Chapter VII: Strawberries

Naraku's Castle

The air was dark and foul surrounding the feudal castle. The sky and mist around it was a dark purple and black. No being, human or demon, would dare venture to near it. There was an awful feeling in the air. A large white feather floated around the castle, and landed in front of the main castle. It shrunk to the size of a normal feather and the woman riding it grabbed it and stuck it into her hair. She placed her fan on her left shoulder and out her right hand on her hip. She walked up the steps and into the castle.

She walked into a large empty room. She pulled the straw drapes out of her way and saw a man with large, long hair in a pony tail sitting at the end of the room next to a window. A young girl, with white hair, white skin and a white kimono sat in front of him, holding a mirror. The man was looking into the mirror. The woman how had just entered he room glared at the man and walked to the opposite corner of the room. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. She noticed that next to the man was a small wooden doll standing up right by itself with a single strand of hair wrapped around it. Suddenly, the doll twitched and sliced in half, the two pieces fell to the floor. The white girl lowered her mirror away from the man, as he looked over at the woman.

"Well… did you obtain what I desire?" Naraku asked coldly.

"No, I was about to, but I was attacked. That wolf escaped with the jewel shards" Kagura sighed.

Naraku glared at Kagura, "Attacked?"

Kagura un-crossed her arms, "Yes, I got shot with a purifying arrow" she said, rubbing her shoulder. The skin had regenerated itself, but the pigment was a medium brown, much different color from the rest of Kagura's skin.

"A purifying arrow? It couldn't have been Kagome… I just sent a demon puppet to Inuyasha and her, they were no where near you when you fought Kouga" Naraku growled.

"Well that's the thing, it wasn't Kagome; it was someone else"

"Kikyo?"

"No, it was someone new. She looked like Kagome, but it wasn't her, and she was with the wolf too"

The girl in white lifted her mirror, "I know who Kagura speaks of" she said softly.

"Show me, Kanna" Naraku ordered.

Kanna's mirror shined a bright light, and a picture of Kanesa appeared in it. Kagura bent over and looked at the mirror, "That's her! That's the girl that shot the arrow at me!"

"Her name is Kanesa. She is Kagome's older sister. She is a partial reincarnation of Kikyo, so she has her powers. She can sense jewel shards and use purifying arrows" Kanna explained.

Naraku stared at the picture of Kanesa, "Sister you say…? Well, I guess I'll have to think of something special for our new guest…"

He laughed under his breath, and it slowly escalated to a loud laughter, echoing throughout the castle.

Kouga's Den

Kouga opened his eye slowly. He could only see through his left eye; the right one was wrapped in bandages. He was in his room; the sun was shining on his face. He lifted his head a bit, and looked down at his body. His torso was completely covered my bandages. There were spots on his chest, abs, and shoulder where blood had seeped through. Both his arms and legs were wrapped in bandages, and his right arm was in a sling, wrapped up in bandages too.

He laid his head back on his wolf pelt pillow. He felt bandages on his head too. Then, he realized the sensation of someone holding his left hand. He looked over and saw Kanesa, wrapped in a little ball, asleep at his side, clutching his hand with both of hers. She was sleeping so peacefully, she looked like a cat curled up in that little ball. Kouga even thought he could hear her purring; he smiled.

Suddenly, the hay shawl was pulled back, and Hakaku walked inside, with a large bowl of water. He looked over at Kouga and stopped walking. He smiled brightly and dropped the bowl. "Kouga! Kouga! Thank the gods you're awake!" the mo-hawked man shouted, running over to Kouga.

"Quiet!" Kouga whispered, as he looked over at Kanesa; she was still asleep.

"Sorry, sir, but I'm just so relieved you're awake!" Hakaku said quietly.

Kouga looked at Kanesa, "How long have I been out?" he asked.

"You've been out cold for about four days. Boy, if it weren't for Kanesa, I'm not sure if you would've made it or not!" Hakaku said.

Kouga looked back at him, "What?"

Hakaku sat down at Kouga's side, "Well, after we got you away from Kagura, we rushed you back here. Kanesa went back to her world to get m-me-medical supplies, I think she called them, and came back and treated you with these medicines I've never seen before. That was the day before yesterday, and she hasn't left your side since!"

Kouga blinked and looked back at Kanesa; she was still sleeping, "Really? She hasn't left?"

Hakaku nodded, "That girl's a saint! Thank the gods for her!" he smiled.

"Leave me" Kouga ordered suddenly.

Hakaku blinked, "What?"

Kouga looked back at him, "Leave me, now. I don't want to be disturbed. I need some rest" he ordered again.

Hakaku looked at him, then at Kanesa, and immediately understood. He stood up and walked out, "I'll inform the rest of the tribe that you're awake."

Kouga watched to make sure Hakaku was gone and looked back at Kanesa. She was still asleep. He smiled at her, and clutched her hand tighter. This woke her up. She opened her eyes slowly, and looked over at Kouga. When she saw that he was awake, she shot up right. "Kouga! You're awake!" she shouted, and flung her arms around his neck. She was careful not to hit his injured hand and arm.

Kouga smiled, and squeezed her tightly with his one good arm. Her head rested on his collar. He turned his head towards her head and he sniffed her hair. It smelt like strawberries; he liked it. Her legs were on top of his abs, and she adjusted herself so her legs rested comfortable at Kouga's side. She moved her head and rested it on Kouga's shoulder. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "I'm so glad you're finally alright" she said quietly.

Kouga stroked her back as she moved closer to him. "It's all thanks to you. Without your help, I might not be here right now."

Kanesa lowered her head again, and closed her eyes. She rested her right hand on Kouga's chest and her left across her waist, holding his hand that was behind her back. He sniffed her hair again, he loved that strawberry scent. Kanesa's tears hit Kouga's chest lightly. He kissed her head and held her hand tighter. "I'm all right, don't you worry anymore" he said quietly.

Kanesa nodded, and closed her eyes. She was so happy to be in Kouga's arms again. She had been so worried about him. And now that he was better, all that pressure was off her shoulders. Kouga closed his eyes too. He rested his cheek on Kanesa's head. They both soon fell asleep, happy to be in each other's arms again.