CORIOLIS

She'd known.

From the moment the name Mount Inugatake had left Momiji's mouth, she'd known.

"Oh, don't make such a sour face," she scoffed, exhaling steam and giving her arm a gentle tug. He hadn't touched her, only the fan, and while she knew she should take offense to it, the way her wrist dangled from the tassle a little uncomfortably, for some reason her thoughts were still stuck on the gold of his eyes. Her memory hadn't done it justice.

"What are you doing here?"

His voice trembled with a growl, reverberating in the air between them and slipping past his fangs like smoke. She'd forgotten how downright rude he could be.

Three years and she'd left things well enough alone, too many of her own problems to deal with. Learning how to be, how to live, how to make her own way in the world. She had known that coming here would more than likely lead to a similar conversation but she hadn't expected him to look so upset about it.

She dropped the mask, let it hang around her neck and shielded her mouth with her hand, feigning arrogance. "Were you not paying attention to the performance? In my opinion, you looked very focused."

His glare narrowed.

"My, my, don't get angry with me."

"Kagura."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes as she gave her arm another tug, this time a little harder than before. His grip tightened.

"Let go." Maybe she'd given him a bit too much credit, any harder and he'd snap the wood.

"Answer the question."

Insufferable dog! For nearly the entire month it had taken them to arrive she'd imagined what a reunion would look like, traitorous thoughts envisioning entirely different scenarios, a juvenile heart influenced by the stories the oni liked to tell. All those maybes and ifs, hundreds of rabbit holes she fell into when she was bored.

But if he wanted to be difficult, fine, she just didn't know why she felt so surprised. Her memories had conveniently neglected to remind her of the last thing he'd said to her:

"Do whatever you please, I don't care. It's none of my concern."

Well, she could do just that.

Her hand shot up to close around her fan, their fingers brushing for the briefest moment, just enough time for her to force air between the wood and his digits and forcibly pry them off. Kagura stepped back out of arm's reach once she'd snatched it from him. The wind hadn't been strong enough to injure him, but his hand hung in the air for a second as he seemed to process what she'd done. Surprise and anger flashed across his face briefly, but after a moment it settled to passive irritation and he let his arm fall back to his side.

"I told you to let go," she huffed, once it looked like he was calm enough. His feet were rooted firmly to the floor, and it didn't look like he'd try to grab her again, but she knew the family temper was not a thing to underestimate. That didn't mean she wouldn't test him again, though. "Now stop acting like I came here for you."

That seemed to make a difference. Whatever tension he'd been holding in his shoulders dropped and the crease between his brows smoothed. None of it could be called dramatic, but the change was just perceptible enough for her to notice; especially when he exhaled and his breathing slowed, the air around him a little less charged than before.

Surprised. Had he thought that? Was he disappointed? She didn't know if she should be offended. She'd done just fine without him for three years, what would be the point to go sniffing around now? Pompous ass.

Kagura turned her back on him, adjusting her robes and removing the mask from around her neck. She had half a mind to leave him there in the cold, to go back and tell Momiji she'd be heading south for the winter, for fairer weather and far fairer company. Come to think of it, the oni would just nag her, she could just leave right now if…

A look over her shoulder halted her thoughts. The rain had stopped, but he might as well have been frozen to the floor, how still he was; looking far less prickly without his armor and his head cocked just slightly to the side, his eyes unfocused but fixed on her face. It wasn't anger clouding his vision anymore, but something more akin to―dare she think it―concern; his lips just a little parted and his brows just a little turned up. She blinked at him.

"What?"

He straightened as if he hadn't expected her to speak, his posture went rigid and he set his jaw, but that soft look in his eye didn't falter.

"Is this what you've made of your freedom?"

Her heart might have stuttered and her breath might have caught in her throat, she had to audibly swallow to get her voice back. He'd never exactly been predictable before, but she certainly hadn't expected a question like that.

"I'm flattered, Sesshoumaru," she said, regaining her composure, his name rolling off her tongue, "and I thought you were too self-absorbed to worry about anyone but yourself. But here you are asking about poor little me. I'm having quite the time of my life, thank you very much."

"...Acting like some common derelict."

A laugh burst out of her throat before she could stop it, a wide grin splitting her face. She would ignore the insult since he hadn't denied being worried. "Oh? You think I'm too good for this type of life?" She flicked her fan in front of her face. "Should I be doing something else? Wandering the woods and wastes in search of power?" No need for that. "Defeating wealthy warlords and taking their riches for myself?" Never had an interest. She snapped her fan shut and threw a hand over her forehead, mocking a swoon. "Or now that I'm back and my current circumstances are so abhorrent to you, should I be…"

Her voice faded a second too late, faltering on what she'd meant to say but knew better than to speak out loud:

"...Should I be asking you to save me?"

He raised a brow. With a scoff she crossed her arms and turned away from him. "What the fuck does it matter anyway? It doesn't concern you."

"You vanished for four years only to turn up now," he said carefully, a hint of anger edging into his voice. "It does concern me, Kagura."

"Why?" She hissed the words a little more forcefully than she'd intended. "You're the one who told me to do what I wanted in the first place, why get upset about it now?" He opened his mouth again but she held up a hand to silence him, ignoring the way his expression sharpened dangerously. "And I know you mean why I'm here, and for your information I was invited, so unless you're going to toss me out then I don't see the point of getting upset about it."

His nostrils flared but he didn't say anything, just stared at her for what felt like forever until she lost her patience.

"So?"

Sesshoumaru raised a brow. Kagura scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"Are you going to tell me to get lost or what?"

He tilted his head, and then very softly, as if he was fighting the word before he'd even spoken it, he said: "No."

"Alright then." She nodded once. "Glad that's settled."

Unsure if that was the end of it, and unsure if she should leave or wait for him to open his fool mouth again, she picked a spot at the other end of the garden, a bush covered in snow and ice and decided it was a good enough place to hold her gaze.

There wasn't much she had to say to him, and his attitude had put her in a foul mood, so she could wait for him to smooth it over or leave.

"Why did you run?"

"Hn?" If he meant earlier, she hadn't been running, and told him so. "Not until you started following me, anyway. Besides, I figured that you'd wanna' have this little 'reunion' in private."

From the corner of her eye she saw him nod, but he was still staring at the side of her face, so intensely her scalp began to itch. She was ready to snap at him, but he interrupted her before she'd started.

"I'm not close with my family."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

It was almost like a game, seeing how quickly she could irritate him, and how long it took him to calm.

"Keep things to yourself."

His version of "things" probably being the human girl and the hanyou, she wondered if she should ask about them, but didn't care all that much. She laughed instead. "I'm not stupid, Sesshoumaru, and you're not the only one with secrets to keep."

"Kagura―"

"―Sesshoumaru-sama!"

The imp's shrill voice preceded any indication of his presence, a fact which was already making the place between her brows throb. His shrieking was definitely a memory she'd repressed.

He called for his master again, closer, and she gave the dog a frustrated look which he might have returned as he stepped past her, his eyes dull and his expression impassive bordering on murderous. For as much time as he spent with the little toad, it was a surprise he still had the energy to be irritated.

"Sesshouma―!" The imp nearly collided with his legs when Sesshoumaru stepped out from around the corner, he had to jump back to avoid it and quickly began to apologize for the slight, sputtering something about looking everywhere for him. Kagura inched a little closer, almost close enough that the fur hanging over his shoulder brushed against her calves. She lamented the cloudy sky, without the moonlight his silver hair lacked it's usual luster.

"I'm so glad that I finally found you, Sesshoumaru-sama, your uncle was…"

So distracted staring at his hair, she didn't notice the toad noticing her.

"Ka-Kagura?!" he sputtered, pointing an accusatory finger at her. Somehow he looked less pitiful without the ridiculous staff he usually carried, a feat she would wonder at later, as he began to screech at her. "What are you doing here?! How did you get inside the castle? There are barriers that should have kept the likes of you―"

"Jaken." Sesshoumaru sounded exhausted.

The toad jumped, his eyes flickering back and forth between the two of them in disbelief, but thankfully his beak remained shut. Kagura stifled a laugh as Sesshoumaru began to walk away, hair and fur swaying with his steps.

"Heading back already?"

He kept walking. Kagura huffed.

"It's customary to ask me to join you for a drink, you know."

That made him pause and turn his head over his shoulder, staring at her with one golden eye.

"Do whatever you want."

Sesshoumaru turned back, the imp chattering at his heels and she supposed that was the closest thing she'd get to an invitation. They didn't wait for her and she decided that listening to the imp's voice was the opposite of what she wanted, and she opted to return to the carriage to at least get a little more comfortable. She watched him round a corner and if Sesshoumaru cared at all for her departure he didn't comment on it, though the imp may have griped something she chose not to hear.

She breezed down an adjoining hall, using her senses to find her way back without taking to the sky, until she stepped around a corner and found the carriage pressed up against the outer wall, its wheels sunken into the muddy slush and snow. The tanuki perched on the carriage's step, a pipe stuck between her teeth and her fur fluffed up from the cold. Kagura rolled her eyes as she took the leap from the veranda to the board they'd placed across the dirt, careful not to wet her robes.

"Oi, Okiyo, you're gonna' stink up my clothes doin' that," she growled, waving her fan to dispel the smoke and pulling the cloud from the carriage like a vacuum. The tanuki waved her off.

"Don't be such a drama queen, I'm sure the dogs'll still think your shit smells sweet," she rasped, her voice thick from years of smoking, she blew a stream of it just shy of Kagura's face. Another wave of her fan had the cloud drifting off into the sky, but not before a heavy weight collided with her shoulders.

"She already stinks like dog."

"Watch it or I'll feed you to them." She rolled her eyes and ignored the sensation of Urue's nose nuzzling into her collar, the bat clinging to her robes with claws nearly as long as her own fingers.

"Lucky for you I don't have much meat, they'd just as soon spit me out."

Kagura hissed out a chuckle and pushed aside the curtain, the dull light just bright enough to illuminate the mess on the floor. Props and clothing strewn about in what looked like haste but hadn't been anything more than the norm. The bat let go of her shoulders when she went to remove her hanten, jumping and latching on to one of the boards that supported the ceiling. Urue watched her, red eyes luminous even in the dark, as Kagura dropped the coat to the floor and hung the mask onto a hook on the wall with several others; one of the few items that garnered any type of special care.

Kagura set about adjusting her robes, ignoring the bat's stare and nearly jumped out of her skin when the koto furunushi made itself known by rubbing against her leg with several high pitched twangs. Kagura took a steady breath and reached down to idly give the thing a few scratches on what she had always assumed was its head. It let out several more twangs before stepping away and burying itself once under a pile of discarded robes, trilling happily. Kagura carefully stepped over it and pulled back the curtain that covered the front of the carriage to reveal a hammock hanging between the supports.

"Tekari."

Two fringed antennae popped up over the edge of the hammock, followed by a fuzzy white head. Two deep violet eyes opened and stared at her, blinking away sleep. "Kagura-sama?"

"Here, I'm done with these," Kagura said, slipping off her furisode and plucking the hanten up off the floor. She haphazardly folded them and tossed them into the girl's lap.

"Did you like them?" she asked, rubbing at her eyes.

"A bit heavy." Kagura knelt down, rummaging through the mess until she found a kosode of a similar color. She shook it out, not finding too many wrinkles, and slipped it on, tugging it into place where the cloth bunched.

The girl swung her feet over the side of the hammock before jumping down, the fabric still bunched in her arms. She hardly came to Kagura's chest, a thick white ring of fuzz circled her neck, wrists, and ankles; she only wore white silk hakama bunched just above her ankles and a lavender bodice that tied around her neck to accommodate deformed wings. Urue detached herself from the rafters to wrap herself around the girl's shoulders like a cloak, her own wingspan almost as wide as the girl was tall.

"I'll try something else then," Tekari muttered, sitting down on the floor, heedless of the bat's weight as she began to spread the robes out across her lap.

Kagura knelt next to them, peering into the mirror clumsily nailed to the wall. She adjusted her hair, tucking in any strands that had come loose, then plucked the pot of rouge from the sack that hung next to it and then began to fix up her face.

"You aren't really going to keep entertaining them, are you? You know they're nothing more than―"

"Urue." Kagura turned to glare at her. While she was leagues more tolerable than the fucking crane was, and Kagura had given her a fairly wide range of things that she considered acceptable, but there were times when the bat got a little too ahead of herself. She'd been making comments nonstop ever since they'd started on their way, and it was starting to get downright irritating.

"Sorry."

Kagura snapped the pot shut and stood, glowering at her familiar with pursed lips. "I'm not going to 'entertain', I was invited for a drink."

The bat looked less than convinced but ducked her head against Tekari's neck and she took that for an acceptable display of shame.

"Whatever, I'll be back later," she said. The moth muttered a "good luck" as she pushed aside the curtain, squeezing past the tanuki and out into the cold, careful not to wet her socks on the icy board.

"Have fun," the tanuki called after her with a cough.

"Staying here?" she asked, turning back over her shoulder.

Okiyo shrugged. "Hotaru's trying to play pranks and the dogs have bad tempers, I don't wanna' get involved."

"I'll tell him to cut it out, but…" she sniffed, "it ain't like it'll do much."

"Never does."

Kagura tossed her a wave over her shoulder as she leapt the distance to the walkway, snuffing out the tanuki's pipe with a breeze and earning her a frustrated curse as she turned a corner and out of sight.

The sounds of chatter and subtle music got louder the closer she got to the main hall, drifting along on the wind, the sounds sharper because of the cold. The temperature kept away the heat that threatened to bloom across her cheeks, she'd already gotten through the hard part, but the next would be a bit more precarious where it came to Sesshoumaru.

Maybe it was overstepping to come here, given their history and what she knew of him, the image he wanted to portray versus the life he'd fallen into. She'd told him she wasn't stupid, and that was true, she could keep his little secret, but she wondered if meeting him again here made much of a difference. If she'd encountered him alone, in the forest, would the conversation have gone the same? Would he have ignored her presence altogether, or would he have sought her out?

She'd kept her distance when she'd returned. From him and from the band of humans and the hanyou as much as she could. But she'd known where he was, felt his presence on the breeze just as strongly as she did now, his aura like a flaming beacon, an overpowering presence that demanded attention. Even before, when she'd thought herself nothing more than a tool, desperate for freedom and without the ability to read the wind, she'd been drawn to it without knowing.

There'd been comfort there, despite his attitude and his refusals, there'd been solace in that presence. But here, there were no stakes, no enemy, no reason for him to tolerate her as more than a passing acquaintance, or nothing more than―as Urue had nagged her―"entertainment". And as much as that thought stung, even as irritating as he was, as pompous and insufferable and rude as he was… she had wanted to see him again.

He hadn't thrown her out, so for now she could take that as consolation.

The light from the main hall was warm, soft torchlight that spilled out into the courtyard below. Kagura paused along the shadows, opened her fan before her face, shielding her mouth as she stepped out into the light.

Immediately, golden eyes were on her.

Not all of them ones she cared for, but still it was something watching noses twitch at her presence. She spotted Sesshoumaru quickly enough, face as stone cold as ever and staring at her, his uncle on his left with Momiji flanking him. Achara sat in front of them, they turned when they felt Kagura's presence, and Kagura had to stifle a laugh at the look on their face, one that screamed: "help me."

She paused there a moment, and it wasn't until she spotted green eyes that she moved.

The kitsune smiled at her, and the oni beside him gave her a gruff nod, the two men flanked around a dog woman and her much larger, beastly silver companion. Whatever they'd been discussing, the woman looked less than amused.

"Stop playing tricks," Kagura hissed, whacking her fan lightly against the crown of Hotaru's head and letting the wind carry her voice so only he could hear.

He grinned up at her, a fang poking over his lip as he rubbed the top of his head. "Can't help what's in my nature."

"Kagura."

The snap of Momiji's fingers brought them both to attention, Kagura looked up, readying a grimace until she spotted Sesshoumaru's face: seconds away from a snarl and glaring murder at…

Huh. Interesting. Something she'd have to look into later.

Instead she plastered a smile on her face and stepped up to their little circle as the oni introduced her to the dogs.

"What a pleasure to finally see your face," Gajou said, sporting a wide grin.

"The pleasure is all mine, m'lord." She bowed slightly and couldn't contain her smirk when she gestured to the only empty space in the little circle. "May I?"

Sesshoumaru smoothed his face and watched her impassively from beneath his lashes. Kagura kept her calm, her mouth hidden behind her fan until he finally closed his eyes and gave the briefest nod before quickly looking away.

She gave him a wide smile―one he did not return―and took her place beside him.

I started working on this story back in the fall of 2018, so even a lot of this is out of date considering i started writing Born Free in earnest in like… April. This will be much slower paced than BF was, and with much lower stakes, but updates should be pretty regular for the first ten chapters or so even tho some do need almost total rewrites, so pls bear with me.

Thank you to Mayra Yanet, saphira404, jtdarkman, beeeeeeeees, and J. Hellscythe for the reviews and support!