I know this took awhile...I was having a...mental revolution, if you
will. And it did concern this story. No worries, mon!
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Kohaku lay awake for the better part of the night. Somehow, no fatigue came. There was only the sick guilt he could barely handle. It was becoming almost like a physical pain, with little bouts of white light. Kohaku shut his eyes hard and opened them again. The light was moving. He suddenly gathered that it was moving along the side of the hut.
The door-flap was moved slightly to the side by a small, quiet hand. A white-haired, blank-eyed girl with a cracked mirror peered through the gap. Pale flowers fluttered in her hair. A memory was tugging at Kohaku. He'd seen her...somewhere. A name - K- Ka -
"Come." She turned, and Kohaku instantaneously stood up. He picked up his kusarikama, threading it through the back of his waist tie as he followed her. They went on in silence, Kohaku feeling ill at ease but still incongruously calm. He'd made these walks with her before. This K- Ka - he almost had the name -
"Kanna." They'd reached the river. A slender, red-eyed woman fluttering a small fan gave Kanna and Kohaku a leering smile. "It took you long enough."
Kanna was silent.
"Kohaku, let's just give up your charade now, shall we?" The woman said in a bored tone. "Naraku may be inclined to be merciful if you return before making any sort of a definite alliance with that hanyou and his comrades."
"Kagura..." Kanna said in a small, cascading voice. "He truly is in a blissful relapse in memory."
"Oh, indeed? Naraku suffers another opinion." Kagura plucked a feather from her hair. "We shall see. I will report this to Naraku. If he honestly does not remember and his friends are too spineless to tell him, there is no danger in leaving the ningen here."
The feather became outsized, and Kagura settled herself in it. "Let's be on our way, Kanna," said Kagura, shivering in a sudden wind that made Kohaku shake as well. "You'll need to assist me in finding a way to prove to Naraku that disobeying his orders and leaving Kohaku here was appropriate."
"I will come on my own time," Kanna stated in a metallic voice.
Kagura floated upwards. "Suit yourself, little girl."
As Kanna watched Kagura drift into the sky, Kohaku slowly moved backwards. Pebbles rolled under his feet, making crunching sounds as he moved back from the riverbank and finally into the cold grass. These were his natural instincts - run. Find help from his...'friends'.
Kanna looked over her shoulder, rustling her white kimono. "Return." Small, completely white bubbles swam up from the riverbed, coming just above the water. They dripped quietly, and a few dipped under the surface and came back repeatedly.
A resolve buckled inside Kohaku. Why couldn't he resist her words? Some proverbial mechanism forced him to move. He should always obey her.
Kohaku came back to Kanna's side. There was a sudden inclination to bow, but Kohaku resisted. Kanna laid her mirror on the ground beside herself.
Kanna thrust her hands on either side of Kohaku's face, her short fingers outstretched. The short girl gave him a long, blank stare. Kohaku swallowed stiffly, glancing side to side at the fingers that were not touching his skin. Kanna slowly moved her hands halfway between Kohaku's chin and his shoulders before closing the rest of the gap quickly. She clamped her fingers with remarkable strength on Kohaku's shoulders. She put the most pressure in those small, hollow spaces behind Kohaku's collarbone. Two fingers dug in on each side. A sickening sound of agony split the river- scented air.
Somehow, Kohaku was not bleeding. His skin did not feel slit; his bones did not feel broken. There was just that horrible - ~horrible~ pain!
Kanna, slowly and in a way that caused more great pain to Kohaku, withdrew her fingers. They were dripping in something lilac purple that looked as soluble as blood.
Kohaku collapsed backwards onto the wet, dirty little stones. He clawed at the ground, but was helplessly falling down into the river.
The water was bitterly cold. Kohaku attempted to get a foothold on the muddy bank, but despite his efforts, the still-throbbing pain in his shoulders would not relent enough for him to have focus. Kohaku was completely underwater now; a desperate feeling that death was imminent planting itself inside him - along with something else. The bubbles rushed into his mouth, gagging him, utterly restraining him. Kohaku choked on water and light all the way to the dank riverbed.
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~~~ Ooh...cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers. They're so annoying.
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Kohaku lay awake for the better part of the night. Somehow, no fatigue came. There was only the sick guilt he could barely handle. It was becoming almost like a physical pain, with little bouts of white light. Kohaku shut his eyes hard and opened them again. The light was moving. He suddenly gathered that it was moving along the side of the hut.
The door-flap was moved slightly to the side by a small, quiet hand. A white-haired, blank-eyed girl with a cracked mirror peered through the gap. Pale flowers fluttered in her hair. A memory was tugging at Kohaku. He'd seen her...somewhere. A name - K- Ka -
"Come." She turned, and Kohaku instantaneously stood up. He picked up his kusarikama, threading it through the back of his waist tie as he followed her. They went on in silence, Kohaku feeling ill at ease but still incongruously calm. He'd made these walks with her before. This K- Ka - he almost had the name -
"Kanna." They'd reached the river. A slender, red-eyed woman fluttering a small fan gave Kanna and Kohaku a leering smile. "It took you long enough."
Kanna was silent.
"Kohaku, let's just give up your charade now, shall we?" The woman said in a bored tone. "Naraku may be inclined to be merciful if you return before making any sort of a definite alliance with that hanyou and his comrades."
"Kagura..." Kanna said in a small, cascading voice. "He truly is in a blissful relapse in memory."
"Oh, indeed? Naraku suffers another opinion." Kagura plucked a feather from her hair. "We shall see. I will report this to Naraku. If he honestly does not remember and his friends are too spineless to tell him, there is no danger in leaving the ningen here."
The feather became outsized, and Kagura settled herself in it. "Let's be on our way, Kanna," said Kagura, shivering in a sudden wind that made Kohaku shake as well. "You'll need to assist me in finding a way to prove to Naraku that disobeying his orders and leaving Kohaku here was appropriate."
"I will come on my own time," Kanna stated in a metallic voice.
Kagura floated upwards. "Suit yourself, little girl."
As Kanna watched Kagura drift into the sky, Kohaku slowly moved backwards. Pebbles rolled under his feet, making crunching sounds as he moved back from the riverbank and finally into the cold grass. These were his natural instincts - run. Find help from his...'friends'.
Kanna looked over her shoulder, rustling her white kimono. "Return." Small, completely white bubbles swam up from the riverbed, coming just above the water. They dripped quietly, and a few dipped under the surface and came back repeatedly.
A resolve buckled inside Kohaku. Why couldn't he resist her words? Some proverbial mechanism forced him to move. He should always obey her.
Kohaku came back to Kanna's side. There was a sudden inclination to bow, but Kohaku resisted. Kanna laid her mirror on the ground beside herself.
Kanna thrust her hands on either side of Kohaku's face, her short fingers outstretched. The short girl gave him a long, blank stare. Kohaku swallowed stiffly, glancing side to side at the fingers that were not touching his skin. Kanna slowly moved her hands halfway between Kohaku's chin and his shoulders before closing the rest of the gap quickly. She clamped her fingers with remarkable strength on Kohaku's shoulders. She put the most pressure in those small, hollow spaces behind Kohaku's collarbone. Two fingers dug in on each side. A sickening sound of agony split the river- scented air.
Somehow, Kohaku was not bleeding. His skin did not feel slit; his bones did not feel broken. There was just that horrible - ~horrible~ pain!
Kanna, slowly and in a way that caused more great pain to Kohaku, withdrew her fingers. They were dripping in something lilac purple that looked as soluble as blood.
Kohaku collapsed backwards onto the wet, dirty little stones. He clawed at the ground, but was helplessly falling down into the river.
The water was bitterly cold. Kohaku attempted to get a foothold on the muddy bank, but despite his efforts, the still-throbbing pain in his shoulders would not relent enough for him to have focus. Kohaku was completely underwater now; a desperate feeling that death was imminent planting itself inside him - along with something else. The bubbles rushed into his mouth, gagging him, utterly restraining him. Kohaku choked on water and light all the way to the dank riverbed.
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~~~ Ooh...cliffhanger. I hate cliffhangers. They're so annoying.