Chapter Two :: Mourning a Hero in Disguise

She lingered in the doorway, watching as her mother sobbed her eyes out. The letter had arrived that morning. The yellow parchment had seemed luminescent in the early sunlight and the green ink had glowed eerily. Had Kagome known what it's contents were, she would have torn it into a thousand pieces. Her heart went out to her mother, knowing the kind of pain she felt. It was so like her own. In the year and a half that Kagome had been home, she had spent the entire time thinking about what she had left behind. Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and even Sesshoumaru. She tried to imagine them in this time, but all that came to mind was a blank image. It was lonely, her world, without anyone to fill it. She began to think that the only reason she was still alive was because of her children. Yes, Shippo and Rin were her life force.

Memories long forgotten, though, Kagome still stared at her mother. She had looked up, and the staring contest began. Kagome could see the pain in her eyes. It was so clear.

"Mom?" Kagome broke the silence. "Want to talk about it?" The eyes softened, but just barely.

"Kagome…" She sounded, as just saying it for the very first time. "It was your father. He died a few days ago."

Kagome's heart skipped a beat. Her father? She'd thought he was already dead.

"I guess we should talk, huh mom?" Kagome smiled as she made her way to her mother's lavender-sheeted bed.

"Kagome, I can't tell you what happened to your father. I wish I could, but then I'd be putting so many people in danger…"

"Mom," Kagome interrupted, looking into her mother's crystal-blue eyes. "It's all right. I understand. Do you want me to go out and get the groceries instead?"

"No… I'll go. I need some time alone, anyways." Her mother stood up, gathering her coat off the chair by the nightstand and left the room as quietly as she could.

"Bye mom." Kagome said softly, more to herself than her mother. " I have a bad feeling about this."

Later that afternoon, Kagome sat next to the phone, watching it with a sense of morbid fascination. Souta, Rin, and Shippo sat outside next to the Goshinboku Tree, eating and laughing, like normal kids should, though they weren't even close to being normal kids. All of a sudden the phone rang. Kagome picked it up even before the first ring ended.

"Hello, Higurashi residence. Kagome speaking."

Hello, Miss Higurashi…I'm sorry to inform you that your mother has been in a car accident.

"Is she okay?" Kagome's voice sounded much to calm for the situation.

I'm sorry, but she's not going to make it… The voice was cut off by Kagome slamming the phone down.

"Why?" Was the only word she could get out before she slid down to the floor and started sobbing.

"Akiko Higurashi was a beloved mother and wife. She will be sorely missed by those in the community."

Those words were etched into the tombstone that Kagome was staring at. Souta, beside her, couldn't bear to look at the atrocious marker. It was a constant reminder of their previous life. The life that they could never return to… no matter how hard they tried. Kagome felt like she'd lost the Feudal Era all over again. It was another moment of wondering things like: why me, what could have happened, and what now. She felt as though her heart was ripped violently out of her chest by Naraku himself.

Shippo and Rin were lucky. They still held that childish naiveté, even through all the death and destruction that they'd had to face over their span of life. They didn't understand what happened when Kagome interrupted their lunch saying that their 'Gramma' had died in a car accident. They didn't understand what made their 'Uncle Souta' start crying his eyes out in their mothers' arms. They just didn't understand what was going on when that big wooden box was lowered into the ground right in front of them. Kagome envied them.

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Kagome Higurashi

Sunset Shrine

Tokyo Japan

It was another letter delivered by one of those accursed owls… just like the one she'd gotten when her father died, just days before. She was tempted to leave it sitting their, but once again, her curiosity got a hold of her.

Dear Miss Higurashi,

We, being long-time friends of your family, find it necessary that you, your brother, and your two children be moved from your house immediately. Enclosed in this letter are four tickets to London, in which your godfather, Remus Lupin, lives. He has requested that you stay with him until you are fully able to take care of your family. Also enclosed is the exact amount of money to pay someone to take care of your shrine while you are away. Please forgive us for relocating you so quickly after your parent's' deaths. You may find it hard to believe, but your mother's death wasn't an accident. We fear that you and the rest of the Higurashi family are in immediate danger and must be protected.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

P.S – Remus will meet you at the airport in London.

"Guys," Kagome started, staring blankly at the three people in front of her. "I guess we're going to London."

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Author's Notes –

Sorry it took so long for the chapter to get done… it's hard for someone who's never experienced death to write about it, so I had a bit of trouble on that part.

I hope to get the chapters up quicker considering it's summer. I do hope that you'll review.

I noticed no one wants to take up any of my Rurouni Kenshin stories… too bad… I'd like to see them done, but I don't have the inspiration to do them… maybe I'll get it back eventually…

I know it's short, but it'll get longer… (I Hope…)

Review Responses ::

Lily1121 – Well, I'm updating… thanks for reviewing!

Bee3 – I hope you still think it's interesting after this crappy chapter… thanks for reviewing!

Banana Flavored Eskimo – Well, Harry Potter has come into play and you can expect it for the rest of the story… I'm pretty sure… thanks for reviewing!

Thanks everyone!!!