~*~ Chapter 4 ~*~
The sun's steady descent began to pull a film of darkness over the outstretched sky little by little. The air in the car seemed to thicken as they pulled up the curving driveway, approaching the large, baby blue house trimmed in white and adorned with decorative hanging plants. He watched the lush grass whiz by in a blur of melted green until the image finally began to clear as they slowed. Both males turned their attention to the snowy-haired man blocking their view of Kagome and the girl. The boy saw his guardian's face contort a bit in confusion, and then what seemed to be realization. He then took a deep breath and removed his seatbelt. Taking the man's cue, the boy began to unfasten his own seatbelt and exit the car. The three occupants of the porch watched the two identically auburn-haired kitsune reveal themselves. The man exited first, tall and well-dressed with long chestnut hair flowing over his shoulder from a high ponytail, followed by a young boy, a little short for his age, moving to walk beside him when beckoned. As soon as she saw him, Kagome excitedly called out.
"Shippo! Shou!" she cried with a wave, causing the daiyoukai to glance at her before resettling his golden eyes on the man.
The one called 'Shou' smiled and gave her a quick wave in return before leading the boy up the tulip-lined path. Kagome waited eagerly for her son to run into her arms, but as soon as the pair reached the bottom of the steps, Shou's hand caught the boy's shoulder and halted him from going further. The mother and son both gave matching expressions of confusion.
"Mind your manners, Shippo," he answered simply.
Looking Sesshoumaru in the eye briefly, Shou gave a deep bow, placing his hand on the younger kitsune's head and obliging him to bow as well. Irritated and confused, Shippo glared at the stone walkway beneath his feet until he was let go, as if to burn a hole right through the rock. The daiyoukai inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement of the polite gesture, maintaining his position in front of Kagome and Rin.
"Lord Sesshoumaru, it is certainly a surprise to see you here. I was not aware that you lived in this area," Shou said with a pleasant smile. He did well to hide his nervousness, but then again deception is a kitsune's specialty.
"Our home is right next to this one, actually. My daughter and I only came to… re-introduce ourselves to Higurashi here," he responded in monotone. Inside, Shou felt a cooling wash of relief. 'Then she probably isn't the one who angered him… thank the Kami above…'
"You two know each other?" Kagome asked, intrigued. It would only make sense. Shou was moving up in the business world, after all.
"Not personally," the green-eyed man answered, "But Lord Sesshoumaru is a daiyoukai. That position holds great power and respect in youkai culture."
"At least among the civilized," the silver-haired male retorted. Shou gave a short laugh.
"Very true. I should introduce myself properly. I am – "
"Yamanagi, Shou. I have heard a lot about you already," he interrupted. "The cosmetics company that you and your mate started from the ground up has been a remarkable story of business success. There has been much discussion about you," the daiyoukai expounded.
Kagome could see the faintest hint of redness appear on the other male's face as he thanked Sesshoumaru profusely. 'It must be a big deal to get praised by a daiyoukai…' she thought. Meanwhile, Shippo had long ago grown impatient with the grown-ups' chatter, and Shou began to sense it. Motioning in the boy's direction, he continued the introductions.
"Of course I can't forget this one. This is Kagome's son, Shippo. My nephew," he said quickly. Shippo avoided eye-contact, preferring instead to look out over the spacious lawn. Sesshoumaru raised a silver eyebrow.
"You are the adopted kit."
"Yeah, so?" Shippo retorted gruffly, crossing his arms above his chest. Shou's eyes widened in shock at the disrespectful tone, but Sesshoumaru only nodded at the boy and stepped aside slightly, allowing him a clear path to Kagome.
While Shou was, once again, internally sighing with relief that they had not offended the daiyoukai, Shippo, on the other hand, was silently fuming. His small fists clenched reflexively as he snuck a glare at Sesshoumaru. Rin, who had been watching quietly so far, noticed the intense flash of anger in his emerald eyes before he bounded up the steps and past her father to embrace Kagome defensively. She pondered him silently, puzzled as to what exactly had set him off, but could not discern the reason on her own. Shippo was going to take some time to figure out… Sesshoumaru, however, was well aware of the situation. The kit would defer to his authority, like it or not.
Kagome and Shou chatted briefly about his family and Shippo's visit with his cousins and grandmother, the Taisho duo remaining purely out of curiosity. Sesshoumaru found himself somehow intrigued by the strange family setup and had forgotten all desire to leave for home again, preferring to listen in on their mundane conversation instead of excusing himself and Rin. After only a short report, however, the kitsune received a phone call from his mate and decided to end his visit there. The three traded hugs, Shou ruffling Shippo's hair a final time before returning to his car and speeding off with a wave.
~*~ 0 ~*~
After the car was long out of view, Kagome returned her attention to Shippo, still clinging to her like a favorite toy. Giggling, she smoothed his reddish hair and gestured to the father and daughter standing before them.
"Well, these are our neighbors, sweetie. Rin and Mr. Tai – erm… Lord Sesshoumaru?" she said questioningly.
"Either is acceptable, really. The latter is mostly used by youkai who still hold respect for traditional customs," he answered.
"Ah, I see. Well if it's what Shou and Shippo should call you, then I suppose I will, too," she smiled.
"As you wish," he replied.
Shippo narrowed his eyes on the man, but then turned his attention to his female companion. Rin gave a little wave, hoping to dispel some of the tension, and Shippo, caught off guard, could only wave sheepishly back. Kagome bit her lip in thought for a moment before an idea struck and she beamed happily down on the little redheaded boy.
"Hey Shippo, I spent the day setting up your room for you! I really think you'll like it. Uncle Shou and I also got you some nice new things. Why don't you go take a look? You could take Rin along, too… That is, if her dad doesn't mind," Kagome said cheerfully.
The three of them looked to Sesshoumaru for an affirmation, which he silently gave. Opening the front door, the woman ushered both children inside with a gentle hand on their backs and gave directions to the room in question. She watched Shippo glance around in wonder for a moment before hurrying his pace to keep up with Rin, who had skipped ahead of him merrily. Once their chatter and footsteps had faded up the stairs, Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru once more, though he noticed her features drawn into an apologetic smile. He looked on her curiously before she spoke.
"I am really sorry if Shippo came off rude to you. He isn't usually like that; he's just… going through a lot right now," she apologized.
"It is of no concern. I would assume being relocated would inspire at least some feelings of hostility in the boy," he responded casually. "Though he should learn to display proper respect," he added.
Her shoulders rose and fell in a heavy sigh, and Sesshoumaru found himself surprisingly concerned with her thoughts, much to his confusion. He had no idea why he should care about some random human's musings, but for some reason he decided to humor this mild interest and attempt to learn more.
"Tell me, what is your family situation with the kit and the rest of the Yamanagi family? It seems to me a curious setup," he enquired.
Wearily, Kagome ran a hand over her forehead and through her hair before leaning her back against one of the white pillars of the wraparound porch. She crossed her arms loosely over her abdomen and stared out at the darkening sky for a moment.
"Where do I begin?" she asked out of nowhere.
"The beginning," he stated plainly. Her lips pulled into a small smirk for a brief instant.
"Fair enough," Kagome responded softly. "The Yamanagi family is very small, you see. There is only Shippo, his uncle, Shou, with his mate and three children, and Shippo's grandmother now." The daiyoukai walked up beside her and looked out on the sunset himself, continuing to listen patiently.
"Shippo's mother was Shou's only sister, but after she had Shippo there was a falling out between her and the rest of her family. I still don't know what about, but Shippo's parents lost all contact with the rest of the Yamanagi family," she continued.
"After that, I'm told they fell on hard times. They ended up putting Shippo up for adoption because they couldn't take care of him anymore… A year later, they had both been killed in a car accident," she said, nearly whispering.
He heard a distinct cracking in her voice, but said nothing. The sharp hint of salt hit his nose, and he looked to see a faint shimmering of tears gathering before she blinked them away. Sesshoumaru watched her for a moment, drawn in by the image she presented. There, in the dying evening light, deep in thought, this woman held some ethereal quality that called to him and he found himself unable, or unwilling, to look away. He reasoned that perhaps Shippo's history was just that compelling, and signaled her to continue, which she did after another long sigh.
"Anyway, Shou and the others had no idea where Shippo had ended up. It was only until a year ago that they found us, now that Shou's company has taken off and he had enough funds to conduct a proper search," she explained.
"We were… afraid at first. That they would try to take Shippo away from me, but that never came up. The Yamanagis accepted us from the start, even the rest of my own family," she smiled softly, glancing down to the flowering rose bush below the bannister. She reached out to it, gently touching one of the blossoms.
"Shou is the one putting us up in this house. I could never have given Shippo a life like this. He's even putting my little brother through college, and fully repaired my family's shrine…" the woman continued. Despite her evident gratefulness, the delicate smile she wore began to slowly fade away.
"I just wish it wasn't so hard for Shippo. He's struggling to get used to all these changes and new people, and now this move…" she trailed off, leaving the rest unsaid.
Somewhere inside of him, Sesshoumaru felt a familiar tug of understanding. He held similar feelings toward Rin, whom he could see struggling to adjust to the drastic shift her life took when he and his mate parted ways. Lost in this sensation, the daiyoukai was astonished to feel a sort of kindred bond with the previously annoying female beside him. He was not accustomed to sympathy, and was unsure of how to react to it. Why would he want to offer someone else comfort or reassurance? It did not make any sense to him, but a heaviness had settled on his chest that compelled him to do something, anything. He spoke, for once without filter.
"I hope that your situation turns out for the best, Higurashi," he heard his own voice say, as if under some mysterious power not his own. Kagome lifted her gaze to meet his and smiled softly.
"Me, too."