A/N: Hello everyone! This is my very first Inuyasha fanfic so forgive me if the characters are a bit OOC! I've rewatched the series today and Kagura's death scene prompted me to write this.

Please enjoy this short little piece of mine and like or review if it's to your liking! As it's my first Inuyasha fic, I would gladly welcome advice to improve my writing! :) Thank you!

Dislciamer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters! I only own the plot!

Wind's Gentle Caress

Staring at the endless waves of the river before him, Sesshomaru's mind began to wonder, recalling past events of the last days.

Naraku was finally defeated, for good, thanks to Inuyasha and his friends. Contrary to what he originally believed, the priestess Kagome that had traveled with his half brother didn't die in the concluding battle and so they mated or as human customs directed, married. Living together with her in that village, he had entertained thoughts of leaving Rin in their care and had finally done so.

It had been for the best, traveling with him and Jaken for as long as she had, she rarely had the opportunity to interact with humans aside from the boy Kohaku and Inuyasha's friends when he encountered them on their respective journeys. Rin was growing older and needed someone to guide her as she grew and changed, he knew little of humans or their customs and wouldn't be able to adequately support Rin through the years of becoming a young woman. That said, he had no intention of leaving her out of his sight...

He directed his gaze to the clear sky, watching as the clouds gently moved with the wind's directions.

The wind...

Gently, a soft breeze disturbed the boa draped over his shoulder, his bangs tickling his face as they moved with the wind's motions.

Kagura.

Tenseiga pulsed at his hip and Sesshomaru frowned, at a loss of the sword's energy.

It pulsed whenever he thought of the deceased wind sorceress, but it hadn't pulsed like that when he had come to see her in her final moments at that flower field.

Closing his eyes, his mind recalled their last interaction.

Flashback

Senses tingling and nose filled with the scent of her blood and the scent of Naraku's miasma, Sesshomaru glided swiftly through the air, a field full of flowers coming into his view and the smell grew stronger.

His eyes widened at seeing the fallen demoness, several gaping holes releasing the wretched miasma from her body, which grew weaker by the second as her head was hanging in defeat, finally free.

After betraying Naraku and betraying me for some trivial thing called freedom, she ended up dying a pathetic death. And dying in vain at that.

Gritting his teeth, Sesshomaru's feet were soundless as he landed on the soft planes of grass and flowers in front of her, watching her body succumbing to Naraku's lethal miasma.

It seemed like she sensed his presence, for her head quickly rose from its hanging position, red eyes wide with surprise, "Sesshomaru..."

"I followed the scent of blood and miasma," his nose tingled with Naraku's rotten scent and the smell of her blood made him feel uneasy.

Her gaze softened in understanding, "I see. You were expecting Naraku." She averted her gaze from him, once again with her head bowed in what he perceived to be disappointment, "Are you disappointed that I'm not Naraku?"

Gaze softening at the beaten expression on her face, he voiced his thoughts to her, his voice steady and clear, "I knew it was you,"

The widening of her eyes and the shocked gasp escaping her lips made his lips draw into a line. Had she thought of him as that cold a demon? Incapable of feeling the slightest bit remorse for her death?

His gaze lowered. He couldn't have blamed her, their interactions had been brief and on neutral terms, not something to perceive the other as a steady ally. But she didn't deserve this, she didn't deserve a painful death as this. He himself valued freedom, valued his own freedom strongly and for that to be taken away from her as soon as she got it must have been the cruelest thing to experience, cruelty expected from someone like Naraku.

Kagura smiled then, "I see," she fell silent, the miasma rapidly destroying her body, the blood soaking into the flowerbed bellow her feet.

Grabbing the hilt of his sword, Sesshomaru watched the miasma spreading, thick vile smoke of it enlarging her wounds and disintegrating her body.

"Not even Tenseiga can save her now," with a frown, he released the hilt of his sword and watched, watched the blood red flowers petals be carried by the wind, the same wind that had brought her scent to him and enabled him to be there for her final moments in the world of the living.

There were limitations to the sword's power and Sesshomaru was forced to watch it firsthand. The sword was only capable of saving a dying person if that person's body remained, for the majority, intact, but since Kagura's was disintegrating due to the miasma infesting her body, there was no body he could return her soul to.

He loathed the dreaded half demon, creating an incarnation as free spirited and independent as her, capable of even killing his own half brother and stand her ground, only to be discarded as soon as she was no longer of service to him.

He had to admit, plotting against Naraku had been a feat not many would have dared and yet, she, who had her heart imprisoned by him, had not feared of planning her release despite the dire consequences knowing would befall her as soon as he caught wind of it.

"Are you leaving?" it had been a trivial question to ask, but the silence and the sight of her body disintegrating had aggravated him slightly, for reasons he himself didn't know for he valued the silence and the peace of it on his journeys.

However, this silence wasn't accompanied by peace. It reeked of death. And a crying soul denied of its freedom.

"Yeah...it's enough," her voice was clear but sounded strained, the miasma and her injuries finally taking its toll on her body.

His gaze softened when her body slowly lurched backward, scarlet eyes appearing from behind dark thick bangs, they weren't empty or narrowed in anguish. A languid sense of peace filled them and...contentment.

For a moment, he thought she would say something, but she didn't, opting to hold his gaze with her own as her body dissolved in the wind, a single feather marked her existence in this world as it floated in the wind, following the white petals of the flowers as they soared through the skies, guided by the wind that was now free.

He waited, a final form of respect to the deceased demoness, before he moved on, only managing a few steps before the voice of his half demon brother reached his ears, "Wait, Sesshomaru!"

He stopped, waiting for him to say something, and he did, "Did Kagura suffer?"

He looked at the wind, blowing slightly stronger now that it's master passed and became the free wind itself.

"She was smiling," was everything he offered as he continued on walking, away from the group.

And he swore, as the wind gently rustled his clothes, that he heard her whispering in the wind, "I am the wind. The free wind,"

Flashback End

Opening his eyes again, Sesshomaru continued looking at the floating clouds when Jaken's voice reached his keen ears timidly, "Uhm...my Lord?"

Sesshomaru didn't turn his head, but acknowledged him by saying, "What is it, Jaken?"

The imp demon looked uncomfortable to say the least and when Sesshomaru sniffed at the air he knew why, "Inuyasha,"

"Sesshomaru," the voice of his half brother greeted him and Sesshomaru could sense his brother behind him.

"What do you want?" watching Jaken sweating nervously from the corner of his eyes, he waited for Inuyasha's answer.

The half demon looked just as uncomfortable as Jaken, "Rin's been asking for you," he paused, "She said she missed you,"

Sesshomaru hummed thoughtfully, feeling his heart soften just a bit at the information.

"Lord Sesshomaru," Sesshomaru's gaze narrowed at Inuyasha directly when the latter wore a teasing smirk.

"Hm," he stood up, ignoring the smirking half demon as he passed him by, "I'm unable to see how the priestess hasn't purified you yet,"

He allowed himself a small smirk at the enraged, "Hey!" from his half brother, flying toward the direction of the village Rin was staying at.

The wind gently caressed his face and for the first time in days, his nose filled with a scent he thought he would never smell again.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he descended to the ground where Rin excitedly waited for him, presenting her with yet another kimono he had brought for her, with the scent of the wind sorceress surrounding them.

The end! Thank you for reading! :)