Kagome sat the coffee table which had been placed in front of the couch. The dining table hadn't been cleaned up yet, so her mother had told her to eat wherever she wanted. Unlike most young girls, she had not chosen to eat in her room. She didn't have a room. Despite her mother's earlier request in the day that she pick one out, she hadn't. Her brother Sota, had eagerly called dibs on an upstairs room directly across from the bathroom. He claimed his choice was based upon the fact that it took Kagome three hours to get ready every morning so that he needed the advantage. He'd smiled and laughed at the torturous look she had given him. She knew herself better than anyone did and she did not spend three hours in the bathroom each morning. Maybe a good twenty minutes but never three hours.
Finishing her food quickly, Kagome placed the take-out container in the trash and headed to the second story of the house. If she was going to sleep, she was going to need a room. When she reached the top of the stairs she looked to the left and then to the right. Ahead of her the stairs continued on to an attic-like room. Her mother had told her to steer clear of it because the floor boards may not be safe. Kagome sighed at the thought of her mother's request. It wasn't as if she would actually want to go into a musty old attic, anyway. What could possibly be up there that would interest her?
Deciding that the right hall would be a better place to look for a room, she headed in that direction. Sota and her mother had chosen rooms on the left side of the hall, she didn't want to assign herself a life deprived of sleep, so it was best to be as far away from them as possible. There were three doors on this side particular side of the short hallway. One, resided on the right hand side of the hall about halfway to the end. The other two rested opposite each other at the very end of the hall.
Kagome approached the right hand door at the end of the hall. There was nothing unusual about it. Grasping the silver colored handle in on of her hands she twisted until the door opened to her. There were two windows. One faced out from the side of the house, the other from the back. There was an old mattress and bed frame in the middle of the room. The head of the bed rested against the back window. It would seem that the previous owners of the house had neglected to clear out this space, for different pieces of furniture still littered the scene. There was a tall wooden dresser opposite of the bed and a small nightstand next to it. On top of the nightstand rested a small lamp that looked as though it had not been used in years. Cobwebs decorated the lampshade and the corner above it. The entire room was a mess. Deciding that this wasn't the room for her, Kagome proceeded to leave. However, before she could leave, she felt something behind her. It was the same sort of pressuring presence that demanded her to turn around. Obeying, Kagome positioned herself so that she was facing what a moment ago had been behind her. But there was nothing. No one. There was no boy.
Quietly she closed the door behind her. She had been sure that there was something there. Shrugging it off, she entered the room opposite the one she had just exited. When she stepped inside, the first thing that greeted her was emptiness. There was absolutely nothing in the room. Unlike the previous room, there was no dresser, or furnishings of any kind. It was completely empty. Though it was strange, Kagome decided that it being empty was a good thing. It meant that the space was her to work with. There was a closet, one window, and pure white walls. It was officially her space now, her room.
Kagome made quick work of the chores. In less than two hours she had dusted, removed cobwebs, swept, and gave the windows a good scrub down, not to mention haul up a few of her already unpacked possessions. By the time she was done, she was ready for a good night's sleep. The only problem was that she had no bed. Kagome had not even carpet to comfort her tired back. Her floor was made of cold, hard wood. The best solution to her predicament would be to compose a makeshift bed, and that was exactly what she planned to do.
Hurriedly, Kagome made her way downstairs and over to the boxes of still unpacked items that lay scattered about the living room. With a sigh, she set out to opening them one by one. As organized as her mother was, somehow she had managed to forget to label the boxes. This was a shame because it would have been nice not to have to work so hard just so she could sleep. Never-the-less, she pressed on. Box, after box, Kagome was disappointed. With each failure, she felt her annoyance grow. How hard was it to label a package, she wondered.
At the site of only two unopened boxes left, Kagome heaved a sigh of relief. The blankets had to be in one of them. Quickly she reached for the box nearest her. It felt cold under her fingers, just as all the others had, she prayed that this one would be different. Indeed it was, when she peeled back the flaps of the box it revealed the blankets she had been looking for.
"Finally" Kagome mumbled under her breath.
Happy at the promising chance of sleep, Kagome headed for the stairs, but stopped suddenly when she reached their starting point. There, at the top of the stairs was the boy she had seen earlier. This time he didn't look as hard to see. Hastily she dropped the blankets and darted up the stairs. Unfortunately, unlike their last encounter, the boy did not stay still. His eyes widened in realization as he saw Kagome running at him and took off down the hall toward Kagome's room. Kagome followed closely behind him. It hadn't occurred to her that it was strange to have an unknown boy in her house. This was probably due to the fact that she already had her suspicions as to whether he was a normal boy or not.
I have him, Kagome thought as she watched the boy race into her bedroom. It would only be a small matter of time now before she got her answers out of him. But to her surprise, when she thrust open her bedroom door there was no boy. There was no translucent form to be seen anywhere. This puzzled her greatly until she heard a rustling noise emitting from her closet. Hurriedly she raced to her closer door and ripped it open. But, just as before, there was no one. As she was sliding her closet closed she herd the noises again, but they didn't sound like they were coming from inside the closet, they were coming from the ceiling directly above her room. There could only be one explanation.
Kagome spun around and slammed her closet open. Quickly climbed onto it's lone shelf and pressed her hands to it's roof. A few moments later she was pushing up a peice of the ceiling. This, apparently was the real attic. She hoisted herself out from her closet and surveyed the area. It was small and dark. She could barely see a thing- not that there was much to see. The space was small, and contained no windows. Across from her she could see someone...something.
Slowly, and cautiously she made her way over to the far wall. The thing didn't move. She reached a hand out to touch it, but there was still no reaction. She hesitated for a moment before pressing her fingers lightly to whatever the object was. Once again, it did not move.
To Kagome's surprise, something tapped her from behind. She quickly spun around, but all she could do was scream. She was definitely not alone. Whatever she had touched had not been alive, but there was no doubt in her mind that the creature she was confronting now was.