A/N: Any italicized sentences are read as Sesshomaru's thoughts. We shift to the 1860s, when Sesshomaru was all but a little pup. Thanks.
One Summer Day
"Wipe off that unsightly pout on your face, son." His father's voice drifted through the warm breeze. "You'll be giving our hosts the wrong impression."
The little pup whined as he looked up to the tall Daiyoukai beside him. The last of the cherry blossoms were raining down on their forms, spring was giving way for summer, and Sesshomaru pouted even more.
A sour look held his features.
His legs were already cramping from the thousand steps, and his stomach cringed uncomfortably at the thought of their destination. "Why do we have to make this visit?"
The little pup heard his father chuckle. "Congratulations are due for the Higurashi family," his father simply answered, as the little pink blossoms fell on top of the small box he was holding. Touga had to wipe the petals away. "Wouldn't you want to meet her? Their baby?"
Little Sesshomaru's brows only met. "In case you didn't notice, father, we're not really welcome at the Higurashi shrine."
Touga threw his head back and laughed, the jovial sound ringing through the solemn, sakura-lined grounds. Sesshomaru looked away, his thoughts to himself.
His father was the Ambassador to the Human-Youkai relations, and their family was obliged to keep tabs with the critical, powerful families that influenced history. One such family was the Higurashis, a clan of Priests and Priestesses who were well-renowned for their guardianship of the fabled Shikon Jewel. Most specifically, to Kyoshiro Higurashi,
who bore the pure Shikon blood.
Sesshomaru felt his goosebumps rise, at the mere thought of the High Priest's name. Kyoshiro was as old as his father Touga, and they both had existed in a tumultuous time when the main goal was to wipe out each other's existence off the face of the earth.
"Well," his father's nonchalant voice answered, "I did notice that, son."
He stopped, and reached down to the little boy, playfully messing his white hair. He crouched down to Sesshomaru's eye level, his son's golden eyes looking back with contempt. "Let's just say, that Kyoshiro-sama was brought up to hate youkais since he was a little kid. And it is already ingrained, deep in his mind, that we are his natural enemies."
Sesshomaru huffed.
"But father, you were brought up to think of humans as inferior, why are you not like that towards them? Why do you not hate that race that viewed us as monsters, why don't you feel vengeful towards the people who held holy powers, whose main purpose was to purify us in the past?!"
The little pup breathed, finally able to ask the questions that have been long holding inside. His father only smiled, as he wiped an innocent tear that streaked down his son's face.
"Son, times have changed. And the only thing I can give as an explanation is, I accepted that change, and Kyoshiro-sama did not."
He braced his hands on his son's small shoulders. "Hey, be thankful he doesn't attempt to purify us, each time we visit." He reached out and pinched the pup's nose. "At least he observes the new treaty of peace, whether he likes it or not."
Sesshomaru did not seem to be satisfied at all. "What if he suddenly decides to go away with the treaty?" he asked.
Touga stood up and straightened his kimono. "Son, if that ever happens, we're called Daiyoukai for a very apparent reason," he smirked, dusting yet again the small box he held in his hands. It was their family's gift to the Higurashis, as a welcome greeting for their firstborn who was to inherit the pure Shikon Blood.
Sesshomaru shook his head.
Would that little brat become another youkai-hater, just like its father?
"Sesshomaru, son," His father's voice drifted into his thoughts, and he snapped back to reality. He looked up, his father was nowhere in his sight, and so he ran up the last stretch of stairs to catch up.
He finally reached the last step, and he tried to catch his breath. It was ridiculous, for someone to situate their dwelling so high. He lifted his gaze up to see his father turned towards him, smiling reassuringly.
Sesshomaru had to hold his scattered hair off his face, as the warm summer wind blew. It sent down a beautiful shower of pink blossoms all around, mixed with the falling red leaves of the flagrant flame trees.
The leaves and flowers swayed around him, and he realized, they were finally at the Higurashi dwelling. A very ancient shrine with wooden pillars, arched with cedar beams, nestled in the middle of a Japanese Maple and Sakura forest. Right beside the grandiose memorial was the Higurashi Mansion, a smaller but equally traditional structure considered as a national treasure of the elusive ancient community.
Up overhead was the old Goshinboku, a giant evergreen tree that had witnessed the neverending change of times, and from far away he could hear the little river that hid in the forest behind the safe and secure grounds of the shrine.
With one last look at the beautiful landscape before him, Sesshomaru breathed, steeling himself from the unwelcome gaze of the Patriarch of the Higurashi clan. The little pup ran to his father's side, and taking his hand, made their way towards the sheltered grounds.
He fidgeted. The looks that the patriarch was throwing at them was malicious enough it could well be equated to purification, and when the High Priest opened the gift his father presented to them, the reaction was priceless.
It was as if Kyoshiro's hands were burned.
The little pup was thankful for the presence of another youkai, an older, more powerful one, who also happened to make a visit on the same day. The old youkai only laughed, upon seeing the contents of the gift.
It was a set, a decorative comb and bejeweled hair sticks- and the little pup sighed. He himself, as young as his age, knew what those gifts meant.
"There must have been a mistake," the old youkai laughed, as he slapped Touga's back in mirth. "Kyoshiro-sama, Toga-san surely did not know what these gifts symbolize."
Sesshomaru glared at his father who sat beside him.
"Gomen, everyone, but I think I'm missing something here." Touga apologized, but Sesshomaru bit down his tongue. He saw that secret smirk laced on his father's smile, the one he would always wear when he was up to something mischievous.
He knew the meaning behind those gifts. That was meant to be a courting item, from the hopeful's family when they were asking for the daughter's hand in marriage.
His father was taunting Kyoshiro-sama, he wanted to infuriate the strict priest.
Hopefully, this is meant to be a joke.
Who would want to be involved in such an uptight, intimidating family.
He hid a fanged, low growl at the thought of his hatred towards the Higurashis. Why was the youkai community constantly at their feet, trying to win their favor? All for the sake of peace? He did not like the thought of it at all. Kyoshiro-sama clearly did not want himself and his family to be involved in the treaty. Why not just leave them alone?
Angered, the little child stood up.
"Son?" Touga called out, from which the pup bowed and excused himself.
"I'm just going to step outside and look around." Sesshomaru exited the door before anyone could hold him back.
The very air of the mansion was suffocating, Kyoshiro-sama's hatred towards them was so evident he was surprised his father, deemed one of the strongest in the Youkai community, had put up with it. As he breathed in the fresh air of the grounds, Sesshomaru sank his feet on the soft grass and made his way barefoot to the quiet of the large shrine. He peeked behind the large wooden doors, and a few people were offering their prayers, some guests were talking to each other quietly at the sides.
The smell of burning incense wafted into his sensitive nose.
He drew back and covered his mouth, holding a sneeze that threatened to destroy the solemn atmosphere. Not wanting to disturb the patrons, he darted off quickly. He ran past the scattered rows of Sakura and Maple, and hid behind the nearest sheltering, towering entity- the Goshinboku.
He finally let out his torture, and he heaved a sigh of relief.
A soft, demure laugh rose from beside him, and he turned towards the source. It was the kimono-clad form of Anna Higurashi, Kyoshiro-sama's wife.
"Bless you, Sesshomaru-chan," she smiled. The sun's rays peeked through the gaps of the giant tree's canopy, creating little patches of light on their forms, and on the lulling grass below them. Anna was leaning on the broad trunk of the evergreen, holding a small bundle in her arms. The swaddle moved, and she carefully shifted the precious cargo to her other arm.
"Your sneeze woke her up," Anna teased, and the little pup's cheeks flushed red.
"Ahh, Gomen nasai!" the little boy bowed, all flustered and in the verge of panic. Anna only laughed.
"It's okay, Sesshomaru-chan. She doesn't mind. Now she is awake, she will be able to see the beauty of the world. You see, she especially loves looking at the sky. That's why I take her outside all the time, on the fierce orange sunrise, the golden sunsets, and the blue afternoons in between."
"Really?" Sesshomaru leaned over, his curiosity getting the best of him. Anna smiled at him sweetly, her aura emitting genuine happiness and love as her cool blue eyes settled on the form of the small bundle.
"Yes," she tilted her head towards Sesshomaru, her dark brown hair swaying in the gentle summer breeze. "Would you like to meet her? My little Kagome?"
The pup stepped back, the blush on his cheeks rising ever more. "Will she want to? I- I don't want to scare her away," he blurted out, and he was restless. He combed his fingers through his white hair in attempts to hide his pointed ears, "She might see my ears," his innocent golden eyes grew wide as he covered his mouth. "My fangs, she might get frightened with my fangs-"
"Sesshomaru-chan," Anna laughed softly, "what are you so scared of?"
The little pup remained silent for long moments, but Anna was patient. She waited, while the wind rustled through the leaves of the trees, while the birds fluttered from one branch to another,
she waited until the little patches of sunlight streamed like little golden rivers of light on their quiet forms.
"I'm afraid she might hate me," Sesshomaru finally said, as he absently reached out and caught a blood-red maple leaf on his hand. "Just like how her father does."
Anna shifted as she straightened her lavender kimono. With that calm, patient smile she always greeted them whenever they would come to visit, she leaned towards him.
"She won't hate you, Sesshomaru-chan. In fact, I think she likes you.
She smiles whenever she hears your voice."
Anna remained silent, as she observed the inu pup standing quietly before her.
"She does?" he asked, and Anna nodded her head eagerly. And she tilted her little bundle towards him, and the little boy stepped forward, his nose up in the air, sniffing the little child's mood cautiously.
"Sesshomaru-chan," Anna said softly, "I would like you to meet Kagome, our little shrine girl."
The gentle warm breeze blew against his hair, sending in another shower of pink and red that scattered from the surrounding trees around them,
and Sesshomaru took a deep breath.
The little child with ebony hair and blue eyes, as blue as the sky above them, fearlessly reached out to him, and she wrapped her little fingers around his hesitant hand.
The small, fragile child smiled at him, and he smiled back.
And that moment unconsciously burned in his memories-
Because he realized, in between the sway of the trees, the soft lullaby of the wind caressing his cheeks, the drifting, weightless clouds of the endless blue sky, something had changed.
And he knew he would never forget this moment,
this warm summer day the sakura blossoms and maple leaves fell like rain,
when the little shrine girl smiled at him
and held his hand for the first time.