Fallen From the Heavens
By: SlayerSango23
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in this story...
Chapter One: Just Another Day?
Sango Nakamura awoke to the sound of a blaring alarm clock. It was Friday and 8:00 AM. She closed her eyes once more and simply savored the softness of her bed, then she promptly slid out of it. "Time to go to work." she said aloud. But first, she headed for the shower. She knew just the way to relieve her drowsiness.
She shed her typical bedtime attire, sweat pants and a tank top, and made her way underneath the showerhead. She lathered shampoo into her hair and ran her fingers through it, smoothing out her silky locks, one shade light of onyx. As she did so, she allowed her mind to wander and immediately began creating.
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Sango was a writer and worked out of her home. She wrote fiction, mostly novels, but also the occasional short story for a magazine. She simply loved creating fiction and did it on a regular basis. What she enjoyed most was the sense of control it gave her. The author of a story is the supreme power, and unlike in life, in writing you control everything.
Her work was generally contemporary and on the realistic side. Although, she dabbled in a little action/adventure and mystery.
One thing she refused to write was romance. Her main characters were generally strong, independent heroines who never fell in love. Or if they did, it never worked out.
She'd believed in romance and love and all that feel-goodness at one time, but being burned once too many tends to change a girl's opinion. And she avoided the sap like she would a plague...
Sango's job allowed her flexible hours, but being the self-motivated individual she was, she forced herself to work at least five days a week and eight hours a day, as if she had a typical office job. Due to this, Sango left her apartment seldom. She usually left only for groceries or the occasional errand. The other tenants found her to be pleasant, when they saw her, but they also considered her something of a hermit.
And they weren't completely off-base.
She made a decent living and even had a small following of avid fans, but recently she'd been having something of a dry spell. Her financial state was swiftly threatening her ability to pay the monthly rent, so she'd been forced to take a part-time job at the bookstore a block from her apartment complex.
She finished her shower and tossed on a robe, before heading to her bedroom to jot down the ideas that had come to her in the shower. She sat on the bed, picking up the notebook she kept on the night-stand. Her cat, Kirara, nuzzled her head against her leg, then jumped up onto the bed beside her. Sango stroked her furry head, and the cat gave a satisfied meow.
She went over her day's itinerary in her head.
"Well girl, I guess I'm going to have to venture out into the world today."
She'd decided that she needed a few groceries for her next 'writing hibernation,' as she called it, and she needed to go by the bookstore, and also put in an ad at the newspaper for a roommate.
She didn't like the idea of getting some random roommate, but the friends she had in town weren't looking for a place, and she was getting rather desperate.
She dressed, donning a pair of jeans and hooded sweatshirt, dried her hair, then headed out. Before leaving, she grabbed the ad she'd written and an energy shake out of the refrigerator. In afterthought, she decided she might do a little writing at the bookstore, so she brought along her notebook and a pen.
After exiting her apartment, she made it only a few steps before being noticed.
"So, she emerges." came the man's voice from behind her.
She shuddered at his voice.
"Yes, Naraku. If you must know, I have some things to do today." She only half-turned, doing her best not to look at him, and smirked back at him over her shoulder.
She hoped to put the interaction to a quick end.
He was dressed in his typical business attire, a suit, and had his long black hair pulled back into a ponytail. His mahogany eyes nearly seemed to glow red when he was being malicious, which was nearly all the time. He was an exceedingly cold man, and he delighted in tormenting her whenever he saw her. It was probably mostly due to the fact that he'd made advances upon her and she flatly rejected him. She couldn't help it that she found him to be a lower life-form.
But, it also had something to do with him just being an ass.
"Where are you off to then?" he smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the door to his apartment, inconveniently located directly across from hers.
"Don't you have somewhere to be?" she asked, her irritation with him growing by the second.
"In due time. You obviously didn't find a real job, judging by the way you're dressed."
She felt strongly compelled to bash him over the head with something hard, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was pushing her buttons.
She decided instead to simply play cool. She gave a sarcastic laugh. "You know what, I may not have an office to go to, but I work very hard at what I do. Now, if you'll excuse me, you're wasting my valuable time." She turned to leave, but he stopped her.
"Sango, I'm merely concerned for you..." He inched closer to her and began to run a finger down her arm.
She quickly snatched it away in disgust. "Concerned, my ass!" she snarled.
He grinned, still standing entirely too close for her comfort. She took several steps back and crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you making enough money." he asked.
"I'm doing just fine, thank you." She glared back at his feeble act of concern.
"Well, I read some of the reviews of your last book, and they didn't sound very good..."
He's just loving this...the creep!
And she knew which reviews he was talking about, which burned her even further. He had to go through every review she received with a highlighter, picking out all the bad ones he could find.
He began stroking his chin. "I believe one of them accused you of having characters that...lacked any kind of emotion...and said that reading your work was the equivalent of slamming into a stone wall, but that may not be a direct quote."
Sango was inwardly fuming, and was quickly starting to lose control. She clenched her fists together at her sides in effort to calm herself.
That review was completely unwarranted!
"That review was from someone who is a major romance novel advocate, who I shouldn't have sent it to in the first place, and that is simply not what I like to write! And besides, you can't please everyone!"
"Calm yourself, Sango. There's no need to get so defensive..."
"Listen, Naraku, my writing may not make me wealthy, but it pays the bills!" Or used to... "And I enjoy doing it! Now, can you say that about what you do? And your work quite obviously hasn't been too profitable for you because you're still living in this place. I guess it's taking longer than you thought to climb that good ole' corporate ladder." He was silent, and she turned and walked off on him.
But not before she had the chance to see his face squinch up in anger.
She always felt good after telling Naraku off. Today was going to be a good day; she could feel it!
Sango made her way down the stairs and almost out the door, only to be delayed once more.
"Hey, Sango!" the voice of the apartment complex manager stopped her in her tracks.
She sighed and slowly turned to face him, forcing a smile once more. "Oh, Takeda-san, hi."
Kuranosuke was beaming. "How are you this lovely morning, Sango?"
"Fine, thank you. And how are you?" I'm never gonna get out of here...
Kuranosuke had also expressed interest in Sango, though he was a great deal more pleasant than Naraku. But she simply wasn't interested.
"I'm good. How is your book coming along?" He seemed to genuinely want to know.
Still, she felt so self-conscious around him. He always seemed to be checking her out...
"Um, it's coming...but I probably better get going so I can get back to working on it." She hoped he'd take the hint.
He looked disappointed. "Oh, yes of course..."
"Was there something you wanted? I did pay this month's rent, didn't I?" she gave a semi-laugh.
"Oh, of course, Sango! No, it's nothing like that." he chuckled.
"I really just wanted to say 'good morning' when I saw you. Oh, and I have your mail." he presented her with a stack.
"Oh, how thoughtful for you to deliver it to me." She looked away.
He was sweet, no doubt about that, but he was quickly driving her crazy with his obsessiveness.
"Well, I don't want to delay you any longer... Where are you headed this morning?"
I thought he didn't want to delay me... And why is everyone so nosey around here...?
"Oh, I have some errands to run...groceries, bookstore and such..."
"What's that?" He pointed to the slip of paper sticking out of her notebook.
"Oh, this. Uh, it's an ad that I am dropping off at the newspaper..." She turned it over in her hands.
"Ad? For what, if I may ask?"
"Um, for a...roommate." She cringed slightly.
"Roommate? Why on earth do you need a roommate, Sango?"
"Well, to be honest...I am kinda having a hard time paying you rent each month." She looked away, embarrassed.
"Sango, I had no idea! You know that you can pay me when you have it."
"I can't do that. I wouldn't feel right."
He nodded, a concerned look upon his face.
"It is alright that I have another person in the apartment, right?"
"Well, yes, but isn't there anyone you already know...I mean, that's kind of risky, isn't it?"
He looked troubled. I can't just let some stranger move in with her!
"Yeah, well there's not really anyone. I know it's risky, but you always check into the people who move in, right? And I'll do my own interrogation, as well."
"Hm, well ok then. Good luck..." I'll have to really look into her new roommate's background when she finds one...
"Thank you. Uh, I should be going now."
"Ok. Have a good morning, Sango."
"You too." She finally made it out the door. At least he didn't ask me out that time...
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A young girl, 17 years old, sat on a bench that chilly January day, waiting for the bus and thinking about things. The temperature had not reached the freezing point, but there was a slight breeze, and it was thoroughly chilling her. She mentally cursed the silly dress code at her high school that required her to wear a skirt. Fortunately, the thick stockings that her mother had made for her protected her legs from the knees down.
She hugged herself tightly, not merely for generating warmth, but for comfort as well. Her sadness was beginning to get the best of her, and tears began to involuntarily run down her cheeks. Her stomach was in knots, and she felt utterly confused.
Giving a dejected sigh, she hung her head and studied her loafers.
Several moments later the girl looked up, only to find a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties standing before her. He'd appeared so suddenly. She hadn't heard him approach at all. It would have been rather frightening, if not for the gentle look in his eyes... And his presence seemed strangely soothing.
"Excuse me miss, but I couldn't help but notice that you seem rather sad." the young man commented.
His voice was soothing, too.
The girl wiped away the tears, then looked him in the eye. She noticed that his eyes were an incredible shade of deep blue, nearly violet.
His hair was dark, and he wore it in a small ponytail. He was dressed in a white collared shirt that was neatly tucked in and black dockers.
She found him incredibly handsome, but he wasn't the object of her affections. He wasn't the one that she couldn't get out of her head.
Still, she had some difficulty finding her voice to speak to him.
"Yes, I am." she finally responded, looking away. The pain was evident in her chocolate eyes.
"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked genuinely.
A lot of people would offer to listen, just to be nice, but he seems to truly mean it.
"Um, ok..." She motioned for him to sit. She wasn't sure why she was so willing and prepared to unload her problems upon this complete stranger, but for some reason, she felt compelled to tell him everything she'd been thinking and feeling. She had this strange sense of hope, as though he could actually help her. Maybe it'll feel lighter if I get it all out.
She hesitated, pondering how to begin, and the man sat down beside her. He sat close, but not too close, and waited patiently for her to speak.
"It's my boyfriend..." The man nodded in response. "He...he can't forget about his ex-girlfriend, and it really hurts me..." Her eyes were downcast as she spoke.
"I see." he said, with sympathy and understanding in his voice.
"Whenever anything has to do with her, he's a completely different person. They were very much in love but were parted, on rather bad terms. I know he has regrets about how things went, but I thought he'd gotten past it. You see, she moved away and was out of our lives for awhile. Things were good between us, but then she came back... And, he went to see her. He hasn't forgotten her at all... And how could he? She's perfect. To him she is, anyway. I don't think I or any other girl could ever compare..." The girl hesitated, blinking away the tears once more.
Then she continued. "It just made me realize that he's still in love with her, and...he probably always will be. I believe that he loves me, but somehow, I just can't get over the fact that he still loves her, too. I don't know what I should do."
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Sango had run her errands and taken an hour out to write at the bookstore. She'd made minimal progress due to interruptions, but at least she'd made some. It was already past 11, though.
Wow, time flies...
Being the health-conscious and practical person she was, she'd decided to walk today. The places she'd had to go weren't far, and there was no sense in wasting the gas and exuding more toxic fumes into the environment when they were so close. And anyway, aside from being a bit chilly, it was a nice day.
She walked back toward her apartment complex with two grocery sacks in hand. Her notebook and mail was tucked neatly into one of the bags.
Sango began to think of her financial problems. If I don't find a roommate soon I'm gonna be out on the street... Then again, I doubt Kuranosuke would throw me out, but he might want me to date him in return... Maybe one of my friends would take me in...
She'd been concentrating entirely too much on her thoughts and too little on where she was going, which resulted in her literally 'bumping into' someone.
"Oh, I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention, I–" Her eyes met his. And he was smiling... He had the most amazing blue eyes she'd ever seen. They were almost hypnotizing. She was at a loss for words for perhaps the first time in her life.
"It's entirely alright, Miss. No harm done. I'm sure I'm just as much to blame. Are you alright?"
He was certainly one of the more polite men she'd met.
"Oh, yes, I'm fine."
He noticed something and bent down to pick it up. "I think you dropped this." He handed her notebook to her.
"Oh, thank you. I need this." She hesitated, and they had one of those awkward moments where two people don't know what to say and simply stare at each other for a minute or two.
"Um, I should be going," she finally managed to say.
"As should I. Have a wonderful day." he said, giving her a smile that was simply too gorgeous to be real.
They departed, rather hesitantly and continued on in opposite directions. She began walking, more slowly this time. She'd forgotten all about her financial issues for the time being.
When she found herself reliving the moment in her head, she fervently shook it, as if that would actually shake the thought of him.
So he was attractive... Big deal. I've seen attractive men before...
The brief moment they'd shared seemed a little too cheesy romance movie-ish, though, and it was unnerving her somewhat.
It's not like it was Fate that I bumped into him or some such nonsense!
But she couldn't resist throwing a glance over her shoulder. He was casually walking down the sidewalk, hands in pockets. He seemed confident, but not arrogant. She stopped momentarily to look back at him.
And she noticed women staring at him right and left. I guess he has reason to be confident...
I wonder if I'll ever see him again...
She shook her head. It doesn't really matter, though, if I do or not...
And with renewed bravado she resumed her trek back home.
After walking a little ways further, the man looked back.
Is it her?
End of Chapter
A/N: Ah, done! That wasn't too long of a wait, now was it? I hope it was enjoyable. Sorry about the mysterious ending, but expect the whole story to have some amount of that. Now, please click that review button!
Review Responses:
tinemelk: Glad you liked it. I know it was short, but that was only because it was getting late and I didn't want to rush through it. I actually have made decent progress on the next several chapters, so it shouldn't be a super long wait. Hope you keep reading, and hope to hear more from you!
Tera McCaslin: Yes, I'll admit it was a short chapter. And I do know what you mean. It was short because it was getting late, didn't want to rush through more, and that was merely to set up an introduction to the story. I generally write much longer chapters. As you noticed if you are reading this, this chapter was much longer and more conducive with the length I generally write. Sorry to leave you hanging there, but that wasn't too much of a wait, now was it? Please keep R&R'ing!
acho0bl3ssU: As you requested, here is your update. Hope you enjoy.
drake220: Thank you for the compliment. Glad you want me to continue. I intend to so. I think I'll enjoy writing this one. ;) Hope to hear from you again.