Serene Lies

AN:/ SOOOOOOOOO, I got two reviews which is a start and to my lovely reviewers, THANK YOU. This is chapter... er... oh yeah, three and it is the longest (and most difficult to write by far). The next one will probably take alot longer so please be patient with me. NOW

evilpinatag: Thank you so much. I am really happy that you like this story and yes I believe all will be explained... at least I hope it is well enough explained :S

InuGuardian: Thank you for the review and I am glad I caught your attention... It will all be made clear in future chapters (hopefully to people's satisfaction)

Thank you very much. I would also really appreciate ratings and reviews if you could because while I have all these ideas in my head, it would be nice to know if I am putting them to good use. Thank you very much and enjoy chapter 3: Revelations

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There was no breeze, no sunlight warming the faces of those gathered round twin caskets. The subtle scent of flowers that decorated elaborate and simple graves curled itself inside its petal walls, leaving only a feeling of death and numbness for Kagome. Distantly, she realized that the overcast sky and the rain from earlier caused a moist chill to permeate the air, but she felt none of it as she’d stared at the black granite headstones that loomed over the six-foot deep graves in front of them. A tall young man stood between the two headstones, his purple and black robes fluttering lightly around his ankles in the wind. His dark, violet eyes appeared solemn as he brought them to Kagome. A shock of electricity shot through her, his words of comfort and mourning warped into a silent plea in Kagome’s mind.

“A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam. And for a brief moment its glory and beauty belong to our world. But then it flies on again, and though we wish it could have stayed, we feel so lucky to have seen it.” Please come back to us, Kagome . Kagome turned away, pushing through the crowd of people behind her. They said that funerals were performed not for the dead, but for the living; that it was a way for the living to lay their memories to rest. But Kagome did not want to lay their memories to rest! She did not want to forget her mom and Souta. Walking blindly, she came to rest before an old tree on a small hill, falling to her knees beside it. Forgetting was not so simple.

Kagome clutched the door frame as if it was the only thing left keeping her there. Still staring at the police officers standing at her doorway, she tried to process what they had said.

Killed...

Mama... and Souta...

Dead.

“No.” The whispered denial sounded distant as if some other person had said it. It had sounded so broken and agonized that Kagome had barely registered it being her own. Shaking her head back and forth she kept mouthing the word as if somehow her denial would make the police man’s words a lie. A soothing but firm grip settled on her shoulders, and Kagome peered through bleary eyes to see the older officer offering her a sympathetic look.

“My name is Huraki. I’m one of your grandpa’s friends. He asked me to wait here until you got home to let you know. Let’s go in and sit.” The kind Huraki turned to his partner and whispered something to him. The younger man nodded and left Kagome and his partner alone. Grabbing her hand, Huraki pried Kagome’s white fingers from the door frame and grasped her elbow lightly to offer support, leading her to the living room. She dropped unceremoniously onto the maroon couches, looking with unseeing eyes at the family pictures that decorated the table in front of her.

“Kagome-san, I understand that this is very hard for you to accept. However, denying reality will only hurt you more in the end...

Reality – what was her reality? Kagome spent the last three days lost in a confusion of thoughts and broken memories. The first day was the worst, pictures coming to her only to be blurred or warped beyond recognition. The only thing that had ever stood out among any was the splash of silver; she immediately thought of the silver haired man whom she had not seen since that day. The day when it felt as if her world had been ripped apart.

Leaning back against the tree, Kagome hugged her knees tightly to her chest. She could still her snippets of the ceremony going on below her. Souta’s young friend Kanna stood in front of the monk, looking ethereal, a shining light among the grey. Her black dress contrasted sharply against her pale skin giving the little girl a glow about her. Her black eyes stared down at a piece of paper held in her small white hands. Kagome looked at those hands, remembering the way she and Souta would put their hands together to see if his hands were bigger than they had been before. A tear trailed down her cheek as she thought his hand would never surpass her own.

“Do not stand on my grave and weep; I am not there. I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow. I am the diamond's glint on snow. I am the sunlight on ripened grain. I am the gentle autumn's rain. When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the swift uplifting rush of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there. I did not die.” Kanna’s words were magnified by the silence of the graveyard, reaching Kagome’s ears. She did not want to hear the consoling words spoken by this little girl; did not care for the sad and pitying looks she had received from the people gathered to mourn death. To lay their memories to rest.

“Why are you so sad?”A deep voice whispered to her from behind the tree. She knew the owner of that voice and restrained her annoyance that he would bother her here of all places. She tilted her head towards his voice as he continued talking to her. “Is it because these humans have died?”

“Do you not feel sadness when a life passes?” Kagome replied. She did not wish to talk to the golden eyed demon that plagued her thoughts since meeting him. Although he was beautiful, he felt cold to her, his monotone voice hiding any emotion.

“I bear no such weakness,” he whispered back to her, “I understand not how one can feel such pitiful emotions.”

“Do you not have someone to protect? To cherish?” Kagome snapped. Beneath her anger she felt pity for this man. What was it like to not feel anything; to be so cold towards the world that you cannot even feel joy or sadness? She looked up to where is voice came from and frowned as he stared back at her pensively. She thought she saw a mix of shock and anger darken his golden eyes, but as soon as it had come, it disappeared.

“Do not speak of that which you do not know.” The quiet words sounded threatening to Kagome’s ears. She turned away, sighing loudly, trying to offer a rather obvious dismissal of his presence. When she peeked out the corner of her eye, she saw that he had once again disappeared. What’s up with that guy ? Dwelling on the meeting, Kagome had not noticed Haruki come to stand where Kanna had been before. It was only when he started speaking, that Kagome looked back up. Instead of hearing his gentle words of comfort, his presence there only made her recall the night they had first met.

He’d said he understood but how could he. How could he know how Kagome mourned not only the tragic deaths of her mother and brother but that of her father as well? It felt as if the nightmare had started all over again and all Kagome could see in her mind was her father’s bloodied face as he’d reached out for her.

“Kagome... I... I’m sorry,” he had said, his last breath coming out in a gurgle from the blood that had pooled in his mouth. I was only four years old, she thought angrily, you had no right to place such a weight on my shoulders. Her anger softened. No, she thought, I can’t be angry at him; not when he apologized for dying – he only wanted me to know he loved me.

“Kagome-san?” A bemused expression crossed her face as she looked at Ryuku.

“Ryuku-san? I didn’t realize you were here. Although I suppose I should have considering Kanna-chan is here.” Kagome smiled forlornly, unable to summon any sort of enthusiasm to make it sincere. Ryuku frowned down at the morose young woman before taking a seat beside her. Kagome accepted his comforting presence but said not a word to him. They stayed like that for awhile, in complete silence, watching as the mourners moved away. Kagome couldn’t help but feel cynical towards these people, especially those she had never met. She watched women dressed in elegant funeral attire, their faces layered with makeup, hanging off the arms of men, flirting. Flirting at a funeral; how disgusting!

Kagome gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes wide. Where had this spitefulness come from? She noticed Ryuku glancing at him from the corner of her eye, concern marring his flawless features.

“Kagome-san? Are you quite alright?”

“No, I am not alright. My mother and my brother have been killed in the exact same way as my father and I feel like I don’t belong here. Everything feels wrong!” Kagome said fiercely, “I’m tired of everyone always asking ‘Kagome are you okay?’. What a stupid question, of course I’m not okay! Some stupid bastard truck driver tried to run a red light and t-boned my mother’s car so badly that the passenger side where my little brother was sitting – my ten year old brother – was crushed killing him instantly. Then the car rolled so many times that it crushed the frame making my mother die a slow agonizing death as the metal pierced her! So am I okay? No I am not!”

Kagome pulled in sharp ragged breaths, barely containing the tears threatening to spill. It took a moment for her to realize that her hands were clenched into fists and that she had been banging on his chest. As she looked up at Ryuku, he noticed with satisfaction that the whites of her eyes had turned red. Grabbing her chin in his hand, he descended upon her, ravaging her mouth with his own. Kagome’s eyes widened with shock as a deep primal feeling erupted in her chest, a strange ache turning her stomach. His tongue slid along the seam of her lips, eliciting a shiver from her. She opened her mouth to him, allowing his tongue to slide into the cavern of her mouth and play erotically with her own. Kagome pulled back nipping his lower lip lightly, tasting blood on her lips. The growl of he stomach in response to the blood startled her enough to bring her back to reality.

“Oh my god, what have I done?” Kagome fell backwards, frightened by the intensity of his gaze. Did his eyes just go red? Kagome could not help the strange feeling that she had just been violated in some way. Then it hit her; a memory, only a name resurfaced, but with it came all the fear she had known to accompany that name.

“Naraku,” she whispered. He looked surprised for a moment but then grinned at her.

“Indeed my little Kagome. It seems that you are a lot stronger than I had imagined but no matter. You will still be mine,” Naraku whispered menacingly.

“Not so fast Naraku.” Kagome had never been so relieved to hear that annoyingly seductive voice. He stood before her before she could even blink, wearing normal clothes as any other person would but on him, they seemed so strange – so wrong.

“Sesshomaru,” Naraku said contemptuously. “I should have known that you would side with that half demon mutt you call a brother.”

“You act as if you’re so much better. But you are nothing but a disgusting half-breed as well. At least InuYasha couldn’t help his situation. But you chose this life,” Sesshomaru replied just as disdainfully. Kagome sat behind him, pondering their conversation. Sesshomaru? InuYasha? Why did these names sound familiar?

“I don’t have time to deal with the likes of you Naraku.” Next thing Kagome knew she was picked up off the ground and slung over Sesshomaru’s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Then he took off with an inhuman speed. Shutting her eyes against the blurry images that passed by her, she found it was not too soon when he abruptly dropped her onto the steps of the shrine. Opening her eyes, she was prepared to thank him. But he was already gone.

“Damnit! Does that boy ever sit still?” She stood up and stalked into the house. She would make sure this house was properly protected... Because Naraku was out there and even though she knew not what he was, she did know one thing. He scared the shit out of her.
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Just to reinforce, I would LOVE reviews/ ratings. THANK YOU ^^