A/N: Thank you so much for all the favs and comments, I'm so happy yo like the story so far. Feel free to leave your opinion on the chapter.

The Girl Who Settles Down

Kagome brought in the last of her packs and put it on the raised floor of the traditional house that she was going to live in from now on. It was traditional house, alright, but it had some modern features as well - especially the bathroom and laundry room didn't fit with the whole old house atmosphere. Kagome wiped her forehead and kicked her shoes off before stepping on the raised floor and around a pile of previously brought in packs.

"Is this jasmine tea I smell?" she asked as she entered the kitchen. Three other Higurashi family members were seated around the kitchen table, each with a cup of tea in hand and a piece of apple cake in the other. Kagome glared at Souta, who had ditched her on the end of the bags moving to join the tea party. The boy gave her a sheepish grin and jumped to make her tea.

"Kagome, dear, are you finished with the packages?" her grandfather smiled at her.

"Yup! It took a while, but it's all next to the door. I will carry it to my room later, if it's okay?" the young woman sat by the table.

"Of course, dear," the old man reached to grip her hand where it rested on the table top. "I don't mind, as long as the highway to the bathroom isn't blocked."

Kagome snickered and took her tea from Souta before promising to keep the highway open.

"We will be visiting the next Sunday," Mama said. "And we'll bring homemade oden."

Kagome clasped her hands in front of herself.

"Oh, yes, please, mom!" she exclaimed and gave her mom a puppy dog eyes.

After an hour Kagome and her grandfather were standing in front of the house, looking at Mrs. Higurashi putting her car on reverse and rolling down the driveway.

"I guess I'll be moving the boxes upstairs," Kagome sighed.

"Heavy lifting?" the old man inquired. "You know, I can help you, if you want to. Those old bones aren't that old."

"Oh, no," Kagome shook her head vigorously. "It's just that... Well, I guess I already miss my old place and now I have to unpack and settle... I never was away from home for long... I know it's silly," she shrugged, unsure how to put her feelings in words. She looked in her grandfather's eyes and saw him smile.

"Ah, moving sometimes make you feel that way, but it won't take long to adjust, child. Come, let's go see the Sacred Tree," he gestured for her to walk with him towards the bit of forest that belonged to the shrine grounds.

Kagome returned his smile, happy that she wasn't alone. She walked beside him, looking at the forest that seemed to have a peaceful aura that was soothing her anxiety.

She missed a flash of white and red that came from the roof of the house and disappeared behind the door.

Soon they found themselves in front of the ancient tree and Kagome found her previous feelings melting when she reached to rub the bark of the Tree. The shrine was her home now, but the apartment in the city was her home as well, full of memories and where she could always go to see her other family members. But the shrine was where her roots were - for five centuries this was where Higurashis lived and served as priests and priestesses. When she stood, her hand against the Sacred Tree, looking at the meadow and her grandfather glancing at her with fondness, she knew she was going to be alright.

It almost felt as if the Sacred Tree itself greeted her.

After a few minutes they returned home and Kagome decided that it was the high time to tackle the unpacking.

She picked her huge yellow bag pack, that was sitting on the edge of the raised floor in the entryway and walked halfway towards her room before she realized something was wrong.

She looked back and saw her grandfather putting his shoes on his shelf of the shoe box. There were no packages piled up on one side of the corridor. Kagome walked to her room and found all her stuff stacked on the center of the floor.

"Huh?" she put her bag pack down. 'Guess Souta felt remorse for ditching me for a slice of an apple pie and sneaked away while I was talking to mom and grandpa to bring my stuff here. Well, there's no reason to procrastinate unpacking more," she shrugged and reached for the bag containing her cosmetics. "I need to give Souta a really cool gift for his birthday."