Kindred Spirits
An Inu Yasha and Saiyuki fan fiction by Iapetus
Disclaimer: Kazuya Minekura created Saiyuki, and Takahashi Rumiko created Inu Yasha. I am just borrowing their wonderful characters.
You can find my responses to the reviews in my LiveJournal entry for January 1, 2004. (My username is _iapetus. The address for my journal can be found in my profile.) Thank you to everyone who reviewed, I appreciate it. I wish I could put an actual URL up, but fanfiction.net is being weird about it…
Essential Japanese for this chapter-
Oniisan: older brother
Okaasan: mother
-ikkou: party/group (as in Sanzo-ikkou or Kougaiji-ikkou, the Sanzo party or Kougaiji party)
ero kappa: perverted water sprite – more specifically, kappa means water sprite
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
Chapter 2: White Lie
It was the kind of day Kagura had always hated. The air was too still; there was no wind to comfort her troubled thoughts. She had always had the sensation that her "master" did this on purpose to unnerve her – to make her remember the chain that bound her to him.
No matter how much she wanted to take one of her wind blades and pierce his heart, she could not. Not as long as Naraku kept her heart in his hand – not as long as he guarded it within himself day and night.
She knew he knew she hated him. The wind could not be restrained. It was formless and could not be bound by any mortal methods. But, she was born of him, almost as if she was a daughter.
Not quite. The mutt had said before that she reeked of Naraku's stench, even if she was slightly different. While it was true that she was actually a part of the powerful half demon, there was no way that she could be him.
Still, he amused himself knowing the fact that he was the greatest wind youkai in the land, because Kagura was a part of himself. He also amused himself at the thought of controlling what no one else could control, like so many different things.
Narrowing her eyes, Kagura attempted to mask her eternal loathing of the spider demon to only an extreme dislike. It would not be good for her Master to rub in what was already obvious.
As Kagura neared the enormous room of the castle in which Naraku resided, she could feel the pulse of the Shikon shards power. Naraku never let them out of his sight, whether it be from his eyes or those of the Hell Wasps. He would certainly never trust them to her. Kagura chuckled bitterly. Her power was insignificant next to her Master's. He was too alert for her to catch him off guard. His death, unfortunately, would not be anytime soon.
Ignoring the two ignorant humans that guarded his door, Kagura walked in. The "helpless prince" bit never seemed to get old for him. He would never do more than he had to. Why do something when someone else could do it for you? It was his policy in all that he did, and Kagura was getting sick of it.
Naraku was leaning against the wall across from the door. From his vantage point, nothing could sneak up on him. The window, while open, was protected by several nasty curses that did things to living beings that made her squeamish. Nothing made Kagura squeamish, and she was even glad that her enemies did not have to face this curse in their day-to-day fighting. The curse only worked in special circumstances. And, had some being somehow got up the high wall and through the window unhurt, they would still have to face the occupant inside. Naraku did not care about tearing his castle to shreds – it was very easy to find another one.
Kanna was also in the room, silent as always. She held her mirror in front of her, and was turned to face their master. Though she could not see it, Kagura knew that no emotion would be on the demon's face. Eyeing their master, she saw that his gaze was intent on the image within the mirror. His mouth, whose corners were often turned up in a mischievous grin, remained flat and emotionless. Although it infuriated her, Kagura resisted the urge to look into the mirror herself. He was aware of her presence, she was sure of it, but he had chosen not to acknowledge her. Whatever was in the mirror was much more important than her at the time.
It had to be at least a half hour later when Naraku's mouth slowly moved into a cruel smile. Kanna moved away from their master as his eyes shifted to Kagura. The pensive look was gone – replaced by his normal aloof manner. Taking a deep breath, Kagura resisted the urge to just ask what the hell he wanted, and why did he make her wait so long. Rudeness would get her nowhere with her master, it might even put in the mood to teach her a "lesson." Biting her lip, she resisted yet another urge, this time to shudder.
"Kagura," he spoke softly, interrupting her thoughts, "It was good of you to come."
Like I had any choice? She thought bitterly.
"Tell me, has the miko returned?" he asked lazily.
Naraku had known for a long time that Kagome did not exist in this time. She came from another world, a world where the Shikon no Tama had not been at risk. Kagura knew that Naraku longed to invade that world – a world that was not prepared to face a demon. He also longed to catch the woman off her guard; in one of the few moments she thought she was safe.
However, she had been gone far longer than she had in the past several years. The girl would often be gone for only a day, and then would be back with a bag full of foreign supplies. She had currently been gone for a week. In her master's eyes, there was no point in pursuing the mutt and his little group when the jewel wasn't even there for his taking. To put it plainly, he was bored. At least, that was what his body expression showed.
Kagura never did trust first impressions. The demon was a master actor, and she could tell that while he was bored with the absence of Kagome, he was also excited about something.
"No, the 'miko' has not returned from her time," Kagura said shortly. "There hasn't been much in the way of activity anywhere for the past week. None of the humans have had any of their battles. There has been nothing unusual happening anywhere."
"I believe I will have to disagree with you there, Kagura," he said slowly. His smile never left his face, teasing her to ask more. She refused to rise to his bait, silently waiting for the explanation that would soon come.
"You see, Kanna has just informed me of an interesting demon that I wish to merge with. His power is well known, and it has been said that the only being to ever take him down was a god.
"However, as much as the both of us search, we cannot find any information about his revival. The past is so muddied that even Kanna's mirror cannot make it clear."
"The past?" Kagura said dubiously. "What does the past have to do with it?" She mentally slapped herself for rising to his bait. His smile widened slightly as he continued.
"Yes. The demon I want to merge with is in the past. It appears as though someone is trying to revive him, and I want to help."
Sure you do, you greedy bastard. "How are we supposed to do that?"
Eyes glistening hungrily, Kagura couldn't keep herself from visibly shuddering. "Why, I'd only give them a push in the right direction."
Eyebrows knitting together, Kagura wondered how he was going to do this. The only way to travel through time was by Kagome's well, and it only went to one time. Destinations could not be altered – they had already tried.
"The well is out of the question. However, I have figured out a way to travel back.
"While the miko can travel through time at her own will, the passage was originally ripped by the Shikon no Tama. We simply have to rip a passage with our own portion of the jewel."
"When are we traveling to?" Kagura asked. It was a fair question; she wanted to know how far in the past she would be traveling. There was no question about it, if Naraku was going to go back in time; he was going to take his servants along with him.
"The question isn't so much when we are going, but where." Naraku chucked. Kagura glared at him, willing him to answer his own question. The answer would not come, though, without her asking it first. I hate those eyes…
"Where are we going, Master," she asked with fake sweetness.
"India."
The terrible sensation of the inability to breath woke the demon prince Kougaiji from his slumber. Eyes flying open, he moved his hands to form a seal to destroy whatever was obstructing his breath, only to find that his little sister Lirin had jumped onto his chest. "Kougaiji-oniisan!" She whispered in a low voice, "You need to get up! Okaasan is coming!"
While he would have perferred Dokugakugi or Yaone to wake him in such an emergency (and in a less painful method, too), he didn't question his sister's words. Refusing to admit that she had winded him, Kougaiji had to resisted the urge to massage his chest. He had just gotten to his feet when his stepmother Gyoukumen Koushu flung the door wide open.
Her usual superior attitude was gone, along with the relaxed demeanor she had by "always" being in control. Eyes crazed in fury, her rage was pointed in the direction of her stepson, the prince. Seeing that her daughter was also present in the room, she glared at the girl's half brother and forced herself to "calm down." Gyoukumen Koushu did not "calm down." It only looked like she wanted to see Kougaiji disappear into nothingness instead of flaying him over the deepest pits of Hell.
"Lirin, I need you to leave. I need to talk to your big brother about something," she said with forced sweetness. Shaking her head defiantly and afraid for her brother's safety, she inched ever closer to the red haired demon.
"Get out of his room now, Lirin dear," she said through clenched teeth. At their angle, they could see her demonic fangs stand out among the rest of her canines and incisors. What in the hell happened that would make her loose her cool like this? Kougaiji wondered. He was slightly amused; his whore of a stepmother could never hurt a hair on his head. He was necessary for the resurrection of his father, Gyumaoh. Inwardly he smiled. She wouldn't be able to hurt me even if I was expendable. She depends too much on others. His smile grew as he felt his little sister grab onto his arm in defiance to her mother. How could Lirin be this woman's daughter? Gyoukumen Koushu did not have any redeeming qualities in Kougaiji's eyes. There wasn't too many in their father's either, now that he thought about it.
Making eye contact with Lirin out of the corner of his eye, Kougaiji gave a slow, small nod. He'd be fine; she shouldn't have to worry about him. Pouting, she stormed out of the room with her head held high.
"Very good, daughter of mine," the Lady Koushu smiled acidly, "It is good that you are learning your manners." As she turned back to face Kougaiji, she did not see her daughter stick out her tongue and lower her right eyelid with her finger. Kougaiji focused on Lady Koushu's angry face to keep him from laughing at his sister's "comment" to her mother. It was not only that, the idea of the great Demon Prince Kougaiji being reduced to a snickering idiot did not appeal to him. As Lady Koushu closed the door, Kougaiji rolled his eyes. Ah, younger siblings. They could really be a pain in the ass. How the hell did Doku ever grow up with that ero kappa Gojyo? Thoughts of his friends and enemies were immediately pushed out of his mind as his step mother turned back to him.
"Would you care to explain yourself?" she said in a dangerous voice.
"Explain myself?" Kougaiji said with genuine curiosity. I've done everything she has told me to do. Well, everything except…
"How dare you attack the Sanzo-ikkou without my consent?" she asked angrily. "I told you to retrieve the other sanzo's scripture, not attack them! And then you came back, practically dead, and didn't even think to give me explanation! EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"
Fear rose in the prince's heart at the memory. With Yaone's medicine, he had been healed as good as new. However, the chill of Son Goku's true form still plagued him. He had been able to do nothing against him. Seitan Taisei, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Son Goku was no demon, he was the devil himself. Dokugakugi was right when he described the youth as a monster. Opening his mouth to explain, Kougaiji suddenly decided to change tactics.
"We did do what you told us to. After reaching the desert, Dokugakugi and I began to look for the castle. After an hour, we discovered a small dragon lying almost dead in the sand. It appeared as if it had been trying to dig something out."
"What does this have to do with anything?" the she-fox asked hotly. "Spare me the useless details."
"Forgive me, mother, I was simply relaying my story," he said with mock respect. She did not miss his sarcasm, but choose not to speak. Her anger seemed to be growing with each moment.
"Dokugakugi and I realized that the dragon belonged to the Sanzo-ikkou, and came to the conclusion that they were buried beneath the sand. Shortly after this discovery, the ground began to shake, as if the desert was imploding. I found out later that the castle within the sand had collapsed." Here, he paused. If his stepmother was to find out that he saved the Sanzo-ikkou himself, he did not want to think about how she would make life difficult for his friends. They were allowed to suffer for the cause, even if he was not. Then again, there was nothing wrong with a little white lie, or not telling all of the truth. Well, not in her case, anyways… he thought with a smile.
"Hakkai – Cho," he caught himself, "created a dome with his chi, allowing them an escape route. As the sand collapsed around them, they came into sight. Dokugakugi and I had still been searching for an entrance, hoping that their ki could have lead us to it.
"They had killed the scorpion demon within the castle in an attempt to find the missing scripture. However, they had not been able to find it in time before the castle collapsed around them."
Anger abating slightly, Gyoukumen Koushu glared at stepson. "This doesn't explain why you attacked them. You could have avoided all contact and continued to look for the scripture."
"Do you really think that if they knew that we were nearby that they'd pass up a chance to try to figure out what is going on?" Might as well tell her what she wants to hear, he thought with cruel humor. Sanzo and his companions still don't know what is exactly going on. Of course, they weren't in any condition to fight me at the time…
"And so they engaged you, and you were forced to fight?" she asked dubiously. Let the witch believe what she wants to believe, he thought viciously. Taking his silence as an affirmative, her mood seemed to lighten.
"And what, were they too much for you?" she asked with a sarcastic sweetness. "I could have sworn that Gyumaoh's heir wouldn't allow such pushovers to make a fool of himself. When you got back, Doctor Nii said it looked like you had been greatly outnumbered. Is two against four so bad?"
No, it was five against one. "We grew weary from our search, Dokugakugi and I were not in our top forms. It will not happen again."
Appeased, Gyoukumen Koushu's face regained her superior smile. "Well then, if you have finished recovering, I have a mission for you."
~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~
Yay! Second chapter is done! Again, I'd appreciate any comments or criticisms you could give me. Both help me to improve my writing.
-Iapetus