Summary: Kagura weighs the pros and cons of dedication. Spoilers for chapters 367-368 of the manga.
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Knot Theory
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Kagura thinks that some things always sound better in principle. Loyalty is one of them.
Granted, Naraku's expectations upon that subject are probably the exception to the rule. Not that it makes any difference, in her opinion. To be loyal comes down, more-or-less, to blind obedience of idiots who are rarely ever sure of what they want. Forgo your own thought process, so that commitment and so-called duty snake along and take hold like ropes.
Until a thousand different knots hold you immobile, while a well-placed one closes about your throat.
Her fan unfurls in the direction of a set of confused, fearful brown eyes. Their owner stumbles awkwardly backward, across rocky terrain. Moments ago, he'd probably still thought of her as a companion in disloyalty.
She tries to focus on nothing but the Shikon shard ingrained his back; reminds herself that she is beholden to nobody and bound by nothing. Except she knows that it's not true, because always, always, she has been wrong.
Behind them, she feels Hakudoushi smile in that infuriating way of his, knows that he is throwing that same plethora of ropes at her feet. There they lie, lifelines in disguise. Choose carefully, unwillingly, and she might elude entanglement just a little while longer. But suddenly, she is tired of it all.
A turning of the fan, and Kagura completes the first knot herself.
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