It had been three days.

Three days to showcase the failure he was as an alpha.

Sesshoumaru Tashio growled at such a notion. Never had he addressed himself as such. He had been so convinced that he had fixed everything. He had told the kit he would handle it. He had promised. In fact, he had told the entire group to hold off on further actions so that he, as alpha, would take the task over of finding her.

To have only failed.

Glaring daggers at his screen, he growled at the unchanged text from the in-game server.

"Unread"

How was this feasible?

How had she not read the message?

The hardest work had been done. He had confirmed her identity. Hell, after he had sent the message he had even made plans on how to let the pack know. For hours he had debated on if he should allow her to show up announce and surprise her former companions while they all relished in his accomplishments. Deciding her arrival on her own time would be best, he hadn't told them of the events that had taken place between them. But now, there was only silence and confusion.

All the pack knew currently was that they tried to search for her and failed.

Then, she had disappeared from the game. Only he knew that it had really been her. But then why had she not logged back in? Was it her grandfather? The shrine? Had something happened to her?

The last thought hit his gut far too hard for his liking.

Deciding, he stood up with a new plan.

Enough was enough.

He had given her enough time to receive his message virtually.

Now, he was going to deliver it personally.

Pressing the intercom button, he growled out an order.

"Akiko, recent shrine purchases in Tokyo on my desk within the hour. Also, add a list of police recorded disturbances within the last three days."

"In the future, time travel could very well be a reality."

A snort escaped her before she could stop it.

Been there.

Done that.

Thankfully, the professor decided to ignore her inability to remain quiet for the duration of the class.

For that, she was thankful.

"Everyone please enjoy your summer, and I hope to have some of you in my other classes."

With those words, the professor began packing up his materials getting ready to head out for the summer. As the class mirrored his actions with their own, Kagome glanced down at her backpack in contemplation.

The school year had ended.

Just like that.

She had been so excited for the end of the school year a week ago, but somehow in such a short time-frame, those emotions had all but vanished.

Her excitement had been replaced with indifference and exhaustion.

All because of that game.

All because of Grandpa.

All because of the Jewel.

Grabbing her bag, Kagome Higurashi began her path home. Thinking back to the past week, she all but cringed at the chaos that took place at the shrine. Finally, the owners had put their foot down. Restraining order with police officers arriving at their doorstep had come as no shock to anyone in the household. There had even been threats of arrests if such actions continued.

So, the Higurashi family did the only thing they could.

They tried to explain the situation.

The officers were nice—understanding even.

But, at the end of the day, it had prevented nothing.

They had explained that he was an old man that was sometimes delirious, and a little crazy—but the piece of paper was still laying on the table. It didn't change the fact that this had been their final warning.

There would be no more.

If it didn't stop, an old man would be behind bars.

A man that just wanted nothing more than his home back.

"Kagome, we may need to find him a nursing home—"

That's what her exhausted mother had tried to offer up, but Kagome had interrupted in protest.

"Give up on him? That's our only option?"

She had tried to argue, and convey why they had to try to find other options but even she knew the truth. The money received from the selling off the Shrine would not last forever, and more importantly, her mother had meant to use most it towards the college fund for both her and Souta. While there was a good amount of money set aside, college was expensive.

Kagome had even mentioned to her mother that there was a nearby shrine for sale-it was much smaller than theirs, but perhaps it would help him. But as her mother pointed out, the down payment needed on such a shrine would nearly take up one of the college funds itself. That had been code for dropping the subject.

But she couldn't.

She just wanted to help him be at peace.

Give him something to do.

Be in familiar surroundings.

Walking into the house, she let out a sigh of sheer exhaustion.

Heading to her bedroom, she sat down on her bed while attempting to find other options for her family. When none came, she closed her eyes in defeat. Was that what was left? Sacrifice one future for another? Surely there had to be a better way.

A ding from her computer stirred her thoughts in another direction.

The game.

It had been three entire days since she'd gotten the news of the events regarding her grandfather.

Three days since she had logged in after an abrupt shutdown.

What was the point?

What would it really change?

Sitting up from her bed, she briefly summed up the information she had gathered from the game so far.

Youkai.

They were real. They had to be. No human could have made that game with such accuracy. But then that brought up more questions. For one; why? Why make such a game Why would youkai need it? They surely had to have more important things than to spend their time playing video games. Besides, what did it accomplish for them?

Nostalgia? Maybe.

After all, she knew firsthand how such a longing for the past could occur.

She had wanted to stay. Longed to stay. Sure, she hadn't really planned out the entire thing. After she had come to terms with her feelings fading from Inu Yasha, she had been shocked to realize that even after that, she still wanted to stay.

For her kit.

For Sango.

For Miroku.

For everyone.

It had been her home.

Now, this chaotic and unfamiliar lifestyle was her home.

She shook her head at the thought of such a conclusion.

Was this how Youkai felt in this era?

She sat in the office contemplating her options.

The fiery redhead was not used to being in this type of situation.

They had been mated for hundreds of years, and just like that—it had all come crashing down. Words were said. Hearts were hurting. Trust was broken. Families would be torn apart. But of all of those things, the sadness surfaced from hundreds of years ago. She was back in the situation that she had found herself in the Feudal Era.

Second best.

Tears threatened to surface but the wolf demoness refused to let them fall. No, she had important matters to attend to. Hearing her name being called, she looked up and saw a familiar face that she had come to see.

"I need some personal documents changed."

Those six words made all the emotions come back but she pushed them away. As the man before her began to ask questions, she interrupted him and handed him a paper.

"Everything is on here. Thank you, Taru."

Nodding, the man took the document and assured her of the change. Taking her cue, she began walking out of the office and heading out the building. She was a foot from the door when she heard it.

That voice.

The name.

The resentment.

Frozen in her own body, Ayame wondered what gods she had upset for this to happen.

"My name is Kagome Higurashi, I'm here to make some changes to my college fund—"

Ayame strained to hear the rest of the conversation but as she turned towards the voice, she saw the women from the past walking into an office, away from her. Biting her lip, she gathered up all her courage and called out the name of the women that had stolen her husband's heart.

"Kagome"

She prayed.

She prayed the miko would understand.

She prayed she would be able to fix this.