The Lord of the Western Lands lifted a hand to his chest as a brisk wind rustled through the trees, attempting to tug loose the white ribbon tied to his armor. Securing the ribbon’s knot anew, he let his claws return to the smooth face of the boulder upon which he sat, idly watching as Jakken endeavored to usher Ah-Un into a nearby stream. Once again, the daiyoukai strongly suspected they were making a spectacle of themselves for his sake, the imp flailing wildly as both of the dragon’s heads spewed water into his pinched green face.

But even this gross display of buffoonery could not divert Sesshoumaru from his thoughts.

Like the pain in his heart, melancholy had become his tireless companion. He felt Kagome’s absence more keenly than he had ever felt his loss of limb–a physical ache that endured, a constant reminder that something precious and essential had been severed from him. Never, perhaps, to return.

It was foolish and vain, to even hope that she might yet come back to him. Still, try as he might, he could not stop himself from wishing for it all the same. In his most despondent hours, it was this hope, slim though it might be, that kept him from despair.

This, and the knowledge that the woman he loved was alive and free. Though it troubled him ceaselessly to think of her abroad in the world without him, he trusted in her strength and her judgment. What news of her he gleaned from Kohaku and others reassured him on this point.

She did not need him. She did not want him.

And so, he must live on without her, as she had willed him to.

As he was resigning himself once more to this grim state of existence, a glint appeared out of the corner of his eye. Feinting quickly to the right, Sesshoumaru snagged the chain of the sickle blade as it streaked past him, a startled yelp rising up from the edge of the trees. Turning toward the sound, he arched a critical brow at the sight of the sprawled young taijiya.

“Kohaku. You fell because your footing was poor,” the daiyoukai assessed coolly, releasing the kusarigama’s now limp chain. “You must work to correct this.”

“H-hai, Sesshoumaru-sama,” Kohaku groaned out as he pushed himself into a sitting position, the firecat at his side nuzzling him in sympathy.

The daiyoukai folded his arms into his sleeves. He wondered if perhaps he was too severe in his teaching methods, yet the boy never complained. Truly, he showed much promise–as Sesshoumaru himself had once shown when he was young. And his instructors had never coddled him, either.

Nor would Kohaku’s enemies, he imagined saying to Kagome if she were here, for no doubt she would take objection to this cold and ruthless approach.

His expression softened at the thought. Collecting the strewn sickle weapon by its blade, he stepped forward, extending the handle toward Kohaku.

“The strike was well-executed,” Sesshoumaru praised sincerely. “Your timing and accuracy have both improved.”

Accepting the kusarigama from him, Kohaku ducked his head, a pleased flush tinting his freckled cheeks. “…Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama.”

As the daiyoukai nodded, the boy rose to his feet. Returning his weapon to the holster at his back, Kohaku squinted toward the horizon.

“…Is that a demon?” he asked, pointing behind Sesshoumaru.

Before the daiyoukai could turn to answer, Jakken emerged splashing from the stream.

“Ah!” he exclaimed, his round yellow eyes going rounder still. “It’s Kagome!”

Still too far for Kohaku’s eyes to see, a young woman sailed through the air atop a fiery-hooved white steed, their forms growing larger and more distinct as they flew toward Sesshoumaru and his followers.

“Milord, it appears she is coming right this way!” the imp declared with such simpering enthusiasm that Sesshoumaru wanted to crush him.

Luckily for his irksome vassal, the daiyoukai was too absorbed by the sight before him to pay Jakken any real heed. Clothed in her familiar white and blue, Kagome was thinner than she had been when last they had parted ways, the sharp cast to her fair features belying a harsh, self-reliant existence. But her beautiful eyes were brilliant and clear, her expression serene as she veered away from him at last, her long, half-bound hair streaming out behind her in a dark gleaming wave.

“Looks like Kagome-san’s headed toward Edo village,” Kohaku observed, his voice brightening suddenly in comprehension. “I’ll bet she’s going to see Ane-ue and the babies.”

“S-so it would seem…” Jakken concurred weakly, edging away from the baleful stare Sesshoumaru was now directing toward him.

As a whip of radiant green youki materialized in his claws, the daiyoukai supposed his vassal might provide him a measure of diversion yet.

“Kohaku, it is time for your next lesson,” Sesshoumaru stated darkly as he drew his whip back with a crack. “Prevent me from killing Jakken.”

The young taijiya grinned as he leapt into action, the panicked imp taking off with a wail and a scamper.

“Sesshoumaru-samaaaa! Please…! Forgive meeeeee…”

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

Next part is the last of the Daily Transgressions series 🙂 …but stay tuned for the bonus chapter and epilogue!

<3 <3 <3