This is based loosely on a fanfic I wrote a few years ago on animespiral that got deleted. Decided to rewrite it and make it more canon.
I don't own any of this, would like to, cause Takahashi is probably rollin' in dollas, but I don't. This is just the silly little dreams of a fan. Hope you like it.
That idiot.
But, Sesshoumaru supposed, he would have done the same. He had done the same. Would do it again. To save Rin. He had rushed into the meidou without thinking, just as his brother did now to save the miko.
But that was not his business. His was done. Naraku was dead, Rin was safe, the humans were alive, more or less. Jaken was squawking something at the kitsune who paid him no attention, keeping his gaze on the space Inuyasha had moments ago disappeared into. The houshi and the taijiya seemed to be having a tense conversation, while Kohaku watched. Rin had gone to check on A-Un.
Naraku was dead.
It took a moment for that thought to fully sink in. Naraku was dead.
He turned his eyes to the sky, the black clouds of shouki had faded, giving way to a bright blue sky. The stench of him still hung in the air, but it was fading quickly as well. A breeze picked up around him.
He ignored the taijiya approaching him, as she ignored the houshi's and Kohaku's pleas. Out of the corner of a golden eye he saw her bow to him, awaiting a fate that wouldn't come. She was shouting something, he could smell the tears she was trying desperately to hide behind her fallen fringe. Kohaku was next to her, repeating the same things over and over.
Sesshoumaru kept his eyes to the sky, the breeze still tousling his silver hair. He let his eyes fall closed. The scent reaching him, a scent he hadn't picked up in quite awhile. He had thought it had followed him into the meidou, left behind and unable to escape. The scent of the sun, of warmth, of rain and petrichor, of flowers and forests, of ice and cold. The scent of the wind.
'That's right. He is dead, your death was not in vain.'
He finally turned to the taijiya, she must have noted the change as her bow deepened.
"Please! Sesshoumaru-sama! Rin is safe! Ane-ue didn't mean to kill her! She was tricked by Byakuya's illusion!" Kohaku was babbling, desperate to save his sister, his only family left.
Sesshoumaru stared at the top of the girl's head and fought off a sigh. He had no reason to kill her, had no want to, even though he knew he should. He tried to find a reason to give as to why he wouldn't. He simply didn't want to bother. He was content. Rin was fine, that's all that had mattered, that and the fact that Naraku was finally dead. The scent got stronger.
"Sesshoumaru!" even in a such a position, she would not call him with a title, still he didn't care, "I knowingly endangered Rin's life and will accept any consequences."
The scent was all around him now, toying with him.
Everyone had grown quiet, merely watching. The houshi had resigned himself, staring on with the kit on his shoulder. Sesshoumaru knew that if he did make a move to kill her, the man would step forward, but for now he stayed still.
Sesshoumaru took a step forward and they all shrunk back, the Taijiya trembled. He opened his mouth to speak-
"Oh, Sesshoumaru, stop tormenting the poor girl, you know you're not going to kill her."
He froze.
Sesshoumaru turned and saw something he thought he would never see again.
"Kagura."
There she stood, almost the same as the last time he had seen her. The blood and shouki gone, of course. Her kimono was different, blue leaves dancing in an embroidered breeze along her collar and sleeves, a green obi slung around her waist. The green beads that had always adorned her ears had changed to silver drops. Her fan was now ivory, made from youkai bone, most likely. The feathers had remained stuck in the bun a top her head.
The only thing that truly hadn't changed was that smirk. It was the same haughty and self-confident tug at the corners of her blood red lips. But it was clear now, no longer bitter and hateful.
"Yo." She waved the fan at him, the smirk widening to a grin. "looks like I missed the party."
He was upon her in seconds, inches from her face. Her eyes widened as she took a step back, bringing the fan in front of her.
"You died." His voice was rougher than he had intended, but that didn't matter. How? How had she survived? Tenseiga hadn't been able to save her. How? It was the only thing going through his mind as he flicked between the two crimson eyes appraising him.
She quickly regained herself, bringing the fan to her chin.
"Hn, that's what I thought, too," she turned her gaze to the humans behind him, before bringing her eyes back up to meet his, "But, kaze-youkai," she shrugged, the smirk returned, "different rules."
"Kagura…" Kohaku had taken several steps forward and now stood only several feet away from the two.
"Hey, Kohaku." She smiled, a genuine one, not like the one she had given him before her "death." It was something Sesshoumaru had never expected to see on her. "Nice to see you alive."
Tears welled in the boy's eyes and he lunged at her, almost knocking her down as he wrapped his arms around her waist. She had to take a step back to not fall.
"I'm sorry! It was my fault! If you hadn't let me go maybe he wouldn't have…" he couldn't even form the words. He was done playing tough, the day's events too overwhelming for him to push back the tears that spilled over his cheeks. He buried his face in the front of her kimono.
Kagura, on the other hand, was still recovering from the shock of being embraced for the first time in her life. Tentatively she placed her arms around the boy's shoulders, lightly patting his back.
"Hey, I'm not dead now, am I? It's fine."
He nodded, taking that as consolation and released her. He took a few steps back til he was standing next to Sesshoumaru.
Sango came up now, her bow now towards the kaze-youkai.
"I want to thank you, for saving Kohaku. I don't know what we… what would have…"
Kagura waved her off. "Stop that. It's creepy. I told you, it's fine. 'Dying' is probably the best thing that's happened to me."
~xXxXxXx~
"Are you planning on staying in this village, Kagura?" he didn't look up at her, where she sat in the tree.
She snorted, swinging her legs back and forth as she gazed down at him, her chin resting in her palm. "And what about you? I didn't take you for one to be hanging around here, either."
It had been two days, Inuyasha had still not returned. The rest of them had remained in the village, keeping vigil on the well. Sesshoumaru and Kagura had remained in the area, he had nowhere to be anytime soon, he was curious as to the fate of the hanyou, while she had just appeared bored, like she had nowhere to be, ever. He had mostly stayed out of the village, dealing with the youkai that had come sniffing around after the fight. She had done the same, only coming in to speak with Kohaku.
"This Sesshoumaru is merely inspecting Rin's new home." He explained, turning to look out over the small creek that bubbled several feet below. The ripples sparkled in the moonlight.
It was strange, this calm.
"Ho?" she dropped from her perch, landing softly beside him. "Are you leaving the girl to humans?"
He nodded.
"Hn, I suppose that's good. The poor thing," she took a few steps in front of him, keeping her gaze on the water, "it's no good if she spends her whole life following after you."
It was silent between them for a time, the sound of the water, of crickets in the grass, of wind brushing past the trees the only things they heard. The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, curiosity getting the better of him.
"How did you survive?"
She turned back to him, eyebrows raised. His gaze was not on her and she sighed.
"Didn't know you cared." She shrugged, and turned away in time to miss his eyes hardening on her back.
"I thought I was dead." She began, bringing the ivory fan to her chin. "I thought my soul, or what have you, was just trapped here, because I am the wind…" her voice softened, wondering if he was even still listening. "So, I did what I thought I should, I watched out for those after Naraku, even though most didn't know I was there." She glanced back at him, waiting for a response.
He merely nodded again, not giving her the satisfaction of knowing that he had been all too conscious of her.
"But then, Kize found me." A smile crept onto her lips and she turned her eyes to the water again.
Something pricked at the back of Sesshoumaru's mind, but he ignored it.
"He's also a kaze-youkai. He explained to me, that my physical body had been too damaged, so I had reverted to my true form, he said it would take some time for me to heal it, so I just had to wait."
"But," the smile faded, "I didn't have that kind of time, I wanted to be there, two days ago, I wanted to see the bastard take his last breath…" she dropped her hand, turning her gaze to the stars. "So, Kize helped me regain my body faster, took quite a bit of energy, but I did it."
She giggled. His eyes widened for an instant, the sound was strange coming from her, but not unpleasant.
"You wanna' know something funny? But it comes with a secret." She turned and took a few steps toward him, she clasped her hands behind her back. "The only way to kill a kaze-youkai is to destroy their heart." She brought the back of her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. "Naraku didn't think that one through, did he?"
Her laugh was contagious and he found himself fighting off the tug at his lips. He watched as she spun away from him, twirling onto her own makeshift winds. Just happy to be alive.
Sesshoumaru thought she would fall into the creek when she reached it, but she danced across it, barely leaving a ripple. The moonlight shone off her black hair. She had turned back to him, floating above the surface of the water. She grinned and vanished in a twirl.
"Don't tell anyone my secret, okay?" he could hear her voice around him, everywhere, her scent spread out in a gust. Another new ability that that Kize must have taught her, he supposed. He ignored the prick again, taking the opportunity to sit against the tree she had been perched on earlier. Gazing at nothing, he merely thought on the woman that just as suddenly reappeared across from him, laying in the grass with her arms outspread.
She was different, no longer bitter at the world. Was this what she would have been like had she not been Naraku's spawn? Carefree, and just, happy, with the winds at her beck and call? Able to turn any setting into a stage for her dance, even now as she lay against the cool grass, she drew attention to herself, a light breeze combing the weeds around her.
But he would not dwell on these thoughts. He looked away, just taking in the scent of the wind.
"I want to thank them." She said after a time. "They wanted to help, they said they would get my heart back."
He had turned back to her, the breeze had settled, leaving her strangely still against the knoll. He nodded, they deserved her thanks. Had offered to save her from her tormentor. They had offered. Without being asked. He had been. He had not offered. Had done nothing on her behalf. Had accepted her help and done nothing. Only near the end had he tried. Under false pretences, she had not known.
Sesshoumaru did not deserve her thanks.
~xXxXxXx~
Sesshoumaru could smell his brother before he heard the kitsune's screaming.
'So he survived.' It was merely a fact to him, it made no difference. He was not glad, nor was he disappointed. He found himself too indifferent lately.
But he would go and see regardless. He could not scent the miko. Had Inuyasha failed to save her? The thought was almost depressing. Almost.
He approached the village slowly, not wanting to seem too concerned or curious. He made it just in time to see his brother walking forlornly into the village, flanked by his friends.
Sesshoumaru almost felt bad for him, the way Inuyasha's shoulders slumped, his ears flat against his head, keeping his eyes to the ground.
But there was no anger, no vengeful spirit as Sesshoumaru had expected. Just simple dejection.
The hanyou's golden eyes turned up to him as he passed, he looked confused, as if he hadn't realized his brother stood in his path.
"What're you still doing here?" the voice was meek.
"This Sesshoumaru was only curious to see if his idiot brother had survived."
Inuyasha glared at him before deciding it wasn't worth it. "Whatever." He muttered, dropping his eyes and starting to walk past. The two humans nodded at Sesshoumaru as they followed the hanyou, stopping just behind him when he paused again several feet away. "What the hell?"
Sesshoumaru turned as Kagura landed before them.
"Glad to see you're alive, Inuyasha."
Sesshoumaru couldn't see his reaction, but from Kagura's widening smirk he could tell the hanyou was baffled. Obviously the humans had not told him of her resurrection.
"Kagura, you…"
She ignored his confusion, looking behind him to the others before bringing her eyes back to him. "Where's Kagome?"
Inuyasha tensed, hands clenching into fists. "She… she's safe. She went home."
"I see…" she turned her eyes to the ground.
The others were quiet. Kagome was gone. Naraku was dead.
Kagome was gone.
"So why're you here?" Inuyasha finally asked. Even if she had left on fairly pleasant terms with them, she had no reason to come back.
"Well," she started, bringing the fan to her chin, "for one I wanted to be there to see the bastard die…" she smiled now, "and I just wanted to thank you, for trying, to help. For offering to get my heart back."
Inuyasha nodded. "Kagome, she… she'd be glad to know you're alive."
Sesshoumaru was done listening at this point, it was no longer his concern. Whatever his brother did now, what the woman did, it was not his business. He turned to walk away.
"Sesshoumaru, wait." She called to him, a breeze picked up the hair. He turned back to meet her gaze.
"You, too." Her voice was less confident than before, but her crimson eyes remained on him. "I…" he thought he saw a pink tint on her cheeks.
Suddenly, she rushed forward to stand before him. Her gaze was no longer on his face but on her bare feet. He remained quiet, curious as to what she was doing.
"You came… It… I was happy." At this close range, he had to suppress a gasp. She was beautiful, he realized, long lashes, crimson lips to match her pupil-less eyes. He didn't even move to stop her when she brought small hands up to grasp the spikes on the front of his armor. Didn't make a sound when she brought her face closer to his. Ignored the gasp from the others still watching as she brought their lips together.
It was feather light, a tickling breeze, but before he could do anything else she had pulled away, the smile still plastered on her face. She was doing a lot of that. He liked it.
"Thank you."
He went to reach for her, but found that she was disappearing into the wind. Vanishing before his eyes for the third time, leaving him there with an arm raised to nothing.
Okay so this is kind of long I feel like, the other chapters probably won't be like this but I had to get all this in there.
And yes, there will be more to come after this.
Let me know what you think! :]