A Distant Promise – Drabble # 9

"Gone where, mama?"

Her daughter's worried voice crackled over the phone line, sounding worried and confused. Mrs. Higurashi looked sheepishly at the telephone cord that she twirled anxiously between her fingers. She had explained the note as passively as possible, but she had known all along it would upset Kagome.

"Stay right there," the shrine priestess said, when her mother did not reply, "I'm coming home!"

With a start, Mrs. Higurashi protested vehemently. This was the end of a semester. Finals were coming up, and it was the worst possible time for her daughter to cut classes! But Kagome seemed to think that she could make a difference, that she could somehow find Inuyasha and stop him from leaving, bring him home.

Guilt and dread shooting through her chest, the older lady finally explained the rest of the story – this note was nothing new. Inuyasha had quit the shrine over a week ago, and she, the ever-dutiful mother, had failed to tell her daughter of this little tidbit of news. Well, of course! She had wanted to hide it from Kagome, for this very reason. She knew how badly her daughter would react.

"Perhaps it is a sign honey," urged a fretful mother, "Maybe it's okay for both of you to move on…"

"Mama!" Kagome shrieked in reply, "The only reason he's here in the future is because of me – I can't abandon him!"

The line in her hand went dead, and Mrs. Higurashi could just imagine the flame licking from her daughter's eyes on the other end. Sighing wearily, she hung up the receiver and ran her hands through her hair. If Kagome came home tonight, at least she should have a robust meal to keep her strength. Then, the family could convince her to wait until the winter break to begin her fruitless search for Inuyasha.

Hours later, a polite sounding knock wrapped on their front door, and Mrs. Higurashi wiped her hands on her apron, wondering who would visit the shrine at this time of night. Kagome had a key and did not need to seek permission to enter. Opening the door to reveal a handsome young man, with piercing green eyes and rich brownish-red hair, Mrs. Higurashi gasped in surprise. By his coloring, the man looked like a foreigner, but his features were undeniably Japanese. She had never seen such a striking, yet harmonious combination.

A wide grin split his face, almost concealing his eyes completely, and she heard the young boy ask after Kagome. "Oh, are you a friend of my daughter?" asked the startled lady, a pleasant warmth infusing her tone at the thought. "Please come in!"

And that was how Kagome burst through the doorway of the living room, only to find her mother and a strange boy having tea and huddled deep in discussion. Patting down her tousled black hair, Kagome advanced upon the tiny table in the middle of the room and crossed her arms, looking significantly at the stranger who was interrupting her pending conversation with her mother. With a bright smile, Mrs. Higurashi rose and eagerly added a cushion for her daughter near the table.

"Your friend, Chitose, was polite enough to stop by the shrine," her mother beamed, "I'm glad you are making such nice friends…"

"I don't know him," Kagome snapped in frustration. She had been worrying about Inuyasha, during the entire train ride, for miles and miles. This was no time to have to deal with strangers.

Green-eyes blinked innocently, as Mrs. Higurashi fluttered anxiously on the side-lines, glancing back and forth between her daughter and the man she had been speaking with for almost an hour.

"Don't you?" inquired the young man gently. It was his voice that gave him away, oddly enough – although it should have been the hair or eyes. In fact, his tone of voice was the one thing that had changed over the years. The incongruity of hearing the wrong voice, paired up with the right eyes, made Kagome's heart ache. Her blue eyes filled with tears, as she sank to her knees. After waiting for so long, she had almost given up – but of course, she would know him, she should have recognized him right away…

Shippo had come home.