Ten years. He'd said his mother had been like that for ten years. It may not be long for a youkai of his calibre, but to see his mother and be reminded of it daily—
Kagome pulled him close, ignoring the pain in her side as she wrapped her arms around him. "Kagura chose her own path. Even coming to you had a purpose. She protected your mother until her very last breath."
The air around them was stagnant, but she just squeezed him harder, tendrils of reiki sliding up his body in a comforting caress.
"You would've known if she had any regrets."