Title: Unspoken Friendship
Note: The quotes and scenario presented at the end come from chapter 369- "Kagura's Decision." There are spoilers for later manga chapters in this.

Kagura was the wind. Rapid and furious, a passionate tempest in the form of a sable-haired crimson-eyed youkai lady.

Kohaku was the earth. Somber and resolved, a moldable controllable, but stubborn surface in the form of a sad-gazed human boy.

We seemed so different... but...

Wind captured within a jar, struggling to break free as it swirls feverishly inside. Naraku held her heart.

Earth's clay unwillingly being shaped into a marionette, battling against the strings that belonged to its puppeteer. Naraku held his life.

We were the same...

No pact was made, nor any promises whispered in hiding from their master. But the discovery of that sameness led to an inevitable common bond.

We were allies...

Had Kagura ever known companionship? Kohaku knew she hadn't, and because of that wondered if the wind lady even considered him a friend. An ally, undoubtedly. A friend, he knew not.

But on the eve of her demise, Kagura made a sacrifice to defend the puppet, the boy, the friend she'd come to watch over.

"Shut up and get out of here!"

The swish of a fan and minutes later, the mount of a feather sent Kohaku away towards safety, and left Kagura in the eye of danger.

Her words had been a demand not a request, and her very orders she'd just defied.

To protect him, in the way one would protect a treasured companion.

We were friends...