Chapter 17

The next day, Kagome packed up Yasha, the diaper bag, and his stroller. She had arranged for a taxi to pick her up at 8 am sharp. Putting everything in the trunk of the taxi, she secured Yasha in the car seat that came with the stroller and said to the driver.

"The town of Inuyama in Aichi Prefecture, please."

"Ok, miss.", the driver responded as he set the meter.

Once arriving in the town, she advised him to take her to the fabled teahouse and he did, dropping her off in front of a beautiful teahouse. She paid the far and he helped her get all the baby's things out of the taxi before he left. Entering the teahouse, she saw it was humming with tourists. As soon as a girl came to wait on her, Kagome asked,

"I need to talk to Kimi."

"Kimi?", the young girl asked, "Who are you?"

"My name is Higurashi Kagome. But she won't know me. My grandmother, Higurashi Sumi, told me to say that I was sent by her."

The girl's eyes widened, "Sumi sent you? But I thought she was dead."

"Well, she is. She died 10 years ago. I know this sounds crazy, but she visited me last night. Told me I needed to speak to Kimi's grandmother Tamae."

"Be right back, Higurashi-san."

The girl hurried to the back of the cozy little room and entered a door. Soon, an older woman, dressed in a multi-layered kimono, exited the door and came over to Kagome.

"You say you are Higurashi-san? O Sumi-san's granddaughter? I am O Kimi-san", the older woman asked as she sat next to Kagome.

"Yes. She visited me last night and said I needed to talk to your grandmother Tamae about my problem."

"Now what problem would a young girl like you have that my grandmother could fix? I know of no demons plaguing the area."

"Demons?", Kagome asked, astonished, and then she picked up her child and took off his hat to reveal his silvery-white hair and dog-ears.

"Oh, Great Kami! A demon child. I am aware that demons still exist, but I always believed they kept their distance from humans. How did you meet a demon, child?"

"A half-demon actually. I met Inuyasha ..."

"INUYASHA, you say? No! That cannot be. Not the second son of the legendary Inu no Taisho? He is not alive now. He is rumored to have died during the feudal era."

Before Kagome could explain any further, Kimi ushered her into a back room, away from prying ears and eyes. At Kimi's insistence, Kagome explained about the well and her time-traveling, ending up with Inuyasha's last goodbye.

"He's still alive, Kimi-san. But in the feudal era.", Kagome insisted.

"I'm sorry to say, but he dies sometime. He is not alive in this time period. I know because the eldest son still lives."

"Sesshoumaru? He's alive?", Kagome asked, shocked, she had never considered that possibility, then quickly saddened at the thought that Inuyasha wasn't alive during her time period..

"But your concern should be for your child. You are right. As a human, your child will outlive you by many a year, and life will not be easy on him. My grandmother can take care of that. I will take you to her. Let's go."

The older woman took Kagome and Yasha and they walked to the outskirts of the town. Entering a tiny hut, they came upon a wizened old woman.

'A mountain witch!', Kagome thought, as she stared at the woman, who was working by a fire pit.

Kimi proceeded to explain everything to her grandmother before introducing Kagome and the baby. The old woman was definitely not great with people.

"Let me see the child.", she demanded, as Kagome complied, "This child is a half-demon. You say he was fathered by a half-demon? I have never heard of such a thing. Half-demons cannot reproduce. And to produce a half-demon child, he must be fathered by a full-blooded demon."

"I have only mated with Inuyasha.", Kagome said, a tone of finality in her voice.

"So you are truly the girl who transcends time. Sesshoumaru told me as such, but I didn't believe him. That Inu no Taisho!", she said, cackling, "He truly is one hell of a dog! His blood is so powerful, that it must have overpowered Inuyasha's human blood to produce this pup. That is the only way this child could have been produced."

"Can you help me, please, old woman,", Kagome begged, "I don't want my child left alone when I die, just because I'm human.", and then, thinking, 'Or Inuyasha, should he return to me.'

"I've only done the ritual with a full-blooded demon. I need to see the child's blood to see if the Leader of the Dogs' blood is pure enough to sustain your life."

As Kagome watched the old woman work with her son nervously, her thoughts wandered. 'What happens to you, Inuyasha? Why aren't you alive in my time?' The old woman drew blood from the child, then handed the crying infant back to his mother to be soothed. Cackling again, the old woman commented,

"That old dog! Makes sure his lineage is secure, that's for sure. It obviously is nowhere near the child's human time, is it?", she asked Kagome.

"Actually, it was 3 days ago.", Kagome responded.

"Ahhhh, yes. This blood is good blood. I can make the potion.", the old woman announced, happily.

"Potion?", Kagome queried.

"Yes. Demon blood is able to change human blood so that the human doesn't age. This is good for when a demon desires to mate with a human. This is something that was discovered during the feudal ages of our country.", the old woman informed her.

The old woman brewed up the potion and when it cooled, gave it to Kagome.

"Now drink it all, dearie, so you can get the full effect."

It smelled horrible and tasted worse, but Kagome did what she was told. After downing the drink, she felt wobbly and weak.

"What's the matter with me?", she asked.

"Don't worry. It's just a side-effect of the potion. It will diminish soon.", the old woman said to her.

Sure enough, about 30 minutes later, the effect wore off.

"How will I know if it worked?", Kagome asked.

"You dare doubt me child?", the old woman asked sternly.

"No, ma'am, it's not that, it's just ..."

"You should notice some other changes. Maybe healing faster, better hearing, better sight. You won't have super-human powers like a demon or a half-demon, but you should notice some changes.", the old woman informed her.

"How much do I owe you?", Kagome asked.

"Nothing, child. For I owe Sumi a lot. I did it because you are her granddaughter.", the old woman said, and then she went back to what she was doing when they had walked in. Kimi and Kagome walked back to the teahouse together and Kimi called her a cab. Kagome then headed home with Yasha.

'Thanks, Grandmama.', she thought as she stared out the windows.