A.N.: As stated in the summary, this is inspired by YoukaiYume's artwork, which can be found here: http://youkaiyume.deviantart.com/art/SessKag-Sketch-Don-t-Go-458679172
Characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, bless her creative prowess. The first little section HEAVILY draws upon the last chapter of the manga, of which I do not own anything.
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One moment, they were uselessly digging and pounding the ground where the well had been, the next they were thrown back by an invisible force. In swirls of winds and a pillar of light, the well reappeared. Miss Higurashi, Souta and grandpa held their breath as the top of a white haired head became visible over the lip of the well.
Miss Higurashi was the first to spot her daughter in the arms of the half-demon.
“Kagome!!,” she yelled as she rushed forwards. Her outstretched arms were met by Kagome jumping forward.
“Mama!,” she cried, “InuYasha saved me.”
As mother and daughter turned to him, still standing on the well, a strange light sprung up from beneath him. Before they got a chance to properly thank him, InuYasha was transported back to his own time with a rumble and a flash.
“NO!” Kagome screamed as she lunged to peer down the well.
Only dirt met her eyes. Desperate, she climbed up on the well and let herself fall forward. Behind her, her family protested, but she didn’t care. She had to know if the well still worked. She had to be sure the uneasy feeling in the pit her stomach wasn’t telling her what she thought it was. But as she fell, the blue light didn’t come up to meet her as she was used to. She didn’t feel the pull behind her navel as she always did. Her tears met the bottom of the well before she did. Crashing onto her hands and knees, she let everything out while her family looked down at her worriedly.
~
Kagome sighed as she stared out the window. Becoming a member of the literary club had not been one of her best choices. She had joined in the hopes of researching old book and texts of lore, searching for a way to reopen the well. It had been a long shot anyway, but now, she was stuck with two classmates who wanted to read only mushy romance stories, preferably written by Jane Austen, and exclaim how much they wanted to be married, and one senpai who secluded herself with a book until it was time to go home.
As her classmates Mitsuko and Saki once more squealed over whatever Mr. Darcy had said, Kagome stood up and excused herself. Ritsu-senpai waved quickly before re-immersing herself in her book. The younger girls did not even notice her leaving.
~
While riding the train back home, Kagome’s eye fell on an advertisement for an exhibition of historic art. It was being held at the library of Tokyo University of the Arts, which would be open to the public for the duration of the exhibition. Quickly changing to the Yamanote line, she sent a text to her mother that she would be home late. As she got off at Ueno station and crossed the park that separated the station from the university buildings, she had to hold herself back from running. It had been almost four months since the well had shut her out, and while she was grateful to be back home, she could not forget her life on the other side.
There were very few people attending the exhibition. Kagome had the opportunity to leisurely stroll past the many paintings, screens and other artworks that had been gathered. Some had come from museums, some from private collections. The exhibition had items ranging from the Heian period through to the modern era, but Kagome was most interested in the Muromachi and Momoyama periods. She entered the area where there periods were represented, disappointed to find only some very well-known works. Looking at the various screens, depicting the daily life, she lost herself in memories of her time in the past. When she turned a corner into the next room, the center piece made her catch her breath.
It was his clothing. The fire rat suikan and hakama were right in front of her, displayed proudly on a stand, behind glass. There was no way to mistake them. She rushed forward to read the plaque. It was from a collection owned by a man named Nishimoto Shigeo. Kagome quickly took a snapshot of the plaque and searched around for an attendant. She ended up having to ask the secretary at the front desk. She was told that Nishimoto would be there next Sunday. Thanking the secretary, she left the library in a daze.
~
Once at home, she could not keep her discovery from her mother. Miss Higurashi smiled ruefully as her daughter told her what she had found.
“Kagome, dear, I know this is very hard for you, but please do not get your hopes up.”
“I know, Mama,” Kagome sighed, “But I have to try. I’m not ready to give up.”
~
On Sunday, Kagome arrived at the library half an hour before it opened. There were slightly more people walking around in the park than there had been during the week, but she easily found a bench near the entrance and sat down with a book. Try as she might, though, she could not concentrate on the words in front of her. She got up again and wandered aimlessly around the park until the library opened.
Kagome made a beeline for InuYasha’s clothing and kept hovering around nervously. She wondered how she would recognize this person that owned something so close to her heart. When twenty minutes passed, and no one but her had entered the room, she went back to the front desk to ask whether Nishimoto Shigeo had arrived already. The secretary answered that he was expected to arrive any moment now, and that she would tell him that someone wanted to speak with him. Kagome thanked her and went back to the room that held her only link to the past.
Another ten minutes passed, and Kagome had begun to drift away on memories, when someone behind her cleared his throat. She spun around and found herself face to face with a tall man. He was taller than her by at least a foot. His hair was black and fell halfway past his ears. He wore rectangular glasses, an impeccable dark grey suit with a black tie and a slight scowl upon his face.
“I was told you wanted to speak with me,” he said. His voice was deep and Kagome thought she might have heard it somewhere before.
“Ah! Yes, you must be Nishimoto-san!”
“I am.”
Not fazed in the slightest by his curt manner, Kagome steamed on.
“I was… admiring this set of clothing. Do you mind telling me how you came by it?”
“It is a family heirloom.”
“Wow, your family must be very old. Do you have any other pieces like this?”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I…ah…that is…” Kagome racked her brain to come with a reason that would not make her sound like a complete lunatic, but InuYasha’s face was all that kept popping up. Nishimoto narrowed his eyes at her as her silence stretched on.
“If that is all, miss, please excuse me.”
Without waiting for an answer, he turned around and strode away towards the exit. Kagome gathered her scattered wits and sped up after him.
“Wait, please!”
The library had filled up with people admiring the art and Kagome quickly lost him in the crowd. Trying to push herself through, she caught a glimpse of the man at the door. He was looking right at her, before abruptly glancing away and exiting the building.
By the time Kagome reached the door, she just saw the back of a car disappear around the corner. Shoulders slumping, she turned back inside to ask the secretary if she could tell her anything about the man. In the end, all she could get out of her was his business card.
~
In a luxury car speeding towards the outskirts of the city, a small, skinny and sickly colored driver asked his boss what had happened to make him leave the library within fifteen minutes. A low growl was his only answer.
~
In the following week, Kagome did what she should have done the moment she had first read the name Nishimoto. She searched for him on the internet, in newspapers, anything she could get her hands on. She found out that he owned several small businesses, mostly art galleries. He was most famous for his private collection, which he only rarely lent out to exhibitions besides the ones in his own galleries. He owned three apartments in the city and an extensive stretch of land further to the west, where he could retreat to for some peace and quiet.
She could find little about his past. There were some rumors of him having spent time abroad, but nothing definitive.
She visited some of his galleries, but found no sign of him. She called the number on his business card, but only got a curt reply in a squeaky voice that Nishimoto-sama would not be able to make an appointment with her in the near future. Could she try again in, say, six months?
Friday found her slumped forward over the kitchen table, her mother pottering about, making dinner.
“Kagome, dear, please sit up, that posture is bad for your back.”
With a groan, Kagome righted herself and stared at the ceiling. What should she do now? Keep on calling and hope that she could get an appointment sometime? Forget about the most promising lead in months and keep on searching for information in books? Or, should she be bold and just go visit him in one of his homes?
~
Charming her way past the doorman, claiming her estranged brother lived there and that she had to tell him their mother had fallen seriously ill, she sped up to the elevator of the luxuriant building. She tried to calm her wildly beating heart during the ride up to the 21st floor. She found the apartment quickly, being one of only five on the floor. Swallowing hard, she rang the doorbell.
She knew he had to be here. She had already been to the other two apartments, and gotten no sign of life there. Of course, he could have gone out to the country, or be at one of the galleries. She was just about to give up and turn around, when the door opened.
Dressed in slacks and a loose fitting white shirt, Nishimoto narrowed his eyes at her as soon as he recognized her.
“You…” was all he said before starting to close the door. Kagome could not let that happen, and, without thinking, shoved her foot in the opening.
“Please, wait, I really want to talk to you, Nishimoto-san!” she desperately pleaded.
“The feeling is not mutual.” He started to push harder.
“Please, it’s about those clothes! I…,” Kagome swallowed.
Nishimoto stopped pushing, waiting for her to finish her sentence. She stared at her foot, jammed between his door and its frame like she was some kind of demented Jehova’s witness.
“I…”
“Yes?” he prompted coldly.
“I know who they belonged to,” she finished lamely.
“As do I. As I told you, they passed down my family. Now, if you would remove yourself from this building.”
“NO! I’m not leaving until I’ve spoken with you about InuYasha!” Kagome blurted. She immediately clapped her hands against her mouth. Then, her eyes widened and shot up at the person standing in front of her as she felt a rush of something she had not felt in a long time. Youki.
Staring at the man – could she even all him that? – in the doorway, she tried to make sense of the sensation that had only been there for a split second. She knew that youki, that particular sense of cold dread roiling in her stomach. She had feared it once, but over time had come used to it as their goals had been united. Her hands fell away from her face to hang limply at her sides. She squinted at the man’s face, trying to find something familiar. She found it in a raised eyebrow.
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End note: thank you for reading! Some sidenotes: I researched the names of Inu's clothing and eventually found the names on a fan site, so I do not know how accurate they are. Sess's name is a very lame attempt at being clever: Nishimoto means ‘(one who lives) to the west’ and Shigeo means 'luxuriant man'. So, he's a luxuriant man who lives in the west.