Update: 7/4/17: I am now editing this entire story, slowly but surely, before going on with the updates. My writing style has changed a lot in the past three years, and if I were to continue this from the last chapter it would be a bit incoherent. Plus I foreshadowed too much and all the surprises I had planned for the later chapters won't actually be surprises at this rate. So just bare with me if the later chapters don't make much sense with the earlier ones: it just means I haven't edited them yet. I'll put this note at the beginning of each edited chapter to let you know which ones they are. Happy reading!

-oOo-

Last Time…

"You called me by my name."

He seemed a bit surprised for a moment, as if he hadn't realized it himself, and returned to his book. "I didn't intend to use your name, so don't get used to it. You're still a human wench, whether you like it or not."

Kagome's lips parted into a little "o" before her face brightened into a smile. "Sure thing, Sesshoumaru."

-oOo-

Chapter 7: Curses

"OH MY GOD SESSHOUMARU YOUR HAIR IS—!"

"SIT!"

Inuyasha crashed to the ground. Shippou fell silent midsentence. Sango giggled behind her hand. Miroku didn't even bother to conceal his humor. The two had been "sparring" (Miroku's idea, of course) for the past few minutes while Inyasha and Shippou argued nonsensically before Kagome and Sesshoumaru had shown up.

"Oi! What was that for, Kagome?" yelled Inuyasha, dragging himself out of his usual crater. He jabbed an angry finger at Shippou. "He was talking, not me!"

Kagome laughed nervously as Sesshoumaru said, "I am glad I do not have a subjugation necklace also."

"Why you little—!"

"Inuyasha," Kagome cut in, "Don't make me say it for real this time."

Inuyasha fell silent, shooting Shippou a look that said he wouldn't get away with this, and Kagome smiled sweetly, shrugging off her backpack and leaning it against a tree. She'd bought a new, lighter one for the trip to Kyoto, and now the only things inside were a three-week supply of granola bars, some salt, pepper, and condiments, a couple changes of clothes, reusable water bottles, her school books, and cooking supplies. And her camera, of course, because no way was she going to Kyoto without her camera. Oh, and a list of places to go in Kyoto she'd printed off the Internet. And can't forget the family-size pack of ramen noodles, and her lighter, and her flashlight, and a pot, and…

Okay, so maybe she was a bit of an over packer, but it was still an improvement.

"I'm all ready to go if you want to leave now," she said as Shippou bounded forward and leapt onto her shoulder.

"Feh," said Inuyasha.

"You should say what you think or say nothing at all," said Sesshoumaru from beside Kagome. "Those noises make you sound like you have a low IQ."

Kagome snorted. When had he learned that? Probably in some science book about Albert Einstein or something.

"Be quiet," the taiyoukai told her lightly.

"Fat chance of that," she said, grinning. Miroku glanced between Kagome and Sesshoumaru, a strange expression on his face.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" said Inuyasha gruffly. "Let's go!"

-oOo-

"I do not know if leaving Rin behind was a good idea," said Sesshoumaru. Kagome was walking beside him at the back of the group, but Shippou wasn't sitting on her shoulder anymore. They'd gone back to Edo before officially setting out so Kagome could retrieve her bow and arrows from Kaede's hut, and when Sesshoumaru had informed Rin that she would be staying behind, Shippou had decided to stay too.

"Don't worry," said Kagome. "Hardly any youkai attack that village anyway, and if they do Kaede will take care of them."

"I'm not worried," said Sesshoumaru condescendingly.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You'd think this whole curse thing would let you be honest with your feelings, but I guess you can still lie to yourself if you try hard enough."

He shot her a frosty look. "I do not lie to myself."

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Then why do you doubt if it was a good idea to leave her behind?" she asked. "She isn't exactly an asset of any sort—you can't gain much from a little girl, I'm sure."

"You humans of the future are far too logical," he informed her.

She smirked. "Why thank you."

"You also have the strangest definition of a compliment."

Sango stared over her shoulder at the pair who made up the back of their group. Miroku nudged her in the side and whispered in her ear, "He's not that good-looking."

Sango flushed beet red. She was still getting used to this whole "Miroku's allowed to be somewhat flirtatious with me because we're engaged now (sort of)" thing. "That's not—I wasn't looking at him… like that."

"Oh, then you were looking at something, were you?"

She smacked him playfully on the arm. "I was, actually, but it doesn't have to do with his looks." Her face grew thoughtful. "Don't you think he and Kagome-chan are acting a bit… familiar all of a sudden?"

"Ah, Sango-chan," said the monk, draping his arm over her shoulders and enjoying the way she tensed and blushed at his touch, the way she was aware of him. "I was thinking the same thing myself."

"But… Sesshoumaru-sama is so… cold and evil," said Sango. "He doesn't act familiar with anyone."

Miroku sighed wistfully. "We all come to that point in our lives," he said knowingly, "When we realize there are exceptions to the rules." He grinned fondly—and, Sango would say, a bit lecherously—at his fiancée.

She gave him a withering look as soon as she felt his hand begin to slide down her back, and he sweat-dropped, immediately raising it up and patting her hair. "Just making sure your ponytail was secure," he said.

"I'm sure," Sango said sarcastically. She looked over her shoulder again at her friend and the taiyoukai who strode stoically next to her. Every once in awhile he would say something, his expression unchanging, and Kagome's head would jerk sideways to look at him, her cheeks reddening in protest or mock anger.

They look so comfortable together, Sango thought, turning back around. She was met by the sight of Inuyasha's red-clad back, and her brows pressed together in a frown. She hoped the miko's newfound friendship with Sesshoumaru wouldn't be yet another curse in disguise for the hanyou.

Kikyou returning from the dead, Kagome being Kikyou's reincarnation, losing control when he's separated from Tessaiga, and now the curse Kagome put on Sesshoumaru. Sango's eyes fell to the ground. Inuyasha had had enough curses to last a lifetime.

-oOo-

So she has the power to curse, thought Naraku, watching as the miko laughed at something Sesshoumaru had said. His eyes scanned the two as they walked together at the back of their little group. This new development was interesting, to say the least. He had never expected the miko to be powerful enough to curse someone. The only miko he'd met with that kind of power was Tsubaki, and her powers had come from darkness. Kagome's power, however, was not drawn from an outside source. It came from within her, and, though unrefined, was sharp and dangerous in its purity.

It made him nervous just thinking about it. Something about this whole situation felt off to him, as if there were some piece of the puzzle he was missing. He didn't like the feeling, not one bit.

"Where is the undead miko?" he asked Kanna.

"She has shielded herself," came the ghostly reply. "I cannot see her."

Naraku's face hardened. It seemed Kikyou's usefulness was beginning to lessen. He'd need to kill her soon, before she became a real nuisance to him. "Fetch Kagura," he told the emotionless girl. She nodded, exiting the room in her usual slow, noiseless gait.

He watched her retreating back. Her usefulness was quickly fading also. The only reason he kept her around anymore was because of her mirror's ability to act as a spy on Inuyasha's group. Her emotionless face irked him more than it should have these days. He much preferred a slave such as Kagura, whose defiance was obvious. He knew exactly the extent of Kagura's hatred towards him, and he could therefore control it, but Kanna was a different case entirely. He didn't know what she felt, if she felt at all. Her neutrality was a hindrance to him and his purpose. Not to mention the fact that she couldn't be used as a weapon against Kagome anyway because her soul was too large to fit into the mirror.

His eyes darkened. There it was again—that feeling. What was he missing?

He heard footsteps at the end of the hallway and a moment later the door slid open, revealing the wind youkai in her usual kimono, her fan held loosely in her hand. She regarded him with contempt. "What is it, Naraku?"

He didn't like that she referred to him so informally. "You will find Kikyou," he said boredly, knowing it would annoy her. "Inuyasha and his group are heading south-west. She may be following them."

Kagura had to force down the anger that rushed through her. How dare he use that tone with her? She swallowed her retort, keeping her voice a steady monotone. Now is not the time. That will come—later. "Kanna cannot see her?" she asked.

"She has shielded herself," he responded, looking away. "Go."

Why don't you just go? she thought, clenching her teeth. "Yes… Naraku." Before she could say something she would regret, she left, cursing him internally as she went, and shut the door behind her. She despised the dark hanyou with all her heart, but there was nothing she could do to oppose him. Her heart was his—literally.

She reached the end of the hall and rounded the corner, only to be met by her reflection in Kanna's mirror. She flinched internally before telling herself to relax. The void child wouldn't harm her. She was her sister, no matter how emotionless, right? They were in the same situation, after all. She gazed at her reflection, noting that she looked a bit older than the last time she'd seen herself. It was all Naraku's fault. She had been a powerful youkai before he had taken her, with pride and dignity. She wouldn't have aged, had she gone on living as she was. She would have remained young and beautiful forever.

Then he absorbed her and stole the majority of her youki before spitting her out and enslaving her. Her connection to Naraku, a mere hanyou, had forced mortality upon her. Small creases had already begun to appear at the corners of her eyes. It was sickening, to know that she would age and die just like any other pathetic hanyou.

Finally she tore her eyes away from the mirror and met Kanna's lifeless gaze. "What's wrong, Kanna?"

"You… hate our master," she said softly. "Why?"

Kagura frowned at the girl. Since when did she question her, or anything for that matter? "He bound us to servitude," she said. "I had a life before I came here, and I want it back more than anything."

Kanna looked at her blankly for a long moment. Kagura thought she might respond, but she didn't. Typical. She brushed past her, going to the doors at the end of the hallway and sliding them open. As she stepped out onto the porch she heard Kanna's faint footsteps following her. A few seconds later the girl was standing next to her under the alcove of the rear of Naraku's palace, staring up into the eternal moonless night created by Naraku's miasma. They stood, silent, for several moments, regarding the blackened sky before them.

"I did not have a life before Naraku brought me here," said Kanna suddenly.

Kagura looked over in surprise. She'd never heard Kanna say something so… normal. Admitted, what she'd said wasn't the height of normality, but it was certainly less creepy than usual. "How could you not have a life before?" she inquired, genuinely curious.

"I am Void," the girl responded. "I am not meant to have a life." She looked at Kagura, her eyes almost sad. But that couldn't be right, could it? "I am the absence of all matter and feeling. That is why I do not feel—I was never meant to."

Kagura felt a strange pinch in her chest where her heart should have been. Funny that even though her heart was gone she still had emotions. The same couldn't be said for Kanna.

She tore her eyes away from the girl and looked at the sky again, bringing her hand to the bun at the back of her head and removing a feather. "I must go."

Kanna nodded and watched as her sister disappeared into the darkness.

-oOo-

Thanks for reading!