First Comes Marriage
Chapter 08: The Ones from the Past
Plains of Musashi
Five Hundred Years Ago
The day she lost all hope and went home, Sesshōmaru had been away. His responsibilities as his parents' heir sometimes forced him to be away from his own territories. He had been halfway towards the Eastern lands when Jaken found him. And by then, it was already too late.
Nevertheless, he rushed back to the village, traveling as rapidly as he could manage within the blinding ball of his yōki. It did not matter. By the time he landed, she had already leapt into the well and disappeared. He spent a long time circling around the area. Searching, searching. Her scent was all over the well, but he could not sense her presence anywhere.
In the end, he had no choice but to accept the truth: she was gone.
He placed a hand on the mouth of the well, the wood creaking slightly underneath his tightened grip. His eyes scanned the bottom of the hole, but he saw nothing there other than dirt and dust. He jumped into the well, thinking – hoping – he might find the portal he could use to bring her back. With his fingers he felt the old wood boards that walled the well, cracked and splintered and slippery with green moss. Whatever magic had allowed her to depart this world, it denied him the same privilege.
Have you gone… to a place where I cannot follow?
He had only himself to blame. If only courage had won over cowardice and pride a year ago, a fortnight ago, or even yesterday, perhaps she would have considered his suit. Perhaps she would not have so quickly decided there was nothing and no one to stay for.
Too late. He was too late.
The barrage of emotions that ensued, the regrets that followed… They drenched him, soaked him more than the physical raindrops that started to drip down from the sky.
Sesshōmaru returned to the surface. There was nothing else to be done, yet he remained there. Standing in front of the well, just staring. He turned when he felt a gentle tug on his sleeve. He saw the young fox, Shippō, staring up at him with a pair of big, round green eyes.
"Five hundred years," the kit said.
He could not speak. All he could do was stare at the fox cub standing courageously behind him as the rain soaked them both. A handful of fabric was still clutched within that small fist.
"The well… It took her back to the future," Shippō explained, seeing his vacant expression. "In five hundred years, we will see her again."
His eyes widened. Five hundred years?
For the first time since he arrived at the well, he noticed the presence of others gathering a distance away behind him. He looked back and saw the figures of Sango and Miroku. Rin and Kohaku. Jaken and Ah-Un. His brother's comrades gave him a brief nod, as though to confirm the truth in the kit's words.
"Where is Inuyasha?" He asked.
For a brief moment, no one answered. Then, the slayer took a small step forward.
"Kikyō wanted them to move to Kyoto," she said. "There are more demands for a priestess there." She paused and pursed her lips in a small moue of dislike. "Or so she said."
If he had not been so heartbroken, he would have arched an eyebrow in mild amusement. The priestess certainly wasted no time before she whisked Inuyasha far away from The Plains of Musashi. His half-brother had lived in these parts for the better parts of his life, but that woman had somehow managed to drag him away from the only place where he had laid roots.
Away from his friends, comrades, and… any memories of Kagome.
Kagome.
Sesshōmaru returned his eyes to the well. All the while, the kit's words resounded in his mind.
Five hundred years.
Looking up at the sky, he let the drops of rain drenching his face, his hair, his clothing. Then, he closed his eyes. A little hope sprouted within his chest, like the young shoot of green grass emerging through snow after long, bleak winter days.
It is not over yet, he told himself. Far from it. When his eyes reopened to watch the sky again, there was new determination in his eyes.
Five hundred years.
He could do this. He would do this.
And the wait began.
Mount Hamasaki
Present Time
Early Morning
It had rained heavily last night, and the raindrops had washed away not just the scents from the day before, but also the footprints on the ground. The soil by the river was now wet and muddy, masking the tracks that Sesshōmaru would have found easily otherwise.
Raikō had come with him. They had left Kinomiya just after daybreak, when the mountain was still shrouded in mist. The air smelled damp and earthy with the scents of soaked soil and wet leaves. The ground was moist and littered with puddles of water.
"Their scents are faint," Raikō commented. "But I can still smell them."
"Poachers coming so close to the inn," Sesshōmaru murmured as he studied one of the footprints they found upstream. "What do you make of this, Raikō?"
"They were waiting for someone to accidentally slip through the barrier. Most likely a child," the Oni replied. "Children are so good at being unpredictable. You tell them not to do something, the moment you turn around… that something would be the first thing they do."
Sesshōmaru frowned. "Are there many children visiting Kinomiya?"
"Although most of Kinomiya's guests are couples, it is not uncommon we have young families staying," Raikō said. "A couple of weeks ago, a family of Sika deers lost their two children in the woods. The fawns had been playing by the ravine, and then fell and got stuck between rocks, unable to move. It was hours before we found them, it nearly gave me apoplexy."
Sesshōmaru hid his concerns well, though if he was to be truthful to himself, the situation worried him quite a bit. The poachers did not show up at the edge of the barrier by coincidence. They must have patrolled the perimeter, waiting for the perfect chance to capture a yōkai or two. He did not know how long they had been waiting, but last night, they almost caught a half-Oni child with a pair of valuable horns.
And… how often did they do it? Every day?
He stifled a heavy sigh. "What will you do?"
"Chiyo is considering closing the inn for a while until we can be sure the safety of our guests can be guaranteed. We will continue to think on that option," Raikō said. "In the meantime, I will strengthen the barrier. Make sure no one can enter."
Sesshōmaru nodded as he straightened himself to full height. "Excellent precaution," he said. "I will pass on our findings to the Chief police officer."
Raikō stared at him quietly. "It would be much easier to hunt them and kill them myself than to have to deal with the bureaucracy of the human police force," he commented in a quiet voice.
Sesshōmaru sighed. "Raikō, you know as well as I that the yōkai ways of the olden days are no more. We made this decision to conform when we committed to the Assimilation Treaty. Even if I am inclined to agree with you, I cannot condone such action."
"I did not say I was going to do it."
"Yes, but you were thinking it."
Raikō shrugged. "Well. They do say old habits die hard."
"Raikō—"
"I am grateful Ryōta and Lady Kagome are safe now, truly." The Oni interjected; his violet eyes narrowed. "But you cannot expect me to stay back and do nothing after they laid a hand on my son and nearly cost him his life."
Sesshōmaru felt the soft hairs on his nape standing to attention. He could sympathize. Last night, he was ready to hunt them down and eviscerate them himself for laying their grubby paws on his wife. It would have been easy. Too easy. Even now, the temptation was almost sweet on the tongue.
"I do not expect you to do nothing," he said. "There are rules that govern our co-existence. Hunt them down and capture them as you wish. But afterwards, hand them over to the human police force."
"For what? A slap on the wrist?"
"You know as well as I do there are strict laws against yōkai poaching. They will be punished."
The Oni scoffed in derision. "Perhaps the upper crust at the capital sitting in the yōkai council are under a delusional spell. But the folks around these parts know the human police force is only too happy to let the yōkai poaching and the sale of yōkai body parts to flourish in the black market. The less demonfolk to worry about, the better."
"No." Sesshōmaru raised his voice just a touch. His tone hardened. "We will not let that happen. Even if you have no faith in the human justice system, have faith in me, and in the other yōkai leaders fighting every day for improving human-yōkai relations."
The bitter scent that suffused the brisk mountain air told him Raikō was angry.
"It is an uphill battle you are fighting. Do you realize?" He said; his voice low and grim. "The humans can be more stubborn than a rock, and some are far too afraid of the things beyond their own power. Including us. The things you are fighting for… although they are beautiful goals, we may never see them in our lifetime."
"Perhaps a peaceful co-existence will not be achieved until long after I am dead," Sesshōmaru agreed. "But someone still has to lay the groundwork for the future generations of yōkai blood to flourish. Your children and grandchildren, and mine too — hopefully, one day… They deserve it."
The reminder of the future for his children, and their offspring, seemed to have doused the Oni's ire. Slowly, the bitter scent dissipated, leaving the air fresh and brisk as it had been before. Raikō sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, as he usually did when he knew he had lost an argument.
"Should we return to the inn?" Raikō asked. "You left before Lady Kagome woke up, didn't you? Wouldn't she wonder where you are if she awakened without you by her side? You'll worry her."
"Though I may be new at this marriage business," Sesshōmaru said, though he did turn to start tracing their path back to the inn. "I am not a complete half-wit. I left her a note."
Raikō leered at him as they walked side by side. "A note is not the same as a morning tumble between the sheets, is it?"
Sesshōmaru was torn between chortling or growling at the Oni. Even if he had remained in bed with his wife, he knew on good authority there would be no tumbling going on, between the sheets or elsewhere. But, the idea of waking up with her was tempting indeed. To be present when those soft brown eyes — the colour of a young fawn's hide — just begun opening up to greet the day. To confirm if the first thing she did every morning was indeed to stretch her arms above her head, as he had observed for the past couple of days.
He settled with giving Raikō a narrowed, reprimanding look. "Your interest in my marital situation is highly disconcerting," he commented. "Are you also this involved with your other guests? I find it very unnatural."
"Only because what you are not doing is borderline irresponsible. It is a word I never thought to associate with you, Sesshōmaru-sama."
Sesshōmaru scoffed softly. "There is more than one way to protect her from harm. I will do it in a way that does not cause her any discomfort."
"Discomfort?" The Oni repeated, a hint of alarm in his voice. Sesshōmaru did not answer for a while, not wanting to reveal the delicate particulars of his marriage and relationship with his wife.
"As I told you," he insisted. "It is complicated. That is all I am willing to divulge on this subject."
Raikō sighed and shook his head. "I had expected the events of yesterday evening to have motivated you to claim your wife, but it does not seem to be the case. I think it is dangerous and unwise, but it is your business. I will leave you to it."
They journeyed the rest of the way in silence. The sun slowly emerged from beyond the clouds; bright rays of light piercing through the thick mist that shrouded the mountain.
Sesshōmaru hastened his pace. With a little luck, his wife would still be asleep.
Afternoon
When Chiyo had invited Kagome to the family wing so they could speak in private, she wondered what the demure, soft-spoken woman wanted to discuss. At first, as she knocked on the gate of the family home, she believed the woman was planning to lecture her about how she had endangered Ryota's life last night. About how foolish and careless she had been. Kagome had prepared herself to take it on the chin and do whatever she could to make amends.
But, to her surprise, Chiyo did not invite her to discuss the incident last night.
"I have a present for you, Kagome-sama," the woman said as they tread the stone path through the garden and crossed the inner courtyard to get to the house.
"A present?" Kagome repeated. "From you, Chiyo-san?"
"No, not from me." Chiyo's face flushed prettily. She looked so excited. "It's from my paternal aunt: Sango. You knew her extremely well, I believe?"
Kagome's eyes widened. "Your aunt was my best friend," she said softly. "I miss her every day since I jumped into the well and returned to modern era."
Chiyo gazed at her softly and smiled. "You might have been far away and out of her reach, my lady, but you were never far from her thoughts."
She urged Kagome to sit down in the sitting room where a lacquered wooden trunk lay waiting.
"I have been guarding this trunk and its content for several hundred years," she said, placing her hand carefully on top of the gleaming surface of the trunk. "Waiting for the day I can give it to you and tell you that… even though you departed Sengoku Jidai, you were never forgotten by the people there. Not for one moment."
With the gesture of a hand, she invited Kagome to open the trunk. Kagome's hand trembled slightly as she unlatched the clip that sealed it closed. As soon as she opened the lid, she could smell the comforting, aromatic scents of herbs that were used to preserve the contents.
The trunk contained several sets of kimono and matching obi, both formal and informal. There were also several yukata, also with their matching obi. The fabrics were dyed in brilliant tones of pine green, deep purple, crimson, orange blossom yellow, and vermillion, among others. All bore traditional patterns that would suit the changing seasons. The obi were embroidered with intricate designs, some with gold and silver threads. They had not lost their lustre even centuries later.
It was akin to opening up a hope chest. A pile of treasures that had been crafted and carefully kept for her until they reached her hands hundreds of years later.
"Did Sango… make all this?" Kagome asked, nearly breathless as she sifted through one beautiful fabric after the other.
"Most of them, yes," Chiyo replied. "My mother helped on quite a few pieces. My sisters, my girl cousins, and I too, when we were young, gathered around Aunt Sango and helped with the dyeing of the fabrics and some embroidery."
Each of them was a labour of love, truly. As Kagome ran her fingers over the smoothness of silk, over the textures of cotton and embroidery, she felt Sango's love. Rin's love. The love of their daughters and nieces whom she had never even met. And Chiyo's too.
Her chest ached so terribly she thought she was going to weep. Handmade kimono, dyed and stitched and embroidered by Sango herself. And Rin, and the girls that came after her time in the feudal era. The chest contained treasures, precious beyond belief.
Chiyo smiled as she watched Kagome surreptitiously wiping the tears that had gathered under her eyes.
"Would you allow me the honour of dressing you for your outing with Sesshōmaru-sama this evening?" She asked.
Kagome looked up at the other woman, eyebrows arching with surprise. "You know about our plans for tonight?"
Chiyo lifted a hand to demurely cover her mouth as she chuckled. "Sesshōmaru-sama is very meticulous in his planning. He already asked us to send over dinner a little early this evening so the two of you could enjoy the festivities in town."
Kagome lowered her head and turned away a little so Chiyo would not see the blush on her cheeks.
She had been quite dazzled when she woke up this morning and saw him lying down on his side, watching her as she slowly came to her senses. He had been fully dressed. She could smell the wet earth and damp leaves on him, which meant he had been outside. Most likely investigating the site by the river where she and Ryōta had encountered those thugs.
"Good morning," she greeted him, with voice still a little hoarse from sleep. Then, she stretched her body just as she always did first thing in the morning, with her arms fully extended above her head.
"Good morning," he said, a little smile in his voice. It was a moment before she realized he was staring at her with rapt attention, as though he was soaking up every little thing she did. His eyes seemed to be holding on to a secret she was not privy to.
Before she had the chance to ask him if something was wrong, he spoke:
"I was wondering… Since today is our last day here, would you like us to go for a stroll in the town after dinner? The autumn festival is in full swing. You will like it."
She stared at him. A night stroll in town during autumn festival. Alone with Sesshōmaru.
Did it not sound… like a date?
Kagome turned so she could look at him fully, hoping he would not see the heightened colour on the apple of her cheeks. "You want to go… on a date with me?"
He arched an eyebrow. "A date?"
She nodded.
"Date is a very human word to use," he said. "And also, a modern one. As I am an old, ancient yōkai, I much rather say I want to court my wife."
There was a little self-deprecating humour there that almost made her laugh.
"Wife is also a very human word to use," she reminded him, unable to contain her smile. "Though not very modern."
His lips twitched briefly in response to her smile. "Well, the wife part is only temporary before we move on to the mate part." He shifted to graze her cheek with the tips of his fingers. "An introductory phase of some sort, until the time comes when you are ready to proceed."
They stared at each other in silence. His beauty was ethereal on a moonlit night. But in the morning light, he was just as beautiful. She lifted her hand to touch his face the same time he leaned over and sought her lips with his own. The taste and feel of him was intoxicating. Before, the thought of a mating and its bite had seemed so terrifying. But when he kissed her like this, tenderly and languidly, she could not help but wonder what it felt like to be claimed by one such as him. It made her belly flutter. As though a hundred of butterflies resided inside her stomach.
She returned his kisses, shyly at first, though she was quickly emboldened by his apparent desire for her. When she traced his lower lip with the tip of her tongue, he let out a rumble from deep inside his chest. Others might have interpreted it as a warning growl, but she knew better.
It was an invitation for more.
Languidly, unhurriedly, they continued to kiss. And when his hand skimmed down from her shoulder to her ribs and grazed the side of her breast, she gasped. That wandering hand returned to cup her fully; the pad of his thumb rubbed back and forth across a nipple that quickly hardened under his touch. She writhed underneath him. He did not have to do plenty to summon desire to bubble forth from within her. Just kisses and light touches.
His breathing quickened. His shoulders trembled beneath her fingers, proof that he was not as unaffected as she had initially believed. Her eyes widened when she felt his fingers stroking the skin of her inner thigh. If he continued his northbound journey, he would reach that soft, very private place between her legs, and he would find it slick and ready.
But for her, though the body and the mind were connected, they were two separate entities that were sometimes at war with each other. Like now.
When his claw-tipped finger teased the seam of her underwear, she let out a strangled moan. Her nails raked along his back before they clutched desperately at his sweater. Cold dread quickly blotting out the heated pleasure and desire, like dollops of black ink that quickly overtook the white of parchment paper.
"Sesshōmaru—" She whimpered against his shoulder.
He lifted his upper body off of hers, propping himself up on both arms, palms splayed on the floor beside her head. She took a few deep breaths, striving to get her respiration under control.
"Too soon?" The pupils of the eyes that looked down upon her were large and black, with flecks of gold that made them appear like embers amidst coals. He brushed an errant lock of hair away from her forehead. "I got too excited. I'm sorry."
"No, I—" Kagome swallowed. "I… enjoyed what we did. It felt good. I'm just not sure… if I'm ready for more."
A thought crossed her mind that he might cajole her and try to convince her just so they could proceed. Remind her that he had been patient enough and would no longer have his conjugal rights denied. But, to the contrary, he simply smiled and kissed her forehead. Instead of pushing her, he lifted his body completely off hers, letting her have some space.
She sat up, clutching the blanket to her chest. He had stopped, just as she asked him to. Somehow, it made her feel even worse, knowing he had been so patient. And if she was not as messed up as she was, he would have had his pleasure already.
"You are completely different from the way I thought you would be," she whispered, watching as he went to a sideboard to pour her a cup of tea. "Whenever I am in your hands, I feel like I am treasured. Cherished. Why is that?"
He looked back at her, giving her a small but easy smile. "Perhaps it is because I do treasure you. And cherish you."
There he goes again, Kagome mused. She accepted the tea cup which he handed her without a word. He spoke of things she just could not fathom. Treasure her? Cherish her? Those words stayed on her mind for the rest of the day.
Why? And— since when?
Later that night, after a lovely private dinner that Kagome enjoyed with Sesshōmaru, at which the head chef of the inn dazzled them both with an array of seasonally inspired dishes that delighted the eyes as well as the tongue, she went back to the family wing so Chiyo could assist her with getting dressed.
"I've sent all the boys away so we can be uninterrupted," Chiyo said as she ushered Kagome into a bedroom.
As soon as Kagome stepped into the room, she saw the garments she chose had been neatly hung up on a rack. She, with Chiyo's help, had selected the kimono and obi in the traditional autumn colour combination: purple, the dark red of sappanwood, and the eye-catching light green shade of spring onions.
After she undressed, Chiyo began to layer one piece of clothing on top of the other. The woman was clearly an expert at putting on traditional clothing. Each piece was layered, creased, folded, and tied with precision.
"It seems a little unfair that when it comes to obi, married women traditionally wear more sedate knots, not the exciting, elaborate ones the unmarried girls wear," Chiyo commented, chuckling slightly as she pulled and tugged at the obi around Kagome's waist. "It is as if we are expected to no longer have any adventures once we are wed. Little do they know… being married to Raikō is probably the biggest adventure I will ever have in my lifetime."
"Was it love at first sight that made Lord Raikō steal you away from your parents' home?" Kagome asked.
"I think it was a prank at first. A small revenge for his captivity. And he chose me… not because of any romantic reasons. It was because I was the only one foolish enough to bring him food and water."
Kagome arched her brows. "Or kind enough, perhaps?"
Chiyo chuckled. "Perhaps. He's never been clear on that front. Foolish or kind, they are two sides of the same coins anyway."
"Where did he take you?" Kagome asked, unable to contain her curiosity. "During those eight-month period while you were missing?"
"Here. To Mount Hamasaki," Chiyo said. "He inherited this mountain from his mother's father. He had been slowly and steadily building this house. For his future family."
"And he brought the woman who was to be the mother of his children." Kagome smiled. "That is very romantic, Chiyo-san."
Chiyo laughed. "It did not seem romantic at all, I can assure you. It was a lot of stress and frustration. Love did not happen straightaway between us, you see. Though it did — eventually."
"Why did you stay away for so long?"
"After we decided to be together, Raikō wanted to take me back to the Taijiya village much earlier to make a respectable woman out of me, but I refused to go. I feared my father and my brothers would challenge him. He knew how much I loved them, so he would not raise a hand against them. But I also knew my family would not hesitate to kill him upon sight. When I reached the eighth month of my pregnancy, he would take 'no' for an answer. Because he knew I wanted my mother by my side for the birth of our son."
"Sesshōmaru-sama mentioned your mother fainted when she saw Lord Raikō carried you through the gate, eight-months pregnant," Kagome said, chuckling. Chiyo joined in the laughter.
"Yes, she did faint. After she woke up, however, and caught a whiff that it was a love match, she was all for it. My father was a different story. He was livid, and wholly against it. Swore he would not budge."
Kagome stared at Chiyo's reflection in the mirror. "What changed Kohaku's mind in the end?"
Chiyo looked back into the mirror and smiled as she adjusted the position of the obi. "Sesshōmaru-sama did," she said.
"He did?"
Chiyo nodded. "He stepped in and vouched for Raikō. Convinced my father that Raikō was a good yōkai, and that his intention for me was honourable. My father… well, you know he thinks very highly of Sesshōmaru-sama. Shortly after, he gave us his blessing."
Sesshōmaru. That name had only ever managed to inspire fear and uneasiness in the past. Now, everything was different. The mere sound of his name made Kagome's heartbeat accelerate. Made her body flush with warmth as though she had downed an entire jug of rice wine. How could that be? They had only been married for three days.
"Was it… a difficult circumstance for Chiyo-san to marry a yōkai?" Kagome cautiously asked. "Last night, Rinshō reminded me that I am very new to this life of being so closely associated to a yōkai. And he was right. I never thought that being married to Sesshōmaru-sama would put me in a position of danger. Of being the object of hatred."
"You see, my lady, I am one of the lucky ones," Chiyo said gently. "When I became Raikō's mate, I had my entire family behind me, supporting me. My mother— you know how she felt more comfortable with yōkai than with her own kind ever since she was a child. Her honourary father figure was Jaken-sama, your husband's old vassal. An imp yōkai. Even my father, the chief of the demon slayers, had always had deeply rooted respect for Sesshōmaru-sama, having been in the lord's care at one point in his youth. My aunt and uncle, and their children too, knew better than to trust a blanket statement that all yōkai are bad, only humans are good."
She paused to adjust the knot of the obi on Kagome's back. "So, when I made the decision to be a yōkai's mate, my choices were not merely accepted. They were celebrated. But my story is a rare one, my lady. It is far more often that we hear men and women ostracized by their own family for joining with yōkai."
Chiyo smoothed down the back of the kimono as they both stared at Kagome's reflection in the mirror. "Rinshō was right, my lady," Chiyo said gently. "You must take care, and take heart. Do not feel hurt or discouraged when someone – a stranger on the street, even, insult you just for walking beside a yōkai."
Kagome lowered her eyes to the floor. She thought about her own mother, and her own family, and what their reaction would have been if she had announced she wanted to be with Sesshōmaru. Not just any yōkai, but a daiyōkai. Arguably the most powerful demon there was in their lifetime.
They would have been shocked, no doubt. But, she knew they would have accepted him as a full-fledged member of the Higurashi family. It might take Grandpa some time to come around, though Kagome had no doubt he would have. No matter what, her family would not have let her walk this path alone.
She would have been a lucky one too, she thought to herself with a bittersweet smile.
Since Kagome did not bring any hair ornament that would be suitable for an elegant updo, Chiyo lent her a hairpin. It was decorated with the figure of a crane, surrounded by tiny flowers and leaves. It was beautifully crafted, made out of pure silver.
"To match Sesshōmaru-sama's hair," Chiyo said, giving Kagome a meaningful smile. "Though the gold one will match his eyes. But I think… this is handsome."
They were finished just in time, much to Kagome's relief, as she would hate to keep Sesshōmaru waiting. On their first date, no less.
As she trod the corridor on her way to the front gate, she could feel the threads of excitement running through her veins. She felt giddy, and a little lightheaded. So much that she had to stop to pat her cheeks and told her heart to stop beating so fast.
Sesshōmaru was waiting for her by the vermillion bridge across the front gate. The vision of him stopped her in her track. She might have put on the most beautiful kimono she ever owned, and had Chiyo to dress her up and arrange her hair in a stylish updo, but the sight of him standing on that bridge was quite something else.
His silky silver mane streamed down his back and swayed gently in the breeze. Kagome knew her husband was a handsome male. There was something about him that more than attracted the eyes. Even when dressed simply, he was the epitome of mystery, magnetism, and glamour. Everyone else paled in comparison. He was staring at the moon, as though enraptured, but the sound of her geta slippers on the wood boards made him turn his head.
When he looked at her, eyes slightly widened, time stood still for her. He had those golden eyes trained on her at all times, leisurely travelling from head to toe without missing an inch. Perhaps she should have felt embarrassed, or even scandalized, for the way he perused her was too intense and intimate to be anything less than indecent. But she felt none of those things, because the way he looked at her right now was the way she had always dreamed of being looked at.
As though he found her beautiful.
He took one step towards her.
"I remember this kimono," Sesshōmaru commented as his eyes travelled over her in admiration. "All the women and the girls worked hard on it."
"I feel like I'm wearing something so beautiful and precious, it belongs in the museum," Kagome admitted, laughing a little. "It probably does anyway, considering it is five centuries old."
"Nonsense," he said. "They made it for you, and so it belongs to you and you alone."
"Chiyo did something special in the back," she told him. "Do you like it?"
She did a little twirl, feeling a little silly and more than a little shy even as she spun on her feet. But Chiyo's handiwork should not go unnoticed by the person whom they were both trying to impress.
Chiyo had tied a beautiful, complex knot that resembled a cross between a large rosette and a butterfly mid-flight. It was nothing short of a work of art. The knot was not traditional, and definitely not one Kagome had seen before.
When the corners of Sesshōmaru's lips turned up into a little smile of admiration, her heart skipped a beat.
"It is perfect," he told her.
Blushing, she turned to start climbing up the bridge. He fell into step beside her, and together they strolled towards the woods.
"Are we walking there?" She asked, secretly dreading that the answer would be yes. It would take at least an hour to trek the trails down the mountain and into the town. In her kimono and slippers? Perhaps double the time.
He stared at her and chuckled. "Of course not." His golden eyes looked so brilliant. A pair of shining embers in the dark. "We will fly."
"Fly?"
He did not waste time to explain before he swooped down and lifted her up into his arms. Before Kagome knew it, they were up in the air, levitating above the sea of trees. The moon appeared so large and bright when viewed from their position in the sky.
It was a little bit risky. In Tokyo, it was expressly against the law for a yōkai to levitate, use yōki, or use any kind of magic in public settings. One could be fined heavily, and even imprisoned, for flouting the laws. But in Mount Hamasaki, as well as the nearby town of Nishina, those rules were only casually observed as long as no harm was done.
Sesshōmaru held her tightly in his embrace as they floated above the trees; his body heat keeping her warm and secure. His wintry scent of snow, woodsmoke, and crushed pine surrounded her, as was the silky strands of his silver mane. She looked up to admire his strong jaw, his handsome profile, the sooty lashes that canopied a pair of brilliant amber eyes. And once again, she experienced that sense of disbelief.
He was her husband.
They landed on a quiet spot at the end of the main street, near a collection of cypress trees lining the banks of a clear-watered river that ran along the length of the promenade. He surprised her when, as soon as their feet touched the ground, he leaned her back against a tree and bent down to kiss her. She tilted her head up to meet him halfway, sighing as their lips touched. There was restrained passion in his kiss, in the way he cupped the back of her head and tugged at her lower lip.
Gingerly, she lifted her hands and rested them on his shoulders. She could not believe he was kissing her in public. He did not seem like the type to indulge in any type of public displays of affection, but here they were: kissing on the street. Though, to be fair, it was the lonely end of the street, and his hair came down around them and provided a semblance of privacy.
"I enjoyed having you in my arms as we travelled," he whispered in her ear as soon as they both came up for air.
"I hope I wasn't too heavy," she murmured, desperately needing a joke to make light of the situation, or something else to take her mind off the sweet, sweet ache, and the more bothersome pressure in her chest.
He chuckled quietly against her hair. "Your weight is of no consequence."
She could not help but smile against the crook of his neck.
"Is there anything in particular you want to do?" He asked gently as he nuzzled her ear. "Anywhere you'd want to go? Anything you'd like to see?"
She looked up at him, feeling her cheeks flushed with wonder.
A date with Sesshōmaru.
It felt so surreal, she was almost sure she would wake up from this dream shortly. But, when she saw him gazing at her with such expression, with the tenderness so palpable she felt it in her heart, she could not help but want this to be real.
Perhaps it is real, a little voice dared to hope. Perhaps, with him, it would all be different.
Please. Let it be real.
"Everything," she told him. "I want to see everything."
He smiled, though he did not look surprised at her answer. He took her hand and together they continued strolling towards the busier part of the town. His heat travelled from where it made contact with her hand and suffused other parts of her body. Blizzard could appear out of the blue to engulf them and still, she would not feel the chill.
The antiquated feel of the town and the cypress-lined streets made her believe she could have been transported to the Edo period of Japan during the autumn festival. The sound of running water from the river accompanied their footsteps as they strolled along the cobbled paths illuminated with candle-lit lanterns. Stone bridges arched over the river with weeping willows dripping their leaves into the water. Everything appeared rosy and luminesce under the glow of the lanterns.
It was so incredibly romantic.
Sesshōmaru looked beyond handsome in his plain black nagagi, topped with a haori made of finely spun fabric of silver and black threads that gave the light jacket an appearance of lustrous grey. He was not cloaked in glamour, for which she was glad. As they strolled passed other pedestrians, his hair alone was enough cause for all the envious look he was getting from both males and females. Quite a few people recognized him. She saw some discreet pointing, but everyone was polite enough to leave him alone and not approach.
They entered the busier part of the street now. The mouthwatering scents of food cooked over roaring fire filled the air. There were laughter and the buzz of conversations coming from the tables set up outside of the restaurants and tea houses. Couples in traditional garbs were strolling about hand in hand. The women were in colourful kimono with their obi tied in various knots, simple or complex. The men were in earthy colours, perfect foils for the jewel-tones of the women's fashion.
Kagome asked Sesshōmaru to stop by at the local post office so she could purchase a postcard, one with a beautiful painting of Mount Hamasaki printed on the front. She wrote down a few lines to his mother and mailed it to her address in the Denenchōfu district in Tokyo. She and Sesshōmaru might arrive home before the postcard even reach the destination, but she hoped her mother-in-law would still appreciate the gesture.
Just as they were leaving the post office, they ran into the Chief of the police officer whom Sesshōmaru had met the previous day. There was an introduction, and a brief chit-chat in which they talked of nothing but the weather and how festive the town was. Inevitably, the topic strayed to the incident by the river the night before. Kagome, who had no desire to chat about last night's events, stayed for the requisite amount of time that was considered polite before she excused herself.
She did not go far. A store nearby selling handmade porcelain goods caught her eye. She went inside, and was admiring a hand-painted bowl when she heard a familiar male voice that made her heart stop.
"Kagome?" He said behind her. "Higurashi Kagome, is that really you?"
She nearly dropped the bowl she was holding in her hand. Unable to move, she could only stand there with her fingers feeling increasingly numb. She felt his presence behind her, and her blood turned icy cold in her veins. The man took a few steps and, all of a sudden, there he was: standing in front of her.
"Oh wow. It really is you. It's been a while. How have you been?" He laughed. That free, rather seductive laugh that had attracted her years ago. That handsome face. The impeccable manners that was proof of a superior upbringing.
Or so she had thought.
But he had showed her how wrong she was, had he not? It had proved such an education. Like a bludgeon straight to the head. And now, she knew better.
Kagome stared up at him, speechless. Nearly petrified with shock and fear. Her hands trembled as she struggled to put the bowl back on the display table; her eyes never leaving the man standing in front of her.
"Hey, why are you just staring at me like that?" He let out an easy, friendly laugh. One hand was raised to rake long, neatly manicured fingers through glossy black curls.
Her eyes followed the movements of those fingers, as if seeing them in slow motion. She thought back to the times when she sat huddled in the corner of the kitchen in their apartment, sifting through the long strands of black tresses to pick broken glass shards out of her own hair.
"Hey, say something." He grinned, flashing a row of straight, white teeth. "It feels weird if you don't say anything."
Her mouth was dry. Her tongue had the texture of sandpaper.
Are you… seriously talking to me as though nothing happened?
"When was it that we saw each other last?" He asked softly, as though he was merely thinking out loud. "Ah, it was February of last year, wasn't it?"
Outside, she was as still as a stone statue. But inside, she shuddered. She could not answer. Even if she were to push herself to say something, anything, the words would only sit at the tip of her limp tongue.
It was a long, cold trek to the hospital. She saw white everywhere she looked, except down. Blood fell onto the pristine white snow in a steady drip…
A low chuckle came from him. "You're still quiet, huh. Like a little mouse. You know I always find this side of you so cute."
A little mouse. It was not until he said it that she asked herself: When did she become such a person?
Darkness slowly crept into her vision as her body turned cold. Her knees trembled. She thought she was going to faint. She knew in just a moment, she was going to collapse. Her body would topple onto the display table and scatter bits and pieces of dinnerwares onto the ground.
Dimly, as though through a thick cocoon of cotton, she heard the clatter of porcelains. Had she fallen already? Was she sprawled on the floor now? Was it the reason why she felt so cold?
Kagome felt Sesshōmaru's touch on her before she even saw him. She felt it first on the nape of her neck; a rather primal place to lay his hand. But— primal or not, it chased her fears away. Then, she felt his hand travelling down her back, curling around to the side of her waist, before it settled on her midriff.
His warmth coursed through her, steadied her when she felt so close to collapsing.
She was able to breathe again.
Sesshōmaru had excused himself to the Chief police officer, citing that his wife might need his help selecting some pieces for their dinner table.
There was a scent of such overwhelming fear coming from her. He was surprised she did not cause a commotion on the street with so many yōkai and hanyō around. A few had stopped to stare at her, having sensed her fear. Some with curiosity, some with concern.
"… still so quiet, huh. Like a little mouse. You know I always find this side of you so cute."
Sesshōmaru did not care for those words or the tone in which they were said. He fastened a yōki-charged glare at the man who had dared to cause his wife such distress. Just a little taste was enough to cause this rat to pale and stagger back until his legs bumped against the display table.
Porcelain clattered, earning the attention of several other patrons inside the store, though no one intervened. Sesshōmaru approached them. Quickly but calmly, he came up behind her and placed his hand on her nape. It was a highly possessive gesture amongst yōkai mates, but he had also heard it was an amazingly comforting one. Then, he sidled up beside her and curl an arm around her waist.
She startled. Though, almost immediately, she drew a deep breath as though she had been under a long, terrible spell. He tightened his hold against her waist, anchoring her, pressing slightly until her scent stabilized and the galloping of her heartbeats slowed.
He kept his eyes on her. "Are you finished here, Kagome?"
Sesshōmaru watched her giving that man one last shaky look before she turned away and clutched at his arm.
"Yes." Her voice was little more than a whisper. "Let's go."
The man stared at the two figures walking farther and farther away from the porcelain store; his arms were folded across his chest. His girlfriend came to stand at his elbow.
"Nē," She whispered excitedly. "That's Inuzuka Sesshōmaru, right?"
He glanced at her inquiringly. "The politician?"
"And billionaire," she added. Then, good-naturedly, she jabbed her elbow into his ribs. "Why didn't you tell me you know someone famous?"
The man laughed. "Ah no, it's not like that. I don't know him, but that woman he's with… We used to date."
"Hmmm… you mean his wife?"
He flashed her a look of surprise. "Wife? Really?"
"They were wearing matching wedding rings, so they must be married to each other, right?"
The man returned his big, round, charming eyes to watch the figures of the husband and wife slowly disappearing amongst the crowd. Eyes narrowed slightly, he smiled to himself.
"I see… she's married now. Huh."
Sesshōmaru did not need to ask her who the man was. That face had been branded in his memory ever since he first laid eyes on it two years ago.
That day, he had been resolved to face her once and for all. To state his intention to court her, if she would permit him that honour. Though he did not keep her under surveillance upon her return to the modern era, he knew she had been on several consecutive relationships. It was as if she was trying to rid herself the heartache brought upon by Inuyasha's indecisiveness by entering into one liaison after another.
He was not sure why he did not step in sooner. Many times, he wanted to go to her and urge her: Try me. Just try me. Could it be that he was afraid she would end up looking at him with disappointment in her eyes? Because at the end of the day, he was just another male who was not Inuyasha?
Regardless, that day, he knew she had broken off her latest relationship, and was then unattached. He remembered it like it had only been yesterday. He had driven himself to her apartment building. As he sat in his car, he wondered if he should knock on her door, or wait until she came out and approach her then.
Before he made a decision, however, she sauntered out of her building.
He was one second away from coming out of his car when he realized she was not alone. A man strolled beside her. His arm was around her waist in an intimate gesture that was beyond friendship.
Still inside the car, Sesshōmaru froze.
Was he too late again?
He recalled every little detail of how she looked that day, what she wore. The tiny starburst pattern on her jonquil dress that resembled the sun. The loose updo secured only by one mother-of-pearl comb. The texture of her hair. The sound of her carefree laughter. The smile on her face that matched the moon in its radiance.
The beastly part of him urged him to exit the car anyway and take her for himself, anyone else be dammed. This was the woman whom he had been waiting for five centuries.
But.
There was something different about that smile. For the first time since she returned from the feudal era, since her family died in the car crash, she genuinely looked happy. And he was achingly aware that the person who had put that smile, that radiance on her face… was not him.
It hurt. He had never expected the sight of her joy would feel like a knife in his windpipe.
He remembered sitting in the car for a long, long time, marvelling at how stupid he had been. How many years… how many centuries had to pass before he learned? He remembered knowing he did not want to lose his chance with her.
But even more, he knew he did not want to destroy the happiness she had finally found.
Then, a long while afterwards, he finally shifted. He flexed his fingers to get rid of the numbness, turned on the car ignition, and drove away.
The week after, he decided to relocate himself and Rinshō abroad, as though he would be able to exorcise her out of his thoughts by removing himself from Japan soil. He ended up looking for her face in the crowd in a foreign city, and swallowing disappointment at the end of each day when he did not find her anywhere.
Six months ago, he and Rinshō moved back to Tokyo. He had been prepared to live out the rest of his life without her. He had almost convinced himself that it was possible.
All it took was one meeting with her at the Omiai — which his mother had arranged — for his conviction to crumble into dust.
They were walking back to the quieter part of the street. The unexpected encounter at the porcelain store had shaken her badly. She was not even able to utter one word. After a silence that had gone far too long, Sesshōmaru stopped her at the same spot where he had kissed her, mere hours ago. Same place, but the atmosphere was much different.
"Kagome," he said. "You know I will protect you, no matter what?"
Even as she nodded, she could feel tears brimming in her eyes already. Ah, this just won't do. Why was it that she always appeared helpless and desperate in front of him?
Useless. Useless.
"You do know that?" He asked again, voice gentled, as he touched her cheek with a knuckle.
"So far, this is turning out to be a marriage of inconvenience for you." She had meant to make a lighthearted joke, but what came out of her throat was a hoarse whisper that sounded closer to the truth than to a jest. "I am sorry."
His forehead creased as his amber eyes continued to gaze at her.
"Why are you sorry?" He asked.
Goodness, where should she start?
"You offered me protection," she said. "But… what can I do for you in exchange for it? In exchange for everything you have given me?"
"In exchange?" He repeated. "When I proposed to you on the day of the Omiai, I promised you security and protection, amongst other things. All these I give to you freely. Not in exchange for anything. Least of all, sex."
She looked down as she wrung her hands together. "But— Is this not a marriage of convenience for our mutual benefits? You have given me your name, a position as your wife. A home and financial stability. You have also offered me security and protection. Even though it is only the third day, so far… all I have given you… is trouble. I'd like to move on knowing there is something I can give you. Even if it is something as fleeting as pleasure. But I… I cannot even give you that."
She laughed mirthlessly as she pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead. "I just feel… so useless."
"Useless?" Sesshōmaru repeated. "Have I made you feel that way, Kagome?"
"No, not you," she said, shaking her head, feeling tears brimming in her eyes. "Never you. Sesshōmaru— you've been very kind to me. Much more than I deserve."
"Kagome. You are my wife. And one day, hopefully, you will become my mate. If I was to be kind to anyone, it would be you. As my wife and future mate, you deserve everything I have to give. And more."
She flashed him a watery smile.
"You see? It's when you are like this, when you say things like that, I realize… I don't deserve any of this. I don't deserve you."
"Has anyone else made you feel this way?" His voice took on a sharp, dangerous edge before he paused. "A former lover, perhaps?"
The words were stuck in her throat. For a long time, they did not speak. The silence between them, lessened only by the faint music of night insects in the distance, was nearly unbearable for her. The golden eyes that glowed under the silver moonlight appeared as though they were saying things she could not comprehend.
He heaved a deep sigh and took one step closer to her. The closeness… She had relished it earlier. Now, it was akin to torture. She placed one palm on her midsection. Her obi felt all of a sudden too tight.
"You want to give me pleasure, Kagome?" He asked as he ran his knuckles along the curve of her jaw. Even in the state of turmoil, her skin still soaked up his touch thirstily like a sponge to water.
"Seeing you smile from the bottom of your heart again would give me immense pleasure."
His answer was not at all what she expected.
"My… smile?" She repeated, confusion weighing every syllable.
He said nothing more about it, and merely stared at her in silence. "It is getting late, and chilly," he finally said. "Shall we return to Kinomiya?"
She nodded wordlessly and let him lift her up and carry her into the sky. They were flying above the trees once more. But instead of excitement she had felt before, there was only trepidation in her heart.
It did not occur to her until much, much later that Sesshōmaru never asked her who that man was.
The Next Morning
Chiyo had asked Sesshōmaru if she could keep Rinshō for another day. As always, he could not refuse the request from Rin's only surviving child. And thus, this morning, only he and Kagome boarded the train bound for Tokyo.
They were both quiet throughout the journey. From time to time, he would glance at her and saw her staring out the window. Sometimes pensively, and others with a vacant expression, and he could not help but wonder what she was thinking about.
He did not need to confirm with her that the man they had encountered at the porcelain kiosk was her former beau. The same man who came out of the apartment building with her, two years ago.
Last night, as they stood beneath the cypress tree, he could have pushed her to admit it. He could have forced her to tell him the details of her wretched relationship with that man, and the marks he had left on her. But he knew she was not ready. She had looked like a woman on the verge of collapsing, or teetering at the edge of a cliff. So stricken, and so close to tears.
He did not want to be the cause for her looking the way she did last night. Never.
He fidgeted in his seat and crossed his legs. It was not jealousy that bothered him, or whatever emotions aroused by insecurities. When they met at the Omiai, he detected no emotional attachment on her part. He did not smell the scent of the heartache brought on by unrequited love. There were other alarming scents, but none that would give him any reasons to believe she was pining for another male.
Jealousy, he could deal with. Because then, the source of the problem would be himself. And he could control himself better than he could anything else in the world. Very few creatures possessed such impeccable self control.
This, however… This was something else, and it perturbed him greatly. He tried to swallow the uneasy lump in his throat, but it ended up sitting in the bottom of his stomach like an undigested chunk of meat.
Two and a half hours after they boarded the train in Nishina, they were inside the car on their way to their house near Otsuki. By some miracle, they had missed the traffic getting out of Tokyo. The moment their car turned into the driveway of their home, Sesshōmaru nearly sighed out loud.
Perhaps, now that they were home, they could start a new life as husband and wife. Turn a new page. Perhaps now, they could focus on their relationship without worrying about unexpected, unpleasant encounters, or interference from others.
Though… He stole a furtive look at her. There was one more surprise for her.
"Sesshōmaru, there is a man sitting on the terrace," Kagome murmured as she squinted to get a better look, but they were still too far down the driveway for her to be able to see clearly. She turned to him.
"Are you expecting someone?" She asked him.
"Yes," he told her, touching her hand briefly to calm her down. "I am. But he is here for you, not for me."
"For me? Who—"
With one hand splayed on the car window, she leaned over to get a better look. They were closer to the house now, and to the terrace where their visitor had stationed himself.
"No. I can't believe this." Kagome clamped a hand on her mouth and tears began to stream down her face. She flew out of the car even before the vehicle came to a complete stop and ran towards the terrace, arms wide open.
"Shippō!"
The kitsune, now grown up, stood up and ran to meet her half way. He laughed and enveloped her in a big embrace. "Kagome." She nearly grunted when Shippō tightened his hug, but she squeezed him just as hard. "I've missed you. It's been so, so long."
When they released each other, she was crying and laughing at the same time. And so was Shippō. He was busy wiping her tears with his knuckles, but he quickly straightened as soon as Sesshōmaru came up onto the terrace.
"Sesshōmaru-sama." Shippō bowed deeply. "It's been too long. Thank you for inviting me. I'm very happy to see you're keeping well."
"Shippō." Sesshōmaru nodded appreciatively. "You have grown up. Welcome back, and welcome to our home."
Shippō had grown up handsome: medium height with athletic build; light brown hair and green eyes. The tanned, golden tone of his skin brought out the brightness of his hair and eyes. And— She noted something gleaming on his ring finger. A gold band.
"Shippō. You're married?" She was about to yell at him: 'Aren't you too young to get married?!' and then she realized: the kitsune was not a cub anymore. Even though he was young, he was a full-grown yōkai, and a magnificent one.
"Yeah. And I heard you are too." He grinned at her and nudged her rib gently with an elbow. She could not help but laughed. Out loud. It was the happiest she had felt in a very long time.
"You came by yourself?" She asked, looking around. "No wife? Kids?"
"I had planned to bring my family and arrive before your wedding day. But… well, with work and four young kids, every day is a battle. A couple of days before we were scheduled to leave, one got sick, another one had a recital, then another one broke an ankle, and the last one got sick too. Wifey and I constantly feel like we're managing a circus instead of a family. So… it's either arriving late and solo, or not at all. I'm sorry you don't get to meet them this time."
"Four kids?" Kagome laughed. "You certainly wasted no time."
He grinned and puffed his chest with apparent pride. "They are quadruplets."
"Gods. It just gets better and better."
"Oh, Kagome." He stared at her and smiled. "I have so much to tell you."
"Don't just tell me. Show me. I want to see pictures. Lots of pictures." She linked her arm with his and ushered him to sit at the table on the covered terrace, Sesshōmaru following behind them.
"I am sorry we were not here to greet you upon arrival," Sesshōmaru said as he pulled out a chair for Kagome and did the same for himself. "I hope the staff was welcoming, and has made themselves useful."
"They were very helpful. Everything was perfect. Thank you for letting me stay even though you weren't home."
"We should've returned yesterday to meet you," Kagome said.
Shippō shook his head. "Sesshōmaru-sama offered to bring you home a day earlier, but I asked him to not bother. Especially considering you were on your honeymoon trip. Besides, I arrived here at two o'clock this morning, and went straight to bed. In fact, I just woke up not too long ago. It would've been a waste for you to spend your time here waiting for me to wake up."
"You're staying for a while, right?" She asked him hopefully.
"I can't stay for long this time, Kagome," Shippō said with a wince. "I'm sorry. My wife works full time. And with four kids at home… It's difficult."
"It's okay." She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I'm so happy to be able to see you, even for just a little bit."
He showed off a picture of his family. His wife was a beautiful golden goddess named Aurelia. A kitsune hanyō. They had mated young because, as Shippō said: "When you know, you know." The year after, their identical quadruplet cubs were born. Now they were raising their children in Lisbon.
"It looks like a picture straight out of Happiness magazine," Kagome commented. There was no trace of envy in her heart, but the keen ache of wishing for something similar for herself. One day.
"Four children," Sesshōmaru repeated. Then, he added dryly: "I commend you. It is the type of battle I would never win."
"Oh, come on, my lord," Shippō teased. "After Rin, and then Rinshō, surely you're ready for fatherhood? Now that Kagome is here—"
"Uhhhh… How did you manage to find Shippō?" She asked her husband, shifting the attention away from herself, and the talks of children. Her children, specifically. "How did you get separated to begin with?"
"Sometime in the 1920s, Shippō left the Plains of Musashi to attend a kitsune school in a town in western Honshu. We had always stayed in touch. But before we were reunited, a tragedy of epic proportions happened."
"What happened?"
"World War II happened," Shippō said. "As Sesshōmaru-sama said, I was studying in a small town near Hiroshima when the city was bombed. It was utter chaos afterwards, as you can imagine. I slowly made my way back to the Plains of Musashi, but everyone had scattered."
"We relocated everyone first to Mount Hamasaki, then onwards to Hokkaido," Sesshōmaru said. "We left messages for you, sent messages to your school as well, but now we know you never received any of them."
"When I arrived back at the Plains of Musashi, there was hardly anything left. Everyone who remained behind had looted everything worth taking and destroyed the rest. I stuck around for a while, trying to figure out where everyone was. Then, a few years after the war ended, I joined a few friends and took an opportunity to emigrate to Brazil." He turned and patted Kagome's hand.
"I wasn't sure exactly how much time difference there was between one end of the well and the other," he continued. "I've been trying to get in contact with Sesshōmaru-sama to find out if you've arrived. Finding him was easy enough, but getting access to him was a different thing."
"And at the same time, I have been trying to find Shippō," Sesshōmaru said. "After the world war, it was not easy to track someone down. I only managed to discover Shippō was no longer in Japan in early 1955. Even then, my search hit a brick wall. I had no more leads back then."
"Without internet, it was nearly impossible. The paper trails were just…" Shippō waved a hand dismissively. "I must have filled hundreds of forms from overseas trying to find people in Japan only to hit a wall every time."
Halfway through the conversation Kagome realized Shippō never mentioned Inuyasha. Or Kikyō. She wondered why, but she herself would rather chew her way through a rubber boot than to bring them into their conversation.
"So… how did you end up finding him?" She asked Sesshōmaru.
"Private investigator," he said, smiling lightly. "Which I should have done years ago, actually. From the report I learned that Shippō emigrated to Brazil in 1950, and then moved to Lisbon in the 1980s." He stared at Kagome. "I wanted Shippō to attend our wedding celebration. Even though you said you did not want anyone, I remember how close the two of you were. I thought—" He paused for a few seconds. "I thought… it would make you happy."
Kagome bit her lower lip, feeling that familiar warmth spreading inside her, again. If Shippō noticed how red her cheeks had become, he was kind enough to not point it out.
"Keeping the visit a secret was my idea," Shippō told her proudly. "Sesshōmaru-sama doesn't like surprises, though I'm sure that wouldn't surprise you. But somehow, I managed to convince him that… well, you would like it. So—" The grown-up fox stared at her with a pair of velvety green eyes. "Did we do well, Kagome? Was it a nice surprise?"
Kagome could hardly speak past the lump clogging her throat. She could hardly see past the tears blurring her vision, for that matter.
"It was the best." She somehow managed to squeeze a few words out. "Really, the absolute best."
A few minutes later, Sesshōmaru left Kagome and Shippō to get reacquainted in private while he went upstairs to their master bedroom to put away some things from their travel.
He opened a wardrobe, and a box fell over from the overhead shelf. From the look of it, he recognized it was one of Kagome's boxes. She must have been in a rush when she placed it up there, a little haphazardly. It had been teetering over the edge before it finally collapsed when he opened the doors.
Sesshōmaru began to gather the contents that had spilled out when he saw a small white box had skidded a little distance away. Without thinking, he reached for it. His hand swam through the gossamer white tissue papers that spilled out, in an attempt to return its content into the box.
And beneath the layers of the delicate shimmery papers, he saw them:
A pair of baby shoes.
Stunned, he stared at them. They were so small, they must be the perfect size for a newborn. Delicate white lace bows and pale pink rosettes perched atop the straps. So pretty and precious, they tugged at the heartstrings of even someone like him. Brand new, their soles were clean as newly-fallen snow.
With great care, he placed the baby shoes back inside the white box, covering them with the tissue papers.
Then, he placed the small white box back inside the larger box, and returned that larger box into the cupboard.
And closed the doors.
Author's Note:
Initially I thought I would finish this chapter quickly but it turned out to be the one that took the longest. It is also my longest chapter to date 😅
There are many important, key events that happened here. Kagome & Sesshōmaru's relationship is progressing nicely. Kagome's past is slowly revealed. Shippō's visit. And… most importantly, we discovered the content of the white box.
Most of you did guess the content of the box is baby related. And you are correct. The story behind the baby paraphernalia is not fully unearthed yet, though we have some foreshadowing here. I will peel the layers more in the next chapter.
Thank you so much for reading. I know it's slow burn romance and the progress is slow, but I hope you are enjoying the journey 😊 As always, comments are very much appreciated! Please leave me a few lines if you have an opportunity!