The Mokomoko Drabbles
Chapter 36: Bloodline
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
~oOo~
Lady Inukimi Sakura was a demoness from an ancient family that was equally influential and as socially respected as that of Toga Takahashi's. In the days of their youth, marriages were arranged before birth, without the proper understanding that an inuyoukai lives for his or her mate, not an individual they were bound to legally through a mere sheet of paper.
They parted ways shortly after Sesshomaru's birth. It was the mother's duty in their culture to nurse the young. Once they learned to walk on two legs, the responsibility shifted to the father.
That is not to say Inukimi did not frequent in visiting her son. Mother and pup have a connection that cannot be waned by distance or time. She may be engrossed in managing her growing restaurant chain here in Japan, but it permitted her to spend luxuriously on her son.
Sesshomaru was meeting his mother at one of the cafés downtown. No sooner he stepped through the door did the waitresses abandoned her clients to flutter over to him, batting their lashes flirtatiously. Looking over their heads, he spied his mother sitting in one of the cushioned booths, stirring a cup of tea.
He maneuvered past the waitresses, taking the seat across the table from her. He began drinking the lonely cream soda that she had obviously ordered for him.
A few moments of silence ensued while they studied one another. A passerby could easily see the family resemblance of silver hair, molten amber irises, and the elegant moons upon their foreheads.
Finally: "How did you know I would call you?"
Inukimi smiled radiantly, something Sesshomaru instantly recognized as one of her sly tricks to make him feel guilty that he does not seek out her company often.
And sure enough: "You are a very handsome pup. I am pleased to call you my greatest creation, Sesshomaru." She sipped her tea, eyes still trained on his unwavering expression. "Much time has past, and soon you will claim your mate."
His right eye twitched, and it did not go unnoticed. Inukimi's smile grew to show a polished pair of canine fangs. "Very soon, I expect, ne?"
Her son stiffened in his chair. "I suppose, fifteen is such a year for things, Father has told me so."
"He would know," she nodded, "Toga was much like you at your age."
This was primarily why he wished to speak to her. "How so, Mother?" Sesshomaru grasped his cup of soda tightly in one hand. "What makes me like him at all?"
The demoness inspected one of her manicure nails, seemingly pleased at the direction the conversation had taken. "Because, Pup, what is generic in our family bloodline runs much deeper than physical appearances," again she grinned. "You have a mate, Sesshomaru, and she is a ningen. That is how you are like your father."
"But isn't such a notion frowned upon?"
"Frowned?" she laughed, "No, you are mistaken."
He stared at her, confused.
"We are powerful, dangerous-" Sesshomaru protested.
"No," she said again. "You do not understand." Snapping her fingers at a passing waitress, she signaled they refill her tea.
Her son rested his elbows on the table, slightly annoyed. "Then please do explain."
Inukimi sighed, and suddenly a far off look crossed her face, as if she had decided at this moment to reminisce of a forgotten lover. Sesshomaru watched her quizzically.
"Silly child," she tsked, "Do you not know the old saying? Dog is Man's Best Friend."
A moment flinted by in silence.
"You loved a human, Mother." It was not a question.
Her eyes cast downward. "He passed years before I met your father. The pain has never faded." She graciously accepted the tea from the returning waitress, "Which is why you must not keep that young onna waiting, Sesshomaru. Love her until the day she dies. It will come much too quickly."
Word Count: 663
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A/N: Wow, thank you for the 30 reviews on one chapter. They were all very encouraging, and some were so enthusiastic. Really, I don't want my reviewers hitting/kicking/decapitating each other!