Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket or Inuyasha.

Her Guardian

"I'm so sorry!"

"Really, there is no need to be. It's my fault anyways."

"But still!"

Somehow, Shigure found this situation quite similar from before. Kagome was renting her apology again this time also in Tohru's old clothes, and he sat right across from her, eyes sparkling with unspoken amusement. He truly felt entertained. This petite girl seemed more than just a frail, shy girl when it came to men and hugs. His thoughts drifted off to just a few minutes ago when they were still standing outside the door, Kagome in his embrace…

"P, please let me go!"

He heard her speak, but he refused to do so. This touch, this feeling, it was something he had never experienced before. Born cursed as a zodiac, he never did have any chance to hug any other women besides those from his own family, but now… he had this little girl caged in his arms, her soft, black hair flowing like the waves behind her as faint smells of shampoo carried by the wind hit his nose. Ah, wonderful. Shigure wondered for a moment if all of the other high school girls would feel like this. He burrowed his nose deep into her hair, trying to get more of the sweet fragrance of the girl before he felt a huge, and hard blow into his stomach.

"Ugh!"

"I, I'm sorry!"

He thought he saw stars as he crouched down grabbing on to his stomach as if to stop the pain. And the girl… he looked up just to see her blush into deep shades of red from embarrassment and guilt that she had punched him in the stomach. Despite the pain, Shigure could not stop smiling. Feisty, he liked her.

Shigure was brought back to reality when he heard some rattling near the front door and rough voices. Sounds of 'stupid cat' and 'stupid rat' echoed down the hallways, and he could just pick out the faint sounds of Tohru's voice trying to calm them down. For a second, he wondered why they would be back so early, and then he just remembered today was Saturday, and their school ended earlier*. All his senses focused at the three high school students when he realized the girl in front of him. Shigure redirected his eyes to the young girl sitting in front of him, fidgeting under his heated gaze and occasionally flinching from the loud noise.

"I think I stayed too long. I should leave now."

"Oh no, it's fine. Why don't you stay here for a little longer?"

"No!"

Her sudden outburst dumbfounded him. Why was she so against staying for a little longer, anyways? It did not matter. Whether she likes it or not, he was definitely determined to make her stay long enough to have lunch with him and others. After all, he was truly curious about this young lady who could be an asset to the Sohma family along with Tohru. Kagome's soft voice brought him out of his own thoughts, and her voice holding hints of emotions that he did not quite recognize.

"I'm sorry for yelling, but I really should get going."

"Well, if you insist, I guess you may."

He spoke slowly, knowing that the crew was right outside his door, and that they would barge in any soon. But then, this girl had tendency to perform a neat magic trick of disappearing when she became nervous, and Shigure hoped that their entrance would catcher her off guard that she won't have time to escape. He narrowed his eyes as he saw Kagome gently pulled herself up and bowed to him in respect, and straightened out her clothing.

"Well then, I should get going."

"Such a pity that you aren't staying over for a longer time."

"I'm sorry, but maybe next time?"

A shy smile crept up her mouth as she slid open the door, and Shigure mentally smirked when he saw the trio stood right in front of her, their face one of shock and puzzlement. Kagome didn't notice them yet, but from her stiff face, Shigure assumed that she felt foreign presence behind her, which he thought was impressive. She was quite sensitive to her environment.

"Eh? Isn't she the girl from before?"

A soft whisper from Tohru snapped the tense atmosphere, and once again, Kagome disappeared into thin air, this time leaving a red flower where she stood.

Higurashi Kagome cursed her curse. The idea of cursing her own curse was quite ironic, but she honestly couldn't think about anything else to let out her furiousness. She was cursed because of stupid dog brother that only knew nothing except growling at each other whenever they met, and somehow, their insolence caused her harm. She sighed as she landed on a near by tree to rest her exhausted wings. She vanished in front of their eyes for the second time, and this wasn't good. It was either she had to wipe out their memories about these strange occurrences, or do not appear in front of them any more, but Kagome knew that latter was impossible. As long as Kyoko's daughter was in that house, she would probably get drawn by the girl's charms and visit them even against her will, and would disappear before Tohru can take a proper look at her. This time, it was pretty close.

'Protect her when I'm gone Kagome. Help her so that she will be a strong girl.' The brown haired woman's voice rang inside her: the voice that she couldn't disobey nor neglect. It was her mission, her purpose in life to look over the girl in place of Kyoko. She looked over the girl since the girl was an infant until the cursed family took her in: the Sohma. Kagome watched over her as she made friends with the various Sohma family members and dealing with their curse, acting as a cure for them. Kagome envied her. The girl did not need her anymore, yet here she was, dedicating her life to protect the oblivious girl from getting into harm's way.

"Kyoko san… what do you want me to do…"

The current Tohru didn't need any protection. The Sohma were doing a good job of protecting Tohru, and Kagome truly felt as if she was of no use. For God's sake, she even had to abandon her own family to carry out a woman's wish and will, and honestly, Kagome didn't know how her family was doing without her now. The last time she saw them for good, Souta was crying for her. For her. And what did she do? Kagome sighed. It wasn't a pleasant memory to think about, especially when that memory brought her pain. A dreaded pain of flooding memory.

'Abandon yourself, Kagome. Dedicate yourself to be her protector, and guard her as if she is your life, and perhaps I'll free you then.'

"Stop…"

'Kagome! Don't do this to me, to us! Please stay! You don't have to obey to her wish! It is your choice!'

"Souta…"

'How pathetic. Can't even guard a little girl, Kagome? She almost lost her life!'

"Stop damn it!"

'Die.'

Something dull struck her head, and Kagome dropped from the tree onto the cold asphalt road. And she lay there for a long time.

*Japanese high schools also go to school and Saturdays and only take four classes compared to about seven for normal weekdays. It ends around 12:10p.m. on Saturdays.

Well, here goes another update :)

I decided to update it earlier so that I can spend rest of my exam days only focused on my tests :)

So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please take time to review! It really motivates me to write ;)

Thanks to: HalfBlackWolfDemon, Haru Izuka, Rhianna224, and linglingchan!

Izno