Like something out of an eerie, macabre movie, his mother made her way up the stairs. She swayed form side to side ever so slightly and long, white fingers brushed the polished oak banister. Pronounced cheekbones, dark circles under her eyes, an emaciated form, all this coupled with the swaying gait made him want to run, to get away from this apparition. A tear fell down her cheek.
"Oh Sesshomaru, I'm so sorry." She fell to her knees in front of him, pulling him into a hug. New angles, sharp bones and ribs, he could count them now, encircled his small form. He remembered when she had been more than just a bag of bones and flesh, when her skin held firm and muscles were still there.
He was never going to forgive his father for this. He would never forgive the man, sire though he may be, for the pain inflicted on his mother. That bitch, that human bitch, would never hold his respect. That pup she would soon bare would be a constant reminder of his mother's suffering, his father's shame and his eternal hatred. An eternal and everlasting hatred of that child and the bitch's race, those stinking little humans who valued themselves and their lives far too much, he would never forgive them!
Sesshomaru no longer feared his father, no longer loved him. His new goal was to become strong, strong enough to defeat that man and to make his mother happy again. She had only ever suffered for them, put them before her. She cooked, cleaned, cared, bough clothes, did the laundry. Trivial tasks but not ones he would relish doing.
Would that human do them? Would she be any better? Or, would she hire servants, mistreat him, ignore her child and solely cater to the whims of his father? He never wanted to find out but he doubted his mother would ever recover. Deep down, he knew she was dying. He held her a little tighter.
-------
Shizuka gripped her son tightly, letting her tears of regret and hatred for her once-mate soak into the shoulder of her son's shirt. She hated Touga and herself. She had allowed herself to become a shade, a mere wisp of her previous self. Shame burned through her veins and refused to let her eat or sleep. She knew her death was coming, could feel it in her heart. She prayed Touga would have the sense to see that Sesshomaru was raised properly but the man was a fool!
"I must make some, arrangements, so if something happens to me, you shall not be raised by that soft little girl-child."
Sesshomaru looked into his mother's eyes, once bright blue, now they were dull.
"Yes, I understand Momma." Shizuka gave furtive laugh, what a façade they were putting on, they both knew this was the end.
"Please Momma, be strong! How else can you go on? What shame will you bring upon yourself if you let this kill you?" She gave him a weak smile and let him take her to her room.
'You know that the shame has already killed me, my dear son.'