I Miss You – The Daydream

Miroku smiled as he watched Kagome-chan play with Shippō-kun. She was wonderful with the little kitsune, and he idly caressed her aura in encouragement to guide her in the right direction – they were playing hide and seek and Miroku had no qualms about cheating, especially not when the sooner the game was over, the sooner something that would make Kagome-chan indescribably happy would happen.

See, Shippō-kun had never known his mother, only his father, and Kagome-chan treated him like she would have if he was her child by birth; bringing him treats, singing him lullabies, teaching him games, sleeping with him at night. Shippō-kun had confessed to Miroku that he wanted very badly for Kagome-chan to be his mother… but was scared to ask her. Miroku had supplied an alternative that would allow Kagome-chan to guess what he wanted, without him having to ask her. "Okā-san" was frequently shortened to "'kā-san," and Kagome's name was only a little bit different than that. Shippō-kun could start out calling her "'kā-san" and before he got to the -san, correct himself to "Kagome".

Kagome was clever and would guess in an instant what he wanted from her, without him having to outright ask. And it would be happening as soon as this game ended, if Miroku got the feeling of gathering courage from Shippō-kun correctly.

She found him and the words out of his mouth confirmed Miroku's suspicions. "I'm it! You found me, 'kā-Kagome!"

Kagome-chan's voice was alight with happiness and wonder as she replied to him, "Did you almost just call me "'kā-san," Shippō-kun?"

His response was tremulous, as he answered with, "Y-yes? I-I..."

Kagome-chan wrapped her arms around the little kitsune and she said to him, clear as day, her smile outshining the sun, "I don't mind, Shippō-kun. In fact, I would be so, so honoured to be your mother, Shippō-kun."

Shippō-kun sniffled and wrapped his arms around her neck, mumbling happily into her hair, "Okā-san. I have a 'kā-san now. T-thank you so much, 'kā-san."

Inuyasha wasn't here to ruin the moment, being out scouting for a camp for the night, so Miroku basked in the joy surrounding him. Sango-san had a fond smile on her face, Kirara was radiating approval, and Miroku himself was incredibly pleased that this situation was settled now. He watched on as they began a game of tag, until Kagome-chan directed Shippō-kun to play with Kirara for a while. Then she went to her bag and pulled out one of her music players, coming over to sit by Miroku. She was smiling happily as she looked over at him; since Sango-san was across the way, she couldn't hear them, so Kagome-chan used their private names for each other rather than the public ones. "You knew this was going to happen, didn't you, Miroku-kun?"

He smiled back at her and nodded, "I did, Kagome-chan. Shippō-kun was most nervous about asking you. I am glad to see his courage was not wasted."

She laughed sweetly, "You knew it wouldn't be wasted right from the start, you sneak. I've wanted this for ages now and you could read that clearly."

Miroku chuckled lowly and said, "Of course. And now what you both wanted has been achieved. Now, I believe you wish to share something with me?"

She nodded, "I think… You might be confused by my song choice this time around, Miroku-kun, but I will do my best to explain it to you properly."

Then she placed the little earpiece in his left ear, and the other in her right ear, before selecting a song and stating, "This is called "I Miss You" by The Daydream. It is also often misnamed as "A Melody of Tears" and assigned to being by Beethoven, which is how I learned about it to begin with, and I have to admit that I prefer the misnomer to the original name."

I miss you? Tears? Why on earth would she choose such a sad sounding song for her joyous occasion?

Well, Kagome-chan said she would explain, so he would listen to her words. Sometimes words were necessary to get ideas across.

The music poured into his ear, and he was struck with a sense of beauty, and overwhelming sadness; a strange sort of sadness. "Shippō-kun never knew his mama. And he lost his father at such a young age… it breaks my heart to think about all the tragedy he has gone through in his life. I want to be there for him, never abandon him, soothe his pain. I love him so very much."

Miroku understood a little bit better now – the sadness was not for the occasion, it was for Shippō-kun's past, the sadness he must have felt at losing his only family when still being so young. This was how Kagome-chan felt about Shippō-kun in her deepest heart – love, acceptance, and loss.

"But listen – see? There is happiness now. The tears are not tears of sadness, they are tears of happiness, joy, relief."

And indeed they were – the song began a gentle series of notes that were beautiful, achingly so. They spoke of subsumed love and precious things. After a while, Kagome spoke again, "Shippō-kun and I have each other now – we are there for each other. He has a mother now, having grown up without one, and I have a child to love and adore."

By the time she finished speaking the song had also finished, and she made the music play into his ear again, "Now, listen to it with your understanding of the true nature of the song."

He did as she asked. It was immediately apparent, now, why the sadness was different, why it had felt strange to him upon the first listen. It was a sound of happy sadness. As the notes played in his ear they brought about so many varied emotions – not just from him but from Kagome-chan as well. He felt – and followed – the urge to grasp her hand gently, lacing their fingers together. Despite the breathtaking beauty of the song, it still made her sad to listen to as well. It was understandable – every time she looked at Shippō-kun, she saw his tragic past, she saw his loss and pain. There was no separating out the joy and love from the sadness, not when it came to Shippō-kun.

She squeezed his hand and let out a soft breath as she watched her son play across the clearing with Kirara. The notes of joy came again, and she smiled softly, her eyes shining with unshed tears. He brushed his aura against hers, sending her comfort and acceptance, she received it and sent back gratitude; for understanding her and accepting her as she was without question.

Miroku rather thought there was little else he could do, and felt that anyone else who could not do so was a complete fool.