FROST FLOWERS
"Okay, listen, I just needed you to go get that box for me."
"What do I get for it?"
Kagura scoffed. "What do you want?"
The kit seemed to ponder this, tapping his finger against his chin until his face lit up, he jammed a finger in her face, a little too close given that she'd knelt down to talk to him.
"Beat up Inuyasha."
Kagura rolled her eyes. "Done that already."
"Sesshoumaru?"
"No."
"Fine. His mom."
"Why're you tryna' start more problems than I already have?"
He shrugged. "I'm a kitsune, it's what I do."
Well, she couldn't really argue with that.
"Look, I'll give you half or just take whatever else you can find and if anyone gives you shit for it, I'll…" Kagura rubbed her temple, "...kill them or something."
She half expected him to get squeamish, but Shippou just nodded serenely.
"Deal."
Hn, maybe those humans hadn't softened him after all, there might just be hope for the boy yet.
…
For one of the very few times in his life, Sesshoumaru felt as if he'd made a misstep, out of his depth, and altogether unsure how to proceed.
There was, of course, the stares he'd received when he'd first arrived; cousins and elders who hadn't seen him in nearly a century, who he couldn't rightly blame for the assumption that he'd gone the way of his father, dead before his prime. He'd anticipated it, and couldn't help the heady warmth of smug satisfaction as they had to bite their tongues and show him the respect he deserved as the next presumptive general. Truth be told, that swell of pride had been the primary motivating factor for his attendance.
As for his mother, he hadn't been looking forward to her meddling, especially given what had happened with the meidou and Rin, but he'd been prepared enough for it; had even suspected that he'd have to suffer through the teasing and pestering, and near endless chiding:
"You're still young yet, but it's important to think about these things. It could take years, you know."
As much as it irked him to hear the words, it had been expected. While he bristled under her nagging, he knew what his obligations were, knew that preserving a legacy was just as critical as the strength he'd worked to gain, and knew that his mother was already scheming behind his back. She'd made it clear enough when she'd left the feast with Ginhime the other night; he'd let her have her fun, but had no intention of indulging it.
And then, finally, there was Kagura.
He hadn't kept track of the days since that afternoon they'd spent together, only knew that the moon was nearing its last quarter. They'd spent a handful of nights since in each other's company, so long as his mother was nowhere in sight. It wasn't uncommon for him to turn and find her, or to find himself wandering the halls only to come across wherever she'd decided to perch herself for the afternoon. And always, before he could even say a word she'd smile at him as if she'd been waiting and ask him to join her. He'd say nothing or outright refuse, and she'd pout and purse her lips and make some sly comment he'd choose not to acknowledge or take as an insult, and then he would stand there behind her because going anywhere else seemed like a waste of effort. He wouldn't consider it strange, except that…
She kept touching him. Never in public, always making sure that there was no one to see, and never too forward or for too long. The brush of her hand against his arm, his shoulder, pulling imaginary lint from his hair or his fur. The touch always gone before he'd even thought to acknowledge it, and even then, in the silent seconds when she would simply smile at him and then go on her way, wandering off or changing the topic of conversation, he could hardly pull in the breath to question it. He'd almost grown to expect the chill of her hand, and when he wondered why, he couldn't think of any other reason than that it pleased him to leave it be.
He knew he should be questioning himself on why it did, Kagura wasn't any different from any of the other women who'd come through the gates, besides their prior history. But for the time being, Sesshoumaru consoled himself with the knowledge that in the end it wouldn't matter much. There was no point in dissecting a passing dalliance.
But, even as he rationalized with admitting that much, he still stalked the castle's halls, trying desperately to rid himself of Gajou, who'd fallen into step with him, regaling him with some tale from long before his birth. There was a moral somewhere in his uncle's ramblings, but Sesshoumaru didn't care to puzzle it out, he was already doing his best to drown it out.
"―by the time I'd turned around, your father was already halfway over the lake! And you know how he was when he was stuck on something, bullheaded, is what he was, and―"
"Kagura you bitch!"
The yelp perked his ears, a welcome distraction as they both turned at the sound, only to catch sight of Shippou barreling around a corner towards them, a bundle in his arms and a mountain witch hot on his heels. The boy spotted Sesshoumaru and his feet faltered, looking like he wanted to seek refuge behind his knees. Smartly, after seeing the disdain clear on the dog's face, he thought better of it and decided to take his chances throwing himself over the rail and down into the yard below, landing in a puff of smoke.
"You damn brat!" the witch screeched, nearly throwing herself over the railing after him. She caught herself at the last second. It was still early in the night, but the woman hardly paid him or his uncle any mind as they stepped behind her, too caught up in her rage at Shippou, for whatever he'd done to spite her. Sesshoumaru didn't care to find out, instead he changed his course with a light sniff, finding the path easily enough, only a little more direct than the meandering route he'd intended on before the distraction. Unfortunately, Gajou just kept right along with him, ignorant of the change in course.
He found her easily enough, as usual, propped up on a railing and leaning against a post. A warmer night, she'd forgone a coat and simply sat with her legs pulled up to her chest, a lacquer box set on her knees. There were droplets of ice coating her scalp, her hair pulled into a looser tie than she usually wore, as if she'd just come from the bath. She perked up when she spotted him, the ugly hoops strung through her lobes jingling with the movement. He felt the beginnings of a sneer tugging at his lip, but it was his uncle who spoke first, forgetting his tale.
"That boy is cursing you," Gajou chuckled.
"The fox?" He nodded and she shrugged, a devilish smile on her face. "He should know better than to trust me."
"Oh? Are you saying you're more mischievous than you seem, Miss Kagura?"
Her eyes flicked to Sesshoumaru, who stayed silent, just a step behind his uncle. She opened her fan, used it to shield her face, though it did little to hide the smirk evident in the quirk of her brow and the sheen in her eyes. "I suppose you'll have to find out, won't you, m'lord?"
"I'd rather not," Gajou laughed again, "I'm afraid I'd be no match for you."
"That's very wise of you."
His uncle made a few more comments while Kagura tittered, and idly, Sesshoumaru wondered why the hell Gajou was flirting with her if he had his own―
"Well, I ain't about to take my chances, then," Gajou said suddenly, giving Sesshoumaru a grin and Kagura a nod. "I look forward to whatever you have in mind for us tonight, Miss Kagura."
"Hn, you might be left dreaming, then."
His uncle laughed and turned to walk away, leaving her with a wave over his shoulder and some other parting words. Sesshoumaru watched him go, holding himself back for the briefest moment.
"Have a good night, m'lord," Kagura called after him, a giggle bubbling in her throat.
"You shouldn't do that."
"Hn?" She cocked her head and her smile turned soft.
"Referring to others that way doesn't suit you."
She blinked and then her smile grew to a ferocious grin, white teeth shining in the light, as gleeful as if he'd just presented her Naraku's head on a plate.
"Is that so?" she chuckled, and then she reached into the little box on her knees. The scent of vinegar assaulted his nose as she held out her arm to him, still grinning. "Pickled plum?"
Red and wet and pinched between her thumb and index finger, only a few inches from his face, the juice staining her fingers as she watched him expectantly. He briefly considered it, he stood close enough to reach for it, or, there came the unbidden thought, that he could simply lean forward and lick it from her fingers―
"No? More for me then."
She popped it into her mouth with a shrug, and then began to pull her fingers between her lips, tongue running over the digits in to suck away the juice that had dribbled down her wrist. He watched, frozen and silently reprimanding himself for whatever hellish area of his brain had supplied the image, and in the process leaving his gaze to linger on the action of her tongue running over her red stained lips. Her thumb caught on her lower lip, gently tugging it down, and it was only when the corner of her mouth quirked upwards that he realized she was staring at him.
"Something wrong?"
Sesshoumaru scowled, the back of his neck went hot, and Kagura… she started to laugh.
A growl rumbled in his throat. Whatever the hell that had been, he wasn't interested in sticking around to hear her teasing―But, again, her hand on his forearm stopped him.
"Hold on, hold on," she chided, still laughing quietly. "I wanted to ask you for a favor."
He glared at her.
She sighed, still holding on to his sleeve. "I want to go out."
He raised a brow.
She tutted as if she was explaining to a child. "I want to leave the castle. I'd rather not have to bring down the barrier again."
How admirable. "Only those with permission from the steward may leave until after the festival is over."
"And you have permission, don't you?"
He did. Anyone with dog's blood did by right, the castle itself recognized the descendants of its conquering masters. The festival complicated matters only a little, honored guests had received their favors months ago, but the barrier would keep them inside until after the festivities unless otherwise instructed. Kagura, without a pass for herself or permission from the stewards would be essentially trapped just the same as the rest of them.
"Why do you want to go?" If she was desperate to leave then she could do it on her own.
"Why? Whatta' you mean why? Why wouldn't I?" She blinked at him, incredulous, but at his stare she sighed, crossed her arms over her chest and amended with: "I don't like being stuck in one place so long. It gets stuffy."
He considered that, knew that by her very nature she chafed under any form of constraint. Briefly, he wondered if that had been another of Naraku's punishments for her; locked away inside a rotting castle or inside the bowels of that holy mountain for weeks. Kagura stared at him, expectantly, and he found himself saying the words before he'd even truly made the decision:
"Wait near the gate."
And then he turned away from her, but not quick enough to miss the way she perked up and leapt from her perch, quickly gathering her box of plums and dashing off in the opposite direction from him with a breathy giggle.
He trudged up more flights of steps than he cared to count, heading directly to his rooms, conflicted over whether or not it was the right decision to go with her. Kagura might misconstrue it, he hadn't lied the other night when he'd implied that he was unsure when it came to her, but he didn't need her jumping to conclusions. Even as he tied his armor into place and retrieved his swords, he wondered if it was the right thing to do, but by then he was outfitted with all his trappings and it seemed too late to change his mind. Besides, even he'd been blistering under the oppressive weight of the castle's atmosphere, maybe a night in the mountains would do him well.
He received a few odd stares as he made his way back down to the entry yard, his cousins could make whatever assumption they wanted. If they thought he was leaving before the festival had truly begun then fine, he didn't need to explain himself to them, nevermind the fact that he was still trying to explain to himself why he was even bothering to indulge Kagura in her whims.
As expected, she was waiting for him in the shadow of the gate's heavy doors, a coat pulled up over her head and cinched tight near her throat, shielding her face as if anyone who cared to notice wouldn't be able to recognize her by scent alone. She turned at the sound of his approach, his boots crunching in the loose packed snow; she looked like she might say something, but then Kagura pursed her lips, giving him pause. She'd been the one that wanted to leave, if she'd changed her mind then―
"What'd you go and put on armor for?"
He stopped. "You wanted to leave the castle, didn't you?"
She nodded slowly, her nose crinkled in a grimace as she reached forward and flicked one of the tassels of his cuirass, her eyes stuck on the motion as it swung back and forth.
"I didn't know you were―" she shook her head, "I'm not used to you looking so… standoffish, anymore."
He rolled his eyes and stepped past her. "I'll have to amend that."
Kagura huffed, falling into step just beside him as he passed through the gate, the barrier clinging to them like a film as it released them into the chillier winter air. Outside, the mountain looked like any other, snow laden and almost glowing in the dim moonlight, the castle and its lights hidden away behind the barrier's protection, only the rounded and shaped portal between the rhododendron tree's branches giving any indication that there might be something amiss.
Beside him, Kagura sighed, delighted, as she stretched her hands over her head, a grin on her face. The change was nearly instant, the wind swirled around them both, an almost giddy atmosphere so drastically different than the one on the other side of the barrier. If he hadn't been standing next to her, he might not have noticed the difference, but with her at the center of the gentle cyclone, it was hard to miss. It was evident on her, too, the difference in her posture, more languid and fluid than it had been before. She sighed again, a gleeful little sound that bordered on a moan, and then turned back to smile at him as she plucked a feather from her hair.
"Are you coming?" There was no challenge in the question, only curiosity.
He nodded slowly, wondering why he'd assumed it had been an invitation when she'd first asked him, she had no use for him other than getting her through the gate, she'd need him to cross back over, it wasn't as if they needed to stick to each other for the duration of her little excursion.
But, she seemed pleased enough with his answer as she threw her feather to the air, an accompanying gust stretching it to a size she could perch herself on.
"Just make sure you can keep up!"
Now that was a challenge. His youki swirled around him, answering to it with a flourish as she took to the air, racing away down the valley and leaving him behind, disturbed snowflakes kicking up in her wake.
It wasn't quite the same as the last time he'd followed her. There was no urgency in her flight, and her path seemed surer, her feather drifting between the eddies to find the path of least resistance, not the frantic weaving she'd done that night. However, he couldn't help but notice that she avoided the coast, taking a sharp turn before they'd barely left sight of the mountain, a looping course that brought her higher and higher into the night sky, her feather barely a white smear against the stars. She slowed towards the top, drifting above the barren and rocky peak. Sesshoumaru let her go, watching as she stared out over the snow capped mountain range he'd grown up in.
For the briefest second she looked back down at him, smiling, and then she turned north, her feather bucked, picking up on another draft and she followed the ridge of the mountain down into the valley on the eastern side, dropping until she glided just above the frozen waters of a shallow river.
Her pace never slowed, her flight confident and carefree, unperturbed by the rocks and ice that would greet her happily if she were to make a mistake. How much energy did she put into her flight, he wondered, or did the wind simply take her where it wished and she trusted it to cushion her fall. The more he watched, trailing a little farther behind her with every passing second, he guessed it was the latter.
The cold wind whipped at his face, stinging his cheeks and burning down his nose and throat when he inhaled, but if it bothered her at all she didn't show it, and he refused to slow for the inconvenience, powering through it just like everything else in his life, fighting against the wind that tried to slow him down. The sensation faded, after a while, giving way to the heat in his blood. He knew these mountains, had hunted and chased and ran through them for years, and there was an instinctual thrum in his veins, focused on that slip of white and blue flickered in and out of trees and rocks before him. The true Hunt hadn't begun, but he hadn't realized that the anticipation had taken root in his bones. It had manifested in irritation, and sought release now as he dropped out of the air and took to the ground, running.
Kagura glanced behind her, curious at his change as the valley widened, opening up and spilling out into a larger river, this one not completely frozen. Water still rushed between its icy banks, loud and rumbling with what little snow had melted during the warmth of the day.
Suddenly, she veered left, following another shallow creek up into a branching valley, she swerved through its curves until they turned a corner and hit a dead end, the walls of the mountains surrounding them crested, meeting in a frozen waterfall. Kagura slowed, her feather skimming the snow laden flood plain, kicking up dust snowflakes until she finally skidded to a stop. She leapt from her feather, skipping across in the snow until she had slowed her momentum enough to a stand still.
"How was that?" she called back to him. Sesshoumaru came to a stop only a few feet behind her, in the wake of her foot prints. He didn't respond, only offered a snort as if it hadn't been a challenge at all to keep up with her amidst the buffeting winds and icy weather. Kagura just rolled her eyes and started walking away. Sesshoumaru stayed behind, watching as she tentatively stepped out onto the icy creek. The ice groaned under her weight, but didn't crack, even as she went closer and closer to the frozen falls.
Water still gushed beneath the ice, he could hear it rumble, spinning down the channels it had created in the icicles, invisible behind the frost. He hardly paid it any mind, his gaze stuck on Kagura as she gently toed her way across the little pond gouged into the rocks. She seemed so sure of herself, even on such uneven ground, and he couldn't help but notice that even performing the simplest of actions, it always felt like she was dancing. From the sway in her hips to the smooth set of her shoulders, the way she held her chin high. Not just a dance, he knew, he'd seen her fight, the dance was merely a pretense for battle, the set to her shoulders assured as any warrior, and the motion of her hips spoke to the flexibility in her form―
Kagura turned. "What?"
He wouldn't even deign her with a response of "nothing", he simply shook his head and tore his gaze away. Kagura chuckled, the sound of it bounced off the ice, the echo just as crisp as the chill and setting a shiver down his spine.
For her part, Kagura seemed happy enough to wander the valley, gliding across the ice and simply reveling in the feeling of the chilly air on her skin. She hadn't even bothered to keep her coat closed, leaving him to wonder, again, if that night on the beach had been an anomaly, that the cold simply didn't affect her in the same way it did warm blooded creatures. Sesshoumaru, unsure of what her plan had been, chose to do what he did best, and chose a spot shielded from the wind behind the trunk of a sturdy tree, and waited, content to watch the snowflakes falling from the boughs above.
Steadily, the snow began to fall in earnest, from only a handful to the soft patter of fat snowflakes against the ground. Kagura either didn't notice or didn't care, continuing in her little dance across the creek and through the icicles thick as tree trunks that hung from the cliffs. If not for her sudden pause, he might not have noticed the sound of tiny footsteps crunching through the snow.
Kagura had frozen, but Sesshoumaru sensed no youki, no malicious intent, and when he leaned away from his perch, he saw why. Two forest spirits, identical down to the plaits of downy white hair that hid their eyes and almost glowing in the dull, cloud stricken moonlight. More than likely the ones who oversaw the health of the falls. They'd taken the appearance of children, but despite the innocent image, they could not hide their ethereal qualities. Dressed totally in white, their robes hardly covered their skin, their arms and legs bare. Their movements were too fluid, too assured in their steps, their weight hardly pressing into the snowbanks as they approached her.
It was rare to see them so out in the open, even for him. They typically scurried away at his presence, he'd only seen a handful throughout his life. Kagura hid her face behind her fan―the one he'd given her―but seemed unsurprised by their approach, not even when they stopped on the banks of the creek and dropped to their knees in prostration before her, foreheads pressed against the ground.
Sesshoumaru held his breath, Kagura glanced up at him, but the spirits hadn't acknowledged him at all.
"What is it?" The tone of her voice was surprisingly soft as she addressed them, the lower half of her face still hidden away behind her fan. The two answered in unison, not with words, but by lifting their arms and pointing downstream. He couldn't see their faces, their backs to him, but Kagura's eyes followed their direction, and she must have understood their meaning. "Oh. Alright, I can do that much."
The spirits got to their feet as she stepped past them, trailing along behind her as she trudged up the bank. Sesshoumaru took a step out of his place, curious, but the spirits flinched and ducked behind her legs, watching him apprehensively. Kagura chuckled.
"It's alright," she said, her voice soft, and placed a hand on one of their shoulders, pushing them forward to keep walking. "He's fine."
The spirits continued watching him as she shuffled them off down the bank, their eyes were hidden behind their hair, but he could feel their prickling gaze on his skin as he slowly followed, curiosity compelling him forward. Something about the image before him, Kagura walking calming with two childlike spirits clinging to her legs… suspicion, maybe, as he tried to find a rationale for the usually so prickly Kagura to go along with whatever they needed her to do.
They stopped not far from the falls, in front of a snowbank nearly as tall as Kagura. The spirits tugged on her sleeves, pointing, and she shooed them away as she raised her fan and brought down a gentle gust, just strong enough to blow the snow away, revealing the spirit's altar carved into a boulder. Kagura brushed away what little snow remained with her hand, making sure the altar was clear.
"Better?" she asked as she stepped away. The spirits nodded eagerly. "Good, I won't be coming back, so next time don't let it get so bad."
The spirits dropped to their knees again, bowing deeply. Kagura looked like she only mildly tolerated it, especially as they got back to their feet and pulled on her hands. She offered them up without complaint, her palms cupped as the two children placed their hands in hers. Suddenly there was light leaking out between their fingers, and when they pulled away there was a flame hovering in Kagura's palms.
They looked pleased with themselves, and with a final deep bow, they scurried off, disappearing behind the boulder. He watched them go, vanishing into their little hovel in the rocks, the tiny footprints in the snow the only evidence of their presence.
Kagura stood up straight, the flame still cupped between her hands as she turned to walk back to him. The light haloed her, set her eyes aflame, such a stark difference between the fire in them and the blacks and greys and whites that surrounded her. She stopped within an arm's length of him and held up the flame. Even so small, he could feel its warmth kissing his cheeks, almost burning with the chill that had set into his skin. He raised a hand, holding the backs of his knuckles out to the heat, revelling in the warmth though his gaze was still stuck on her eyes.
"The spirits show you respect," he finally said, a little intrigued.
Kagura hummed in affirmation, her gaze stuck on the little flame as it began to peter out, flickering wildly in her hands. She glanced up at him and noticed his stare, one brow quirked in curiosity. She inhaled, unsteady.
"I―" she licked her lips, "I can act as proxy."
"...For your god." She nodded. The flame finally died and she dropped her hands to her sides. He watched her, sensing the subtle tension that lined her posture, the uncertainty in the way her eyes wavered from his stare. She hadn't wanted to tell him. A myriad of reasons why she wouldn't echoed in his head, though only one stuck out, the only thing that could explain why she would avoid the topic and why she could act as stand in for a god.
He stepped away from her. "I'm going back."
Her lips parted like she might protest, but she just nodded once and then let him lead their way back to the castle.
A much more somber journey than it had been earlier. Kagura was quiet as she trailed along behind him, her flight path sure and true and drafting in his wake as he dashed through the air. It seemed only a few minutes passed before he was touching down before the rhododendron gate, his boots crunched in the snow, his hands numbed from the cold, ready to return to the warmth of the castle.
"Sesshoumaru?"
He paused, stopped to look at her over his shoulder.
"Thank you." She smiled at him, snowflakes dotting her hair, her lashes, her cheeks flushed from the chill, and he was suddenly struck, a deafening realization bouncing around inside his skull that froze him to the spot―
Ah.
Well.
That would be a problem.
…
So I just saw the teaser for the sequel series and TAKAHASHI REALLY OUT HERE FUCKING UP MY WHOLE CANON FOR THIS PAIRING HUH I'm telling myself maybe it'll be a miracle that Kagura comes back, but in reality I'm preparing to burn my love for this series to the fucking ground if she gives in to pressure and makes SessRin canon
ANYWAY I got a question about music inspo/recs for this series, I've been putting together a spotify playlist that is sort of ordered to relate to Born Free and this work, still in progress but if anyone is interested or has their own recommendations, you can find it on my tumblr at Kiwi-Witch or playlist/4ET27RsfbSbHe5UJKejpW8?si=JdrUe33jSHCDrI3VFabN-w
