The sound of laughter rang in the air of the Higurashi shrine. Inside a family of three and a guest sat around the kitchen table, becoming acclimated with one another. Outside, the sun was setting, basking the grounds in a golden hue. The red of the torii gates stood out amongst the greenery on the grounds, the gold of the setting sun making them shine. The September evening brought cooler temperatures to Tokyo, with it the wind rustled the leaves of the Goshinboku tree, mingling with the laughter present.

She was home.

"Sota, your sister tells me you're looking for a job?" Josh sent the young man a soft smile, while turning his body in his chair to face Sota.

"Sure am! But, with everything going on I've put that on hold. I really want to focus on making sure Mama is comfortable and hires the help she needs around the shrine," he placed his hand on Mrs. Higurashi's, sending a smile her way.

"Dear, you know I don't—" Mrs. Higurashi started.

"Mom, don't even," Kagome interjected, "you know Sota, and I want to help out as much as we can. And as soon as I get back to San Francisco, I'll work on finalizing that transfer back to Tokyo I requested."

Josh's face fell at this statement. He knew Kagome was debating moving back home to be closer to her mother in case she needed help with the shrine, but he didn't know she had made her decision. Kagome was Josh's best friend, his favorite person in San Francisco, and although he understood the need to be close to family, he couldn't help but feel a pinch of sadness at the fact his life line was most likely moving. Shifting his glance to land on Kagome's, he met her bright brown eyes which were already taking him in. She looked sympathetic.

Mrs. Higurashi interrupted the moment, "Kagome! You do not need to move home. I told you, Mr. Takahashi was going to help us hire the new help." Her mother's face was flushed, her eyes betraying her words, the excitement at the thought of having her daughter back home warming her heart. While Mrs. Higurashi had understood her daughter's desire to be away from Tokyo and the shrine; she also had missed her dearly.

Kagome's eyes narrowed at her mother, "Mama, I appreciate Mr. Takahashi's help so much, but I am more than capable of dealing with that. Work has already given me a good amount of time off and I decided I wanted to move back home. I want to help keep Jii-chan's legacy alive."

Kagome was 85/15 on the move back to Tokyo. The majority of her wanted so deeply to dive back into her home city, but 15 percent of herself was worried. Worried the reminders of not only her Jii-chan but of him would tailspin her back into a depression. They had last time she moved home. She was inclined though, to believe that because she had gained some physical distance from the past and finally accepted the truth, that this time moving home would not affect her as harshly. She was almost positive she would be fine.

Josh smiled at Kagome's sentiments. She was always thinking of others before herself, but it sounded to him that this really was something she wanted. He would not add his thoughts into the mix, "Well, I'm excited for you 'Gome. I know how much you've missed your family."

Kagome sent Josh a grin but before she could respond, Sota jumped in, "Yeah sis! I can't wait to be living in the same time zone again. And this means I can physically annoy you instead of having to send you comical memes via text all the time," he snickered at Kagome's head shake.

Mrs. Higurashi and Josh joined in on the laughter between the two siblings. The four of them were getting along just fine and Josh was thankful he had been granted the opportunity to be there for the family during their time of mourning.

"Josh, are you staying here at the shrine with us? If so, you are more than welcome to stay with Sota in his old bedroom, I know it might be cramped but we haven't completely cleared out Grandfather's old room yet," Mrs. Higurashi sighed.

"Oh no, Mrs. H, don't worry! I did not want to impose on the family time, so I went ahead and booked myself a hotel for the duration of my stay. Speaking of which, I think I'm going to head out and get settled. I'm beat," he stood up then, smiling down at the family.

Standing up, Mrs. Higurashi walked around the table to give Josh a big hug, "Please, you're always welcome here to stay. Any friend of Kagome's is, and feel free to call me Mama," she winked, letting him go so she could step away to clear the table.

Josh smiled at Mama's kindness, directing his attention back to Kagome, "I'll wait for you to give me a call tomorrow if you need anything? Did you want me to come with you to that benefactor meeting?"

Kagome watched the interaction between her mother and Josh through loving eyes. Her mother was always a kind woman, but she was definitely laying on the motherly charm heavy for Josh so far. At dinner, she had asked him all about his home life, trying to decipher the intricacies of who he was. Kagome internally sighed as the back and forth had flowed over appetizers and had even had to kick Sota in the shin under the table once for his slight that Kagome had never brought a guy home before. Kagome was aware that Josh was an attractive man: he was 6 '2, strong built with a California tan. His blonde hair was long enough to fit into a bun, but he often left it down, sitting just above his shoulders. He had emerald, green eyes, and a smile that could light up the whole room. Josh was hot. She knew this, but she saw him as another brotherly figure. That was that. So, Mama and Sota's prodding had left her a little internally annoyed but knowing they meant her no harm she let them have their fun.

"Yeah, that sounds good, if you don't mind. Mama and Sota have done enough around her with preparing and dealing with the cremation services, and I'd enjoy some known company while having to be surrounded by the famous Takahashis," she sent Josh a small smile, making her way to give him a hug goodbye, "you'll call me if you have any problems getting to the hotel?"

"Sure will. Uber is pretty sufficient though, speaking of which, my ride's here," he winked. Walking towards the door, Josh picked up his bags and turned back to face the three Higurashis, "Thank you for this evening, I really had a blast, and it was so great to meet you both. I'll see you all tomorrow, goodnight."

At that, the Higurashis murmured their goodnights, the sound of the door closing echoed amongst the walls as Josh left.

"I like him," Sota broke the silence, smirking at his sister mischievously.

"That's great, but we're just friends," Kagome shook her head at Mama and Sota, "so don't go giving me those looks you two." Her face was flushed, and she crossed her arms. Ever since university, her brother and Mama had encouraged her to date. They wanted to see her love again. Kagome understood this, she even indulged the idea some throughout university. She was not unfamiliar with the comfort of having a partner. She had been in a few relationships over the years, but she never felt fulfilled in the partnership. The imaginary checklist she had in her mind was constantly never met by her suitors. She knew this. She knew why. She was working on it.

Sota and Mama made shocked faces, before Mama could defend their stance, Sota jumped back in, "Yeah. And just friends follow one another across the ocean to stand by their side while they grieve with their family. Sure thing, Kagome." Sota passed by Kagome to make his way up the stairs, pausing to pat his sister on the shoulder, "Either way, he seems like a good guy. I'm happy you have him in your life."

Kagome looked over her shoulder at her brother as he walked upstairs to his bedroom, she hummed her reply.

"He's right. It is nice to see you so comfortable around someone again," Mama spoke, breaking Kagome out of her thoughts.

"Yeah. I'm a lucky girl, he's a great friend. And I'll miss him a ton when I move back home," Kagome stood firm in her stance on both topics. Josh was just a friend, and she was moving back to Tokyo.

At this statement, Mama felt her eyes grow teary, "Oh, Kagome." She made a few steps towards her daughter, grabbing her into a tight hug, "I have missed you so much." She let her hands come up to smooth down her daughter's hair.

"Me too, Mama," Kagome murmured back, letting herself sink into the warm embrace.

Koji was tired. His ride back to his family's estate wasn't that long of a drive but having a moment to be idle in the backseat of the limo his father sent to pick him up from the airport was more than enough time for his thoughts to collapse in on themselves.

He had been going back and forth between the Kyoto manor and the estate here in Tokyo over the past few weeks. Although he had a room of his own at the Tokyo home, he preferred to be back in Kyoto. Sure, he was excited to be one of the head workers on this particular financial situation for his family, but he also was enjoying his 100s. Kyoto had a large population of half demons and after finishing his second go at university, he had found his footing in the city.

When his uncle Yash asked him to help take lead on this donation, he couldn't say no. Yash was a bit of an icon to him, being one of the first half demons to live as long as he had, not to mention bringing peace amongst their kind by killing the one and only Naraku. Yeah, his uncle Yash was pretty kick ass.

The thing was, that his family often made large donations. The Higurashi shrine donation wasn't anything new in their day-to-day endeavors, and yet, it was. Koji had never seen his family so up in arms over donating a lump sum of money to a cause before, nor had he ever seen his uncle Yash show interest in charitable events before. Sure, he would attend important meetings over the Takahashi's finances, as well as come to events where it was necessary for senior family members to make an appearance. But in the case of the Sunset Shrine, Uncle Yash was taking center stage. It puzzled Koji, what could the old man be getting himself into?

What was even more weird was that his grandfather seemed to understand. Sesshomaru had even gone as far as to let Yash make this donation under the pretense that it was actually Sesshomaru himself choosing to donate 72,295,000 yen to a little family shrine in the heart of Tokyo. Koji didn't understand it. Sesshomaru was the face of the family empire, the Mr. Takahashi people wanted an inside with, so taking on a donation like this was not necessarily something he did anymore. Again, it was something simple. Those tasks were typically offset to his father, Yuto, or his aunt, Aika.

While his Uncle Yash was a close second to his grandfather, he typically stayed away from being in the spotlight with ordeals like this and just in general. While the Takahashi family was very well known, his Uncle Yash preferred to do the behind-the-scenes work. This donation was accompanying a big event honoring the Higurashi shrine as well as the late Daisuke Higurashi, a man Koji had never met before. There was going to be planned media and everything. This typically led to even more donations being made from various other high profile Japanese families. It was going to be a big thing and here was his private, quiet, uncle Yash at the center of it all. He was stumped.

Koji felt the limo come to a standstill, "We are here sir," Jaken the family chauffeur stated.

Looking out the window, Koji sighed. The door opened and he allowed himself to slide out of his seat and take in the soft breeze of the early evening. The lights of the estate were on and if his senses told him correctly, even his uncle Shippo was in town now.

"Thanks, Jaken. I'll make my way inside now," he began his trek up to the large wooden doors of the front of the estate. Halfway up the stone steps, the doors abruptly opened. There, slightly disheveled and staring him down, was his Uncle Yash, "Hey old dog, what's got your panties in a twist?" he shouted out. His uncle's glare darkened.

"Did you see a Higurashi?" he spat out.

Koji was taken aback as he made his final steps to the front door. Here he was more clearly able to hear how fast his uncle's heartbeat was going. He was dressed down in an old Tokyo University sweatshirt and red sweatpants. His concealment charm was not on, showcasing his silvery locks falling slightly out of the bun that sat atop his head.

"Actually, yeah, I did. How did you know? You know what they smell like, old man?" Koji smirked, pushing his way past the doorway, he felt himself shudder as he slipped off the concealment ring he wore on his right index finger, allowing his demonic features to refocus.

The Takahashi Estate was a safe place for them to freely allow their features and auras to present themselves, the property having been charmed under a spell that would keep their true identities secret. To any outsider who may enter, any being of demonic blood would still take on the features their concealment charms granted them. Thankfully the property was carefully placed away into nature, so that not many random visitors showed up anyway. His family liked their privacy.

Koji resembled his Uncle Yash quite a bit. Of course, the silver hair of their family line graced his head, as well as the downy soft ears his uncle and father also acquired. The difference being that his were slightly tinted with his mother's brown coloring. The golden eyes were also a trait that he was blessed with, the Takahashi Inu line had powerful demonic blood, passed down from the great Inu no Taisho, Toga. He was grateful.

Koji was about to take another step forward, after leaving his overnight bag by the staircase leading upstairs, when he felt his uncle's strong grip on his right shoulder.

"Who? Who did you see?" Inuyasha's golden eyes were wide, seeking a direct answer.

"I ran into Kagome Higurashi at the airport. She was with some American man. I had recognized her from the family portrait we have on file for the Higurashi's donation and felt it was appropriate to say hello," Koji's own golden eyes lightened slightly at his uncle's responding growl.

"I believe I forbid any direct contact with those of the Higurashi family, Koji," Sesshomaru took that moment to make his presence known. Followed closely behind him was Koji's mom and dad, as well as his grandmother, Rin.

"I—"

"It does not matter what you thought, pup. An order is an order," his father said, locking eyes with Koji.

Koji's ears flattened against his silver mane at his father's tone, "Ugh. Okay. I'm sorry, but she was right there, and I truly didn't see what the big deal was seeing that she's going to be here this week anyway? Thought I was being polite."

At this sentiment, Inuyasha's responding growl continued to heighten in volume, his uncle Shippo stepping up beside the angry half demon. He let his hand firmly plant itself on Inuyasha's shoulder, gripping a little harder than necessary. What is going on with Uncle Yash? Koji thought.

"Told you we should have leveled the playing field with the kiddos," Shippo spoke freely.

"Watch yourself, fox," Sesshomaru spat.

"You guys are making this harder than it needs to be. If you weren't so stubborn—" Shippo continued, to only be interrupted by Rin.

"Wait a minute, Sesshomaru, don't get testy with Shippo," Rin interjected.

"Yeah! Listen to your wife, you grumpy dog," Shippo retorted.

"You little—" Sesshomaru began to take a step forward.

"Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Koji finally growled out putting his arm out to dissuade his grandfather from maiming the fox, "And Shippo, shut it with the dog jokes you idiot."

Shippo let out a chortle at Koji's request. But took a step back and turned his body towards Inuyasha's, "You, okay?" he asked.

Inuyasha had enough of the back and forth, his mind was elsewhere, "I'm fine. The scent. It is just a bit much. I'm going for a run," and with that he made his way to exit the front door but was caught by his brother's hand.

"Are you going to be alright, should I accompany you?" Sesshomaru asked. Over the centuries, the brothers had become extremely close, working in sync as a family unit. Rin moved to settle next to the brothers, offering a sympathetic glance in Inuyasha's way.

"I'm good, Sess. Thanks," he locked eyes with his brother, assuring him he would not leave the property. He knew they all thought now that he knew Kagome was back in Tokyo, his demon would be crawling to the surface. "Thank you, everyone. I'll be good, just going to run the perimeter and clear my head," he then was off into the night breeze, thoughts stuck on the lingering scent of vanilla and lavender that permeated from his nephew.

Kagome.