Sesshoumaru stood at the airport check-in area tapping his foot impatiently as his suitcase was screened for concealed objects. He resisted the urge to huff loudly and instead glared at the airport personnel handling his luggage, delighted when the man squirmed under his gaze. It wasn’t long after when the man returned Sesshoumaru’s baggage, while stuttering out a quiet apology for the wait and wished him a happy holiday.
Ignoring him, Sesshoumaru turned briskly and walked towards the terminal where his flight was located. He traveled quickly to his flight terminal, cutting off a young girl and an elderly couple in the process, not that he cared in the least.
All around him colorful objects decorated the walls announcing that Christmas had arrived once more much to Sesshoumaru’s displeasure. The only thing that Christmas meant for him was more traffic to navigate through and the expectation for him to donate money to charities, which was waste of time in his opinion. If you were going to celebrate someone’s birth at least do so on the actual day instead of a commercialized holiday date.
Just as his terminal was in view, Sesshoumaru felt something collide with him and then a small feminine cry rang out as objects skittered across the floor. Irritated, Sesshoumaru looked down to see the blind fool who ran into him only to find a gray-eyed, black haired woman staring at him in disbelief. He was about to walk around the clumsy female when he heard her whisper something.
“Sesshoumaru?”
He whipped his head around so quickly he thought he pulled a muscle. How could this girl know him? He hadn’t been called Sesshoumaru for a very long time. He studied her closely, this time trying to place her. She seemed vaguely familiar as she became nervous under his scrutiny.
The girl soon realized that she had been sitting on the ground for some time causing onlookers to stare. Leaping up she began to collect her scattered belongings and returning them to her carry on bag. She quickly put away her things before standing up to face him once more.
Even during the time he had to think of where he knew her from, Sesshoumaru had come up with nothing. He still had no clue where he had met this woman before. Without warning the girl suddenly launched herself at him squeezing him tightly in a hug. Taken aback by the sudden contact, Sesshoumaru could only stare in disbelief. She spoke quietly once more, but it only served to heighten his confusion.
“I thought I’d never see you again.”
See him again? Had he had a relationship with this woman? It is all he could come up with at the moment. Perhaps it was he had a drunken one-night stand with her, but that couldn’t be right. She seemed to be more familiar with him than someone would be after that. What was she then?
Deciding that he’d never figure it out by standing in the middle of the airport terminal, while being gawked at by passing people, Sesshoumaru swiftly marched her over to some chairs and sat down next to her. She was looking at him, embarrassed from her impulsive actions.
“Er...Hello Sesshoumaru. How have you been?”
“Who are you?”
“W-what? Who am I? You mean…you don’t recognize me?”
“Woman, if I recognized you would I ask?”
She glared at him now, fury in her eyes. She closed her eyes looking as though she was attempting to calm herself before stiffly replying.
“My name is Kagome Higurashi. We met…a really long time ago. Do you remember me now?”
Images of a young woman in scantly attire traveling with his detested half brother flew past his mind’s eye. So that’s who she was. How could he have forgotten her? She had made herself quite the nuisance in his quest for Tetsusaiga.
“Hn. I remember you quite clearly now. I see you’ve decided to forgo your usual…attire.”
Kagome bristled at his words.
“Yeah? Well I see you didn’t forgo your usual pompous attitude. And here I was happy to see you too!”
Standing quickly, Kagome nearly tripped in her attempt to get away from him.
Sesshoumaru caught up to her almost immediately and steadied her. She looked over her shoulder, not attempting to hide her anger.
“What do you want?”
Releasing her he stood up and looked down at her, using his height to intimidate her. Kagome also tried to look brave and stand up as tall as possible, but while she had grown since he had seen her last, she still remained short in comparison.
“I have some questions for you. You aren’t allowed to leave until they are answered.”
“Oh yeah? I don’t think so Mr. High and Mighty.”
She attempted to leave once more only to find her way blocked by him.
“I do think so. You have no choice. We will talk. Which flight are you on?”
“Why should I tell you?”
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. Getting the message Kagome jerked her thumb to point at the terminal behind her. Perfect.
“It seems that we have the same destination. There is plenty of time for us to…catch up.”
Defeated, Kagome trudged back to their previous seats. She looked at him warily, aware of who he was and what he could do. Kagome waited silently for him to begin.
“How?”
“How what?”
“I will not repeat myself.”
She gave him an indignant look before responding.
“There is a well on the grounds of the shrine where I live.”
It seemed as though she was going to leave it at that, but she fidgeted under his impassive stare before continuing her story.
“Seven years ago on the day of my fifteenth birthday a centipede demon burst out of the well and pulled me five hundred years into the past. Once there I met Inuyasha and the Shikon no Tama was ripped from my body.”
Unconsciously, Kagome’s hand went to touch her side.
“In a desperate attempt to live I released your brother-“
“Half brother.”
“-half brother from the tree he was sealed to and was saved. Inuyasha tried to kill me as well, but Kaede saved me by subjugating him. Soon after we began traveling to collect the jewel shards after I accidentally shattered the jewel.
“Not long after our journey began you met me for the first time. The rest I’m sure you know, except that after we defeated Naraku and I made the wish I was returned home to this time and was unable to use the well any longer.”
Once she finished Kagome looked around anxiously, avoiding eye contact. Sesshoumaru sat there momentarily allowing the information to soak in. He believed her of course. She showed no signs of lying, only nervousness and embarrassment tinting her cheeks pink. Kagome looked at him then, uneasiness in her eyes, and cleared her throat.
“So what about you?”
He was unsure what to think. Did she truly care about him or was she just trying to shift the attention away from herself? He answered nonetheless.
“I survived.”
Kagome huffed, her annoyance conveyed through her expression.
“Well obviously! We wouldn’t be having this conversation otherwise. I never realized you were such a smart ass Sesshoumaru. I guess since you can’t just off people now you’ve just resorted to verbally sparring with them instead. I should have known.”
“I merely answered your question. Perhaps you should be more specific in the future.”
“I shouldn’t have to be. And here I thought you were smarter than Inuyasha. Clearly I was wrong in my diagnosis.”
Sesshoumaru growled lowly at her statement.
“Impertinent wench-“
“Ha! See. You two are so similar. You both think you can just run around calling people wenches. You’re more alike than you think.”
“Silence yourself woman before I do so myself.”
“You even have the same symptoms! Quick to anger, calling people names, and don’t get me started on the egos! You two couldn’t be more related if you tried.”
She ticked off a finger as she listed their similarities, ignoring Sesshoumaru’s growing anger. Sesshoumaru reached out and grasped her wrist to stop her.
“You are testing my patience.”
Kagome stopped then, perhaps realizing just who it was that she was irritating. Yanking her wrist from his hold, she fiddled with a ribbon that decorated the hem of her shirt. Minutes ticked by as the silence hung between them. Kagome was doing her best to occupy herself, while Sesshoumaru took the opportunity to look closely at his once enemy and tentative ally. She had matured since he had seen her as a young teenager. Still she was far younger than he was by comparison, but the child like features she once possessed had smoothed to make her the adult she was now. The experiences she had while in the past could be seen, but served to make her appear knowledgeable.
Unnerved by the sudden silent treatment, Kagome attempted to strike up a conversation with the aloof demon once more.
“So…you never answered my question.”
“So it seems. After your departure upon making your wish I continued to roam and run my land. As humans advanced and became more powerful it soon became clear that we demons, of noble birth or not, had to conceal ourselves lest we be killed along with the lesser demons.
“I opposed doing this at first of course. I did my best to push back the humans for several centuries. Eventually their armies became too much and I retreated to a safer place. I lived like a hermit for some time. I refused to submit and hide myself from those lesser than me, but in the end my existence became a dull shell of my former life and I found myself craving interaction.
“By the time I emerged from my long reclusive lifestyle it was shortly after the United State’s occupation of Japan had begun. I relented and hid myself among the humans. I picked up random jobs and moved around a lot. Everything had changed so much since I had secluded myself.
“Eventually I began studying at a university and obtained a degree, which I used to start my own successful company. Of course, I have to change locations, names and forge papers every so often before people become suspicious of me. I have done that many times and so here I sit today.”
Kagome calmly took in the information he had given her and hesitantly asked another question.
“What…what happened to everyone else? Rin, Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku…”
“Rin…she lived to be a middle aged woman. She had a family, children, and led a happy life. I visited rarely, but she was always happy to see me. One year she caught some type of human illness. Her lungs became inflamed and she was so weakened by the disease that she could not recover quickly enough.
“As for the others, I don’t know. I did not care to learn of how they fared after Naraku was vanquished so I have no knowledge of their fates. I did not see Inuyasha after that time.”
Tears had sprung in her eyes at hearing of Rin’s death.
“Thank you for telling me. I’m sure it must have been hard for you. If you don’t mind my asking, what are your plans for Christmas?”
“I have none. I am returning to my offices in Tokyo to take care of some business and will likely spend the holiday relaxing on my own.”
“Oh. Well…if you’d like…um…you’re welcome to come celebrate the holiday with my family and me at my family’s shrine. It stands where Inuyasha’s forest once was.”
“I appreciate the offer, but I must decline. I prefer to be spend my time alone and I would not want to impose on you or your family.”
She suddenly brightened at his words, although he was unsure as to why. She leaned closer to him, supporting herself on the arm of the chair and smiled cheerfully.
“Then I must insist you join us! It would be no trouble at all and I couldn’t bear to leave you to sulk alone on such a joyous day. After all what are friends for? I know we don’t know each other all that well, but I think the circumstances would make us old friends so you’re coming to celebrate with us.”
He raised an eyebrow at Kagome, trying to intimidate her once more, but her fear of him seemed to have vanished and she remained as jovial as ever.
“And how, pray tell, do you intend to force me to join in your holiday revelry?”
“Come now Sesshoumaru! Don’t tell me you would actually prefer to stay cooped up in a dark room the whole time? Even you need to socialize once in a while and I don’t mean in a business setting.
“My family knows all about my travels in the past so you don’t have to worry about your identity being revealed or anything like that. You could even remove your concealment charm while you’re there. I bet it would be wonderful to be yourself for once. So what do you say? Please?”
Sesshoumaru shifted uncomfortably under her hopeful gaze. He did not particularly wish to spend the holidays with her and her family, although the lure of being able to be his true self for once was quite tempting. Kagome interrupted him before he could think further.
“If you’re not sure how about we make a deal? Once we land you can take care of your business and when you’re done you can come over to my house and spend some time there with my family and me. Relax a bit and then decide whether to stay with us for the holiday. If you absolutely can’t stand it then I’ll more than understand if you don’t want to, but give it a chance.”
“And what would your family think of you inviting random demons over to celebrate without asking them first?”
“You’re hardly some stranger Sesshoumaru. It’s not like I walk up to all the demons I see on the streets and invite them over for tea! Besides, my family trusts my judgment. They know I would never invite over someone who would harm them.”
“You’ve met other demons?”
“Stop switching the subject. And of course I have. I may be not be able to go to the past now, but I’m still a miko as much as I ever was. In any case it’s not like I go up and talk to them. I just know they’re there.”
“I see.”
“So…is that a yes?”
Sesshoumaru looked away and pretended to be looking at the airline attendants near the gate as if waiting for something despite knowing that it would be announced when they could board. Surely it wasn’t all that bad of a deal. He didn’t need to commit to staying the entire time and if he couldn’t stand it he could just leave. He turned his gaze back to Kagome and saw her looking at him expectantly. He looked off towards the gate once more.
“I won’t hesitate to leave if I’m displeased.”
Sesshoumaru could hear her attempt to stifle a shout of triumph, but she said nothing, choosing to merely sit next to him with a look of accomplishment on her face. A comfortable silence fell between the two until an announcement informed them that boarding for their flight had begun.
They both stood and walked to the gate, when Kagome stopped and began fumbling through her purse for something. As he came to a halt beside her, she produced a scrap of paper and thrust it into his hands.
“Here’s my address. Come over after you finished all your work.”
She smiled brightly at him before picking up her bags and walking off, slowing only to bid him farewell over her shoulder.
Settling into his first class seat, Sesshoumaru thought about his encounter with the priestess. After her offer to celebrate with her family spending a quiet weekend alone seemed dull in comparison. He found himself with an emotion akin to excitement at the prospect of having plans for the first time in many centuries. Fishing the small bit of paper from his pocket, he looked down at the address scrawled in messy handwriting. On the edges of the paper were various doodles to which he couldn’t help but smirk at. She was such an amusing woman. It would be nice to have someone like her whom he could be himself around. Perhaps this party is more fortuitous than he first thought.