Solitary Requiem
He had never been a man who dealt well with emotion. His entire life Sesshoumaru had preferred to bury his feelings deep within his psyche to be examined at a later date that, more often than not, never came. It had earned him a reputation among his peers for being cold, heartless, but he couldn't care less.
The loss he felt following the death of his only brother was treated the same way, even if his reasons for concealing it differed.
Kagome…
The woman was lost in a storm of emotion, drifting listlessly through the days following the accident. Sesshoumaru's sense of honor would not allow him to abandon her and so once again, he masked his own pain so that she could draw on the strength that, in the last few days, he didn't always feel he possessed. It was only in unguarded moments like this, when he was alone, that he allowed his emotional walls crumble just a little.
Opening his liquor cabinet, he pulled a bottle of whiskey from the back. Normally, he detested the stuff, preferring the smoother flavors of scotch or bourbon, but he felt the need for something stronger tonight.
For reasons beyond understanding, Kagome had decided to go through Inuyasha's things today, packing up belongings, donating clothes. He knew she wasn't ready for it.
"Hell, I wasn't ready and I'm supposed to be the emotionally constipated one," he muttered, throwing back his drink and pouring another.
Crossing the room, he sank into an overstuffed chair. Sipping the amber liquid now, he winced slightly as it burned its way down. Leaning back and closing his eyes, Sesshoumaru allowed memories of Inuyasha to make their way forward.
As children, the Taisho brothers hadn't been particularly close, most likely due to the 8-year difference in their ages. Inuyasha had been a gruff boy, withdrawn… misunderstood. Sesshoumaru had often brushed aside his younger brother's attempts to gain his attention, a teenager too self-important to care about the problems of his sibling. Their relationship had improved with time, maturity narrowing the gap age had created.
As he sat there, sifting through those memories, many of them tinged with regret, Sesshoumaru realized for the first time just how much he would miss his little brother and for the first time since Inuyasha's death, Sesshoumaru let the barriers fall completely, finally allowing himself to shed his own tears of grief.
A/N: This installment was written for the LiveJournal community, dokuga_contest, and their weekly Perfection prompt, Bury. Sumbmissions were limited to 300 words exactly. Originally posted, April 14, 2010.