Disclaimer: I own myself... I think...
Authors note: I didn't get any reviews for my last chapter... *cries* that's sort of ok... *sniffle* it wasn't the best. But I'd really appreciate one now. You know what, half of the people who have me on author alert, have never reviewed? So how many of you are there, reading this, without saying a word? *sighs* Oh well... anyways, this is a sad chapter, it'll get better though, I still have a few more laughs in store for chapters to come... I just hope you're still planning to read more after this... *gulps*
Chapter seven
~~~~~~~~~~Aki's dreaming~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two weeks earlier.
Aki was sprawled on the couch painting her toe nails roughly. Her frown and slumped stature indicating that she was doing it only out of habit. Tilting her head back she allowed a sigh, before roughly discarding her bottle of red polish on the floor, unconcerned that it would leave a sticky mess on the tiles.
Although there was no one in the family room with her, she could hear her parents distinctly through the wall, separating her from the kitchen.
"Feh, why do we have to talk to 'em? We already know what happened." Inuyasha's gruff reply vibrated through the walls. Aki smirked. Of course her father wouldn't find it important. He's fought youkai on a daily scale... why would he be concerned over a little mishap?
"Inuyasha!" Kagome's sharp tone followed closely, in part hinting her husband to think before he speaks. "Our daughter threatened a..."
"Feh, he was just some boy."
"She was dangling him out of a window!"
"Feh, he had it comin'" Inuyasha's retorted, Aki could almost see him in the back of her mind, crossing his arms, as if daring her mother to protest.
"IT WAS ON THE FOURTH FLOOR!!!" Her mother boomed, a rare occasion indeed. Her eyes would probably be flashing, and her eyebrows twitching. This was normally the point where she would have declared she was going home when they were still searching for the Shikon shards. But now, she was already home...
Aki tensed, and tried to distract herself by tracing her fingers across the flower patterns on the sofa. She growled, despite herself, "Why the hell did I put myself into this damn mess?" glaring at the patterns as if demanding an answer. "Because you're stupid..." she thought for them, and despite her best intentions at control she began tearing at the material, digging her fingers deeply into the cushions.
It wasn't that Aki wanted to fight, she couldn't help the fact that she had inherited phenomenal strength. Nor, that she had strange eyes. Everyone picked on her. She could count her friends on one hand, and sometimes she wondered just how much she could count on them. They may live in the countryside, but rumours are easily spread there. The locals are less forgiving, and worst of all, everyone knows... everyone. There was just no way to explain why her father was so... weird. Even he can't hide his eyes, his white hair, or his claws... in public they're called sharp nails... as not to scare people too much.
It was strange that the only place they were accepted was in the city. But they couldn't live there. It was just too loud, smelly and crowded for Inuyasha. Kagome couldn't live in the feudal era, it would be too hard to just disappear forever without anyone noticing. Someone might believe her family was to blame...
No, they had to compromise. "We have to live here..." Aki thought in dismay.
So caught up in her thoughts, Aki barely noticed her parents enter the room. They looked like they had run a marathon. Red in the face with frustration. Aki felt herself shrink into the cushions, willing herself to disappear. There was an eerie calm surfacing, and she couldn't help but shiver slightly.
"Your ears are drooping." Inuyasha broke the silence, she could almost hear the smirk behind it. Sullenly she braved a look at her parents. Her father was towering over her mother, as if shielding her. His hair was black now, the ears, fangs and claws were gone. It was the night of the new moon. He was still tall and lean, and only the few tell tale wrinkles around his eyes gave away the fact that he had aged at all.
It was her mother that worried her. Her eyes were sunken, making her seem to age faster before her eyes. It was so strange to see her upset, she was normally always just as happy and optimistic as she had been in her youth. But tonight, she seemed to age a decade.
"Akiko," her mother only ever called her that when she was cross, "we have a meeting with your principal, to discuss..." she sighed, "We'll be back in an hour or two, just promise you'll finish your homework, and..." Kagome looked at the spilt polish on the floor, already beginning to dry into a rusty pool of red on the floor, "clean this mess..." if she had noticed the couch she wasn't going to say anything about it.
With that said she turned around and made a grab for the car keys on the counter, opposite the couch. After she left the room, however, her father lingered.
"I don't doubt he deserved it Aki," he began, he opened his mouth to continue his thought, but seemed to decide against it, instead he finished "at least tonight I'm human, and I don't have to go out wearing that damn cap..." Inuyasha, then, gave his daughter a wink and turned to join his wife.
"...I'm sorry..." Aki whispered to their retreating forms, as tears began to well up behind her eyes. The hum of the car engine had started, she could hear them real it away. And even though they were gone, all she could do was contemplate as she gazed onto that crimson stain, that would surely never come out.
~~~~~~~~~~End of dream~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aki, jolted up with a start and swallowed hard. Holding back her tears. "It's all my fault... damn it..." She had been dreaming about that day...
Of all the nights Inuyasha had to be human, when he was weak. They had been on their way back when they had been hit straight on with a pick up truck on the highway. They didn't have a chance... If only he had been in his hanyou form, he could have slipped past. But no. Their car had been totalled, crushing its occupants with brutal force.
Inuyasha and Kagome would never come home again. They'd leave their only daughter waiting throughout the night, puffy eyed and distressed, scrubbing that blasted stain off of the tiles, as people filed in, trying to console her.
That was it. Reliving past events can really be one of the hardest things a person can do. And once again, Aki fell into a tyrant of tears, flooding fresh wounds that may never heal. She dug her fingers into the packed earth on the floor, snaking then in further and further until they were buried.
Some time later, Aki resolved in silence between gasps, "I can fix this."
And with that said, she freed her fingers from the abused earth and curled herself into a ball. It wasn't long before she fell back into her fitful slumber.
Authors note: Hmm... it's a wonder Kaede didn't wake up... or did she? Well, now you know what Aki is doing in the past. I had Inuyasha and Kagome killed... don't flame me! ARG! Actually, flame away, I don't care, it would be a sin not to review... I need to know what you think. And if there are any questions about the story. I may be able to clear some points out if you're confused.
Authors note: I didn't get any reviews for my last chapter... *cries* that's sort of ok... *sniffle* it wasn't the best. But I'd really appreciate one now. You know what, half of the people who have me on author alert, have never reviewed? So how many of you are there, reading this, without saying a word? *sighs* Oh well... anyways, this is a sad chapter, it'll get better though, I still have a few more laughs in store for chapters to come... I just hope you're still planning to read more after this... *gulps*
Chapter seven
~~~~~~~~~~Aki's dreaming~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Two weeks earlier.
Aki was sprawled on the couch painting her toe nails roughly. Her frown and slumped stature indicating that she was doing it only out of habit. Tilting her head back she allowed a sigh, before roughly discarding her bottle of red polish on the floor, unconcerned that it would leave a sticky mess on the tiles.
Although there was no one in the family room with her, she could hear her parents distinctly through the wall, separating her from the kitchen.
"Feh, why do we have to talk to 'em? We already know what happened." Inuyasha's gruff reply vibrated through the walls. Aki smirked. Of course her father wouldn't find it important. He's fought youkai on a daily scale... why would he be concerned over a little mishap?
"Inuyasha!" Kagome's sharp tone followed closely, in part hinting her husband to think before he speaks. "Our daughter threatened a..."
"Feh, he was just some boy."
"She was dangling him out of a window!"
"Feh, he had it comin'" Inuyasha's retorted, Aki could almost see him in the back of her mind, crossing his arms, as if daring her mother to protest.
"IT WAS ON THE FOURTH FLOOR!!!" Her mother boomed, a rare occasion indeed. Her eyes would probably be flashing, and her eyebrows twitching. This was normally the point where she would have declared she was going home when they were still searching for the Shikon shards. But now, she was already home...
Aki tensed, and tried to distract herself by tracing her fingers across the flower patterns on the sofa. She growled, despite herself, "Why the hell did I put myself into this damn mess?" glaring at the patterns as if demanding an answer. "Because you're stupid..." she thought for them, and despite her best intentions at control she began tearing at the material, digging her fingers deeply into the cushions.
It wasn't that Aki wanted to fight, she couldn't help the fact that she had inherited phenomenal strength. Nor, that she had strange eyes. Everyone picked on her. She could count her friends on one hand, and sometimes she wondered just how much she could count on them. They may live in the countryside, but rumours are easily spread there. The locals are less forgiving, and worst of all, everyone knows... everyone. There was just no way to explain why her father was so... weird. Even he can't hide his eyes, his white hair, or his claws... in public they're called sharp nails... as not to scare people too much.
It was strange that the only place they were accepted was in the city. But they couldn't live there. It was just too loud, smelly and crowded for Inuyasha. Kagome couldn't live in the feudal era, it would be too hard to just disappear forever without anyone noticing. Someone might believe her family was to blame...
No, they had to compromise. "We have to live here..." Aki thought in dismay.
So caught up in her thoughts, Aki barely noticed her parents enter the room. They looked like they had run a marathon. Red in the face with frustration. Aki felt herself shrink into the cushions, willing herself to disappear. There was an eerie calm surfacing, and she couldn't help but shiver slightly.
"Your ears are drooping." Inuyasha broke the silence, she could almost hear the smirk behind it. Sullenly she braved a look at her parents. Her father was towering over her mother, as if shielding her. His hair was black now, the ears, fangs and claws were gone. It was the night of the new moon. He was still tall and lean, and only the few tell tale wrinkles around his eyes gave away the fact that he had aged at all.
It was her mother that worried her. Her eyes were sunken, making her seem to age faster before her eyes. It was so strange to see her upset, she was normally always just as happy and optimistic as she had been in her youth. But tonight, she seemed to age a decade.
"Akiko," her mother only ever called her that when she was cross, "we have a meeting with your principal, to discuss..." she sighed, "We'll be back in an hour or two, just promise you'll finish your homework, and..." Kagome looked at the spilt polish on the floor, already beginning to dry into a rusty pool of red on the floor, "clean this mess..." if she had noticed the couch she wasn't going to say anything about it.
With that said she turned around and made a grab for the car keys on the counter, opposite the couch. After she left the room, however, her father lingered.
"I don't doubt he deserved it Aki," he began, he opened his mouth to continue his thought, but seemed to decide against it, instead he finished "at least tonight I'm human, and I don't have to go out wearing that damn cap..." Inuyasha, then, gave his daughter a wink and turned to join his wife.
"...I'm sorry..." Aki whispered to their retreating forms, as tears began to well up behind her eyes. The hum of the car engine had started, she could hear them real it away. And even though they were gone, all she could do was contemplate as she gazed onto that crimson stain, that would surely never come out.
~~~~~~~~~~End of dream~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aki, jolted up with a start and swallowed hard. Holding back her tears. "It's all my fault... damn it..." She had been dreaming about that day...
Of all the nights Inuyasha had to be human, when he was weak. They had been on their way back when they had been hit straight on with a pick up truck on the highway. They didn't have a chance... If only he had been in his hanyou form, he could have slipped past. But no. Their car had been totalled, crushing its occupants with brutal force.
Inuyasha and Kagome would never come home again. They'd leave their only daughter waiting throughout the night, puffy eyed and distressed, scrubbing that blasted stain off of the tiles, as people filed in, trying to console her.
That was it. Reliving past events can really be one of the hardest things a person can do. And once again, Aki fell into a tyrant of tears, flooding fresh wounds that may never heal. She dug her fingers into the packed earth on the floor, snaking then in further and further until they were buried.
Some time later, Aki resolved in silence between gasps, "I can fix this."
And with that said, she freed her fingers from the abused earth and curled herself into a ball. It wasn't long before she fell back into her fitful slumber.
Authors note: Hmm... it's a wonder Kaede didn't wake up... or did she? Well, now you know what Aki is doing in the past. I had Inuyasha and Kagome killed... don't flame me! ARG! Actually, flame away, I don't care, it would be a sin not to review... I need to know what you think. And if there are any questions about the story. I may be able to clear some points out if you're confused.