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.
It was early daybreak when Koeshi slowly lifted her still heavy and drowsy eyelids. Her vision was still blurry and only saw hazy fragments of color. Koeshi then felt as soft, fuzzy object brushing against her neck. She directed her groggy eyes towards her side and noticed a sort of light beige colored fabric.
"What…is this? A pillow?" She sleepily asked, slowly getting up. She then rubbed her eyes and partially restored her normal vision. Koeshi immediately noticed what it was afterwards. She approached Sesshoumaru's boa and held it in her arms, feeling the downy material in her hands. Odd…why is it here? And…did I just use it for a pillow? Then it somehow hit her.
"No way…he wouldn't do that." Koeshi turned around, still examining the boa. "Sesshoumaru…did he put it there?" Just as about she was to put the boa down, Sesshoumaru came out from the woods, carrying a deer on his shoulder. He saw Koeshi with his boa and dropped the deer on the ground.
"Good. You found it." Sesshoumaru said, getting the boa from Koeshi. Sesshoumaru seemed so…incomplete with his boa, the ninja thought. "I seem to have misplaced it." One of the ninja's eyebrows shifted upwards. Inside Koeshi, she was thinking about how fickle and how pretentious Sesshoumaru was being. It's so obvious he put it there.
"Okay…no problem…" Koeshi said to him, a little sarcasm and disbelief in her voice. Sesshoumaru put the fluffy object back on his shoulder and dragged the deer towards the center of the campsite.
"Make a fire. We have a lot of preparation to do." Sesshoumaru ordered wintrily. Koeshi complied and looked for some tinder and two strong rocks. "Oh and while you're at it, wake up those two loafers. Sesshoumaru gestured towards Rin and Jaken, who were both still asleep. Koeshi just sighed and sat beside Rin, trying to wake her up.
"Rin, wakey-wakey. It's morning already." Koeshi said idly, tapping Rin's side. The girl tossed a bit and yawned loudly.
"(yawn) Awww! But it's so early! (sigh) Fine." Rin complained, sleepily trying to get up. Koeshi guided her so that she won't fall over. Rin slowly walked towards the center of the campsite and instantly directed her attention to the deer Sesshoumaru killed. Koeshi then stood up and got a fairly large stone.
"Mmmm…yes! Bow down to your lord, Jaken- Oouchh!" The stone then came flying at Jaken's head, instantly disrupting his dream about being Lord of All Things. He sat up and nursed his injured head. "What did you do that for?" He ranted at Koeshi. The ninja jerked her shoulders upwards, as if claiming to be innocent.
"Oh, sorry. Must've slipped from my hand!" Koeshi twittered sarcastically. "Clumsy, clumsy me." She added, then walked away. Jaken grumbled incoherent things as he fixed his clothes and put on his headpiece.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, is this breakfast?" Rin asked Sesshoumaru, poking the dead deer. And then our (not-so) favorite toad jumps into the scene again.
"Silly girl! Of course!" He screeched, sitting beside Rin. Sesshoumaru paid no mind to what they were saying and ordered Jaken to cut the dear in pieces.
"But Sesshoumaru-sama, you said you didn't eat this kind of food!" Jaken blurted out. Sesshoumaru looked at him coldly.
"What? I don't have the right to change my mind?" Sesshoumaru shot back. "Shut up and cut the deer." The toad, out of fear, willingly submitted to his master's orders and divided the deer in medium sized pieces with his staff. Koeshi the came back to the center of camp carrying some dried leaves and wood and two pieces of flint.
"I've got the tinder and the stones!" Koeshi announced to the three of them there. She the tossed the tinder into the bonfire pit and made a fire using the flint. Soon, there was a roaring fire in the middle of the camp. The pieces of deer were skewered like kebabs on twigs. Rin got one, Jaken got one, Sesshoumaru got one…but Koeshi didn't.
"Ninja-girl! Eat some meat! You can't live on berries alone, y'know!" Rin chimed, handing Koeshi one of the deer-kebabs. She looked at it and refused, doing some hand gestures shooing Rin away.
"She's right. We've got a lot to do." Sesshoumaru said, not looking at the two of them. "You need your strength." All eyes were on him instantly. Jaken was a bit surprised at Sesshoumaru's slight concern for Koeshi. Rin was, too. Koeshi couldn't say anything and got the kebab from Rin. The two of them sat with Sesshoumaru and Jaken and cooked their food.
-o-o-o-o-
When the foods were all cooked, they proceeded eating. Koeshi, however, took her food and went somewhere else to eat it. Rin and Jaken seemed to not find anything wrong, but Sesshoumaru was getting suspicious about the ninja. Koeshi had reached the same spot where she and Sesshoumaru had their little encounter last night, and the same spot where she first fought Akuha. She lowered her tattered mask and ate her breakfast. Random thoughts once again plagued her mind. Thoughts about Naraku, Sesshoumaru and what has happened these past few days.
"…This night…" She said to herself. "The nightmare will be over…" Even though they had not talked about the exact time they will strike, Sesshoumaru had somehow marked tonight as the time they will finally destroy Naraku. And more importantly, the night where she can live her life again, with Sesshoumaru. Koeshi then felt the little wounds Sesshoumaru gave her on her cheeks.
"I can't believe how close he was last night…" Koeshi managed to say in between bites. "And he was about to find out who I really am." She took a bite again and heard her usual conversation partner's voice.
"What is it with you and eating food in secluded parts of the forests?" Sesshoumaru asked, prompting Koeshi to put on her mask again.
"Why? Can't I value my privacy?" Koeshi shot back, not looking at the youkai lord. Sesshoumaru said nothing and just stood at the entrance of the clearing. He didn't sit beside Koeshi like he always does in their encounters. He just stood there, away from her.
"I…would just like to apologize." Sesshoumaru quickly said. Koeshi didn't move. She just sat there, staring at lacerations on the tree bark.
"For what?" She asked, shattering the silence. "It seems pretty unlikely of you to apologize…you are a demon lord, after all."
"I'm sorry for…wounding you." Sesshoumaru said under his breath, but Koeshi caught it clearly. She felt the little stabs on her face made by Sesshoumaru's claws. They have partly healed, and no more blood was coming out. "I…lost control."
"Everyone loses their heads sometimes." Koeshi stood up, completely ignoring her food now. "Don't sweat it out." She dusted her self and adjusted her bandana.
"I guess her loss affects me greater than I thought." Sesshoumaru looked sideways. Koeshi directed her attention to him. "It's best we head back. We have to prepare for tonight." He said turning his back and leaving for camp.
-o-o-o-o-
When they have finished having breakfast, Sesshoumaru gathered everyone in the middle of camp. They were now devising preparations for the big event.
"First we will need provisions. We need our strength at its peak level." Sesshoumaru then ordered Rin to gather supplies. Rin nodded happily and went off.
"Next, we need transportation. It's a long walk if we're going to go on foot." He commanded Jaken to summon Ah-un. The toad demon agreed immediately.
"And last, we need to figure out where he is." He looked at Koeshi. "Do you have any ideas? I can't formulate one."
"Well…yes. I fought him once in his mansion in the northern mountains." Koeshi explained. "But I doubt he'll still be there."
"Yes. I suppose he's already changed his location due to the attack." Sesshoumaru theorized. "Hmm…you go fetch some water. I'll figure out his whereabouts."
"What do you plan to do?" Koeshi questioned Sesshoumaru.
"I'm going back to the village ruins and look for clues." He responded. Koeshi nodded and went to fetch some water. Sesshoumaru then left for the Rindoh village ruins to search for leads on Naraku's whereabouts. When he arrived, the buildings are no longer burning, but bodies still lay scattered on the ground. Sesshoumaru investigated, using his sensitive sense of smell as a helpful asset. He endured the putrid stench of a mixture of human and demon blood and the smell of burnt wood. But one particular smell stood out the most…it was the foulest stench of them all.
"Naraku…" Sesshoumaru snarled. "So…he was here to witness the bloodshed." Sesshoumaru followed Naraku's scent and eventually led him to the origin of the stench. The smell directed him to Naraku's usual white baboon coat, which was splotched lightly with blood. It was also shredded and seemed like it was attacked, probably by one of the villagers. Sesshoumaru cringe slightly at the strong, foul smell, but examined the pelt closer. He noticed little bits of sand on the fur, and there were also pieces of what looked like kelp on it.
"Odd. There are bits of a Chiryô-kusa plant on the fleece…" Sesshoumaru muttered under his breath. He then sniffed something else on the fur. "…Seawater?" He took the pelt and headed back to camp.
-o-o-o-o-
Sesshoumaru had returned to camp, seeing that all the tasks he commanded were accomplished. Rin had gathered food consisting of berries, mushrooms and some of the deer-kebabs, Ah-un was waiting patiently by Jaken's side and Koeshi had gotten water, which was stored in a canteen that came with her ninja outfit.
"Good." Sesshoumaru commended the three of them. Ah-un made a happy sound at the sight of Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru just looked at the two-headed creature.
"So, any clues, Milord?" Koeshi asked, but was then stopped dead at the sight of the pelt. "Wait…that's-"
"Yes. This is Naraku's baboon pelt." Sesshoumaru finished the sentence for her. "And it's loaded with clues to his whereabouts."
"Really? All I see is a chock-full of white monkey hair!" Rin exclaimed, poking the baboon coat's blue face. "And an ugly monkey face!" Sesshoumaru sighed irritably and shared what he had found. He laid the coat on the ground and spread it out like a map.
"See that faint beige spot on the lower part?" Sesshoumaru asked. Everyone nodded, seeing the spot, too. "That is sand. So, Naraku's hideout maybe by a coastline or on an island. Also, there is a smell of seawater, so his location is definitely by an ocean."
"Wait, what are those green stuff?" Koeshi pointed at the pieces of Chiryô-kusa plant on the pelt's hem. "Looks like kelp to me."
"It is sea flora. The Chiryô-kusa plant," Sesshoumaru explained to them. "It is a very, very rare plant known for its ability to cure almost all diseases, even the hard-to-treat, fatal ones."
"Wow." Jaken said in awe. "I've heard of this plant. It is said to grow in only one place. And that place is very secluded."
"You are right, Jaken." Sesshoumaru confirmed. "This plant only grows on the north-westernmost island in the sea. An island called Kogato Isle."
"No! I thought that place was only a myth!" Koeshi suddenly blurted out.
"Many people don't go there because the journey is rough." Sesshoumaru explained. "The ocean becomes violent, and the boats that want to go to the island capsize."
"Yes, only a handful of people are able to reach it." Jaken added, donning this sort of "ghost story voice". "But most of those people never went back to tell their story. They were either killed in the journey back or in the island itself, by demons! In fact, they said only one managed to return, but he was wounded severely."
"Due to the lack of proof, people have labeled the island to be nothing more than a myth." Sesshoumaru was now finishing the story. "The story of Kogato Isle is also over-used as a ghost story, so that naughty children would behave."
"So it really does exist." Koeshi said, hearing the story behind the myth. "Naraku's also smart in a way. Making use of the local legend about Kogato Isle to scare people away. But how pathetic."
"So…when do we go to the creepy island?" Rin asked after Koeshi's ranting about Naraku.
"We set off at dusk. Make sure you gather your strength." Sesshoumaru said firmly to all of them. "Finish packing the food and after that, Rin, take a long nap. Jaken, you try to rest, too. And as for you, ninja, practice your combat moves." He finished. Koeshi had never seen Sesshoumaru so worked up and eager like this. His resentment must've been larger than she had thought. She went to the clearing to do what his Lordship told her. Sesshoumaru looked up into the morning sky with the greatest of vengeance, as he silently vowed over and over to avenge the one he loved. The one he lost.