Ochaken by MissTeak

Ochaken

A/N: The following one shot revolves around the Sesshoumaru/Kagome pairing, and it includes both the Sengoku Jidai and the present. For your information, Ochaken is a Japanese cartoon character like Hello Kitty, except that it is a tea-leaf dog.

Please read and review if you like it!

Title: Ochaken

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She pulled her white trench coat tighter around herself, shivering in the freezing, swirling winter air.

It almost hurt to breathe; it was so cold.

But as she watched the blissful couples walk past her on the crowded streets of Tokyo, she could only wryly conclude that the physical cold she felt was nothing compared to that of her heart.

Pain stabbed her being as she thought of the love she left behind, the love she was so tempted to pursue, the love she almost threw away everything else for.

She missed him so much.

She missed him so much; she discovered a lot about herself she never knew existed. Cynicism was an example.

How she hates it when people lament parting, such as at graduations and at airports. They didn't understand at all, what being separated really feels like. Technology overcomes almost all physical barriers, but not time.

No, not time.

They have five hundred years to overcome. It is ironic how something so melancholic can seem so utterly ridiculous and even amusing at the very same time.

She found him through a wrinkle in time. They parted because of the same thing as well. She had her life in this era; he had his in the other. For her, it was impossible for her to cast her family aside. Being brought up in a traditional Japanese family with emphasis on filial piety taught her to treasure her loved ones, and also led her to making heart-breaking sacrifices for her beliefs.

But all is not lost, or so as she tries to reassure herself every time his face comes into her mind.

All is not lost, if he remembers.

For her, it had only been five years. Memories were still fresh, beautiful and painful.

For him, it had been five hundred years.

She wondered if he remembered their agreement to find each other, if he remembered her smile, if he even remembered her.

Did he still keep the Ochaken she gave him?

Right before she left him, she gave him something as a keepsake to remind him of her, and the love they shared. She tied the little green figurine of the dog to the hilt of Tenseiga, laughing at his expression of slight amusement and embarrassment at the idea of a toy strapped to the weapon.

She didn't tell him, but the green tea-flavored dog was something that reminded her of him, other than the very obvious fact that it was a dog. Ochaken was green tea-flavored...just like him, refreshing, pure and yet leaving a bittersweet aftertaste in one's mouth. It never failed to remind her of how their love could lead to bitterness.

She never thought she would, could or should love him. He always appeared to be so distant and so cold. She thought so too, like many others who have had the chance to meet him, but she was soon proven wrong.

He wasn't cold; he just didn't know how to be warm.

He wasn't arrogant; he just didn't have the need to be humble.

He wasn't a blood-tainted soul; he was more pristine than the virgin petals of the lily.

That was how unique and intriguing he was, and like a moth lured to a flame, she willingly flew towards him, not giving a care even if she were to get burned in the process. The singed wings of the moth, the ache in her heart, were all worth it.

If he was the epitome of perfection, she would willingly be a self-proclaimed perfectionist.

People say, it's better to have loved and lost than to have not loved at all.

She agreed; she found herself because of love. She never had an idea what eternity truly meant, but now she did.

Because of that, she never regretted. Never did, never will.

Those who knew of their love, forbidden by time, thought her to be the giving party in the relationship. They thought it admirable of her to salvage his soul with her own selfless heart, thought her to be noble and brave, even sacrificial. After all, who could love a monster?

But they were all wrong. They were terribly mistaken.

Their love was never one of giving, receiving or worse still, sacrificing. It was shared. It was mutual. It was ironical. A simple yet beautiful relationship shared by two who needed and wanted to be together.

It was as simple as that. It was just too bad that it happened at the wrong time.

All because of this one unsurpassable obstacle, they were wrenched apart from each other, with only a promise exchanged. The very promise that supported her for the cold, lonely nights she spent thinking of him agonizingly, shedding tears of longing.

Fate brought them together and torn them apart. She could only pray that it could see what a terrible mistake it made and let them cross paths again. Did Fate knew what regret was?

Her thoughts were cut short when something small rolled to a stop at her feet, as she stopped in her tracks to avoid stepping on it. Looking ahead, she could see a disruption in the moving line of people in which she was in, clear evidence of someone trying to go against the flow of the people and cut through the crowd. That had to be the owner of whatever was at her feet.

Stooping down, she slowly reached out to pick up the green thing, only to have her hand freeze in mid-air.

It was an Ochaken toy. Marred by age, but nonetheless recognisable.

It was so familiar...it was the exact design as the one she gave him.

Trying hard to ignore the exhilaration that swelled in her heart, she reached out fully to pick it up, wrapping her fingers around the figurine...before a familiar hand wrapped itself around hers.

A certain strong, warm hand with two very distinct magenta stripes that contrasted sharply against the pale skin.

She looked up, and chocolate brown met molten gold, before a film of joyous, unshed tears started to form in her eyes.

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Owari.

A/N: Tell me how you feel about that! I got this inspiration when I was fiddling away with my Ochaken cell phone strap. Please review, and thanks for taking the time to read this!

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