Haunted by Riku Ryuu

The Beginning

Hi! I am going to try another story and this time I hope to finish! Even better, this year.

This story will be for  a bunch of Skye's Weekly Challenges and this one is for Warning.

Enjoy.

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Some people swore that the house was haunted. Kagome’s mother swore that it was the perfect place for them.

It was a warm summer’s day the first time Kagome saw the house. The air was humid but hot, scented with the perfume of many flowers unknown to her. Walking felt like swimming though warm honey, a feeling that Kagome was not sure she liked. The trees in the “haunted” house’s yard were covered in green leaves, a good change from where they had last lived, a place where only palm trees littered the land or even worse, sand that seemed to get on and in everything.

The house didn’t seem evil. In fact, it looked like a wonderful place to live. Large enough to be called a mansion, the house had been left to them by some aunt that Kagome had never heard of. Kagome’s mom had mentioned that there was an old ballroom that she planned on using for the bookstore, her dream that they had never before even been able to contemplate with only her own paycheck. Kagome was happy for her mom and she figured that all the house needed was a tall tower room for her to use as a bedroom and it would be more than perfect.

Kagome stood on the sidewalk, surrounded by all of the suitcases they had brought with them. They had arrived just before the moving van and Kagome’s mother had gone along with the men who carried their table, telling Kagome to watch the things they had already gotten out of the car and her brother, Sota. He had grumbled about that, saying that a ten year old was old enough to watch himself, but he sat down on his suitcase to wait with Kagome instead of being rebellious. They watched wordlessly as the men came and went with the few things they had brought with them. The house came with all of the previous owner’s furniture, so really all they had brought with them were some bookcases, antiques, and things important to them. Kagome felt it was weird that she would be sleeping in a bed that someone else might have used, most likely more than a few people in fact, but she understood her mother’s choice. They were able to sell most of their old furniture, and what they could not sell they had given to friends. Because of how little they had brought, all of their things had fit in their own little car and only one moving van. Added to that, the money they had made was more than enough to get the bookstore started.

“Are you my new neighbors?”

Kagome turned her head to see a little girl blinking up at her. She looked to be Sota’s age, maybe a year younger, and her chocolate eyes were filled with the blind happiness that only children could have. She wore an orange and white checkered dress that would not have looked right on anyone but her and there were no shoes on her dirty feet. Messy black hair went down past her shoulders and puffed out slightly at the sides, probably as wild as the child, and a small clump of hair was pulled up into a little pigtail. Kagome had to bite her lip and fold her hands before she yelled out how cute the little girl was or pulled her into a crushing hug like a large stuffed animal.

“I guess so.” Sota said with a quick look at one of the houses nearby.  The houses next to their new home were farther away than their old house’s neighboring homes, grass and flowers separating them quite a bit, but Kagome thought they still counted as neighbors.

“Yay! I was hoping that there would be someone to play with!” She said excitedly, giving Sota a big smile that showed off a missing tooth, and then she turned to Kagome. “And Sesshomaru-sama will have someone too!”

Sota and Kagome returned the smile with their own, although a little more hesitantly than the girl.

“My name is Rin.” The little girl said. “And you are?”

“I’m Kagome and this is my brother Sota.” Kagome told her. “It is nice to meet you.”

“Yeah.” Sota said weakly from next to her. Sota was not as outspoken as his sister and around girls his age he was rather shy. Kagome sighed, thinking of the girl that had been his girlfriend before they had moved. The girl had refused to continue a long distance relationship, they were only in third grade after all, and Kagome wondered if Rin would fill the space in his heart. She hoped that the ball of sunshine would help brighten Sota’s mood.

“Would you like to play a game?” Rin asked, eyes shining at the two.

“I would love to, but our mom told us to watch our things.” She did not mention that Sota was one of those things because Rin was obviously allowed to go around by herself. She didn’t want the little girl to think that Sota was a trouble maker or anything. Kagome hoped that this new place was safe enough that her brother could go out and have fun without having their mother worry.

Rin pouted, looking so adorable to Kagome, but before either could say anything there was a yell.

“Rin! Time for lunch!”Kagome looked towards where the yell came from, only to see a man leaning out of a window next door. Silver hair dripped down from his head, looking as soft as fur. A red shirt of some sort covered what she could see of his torso, but he was not leaning far enough for her to see anything more.  From the distance she couldn’t see what color his eyes were, but if they were as unique as his hair she figured she would not be surprised.

“In a minute!” Rin yelled back with a wave. The head went back inside and Kagome focused on the little girl again. Rin turned towards Kagome and gave her an unexpectedly serious look.

“What is it?” Kagome asked, worried about what could change the happy girl’s smile to a frown so quickly.

“Not everything in the house likes strangers.”

Kagome blinked at Rin in confusion. In another split second mood change, Rin grinned at her before turning and running for the house that the man had leaned out of. She was gone from sight but her words stayed with Kagome, a baffling puzzle that would probably keep her up at night.

“That was… strange.” Sota said. Kagome nodded and turned her eyes to their new house. What could Rin have meant? What in the house would care about strangers one way or the other? Kagome had not even gotten to ask if the man was the Sesshomaru she had mentioned earlier.

The door of the house opened and Kagome’s mother came out, closely followed by the men who had helped with the furniture. While her mother looked happier than Kagome had ever seen her before, the men two men behind her looked like they were terrified. With steps that seemed more like skipping, she walked to her children.

“It is so perfect.” Kagome’s mother sighed and glanced back at the house. Kagome recognized the look as that of someone in love and her lips turned up in a smile. The opposite of her mother’s mood was reflected in the men. They walked past as quickly as they could without running and, not saying a single word, got into the moving van and slammed the doors. Kagome rushed to the side of the van, hoping to thank the men before they left and to get a clue of why they were so upset.

“Tha-”

“If you have any sense you’ll go back where ever you came from.” The man in the passenger seat interrupted. Kagome frowned at him; he didn’t sound like he was threatening them, instead it sounded like he was warning her. If she could smell fear, the car would be overflowing with the stench.

“Why? What happened?”

She flinched when the man turned and she could see that his eyes were filled with horrors that she could not imagine.

“That house… It isn’t right. It felt like the house wanted to devour me and spit out my bones. I could see it so clearly…” The man whispered. Kagome blinked.

“A house can’t eat you.” She said with a small shake of her head, wondering if there was something wrong with the man. His eyes stayed on her, bright in panic and glazed over with dread.

“I don’t care, it is your problem.” The van suddenly went into motion and Kagome had to take a step back or risk having her feet run over. She stared after the van, wondering how a house could have spooked grown men so badly.

Kagome heard her mom talking and turned to face her.

“Come on Kagome, we have to choose rooms.” Her mother’s smile was bright and happy. Kagome forgot about the men; her mother did not feel anything so there probably- no, there was nothing wrong.

Later that night, as she tried to sleep in someone else’s bed, the warnings and worries came back and haunted her.

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This took a while to write but I think I'm happy with it. You know, I would really like to know if someone else was happy with it... *winkwink*

Please review.

Thank you!