epilogue

Kagome was stirred out of her slumber by gentle bird chirpings outside her bedroom window. She moaned softly and tossed in her bed, not quite ready to leave it yet. She hugged her pillow tightly, her mind was still occupied by the lingering fragments of her dream. She smiled sleepily, still seeing the tall figure in her dream.

She remembered him leaning over and grabbing strands of her hair to tuck behind her ear. She could still feel the butterflies in her stomach, a feeling that only stirred whenever he was close to her.

"Sesshou…" she mumbled into her pillow. She could feel herself drifting back to sleep again, but just before she could, she was rudely shaken out of her slumber when she heard Souta's voice calling for her downstairs.

"Sis! You're going to be late for your graduation!"

"Alright, I'm awake!" she yelled back as she sat up. She pulled her pillow into her lap and hugged it tight as she gave a heavy sigh. She stared at the space next to her, her mind still remembering a little demon boy sleeping next to her long ago when she was still a child.

"Maybe it was just a dream," she muttered to herself. It had been ten years since that day the two children had made a promise to one another, but now, she found herself doubting her memories. "Demons…yeah, right…"

She got out of bed and proceeded to get ready for her high school graduation.

.

"You look down, Kagome."

Kagome's head popped up as she stared at her friends, who all looked concerned for the teenaged girl. She grinned back sheepishly, feeling a little bad for bringing down the atmosphere of their celebration. "I'm fine, guys, really."

Yuka grinned. "She's probably in shock that she was able to graduate at all."

"Hey!"

"Oh, come now, her grades weren't that horrible," Eri interjected with her own grin.

"She did get in trouble once in middle school for scribbling 'Sesshoumaru' all over her notebook," Ayumi recalled. "What a weird thing to write down."

Kagome's face burned up. "Some friends," she muttered to herself. She then reached into her purse and pulled out a few bills and set it at the center of their table. "Say, I'm gonna take off first."

Her friends protested as Kagome stood up and left their booth. "Sorry, I still have to go celebrate with my family, too," she fibbed. "I'll catch you guys later! Have fun!"

She left the restaurant before anyone else could protest.

As she walked down the street, she sighed to herself. She felt a little bad for lying like that, but truth be told, she wasn't really in a celebratory mood. She felt like she was ruining the celebration the longer she stayed, so she'd decided to leave first.

By the time she had reached the Higurashi Shrine, she saw an unfamiliar figure sitting at the bottom of the steps. She cocked her head to the side in confusion. She cautiously approached the figure, seeing it was a young man dressed in a business suit.

"May I help you?"

The man looked up and then stretched out his hand. "Do you like kohakutou?"

Her eyes widened. "Sess…Sesshoumaru?"

He stood up and walked to her. His hair was short and black, not like the long silvery white hair she remembered. His eyes looked just like everyone's else: brown and so very ordinary. He was dressed just like a regular salaryman, and not like the little noble she remembered.

"It can't be," she muttered to herself, taking a step back.

He quirked one brow up. "You dare to doubt this Sesshoumaru?"

Her eyes widened again, the familiar phrase seeming to stir up old memories from her childhood. "It…it is you…"

He cocked his head to the side, and then smiled. "I do not break my promises."

She felt like she was going to cry, but then Sesshoumaru shook his head sternly.

"Don't cry," he commanded, "I don't like it."

"Well, I can't help it!" she sniffled, "You took your sweet time finding me again."

"It couldn't be helped," he said vaguely, "It wasn't the right time yet."

"Well, I don't care," she said and then wrapped her arms around his neck, startling him. She stood on her toes as she pulled him down closer to her height. She kissed his cheek, just like the first time she did it when they were young. "You're here now and that's all that matters."

He wrapped his arms around her waist, his forehead pressed against hers. Then he leaned down to kiss her lips, surprising her briefly, but then just as quickly she reciprocated his feelings. When they pulled away, he said softly against her lips, "I'm back."

She smiled, feeling butterflies fluttering in her stomach again. "We have a lot to catch up on."

"We have time," he promised, and then kissed her again, feeling like they were just both picking up where they had left off.