Fallen angels at my feet Whispered voices at my ear
Death before my eyes Lying next to me I fear
She beckons me shall I give in Upon my end shall I begin
Forsaking all I've fallen for
I rise to meet my end
I know can stop the pain
If I will it all away..
Evanescence
The Woman in the Tower
Kagura did as she was told and followed Naraku. The two walked into a small, dark room.
"Light a few candles and sit down." Naraku ordered
Once again Kagura followed his direction without complaint. Once the candles were lit, she took a seat on the floor a respectable distance from him and looked up at her master. He looked the same as ever, he was just as unreal as she or Kanna or any other of his offspring. They were set apart from nature, and time could not touch them.
"So Kagura please tell me what has gone on in my absence." Naraku said calmly as he folded his hands in front of him.
Kagura kept her eyes on the floor. "Yes lord Naraku. I know not how but Inuyasha has returned. Since you where not here I reported my findings to Taku, what he did with them I do not know."
Naraku laughed "You've been kept out of the loop again huh Kagura? Seems I'm not the only one who doesn't trust you here. I know of Inuyasha and I have been watching Taku closely to see how he will handle this situation."
Kagura was shocked. "You knew Inuyasha was back!"
Naraku laughed that evil laugh she had grown so tired of. "Of course I knew, I had been expecting him for some time now. Don't think me so dull. Why else would I leave the castle. I wanted to see if Taku would deal with this on his own. I hoped he would take care of Inuyasha without my interference, but so far he has hesitated. He sends Gozensama who he knew would do no real harm, and still has not made a move to stop the hanyou's progress to the western lands."
Kagura listened as Naraku filled in the gaps of what had gone on that evening. Why was he telling her this anyway? Usually he wouldn't even look her way, let alone speak to her. Why be so open now?
Naraku continued. "If I didn't know better I would say he's begun to believe the doubts Nonixcia has placed in his mind. I can't have him doubting me and I can't let Inuyasha reach Nonixcia. The only thing keeping her from coming after me now is the belief that I'm her father. I can not have that faith crushed by that meddling hanyou."
"Why are you so afraid of Nonixcia? Surely she has no real power over you." Kagura watched his face and for a moment she thought she saw a flash of anger in his eyes.
"Just like the rest of her family, by herself she is only a minor threat to me. However if they banded together, if they somehow convinced Taku of all this nonsense, together they would prove quite troublesome. That will not happen. I think Taku's willingness to deal with Inuyasha needs some encouragement, I need to get the fire in his heart burning again and pain is always the best motivator."
Kagura huffed and turned her face from him. 'You always did like to play with people's hearts.' "And how are you going to influence the boy this time?"
"I will simply remind him of what Inuyasha has done to our happy little family"
Kagura watched as Naraku altered his looks. His hair grayed and his skin wrinkled. He now looked like a helpless old man, a king who had wasted his youth on the throne.
"Now Kagura, guide this pitiful old man to his son." Kagura took Naraku's arm and guided him out the door. The guise was perfect. Over the years Naraku had made himself look as if he aged naturally. Only she and Kanna knew the truth.
Slowly the two of them walked into Taku's chamber. Taku was about to yell at whomever it was that dared to disturb him when he saw his father. He ran over and helped Kagura walk Naraku to a chair.
"Thank you Kagura that will be all." Kagura bowed and left the room.
Taku came to his father and knelt by his feet. "Father it is good to see you, what brought you home so soon."
Naraku put his hand on Taku's shoulder. "I have heard the news son, I know he's back."
Taku rose to his feet and turned his back to his father. "It is nothing for you to be concerned about. I am dealing with him now and.."
Naraku cut him off. "No you are hesitating that is what you are doing. If I didn't know better I would say you were going to turn on me like your sister. Maybe you too believe.."
Taku didn't even let him finish that sentence. "I believe nothing she had told me. How she became stupid enough to believe the lies she's been feed I'll never know. I'm not as dumb as she is, you should show more faith in your son."
Naraku let a smile pass over his lips. "I trust you my boy, I know you will never betray me. But I also know if you had gone out there and fought him this would be over right now. Instead he is making his way to your sister. She's believed the lies of strangers over the truth of her own family, and they have made her shun us. Think of what seeing that lie come to life will make her do."
Taku was about to argue that he was not hesitating, only being cautious, when Naraku began to cough violently. Taku rushed to his side and held the withered old man. "Father please don't get yourself so worked up." His father's health had been questionable lately, the last thing he needed was to get angry.
When Naraku stopped coughing he held Taku's hand and squeezed tightly. His voice was deep and raspy, tears shown in the corner of his eyes. "My son I love you and your sister more than life itself. Even though Nonixcia will have nothing more to do with me, I still love her and do not wish to see her come to harm. If Inuyasha gets to her he will only make her believe those lies more. If that happens we will have to tell her the truth."
Naraku paused as if what he was about to say pained him deeply. "We will have to tell her how Inuyasha killed your mother and destroyed our family. Her heart will break Taku. You don't want that do you?"
Taku shook his head. "Of course not father."
Naraku looked at his son with all the conviction he could muster. "Then you know what you must do. You must kill Inuyasha to save your sister from any further harm. Go and kill him and get revenge for your mother's murder. Go and get revenge for me because I am too old to do it my self."
Taku held his father's hand and silently agreed. With his other hand Naraku lightly stroked Taku's hair. "Get some rest now, you will leave tomorrow at dawn."
Taku left the room and Naraku sat there for awhile. Then he stood and changed his shape into the man in the baboon pelt. He left the room and made his way to the other side of the castle. When he reached the door of an old lookout tower he stopped.
With so few enemies he had no reason to keep anyone stationed there anymore and no one had any reason to come up here. But as a precaution he always kept a strong ward on the door that lead to this particular tower. He lifted the ward and began to climb the stairs.
It had been about a year or so since he had come up her to check on her. With Inuyasha coming back he thought it best to make sure she was still under lock and key. As he neared the top he listened for any noise she might be making.
As usual she was quiet. When he first locked her up she had cried all the time. At night when the castle was quiet her crying had echoed throughout the halls. The twins had asked what it was and he had explained it away as a ghost that lost her child and now cried all day and night and roamed the halls of the castle looking for him. He told them she took bad children and dragged them to hell with her. This had scared the twins so much that they never tried to find the source of the crying. After a few years the crying stopped and now all that came from the tower was silence.
When he reached the top, Naraku removed a second warding and opened the iron door. The moonlight flooded in from a window, filling the small room and illuminated the woman who sat in the corner. The wind blew in through the iron bars of the window and pushed her tangled hair around a little. She was dressed in a dirty white kimono. Her hands rested in her lap lifelessly.
Her wrists and ankles were bound with gold. The bonds were connected to thick chains, which where anchored to the wall behind her. On her head was a gold band that almost looked like a crown. Naraku was thankful to the smith who created these bonds. They kept her form using the power of the shikon jewel. If she tried to release her power at all, the bonds would cut into her flesh, and release large amounts of evil energy. The bond on her head was connected directly to her brain, and caused the most pain. If she hadn't been weak form giving birth he never would have been able to get them on her.
So here she sat, Kagome, keeper of the sacred shikon jewel. She didn't turn her head to look at him. she didn't move one muscle. Her eyes stared unblinking ahead of her not looking at anything.
She had been no older than seventeen when he first locked her away. Over the years he had noticed that she was aging. Her aging gave him hope that she might someday die. Then he would be able to take the jewel from her remains.
Looking at her now he knew that would never happen. She had not aged past her prime. She no longer resembled a girl, she now looked more like a mature woman. He figured the jewel was to blame. It would not let its host die and so stopped the natural process of aging.
She hadn't moved in so long, Naraku didn't even know if Kagome was still inside of her body. Maybe her soul had died and left behind a shell for the shikon jewel to live in. Pushing these unanswerable question aside he took one last look at her. Satisfied that she was still locked up tight Naraku left and sealed the door behind him.
Kagome continued to sit motionless. The cold night air filled the chamber but she couldn't feel it. Naraku thought she was dead inside but that was far from the truth. If only he had seen the blood that was crusted around her bonds. Maybe he would have realized that she hadn't been sitting here all these years doing nothing. Maybe he would have figured out that she had been using her power and little by little forcing her body to get used to the pain the bonds inflicted.
If he had just stepped a little closer she would have attacked. Time meant nothing to her, if it was a year before she had another chance to kill him, so be it. Sooner or later he would make a mistake. Sooner or later he would get just a little to close. When that happened she would be ready. She would grab a hold of him and use every ounce of stored up energy she had and burn him into a pile of ash so small not even god would be able to put him back together again. Even if the bonds cut her so deep they killed, her she still wouldn't let go.
'Sooner or later Naraku, sooner or later.'
Death before my eyes Lying next to me I fear
She beckons me shall I give in Upon my end shall I begin
Forsaking all I've fallen for
I rise to meet my end
I know can stop the pain
If I will it all away..
Evanescence
The Woman in the Tower
Kagura did as she was told and followed Naraku. The two walked into a small, dark room.
"Light a few candles and sit down." Naraku ordered
Once again Kagura followed his direction without complaint. Once the candles were lit, she took a seat on the floor a respectable distance from him and looked up at her master. He looked the same as ever, he was just as unreal as she or Kanna or any other of his offspring. They were set apart from nature, and time could not touch them.
"So Kagura please tell me what has gone on in my absence." Naraku said calmly as he folded his hands in front of him.
Kagura kept her eyes on the floor. "Yes lord Naraku. I know not how but Inuyasha has returned. Since you where not here I reported my findings to Taku, what he did with them I do not know."
Naraku laughed "You've been kept out of the loop again huh Kagura? Seems I'm not the only one who doesn't trust you here. I know of Inuyasha and I have been watching Taku closely to see how he will handle this situation."
Kagura was shocked. "You knew Inuyasha was back!"
Naraku laughed that evil laugh she had grown so tired of. "Of course I knew, I had been expecting him for some time now. Don't think me so dull. Why else would I leave the castle. I wanted to see if Taku would deal with this on his own. I hoped he would take care of Inuyasha without my interference, but so far he has hesitated. He sends Gozensama who he knew would do no real harm, and still has not made a move to stop the hanyou's progress to the western lands."
Kagura listened as Naraku filled in the gaps of what had gone on that evening. Why was he telling her this anyway? Usually he wouldn't even look her way, let alone speak to her. Why be so open now?
Naraku continued. "If I didn't know better I would say he's begun to believe the doubts Nonixcia has placed in his mind. I can't have him doubting me and I can't let Inuyasha reach Nonixcia. The only thing keeping her from coming after me now is the belief that I'm her father. I can not have that faith crushed by that meddling hanyou."
"Why are you so afraid of Nonixcia? Surely she has no real power over you." Kagura watched his face and for a moment she thought she saw a flash of anger in his eyes.
"Just like the rest of her family, by herself she is only a minor threat to me. However if they banded together, if they somehow convinced Taku of all this nonsense, together they would prove quite troublesome. That will not happen. I think Taku's willingness to deal with Inuyasha needs some encouragement, I need to get the fire in his heart burning again and pain is always the best motivator."
Kagura huffed and turned her face from him. 'You always did like to play with people's hearts.' "And how are you going to influence the boy this time?"
"I will simply remind him of what Inuyasha has done to our happy little family"
Kagura watched as Naraku altered his looks. His hair grayed and his skin wrinkled. He now looked like a helpless old man, a king who had wasted his youth on the throne.
"Now Kagura, guide this pitiful old man to his son." Kagura took Naraku's arm and guided him out the door. The guise was perfect. Over the years Naraku had made himself look as if he aged naturally. Only she and Kanna knew the truth.
Slowly the two of them walked into Taku's chamber. Taku was about to yell at whomever it was that dared to disturb him when he saw his father. He ran over and helped Kagura walk Naraku to a chair.
"Thank you Kagura that will be all." Kagura bowed and left the room.
Taku came to his father and knelt by his feet. "Father it is good to see you, what brought you home so soon."
Naraku put his hand on Taku's shoulder. "I have heard the news son, I know he's back."
Taku rose to his feet and turned his back to his father. "It is nothing for you to be concerned about. I am dealing with him now and.."
Naraku cut him off. "No you are hesitating that is what you are doing. If I didn't know better I would say you were going to turn on me like your sister. Maybe you too believe.."
Taku didn't even let him finish that sentence. "I believe nothing she had told me. How she became stupid enough to believe the lies she's been feed I'll never know. I'm not as dumb as she is, you should show more faith in your son."
Naraku let a smile pass over his lips. "I trust you my boy, I know you will never betray me. But I also know if you had gone out there and fought him this would be over right now. Instead he is making his way to your sister. She's believed the lies of strangers over the truth of her own family, and they have made her shun us. Think of what seeing that lie come to life will make her do."
Taku was about to argue that he was not hesitating, only being cautious, when Naraku began to cough violently. Taku rushed to his side and held the withered old man. "Father please don't get yourself so worked up." His father's health had been questionable lately, the last thing he needed was to get angry.
When Naraku stopped coughing he held Taku's hand and squeezed tightly. His voice was deep and raspy, tears shown in the corner of his eyes. "My son I love you and your sister more than life itself. Even though Nonixcia will have nothing more to do with me, I still love her and do not wish to see her come to harm. If Inuyasha gets to her he will only make her believe those lies more. If that happens we will have to tell her the truth."
Naraku paused as if what he was about to say pained him deeply. "We will have to tell her how Inuyasha killed your mother and destroyed our family. Her heart will break Taku. You don't want that do you?"
Taku shook his head. "Of course not father."
Naraku looked at his son with all the conviction he could muster. "Then you know what you must do. You must kill Inuyasha to save your sister from any further harm. Go and kill him and get revenge for your mother's murder. Go and get revenge for me because I am too old to do it my self."
Taku held his father's hand and silently agreed. With his other hand Naraku lightly stroked Taku's hair. "Get some rest now, you will leave tomorrow at dawn."
Taku left the room and Naraku sat there for awhile. Then he stood and changed his shape into the man in the baboon pelt. He left the room and made his way to the other side of the castle. When he reached the door of an old lookout tower he stopped.
With so few enemies he had no reason to keep anyone stationed there anymore and no one had any reason to come up here. But as a precaution he always kept a strong ward on the door that lead to this particular tower. He lifted the ward and began to climb the stairs.
It had been about a year or so since he had come up her to check on her. With Inuyasha coming back he thought it best to make sure she was still under lock and key. As he neared the top he listened for any noise she might be making.
As usual she was quiet. When he first locked her up she had cried all the time. At night when the castle was quiet her crying had echoed throughout the halls. The twins had asked what it was and he had explained it away as a ghost that lost her child and now cried all day and night and roamed the halls of the castle looking for him. He told them she took bad children and dragged them to hell with her. This had scared the twins so much that they never tried to find the source of the crying. After a few years the crying stopped and now all that came from the tower was silence.
When he reached the top, Naraku removed a second warding and opened the iron door. The moonlight flooded in from a window, filling the small room and illuminated the woman who sat in the corner. The wind blew in through the iron bars of the window and pushed her tangled hair around a little. She was dressed in a dirty white kimono. Her hands rested in her lap lifelessly.
Her wrists and ankles were bound with gold. The bonds were connected to thick chains, which where anchored to the wall behind her. On her head was a gold band that almost looked like a crown. Naraku was thankful to the smith who created these bonds. They kept her form using the power of the shikon jewel. If she tried to release her power at all, the bonds would cut into her flesh, and release large amounts of evil energy. The bond on her head was connected directly to her brain, and caused the most pain. If she hadn't been weak form giving birth he never would have been able to get them on her.
So here she sat, Kagome, keeper of the sacred shikon jewel. She didn't turn her head to look at him. she didn't move one muscle. Her eyes stared unblinking ahead of her not looking at anything.
She had been no older than seventeen when he first locked her away. Over the years he had noticed that she was aging. Her aging gave him hope that she might someday die. Then he would be able to take the jewel from her remains.
Looking at her now he knew that would never happen. She had not aged past her prime. She no longer resembled a girl, she now looked more like a mature woman. He figured the jewel was to blame. It would not let its host die and so stopped the natural process of aging.
She hadn't moved in so long, Naraku didn't even know if Kagome was still inside of her body. Maybe her soul had died and left behind a shell for the shikon jewel to live in. Pushing these unanswerable question aside he took one last look at her. Satisfied that she was still locked up tight Naraku left and sealed the door behind him.
Kagome continued to sit motionless. The cold night air filled the chamber but she couldn't feel it. Naraku thought she was dead inside but that was far from the truth. If only he had seen the blood that was crusted around her bonds. Maybe he would have realized that she hadn't been sitting here all these years doing nothing. Maybe he would have figured out that she had been using her power and little by little forcing her body to get used to the pain the bonds inflicted.
If he had just stepped a little closer she would have attacked. Time meant nothing to her, if it was a year before she had another chance to kill him, so be it. Sooner or later he would make a mistake. Sooner or later he would get just a little to close. When that happened she would be ready. She would grab a hold of him and use every ounce of stored up energy she had and burn him into a pile of ash so small not even god would be able to put him back together again. Even if the bonds cut her so deep they killed, her she still wouldn't let go.
'Sooner or later Naraku, sooner or later.'