© Salome Wilde, 2008

Author's Note: I am certain there is not much of a Sango/Kagura fan community out there. (I could find only three stories on this site that pair them at all; two are AU while the third focuses on a fight for Sesshomaru.) I wanted to write some female/female interaction among strong women characters in their own time, and this pair came to mind. Thanks for giving it a chance!

Solace

Kirara trilled plaintively, rubbing her face against Sango's in hopes she would awaken. The slayer had not moved since she had been blasted from Kirara's back by the energy bolt that shot from the tail of the dragon demon. Kirara knew the others would finish off the creature and retrieve the shard imbedded within it, so she flew straight to Sango's side. Her mistress had crashed through a canopy of trees and landed in the underbrush beneath them. It was a nearly moonless night, but Kirara found her, breathing easily and unbloodied. Yet, she lay unconscious and did not stir despite Kirara's nudging and purring.

Not wanting to leave her side and fearing the slayer might slip off if she attempted to carry her on her back while insensible, Kirara paced around Sango's body anxiously in the darkness. When there was still no change after an hour's time, she sniffed the air for water then went to retrieve some. The stream was very near. She would carry water in her mouth and release it onto Sango's face and into her mouth. With luck, this would finally rouse her and they could return to the others where she could get more care.

However, when Kirara returned, Sango was gone. She found only the tumbled foliage on which she had lain. The nekomata smelled the ground and the air, seeking a clue to where her mistress had been taken. It was clear she had not simply walked away. Though her Hiraikotsu was gone, there was no trail Kirara could sense. Instead, there was only a hint of demonic energy leading up through the trees. To Kirara, though, it reeked of Naraku.

Kirara leapt into the air, searching in the darkness with her sensitive eyes and nose. But there was nothing more than that energy trace. It was as if Sango had been hoisted into the air and then vanished. Without more to go on, Kirara decided to head back to their companions, where she would do her best to convey the need to search for Sango until they found and rescued her.

- - - -

Sango woke in a dimly lit room, her sight blurry and her mind clouded. She struggled to a sitting position on the mat beneath her and waited for her head to stop swimming. Where was she? The room was spacious yet bare but for a small fire burning in the pit at the room's center, the mat, and her Hiraikotsu beside her. She fought the haze in her thoughts and tried to reconstruct the situation. Though she could not at all remember how she had ended up in this room, she could recall the events leading up to it.

Kagome had sensed a jewel shard's power to their north, and they had walked into a small village near sunset to be told of a dragon yokai that had been terrorizing nightly for several days. Each evening when darkness fell, it would swoop through the village and scoop up whoever happened to be standing in its path. It shot fireballs from its mouth as it advanced, and followed them with similar bursts from its tail as it flew past. The cries of the victims were silenced by the yokai's massive, crunching jaws. Kagome promised to help while Inuyasha bragged that he would hack it to bits as soon as it showed its ugly face again. Miroku, in the meantime, found a gaggle of village girls who fawned over the young monk in their midst. They tittered their undying faith in their handsome heroic Hoshi-sama, and he replied by asking them all to bear his child. Sango grabbed him by the ear and brought him back to the others to enjoy a generously offered meal. He gushed a string of humble apologies for his over-amorous nature as they went. Sango scoffed and sat across the table from him, shooting daggers from her eyes when he ventured a piteous look in her direction.

The battle that night had been intense but unremarkable. The yokai was powerful but no match against their combined powers. Miroku threw spell scrolls and held his kazana in check, should it be needed. Kagome strove to target the precise location of the jewel shard with her bow and arrow. Inuyasha leapt forward with Tetsusaiga and attacked its head with a cry of "Kaze no Kizu!" while Sango flew on Kirara's back to the creature's underside and threw her Hiraikotsu to sever its tail. That was all she could remember.

She struggled to bring forth more:

Had she been hit? Her aching head argued so.

Were her companions nearby? A quick, if unsteady, walk to the sliding panel that separated the room from others, followed by a peek beyond, suggested not. She dared not venture further or call out until she knew she was not being held captive.

Did the presence of her Hiraikotsu prove she was not a prisoner? She could not draw a certain conclusion.

What should she do next? Her cobwebbed mind suggested patiently waiting for someone to come to her would be wisest. She sat on her heels, her weapon over her shoulder, ready for friend or foe but hoping for friend.

Her wait was not long, though it was hardly a friend who slid the panel back and stood, posing provocatively, in the doorway. The fire cast shadows and her red eyes glinted in the flickering light.

"Slayer," pronounced Kagura languidly, letting her fan drop open before her. "You have awakened. Welcome."

Sango assumed a defensive posture. So, the sorceress was responsible for her presence here. But how had she arrived, and what did Kagura want from her?

Kagura laughed and entered the room. "Fear not, Sango-sama," she purred. "I did not bring you here to fight you. Had I wished to harm you, you would already be dead."

"Then let me go, Kagura," Sango replied, advancing.

"I could not do that, brave Slayer, now that I have taken the effort to bring you to my secret abode. Are you not the least bit curious why I have brought you here, Sango-sama?"

"No," snapped Sango, though it was untrue. She did want to know where she was and why and also to understand why Kagura used the honorific when she referred to her.

"Please, sit with me." She tucked her fan inside her kimono and walked gracefully to the fire, which crackled softly in the pit.

With caution, Sango followed her treacherous host and watched her as she kneeled and sat, folding and tucking her garment neatly beneath her. Her back was straight and her hands lay, perfectly folded, in her lap. Sango came to rest opposite her, the Hiraikotsu in her lap and the fire between them. When Kagura held her gaze but did not speak, Sango broke the silence. "What is it you want of me, Kagura?"

"I want your life, Slayer."

"But you said…" stuttered Sango, tensing and gripping her weapon. She knew she was not at her best, but she would, as always, defend herself.

Kagura waved a delicate hand dismissively. "You misunderstand me, Sango-sama. I have watched you for many months now, shadowing you as your foolish band scurries to collect fragments of the Shikon jewel, hoping to defeat Naraku. And though I must destroy you if my master commands it, I envy you your freedom and resent your meekness. I am weak; I know it. My powers come from Naraku, and he holds my very life in his hands. But you, Slayer, can proudly proclaim your lineage and the fighting prowess you have earned by your own efforts."

Sango wrinkled her brow and shook her head slightly. What was Kagura threatening? Would she drain the Slayer of her powers? Release her now to prove she was not simply Naraku's puppet? What did Kagura's envy bode?

"Sango-sama," Kagura again broke the silence, her tone now more insistent and more intimate. "How can you let them treat you so? If I could, I would annihilate anyone who did not show me the respect I deserved. You show them such loyalty, such courage, with never a thought for yourself. 'Kagome-sama,' you call that human, whose power is not her own but that of the true Miko Kikyo from whom she was reincarnated. To that child, you are simply 'Sango-chan.' And that monk! 'Hoshi-sama,' you call him, even as he gropes you like an ignorant village girl. Can you desire someone who shows you such open disrespect, Sango-sama? There are those who could show you such admiration and affection that Miroku's bumbling and inconstant pledges would repulse you…as they should!"

With that, Kagura rose and advanced around the firepit to where Sango sat, mouth agape. The Slayer wanted to protest, to argue for the purpose and meaning the quest they shared had given her life after Naraku had obliterated her family. She wanted to defend her friends—especially the intentions of Miroku. But she did not. She was silenced by Kagura's words and the intensity of emotion she projected. Did she mean what she said?

Suddenly at her side, Kagura knelt and laid a delicate hand over Sango's heart. The Slayer froze. "If you could only know how fortunate you are, Sango-sama, and how splendid. Your heart beats with such strength. Your mortal body breathes so freely; you need not even think of it." Kagura reached her other hand and gently turned Sango's face toward her own. Sango could feel Kagura's breath upon her lips. "What does such freedom taste like, Sango-sama?" Kagura asked, and brought her lips to Sango's.

Kagura's breath was fragrant and spicy. Her lips were warm and alive. Sango found herself yielding to their sweet seduction. Softness upon softness, they shared and reflected each other's curiosity and need. Soon, their mouths gently opened to one another, and a tender exploration grew to more passionate abandon. Sango felt Kagura's hand still resting on her fast-beating heart. As they kissed, her pulse raced, the blood rushed through her veins, and it was so wonderful to be alive. She wondered if Kagura could feel this vitality through her. She hoped so.

It was Kagura who broke the kiss, abruptly. She pulled her hand away from Sango's breast as though she had been burned, and her eyes blazed cherry red. "Come, Sango-sama," she cried out, rising. "Naraku is summoning me and I must obey. Follow me quickly and I will return you to your friends before he discovers my whereabouts."

"Kagura," Sango pleaded. "Wait…"

"Now, Slayer. We must hurry."

Sango reluctantly nodded agreement and grabbed her Hiraikotsu. Her lips tingled and her head was spinning. What had she just done?

Grabbing Sango's hand, Kagura led them swiftly from the dwelling. Then, she plucked a feather from her hair and watched it grow until they could both climb onto it and sail off into the starlit blackness of the night sky. "Hold onto me," Kagura said, her voice all but lost in the wind that blew them to where Sango's companions would be waiting. Or were they out searching for her? Sango wondered. She wrapped her arms around Kagura's small waist and leaned into her warmth. Until this night, she had not known how much the sorceress suffered, how little control she had over her existence. Kagura was a fearsome opponent, true; yet, like Sango herself, her suffering came from Naraku. What could the future hold for these enemies and sisters?

In what seemed an instant, they arrived at the clearing where Kagome and Shippo waited at a small fire. The others must be out looking for her. Kirara must be so worried. Landing nearby, Sango turned to Kagura to thank her, but the sentiment was imprecise. There were no right words to offer at this moment. Kagura planted a soft kiss on her cheek and flew off before Sango could decide what to say.

The Slayer stood and watched as the bone-white feather disappeared into the heavens. Though Kagura could not hear her, she offered a vow to the stars in her name: "I will treasure my freedom and value myself, Kagura-sama. And I will defeat Naraku so you will have the same chance." Then she turned and walked proudly to reunite with her friends.