"Sesshoumaru, what brought you here?"

Sora no Hime; or Shirogane-sama stared at her son as strode to where she sat on her throne. Although most of the time she cannot tell what passed through his complicated mind, this time she can read his face like an open book. She raised one delicate eyebrow at the rare sight before her, "You seemed...unhappy? Annoyed, perhaps...why is that?"

She truly was curious, not mere plays of words as she often do. It wasn't every day that the current ruling Cardinal of the West to show his face at his mother's palace. So when he glared at her, she raised both of her delicate clawed hands in a signal of surrender, "I meant my words, son,"

"She left..."

Shirogane blinked, unable to understand the two words uttered by him. Closing her eyes in a show of patience, she offered, "Elaborate, Sesshoumaru dear..."

Clenching his hands, shaking in his sleeves, his eyes showing confusion, he repeated, "She left this Sesshoumaru..."

"Who left you?"

"Kagome..."

Shirogane sifted through her memory. She knew quite a number of Kagome, but could only think of one that related to her elusive son. She smiled in pride at her remembrance, "Oh! The Kagome that follows the hanyou around! Is that who you meant?"

Sesshoumaru didn't answer, instead went for her untouched liquor and downed the whole of the cup's content in one gulp. Shirogane stared in shock at his uncommon behaviour. She didn't say a word as she watched him pour himself another cup...another...and another...and another...and another until he downed more than five cups that Shirogane felt he had enough thus she grabbed his wrist, stopping him as the cup was mere inches from his lips.

Sesshoumaru nearly growled at her, yet he went as far as to bare his fangs at her...another uncommon sight of obvious disrespect at her, his mother by blood. Shirogane narrowed her eyes at him, baring her own fangs as she growled, "You are still my pup, Sesshoumaru! HEEL!" She hissed; voice low so to avoid embarrassment from her close guards.

Glaring at his mother in cold contempt, he lowered his hand and placed the cup down, an almost invisible crack can be seen running through the ceramic. Standing up rigidly to his full height, his fangs hidden behind his lips, he stared at her hand on his wrist. Slowly, Shirogane let him go. Satisfied, she sat back down. She stared at him for a long while, studying him before asking, "Why this uncommon behaviour, Sesshoumaru? Why do the human rules such behaviour from you? It is most unbecoming of your station,"

Sesshoumaru contemplated her words, wondering why he came there in the first place. Closing his eyes and drawing a deep breath to calm his mind, he drawn on a mask of disinterest before bowing at the princess and turned on his heels, intend on taking his leave of her side. Shirogane stared at his retreating back; 'such uncommon blatant disrespect from him,'

Sighing softly, she called after him, staring at him from the top of the stair as Sesshoumaru stopped halfway down. She called, "I would like to know what unease my lord son, if he would let me," She then turned away, leaving for the guest receiving quarter. Staring at her, Sesshoumaru hesitate a matter of a fraction before coming to a decision. He walked after her youki trail.

Sesshoumaru stared at the clouds drifting outside the floating palace. The moon a silent observer in the night sky as he stared out; mind empty of all matter but Kagome's flight. After the kiss, she had stared at him wide eyed. She then pushed him away with a cold touch from her frozen fingers, easing him off her with the sharp chill. Then, she was gone faster than he could blink...

Shirogane stared at her son. In his silence, he had let slip some of his true emotion and now Shirogane observed his saddened expression. She wondered what had caused it, "What makes my cold hearted son this melancholic? What makes Inuyasha's woman so important to you, Sesshoumaru?"

Sesshoumaru absentmindedly answered her question quietly, "She is not his..."

Shirogane raised an eyebrow; interesting comeback from him, a known human hater, "Oh?"

"She's mine..."

Shirogane frowned at this, "Careful Sesshoumaru. Such claims are dangerous,"

Sesshoumaru's face hardened. Shirogane mentally groaned at the look in his face and the set of his jaw. She knew that look well enough to warrant serious concern on her part. He turned hard determined eyes toward her, "I WILL make her mine," He spoke softly, yet for Shirogane he might as well screamed at her and for the whole world to hear. Undeterred, she casually spoke, "What of your hatred of human? The child she will bear you will be hanyou, Sesshoumaru. Just like your hated half-sibling,"

Sesshoumaru stared at the moon, quietly dismissing her words like an empty air, "She's no longer human,"

Shirogane stared at him in subtle disbelieve, "Oh?"

"She's a Yuki Onna,"

Shirogane blinked once...twice...thrice before she spoke, "I heard no news of this," She wondered of her ancestor, Shirayuki Hime before wondering why such news were kept from her.

"Why did she reject this Sesshoumaru?"

Her son's almost quiet deep voice caressed her pointed ear's shell. Shirogane returned her attention to Sesshoumaru. She fell silent, quietly observing him. From experience, she knew that she will learn more from him faster this way when it came to her son. Sesshoumaru frowned, "Why left this Sesshoumaru when she was the one who confessed her desire of me?"

Shirogane nodded; eyes wide at the thought of any sane female to confess to her hard headed, cold hearted son. Sesshoumaru looked at his hand, "Is it because I hurt her?"

Shirogane gasped at the revelation, 'so they fought each other?!' The confession must have been a fierce one! She continued her staring as he started again; "Or was it the kiss?"

Shirogane's mouth opened wider as her eyes turned to saucer, looking at her son's mouth at the revelation that he kissed someone. She deftly recalled Inu no Taishou's kissed, turning slightly red at the memory. Grabbing her cup, she downed it in one go before gasping, fanning at the sudden heat. Blinking, she watched as he touched his lips, forehead creased in serious concern.

"Perhaps it was a bad kiss?"

Shirogane was sure that Sesshoumaru wasn't a virgin...but she could be wrong. After all, even with the loss of one arm once a long time ago, with his prowess in battle and his look, females all over should be throwing themselves at him. Perhaps he scared them all away? Shirogane couldn't imagine Sesshoumaru as the romantic type. His father certainly wasn't one though how he nailed Izayoi Hime was a wonder all on itself.

"Maybe I should have waited...but she doesn't have to flee from this Sesshoumaru..."

Shirogane blinked, "Sesshoumaru dear...have you...ever been with a female...before...?" Her voice fell quiet at the end as Sesshoumaru glared at his mother. Perhaps she shouldn't have asked him the question after all. But his behaviour raised questions and curiosity on her part. How important was this Yuki Onna to him? But she really was curious about Sesshoumaru's adventures with the fairer sex.

"Kagome..."

Shirogane looked at him upon hearing his voice, "Yes?"

"She's this Sesshoumaru first..."

'FIRST?! So there was no one before her?!' Shirogane felt her mind shrieked with uncharacteristic feminine excitement. She subtly gulped, "First?"

"This Sesshoumaru first..."

"First...?" She prompted, eager and dying to know. When he fell into deep silence, she wanted to pull at the root of her hair. Sesshoumaru touched his lips; eyes closed as he bare his heart to the world, "Kagome is this Sesshoumaru first...love..."

Shirogane couldn't really say that she was disappointed by his answer because she wasn't. She just didn't expect it, especially from her elusive son. Blinking in sudden understanding, placing her tea down where it hover over her lips in attempt to avoid from attacking Sesshoumaru from her anxiety, she smiled softly. His heart, hidden as it was, was hurting from when this Kagome girl ran from him. He feared her rejection of his action and yet confused of her sudden flight.

Maternal instinct rearing its head, she touched his shoulder. Sesshoumaru looked at her as she touched his shoulder. For the first time for a very long time since he received his first short blade of recognition of his independency, Shirogane saw the fear and uncertainty in his eyes. Smiling gently in a way she hadn't done in a very long time, she offered an advice, "Let her fly, Sesshoumaru. It is her return that you must anticipate, not her disappearance,"

Sesshoumaru stared at her, his gaze unreadable. After a moment, he turned away, "This Sesshoumaru has no...experience in such matter," His quiet admittance was quite endearing. Shirogane smiled at him, picking up her delicate silver pipe to smoke. Sesshoumaru placed a firm finger on the slim handle, halting her action. Shirogane turned to him. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes, "The smell stings this Sesshoumaru senses,"

Shirogane smiled, "Oho? You haven't been this way since your father's death and your succession to the title. This Kagome must be very good for you, Sesshoumaru dear,"

Staring at his mother, Sesshoumaru wondered if it really has been that long since he last had such a moment with his mother. Once, he would have blamed Izayoi for all the trouble he had to go through and thus placing it all on his hanyou brother's shoulder. What has changed?

He has changed; Sesshoumaru concluded. Kagome has opened his view of life in a different angle. He has started to see that everything that has happened so far rely on one's individual choices and actions. So what happened next will be on him. Closing his eyes in humble acceptance, Sesshoumaru sensed rather than heard long before the door to their guest receiving quarter was harshly opened. A guard entered and gave a deep bow on one knee, "My apologies, Lord Sesshoumaru, Sora no Hime-sama! An urgent messenger has arrived from Inuyasha Forest!"

The guard kept his position on the ground until Shirogane said otherwise, "Let us see him,"

Rising from his position, he stepped aside and allowed Inuyasha audience with Sesshoumaru and his mother, who gave Inuyasha quite a shock on learning of her existence from Jaken. His eyes wide as they landed on the quiet princess sitting near Sesshoumaru, he stumbled into a clumsy formal greeting; a crude but supposedly polite bow.

Shirogane smiled at his rather cute behaviour, "Your business here, Inuyasha?"

Surprised that she knew of his name, Inuyasha cleared his throat and turned to Sesshoumaru, his clumsy attempt at courtly manners all but gone as he started, "We need you back in Edo. Naraku has made his first move,"

Sesshoumaru nodded and bid his mother a quick goodbye with a subtle bow, no words was exchanged between the two. As she watched his silhouette disappeared around the corner with his brother down the hall, Shirogane felt a familiar pang of lost. The same emotion that flooded her the last time she set eyes on Inu no Taishou's back, his long hair dancing with the gait of his movement.

A tear escaped her lower lashes to land on her elegant high cheekbone, Shirogane shakily wiped it away. She stared at the small salty droplet, "Now that I think of it, the moment felt just like that last time..." She looked up at her quiet companion the moon, "Touga-sama..."