AN: Hey friends! After reading tons of Inuyasha ff, I decided to try my hand at my own version of Sesshomaru and Kagome. I'm actually really excited about this story. I will be updating weekly, unless something comes up. I hope that you all like this ff. I have several chapters finished already, so you all shouldn't have to wait longer than a week for an update (likely multiple). This first chapter is shorter, but most are quite a bit longer. This is ultimately a story of finding love, but there is action and adventure - and a little well placed angst - as well. Please review and let me know what you think. I hope to capture all the characters as correctly as possible. Thank you so much for reading. :)
I disclaim.
A Loss
"Good morning, mama, dad," Kagome said quietly, kneeling down before the stone erected in front of her, "Grandpa, grandma."
She bowed respectfully for a moment as she gathered herself.
Warm sunshine shone down through the breaks in the branches above Kagome's head. The happy chirping of song-birds could be heard in the distance as they danced through the sky.
Lifting herself into an upright position, she began removing items from the bag she brought with her. Incense, fresh spring water and a variety of sweets that Kagome baked herself. Setting the incense in the cup that adorned the monument, she proceeded to light them, watching the tendrils of smoke lift on the wind and disappear, leaving an aroma in their wake.
"Hey, sis."
Kagome looked towards the sound of Sota's voice. He was walking, slowly, towards her, juggling four colorful bouquets within his arms.
"Hi, Sota," she stood up and took two of the bouquets from him, sniffing them delicately, "These are really pretty," she smiled, "Mom will love them."
She glanced at him before kneeling again, Sota kneeling beside her. Pulling four cups from her bag, she placed them one after another at the base of the family gravesite. While she waited for Sota to greet their parents and grandparents, she poured the spring water evenly into the cups.
Sota looked appreciatively at the desserts Kagome brought before arranging them along-side the cups of spring water. Offerings to those who have passed on.
"Kagome spent all night making these desserts for you," Sota began, addressing the spirits of the family they lost, "We hope you enjoy them."
Kagome watched Sota bow again, touching his forehead to his fisted hands on the ground. She noticed the tremble in his shoulders and placed a hand on his back. What comfort she could offer, she would.
"It's been a year already," she said in an undertone, "How the time has flown."
Kagome remembered like it was yesterday.
It had been a very busy day for the nurse. The emergency room seemed to remain filled with people in need of urgent care. She took care of her own patients, while helping other nurses on the unit with theirs. It was nearing evening when the call came in.
A fatal motor vehicle accident.
Head on collision with an 18-wheeler.
Three were pronounced dead-on-arrival, but Kagome would never forget the image of Sota – blood staining every visible part of him – being rushed into the emergency room on a bloody stretcher. Battered and broken, damaged internally, bleeding out. The doctors said it was a miracle he survived.
Of course, Kagome knew otherwise. She'd attempted to heal her mother and grandfather as well but breathing life into something lost was an unattainable feat for her. Sota made a fast recovery and was out of the hospital within weeks, but the siblings would be forever scarred by the loss of the only family they had left.
The Higurashi Shrine was passed to Kagome until Sota was of age, at which time it'd be passed to him. It helped to have a place to call home when everything else was pitched in darkness, though it proved to serve as a reminder to all they'd lost.
The siblings struggled to find a semblance of normalcy – Kagome was a beacon of light for Sota and he clung, desperately, to her.
After a while they fell into a rhythm and life marched forward for the two.
"I still can't believe they're gone," a strangled whisper from Sota.
Kagome pulled him into an embrace, and he hid his face in her shoulder. She clenched her jaw, forcing her own emotions aside. She had to keep it together. For Sota's sake, she had to remain strong. She took on the role of mother to her younger sibling – a role that she stepped easily into after mothering her friends from the past – and Sota allowed it.
They sat and talked in front of their family's monument until the sun hung high in the sky. Rising to her feet, she adjusted the bouquets for two generations of family members and offered Sota her hand. He gathered their trash and the remnants of their lunch and they pair said their goodbyes, turning and heading towards home.