It hadn't been a dream. There was no way Kagome could dream up the way Professor Oak, Bill and four of their other scientific colleagues who had been visiting for the competition nearly jumped her as she exited the stadium building to get some air, all begging for a chance to examine and study her 'mon. A chance to study Sesshoumaru.
Feeling a bit like a trapped rodent, Kagome's eyes darted from professor to scientist to doctor to private researcher.
"No," she said softly and simply in response to their many questions and requests, her eyes still wide, and then she bolted.
Kagome ran. She ran until she reached the cabin she had been assigned for the duration of the competition, and slammed the door behind her once she was in. She didn't relax until she'd locked not only the door but all the windows as well, and closed all the curtains.
"You can't run forever," a voice said simply from behind her.
Kagome jumped, then relaxed when she saw that it was her mother. They were both staying in the cabin together since Kikyo had arrived at the Plateau, so administration had given Mrs Higurashi her own key. Kikyo could have reached the cabin after Kagome had locked everything up and still been able to let herself in.
"You have to be present at the Closing Ceremony for one thing," Kikyo pointed out, "and they all know it too. They'll try and corner you again there. The media probably will too. Having a 'mon that evolved into such a clearly humanoid form is unprecedented."
"Noted," Kagome answered, and sat down as she felt her tension drain away under her mother's relentlessly serene aura. She knew that Kikyo was projecting serenity for her sake, but that didn't mke it any less welcome or appreciated. "I'll deal with them later. I'm all in favour of learning more about 'mon, but I want them to leave Sesshoumaru out of it. At least for now."
Kikyo nodded in understanding acceptance. "He's your 'mon, you have that right," she agreed. "I take it that, since I don't see him anywhere, that Sesshoumaru is in his pokeball?"
Kagome nodded. "Yeah," she answered, and pulled the ball in question off her belt. "It feels... wrong, keeping him in there," she admitted. "But Sesshoumaru went without me asking."
Kikyo nodded. "He's a smart 'mon," she stated plainly, "and you raised him from the day he was born. He probably understands you as well as you understand yourself."
"There's no other 'mon like Sesshoumaru," Kagome said softly, eyes fixed on the ball that held him, as her hands caressed the standardised red and white ball.
For a while, mother and daughter sat in silence together. Kikyo watched Kagome, and Kagome just stared at her pokeball.
"Kagome," Kikyo said at last, breaking the silence.
"Yeah Ma?" Kagome answered, looking up.
"Of all the advice I've ever given you, the rules I laid down for your safety, and the chores I gave you so that you would be able to take care of yourself when the time came, there's one important thing I never told you that I should have," Kikyo said solemnly.
Kagome sat up a little straighter, ready and willing to listen.
"You, my precious daughter, are your own person. You are not me, and you don't have to try to be. You are not your father, and you are not anybody else. You are Kagome Higurashi, and you will make your own mark on this world," Kikyo said, proud tears that would not fall making her eyes shine. "I am your mother, and I will always love you and support you. Now go out there, take your next step into being the wonderful, independent young woman you have become, and show all of those people exactly who you are, and what you are capable of."
Kagome smiled. "Thank you Ma," she said, and hugged Kikyo tightly, Sesshoumaru's pokeball still held in one hand. "I will."
~oOo~
Kagome stood on the top of the podium, Kanna on one side and A.J on the other, as the crowds cheered all around them and the fireworks exploded over head. As predicted, Professor Oak and all of his colleagues had ambushed her at the stadium – while the preparations for the Closing Ceremony were being made. They'd been much more controlled and polite this time as they requested the chance to study Sesshoumaru.
Kagome had been much more firm and sure as she refused them. She would be the first to understand her 'mon, thank you very much. She wouldn't even be rotating Sesshoumaru off her team for a good long while, if ever again, so that she could be sure of that.
The scientists had all sagged sadly, but accepted her decision. Sesshoumaru was her 'mon, after all, and they couldn't force her. If they tried, they were quite sure that Sesshoumaru could and would be deliberately unaccommodating to their research efforts.
The lab coats had ambushed Kagome before the ceremony. The media waited until afterwards.
"How does it feel, Kagome Higurashi, to win the Indigo League Competition your first time entering it?" one reporter asked.
"Surreal," Kagome answered shortly, though her smile was wide.
"Kagome, would you tell us about your 'mon?" another reporter asked. "The one that you won the final with?"
"Sesshoumaru was my 'starter'," Kagome prevaricated. "I watched him hatch the day before I was supposed to start my 'mon journey, and we've been a team ever since."
"Why didn't you use Sesshoumaru in all of your battles?"
"Because it was more fun this way," Kagome replied easily.
"Miss Higurashi, where are you going to go and what are you going to do now that you've raced to the top of the Indigo League?"
"I'm going to go home for a while, relax a bit, then it's back to the open road. Or possibly the sea. Or maybe even the road and then the sea," Kagome suggested with a light laugh. "I'm whimsical about where I end up. The journey is the destination."
"Kagome, do you think it's possible you'll have a hard time finding people to do battle with, now that everybody has had the chance to see your power displayed here?" a reporter asked.
Kagome shrugged. "It's possible," she allowed, "but then, there are always going to be 'mon trainers who take that sort of thing as a personal challenge. I'll take that sort of thing as it comes, and otherwise not worry about it. I don't need battles to keep my 'mon in shape."
"Kagome Higurashi, there are some who are saying that the 'mon you used in your final battle is a legendary 'mon, and one that shouldn't be put on the same level as, or pitted against, other, normal 'mon. What do you say to that?"
Kagome blinked. "I say that it's entirely possible that Sesshoumaru is a one-of-a-kind, legendary 'mon. He certainly is powerful and unusual, and I've never seen any other 'mon like him. That is why I don't pit him against just any 'mon. Back when he was small enough that I could carry him in my arms, yes, he took part in a lot of battles. Now? Not so much," Kagome answered elaborately – it was a genuine sort of concern that she wanted to allay quickly.
"Miss Kagome," another reporter asked, "how do your 'mon get to be so large? Some size discrepancy could be explained by an excellent training regime, but not this much, surely?"
"You know, an award-winning breeder, Suzy, once asked me the same thing," Kagome replied, and smiled. "I had to tell her that I just don't know what it is that causes it," she said. Which was the truth, and nothing but the truth, but certainly not the whole truth.
~oOo~
Back in Pallet Town, Kagome had excused herself to her mother (and the town-wide celebration) and gone for a walk through the wilder part of the Higurashi Shrine Property – where she'd used to play with Mew and sometimes meet his friends. In particular, Kagome was headed to the place where Mew had led her to Sesshoumaru. He was the only 'mon she was carrying with her that day. The others were all at the party or on Professor Oak's property, having fun.
Even Vulpix was having fun. With this latest look of Sesshoumaru's, she had forced herself to move on from her broken dreams of having a cub with him. She wasn't up to looking at some other 'mon yet, but she was moving on.
Kagome came to a halt when she found the place where, undisturbed even after all this time, 'Sesshoumaru' was written in the dirt.
"Mew," a familiar voice chirruped from across the tiny clearing.
"Hello Mew," Kagome answered, and slid down to sit at the base of the nearest tree that was wide enough to be able to do double-duty as a back-rest. Once she was down, she released Sesshoumaru from his pokeball.
"Mew mew mew mew," Mew greeted, his big blue eyes blinking as he looked Sesshoumaru up and down.
"Yes," Sesshoumaru agreed. "I have shrunk. Hello Mew." He looked around, sniffed the air and sighted his name written in the dirt. "This place brings back memories," he said softly, and sat down beside Kagome.
She nodded. "Happy memories."
"Of course," Sesshoumaru agreed. "The day I met you will always be a happy memory. Mew told me that the beautiful creature holding me was not my mother, but my lady, and that time alone would part us."
"You'll probably out-live me," Kagome said softly.
"Mew mew..." Mew contributed, hovering in front of them both, "...mew mew mew mew."
The pair chuckled.
"Well, hopefully nothing life-threatening that will separate us sooner," Kagome said. "Though adventures are fun."
"Mew mew, mew mew mew," Mew said, and settled into Kagome's lap.
"You cannot be serious," Kagome breathed, wide-eyed.
"Mew," Mew answered, very seriously.
"Mew... you're centuries old already and will live for centuries more. Why would you want me to capture you?" Kagome asked.
"Adventures are fun," Sesshoumaru said at the same time as Mew 'mewed' the same.
Kagome's expression pinched a little, but she reached for an empty pokeball all the same, and gently tapped it on top of Mew's head.
The legendary 'mon vanished inside.
"He'll outlive me," Kagome said softly as she stared at the pokeball, "and then he'll be free to do as he pleases again."
Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around Kagome and drew her to him. "Mew is already doing as he pleases," he assured her, and nuzzled his face into her hair, breathing in her scent deeply.
"And what do you want to do?" Kagome asked.
"Stay with you," Sesshoumaru answered, face still buried in her hair, arms pulling tighter around her frame, drawing her closer to him. "Forever and ever and ever, and never be apart from you for as long as I live."
Kagome smiled, warmed and saddened at the same time, and hugged Sesshoumaru right back. He would most likely live for centuries after her death, just as Mew would, if he truly was a legendary 'mon as she suspected.
Mew, cheeky thing that he was, hadn't actually confirmed that.
~oOo~
In part because Sesshoumaru had, for reasons and with powers unknown, clad himself in traditional kimono, hakama, and fancy armour when he had very publicly evolved into a very human shape, Kagome thought that it might be an idea for her to wear kimono as she travelled as well, so they'd not look quite so odd walking together – and they would be walking together. Kagome wasn't sure that Sesshoumaru would ever be returned to his pokeball unless he went on his own. She just... didn't have it in her to recall him any more.
For the sake of ease and modesty, Kagome went for a yukata over her bike-shorts and a skin-tight top, and she wore low-heeled boots like Sesshoumaru, rather than geta. For the sake of her own personal sense of style, Kagome's yukata was green with a simple white print on it, and her obi was red. Her obi-jime was also where Kagome re-pinned all of her badges and what her pokeballs now hung from, since she couldn't wear her old belt any more. Well, she could, but it wouldn't look right.
Kagome packed up her bag, carefully slid her sleeves through the straps, made sure it was sitting comfortably on her back, and kissed her mother goodbye less than a week after winning the Indigo League Competition. Sesshoumaru stood by the door, a pack of his own hefted, hidden by fur and hair, on his back as well.
"You've got a mobile phone now," Kikyo reminded her daughter – it had been a gift from Bill, actually. He wanted Kagome to let him know immediately if she ever decided to rotate Sesshoumaru off her team again. He'd leave his research in the Safari Zone for a chance to study Sesshoumaru. "I expect you to call me more often."
Kagome nodded. "Yes Ma," she answered with a smile. They shared one last hug, and then Kagome headed for Sesshoumaru and the door. It was time to hit the road again.
Kagome's destination was a familiar place – the gym she had claimed from A.J after he'd abandoned it. Johto and the Orange Islands could wait a while. She'd climbed to the top in Kanto with ridiculous speed. It was time to slow down for a while. Time to relax, train, and grow.
Other trainers came by Kagome's gym every week or so to challenge her. She'd taken down the challenging sign that listed how many wins she'd had (a lot) versus how many losses (very, very few). The sign just said 'Miko Gym' now, and with help from all of her 'mon, it was a proper building now, a home for them, rather than a massive tent with an arena out the front.
The act of building the place had been pretty good training for all of them too. Dratini had evolved into Dragonair about half-way through the build, Cubone evolved into Marowak, Jigglypuff had found the Moonstone Kagome had been carrying around and used it to evolve into Wigglytuff so that he could reach higher things to help out more, and the others except for Sesshoumaru grew larger. Even Mew got taller, much to his amusement and delight.
The Miko Gym had been running for three months when a Nurse Joy appeared at her gate.
"This is a surprise," Kagome said with a smile as she invited Nurse Joy in to the more home-y part of the building. Well, the part that had been built for those with an upright stature. There were other parts of the building more suited to the four-legged types of 'mon, and those with no legs at all had another area. "What brings you all the way out here, Nurse Joy?" Kagome asked. "Tea?" she offered.
"Oh, yes please. I'm the official 'Mon League Inspector," Nurse Joy answered as she took a seat at Kagome's kitchen table. "We'd gotten word that there was a gym out here."
"I have it written plainly on the gate that my gym isn't League Sanctioned," Kagome said as she set the water to boil. "Do you take milk or sugar?"
"No, thank you," Nurse Joy answered easily. "And we know. I've been sent to see if this gym could be sanctioned."
Kagome blinked in surprise at that, but snapped out of it as the water came to the boil and she had to pour the tea. "That... sounds wonderful," Kagome agreed. "But I was just yesterday discussing with my 'mon about going travelling again," she admitted.
"Well, that's fine," Nurse Joy said, "because while I'm sure that you would be an excellent gym leader, the fact of the matter is that I'm afraid you're just too young for me to give that distinction to. That's really the only criteria for a gym leader where you fall short," she said, and produced a check-list for Kagome to read.
Collected a minimum of ten official League badges in addition to passing the 'Mon League Admissions Exam; acceptable care and treatment of the 'mon in their care; a named gym; legal adult; note, badge name and design assigned by the League based on the 'mon the trainer uses and not up for discussion.
Kagome smiled as she read over the list. "That's fine, really. Thank you Nurse Joy, for the consideration."
"Perhaps in a few years," Nurse Joy offered. "You've really got a wonderful place here."
"My 'mon and I even built our own medic station," Kagome said wryly as she finally sat down. "There isn't a 'Mon Centre anywhere near here until you get to the next town, and with all the trainers battling out there on the plains, as well as all the trainers who come here wanting a battle, well, it seemed sensible."
Nurse Joy nodded in agreement. "Well, it might be an idea for you to think about your badge name and design until then. Um... not meaning to be nosy, but... can I ask where your, uh..."
Kagome chuckled. "Yesterday my Ponyta evolved into Rapidash, and currently she, Sesshoumaru, and Fearow are out racing," she answered, correctly guessing what Nurse Joy was trying to ask.
Nurse Joy blinked in surprise. "Is that really fair?" she asked curiously. "Rapidash is the fastest sprinting 'mon that we know, and Fearow is a flying-type. Surely Sesshoumaru would be left behind."
Kagome shook her head. "You'd think so, but actually Sesshoumaru can move so fast he just becomes a blur of white, even with the hakama and the armour and only two legs. Still, he enjoys running and Rapidash and Fearow are constantly pushing themselves to get faster in an effort to beat Sesshoumaru," she explained. "Sometimes he carries me on his back to be a handicap for them even, and still wins their races."
Nurse Joy stared at her for a moment, shocked and awed, before laughing. "I get the feeling that Miko Gym won't be giving out all that too many badges, when you're eventually old enough to qualify for the position," she commented through her giggles.
~oOo~
Kagome had stayed at the gym for another week, sorting out with Professor Oak that her gym, with its high fence and locked gates, would be home for her 'mon when they weren't on rotation from that point on. At the end of the week, Kagome packed up a bag and hit the road again. Kagome reached the border between the Kanto and the Johto region in a day, and had been travelling through Johto for a week when (as happened frequently as she travelled), some macho twit who'd heard of her win at the Indigo Plateau (but hadn't actually seen any of the footage of the battles) challenged her to a match.
"Hey, I'm looking for a trainer by the name of Kagome, from Pallet," the macho twit (who wasn't wearing a shirt under his vest, but it was warm enough that he could get away with it) said. "Have either of you two heard of her?"
At Kagome's side, Sesshoumaru smirked and stepped back slightly, deferring to her while at the same time knowing he wouldn't be needed for this fight. He got most of his exercise these days sparring with Kagome's other 'mon.
"That would be me," Kagome answered. "I assume you want a match?" she asked.
"You assume right," the guy answered with a fierce grin as he pulled a pokeball off his vest. He opened the battle by sending out a 'mon called Donphan.
Kagome eyed it a moment. It was a new one on her, but she wasn't about to pull out her 'dex. She would look it up later. Professor Oak was forever sending updates to the little gadget, so it was almost certain to have data on the Donphan. Kagome selected a pokeball and sent out Eevee.
The two charged each other, but it was Eevee's headbutt that won the collision, sending the Donphan flying until it crash-landed again.
Kagome was congratulating Eevee when her opponent sent out a Machamp. Now this 'mon she did know how to deal with. She countered with Meowth. By type, it was a bad match, and if she'd sent Meowth out to face a Machamp when he'd first agreed to leave Team Rocket behind and join her, then he would have screamed and cowered behind Kagome's legs at even the suggestion that he fight that four-armed fighting-type 'mon. Now though, now Meowth launched himself confidently at his opponent, claws bared.
With deep scratches to his face, and a solid kick to the solarplexus, Machamp fell to Meowth.
"Yeah!" Meowth cheered and ran back to Kagome happily.
Eevee and Sesshoumaru also congratulated him as Kagome hugged him and scratched behind his ears.
Kagome's opponent wasn't so confident any more, and unleashed three more 'mon to fight at once – and Kagome was fairly sure that, at this point, the idiot would have sent out four if he had the full compliment of six 'mon equipped to his person. In response to the guy sending out a Golem, a Pinsir and a Venomoth all at once, Kagome sent out Vulpix.
"All dis winnin' has made me hungry," Meowth commented with a grin once Vulpix had barbecued her opposition.
"Oh really?" Kagome asked wryly, a smile tugging at her lips. "Well, then you'd better go and catch something for me to cook for lunch."
"Yay!" Meowth cheered. "I bet I can find some Shelder!" he called out to Vulpix and Eevee as he raced them to the beach that wasn't far away.
"Not if I find them first!" Sesshoumaru called after them with a grin, even though he didn't leave Kagome's side. He would wait for her word, otherwise he would find all the Shelder first, simply because he'd reach the beach before the other three, even with their head-start.
Kagome waited until all three were on the sand and had started looking before she nodded permission to Sesshoumaru. He blurred and was suddenly among them, also searching for Shelder while Kagome released Ditto and Golduck to go and join the others, searching for seafood and enjoying a break at the beach, while she collected some firewood.
She'd barely begun to stack the wood she'd collected when a low-flying Dragonite whizzed overhead before banking, turning, and gently flapping over to land in front of her.
As her 'mon had all been returning to her with their bounty for lunch just then, they all hurried up to see what was going on, Sesshoumaru in the lead of course, even with his arms full of Shelder.
"Thank you," Kagome said as she accepted the envelope that Dragonite had pulled out of the satchel over her shoulder.
"Kagome?" Sesshoumaru and Meowth both asked as she opened the envelope and drew out the contents.
"A card with 'yes' and 'no' next to check-boxes," Kagome noted, "and this..." she finished, and held up the thicker item that had been in the envelope – the centre of which lit up and produced a tiny projected hologram.
"Greetings, 'mon trainers," the tiny figure in the hologram said as tinkling music played. "I bear an invitation. You have been chosen to join a select group of 'mon trainers at a special gathering. It will be hosted by my master, the world's greatest 'mon trainer, at his palace on New Island. A chartered ferry will leave from Old Shore Wharf to take you to the island tomorrow afternoon," she continued as her image disappeared in favour of a small map showing the departure point, the route that would be taken, and the island in question. "Only bearers of this invitation will be admitted. If you decide to attend, you must reply at once," she said, the map vanishing and her own pretty little person reappearing. "My master awaits you," she said, then curtseyed, and vanished again, her message complete.
"Thoughts?" Kagome asked her 'mon. "Apart from the fact that it seems this person has their own personal, hypnotised-sounding, Nurse Joy, and has somehow gotten her to wear something other than the standard nurse's outfit."
"A person wit' a palace on an island, callin' 'imself the world's greatest 'mon master, is probably full of 'imself," Meowth commented with a hint of a sneer.
"If he isn't, then he could be a true challenge to battle," Sesshoumaru pointed out.
"Vulp vulpix."
"Vee vee eve eve eevee."
"Di-tto."
"Gol golduck."
"Then I guess I'm going," Kagome said with a smile. She ticked the 'yes' box, handed it back to Dragonite, and once the dragon-type 'mon had taken off, she turned back to the firewood. "We'll leave for Old Shore Wharf after lunch."