Short And Sweet
By Shyla Tobiassen
To say that it had been beautiful in Edo recently would have been an understatement, but that was until today, now, the rain came in sheets with thunder and lightning striking across the sky. In Edo there resided a tiny village, with a priestess that was known across Japan for her kindness, and unfaltering love for all beings no matter what they looked like or what species they might have been. This priestess' name was Kagome, she was young, nineteen at most, but had wisdom beyond her years. On days like this, usually she would be home, helping those with fevers or minor illnesses, though that was not the case today. Today, she was in the process of doing yet another reckless stunt, one that would only lead to disaster if she wasn't careful.
Kagome pushed the branches that were insistent with striking her arms forward with as much force as she could while still holding the bundle in her arms tightly. 'So close, I'm so close..' she thought silently while cool breath passed through her lips, her bare feet were surely going to be bruised and bleeding if she ever made it out of this forest. The break in the trees ahead of her lifted her hopes as she crashed through the branches before making a mad dash to the village. The evening watchers saw her before she made it to them, handing her a bow and quiver of arrows before striking up a defensive position themselves. They blew into tiny wooden whistles that alerted the rest of the village of danger before Kagome ran deeper into the crowd appearing in front of her.
"Kaede, I need your help! Are you here?" she called out to the old woman that had been her mentor since she was seven in becoming a priestess. "Yes child, what is it?" Kagome sighed in relief handing her the bundle she had been carrying, "Kagome! This is –"Kagome gave her a stern look that halted anything else she might say, before running to help defend the village. Kaede stared at the bundle in her arms before covering it again with the cloth and walking slowly back into her home, sighing quietly as she did, 'The things this child puts me through."
The villagers were already fighting against the youkai on the outskirts of the forest, holding them back as much as possible. Kagome strung her bow and started knocking out enemies that she could. As she felt her adrenaline fading she pushed harder to give all that she could to protect the bundle that Kaede had and to keep her friends safe. Suddenly, she felt numb everywhere, before falling back into a hard surface. Arms came under her shoulders and knees before picking her up, "Sesshoumaru…" she trailed off slowly, blinking away the sleepiness that was taking over her entire body.
He looked down at her softly, "Where is my son, Kagome?" she frowned, "He's safe with Kaede, your generals weren't being very nice to him, so I took matters into my own hands." She grinned at him while trying not to fall asleep. He shook his head before exchanging a look of dismissal with his troops and their leaders. His men nodded before falling back into the forest, the villagers looked at warily, before backing away carefully. His golden eyes and silver hair spoke much to his inhumanity, and many knew of the friendship he had with their priestess.
Sesshoumaru carried the half asleep priestess to Kaede's hut before walking in to see his son sitting on the lap of the old woman. The matching silver hair told everyone who his father was but the blue eyes that were deep like the ocean held nothing of him in them. The pup ran to his father, hugging him around the leg, "Papa!" he cried, before looking at Kagome. "Is she going to be okay?" his father nodded before sitting down against the wall with Kagome.
She bit her lips before opening her eyes slowly and grinning at the youkai, "Sorry about all the mess I made." And as Sesshoumaru looked at the sea blue eyes that matched his sons, he couldn't help but forgive her, no matter how frustrating she insisted on being when it came to parenting strategies.