Crescent Moon Markings (MDZS/Inuyasha)

8

Wei Changze felt his stomach plunge the moment he realized A-Ying was missing.

He had looked down on his left side, thought A-Ying switched sides, and looked to his right. A-Ying wasn't beside him. He turned back toward Liu Meilin, and she was chatting up a fruit seller. A-Ying wasn't by her side either.

Usually A-Ying gripped their sleeves or their belts to keep himself from getting lost. This was a past gesture he used to do when he was smaller. Back then, he didn't weigh much to balance himself on one foot. He was like an adorable little leech who clung onto them as they made their way through the world. Mostly as well behaved as an energetic child could be.

And, somehow, he wandered away from their side.

A-Ying knew better than to walk away from them before catching their attention. Even if they were distracted, he had to yank onto their sleeves or belt to tell them where he was going. Otherwise, the pair would panic and frantically search for him.

Wei Changze wasn't a strict parent, Liu Meilin, even less so. Compared to most parents, they were free spirited and let their child wander off a fair distance away from them. They couldn't coddle A-Ying for the rest of his life. Stifling his freedom, as much freedom as a child received, would only cause resentment in A-Ying.

Of course, A-Ying wasn't rude or lacked courtesy. Wei Changze made sure A-Ying greeted everyone with the same baseline of respect. With the added lessons from Lord Sesshomaru, A-Ying would be seen as a pampered young master, a less arrogant one, but respectable.

There were instances where Wei Changze was reminded his son was a child. A-Ying might be well behaved, but he got himself into mischief while they weren't looking.

If he were to assume what happened, A-Ying was distracted by a weapon or a toy. Considering Lord Sesshomaru gave his son everything he could ever need, A-Ying didn't need to badger them about toys or training weapons for the future. There was no need for him to badger his parents for anything. Not that he whined about toys before, but A-Ying was sometimes selfish like all the other kids who were well pampered by their parents.

He prayed A-Ying wouldn't be kidnapped. Oh, the idea of someone laying an unkind hand on his precious boy was heart wrenching.

No.

He couldn't think of the extremes.

A-Ying wasn't missing for long. All they needed to do was backtrack to the locations previously visited. After all, they taught their son to stay put, not walk around to search for them. A-Ying wasn't tall enough to see above the heads of the crowds to look for them anyways.

Breathing deeply, Wei Changze caught his wife's attention and motioned her away from the fruit seller. Liu Meilin paid for her fruit and rushed toward his side. She eagerly held up the bundle of jujubes in her delicate hands.

Liu Meilin told him. "I got a good deal on them, A-Ze!" She handed half of her serving into his trembling hands. "We can eat a few and then save them for the trip back home. Lets not buy salty snacks. Our bun bun needs to eat more of these anyways."

Wei Changze couldn't help but utter out. "A-Ying is missing, A-Lin."

Liu Meilin managed to stop herself from pushing herself into panic. She used her hand to grasp onto his arm, took multiple deep breaths and gulped.

"Where is he?"

"A-Lin, my love." Wei Changze reassured her. "I don't think he ventured out too far. Remember, we are not that far from the dumpling stand."

"But we walked farther away from the food sellers to see the fruit sellers!" She exclaimed. "What if someone stole our bun bun?!"

He rubbed her shoulders. "A-Ying would have screamed and bit whoever tried to pick him up. Remember the last time a stranger tried to pick him up because he thought he was their son? He made the man bleed."