Obligatory Disclaimer: I clearly do not own any of the characters within (even those who may or may not be originals), any of the settings, concepts, or other potentially copy-written works within this piece. I am merely a vessel; A messenger who conveys a story, nothing more, nothing less.
It was a silent evening, a peaceful night, and a beautiful and forever haunting memory. Sesshomaru could still remember, watching from the shadows, as his father and mother admitted that they were going along two different paths. He could still remember the wistful sob that died halfway in his mother's throat as his father kissed her goodbye for the first and final time. For two individuals parting ways on such mutual terms, she certainly didn't seem happy.
Years later, he would learn that she had a strength he had never known could exist. A monumental ability that she hoped had been passed on to him.
She had loved his father so much; enough to let him go when that love was holding him back from his dreams, from finding who he was.
Sesshomaru received conflicting messages about love from his parents. His mother taught him to love gently, letting go when it was necessary – even if it was painful. His father taught him to love fiercely, holding on so firmly that in the end, his love slipped between his fingers like water.
They were both fools.
The young lord determined he would never follow in their footsteps. He would never love so fruitlessly as to allow his lover to leave just because they wanted to do something else than be with him. He would never love so passionately that he would forget himself, either. Balance was the key to finding the right match.
That was what he told himself for decades.
It was, therefore, quite unexpected when he found himself strangely enamored with a human girl.
So lost was he in his devotion to her that he would give anything to save her, even sacrificing his own dignity and morals to – in the end – stand beside the half-brother he hated. Yet, he was so deeply afflicted with his affections for her, that when it was better for her… he let go of her tiny hand and allowed her to go.
He could still remember the faint brush of her tiny lips against his cheek when she kissed him goodbye for the first and final time, a faint hint of a wistful sob building in his chest. He choked it down, watching the child as she waved and turned to skip away towards the human village.
It would be hours later, as the sun began to set behind him, that he would raise his own hand in response.
~*FIN*~