Smile
The scent is upon the wind, Sesshomaru's nose picking it up immediately. Golden eyes shifted to the direction it was coming from, a small scowl appearing on his face. It was definitely Naraku's miasma he smelled, but there was something… different about it. Only a moment of reflection had him moving swiftly toward that smell, for not only was it the deadly poison but there was also a hint of blood and death within the air.
//Fly, fly little wing/Fly beyond imagining/The softest cloud, the whitest dove/Upon the wind of heaven's love//
It confused the dog lord a little at why he was being drawn; however he was passed denying his emotions. As much as he didn't like it, Sesshomaru felt things, and he definitely felt he would not completely like what he would find at the end of this scent.
A gentle breeze caressed his skin as the dog came to a meadow, bright flowers blossoming and spreading their sweet smell in the air. Birds danced in the sky; a few feathers floating delicately to the ground and Sesshomaru quickly caught sight of the wind sorceress sitting amongst the petals. Her face was contorted into what the dog lord perceived to be pain as Naraku's miasma was quickly eating away at her body. However, her expression slowly melted into sadness, her magenta eyes gazing at the meadow before her.
She was near death, this much Sesshomaru knew, and it occurred to him that she truly did not want to die alone. He walked toward her, leaving the trees to stand merely a few feet from her.
//Past the planets and the stars/Leave this lonely world of ours/Escape the sorrow and the pain/And fly again//
Kagura raised her head, although it seemed to take a little effort, and her eyes widened in shock. They sparkled with an unasked question, the dog lord wondering if she had lost the strength to speak.
"I came following the scent of Naraku's miasma," Sesshomaru explained calmly, golden orbs watching intently as the dying demon's lips curled into a small, sad smile.
She laughed a bit, looking away and whispered, "Did I disappoint you? That I wasn't Naraku."
The dog lord paused; it made sense that she would think such a thing. That accursed half demon had been Sesshomaru's prey for some time, now. He gazed at Kagura for another moment, lightly wondering why that saddened expression bothered him.
"I knew it was you," he answered at last. It was a simple matter to decipher exactly whose scent it was he'd smelled on the wind. Although Naraku's scent was nauseating, the smell surrounding the wind sorceress was different. She had the aroma of the cleanest air, something the dog lord couldn't find anywhere he traveled, not even on the tallest mountain.
//Fly, fly precious one/Your endless journey has begun/Take your gentle happiness/Far too beautiful for this/Cross over to the other shore/There is peace forevermore/But hold this mem'ry bittersweet/Until we meet//
Kagura's eyes widened once more and she tilted her head to gaze at him for a long moment. Another breeze brushed passed them, kicking up loose flower petals and seemed to be trying to erase the odor of the miasma as it leaked from the wind sorceress' body.
After a few quiet moments, she looked away again, whispering, "I…see…."
Sesshomaru's golden orbs were locked onto her, his hand absentmindedly reaching for Tenseiga. Even before his claws touched the hilt, the sword pulsed in a mournful way and the dog lord could not see the little emissaries from the afterlife. 'Tenseiga can't save her,' he realized, dropping his hand from the sword of healing.
Feeling began swirling to life within his chest; it was heavy, chilling, and not at all comfortable. He wondered a brief moment what it was, but the smell of the miasma grew and he could see the wind sorceress growing weaker. "…you leaving?" he asked, not really knowing what else could be said.
"Yeah," Kagura replied, voice frail and soft, "soon."
//Fly, fly do not fear/Don't waste a breath, don't shed a tear/Your heart is pure, your soul is free/Be on your way, don't wait for me//
Sesshomaru heard steps from behind him, the scents following indicating that his brother and his friends had arrived, although his gaze never left the woman in front of him. Something told him not to miss it; he was to witness every last moment this demon was to have in this world. The heavy feeling within his chest grew, however, with each passing instant.
As the miasma grew, Kagura lifted her head to lock her eyes with the dog lord, lips spreading into a smile. The feeling pulsed painfully at seeing that, but he showed no signs he'd felt anything. 'Why smile?' he inwardly wondered. 'Is she happy that I came, that she saw me?'
In that moment, her body burst and the miasma quickly ate the flesh away and a great gust of wind blew through the meadow. Sesshomaru gazed at the retreating petals for a moment before starting to leave; he had watched the wind sorceress die, as it seemed his heart wanted of him, but the darkness within him refused to dissipate and her smiling lips kept flashing across his mind.
//Above the universe you'll climb/On beyond the hands of time/The moon will rise, the sun will set/But I won't forget//
'If that's what she wanted,' he concluded, 'then she died without any regrets.'
"Wait a minute, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha barked, the older dog demon stopping his steps. No doubt, they'd probably want more information on what had transpired here, but Sesshomaru wasn't so sure he'd answer them.
"Inuyasha?" the reincarnated priestess questioned.
"Was Kagura…," the half dog growled, lowering his voice to whisper, "suffering?"
Sesshomaru turned his head toward the breeze, looking up to spot a single feather, still smelling of the cleanest air floating on the wind. It drifted over them before being carried away, and to the dog lord it was almost as if… Kagura was saying a final farewell.
The darkness pulsed.
"She was smiling…." Sesshomaru's voice had been soft as her face came into his mind again and he walked away, leaving his brother and company to sort it out on their own. The heaviness in his chest was becoming hard to control and he would not lose his composure in front of anyone.
As the meadow was left behind him, once more a gust of wind caressed his face and he turned into it. His eyes saw the feather again and he gazed at it for a few moments, watching as it danced in the air. 'You are truly free now,' his mind whispered; the feather floating away a minute later.
"Farewell," Sesshomaru whispered, expression turning to sadness as he watched the feather disappear in the distance, "…Kagura."
//Fly, fly little wing/Fly where only angels sing/Fly away, the time is right/Go now, find the light//
Song: "Fly" by Celine Dion
Dialog taken from the IProject scanlation of chapter 374 of the manga.