I do not own or make a profit from Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho. Rumiko Takahashi and Yoshihiro Togashi do. :'(

Only the original characters and the plot are mine.

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先見

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Senken

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Chapter 5

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So Sure

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Kagome awoke promptly at six AM the next morning. Habit, she thought absently, yawning widely and rubbing the sleep out of the eyes. It was amazing; she actually felt rested. Probably because she couldn't remember dreaming last night. She must have just collapsed and laid like a corpse until morning.

Whatever. That wasn't what mattered right now. What mattered was getting some food into her stomach and heading over to her computer to start on the three articles she had to have finished within the week for a local history magazine. At least she had work, no matter how absolutely frustrating it was, which meant she was getting some income, anyway.

Yawning again and stretching the cricks out of her back, Kagome rolled out of bed and walked into her small kitchen, placing a teakettle on the stove and heating up some water for her morning caffeine. Next she opened her refrigerator (having only a pitcher of water, a gallon of milk, and a bowl of old spaghetti) and then her cupboards (housing her single bag of rice from a few days before and three bowls of instant ramen). All right, then, tea and ramen it was.

She made her cup ramen and poured some hot water over her chosen bag of tea in a glass, taking the two items over to her work desk as she blew away the steam. Setting them down on the desk, she booted up her computer and walked into her bedroom to change into a long-sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans. Then she went back to the kitchen to grab herself a fork.

She checked her email first, having only one message from her mother's email address, which actually turned out to be Shippou saying hi and telling her his own email. That made Kagome smile slightly, and she quickly replied with a string of hearts and smiley faces and saved the address to her contacts. He would be working again today, as it was Saturday and he had a weekend show going on downtown, but he promised to come see her later that night so that they could finally have some quality time to talk and get reacquainted. She had missed so much of her adopted son's childhood; now she was hoping she could make up for it.

But after she was finished with that, it was time to get to work. She started on the article that documented the lives of taijiya in the Sengoku Jidai. It would be a little difficult for her to write about, knowing that she would never see her soul-sister again, but at least she knew that the woman had grown old happily with the man of her dreams. Unlike herself...

Kagome shook her head. Now was no time for thoughts such as these. She needed to focus. She typed furiously, devoting her entire being to her work and drowning herself in it to keep from thinking of anything else, anything potentially painful.

The three page article was done, fully edited, and placed in an email draft to send to her boss once she had finished all three articles before eight o'clock. At the pace she was going, she would have everything done and sent before lunchtime. She took a break to eat her ramen and drink her tea, which she had forgotten about completely while she had been working, and were now cold.

After placing her now-empty glass in the sink, filling it with water, and throwing away her garbage, Kagome headed back over to her computer, only to find that she had a new email. It was from Shippou. Apparently, he was in between shows at the moment, and wanted to talk to her for a while. Kagome obliged with a smile, typing back a quick "Hey" and "How's the show going?" before she went back to her next article, on Buddhist monks in the Sengoku Jidai.

They went back and forth like that for a while - a couple hours, maybe - before Kagome finished her second article and Shippou had to go back to work. She was so proud of him, five-hundred-fifty and all grown up. Ooh, that would make a good novel title, she thought, quickly writing it down and thinking up different ways she could fit that into her current trilogy.

The clock struck eleven - or more like Kagome looked down at the time in the corner of her computer screen - and the diligent author decided that it was time to get something for lunch. Hn, lunch. Why did it feel like she was forgetting something that had to do with lunchtime? It wasn't her day to go to the shrine - she just had two days ago. She didn't need to go to the store - she did that the day before her shrine visit.

So what was so danged important that she had forgotten about lunchtime to -

"Kagome-chan?" a soft voice called through her apartment door, accompanied by a hesitant knock, pulling her from her thoughts. "Do you have any shoes I can wear that would go with a blue dress? I don't have any to wear for my date tonight and I really don't want to go buy some just for one day..."

Ah, that was it. Now she remembered. She had to go see Urameshi Yusuke for lunch at the Torayuuki Cafe to talk things over. And boy did she have one heck of a bombshell to drop on him. Why couldn't she have stayed blissfully amnestic for just a little longer?

"Kagome-chan? Are you in there?" Keiko's nervous voice called again.

The miko sighed and got up to answer the door, putting on the best smile she could muster as she opened it to see her newest friend standing in the hallway, fidgeting with the hem of her pine green T-shirt. She looked very relieved when Kagome opened the door and motioned her inside, closing it behind them as they went to sit on her one couch next to her work desk in the small living room.

"You wanna talk?" Kagome asked, glancing at the clock. The Torayuuki Cafe wasn't that far from her apartment complex; she could easily make the walk in under ten minutes if she tried. But that still meant that she would have to have Keiko out of her room by 11:50 if she wanted to make it there by noon like she had promised. That gave her forty minuted to entertain Keiko before she had to kick her out.

The school teacher didn't notice that her friend was otherwise preoccupied, as she herself was trying to come up with what to say to properly express how she felt. By the time Kagome was done figuring out her time schedule, Keiko had come up with what she was going to say.

"Kagome-chan, have you ever been so sure of something, so positive that you could do it, and then you go out and try it and your resolve topples like a house of cards?" Kagome blinked at her wording. It was almost... poetic. She didn't get time enough to think over her answer, though, before Keiko continued.

"I always thought I would end up with Yusuke. Even when we were little and I pretended to dislike him, it just seemed like that was what everyone expected of us, so I just felt the same subconsciously. I always thought I was pretty sure of myself when it came to dating and things like that, but looking back, I've never really dated anyone before. I mean, I hung out with Yusuke and everything, but...

"And now that I'm not with him anymore, and I have to try and get to know another person, I'm... I dunno..." She looked down at the hem of her shirt as she began to play with it again, trying to come up with the right word.

"Nervous?" Kagome suggested.

Keiko looked up at her with large brown eyes, watery around the edges. "Scared." Kagome nodded in understanding and wrapped her arm around the slightly older woman, giving her a hopefully-comforting side-hug.

"It's not easy, trying to get to know someone new, especially after you've been with one person for so long," she mused, knowing that she would soon be in the same predicament after she came to terms with Inuyasha's death, which she was loath to even think about. She looked down at the brunette leaning against her side, saying softly, "You don't have to start so soon, you know. You can always wait for a while and let everything out before you try and jump back into the world of dating. I know that's what I'd do." What I am doing.

Keiko sniffled and shook her head. "No, I wouldn't want to stand up my date. Anyway, if it's too much too soon, I can always just tell him I'm not ready to start dating again yet and wait for a while like you said." She smiled gratefully at Kagome, though her eyes were still slightly watery. "Thanks, Kagome-chan. I just really needed to get that out of my system."

Kagome smiled genuinely back at her. "No problem. Just come talk to me whenever you need to get something off your chest," she said, meaning it. She may never have a friend like Sango again, but it was comforting to know that at least she would still have friends.

"Sure!" Keiko agreed, sitting up next to Kagome from where she had formerly been leaning on the woman, shaking her arm off with her sudden bounciness. And that was when Kagome felt it, the out-of-body feeling that accompanied her visions, before the foreign colors flooded her eyes and she saw it, her new friend's death.

An old woman with short gray hair lay in a hospital bed, clutching the thin sheet in frail, shaking hands as she looking lovingly at the seven people that surrounded her. She was saying goodbyes, it seemed, to her two children, their spouses, and her lovely grandchildren before her voice faded away and her eyes dimmed...

Kagome gasped as she was pulled back to reality, sweat coating her brow as she blinked wetly at the familiar apartment around her, expecting to still be in the antiseptic white hospital room, watching a much older version of the friend she knew going to the next world.

"Kagome-chan? Are you all right? You went really still for a moment and looked like you were blind, just staring out at nothing...," Keiko asked, looking worriedly at her friend.

Kagome shook her head to dispel any leftover feelings from her vision, ridding herself of her unshed tears simultaneously, and turned to her friend with a shaky smile. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine, Keiko-chan," she said, knowing she didn't sound very convincing.

Keiko raised an eyebrow but let it slide, as she could tell Kagome really didn't want to think about it right now. "All right. I'm leaving at five, so if you want to talk, make sure you come see me before then, okay? But you can always come to me if you need to say something, Kagome-chan. Everyone needs to talk sometimes."

With a sigh, Kagome nodded her agreement. "Hai, hai... So, do you still need some shoes?" she asked with a smirk, purposefully changing the subject.

Keiko blushed slightly before laughing and shaking her head. "Naw, I'll just wear some flip-flops," she said with a wide grin.

"Ooh, classy," Kagome commented playfully as Keiko laughed out of her apartment and Kagome bid her good luck. She turned to look at the clock, surprised to find that it was already 11:45. Time sure does go fast when you're pouring your soul out.

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"Ha! So she's already over me, is she? Doesn't surprise me; that - "

"No, no, that's not what I said!" Kagome interrupted, quickly becoming exasperated with her youkai partner. "I said that she had a date tonight. But it was her mother that arranged it for her once she found out that you two had split up. She actually talked to me before I came here and told me that she was nervous for this date. I don't think she really wants to go, but she doesn't want to be rude."

It was quiet for a moment as the two contemplated that, Kagome just glad that Yusuke had finally decided to stop arguing with her. The young woman sighed, wondering if she was doing the right thing. I want to help him, but I don't think Keiko-chan really wants to get back together with him, she thought, glancing at him over her lemon water. And I want to help her, too. So if they want completely different things, how am I supposed to help them both?

That was the predicament that she was faced with. Did she help Yusuke recover their relationship and probably hurt Keiko in the process? Or help Keiko move on and leave Yusuke feeling betrayed and possibly suicidal?

Kagome shook her head and looked back to Yusuke, who was staring into space again, thinking. "Okay, so what do you want to do?" she asked, picking up her slippery glass with two gloved hands and sipping from her straw. After the incident with Keiko in the apartment, she had made sure to cover every possible inch of her skin with cloth to prevent a repeat. She had gotten too comfortable, and had payed the price for it.

Yusuke slowly shook his head, turning back to look into her sapphire eyes. "I dunno. I thought you were the one with all the great plans."

Kagome scowled at his sarcastic comment, rolling her eyes at him. "Yeah, well, contrary to popular belief, I don't know everything, so I need you to help me out here," she said, taking another sip of water. Damn, it was hot in all those clothes. "What do you want? Just answer that."

Yusuke sighed and stared at her for a moment before answering. "I just want to know if I need to stay here anymore or if my time is up."

Kagome nodded again, trying not to choke on her water. Okay, so he needs a reason to live, and Keiko needs a more caring and present boyfriend. Is that possible?

I sure hope so, she thought as a familiar aura rounded the corner of the street and she looked up to see him from her position at the outside cafe table...

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"You're sure it's her?"

"I checked her myself. There's no way there could be a mistake."

A sigh was heard throughout the office, partially filled with relief and partially with anticipation. "Good. We need to close this case as soon as possible. When can you have her in here?"

"Three days, tops."

"Hn..." The being contemplated that for a moment. Could it not be done sooner?

"Actually," another voice interjected, drawing the attention of the other two. "I know how we can get her here by tonight..."

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All right, here's your stinkin' chapter. Now stop asking. -.-;

Naw, I love you guys, and I really appreciate each and every review I get. ^^ By the way, this story officially has forty-seven reviews. Why is forty-seven so special, you ask? Only because it's my favorite number ever! XD But yeah, rant over now. ^^ And if you still want to guess at what species Shippou is, though we haven't really seen much of him lately, I'll give you one last hint:

HE'S NOT A RED FOX!

XD There. Now go flock to Wikipedia, my minions. Muahahahaha!

Okay, now I don't have the patience to look back at everything I used, but if anyone has any questions as to what the Japanese terms used in this story are, just send me a review and I'll get right back to you on that. ^^

Final note, this is un-beta'd and I plan to keep it that way, but if anyone has any legitimate complaints about my spelling or grammar in the story, please just tell me and I'll fix it right up. ^^ Thanks and enjoy!