Out Of The Ashes
A/N: My second IY fic…this time it's about Kagura and Sesshoumaru. OK, so everyone thought Kagura's dead after she turned into dust in the flower field. But this time, she outsmarted Naraku. She's alive- and now holds the ultimate grudge against her creator. She now lives under a new identity and wants to destroy Naraku more than ever. But will Kagura be able to take down the Lord of All Evil alone? Or will she need help? And not just any help- Sesshoumaru's help. RnR please )
Disclaimer: I don't own Kagura, Sesshoumaru and the rest of the Inuyasha characters mentioned here. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi. But I do own Kagura's new identity.
A lone figure sits by the riverbank, looking at the clear water drift by. She knew that Naraku wouldn't just give her the heart…that would be way too easy. There had to be a catch. And there was. Naraku had infected her heart with his putrid miasma. She was just lucky that she thought of using a demon puppet to take her place when she accepted her tainted heart from Naraku. And since the heart disappeared along with the demon puppet, Naraku has no more means of killing her whenever he wanted to. Yes, Kagura had all of this planned out. And it paid off splendidly. All that needs to be done now is to kill the bastard. Kagura smiled a bit at the thought of finally defeating Naraku. And after that she would be free…alive and free.
"Hehehe…using his own tricks against him…it was genius. All I need now is to kill that son-of-a…" Kagura muttered to herself as she continued to think of a way to destroy Naraku once and for all. "…But I can't just waltz in the castle anymore. They all know I'm dead…and I don't think he'll be too happy to see me." Kagura said. After Kagura "died", she has been traveling a whole lot, staying in the outskirts of villages, sleeping the woods and gathering food from trees and hunting for animals. Yes, sometimes she did complain, but Kagura would rather stay in a forest than live in Naraku's horrible dwelling. At least she could enjoy some freedom away from him. Kagura stood up and entered the forest to gather some food. She was getting hungry after all that thinking on how to slay Naraku.
"…Damn it…isn't there anything here that could fill me up?" Kagura asked angrily, spotting only measly berries that could hardly satisfy her hunger. She continued looking for food, parting the bushes to find something sufficient. But something else came to greet her. It was a body of a dead female ninja, probably killed by one of the demons in the forest. Kagura approached the corpse, seeing the ninja's blood stain the grass. The ninja was probably killed some time ago, for the blood was already dry.
Tsk. For a ninja, this one sure is stupid. Kagura thought, considering that a trained ninja being killed by a small demon doesn't really sound right. But then she saw the ninja's suit. It was black, but was stained with blood, but it would come off with a couple of good washes in the river. The dead ninja also still had her sword and her array of smoke bombs and shurikens- really useful weapons when going for stealth. And then an idea hatched in Kagura's mind.
"…Hmmm…since I can't just barge in the castle anymore, I'd have to deal with the guards…" Kagura said to herself, picking up one shuriken. "And I'd have to take them out in the most covert way possible." Kagura added. And so, Kagura confirmed her idea and took the ninja's suit and weapons. She went to the river and washed the blood away from the suit.
"I'm going for the element of surprise this time. I won't let him get one step ahead of me again." Kagura said, scrubbing the blood off the cloth. And then, for some reason, she remembered the spider mark on her back. She cringed at the mere thought of it. It was a sign that she's still one with Naraku. And she hated it so much. I don't want to live as Naraku! I want a new identity! I don't want to be one of Naraku's lackeys anymore! She stopped washing the suit and looked at it once more, checking if there was still any blood left. She then thought of what she was going to do with it.
"…I don't want to be that bastard anymore…I want to be someone else." Then it became clear to her that it wasn't just simply to destroy Naraku she was after the suit, but she now also wanted to change every physical trace of her enslavement to Naraku. But she was aware that the spider mark on her back will still remain. But being able to live in another guise would be good, she thought. After some time, it began to get dark. Kagura sat by a bonfire she created, as the almost-dry ninja suit hung on a tree branch. Kagura had caught a small fish and was cooking it by the fire. She got it and ate it. It tasted sort of awful, for it lacked flavor. But Kagura considered this to be better. Back in Naraku's castle, she wasn't even given anything to eat- she just remained chained up, cold and hungry. Yet another grudge against her creator. Then she remembered all the times he threatened that he will kill her…she remembered every last time Naraku showed her the heart, and squeeze it, making her fall to the ground. Kagura's awful memories of Naraku just made her wince in anger, fueling her hatred and vengefulness even more.
After she had finished, Kagura went to check at the suit. It was already dry, and the blood had come off. Kagura looked at it seriously. All the thoughts of vengeance against Naraku raced through her mind wildly.
"I vow from this day…that I'll destroy you, Naraku…and get my freedom." Kagura declared. "You cannot kill me now. You destroyed my heart. Now you've got nothing to destroy me." With that, Kagura took the female ninja suit from the tree. She stripped herself of her kimono and donned the suit, leaving her kimono on the ground like a messy rag. Kagura undid the fastenings on her hair and let it flow down her shoulders freely. She tossed the feathers aside, seeing that she would no longer need them. Kagura also removed her earrings, throwing them next to the feathers. Kagura went to the side of the river and washed off the red eye shadow that was on her eyelids and the rouge that was painted on her lips. She then got the ninja's katana…and hacked off a fairly large part of her hair. The severed locks of hair lay on the ground, as Kagura looked into her reflection on the river's surface. She now had a short, boyish cut. She smiled at the sight of her knew look.
I'm feeling good already. She thought. Kagura put the sword back in its scabbard, got the ninja's bandana and covered her head with it. She tied the knot of the bandana and finally picked up the last piece of her new ensemble: a black face mask, which will hide the lower half of her face. But before she put it on, Kagura took one deep sigh. "…After I put this thing on my face…I'll be Kagura no longer…" she said. And with those zealous words, Kagura put on the face mask and tied it in a secure mask. She looked at herself once again on the mirror-like surface of the river. She looked…completely different. She now had short hair, an unpainted face and a different- and simpler wardrobe. Kagura half-smiled at her new reflection. It…made her feel free, a whole new person. She stood up and walked up to get her fan. She was about to reach for it, but then she saw the katana lying next to the fan. Kagura thought about which weapon to get for sometime…until she finally picked one to wield.
As the silver moon shone brightly in the deep, dark sky, a shady figure leaps from tree to tree. A party of demons was harassing a traveler, and the shadowed stranger noticed it quickly. Moving swiftly like a shooting star, she draws her sword and jumps down to butcher the pesky demons. With reflexes as smooth as the wind, she quickly deals with the demons and saves the traveler from his death.
"Oh, may the blessing of Kami be with you, good ninja." The traveler said, thanking his savior. "How can I ever repay you for your kindness?" The ninja looked at him with a pair of raging crimson eyes and said her request.
"…Just don't tell anyone you've seen me." She ordered him. The traveler complied immediately, praising and thanking continuously.
"But, good ninja, I would just like to ask…" The traveler said. "What is your name?" The ninja paused for quite a while. She put her sword back in its case and walked away, leaving the traveler on his own. But then she stopped.
"My name is…" The ninja responded. She didn't want to use the name that bastard gave her. "Koeshi."
"Oh…thank you, good Koeshi. May the blessings of the Gods be with you!" The traveler said to the ninja happily. The ninja let out a soft chuckle and took off. She continued to fly from tree to tree, thinking of her next move. She has dropped her previous identity and moved on. She's now a new person- hopefully the one who would put an end to Naraku's tyranny. Visions of the riverbank where she donned a new personality darted through her mind. She didn't even bother fixing up her mess of her former clothes that she left there. Besides, she was a bit happy to have gone out of that attire. She grabbed her katana tightly…she now has a new form of fighting. She no longer needed her fan. It was just brining up too many things about Naraku. And it was also a sign of her enslavement. As the shady ninja dashed through the forest treetops, she focused her thoughts on one goal: To kill Naraku.
Naraku…Kagura tried to kill you, but she failed. The ninja thought to herself, her ruby eyes filled with hatred. But now…prepare yourself…to hear the voice of death…