CIRRUS
Mostly, their travels followed the same script:
Momiji would know some youkai lord or another (from a tale she would loathe telling, but would lavishly tell nonetheless), they would arrive, dance, drink, and be merry with all the frivolity wealthier youkai loved for indeterminate amounts of time. During Kagura's time with the troupe, their shortest stay had been three days, the longest had been four months. That one had grown old within the first week.
The homestead of the dogs wasn't much different. There was drinking and dancing and music, a kaleidoscope of youkai wandering through the doors for the festival, all types of canines and various others she didn't care to name, if they even deigned to give them.
As vicious and bourgeoisie as the dog's reputations were, she was surprised to find the festivities to be less snobbish than she'd anticipated. Though they themselves kept up their airs, their guests were allowed a certain degree of freedom in regards to their conduct. Kagura had already been subjected to several drunken guests breathing in her face, not unusual, just a surprise given what her expectations had been.
For the most part she was lucky, not by her estimation, but from what Hotaru told her. Given Momiji's… relationship with Gajou, she was typically invited to spend the nights with them. Which included Sesshoumaru, who constantly looked like he was teetering the edge between mind numbing boredom and genocide. She was surprised it hadn't started a fight, but the rest of the dogs seemed to defer to him; whether that was because of his own strength or that of his father's, she didn't know.
They hardly spoke, though he hardly spoke to anyone to begin with, so she didn't feel too badly for it. He tolerated her company well enough and their brief conversations were mostly relegated to something droll; "the sake is good enough", "the music is not terrible", and the most common: "my uncle likes to speak of things that don't concern him." That one was always precipitated by Gajou making a cryptic comment on something from his youth, which Kagura couldn't help but listen to with rapt attention. It usually earned her a scowl, but the temptation was just too great.
It wasn't much, and she couldn't ask for anything more given their history and his disposition. But she couldn't help the smug satisfaction that flooded her when she danced. His eyes followed her every movement, as focused as when she'd seen him in battle. Every time she turned, his gaze was on her, his face cold and betraying no emotion, but it was certainly... something.
Three days passed following the same schedule during the night, leaving Kagura with nothing to do during the days, which really meant one thing: exploration.
Someone else might call it snooping, but frankly youkai were too secretive to allow just anyone into the private areas of their home, which meant there were plenty of enchantments and glamours to keep her away from places she wasn't welcome. Regardless, the estate was immense, and even without encountering any spells there had already been several times, while wandering with Achara, they had found themselves turned around, back where they had started. Her connection with the wind allowed her an easier sense of direction, but without the strong sense of smell the dogs had, it became disorienting for Achara, being constantly turned around.
What they had managed to find was a particularly quiet garden, hidden away in a corner of one of the upper levels. Just large enough to house a sizable maple tree and a frozen over pond, the rooms surrounding it were thankfully empty, giving it the air of privacy despite the ever growing crowd in the rest of the castle.
It had snowed the night before, heavy and thick, blanketing the castle in several feet of white powder. The world had been transformed into a diamond crusted wonderland in one night, the air crisp and thin with the chill. Icicles hung from the roof and tree branches, glittering in the dull winter sunlight that filtered through thin clouds amongst a blinding bright blue sky. Kagura found herself mesmerized by the light refracted in an icicle above her head, the sun's rays throwing sharp golden flecks through the ice.
Thankfully, it wasn't as cold as the first day they'd arrived; and now midmorning, the snow had finally let up to soft flurries, falling gently around the little moth, Tekari, as she kicked snow about the courtyard. A rare occurrence, that they'd managed to get her outside of the carriage or the rooms they'd been given, but the soft snow and warmer weather had been just enough to draw her out of hiding. The girl hated the straw cloak and boots that had been forced onto her, but with her size and weak youki, she was more susceptible to the cold than the rest of them.
Above, Urue hung from one of the rafters, wrapped up in her wings like a cocoon and as close to the wall as she could get.
"I don't see how you can stand this." Achara shivered beside her, the poor bird had wrapped themselves in no less than three thick cloaks they'd wrested from Momiji's personal collection. A high offense, if the oni were ever to find out. But, even with the added layers, they still had her wings wrapped tightly around themselves and their legs drawn to their chest.
"It isn't that bad," she said, watching the fog from her breath dissipate in the air. While Kagura didn't necessarily mind the weather―she could alter the temperature immediately surrounding her if she focused―she had still forced her usually bare feet into a pair of woolen socks and wore her own red hanten loosely over her head. "I think you just enjoy complaining, listening to the sound of your own voice."
Achara snorted and leaned over just enough so they could rest their head on Kagura's shoulder, trying to sap some of her warmth. "My voice is quite nice, but I wouldn't waste it on this if I didn't mean it. It's damn cold!"
"You can say 'fuck', you know, I won't tell anyone."
Tekari continued stomping her feet in the snow, drawing patterns across the yard until she finally gave up and threw herself face first into a snow drift below the maple. The girl didn't move, content to lay there as flurries floated down from the snow trapped on the tree's boughs.
"Aren't we supposed to be going to Ryuukyuu after this? That's south, isn't it?"
"That's not for another month, and besides, would you really rather be traveling in this weather?" Kagura scoffed, "at least here we've got a roof over our heads and walls to keep out the chill. You're better off staying here til spring."
"Yes, but the journey might just be worth the reward," they moaned, teeth chattering for emphasis. "Have you ever been?"
"I haven't."
"She has," the bat piped up, voice muffled by her own wings.
"Go to sleep, Urue."
Achara nodded against her shoulder with a giggle, an almost imperceptible "that's right" escaped her lips. Kagura turned her attention back to the little moth, Tekari's still form sprawled out facedown on the ground beneath the maple's snow covered branches. A thought crossed her mind, and a smirk pulled at her lips. She raise her hand, and with a flick of her wrist the snow came tumbling down, straight onto the girl's head.
There was a pause, Achara sucked in a breath and stifled a chuckle behind their hand, before Tekari erupted, spluttering and screeching, from the deluge. She sat up, snow frozen on her antennae and a pout evident on her face and she flipped onto her back. "Kagura-sama!"
Kagura chuckled, until the girl jumped to her feet, packing snow between her tiny hands. Achara was quick to slide back across the engawa, away from their friend and the impending attack, muttering "oh, no, no, no," as they huddled against the wall. Kagura on the other hand, slid off the deck, immediately feeling the shock of snow melt and the water seep into her socks. She dodged the snowball Tekari whipped at her head, Kagura flicked open her fan, sending a gust towards her feet and creating a wave of snow crashing across the courtyard.
Shrieking laughter filled the yard as they faced off, a tornado of snow spinning wildly, nearly covering Achara's shivering form several times as they screamed and screeched at them to stop. Their screaming only intensified when Kagura packed snow into her hands and whipped it just above the bird's head, it splattered against the plaster with a thud.
"I am sworn to passivity but I may forego it just this once if you don't stop!"
The two ignored them, continuing their mock battle with giggles and yelps. Kagura felt the wind shift, but ignored it, too busy creating a blizzard of her own to care for the audience that had gathered. She'd been in the castle long enough to learn to pay it no mind.
And she wouldn't have, if not for the sudden rageful hiss coming from one very angry bat.
"Urue!"
For his part, Sesshoumaru seemed to take it quite well. Well of course being relative, as he looked as if he was seconds from ripping the bat from her perch on the rafters. Or maybe he'd forego decorum and simply bite her head off her shoulders. She was certainly close enough, only inches from his murderously furious face.
"Oi!"
A snap of her fan worked well enough, her familiar flinched and immediately dropped to the floor with her head down.
"I told you to go to sleep," Kagura hissed as she leapt onto the veranda, emphasizing her words with heavy steps. "Go."
Sesshoumaru turned his eyes to her once Urue scurried off. Kagura stepped between them for good measure, shielding her familiar as she climbed back to her place in the rafters, she wrapped herself in her wings, but left just enough space to keep one eye on him.
"She doesn't like dogs," Kagura offered with a shrug.
"Then you should keep her elsewhere," he said, sourly.
Kagura had to bite her lip at his expression, his lip twitching with the beginnings of a snarl and ice in his eyes. He was seemingly unaffected by the cold, his arms hung loosely at his sides, and he wore nothing more than the two layers of his kosode, hakama, and socks, but his fur seemed a little fluffier than usual, so maybe it was just an act.
"So… did you want to join?" Kagura finally asked with a chuckle, she raised her fan and sent a small tornado of flurries spinning in the ground near his feet. He glanced at it and then back at her.
"You were making a racket."
Daylight did little to alleviate his attitude, it seemed. She snorted. "I would say that whatever noise we were making was far better than anything else going on at this time of the day. Don't you think?"
His lips thinned and she had to bite back a laugh. When had he gotten so easy to goad? That girl had certainly done a wonder for his temper.
"Come on, we were just havin' some fun. It gets too stuffy staying cooped up inside all day." She flicked her fan in front of her lips and focused her aura, just enough to bring in a gust of warm air. "You're more suited to the outdoors, too, I think."
"Why didn't you do that sooner?" Achara groaned behind her, still shivering on the floor.
Sesshoumaru's eyelids lowered just enough to be noticeable. Ah, so it had been just an act. Kagura felt a small satisfaction in that. The ice and snow seemed to suit him, though, his silver hair reflecting the light in the same way, and his golden eyes warm despite the chill. He blinked slowly, appreciating the change in temperature before meeting her amused eyes again.
"They'll have you heating the whole castle if you continue to show off."
Kagura's eyebrows raised nearly to her hairline. Had that been a joke?
"Sorry, my heating services are not for hire," she said, grinning, "but, if you'd like some company during the banquet tonight…"
Whatever good spirit he'd had suddenly left him, his eyes went cold again. She wanted to roll her eyes.
"Look as grumpy as you want," she said with a shake of her head, "you'll still allow it."
He opened his mouth, but whatever he'd meant to say was interrupted by a piercing howl. It echoed against the valley, nearly setting the whole castle trembling.
Kagura flinched.
"What the fuck was that?"
"My mother."
…Shit.
If he noticed the shock that flashed across her face, he didn't question it. Kagura schooled her expression and nodded solemnly. Nothing she hadn't already accounted for, it would just mean a slight change of schedule.
Sesshoumaru had already turned on his heel when she looked back up, hardly a nod or wave or word of parting as he turned a corner.
Kagura snorted and shook her head, and when she turned around, she was met with Achara's smug face smirking up at her.
"What?"
"Urue's going to put you under a curfew, lock you up in a tower in heaven," they cooed, grinning.
Kagura glanced at the bat, who flinched away from her gaze. "Urue should fucking know better than to go starting fights."
"Why don't you like the dogs, again?" Achara asked, turned to look up at the cocoon of a bat.
"They're hellspawn, no better than the mindless hellhounds they're descended from," came the muffled reply.
"Ah, a tragic romance then?"
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Kagura raised a brow.
"You and sir dog."
"Ha! No."
"You're the one flirting."
Kagura shook her head incredulously and scoffed. "So? It ain't like it means anything. Trust me, he ain't the type."
"I guess we'll see, won't we?" they said, grinning.
Kagura rolled her eyes and dropped to a seat beside them with a thud. Tekari was back to laying face down on the ground.
"Whatever."
…
His mother always had a flare for the dramatic, her incessant howling only stopped when he emerged onto the deck above the entry yard.
She stood, her maw impassive as her retinue followed behind, dogs smaller than she and darker of color but no less menacing as they struggled to fit their bodies through the rhododendron gate. She wouldn't have bothered with it, more than likely she had just flung herself through the barrier, while the rest of her party crawled. Her paws nearly threatened to crack the stones, massive paw prints melted into the snow behind her led to the wall.
Sesshoumaru threw himself into the air from the second floor and transformed. The stones shuddered under his weight as he came to stand shoulder to shoulder with his uncle, who'd arrived just minutes before him.
The dogs behind her approached him, whining and yipping before and falling onto their backs, baring their bellies in submission. Sesshoumaru was still, his gaze locked with his mother's. For several moments she stared at him, her head slightly tilted and one ear raised.
Finally, his mother let out a sharp breath through her snout and took a step forward until she was just close enough to rub her head against his jaw, her tail wagged slightly and her chest rumbled in a contented growl. He returned the gesture, knowing the pride and joy she meant to convey.
It only lasted a moment, and then with a grumble and a nudge she stepped to perform the greeting again with his uncle. It lasted a minute less, they separated, and the trio turned back towards the castle. The rest began to pick themselves up off the ground, waiting to follow.
The floorboards cracked painfully underneath their paws as they walked along the corridor, the space hardly wide enough to allow them to walk side by side, neither of them yet willing to follow the others, his mother especially. She took the center, shoulder brushing tight against his own, head held high and playing the proud matriarch she was.
Onlookers had gathered along the balcony that ran beside the walkway. His cousins and other members of the clan waited further on up ahead, but the guests watched on from the wings, bowing, some low to the floor, others merely bent at the waist to show their respect. Up ahead, though…
Kagura watched on from the balcony to his right, tucked against a pillar with her cloak pulled over her head and fan shielding her face so the only visible part of her was her eyes. Still, he could recognize her amusement.
She met his eyes, so different from his usual gold, his sclera a darker, angrier crimson than her own irises, pupils framed in bright blue locked onto her. She had seen the beginnings of his transformation before, when he'd been frothing at the mouth at Naraku, but never the real thing. And if she had to say…
"Impressive."
He heard her barely whispered comment and cocked his head, one ear raised as he came closer. The balcony was at just the right height―
The puff of hot air that shot out his snout did not knock her off her feet, but it did enough to stun her. The cloak was blown off her head and she scrambled to pull it back on, but she'd dropped her hand just long enough for him to catch her mouth fall open in shock, eyes bugged out of her head.
"Watch it, dog breath!" The wind carried her voice to his ear, the comment hissed through her teeth. He glanced back at her, her nose pinched closed between her fingers and waving her fan in front of her face.
If his current anatomy allowed him to laugh, he would have.
Kagura kept her eyes on him as he fully passed her until she was just staring at his back. She had to bite her lip to suppress an errant laugh, her eyes glued on his behind. Hn, maybe that's why Naraku wanted his body so badly…
Unaware of Kagura's wandering eyes, Sesshoumaru threw himself forward just before he reached the end of the walkway, his body wrapping itself in light as he shrank and transformed back into his humanoid state. His feet touched down on the landing, not necessarily a dais, but once he turned it gave him a good enough view of the walkway and the balconies. Kagura still had her eyes stuck on him, the only thing visible on her face as the rest was hidden by her fan. He met her gaze only once before his mother landed next to him, her humanoid eyes giving him a curious look before he turned away and began to walk up the stairs, his mother in step beside him.
…
"It seems even you can be glad to be home, I can't remember the last time I saw you in such a good mood."
"I doubt you've ever seen me in a good mood, mother."
"Oh, don't be so coy, the last time I saw you that little youkai was practically bursting at the seems with joy all on your behalf," she crooned, "where is the little thing, by the way? I would've thought he'd be under your heels."
He didn't respond to that, merely kept walking until they arrived at the door. Light peeked out from behind the paper and cast a soft glow into the gloomy corridor. He stopped and turned to face her. His mother's gaze was fixed on that door, and he wondered if she regretted telling him to bring her up here. But then she looked up at him, making a decision she brushed past, sliding it open and stepping inside.
Sesshoumaru had left the outer doors open before he'd left in the morning, and with the cloudless sky outside, the mountains sparkled in the frame cast by the walls. It was nearly blinding, everything covered in white and glowing in the sunlight. His mother stepped out onto the engawa, her shoulders rising and falling steadily as she looked out. He did not join her, allowing her her moment before she decided to speak.
"I suppose you won't want your mother visiting your rooms after this."
"What reason would you have to come here?"
"Hn, that is true." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye with a light chuckle, "You're a man grown aren't you? Though I detect no other scents here but your own."
He wouldn't deign a response to that.
"Well, let me see it then."
He gave her a curious look before he fully understood what she meant, her gaze falling beyond his shoulder. With a roll of his eyes he turned and walked towards the back wall, removing Bakusaiga from its shelf. He pulled the sword just enough from it sheath to reveal the blade. His mother stepped up, she didn't reach for it, but her eyes glittered and a proud smile pulled at her lips.
"You knew."
She scoffed. "I was there when he pulled your first adult fang from your mouth. You don't remember? You cried so pitifully, bawling like a whelp even when we told you it would grow back in less than a day."
Sesshoumaru slammed the sword back into the scabbard and replaced it on the wall. If he wanted, he could alter the barrier surrounding the room, but decided that literally throwing his mother outside would not go over well; he wasn't in the mood for the scrap that would ensue.
"I heard it was quite impressive when you finally gained it," she said, still eyeing him.
"You heard?"
"Yes, you could say a little flea told me." She smiled.
He took one deep breath and focused his eyes on the ceiling. "Where is he?"
There was the sound of her robes rustling, and then―
"Eh, Sesshoumaru-sama, it's good to see you."
"Myouga." The urge to snatch the old flea from his mother's shoulder and crush him between thumb and index finger was nearly unbearable, but Sesshoumaru reined it in.
"Oh, don't be angry with him, I asked." She raised her hand and Myouga jumped into her palm rubbing his tiny head sheepishly.
"Your mother was very curious about your conquests, Sesshoumaru-sama, I merely told her of your time battling with Naraku and how you came to surpass your father."
"If she wished to know, she should have asked me," he said, leveling a dull glare at her.
"Yes, but Myouga is a much better storyteller, you see, I'm afraid you're not much for description. Got that from your father." She said it with a smile and a tilt of her head, and Sesshoumaru didn't want to know how much the little flea had embellished or omitted from his tales.
"Well, then there is little for us to discuss," he growled, going for the door.
"Oh, stop that, I was just leaving anyway," she said, and slipped past him before he'd even gotten the door halfway open. "I have things to discuss with your uncle, anyway."
He watched her go, waving a hand over her shoulder, and he was glad to see the flea bouncing along with her steps as he clung to her furs. A good place for him, for if Sesshoumaru were to find him on his own, he would suddenly become well acquainted with the underside of his boot.
…
no one ever talks about how Sesshoumaru's whole ass, dick, and balls out whenever he's in his true form, missed opportunity tbh
Mayra Yanet: ten cuidao con que lo deseas ;)
