Yeah, I'm on my way back from the beach now. CIVILIZATION!!!!!!!!!!! I'm
all for outdoors, SOMETIMES, but when I have no internet access for 2 DAYS,
I'm nearly impossible to live with. I can hardly go to sleep at night if I
haven't IMed at least ONE person, and I'm practically bouncing off the
walls if I can't check my e-mail every hour on the hour! I guess I'll have
to face it, I'm an addict. An internet junkie. . . *sigh* There are worse
things . . . I guess . . .
Anyways, the story!
***********~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~*********~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
"Kagome, dinner will be ready soon." Souta stuck his head through the doorway to make sure she heard him.
She looked up from her homework and nodded. "I'll be down in a bit." If he was surprised she actually responded to him verbally, he didn't say anything, but instead of leaving as she had expected, he slid into her room and closed the door behind him silently. She looked at him questioningly.
"We uh . . . have a . . . guest . . .for dinner today." He sat on the opposite end of her bed, facing her.
She put down her homework.
They never had guests for dinner. Occasionally there were reporters, or maybe even politicians that their 'mother' wanted to impress, but other than that, the Higurashi family never had company. Souta didn't want his friends to meet his mother, ever, and Kagome never had friends to bring home. The mother wasn't very social either.
"It's a guy she met today, he's gonna help run her campaign." Souta's dark eyes looked suspicious, though he wouldn't have known what of if he'd been questioned. "He used to work for dad too, before . . ."
Kagome shut her eyes tight so fast it hurt.
"Anyway, he's downstairs now, and I don't think I like him much." Souta hurriedly continued, trying to take her mind off her memories. "Something about the guy creeps me out. Mom's excited about having him work with her though, and that's even scarier. She doesn't like anybody."
"What's his name?" Kagome didn't know what prodded the question, only that the name mattered. It was almost as if she remembered something . . .
"He had a weird name too, almost ominous." He paused, thinking. "She said his name was Naraku."
Naraku.
She winced as soon as the name left his mouth.
Naraku.
It was hauntingly familiar . . . terrifyingly so.
Kagome didn't remember much about the events surrounding her death. Whenever anyone brought it up, she would close herself off, unwilling to relive the memory of his suicide. She didn't remember why she had decided to walk into his study. She didn't remember if he had any problems at work, though everyone said he was at the peak of his career. She didn't remember if he had said anything before he died. She didn't remember if there had been anything else going on in the room.
Naraku.
The name belonged somewhere in the memories she had forgotten in the shadow of her tragedy. It could have been anything. A name in an address book, or jotted down by a stack of papers. For whatever reason, the name sent chills down Kagome's spine.
She wasn't looking forward to dinner.
"I'm sure it'll be fine." She lied, giving Souta a half smile. "I'll be down in a bit."
"Okay, hurry though. Mom hates it when we're late." He slid off her bed and headed for the door.
"I know."
***********~~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~~************~~~~~~~~~**********~~ ~~~~~~~
Both Kagome and Souta stood next to their seats at the table as they waited for Naraku to enter the room. He had left, shortly before Kagome came downstairs, to use the bathroom. Mrs. Higurashi refused to start without him, and insisted that sitting down would be rude.
Heaven forbid they should be rude.
Finally, a maid showed a man into the dining room, and Kagome got her first look at their dinner guest. Her breath caught in her throat. Souta hadn't been exaggerating. Long dark hair and eyes that flashed almost dangerously definitely gave the man a menacing presence.
"This must be Kagome." The sound of his voice sent shivers down her spine. It was so like her mothers . . . and yet so much harder they weren't even comparable.
"A pleasure to meet you." His gaze seemed to be eliciting a challenge, so she met and held it, refusing to back down.
"The pleasure is all mine." He smiled, and she was reminded of a predator stalking his prey.
All four of them sat down and the meal was served.
They ate in silence. Kagome rarely looked up from her plate, unable to shake the sneaking suspicion that Naraku was watching her. She completed her meal as fast as she dared before asking to be excused. Her mother nodded her permission.
Instead of going to her room, like she knew the others expected, she went to the family library. If Naraku felt the need to converse with her, she didn't want to be found easily. To pass the time, she began browsing through the shelves, surprised at the size of the collection. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of volumes. She felt foolish for not having noticed before, but she had never really cared what went on outside her room.
Engrossed in her exploration, she didn't hear the sound of footsteps that entered the library twenty minutes later.
"You weren't in your room." The cold voice almost caused her to drop the book she had picked up. She turned around slowly, masking her fear with a calm reserve she used for reporters. And she was afraid of him, though she didn't know why.
"I decided to put off homework for a few minutes." Her voice was light, as if all she really was concerned with was delaying her studies.
"The goal of every teenager." He matched her tone of voice, but moved closer, refusing to let the conversation end.
Kagome opened the book she had been holding, pretending to be engrossed in the first page.
"What was it like to see your father die?" He could have been asking about the weather if it weren't for the cruel mocking undertones.
Her mask faltered as she slammed the book shut and turned to face him. When her eyes met his, nothing could have convinced her she wasn't staring pure evil in the eye.
"I don't remember." The lie slipped off her tongue easily, and she nearly convinced herself. "It was a long time ago." She refrained from asking him how he knew, when no one else did. Something told her he would take pleasure in withholding information from her.
To her surprise he laughed, a blood curdling cruel laugh that sent shivers down her spine. She didn't wait to see what he had to say, not even bothering to put the book back in it's proper spot, she turned and fled. As she left the library she began to move faster and faster, trying to leave behind the sound of his chilling laugh. By the time she reached her bedroom she was running.
For some reason being alone in her room with the door locked didn't make her feel any safer. Sitting on the center of her bed, hugging her knees, she stared at the knob, almost expecting him to have followed her. But the door never moved, and she stared long into the night, until sleep finally caught her and forced her to give up her vigilance.
*****************************DREAM*******************************
His blood shot eyes stared into her own. She watched his lips move as if in slow motion, mouthing long forgotten words.
Kagome
I
Love
You
Please
Forgive me.
Though his words were silent in her memory, the gunshot was deafening. And so was her scream. The scream was the same as in all her other nightmares, long and terrified. But this time she tore her gaze away from her father's motionless body, desperate to see anything but his lifeless face.
She continued to scream as her gaze found his chair, and his desk, and the window, and the lamp. Right before her mother came and shut her up, her gaze found a piece of paper lying next to her father's body. It was covered in writing, and at the very bottom was a signature.
Naraku.
She woke up and barely had time to smash her face into her pillow before she screamed.
**********~~~~~~~~~~~~************~~~~~~~~~~************~~~~~~~~~~~********* *~~~~~
Kinda short, I know, but I just got back from the beach and I need to unpack and everything! More to come, I promise! This chapter was so much fun to write, I felt very angsty! lol
Anyways, the story!
***********~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~*********~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~
"Kagome, dinner will be ready soon." Souta stuck his head through the doorway to make sure she heard him.
She looked up from her homework and nodded. "I'll be down in a bit." If he was surprised she actually responded to him verbally, he didn't say anything, but instead of leaving as she had expected, he slid into her room and closed the door behind him silently. She looked at him questioningly.
"We uh . . . have a . . . guest . . .for dinner today." He sat on the opposite end of her bed, facing her.
She put down her homework.
They never had guests for dinner. Occasionally there were reporters, or maybe even politicians that their 'mother' wanted to impress, but other than that, the Higurashi family never had company. Souta didn't want his friends to meet his mother, ever, and Kagome never had friends to bring home. The mother wasn't very social either.
"It's a guy she met today, he's gonna help run her campaign." Souta's dark eyes looked suspicious, though he wouldn't have known what of if he'd been questioned. "He used to work for dad too, before . . ."
Kagome shut her eyes tight so fast it hurt.
"Anyway, he's downstairs now, and I don't think I like him much." Souta hurriedly continued, trying to take her mind off her memories. "Something about the guy creeps me out. Mom's excited about having him work with her though, and that's even scarier. She doesn't like anybody."
"What's his name?" Kagome didn't know what prodded the question, only that the name mattered. It was almost as if she remembered something . . .
"He had a weird name too, almost ominous." He paused, thinking. "She said his name was Naraku."
Naraku.
She winced as soon as the name left his mouth.
Naraku.
It was hauntingly familiar . . . terrifyingly so.
Kagome didn't remember much about the events surrounding her death. Whenever anyone brought it up, she would close herself off, unwilling to relive the memory of his suicide. She didn't remember why she had decided to walk into his study. She didn't remember if he had any problems at work, though everyone said he was at the peak of his career. She didn't remember if he had said anything before he died. She didn't remember if there had been anything else going on in the room.
Naraku.
The name belonged somewhere in the memories she had forgotten in the shadow of her tragedy. It could have been anything. A name in an address book, or jotted down by a stack of papers. For whatever reason, the name sent chills down Kagome's spine.
She wasn't looking forward to dinner.
"I'm sure it'll be fine." She lied, giving Souta a half smile. "I'll be down in a bit."
"Okay, hurry though. Mom hates it when we're late." He slid off her bed and headed for the door.
"I know."
***********~~~~~~~~~~~**********~~~~~~~~~~~************~~~~~~~~~**********~~ ~~~~~~~
Both Kagome and Souta stood next to their seats at the table as they waited for Naraku to enter the room. He had left, shortly before Kagome came downstairs, to use the bathroom. Mrs. Higurashi refused to start without him, and insisted that sitting down would be rude.
Heaven forbid they should be rude.
Finally, a maid showed a man into the dining room, and Kagome got her first look at their dinner guest. Her breath caught in her throat. Souta hadn't been exaggerating. Long dark hair and eyes that flashed almost dangerously definitely gave the man a menacing presence.
"This must be Kagome." The sound of his voice sent shivers down her spine. It was so like her mothers . . . and yet so much harder they weren't even comparable.
"A pleasure to meet you." His gaze seemed to be eliciting a challenge, so she met and held it, refusing to back down.
"The pleasure is all mine." He smiled, and she was reminded of a predator stalking his prey.
All four of them sat down and the meal was served.
They ate in silence. Kagome rarely looked up from her plate, unable to shake the sneaking suspicion that Naraku was watching her. She completed her meal as fast as she dared before asking to be excused. Her mother nodded her permission.
Instead of going to her room, like she knew the others expected, she went to the family library. If Naraku felt the need to converse with her, she didn't want to be found easily. To pass the time, she began browsing through the shelves, surprised at the size of the collection. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of volumes. She felt foolish for not having noticed before, but she had never really cared what went on outside her room.
Engrossed in her exploration, she didn't hear the sound of footsteps that entered the library twenty minutes later.
"You weren't in your room." The cold voice almost caused her to drop the book she had picked up. She turned around slowly, masking her fear with a calm reserve she used for reporters. And she was afraid of him, though she didn't know why.
"I decided to put off homework for a few minutes." Her voice was light, as if all she really was concerned with was delaying her studies.
"The goal of every teenager." He matched her tone of voice, but moved closer, refusing to let the conversation end.
Kagome opened the book she had been holding, pretending to be engrossed in the first page.
"What was it like to see your father die?" He could have been asking about the weather if it weren't for the cruel mocking undertones.
Her mask faltered as she slammed the book shut and turned to face him. When her eyes met his, nothing could have convinced her she wasn't staring pure evil in the eye.
"I don't remember." The lie slipped off her tongue easily, and she nearly convinced herself. "It was a long time ago." She refrained from asking him how he knew, when no one else did. Something told her he would take pleasure in withholding information from her.
To her surprise he laughed, a blood curdling cruel laugh that sent shivers down her spine. She didn't wait to see what he had to say, not even bothering to put the book back in it's proper spot, she turned and fled. As she left the library she began to move faster and faster, trying to leave behind the sound of his chilling laugh. By the time she reached her bedroom she was running.
For some reason being alone in her room with the door locked didn't make her feel any safer. Sitting on the center of her bed, hugging her knees, she stared at the knob, almost expecting him to have followed her. But the door never moved, and she stared long into the night, until sleep finally caught her and forced her to give up her vigilance.
*****************************DREAM*******************************
His blood shot eyes stared into her own. She watched his lips move as if in slow motion, mouthing long forgotten words.
Kagome
I
Love
You
Please
Forgive me.
Though his words were silent in her memory, the gunshot was deafening. And so was her scream. The scream was the same as in all her other nightmares, long and terrified. But this time she tore her gaze away from her father's motionless body, desperate to see anything but his lifeless face.
She continued to scream as her gaze found his chair, and his desk, and the window, and the lamp. Right before her mother came and shut her up, her gaze found a piece of paper lying next to her father's body. It was covered in writing, and at the very bottom was a signature.
Naraku.
She woke up and barely had time to smash her face into her pillow before she screamed.
**********~~~~~~~~~~~~************~~~~~~~~~~************~~~~~~~~~~~********* *~~~~~
Kinda short, I know, but I just got back from the beach and I need to unpack and everything! More to come, I promise! This chapter was so much fun to write, I felt very angsty! lol