Prologue

One day, Kagura had come back. It could not be categorized much as a revival, but it wasn't a complete rebirth either. If one had to use scientific terms, it was simply like a gaseous element coming back into its physical form, like clouds in the sky could one day become touchable snow, and like water vapor could change itself into ice under the right circumstances. Much like this, the demoness had encountered her own moment for transformation.

Kagura the wind sorceress had found a circumstance, in her own way, to come back into her physical form: a 5'7 demoness with a slender body, hair as black as the darkest shadows, face as pretty as a doll, and eyes that were a vibrant shade of red. In her eyes however, there was a slight change. Her eyes were no longer flat like before. They had now contained a sense of her true depth, with a dark red iris jeweled into them. Her return to the physical world could have been called a miracle, but it could also have been called another labor to endure.

In fact, this was not necessarily what Kagura had wanted. She enjoyed her freedom as the wind. She enjoyed having no possible way of getting hurt, for pain did not exist for wind. All a gust of wind had to do, was to simply go forth. And on top of that, it was in any direction she pleased. Most of all, she was allowed to just be. As a demoness, she had suffered both mental and physical pain before. In fact, every day was a battle. Her "last day" was a rollercoaster ride of hell, until a tall man with long silver hair, golden eyes, and a deep yet strangely gentle voice had appeared in front of her, companying her last few breaths.

After she passed, she had realized that life was much better as the wind, rather than being alive. Much better, so much better. She preferred travelling as the wind, rather than being in constant pain under Naraku's control. What a short three years of vacation it was for Kagura. So when she had come back to the physical world, originally, she was unhappy to suddenly feel the weight of her body onto her two feet, the involuntary will to blink her eyes… but also the warmth of her blood pumping through her veins… and her heart beating within her chest. Remembering her heart, she welled up with emotions, feelings that came crashing down like violent waves.

With a good look around the place, it was a flower meadow, much like the one she had disapparated in. She put her pale hand onto her chest. She felt the reverberations of her heart beating softly. She was so healthy now. Fascinated by the fact that she could listen to her own heart inside of her for more than 5 seconds, she closed her eyes, and just felt for a few seconds. How interesting it was to feel something again. The wind blew around her in gentle waves.

A couple tranquil forests away, Lord Sesshomaru halted in his steps. A mysteriously familiar scent, yet newly introduced, was caught in single whiff of his sharp dog demon nose. He froze in the middle of the trail, as Jaken bumped into the back of Sesshomaru's calves.

"Oof! Lord Sesshomaru! I am so deeply sorr-"

The look on his master's face reminded him of a cracked diamond: so out of place and rare for a diamond to be cracked, yet still beautiful. The diamond itself must have been stunned by realizing that itself too, could crack. Feeling disbelief that someone so tough and mighty could still break inside, Jaken was shaking at the sight. He liked him better when he was angry. The imp saw Sesshomaru's eyes widen and his brows making a slight wrinkle down on his handsome foreheard.

Only silence was returned to the little green imp. Jaken was bewildered and terrified at the sight he was seeing. What could Lord Sesshomaru possibly be thinking? Jaken knew that Sesshomaru often stops in the middle of his path for only two reasons: one if he encounters something in his way, and two being if he felt the presence of someone he knows nearby. Suddenly, Sesshomaru was gone. He had took flight up into the air above them, and was rising up and out of the forest.

"Lord Sesshomaru! Where are you going without me? Oh Lord Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru landed into a cosmos flower meadow. He was in disbelief. He had to make sure his whims were correct. Kagura's scent was special. It stood apart from Naraku's miasmic stench –something new. It contained some sort of flowery depth, almost as if she bathed in a mixture of every single flower on the earth. However, her scent was incredibly subtle, which made it harder to identify when compared to others.

He had recognized Kagura's scent before. There was a different undertone to it, as he last remembered. If Naraku smelled like heavy poison, Kagura was the same poison, but slightly sweeter and with somewhat addictive floral notes. Or was it addictive only for him? Though this was all over three years ago, his smart nose was able to decipher it.

Like the time he was battling Moryomaru, he had smelled Kagura's unique blood coming from the meadow direction. Back then, he'd dropped everything to go where she was. He was unsure to this day about why he had done something so impulsive, so unlike his calculative nature. She was just a woman whom he was merely curious about, he told himself. No one had ever belittled him and verbally abused him like that before. So, when he had smelled her bloodshed, he wanted to see what was happening to her. He wished that his actions were just for that one reason, and nothing more. And then she was gone.

But now, he saw Kagura right there in front of him. She was about 10 feet away from his touch. The wind moved around in the space between them, like the ripples in an ocean. Her black hair waved along to the wind like a cruel masterpiece. Her lips were not as red as he remembered, but a natural rosy pink instead. Her cheeks flushed similarly, yet subtly. She was not wearing any clothes. She didn't even seem to acknowledge his presence, which suddenly made him feel strangely guilty for witnessing her. Her eyes were closed, and she had her hand on her heart.

She looked refreshingly innocent, something she had never associated herself with in the past. In addition, and although this may have been something wrong with his eyes, but her skin seemed to glow as the sun radiated off of a slippery glacier of ice. During all of this, he felt like he was doing something wrong for slowly approaching her, step by step.

Something in his mind was telling him that this was all forbidden: her presence so close in front of him, his careful strides that drew them closer, and the clouds in the sky that seemed to scrutinize his every disreputable action. Sesshomaru tried to keep his mental state cold and objective, and did not stare at her feminine body in much detail. In fact, he was too struck in awe to think properly, and something made him strangely dizzy. He only stared at her face, in which he saw her suddenly lift an eyebrow as she ponderously flutter her eyes open.

Those red eyes. If nothing had solidified the fact that this was indeed Kagura the wind sorceress in front of him, her unique eyes were what confirmed it. Something was more intense about them now, she had a thousand times more depth and wisdom within those eyes. Everything about her was, in fact, more mysterious. But now, those red eyes were taking in Sesshomaru's unfathomable expression.

Two feet away from her stood the tall dog demon, wearing his armor and a new sword on his belt, one that she has never seen before. His golden eyes were the same, his silver hair was a bit disheveled more than usual, and something was fluffier about his overall appearance in comparison to the past, but he still looked ravishingly handsome. Had he gained a little more muscle? Something about him was more masculine than before as well. He was possibly even more handsome than she had last seen him. But Kagura quickly pushed that aside.

Suddenly remembering that she was naked, with a yelp, she frantically attempted to cover herself with with her arms, but it was no use. He had already seen everything! Suddenly she felt a familiar emotion well up inside of her. Anger. Something that always boiled up inside of her whenever she was incredibly embarrassed.

"HEY YOU! What the hell do you think you are doing ogling me here?" she shouted as she pushed him away with her two hands on his chest.

Somehow entranced by her cat-like force and familiarly feisty attitude, Sesshomaru took a slow step back with slight hesitance, but still maintained his cool, indifferent look. She was exactly like he had remembered. Her voice had not changed. Her sultry tone came out naturally without trying, but mixed with her fiery spirit, her voice was a voice that Sesshomaru could never forget, no matter how hard he tried. Her voice had more depth than other females, but she still had a way of sounding sensually feminine. She had fire in her eyes as she growled at him. She tried to cover her breasts with her long, onyx hair. With another step back, Sesshomaru finally mustered his first words to her.

"How did you get here?"

Kagura accused him of avoiding her question.

"Avert your eyes you shameless pervert! I, myself, am confused actually. And I am SO not in the mood to-"

A thin, white cloth was cut from Sesshomaru's armor, as he covered Kagura with it. It was a soft, silky texture and the wind sorceress shivered with the sudden contact with the smooth, cool fabric.

"Cover yourself with it for now."

Kagura nodded as she fixed up Sesshomaru's white cloth to her fitting. It now became a simple, strapless dress, yet she still managed to look stunning. The contrast of the white fabric with her black onyx hair was unbearably beautiful. Sesshomaru took note of that, but kept his usual, stoic face.

A dove flew above them during that second. It was a majestic and cute creature, happily gliding in the wind. Kagura gazed up at it and couldn't help but smile at it. She thought about what it stood for, and felt it was much relatable to her own situation. Suddenly she saw a crow bump into it with full speed, and the dove yelped in response. Stricken with shock, Kagura yelled "NO!"

She didn't know why, but she was so attached to that small dove. She ran towards it and jumped up into the air to catch it before it fell onto the hard ground. A single white feather from the dove landed onto her black hair, as if everything was meant to be. Kagura cradled the dove into her hand gently, and the dove appeared to weakly smile up at her. The wind sorceress kissed it, and to utmost surprise, the dove sprung up. The small white dove fluttered up with its healed wings, and kissed Kagura's cheek gratefully as it flew away peacefully.

Then, the wind sorceress suddenly dropped down to the ground unconscious. Sesshomaru was stunned for a second, and then he got down on one knee to check on her. He then effortlessly picked her up, and without a word, put her over his shoulder and started walking. He could hear her heartbeat from where she was in his arms. How pleasant it was to his ears, the soft, predictable thumps of the heartbeat from a strange woman he'd thought he would never be able to see again.