Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are the actual work of Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own them in any way.

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Chapter 7: Shifting void

"Would you mind reminding me again the reason for our presence here?" questioned Shiro in an utterly bored voice.

"..."

"Great there you go again with the silent treatment. Look, didn't Naraku sent you here to try and figure out the jewel's whereabouts?"

"..."

Sighing in irritation, Kanna's inner voice continued nonetheless. "So far, we've seen that youkai woman – Kagura her name was I think – had made friend with the people we were spying upon and had actually adopted a young human girl. Then we've seen that the girl who was resurrected by the jewel was turned into a hanyou, though we have no idea how that came to pass. Finally, we've seen a monk and a demon slayer actually going at it in the middle of the forest – something I definitively could have gone without by the way. As "interesting" as all this might be, I find I must point out that we're no closer to actually finding out this stupid jewel's whereabouts."

"You are distracting," finally conceded the white-clad girl.

"Of course I am, it's the only way to get you to answer me!"

"You are breaking your word."

There was a short stupefied pause on Shiro's part as she took this unexpected piece of information. "Breaking my word!? How on earth am I breaking my word?"

"You promised not to distract me."

"I promised not to hinder you! And quite frankly, I don't see how this conversation is hindering you considering the fact that we're currently sitting in a tree, observing the scenery and waiting for something to happen."

"I cannot risk being seen, otherwise everything is lost."

"Don't you think I know that? Whatever happens to you happens to me remember? I'm not trying to make you take unnecessary risks, I'm just trying to find a way to speed things up a little."

"I do not understand why you are so eager to see this assignment fulfilled. It does not benefit you in any way."

"Really now? And what do you think Naraku will do to you if you don't meet with his standards?"

Now that was an easy one, whatever or whoever was not useful to him, Naraku discarded (or killed, depending on the savagery of your vocabulary) without a second thought. The sudden realization that she would most likely not be an exception to this rule was cause enough for her to actually pause and blink twice.

"What do you propose?" she finally asked.

"Well I don't know, it's true you're not much of a fighter so if you're seen then it's pretty much over for both of us... but still, observing from a distance won't get us anything more than what we already have. We need another plan."

"You are stating the obvious without actually proposing a valid solution."

"Yeah well, at least I'm willing to look for one... something which you don't seem very keen on doing right now!"

"I am willing to look for a way. I merely do not have any idea at the moment."

"All the more reason for us to look for one!"

"Indeed."

Had Shiro possessed a body of her own, it was quite possible she would have banged her head into a wall.

"Are you even trying!"

"I am, but you talking to me is hampering my reasoning."

"And how far exactly are you in your reasoning?"

"To the point where a new idea must be found."

Groaning in complete and utter desperation at her host's complete lack of skill in the reasoning process, Shiro did the mental equivalent of taking a deep breath to soothe her nerves and began trying to teach the empty girl how to think.

"That's a start I suppose... but you need to go a little further than this if you are to find a solution. First, let's try voicing the problem shall we?"

"I do not see how that will help."

"Look just do it already! I'm trying to help you here!"

"If you insist. The current problem is that we do not know where the jewel is."

"Good. Now who exactly might be able to enlighten us on this particular topic?"

"Inuyasha and all of his friends."

"Right again. The problem however is that we can't really approach them without risking detection. So is there anyone else in this village who might know?"

This time, the answer was not immediate as Kanna pondered on this. The village in itself was pretty small, roughly about a hundred inhabitants. That meant pretty much everyone knew each other... and it also meant everyone knew just about everything that happened to everyone else.

"It is likely most of the villagers are aware at least in part of what happened."

"Well, you see, you can think when you really want to. So basically, all we have to do is find a way to ask a villager about the jewel without him actually knowing about it. Do we have a way to accomplish this?"

Kanna actually blinked as the answer to that particular question literally jumped in her face. The solution to their problem was so incredibly obvious that she even started to wonder why it took Shiro's help for her to even think about it.

"My mirror."

Now it was Shiro's turn to be surprised. "Your mirror can do that?"

"Yes."

Shiro couldn't help but groan at Kanna's monosyllabic answer. "Sorry, my mistake. Make that 'how can your mirror do that'?" she asked again impatiently.

"A person without a soul loses its awareness and will do whatever I ask him to do without question."

"Including answering a few questions... That's absolutely brilliant Kanna! Now all that's left is to find an isolated villager and use your mirror to question him."

"Yes," answered the girl dully before she jumped down her perch and started walking closer to the village in search of a proper target.

She had taken about three steps when suddenly a gentle wind stirred the trees around her. The breeze was neither stronger nor weaker, neither colder nor warmer than any of the others she had felt in the previous days... yet something in this particular breeze caused her to stop and look around in confusion.

As she did so, the air swirled around her, softly caressing her face and ruffling her hair the way a mother would do to a child. A few stray dead leaves left the ground and twirled around her, one of them accidentally catching in her white tresses. Seeing this, she reached out and reverently pulled it free, allowing it to fly away into the sky, free from its bonds.

"Free..." she murmured, the word inevitably bringing to mind the image of a youkai woman, richly dressed with deep red eyes that could have entranced any men if they hadn't been so cold. "Kagura..."

"Hey, are you okay?" questioned Shiro when she noticed her host's peculiar behavior.

Kanna wasn't listening however. Instead, she started walking again, this time heading in the direction the breeze had come from. There was absolutely no logic to her behavior and even less purpose... yet she couldn't help herself. Something was pulling her in this particular direction and she simply couldn't find the will to resist.

After a short walk, she arrived at the border of a large clearing with a small stream flowing through it... and beside it, Kagura was currently cradling a young girl in her arms, looking distinctly concerned. Due to the distance, she couldn't hear what was been said, but at one point, the child coughed, which seemed to bring the conversation to a close.

Kanna could only watch as her younger sister started down a path toward the village, followed closely by the girl and the kitsune she remembered as Shippo, a member of Inuyasha's group. As if summoned by her thought, the said hanyou and his mate appeared seemingly out of nowhere and started talking to the wind sorceress rather animately.

As the brief conversation came to an end and the group turned to leave, a wave of vertigo suddenly caused Kanna to stagger forward and almost fall to her knees. Her vision swayed and for a split-second, she even saw two Kagura instead of one. In an effort to regain control of her wavering senses, she closed her eyes and shook her head, but in the end, it only served to worsen her condition.

And then, just as she was about to collapse, everything stopped, leaving her a panting and confused mess.

"Shiro..." she accused.

Having expected her inner voice to counter her accusation, or at least answer her claim, Kanna was somewhat taken aback when no answer came.

"Shiro?" she repeated.

This time, she felt her soul stir and the familiar presence of her inner voice reappeared. "K... Kanna... w... what was that?"

"You felt it too?"

"If I felt it... I almost disappeared completely because of it! Not that you would care!"

"..."

"You know you could at least try to show some measure of..." started Shiro angry at her host's silence.

But when she noticed what had caught the girl's attention, all the words she was about to say vanished into oblivion. Back on the path, Kagura had stopped walking... and was now looking straight at them.

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"Weeeeww, that was scary! I thought for sure she had spotted us," exclaimed Shiro in relief, long after Kagura disappeared down the path.

"..."

"What? Weren't you even the slightest bit... oh right, I almost forgot, you're 'empty' right?"

"..."

"And here we go again. What's the matter now oh venerable host?" questioned Shiro, irritated by Kanna's silence.

"The wind is... weeping."

"Weeping? Since when does the wind weep?"

"Something is saddening Kagura."

"Something is... Okay, now I'm officially lost, would you mind explaining your reasoning here because quite frankly, I don't see the link."

"Kagura controls the wind," answered Kanna, as if that explained anything.

"What does that have to do with everything!?"

"The wind reflects her emotions."

Now it was Shiro's turn to be momentarily speechless. Not having any emotions made Kanna excessively blunt and to the point. This made normal conversation close to impossible... and made her revelations all the more surprising because of her lack of tact. Now was no exception to this rule.

"Would you mind explaining how you can be so sure of yourself?"

"Kagura is my sister."

This time, Shiro wasn't just surprised, she was positively astonished. Had it been possible, she would have gaped stupidly at her host, but as it was, all she did manage to do was stay silent as she processed this new and totally unexpected piece of information.

"SAY WHAT!?"

Kanna couldn't help but wince as the voice exploded so loud in her head, that her very soul seemed to shake.

"You are being uselessly loud," she commented.

"And whose fault is that!? For crying out loud, we've been spying on your own sister! Don't you have any shame!?"

"Naraku ordered it."

"Dammit, with you it's always Naraku this and Naraku that!!!! It's your younger sister we're talking about, aren't you supposed to be looking out for her instead of spying on her!?"

"..."

"Don't you dare ignore me this time! I demand an answer and I won't keep quiet until I have one!"

"How do you know?"

"How do I know what!?"

"How do you know Kagura is my younger sister?"

"Well, you just told..." but abruptly Shiro's anger vanished along with her words. While Kanna had indeed mentioned her link with Kagura, she did not say anything about the wind sorceress' age.

"How do you know?"

Somehow, Kanna's voice, while being totally emotionless, still managed to sound surprisingly demanding and Shiro found herself shrinking away despite herself. "I... wish I knew," she finally admitted truthfully.

The white-clad girl blinked twice, trying to figure out what to do next. Ever since she appeared, Shiro had been a complete mystery. With no memories of her own, it had been impossible to tell how she had ended up where she currently was. And even now, as she showed some signs that she indeed remembered something, it only served to deepen the mystery surrounding her.

"You know, even if I don't know how I know... I still mean what I said. If she's your sister then I do think it's wrong to spy on her like that. Why don't you try going to her? I'm sure you two could work something out."

"Naraku would not approve."

"Of course he wouldn't, that's the whole point."

"I cannot go against his orders."

"And why not? If you go and ask these people for help, I'm sure they'll answer... and in his state, Naraku wouldn't be any match for them."

"I will not go against his orders."

"Oh I give up! Trying to reason with you is like trying to reason with a mountain!" exclaimed Shiro, disdainfully. "Go ahead, spy on her, betray her, sell her back to Naraku for all I care! What does it matter anyway, she's only your sister!"

"You are unusually emotional."

"And you're unusually un-emotional! Kagura's your sister, your family! Doesn't this mean anything to you!?"

Kanna didn't answer right away. Somehow, the pleading tone Shiro had used spurred an unexplainable impulse to delve into her memory and try to find an answer she wasn't sure existed. Unlike Naraku's other incarnations, Kagura and her had both been created from the same seed, thus making them as close to real sisters as was possible considering the peculiar circumstances of their birth. However, she'd never really given much thought to the full meaning of this connection... in fact, she never really had an opportunity to think at all.

Now though, things were slightly different. She was trying to learn to fill the void that she was in order to ensure she could have a future after Naraku. So, even as she drew a blank on Shiro's question, she realized it might be to her best interest to know more about this connection as it could very well spell her survival if Naraku was ever to be defeated.

"Teach me."

"Eh?"

"You are supposed to be my teacher so teach me."

"Teach you what?"

"The meaning of the word... family."

"You mean... that the fact Kagura is your sister... really doesn't mean a thing to you?"

"No."

"Well, considering you don't have any emotions, I shouldn't be surprised," sighed Shiro in resignation.

"Emotions are necessary to understand the word family?"

"For the most part yes. 'Family' refers to a highly emotional bond... which you are incapable of understanding because of how you currently are."

"So without emotions, I will never be able to understand what it means to have a sister?"

"I'm afraid it will be a bit difficult... but I can still explain it to you if you want."

Kanna did not answer right away, too confused by this new turn of events to reason out what to do. She never would have thought that her emotionless state would actually rob her of something... yet there it was. 'Family' would forever remain a mere word to her, a word that defined a bond she could never really share in because of what she was.

And somehow, with this realization came another even more troubling: If she had missed out on the concept of 'family'... how many other things had she missed out on? How many emotion-related concepts was she not understanding right now? How much of the working of the world was slipping between her fingers without her even realizing it?

"I wish to know... explain," she finally answered.

And as Shiro started her explanation, something flickered inside Kanna. An idea, dismissed just about as soon as it entered her head. The idea that maybe, just maybe, Naraku hadn't done her a favor by creating her as she was.

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Author's note: Okay... first and foremost I will say Kanna's a damn bitch to write about. I mean, have you ever tried to write about a character who has no emotions and barely has a thought process? Anyway, just so you know, I don't hate Kanna at all. I happen to find her character really original and mysterious. Putting it on paper though is one hell of a challenge. Anyway, I think I ended up with a more than decent result. See you all next chapter.