Kagura watched the abandoned valley through narrowed eyes from the ruins of her castle. In the rusty haze of the darkening dusk it already looked like a ghost village, even though its inhabitants were just situated down the mountain pass.
She shifted uneasily, grimacing at the rough texture of the woolen kimono the villagers had provided for her. It was the color of tree bark and about as comfortable. But given with pure intent, nonetheless. It baffled her as to why the people of this valley had even worried over her mangled condition, when the first words out of her mouth upon her return was that she'd failed them. That they had to leave their home. Immediately.
They'd accepted the news with solemn nods, seemingly more relieved at her well being than their imminent destruction. Weak creatures… she told herself again. If they worried more about self-preservation and less about these nonsensical emotional ties, then perhaps they'd be more capable of protecting their village.
Since I'm obviously not.
She winced inwardly, cursing the wolf prince for leaving her, amongst other things, so useless. She'd found her air born feather buried in the rubble of her smashed castle, but her fan was ruined beyond repair.
And the makeshift one in her hands now from the village wasn't nearly powerful enough to channel her winds. It was foolish to even sit here, waiting for the hordes to come. Her defensive attacks would be like spitting on a fire.
And yet she stayed.
The first hollow wails perked her ears. The canopy of sky darkened, and she looked painstakingly at the tranquil scene below - ripe and ready for a youkai holocaust.
She readied the crude weapon. The first wave of the ugly, stupid creatures poured over the nearest rise, down into the valley below. She always hated this kind of demon - a complete waste of life, better suited to annoy those stuck in hell than to pester the living with their disorganized presence.
They neared the community. Roared. She splayed the practically useless fan in her fingers when a blur in her peripheral vision made her pause. She blinked, squinted. And nearly fell over.
Kouga!?
The wolf youkai leapt at the hordes with a guttural cry. Decapitations, and dismemberments abounded. She watched with mixed emotions as he tore through them like they were nothing - his face as feral as she'd ever seen.
Part of her nearly bolted. Her hand even reached up to the feather in her hair to fly away. But she lingered, and her feet stayed grounded, her eyes transfixed by quite possibly the most confusing encounter of her entire life.
It didn't take long. The first wave ended up being the last wave, as all the mindless youkai in the proximity had been drawn towards the ancient battleground at once. And Kouga was soon a solitary figure in a field of carnage, fists clenched, chest heaving with gravelly pants. His lit eyes quickly sought her out.
Kagura's stomach dropped out when all that ferocity was suddenly focused on her. Her old self would have scoffed at how easily he'd unnerved her. But her old self was gone, leaving her vulnerable to his presence in more ways than one.
His lip twitched, and his fangs flashed in the night like stars. With an audible growl, he stomped over, and Kagura found herself inching back.
"Why did you-" she began, only to be cut off as he shook a crumpled parchment in his white-knuckled fist.
"What the hell is this!?" he barked.
Her foot caught on some wood debris, and she fell on her rump. Unrelenting, he threw the wad, and it bounced off her chest and into her lap.
A letter. She eyed him warily as her fingers fumbled to open it. He ranted on.
"You're insane!" he snarled, beginning to pace. "Trying to make me feel responsible for the welfare of a HUMAN village, like that. I've fed entire communities to my wolves, Kagura, with no more regret than I would squashing a fly!"
Was he referring to what she'd said back in the storm? About him indirectly being responsible for their deaths? The letter opened, and she looked down at it, hoping to find enlightenment both for Kouga's sudden presence, and his baffling behavior.
She quickly assessed what she could of the parchment. Terrible handwriting. Addressed to him. Then her eyes widened as she read the content, and outright bulged when she saw her name signed at the bottom.
"I…" she frowned up at him. "I didn't write this."
"Keh!" On the about-face, he crossed his arms angrily and glared at her.
She was growing increasingly nervous. Was this a joke? Was he trying to drive her crazy? Kagura scooted back. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, Kouga," she said, wincing as a splinter poked her palm. "But I'd rather you just st-stayed the hell away from me."
"If you didn't want me here, then you shouldn't have sent-"
"I said I didn't write it! Idiot! You should know better!"
His shoulders bunched up, and he seethed audibly. "It's not like you're as predictable as you used to be, Kagura!" An edgy silence passed between them. The Wind User knew something strange was going on - something that perhaps neither of them were aware of, because Kouga obviously believed what he was saying. Which meant that…
"You came, though," she uttered in a newfound awe, wondering if he was capable of such selflessness. "You came to protect my villagers…"
His eyes twitched and he stepped back. "I came to show you what happens when the wolf prince is insulted!"
"And what's that, brat - you come to fight your offender's battles for them?" she shot back, feeling slightly guilty as he quickly lost momentum. With an inarticulate curse, Kouga broke eye contact and stared randomly at the village below.
"You said I was a hypocrite." Quietly. More subdued. "Or the letter did."
Kagura relaxed. He believed her. "And you came to prove to me that you're not?"
He didn't answer, and now that his ire was gone, she noticed how heavy his gaze was as he looked out across the valley. As a matter of fact, everything about him seemed heavy. As though he were blanketed by some invisible, lead cloak.
She barely stopped herself in time from asking what ailed his soul. Why the hell would she care?
"The villagers," he frowned suddenly, his gaze bouncing from empty hut to empty hut. "They're gone…"
"They left to avoid the slaughter."
Perplexed. "Then why are you here?"
The question made her flinch. She'd been avoiding answering it, even to herself. "I told you," she snapped. "I am the village's Protector."
"But-"
"And a village is more than people, Kouga. It's their home."
His lips thinned, and his eyes narrowed. "But you're useless! I made sure of it!"
She quirked a brow, and held her makeshift fan up between them. As tense as she was, Kagura nearly laughed when Kouga took three alarmed steps back. Amusement turned to tease, and she couldn't stop herself from tossing him an evil smile, and brushing the air between them.
"Fujin no Mae!"
"What are you doing!?" His eyes widened dramatically and he stumbled back as a few dozen wind scythes materialized and swooped towards him. With no time to escape, Kouga curled into himself, burying his head in his arms.
Which left his ribs completely exposed. Kagura's smile turned genuine as the blades hit. He instinctively spasmed with their impact, and his preemptive screams of pain were quickly replaced by hissing, gasping…
And stunned, breathy laughter.
She'd never considered tickling him to death before, but with such a great reaction, the thought was seriously tempting. So much so that she threw another attack.
"Ryuuja no Mai…"
No sooner had the blades dissipated than the angry whirlwinds danced over to continue the torment. He scrambled to get away, but there were too many. He glanced incredulity at her as they hit and - oh, this was too good - the boy was literally pinned with their voracious, tickling funnels, and pretty soon his wheezy protests turned into squealing laughter.
As he writhed in helpless hysterics on the ground, Kagura's own chuckles joined in. It surprised her how delightful this was. Perhaps there were more joys to life than killing, and living.
"Kag…Kag…KAGURA!!" he managed, red-faced with mirth-induced tears streaming out of his eyes. As the onslaught continued and his endurance waned, Kouga's guffaws gradually turned to yelps, and yelps turned to whimpers, and finally, with both arms wrapped around her gut from enjoyment, the Wind User relented.
The tornadoes dispersed, and panting heavily, Kouga lifted himself on all fours, and glared daggers at her. "You…" pant, huff, cough, "think that's funny?"
She took a deep breath through the snorts and snickers, trying in vain to compose herself. The truth was, she'd never laughed so hard in her life. "Funny is an understatement, wolf prince. You should have seen yourself," she chuckled, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "You sounded like a wild pig caught in a snare."
Dignity bruised beyond repair, he crouched, ready to spring. His lip twitched up into a snarl. "Well, two can play at this game-"
"Stay back, or do you want another go?" she threatened not-so-seriously, holding the fan back up. Flustered, he hesitated.
"Utter childishness," he growled, obviously trying to project his usual irritation. But even through his vehemence, Kagura could easily tell that the wolf prince was baffled by her behavior.
"You have a propensity for setting yourself up, Kouga," she smirked, closing the fan. "Like usual."
"Keh!" he stood and swiped at the air. "Ironic, coming from a demon that thought she could fend off an entire army of lesser youkai with a powerless weapon!"
Her smile straightened.
"They would have killed you, foolish female."
"I could have made a difference."
He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "You're worthless without your true weapon."
Ouch. "You weren't saying that a few moments ago," she countered defensively.
He scoffed. "That's the most ridiculous thing anyone has ever done to me."
She cringed inwardly. It was pretty absurd. Silence followed as he turned away to stare at the valley again. Kagura didn't like the silence. It let her mind do stupid things - like remember the hearty sound of his laughter, or dwell on how pleasant his expression looked when it was lightened with giggling hysterics.
"So why did you resort to using a human-crafted fan, instead of replacing your old one?" he asked without looking at her.
Her jaw dropped. How dare he ask such a thing. "You think I had time!?" she snapped. "In the state you left me in, it took me nearly three days to get back, and two more to find my wind feather in the rubble of my shrine! And the materials for my weapon aren't so easily obtained-"
"How difficult could it possibly be?" he asked evenly, his expression almost unreadable.
"Difficult enough. In my circumstance," she drawled out the word bitterly, flapping her worthless fan in demonstration, "I have no choice but to recruit muscle. Had even considered finding your ex-girlfriend, or some of her friends…"
He flinched at the reference to Kagome. It was no surprise to see that that wound was still raw. "And what makes you think they'd jump at the opportunity to arm an enemy?"
"Everyone has a price."
"Not those who can't be bought," he said begrudgingly. "Even dog terd has lines he won't cross."
He had a point. It's not like she'd gone out of her way to make friends during her sprint with Naraku. And all her siblings…even Kanna…had been destroyed in the last battle. How pitiful, she thought in self-deprecation, that I've wasted most of my time protecting weak creatures when I should have been seeking out powerful allies. Her hands curled into fists. Damn…
"Kagura."
She frowned at him.
He pursed his lips, his expression strained, but set. "I'll help you."
"You'll…" she shook herself. "Come again? I think there must be something wrong with my hearing..."
"I said I'll help you. And then we're through. Done. You stop existing to me, and I stop existing to you. Understand?"
She stared at him mutely, finding it odd that she knew exactly what he was talking about. Having no other option, Kagura nodded.
His mouth opened, and he looked like he wanted to say something else, but a stray youkai chose that particular moment to interrupt them with its fleshy yodeling.
Two seconds later, it was split in two and discarded as wantonly as dishwater. Wiping his claws in the dirt, Kouga peered up at her over his shoulder. "Well, what are you waiting for?" he asked irritably. "Get that feather out. We only have a day to get you a new weapon before the next batch of these stupid demolition mongers arrive."
