Author's note: Finally, I've decided to write up an AU! …Well, it's not the first I have written, but it's the first to be written for this site. Hehehe…we must split hairs, huh? Please note, however, that this is a companion fic to my other AU that I'll be posting in around a week or so, and that one focuses on the viewpoints of the 'other half' of this story. Confusing as this may already sound, that's just on my part; if you've read anything else that I've written, you probably already know that I'm not good with summing things up.
To warn you: this A/N is going to be somewhat longer than the rest of them, since there's going to be a bit of explaining to do. And to be fair, the chapter itself will be longer than the author's note.
The basic plot of this fic came about when I was cleaning/packing up my room at my father's house (we were getting ready to move) and already wanting to do another AU, and I stumbled upon one of my old toys: A stuffed cygnet (or more commonly known as a swan baby…). I got around to thinking of my sister fic already up, Shimai, and then, well…the cygnet was white, and…yeah. An ugly duckling-esque story, I'll admit, but not too far into that extent. (And to those of you who may or may not be wondering, yes, I'm still working with the prior fic in question) But since then (a few weeks ago), I've kept getting all these different ideas for the story, and my mind won't let me get back to anything else until I've posted this one. Grr. I abhor my ADD.
It would be WAY too long to write all the explanations for the whole story thus far into this lone A/N, so I'm going to end up doing the explanations for what happens/what's relevant to the character's canon (in the fic, mind you) issues (for lack of better term) with the chapter that they first appear in. How's that? Since this is the first chapter, the protagonists are being introduced, as well as their main functions in the story; that is unless they are developed later. Soooo… My giving them these problems (some will be more obvious than others, example being the heart thing) have much to do with the characters' original attributes in the manga/anime. Since the heart will be overly obvious, it's going unmentioned.
McDonald's: Heh. An inside joke type of thing. I was joking around with me-me, and we ended up saying that she was upset, having had a bad day at work. So I was ordering something at McDonald's, and the employee that was serving me simultaneously seemed to be having an off-day; hence the establishment.
The cygnet plushie: One was obvious, aforementioned childhood toy of mine. Pretty self-explanatory. Two: hey. She's got to be attached to something that I can explain well enough, and I wanted it to be slightly creative (laughing at myself now), so no mirror thing.
The neighbors: I most certainly did not want the rivalry to be forced, and I actually wasn't planning on originally putting the gang in here, but I got the idea that…well you'll probably read it anyway (if you haven't already gotten fed up with this A/N and either skipped or blown the whole story off).
His smoking: It fit in between his original trademark shouki/miasma and their heart troubles, so there.
That said, (it's been officially a whole page long now) I'd leave you to read.
Of Ragged Roses, and Listless Lilies:
Chapter one/ introduction:
Some things don't go as we planned, and some things just weren't supposed to happen… But regardless of whether or not they were supposed to, they happen anyway, and we have to learn to accept them…"But apparently a certain someone doesn't realize that, do they!" Crimson irises flashed violently to the left, glancing over at a tall, dark figure that was hovering over by a dusty window, binoculars clenched tightly in their hands.
The man turned suddenly to the girl, sneering. "Shut up, bitch." On his eye's journey back to the window, he made note of the clock, "Get your ass to work."
Eyebrows pressed thinly to her lashes, Kagura propped herself up from her slouching position in the near-ancient recliner, mumbling something to herself that consisted mostly of the words 'bastard,' and 'slave driver' as she stood. The strong stench of cheap tobacco smoke filled her lungs, and she felt her chest tighten. The term 'chain smoker' also escaped her.
The apartment was small, aged, and overly neglected in its three or so decades of living; dust particles could be seen easily by the naked eye at all times of the day, with the exception of Naraku's cigarette smoke pouring through the rooms he occupied…which usually was one possessing a window that enabled him to look at their neighbor, the charity worker/medical student, Shogami Kikyou. Which Kagura always found a bit ironic.
The man was a psychotic freak, even by the average stalker standards. He rarely ever left the apartment complex, he had children to find jobs to support their rent money for the flat, to go and run errands for him, to beat senseless or even kill on a whim. When he did decide to leave, when ever apocalypses were nearing, he would disappear for days, weeks, or even months at a time –not that that was truthfully a problem with anyone- and return with various spiritual or black magic oddities from multiple countries.
On another occasion, he would have been following 'his' woman around, to where ever it was she went to, likely unnoticed until whoever came in contact with her had either mysteriously vanished or had been found brutally murdered. At that point, she had always returned home, with her stalker (still unbeknownst to her) close in tail.
After pulling on a light jacket and grabbing hold of her purse, she begrudgingly made her way to the front door, still muttering assorted insults to her deranged father, who was still watching the young woman next door.
The streets were beginning to get warmer, more humid in the mix of all the exhaustion leaking through factories, vehicles, and the early-afternoon sun peaking through the smog ridden clouds. Through the cracked glass of her watch, Kagura made a mental note of it being dangerously close to her shift opening. Damnit!
She rushed through the crowd, pushing and shoving her way in between passerby; salesmen and solicitors pitching their hands out in front in hopes of either stopping her or something to eat. She felt a small twinge of guilt for the latter, but had no time to pause or pay much heed. Her manager had made a reminder to her a day prior that she had been coming in late frequently, and she would have no more chances anymore to redeem herself. Though it was a paltry minimum wage hold, her life, as she knew it was on the line.
Bursting through the back door to the establishment, she was promptly greeted by the manager. "Any later and you would have to be fired."
Kagura stole a quick glance up at the clock above the grill: right on time. "I'm not late."
He turned away, walking back into his office, "I didn't say you were. I said that you were close."
Narrowing her eyes at the closed door, she slipped on the trademark T-shirt over her jacket, and tied her hair back loosely. After she had completed performing the daily ritual with the washing of her hands, her feet began to make their way to the counter.
Having exchanged glances with the young man already there, whom was quite perturbed with his minute-longer-than-usual-shift, she took his place and glanced around the McDonald's eatery. She was thankful that she had just traded her shift for this specific time a few weeks ago, since it was the easiest time of day to work: Dead hour. Unfortunately, this was also the most boring period of the day to work.
She pulled up a stool from the back, returning to the counter with her chin propped up into her palm. It was empty. The establishment was empty, save for an old woman in the corner, who was there most days at that time, most had noted, staring out the window from an enormous and thick pair of old glasses. Some days, the woman would read something, and for some reason, the sight of the old hag always managed to creep out some of the workers.
Why, Kagura had no idea; then again, she was also used to the feeling of being around quiet, solemn persons whom gave off somewhat of an eerie energy. But at that, she was also accustomed to living with a neurotic, loud, and completely unnerving jackass. Well maybe not accustomed to it, but… well used to it enough to say it wasn't an unusual thing to see.
Glancing over towards the old woman, she sighed a little. She was, again, for some reason, very intriguing- in an enigmatic sort of way- to her; but sometimes… enigmas can be mistaken for bad things. Enigmas can be misunderstood.
A pair of ghostly pale hands gripped the pen firmly, scribbling furiously down onto a crinkled piece of paper. Eyes fixated determinedly to the words pouring out from the blue ink, Kanna sat on the bench at the edge, scrunched up a little, protectively.
Hunched over the paper, the ten-year-old little girl attempted to immerse herself in her writing; hidden amongst countless trees. It was the beginning of Spring, bringing both a brisk, harsh wind that nipped at her cheeks, threatening to blow away the precious papers, and light green blossoms to the trees; both opposing in contrast to one another.
It was recess, and she always made it a point to try and keep far away from her cruel classmates, who made endless remarks about her odd appearance, sometimes ganging up on her, some holding her down while others hit or threw things at her, still the rest watching and tormenting her relentlessly. The teachers either didn't notice or didn't care, since it was extremely hard not to notice a large band of children randomly gathered on the playground, Kanna was assuming that it was the latter.
There were a few exceptions, however. There was Kohaku, another quiet boy who was around a year older than her; he never seemed to do anything, though, he really was helpless to it. But at least he didn't hurt her. Then there was Rin, possibly the brightest and bubbly girls she had ever encountered. Younger by at least a year, she tried to offer the bashful albino girl her condolences, but was also unable to do much about the other children's behaviors. There was another boy in her class, but she couldn't remember his name, she wasn't sure that she had heard it to start with, though. He didn't pay much mind to her, looked as though he pitied her from time to time, but didn't pay heed to her dilemma.
The trees' great limbs and branches offered some protection from the sunlight and the gusts of wind, at the same time making her to feel a bit protected from her peers.
It was something of a comfort, to be alone. She had decided that it was far better a luxury than being surrounded with pain and that indescribable despair. Not a bad thing at all, no.
Looking up briefly from her musings, her blank eyes scanned the area for signs of said atrocities. Finding that the wooded region of the playground was empty, only exception being herself, she nodded her head back down to her makeshift journal.
Alas, her ears picked up the distant but unmistakable sound of the bell ringing, the ever telltale acknowledgement that her 'me-time' had come to an end. Cramming the already disheveled papers into her backpack, she stood and began to make her way into the school building. Kanna began to wonder what the point of her free time was if it was only to be taken away so abruptly.
As the mental dread and depression rose, so did the clenching pain in her chest; it ebbed unnervingly into her esophagus, eventually making her bruised face sore.
Such was her unending routine. This pain had used to be subtle, worrying her a bit, but gradually, as it grew, her concern over it began to diminish. It became a normal part of her life; just as the beatings and scorn she received daily from her father and classmates. It became as dull as waking up; it was just there.
Break time. Elegant but bruised and sore fingers formed a fist in the air as Kagura slammed her hand down onto the marble counter in triumph.
After the young man had returned to the counter in her place, a little refreshed from his previously peeved mind set, she made her way to the manager's office, knocking on the door as she passed. "Break time; I'm leaving, and I'll be back on time."
A distorted voice came from behind the door. "You'd better."
She rolled her eyes towards the back of her head, pulling off the degrading mandatory T-shirt and taking her hair down again. Stuffing the offending clothing into her bag, she opened the back door and began to make her way towards the elementary school.
The streets were still packed, but it was a lot more tolerable now. The salesmen had gone off and done… whatever it was that salesmen did. Solicitors had found their ways into someone's home or building, at least one that permitted them to enter. Many assorted people were out now, mostly parents and their children walking home from school, or random teenagers scrawling around with spray cans, busying themselves with things she had never had the time or opportunity to do. Others were still some of the formerly mentioned beggars, old and young homeless people sitting at street corners, along with the prostitutes and various pedestrians. Sirens went off in the distance, and some of the said teenagers fled from their graffiti.
It wasn't the best part of town, but at least it wasn't so bad as to where people like her father were running around wildly with their eccentricities. It wasn't that bad. Kagura smiled to herself, but then rushed on ahead; she only had thirty-five more minutes to pick up her sister and drag her back to work.
At the McDonald's, Kanna sat in the booth furthest away from the register in which Kagura was stationed, arguing with a troublesome customer over whether or not something or another should be charged for. Eventually the manager came out and attempted to reason with the angered customer, finally managing to work out a compromise: The customer got what he wanted for free, mostly because of the trouble that the red-eyed seventeen-year-old had stirred, but that he would not get that luxury again.
She wrote more notes on another piece of blank notebook paper, smiling a little as she finished and put it away in her backpack. Turning here attention to the clock on the wall, she read off the time: 6:18 pm; about two and a half more hours until she and her now fuming sister went home. She folded her covered arms in front of her on the table after pushing aside the remnants of her French fries (an added bonus of Kagura's working there) and rested her head down in them, closing her eyes along with the slamming glass exit door (courtesy of the noted customer).
"Kiddo…"
Kanna's eyes opened slowly from their sleep as she felt a range of fingers tapping her shoulders lightly. Kagura shook her a little, picking up both of their bags and raising them to be carried on her shoulder.
Blinking away traces of wariness, she slid out from the booth and walked across the tile with the elder of the two, clutching her sweater tightly against herself as they exited into the bitterly cold night.
Armed with two heavy bags slung across her shoulder, the teenager dragged her younger sister along closely by the wrist, pulling through menacing crowds of criminals, yet more solicitors, bums, and run aways. The dark of the night was when the sidewalk was paved with these people; this was their time to fly.
Most of them were relatively harmless, but there were some crazed lunatics mixed in with them as well.
The cold stung their faces with such a force that it was difficult to believe that it was Spring.
Upon unlocking and entering the door to the apartment stealthily, Kagura was greeted with a forceful slap to the face that was sure to leave a mark, and Kanna with a strong push to the side and up against a wall.
"You damn bitches are late." Came the sordid voice from which these attacks were. "And now look what happened!" Naraku gestured wildly towards the window, glaring daggers at it as though it had cut him.
Regaining composure and frowning deeply at him, Kagura made her way over to the dirty window, peeking through the multiple stains of tobacco smoke. She came to face with an odd looking young man, with white-ish/silver hair and a baseball cap and amber eyes, carrying a filled box into a flat very close to Kikyou's and theirs.
Turning back to him, she kept her stance and her expression. "So it's our fault someone moved in? How the fucking hell were we supposed to know that we had power over that!"
She was met with a stronger blow to the stomach, releasing a tiny gasp as the impact took it's toll and she fell with a 'clump' to the hollow, musty floor.
"Whore! You should've come sooner to help me light them on fire!" He bellowed, spidery eyes widening with rage and derangement.
Kanna trembled quite noticeably as she recovered from the rendezvous with the wall, watching in more silence as her sibling get beaten down some more by their father, who finally lost interest in doing so and left to another room to begin plotting ways to get rid of the new neighbors, leaving his oldest daughter to lay there, unmoving, but still conscious.
It was a never-ending cycle, but after a while, she had gotten used to it. Spending too much time doing things like that can make it go numb, almost non-existent. It was just there.
A light burned from the other side of the windows, followed by a fist knocking softly on the front door to the flat. An unfamiliar voice called through simultaneously, "Hello! Is everyone all right in there?" The child took it as the aforementioned neighbor who seemed to cause so much trouble. "Hello?" Eventually the knocking ceased, and the boy returned to his own apartment, and they realized that soon, no matter what Naraku did, that this, too, would become one of those things that was just… there.
End Ch.1