Chapter 1: The Calling
3rd Person POV
A 17-year-old Kagome Higurashi walked around a crowded room that was filled to the brim with relatives and friends. Crisp chats and laughing could be heard, filling the room with an undistinguishable static noise.
It was Kagome's graduation party. Her life up to this point had been normal and relatively surprise-free. She lived a simple life with her mother, grandfather and younger brother Souta, but today, it was her last day as a simple teenager. Within the next few weeks, she would be headed to the states to start her new life. A life that she couldn't decide if she even wanted yet.
She had been accepted to Harvard University and it was not an opportunity that her family was willing to pass up. So hours and hours of hard work and tears later, she had finally managed to scrounge up enough money to last her through the first semester, and hopefully, that would be enough time to get some grants or merits to make it through her Folklore and Mythology degree.
She wandered around the room, smiling and shaking hands, accepting the praises and the tears. This is how it had been for the prodigy's entire life. She had done more than most, acing entrance exams and managing to make it into Harvard on her first attempt. People envied her, and to be quite honest she hated it. She didn't enjoy the endless admiration over what she had accomplished she did what she did because she enjoyed it, not because she thought it would please anyone. Her mother had always pushed her to pursue what she wanted to do, not to follow what everyone else wanted. Her mother was her rock in everything that she did and was her greatest role model. It was because of her mother that she selected the rather unethical degree field.
Kagome enjoyed mythology and all things that were associated with it, the tales of demons and everything else that goes bump in the night. She had spent her entire life learning about them, about the tales that surrounded them. Growing up on a shrine made her treasure these tales, and they fueled her want to study them and their origins.
After a while walking around the crowded room started to put a strain on Kagome. She felt the weight of the day push down on her, and it was almost too much to handle. She had never been a crowd person, and this was far too much social interaction for one day.
She silently stepping out of the building, a sigh on her lips, for some much-needed fresh air. The cool early spring breeze ghosted along her skin, bringing goosebumps to her arms. She absentmindedly rubbed them away smiling at the, for once, clear Tokyo sky. The crowded city drew away from the peace that she desperately wished for, the streets were filled with people, rushing to get to their destination, taking no time to look around them and to enjoy the subtle beauty that was Tokyo during spring. No one seemed to be able to see anything but what was in front of them, they didn't have time to watch the cherry blossoms fall or listen to the soft hum of the cicadas on the wind.
"Hurry up and wait," Kagome stated in a hushed mumble to no one in particular. She sighed before smiling, ignoring the cluttered city for a few minutes longer, not wanting to have to go back into an even more crowded area. She wasn't ready to face the music, wasn't ready to move on to this new chapter of her life. It felt off in a way that she couldn't place like this wasn't her destiny. She brought her right hand up to her nose, pinching the bridge softly.
This was no way for her to be thinking, after all the work she put in, all of the hours she spent studying. She couldn't just give it up now, she was so close. She turned softly towards the building once again, pushing down her concern. She reached for the door handle, the metal sent a chill straight to her spine, a shiver took over her body.
It was then that a small pulse warmed her cold bones, keeping her from opening the heavy door. She stood for a moment, questioning what could have caused such a reaction.
Kagome glanced up at the once blue sky that was now slowly going grey with what looked like storm clouds, the sun too covered to warm her up in the way the pulse did. The pulse wasn't anything that she had felt before. It was like the gentle brush of her mother's hand against her cheek, pulling her attention to it. It was warm and very, instinctual, and something deep inside of her was dancing along with the subtle warmth as if telling her to follow the odd energy. The wind picked up slightly and those on the streets picked up their pace to get out of the shifting weather.
She was hit with another pulse, this one stronger than before and it drew her attention sharply to her left. It felt helpless like someone was calling out for help begging to be rescued. The change made her flinch, her body reflexively turning slightly towards the odd feeling. Kagome released the handle in the next instant, walking down the stairs and towards whatever was drawing her in, her instincts telling her that someone was in danger, that someone needed her help. She had never been one to sit silently while someone was being hurt, not if she could help it. That fact often got her into fights she shouldn't be a part of, but it was in her nature to stand up for people and to care for people. She knew it was silly to walk away from her party, from the people who were expecting her presence, but she couldn't find it in her to walk away from whatever was calling to her.
She could be far too trusting sometimes.
She continued to walk towards the ever-growing pulse, the weather continuing to worsen as she walked. It gradually grew from a soft drizzle to a hard downpour. The rain was harsh and freezing, pelting her as she paced towards her goal. She could absentmindedly feel people occasionally bump into her, muttering insincere apologies before scurrying on their way, trying to find shelter from the surprise storm.
She came to a stop at the base of a long set of familiar stairs. The grand set leading up to her home, to the shrine. The pulse was louder here than anywhere else, and she knew her destination was just out of reach. For a moment she hesitated, such an odd thing that whatever was calling to her would lead her home. She didn't take the first step up the long flight of stairs but instead stayed planted at the bottom, betraying her heart by not investigating the increasingly devastated pulses. A spark rose up inside her, ancient and pure, something that she did not realize was there until it had nearly slapped her in the face, an ancient power that was calling out to the one in need. She sucked in a harsh breath, bringing her hand up to her chest as if trying to subdue the feeling. Her mouth set in a solid line, her eyes narrowing at the stairs as though she just realized where she was.
'This is ridiculous, everyone is going to wonder where I am if I'm not back soon,' she thought agitatedly, her body swaying to turn in the other direction. Whatever brought her here would have to wait. She took her first step away from the stairs, her heart aching as she followed through with the motion.
She heard it then, the thunderous crack of someone's spirit, the pure emotion of the pulse bringing her to her knees. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. Whatever was inside of her bound up, pushing her almost as hard as the pulse did, it wanted to help. Her instincts wanted to help, and Kagome would learn to listen to them.
Kagome didn't even glance in the direction of her party as she bound up to her feet, gliding up the stairs in long strides. The wet steps added to her already unfortunate clumsiness causing her to fall forward as she reached the top, scraping the palms of her hands and her knees on the impact. She continued going, jumping to her feet, practically flying towards the source of her madness. In front of the bone eaters well was where she found herself stopped, the normally locked doors were blown open and hitting the sides of the shrine roughly from the hard wind. The well house was in shambles, but there was no doubt about it, the pulse was strongest here.
Her breathing was heavy as she hesitantly walked forward and down the stairs of the well house until she was standing directly in front of the very open well. The holy seals that her grandfather had placed were burned to a crisp, some hanging from the edge of the well, barely holding on. The cover was nowhere to be seen. Her hand reached out and touched the rim of the well, and the pulsing stopped, instead now replaced by a soft hum as if the well was encouraging her. She narrowed her eyes in confusion, questioning why she had been brought here of all places. She went to remove her hand but the well reacted in an almost violent matter, the sheer energy of it holding her hand firmly on its surface.
"What do you want me to do?" She asked out loud, not expecting the answer she received or any answer for that matter. But the well spoke, in a way, it persuaded her to sit on its rim with gentle pulls on her limbs, her legs facing inward towards the center of the well. The message it had been trying to send now quite clear.
Jump.
Kagome sat in shock, unable to comprehend what was happening, how she had gone from completely normal to being dragged around by an inanimate object like she was the new favorite toy. The well pulsed urgently, advising her to continue moving, whatever it wanted her to do had to be done soon. She could feel the distress of not only it, but whatever was awaiting her at the bottom of this well. It called to her, to whatever was inside of her, begging to be rescued. At that moment her mind was set.
"Please don't let this all be a dream. Dying at the bottom of a sadistic well is not how I imagine myself passing on." She murmured to herself before closing her eyes. Her hands gripped the aged wood as she leaned forward just enough to see down the well through slightly cracked eyes, complete darkness awaited her. She gulped back her fears, slamming her eyes shut once again before settling her resolve, and jumping into the darkness.
Authors Note: Doing some updates, if you're new to the story don't worry, I didn't change anything drastic! If you have read it before you will probably notice some grammatical fixes and a few plot holes plugged. Je t'aime my lovelies~