You and Me After All
Chapter 14: Mourn
Kagome felt lucky that her little Shippō was away, and that Kaede-sama and Rin were off to the neighbouring village to help a woman in labour. The less people present to witness her humiliation and heartbreak, the better.
Outside the village, as she stood upon the hill where she had sat with Inuyasha so many times, she wept openly. Bitterly, like a woman mourning a dead husband. All the while, Sesshōmaru and the dragon waited at a distance, giving her the time and privacy she needed to mourn the loss of her old life one last time.
When her tears finally subsided, Sesshōmaru brought Ah-sun over to her side. She stiffened and turned away when he reached for her waist to help her climb up the dragon's back. His hands faltered just for a split second, though he said nothing.
"I don't need help," she told him.
He backed away without a word.
She strapped her little bundle of belonging to her ride's saddle, and secured her bow and arrow to her back. Ah-Un, more sensitive and helpful than his master, lowered himself to the ground so that she could alight with minimum amount of trouble and settle herself on the saddle.
The ache in that tender place between her legs was a constant reminder of what had taken place earlier, and she bit the inside of her cheek. The surge of anger and hatred was not something she was familiar with, and yet, there they were. Her fingers tightened around the dragon's reins so hard that her knuckles turned white.
"You may have the façade of a sophisticated lord," Kagome whispered, her eyes staring at nothing but the gleaming scales along Ah-Un's neck. "But you will always be a beast to me."
She had no idea if he heard her, but she certainly hoped he did.