Nineteenth Chapter: The Incoming Storm

A/N: Ok, this is the next chapter! (Not a filler chapter!… geez that last one was random and weird… but apparently some of you liked it! So yey!) Anyway what I mean is that this is the substantial chapter:D At last! I was delayed because I was traveling. Sorry.

Disclaimer: Inuyasha characters are not mine

The Incoming Storm

Naraku knew exactly where the girl was. And he was furious. Kagura knew that. So she stayed as far away from him as she possibly could for as long as she could. Because when Naraku was that angry, her very life was in danger.

The sorceress visited Sesshomaru twice, and during these visits she told him about the girl named Kagome and the way Naraku was reacting to the events as of late. As always, her visits with him were brief and formal and cold, and left Kagura with the inexplicable and rather enraging feeling that she had been snipped.

In truth, she actually had no idea why she continued to talk to Sesshomaru, or why she went through to trouble to seek him out and meet with him when it was clear that he didn't intend to do anything to help her regain her freedom.

This time he had hardly said anything at all to her. The demon lord had simply stared at her as she talked, his handsome face as blank and cold and breathlessly handsome as ever, before he turned and walked silently in the opposite direction with Rin and Jaken trailing behind him. "These foolish mortal women of my brother's…" he said softly before he left, "have such a nasty habit of refusing to die."

She didn't know what that meant. And she realized that she still didn't know, even now, three days later while she wandered through a darkening forest. Maybe it didn't mean anything. She didn't know if Sesshomaru was going to do try and do something about the girl now, or maybe try and find a way to somehow take advantage of the situation… but she hoped he would. She hoped that he would be able to find a way to destroy Naraku. One day.

Why she kept her hopes pinned on him of all people, she hadn't the foggiest idea. But she couldn't help it. Whenever she dreamed about gaining her freedom and destroying Naraku, her thoughts immediately shot to him, almost as if they had a will of their own.

Kagura struggled with the fact that the reasons she always went to him might have been more than fact that he was just strong… maybe the only one strong enough to be considered capable of destroying Naraku, save of course, for his younger brother Inuyasha.

But… based on the happenings as of late, Kagura could take a good guess that the silver-haired hanyou would probably be a bit too distracted to be able to think about going after Naraku anytime soon. And she was right.

She had spent some of her time with Rin, and nearly killed Jaken twice for his blatantly stupid and ignorant remarks. And now she was wandering the forests of Japan, aimlessly, thoughtlessly, staring straight ahead but not really seeing where she was going. She would be up in the sky right now… how she ached to be in the sky… but it was going to rain soon. Thick black thunderheads were rolling in from the north, and she didn't want to be caught in the sky during a storm.

She felt her thoughts steadily drifting back to Sesshomaru and his company. She didn't understand why she had stayed so long. But she had for some reason taken to looking after the little human child Rin, watching her play with Jaken and the double-headed dragon…

But all the while as she had watched her pick flowers and giggle at oddly shaped clouds, Kagura knew that soon she would be called back to the castle by her master. The thought had been haunting her, ever present in the back of her mind, weighing down on her like a damp cloth… no matter how hard she tried to dismiss it. No matter what she did she knew that she would have to return to him… eventually.

But when she felt the familiar tug in the empty cavity where her heart should have been, and became aware the familiar vibration of those goddamned buzzing insects echoing from deep inside in the forest, an unexpected wave of furious anguish crashed inside her hollow chest, threatening to make her lose control.

Her hands gripped the handle of her fan so tightly that she thought it might snap in half, her crimson eyes narrowing in hatred as she stared into the shadowy clearing before her, her body tensing with anticipation. She'd give anything to not have to go back to that monster. Anything.

But her anger soon gave way to surprise as a small white figure emerged, drifting toward her from the shadows of the forest, steadily moving forwards, silently like a ghost. A momentary gleam from lake-water-smooth glass caught the gray-blue light at an odd angle. Kagura nearly dropped her fan when she recognized who it was. "Kanna?"

The little white figure stopped slowly in the clearing, raising her head to stare blankly at the woman standing before her, showing no signs of recognition… no signs of emotion or life… just nothingness. And for some reason, Kagura's anger took hold of her again.

"What are you doing here, Kanna?" The wind sorceress demanded, her grip tightening once more on her fan, though they both knew that she had no intention of attacking the younger girl.

And Kanna only stared at her with those fathomless black eyes, her gaze just as eerie and unsettling as it had always been.

"Kanna." Kagura prompted, her patience dangerously thin. "What are you doing here."

"Naraku… will be watching you for a while."

Kagura's breath caught in her throat. "Whuh… what?"

"He's locked himself away beneath the castle…" She said, as f she weren't really there, or was thinking to herself softly. "He is preparing for the battle."

"The battle?" Kagura echoed, staring dumbly at her little sister. "What battle?"

"The final battle…" Kanna whispered faintly with her delicate voice. The surface of the silver-framed mirror in her hands grew dark, and Kagura thought she could see writhing shapes twisting in shadows. A sick fear plunged into her stomach. She knew what those twisting shapes were.

"The final battle?" Kagura whispered, her voice shaking, scarlet eyes boring into Kanna's black ones, trying desperately to ignore the reflection in the little girl's mirror.

Kanna did not respond. And the reflection faded in the mirror as slowly, Kagura's little sister turned away from her.

"Wait! Kanna!" Kagura reached out a hand after her. "What do you mean 'the final battle'?" She called.

But the little girl made no move to respond. She just continued to move through the forest. So Kagura did the only thing she could think to do. She followed. And her thoughts drifted back to the threat that Naraku would be 'watching her for a while'. She felt her facial features darken at the thought. Had he realized it then? Had he finally realized what she had done the night he moved the castle? Did he know?

She felt herself begin to panic and tried her best to rebuild her confidence. But she couldn't. She had known that what she had done was incredibly risky… incredibly stupid. But it was the only thing she could have done. It was the only way she could think of… she had had to do something… she couldn't bear it anymore… to just sit by and watch while the girl and her chances for freedom slipped further and further into Naraku's clutches… she just hadn't been able stand it any longer. So she had done what she had to do…

"Naraku will make… one last attempt at regaining the girl."

"One… last attempt?" Kagura asked, her voice deep with worry, her scarlet eyes directed inward, unseeing once more. She hoped she could survive to receive her freedom… she wished desperately for it. But if Naraku had realized what she had done the night he moved the castle, wouldn't he have killed her already?

A/N: It's so short because I had to cut it away from the next chapter. Originally it and the next chapter were all going to be one big chapter. But it was all just too long. Major cookies for anyone who guesses what Kagura did the night Naraku moved the castle. (Though you wont find out if your right until much later):D. Oh and thank you all for the reviews! I luv ya all! And just for you, QT: YEY! NEW REVIEWER!(big grin) WELCOME!