Disclaimer: HA! I own CCS or IY? Are you bloody insane? mutters Well, you gotta be to read a story like mine . Just kidding. Luv y'all! Now read on...

By: Fire Chrysanthemum

"Konnichiwa Sakura-chan. Konnichiwa to you too, Daidouji-kohai, Urahara-kun and Li-kun," Kagome greeted them warmly as they were walking home from school together. It was an oddly normal sight. Three teenagers and five kids walking down the street in a little herd, on their way home from school. There was an exceptional variety of expressions on their faces, ranging from boredom to happy to extremely oblivious to annoyed.

Tomoyou was still desperately trying to get Souta into a conversation. She got to hang with him at lunch, but he had "accidentally" forgot and asked Sakura and Urahara to eat with them. Tomoyou had tried to be pouty and flirty, but Souta managed to steer her more towards Urahara by engaging in a very deep conversation with Sakura about legends and magic. Without giving anything away, of course.

Now, he was once again trying very desperately to avoid Tomoyou. Thank Kami for Urahara, who was quick to intervene, for his sake as well as Souta's. Syaoran was sour faced and glaring at Souta. No big surprise, huh? Sakura was smiling widely and laughing along with Souta. Kagome leaned over to Touya and stage whispered dryly, "I think we're gonna be brother and sister-in-law in the near future."

Said couple blushed and looked away. Syaoran was practically livid when he heard this statement. His face was beet red and he looked as if he just wanted to grab Sakura and run as far as he could.

"Hey Sakura," Kagome said to clear the awkward silence, "Wanna come to our house after school today? It's only a half of a block more. You all can come," she said to the group of children and Touya and Yukito. Touya stopped to think for a moment and Urahara and Tomoyou responded with a "Sure."

"Please, Nee-chan?" Sakura asked adorably, using her puppy eyes trick. Syaoran and Souta gulped. There was no way that anyone could resist her. Touya rolled his eyes and nodded. Kids nowadays.

Everyone cheered and walked with renewed vigour to Kagome and Souta's house. The kids were chatting happily amongst themselves, and while Kagome thought that it was good that Souta was making friends, they were giving her a major headache. "This house, guys," she said, pointing to her house. The kids began running towards the house and Kagome jogged along with them. There was a man waiting for them though. He had long coal black hair, a smooth, pale complexion and he was wearing all black. He wore dark shades too, giving him an almost FBI look.

"Can I help you?" she asked the man politely. She felt like she knew him but she instinctively kept everyone else behind her.

"Kagome Higurashi," he stated. His light tenor voice hitting a chord deep within her. An old friend...

"Sesshou?" She gasped. He nodded. "Souta," she said sweetly, "Can you take everyone inside and show them around? I have some very important business to attend to." Souta nodded, his eyes never leaving the man Kagome called Sesshou. His mind was working furiously. The man had tinges of youki around him, almost as if he was suppressing it. Souta guessed from his regal poise that this man could only be the one and only Sesshoumaru, lord of the Western Lands. Souta took the frightened bunch of kids and the two curious adults inside.

"Nothing much," he told them loudly, "Just an old friend of Kagome's. Come on in. I wanna show you guys my katana." Kagome smiled gratefully at him and waited until the door clicked shut. She rounded on "Sesshou" and pulled off his shades. Golden eyes, though looking slightly more green now, glared down at her.

"It is you," she breathed, "Sesshoumaru-sama." She hugged him tightly. "Where has everyone been? Why hadn't you come sooner?"

"Halt for a moment, Miko." Sesshoumaru said, smirking, "There's someone who wants to see you very badly. Wait for me to get him out of the car." He walked over to his car, a black Porsche and muttered something, his hand glowing slightly. Well, it looked like it was glowing if you had heightened senses and powers. The said someone he was talking about tumbled out of the car in a heap. She spotted reddish hair and gasped.

"Shippou? My baby Shippou?" she half-said to herself. The tall youth stood and glanced at her. They both broke into a run and hugged tightly.

"Mom?" Shippou's voice broke. Kagome nodded and she wept a bit.

"As nauseatingly sweet as this little reunion is," Sesshoumaru said dryly, "I think we have more important matters to attend to." The two broke off from their hugging as Kagome stopped to stare at Sesshoumaru as if he had grown a second head.

"What?" Kagome asked, clueless.

"Tell me you've noticed the large amount of magic fluxing in this area?" Sesshoumaru said, rolling his eyes, "Obviously you've become weak wallowing among the humans here."

"I did notice," Kagome defended, pouting at the insult, "It's that girl friend of Souta's. Sakura Kinomoto. I'm thinking she's a sorceress. But a good and inexperienced one."

"The one with brown hair and jade eyes?" Sesshoumaru asked smoothly. Kagome nodded. "And do you realize what will happen now?" Kagome shook her head and Sesshoumaru sighed.

"They will be after her," Sesshoumaru told her. Kagome's eyes widened. She tightened her grip on Shippou's hand. "Have you had word from your Mother?"

"No, none," Kagome said apprehensively, "Why? What's wrong?"

"Well, she was the first target..." He told her slowly, "She has leukemia, does she not?"

"Yeah," Kagome said, "but her symptoms are not like leukemia at all." She pondered it all.

"Your mother was subjected to miasma, Momma," Shippou piped up, "They have been testing it for a while, seeing how it affects regular humans." Kagome's jaw went slack and a tear slipped.

"Mother.." Kagome whispered, "Why does everyone that I love and care for die?"

"We can have Jinenji cure her," Shippou told her reassuringly. Kagome nodded slowly, still shocked.

"Try what you can for the sorceress," Sesshoumaru told her, "Watch for them." And he got into the car. Kagome swept Shippou into her arms and kissed his forehead lightly.

"Now you be a good kitsune, okay baby?" Kagome said, wishing she didn't have to let go of her son. He nodded and went into the car. She watched the car pull out of her driveway and waved forlornly at her old friends.

Yukito was wandering the Higurashi house, looking at random items. Though he'd probably not admit it, he was thinking about Kagome. And that strange man, the one she called Sesshou. Yukito was seriously interesting in finding out their relationship.

And as he wandered and mused and pondered, he stumbled into Kagome's room. He could tell it was Kagome's room. The dark covers of the bed and the black silky curtains. It was sophisticated yet very lonely. Kagome was in fact quite lonely. At school, He, Touya and Nakuru were the only people Kagome associated with. Many of the girls were jealous of her and Nakuru and many of the guys seemed to be a little scared of her austerity.

A photo in a black square frame caught his eye and he picked it up. 'Funny,' he thought, 'Are they cosplaying or something?' The photo was set in a wooded background and everyone was dressed up. Kagome was there in black and white hakamas and haori and the man named Sesshou was there too, except his hair was silver in the picture. He looked very regal and proud and strangely enough, like Kagome. Another silver haired man was in the picture, equipped with dog ears and wearing all red. A woman with cheery brown eyes was dressed in a pink haori and a long green skirt. The most unusual thing about her was the overly large boomerang slung on her back. There was a man in black and violet monk robes, grinning and rubbing the back of his head. He could have passed as a sibling of the Higurashis. There was a small little boy with pointy ears and red hair chasing around a yellow and black cat, who was being chased around by another girl who had a remarkable resemblance to Kagome, minus the side pony tail and brown eyes. As a matter of fact, the longer Yukito looked at the photo, the more it looked like the whole group there was one big family. He felt a pang of longing. What was it like to be part of a loving family? His grandparents were a lie. Touya had shared all of his memories with Yukito and Yukito was sure he was okay with the whole thing with Yue, for the most part. But then again, how comfortable could you feel when there was another entity within you that could see into your mind but was a total enigma to you? He thought for a moment, picturing having a normal life.

'What's done is done,' he told himself firmly. 'If I were normal, would I have met everyone here in Tomoeda?' Satisfied that he didn't miss out on such a big thing and good friends, he placed the picture back down and peered out the window, lightly lifting the black curtains.

Kagome was still down there with the dark haired stranger, as well as a red headed man. The impish grin on his face reminded Yukito of the little boy from the picture. Was this his father maybe? Yukito watched as the two men leaned in to hug her affectionately and fought back a stab of jealousy. Who the bloody hell were these men anyway? Yukito watched as Kagome watched them leave, waving sadly and retreating back into the house. He scrambled out of her room hurriedly and watched as she entered the house, hoping she wouldn't look up. He watched curiously as she grabbed Souta and started whispering furiously in his ear. Souta grew flushed and he stuttered furiously.

"How the bloody fuck-" he began, but Kagome motioned him to be silent. They both looked up and Yukito blushed.

"Umm, Okaeri Nasai Kagome?" he stammered nervously. She nodded at him and walked over to where everyone else was, watching t.v. in the living room. They eyed him suspiciously for a moment before nodding to each other and resuming the smiles on their faces, however faked.

"You have such a pretty home!" Tomoyou gushed, fingering the glass rose in the cobalt vase. It was a gift from an old friend of hers named Shuichi. The rose was black with a dark green stem. It remained ever vibrant, ever reminding Kagome of Shuichi. He had died fighting demons in a Dark Tournament right before she was in the final battle with Naraku. He admitted he loved her and told her it was okay to move on. She still had a very special place in her heart for him.

"Please don't touch that," she said, more harshly than she intended to. Tomoyou's hand withdrew as if the rose had been a particularly nasty bug. The others looked wide-eyed at her and she smiled apologetically. "It was from an old friend," she explained, "It's all I have left of him." The girls looked sympathetic and the guys' eyes were understanding. They left the rose alone.

"Explains a lot," Souta said rather tactlessly, "Who was it?" Kagome's face was stony and Shuichi's final moments replayed in her mind.

"Shuichi," she sighed, toying with her hair sadly. It was a really bad habit of hers, to fiddle with her hair when she was upset. Souta took that as a warning sign and nodded.

"Would you guys like to stay for dinner?" Kagome asked courteously. Most nodded sure and Urahara went to phone his mum.

"I can stay," he announced afterwards. Kagome went to the kitchen and began preparing food, refusing all offers to help her. Pleasant smells were coming from the kitchen and Souta grinned, recognizing the familiar smell. It was both of the Higurashis favourite and was always good for cheering them up.

"Done," Kagome called from the kitchen. Souta walked in first and was greeted by the familiar sight of the nabe dish Oden. Sitting down at the table, everyone was well equipped with some rice, miso soup, and a pair of chopsticks.

"Itadakimasu!" they chanted dutifully and began to dig in. Delighted noises were heard as well as some compliments. Finally, after Yukito had had his eight helping, they cleaned up and people were beginning to get home.

First Yukito left, then Urahara, then Tomoyou and finally the Kinomoto siblings. Kagome and Souta decided that now would be the best time to continue their sparring and practice. They had only been practicing for about twenty minutes when they felt the same twinging they felt whenever they sensed Sakura's magic.

"Why does this always happen while we're sparring?" Kagome whined, looking peeved. Nonetheless, she picked up her arrows this time, as did Souta. "Oh wait." she ran into her room and pulled out two masks. The masks were a bluish white and fit Kagome's and Souta's faces nicely. They had a similar appearance to Rau le Cruset's mask from Gundam Seed, with the same filmy substance covering the eye holes.

"One way windows," Kagome explained quickly, "that way, we can see them, but they can only see our hairs and mouths. They left quickly.

"We can approach them now, right?" Souta asked. Kagome nodded briskly and they ran at an extreme pace. They decided to hide themselves once again, determining not to get into the fight unless extremely necessary. They knew they'd have to step in eventually. But Sakura defeated the card with ease. Just when Kagome and Souta felt that they may as well just leave, Kagome felt that hauntingly familiar jyaki.

A low rumbling laughter had frightened Sakura into turning around. She saw flashes of white and a bit of blue, shaped in a baboon mask and fur? She released her wand quickly, prepared. What she did not see coming was an attack on her friends from a spiky brown tentacle.

She ran towards them when a streaking pink arrow whizzed past her and disintegrated the tentacle aiming for her friends. She spun around to where the arrow came from, when another tentacle came straight at her, aiming for her heart. She froze and let out a scream. It was getting closer, closer. A blur of black and white ran towards her and pushed her out of harms way then rolled to safety itself. Another person wearing the exact same outfit rushed out and shot glowing arrows at the baboon man. Yue had joined the fray by now and crystal shards of energy flew at the baboon and tore at his clothes and mask.

"Aneue, the heart!" she heard the figure beside her hiss and the other person nocked their bow and shot at the baboon's heart. It disintegrated fully and in its place sat a wooden doll with hair wrapped around it.

"Kugustu," the other masked person muttered disgustedly. She picked it up and incinerated it with her hands. Yue had turned to Sakura and looked her over.

"Mistress are you alright?" he asked concernedly. The great, tawny lion loped over, Syaoran on his back.

"I am fine," she assured them, "and thank you for coming when you did." The two people's mouths curled into smiles.

"Too convenient actually," Syaoran muttered loudly, "What if they're just setting us up? They are the guys who were spying on us last time." The one with longer hair reached towards him, its slim hand gloved in black leather. It slapped him on the back of his head.

"Well," the person said, her lilting voice revealing that she was indeed a woman, "someone needs manners."

"Indeed sister," the other said, its deeper voice indicating a male. He was smiling lightly at her and she realized that they were still holding hands. She blushed but didn't pull away.

"Hey!" Syaoran yelled, "get your bloody hands off her." he proceeded to wrench their two hands apart but the masked figure let her hand drop easily.

"Thank you for saving my mistresses life, miko-sama," Keroberos growled nicely. The woman's mouth twisted into a half smile.

"So you knew?" she asked him delightedly. "It is nice to meet you. But beware," her tone took a forbidding quality, "they will send more for you. Be vigilant at all times. I will see you again." She kissed Yue's cheek softly, petted Keroberos and hugged Sakura tightly.

"I'd hug you too but I'm afraid you'd kill me," she laughed shaking Syaoran's hand. Then she and her brother walked off, leaving a group of very confused people.

"Who and what just happened?" Sakura asked confusedly. Keroberos shook his long mane and growled approvingly.

"That was no ordinary miko," he concluded, before switching into his teddy bear form. Yue was still looking bemusedly at the direction the haunting miko and her monk brother (at least, that's what Sakura assumed he was) had taken off to.

"I think we shall be seeing a lot of them," Yue said pensively.

"I think so too," Sakura said, "But I think it might be a good thing. By the way, who was that baboon?"

"I will look into it while you're at school," Kero promised, looking very thoughtful. "The baboon seemed very familiar."

"Let's go home, I'm tuckered," Sakura said wearily. It was true. Her feet were aching and her head was swimming. They trudged home.

Souta had removed his mask and Kagome had removed hers when they reached the solitude of their home. His face was livid.

"That was Naraku," Souta practically yelled, "Explain all, sister. Now." Kagome sighed.

"Well, you see how I told you about mum's disease...?" she began.

E N D C H A P T E R