Chapter 3:
" Plots ,true or false, are necessary things, to raise commonwealths and ruin kings."
(John Dryden)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Slowly, Kagura made her descent onto the land as night began to fall upon the rolling hills of Japan. Day began to fade in warm hues as twilight began to fall on the land. Kagura's feather gently landed in a clearing within a deep forest of deep solitude. Kagura's eyes looked upward and saw the stars first glow begin to light the sky like fireflies. She sighed and fell in to an unknown reverie; a feeling of warmth entered her soul at her growing contentment.
Suddenly, Kagura heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. She quickly spun around and saw a treacherous and steep path.
'Thank the Gods that I can always fly over those barriers,' she thought while a proud smirk crossed her features. Kagura's eyes continued to analyze the path down, but a rustle from bushes in front of her sounded and she turned her keen sight to an abandoned temple. It was a humble temple. No unnecessary embellishments or ornamentation. The gate was in disrepair, and the forest beyond looked as a graveyard of dead trees and ancient stone statues. Kagura's eyes followed the stairs that led to the humble temple. The stonework was failing, and treacherous in its own right. A fog veiled the inside of the temple, but this did not disturb her.
Kagura continued her observation, but that same noise alerted her eyes to a small side path, it seemed rough and crude, but she heard a clear stream clinking in the twilight, and smelled the coaxing pine that permeated the clearing.
Her demonic eyes searched those spots again, she thought,
'Behind me a treacherous stair lies, ahead of me the fog veils all, and to the side,' she thought with a glance, 'offers a moment of serenity. I must choose my path soon, night has all but fallen.'
Sesshoumaru snorted disdainfully at Naraku, and exclaimed with a low, threatening snarl,
"What is your intent?" Naraku grinned menacingly, but did not answer immediately. Instead he took his time to glance around the clearing, Naraku's eyes locked on Rin, a gleam of pure evil, and a glint of malice shown in his evil eyes. Sesshoumaru grew worried and distracted Naraku from his thoughts,
"Naraku! What is your intent!" Naraku swiftly turned to face Sesshoumaru; a discontent smirk contorted his features.
" You know of my servant Kagura, do you not? But a night ago she died, I saw it with my own eyes." Sesshoumaru's eyes expressed no fear, but his thoughts grew nervous as he thought of the fear Kagura expressed when she had previously mentioned Naraku.
"What does the death of your servant have to do with me?" Sesshoumaru inquired coldly. Naraku glared with hatred at Sesshoumaru, and explained,
"But, she is alive. I can feel it. I only know of one person who has the power of revival, a sword with that power, it is your Tensaiga." Sesshoumaru continued to glare,
"Are you proposing I saved Kagura, your servant?" After saying this Sesshoumaru began to finger the hilt of Tokijin. He would be prepared to sever Naraku's head from his body if any harm came near Rin.
"Nay, Sesshoumaru, I do not propose anything to you. I am accusing you of this, and since you have lost me the control of valuable servant, I shall take something of yours." Naraku threatened, he then swiftly turned, and his eyes drew to Rin, who trembled with fear,
"My dear girl, do you know who I am?" Naraku drawled as he grinned wryly at Rin. She looked to Sesshoumaru in fear, and Sesshoumaru tightened his grip on Tokijin. All Naraku would need to do is move toward Rin and he would be no more.
Rin shook her head and stepped back, trembling. She was not sure why but this strangely clad man was not good. Naraku grinned slyly, and, in his poisonous drawl, said,
"I am Naraku." Suddenly, Naraku darted towards Rin, who froze from the fear he inspired,
" Naraku!" Sesshoumaru screamed desperately, and thus attracted Naraku's attention. Naraku again turned to face Sesshoumaru, a smirk painted across his face.
"What do you want, Sesshoumaru?" Naraku enquired.
"Do not bring Rin into this feud you have with Kagura! She is innocent. You will have stooped to a new low." Sesshoumaru demanded, as he struggled to keep his temper. He gripped Tokijin tighter, but did not move. Naraku grinned,
" My name has never been associated with honor, Sesshoumaru. You have taken something of mine, and it is only right that I take something of yours. What better than this girl?" he said. Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth, and with controlled anger, he growled,
"If you wish your servant back, kidnapping Rin will not assist you. She knows nothing." Naraku's demonic grin increased and he taunted,
"Nay, but you know something." Then, a reincarnation of Naraku appeared, his skin was pale and haunting, and he had a lean and hungry look. The reincarnation attacked Sesshoumaru viciously and without command.
While Sesshoumaru was busy with the new reincarnation, Naraku began to advance toward Rin.
"Now, my dear girl, what is your name?" he asked. Rin could not answer, she could not even scream for fear had overtaken her senses.
Sesshoumaru saw through hurried glances Naraku approach Rin, a wry smile planted upon his face, but before he could save her Naraku took Rin into his evil grasp. The reincarnation, with its steely claws, severely sliced across Sesshoumaru's chest. Blood spewed from the wounds across his chest. He winced in pain and fell back, watching Rin be taken towards Naraku's putrid lair. Frustration and anger now being part of Sesshoumaru he stood up, and picked up his sword. He killed the reincarnation without difficulty and glared with unequivocal hatred at Naraku, who escaped into the darkness with Rin in his possession.
Heaving a sigh, Kagura began to ascend the staircase that led to the humble temple. Fog veiled all but a small circle that her demonic aura filled, but this mysterious entity did not disturb her as she bravely made her way up the stairs. Step by step, the fog was pushed aside to reveal the same elements, aged statues, and gaunt pine trees lining the thin decaying steps. Kagura continued to bravely face the fog until the interior of the temple had appeared to her in partially hidden but panoramic glances from beyond the rolling fog.
'What is beyond the fog?' Kagura asked as she shivered from haunting winds that her aura would not reflect away began to invade her small body. She shut her eyes in rebuke of her vulnerability and hasted her ascension, walking at a quick, spiteful pace. The humble temple's interior came into her vision, and she observed the modesty and simplicity of the ancient decaying building. She took but a few more steps and reached the entrance to the small building.
Cautiously, she walked inside the ornate wooden doors of the temple, and looked with interest upon the temple,
'This place is surprisingly well furnished for such an aged building. I should be on my guard here, I do not know what lurks in the shadows.' She thought as she took in the ambivalent surroundings about her. On the walls of the one room temple she saw many different wall scrolls and paintings and in the very center of the temple was a basin for a warm bath. Inside the temple there was no futon to rest on, but outside, on a veranda there lay a small bed looking out onto the stream, which she heard earlier.
It was then, among the burning incense, Kagura noticed how she smelled, like dried blood and sweat. She turned up her nose at this foul odor, and set her eyes, full of determination, onto the empty basin. A pile of wood sat beside it, but there was no water to fill the basin. Momentarily she sulked at the possibility of doing work to achieve her cleanliness, but as soon as her sensitive nose gained another whiff of the stench that rose from her body Kagura pushed aside her petty thoughts, walking confidently toward the bucket.
Momentarily, she stared in the distance while on the veranda,
'I do not want to walk back down the many steps to that stream. There must be another way.' Kagura thought bitterly, seeking any innovation that would ease her quest for cleanliness, but found, as she inspected veranda a small path, virtually unnoticeable to the eye. With her fan drawn, Kagura hopped the small fence and tread warily down the precarious slope.
Down by the stream Kagura admired the clear and peerless water as she drew her hand across the seamless surface. She perceived, and gently smiled as the water rippled and almost eliminated her diminutive reflection, yet still her portrait returned to grace the surface of the water. Casting the bucket a scornful glance Kagura resigned her resolve to the task at hand, and rose from her kneeling position above the small stream.
With her hand clasped around the rough and thick twine handle, Kagura lifted the empty bucket and drew the open end across the now stifled surface of the small stream. Kagura grinned, for she would no longer need to struggle up the steep hill, and could easily use her feather for a quicker easier transportation to fill the bath, and ease her ailing nose.
Several buckets later, the basin was full of water, and the logs that gave warmth to the small tub were set aflame. Kagura, after taking the proper precautions, stepped into the warm bath and let her aching and dirty body relax in the tepid water. She gently shut her eyes and let the bath claim her consciousness as she drifted off into a blissful half sleep.
In another part of Japan, Sesshoumaru glared coldly and hatefully into the twilight sky.
"Naraku," he growled to nobody, in a tone just underneath a whisper, "You will pay for dragging Rin into your feud. Do you think that I can be controlled by such a meager threat! How weak do you think I am!" His lips were set upon his face, hard as stone, he continued to sulk in the growing dark.
Jaken watched with pained interest, for indeed he hated the young girl, Rin, but Sesshoumaru did not, he was visibly affected by the lack of her presence. He carefully, as not to catch the sulking demon-lord off guard, stepped towards Sesshoumaru and said quietly,
" Sesshoumaru-sama." Sesshoumaru abruptly turned his head and observed Jaken, soundlessly demanding with his eyes for Jaken to continue,
" Sesshoumaru-sama, what will you do now that Naraku's demand has been set?" Before answering Jaken, Sesshoumaru stared coldly into the growing abyss again, and said with little emotion,
"I will call upon Kagura-san." Jaken's toady face grew contorted as he stated in aghast,
"Then you will do Naraku's bidding!" Another cold stare from Sesshoumaru, and Jaken returned to his place. Sesshoumaru explained,
" It would seem, but even if I were to do Naraku's bidding I would still need the information Kagura-san possess'. " Jaken nodded, and with surprise asked,
"What would that arrogant woman know of that you would not, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Sesshoumaru seemed to smile as he said delicately,
"The way to Naraku's castle." Jaken looked to Sesshoumaru in awe as the realization of Naraku's plan dawned upon him. Sesshoumaru gave Jaken a side glance and said with light amusement,
"Yes, Jaken. Naraku knows of my proud nature, and because of his knowledge he planned this ploy of his so that either way, if I chose to do his bidding or not, his servant, Kagura-san, would still arrive at his castle." Jaken scowled and stated,
"How dare that stupid baboon!" A ghost of a smile appeared across Sesshoumaru's face, but quickly disappeared as he assed the quandary he was entrapped and embroiled within.
'Naraku, your malice is everywhere, and it infects everything. Is this how you survive?' Sesshoumaru thought in the darkened land of feudal Japan.
Kagura, back at the small temple, sat in the bath silently, and a vision from a devil seeped into her head,
' A snake crept on the cold and hard ground, where a flying squirrel sat just a few feet ahead. The snake caught sight of the flying squirrel and its tongue flickered out side of mouth, and smelled the fresh and living meat from the flying squirrel. The squirrel continued to sit upon the ground, and was caught unawares as the snake soundlessly devoured it whole.' Kagura's eyes bolted open and she trembled as she heard a drawling whisper throughout the temple,
" You will not escape, and you shall never be free!"
Now Kagura sat up in the tub, her eyes were open wide with incomprehensible fright. Again Kagura had been reminded that she would not be free for long. A fell wind burst through the temple, and the small door that led to the veranda was opened, revealing a starless sky and a dwindling twilight.
Not only did Kagura tremble from fear, but also she grew cold in her nakedness. She bent down to pick up the clothes she had worn before, and as she grabbed the rough materiel she realized,
" This is not mine, the materiel is too coarse this must have been given to me by.Sesshoumaru-san. It is apparent I owe him another favor." She said silently.
Kagura's nose scrunched, as she smelled the odor exiting the coarse burgundy materiel and lamented the prospect of having to go down yet again to the stream. Standing, she glanced around the one-roomed temple, and a simple priestess' robe and deep blue Hakama pants caught her sight.
Normally, Kagura did not take kindly to wearing an outfit worn by a woman she knew as Kikyo, but in this particular situation the prospect overjoyed her. Unconscious of her nakedness, she strode proudly to the other side of the temple, where the simple outfit lay and grasped the surprisingly soft materiel of the robe and Hakama in her hands.
After putting on the holy garb, she sighed as she looked into a mirror and said,
"This kind of outfit is really made for someone much taller than me."
Night fell and morning rose proudly in the eastern sky, yet in its entire splendor, Kagura remained naïve to morning's pure beauty and continued to rest on the futon. She would probably not have noticed the peacefulness dawn brought upon the land overlooking the veranda if she had been awake, and peered from the futon where she currently lay resting.
Instead of a birds chirp, a chill sudden breeze stifled Kagura from her sleeping state and she slowly opened her eyes to dawn's unfolding glory. Her perceptive eyes scanned the horizon. A gentle smile fell upon her lips, as she smelled the fair scent of flowers and greenery, and let the calming sound of the stream permeate her welcome ears.
"Is this what it means to be free?" she asked the growing light of day. For the first time in her life, her mind was free of worry, and she could enjoy the simple joy that dawn brought to the world. The miasma of her wretched creator no longer held power over Kagura's mind and dulled her sharp senses to the beauty of the gentle breezes that churn throughout the day, or the regularity of the constant sun that always rose in the east.
This pure moment would only be spoilt by the cruel fates, which proved a constant reminder to Kagura, a reminder that she would always be hunted. For in the flickering wings of familiar insect, an insect of Hell, she knew that Naraku would always be on her trail, and seek the most malicious way possible to devour this new freedom and chain her within his harsh enslavement for a time no less than eternity.
These thoughts of entrapment darkened the corners of her mind, and in many ways Naraku already enslaved her. Kagura's mind would never be free of his poisonous words that echoed like a dragon's hiss creeping underneath her skin. Yet, Kagura's vitality pushed the threatening thoughts of enclosure to the dark corners of her mind, as she focused to the future she now had, free from Naraku's physical grasp.
Kagura's mind was finally roused from its sleep and she rose from the wood veranda beneath her feet. While leaning her small body against the thick, strong railing, Kagura heard a noise, and quickly turned her head to see a small animal blinking rapidly at her. She sent the animal a glare and it rushed off in fear of her anger.
Again, Kagura became absorbed in the peace surrounding her and did not hear the approaching steps of ronin warriors from behind where she stood. One of the warriors strung a poison tipped arrow in his long bow and said in a deep voice,
"You are cornered! Surrender or we shall be forced to take your life!" Kagura, caught off guard and without her fan, turned toward the two warriors and said demurely, as she shyly closed her demonic eyes
" Has he sent for me so soon?" Both the ronin looked at her in a confused manner and asked,
"Are you not the Wind Sorceress known as Kagura?" A small, evil smile now inhabited her face and Kagura said, as she prepared to leap,
"It depends upon whose asking!" As she leapt at the two Ronin they grew frightened as the saw her demonic eyes open and stepped back as Kagura grabbed her fan and grinned coldly at the two men,
"You feeble humans!" Kagura exclaimed as she drew her fan across the air and they fell dead,
" Is that all you send for me Naraku? Two simple Ronin, disengaged by their own masters, I am offended." She said to any element of Naraku that might be in the temple.
Kagura heard no answer, and sighed, disliking her withdraw from the solitude of the morning hours. Closing her fan Kagura rolled her eyes and said,
" I must leave, Naraku is aware of my presence, but there is something I must clarify." As she noticed this Kagura pulled her feather from her hair and the feather grew larger carrying Kagura off into the unknown skies.
But not even the free skies would give Kagura a break from Naraku's devilish pursuit, as she noticed his insects of hell following her closely. She sped up; to avoid their cursed stingers but they pursued her just as persistently. Suddenly, as the insects began to gain on her, and nearly overtake her, a dark aura from an evil sword killed the insects with a single blow, and Kagura looked in awe upon the face of her rescuer. ~~~~~********end chapter 4******
A/n: I TOLD YOU ALL I WOULD UPTDATE! Here it is! Enjoy!
" Plots ,true or false, are necessary things, to raise commonwealths and ruin kings."
(John Dryden)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Slowly, Kagura made her descent onto the land as night began to fall upon the rolling hills of Japan. Day began to fade in warm hues as twilight began to fall on the land. Kagura's feather gently landed in a clearing within a deep forest of deep solitude. Kagura's eyes looked upward and saw the stars first glow begin to light the sky like fireflies. She sighed and fell in to an unknown reverie; a feeling of warmth entered her soul at her growing contentment.
Suddenly, Kagura heard a rustle in the bushes behind her. She quickly spun around and saw a treacherous and steep path.
'Thank the Gods that I can always fly over those barriers,' she thought while a proud smirk crossed her features. Kagura's eyes continued to analyze the path down, but a rustle from bushes in front of her sounded and she turned her keen sight to an abandoned temple. It was a humble temple. No unnecessary embellishments or ornamentation. The gate was in disrepair, and the forest beyond looked as a graveyard of dead trees and ancient stone statues. Kagura's eyes followed the stairs that led to the humble temple. The stonework was failing, and treacherous in its own right. A fog veiled the inside of the temple, but this did not disturb her.
Kagura continued her observation, but that same noise alerted her eyes to a small side path, it seemed rough and crude, but she heard a clear stream clinking in the twilight, and smelled the coaxing pine that permeated the clearing.
Her demonic eyes searched those spots again, she thought,
'Behind me a treacherous stair lies, ahead of me the fog veils all, and to the side,' she thought with a glance, 'offers a moment of serenity. I must choose my path soon, night has all but fallen.'
Sesshoumaru snorted disdainfully at Naraku, and exclaimed with a low, threatening snarl,
"What is your intent?" Naraku grinned menacingly, but did not answer immediately. Instead he took his time to glance around the clearing, Naraku's eyes locked on Rin, a gleam of pure evil, and a glint of malice shown in his evil eyes. Sesshoumaru grew worried and distracted Naraku from his thoughts,
"Naraku! What is your intent!" Naraku swiftly turned to face Sesshoumaru; a discontent smirk contorted his features.
" You know of my servant Kagura, do you not? But a night ago she died, I saw it with my own eyes." Sesshoumaru's eyes expressed no fear, but his thoughts grew nervous as he thought of the fear Kagura expressed when she had previously mentioned Naraku.
"What does the death of your servant have to do with me?" Sesshoumaru inquired coldly. Naraku glared with hatred at Sesshoumaru, and explained,
"But, she is alive. I can feel it. I only know of one person who has the power of revival, a sword with that power, it is your Tensaiga." Sesshoumaru continued to glare,
"Are you proposing I saved Kagura, your servant?" After saying this Sesshoumaru began to finger the hilt of Tokijin. He would be prepared to sever Naraku's head from his body if any harm came near Rin.
"Nay, Sesshoumaru, I do not propose anything to you. I am accusing you of this, and since you have lost me the control of valuable servant, I shall take something of yours." Naraku threatened, he then swiftly turned, and his eyes drew to Rin, who trembled with fear,
"My dear girl, do you know who I am?" Naraku drawled as he grinned wryly at Rin. She looked to Sesshoumaru in fear, and Sesshoumaru tightened his grip on Tokijin. All Naraku would need to do is move toward Rin and he would be no more.
Rin shook her head and stepped back, trembling. She was not sure why but this strangely clad man was not good. Naraku grinned slyly, and, in his poisonous drawl, said,
"I am Naraku." Suddenly, Naraku darted towards Rin, who froze from the fear he inspired,
" Naraku!" Sesshoumaru screamed desperately, and thus attracted Naraku's attention. Naraku again turned to face Sesshoumaru, a smirk painted across his face.
"What do you want, Sesshoumaru?" Naraku enquired.
"Do not bring Rin into this feud you have with Kagura! She is innocent. You will have stooped to a new low." Sesshoumaru demanded, as he struggled to keep his temper. He gripped Tokijin tighter, but did not move. Naraku grinned,
" My name has never been associated with honor, Sesshoumaru. You have taken something of mine, and it is only right that I take something of yours. What better than this girl?" he said. Sesshoumaru gritted his teeth, and with controlled anger, he growled,
"If you wish your servant back, kidnapping Rin will not assist you. She knows nothing." Naraku's demonic grin increased and he taunted,
"Nay, but you know something." Then, a reincarnation of Naraku appeared, his skin was pale and haunting, and he had a lean and hungry look. The reincarnation attacked Sesshoumaru viciously and without command.
While Sesshoumaru was busy with the new reincarnation, Naraku began to advance toward Rin.
"Now, my dear girl, what is your name?" he asked. Rin could not answer, she could not even scream for fear had overtaken her senses.
Sesshoumaru saw through hurried glances Naraku approach Rin, a wry smile planted upon his face, but before he could save her Naraku took Rin into his evil grasp. The reincarnation, with its steely claws, severely sliced across Sesshoumaru's chest. Blood spewed from the wounds across his chest. He winced in pain and fell back, watching Rin be taken towards Naraku's putrid lair. Frustration and anger now being part of Sesshoumaru he stood up, and picked up his sword. He killed the reincarnation without difficulty and glared with unequivocal hatred at Naraku, who escaped into the darkness with Rin in his possession.
Heaving a sigh, Kagura began to ascend the staircase that led to the humble temple. Fog veiled all but a small circle that her demonic aura filled, but this mysterious entity did not disturb her as she bravely made her way up the stairs. Step by step, the fog was pushed aside to reveal the same elements, aged statues, and gaunt pine trees lining the thin decaying steps. Kagura continued to bravely face the fog until the interior of the temple had appeared to her in partially hidden but panoramic glances from beyond the rolling fog.
'What is beyond the fog?' Kagura asked as she shivered from haunting winds that her aura would not reflect away began to invade her small body. She shut her eyes in rebuke of her vulnerability and hasted her ascension, walking at a quick, spiteful pace. The humble temple's interior came into her vision, and she observed the modesty and simplicity of the ancient decaying building. She took but a few more steps and reached the entrance to the small building.
Cautiously, she walked inside the ornate wooden doors of the temple, and looked with interest upon the temple,
'This place is surprisingly well furnished for such an aged building. I should be on my guard here, I do not know what lurks in the shadows.' She thought as she took in the ambivalent surroundings about her. On the walls of the one room temple she saw many different wall scrolls and paintings and in the very center of the temple was a basin for a warm bath. Inside the temple there was no futon to rest on, but outside, on a veranda there lay a small bed looking out onto the stream, which she heard earlier.
It was then, among the burning incense, Kagura noticed how she smelled, like dried blood and sweat. She turned up her nose at this foul odor, and set her eyes, full of determination, onto the empty basin. A pile of wood sat beside it, but there was no water to fill the basin. Momentarily she sulked at the possibility of doing work to achieve her cleanliness, but as soon as her sensitive nose gained another whiff of the stench that rose from her body Kagura pushed aside her petty thoughts, walking confidently toward the bucket.
Momentarily, she stared in the distance while on the veranda,
'I do not want to walk back down the many steps to that stream. There must be another way.' Kagura thought bitterly, seeking any innovation that would ease her quest for cleanliness, but found, as she inspected veranda a small path, virtually unnoticeable to the eye. With her fan drawn, Kagura hopped the small fence and tread warily down the precarious slope.
Down by the stream Kagura admired the clear and peerless water as she drew her hand across the seamless surface. She perceived, and gently smiled as the water rippled and almost eliminated her diminutive reflection, yet still her portrait returned to grace the surface of the water. Casting the bucket a scornful glance Kagura resigned her resolve to the task at hand, and rose from her kneeling position above the small stream.
With her hand clasped around the rough and thick twine handle, Kagura lifted the empty bucket and drew the open end across the now stifled surface of the small stream. Kagura grinned, for she would no longer need to struggle up the steep hill, and could easily use her feather for a quicker easier transportation to fill the bath, and ease her ailing nose.
Several buckets later, the basin was full of water, and the logs that gave warmth to the small tub were set aflame. Kagura, after taking the proper precautions, stepped into the warm bath and let her aching and dirty body relax in the tepid water. She gently shut her eyes and let the bath claim her consciousness as she drifted off into a blissful half sleep.
In another part of Japan, Sesshoumaru glared coldly and hatefully into the twilight sky.
"Naraku," he growled to nobody, in a tone just underneath a whisper, "You will pay for dragging Rin into your feud. Do you think that I can be controlled by such a meager threat! How weak do you think I am!" His lips were set upon his face, hard as stone, he continued to sulk in the growing dark.
Jaken watched with pained interest, for indeed he hated the young girl, Rin, but Sesshoumaru did not, he was visibly affected by the lack of her presence. He carefully, as not to catch the sulking demon-lord off guard, stepped towards Sesshoumaru and said quietly,
" Sesshoumaru-sama." Sesshoumaru abruptly turned his head and observed Jaken, soundlessly demanding with his eyes for Jaken to continue,
" Sesshoumaru-sama, what will you do now that Naraku's demand has been set?" Before answering Jaken, Sesshoumaru stared coldly into the growing abyss again, and said with little emotion,
"I will call upon Kagura-san." Jaken's toady face grew contorted as he stated in aghast,
"Then you will do Naraku's bidding!" Another cold stare from Sesshoumaru, and Jaken returned to his place. Sesshoumaru explained,
" It would seem, but even if I were to do Naraku's bidding I would still need the information Kagura-san possess'. " Jaken nodded, and with surprise asked,
"What would that arrogant woman know of that you would not, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Sesshoumaru seemed to smile as he said delicately,
"The way to Naraku's castle." Jaken looked to Sesshoumaru in awe as the realization of Naraku's plan dawned upon him. Sesshoumaru gave Jaken a side glance and said with light amusement,
"Yes, Jaken. Naraku knows of my proud nature, and because of his knowledge he planned this ploy of his so that either way, if I chose to do his bidding or not, his servant, Kagura-san, would still arrive at his castle." Jaken scowled and stated,
"How dare that stupid baboon!" A ghost of a smile appeared across Sesshoumaru's face, but quickly disappeared as he assed the quandary he was entrapped and embroiled within.
'Naraku, your malice is everywhere, and it infects everything. Is this how you survive?' Sesshoumaru thought in the darkened land of feudal Japan.
Kagura, back at the small temple, sat in the bath silently, and a vision from a devil seeped into her head,
' A snake crept on the cold and hard ground, where a flying squirrel sat just a few feet ahead. The snake caught sight of the flying squirrel and its tongue flickered out side of mouth, and smelled the fresh and living meat from the flying squirrel. The squirrel continued to sit upon the ground, and was caught unawares as the snake soundlessly devoured it whole.' Kagura's eyes bolted open and she trembled as she heard a drawling whisper throughout the temple,
" You will not escape, and you shall never be free!"
Now Kagura sat up in the tub, her eyes were open wide with incomprehensible fright. Again Kagura had been reminded that she would not be free for long. A fell wind burst through the temple, and the small door that led to the veranda was opened, revealing a starless sky and a dwindling twilight.
Not only did Kagura tremble from fear, but also she grew cold in her nakedness. She bent down to pick up the clothes she had worn before, and as she grabbed the rough materiel she realized,
" This is not mine, the materiel is too coarse this must have been given to me by.Sesshoumaru-san. It is apparent I owe him another favor." She said silently.
Kagura's nose scrunched, as she smelled the odor exiting the coarse burgundy materiel and lamented the prospect of having to go down yet again to the stream. Standing, she glanced around the one-roomed temple, and a simple priestess' robe and deep blue Hakama pants caught her sight.
Normally, Kagura did not take kindly to wearing an outfit worn by a woman she knew as Kikyo, but in this particular situation the prospect overjoyed her. Unconscious of her nakedness, she strode proudly to the other side of the temple, where the simple outfit lay and grasped the surprisingly soft materiel of the robe and Hakama in her hands.
After putting on the holy garb, she sighed as she looked into a mirror and said,
"This kind of outfit is really made for someone much taller than me."
Night fell and morning rose proudly in the eastern sky, yet in its entire splendor, Kagura remained naïve to morning's pure beauty and continued to rest on the futon. She would probably not have noticed the peacefulness dawn brought upon the land overlooking the veranda if she had been awake, and peered from the futon where she currently lay resting.
Instead of a birds chirp, a chill sudden breeze stifled Kagura from her sleeping state and she slowly opened her eyes to dawn's unfolding glory. Her perceptive eyes scanned the horizon. A gentle smile fell upon her lips, as she smelled the fair scent of flowers and greenery, and let the calming sound of the stream permeate her welcome ears.
"Is this what it means to be free?" she asked the growing light of day. For the first time in her life, her mind was free of worry, and she could enjoy the simple joy that dawn brought to the world. The miasma of her wretched creator no longer held power over Kagura's mind and dulled her sharp senses to the beauty of the gentle breezes that churn throughout the day, or the regularity of the constant sun that always rose in the east.
This pure moment would only be spoilt by the cruel fates, which proved a constant reminder to Kagura, a reminder that she would always be hunted. For in the flickering wings of familiar insect, an insect of Hell, she knew that Naraku would always be on her trail, and seek the most malicious way possible to devour this new freedom and chain her within his harsh enslavement for a time no less than eternity.
These thoughts of entrapment darkened the corners of her mind, and in many ways Naraku already enslaved her. Kagura's mind would never be free of his poisonous words that echoed like a dragon's hiss creeping underneath her skin. Yet, Kagura's vitality pushed the threatening thoughts of enclosure to the dark corners of her mind, as she focused to the future she now had, free from Naraku's physical grasp.
Kagura's mind was finally roused from its sleep and she rose from the wood veranda beneath her feet. While leaning her small body against the thick, strong railing, Kagura heard a noise, and quickly turned her head to see a small animal blinking rapidly at her. She sent the animal a glare and it rushed off in fear of her anger.
Again, Kagura became absorbed in the peace surrounding her and did not hear the approaching steps of ronin warriors from behind where she stood. One of the warriors strung a poison tipped arrow in his long bow and said in a deep voice,
"You are cornered! Surrender or we shall be forced to take your life!" Kagura, caught off guard and without her fan, turned toward the two warriors and said demurely, as she shyly closed her demonic eyes
" Has he sent for me so soon?" Both the ronin looked at her in a confused manner and asked,
"Are you not the Wind Sorceress known as Kagura?" A small, evil smile now inhabited her face and Kagura said, as she prepared to leap,
"It depends upon whose asking!" As she leapt at the two Ronin they grew frightened as the saw her demonic eyes open and stepped back as Kagura grabbed her fan and grinned coldly at the two men,
"You feeble humans!" Kagura exclaimed as she drew her fan across the air and they fell dead,
" Is that all you send for me Naraku? Two simple Ronin, disengaged by their own masters, I am offended." She said to any element of Naraku that might be in the temple.
Kagura heard no answer, and sighed, disliking her withdraw from the solitude of the morning hours. Closing her fan Kagura rolled her eyes and said,
" I must leave, Naraku is aware of my presence, but there is something I must clarify." As she noticed this Kagura pulled her feather from her hair and the feather grew larger carrying Kagura off into the unknown skies.
But not even the free skies would give Kagura a break from Naraku's devilish pursuit, as she noticed his insects of hell following her closely. She sped up; to avoid their cursed stingers but they pursued her just as persistently. Suddenly, as the insects began to gain on her, and nearly overtake her, a dark aura from an evil sword killed the insects with a single blow, and Kagura looked in awe upon the face of her rescuer. ~~~~~********end chapter 4******
A/n: I TOLD YOU ALL I WOULD UPTDATE! Here it is! Enjoy!