February 12th

It was snowing again today, but not so much that Souta couldn't bear it. Behind the dark, grayish clouds of early dusk, he made his way toward the convenient store down the street from his house. Mom had forgotten to purchase a few ingredients for the hot pot and stir-fry steak she'd been fussing over hours ago and had sent him on his way to fetch them. He supposed it was better than moping around the house watching television in a blank stupor.

At the sound of the bells jingling upon his entry inside the well-lit corner store, Souta reached for a basket by the automatic doors and proceeded down the aisles. At the freezer section, he threw in a bag of mixed vegetables, yogurt and whole milk, and down the seasoned section, he reached for sesame seed and garlic powder, but not before stopping by the snack section and throwing in some chips and salsa. When he rounded the corner of another aisle, he paused before a few containers labeled cornstarch. After convincing himself the one below was cheaper, he proceeded toward the register.

But he paused suddenly when he noticed a familiar face standing just outside his peripheral, engrossed in an adult magazine on his right. Yoshito. It was his classmate and best friend, and realizing he was alone, Souta approached him and tapped his shoulder. "What are you doing here this late?"

Yoshito jumped at the sound but greeted his friend with an enormous grin. "Hey, Souta! Didn't see you there."

When he accidentally glimpsed a page of a woman dressed in a bikini, posed against the front of a red car, bathed in oil, a blush darkened his cheeks. "What are you reading? You know we're too young for this stuff," He said, shaking his head.

Yoshito chuckled. "Why are you getting so shy? Out of all of us, you're the only one with a girlfriend, Souta. Shouldn't you be used to that by now?" He teased. "You want to look? Come on. I know you want to."

Souta held up his basket of groceries. "No thanks. Mom sent me on an errand. Are you by yourself?"

"Nope. Dad's over in the liquor section," He pointed to a taller man dressed in a business suit, and from his appearance, seemed as if he had just gotten off work. "Besides that, are you ready for valentines? I know Hitomi's been bugging you about it all week."

At the mentioning, Souta sighed. "Not really, but she seemed adamant on a date together, but the weather report says we'll have a snowstorm. It happened last year too."

"So… you didn't get her anything? Nothing? Dude… that's cold…"

"I didn't say that! I've just been busy. If the weather isn't as bad as they predicted, then maybe I'll buy her flowers… or something."

A grin stretched across his friend's face. "Be sure to get her a huge bouquet. Better make those roses. Girls love that shit."

Souta shook his head and turned back to the register with Yoshito following behind him. "I'll buy her whatever I'm able to afford with my allowance. It won't be much… but it's the thought that counts."

"I guess… Hey, are you doing anything else this evening? You want to come over and play video games?"

Although it was tempting, he shook his head. "Not on a school night. Maybe this weekend, if your parents are okay with it?"

"Cool!"

While the cashier scanned every item and placed them into a large grocery bag, Souta handed him the money, and as he waited for the receipt, he noticed something red move outside the window. Turning his head to get a better glimpse of the person, he nearly jumped when he recognized the face. It was Minamino! The person he encountered at The National Museum two months ago! What luck! This time, he wouldn't let him out of his sight!

The moment he received the receipt, he reached for his bag and sped toward the doors, but not before Yoshito tugged on his arm, halting his endeavors to chase after the older man. From a distance, he watched as Minamino crossed the street, and quickly glanced back at his friend. "Sorry, Yoshito. I gotta get going."

"You look like you've just seen a ghost. Do you know that guy?" He asked, pointing.

Souta nodded. "Yeah… sort of—"

"What do you mean, sort of? Dude… you're acting pretty sus…"

Once again, Souta glanced out the window once more, hoping his target hadn't vanished from his line of sight, and fortunately, he still saw the outline of the person continuing on a straight path down the street. "Yoshito, I can't explain everything right now… I really need to talk to that person."

Yoshito's hold didn't relinquish, and for the barest of seconds, he squinted his gaze at Souta before cupping his mouth. "In that case… Hey dad!" He shouted, causing the older man to turn from one of the liquor shelves across the way. "I'm going to head out with Souta and meet you back home!" He asked, and at his father's wave of disinterest, he turned back and smiled. "Okay, let's go."

Souta blinked. "Huh? Wait… why are you going with me?"

"Why else? From the sounds of it, you aren't really acquainted with that person, right? Didn't anyone ever teach you about stranger danger, Souta? The last thing I want is for my best friend to get himself into some type of trouble!"

He sweat dropped. "Oh, good grief… Fine… But you have to be discreet!"

"Discreet? As in quiet?"

Was that even possible for Yoshito? After all, he was the loudest person in their classroom. The class clown, as everyone called him. Souta nodded, shrugging off his grasp and exiting the store. "I want to follow him in the shadows and see what he's up to."

Again, Yoshito squinted his eyes. "Definitely suspicious, dude… Isn't that illegal?"

It was only illegal if they were caught, but considering they were only middle school students, the worst they could receive was a warning. But Souta didn't plan for anything to go awry in his pursuit after Minamino. He wanted to understand more about the conversation he overheard with Botan, but because it's been two months since he last saw them, he wasn't too confident he would learn anything new.

After convincing Yoshito not to worry about his safety, the two followed Minamino, hiding themselves in the shadows of buildings and vehicles. Of course, it was impossible to get too close without the sound of his grocery bag alerting the young man, but eventually, the red-haired stranger finally came to a stop near the entrance to an alleyway where a taller individual, dressed in all denim, with a pompadour, waited.

"Who's that person?" Yoshito asked in a faint whisper. "He looks like a thug…"

Souta pressed a finger to his mouth. "Quiet… Let's listen."

"Hey, I got your call. What's up?"

Minamino greeted him, with hands shoved into his pockets of his overcoat. "Botan wanted me to relay a message. Pretty soon you'll receive a call from Spirit World to help capture a criminal who escaped from Demon World."

"That's still going on?" He asked. "I would have thought by now you guys would have captured him."

"Unfortunately, that's not the case this time around. He's smarter than we originally thought. He's evaded all of Spirit World's traps, and not to mention, Koenma lost a huge number of enforcements during the last pursuit. Even Hiei's jagan eye couldn't locate him or his band of thieves… At this rate, we might very well fail, and it doesn't help that Yusuke's still training with Genkai. We could really use the extra hands right now."

"Damn… that's rough… Well, you picked a better time than any, now that I've finished my exam to get into college, but I can't say Shizuru will be pleased about this. You know how she feels about these missions."

"Well, we can't blame her. After all, she has high hopes you'll become something great in the future," He said, retrieving something from his pocket and handing it to him. "This is yours."

The moment Minamino handed off the item to his companion, Souta covered his mouth. Was that the device from before? The one capable of opening a portal to different worlds? Supposedly, it was infused with some kind of spirit power, and the possibility that it could somehow bring Kagome back from the world inside the tree fueled his thoughts further on acquiring it, but fear kept him still. Souta wanted to ask for help, but he feared the moment he tried, they might turn on him or run away from his sight permanently.

"Another communicator?"

Minamino shook his head. "No. This is the device the Spirit World Special Defense Force has been working on for months. It's what we've been using to transmigrate to Spirit World and the Sengoku Era for a few months now. It's called the SDF Pocket Rune. Not only can it dispel barriers, but it can conjure portals, but its use is limited."

"If you ask me, it looks no different from those girly communicators…" His companion said, sighing.

"It's still in its testing phase at the moment."

"You said it was the Sengoku Era? Like… Oda Nobunaga era?"

He nodded. "Yes. Surprising, isn't it? That Spirit World would have the means to time travel to that specific piece of history. Supposedly, rumor spread throughout Demon World, hence why its most notorious criminal took action."

"So wait… then… doesn't that mean, if the events of the past change, then our future—"

"Exactly… it could very well spell an end to humanity and a rise to demons, in which case, it could mean the barrier that traps Demon World from all worlds would one day dissolve, and by then, it would be beyond Spirit World's repair."

The Sengoku Era? Souta's thoughts returned to an earlier memory at The National Museum when he saw several pieces of clothing which belonged to the timeline. They weren't any different from what he saw Kagome wearing long ago when he came face to face with a centipede monster. That… demon.

Could it be… Kagome wasn't thrown into Demon World but into the Sengoku Era? But… how will I know for certain? Demons never existed back then! Could… this event happening with their mission have something to do with the timeline and Kagome? If I somehow get my hands on that device… Maybe I can open the portal on the tree and find my sister!

"I hate to say this, Souta… but I think… they're on drugs," Yoshito said after a moment's pause. "Those wackos keep going on about demons and time travel… Plus, I think that girly guy handed him some weed or something…"

Author Note:

I know White Day guys give gifts to girls, while Valentine's Day, girls give gifts to guys, according to Japanese customs. I didn't feel any need to follow this in the story.

It's possible there might be a (Book Three) in the future, but it's not yet certain. I'm hoping that's not the case, but as of this time, I will do my best to update faster. Expect lots of chapters.

Shippo's age will increase at a much faster rate than a human. After all, he's a demon, not a human, and certainly not a half-demon. Although I'm using a chart for my other fanfic for demon/half demon age progression, which is FAR SLOWER than a human's, this story will be the opposite. I hope you look forward to that. I am not sure how old he will be by the end of this story, but for now, I can tell you he's not that far from being a toddler now. I'm using an age chart to calculate his age as I write, and you can find it on Deviant Art under the name-Leonio.