It was the thirteenth of February, the day before Valentine's Day, and Kunogi was riding the train with Kagome back to her family's shrine – where they would be making their Valentine gifts. Mrs Higurashi had already obligingly done the ingredients shopping, and when the two girls crested the many steps and finally walked through the front door, she had just finished cleaning the kitchen.
"No wonder you do so well in Phys. Ed, Higurashi-san," Kunogi said with a smile. "To climb those stairs every day, it would certainly keep you very fit!"
Kagome chuckled. "I like being fit," she admitted happily. "Tadaima!" she called into the house as she slipped her shoes off.
"Okaeri nasai, Kagome," Mrs Higurashi greeted with a smile. "And this must be Kunogi-san, ne?"
Kunogi nodded. "Hai," she answered, and bowed slightly. "Thank you for this."
"Oh it's no trouble," Mrs Higurashi answered happily. "The two of you have important cooking to do after all, and these things are more fun when you do them with someone. And of course, I look forward to helping you two clean up by offering to lick the bowl," the older woman added with a friendly laugh.
Kunogi blushed a little. There was a reason they were making the chocolates here, at the shrine, rather than at her house. At her house, her aura was so entrenched that it would get in the way of making the chocolates. Then there was the issue of her aura sticking to that chocolate, and being passed on to the person she gave it too – an issue which Kagome had promised to fix by cleansing the chocolates again and blessing them once they were finished.
Kagome was also going to perform a cleansing ritual for her so that she wouldn't have to worry about her bad luck at all for February fourteenth, or about leaving some of her aura behind here, at her friend's shrine where it could affect the Higurashi family.
Mrs Higurashi gave her daughter a peck on the cheek, and wished the two girls well with their cooking.
"Okay, first, the licorice," Kagome said firmly as she moved to collect two aprons, and handed one to Kunogi.
"Why licorice, Higurashi-san?" Kunogi asked.
"For Sesshoumaru," she answered. "My lord is a dog demon," she reminded her friend. "And just like any dog, he's allergic to chocolate, so I can't give him giri choco for Valentine's, but dogs do like anise, which is an ingredient in licorice."
"Of course," Kunogi agreed, nodding in understanding.
"Sesshoumaru isn't much of a one for sweets anyway though, so I thought I'd give the extra licorice to Yuko-san. Then it's just the chocolates to make," Kagome finished with a smile.
"Un!" Kunogi agreed, smiling back happily, and they got to cooking.
The licorice didn't take that long. They weren't making complicated shapes from it or anything, just setting dollops on wax-paper to cool and set into chewy mouthfuls before they moved on to the chocolates.
First the giri choco, a green-tea chocolate recipe that Kagome had made faithfully every year for Sango and Miroku they had travelled together, and which this year she would give to Watanuki and Kunogi – as well as a couple for Watanuki to pass on to Mokona. Just innocent little balls of chocolate, nothing too fancy. And Kunogi followed her lead, though she'd be giving her giri choco to Doumeki (and of course Kagome), rather than Watanuki. Once the licorice and the giri choco cooking things were completely cleaned up, and the results set aside to, well, set, they moved on to the much more important – and somewhat more elaborate – honmei choco.
Perhaps it was a little premature to be giving honmei choco to boys who weren't actually their boyfriends, but Kunogi really wanted to think positive on Valentine's Day this year, and Kagome... well, Sesshoumaru was already calling Doumeki her exorcist...
"Higurashi-san, arigato," Kunogi said when Kagome had cleansed and blessed their chocolates. "I normally call in with a cold on the fourteenth, just to avoid the temptation to... so this will be the first time since grade-school that I've actually been at school on Valentine's day!"
Kagome smiled. "You're welcome, Kunogi-san."
"Eto... Could you call me Himawari?" she requested softly.
Kagome blinked in surprise, then smiled again. "Only if you call me Kagome," she answered with a smile.
"Ah! Arigato, Kagome-chan!"
"Are you done?" Souta called as he entered the kitchen. "Can I lick the spoon?"
Kagome laughed, and passed the implement over to her little brother. "Here ya go," she said, and messed up his hair fondly. "Any idea if you'll be getting choco from any of the girls in your class?" she teased him.
Souta shrugged. "I still don't understand girls," he admitted. "But I know who I'd like to get chocolate from," he added a little bashfully, blushing slightly.
Kagome smiled. "My otouto is getting to be so mature!"
~oOo~
Kagome quietly went to the principle's office before class, and dropped off his licorice, which in turn let Himawari give her honmei choco to Watanuki without having to do it in front of friends – always a little more embarrassing than to simply gift in the same room as other classmates who were busily doing the exact same thing.
Apart from that, Kagome decided to withhold giving her choco until they were released from class to go to lunch, at which point she would give Watanuki his giri choco, and Doumeki her honmei choco, at the same time.
That was the plan anyway, and she managed to achieve half of it – Watanuki got his giri-choco, as well as accepted the licorice for Yuko-san and Mokona. Doumeki, however... the boy was approached every couple of minutes by a girl wanting to give him chocolate. Which he always accepted politely, but without any particular interest shown towards the girl giving it to him.
It got so bad that Doumeki pulled a paper bag from the supermarket out of his pocket and unfolded it to put all the chocolates in.
After school, Kagome and Doumeki checked in at archery club, only to see a notice saying it was cancelled for Valentine's Day.
"I'll walk you to your train, if you like," Doumeki offered.
Kagome smiled, and nodded in acceptance. She still hadn't given Doumeki his chocolates yet, after all. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to do so. Still, the large bag of chocolates he was carrying already was... slightly intimidating.
Before they even got off campus, however, they were distracted by the sight of Watanuki treating Himawari to his own chocolates in the Home Ec room.
"Huh..." Doumeki said, then smirked at Kagome before he vaulted into the room.
"Doumeki!" Watanuki growled. "What are you doing here?"
Doumeki ignored his friend as he helped Kagome climb in through the window as well, but eventually turned to answer him. "I thought, since you were here, I'd take advantage of it," he explained, and held up his bag of choco.
"What?!" Watanuki yelled angrily.
Doumeki waved him off absently, wrapped a hand around Kagome's, and towed her over to a stove on the furthest part of the room away from where Watanuki and Himawari were. There, he took out a couple of large metal bowls, a saucepan that he filled with water, and a spoon.
"What are you up to, Doumeki-san?" Kagome asked softly.
Doumeki smiled at her gently. "Most of the choco I've been is just plain milk chocolates, no filling or flavours. If I take away the wrappings and melt it all together, then it will take up less space, won't it?" he pointed out. "It's not like I even really know any of the girls that gave me chocolates, except for the giri choco from Kunogi-san."
"Eh?" Himawari yelped. "Kagome-chan, you haven't given Doumeki-kun your choco yet?"
Kagome blushed and looked down shyly. She was still struggling a little bit with the fact that, in her mind, she had lived twenty six years, but her body was only sixteen years old. "No," she answered at last, voice very soft.
Without another word, she reached into her back and pulled out the carefully wrapped box that held her confectionery creation. Unlike the simple, small, undecorated green box Kagome had put Watanuki's giri choco in, this was a deep, deep red box with a small origami tulip, flat and made from white paper, stuck to four of the sides, with another, three-dimensional, white paper tulip on top of the box.
Almost reverently, Doumeki took the box from Kagome's hands.
"Arigato, Kagome-chan," he said softly.
Kagome's blush brightened a little, and she nodded – an action that both acknowledged the thanks, and accepted the change in the way she had been addressed.
"Ano, will you call me Shizuka now?" he asked softly.
Kagome nodded again, a shy smile on her lips as she looked up at him.
When they all left the classroom behind (cleaned up, of course), Watanuki walked Himawari home, and Shizuka walked Kagome to the train station, each going different routes to enjoy some alone time together without their other friends.
~oOo~
Kagome had been elected class chair-person (though it had been close with Himawari), and so was doing the rounds as her fellow students did chores around the school. Things like sweeping, taking out the trash, cleaning erasers and checking over the sports equipment. Her specific area of supervision was the gym, where the hardwood floors were being polished and the mats being aired out and such. Her fellow students were all really very efficient, and of course she was never one to just stand around and let others do the work when she could help as well, so everything was clean and shining again in no time.
As such, she and Himawari left to find their boyfriends – and wow that made her feel all bubbly inside to think of, better than how she had ever felt about InuYasha – and were fortunate enough to come upon them together.
"What were you saying about bonds?" Doumeki was asking Watanuki.
"Don't go eavesdropping," Watanuki growled back.
"If you don't want to be heard, don't say things out loud," Doumeki returned. "Now spill it."
"And why do I have to take your orders?!" Watanuki snapped furiously.
"Ne, Kimihiro-kun," Himawari said as she stepped up to him and slid one of her arms around one of his. "What's troubling you? Is it something from your after-school job?"
"Ah, yes, Himawari-chan," the boy answered, calming down as he smiled at the girl who, a little less than a month before, had agreed to be his girlfriend.
The end of the school-day bell sounded then, and the four friends agreed to go eat together to talk about what the latest strangeness was. They chose Duklyon, a burger shop across from the train station, to eat at, and lined up on stools that faced the large windows out the front – which meant Kagome could keep an eye on the large clock over the gates and the times for the trains.
"You're sure the twins were really human?" Doumeki asked when Watanuki had finished his explanation.
"Huh?" Watanuki asked, mouth open from when he was about to take a bite from his burger.
"It's happened before, remember Kimihiro-kun? There was the Zashiki-warashi that you met when you were walking me home on Valentine's Day," Himawari reminded him softly, concern in her eyes.
"Eh!? You met a Zashiki-warashi and didn't tell us about it?" Kagome demanded softly.
Watanuki blushed and looked down. "She... took the fondant au chocolate that I'd given Himawari-chan straight from her stomach, and her soul with it, because she wanted to give me a special chocolate for Valentine's Day," he admitted.
"Oh, Himawari-chan," Kagome said softly, eyes going wide. She got up from her seat and hugged the girl. "Oh, I'm so glad you're alright. Having your soul ripped out is not fun."
Himawari smiled. "But Kimihiro-kun got it back for me, and I'm alright now," she said.
Kagome released her friend and set her hands on her shoulders and took a good look at the girl. "I don't know how I didn't spot it," she said after a moment. "The bad luck in your aura isn't quite as strong as it was. Being held by the Zashiki-warashi for a little while was apparently good for you."
Himawari smiled brightly.
"But yes, I'm sure they were human," Watanuki said, finally answering Doumeki's question, "and Yuko-san was talking about the bonds that only humans can form, that as soon as she said we wouldn't be able to find the contact, that we were bound not to."
"Words," Kagome said as she returned to her seat next to Shizuka, "can be very powerful, but demons sometimes make them too. They're less social creatures in general, so it doesn't happen so often, but I suppose that's beside the point."
"Ne, Kagome-chan, what do you mean by that?" Himawari asked.
"It's sort of like peer pressure," Kagome answered with a shrug. "If you hear enough people say 'everybody is doing this', then eventually you'll want to try it yourself to see what it's like, making the statement more true. Or if someone is told over and over that they can do something, they're more likely to succeed... or if they're told over and over that they can't do it, then they're more likely to fail."
"It's really that simple?" Watanuki asked.
Kagome shrugged. "It isn't simple, Watanuki-san," she answered. "But I suppose the explanation makes it sound so," she allowed, and glanced over at the train clock. "I've got to catch my train," she said with a sigh, and wrapped up the rest of her burger, as well as grabbing her small bag of fries. "I'll see you tomorrow," she promised.
"Oi," Shizuka said with a smirk, and wrapped his hand around her wrist before she could get too far. "You forgot something," he said, and tugged her down so that he could kiss her cheek.
Kagome smiled and gave Shizuka a quick peck on the cheek in return. She was still not entirely used to public displays of affection, but Shizuka was sweet when he wanted to be, and that had been sweet.
"Ashiteru, Kagome-chan. Be safe," Shizuka whispered in her ear.
"Hai," she agreed, blushing slightly, and was finally released to go catch her train.
"You were effectively asked out on a date by a college student..." Kagome repeated weakly when she met Shizuka for lunch the next day.
Shizuka nodded. "But I said no," he reminded her, having told her that already. "Watanuki and Kunogi-chan are going, Kunogi-san knows the café and knows that Watanuki wants to help the older twin with whatever is troubling her, and this is a good opportunity to do that. This isn't a matter that deals with spirits, so I don't have to worry too much about Watanuki getting hurt. Besides," he said, as he wrapped his arms gently around Kagome's waist. "Why would I be interested in dating a college student when I'm already dating you?"
Kagome smiled in gratitude at those words. InuYasha had really done a number on her self-confidence over the years, and okay, she was better about the whole thing now than she was, say, five years into the quest, but it would take a lot of positive reinforcement to fix that sort of damage.
"I'm so lucky," Kagome said softly as she relaxed into his hold. "To have a boyfriend who cares so much about me."
Shizuka smiled. "It's White Day tomorrow," he said softly in her ear. "I have your present in my bag. I was planning to wrap it when I got home today, but... Would you like it early?"
Kagome giggled. "I've got you," she said. "That's present enough for me."
Shizuka chuckled, and left it alone, happy to have made Kagome happy. He would give her the little kitsune figurine he'd just finished in art class that morning on the official day. He knew, from all the time they spent talking together (and occasionally meeting with Principle Takahashi), how much the girl in his arms liked foxes, as well as why.
On White Day, when he gave Kagome the carefully wrapped little statue he'd made, Doumeki Shizuka was very pleased to receive a kiss from his girlfriend in gratitude.
~oOo~
It was raining. Heavily. Kagome and Sesshoumaru were staying the night at Shizuka's shrine, helping him learn to master the gifts inherent in his blood and keeping the two teenagers on task respectively. Not that they needed a chaperone to be kept on task. Kagome was a dedicated teacher and Shizuka was an attentive student. That they were dating didn't make any difference to the training that needed to be done. Kagome's (admittedly temporary) romantic interest in InuYasha hadn't stopped her from doing what needed to be done. Miroku and Sango's relationship hadn't caused... many problems along the way. Besides, the training sometimes included sharing stories of her past, so it was something Shizuka enjoyed because he got to know more about the girl he was dating, and Kagome enjoyed it because it was a relief to tell someone.
"We have a guest," Sesshoumaru announced, interrupting the training.
"Eh?" Kagome asked, then blinked. "Oh, so we do," she agreed. "Two, in fact."
Shizuka frowned in concentration. "One of them... is not human, and the other..."
"Is Watanuki-san," Kagome finished gently when he seemed to be struggling.
Shizuka sighed. "I suppose I should see what he wants," he grumbled.
"We will see what they want, Exorcist," Sesshoumaru corrected as he stood from where he had been watching their training. "That is not simply some random spirit he wants removed from his person."
"So, you came crying to me just like Nobita," Shizuka said by way of greeting to Watanuki as he stood on the steps of the temple, safe under the eaves from the rain.
"I am not crying!" Watanuki yelled back. "Yuko said I had to come over to see you," he grumbled.
The red-haired spirit stepped around Watanuki and up to where Shizuka stood with Kagome, Sesshoumaru regal behind them at the top of the stairs. She sniffed them, getting a raised eyebrow and an inquiring look from Shizuka as he looked at her – which sparked a smile from Kagome. Just a few weeks ago, he wouldn't have been able to see the warashi.
"A refreshing scent that's all too rare nowadays," she sighed happily.
"Ame-warashi," Sesshoumaru greeted her from his place at the top of the stairs. "What brings you here?"
She pouted. "With that," she jabbed her umbrella at Watanuki, "and that," she continued, jabbing it again at Shizuka, "and that," she repeated, jabbing it this time at Kagome, "it should all be well in hand. Now, let's get started!"
"Get started... doing what?" Watanuki asked.
"I need you to go on a rescue mission!" the Ame-warashi answered seriously. "I wanted to do it myself, but I couldn't even get close..." she explained unhappily.
Kagome smiled. "Well, I'm never one to turn down a rescue mission," she stated.
Sesshoumaru snorted softly in disdain. "Which is why you were so often in peril the first few years of our acquaintance," he pointed out.
Kagome stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm not helpless any more though!" she countered, and hurried inside to get umbrellas for herself and Shizuka.
"I've never seen hydrangeas so red before," Watanuki said in surprised awe when they reached the place that the Ame-warashi had directed them to.
Kagome reached out a hand to some of the lower blossoms, the reddest of all, and at her touch they grew lighter. "Shh," she cooed as she moved on to cup the next group of flowers, her touch making them lighter as well. "Shh little ones. We'll get everything straightened out. I promise."
"Higurashi-san, what are you doing?" Watanuki asked.
"I'm purifying the plant," she answered. "There's something that's caused them to be tainted, that's why they're so dark. Watanuki-san, you need to go in, and remember that you must come back this way, not any other. Hmm..." Kagome hummed, and pulled a leather chord from her pocket – she used it for tying up her hair, the way Sango had so long ago. "You take one end, Shizuka-kun will hold the other so that he can guide you back, and I'll continue to purify what I can from the outside," she instructed.
Watanuki grumbled, but did as he was told – and abruptly vanished as black tendrils shot out from deep within the hydrangeas to grab at him.
The leather chord pulled tight, and disappeared into the bushes, but didn't break.
"We could be in for a long wait, Shizuka-kun," Kagome informed him with a sigh. "But your powers as an exorcist will help Watanuki-san get this done faster than if he were on his own."
It took... a couple of hours, and of course it rained the whole time and was already late when they started so... well, it was the small hours of the morning when Watanuki finally returned to them, holding the bony hand of a dead child – by which time Yuko-san and Sesshoumaru had decided to check up on the teenagers who they considered to be their charges that evening.
Sesshoumaru, a modern adult as he was, withdrew his mobile phone and placed a call to the police – and promised to wait for them, waving off Yuko-san and the teenagers, to go and get out of the rain. He wouldn't suffer for getting wet after all, and investigating why a dead child was under a bush was not the job of private citizens.
Still, they'd want some assurances, for closure, and Sesshoumaru would be able to get them.
"Thank you," Ame-warashi said when she arrived at the Doumeki house, frilly umbrella over her shoulder and a soft smile on her face. "For coming to the rescue."
"The hydrangeas are alright again then?" Kagome asked before Watanuki could open his mouth.
Ame-warashi nodded. "Un!" she said happily. "They really are doing very well now, with the corruption caused by the blood of the corpse gone, and your dedication to purifying them of the poison at the time has made their recovery all the faster!"
"Eh? The plants? Not the little girl?" Watanuki asked, surprised.
Ame-warashi raised a distinctly unimpressed eyebrow at Watanuki. "Why should I care about some human? They do nothing to help the precious things of this world, so why should the precious things do anything for them? Ugh," she groaned, disgusted. "What does that girl see in you?"
Kagome smiled, sadly but serenely. "The heart loves who it will love, whatever reason tries to say in contrary on the matter," she offered.
Ame-warashi sighed, a little despondently. "I suppose," she allowed, and turned to Yuko. "You'll get your payment in a few days," she informed the woman.
"Hai," Yuko agreed with a smile of her own and a nod of acceptance.
"And one more thing!" Ame-warashi snapped as she started to fade away into rain drops. "You'd better not forget your White Day duties!"
"Eh? Who do I still owe a White Day gift to?" Watanuki asked. "I gave shaped candies to Yuko-san and Higurashi-san, and a white ribbon necklace as well as candies to Himawari-chan..."
"The Zashiki-warashi also gave you chocolate on Valentine's Day, Watanuki," Yuko reminded him with a smirk.
"Guck!" Watanuki choked. "I have no way of getting any sort of gift to her!"
"Ichihara-san does," Sesshoumaru stated. "As do I."
"Would you make me pay for it like Yuko-san would?" Watanuki asked.
Sesshoumaru scoffed lightly, amused. "I would require something from you in exchange for the favour, but I would not require the same sort of payment," he answered. "Ichihara-san's desires are vastly different from those of this Sesshoumaru."
"Oh?" Yuko said, surprised. "The great Inu no Taisho-sama, doing a favour for a mere ningen?"
"It would not be the first time," Sesshoumaru answered her, amused by her reaction rather than offended by it. Meeting Kagome, and living another five hundred years after that meeting, had an impact on a demon. He would not be disguised on a daily basis as a school principle if she hadn't had an impact on him.
"Sesshoumaru," Kagome said, just a little warningly – she was also smiling. "Don't tease him."
"It will cost a piece of quality steak," Sesshoumaru decided with a smirk. "It is certainly not a hardship for this Sesshoumaru to visit Reisan Mountain, even if the karasu tengu there can be annoying."
Kagome smirked knowingly. "And to you, they are nothing more than that," she said.
Sesshoumaru nodded. "The gang of tengu that have made it their mission to protect Zashiki-warashi are nothing like the greater, more majestic karasu tengu that ruled the clans, or even the more vicious underlings. They are rejects with paper fans and wings that do not fly."
Kagome winced. "How the mighty have fallen," she noted softly.