Chapter 3

After leaving Sesshomaru, the only set of events Kagome remembered was falling into the front door, seeing Eri's angry expression, taking a warm bath, then being tucked into bed. To Kagome's surprise when she woke up the next morning, Eri was still in her bed. As soon as Kagome tried to sit up, a raging headache made her wince, and she immediately felt nauseous. Kagome let out a soft groan, making Eri's eyes snap open.

"Kagome…" Eri began with both a frown and a look of concern on her face.

"Eri, I'm sorry. I want to tell you why I got so upset but I can't. Just know that I didn't mean to ruin the plans you made for me, you're such a good friend to me and I totally ruined everything," Kagome said. Kagome felt a lump form at her throat and before she could swallow it down, she started to sob. It felt refreshing to finally let herself cry, her tears ran down her cheeks and rolled off them in great, big drops onto her bedsheet.

Eri sighed. She scooted closer to Kagome and took her in her arms, rubbing her back and humming softly as she did so.

"Kagome, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

Kagome nodded in her friend's shoulder. That was all the response she could muster up at the moment. Kagome missed Sesshomaru, too. Not in the way that a person misses their lover or their friend, but in the way that someone misses their past. Sesshomaru was neither friendly or even an acquaintance to Kagome, yet he knew more about her and her identity than even Eri did. Sesshomaru understood it better than her family considering he lived it and was a person of the past and future just like Kagome. There was so much pain that came from being around him. However, she never felt more like herself than last night. Kagome allowed herself to be as broken on the outside as she felt on the inside.

Then there was the very blatant fact that Sesshomaru was an extremely changed youkai than the one Kagome remembered from all those years ago. She figured that youkai changed as they grew up, and four hundred is a lot of years, but she was surprised by Sesshomaru's sudden willingness to strike up a conversation with a distressed human.

I can't believe I vomited in front of him. The Great Demon of the West. Fantastic, new first impression, Kagome. Great.

Kagome leaned back, away from Eri's shoulder and let out a frustrated sigh.

"Does everyone hate me?" Kagome timidly asked.

"No, babe. Everyone was just worried about you. They were so relieved when I texted them last night once you came home," Eri replied.

"Thank you. For everything."

Eri sprang up out of her bed and sauntered over to the door. As she opened it she looked over her shoulder. "There's no need to thank me, Kagome. For you, I'd do that every single night if I had to. Now I have to get ready and go to work, so try not to get into any more trouble while I'm gone." With that, Eri shut the door behind her.

Kagome fell back down on her bed. On one hand, she had a raging headache that she did not think was going to magically go away soon. On the other hand, it was Saturday morning and she should probably do something with her day. The library would be perfect for a chilly, overcast day such as today.

Kagome changed into a comfy outfit, completed her morning bathroom routine, took the equivalent of an horse's dose of painkillers for her hangover, and she was out the door on the way to the library. The wind bit a little as it flew over her exposed cheeks. Nonetheless, Kagome loved this season and the chilliness it brought with it. Usually it was a decent excuse to stay in her apartment all day with only half the whining from Eri or her other friends who wanted her to go out with them. It meant early bedtimes and late mornings, which meant not as much awake time where Kagome had to deal with her thoughts and the way they made her feel.

Kagome felt instant warmth swell up around her as soon as she made it to the library and opened its doors. Her eyes instantly started scanning the area for a map of general genres. The Tokyo Public Library was massive and that was both good and bad for Kagome who came here to specifically find books on youkai. Kagome occasionally went all this way, found the map, saw the Japan Myths and Folklore section and immediately walked out, unable to physically bring herself there. This time she found the appropriate section and her legs took her there. Once she found it, she let out an almost silent whimper. It was huge. She would be lucky if she even got through an eighth of these books in one day.

As Kagome began perusing the sections, she began to wonder what she was exactly hoping to find in this search. She thought she would be pleased with any sort of information regarding any semblance of her friends. However, she knew that this was a dangerous game that she was playing and it had every potential to send her spiraling down to a place that even Kagome could not climb out of.

After several hours, Kagome found what she did not know she was even looking for.

The History and Antics of the Japanese Kitsune: A Complete Guide to the Infamous Youkai.

Kagome's hands were shaking as she blindly felt around for the nearest chair she could sit in. As soon as she sat down, she tore open the book and began to read the introduction.

Kitsune youkai are among the most dangerous of youkai for any human, especially men, to cross paths with while out on the road.

Historically, Kitsune youkai were known to live with one another in packs, usually in a home that gave off the impression of it being an Inn. To a wary, tired traveler, this was the perfect bait to lure them in. Kitsune youkai were notorious for having the ability to shapeshift into any sort of object, or human form, that they desired. Usually the only way to discern a shapeshifted Kitsune youkai from a real human, is by their tail that they most notably have a difficult time hiding. On top of shapeshifting, they are known to be able to conjure fire and become small or large in size at will.

Kitsune youkai have been observed to place great importance on family, with the usual family unit consisting of generations upon generations of family, with an average of ten or more children per parental pair.

Kitsune youkai are born with only one tail, which can multiply up to nine tails by the end of their life if they complete their ancient training. In their culture, this training is composed of trickery and mischievousness, generally to the detriment of humans and at times, other youkai.

There used to be at least a hundred, if not more Kitsune youkai academies all throughout Japan. As modern days began to arrive, these academies have since been abandoned, leaving nothing except what looks to be the shell of an ancient inn. Although, if you look closely enough at these inns, you will find that they are not inns at all. Japanese Kitsune youkai are still alive somewhere in this world today, but no one knows where they migrated.

Some say they might still be in Japan, posing as humans right under our noses.

Kagome read the last line ten times, allowing it to soak into into her brain so she could better process the claim that it was making. Kagome has thought often of Shippo. He was young enough when she left that he would be alive in her modern day. Nevermind the fact that he was full youkai and would live even past that and well into the future. When Kagome left the Feudal Era for the last time, Shippo promised her that he would find her. Kagome knew that Shippo was only a little boy when he made that promise; yet she assumed something must have happened to Shippo, for him to break that promise. Kagome tried to imagine any possibility, except the worst one, when she thought of this from time to time.

Kagome stood up, deciding that she was going to take the book home with her for further research. She spent the morning and the better part of her afternoon at the library and her stomach was warning her to eat something soon.

When Kagome walked into her apartment a half an hour later, Eri, Ayumi, and Sho were all sitting at the dining table eating ramen. They looked up in tandem and smiled at Kagome. Kagome smiled back and took a seat at the dining table with them.

"Do you want some ramen, Kagome?" Sho asked. He was being as nice as ever, as though Kagome did not ditch him and everyone else last night at dinner. Kagome was both grateful and under the impression that Eri already spoke to them before Kagome came home.

"Yes, please. I am starving," Kagome replied. She could not help but to feel a little happier around her friends. Kagome allowed her earlier readings of Kitsune youkai be pushed out of her conscience for the time being as she hung out with them.

Kagome, Eri, Sho, and Ayumi all sat at the dining table and laughed for hours. After their chairs began to feel uncomfortable, they all piled onto the relatively small couch in Eri and Kagome's living room and watched horror movies well into the night. Kagome felt the heaviness that she felt during the week lift more and more with each hour that she spent talking and giggling with her friends.

"Okay everyone, it is way past my bedtime," Kagome announced. She got up from the couch and stretched, her eyelids felt heavy, but Kagome felt light.

"Goodnight Kagome," Eri and Ayumi said in unison. They did not even look up at Kagome as they were both enamored with the movie that was playing on the television.

Kagome tiptoed over to her room and shut the door behind her. She changed from her the outfit she wore today into some pajamas. As soon as she was done pulling her shirt on, she heard a faint knock on the door. When Kagome opened it, Sho was outside.

"Hey, did you need anything?" Kagome asked. She was not sure why Sho would come to her for anything if Eri was in the living room with him.

"Yeah! Can I come in? I need to tell you something," Sho replied. He had his usual, beautiful smile on his face that gave Kagome that empty feeling in her core, as though someone hollowed her out and put tiny butterflies in the place her stomach used to be.

"Sure."

When Sho walked into the light of Kagome's room, she noticed that he was nervously fidgeting with the end of his shirt. Kagome smiled up at him, giving him reassurance.

Kagome did not remember the few seconds leading up to the moment Sho's lips started to move against hers, but in that moment, Kagome did not care. Sho grabbed Kagome by her waist, pulling her against him. Kagome responded eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

During the kiss, Kagome felt even lighter, as if she could float away.

Hello to everyone who read this chapter! I hope you liked it. Please review/favorite/follow, it just makes me write that much harder.

Theoretically, chapter 4 should be out a week from now as I said in the last chapter that I would like to post once a week. However, classes start up again for me next week and I could potentially be too busy to update. Do not despair though, I will try my hardest to update within a week, but I thought I would give everyone a heads up just incase I'm a few days late.