:Disclaimer:
Akana: HAPPY LATE 4TH OF JULY! Oh, and we don't own Inuyasha.
Leiko: Yeah. I think they understand that already.
:End Disclaimer:
Thank you, somenoewithoutaname, for being my ONLY reviewer! 'glomps' No, Yuriko's still gonna pretty much hate Sango, and yeah, Naraku's really and truly dead. 'cheers' Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter in which we actually start getting into a plot!
Chapter 3: The First Domino
POV CHANGE
"Freedom!" I said aloud, laughing to myself about what I'd gained. The only price I'd had to pay for it was a few scratches that'd healed right away. I didn't go after Naraku myself, of course, until I was sure that he was too distracted to destroy my heart and kill me. Inuyasha and the others had actually been pretty helpful, too. They were definitely stronger than I gave them credit for.
I was sitting on a hill overlooking a large lake. The hill was grassy and felt good under my back as I lay there, looking up at the clouds. "I can do anything now," I said. "Anything... but what?" When I thought about it, I was free, yes, but I was also bored out of my mind! Of course, boredom was by far better than having to serve some pompous half breed.
"You're bored?" a female voice purred from behind a tree. "You don't know what to do? You poor thing... Freedom is a heavy burden."
I jumped to my feet. "Show yourself!" I commanded, holding my fan in a position ready to attack. "Come from behind that tree!"
"As you wish." A slender cat demon who looked about 20 in human years came from behind the tree and stood facing me. "You haven't the slightest clue what to do now. You've dreamed and dreamed that this day would come, but now that it has, you can't think of anything to do to pass the time."
"What do you know about it?" I asked, keeping my eyes on her to make sure she didn't pull any tricks. She had rich brown hair that fell to her shoulders and pointed ears. What marked her as a cat were the eyes, a piercing yellow color and in the shape of a normal cat's eye. She wore priestess clothes, but it was obvious that she was no priestess. An unsheathed katana was at her side.
"I have an offer for you," the demon purred. "You must, however, come to see my sisters before I can even tell what the offer is."
"And why should I?" I asked suspiciously.
She only laughed. She snapped her fingers, and suddenly my world went dark.
When I could finally see again, I was somewhere completely different. I looked at my surroundings and saw that I was in a large cave, so large that I couldn't see the ceiling. The cave was deep underground and the entrance miles away, so the only light came from torches on the walls. At the far wall were about 5 carved steps, and on the small platform they led up to were three thrones. The middle throne was largest, and the cat demon I'd talked to moved to sit in it. On her right and left were two other demons, both in their own thrones. They weren't cats, like I'd thought, though. One was a dog demon, and the other a fox. It was obvious they weren't really sisters, they only called themselves that.
The dog demon was on the left and seemed quite bored. She had on similar clothes as the cat demon, only her hakama pants were black instead of a priestess's red. She had red eyes and pitch black hair. The only indication that she was a demon were her pointed ears, and the only indication that she was a dog was her smell.
The fox demon sat on the right and had an excited look. Her clothes were like the others' clothes, only her pants were blindingly white. Her hair was orange with a definite reddish tint, and her eyes were green. She also had pointed ears as well as a bushy red fox tail that was tipped with white.
The cat demon was the one to speak. "These are my sisters," she explained. "Sayoko to my left," she motioned towards the dog demon, "and Asaka to my right," she motioned towards the fox demon. "I am Hatsuki. We have an offer for you."
The fox, Asaka, took it from there. "You are Kagura!" she said excitedly. "We've heard all about you! You were an incarnation of that lowly demon Naraku who forced you to do as he wished. You're free now, though! Also -- "
The dog, Sayoko, took over. "What she's trying to ask is," she said in an emotionless tone, "will you help us to cause chaos for your old enemies, the half breed Inuyasha and his little band of misfits?"
I crossed my arms. "What kind of chaos?" I asked. They had been my enemies, true enough, but only because they were Naraku's enemies. Besides, they were the ones who'd defeated Naraku and ultimately set me free. Why should I help someone who wanted to hurt the ones who helped me?
"A little of this, a little of that," Hatsuki replied. "Just making their lives miserable, basically. Since you've fought them, we figured you'd have some interesting information to share with us to make it all go a little smoother. We'd be delighted if you'd help us."
"What's in it for me?" If I was going to betray someone, I wanted something in return, at least. "And what if I refuse?"
The hyper fox burst into giggles. Hatsuki grinned, and even the gloomy dog twitched the corners of her mouth up a little. "You seem to think that you have a choice," Hatsuki said calmly, her eyes flashing in the firelight. "Then again, I suppose you do. If you were to help us, you'd have to give up part of your freedom, true enough. That's better than being dead, though, wouldn't you say, Kagura?"
I clutched my fan. There was no way I was going to be slave to anyone ever again! "Dance of blades!" I cried out, sweeping my fan sideways. Wind blades rushed towards the three, but never made it far enough. Hatsuki simply swept her hand across the air in front of her, and my attack was dispelled. I gasped.
"Then you refuse?" she asked. She sighed a bit and stood up. "That's too bad. I'd really hoped that you'd help us. Alas..." Her eyes glowed black as she chanted some kind of spell. I saw grey energy start to crackle in front of her. Large waves of the energy suddenly appeared and started heading towards me. Through the crackling, I heard the demon's cruel laughter. "We are the demon trio!" Hatsuki called out. "Nobody refuses us!"
I remember staring at the energy coming towards me as I was unable to move. I remember great pain shooting through my entire body. I remember shouting something out. I remember darkness.
POV CHANGE
"I'd rather die free than live a slave!" Kagura shouted. A moment later, her shouting was replaced with screaming. The energy completely engulfed the entire cavern except where we sat. Through it all, I was laughing. I laughed even as her body disappeared, leaving nothing behind to tell the tale of the wind demoness who finally escaped the pathetic Naraku.
"That was fun!" Asaka giggled out hyperly. "Let's go cause more chaos now! It's so incredibly fun! Don't you think, Sayoko?"
"We should take our time," she replied in a monotone. "Careful planning will result in more chaos than you could imagine."
"That was fun," I agreed with Asaka, "but Sayoko is right about the planning. I've already found the girl and secretly put her on the right path. She's probably already with her brother, the monk, right now. This will cause problems for poor Sango as well as for Miroku." I was seated again with my arms resting on the chair arms. "Yuriko is possessive of her big brother. Sango will feel like her love is being taken away from her, and Miroku will find that he has to choose between his dear sister and his only true love. How will he ever decide?" I smirked. "When the first goes down, the rest will follow. Their lives will become miserable. It is absolutely perfect."
"You always come up with the best plans!" Asaka said. "Sister, you're a genius!" Sayoko simply nodded her agreement, not saying a word.
"It runs in the family," I drawled out, soaking up the spotlight as much as possible. "This is my destiny, and I'm damn good at it." Naraku does deserve some credit, however, I thought. After all, if it weren't for him, most of this plan wouldn't be able to work. The group would still be seperated. Of course, if he'd known about us, he would've tried to defeat us, too. What a fool he was. But none of that matters now. All that matters is how the group faces the challenges set upon them. I laughed aloud. "This should be quite fun. Then again... Why let the monk have the first choice? Why not let the half breed?"
Asaka squealed. "Perfect! He does need the first choice since he's the leader of the pathetic little group!"
"He's also the most disgusting," Sayoko put in, her voice and expression emotionless. "A half breed like him should die."
"That's why we're making him miserable," I replied, "as well as the filthy humans who accompany him. And who knows? He might very well die. It all depends on his choice." I smirked again. "This is all too easy. Let us see where they are right now." A crystal ball materialized in front of me. Inside the crystal ball was an image of the disgusting Inuyasha group. The ones known as Inuyasha and Kagome were bickering over something trivial. It ended with the girl telling him to sit. Once that was through, Kagome climbed onto Kirara with Sango and Shippou, and they were off.