Sesshomaru

As I trekked slowly through a random forest while on my way home from one of our villages by the sea, the few beautiful wildflowers dotting the floor here and there reminded me of the meadow back home, though it was hundreds of times more beautiful than this. As I walked, my mind flooded with memories of the first time I had seen that meadow, and the person who had first showed it to me…

Flashback

I walked briskly through the backyard of my new home, not caring to see who was about. As soon as I reached the protective cover of the trees of the forest and was out of sight, I fell to the ground and cradled my head in my arms, letting a few hot tears escape.

How I yearned for a shoulder to cry on. No one but Inuyasha would be able to understand my pain, but he was too young, I couldn't burden him like this. He was in the same situation I was. Our father had just died, and both of our mothers were gone, his dead, and mine had abandoned me just hours after I was born. He was younger than me, though, and would need someone to lean on. I wanted to be that someone, but in order to do that, I couldn't let him see me cry. It would only add to his grief.

Suddenly, I heard a faint rustling, and a small gasp of, "Oh!"

Lifting my head up, I saw that it was Kagome. It was her parents that had taken Inuyasha and me in after our father died and although I had been to her house many times before in my childhood, I had never really talked to her. Every time we had come over, she would just keep to herself, and Inuyasha and I would play together.

Skipping lightly over to me, she sat down beside me and I was surprised to see that I was taller than her.

Reaching up, she hugged me tightly, and I couldn't help but start crying again. It was odd. She was the same age as me, but that one little hug brought me so much comfort, and when she let go, I wanted to hug her again.

Smiling at me, she gestured for me to lie down and she put my head in her lap, slowly running her fingers through my long hair.

We stayed like that in a companionable silence for quite a few minutes, but then, I felt a droplet fall onto my cheek.

Looking up, I saw that Kagome was crying and tried to get up, worried.

Looking down at me, she smiled through her tears and gently pushed me back down. Complying, I lay back down and looked up at her.

"I miss him too, you know," she said. It was the first time she had ever talked to me. Even in the past week I had been living at her house, I had only caught glimpses of her.

"Nani?" I asked, confused.

"Inutaishou," she said absently. "He was like a second father to me and I really did love him very much, so I know how you feel."

I kept quiet, unable to say anything, and she continued.

"Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on, so whenever you need someone, come find me."

"I-I…" I stuttered, unable to say anything.

Smiling down at me, she said, "It helps a lot to have someone to talk to, you know. And my parents are always there for you too. They care about you and your brother and want to help you."

"Do you care about us too?" I blurted out.

She smiled serenely. "I do."

We sat like that for quite a while, then, around noon, we got up and Kagome took my hand, saying, "Follow me."

We ran for a while through the trees before coming to a small, perfectly round meadow. It was gorgeous. The sun was in the middle of the sky, washing the clearing in a warm glow, and there were hundreds of wildflowers of different shapes and colours.

As she dropped my hand and ran to the centre of the meadow, I saw that she didn't sep on any of the flowers. When she got to the centre of the meadow, she turned back to me and smiled brighter than the sun.

"Look!" she said. "Isn't it beautiful?"

End Flashback

As I was thinking of my long absent childhood friend, I captured a familiar scent.

I followed the scent through the forest to a small pond, fully expecting to see Kaiya, Kagome's mother. What I saw instead, was a human girl, sitting at the edge of a pond, oblivious to my presence.

I stayed quiet for a while, pondering this strange turn of events. Then, when I was about to confront her, she got up, and turned my way.

When she spotted me, I thought she might fall into the pond, she was so surprised.

"W-what do you want?" she asked nervously.

I stared at her for a second, then said, "I was just passing through when I caught the scent of an old acquaintance. I decided to drop by to pay a visit, but it turned out to be you."

After having gotten over her initial surprise, the girl didn't seem in the least bit afraid. Where did she get her confidence from?

Running up close to her, I stopped just inches away and asked, "What are you doing with that shawl?" For indeed, the shawl belonged to Kaiya.

She didn't answer, and it was so quiet, I could hear her heartbeat, which was just a bit faster than normal. Maybe she was afraid after all.

Getting annoyed, I snarled and repeated my question. "Why do you have that shawl?"

"I-I know the owner of it. She gave it to me in case any youkai tried to attack me. I was going to go meet back up with her now," she said.

I looked at her, suspicious, then said, "I see. If you really are an acquaintance of hers, then it would be rude to simply leave you on your own. I will accompany you to your destination."

The truth was, I was itching to get back home, but I knew it would be rude to leave without dropping by and saying hello to Kaiya. And if I were being honest to myself, I wanted to know a bit more about this mysterious girl, too.

"S-sure," she said nervously and we began to walk.

The girl seemed preoccupied because while we were walking, she almost walked into a tree.

"Hey!" I said, pulling her away at the last second. "Will you watch where you're going?" For some reason, the notion of her getting injured annoyed me greatly.

She just laughed it off, saying, "Ah, gomen, gomen, umm…"

When she trailed off, I assumed she wanted my name, and said, "Sesshomaru. My name is Sesshomaru."

As the girl came to a complete stop, I kept on walking.

"What did you say?" she asked.

I kept walking. "You heard what I said."

Running up to me, she grabbed my arm and I looked down at her in surprise.

"You, are you really Sesshomaru?" she asked incredulously. "Inutaishou's first son? That Sesshomaru?"

I looked at her strangely, wondering how a human could know my fathers name.

"How do you know my father?" I demanded. "Who are you?"

Immediately, she latched onto me and shouted, "Oh my god! It is you! Sess-chaaan!"

Hearing that nickname, I did a double-take,

"Sess-chan?" I asked. "Only one person calls me that!" I blurted out. Looking closely at her, I realized that she did look quite familiar, and that pendant around her neck! It was definitely her!

"K-Kagome!"

DemonicEmbrace: Well, there's chapter 3 for y'all! Hope you like it, and please please please review!