InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Ours ❯ Kagura 3 ( Chapter 30 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
Sesshomaru didn't speak to me the entire night after I gave him that little hug. He ignored me, acting like I wasn't even there. What is his problem anyway? He could've told me to stop or something if it bothered him that much. Instead, he just stands there like a statue and gets all moody afterwards. Maybe he's mad at himself for allowing it? I swear, the man makes no sense.

"So my son found someone else to look up to, huh?" The old imp in front of us mused. "That's good, I guess. I thought he'd never move on."

She set down a tray of tea in front of us as if she expected us to drink them or something. As if we'd bother with stupid things like that. I don't know why, but I reluctantly picked up a cup and sniffed it. Sesshomaru just sat next to me, staring at a wall.

The place is bare and empty. My guess is that the old imp discovered this hut by itself after the whole incident with her son and just decided to move in. Seeing as how Jaken had basically massacred his entire old "colony", she would have had nowhere else to go.

There is only a stump where her right arm is supposed to be. Images of Zearth cutting it off kept invading my mind. I find it strangely amusing that Jaken's mother has something in common with Sesshomaru.

She took a sip of her tea and pursed her lips, her bulbous eyes drifting to the ceiling. "After his father died, it was like...I don't know. He refused to grow up. He didn't want to move any further in time; he just kept trying to live backwards, if that makes sense. But of course, time isn't something you can turn back, but Jaken didn't seem to want to recognize that. He had to keep moving, he had to deal with the present-but he just wanted to go back to the days when he used to just idolize someone day and night." She sighed. "He found a way to do it, in a way. I always did wonder why he took off so suddenly."

"Did he not contact you?" I asked. "He didn't try to keep in touch with you or anything?"

She shook her head and set down her tea. "No. And Daichi just loved it-he ate it up. He used it as proof that he was right all along and wasted no time in claiming the position for himself." She chuckled. "Of course, it doesn't help that Jaken had been terrible at his job before he left."

Sesshomaru was still staring at the wall to his left, refusing to acknowledge that we were there. He had refused to look at us during the whole visit.

Jaken's mother leaned back against the wall behind her. "As depressing as this is, I'd like to thank you." She cleared her throat. "I'd have learned about this sooner or later, and it's just better to hear it from you rather than a complete stranger."

I scoffed. The last thing I'd want is to be thanked...like I had symphathy or something.

"I always felt like I'd failed Jaken as a mother. That's why he couldn't find pride in himself and was so mentally dependant on his father...because he couldn't rely on me. He didn't mature because he was never shown how." She glanced at Sesshomaru and then slowly closed her eyes. "I don't know why Jaken followed you. But...whatever you did for Jaken, thank you for being there."

Complete silence followed. Even Sesshomaru had turned his head to look at her, waiting for her to act, but she sat still. Her eyes remained shut. I inched closer to her and nudged her, but nothing happened.

It seemed Jaken's mother had passed away in front of us.





"What's wrong with you?" I asked Sesshomaru on our way out. "Are you mad at me or something? Was it that big of a deal?"

Once again, he ignored me and continued walking. He is so frustrating sometimes.

"Dammit, Sesshomaru. I'm about to die in a few. I wanted to at least pretend to be happy." I rolled my eyes.

He walked at a slower pace. "Pretend?"

Why was he asking me that? Did the thought of it being pretend bother him? That made me giddy in a weird way. Tapping my chin with fan, I started pondering about other ways to mess with him; I found it entertaining to see how he'd react.

My silence seemed to make him think; he remained at a slower pace even when he took his eyes off me and back onto the road.

"Did you know about her?" I blurted out randomly. "Jaken's mother, I mean. Or about his life beforehand."

He came to a complete stop, and I swear I saw something flash in his eyes. Then he turned to his left, walking a different path than the one we were on.

"Hey! Where are you going?" I shouted as I walked after him.

"There's something I have to do."





To my surprise, we arrived at a human village and stopped in front of a small hut. I can't even begin to explain the amount of confusion in my mind-what the hell could Sesshomaru want from a human village? Regardless, I stayed my tongue as he knocked on the wall to get the resident's attention. Holy shit, he was being polite.

The door slid open and a little human girl with short hair stepped outside. As soon as she saw us, her eyes widened in fear and stepped back.

"Wh-wh-what are you doing here?" She stuttered.

We heard footsteps behind her as a man with a top knot approached. "Moriko, who is-woah!" His eyes widened as well. The little girl, who I guessed was "Moriko", shuddered and hid behind the man's leg.

I looked at Sesshomaru and raised my eyebrow. Seriously, what the hell?

"Whatever it is you want with me, I am willing to give." The man gulped and hung his head. "I owe her at least that much."

Who he was talking about when he said "her", I could not guess. Moriko came out from behind the man, still shivering, and planted herself in front of him. The look in her eyes was one of pure hatred and determination; she glared at Sesshomaru like she wanted to tear him to pieces.

"You...you would take him away too? One wasn't enough f-for you?" By the way she trembled and stuttered, I could tell she was still scared of him.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes, but not out of anger or annoyance. "That's not why I'm here."

Moriko didn't seem to buy it; she back away from Sesshomaru about two steps, pushing the man back with her. "Then what?"

Then to my utter astonishment, he knelt down to her level so he could look her in the eyes at the same height without towering over her. She jumped a bit, startled. He pursed his lips. Of course, this was hard for him-he was Sesshomaru, after all. And after what seemed like an eternity of tension passed, one word left his mouth.

"Sorry."

I blinked. Moriko and the man behind her widened their eyes, dumbfounded. The man cleared his throat in discomfort and Moriko turned her head from side to side as if she was looking for something.

"R-Rin?" she called, expecting her to be here. "Uh...Rin?"

By then Sesshomaru had quickly stood right back up. "Rin is gone."

"Gone?" exclaimed the man.

Sesshomaru looked me in the eyes, and I could tell what he wanted. I understood now. These people...they knew Rin. That little display was probably something he felt he owed because of her-or maybe he had learned something. Regardless, they had a right to know what was going on. I'd explain it to them. And hopefully they'd answer my questions.

"You're a better person than you give yourself credit for." I stated. Sesshomaru looked down, then kept walking