InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Falling ❯ Falling ( Chapter 1 )

Inuyasha is the property of Rumiko Takahashi! Now that I have the legalities out of the way, I want to saw that yes, it is a new story, but I am still working on my other ones. Some of them may be stopped because of how much I knew about the series at the time I wrote them, and wish to discontinue them, but we'll see. ^^; I hope you like this new one. It is another alternate reality, but please-still read and enjoy.

Falling

Chapter One

By: Lazuli

<lazulidreamer@yahoo.com>

Kagome shivered as another gust of wind lashed the cold rain into her face, and she pulled the coat tighter around her body, wishing that she could at least find some dry unoccupied place to stay in until the storm blew over. Staying outdoors wasn't nearly as bad when it was dry. She could at least find food that way-in the dark, pouring rain, without an umbrella, looked like a drowned rat. No one was around to give her sympathetic looks or help her either. They were all in too big of a hurry to get where they needed to go, rushing by in their cars, the speed of them throwing water up on the sidewalk, and consequently, her. Such an event had just occurred, and Kagome felt chilled even more than before as the orange-yellow light of the streetlamps cast a dim glow above her. Even they seemed washed out by the rain.

All the houses around her were occupied, and she could glimpse in some windows a few kids lounging on their couches, something warm clasped in their hands or set beside them as they chattered happily on the phone, their faces animated. They didn't have to worry about the rain outside-they were perfectly content to look out the window, shiver and then draw the curtains closed as if to shut out the fact that the world was not always sunny and bright.

She wasn't so lucky…she finally made it out of the occupied part of town, part of her relieved that she no longer had to worry about unfriendly stares, the other part of her longing for the warmth of those houses, those families. The houses around her now were dilapidated, most of them with signs on them proclaiming the lack of support of the floors and walls. Ivy grew over a lot of the walls, a tree growing straight up through one house. Still-families of her kind stayed in places like these for a few days, before a floor collapsed or they simply moved on. The police never bothered with them-they were a part of the town, and not a part of it Drifters…runaways, and homeless people. No one did anything about it anymore. They don't even care if we're on 'their' land, as long as we stay away from them. It's pathetic…at least if they put us in jail we'd be warm and fed for a day or so.

Kagome quickly surveyed the remaining houses around her-most of them she could see signs of occupation-the ones that were nicest to live in, the most safe already had a child peeking out of the windows, and a mother snatching the body back, hidden again away from scornful eyes-or worse-one of their kind that wanted the house for themselves. A moment later a 'Unsafe' sign was placed in the broken panel of the window, and all was still again.

Kagome sighed softly and moved on, finally coming to one of the oldest houses in the district-and one that no one ever went in. Not that they believed it could collapse upon them any minute. It was the fact that it was once owned by a youkai lord when such creatures still were about, and no one wanted to risk the thought of touching such unclean soil and being taken over by the evil that was left over from such a passing. Or it could be that the youkai just might come back, restore his house in a snap, and kill all trespassers.

Brushing her rain soaked hair away from her face, Kagome edged around the walls of the house, looking for some type of opening. She was perplexed at what seemed a lack of one. Surely the house wasn't built as good as that. Time rots away everything, and this house has been standing for longer than anything in this town! Kagome had to search for quite some time before she found a small window set high on the walls of the house, and she dug her nails into the rotting wood, trying to find a purchase to climb up. Balancing preciously on a sill, she stretched her fingertips up to the edge of the window, hoping to grab on to the bottom of it enough so that she could lift herself in. She didn't dare jump for it, the sill was about to separate from the window she was standing on any moment. Just as that thought went through her head, she heard a cracking sound and fell towards the ground below.

Wincing, Kagome rubbed her sore hip and stared at where she had slipped, and was gratified to see that the sill splitting away had caused a hole big enough for her to slip through. It was a shame that the damage was done to the house, but she shrugged it off mentally. It would fall soon enough, she was only helping it towards the inevitable. She stood up her tiptoes and managed to lift herself into the hole, wincing as some splinters poked through the thin material of her clothing. It only lasted a moment and she used the pain to urge herself into the house faster. It was only a short time before she was completely out of the rain and sitting at the edge of what was once an elegant washroom.

Standing up slowly, Kagome stared in amazement at the marble tub, large enough to have two or three people seated in it, the fixtures that would pour hot and cold water into it-the sink and the mirror… the beautiful tiles on the floor. All were age spotted and worn with time, but the original beauty of the craftsmanship was easy to see and appreciate. She hadn't seen such fine bathing materials since she had once stayed in a hotel and even those didn't reach up to the standard that she was seeing here.

"This person had serious money…" She whispered, running her fingers delicately over the taps, seeing the dog motif in several places. Dogs with elegant lines decorated parts of the bathroom. "Either this was an inuyoukai or they were seriously in love with their dog." She shook her head and decided to explore some more of the house, ignoring the fact that she be introduced to the basement of the place quite violently if she didn't watch her step.

The rest of the house seemed to be in about the same type of shape as the washroom/bathroom. Dust covered the floors and walls. Dust got into everything, no matter how tightly a house was sealed. She brushed off the railing of the staircase and looked down at the floors below, surprised that they too, were still intact. She continued to explore the floor that she was on, peering into the empty rooms that must have once echoed with life. It was almost sad to see the remains of something that was once so great reduced to a sad memory.

One of the bedrooms was not empty, however, and Kagome stared at the room, never haven seen such beauty in her life. Moth eaten, time ridden beauty, but still-nothing this fine even existed now, and she had seen the insides of many of the elite's homes, having scrubbed their floors and every other part of their homes. The bed was still standing-a huge creation of dark green cloth covering the mattress, several pillows still arranged as neatly as if the owner was coming back in a few hours. There was a huge oak dresser in the corner, completely empty, but several marks on it, showing that at one point someone's precious objects once lay displayed on the fine wood.

There was a huge closet at one end of the room-and it too, was empty, but Kagome marveled at the size and wondered what it could have held. Several families could have lived in the closet alone…the room itself was huge, and Kagome twirled around a few times, taking in the depth of space of which she stood it. She could stay here tonight… it would be wonderful to lay on something that didn't soak through her clothes in the damp, and nothing would drip on her head once the rain started up again. She sighed, satisfied. She could probably take up residence here for a few days at least. She plopped down on the bed, coughing as the action sent up a mound of dust in her face. She beat at the covers as best as she could until she had a spot cleared off enough for her to lie down on without worrying about choking in the middle of the night. She would worry about food tomorrow. Tonight demanded sleep and everything else could wait. Lulled by the now gentle sounds of the rain outside, she drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Inuyasha hung up his coat on the brass rack, letting the rain drip off of it and into the pot designed for that purpose. One of servants would empty it later, but for now it was better than letting it drip over the floors to warp the wood. He sighed and made sure that his feet were clean as he walked through the house-Kaede wouldn't be pleased if he caused more work for her-and he grinned at the anticipation of her wrath. She had been taking care of him for years, and his father before that. Just because he was head of her now didn't mean she would let him tramp mud all over the floors she had just scrubbed.

Shoes mud free, Inuyasha made his way quickly up the stairs, wanting nothing more than to have a hot bath and then to climb into bed. He could ring for a servant for food after he was warm and relaxed. He ran the taps in the bathroom as he quickly stripped and settled himself in the warm water. The rain was dripping outside, but he wasn't out in it, and felt sorry for anyone that actually was.

Bathed and dressed in warm, dry clothing, Inuyasha made his way to the bedroom, placing his wet clothes in the chute reserved for that purpose. He hated the smell of damp clothing-it got on his nerves. He blinked in surprise when he realized the smell had not gone away once he dumped his clothes down the chute, and he searched around for the foreign scent, trying to find out where it was coming from. It seemed to be originating from the bed, and he wondered why on earth his sheets would be damp. He wasn't expecting the half naked girl, wet and muddy lying asleep on his sheets.

He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't imagining things, but if was going to dream up a girl she would at least be clean. This one smelled of old dirt and dampness-hardly the type of girl he would fantasize about. Although all that skin exposed….he wondered what a whore would be doing so far away from her brothel and inside his room. If she was a whore, even. He finally concluded she was some type of runaway from an institution of sorts-although how she got here was anyone's guess.

He poked at her to see if she would move, but she was so sound asleep that she didn't even budge. His face softened slightly. Even if she did break into his home somehow, she was obviously exhausted, and judging by her thin frame, half starved as well. She needed the rest and he sat on the edge of the bed, simply watching her and waiting for her to get up. He rang for a servant-no using going without his own meal while he waited for her to wake. Kaede appeared a few moments later, tray in hand, raising an eyebrow when she noticed the extra body in bed.

"And who is this, Inuyasha-sama?" She asked quietly. There was no accusation, just simply curiosity at the body when she never knew him to bring home any girl, and not one as ill-bred looking as this one. Setting the tray on the bedside table, she clucked sympathetically as she took a closer look at the girl. "Poor thing-she's wet to the bone and must be absolutely frozen in those thin garments. Let me set up a bath for her when she awakes."

Kaede had set her mind to another task, and it was plain that any questions would wait until the girl was warmed up and with a proper meal in her. If it turned out she was a thief or a common tramp, they would turn her out again and to the proper authorities, but for now Kaede's maternal instincts would not let someone like her go without some care.

Inuyasha nodded for her to set up everything she wanted while he took a sip of his drink and waited for the girl to get up. She couldn't sleep forever, could she? He smiled slightly. Kaede would probably wake her up as soon as the bath was ready so that she could get cleaned. It wasn't a bad idea at all. His noise wrinkled again and he lifted the girl carefully in his arms to take her to the washroom so that she wouldn't have to walk herself. He hoped that she would stay asleep until he got her in Kaede's care. The expert housekeeper would be able to take care of her quite well, and hopefully without frightening her. Although with Kaede, she'd probably be able to scrub down the girl and get her into warm, dry clothes without her stirring at all.

It didn't quite work out that way, though. As soon as she felt herself being moved, the girl moved in his arms quickly, twisting away with cat like grace, staring at him with the wide, frightened eyes of a cornered animal. Her eyes flicked all around her quickly, not pausing on one spot until they moved back to him. Her frame shuddered for a moment, and she backed away from him slowly, yanking her wet coat around her emaciated frame tightly. "I'll go now… I'm sorry…" She whispered. Her entire body showed how frightened she was-confusion as well was dominant in her scent and Inuyasha stood where he was, not wanting to scare her anymore than she was. As much as he frightened those outside of his house, a young girl inside the house was a different matter.

"Inuyasha-sama, the bath is ready…" Kaede's voice trailed off as the girl's eyes snapped to hers, and she whimpered slightly. "So you are awake." Kaede was still brisk and efficient, taking the girl by the arm, pulling her along to the bathing room. The girl stumbled along, too shocked and confused to protest.

Kagome was very startled when she finally realized that she was sitting in a bath full of warm, soapy water and it wasn't just her imagination. The woman scrubbed her with complete lack of modesty-she could have been laundry if it was for the care she was treated with. She was hauled out with the same efficiency and wrapped in a warm, thick robe. She blinked her startled eyes as she realized that she was in the same washroom as the one she had originally landed in-but it was much different now. It was new. The marble wasn't stained-the carvings were fresh and easy to see-steam covered the huge mirrors, but that only added to the fact that there was hot running water-something that hadn't been there before.

"I am Kaede-head housekeeper here." She rubbed the towel over Kagome's hair as she talked, and her face held a very concerned expression as she again moved Kagome in a soft nightgown. "You're half starved child-have you eaten today?" Kagome shook her head slowly, wondering what was going on. She had to be dreaming-the house she had fallen asleep in had collapsed around her and she was now dead. Heaven consisted of a hot bath and a kind woman determined to feed her.

As she was led back to the room, her eyes widened as she saw the young man before her, amber eyes narrowed and intent on her form. Although I never knew that the afterlife would consist of an angry youkai looking ready to kill me.