Author's Notes: Here it is; my first Inu Yasha fanfic! Yay! ^_^ Okay, I know I should be working on A HITOKIRI'S REPORT but this idea just kept on bugging me night and day. I should at least get this out of my system before it devours the hell outta me. This first started when I was getting bored during the sermon. Bad girl, I know but don't tell me you don't get bored once in a while. It's an AU and since this is fanfic, the characters are expected to be a bit OOC. ^_^ School's been terrible! I never imagined college to be this umm, what should I say, stressful. Especially math, it's killing my brain cells, I tell you school is bad, it's just a big excuse for people to earn money. Hmph! I'll be stopping my rant now. Here's the fic. Hope you enjoy! Reviews will be greatly appreciated!
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Inu Yasha or Kagome, and I don't think I ever will. Understood? Great!
"..." – Dialogue
'…' - Thoughts
On Holy Grounds
Chapter One: A Bumpy Start
--++OHG++--
"Hey Kagome!"
At the sound of the door's chime Sango Hirakatsu looked up from behind the counter to see her long time best friend Kagome Higurashi enter. She put down the rag she had been using earlier to clean the glass and hung it on the holder.
"What? No costumers yet?"
"Kagome, it's still early, you don't expect people to come until after office hours."
Kagome shrugged and proceeded to the kitchen followed closely by a smiling Sango. She opened the locker she shared with Sango and was surprised to see a small pink box tied with a silver ribbon inside. Beside it was a card that had the words Happy Birthday on the cover. Kagome looked at her friend and beamed.
"Oh Sango you remembered!" Sango was now running out of air; a result of the tight hug Kagome was currently giving her.
"Thank you so much!"
"Come now Kagome, you didn't think I would forget my best friend's birthday easily would you?"
Kagome released her friend and smiled again, this time tilting her head to the right. Sango smiled back.
"Why don't you open it already?" Kagome nodded and reached for the box. She carefully untied the ribbon, afraid of ruining it completely and proceeded to lift the lid. Kagome gasped when she saw the content of the box. The first thing she noticed was the pendant; it was a big sphere crystal. It couldn't be pearl since when she lifted it, it was luminescent. The chain of the necklace was silver and it twinkled whenever the light hit it. Kagome was giddy, she was so happy.
"Sango you're the best! Thanks! It's wonderful!"
Sango leaned on the locker. "I'm glad you liked it, I saw you checking this thing out several times whenever we were shopping. I thought it would be the best thing to give you. Happy birthday Kagome."
The two hugged once again until Sango let go. "You better get changed. Its a few minutes before peak hours and we still need to do some chores the shift before us left undone. I'll be waiting outside okay?"
Kagome nodded. She pulled out her uniform from her locker and went straight to the toilet to change. A few minutes later she emerged out fully clad. Her black shoes were shined. Her uniform was decent looking; it was neither too skimpy nor too conservative. The pink skirt ended an inch or two above her knees and she wore white stockings underneath it. The blouse was also pink, its buttons were white and the baby collar was laced, also colour white, at the edge. She wore a white apron over it that was also laced at the edges. Kagome then walked over to the small mirror that was nailed at the toilet's door. She ran her fingers through her hair several times before tying it with a pink ribbon. She rummaged through her bag again and triumphantly smiled when she saw her make-up kit. She applied a little blush on her face and a little pink lip gloss. The store owner strictly told the employees to wear make-up so that they would not look pale in the light. Satisfied, Kagome went out to join Sango.
"Kagome, help here!"
Sango was balancing a stack of books and was having a hard time doing so. Kagome ran to her aid and cautiously took ten from her. Sango mouthed her thanks and they headed to the bookcase. Kaede, the store owner, liked books so much that there weren't enough space left for it in her small house after a few years of collecting so she decided to bring it to the store instead of giving it away. Though it pained her to do so, it proved to be a good business move since some customers went there to read through her collection almost everyday, of course buying food in the process. Kagome and Sango dusted the shelf first and deposited the books inside. They carefully arranged the books to look orderly and continued dusting some stubborn dust away.
"You know Kagome, sometimes I wonder what Kagura and Kanna are doing during their shift. I mean, they get to man the shop during the morning and that usually means fewer customers but never have I seen the shop in tip top shape when we arrive."
Kagome wrinkled her nose. Ready to sneeze but it never came. She felt her eyes water and felt the urge to sneeze again. This time it came full blast.
"Achooo!"
This earned a heart felt laugh from her friend.
"Quit it Sango! But now that you've mentioned it, I think all Kagura and Kanna does is talk. I couldn't blame them though, they told me that they didn't like this job, I guess that's why."
Sango had an annoyed expression on her face. "Kagome, that's no excuse, even if they hate this they should at least do their part and stop leaving their responsibilities hanging. It's not professional."
Kagome laughed. "What's so funny?"
"Nothing. It's just that when you mentioned professional, you sounded like you were talking about working in an office or something." Kagome stopped her laughter. "But I think you're right Sango, we should tell them that and if they don't listen we'll tell Kaede okay? It's hard enough to work during rush hours and they should really start to behave more professionally right?" Kagome accented the word professional with the quotation mark she gestured with her fingers all the while bearing a silly smile on her face.
"I'll be cleaning the front now. I think you can handle this already and the dust is making my nose sore." Sango nodded her approval and resumed her dusting. On the other hand, Kagome went to the kitchen and took a clean piece of cloth and picked the spray before going outside the shop. It was slightly dark now and that meant rush hour is getting near. She sprayed soapy liquid on the lightly tinted glass front of the shop before wiping it with the cloth she brought with her. The dust and the smoke from the cars and busses weren't helping at all. She was more cautious in cleaning the part where the shop's sticker was put, afraid to tear it off. The coffee shop was named The Bean Hub for obvious reasons and though it was quite new, it already had a reputation for its book collection, quality food, and good looking employees though the girls weren't really aware of this. Young business men often came in numbers just to take a glimpse of the wonderful girls. After minutes of tedious wiping, the front already looked shiny and clean. It even smelled good, Kagome thought. She tucked the spray to the belt designed for it and went inside the hub again to prepare.
Sure enough minutes later, people after people came in, students, business folks and salesladies from the nearby malls occupied the seats of the coffee shop. Kagome and Sango happily greeted everyone that came in. Most of the customers were reading the books Kaede owned while occasionally sipping their coffee. Some high school students were busy talking about Scarlett O' Hara's love life unaware that their voices were a wee bit too high. A guy clad in black was holding Tom Wolfe's book, The Bonfire of the Vanities, at eye level whilst sitting cross legged. The fifty square meter coffee shop was full to the brim now. Everyone had received their orders now and was currently busy doing their thing. Kagome used this opportunity to play the Mozart Effect CD since nobody seemed to need any assistance. The cover said that playing the said CD could reduce stress and tension by moderating heartbeat, blood pressure, and body temperature; it could even raise IQ by focusing attention. What better way to keep the customers relaxed than this? She pushed the play button and almost instantaneously the music played.
--++OHG++--
"Thank God we survived!"
"Yeah, for a minute there I thought we were going to run out of coffee Kagome."
The girls were now busy cleaning up. It had been a very tiring evening for them since the people seemed to flow from nowhere. Cup after cup of coffee were served. The people were happy and chatting – the overall atmosphere was light and welcoming. Sango was in charge of mopping the floor while Kagome was busy clearing the tables and wiping them clean.
"My face muscles are all sore from hours of smiling, gosh, I've never smiled longer than a month of my life put together. I never expected that today was going to be different."
Kagome looked at Sango. "I know, we never had that many before, this is good though, for Kaede that is. Maybe if this continues we'll earn ourselves a raise. What do you think?"
"And earn ourselves more wrinkles more likely. That was really stressful. I know I need a raise, Kohaku and I need money but think about it, if we were to have a raise but have that many customers daily, we'll always work overtime and that means less time to study. It's a really hard situation right Kagome?"
Kagome continued to look at Sango who was still occupied with her mopping. "I don't think mom's gonna like it either. Oh well…" at this Kagome resumed her task.
"There all finished." Kagome clasped her hands together. "Are you sure Kagome?"
"Yup. I've washed all the dishes and you dried them right?" A nod came from Sango. "Hmm… Let's see. I unplugged the appliances, you turned off the lights, I checked the water and you put off the gas tanks."
Sango continued for her. "The chairs are all neat and tidy, the tables are all clean and the food's on the fridge. Yup that's about all of it. Come on, where's the keys? Let's lock this thing."
Kagome rummaged through her bag and gave Sango the shop's keys. Before completely closing it, she activated the security that Kaede had just purchased and taught them to use. With a click, The Bean Hub was closed for the night.
"So where you heading?" Sango asked while adjusting the strap of her blue Converse bag. Kagome smiled at her and with that, she already knew the answer. "Okay, but take care alright? It's past eight and I don't want anything to happen to you okay? You better show up in one piece tomorrow aight?"
"You always say that Sango and I always tell you that I will. Don't worry too much I'll be okay?"
"Sure Kagome. Take care, bye!" Kagome waited till Sango had reached the other side of the road before continuing her routinary walk to the park. She fixed her red Jansport bag so that now it was resting on both her shoulders. When she reached the park the view she saw was the one that she had expected. There were a few people, mostly lovers and small groups of friends out having fun. Kagome shivered. It was getting colder everyday, but it was expected since autumn was manifesting signs of its soon departure. Kagome looked for a vacant bench. It was easy to find one since there were only a few people. It wouldn't hurt if she just sat for a minute right? Her whole body was in pain and she was very tired.
Kagome jerked when she heard loud banging. 'What's going on?' She thought. With another bang, Kagome was brought back to her senses. She quickly looked at her watch. 'Oh no, ten o' clock already? I must have dozed off. Mom's going to kill me.' Another bang, louder this time, caused Kagome to jump from her seat. 'That sure sounds like somebody's trashing the trash can.' With weary steps, Kagome proceeded to the direction of the noise.
"Okay, but take care alright? It's past eight and I don't want anything to happen to you okay? You better show up in one piece tomorrow aight?"
Kagome thought twice before continuing farther. She scanned the area and found hat nobody was within her line of sight now. 'What if it's the frat guys from school? I don't think they would let me go safely if they see me, but I cant hear anyone talking, maybe it's just a dog or something.' After moments of pscyhologizing herself that it would be okay, Kagome hardened her resolve and walked towards the source when she heard a thud followed by a very pained voice.
"You stupid wench! Why didn't you tell me? Fuck it!" Another thud.
Kagome was really scared now. Whoever that person was had to be strong to produce such noise. She also noted that his voice was very burdened and hurt. Whoever that was, he needed help and Kagome was more than willing to offer herself, the only problem now was how in the world is she ever going to get near him if she was so scared? 'Kagome you have to pull yourself together, you wanted this now be a man and face it.' She thought to herself. She quietly paced to the direction of the sound and quickly hid when she saw a tree, about three feet away from her, fall. 'Oh good Lord…' She looked up from behind the boulder and saw a man, dressed in jeans, red shirt and rubber shoes, scratch the tree in front of him.
"You're so damn selfish! Bitch!"
'Who is he talking to?' Kagome asked herself.
Several minutes later, the tree the man was scratching fell. He was shivering and Kagome saw the blood drip from his claws. Wait – claws?!? Kagome mentally screamed. She closed her eyes and shook her head before looking again. She needed to shake off the image first before looking again. She looked at the man carefully, convinced that her eyes were just playing games on her and that there was no way a man could have such sharp claws. But when she did the same sight greeted her. The man was now panting, blood still dripping from his hands. Kagome now understood why the tree fell when it did. A twitch near the man's head caught Kagome's attention – he had dog ears! 'Man, am I dreaming or just crazy? There's no way…' Kagome's thoughts were stopped when he heard a loud howl coming from the man. After which, she saw him punch the ground with his right fist. In the place where his fist was, was now a five meter diameter hole. The man stood from his one foot-kneeling position and tilted his head up. Kagome screamed when she saw that his eye colour changed to a bright red. 'That is no ordinary man.' Kagome thought. She realized her mistake when the thing heard her and began to sniff in her direction. Kagome quickly hid behind the boulder, convinced that she was now out of the thing's sight but the footsteps she heard told her otherwise.
Kagome didn't know what to do; she let her instincts took over. With a rush of adrenaline, she got up from her position and ran to the direction opposite the creature's. She was running so hard that she was thrown a few meters away after her mind registered that her body collided with another. Kagome frightfully looked up and saw the beaming red eyes of the thing she saw despite the darkness. She quickly stood to run away but the thing was in front of her in seconds. She tried to move but its grip on her was too tight. Kagome stopped struggling and noticed that his grip on her lessened too. He was now looking at her, scrutinizing her face and sniffing her scent. Kagome looked away from those red eyes afraid it would burn her if she did. 'This is it, I'm sorry Sango…' A gasp from the creature caused Kagome to look again. His eye colour quickly changed from bright red to gold and he was looking at her with such familiarity.
"Kikyou, you're alive."
Those were the last words Kagome heard from the stranger before he fell unconscious in her arms.
--++OHG++--
Author's Notes:
Whoa! That was nice, finally got it out of me! I feel so relieved. So, what do you think? Was it great? Dull or boring? I think you guys have a lot of questions going on in your minds right now so bring it on! All you have to do is push that little button down there and leave me a review. Flames are accepted just don't be TOO harsh okay? But flames are supposed to be harsh right? Right! Oh well… Just tell me what you think; it will really make my day! Till next chapter!
maybe_marce
^_~