Did I hear correctly?
She was still crying; dabbing at her eyes with her kimono sleeve.
"I mean, can I? Leave? Just for a while," she finished in a rush after noticing the state of his face. Without warning, he had felt his jaw clench.
Just for a while…
Little more than a second had passed before he relayed his answer. "By all means."
"You want me to leave?" The bird's beak was gaping open in confusion.
"Yes." The spider clicked his jaws together. "That's exactly it. If you are not happy with my household— " He purposefully let the sentence hang. Never did he feel such a strong urge towards Mizoshi before. The overwhelming urge for violence.
This wench dares defy me?
"No! No, Naraku!" Pitifully, she sank to her knees—feather's leaking out of her battered wings. "Please forgive me. I'm…confused." She then proceeded to weep at his feet.
Hands forming into fists, Naraku resisted the urge to drag her up by the hair right then and there. "Stop this pathetic groveling, now!" he lashed out. "Stand up like the lady you are!"
At his command, she instantly complied. There was that innocent, wondering expression. She was akin to a little girl that had disobeyed her parents and was now expecting punishment.
"Mizoshi, do whatever you desire. Go wherever you desire for however long you desire."
"Really?" She was weighing his words.
"Really. Perhaps this environment is suited only for the spiders." Naraku purposefully let her sift for the true meaning of this "opinion."
"Perhaps," she echoed. She seemed oddly tranquilized. Her movements similar to a wraith, she walked out of her bedchamber. Headed towards the saint's barrier.
Naraku knew not what to feel.
Is that it? Did we just part company? What was the conflict?
In all truth, he was unsure whether to smirk or frown. So, he did neither.
Mizoshi knows where I am. If she is leaving, should I not protect my position by…ensuring her silence?
Strangely, he hadn't the heart to do so. The thought of taking her soul or absorbing her would bring him no joy or accomplishment whatsoever.
She'll return. Birds always do. And then, the spider would bite.
Still, the issue of betrayal remained. Mizoshi had left.
He had known this would happen eventually. Mizoshi had been altogether too depressed in his abode. Too needy. Expecting him to surrender his objective just a few meaningless kisses.
Selfish, selfish Mizoshi.
"What's going on?" Kagura's throaty voice jerked him out of his reverie. "That high-strung wench just ran past me—for the second time with her eyes running. Any ideas why?"
"Mizoshi is leaving," Naraku responded gruffly, his back to his incarnation.
"What?" In five smooth strides, she had crossed the room and was now standing next to him.
His crimson eyes found her own scarlet-shaded orbs. "You heard me."
"For good?" An elegant ebony eyebrow rose up as her nostrils flared.
He directed his gaze at the wall. "Not exactly."
However, he did not to view his incarnation to discern her feelings on the matter.
"You what?" she cried. "You just let her come and go as she pleases?"
When Naraku chanced to face her, she was boiling with fury. "For now."
"You…" Then, as if she had just ran across a major revelation, those lips twisted in a wry, bitter smile. "You haven't killed her because you can't. You can't because you lo--"
"Kagura!" he yelled right in her face, "cease your prying, or they will be consequences."
She was quivering now. "I merely meant that this is uncharacteristic behavior for you. What will happen if she returns?" Her red eyes--so like his own--pulsed in expectation.
Naraku's hand rose up in a resolute fist so fast, Kagura nearly fell to the ground in a kind of shock even though she hadn't been struck with it. "Contrition," he breathed.
Selfish, selfish Naraku.
Mizoshi had collected some food before she had begun her journey. She was gambling everything. Her love. Her home. Her life.
It must be done. Once, he sees an empty space in my bedding; he will finally realize that I am more than just a nightly amusement.
She had entered the main roadside. The barrier was admittedly the toughest obstacle. After, it had been cleared, Mizoshi felt elated.
He can't touch me out here.
Smiling in jubliation and ignoring a certain gnawing in her heart, Mizoshi resumed walking. She already had a destination in mind.
Doctor Suikotsu very kindly invited me to visit his village. I shall do so.
The village was located about five miles from the corrupted mountain. There, she would be safe. She would meet with these children. Talk to Doctor Suikostu. Live again, even if it was just for an hour.
I would rather enjoy having him as a friend.
The road wound on ahead. Mechanically, her footsteps followed one after the other—intent on reaching something better.
How dare Naraku treat me like a secondhand object?
Object. How well that term fit where she was concerned. However, she didn't glow as brightly as the Shikon jewel.
Why can't he store it away for just one instance? Why must he keep bringing it up? It's tearing us apart. It has torn us apart.
Disillusioned, Mizoshi heedlessly followed the road. It could've easily led to the edge of a cliff, and she would've been oblivious of the danger.
How could he use me like this?
She was starting to get close. The village wasn't far now.
I wonder if he'll be happy to see me?
Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. It just so happened that as she raised her head to scan her surroundings did she glimpse an uncharacteristic flash of navy.
Nothing in the forest is of that color.
Stepping over to investigate, Mizoshi was astounded to find the shape of Doctor Suikotsu crouching in the tall grasses. Alarm blazed through her. It was not normal for one to be hunched over like that, especially in such a desolate place.
Is he ill? Is he washing his hands again? Surely, doctors must wash their hands often…
"Doctor Suikotsu?" She clung tightly to her few scant possessions contained within the sackcloth. Something was not right.
"Doctor?" his voice ground out in an aggressive manner.
Mizoshi froze as Suikotsu whipped around. She gasped in fear and confusion.
What has happened to his face?
Vivid green stripes swiped up his cheeks and even swooped down his forehead. His hair was tousled and wild. Black leather armor was situated over his previous clothing. The lime-green sash that held the new warlike addition in place was soft. In fact, it was the only thing soft about his demeanor. To complete the illusion of a feral beast, the man who had been Doctor Suikotsu clicked his newly forged metal claws together—perilously close to her face.
"I am not a doctor," he rasped, "but I can be." Those claws inched closer to her.
Suddenly, she found her voice. Viciously, she pulled it out of hiding before there would be no place to hide it.
"Suikotsu!" she cried. "Don't you remember me?"
"Remember?" Those claws remained where they were.
"I'm Mizoshi. We met two days ago. Don't tell me you've forgotten." She took a few steps backwards as a precaution. He took this as a challenge and strode forwards.
The predator tracking prey…
"I know no Mizoshi," he proclaimed, "but I know you're going to be dead very soon."
Without warning, those claws shot out and nearly sliced through Mizoshi's shoulder. Uttering a gasp, she fell to the ground. Now, she was defenseless as a bird that dropped out of a nest.
Or am I?
Permitting the inner phoenix to spark, Mizoshi teleported herself in a flash of flame just as Suikotsu claws were intent on reaching her throat. She reappeared about two yards away—still on the brown grass.
"Demon, I'll get you yet!" Suikotsu was charging again.
Why does he want to kill me? What's wrong with him?
"Doctor Suikotsu…" she tried feebly.
This stopped him in his tracks. He was now precious feet away. However, he was preoccupied at present. Hands clutching his head as if restraining some horrible pain, he lumbered unsteadily in her general direction.
"I…am…not…that doctor!"
He was rushing at her once more, but he didn't get very far. Not many could when their leg was on fire. Growling and sputtering, the being that had once been a kind, gentle human attempted to beat back the blaze. Eyes still ready for more; Mizoshi was thankfully jolted from such a prospect.
"Brother!" A familiar form ran in front of her steaming eyes of gold. A white form with a long dark braid swishing back and forth in the foggy air.
"Brother?" he repeated neutrally, gazing up at Bankotsu with a probing expression. Absently, his hand was running over the slightly singed fabric. It had been a petty fire.
"Brother, do not attack her!" Bankotsu commanded. "She is our employer's slave, and well, I would sort of prefer to remain alive." He winced at the very notion of being resigned to the dirt.
Suikotsu was still watching him unflinchingly.
"Oh, no. Not this again," a dramatically feminine voice sighed.
Cautiously staying on the shoulder of the road, Mizoshi decided to remain unobtrusive as Jakotsu melded into the group.
"He keeps doing this!" Jakotsu exclaimed. "He always was unreliable. Why did we take him with us again?"
Bankotsu chuckled good-naturedly. "Because he can take those claws and—" He peered past the glowing Jakotsu and the sneering Suikotsu and finally noticed her. "Oh, right. Hey, Mizoshi." As before, Jakotsu shot daggers at her. Mizoshi deflected them by turning her head and staring into Bankotsu's tanned, boyish face.
"You know him?" She gestured towards "Doctor" Suikotsu who still looked like he was given to reducing her to shreds. He scowled at her—baring his teeth. A dramatic change from the first Suikotsu she had met by the riverbank.
"Of course! He's one of us!" Bankotsu declared proudly.
"Who's us?" She was intrigued in spite of the fact she nearly had her head severed from her shoulders.
"The Band of Seven!" Bankotsu fixed her with an incredulous gaze. "Don't tell me you haven't heard."
"Actually…no," she admitted truthfully.
"What's happening here?" Suikotsu was clicking those bizarre claws together.
"That's what I'd like to know!" Jakotsu crossed his arms in front of his chest.
She shrugged as casually as she could manage. "Our paths keep crossing."
I don't want them to know the real reason I'm out here...
"You mean, Naraku didn't send you?"
Why is his name still coming up? I'm trying to forget him.
Mizoshi shook her head. "No. I met Suikotsu—this Suikotsu—quite by accident."
"I don't know this girl!" raged Suikotsu. "Why is she still standing here?"
The raging demon Suikotsu had become was ignored for the moment.
Is this Band of Seven even human?
"Oh, you must've met him on one of his better days." Bankotsu scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"Better days?" Jakotsu scoffed. "This is one of his better days!"
"Better…days?" She wasn't following.
Bankotsu placed his hand on his hip. His other remained on his chin. "Sometimes, Suikotsu switches personalities. Naraku didn't tell you this?"
What does Naraku tell me?
"No," she replied with more venom than she had anticipated.
"Anyway," he continued, purely liking the sound of his own voice, "sometimes Suikotsu is, well, a doctor. Sometimes, he's like this."
"He should be like this all the time," Jakotsu mumbled.
"How is that possible? Do two souls exist in the same body?"
"Something like that."
"So, he's still in there? Doctor Suikotsu?"
"That's right. Though, I wouldn't waste time trying to draw him out." His eyes suddenly narrowed in suspicion. "Hey, why are you asking so many questions anyway?"
"I can't help but to ask questions." She was starting to feel colder now.
"So, we're to understand Naraku didn't send you? You're alone?" His brows furrowed as if he had just worked something out, or so he surmised.
For how self-centered Bankotsu is, he is unduly perceptive…
The three of them were regarding her differently now—similar to three children that had been left alone with their least favorite adult. Someone who was annoying and insignificant. And what's more, since they were alone with no other supervision, they felt they could get away with it. Suikotsu had renewed his "clicking," Jakotsu's painted lips twitched in vague amusement, and Bankotsu's strange indigo-hued eyes were boring into her own ever so intensely.
A thrill shuddered up Mizoshi's spine.
What happens now?
That's when she heard it. A strange buzzing sound that sounded like a teeming hive. Out of the bushes they came—six of them. Their stingers were wickedly sharp, and their red eyes were bulging. Quickly, Bankotsu surveyed the scene and immediately came to realization.
"He's watching you," he commented.
She held her breath.
I ran out of his home. I rejected my "protector." If he chose to, he could order these men to attack and dispose of me right here.
Chewing the inside of her cheek, Mizoshi watched the saimyoushou fly away. This had been a warning and a valid point. He did have control of her immediate destiny outside his walls.
Naraku is feeling merciful. He will not slay me.
Is he secretly hoping for my return?
Brushing the hopelessly romantic notion aside, she decided to make her leave. "I really must be going, Bankotsu."
"I see." He was still eying her. "Well, perhaps we'll meet again, slave of Naraku."
"Get back here!" Jakotsu was shrieking.
Mizoshi leadenly turned to see Jakotsu chasing after a darkly muttering Suikotsu. The doctor was gone. Dead. Mentally if not physically. Apparently, he was tired of this unintended diversion.
"See ya." The leader of the Band of Seven was bounding after his men. What they would do, she did not know. Or care.
That was close. What if Naraku hadn't made his presence known? I suppose he wants me to thank him now.
Resentful at the fact that she might've been saved yet again by the likes of him; she walked back up the road from whence she came. When the road split in two, she would take the opposite path. She desired to put as much distance between them and her as possible.
Doctor Suikotsu is a lie.
Reality had reared back and slammed her in the jaw. The idyllic afternoon that would be spent with giggling children was gone forever.
Is everyone just a clever actor?
In all honesty, she was not sure. Betrayal and certain kind of loss was constricting her insides, and she could not loosen it.
I didn't really know him. It doesn't matter…
But, it did. Doctor Suikotsu, this kind, warm individual with a twinkling in his eye was now reduced to a deranged, bestial person with a black heart.
I couldn't have known. I couldn't have known in that initial meeting the kind of person he was.
Unwillingly, Mizoshi couldn't help drawing unflattering comparisons from the dark doctor to Naraku himself. Naraku, on first glance, was so elegant and passionate. And yet, later on, he became so possessive and cruel.
Nothing is what it seems. I can't be too sure of anything.
In any event, she would live. The dark hanyou had willed it so. Even now, those eerie blood-colored eyes were most likely gauging her as she crawled through the immense pine trees to light a small fire in the center of a lonely clearing. It was now time to eat. As the meat roasted over the wavering tongues of flame, Mizoshi's vision blurred.
Everyone turns against me.
At this supposed assumption, she reflected deeper.
What of those children? What did he do to them upon his transformation?
Mizoshi's stomach churned as a particularly juicy piece of meat slid down her throat. No. She would prefer not to even ponder it. After the impromptu meal, Mizoshi broke out of the line of trees and put her foot on the rutted roadside again. By now, the sun had sunk low into the horizon. A keen chill was in the air, and it blew her black hair over one orange-silk covered shoulder. The icy stars would soon be out.
Author's Note: Naraku will not kill Mizoshi. That isn't what I'm planning on at all. Somehow, I will make a happy ending out of this. Sesshoumaru and possibly Inuyasha will be featured in the next chapter.