Inuyasha is a stand‑alone manga. It does not need a sequel to explain its emotional beats, and my analysis is based solely on the original work. Sesshomaru’s feelings for Kagura can be described in many ways, but anyone reading the manga without bias — even if they personally prefer another woman for him — would not call it pity. I pity people too, but I would not risk myself for their honor or break my own weapon over it. So let’s look clearly at SessKagu and SessRin as they appear in the manga.SessRin begins with Rin dying to wolves. Sesshomaru feels something, maybe pity at first, because he did not know the child well. He stopped because of her smile, but he saved her only after his sword reacted. He held her carefully, then allowed her to follow him. At this point, it reads like a classic guardian trope: a hardened character protecting a child. She travels with him, and although she can find her own food, everything else — clothes, direction, safety — is decided by Sesshomaru. He saves her several times because he cares about her well‑being. She looks up to him because she needs stability, and he provides that. Her second death shakes him because he was the reason she died. He drops his sword, and by then she has become precious to him. It is no longer pity, no longer just compassion, but genuine care. He leaves her in the village for her safety and visits often, bringing her clothes. That is where it ends in the manga.SessKagu is different. When they meet, Kagura is honest from the beginning: she wants to use him. He refuses because he does not want to be used. But she continues to meet him, and they become entangled. His care starts to show. If you understand Sesshomaru, he is the type whose warmth shows through actions, not words. His actions speak for him because when he speaks, he often hides the truth. From their first meeting onward, he always watches her leave. He gets comfortable around her and starts closing the distance, but pulls back whenever vulnerability appears. When she yells, “Aren’t you going to ask what happened to me?” he answers, “I don’t care,” yet immediately stops and warns her, ignoring the information he supposedly wanted from her. That moment shows two things clearly: Kagura wants connection, and Sesshomaru cares but is not ready to be vulnerable.He watched all three float down the river. Should I assume he only cared about Jaken and Rin? If he did not care about Kagura, why save her? Why wait? If Rumiko intended him not to care, she would have simply let him walk away. Their conversations increase, and so does his care, to the point where he assumes he can save her and free her. He gets too confident. He senses her and loses her just as quickly. At this point, or even earlier, it is clear he does not see her as an enemy or as just another person like Kagome or Inuyasha. She is something else.The only time he ever becomes that angry for someone else is for Kagura. No one else gets that reaction. So what did Sesshomaru feel? Was it pity? If it were pity, why break his sword? Why risk himself? Pity is far too passive a word. Compassion fits, but it is not the whole picture. He wanted to save her. He wanted her to live. A woman like Kagura igniting that kind of protectiveness in Sesshomaru is interesting, and it is right there in the manga.And that is the point. It is undefined. It is ambiguous. But it is not unrequited. If Rumiko wanted it to be one‑sided, she would have made it obvious. She has never struggled to portray unrequited feelings when that is her intention. She is direct, not vague. With Sesshomaru and Kagura, she did not write a clean romance, but she also did not write a one‑sided crush. She left it open, layered, and emotionally charged. That is deliberate. Ambiguity is not the same as “he did not care.” Ambiguity means there is something there that is not meant to be simplified.
Also saying he only cares for rin is extremely if not annoying bias that people with no actual reading context develop. Rin is a child she is cannonically ONE OF MANY as per rumikos interview i get people like the pairing but seriously just because he cares for kagura it shouldnt hurt. It should be nice because it shows he can care lol
