So I read this story again and I like it much more than I did when I read it a while back. And I really get it now.
She's feeling melancholic and nostalgic for the past when she was protector, caregiver, and lover. Now that they've both grown up, there's no need, as Lalah said, for that role anymore. She realizes that though Shinobu became who she was through the Lalah's guidance, care, and protection, Shinobu has now outgrown the need for such roles in her life.
It's just like what the friend said. It's the feeling parents feel when their children first leave the house...whether it's to college, the "real world" and/or workforce. It's why parents sometimes baby/spoil/act (almost unnaturally too) loving towards their children during those first few months or even years. It's because the moment their children left their house, that's when they realized that their children were actually standing on their own. Their children no longer needed them like they once did, when they were toddlers or kids, and albeit the parents are proud, they're also rather wistful for the past. So they almost unconsciously or even consciously try to relive and replicate it.
Look, I'm sure all of us grew up in different environments and situations and different types of households. I'm just saying, this is what most parents and guardians feel when they first truly realize that their "kids" or the ones that they've been providing guidance no longer need them in a way they used to. It's a bit scary and sad, but in the end, it's a proud moment.
So although I didn't recognize that in my first reading of this, this is the conclusion I came to.
And in my opinion, I don't think Lalah would prefer "old Shinobu" over "now Shinobu" because she recognizes that not only that could never happen, but Shinobu today is still very much the Shinobu she loves and she would never give up any of what they've gone through for anything else.
tl;dr: Like everyone said, Shinobu is just wistful and feeling nostalgic. She's not a pedophile.
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