Hmm… this time I gots nothing to rant about. It's the apocalypse! Heh. But seriously folks, I am going to put a lot of Linkin Park songs in this fan-fiction. I couldn't find too many songs from Meteora to put in here, so pretty much all of them are gonna be from Hybrid Theory. Do keep in mind that I do not own any of Linkin Park's songs. It's easier to just say that here and now to save all kinds of 'Disclaimer' notes.

Chapter 6: One Step Closer to the Edge

Tatsune came bursting into the house. His red bandana came undone and fell over his left eye. Kasumi got startled. She looked up and thought he got into another fight. She walked up to him.

"Tatsune, are you covering a black eye with your bandana again?" she asked.

Tatsune resisted his mother's tender touch. He retied his bandana around his brown hair. His eyes glared daggers at his mother.

"You lied to me!" he yelled angrily, pointing a finger at her.

Kasumi stepped back. She tilted her head in confusion and asked, "What do you mean?"

"The one person I thought I could trust, has lied to me…" was Tatsune's only response. "What's there to live for now?"

Kasumi's eyes got wide. Before she could stop him, Tatsune ran to his room. Locking the door, he began to throw his belongings everywhere.

Kasumi banged on the door. She was worried he was about to commit suicide.

(( I cannot take this anymore. I'm saying everything I've said before. All these words they make no sense. I found bliss in ignorance. Less I hear the less you say. You'll find that out anyway. Just like before…))

"Honey I know you're angry at me, but why? What's the matter?" she asked.

Tatsune paused and sat on the bed. He held his head in his hands and stared at his feet. Slowly but surely, he caught his breath, and began to calm down. He'd never been angry at his mother before. This was a new sensation for him. One that he absolutely hated.

"Mom… the well…" he replied.

Kasumi gasped. The well!

(( Everything you say to me. Takes me one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break. I need a little room to breathe. 'Cause I'm one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break. ))

"Tatsune, you broke through the well?!"

"Mom, you could've told me the truth. I trusted you. Something I don't do very often. Why couldn't you do the same for me?"

"I was protecting you, Tatsune!"

"Protecting me from what?! A loving father?! An awesome grandpa?! What?!"

Oh no… Kasumi thought in her head. He met both of them…

(( I find the answers aren't so clear. Wish I could find a way to disappear. All these thoughts they make no sense. I found bliss in ignorance. Nothing seems to go away. Over and over again. Just like before… ))

Tatsune unlocked his door and opened it. He saw the worry in his mother's eyes. He felt heartbroken for her, and yet enraged.

"But why do I feel as if there's something else missing?" he asked quietly.

Kasumi sighed. She cupped her son's cheeks in her hands. She kissed his nose and said, "The truth. But I can't tell you everything now…"

"And why not?"

"Until I know someone is dead, you cannot go back," Kasumi replied.

(( Everything you say to me. Takes me one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break. I need a little room to breathe. 'Cause I'm one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break. ))

Kasumi left. She was headed toward the temple. Tatsune followed.

"What are you hiding from me?" he asked; irritated.

Kasumi turned and said, "Nothing!"

Tatsune could see she wasn't telling him the truth.

"I'm not going to let you see, hear, speak, or breathe the evil inside this well," she told him nailing new boards to the top. "My mother kept me away from here for a long time, but it was a bad idea that I decided to go. Never again must you enter this death trap."

(( Shut up when I'm talkin' to you! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up when I'm talkin' to you! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!! I'm about to break! ))

"Mother, tell me the truth! Who am I?" he asked angrily.

Kasumi turned back around and replied, "You are my fifteen year old, teenage, son. Nothing more. You're just a normal boy!"

"And what if I'm not?"

"Then join the club! Trust me, I know what it's like to be different."

"Never again will I trust you, mommy dearest," Tatsune replied coldly.

He left without another word. Kasumi dropped the hammer and crumbled to her knees. She had lost the trust of her son. Lost her loyalty to him.

"That's it… I've failed as a parent," she said to herself. "Damn you, Naraku! If you would've died a long time ago, none of this would've happened!!"

Uncontrollable tears made their way down Kasumi's cheeks. She summoned the Sacred Jewel. She thought about crushing the cursed thing. This was the thing that brought her and her family into this mess, so to end it, why don't she just destroy it?

"Oh yeah," she said with a short chuckle. "I'd die…"

(( Everything you say to me. Takes me one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break. I need a little room to breathe. 'Cause I'm one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break. ))

Kasumi let the jewel retreat back into her body. She sat there thinking for a good amount of time. Finally, she wiped dry tears from her face, stood up, and proceeded back home. She may have lost trust in her son, but it still wasn't too late to make things right…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Short chapter, I know, but don't blame me. Blame my crummy ideas.