"I hear Masanori-sama and Hironori-sama are coming."
"Really? Tora's sons? What about Yuudai-sama from the North? I hear he's quite attractive…"
Kagura listened half heartedly to the girl's conversations, exhausted as she lay on her back in the doujou. She felt like she'd been going for the last week without a rest. Not that she wasn't enjoying herself, she was, but it was just damn tiring.
"What about you, Kagura-chan? Hoping to see anyone next week?"
She ignored the prefix the kitsune always used when addressing her as she pulled herself into a sitting position. She turned her face to the red head, meeting blue eyes. Kagura shrugged.
"I'm not familiar with any of the prominent families. I told you that already, Hotaru." The only royalty she knew was expected to be there.
"Right, sorry. Hm…" the girl put a finger to her lip, absentmindedly stroking her bushed tail. "Ah! Hideyoshi-sama is coming! He's a Southern prince!" Hotaru brought up her tail and buried her face in it. "We are so lucky!"
"He probably won't even notice you, don't get your hopes up." The other girl, Noriko rolled her dull green eyes. She had been twisting a few strands of her pale golden brown hair between her fingers, "everyone knows that the only one they'll notice is our Kagura-chan here."
Kagura snorted. "Jealous, Noriko?"
"Not at all, I'm not interested in some prissy princes."
"That's right, Noriko-chan is too busy with Kenta-san all the time." Hotaru huffed, pulling her face away from her fur to pout at the woman.
"What can I say? I like a man in armor." Noriko smirked.
Kagura couldn't help but smile, these two that had become her friends. Hotaru had been the first to start a conversation with her when Kamiko had introduced her the first day, Noriko had only been dragged along. The other girls were still wary of her, knowing she was the one that had been brought in bloody and bruised in Sesshoumaru's arm only 3 days before. Kagura didn't care about that, only hoped that none knew who she actually was.
Kagura stretched her arms above her head, "Don't you get tired of this conversation, Hotaru? You've been obsessing about it this whole week."
"I like to keep my options open, okay?" Hotaru huffed. "Besides, I'm the only one here who doesn't have someone."
Kagura quirked a brow. "What're you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb, Kagura." She dropped the title. "I'm not blind," she was whispering now, causing the other two to lean in close for to hear, "I've seen you hanging around Sesshoumaru-sama. Don't pretend like that's nothing."
Kagura had to swallow, hard, heat rising to her cheeks again. She turned her eyes to the floor.
It was true, over the past three weeks she had spent time with the dog, it hadn't been anything serious. But Kagura found a smile creeping onto her lips at the thought of it.
"So there is something?" Hotaru asked, having seen the smile.
"No." Kagura immediately turned it into a frown.
"Mou…" The kitsune threw her arms in the air. "Fine, be that way."
"Alright, everyone you may leave!" Kamiko's shrill voice reached out to them.
Kagura stood with a chuckle. "I will."
Hotaru remained on the floor curled into her tail while Kagura and Noriko walked out into the chill night air. The clouds had begun to come in and there was a fog hanging close to the ground.
"I'd like a bath, care to join me?"
~xXxXxXx~
Kagura sighed as she slipped into the warm water. She closed her eyes and inhaled the heat and steam.
Generally she only came here alone, coming in the mornings to avoid anyone who might know too much. The maids especially. And it was soothing, being alone in the baths. Always warm, and the pool itself most likely larger than her room. The smooth tiles that warmed her feet when she walked in. Besides the courtyard, this was probably her favorite place…
She felt the ripples as Noriko must have joined her.
"Hotaru's going to be mad at you now." She snickered.
"Let her be mad. There's nothing to say." Kagura didn't bother opening her eyes.
"Are you sure about that? I've barely seen the man make eye contact with someone, let alone have a conversation. And you two seem to be doing a lot of that."
Kagura opened her eyes again, sinking into the water til it was just below her nose.
Noriko shrugged beside her. "You'd be quite the lucky one though. Kagura-sama." The girl snickered at that.
They both grew quite as the shoji screen was slid open with a loud crack. Two servant girls entered the baths, both bowed to the dancers before slipping into the water on the opposite wall.
Kagura hadn't thought much past just liking the man. Of course she had, she had found him attractive from the start. He was powerful, and from what she had seen, intelligent. He was about to be a lord, a highly respected individual to the youkai world. And he was kind, when he wanted to be. He listened to her idle pratter without much fuss. He was beginning to open up to her. He could be gentle, in that he didn't strike her through whenever she found it amusing to toy with him.
She huffed, suddenly standing and going towards the ledge, looking for her soap. She heard Noriko gasp behind her.
"What?" Kagura turned, confused as to why her friend's face was overcome with shock. Then she remembered.
A spider was still engraved on her back.
"Tch." She had avoided thinking about it; it was simply a part of her. A testament to her parentage.
"I… I didn't…" Noriko's eyes were focused on the burn, Kagura turned to face her completely, hoping not being able to see it would help the girl recover.
"It's-"
"You! I didn't think it was possible! You're supposed to be dead!" Noriko had jumped forward. Eyes ablaze, and Kagura took a step back. "I thought it couldn't be possible, there was no way. But you're her, aren't you? Kagura, wind sorceress, Naraku's spawn." The words came out as a hiss.
Kagura flinched. She did not need this now, she had thought things were beginning to work out. She was enjoying herself. How could Noriko know? Sesshoumaru had made sure Jaken would say nothing, and she knew the dog himself never would.
"You killed the Northern wolf tribe…." Noriko took another step forward. The wind witch froze, glancing over at the two servants who were watching silently. Noriko knew the wolves? But how, she was inu-youkai, she wasn't- "My mother was from that tribe." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I had cousins there…. You killed them!"
Kagura managed to pull on a cold mask, she turned back to the to servant girls. "Leave."
They nodded and gathered their things before darting out the door.
"How dare you!'" the girl screeched, tears brimming her eyes. "How dare you even… how could you show yourself here?"
"Noriko," Kagura kept her voice cold, she took a breath to steady herself. "I will not apologize to you or your tribe, I killed those men on orders. I had no choice. Naraku held my heart in his hands…" she paused, gauging the girl's reaction, "They were the ones who fell for the lure of a false jewel shard. I did not seek them out. I will not apologize for their foolishness." She clenched her fists as Noriko's face seemed to fall, her conviction losing. "Nor will I run away from you or any other wolf that feels they need to avenge their kin."
Kagura turned away from the girl again
"This is the mark of a slave. Remember that." She hissed and sprinted out the room.
Oh sheet.