After years of scheming, brutal reprisals, tireless chores, and breaking her ribs in racking sobs over her miserable fate, Kagura had chosen death.
In the final days of her desperation, she began to see with the transparency of death that the demise of Naraku was more essential than anything, even the frustrated progeny of her own passion. She decided then with frightful coldness that the end would come the next time she saw Kagome.
She would not have to wait as long as she imagined. Naraku had only continued to grow in strength and the next time he met his foes he pinned Inuyasha under an interminable mass of miasma and root-like extensions. Kagome drew her bow and in his distraction over the half-demon, Naraku ordered Kagura to slay her.
Kagura swept the girl into her feather boat and soared
upwards instead.
"Damn you Bastard!" she screeched,
"miserable coward!"
She already felt the weakening of her spirit, the tightening in her chest and all the while Kagome was clinging to her in fright and calling Inuyasha and cursing Naraku and sobbing Kagura's name, and she shouted that Kagome didn't understand that she was dying, don't you see I'm dying, and the breath wouldn't come and the feather was about to collapse into ruin and…
And then she was dimly aware of a cyclonic force emerging from somewhere behind her that ripped the scene apart. Naraku's concentration shatted like glass and Kagura was able to raise the feather higher and peer through her teary eyes to see an inconceivably massive dog demon ripping into her former master with ferocious teeth and terrifying howls and snarls.
"What…who
is that?" she cried to anyone.
Kagome, who was still clinging to
her, trying uselessly to aid her in sitting up, stared at the carnage
in amazement, then with a peculiar relief.
"It's Sesshoumaru."
