They were all quiet. Inuyasha monitored Moriko's expression pensively. So my old man was forced to come here. He looked down. Just like Kikyo. But this time Moriko is the host. How? How is it possible for him to be able to attach himself to someone who already has a soul? The old swordsmith nervously looked to Myoga, who had recovered and sat on Kagome's shoulder. Catching his cue, he said, "Sire, What do you remember about how you came back to the realm of the living."

The demon general was silent. Moriko looked down at herself, expecting him to say something.

Moriko. Byakko. I am going to show you what I have seen. Do not be alarmed.

In my mind, I felt something brush against me. It was a comforting sensation. Moriko . . . I nearly jump out of my skin in surprise. It -It's Byakko's voice!

Hai. The Dog General summoned my consciousness.

Byakko. You can relay this to my eldest should he return.

Hai.

Moriko, since this is only your second time experiencing 'a memory of another' I will be cautious of your young mind. I recommend putting your physical self in a comfortable position.

With my eyes closed, I sat down. My hands rested on my knees.

Now we shall begin.

So this is the underworld. Glowing purple lights floated about. Skeletons littered the misty land below. Byakko looked up. The immense carcass of Inu no Taisho loomed over him. The giant skull blocked the whatever light source was above them. The remains of the Demon General gave even him a sense of awe. The Tiger Demon Lord felt the need to respect those of the dead.

WOOOOOOOAAHH! AHAHAHA! He nearly flinched at Moriko's loud thoughts of enjoyment.

We're flying!

Um. No. You're seeing my memory.

Oh . . . Uh . . . Darn?

Finally seeing the giant skeleton right in front of her, she gasped, That's you Grandfather? I remember reading about the underworld, but this way more intense!

Her grandfather was silent, then, Watch.

A giant purple light the size of the sun rose from the mist beneath her grandfather's skeleton. The bones began to vibrate. The light rose before the skeleton.

"Those two idiots!" I nearly fell over at hearing grandfather's past voice.

"When they get down here, I'm going to clobber those two for blowing a hole through my shoulder! How disrespectful!"

I couldn't help but giggle. I recalled the moment I had imagined Uncle and Inuyasha battling it out as Kagome had hit the imp demon with skulls while reading the scroll. Recovering, I watched as the light took shape. A man dressed like much like Sesshomaru appeared. He looked at his hand, which he flexed pensively. His head suddenly whipped about, searching.

"So, Izayoi could not follow."

A screeching light flashed above. Grandfather's brows lifted, "It cannot be!"

A jewel floated down from the sky. A complete jewel. "No . . . this is not the same Shikon no Tama that Midoriko-chan derived from her soul." The blue jewel floated above his open palm. "No matter. It's too much of a risk to let it exist, in any world."

Grandfather took the jewel in his fist. After what seemed like a mere light squeeze, his hand opened, revealing shards.

I see now that that was a mistake after reading that scroll.

The past Inu no Taisho turned his hand to let the shards fall into the abyss below.

Moments passed. Then the scene changed. The skyline was cut and jagged and the world was filled with a soft gray occasionally patched with green. What is this era? The great dog general lifted his nose. There's not one demon in a hundred miles. Not a trace of youki. His face contemplative, he analyzed the modern world below him, eyes focused. Did humans build all this?

Floating in the air above Tokyo, grandfather's attention turned toward a small hill surrounded in green. With a flick of one of his moko-moko tails, he was standing in the yard of a human shrine. So not all things change, after all. He looked up when he felt a drop on the tip of his nose. As the weather worsened, he went and sat beneath the goshinboku for at least some shelter. The sky darkened as it rained into the night.

He watched as humans arrived and made way to their home. Not that they could see him anyway. He still wasn't sure what he was doing here or why. A young boy in strange clothes held a black box-like bag over his head, hurrying up the long stairs, towards the entrance to the strangely designed home that smelled of humans and cooking. An old human dressed in priest's clothes stood sweeping the stone-tiled porch, protected from the oncoming storm. A well-groomed cat took notice of the dog general's presence and hissed, leaping off his perch in a large stone cup thing that housed a bonsai tree. The old man was surprised and commented, "I wonder what spooked Buyo." The past grandfather smirked at that. Cats are entertaining creatures.

"Ah, Souta." He said as the boy stopped to take off his strange footwear. The old man grinned mischievously at souta as he mentioned the "snack" he had warming up inside. The boy returned the grin. Grandfather chuckled at their plotting and snickering. The mother of the home was yet to return from purchasing food for their dinner and it was obvious she forbade any kind of this "snacking" that obviously had to be that aroma which floated from a lit window of the home. The two headed inside and past grandfather could no longer hear their conversation through the rain and apparently thicker-than-expected walls of the house. Long after the smell of food dissipated, the lady mother of the house appeared from the stairway and crossed the yard with white bags in her hands. She entered the home soundlessly. After some time the smell of food, and a larger quantity of it from before, drifted to his nose. An hour or so had passed when he felt drawn to another area of the property. It . . . Smelled different. The door had been left open and he went inside. With his sharp eyes he could see a well. A well? Inside a house? Though he could tell it was not meant for living quarters, it was still odd.

Just then a glow emanated from the well. Rising from the depths like a ghost, a woman, clad in miko clothing hauled herself over the edge, a bundle in one arm. Youki pulsed in the room, one similar to his own. His eyes widened as he caught a glance at the child as the lady paused to catch her breath, a sense of urgency and fear in her scent. He watched as the small female pup started to wail and the woman cradled it.

At this point it was clear that this child was one of his descendents. But which one? Which one of my sons is the father?

The child continued to wail as its demonic energy began to dissipate. White ears disappeared and her hair turned a dark brown, similar to the lady mother of the house. While the change to her human form occurred, the mother hummed a lullaby. At that moment, he knew. Izayoi's song made it clear. This was Inuyasha's mate and child. After some time, the stubborn dark-haired child fell asleep. It was then that he had realized that the fire-rat, his fire-rat, covered them both.

He followed the woman silently as she ran to the house. Nearly falling in exhaustion with every step, he watched over her as she fell to her knees on the front porch. The impact woke the child up immediately and began to wail again. The woman could not find the strength to stand but she didn't have to. There was scratching and a meow from the other side of the door and after some time it opened to the shocked mother with a hand over her mouth, "Kagome!"

The miko, Kagome, lifted her head at the sound, "Mama!" she cried. She helped her daughter off the ground, who leaned heavily on her shoulder. The boy, Souta, appeared at the door, "Anue!" The teenager took Kagome from the lady mother as Kagome handed the child to her mother. The lady mother ran inside to dry off the wailing child while Souta hauled the young mother inside.

(Author's note: We're going to shift to past Kagome's point of view now.)

Before she knew it, she was dried and cradling her daughter in her old bed in her old room. It hadn't changed a bit. She had been so exhausted however, that she slept the whole night. There was no rain this morning, and the window had been opened when she woke up. Birds whistled peacefully in the breeze. Kagome looked down to see her dark-haired daughter and sighed, somewhat relieved. At least she won't have to hide her ears for the rest of her life.

A knock sounded at her door and Mama came in with a tray of breakfast and tea. After setting the tray down on the bedside table, Ms Higurashi sat on the bed, fingers sweeping the child's cheek. "What's her name?"

"We hadn't decided yet. I figured we had time to decide anyway."

She was glad she hadn't asked her questions about why she was here and what had happened. Her head was swirling with pain. She had fallen on her way to the well and, guarding her child, she had taken the brunt of the fall and hit her head on a rock. It wasn't hard enough to make her faint, but she could hear her head pounding the whole time after. Her daughter's hands reached for her, grabbing the collar of Kagome's haori. "Yeah, yeah, I know what you want." She adjusted her haori started nursing the child.

Her mother chuckled, but put a hand on hers. "I thought I'd never get to see you again." Her eyes began to tear up. Kagome's gaze softened, "Mama . . ."

I decided to put up a small chapter when I realized people were still reading my fic. School is stressin me out and I needed to pause and do something I love. I also wanted to show how Moriko came to be at the Higurashi shrine 500 years away from her parents. Christmas break is coming and IM SO EXCITED! I'm not excited to have to work or teach myself Autocad and Rhino. But I'm excited to work on this story again and getting presents! See ya'll on december 17th weekend! (that's when I'll hopefully have another chapter posted. no promises. i have a life to live.)