Kagome's Paths
folder
G through L › Labyrinth
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
9
Views:
3,852
Reviews:
36
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
G through L › Labyrinth
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
9
Views:
3,852
Reviews:
36
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Labyrinth, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Holding Your Own
Kagome's Paths
by Kagehoshi
Ch 5 Holding Your Own
He had to pee. He really really had to pee, but as there was nowhere in sight to relieve himself he opted for doing the potty dance. He was in a strange place all by himself, it was so dark he could not see anything around him. He had been here for what seemed like ages but had only actually been an hour. He wondered where his sister was, he really wanted to apologize to her, he hadn't meant to make her so angry.
Souta sighed, he knew that Kagome missed her friends a great deal, he could see the lingering sorrow in her saphire eyes even as she smiled and went about her daily business. But what she didn't realize was that she was not alone in her sorrow. Inu Yasha had been like an older brother to him, and he had heard so much about the others in the group that he felt as if he knew them as well. Their loss affected him also, perhaps not as deeply as his older sister, but he was still sad. He sighed once again and leaned back against the smooth, cool wall behind him and slide down to the floor. Curling up Souta rested his head on his knees and stared into the encompassing darkness. He had only wanted to hold the rosary for a while to have it close to him, so that he could maybe feel connected to Inu Yasha in some way. Yet somehow Kagome had known instantly that the necklace was not where it should have been. Never in his life had he seen his sister so angry, not even when those guys had flipped her skirt up on the subway and she had beaten the crap out of them. Her eyes had radiated a cold fury that seemed to freeze him in place as it filled him with fear. She was so unwilling to share her sorrow with others, thinking to spare them the pain, but she needed to understand that with sharing could come release.
He had gotten angry when she accused him of using the Rosary like a toy, he knew how valuable it was. So he shouted back at his sister saying things he had not meant or believed, and she had responded in kind. Souta hadn't heard exactly what Kagome had said, he only remembered the wind and then the oddest feeling of lightness. The next thing he knew he had been standing in the place he still currently occupied.
Souta fidgeted as he tried to forget the call of his bladder. He didn't know where he was or what was going on but he missed his sister. Angry as she had been he knew she wouldn't abandon him, so where was she? He really had to pee, those four glasses of soda at dinner were starting to get even with him.
Souta was just about to screw manners and pee in a corner, when again he felt that curious feeling of weightlessness and suddenly his eyes were assaulted with light once again.
As soon as his vision adjusted Souta looked up from his crouched position and took in his surroundings. He sat in a stone room a large stone pit in front of him and high arches along the sides. However, the medieval architecture was not what gained Souta's immediate attention, the smell won that battle. It was enough to knock you on your ass and slowly choke you to death. Stale alcohol, sweat, leather, vomit and the tangy reek of steel permeated the air with a vengeance. Souta wrinkled his nose in disgust at the filth that coated the floors and let his eyes wander freely. Several steps met his gaze and he followed them upwards until the reached a large divan like throne. It was the throne's occupant that had Souta scrambling to his feet and backing away several steps.
The man did not move an inch, save to slowly smack a black riding crop against his booted leg, he merely continued to silently observe Souta, resting his head on one gloved hand. Souta shifted nervously for a while then defiantly glared back at the strange man. The stranger lifted his eyebrow in amusement at Souta's show of rebellion and gave a soft bark of laughter. Getting to his feet with a grace that spoke of inner power he stalked towards the young boy.
“You're just like her.” The voice was almost hypnotic and Souta jerked away in surprise when he realized that the figure stood not two feet away. “What's your name boy.” It was a command not a request and Souta somehow could not resist.
“Souta.”
“Well Souta, I am called Jareth and I am King here. You have been wished away to my Kingdom by your older sister, Kagome,” Souta shivered at the odd inflection put into his sister's name, “And unless she is able to solve my Labyrinth here you will stay.” Jareth paused and looked down at the boy, who was still glaring at him in insolence. “Nothing to say?”
“My sister will come for me you big jerk!” Souta finally spoke up. Without a single sign to say that he had heard Souta's defiant proclamation, Jareth paced back to his throne and gracefully seated himself back into its cushions.
“What makes you so sure?” His voice held a slight note of curiosity to it as he gazed at the boy.
“She's faced scarier things than you before! Kagome's going to kick your ass!”
At this Jareth sat up and leaned forward in his throne.
“What sort of things has your sister faced?” Perhaps now some of his questions about the girl could be answered. He knew there was something strange about her, but he couldn't quite figure out what.
Souta remained silent, sullenly glaring at the man before him, he wasn't going to tell him a thing and give this weirdo an advantage over his sister.
Jareth sighed, obviously he wasn't going to be getting answers anytime soon. He leaned back in his throne and gestured nonchalantly.
“It matters not, I am not your sister's greatest concern. The obstacles and denizens of my Labyrinth are a greater danger to your sister than I.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that. The challenge is that all she must do is make her way through the Labyrinth and find you, and you will be set free. I will not harm her in any way. But you have no need to worry about that, it is highly unlikely that she will solve the Labyrinth at all.”
“Has it ever been done before?” The question was soft, but Jareth still managed to pick it up. He frowned, mostly to himself.
“Once.” The answer was curt, and Souta knew to keep his mouth shut on this one, “You will be here for quite some time boy. Is there anything you require?”
Souta couldn't have stopped himself even if he wanted to.
“I have to pee.”
********************************
AN* Hello, I am taking this time to address an issue which has really been bothering me, and in the process reveal a secret I really didn't want to have to reveal.
On several of my stories, both here and on MM.org I have gotten reviews complementing me on my grammar and spelling. This really makes me happy, and is doubly nice for me to hear than it would be for most people. The reason is (and here's my big secret) that English is not my first language, it's not even my second. I'm not American, though I'm here now studying abroad, and I don't know a lot about your culture. I was raised in Tokyo, Japan. I am Japanese. I didn't start learning English till 5th grade. Yet for some reason I can write better than most native speakers.
I have constantly been disappointed when, what could have been great stories, are ruined by a complete lack of punctuation and the spelling of a third grader. Now I realize the majority of the writers here at AFF aren't like that, but I can name a few off the top of my head that could use some work. I put a lot of effort into every chapter I write, checking spelling, and grammar, using the correct words (scent not sent) and making sure the story flows smoothly from scene to scene, idea to idea. If I'm going to ask other people to read this I'm going to make sure they enjoy it and can understand what I am saying. I realize that part of the reason people might do this is to improve their writing, and I fully support that, but you actually have to put some effort into improving your writing. Ignoring helpful suggestions and corrections is no way to become a better writer, I know a few writers who have actually gotten WORSE as they continue to write. All I'm saying is that it's pretty sad if someone who isn't a native English speaker is writing better than you are. Again I state that not everybody at AFF is like this, just a few, but those few are really annoying me. Quotation marks are not your enemy USE THEM WHEN SOMEONE IS SPEAKING!!! All I ask is that those writers who refuse to spell correctly or use punctuation (you know who you are) please fix it, or else stop inflicting it on the rest of us. Thank you and enjoy.
by Kagehoshi
Ch 5 Holding Your Own
He had to pee. He really really had to pee, but as there was nowhere in sight to relieve himself he opted for doing the potty dance. He was in a strange place all by himself, it was so dark he could not see anything around him. He had been here for what seemed like ages but had only actually been an hour. He wondered where his sister was, he really wanted to apologize to her, he hadn't meant to make her so angry.
Souta sighed, he knew that Kagome missed her friends a great deal, he could see the lingering sorrow in her saphire eyes even as she smiled and went about her daily business. But what she didn't realize was that she was not alone in her sorrow. Inu Yasha had been like an older brother to him, and he had heard so much about the others in the group that he felt as if he knew them as well. Their loss affected him also, perhaps not as deeply as his older sister, but he was still sad. He sighed once again and leaned back against the smooth, cool wall behind him and slide down to the floor. Curling up Souta rested his head on his knees and stared into the encompassing darkness. He had only wanted to hold the rosary for a while to have it close to him, so that he could maybe feel connected to Inu Yasha in some way. Yet somehow Kagome had known instantly that the necklace was not where it should have been. Never in his life had he seen his sister so angry, not even when those guys had flipped her skirt up on the subway and she had beaten the crap out of them. Her eyes had radiated a cold fury that seemed to freeze him in place as it filled him with fear. She was so unwilling to share her sorrow with others, thinking to spare them the pain, but she needed to understand that with sharing could come release.
He had gotten angry when she accused him of using the Rosary like a toy, he knew how valuable it was. So he shouted back at his sister saying things he had not meant or believed, and she had responded in kind. Souta hadn't heard exactly what Kagome had said, he only remembered the wind and then the oddest feeling of lightness. The next thing he knew he had been standing in the place he still currently occupied.
Souta fidgeted as he tried to forget the call of his bladder. He didn't know where he was or what was going on but he missed his sister. Angry as she had been he knew she wouldn't abandon him, so where was she? He really had to pee, those four glasses of soda at dinner were starting to get even with him.
Souta was just about to screw manners and pee in a corner, when again he felt that curious feeling of weightlessness and suddenly his eyes were assaulted with light once again.
As soon as his vision adjusted Souta looked up from his crouched position and took in his surroundings. He sat in a stone room a large stone pit in front of him and high arches along the sides. However, the medieval architecture was not what gained Souta's immediate attention, the smell won that battle. It was enough to knock you on your ass and slowly choke you to death. Stale alcohol, sweat, leather, vomit and the tangy reek of steel permeated the air with a vengeance. Souta wrinkled his nose in disgust at the filth that coated the floors and let his eyes wander freely. Several steps met his gaze and he followed them upwards until the reached a large divan like throne. It was the throne's occupant that had Souta scrambling to his feet and backing away several steps.
The man did not move an inch, save to slowly smack a black riding crop against his booted leg, he merely continued to silently observe Souta, resting his head on one gloved hand. Souta shifted nervously for a while then defiantly glared back at the strange man. The stranger lifted his eyebrow in amusement at Souta's show of rebellion and gave a soft bark of laughter. Getting to his feet with a grace that spoke of inner power he stalked towards the young boy.
“You're just like her.” The voice was almost hypnotic and Souta jerked away in surprise when he realized that the figure stood not two feet away. “What's your name boy.” It was a command not a request and Souta somehow could not resist.
“Souta.”
“Well Souta, I am called Jareth and I am King here. You have been wished away to my Kingdom by your older sister, Kagome,” Souta shivered at the odd inflection put into his sister's name, “And unless she is able to solve my Labyrinth here you will stay.” Jareth paused and looked down at the boy, who was still glaring at him in insolence. “Nothing to say?”
“My sister will come for me you big jerk!” Souta finally spoke up. Without a single sign to say that he had heard Souta's defiant proclamation, Jareth paced back to his throne and gracefully seated himself back into its cushions.
“What makes you so sure?” His voice held a slight note of curiosity to it as he gazed at the boy.
“She's faced scarier things than you before! Kagome's going to kick your ass!”
At this Jareth sat up and leaned forward in his throne.
“What sort of things has your sister faced?” Perhaps now some of his questions about the girl could be answered. He knew there was something strange about her, but he couldn't quite figure out what.
Souta remained silent, sullenly glaring at the man before him, he wasn't going to tell him a thing and give this weirdo an advantage over his sister.
Jareth sighed, obviously he wasn't going to be getting answers anytime soon. He leaned back in his throne and gestured nonchalantly.
“It matters not, I am not your sister's greatest concern. The obstacles and denizens of my Labyrinth are a greater danger to your sister than I.”
“What do you mean?”
“Just that. The challenge is that all she must do is make her way through the Labyrinth and find you, and you will be set free. I will not harm her in any way. But you have no need to worry about that, it is highly unlikely that she will solve the Labyrinth at all.”
“Has it ever been done before?” The question was soft, but Jareth still managed to pick it up. He frowned, mostly to himself.
“Once.” The answer was curt, and Souta knew to keep his mouth shut on this one, “You will be here for quite some time boy. Is there anything you require?”
Souta couldn't have stopped himself even if he wanted to.
“I have to pee.”
********************************
AN* Hello, I am taking this time to address an issue which has really been bothering me, and in the process reveal a secret I really didn't want to have to reveal.
On several of my stories, both here and on MM.org I have gotten reviews complementing me on my grammar and spelling. This really makes me happy, and is doubly nice for me to hear than it would be for most people. The reason is (and here's my big secret) that English is not my first language, it's not even my second. I'm not American, though I'm here now studying abroad, and I don't know a lot about your culture. I was raised in Tokyo, Japan. I am Japanese. I didn't start learning English till 5th grade. Yet for some reason I can write better than most native speakers.
I have constantly been disappointed when, what could have been great stories, are ruined by a complete lack of punctuation and the spelling of a third grader. Now I realize the majority of the writers here at AFF aren't like that, but I can name a few off the top of my head that could use some work. I put a lot of effort into every chapter I write, checking spelling, and grammar, using the correct words (scent not sent) and making sure the story flows smoothly from scene to scene, idea to idea. If I'm going to ask other people to read this I'm going to make sure they enjoy it and can understand what I am saying. I realize that part of the reason people might do this is to improve their writing, and I fully support that, but you actually have to put some effort into improving your writing. Ignoring helpful suggestions and corrections is no way to become a better writer, I know a few writers who have actually gotten WORSE as they continue to write. All I'm saying is that it's pretty sad if someone who isn't a native English speaker is writing better than you are. Again I state that not everybody at AFF is like this, just a few, but those few are really annoying me. Quotation marks are not your enemy USE THEM WHEN SOMEONE IS SPEAKING!!! All I ask is that those writers who refuse to spell correctly or use punctuation (you know who you are) please fix it, or else stop inflicting it on the rest of us. Thank you and enjoy.