This is probably one of my best that I've done so far, I believe. Hopefully I can stick with this one, even though my attention span isn't very good. I hope you all enjoy it!
*To give you guys a heads up, this is only somewhat a filler chapter, even though it's the first one. More like a Prologue, I guess, but hey, you gotta start somewhere!
----
Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, even though I wish I owned Miroku. :[ Lol.
----
[u]Chapter One[/u]
It was a beautiful Monday September morning. The air was crisp and clean, and the sky was a healthy shade of blue. Some of the local residents and tourists were already wandering the streets, going either to school, work, or a breakfast place. Cars began to slowly fill the cobblestone streets, and carriages lined up in their normal stations.
Among the tall buildings and historical sites was a small, two-story café. The outside was painted a soft vanilla with a mocha brown roof and window frames. Inside, there was hardwood floors, and each room had it's own theme. The 'Main Hall' was where the actual café was located. The walls were a soft shade of white, and the furniture was all blues, yellows, and browns. The whole upstairs was one, large room, the walls painted a yellow color. It was done up in whites, browns, silvers, and yellows, with a large bay window that looked out across River Street.
In one of the small, polished wood tables sat a woman in her early twenties. A notebook was laid out in front of her, the pages blank as she stared out across the river, her blue eyes misted over in thought. Her raven-black hair was tied up in a messy bun, with tendrils falling around her heart-shaped face and slender neck. She twirled a pen in one hand absently as she bit her bottom lip in thought.
After a few minutes, the woman closed her eyes, relaxing as she gently set her pen down. She placed her head in her hands, her elbows resting on the table as she sighed. The only sounds were the quiet murmurs of the other customers, the clinking of coffee cups and plates, and the occasional burst of laughter.
Downstairs, the soft ringing bell of the door being opened echoed through the building. A soft, feminine voice floated up the stairs, followed by musical laughter that was growing louder, as well as footsteps coming up the steps.
A tall, slender woman appeared at the top of the steps, her chocolate-brown eyes scanning the customers before spotting the woman sitting by herself in front of the bay window. "Kagome?"
The blue-eyed woman looked up, a smile spreading across her face. "Kikyo, hi!"
Kikyo made her way towards Kagome, mumbling apologies as she slipped between the chairs and tables with ease. She sighed as she plopped into the chair across from Kagome's. "How did I know you'd be here?"
Kagome shrugged, reaching for the latte sitting in front of her. "More than likely you had a 'feeling', I guess. Either that, or I just don't have a life."
Rolling her eyes, Kikyo watched as Kagome brought the cooled liquid to her mouth with a slight frown. "So you heard?"
Kagome swallowed, allowing the lukewarm substance to slide down her throat, soothing her slightly frazzled nerves. "About?"
"You only drink latte's when Inuyasha did something to you."
Kagome nearly choked on her drink. "Am I really that predictable?"
Kikyo laughed again, causing the customers around her to pause in their conversations to listen to the musical sound. "Of course...you've only been coming here since we found it back in high school."
"Of course." Kagome shook her head as memories of her teen years ran through her mind. "It was a day much like this, right?"
Nodding, Kagome glanced out the window once more, her eyes clouding over. "Kagura hated any kind of cold weather, and saw her crush come in here - her excuse was to get warm."
The two fell into a comfortable silence, both staring out the window, lost in their own thoughts. Kikyo was the first to break the silence, a bit hesitant as she cleared her throat, "You never answered my earlier question."
"About?"
Kikyo gave her a pointed look. "About Inuyasha and Kaguya?"
Kagome's eyes darkened, and she glanced sharply at Kikyo. "How long did you know?"
"Miroku just called me less than ten minutes ago." Kikyo stated calmly, ignoring Kagome as she huffed. "I knew you'd wander off somewhere, and like you said, I kinda had this feeling you were here."
"Must be a cousin thing..." Kagome mumbled, taking another sip of her latte. "How much did Miroku tell you?"
"Pretty much everything, but he edited it a bit, or so he said. Inuyasha called him a few minutes after I got there, and needless to say, he heard about it."
Kagome's eyes widened at her older cousin...sweet, innocent Kikyo? No way! "What all did you say?!"
Kikyo winked, smirking as Kagome's mouth dropped open, but didn't say anything. "No, you didn't threaten him, did you?"
"I don't threaten, dear cousin, I make promises." Kikyo smiled at Kagome's giggle. "When are you going on that trip Miroku told me about?"
"Sometime next week, I think. Mr. Onigumo was sort of reluctant to let me go, but he thought it would do me good." Kagome motioned to the blank notebook in front of her. "As you can tell, I have a massive case of writers block, and he thinks that sending me to Scotland for Halloween would give me some inspiration."
"Why Scotland of all places?"
Kagome shrugged, and they both stood, Kagome throwing her empty cup away as they left the café. "I guess because that's where most of the famous haunted tours are."
"You're still writing horror stories?" Kikyo tutted at her as they made their way out the front door, the merry dinging of the bell ringing in their ears. "Dear, aren't you a bit to young to become the next Steven King?"
"Hey now, he's a wonderful author!"
"I was just saying..."
They fell into another silence, the only sounds being the sound of cars passing them, chatter, and birds, along with the occasional horn blast of the boats tugging along the river. "Didn't Mary of Scots get buried there?"
Kagome snorted, giggling at Kikyo's confused expression. "No! Didn't you pay attention in school?"
Scowling, Kikyo glanced at the younger girl from the corner of her eye. "Kags, you know I hardly paid attention to any of those idiots."
"Yet you still made straight A's."
"Only because I copied you."
"Gee, thanks." Kagome said sarcastically as they stopped at the corner between Bay Street and Bay Lane. "Queen Mary was actually embalmed and left at her palace for a year, until her son had her moved to Westminster Abbey, which is in London."
"I knew that." Kikyo muttered as they crossed the street towards the parking lot. "I'll see you at Sango's."
----
"She is coming, right?"
Dark eyes slowly scanned the picture he held before him, smiling appreciatively at the woman's beauty. "Yes, she will do wonderfully. Beautiful, intelligent...you say she's a wonderful story writer as well, hmm?"
"She will be pleased."
"So naive..." He gently set the picture down, the portrait of Kagome smiling reflecting in the dull lamplight. "Wonderful, and just what we need to complete the ritual."
----
"So she's like, 'You've just about lost your damn mind!' in that cute southern accent of hers!"
The group stood around Miroku's kitchen, laughing at Suikotsu as he retold the story of Kikyo threatening Inuyasha on the phone. "And he just started stuttering and hung up on her."
"Wow, if I knew my cousin was going to be such a hassle when you two got married, I would've stopped the wedding!" Miroku cried, causing the others to laugh again. He ignored Kikyo's playful glare and snatched a roll from her hand. "And you know I would!"
"Come on, Miroku, give it back!" Kikyo whined, reaching for the small puff of bread. Miroku lifted it above her head out of reach, quickly bringing it to his face and licking it before chuckling at her disgusted expression. "Haha, I beat you!"
"Miroku, knock it off." Kagome growled playfully, bumping him out of the way with her hip as she passed him while balancing a plate of tea glasses. "Just because you're taller than us doesn't mean you gotta be so cruel!"
"I was just messin', shorty." Miroku stuck his tongue out at her. "Plus, Sango has my back, right dear?"
Said woman turned halfway to face him from her place by the stove, a soup ladle in one hand and a small tube of pepper in the other. She rolled her eyes at his goofy grin and turned back to her soup. "Who says?"
"Aww, Sango, don't be like that!" Miroku whined pitifully, going behind her and wrapping his strong arms around her waist. "Plus, I bought you something pretty for our anniversary!"
"It's only been a couple of months, Miroku." Sango blushed as he slowly spun her around to face him, a sexy smirk adorning his handsome features. "Who says?"
"Aww, you guys, how cute!" Kagome giggled at their glares as she grabbed the stack of plates on the counter. "Makes me wish I weren't single."
"So it's official?" Suikotsu poked his head in around the corner, sending the couple by the stove a look before smiling at Kagome. "You and Inutrasha are most definitely off now?"
"Don't say 'most definitely' again, hon." Kikyo pushed his head back around the corner with a frown and followed him to the dining room with Kagome tagging along behind them. "You sound too much like your brother."
"Mukotsu?"
"He's creepy." Kagome scrunched her nose up cutely, blinking at Suikotsu's chuckle. "Well, at least you know he'd be a willing participant if you ever get lonely!"
"Eww, gross!" Kagome looked at Kikyo for help, who just shrugged. "He got you on that one."
"Dinners almost ready!" Sango called from the kitchen as Kagome began setting the table. "Good, I'm about half-starved!"
"The whole Mukotsu and Kagome thing sound good, don't you think?" Suikotsu was cut off with a firm slap on his arm from Kikyo. "Stop pestering her about her singularity!"
"WOW, Kikyo, that sounded REAL smart!" Kagome teased, ignoring the glare sent her way. "You realize you just told your husband to stop talking about my 'marvel', right?"
"Shut it, Kagome, or I'll slap you too!"
----
----
If this story seems familiar in a number of ways, blame my reading. After reading all these horror-romance vampire books and such, from the Twilight Series to of course, Steven King, you can't help it. My favorite book ever: When Darkness Falls by Shannon Drake. She is an excellent author in my case, and the recent book I've read. This story is pretty much mixed, with a bunch of different styles and some smidges of ideas when I need help.
So, needless to say, I don't own Steven King, Shannon Drake, or her wonderful book, When Darkness Falls.
I really want my own copy. :[
Criticism is much appreciated, as well as comments about what you think. :] Until next time!