A/N: Written for a fanfiction contest on Deviantart. The theme is 'Mother's Day'.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any related characters.
:-: The Silver Ribbon :-:
Inuyasha looked around warily before slinking through the trees, towards a place he knew almost better than his own self: his mother's grave.
He sat down beside it and put one hand gently on the tombstone, tracing its familiar characters. Closing his eyes, he let his mind wander, and sleep enveloped him.
In his mind, he saw the surroundings like he was still awake, only they were more defined. He could clearly see the lines in the trunk of the tree that hung over his mother's grave, and could hear every rustle of the leaves. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a figure flitting from shadow to shadow, like a specter out of someone's deepest dreams.
He stood up. "Who's there?" he demanded, one hand going for the hilt of his sword.
"Calm yourself, little one. I mean you no harm," a soft voice said. The voice sent shivers up Inuyasha's spine. He hadn't heard that voice in over a hundred years.
"M-mother?" he stammered. The figure materialized in front of him. It was a beautiful woman with long black hair, dressed in a twelve-layer kimono.
"Yes, my darling one. It's me," she said, smiling.
"How? How can you be here when you're . . ." he trailed off, looking at the tombstone.
"It's true that I am dead. I am only here in spirit. I was granted a day to return to the living world, so I can be with you," she said, stepping forward, the silk of her kimono whispering as she walked. She now stood directly in front of him.
"Only for one day?" he asked, sadly. She nodded.
"Yes." She reached out to him. He looked up at her, expecting to feel her arms go right through him. To his surprise, he was wrapped into a warm hug.
"Mother, how are you doing this? I thought you were only here in spirit," he said, confused.
"I am. It's your love that gives me physical form," she said, hugging him even tighter.
"Does this mean . . . that as long as I love you, I can see you?"
"I do not know. But it would be nice, if so," she said, smiling at him.
He felt a tugging behind him, and he knew sleep was leaving him. "Mother, I have to go," he said, sadly.
"I know. Take this," she said, pulling a silver silk ribbon from her pocket, and tying it around his wrist. "With this, we will always be tied together," she said, showing him in identical ribbon on her own wrist.
He smiled at her, the world darkening around him.
Opening his eyes, he found himself gazing once more at his mother's tombstone. He sighed. "It was only a dream," he said quietly, raising one hand to brush his bangs out of his face. His eyes widened as he saw the strip of silver tied around his wrist. "Mother . . ." he whispered.
"Inuyasha?" a voice behind him said. He turned to see Kagome standing behind him.
"Kagome. Where have you been?" he asked, his tone less harsh than it would have been normally.
"I went home this morning. I told you yesterday; today is Mother's Day," she said.
He turned back to look at the grave. "Mother's Day . . ." he whispered to himself.
"Hey, are you okay? You're not acting like yourself."
"Keh, what would you know? I'm fine," he said, but his eyes never strayed from the silver silk tied around his wrist.