In the small town of Heartfalls a young girl on the brink of her teenage years sat in her attic, mutely drawing her brush over its canvas in an array of colors. This was a daily affair for her, wake up, pop in a CD, sit, and paint for hours on end since she had nothing else she could be doing. Her schooling wouldn't start for another 2 weeks and it wasn't like she had any chores around her aunt's house...no, it was her house now. Remembering, she had been alone for the last six months of her life; at least, she had been alone in this house for the last six months. She had taken to using the name 'Hitori Takahashi', it wouldn't matter if anyone knew her real name anyways, and they wouldn't stick around to actually use it. Takahashi had been her aunt's maiden name and Hitori being her own creation...it meant alone. On her fifteenth birthday, her aunt -her supposed guardian- had taken her life after a fight had blown up between the two. Her aunt claimed that after 11 years, she couldn't take care of her anymore, that she was too much of a hassle, a nightmare, a birth not meant to be; her parents would probably say the same. When she was 4 years old, her parents had taken her to her aunt's place and dumped her off there, on the doorstep, with stern orders not to leave this place and to not cause any unneeded stress for her aunt like she had for them. She had sat for hours on that doorstep, counting chips of paint on the fence in front of her, till her aunt had come back. They had stared at one another for a long time, before her aunt had moved aside and let her in.
Returning from memory lane, she gave a firm shake of her head and set her brush down; standing, and making her way towards the kitchen to find something to snack on. Opening the cupboards, to her disappointment, she found that they were bare- as was her fridge. She sighed and walked towards the front door, grabbing her coat and bag before stepping out into the bright ray of sunlight. Automatically, she lifted her arm to shield her eyes from the glaring sunlight before making her way down the street towards the nearby super market. That was the good thing about a small town, everything was within walking distance. She passed by several people on her way, calling out greetings and questions of their well beings as was returned to her.
Entering the super market, she picked up a basket and was hit by a wave of air conditioning which was pleasant on her sweating skin, it was summer after all. Making her way through the super market, she picked up several packets of snacks as well as several beverages that she placed in her basket and then made her way towards the checkout. Her head down, it was inevitable that she would crash into someone. She fell backwards onto her butt, her items scattering from her basket, as well as items from the person she had crashed into. She mumbled a curse under her breath, but stood after several seconds looking down at the fallen items scattered on the floor. Blinking, she realized that a voice was talking to her; turning her head she looked up at the boy whom she had crashed into. She watched as his lips moved, an angered scowl on his face, obviously angered at her, after all, it was to be her fault alike everything else. She mumbled an apology before bending to place her items back into her basket; that done she moved around the boy to continue her way towards the checkout line. She blinked as a heavy hand landed on her shoulder, turning her head partially she glanced at the boy.
"Aren't you going to pick up my stuff as well?! You were the one who crashed into me so you may as well pick up everything!" the boy growled at her.
She glanced down at the items still on the floor before glancing back up at the boy, a clear question in her sapphire eyes why she would do such a thing. The boy didn't seem to understand the question and instead took to crossing his arms over his chest, glaring at her. She huffed, set her basket down on the floor, and bent to pick up his fallen items. Everything in hand, she gave the respected items to its owner before picking up her basket and making her way to the checkout once again.
Loading her items onto the checkout belt she realized that she was missing a couple of her items, biting her lip she counted 2 people in front of her, not enough time to go and get new ones. A light tapping on her shoulder made her turn her head to see the boy once again, with the items she was missing in hand. Blinking, she reached for the items a soft 'thank you' spilling from her lips.
"Well, don't think too much of this but I guess it wasn't completely your fault. I wasn't paying attention either so... Well you're stupid for leaving these things behind." The boy huffed. She giggled softly and faced forward, awaiting her turn to pay for her items.
"Inuyasha." She heard. Turning, she looked at the boy, "What did you say?"
"Inuyasha Taisho, that's my name." he mumbled, looking off in all directions, not meeting her eyes.
"Hitori Takahashi." She replied as she did to anyone else who had ever asked her name, not giving anymore or less. She heard her created name whispered behind her as if being tried out, obviously not meant to be heard, but she heard it nonetheless and couldn't help but feel some sort of emotion bubble to the surface over it. Neither her parents, nor her aunt had ever called her by any name simply sticking to names like 'girl' and 'kid'...and others she wouldn't dare to voice, even in her own polluted mind.
Finally, her items were being scanned and she watched as the numbers rolled onto the screen, the total rising higher and higher. Opening her wallet, she pulled out a couple bills-making a note that she was running low and would have to find some funds for her schooling- before handing them over, accepting her change, her bags and then walking out of the store without a second glance back, in the direction of 'home'. 'Hitori' she thought. 'Alone. How it suits me'
[u]-2 weeks later-[/u]
Kagome walked down the street, earphones in, hands grasping her backpack, quietly murmuring the lyrics to herself as she made her way to what would be the first day of the new semester. If she had a choice she would rather not be attending school, but not for the usual reason of most children. To say the least, she was afraid though she would never admit it to herself let alone anyone else. What she was afraid of was unknown to her, possibly it was that letting anyone close to her again would only end up hurting her again. Though her parents had abandoned her and her aunt had killed herself because of her, she couldn't help but still love them, allow them to have a place in her heart. She wasn't one for friends, she was sociable enough and she got along rather well with everyone at school, but that was just it. She got along with the people from school, at school. If she let anyone else in, who was to say that they would too not be wrenched from her, leaving her to snivel by herself for nights on end?
Arriving at the school gates, she sighed to herself, glancing over the large, already formed cliques scattered over the school yard. She made her way through them as best as she could to enter the building. Glancing down at the sheets which were laid on a table, she searched for her name in the many classes. Finally finding it -making note that her grade level was to assemble in the cafeteria at 9:15am-she made her way to the art room where she was greeted by a teacher who told her to make her choice of where she was to sit and what storage places she wanted to use, 'The early bird gets the best worm. It is best to decide before everyone else' had been her words. Carefully sorting through the assembled storage places, opening and analyzing the spaces she finally made her decision. What confused her though was that the one next to her chosen one was already locked. Glancing at the teacher, she asked why this particular storage place was already locked, only to receive a vague answer of a new kid claiming it before the loudspeaker came on telling all students to accumulate in their designated areas. With a quick bow to the teacher, she exited the room and made her way in a quick stride towards the cafeteria.
Pausing in front of the bulletin board, she couldn't help but let a loose smile happen across her face, there were already postings for all sorts of things on it and the day had barely begun! There were what looked like sign-up lists for Archery, Kendo, Science Club, Debate Club and many more. What drew in her attention though was a white piece of paper that had the words, "Heartfalls Community Centre offers classes for those who have lost their way and are seeking guidance. Volunteers are appreciated, pupils are needed, and Angels are welcomed. Classes will start two weeks from now." Biting her lip as the loudspeaker came on in a warning, she quickly snapped up one of the numbers hanging from the sheet, stuffing it in one of her many pockets, before making a quick dash towards the cafeteria, knowing that by dallying she would probably miss some of the meeting, and how one wouldn't want to miss that right?
XoX--XoX
ScarredInnocence: Hello to all and thank you for reading my story. Now, please tell me what you think. ^-^