Sesshomaru watched the sun rise with a sense of calm. It's been many thousands of years since he allowed himself this small pleasure. It seemed like his job as general was never quite finished; even now, he could feel the tug and beckon of nearby souls, begging for their god, death or simply to be put out of their misery. He ignored the calls and took a deep inhale of the morning air. Simple pleasur-
"Ryuk? Ryuk! Ryuk, where are you?"
The inuyoukai didn't particularly like that name (it sounded like a bratty, snotty nosed, stuck up asshole kid) but for whatever reason, he couldn't bring himself to tell this old woman who he really was. He hadn't been able to get back into character yet but to be honest, he wasn't in any hurry. He was going to enjoy this little vacation until the wheels fell off.
He stood and casually walked right off the roof of the little house and landed in the backyard, in front of the kitchen window where Kaede was leaning out, her mouth fixed to call his "name" again.
The old woman jumped, her hand on her chest. "Goodness, Ryuk! You scared me half to death!"
Sesshomaru smirked. If that was the case, he only needed to scare her one more time before she gave up the ghost and he could sweet-talk it into following him to Hell.
Kaede took a few deep breaths then adjusted her glasses and cleared her throat. "Would you be a dear and pick up my medicine for me? The pharmacy called and said if I didn't come get them, they were going to trash them and I need them. Here, let me get my purse then you can drive my car"
The demon looked over his shoulder at the rusty metal trap she referred to as a car and frowned. "No thanks. I'll walk"
"Y-you'll do what now? Ryuk, it's fifteen miles away, you can't walk that far in this weather!"
He made a show of looking up at the sky which only had a few clouds. The temperature was kind of cool with the oncoming smell of fall and a slight breeze; what was this woman talking about?
Kaede sighed then chuckled. "You're right, you're a grown man. You can make your own decisions and if you want to walk then so be it. Wait here, I'll get my wallet"
Sesshomaru waited patiently, briefly wondering if getting this woman's medications was really something he felt like was his problems. If she didn't have her meds, she'd die and he'd have one more soul under his belt, not to mention, there was no point in putting off the inevitable. These doctors were not God; they couldn't delay death forever. But once more, he found himself accepting her money when she brought it back and a Post-It with her date of birth.
"They'll ask you to verify my birthday and name when you try to pick it up. I assume it's so the wrong person doesn't get your meds but who in the world would want to steal blood pressure & seizure medicine?" Kaede murmured.
"What is your last name?" Sesshomaru asked and frowned when Kaede laughed.
"Mine is the same as yours, silly. Your father was not the type to take on the last name of his wife. Now go on before the pharmacy closes and by the time you come back, dinner will be ready"
The inuyoukai gritted his teeth in irritation as she walked away and absentmindedly noticed she was limping a little. What was so hard about just simply telling him her last name?! That would've been much more convenient than that explanation about his father!
Sesshomaru slipped back into the house and closed then locked the door. He was going to have to find something with her name on it without her knowing. My, how the mighty of fallen: a damn general of a demon army sneaking around to find out information about an old human woman. His father would flay him upside down and laugh while he did it if he ever found out.
First things first: what would have her full name on it and where would it be? He knew some people like hanging those papers up from their colleges that congratulated them on finishing their degree. Kaede was old, he was almost sure once, maybe a long, long…long time ago, she went to college. He'd never seen anything of that nature hanging up in her living room or dining room. He checked anyway, scanning the walls quickly while he kept hidden behind the door frame of the dining room. Kaede was sipping on her tea and reading a book so thankfully, slipping by her was going to be a breeze. Just as he was getting ready to walk by and into the hallways that led to the bedrooms, Kaede put her book down and rubbed her forehead.
"Dear, God. This headache is hurting me something awful…" she murmured to herself then stood up.
Sesshomaru froze for a second then, just as she walked into the kitchen, he slipped into the pantry, shutting the door until it was only a crack where he could watch her. Kaede got her teapot out of her cabinet, filled it with hot water and set it on the stove. She rubbed her eyes a few times, groaning [which is when Sesshomaru noticed she wasn't wearing her glasses] and sat down as she waited for the water to boil. He listened to a tune she began to hum and wondered briefly where the melody came from before Kaede slapped her hand to her knee as if she'd just remembered something.
"Can't have tea without my honey" she murmured to herself and began walking right over to the pantry.
'Shit, shit, shit, shit…'
The pantry wasn't big enough for Sesshomaru to hide anywhere [curse this inconvenience of having to hide from an old human in the first place!]. He glanced around quickly, mind racing, trying to find a solution, before he made the impulsive decision to grab the bottle of honey to his right and toss it out of the door where it slid across the kitchen floor.
Kaede put a hand to her chest in shock. "Oh my! Either I have ghosts or this thing just suddenly got a mind of its own!
As she turned her back to the pantry door to bend over and pick the bottle up, Sesshomaru slipped out and into the hallway where he watched her from around the corner. Whew, that was close! If she saw him, she'd more than likely have a heart attack and he could drag her to Hell but…well, he couldn't find a reason not to do just that but it didn't feel right. Her time would come and then he'd cross that bridge when he got to it.
Kaede continued murmuring to herself about the honey having a mind of its own as Sesshomaru made his way to her bedroom. Boy, if he thought the living room was cramped, it had nothing on her room. Papers stacked high almost to the ceiling, books were pretty much on every surface, little figurines, keepsakes, Christmas ornaments and random pieces of candy were everywhere. The only visible part of the carpet was the path from the door to her queen sized bed that sagged in the middle. The smell of old people was a lot stronger here. The inuyoukai had to breathe through his mouth as he carefully made his way through the medium-sized room. Why was he inconveniencing himself for a stupid human? This was absolutely ridiculous, stooping so low as to help a human…a human! They were going to die anyway, why bother trying to help them survive a little longer? There were so many things he could be doing with his time and here was, sneaking around to find the last name of an old biddy so he could get her damn prescription!
Sesshomaru made his way to her walk-in closet but didn't find anything so he slipped into the guest bedroom where he was resting in at night. He'd never paid attention to the walls before but now noticed pictures of who he assumed were family members: infants and children, dogs and cats, an old man and a teenager [who he assumed was Ryuk. He looked nothing like the boy!]. He turned away from the photos, huffing, and scanned the walls. There were several dusty trophies beside the tv but they all had Kaede S. on it. Alright, at least he had the first letter…
"Ohh, it's already five o' clock…"
The inuyoukai pressed himself against the wall as Kaede walked by the room, murmuring to herself and wringing her hands in worry.
"It'll be dark soon. I hope he doesn't get lost. I knew I shouldn't have let him walk! Oh dear, I should call the police. His mother's going to be so upset! Ohh, dear…"
Sesshomaru sighed inaudibly and rolled his eyes to the ceiling, asking himself once more why was he even bothering with this old lady before he slipped out the room through the window and teleported behind the nearest CVS Pharmacy. He was just going to have to wing it and hope for the best [or choke the pharmacist out as a last resort]. He made his way to the front of the store and through the doors where a blast of cool air blew his bangs off his forehead.
"Hello, welcome to CVS" some cashier said to his right, behind the counter.
He ignored her and made his way to where a pharmacist was doing something on the computer. She glanced up as he approached and smiled.
"Hi, how can I help you tonight?"
"I need to pick up prescription for…my grandmother" Sesshomaru started off, swallowing around the uncomfortable lump in his throat at having to acknowledge he was going to play along with loony old woman's fantasy of being visited by her grandson.
"Ok, what is the prescription number?" the pharmacist asked.
"I…I do not know…"
"Do you know her social security number?"
"…No…"
"Ok, what's her full name then?"
"Kaede…S…"
"Kaede S? Like E-s-s or…?"
The inuyoukai was starting to become annoyed. He hadn't properly thought this out. "I'm in kind of a hurry. My…grandmother needs her medication or she's going to have a seizure then we'll have to call the ambulance then they'll poke and prod her until she's blue and purple all over then a month from that day, she'll get a statement in the mail about the two thousand dollars she owes on top of the bills she already has!"
The pharmacist blinked a few times in shock, her hand halfway between her chest and her mouth before she swallowed and typed a few things in. "Ok…ok. I have a Kaede Sukuro and a Kaede Shikon. Umm…Ms. Sukuro is fifty eight…I don't think she's old enough to be your grandmother…"
Sesshomaru huffed. Was this human implying he looked like some baby?!
"But Ms. Shikon…does that last name sound familiar? Ms. Shikon with a prescription for Prazosin and Trileptal?"
The demon nodded once, hoping she had the right Kaede or his "grandmother" was really going to be feeling good, high on someone else's drugs.
"Ok…" the pharmacist murmured, typed a few more things then leaned forward, "Please keep this quiet. I could get fired and lose my license if they ever found out I didn't go through protocol to ensure you got the right meds"
The young general watched the woman step to the back with a raised eyebrow. In the middle of her explanation, the first thing that came to mind is, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a fuck" but he was glad he didn't say it. He'd never admit out loud [or even to himself] that he just wanted the blasted meds so he could take it to Kaede. He briefly wondered if he was beginning to care about the old biddy but he was distracted by the pharmacist coming back with a white bag.
She held it out to him with a smile. "Here, ya go. That'll be twelve dollars even"
Sesshomaru slipped a twenty from the wallet Kaede gave him [he had every intention of paying her back] and placed it in her hand before he turned on his heel and walked away, ignoring her cries for him to come back for his change. She could keep it; he had somewhere he needed to be at the moment.
When he made it back to Kaede's house, he was just lifting his hand up to knock on the door when it was snatched open and a teary-eyed Kaede stared him in the face, panting a little.
"I apologize for taking too long. They...had trouble finding your medications" Sesshomaru murmured.
The old woman snatched him into a tight hug, her wet face pressed against the top of his abdomen. "Don't you ever scare me like that again, Ryuk. I was…I was worried sick"
The inuyoukai hesitantly patted the top of her head, swallowing around the uncomfortable lump in his throat. "Ah…I am sorry…"
Kaede took a few more minutes to get herself together then stepped back, clearing her throat and straightening out his shirt. "Well then…now that you're home safe and sound, let's have some tea and cake, shall we?"
As she turned on her heel to walk towards the kitchen, Sesshomaru stepped into the house and closed the door behind him, a smirk fixed onto his face. She was silly, worrying about him like he was a child…but he liked her.