A.N.) I just wanted to thank all of you that reviewed on the first chapter! When you get that kind of input, a writer is really encouraged to write more. So thanx everybody and enjoy! : )

Forgotten Gardens

Chapter 2

Dirty Water

"Disgusting!" I cried out as I scooped through what look to be a cross between rice, spaghetti, and green mashed potatoes with my bare hands. "I think I'm gonna puke."

"Don't you dare!" Miroku shouted as he wrinkled his nose at what appeared to be a bowl of macaroni and vanilla ice cream with mysterious little brown hairs. "Kaede will just make me clean it up," he sighed but couldn't help but laugh as he remembered Kaede covered in rice pudding.

I just sat down into something unknown and covered my mouth as it squished and let out a repulsive smell.

"Ugh!"

I glared thinking back to the night before.

"Ye will clean this entire room with only your bare hands!"

I sighed as I looked down into a big pot filled with cat hair and clam chowder.

"As for your stupid beasts. They'll be in the pound faster than ye can imagine!"

I let out a shaky breath.

"You know," Miroku said as he sat down beside me," She wasn't always that way."

"You mean Kaede?" I looked at him in question, you don't just learn to be evil overnight.

He looked down to his hands that rested in his lap. "A long time ago, she lost someone who she loved very much."

"We all did."

I just stared at him in sympathy. Sorrow was something that I hadn't really seen grace his features.

"It tore everyone apart. No one was ever the same after that," he never once looked up at me, just stared down at his hands, as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered, it was killing me to not ask what happened or who he was talking about, but I could tell it was killing him a lot more than me, so I kept my mouth shut.

Besides, I had a pretty good idea.

For the first time, his violet orbs had lost their shine, their charm. He truly looked broken from the inside out.

"Looks like we have a lot more in common than I thought," I said with a sad smile, not really sure if I was trying to comfort him or myself.

He looked at me as if he understood what I was talking about. "I never pushed anyone into telling me why you were here," he said, with an almost pleading stare.

"My parents weren't exactly the best in the world. They liked to forget about me a lot and go to the bar and to parties coming home drunk. One night they were driving home from their usual evening at the bar and got into an accident."

I knew that I didn't have to tell him that, but it was nice to have someone to talk to. I felt great, just by telling him that little piece of my memories.

He doesn't need to know the details.

Miroku wasn't facing me but sitting their looking rather awkward so I just giggled and punched his arm playfully. I expected him to laugh and try to tickle me back but he just sat there.

"Miroku?" I tapped his shoulder," Are you ok?"

He slowly turned to face me with a devilish smirk on his face. "You shouldn't have punched me."

"What are you going to do about it?" I laughed but immediately stopped as my eyes widened. "Miroku! Please don't! I was only messing around!" I pleaded, still playfully but now nervous.

"To late," he said as he flung the handful of noodles and orange slices into my face.

I sat open mouthed and wiped the gross gunk off my face.

"Ok, now its war!"

----------

I sat laughing on the floor of my bedroom leaning against the door, remembering Kaede's face as she entered the room. We had managed to make the mess worse than better. My laughter stopped as I remembered what Miroku had said.

"You know, she wasn't always that way."

Once Kaede had walked in and found us she decided it was best to just put us under house arrest in our own rooms, away from each other. Which I wasn't too bummed about since I really needed a bath. We had ended up getting in a food fight and I felt exhausted and grimy.

So I walked into the bathroom I had discovered the night before when I went to brush my teeth, and peeled off the filthy orange t-shirt and blue jeans, now half brown and red from only god knows what.

As I ran the water I started to think about the painting, the girl was unusual, like me, but still different. I slipped into the tub and as I lay down, I began to shiver, even though the water was hot.

Was the little girl in the picture who Kaede and everyone else lost? My heart felt cold like my body as I thought about that. She would never smile again. "So much has happened in just two days," I sighed.

They've gone through so much pain, and they all just hide it, even though they can't completely.

It's in their eyes too.

No one can keep it hidden from their eyes.

At first, I had mistook Kaede's rudeness for hatred, but it was really pain, her way of coping with it was to grow cold, bitter, and distant.

I shivered once again. "Why is it so cold in here?" I asked the empty room.

I glanced down to my wrist as I noticed my bracelet dangling down and dripping from the water. I mentally punished myself for being so stupid. The bracelet was the last thing I had that my mother had given me.

Well, there was one other thing, I thought coldly as I looked to the large scar on my right shoulder. I placed the bracelet on the little shelf hanging over the tub, where a bar of soap should have been.

I scrubbed the food from my hair and skin until I was a light shade of pink. "Ah, that feels so much better," I whispered happily, but still very anxious to get out of the now very dirty water.

I stood up and wrapped a warm fuzzy pink towel around myself sighing with satisfaction. I whipped around as I heard something creak open, like a door. But as I listened there was only silence, so I just shrugged, "Must be the wind."

I turned to unlock and open the door, almost slipping on the wet tile floor, when I felt like I had forgotten something. I turned around and stared at the now dirty bathroom, and then I spotted it.

"Ugh, my bracelet, I keep forgetting," I sighed as I walked back into the room and leaned over the tub, reaching for the silver chain.

Then the lights went out and I was in a room full of pitch black darkness. I froze in my position over the tub. My heart started pounding loudly in my chest and I was positive that the whole household could hear it.

There's no need to be scared I told myself, the lights just need to be replaced. Then I heard a shoe squeak as it crossed the wet floor. The pounding in my chest stopped completely and my eyes grew wide with terror.

I slowly began to twist my head around when I felt a hand push me back down, making me slip and fall on the slippery floor, while the other hand held my head under the dirty water. I began to kick and try to hit the person holding me, but they were to strong and the position I was in wasn't helping me any.

All my senses seemed to go numb as I slowly stopped struggling against my attacker. My arms and legs fell limp and I lay unmoving. Suddenly, the hand pulled back. I sprang out of the water and fell to the wet floor gasping for air.

I tried to look at the escaping attacker, but the lights were still off and my vision was blurred.

That's how Miroku found me, laying on the floor, half naked, clutching my burning throat, and peering around blindly. The lights flashed on and I looked toward the figure walking to me with blurred vision.

"Kagome!" I could hear him calling me, but he sounded so far away.

My chest was rising and falling quickly and my body began to feel warmth again. When my vision returned I weakly stared up at him then looked down to his hands, he was holding a fat brown and white kitten in his arms, which was meowing in distress.

"Miroku!" I cried out as I fell down into his arms, my face pressed against his chest as I listened to the steady drumming of his heart beat that was getting faster in panic.

"Kagome, what happened? You're purple," he whispered out of his own fear. I was so cold and shaking so hard that I wasn't sure if I'd ever stop. "I don't know," I answered, even though it hurt to talk.

"I was taking a bath when the lights went out and someone pushed me into the water and held me under and-"

"Calm down," He whispered while putting a finger to my lips. He seemed to be calming down and that seemed to make me do the same. "You can tell me about it later," he went on.

I looked over to the cat in my lap and started to giggle. He always did have a way with making me happy. "What's so funny?" he asked. I just smiled, still feeling a bit jumpy but slowly shaking it off.

"I just need to get out side and do something," I said, to get my mind off of it."

"I know the perfect thing," he said with a smile spreading across his face.

I stared at him questioningly but smiled anyway, "What?"

"Just get dressed and meet me downstairs in the lounge," he said while helping me to my feet.

"Um, Miroku?" I asked

"What?"

"Could you wait by the door for me?" I asked staring at my feet, a little embarrassed.

"Still a little shook up by this whole thing, huh?" he asked with a reassuring smile.

"Not exactly," I lied while still looking at my feet. I was still shaken up quite a bit but that wasn't why I wanted him to wait for me. He looked at me confused," Then what are you afraid of?" he asked.

"Afraid of getting lost on the way to the lounge," I exclaimed. He just laughed at me and turned to sit down outside the door.

--------

"Come on, Miroku!" I pleaded as we walked side by side down a rather long skinny staircase," Tell me what we're doing."

"I told you, it's a surprise" He said with a little annoyance in his voice. He had changed into blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a purple windbreaker. I had quickly put on a pair of dark blue jeans and a red hoody and pulled my hair into a ponytail.

I groaned, surprises drove me crazy, I absolutely hated them. He looked at me and smiled," Calm down, we're almost there." I gave him a blank look but continued after him down the stairs.

"Ugh, what's that smell," I asked while I wrinkled my nose," Are you sure we're not going to the dining room?"

"Ha ha ha, very funny. That is the smell of- "He pushed open the door at the bottom of the spiral staircase to reveal a stable, completed with about 50 horses,"-horses"

My mouth hung open as the excitement roared through my veins. "Their amazing," I whispered. "Take your pick," he said with a smile. I gave him a puzzled look. "You mean, pick a horse?"

"Duh," he said, "You can pick any one of them except for this one right here," he said while pointing to a chestnut brown horse with white spots and a star on it's forehead. "What's his name?" I asked.

"Her name is Kyohaku," he smirked. "Well I apologize to Kyohaku," I smiled back up to the beautiful mare and I could have sworn she gave me a small wink. .

"So, which one do you want?" he asked again. "Umm…" I scanned the rows and groups of horses, they were all so beautiful. How am I supposed to just pick? There were white ones, black ones, brown ones, grey ones, some with spots, some with stripes, some with a braided mane, some curled.

But as I looked further down the rows, there was a circle of gorgeous stallions, then a smaller black stallion running around the rest trying to squeeze itself into the circle but it kept being pushed away by the bigger horses.

Finally it gave up and ran to the next circle or mares trying to squeeze into their little gathering, but even they would not let him enter. So he just walked away into a corner and stood, as if waiting for something. My heart softened for this horse.

"That one," I said while pointing to the black stallion," He's perfect."

"You can't have that one," Someone declared behind me in a cold tone. "Excuse me?" I asked, with a bit of an angry voice. I was going to get that horse no matter what anyone said. We were connected.

"I said, you can't have that one." It was just the stable boy. He had dark brown hair, longer than most boys had that was put into a high ponytail. He was actually pretty cute. His bright blue orbs were beautiful but showed no emotion but pride. "And, why would that be?" I asked him with a more gentle tone but still forceful.

"Because, he doesn't belong to you, he belongs to Kikyou," he spat out.

Kikyou? Who's Kikyou?

"Shut up, Koga," Miroku said with a cold tone. Koga glared at him but knew messing with this stuck up little rich boy would get him fired so he just grunted and walked away.

I stared at Miroku, both puzzled and upset," What was that all about?"

"Just forget it," he said, trying to become more cheerful but failing. "His name is Kyokugaisha," He told me.

"I thought his name was Koga," I said teasingly with fake stupid ness. He just rolled his orbs, but smiled all the same. He mounted Kyohaku then looked back down to me," Once your ready, meet me up by that apple tree," he turned and pointed to the top of a very high hill with only an apple tree covering its surface at the very top.

"You're leaving me here?" I asked, slightly scared although I would never admit that. "You'll be fine," he gave a reassuring glance before kicking the large mare's sides and racing off through the trail in the gardens.

I sighed as I turned to face the corner Kyokugaisha was in. As I approached him he snorted and looked at me before turning back to face the wall. "I'm the only person that has seemed to give you any attention for quite a while and you turn your back on me. You must be holding a big grudge against this Kikyou," I told him. When he heard the name Kikyou his ear had twitched slightly but he didn't turn.

"We're a lot alike, you and me," I told him. He snorted at me and I took it as a sign to continue," We're both outsiders, no real friends. We're completely alone in the world, maybe, we should stick together?" I more asked him than told him. It felt like he was the first person to really listen to me ever since I'd gotten here. For that, he deserved a choice, not an order.

He turned to face me and just stared down at me. I gulped at his hard stare, but then, he slowly lowered his head down in acceptance. I let out a relieved sigh and patted his forehead that had a white shape on it that looked almost like a snowflake.

I froze.

There was a hand on my shoulder. I didn't want to turn around. I knew it was the person from earlier today, coming back to finish me off. I gulped and began to slowly turn.

"Koga!"

He was giving me a glare that surpassed the one he had given Miroku just a few minutes ago. "I can't believe it was you!" I shouted accusingly at him. My senses were tingling again. He would not win a second time.

He gave me a confused stare, but then his face softened," I just came to apologize, for how I acted earlier."

I stood with a dumbfounded look on my face and only stupidly managed out," Oh."

He leaned forward and gave me a kiss on the cheek before turning to walk away. My face grew a bright cherry red as I listened to the crunching of his feet in the hay as he went for the door. "I'm such an idiot!" I cried.

Kyokugaisha nudged my shoulder and I turned to face him," Thanks," I smiled as I finally mounted him. "You know, I shouldn't punish myself for that guy, I mean, one moment he hates me, then the next, he likes me enough to kiss me. I'll never understand boys."

Kyokugaisha snorted at this before bolting out of the stable for some much needed exercise. "I should tell you," I said with pauses in my voice from the way he was trotting," I am sort of afraid of heights!"

He just gave out a weird noise that sounded like a laugh and raced even faster to the old tree. I peered around as he leaned down to eat an apple that had fallen. I expected a castle like this to have beautiful scenery, but it was all dead. I sighed and looked over to the gardens. Where had Miroku gotten to?

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Miroku asked, coming up behind me on Kyohaku.

"Stunning," I said with fake pleasure. "You know, you shouldn't lie," Miroku said playfully. "Excuse me?" I wondered," I was not lying."

"It shows in your eyes, every emotion you've had since you came here has been revealed," He smiled.

"As has yours," I whispered to myself.

"You're hot," he exclaimed.

"What?!?" I shouted at him. That had caught me off guard. How dare he say that!

"Your face is bright red, did anything happen between you and that horse of yours back there?" he asked lightheartedly.

"Oh," was my clever remark for the second time," No, I guess I am just a little hot."

"Hey, where did you go?" I asked, trying desperately to change the subject. "No where," he assured me.

"Whatever."

"I remember, when I was little, my mother would take me out into the gardens, and sing to me," He told me quietly. I looked at him, astonished and confused at the same time. I never really thought about his mother, never knew anything about her. My mother never talked about her elder sister.

Funny, she never really talked to me at all.

I sat quietly, waiting for him to continue, but he just gazed out at the gray view beyond the hill. I started to feel really awkward, just sitting there, not knowing what to say or do to make his pain go away. But I knew I couldn't do that. No one but his father could do that, or at least make it better.

But his father was so consumed in self pity that he was in no condition to help his tormented son. So, I was going to have a lot of work to do. I got Kyokugaisha to trot up next to Kyohaku," Do you think Kyohaku is faster than Kyokugaisha?" I questioned him.

He turned to give me a puzzled look before saying," I suppose, but why?"

"Oh, I just wanted to know if I could beat you at a race through the gardens," I asked with a good-humored smirk.

"Dream on," He told me sternly, but still had lightheartedness dancing in the back of his orbs. I smiled and kicked the sides of Kyokugaisha, causing him to sprint down the hill toward the trail through the dead gardens.

I laughed as I felt myself flying through the gray and brown flowers, knowing how far ahead I was. I stopped laughing when I felt the breath of Kyohaku on my neck. "Nice try," Miroku snorted with a determined gleam in his orbs.

As we raced through the maze of brown leaves and dead flowers, we finally reached what seemed to be a resting area, due to the stone benches and a large stone fountain in the center.

The statue on the fountain was of a little boy standing up, holding a flower pot. Below him sat a young girl holding flowers. As I got closer to it I saw that the little boy was Miroku, and the little girl was…

…the one from the portrait in my bedroom.

I stared quietly at the fountain. Pieces of it were broken off and there was no water in it but a brown muddy substance, probably from the rain and dirt.

Miroku stared at the fountain too, but he was somewhere else. Deep in the girl's orbs, lost in a memory.

It was then I realized the difference between the girl and me. Although her face was stone her eyes remained the same as the picture. Frozen in time, and cold.

Stone cold.

Kyokugaisha began to whimper, he too was staring into the young girl's eyes. "This must be Kikyou," I whispered to myself. Things were beginning to come together and it partly shocked me. But I didn't know why, it shouldn't have. I'd been expecting it all along, but…

Now that I knew the truth, it hurt me.

"Miroku," I said, probably a little louder then necessary. It seemed to snap him awake and pull him back to the present because his violet orbs became clearer. He looked over to me, not saying a word.

"Its getting dark, we better head back," I told him in a tone that said don't argue with me. He didn't say anything but turned his horse around and began to trot back through the overgrown hedges.

Not wanting to be left lost in the overgrown maze of dead plants in the dark, and cold, and in the rain, I quickly went after him and followed him back to the stables. He got down off of Kyohaku and stalked into the castle, not even giving me a glance.

"He sure is a drama king," I grunted as I turned to Kyokugaisha and handed him a carrot. He nibbled on it before spitting it back out to the ground. I frowned at him with a questioning stare.

"He only likes the sweet stuff," a voice explained behind me. "Is that so, Koga," I asked as I turned to face him, but jumped back when I realized how close he was. He smiled and pulled out two sugar cubes from his pocket and holding out his hand for the horse to lick then up.

I stared at him for a second before remembering what had happened that afternoon. "Well, I'm going to bed," I told him while quickly walking away. He sort of scared me. Or at least made me feel awkward.

I ran up the long twisted staircase in the dark and slowly walked down the gloomy hallways that were only lit with shallow lamps hanging on the walls. Great! How am I supposed to find my way back to the room?

I walked aimlessly through the murky maze when I heard a woman's voice behind me," Kagome, what are you still doing out and about?"

It was Kagura, but she sounded different, angrier. She had lost her bounce and perkiness. I gulped as I turned to face her. The lighting on her face made her look eerie. "Lost," was all I could manage out.

"Hmm, I'll take you back to your room," she forced out a smile, but it just made her look even creepier. "Ok, but would you mind walking in front of me?" I asked with a pathetic look on my face. She just shrugged and began moving quickly through the mess of corridors and staircases.

I followed her but was still very alert. Something wasn't right here. But we reached my bedroom without anything happening so I let out a breath I had been holding in and opened the door. Kagura began to open her mouth to say something but I just shut the door in her face before she even made a sound.

I looked around the dark room then walked over to the other smaller room and stepped inside. I began to shake as I looked at the portrait. It was wide open.

At first I tried to tell myself that I had just left it open or that it had just gave in, until I noticed the wet foot prints leading into the darkness. I froze in terror as I realized how my attacker had gotten in undetected and left the same way.

"The squeak!" I shouted, it had been the door opening. But they didn't have time to close the door behind them? Or maybe…

…it was a trap.

They wanted me to follow them into the shadows. I began to slightly shake as I continued to process this, they could be in the room right now.

Just watching me.

A.N.) Well that was an interesting chapter. I'm going to translate a few words for you:

Orbs: eyes (my friend didn't know what that meant)

Kawaii: cute; adorable

Kyohaku (Miroku's horse): star

Kyokugaisha (Kagome's horse): outsider

Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the story so far! Please Review!