Faint Light

Chapter One

Bright blue eyes gazed at the tall run down building, the sign out front leaning to the side, its chipped paint flaking off due to years of neglect, just like the rest of the building.

Green Home Estates.

Pft, some estates...it was as run down as the rest of the low income area.

“Geez what a dump.” The whispered words fell from slightly chapped lips, though she mused she really didn’t have much room to talk. 

Either way, she wasn’t here to judge. She was here for her job, a job that she really needed to get done so she could move on with the rest of her day. Sighing again she pressed the call button waiting for the security guard to buzz her into the underground parking lot. It was her first time delivering to this apartment complex and the only reason it had been added to her route was because the usual delivery person had called off for being sick.

Some kind of bug had been going around, everyone was dropping like flies. Luckily for her, her body had a built in self defense mechanism. A perk to being an ex time traveling miko. 

Even so she hadn’t wanted to take on the extra route but honestly she was lucky to have a job, what with being a middle school drop out and an immigrant from Japan. How low she had fallen, from savior of feudal Japan to a delivery truck driver for her uncle’s company. She knew beggars couldn't be choosers, that she was lucky her fathers family had offered to help her.

They haven't really talked much since her father’s death when she was a child minus the obligatory holiday cards and phone calls. So when her mother had approached her with the prospect of moving to Korea, if only for a change of pace, she was reluctant to accept but she could see the barely hidden tiredness in her mothers eyes, see the strain of the fake smile on her lips.

So she had agreed, packed up her megar belongs and left her feudal fairy tail behind. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” She jumped as the voice blared over the income, the small once black screen blaring to life showing an older man wearing a security guard hat. He gave a low bow of his head, his face peppered with sweat as he peered into the camera, giving her a full on frontal ‘selfie’ angle. “Sorry, I’m the only guard on duty. I'll buzz you in right away!” Nodding She could only give a small smile.

“It’s fine. Thank you. I'll meet you at the loading dock?” He nodded his head as the loud buzzer sounded before the screen went black once more.  Putting the truck in drive she entered the underground parking lot, it’s dim lights  flickering in an eerie manor. “Geez, cliche much?” She muttered under her breath, it was a habit developed after the end of her adventure.

She had gone from a pack mentality to being pretty much alone all the time. The silence was odd to her, wrong. So she filled it by talking to herself and since she always did her routes by herself it really didn’t matter if she did or didn't.

Pulling into the small loading area she placed the truck in park and shut it off, shoving the keys in her pocket as she grabbed the inventory list. She made her way towards the locked double doors waiting for them to be opened so they could start unloading the orders. 

A few minutes later the doors were loudly banged open as the security guard propped them open as he gave her a small nervous smile, dotting at the sweat on his forehead. “Ah sorry, like I said I’m the only guard on duty and everyone expects me to do everything sound here!” He bowed repeatedly as she offered him a small smile in return, tucking some of her loose raven hair behind her ear.

Sure, her hair was in its obalitory high ponytail, work cap on top of that, but her hair was thick and had never liked being tame. It was one of the main reasons she hadn’t tied it back during her adventures, why waste the time and effort when it wasn’t going to work? Well, at least until Rin decided that braiding it was not only a better way to tame the unruly locks but a fun pastime.

Shoving the thoughts away she held up her clipboard. “No problem really.” She held it out for him to go over, he did so his eyes darting across the paper as he signed off on things here and there. 

“I’ve never seen you before, you a new worker?” He was making small talk as he checked off the list not at all paying attention to her as she began to unload her truck. 

Pausing in her work she nodded, not even caring that he couldn't see her due to her position behind the open truck door. “Yes and no. I’ve been with the company for a month but this is my first time on this route. Go Yung-Jook is sick. Please be patient with me.” She smiled as she poked her head around the open truck door not wanting to be rude.

He returned her smile, gazing up from the paperwork as he moved to help her with the various boxes. “Ah, how sad. I hope he gets better. Here let me help you!” They fell into quiet polite conversations as they unloaded the truck's contents onto a metal cart.  “Ah how rude of me, my name is Lee Eung-bok.” 

She smiled and gave a small bow. “My name’s Kagome. It’s nice to meet you. Since you’re the only guard on duty do you mind just leaving the door unlocked and the code for the garage so I can let myself out once I’m done? I don’t want to bother you to much.” She knew it was against company policy to ask that she really didn’t want to bother him. She could sense the sickness inside of him churning around, if she didn’t have to add to his already full plate she didn’t want to.

He chewed on his lip as he looked her over, she was young. Probably just out of high school, her eyes while bright did at times seem to hold a deep sadness in them. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, the mass of it poking out of the hole in her baseball hat. She wore the standard dark green uniform of the delivery company and honestly she looked normal.

Trustworthy.

So it was with a small smile he nodded, he’d been feeling off all day and he had to weed whack the front of the building before the building manager got on his ass again. So as he jolted down the code for the garage gate he hoped his trust would not be misplaced. “Sure, just don’t tell anyone.” 

Giving a small smile she took the small scrap of paper and shoved it in her breast pocket. “Promise.” With that she waved goodbye to him as he left her to finish unloading and begin her deliveries in the large run down building. The faster she got it done the faster she could move onto the next stop of her list.