Chapter Eleven

The rest of the family had come to the graduation ceremonies and left before Kagome and Sesshoumaru to go home and prepare the special feast to celebrate the two graduates.  A number of foods were set on the table, all Japanese delicacies.  When the two friends, came home, they were greeted by the excited family members and the heaping table of cuisines.  Ms. Higurashi hugged her daughter.

"Congratulations," she said, a tear slipping down her eye as she pulled away.  "You, too," she added, hugging Sesshoumaru, who stiffened slightly when here arms wrapped around him.  He looked to Kagome, very confused.  She just smiled at him.

"Uhhh, thank you," he said as she pulled away.

"Don't worry about it," she mused, smiling, "You're part of the family."

He returned her gesture, flashing a small smile.  Then, he felt a slap on his back.

"Yes, indeed!" Gramps chuckled, "Since you're marrying Kagome!  Part of the family, indeed!  You better"

"GRAMPS!  STOPPIT!" she screamed, standing in front of Sesshoumaru and placing her hands over his ears before she scolded her grandfather.  "IT'S NOT FUNNY!!!"

After her fit of screaming, she removed her hands, stomping over to her place at the table.  Sesshoumaru sighed, following after her.  His place was next to Kagome, across from Souta.  Gramps and Ms. Higurashi sat at the heads of the table.  Kagome picked up her chopsticks.  Everyone else followed suit.

"Itadakimasu!" they said together before digging in.

The food was exquisite.  Kagome complimented her mother a million times after they had eaten and were washing the dishes.

"It's no trouble, dear.  After all, it's one of your last home-cooked meals before college," her mother said, smiling.

Later, after the dishes had been washed, and the table had been cleaned, they sat in the living room.  Kagome and Sesshoumaru sat on the floor while Gramps, Ms. Higurashi, and Souta sat on the couch.  They were going to be given their graduation gifts.  First was Souta.  The family had decided to give them both the same gifts, so as not to show favoritism of one or the other.  So, the gifts themselves had to be general, not too girly or boyish.  Having as little money as Souta did, as a junior high student, he had a little bit of trouble in choosing their gifts.  Eventually, though, he came up with the right one.

"Here!" he said, smiling and placing a thin box in their hands.  "Don't open them until you give each other your gifts!"

They both nodded.  "Thank you!" Kagome chirped.

"Arigatoo," Sesshoumaru said.

"You're welcome!" he said to both.

"And now, my gift!" Gramps said excitedly.

Kagome sighed.  "If it's the same kind of gift you gave me on my sixteenth birthday, don't give it to me at all."

"Don't worry!  This time, I picked out useful gifts!" he said, smiling as he placed a plain white box in their hands, his eyes twinkling.  "Don't open them until you open Souta's."

"Thank you," they both said slowly.

"Well, I guess that means mine is next," Ms. Higurashi chimed.  "You might as well open it with Souta's and Gramps'."

She dangled a door key in her fingers.  "Your gifts are inside Kagome's room.  I hope you like them," she said, smiling brightly.  "Now, you might as well go up to the room to look at your presents!"

"Thank you!" Kagome yelled happily, scrambling to her feet and dashing up the stairs.  "Come on, Sess!"

Sesshoumaru shook his head at her antics, picking up the boxes and starting to go after her.  He turned back to the family sitting on the couch.

"You really didn't have to do this," he said.

"Oh, it's no problem!  Don't worry about it!  You're part of the family!" Ms. Higurashi assured, smiling.

He gave one of his real smiles.  "Thank you," he said, leaping up the tall staircase.

Maybe out of habit, maybe out of absentmindedness, Sesshoumaru stood ten seconds at the door before opening it.  The first thing he saw was Kagome jumping up and down besides the bed.

"Kagome, what are you"

He froze.  On the bed were two laptops, one black, the other a silver color.  This, he guessed, was Ms. Higurashi's gift.  Kagome turned to him.

"Isn't my mom the best?" she squealed, both hands on her cheeks.

"Mmm," he answered, still staring at the extravagant gift he had been given.  "Which one's yours?"

"I don't know," she said, turning a little mellower.  "Maybe we should open them to see?"

Without waiting for his answer, she opened up the silver laptop.  The screen turned blue, flashing the word 'welcome' in the center.  Then, it turned to the normal desktop.  The wallpaper of the desktop read 'Sesshoumaru' in fancy gold lettering against a blue-gray background.

"I guess this one's yours!" she said, running around to the other side of the bed and opening the black laptop.  Sesshoumaru followed her, looking at the screen of her laptop.  The name 'Kagome' was spelled out in blue-gray against a gold background.  "Yup!  This one's mine!" she squealed, making his ears ring somewhat.  "Let's open our other presents!"

He nodded mutely, deciding to open the one from Kagome's grandfather, first.  Pulling up the lid of the box, he saw a small cell phone in foam packaging, along with an instruction manual, and an adapter.  Yet again, he was left wordless, silently awed that this family would treat him like this.

"Good!" he heard Kagome say, holding up a silver phone, "Gramps got something useful, for a change.  What color's yours, Sesshou?"

She walked over to him, on the other side of the bed, pulling the phone out of its snug place in the Styrofoam.  "Gold!  It suits you!" she chirped, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind.  By now, Sesshoumaru was used to this treatment, so he didn't feel nervous or anything.  "How about the gift from Souta?" she mused, taking the thin wrapped box from its place on the bed.  Sesshoumaru opened his at the same time.  Kagome still hung over him, her head resting on his shoulder as she reached in front of him to unwrap her gift.  They held them up to compare.

It was simple.  Kagome held a picture of Sesshoumaru and her, both smiling at each other, a sunset evident in the background.  It was held inside a unique gold photo frame.  The edge was made up of smaller frames, in which a number of other photos of her and Sesshoumaru in the sun were placed.  In other words, it was a frame made up of tiny frames.  All in all, the casing held around thirteen photos, one large one framed by smaller ones.  Sesshoumaru held something very similar to Kagome's gift.  It had the same kind of unique framing, but all his pictures were of them together during night.  This, by far, must have been the best gift.  They both thought so.

"How did he get these pictures?" Kagome mused.

"I'm not sure.  I never saw him around," Sesshoumaru replied, "They're very nice."

"Quite," Kagome agreed.  "Okay!" she chirped, "Now my gift to you!"

Kagome got off his shoulders and grabbed her purse, which she had thrown down earlier, off the bed.  She drew out a long box and held it out to him.  "Hope you like it!"

He took it, putting a hand in the jacket he was wearing and pulled out two velvety boxes, tossing them over to her.  "You, too," he said monotonously.

"Nani?" she questioned, catching them both.  "You got me two?!  Not fair!  Now, I have to get you another one!" she teased, jumping on him again.

"Whatever," he replied, opening the box he had received from her.

Inside was laid a silver watch.  It was beautiful craftsmanship.  He slipped it on immediately, fitting perfectly on his wrist.

(A/N: I'm not good at describing watches so…yeah.)

"Like it?" Kagome questioned eagerly.

"Love it," he replied, "Open yours."

She brought her arms out in front of him, since she was still hanging on his shoulders, and slowly opened one of the two small boxes.  Kagome gasped softly when she saw the blue-gray gem in a halo of sterling silver, hanging loosely from a silver, water-like chain.  She picked it up carefully, as if it were made of glass, and let it hang loosely from her fingers.

"Like it?" he asked, nudging her cheek with his.  She didn't respond.  He nudged her again.  "Are you awake?" he asked playfully.

"It's…beautiful," she whispered finally, still staring at it.

"Why don't you put it on instead of just having a staring contest with it?" he said, smirking.

"Fine," she said, moving off his shoulders again.  She slipped it behind her neck, clasping it in place.  It was light and soft, seeming not to be there at all.  "How does it look?" she asked, smiling brightly.

"Fine," he answered, waving his hand.  "Open the other one."

"Such enthusiasm you exert, Fluffy-chan," she said sarcastically.

"I know, tons, isn't it?" he shot back.

"Mmmhmm," she said, sitting down beside him on the floor of her bedroom.

Kagome quickly opened the other box, careful not to show too much of her surprise.  Very elegant earrings were placed carefully into the soft velvet of the small box.  They were small, silver, hoops with three, small, blue-gray gems set into them at different interval.  One was set in the middle, one at the front, and another at the back.

"Matching earrings for the necklace?" she said, smiling.

He nodded, "Like them?"

Kagome turned to him with a glamorous smile.  "Love them," she answered, launching into his lap.  She wrapped her arms around his neck in a fierce, strangling hug.  "Thank you, Sess-chan!"

The poor youkai tapped her lightly on the shoulder.  She released her hold, realizing sheepishly that he couldn't breathe so well.

"Ehehe," she laughed nervously, "gomen, gomen."

"It's okay," he said, breathing heavily.

After his breathing steadied, he smiled at her.  A rare, glorious smile touched his lips, making any tenseness in Kagome fleetingly leave her being.  She smiled back, bringing her arms around him in a less murderous hug.

"We've graduated," she said softly.

"Yes," he replied, wrapping his arms around her, "we have."

For once in his life, Sesshoumaru was truly happy, in the arms of someone who cared for him.  No one in his life had ever held him like she did.  No one in his life ever held him at all.  After being born, his mother, remembered vaguely, loved him very much, showing affection that no youkai, female or male, would ever show for his or her child.  Then, when he reached his adolescence, he was to be trained to be a warrior, cold and emotionless.  Soon after, his mother had died under the claws of a cat youkai.  From that day on, Sesshoumaru put up his emotional barriers, showing no affection or any other emotion towards anyone or anything.  Now, with this girl, this human girl, he could open his heart again.  She showed him love, caring, and compassion.  He was sure, absolutely positive that he could learn to love again, like he loved his okaa-san.

A single tear escaped the confines of his eyes, running the length of his face as he held Kagome tightly, not wanting her to escape.

"Sesshou?" Kagome called tentatively, loosening her hold on him a little.

A quiet sob escaped his lips.  Kagome gasped as he held her more tightly.

"What's wrong, Sesshou?" she whispered, realizing he was crying.

He remained silent, except for the occasional sob, and held her tighter.  She relaxed, stroking his hair.

"What's wrong?" she repeated more firmly, trying to pull away gently.

Sesshoumaru did not loosen his grip, instead pulled her further into his embrace.  Kagome gave up, silently stroking his silky hair until he quieted.  When he finally settled down and loosened his hold on her, she pulled back, a hand on each side of his face to make him look at her.  She used her thumbs to gently wipe away the tracks of tears glistening on his face.  He cried…

"What is it?" she asked gently, bringing him into her embrace.

"It's nothing," he said, resting his head on her shoulder and folding his arms around her.  Why did I cry?  That was pathetic.

"I've never heard or seen you cry," she said firmly, "You wouldn't start doing it for no reason."

He chuckled softly.  "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"I always am," she answered, twirling a lock of his hair around her finger.  "What's wrong?  Or would you rather not tell me?" she asked, pulling away.

"Hmm, maybe I'll tell you some other time," he replied, tugging his hair away from her finger.

"Don't make me beg you," Kagome warned, sliding off his lap.

"I'd like to see you try," he challenged, "I'm used to the treatment by now."

"Really?" Kagome asked, crossing her arms.

"Yes.  Why would I lie?" he snapped.

"To avoid losing," she answered calmly, looking him dead in the eye.

"What?!" he choked.

"You heard me," she snapped.

"Hey!  I can accept defeat!" he pouted.

"Sure you can," she said sarcastically.

"Of course I can!" he supported.

"You sure you want me to beg you?  If you just told me, you would save yourself the trouble of taking a blow to your pride."

"Like I said, my pride is unbreakable."

"You're sure?" she mused.

"Positive," he answered.

"Okay," she answered in a defeated tone, shrugging her shoulders.  "You're gonna regret that."

"Feh," was his reply, closing his eyes to emphasize his point.

He could feel her coming closer to him.  When he opened his eyes, blue-gray orbs were staring back at him.  He jumped a little in surprise.

"I think I'll use the annoyance tactic," she mused, her finger to his nose.

Sesshoumaru groaned.  "Never mind, I think I'll just tell you."

Kagome smiled brightly, plopping down on the edge of the bed.  "Good!"

Sesshoumaru moved next to her, lying down on the soft mattress.  Kagome hesitated before placing herself next to him.  She patiently waited for him to start saying whatever it was that made him weep.  Though she was dying to know, she kept quiet, knowing he would start talking when he wanted.

"I was happy," he stated simply.

"Really?" she questioned excitedly, "Why?"

He sighed.  "Then, I would have to tell you my whole history, basically, my life story."

"I don't mind.  I've been wanting to know that for a while, anyways," she said, shrugging.

"Okay.  It'll probably keep us up half the night," he warned, eying the clock, which read 11:30 PM.

"It's okay!" she chirped, turning her face to him.

"You're sure?" he asked, turning his face to her.

"Umm, yeah," she said, grabbing both the pillows on her bed and tossing one to him.

"Okay," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Kagome returned to her place next to him with the pillow, fluffing it up and then laying her head on the soft cushion.  Sesshoumaru did the same and then started the story of his youth.  He told her about his mother, how she loved him with all her heart, and how she died.  Kagome's eyes shone with admiration at the part about his mother, smiling softly.  Then, he proceeded to the part about his youkai training, how he had no one after his mother died, his father being too busy with his new mate to care about him.  His story ended after telling her about the death of his father and how Jaken came to be his loyal servant.  Sesshoumaru looked to his audience, trying to read her expression.  Darkness enveloped, weaving a spell of silence upon the two adults.  He looked to the luminous numbers on the digital clock; they read 1:30 AM.  Turning back to Kagome, he saw her face was a jumble of emotions.  Pain and sympathy were etched into her expressive eyes, dancing with sorrow and happiness.

"That's so sad," she finally said, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I'm sorry I made you tell me."

Slightly surprised she hugged him, it took a while before he responded, encircling her in his arms.  "It's okay," he assured, nuzzling his nose in her fragrant hair, "I'm happy, now."

"I'm glad," she said, pulling away slowly, "Don't you think we should go to sleep, now?"

He didn't let her leave, holding her firmly.  "Yes, but don't go," he pleaded, his voice laced with sorrow.

Kagome sighed, shaking her head sadly.  "You know what my mom and grandfather would think."

"Let them think what they want," he replied, holding her close, "I promise I won't try anything."

"I know you wouldn't, but"

"Please?  Just until I fall asleep?" he begged, rubbing his face in her hair.

"Fine," she submitted, "But only until you fall asleep."

"Thank you," he murmured, closing his eyes.

"Mmm," she answered, running her fingers through the silvery hair that fell down his shoulder.

They were positioned so that Kagome was lower than Sesshoumaru, his chin right above her head.  Soon, Kagome could feel his breathing even out into a sleep pattern.  Carefully, she moved his arms off her and started to move away from him.  When she reached the edge of the bed, she turned and placed her feet on the ground, rising off the bed.  Sesshoumaru's hand shot out, catching her wrist.  She gasped, being pulled down to the edge of the bed so that she sat there.

"I'm not asleep, yet," he said, eyes still closed.  A playful tone was weaved into his voice.

"Don't do that!" she scolded, jerking her wrist away, "That scared me!"

"I apologize," he said, smiling.

"Hmph," she huffed, turning away with crossed arms.

"Don't be difficult," he warned, opening his golden eyes.

She rose to leave, but was caught by the wrist again.  This time, she was pulled down onto the bed next to him.  "You said you would stay."

"Maybe I changed my mind."

"Mmm, breaking a promise?"

"I didn't promise."

"You gave your word."

"I suppose."

"Good, then you'll stay," he finalized, his fingers intertwining with hers.

"I," she paused, not able to think of a reason to leave.

"You'll stay," he said for her, closing his eyes.

She sighed, defeated.  "You won't fall asleep anytime soon, will you?"

"Mmm, maybe I will, maybe I won't, but I'll probably wake up every time you move," he intoned, nuzzling his nose in her hair again.

She sighed again.  "You better not try anything."

"I gave you my word."

"Mmm," she said, snuggling into him.

"Going to sleep here?" he questioned, a smile twitching at his lips.

"Mmm," she answered, rubbing her face in the soft, silk shirt he wore.

The smile broke through, though Kagome could not see it.  He let go of her fingers and folded his arms around her.  Not much later, he could feel her body relax totally in his arms, notifying him of her dormant form.  He also relaxed and then, he, too, let the waves of sleep wash over him.  I'm happy with Kagome.