Chapter Text
The fall was always Mrs Higurashi’s favourite season. Cool mornings, warm afternoons and the opportunity to watch leaves transition from their healthy green all the way to the rusty browns offered a great opportunity for her to meditate and mull over the passing of time, all from the comfort of her family’s temple courtyard. Unfortunately for Mrs Higurashi, once the leaves had successfully turned to a dull brown, they would promptly fall off the trees, and make the pathways of the temple grounds their new home, laying in heaps upon heaps, until she had no choice but to sweep them away. But all that effort would be in vain, because the next day, the leaves would pile on again, starting the cleaning process all over again.
This process kept Mrs Higurashi busy in the early hours of each day, and by mid-morning, she would be left exhausted and in desperate need of a more entertaining activity.
Today’s activity of choice was the extremely exciting prospect of grocery shopping.
Shopping was always a pleasure, and even with their modest income, Mrs Higurashi always found it gratifying to look for small ways to spoil members of her family. This time was no different, a strawberry and cream ice cream cake packed carefully in her grocery bag. The cake was the smallest size available, and shared between their small family, it would last them for days, as she was the only one who could eat it regularly. Kagome used to eat too much of it, so much so that the cake would sometimes be gone by the time Mrs Higurashi got around to it, yet now days would pass and plenty of cake would be left to be enjoyed at dinner by everyone. As she slowly made her way up the stairs of the shrine, a solemn smile made its way to Mrs Higurashi’s face.
For the past eight years, she had not had the opportunity to spoil her beloved daughter.
Eight years since the last time she bought Kagome’s favourite noodles, eight years since the last new pair of shoes, eight years since the strawberry and cream ice cream cake had Kagome’s name written on top of it with a birthday message.
As she reached the top of the stairs, Mrs Higurashi’s burry vision caused her to take a few more seconds than it normally would have to notice the figure standing in front of the Goshinboku.
From the distance, a young woman’s profile seemed so familiar — her slight stature, long black hair tumbling down her back, looking intently at the Tree of Ages, an atmosphere of loneliness around her —that for a moment, she hoped that perhaps, perhaps her daughter had returned to her, that after all this time, they would be reunited at last. Without intending to, her hand reached out as she whispered, “Kagome-chan?”
At the sound, the figure in question stood straighter, and slowly turned to face Mrs Higurashi.
It took one single look for the woman to realise with disappointment — and some embarrassment — that this stranger was not Kagome, this was not her daughter.
The woman approaching her with slow, measured steps was not a woman really, but a girl. She seemed to be around the age Kagome had been when she left, but with the eight years that have passed since then would put them some years apart. Looking at her now, Mrs Higurashi felt silly for even entertaining that this girl was her Kagome. Despite there being no celebratory occasion,, the stranger wore an off white houmongi with sparse red and gold flowers, a pattern that resembled so much the ones Mrs Higurashi’s own mother used to wear. This young woman was the very definition of prim and polished, a far cry from Kagome’s fashionable casual style of the late 90s. Her pedigree was confirmed to Mrs Higurashi when the stranger bowed courteously, and greeted her, her voice soft and feminine, “Good afternoon! Mrs Higurashi, it is a pleasure to see you well.”
A moment of silence passed before the older woman bowed slightly in response and found the words to answer, her face forcing a small smile, “Hello there! I am sorry, young lady, I am forgetting more and more things as I advance in age, have we met before?”
“Ah, no, my apologies,” the young girl quipped, “I am sorry, this is the first time we meet, and I did not even introduce myself. My name is Rin Taisho,” she added with another deep bow, “it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
The Higurashi shrine had an unexpected visitor.