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For long lived youkai, the comet was a once in a lifetime event.
For humans, it was something that came only once every twenty generations.
In either case, it was surely not something to miss.
His mother had mentioned it the last time he’d seen fit to visit. And he’d made the mistake of mentioning it to Rin. Who had told Kohaku. Who’d told his sister, and then the news had gotten out of control very, very quickly from there. Until his brother’s wife was practically pulling at his sleeve asking him when and how he knew and “oh gosh, it must be beautiful” and then some exclamations that she was surprised his mother still lived after Jaken opened his fat mouth.
And when he saw the sparkle in his sister-in-law’s eyes he knew where her thoughts led, and had never regretted a mistake more.
Luck was on their side, at least. The night was warm for early spring, and the sky was clear, only a stray cloud or two drifting across the moon’s face, and despite its blinding light the stars shimmered as bright as diamonds. The sun had set hours ago, but the comet still hadn’t come into full view, still just a red smear along the horizon, but the humans of the village had already gathered outside in preparation.
He’d come at Rin’s behest, but Sesshoumaru kept his distance. He could mingle just fine, and certainly the drink the miko had supplied him with was strong enough to help with that, but he preferred to stay on the outskirts of the little crowd that had gathered in the old rice field, the only place where the whole village could stand and watch the sky.
Most kept their distance from him, though some had inched closer…
“I can see it, mommy, I can see it!” That was one of the slayer’s brood, the twin girls whose names always escaped him. He knew them by scent mostly, could differentiate them no matter how hard they tried to play tricks, but by sight alone he saw no difference. “Uncle! Uncle! Let me sit on your shoulders!”
“Kin’u, ask nicely.” Nearly a man grown now, Kohaku’s voice was still a shock to him at times, but the boyish grin that pulled at his cheeks when his niece finally asked with a “please” was not. He scooped her up while the girl giggled, happy with her new vantage point, while the slayer and the monk laughed at the scene.
Inuyasha and his wife sat in the grass not far, fondly overseeing a different set of children…
“It’s right there!”
“I can’t see it…”
“Of course not, dummy!” The insult sounded strange coming from the mouth of a four year old. Too old and too cantankerous for someone so small. “You’re just a human so your eyesight isn’t as good! I bet you can’t even see it at all!”
Then again, his niece had certainly taken after her father’s rougher qualities―
“If anyone can see it best, it’s my Uncle!” and at that Moroha pointed a tiny clawed finger in his direction, “He’s a whole youkai you know! Not just some human!”
“ Moroha!” It was a miracle her mother’s voice hadn’t gone hoarse at all the scolding the girl required.
“But it’s true! Ain’t it, Uncle?” His niece hadn’t inherited Inuyasha’s dislike of him, and Sesshoumaru suspected that her father’s long standing aversion had in fact fueled the girl’s admiration. She sought him out whenever she caught his scent, and would toddle after him like a duckling, asking questions―actually, more like demanding answers―about him, about youkai, about anything that popped into that head of hers. “Ain’t it?”
“It is.” As much as he’d once loathed her father, even he could admit that he harbored some affection for the precocious little thing.
Moroha turned to Hisui with a grin, triumphant, while the boy pouted and said something about growing up to be a youkai slayer one day, which only had Moroha giggling and threatening to fight him. They would probably need to be pulled apart soon, the two only a few years apart in age and best of friends, Moroha was strong for a human of her same age, and tended to pick fights with anyone bigger than her.
Beside Sesshoumaru, the fox kit―well, no longer a kit―who’d been quiet most of the night, attempting look arrogant with the hard set to his shoulders, grumbled about the girl needing to respect all her youkai elders, and not just him.
Inuyasha’s ear flicked towards them and he gave the boy a roll of his eyes. “If you want her to respect ya’ maybe you should stop acting like such a brat!”
Shippou shouted something back, starting a spat that had to be broken up by the miko, but Sesshoumaru turned his attention away, scanning the small little crowd until he found what he was looking for.
“And what’s that one?”
“Hm…. I think that’s the crane…”
Rin sat in the grass, Jaken at her feet, and another set of twins in her arms.
“Does it have a story?” Towa asked, her eyes fixed on the constellation above their heads while her sister did the same.
“I’m not sure, you might have to ask Jaken about that,” Rin said with a chuckle, but the girls just groaned. A story from Rin was one thing, but Jaken was too factual and tended to digress, going off into long tangents until he could find his way back to the narrative. Now that Rin had said his name, he’d already started talking in that nasally voice of his, sagely telling them about the crane and its importance while Setsuna glanced in his direction, a silent plea for help.
He knew he should say something, but Sesshoumaru let them be, his daughters would need to find a way to deal with the imp eventually.
And besides, he was comfortable. Even here, surrounded by humans and hanyou and variations upon them, it was one of the few times in his life that Sesshoumaru would admit that he was content. Sango and Miroku were staring at the comet as it grew larger in the sky; Kohaku had one niece on his shoulders while the other stood upon Kirara’s back; Moroha and Hisui continued their bickering; Shippou sat beside him, quietly seeking his acknowledgement; Inuyasha and Kagome leaned one another, speaking softly about the children; Jaken was still telling his story to Towa, Setsuna, and Rin, who had all stopped listening in favor of watching the sky…
He allowed himself a small smile, if only because their attention was elsewhere.
The comet had grown larger, casting a glow across the sky as it neared its apex, blazing, fiery, and leaving a blinding trail of light in its wake. Awestruck, the spectators grew quieter.
Silently they watched the flaming rock that hurtled across the stars, so focused, that when a chilly breeze blew through their little crowd Rin shivered and let out a yelp that made everyone jump.
“That’s cold!” Kagome leaned into her husband, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders just before a wintery gust shook them all. It raised yelps and shrieks all around, and kicked up a gale that nearly sent Setsuna tumbling out of Rin’s lap. She grabbed the girl by the belt while Towa clung to her shoulder―
“Yo, sorry I’m late.”
―He looked up at the voice, his gaze met white teeth and ruby lips―and Kagura, who was not sorry at all.
“ Mama!” Towa was off of her elder sister’s shoulder within a blink and hoisted up into her mother’s arms in the next. Kagura laughed as their daughter tugged at her lapels, a gap toothed grin stretched across her face when Kagura bounced the girl on her hip.
“Hm, looks like at least someone missed me.” The remark may have been directed at him, but she kept her eyes on Towa, who began to giggle and squirm in her mother’s hold. Setsuna had crawled out of Rin’s lap and slowly made her way over, quiet as always. Kagura pulled her in with a hand on her shoulder once the girl was close enough, and Setsuna clung to her thigh so tightly that Kagura almost stumbled. “ Hey ― fuck , you’re just like your damn father…”
“Kagura!”
Rin had gotten up after them, a grin on her face as they greeted each other. The girls began to laugh, telling their mother about the comet and the stories Rin had been telling them. Kagura listened with a smile, glancing at the sky as it changed to a bloody red.
“Mama, look! You almost missed it!” Towa bounced on her hip, pointing a tiny clawed finger at the sky excitedly.
“I wouldn’t have missed it,” Kagura whispered, watching, “besides, you know I have a better view from the sky, would you like to see?”
“No!” Setsuna said quickly, and shook her head against her mother’s thigh. The girl liked to play tough, but she’d developed a fear of flying when she’d turned three, a frustration for both her mother and her father, but a fear that luckily her twin hadn’t learned. “We can see just fine from here.”
Kagura laughed and put Towa down, shooing her off to go play with the other children. Towa ran off willingly to join her cousin and Hisui, who were climbing on A-Un’s back for better views, she jumped onto the dragon’s back, claiming the best spot for herself. Setsuna remained at her mother’s hip, Kagura’s hand gently resting on her head until Setsuna tugged at her obi and Kagura lifted her into her arms.
Rin still stood beside them, and the more he looked the more he realized how strange it was, to see them both whole and hale, with Rin who was now only a few fingers shorter than Kagura. She’d once been a tiny thing, not much bigger than his daughters were now, but now she stood proud amongst even the deadliest youkai, trained by slayers and miko, and even themselves… He could see the woman she would become, and couldn’t help the pride that swelled within him.
As if sensing his thoughts, Rin turned to him. When she caught his gaze she gave him a vibrant smile and a small nod, before walking off towards Kohaku and the hellcat, a bounce in her step. The boy looked down at her approach, a sheepish smile pulling at his lips, but when he noticed Sesshoumaru’s stare his face colored and he looked away quickly, even as Rin nudged his shoulder with her own.
Kagura slid up next to him, the dry grass crunching beneath her footsteps and Setsuna still propped on her hip while the girl tucked her head under Kagura’s chin. When he turned to look at them he was met with a quirked brow and a rouge stained smirk.
“I don’t get a ‘hello’?”
In the light of the comet her eyes blazed, blood and fire and rubies, and he was reaching for her before he could think.
“You were gone quite some time,” he said, as his wife fit herself against his side and tucked their daughter between them. Setsuna burrowed into his fur while he buried his nose into the crown of Kagura’s hair. “Your daughters missed you.”
Her breath fanned his neck when she let out a snort. “Hm, just them? Not you?”
“We all missed you, mama,” came the soft voice from his fur.
He hummed and let himself breath in her scent, content there with the comet’s blazing red light reflecting off her hair.
Shippou hissed something about adults being gross as he got up and trudged away to join the others. He noticed that Kagome had turned to watched them with a smile, but Sesshoumaru didn’t care about any of it.
It would be several more hours before the comet left the sky, swallowed by the blinding light of the sun, but he found that he was fine, waiting there for it to go. With his wife and their daughter in his arms, the other awestruck and laughing as she marvelled at the sight above. His human daughter and the man who would most likely one day be her husband huddled close together. The brother he’d once hated and his sister, his niece and their youkai son. Jaken and A-Un and the hellcat. The monk and the slayer and their children.
Sesshoumaru let himself smile into his wife’s hair, knowing that even if he didn’t hide it, he didn’t care who saw.
They were happy.