𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 犬夜叉 ♡ ; 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚡 𝚘𝚌

brush-strokes

Her breath was scattered and her skin was dampened into a sweat. She could feel her throat scrape against her skin and the moist texture accumulating at the nape of her neck. What was that dream?

Without a moment to delay, she grabbed a small cup with both hands securely wrapped around it and took long, hard gulps. When there was not a droplet left, she slowly placed the same cup against her, dabbing her forehead with the a silk cloth that was placed next to her.

Mei and kagura didn't make eye contact, but Mei could feel her gaze nonetheless.

With a snap of her fan, Kagura cleared her throat to speak.

"So, Mei, or shall I say princess, what exactly brought you back to the castle? It clearly couldn't have been the archictectural integrity." She noted, pointing her fan at the lack of lighting and structural blandness that peaked the inside of such a delicate structure.

Mei took a swallow and squinted her eyes as she looked upwards to Kagura in confusion and annoyance. "Why is it that I hear such a disdainment in your voice?" she quizzed.

"And drop the Princess title, I don't have such a status inside or outside of this castle." She did her best to stop her teeth from grinding.

What was her deal?

"Oh?" Kagura tapped her jawline with a smile. But it didn't look amused, it looked surprised.

"well, dear Princess. Explain this-" Kagura dug into the hem of her kimono sleeve and pulled out Mei's diary.

"Give that back!" Mei reached forward only to stumble as Kagura took a long step back.

"Tsk. Mei, Mei, Mei. And here we thought you were really something of a normal girl who just lost her way. I personally don't care for what happens to you or what you choose to do with the information I give you. But, you shouldn't have came back." She spat as she tossed the diary to the floor. It slid to Mei's fingertips with a soft thump as it glided across the shiny wooden floor.

"I helped you escape once. And once is all you're getting out of me. You had the chance to flee. Far. And here you are, under Naraku without a care in the wordl. How does it feel to possibly have made the greatest mistake of your lif-?"

Kagura stopped herself in mid thought and looked around. Her crimson eyes bounced across the room before wandering over to the bedroom door. He was back.

"hmph." Kagura opened and shut her fan with a long sigh and sucked her teeth. Her eyebrow twitched a few times before she looked downward at Mei with a disappointed gaze.

"I'm here to serve you as mistress of the castle. No more, no less. Whatever you need," she wavered her fan over to a wind chime that was painted a burgundy color with gold accent. "ring the bell two times." She held up two manicured fingers and took a step back. "Naraku will be here shortly."

"Kagura, wait- I have questi-"

Kagura held up her fan and shook her head in silence. Mei could hint the pain in her eyes. She knew that Kagura risked it all to help her escape and she honestly didn't even know if Naraku caught wind that she aided her. It.. made her regret her impulsive decisions.

She looked down at her journal for a brief second and looked back up.

Kagura was gone.

The stillness in her room made her feel all the more alone. She had so many questions and.. what was she hurt by? She said she didn't care whether she lived or not.

Was she helping Mei escape or unconsciously helping herself escape?

Mei finally unraveled the sticky robe from around her and crawled over to the full-sized mirror in one corner of the room.