Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I do not own the song "My boy makes coffins" by Florence and the Machine but it all awesome to watch and listen to!
AN: Thanks to all my reviewers! You guys make a writer's world go around! Also, This is a repost that fixes some grammer mistakes but like Pokemon I think I caught them all...but I could be wrong.
My boy builds coffins with hammers and nails
He doesn't build ships, he has no use for sails
A strange thing that happens over the centuries is perspective. Of all the professions Sesshomaru had been and could be in all of time, Kagome saw Sesshomaru’ s coffin making become something more.
At first, it was just creepy. Kagome wasn’t even sure how he got involved in wood work anyway but it was Sesshomaru. It was wood, hammer, nails and Sesshomaru. Nothing between him and perfection but himself and the mastery of his tools.
He doesn't make tables, dressers or chairs
He can't carve a whistle cause he just doesn't care
It wasn’t wood work! It was building coffins that fascinated him. Kagome had asked for some furniture for the house and what an ear full (or lack there of) she got out of that. As time flowed and the rules changed and technology advanced, it seemed Sesshomaru had found a hobby that never seemed to change. He still practiced his sword work but it was never quite the same as he could never make use of it. What was not in use was just wasteful. He had tried his hand at teaching but he knew it was inevitable even without Kagome’s knowledge of the future that the way of the sword was dying.
My boy builds coffins for the rich and the poor
Kings and queens; they've all knocked on his door
Well there was only one thing to do when Sesshomaru had to start putting coffins outside. Kagome was not having them clutter the house anymore. He started giving them to families in his old domain. It was emotional for Kagome to see when the rich and the poor were full of gratitude. The poor because someone cared and the rich because someone cared. It was also when Sesshomaru actualized why he was so fascinated with the act of building them. It took Kagome much longer to notice.
Beggars and liars, gypsies and thieves
They all come to him 'cause he's so eager to please
After that, people came from all over to commission or to ask for one. And Sesshomaru welcomed it! Her introverted mate invited people into his territory and their home. She couldn’t say he was gregarious but this was huge! While serving as hostess though, she knew he was getting more than expected from these people who were alive and asking for coffins for themselves and the ones that came for someone that recently passed. It was more as though he was reaching? All his senses were on alert, as though he was in a battle. What was he trying to receive from what these people told him?
My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
One day Kagome decided to watch him work. It was as she thought. Just as beautiful to see him work on a coffin as it was to see him in swordplay. Maddeningly easy concentration that comes from steady practice. His tools; an extension of himself. Incredibly intimate precision. Peace. Quiet. Stillness. Kagome knew then that this was not a hobby. It was becoming more of an expression of himself. Kagome left the space confused as to what it was expressing. His swordplay always revealed his danger, his predatory nature, his determination, and sometimes his mercy. What was she witnessing now?
He's made one for himself
One for me too
You can’t say Sesshomaru is very subtle. It didn’t take long for Kagome to suspect he was making a coffin for her. There was the measuring tape…but there was also the "lay down in this coffin so I can see how it fits". Kagome was used to many bizarre things but that took the cake. Needless to say he was just going to have to guess at that one even after he told her he had already fitted his.
One of these days he'll make one for you
For you, for you, for you
My boy builds coffins for better or worse
Some say its a blessing, some say its a curse
There were whispers almost everywhere they moved to of an immortal groundskeeper. Eventually people would notice they didn’t age and after a while they would go "underground" or to a youkai haven and stay until the whispers died down, which usually took 30 or 40 years. Even going to havens didn’t stop Sesshomaru from making coffins. While he was one of the eldest youkai around, he was far from bored with life. It was unusual and it was because of his mate and the work of his hands.
He fits them together in sunshine or rain
Each one is unique, no two are the same
Kagome could remember the day when there was tragedy in a youkai village. Forty nine youkai died in a human raid. This was not duty but compassion. Sesshomaru and Kagome worked with those families all day and Sesshomaru made coffins at night. Kagome knew she couldn’t stop him. This was the way he would work through it. He could no longer protect as he could back in the feudal area. It was hard acceptance. When Kagome went out one very cold and rainy night with some hot tea to get Sesshomaru to take a break, she noticed something she never had before. With so many coffins around, she noticed. She noticed that none of them were the same.
My boy builds coffins and I think it's a shame
That when each one's been made, he can't see it again
In the coffins Sesshomaru built in the dead of night, loved ones were buried. In the sun, the wood glistened and beautiful patterns were discerned across what should have been ordinary wood that was made extraordinary by attention. Kagome understood why Sesshomaru was so intent in conversation. Sesshomaru was taking what loved ones said (and sometimes didn't say) about their deceased and carved their coffins accordingly. One by one those coffins showed unique majesty for each life that was gone too soon.
He crafts everyone with love and with care
Then it's thrown in the ground, it just isn't fair
After life returned to some normalcy, the dead buried and the living on their way to healing, Kagome had time to think. She remembered all the coffins that Sesshomaru had built all of these many years. Could all of them have been different? There was no way to confirm her suspicion. Like the lives those coffins housed, all the splendid evidence was decaying in the cold hard ground.
My boy builds coffins he makes them all day
But it's not just for work and it isn't for play
Sesshomaru was in some ways repenting. At least in a Sesshomaru way. He would never regret the lives he had taken because he was not exactly wasteful when he ended them. He was however regretful of both what could have become of some and how it affected others that were still alive. The truth was everyone dies even youkai. When Kagome watched him work in light of that revelation she still saw: peace, quiet, stillness…and then...reflection.
He's made one for himself
One for me too
Eventually Kagome let herself be fitted for her coffin. It was actually very comfortable...and peaceful...and warm.
"Ahm, Sesshomaru?"
"Hn."
"Why does this coffin feel like you?" Kagome asked as she turned on her side, yawning. It was a very comfortable coffin.
He walked to the edge of the coffin and smirked at his very sleepy Kagome. She was pregnant but he would let her figure it out. She would be excited to tell him. "I infused my youkai to it, mate. I will protect you even in death."
She felt herself being picked up out of the coffin and dreamy thought that it was both creepy, enduring and morbidly romantic all at the same time. Why was she so sleepy lately?
One of these days he'll make one for you