AN: For the ever so awesome Revang, who has very bad luck involving car hubcaps. I don't usually do repeats of prompts but this is for them, so I'm making an exception. Blame Beneath the Blackthorn tree for the 'fae stealing humans' vibe this fic gives off lol. You can put kid! Kagome at any age from 6-10 but I HC her to be about 7 in this AU.
Prompt: "I've been falling in love with you since the first day we met."
Warning: Some angst involving hospitals. If your loved one is currently in one, maybe put off reading this fic for now.
---
"Kagome, Kagome- the bird in the cage~"
Children holding hands and hurrying around in a linked circle giggled, buzzing from mischief and the excitement of play. "When, oh when will it come out," they all chanted in song.
"Stop it!"
A young girl bowed in the centre of their swaying bodies, hands clasped tight over her ears. She hated this game. She hated it! Nobody ever listened to her, they always made Kagome the Demon; the person who was forced to sit blindfolded in the middle of the group.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they stopped after the first round, but on and on it went. If Kagome ever tried to leave the circle early, her schoolmates would turn on her, pushing the girl back into the middle until she sat down again. 'Don't ruin the game, Kagome!' they'd scold her. 'You're the only one who can be the demon! Your freaky eyes see weird things!'
"In the night of dawn~" they continued, giggling.
Kagome braced herself, tears leaking out from beneath her blindfold.
"The crane and turtle slipped!"
She held her breath, expecting hands to shove hard at her back. They sometimes left bruises.
"Who is behind you now-?" their joyful voices become strangled with alarm. Someone hit the floor beside her, sounding like they'd been shoved instead of her. Girls squealed, some children whining.
"Who are you? Get lost! You're not part of our game!"
A quiet, boyish voice reached Kagome's hearing, silky and measured. "...Hn? I am not allowed to play?" A beat of heavy, prominent silence came when he seemed to pause, as though savouring their reactions to something. "Are you going to stop me?" the air stirred, agitated.
Hungry.
"A-ah! You're creepy!"
"Creep!"
Rapid footfalls signalled the children backing up and hurrying away, squealing with fear. Shifting, Kagome slowly reached for her blindfold, figuring it was safe to take off now. Inching it up over her forehead, blue eyes cracked open.
"You did not answer their little game. Do you know who stands behind you, girl?"
Kagome frowned, thinking for a moment. She had that itch again. The kind that tickled the back of her neck. It always accompanied seeing strange things.
"A demon, I suppose," she muttered, scrubbing at her cheeks. Turning on bruised knees, she looked over one shoulder at the young boy standing nearby. "But I think I can call you my friend, instead. My friend is behind me."
The boy with short, snowy white hair, chubby cheeks and narrow, rich golden eyes frowned. He wore old fashioned, white clothing patterned with cherry blossoms that clashed terribly with the modern playground.
He tipped his head to one side. "Is that so?" amusement coloured his face. "And you get to decide that, do you?"
She stood, sniffing and dusting herself off. "You stopped them...so you're a good person."
"Even though I am youkai?"
"Just because you're different, it doesn't make you bad. At least, that's what Mama tells me. Aoi, Ryoma and the others pick on me because of my eyes and the weird things I see," Kagome shrugged, "but I'm not bad."
He arched a brow, "your eyes?"
"Mn...my Papa is a for...forie…" she frowned. "He's not from Japan. I take after Mama, but got his eyes. Not everyone likes that."
"What a ridiculous thing to make a fuss over," he huffed. "What things do you see?"
Her brows knit together. Ghostly figures, men with their faces turned upside down. Women with long, snake-like necks.
"Things that other kids can't, for some reason. They always think I'm making stuff up. Papa said they're demons."
"I see," the boy tilted his head curiously.
Giving a huge grin, she grasped his clawed hand without fear. "I'm Kagome! What's your name?"
"...Girl, I do not-"
"Kagome! Ka-go-me!" she pouted.
He huffed, striped cheeks blooming red as he glared at the petite hand holding his own prisoner. "You are strange," he uttered. "I do not know how you discerned my species. Can you… see my markings? Usually humans only see me if I allow it, but none are permitted to look upon my heritage."
"You mean the pretty crescent moon on your forehead and the pink tiger stripes? Mhm!"
He blushed harder, glancing away and mumbling something that sounded like 'pretty?' under his breath.
The boy then stood a little straighter, looking at her with assessing, sharp eyes. "This one donned a glamour. It is impressive you can see through it. You have earned my name. I am Sesshoumaru," he sniffed in a refined manner, round chin tilting up. "We may play together."
Kagome grinned widely, blue eyes shining. "Really?! I'd love to!"
---
From that day on, the odd little pair were inseparable. Strangely he attended none of their classes. Teachers had no idea who Kagome referred to when she spoke of her 'friend' outside in the playground.
"An imaginary friend," they dismissed, causing her to sour.
During break times at school when Kagome's class could run free in the playground, he'd take her hand and monopolise Kagome's attention, which she had no problem with. They'd hide behind the bike shed together and talk about Kagome's strange 'ticklish' feelings, which only heightened when Sesshoumaru let his red, flickering youki rise on his skin.
Experimentally, she'd reached out and touched the energy once- causing him to yelp and flash tiny fangs at a bright pink spark that flashed from her finger.
Kagome had blinked owlishly, staring at her hand.
"You are a miko," Sesshoumaru muttered, sounding almost accusatory. She'd stiffened then, frightened her new friend would turn on her too.
But a look of mild respect had livened his eyes. He seemed to warm to her a little more after that, experimenting with her. They both tried raising their opposing energies, pulling forth their auras without really understanding what they were doing. Kagome found his youki a little cruel, sharp and unusual- but it was also curious, warm and protective.
Sesshoumaru told Kagome that her reiki felt uncomfortable, sparking and big. He liked it for challenging him.
"Can other people do this stuff?" Kagome asked, their hands raised to hover inches away, tiny pulses of power sparking out between them. They felt like tiny electric shocks.
He sneered pridefully, "none of the fools in your class are like us. Demons can do these things easily."
Golden eyes shifted away as he listened to the sound of children playing. "I do not know why I crossed into this side of the veil in the first place. Humans are nothing special."
"I'm not sure what you mean, but...if you hadn't, we wouldn't have become friends. That's something good to come out of it, right?" Kagome smiled at him from behind their hands.
Sesshoumaru's cheeks darkened. He stilled as their fingers clasped and no pain assaulted him. He breathed out slowly, finding her self-control impressive.
"Hn, I suppose so," he uttered. Mikos were strange creatures.
---
Curiously, whenever the school bell rang and it was time to leave, no parent came for Sesshoumaru that Kagome could see. He lingered in the shade with his old-fashioned clothes, slipping away around a corner. Alone.
"Where do you go when you're not here?" she asked during break time.
Golden eyes caught the sun, flashing white for a moment. "Back to my domain. You would fit in better there."
"I would?"
"Mn," a small, clawed hand wrapped around her wrist, lifting her arm and eyeing the bruises. "Your classmates did this?"
Kagome glanced away, tugging her arm back to fiddle with the large bow nestled at the back of her short black hair. "They pick on me during class instead now. Most of the time it happens when we play sports. They keep threatening to lock me in the girl's bathroom on the fifth floor."
"What is so special about that place?"
Kagome shuddered. "Haven't you felt it? There's a dark thing there. Everyone is afraid to go in, even if they can't see the evil."
He paused, as though considering it. A spirit lingered there, certainly. An Aka-Manto. Sesshoumaru had never paid much attention to it- ghosts being beneath his notice.
"You should come with me to my world," Sesshoumaru's voice hardened. "I will keep you."
Blinking, she frowned with confusion. "Keep me...safe?" she guessed he'd meant to finish the sentence with.
His pretty, inhuman face didn't change in the least, perfectly serious. Kagome giggled, thinking it a game. "Okay, we can go!"
---
During the car ride home, Kagome grinned to herself, shoes barely able to touch the floor.
"You seem happy, kiddo. Did something happen today at school?" her father asked, glancing at her from the driver's seat as their car merged with Tokyo traffic.
"Mhm! You know Sesshoumaru?"
"Your imaginary friend?"
Blue eyes blazed, narrowing. She turned away, folding her arms sourly.
"Alright, alright," Mr Higurashi chuckled. "Yes? Your friend."
She softened enough to forgive him, swinging her legs. "I'm going to visit his home!"
"I hope it's nice," her father smiled indulgently, changing gears. He didn't think any further on the matter. There was nothing to fear from a child's imagination.
"Didn't you used to see things?"
"Heh, I did, but that was a long while ago. I think I was seven," he adjusted his glasses, blue eyes warming. "After I was involved in an accident on my bike, I never saw any imaginary friends again. I called them 'demons' because sometimes they could be scary creatures. Guess I was a weird kid."
"I see scary stuff too, Papa. Not just pretty boys," Kagome hummed.
Unbeknownst to Mr Higurashi, Sesshoumaru sat primly within the back of his car. He adjusted himself, sniffing delicately and eyeing the steel ceiling. Kagome shifted to sneak a glance behind her, exchanging impish smiles with him.
---
The second Kagome had changed out of her school uniform and into a pink dress, she raced outside.
Sesshoumaru awaited her at the edge of Higurashi shrine's garden. He cocked his head at her footwear. "What are you wearing, miko?"
"Oh! They're cool, lookit!" she slammed her foot down, causing the skechers to light up, giving off a pink and blue glow.
The demon crouched, cooing with appreciation. "Impressive. You can conjure magic."
Kagome giggled, taking his hand and tugging. "So which way is your home? I need to be back for 6.00, Mom is making stew."
Small fingers laced with hers, tightening as Sesshoumaru took the lead. He wandered around the back of an old storage shed. "Home is everywhere if you know where to look."
Falling silent the second they stepped beneath harsh shadows, Kagome gasped as Sesshoumaru melted into the shade, disappearing and simultaneously tugging her with him.
She stumbled, squeezing blue eyes tightly shut.
"What are you doing?"
Peeling them open reluctantly, her breathing hitched. Humid air caressed her cheeks.
A forest of sturdy bamboo awaited her. Sunlight barely managed to reach them, straining down from the top of the shoots packed tightly together. Looking behind her- Higurashi Shrine was nowhere to be found, but a kind of energy rippled in the space where they'd entered Sesshoumaru's 'world.'
He tugged her hand impatiently. "Stay close," he smirked, "or you will get lost and wander in here for eternity."
Kagome huffed, following as he led the way, weaving around bamboo. "It's not nice to joke around about that kind of thing."
"Who said I was joking?"
"Your face did-" she hurried closer, poking at the corner of his mouth. "You get this twitch at the end of your mouth when you're lying."
Magenta stripes darkened. "I do not."
"Yes, you do!"
"Do not."
Kagome's retort stumbled, cut off as they emerged from within the claustrophobic forest. Sunlight blazed down upon them with full force, allowing her to see what looked like a dragon looping within yellow skies.
Directly before her was a series of dark wooden posts embedded into a wide lake, available for them to step onto from where they stood on the high riverbank. The incredibly difficult series of stepping stones led towards a huge, towering mansion. Traditional Japanese architecture that Grandpa would've fainted at sat upon a raised platform held aloft from the water by more posts; the whole thing resembling an extravagant lake house. Beyond it, Kagome could sense hundreds and hundreds of demons. All roaming around- spread wide within unknown corners of this strange world.
Sesshoumaru hopped out onto a post, and then onto another. He achieved perfect balance, gliding onto them as though weightless.
Kagome worried her bottom lip between her teeth.
"Too hard, miko?" he teased.
"No! I can do it. Give me a sec. And for the last time, call me Kagome," she took a breath. Summoning her courage, Kagome lept forth- shoe skidding across the top of a post. Yelping, she anticipated plummeting into clear waters below, only for arms to rush up, catching her.
Kagome gasped, quickly holding on tight around the boy's neck. "I-I didn't know you could fly!"
"A mere trifle in comparison with my other gifts," he preened, white hair fluttering in the breeze.
His house was as magnificent inside as out. Tall, vast halls awaited them, dripping with quality and opulence. The very mansion seemed to hum with energy. The children ran around, playing hide and seek and racing each other to the highest points of the towers. One thing remained consistent throughout, and it was not just the finery of his home.
The place was empty. Not a soul disturbed them. Their squeals and rapid footfalls echoed through lonely halls.
"Where are your parents?" she finally asked, panting and collapsing beside him on the porch.
Sesshoumaru did not answer immediately. "...Father and Mother are often away, wandering through your world. They are fascinated by it," he soured.
Kagome rolled over onto her stomach to frown at her friend. "They leave you alone?"
Golden eyes gazed up placidly at the ceiling. Glazed, apathetic- but she could sense something behind his words. "I am deemed old enough to be left for prolonged periods of time."
Frowning, she inched closer, peering down at him with purpose. Sesshoumaru started, eyes cracking wider. His breath stalled. "What?"
"That's going to change," she vowed. "Every spare moment I have- I'm gonna spend it with you. I won't let you be lonely, Sesshoumaru."
He gazed up at her as though stunned, held in a dream. He then smiled slightly, pushing her forehead away. "How annoying. Sounds clingy," he drawled, ignoring her whine.
---
There was more. So much more to his realm known as 'Demon World.' Sesshoumaru showed her purple beaches lit by twilight, caves of glittering jewels remaining unmined, dens of demon fox-kits and the highest reaches of tall magnolia trees with golden leaves. He showed her these things at every opportunity- almost every day after school. Kagome kept her word, visiting as often as possible. Each night it broke her heart a little to leave him. Sometimes they had secret sleepovers in her room, voices hushed.
This went on for seven months.
The grinning little girl returned home one day to find flashing blue lights within Higurashi Shrine, smile slipping free from her face. The police had pulled up, officers inside talking to Mama.
Kagome could hear animalistic keening from within the house. A terrible, awful wailing.
She, Mama and Grandpa were taken to the hospital. Papa was in critical condition after getting involved in a car accident.
Kagome was allowed to see him only when it became obvious that Papa wouldn't be waking up again. The injuries were too great. Damaged, vital organs were failing.
Machines beeped, wires, tubes and other things hooked up to him. The image of him became obscured by thick tears, but Kagome made peace with that. She could barely recognise him anyway.
Slipping outside, she left Mama and Grandpa to their grief within the hospital room, who didn't think to watch her- drugged and numbed by shock.
Stumbling down pure white halls that smelled too strongly of chemicals, Kagome clapped her hands over blue eyes. She didn't want to see. There were so many grey, wandering souls around. Ghosts of people who had lost their way. She couldn't bear it if she saw Papa walking among them.
"Miko?"
Jolting, she allowed small hands to pry shaking fingers from her eyes. Kagome shuddered, tears leaking down round cheeks. "Se-Sess..."
His features became grave. "This one noticed the blue lights at your house. Humans tend to die whenever those are involved."
She flinched, knowing he didn't mean to be so blunt. "I-it's my Papa," she whispered in a broken voice. Why wasn't she sobbing? Didn't she love him enough?
"I brought this, just in case," Sesshoumaru lifted a big sword into view.
She didn't feel like talking about swords right then. "Oh? That's nice," Kagome muttered numbly.
The demon stepped closer, tone becoming firm. He touched her cheek, claws brushing into her hair. "I will save your Papa, Kagome. I have the power to do so. I will do it if..."
"If what?" she choked, scrubbing at her eyes harshly. "I'll do anything!"
Golden eyes glinted with that strange inhuman quality they gained sometimes, as though experiencing an emotion that did not belong to humans. He gestured to the much too big sword resting at his hip. "This is my Father's sword. It can bring people back from the dead, human or youkai. Come with me," he said in an intense rush. "Come into Demon World. Live there with me. If you agree to this- I will save him."
Kagome stilled, reeling. She grit her teeth, fat tears welling up in her eyes. "And if I say no? You'd let him die?"
Sesshoumaru's expression flickered, briefly contrite. Striped cheeks then puffed up petulantly.
The girl snarled, stamping her foot. "You're a BAD friend!" turning, she marched away.
He flashed tiny canines, blurring through the air to appear before her, grabbing her sleeve and shoving it up her arm to expose purple bruises. "You hate it here," he hissed. "They will never appreciate you."
She ripped her arm away. "I have Mama, Papa and Grandpa!"
"None of which believed you whenever you mentioned me. They never stopped to examine your bruises," Sesshoumaru growled. "They dismissed them as play."
Kagome fell quiet, lower lip wobbling. Everything felt like too much for her to handle. She wanted Mama to decide for her. "I...I guess so," she thought for a moment, shoulders falling. "They do have my little brother on the way to replace me. And I guess I do...have fun in your world."
The bubble burst. Building blocks holding her fragile self together fell.
Sesshoumaru stiffened as she suddenly grabbed him close, hugging him tight and sobbing loudly. "But I'd miss them!" she wailed. "I'd miss them so much!"
His brows pulled together, dipping his nose into her short dark hair. She was dear to him, this silly human. He sighed, burying his face in her shoulder.
He worried. He worried she would grow older and a chasm would open up between their ages. His slow demonic ageing couldn't keep up with her. She was already slightly taller than him. In the demon world, they could age at the same pace due to time not working the same way it did in her realm.
Golden eyes grew conflicted, childish selfishness rose to battle with other emotions.
"Alright," Kagome relented, sniffing. Her cheeks were red and blotchy, stained with tears. "I'll come with you. Just please save Papa."
"I will have to wait for him to die before I can save him," he uttered grimly.
A fresh dam of tears burst, causing her to shudder, pressing muffled sobs into his silver hair. They stood like that for a while, adults ignoring the little girl who seemed to embrace open air. Grandpa finally found her, guiding her away.
She rejoined her Mother, firmly resisting the idea of returning home when asked.
Kagome resolved to stay, watching over Papa while he lay in the hospital bed, his life ebbing away.
----
She awoke upon feeling her shoulder be shaken. Jolting awake, she met her mother's watery brown eyes. Alarm crashed through her small system, tears immediately collecting. It seemed she'd been moved outside the hospital room into a chair against the wall.
"I-is Papa-?"
Mama's brows drew together, and she scooped Kagome up into her arms, careful of the baby bump between them. "It's so strange, Honey. He's okay," she breathed. "He died- briefly. His heart failed. The Doctors pronounced him dead and everything- but then his heart started beating again! His fatal injuries seemed to have healed. Reporters are waiting outside. It's like a miracle."
Blue eyes flew wide. Kagome sprang out of Mama's arms, racing into her father's room, breath hitching at the sight of him sitting up without any tubes coming out of him. No breathing apparatus. He smiled at her gently, wearing his glasses- one of the lenses cracked.
"Hey there, kiddo."
Making a strangled noise, Kagome rushed over, leaping upon the bed and throwing her arms around his neck. She wailed, letting out her emotions with full force. He caught her with a chuckle, hugging her gently.
She sobbed, releasing her fear, worry and stress over the past few hours. She was so happy he was alive- but didn't feel ready to say goodbye yet. Mr Higurashi patted her back, "there was a boy," he said quietly.
"H-Huh?"
"When I woke up- a white sheet covered me. It was pulled back by this little boy standing over me," he pulled away, looking at her. "It was the strangest thing, he said; "I've been falling in love with Kagome since the first day we met. Be grateful I leave her with you."
Kagome's eyes widened, drawing back. "He...did?" she croaked.
Mr Higurashi nodded, confusion in his gaze. "Maybe Papa just has a concussion. Felt real though. Does your imaginary friend have-"
"Stripes? A crescent moon on his forehead?"
His mouth clicked shut, nodding. "Either way, I'm immensely grateful. It felt like he had something to do with saving me- his sword was glowing."
Dark brows pulled together. Kagome busied herself with hugging him again, breathing in his scent that was marred by hospital chemicals and the copper tang of blood.
---
'Be grateful I leave her with you.'
Those words ate at Kagome. After returning home, she looked in every little nook and cranny for Sesshoumaru. She pressed her palms against the old storage shed while cloaked in shadow. The wood resisted, not allowing her passage.
Kagome was persistent.
The bike shed proved to be empty, so she searched almost all the floors of the school, calling his name and listening for a reply.
Sesshoumaru couldn't be found; not a trace of him remaining. Nothing except the memory of him inside Kagome's head.
Just like an imaginary friend.
She bothered her Father continuously about it, pestering him to hold onto his own memory of Sesshoumaru- though his seemed to fade with every passing day.
A month later, Kagome put her foot down. Curling her hands into fists, she stormed into the girl's bathroom on the fifth floor. Marching past lonely cubicles, she swiftly turned to the last in a row of seven- kicking it open.
"Sesshoumaru!" she called. "I'm gonna step into this evil bathroom cubicle if you don't come here right now!"
When nothing but the burgeoning youki of the waiting Aka-Manto could be felt, Kagome set her small shoulders. Sparking reiki sputtered to life on her fingers, urging her forwards. She could defend herself, she could-
Different coloured streams of toilet paper lunged for her- ripped apart by a swipe of claws.
Gasping- Kagome felt herself be yanked backwards into another small body, the bathroom door slamming shut before her, blocking out terrible groaning and floating, multicoloured paper.
"What do you think you are doing, foolish girl?"
Blinking, she twisted in his grip- grabbing Sesshoumaru close.
"Gn- what-?"
"Bad! Very bad friend!" Kagome growled, pulling away to glare heatedly. "You can't just disappear on me like that!"
Golden eyes flattened, flicking away. "You wished to stay with your parents. I do not want to continue being friends if it means you will age and I will not. It is..." his young features pinched, "...it makes my chest hurt. I greatly dislike the sensation. It is like an oni hand clenching- squeezing around my heart. I fear I will die if it continues."
Kagome's lips bent up, fighting a smile. He was so dramatic. She then gentled, taking his hand to guide him out of the bathroom. She let go to stand on tip-toe, looking out of the windows.
"...I made a promise," she mumbled. "You saved Papa. Now he and Mama are happy again. Souta, my brother- he was born last week. Papa was able to meet him because of you," Kagome glanced at him. "I know you're secretly a good friend. You weren't gonna come and collect me, were you?"
"I thought it would bring you misery," he grunted, "and that worsens the squeezing in my chest."
Kagome walked over to him, pressing their foreheads together with a sigh. Dark bangs mixed with silver. "I'll come. Just let me visit my parents sometimes."
His eyes brightened from their dull brass colour but remained guarded. He was used to empty promises. 'I'll be back soon' was a frequent one from his parents. Sometimes he awaited their return for weeks within their palace. "You are certain? You will not age like other humans."
She nodded, clasping hands with him and threading their fingers. "You're lonely. I would be the absolute worst if I let my friend be lonely. "
Dulled gold blazed into a firey inferno. Youki flowed from his palm, gathering around their joined hands. Kagome's blue eyes warmed, reiki lightly joining to mix, hiss and blend. Tiny pulses of heat and static ran up their arms, exhilarating for the childish rush.
A promise was kept.
----
Air rushed around yellow dandelions, twining invisible fingers through the stalks and making them playfully sway. Souta kicked his soccer ball, running after it with the nimble energy only a 10-year-old possessed.
Noticing something out of his peripheral vision, he squinted. Elation abruptly burst over his features, and he sprinted for the house.
"Mom, Dad! They're here! They're back again!"
From beneath the shade, two children stepped forward, having barely aged a year. Kagome adjusted the collar of her fine green kimono, blue eyes unnaturally bright- as though having been influenced by the wild, inhuman world.
Sesshoumaru's small hand remained clasped in hers while they exchanged small smiles.
She'd kept her promise during the years.
He'd never be lonely again, and neither would she.
End