As silent as the night, the wind wafted into the room, bringing with it the cold twilight air that lay just beyond the comforting, insulated walls. Glancing up, Higurashi Kagome suppressed a mild sigh, forcing herself out of her seat and crossing the short distance between her desk and the window. She reached out, shutting it tight.
For a moment, she stood there, her gaze fixated on the panoramic vista that lay before her - the stone paving and gardens of the house compound in the foreground, and the dazzling skyline of Tokyo lighting up the horizon. Gently, she shook her head, smiling - having to spend so much time away from home, and from modern amenities, had done wonders for the girl's appreciation for all things contemporary. Her gaze wandered, taking in the sights of the city alive at night, and her hand came to rest on the windowpane, just next to the broken latch that no longer fulfilled its duty.
Her smile returned. The latch in question had been broken for ages now, ever since the first time a certain dog-eared hanyou had snuck into her time to fetch her. Not wanting to do things the easy way, he'd leapt up and tried to enter through her window, as he was apt to do. Unfortunately, the window had been locked, and his efforts to enter snapped the latch. No one had bothered to fix it since.
Allowing herself another quiet smirk, she turned back, steeling herself to face yet another intense bout of geography revision.
And a frigid gust of cold air burst into the room, sending her hair into disarray.
She frowned. That meant only one thing.
Her face already contorted with annoyance, she whipped around to face the one she knew would be crouching on her windowsill, ready to defend herself. In a voice that wasn't quite a yell, she glared at him, "What on earth are you doing here so soon! I only left this morning and you promised me three days! I told you I've got a seriously important exam coming up, and I really have to"
"I'm not here to take you back"
She blinked, "What"
Golden eyes stared back at her impassively as the white-haired hanyou returned the gaze. Leaping off the windowsill, he landed deftly on the carpet, straightening up and stretching a little. He glanced at her again, and repeated himself.
"I said… I'm not here to take you back"
Confusion set in as Kagome tried to make sense of his unusually cryptic remarks, watching him as he continued to gaze at her, "Then… what do you want"
The hanyou shook his head gently, setting flowing white locks into graceful, quiet motion, the loose folds of his bright-red hakama rustling softly, "There's no time to explain… something's happened, and I need your help. Do you still have the shikon shards"
Kagome raised an eyebrow, "Of course I do. You just saw them this morning… they're on the desk"
He smiled, "Great. I'll have them back to you soon, then"
Faster than humanly possible, the white-haired half-demon swept across the room, scooping up the small container holding the few shikon fragments, before disappearing out the window in one swift motion. Confusion morphed into alarm as Kagome dashed after him. What the hell is he thinking? Don't tell me he's gone off on one of his Kikyou tangents again and decided he doesn't want to see me again…
Without thought, she leaned out of the window, still able to vaguely make out his form, speedily dashing away. Without care, she yelled out the one word that she knew would subdue him, awaiting the inevitable crashing sound that could only mean hanyou meeting concrete.
It never came. Slowly but surely, Higurashi Kagome felt the presence of the shikon fragments grow steadily weaker, before finally winking out. Unable to process all that had happened in such short a time, she slumped down in a heap, her head coming to rest just below the window.
What on earth's going on?