Truth Be Told
Sesshoumaru wondered what the kitsune wanted him to know at this moment in time. After all, the last time they had spoken together was over fifty years ago. Shippou had left for Europe saying he was tired of the fighting and wanted to revisit the wilderness that no longer existed in Japan. He and the kitsune watched over the Rin's family and her in-laws until both their lines had died out during World War II. Although the kitsune did his best to hide it, Sesshoumaru knew the real reason that the kit had gone away was to be alone and forget. After seeing one generation replace another, you would have thought that the kitsune would be used to death and realize how fragile humans are. However turning to the problem at hand, what had brought the kitsune back from Europe all of a sudden and what brought about the desire to speak with him?
Sesshoumaru thought back to the days when he and Shippou both served as invisible guardians of Rin's family. It was in those days that the two forged a bond based on mutual respect. Shippou had given him the respect due to a taiyoukai such as himself, while he on the other hand, was impressed by Shippou's sense of responsibility. Sesshoumaru knew the kitsune put all his energy into his duty as guardian to the descendents of his friends after Kagome left. He even went as far as to take care of now human Inuyasha and his mate, even though he really did not care for either of them. It was Shippou who brought him the message that Inuyasha was dying and wished to see him one last time, thus allowing him to receive what he had been yearning for all of those long years, tetsusaiga. So when the kitsune informed him that he would be leaving Japan, he did not question the kit's reasons. But he did make arrangements for the kitsune so that he would at least be comfortable financially in this materialistic world. Sesshoumaru would not deny that the kitsune did make a contribution to helping to build his business empire. The bubbly personality and handsome looks of the kitsune had won him many friends over the years in the business world. Yes, the kit was much more useful than Jaken in this respect.
Sesshoumaru extended his senses and found that Shippou would be arriving any minute. Sure enough, he heard a car pull up to his spacious home and heard Jaken open the door for the kitsune. Sesshoumaru turned around and faced the door of his study just as his guest walked into the room. "I see you haven't done much in the way of decorating Sesshoumaru." Shippou said, looking around the study.
"I'm sure you didn't come back just to comment on my interior designing skills, did you?" Sesshoumaru replied. Shippou lowered himself into a chair across from Sesshoumaru and sat there observing the taiyoukai.
"You still look the same as when I left." Shippou said, knowing it would irk his mentor. Even though he had never showed it outwardly, Shippou had learned a lot from Sesshoumaru in the years after Kagome left. Sesshoumaru cocked an eyebrow at Shippou regarding his ponytail, and said, "I see you decided to retain the same look as five hundred years ago. Now tell me what is it that I needed to know." Shippou rolled his eyes. Sesshoumaru never could take a joke and was as stoic as ever. Once a businessman, always a businessman. "Time is wealth, huh, Sesshoumaru?"
"Precisely." Sesshoumaru replied, turning his glaze away from the kitsune. Shippou sighed and slumped into the chair. "Do you remember anything about my mother, Sesshoumaru?" He asked, knowing full well that Sesshoumaru remembered her. The youkai lord drew his eyebrows together upon hearing the question.
Kagome… How could anyone forget her, the miko who defeated Naraku and the guardian of the shikon no tama. She was stuff made from legends, and her disappearance after the great battle caused a even more mystical twist to her. "I don't mean the stories that floated around or the legends that became associated with her," Shippou said, "I'm talking about the actual person." Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and remembered the scene at the Goshinboku where he last saw her. The sadness etched onto her face as she spoke to the tree. The tenderness reflected in her eyes when she thanked him for his help. But why had the kit brought this topic up when he did not do so for the past five hundred years?
Shippou did not notice that his host was reliving his own memories of the human whom Shippou called mother, so he continued on. "I know you have tried looking for her, for the sake of Rin, when Kaede told you that she left. But no matter how hard you looked, you could never find any sign of her or the shikon no tama. Well, I found her, she lives today. "
Sesshoumaru snapped to attention immediately, "Impossible," he growled "No human can live this long. Not even the shikon no tama could extend its bearer's life past her physical limit."
Shippou raised his hands in defeat and asked, "Are you going to let me finish, or should I come back another time when you ready to hear what I have to say?" Sesshoumaru growled his consent and Shippou continued. "You might have noticed that Kagome didn't dress like any one else living back then." Seeing he still held Sesshoumaru's attention, he said, "that was because she wasn't from that era." S
esshoumaru's eyes narrowed at Shippou's words "Explain yourself."
Shippou rolled his eyes once again. "Geez, I was just getting to it. Just hold your horses." Sesshoumaru huffed and indicated for Shippou to go on. Seeing Sesshoumaru subdued like that caused Shippou to almost laughed out loud. "As I said before, Kagome wasn't from that particular ear. She came from the future, five hundred years to be exact." He explained.
"How did she accomplish that particular feat? I was not aware that time travel was possible." Shippou was impressed with how well Sesshoumaru handled this mind-bending news that he just delivered. So there's truth to the old saying that after living for so long, it's hard to be shocked.
"Kagome came to our time because of the shikon no tama and the bone eater's well. Mistress Centipede was able to abduct her from her time by pulling her into the well and through time trying to get the shikon no tama from her body. It was also the first time she met and freed Inuyasha from his imprisonment. She was also the reason that the shikon was shattered. In an attempt to prevent a youkai from making off with the complete jewel, Kagome's arrow accidentally hit the shikon, thus shattering it. Since she was the only one who could sense the shards, she decided to travel back and forth through time to complete the jewel. You know about Naraku and the ending to that. Kagome made her wish which allowed the jewel to be reabsorbed back into her body and returned home to this time. It's almost been a year since in the defeat of Naraku to her. Right now she is working at Kilala's clinic as her assistant. This is all I had to say Sesshoumaru-sama. I will take my leave of you now." Shippou got up and walked to the door of the study not caring what Sesshoumaru thought.
"Your reason for telling me this is?" asked Sesshoumaru. Shippou looked at the lord and shrugged, "I just thought that the two of you might be good for each other."
Sesshoumaru's eyes bleed red, his claws flexed as if preparing to rip out the throat of the youkai standing at the door before relaxing. He would not let the words of the young man upset him. "What makes you think you know what is good for this Sesshoumaru?" He challenged.
Shippou grinned deciding not to tell the taiyoukai what Rin had told him about her Sesshoumaru-sama on her visits to the village. "We'll see Sesshoumaru, we'll see." He said while he walked out of the door.
As he drove away, Shippou could not help but grin at the reaction that Sesshoumaru had when he mentioned that Kagome might be good for him. From what Rin had told him all those many years ago, Sesshoumaru was intrigued by his mother. By telling him Kagome's history, Shippou knew he would reignite that curiosity that the taiyoukai had for his mother. The lord of the western lands needed something to shake up his life and Kagome could be the key. Shippou waited five hundred years to see her again, and he'll be damned if his mother knew nothing but despair while everyone else benefited from her sacrifice. What Kilala had said about Kagome's emotional stability bothered him. Kagome deserved all the happiness the world had to offer and he vowed that he would do anything to make her happy. Shippou decided that a long talk with Kilala would be the first thing to do since the neko youkai would have constant interaction with his mother. With her support, it would make things so much easier.
Sesshoumaru continued to stare at the tetsusaiga after Shippou had left. He pondered over what the kitsune had told him. Why had everyone kept her existence a secret until now? Sesshoumaru frowned, what was the kitsune trying to pull? The look on his face showed that he knows something that he, Sesshoumaru was not aware of himself, but what is it? The girl had somehow wriggled her way into his memories and remained there for five hundred years. He had never told anyone, not even Rin, who had requested him to do so, that he went looking for her after her disappearance. It had frustrated him that he could find no trace of her and had given up the useless quest. Sesshoumaru shook his head, now that he knew that she was still alive, it would be a good time to find out why is she haunted his dreams and what else the kitsune was keeping from him.