Title: Bone
Written for: Nelson Bannaba
Pairing / Characters: Sango / Mrs. Higurashi (platonic)
Rating / Genre: K, general
Spoiler Warnings: none
AN: I suck. I have no excuses for sucking. I prostrate myself before all of you for sucking so badly. Feel free to beat me. All of this is taking place sometime in that nebulous period before the big Sesshoumaru - and - his - mom story arc - just generally, when things are less serious I guess. I don't really think it's all that great, but I wanted to find a way to do this character pair-up in a canon-verse without any weirdness. Hope you like anyway...

The tip of Kagome's shiny black shoes wavered through the air and glinted in the sunlight. Not for the first time, Sango wondered how exactly people in the future managed to find an animal with a hide quite as reflective as the surface of the other girl's shoes. There were a few odd water demons she could think of that might achieve the same effect, but none of them were black. Besides which, Kagome had always reassured them that there were no demons in the future - apart from Inuyasha, at least when he would visit her home to drag her back into theirs. At the moment, however, she had all the time in the world to wonder about the origin of Kagome's strange shoes, considering that they were nearly the only part of her visible over the swell of her massive yellow pack. A grunt emerged from the depths of the bag and Kagome's legs kicked, sending her tiny skirt flying up dangerously.

Predictably, there was a more than willing audience to witness the show.

"Ahh, Kagome! I don't suppose you need any assistance-"

A curt "Monk!" snapped out by Inuyasha in warning silenced Miroku, though it failed to wipe the smug grin off of his face as he observed Kagome's struggles.

"Sango dear, you know I was only trying to help-"

"Right," Sango answered with boredom, not feeling energetic enough to actually physically display her annoyance with Miroku's usual antics.

"- but since Inuyasha feels so strongly about my interference, perhaps you'd like to assist her instead." The sly half-grin on the monk's face made it clear that he was only hoping to see more than one pair of legs in the air that day. That look was enough to bring Sango to her feet to join Kagome. She took a grim satisfaction in seeing the smile drop off of Miroku's face as she pulled Kagome out and quickly ushered both of them to be strategically obscured by the massive pack.

"Thanks Sango," Kagome huffed, her face red from her exertions. "I know it's in here somewhere," she muttered, eyeing the bag dolefully. "Well... I guess I can start with the herbs after all."

Sango leaned over and peered into the depths of the yawning yellow bag. She still didn't quite understand how Kagome managed to pack so many things into it, or more importantly why she did in the first place. At times she thought the bag was almost as heavy as her Hiraikotsu. "What were you looking for?" she asked curiously. Kagome, with her usual air of distraction, was already wandering towards the trees with a pouch in hand and a determined expression, and after exchanging a knowing glance with Inuyasha, Sango trailed after her slowly.

"I'm trying to find a present I bought for my mother," Kagome explained as they wandered through the light, sun-dappled forest. "Sango, if you could keep an eye out, I'm looking for dong quai..." she mumbled busily, her eyes already fixed to the ground as she scanned the undergrowth, occasionally stooping down to pluck a flower or dig up a root.

Sango suppressed her own quiet sigh; when Kagome began fixating on one of her ideas, it was nearly impossible to hold a normal conversation with her. "It's too dry to find that root here," she called out with irritation. The younger girl didn't even seem to register her comment, and with a roll of her shoulders, Sango gracefully accepted defeat and moved to assist Kagome in gathering a few of the more useful herbs they could find.

Later, after they had both emerged from the forest with flushed faces and dirty fingers and were relaxing by the stream to wash up, Sango tried to catch Kagome's attention once more. She watched as the other girl carefully bundled the herbs into small fagots and then meticulously tucked them away between small strips of cloth. "Why did you need to collect these anyway?" she ventured as Kagome finished with the last bunch of herbs.

"Oh... well, it's a present," Kagome explained cheerfully. "It's for my mother. I still need to find the card I bought for her though, it's hiding somewhere in my bag," she added with a small frown.

"Ah," Sango said thoughtfully. People from the future seemed to place great importance on celebrating the most innocuous dates, birthdays being one of them. It did seem like a useful tradition, when she thought about it critically. There were so few things to celebrate these days, any excuse for merriment and gift-giving would be a welcome relief from the monotony of searching for the remaining jewel shards. "My congratulations to your mother on another year, then," she said with a smile.

"Another year?" Kagome repeated blankly. Then her eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Oh! No, it's not mama's birthday," she said with a laugh. "This is for a different occasion; it's for Mother's Day." Seeing Sango's blank expression, she continued: "It's another one of our holidays. You wouldn't have heard about it, we didn't start celebrating it in Japan until pretty recently."

"I see," Sango said, though she didn't. "So... it's a day when the women in your time celebrate their fertility and try to produce heirs?" she asked, gesturing at the herbs. "You'd better not mention this to Miroku. I'm sure that lecher would love celebrating it here."

Kagome blanched and then turned bright red. "No, Sango," she yelled shrilly, upsetting a few birds in the trees around them. "It's not a holiday about sex! Eww, I'm getting grossed out just thinking about that!" Her cheeks managed to pale slightly, though her face was still brightly flushed as she continued her explanation. Sango was somewhat bemused by Kagome's reaction; despite her scandalously short skirts and Miroku's constant innuendos, she was still easily embarrassed by even the mere mention of sex. At first, she had assumed that the modern world was a strange place of paradoxes, but as time passed Sango was beginning to suspect that much of Kagome's strange neuroses were particular to the girl herself.

"Mother's Day is a holiday we celebrate to honor our mothers," Kagome explained quickly. "Usually children present their mothers with gifts to show how much they appreciate her hard work. Sometimes, if the kids are too young to do it themselves, though, the father can present her with a gift in their place. I just thought this year that I'd get mama something from the Feudal Era, since I spend so much time here anyway."

"Ah," Sango said simply, pushing down the unexpected twinge of pain that accompanied Kagome's explanation. So, it was a holiday modern people used to celebrate their families. It was a concept that she herself couldn't approach without some amount of pain; Sango had never known her own mother, and as for her father and Kohaku - She swallowed dryly and blinked away the unexpected burn that rose in her eyes, turning a falsely bright smile towards Kagome instead. "It sounds like a wonderful holiday."

For all of her flightiness in other areas, Kagome was perceptive enough to notice when something was amiss with one of her own friends, and she quickly picked up on Sango's discomfort. Her eyes softened and her mouth parted with a slight breath of dismay. "Oh, Sango, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to upset-"

"No," Sango said quickly, gathering a few of the bundled herbs and toying with them uneasily. "You don't have to apologize to me, Kagome. I'm... happy, that you can still celebrate things like this with your family. You're very lucky," she added quietly. "I can't even remember what my own mother was like. She died after K-Kohaku was born. My father raised both of us by himself."

Kagome fell silent, watching Sango's painfully obvious attempts to appear cheerfully unaffected by their conversation. Finally, she let out a sigh and grabbed Sango's hand, giving it a tight squeeze. "Sango... I'm sorry. I know talking about your family is hard for you. I wish I could give you some of my own happy memories..." She trailed off, growing distracted, and Sango eyed the other girl suspiciously.

"Kagome?"

"That's it!" Kagome said, jumping up with excitement and sending Sango scrambling after the scattered cloth bundles they had carefully collected. "This year, why don't you celebrate Mother's Day with me? It'll be good for you, Sango! Therapeutic!"

Sango paused, looking up at Kagome with consternation. It looked suspiciously like Kagome was fixating on yet another idea, and this one seemed to involve her. That was always a dangerous thing, and for a moment she wished quite uncharitably that Shippou or Inuyasha was around so that she could deflect Kagome's fire onto someone else. "I already told you, Kagome, my mother has been long dead. I don't really see how I could celebrate this Mother's Day of yours without a mother."

"That's the thing," Kagome said with excitement, her eyes shining. "You can borrow mine! I'm sure Mama would love it, and you're already like a sister to me anyway!"

"Borrow your mother?" Sango repeated faintly, trying to comprehend Kagome's indecipherable thought process. On the plus side, it did have the benefit of distracting her from the dark thoughts that plagued her whenever she thought of her own family. Then again, Sango knew better than to trust Kagome when she had that wild look in her eye.

"Oh, don't give me that twitchy stare, Sango," Kagome said abruptly, pouting and planting her hands firmly on her hips. "Celebrating Mother's Day with me is a great idea! You can make my mother a present and write her a letter to go along with it. Trust me, my mother likes babying everybody. Doing this will make both of you feel good!" By this time Kagome was already pulling Sango eagerly back to the camp.

"I have to get your mother a present?" Sango sputtered as she allowed the other girl to herd her back towards the others. "I don't even know your mother or what she likes!" she protested. Kagome's hand remained firmly attached to her wrist, so she tried again. "I... I don't have any money to buy her something!"

At this, Kagome let out a loud snort. "Neither do I, but that isn't stopping me, is it?" she said, waving around one of her herb-bags carelessly.

Frustrated, Sango finally wrenched her arm away from Kagome and fixed her with a stern glare. "Kagome! The only thing I know how to do well is slay demons. I seriously doubt your mother would appreciate any of the demon poisons or bone weapons that I know how to make as a gift."

"That's perfect!" Kagome cried out.

"You want your mother to become a demon slayer?" Sango said dryly.

Kagome shot Sango a look, and shook her head vigorously. "No, you can make her some kind of bone carving. You already know how to work with knives and with bones! How hard could it be?"

"Well, now that I think about it," Sango mused, "not very." Catching herself considering the idea, she resumed glaring at Kagome. "But you're missing the point, Kagome. I don't know your mother. It wouldn't be right for me to impose on this holiday of yours - it's your family, your world, your traditions. Not mine," she said firmly.

For a moment, Kagome looked like she would argue, but Sango's withering glare stopped her, and she dropped her shoulders with a heavy sigh. "Okay, okay, I won't force you to do it if you feel so strongly about it. I just wish you'd consider it, you know? You don't always have to keep yourself so closed off from other people." The pitying look she gave Sango as she spoke did nothing to relieve the demon huntress' conscience, but they did manage to return to the camp without incident.

Two days later, however, the strange concept of Kagome's "mother day" hadn't left Sango's thoughts, and she found herself fingering a slender piece of demon bone left behind by their most recent encounter with an over-eager-demon and a jewel shard. She never thought the absence of a mother had any particular impact on her life; her father had raised both Kohaku and herself to be fighters before anything else. Sango had always assumed that had her own mother lived, she wouldn't have become the warrior she was today. Still, as she surreptitiously watched Kagome playing with Shippou before her, she wondered briefly what she had missed. There was a certain gentleness present in Kagome's overall bearing that she knew she sorely lacked, and despite Miroku's constant reassurances that he liked a woman who knew how to "take control." And she had to acknowledge the spike of jealous longing that flashed through her as she saw Shippou's carefree smile, his little arms waving wildly as Kagome eagerly scooped him up into a hug.

Her lips thinned, and with an expression of resolve Sango carefully pocketed the bone.

.x.x.x.

"Mama! I'm home!"

Mrs. Higurashi paused in surprise at the unexpected greeting, and then dried her hands off quickly on the dishtowel and turned to greet her daughter. "Kagome! I wasn't expecting you back so soon!" she said, sweeping her daughter into a warm hug. "I didn't think your friends would let you visit again this quickly, you were already here last weekend." She kept her smile light, though the thought did send a pang of worry in her heart; Kagome's appearances in the household were becoming more and more infrequent as she grew increasingly more distant from her life in the modern world. In her heart, she secretly feared the day that her daughter would simply decide to stop coming home; it seemed almost inevitable, sometimes.

"Oh, Inuyasha didn't want me to come back," Kagome said carelessly, "but he changed his tune after I sat him a few times. Besides, today's a special day." Noting her mother's apron and wrinkled fingers, she shook her head angrily. "When Souta gets back, he's going to get the scolding of his life!"

Mrs. Higurashi blinked in surprise. "Kagome, what on earth has gotten into you? You haven't even seen Souta yet, and you want to scold him already?"

"Yes! Because everyone knows that you're not supposed to do the dishes today," Kagome replied, beaming up at her. Then, smiling, she pulled out a small parcel with a card tied to it. "Happy Mother's Day!"

For a moment, all Mrs. Higurashi could do was stare at the bundle in her hand as her eyes misted over. "You remembered," she said softly in surprise.

"Of course I remembered!" Kagome sniffed comically. Then she grew somber. "I know I haven't been spending a lot of time at home lately," she admitted. "I hope this makes up for it... at least a little bit." Then, eagerly, she eyed the parcel. "Well, aren't you going to open it?"

Quickly, Mrs. Higurashi unbound the string wrapping the parcel closed and let it fall open. "Oh, Kagome, it's..." She paused, looking at the small bundles of dried herbs with confusion. "... wonderful-smelling," she said finally, smiling at her daughter.

"It's a bunch of herbs I picked up in the Feudal Era," Kagome began immediately, launching into a fast-paced explanation of what each bundle did and its medicinal uses. Mrs. Higurashi was filled with pride that her daughter was learning at least something in the feudal era, even if it was bringing her well on her way to becoming a Chinese apothecary's apprentice. She wondered if Kagome realized how much she was actually taking after her grandfather, and decided in the interest of peace that it would be best not to mention it at all. Sorting through the many bundles of herbs, she came across a small cloth-wrapped object that was too hard to be one of the dried plants. Carefully unwrapping it, she gasped in surprise at the tiny, polished bone-handle dagger that fell out. The metal was sharpened to a fine point, but the handle itself was exquisite, carved to look like a twisting dragon had wrapped itself around the blade.

"Kagome, it's beautiful! Did you make this?" she said softly, interrupting her daughter's monologue.

Peering over her shoulder, Kagome's puzzled expression suddenly brightened. "I guess Sango took my advice after all," she mumbled softly. Then, clearing her throat, she shook her head. "No, I didn't make that one, Mama. It's from a friend of mine, Sango. She's almost like a sister to me. Her family is... umm... sort of going through some difficult times, and I think her mother died before she got to know her. So I told her that she could... well, share," Kagome said softly, giving her mother a hopeful smile. "I didn't think she was actually going to do it, but wow," she said softly, eying the dagger. It really was meticulously done, a beautiful piece of work. Obviously Sango had put a lot of time and effort into it.

"So that poor girl grew up never knowing a mother's love?" Mrs. Higurashi said softly, rubbing a finger over the handle.

"She's a strong person," Kagome said quickly, knowing how Sango would scorn her mother's pity.

Eying her daughter thoughtfully, Mrs. Higurashi nodded. "She must be, if she's one of your friends. This is a lovely gift. Do you think you could deliver a thank-you note to her for me?" Kagome's smile faltered slightly, but she gave her mom a quick nod. Mrs. Higurashi, perceptive as ever, noted her daughter's hesitation and gave her a bemused look. "What's the matter, honey?"

"Oh..." Kagome said, fidgeting. "Well, you can write Sango a note if you like, but I'll be the one who has to read it to her. She'll probably have a little trouble trying to decipher modern script..."

Mrs. Higurashi's eyebrows shot up to her hairline in surprise. "She can't read?" she repeated, shocked. "What on earth are you children doing in the past anyway? How could you allow yourself neglect something as important as your education?"

Kagome kept her counsel to herself, thinking that it was probably for the best that her mother didn't know what exactly she and her friends were doing in the Feudal era. "Uh, Mama, we don't really have time to sit down and study all the time. Besides, it's the past. Even if Sango could read your letter, no one else would be writing in that style until 500 years later. Don't worry, it's not a big deal. I'll tell Sango how much you appreciated the knife, okay?"

The sound of the door rattling open and Souta's loud cry caught Kagome's attention, and quickly, she swooped onto her mother and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Happy Mother's Day, Mama!" she said quickly, before running out of the kitchen to greet her surprised brother.

Mrs. Higurashi frowned to herself and stared at the knife in her hand with a thoughtful expression.

.x.x.x.

"Welcome back," Sango said to Kagome as the other girl entered Kaede's hut. She smiled at her nervously; she was sure the quiet addition of her small present to Kagome's own gift hadn't gone unnoticed, and was slightly apprehensive that Kagome would be upset for having been so presumptuous. To her relief, Kagome gave her a wide smile as she dropped her heavy backpack onto the floor.

"I'm glad you took my advice after all. Mama really loved that knife you gave her!"

Sango let out a sigh of relief, then watched her friend with surprise as Kagome immediately began to dig through her pack, again. "Kagome? Did you lose something?" she asked, watching her friend's head and torso disappearing into the pack.

"Ah-ha!" came a muffled cry, and Kagome quickly wiggled her way out of the backpack. In her hands was a small bundle wrapped with brown paper. "Mama liked her gift so much she wanted me to give you this as a thank-you. She said you should ask me for help if you have trouble understanding it."

"What?" Sango repeated, surprised as the package was dumped into her lap. "Mothers must give a gift in return for this holiday of yours?"

Kagome only shook her head. "No, and I don't even know what she got you. Open it up!" she said eagerly, kneeling on the floor beside Sango.

Quickly Sango undid the tie and let the contents of the package spill out onto the floor. Her mouth quirked as she studied the contents. "It looks... like one of your strange books," she said, watching as Kagome picked up the book with a squeal of surprise. A few thin rods of strange material were tied neatly to a sheaf of unnaturally straight, smooth parchment, and underneath that was a sealed envelope with strange, flowing script written across the top of it. "What is this?" Sango asked, furrowing her brows as she picked up one of the thin rods.

"Stationary!" Kagome informed her. "What you're holding is a modern pen. You use it to write," she explained, grabbing one of the pens and demonstrating its use on a piece of paper. "And this book is a guide to learning how to read and write in modern Kana! Wow, so that's what she meant," Kagome mused to herself.

Sango, in the meanwhile, had grabbed the book and was flipping through it curiously. Some of the symbols were familiar to her, but many were completely foreign, and she squinted at the book, slowly trying to make out the words and instructions. It wasn't that difficult to follow; the strange book was obviously meant as a learning tool for younger children. She looked up after browsing through a few pages, a confused smile on her face. "This... is a very kind gift, but I don't understand. Why does your mother want me to learn to read and write in your language?"

Kagome returned Sango's curious look with a knowing smile. "I think she did it so she could hear your answer for herself," she said.

"Answer?" Sango queried, and Kagome only grinned and grabbed the envelope with the script on it instead.

"Yeah, I get it now! I think she wants you to answer this yourself," Kagome explained. "I bet it's a thank-you note for your gift."

Sango felt a flush of pleasure at the unexpected present and eyed the envelope curiously. "That's... very kind of her," she murmured, wondering why a woman she had never met was willing to extend the gift of knowledge to her. Sango knew that in Kagome's time people lived differently, but she wondered if her mother really understood how rare it was to give the gift of knowledge to a woman in this time. It was as rare as her father's own unintentional gift to her, to be instructed in the way of a demon hunter despite her gender. "Kagome... I know your mother would want me to learn how to answer that note on my own, but... maybe you could read it to me right now anyway?" she asked shyly. "I don't want to wait until I can do it for myself..."

Kagome beamed at Sango. "Of course!" she said, ripping the envelope open and unfolding the paper inside. Her brow furrowed as she scanned the page, and then slowly and clearly, she began to read.

"Dear Sango,

Thank you for the wonderful gift you gave to me. I only wish I could have received it in person in order
to thank you personally. Kagome didn't inform me of the exact circumstances of your own family, only
that you had suffered a great loss. I am sorry that a soul as gentle as your own had to bear such a great
burden. And yes, I can see that you have a gentle soul when I look at the care which you put into this
beautiful carving. But moreover, I know because my Kagome trusts you, and considers you to be the
sister which she never had.

I know that it will be difficult, if not impossible for us to ever meet, so I hope this note is adequate to
express my gratitude. More importantly, I hope that you realize that whatever has happened in your
life, you are not alone. Kagome will always be there for you, if you ever need a friend. And though it
may be a bit presumptuous of me to offer, I would like you to consider me as a mother as well. Even
if it is 500 years in the future, I hope that my offering of a mother's love will be strong enough to cross
that boundary and protect both you and Kagome from any harm.

Please take care of yourself, my dear child. And if you ever find yourself in need of a mother's love,
know that I will always be here for you, and am only a letter away.

With much love,
Mama Higurashi"

Silence settled around the hut as the two girls absorbed the letter, one smiling softly and the other frozen in surprised shock. Sango was shaken out of her stupor as Kagome carefully folded the paper and slipped it back into the envelope, before placing it firmly in Sango's hands.

"I... I've never had a mother before," Sango said softly, feeling a few tears well up in her eyes. She blinked them away, surprised; it was the first time in her memory that she could remember crying tears of something other than pain or loss. It was a strange, unrealistic feeling that coalesced into something more solid when she felt Kagome's arms wrap around her in a warm hug. Before she knew it, she felt her own arms coming around Kagome and returning the hug.

"Well I've never had a sister before, so I guess we're even," Kagome said softly before she released Sango. "I'm glad," she admitted with a reassuring smile.

Sango blushed in embarrassment and carefully wiped away all evidence of her unexpected tears. "Well... maybe you should sit back before Miroku comes in and starts drawing his own conclusions about our new relationship," she said crisply. But the small, happy smile which broke over her face betrayed her business-like tone, and she held the book very close to her heart.