Chapter 21 -- Mirrored Time
NOTE: This story is told from Kanna's POV. Most likely the rest of the story will be told from her prospective.
She was lucky she got to the demon before he made his move. She knew both Hakudoshi and the demon were watching the date. She wouldn't let anyone stop what needed to happen. Having this demon interfere was not part of her plan. The easiest way to distract him was to engage him directly. It worked like a charm. She disregarded the subconscious snarls coming from deep within the demon beside her.
She didn't have to look in the mirror to know that the second the human boy left Kagome's side his death was rapidly approaching. Her companion was about to make his move to intervene when she grabbed hold of his shirt and she shook her head.
He was a good and loyal pet. Someone had trained him well. He stayed beside her and continued to watch as it was getting good.
Kanna watched on as Kagome lost herself to the power of the sword. The Kagome everyone once knew was now trapped in the sword. She vaguely wondered if Kagome would ever come back. Then again, it was no longer her problem.
"Shouldn't you go and help her?"
Kanna stopped looking in her mirror long enough to stare blankly at her companion. "You should know better."
"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you? Is that why you stopped me from going down there? I thought she was your friend!"
Kanna raised a single, slim eyebrow in his direction. "She was never my friend. She was a means to an end, and she was the only way possible to destroy my brother. She is probably the only one alive that could kill him."
"There are many people that possess far more power then she does. I'm sure one of them could have done the trick."
"There you are wrong. She is no longer what she used to be. Can't you feel that terrible spike of power? That's what she's now become." Kanna looked back into her mirror. "Had you stopped her you might have saved the human, but the jewel would have been his." The albino watched as So'unga took control of the priestess. "This is the lesser of two evils. Besides, he was only human. All humans die eventually." The demon beside her snarled at her comment, but she disregarded it.
Her brother never stood a chance once the sword took full control. The surrounding area was filled with purifying power. Kanna needed to hold the mirror away from her. She could feel its effect even from her safe position.
"What did she do?" He asked bewildered at the flare of power so strong it felt like it would suffocate if it got into the lungs.
"Kagome did nothing. It's all the sword's power." She didn't look up from her mirror as she answered his question. She wasn't about to miss one second of her brother's demise.
"What is that sword? Was it always that powerful?"
"So'unga was the sword of Hell. It was never meant to be held by humans or demons. Kagome sacrificed everything to hold that sword. There's only one person that could truly wield the sword, and he passed it to her, making it now the sword of Justice."
"Why hasn't she used it before? I mean if it's this powerful, she could have saved her friends. She could have saved the human, not that I mind he's dead, it just means less competition."
Kanna rolled her eyes, "I don't think you understand the deal she made. She is now part of the sword. The moment she offered her blood, her fate was sealed."
"Why would she do something stupid like that? Didn't she know that this would come back to haunt her?" He shook his head at the lunacy of a deal she made. It was worse than making a deal with the devil. The devil was child's play compared to this thing.
"If your friends and family were slaughtered and you were offered the means to seek retribution, would you take it, no matter the cost?"
"Of course."
"Then don't judge her. That's exactly what she's done." Kanna stopped talking and watched the fight in the mirror. This was what she had been waiting for; she wasn't about to miss it over some meaningless conversation.
It was a slow torture for Hakudoshi, writhing in agony like the dirty bug he was. She was surprised that he wasn't killed by the first wave. But then again, that is how cockroaches were.
The pair watched on, in the mirror, as Kagome delivered the final blow. Hakudoshi was purified from the inside out. It must have been excruciating, or at least that's what Kanna hoped. He deserved nothing more than the most slow and painful death imaginable. Then again, that was too nice for someone that killed her beloved.
"So what happens now? It's all over right?"
"Hardly. Like Hakudoshi said, it's only the first stepping stone. Only, he had planned to be alive."
"Should we go check on Kagome and see if she's injured?" Kurama was caught between staring in the mirror and over towards the direction Kagome was situated.
"You just want to cop-a-feel. You can go down there and fuck her for all I care. I don't care what a perverted demon like you does. But…" Kanna stopped him in his tracks with her tone of voice. "If you leave now, you'll miss the rest of the action." Her tone took a more mischievous feel.
"What action?" Kurama asked, his eyes slanted in suspicion.
"Can't you feel the demons?"
"What demons?" He asked trying to feel the surrounding area for demonic presence and failed.
"The barrier is breaking. Hakudoshi made a nice little tear in it and his pet is ripping it apart. It's his present to you guys and King Enma. Soon the barrier between this world and the demon world will no longer exist."
"How long?"
"How long what? How long have I known that the barrier was going to be breached? Or how long until this world is plunged into eternal darkness?" Kanna asked staring into the mirror.
"Both." Kurama demanded.
"His pet has been in existence for almost five hundred years waiting for this moment. The moment Hakudoshi realized the jewel was whole, and no longer his, he unleashed it. You have a few hours at most before it crosses over. So what's your choice, Fox? Save your friends or give the priestess one last good romp in the street before everyone and everything dies?"
"How could you not have informed us about this?"
"I'm not your dog. You should be grateful I even told you this much. You should run back and report to your master; or are you going to let your true master take control?" She asked not staring directly at him, but giving him a quick glance over so her statement was crystal clear.
Kurama growled at Kanna's insinuation. "You are a cold and heartless bitch."
She simply shrugged her shoulders, "I do not feel temperature, I have no heart, but I am not of the dog lineage. However, most of what you said is correct. I was made from nothing, therefore I am nothing."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Hakudoshi needed to die. I am officially free from all ties that bind me to this world. I wish you luck, or whatever it is that you demons pray to. I don't think we will ever meet again."
"If we do, you won't be alive very long."
"I was never alive to begin with." Kanna stated before she turned and disappeared in the shadows. She continued to watch everything in her mirror as she had for the past five hundred years. The fox had not run to Kagome, he had taken off in search of his friends. He was a loyal mutt.
She made her way towards the priestess. "Kagome." Her voice was monotone and soft.
She watched as the priestess held what was left of her date in her arms. "Can I save him? There's a way to save him right?" She asked Kanna like she held all the answers.
Kanna wasn't one for beating around the bush. "He is dead."
"Then can you take my soul?" The pleading sound of her voice cracked between sobs.
Kanna looked at the priestess. Kagome's eyes were white and red tears flowed down her cheeks. "I can not do that."
"Why not?" Kagome screamed in outrage.
Kanna was hesitant to take a step back. She wasn't ready to die just yet. "Hakudoshi cracked my mirror and only Naraku can repair it. Since you killed him, I have no means to repair it."
"Then back there at the temple… Hiei could have killed me?" The realization of her demise loomed over her.
"Yes."
"He should have." Kagome placed a kiss on what was left of Hojo's face and placed his head next to his body. "Then he might still be alive."
"No. You were meant to kill Hakudoshi. Now you are given a chance to make up for everything and embrace your destiny." Kanna stared blankly at her. "More demons are coming."
"I don't care! Let them come!" She ground out, making her voice hoarse.
"So they can kill your family? So you can sit around and watch and do nothing again? If that's how you feel then you should kill yourself now and be done with it."
"Maybe I should!"
Kanna stared at her for a few moments before saying, "If you do nothing now, then your friends' death and the death of this human would all have been for nothing. Not even the former priestess, Kikyo, was that selfish." Kanna silently smirked. She knew she was poking an old wound.
She didn't wait for a response before taking to the shadows, to a more secure location. All she could do now was watch on as the series of events unfolded before her eyes. She wondered who would be the victor in this upcoming battle. It didn't matter to her who won; frankly she didn't care.
She was free and that's all that mattered.
AN: I love writing Kanna!! Nothing much happened, just loose ends tied up. Wow, I can't believe that after two years this story is finally going to end soon…hopefully soon. Again, for those that didn't read the top note, I will more than likely write the rest of this story from Kanna's perspective because it's better than changing POVs for the next few chapters as everything is brought to a close.
Oh, and love the Beta who's been made to butcher two chapters so close together! (I'm just evil and didn't post them together…) As promised, I updated!
Review with your love!
Beta: (narrows eyes) I hope your reviewers lynch you for being so evil. I just wish HS was almost over; I think that thing has been two years too.