Cradle

Whatever remnants of hate or disdain he held for her was destroyed; shattered into thousands and thousands of tiny pieces as she cowered away from him. She was tiny and scared and so broken. She was just as much a victim as Rin had been, and despite the strength she had showed on numerous occasions, he had been a fool to believe she could continue without falling apart at some point.

The beast inside him whined as she sobbed on the floor, her arms and hands covering her face as if to block a blow. Her whole body shook and her breathing was choked with tears. Behind him, Sesshoumaru could feel her workers watching. Sighing, the Daiyoukai knelt beside her. It was not hard to ignore the hands that swatted piteously at his own or the way she tried to scoot away from him.

Without conscious effort, he started speaking soft nothings, the kind of things he would have said to Rin when she had woken from a nightmare. Scooping her up, he glanced back at her girls. "Has she taught you how to do…whatever it is she does?"

Mutely, the girls nodded. Pleased, he stood and without a word, left through the back door, cradling his…cradling her gently against his chest.

o.O.o

Word Count - 212