Forever in My Heart by nostalgic-maiden

Itsumo o waga kokoro

Forever in My Heart

Chapter 1: Itsumo o waga kokoro

"Heart rate is flat lining!"

"Defibrillator, quick!"

Medical instruments and machinery were handed to her without question. No, no one questioned her command, not when Kagome Higurashi, the top ER doctor in the hospital, is ordering you. Heck, she was well known in all of Japan.

With the machine in her hands, she looked up.

In person, this petite woman was not very intimidating. At 26 years old, stood at exactly 5 feet 4 inches. Not that tall. Currently, her long, ebony hair was tied up in a practical bun, and her electric blue eyes, unusual for one of Japanese heritage, flashed with determination. Her curvy figure was hidden neatly beneath the green hospital scrubs and the white lab coat. She looked every bit the professional doctor she was supposed to be.

"Clear!"

-zap-

Volts of electricity shot through his body, triggering his heart to beat steadily again. She let out the breath she had been holding.

"Heart rate is steady, BP is improving. He should be alright. Great job guys!" she flashed the rest of her staff a perfect smile. "When he has stabilized further, move him back to the wards. He will do better there than in the ICU."

The head nurse, a young redhead, smiled and answered, "Gotcha doc!"

Kagome smiled again, and disappeared through the curtain, off to treat her next trauma patient.

A younger nurse glanced at Kagome's retreating figure.

"Ne, Ayame-san, doesn't Higurashi-san seem a bit tense today? Her smile..."

The redhead nodded. "Hai. Perhaps I will ask her about it later."

She too, headed out, towards the foyer of the ER. Walking to quickly to grab a coffee in the café, she tried to savour her break. However, thoughts about Kagome's fake smile entered her mind. She didn't need to ask why Kagome was in a pensive mood. Today was THE day. The day when, 8 years ago, Naraku had been defeated. Today was THE day, when 4 years ago, the well had stopped working. It was THE day when Kagome had been forced to pick up the pieces of her life that remained and make do without the part of her she had left behind in the past.

Kagome had vowed never to fall down like that again. And so she picked herself up, and went on with her life. She had graduated from Tokyo University that spring, just months after she found out she couldn't visit the past anymore. She had needed to get away. She decided to move to America, and go to medical school. And so, she left that very summer, and didn't come back until she was 24. She had come back with a medical degree and a new outlook on life. The Californian sunshine had done her good. She had gotten hired immediately after returning to Japan, at Tokyo's most prestigious hospital. She was now head of the ER.

Ayame sipped her fragrant coffee, hoping the caffeine would keep her awake for the next 12 hours. She silently curses shifts as she thought about the day that she literally ran into Kagome. She remembered, it was her first day on the job after being promoted. She had been carrying a tray full of capped syringes. Kagome had been trying to read her pager and sprint down the corridor at the same time. They had collided head-on. Kagome had said, "Gomen nasai! Let me help you..." Kagome had then looked up, and saw familiar green eyes, and familiar red hair. She had whispered, "Ayame-chan?"

Ayame had been equally surprised. "Kagome-chan?"

Kagome had burst out crying. The two of them had sat in that corridor, for half an hour, just crying.

Standing up, Ayame deposited her empty coffee cup into the trashcan and headed towards her ward. Flipping out her cell phone discretely, she dialled Kouga's number. She quickly created a text message telling him she would be home after her shift, and told him not to wait up for him. Next, she texted her eldest son, Ichiro, telling him to pick up her youngest daughter, Aiko, from daycare later. This was done in 30 seconds flat. Ayame silently thanked Kami for her demon speed. Sighing slightly, she readied herself for another 12 hours of patrolling the wards.

---

Slamming the door of her locker shut, Kagome grabbed her purse and headed towards the exit. Sitting comfortably into her BMW convertible, she revved up the engine and backed out of her parking space. With the car top up and her long hair flying behind her, Kagome was the embodiment of wealth. Yes, going to America for school was a great decision. AS soon as her employers had seen the words "UCLA" on her resumé, she had been hired, and given a 6-figure salary. US dollars. And the number had figures had increased as she got promoted.

She had gotten to the point where she had a designer design all her clothes to fit her uncommon body shape. After all, most Asian women had petite bodies with subtle curves. No, Kami decided to gift her with a body that American supermodels would be jealous of. Now, most of her wardrobe was created by the one and only Kagura Nirohime. Yes, THAT Kagura, the one who had turned against Naraku and helped Inuyasha and his gang to victory, so many years ago. Ever since that fateful day, when Naraku had been defeated, Kagome and Sango had forged a strong friendship with Kagura and Ayame. After Kagome had disappeared, the three remaining women had been devastated. So when Kagome had reappeared in their midst, more than five hundred years later, the three women had been overjoyed. Kagome had found that Ayame and Kouga had mated, and had 4 pups – the eldest being almost 300 years old while the youngest was barely 20. Kagura too, had found her life's love in a playful otter youkai named Jiro. Their first child is 100 years old, and Kagura is currently pregnant with their second. Sango and Miroku had gotten married even before Kagome had left, and Kagome found out that hey had 7 kids in total. But of course, they had passed on many, many years ago.

That left Kagome. She was currently without a boyfriend. In fact, she never really had any long-term relationships. There was just too much emotional baggage in her heart as of now. During her university years in Japan, she had been quiet, preferring to keep to her friends in the past. In America, she had morphed into quite the party girl, having many flings with hot white guys. She had still kept her virtue though, having the belief that she wanted to find true love before giving it up to anyone.

Backing into her parking space at her apartment once again, she quickly got out and stepped into a waiting elevator. She got out on the 18th floor, and entered her penthouse. It was quite a spacious living environment, considering she lived by herself. The design was modern, and furniture was simple and tasteful. Throwing her purse onto the black leather sofa, she kicked off her heels and sighed. Stripping down to her undergarments, she left her clothes in a pile and headed to the bathroom. Stepping into the hot shower, she allowed the steam and water to wash away the stress of the day. Satisfied with the shower, she stepped out and wrapped herself in her favourite pink towel. Stepping into her large bedroom, she dressed in comfortable loungewear, and proceeded to drop the dirty pile of clothes on the floor into the hamper. She would do the laundry after.

Evenings were always quiet at her place. Unless, of course, Ayame and Kagura had decided to come over with their respective families and wreck her apartment. Not that she minded of course. In fact, she loved it when they came over, because she loved playing with their kids, and just talking about times in the past.

Tonight was a special night. Usually, she would spend this evening alone. The first couple years after the well had closed, she would spend this night crying. Now, she was stronger, and decided that enough tears had been shed for the past. She had decided to take initiative, and invite Shippou and Rin over. She had found out soon after meeting up with Kagura and Ayame that Shippou was still around, and had mated with Rin. They still had no children, but they could take their time. After all, Shippou was only 500, and Rin had stopped aging the minute they had become mates, giving her body the appearance and function of a 23-year old. Shippou was now the head of his own law firm, and Rin was his personal assistant.

Flicking on the lights in her kitchen, she started to plan what she would cook. Rin had already offered to make onigiri, so she decided not to bother with other rice dishes. Opening her fridge, she got out ingredients for a monjayaki and started to boil water to make soba.

Half an hour later, she had finished setting the table, the cooked monjayaki was ready to eat, and the soba was chilling in the fridge. Miso soup she had made yesterday was simmering slowly on the stovetop.

She entered her bedroom again, to change into something more appropriate. She rummaged through her closet for moment, and came out with an outfit that she liked. In her hands she held a satin magenta halter top and comfortable khakis. A knit black shrug completed her look. Dressing quickly, she hurriedly poked some pearls through her earlobes and put on some mascara as she heard her doorbell ring. Patting her hair quickly, she ran to the door and opened it.

In the doorway stood a tall, handsome young man with red hair tied back in a short ponytail. On his arm was a pretty young woman with voluminous black hair and bright brown eyes, who was holding a large Tupperware® box in her other arm.

"Kaasan," Shippou greeted her with a large smile.

"Kagome-chan," Rin smiled her signature bright smile.

"Shippou-chan, Rin-chan," she replied, flashing them her own wide smile. "Come on in and put your stuff down."

Shippou took his and Rin's coats, and set them neatly on the couch. Rin proceeded to the set table, putting down her box of onigiri.

The three of them sat down and began eating. As the edge was taken off of their hunger, a lively conversation started, with topics ranging from Kagura's latest pregnancy to the art of Japanese cooking to Kagome's halter top, the latter of which only Rin and Kagome had any opinions on. After dinner, the three lounged around on the sofa, and the conversation turned to Inuyasha.

"Times like these make me think of when I was still a kit, and he would always bully me," Shippou remarked, with a small smile on his face. Rin looked sympathetically towards her two companions. Whenever conversation turned to Inuyasha, she would automatically withdraw her voice, knowing that she had limited contact with him, and that she shouldn't say anything. She would be the one who gave silent support and comfort to her two nostalgic companions.

Kagome nodded. "I remember when that happened, I would always sit him, and he'd curse at me from his crater."

Shippou chuckled. "I miss him."

"I do too," Kagome replied, her eyes lowering as she felt the familiar wetness come to her eyes.

Kikyou had to set Inuyasha free after Naraku had been defeated. She finally became the sweet miko she used to be as her soul was gently released, and her body was finally put to eternal rest. After Kikyou's death, Inuyasha decided to put away his feelings for his first love, as well as for her reincarnation. Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship had grown to become one that was like brother and sister. They knew that they would not be happy together, and life was better if they stayed friends. After Kagome disappeared, Inuyasha had been depressed for a long time. However, he eventually found happiness in a young taijiya named Chiyoko. They had gotten married and had one child. However, tragedy had struck, and the entire family had perished in Hiroshima in WWII.

"Demo, 'kaasan, I'm glad you decided to have us over tonight. This means your heart is healing," Shippou gently said.

Kagome nodded, accepting the tissue that Rin offered her. "It's been hard, but I think I've finally reached a point where I'm allowing my life to go on fully. I've always said that I'm okay, but now, I truly feel that I am. I guess I've learned the difference between reminiscing about the past, and pining for the past." She smiled.

Shippou smiled and stood up. "I think we should go now. You need to rest, 'kaasan. When's your next shift?"

"Tomorrow at noon, until about 2 a.m." she answered.

Shippou shook his head. "I don't understand how you doctors can live like that. If it were me, poor Rin-chan would have to deal with my temper."

Rin laughed quietly, and took her coat, handing Shippou's coat to him. She stood up too, saying, "Take care of yourself, Kagome-chan." Giving Kagome a warm hug, she linked her arm with Shippou's again, and the two headed out the door. Locking her door, Kagome started to clean up the remnants of dinner, thinking about the conversations she had tonight.

Smiling, she thought to herself, "Yes, tonight is going to mark my new beginning."

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hey guys :D

yes, I've finally come out with the first chapter of my new story! I hope you liked it, and please review to give me more feedback!

I think those of you who read my previous story noticed, but this chapter is quite long compared to my previous works. This is because I've decided to take it slow for this story, as in fully develop the plot. This story is probably going to end up being around 20 chapters, I think. And I've already decided on the couple...XDXD my all-time favourite (AGAIN) Sesshoumaru and Kagome. I know I have an addiction, please bear with me. Originally, I wanted this story to be called "Itsumademo", which apparently means "forever" in Japanese. However, I wasn't sure, so I decided to keep it in English. However, the title of the first chapter was roughly translated by me, so please forgive me if it's wrong. My intended meaning is "always in my heart".

Sesshoumaru is going to make his grand debut in the next chapter, and you guys can start to guess what occupation he is...lol. So if you have any questions about the story so far, please leave me a comment, and I'll answer it :)

Itsumo o waga kokoro: (roughly translated) always in my heart

onigiri: rice balls made of cooked rice wrapped with nori seaweed; they often contain some other food in the centre

monjayaki: a Kanto region specialty that is like a mix between a pizza and a pancake. It is made with dough that is rather liquid-y

soba: native Japanese noodles made of buckwheat and wheat flour; can be served hot or cold

miso: soup made from miso/soybean paste, usually contains seaweed and small cubes of silken tofu

Chiyoko: child of a thousand generations

Ichiro: first son

Aiko: child of love

taijiya: demon slayer

Jiro: second son

gomen nasai: very sorry

happy reading!

outz