The Dark Prince

Prologue:

Kagome Higurashi, at age fifteen, sighed, staring at her computer screen. "Nothing good on You Tube," Sota muttered from his position on the floor playing with his cat. Kagome shook her dark head, sending her wild black hair in total disarray. Her cat, Buyo, tangled around her ankles and she reached down to pet the fat tabby she's had since she was ten.

She had talked to her friends earlier, going on about how 8th grade life sucked and how she didn't know what to wear to the dances. She was always caught between pink and purple, those two colors being her favorite.

Sota, obviously getting bored being that he was an eight year old boy, ran out of the little computer room making revving car sounds. Kagome's violet eyes narrowed in a cringe. Little brothers, she thought. Only someone who had a little brother would understand her slight annoyance.

She glanced back at the You Tube screen. One little square caught her eye. It was in the shape of a wannabe gothic rocker playing a guitar. Looking for a laugh, she rolled her eyes and double clicked on the title. However, once the video played she wasn't rolling her eyes anymore.

The music blasted through her little black speakers, making her jump back in her chair. "Turn it down!" she faintly heard her mother yell over the slamming guitar. Kagome didn't need to be told, and reached for the knob to turn down the volume. She set her eyes on the screen once more, her fingers tapping out a beat on the desk the computer sat on. This song has an amazing beat, she thought.

The video turned and a guy was focused on the screen, sitting on a stool with a black guitar. He wore nothing but black. His smooth fitting shirt and great wore out black pants fit him just perfect, she couldn't help but notice. The only thing not black was his startling golden eyes and sliver flowing hair. The hair, while an unusual color, was made even more unusual by the black streaks in his hair.

The guy turned his body toward the camera and showed this his shirt was wide open. Kagome sucked in a wild breath at the smooth muscles he displayed. Kagome kept her eyes on the screen, not able to take them off the hottest creature she had ever seen. His voice was nothing less than his body either. His rich baritone worked with the guitar he played in a fulfilling melody that was timed to perfection.

Why isn't this guy a professional singer?, she thought, her mouth slightly open while she gaped at the screen. The credits rolled at the end and she had her answer. No one would sign him on a label, they wouldn't sponsor him. She went on his account and downloaded amazing song after amazing song, that it said he had written himself. She, then set about emailing him, though he would never reply.

"Time for dinner," her mother called from upstairs. Kagome looked at the clock and indeed it was dinner time. She hadn't noticed how the time flew by when she was entrapped in these gorgeous songs.

"Coming," she replied. Jumping out of her chair cheerfully, she squealed when Buyo held on to her for dear life. She got his claws out of her shirt and put him down then rushed up the stairs of the beautiful home. She loved this house, all the rich tiling and huge windows over looking their lawn. She wouldn't know what to do without it, she thought smiling as she entered the kitchen to help her mom with the table.

While they set the table Kagome proceeded to tell her mother about her find on You Tube. She talked about him so excitedly and her face was lit up so bright as she praised the Goth Guy's songs. Kagome didn't notice the worried look her mother had adopted.

"You know, Mom, everyone says this goth this really cool but--," she stopped as her mother put a slender hand on her small shoulder. Kagome stopped setting the table and gave her mother her full attention.

"Listen Kagome, you're not going to get anywhere following everyone else. You stand out and be who you want, okay?" her mother said gently to her. That was her mother, always gentle and understanding. Kagome smiled at her mom and knew there was no more need for talk. They understood each other perfectly.

Sota joined them a moment later and they all helped one another with getting dinner ready. Once they were all set, they sat down at the table and chatted with each other about their day, laughing over silly things and offering help when the situation arose.

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That was one year ago. Now, at sixteen, a lone tear slid down Kagome's soft fair cheek. The service continued with no one paying it any attention as the preacher went on about how wonderful Kagome's mother had been. Though, Kagome sat in the front pew she wouldn't look up. She couldn't bare the thought of looking at her dead mother in her coffin.

She held hands with her little brother. Sota's little hand clutching hers hard while he sobbed. She wouldn't look at her brother either. She just couldn't stand the thought. She hadn't looked at anyone for the whole funeral and nor did she intent to once the eulogy was finished. At the moment Kagome couldn't do anything but remember. Remember why they were having a funeral.

It was a storm. And the rain was pounding so hard that night. Her mother was teaching her how to drive. They were getting in the hours she needed to complete. But the storm didn't let up, so she let her mother take the wheel of their little car. But while on their way home, a truck came out of no where and hit the car. The car flipped and landed upside down on the road.

Kagome knew she would never forget the squeal of tires, busting glass, and ear splitting screams of her mother's last breath. Kagome gritted her teeth as an immense sadness came over her. Her body shook with the force of it but she looked to the trees behind the cemetery. The wind blew acrossed her face, fresh and clean. She breathed in and the pain was gone again.

Sota and Kagome had been orphans for a week before being adopted by a nice couple. They were rich but also very kind to her and Sota. They couldn't have children of their own and so they adopted a broken family, trying to make it whole again. They even bought her a sparkly, pink convertible bug. The top being black and headlights had flower caps on them. It was the cutest car she'd ever seen.

They love Sota, too. Spoiled him rotten and got him anything he wanted. Though he didn't want much, so they showered him with love. And Kagome was grateful for that, because she couldn't. She needed to think of the future. She was going to a private school on her seventeenth birthday. But she didn't want to go.

She wanted to stay hold up in her room because the past kept finding a way into her brain. All the memories she had of when they laughed, as a family or private joke knocked on her skull. All the times they had a "family moment" hit her hard. All the fun times they had in that house sparked tears in her eyes. Her mother's loving smile flashed through her mind, her warm brown eyes, her slightly chubby face. The only thing she had of her father's was his eyes and face, but other than that, she looked just like her mother.

Her father had left them right after Sota was born. She never saw him again, and she never cared to see his rat bastard's face again. Kagome was pulled back into the present. The service was over and the casket was ready to be lowered into the ground. Everyone stood up and started to mingle. There was old, distant family but she didn't know them and had no blood ties to them. Before anyone could approach her she took Sota aside and flipped out the pink phone her foster parents gave her. She hadn't wanted them to come to the funeral, she didn't want them to see her or Sota like they were.

Her foster mother's bright voice came over the speaker. "Hello Kagome dear."

"We're ready," she softly spoke into the phone. Then hearing her foster mother's reply, flipped the phone closed. Everyone was getting in their car or already driving away. They more than likely got the feeling that Kagome didn't want to talk to anyone. She looked down at Sota and gripped his shoulder.

"Stay here, okay?" she asked. I need to do this alone. He nodded and stayed where he was while Kagome crossed the grassy cemetery and approached the coffin. She laid a small hand on the dark casket. She closed her eyes against the tears but they ran down her cheeks again, no matter how she tried to stop them.

"I love you, Mom. But I'm letting go. I have to move on," she whispered to the dark stained wood. The wind blew again, and lifted Kagome's hair off her shoulders. It was almost as if her mother understood. The cemetery trees blew with the wind and reminded Kagome that her mother loved spring. Feeling a little lighter than before, Kagome turned around at the purr of her foster mother's jeep.

"Come on, Sota," Kagome called, a faint smile on her lips. Catching Sota's eyes, Sota slightly smiled too. "Shot gun."

"No way," Sota said as he ran to the car. Kagome ran after him and didn't look back.