Kagura...the damn demon...
Naraku started to feel ill. His mind seemed to snap in and out of focus. It was almost as though all of his evil plans were slipping away from him! Naraku grasped the wall behind him and lurched to his feet. His shoes felt heavy, as though his feet had turned into hard, solid weights. Naraku could barely lift his foot, and lost his balance. He fell to the floor, clutching his head with both of his claw-like hands.
Is this the work of Kagura?
Naraku felt the questions pop into his conscience like tiny bubbles. The confusion and curiosity filled ran through his veins like blood. Naraku longed to know what was happening to him. Was he about to gain a new body and leave the other useless? Somehow, Naraku knew that this would not be like that.
No...this isn't Kagura. She'd never do this to me!
Naraku crawled along the floor like an injured dog, holding onto anything he could find. His ears picked up the sounds of the swirling, dark wind outside. The soul collectors flew around the hill, surrounding the castle as though they were Naraku's bodyguards.
The moaning of the soul collectors...the howling of the wind...was Naraku in his own hell? Naraku's insides burned like fire...the fire that had killed Kikyo and burned her body away from the world.
This is something stronger. This...this is Kikyo!
Naraku murmured loudly and painfully, and nudged into one of the sweating purple pots on the wooden table nearby. The pots reeled, and shattered onto the wooden planks of the old floor. The pots had contained a mass of smoke-like substance, and it leaked through the floorboards and onto Naraku's hand.
One of the ceramic pieces of the pot had pierced Naraku's hand. The smoke-like substance trickled into the line of blood that appeared on his thumb. Naraku scooted against the wall, making a noise like an angry dog.
Now I will tell you what I've done for you 50 thousand tears I've cried Screaming deceiving and bleeding for you And you still won't hear me
The haunting Shinto temple music rang through Naraku's ears. It was the same music that he had heard 50 years ago, during the time of Kikyo's death. This must be her spell! Naraku's eyes darted around the room, as though he expected Kikyo to jump out at him with a bow and arrow slung over her shoulders.
Don't want your hand this time I'll save myself Maybe I'll wake up for once Not tormented daily defeated by you Just when I thought I'd reached the bottom I'm dying again
Naraku turned his head toward the ceiling and howled. He howled like a wolf, howled as loud and sorrowful as his lungs could handle. The pain seemed to go away as fast as it came, and Naraku twisted his body around like a sloth. Kagura, Kanna, and Kohaku stood at the doorway, staring at Naraku as though he was a disgusting animal.
Naraku stared at them repulsively. He despised them all, yet they were his own. Still, something about them attracted him to their weak power. Perhaps it was his aura that emitted from them...he did not know.
Kanna, the small girl with white hair and haunting eyes, stepped forward. Her sandals tapped lightly against the wooden floor, and she held a small, silver-white mirror in her hands.
"I have an idea for master," she said in a quiet and ghost-like voice. She was masterful; very much like Kagura. She was somber, yet very suspicious about Naraku's behavior. Naraku looked up from his own hands and stared at her.
"What is it? What is your plan, Kanna?" Kanna gave a small half-smile and held up the mirror. It showed Kikyo's reflection. Her black hair and brown eyes looked so real in the thin glass, its cloudy plane hiding Kikyo's soul collectors.
"The priestess," Kanna answered. Naraku felt a cruel smile twisting upon his lips, as they had done for many times now. Naraku's smile grew wider, and more evil by the second. It was as though he could read Kanna's mind, and he liked what he saw.
"I see now," he whispered. "It is brilliant, Kanna. I cannot believe I didn't think of it sooner. We must deliver this plan at once!"
Kagura eyed the two with suspicion. "What is the plan, Naraku?" she asked calmly. Naraku's stare traveled from Kanna to Kagura, and back at Kanna's mirror.
"We go after Kikyo. We'll set it up tonight."
Long after Naraku had decided to rest, Kanna and Kagura slipped out into the other room. Kagura pulled the wooden screen shut, and sat down upon a reed mat. Kagura reached for a small pail of water, and poured it slowly over the mat to keep it cool. Kanna pulled out a mat and settled on the floor, her small legs tucked under her.
"Kanna, did you notice the smile on Naraku's face? He smiled so crazily...I feared he was going to strike me! Hah...to think I would be frightened of him!"
Kanna lifted her shoulders and pulled at the flower ornament in her hair. "Naraku brings fear upon us all." Kagura shook her head.
"No...Naraku cannot do this to us anymore. He cannot hold us prisoner. Kanna, listen to me and keep this knowledge only upon us. Naraku cannot know that we speak falsely of him. He will surely attack us and send us back into his spindly body.
"Kanna, listen. If Naraku were to ever find out about our talk, he will just make us fulfill another one of his duties. If Naraku wants power, he needs to get it on his own."
Kanna didn't speak. Instead, she sat quietly with her eyes half-closed, as though the two sisters had been talking all night. Kagura was full of anger, and felt like running away from the dark castle that was her unwanted home.
"Kanna, mark my words and hold them in the back of your mind. Naraku only wants us for his evil business. He doesn't give a damn about us! What we want means nothing to him. Meet me again next time, and I'll tell you what we should be doing."
Naraku awoke the next morning with a groggy head. His vision was slightly blurred, as though the danger from the other night never ceased. His eyelids felt like lead, and he longed for more sleep. Naraku's pillow was flat and hard, like cardboard, from years of pressing his head against the woven string. That morning, it seemed flatter and much firmer.
He stared up at the hard, wooden ceiling. The patterns on the ceiling were slightly crooked, either from the years or from clumsy handiwork. Naraku never knew who built his castle, or even if that person was alive. It didn't matter, anyway. If only this aching in his head would stop!
The pain stretched down to his arms now. Naraku turned on his side, scowling when crows outside squawked. Naraku shut his eyes hard, but he could not block out the pain that nearly terrorized him the other evening. He felt like the world was going on without him, like he no longer existed. What message was his body trying to send to him?
Naraku reached over on a low, plywood table. His long, nimble fingers flew over a brass tray like spiders, searching for something. He reached into a copper plate of water and retrieved a stiff, heavily-starched napkin. He sat up in his cot and scrubbed his face in the basin. He grabbed his long, curly black hair and whipped it into a loose ponytail.
He gripped his forehead in a firm, yet massaging hold. He slipped his feet into a pair of tough, worn-down sandals that looked as though they had been burned down to the soles.
Kagura came in as soon as Naraku was about to leave. She brought dead soldiers, whom she had made servants of. One of the soldiers, who was sporting a profusely bleeding lip, held out a breakfast tray for Naraku. He pushed it away for two reasons; he did not want anything to eat, especially if it had a dead man's blood in it.
Naraku felt a rush. His ideas took shape in his mind to make a big disaster. After reflecting on the situation very clearly, he realized that every time Naraku cracked up, he always thought of Kikyo.
I must make her suffer, he realized. I must find her, and make her pay for this trick. Naraku felt another one of his evil smiles form on his pale lips. I will use my Illusory Death. That will bring the priestess down faster than she can ever imagine. I will send her to hell, where she belongs.
"The woman is dead. She no longer belongs in this world, where she has wound her way to my mind. She cannot frighten me. Kikyo has always been terrified of me. Her damn pride is what brings her to believe that she is invincible. I will prove her wrong today."
Naraku sent one of his puppets out after Kikyo. The puppet pulled on his white baboon outfit shortly before departing. Kagura rolled her eyes as she watched. "Why must you wear that?" The puppet Naraku forced a smile on his face. He turned his head to stare at her. "Kagura, surely you must know this. How many times have I told you? If I were to make Inuyasha and his mortal friends suffer, he must not be able to see me in my true form. I need a disguise." Kagura threw her hands up. "Why? Inuyasha must have seen you in that thousands of times already. How can he not know who you are? Even a half-demon like him can't be that stupid." Naraku glared at the floor. "Sometimes I wonder about him." Without another word, Naraku gathered the furry folds of his costume and disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of thick miasma. Kagura waved her fan to disperse the cloud.
Back in the forest, Kikyo slept high in a tree. The soul collectors twisted around her, forming a scaly, powerful blanket. The blueish aura around the tree protected her from airborne enemies, and showed Kikyo's extreme power. If Kikyo was never a priestess, she would truly die, like many before her.
Suddenly, the leaves rustled in the tree. Kikyo awoke from her slumber and looked carefully down below. She slept by the Bone Eater's Well, where Kagome would always emerge. Kikyo chose this spot as her resting place in case Kagome came back. Then, she would confront the schoolgirl and convince her to tell where Inuyasha was. So far, she had no luck.
Kikyo swung her legs over the tree branch, and was about to climb down when she heard a noise about a mile away. Kikyo reached behind her and pulled out a neatly-carved and polished bow. She slung it over her slender shoulders and grabbed her supply of arrows.
Kikyo stood up slowly, not wanting to lose her balance and fall. Her soft, sad brown eyes narrowed with heavy suspicion. Loose, black strands of her hair fell over her face. It made Kikyo look like a murderer, hiding behind a long dark curtain.
There was a scuttling noise, as though a fox or wolf was running very fast. Kikyo reached for an arrow and pulled the bow back, relaxing her feet while tightening her grip. Suddenly, Kikyo felt something lash out at her back and shoulders. Kikyo fell from the tree and landed on her side, her arrows scattering in the tall grass.
Kikyo felt around for her arrows, unable to see them in the overgrown weeds. She stared wildly over her shoulder, and saw mud before her. She was speechless, both from the surprise of her old grave and the growing pain in her back. "I...I am being cremated again," she murmured.
The mud caked around her, building a sort of hard wall. Kikyo could not escape. Her clothes were gone, and her face was streaming with unexpected tears. Kikyo seemed to fall away, even if she did not move an inch. This was not her doing! She felt like she was being controlled.
Kikyo was shocked, but unable to move. She was surrounded by bright, evil red fire. Kikyo could not see it, but she felt the wet blood on her back. It burned and stung, like the fire around them. "Inuyasha...why did you betray me, Inuyasha? Help me out of here! You...you killed me..." Kikyo said, half-shouting. She then felt like her mind was replaying her death. Then she realized that her death was not being played back. She was reliving it.
The young priestess held the Shikon Jewel in her hands, safe and protected from Inuyasha's grasp. Kikyo let the flames take control of her body, and let them burn her away from the face of the earth. The jewel gleamed brightly, like a million stars. The shine and the light of the fire was painful to Kikyo's eyes. It did not matter. She would become a spirit in a few minutes...
- "Going Under" by Evanescence