Sota hunched over his dinner with a long sigh. The usually appetizing stir fry was making his stomach turn, and he kept his eyes low as he pushed it around his plate. Hoping Mama wouldn't notice the lack of change on his plate, he held his chopsticks low and cleared his throat as Buyo helped himself to the rice and vegetables. At least the cat was good for something.
As usual, Mama never missed a thing. The woman's eyes watched Sota as she sipped her water, and she too cleared her throat awkwardly before addressing her son.
"Sota," Miss Higurashi started, her voice sounding too loud in the quiet environment they were in. In fact, things were always this quiet and tense when Kagome stayed away for more than a week or so.
Sota hesitantly looked up, sending a questioning gaze in Grandpa's direction. They had been doing that a lot too lately, the silent communication between the two men of the house. Sota's slightly worried glance was asking Grandpa, am I in trouble? And Grandpa's casual shrug meant, ask her yourself.
Slowly, Sota levelled his gaze with Mama's. He cleared his throat again. "Yeup?"
"How was your day at school?"
Sota almost rolled his eyes. Were they that desperate for conversation? They had to result to that line of topic?
"Good. We had basketball tryouts today." And Hitomi broke up with me. Sota winced, the wound still fresh on his heart.
The fact that Hitomi had broken up with him earlier that day was not only devastating, but embarrassing. Sota had the biggest crush on her for so long, when she finally agreed to go out with him he was ecstatic. He couldn't help himself bragging about his new love life to his friends and family. After putting them through hours of hearing how much Hitomi like him, how awesome their relationship was going, he just didn't have the heart to tell them that she had dumped him for a seventh grader.
Another sigh escaped his lips, and he tactfully ignored the odd looks he received from his mother and grandfather. He excused himself quietly and walked to the kitchen, fully aware of how the sounds of chewing and silverware clanging had stopped completely.
"I think I'm going to bed early tonight," He called from the kitchen. "I need to build up my energy for basketball tomorrow." And sleep away my sorrow, he thought dramatically.
After cleaning his plate and helping Mama with the dishes, Sota dragged his feet up the stairs and into his room. He tugged on his pyjamas, absentmindedly wondering what Inuyasha was doing. Okay, he was wondering about Kagome too, but mostly Inuyasha.
Inuyasha wouldn't get dumped. Inuyasha was strong, confident, and would definitely be the one doing the dumping, if ever. He wondered when he and his sister would ever realize how perfect they were for each other. Maybe he would have to help them out, just like they had given him a little push in Hitomi's direction. Hitomi.
He closed his eyes, begging himself not to conjure up her picture in his mind. Her face showed up behind his eyelids anyway.
He needed to stop thinking about Hitomi. But there was no way he could sleep like this.
Tiptoeing downstairs, Sota didn't realize where he was going until he was half way there. He pulled open the doors to the well house, goose bumps appearing on his arms as he looked into the dark shrine. Berating himself for not bringing a flashlight and pleading himself not to turn back, he stepped towards the well.
The sun had just set, and the sky was still light enough to shine through the open doors and illuminate the well with its dim light. He hesitantly made his way to the well, kneeling on the ground in front of it and peering into the darkness, where the well seemed to never end. Doesn't seem so magical to me, he thought to himself.
Before he had time to finish that thought, the darkness seemed to ripple, and colors were appearing from the corners at first, making their way to the center.
Sota jerked and fell on his backside, scrambling away from the well in terror. The well seemed to glow, and he immediately scolded himself for being a scaredy-cat. Thinking it was only Kagome who was returning from the past, he cautiously peeked over the lip of the well.
And what he saw was most definitely not Kagome.
Directly in the bottom of the well was the image of a girl. The first thing he noticed were her huge, brown eyes and her jet black hair that was fastened in a small pony tail on the top of her head. After recovering from the initial shock, he noticed that the girl looked as if she were mirroring his exact position, leaning over her side of the well, and peering into his.
Sota was a smart boy, and after hearing all the stories from Kagome, he caught on quickly.
This girl was obviously from the past, and this well was linking them so they could see into each other's worlds. It clicked in his mind and he was about to say something when the girl on the other side suddenly gave him a big, toothy grin.
He reeled. The girl looked his age, maybe a little younger than him. And, he thought to himself suddenly, she is absolutely beautiful.
Sota was in awe of this girl. With her eyes, her hair, and the strange orange clothing that complimented her so perfectly, the girl was not only cute, but way, way cuter than Hitomi.
The situation was so odd, yet it was just what Sota needed to forget the terrible events of his day. Without a second thought, Sota offered a bright smile and waved at the cute girl. His heart leapt when she spoke to him.
"Hi! I'm Rin. What's your name?" She said, and he was caught up in the way she spoke so curiously, so innocently to him. Her voice melted him like butter, and his voice hitched before answering.
"I'm Sota. It's nice to meet you, Rin." Rin. Rin. Rin, Rin, Rin… Her name felt amazing on his tongue, and he wanted to say it over and over again.
Rin giggled waved again, this time because the well was rippling again. Rin's face glowed for a moment before disappearing entirely, and Sota gripped the wells edges and stuck his face in, heart pounding.
"No!" He cried. He was fascinated with the girl, Rin, and wanted to talk to her more. Why was it that Kagome could go back and forth through the well and he couldn't? He slammed his fists against the well in frustration, before sinking to his knees in the dirt.
He knew he would never forget her. He didn't know why, he had only seen her for a moment, but something about her was special. Unforgettable. Kagome told him once that the well had a reason for everything it did, and this was no different, right? Sota knew that there was a reason he met that pretty girl that night, and that was why he resolved never to forget her face, her voice, her laugh.
…
"Rin, come." Sesshomaru commanded, slightly annoyed and (not that he would admit) worried. Rin had been sticking her face in that god forsaken well that reeked of his brother. There was something about it that he didn't trust, some sort of deep magic that even he didn't recognize that was weaved through its rotting wood. And, again, it stank of his retched half-brother, for a reason he didn't know and didn't want to stick around to find out.
Rin skipped towards her Lord obediently, laughing and repeating an unfamiliar name. Sesshomaru frowned as he realized Inuyasha's scent was clinging faintly to her, and her sweet aroma was tainted by wet dog smell.
"Rin, you will bathe when we cross the next river." He stated to her, ignoring her curious looks as she nodded.
"Sesshomaru, Rin made a friend!" She sang out as she tucked a bright flower behind her ear. Jaken was yelling something unimportant as he struggled to catch up with his companions.
"Hn." Sesshomaru kept his gaze forward, but the small incline of his head told Rin he was listening.
"His name is Sota. And… Rin thought he looked really cute!" The girl gushed, and she didn't notice the slight falter in Sesshomaru's step.
He looked… What?
Taking a deep breath, he chose to ignore the last comment. Rin was too young to be thinking such foolish thoughts. Besides, she was clearly talking about an imaginary friend. They had not come across any humans in about a week, and those were all adult men and women anyway.
"Do not say foolish things. You have not met a Sota."
Rin knew her Lord well enough to recognize the finality in his tone. She hummed to herself as she thought of Sota. She didn't understand how they had met, but she knew it was real, and she refused to be told otherwise. She also couldn't describe the funny feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she knew, she just knew, that they would meet again. Someday, she promised herself.
…
Just a little something that popped into my head, and I felt the need to write it out. Didn't turn out too horribly, I hope. Review if you liked!