Inspired by ac comic written by animauxing. You can find their works in their tumblr.

There is no romance, as we'll be exploring other forms of love, from friendship to family. Angst is not the primary focus, but instead moving forward is.

1: stepping stones

Her knees in the dirt, the weather was warmer than what she was used to—the sun blazed on her back. Salty breeze felt sticky on her skin, but it somehow smelled like home. "Hello," she greeted quietly, a tad dispirited still, with her head tilted toward the wise-eyed raccoon.

He chuckled, not missing the weariness in her soul, "Hope your trip went well?" Tiny paws on her thighs brought some comfort, that she was still here. The raccoon glanced downward, "My boys haven't done anything funny on that plane, hadn't they?"

The smaller raccoon blistered, "No! We were good!" "—good!" His twin mimicked, though his voice was softer.

"No, they were good to us, snuffles," the pig defended, though she had a wiry smile on her lips. The pig was a sweet thing, not failing to offer her and the boys the company on the plane and kept the shuttering penguin to mind his behavior.

(He was quite obsessed with sports, she mused.)

Come to think of it, they never did give each other their names, did they? Anxiety must've kept all of them distracted, their minds buzzing with unnecessary details.

Tommy and Timmy chattered their ears away, cheerily started a new subject when the former topic died. There were not a single moment where the plane was totally silent—and she was grateful for it. With their childish wonderments, they helped quietened the storm in her heart.

Yet they were keen enough to not to miss her needs of comfort. The twins didn't press for her reasons to accept the getaway package and like the pig, they were quick to keep her company. Young in spirit, yet wise in heart.

The larger raccoon—Tom Nook, he was relatively well-known in her homeland, raised his boys well.

"Ohoh, that's good," Tom grinned at Timmy and Tommy's crossed expressions, amusement loud in his words. He relaxed his jolliness and reformed himself with a professional mannerism with a cough, "shall we get started then? Is everyone here?" Tom gestured at his boys.

"Roald?" Timmy squeaked out, prodding at his clipboard.

The penguin chattered his beak, though the weather was far too warm to prompt this oddness from him, "Here, b-b-buddy!" He waved his flipper high and wiggled his little tail.

"How about Agnes?" Tommy followed.

"Can't miss me," Agnes snorted, beaming that grin. Perching her hooves on her hips, her sassiness was made quite apparent.

Both Timmy and Tommy left her sides and flanked Tom. In a chorus, they waved at her, "And of course we have Ms. Kagome!"

She struck out like a sore thumb, Kagome smothered a laugh in her palm. Being a human, she dwarfed them all. Even Tom, his larger-than-life girth being a part of his charms, could barely reach below her knees.

"Yes, yes, wonderful!" Tom hadn't batted his eyes much at Kagome's attempt to remain on an equal standing with them, "Welcome, everyone—to your new island! My name is Tom Nook, and I'm the founder and president of Nook Inc. Yes, yes,"

Kagome froze when Tom shot her a look—that same look her grandfather gave her before she departed from her family. He warmed, "I sincerely hope this deserted island getaway package will serve as a stepping stone to your new life—today is the first day..."

His words jumbled together, but she never thought the clouds in her heart would break away for littlest rays of sunshine. Stepping stones—to her new life.

Yes, this is the new beginning she needed.

a/n: hi uhhhh long time no see;; so this was kinda prewritten some times ago, but I never opened up about my random ac ideas until recently when my friends more or less pushed me into stretching out my kagome writing hands again.

This ficlet's update will probably be sporadic though, but I do have several ideas in place! Look forward to them~cheers and see ya'll in another update~!