Memento

Sesshomaru wasted no time getting to the crux of this meeting. He knew Kohaku had been watching him all day; but whatever the boy wanted to say he lacked the spine to voice. Sesshomaru had waited patiently, but Kohaku was a either very shy or very stupid, which, from the daiyokai's perspective, were one in the same. A boy Kohaku's age should be able to speak up or keep still.

Ignoring the inane conversation prattling behind him, Sesshomaru snapped his eyes shut in private irritation…then remembered the vacant, haunted look his latest traveling companion wore just a couple of weeks ago. No doubt he had kept silent for quite some time.

How much could something endure before it shatters?

With a resigned sigh, Sesshomaru would deign to the boy just this once. Turning around, he called for rest and collected Kohaku. After they put some distance between themselves and everyone else, he stopped to look squarely at his solo audience. "What is it?"

"Well," the taijiya began awkwardly, his hand reaching to his neck, then dropping to his side again. "I knew I should have given this to you earlier, but then I thought it would somehow make you angry and…"

He wants me to remove the shard? The fur over dog-demon's shoulder bristled. They'd been through this before.

Scorching yoki wafted along the edge of Kohaku's skin. So much for not making Sesshomaru angry…or at least not trying his patience. "Just…here." Reaching inside his collar, the young slayer pulled out a small, ornamental hairpin, round and gleaming like a ruby. When Sesshomaru made no motion to take the closely guarded treasure, Kohaku hastily added, "I kept it safe as best I could."

Still, arm at his side, Sesshomaru simply stared at the offering. This was…unexpected. Had he somehow given this youth the wrong impression? Sesshomaru fought down the urge to sweep away a loose strand from his collar. Finally, his eyes flicked back to Kohaku. "What am I to do with this?"

Brown eyes blinked, perplexed. "You can't smell the scent on it?"

Sesshomaru's lip curled into a sneer as one nostril wrinkled in a careless sniff. "It only has yours all over it, boy."

"Oh." Mindlessly, Kohaku took a closer look at the hairpin as if a better visual inspection would yield the identity of its previous owner. Hearing the rustle of leaves, he glanced up to see the daiyokai leaving. "Wait! Lord Sesshomaru!" Kohaku called. "I wanted to give this to you because it belonged to the wind sorceress Kagura!"

For a moment, Sesshomaru paused. Kohaku seized the opportunity to further explain and present the item afresh. "The last time I saw her alive, she set me upon one of her feathers, letting me escape Moryomaru. When I was finally able to climb off, this fell off with it. I think it was just something she used to keep the feathers in place, I don't know, but if it means anything to you…" He saw the odd eyebrow quirk…in reproach? "I mean, not that you associated with her…or…well, you were the last one to see her before…" Kohaku was lost, tripping over his own words. Finally, confounded, he boiled it down to one question. "Do you want it?"

Sesshomaru gave the taijiya a bland look. That's what all this fuss was about? Pivoting on toe, the daiyokai strode back to the campsite, his instructions drifting behind him. "Keep it."

So he doesn't want it?

Kohaku studied the pin. Looking up, Sesshomaru was long gone and probably wouldn't mention the subject again. Kohaku certainly didn't want to provoke it. But, even if he had no use for the pin, it seemed wrong to throw away the personal possession of someone who had helped him survive for that time with Naraku. Every breath he drew after those close calls of losing his shard he owed to her. A partner in crime, a comrade in arms, an odd, offhanded protector…

Kagura.

.

The next morning, Kohaku dropped the saddle bag he was preparing to load on Ah-Un and jumped to find Sesshomaru towering over him, amber eyes aglow. Taking the boy's hand, claws pressed something round and sharp into his palm. Kohaku uncurled his nicked fingers to reveal Kagura's hairpin. He glanced up just in time to see the dog-demon flick the last flecks of soil from under his nails, a light grimace marring his face.

He actually dug it up?

"I said to keep it," Sesshomaru growled, pointedly not looking Kohaku's way.

The taijiya gulped. "Y-yessir," he stammered out.

"You were doing good job." Sesshomaru's voice gradually returned to its usual vapid modulation, even as he decreed the most impossible request of any human…or at to Kohaku. "Don't fail."

.

A/N: Inspired by LJ's iy_no_kakera prompt #21: Ornamental Hairpin