Chapter Text
Crickets serenaded the darkness as the great sun withdrew its mellow rays and descended in the west, casting the sky into deeper hues of blue and the softest blanket of starlight.
"We're almost there," Sango reassured the twins, as they steadily made their way back to the village.
It had been a long day for the group who had spent the past several hours helping Kaede to deliver her herbal remedies to her patients. By the time they had completed their seventh visit, Sango had noticed a slight limp in Kaede's walk. From the lines that framed her eyes and the grim set of her mouth, it was clear she was trying her best to hide her growing discomfort to not hinder the group's progress.
Looking ahead, Sango spotted a large tree that grew at the edge of the village and marked their midway point. Knowing Kaede would not willingly bring her discomfort to the group's attention, she proposed a short break underneath the tree. Perched at the top of a gentle hill that overlooked the village, the spot provided the group with a scenic view of the sun as it sunk behind the majestic mountains in the distance, painting the sky and glistening water in the surrounding paddy fields in a striking blend of magenta and tangerine.
"Thank you," Kaede smiled gratefully, as Sango helped her to sit back against the trunk of the tree. "I'm afraid I'm not as young as I used to be," she sighed wistfully.
At the sound of laughter, the two women turned to see the twins dart down the hill to play in a stream, which glimmered tantalisingly as the honey coloured light danced upon the water. High pitched giggles filled the air as little feet splashed in the clear shallow water, and chased the silver fish that darted around them.
Kaede sama! Look! Look!
The elderly woman's features softened with nostalgia.
"This place," Kaede quietly began, upon sensing Sango's curious gaze, "reminds me of that child."
An image of the girl in her youth manifested in front of Kaede. Knees drawn to her chest, her round agate eyes longingly searched the cerulean skies.
"But that would only be natural, of course," she trailed, watching the young girl's face suddenly light up with a familiar glow as something caught her attention.
"Given how much time she spent here," she finished with a knowing smile, as the young girl rushed forward to greet an invisible figure with a blinding smile, disappearing into the sunset's translucent light.
Sango hummed in agreement. "This is where she used to wait for him, right?"
Their gaze lifted to admire the cerise canopy of plum blossoms above them.
"Ah," Kaede nodded, watching a petal fall. "And much has changed since then."
Closing her eyes, Kaede took a moment to cherish the image of the girl.
"It will be good to see her again."
"Go on without me," Kaede unexpectedly announced, when the group rose to depart, the sky considerably darker.
A couple who lived along the outskirts of the village had recently welcomed a new addition. Only a short walk from where they were, Kaede wanted to check on the wellbeing of the mother and newborn child.
"There's no need to be so worried," Kaede reassured with a dismissive wave of her hand when Sango offered to accompany her.
"I won't be alone," she gestured to the villagers still working in the fields that she knew well and would walk back with.
"Besides," she eyed a dazed Kin'u and Gyokuto who had almost walked into one another a moment ago. "It looks like those two have finally run out of energy!"
Exchanging their farewells, the group divided into two and went on their separate ways, with Sango offering to deliver Kaede's medicine to the remaining patients on her way home. Noting the absence of her eldest daughter, Sango's thoughts were lurched back to the present.
"Gyokuto?"
Using a lantern a grateful patient had given her, she found Gyokuto had fallen a few steps behind and wore a transfixed expression. Following her gaze, Sango discovered vivid green orbs prancing in the large field adjacent to the path.
She stifled a laugh.
"They're fireflies," Sango explained, realising it was probably the first time the twins had seen them. "Pretty aren't they?"
Mesmerised, the group watched the fireflies tumble and ascend into the night sky to create the most complex patterns. Their brilliant light ignited the field with an emerald glow, reminding Sango of the sea as the long grass swayed in the light breeze when suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she noticed the chartreuse orbs begin to diminish one by one like candles being doused, effectively releasing the group from the reverie the dance had cast upon them. The soft chirps of the crickets followed, melting into a hushed whisper, as if they too had sensed the imminent arrival of a great power and prostrated themselves.
An eerie sense of foreboding hung in the air, thick like fog.
Sango felt her body tense.
Her eyes scanned their surroundings for a potential threat.
What is it?
She calmly ushered her daughters to move.
What is coming?
"Firefly!" Kin'u squealed in delight with large eyes, causing Sango to start at her sudden outburst.
"Look! Look!" Kin'u chirped impatiently, tugging on her mother's kimono as she excitedly pointed towards the sky.
It begun as a distant rumble and grew into a thunderous roar. Sango's eyes shot up to see a figure soar purposefully across the star-laden sky in the direction of the village. A tremendous aura drowned Sango as the phenomenon flew over her and rustled the surrounding foliage.
Emotions ─ complex emotions ─ she did not recognise as her own, filtered through her.
A familiar bone chilling sensation followed.
Demon.
Images of her friends and family unaware of the danger flashed across her mind, numbing her awareness of nature's slow return around her. Her grasp of the lantern slackened as panic rattled her mind, causing it to hit the ground and snuff the light.
Her heart thudded hard.
"Kin'u. Gyokuto."
Their small backs straightened at their mother's grave tone.
"Hurry!"
Her heart hammered against her rib cage with bruising force as they raced down the path. Following the vestige of demonic aura, Sango found herself being led down familiar narrow forest trails until she eventually stood before Kaede's hut which was dark inside, suggesting the elderly miko had still not returned.
"Stay here," she instructed her children as she hid them behind a cart nearby.
Withdrawing Hiraikotsu, Sango immersed herself into the shadows cast by the moonlight that lanced across the roof of Kaede's hut. The sound of her heartbeat filled her ears as she cautiously manoeuvred around the hut, and after a few more steps, felt another presence pulse before her.
Her eyes locked onto a tall silhouette.
Its here.
With a swiftness born of experience, Sango raised Hiraikotsu.
The demon turned its head ominously slow towards Sango and studied her, calmly.
For a prolonged time, neither moved, locked in a standoff until a strange sound, which reminded Sango of a wounded animal, pierced the tense silence.
A victim? Has it taken a villager?
Her brows furrowed as she detected a strange shift in the demon's aura, which she could only describe as the faintest breath of unease. But as soon as it had emerged, it was swiftly concealed, leaving Sango to wonder whether she had imagined the whole episode.
She tightened her grip on Hiraikotsu and stepped forward.
"Show your ─ "
Moonlight spilled through the dark clouds to reveal the demon from the shoulder upwards. Air fled her lungs as the pale light fell across his ethereal features, highlighting his high cheek bones and the impressive line of his nose. Striking gold eyes and endless streams of silver, which seemed to almost glow under the light, emerged from the darkness.
"S-Sesshomaru?"
Her baffled expression was nonchalantly dismissed as medallion irises shifted to Hiraikotsu. Pools of amber narrowed with silent warning. Sango felt her cheeks warm and moved to lower her weapon, when the whimper she thought she had imagined returned.
A sound, Sango noted with interest, that commanded the immediate attention of the daiyokai.
Citrine orbs darkened with a hidden emotion and flickered down to carefully examine something obscured by the darkness.
He's hiding something.
As clouds drifted across the night sky to partially cloak the moon, Sango's vision of Sesshomaru's face became obscure. The planes of his face were thrown into harsh dips and sift shadows; the corners of his mouth severely indented, as if a matter weighed heavily on his mind.
An elusive but familiar fragrance perfumed the air as she curiously took a step forward.
No, that's not it.
At a closer proximity, Sango discerned the faint outline of another body.
Realisation dawned upon her like fair sunshine after a winter storm.
He is ─
She felt her body instinctively stiffen. A strong instinct to recoil, to flee, flooded her body. Lifting her gaze, Sango found Sesshomaru's eyes had cooled with glacial displeasure.
Stand back, they commanded.
Clouds obstructing the prevailing moonlight finally parted, collapsing and crumbling the wall of darkness that had cloaked Sesshomaru, to reveal a young female in a white nagajuban who was carefully cradled ─ protected ─ in his arms.
Draped in moonlight, her gentle face which normally wore a smile that rivalled the morning sunlight was pale and creased with shadows of discomfort. Eyes closed, her head rested softly against Sesshomaru's mokomoko. Her body, weak and tired, almost hung limply within the strong arms that held her as if she were made of the most precious glass.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed knowingly as the woman's breathing suddenly became more shallow, and drew her closer to his chest as if to comfort her from the pain her body convulsed with moments later.
An emotion raged brightly ─ fiercely ─ within the gold depths of his eyes as he watched her face involuntarily twist with pain.
"Ngh!"
In spite of the moonlight, shadows clung to Sesshomaru's face and appeared to darken as the woman helplessly pressed her face into his chest to compress a whimper, as she battled, what Sango recognised to be, contractions from the early stages of labour.
"Bring me the miko."
Hardened amber orbs rose to fix Sango with a steadfast regard.
"Rin is in need of immediate assistance."