Winds of Change
jodyle1
Chapter Seven
Naraku's vile, slimy chuckle snaked through the air, a repulsive, self satisfied smirk evident on his face as a stared intently into Kanna's iridescent mirror. My curiosity stirred.
"What pleases you so?" I queried softly. His eyes flickered up to me, possessively looking me over. Disgusting.
"On this day, my plan was successful. The reincarnate miko, Kagome, is no longer, Inuyasha is broken, wandering the forrest, and my beloved Kikyou is alone, awaiting my next command for her. Everything is how I envisaged." His chameleon gaze returned to the mirror in Kanna's slender fingers. I glanced at my sister questioningly; there was no denying that she was much more involved in Naraku's sick web of deceit than I, whether she wished to be or not. She looked away absently, as though she hadn't seen my expression. I sighed sorrowfully. An innocent young girl such as her did not deserve to be tainted by Naraku's twisted, evil presence. She ought to be outside, spinning and dancing gracefully among the grass, carefree and innocent, just like every other child her age.
"Why did you call on me Naraku?" My voice was full of venom and poorly suppressed resentment, even to my own ears. Naraku stood straight and studied my face skeptically. His eyes narrowed.
"Kagura, you are aware of Sesshomaru's most recent plan, are you not?" He asked simply, ignoring my question.
"Indeed. He seeks to capture Kanna and use her powers against you in order to detain your soul" I answered promptly.
"Correct. Your next assignment is to protect Kanna. I have prepared a place for you both to stay on a mountainside not far from Mount Hakurei. It is protected by an equally powerful barrier of my own construction. You shall escort Kanna there and ward off any...unwanted visitors. Do you understand?" If my heart was still my own, it would have fluttered at Naraku's words; He was allowing Kanna and I to be together, if only for a short time. I kept my expression devoid of all emotion, struggling to control my euphoria.
"Yes" I bowed low, smiling to myself. A sudden thought occurred to me 'Naraku, will it not be obvious that I am shielding Kanna? Surely you know that Sesshomaru would expect me to be protecting her, and would quickly pursue us?" I straightened from my bow.
"I am no incompetent fool. I have already considered that possibility. And so, I will distract the Youkai lord with this" He motioned with his hand to the far corner of the room. Out of the darkness stepped a young girl, who looked like an older version of Kanna. She had short white hair in a perfectly straight bob cut, wide, eery, blank grey eyes that didn't contain any emotion and she wore a snowy white kimono ending above her knees. In her arms was a mirror identical to Kanna's. I gasped in surprise, shivers running down my spine at her bleak, depthless eyes.
"Another creation?" I asked, almost to myself.
"Mmmm. Quite good craftsmanship, don't you agree? She's much more powerful than you Kagura, or any of my other creations. She will not fail."
"What can she do?" Naraku considered the girl with an air of indifference; as though she was nothing more than a weapon to be used.
"In time, you shall see." I turned back to Naraku just in time to see his cool, detached expression, quickly change to one of shock as the Shikon segment hidden inside his body began to glow brightly.
I watched as his hand moved above it, his flesh peeling away from the luminescent pure light emanating from within it's depths. Drawing the Jewel from his repugnant body, he held it within the palm of his hand, enthralled in it's beautiful, captivating light. A sharp intake of breath was his only reaction as the powerful orb segment pulsed a few times, it's energy surging slightly, before plummeting. In a matter of seconds, the Shikon Jewel, which we had all dedicated the last months of our despicable lives attempting to restore, was nothing but glass.
Naraku's face was, for a fleeting moment, a dumbstruck tableaux, with his mouth gaping stupidly and his poisonous, red eyes wide with astonishment, before his expression contorted with rage. He flung the now glass segment across the room, where it broke through the wall and disappeared into the night, much like a bullet. I cast a quick look at Naraku's limbs thrashing dangerously. He had lost control, his rage at loosing his most recent source of power was almost tangible in the air. Already having seen one of Naraku's fatal tantrums and having no wishes to repeat the experience, I dashed across the room, dodging and avoiding flailing tentacle-like appendages as I went, until I was at Kanna's side. I tossed a feather into the air, jumped on and pulled my sister along with me, and together we fled into the night sky through the fragmented ceiling. The young girl from earlier crossed my mind, but I cast her aside as a storm of thousands of lesser youkai flew out of Naraku's most recent hide-out behind us, each and every one of them responding to the basic instincts instilled into their pathetic bodies, the instincts which now told them their life was in danger. A pang of pity prickled in my soul for all of the unfortunate youkai who would loose their lives at Naraku's hands tonight, but it was lost in the elation I felt at having my Sister under my supervision, shielding her from Naraku's sadistic corruption.