Dying to Live
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
Note: Hey dear readers, we've reached another "Entr'acte", another little break before moving on to another act in this fic. This chapter is about to pave the way for some of the more mature elements of the plot as we will delve more into the motivations, dysfunctional morality (or lack thereof), and occasional flawed decision making of our characters. Here, specifically we will check in with one of our villains, Naraku. (Yes, it's been too long since we've checked in with ol' Naraku, and it seemed like high-time!)
While the general tenor of the storytelling will remain the same, we are making way for broader story arcs that will deal with healing and growth after experiencing injustice and hurt - difficult but redeeming themes, which humbly, I look forward to exploring through this fic.
They may have complicated motivations that will be explored, but this note acknowledges outright that our villains are going to be objectively bad with actions not to be condoned, and a rating for Mature content is here. This warning comes with this chapter specifically for a potentially distressing physical/sexual theme. It will not be explicit nor described in detail at any point, but please read with care.
I appreciate your patience with this important note and on with the chapter!
Note 2: kodama - a spirit that lives in a tree; tree spirit.
Note 3: 9 Aug 2021 - Hey all, now that "Chapter 53" has been up for a couple weeks, I've had some time to write up a "Spotlight" post for it on tumblr ( origamikungfuwrites). Stop by after you're done with the chapter for a little peak at the "making of" - no surprise where Naraku's involved, the post's theme is "On writing & villainy" ~ Now on with the show!
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ENTR'ACTE II: NARAKU
Again, almost six months before his defeat, on the advice of the Forest God, Naraku travels south in his quest to meet an ancient spirit who, sealed within a tree, is said to know the secret to making new life...
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Despite his constantly failing body, it was less than a week before Naraku seized the opportunity to slip off undetected from his castle. He left before the sun rose and teleported to the southern coast of Honshu to the village that operated the sea port opening onto the water route to Megijima Island. Teleportation was of course a fairly simple task for Naraku, but having never been to the island of which the Forest God had told him, it seemed wise to travel by regular means the rest of the way there. Unwilling to risk the discovery of his reason for going to Megijima Island, he deviously covered himself in his cape of baboon fur. He commissioned a one way trip by human fishing barge to the island just as the sun was creeping into the sky. Though the human fisherman seemed reluctant to go in the direction of Megijima, enough coins finally convinced the man together with the the promise that Naraku would not require the man to stay and wait for his return voyage. No, Naraku did not want the man to linger at all by the island: if the spider hanyou did indeed find what he was looking for, he could not let another single soul learn of the ancient spirit residing there.
Despite the perturbation that unexpectedly choppy waters had prevented the barge from taking him to shore so that Naraku had to swim in the rough water the final stretch to land, later that morning Naraku moved with confidence through the forest. He thankfully had found no further problems with his form since replacing his leg the week before. Yet, the spider hanyou knew it couldn't last. He searched avidly through the forest for the largest tree, the kind where the kodama spirits liked to make their homes.
Naraku traveled deeper and deeper into the forest. At last he caught the waiver of a strange energy leaking into the air and began to travel toward it. The odd air of the place augmented, and Naraku began to feel it through the earth, in the roots and the very trunks and branches of the surrounding trees themselves. This energy was odd, faintly erratic - the rawness of it was tantalizing to Naraku. Eager, he pressed forward into the dense vegetation.
As he hurried, he slashed aside the wooded tangles. The forest root system grew increasingly gnarled and uprooted. Roots criss-crossed each other at every step, like a treacherously lumpy floor covering. Naraku caught his toes on the protrusions more often than he cared to admit, and even began to wonder if they were reaching for him, trying to stop him. The power pressing on him from all sides could possibly have deterred lesser beings. Though it seemed as though this external force almost lapped at Naraku's own life essence, he was not about to turn back. He dared anything on this island to thwart his goals by robbing him of his energy – he would blast to pieces anything that seriously tried.
Meanwhile, the thick, craggy branches of the trees strangled out the morning light overhead. Darker and darker it grew as Naraku picked his way ahead. Even with his keen, inhuman eyes, the spider hanyou squinted, as he searched for clues that he was on the right path to find the tree that the Forest God had indicated.
Having not received a description of the island from the Forest God though, Naraku realized he did not know for sure what he was headed toward.
That old fool, if he has tricked me, he will not like to see what kind of vengeance I am capable of, Naraku thought to himself, relishing a fleeting vision of smoldering Shikoku forests before his eyes...
Distracted from concentrating, Naraku stumbled as his foot caught in a lifted root. He cursed bitterly, reminded again in so many days of how he hated to be inconvenienced. Was nature bent on hindering this mission of his?
Yet, when Naraku straightened up again, there it was: the trunk of the tree was thicker and taller than any he had ever laid eyes on, and the root system layered the ground leading right up to where the old, scaly bark met the earth. A long plaited, heavy-looking, moss-covered shimenawa rope was improbably hung high up on the trunk above where the ugly bulbous roots came together to form the body of the enormous plant.
Head tilted up on his neck as he gazed at it, Naraku could not doubt this had to be the kodama tree.
Determined, he approached, stamping his boots on the roots patched across the ground every which way. His eyes traced over the demented, scraggly form of a smaller, weed-like tree that had grown and warped itself over the kodama's trunk. As if frozen in place where it had tried in vain to choke off the larger tree, the skinnier tree was likely already dead. Naraku guessed that it merely stood like a petrified warning to future seedlings that might try the same. He smirked in a rare moment of appreciation for nature.
Studying the tree, Naraku found himself unable to look away from it; feeling distracted, he wondered how long he had been standing there looking at its trunk, when suddenly he felt a creeping, crawling sensation along his legs... and up his thighs to his hips.
Naraku made to jump back and lash out at whatever it was when he was held back, totally immobilized. Grey-green tendrils of roots were crawling the forest floor from the base of the kodama and had wound their way around his lower body while he had been evidently bewitched - by the tree itself?
Naraku's hands were still free though, and they glowed purple, as he gathered energy to throw down on the snarl of roots. He released a growl, as he let off a shock wave drawn directly from his aura. He threw back his hands to dash more raw energy down onto the living vines.
"Wait!" a deep, hoarse voice hissed within his mind. Stunned as he did not know what spoke to him, Naraku hesitated, killing off his attack. Was that a woman's voice?
It was, and it spoke within his mind again, echoing around the internal corners. "There is no need for attacks. I should not have been so hasty in attempting to ensnare one such as you." With those words the roots retreated, hastily dropping their grasp on Naraku.
Naraku spat: "Indeed, I don't take kindly to such welcomes."
"No, one would not..." the voice agreed weakly, barely above a whisper. "Forgive me, but my roots felt your power, and it was too intoxicating not to reach out for a touch."
Naraku frowned. The voice's admission was still troubling and nonsensical, though of course he was glad to be released. However, going on a gut feeling, Naraku believed he had spotted an opportunity to begin weaving one of his webs. A plan was forming for Naraku. Thoughtfully, he restrained his anger, and soon after, he replied: "It's forgiven - for now. But I am looking for something in this forest, and you can make it up to me by telling me where it is."
"Looking for something? Here? There are not many reasons for anyone to come here..." the voice replied, partially fading as in uncertainty again.
"Yes, I seek powerful and important knowledge," Naraku replied in silky tones, looking up from under his light-blue painted, hooded eyelids, at the gnarled, ugly body of the kodama. Naraku had not failed to notice how in the corners of his vision more vines and roots, barely visible but apparently awakened, were crawling silently in the shadows. Yet, as the roots did not seem to be approaching Naraku again, he kept his course.
"Knowledge," the lurid tones of the feminine voice in his mind drawled, as if savoring the thought. "And who seeks this 'knowledge'?"
Naraka suppressed a hopeful quirk from reaching his brows, and instead narrowed his eyes, as the forest floor crawled dangerously around him. The roots were moving everywhere now, giving the impression more of fluid lakewater than of normally stationary earth. The power that had been dormant a few moments earlier when he stepped up now thrummed before him, coming from the kodama. What he had felt before working his way through the forest had only been the barest taste of its energy. By comparison, the dark, delicious aura now lapped actively at his own again, thrilling him and pushing him on. "I, Naraku, do," he replied calmly, hiding his brewing excitement.
Then, a long moment of awkward silence passed. Naraku's brows knitted together reflexively, as he felt his anger spike at the possibility of being ignored by this plant. It had not been long since he had stood before the Forest God, who had seemed to care not at all about frittering away Naraku's valuable time. He would not be insulted again!
However, this silence was apparently different. At last the voice inside Naraku's head breathed his name, as if tasting the syllables: "Na-ra-ku. Naraku - my visitor. Please- may my roots touch you?"
Naraku did not know what he had been expecting at that specific moment, but possibly it was not this particular request. His mind flew: there was no way that this was not the tree that housed the spirit that the Forest God had spoken of, but it had also used those same roots only moments before to assault him. Refusing could anger the being; meanwhile, Naraku couldn't help but wonder if the Forest God had sent him here thinking it could mean Naraku's demise at the foot of the kodama.
How could Naraku possibly trust the kodama? But if he didn't intend to place some trust, why had he come all this way? He knew that he had to allow it.
If anything else untoward happened, Naraku reminded himself that he could still likely blast his way out - and then go directly back to the forest of Shikoku and make his wrath known...
So nodding silently in a pretext of humbleness, Naraku the spider hanyou consented to be touched.
Frenzied, the roots immediately responded, skittering and criss-crossing the forest floor sending up a low hanging cloud of dusty dirt that blocked Naraku's visibility of the ground. Two vines that terminated in delicate, vegetal points twirled up into view before his face, capturing the spider hanyou's attention. Naraku resisted the urge to lean away, as they moved in and curled over his extremities, exploring. Finally, they almost sensuously brushed his face, cheekbones, eyelids and earlobes. Around his legs he felt more viney roots twisting and turning in appraisal.
All the while, as long as the tendrils were not apparently harming him, Naraku decided he had no choice but to stand still.
At last, the vines withdrew from their exploration, slowly, one after another, as if hating to depart Naraku's body. A low, satisfied sounding hum from the kodama washed over Naraku's mind.
The kodama sighed sensuously again: "Naraku, my guest, this body of yours does not suit you. Does this have to do with the 'knowledge' that you come seeking?"
Naraku's brows inched up with surprise, but he replied simply, "Yes, it does." He was barely keeping his restraint, but he sensed that it would be worth it to do so at least a bit longer. Still feigning innocence, he asked, "Do you know whom I can ask about such things?"
Some of the roots still slithering around idly on the ground shivered, and Naraku was reminded oddly of a woman sniffing… indignantly?
"Who else knows parts of your body are dying, freezing over in unpredictable necrosis, on you, Naraku?" the voice inside his head questioned, sending a jolt of fear through the spider hanyou. Naraku hid the emotion behind a blank expression.
"No one but you, it would seem," Naraku replied smoothly. "And who, may I ask, is it that shares my secret now?"
"Who? I do, of course," the voice replied, seeming a bit bolder from the banter, or was it Naraku's imagination? He suppressed an urge of impatience. It would obviously require effort to spur the responses he desired from this creature. He would have found the kodama purely wretched for the extremity of its behavior born of its isolation, if he couldn't also feel its awe-inspiring power simultaneously threatening to make him cower.
"Yes, but what I mean to ask is your name," he stated, straining to maintain the improbably conversational tone of his voice.
"Oh, a name - names are for those who are ever called anything by those around them," the being's voice slithered in his thoughts, as it pondered his question. "One's name should be used in order to be remembered..." it finished, trailing off, as its voice fell in volume with evident despondence.
Naraku grit his teeth. He was not surprised the eccentric spirit had apparently forgotten its name. He was almost certain this was the spirit he was after. What importance would having this highly isolated thing's name be of anyway? But how to get it to do what he needed?
Going with what felt natural, Naraku pretended to have an inspirational thought: "Perhaps I may name you?" he half-suggested, half-asked.
The vegetation moving all around the kodama stopped instantly. Naraku tried to read the silence, but it was cut short before he had a moment to appraise it further: "How fitting that would be - secrets and names both hold power," the spirit's voice purred, and then it proposed. "I'll hold your secret, while you hold my name, Naraku."
"Very well," Naraku agreed, reminding himself not to lose interest with this game before he got what he had come for. He was not one to spend long on things like names; Kagura's name had been literal to the enchanting activity of the wind, and Kanna's name had been given in tongue in cheek self-adulation for his creation of something so devoid of being... Here, he supposed he would aim to flatter with diplomatic respectfulness: "Then you will be called by others as Omegi-hime-no-kami." (大女木姫の神)
The skittering of the roots all around picked up in increased excitement before the voice of the kodama replied: "How good a name, Naraku, my most honored guest," it purred as Naraku thought to himself, 'Honored guest', 'only guest' would be more fitting. A snarl of roots beat against his leg again as they continued in their creepy, ceaseless agitations. He only needed to last here a bit longer; Naraku had a feeling he must be getting close with this creature now that it seemed to like the name he had given it.
"And now that we know each other, let us discuss the information that you seek, honored Naraku - I believe that I know what you need," the spirit said as if on perfect cue. Naraku was pleased to find this was already getting easier, even quicker than he had expected a moment before.
"Yes, let's - and tell me just what do you think I need?" he said, looking to test the creature once more; Naraku had realized that he did not have any way to know for sure, but he could try challenge to this being to make sure it might actually be able to help him. Being who he was, of course Naraku had also already considered that working with this creature would not likely be his only plan, even if it was the strategy he had placed the most hope on…
"You require a new body to replace this one that is breaking down around you," it cooed, and Naraku found himself impressed. From mere touch, this creature had quickly sensed not only the problem itself, but the depth of his malady. It had to be quite powerful indeed.
Naraku made sure to reverently enunciate the tones of the spirit's newly given name, as he started, "Omegi-hime, you are right, but I don't just need any body-"
"Oh no indeed!" the spirit's voice called out, its excitement shocking Naraku slightly more than he was proud to admit. "For those who seek more, the secret to making new life is what you need. This is at the core of why you are here, is it not?"
Naraku was stunned. Could this thing read his mind? He may have been more cautious if his excitement was not actually getting the best of him now. This was why he was there.
"Yes, and is this something you can teach me, Omegi-hime?" he asked. Naraku could no longer keep the words from falling out of his mouth. The spider hanyou discretely gripped the inside of his long sleeves where they hung out of sight underneath the baboon pelt. He realized he had almost begun to tremble in anticipation for the words he so badly wanted to hear.
"Of course not." The flat, matter-of-fact quality of the kodama's voice shot through the fantasies Naraku had nearly allowed himself to nose-dive into.
Stricken, Naraku flinched involuntarily. The response had caused him actual physical pain. "Why?" he shot back, baring his teeth. The shock had momentarily caused him to forget the pretense of being the polite visitor.
What do I have to do?! the spider hanyou screamed in his mind, tempted to call his Saimyoushou to the spot. He did not care how many branches, roots, or vines this thing commanded - they could not hold off the full swarm of his poisonous bees from raining their venom down upon this blasted tree. Did the kodama not also sense along with his malady that Naraku still possessed the blatant power to threaten and strike fear relentlessly into it until got what he wanted from it-?
"Because it is something only I can do," Omegi-hime replied, a kind of lonely, hollowness lacing her words...
...If Naraku had cared to notice.
Instead his red eyes darted to the right as a vine writhed up out of a knot of roots that surfaced up out of the dirt only a moment before so that mud still dripped from them onto the surrounding ground. The vine moving through the dark air ended in a curl of black-green leaves that unfurled, almost hand-like in their articulations.
In the leafy palm rested a teardrop-shaped stone. Dull, grey, and smooth like a pebble, it was about the size of a small hermit crab's shell. Tremors of enthusiasm ran through the spider hanyou. Despite its plain appearance, he already had the sensation that this was no ordinary stone. He controlled his hand though and resisted the urge to reach out and snatch the item before learning what it was.
"Naraku, my dear visitor, there is a reason that a being like myself is only found in a place as desolate as this. No one has visited me in so long, I almost forgot the sound of my own voice. Naraku, this day you spoke to me, my special guest. Receive this gift from me and bring to me what I request, and I will help you with what you seek," the voice inside Naraku's head pronounced, and before the spider hanyou could reach for the stone, the vines at this side were already turning his right hand up to accept the teardrop from its leafy grasp.
Instantly, Naraku knew that he would bring the kodama whatever it requested. He just had not predicted just exactly what that would be.
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After Naraku teleported back to Honshu, later that afternoon he sat by an empty firepit in one of the rooms of his castle, thinking about that exact moment on Megijima Island. The room he rested in was obviously originally designed as a garden viewing room off the west side of the compound. The doors were slid open to expose the view, and Naraku stared out at it. The sun was beginning to dip in the West somewhere beyond the castle buildings enclosing the garden. With the muted orange glow of the falling twilight, the first reddening leaves on the late summer trees stood out sharply against the early evening tones of green and grey.
Truthfully, it could not be said that Naraku was really seeing the view. Instead, he turned and gazed down right in front of himself, as he knelt, with one leg bent and tented before him and the other leg bent and lowered against the ground. He opened and closed his hands, tightening and untightening them into fists. Inside his mind brewed a stormy torrent, as he brooded over his limited options on the backdrop of the grave predicament that faced him.
Today, Naraku could move all his fingers, and at the ends of his feet, he could feel all his toes.
But what about tomorrow? And the day after? And what about when not just a leg or a hand might freeze and die on him but rather an internal organ that he could not dissect and reach easily?
Worse yet: what if it happened in the middle of a battle, when he could not afford to go tearing his whole damned body apart? Even if it didn't come to that, every time Naraku had to start over with this second rate body of his, he lost more and more time, failing to overtake the blasted Inuyasha and his cursed priestess. While he hated to acknowledge it, Naraku's enemies only grew stronger every time he encountered them. Now with this, Naraku realized his fears could become reality. His chance of overwhelming Inuyasha was slipping away.
The thought of it killed Naraku to even think of it!
So his mind replayed the requirement the kodama had made of him, as he stood at the foot its massive twisted trunk.
"I will give you what you seek Naraku, that ancient wisdom, the fertile key to creating and sustaining new life, if only you'll bring me the body of a living female, unborn child still fresh in her womb," the tree spirit's silky voice had filled Naraku's mind, as he still stood holding the teardrop shaped stone in his opened palm.
Naraku had not been expecting this request. "I don't understand," he had started, his heavy brows knitting together in frustration as he spoke. "I can make bodies all of my own creation, I could have one for you in a few days' time -"
"That won't do," the spirit's voice had thundered forcefully. "Did you not reveal to me the affliction of that body of yours? Tearing off pieces of something rotting and hoping to start with something new and whole is entirely wrong. No, as I said before, what we require is something new and fresh. Bring me a woman willing to make the sacrifice, whose body is just rounded with child. Then, before the child is born, deliver that houju teardrop stone to me, saturated with your own blood - the donation of your very lifeforce - and within the tomb-like hollow beneath my roots, I will do the rest. Then, you will have the body that you desire, Naraku."
Naraku's expression must have given away his confusion, for what the spirit had said last cleared things up, though it was not a problem Naraku had expected to face. "Come now, a Demonic Lord with the kind of power you clearly possess should have no shortage of healthy human or even demonic concubines willing to lay with you in hopes of securing you a legacy? Or have the times changed so much that this is no longer a concern in our land?"
Disapproving of the spirit's chiding tone and insinuations about his apparent clout, Naraku had not graced that question with an answer. He had merely confidently promised she would get what she had asked for. Then unwilling to risk revealing any sense of predicament to Omegi-hime, Naraku had taken his leave not long after in order to deal with this new set of torments before him.
Naraku had never expected that he would have any need for heirs. He had dismissed any contemplations of doing anything to produce any very early on in his plans. Offspring and sexual partners could only be unnecessary threats to someone planning for immortality as he had. Naraku could no longer be bothered with this prospect, especially after the struggles he had had with his creations, like Kagura for one... Simply, such liabilities did not hold interest for one such as Naraku, who aspired to stations above all over youkai and men alike.
Naraku gritted his teeth, as he grasped the teardrop shaped stone in his fist. Now he was short of time and with the failing condition of his body, wouldn't it be suicide welcoming unfamiliar partners into his bed now?
And that was even if his reputation allowed him to draw anyone at all worthy. Not to mention, who could be trusted with such a task without exposing and exploiting such a weakness in Naraku's plans?
Naraku hated this with every ounce of his being! His mind worked against him, as thankfully free from prying eyes, he despaired.
What could he do? Humans were out – using such inherently weak materials would be wasteful no matter what the kodama may have suggested. Perhaps he could abduct a demoness already with child? The thought sickened him though for the fact that he had never encountered any before. He knew that they had to exist for the sake of the lineage of the great demonic families…
While Naraku obviously could claim no such allies or connections for very clear and obvious reasons, he knew he was very unlikely to find such a candidate to snatch in the middle of his current situation. He considered if it would even be possible with diligent searching at the hands of Kagura and Kanna… again, he halted in this line of thought. He was absolutely unwilling to expose more of this plan than he needed to others. He did not worry about Kanna but…
Damn it all to hell, that untrustworthy bitch, Kagura!
As ever, Naraku burned with his anger for his most useless incarnation.
He could not receive any more help with this task than he needed. Mentioning anything about this to Kagura would be suicide by timebomb. He already knew that she was lying in wait for the moment to strike him, but he still needed her. She would pay dearly for her treachery. Naraku could not bear the thought of the Wind Sorceress ruining all his plans before he got the pleasure of staring into her eyes as she perished under his own killing grasp.
There would be time for dealing with Kagura later Naraku had to tell himself and forced his mind back into its machinations.
Though he found human blood detestable, he reasoned that attracting a ningen mate of a demon might be objectively better than getting just any pregnant human female. Again locating a woman pregnant with hanyou offspring would be difficult, let alone capturing such a woman would still have its problems.
Naturally another plot tickled at the edges of Naraku's insidious mindscape... He lowered his head, as he teased out the thought. His long, wild black curls fell around his face. Still tangled and littered with bits of leaves and twigs from his trounce through the forests of Megijima Island, the shroud of his thick tresses blocked his vision, but Naraku did not need his sight as he looked within his black heart for inspiration.
Naraku could force his enemy, the inuhanyou, together with the little bitch priestess, and then he could take their child as his own and-
Naraku's eyes bulged, as he suddenly realized the mental web he was weaving. Immediately stopping mid-thought, he balled his fingers into fists.
And seeing nothing but red for several long minutes, Naraku aggressively raised his fists repeatedly and beat them against the tatami in front of him as if he meant to crush stone.
The rush covering of the floor mat fell apart quickly under his abuse. Soon the matted rice straw base of the flooring even became exposed. Particles of rice hay flew up, landing on Naraku's mane and face.
While the mutilated tatami had been no match for his inhuman strength, at last, for no reason in particular, Naraku finally stopped. He tilted his face back to stare at the ceiling and sat in the middle of pieces of destroyed tatami strewn everywhere. Finally, a dead sort of placidity replaced his explosive anger, as his blood-hued eyes traced the pattern of the walnut stained ceiling beams overhead.
Damn it to all the hells. Naraku did not have time for plans like this, but his rage spurred from something else as well.
The spider hanyou, shook his head frantically and gripped his hair viciously where it hung from the roots at his scalp. The pain of his own grip was nothing compared with the waves of disgust that rolled through the pit of Naraku's stomach, as he realized what he had been doing yet again.
Why?!
Why did it seem like Naraku needed that fucking hanyou for every plan he made?
That was how it had all started wasn't it though? Naraku, or Onigumo's bloody heart as it were, and Inuyasha vying over that bitch Kikyo. Had Naraku not stepped up into the position he was currently in by first stepping up and over his competitor's body, which he had once thought weaker and fouler than any body he could craft for himself?
Still pulling at his own hair, Naraku began to laugh to himself. Mirthful tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. His tears wetted his misty-blue eyelid markings, a trademark look he had fashioned for himself when he first began to believe that nothing in the world would stop the reach of Naraku; but now, he wondered, in his grasp for power, would Naraku be forever trapped in this insane dance with the filthy inuhanyou?
No! Naraku absolutely would not be limited by what plays he could make against Inuyasha. He had to have a better plan. He had tried schemes like absorbing the bodies of Inuyasha and that idiot cad of a brother of his, Sesshomaru. Those plans had not worked. Such schemes were in the past for Naraku!
Naraku knew his power had grown greater than that. He would vow to it: Naraku would never use the cast-offs of those curs of the Inuyoukai ever again. He now knew he would rather die than do so, but death was not an option, and Naraku would show them all!
The spider hanyou's hands loosened and fell to his sides. His vision roamed even further beyond the temporal view his eyes gazed upon. Strands of the hair he had torn from his scalp fell on the unscarred tatami leftover at his sides.
Yet Naraku cursed himself for the problem he still had. If only this 'fresh' body was something he could make for himself.
The unwelcome voice of Omegi-hime crept into his thoughts.
...What we require is something new and fresh. Bring me a woman...
Orders. Naraku also hated receiving orders from this creature, but if the kodama held the power that it promised, he had to make it work.
Naraku's thoughts returned to what he had on hand. If anything Naraku the spider hanyou was resourceful.
Pride was important, but Naraku had learned that he had to be careful not to let it be his undoing. He had to act, he was running out of time...
And so his thoughts turned to Kagura and Kanna again.
Both were female and demon, were they not-
Tearing off pieces of something rotting and hoping to start with something new and whole is entirely wrong, came Naraku's memory of the kodama's warning.
The tree spirit may have offered its help to him, but it had been looking down at him all the while, just like the Forest God had, hadn't it? Naraku realized this and clenched his teeth, as a new hatred burned to life within him for the vain disdain of the spirit of the kodama.
"That spirit can go to hell after it gives me what I want, and if it thinks it can deny me just because I use one of my own incarnations, well then…" Naraku breathed into the empty shadows spreading over the room, as the sun dropped below the horizon.
Night made its way onto the stage in the garden view outside the opened shoji doors. Meanwhile, the lord of the castle, the spider hanyou Naraku, spun a web of vile promises to himself. The levels of annihilation that he would bring to the cursed tree - even the whole island - that housed Omegi-hime once the spirit had finished serving Naraku would be remembered for centuries to come.
Satisfied with the punishments he had planned by the time the moon had lifted over the castle wall, Naraku had also decided: he had but one loyal servant that he could use for the purpose at hand.
"Kanna," he spoke her name aloud. His dark voice scarcely rose above a whisper, but the bond between them assured that she had heard. A few moments later, the shoji door to the hallway slid back. The brush of the wood in the doortrack heaved forth like a sigh in the otherwise silent space.
Over the threshold entered the young woman dressed in all-white garb. In her hands, as always, was the perfectly silver hand mirror.
Naraku studied her for a moment.
Kanna's blank, obsidian eyes stared back unblinkingly at him. Kanna had grown over the years since he had shaped her into existence from a piece of himself, but her looks had remained doll-like and her ability to emote essentially on the same level as a mannequin. Her pale, corpse-like features were lifeless and devoid of attractiveness just like the creepy emptiness that lurked behind her unwavering stare.
Because he himself had made her though, Naraku did not allow himself to be unsettled by the woman standing perfectly motionless in front of him. Unlike her flamboyant counterpart, Kagura, as predicted, Kanna said nothing about the mess Naraku had made of the tatami or the pieces of hay that covered everything. A smile crossed Naraku's face as he considered how she never batted an eye no matter what he did.
One dimensional as Kanna was, Naraku had always known his uses for her would be limited, but there was nothing fragile or unstable about Kanna at all. She had proven to be a suitable weapon that existed to be wielded by Naraku, and only Naraku.
This empty void of a woman was what Naraku needed, and he did not care if the kodama did not like that she had been made as an incarnation of Naraku himself. For through Kanna, Naraku had determined he would give the spirit what she had required in the most expedient way possible.
Besides, I am never one who is so simple to go around without backup plans, Naraku comforted himself.
There would be time for contingencies later though, the evil hanyou thought to himself, figuratively rubbing his hands together greedily.
A new wind had entered Naraku's sails. Clinical, he shook out the pieces of shredded tatami and tied back his long, black wavy hair. Like a statue, Kanna stared ahead, unconcerned.
Very simply, Naraku ordered: "Kanna, go to my chambers. I have a task for you," Compliant as ever the woman went, and Naraku rose and followed her to his unrolled futon. Yet, as he did so, Naraku could not have predicted one very vital thing: the spider hanyou had already stitched himself with his silken threads directly into the web of a much larger foe to come.
:::
Note 4: Omegi-hime-no-kami (大女木姫の神) is my own attempt a making up a new Japanese word - apologies in advance, since my Japanese language capabilities are definitely rusty and creating words is definitely punching above my weight-class. But Naraku made up this name, so let's blame him if it's wrong! - the intended translation is "O Great Goddess, Princess Tree-Spirit."