Author-chan's notes: Second chapter coming at ya! Enjoy!
Empty Winds
(Chapter Two: Boredom)
Kagura's POV
Ten days. Ten long blissfully free days! Naraku had been dead for ten days, and he hadn't come back. Sometimes it felt as if Naraku hadn't existed. But if Naraku hadn't existed, neither would have Kanna or me. We would have been nothing without Naraku.
Well, I would have been nothing. Kanna already was Nothing. She just wouldn't have a body.
Kanna was confusing. If she was Nothing, then why did she have a body? By having a body wouldn't that make her Something? I wonder if she has a soul. You would never be able to tell by the way she acts. Heh. Even Inuyasha's cold-hearted brother, Sesshoumaru, has more of a soul than Kanna does. I wonder what she thinks about. Does she even have thoughts? By having thoughts, that would make her Something, right? But she and Naraku claimed that she was Nothing. Kanna was the Void as I was the Wind.
My head hurts. Maybe I'm thinking too much. I never had as much time to think before.
Freedom is a wonderful thing.
***
Kanna's POV
It had been ten days since Naraku died. Kagura and I had done next to nothing during that time. We simply flew about on her feather, stopping now and then to eat and do other necessary things.
Was I getting bored? There wasn't much to do now that we were free. We were aimless wanderers without Naraku's orders. Perhaps we needed a purpose, a reason for living. Other creatures had reasons for living, why not us? I discarded the thought. Times were changing. Something would come up for us to do.
I stroked my mirror idly. It hummed gently underneath my fingertips. Only I could have felt the slight movement, due to my connection with the mirror. If Kagura had touched it, she would not have felt a thing.
Sometimes, if I listen hard enough, I can still hear the screams of the souls trapped within the polished glass and silver of my mirror.
Naraku might have gotten some pleasure from the screams, but I am not my creator. The screams of those souls were of no importance to me. They were of no use. Perhaps I should release them.
Perhaps…but not today.
***
(Time Jump…)
Kagura's POV
I was bored. There was nothing to do anymore! It had been three months since Naraku's death. Since then, Kanna and I have been wandering around doing absolutely nothing! At least when Naraku was alive we had something to do. But what could we do now?
For once, we weren't flying on my feather. We were resting in a small forest glade. Kanna had found some food for us, just some simple rice that I have no doubt she stole from some human hut. More likely than not, she had also stolen a few human souls in that mirror of hers.
Kanna was cooking the rice. We had learned the hard way a few days ago that I was no cook. Kanna on the other hand was able to make nearly anything edible. And I really mean, anything. In the woods we had to hunt for our own food. Sometimes we couldn't find any game and ended up eating whatever plant life was around. In fact, this was the first time we had eaten any rice since Naraku died. I suppose we were lucky there were a few humans nearby.
I never asked how my sister learned to cook; I just accepted it. Perhaps it was a good time to ask her. After all, it wasn't as if I had anything else to do.
"Oi, Kanna," I began. Kanna turned towards me slowly as if she had all the time in the world. I took a quick peek at her work. The rice was finished and she was currently shaping them into onigiri.
"What is it Kagura?" Kanna asked quietly, turning her pale face towards me. I suppressed a shiver. Kanna always worried me with her expressionless face. Kanna could never pass as a child despite the fact she had a child's body and features. It wasn't natural for anyone, let alone a child, to have a face void of all expressions. But then again, I should be used to it by now. No heart, no soul, and no emotions belonged to Kanna, the Nothing Demon.
"Where in the seven hells did you learn how to cook?" I blurted out.
"Kohaku," she replied. Then she turned back to her work. I tried not to grind my teeth. I was bored, damn it! I wanted more than a one-word answer. I felt my blood boil at her quiet emotionless comment. I wanted conversations! I wanted something to do! Talk to me, Kanna!
"The food will be ready shortly," Kanna said quietly, interrupting my thoughts.
Baka Onee-san.
***
Kanna's POV
Kagura was angry. Actually, she was more frustrated than angry. Perhaps the boredom has gotten to her as well. We needed to do something, and we had to do it soon. But first things first. Kagura had to calm down.
I remember when Kohaku taught me how to cook. It was one of those days when Naraku didn't need either one of us. Kagura was off on some mission and Naraku was doing whatever it was he did. I never did ask what my "master" did on his free time. Kohaku and I were off in some corner of Naraku's castle, minding our own business, just like any other day.
"I'm bored," Kohaku had suddenly said out loud, sounding just like a human boy. But then again, he really was just a human boy, wasn't he? Of course there were those times when he was being completely controlled by Naraku. Then he was nothing but a puppet. A deadly, cold-hearted puppet, but a puppet nonetheless.
I ignored Kohaku. I nothing to do as well, but at least I didn't whine about it like a human. Surely there was something for Kohaku to do. Then I heard a grumbling sound.
"And I'm hungry too," Kohaku sighed, rubbing his stomach, "Hey, Kanna-san, do you know where the kitchens are? I'm always getting lost in this place."
"Follow me," I had murmured, heading off to the destination in question. I had long memorized the layout of Naraku's castle. That was something I was good at, memorizing things.
When we arrived in the kitchens, Kohaku became a flurry of movement. He pulled out various utensils, foodstuffs, and containers. He quickly started up a fire and began to prepare his meal. Despite myself, I was curious. All the food I ever ate before had already been prepared for me by some demon or spirit working for Naraku. Watching this human boy make something edible out of raw materials was interesting.
"Do you want to learn how to cook, Kanna-san?" Kohaku asked, with a smile. He had caught me watching him. I thought about his offer for only a moment or two before nodding. After all, it wasn't as if I had anything else to do.
"Well, first you better put down that mirror of yours," Kohaku told me, "If you want to cook, it's best if you have both hands free."
Needless to say, I was reluctant to do so. The mirror was my source of power, but more than that, it was part of me. Ever since I was created, I had never put the mirror down. Kohaku seemed to sense my apprehension and quickly formed an idea. Within moments, he had started speeding out of the kitchen.
"Wait right here, Kanna-san!" Kohaku called back over his shoulder. I stroked my mirror as I waited for him. The mirror hummed gently back at me. Then Kohaku came skidding back into the kitchen, clutching a blue piece of cloth in his hands.
"Kohaku?" I asked, looking at the cloth. The former demon exterminator grinned at me at held out the blue fabric. On closer examination, it wasn't a sheet of cloth; it was a bag, one large enough to put my mirror in. There was even a strap so I could hang it on my shoulder. I still have that bag, actually. Normally I have it folded up and hidden away in my kimono. I rarely use it, preferring to hold my mirror instead. The mirror is never far away from me. It is part of me, the source of my power.
"Let's get started, Kanna-san," Kohaku said, handing me the bag. I carefully placed my mirror in, hung the bag over my shoulder, and walked over to where Kohaku was chopping some vegetables.
"You look different without the mirror," Kohaku commented, "You should put that thing down more. You look better without it."
"What do you mean?" I asked as he handed me a knife to start chopping some daikon.
"You just look better," Kohaku shrugged. He never elaborated on that statement, and I never asked him to.
Kohaku taught me how to use various cooking utensils as well as how to make different dishes. But the one dish that stood out in my mind was the onigiri.
"Kohaku," I had said when he had finished showing me how to shape the rice, "Aren't onigiri supposed to be a different shape than that?"
"Well, I just do mine differently," Kohaku shrugged. The onigiri that he presented to me were not the usual rounded shape that I was used to. They were shaped like chubby rabbits, with slices of vegetables making feet, tails, eyes, and ears. If I had been a human girl I would have called them cute. Knowing Kohaku, the reason why he made his onigiri like that was because he was taught to do it that way in his forgotten past.
"Don't you know how to make onigiri the traditional way?" I asked.
"Hai," Kohaku nodded, "But I was told that if someone needed cheering up that I should make my onigiri look like animals and make them feel better."
"Do you think that I need cheering up, Kohaku?" I inquired quietly. Kohaku smiled slightly at me.
"Well, you always seem so sad, Kanna-san," Kohaku answered, "You should smile. I bet you would look pretty when you smile."
"I am Nothingness, Kohaku," I reminded him as we continued to cook. The subject was quickly dropped and we spent the rest of the day in silence.
After that, whenever the two of us had days off, he would teach me how to cook as well as other household chores. He even taught me a little bit on how to fight with a long knife. However, we never talked about me smiling again.
***
Kagura's POV
"What's this?" I asked as Kanna handed me a set of onigiri arranged on a broad leaf.
"Onigiri," she answered in her quiet voice.
"They're shaped like rabbits," I muttered, picking up one of the delicacies.
"Chubby rabbits," Kanna corrected. Was it just my imagination or had Kanna tried to use sarcasm on me?
"Whatever," I muttered, biting into the rabbit-shaped rice. I smiled slightly. The rabbits were adorable…and tasty too.
For some reason I felt a bit better than before.
***
Kanna's POV
Kohaku was right about the onigiri. Kagura was feeling better.
***
Third person POV
Only a short distance away from where Kagura and Kanna sat, a small army was setting up camp. They were all human soldiers, each one trained in the art of war. They, under the command of their lord, were preparing for battle. They were oblivious to the fact that two demons were nearby.
"You two!" the commander of the army called out, gesturing to a pair of his soldiers, "Find a stream or a pond of some sort. We need water to begin the meal."
"Yes, sir!" the two men chorused. The two quickly gathered their weapons and headed off to follow their orders.
Unknown to them, they were heading strait for Kanna and Kagura. And as fate would have it, these two groups were bound to meet…
***
Back with Kagura and Kanna
"Kagura," Kanna murmured, coming over to her sister.
"Hm?" the wind demon asked, looking up at her sister's expressionless face.
"Someone is coming," Kanna said simply. Kagura glanced at the mirror in her sister's hands. Instead of reflecting her image, the polished mirror showed a pair of samurai wandering about in the woods.
"What do you want to do about them, Kagura?" Kanna asked as the image in the mirror faded away.
"I'm bored, Kanna," Kagura replied as she pulled out her fan, "Let's have some fun with these two." A slight smirk graced the wind demon's visage.
"Hai."
***
Back with the two samurai
"Kuso!" the first samurai swore right after a bramble tore the sleeve of his uniform, "Now I have to stitch it back up again when we get back to camp!"
"If we get back to camp," the second warrior muttered.
"What makes you say that?" the first samurai asked, looking at his melancholy comrade.
"Don't you know?" the second man asked, looking at the first with a dark expression in his eyes, "This forest is supposed to be full of youkai!"
"We can handle a bunch of demons," the first scoffed.
"Not if we're dead," the second countered.
"We won't die," the first laughed.
"I wouldn't be too sure of that," a female voice snickered.
"Who is there?!" the first samurai yelled, pulling out his sword. Beside him, his companion also drew out his blade.
The two heard a cool chuckle. Then the bushes parted to reveal a woman. She was young and beautiful. She held a folded fan in her pale, elegant hand. Her lips were painted a luscious crimson color, and slightly wavy bangs framed her face. The rest of her hair was pulled up away from her face with white feathers decorating it. She was wearing several layers of kimono, indicating she was of high birth, but her yellow sash was tied in front, indicating she was an oiran. To the men, she was the most beautiful woman they had seen in awhile and they were stunned.
"What are two samurai doing in this part of the woods?" the woman asked, tapping her chin with her fan, "Are you looking for some…entertainment?"
"It depends on what kind of entertainment you are willing to give," the first samurai grinned, a lustful look crossing his features.
"The best kind," the woman answered, snapping her fan open with a graceful flick of her wrist, and hiding her face behind it. The first samurai grinned wider. This little vixen was quite the seductress…
The second samurai on the other hand was feeling a bit uneasy. It was too much of a coincidence that a mysterious and beautiful courtesan would appear in a forest that was rumored to be full of youkai. She could be a kitsune that has cast an illusion to look like a woman. She might be planning to kill them both. Suddenly the second samurai noticed the woman's feet. The whole area around them was covered with sharp rocks and even sharper twigs. But this woman was barefooted and she didn't have a single scratch on her! Her feet weren't even dirty! That was impossible unless she had more grace than the gods did or she wasn't human at all…
"Shall we get the fun started then?" the first samurai smirked, a he started towards the woman. His companion tried to shout out a warning but it was already too late.
"Die!" the woman snarled, slashing downwards with her fan as if it was a sword. The first samurai had no idea what hit him. In mere moments his body was cut into several bloody ribbons…and the woman didn't even touch him.
"KYAAAAAAA!!!" The second samurai cried out, turning away to run away from the demon. She had to be a demon! The other samurai was a good ten feet away from the woman, yet she still hit him. It was almost as if the wind itself cut apart the man. The second samurai had no idea where too run, but all he knew was that he had to get away from the frightening demon woman.
"Stop," a quiet, impassive voice commanded him. The samurai fell flat on his face. Looking up, he was confronted with a pale child-like specter. Just looking into her blank face he knew he should be more afraid of the child phantom than the demonic woman from earlier.
"K-Keep away from me!" the samurai cried out.
"Look into my mirror," the ghostly girl murmured. The samurai tried to look away, but couldn't. He glazed into the mirror and his pale faced reflection looked back at him, scared and frightened.
It was the last thing he ever saw.
*
Glossary:
Oi: "Yo"
Baka: "Stupid" or "Idiot"
Onee-san: "Older Sister"
-san: name prefix, means about the same as "Mr.", "Mrs.", or "Miss"
onigiri: "rice-balls"
Hai: "Yes"
Kuso: all-purpose curse word; short for "Chikuso"
Youkai: "demon"; actually demon isn't a proper translation, but that's the closest we can get in English
Oiran: "courtesan" or "prostitute"
Kitsune: "fox"; here it is indicating specifically a demon fox or fox spirit
Author-chan's notes: And there is chapter two. Since chapter 1 was so short I decided to post both chapters up at the same time. Heh, just two chapters and I already had them kill people. And, they're bored. Pretty soon though, I'll give them something to do. So, please keep reading!
R+R!!!
~A-chan