Characters and plot belong to their rightful owners.
VI.
The brown, water-based lines swirled in uneven circles, doubling back to re-encounter themselves and darken in places they had already met. The pink and green swirled together to complete the picture: a cherry tree mid-blossom as a red and gold fire-breathing dragon stretched out across the length of the thin paper.
He could see two shadows kneeling behind it, the first holding a teacup to its blurred, black mouth, the cup becoming just a hazy circle as the light hit it.
"Poor Sesshoumaru." The second said, picking up its own teacup.
The first hummed, setting down the teacup in languid strokes of movement that caught his eye. "I remember when he was but a pup – chewing on his father's shoes. His father would be furious, one time he even hit him with a rolled up scroll. Oh! And he never could control his bladder. We had to throw out a lot of furniture because he always peed on it." His mother nodded sagely, bringing the cup to her mouth while the other – whom he had identified as Kagome – tried to stifle her laughter.
There was a silence in which Sesshoumaru held his breath. He knew he could be caught at any time. Finally, it was broken.
"I didn't mean to, though. He'll never forgive me."
His mother sighed. "He's had worse; besides, he needs to be put on a leash. Kami knows he's too spontaneous for his own good. Now let me tell you about the time when we were visiting the Southern Lord –"
Sesshoumaru slipped away from the door, his hand coming up to rest on the string of beads and fangs that rested around his neck. He frowned, his gaze returning to the shadows one last time before he left the room.
They were, after all, only shadows against a shoji screen.
(I promised the next one would be longer, unfortunately I finished it, and hated it completely - it was more plot-based, and I don't like writing plot. What person doesn't like it when his or her mother recounts embarrassing stories to people they may or may not like, hmn? I'm thinking about switching over to Kagome for a time. – Incomprehensible)