If You Could Only See
Chapter 11
Modern Day Tokyo; Approx 3 years, six months after the well closed.
Shippo stared up at the building across the street from where he was standing. He saw students pouring in from all directions, the boy's wearing their black on black suit, and the girls wearing green skirts with white blouses and a red tie.
He recognized the uniforms immediately; they were the same clothes Kagome had usually worn. His heart beat sped up and he frantically searched the faces in the crowd, hoping to catch a glance of a familiar face, but his mother was nowhere to be seen.
For a sickening moment, Shippo worried that he had maybe forgotten her face after all the years apart, but he pushed down his fears as quickly as the rose. He couldn't ever forget her face, or her scent for that matter. Her scent had always calmed him and made him feel safe and warm, and it was unique, there was nothing else like it in the world. When he found Kagome, he would smell it, his nose wouldn't lie.
Kouga had told him about this school the other day, apparently it was a middle school. Kouga had noticed that he was being watched ever since he confronted Inuyasha, and figured that he wouldn't be able to get close to Kagome without Inuyasha halting him in his tracks, but Shippo was a different story. While it had been obvious that Shippo always wanted to get to Kagome, Kouga didn't think that Inuyasha would think Shippo capable of getting this close to finding her, which was why he sent the fox demon to investigate the school instead of going himself.
Shippo had been a bit hesitant to go behind Inuyasha's back like that, but he knew it was the only way to save his mother.
The plan was for him to scope out the girls that entered the building and to check the area for her scent. If he didn't find anything, he was to ask the office for her records. They had to be prepared for anything, even the possibility that she hadn't even entered the middle school yet.
Only a few students were still making their way into the building now, last minute stragglers. Shippo's keen ears picked up on the ringing of the bells and he knew that the school day had officially started. He waited a few minutes before heading across the street and approaching the building. Walking through the front doors he spotted the office and walked over to it, anxiety eating him alive.
He entered the office and stepped up to the woman working the from desk.
"Excuse me, but I was wondering if you might be able to help me with something?" he asked politely as he could.
Looking up from her computer screen, the middle aged woman smiled and said, "I can sure try, what might I do for you today? You aren't enrolling, are you? You look a bit old for this place!" she chuckled good naturedly.
"Oh, no, I'm homeschooled," He said, smiling lightly. "I was actually looking for my moth-…I mean cousin. I haven't seen her in a while, and I think she was enrolled here last time I checked. I was just wondering if you could tell me whether she still went to school here or not?"
"Well, it all depends, hun," the woman said, a slight frown on her face. "Do you have a name for your cousin?"
"Just a first, her name's Kagome…sorry but I don't remember her last name."
"That's okay, hun. That's a pretty unique name, it shouldn't be too hard to find her if she's in our system."
Shippo smiling, hope shining in him like a light. He just might actually find his mother before the end of the day!
"Hm, we don't have anyone named 'Kagome' currently enrolled here," Shippo's heart sank. She wasn't here after all. "But we did have one a few years back.
His head snapped up and he looked at the receptionist again.
"Unfortunately, we aren't allowed to release any information without proof of kinsman-ship. Sorry hun," she said apologetically.
"It's alright," Shippo said excitedly, "but do you think you could at least give me her last name?"
The receptionist looked at the young man for a moment before giving him a small smile. "Well, I sure don't see why not. It says here that her last name is Higurashi. Would you like me to write that down for you?"
Shippo nodded his head eagerly, and the receptionist began to write on a sticky note.
Higurashi. Kagome, Higurashi. Somehow that sounded just like Kagome to him. This was huge, he knew Kouga would be able to find Kagome with this little piece of information, and Shippo truly felt like he was a step closer to finally seeing his mother again.
The woman handed him the sticky note and he looked at it with a reverence. Glowing with happiness, he looked up once again at the receptionist and muttered a breathless, "Thank you," and dashed out of the office.
Unfortunately for him, in his excitement of the moment, Shippo had failed to notice a faint demonic aura in the office. The woman who worked as the secretary for the receptionist had been listening intently on the conversation that had just been exchanged.
She got to her feet, and quietly excused herself to the restroom. Once in the solitude of the hallway, the demon in disguise pulled out a cell phone and quickly dialed. On the third ring, the other line picked up.
"Mr. Tashio, sir, I think you may have a problem."
The hunt is on...
~Lions Heart 獅子の心 (ROAR! ^-^)