The dark castle stood on the lonely hillside, hidden by the lurking shadows that passed. Giant soul collectors moved silently through the air, their evil aura surrounding them in a fine, purplish glow. The wooden floorboards of the castle's gloomy interior creaked slowly yet menacingly, as though of its own accord.
The man stood by the Shoji-like screen of the window. He frowned as the people in the village below passed into the dirty streets. He overlooked the sides of the black hill that revealed the muddy brown canal by the courtyard, and growled low like a cat. He stretched his arms up over his head, and let his long, baggy shirt fall to the floor. The man took out a long katana and pierced his back in one swift move.
"This spider scar somehow links me," the man whispered in a deep, menacing tone. "I am sure that this is what still links me to my power. I, Naraku, will not give in to the previous foolishness of Onigumo. I have power now." Naraku withdrew the blade, and felt no pain from the spider-shaped scar that usually burned like wildfire.
"Naraku...who are you speaking to?" a voice from the doorway asked. Naraku turned, and noticed that his incarnation, Kagura, stood clutching the wooden screen. Naraku's eyes narrowed, but he gave a dangerous smile. "Hmm...Kagura. You have arrived at last, I see."
Kagura was far from beautiful, and her looks brought out the evil that lurked in her enslaved heart. She secretly longed to be free from Naraku, who kept her heart in his hands. Kagura shook her head, patting the green, untidy bun at the back of her head.
"I have been chasing the wolf tribe, like you asked," she said in a dangerously sweet tone.
"That wolf leader, Koga...he had better perish by first light. The poison from the wasps I brought must have worked nicely."
Naraku pulled his robe-like shirt back on, and sat upon the oiled, wooden floorboards. Kagura flared her nose, enthralled with the pungent smells of Naraku's quarters, like the evil clouds of miasma and the dust from the walls. The floorboards shone with a reddish polish that seemed less than perfect, but enough to hide even the roughest flaws from prying eyes. Naraku had set a powerful barrier around the castle, so none of his most wanted enemies would break in that easily. The barrier had left a thick miasma that grew mustier by the minute, as though every time Naraku breathed, the miasma would give off another cloud of evil, steam-like power.
"No, Kagura," Naraku murmured, staring coldly upon his lesser creation. "I want the wolf leader gone as soon as possible. Never mind about first light! The poison of my beloved insects would have killed him seconds ago! What did you possibly do now?"
Kagura sighed. "I released the wasps after I departed. I didn't want to catch the poison as well." Naraku shook his head and let out an evil, slightly amused laugh. "You are very amusing, Kagura. Do you not yet know that the wasps do not affect you? These wasps are mine, and as you may know..." Naraku stopped, and let his harsh, blue-lined eyes fix upon Kagura's fiery red ones.
"As you may know...you are part of me." Kagura gasped, and her shiny red mouth went slack with surprise as Naraku let out another icy, stalking laugh.