ok, I've been meaning to do this for a while, but I've finally revised this story a bit. I took out a portion of it and I fixed somethings throughout the story. As for those of you who are reading it for the first time, I hope you enjoy this story!

Disclaimer: I own this story, not the characters.

Ignorance is Bliss

Many many years ago on a night like this, an eighteen-year-old boy was dared to go into the old deserted feudal lord's manor at the edge of the village. The boy's pride would not let him back down and he didn't believe that the manor was even haunted in the first place, so he snuck out when his parents were asleep and met a group of boys in front of it. The one who had dared him had brought several friends along to watch as the boy went inside. The dare was to go into the manors front entrance then find his way to the back exit and walk around the manor back to the group. The boy felt confident and after giving a slight smirk to the group of boys, he ventured inside. The door slid smoothly when he pushed it open and then slid quietly shut again. The boy was seen walking into the darkness before the door shut. The group of boys outside the manor waited for the boy to come back for two hours. There was no sign of him so the boys decided to head home to get some sleep. They would check to see if the boy was back by the morning. The next day, the group of boys went to the boy's hut to see if he had come home. The parents said they hadn't seen him since last night and if they saw him to tell him to come home immediately. The boys agreed and left disappointed, they really wanted to know what it was like inside, but they would have to wait until they saw him again later that day, or maybe tomorrow. The next day came and went and before they knew it, two weeks had passed and the boy had not been seen. His parents were distraught and asked several village men if they would help look for him in the old manor that the group of boys had said was the last place they saw him. They looked everywhere in the manor, but found neither the boy nor any footprints in the dust covered floors that would indicate that he had ever been there. The men were stumped as to where the boy disappeared to. Years went by and life went on. The boy and the dare slowly turned into a ghost story that was told on Halloween when all the little kids dared each other to go inside. Never again had a child disappeared into the manor, but many who had later entered swore that they heard a boy swearing, the sound echoing off the walls eerily. To this day, no one knows what really happened to the boy.

"Pfft, like that really happened," Kagome scoffed, "The least they could have done is given the guy a name!"

"You mean you don't believe the story?" Ayumi asked.

"No, why would I? It's not possible that even his footprints would be gone. Besides, they just made up that story to scare kids away from the manor," Kagome explained.

"You know Kagome, you remind me of the boy that disappeared in the story, he didn't believe that it was haunted either and look what happened to him!" Yuka exclaimed.

"Whatever, it's not like I'm going to go explore the manor anyway. Let's just head home and get ready," Kagome said, not in the mood to argue her point.

"Yeah, so where do you guys want to meet?" Eri asked.

"How about the park?" Ayumi suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Kagome agreed before the four parted ways to head home.

It only took three minutes for Kagome to get home and after she got ready it would only take another three minutes to get to the park.

"I'm home," Kagome called as she kicked off her shoes and headed straight for her bedroom.

She quickly took off her clothes and slipped on a pure white dress that fell right above her knees. She managed to attach the pure white wings to the back of her dress after a couple of minutes and then she put on a glittering gold headband in the place of a halo. Kagome put on her glittering gold ballet flats, grabbed her white bag, and headed to the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm leaving now," she informed her mom who was currently warning her little brother Souta not to go into the manor.

"Alright dear, have fun. I trust you know not to mess around by the manor, right?" Kagome's mom asked.

"Yeah, I know. Later," Kagome answered with a roll of her eyes as she headed out of the house.

Kagome ended up being the first one at the park, but she didn't have to wait long for the other three who came shortly after her. Eri had dressed as a tiger, Yuka as a witch, and Ayumi as a princess.

"Alright, you guys ready to go trick-or-treating?" Yuka asked with a grin on her face.

"Yes!" the other three shouted simultaneously.

Three hours later the four were ready to go to Yuka's house to watch scary movies, rest their sore feet, and eat tons of candy. On the way up to the last house, a boy that looked to be about Souta's age ran up to Kagome.

"You're Kagome right?" the boy asked breathing heavily.

"Yes…" Kagome replied uncertainly, wondering why he wanted to know.

"You need to come to the manor quickly, I just saw Souta go in there!" the boy told her impatiently.

"Oh my god, Kagome we have to save your brother before he disappears like the boy in the story!" Eri exclaimed, "Come on, run!"

"I can't believe Souta went there after he's been told every year to never go there!" Kagome exclaimed before putting a hand to her head, "I'm sure he's just fine but let's get over there quickly so I can make sure of it."

They made it to the manor several minutes later panting and out of breath. A group of boys talked amongst themselves outside the manor. The newly arrived group approached them to see if there was any news about Souta.

"Is Souta still inside? Did you see him yet? Is he okay?" the boy that brought the girls here asked all at once.

"Yeah, he's still in there; we haven't seen him come around the back yet. I hope he's okay," one boy from the group answered with a worried glance at the manor.

"I'll go get him," Kagome volunteered, then jogged to the entrance of the manor before anyone could object.

Kagome slowly pushed the door open to see a small vacant room with another door at the back. She stepped inside and started to follow the footprints in the dust that would lead her to her brother. Two things happened when Kagome stepped inside. The first thing is that she felt a weird sensation, but she shook it off to focus on finding her brother. The other thing is that several lights appeared on the walls. It seemed to be small bowls filled with oil with a wick sticking out. A small flame danced at the tip of the wick, but the fact that they had lit themselves unnerved Kagome a little. Despite the fear, Kagome kept following the footprints, determined to find her brother. Halfway through the room the still opened entrance door slid shut and Kagome looked back nervously before shoving the incident to the back of her mind to think about later.

Kagome exited the empty room to find herself in a hallway lined with many doors to both her left and right. More lights were lit here as well, but they were not bright enough for her to discern which direction the footprints led. Kagome decided that maybe if she could find the exit quickly, she could find Souta as well. After about ten minutes of wandering around, Kagome entered a room that had a door on the other side of it. She went to the door and slid it open to hear crickets chirping and to see the moon partially obscured by some clouds.

Kagome looked down at the floor to find no footprints meaning Souta was still in the manor somewhere. Upon hearing the unmistakable sound of feet pounding against the wooden floor, Kagome spun around just in time to see a flushed and excited Souta come running into the room.

"Souta, what has Mom told you about going into the manor?" Kagome reprimanded, hands on her hips.

Souta did not answer; in fact, he didn't even glance in her direction as he raced past her and out the open door. Kagome, confused, turned to follow him, but the open door slid shut immediately. She ran to the door and pulled on it, but it wouldn't budge. She wouldn't have to wonder why for long because as she felt goose bumps rise on her arms, a masculine voice spoke from behind her.

"Now what's he thinking?" the voice asked.

Kagome slowly turned around to see a tall man with silver hair, golden eyes, and a crescent moon in the middle of his forehead.

"Ah, I see now. You look just like her, though he probably thinks you are her, foolish little brother," the man mused before turning around and walking off.

"Wait!" Kagome called out.

The man stopped and turned around with an eyebrow raised.

"Who are you and what's going on?" Kagome asked.

"My name is Sesshomaru and as for what's going on, you can ask my brother that himself, he's the one that did this to you in the first place," Sesshomaru answered, heading off before Kagome could ask where this brother of his was.

As soon as Sesshomaru was no longer visible, it seemed to get even creepier. Well, at least Souta made it out okay. Now I have to find this guy's brother in this old manor. I don't even have a clue as to where I should look for him. Oh well, it's not like I can go anywhere else. Kagome sighed before dragging herself out of the room and into the hallway. Instead of checking in every single room, Kagome decided to just walk quietly and listen for signs of life. Of course, that wouldn't help if he was sleeping or not making any movement, but she didn't feel like doing a full-blown search.

"Oomph!" a muffled voice came from the room she had just passed.

Kagome stopped and went back to the room, sliding the door open slowly. In the room was a mat that was used as a bed back in the era the manor had been built, a wooden chest, and a boy covered in old books. Kagome smothered a laugh as the silver-haired dog-eared boy looked up at the sound of the door opening.

"What are you laughing at?" the boy rudely demanded.

"You!" Kagome managed to say before bursting out into another fit of laughter, not in the last bit put off by his attitude.

"Keh, stupid wench!" he grumbled as he pushed the books off of himself and started stacking them into a pile again.

"So, I hear you're the one that can answer my questions," Kagome said when her laughter died down.

"I guess that means you met Sesshomaru already," the boy stated as he placed the stack of books on the chest.

"Yes, your brother told me that you're also the one that trapped me in here," Kagome's smile quickly turned into a frown.

"And what if I did?" the boy asked turning around to face her.

"Then you better let me out!" Kagome crossed her arms.

"How do you know that I can even do that?" the boy crossed his arms as well.

"You had the power to trap me in here, so you have the power to free me!" Kagome glared.

"Yeah, well, think again," he said while picking up another stack of books and placing them on the chest.

"WHAT?" Kagome screamed, forcing the boy's ears to flatten against his head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

At the sound of a scream, Sesshomaru paused in his readings. He chuckled. This will be entertaining. Sesshomaru then continued to read.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Are you trying to make me deaf?" a very irritated boy asked while covering his ears.

"Did you think I was going to be calm when you told me you trapped me in here, but are unable to free me?" Kagome demanded, but continued before he could answer, "Yeah, I'm just so happy that I'll never be able to see my family or friends again. Thanks so much. Is that what you expected me to say? Why did you even trap me here in the first place?"

"Does the name Kikyo ring any bells?" the boy asked.

"No," Kagome answered looking confused.

"Doesn't matter, all you need to know is that you're her reincarnation and that means you have the same soul. Kikyo's the one who trapped me in here and for that she deserves to suffer and since you share a soul, Kikyo is going to suffer for eternity," the boy bitterly glared at a thoroughly shocked Kagome.

"You mean I'm trapped here because I'm supposedly a reincarnation of this Kikyo?" Kagome choked out.

The boy simply nodded, ears flattened against his head apparently expecting another scream. Kagome sucked in a breath and slowly let it out, calming herself. I need to calm down and get some more answers. Maybe he can't free me, but there must be another way. There has to be another way.

"You are going to answer some questions now," Kagome's face had turned stony as she coldly glared at him.

The boy, slightly intimidated, nodded even though she didn't ask, but demanded.

"Let's start off with names. I'm Kagome. KA-GO-ME, not Kikyo. What's your name?"

"Inuyasha."

"Why couldn't Souta see me?"

"Once you set foot in here, you became trapped and invisible to everyone outside the manor."

"Is there any possible way to get free?"

"Not unless you can raise the dead. Only Kikyo can undo the spell that traps us all in here."

"If Kikyo's the one who did this to you, how come you could trap me?"

"All I have is the power to trap others, but she didn't tell me that, I had to figure it out for myself, hence Sesshomaru being stuck here."

"So you didn't mean to trap Sesshomaru here?"

"I didn't say that. I'm glad that bastard has to suffer too!"

"Jeez, chill. So, you gave up trying to get out; there has to be another way."

"Don't you think I would've tried to get out of here if there was another way? This isn't exactly a picnic for me either."

"Well, I'm not going to give up yet. I'll find a way out of here, I promise you that!" Kagome declared before turning on her heel and stalking out of the room.

"Impossible," Inuyasha muttered to himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kagome, tired and angry, went to search for another room with a mat. She found one some distance down the hallway from Inuyasha's room. The room was sparse containing only a mat and two chests in which one held blankets. Kagome took one of the blankets and started dusting things off. She then grabbed another blanket and laid down on the mat, she needed to think.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Inuyasha lay on his mat, wide-awake and uncomfortable. After tossing and turning for a half hour, Inuyasha threw off his blankets and left his room. He was walking past Kagome's new room when he paused. He heard her crying softly and figured she probably missed her family. A surge of guilt swept over him, but he pushed it down and clenched his fists. True he wanted Kikyo to suffer like he had to all these years, but maybe, just maybe, Kagome could find a way to free them all since, after all, she was Kikyo's reincarnation. Inuyasha continued down the hallway.

Please review even if it's only a few words. Let me know if you like it or if there is something missing. Constructive criticism is welcome!