Vindicated

Alone on a grassy ledge, Sesshomaru’s gazed traced the village below and skimmed to the mountain range punctuating the horizon. The sky was clear and blue, the landscape serene. At first glance, one could have said the same of the daiyokai’s expression: tranquil, serene – it wasn’t.

Amber eyes smoldering with uncertainty, the faint creases at the corners of Sesshomaru’s mouth deepened.

Naraku was dead, Magatsuhi – the wicked spirit of the Shikon Jewel that had started this whole mess to begin with – had fallen at Sesshomaru’s own blade. The Heaven Fang may not have been able to save a fallen comrade, but at least it was useful at exacting revenge.

And now his task was complete. Kagura was avenged. And now...what?

Sesshomaru’s own freedom of his personal obligation was moments from being realized. But why did he...hesitate? He rationalized that he was savoring victory, but a smaller voice in mind mumbled something else. Was he worried he would now lose Kagura permanently? Well, there should be no question in that; she was gone. But at least when he was fighting, Sesshomaru felt he could still claim ties to her. Now with his cause vindicated, to think about Kagura at this point would be ridiculous. A useless waste of time. Why was his soldier’s sense going so impractical right now? It was to time to let go.

Reaching into the folds of his kimono, he withdrew the sole feather he’d guarded since Kagura’s death. The soft, white downy barely tickled the inside of his palm. It truly was like holding captive a piece of the wind. Or making prisoner himself. This was it, the last vistage of that woman who, whether she knew it or not, could bespell more than just the dead.

Sesshomaru remained spell-bound to his post, fingers tracing the snowy-white edges of the feather, mesmerized with memorizing the luxurious texture. His fist tightened. How strange to hold one's own heart in hand. And, any minute, lose it.

The stars had crept out before the demon’s fingers had uncurled.

“To each his own.”

Sesshomaru watched the sky until the feather was out of even his own keen sight. He squinted as it drifted farther and farther away. Memory seemed to have placed a rider on the pinnate figure.

Enough of this.

He pivoted to go.

The wind whispered gently in his ear, like sharing a wicked little secret. Sesshomaru stiffened. His fur fluffed by a noticeably warm breeze.

“Kagura?”

The gusts pitched, mischievously ruffling his bangs and twining silver tendrils together. Sesshomaru pointed his nose upwards, feigning disinterest. She would be waiting.

Then there was a soft chuckle in the wind. Sesshomaru didn't know if it was his...or hers. More perplexing, he didn’t care.

“Such a distressing damsel.”

--

A/N: This is now the writer’s turn to ramble. If you’d like to review before the fuzzy-wuzzy feeling of the last chapter wears off please do so now. I’ll gladly reply to PMs regarding this afterward. You’ve been warned.

Finally, the last chapter. Woot! I’m sorry it took so long to update, but I’d like thank everyone who has taken the time to sit down and read this from start to finish. Domo arigato gozaimasu with a big, fluffy mokomoko on top! Thank you for patronizing this personally favorite pairing of the IY fandom. I mean, c’mon, as sweet and cute InuxKag and MirxSan are, let’s face it, they end up together. As I once read, Sesshomaru + Kagura = bad-assed couple.

For more SesshxKagu, check out these:

YouTube’s animetributes (a prolific video crafter, chances are you’ll find something up your alley).

Perhaps two of the best videos not by animetributes would be: “Kagura – Watch the Sky” and “Gift: Kagura, Won’t Say I’m in Love.”

And for that sweet ’lil happily-ever-after, try on this site for Aryndiel’s “Kamikaze.”

Okay, I’ve got the whole champagne bubbles out of me. Now about the chapters, I tried to stick to manga as much as possible. Actually, the first SesshxKagu piece I wrote was entitled “Renewal” (which could actually work as a prologue to this final chapter); never having written romance before, I decided I was on safe terms with this pairing. Sesshomaru isn’t mushy and Kagura certainly isn’t either. Sesshomaru’s concern for Kagura remained almost entirely on business terms until his (canon) encounter in Vol. 36 with her when he watches the wind witch leave with this slightly worried expression (given the oh so vast range of Sesshomaru’s features, knitted eyebrows like in that panel have gotta mean something). Kagura, too, came to Sesshomaru as more than just an escape rope. When she gave up hope, essentially resigning herself onto death, she wanted to see him one last time. The life she’d been fighting so hard to obtain was placed on the backburner just for a glimpse of Sesshomaru. And then everything goes to hell in a hand-basket from there.

I wanted to keep Kagura around a bit longer, but had already made plans to let her go in Ch 17 (it was appropriate since her “age” according to Takahashi was seventeen). I was going to end this collection at Ch 19 (Sesshomaru’s physical appearance), but there needed to be a sense of closure. Chapter 20 took a while not because I was strapped for ideas, but that’s when midterms came up. ^^; Anyway, if you read the last chapter carefully, I didn’t really have the heart (no pun on the misfortune of wind-witches intended) to kill Kagura off. I don’t quite see her as being reincarnated any time soon (she did get her freedom, after all), but – as is the case with any fairytale – I can’t stop wishing for a happy ending.