Note - this chapter has bee revised. For a longer explanation, go to
the
header and footer of chapter 8.
Chapter 6 - Kanna?
Tsumeku followed her family for as long as she could, but exhaustion eventually subdued her. She collapsed on the ground, near the far border of the Western Lands. She looked up, watching her brother fade into the distance.
"Why...why can't I keep up? I don't even know them.... why did I follow..." she sobbed, drawing her knees to her chest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----
A pile of rocks obscured the entrance of a castle, near the place where Mt. Hakurei once stood. Inside, a kaze-youkai carried a bowl to a figure laying on a futon, and knelt down next to him.
She began to cry, as she stroked his pale face. Her master had been
unconscious for so long, she had nowhere to go.
Kagura gently lifted Naraku's head, tipping some soup into his mouth. She had hated him, some time long ago, but that had changed. A devastating battle had occurred, rendering him severely wounded, almost dead. She had been rebellious, but that had only been the effect of being young. When her master had fallen, she had cried out, throwing herself in front of him, as that hanyou had come at him, so she could protect him.
At the memory of Inuyasha, she bit down hard on her lip. Lifting her master into her lap, she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his unruly hair. She had never learned what had become of her elder sister, Kanna, only that she had never been seen after that battle. She had no one else left, Naraku was the only thing she could hold on to. She kept him barely alive, day after day, hoping that he would soon awaken, and she could see him once more.
She rested his head back onto the futon where he lay, and stood up. Her frayed kimono swept around her feet, as she weakly walked over to the large pile of rocks barricading the door. She began to move each one, her fan being too weak to move them with wind. Almost all of Mt. Hakurei had collapsed in front of the fortress, locking them in. She had worked for almost three decades, desperately removing each boulder, one at a time, nearing the brink of insanity.
Naraku's breathing increased, and she rushed to him. Fearing the worst, she hastily lifted him, holding him tightly.
"Please...do not give up... I will have nothing...what purpose will
there be if you die..?" she whimpered, as he coughed.
He moved slightly, and she froze. It was just an illusion...wasn't it?! He moved again, lifting a hand slightly. She looked in shock, as his head rose.
"Where...a.." he whispered, his voice barely audible. She cried out, and rose a hand to his face, lifting it up. He stared in confusion, looking at her tear-stained face.
"What are.. you crying for?" he asked, his voice becoming stronger. She moved her mouth, but couldn't say anything. She lowered her head, and began to cry again, a line of apologies streaming out of her mouth.
"Kagura, stop. I get the idea. Now, where are we? How long...have I been asleep?" he said, looking around at the dust infested room.
"You... you have been unconscious...for..." she began, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Yes? How long?" he repeated, looking at her strangely. This was not how he remembered her, she had been reluctant to do anything he asked of her, even answering his questions.
"For..almost 30 years..." she said softly, looking down. Her kimono was faded, and her hair had become lose shortly after. It reached down to right
above her knees, a tangled mane reminiscent to his own. The feathers, along with her fan, where inside a box in corner, to be kept safe.
He looked alarmed, but then his expression hardened. He looked at her, noticing that her frame was as thin as a child's. Scars covered her frail body, and her eyes looked tired, empty. They reminded him of... Kanna's.
"Where is Kanna? Has she passed on?" he said, looking around for signs of the utsuro-youkai. He saw a white obi, laying on top of a grave marker, in a darkened corner.
"I do not know... she disappeared, right after the battle. I feared her dead..." she replied, when she noticed him looking at the marker.
"Then, why did you stay? You had no reason to tend to me, after I could no longer order you. What made you decide to stay here?" he asked, quietly.
"I-I wanted to... no, I needed to. Kanna is gone... you were the only reason, the main purpose that I was alive. If you had died because of my neglect... then there would have been no purpose for me in this world. What
would I...have done?" she said, staring at the ground.
"Kagura...I think it is time I told you something. You believe that you were created from me, correct?" he asked, tipping her head up so she was looking at him.
"Yes, Naraku, but what are you getting at?" she replied, confused.
"Well, that is not entirely true. You see, you were an orphaned youkai, without any purpose. You were abandoned, shunned by the villages you lived near. I took your painful memories, and expelled them. I placed a scar like my own on my back, and created a link to your heart, so that I could control you. You were never a part of me...I merely gave you that illusion...." he told her, watching as her expression went from shock to sadness.
"Then... how...I-I.." she stuttered, shaking her head.
"The only reason I felt the need to do this, was that you seemed rebellious towards me. You were unruly...if you had found out that you were not of me, and that killing me would result in your own death, I feared that you would indeed turn on me. But, bringing to light the past years when you cared for me...I realize that this was the wrong course of action..." he continued, an unreadable look on his face.
She stared, open-mouthed, at the hanyou. How...could he have kept something from her...so...important... But, inside the deepest parts of her
mind, she knew all along. The one thing that had kept her here...she realized, was one thing. She realized, that she did...maybe she did love him...
"I am sorry, Kagura, for no trusting you with something that would have been so much better if you had known it." he said, getting up.
"Go, now...I know that you wish to be free...I have inhibited you too long, Kagura..." he whispered, walking over to a dust covered box. He opened it, and took out a round, red object.
"My..heart..." she stammered, thinking that he would destroy it, sending her away from this world. "Naraku, please...no..." she said, lowering her head to her knees.
She sat there, shivering, expecting any moment to be snuffed out, like a useless candle. Instead, she went rigid, as an arm went around her shoulders.
"Kagura..." he said, holding his hand out. He gave the heart to her, closing her hands around it. Standing up, he went over to the grave marker, and set a similar object on top. He piled some dirt from under the broken tatami, covering the heart completely.
Kagura sat there, shaking, looking at the object in her hands. She looked up at her master, as he looked at her with curiosity now.
"I-I can't....leave..." she whispered, tears forming again. "I couldn't....not after..." she said, standing up. Her thin form struggled, walking towards him with shaky steps.
"Kagura... you..." Naraku said in alarm, watching as she dropped the heart. She faltered, falling to the ground, succumbing to poor care, and the anxiety of being alone and scared.
He caught her, and set her down on the futon he had been laying on a few minutes before. Getting a closer look of her ragged form, he saw that she had not eaten in days, maybe even weeks. Yet, he felt fine, she had probably given him all the food she had the strength to prepare. He saw the dried vegetables, in a corner, a small pile that was sitting next to a fire pit. A stream of water ran through the room, coming through a break in the floor, from a courtyard
stream most likely.
"Why...have you gone to such measures to keep me alive.. when you yourself are close to death?" he asked her, Moving her head to face him.
"I..I don't know..." she whispered, falling asleep. He picked her up, and held her, like she had him, as she drifted off into a deep sleep. As soon as he deemed it safe enough to put her down without awakening her, he retrieved the dropped heart. Lowering her kimono sleeve, he pressed the tissue to her skin, watching as it was absorbed. She shivered under his touch, and he quickly replaced the sleeve, watching as she rolled over.
He lay next to her, and moved her head so that it rested on his shoulder. He fell asleep, content with the fact that someone could once again care for him, with no selfish intent, as the miko had done so long ago. But, now, it was different. No one was there to get in the way, no one would separate them. As soon as he got his strength back, he promised himself that he would get them safely out of that castle, away from the retched place where he had almost lost something that he hadn't even known was important.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------
Back in the forest, near Mt. Hakurei...
Tsumeku walked through the forest, dusk fast approaching. She saw a
crumbled mountain in the distance, with what looked like a castle gate half
buried. She rushed towards it, sensing two beings within the great walls.
Coming to the large gate, she found that the entrance was completely obscured by rubble and debris. She examined the large mound, and found a small opening, near the bottom. Crawling on her hands and knees, she wound through tunnel after tunnel, going deeper into the buried grounds.
She came upon an opening, which appeared to lead into a room. She came to a shoji, and peered through it. She saw two figures, both laying down, and figured that they were asleep. She gently tore the shoji, and stepped through. A hanyou with long, wild hair sat up, and eyed her. His face went from confusion to surprise, as he took in her pale hair, and dark eyes.
"Kanna..?" he said, weakly standing up. The other figure opened her
eyes, and looked at Tsumeku in disbelief.
"Ane...ue?" she said, looking just as surprised as the hanyou.
"I... do you know me...? Who I am..?" Tsumeku, said, looking at them anxiously. Her search had ended, maybe...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hn...nothing to say here.
Ja...
Riinuka, signing off.
Anata wa hyouron shimashou ne? ((everyone will review, right?))
Chapter 6 - Kanna?
Tsumeku followed her family for as long as she could, but exhaustion eventually subdued her. She collapsed on the ground, near the far border of the Western Lands. She looked up, watching her brother fade into the distance.
"Why...why can't I keep up? I don't even know them.... why did I follow..." she sobbed, drawing her knees to her chest. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----
A pile of rocks obscured the entrance of a castle, near the place where Mt. Hakurei once stood. Inside, a kaze-youkai carried a bowl to a figure laying on a futon, and knelt down next to him.
She began to cry, as she stroked his pale face. Her master had been
unconscious for so long, she had nowhere to go.
Kagura gently lifted Naraku's head, tipping some soup into his mouth. She had hated him, some time long ago, but that had changed. A devastating battle had occurred, rendering him severely wounded, almost dead. She had been rebellious, but that had only been the effect of being young. When her master had fallen, she had cried out, throwing herself in front of him, as that hanyou had come at him, so she could protect him.
At the memory of Inuyasha, she bit down hard on her lip. Lifting her master into her lap, she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his unruly hair. She had never learned what had become of her elder sister, Kanna, only that she had never been seen after that battle. She had no one else left, Naraku was the only thing she could hold on to. She kept him barely alive, day after day, hoping that he would soon awaken, and she could see him once more.
She rested his head back onto the futon where he lay, and stood up. Her frayed kimono swept around her feet, as she weakly walked over to the large pile of rocks barricading the door. She began to move each one, her fan being too weak to move them with wind. Almost all of Mt. Hakurei had collapsed in front of the fortress, locking them in. She had worked for almost three decades, desperately removing each boulder, one at a time, nearing the brink of insanity.
Naraku's breathing increased, and she rushed to him. Fearing the worst, she hastily lifted him, holding him tightly.
"Please...do not give up... I will have nothing...what purpose will
there be if you die..?" she whimpered, as he coughed.
He moved slightly, and she froze. It was just an illusion...wasn't it?! He moved again, lifting a hand slightly. She looked in shock, as his head rose.
"Where...a.." he whispered, his voice barely audible. She cried out, and rose a hand to his face, lifting it up. He stared in confusion, looking at her tear-stained face.
"What are.. you crying for?" he asked, his voice becoming stronger. She moved her mouth, but couldn't say anything. She lowered her head, and began to cry again, a line of apologies streaming out of her mouth.
"Kagura, stop. I get the idea. Now, where are we? How long...have I been asleep?" he said, looking around at the dust infested room.
"You... you have been unconscious...for..." she began, tears streaming from her eyes.
"Yes? How long?" he repeated, looking at her strangely. This was not how he remembered her, she had been reluctant to do anything he asked of her, even answering his questions.
"For..almost 30 years..." she said softly, looking down. Her kimono was faded, and her hair had become lose shortly after. It reached down to right
above her knees, a tangled mane reminiscent to his own. The feathers, along with her fan, where inside a box in corner, to be kept safe.
He looked alarmed, but then his expression hardened. He looked at her, noticing that her frame was as thin as a child's. Scars covered her frail body, and her eyes looked tired, empty. They reminded him of... Kanna's.
"Where is Kanna? Has she passed on?" he said, looking around for signs of the utsuro-youkai. He saw a white obi, laying on top of a grave marker, in a darkened corner.
"I do not know... she disappeared, right after the battle. I feared her dead..." she replied, when she noticed him looking at the marker.
"Then, why did you stay? You had no reason to tend to me, after I could no longer order you. What made you decide to stay here?" he asked, quietly.
"I-I wanted to... no, I needed to. Kanna is gone... you were the only reason, the main purpose that I was alive. If you had died because of my neglect... then there would have been no purpose for me in this world. What
would I...have done?" she said, staring at the ground.
"Kagura...I think it is time I told you something. You believe that you were created from me, correct?" he asked, tipping her head up so she was looking at him.
"Yes, Naraku, but what are you getting at?" she replied, confused.
"Well, that is not entirely true. You see, you were an orphaned youkai, without any purpose. You were abandoned, shunned by the villages you lived near. I took your painful memories, and expelled them. I placed a scar like my own on my back, and created a link to your heart, so that I could control you. You were never a part of me...I merely gave you that illusion...." he told her, watching as her expression went from shock to sadness.
"Then... how...I-I.." she stuttered, shaking her head.
"The only reason I felt the need to do this, was that you seemed rebellious towards me. You were unruly...if you had found out that you were not of me, and that killing me would result in your own death, I feared that you would indeed turn on me. But, bringing to light the past years when you cared for me...I realize that this was the wrong course of action..." he continued, an unreadable look on his face.
She stared, open-mouthed, at the hanyou. How...could he have kept something from her...so...important... But, inside the deepest parts of her
mind, she knew all along. The one thing that had kept her here...she realized, was one thing. She realized, that she did...maybe she did love him...
"I am sorry, Kagura, for no trusting you with something that would have been so much better if you had known it." he said, getting up.
"Go, now...I know that you wish to be free...I have inhibited you too long, Kagura..." he whispered, walking over to a dust covered box. He opened it, and took out a round, red object.
"My..heart..." she stammered, thinking that he would destroy it, sending her away from this world. "Naraku, please...no..." she said, lowering her head to her knees.
She sat there, shivering, expecting any moment to be snuffed out, like a useless candle. Instead, she went rigid, as an arm went around her shoulders.
"Kagura..." he said, holding his hand out. He gave the heart to her, closing her hands around it. Standing up, he went over to the grave marker, and set a similar object on top. He piled some dirt from under the broken tatami, covering the heart completely.
Kagura sat there, shaking, looking at the object in her hands. She looked up at her master, as he looked at her with curiosity now.
"I-I can't....leave..." she whispered, tears forming again. "I couldn't....not after..." she said, standing up. Her thin form struggled, walking towards him with shaky steps.
"Kagura... you..." Naraku said in alarm, watching as she dropped the heart. She faltered, falling to the ground, succumbing to poor care, and the anxiety of being alone and scared.
He caught her, and set her down on the futon he had been laying on a few minutes before. Getting a closer look of her ragged form, he saw that she had not eaten in days, maybe even weeks. Yet, he felt fine, she had probably given him all the food she had the strength to prepare. He saw the dried vegetables, in a corner, a small pile that was sitting next to a fire pit. A stream of water ran through the room, coming through a break in the floor, from a courtyard
stream most likely.
"Why...have you gone to such measures to keep me alive.. when you yourself are close to death?" he asked her, Moving her head to face him.
"I..I don't know..." she whispered, falling asleep. He picked her up, and held her, like she had him, as she drifted off into a deep sleep. As soon as he deemed it safe enough to put her down without awakening her, he retrieved the dropped heart. Lowering her kimono sleeve, he pressed the tissue to her skin, watching as it was absorbed. She shivered under his touch, and he quickly replaced the sleeve, watching as she rolled over.
He lay next to her, and moved her head so that it rested on his shoulder. He fell asleep, content with the fact that someone could once again care for him, with no selfish intent, as the miko had done so long ago. But, now, it was different. No one was there to get in the way, no one would separate them. As soon as he got his strength back, he promised himself that he would get them safely out of that castle, away from the retched place where he had almost lost something that he hadn't even known was important.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------
Back in the forest, near Mt. Hakurei...
Tsumeku walked through the forest, dusk fast approaching. She saw a
crumbled mountain in the distance, with what looked like a castle gate half
buried. She rushed towards it, sensing two beings within the great walls.
Coming to the large gate, she found that the entrance was completely obscured by rubble and debris. She examined the large mound, and found a small opening, near the bottom. Crawling on her hands and knees, she wound through tunnel after tunnel, going deeper into the buried grounds.
She came upon an opening, which appeared to lead into a room. She came to a shoji, and peered through it. She saw two figures, both laying down, and figured that they were asleep. She gently tore the shoji, and stepped through. A hanyou with long, wild hair sat up, and eyed her. His face went from confusion to surprise, as he took in her pale hair, and dark eyes.
"Kanna..?" he said, weakly standing up. The other figure opened her
eyes, and looked at Tsumeku in disbelief.
"Ane...ue?" she said, looking just as surprised as the hanyou.
"I... do you know me...? Who I am..?" Tsumeku, said, looking at them anxiously. Her search had ended, maybe...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hn...nothing to say here.
Ja...
Riinuka, signing off.
Anata wa hyouron shimashou ne? ((everyone will review, right?))