Sesshoumaru sat on the boulder at the edge of the pond, waiting. It was quiet here, none would bother him. The courtyard barely big enough to hold the old tree, it was trying to break free from the space, cracking the wall. He wondered of he should have someone come to remove it and repair the cracks, but thought better of it. It only made the space it more endearing. It's not like it mattered anyway, this area of the palace was used mostly for storage, those who passed here never really cared, and they were few and far between.
He had his eyes on the still water, though, the surface a silvery mirror, reflecting the pale moonlight. A light mist was coming in to cling to the ground, the night would be a cool one, a warm breeze still picked up around him.
He turned to her as she stepped lightly off the deck.
"Yo." It was her typical informal greeting, it seemed to amuse her, treating him in such a disrespectful manner. He didn't mind.
"That Kamiko is crazy." Kagura practically threw herself onto a smaller rock near him. She stretched an arm across her chest and he could only make out the profile of her face, most of it shaded by her bangs. "I feel like I'm going to pass out after every 'practice'. More like hell if you ask me…"
"Are you regretting your decision already, Kagura?"
She turned to face him, a small smirk on her face. "Hn, why would I? As tiring as it is, I'm still enjoying myself. Trying to kick me out again?" she teased.
"Hn. Merely trying to rid myself of an ungrateful guest." He said, looking down his nose at her.
"Ho, are you annoyed I haven't thanked you?" she chuckled. "My apologies, Sesshoumaru-sama, I would like to humbly thank you for allowing me to stay under your prestigious roof." She twirled her hand through the air. "Is that acceptable?"
"I hope that that is not how you express your thanks seriously." He scoffed, looking away so that he could roll his eyes.
"Did you like my other way of expressing it better?"
She was teasing him, but even if she hadn't the answer would have been yes. He just wouldn't say that aloud.
~xXxXxXx~
"I made some friends, did I tell you?"
It sounded childish, that, but he supposed that for an existence such as hers, friendship was something that didn't come easily. Besides, even if she was a woman in body and mind, her physical age was that of a child.
"Hn."
"Two of the girls who are dancing as well. A kitsune and an inu-youkai." She smiled. "I don't think the others like me very much, they probably think I'm after you, or something."
Right, the injured woman he had brought in. They would know her as such.
"You know, I never thought of myself being close to anyone. I always thought I smelled or something." She said, chuckling.
"You do not smell." He found the words were out before he could stop them.
"Well, that's nice to hear, coming from someone with a nose like yours." She scoffed.
Sesshoumaru shrugged.
"So I don't smell like him anymore?" her voice was low as she looked down at her clasped hands in her lap.
He turned slightly to look at her over his shoulder, as she leaned against a post on the deck. The small kick of her feet had stopped, she looked too still.
"No." in truth, she never really had. Only on their first encounter had he truly thought she did. That acidic stench that clung to her clothing and hair, from so much time spent in the half-breed's lair. It had smothered her natural scent. The memory of it threatened to make him sick.
Kagura let out a contented sigh. "That's good. One less thing to link me to him."
He thought it better not to ask what she meant.
~xXxXxXx~
"I've been meaning to ask, how's that human girl doing? Still living with humans?"
"Yes, Rin has been living in Inuyasha's village the last three years."
"You're letting your brother watch out for her? Didn't know you liked him that much!" Kagura chuckled, bringing her legs up over the edge of the pond to dip her feet in the cool water, pulling the hem of her kimono up slightly. She had been standing practically all day.
"Hn. The hanyou has his uses." Sesshoumaru glanced at her pale feet, traveling up the skin above her ankle before turning his attention back to the water. "But now that his miko has returned I doubt he will-"
"Kagome's back?" she startled him a shriek, watching him with wide red eyes.
"That sound was not necessary." He growled, raising his eyebrows at her.
"Sorry," she giggled, waving a hand at him. "But, that's good I guess. Good for your brother." She found her gaze wandering over the top of the wall, watching the cloudless blue sky.
"Will you go?"
"Go where?" she turned back to him, "To see her?" she shrugged. "Maybe, but not now. I've still got a bargain to keep up here." She reached up and tapped his arm with her fan. "Trying to get me to leave again? I'm going to think you're serious one of these days." She pulled her hand away when he narrowed his eyes at her. Kagura reclined, leaning against her palms and kicking her feet in the water.
"I will accompany you."
"Hn?"
"When you go, I will accompany you."
She smiled at that. Even if it wasn't very long, it was still more time.
~xXxXxXx~
"What's this banquet for, anyway?" she finally asked.
He turned to her, crimson eyes awaiting an answer.
"You are asking this now?"
"Never really thought about it til now." Kagura shrugged. "Thought maybe it was just normal palace fair."
He narrowed his eyes at her, holding in a sigh, it wasn't really something he wanted to explain. "My mother is formally passing rule of the Western lands onto me." Sesshoumaru paused, wondering if he should continue. He looked down at the wind witch sitting on the boulder, head resting on her palm. He saw no harm in her knowing. "When my father died I was too young to take on the role of Inu no Taishou, and so my mother has been ruling regent in my stead. I have been taking on responsibilities over time, and my mother declared that if I surpassed or equaled my father, I would be able to ascend."
"Ho," she chuckled. "So that's why you were so hell-bent on your brother's sword?"
"Hmph. I was merely trying to take what was meant to be my birthright."
"That hunk of metal doesn't suit you anyway."
"Hn."
She hadn't expected such a long explanation, but at least now, she knew why. "So that's what you've been doing the last few years, getting stronger." She mused, "I guess Naraku did some good with that." referring to his swords. She only said his name when she was being nonchalant.
"You know," she began, her chin resting in her palm, "I'm kind of upset that you broke the sword I gave you."
"Hn." He snorted, folding his arms into his sleeves. Toukijin, the useless thing. "A sword so easily broken is not needed."
"Hmph! You didn't think it was so useless when you had it!"
He wouldn't say what he assumed she knew. That it had been broken because of her. That the sword she had deemed him fit to use had been shattered because of his guilt for her. He wouldn't say it.
"But." A smirk appeared on her face, that sly little glint in her eye, "if not for that you wouldn't have gotten that new one." She knew.
Sesshoumaru glanced at her. For all the trouble he was worth, Naraku had done more than good.
So the next chapter was supposed to be chapter 5, but I didn't like how it sounded, so I thought I should include something that shows them interacting together, rather than just jumping into the rest of the story, cause the next few chapters are kinda fast. :/
Please let me know what you think of this one, I might just delete it, it's huge filler.
Also, for the part about his mom and the Western Lands, going by the third movie it's been 200 years since Inu Taishou died, meaning that Sesshoumaru has just been wandering around that whole time and then just decides to get Tessaiga. His mother probably knew Inupapa's plan, so she was waiting for him to gain Bakusaiga. The next three years was just a trial period I guess. xD
This also turned out a longer than I had originally planned cause I kept coming up with random conversations. Technically, if you read this, it could all be one day, but I'd like to think it's over the course of a couple days.