Kagome stared dreamily into the water. It shone in the evening sun. Almost like a piece of jewelery. She sighed. Whatever she did, her mind kept wandering back to Inuyasha.
"What do you have, sister?" Asked Sota, who sat down next to Kagome in the sand. Kagome was sitting on her towel with her knees bent and her head resting on them. She was wearing a dark swimsuit and her hair was pinned up.

It was summer vacation and the Higurashi family was vacationing in Italy. Kagome was in Europe for the first time. She really liked it here, but she couldn't really enjoy her vacation. She kept thinking of Inuyasha. And what he told her ...

Sota waved his hand in front of her face. "Kagome? KAGOME !?" The addressed startled. Only now did she notice her brother. "Don't scare me like that!" She grumbled. "You've been so strange all day ..." he stated. "I'm not wrong ..." Kagome whispered indistinctly.Sota gave her a piercing look. Kagome felt uncomfortable staring at her like that; she avoided his gaze. Then suddenly he smiled. “You miss Inuyasha, don't you?” Kagome looked at him. She sighed heavily and nodded slightly. There was no point in denying this ... yes, she missed him. His words had been floating around in her head for days. What these three little words can do ...

Sota got up. "You should go shopping. That's the favorite hobby of women," he said lightly. Kagome looked at him in disbelief. "Who told you that?" She asked, frowning. "I saw that on TV," he said, seeming proud to have revealed the secret of women. Kagome went into a fit of laughter. "Why are you laughing ..?" He asked confused, but he was happy that she was laughing again. She hadn't spoken a word in days unless it was really necessary. Otherwise she wasn't so withdrawn."You shouldn't believe everything you see on TV!" Said Kagome, still laughing. Sota didn't know what to say to that. He seemed shocked that he wasn't the expert on women after all. Instead, he returned to the subject of why she was suddenly laughing like that. "You haven't said a word for days and now you're almost choking on a laughing fit ... What happened?" Kagome smiled at him. "You just gave me an idea.", She explained and got up. “Thanks Sota.” She ran towards the hotel because she wanted to change. She left the perplexed Sota behind. Yes, he really had given her an idea ... He had told her to go shopping. She wanted that too. She wanted to buy a present ... for Inuyasha.

~ * ~

"Inu Yasha ?! INU YASHA !!! Inu-" "I'm here, Kagome." Kagome turned around. She had been looking for Inuyasha for hours but found him nowhere. She had looked everywhere ... in the village, in the forest ... at Miroku and Sango ... But there he was now.In the middle of a large meadow. She looked him in the eye. The wind was blowing slightly and the long blades of grass gave under the pressure and buckled. "Inuyasha ..." Kagome whispered and smiled. At the same time she wondered where he had been. For some reason Inuyasha wasn't smiling ... he didn't show any emotion. But it seemed like he was wrestling with himself. He came up to her and stopped unusually close in front of her. Kagome's heart immediately started beating faster. The Hanyou's eyes sparkled brightly. They just looked at each other ...
All of a sudden Inuyasha hugged her and buried his face in her black hair. Kagome felt his strong hands on her back, but she was too shocked to react. He hugged her tighter, as if he'd never want to let go of her again. "Kagome ..." the Hanyou whispered. "I love you ..."

"ATTENZIONE !!!"
Kagome only saw a red car approaching and then she was grabbed by the arm and pulled off the busy street with a jerk.She had been so lost in thought that she had not noticed that she had run into the street. A man held her arm and said something to her in a stern tone. Kagome didn't know what he was saying, but she could guess. She thanked her rescuer with a quiet "Thank you ..." and bowed, as was customary in Japan. The Italian gave her a strange look, but Kagome didn't care. She turned and looked for a gift shop.

An hour later she was still walking through the streets of Rome without having found a suitable present for Inuyasha. There were plenty of shops here, but Kagome was looking for the perfect souvenir. She didn't know what this was supposed to be. But she was sure that if she saw it, she would know it.
So she ran from shop to shop looking for it. After all, she couldn't bring a simple postcard to Inuyasha. (She was sure he didn't even know what a postcard was.)Exhausted, she sat down on a bench and thought about what to do now. She had turned into a small alley and couldn't find the way to the main street. Kagome sighed.
Suddenly she noticed a small, inconspicuous shop on the opposite side of the street. It reminded her very much of Japan because it was decorated entirely in the Japanese style. Since she has been here before and had nothing to do anyway, she could also pay the shop a visit. She got up and walked across the street to the shop. There is an 'OPEN' sign on the door. Kagome went in and a ring was heard. “Hello?” Nobody seemed to be there. But as Kagome went deeper into the shop, which was crowded with statues and dolls, she noticed an old woman at the counter with her back to her. The whole shop was dusty and all the porcelain dolls and cups.It looked like Kagome's search would end here without success.
"Excuse me ..." "I understand you that way too." Said the woman and turned to her. She was also Japanese. “Oh ... good.” Kagome's English wasn't exactly the best. She was happy to be able to speak in her mother tongue.
"What are you looking for, my child?" Asked the woman, walked around the counter and stopped in front of Kagome. She somehow reminded Kagome of Kaede. "Um ... I don't know what I'm looking for, but I know[i]thatI'm looking for something ..." Kagome tried to explain, but she knew it sounded strange. "It should be a present.", She added. "I see," said the woman in a surprising way. "Who should the present be for?"
Kagome wondered how to put it. After all, she couldn't say: 'For a half-demon'
"It should be for ... a dear, familiar person. One who is always there for me and protects me ..." The woman had heard enough."Wait here for me ..." she said and disappeared into a door. She left Kagome behind, but it wasn't long before she came back. She had something round in her hand. Kagome couldn't believe what she was seeing: it looked like the Shikon no Tama!