I promise it doesn't stay depressing! It gets better I swear. Thanks for reading. –Ainsley
Rin stepped out of her white civic and walked around to the opposite side. She felt so out of place with her white car amongst the other various black ones. She however could not afford to rent a black car for the occasion, as it seemed everyone else had done. She opened the back passenger door and an already unbuckled Kyou slid out. His tiny fancy dress shoes lightly pressed into the damp grass. His face was stoic, he shed no tears and his suit was stiff and unwrinkled, Kyou wasn't a child today, he was a mourning son.
She remembered bringing him home that night. He had woken up in the car. Rin cringed at the memory, "where's daddy?" His innocent voice rang out like sirens in the eerie quiet of Rin's car. "Mama needed a break and some alone time with daddy, she asked that you came with me." She looked in the rearview mirror, she could see him in the glow the streetlights caused in the backseat. The little gears in his mind were turning, but he didn't say anything. He laid his head against the side of his car seat and glanced out the window. The rest of the car ride home was silent. She had expected Kagome to call, to question where her child was, but her phone remained silent. She hoped Kagome was okay, the death wasn't sudden, but it was still painful. Death was always painful, she remembered being the newly orphaned child at her parent's funeral. She had only been eleven when they had died, she remembered the way everyone looked down on her in pity. She glanced back at Kyou, she didn't want him to have to deal with the same.
The night had gone by simple, she and the boy stayed up and watched superhero movies. Kyou stayed often, and Rin had almost as much stuff at her house for him that he had at home. 'He's only four years old.' She felt a tear slip down her cheek. The bastard that handed him off to her expected her to shatter the little one's world and explain to him that he would never see his father again. She felt a surge of anger, 'he's his guardian, he should have to tell him!' She glanced down at him playing with Legos on the floor. How do you break the news to a child? They don't even understand what death is.
The night went by in a false calamity, Rin wasn't ready to break the news yet. She awoke the next morning to hear cartoons on her TV. She glanced at her alarm clock, it was seven in the morning. She had a text on her phone saying the funeral was tomorrow. Rin groaned, she would have to go get the boy a suit. She rolled out of bed and walked to her bathroom, turning her shower on so she could relax before all hell broke loose.
Kyou shuffled around as he was being poked as his suit was being altered. Rin sat back in her seat and watched his confused expression as he followed the instructions to raise his arms, "Aunty Rin I don't understand why I have to wear my fancy clothes. Are we going to a party?" Rin felt her throat close up as she tried to hold back a sob. She looked up at the tailor who eyed her with pity, "do you mind?" Rin eyed the tailor and he shook his head no, excusing himself to the back. Rin sat down on the floor next to the small boy. She patted the ground next to her and he came to sit with her. She scooped him up into her lap and held him close, "Kyou do you know what heaven is?" He gave her a curious glance, "Mama says heaven is a place where sick people go for vacation." Rin smiled, Kagome wasn't much good at explaining things. "Yes that's right, when people go to heaven, they go to a really beautiful place, with lots of flowers and sunshine. It's beautiful and it makes sick people better and sad people happy." Kyou smiled, "I want to go to heaven!" Rin laughed, the boy was still so innocent, "well, when people go to heaven, they go there for a permanent vacation. They have to stay there, forever and ever. But it's not a sad thing when people go to heaven, it's a good thing, and it makes them very happy." Kyou frowned, "Aunty Rin why are we talking about heaven?" Rin knew she had to get to the point eventually and sighed, "Your dad has been very sick for a very long time. God didn't want to see your daddy sick any more, God wanted him to come to heaven to be with him and to be better." Kyou looked down for a moment, "that's okay, then daddy will get better, and he will come home." Rin sighed again, she just didn't want to break his heart. An idea popped in her head, "do you know how in Spiderman, Peter's uncle died?" Kyou nodded his head, Spiderman was one of his favorites. "Peter's uncle never came back, because he went to heaven." Kyou's brow furrowed. "So you have to die to go to heaven?" Rin nodded, she watched as he slowly clicked the pieces together. "So daddy went to heaven?" Rin nodded. "Daddy died?" Rin felt tears slip out of her eyes as she watched the little boy's eyes begin to get misty. "Daddy went to heaven." This time he didn't ask a question, he just stated what Rin had been trying to tell him. He began to cry, which made Rin cry. They sat on the floor in the fitting room and cried. The little boy's life was forever altered.
Rin grabbed his hand as they walked across the grassy field. Rin squeezed his hand and knelt down next to him, "Do you remember what I told you about today?" Kyou nodded. That morning she had been tying his tie and explaining to him where they were going. "We are going to see your father one last time. He's going to be laying in a really soft bed in a box. He's going to look like he's sleeping. I don't want you to be scared, he wouldn't want you to either. I'm going to take you to tell him goodbye. Just act like he's sleeping and you're telling him goodnight." Kyou nodded and she continued, "When everyone says goodbye, we are going to put him in his grave, the grave is in the ground." Kyou interrupted, "but isn't the ground dirty? I don't want daddy to be dirty." Rin brushed lint off his overcoat and smiled sadly, "he won't be dirty he will be in his pretty bed. His bed has a lid on it that will keep him safe from all the yucky stuff." Kyou nodded, still seeming to be unsure about the grave, "you get to help bury him." He perked up a little, "how?" Rin smiled and grabbed his hand to walk him towards the door, "when he is put in the ground, you and mommy get to pick some of the dirt up and throw it on top of the grave. Only you and mommy, along with your grandparents get to do that, it makes you special." Kyou smiled a little. "I get to help daddy like always." Rin smiled and walked with him out to the car.
They approached the church, Rin saw some men standing outside of the church talking. She recognized a few of them from Kyou's past birthday parties and plays, but many of them were still foreign to her. "Kyou, mommy's going to be here, and she's going to be upset. Don't be worried about mommy, its ok to cry when someone goes to heaven. She just misses him, you can miss him and cry too. Crying is going to help you feel better. I just want you to hug mommy when she cries and tell her that it's okay." Kyou nodded and they walked up the steps to the church. She noticed the men eyeing her and the boy, she could see the pity in their eyes. Kyou didn't notice, but she did. It was so painful to be the child of a dead parent, everyone just saw you and was reminded of your mother or father. Everyone would look at you with teary eyes, they would suddenly miss their son or daughter when they looked at you. She prayed that they wouldn't kill Kyou with their glances.
Sesshomaru was discussing things with his father inside. It was a rainy and dreary day. 'No better day for a funeral could exist.' He eyed his brother's wife, now widow, she was sitting in the front row pew with her face in her hands. Women were all around her with their hands rubbing her shoulders and back gently. He sighed, funerals were his least favorite function, "ah the boys here." His father had turned to face the doorway, he saw Kyou walk in with his hand in the woman's who got him from the hospital. She was murmuring to him, keeping him from crying. He looked scared and terribly out of place, a child had no business being at a funeral. They walked up to Kagome, the little boy patted his mother's legs and she opened her eyes and wailed, scooping him up into her shaking arms. He saw the woman, 'I think her name was Rin,' walk towards the casket in the front of the church. She peered into the expensive coffin at his dead brother. She seemed to have concern etched all over her face. Sesshomaru stepped up to approach the woman, curiosity had gotten the better of him, "how do you know my brother?" He glanced down at his brother's waxy stiff body. The woman jumped at the sound of his low voice, "I'm Kagome's cousin, I used to hang around the house a lot, especially when Inuyasha was sick." He nodded his head, the woman was basically his brother's babysitter for his son. She leaned down and kissed his cheek and whispered something to him, then she turned and walked away.
He couldn't stand not knowing what she had told his dead brother so he followed her to the door. He grabbed her arm as she had slipped out into the bone chilling cold, "what did you say to him?" She shrugged her arm out of his grip and stared at him, her eyebrow cocked in wonder, "I don't care, I'm just curious." She choked out a laugh, "I just told him I promise to keep Kyou and Kagome safe." He nodded and they locked eyes for a moment, she blushed and walked down the steps of the church leaving him standing at the door alone.
The burial was long and miserable, there were so many tears and moans, he held an umbrella up above his and Kagome's head. The preacher droned about how good of a man he was as they lowered the casket into the grave. Sesshomaru sighed, this was too much emotion for him. The preacher called Kagome forward to say her final goodbye, she scooped the little boy up and walked up with a single rose in her hand, she whispered something to Kyou and handed it to him. He threw it in the hole on top of the casket and she stepped back to her original spot. He stepped forward along with his father and his father's wife to toss the ceremonial dirt in on top of the grave. The dirt was more like caked mud when they got to it, leaving a brown, grimy stain on his hand. The things he did for his brother, even after he stopped breathing.
Rin wanted to escape the confines of the depressing funeral, as well as her constricting heels, but she stayed for Kagome. She and Kagome sat together at the dinner and sipped wine. Kagome was becoming drunk and she was wailing about everything that she had done wrong. Rin felt miserable and out of place, she felt like she shouldn't be there at the intimate gathering. She picked at the cheese and crackers on her plate and sighed. Kyou came running towards the table, he had found some of his cousins to play with after the funeral, his sadness over his father's death temporarily forgotten. "Aunty Rin! Come play with us!" He glanced at his mother, and lowered his eyes. Rin knew he felt uncomfortable around his mother's sadness so she decided to go with him to keep away from his mother.
Sesshomaru took a puff of his cigar and leaned against the wall outside of the church, the ice in his class of whiskey clinked as he moved. His father and some of he and Inuyasha's business partners were talking quietly and sipping scotch. He personally was just ready to be at home. He looked down from where he was standing and eyed the children playing. They were laughing and giggling getting their fancy outfits their parents splurged on wet and covered with mud. His nephew ran up and hid behind his legs, his muddy hands wrapped around his thigh. He scowled, "what is it that you are doing? Remove your hands from me." He nudged the little boy away from him with his knee and the boy gave him a sheepish smile, "sorry uncle Sesshomaru. Hey! Do you want to play with us?" He rolled his eyes, children were not his area of expertise. "No." He took a puff of his cigar and ignored the boy. His harsh words did nothing to deter the boy. He tugged his pants leg, "come onnnnn Uncle Sesshomaru." He opened his mouth to snap at the kid for continuing to muddy his expensive slacks when he heard a sweet bell-like voice, "Kyou leave the man alone, he's obviously in a sour mood." He looked up from his obnoxious nephew to be faced with that Rin woman once again. She beckoned towards the boy and he released Sesshomaru's pants to walk to her. He was insulted, he was definitely not in a sour mood, but even if he were he had every right to be, it was his brother's funeral after all. He did not like the woman's tone about him whatsoever. "I'll have you know I am not in a bad mood, but nonetheless will I be agitated with a child and his silly games." She just stared at him, "whatever." She shrugged and walked off with the boy. He was infuriated, she blatantly disrespected him and held no manners towards him. Didn't she know who he was? He could have her bankrupt and out on the streets at the snap of his fingers. He was livid with the mousy woman. He eyed her playing with the children down below. The woman herself was rather childish. She had taken her pumps off and was running around with the children, she had mud between her toes, her polish on her toenails was chipped and a childish green color. He rolled his eyes, why should he be concerned with such an immature creature. She eyeballed him staring at her and she stuck her tongue out at him. His eyes widened, 'a child indeed' he thought as he put his cigar out and walked inside.
Rin didn't know what had overcome her, she simply did not like the man, he clearly had a stick up his ass and she couldn't stand him. She smirked in satisfaction when she saw his shocked gaze when she vulgarly stuck her tongue out at him. She snorted when he walked back inside and continued to play with the children. 'Arrogant bastard'
Sesshomaru strolled to where Kagome was sitting. She had been trying to seclude herself all night thinking no one would notice. Sesshomaru wasn't going to be the one to point out that everyone noticed. His father and his father's wife were sitting quietly with her. They stood up and left when he approached the table. He quickly realized that they were more than willing to dump her off on someone else when he saw that she was extremely intoxicated. She slurred her words as she spoke, "we should fuck." His eyebrows rose sky high at her vulgarity. His dad, who was still in hearing range, snorted. Sesshomaru scowled, they set him up. "Kagome I think we need to discuss Kyou." She rubbed her hand up his thigh, "let's discuss later." He peeled her hand from his leg and in a serious tone replied, "I have no desire to take advantage of an innocent woman." She giggled, "Trust me I'm not innocent." He motioned the waiter over for a drink, he absolutely could not deal with this sober. He took his glass of whiskey from the waiter and turned back to Kagome. "Kagome I think Kyou should live with your friend Rin. You're not stable enough to raise a child right now." She leaned over in her chair and kissed his ear, "Who's Kyou?" She moaned quietly. He groaned, this was going nowhere fast. He shoved her off of him and walked towards his father, "jackass." He stated and his dad laughed along with Izayoi. "Trust me, we've been hearing it for the past thirty minutes. I thought your father would crack and agree to bed the poor woman finally, but you arrived. Thank goodness for that." He took a sip of his drink, this night was slowly falling apart. "I am ready to return home." He gave his father a cold glare and eyed the people surrounding them. The dining hall that was located on the church grounds was marvelous, and it was filled to the brim with mourners. The sea of black that surrounded them was suffocating. He sighed, he was ready to leave, "have someone take Kagome home. I am about to leave myself." He walked away sitting his now empty glass on a waiter's tray and lost himself in the crowd. Distant family members offered their condolences and patted him on the shoulders, some gave tearful looks of pity, and others eyed him with curiosity. He found his destination and walked out of the front doors.
Rin was sitting on the front steps of the dining hall enjoying the cool air, it was so crowded in the big room and she needed a break from her rambunctious godson. She saw a figure walk past her, she looked up in time to see silver hair swaying behind the person. She scoffed when she realized who it was and his body froze and turned around, "that is very unladylike and equally as unattractive." He stared at her, she felt her ears redden, Inuyasha was a jerk sometimes but this man made him look like an angel. "What is your name?" She asked innocently, "Sesshomaru, why is that important?" She laughed, "I needed to know what name to write in my death note." He rolled his eyes and strolled closer to her. "I think you would have more respect for the man who your closest friend will now rely on for everything she needs." She thought about that for a moment. He was right, now that Inuyasha was gone, Kagome was completely alone and had no financial support, nor emotional support. She was a little shocked that this man was stepping up to suddenly play daddy and husband to Kagome and her son. She felt a little guilty, he was obviously nicer than she gave him credit for if he was willing to do that much for her mourning friend. She stared at him, he looked a lot like his brother, only maybe more handsome. His hair was longer and more silver than Inuyasha's. He was taller, and slimmer, but still seemed to have muscle layered on top of his lean figure. However they had the same golden eyes. Speaking of his eyes, they were boring into hers, causing her to blush. She stuttered, forgetting that he had ever said anything, "I-I apologize." He continued to stare at her, "you are Rin?" She nodded dumbly, "I guess we better get used to one another, seeing as we will be Kyou's caretakers for the next few months." She nodded he spoke again, "I will bring Kyou home tonight, but I ask that you pick him up tomorrow." Before she could respond he walked down the stairs and disappeared. She sighed, she figured it couldn't be so bad to spend more time with the handsome jerk.
Reviews please? Thanks for reading. -Ainsley