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The Breakup
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"How can an entire tribe of demons be so difficult to find?" Kikyo muttered under her breath as she walked down the sandy shore towards the small village. While it was true that the almighty barrier that had protected the bat demons for so long had been broken by Inuyasha's sword, there were rumors that there was one remaining full blooded descendant who had managed to create another. The barrier, so she had heard, was just as impenetrable as the first had been. The only reason the bat demons had not attacked any villagers was out of fear that Inuyasha and his so-called friends would return to wipe them from extinction but now that he was without his sword…
Perhaps it would be best to attempt blending into the village where the little half-demon girl lived. It may even be wise to drop Inuyasha's name to earn her trust. It was highly likely that the child knew the location of their new lair, if only for her own protection and that of her mother. It almost seemed too easy. Children had always loved her.
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Yawning, Kagome groaned as she frantically attempted to copy the borrowed notes in the hope that writing down the information would help her remember it later on. For the second day in a row, she had missed to ensure there would not be a repeat occurrence. Today would be the third and final day before she headed back to the feudal era. She was actually kinda shocked the demonic version of him hadn't come to fetch her. She was a good four days late now and yet there hadn't even been a peep or flash of demonic aura. It…it kinda hurt her feelings in a strange twisted way and made her miss her impatient hanyou who couldn't stand it if she was even thirty minutes late.
As she continued scribbling, the doorbell and the sounds of gentle knocking suddenly snapped her concentration in half. Groaning and beating her forehead gently on the table for a moment, the miko sighed heavily as she got to her feet and trudged toward the door. This must be the new social worker. How fun.
At least this one shouldn't be a psycho rapist set out on taking advantage of allegedly special needs kids, right? With a deep heavy sigh, Kagome unlocked the door and put on her best smile before it faltered slightly. Despite clear attempts to mask it, this strange woman emanated a demonic aura. It was muted, barely noticeable but it was there and strangely, it felt almost familiar. Almost.
"Hiya!" the girl not that much older than her chirped happily as she bounced into the hallway, "Higurashi residence, right?"
"Yeah…" Kagome said slowly, "Who are you?"
"Oh! Call me Asora. I'm the new social worker. Have the paperwork right here if you want to check my credentials, " the girl answered gaily as she fumbled awkwardly with her purse before pulling out a soft bluish piece of resume paper and handing it over, "Here ya go. You must be Kagome. Oh, I've heard so much about you!"
"Have you now?" the miko asked suspiciously as she glanced down at the very curly print on the somewhat shimmering paper before her eyebrows shot into her hair when she held it close to her face. After a few seconds in which Kagome clearly seemed to be doubting what her senses were telling her, she gave it a tentative sniff, "Is this…is this scented?"
Nodding excitedly, the girl flashed her a toothy grin before looking impatiently around the house, "Is he here?"
"How long have you been doing this?" Kagome chuckled nervously to which the girl immediately lit up.
"Oh would you believe it?! This is my first real gig," Asora squealed before waving her hand dismissively when Kagome's jaw dropped and the miko gave her a once over, "I mean, I've worked before. But that was for my parents. This. This is my thing."
"So, the testing facility sent you?" Kagome asked as she glanced at the resume in her hands, "It doesn't say you work for them…or anyone actually. It says your last job was as a receptionist."
"Well, I mean I'm kind doing this on a contract worker type of basis," Asora laughed flippantly before smiling sheepishly, "Rin called me in as a favor to my parents."
"Okay…" Kagome sighed awkwardly as she handed the soft blue paper back to the girl, "I guess…I guess I'll go get him then."
"Oh! Before you do that, I've got his papers I need to give back to you," the girl gasped before pulling out an envelope and shoving into the teenager's hands, "It's all in there, don't worry."
Staring incredulously at the somewhat overflowing envelope, Kagome slowly pulled out what seemed, incredibly, to be a birth certificate? Furrowing her brow, she slowly placed it back where it came from and tucked it neatly under her arm. That was a question for Mama because she sure as hell didn't think they provided anything.
"You gunna go get him?" Asora asked sweetly as she plopped down in one of the kitchen chairs, "I don't think this should take too, too long."
"Alrighty then. I'll just do that…" Kagome chuckled nervously as she awkwardly backed out the room before rushing up the stairs to her bedroom where Inuyasha was getting ready and slamming the door behind her. Barely able to hide his amusement, Inuyasha raised a single brow in a silent question before snorting when Kagome hissed quietly, "Your new social worker is crazy and she might be a demon!"
"As long as she doesn't try to grab me, I call that an improvement," Inuyasha whispered back, an amused smirk playing on his lips as he finished buttoning his shirt, "Let's just get this over with."
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Sighing happily, Shiori held the freshly cleaned linen to her nose and inhaled deeply. Some people hated this chore but for her it was heaven. She loved the scent of wildflowers that her mother used to make soap mixed in with the scent of the salty seawater. She loved the soft, clean feel of a freshly washed dress. She loved that she had finally learned to fold the fabric in a way that wouldn't wrinkle. She enjoyed the mundanity of it all. Of all the things in her life, this was the only thing she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that every human girl her age was doing. It was the one thing in her life that made her feel truly normal.
As she sniffed again, her nose crinkled in disgust and she held the small dress up for inspection. It didn't smell right at all. In fact, it smelled strangely of graveyard soil. That…that couldn't be right. Sniffing again, she gagged and it took all she had in her not to vomit. God, what was that?
