Reviews:

Lieberisse: I'm glad you're enjoying it, I love modern ones too, they're always so cute, thanks for the follow too. :D

Okay, so I had a super hard time remembering the names of some of these characters, so here's a refresher if you're having the same problem.

Mai: Sesshomaru's step mom.

Koshiro: Sesshomaru's dad.

Isao: Archery instructor.

Akiko: The orphan girl who kept calling Kikyo mommy at the park.

A/N: Wow, it seems like forever since I posted and edited a chapter on the same day, I need to hurry my editing for AFL, because I need to sleep. I went skating today and fell like 7482548362846 (aka 3) times, and I'm really sore now, anyway enjoy the chapter.


Kikyo woke up the next morning and glanced out the window, the grass was green, she could see downtown and some of the other houses in her neighborhood. She opened her window and looked up at the sky, it was heavy with clouds, dark clouds waiting to pour down on the city. She closed her window and walked downstairs, her mother wasn't awake yet. She walked into the kitchen and sighed, pouring herself some water. She sat and looked at the clock, school was starting, in the distance she heard the loud bell and she sighed. It was always like this after one of her mother's episodes, things seemed to move in slow motion, she didn't know what to do with herself. She didn't want to go to school, she didn't want to eat. She didn't want to move, but she didn't want to stay in the house, where the smell of liquor hung heavy.

Kikyo walked out of her house and down the street, as she made her way around downtown no one seemed to notice her. She glanced in shops as she went and smiled at young couples walking their children through the city.

"Kikyo?" Kikyo stopped and turned, Isao stood a short ways away from her, he jogged up to her. "Aren't you supposed to be in school."

Kikyo only shrugged, she didn't feel like company, she wanted to walk alone, she wanted to observe the family she'd never had.

"You really shouldn't skip class," He said as they walked side by side. "A bright student like you, it's selfish to waste your talent."

"Selfish?"

"Yeah, the world deserves to know you and your ideas."

A smile tugged at the edge of her mouth. "The world deserves to know me? My ideas? That sounds made up."

"What do you mean 'it sounds made up'?"

"I mean, the world isn't going to miss anything if I don't show up in it, if I don't contribute."

Although her face held a smile, Isao's dropped. "Don't say things like that, the world would miss something."

Kikyo glanced over at him, Isao, he'd been there for her, a lot. He wasn't a bad guy or anything, but she always felt a little uncomfortable around him, a little uneasy. "What would the world miss?"

"It'd miss your talents, your face, your smile, it'd miss YOU."

Kikyo shook her head and turned her face up to the sky. "The world doesn't know me, not the real me."

Isao fell silent now, they continued to walk side by side in a tense silence, neither quite sure what to say. "I should probably get back to the range, I hope to see you there soon."

"You will." Kikyo said as he walked off, she sighed and continued walking. She found herself outside of an old bookstore, it was small, hidden. She opened to door and was met by the scent of musty books, she walked inside and glanced around, and old woman smiled at her from behind the counter. Although the store looked small on the outside, it opened up into a large space. Her eyes lit up as she looked at the collection of books, she quickly began to gather them, excited to read all of them.

"That'll be 7000 yen."

Kikyo opened her bag and the air was knocked out of her, the rest of her allowance was in her school bag. She felt the color drain from her face and she hung her head. "I'm sorry, I left my money in my other bag."

"I'll pay for them." Mai stepped up to the counter and pulled out her wallet.

"Mai?" Kikyo asked. "You don't have to do that, Mai."

"I insist." Mai paid for the books, then led Kikyo to a small diner on the corner. "One chocolate and one vanilla shake."

Kikyo smiled. "You remembered?"

"Of course, I did, so I take it your mom had a little incident." Kikyo nodded. "And I'm guessing that's why you're not in school." Kikyo tensed, avoiding Mai's gaze. "Don't worry, I won't tell, but I'm telling you Kikyo, it isn't good to sacrifice your education, you need it for your future."

"I know." Kikyo looked down at the table. "I just didn't feel like going, that's all."

The waitress appeared and sat the milkshakes down in front of them.

"Thank you," Mai smiled. "Look Kikyo, I think it's time you faced the fact that this situation with your mom isn't going to get any better, and you can't look after her your whole life, your dad wouldn't have wanted that. You have to send her to a clinic, you have to think about not only your future but hers as well."

Kikyo sipped her milkshake, then sighed. "Even if I wanted to do that, I can't afford to send her anywhere, and she's the only adult in my life, I'd have nowhere to go."

"I could talk to Koshiro, he could loan you the money to send her to the clinic, and we could-"

"No, I'm not going to have your husband do something like that, I can deal with my mother just fine."

"Kikyo, please," Mai said from across the table. "At least, consider it."

Kikyo stood and gathered her stuff. "Thank you, I'll pay you back for the books and the shake." She turned and walked towards the door, leaving Mai to stare after her.

Kikyo passed the park as she went, a familiar voice called out to her. "Mommy!"

"Akiko, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting for you mommy, of course."

Kikyo smiled down at the young girl, she didn't know how, but the girl made her forget all of her problems. "I'm fresh out of money Akiko, so I can't buy you anything."

Akiko grinned at her. "So you figured it out?"

"Calling me mommy, finding yourself in trouble, asking for ice cream, doesn't take a genius to figure it out."

"You aren't as dumb as I thought, what's your name?"

Kikyo let the rude comment slide and walked towards a bench. "I'm Kikyo."

"What kind of books did you get?" Akiko asked opening up the bags Kikyo carried and rummaging through them. She pulled out some of the books and looked them over, then she sat them back down. "Those look boring."

"I assure you, they aren't boring, each of these books is amazing in their own way."

"There aren't even any pictures in them!"

Kikyo laughed and shook her head.

"What's so funny? A good book always has pictures!" The girl looked up into her eyes with insistence.

Kikyo felt a chill and a sense of deja vu, the look the girl held sent a shudder through her, she could've sworn she'd seen it before. "What grade are you in, Akiko?"

"I'm in my 3rd year of elementary," Akiko smiled. "I know all of my multiplication tables too!" She said proudly.

Kikyo smiled at her. "I'm glad, what do you want to be when you're older?"

"I-" Akiko paused. "I want to be-" She paused again, unsure of herself, then something moved behind her eyes. "I guess I don't know what I want to be. All I've ever really wanted is a mother, and a father too, and maybe a sibling, if that isn't too much to ask."

Kikyo seemed surprised, was that really all she'd ever wanted.

"What about you, what do you want to be when you're older?"

Kikyo looked up at the sky, the clouds were still looming there, they hadn't dropped any water, but they looked like they would any time now. "For as long as I can remember I've wanted to be a doctor, I've wanted to help people, but as I'm getting older, I'm realizing I truly desire a family. If I got a chance to have a family, a husband, and children, I might give up my dream of becoming a doctor."

"Why not do both?"

"Become a doctor and have a family? That would make me happy, but becoming a doctor isn't easy, it will take years to become one, but I don't have forever to form a family, time is limited and as much as I'd love to do both, I don't think I could. When, if, I have a family, I never want to neglect them, I want to spend all of my time with my husband, with my children. As a doctor, I'd have to devote my entire life to being on call, to helping others, maybe even before I help my family, and I couldn't do that."

Akiko smiled up at her. "You're wrong Kikyo, I know you can do it, you'll have your family and be a doctor."

Kikyo glanced up at the girl standing in front of her, the rain began to slowly pour down and Akiko looked over towards the main road, the bus was waiting for her.

"I have to go Kikyo, don't worry you'll get your dream."

Kikyo slumped back onto the bench, she took her jacket off and draped it over the books. She sat there watching as families raced to get inside, raced back to their cars, into local businesses. The rain grew harder and brought her back to reality, she was soaked, her hair was plastered to her head and her clothes clung tightly to her. She stood and opened her umbrella, then she picked the books up, wrapping her jacket around them and walked back towards her house. A half hour later she arrived outside of her home, the light in the living room was on, her mother was awake. She took a deep breath and walked inside.


A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, R&R, please. ;)