AN: Wow. Before I begin this chapter, let me just say, I never expected ACAK to be popular enough to average about 20 reviews per chapter (total is 39 right now). I'm glad everyone likes it. You guys make me feel so happy!

Along Came A Kitsune

Chapter Three: Frozen Memories

Kagome heaved a sigh as she opened the door to the closet she used as her private office. It was conveniently located behind her teaching desk and would probably be the last place at the university in which she worked that was used for storage because it was so far away from everything else. She was thankful that she wouldn't have to worry about that for a good long while because it was the only place she could escape to for half her day.

As was mentioned before, it was a very small area: only enough room for the filing cabinet she used as a table and the cushioned chair by the cabinet.

But she wouldn't have minded if these comforts had been missing. The only things in the room that mattered in the least to her was the pictures she had littered all over the walls and placed onto the permanent shelve that covered the walls on three-fourths of the closet's sides.

Her throat began to hurt from her bottled emotions the longer she gazed at the photographs. She had taken them during her time in Sengoku Jidai. They were of her friends…and some enemies, though those had been taken from a distance.

She remembered how well Shippou and Rin had taken to the camera. They had both begged and begged to be photographed over and over again until, altogether they were the ones that had been featured the most on her film. Sango and Miroku had been suspicious of the device at first before relaxing and actually enjoying its ability to "freeze time." That was how Miroku had put it. She gazed longingly at a picture she had taken of the couple while they weren't looking, flash off of course. Kagome couldn't help but wonder what their children had been like…and if she might know any of their descendents. She covered her giggle with a hand as she imagined chibi forms of the two. Kaede had had the same attitude about the camera. A few pictures of Kouga and his pack, including one that Shippou had taken without Kagome's knowing of Kouga declaring her to be his woman, were scattered with everyone else on that wall.

Kagome looked to another wall. She had labeled this as the "Wall of Adversaries." Somehow, she had gotten a picture or two of Naraku and his group. Kikyou, after deciding that it wouldn't be a very good idea to kill anyone in the group trying to kill Naraku, had joined with them. She and Kagome had a teacher-student relationship going until Kikyou's re-death. The photographs of the priestess were few, but Kagome treasured them. At Rin's urging, Sesshoumaru had consented to let her take a few pictures of him, as well as Jaken and Ah-Un. Beside these hung photos of Sesshoumaru as he appeared in modern days.

She knew she shouldn't have been surprised when he made contact with her just a couple years ago because Kaede had taught her long ago that demons could live for thousands of years before ever reaching their prime. That meant that Sesshoumaru had still been just a pup back in Sengoku Jidai. It was hard for her to imagine sometimes that he had become so much more powerful through the centuries. Now, not only had his power increased, but he had also become a business tycoon and competed with Bill Gates for the title of the world's richest man. He had assured her before that all he really had to do was wait for the man to die, but preferred to be honorable and beat him fair and square.

She sighed. Although Sesshoumaru was the only one she knew had, for a fact, survived the centuries, he wasn't the closest of friends. True, there was mutual respect, but he was still almost as cold as ever and she only saw him once a month or so because of their schedules. However, she knew that she could turn to the taiyoukai if she needed help – especially if it were financial.

The longest and most cluttered wall was the one she faced right as she walked through the door. The person most dear to her heart was remembered so clearly, as all of his expressions could be seen. Kagome didn't want to forget one line on his face or the shade of gold that was his eyes. It was all so precious to her. He was precious to her. Her Inuyasha. He had promised to come back, to return to her, and she believed this with her whole heart. Though…at some times…she couldn't help but feel lonely and wonder if he really would come back. Perhaps, had she been in one of those moods, she would have given her name to that handsome man on the bus.

Before she could contemplate the matter further, a student knocked on her door, and she realized she was five minutes late to teach class. It made her feel special in a small way that her students found her class interesting enough to get her when she dazed off. She collected herself and returned to the classroom with an apology. She then turned on the overhead for her students to copy notes as she introduced the lesson.

"Today you will be learning about Toutousai and the swords he forged for Inuyasha and his older brother Sesshoumaru, taiyoukai of the Western lands." The class listened raptly while she gave her lecture. Fifteen minutes before the bell rang, Kagome stopped her sermon of the elderly youkai. "So, with that all having been said, who would like to be Toutousai for the remaining part of the year?"

Every year since she had been a teaching assistant, the last few weeks of the term was dedicated to the legend of the Shikon no Tama. She would give a general lesson, then the following days, she would go exploit by exploit of what she and her friends had done in the past. Every person in the class would get a role to play, ranging from Inuyasha to Nobunaga (depending on how many people were taking the class). They were expected to research their characters (and the companions of their character) and at the end of the year, they would give a presentation and essay on their character. And as soon as they picked out a character, they were given a script so that everything could be played out and taped and they watched it the last week of school. Everyone always enjoyed it. Behind her were pictures of the actors from the last three years. They were in columns, the topmost being the "original actors," her friends from Sengoku Jidai (whom, she had told the class, had done this for a community play, and that's why they were dressed so convincingly), then the first year, and so on. She was looking forward to getting another row of happy faces on her wall.

A few hands were raised. She chose one of the class comedians for the old man. She knew he would bring life into the part.

"Okay then, Toutousai, here's your script!" she said with a bright smile. "For the remaining time, feel free to talk among yourselves—not too loud, mind you—or ask me questions. And Miroku, please don't try to 'get into character' again. We don't need you going to the nurse for the third time."

There were a few giggles while "Sango" glared at "Miroku." Kagome sighed as the class returned to the gentle hum of voices. It was just another day.

LATER THAT DAY

Kagome put a few papers she needed to grade into a bag as the last of her students filed out. She wanted to leave a little early because her mother had invited her to dinner, which was better than eating alone at the apartment she used during the weekdays. Before that, though, Mrs. Higurashi had also given her a ring she had found at a thrift store and she wanted her daughter to take it somewhere to see how much it cost. The idea was that, if it was worth something, she would sell it and they would be able to use the money for the shrine and donate some to get a tax write-off; if it wasn't worth a bone, at least it was pretty, and no harm done.

She ran to catch the bus in time and clambered on. There was a place she knew of just a few blocks from the school, and the ride seemed too short to rest her tired feet. When the bus stopped, she walked a few buildings from the bus stop before she came to a building where, in classy lettering, were the words, "Rumiko Law and Appraisal."

"Well, looks like I have the right place." She walked in and went straight to the secretary, who was flipping the pages of some magazine. "Um, excuse me, I came here to see if there's anyone that might be able to find out how much this ring might cost…"

"Name?" She was relieved to find this wasn't one of those secretaries that act like they owned the world.

"Kagome Higurashi."

"Okay, Miss Higurashi, if you go through those doors over there and wait a few minutes, I'll see if one of our appraisers is free."

Kagome bowed. "Thank you."

The doors ended up leading to a room that looked like most waiting rooms she'd been in…just larger. And with better furniture, she thought as she sunk into a cushy sofa facing the television, which was playing a news station.

She sat there long enough to check her watch a couple times before she heard the door handle move.

"Kagome? Are you Kagome Higurashi?" said a man behind her. He had a pleasant voice, and was even more pleasant to look at, she realized as she turned to face him. He seemed perfect, from his crimson hair to his evergreen eyes. In fact, he looked just like that guy from the bus this morning…

She pointed an accusing finger at him and they both opened their mouths in shock at the same time.

"It's you!"

AN: I must apologize for the delay in this chapter, but, like most of you out there, I have been forced to return to the fiery pits of hell and have been getting a lot of homework. Not to mention the fact that I have to wake up before six now and as such have been getting exhausted. As a result, I have once again become familiar with (unplanned) naptime. So updates now will depend on three things: my mood, amount of homework, and whether or not I collapse into my bed from exhaustion.

Hmm…I'm thinking I'm gonna write this chapter over some day. It just feels so…empty, like it has no feeling in it almost. It's just not what I had imagined it to be before and I'm a little disappointed with myself. Oh well, I'll definitely make the next chapter better. Hey, guess what? The next chapter will reveal the PLOT! Yay!

Responses:

BlueDove: As long as everyone understands the general age, I'm fine with it.

SilentDark: I'm gonna reveal that in the next couple of chapters. I can't really think of the words right now. But yes, it was Kagome.

Crimsondrop7: I spelled bishounen right. In Japanese, the 'u' in words like that is used to show which syllable is more stressed than the rest of the word. For example, it would be kind of weird to say SesshomarU or SESShomaru; it's pretty much a pronunciation thing. Many people drop the 'u' though. Both are right, but I prefer the 'ou' spelling.