"Hello Jinenji," Kagome said softly as she set fresh flowers and incense at the small shrine she kept in memorial of her late husband. There was no photograph, like there would be if she'd made the shrine in her original time, but Shippo had drawn an excellent portrait of Jinenji and herself together once, and Kagome had paid good money for a frame. Glass was expensive and rare in this time, but she'd gotten one despite that. "I miss you."
No one had ever treated her like Jinenji had. They'd had that in common. Kagome was the first girl he'd ever talked to who hadn't screamed, apart from his mother, that is. Jinenji was naturally twenty-four feet tall, muscular, with bulbous blue eyes that faced forward and a snout very much like a horse or deer. Which made sense, since his father was a divine elk of the woodlands – yeah, not so much on the half 'demon' bit, but with his looks, try telling anybody that his father was a lesser kami.
Jinenji was large, intimidating, and not the most attractive of creatures, sad to say. He had the most gentle soul, though, and a way with plants and animals that had captivated the young, barely-trained miko within hours of their meeting. While he had lived, they had been very close. They had even managed to make a child together, despite the purely physical barrier that was the size discrepancy between husband and wife.
Love making is difficult when that important part of the husband's anatomy was as large as the wife's arm. They'd managed though, and it was much easier on Jinenji's 'human' days which came once a month – and brought him down to being a third of his regular stature. Eight feet was still taller than usual, but it was three times easier to work with in their bed.
It had been expected that, when Kagome returned (if she ever returned) that she would settle down with InuYasha. Three years away from him though, three years of getting everything done, sorting out her life, had put things into perspective for her. InuYasha was her friend, and as a friend, she cared about him. But while a girl might flirt with a 'bad boy' like InuYasha, he wasn't the sort that good girls like Kagome got married to. There was also no way they could have an equal marriage, with him always bullying and domineering, and her with control over his subjugation beads. No, it would not be a healthy romantic relationship. It was barely a healthy friendship, for all that they both treasured it.
Jinenji, with his sweet soul, gentle spirit, and solid work ethic, on the other hand, really was the marrying type. Okay, so Hojo was also the kind of guy that a good girl like Kagome would be expected to marry, but she honestly found her former classmate slightly nauseating. Mostly because he honestly believed her grandfather's stories about her ill health. … No. Just no.
"Our little Shuichi is growing up well," she told the shrine.
Shuichi was their child, the only child they had. He'd been conceived, nearest Kagome could figure, on one of Jinenji's human days in the depths of winter, when it was too cold to leave their hut and tend the herbs. Winter was a time when humans did a lot of conceiving, and they hadn't been exceptions. Kagome guessed that Shuichi had been conceived that day because, as yet, there was no sign of his having inherited any of his father's less human traits, apart from being taller than all of his age-mates.
Something that could just as easily be put down to Shuichi having been fed better than any of his age-mates. Proper (or improper) nutrition made a difference in how well a child grew, just as much as genetics did.
"Mother?"
"Oh, Shuichi," she answered, and turned to her little boy. Well, maybe not so little. He was only ten, but he was already almost five feet tall. Ten years old, and for three of those, his father had been dead. "Awake already?"
"Mm," he said with a solemn nod, and moved to sit next to her in front of the small shrine. "Good morning, Chichi-ue," he greeted. "I miss you, but the garden is growing well."
Kagome smiled down at her sweet child, and lightly combed her fingers through his thick black hair. He got the thickness of it from her, though it was straighter than hers. He got that from his father. He had Jinenji's kind eyes as well, the colour of them at least. The shape of them was the same as hers, but that bright, brilliant blue was all Jinenji.