Behind the Mask
Summary: Raised on the streets as orphans, Kagome and her younger brother Souta are forced to quickly learn the meaning of the word Survival. Kagome more so, on the night her brother's life is taken; this was the harsh reality of life. After weeks pass, Kagome is picked up off the streets and taken in to become a boy. Raised like one, to live like one; she is brought up as a bodyguard, never to live a life of freedom or choice again.
"Freedom...? Choice...? I never
Had that to begin with..."
Anime/Manga: InuYasha/Death Note
Pairing: Kagome/?
Genre: Romance/Action
Rated: M for Mature Content and Sexual Scenes
A/N: Korean Words will be used; I'll add the words as I use them.
Noona: Literally means 'Older Sister', used by Males.
Dong-Saeng: Literally means 'Younger Brother', used by Older Siblings or Upperclassmen who see Lowerclassmen as family.
Gukwappang: To makegukwappang, batter is poured into a chrysanthemum-shaped cast, filled with red bean paste, and cooked. Because each little cake is the same size and shape, two people who resemble each other are called gukwappang. You can buy a bag of four to six gukwappangs for 1,000 won.
Appa: Literally means 'father', used by daughters and sons.
Umma: Literally means 'mother', used by daughters and sons.
-x-x-x-
Lies
-x-x-x-
"Noona~!" A small voice called out, teary eyed as it reached forward for a teddy bear stuck behind a growling dog.
"Get away!" A young girl called out loudly, stomping her foot in the dog's direction and watching it snap at her before taking off in a run. Kagome, a six year old, picked up the teddy bear and handed it to the four year old boy that stood behind her. "Don't cry Souta,"
He sniffled and whipped his eyes with the back of his hand before pressing the left paw of the teddy bear.
Little child,
Be not afraid,
Though storm clouds mask your belovedmoon,
And its candlelight beams,
Still keep pleasant dreams,
I am here tonight.
'Liars...'
A small laugh escaped the boy as tears still fell from his eyes and Kagome held her brother. She hated when he cried. This was all she had. She could barely remember her mother and father. She knew, however, she and Souta were from Japan, Kyoto to be exact. Yet, here they were in Korea, for...one reason or another. She could remember very little, but enough. Her parent had brought them here on business, and then after four days, they just...left...or maybe, disappeared is a more accurate term to use. No one ever found them. Well, anyways, the next day, a man took them in, and ruined the little life that they had. Turned them into child slaves, forcing them to do highway robbery pretty much, selling gum, chocolate or whatever. Sometimes, they would have them commit low standing crimes; though, Kagome would leave Souta hiding in an alleyway or something. She wouldn't let him dirty his hands that way.
Oh, however, she didn't have any real problem with it, since no one knew she was, in fact, a girl. So, dressing up girly, and pulling off the act. It was easy to fade out of existence when one had a boyish haircut. As long as...no one saw her eyes...
The boy pressed lightly on the paw again.
For you know,
Once even I was a little child,
And I was afraid,
But a gentle someone always came,
To dry all my tears,
Trade sweet sleep for fears
And to give a kiss goodnight,
'I can't even remember the last time someone held me or wiped away my tears.' She could only hope, her own gentle fingers would be well enough for her brother, to wipe away his tears.
-x-x-x-
They walked through the trains tight spaces, "Buy some chocolate, sir?" Kagome asked; she was embarrassed by this whole ordeal. She was once very much respectable, and she was raised high priced in a wealthy family from birth till five, so she had grown up with it in her head, that money was what mattered, and that the end result of your money got you your title and the status of a high dollar daughter. She had that...and now...no one here knew Kagome Higurashi...this was Korea, and here, she was Fox...and her brother was Pup. She was the only one who knew their real names; the men who had taken her and her brother in, hadn't even asked for their names. They had said your names will be Fox and Pup from now on; we don't care what your names are, or were, we don't even want to hear them. So forget you ever had them. But Kagome wouldn't forget, not her's or her brothers, not ever.
"Sorry, no cash."
'Liar...' Kagome knew you didn't walk this city without cash, especially those who took the train. Not unless you were a student or trash like her. She could honestly say though, she now understood, though money meant a lot in this materialistic world...survival meant everything. "Ma'am, buy a chocolate?"
"Uhg, go, go away. I have no money."
'Liar...' She remembered the woman placing the cash in the strawberry red vinyl bag on her lap.
"How much?"
Kagome turned and stared into the smiling golden eyes of a woman with her hair up in a silvery white twist, though, extraordinarily young. "Three thousand Won."
"Oh my," She smiled, pulling out three One thousand won bills and handing them to the girl. Kagome stared in a daze as the woman took a single bar and turned her back to them and left. Kagome stayed that way as everyone filed off around her and her brother before placing the money in a bag. While a group clustered around her, she snuck two of the bills into her shirt, knowing someone was watching, and she had little time to stash the money on her person.
"Noona," Souta called, "That lady was nice."
"Yeah, she was." She grabbed his hand and held on as they were swept with the crowd off the train only to be grabbed by a man suddenly.
"Where it is?" He growled out lowly.
"Ah!" Kagome tried to ignore the pain of her hair being pulled and handed the bag of won to the man who pushed her back into the hard stone ground and ran off. "...jerk..."
"Noona..."
Kagome turned and smiled, "Don't worry..." She held out her hand and flashed the twin bills. "Shall we feast?"
"YEAH!"
Kagome smiled, this was her Dong-saeng, her little brother. She would do anything to make sure he was happy. However, lately, she'd begun to notice how pale he was getting. She knew he was sick...she was afraid.
-x-x-x-
Kagome smiled as he ate a few gukwappang. She had kept a thousand won in case they needed it again, but for now, he was eating something.
"Do we have to go?" Souta asked, watching Kagome as she looked to the street clock.
"...hmm, yeah..." She took his hand as he finished the last bite. Grabbing the bear, they continued towards the hideout where the two would be met with horror.
"Noona, I'm happy that I got to eat Gukwappang!"
Kagome smiled, "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I hope we can be rich soon!"
"Oh? Why's that?"
"So we can eat more good food!" He laughed.
"...food?"
"Yeah...do you think Appa and Umma are eating good food too?"
"...yeah...I'm sure they are."
Souta smiled.
Her sweet little brother...
-x-x-x
"YOU BITCH! WHERE IS THE REST OF THE MONEY!"
Kagome flinched inwardly as the man brought his hand across her cheek, her brother cowering behind her. "I spent it..."
"Excuse me...you what!"
"I...I SPENT IT!"
"YOU FUCKING PIECE OF TRASH!" He turned to a lackey, "Take this bitch and her mutt outside, and let them freeze tonight as punishment!"
"WHAT?" Kagome took his hand by reflex, catching the horrible man off guard. "It's freezing outside, snowing!"
"...so..." He yanked his hand away. He was truly, an evil man. A monster...Spider...
She felt a hand grab her shoulder and drag her from the building, her brothers crying sobs could be heard as they were tossed into the snow.
She moved to his side and noticed his pale cheeks, they had walked back in this weather, and now they were supposed to sleep in it! "Please, please take him back inside!" She begged the man.
"No way. I'm not going against Spider."
"My brother will die if you don't!"
"THEN HE'LL JOIN THE OTHERS!"
"..." Kagome's eyes widened, 'That's right...other children have died...and they are disposed of...'
"N-noona..."
Kagome turned her eyes to her brother, his lips were starting to turn a shaded blue hue, and his skin felt like ice. "S-Souta...Souta, you'll be okay!" She held him close, trying to warm his body up as much as possible. "Just stay close and try to keep warm," Her eyes stung with tears as she tried to keep them in.
"I see Umma..."
"...wh-what...?" Her eyes widened, "Don't...don't say that..."
"Think Umma will have gukwappang for me..."
"..." She clenched her eyes tightly closed as tears fell beyond her control as she placed her head against his. 'Don't...Souta; don't leave me...not you too!'
"Ka-gome-N-Noona...i-it's okay...I'm going t-to see U-Umma and Appa...and I-I'll be a-able to eat a-all sort's of warm f-food..."
"...I know..." She smiled, watching sadly as he closed his eyes, his breathing becoming fainter with each breath. "I love you, Souta..." She cried.
"...love you...too~"
Movements ceased, the cold wind biting at her flesh didn't matter...her brother was gone...her baby brother, all that she had left...was gone. She looked to the side where the teddy bear he'd once held lay idle and forgotten. Suddenly, her brother was yanked from her arms. "What! HEY!" She tried to chase the man who walked off, dragging her lifeless brother by the arm. "GIVE HIM BACK!"
"Dispose of the mutt; I'll deal with the trash."
In the end...she was left out in the cold, beaten and bloodied...as footsteps left the area, growing further and further away, she realized then...just how alone she was...
Reaching out, her hand gingerly, if a little sore, grasped the leg of the teddy and pulled it into her arms where she pressed the paw lightly.
Little child,
Be not afraid,
Though storm clouds mask your belovedmoon,
And its candlelight beams,
Still keep pleasant dreams,
I am here tonight.
It was over...if she survived this...she would have nothing to live for...except, herself.
-x-x-x-
(Four Months Later)
(Present Time)
-x-x-x-
Kagome took the money given and gave the candy to the child; another boy came up and also paid. She had started giving candy out at the park, since more kids seemed to buy it.
She never paid attention to anything but the things in front of her, so...she never noticed the two men standing near a park bench watching her.
She never heard the whispers.
"He's perfect, about the same age too, if not a little older, right?"
"Boss will be pleased, I'm sure."
"Then, we'll grab him before he leaves."
"Right,"
Nothing could be heard from where she stood, so when she was leaving and met with two gentlemen, she was more than just a little surprised.
"Hey, kid..."
"Yes?"
"Do you want to come with us?"
"..." Kagome frowned, 'Is he one of those Pedo's I've been hearing about?' Kagome stepped back and into the man who watched her every move.
"Fox, let's go!" He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her off only for a foot to land square against his head, knocking him against the sidewalk.
Kagome took a step back, watching the man who had spoken with her as he beat her nightmare up. "...what..."
"You don't mind if we take him, do you?"
"N-no...t-take 'em..." He said with a dazed expression and busted lip.
"You'll say nothing of this encounter, or we'll make sure you never speak again."
He turned to Kagome and smiled, getting down on one knee, he held a hand out for her, "Shall we take you to a new home?"
"...a-..." She didn't know what to say, "...okay..." She finally said, taking his hand and going towards the black car parked off to the side. Unconsciously, she pocketed the money. 'In this world...survival means...everything...'
-x-x-x-
Me: Hope you all enjoyed! Please leave some reviews! This is loosely based off of Love in the Mask, but it will have a lot of differences. It will also be my own adaption. Kind of like all those Beauty and the beast fics! :P TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! ^_^'' Sankyu!