Update (February 2021): Chapter edited and lengthened!
Chapter 45: Kagura, the Unhallowed Wind Sorceress
Recap:
Following the events of this last while, the Inuyasha gang have experienced plenty of eye-opening action.
From questionable motives of a priestess, to swordsmen rivalry, and of course the unwanted advances of love at first sight...But the little adventure that sparked the highest attention this round, didn't take place in Edo Japan, but in Modern Ireland!
Just when our group of heroes and heroines were on their way down a new path to find another jewel shard, Trinity had finally made their move to capture Coraline, which would result in the capture of her Edo-born friends as well. With some luck and the added assistance of Freeman and Besa, everyone was able to escape the Aokigahara Base through a transport pad...
But when they woke up, they discovered that the portal had taken them to Majora Village, Coraline's old home in Ireland!
After a few missteps and reunions with some old comrades (or in Bridget's case, bullies), the young Croft would learn that her arrival may not purely be coincidental. Rather, it may have been the will of her ancestral destiny, to reclaim her family's most prized artifact, the ShatterSoul Sword. Though reluctant at first, Coraline would soon embark on the journey through the glen to find the Croft Tomb...only to run into Trinity commander Constantine Bishop, and eventually sparking a final battle to end their conflict once and for all! In the end, Coraline is victorious, and Bishop was killed by the power unleashed from the ShatterSoul Sword...
After recuperating, she would make a final pilgrimage to the site of her home and her parents' graves, share an evening of song with her childhood friend Skull Kid, before leaving the next day with her friends using the transporter watch stolen from her deceased enemy...And upon returning to Edo, another surprise is revealed: apparently, the Seven Light Crystal shards Freeman and Besa stole previously from Trinity's weapon depot had activated an ability while they traveled back to modern Tokyo through the Bone Eater's Well, and they now had the power to go back and forth through time like Coraline and Inuyasha! On that note, they ask if they could join in the mission of obtaining the Shikon-no-Tama Shards and defeating Naraku. The answer? Yes!
A week later, the gang would be tracking down a demon bear that had obtained a jewel shard and began terrorizing an unnamed village. They find it, but Naraku's Insects of Hell interfere and steal the shard for their master. Obviously, this was going to lead to another trap, but everyone agreed to follow the swarm anyway...
Before then, the wolf demons of the northern tribal branch stop by Kōga's den to propose joining forces and storming a castle rumoured to carry a large jewel shard (which we learn is Naraku's Castle). The young eastern tribe leader turns them down due to prideful distractions, and some of his pack members leave to join in the raid...This of course, is all part of the spider-marred demon's latest plan.
He sends his newest agent, Kagura to dispatch the little army just in time for the Inuyasha pack's arrival. She uses a spell to reanimate the corpses and toys with them for a while, before sensing Kōga's presence closing in. Kagura would then cancel her spell, but made certain that a certain half-dog demon became coated in wolf demon blood. Come Kōga's arrival, he's lead to believe that Inuyasha was responsible for his comrades deaths, and sinks into a homicidal rage!
With help from Lumos, Sango and Miroku would discover the sorceress inside the castle, who introduces herself before leaving behind a Naraku demon puppet to handle while she sits back and watches the trap unfold from afar...
Now...
As the roots of the fake arachnid fiend surround Sango and Miroku, the latter comments,
"Naraku certainly has a love for these elaborate setups..."
"(...Ghostly moan)"
"Hm?"
The two look up behind them and see Lumos weave between the roots, settling between their shoulders.
"Uh!"
"Lumos! What are you doing here?"
The Will O' Wisp bobs up and down with intent...
"Did Coraline send you here to assist us?"
Lumos 'nods', causing the monk to smile a little.
"Alright then. Thank you."
Though Sango is also glad for the extra helper, she found herself remarking bitterly while drawing her wakizashi blade,
"Naraku has the short-tempered ones fight outside and then he has us dealing with this demon puppet? What does he take us for?!"
"(Readies his Shakujō) We mustn't let our guard down. We're in Naraku's Castle; who knows what traps might be set."
"It's been one trap after another. I'm growing tried of all these deceptions!"
On that note, the frustrated brunette leaps into the air, meeting a few of the demon puppet roots in a short contest of flesh-like wood against steel...She lands back on the floor as pieces of those tendrils scatter, and the young man with the rat tail-like ponytail says to her,
"Shall we teach them a lesson?"
He's then forced to evade more roots, but Sango replies with a determined smile,
"This is but a measly demon puppet. We'll show them how useless it is against our strength!"
So using their staff and sword respectively, Miroku and Sango begin cracking down against the Naraku fake, with Lumos lending a hand in aiming for the weakest points in the roots...
Meanwhile, back out in the courtyard, the battle between Inuyasha and Kōga grows all the more intense, the latter currently chasing the former across the rooftops by the latter...
"Hrah!"
(Boom)
Another powerful fist attack is dodged by the silverette, and he lands on solid ground while asking himself,
"Damn it. Where the heck is he gettin' all this power from?"
The dust clears, and Kōga pulls his hand out of the broken wood, glaring down at the object of his rage...On the sidelines stood Coraline, Shippō, Kilala, Freeman and Besa, who watch the action with wide eyes.
"Did you see that?! The roof was blown off! His right arm possesses some kind of super-strength!"
"There has ta be a way to stop Kōga. His anger over the slaught'r of h's comrades is bein' directed at the wrong person."
Besa nods at his sister,
"Yeah. Question is though, how do you stop a homicidal revenge seeker?"
...Kōga pauses a moment to turn eyes on the sight of his fallen extended family again, the grief and pain clear in his deep blue irises.
My comrades...My, brothers...!
"That filthy mutt. (Glares at Inuyasha) You won't live long enough to regret this!"
He then hops off the roof, fist raised, and Inuyasha is forced to retreat backwards as fast as he could to dodge the power of Kōga's right arm! It erupts into a series of near-misses once more...but, what the wolf demon failed to take into account is that his latest stream of attacks would endanger the ones not under scrutiny. In which case, one charge of energy from his overpowered right arm doesn't dispel as quickly, heading straight for Coraline and the others!
"Oh, shit!"
Freeman and Besa act fast, hopping aboard Kilala with Shippō before grabbing their sister's arms, and signalling the cat demon to flee for the air above.
"Hang on, sis!"
"We gotcha!"
"Guys!"
(Boom...)
Thankfully, they make good time in their escape, landing swiftly and smoothly on a high rooftop. Coraline is carefully set on her feet by her brothers, while Shippō compliments the cat demon's quick action.
"Nice work, Kilala!"
The young Croft then takes a turn to praise efforts.
"(Smile) Auy, thank yeu for getting us all to safety, girl, (turn) and thanks for savin' me hide, you two."
"No prob, Cor."
"We got your back."
Kilala growls in appreciation, before directing her eyes back down to the scene below...meeting eyes with an equally grateful half-dog demon.
Inuyasha's POV
I look up where Coraline and the others were, thanking Kami that they were safe, especially her.
"Coraline..."
Good thing her brothers and Kilala were quick to react. I'll remember to thank 'em properly later.
...But first.
I give the twin-tail a quick nod of thanks, then focus a hard glare at the reckless wolf.
"Stay away from her!"
I watch him stand up before he replies,
"Grrgh, you're at fault for trying to escape. If Coraline is harmed, then it should be on your head."
...Man, he's really gone into a rage. He doesn't even realize he could very well hurt the innocent in his quest for vengeance.
I move to grip Tessaiga's hilt:
"He really intends to fight me to the death. Huh, Naraku's laid the trap, but Kōga forged his own fate. (Shing) You've pushed me far enough; I'll take you on!"
"Prepare to die, (leap) IN THE NAME OF MY COMRADES!"
He's fast!
(Clang)
I barely meet Kōga's fist with Tessaiga...but that didn't help me for long.
(Clang)
"Gyuh!"
My sword is knocked out of my hands, so I try to use my claws in a counter attack.
"Iron Reaver...!"
(Slash)
...I dunno if my claws did anything to him, but his fist definitely did something to me.
"GH!"
As we slid back to opposite sides of the courtyard turned battlefield, Kōga grins and mocks me by saying,
"Heh, I'm afraid I scratched you in passing."
I move to grip my right arm without making any sort of retort, for he truly did do some bad damage.
He's serious. He shattered the bone in my arm...!
And before I could move fast enough, Kōga charges at me and takes this opportunity to land a good suckerpunch to my face!
"Hrrrrrah!"
(PUNCH)
Come another kick, and I'm scrambling back trying not to get any more of my bones broken by Kōga's power...
But I should've paid attention to power in his legs too.
(KICK)
"Guuuuh!"
I fly back and roll sideways across the ground, just as the blind bastard comes leaping in with another attack!
Damn! I can't dodge 'im!
"...This'll finish 'im...REVENGE IS MINE!"
(PUNCH)
"AAAAAAAAAARRRH!"
(BOOM...)
Coraline's POV
As Kōga lands a heavy punch to Inuyasha's gut, the impact sends out a wave of power which I and the others cringe from.
"Rggh...!"
...I look back down once the rumbling stops...only to see a huge crater with Inuyasha laying inside, not moving while Kōga withdraws his fist from the other's chest!
"At last, hmf. The murderer's finally dead."
...No. No, please say it ain' so!
I use my Aura Sight to search for Inuyasha's energy...and let out a breath of hope when I see that there's still life beating in him.
Thank dhia and kami...
"What is it, Cora?"
"What'd ya see?"
"Is Inuyasha okay?"
"...Yes. He's only unconscious."
The others widen their eyes before letting out their own sighs of relief...But that moment of hope wouldn't last long, when I sense another presence approaching from the dissipating dust cloud.
"Huh?"
Who...Hh! A demonic aura...
I feel a nudge of confusion from Freeman, and I point down to where I'm looking.
The others look to see the figure as well, stiffening on alert.
The fight's only jus' beginning...bu' I have a hunch they're the true murderer.
No POV
Moving down to the packed dirt of the courtyard, Kagura approaches Kōga, who turns to address her.
"Huh? Name yourself."
"(Smile) Well done, Wolf Boy. With the score settled, you're able to die without any regrets."
"Whaddo ya want with me?"
"My name is Kagura...I will see that you have one final dance."
She then fwips out her fan, and casts her reanimation spell over the fallen wolf demons again, only this time, their target would be Kōga...He could only stare at the bodies with horrified confusion.
"What's the meaning...I thought they were all dead! Why do they rise again?"
"To attend your final dance. It would kill them to miss it."
The young tribe leader finally clues into what's really going on.
"You, sorceress! Was it you then who slaughtered my friends?!"
"I wonder~. It slipped my mind."
Flapping her fan down, Kagura commands the zombified corpses to charge at Kōga the same way they did Inuyasha. Luckily, the living wolf demon is faster, and jumps out of the way while sending a few punches to some of the bodies and knocking them to the ground.
Forgive me...
Now that he knows who to truly direct his agony and rage against, Kōga charges at Kagura.
"I'll kill you, sorceress! Hrrag!"
(...Gleam)
But before he could attempt to deliver a blow, the 'jewel shard' in his arm emits a nastier dark red glow, and he slows into a stop, dropping to his knees from a new paralyzing pain.
I, I can't, move! What's happening to me?!
Seemingly reading his thoughts, Kagura chuckles a bit before explaining,
"The 'jewel shard' in your arm has finally released its poison. (Smirk) Now it's time for you to die."
(SWIPE)
She then sends her wind blades against him, slicing into the wolf's skin mercilessly and leaving life-threatening injuries!
"GGH! Grhuh-uuh!..."
Kōga falls face down to the ground, barely holding on...
"You are unable to move. That Shikon-no-Tama shard in your arm is an imitation, made from a crystallized poison and a paralyzing miasma. That leaping around made your blood pump faster, and sped up the spread of the poison."
"Wench! H-Hrh-gyrh!..."
"Now that you're paralyzed, I shall help myself to your true jewel shards."
(...TWOK)
Suddenly, an arrow wrapped in a swirling ribbon of ice blue and amaranth pink light comes shooting Kagura's direction, forcing her to shift focus and use the wolf demon corpses to block the attack.
(POW)
...Looking up at the roof, we see Coraline directing a hateful glare at the demon while prepping some more ammunition.
I won't le' you get away with this deceit...
"So, that must be a Sacred Arrow."
(SWIPE)
Kagura sends her wind blades at the other young woman in response to the attack.
"Hit the deck!"
(CRASH)
...Once again, our group of five manage to get themselves out of danger with another daring leap. The boys with matching espresso complexions atop Kilala's back ask the redhead being held off the ground by their arms around her torso,
"You alright, Coraline?"
"You're not hurt?"
Shaking off her shock, she turns to them and replies,
"Nah, I'm good."
She wipes some sweat from her forehead, and the small group settles themselves on the new section of the rooftop...
"Not very impressive. Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to continue interfering."
Freeman retorts while waving his weaponized mallet,
"Oh yeah? Just try that again, wind witch! I'll knock you outta the area like a bat does a baseball!"
Besa yanks his brother's arm back down:
"Freeman, cool it! Don't draw attention to yourself!"
Kagura smirks in amusement at the heated boy, before her attention is directed behind her when she hears the clink of a blade.
The source? Inuyasha!
"I won't let you hurt Coraline...I'm the one you should be comin' after, not her."
"Still alive, are we now? Wolf Boy, it appears you didn't complete the job."
The paralyzed wolf demon looks over and mutters his rival's name in surprise over the fact that they were still standing. Said dog demon scoffs at Kagura,
"You're kidding yourself if you think that puny wolf cub can do me in with his meager attacks."
"Oh, please forgive me. Then you are up for a duel with me?"
"Kuh, I'll take you on, but I warn ya: you're not gonna die quickly. Tainting me with the blood of the wolf demons, and setting that fool on me was unforgivable...But even more infuriating, is the reek of Naraku that cloaks you."
The demonic sorceress merely smiles menacingly, while Kōga forms an expression of tired confusion from the name uttered.
"Naraku...?"
That's the name Coraline mentioned...So, he's the one to blame besides this wench?
While the wolf reevaluates, Inuaysha takes Tessaiga into his working hand, cringes a bit from his injuries before muttering lowly,
"Just the thought of that beast is enough to give me the strength to move my wounded body. (Leap) Hrrrraaah!"
(CLANG)
Inuyasha swings his Tessaiga at Kagura, who blocks it with a swing from her fan!
He jumps back, and looks down at his blade while thinking,
That small level of wind power was enough to push back the Tessaiga!
...And with just one able arm, I'm only able to draw out half of my sword's power...
"I, am the Wind Sorceress. The wind in this castle is entirely under my control."
The woman in the multi-coloured outfit then makes a half-circular motion with her fan.
"Dance, of the Dragon!"
(Whoooosh)
A spiral of wind is created, causing Inuyasha to wince before leaping back to dodge a few skinny cyclones!...He lands back on the ground safe, and takes a minute to analyze the new situation.
Her wind attacks are created from her demonic power...
The point where the winds collide is the Wind Scar, and that's where Tessaiga can obtain its greatest power! I can destroy her!
If only I can slice through the Wind Scar...
He begins searching for the trigger fissure inside the wind...but does not see it!
I don't understand. What's wrong?! I can't see the Wind Scar around Kagura!
(Flash)
"I, am the Wind Sorceress. The wind in this castle is entirely under my control."
(Flash)
"If what she claims is true, then my wind is also under her control!"
Back up on the roof, Shippō comments as he watches the wind gusts grow stronger,
"Something's wrong with Inuyasha! His right arm isn't moving!"
Freeman mutters,
"It must've gotten broken during his fight with Kōga. Crap, now what?"
Coraline moves in with her next arrow drawn, her eyes emitting a translucent glow as she channels her aura.
"Stand back, yeu guys. I'll nail 'er this time...Hm?"
Wait a second...The wind...I can sense'a flow of dark energy.
...I see. Kagura's aura mus' flow with the breeze when she controls it.
...I wonder...Ah! I have i'!
(Twok)
Another Sacred Arrow soars through the air...but instead of hitting Kagura, it lands a few feet away from her! She meets Coraline's eyes and says,
"Unfortunately, your aim is pathetic."
"(Smirk) Is i'? Look again, witch."
(...Sheen)
"Uh-h!"
We watch the gusts controlled by the sorceress begin to wane from the catalyst power! Inuyasha comments in surprise,
"That's Coraline's Sacred Arrow!...Kagura's demon wind is being driven off! (Rises) Excellent. There is a way to create the Wind Scar then!"
Up on the roof, Besa looks at his sibling with curiousity and asks,
"Sis...did you do that on purpose?"
"Sure did. Y'see, Kagura's wind has negative energy mixed in caused by 'er demonic power. And wha's the best way to counteract a negative?"
"...Positive!"
"Exactly, and positive energy's what my arrow's packin'!"
Freeman comments with a grin,
"Nice one!"
"Um, I'm still a bit confused."
He whispers a simpler explanation to the confused fox demon kit...
"Ooooh. That's genius!"
"Right?"
Inuyasha then calls up from the battlefield courtyard,
"Coraline! Shoot me with your arrow!"
"...Come again?!"
"Ask questions later! Just hurry and shoot!"
Coraline furrows her eyebrows...before cluing in on what he means.
I jus' better pray hard the arrow does wha' we're hopin' for, and no' what I'm dreadin' i' could do...
(Twok...ZING)
"Grh!"
Lady Luck was in their corner as the energized ammunition zips just over Inuyasha's right shoulder, the intended target being the wind surrounding him! With that done, plus the other arrow that was still working its magic, Kagura's demonic wind completely loses power.
Impossible! Coraline's Sacred Arrow is purifying my wind powers!
The arrows then explode into little fragments of light after finishing their job, and the half-demon remarks,
"Just as I thought: the wind has disappeared!"
"Such a fool. I only need to create more!"
The sorceress conjures up another gust of wind around herself...which is exactly what Inuyasha was hoping for.
"When the two winds appear once again and meet, then I will see the Wind Scar!"
Using all of the strength in his one good arm, he swings Tessaiga at the waiting fissure, creating the sword's ultimate attack!
"DIE!"
(SLASH, BOOM)
The tri-clawed formation of power is released, throwing Kagura back into the air, her eyes wide as saucers.
...The Wind Scar...!
Her kimono layers begin evaporating, so she acts fast, using her wind magic to push herself out of the line of fire, before tossing out one of her feathers from her hair. It grows in size so the woman could kneel on top, before she flies away from the castle, knowing that her life would be forfeit should she remain...As Kagura escapes, Inuyasha notices a familiar spider-shaped scar on her back.
"...That scar...It can't be...!"
By this time, the battle inside the castle of Sango, Miroku and Lumos versus the Naraku Demon Puppet has reached its conclusion. The monk jams his staff in the head of the abomination, then the Will O' Wisp circles the area where the heart is, before the slayer leaps into the air and slices her blade down from shoulder to torso.
"Eayah!"
(SLASH)
The enemy splits apart, and the wood doll with hair evaporates...With Kagura's departure and the puppet's defeat, the illusionary castle begins to fade away! Kilala launches into the air with Coraline, the twins and Shippō on her back to avoid falling with the rubble...
"The castle is disappearing!"
"Yet another illusion by tha' schemin' bastard..."
"Whoa..."
"...I guess Naraku's calling a tactical retreat."
Soon enough, the structure is nonexistent, leaving behind a barren battleground and Inuyasha standing stock-still at the starting point of his Wind Scar's, well, scar, his endurance exhausted out...Miroku and Sango come running towards him, each asking,
"Inuyasha, are you hurt?"
"Where's the sorceress gone?"
Lumos comes over as well, circling the silverette in concern before settling atop the Tessiaga's hilt...He stares at the Will O' Wisp for a second, before turning to the other two to answer,
"I let her get away. My right arm was practically useless, and that's why I wasn't able to finish her off."
"...Oh, shit! Kōga!"
They look over to watch the twin-tail land by the crater where the barely alive wolf demon lays, his right arm now discoloured a light plum purple from the venomous crystal! Kilala's passengers hop down from the cat demon's back, and Shippō exclaims,
"His skin is changing colour! The poison from the counterfeit shard is spreading!"
Coraline cracks her knuckles while remarking under her breath,
"Dammi'...Much as I'm gonna kick myself later for doin' this...my conscience is screamin' 'Help the Eejit'."
She crouches down to examine the arm with her quirk.
(Sheen) Hmm. I'm pickin' up a strong negative barrier, which means I probably can't touch 'im with my own hand...
"Mm-rgh, l-let me be, Coraline. I tried to murder, Inuyasha..."
She glares mildly at the weakly-smiling wolf demon and retorts,
"Shu' it. While I am disappointed a' you for lettin' yur instincts cloud your judgemon'...I also know i' was more Naraku's fault for pi'in' you and Inuyasha against eachother. Now save yor apologies f'r after I save your hide...Hm?"
The girl then senses a familiar aura approaching, and turns to see the other victim of this vile trickery coming their way.
"Inuyasha..."
His eyes fixate with Kōga's:
"It seems we were both deceived by Naraku's scheme. If you can hang onto life, there is a way to save you. (Raises Tessaiga) Hold out your arm; I will cut it and the counterfeit jewel off!"
Freeman and Besa widen their eyes at Inuyasha and exclaim,
"Whoa whoa, isn't that a little extreme?!"
"There's gotta be another way than that!"
"...There is."
"Huh?"
They all glance over at Coraline, whose face fell into a grim but serious expression as she takes out her combat knife, and one of her arrows.
"I can't touch th' barrier...but my weapons can. I need to make an incisi'n with my knife, so I can use a sacred arrow t' pierce the poison crystal. Kōga, brace yourself, 'cause this won' be painless."
(...Slice)
"Rrrgh!"
She manages to cut into Kōga's arm with her short blade, before bringing the tip of the arrow down on the fake jewel shard. The wolf demon lets out another cry of pain as the energy produced from Coraline's spirit pierces the crystallized poison, before evaporating into nothing!...She stands up, and mutters in a partially cold tone,
"There. Tha's my good Samaritan act to you, Kōga. Don' be an eejit and waste i'...Everyone, let's go."
With that, Coraline begins walking away, and the others shake off their stupors before following after the girl and rejoining the other waiting three...
After a little time, Kōga found enough strength to stand upright again, and begins a slow trudge out of the area as his mind floods with the names responsible for this sinister charade.
...Kagura murdered my comrades.
I swear, I shall take her life with my own hands...and, that of Naraku.
Coraline's POV
We leave the area where Naraku's illusionary castle once stood, and as I stand atop the incline with my friends, I found myself looking down at my combat knife with some disdain over the events that transpired.
"God, tha' was a freak show..."
I then feel my newest travel companion settle on my shoulder, sending his soft moans into my ear as a form of comfort...I smile a little and hover a hand over him.
"I'm alrigh', Lumos. Everything's jus' sinkin' in...You did very well today."
I glance over Inuyasha's way, watching as he winces from his injuries before petting Kilala with a halfhearted smile.
He fough' especially hard...though I guess we all did our tours of duty t'day.
"Say, sis?"
"Hm?"
I turn to Besa as he asks,
"Shouldn't you clean off the-um, blood from your knife?"
"Don't need to."
I hold it up and show him that the blade was already clean.
"Apparently, this knife has demon bone mixed into th' metal, grantin' the power to absorb demon blood, which in turn makes it stronger."
"Holy crap..."
"Mhm. But according to a swordsmith we me' a while back, I gotta be careful tha' it doesn' suck in too much evil demon blood, or it migh' turn against me...Bu' who knows? Maybe that eejit wolf's blood w'll give this blade some decent karma."
Freeman grimaces a bit from my description.
"Yeesh, that's a bit cutthroat, sis."
"Auy, well, I still don' really care for tha' fool...Even so, my goody-goody part o' me wouldn't le' me abandon 'im. I'm no' heartless...and I certainly don' want him for an enemy."
"True dat...How long do you guys think it'll be until Kōga's up and moving again?"
Miroku replies,
"He does have a strong will. He's likely glad that we let 'im be."
Shippō then comments,
"Unlike any of us, I don't think Kōga has even been deceived by Naraku before."
"True enough. Now let's see how strong the other's will is..."
We then notice that Inuyasha has gone to sleep against Kilala's side...
"It seems he has fallen asleep."
Freeman comments,
"Well can ya blame him? He fought like crazy today," followed by Shippō remarking,
"Even someone as strong as Inuyasha would be fatigued by such a battle."
"Mm, (nod) let's let him rest and regain his strength."
I nod in agreement with Miroku, and bend down in front of Inuyasha's slumbering form with a somewhat sad smile on my face.
Oh Inuyasha...I'm glad you made it ou' of the battle alive.
I wonder if how I'm feelin' now, is how he felt durin' the aftermath of my figh' with Bishop...?
...I guess the only difference is tha' today's battle, is a part of a much bigger war.
Feeling bold, I reach out my hand to one of his, and give it a light squeeze...only to feel a small squeeze back. I felt a small breath of air escape me, before smiling gently and whispering,
"You did grea' today, Inuyasha...Get th' rest you deserve."
I stand back up as Sango wonders aloud about the Wind Sorceress, Kagura.
"The sorceress had a spider mark on her back as does Naraku. What strange connection could the two of them have?"
Miroku ponders,
"Perhaps she shares a secret with Naraku. Mysterious..."
I put a finger under my chin in thought.
"I remember catchin' a glimpse into her aura a few times...It had similarities to tha' of Naraku's."
"It did?"
"Yeah...I dunno f'r sure what 't means...but I have a sneakin' suspicion their connection, may be more sinister than we realize."
No POV
As our titular group begins brainstorming ideas over their main enemy and his newest agent, we catch up with the self-proclaimed wind sorceress as she nears her master's true castle, after acclaiming a new white/wine purple striped susohiki kimono and indigo/light blue robe to have over her kusode.
"Naraku...where, are you?!"
Her scornful demand is soon met when she reaches the main illusionary stronghold where the fiendish devil resides...Inside, the demon had been deep in thought over recent events...
(Flap)
"Naraku!"
"Kagura...So, you survived the battle, did you?"
She quickly steps into the room and calls him out on his scheme.
"How dare you. You deceived me; you never told me about the power of Inuyasha's sword!"
...Naraku rises to his feet while replying with no shame,
"Ha, the sword that slices through the Wind Scar. I wondered how powerful it was...Seeing as you came back, it couldn't have been all that formidable."
Kagura hisses,
"You admit deceiving me, then? You audacious fool!"
(Fwip)
She unfolds her fan and swipes out some wind blades against her master, which cut through the top half of his robes as well as the barred window...Naraku shifts his stance, causing the ripped kimono to slip and reveal the spider-shaped scar on his back...He slowly turns Kagura's way, before holding out his left hand...and manifests a glowing bright blood red orb.
"Th-That's...!"
The demon squeezes the orb, and the sorceress lets out a pained gasp before collapsing on her knees, clasping her chest with a paralyzing expression on her face!
"...Do not forget, Kagura: I hold your heart, right here in my very hands."
"N-Naraku...Damn, you...!"
Peering up on the right, we see a shelf housing at least two elaborately-crafted jars, the insides containing a foreboding red ooze that seemed to...throb like a heartbeat, adding to the chilling warning Naraku gives his servant.
"It would be so simple to turn you back into your original form. Never forget this, Kagura...
You were created from a part of me.
You are nothing more than my essence."