Here's that other chapter I promised you, so enjoy it. Consider both of these belated Christmas gifts.
Disclaimer: Don't own Inuyasha. Tarot and Moeru-shi are mine though
Inferno
The more you fight it, the brighter it burns.
Chapter 20: Like Wildfire
Kagura looked up, vaguely aware of a second presence beside her as she gazed into the inky depths of the night sky. Regardless of her lack of attention, the heavy panting, and barely heard patter of blood hitting the ground told her all she needed to know.
" You should not provoke him like you do." She drawled, focused on the feeling of the wind, of her element, sifting through her ebony tresses. From somewhere to her left, she heard a snort.
" And you should not fear him like you do."
" He holds my heart." Kagura whispered.
" He holds my soul." Was the calm response.
" You are not the wind." She muttered. "You cannot understand my yearning for freedom."
" You are not cursed with second sight. You cannot understand my wish to stop the visions."
" You are not a fighter."
" You are not a seer."
" Then tell me, Oh, all Seeing One, what it is my future holds!" Kagura whipped around, her ruby eyes ablaze, to take in the erect form of a maiden, dressed in a dark purple kimono and wearing a white shroud over her head. A long lock of auburn hair peeked out on her shoulder, tumbling down to her waist. Her lips were curled into an infuriating smirk that reminded the wind sorceress far too much of Naraku. Holding out her hand, the maiden's smirk grew.
" As you wish, ane-ue."
On the ledge before her, a swirl of white blue appeared, spinning about itself in a twisting, coiling motion. As the Kagura and the girl watched on, the swirl grew bigger, and bigger, emitting a dim, barely there light. The swirl, the droplets detaching from it identifying it as water, poured downwards, filling into bowl like shape, as though an invisible container sat there. And as the last droplet fell onto the smooth, mirror like surface of the water, a ripple shot over the liquid. As it reached the edges, a cream coloured shell, smooth and glossy appeared, until a bowl, with the kanji for future sat before them. Kagura scoffed and looked away, trying not to be impressed.
" So this is the tool he gave you? A bowl of water? How pathetic."
" Not water, ane-ue." The maiden ran her fingers just over the water. " At least, not just water. You have heard of the Naku Yogensha, yes?"
" The Weeping Seer?" Kagura rolled her eyes. " Yes, Naraku ranted about it for we-"
Realization dawned on her as she trailed off. " You mean this is-"
" Yes." The maid whispered, her entire focus on the bowl before her. " Now shush, ane-ue, and we will see what lies in your future."
Though she could not see what occurred in the bowl, the feeling of intense power, of something immense sweeping over them like a cloud, caused Kagura's throat to constrict and her false heartbeat to quicken in something like fear. Her gaze shifted about, seeking an answer to her baseless terror, but the darkness that loomed over her and her fellow incarnation had no form and could not be spotted by on such as Kagura.
By one who lacked the second sight.
Kagura did not like to be helpless. It was that that fueled her great resentment of Naraku, along with her desire for freedom. He made her feel helpless and alone and lost. He took away her will power and reduced her to a broken toy at his feet.
And she despised him for it.
In the eerie silence, with only the sound of the maiden's hushed murmuring and the dim light of the water, Kagura felt her hear still for some reason, as she gaze over into the blurred scenes of the water.
And then the maiden sank swiftly to her knees, hand clasped over her mouth as she spat blood onto her palm.
Kagura jumped back, startled and afraid. She twisted her white hand in her kimono, trying to calm her uneven breathing down to its normal rate, trying to force her heart, wherever it lay, to beat quietly once more, instead of pounding so hard she was sure half the castle could hear it.
Choking and rasping, the maiden pulled herself up into a standing position with the railing, still hacking like a dying man.
" Are you…okay?" Kagura asked, and jumped back when she was met with a bloodstained smile. Beneath the cover of the shroud, Kagura could almost see the fanatically, lethal gleam.
" What is it?" She hissed hurriedly, the wind about the two picking up in her excitement. " What did you see?"
" …"
" Well?!"
" …I saw battle." The maiden whispered hoarsely. " I saw blood. I saw the corpses of a thousand slain enemies."
There was a tremor in her voice; a preamble of something Kagura could quite place. Still, it seized up inside her and took hold of her soul, making her heart beat fast and trapping the breath in her slender throat.
" I saw the will to win. I saw true strength. I saw love. I saw betrayal. I saw good intentions gone wrong. I saw old enemies make peace. I saw a last stand."
She raised her head to the sky, bringing her hands up in prayer, and Kagura caught a glimpse of hazel eyes, alive with a fever the wind witch had never known.
" I saw us by her side. I saw us by our Sacred Lady."
" Sagi-kun!" Sango yelled in delight as she caught sight of the modest farm boy kneeling by the river, his piercing blue eyes down turned to look at the fish. At the sound of her voice, his head shot up to look at her, and she was spellbound by those sapphire orbs. Vaguely, as she stumbled to a halt at his still crouched body, she thought it should be illegal for a man (though Sagi was more of a boy than a man) to have such beautiful eyes.
" Sango-san!" he said with a joyful grin, his boyish face lighting up with a pink blush.
" Ah ah." Sango tutted, wagging her index finger back and forth, her eyes sparkling with amusement. Sagi's face burned.
" I…Fogive me, Sango-chan." She grinned. " I, um…I am… unaccustomed to being so…informal with women who…who are not, um, …my, um, sisters. And, um, …you are so, um, …I mean, …that is to say, …I…"
Sango watched with a steadily beating heart as Sagi averted his eyes and fumbled over his words, his face bright and his fingers wringing together as he tried to get his point across. He looked so utterly sweet and adorable and vulnerable, that Sango felt an alien urge well up inside. She dropped to her knees beside him, and, with no hesitation, pressed a tender kiss to his cheek.
Sagi sprang up in the air, tumbling back down in a 'flump' and staring at her like she had dropped from the sky. Sango, blushing under this scrutiny, turned her head down, trying to hide the shame in her eyes. Wasn't that right? She had seen girls do that before, lean over and kiss boys like that on the cheek, but perhaps she had over stepped her boundary with Sagi. Perhaps she had misread his attentions to her and all he was actually interested in was friendship. After all, her bitter mind hissed, dragging up past experiences with Miroku, who would want rough, rowdy Sango, with her battle scars and tanned skin and knowledge of weapons, when he could have a soft, delicate little village girl with doe eyes and supple skin?
" S-Sango-chan?" Came Sagi's questioning voice. Breathing deeply, Sango turned with a bowed head, ready to make her apology.
" I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that." She muttered, a bitter taste on her tongue for some reason.
" Y-You mean you didn't want to?" her companion asked in a small voice.
Sango's head shot up and she took in the adorable sight of Sagi, his innocent eyes wide and shining, his fingers barely brushing the spot where her lips had touched his cheek. Something welled up in her chest.
" I…no…I mean yes, …I mean yes, I wanted to…but…" She fumbled over her words, tripping and backtracking, trying to pull words that would best represent her suddenly turbulent thoughts.
" Then…" Sagi murmured, looking at her with blue eyes that were shining with something she dared not to name, " why are you sorry if you wanted to do it?"
" Did…" She trailed off, her voice leaving her, but she gulped and forced the words out, in a tone that was hardly a whisper. " …Did you want me to?"
Sagi fell silent, staring at her as though she were the only thing in the world. The sun shone steadily overhead, shimmering through the trees and dancing itself light over her hair, though she did not know it. The wind swayed over them gently, playing absently with loose strands of hair. The water gleamed, and the fish swam on, their scales flashing in the sunlight overhead.
But Sango saw none of the beauty that nature had to offer; her world had shrunk down to the hypnotizing blue eyes of the farm boy she had met not even a week before.
"…Yes." Sagi whispered, his eyes never leaving her face. " Yes, I wanted you to. I've…I've wanted you to ever since the moment I first met you."
Sango, her breath catching in her throat, felt her heart skip a beat.
" Sango-chan…" Sagi began slowly, looking at her with ardent, sweet eyes.
" Yes, Sagi-kun?" She whispered, finding it hard to think straight under the gaze of those blue eyes.
" May I kiss you? For real?"
" I mean her no harm, you know." Kanna said with a roll of her eyes as the soul collector beside her hissed in reflex at the maiden of the void.
But Kanna, practiced at hiding her emotions, rolled her eyes, though her heart warmed at the youkai's protectiveness of the miko.
" You know as well as I do that Kagome is powerful." Kanna muttered, pushing the black cloak off her head and letting her white bangs fall into her contrasting black eyes. She shut them for a moment, thinking of the obsessive gleam in Kagome's eyes when she caught sight of fire. A good opponent. Worth looking into as an ally. Probably capable of, if not killing Naraku, then hurting him, possibly inflicting permanent damage, if the timing was right. Kanna flicked a strand of snowy hair over her shoulder, roused from her daze by a curious cooing from Hikaru. Kanna stiffened.
" Yes, it's my natural hair colour!" The 'emotionless' girl hissed in fury, twisting a pale hand into her precious locks. " What else would it be?!"
Hikaru cooed suggestively and Kanna's face, devoid of colour, was set alive with a fiery, healthy looking flush of indignation.
" Premature whitening?!" She snarled venomously, glaring at the snake like youkai with all the fury her unaccustomed body could create. Her black eyes sparking, her face flushed, her stance rigid, Kanna looked nothing like the expressionless demon that haunted the halls of Naraku's castle. She stamped her foot and glowered at Hikaru, who could contain herself no longer. From the youkai's open jaw spilled the bubbly coos that Kagome had taken as laughter. Kanna, realizing she was being mocked, pouted cutely before rolling her eyes and letting a small smile make its way onto her face.
" Okay, so maybe it isn't a normal colour for girls my age." She paused. " Or, at least, girls at the age I appear." She shook her head to rid it of such philosophical thoughts and focused her attentions on the now quiet soul collector.
" I came here to ask you only one question really."
She leveled the creature with her dark eyed gaze, smirking slightly, in a way that was reminiscent of Kagome when she spoke to Kikyo. Hikaru felt a thrill go through her long body.
" Do you think Kagome can help us bring Naraku down?"
Tarot had never actually seen Inuyasha before.
He had been described to her, by a ranting, furious Kagome, who made him out to be the incarnation of everything horrible and despicable on earth and Tarot, who had had bad experiences with men, had been inclined to believe her.
Now, standing in a dense forest that she had never known existed until now, surrounded by birds and animals and the constant whisper of the winds through the tree leaves, Tarot Yogenshano got the first sight of the man she despised.
He was tall, taller than either her or Kagome, with a wild mane of silver that was as much like moonlight as Kagome had said. Bright, passionate eyes, of spun gold, looked over at them, filled with heartbreak, with desperation, with a fleeting hope. Tarot scowled darkly.
' No hope is gonna save you now, Dog-Boy.'
Dressed in a deep, powerful red that reminded Tarot too much of blood, with big billowing sleeves and bare feet. And there, she glanced at his hands, were the sharpened, deadly claws that had torn into Kagome's cheeks. Tarot's hazel eyes darkened in anticipation. Though she leaned causally against the back of a tree, observing from her vantage point, her hands clenched so tight her knuckles turned a pale, sickly white.
' I hate you.' She hissed in her mind, taking in the form of her rival. ' I've hated you for a long time. You think you've known hate before? Kikyo, Naraku, Sesshomaru, they're nothing compare to me, Inuyasha. '
Though he couldn't see it, Tarot leveled the inu hanyou with a glare.
' You're about to relearn the phrase Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.'
She tilted her head back, smirking in a way that revealed one point fang, peeking out over her lip.
' I may not exactly be a woman, Inuyasha, but I am scorned.'
Inuyasha took a step towards Kagome, wild, desperate love in his eyes.
' I am most definitely scorned!'
Left unattended, the bowl sat quietly, its waters unmoving as its mistress talked fanatically about the visions it granted to her.
Silently, it observed the wind witch, the proud tilt of her head, the red of her eyes, the tussle of her element in her hair, and stored the image away for a later date.
The water waited patiently for its mistress to end her speech, and take it and her away to rest fully. It lazily slopped back and forth, trying to amuse itself with the sound of droplets splashing against the side of its bowl. Its mistress hushed it with a way of her hand. The water sighed, bored once more.
Then the feeling struck.
With no pretense, the water spun rapidly, feeling the images of people and places it had never known, would never know, couldn't know, pass in a blur of colour and motion over its surface, displayed for a fraction of an instant in time for any passerby to see.
But it was not these images the water sought to show its mistress.
Somewhere, the water felt the heat and spark of an old enemy and brother, one who was opposite and kin at the same time, a child of Mother Darkness. It felt the tendrils of flame reach out and the brunt of the euphoria it bore with it slammed into the water of the prophet. Spinning and twisting and splashing, its mistress finally turned to it, her eyes curious.
It watched, with a ripple of satisfaction as her skin went pale as the moon.
For displayed on the surface of the all seeing water was the image of two people, a girl with long midnight hair and a boy with blazing red eyes like burning coals, locking in a passionate embrace, silhouetted against a raging inferno.
Well, I hope you all liked those interesting developments. I know I like writing them. If you find that this is nto up to par, I apologize, but to be fair, it is 2:23 a.m. Happy New Year, everyone.
MoS
P.S.- Preview:
" Who the Hell are you!?" Inuyasha snarled, stomping over to the girl who was leanign against the tree, observing his desperate attempts to get through to Kagome with the air of the sadistically amused. She raised her eyes, one blue, one silver, and surveyed him up adn down. Finally she reached his face and gazed into his eyes with a detatched air.
" Yeah?" She asked, flipping her unnaturally coloured hair over her shoulders. " What?"
" I said who the HELL are YOU?!!" Inuyasha shouted, loosing his almost nonexistent patience. But he was taken aback when the girl levelled him with an icy glare.
" Don't take that tone with me, two timer." She pushed herself off the tree, crossing the distance between them in three long strides. " Who am I?" She asked mockingly. " Who am I?"
She stormed past him, flipping her hair once again so that it hit him in hte face, making her way towards Kagome. He almost didn't catch her answer, but his dog ears pciked it up, and it made his blood run cold.
" I'm the best friend of the woman you betrayed and I'm here for one reason Inuyasha: To make you suffer."