She had absolutely had it with that boy! Ghost or no, he had to go. The problem was-as it had always been-how could she get rid of him.

'He's dead.' She thought to herself. 'How do you get rid of someone who is dead?'

Then, as is she had been struck by brilliance, the most wonderful idea came into Kagome's mind. Her grandfather is a priest, couldn't he help her out? 'Gramps will love this.' she thought excitedly.

No one ever believed her grandfather that his seals and wards actually worked. It wasn't that he wasn't good at what he did-not that Kagome actually knew, but he didn't get a lot of publicity. People were not exactly running to the shrine to buy his spell so that their lives would be saved from the burden of blood-thirsty demons. She would take her chances though, anything was worth a shot.

She was still so angry about him turning off her alarm clock. It had taken her a moment before it donned on her why she hadn't woken up on time. At some point during her not so gratifying slumber, a certain ghost boy had viciously switched her alarm clock to the off position. She imagined his face as his claw pushed the small button towards the small print that read: Off. He would have been grinning, eyes igniting with the pleasure of knowing the agony he would inflict upon her. She could see all of this, and more as her anger began to surface and spread through her entire body. Soon she found herself throwing that alarm clock at his face. It smacked the side of his cheek, leaving a red imprint where it had struck. He would be so speechless. His eyes would stare back at her with the cocky anger that she had only seen from him. Of course, this was all in her mind-much to Kagome's dismay. She could never truly hit him with anything. He was dead! The resurfacing of this simple fact only served to make her angrier.

As the day wore on, Kagome found herself so busy with the chores she had been given that she almost forgot to slip some of her grandfather's ofudas into her pocket. Thankfully, her mother had offered to let her end her duties early, giving Kagome the perfect chance to waltz into her grandfather's house. She didn't really feel that bad taking them. It wasn't as if she was stealing. After all, she was the mans' granddaughter. He would be happy to help her out.

When night fell Kagome and the rest of the family waved goodbye cheerfully to her grandfather, then started on the way home. Their new house was only a few blocks away, it wouldn't take that long to get home.

Kagome sighed, a hint as to how tired she was. Moving boxes of old relics, shining brittle swords, and redecorating her grandfather's entire house with brand new ofudas was quite a task. The air surrounding the three family members was cold and caused their breath to spew in misty white clouds from their icily bitter lips. Kagome was glad she had remembered to bring her jacket with her before storming out of the house that morning.

"Kagome dear?"

Kagome turned to the sound of her mother's voice and stared questioningly at her. "What is it mama?"

"Why were you late today? I know you know you were supposed to meet us at your grandfathers' an hour after we got there. What happened?" As her mother spoke, she sounded happy and cheerful. Her voice held no anger, only curiosity.

"My alarm clock didn't go off, mama." Kagome stated simply. After all, it was the truth. She just didn't add in the part about the ghost boy who had stopped it from sounding.

"Oh." Kagome's mother looked thoughtfully at Kagome. "I suppose we'll just have to buy you a new one then, dear."

"No, mama. It's alright. I think it will be working fine from now on."

"Are you sure, Kagome?" Her mother asked worriedly, not wanting a repeat of today.

"Yes mama, I'm sure. If it happens again you can buy me a new one."

"Alright honey."

A few minutes after the awkward questioning, Kagome saw her house come into veiw. Even though it was nearly the same size as all the others nearby, it seemed to rise above them. It's pale sides allowing the moonlight to surround it, shadowing it's corners in a mysterious shroud of darkness. The air held a mist-like quality to it and fog could be spotted at either end of the street, blocking the continuing roads from view. At the sight of this, a chill ran up Kagome's spine. Instinctively she pulled her jacket closer, trying to keep in what little warmth she could feel. The house loomed above her menacingly and she was gripped with the urge to get as far away from it as possible.

It was peculiar the way she was feeling. Why should she be afraid of her own home? There was ghost boy inhabiting it-yes, but he wasn't so bad, or so she had decided. He was indeed, annoying though, she would give him that. So there really wasn't anything to be afraid of. Just a couple of dark corners...

AND the thing in the attic...which was conveniently located above her bedroom.

That thing was something she would have to deal with later- if she dealt with it at all.

Kagome looked up just in time to see her mother turning the knob of their front door. Apparently she had been thinking a little longer than she had realized. Strangely, her mother needed no key to gain entrance.

It did not take long to discover why.

The entire house had been ransacked. Over-turned boxes lay scattered about the front room. The few things that had been unpacked the night before lay strewn about the home. Anything that was breakable had been exactly that-broken. Curtains, bedspreads, pillowcases- all had been shredded to pieces and lay in tattered heaps in one place or another.

Fearing for the worst, Kagome headed to her room to survey the damage. All kinds of the thoughts raced through her head. While most would say she should have been thankful that it was not her family that had been brutally attacked, she was thinking of all the memories her possessions contained. If anything had been destroyed-which it must have- those memories would be lost forever.

With a force greater than she had meant, she flung the door open. Just like all the others, her room had been raided and demolished a heap of what was now meaningless junk. A porcelain doll with jet black hair, and a red kimono lay broken upon the floor near her bed. The sharp jagged pieces of a lamp spread out in the middle of the room next to a shredded pillow sham and comforter. Her closet, as she now saw, had been left untouched-which did her no good in the least because all of her clothes had still been packed. Now they lay, torn to pieces about the floor, the majority strewn across what was once her bed.

None of these thing, however, mattered. The only thing that Kagome cared about was something others would have considered childish. Underneath her pillow she kept a very special picture, one that brought both joy and sorrow to her heart. Even last night- the first night in her new home, she had not forgotten to place the photograph beneath the fabric of her pillow case. Not a day had passed since she was young had she slept without that picture.

Fearful of what she might see, Kagome approached her bed and reached for the lump that was her pillow. Cautiously, and somewhat hesitantly, she felt for the photo she prayed was there.

It wasn't.

A/N:

Yeah, I know. Once again, it was short. I know the developement would seem cleaner if I were to write longer chapters, but I just can't seem to with this story. I feel that the way I worded Kagome's despair of the abscence of the picture, and her feelings leading up to the discovery was very weak. I have to admit that just sort of cranked this chapter out mechanically because I will be grounded until April 20, 2006 starting this coming Monday. I wanted to put something out for you guys to read and review. Please don't hate me. Oh! Bye the way...you should all go and buy/rent RENT. It was the most awesome movie ever! Idina Menzel was radtacular! Wicked lover