Chapter 31: What is a heart?
The vicious sound of the wind howling in her ears was the only thing drowning out the deafening sound of the blood rushing through her veins. Her senses heightened to the point of pain as she sped like a bold of lightning from the castle of her master and oppressor to the waiting arms of destiny.
Even as she cut through the sky the events of the last hour were spinning in her mind in a never ending whirlwind of disbelief and confusion. She paid no mind to the air as it parted obediently for her regardless of its fickle nature, of how her hair was loosened and kimono fluttered in tatters behind her, or how the blood on her face and body itched as it dried. She had a one track mind that only told her to return to her secret place, where she prayed to every Kami her wolf prince would be waiting for her.
Koga was in fact there and was intending on just heading out to go back to his pack when he scented blood on the wind. His heart skipped a beat when he recognized that the smell belonged to Kagura. Frantically turning his nose to the air he attempted to locate the direction it was coming from only to realize that his quarry was barreling her way towards him. His anxiety escalated when she nearly made a crater in the ground as she landed and rushed at him like she'd gone mad. Grabbing her by the shoulders he tried to figure out what the hell was going on. The wolf realized that she was pale and aside from her kimono being destroyed she was shaking, covered in blood, and looked like she was in shock.
"Kagura! What happened? Why are you covered in blood?" he asked.
When she looked up at him and was still speechless he shook her slightly and grabbed her face in his hands.
"Hey! Focus on me, look at me, and breathe! Breathe…" Koga said and started to take deep breaths hoping that she'd catch on and do it too.
Luckily she did and soon the wind demoness was able to focus on breathing and listening to the calming voice of her lover as he told her that everything was ok. When she seemed like she'd finally taken enough steps from hysteria Koga decided to ask her again.
"Ok mate, please tell me what's going on? What happened?" he asked calmly while looking deep into her eyes.
The wind witch reached up her hands and took his palm from her cheek and laid it upon her bloodied chest. His eyes widened to unbelievable proportions when he felt the steady beat of a heart within. Leaning down he placed his ear upon her breast in disbelief.
Still very confused about what was going on Koga stood up and straight, and taking her hand he led her to the spring and disrobed himself before disrobing her. Once they were bare he picked her up and walked into the water. The wolf began the tedious task of rinsing away the caked on blood that stained her ivory skin. His mind was turning with scenarios of how it happened but thankfully he had the sense to wait for the answer. In his mind he was giving her time to get over her shock and soothing her the best he knew how by taking care of her. After a while his patience paid off.
"My heart…he gave it back to me." She whispered.
Not saying anything he merely held her close waiting for her to continue, and continue she did.
"It all happened so fast…"she said as she began to recount the events that led to this moment.
*FLASHBACK*
She was just waking up when she felt the approach of Saimyosho to her barrier. Rolling her eyes she quickly arose from the warm arms of her wolf lover, dressed, and went outside her barrier to meet the bug before it intruded upon her sanctuary. When she received the very clipped and irritated message from Naraku to return to the castle she was very weary. An angry Naraku was the most dangerous Naraku that existed.
She returned only to tell Koga she had to go right away and wasn't sure what it was all about so she didn't know if she'd be back any time soon. He told her he'd wait a while before heading to the pack and with a quick kiss she was off. Before heading straight to the sitting room she made sure to cloak herself with the wretched miasma that permeated around the castle grounds. Once she was sure she smelled like she should Kagura headed to the usual meeting place.
Arriving in the destroyed sitting room a sudden sense of foreboding creeped into her bones. There was something different about this meeting that had her on edge. Naraku was sitting amidst the destroyed room looking composed but the malicious aura surrounding him gave away his true disposition. It looked like they'd all arrived at about the same time because out of nowhere Kanna, Hakudoshi and Kohaku appeared in the room.
After a quick speech Naraku turned to look at her. "Kagura," he said. "I believe that the wolf prince is still harboring the fiercest hate towards you. It would only be fitting that you be the one to remove his shards and draw him into our final confrontation. It is absolutely essential that he be there so your task is to take the shards from him by any means necessary and make sure that he knows the final battle is near. No doubt he will seek it to kill you and restore the honor of his dead pack. Can I trust you with this task?"
"Consider it done." Kagura said with a flick of her fan.
Tilting his head, Naraku looked at her with a raised brow. "My, my. Kagura, you've been eerily obedient lately. What, pray tell, has caused this change in attitude?" he continued on as he regarded her with his calculating gaze.
Nervousness blossomed within her gut but she remained stoic on the outside refusing to rise to his bait.
"I've realized that there's no point in fighting against my fate. I have abandoned my hopes for freedom because it's all a lie. I'll never be free of you, so why fight? It's futile. I may be stubborn, but I am no fool. My purpose is simple. I live as a deathless slave, the mighty wind bound in flesh, to do your bidding until the end of time." Never before was she any more honest about her place in life. She surprised herself with the bitterness that was coated all over her statement.
She however neglected to say that she'd finally found a hope worth living for at long last. It was her little secret, but she was smart enough to allow the feelings of bitterness and anger from her current station in life wallow out of her aura and taint the air around her. It was a perfect barrier to the inner hope that this nightmare would soon end.
"Oh you poor dear. My, my but do you sound so defeated. Whatever am I to do? If that is truly how you feel, how can I trust you to fully carry out my wishes to your maximum potential? Never did I believe that you'd become a slave to your own misery! It may have indeed been my own fault you see. However, I believe I may have just the thing to…encourage you."
It was a mere millisecond later he appeared directly in front of her, staring down at her with a cruel smile. It took a few seconds for the reality of the situation to sink in, but even so she was in a state of mild shock. She slowly looked down and realized that Naraku's hand was deeply incased within her chest.
"I must rekindle that fire within you, my little wind witch, for it will not do to have your resolve weakened. I need you to be at your absolute best, and it never occurred to me that the prospect of death was something that is completely negligible to one such as yourself. I took your heart so you wouldn't die. So regardless of your damage, you would always live on. I'll amend that decision then, and let you hold onto it from now on. But make no mistake Kagura, if you so much as think of betraying me it will be the last thing you'll ever do. Alternatively, if you do obey me, then I will give you what you've been wanting since I created you…your absolute freedom. Obey, and I will set you free." The dark hanyo said as he slowly withdrew his hand from her chest.
It took a few second for the pain to truly set in, but once it started, there was no ignoring it. An ear piercing scream was wrenched from her gut as the sensations of her heart reattaching itself within her began. She fell to the floor boneless and in utter agony. Never before in her life had she felt pain this way. Blood poured out of her chest and her mouth as she thrashed around on the wooden floors oblivious of the slight shifting of the rooms' occupants. Unnoticed was the slight movements belaying discomfort of those surrounding her. The orders issued to them fell on deaf ears and another momentous moment was glossed over completely by the dark spots clouding her vision. Just before she could lose consciousness the pain began to recede.
Slowly she could feel the wound closing up, but more than that she could feel the steady thumping coming from within her. She lay there, still and unmoving, until she felt a large hand cradle the back of her head as another lifted her and leaned her on a strong hard chest.
Distantly she realized that something must've happened while she was out of it because Kohaku looked just as shook up as she felt and Hakudoshi stood somewhat in a guarded posture slightly shielding an impassive but discomforted Kanna. That meant only one other being could be possibly holding her up, and she didn't have the strength to fight against it. Her ink black locks had come undone in her distress and blocked out a good portion of her vision but she knew it was Naraku even if she couldn't see him. A lone hand moved all of it to one side exposing her venerable neck, and another tore open the rest of her kimono baring her breasts to all present. Placing his hand directly in the center of her bosom he spoke softly into her ear.
"Look at what we have here, my little witch. You're all healed already. What power I gifted you upon your birth. I only took it away to teach you a lesson. I believe that you've finally learned it now. Don't mock my gift, child, and like I said, freedom will be yours. No more being my puppet, no more being my servant. You will be your own master. But first you need to do things for me. Bring me my shards that the wolf has, draw him into our finale, and bring him down when the time comes. You'll do that for me, won't you?"
Still reeling from her ordeal Kagura slowly nodded her head in affirmation as she felt all of her strength returning to her. He helped her to her feet, strangely, and looked to the rest of those in the room.
"I expect you all to complete your missions by morning. We will reconvene here once more at noon tomorrow and begin the next phase of my ascension. Dismissed."
By the time he was finished with his statement Kagura felt the power of the wind fill her with an unquenchable fire, but so sudden was everything that she found herself in a state of shock.
Unable to move on her own, she felt her chin be lifted to stare into the face of her handsomely evil master and maker.
"Time for you to go. Don't fail me Kagura. Now, fly."
Fly she did. Like a bat out of hell. She stumbled at first, but soon her feet gained momentum and the next thing she knew she was airborne and on her way to him.
*Flashback End*
"That's insane, Kagura. You know he won't let you go. He's a lying bastard and there must be some kind of dirty trick he's playing." Koga said quietly after a few moments. He didn't move, just let her sit sedately on his lap.
"Yes, I know exactly how he works. He gives you hope and lets it destroy you. The thing is, he's desperate. From what he said he's had a plan fall apart because of…well, someone. He didn't say who actually. Regardless I've never seen him restless. He always has contingencies in place. Never has he ever been unprepared for something Koga. Not in all of the time I've lived. Whatever happened must have destroyed everything he had built up to this time. He's in a rush to collect the remaining shards." Turning her head to look at Koga she continued. "He's so desperate he made a mistake. One that I will take every advantage of. Naraku thinks that I'll just follow his orders blindly just because he's given me back what was mine to begin with, and he is oh so very wrong…" she said with a laugh. "Now there is absolutely nothing tethering me to him. Nothing! He can't hold it against me, and when the time is right I will gut him."
The conviction in her eyes was solid and the wolf prince knew that she meant every word she said. He felt like a fool for thinking she'd actually fall for Naraku's pathetic rouse. Then again it was a close call in judgement because of how lost she was when she came to him.
'Looks like she still the rebellious wind.' He thought to himself.
"Well, seems like I don't have a choice but to do everything I can to help my intended defeat that monster." Koga said and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Looks like our own plan will be made a lot easier actually. I should go and let the mutt and company know what that bastard is planning."
"Do they know about…us?" Kagura said hesitantly.
"They only know that I've found a female worthy of being my mate. I can't tell 'em it's you yet. I don't want to risk them giving anything away when we fight that bastard hanyo. They'd ruin our future by their behavior 'cause you know as well as I do that Naraku isn't a complete idiot. He'd notice if they weren't targeting you as an enemy. Once we kill him though, I think I'll be able to tell them."
"What do mean you think?" she said, her feelings already about to take a dive into self-doubt.
"Kagura, I don't know if I'll be able to stop myself from claiming you the second that asshole is made into a corpse. So maybe if I'm not too hard after all that exhilarating sparring we'll be doing I'll tell them before I throw you over my shoulder and take you to the nearest cave." He said with a devilish smirk.
The newly returned heart began to flutter rapidly within her chest when she understood the 'why'. As a matter of fact, another more southern organ, began to flutter and clench beneath the water's surface.
"I wonder…" Kagura started, "do you think it'll feel different…" she continued as she repositioned herself to straddle him beneath the water, "now that I have a heart?" she finished as she kissed her lover passionately on the lips. The wind demoness felt him stir to life against her feminine folds and began to rock steadily a top of him, teasing him, and relishing in the rapid beating of her own heart. Only when he was rock hard and panting did she allow him entrance and it felt like she was going to die of overstimulation.
Ever since she got her heart back every feeling was tripled in intensity, and it was definitely working in her favor right now. She felt every single inch as it slid deeply within her and there was nothing she could do to hold back her moans. She took him slowly, steadily, and with a hunger that he wasn't expecting but deeply appreciated. His large hands slid over her sensitized flesh and increased her pleasure to the point of pain. Her heart hammered within her chest at such a frenzied tempo that she distantly wondered if she'd die from this, and then welcomed such a death with open arms. What a wonderful way to go.
Suddenly the wolf beneath her grabbed a hold of her hips and began to thrust almost violently into her, and that's all it took for her to experience what she would consider the greatest orgasm of her entire life. She literally saw white spots she was so close to passing out from the intensity of such an event. Leaning into Koga she let her body simply slump over him. None of their other bouts had exhausted her quite as thoroughly as this.
"Koga…I…can't move." She panted out.
Having just released a massive load inside of her he honestly couldn't either. So they both just sat idly until they'd regained their bearings.
"So, was it better?" the wolf couldn't stop himself from asking.
"I honestly thought I was going to die. It felt like my heart was going to explode from within me." She answered.
"Yea, it's always that way for me." He said as he slid his now flaccid length out of her. Then kissing her softly he gave them both a quick splash to clean off the sweat, then hoisted her up and out of the water heading into their little tent.
"I think having my heart is making me feel things more intensely." She said as he carried her.
"No, this is what it always should feel like, koi. You're just not used to it." He replied, standing her up to briefly pat them dry with a large cloth. She could do it herself, but right now, she chose to just let him do it. Once they were both dry he picked her back up and went inside of the tent. Laying her down on the furs he made sure she was nice and tucked in before standing back up.
He left for only a moment to gather his clothes and what was left of her kimono, and promptly got dressed once he was back inside. After donning all of his furs Koga leaned over and plucked out the two shards he had in his calves. Handing them over to the drowsy wind demoness he smirked when she refused to take them, and instead pouted up at him. It was safe to assume she finally realized he was getting ready to make way.
"Don't give me that look, mate. We're finally almost finished with this whole mess, and the sooner I tell Kagome and her pack about this the sooner we get to have our happy ending. Besides, I have to return to my pack. We'll see each other again soon, I swear it. For now, get some rest. You've earned it." He teased.
Lifting her chin she closed her eyes and pointed her nose up. "Fine, be gone wolf boy. But first put those in the little jar that was in my kimono sleeve. It's be spelled so that no one will sense the jewels inside. I'm going to rest now, but not because you told me to. Only because I'm exhausted."
Chuckling Koga said, "Sure. I'll see you soon my love." Leaving a small kiss at the crown of her head he gave her one last roguish smile before taking his leave.
She knew he'd gone when a gust of wind blew at the tent. Reveling in the knowledge that the end of her living nightmare was soon approaching a small smile played about her face as she allowed the blissful oblivion of sleep to finally take hold of her.