Chapter 4

Though the room was silent once again, Kagome could still hear Naraku's words echoing through her brain. She shuddered, her blood running cold once again. Naraku now had the power of a full youkai. If she had thought him strong before…

"So, as you can plainly see, I am all-powerful." He paused, absently straightening the hem of his sleeve as if to make himself appear more stately than he actually as. Kagome wanted to retch. His eyes rose to meet hers, a carnal look dancing behind his crimson gaze. "Anyone who stood a chance of defeating me is long since gone."

The young miko suddenly understood. He was referring to her friends. After all, forty years had gone by; that was more than a lifetime for many people in this particular era. What had become of her friends? And what of Sango-chan and Miroku-sama? As mere mortals, had they died young in battle? Or perhaps they had aged to the point where they were unable to fight back once attacked. Were they at least together in the end? Had they stood any chance at all? What about Shippo-chan, Kouga-kun and Ayame-chan and the wolf-tribe; perhaps they were still alive somewhere?

"They are all dead," Came Naraku's cold voice. Kagome whipped her head to face him; his cold eyes boring into her as if reading her mind. "You are the only one who remains." A cruel smile spread across his face. "If you'd like to know how they died…"

She could see them; their familiar faces smiling at her, calling her name. Her distraught mind supplied images of their possible demises, along with Naraku's cruel grin and mocking eyes….

At that instant, something deep inside of Kagome snapped. A door from inside of her flew open, blew apart, allowing a rush of power to surge through her body. With her eyes fixed on the figure before her she rose to her feet with a quickness that would put any youkai to shame.

"NARAKU! DIE!"

00

Arriving back from her patrol, Kagura was stunned - to say the least - to see the castle of her creator and most-hated master become engulfed in a bright light. Air crackled and beams of energy streamed out of every orifice, forming together into a massive pillar or light that illuminated the dead, dreary countryside making it come alive with raw power.

Shielding her eyes from the spellbinding radiance that lit up the skies around her, she was surprised when the light suddenly disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Circling the castle once more, the wind demon could find no clues as to indicate where the light had come from or what could have possibly created such an anomaly. Her brain could only come up with one possible theory: Could it have been an attack of some sort?

'Is it the human?' she questioned herself. She had heard the stories of her master's so called infatuation with a powerful priestess by the name of Kikyo, as well as the rumors that the girl who fell through time possessed her power – but she had disappeared 40 years ago; she had to be dead.

Now, there was this new girl. She too had possessed the characteristics of a miko – Kagura had initially thought that Naraku's attempts to kill the undead miko had failed after all, but when her run-in with the human girl hadn't yielded high results, the wind demoness had given up on that idea.

Still, the castle… she stared at the structure, still trying to decide whether or not what she had witnessed had truly been real. Could it be possible that that girl really was Kikyo? Kagura knew how Naraku had had a hand in her demise – the first and second time - Had she been reborn yet again to carry out her revenge like before?

"That so called miko," She murmured thoughtfully. "Is she really that powerful?"

Decreasing in altitude, Kagura found herself torn. Suppose it was an attack, what was she to do? Was Naraku still alive? Should she even go inside and investigate? Deep in thought, dark frown crossed her pale features. It was no secret that Kagura despised the demon that had created her. Unlike Naraku, she desired nothing more than to be free to ride the wind, to do as she pleased without the invisible shackles of servitude that kept her weighted to the ground.

'Suppose I go in and Naraku has indeed been attacked,' she thought to herself as she crept into the castle. 'I will be expected to help him recuperate from any injuries he may have sustained. I will have to remain by his side until he deems himself recovered.'

At this, she visibly shuddered, glad that no one was around to see her.

'Or…' She paused in thought. 'If he is weak enough, perhaps I can help her finish the job.' Grabbing her fan in hand tightly, she entered Naraku's private chambers, dark eyes taking in the dark expanse of the room. The miko was nowhere in sight. She frowned; where could she have gone?

'No matter,' she thought, bringing her fan up. 'I guess I'll just have to handle the cleanup,'

Moving to open her fan and send a destructive wind across the entire room, the wind demoness was stopped by clawed hand latching itself around her neck like a vice. Her fan dropped to the ground with a resolute clatter. Kagura was only vaguely ware of the glowing red eyes before her as her feet slowly left the ground.

"I may be injured, Kagura," Naraku replied coldly, holding the smaller demon in his grasp. His body was covered with numerous burns, bruises, and lacerations. As he stood slightly hunched over with his eyes alight with fury, the only thing that seemed to be keeping him on his feet was his sheer frustration - with the thought of her insurrection or his current state Kagura was sure did not matter.

"But I am not a fool," His hold over her jugular tightened ever so slightly.

Her eyes widening ever so slightly, Kagura let out a cross between a gasp and sigh. 'So this is how it ends for me, huh?' she thought, resisting the urge to claw at the hand slowly strangling her to death. 'Damn…' Forcing her body to go limp, she closed her eyes and resigned herself to her fate.

Naraku study his slave, his anger at his situation fading at how easily the female youkai succumbed to his will. Did she truly think he would let her off so easily? He smirked at the thought.

He clenched his hand tighter around her neck, causing her to open her eyes, crying out in pain. "Do not try my patience," he replied, suddenly much calmer than before. "I created you from my own body - I know you better than you even know your own foolish, little self. And as an extension of myself, there is nothing you can hide from me." His eyes flashed briefly. "Nothing."

With that said, Naraku released his hold, dropping a wheezing Kagura to the ground. "If you ever attempt to betray me again, Kagura…" He left the sentence unfinished, turning and staggering/dragging himself over to his futon.

Kagura made no move to help him. Her crimson colored eyes skimmed the room. The shoji and the room's surrounding walls were singed, and there was a large dark mark on the floor in the center of the room - possibly from where Naraku hit the ground.

However, she and Naraku were the only two occupants. Did that mean…?

"The girl…?" she began tentatively.

Naraku scowled, laying back on his futon as he allowed a thick layer of miasma to cover him. Damn the girl; it would take weeks for him to get back to full strength! Where had she gotten so much power? He remembered their first encounter very vividly – it was a wonder he was still in one piece! Still, sensing that his servant had more to say, he glanced back over at Kagura, waiting her to finish her thought.

Resisting the urge to massage her bruised windpipe, the female youkai chose her next words very carefully. "Was she another reincarnation of the Priestess Kikyo?"

"Another?" Disturbingly, Naraku made a sound that sounded remotely like a sigh. "That girl…" He stared up at the ceiling. "Is the only reincarnation of Kikyo - and she is more than that."

Red eyes narrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked. "She survived your attack?"

Naraku's scowl deepened, glancing sideways at his underling. Had he not been seriously injured, Kagura would have taken a step back. "I was not the one who attacked," he explained. "In her anger, she managed to tap into her powers, directing them towards me." '…She damned near purified me!'

He closed his eyes, wincing in pain. Kagura's eyes grew wide in surprise. The great demon Naraku did NOT wince!

"She injured you very badly," she commented, not even pretending to care for his well being.

Her master chuckled, raising a bloodied hand into the air as if reaching for something Kagura could not see. "She has the potential to become a priestess with great spiritual powers far exceeding that of Kikyo." He replied in a low whisper. "If awakened, her powers would become…."

"A danger to your plans," Kagura finished.

Seemingly annoyed that she had interrupted him, Naraku glanced at her again. "She is already a threat to my plans," he replied tersely. "Simply because she is here in this time,"

Kagura gawked. "She escaped?" she asked. She found herself gaining a sliver of respect for this girl from the so-called future.

"Such ferocity, such strength… and all in such a fragile, human girl." Naraku murmured. Before his eyes, an image of Kagome appeared. Radiating with power, her hair billowed around her face, her slate colored eyes alight with anger and righteous fury. It was almost as if there were another image overlaying hers, attempting to mesh together into one. Was it of Kikyo…? He couldn't be sure.

Not that it mattered. Naraku smirked and closed his eyes, capturing this image in his mind. Whatever the case, the girl was truly exquisite. He had to have her!

Growing impatient with his perverse fantasizing, Kagura retrieved her fan, turning towards the door. "Do you want me to go get her?"

Looking at her as if that were a stupid question to ask, Naraku paused before nodding slightly. "And do it quickly! She could wreck everything!" Kagura gave a mock bow, hopped onto her feather. Calling her winds to lift her upwards, she disappeared through the shoji and out the window, leaving Naraku alone to his thoughts.

'Especially if he finds her first.'

End of Chapter 5