*chugs drink* All right, I am uninspired. I'm down to my last frappuccino, it's late, just gone done with the swim meet, and I wanna go play video games. But that's okay; I've got my Best of Beethoven Collection Disc II CD in. o.o That is a plus-plus.  So, yeah.

What Happens When the Sun Goes Out

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Ch. Two: Pin-Stripe Painting

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     Kagome rolled onto her right side in her bed, so she could face the window easier. They sky was bloody red and menacing. The shades were partly drawn, so that lines of shadow were cast upon the room and the girl's face, like a pin-stripe painting.

She lay silent under her pink comforter. Her pillow disappeared under a mass of dark hair. Her eyes half open and darkly sullen. She did not move.

"Kagome…?" A familiar voice. It could only be….

"Yes, mom?"

"Kagome, you just…" the woman sighed, exhausted, "haven't been yourself, after what happened,"

"What happened, mom?"

"The… the knife," she choked out, "I know you were going to use it on that girl."

"Oh, was I?"

"Kagome," her Mother leaked out, more forcefully, "don't play dumb. We know you had a little bit of trouble with that girl who had dark eyes."

"And I was going to hurt her. Of course,"

"Why, Kagome? We brought you up so well…"

"…I wasn't going to hurt her, Mother," Kagome whispered.

"Then why was it in your bag?!" her Mother screamed, coming forward from her set place in the frame of the door, fists clenched, "You were always such a sweet child!"

"Ah, but Mother," she paused, "you never gave me a chance to tell you my si—"

"Shut up. Just… stop, Kagome. Ever since this, you've been so unlike yourself. Why? Why?!"

"Because, mom," the dark-haired girl began, "this was something we thought wouldn't happen."

"Ever since your father was taken, you always had this in you. I knew it. I knew it. I did. Please, be yourself, Kagome" her mother began pleading, "be our Kagome again. The one that wouldn't hurt anybody. Our happy, shining Kagome,"

"Mother… if you do not believe me, why be happy and shining?"

Her Mother lingered for a moment, and then left. Kagome was familiar with her family's past, and it had stayed with her. She was so happy and bright when she was younger. And her father was taken, and so many other things had happened.

"I'm going for a walk," she told her bedroom walls. She slipped out from underneath the covers and went to her drawer. She drew a skirt and a sweater from her dresser and undressed, slipping on the new clothes.

She stepped down the stairs and out of the door, without a word to any one.

_

     "Ahh! Yes, I just need a walk, that's all. Depression does not suit me." Kagome walked, almost robotically, down a small path adorned by flowers in Shoji Park, right near her house. It was now Sunday, and the trees were even more colorful than before. Reds, auburns, yellows. It was as if the trees were on fire, burning brightly without heat.

     Since it was colder, she had on her sweater and leg warmers. Old, sure, but they were definitely cute. And effective, as the only thing Kagome had to cover her legs was a knee-length skirt. She was not cold, though. Obviously, she had been through many cold seasons. This one wasn't so bad.

     She continued to walk, hands in sweater pockets, people-watching. There were some people sitting on the grass and having a picnic. Others were playing Frisbee in the field. A boy was playing with his dog. And some people were just relaxing on the benches, watching the leaves turn.

     She stopped walking for a moment, and looked around. It really was a nice day. God forbid she stay in her room, painting the walls with shadow stripes and sleeping the world away. She wryly smiled and picked up her pace again.

     Kagome bent her head down, trying to fight back sadness that had found its way back to the surface. She watched the ground as she walked. Rocks and dirt. On the side of the path, flowers and grass. She walked this for a seeming eternity. Rocks, dirt, flowers, grass, feet.

     Feet?

     That was the last thing she saw before being thrown back and landing on her unsuspecting butt. Kagome gave her a bottom a tender pat and looked to the person whom she had bumped into.

     He was a young man, with pretty skin and the strangest hair she had ever seen. Long and silver, with doggy ears that she felt immediately inclined to touch. He had commanding eyes of a strange color and was wearing his school uniform, so Kagome could tell that he went to a different school than she did.

     "I-I'm so sorry!" Kagome forced out, jumping to her feet and offering a hand to him. He didn't accept it. The boy merely stood up on his own, dusting himself off for a minute, and then looked to her.

     "Watch where you're going next time," he turned his face from her and continued on his set path. Kagome watched him walk away, turning to see him better. She was a little hurt by that retort, and just a little bit angry. She dismissed it after a second, and went on her way.

     'That guy… what a jerk', she thought, as she passed by the Frisbee players. 'True, it was a little more than my fault that we both got knocked down, but I said I was sorry'.

     The girl sighed in exasperation. And realization sunk in, 'ACK. Why? Why can't I get him out of my mind?!'.

     She rubbed her throbbing head and just walked.

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Okay, *bowbowbow* sorry. That was bad. I'll make it better, I swear. u_u;