Disclaimers: I do not own Inu-Yasha… man you guys take the fun out of life.

Nightingale's Voice

Chapter One: Starting Anew

'Blood! Blood! There's blood everywhere!' A young female screamed in her mind. She stood to be medium height, but still a little on the short side. Her pale skin was stained with red. Her onyx black hair was going in every which direction. Her deep brown orbs searching frantically for someone… or something other than this black nothingness. She turned her head every way, but all she saw was darkness and the red of blood.

"Souta! Grandpa! Mama!" Her voice called out timidly. But she wasn't answered. She looked around again, this time her vision coming across a lump. She rushed forward, fearing the worst. Her blood froze as she turned the body towards her. "No…" She whispered. "Mama!" She screamed at the mangled body that was covered in blood and wounds. "Mama don't leave me!" She screamed, tears coming to her eyes.

Just as suddenly as the body appeared, it disappeared, fading into nothing. The girl looked around, trying to find the woman again. But her search failed, as she screamed when more blood fell.

"If you tell anyone… I'll kill you!" A cold voice called out to her. "I'll kill you slowly so you know the meaning of pain!" The voice sounded so familiar, but she couldn't place her finger on it.

"Wh-who are y-you?" She asked, scared beyond belief.

"You say a word, and I'll kill you, along with your brother!" The voice hissed.

"No, I won't say a word… I promise… just don't hurt Souta," she found herself whimpering.

"Don't say a word." The voice echoing out to her.

"Kagome… Kagome…" A new voice was calling her. But she didn't answer; she just fell to the ground, pulling her knees to her chest. She began rocking back and forth.

'I won't say a word… I won't say a word… I won't say a word…' She kept repeating the mantra in her mind. She kept just rocking back and forth. Ignoring the voice.

"Kagome you need to wake up!" A voice called again.

"Kagome! Kagome!" A young woman in her late thirties; was shaking Kagome's sleeping form. Her black hair in a loose bun was falling out of place as she began shaking Kagome harder, her blue eyes filling with fear. "Kagome wake up! Souta get in here!" She shouted when she saw her efforts were useless.

"What do you want Kikira?" A young boy asked, bounding into the room. He looked like the sleeping female, except he was younger, smaller, and had a more masculine look.

"Wake your sister up," Kikira drawled out in an exasperated tone.

"Be my pleasure," Souta smirked, cracking his knuckles. He silently walked over and bent down to her ear. "Sis, Kikira threw all the oden away," he whispered.

Suddenly, the girl jumped from the bed, with a scared expression. But it soon turned into an angry glare as she heard laughing. She glared daggers at her younger brother, raising a threatening fist to his face.

'Souta the brat! I should've known that it was a lie.' She growled in her mind.

"Ah, what's wrong Sis?" Souta asked, taking on the look of innocence. Kagome didn't answer as she threw a pillow at him. Souta didn't need her to confirm to him that she was mad, her eyes said it all.

"Well, I'm glad that you finally decided to wake," Kikira commented, trying to break the tension in the air. "Kagome, we finally found a safe place for you."

Kagome turned her attention to Kikira upon hearing what she said.

"Yes, it's a boarding school up north. It's called Shishimoto Valley Boarding School," Kikira said, answering Kagome's questioning look. "You'll be leaving this afternoon, so after breakfast, pack up!" Kikira exclaimed, walking out.

Kagome turned her attention to Souta, arching her eyebrow up.

"Yeah, they found a private school for me to go to… and no it's not Shishimoto Valley," Souta smirked, knowing that he answered her unasked questions. Then he rolled his eyes in annoyance, at her look of worry. "Don't worry, I'll be safe. It's down in the south and it's an all boy school. Which is so unfair. You get to go to a co-ed school and I get nothing but boys everywhere I look," Souta scoffed, crossing his arms angrily.

Kagome put a comforting arm on his shoulder, giving him a gentle look.

"I don't need your sympathy Sis," Souta snapped, pulling out of her grasp. His look softened though, seeing the sad one on Kagome's face. "Look Sis, I'm sorry," he whispered, hanging his head down. He was surprised when he felt arms wrap around him. He looked up to see his sister give him a caring look. "Ah Sis, don't baby me," Souta whined.

Kagome gave him a joking look as she pulled away, and ruffled his hair. Her smile widened as saw him give her a dirty look.

"Come on Sis, let's go get some breakfast," Souta said, leaving the room, dragging Kagome along behind him.

Kagome, Kikira, and Souta stood in front of Kikira's apartment building. Hiroshi, Kikira's partner t the police station, was placing Kagome's luggage into the trunk of Kikira's electric blue Sunfire. Hiroshi stood back up straight, brushing his brown hair from his face. His bright green eyes, sweeping at the three hugging each other.

"Well Souta, if we want to get to St. Monk Academy before night we better leave now," Hiroshi's baritone voice boomed.

"It's the name of my school," Souta said, answering Kagome's questioning look. Kagome opened her mouth in a manner as if to say oh. "Bye Sis, I'll miss you," Souta whispered, hugging her around the waist.

Kagome just nodded her head, hugging him back, letting the tears roll down her face. She rubbed his back one final time, before pulling away.

"Bye Sis, I'll see you again!" Souta called over his shoulder, as he ran to Hiroshi's black Civic. He climbed in and gave her one final wave, before Hiroshi pulled away.

"Come on Kagome, it's time to go," Kikira said softly. She gently patted Kagome on the back and led the way to the car. Kagome just nodded her head and went over to the passenger side where Kikira was holding the door open. Kagome climbed in as Kikira closed the door behind her. She rushed to the driver's side and climbed in. "Ready to start your new life Kagome?" Kikira asked with a big smile, starting the engine. Kagome just nodded as they took off down the road.

'As ready as I'll ever be.' Kagome thought, staring out the window. Praying that this 'new' start would be worth it. 'As ready as I'll ever be…'

A/N: Here's chapter one. Hope you all liked it… though it's beyond me where I got the idea to write this… Hm… oh well! Anyway, here's a note to all my readers.

IMPORTANT

From this moment on, all of my fics will be suspended until further notice. For I shall be spending all of my time on the following: The Heart's Solemn Vow, A Journey Through the Mind, Beautiful Soul, Change of Heart, and Nightingale's Voice. So all fics that were not listed will not be updated until these are finished. Sorry to inconvenience anyone. Thanks for all the reviews from all my stories! Sayonara for now! Oh, and someone please tell me what Author Alert list is…. Or some similar name like that. I keep seeing more and more people add me to it, and sadly I have no clue what it is, so I would really appreciate it if someone told me. Sayonara for real this time!