Chapter V: Yokoshima - Naraku.
A man in white stands in a clearing. His eyes are closed, and his stance neutral. He appears to be in deep thought. Four pink stripes, two on each cheek, break up his features, and a purple crescent moon, tips joined to form a circle, graces his forehead. His finely-chiselled features show no expression. His right hand is loosely clenched, his left sleeve hanging empty. A black breastplate protects his chest, and armoured plates cover his thighs, but his clothes are formal robes, unsuited to combat. Through his sash is a Katana, two and a half feet long, and crossing it a large broadsword, fully four feet in length, four inches broad at the apex of it's diamond blade, and lacking a scabbard. These mismatched swords are at odds with the strange perfection of his features. He opens his eyes, looking into the sky, and their amber depths reflect the near-empty moon.
"Where are you..?" He thinks in silence, before walking from the clearing, moonlight glimmering among the wind-lifted strands of his silvered hair.
I suppressed a frown as I heard the droning of giant bee's wings interrupting our training session. Part of me noticed Nazuna jumping back and raising her Hano defensively. I raised a hand to signal her to relax, and instead found myself encumbered with a Saimyoushou. The evil wasp-like Youkai sat there, glaring at me, until I brought its mandibled face perilously close to my ear. Its message wormed its way into my brain, bypassing my ears, and I scowled.
"Some wishes are not meant to be realised, it seems. We are summoned." Throwing my arm up and away, I flung the Saimyoushou away, not caring if it righted itself or not as it tumbled through the air. "Damn bugs." I mentally grumbled as I turned to leave the training ground. "Follow me, Nazuna." I commanded, before walking away. The familiar walls of the castle soon enveloped me, and I felt my nose scrunching against the foul stink of rotting flesh that permeated this area.
"Kagura, why does this part smell so bad..?" She asked me, and I walked a while in silence before answering.
"It is the servants. Naraku's miasma has destroyed them all. We're the only ones it doesn't affect, and I think that's only because Naraku chooses to protect us from it." She didn't quite seem to know what to say to that. In a few more moments, though, the conversation was moot. We had arrived. I extended a hand, and slid the door open.
He stood at the open window, looking out over his lands. I knew that view by heart, so long were the hours I'd spent staring out at it from my own window, the dismal, decrepit fields and twisted trees the only haunting grounds I could find when I was trapped within his barrier. He turned, his teal eyes soft, almost friendly. I felt my back stiffen in the warning in that, and waved Nazuna in after me.
Nazuna watched as Kagura opened the door, unsure of what to expect from her 'father'. The handsome young man with the teal eyes was certainly not it, from her sister's description of the hanyou. Admittedly, his long, black hair did shine with grease, but his formal robe was clean, and well turned-out. He wasn't slovenly at all. He certainly didn't look like the incarnation of pure evil that her sister had described. He looked straight at her when he spoke.
"Nazuna. I trust your training session went well"
"Yes,
father… I managed to defeat Kagura in our first sparring match." She
tried not to sound too eager in her report, though something in her had
enjoyed defeating her sister.
"Call me Naraku. 'Father' is... so
formal. Would you say that I no longer have a need for her, now that I
have you?" The universe seemed to hold its breath as it waited for
Nazuna's reply, and Kagura prayed that Nazuna would realise that her
sister's life hung on her answer.
"Why does that matter? I like
having her here. You're not going to get rid of her, are you?" Nazuna's
voice was tinged with accusation, and Naraku paused for a moment before
answering.
"Of course not, Nazuna. Why would I do something like
that?" When he did reply, his voice was smooth, like a snake slipping
under a door. The effect was rather unsettling, but something told the
supposed human girl that it was not meant to reassure. "No matter," he
continued. "You must know that as with all my children, I have created
you for a reason. Kanna." The white girl stepped from the shadows,
appearing as though from nowhere, and held up her mirror. Light fell
onto it from nowhere, and the reflection within changed to show the
face of a boy with dog-ears and a red coat.
"This boy is Inuyasha. Do not be taken in by his appearance, he's highly dangerous. In the past, he has defeated and almost killed Kagura and Kanna. He also destroyed your brother, Goshinki. Kagura will take you to him when night falls. Your mission is to relieve him of his weapon, Tessaiga, to reduce his ability to terrorize us." Nazuna nodded. It sounded reasonable. She noticed Kagura's slight surprise, but decided to ask her about it later.
"Why nightfall?" She asked, instead. "I don't believe that I can see in the dark"
"All
of my children have some ability in that regard… however, his
companions will be more impaired, and less able to assist him.
Individually, they are less dangerous, but together they could likely
take on the world." The news was unsettling to both Nazuna and Kagura,
though the latter knew the truth of it first-hand.
"How am I supposed to succeed, then, if they are so strong?" Nazuna asked, and Naraku smiled.
"I
have given you the countenance of a past aquaintance of theirs. It
should be simple to infiltrate their camp. The only difficulty will be
in aquiring the sword. The weapons I have given you are for defense
should you be discovered. If they do discern your true nature, you need
only hold your ground until Kagura retrieves you."
That little nugget surprised the wind-user. This girl was important enough to be needed even if she failed... this got more interesting by the minute.
"When you return, I will have another task for you, so do not allow your body to become damaged." Naraku turned back to his vista, and fell silent. Kagura took her sister's arm, and steered her out of the room, recognising a dismissal.
When I judged that we were far enough from the throne room, I punched a wall. Nazuna looked at me like I'd gone crazy, but I just grinned at her.
"Sorry, it's just that everything about him drives me up the wall. We'd better get going if we want to be there by nightfall..." I walked on, plucking a feather from my hair the moment we were outside, and within moments we were airborne as I cast it to the ground.
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