Fall to Pieces

Chapter One

AN: Here it is, folks: Chapter One! I also spruced up the first chapter, and added a disclaimer (I noticed I forgot that the first time around). Sorry, mates. If you absolutely need to know it's there (for whatever reason), go back and check it out. That disclaimer will apply for the rest of the fic, so I don't have to write it over and over and over and over again.

Also, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reviewed this story (really only one person, but whatever). You have no idea what that means to me.

Laurell-chan—I'm hoping that's the case. Maybe once I get more chapters, people will come around, they don't know what they're missing! I've gotten reviews for my other story, but this one just made me feel…special. Lol. Thank you so much! Inuyasha seems a bit happier in this chapter than he did in the last, but if you look closely, you'll notice that it's all just a front. Or, well, I hope you can tell that it is…Thanks again!

Alrighty, I know no one reads these; I'm gone. Have fun, kiddies!


He was having a nightmare again. He knew it was only a dream, and yet he made no effort to rouse himself. It was a dream that had plagued him since he was a small child. Even though he had that dream countless times, it still managed to frighten him every night he had it.

He was running. Where to, he couldn't tell you. It was dark out and the rain beat down upon his body like tiny bullets. One minute he was in his old neighborhood, and the next he was surrounded by trees in a great forest. Something was chasing him, he wasn't sure what it was, but he knew that he didn't want to be caught by it.

Pumping his legs as fast as they would go, he dashed between the trees, trying to outrun whatever was chasing him. All he could hear was the fast paced beating of his heart and the wind whipping around him. There was a break in the trees up ahead, if only he could go faster he might just make it.

He jumped high above the tree line, keeping an eye out for the enemy. If only he could reach that break in the trees, then he would be safe.

The next thing he knew a mass of energy was headed right for him. The last thing he saw was a flash of silver.


Inuyasha shot up from bed, panting for air and reaching out for something to hold on to. A wave of exhaustion slammed into him, as if forcing him back to sleep. Reaching over and turning on the lamp by his bedside, Inuyasha scanned the room for any intruders.

This was a nightly ritual for Inuyasha. The dream was relenting and it never seemed to stop. Every night he would get closer and closer to that clearing at the end of the forest, but he would always get struck down before he reached it. It seemed like his subconscious was mocking him, giving him a taste of tranquility before ripping it away again. Shaking off the fatigue that overwhelmed him for fear of returning to that dream, he stood up and headed for the bathroom down the hall.

The bathroom was small and he barely had enough room to turn around without bumping into something. A small bathtub sat against the wall with a torn shower curtain fighting to hang on to its hinges, mold creeping up in the corners and in between the tile. A yellow light flicked on an off overhead, several dead flies and other bugs caught underneath the glass. There was an old toilet in the corner by the window, chipped and leaking blue water in the back.

Inuyasha walked over to the sink and turned on the cold water. The faucet shook for a moment and moaned in protest before spewing out a sickening yellow/brown liquid. He waited for a few seconds and the water began to run clear again. Splashing the cold water onto his face, he sighed in relief, knowing that he was saved from going back to sleep.

'God, I need to get out of here,' he thought to himself, shutting off the water and heading downstairs.

All of the lights were out in the house, making it look even more abandoned than it already felt. The floorboards creaked as he made his way into the kitchen in search of something to smother the rumbling in his stomach. He steered clear of the refrigerator, knowing that it was always empty, and headed straight for the cupboards.

All he found was a bag of chips past their date and a jar of pickles. Noticing a few non-appetizing things floating around in the pickle jar, he decided to go with the chips. The bag crunched as he opened it, and he briefly feared his mother waking up. That would not be good.

The chips were stale, but they were better than nothing. He quickly glanced over at the small digital clock on top of the microwave, and grumbled when he saw what time it was. The sun would be rising soon, and he had to get to school.

School was a diversion for him. He didn't go to learn, like all of the other kids he knew. Rather, he went to give himself a feeling of normalcy. When he was in school, he could pretend that everything was all right. He could imagine that his father was still alive, that his mother wasn't at home drinking herself to death, that his brother was still home…

When he was at school, he could pretend he was like everyone else.

Not bothering to change his clothes from the night before, Inuyasha grabbed his backpack from the base of the stairwell and headed for the door. Before stepping out, she turned around and looked back at his mom, who was still passed out on the couch. Staring at her, passed out like that, he felt a tugging at his heartstrings. He loved his mom, he always would, but something just weren't the way they used to be.


Inuyasha walked to school every day. It had been that way since before he could remember. He always enjoyed the feeling of independence, even as a small child. It made him feel responsible and grown up. Now, he didn't have a choice but walk.

The buses stopped running several blocks from his house. The school board claims that it's because there weren't enough students on that side of town, but Inuyasha knew that the driver's were too afraid to venture down these streets. It was a fairly long walk, so he made sure to leave at least an hour and a half before the school bell, just in case he ran into trouble along the way.

Today was different though. He left with the sunrise, and he had plenty of time to get to school. There was no rush, and that was just the way he liked it. It took a good twenty minutes just to get out of his neighborhood on foot, and the school was another forty from there.

To his left, generic model homes were lined together, practically on top of each other. There was no room for front yards and the aluminum siding was peeling off on each one. Every house looked exactly the same. Every house looked exactly like his house. On the other side of the street there was an empty field. It showed signs of once being grassy and prosperous, but was now covered in trash and heaps of car parts. Landfills looked more sanitary.

Turning on the corner of Hampshire and Crawly Street, he sighed when he saw a large mass of black clouds in the distance. Why he didn't notice them earlier was beyond him.

'Great, just what I need,' he thought as he continued he trek towards the schoolhouse. It wasn't long before the rain started falling, drenching his already dirty clothes and causing his hair to stick to his head. The feeling of fabric clinging to his body made him want to vomit, but he did his best to ignore it and kept walking.

It was times like this when he wished he could afford the simpler things in life; like an umbrella. Something so simple would make him so happy right now. He didn't necessarily mind the rain—it had an almost soothing effect on his tired body. What he really hated was what came after the rain. He would be forced to sit for hours in a school building with damp clothing on. And even when they were dry, they felt crisp and had an old texture to them. He hated that feeling.


Math had always been an easy subject for Inuyasha. He excelled in it like nobody's business. When he was younger, his parents thought he was some kind of prodigy. That dream was crushed quickly, though. This year he started an advanced math class, something his teachers had pleaded him to do for ages. After he realized that he was the only one with an A in calculus, he decided that maybe it wasn't such a bad idea after all.

The math equations gave him something to set his mind to. It gave him a distraction from the rest of the world. All he had to do was focus on the numbers and symbols, and everything else would immediately fade away. His teacher once told him that he was smart enough to earn a scholarship, but Inuyasha always refused.

Even though he wanted to escape, he knew that he could never leave. He couldn't abandon his mom, no matter how angry she made him. Everyone else left her behind, and it would break her heart to watch the one person she had left leave. He knew the odds of getting a good job without a college education were slim-to-none, but he would have to go with what he got. This was his home, and he couldn't imagine a life outside of his badly maintained town.

The school bell rang, pulling Inuyasha from his thoughts and drawing his attention to the clock above the door. The day had gone by so fast—it was already lunchtime. Grabbing his textbook and heading for the door, Inuyasha quickly searched out the one person he hung out with during school hours.

Miroku was leaning up against his locker, trying to sweet-talk some girl into doing something she probably didn't want to do. Wondering whether he should interrupt his friend or not, and quickly deciding that he probably had to interrupt him before he took thinks too far, Inuyasha walked in between him and the girl.

"What's up, pervert?" He asked with a smile playing on the end of his lips. He loved annoying Miroku, and did it as often as humanly possible.

"Inuyasha, buddy, no need for the bad names. We're in the presence of a lady," Miroku blushed, trying to recover from the insult.

"What's he trying to get you to do?" Inuyasha asked the girl. She gave him a knowing smile before walking off. "Let's get down to the lunch room before all the food's gone."

"Why did you do that?" Miroku asked with an incredulous look on his face. "Did you see her? She was a total hottie, and you just ruined my chances with her!"

"Don't worry," Inuyasha reassured. "It wasn't me who ruined your chances with her."

"What's that supposed to mean? It was you who made her leave!"

"About time, too, I was getting hungry." Inuyasha said nonchalantly, walking in the direction of the cafeteria. Miroku stood there for a moment, stunned and not knowing what to do, before running to catch up to Inuyasha's retreating form. "What took ya so long?" he asked when Miroku reached his side.

"Shut up." They continued walking for a few moments, for the cafeteria was in another wing of the school. "So, what did you do this weekend, Mr. Grumpy Pants?"

"Mr. Grumpy Pants? How'd you think that oh-so-clever one up?" Inuyasha laughed but continued when Miroku shot him a dirty look. "I didn't do too much. You know, watched some TV, did some homework...You?"

How Inuyasha wished that were true. In actuality, he didn't even own a TV. After his father died, his mother still refused to get a job. At first she said she couldn't hold one because she was still grieving. But now he knows it was because she was slowly slipping into alcoholism. They were currently living off of the welfare that the government provided, which was barely enough to get by.

Miroku knew nothing of Inuyasha's living conditions. He never invited him over and he never hung out with him after school. A few times he asked about Inuyasha's seemingly perpetual supply of dirty clothes, but Inuyasha would always laugh it off and change the subject.

"The usual, hit on a few chicks, played some poker with the boys, stuff like that." He paused for a moment, thinking about something. "Why don't you ever play with us man? I bet you have a wicked poker face."

"Nah, gambling's not my thing." Truth was, he didn't have the money to gamble away, but Miroku didn't need to know about that.

"You should still stop by sometime, it'll be a blast," Miroku insisted.

"Maybe."

"Hey, did you hear about that new girl we're supposed to be getting?" That was the thing about Miroku; he had a way of jumping from one subject to another. Inuyasha blamed it on ADD, but Miroku insisted that there was nothing wrong and that he was rushing to conclusions.

"No, where's she moving from?" Inuyasha asked, actually wanting to know. He wasn't part of the popular crowd, and he rarely picked up on rumors before they became fact.

"All the way from Japan. Can you believe that?" He went on to describe all of the things he liked about Japan and mentioned something about Kabuki girls. Inuyasha wasn't really listening, he was thinking about the new girl herself.

'I wonder what she looks like,' he thought.

"I bet she's totally hott," Miroku was obviously back to the subject of the new girl, also. Inuyasha just rolled his eyes, Miroku was known for being a total letch.

"Come on, lunch is waiting for us."


AN: There you have it! Chapter One! It's just kind of a look into an average school day for Inuyasha, nothing too special. I hope it made a sense, and that it wasn't too jumpy. My friend read my rough copy for this and got all mad at me because Kagome hasn't been mentioned yet, so that's why I added the part about the new girl. Gee, I wonder who that could be? I wasn't going to put that in until chapter three or four, but oh well. I just didn't want to rush the story, you know? I've read so many fics where they just seemed to put everything in the first two chapters, and then they ran out of stuff to write about. I didn't want my story to be like that. I wanted to build up the story line. I hope I'm doing a good job at that, and that it doesn't feel too rushed or anything. Or that it's not moving too slow for you guys…

See, that's why I need the reviews! Lol. Tell me how I'm doing people!

Also, I tried to base the town off of the town I used to live in, and Inuyasha's life a bit off of mine. My dad's still alive, and I don't have a runaway brother, but I did used to live on the poverty line. And trust me, it wasn't fun. I just kinda' want to shine light on the way that other people live. I hope I do an okay job…