It was December 21st and from the cloudy gray skis fell a light snow blanketing the city in white; it left a person feeling nolgastic and none more so than Kagome Higurashi. It had been 4 years since the well had permanently closed leaving her with nothing except her memories and powers, but she was content with that. She had found that with the passage of time the pain of leaving her friends, adopted son and her one time love had slowly passed and turned into nothing more than a dull ache. She was sitting at the base of the god tree remembering the past along with resting her tired body; after all helping out at a shrine on winter break was tiring. Then a small squeal brought her from her musings and glancing around she found the source, a small girl had slipped on some ice. Standing she walked over to the girl not even bothering to brush off the snow that had fallen in her hair and on her cloths.
"Are you all right?" she asked kneeling in front of her with a friendly smile. The girl looked up and nodded tears in her eyes.
"Oh no did you hurt yourself." Kagome asked immediately looking over the girl for any injuries, sending a little healing energy to the girl to sooth any pain she might be in.
"N-no, b- but I can't find o-oni-san." The little girl said between sobs, Kagome reached over and picked the crying girl up, as she had gad done so many times with shippo.
"Their their, come on lets go find you brother." She said in a soothing voice, the little girl looked up and gave a shy smile nodding. Kagome had walked around the shrine for about 5 minutes when she heard her brother call out to her, stopping she waited for sota noticing the boy that he drug behind him.
"Yes?" she asked raising a delicate brow at the two panting boys doubled over trying to catch their breath.
"Oni-san!" the girl in her arms suddenly shouted, Kagome put her down and she leapt on her brother knocking him to the ground.
"Kisa thank god your all right." Her brother said with a sigh of relief.
Kagome let out a laugh at the sight and reached out a hand helping the boy to his feet.
"Thank you very much." He practically shouted bowing low in his thanks.
"You're very welcome." Kagome giggled, suddenly she heard her name being called out by her mother and with a quick bow and an 'excuse me' she walked off only sota noticing the kind yet sorrowful smile she wore.
"Man your sis is hot." Sota's friend said, his two other friends who had just caught up agreeing with him.
"Oh shut it." He replied, but he could not disagree with them Kagome was prettier than any model he had ever seen.
Kagome had grown an inch or two and her raven hair which was now in a high ponytail was now well below her waist. All traces of baby fat had left her, leaving her slim and graceful looking. Her skin was now paler than it used to be almost matching the snow, but was most likely because she didn't travel as often. Kagome was wearing a traditional priestess outfit with a few accessories she had added herself, one of them resembling the shikon no tama. All in all she looked like something out of a fairy tale.
"Sota you coming!?" hearing his friends shouts he turned and ran to catch up to them mindful of the ice hidden below.
Kagome sighed lifting a heavy box of charms and other various knick knacks; the small shop her grandfather ran had run out earlier and her mother wanted help carrying them there.
"Kagome you ok?" her mother asked noticing the melancholy mood her daughter was in.
"Hum, oh I'm perfectly fine." She answered, and in truth she was it was just that the little scene earlier had reminded her so much of her adopted son shippo.
"Good you can carry more then." Her mother said with a smile quickly placing two smaller boxes on top of the first.
"Now hurry up your grandfather's customers are waiting." She said shooing Kagome out of the small storehouse. Kagome stumbled a bit and smiled a small smile that looked more like a grimace at her mother's antics. As soon as she had regained her footing she started walking towards the small shop, though her thoughts had turned back to that little scene. I had reminded her so much of shippo, and of another, the one that the little girl had always followed around, Lord Sesshomaru. Over the years since she first met him she had developed respect for him even though he had tried to kill her in the past, but she saw some things that no other person saw. The first being that he loved Rin dearly even if he didn't show it, the second is that whenever he and Inuyasha fought it was more like he was scolding him rather than insulting him. The last was something she had figured out a week before the well closed. She had thought it rather strange that when they were traveling every demon that they fought was easily handled but when they came across something they couldn't handle Sesshomaru never failed to show up at some point during the battle. Kagome smiled at the memory,
'Yes he'd always be their weather his presence was wanted or not.' She though silently to herself, when suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a piercing scream and something smashing into her legs making her loose her balance sending the boxes of trinkets into the air and her to the cold hard cement.
"Ooo ouch, man that hurt." She said rubbing her now sore bottom fairly certain that there would be a burse there tomorrow. Then looking down she noticed a small girl lying on her stomach beneath her legs groaning in pain.
"Oh my god, are you all right!" Kagome yelled trying to quickly get to her feet but she had failed to notice the ice below, so once again she was sent down towards the earth. Letting out a small shout she clamped her eyes shut preparing for the pain, but it never came. Instead she found herself enveloped in warmth; slowly she opened her eyes and looked up only to come face to face with a very handsome looking stranger.
"You all right?" he asked his eyes held a little worry.
"U-um I'm ok." Kagome said a little flustered.
"Good." He said gently lifting Kagome up into a standing position and then once she was steady went over to help the other girl. Kagome walked over now mindful of the hidden ice under the snow and made a mental check to put up a sign warning people about it.
"Is she ok." she asked
"Yes but I think she twisted her ankle." He replied turning. Kagome had to lean her head back to look up at him he had to be at least 6ft if not taller and when she got a good look at him she silently gasped.
'H-he looks just like…"
"Do you have any bandages?" he asked
"Huh, oh yea follow me." Kagome was beyond stunned the man looked almost like Sesshomaru the only difference being that his hair was black and cut short and that his eyes were a dull honey color not the vibrant gold she was so used to seeing. Kagome shook her head there was no way that Sesshomaru was alive and kicking and she had proof. One day while she was in the library she had found records or more like legends of her friends and tales about their life's heck she even found some on jaken. Each stated what had happened during the remainder of their lives though for some reason Sesshomaru's along with shippo's "record" had abruptly ended.
'Even so not even Sesshomaru or shippo could have lived for 500 years, could they?" Kagome felt a small twinge of hope flutter in her heart but it was soon overshadowed even if they did manage to survive they probably have no memory of her. After all 500 years was a long time but that small flutter of hope was still their even if it was a bit smaller now.
"Pardon me but where do you want me to put her?" the velvety voice of the man standing behind her snapped her out of her thoughts.
"You can set her on the couch." Kagome said a small blush gracing her features shamed for forgetting that she had company.
"I'll go grab some bandages, just wait right here for a moment." She finished with a smile as she turned and went to locate some.
As soon as Kagome was out of sight the girl started speaking,
"She's become very pretty hasn't she." The girl said looking to her companion for an answer.
"Hn" was the males reply, the girl laughed knowing full well what he was really saying.
"Any way how long do I have to keep up this disguise its quite humiliating." She said picking up the hem of her dress and eyeing it with disgust.
A smirk spread across the man's face fully enjoying his companion's distress,
"That's what you get for ignoring your studies." The man said
"Ugh you're an ass, why did I have to disguise myself as a little girl any way." she whined, the man just shook his head the kit never learned his lesions.
Meanwhile Kagome was rummaging through her room looking for the bandages when she came across her yellow camping bag and sighed, she and that bag had gone through hell and back again.
"This is no time to reminisce." She muttered under her breath digging through the bag until she found what she was looking for and with a triumphant 'yes' made her way back to her living room. Upon entering she found the man still standing where she had left him earlier.
"You know you're welcome to sit down if you like." She said unwrapping the bandages as she kneeled down in front of the child. The man hn'd but sat down any way, Kagome suppressed a giggle he was just to similar to Sesshomaru.
"How are you doing sweetie, mind showing me what leg you hurt?" Kagome asked turning her attention on the girl. The girl nodded and pointed to her left leg, Kagome briefly wondered why the girl didn't talk but ignored it, then a though struck her as she finished rapping the injured leg.
"I'm sorry but I never got your names." She said turning to the man who was sitting in the recliner, he merely blinked before smiling and rubbing the back of his neck.
"My name is Vincent and that is my adoptive 'daughter' Lin." He said a smirk coming to his face at the word daughter
"It's nice to meet you Vincent." She said trying the foreign name out on her tong,
"My name is Kagome Higurashi." She finished rapping the leftover bandages; she had a question on her mind, but was a little scared to ask. Vincent seemed to take notice,
"You may ask your question I will take no offence." He said an amused smile spread across his face.
"Oh well, um it's just that, well, I wanted to know where you're from?" Kagome finished an embarrassed blush dusting her cheeks.
"I'm originally from here but moved to London due to certain issues." He said.
"And as for that other question that just popped into your mind, I'm here on a business trip." He said, Kagome's blush had considerably darkened as she nervously fiddled with the bandages in her hands.
"Well I have to get going, I have a meeting in about an hour and I have to drop Lin back off at the hotel." Vincent said breaking the silence, walking over and picking up his 'daughter' making sure to avoid touching her injured leg. Kagome nodded and led them to the door,
"Good luck on your meeting." She said, some small part of her secretly hoping that she could meet him again, and just like he could read her thought he said
"Thank you for your help and maybe I'll see you again soon." And with that he waved and walked off disappearing into the night. Kagome leaned against the door frame, thinking that it might just be time to let go of the past and start living in the future. Little did she know that the past was slowly catching up to her, and this time fait's grip would be a little tighter.