InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Haunted ❯ Rooms For Rent ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

AN: Well, I changed by dividers into bunnies. I don't know why. But they're cool, and that's good enough for me.

Disclaimer: In no way, shape or form do I own Inuyasha or any of the characters in the show, although I'd like to… (hint hint)

Haunted

Chapter Three: Rooms for Rent

"There we are." Mrs. Higurashi's light tone of voice was contradicted by the worried frown that creased her forehead.

"So he'll be alright now?" Souta asked again. He peered over his mother's shoulder at the small bundle. "He's not gonna die, or anything?"

"I don't think so." The woman said with a tired smile. "His injuries looked pretty bad, but they're shallow. I'm more worried about this big bump on his head." She gingerly felt the large swollen bump at the back of his head.

The small child squirmed uncomfortably and Mrs. Higurashi carefully drew her hand away. "Shhh…" She murmured to the squirming bundle in her arms. She looked up towards her daughter who crouched behind her.

"He's so cute…" Kagome whispered. After all the dirt and scratches had been cleaned and taken care of, he was simply adorable. "Can I hold him?" She asked, smiling down at the infant. They actually had no idea of how old he was. He could be anywhere from a big two-year-old to a very small six-year-old.

"Of course." With a gentle smile, Mrs. Higurashi carefully passed the sleeping or unconscious child into her daughter's eager arms.

"Awww," Kagome cooed. Souta peered over his sister's shoulder to get a better look at the kid.

"What happened, do you think?" He whispered to her, still staring at the bruises and Band Aids that decorated the child's face.

"I don't know," Kagome replied quietly. "It's so sad, though. He must've been so scared." She got up slowly from the table and moved to the couch, Souta trailing behind her like a dog eager for a treat.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled and got up from the table. She glanced behind her to make sure that everything was okay and walked into the kitchen to wash the dishes. It had been well past nine o'clock by the time they had finished bandaging the poor kid. She shook her head remorsefully. How could anyone let something so terrible like that happen to such a small child?

After a few minutes of staring at the sleeping kid, Souta moved away with a yawn, declaring himself to be off to bed. Ten minutes later Mrs. Higurashi finished washing the dishes.

"Do you want me to take him?" She asked her daughter who was still entranced by the dozing child.

"Nah, I'll stay up and watch him." Kagome replied. "He's so cute!" She said again. Her mother smiled and walked towards the doorway.

"If you need anything, just ask, okay?" She said. Kagome nodded. Mrs. Higurashi rubbed her eyes and turned towards the stairs. "Goodnight."

"G'night," Kagome called after her. "I wonder what his name is", she mused, staring down at the kid's sleeping face. Her gaze wandered away from his face and to various objects around the room as she thought. The room was silent in exception to the quiet ticking of clock on a shelf.

Kagome's eyelids fluttered shut for a moment, and her head tilted towards her chest. With a yawn, she shifted her bundle and brought her hand to her mouth, only to suddenly let out a gasp of surprise, Ten o'clock already? It seemed like only an hour or so ago that her grandfather had gone outside to return with the poor kid… She looked down at her bundle again, and wide green eyes met surprised brown. "H-hello." She stammered.

"Hi." The kid replied. "Who are you?" He asked, bright green eyes staring up into her face.

"Umm…" Kagome hesitated. "My name's Kagome." She offered with what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "We found you in the forest."

"Oh, okay." The kid replied airily. "My name's Shippo." He squirmed and offered a tiny hand. "Nice to meet you." He said with dignity.

Kagome giggled. "Nice to meet you, too." She said with a smile. Too cute…! "Um, how old are you?" She asked.

"Twenty-two." Shippo lied blatantly. "I bet I'm older than you." Kagome stared at the kid in temporary consternation.

"Umm…" She stalled. "No, really. How old are you, Shippo?" She tried again. The kid merely giggled and shook his head. Maybe he'd hit it a little harder than they'd thought…

The kid, still giggling, started to wiggle free. Kagome let her hold loosen and Shippo bounced to the floor. He stood there a moment, then bounded into the dark hallway. "Hey, wait!" Kagome cried, panicked. "You're not supposed to move yet! You're not supposed to be able to move yet!" She scrambled off the couch in pursuit of the little "invalid". Obviously, he wasn't nearly injured as they all had assumed. "Wait!" She tried again, stumbling over boxes in the dark hallway. "Hey!" As she passed her mother's bedroom the older woman came out, rubbing her eyes.

"Kagome?" She asked with a yawn. "Something wrong?" She looked pointedly at Shippo's obvious absence in her arms. "How's our little fellow?" She smiled and closed the door behind her with a gentle click.

"Oh, he's just fine," Kagome replied sourly. "I just don't know where he is, is all." At her mother's surprised expression, Kagome hurriedly explained. "He ran away. He's definitely not so bad off."

Mrs. Higurashi merely smiled. "Well, let's go find him. What's his name?" She squinted down the hallway.

"Shippo." Kagome replied irritably as she looked inside one of the empty boxes. "Shippo!" She called out. "It's all right! You can come out!"

"Poor dear." Mrs. Higurashi sighed as she turned the corner and flicked on another light. "He must be terrified. He's just woken up from being traumatized in some way and he has no idea of where he is." She bent down and gently extended her hand. "It's okay, Shippo. You can come out. No one's going to hurt you." The boxes rustled, out came…

Buyo. With a mew, the obese cat sauntered up and twined himself around the woman's legs. "Oops!" Kagome's mother smiled. She picked up the heavy feline and continued down the hallway.

"Shippo!" Kagome called, having gone in the opposite direction of her mother. "Shippo! You can't hide forever!" She stopped outside of her brother's room after hearing some muffled thumps and giggles. Frowning, she opened the door.

"Hey!" Souta yelled and tossed his blanket over a suspiciously Shippo- sized lump. "Ever heard of privacy?!" The lump moved slightly.

It had been a rhetorical question, but she didn't care. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I have." Kagome replied scathingly. She strode into the room and picked up the lump. It squirmed about for a moment and Shippo's head popped out of one of the ends. "Oops!" Kagome flipped the child right side up.

"Hey!" Shippo squealed, arms and legs flailing as he struggled weakly. His eyes fluttered closed for a moment before popping open. "Put me down!" He exclaimed indignantly, fighting a yawn. Kagome smiled rather grimly. This kid was definitely behaving differently from how she'd expected.

As all her attention was fixed on the errant houseguest, she was completely unprepared for Souta's surprise attack. He tackled her from behind, slamming her onto the hard wooden floor of the hallway. Despite his injuries, Shippo managed to scramble out from under his stunned would-be caretaker.

Whooping and laughing triumphantly, the two boys ran off into the dark, leaving a stunned and pained Kagome alone with her anguished thoughts. "Oh dear god, what had we done…?" She didn't even try and get up.

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

Four miles at a small café, a young man with smooth black hair tied into a small ponytail at the back of his head sat at a small table sipping coffee. A small battered suitcase stood on the ground next to him as he looked over the classifieds. His surprisingly purple eyes wavered towards the personals and with great effort, they moved back towards the other page. He put empty mug down on the table and picked up the old suitcase, counting out a meager amount of money out on his palm and paying the cashier. He went back to the table and picked up the newspaper, picking out the designated ad again.

"Rooms For Rent:

Higurashi Residence, 1224 Priestess Lane

Please call to reserve a room and negotiate the terms: 245 555 1943"

He nodded to himself and headed outside, neatly folding the paper in half. He stood outside of the small café and searched him pockets for money. With a sigh, he pulled out a frugal number of coins. He put the money back in his pocket and looked at his battered watch. He'd reach the place by dark…

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

Roughly ten miles away, Kagome heaved a defeated sigh and rolled onto her back. Even with a ghost- poltergeist, she reminded herself- haunting the property, life was pretty boring. "Nothing to do…" She hummed tunelessly over and over again. "Nothing, nothing, nothing…" She stopped as small hands rested on her stomach for a moment, followed by the rest of their owner.

Shippo's bright green eyes stared into her own. "Souta says there's a ghost haunting the house!" He exclaimed. His voice dropped to a confidential whisper. "Is it true?" His eyes darted from one end of the room to another, as if seeking out anything abnormal in the room. "Well?" He demanded.

Kagome sat up from her position on the floor and removed Shippo from her stomach. "Yup." She placed the mischievous child on the beige carpet. "And he's a poltergeist, not a ghost." She corrected.

"What's the difference?" Shippo asked and scooted away, probably in search of Souta. The two had become nearly inseparable over the last few days. The wreaked havoc all over the house, playing tricks on everyone, from poor Buyo -they'd put him in a cardboard box - to each other.

"I don't know." Kagome admitted. Over the past few days since they'd found Shippo, she'd run into the poltergeist. Not literally, of course, but he did wander around the property often enough that she saw him quite a bit. Every time she saw him, she waved or said hello, but he never really acknowledged her. Sometimes he would nod curtly, or wave vaguely. In short, he was a jerk and trying to befriend him was like trying to get a rock to smile. And as I'm sure we all know, rocks are physically incapable of smiling. At least he hadn't insulted her yet…

And here she was again, off to go and try and be friendly. Kagome got up from the floor and opened the back door. Surprisingly, there he was, standing outside by the big tree on the edge of the forest.

"Hi!" She jogged up to him, shading her eyes from the bright summer sun. She slowed when she reached the tree, standing a respectful four feet or so away from him. "How are you?"

"Hey." He replied. He'd replied! A breakthrough! Of course, not very much of a breakthrough, but it was a start. Hopefully.

He didn't really know what had brought him towards the tree and near the house in the first place. One moment, he'd been staring into space. The next, he found himself drifting over the long dry grass under the shade of the big tree. As he'd suspected, the girl had come running- literally. To be honest, he didn't get it. Every time she saw him, she smiled and said hello, almost as if she delighted in seeing him around. What was so great about a dysfunctional poltergeist? As far as he could tell, the two kids in the house were better poltergeists than him.

"Nice weather." He snorted quietly. She was grasping at straws again. The girl looked at him sharply.

"What?" She demanded. She took a step forward. He moved back. She stopped where she was and paused for a moment before sitting down with a defeated sigh. "Why?"

"Huh?" She startled him. He rose a few inches in the air and rolled until he was resting on his stomach in the air in front of her.

"Why do you hate me?" She asked bluntly, a bitter edge to her voice. She looked straight at him and he flinched.

He didn't hate her, exactly. He definitely thought she was annoying… Didn't he? He just didn't know. He didn't know who he was or how to act. His identity, hell, his existence was a complete mystery. He was so drained… of life, of emotions, of knowledge. 500 years was a long time to be alone, without life or companionship. He'd probably spent 400 years of that eternity sleeping. But he didn't tell her that. He merely shrugged and looked away.

"Oh, come on." She insisted crossly. "If you hate me, you should at least tell me why." She folded her arms over her chest and looked at him stubbornly.

"I…" He gulped slightly. "I don't hate you." He admitted with some difficulty, his tone harsh. He didn't know what he thought, about her or anything else. She was just another confusing element to his strange existence at the moment. Who was he? Or rather, who had he been? Who was Kikyo? Why did he hate her? And then there were the memories. He could make neither heads nor tails of them.

Kagome looked at him with some surprise. "They why're you always so… cold?" She questioned. "Every time I try and be friendly you just brush me off like some annoying flea or something. Where are you going?"

As she spoke, he'd been slowly edging away towards the forest and a good place to think. He snorted irritably as his plan was foiled. He floated upright and then moved purposefully towards the forest. "Away from you." He replied shortly.

Kagome glared daggers at the back of his head. Oh no, he didn't hate her. He just despised her and everything about her. "Kagome!" her mother called from the kitchen window, which was open in the head. "Lunch!"

She got up and dusted off her short green skirt. "Coming!" She called back. She took one glance back towards the dark interior of the forest. She hesitated for a moment then turned towards the house, nose in the air. What a jerk…

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

"Ah. Here we are." Miroku looked at the old wooden sign declaring, "Priestess Lane" in faded paint. "This is the place." He switched the old suitcase to his other hand and headed up the lane, the only thing of value, a golden staff, jangling as he walked. Even as desperately in need of money as he was, he would never sell it. It was a family heirloom of sorts, passed down from father to son for generations, according to his adoptive father, con artist of sorts, and monk Mushin. Miroku shook his head, recalling the old man's terrible sense of morality and ethics. He smiled slightly as he summoned a mental image of the old drunk monk.

Here it was. The Higurashi residence, with a small sign declaring, "Rooms for Rent". He headed up the gravel path and knocked on the front door. Good. Not too loud, but official and polite. Respectful and dignified. He adjusted the suitcase in hand and ran a hand through his hair, a charming smile in place on his face. The door opened. "Greetings. I'm here to-" he frowned.

A polite cough brought his gaze a little lower towards the ground. Two children stood in the doorway, the larger one black-haired and the smaller one ginger. He adjusted his smile slightly. Perfect. Gentlemanly, yet kind. "Hello." He kneeled down to the children's height. "Is there an adult that I-"

"Mom!" The taller one shouted as the younger sized him up, a mischievous twinkle in his bright green eyes. "Mom!" He hollered again.

"Coming, Souta!" A light feminine voice called from the depths of the large house. A kind-looking woman appeared in the doorway. "Hello." She smiled. Miroku looked up from Shippo's gaze and altered his smile and posture again. Perfect.

"Hello, I'm here about the rooms." Miroku offered a hand politely. Mrs. Higurashi, he presumed. "Nice to meet you. I'm Miroku." He shook her hand briskly, firmly.

"Oh, please come in." The older woman stepped back, allowing him to enter the house. Shippo and Souta scampered away, whispering to each other. Miroku stepped inside the house.

Best get down to business. "Might I see one of the rooms?" He asked politely, hefting his suitcase as he removed his sandals.

"Oh yes, of course." Mrs. Higurashi said with a slightly apprehensive smile. "Ah yes, a newbie," Miroku thought. "I must be the first customer." All the better for him… He followed the possible hostess into the hallway.

"Here we are," She indicated a nicely decorated, although rather bare, bedroom. It was well sized for a rental room, not too big as to be luxurious, but big enough for one person to be comfortably snug. She watched his response anxiously. "Oh, and we have others, too. Would you like to see them?"

"That would be wonderful, thank you." He flashed her one of his charming smiles and followed her farther down the hall. One of the doors ahead suddenly burst open, and Miroku stopped abruptly in shock. Looks like he found a new home…

"Jerk!" The fuming girl, completely unaware of the fact that Miroku was eyeing her, stormed out of the room, closing the door sharply behind her, an upset frown settled on her attractive face.

"Oh, Kagome!" Mrs. Higurashi called to the girl. "Come meet… I'm sorry, what did you say your name was again?" she asked politely.

"Miroku, ma'am." He replied, eyes still glued on the girl as she came down the hall. "And how are you miss?" He flashed a perfect smile. Slightly flirty, yet charming. Another masterpiece.

"Hello." She replied bluntly, inclining her head at him as she strode by. Suddenly out of the same room, a white head popped out of the door. Literally. Miroku stumbled in surprise. How was that possible?

"Good riddance!" The head shouted out before popping back through the door. The old battered suitcase dropped from Miroku's numb hand.

"Oh, that's just out poltergeist." Mrs. Higurashi hastily tried to reassure him. "He's actually quite umm…" The older woman searched for words. "…friendly, in his own way." Mrs. Higurashi cleared her throat nervously.

"I… see." Miroku said slowly, picking up the suitcase. Well… he hadn't been expecting that… One hand went to his head to smooth his hair in bewilderment. "So… what're the terms?" Mrs. Higurashi led him back towards the living room by one elbow, as he was currently in a state of shock.

"Well," She began in relief. Good thing the poltergeist hadn't scared him off. "I was thinking that for one room and the food, it'd be, oh say…" She frowned slightly as she thought until Miroku interrupted her.

"I'm afraid I can only offer my services." He said humbly, eyes on the ground. "If you need a handy man, or an assistant cook…" He looked up from the beige carpet and up at the woman hopefully. "To be honest, I don't have anywhere to go…" He shrugged in embarrassment. "I got laid off…" For groping too many of the female employees, but she didn't need to know that little detail…

Mrs. Higurashi's brown eye's softened. "Of course. I'll give you the first month free, but you'll have to help me around the house, okay?" She said firmly. "I'll give you room and board, but you'll have to work for it." She explained.

"My thanks." He bowed, a truly grateful smile gracing his features. "I'll help whenever you need me."

"Of course." The older woman laughed. "Oh, I'll go get your room set up." She said hastily.

"No need," Miroku intervened. "After all, I'm going to be helping out quite a bit, aren't I?" He followed Mrs. Higurashi into the first bedroom he'd been shown.

"Yes, that's true." She admitted, stopping at the entryway. I'll show you around after you're settled in, okay?"

"That would be great, thank you." The older woman shut the door and Miroku put the old suitcase on the floor, He straightened and surveyed the surroundings. Things seemed like they were going to work out after all…

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

Since the six days that had passed since the poltergeist had admitted that he didn't hate her, Kagome and he had become somewhat friends. Although he had admitted that he didn't hate her, she wasn't sure whether or not she believed him, though. Often enough he would just ignore her or say one of his trademark callous remarks. Those remarks had gotten them into several vicious arguments, most of them resulting in Kagome stomping off, and the poltergeist telling her to go away and to not come back.

But sometimes, he'd say or do something that would make her think otherwise. Nothing outright of course, but subtle hints that would refute the nasty comments and rude disposition. Sometimes she'd see him by the big tree on the edge of the forest, just drifting casually in the air. To her, it was obvious he was waiting for her, though he was clearly trying to make it seem like he just happened to be there.

They'd been underneath the big tree, just sitting in a companionable silence. Kagome pulled out a book and started to read while the poltergeist drifted about and thought. "Kagome! Lunch is ready!" Kagome scrambled up from the ground and headed towards the house. She paused about five feet from the tree.

"Do you want to come?" She asked. He turned one curiously pale grey eye towards her and his ears twitched slightly. Wordlessly, he started to float towards her on his stomach, about five feet off the ground. Despite having been around him for six days, she was still unnerved by the way he'd suddenly slide one way or another without actually moving, sometimes ten or twelve feet off the ground.

Kagome walked through towards the back door, the long grass brushing her bare legs as she walked. She reached for the handle, sliding the glass open with the poltergeist a few feet behind her. She slid out of her brown shoes at the door and walked into the kitchen with him trailing behind.

"Oh, hello." Mrs. Higurashi smiled invitingly at the poltergeist as she finished cutting some carrots and set them on a plate. "I'm sorry, but, um, do you …eat?" She asked with slight embarrassment. Kagome winced slightly, unsure if the question would offend the rather volatile poltergeist.

"Nope." He replied and turned in the air. Kagome's mother watched in fascination as he righted himself gracefully into a cross-legged position. He raised his eyebrows at the way she was openly staring at him. The older woman immediately busied herself with the food. Kagome bit her lip at the tense atmosphere in the room. This didn't seem to be going too well…

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

He resisted the urge to snort. And she seemed to think that he had no sense of diplomacy… That was diplomacy. He had to admit that he was slightly pleased when she'd invited him into the house. Not that anything interesting had happened yet. So far, he'd just floated around in the air as usual and watched her eat. Every now and then she'd make some comment about something or other.

The two kids suddenly crashed into the room, laughing and skidding around the table in a mad dash. Suddenly, the older one- Souta, he reminded himself- came to an abrupt stop. The smaller ginger-haired one whose name he didn't know came crashing into him. Souta rocked forward slightly from the impact but the squirt was too small to knock him over.

"So, how long have you been a poltergeist, exactly? Were you always one, or did you die and then become one?" Souta's brown eyes shone with curiosity. Out of the corner of his eye, the poltergeist watched as the girl made shooing motions at her younger brother to try and shut him up.

"I never died." He said bluntly. "I was cursed." Well, there was another memory… and another thousand questions to add to his list. Who cursed him? Why? When? How? If it was a curse, could it be removed? If so, how…? He growled quietly. Who was the kid to ask, anyway?

"Cursed?!" Kagome suddenly choked on her food. "You were cursed?!" She repeated, shoving her food away from her and moving away from the table.

"Yeah.." He said slowly, the squirt's offence immediately forgotten with the girl's weird behavior.

"Well, why didn't you say so?!" She asked in exasperation, throwing her hands up in the air and rushing out of the kitchen.

"Because you never asked…?" He stared at her retreating back with alarm. What had gotten into her?

Her head suddenly popped out from around the corner. "What are you just standing there for?" She waved enthusiastically, motioning for him to follow her. "Come on!" She skittered around the corner on the wooden floor and ran up the stairs. With a sigh, he floated through the ceiling, appearing in front of her on the second storey. She stopped in surprise. "Don't do that!" She folded her arms over her chest.

His smirk was all she got in response as he materialized out of the floor to float at eye level with her. She raced passed his surprised face and into one of the empty rooms, the one that was some sort of office. She opened a series of boxes, one after another. "Nope, nope." She shook her head in frustration. "Oh, where are they?" She asked the various boxes piled about the room.

"Where are what?" He asked curiously. He watched with puzzlement as she dug into another box and with a muttered exclamation, toss it aside.

"Where?" She asked the room again, whirling around to look at all sides of the room. "Aha!" She lunged forward. "Found you!" She struggled with a heavy box labeled, "Shrine Records and Spells". She dumped the box on the ground. "Oh, I do hope it wasn't something that burned up in that stupid fire…" She muttered to herself as she struggled with the tape on the box.

"Fire?" He asked. She really was being cryptic now, and it was irritating. "Hello?" He shook his head as ghostly transparent bangs fell into his eyes. "Kagome!" He demanded sharply. She turned to face him quickly, a look of pleased surprise on her face as she forgot about the box for a moment.

"What?" He asked uneasily as she continued to stare blatantly at him. He shifted uncomfortably and floated towards the boxes in a cross-legged position.

"You…" She began slowly. "You just called me by my name." A delighted smile slowly lit her face like the breaking of dawn. "You do like me!" She grinned cheerfully at him. He squirmed and protested under her cheerful gaze.

"I never said that!" He protested. "All I said was that I don't hate you!" He reminded her as she continued to grin at him.

The smile toned down a bit, and the poltergeist felt a twinge of guilt before shaking it off. "You don't have to say it." Her smile still shone on her face. "I already know."

"B-but-!" He spluttered. If he had a face of flesh and blood, it would been stained red with embarrassment.

"See?!" She crowed, laughing. "You're blushing!" She suddenly registered the comment. "You're…" She leaned closer. "Blushing…?" She leaned closer. "You are…" she breathed.

"I am?" He asked nervously. "How is that possible?" He placed ghostly hands over his equally spectral cheeks and rubbed hard, trying to make it go away. "You mean my face was pink? Or grey?" He continued to rub frantically. This wasn't supposed to happen. This never happened before. What was wrong with him…?

"Come on!" She made a swipe for his sleeve, then drew her hand back hesitantly when she remembered that she couldn't touch him. "Follow me!" She motioned for him to follow her anxiously. She hastily picked up the box and ran out the door, closely followed by the shaken poltergeist.

She raced into her room. "Look!" She pointed at the mirror hanging on the wall. "See for yourself!" He moved slowly towards the mirror and lowered his hands from his face hesitantly, afraid of what he'd see. "Oh, gods…" He murmured quietly. His face was a delicate shade of pink.

Kagome nodded. "See?" She moved behind him to look at his reflection. She could see herself through him. It was rather unsettling. She moved back to the box. "Let's see…" She muttered as the stricken ghostly being stared at his reflection. It wasn't just the pink. It's been a long time sine he'd seen what he looked like, in a mirror or otherwise. He'd forgotten…

He started at the half dog demon in the mirror, taking in the long white hair, the pale grey eyes, the darker grey haori, the prayer beads and the triangular ears perched on the top of his head. Something seemed out of place, besides the fact that his formerly ochre eyes were now grey and his haori had once been red. There was something… different.

"I think I got it!" Kagome cheered, holding an ancient scroll. "Let's see…" She unrolled it carefully. "Curses… no, ghosts?" She frowned. "Oh, I don't know!" She let the scroll roll up on it's own accord. She looked at the poltergeist, who was still staring at his reflection. "Do you remember anything?" She probed. "Anything at all about the curse or who cursed you?" She leaned towards him as he continued to stare into the mirror.

"Hey!" She disrupted his thoughts. "I'm trying to help you here!" She put her hands on her hips as he turned to glare at her.

"Well, you're not." He snarled. He'd almost had it. On the very brink of his conscious, he'd nearly grasped it, some great important knowledge. He didn't know what it had been, except that it had been really important. And she'd broken through his thoughts, sending the information fleeing from his mind.

She backed away, clearly offended. Here she was, trying to be helpful, and all he did was snap at her! And this time, it had gone beyond his usual gruffness. It was downright nasty. "You jerk!" Her brown eyes were narrowed as she stared at him belligerently. "Here I am, being friendly and helpful, and you just insult me!" Angry tears brimmed in her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. "I can't believe you! You're so rude!" Her arms were folded tightly across her chest. "Well, you can just work things out on you own!" She rushed to the door and slammed it after her.

"Jerk!" She stopped outside the door to press her hands against her face. She brought them down slowly and stormed down the hallway.

"Oh, Kagome!" Her mother smiled cheerfully, but her eyes were filled with sympathy. "Come meet… I'm sorry, what did you say your name was?" Kagome kept going, completely ignoring her mother as she rushed towards the living room.

"Hello." She almost snarled as she strode past. She turned sharply at the corner and rushed down the carpeted stairs.

"Good riddance!" The poltergeist's angry voice rang out from behind her. What a jerk… She'd just been trying to help! She sniffed and fiercely rubbed her eyes. She was not going to cry over that insensitive moron.

She stopped briefly at the living room, but Shippo and Souta who were playing some board game or other already occupied it. She rushed out the door, barely pausing to stumble into a pair of sandals at the door. "Where are you going?" Souta asked, oblivious to Kagome's bad mood.

The long grass whipped her legs as she rushed towards the big tree where they sat only forty- five minutes ago. She stopped and abruptly changed direction, hurrying towards the green hills about half a mile behind their property.

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

He tried to throw himself face down on the ground in despair, but simply managed to sink halfway into it. For a few moments, he'd felt almost alive as he sat with her and looked through the boxes, and when they'd argued he always felt gloriously angry. He embraced the emotions, throwing himself into them desperately. And now he threw himself into despair.

He floated up a few inches, nose barely above the earth. Grass grew though him and for the first time in centuries he felt an overwhelming anguish wash through him. Would he be doomed to wander the earth forever, watching the people around him grow old and die as he remained untouchable by time and everything else? It all seemed so hopeless…

Even when he was alive as a half dog-demon, he'd watched others grow old and die while he grew slowly. It had been so painful to watch him mortal mother wither into an old woman as he grew slowly. He'd left when he was five or six by demon standards, unable to watch his mother slowly decay into an old woman and then into death. He probably would've been seven at the time. His father was long dead, he remembered… As he floated a few inches over the ground, staring into the dirt memories washed over him, coming back. But they were few and far between, like the unconnected pieces of a large puzzle.

He shook his head fiercely. "Remember," He willed himself. "remember, remember…" That scrap of knowledge evaded him as he reached desperately. "Remember!" He squeezed his eyes shut and his ears flattened against his head. Ears… He was dog demon… Dog… demon…

"Inu…" He concentrated fiercely. "Inu… Inu… Yasha." Bright amber eyes widened and a smile of relief shone openly on his face.

He'd remembered.

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

Miroku flinched in surprise as the back door slid open and a draft of cold air passed by him. He turned from his seat on the couch and smiled pleasantly. "Hello." The attractive girl stopped in the doorway with her shoes half on, half off. Her eyes took him in suspiciously.

"Hello…" She replied cautiously and stepped inside. "Umm…" She hummed awkwardly. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" She demanded bluntly, hands on hips as she strayed towards the door to the hallway.

"Don't be alarmed." Miroku said smoothly. "I'm renting a room." She relaxed slightly. "I'm Miroku." He got up off the couch and extended one hand.

"And I'm Kagome." She shook his hand briskly.

"Are you renting here?" He asked her, straight-faced as his hand slid stealthily towards her backside.

"I live here." She replied. He quickly withdrew his hand. Such a pity… "If you'll excuse me," She headed up to her room, clearly in a bad mood.

"Kagome?" Miroku whirled around. It was the poltergeist. "Who the hell are you?' The poltergeist demanded with hostility.

"I'm renting one of the rooms," Miroku replied, rather uneasy as the spectral figure moved through the sliding glass door. "Kagome just went up to her room." He indicated the stairwell.

To his surprise, the dog-eared boy just floated up to the ceiling and through it, disappearing as he entered the next storey. Miroku just shrugged. He'd seen weirder. Well, maybe not…

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

Spurred on by the recollection of his name, he drifted purposefully through the house. He needed to find Kagome, he needed the scrolls. He needed a life again, not some poor excuse for one. Proof that his existence wasn't truly valid came in the fact that he couldn't touch anything real. It all rushed to his head. He had once had a life. It hadn't been a very good one, admittedly. It had been filled with hate, anger and danger, but anything, anything was better than what he had now. A terrible and desperate desire to truly live again welled up in him and he floated into Kagome's room, not bothering to declare his presence. He'd gotten his name, and now he wanted his life back.

"Kagome!" She was curled up on her bed. The futon had been moved out a few days ago. Her head was buried in the pillow, but she wasn't sleeping. She turned away from to face the wall. "Kagome!" He tried again.

"Back so soon?" Her tone was angry, reprimanding. "I thought you didn't need my help." She spat. She was still upset with him, but Inuyasha wasn't deterred.

"Kagome, I need those scrolls." He told her, a slightly desperate edge to his voice. But he didn't care. He just wanted that spell reversed. Now.

She sat up and looked at him through angry brown eyes. "Really?" She hugged the pillow to her chest, subconsciously seeking comfort from the soft material.
"I thought I was just a nuisance." Her chin jutted out stubbornly. "but I still am, aren't I? You just need the scrolls."

He sighed in impatience. He didn't need this right now. "Look, are you gonna help me, or not?" he demanded, his stance similar to hers.

"You're missing the point!" She cried. "I've just been trying to help you, and you completely blow me off!" Her fists were clenched tightly in the pillow. "No matter what I say or do, you just… just… ooh! You''re just such a jerk!" She fumed. She would not cry…

Now he was mad. Furious. "Listen, bitch." Kagome's chin wavered slightly and her eyes narrowed. "I need those scrolls. Now." He said flatly.

"And I need some respect!" Kagome hissed and wiped the back of her across her eyes fiercely. No crying. "I've tried to be friendly. I've tried to be nice. But you… you could care less." She took in a deep shuddering breath. "All you do is insult me," She spat venomously. "and laugh at my expense. I'm so sick of it! And once you get what you want, you're just gonna blow me off again." Tears were running down her face, but she could care less now. "Just go!" She pointed at the door.

Inuyasha stopped cold. So that was what it was about, was it? "What do you mean," He asked carefully, his voice suddenly neutral. "I'm just gonna blow you off again once I get what want?" he watched slowly as another tear slowly slid down her cheek, glittering as it splashed against the pillow, now lax in her lap.

Kagome looked away. "Nothing…" She let out a shuddering sigh. What had brought that on? "I'm… sorry." She said grudgingly, slowly. "I didn't mean that. I mean, not all of it."

He frowned, curiosity taking hold. "Then what did you mean?" He forgot temporarily about the curse. He had no idea what she was talking about.

"Just forget it." She shook her head wearily, years of anger dispelled in a single moment. "Just go."

He floated back a bit, stung. "Hey, Kagome…" He began awkwardly. He was unsure of how to continue.

She forced a bitter smile, mouth still curled down at the edges. "I just need some time alone, okay?" If she found him one day…

Inuyasha nodded slowly. He floated towards the door, then stopped abruptly, throwing one word over his shoulder as he went. "Inuyasha."

"What?" She sniffed and looked at his face in awe. His eyes… they were a brilliant shade of amber, almost gold.

"My name is Inuyasha."

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

Miroku lowered his gaze from the ceiling above as he lounged on the couch, looking over a newspaper. The yelling had stopped. His purple eyes rested on Shippo and he asked in bemusement, "Are they always like this?" His finger indicated the room above.

"Yup." Shippo replied nonchalantly. "Pretty much." He picked up the bright orange rubber ball that Kagome had given him and tossed it into the air again. The ping-pong ball sized object rotated slowly in the air and fell into Shippo's outstretched hand.

"Oh…" He looked back at his newspaper. Young people these days… He shook his head sadly. So immature…

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

Two miles away sat an unnamed hill. There was nothing particularly alarming or different about it from the other hills around it, but people animals, even plants instinctively avoided it. No one ever mentioned it or asked about it. Two hundred feet below this hill lay an old dank cave.

The cave was ancient, with a high ceiling and stalactites hanging towards the floor. But the strange thing about the cave wasn't it's age or it's size. It's peculiarity lay in the one thousand ancient and powerful sutras of containment, sealing, binding and exorcism that had been placed there. They pulsed, resonating with the powerful magic which created them. They hung about the walls, the ceiling, while others were suspended in the air around two large vessels that pulsed with a power of their own. For the first time in five hundred years, one of them flickered uncertainly.

\/)

(O.o)

(><)

AN: Aach… I think I messed up a bit. Inuyasha and Kagome both seemed out o' character, and Miroku's kinda… well, I dunno. He's not really himself. Any suggestions? (I really need some…)

Thanks for reading!