An Unexpected Love Story

Chapter 14: Kagura and Midori

The next day, Kagura was almost fully healed. Her ribs still hurt if she moves too fast but there aren't any open wounds or intense fractures anymore. She went outside to a small patch of flowers. Sesshomaru wasn't like other demon lords who decorate their place by making it look nasty in order for humans to fear it and run away. No, Sesshomaru wasn't like that.

He prefers a place that looks so nice and beautiful. But the only reason why he does this is to attract more demons to worship him. What questioned Kagura the most was that Sesshomaru always wants to use the same flowers all the time. They were exactly the same flowers in the meadow where Kagura had died.

She looked around and saw that nobody was there. She took her fan from the sleeve of her kimono and called in a gust of wind. She controlled the wind in such a manner that she looked like she was dancing. Of course, dancing was in her nature. Her name itself is a form of dance and also her techniques. She has the Dance of Blades, Dance of the Dragon, Dance of the Dead, and the Dance of the Serpent. She was created to dance freely together with the wind.

Midori noticed the unusual changes of the wind's direction. She went to the place where the wind seemed to be stronger. She arrived at the patch of flowers and saw Kagura dancing so beautifully. She noticed Midori and stopped. Midori blushed.

"Oh, no. Please do not stop. I like the way you dance. You are very graceful. Oh, was I disturbing you? I am really sorry about that. I will leave right away," Midori said.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault," Kagura said. "I just felt like dancing today." Midori nodded.

"It's just that," Kagura continued, "I never got the chance to dance when Naraku still held my heart eight years ago."

"Huh? Naraku?" Midori asked.

"Oh yeah. I guess I haven't told you yet. You see, I don't really have a family. Literally. I came to this world because Naraku, a half-breed bastard, created me. I was simply one of his incarnations, I'm no one but his minion. He ordered me to gather the shards of the Shikon jewel years ago and kill this priestess, Kikyo, who was the caretaker of the jewel. Although he succeeded in killing her fifty-eight years ago, she was resurrected. Just like me."

"Resurrected?"

"Since I was one of Naraku's creations, he held my heart. So if I did one wrong move, hesitate one of his orders, he'll squeeze my heart till I die."

"So you died because he squeezed you heart?"

"No, not really. You see, eight years ago, I finally had enough of him. I was sick of his slavery so I decided to run away, as far as the wind can take me. Unfortunately, while I was flying away, he appeared right in front of me. He gave me my heart back."

"That is a good thing, right?"

"Actually, no. When I heard my first heartbeat in my own chest, he immediately stabbed his poisoned tentacles into my body. That bastard. You know what he said? 'Don't worry. I avoided your precious heart.' I flew away from him, cursing him in every way I could. Soon, I was no longer strong enough to keep on flying so I landed in a flower meadow. The wounds themselves wouldn't kill me, but his miasma was extremely deadly. I couldn't take it anymore. Then... He came?" Midori knew who Kagura was talking about.

"Lord Sesshomaru?" she said.

"Yeah. You know what, although I wasn't exactly expecting him to be the one to come for me, I was happy. I didn't die alone. He asked me how I was then I told him that I had enough. So I let go. After that moment, I became the wind."

Midori was silent for a minute. She had no idea that Kagura had endured so much pain in her past, much more pain than what she has suffered.

"Then," Kagura continued, "the next thing I knew was that I was lying down at the exact same spot where I have been before during a strong typhoon. What I didn't know was that eight years had already passed. So, here I am! Back to life!"

Midori looked at her feet.

"What about you?" Kagura asked. "What's your past?"

"Well, since you already told me about your past, I will tell you about mine. I was born in a simple fox demon family. Both of my parents loved me so much that they would even sacrifice their own lives for me. But one day, when I was still very young, a group pf pig demons attacked us. They were going to take me as one of their slaves but my parents fought them. But unfortunately, they all ended up killing each other. It was all my fault."

"Don't say that. It was those snotty pig demons' fault. They're the ones who killed your parents plus they shouldn't have planned on taking you."

"Yes, that is true, but you do not understand. After that fateful day, I lived alone in the small hut that my parents had left to me. I grew up all by myself for five centuries. One day, I heard about Lord Sesshomaru's demon empire. I decided to work for him as a servant in exchange for letting me live here. Besides, I heard that the relatives of the pig demons were on a hunt so I was worried that they may come after me."

Midori's sweet smile turned into a sad frown. When Kagura saw Midori's face, she had a vision. Midori was lying on the ground with a large hole on her chest. She was bleeding very badly.

"What is wrong?" Midori asked.

"Oh, nothing." Kagura answered. Then Sesshomaru came into the scene. Midori and Kagura bowed in front of him.

"Midori," he said, "May you leave the two of us for a second?"

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru," Midori said as she quickly left. Kagura suddenly blushed after remembering what happened yesterday. She readied herself to fly away.

"You have no need to worry, Kagura," Sesshomaru said. "I am simply here to ask you a question."

"Huh? What question? I mean, of course, sir. I'll answer any question that you'll have for me," she said.

"Kagura, I have recently thought about your freedom. And it made me think about you becoming my servant. Why did you do that? Why did you choose to serve me instead of becoming free like you had always wanted?"

"Well, I just felt grateful. I wanted to thank you for everything that you did for me so I decided to serve you." Sesshomaru suddenly remembered Jaken. He followed Sesshomaru everywhere he went in order to show him how grateful he is that Sesshomaru 'saved' his life.

"Would you like it if I let you live in my palace in exchange for nothing?"

"Huh? But why? Sir?"

"You deserve your freedom. You have suffered in your first life as Naraku's minion. Now, it makes me think of comparing myself to him. I wouldn't want to disappoint you."

Kagura became silent. She had to thank him in every way she could, but something was urging her to agree. She suddenly thought about Midori.

"Fine. I'll agree to your proposal," Kagura said. "But in one condition."

"And what condition would that be?"

"I'd like you to do the same with Midori. I want you to let her live her in exchange for nothing."

"Midori? May I ask why you intend to give Midori this opportunity?"

"This may sound really dumb but... she's actually my very first friend. Midori was the very first person to become so nice to me. And she also deserves it. She worked for you in exchange for letting her live here. I want her to be free and happy to."

Indeed, it sounded a little bit too dumb for Kagura. But her words were sincere.

"As you wish," Sesshomaru said. He called Jaken who was actually spying on them. He ran towards Sesshomaru.

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru?" Jaken said.

"From now on, Kagura and Midori shall be treated like how everyone treats you. You are now of equal ranking."

"But-But-"

"Jaken, Kagura and Midori are no longer servants nor anyone of lower rank," Sesshomaru said but this time, he made his voice louder.

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru!"

"Tell everyone in the palace about this."

"Surely, Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken said as he ran to tell everyone.