Replies to reviewers-- no,not by name, just in general. . .
1: yes, it's supposed to be Naraku-- kikyo -- Kagura
2: the ambiguity in the summary was deliberate. I hadn't yet decided if kagome was going to be in the story or not.
3: rating? I started watching R rated movies when I was five. .Since then, I've never understood why anyone of any age shouldn't read/watch whatever they want to. Life is full of bad shit. As long as you aren't imitating it in real life/ getting off on it, then I'm not seeing the problem. Eh, I had way too liberal of an upbringing, I suppose.
4: alternate pairings rock. I'm not capable of writing canon-pairings. I'm thinking inu/kagome aren't even going to appear in this fic. They're just so freaking bland.
5: Err no, I'm not a gOth, in fact, that's the first time I've ever been accused of subscribing to that particular pretension. One fic involving nasty people, does not make an obsession. On the other hand, in my line of work, you kind of have to have an appreciation for blood. I mean, it really is just the coolest substance, and soo tasty too. ..
6: sorry for the long delay between updates. I have this terrible tendency to start writing new fics without an actual plot in mind. And I'm just not inspired for this level of angst. So this chapter is brought to you by stream of conscious typing, since I hate letting fics sit still. Let's see where that gets us.
-----------
Of blood and clay ch 2.
---
Kagura perched watchfully on her giant feather. She was on patrol duty, surveying the borders of Naraku's territory for any signs of hostile infringement. She felt totally redundant. She was convinced that Naraku's potent miasma actually had sensory powers and would signal any encroachment by dangerous youkai or those damned shard hunters well before she could. But her opinions on the matter were, of course, irrelevant. Naraku had commanded her to sentry duty, and so her duty she would perform. What other choice had she? That didn't mean that she had to put a great deal of effort into it, and so, as her feather drifted on the cross-currents of the wind, Kagura obeyed Naraku's orders to the letter. No more, and no less. He'd said to patrol the precise border for his enemies, and she did just that, surveying in a neat five kilometer radius from his current castle; exactly the radius at which his miasma seemed to thin out and dissipate into the healthier air of the surrounding country.
"Honestly!" Kagura snorted to herself. What kind of idiot Youkai or human would want to venture closer anyway? Miasma was not notably good for one's health, and even the less intelligent wildlife had begun a steady exodus from the surrounding forest. No longer did birds sing in the trees, or squirrels scamper in the branches. No, the land was strangely silent, and even the hardiest shrubs and grasses seemed to wilt beneath the evil atmosphere.
Completing her circuit, Kagura was completely unsurprised to be able to report that here was no hostile activity within the range of her keen eyesight, her sense of smell, or her wind-assisted hearing. However, now that her official duties were complete, she could take the time to do her own reconnaissance. She always did this; the small act of defiance one of the few acts she could get away with. Sighing at recently remembered punishments, Kagura allowed her feather to drift farther away from the stronghold. Now, well outside the protective miasma, Kagura was more truly free to search for Naraku's enemies -- her own allies if only they'd accept her. Not that they ever would, but a girl had to hope for something, didn't she? Life without hope was Nothing, and Kagura clung to her few shreds of hope with every fiber of her being.
Kagura's head jerked sharply around, as a sudden shift in the wind brought with it a familiar scent.
"Shit." The only one of Naraku's enemies she hated more than Naraku, himself. Kagura brought her feather around, racing against the wind, as she stooped like some malevolent bird of prey, to land in a small clearing face to face with the one she hated.
Kikyo rested against a tree, looking for all the world like a porcelain statue. Her serenely beautiful features showed no trace of emotion, except, of course, for her eyes. Those twin spheres glowed with a cold fury, the hatred of a corrupted soul, ripped from its well-deserved rest. Those eyes could pierce right through one more sharply than her enchanted arrows. Not that Kagura cared for any of that, as she stalked closer to the undead priestess.
"What are you doing here, bitch?" She spat the words out, with all the venom she could muster.
Kikyo merely watched calmly, her only motion a small twitch of the fingers. It was a signal that brought her soul stealers spiraling in more closely, as if such impotent beasties as these could really threaten a creature as powerful as Kagura.
"Have you come here to challenge Naraku? You stupid corpse. What do you think you can hope to gain against him this time? Here alone, your powers drained by miasma, your strength sapped by the corruption in your soul. You haven't got a chance." Kagura scoffed, her relaxed pose a sham behind which she hid her readiness to spring into battle.
"And you're the one to stop me?"
"Hardly." Kagura laughed, "If I thought you could kill him, I'd stand by and cheer you on. But you can't do it. You stand there and judge me-- oh yes, you do, don't you? So you're a miko? The holiest of holy, the most powerful women in the land. So fucking What? You're also the bitch who's solely responsible for my existence. What the hell kind of miko lets a man like Onigumo enter into such a situation where Demons can tempt him like that? You had powers, you stupid cadaver! What else were they for? Where were your holy wards, your seals when they were most needed? You'd forgotten to place them, because you were out mooning over a fucking dog." Kagura let all her hatred ooze into her words as she spoke. She hated Naraku because of what he did to her, but she hated Kikyo more -- for it was the priestess' incompetence that had been directly responsible for this whole situation. If Naraku was her father, than Kikyo could be considered to be her mother. And oh gods, how she despised her. A priestess was supposed to be watchful, especially when they had a responsibility as great as the Shikon no Tama. But Kikyo had been anything but. And Kagura could never forgive her for that lapse.
Kikyo watched Kagura's outburst calmly, before speaking again, as if Kagura hadn't just spent two minutes insulting her "Will you tell him that I'm here?"
"No." Kagura sneered, "Not until you cross the boundary line."
"What of your duty?"
"What of yours?"
Kikyo shrugged elegantly, "It will be taken care of."
"Like a half-souled, undead, spiritually tainted whore like you can truly put an end to what you started."
"I can only try." Kikyo smiled, an eerie mirthless smile. Before Kagura could react, the priestess had notched an arrow into her bow, and sent the feathered missile arcing towards the wind-demon. Impatiently, Kagura tried to knock it away with her winds, but the enchanted arrow refused to be swayed from its course, and in a flash, Kagura found herself reeling back, as the arrow embedded itself in her chest, right where her heart should rightfully have been. The pain was excruciating
"Nice try." Kagura gasped, as she wrapped wiry fingers around the wooden shaft and wrenched the barbed tip free. Blood poured freely from the wound, but more agonizing was the pain that spread from the wound edges, like acid etching deeper and deeper into her flesh, as the purification spell on the arrow attempted to sear her body into oblivion. Luckily, if her punishment sessions with Naraku had given Kagura anything, it was a high pain threshold. And the pain of this wound was especially easy to bear, for the fact that it was physical only -- Nothing Kikyo could do would ever cause Kagura the same level of humiliation she endured at her father's hands. "Stupid bitch. You can't even kill me, how do you expect to kill Naraku?" Kagura's voice was raspy and breathless, and she noticed with irritation that a trickle of blood accompanied her words. That damned miko must've nicked her lung too.
"So you don't have a heart?" Kikyo mused, staring intently at Kagura's bleeding torso. The magic from her arrow, though dissipating rapidly, had torn a hole deep enough that Kagura's ribs and the punctured lung beneath, were plainly visible.
Kagura merely snorted and crossed her arms over her chest, hoping that she'd start to heal soon.
"Pity." Kikyo murmured, almost as if to herself, "I don't have one either." Abruptly, she turned and vanished into the forest, leaving a much- bewildered Kagura to stare after her, wondering just what all of that had been about.
A less then productive afternoon all 'round. Kagura shook her head, trying to clear it of the confusion that now threatened to overwhelm her. She'd utterly failed to get a rise out of Kikyo, and was still no more wiser to her plans than she had been. All she'd gained was an advance alert that Something might happen, and even that was dubious. Even Kikyo wasn't stupid enough to take on Naraku on her own. Not when her magic was so weakened that she couldn't even hurt Kagura.
But that was where Kagura was wrong. . . As the wind-demon sat back on her feather and rose into the air, she was struck with a sudden wave of dizziness that left her faint and hardly able to see. Worse even than the usual hypotension brought on by excessive blood loss, this episode threatened to incapacitate Kagura completely. The feather dipped crazily as Kagura blinked, collapsed, and struggled to regain control. Finally, just within the safe border of Naraku's territory, Kagura lost the battle for consciousness entirely, and the feather tumbled to into the treetops, lodging Kagura's limp body somewhere in the dense forest canopy.
Obviously, Kikyo's magic was a little more potent than the demon had bargained for. . .
To be continued.
~Damn, I don't think spur of the moment writing works so well for this fic. Oh well.~
1: yes, it's supposed to be Naraku-- kikyo -- Kagura
2: the ambiguity in the summary was deliberate. I hadn't yet decided if kagome was going to be in the story or not.
3: rating? I started watching R rated movies when I was five. .Since then, I've never understood why anyone of any age shouldn't read/watch whatever they want to. Life is full of bad shit. As long as you aren't imitating it in real life/ getting off on it, then I'm not seeing the problem. Eh, I had way too liberal of an upbringing, I suppose.
4: alternate pairings rock. I'm not capable of writing canon-pairings. I'm thinking inu/kagome aren't even going to appear in this fic. They're just so freaking bland.
5: Err no, I'm not a gOth, in fact, that's the first time I've ever been accused of subscribing to that particular pretension. One fic involving nasty people, does not make an obsession. On the other hand, in my line of work, you kind of have to have an appreciation for blood. I mean, it really is just the coolest substance, and soo tasty too. ..
6: sorry for the long delay between updates. I have this terrible tendency to start writing new fics without an actual plot in mind. And I'm just not inspired for this level of angst. So this chapter is brought to you by stream of conscious typing, since I hate letting fics sit still. Let's see where that gets us.
-----------
Of blood and clay ch 2.
---
Kagura perched watchfully on her giant feather. She was on patrol duty, surveying the borders of Naraku's territory for any signs of hostile infringement. She felt totally redundant. She was convinced that Naraku's potent miasma actually had sensory powers and would signal any encroachment by dangerous youkai or those damned shard hunters well before she could. But her opinions on the matter were, of course, irrelevant. Naraku had commanded her to sentry duty, and so her duty she would perform. What other choice had she? That didn't mean that she had to put a great deal of effort into it, and so, as her feather drifted on the cross-currents of the wind, Kagura obeyed Naraku's orders to the letter. No more, and no less. He'd said to patrol the precise border for his enemies, and she did just that, surveying in a neat five kilometer radius from his current castle; exactly the radius at which his miasma seemed to thin out and dissipate into the healthier air of the surrounding country.
"Honestly!" Kagura snorted to herself. What kind of idiot Youkai or human would want to venture closer anyway? Miasma was not notably good for one's health, and even the less intelligent wildlife had begun a steady exodus from the surrounding forest. No longer did birds sing in the trees, or squirrels scamper in the branches. No, the land was strangely silent, and even the hardiest shrubs and grasses seemed to wilt beneath the evil atmosphere.
Completing her circuit, Kagura was completely unsurprised to be able to report that here was no hostile activity within the range of her keen eyesight, her sense of smell, or her wind-assisted hearing. However, now that her official duties were complete, she could take the time to do her own reconnaissance. She always did this; the small act of defiance one of the few acts she could get away with. Sighing at recently remembered punishments, Kagura allowed her feather to drift farther away from the stronghold. Now, well outside the protective miasma, Kagura was more truly free to search for Naraku's enemies -- her own allies if only they'd accept her. Not that they ever would, but a girl had to hope for something, didn't she? Life without hope was Nothing, and Kagura clung to her few shreds of hope with every fiber of her being.
Kagura's head jerked sharply around, as a sudden shift in the wind brought with it a familiar scent.
"Shit." The only one of Naraku's enemies she hated more than Naraku, himself. Kagura brought her feather around, racing against the wind, as she stooped like some malevolent bird of prey, to land in a small clearing face to face with the one she hated.
Kikyo rested against a tree, looking for all the world like a porcelain statue. Her serenely beautiful features showed no trace of emotion, except, of course, for her eyes. Those twin spheres glowed with a cold fury, the hatred of a corrupted soul, ripped from its well-deserved rest. Those eyes could pierce right through one more sharply than her enchanted arrows. Not that Kagura cared for any of that, as she stalked closer to the undead priestess.
"What are you doing here, bitch?" She spat the words out, with all the venom she could muster.
Kikyo merely watched calmly, her only motion a small twitch of the fingers. It was a signal that brought her soul stealers spiraling in more closely, as if such impotent beasties as these could really threaten a creature as powerful as Kagura.
"Have you come here to challenge Naraku? You stupid corpse. What do you think you can hope to gain against him this time? Here alone, your powers drained by miasma, your strength sapped by the corruption in your soul. You haven't got a chance." Kagura scoffed, her relaxed pose a sham behind which she hid her readiness to spring into battle.
"And you're the one to stop me?"
"Hardly." Kagura laughed, "If I thought you could kill him, I'd stand by and cheer you on. But you can't do it. You stand there and judge me-- oh yes, you do, don't you? So you're a miko? The holiest of holy, the most powerful women in the land. So fucking What? You're also the bitch who's solely responsible for my existence. What the hell kind of miko lets a man like Onigumo enter into such a situation where Demons can tempt him like that? You had powers, you stupid cadaver! What else were they for? Where were your holy wards, your seals when they were most needed? You'd forgotten to place them, because you were out mooning over a fucking dog." Kagura let all her hatred ooze into her words as she spoke. She hated Naraku because of what he did to her, but she hated Kikyo more -- for it was the priestess' incompetence that had been directly responsible for this whole situation. If Naraku was her father, than Kikyo could be considered to be her mother. And oh gods, how she despised her. A priestess was supposed to be watchful, especially when they had a responsibility as great as the Shikon no Tama. But Kikyo had been anything but. And Kagura could never forgive her for that lapse.
Kikyo watched Kagura's outburst calmly, before speaking again, as if Kagura hadn't just spent two minutes insulting her "Will you tell him that I'm here?"
"No." Kagura sneered, "Not until you cross the boundary line."
"What of your duty?"
"What of yours?"
Kikyo shrugged elegantly, "It will be taken care of."
"Like a half-souled, undead, spiritually tainted whore like you can truly put an end to what you started."
"I can only try." Kikyo smiled, an eerie mirthless smile. Before Kagura could react, the priestess had notched an arrow into her bow, and sent the feathered missile arcing towards the wind-demon. Impatiently, Kagura tried to knock it away with her winds, but the enchanted arrow refused to be swayed from its course, and in a flash, Kagura found herself reeling back, as the arrow embedded itself in her chest, right where her heart should rightfully have been. The pain was excruciating
"Nice try." Kagura gasped, as she wrapped wiry fingers around the wooden shaft and wrenched the barbed tip free. Blood poured freely from the wound, but more agonizing was the pain that spread from the wound edges, like acid etching deeper and deeper into her flesh, as the purification spell on the arrow attempted to sear her body into oblivion. Luckily, if her punishment sessions with Naraku had given Kagura anything, it was a high pain threshold. And the pain of this wound was especially easy to bear, for the fact that it was physical only -- Nothing Kikyo could do would ever cause Kagura the same level of humiliation she endured at her father's hands. "Stupid bitch. You can't even kill me, how do you expect to kill Naraku?" Kagura's voice was raspy and breathless, and she noticed with irritation that a trickle of blood accompanied her words. That damned miko must've nicked her lung too.
"So you don't have a heart?" Kikyo mused, staring intently at Kagura's bleeding torso. The magic from her arrow, though dissipating rapidly, had torn a hole deep enough that Kagura's ribs and the punctured lung beneath, were plainly visible.
Kagura merely snorted and crossed her arms over her chest, hoping that she'd start to heal soon.
"Pity." Kikyo murmured, almost as if to herself, "I don't have one either." Abruptly, she turned and vanished into the forest, leaving a much- bewildered Kagura to stare after her, wondering just what all of that had been about.
A less then productive afternoon all 'round. Kagura shook her head, trying to clear it of the confusion that now threatened to overwhelm her. She'd utterly failed to get a rise out of Kikyo, and was still no more wiser to her plans than she had been. All she'd gained was an advance alert that Something might happen, and even that was dubious. Even Kikyo wasn't stupid enough to take on Naraku on her own. Not when her magic was so weakened that she couldn't even hurt Kagura.
But that was where Kagura was wrong. . . As the wind-demon sat back on her feather and rose into the air, she was struck with a sudden wave of dizziness that left her faint and hardly able to see. Worse even than the usual hypotension brought on by excessive blood loss, this episode threatened to incapacitate Kagura completely. The feather dipped crazily as Kagura blinked, collapsed, and struggled to regain control. Finally, just within the safe border of Naraku's territory, Kagura lost the battle for consciousness entirely, and the feather tumbled to into the treetops, lodging Kagura's limp body somewhere in the dense forest canopy.
Obviously, Kikyo's magic was a little more potent than the demon had bargained for. . .
To be continued.
~Damn, I don't think spur of the moment writing works so well for this fic. Oh well.~