InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Baby, Baby ❯ Wishful Thinking and the Chase ( Chapter 1 )

Chance sat out on the back porch, legs crossed and hitting an unwound wire coat hanger against the ground in a quick beat. “I know a dark, secluded place; a place where no one knows your face. A glass of wine; a fast embrace; it's called Hernando's Hideaway, ole...” she sang softly. The rest of the song ran through her mind as she looked around the backyard of her small home.

 

 

About five feet in front of her as she sat diagonally on the back porch (to the left), was a beat-up, white-washed dog house, where an old dog sat, asleep. The grass didn't stretch far; there was a five-foot-wide patch of dirt and, on occasion, a weed. In the back left corner of the yard was a hole the dog had dug to keep cool in the summer. In the back right corner of the yard was a pile of dirt about five feet high. Then there was the rickety gate... and the old, spackle-painted garage that was supposed to be white but now was a rusty yellow. Then the water heater... the place to get under the house... the bathroom window... the kitchen window... the gas monitor... and last, the porch that led to the back door where Chance sat.

 

 

Chance was an odd girl. She looked kind of, but claimed that she wasn't. She didn't have a father; at least not that she knew of. She had silver hair and bright blue eyes and two dog ears that her mother had never explained to her. She had a good nose and could smell B.O. like no other. She sighed some, her hearing catching yet another siren waning down the street to her left. “I sure wish I could be in Hernando's Hideaway.” she said quietly.

 

 

Her brother, Christian, knew about as much as she did. He was four years older than her, though he retained little memory of his younger years. She rarely saw him anymore; he was in the Air Force. Christian was almost her opposite in looks; he had amber-gold eyes and pitch black hair. The memories were starting to make Chance's head hurt.

 

 

Chance shook her smoky hair out of her azure hues and looked back toward the concrete that she'd been staring at for the past half hour blankly and singing whatever song came into her mind.

 

“Chance, dinner's ready.” called Rin from the kitchen.

 

 

“Be right there.” she called back in. She hooked the hanger back in the doghouse. The old dog didn't move besides a blink at her. She massaged his head a bit before going back inside. Her mother had fixed her favorite; ramen with a side of steamed zucchini and broccoli. A lot of people thought her weird for liking that, but she didn't care. Her ears twitched under the cap that she fancied wearing. It was a gray cap that resembled the ones that she witnessed paperboys wearing in the movies set in 1800's and early 1900's.

 

 

“Christian is coming for a visit next month. Are you excited?” asked Rin, Chance's mother. Chance only nodded, continuing to eat with a passion that made Rin sigh forlornly.

 

 

“Mom, how come I've never had a dad?” Chance asked once again. She asked it every Monday night, right after another fresh dose of teasing for not having a father, her stupid cap, her eyes, her hair... She growled at the thought but calmed down with another bite of her ramen.

 

 

“I've told you before, Chance, I don't wish to talk about that.” replied Rin sharply. “Now eat your dinner before it gets cold.” Chance didn't say anything after that, but she was thinking that someday she'd have to know. Chance is sixteen. Thus being eleven months after her last birthday, she will only been sixteen for another month now. Her brother would turn 21 in little less than a week. “It will be his birthday, so I want you to be on your best behavior.”

 

 

Chance nodded. She wouldn't be; she'd probably be the exact opposite. It wasn't that Chance was a bad child; it was that she was rebellious. She didn't have a father, she had no clue who he was or where he was. He was nonexistent, and had been since before she could remember. Christian had told her that he had fleeting memories and dreams of a man with long silver-white hair and amber eyes. Most of the time he told her that it was just a dream, though.

 

 

“I'll find out sooner or later, mom.” Chance stated, putting her dish into the sink.

 

 

“I know, but I won't be the one to tell you.”

 

 

“Why not?”

 

 

“Because I'm not comfortable with telling you the story.”

 

 

“Why?”

 

 

Rin sighed. “Because, Chance, I believe that your father himself should tell you.”

 

 

Chance got the same answer every time, but she never knew what the hell it meant. Today, something had popped up in her imagination from a book she had read. “Does that mean that he's been hiding from me? Or maybe he's dead and you just don't want to break it to me. Maybe he's just an overall asshole and you're trying to protect me. Any of those correct?” Rin shook her head, a tear slipping down her cheek. Chance sighed, shaking her head. “Stupid curiosity. Sorry, mom.”

 

 

Rin nodded and Chance headed for her bedroom. Picking up the new book she had rented out from the library, she sat down on her mattress of a bed and turned on the fan to keep cool. The book, Scribbler of Dreams, was just her type of book; a hopeless romance that turns up with an ending that leaves most everything to the imagination. She set it down about an hour later, completely finished with the 300-page book and looked around her room randomly. She considered, for a moment, going outside and daydreaming on top of the doghouse, but it was already dark out.

 

 

She rolled over on her bed, deciding on sleep, even though her watch stated that it was only 8:30. “Mom, I'm going to bed. Wake me in the morning.” she called over her shoulder as she pulled the blanket over her shoulders and laid her head on the pillow.

 

 

~

 

 

“Chance, I'm leaving for work.” said Rin, gently shaking Chance. Chance awoke and rubbed her eyes, sitting up some. She had a small sack lunch waiting for her on her desk and the small fee for her bus fare. She changed her clothes and put the bus fare in her pocket. She slung her backpack up onto her desk and put her lunch into it, as well as her library books and P.E. clothes. Placing the old backpack on her shoulder, she took off her cap and bandana to shake out her ears a bit before going to school where she could never take it off.

 

 

Flexing them some, she sighed. They brought back a few memories of a someone whom she would never meet. Back when she was small, when she couldn't sleep or she'd had a bad dream, someone (she figured her father, the fingers were too large and rough to be her mother's) would rub her ears gently to coax her to sleep. Every time, it worked like a charm. Sighing, she remembered that scent that she hadn't known for years. She'd never forget it though; trees and forests, rivers and wild berries. Through with her short reverie, she returned the bandana and cap to her head and headed out the door and for the bus stop.

 

 

When she arrived, she got the usual jabs about her hair, backpack, clothing, cap... the usual. She ignored the lot of it, instead sitting on the curb behind the bus stop. It was a usual Tuesday and Chance had nothing better to do than prop her head up and stare out to the horizon pointlessly. Her ears twitched shortly under the bandana and cap she was wearing and her head turned slightly to look across the street. There was a flash of black; a short one, but she knew she saw it. She followed the black until it went into the restaurant, Wendy's, behind her. She stared at the back of black. The black spot had silver hair. She looked at it suspiciously, but let it go. About a year ago she had tried to find her father, and it hadn't worked out. She wouldn't try that again.

 

 

She pushed her bangs somewhat out of her eyes and turned to jog into the bus that she almost missed. She sat down near the back and continued to daydream. She got up when they arrived at her school and she headed for the auditorium stairs. She sat on the top one with her friend, Bridgit.

 

 

“Hey, Chance.” said Bridgit. “Anything interesting going on?”

 

 

“Nope... I saw another flash of black this morning at the bus stop, but nothing otherwise.”

 

 

“Figures.”

 

 

“Mhm...” Chance surrendered to daydreaming again. What had her father been like? Was he loving? Did he even know she was alive? Did he even care if he did know? Did he care about her? Did he know about her? Did he know about Christian? Sighing again, she looked over at Bridgit and Chelsey. Chelsey had just arrived, Bailey shortly after her.

 

 

They were her only friends. She knew about six other people at this school who were civil to her, rounding out to about ten, but that was pretty much it. Her best friend had moved up north a while back, and she still kept in touch every now and then. “This weekend still on at your place, Bailey?” she asked the redheaded male.

 

 

Bailey's green eyes turned to her and he nodded. “Yeah, I cleared it with my dad. You can bring Christian, if you want to. He's gonna be here, isn't he?”

 

 

Chance nodded. “Yeah, he's gonna be here for a month before he goes to Japan. I'll bring him if he's willing to go, but he'll probably be a bit jet-lagged.”

 

 

“Hey, check out that guy over there. I hear he's the new kid they've been talking about.” said Chelsey, pointing over at a guy standing alone against the office building, eyes closed.

 

 

After they stared for a few moments, the guy's eyes opened to look over at them. “Woah, Chance, he looks like you.” Chance was staring at the guy. He was wearing a pair of baggy jeans that half-covered his pair of Vans, a white muscle tee with a leather jacket over it. Not only that, but he had her silver-white hair and blue eyes like hers. Chance blinked at him, all her senses attuned to him.

 

 

“Chance?” said Bailey. “Chance? Hello, Earth to Chance.” Bailey waved a hand in her face, waking out of her daydream and bringing her back to reality.

 

 

“Yeah, he does look like me. I'm curious.”

 

 

“Go talk to him.” suggested Chelsey.

 

 

“No way!” she cried. Her circle of friends gave a mischievous look that Chance definitely didn't like. She edged away from them, getting ready to run, but the bell rang. “Saved by the bell.” said Chance, coining a popular phrase. She grinned at her scowling friends and headed for the school building. Bailey, Chelsey, and Bridgit headed the other way; they had other classes.

 

 

The mystery man, now labeled MM by Chance for the time being, headed the same way as her. She was knocked and swayed in the traffic jam, until she was knocked aside by MM himself. She got up after he glared at her, a set look on her face as she walked behind him. He seemed to part the crowd easily, and this was probably the easiest walk through the halls she'd ever done. It was then that she caught a good whiff of him, of course being discreet, only to find that he smelt of something she'd never consciously smelt before; trees and forests, rivers and wild berries, only slightly different than the one she remembered.

 

 

She growled lightly; it wasn't as if she had tried to growl, it kind of came naturally. The instincts that she knew she had kicked in and she resisted them, instead getting out from behind him to fight her way through the crowds and into her first period classroom. She sat herself next to Brooklyn, a friend of hers, still fuming as the boy dubbed MM came into the classroom.

 

 

“Woah, Chance, what's up with you?” asked Brooklyn, eyeing her. Chance only nodded at MM. “Ooh, he's pretty cute. He say something to miff you off?” Chance shook her head and stayed silent. She was pretty sure she'd howl if she opened her mouth right about now. MM shot her a look over his shoulder and she had to dig her nails (which she had to file almost constantly to keep in check) into the desk's sides to keep her calm. Her eyes darkened, which she could feel. She didn't know why he pissed her off, but he did.

 

 

Upon listening to the roll call, she found that MM's true name was Chase. Odd name, but then again, she and her brother had odder ones. Chance managed to get through English and Art Class with Chase, but P.E. was what bent through her limits. Of course, being that it was toward the end of the year, they were doing their swing dancing unit. The boys were in an inner circle and the girls filed in behind them. Whoever you stopped next to was who you were going to dance with.

 

 

Mrs. Barclay must've hated her, because Chance ended up dancing with Chase. She was being pushed toward her breaking point when he made a comment. “What's with the hat and bandana trip?” he asked in a low, arrogant tone that she'd only heard her brother use. “Trying to copy me?” Chance, for the first time since she was in the second grade, followed her instincts.

 

 

Chance growled on a low level at him, knowing that he'd understand it. “What the hell are you trying to pull, halfsie?” said her growl.

 

 

“I'd like to know the same.” he replied in a usual voice. She growled at him, her eyes narrowed but her feet never missing a beat. She twirled under his arm and he dipped her. “You're pretty light on your feet.” he complimented.

 

 

“What are you getting at?” she said suspiciously.

 

 

“Nothing.” he replied. He then growled at her, now knowing she'd understand. “All I want to know is why you smell like my father.”

 

 

Freezing, Chance stared at him. “Your father...?” she whispered. She blinked once before falling backwards and onto the gym floor. The fat one known as Mrs. Barclay bustled over and let Bailey, Chelsey, and Brianna make a fuss over her. Chase lifted her up and onto the bleachers where Bailey and the girls surrounded her, trying to get her to wake up.

 

 

Sighing, Chase gave a jab at it. He tapped a spot just above where her ears should be buried under the bandana and cap. She gave a start and looked around. She spotted Chase and growled at him. He growled back.

 

 

“If he's your father then why the hell do I smell like him?” she growled.

 

 

“Hell if I know.”

 

 

One of Chance's eyebrows rose. “Maybe we're related.”

 

 

“It's possible.”

 

 

“After school, meet me outside the gym. Either that or I'll tear off one of your ears.”

 

 

“You wouldn't dare.”

 

 

“Don't underestimate me. I tried it on my brother once and he was whining for a week.” He glared at her, and then walked away, both of them ceasing their low rumbles. Bailey, Chelsey, and Brianna looked at her with an odd look. “What?” she asked.

 

 

“You were just having a growl fight with the new dude. Explanation?” said Bailey.

 

 

Chance just shook her head. “I can't tell you guys.” She looked over toward Mrs. Barclay. “I'm going home.”

 

 

Chase, from across the gym, looked over at her with his sharp azure eyes and she scowled. “Or not...” She ended up dancing with Chase for the last half hour of gym, which wasn't so bad now that they didn't hate each other. Instead, they talked (like humans) about their favorite bands and whatnot.

 

 

“No way, you like Demonica? They rule!” said Chance, her eyes sparkling. She made a point right now that, if they weren't related in any way, to date this guy.

 

 

“Note the hat.” he replied, bowing his head to show her the Demonica logo on his hat.

 

 

Chance sighed. “Weird. Almost uncanny, but not quite.” There was a pause. “Do you like musicals?”

 

 

“First time I hear the song, it's pretty catchy, but after a while they get really annoying.” Blinking, Chance hummed Hernando's Hideaway. Chase smirked. “That one doesn't get old.” The end-of-class bell sounded and Chase spun her out a last time before placing a kiss on her hand and grinning at her mischievously before heading toward the guy's locker room.

 

 

Chance scowled. There was no way they could be related... the chances were probably a zillion to one. But then again, they looked almost exactly alike, only she had longer hair, a more femme face, and a few extra...attachments.

 

 

~

 

 

After school, Chance and Chase walked out of the school together. Bailey, Chelsey, Brianna, Bridgit, and Devin were staring after them. Bailey shook his head. “Either they're gonna end up as a dynamic duo or a copious couple.”

 

 

“I'm putting my money on dynamic duo.” said Brianna, filing her nails.

 

 

“No way, copious couple is so much more obvious.”

 

 

~

 

 

Chase and Chance wandered down the street. Chance was checking her watch every so often to make sure she didn't miss her bus, but they still had a lot of time. “So...”

 

 

“So.” said Chase, repeating her sentence. “Where do you live?”

 

 

“On Granada,” Chance replied, “Just off Clark and Stearns.”

 

 

“Weird, I'm right around the block.”

 

 

“Guess we're taking the same bus then.”

 

 

“Nah, my dad is picking me up at McDonald's.”

 

 

Chance blinked. “Seriously?” Chase nodded. “Do you think I could meet him?” They were already across the street from Wendy's, so Chase pointed over at a sleek black Lincoln Navigator, with all-tinted windows. The driver's seat window began to roll down as they crossed the street, and Chance was shaking. It rolled down to show a woman that looked impeccably like Rin, Chance's mother, but Chance could tell it wasn't.

 

 

Chase scowled. “Who's that?” asked Chance.

 

 

“My mom; my dad must be out of town.”

 

 

“Chase, come on, you're gonna be late for practice!” said Matsuri as he got in the car. He only stared out the window at Chance and waved at her as they drove off. She got onto her bus and he watched in his rear-view mirror.

 

 

~

 

 

Chance smartly sat on the porch eating a bit out of her small but plentiful sugar stash. She was reading her latest magazine of Teen People, which she got just to laugh at the embarrassing stories and, on occasion, do the quizzes.

 

 

“Fancy meeting you here.” said Chase as he rolled up on his bike.

 

 

Looking up, Chance waved at him. “How long is your dad out of town?”

 

 

“The rest of the month is what it looks like.” he replied, coming to sit on the porch with her. “You look anxious; you waiting for someone?”

 

 

“Yeah, just my brother; he should've been here an hour ago.”

 

 

“His flight was probably delayed.”

 

 

“Probably.” They lapsed into a comfortable silence, both of them reading the embarrassing stories and laughing at them.

 

 

~

 

 

Around six o'clock, Rin pulled up in her beat-up Explorer. She went into the house and called `I'm home!' only to hear a few giggles that sounded like her daughter's and a masculine laugh. She raised an eyebrow and headed for the back yard. Looking out the back window, she saw Chance lying on the back lawn (over a blanket) with a boy next to her. They were both pointing up at the clouds and laughing.

 

 

“Look at that one! It looks like Shippo's head from the Nevermind cover.” Chance, after scrutinizing it for a moment, laughed and nodded.

 

 

“That one looks like a bear.”

 

 

“Which one?” asked the boy, turning his head toward her.

 

 

“That one!” she said, pointing it out.

 

 

“Ohh...” he said, following her fingers. “Now I see it.” He checked his watch and winced. “Oh boy, I'm gonna be in for it from my mom when I get home. I gotta go.”

 

 

“Aw, do you have to?” Chance pouted.

 

 

“Sorry,” he said, “I'll see you tomorrow at school.” The boy then went out through the front gate and to the bike that was on the front porch, rolling away. Chance stood at the front gate with a scowl.

 

 

“Stupid parents.” she muttered, heading for the door.

 

 

“Who was that, hun?” asked Rin nonchalantly as she started dinner.

 

 

“A guy from school.” she replied. “He looks a lot like me, don't you think?”

 

 

“He does.” Rin sat down and sipped some hot chocolate, eyeing her love-sick daughter. “You like him, don't you?”

 

 

“What? No way!” she replied, blushing.

 

 

Rin smiled. “I was young once too.” Chance didn't say anything else, but sat down on the couch. Her mother came to sit next to her as she flipped around the channels. She stopped on MTV where Demonica was playing another concert. “My friend is Inuyasha's girlfriend.” said Rin, looking to her daughter.

 

 

Chance looked to her mother, jaw dropped. “Who? Tell me!”

 

 

“I can't. But guess what she managed to get me.” Chance's eyes were so wide, and her eyebrows had disappeared under her bangs. “Four back stage passes and front row seats!”

 

 

Chance squealed, jumped around, and danced like she'd never danced before. Then she noted something. “Wait a minute... There are four tickets; one for me, Christian, and you, but who's the fourth one going to?”

 

 

“Whoever you want to go.” her mother replied.

 

 

“Ooooh, Chase is so going! He's gonna die when I tell him tomorrow.”

 

 

“Is that who that young man was?” Chance nodded. “He looked quite respectable.” That was Rin's way of saying that her daughter had permission to date him. Chance grinned.

 

 

~

 

 

“Chase! Guess what!” Chase looked up from his spot against the office building as Chance came dashing toward him. She spun and went against the wall next to him, grinning like an idiot. “My mom got us four tickets to the Demonica concert next week.”

 

 

Chase's jaw dropped and he looked at her with wide eyes. “Seriously?” Chance nodded vigorously. “Yes! This is gonna be my first Demonica concert in two years!”

 

 

Chance looked down slightly. “This'll be my first one, period.”

 

 

“Ouch. I'm sorry, Chance.”

 

 

“Don't worry about it.”

 

 

~

 

 

The day passed and Chance and Chase were sitting out in the front lawn this time, staring up at the clouds. Rin was on the phone inside, talking to one of the Demonica band members. “I don't give a damn whether or not you care, but you are going to tell that girl who her father is if it's the last thing I make you do!”

 

 

“Rin, dammit, I'm not going to tell her.”

 

 

“Neither am I! Her father should, and sorry, but I don't have a dick.” She only heard growling and a bit of swearing from the other line.

 

 

“Fine, I'll make him tell her.”

 

 

“Thank you.” Rin tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “Tell him he's got until the concert next week to prepare himself for her wild temper. We've got backstage passes.”

 

 

“See you for the fireworks then...”

 

 

~

 

 

I know who the father is; I know who the father is... hehe. Anyways, if you guys have figured it out yet, well for you! I've dropped a few hints at it, and NO it's not Inuyasha. If it were, this story would be so wrong that I just couldn't put it up. If you haven't figured it out... I'm not telling! :P I'm a stinker. See yah for the next chapter!