InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Between the Lines ❯ Between the Lines ( Chapter 1 )

[ A - All Readers ]

She is blanketed by quiet dawn, the horizon a burnt glow as the sun slowly comes out of hiding.

Kagome gasps once, twice, thrice before shutting her eyes. She tries to smile. There is only room for happy times ahead. Only happy times. Happy thoughts. Happy experiences. She hums silently, comforted by the vibrations in her throat. The bauble in her hands is glowing, shining through her fingers clasped so tight around it. It's speaking to her, whispering to her, reaching out with smoky tendrils that send her heart aflutter, and in her mind are visions of the battlefield torn asunder. It takes a lot to hold back the cringe.

Somewhere -in her mind?- a cloud of butterflies erupts forth to fill the skies. Kagome wonders how many wings were shredded and regrown. She doesn't belong here. This is all just temporary, and Kagome is a temporary savior for the past, called back to fix what should never have been.

It's not too late, not too late at all, only there's a precipice with a drop-off and she has no room to back away from the edge. There's no other way out except across. She hopes it isn't down, but up. Where are her wings?

A tiny voice inside her head says, 'make your wish'.

She chews her lip and looks around. It has to be the right one. The right words, the right intention, the right remedy...

The thought of such weight upon her shoulders is burdensome, but she believes she's got all the strength she needs. After taking everything thrown her way, this is no time to collapse beneath such pressure. Kagome knows this.

They won this time.

...this time?

Opening her eyes, Kagome frowns. There shouldn't ever be another time. This won't happen again. Or has it happened before already? She purses her lips and looks at the jewel in her hands, an unnatural warmth against her skin. It's as if it's alive now. Nevermind the bloodstains -some hers, some not- that have dried through the fabric of her uniform, causing it to stick to her skin with discomfort. Nevermind the chill that threatens to break the ground apart and send everyone tumbling down - Kagome's certain. She's finally becoming certain.

Kagome makes her wish.

Kagome vanishes.

Kagome wakes up, and her smile is genuine...

...until she sees the bloodstains.

Where did those come from?

She's confused but brushes it off like it's an everyday occurrence. It's time for school. There's a certain crookedness to her smile, as if something's off-kilter and she can't figure out why, but no mind.

In class her friends give her funny looks when Kagome apologises for having missed so much school. They don't say anything, they merely laugh it off, which makes Kagome wonder what she said to earn those raised eyebrows. But up ahead is smooth sailing...

...and Kagome barely bats an eye at the vaguely familiar man at the front of the room, attendence sheet in hand. Her name rolls off his tongue in a purr: "Greetings, Miss Higurashi. I'm the new history teacher. Good to see you again."

"...we've met before?" A crease forms in her brow.

With a smile he leans back against the desk, eyes flashing momentarily red with a delightful lack of surprise as he adjusts the binding on his long black hair. Five centuries is a long time between meetings. He takes a textbook from a pile behind him and hands it to her.

The cover reads, Feudal Fairytales and Truths. There's no author listed, only an insignia of a red spider encased within a butterfly outline with half-shredded wings.