W00t! Chapter 29! Guess what? Something else big is about to happen! So many big things! So many twists! The twisted horror! MWAHAHAHA
I'm okay. Really.
Chapter 29: Original Plan
The summers all in bloom, the summer's ending soon
It's all right
And it's nice not to be so alone
But I hold onto secrets
In white houses…
Sesshomaru opened his eyes slightly. Who was singing?
Maybe I'm a little bit over my head
I come undone at the things he said
And he's so funny in his bright red shirt
We were all in love, and we all got hurt…
He saw Hanako hanging up Rin's clothes to dry, singing a happy little tune. The sun was in the middle of the sky. He sat up slowly, feeling a bit confused. When he had closed his eyes, it had been close to dawn. He had only intended to sleep for a few moments. He turned his sights to Hanako. There she goes, singing again… he thought. But this song was different. He was used to hearing her sing songs that were high-pitched and beautiful, like one would hear in a European church of some sort, but this one was more sweet sounding. Her voice was lower, and her voice had growing power and a sort of edge. He listened to the words:
I sneak into his car's back leather seat
The smell of gasoline in the summer heat
Boy we're going way to fast…
It's all too sweet to last…
He raised an eyebrow. What was she singing about? Did she even notice that he was awake?
It's all right
And I put myself in his hands
But I hold onto secrets
In white houses
Love, or something ignites in my veins
And I pray in never fades
In white houses
His eyes widened. Did she even know what she was singing about?
My first time
Hard to explain
Rush of blood, oh,
And a little bit of pain…
On a cloudy-
"Hanako!" he shouted. He did not want her to be singing any more obscene words. She turned around and smiled at him.
"Lord Sesshomaru! You finally woke up!" She ran to him, leaving Rin's clothes hanging over a branch, blowing in the wind. She knelt down in front of him to greet him.
"What were you singing?" he asked.
She blinked. "A song that I learned from Kagome's CD player."
CD player? "Are you aware of what that song is saying?" he asked.
She stared at him with an innocent face. She cocked her head to one side, thinking about the lyrics. He gaped at her. She obviously didn't get it.
"I do not want you muttering such inappropriate things," he ordered her. She frowned.
"Inappropriate?" She thought about this for long moments. "You mean like the car and the gasoline? I didn't know what those were… are they bad?"
He rolled his eyes. He didn't know what they were either, nor did he care. But she didn't get it. "Just don't sing that song anymore."
"Okay…" she said sadly. "But I taught it to Rin. Is that bad?" She gave him an innocent look.
He gaped at her. How could she be so dense?
Chika walked into the clearing. She eyed Sesshomaru with slight annoyance. He returned her glare.
"Look who finally decided to wake up," she said. She bowed to mock Hanako. "Happy Afternoon, or what's left of it anyway."
Sesshomaru looked at her again. "Afternoon you say?"
Hanako nodded. "It'll be dark soon."
Sesshomaru became slightly angered by this. Everyone had been in this one spot the whole day, and hadn't even bothered to wake him up. The entire day had been wasted away while he slept. What would these people do without him?
He stood up and looked around. There was distant thunder to his left, and he turned to it. Another thunderstorm was coming, as it appeared.
"Hanako, did you hang up any more clothes anywhere else?"
She nodded. "Over on the other side of the river."
"Then you and Chika go and get them. It is going to rain."
Hanako and Chika shot each other an irked glance. Hanako had always felt inferior to her, and Chika had never liked how she sucked up to Sesshomaru. They had never gotten along very well. Hanako nodded finally. "'Kay…"
They set off to the other side of the river. Hanako stared down at her feet and Chika looked up at the sky.
"I like it when it rains," Hanako said, trying to get along with her, "It's pretty."
"I like fire. It burns things and people die."
Hanako gave up right then and there.
(…)
Kagura stood in the middle of the woods, unsure of what to do next. She did not want to have to fulfill this order she was given by Naraku. Then again, she did not to want to fulfill any of his orders anymore.
But this was different. Killing Hanako was different. Wouldn't that ruin all of his plans? Why did he want her to kill her? And why in that specific place?
He had always had big plans for her. She remembered before he had gotten rid of her…
They walked through a beautiful cherry blossom forest, the petals blowing everywhere, dancing and gliding along the wind. Hanako was completely captivated by the way they moved, and Kagura wore a questionable expression. One would not be able to decipher if it was content or frustrated.
"How pretty," Hanako said, catching one in her hand. She danced around the wind in her deep pink kimono. She placed a flower behind her ear. She got another one and offered it to Kagura.
"I don't wear flowers," she said. Hanako shrugged and let the flower blow away.
"Kagura-san seems sad today," Hanako said, "Is Master being a bother again?"
Kagura eyed her for a few moments and then answered. "How do you know about that?"
"How can one not know? This one can always tell when Kagura-san is upset. It shows all over Kagura-san's face." She nodded and smiled. "But this one does not understand why. Master gives Kagura-san and this one protection and promises us a future of power and happiness. Does Kagura-san not want to obey?"
Kagura nodded reluctantly, not really understanding why she was talking to a foolish girl that talked like a three-year-old. She knew nothing of the world, jut like a child. Naraku had miscalculated something in her resurrection and she lost all memories of her previous life before death. Hanako also did not know that it was only she who would have a life of happiness. That's the way it was with all of Naraku's pawns: whenever a new one was born, the previous ones were forgotten and tossed aside, just as Kagura had been. And now Hanako was the center of Naraku's attention, and Hanako gave him full respect and all of her affection.
"Do not worry, Kagura-san" Hanako said, gathering flower petals in her hand. The wind blew both of their hair all in their faces. "When this one becomes all powerful like Master says this one will be, this one will let Kagura-san free…" She opened her hands and let the petals flow into the wind. "Just like these flowers, Kagura-san will fly."
Kagura stared blankly for a few moments. She was not convinced that Hanako would betray her maker.
But its not like she ever had the chance to. Naraku betrayed her first.
Kagura sighed as she sensed Hanako's aura close by. It should not bother her at all to kill her. But some part of her held on to that promise. What Naraku said he saw her do gave her hope that maybe Hanako could set her free.
But if she could do the things that she was supposed to be able to do, which was the main reason why Naraku had resurrected her in the first place, why did he order her to kill her? It didn't make sense.
Over in the distance Hanako was taking down clothes from tree branches. Accompanying her was another demon with short black her, and bold lavender eyes that she could see even from the great distance. Damn, she thought, there is someone else with her… that will make this job harder… She peered around her. Sesshomaru was sitting just across the river. She backed away from the clearing, wondering why he hadn't sensed her yet. She peered at him again. He was looking straight in that direction.
Then he does sense me…? She thought, crouching deeper into a bush. She waited for him to move closer. He didn't.
She squinted at him. He was staring this way for sure, but he was not looking at her. His eyes were locked on Hanako.
He's… he's captivated by her… that's why he hasn't sensed me…
So it was true. Naraku's secondary plan was working on Sesshomaru. Maybe that's why he wanted Hanako dead, so Sesshomaru would be in mourning. Then Naraku would eliminate him while he was least expecting it. That made a little more sense, but it still was not the smartest thing to do in her opinion.
She stayed crouched in the bush for long moments. At last he walked away from his post, and disappeared into the distance. No one else remained close, except for Hanako and that other demon girl. Kagura stood. She knew what she had to do to get to Hanako.
If she just went and grabbed her, she would scream and then Sesshomaru would come running; judging by the way he was looking at her earlier. Naraku had ordered not to stir up too much trouble. She had to knock Hanako unconscious and somehow destroy that other girl before she could make a sound. She reached into her pocket. Poison Powder. Perfect.
She made her way around the bushes until she was close enough to Hanako, who was getting a blanket uncaught from a branch. She reached into the pouch of poison powder and threw it toward her. It glittered and danced upon the air. Hanako stared ay it, confused why random glitter was suddenly surrounding her. She didn't have time to think about it. Before she knew it, she was on the ground, unable to move. She closed her eyes. Her mind went blank and was spinning. She passed out.
Chika turned around from folding one of Rin's kimonos. "Hanako? Why did you just fall over?" She came toward her. "What? Did you forget to hydrate yourself again?" She stared closer. Hanako did not move.
"Ha ha. Very funny. I'm laughing so hard that I can't breathe. You can get up now."
She still didn't move.
"I said get up. I aint doing all this by myself."
Once more, she didn't move.
"…Are you okay?" she shook her. "Please. Stop it now. You know if anything happens to you Lord Sesshomaru will hit me again." She shook her harder. "C'mon! Breathe! Talk! Do something!" She turned around to call Sesshomaru for help. Her eyes widened.
A figure of a woman stood before her. She raised her fan and swung it at her. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out.
The blades had already slit her throat. Her neck throbbed with pain. She was unable to move, her entire throat on fire. She stared once more at the figure with fear and anger.
She swung her fan again. Blades cut her body to many pieces. Dark red blood stained the ground.
Kagura gazed at Hanako, asleep on the ground. With the amount of poison that she inhaled, she most likely wouldn't awaken for a while. She would be asleep while she died.
She scooped her lifeless body up and flew off into the sky. She had been told to drown her in a pond. A certain pond with a legend attached to it: that if someone hung their wish on a parchment paper that it would come true. It didn't sound very evil. She flew onward, going faster and faster, knocking Hanako's white hair out of her face.
She came above the very pond, and lowered herself to the ground. She gazed at it.
An evil aura surrounded it. The sky was a deathly gray, and a freezing wind blew ripples into the almost black water of the pond. She looked in the water. She gasped.
The reflection revealed that she was holding a corpse in her arms, the skin blue, it barely having any hair. She dropped Hanako to the ground. When she looked at Hanako now, she didn't look any different. She caught her breath. Someone came up behind her.
"Very nice, Kagura," Naraku said while carrying a chain, looking at Hanako on the ground, "You have done well."
"Why are you here?" Kagura asked, "You said for me to do this myself."
"I changed my mind. I would like to do the deed," Naraku said while cackling under his breath. He took the chain and wrapped it around her. He scooped her up and held her for a few moments, gazing at her face.
"It has been a while since I've seen you up close," he said while smirking, "You look just as you did then." He stood up, coming closer to the water. The reflection showed him holding the same corpse. Kagura's eyes widened.
"Naraku!" she shouted, the nervousness showing in her voice, "Why does it do that?" She came closer to the reflection, to see if it was an illusion.
"Relax, Kagura," Naraku said calmly, "this is where she died." He smirked at the reflection. "The darkened water reveals the truth. This is what she looked like when I first retrieved her from these waters. A drowned corpse. For that is what she is."
Kagura's eyes widened more.
Naraku looked closer at Hanako. Her white flesh began to quiver slightly and her eyes flew open. She looked around, her mind still spinning with inhaled poison.
"Well Kagura," Naraku said, not sounding too concerned, "Looks like you didn't knock her out quite as well as you thought. The aura of what happened here has awoken you, hasn't it?" Hanako stared at Naraku with fear.
"Wh-who are you? How did I get here? Where is my lord?"
Naraku laughed at her. "It is all right, child" he said, trying to sound soothing but failed at the attempt. He walked closer the water. "Go back to sleep and this won't hurt you."
He knelt down and held her close to the water. Hanako regained more consciousness.
"Wh-why am I in chains? What will hurt me if I stay awake? Who are you? I want to go home!" She struggled in his arms to get away from him. She tried to break the chains but nothing worked. "Let me go!" she shouted at him. He cackled again.
"Why would I do that? So you can go running into the many comforts of your Lord Sesshomaru?"
"What do you want with me?" she asked him, her voice quivering as she realized where she was.
This place. This was where she and Rin had hung up their wishes on the willow tree branches. This was the place where she had seen the apparition in the pond and felt the terrors of bad events that happened here so long ago. She looked at the black water.
The same terrifying corpse stared back. The one with holes for eyes, and blue skin and bald spots where hair had been pulled from. She shrieked and clung to Naraku. Her heart beat halfway out of her chest. Naraku could feel it against his body.
"Part of you still remembers, doesn't it? Part of you recalls everything. But that part of you cant always be awoken, can it?"
Hanako stared at him. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"You don't remember me though, do you? I am insulted." He looked away from her. "How terrible it is for you not to even remember your own father, so to speak…"
"Father?" she questioned. She was totally confused. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered were those sparkly things glistening around her.
It hit her right then and there. She had been poisoned and taken here. She screamed. This was real. She was in real trouble. Lord Sesshomaru! Her mind begged for him to come.
Naraku lowered her into the water. Hanako struggled so hard to break free, but all attempts were futile. She stared at the corpse looking back at her. It stared at her with dark eyes of envy. It wanted her to die with it. She screamed again.
The freezing water surrounded her body, nearly knocking her senseless. She screamed and screamed, but no one would come. She struggled her arms free from the chains and swam frantically around the water. It got in her nose and eyes, and her skin was gray like the water was black.
White, frail hands clung to the sides of the pond in hopes to pull herself out. Naraku stomped on her fingers. She screamed and pulled them away. The weight of the chains pulled her downward.
Black water surrounded her vision. She sunk deeper and deeper. Her hands were numb and her arms were tired and her legs were tied down with chains. There was no hope. This was how she would die. Water filled her lungs.
Either her vision was gone, or it was too dark to see. Her paralyzed body lay on the floor of the pond being crushed by the weight of the water. So much pressure was on her chest and she could not bare it.
Death tempted to take her for a few moments. She did not let it.
Something hit her mind hard and fast: this had all happened before.
It was so strange, she felt as if she had drowned before. The feeling was so familiar. She felt the weeds in the water entwine with her body. She became tangled.
No… she thought fearfully, I don't want to die! Not now! Someone, please help! Her mind ran in circles and she squirmed against the rocky bottom of the pond. Water weight slammed against her chest. She felt something inside of her burst. That was it.
Her mind had its few last thoughts: Lord Sesshomaru… you never came to get me…
She inhaled the water. Something else inside her burst. Her heart stopped beating. The freezing water enveloped her body as her life slipped away…
Naraku stood unsatisfied near the water. "Don't tell me she actually died…" he growled.
Kagura raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that what you wanted?"
"No, not exactly." He dipped his fingers into the water. "Sesshomaru's near-death experience activated her power to heal," he said slowly, gazing into the black water, "I was sure that her own near-death experience would reawaken the power I wanted her to have."
"Well, obviously not," Kagura said, "You just murdered her."
"Do not speak so soon," Naraku said, backing away behind trees, "We will wait longer. And we will watch."