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/N: I have received a review for chapter 9, where Naraku destroys Rindoh Village, and the author is asking why Naraku had to destroy the town. The answer is simple: to make Koeshi's anger flare up even more and is slowly reeling her into his trap. Since Koeshi had grown close to Chiba and Yosaku, Naraku took advantage of that and used it as an asset to successfully ensnare Koeshi. This answer could be found at the start of chapter 8. And why does Naraku want to trap Koeshi? Isn't the scenario where Naraku talks with Kanna an obvious giveaway?
The four of them left the village ruins and camped out in a nearby forest, the same one where she first fought Akuha. Almost invisible rain clouds have blocked out the stars and moon, and were now rancorously looming over the land. The night has grown deep, and Rin and Jaken have dozed off. Sesshoumaru was doing nothing, as Koeshi was up in a tree. They have chosen a spot where the trees covered the clearing, so that the rain will not drench them all wet. Koeshi sat on a tree branch, away from her companions. She sulked bitterly at the loss of her friends, and not to mention the lives of many innocent people. Why did Naraku have to take the lives of many blameless villagers?
"Damn." Koeshi cursed, as salty pearls of tears trickled down the sides of her face. The ninja had her legs curled and held her knees close to her face. "…I will take back all that was taken from me…" She said, sobbing. Koeshi's grip on her legs tightened, as she allowed her welling tears to gush out of her eyes. She then got down from the tree and wandered off into the depths of the forest. Sesshoumaru noticed the tree branch was already uninhabited. He saw Koeshi's dark silhouette going deeper into the forest and decided to follow it.
-o-o-o-o-
Koeshi had stopped in the very same spot where she had first met and rescued Chiba. She noticed that the cuts on the trees from her sword and Akuha's weapons were still there. Koeshi traced the tree's wounds with one finger, trailing it down the cuts. She closed her ruby-red eyes and bit her lip in mixed sorrow and resentment.
"They didn't get involved in anything! Why did you kill them, you bastard?" Koeshi's angry cries echoed in the hollow clearing. She curled both hands into rock-hard fists and repeatedly scourged the trunk with fierce punches. Koeshi stopped after she realized that both of her hands now have suffered, and that small droplets of blood have occurred on her knuckles. She fell on her knees and continued to cry.
"Crying won't solve your problems. You have to fight back." Sesshoumaru's voice resonated as he entered the clearing. "You can't just sulk forever." He added.
"What do you care?" Koeshi shot back angrily. "You don't know how hard it is to lose someone so dear!" She snarled, thoughts now completely spaced out. Just then, with lighting fast actions, the youkai lord was now very near to Koeshi, only mere inches away from the ninja's face. He squeezed Koeshi's face in his only hand and looked at her with dark, golden eyes.
"How dare you say that." Sesshoumaru said calmly, but offended. "You don't know how much suffering I kept inside of me when Kagura died." Koeshi couldn't say anything. She never knew that Sesshoumaru felt this much turmoil inside of him when she disappeared. "The loneliness and longing that built up inside…it grew so huge that it pained me more than any of the wounds I got in battle. Even the ones that nearly cost me my life." Sesshoumaru's sharp claws dug slowly into Koeshi's soft, mask-covered skin. The ninja winced in piercing pain, as the talons punctured her face. But when the first sign of blood seeped out from the wounds, Sesshoumaru withdrew his hand quickly from Koeshi's face. He turned his back on her and looked at his blood-stained hand.
"Even in your blood." Sesshoumaru said, still examining his hand. "I can feel her."
"Wh-What?" Koeshi asked, as rivulets of blood thickly dribbled down her face. Just then, Sesshoumaru did something Koeshi never expected. He turned his attention back to her and held her body close to his!
"M-Milord…" Koeshi muttered nervously, as Sesshoumaru grasped Koeshi tightly in his warm embrace. Rain then started to fall down on the earth. Koeshi was engulfed in shock, but all she could think of was to savor the moment. She moved her hands up and returned Sesshoumaru's embrace. She clutched her arms around Sesshoumaru's neck, as the demon lord fondly stroked Koeshi's bandana-sheltered head. Sesshoumaru then felt a strangely familiar warmth moving inside of him.
"Kagura…" Sesshoumaru could only see Koeshi as Kagura and kept on calling her by that name. "Kagura…why did you leave…?" Rain poured down angrily over the land, completely drenching the two of them wet. Koeshi's non-existent heart then felt a little dismayed. She rested her head on Sesshoumaru's chest, the blood from her cheeks staining Sesshoumaru's white clothes.
"…No, Milord…" Koeshi said dismally, red eyes rendered blank. "Why do you call me that?"
"You…you resemble her so well." Sesshoumaru muttered, a tone of longing in his voice. But suddenly, he pushed Koeshi back. Koeshi was startled at the sudden turn of events. "I'm sorry."
"What's wrong, Milord…" Koeshi asked, a little disappointed. Why did he have to end it so soon? Sesshoumaru approached her and positioned his finger just above Koeshi's mask. Koeshi's eyes filled up with fear as she watched Sesshoumaru trying to uncover her real identity. He was getting ready to rip off the mask, but instead he withdrew his hand and went off back to camp. Koeshi sighed in relief under her mask.
"What am I thinking? You're no Kagura. She's dead." He said, making his way out of the clearing. "It's getting late. Go to sleep. We have a lot to do tomorrow." With that, he disappeared into the darkness. Koeshi just stood there, dumbfounded at what has happened. A weird, tingling sensation- probably out of shock, surged through her like an electric impulse. She was just saddened that the moment didn't last for long.
-o-o-o-o-
Koeshi went back to the campsite, dripping wet from the rain. Luckily, the spot where they set up camp was dry because of the trees that blocked out the rain. She found a nice comfortable place by a tree and chose to sleep there for the night. But she was unaware that someone was watching her sleep. The stranger waited until Koeshi was soundly sleeping, and then went towards the sleeping ninja. He removed his soft boa off his shoulder and carefully put it under the sleeping ninja's head, serving as a pillow. He stood up and looked at Koeshi, a glint subtly sparkling in his eyes.
"Sweet dreams." Sesshoumaru whispered, as he went off to sleep, readying for a very busy, not to mention dangerous day ahead.