Kagome entered Sesshou's kitchen that morning, dressed in her outfit from the night before now that her clothes were clean. It was nice of Sesshou to wash her clothes, albeit a little strange to imagine him folding her skirt and pairing her mismatched socks.

Seated at the counter was a young man with bright red hair, the cut longer than most young men. It was definitely long enough to tie up, but for now it was down and a little wavy around his shoulders. When he turned with a sniff of his nose, she saw the familiar green eyes and wicked smile of her boy. No longer did she identify him as a grown man. She knew this tricky kit, no matter how much taller he was than her.

Before she could even utter a word, he was on her, arms around her waist, collapsed on his knees to snuggle his nose into her belly, getting a good long sniff of her citrus scent.

"Mama," He sighed. It took all his self control to allow her to sleep and wait for her to emerge from his room. "You're here."

"Shippou," Kagome cradled the boys soft head and slowly lowered herself to the floor to hug him around the shoulders. "You're so big now!" She cried, laughing through a few tears that dripped down her cheeks.

"All grown up," He smirked, pulling away. "and mated, too." He wiggled his auburn eyebrows at her suggestively.

"Shippou, you dog!" Kagome blushed and smacked his shoulder.

"Actually, he's a fox." Sesshou replied smartly from where he stood, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed.

"Raised by dogs!" Shippou objected, sticking his tongue out at his surrogate father.

Kagome was beaming, her smile so wide, her cheeks hurt. This was happiness; relief. Tears blurred her vision once more, bringing both demons' attention back to her. She only waved away their open stares, wiping away stray tears that leaked from her eyes.

"Come on, Mama," Shippou stood, offering his hand to Kagome. She took his outstretched hand, easily rising with his strength. "We have a lot of catching up to do."

A few hours later, over a simple breakfast and many cups of tea, mother and son sat and spoke of their time apart. Shippou had more to share, so Kagome listened with full attention.

She learned Shippou had married a human woman after he got her pregnant, shortly after reaching adulthood. By then he was traveling through Eastern territory, trying to head South with his pregnant wife for refuge. When they stopped for the night to rest, they were ambushed. Shippou was too late. Seconds too late to be exact. His wife had died in the arms of the enemy, her throat slit mid-scream. Their child was still too small, too early in her term to survive. Shippou lost his family that day, and swore vengeance. After burying their bodies, he joined the war alongside Sesshomaru.

A few years later, when the war was over, Shippou went back to the fox school. He assisted in teaching, and when the headmaster died, he took over. His first year as the new headmaster, he met his mate, a graduating vixen. She was temperamental, feisty, and rebellious. He gained his sixth tail when they mated, having to wait until she was graduated to announce their relationship. They still didn't have kits of their own, deciding to wait until the dangers of major wars had passed. Wars that they knew were coming, thanks to his adoptive mother.

It had been hard to lose Inuyasha, he admitted, but Sesshomaru had been there for him. He trained with the Western Lord, and was stationed in Edo for some time, if only to look after his sister. Then they lost Kaede. And in time Miroku, Sango, Kohaku, Rin, Koga, Ayame, then the children that came from them, and soon it was too painful to stay in touch. Shippou and his mate, Sesshomaru and Jaken, they all pulled back, retreating into the borders of the West, and when World War II began, they fled the country all together. By then, though, YANA was in full swing, with Shippou working on concealment anchors, and Myoga informing every demon to evacuate, they had managed to secure the majority of demon kind that was lost in Kagome's version of the modern era. Now, they were just concealed.

Kagome was so proud of him, of them both, she realized. Sesshomaru had changed so much. He wasn't the ruthless killing perfection his parents had named him. He was Sesshou, the kind, considerate, and humble demon lord of all races. She always knew Shippou would do great things with his fox magic, but Sesshomaru she was sure would forever go on to be the icey lord he had been five hundred years ago. He showed her otherwise. He proved he could change. He even offered his services to her, extending a hand to her life, offering her heart a lifeline. She needed them, she admitted. Both of them.

"So when do I get to meet the lucky lady?" Kagome leaned her elbows on the counter, resting her chin on her folded hands.

"Lucky vixen, Mama," Shippou corrected. "And soon. Genko is still in America. I came back early to see you."

"Kagome," Sesshou popped his head into the kitchen. He had given the two privacy to reconnect and hid away in his study to attempt to do some paperwork, but ended up listening in on their conversation most of the time. "I believe it's time we take you back home. I'm sure your mother is worrying about you."

"Is it already eleven?" Kagome checked the clock on the wall. "I suppose so. I'll go get my purse." She hopped off the stool and made her way past Sesshou and into the hall. Once she had disappeared out of earshot, Sesshou turned to the fox.

"Don't give me that look," Shippou groaned, "I know that damn look."

"When she is home, we will need to begin on her file with YANA." Sesshou warned. Shippou only dropped his head to the counter, defeated. Coming from a work related trip to America was already troublesome enough. He left as soon as he was done there, even leaving behind his mate to come see his mother, but it seemed only more work awaited him. "And Shippou?"

"Yes?" The fox didn't even lift his head.

"We will need to find her a priestess to train her." Sesshou stated, taking his leave when he got a sigh in return.

"Yeah, because finding another priestess with knowledge of modern age demons, with no leads," Shippou raised his voice as Sesshou receded further into the house, towards the garage. "IS SUPER EASY."