"Is there anything else I can do for you, Onigumo? Perhaps some more blankets?" the young priestess asked, kneeling on one knee beside the young man's cot. Onigumo coughed, and laid his head back against the firm comfort of his pillow.
"Water..." the man choked out, trying to be as polite as possible. "Kikyo..." The young woman Kikyo smiled, and reached into a pail of hot water. She retrieved a soaked cloth at the bottom of the pail, and began dabbing at Onigumo's bandaged forehead. Onigumo was surprised at the emotion in his own voice. Kikyo seemed not to notice.
"Of course. Don't be afraid to ask," Kikyo said gently. "I'm here to help you." Onigumo smiled, and slowly reached out to touch Kikyo's hand. A sharp pain in his bandaged wrist made him shrink back against the pillow. Kikyo reached out to him instead, and patted his hand like a mother caring for her sick child.
"Don't move so much. You'll open your wounds again. Just rest here, I'll be back shortly." The priestess slipped her sandals on, gathered her basket of medical herbs, and left the quiet cave that held the injured Onigumo.
"Kikyo...I will always care for you."
Naraku awoke quickly, sitting up in his cot. The noise downstairs had quieted, and the party had ended quite some time ago. "It must be late into the night," Naraku murmured to himself. He got up from his bed, the wood creaking slightly against the woven string. Naraku placed his hand on his bare chest, and felt his heart beating rapidly.
Naraku felt a cold shiver steal across his shoulders, and cold sweat ran down his back over his spider-like scar. He walked barefooted across the room, his feet slapping against the floorboards. He reached into his copper basin and began to wipe the sweat from his face. He bent over the shiny handles of the basin into the water, and saw his reflection. Then, out of nowhere, Kikyo's reflection was right next to his. Her hand was on his shoulder, and when Naraku turned around, he saw no one.
He turned back to look at the water, but Kikyo's reflection was gone. All he could think of was the flashback he had in his sleep, and he gripped his forehead.
"Onigumo..." Naraku began, and stopped. This was the answer! Naraku swiped his hand across the water, as though trying to get rid of his reflection. "I...love her still."
Kikyo returned to her sister Kaede's village shortly after the illusory death. She was easily frightened after the incident. Don't fall for old memories again. It will ruin your judgment and your way of seeing things, she would think to herself.
Kaede would bring Kikyo things like flowers and things to soothe her. "Kikyo, what brings you here? What has happened to get you so spooked?" Kikyo shook her head and sighed.
"Nothing, little sister. I only came to ask about Inuyasha. Is he all right?"
After Naraku's battle with Inuyasha, Kaede had let Inuyasha stay in her hut. He was healing very well, but slowly. Inuyasha had stayed for two weeks now, and Kikyo was worried. She had promised herself she would not stay with Inuyasha anymore, but she still cared for him in ways she didn't even know existed.
"I must not be with Inuyasha again," Kikyo would tell Kaede. "But there are things in this world that really concern me. Inuyasha is one of those things. He wants to protect me, yet he knows I despise every living creature, including him. I do not understand, Kaede, but I will learn on my own." Kikyo thought long and hard about Naraku. How I despise him, she thought, clenching her fists. One day, he will learn. Back when he was Onigumo, I thought he was a kind and gentle man. If I had known he would long for power and turn into Naraku, I would have gone after him sooner. I will have my revenge. No one shall touch Inuyasha except me. I will find Naraku now.
Kikyo left Kaede's village just as soon as she had come. She slung her bow and arrow over her shoulders and borrowed Kaede's brown mare. The mare whinnied and stamped off onto the road, which had sun-dried after the rain had stopped falling.
On the way, she passed some shabby farms no larger than the courtyard near Kaede's hut. The cows had trampled tiny fences, releasing chickens. Many people near the village of Kaede suffered from hopeless poverty, and Kikyo sometimes wished she had the ability to help the people soothe their woes. There was only so much that a priestess could do, and taking out a curly-haired man with demon incarnations should be easy.
She reached the road to Naraku's castle before dark. The horse was getting weary, and the rain began falling again. Kikyo knew she had to stop, but the deep anger that Naraku had caused burned in her heart. In another two hours, she would be at Naraku's castle, and she would finally have her revenge after fifty years.
The horse whinnied again, and Kikyo sighed. She jumped gracefully from the horse's back, and stroked its coat. The horse shook its big, majestic head and began to lie down on the side of the road. Kikyo sat beside the mare, and it stayed close by to keep the priestess warm from the cold, splattering rain.
Kikyo had planned to ambush Naraku when she reached the castle. Her plans were now ruined, seeing that the rain would fall for the remainder of the evening. She pulled the white ribbon out of her hair, and the black, silky curtain fell over her face once more. She needed a new idea, or else Naraku would outsmart her again.
She felt divided. Part of her was hollow with the idea that Naraku could be waiting for her, so his giant soul collectors can feed from her and make her Naraku's slave. Another part of her was filled with hope, and she felt that she could be safe from Naraku as long as she had a plan in the back of her head. She would no longer have to be cautious, looking out for someone who might be stalking her. Never again would she see Naraku's evil face, a face that never before saw kindness...
Kikyo sat up suddenly, and she knew she must have fallen asleep. The horse had fallen asleep too, while the freezing rain was pouring down on their heads. Kikyo gently shook the mare awake, and climbed on the horse's back to finally reach the lair of the one man who made her life unbelievably cruel.
About half an hour down the road, Kikyo saw a woman in the distance. Kikyo felt like asking for help, for she was sore and weary of the long journey. The woman in the distance looked like she could use some assistance, too. Her clothes were tattered, and one of the woman's slender hands held a carved fan with ceremonial designs. Kikyo recognized her as Kagura, the woman who was Naraku's creature, body, and soul.
"Kagura!" Kikyo shouted, and stopped the horse. She jumped down from the horse once more, and pulled an arrow back on her bow.
Kagura stopped in midmotion, and her eyes traveled up and down, examining the priestess. "Priestess Kikyo, is it not?"
Kikyo's eyes glittered dangerously with fiery anger. "Where is Naraku? I know you are his incarnation." Kagura scoffed, and crossed her arms.
"Naraku threw me out. He said I should learn my lessons for defying him, so he kicked me out of the castle. He threw my belongings at me, and sent his insects to shoo me out. He used every torture method in the book, like strangling spells and beatings..."
Kikyo shook her head roughly. "I don't care what he did to you. You deserve it, because you're the one who agreed to work for him. You brought it upon yourself. Now, where is Naraku?" Kagura smiled cruelly, and put her hand on her hip.
"I just told you, sweetheart, he's at the castle. He's none too happy, either. He can send his narrow behind straight to his own hell. Anyway, he's been waiting for you to come to the castle. Naraku's been acting all crazy for the past few days, yelling at everyone as though he was a drill instructor. The man has lost his ever-loving mind. All he's been thinking about is you."
Kikyo listened intently, and slowly lowered her arrow. "What do you mean by that, sorceress? Why has he wasted his time worrying about me?"
Kagura sighed. "All he's been asking me is where you are, what you're doing, when you're arriving...it's quite annoying. He had a dream or something, I don't know, and he lost it ever since. He thinks you placed a spell on him, that you're trying to eat your way into his mind to terrify him. He's quite confident that he can kill you." Kikyo started laughing. "Ha! Back when I knew Naraku as Onigumo, he was too sick to touch a fly. He can't possibly have the heart to kill the woman he fell in love with. Naraku thought he could kill me fifty years ago, and maybe he did, but that does not mean he can kill me now. I have the help of my hatred, and from my soul collectors. Isn't that enough for him?"
Suddenly, Kagura flung herself on the ground by Kikyo's feet. "Please, take me with you, priestess. I cannot stand Naraku! I have been longing for freedom since the day I was born from him. He thinks he owns me, like a young boy and his mongrel! I want to attack Naraku, too. I have tried, and that is why I am so badly beaten." Kikyo thought for a moment, and turned her back to Kagura. "Be ready to leave now. Gather your things and get on the horse. You'd better not try anything to harm me, sorceress, because I have eyes in the back of my head, too." Kagura nodded and muttered her agreement. She climbed on the back of Kikyo's mare, and the two women trampled ever faster, inspired and boosted by their hatred, down the road to Naraku.
A heavy dew settled on the grayish-silver grass by Naraku's castle. The servants outside in the courtyard were so wrapped up in Kagura's going-away party that they carelessly let the grass grow taller than their knees. The air still had some dust from the heavy rains earlier, but the atmosphere was fairly fresh. The big leaves of the leather-like trees had waved and flopped, marking the end of the season. Naraku sat under the tree where had conversed with Kagura and her sister.
Now Naraku sat there alone. Kanna was outside, ordering the servants around and threatening to use her mirror on them. Naraku felt a slight breeze come by, and he saw his cot sway as the breeze entered his window. He sighed, and picked a small, whitish-gray dandelion and blew softly on it. His eyes were tender at the corners, as though the small particles of the dandelion he was watching was actually a dear old friend.
The servants stopped in their work to gaze at Naraku. When he blew on the dandelion, it was the only affection that the servants saw Naraku display. Other than that, he was about as cruel and grim as a horse soaked in the rain. One servant stepped nervously up to Naraku and slowly began to pour him a drink.
Naraku held up his hand to stop the young man, and the servant thought Naraku would strike him. He stood tall, and winced only slightly, as though he was truly ready to take a blow. He, like the other servants, had heard of the Kagura incident, and were afraid when Naraku raised his hand to do anything.
"Forget it," Naraku murmured. "I do not favor human beverages as you do. Go, and be thankful that you are still enjoying life. I am sure Kagura is not."
When the man returned to his work, the image of Kikyo returned to Naraku's mind. He saw the clear detail in her silky black hair, her soft brown eyes, her pale light skin...the mere thought made the hairs on Naraku's neck stand up, only in a good way, and his breath would always catch in the back of his throat. He felt as though his eyes were watering, even though there was not a single tear in his eyes.
He loved her totally, without hope. He only wished that he could see Kikyo, that there would be some way they would forget their past differences, and that she would visit him. Naraku marveled at the way he spent the past few years ignoring her, stalking Inuyasha for something that he did not do. How did he possibly ignore the hole in his heart that murdering Kikyo had left? Perhaps he kept telling himself it was just a nightmare, a bad dream with no meaning to real life. My obsession with the woman will never leave my head, Naraku thought to himself. I am in a dangerous drift, but I feel as though I have no power to bring it to an end.
Naraku felt his weight lift as he dropped down from the concrete wall. His sandals left imprints in the grainy sand as he made his way to the castle again. The servants looked up at him from their afternoon meals. They fell silent when Naraku slipped by their tiny, wooden tables. Their eyes did not twitch, and their kimonos did not rustle. Even their hands were still as stones as they watched their grim master pass, for no matter how much they longed to know what was wrong with him, they did not want to upset Naraku further.
Naraku felt as though it took him the rest of the afternoon to reach the castle door. He slid the paper screen open, and stepped inside after he left his slippers by the heavy stone pillars. Halfway down the hallway he stopped. He was dead silent, as though someone lurked close by. After about three minutes, Naraku gripped the door to his quarters and sighed loudly. This is absolutely absurd. I have truly been foolish, thinking that Kikyo would be here. I guess that's what I deserve for jumping to conclusions...what a mortal thing to do.
Naraku entered his quarters, slid into casual clothes, and did the only thing he felt he could do. He flung himself upon his cot and slowly slipped into a long sleep. As he slept behind veined eyelids, the only thing he could bring himself to think of was Kikyo. He would dream about Kikyo, talk about Kikyo, and long for Kikyo. It's always damn Kikyo, Naraku realized, turning on his side. Kikyo had done so much for me, and how on earth did I repay her? Naraku woke up after about thirty-five minutes. I murdered her.
Kikyo finally reached the castle after going through many hours of rain. Her heart felt as though it would burst. Never did Kikyo feel so much anger. Kagura, however, had fallen asleep as soon as the women left. She leaned her head against Kikyo's shoulder, her fan resting in the belt Kikyo had made for her. Kikyo sighed, wishing she had left Kagura alone. Kagura can tell me where Naraku is, she thought suddenly. Maybe I do need her.
Kikyo jumped off the horse, gathering her weapons silently. She left Kagura sleeping on the mare, and Kikyo made her way up the dried, once-muddy road. The servants had entered the castle, leaving the courtyard deserted.
Good, Kikyo thought. I don't have to waste my arrows. I can dispose of them all when I reach Naraku. By the time I'm through, Naraku will never know the meaning of the word 'deception' again.
Kikyo kept her eyes wide open, and they almost had an alarmed look to them, as though the world was like a five-year-old's nightmare. Her arrows clunked against each other as Kikyo's quiver moved along with her back.
When Kikyo reached the veranda, she was not surprised that Naraku's castle had a gloomy, dark look to it. From far away, the grand building almost looked like a face of a ghost, still and somber-like. It disgusted Kikyo, what with all the miasma and evil aura.
"It is encased in Naraku's foul evil," she said aloud. "My hate for Naraku will never die. I knew Onigumo could not be trusted."
Kikyo made her way up the hill, past the gate and into the courtyard. She noticed that Naraku's trees looked as gloomy as the atmosphere, and Kikyo knew that she was truly in danger. She could not stay very long; she would kill Naraku and be off.
"I cannot have you steal my souls, Naraku! No matter how much you desire power, you cannot have it if you take from what is already dead."
Kikyo walked past the wooden cages filled with new incarnations of Naraku. The creatures did not frighten her really; they were a bit awkward to be around, though. One of the incarnations resembled a small boy, no younger than ten. He had silverish hair, and purple-gray eyes that stared menacingly out into the small view of the world through the bars in his cage. The priestess muttered, hopping down from boulders, past the smoke-colored lilies that floated in the brown pond by the canal. By the time Kikyo made it up past the gate by Naraku's doors, her anger swelled into her heart until she felt she was explode.
She pushed the wooden screen open, not bothering to kill the servants yet. Instead, she made her way straight down the hallway to Naraku's quarters. She didn't care who saw her, who wanted to report her to Naraku. She was too fed up with it all. Kikyo was tired of Naraku stalking her, threatening to kill Inuyasha and his friends. She was tired of Naraku stealing the souls of the dead just for his own purposes. She was also growing weary of looking behind her shoulder, waiting for Naraku's puppet to emerge from behind a shrub or a tree.
Kikyo reached Naraku's door. She sucked in a long breath, then wasted no time in roughly pushing it open. She stared around the dark room, taking a good look at the cot and the window, which seemed to let in a gloomy, eternal breeze as the sun set. Her breathing was even and quiet, as though she was somewhere safe, far away from Naraku.
To Kikyo's surprise, Naraku was not in his quarters. Perhaps he was nursing resentment, seeing as how Kagura had left him. Maybe he didn't even care that she was gone. Wherever Naraku was, Kikyo was not going to let him torment her or Inuyasha anymore. Kikyo took one careful, final look around the room before taking a small step inside. She raised her bow and pulled back an arrow. Carefully, she let an arrow go. It hit the wall, near a large shadow. When Kikyo moved forward, the shadows moved. Naraku was not lurking there.
Damn! Where are you hiding, Naraku? Was Kagura telling the truth? Did you really know I was coming? The same question lurked in the deepest fears of Kikyo's mind, but she refused to tell herself that the evil Naraku exposed was completely real. She could only wish that Naraku was gone, but would that be what Naraku really wanted? Did he want her to express her fear, to let it out so Naraku and his evil partners would know?
No, she told herself. I won't succumb to Naraku's wishes. I will not expose myself to anyone's thoughts except my own. If Naraku wants me, he'll have to come get me himself. I will not play his game any longer.
And with that, Kikyo slowly turned around and exited the castle as silently as she had come, stopping only to catch the breeze that lingered like an itch on the skin.