Sesshoumaru stared at the painting of the Miko of the Shikon no Tama while waiting for the arrival of Shippou. He detected the lingering scent of the living counterpart of the subject of the painting. The miko became a frequent visitor to the estate after her reunion with Shippou, much to the joy of Myoga and Ah-Uh, and the dismay of Jaken.
"She is really something, isn't she?" Shippou asked as he strolled into the room with a cheerful smile.
"You're late." Sesshoumaru said crispy, eyeing the causal clothing that Shippou had on.
Shippou pretended to not have heard Sesshoumaru's comment as he reached his mentor and turned to look at the painting which Sesshoumaru had been contemplating.
"I am going to miss her." Shippou remarked wistfully looking at the portrait with his hands in his pockets.
Sesshoumaru quirked his eye brow just a bit at the kitsune's cryptic remark, but as suddenly as it had appeared, it disappeared.
Shippou chuckled, by now he was used to reading the nuances of Sesshoumaru's behavior. He had been terrified of the seemingly emotionless taiyoukai at first. But under Rin's tutorage and continual contact with the Lord of the Western Lands over the years, Shippou learned to read and interpret the slightest shift in Sesshoumaru's body language.
"Kagome has decided that she would study interior design overseas. I'm taking two weeks off, starting next week to go with her to get her settled in." Shippou said giving a sidelong glance at Sesshoumaru to see how he would react at the news.
"You would willingly let her go knowing that there would fewer opportunities for you to be with her?" Sesshoumaru asked as he turned to look at his protégé, not overly concerned with Shippou being on vacation. After all, he had spent fifty years without his help, two weeks was not going to make a big difference.
Shippou shrugged, "You always do the best that you can for your loved ones, even if it means letting them go far away to pursue their paths in life."
Hearing Shippou's statement, Sesshoumaru realized how much Shippou has changed since Kagome came back into his life. He had watched the kitsune pined away night after night by the well after the miko's unannounced departure. Rin and the others tried to comfort him, but to no avail. It wasn't until Sesshoumaru started training him to help safeguard the children of his friends that he picked himself back up.
For five hundred years, Sesshoumaru watched as the kitsune immersed himself into his duties guarding the children of his friends. To everyone else, he was the eternally cheerful uncle whom you can depend on to offer a helping hand, sound advice, and a shoulder to cry on when the need arises. But to those who have watched him over the years, he was as tense as a high strung filly. He rarely lets his charges out of his sight, as if fearing that they might suddenly disappear. There was also a longing in Shippou's eyes that appeared when he sees mothers interacting with their children. Now for the first time in five hundred years, Sesshoumaru could see that Shippou was genuinely happy. Sensing any further conversation would be a waste of his time, Sesshoumaru turned and left the museum.
Shippou watched his mentor leave the room and shook his head. It takes a lot for Sesshoumaru to admit things, even if it was something that was close to his heart. Shippou turned back to the painting of Kagome and gave a sigh. It had only seemed like yesterday when he first brought her here to show her that the past that she knew was not dead and soon she would be leaving everything behind again to start a new life somewhere else.
"Regretting your decision to let Kagome go?"
Shippou turned around and grinned when he saw that it was Myoga coming into the room. Shippou walked over the aged youkai and helped him to a chair.
"I'm not that old yet." The flea protested, but at the same time he gave a look of gratitude to the kitsune as he sat down.
Shippou grinned, knowing full well that the flea youkai always pretended to be made of sterner stuff than he really was.
"Kind of." Shippou admitted as he took a seat in another chair nearby. "I mean, it's only been a little over a year since she remembered us and we've been apart for so long. So I do wish that we could have more time together."
Myoga nodded in understanding, "Yes. Kagome is a remarkable young woman. It would be hard to let her go. But at least this time, she isn't going to leave without saying good bye. When is she leaving?"
"Sometime next week. I came back this week to let Sesshoumaru know that Kagome is leaving and to find something for her to take along." Shippou replied.
Myoga nodded again as he attempted to get out of his seat, "I would like to see her again. Bring her out here for another visit before she leaves, if you can."
"I'll try," Shippou said jumping up to help Myoga. "But she's going to be busy saying good byes for the next few days."Kagome looked around her room to make sure that she had packed everything she wanted to into moving boxes. When she saw that everything has pretty much been packed, she sat down at her desk and raising her arms high above her head to stretch her back.
"Do you need any help, Kagome?" her mother asked coming into the room carrying a pile of fresh laundry.
Kagome got up to help her mother placed the clothes onto her bed. "I've only got to put my clothes and some last minute items into my suitcase and that's it."
Mrs. Higurashi smiled at her daughter. In a few days, her Kagome would be embarking on a new stage of her life. Who would have thought that a simple summer job would change her daughter's life so completely? She had watched Kagome stressing over her homework and tests, especially math, when she traveled back and forth through time. Then she watched as her daughter seemed to have lost all hope of ever being happy again. Now Kagome had not only managed to put her life back together, but moving on as well.
"I am proud of you, Kagome. No matter what you decide to do." Mrs. Higurashi said as she reached over the clothes pile to give her daughter a hug.
"Thank you, okaa-san." Kagome hugged her mother back tightly. "I'll miss you. Promise me that you will take care of yourself while I'm gone." Kagome said, her voice getting thick in an attempt to hold back her tears.
Mrs. Higurashi gave Kagome a pat on the back and pulled away from her. Grabbing a tissue off Kagome's nightstand, Mrs. Higurashi wiped away Kagome's tears. "Of course, I will." Mrs. Higurashi said. "Shippou and Kilala both have promised to drop in as often as they could. Your grandfather had promised not to shower them with ofudas when they come visit. So don't worry."
Hearing her mother's comment, Kagome cracked a watery smile. The day that Kagome revealed to her family that Dr. Aki and Kito were actually her youkai friends from the Sengoku Jedai, her grandfather yanked her mother and Souta behind him and tried to attack Shippou using the kitchen broom. Since then, her grandfather had showered both Shippou and Kilala with ofudas whenever they visited, much to the dismay and embarrassment of everyone else. Hearing the doorbell, Mrs. Higurashi got off Kagome's bed and went downstairs to open the door for their guests.
Shippou smiled at the petit form of his grandmother when the door opened. "Good afternoon, obaa-san." He said as he stepped into the house. Mrs. Higurashi returned her adopted grandson's smile and led him to the living room where they could wait for Kagome comfortably.
Shippou sat himself down in one of the sofas looking warily around for any signs of Grandfather Higurashi. As if sensing his thoughts, his grandmother said reassuringly, "Don't worry, Shippou. I had Souta take his Jii-san to the doctor's this afternoon. They won't be home yet."
Hearing the news, Shippou visibly relaxed which caused his grandmother to smile. "Is everything ready for Kagome?" she asked her grandson who had coordinated everything to ensure that Kagome's departure would be smooth.
"Yes, obaa-san." Shippou answered, "I have checked everything and it will be fine."
Mrs. Higurashi sighed. Her Kagome was going to leave home for a very long time. It was not that she was not used to the idea of Kagome going off on her own. She had gotten used to that while Kagome traveled back and forth in time and knew Kagome was absolutely capable of taking care of herself. But this time, Kagome was going to another country where the language and customs were completely different. Even when she had traveled back to the Sengoku Jedai, everyone still spoke the same language and the customs weren't completely different. Not to mention that Inuyasha and her friends were there to take care of her and she could have come back anytime she wanted.
Guessing the reason for Mrs. Higurashi's sigh, Shippou leaned forward and took her hands into his. "Don't worry obaa-san. Kagome won't be alone there. Ginta is going to with her and stay there for a little while. I will go visit her whenever I can and if momma wants to leave anytime, I will make the arrangements for her to come back."
Mrs. Higurashi withdrew her hands from Shippou's grasp and gave them a pat on the back. "I never got the chance to say thank you for all that you have done for Kagome." Mrs. Higurashi said quietly. "Without your help, I don't think Kagome would be able to put the past behind her, much less finding a path to her future and being able to travel upon it." unshed tears making her eyes bright.
"In the Sengoku Jedai, she took care of me when I was lost and alone. So it's natural that I shall do the same for her now." Shippou said as he handed a tissue to his adopted grandmother.
Mrs. Higurashi quickly wiped her eyes dry when they both heard Kagome coming down the stairs. Kagome looked at both her mother and Shippou with a quizzical look on her face.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Is everything alright, Okaa-san?" Kagome asked with concern. "If not I could stay for a bit until Souta and Ojii-san gets home."
Mrs. Higurashi shook her head and smiled at Kagome, telling her to enjoy herself tonight at her going away party. With that, she shooed both Shippou and Kagome out the door. Once they were in the car on their way to pick up Kilala, Kagome asked Shippou what they had been talking about before she came down. Shippou told her that her mother was just wanted to know whether everything was ready and gave her a smile. Kagome knew that Shippou was hiding something from her, but seeing that he won't divulge it, she let it rest.
Kilala was waiting for them at the curb when they drove up to her apartment. Smiling, Kilala opened the back passenger door and slipped into the back seat. When she was comfortably settled, Shippou started the car again and drove to Kouga's house where Kagome's farewell part was to be held.
When they arrived at Kouga's house, they found that Hakkaku had also only just arrived and was carrying in several grocery bags into the house. Shouting a greeting to his friend, Shippou parked his car beside Hakkaku's and opened the trunk of his car and began handing out bags to Kilala and Kagome. Shippou indicated with a nod of his head for Kagome to follow Kilala inside with him bringing up the rear. Kagome followed Kilala as the neko youkai walked down the hallway and into the kitchen where a flurry of activity was happening. Kagome's eyes bulged at the sheer amount of grocery bags that lined the counter top, the table, and the kitchen floor. Ayame laughed seeing Kagome's reaction.
"I take it you have forgotten how much youkai can eat when they put their minds to it." Ayame said coming over to relieve Kagome of her burden.
"Yes, it would appear to be so. But this is a lot of food." Kagome said dazedly.
"Trust me, the four males here." Ayame said jerking her head in the direction of Shippou and Hakkaku, "this is just enough to make them full."
"Don't forget, Ah-Un and Myoga are coming as well." Kilala said coming to join them after disposing her bags on the kitchen floor.
"That's the last of the lot." Shippou said as he and Hakkaku came through the kitchen door with the last of the groceries. "Where do you want them, Ayame?" lifting a handful of grocery bags.
Ayame scrunch her eyebrows and looked around the room for space and indicated for the men to put the bags on the floor. Then she started to organize everyone to help unpack and sort the contents of the grocery bags. Meanwhile, Kouga and Ginta have hauled out numerous chilled coolers and placed them against the wall. Kagome was given the task of folding up the empty grocery bags with Myoga who had arrived with Ah and Un after Shippou brought in the last of the groceries.
When she finished her task, Kagome went to the kitchen to see what else she could help with. She could only marveled at the speed of the dinner preparation for Hakkaku had cleared the table and was now placing fruits, salads, sushi, and other ready to eat cold dishes. Ayame and Kilala had finish preparing the meat for the grill which Kouga and Shippou were setting up outside. Ah-Un carried plates and utensils to the side table ready for use. Ginta checked to make sure there were plenty of drinks while waiting for the kettle to boil water for tea.
A chuckle from beside her brought her attention to Myoga who had come to see how the preparation was going. "I take it this is the first time you've seen youkai speed used for something else other than fighting." observing the surprised look on Kagome's face.
"We are proud of our fighting skills, but we do need a more constructive outlet these days." Ginta said smiling as he carried a tea service over to them.
"Yes, or else my house would be in the state of constant repair." Ayame said dryly as she handed plates of meat for Ah and Un to take outside to Kouga while throwing a nasty look at her husband's back while Kagome sent a questioning look in Ginta's direction. Ginta just shook his head and Kagome left the matter alone.
"I heard that." Kouga said, poking his head through the opened door. "How do you want your steak to be cooked, Kagome? Medium or medium well?"
"Medium well, please and thanks Kouga." Kagome beamed at her friend.
"No problem." And Kouga turned back to the grill to help Shippou keep an eye on the food now cooking on the grill.
Ayame smiled at the miko who had become a good friend over the year. She, now understood why Shippou loved Kagome so much and the attraction that Kouga felt over her. Kagome possessed a natural charm that people find appealing. She was a good listener and had a knack at sensing and soothing other people's needs, always placing their needs before her own. It was no wonder that Shippou had been reluctant to share the young woman's attention with his friends after being deprived of her for five hundred years. But Kilala pointed out that his friends were Kagome's friends first, and Kagome would be most displeased if she found out that he acted so selfishly. Not wanting to anger his rather formidable mother, Shippou told Kagome about the wolves and arranged a reunion party.
She was going to miss Kagome when she leaves for her studies. It was a good thing that Ginta had a project to pursue in the city where Kagome was going to study, although Ayame had no doubt of Kagome's abilities to take care of herself and make friends there, she was glad that there would be someone familiar for her to turn to for support in the beginning. The sound of the patio door opening and the smell of meat wafting into the room jolted Ayame from her musings as the men scrambled to sit themselves down and began inhaling the food, while the women groaned at the complete disregard of table manners.
For the next few days, time seemed to fly by for Kagome in the flurry of last minute packing and saying good byes to her friends. Her friends have put together an album/scrapbook of their times together which they presented to her at their farewell party. Hojo had given her a set of drawing tools which he hoped that she would find useful in her studies. Kagome thanked her friends with tears in her eyes and promising to write to them as often as she could. On the eve of her departure, Mrs. Higurashi prepared Kagome's favorite dishes and invited Shippou and Kilala over for dinner. Looking at the faces of her family, Kagome realized that it was going to be a long time before she would eat dinner at the shrine again.
After dinner, everyone pitched in to help Mrs. Higurashi clean up. Kagome wandered around on the shrine grounds committing to memory every detail there. She stopped underneath the Goshinboku and touched the trunk. Leaning her back against it, Kagome looked up at the moon peeking through its leafy branches and wondered if the moon will look the same over there. Footsteps coming towards her broke her from her reverie. She turned to see Kilala coming towards her.
"Feeling anxious?" Kilala asked teasingly as she sat down at a bench placed underneath the tree and patted the empty space beside her inviting Kagome to sit down.
"A little." Kagome admitted taking the indicated spot beside her friend. "A few weeks ago, it seemed like a long time. But now it seems surreal." Shaking her head, Kagome continued, "So much have happened this past year that I feel I can't even begin to keep track of it all. Seeing you and Shippou again, finding Sesshoumaru was still alive and haven't aged a day, then Kouga them. Studied feverishly in everything and got accepted abroad. It is a bit overwhelming." giving Kilala a rueful look.
Kilala chuckled, "I have to admit, for a normal mortal, it is a bit overwhelming. But I'm sure you won't change a thing if you were given the option of choosing all over again."
Kagome laughed weakly, "Am I that predictable?" she asked looking at her friend.
"Let's just say that we know you well." Kilala answered smiling, picking up a package beside her. "Now, I have a going away present for you." and handed the wrapped package to her.
"Can I open it?" Kagome asked as she tried to guess what it was by feeling.
Kilala gave the young woman a playful swat "Of course you can, I want to know if you'll like it."
Grinning, Kagome meticulously unwrapped her present and revealed a box. Opening the box, she found tissue paper wrapped around what appeared to be a picture frame. Kagome peeled away the paper and gasped. "Oh, Kilala…" It was a photograph of Sango cradling Kilala in her kitten form with Miroku beside her.
"I got Shippou to help with this." Kilala explained blushing slightly. "I thought an actual photograph was better than a painting. So I had him cast an illusion of Miroku while he took the form of Sango and I revert to my kitten form since his illusions can't really hold up weight."
"Thank you so much, Kilala." Kagome caught Kilala in a fierce hug. One regret she had was that she never had any pictures of her Sengoku Jedai friends to remember them by and Kilala's gift had remedied one of her many regrets stemmed from the past. When she saw the painting that Shippou had drawn, Kagome had wanted a copy for herself. But knowing how busy Shippou was and all that he had done for her, she didn't want to trouble him anymore.
"Kagome, Kilala. Come back in for dessert." Shippou called out from the kitchen door. Grinning at each other, the two women walked away from the shadows beneath the Goshinboku and into the light of the house.
Shippou and Kilala showed up at the Higurashi Shrine bright and early the next morning with a van he had rented for the day to take Kagome, her family, and her luggage to the airport. Mrs. Higurashi invited them for breakfast which everyone ate quickly and Kilala helped with the clean up while Shippou and Souta loaded the van. Kagome looked around her room one more time to make sure she hadn't forgotten anything and rushed down the steps to the waiting van. When Shippou saw that everyone had piled into the vehicle, he headed to the airport.
Shippou and the Higurashi family found Kouga and the others waiting for them at the check in area. Kagome and her mother decided it would be wisest to keep the real identities of Kouga them a secret from grandfather, in the interest of peace. The others exchanged pleasantries while Shippou, Ginta, and Kagome went to the counter and checked in their baggage.
"Why in the world is your suitcase so heavy, Shippou? It just barely fall under the weigh limit." Ginta asked when they have gotten their boarding passes and rejoined the others.
"Well, technically more than half of that weight belongs to Kagome." Shippou said wickedly looking at Kagome. "Kagome seemed to find more and more things she wanted to bring as she packed and in the end, conscripted my baggage allowance as well." Grinning, Shippou moved away from Kagome's way as she reached out to smack him.
"Don't tease her, Shippou." Kilala scolded while Ayame added her sympathies to Kagome as they made their way to their gate chattering.
"You don't want to miss your plane, Kagome." Mrs. Higurashi reminded gently when they had milled about for a bit waiting for Kagome to take the lead. At Mrs. Higurashi's reminder, everyone went quiet and someone cleared their throat. Turning to Ginta, Mrs. Higurashi bowed slightly to him, "Thank you once again for going with her. I know you'll guide Kagome in her endeavors."
Ginta stepped forward and bowed back, "I will certainly do my best. Mrs. Higurashi."
Kagome watched as her mother went to Shippou, gave him a hug, and thanked him for everything. Kagome felt a lump rising in her throat when her mother came towards her. There were signs of tears in her eyes as she took Kagome into her arms.
"Take care of yourself, Kagome. Your father would have been proud of you. We'll miss you, write to us as often as you can."
"I will, okaa-san, every day." Kagome said, her voice becoming choked as she hugged her mother back trying hard to hold back her tears. She knew it would be a long while before she would feel her mother's arms around her again. Kagome hugged each family member in turn, then her friends. She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and followed Shippou and Ginta. She turned around and waved to her family and friends one last time before stepping through the door into the security check point.
Kagome passed the security check point without mishap and joined her friends. "Where shall we go now?" She asked glancing at her watch. "We still have lots of time before we board the plane."
"We could go to the flight lounge." Shippou suggested looking at Ginta who nodded. "It's more comfortable waiting there. Besides, I could certainly use a snack before we get onto the plane."
Ginta led his friends to the flight lounge where they had a second breakfast, at least Shippou did anyways while Ginta and Kagome just had tea.
"You don't usually eat this much, Shippou," Kagome noted, eyebrows furrowing.
Shippou took a drink from his cup before answering Kagome. "I am loading myself up on the last decent bit of Japanese food while I can."
Understanding Kagome's worried expression, Ginta kicked Shippou's legs beneath the table. "Stop scaring Kagome, Shippou. You're only going to ruin Kagome's first plane ride." With that said, the three of them rose out of their seats and made their way to their boarding gate.
Kagome sat down gingerly into her seat and looked about her. She had heard stories about the luxury and comfort of the first class cabins and found them to be true. When Kouga and Ayame found out that this was going to be her first time on a plane, they had insisted on upgrading her ticket to a first class one. She was reluctant to take their offer at first until Ayame explained it would be their farewell and congratulatory gift to her. Shippou had arranged for Kagome to get a window seat so she can see outside whenever she wanted. She looked at Shippou whose seat was beside hers to see what he was doing.
Shippou turned to her and grinned, "The selection isn't as bad as I thought."
Ginta scoffed as he sat down in the seat in front of them after stowing their carry on luggage in the overhead compartments. "You're just damn picky, Shippou, yet you'll eat everything at the same time."
Shippou sniffed, "It's not my fault that I have high expectations."
Kagome stifled a giggle seeing the two bicker like little children and reached into the pocket in front of her seat to take a look at the menu. Her eyes grew large at the different selections that she could chose from and all the extra food that she could have anytime. She licked her lips in vexation knowing it would be hard to choose from that tempting list.
As if sensing her thoughts, Ginta spoke, "Oh yes, Kagome, you can try everything on that list. Ayame guessed that you would be hard pressed to make a choice, so she ordered extras. Besides anything that you don't finish, I suspect, Shippou will," grinning at the back of Shippou's head.
Shippou chose to ignore Ginta's comment as he rummaged through his bag for a pre flight snack while muttering about the arrogant of wolves.
Sesshoumaru looked up from his work to see what had disturbed him. His keen senses alerted him that, instead of standing outside his study awaiting orders, Ah and Un were in the garden instead. Wondering what had brought this change, Sesshoumaru went out to the balcony overlooking the gardens to find Ah, Un, and Myoga looking up into the sky.
"We should see it soon as it flies overhead." Ah said.
Sesshoumaru wondered what in the world were his retainers talking about when an airplane flew overhead.
"There it is." Un exclaimed as he and Ah waved wildly at the passing airplane.
It was only after seeing the plane, Sesshoumaru remembered that the kitsune was taking the miko to her studies abroad today and would be gone for two whole weeks to help her "settle in." Looking at his retainers who, thankfully, have stopped waving at the airplane, Sesshoumaru realized that the scent of the miko was rapidly fading from his estate. Usually, he would welcome such a quick dissipation if a human must come to his house. But as it is with everything about the miko, there is something unique in her essence that allows him to tolerate it, and even come to remember it. Not that Sesshoumaru, taiyoukai of the Western Lands, would ever admit.
Settling back at his desk, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and felt a breeze, coming in from the open window, upon his face while his traitorous mind took him back to a time when he had roamed the countryside searching for answers.
Kagome peered out her window as the plane as the ground appeared further and further away. She felt Shippou lean over her shoulder and Kagome moved aside to let Shippou have a glimpse at the rapidly rising plane.
"Oh, look. Kagome. There's Sesshoumaru's estate." Shippou said pointing to a large green area on the ground. "I think I see three figures there as well."
"Ah-Un and Myoga did say that they will see us off even though they couldn't come to the airport." Kagome murmured still looking at the scenery beneath her.
Kagome leaned back into her seat when the city buildings became a tiny speck through her window. There is no turning back now. She will face everything her choice might throw at her when she gets to her new home. But meanwhile, she will enjoy all the wonderful things her flight has to offer, starting with her very own in-flight viewing station.