"Above It All"
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha in any way.
Chapter 1
"Hey Kagome!" called two girls from down the hall. The gray walls seemed to make the two girls in their bright green uniforms stand out.
A girl with gray-blue eyes and black hair turned from her locker to look at her two friends. Her black hair laid limply down her back, with stray strands gracing her face. She looked tired and drained after the week of school. "Hey," she replied, a little weakly for her normal 'upbeat' personality.
"It's almost four thirty," stated a girl with a blue headband adorned by a lily-like flower. Her semi-wavy red hair graced over her shoulder accenting the sailor collar white and green shirt. Her green eyes were currently focused down at her watch on her wrist. "School ended at one. How many D's did you get?"
Kagome sighed and rubbed her head. "Three."
Her two friends nodded sadly towards the young girl. Today was the 'short' day, Saturday, and being here till after four meant a long wait for the poor senior. It seemed that all the trouble started when Kagome's mother died seven years ago. No one ever talked about the scandal her mother caused, but that didn't mean that she still wasn't labeled as dirt. Teachers and peers alike treated her poorly, but it seemed that as long as she kept going, everything one day would be all right. Thankfully, her two best friends Ayame, the red head with the headband, and Yuki, the other girl next to Kagome remained by her side.
Yuki actually was quite the looker with her blue-green eyes and short brown hair. All the men wanted to date her, but she never gave them the time of day. Ayame was the brain of the group, always with her nose stuck in a book. Kagome just adored them, though she could never truly be close to them. "I'm glad you guys came back to see if I'm okay and not late."
Her friends smiled. "Yuki is staying over," commented Ayame. "Since I live so close to school we both came. We best hurry, though, Kagome." Her eyes suddenly darkened.
"It's almost five and if we aren't in by five 'they' will get you," stuttered Yuki.
'They" were the Youkai. Here in land of Tsukaige, youkai were known to attack any human outside, after five, when the sunset. It was a common occurrence for a person to be found by the demons after five, and the sights were not pretty. There were always three possible outcomes: rape, torture, or death. These could be found in any number of different combinations, but the results were always horrible. The government did nothing, for this was the way of life for everyone. From dusk till dawn, the demons ruled and when they ruled, anything went. During the day, there was structure and order, where a demon could be executed if he dared to hurt a human. Kagome had always thought it was a screwy system, but kept her mouth shut.
She looked at her watch. She had twenty minutes now, just enough if she ran all the way home. The detentions, or D's, were all deliberately given to her. Why? The people in the school and town wanted her gone because of her mother. Kagome, however, planned to make them all wait a whole lot longer, if she could. Exiting the building she spotted a small crowd of girls to her right. A very pretty girl, who looked amazing like her, appeared to be the leader of the band. The three friends shifted nervously and quickly ducked away from the crowd.
"If Kikyo see you, Kag, you're screwed. She plans to tie you outside so that 'they' can get you," whispered Yuki.
Kagome nodded. "I better run my best then. See you Monday!" With that said, she took off a fast jog over the dexterous grounds, that were starting to shift as the hour grew late. A loud yell behind froze her blood. It was Kikyo's snide voice telling the group to catch the 'whore' and give her the punishment she deserved.
Kagome changed her jog into a full-fledged run. She ran through the gate of the school grounds and pounded down the pavement. A few people were out, but no traffic was upon the roads. She could feel the loud stampede behind her and quickened her legs. Her lungs burned slightly, but then again she was used to running like this. She rounded a corner and up ahead she saw a boy emerge from his home. "Hotoni," she muttered. He was a bully, a prick, and most of all. in the way!
He glanced at the smirking crowd behind the running 'rabbit' and grinned. Without a hesitation in her thoughts, Kagome paused in her running and used her momentum from the abrupt stop to kick Hotoni hard in the stomach. He crumpled to his knees, where she spiral kicked him in the head. Upon her landing stance, she continued running without even looking to see what she had done. She also shoved down her small short victory of finally kicking the bully, but she would celebrate when she made it home. She still, however, had to get to the crossroads, and thus kept her mind focused on that first task.
~~ ~~
A boy sitting in a tree, his black hair forming a halo around his black clothing, sighed inwardly. His purple eyes surveyed the slowly fading day, with a melancholy attitude. It would be night soon, and even for him it would not be safe. This was the sixth town he had traveled to in the last week and it was getting too much for him. He was tired of always having to run, but he still had no place to go. His brother could never take him in and his two parents were both dead; one executed by the humans, the other dying of a broken heart. He sighed inwardly and began to pick himself up from his lazy position.
That was when he spotted a girl in a green school uniform running for her life, it seemed. He watched with amazement at the speed and accuracy the girl used to knock down an obstacle in her path, also known as a boy. A small crowd of girls chased after her, ignoring the poor fallen boy. "Interesting," he muttered. He stood completely up in the tree, noticing his hands were starting to lengthen to claws. "I think I'll see about catching a 'rabbit' tonight." With that thought he leapt into the air, running along the branches of the trees as his hair started turning white.
~~ ~~
The crossroad was near, and Kagome sighed with relief before a slight shuddering of the ground paused her step. She glanced at her watch. "Shoot! The rift if forming!" Pushing herself with the last bit of strength and energy she hurled herself across the road, barely landing on the other side of the street as the rift formed. She waited till the land stopped shifting before rising to her feet. A good ten-foot wide chasm stood between her and the mob. She was safe from them, today.
"Well, whore," called out her look alike, Kikyo. "Looks like you won't suffer the same fate as your mother! Don't worry! Come Monday you're as good as dead!" The girl and crowd laughed before turning around and walking away.
Kagome sighed and looked at her watch. Five more minutes! She cursed and ran down her the street, towards the iron gates of the shrine. She swiftly closed them behind her just as the large town bell struck five. She leaned up against the bars and took several cleansing and steadying breaths.
She had made it again, barely, but now she was safe. As she started to move away from the gate, two clawed hands reached through the bars and grabbed her around the waist. Kagome froze as her back touched the metal bars again.
A soft growling voice murmured next to her ear. "Looks like you broke curfew. Care to take your discipline now?"
~~ ~~
The demon grinned to inwardly at the successful catch of his prey. She had been too naïve for her own good to only pay attention to the weak human crowd. Suddenly, he felt all the fear drain from the girl's scent. He was caught off guard as she also started to relax against the iron-gate. He was so shocked, in fact, that he loosened his hold on her. Before he could realize what happened, the girl burst from his grasp and ran into the shrine house.
He cursed colorfully before leaping over the seven-foot gate in a single bound. He made his way to the door, before changing his mind and jumping on the roof. Ofuda spells were placed at all entrances, but to the demon's eye, he realized they only worked on full youkai. Lucky for him, he just happened to be a hanyou, a half-demon.
He slid open a window and entered a dark, dust covered room. His nose itched as he stirred up the years of dust. This room hasn't been used in at least five years, he noted, and the smell of the boy, who once was here, was now faded to a mere whisper in the wind. Well, he came to several conclusions then. This shrine house was located in the dead zone area, a place marked as the graveyard for many humans. This was where many humans were dragged, tortured, and some even killed by the youkai. It had also once been a battlefield between the humans themselves. It was strange to find a girl living here alone, especially in this dead zone.
He shrugged his shoulders and exited the room, opening the door with the least noise possible. He saw a light in the next room and slid open the door. It was a tatami room. The small house shrine stood in the corner and was lit with candles and incense. He scrunched his nose at the potent jasmine smell of the incense. Four pictures were placed on the mantle piece. An old man, a woman with short brown hair, a man with short black hair, and a boy who looked just like the woman. It was the girl's family. This small, slight insignificant room told him all he needed to know. The she-devil really was left all alone in this world.
He suddenly didn't feel like catching the 'rabbit' anymore. She was probably already wounded too mentally that he probably wouldn't be able to get a rile out of the girl. He enjoyed tormenting people, but to his name he had never seriously harmed any of them. He was a prankster and nothing more, at least to the world of demons.
This girl, though, had appeared to not be afraid of him, courtesy of his handy sense of smell. He was positive that she had lost her fear when he had caught her "Strangely enough," he thought, "She appeared to be more afraid of the humans chasing her than me." It was a sad thing indeed, for a human to fear their own kind more than the creatures of the night.
He proceeded out of the room and continued down the corridor noting the stronger scent of the girl. His clawed hand grabbed the handle to the door and slowly opened. The girl had her back to him, and was currently writing various things, ignoring his presence. He was tempted to say something, when a soft voice cut the silence.
"If you are going to do one, two, or three. I suggest you just get it over with because I have homework to do."
He paused. "One, two, or three? What the hell was she talking about?" muttered the confused brain of the hanyou. "What the hell are you talking about, Wench?" he growled out loud.
The girl shifted slightly and turned around to look at the youkai, her eyes wide with surprise. Youkai and humans alike all had to know what she was talking about since it was a major part of the 'order' of life. One was he was going to kill her, two was torture, and three of course was rape. That was all demons ever did, so why did this one not understand?
She, of course, had never met a demon other than Bakyo seven years ago, courting her mother. He had been different from what she had been led to believe. He was kind and generous and never hurt anyone. He was a youkai, but she learned that a youkai was just like the name of a species, like snakes, rats, or butterflies. There were good and bad to all species, though sadly youkai tended to be bad more times than good.
Finally she noticed why this youkai standing in her room wasn't like most. For one, he had adorable doggy ears perched on top of his head. They were covered in soft white fur that her hand positively itched to pet. True, had long silvery-white hair, a characteristic more readily found in youkai, that was long and wild looking. A scowl was fixed on his face, but his eyes showed his clear confusion. His eyes were where she noted his second difference from youkai. They were a melting warm gold color, with a slight sparkle in them that announced his bad attitude towards life. However, the warmness was something she thought only certain kind creatures could have.
Kagome decided to keep her eyes trained to his face as to not give off the wrong impression to her 'guest.' She had noted by the claws, that she was weaponless as well as weaker, if the form fitting black shirt and pants said anything. The last thing she wanted was to tick off or even set off the youkai. "Ano. you know. one, two, three. Kill, Torture, Rape." She watched in wonder as his eyes widen ever so slightly.
His surprise had doubled by the way the girl had breezily said the three. She could have been talking about the weather for all he cared with the tone she used. He also sensed no fear on her, just mostly confusion and surprise. A human not afraid of a youkai was unheard of. "Then again," he thought, "she must not be afraid of death or at least life didn't matter anymore." He recalled the tatami room with the four photographs, and the deadness of the house. She was alone at home as was she alone in life.
"I'm not interest in any of those things. I'm just looking for a place to stay, wench."
"St-st-stay?" she stuttered, rising from her seat at her desk. What was wrong with sleeping outside like other youkai? "Why?"
He snorted. "Because youkai like to kill things like me."
Kagome paused slightly before her eyes widened even further. She recalled Bakyo and the things she read about youkai in school. They all had pointed ears, like elves. This guy, however, had dog-ears. "You're a. you're a. Half-ling!" Oops. In a flash, the hanyou was at her side with his claws around her neck squeezing slightly.
"Don't say that out loud, bitch!" He hissed. "Youkai have excellent hearing and humans are ignorant fools. Mixing breaks all the codes between humans and youkai!"
Kagome's throat constricted from the pressure around her neck. "I'm. sorry," she gasped out.
"Weak," mumbled the hanyou as he dropped her girl.
She gasped for breath, remaining sprawled on the ground. What was she going to do with him? Better yet, what was he going to do with her? "Umm. I guess. you can. pick. a room," She muttered between breaths. What else could she say? He was stronger, obviously, and she wasn't cruel enough to make the poor hanyou fend for himself out there. "Explains why the ofuda spells didn't work," she muttered to herself. She slowly picked herself up from the ground. Then she turned her back towards the hanyou and returned to her seat at the desk.
"Hey wench, where's the food?"
"You can make it in the kitchen down the hall and to your left, but there isn't much there anymore."
A strong tug on her hair, whipped her head around. The look he gave her could freeze hell in less than a second. "Oh all right, but I can't guarantee there's much down there." She stood up and walked around the hanyou and out the bedroom door. "By the way, I'm Kagome."
The hanyou snorted his derision and mumbled a half hearted reply of, "Inuyasha, wench."
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha in any way.
Chapter 1
"Hey Kagome!" called two girls from down the hall. The gray walls seemed to make the two girls in their bright green uniforms stand out.
A girl with gray-blue eyes and black hair turned from her locker to look at her two friends. Her black hair laid limply down her back, with stray strands gracing her face. She looked tired and drained after the week of school. "Hey," she replied, a little weakly for her normal 'upbeat' personality.
"It's almost four thirty," stated a girl with a blue headband adorned by a lily-like flower. Her semi-wavy red hair graced over her shoulder accenting the sailor collar white and green shirt. Her green eyes were currently focused down at her watch on her wrist. "School ended at one. How many D's did you get?"
Kagome sighed and rubbed her head. "Three."
Her two friends nodded sadly towards the young girl. Today was the 'short' day, Saturday, and being here till after four meant a long wait for the poor senior. It seemed that all the trouble started when Kagome's mother died seven years ago. No one ever talked about the scandal her mother caused, but that didn't mean that she still wasn't labeled as dirt. Teachers and peers alike treated her poorly, but it seemed that as long as she kept going, everything one day would be all right. Thankfully, her two best friends Ayame, the red head with the headband, and Yuki, the other girl next to Kagome remained by her side.
Yuki actually was quite the looker with her blue-green eyes and short brown hair. All the men wanted to date her, but she never gave them the time of day. Ayame was the brain of the group, always with her nose stuck in a book. Kagome just adored them, though she could never truly be close to them. "I'm glad you guys came back to see if I'm okay and not late."
Her friends smiled. "Yuki is staying over," commented Ayame. "Since I live so close to school we both came. We best hurry, though, Kagome." Her eyes suddenly darkened.
"It's almost five and if we aren't in by five 'they' will get you," stuttered Yuki.
'They" were the Youkai. Here in land of Tsukaige, youkai were known to attack any human outside, after five, when the sunset. It was a common occurrence for a person to be found by the demons after five, and the sights were not pretty. There were always three possible outcomes: rape, torture, or death. These could be found in any number of different combinations, but the results were always horrible. The government did nothing, for this was the way of life for everyone. From dusk till dawn, the demons ruled and when they ruled, anything went. During the day, there was structure and order, where a demon could be executed if he dared to hurt a human. Kagome had always thought it was a screwy system, but kept her mouth shut.
She looked at her watch. She had twenty minutes now, just enough if she ran all the way home. The detentions, or D's, were all deliberately given to her. Why? The people in the school and town wanted her gone because of her mother. Kagome, however, planned to make them all wait a whole lot longer, if she could. Exiting the building she spotted a small crowd of girls to her right. A very pretty girl, who looked amazing like her, appeared to be the leader of the band. The three friends shifted nervously and quickly ducked away from the crowd.
"If Kikyo see you, Kag, you're screwed. She plans to tie you outside so that 'they' can get you," whispered Yuki.
Kagome nodded. "I better run my best then. See you Monday!" With that said, she took off a fast jog over the dexterous grounds, that were starting to shift as the hour grew late. A loud yell behind froze her blood. It was Kikyo's snide voice telling the group to catch the 'whore' and give her the punishment she deserved.
Kagome changed her jog into a full-fledged run. She ran through the gate of the school grounds and pounded down the pavement. A few people were out, but no traffic was upon the roads. She could feel the loud stampede behind her and quickened her legs. Her lungs burned slightly, but then again she was used to running like this. She rounded a corner and up ahead she saw a boy emerge from his home. "Hotoni," she muttered. He was a bully, a prick, and most of all. in the way!
He glanced at the smirking crowd behind the running 'rabbit' and grinned. Without a hesitation in her thoughts, Kagome paused in her running and used her momentum from the abrupt stop to kick Hotoni hard in the stomach. He crumpled to his knees, where she spiral kicked him in the head. Upon her landing stance, she continued running without even looking to see what she had done. She also shoved down her small short victory of finally kicking the bully, but she would celebrate when she made it home. She still, however, had to get to the crossroads, and thus kept her mind focused on that first task.
~~ ~~
A boy sitting in a tree, his black hair forming a halo around his black clothing, sighed inwardly. His purple eyes surveyed the slowly fading day, with a melancholy attitude. It would be night soon, and even for him it would not be safe. This was the sixth town he had traveled to in the last week and it was getting too much for him. He was tired of always having to run, but he still had no place to go. His brother could never take him in and his two parents were both dead; one executed by the humans, the other dying of a broken heart. He sighed inwardly and began to pick himself up from his lazy position.
That was when he spotted a girl in a green school uniform running for her life, it seemed. He watched with amazement at the speed and accuracy the girl used to knock down an obstacle in her path, also known as a boy. A small crowd of girls chased after her, ignoring the poor fallen boy. "Interesting," he muttered. He stood completely up in the tree, noticing his hands were starting to lengthen to claws. "I think I'll see about catching a 'rabbit' tonight." With that thought he leapt into the air, running along the branches of the trees as his hair started turning white.
~~ ~~
The crossroad was near, and Kagome sighed with relief before a slight shuddering of the ground paused her step. She glanced at her watch. "Shoot! The rift if forming!" Pushing herself with the last bit of strength and energy she hurled herself across the road, barely landing on the other side of the street as the rift formed. She waited till the land stopped shifting before rising to her feet. A good ten-foot wide chasm stood between her and the mob. She was safe from them, today.
"Well, whore," called out her look alike, Kikyo. "Looks like you won't suffer the same fate as your mother! Don't worry! Come Monday you're as good as dead!" The girl and crowd laughed before turning around and walking away.
Kagome sighed and looked at her watch. Five more minutes! She cursed and ran down her the street, towards the iron gates of the shrine. She swiftly closed them behind her just as the large town bell struck five. She leaned up against the bars and took several cleansing and steadying breaths.
She had made it again, barely, but now she was safe. As she started to move away from the gate, two clawed hands reached through the bars and grabbed her around the waist. Kagome froze as her back touched the metal bars again.
A soft growling voice murmured next to her ear. "Looks like you broke curfew. Care to take your discipline now?"
~~ ~~
The demon grinned to inwardly at the successful catch of his prey. She had been too naïve for her own good to only pay attention to the weak human crowd. Suddenly, he felt all the fear drain from the girl's scent. He was caught off guard as she also started to relax against the iron-gate. He was so shocked, in fact, that he loosened his hold on her. Before he could realize what happened, the girl burst from his grasp and ran into the shrine house.
He cursed colorfully before leaping over the seven-foot gate in a single bound. He made his way to the door, before changing his mind and jumping on the roof. Ofuda spells were placed at all entrances, but to the demon's eye, he realized they only worked on full youkai. Lucky for him, he just happened to be a hanyou, a half-demon.
He slid open a window and entered a dark, dust covered room. His nose itched as he stirred up the years of dust. This room hasn't been used in at least five years, he noted, and the smell of the boy, who once was here, was now faded to a mere whisper in the wind. Well, he came to several conclusions then. This shrine house was located in the dead zone area, a place marked as the graveyard for many humans. This was where many humans were dragged, tortured, and some even killed by the youkai. It had also once been a battlefield between the humans themselves. It was strange to find a girl living here alone, especially in this dead zone.
He shrugged his shoulders and exited the room, opening the door with the least noise possible. He saw a light in the next room and slid open the door. It was a tatami room. The small house shrine stood in the corner and was lit with candles and incense. He scrunched his nose at the potent jasmine smell of the incense. Four pictures were placed on the mantle piece. An old man, a woman with short brown hair, a man with short black hair, and a boy who looked just like the woman. It was the girl's family. This small, slight insignificant room told him all he needed to know. The she-devil really was left all alone in this world.
He suddenly didn't feel like catching the 'rabbit' anymore. She was probably already wounded too mentally that he probably wouldn't be able to get a rile out of the girl. He enjoyed tormenting people, but to his name he had never seriously harmed any of them. He was a prankster and nothing more, at least to the world of demons.
This girl, though, had appeared to not be afraid of him, courtesy of his handy sense of smell. He was positive that she had lost her fear when he had caught her "Strangely enough," he thought, "She appeared to be more afraid of the humans chasing her than me." It was a sad thing indeed, for a human to fear their own kind more than the creatures of the night.
He proceeded out of the room and continued down the corridor noting the stronger scent of the girl. His clawed hand grabbed the handle to the door and slowly opened. The girl had her back to him, and was currently writing various things, ignoring his presence. He was tempted to say something, when a soft voice cut the silence.
"If you are going to do one, two, or three. I suggest you just get it over with because I have homework to do."
He paused. "One, two, or three? What the hell was she talking about?" muttered the confused brain of the hanyou. "What the hell are you talking about, Wench?" he growled out loud.
The girl shifted slightly and turned around to look at the youkai, her eyes wide with surprise. Youkai and humans alike all had to know what she was talking about since it was a major part of the 'order' of life. One was he was going to kill her, two was torture, and three of course was rape. That was all demons ever did, so why did this one not understand?
She, of course, had never met a demon other than Bakyo seven years ago, courting her mother. He had been different from what she had been led to believe. He was kind and generous and never hurt anyone. He was a youkai, but she learned that a youkai was just like the name of a species, like snakes, rats, or butterflies. There were good and bad to all species, though sadly youkai tended to be bad more times than good.
Finally she noticed why this youkai standing in her room wasn't like most. For one, he had adorable doggy ears perched on top of his head. They were covered in soft white fur that her hand positively itched to pet. True, had long silvery-white hair, a characteristic more readily found in youkai, that was long and wild looking. A scowl was fixed on his face, but his eyes showed his clear confusion. His eyes were where she noted his second difference from youkai. They were a melting warm gold color, with a slight sparkle in them that announced his bad attitude towards life. However, the warmness was something she thought only certain kind creatures could have.
Kagome decided to keep her eyes trained to his face as to not give off the wrong impression to her 'guest.' She had noted by the claws, that she was weaponless as well as weaker, if the form fitting black shirt and pants said anything. The last thing she wanted was to tick off or even set off the youkai. "Ano. you know. one, two, three. Kill, Torture, Rape." She watched in wonder as his eyes widen ever so slightly.
His surprise had doubled by the way the girl had breezily said the three. She could have been talking about the weather for all he cared with the tone she used. He also sensed no fear on her, just mostly confusion and surprise. A human not afraid of a youkai was unheard of. "Then again," he thought, "she must not be afraid of death or at least life didn't matter anymore." He recalled the tatami room with the four photographs, and the deadness of the house. She was alone at home as was she alone in life.
"I'm not interest in any of those things. I'm just looking for a place to stay, wench."
"St-st-stay?" she stuttered, rising from her seat at her desk. What was wrong with sleeping outside like other youkai? "Why?"
He snorted. "Because youkai like to kill things like me."
Kagome paused slightly before her eyes widened even further. She recalled Bakyo and the things she read about youkai in school. They all had pointed ears, like elves. This guy, however, had dog-ears. "You're a. you're a. Half-ling!" Oops. In a flash, the hanyou was at her side with his claws around her neck squeezing slightly.
"Don't say that out loud, bitch!" He hissed. "Youkai have excellent hearing and humans are ignorant fools. Mixing breaks all the codes between humans and youkai!"
Kagome's throat constricted from the pressure around her neck. "I'm. sorry," she gasped out.
"Weak," mumbled the hanyou as he dropped her girl.
She gasped for breath, remaining sprawled on the ground. What was she going to do with him? Better yet, what was he going to do with her? "Umm. I guess. you can. pick. a room," She muttered between breaths. What else could she say? He was stronger, obviously, and she wasn't cruel enough to make the poor hanyou fend for himself out there. "Explains why the ofuda spells didn't work," she muttered to herself. She slowly picked herself up from the ground. Then she turned her back towards the hanyou and returned to her seat at the desk.
"Hey wench, where's the food?"
"You can make it in the kitchen down the hall and to your left, but there isn't much there anymore."
A strong tug on her hair, whipped her head around. The look he gave her could freeze hell in less than a second. "Oh all right, but I can't guarantee there's much down there." She stood up and walked around the hanyou and out the bedroom door. "By the way, I'm Kagome."
The hanyou snorted his derision and mumbled a half hearted reply of, "Inuyasha, wench."