The Revenant by Luna

Chapter 3

I do not own Inuyasha. I never have, and never will.

Warning: This story will continue to get steadily darker after this chapter, so readers beware.

And please remember to enjoy!

…

The Revenant

Chapter Three

By: Luna

…

"Do you believe in dreams?" Her therapist asked. She was an older, beautiful woman with kind eyes - and the only woman Kagome trusted… to an extent.

Kagome looked away. "No."

"Do you believe in happiness?"

"…No."

"I think you should."

"Why?"

"Everyone deserves to be happy."

"That's not good enough."

"Then… I guess you could say I like your smile." It was a lie. She had never seen Kagome smile; because Kagome never did.

Kagome opened her eyes, wondering why she was remembering her last session. She sat on the deck outside of her bedroom, drinking in the green and listening to the wind move through nature. She liked the sound of the wind; the rustling leaves, the flower petals that would dance through the air, defying gravity.

She liked the peace nature provided. She liked the silence. In Tokyo there was just too much white noise buzzing in her ears. For the first time in what seemed like a very long time, she truly felt alone, and it was wonderful.

She had gotten rid of her alarm. She told herself it had been a one-time occurrence, and something that wasn't likely to happen again. Her body was used to waking up at a certain time; after experimenting she found out that she would wake up more or less at the same time she usually did.

This morning had been odd… when she had awakened; her shoji door had been open. She did not remember opening it before she went to bed - perhaps she slept walk? Either way, she took it as a sign to explore the gardens, something she had yet to do. In the week since she had been here, she only explored downstairs. There was something about the upstairs, something in the way the shadows fell upon the walls that made her uneasy…

Sighing, she wondered when she would stop imagining monsters in every corner. She set her cooling tea aside and slipped on her sandals, intent on exploring the gardens. Hesitating a moment, she stepped off the deck, hearing her feet crunch against the gravel, before setting off in the direction of the pond.

Blinking, she marveled at the masterpiece before her. It was a Tsukiyama type garden, with its sloping hills and stone waterfall, with wisteria in the middle of a pond on a manmade island, its boughs so heavy that its purple blooms fairly dipped into the water. There was a stone lantern on the island at the base of the bridge, and beyond that a stone bench sat at the base of the largest wisteria tree.

She wasn't sure whose garden the landscaper had tried to replicate, but at the moment she didn't really care as she followed the circular path that led around the garden, to eventually take her to the center where the island was. How could a home exist with such beauty? And why did Mrs. Higurashi never live here? This house was obviously expensive, probably worth enough that would support the shrine for years - and yet, this was the first time Kagome had ever seen it.

Why?

Frowning, Kagome absently tugged on her earlobe, a gesture she was hardly aware she did when she was thinking. As she walked along the path, it took her deeper into the garden, that the island was temporarily blocked from her view by another man-made hill, nearly smothered in green foliage.

When it came into view again, Kagome turned a distracted eye towards it before she looked ahead again, and froze. Slowly, she turned her head back, and didn't know if she should be happy or afraid that she hadn't imagined the man standing in the middle of the island, wearing a pristine white kimono, a large, strong hand reaching up to cradle the delicate blooms hanging above him. Who was he? What was he doing here, of all places? But more importantly...

Was he real?

A figment of her imagination?

She didn't think so; she didn't think she was that creative, and the man standing on the island was a work of art. Beautiful, with long incandescent white hair. His skin was smooth and milky, and she stared dazedly where the sleeve of his kimono slipped near his elbow on his upraised arm, and the twin violet stripes that slashed down towards his elbows and disappeared within his sleeve. They were such a striking contrast against the paleness of his skin that she could only continue staring at him, her mind panicking, and it took her a while for her mind to register the fact that he was staring at her.

Shakily, Kagome patted her pockets, belatedly realizing that she left her medication in her room. It wouldn't have mattered. It took at least a half hour before the drugs kicked in, and by that time curiosity would've gotten the best of her and she would have already made her way towards the stranger.

Like she was doing now.

She couldn't get to the island; she still had to travel the path all the way back around to do that. But she stopped by the ponds edge and continued to stare at him, almost afraid to blink. If he disappeared, she didn't know what she'd do. She finally found peace. She didn't want to find out she went crazy after all.

"You're being rude." His voice, a deep, cool baritone, interrupted her dazed thoughts, and she blinked before she could control the motion.

When he was still standing there, she sagged in relief. Then she said, "And you're trespassing. Who are you?"

The man merely harrumphed and sat down on the stone bench, tucking his hands into the opposite sleeve of his kimono when he crossed his arms. "Nobody lives here." He told her, closing his eyes and looking to the world that he instantly dropped into slumber.

Kagome's lips tightened in vexation, and she felt her eyes cooling as the first stirrings of anger kindled in her belly. "I do. I moved in last week. This is my home now."

"Hnn." He cracked one eye open and studied her.

When he continued to stare at her she shifted, feeling uncomfortable. "Will you tell me your name, please?"

She instantly hated the way she sounded; pleading, uncertain, as if she weren't the one in control. The man harrumphed again and closed his eyes. "I am Sesshoumaru."

Kagome waited a beat, frowning. Was that it? Did he expect her to call him something as personal as his first name? Scowling, tapped her fingers in a restless beat against her thigh before she straightened. "My name is Kagome."

He didn't open his eyes as he spoke. "Last name?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Higurashi."

That had him opening his eyes at last, and when he stared at her again she had the odd thought that he was looking at her for the first time. She could not discern what color his eyes were from the distance, but the intensity of his gaze was felt, and she shivered, rubbing absently at the goose bumps that rose on her arms.

"I should have known," he murmured, though Kagome barely caught his words.

"What do you mean?" She asked, actually taking a step back when his eyes jerked up to glare at her, clearly not expecting her to have heard him.

"You look like your ancestor. Almost identical, in fact." He replied, looking away from her to frown across the pond, looking more thoughtful than disturbed.

Kagome felt that chill again, felt it tingle its way down her spine before dread started to pool in her stomach. There was something not right with him, she thought dreadfully. How could he know that? Was she dreaming? Hallucinating?

He flicked his eyes towards her and sighed irritably at her frightened expression. "Have you not explored your own home? On the second landing there is a room off to your left; it has artifacts and pictures of your ancestors."

"How do you know that?" Kagome asked, nearly inaudibly.

Sesshoumaru heard her anyways, somehow. "I have visited. It has been empty; this Sesshoumaru has felt no need to curb his curiosity at such a house. It used to be open to the public, after all."

That explained the pristine look of the garden, as if someone had cared for every painstaking detail of it. "I haven't explored upstairs yet," she admitted softly. "There's something…"

Sesshoumaru glanced at her sharply when she trailed off. "What is it?"

Kagome shook her head. "It's nothing, really. My mind likes playing tricks on me, that's all."

"Hnn." He looked away from her, his expression guarded, his frown thoughtful.

Suddenly, Kagome needed to get away. Anywhere, any place; she just needed to get there right now. "Um." She cleared her throat, taking a step away from the pond. "Please enjoy the garden."

She fled without another word.

Panic was thick in her throat, choking her, but for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. At the last bend in the path, she shot a furtive glance over her shoulder, and then froze all together when she noticed the island was empty.

He was gone. Like he had never been there to begin with.

A/N: Tsukiyama styled gardens often copy famous landscapes from China or Japan, and they commonly strive to make a smaller garden appear more spacious (Japan Guide). This is accomplished by utilizing shrubs to block views of surrounding buildings, and the garden's structure usually tries to make onlookers focus on nearby mountains in the distance (Japanese Lifestyle). By doing this, it seems that the garden has the mountains as part of its grounds. Ponds, streams, hills, stones, trees, flowers, bridges, and paths are also used frequently in this style (Japan Guide).