps me out," Sango chuckled.
"Hello?"
Kagome felt her eyebrows furrowing, not recognizing the rough voice coming from the other room.
"A customer? At this hour? Please, just stay and finish your tea! I'll be right back," she declared before shouting a bit louder. "Just a second!"
Flattening her shirt, Kagome skipped to the small shop on the other side of the wall and stretched her smile.
"How can I-" she stopped in her tracks, "…help you?"
Back half-turned to her watching the outside was a tall man with a deep red haori soaked from the rain. Large hands squeezed the water from his long, pitch-black hair much like her own. She had only a second to admire his side profile before his haunting grayish orbs flicked to her, freezing her in place. There was something ethereal about him.
The man seemed taken aback by her appearance. She could have sworn his jaw clenched tightly and he gulped before parting his lips to speak. It felt like an eternity before his eyes lowered and rose back up to greet her again – this time, a beautiful welcoming smile accompanying.
"It's raining cats and dogs, huh?" Kagome joked lightly.
"Yeah, I could swear I stepped on a poodle just now," the stranger's smile grew, perfect pearly whites. "Probably not the best time to look for a keychain, huh?"
Kagome giggled nervously while walking behind the counter. "Did the crazy old man outside change your mind? Because, after climbing up all those steps, I for sure wouldn't let it deter me."
The stranger smiled inquisitively. "Old man? But no, no amount of crazy would do the trick. My niece is visiting, and she has been nagging me for any type of Shikon no Tama memorabilia for days now."
"Right," she nodded with a small smile. "You didn't seem tourist-y at all so coming in asking for that threw me off but I'm glad I'm not losing my touch. Locals usually come for the wagashi or the fans when it's hot."
Smirk still in place, the young man watched her as he took a few steps towards her.
"So?"
Kagome gulped. Although there was still about four feet and a large counter between then, she felt very aware of the handsome stranger.
"So?" she repeated, her hands fidgeting.
"The thing?"
"Thing! Right! Okay, keychain, uhm-" she fumbled with the carton boxes from under the counter and pulled two out. "Here. So, these come in different colors. Light pink and dark violet. Apparently, the original jewel was bright, but it darkened depending on how tainted the soul and wishes of the one holding it."
Inching closer and leaning with his elbows on the counter, the man inspected the pieces. Kagome felt herself leaning backwards, a nervous response to having him so close. She was vaguely aware of him inspecting her before she gathered the courage to raise her gaze to his piercing one.
"I'd say my wishes and desires definitely qualify me for the dark one, wouldn't you say?" he asked, only loud enough for her to hear.
"I- don't really know you so I c-couldn't tell."
He smirked. "Inuyasha. Nice to meet you."
Not knowing why, she felt herself answering immediately, "Kagome."
"You have a name almost as beautiful as you Kagome," he murmured, and she felt her legs trembling.
"The keychain is for your niece though. I doubt she'd like anything but the pure pink one, considering it's a reflection of one's soul," she added.
Inuyasha let a small smirk tug at his lips before laughing. She felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders as the air around her seemed to become much easier to breathe in.
"She'd have my head on a platter, that's for sure," he said. "I'll take one of each so I can switch them when she's being a little demon and get on her nerves."
Kagome suppressed a laugh and grabbed two small decorative boxes to wrap each keychain.
"Say, Kagome?" She heard Sango's voice laced with what she believed to be distress approaching from the other room. "I think Kirara is getting a bit huffy. I think I'll take her home."
The brunette appeared from the behind the sliding door, the small golden cat curled around her arms. The feline looked straight at Inuyasha as soon as they appeared, her soft ears pointing back and her pupils widening. Kagome noticed her small claws extending and a deep guttural yet still quiet sound started emerging from the small creature.
It was strange. The golden cat hadn't batted an eye at herself, or worse, Buyo the whole time she had been there. Yet here she was, ready to claw the living life out of this stranger if she was given the chance.
Kagome's eyes darted to the man before her, his own deep orbs scrutinizing the small feline before looking back at Kagome. He smiled. It was then she noticed the beaded necklace around his neck - and how his smile faltered just the slightest when she gazed at it.
"Thank you very much for the tea," Sango smiled obliviously, placing the exact change on the counter with one hand while the other gripped Kirara firmly.
"No problem," Kagome said with a sincere smile, taking her eyes off the stranger for a second. "I do hope you plan on coming by again."
The other girl nodded with appreciation and headed for the door. "I sure will. That is, if I make it up here again, without being whacked."
Kagome watched Sango pick her rose umbrella up and wave back at her. When she turned around, the image was pretty much like the one from an hour ago. But something was different. Something was missing.
And then it hit her.
She let a few seconds pass by, the words stuck in her throat like hardened glue.
"You…" she restarted guardedly. "You said you didn't see an old man outside?"
Inuyasha glanced over at her quietly. "I did," he agreed.
"But did you see him?"
His eyes seemed to darken, inspecting the young girl with indecipherable interest. He realized there was no point in lying anymore.
"I did."
She felt something crumbling inside her. A broken gasp left her lips and she stumbled from around the counter. Inuyasha grabbed her with inhuman speed before she could reach the door, his arms steel around her wait.
"There's no use. If I'm here, he's not coming back," he stated, eerily calm.
"Don't! Let me go!" she screamed, her fists pounding his chest and head and anywhere they could reach.
She knew he didn't let her go because she had hurt him, it had felt like trying to punch through concrete when she'd touch him, like an unmovable boulder trapping her in. So perhaps it was the pained screech, the mind-numbing headache that made her instantly break into tears that soaked his chest. Perhaps it was neither. Because after a minute or so, he didn't seem to care.
She sprinted out the door, barely able to see the ground under her feet from the rain clouding her vision. Or maybe it was her tears. She wasn't quite sure.
"Grandpa?!" she called out as loud as she could. "Grandpa! Please! Where are you?!"
Roughly wiping her eyes with the back of her sleeves, she looked around desperately.
"Grandpa?!"
There it was. Something dark, on the floor ahead. She ran to him, her teeth drawing blood from her lips from biting too hard while trying to get to him. Kagome practically threw herself on the ground, her hands touching him everywhere, looking for a pulse. She noticed the streams going around him, contouring his lifeless body.
"Grandpa…" she cried, the pain in her chest tearing her from the inside.
It couldn't be…
"I'm sorry."
She shut her eyes as hard as she could, little starts appearing behind them.
He had made it to her side in a millisecond, crouching beside her. She looked at him then, feeling a storm raging inside her at the lack of actual emotion behind his features.
"You knew!" she screamed, her hands curling tightly around his collar. "You knew it was gonna happen! That's why you came!"
"It couldn't be helped. He died of natural causes."
"He could have been taken to a hospital! You knew and you didn't fucking say anything, you fucking monster!"
He let her cry; let her rage on the floor with the sky coming down on them. For how long they sat there, she didn't know. It wasn't like she could see the sun from the sky. But it felt like it had set.
Kagome got on her knees, noticing the fresh scrapes she may have gotten as she stumbled to the ground. Looking at the stranger at her side, she breathed in deeply before raising her hand.
"If I take this off," she muttered after a while, her fingers coming up to curl around the beaded necklace, "will you become someone different?"
She felt his hand removing hers from the necklace and heard the beads dropping to the floor. With her eyes lowered, she could see claws appearing around her wrist before moving to her chin and forcing her to look up at molten gold. Like the sun.
"Only a little."
Hello everyone :)
I haven't written in a really long time but had this idea for a chaptered fic and had to put it out.
Also, please keep in mind English isn't my first language so there may be a few mistakes here and there T.T
Let me know what you think!
-SpookyNoodle