Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.

Note: And just when I say I have a lot of inspiration, it suddenly leaves me again! Oh well, lol, I'm updating right now, right?

'thoughts and inner voices'

"talking"

PLEASE READ AND REVIEW.

"Kanna!"

She slowly stepped out of the shadows when she heard her name being called. She revealed nothing of her intentions as she stared up into the eyes of the hanyou before her.

"Father," she answered monotonously, acknowledging his existence.

Naraku stared at her in something almost akin to shock. His ruby eyes were wide with disbelieve as his body seemed to tense. "You…" he whispered, staring at the girl as though his very own eyes were lying to him. "I thought you died…"

Kanna kept staring straightforward, not once blinking or wrinkling. Her whole face was expressionless as she replied with: "I did."

She had died, sacrificing her life for her father. It hadn't been long ago. Both InuYasha, Sesshoumaru and their groups had come to hunt Naraku down. Naraku had been in the middle of the process of absorbing his heart back in his body. He had called for Kanna to hold the two Inu-youkai up. To stall time for him. To save his life. And she had obeyed like she had always done.

But she wasn't his minion anymore…

She did not once show any emotion as she said: "Father, I came for revenge." No pain, no hatred, no anger. Nothing. But this was not strange, as she was made of nothingness. Her monotone and expressionless ways of nothingness were beyond both human and youkai standards. She was the existence of nothingness.

"I came to avenge my death."

Naraku's hand deformed and slashed through her body, which transformed into hundreds of brown tentacles, after being attacked. It was a technique she had learned from her father; one of Naraku's favorite attacks. The body of the small angelic girl had been no more but a puppet of the real Kanna and Naraku defeated it with ease.

Naraku frowned, staring at the remains of the puppet that Kanna had send to him. 'Who brought you back to life, Kanna?'

Koimizu kneeled and stretched his arm. He curiously poked a finger in one of the remaining tentacles of the defeated puppet. "Is she dead?" he asked.

"No," answered Naraku as he narrowed his eyes on the remainders of Kanna's puppet. "This was only a puppet. The real Kanna is alive somewhere and watching us…"

"Then let's go." Koimizu stood up and turned to face Naraku, determination carved onto his face.

His determination surprised Naraku who raised a questioning eyebrow in response. "What are you planning to do?"

"We're going to find that Kanna together and kill her," Koimizu answered.

The gleam in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by Naraku. "You want to avenge your mother?" he asked.

Koimizu nodded. "Exactly," he confirmed. "And I won't forgive her for possessing the bandits that destroyed my village either. Thanks to that, the remaining villagers have chased me away as if I were a monster." A shadow covered his features as the last sentence left his lips.

Naraku sent the boy a distasteful look. "Do you honestly believe yourself to be a monster?"

"Their blood stains on my hands!" protested Koimizu. He briskly lifted his hands up and glared at them with such hatred that it seemed like they were not part of his body. He felt tears of disgust burn behind his eyes.

Naraku let out a deep sigh. He strode over to his companion and then he placed his hands on the other's shoulders. 'You're of no use to me when you're crying…' Slowly he let his hands slide behind Koimizu's neck, wrapping his arms around the other to comfort him. Koimizu stiffened under his touch.

"I remember a miko whose hands were stained with the blood of youkai. She never cried for them; she never shed tears. She dedicated her life in protecting a Sacred Jewel, with powers beyond human or youkai knowledge, until it would vanish from this world. That was her life's mission." Naraku dropped his eyes and stared at the mass of black hair on top of Koimizu's head. "Your mother dedicated her life to protect those who need it and you are to follow her footsteps. Stop weeping for those who don't deserve your kindness. To be feared. To be shunned. To be alone forever. To live for your mission. This is the way of a miko."

There. He had said it. Dedication. Live for your mission. The way of a miko. Foolish. Rubbish.

The boy in his arms peered up at him, tears still glistening in his eyes. "Naraku the youkai is comforting someone?" he joked through his tears.

With a snort Naraku let him go. "Don't get any weird thoughts, kid. I was only trying to stop your crying so that we could go after Kanna and send her back to the other world."

Quickly Koimizu dried his eyes. "You seem to know her quite well."

Naraku nodded. "I do. She was one of my detachments."

"Your… what?" Koimizu blinked.

"My detachments," answered Naraku. "I can detach parts of my body and let them grow out into youkai."

"Oh." Koimizu blinked, trying his best to understand what was said to him.

Naraku gave another deep sigh and grabbed Koimizu's arm, dragging him off. "Let's get you a proper weapon first. A bow and arrows will do. We'll be going back to your village."

Koimizu blinked as he trailed after the hanyou. "Back to my village?" he questioned.

"Yes," Naraku confirmed. "I have a feeling my dear daughter will show up there again."

And no words were exchanged again as the two headed back towards Koimizu's village.

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