When Kagome hauled herself out of the well that morning, she knew it was for the last time. She wasn't going back ever again, but hopefully...
"Kagome-Okaa-san?" a voice – deeper than she remembered – called out.
She smiled, running out of the well house to the source.
"Shippo!" she yelped, as the handsome young man wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, spinning her around. "You kept your promise!"
"Of course I did Kagome!" the demon fox answered. He was taller than her now, and very handsome. He was also wearing normal human clothes – jeans and a t-shirt. His brown hair was still tied up in a ponytail, but not with a bow any more, and it was longer, less fluffy looking, and more smooth.
"You've grown, and become so handsome!" Kagome admired. "Just like I knew you would. Will you join my family for breakfast?" she asked.
Shippo grinned. "I'd love to," he answered.
Souta was really pleased to meed Shippo – who had been living in the human world, hidden, for a really long time, and as such knew about playing video games – and was steadily getting to like the fox demon even more than he had liked InuYasha. When Kagome explained her relationship with Shippo to her family, all of them, even Gramps, had insisted that he take a room in the house and be a part of the family as a whole. Blushingly, Shippo had accepted, and had a human lawyer handle paperwork for him until he was officially adopted into the Higurashi family.
None of them had expected the fortune the fox brought with him, but when Shippo explained about what he'd been up to for the five hundred years between when he had last seen Kagome and that morning, it made a bit more sense that he would be loaded.
~oOo~
A couple of weeks passed before Kagome's seventeenth birthday came, and the family celebrated together in a rather improved shrine when it did come around. Kagome had spent her days filing her studies with the home-schooling program and making the shrine more interesting to visitors. There was a lot of stuff in the store room after all, and Kagome saw no reason for it all to be shut away all the time. Shippo was happy to help too, paying for renovations, improvements, and security measures as they were required, as well as a bit of manual labour now and then.
It was another week after that when a young man with long red hair appeared at the top of the steps to the shrine and made his way directly to the Shikon no Tama display. The mythical jewel itself wasn't on display, though a replica was on a small cushion beside the exhibit that Kagome and Shippo had created, recounting the history and legend of the jewel.
"Interesting that only one of the figures in the story is given a name," the boy said, his voice quiet but clear, and easily reaching Kagome's ears as she stood just three feet away from him, sweeping the courtyard.
"There are too many in the story for their names to have all been remembered," Kagome answered politely. "As it is, I dare say that a great deal of the story has been altered and forgotten over time. Only the very beginning of the story is perfectly clear. The priestess Midoriko created the jewel while fighting a mass of demons, and their souls are locked inside, doomed to battle for eternity."
"This isn't the real jewel of course," the young man said, smiling with a gesture at the fake bauble.
Kagome smiled in return. "Of course. This is a shrine. We don't have the security to leave a priceless gem on display all the time. It's likely that the jewel is just as lost as the names of the legend anyway."
The red head chuckled. "After all the trouble we went to, to get it back from Naraku?" he asked.
Kagome smiled back. "Well, haven't you just had one hell of a make-over since I saw you last Kurama," she answered. "I wasn't sure how the soul I sensed could possibly be you in that body," Kagome chuckled. "You got shorter," she teased.
Kurama smirked. "Well, I was hunted down. I had to take refuge somewhere, I happened to choose a human foetus. I'm called Shuichi Minamino now, and have been for approximately seventeen years."
"Well, how about that," Kagome answered with a smile. "Social visit, or are you here for one of the favours I promised?"
"It can't be both?" he asked, smiling handsomely.
"Shippo will be happy to see you," Kagome answered, setting her broom against the wall beside a rake. "Though I warn you, my grandfather welcomes nearly everybody into the house with a stura and a yell of 'demon be gone'," she added, smiling and rolling her eyes. "Not that they work."
Kurama laughed and followed Kagome into the house, receiving a sutra to the face just as the girl had predicted.
Kagome peeled it off for him, fixing a glare on the old man.
"Grandpa, mother, Souta, Shippo, this is Shuichi Minamino. A human," she emphasised for her grandfather. Shippo would figure it out fairly quickly that it was Kurama, but for her family the red head didn't need to be anything but what he appeared, unless he wished otherwise. "And a friend of mine."
Kurama bowed politely, and was invited to share lunch.
After the meal, Souta convinced Shuichi to play video games with him and Shippo. It was their grandfather's turn to welcome visitors to the shrine in the afternoon, so he was out telling stories to curious children and their parents, and Mrs Higurashi was in her office seeing to the accounts and keeping up her little online business – though Shippo had mostly taken over the money-handling for the family since he had come, and they were all the better-off for it.
"Okay, you've fooled Ma and Gramps," Souta said as he chose his character for the game, "but I know Kagome didn't have any male friends at her school except for her creepy-nice stalker Hojo, and he doesn't count. So you're a friend from the feudal era, which means you have to be a demon."
"Caught," Kagome groaned from the couch. She had decided to watch the video games while she did her studies, and right now she was glad that she had. "Don't go telling Ma and Gramps though, okay Souta?"
The boy nodded. "So what kind of demon are you?" he asked.
"I'm a spirit fox, though I am also human," Kurama answered, holding back laughter at how bright the boy was. "I helped Kagome steal some jewel shards from Naraku," he added, explaining how he knew Kagome.
Souta nodded his understanding. "Cool. So why the visit now? Kagome's been back for a bit over a month. Shippo got here the same morning Kagome got back!"
Kurama laughed at Shippo's embarrassed blush, but otherwise didn't comment about the kit's dedication to his mother figure. "I need a favour from your sister," he answered Souta, defeating him in the game and standing up.
"Ready to tell me what now?" Kagome asked, setting down her pen and inviting him to sit with her on the couch.
Kurama nodded and sat down again beside her. "My human mother is sick, dying, I was wondering if you could heal her."
Kagome blinked. "I can try," she answered. "There are some things that I can't do though. I'm limited by the body's own capability, the severity of whatever the problem is, and my own experience. If she's already dying, then I can probably only make her more comfortable."
Kurama hung his head. "I had another thought on how to save her, I just wanted to ask you first."
Kagome lay a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I said I'd try," she reminded him. "Souta, can you tell Ma I'm going out for a while? I'll be back in time for dinner," Kagome said.
"Sure, no problem Sis."
"Kagome-Okaa-san, don't exhaust yourself if you can't help, okay?" Shippo said firmly.
Kagome smiled and, getting up, kissed Shippo's hair fondly. "I'll be home for dinner," she said again, then turned to Kurama. "And you can tell me on our way there about this other option."
Kurama nodded and led her out of the house, explaining about the Forlorn Hope as they walked down the streets to the hospital.
"Hello Mr Shuichi. You're here to see your mother?" the receptionist asked when she saw the boy.
"Yes, and I brought a friend, if that's alright," he answered. "I'm not sure about the hospital's policy on faith-healers in their halls."
The older woman chuckled. "Don't tell the doctors you're giving up on them, it hurts their pride. No one is going to mind though, considering her condition. Go right on up."
Kurama nodded his thanks and led Kagome to the elevator, then through the halls to his mother's room.
"Shuichi, you've brought a friend to see me? And such a lovely young lady too. You've never brought a friend to see me before," the woman in the bed said, trying to sit up, only to fail. "I guess I'm not feeling quite so well today."
"Please don't sit up Mother," Kurama pleaded. "Have you eaten yet today? You know that you have to keep up good nutrition"
"Yes dear, the nurse brought me something earlier. Now will you introduce me to your pretty friend?"
"Of course Mother, this is Kagome Higurashi, she's a priestess. I asked her to come and see you, to see if she could do anything about your condition. Kagome, this is my mother Shiori," Kurama said, introducing the two human females, and taking his mother's hand in his.
"I never thought that I would see the day you turned to a faith healer Shuichi," Shiori said with a genuine smile and a weak chuckle. "Let alone a female one."
Kurama blushed when Kagome raised a curious eyebrow.
"I have a following," he admitted quietly. "I am beginning to genuinely dislike fangirls, and they are beginning to drive me to think of eternal celibacy."
Kagome chuckled at him as well and moved to the other side of the bed to take Shiori's other hand.
"What do the doctor's say is wrong?" Kagome asked.
"Some disease that has a terribly long name, and among other things makes it hard for me to breathe sometimes," Shiori answered. "And my body just seems unable or unwilling to fight it any more, even with all the different therapies."
Kagome nodded in understanding and, taking the Shikon no Tama from her neck to draw on it's power, bowed over the woman, spreading out her healing energy and seeking out the microscopic menace. Sighing when she found it, Kagome realised that this was something she didn't have the experience to properly fight against. Bones could be mended, cuts and abrasions could be fixed, poisons could be drawn out, and demonic influences could be purified, many viruses could be burned away. This wasn't exactly any of those, but more like a rapid degeneration of all the cells of the woman's body, and at such an advanced stage as this would react to none of her usual methods.
Still, she would do her best.
When Kagome released Shiori's hand, she was breathing a much easier, and was smiling in her sleep.
"I burned out the infection in her lungs, so she'll breathe easier, but that isn't what the real problem is. It was just a cold taking advantage of her weakened state. I added some strength to the rest of her body as well, and she should be able to fight whatever this is for a while longer. I'm sorry I couldn't do more about the real problem though," she said sadly. "I could use the Shikon no Tama to revive her, but she would still be sick and weak, because of the type of illness this is."
Kurama nodded in understanding.
"Thank you Kagome. I'll walk you back to the shrine."
When they reached the top of the shrine's steps, the sun was just beginning to go down.
"Kagome, what do you think of me stealing the Forlorn Hope to save my mother?" Kurama asked.
"I think it's a foolishness. What would your mother do with her health if she didn't have her son? I won't stop you though, I know that sometimes there are just things that you have to do for someone. Just, if you survive the whole thing, visit?" Kagome asked, gripping his shoulder firmly and looking him in the eye.
Kurama smiled. "Of course," he answered.
"So, want to come in for dinner?"
~oOo~
Kagome didn't see Kurama again until a month had passed, and she had begun to think he was dead when he crested the steps of the shrine one evening.
"I'm alive," he said, smiling. "I used the Forlorn Hope and I'm still alive."
"Well colour me impressed and very relieved," Kagome answered, her eyes glassy even as she grinned at him. "What was the catch? Something like this, I'd say there has to be one."
"I got caught and I'm on probation. I also hurt my best friend since my re-birth by repaying my debt to the person who saved me from dying by the mirror. Mother is well again though, and she insists on inviting you to dinner. I didn't tell her about the Forlorn Hope, so she thinks it was just your magic touch taking a little while," Kurama answered.
Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Now this is something I'd like to hear the full story of," she said, then shrugged, knowing that she wasn't likely to get it. "Do you want me to come to dinner?"
"It would make Mother happy," Kurama said, "and I wouldn't mind."
Kagome nodded. "Alright, I'll just tell my family, and you can give me the cover story I'll be feeding your mother on the way," she said, arching a knowing eyebrow at her friend.
Kurama smiled in relief. "Thank you," he said.
"Hey, I'm just as glad you're alive," Kagome answered, ducking into the house and calling out to her mother.
Five minutes later, they were at the bottom of the shrine steps and walking towards the Minamino household, Kagome still in her miko clothes – blue though, like her grandfather's priest robes, rather than red as Kikyo's had been.
"So how many favours will this be?" Kurama asked, having quickly explained his very simple cover of having gone to pray at the shrines and seen Kagome heal someone else, as well as recounting how he was still alive after using the Forlorn Hope.
"Kurama, you're my friend. Helping you out isn't an obligation that I'm going to keep score of," Kagome scolded lightly. "Besides, I'm getting a feed and a chance to get to know your human mother."
Kurama laughed. "Perhaps I can also ask your advice with another problem then?"
"Shoot."
"My fangirls..." Kurama began. "I worry if they are ever going to leave me alone. The fanboys are, while more subtle, even more terrifying." The red head shuddered. He couldn't deal with these fanatical young humans the way that he would with an interested demon. Killing them wasn't any more of an option than sleeping with them all, and both were unappealing as well.
"Date someone," Kagome answered. "Or make it look like you're dating someone. If you've got an exclusive partner, they'll probably leave you alone with their declarations. Make sure you pick someone who can stand up for themselves though, just in case your mob decides to get nasty about you having picked just one."
Kurama was silent until they reached his front door, thinking about what Kagome had said.
The dinner was a pleasant one. Shiori asked about Kagome's family, education, interests, and of course if she had a boyfriend, as she was so pretty.
"I had a few stalkers at one time," Kagome admitted with a gentle laugh. "Nothing dangerous of course, just boys who wouldn't get a clue. No Mrs Minamino, I don't have a boyfriend right now."
"Stalkers?" Shirori asked. "And please dear, call me Shiori."
Kagome smiled. "It's a long story, and not one for the dinner table. The short, nice version is that like your son I had something of a fanclub, but I've managed to get away from all of them now, so it isn't a problem any more."
Shiori nodded her understanding, and they changed the topic to Shuichi's life instead, and Kagome helped clean up after dinner before Kurama walked her back to the shrine. Thankfully, it was only a few blocks away.
"So, thief," Kagome said teasingly once they were passed the fence of Kurama's home and no longer in danger of being overheard by Shiori. "What happened to your other friend?"
"Hiei? He's on probation as well, and quite unhappy with me I believe. Yusuke, the Spirit Detective, is currently training with an old psychic called Genkai," Kurama answered.
"Oh? I've heard of her from Gramps, apparently she's really quite tough. I wonder if I should pay a visit to her sometimes, but then Souta distracts me with a game and I forget again," Kagome said with a chuckle. "And if it's not Souta, it's Shippo, or my homework."
Kurama laughed with her as they walked. "Well, Yusuke will be with Genkai for at least six months is my understanding, so I recommend not going to visit for a while," he said.
Kagome nodded. "Well, looks like this is my stop," she said, seeing the steps of the shrine. "Don't be a stranger, alright?"
"Kagome, I don't suppose you would do me another favour?" Kurama asked suddenly.
"I'm listening, but the way you're nervous makes me wonder if I'm going to like it," Kagome answered, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Your advice earlier about how to deal with my more fanatic classmates, I was wondering if you would..." Kurama seemed to catch himself then.
"Be your fake girlfriend?" Kagome finished for him, smiling gently. "Well, it means you'll be coming over often, won't it? Maybe even invite Shiori up to the shrine for dinner some time. Ma would enjoy the company I expect."
"Kagome..."
The young miko smiled at the old fox demon. "That is what you wanted to ask, right?"
He nodded.
"No problem."
Kurama sighed. "Thank you Kagome. It's a weight off my shoulders. Mother will be pleased that I'm seeing a nice girl, and I don't have to worry about keeping who I am and what I'm doing a secret from you."
Kagome smiled, glad to have helped him out. It seemed so minor though, compared to the way he had helped her train her energies, kill Naraku and get back the Shikon no Tama.
"Pick you up from school on Monday then?" Kagome suggested. "I'll make a picnic and we can go to the park. That should be demonstration enough for your fanbase."
Kurama hugged Kagome gratefully. "Thank you Kagome, that would be perfect."
Kagome laughed. "Just so long as you know that if you want to make it anything other than an act, you're going to have to get Shippo's permission first."
Kurama chuckled and released her from his hold. "Of course, he's your son after all. I'll see you Monday."
Kagome nodded and waved as she began the walk up the stairs.
~oOo~