A/N: Another chapter! Productive this week! But that's because I'm stealing my bf's internet! YESH!

Disclaimer: D: I do not own anything.

A new school week had arrived. And she felt more than ready to accept it after such a long time of dreading moments at school full of doubt and questions. She was just ready to be done with high school and go onto college. All she wanted was to begin her life anew working in the hospital.

At least she was getting somewhere in her nursing classes, that was a plus. They were often held at the Ootori hospital and Shippo's school had been cancelled yesterday so he'd been sitting patiently there watching her work under the advising of her professor. Every once in a while girls or guys would eye him and he would wave his little hand at them cutely. You could've practically seen the swirling hearts shooting around everyone's heads at the sight of him. Kagome had been the best in the class that day, receiving much praise from the doctor who looked over their work on the dummies. She could see it now, in a few years she'd be just like her father. Taking care of others and constantly watching after them. It would be a nice pace compared to always on the run. And at least most of the wounds and illnesses she would be treating wouldn't be on account of grisly wars where demons could take a bite out of a man.

She breezed through dressing in her school uniform and walked outside, hand holding Shippo's, only to find Tamaki holding open the door to a very nice BMW that was taking him to school that morning. "My lady and little princeling, your ride to the kingdom of education awaits." As soon as she sat down inside the BMW, with Shippo "oohing" and "ahhing" appropriately over such a nice ride, an arm wrapped around her shoulders. She gave a small squeak and couldn't stop blushing when Kyoya leaned forward to kiss her cheek.

In front of Tamaki and Shippo!

Tamaki was lit up in his seat like a holiday candle at the sight.

"No worries. I often ride with Tamaki," he replied. Kyoya turned his attention to Shippo. "Can you keep this a secret, Shippo?" Wait! Kyoya was teasing her! And joking with her son! Too many miracles in one damned morning!

"If you want to keep it a secret you better not look at my mom like that all the time," replied Shippo smartly.

Tamaki had already pushed a warm cup of coffee into her hands. "Caramel latte! Oh, and this is for you," he passed a bag of fresh muffins to her son. "Let's share them!" Something Tamaki had always wanted to do with Haruhi… something that Shippo readily agreed to. He was in seventh Heaven as he snacked on a muffin alongside the small boy. It was as if he had a little brother who had as much enthusiasm as he did.

"Hey Tama-sempai." There was a crumb on Shippo's cheek and Tamaki was about to burst with happiness at the spectacle. "You know a festival is coming up soon. I was wondering if you and the Host Club would want to come to our shrine to celebrate it. It's really great! Everyone where's kimonos and theres a pavilion erected outside of the shrine by other people with foods and games! And then Kagome does this presentation of her powers-" The look his mother sent him lessened his enthusiasm a bit as he was reminded to watch his words. "As if she were a real priestess. And I dress up like a demon!"

"Does this event bring a lot of money to the shrine?" Kyoya pressed as Tamaki began imagining what fun he would have with Haruhi. Maybe he'd catch a fish at one of those pong and bowl games for Haruhi and they could watch fireworks under a blooming sakura tree together. She'd melt into his arms as he would exclaim how the fireworks were nothing compared to her beauty.

Kagome nodded. "Then we shall have to invite the entire school to help the proceeds. It would also benefit the host club to have their own little soiree perhaps." He began scribbling down in his black notebook.

"Yes!" Broken out of his daydreaming, Tamaki was pumping his fist in the air. "Operation: Save the Shrine is a go! We shall make flyers and brag about the wonders of a commoners' festival." Once they got him started there was no shutting him up.

Kyoya leaned in to whisper in her ear, "When you get back today, Sesshomaru will be waiting for you at the shrine." Wide surprised eyes stared back at Kyoya. "Our plans have hatched, Kagome." The smug smile on his face said it all. There was hope for them to be together.

The façade was easier to hold up now that they both knew where they originally stood. It was hard when girls asked Kyoya what he was imagining for the wedding. He would say that he had no idea as of yet. Some guys would amiably ask Kyoya how he was going to deal with being married. The only part that was hard for Kagome was the part that made her feel like a home wrecker when it came to Renge. The worst of it happened when it came time for the Host Club.

Renge had decided to confide to Kagome all the wedding plans she was considering.

And she had to sit there and listen and try to act like the friend she wanted to be. Kagome genuinely cared for Renge's go-to attitude and her bubbly nature was heart-warming. However, she was very much a starry eyed girl who knew nothing about the real life. A pampered heiress like most of the girls whose father wanted her to marry money and would probably become a trophy wife. It was that innocence that Kagome hoped Renge would hold onto for a while and at the same time, she wanted Renge to know what life was really about. It wasn't social gatherings, new dresses, and great food. If she had the voice she might have advised Renge on so much. What made it harder was the fact that the object of her affections was the groom-to-be.

"Then a thousand doves will burst out of the cake!" exclaimed Renge, her hands waving about in the air. "At least, I thought about it. Mama said I should consider something more elegant-"

And he swooped into her rescue. "If you'll excuse me, Renge. But I need to steal Kagome away for a moment," interrupted Kaoru. "I need to ask her advice without Hikaru listening in."

Renge went starry eyed. "Oh? On what? Are you in love with someone, Kaoru?" Know a fangirl to immediately jump to that conclusion. A topic Kagome felt uncomfortable with around Kaoru.

"Yes, so it's very personal, but I need her help. You don't mind do you?"

"No, I shall never stand in the way of true love," she boldly cheered, quite unaware that she was doing just that.

Kaoru dragged Kagome off and she felt though he saved her. It was a bittersweet taste in her mouth to know he'd done it for her. Kaoru was still treating her kindly even though she turned him down. "God she's more annoying now than she ever was. At least before this engagement she would have a dozen different things to talk about. Now it's all wedding this and wedding that." He looked sympathetically at Kagome. "I don't know how you can stand it. Do you need a moment to yourself?" He'd led her to the Host Club bathroom. She gingerly nodded. He could see it in her eyes. Kagome just needed a break. Sure, she had Kyoya's love, but it was straining her to keep her feelings in. As she went in the bathroom, Kaoru cast a look at Kyoya. The Shadow King of the Host Club had been intently watching over the rim of his black notebook.

A blow of the nose and a heartfelt sigh later, Kagome went to the sink and ran some cold water before splashing it in her face. Be happy. That's all she could think of. She was happy, wasn't she? This façade would be dropped soon enough. Sesshomaru had plans and when he had plans there was no denying him. Already her heart felt lighter just thinking about it. A chill ran down her back as the room got cooler.

When Kagome looked up at the mirror her eyes stilled. She couldn't tear herself away from the reflection.

Though it was a mere bit of glass, she became entranced with it when their eyes met. Her own were full of shock. His violet eyes gazed on longingly.

He was more apparent than before and far clearer than his image had been in the darkness that evening at her shrine. Miroku touched her shoulders trying to comfort her and Kagome would've given almost anything to have actually felt it. But he was transparent. A ghost of himself. He opened his mouth, but like her, he couldn't speak. Miroku pointed to himself with one hand and then pointed his staff towards the wall. She knew who he was pointing to. But what did he mean by pointing to himself and Kyoya? Much less with a joyful attitude? And then he was gone.

Kagome hastily opened the door, reaching up to tug her necklace out of hiding for reassurance… and ran smack into someone who'd been heading for her.

A crash to the floor and the unmistakable clanging sound of jewelry falling onto the tiles echoed in the room.

Kagome lifted up her head from the floor, rubbing at her bruised noggin, and spied the chain lying there on the tiles with the ring hanging on the end of it. The clutch holding the necklace together had come undone. Headache forgotten, Kagome scrambled for it, but wouldn't you know it if someone picked it up before her. The very person she'd crashed into. Tamaki curiously lifted up the ring forged by Totosai. It was a ring that could never be broken, neither by sword nor fire. And it was with an inquisitive tone that Tamaki read the chiseled words inside it aloud. "For my wife, M- You're married!"

There had never been a time when the Host Club was so full of silence.

Soft footsteps were the only thing heard as Kyoya kneeled down and reached out to take Kagome's hand in his. He wouldn't let her go through this topic alone. She looked gratefully up at him despite the fat tears landing on the floor. And in that instant she had a mild awareness that she might know what Miroku had been trying to tell her… she couldn't figure it out, but she had some inkling that he'd told her before.

"I already knew," answered Kyoya quietly for her ears, reaffirming it loudly so all knew that Kagome hadn't masqueraded as a false hostess. She felt the fright she'd had slide right off her shoulders.

"It's alright, Kagome. We're quite alright with you being married," said Tamaki. Kagome shook her head at that as Tamaki slid the necklace into her hands. "You aren't?" She shook her head again and looked to Kyoya wishing he could read her mind and spew out her train of thoughts.

"She was married," said Mori not wanting for things to be dragged out and cause more stress for her. How had they not remembered? She'd 'mentioned' it before that her boyfriend had died. Kagome nodded her head feebly as her fingers stumbled to bring the necklace back up. For the life of her she just couldn't get the clasp to clip. It was stuck after that fall.

Any other time he would've been embarrassed to be kneeling on the floor next to a crying female, but this was the crying female he'd fallen in love with. Kyoya felt guilty at what had happened since he could've prevented it. He was Kyoya, he could prevent almost anything. And so he worked the clasp until it budged and let his fingers stray for a lingering moment over her neck as he moved her hair back in place after adorning her with the object in question. The look she gave Kyoya was enough for the other host members to remember the tid-bit that she'd briefly shared the first time she'd entered the club.

"Whose M?" Kagome raised her hand up and did one letter at a time, her lips moving to mouth it as she spelled out the name. She had surprisingly ended up falling in love with the least likely man for husband and even ended up marrying that rake in the Feudal Era. Hikaru and Kaoru were already at the dry erase board writing out each letter she spelled, but Kyoya answered them before they'd even finished.

"Miroku," he said. "He was a monk she married a few months after she found Shippo." Kagome wiped at the tears of her eyes and gave what looked to be a quiet laugh as she remembered the man attached to that name. The pervert who'd taken every shot he had at groping her ass. He may have chased Sango while Kagome had chased Inuyasha, but one night they'd been left alone in Edo. That night they'd begun talking and had an inspiring conversation that led to more conversations every night thereafter. The funny thing was, she couldn't even remember what they'd talked about that fateful night. Those conversations had led to both of them realizing how right they were for each other.

Miroku and Kagome had been reflections of one another. They'd both been at a quandary with the world; she could vanish any moment through the well if something went wrong and he could be swallowed by his doomed hand. She was lost to time and he had no time.

"Mi-ro-ku," she whispered. It still hurt to talk. She lifted the ring off the necklace and slid it over her slim finger. He'd been so proud of himself for getting that ring. Not many people needed a ring in the past to certify their marriage, but Miroku had found out from Inuyasha that Kagome's mother had worn one as well as every female in her time that was married.

Why had she hidden it when he'd tried so hard to get it for her?

Because… she'd been ashamed that she'd let their vows end so suddenly. That she'd lost him and hadn't gone with him. For so long she'd been ashamed of that even though it hadn't been in her power to control.

"My husband, for a year," she explained without tripping over her words. It was the longest sentence Kagome had been able to muster for years and that might have been due to the courage of Kyoya clutching onto her shoulders.

Their silent Kagome looked at any moment to cry a river, but instead of excusing herself to run to the restroom she neatly got up and tapped on Kyoya's book with a little nod. Her eyes were silently begging him to have the tale told that she couldn't tell.

"Kagome wrote a story," he began, handing it to Haruhi. "It sounds like a fairy tale, but she wanted to write it and a lot of it speaks about her husband. She'd like to share it with you. It may take most of this hosting time to read and possibly well into tomorrow… any objections?" There were none. Everyone chirped up to hear the story for their curiosity was piqued.

Maybe she'd written a fairy tale to cope with the pain of the real matter. At least, that's what Kyoya would have the rest of the room to believe. Haruhi stared down at the book and looked back up at Kyoya questioningly. This was his black note book. The one he let no one write in or read from. "Page 72, Haruhi. The only ink in the book that's blue." He waved his hand as if giving her permission. Kyoya led a shell shocked Kagome to the cushions and sat protectively beside her. Let people look. They would just think he was helping out a friend.

"…The evening air was crisp and as I sat in the hot springs, unknowingly a perverted monk was eyeing me…" A few giggles swept through the room. Kyoya looked up to watch Haruhi read and his breath halted. "He was an incorrigible rake who groped every woman that passed and repeatedly asked them to bear his child. At the time I was unaware that he was cursed. He carried it around, a black spot of doom that would kill him before his time. If I had known then what I know now, I might've said yes earlier to give us more time together…"

Kagome thought back to those happier days. Miroku had always been all talk and no show. Though she'd known he'd indeed had a reputable past with taking up offers. As soon as he'd joined their little group though, he'd stopped following up with female favors out of courtesy towards her and later Sango. Miroku may have been a hound dog, but it was a gentleman when it suited him. She was enraptured with the story down memory lane, not knowing that Kyoya was just as well.

"You see, despite the deadly battles we faced, even love may bloom. At first, we had both been infatuated with our friends. But they weren't for us. Neither one wanted to settle down just yet. Sango was enraptured with her vengeance on the man who started this slowly evolving war we were fighting. Inuyasha was too preoccupied with his past love. So, one night we ended up talking at a tea house while Sango was out training with Kirara, her demon cat, and Inuyasha was hiding that night because of his illness every moon-" And that's where she'd seen the shamisan being played. He'd noticed the shine in her eye and had offered to teach her. The next week he'd bought her an old tawdry one to learn on. "And that one night turned into evenings of talks and practicing playing the shamisan." A few girls tittered at the memory of Kagome playing the lovely instrument.

A month had passed and then the day happened that he bought her the most beautiful one that she'd ever seen. It had been her most cherished item. "He would walk me everywhere just to talk. He no longer offered for women to bear his child, even Inuyasha and Sango noticed. And then one night, we were at a ball thrown by Sesshomaru to upraise the spirits of all before the war began. For it had gotten to the point that everyone knew we were on the brink of it. Everyone knew blood was coming, but we needed our courage raised one last time before we faced the inevitable last ahead. Sesshomaru was Inuyasha's elder half-brother and had finally acquiesced to helping the cause. Amidst the dancing and it all, I had to go outside for air…" Kagome could still hear the rustling of her silky kimono that Sesshomaru had given her to wear blazoned in black with purple flowers lining it. She should've known. Sesshomaru had a great insight on others. Being so silent he was able to see what others were not and the outfit he'd given her had so matched Miroku's. Inuyasha had been porking out and Sango had been distracted by the entertainment. It was as viable as an opportunity as any for Miroku.

She could still remember in precise detail how Miroku had followed her outside and tugged lightly on a curl of black hair that had escaped from her bun wound up in decorative chopsticks. She'd leaned against his arm as they watched the lower class and their festivities below in the courtyard. For the first time since she'd broken the jewel, Kagome had felt at peace. "The moment he kissed me, I was a goner." Her cheeks lit at the retelling. The cherry blossoms had been blooming that night as if it was just for them and the distant sound of fireworks in the courtyard seemed to reflect the ones she saw behind her eyelids as soon as their lips touched. That's why spring was her favorite season. "And I didn't stop him." Not for quite some time. "Inuyasha and Sango wouldn't speak to us after that for two weeks." The two had done nothing to hide their infatuation with each other, so they'd been found rather easily. Sango had felt betrayed for not hearing a word about Kagome's infatuation with Miroku and Inuyasha had felt it as well, but Kagome had yelled at him. Inuyasha had no room to talk. However, Sango had taken longer because she had a mild interest in Miroku that she'd never acted on. "But they realized that they'd lost their chances... and we all made up."

They were caught in the whirlwind romance. "From there on out we had our little dates in between battling and finding the shards from the ancient necklace Naraku was after." Picnics with Shippo in attendance to keep his hand from straying too much. Miroku walking with her along the woods trying to steal a quick kiss. Playing music together and practicing using their holy powers. He was always superior to her, but he was ready to train her to be far better than he ever could be. Miroku didn't mind the thought that Kagome could surpass him in something. More often than not his hands would stray during those lessons, but she was the only one for whom those hands were cursed for. Despite his forward approaches, he had tried to be a gentleman to the very end when it came to their courtship. She'd actually been the one to force him into restraining from keeping her innocent. A blush coated her cheeks when she remembered they'd gone to a stream and she'd asked him if he wanted to bathe with her. He'd lost all sense of rational thoughts saying 'Whut?' Miroku had protested. He'd wanted to preserve her innocence, but as soon as that little skirt dropped to reveal a bouncy bottom in vibrant red lace underwear… well, his cursed hand wasn't the only thing that couldn't stop itself.

"Finally, he asked me to bear his child. And… I said yes, though I never gave him one."

Looking up to Kyoya's eyes she saw the mirth there at her tale. She saw something else. Now that she'd said her peace, feeling a weight off of her, she wanted to know what it was. She wanted to explore the reason why her heart beat around that icy man. They had obstacles to face and people who wanted nothing better than to push them down. But she'd had worse and if she could triumph over Naraku then Kyoya's father should be a piece of cake.

She turned her attention back to the ardent story teller. It was getting close to the end. To what truly happened to her. And it was at that moment that Kyoya became distracted from the story.

Standing beside Haruhi was a young man. A few years older than Kyoya. It was as if Kyoya was looking at an eerie reflection of himself in a past life. But he knew that wasn't the case. The man stared back at Kyoya knowingly. Kyoya glanced over at Kagome, but she saw nothing. She was busy smiling or glancing at some of her friends to see their reactions to the story. The monk jerked his head for Kyoya to follow. After a whispered excuse to Kagome, he got up and followed after the monk towards the dark hallway that lead to the bathroom where no one could see them. His staff jingled as he led the way. Once away from prying eyes, the ghost pointed to himself and pointed to Kyoya. He didn't understand.

It was when the monk reached out and actually touched the place over Kyoya's heart that it happened.

Kyoya was hit with a blinding headache and cringed as a white light enveloped his vision. He grasped for the wall and slumped against it as his heart raced. Kyoya's hands covered his eyes as he waited to regain his vision.

When he opened his eyes he was alone in the hallway. He glanced about. There was no apparition.

He listened closely, but could only hear Haruhi's voice. "The week before we fought Naraku is my fondest memory, despite the topic Miroku brought up." Kyoya touched his chest where Miroku had touched. He didn't feel bad. Actually, he felt better than all right. But what happened to Miroku? "I never liked it when our conversation led to death. It awaited us, every day. With an army on one side and danger in every corner. I'd been trained to fight and kill by now. I'd shed my first blood. However, Miroku joked about death. One particular sweet balmy night in the wilderness he'd teased that he would be reincarnated as another or-"

Well, fuck, thought Kyoya as it hit him clear as day. I'm his reincarnation.

And as he came to grips with this he walked back towards the group. Kagome lifted her eyes to look at him, as if questioning what had happened. Why had he disappeared during the telling?

The priestess reached out for Kyoya and when he reassuringly touched her hand…

He didn't hear the story anymore.

For he was led back into the story from repressed memories. He saw his previous life. And the world around him went black. His ears were numbed to the world he lived in, all but Kagome's single exclamation of, "Kyo-ya!" He fell and slipped into that former world. The clock had rewound itself to show everything in precise detail that his past self wanted him to remember.

The day he'd died as Miroku, so that he knew how it came to be he was reborn as Kyoya.

A/N: Anyone see this coming? I'd left quite a bunch of hints. No worries. Kyoya will still keep his mannerisms and regular self. There's just a bit more to him is all.