The Long Game

Summary: Kept alive for centuries by the power of the Shikon, Kagome has been caught up in what is known to the long-lived races as the Long Game. Decades after convincing a young boy that magic really does exist, she meets him again. IY x Gargoyles. Pairing: Gen? or past Kag/Inu

Kagome had been in many fine buildings in her lifetime, each of them breathtaking —her favorite was the Taj Mahal in its glory days, beautiful in its own right, but overshadowed by the trees and various other flora planted in the chahar-bagh and mirrored by the "Black Taj" and its night-blooming flora across the river— but never had she visited a building that rose into the sky as this one, a palace figuratively and literally, did. The buildings around it may scrape the sky, but this one penetrated the very heavens.

She was unsure quite how high this floor was—the elevator the guests were directed to only had buttons for the ballroom and the lobby—but from her position at one end of the curved window that made up half the room, she could just barely make out the cars below, their lights lit against the semi-darkness of the city. If she were to believe the rumors, the guests in this room stood just below the clouds.

Yet, despite being so high up as to cause wonder in the most dispassionate of hearts, she was the only one near the windows. Through the reflection, she could easily spy on them all behind her, dressed in all the latest fashions and bedecked in the most beautiful jewels, and all of them ignoring the view from the windows, or only glancing at it through the edges of their eyes, as if overtaken with a collective anxiety that going near the edge would surely lead to the building's collapse. Kagome didn't mind the lack of company. Like Perseus using the mirror-shine of his shield to slay Medusa, the window provided Kagome a panorama of the room; there would be no surprises.

Kagome scoffed at herself inwardly, smirking wryly outwardly. This long life of hers was turning her paranoid. She hadn't been in this part of the world for decades. If there were an attack, it wouldn't be for her, and it wouldn't come from her fellow guests; it would come from the outside…All the more reason to keep her position.

It was when she had finished her first glass of champagne and placed it down on a nearby table that she felt him, a man behind her, torso flush against her back as his hands made their way down her arms to hold her hands, moving them so that they were crossed over her stomach as he brought her to the dance floor for a slow number. He hummed a song in her ear against the tune of the orchestra. It was one she had heard in her childhood; it had annoyed her then, to have her name in such a song, but it had grown on her. She had taught it to her sons, to other children…to one boy in particular. He hummed, and the words fluttered through her thoughts.

Kagome, Kagome, the bird in the cage,
when will you come out?
In the evening of the dawn,
the crane and turtle slipped.

Who stands behind you, can you tell?

"David Xanatos," she said, manipulating their hands so that she twirled into a proper dancing position. "You remembered."

She was faced with a smirk, the same smirk she could remember on the face of the child she knew in that fishing town in Maine where she had spent one of her many lifetimes. It was comforting to see that bit of familiarity in this man who was completely unlike the boy she had known. He had grown up; that was what normal humans did. "You're late. I was beginning to think you'd never make it to the party."

They both knew he wasn't talking about the party in this room, the guest list full of New York's most rich and influential.

"David," she said, chidingly, as he twirled her, "You've gone up in the world. Surely you understand the concept of being fashionably late."

"True, but there's fashionable, and then there's three years late." With this, they stopped, on the edge of the dance floor and away from other guests. He was upset, she could tell, but hid it behind a wall of charm and sarcasm that hadn't been there last time she'd seen him. It was a defense mechanism he'd built up for himself, one she'd seen before in others. Lifestyles of the rich and paranoid. Innocence lost for the sake of the greater good, and yet she didn't feel regret for how she'd manipulated him.

Innocence lost for the sake of the greater good.

She reached her hand to caress his jaw line, just as she had when he was a boy, but now she reached up instead of down. "If I were still human, I would apologize for my tardiness. When you play the long game, three years is fashionable. Besides," she shrugged, "it's not as if I waited too long, too late. And," she quipped, "have I told you how sweet it is that you keep my name on a permanent guest list?"

Before he had time to reply, she was distracted by a flash of red from the corner of her eye: a woman, red-haired and immaculately dressed. She was advancing toward them with the quick grace of one who was born to money, and to any outsider she appeared, as she threaded her arm through David's, as the perfect hostess. But Kagome had been around for a long time, and she knew that stance, that look in her eyes. It was beyond possessive. Everything about her was poised to strike out, to maim—verbally, if not physically. Though Kagome had no doubt that lack of weaponry wouldn't prevent this woman from a physical attack, even with the child in her arms.

"David," she said, her voice sultry. Lethal. "Why don't you introduce me to your friend."

"This, my dear Fox," he replied, smirking, "is Kagome Higurashi."

Fox turned to him, brow lifting. "That Kagome?"

With her husband's nod, her entire demeanor changed. The threat was eliminated, Kagome supposed. She should have guessed that David would tell his wife about her. But she didn't, and the thought made her happy, made her relax a bit mentally. She took the silence to hold out her hand for Fox to shake. It was when Fox accepted it that she felt it, an unintentional jolt of energy, like static electricity, but felt only by her. She wasn't youkai but…fey. Suddenly she was much more interesting. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, after hearing so much about you."

Fox smiled in return, calculating. "Likewise. News about me travels all the way to Japan?"

"That too," Kagome returned with a smile.

Before Fox had time to respond, the bundle in her arms began fussing. David, relieved at the interruption, gently lifted his son into his arms to show to Kagome. "And this here is our son, Alexander."

"But why show up now, of all times? Why not before, when they first arrived?"

"Because I had faith in you David. And despite some mishaps caused by your…mischievous nature, shall I say, I still have faith in you. But now there is a hitch in my plans, one that even you cannot correct."

"The Quarrymen."

"The Quarrymen."

"Kagome, Kagome, you pretend you're so jaded, but you do have a heart."

"I never pretended I don't. I just try not to let anyone see it."

"So what do you plan to do about this hitch in your plans?"

"Stop them. Stop them dead if I have to. I haven't lived this long, played the long game so ruthlessly, just to fail my charges because of some mob of humans," she said with utter disgust. "Of course, I will try the peaceful way first and see how things go from there."

…

Fox preceded them into the room, but was stopped in the doorway, blocking their entrance, by the figure inside who slipped the sleepy-eyed infant from her arms while chiding her for keeping Alex up past his bedtime.

"Alright, alright, Lex. I'm sorry." The tone of her voice made it sound like this was something that happened pretty often. "But you should have seen how jealous everyone was."

"Well of course they were."

The figure turned his back, allowing the three of them into the room, and Kagome was finally able to see the owner of the voice, a small, green, web-winged gargoyle who seemed to dote on the baby like a grandparent as he went through the nightly routine.

Her entrance to the room also caused movement from the corner—a bluish, four-legged gargoyle who had been napping. He raised his head and growled questioningly.

"It's okay, Bronx, just Xanatos and Fox," Lex said, putting Alex into his crib and spinning the (hanging toy thing?). Finished, he finally turned to them and, noting her presence, immediately went wide-eyed.

David cleared his throat. "Lexington, I'd like to introduce you to—"

"Oh my god, Kagome Higurashi!"

"You know her?" (Fox)

"Know her? Who doesn't know of her? Kagome Higurashi stands to inherit three fortunes from the world's foremost business tycoons, making her the world's wealthiest person ever! She holds seven Ph.D.s, ranging everywhere from computer programming to mythology, she's the most well-known, and most effective civil rights activist in Asia and parts of Europe. And, writing under the pseudonym Rumiko Takahashi, she wrote my favorite fantasy series! (something about autograph?)And yet, unless you know where to look for them, practically no images of her exist. That photo I found must have been really current. I could have sworn you'd be much older."

She listened to him go on for a bit, about needing to find books for autographs before saying, "So." He stopped in his vocal tracks. "You're the one who hacked into Sesshoumaru's server." (eyes widen scared). "When he found out about it, he was caught between wanting to kill you or hire you. His people never did manage to find you."

**Alternate Lex scene

Xanatos cleared his throat, calling out the web-winged gargoyle's name to divert his attention from his charge. It was a stroke of luck that Alex was settled into his crib, gurgling tiredly but happily, as he did this, for he was certain that, had Lexington been holding his son, he would have dropped him as his attention was riveted on the newcomer.

"Oh my god, it's you!"

"Lexington, we'd like to introduce you to—"

"Kagome Higurashi! Oh, I can't wait to tell the guys!"

"Well," she muttered wryly, "Looks like I need to talk to Sesshoumaru about upping security."

"Don't worry about it too much. For all that he was born in the age of the abacus, Lexington is a world class hacker."

"Well then," she said, turning back to the gushing gargoyle, "Hello, my name is Kagome Higurashi to my friends, and Rumiko Takahashi to the public."

"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry," he said bashfully. "I'm Lexington."

"No problem. It's nice to meet you."

"You too. But do you mind if I ask what you're doing here?"

"I'm an…old friend of David's. As to my purpose…Perhaps we should discuss this with everyone present?"

"Yes, of course. It's a bit too close to sunrise to get into the details, but we should be able to get through introductions. If you'll follow me, we should find the rest of the clan on the roof/battlements."

He came up behind her, arms and hands on the outside of hers, wrapping them around her stomach. His head rested on her shoulder and she relaxed her head onto his, and they watched the sun rise together. "Kagome, Kagome," he said in that same sing-song tone of the tune she'd taught him. "It's hard to believe that the ice princess that you show the world is the same woman who saw a clan of sleep-spelled gargoyles and set out to inspire a young boy to bring them back to life. A young boy who fell in love with you."

"I'm not so cold as you describe," she said, avoiding the issue. "I'm just…tired."

He turned her around in his arms, so they faced each other, so she could see a depth of emotion he rarely showed. "A boy who is still in love with you."

"David, you know we can't, and Fox…"

"Shh, I know. I love Fox, and Alex, and our life together. I wouldn't change anything. But that doesn't change my feelings for you." He paused, looked down at their hands. His dwarfed her dainty hands. "I remember a time when my hands were smaller than yours. Now, decades later, mine have grown, and yours have stayed the same."

"David…"

"I searched, as you wanted me to, for a way to free these gargoyles. I (GOT AN?) education, started my business, became wealthy and successful beyond all expectations—everything I touch turns to gold. But what I was really hoping for, in all that time, in all of those books of spells, was some way to extend my life to match yours, so I could end your loneliness. To this day, that has been my only failure."

"There are no spells for immortality. Not for the willing. And never without a price."

"I know that now."

"But are you happy now?"

"…Yes."

"Truly?"

"I love you, and will always love you, but…" He paused, searching for a way to explain himself. "If you were free to choose me, and you told me I would have to give up my life here, I would refuse you. I am not willing to give up anything…anyone…I have now, for better or worse. I believe that is happiness."

The tense atmosphere that had grown about them slowly began to dissipate and the silence that had formed between their pauses became more relaxed, companionable. "I'm glad," she said, giving him a sweet, affectionate smile, tinged with a bit of sadness, a bit of memory and longing. "That's all I've ever wanted for you."

David was the first to shrug off the conversation, reverting to his usual, charming self. "Will you be staying long?"

"As long as it takes to ensure their safety…So, yes."

"Then allow me to show you to your room." He stepped back and held his hand out to her. A few seconds more of watching the rising sun and she accepted. Arm in arm, they left the rooftop, and its silent guardians.

There was a tenseness that remained about them as they entered the castle, a tenseness brought on by longing, each knowing that if things had gone differently in their lives, perhaps the situation would be completely changed: Perhaps it would have been Kagome in place of Fox, perhaps she would have died before Inuyasha and he would never have discovered the magical side of life, or perhaps David could still become the man that would allow her to fall in love again and live with throughout time.

There was a tenseness that remained about them as they entered the castle, a tenseness that was matched by acceptance. What had happened, happened. What will happen, will. As for the present…They were together again, as neither friends nor lovers, but something in between, deeper, and they had time to figure everything out.