“My dear!”
Kagome stumbled back, breaking the light hold upon her arms. The demoness’s outstretched claws returned to her sides. Between them, the silver cup lay spilled and overturned in the grass. Fragments of moonlight glittered upon the brown leaves and blades, melting away before Kagome’s staring eyes.
“You saw something,” Sesshoumaru’s mother guessed, the eagerness in her voice surprising. “Tell me, child—what did you see?”
Kagome’s eyes snapped to her, wide and frightened still. What had she seen? Her mind reeled to process that eerie, dreamlike vision of sea and sky.
And in that sky, there had been—
Eight, or ten…?
“Nine moons,” Kagome blurted.
Long-lashed golden eyes flared fractionally. “Nine,” Sesshoumaru’s mother echoed, after a moment. “Well, that is something…”
“What do they represent?” Kagome asked.
“Seasons of life,” the demoness replied, her smooth tone slightly wistful, as she touched a hand to her breast.
And one is already behind me, Kagome thought grimly, reflecting upon that bloody red moon that had filled her with such sinister dread.
The demoness smiled toward her, the barest uptick of red lip. “Mortal or not, nine is quite the number to bear.”
With a flick of the snowy train that draped from her shoulders, Sesshoumaru’s mother reclaimed the discarded cup and slipped it back into the silken collar of her dress. When she turned to Kagome again, the expression in her eyes was as warm as the sun.
“I underestimated you, my dear. You are a worthy woman, indeed.” Inclining her lovely head, Sesshoumaru’s mother stepped back, as youki stirred the air around them. “It was a pleasure to meet you at last; now I will leave you in peace.”
Pale and clammy, Kagome stared after her. She felt vaguely ill—and no less darkly suspicious of this creature, for all her fine manners and seeming compliments.
“And if I hadn’t seen anything in that cup,” she challenged, “would it have been such a pleasure? Would you have left me in peace, then?”
The air stilled. Sesshoumaru’s mother fixed her with a sharp look.
“Ask me what you will,” the demoness said.
“Do you know,” Kagome began, her voice low and guarded, “about your son’s mating habits?” When the Lady said nothing, Kagome elaborated tersely, “About his violence.”
A brief, icy eternity seemed to pass, before Sesshoumaru’s mother said, “Yes, I have become aware.”
From the heaviness in her tone, from the red gleam that flashed beneath the gilded surface of that inhuman gaze, Kagome sensed, somehow, that this fierce Lady knew all too well. Perhaps better than anyone…
Still, Kagome released a shallow breath of tension. A tension that had held her in the vise of its grip for years.
“Then you’ll help him?” she said, hating how desperate her voice sounded to her own ears. “I tried to, in my own way, but…”
Sesshoumaru’s mother took a measured step toward her. “One day,” the demoness said, not unkindly, “when you have a child of your own, you will understand.” Her eyes seemed to pierce Kagome straight through as she murmured, “There is nothing I would not do to help my son.”
Kagome wasn’t so sure about all of that. Yet she felt heartened by strength of this assurance, pointed or not.
“Good,” she said, frowning away. “That’s good to know.”
The demoness’s eyes trailed over her. “My son,” she said, “do you love him?”
Kagome stiffened, utterly unprepared for the question. “No,” she bit out, glancing back. “He makes me miserable.”
“Happiness is fleeting,” Sesshoumaru’s mother said briskly. “Even we who live forever must accept this. We dwell largely in the void between pleasured moments. ”
Kagome looked to the evening sky, flecked with the pinpoint lights of the stars. “And in love?”
“In love most of all,” the demoness replied. “The greater part of love is surely pain.”
Silently, Kagome mulled this over. “Sometimes,” she said quietly after a while, “I feel like everything I thought I knew was wrong.”
“Then it seems to me you are beginning to understand.”
As Kagome’s gaze lowered, Sesshoumaru’s mother regarded her, her cool expression so like her son’s that Kagome’s heart constricted anew.
“Don’t despair, child. You have much to bring you cheer. But now,” the demoness said, “I really must be on my way.”
As a cloud of youki gathered beneath her feet, a sudden, irrepressible question came to Kagome’s mind.
“When you drank from the cup,” she asked, “how many moons did you see?”
The Lady’s eyes glittered, luminous and gold. “There has only ever been one moon in my sky.”
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
One moon…toga or sesshomaru? Or someone else? The lady mother is a puzzling creature, just like her son. I hope she is able to find some way to help him find some sort of peace. Maybe that will curb his violence.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, theresap! Sessmom is mysterious to be sure <3
Oh I’m so curious to see what others speculate the moons to mean? Past lives? Past loves? Something about maybe how long Kagome has left in this phase of her life?
So glad you’re intrigued by the moons, mim! Thanks for sharing <3
I think the moons represent future children (one past?). One blood red moon could mean a miscarriage? Maybe Sesshoumaru had impregnated her when he mated her to death and when she died, so did any chance of life for the child. Or a future child of Kagome’s will die. Sesshoumaru is going to be the father of all of the children (moons in the sky). Sesshoumaru’s mom only saw one moon when she drank from the cup because it was Sesshoumaru and she only had one pup. This is why she had a newfound respect for Kagome because she now knows she will bring new life to their family line. Sooo many thoughts and questions and now I’m convinced Kagome WILL give into Sesshoumaru one day 🤔😊
😉 We shall see!
Thanks so much for sharing your theories on the moons, Blackberry! Loved hearing your thoughts <3
Interesting the effect this vision had on Sessmom, though it was so disconcerting to Kagome herself. A worthy woman, indeed. Others speculated that the moons were a reflection of how many children Kagome would bear, and Sessmom’s wistfulness seems to confirm it. But I wonder how she could know they would be Sesshoumaru’s? Their connection seems distant as the sea at this point. And I wondered about the waxing and waning of them as well—perhaps it indicates the degree of certainty to to which they will appear or even their lineage? Would Shippo and Meyuri’s son be reflected as they are her adopted children?
It’s interesting that Kagome clearly still cares for Sesshoumaru, even in the midst of their stand-off. She wants to ensure someone is helping him with his violent urges after she passes—or at least that is what I took it to mean.
Its surprising that Sessmom would ask about love, when Sesshoumaru has suggested articulating it is quite alien to demons. Is his mother an exception or was Sesshoumaru mistaken? I am curious where the story will go from here. Thanks for sharing!
“It’s interesting that Kagome clearly still cares for Sesshoumaru, even in the midst of their stand-off. She wants to ensure someone is helping him with his violent urges after she passes—or at least that is what I took it to mean.” – 😉 Kagome just can’t help herself when it comes to him haha <3
Love hearing your thoughts on this scene, Alex! There's certainly a lot going on here - always appreciate you weighing in <3
They did mean children! Since there was only one moon in her sky and Sesshomaru is her only child. The blood moon obviously is the miscarriage she had. The degrees in the moons shading can mean the percentage of demon the children she has would have? Half moon= half human/half demon, Full moon= full blooded demon? Maybe. Thanks for the update! Can’t wait for the next.
Thanks for sharing your interpretations, Mi! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed the update & hope you enjoy the next!!
<3
The moons have different meanings in different cultures but the bloody moon represents death in most of them but I didn’t think that here is only about her child. It is about her death as well.
The last shiny full moon made me think about her life before everything happened: luminous and bright, as she was, and right behind, face to face with this moon, was the fallen moon. But it could as well be the future. The time of full moon is a time to be receptive, to be aware of your emotional state. She’s in denial about her feelings and her eyes started to hurt when she looked upon the full moon, forcing her to turn around to what was behind her, in the past.
Waning and waxing moons? Hmm.. I assume that those are different phases of her life but I can’t put my finger right now on specific events that those could represent.
First new moon having in front a full and half moon next to each other? My theory is that I could be a decision: something like living a full life or half of life, maybe? choosing to live in the past with Inuyasha’s memory or to live in future with Sesshomaru and what could come with that? I don’t know but it gives me the vibes of a choice.
I doubt is that all those moons are about children. It just doesn’t feel like any of them could have yet the required state of mind to raise a child (or nine, for the matter).
I’m thrilled to find out ! 💗
“The time of full moon is a time to be receptive, to be aware of your emotional state.” – ooh i love this image <3 Moon mythology and symbolism is fascinating! Thanks so much for sharing your take on the vision, Elle!!
"It just doesn’t feel like any of them could have yet the required state of mind to raise a child (or nine, for the matter)." - hahah fair enough! XD these two have got some issues to work through that's for sure...
Thanks again for laying out your thoughts on this scene! Hope you enjoy the next part <3