Chapter 2: Transformation
Breaking free from the clouds, Kirara gracefully lands at the entrance of Naraku dark palace. Kagura stands within the entrance, greeting Kirara with a mischievous smile. In return, Kirara casts a suspicious glance at her before entering. Once inside, Kagura escorts Kirara deep into the mansion to a shadowy room hidden behind a thin curtain. Standing before the doorway Kagura speaks to a dim figure on the other side.
"Naraku, your guest has arrived."
"Oh, let yourselves in then," a sly voice replies. Kagura lifts the curtain aside as Kirara enters. Kirara stands before Naraku who sits in the dark corner at the back of the room. Kagura moves the corner to left of Kirara. Kirara lowers her head in accompaniment with a low growl.
"Oh, did you come here to kill me?" Naraku chuckles. "You shouldn't be so hasty. Aren't you curious to why I summoned you here?" Kirara glares at the cold-hearted demon hidden by baboon skin. Naraku stands up with a cruel laugh and draws Kirara's attention to an antique mirror to her right with an extended hand. (Not Kanna's mirror) "This is the mirror of desire. It reflects the true feelings of whomever looks in it and reveals what they truly long for in life." Naraku chuckles again as Kirara faces the mirror with a look of distaste. Kagura watches the swirling mists within the mirror with twisted amusement. The room is tense with anticipation. Kagura's eyes light up and she lets out a chilling laugh.
"Really, I thought you'd have more EXOTIC tastes. You could do so much better. Ah ha ha ha ha," she crows. Kirara growls, bearing her ferocious teeth as she takes a treading step towards Naraku.
"Ho, you are angered by this child?" Naraku teases. Kirara looks back at the mirror out of the corner of her eye. Within the glass window of the ancient artifact stands an image with identical resemblance to InuYasha. Kirara roars with rage and crouches forward as preparation for a fatal strike. "Do you wish to die before the vision is completed?" Naraku taunts. Kirara jerks her head around for a clear view of the mirror. Behind the InuYasha within the mirror a beast with Kirara's appearance emerges from the shadows. She rubs up against InuYasha who wraps his arms around her neck. Kirara watches with wide eyes as the reflection of herself nuzzles InuYasha's smiling face. The real Kirara lies down before the mirror as her muscles give away and she moans deep in her throat. The image of her in the mirror lifts her head up to look into the golden eyes of the one she secretly longs for. She moves up to nuzzle his face again and her face slowly changes into the face of a beautiful young woman as her lips meet his. Seeing this, Kirara throws her head back with a loud cry that causes the images to disappear into mist again.
"Does it hurt that much to have your heart's secrets unveiled? Naraku chuckles. Kagura leaves the room with a straight face and deep thoughts. "Oh, this pains you too?" Naraku whispers to himself. "Hmph, how weak." He then turns back to Kirara who lays limp on the floor. He removes a Shikon shard from beneath his baboon skin and holds it out before him. It turns black in his hand and levitates before him. "Go then." The shard flies over to Kirara and levitates in front of her. When she does not respond, it enters into the black diamond on her forehead. A luminous red glow surrounds her and lifts her from the floor as her beast-like body morphs into a human figure. The light around her dims to a pink gleam and places her on her knees before vanishing.
Kirara looks up from the ground to adjust to the dim lighting that seems even worse now. After gaining eyesight again she attempts to move and realizes that her bone structure is uncomfortable with the movement she is accustom to. It is now that she notices that her paw is missing and has been replaced with a human hand. She sits up to get a better view of her thin fingers tattooed black and tipped with long black claws, the ebony stripe that scars the back of her hand, and her soft palm. She lifts her other hand and examines it with the same admiration. But this hand is different. Between two of her fingers is a strand of thick, silky, black hair. She follows the path of the hair with the hand she first discovered and finds that it runs beside the soft skin of her face. She runs her fingers down the side of her face and across her scarlet red lips. The chill of her fingertip makes her gasp.
Naraku continues to watch the girl in the silence of his corner. Kirara carefully moves her fingers across her dull human teeth and over her small fangs that still remain.
She then looks down at her bare female body.
"So," Naraku says to break the silence. " Do you like your new body?" Kirara quickly looks up to the startling voice of someone else. Up until now she had forgotten that she is not alone.
"H-Hai," She says, stunned that her voice comes out as fluent Japanese instead of a grunt. Naraku snaps his fingers and Kanna enters the room with a white kimono folded in the arms. She approaches Kirara and proceeds to help her stand and dress herself. Kirara struggles to stand upright and upon standing realizes that one of her tails still remains and that her kimono and a convenient hole cut in the appropriate place for it. Seeing that one of her tails hasn't vanished, she curiously searches the top of her head with her hands. As she expects, her cat-like ears remain perched upon her crown. Kanna holds Kirara's garments up to her. Once dressed, Kirara looks down at the gorgeous white dress she fits into so perfectly that she couldn't ever where in her original form. She pulls the pale purple sash tight around her slender waist.
"Your shoes." Kanna says, holding out two sandals for Kirara to put on.
"A-Arigato." She reaches down to get them and slips them on. She takes a moment to examine her dainty human feet. She counts her ten toes and smiles. The front of each foot is tattooed black with a black stripe before it on the top of the foot. Her unique markings distinguish her from normal humans. She looks up to see Kanna handing her a white hair ribbon. It reminds her of the red ribbon Sango uses. She remembers that she just abandoned her friends earlier and has to get back to them. She takes the ribbon and loosely ties it in her hair like Sango does. She pulls her hair over her shoulder to admire it for a second more before she leaves.
"Kagura will take you back." Naraku tells her, never loosing the manipulative tone in his voice that makes everyone so uneasy. Kirara glares at him with a fearful look and then stumbles a few steps in an attempt to walk. She finds the length of her clothing an annoyance and promptly tears the cloth above her knees. She finds her freedom of movement comforting and shreds the large sleeves of her dress to allow more freedom. Now satisfied with her attire, she runs out of the room.
"Is it wise to play with them like this?" Kanna asks with a cold, emotionless attitude. Naraku just chuckles.
Kirara pants as she runs down the halls. "Running on two legs isn't so hard," she thinks to herself. She stops at the entrance to catch her breath.
"Oi, hurry it up." Kagura orders from the courtyard. She stands on her giant feather waiting for her human passenger, Kirara, too aboard. Kirara can't help but to smile thinking of what her friends will think of her now.