{22}

Nostalgia

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to do.

After a whole afternoon spent playing hide and seek in the vast gardens of the fortress, Kagome's mood had taken a turn for the worst and she was now crying in a corner of their shared rooms. It came suddenly and with no warning: as soon as they returned to the shiro, when their laughter was starting to fade into tiredness, the little girl simply… collapsed. Nothing he had said or done to try and cheer her up a bit seemed to reach her in her sudden melancholia.

She had even turned away from him when he had tried to soothe her the inu way – with low growls and purrs, something that had proved to be successful the first time; but now, his tiny Kagome hadn't even wanted him close enough, preferring the solitude of her blankets and breaking his heart a little.

The young lord had never felt so helpless. He hadn't seen her cry with such desperation since that first time in his father's tent, back when he had brought her in their camp; however now he didn't detect any fear from her scent, only a deep sorrow, and her silent tears worried him far more than her scared crying did.

He could only think of one thing to do: ask for his mother's intervention.

So, he grudgingly left Kagome alone – huddled under the covers of their bedding, sniffing and trembling – and practically ran all the way towards his mother's private chamber.

The Inu No Kimi had been spending her late afternoon indoors, going through the lulling movements of her calligraphy exercises. Her left hand kept the long fabric of the other sleeve away from the paper, while her dominant hand held the horsehair brush perfectly perpendicular to the sheet as she had been taught, many centuries ago. The smell of the ink and the soft swish of the brush helped her maintain a state of relaxation that few other things were able to; and she would probably have kept doing it until it was time to dine with her mate, if her son hadn't brusquely broken into her chambers as if bloodthirsty enemies were hot on his heels.

The Lady couldn't help but flinch, thus ruining her exercise with a sharp line against the paper; yet the only outward reaction she let him see was a single raised eyebrow.

"Is this how you have been taught to enter a room, pup?"

However, her son didn't seem to register her scolding. He bowed too quickly to be considered proper, and when he looked at her Inu No Kimi could see his face's marks jagged and darker, and his eyes tinted with red: she had never seen her son looking quite so distressed, and something akin fear made her focus all her attention on what he was – and was not – saying.

"Mother – mother, Kagome-chan, she's-"

A thin wrinkle appeared in between her eyebrows. "What happened to the man-cub?"

"I don't know", the young lord admitted, his voice almost a whine. "Please, mother, come and look at her. She won't answer to me, she just keeps crying and I don't understand—"

"Hush, pup, quiet down", she soothed him, putting her brush and scrolls away and standing up with natural grace. "I shall see to her, I'm sure it is nothing that cannot be resolved."

Sesshoumaru only barely restrained himself from dragging his Lady Mother all the way to Kagome – and only because the demoness, sensing the urgency of the situation, didn't waste time and walked with purpose.

The Western Lady went quickly through some questions for her son as to assess the situation – did something happen while they were playing outside? Had someone said something hurtful? Had the man-cub hurt herself? – to which Sesshoumaru answered could only answer negatively, for he had been with her the whole time and nothing strange had happened that would justify Kagome's strong reaction.

The demoness was sincerely worried when they finally came upon her son's chambers. She slid the door open and preceded Sesshoumaru inside, her fine senses converging immediately to the trembling lump of blankets balled up on the futon.

Without a word, Inu No Kimi started shedding the outer layers of her kimono, discarding them on the floor where she stood before crossing the room to Kagome. She knelt on the bedding next to her, and murmured something so softly that not even Sesshoumaru could hear her from the brief distance.

But the young prince could see his friend pause, then her dark hair peeked out from the blankets and she nodded, almost timidly, trying to breathe through her hiccups.

His mother then opened her arms towards her, and cautiously asked her, "May I hold you, child?"

Kagome now nodded furiously; and didn't need any further coaxing before seeking refuge in the Western Lady's arms with such ease that she seemed to be born from her.

"M-mama", poor Kagome sobbed, grabbing the silky robe of the demoness and curling into her breast.

The Western Lady felt something twist in her stomach, and tightened her hold on the child. Her clawed fingers ran gently through the dark tresses of the little human, uncaring of her tears staining her garments or her tiny hands wrinkling the precious fabric. She nuzzled her crown and instinctively started to rock her, like she used to do with her own son when the pup was much, much younger.

The human buried her tear-stained face against her chest, trembling with hiccups, asking for her mother.

"There, there, sweet one", the Inu No Kimi murmured. "Mother is here."

Sesshoumaru stood aside, nervously twisting his fingers as he waited with baited breath that his mother did her magic to placate Kagome. He wished he could go to them, but feared that his presence wouldn't be well received at present; he would much rather wait – anything, for her to stop crying as if her heart was breaking.

That didn't mean that he enjoyed the situation, nor his evident uselessness.

As if sensing his distress, his mother turned briefly to him. "Ask the servants to bring us some tea", she instructed softly.

Sesshoumaru knew a dismissal when he heard one – so he simply nodded and turned to leave, reassured that his Kagome was now in the much capable hands of his Lady Mother. So that what that was – the little girl missed her family so much that her spirit eventually couldn't hold it in anymore, leading to a heart-wrenching breakdown. Kagome had been with them for a few weeks already, and all things considered she had managed to take everything in stride and with a bubbling happiness that made everyone at the fortress in some way or another fond of her.

However, Sesshoumaru was no fool – he knew that at times she struggled to fall asleep, and he felt her troubled gaze on him anytime he interacted with his parents.

And despite his less than noble jealousy, he couldn't help but feel grateful for the new friends she had made as they managed to distract her and keep her entertained when his duties engaged him elsewhere.

With a worried sigh, he hurried to the kitchens. He trusted Kagome with the Western Lady, but he still couldn't bear the thought of not being by her side when she was clearly suffering so much.

And for the first time, a fleeting thought emerged in Sesshoumaru's concerned mind – maybe, maybe his Kagome-chan wasn't destined to stay with him, after all.

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Word count: 1253 words.

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A/N. Well, that was bound to happen at some point. Poor Kagome :(
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