Into the Darkness by soulNchantress

Night One

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inuyasha.  I do not own any Setting, or Character having to do with the Inuyasha-verse.  I only can claim this story idea.  Well, to the best of my knowledge, the idea is my own.  Anyway, I own nothing.  I make no money.

Psst, but I do hope for reviews.

Kagome hefted the full laundry basket in her arms as she closed the dryer door with her hip.  This was the last load for the day, and it was time to feed her baby brother.

"What would you like to eat for dinner, Souta," she asked.  She really didn't expect and answer as her brother was only four months old.  Kagome eyed the jars of baby food.  "He always likes carrots," she thought.  "Maybe you would like a few peas and some apples for a little dessert."  She rummaged through the jars to find the peas and a jar of apples. When she found them she closed the pantry door and turned to the fridge.  "Ah-ha, I knew he still had a few carrots left in here."  Kagome turned to the drawer to snag a baby spoon, and headed for the table.  On the way she closed the pantry door.                

After feeding her brother, she sat down on the sofa to fold laundry.  While she folded, she watched Souta lying on this blanket in the floor.  Kagome's Mother told her to give him some "tummy time" to help him build up strength for crawling.  She followed her Mother's advice to the letter.  This was the first time she was responsible for Souta for a lengthy period of time.  She was sixteen now, and proving she could handle this task would open doors to bigger things for her.  Like maybe and extended curfew.  She sighed at the thought.

Kagome climbed the stairs to put away her laundry.  She couldn't wait till her Mother and Grandfather returned.  Souta wasn't much trouble, but she had had to cancel plans with her friends for this week-end.  Grandpa's sister was passing.  She had asked to see her brother one last time.  Kagome didn't want to go; she didn't really know her great aunt.  So she agreed to take care of Souta while Mom escorted Grandpa to see his sister.  They would be gone for three day, provided nothing unexpected happened.

Kagome walked into her room and tripped, falling onto the bed.  Looking down at the floor she spotted Souta’s stuffed bear.  “Huh, it must have fallen out when Mom and I moved his crib in here.”  She stooped down, picked up the toy, and walked to Souta’s bed in front of her closet.  After tossing the bear into the crib, she walked to her dresser and put away her clothes.

Coming down the stairs she stopped by the sofa to collect the, now empty, basket.  Strolling into the laundry room, Kagome placed the basket on top of the dryer and closed the dryer door with her knee.  With all the chores done, it was time to see what was on T.V.

Later that night, Kagome lay Souta in his crib and put the spare bottle on her desk.  She was bone tired.  She decided not to bother with homework tonight.  After all, it was Friday.  She had all weekend.  Stifling a yawn behind her hand she turned out her light and went to bed.

Kagome sleepily opened her eyes and listened.  She strained her hearing towards Souta’s crib. There was nothing just his quite breathing.  She could have sworn she heard something.  After another minute of quietly listening she rolled back over.

“Waaaaah,” came the cry from Souta’s crib.  “I knew it was too good to be true,” she huffed to herself.  Giving a mighty sigh, Kagome pulled herself from her nice, warm, comfy bed.  Stumbling over to the crib in the dark, she bumped her shin on the dresser.  “Ouch, that’s going to leave a bruise,” she moaned.  She groped in the air and shut the dresser drawer.  She must not have closed it good when she put the laundry away.

She peeked into the crib.  Souta needed changing.  Kagome changed his diaper and picked him up.  She snuggled her baby brother to calm him down, as she grabbed the bottle from her desk.  Souta soon fell asleep with the bottle in his mouth.  Placing a burping cloth on her shoulder, Kagome burped him.  She placed him back in his crib.

As she made her way back to her bed she heard a noise downstairs.  She waited and she listened.  There it was again.  Sighing, she put on her slippers and walked to the bedroom door.  “I’m so tired,” she thought, “I just want to go back to sleep.”  She crept down the hall to the stairs.  It seemed darker at the bottom.  Kagome really didn’t want to go down there in the dark.  She weighed her options and thought if it was someone breaking in she should call the cops.  She heard the noise again; it was closer to the stairs this time.  Kagome wasn’t about to let anyone hurt Souta on her watch.  Taking a deep breath she started down the stairs.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.  Something was running toward her.  Kagome froze.  Her heart was racing with every step the being down below was taking. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.  She had nothing to defend herself with.  With the speed they were traveling, it would be moments until they barreled into her.  Trying not to panic, Kagome braced her feet on the floor and her hand on the handrail. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, THUMP.  He/She/It was almost upon her.  She held her breath and waited with heart stopping adrenaline flowing through her.  There it was.  A streak of white came careening at her from out of the darkness.

“Buyo, you stupid cat!  You almost gave me a heart attack.”  Kagome fussed at the animal as he raced by her and into her room.  As she tried to calm her pounding heart, she listened to the sounds from downstairs.  She heard nothing.  She thought to make sure that it wasn’t just her dumb cat.  Feeling a little more at ease, Kagome rushed to the bottom of the stairs and flipped on the living room light.  There was nothing there.  She checked all the windows downstairs, and finally she checked the door.  It was locked.  Everything was as it should be.  Kagome heaved a sigh and promised herself she would remember to put Buyo out tomorrow night.

Once back upstairs, she put Buyo out of her room, and climbed back into bed.  She glanced at her alarm clock.  It was 4:00am.  She lay there for a few minutes and listened to Souta’s easy, peaceful breathing.  Eventually, she fell back to sleep.

“Kagome,” she heard.  Waking she glanced at the clock. It was 5:30 in the morning.  “Kagome,” she heard again. It sounded like Mom.  They must be back early.  Kagome sprang from her bed and glanced at Souta as she pulled on her robe.  She was tying her sash as she rushed down the stairs and flipped on the light.  “Mom,” she called.  She didn’t see her Mom in the living room.  Kagome giggled.  She must have forgotten her key.  Kagome walked over to the front door and unlocked it.  She swung the door open and….nothing.  There wasn’t anyone there.  Puzzled, Kagome, walked out into the shrine’s courtyard.  She looked around her.  There was absolutely no one around.  She could have sworn she heard her Mom.  Going back into the house, Kagome relocked the door.  She must have been half asleep and still caught up in a dream.

She returned to her room, crawled back to bed, and went back to sleep.