Kagome hummed happily as she swept the front of the shrine. She was dressed in her miko robes and had her hair tied back to keep it out of the way. It had been a year since she returned to her own time, and her sons had adjusted well.
Kagome's mother, Sayuri, had taken to the boys instantly. Shippou adored her, and little Akito had taken to calling her 'Oba' shortly after they arrived, and had yet to correct the title, not that Sayuri minded.
"Come back here, ya lil mutt!" She heard Shippou call playfully. Turning, she watched as Shippou chased his brother across the courtyard. Akito ran as fast as his chubby little legs would take him, holding a top that Kagome recognized as Shippou's. She hid a laugh behind her hand as the boys played their games.
"Kagome!" her mother stuck her head out the front door. "Would you mind going into town for me and picking up some leeks and Ubon noodles? I need them for dinner."
Kagome smiled. "Hai, Kaa-san. Give me a few to get changed and I'll get right on that." Turning to her boys, she stalked over to where they were wrestling and snatched the toy from between them. "Hey!" both boys protested, identical pouts on their faces. Kagome laughed. "Come on and let's go get changed. We're going into town for some noodles and leeks for Oba." She told them.
Shippou wrinkled his nose and shivered in disgust at the thought of leeks, and Akito, after watching his brother, did the same. Kagome merely laughed, "You two don't be silly. You've both eaten leeks before and liked them well enough. Now go inside and change, and I might consider picking up a box of pocky before we check out." She told them, winking.
Shippou and Akito both lit up at the mention of their favorite treat. "Pocky!!" exclaimed Shippou as he jumped up and ran into the house. Akito struggled to right himself and yelled "Po-ki!" as he clumsily ran after his brother. Kagome smiled after them, her eyes turning sad as she watched the boys who acted so much like her dear lover. She felt despair grip her heart and tears well in her eyes as his mischevious smirk appeared in her mind. Clutching a hand to her heart, she shook her head to clear the image from her vision and followed the boys into the house.
Elsewhere, in the Reikai, the spirit detectives were reporting to the 'almighty toddler', as Yusuke was fond of calling him.
"So what's up this time, toddler? Screw up again and need us to clean it up?" Asked Yusuke, grinning at the small prince.
Koenma glared at the young man. "I am not a toddler, Yusuke!" He yelled, his face going a bit red. The purple ogre that stood beside the prince's desk cleared his throat and brought him back to the present.
Koenma cleared his throat as he settled back into his seat and pressed a button on the screen. "There have been an unusual number of demons escaping from the Makai into the Ningekai lately. It's mostly occurring around this area. I was you all to investigate this and find out how, and why, they are so interested in this particular city. Understood?" he asked, his eyes searching each one of his detectives.
"Psh, no prob! My aunt and cousin live out there, actually. It'd be no problem. It's been a while since I visited them anyway." Yusuke yawned, bored of the meeting already.
"Hn, well none of the demons seem to be of a particularly high level, so I don't see why I would be needed." Muttered Hiei.
Koenma narrowed his eyes at the forbidden child. "I want each and every one of you on this case. There's something amiss, and I want to know what! Now, report when you've found something. Toodles!" He wiggled his fingers and pressed a new button that he'd been dying to try since he had it installed. The floor opened up and sent the 4 spirit detectives falling through space, two of them loudly cursing Koenma the whole way down.
