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With no further ado the chapter all you wonderful people have waited for.
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Chapter 4
Kagome took a deep breath as she viewed the once inviting stairs that lead to her family's shrine. Now it only looked like a test.
"Ma'am are you lost?" A young man asked from behind Kagome. He had snuck up on her while she was zoning out.
"Oh no I'm sorry I was just lost in thought." She said trying to sound polite but also dismissive. She looked the young man over he looked fifteen or sixteen and had a kind aura about him. 'He reminds me so much of Hojo' Kagome thought with a smile. "Can you tell me about the people who live here?" Kagome decided to ask. Might as well see if there were still stories about when she left this town.
"Well this is actually my families shrine." The boy said proudly. Kagome looked at him dumbfounded.
"Not to be rude but doesn't this shrine belong to the Higurashi family? At least it used to..." Kagome said looking up the stairs again.
"It still does. My mother and father own the place." the man paused for a second thinking about something. "My name is Souta Higurashi."
Kagome nodded trying to work out the situation. Outside of her parents she had no relatives let alone a Souta. "I'm Kag..." she cut herself off short. It would be bad if people knew she was in town. "Um just call me Kags."
"Alright Kags what would you like to know about the shrine?" Souta asked with an open look on his face.
"It's been ten years since I was last here." Kagome lied might as well see what Souta had to offer. "What has changed? I used to love this place when I was young." Kagome said letting a shred of her longing into her voice.
Souta blinked a second and scratched his head. "Wow thats a while." He said with an easygoing laugh. "Well I've only been here for the last seven years so I can't tell you much about before that." Kagome let a fraction of her curiosity show on her face. "I was adopted by the couple that own the shrine." He added more then willing to answer her every question. "They say that their child died." Souta said feeling sad for the couple he had come to love. Kagome winced internally at the comment.
"I'm so sorry." Kagome said trying not to show how the offhand comment had hurt her. She started paying real attention to Souta for the first time. She was sorry he was an orphan and that her parents out of anyone had adopted him. Thats when it hit Kagome that she was speaking with her little brother. A little brother that knew nothing about her and thought she was dead. A little brother she didn't know she had but still her little brother.
"Don't be my parents died trying to save a young family's life." Souta smiled obviously proud of his parents. "I still wish that they were here but there are so many more meaningless ways to die that I can't help but feel proud that mine did something amazing." Souta paused for a second then motioned towards the shrine. "Why don't I show you around? Not much has changed over the years but I'm sure you'd like to see it." Kagome nodded slowly following him up the stairs.
Everything looked exactly as it had the day she had left except it had a more serene feeling about the place. After five minutes of wandering around the place Souta turned to Kagome. "Why don't I get my mom and dad? I'm sure they'd be able to tell you more then me and if you loved the place as much as you say then I'm sure they'd remember you." Souta said smiling. In some ways he reminded her of a happy go lucky puppy. By the time his words had registered in Kagome's mind he was already calling his parents names.
"No thats really not necessary. Really." Kagome said urgently. All of a sudden she wasn't ready for this confrontation. At that moment Kagome spotted a familiar face from around a corner. It had aged but that was the face of her mother who she had been close to all her childhood. She looked a little more warn down and fragile then she remembered but there was no mistaking her.
"What is it Souta?" She asked approaching her son not recognizing Kagome for the moment.
"This lady here wanted to ask about the shrine she says that she used to love this place when she was younger." Souta said motioning towards Kagome. The woman turned a smiling face on Kagome but after half a moment the smile disappeared completely replaced with a look of disgust. Not comprehending the change Souta continued on. "Her name is Kags she has been out of town for a long time."
"Leave this place immediately. You are not welcome here." Kagome's mom said in a cold tone as she glared daggers at Kagome. "You were told to never return!"
Kagome let out a sigh as she felt every slice of her mothers words. Yep just what she had expected when she came back. "Yes but things change." Kagome said removing her glasses. She looked into her mothers identical eyes that showed her nothing but icy hostility. There was no hint of the love that had once been there. No sign of the connection they had once shared.
"Nothing has changed!" Her mother roared.
"Mom calm down! Whats the matter?" Souta asked confused and distressed. He had never seen his mother irritated before let alone enraged like this. "I think I should call Dad."
"NO!" Both Kagome and her mom turned to Souta and yelled that at the same time. Souta visibly shrunk away from the twin hostile responses.
"Do not infect this place more with your presence. Leave and never return." Kagome's mother said in an icy tone to Kagome.
"No worries I'll just wait a few more years until you croak." Kagome said with a smug grin. A hand struck out and slapped her right across the creak causing Kagome's head to snap to the side. Kagome looked at her mother with a slightly shocked face. Even back then her mother had never slapped her. "Well thats new." She said with a chuckle as she rubbed the red spot on her cheek. When she had left a slap from her mother would be a crushing blow but now it was no more significant then a mosquito bite. "Mama bear grew claws."
"I needed to in order to protect my only child." she said motioning towards Souta an almost smug look in her eyes. Kagome winced a little at that.
"Well sorry to say but you're a shitty mother. You have no clue how to protect your child." Kagome said with as much ice and malice and pain in her voice as she could manage.
Souta stepped between his mother and Kagome. "That is enough." He said obviously pissed. "Who do you think you are to talk to my mother like that? She is a great mother!" He glared at Kagome.
"Why don't you ask Mother little brother?" Kagome said with a smug look on her face. Souta looked at Kagome with a confused look then over his shoulder at his mother. "Thats right I'm your big sister. The one YOUR mother said died. This witch of a mother kicked a defenseless child out for a crime she didn't commit. An innocent child." Kagome spat glaring daggers at the woman she had once called her mother.