InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Spider's Web ❯ Prologue

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

November 1984, Osaka, Japan

Darkness.

Complete and utter darkness surrounded her.

The only thing that could break through that darkness was the red of his eyes as he turned and looked directly at her.

She was going to die.

The taste of fear emanating from the child only made him hunger for more and there was a glint as the lips curled back into a menacing and evil smile. She was paralyzed with shock, he could sense it, but he wanted her to run. He wanted to chase her as she slipped and tried to escape him…to escape her doom. “Run,” he growled low in his throat.

Dark blue eyes widened again and refocused so that she could see the body that lay limp and covered in a thick red liquid just in front of the red-eyed creature; the creature of her nightmares. “…Pa…pa…” It was barely even audible, just a mouthed word that hitched in her throat when those innocent eyes unclouded and saw the ghastly sight before her.

“Run.”

The child gasped as her instincts finally caught up with her and she turned on her bare feet, running as fast as her tiny legs could carry her…

…until she slipped in a puddle of her father’s blood and fell to the ground, the warm substance soaking into and staining her pink nightgown.

There was a sinister laugh from behind her as she struggled to her feet and tried to run again, this time towards the foyer and the front door in an attempt to reach the kitchen and the sliding glass door that would lead her to freedom from the house…and him.

She would never have made it to there. He was already nearly upon her when there was a flash of blue and a then the squeal of sirens coming from the front of the house. But it was the flash of purple light and the ringing boom that had really saved the child’s life. She stopped and crouched, burying her head in her the now wet and stained material of her night gown as she drew her knees up and tried to press her hands to her ears and drown out the wicked screams of the red eyed nightmare as he released some sort of bomb and disappeared.

The child only barely registered that there was a woman standing in the hall wearing a dark blue police uniform and holding a strange looking pistol. Long straight black hair flowed over her shoulders and down her back as she moved passed the body and towards the girl, speaking into a walkie-talkie as she approached.

“He’s gone…I don’t know…smoke screen…case the outside…”

The girl felt arms go around her. Her skin was like ice, the exposed limbs covered in drying blood, her nightgown stained beyond repair as she willed the darkness to come back and take away the sight before her.

Like an answer to a prayer, the darkness was coming…

“Kagome…” the feminine voice sounded soft and far away, drifting into non-existence, “…safe now…going home…safe…”

Trees surrounded her and sun shown through the spaces between the branches. Everything was calm and peaceful and she was completely alone. She could hear voices coming towards her and she ran until she came to one tree in particular, larger than the rest, in which there was a hollowed area at the base. Into this small cave like area she crawled and there she sat looking out at the rest of the woods.

I’m safe…I’m safe…It is safe here…I’ll stay here…forever…

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Tokyo, Japan, November 1984

A man in a white lab coat and thin wire framed glasses sat behind the desk looking at the small family before him. The young woman’s face was etched with worry lines, making her look older than her twenty-six years. Too many nights of no sleep and more tears than could be counted had created dark circles under her eyes.

“Mrs. Higarashi, I know that after everything you’ve already been through the last thing you want or need is to hear that your daughter is in danger, but that is simply the case,” the doctor said calmly, folding and unfolding his hands on the desk. “The other practitioners and I have assumed that Kagome had simply gone into shock and that a few days with us would bring her out. However, I have since decided that this runs much deeper than just shock.”

The old man wearing long, blue hakama sat forward then, his feet barely touching the floor. “Get to the point. What is wrong with my granddaughter?”

The doctor sighed. He’d known this would not go well. “Ami, send in Dr. Tanreino, please.” he quested pressing the intercom button.

“Kagome’s condition is one which I am not familiar with. I have taken the liberty of asking a colleague of mine in to explain the situation herself - “ he stood as the door opened and the two others turned to look as a short, plump woman in her mid twenties came in. She wore a dark gray business suit with a white lab coat opened over it. Her dark hair had been pulled back in a tight bun and she carried a pair of black plastic framed glasses in her hands.

“Ah, Dr. Tanreino, welcome. Please do come in.” The man turned back to the Higarashi family and said, “Mrs. Higarashi, this is Dr. Tanreino Kaede. She specializes with people in your daughter’s condition and will explain to you what has happened to Kagome and what your options are.”

Higarashi Nagare shifted the baby in her arms. “Tanreino? That was the name of the officer who found Kagome…”

Kaede smiled gently. “Hai, that was my elder sister, Kikyo. She is the one who first told me about little Kagome and suggested Dr. Meioh call me.” She leaned against the book shelf that lined the wall and put the glasses in her coat pocket. “Mrs. Higarashi, are you familiar with the practice of installing panic rooms into homes where one feels that one may be attacked?”

The younger woman nodded, looking confused.

"The purpose of the panic room is to protect the person inside from outside forces who might do them harm. Once it is locked, it can only be opened from the inside and so the person inside must decide when it is safe to come out. Essentially, this is what Kagome has done. She simply was not capable of dealing with what she experienced and so she has withdrawn into herself, creating a world in which she can feel safe. In other words, she has gone into the panic room and only she can open the door.

"However, there are techniques in psychiatry that can help us convince the patient that they are indeed safe and eventually lure them out. It can take time - months and sometimes even years, but it does work. Studies have found that though the patient is completely unresponsive and in a seeming vegitative state, they are capable of understanding what is going on in the world around them."

Nagare took a deep breath. “Then there is a way to bring Kagome out?”

"Yes. There is a good chance that we can persuade her there is no longer a reason to hide. Once she has, for lake of a better term, awakened, we can begin to help her deal with what she witnessed." Kaede pulled an envelope from inside her lab coat and handed it to Nagare. "given her young age, I feel that success is guarenteed though the process will undoubtedly be time consuming. I've put together a few papers which explain everything, along with information on my care facility and my business card. Read over and think about it before you come to any decision."

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Tokyo, Japan, February 1985

Three months…it was hard to believe that three months ago she had kissed her darling baby girl on the cheek and boarded a train to Tokyo…Hard to believe that in those three months her life could have changed so drastically.

The doctors had all agreed to let her bring Kagome home, stating that she would be more comfortable in a familiar environment than in the sterile setting of the hospital. However, this was not home to Kagome...Her home was in Osaka and her last moments in it had been filled with terror and the gruesome sight of...

Nagare hid her face in her hands, holding back the sobs that would alert Kagome to her condition…she would not break down at her daughter’s bed side. It had been the last thing Kaede warned them about. They must remain calm and upbeat around Kagome lest the child feel their depression and use it to feed her subconsious and remain in her 'safe' place.

A noise from the bed caught her attention and, before the toddler could even take in the breath she would need to scream, Nagare was there to hold her hand, stroke her hair, and attempt to calm he nightmare that had come over her…

Nagare bit the inside of her lip, eyebrows furrowing. A nightmare…how? The distant blue-gray eyes were wide open, leading one to believe her awake. And yet she trembled as she saw things that were not there. How much longer could her fragile mind withstand this? How much longer could Nagare and her family?

When Kagome had calmed again, Nagare rose. She had laid the packet Kaede gave her on the table beside Kagome's bed and red the pages as she kept watch over Kagome. It all sounded so over her head and she had been so distracted by Kagome's condition and nightmares that she hadn't had the chance to come to a final decision. Her father-in-law was against sending her away, but Nagare couldn't see her getting better with the way things were.

Coming to a finite decision she found Kaede's business card and dialed the number, using a cordless phone she kept by her chair.

“Tani no Niji Treatment Center, how may I direct your call?”

“This is Higarashi Nagare. I need to speak with Dr. Tanreino as soon as possible about admitting my daughter, Higarashi Kagome."