It was not fear, she told herself.
Inuyasha-Houjou Haruka, scion of the Inuyasha family of
Kyushu, protected by the spirit of the Great Dog General himself, did
not
acknowledge fear. Certainly, she had
had moments of anxiety in her life, but never fear.
That particular emotion had been banished from her life the day
of her precious son's fourth birthday,
the day he had nearly died falling from a bicycle.
Fear had been useless, had made her
helpless, and she had vowed to have no more to do with it.
So it wasn't fear she was feeling, she decided. A
hint of anxiety, or a bit of concern,
perhaps. Emotions she could use,
funneled toward some purpose to allay her misgivings.
Higurashi was a nice girl, certainly. Polite, soft-spoken,
except when Koinu said something foolish, and even then, she rebuked
him more
with a sense of exasperation rather than distain. Her
family was good if not exceptional, from a long line of
Shinto priests. Her marks in school
were good enough as well, a little rocky in junior high, but better
now, and
her health issues had seemingly resolved themselves.
All in all, the report from the discreet investigator she'd
contacted had been satisfactory. If not
an exceptional scholar and athlete, Higurashi could certainly hold her
own.
And even without her reasonable marks and good reputation,
Haruka might have accepted Higurashi solely for what the girl had done
for
Koinu. Gone was her slightly
distracted, out-of-step-with-the-world son, and in his place, she was
discovering
a confident and charming young man. And
more than that, the interminable talk about Musashi's Domain and the
Feudal Era
was gone. Lady Kagome had been
replaced, it seemed.
If only Higurashi’s name wasn't Kagome as well.
Haruka had long ago stopped hearing the tune to the
school-yard song when she heard the name ‘Kagome.’ Now, she heard her
son, her
freckle-faced four year old, tucked into a hospital bed, bandages
around his
head, and wishing for his imaginary friend, Lady Kagome, to come for
him. He didn’t want his mother, not really. He wanted a girl who didn’t exist.
And yet, here was this person, Higurashi Kagome, who seemed
to understand what he was talking about, to know what he was thinking,
to be
able, almost, to read his mind.
Who was this Higurashi Kagome?
“More tea, Higurashi-san?”
The girl’s head dipped.
“Please don’t trouble yourself, Inuyasha-Houjou-san.”
Haruka poured anyway.
“I can’t imagine what my son is thinking, to keep you waiting
like
this.”
“I’m honored to have your company,” Higurashi said
politely. “I’m sure you must be very
busy. I’m so sorry to disturb you like
this.”
Haruka was ready to make another pointed remark when Koinu’s
distinctive footsteps echoed overhead, then pounded down the stairs.
“Kagome!” His face
glowed like the rising sun.
Higurashi’s features lit up as well. “Inuyasha…-kun!” The fractional delay between her son’s name
and the honorific was
all Haruka needed to hear.
“Shame on you, Koinu, to keep Higurashi-san waiting.”
“Sorry, Ma.” He was
already crouching next to Higurashi, one hand resting on her arm. “I’m sorry.
Forgive me?”
Her smile never wavered.
“Of course.”
“Good.” He stood,
pulling Higurashi to her feet as well.
“We’re going out, Ma. See you
later.”
“Thank you again for the tea, Inuyasha-Houjou-san,” Kagome
called, clearly used to keeping up with Koinu’s ground-eating stride.
The door opened and closed before Haruka could get a word
in, and with a sigh, she sipped at her cooling tea.
There was probably no point worrying about it, she reasoned. Once Koinu made up his mind, nothing would
budge him.
And Higurashi Kagome would very likely made a perfectly fine
daughter-in-law.
~Owari~
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