An Education by UnknownRandomness

Don't Cry For Me

Prompt: Lachrymose – (adj) Tearful or given to weeping; inducing tears, sad. 

Word Count: 709

"I don't know what it is that is affecting Kagome-san. She seems to be suffering yet isn't completely aware of it, or if she is, has simply decided to ignore it." Miroku finished his hushed diagnosis of their friend, and the three companions sighed in unison.

Sesshoumaru watched the small discussion with narrowed eyes. So, the miko was suffering was she? And she had not come to him, regardless of her promise to always be forthright with him? Did she think hiding her emotional pain would somehow not apply? Annoyed, the demon swept past the slayer and his half-sibling, ignoring the latter's loud protest. Without bothering to knock or even announce his presence, the male strode into Kaede's hut, where the sole occupant was quietly sipping tea.

"What is the meaning of this, miko? Our promise is still in effect, had you forgotten?"

Kagome awkwardly placed her tea on the slatted mat below her seated form and studied Sesshoumaru intently, as if weighing his inherent value and trustworthiness.

"There is a reason I have not shared this information with you, and that is because I wasn't ready to. But now that you have come to me, I guess I'll have to be. Please have a seat. Would you like some tea?"

The inuyoukai calmly took a seat as he nodded, and a pleasant silence grew between the two as the woman prepared his tea. They had become particularly good at developing these periods of serenity together, having grown accustomed to one another over the years. Truly, he respected the miko, a rare honour indeed. But now she was keeping something from him, and he wanted to know what. 

Accepting his drink with a simple bow, the Western Lord waited until his fellow tea-drinker decided to divulge her information. 

"I'm dying."

What?

Head snapping towards the human, he quickly noted her sad smile and the tightness around her eyes.

"Explain."

Taking in a deep, nourishing breath, Kagome proceeded to explain that she had been diagnosed with a disease of the blood when she was a young girl and that the symptoms were now coming into effect as the process had been accelerated. By what, her future medicine people had not known, but they had given her a time frame.

"How long?"

Sesshoumaru felt his ire grow when the girl avoided his question. How could he help her if she refused to cooperate?

"How long, miko."

With a small sob, she hesitantly replied, "Seven moons."

What?

Sesshoumaru blinked, completely blindsided by the news. Seven moons was nothing. To him, seven moons was the blink of an eye, a whisper in the wind, a mere hiccup in his long life. 

Seven moons.

Rin would outlive the miko by years. It was a unsettling thought. 

"And they are sure of this?"

"Even if they weren't, I am. I can feel that something's wrong with me. But don't worry, I'll make sure to annoy you until the very end!"

Angry, Sesshoumaru bit out, "Do not jest." 

He didn't understand why he was so angry. The emotion had swept over him like the entire ocean, its fathomless depths crushing him. The miko was going to die in seven moons and she did not seem to care. Did she not understand the severity of this matter?

A trembling hand was placed on his arm, and only then did the daiyoukai realise just how very pale his companion was, how frail the fingers that now rested against his silken sleeve were. 

"Sesshoumaru, don't worry. I'm not upset. And you don't need to be either."

SUddenly feeling lost, the male snatched his arm away from her, ignoring the surprise that flashed across her face and the small, shocked noise she made. 

Eyes burning, Sesshoumaru turned to her before he left the hut. 

"I am sorry, miko. But I do not accept this."

And with those words, he ran. He ran as fast as he could, as far as he could. There was someone he needed to see, someone who could help the miko. She couldn't die in seven moons. The idea was simply ridiculous. Tears dripped from his eyes, whipped away by the wind before they could sully his cheeks.

He ran. And as he ran, he roared.