I lost my momentum for writing fanfics (or even reading them *gasp!*) for a long while, but then when I revisited one of my favorites, my gusto returned!
So, alas, here we go~!
Kagome : 20
Shigure : 22
Hatori and Ayame : 21
Kagome: 20
Yuki, Kyo and Tohru: 17
Kagome's mom (Kun-loon?): …?
Souta: 14
Now, onto the next chapter of Lost and Found! (Changed the title because.. I looked back on it and it was so lame..! DX)
"Huh?" Kagome looked at them all, confused, "isn't it obvious? He's one of the famous Mabudachi Trio members from back in the day!"
Silence reigned. Kyo and Yuki slowly went from shock-mode into a killing aura that rolled off them in waves.
Finally, Tohru asked her cousin, a bit surprised still, "Kagome-chan, you know Shigure-san as the Mabudachi Trio? Does that mean you know of Hatori-san and Ayame-san as well?"
Elated, Kagome nodded ecstatically. "Mm-hmm! They were my best friends here!" She pouted. "Where are they now? I lost contact with them awhile back, and haven't been able to re-find them.."
"Oh, well Sohma-san, Kyo-san and I live with Shigure-san! Hatori-san lives in the Sohma Estate along with a lot of the other Sohma's, and Ayame-san owns his own store!" Tohru informed her happily. Kagome froze.
"T-Tohru… you're living… with Shigure?"
Said girl nodded, confused. "Why are you so surprised by that, Kagome-chan? Is something wrong?"
Kagome let out a sudden wail before embracing Tohru dramatically. "Oh, my poor Tohru living with that… that… perverted beast!" Kagome didn't notice Kyo and Yuki, who suddenly covered their mouths with their hands simultaneously. "Oh Tohru… how could you live in that house? He hasn't corrupted you, has he? I'll murder him if he has!" Kagome added venomously, fist clenched in anger. Flames burst out in the background, her eyes shrouded by the shadow of her bangs.
Tohru's eyes widened. Yuki walked up to Kagome and stated, "Very wise decision Kagome-san. Would you like a little assistance in that task of yours?" Yuki inquired.
"Heh, yeah! We'd be glad to help you kick that dog's ass and set him straight!" Kyo added, his smirk growing wider. Kagome's eyes widened in that moment and for a split second her eyes widened. 'Inuyasha.' Then, shaking her head sadly, she turned towards them and grinned evilly, teeth glinting in the sunlight. Looking at them contemplatively, she nodded once and hooked one arm around each of them. Within seconds they were whispering to each other wickedly, backs facing the girl in question. Their combined auras crackled against each other and caused sparks to fly. Every once in a while they'd have interruptions by fights from the two males in the group, but they were quickly settled by a (very powerful) punch in the jaw and a reminder of the task at hand.
Tohru's eyes widened further as she started moving her arms above her head frantically, "N-now, now, guys! There's no need to go to such extreme measures! Shigure-san has been very kind to me in letting me stay and doesn't need to be beat up like that!"
As if Tohru's words were a siren, they all stood at attention and looked at each other. Sighing, Kagome rubbed the back of her head. "Well, if you say so, Tohru." Looking at both the boys intently, she gave them an obvious look that stated 'if-he-does-ONE-thing-out-of-behavior-then-we'll-go-to-plan-B'. Smirking evilly to them once more, she turned back to her cousin with a bright smile on her face. Suddenly Kagome smacked her head and cursed her forgetfulness. Turning to the two men behind her cousin she asked, "Would it be possible to get the names of the two other boys living with my cute ol' cousin?
Yuki was stunned that he forgot to give his name to his best friend's cousin. Also feeling the need to smack his forehead, he instead covered his eyes with his hand in shame. "Oh, forgive me. I must've been disrespectful. Here I am conversing with you, and I forgot to introduce myself! Of course, my name is Sohma Yuki."
Kyo scoffed and turned his head to the side. "Fine then, if it really means that much to you. It's Kyo."
For a short moment the image of Inuyasha popped into Kagome's head again. A feeling of nostalgia ran through her and she refrained from wincing. Then, forcibly wiping the image of her precious dog-eared companion from her mind, she grinned at them and nodded. "And my name's Higurashi Kagome, though you already knew the Kagome part." Sudden realization struck her face as she searched inside her bag for a phone. Once giving a shout of victory in finding it, she flipped it open and sighed at the time. "Wow, it's 8:45 already. I can't believe so much time has passed!" Looking at her cousin and her two friends, she smiled again and said, "I guess I need to go home then, huh?"
Tohru, who didn't want to be separated from her cousin again, ran up to her and hugged her tightly, "You'll come tomorrow, won't you? Oh please? It'll be exciting and you'll be able to see Shigure-san!"
Laughing, Kagome agreed. "Hey, why don't you also invite Arisa and Saki? I haven't seen them in forever!"
"Oh, I will! They'll be so happy to see you again, Kagome-chan!" Tohru agreed readily.
Ruffling her cousin's hair and laughing, she got the address to their house and bid all three of them adieu and watched as they all walked away, towards what she suspected to be Shigure's house. Turning around and heading towards her own, Kyo's face shone into her mind which was quickly replaced by Inuyasha's. Stopping suddenly, she walked to the side of a building and rested her head against it, her hands on the wall on both sides of her head. 'Kyo reminds me so much of Inuyasha. Oh Inu, I'm so sorry…it's all my fault..' Kagome was shaking. Suppressed tears forced their way to the surface as they started to fall one by one.
After what seemed to be an eon of just standing there and crying, Kagome finally removed herself from the wall and sniffled. Wiping her eyes free of the remaining tears, she once more walked towards her destination: her home, and then the restroom for a nice hot bath.
Looking up from the directions page of her phone, she stood in front of a rather traditional-looking house. Whistling a bit, she walked to the door and knocked on the door. Making it here was not a walk in the park at all, what with all the trees. It did, however, give her rather happy memories of her in the past (which also led to the more recent sad ones, but she forced herself not to think about that).
"Oh, that's her!" came an excited squeal from the inside. Kagome laughed quietly.
"That's who, my delicate little flower~?" came another more masculine voice. Raising an eyebrow, Kagome was almost 99.9% sure that was his truly. How did he not know?
Unless they didn't let him know-
Kagome smirked. So they were keeping it a secret huh? Good enough for her, it'll make it even better when she comes in.
"Sorry, but that's a secret Shigure-san!"
"Yup. Now put on this blindfold, you old man." Kyo. She was sure of it. Calling Shigure an old man.. only him, she smirked inwardly.
"Totosai, you old coot!"
Her smirk fell. Her eyes became cloudy as she was once again engulfed in memories. 'If only…'
She was brought out of her musings when her old friend began to speak. "Why, Kyo-kun, I never would've thought you would want me to shield my eyes! What naughty thing are you thinking of doing, hmm?"
"Pftt-!" Kagome choked out, covering her mouth with her hand. 'That's Shigure alright.' She was glad he intervened when he did.
"W-why you..!" A bunch of rattling, banging, and curses could be heard, along with a shrilling, "Ack! Forgive me, Kyo-kun~!" and a frantic, "Stop it please!"
Footsteps, and then a, "You guys are all idiots," came along, and all conversation stopped for about 2 seconds before-
"-What'd ya say, you damn rat!"
"Exactly what you heard me say, stupid cat. I-di-ot."
"That's it! I'm gonna pound your face in!"
"If you can hit it, that is."
Then the ruckus began again. A shout of, "My door!" and Tohru's voice pleading for them to stop was all Kagome could take. Kagome laughed outright, her voice overcoming all else's, and suddenly all became silent.
"Oh right! I forgot!" Tohru's voice went, and suddenly fast steps could be heard running faster and faster to her. Kagome smiled as the door slid wide open and her cousin went crashing into her arms for a hug.
"Sounds like you've had a fun day so far, huh?"
"You came! You really came!" Tohru chanted, her aura radiating happiness.
"Of course I did. Would I break a promise, Tohru?" Kagome chided. Looking around, she added, "Although I didn't hear Arisa or Saki's voices. Are they here?"
"Oh, not yet," Tohru told her hastily, "They're both on their way though! They said they couldn't wait to see you again."
Before Kagome could reply, a voice could be heard in the distance slowly moving closer. "Oh, forgive our forgetfulness. With such an eventful morning it's hard to… remember… things…?" Shigure started to comment, but as he came closer he realized he remembered that face. His steps slowly became faster as he desperately hoped it was so, and he paused entirely as he was but mere feet away from her. Shigure's eyes widened, and his mouth fell agape. He could only wonder and pray to all the gods that it was who he thought it was. "K-..Kagome…?"
Kagome paused and took her time to look Shigure over. 'He's certainly gotten more mature-looking,' she had to admit. While she wondered about his formal clothing, she had to admit it suited him. When she heard her name being spoken so tentatively, she looked back up at his face and laughed. "What's with that expression, Shigure? You look like a fish!"
Broken out of his stupor, Shigure raced towards her, making Kagome quickly move Tohru out of the way before she was engulfed in his robes. Blinking a bit, she smiled into his chest as she returned his hug. "Kagome..," Shigure murmured out, "where have you been?"
Tears beginning to leak out – only these from happiness – she hugged him tighter. "It's a long story. It's been a while though, huh..?"
Only able to nod, he did so. Hugging her tighter, yet still allowing her to breathe, Shigure felt at peace.
They stayed like that for a few minutes, but to them it seemed so short. They returned to reality when a rough voice yelled out, "Okay, how long are you guys going to hug? It's making me wanna vomit!"
Breaking free only slightly of each other's arms, they turned their heads to look at Kyo, who only seemed slightly agitated. Behind him, Tohru was crying softly, her hands brought up to cover her mouth. Yuki looked at the pair softly, smiling only slightly.
Laughing a bit, Kagome broke free of Shigure' hug (which gave her a low whine in return, but she ignored it) and turned towards the others. "Well, now that the heart-wrenching moment is over, why don't we all migrate somewhere else? I'm sure Arisa and Saki know their way around here and will find us eventually," she winked.
Sniffling a bit, Tohru wiped the happy tears from her eyes and nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yes, of course!"
As they all started to move into the living room, Shigure clung onto her, his hands coming to wrap around her neck hugging her gently, burying his face into her hair, making Kagome smile softly. She brought her hands up to grab his arms lightly as they continued walking, Shigure trusting her to guide him safely.
"Welcome back, Kagome," Shigure murmured.
Kagome's eyes softened as she paused and leaned her head towards his. "Mm. I'm home."
They stayed like that until the same voice that brought them out of their musings last time did so again. "Oy! Unless you guys plan on staying behind us forever then get a move on!"
Grumbling at Kyo's bad timing, Shigure removed his arms from around Kagome's shoulders and instead moved to grab her hand. Giggling, Kagome returned the gesture and they started walking again to meet the group.
This is NOT the end of the story. It just seemed like a convenient place to stop ^-^. More chapters coming up soon!