The Crimson Thread by Jellyphish

I. You cannot change Fate

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

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You cannot  change fate, no matter how hard you try.

Kagome woke to the comfort of her bed, a ceiling above her head, and to the sunshine spilling in from her window. A sigh of content escaped her lips as she huddled into the comfort of her covers. It had been awhile since she was able to return home. Her real home; not the four walls of Kaede's hut, and not the great outdoors either. Searching for jewel shards and leading a double life was taxing, so in the time that she was allowed to sleep in her bed without being disturbed, she cherished greatly.

That was, until she heard Sota outside her window telling her that she would be late for school.

She sighed in frustration, she couldn't have her cake and eat it too. Just because she was home didn't mean Kagome could laze around, she had a double life, she still had to finish school. She reluctantly got up and rushed to get ready and left out the door with toast and jam in her mouth and she struggled to combat the sandman's shiny dust of sleep from her eyes. She rushed to school and fortunately made it into class on time, and she didn't even forget her school books this time either. So maybe the morning wasn't that bad.

Or was it?

During class, Kagome had struggled to multitask between copying notes and understanding the current lecture. In her Japanese literature class, the teacher talked about the red string of fate, explaining the tale of it's Chinese origins and how you are bound to someone regardless of place and circumstance. Kagome herself was interested in the theory, wondering if she would ever see her string of fate, and even looked at her left hand's pinky finger imagining that it was there.

Kagome blinked oddly, lo and behold, on her pinky finger was the very red string being discussed in class, tied with a bow. She thought that she either had an extremely vivid imagination or that she was going crazy. Either way, it didn't change the fact that it was there, and no matter how many times Kagome decided to blink, shake her head gently, or look away and look back, the string was still there. She even tried to feel it, and it was in fact, tangible. She gasped and scooted her chair back in surprise, hitting the desk behind her and causing a small scene, everyone turned their attention.

 "Higurashi, is there something wrong?" her teacher implored of her. She just waved her hands in front of her and shook her head laughing nervously, making the excuse that she had been stretching. The class returned back to the lecture, but Kagome had started to inwardly panic about seeing the string that was in fact real.

After class ended, she met up outside with her friends, Ayumi, Yuka, and Eri. As they were talking going home, Kagome tried to see where the red string led, but she couldn't see the end and it seemed to stretch to forever. She tried pulling at it, but it wouldn't budge. She tried ripping it, but that didn't work either. Her friends stopped to look at her oddly as she was attempting to rip the thread and they inquired if she was feeling alright or maybe she was starting to feel sick again. Kagome gave a nervous smile.

 "Yeah! I uh....actually feel really dizzy, you know with the heat! You know those feinting spells I have," she rambled nervously and laughed a bit.

Her friends continued to give her that suspicious look and she was about to leave when she walked into Hojo. Hojo caught Kagome by the shoulders and gave her that signature nice guy smile of his.

 "Are you alright Kagome? Is the heat getting to you? You should make sure to stay hydrated if you want to avoid those dizzy spells."

Hojo, the sweetest guy in the world, always looking out for Kagome. He even gave her his water bottle. She took that chance to stare at his hands. Nope, her end wasn't connected to his. Oh the cruelty of unrequited love. She stepped back from Hojo and thanked him before saying her good byes to her friends and dashed off as she noted that Hojo was going to attempt asking her out again.

She arrived home and she stared at her hand. The stupid crimson thread was making her day more and more stressful. She looked again as to where it would lead, and as her eyes followed, it led to the Bone Eater's Well. A ray of hope shot through Kagome. That could only mean one thing. Inuyasha.  A feeling of euphoria raced through Kagome as she thought that Inuyasha was her destined lover. It cleared her conscience of Kikyo, and of any doubt of Inuyasha's feelings because, as fate would have it, they were of course, destined to be together.

Kagome smiled and walked back home to get some homework done before she would pack more things for her other life in the Sengoku Jidai.  Her mom told her that Inuyasha was home. Kagome smiled and told her thanks before she stopped in her tracks. She looked back at her mom weirdly. "Inuyasha's here?" she asked her questioningly. Her mother nodded and told her how she was making him ramen.

She started to panic. She raced up the stairs and threw open her door, finding Inuyasha in that pose of his when he sleeps. She threw her backpack to the floor and raced over to him, grabbing his left hand and staring at it. It wasn't there. Inuyasha woke up and Kagome was staring, shocked at his left hand. 

 "Hey Kagome, you're late, you said you would be back today!" he told her and snapping her out of her reverie. Kagome blinked and stared at him for a few moments, trying to find the words to say. If her day couldn't  get any worse, well it just did. Not only was Inuyasha not her destined, but it was someone from the past. The thought crippled her, who else was there for her if not Inuyasha? She thought there was a mistake, or that maybe she was having a bad dream. But she remembered that the red string is her destiny. It isn't a mistake and it isn't something that she could change. Her face then became crestfallen and Inuyasha noticed something was up.

"Hey Kagome, are you listening to me?" he tested cautiously. Kagome looked off to the bone eater's well, her eyes following the trail of the string. She nodded and didn't even argue, which concerned Inuyasha because the normal reaction for Kagome would be to answer back. She had just turned and started doing her homework, leaving Inuyasha confused and at a loss for what to say.

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Author's note: Hello everyone! Or uhm...current reader. PandaMonium here. This is my first fanfiction. At least, it's the first one I've made in quite a long time, but it IS a first in the Inuyasha area. I've been a fan of Inuyasha for years and have red countless mounts of stories and pairings. But I thought that I also wanted to give a shot at it myself. I'm no expert or anything, but I do try to portray the characters as close as possible to their personality in the story.

Uhm. I guess this is where I kindly ask to please review. So please do! I don't expect you to!  I just hope you enjoy the story to be honest. But if you do, tell me anything! If it's boring, too wordy, pleasant. Critics are appreciated, because it's easier for others to see your folly than you figuring it out yourself. I believe we like to blindly give ourselves a sense of confidence even if we do not think so. But anyway, I will stop rambling

For even making it this far even if it's the first chapter of an undeveloped story, thank you for your time.

 

INUYASHA © Rumiko Takahashi/Shogakukan • Yomiuri TV • Sunrise 2000
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