Thanks for the reviews Tempest78 and ShadowFoxDemon.

Echoes of the Past

No one ever forgot the scent of their murderers; they couldn't allow it for they still needed get vengeance on their deaths. Kurama had tried to forget but the bitterness he felt ate him alive until he was even less merciful but after several years going by and trapped inside the body of a human boy, his eyes finally softened for one person in his life, his human mother. Shiori had put her wellbeing on the line and he could never forget that selfless act. Sure, she had done others but this one spoke volumes and try as he might, he couldn't help how comforting her motherly aura felt. One day he got to thinking about how much she sometimes reminded him of his deceased mate and the thought struck him, right now his mate is alive, young, but alive.

The shrines in town were going to be holding a festival and he remembered her full name was Higurashi Kagome and came from a family owned shrine, the Higurashi Shrine. He asked his mom if they could visit that one and with a puzzled look she agreed. He was anxious to see her but it also hurt, she wouldn't know him and didn't know of demons but she was still a little girl and perhaps being in the knew it would open himself to the pain but he couldn't go without seeing her and knowing her as a child.

The day of the festival came and he tried to hurry his mom in his excitement, something he wasn't known to doing so it once again had her giving him a funny look but decided she liked seeing him acting like his age. He nearly raced up the shrine steps as he got closer to her home. As they finally reached the stairs he couldn't help but notice the ancient tree standing proudly, towering over the other structures and plant life. His ears picked up an old man's voice as he told the tale of the shikon jewel. His eyes instantly turned and he followed the pull as he looked at the bauble until a disgruntled huff caught his ears. Up by the older man was a young girl with a white and pink kimono with falling sakura petals. He knew it was the one he has been searching, it was his Kagome, and sitting impatiently to the tale of the jewel with no clue as to just how much her life will be tangled up with it. He could barely feel it but knew the pull of the shikon was inside her.

That day he watched her play and even played with her, quietly imprinting her image and actions to memory. She was adorable as a little girl and her whole manner screamed innocent and pure even more so than the other children even at her young age. He was happy to see her but it still hurt to know that once she grows up and turns into a demon, she will no longer be able to cross back to here. If she didn't have that fight with Naraku that turned her into a kitsune then she would have never met him. Fate loved his mate too much if you asked him and it hurt to know how she had been rewarded. Miroku had once said it was a way of the Gods to call their angel home but they also took his son with her. His son, merely an infant but killed in cold blood.

His mind drove him insane several years ago; constantly supply what they might have done to her, how they probably tortured her and what her labor was like. He wondered if she still held hope all the way to the end or if she gave up along the way, somehow knowing this was the end. He was certain she would have at least put up a fight to save their son but then again, did she have any fight left in her physically. It had his head spinning and nightmares flashed before his eyes no matter if he was wide awake or in the midst of slumber. It hurt but what hurt the worst was not knowing and never finding them. He had failed and he never failed until that day when she was ripped from his side by a demon with the same element control. He vowed though, that he will find the ones who killed and he will find out what they did with their bodies.

The day progressed and it definitely brought back his determination to one day find the ones responsible for their deaths and show them no mercy. Many times he wished he could have joined her but he knew that the spirit world would not have had him anywhere near his loved ones with the record he had, so he knew that staying alive for now was the best choice and maybe he could someday clear his record so when death visited him, he would be taken back to his family.

Years went by and he occasionally went to the Higurashi Shrine but did his best to not draw her attention to him too much. His looks though, must not have helped for he drew her attention unintentionally like a moth to a flame. Her curiosity was almost equal to a kit but it didn't shock him for long. He told her things about him and his mom, they talked about nature and played together. Eventually they grew older and he began to watch from the shadows in their early teens. Then it all happened and reality reared its ugly head when Kagome was plunged into the Feudal Era. It was like a buck of ice water dumped over his head and knew it wouldn't be long and she would be gone from his grasp for good.

His own life grew hectic as he got tangled up with the Spirit World and had to serve his time. It hurt to know time was almost up but he supposed watching her one last time would be worth it, and then he would focus on getting stronger and seeking vengeance. At the tournaments though, when he got sent back to his original form as Youko, he wondered if he could find a way to send him back to that day and find a clue or jump through the portal before it closed. To gain something that would help him change what happened or alert him to the demon the kidnapped Kagome. After many experiments he could find nothing and knew his only other possibility would be the well. Right now though, he wouldn't have enough time tinker with it and especially not till she goes down there for the last time, never to return. Until his time was served, he couldn't tamper with the well knowing he was being watched.

He watched her go and somehow he it would be the last time she would go through the well. She looked so similar to how she was before the transformation. He wished he could stop her but he knew he would risk never having her if he even delayed her by a minute. So with a heavy heart and a resolve of steel he watched her jump down the well with her smiling face engrained in his mind. That day he moped around at the shrine, the day after he set off for another mission, his determination still strong.

ShadowFoxDemon, you should know your review inspired me to get this chapter out there so I can get to the chapter I know you will want to see.