This fanart is inspired by the amazing fanfic "Tales from the House of the Moon" () by . Sesshomaru reflects on a memory of his mother when he was just a little boy, and recalls this moment where she came to tuck him in one night:

Indeed, he couldn’t remember the last time she had tiptoed into his head, the same way she had tiptoed into his room at night when he was still a little boy, her sly smirk half-hidden behind the long sleeves of her indigo kimono, her silver hair in wild loops and waves. She always hated to have it pulled back; his father wore a queue, scraping his hair back from his face, but she always liked to be unfettered, letting it fall where it may, curling over her slender shoulders and down her back, sweeping over her throat, brushing the delicate bones of her cheeks...

...“So solemn, my little boy! You should smile more.”

“You smile enough for both of us,” he said. His mother just laughed softly in the dark as she carried him over to the window, where she set him down.

“Now,” she said, hands on hips, “tell me what my boy did today.”

“I learned my numbers,” he informed her.

Her eyes twinkled a little as she smoothed her kimono and settled in front of the window. Patting her lap, she held out a hand. In the dim light of the stars, the tips of her claws gleamed softly. “And...?”

He sighed. She always treated him like such a child, but he went over to her anyway. Always impatient, she grabbed him and drew him into her lap.

“And why don’t you say them for me?”

So warm and soft. He supposed he could relax a little bit. Gingerly, he leaned back into the curve of her body, and her arms slid around his chest and pulled him close.

“I learned how to write them, too,” he said.

“Oh really?” she laughed. “Here.” In front of him, her right hand unfolded and bloomed, white skin, like a flower in the moonlight. “Draw them on my palm.”

Frowning in concentration, Sesshoumaru extended a finger and, carefully so as not to scratch her hand, began to draw.

“Ichi,” he whispered, tracing a long, flat line. “Ni – ” a short line over a long one,“ – san – ” two short lines over a long one, “ – shi, go, roku – ” his favorite shape, “ – shichi... ku?”

“Ah-ah,” his mother said. Her chin was resting on the crown of his head. “Ku is after...”

Sesshoumaru bit his lip. He could feel the skin sliding over his thick, straight hair and gathering at the edges of her jaw, grinning.

“H... haaaaaaa...”

“Hachi?”

“Very good!” she exclaimed. “And then?”

“Ku... and jyu.”

Retracting her hand, she placed her arm across his chest again. “Smart boy,” she said fondly.
“I know,” he replied.

“Oh! Arrogant, too! When will you learn that only your mother is perfect?”

“Hmph,” he grunted.

“So pompous,” she told him, tapping his nose. Suddenly she clapped her hands together. “I have an idea! Let’s count the stars.”

Sesshoumaru lifted his eyes and looked dubiously at the sky. “I don’t think I learned that many numbers,” he said doubtfully.

“Don’t worry!” she whispered. She bent her head, letting the heavy curtain of wild hair fall to the side, and some of it brushed his shoulder, causing him to shiver a little bit. Weaving her long fingers into the shining loops, his mother drew a section of hair in front of them, locks falling over locks, slipping down and around itself until it looked like a silver cobweb, excruciatingly fine and deceptively fragile. “Catch the stars with this. Then we can take our time.”

“That’s impossible,” he huffed.

He couldn’t see her face, but he was certain she arched an eyebrow. It always looked so impish on her, but whenever he practiced in a mirror, he looked snobbish. “Is it now?” Quick as lightning, she passed a hand over the makeshift net, pushing it into the window, against the sky. When she brought her hand away, Sesshoumaru felt his eyes widen. Caught in the strands of her hair were tiny crystals, sparkling in the light of the moon.

Running a hand down his cheek, she kissed the top of his head. “See? Magic.”

Sesshoumaru said nothing. His mother sighed and began to pluck the stars from her hair and toss them back out the window. “They’ll find their way back,” she told him.

“Oh.”

She laid her chin on his shoulder. “Laugh, my darling, laugh. It’s something wondrous. Don’t be so solemn.”

One by one, the stars flew out his window and back to the sky.


Heh, maybe it should be called 'Count the Moons'--there are lots of moons here ^^ That's okay, the waning moon seems like a good symbol for Sesshomaru's mother in this story.

Since this is meant to portray a memory, I tried to make it seem less linear, some bits standing out more than others, just like in memory. That's also why the faces have no features--they are meant to be more iconic, like in a real memory, or a dream.

This was made using Microsoft Paint. Later I might redo this using Adobe Illustrator and then it will be prettiful--until then, its this