Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, and the monster that lives in the closet. He doesn't pay rent.

This is another one of my horror stories. I figure I do these quite well, and this idea was just perfect. This is kind of like a "Boogeyman" kind of fic, but it's kind of not. There is a monster in the closet, but he's not called the "boogeyman." That's just rubbish! Right?

PS: this is NOT an AU fic. This story will be able to take place during the series if it wanted to. But that's the sucky part because its not going to!

Turn around and Count to Four

by Usagi Kurari

Chapter 1: A childhood remembered

A lone seven year old lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling. She watched the shadows dance around her, and she was fascinated by them. Unlike most children her age, Kagome Higurashi was not afraid of the dark.Each night, she lay awake watching the show the shadows would put on for her. The moonlight bounced against objects, and created the most beautiful of shapes.

A knock at the door jerked her out of the show, and her father's voice echoed from behind it. "Go to sleep Kagome," he called to her.

"Yes daddy," she answered back. She turned onto her right side, and shut her eyes, hoping for sleep to overcome her. She lay in that position for a couple of minutes before trying the other side. After another unsuccessful sleep attempt, she lay on her back and looked at the ceiling again. The shadows were gone, and all she saw was a blank ceiling. Usually a creamy peach in the daytime, it was now almost black. The crack of light from underneath her doorway, and from her dim fairy nightlight illuminated the room just a little bit.

Finding sleep hard to come upon, she resulted to singing songs softly. She first sang a few nursery rhymes, but they just made her more awake. She went through all the songs she knew before coming across one she learned from one of the older boys down the street.

Hush little baby don't say a word.

An unexpected thing just occurred.

Don't you fret, and don't you cry.

Papa's come home to say good-bye.

Kiss him long and hold him tight

Because things are not alright.

Watch him walk out the door.

Just sit back and count to four.

Kagome thought hard. She did not know how to count to four, and had forgotten the rest of the song. She banged her small fists against the mattress, and continued to stare up at the ceiling. The shadows were still not there, and Kagome felt for the first time in a long time, small and alone.

Suddenly, there was a soft knock at the door. Kagome turned over in her bed, and pulled the covers over her head, hoping that whoever was at the door, either it be her mother or her father, would think she was asleep. She heard the knocking again, but stayed put. A few seconds later, she heard the knocking again. She peeked out from underneath the covers and looked at the door to her room.

Realization hit.

The knocking wasn't coming from outside.

It was coming from her closet.

Kagome sat up in her bed, and looked towards her closet door. She was sure of it now, the knocking was coming from her closet, and it was gradually getting louder and louder. The skeptical little girl looked towards her door and saw the light that could have once been seen under the crack in the door was gone. She looked towards the closet door again, and her curiosity getting the better of her, she got out of bed and walked slowly towards it.

For the first time in a long time, Kagome was scared.

"Don't be afraid of the dark," her father had told her. The monsters you see are all in your head.

"They are not in my head," Kagome had said. "They are real. I've seen them."

"They're only real if you believe them to be."

With that in mind, Kagome grabbed her favorite stuffed animal, a big stuffed cat she named Buyo. She had always wanted a cat, and Buyo was what she always wanted to name one. She walked cautiously towards the door, hugging Buyo close to her chest. When she arrived at her destination, she reached with an unsteady hand towards the doorknob. She turned it and opened it with a jerk.

Nothing was there.

With a sigh of relief, Kagome turned around to go back to bed.

A bang, a crash, and nothing more.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called. "Do it now!"

The futuristic teen nodded, and loaded up one of her arrows. She held the arrow steadily in place, and aimed it at her target. The demon called Naraku, now in his true form, had been weakened due to all the attacks from Inuyasha's Tetsusaiga. Sango and Miroku were out cold, and Shippo had stayed with Kaede. That just left her, and Inuyasha.

She searched for the ball of jewel shards that Naraku had on him, moving her weapon as she looked. She spotted it around his elongated neck, and pointed the arrow at the shining bright light. The young miko closed her eyes and focused hard on her energy. She felt the normal tingling feeling in her strong arm and into the tip of the bow. It glowed with a bright purple light. When she felt like she had given it enough energy, she gave it more. She poured the most energy possible into the arrow.

"I want this to end," she said to herself. When she felt she couldn't take it anymore, she released the arrow, as Inuyasha released his Bakuryuuha. The two intertwined, fused with both demonic, and purifying energy, and hit their foe at the exact same time.

Naraku, the evil hanyou, felt like everything was coming apart at the seams, literally. The first thing to go was his various demonic body parts. They all broke off, and disintegrated before they hit the floor. Next was his torso, which blew apart in many microscopic pieces. His head was the last to go, and before it ceased to exist, his mouth uttered one final word, one that couldn't be heard with any ears.

"Revenge," and with that, Naraku was gone forever.

Hopefully.

As the smoke was clearing, Kagome collapsed on her knees, exhausted with no energy left in her small body. She placed her hands on the ground below her, and attempted to catch her breath. She knew that she was drawing air in, but it left before it could complete its job. No air was reaching her lungs. The world started to get blurry, and Kagome could barely balance herself on her hands. She found the tranquility she was looking for in well deserved sleep.

Inuyasha put his prized sword back in its sheath. He looked upon the remains of what was once Naraku, and spat in it. Hopefully, he was really dead this time, but right now, there were more important things to worry about.

He glanced over the raven-haired girl lying on the ground about twenty feet away. She was face up on her back, and arms were lying beside her, palms face up. The hanyou walked up to the girl, and kneeled down beside her. Gently, he picked her up in his arms, and carried her into the shade of a nearby tree that had not suffered any blows from the battle.

The God Tree.

The God Tree was, and would always be there, no matter what occurred around it, and to it. This was the thing that bound them all together. He had been imprisoned there for fifty years, and it was still standing in Kagome's time. When he had been close to death, Kagome had been able to communicate with him through the tree.

It truly was a god tree.

Inuyasha stared at Kagome for a little before going back to fetch the others. Sango had been hit with her own weapon after Kagura had deflected it, and Miroku had also been in harms way when it happened. Inuyasha walked over to them, and looked at the sight of them. Sango lay on top of Miroku, and his hand cradled her. Inuyasha stared up at the sky and sighed in disgust. Even when he was unconscious, Miroku couldn't keep his hand off of her.

He flung Miroku over his shoulder firmly, but gently, and picked up Sango with the other. He was exhausted himself, but was bursting with triumphant energy. He carried them both off to Kaede's hut, where Kaede sat waiting, medical supplies and herbs out and ready for anything that was brought to her. Shippo looked on from the old woman's shoulder and watched as she didn't ask questions, but went straight to work. Inuyasha stepped out, and walked back to the god tree, which was the last tree standing in what was once a thriving forest.

Now, all the trees were either burnt and scorched, or had been burned out of the ground completely. It was a miracle it was still standing. He bent down on one knee, and looked Kagome over quickly. She had no major injuries, only some minor cuts and bruises. She wasn't unconscious, but more like sleeping. He sat down next to her and nudged her gently.

"Five more minutes mom," Kagome mumbled. She turned over on her side, and stated "I don't want to go to school just yet."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, and nudged her again. Slowly but surely, her eyes opened and the first thing she caught sight of, was Inuyasha's golden eyes staring back at her. She smiled as she stretched and tried to sit up, but failed miserably.

"We won Kagome," Inuyasha said.

Kagome immediately sat up and hugged Inuyasha tight. "Oh thank god!" she exclaimed. Then she realized where she was. She pulled back, and her cheeks turned beet red, and Inuyasha followed sort. "Are you sure though?" she asked. Naraku had a nasty habit of coming back to life in someway or another.

"The last time we fought him the way we just did, he escaped inside Kohaku," Inuyasha started, "But Kohaku's dead. There's no way that he could of escaped unless he had some form of transportation."

Kagome nodded, and started asking more questions. Inuyasha seemed to know what he was talking about. "What about Kagura and Kanna?"

Inuyasha scratched his temple with one of his claws, and looked up towards the sky, hoping for an answer. "I have no idea."

Kagome sighed. Maybe not. "So for all we know, they can still be out there," Kagome added.

Inuyasha nodded slightly, as if to agree, but not think about it further. The two sat in silence for a few moments before Kagome stood up and started to walk off.

"Where are you going?" Inuyasha asked sharply.

Kagome sighed in frustration. "Well, I was going to check up on Miroku and Sango, and then I'm going to go home."

Inuyasha suddenly jumped to his feet. "Why do you want to go home?" he yelled at Kagome's retreating form. "Got more of those "tests" of yours?"

Kagome stopped and turned around to face the inflamed hanyou. "No, actually I don't have any tests. I just want to go home and see my family and friends."

Inuyasha bent his knees and jumped into the branches of the God Tree, not saying another word. Kagome took this as a sign that he was finished arguing, and went to Kaede's hut, where Sango and Miroku were both still unconscious. Kaede was sitting in the corner stirring a pot as Kagome walked in, and invited the girl to sit beside her.

Kaede looked up and noticed that Kagome looked a little forlorn. She was not her usual bright and cheery self. Her stormy blue eyes that were once filled with so much emotion were bleak and dark.

"What ails you child?" Kaede asked.

Kagome turned her head away from the old woman, as if ashamed. "Nothing is wrong. I just came to check up on everyone and see how they are doing."

Silence followed soon after, but broken as Kaede spoke up again. "Are ye going to go home?"

Kagome nodded, remembering what she was going home for, and stood up, and grabbed her large yellow backpack. She left without saying another word.

The seventeen year old stepped in through her house, and was greeted by her mother and grandfather. Both were dressed in funeral attire.

"I'm glad you came home Kagome," her mother said, no emotion showing in her voice.

"I had to mom," Kagome said, putting down her backpack by the door. "I couldn't miss an event like this. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself." She laughed uneasily, trying to bring life into the dull room, but to no avail. "What time do we have to be at the church?" Kagome asked her mother.

"At 6:30."

Kagome looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It read 5:15. That gave Kagome plenty of time to wash up, rest a little, and get dressed for the service.

After a nice relaxing shower, Kagome dried her hair, and went over to her closet to pick out something for the service. She chose a long black skirt with a matching peasant top. It wasn't very flattering on her figure, but nobody was going to comment on it, and she knew it.

Kagome checked her alarm clock to see the time. It was 6:00, time to go to dad's memorial service.

Trust me, this story has a very good plot, and I bet its going to be even better than my first horror story! (Since this is my plot and all).

RR. 5 reviews equals another chapter.

Signing off,

Usagi Kurari