Though i should've said it last chapter, it's good to be back and working on this story again. sory for the LOONG ass wait to those who read it in its first days.
Anyways, it occurs to me that as more people read it, I'll get more reviews, and more thoughts on the "Pairing" question I posed.
Because of this, feel free to continue giving feedback in that regard. Though the initial pairing will remain OCxSess, I will try to fit in bits of subtle and implied pairings with those suggested.
In general, I will maintain Canon pairings, but hey, I'm whimsical sometimes, if enough people suggest for example Kagome/Miroku, or Kagura/Inuyasha or something super crazy (not that those are) I will try to incorporate them in some way, even if it's small, short, or subtle.
And yes, even though it's an OC/Sess fic, there will also be some small Kagura/Sess.
"Why didn't she try to defend herself?" Kagura's voice slips its way into my ears. I don't care to look at her, only stare at the earth beneath my nose, now muddy with my blood. I do not fear that my injuries will kill me, for I've grown accustomed to the idea that I will always heal. It is not the burning pain of my wounds which grounds me, but the shallow ache in my chest that seems to steal my very breath.
Kagura's foot steps approach me, "Hey," she says shortly, "you're not dead are you?" I don't bother responding.
Of course I'm not dead. Can you not see me breathing?
"Look...I didn't expect you to just stand there. You have those claws for a reason don't you?" she kneels down and prods at my back with the fan, "C'mon girl, what's wrong with you?!"
Kagura's demands summon a deep and dark feeling, surging forward to turn every ounce of my anguish into a terrible vehemence. I grit my teeth, wishing to scream. The urge to tear through something with these horrendous claws forces its way into my muscles, pushing my energy into one violent movement. I push myself from the ground and swipe at the foul woman.
The moment my talons make contact with Kagura's body, I feel my mind blank out into grisly satisfaction. They make quick work of her, slicing through her delicate flesh, meeting little resistance as they pass through her ribs. Her blood gushes from the wound, coating my arm and staining her kimono. Kagura chokes as she looks down upon the limb buried in her abdomen, shock filling her eyes.
A taste for malice now overwhelming my senses, I stand, dragging her body up with me. She tries to speak, but only manages a gurgle as red drips from her mouth. Pulling her face close to mine, I stare deeply into her eyes, wishing to observe her suffering and compare it to my own. The deep maroon hazes over as Kagura fights to turn her head away from mine. Dissatisfied with her reaction to the pain I've inflicted, I toss her limp body aside, throwing my arm and flicking her from my wrist. She collapses to the ground, and groans as she attempts to cradle her wounds in her arms.
The experience behind my victory is intoxicating. My chest swells with pride as I realize my power that I now wish to enforce upon others. I turn toward Naraku, wishing to find fear in his eyes, only to have my hopes stricken down to see that he is no longer present.
I had felt a rush upon attacking Kagura, and rode the sense of power with a sick glee until this moment. My actions slowly dawn on me as I think of what I'd accomplished. I raise my hand to gaze upon crimson that still drips from the tips of my metallic fingers, the fluid still fresh and warm. Grimacing, I attempt to clean it off on my ragged clothing, only to mix it with my own still flowing blood. The adrenaline had numbed me to these injuries, and I'd long sense grown accustomed to the lasting pain after receiving such severe cuts, having inflicted many upon myself in my few days of life.
The sound of Kagura moving around makes me turn my attention back onto her. She managed to pull herself to her feet and was stumbling away, still holding her bleeding stomach. I can not fathom how she can move with such a wound, certain I would've at least gone unconscious from the blood loss. As I watch her swallow her pain and retreat back into confines of the structure, I feel my previous thoughts of hatred toward her meld into respect. Surely this woman had faced great horrors if she was able to so easily ignore such inflictions.
Perhaps I was simply waiting for my wounds to heal. Shortly after my senses returned to me, the dull ache in my chest did as well. I understood that I felt strongly about my actions toward Kagura, but was unsure how to proceed. It seemed the more I thought about what had conspired, the deeper the ache penetrated. Eventually I stopped thinking at all.
I do not know how long I stood in that spot. The pain never left, even as my wounds ceased to bleed. Motionless, I store at the door Kagura disappeared into. It was as if time had stopped for me, freezing me in a state of internal conflict. So many events had played out in front of me this day, and though in the moment I reacted as my body ordered, I now could not piece together what it meant to me.
Feeling the desire to move about return to me, I begin to wander. I am frequently forced to silence my grim thoughts, preferring to remain in the stupor which now lead me about. I seek out comfort in any form, to no avail. The entire place is the same. Unending. Suffocating. It is merely a larger, more spacious version of the room I was so recently imprisoned. There are even walls surrounding the entire structure, banning me from departing, and I have a strong feeling that if I am to break through these walls I will be met with the same barrier force that had surrounded my room.
Searching for anything to occupy my thoughts, I attempt to scale the wall of the structure. Between my claws and strength, it takes little effort to reach the highest spot. So far above the confines of the walls, a breeze is able to press into me. A slight fear grips me as I await for Kagura to exact some form of revenge before I realize she is not the cause of the small force. This wind feels neutral. I am able to once again take pleasure in this sensation after convincing myself it will not cause me harm.
I sleep up there for a time, escaping from the cage my mind presents.
A call from below jolts me from my slumber.
"Ikari," the word is foreign to me. I glance down from my perch to learn who has disturbed me and why, only to lock eyes with that foul man again. He is a distance away, on the ground, but I can still make out that Naraku wishes to speak with me. My thoughts immediately return to Kagura and the damaged I'd caused. Was it possible I under reacted to her wounds? At the time, I hadn't considered that maybe her body wouldn't heal as mine did, and as the idea breaches my mind, I feel the ache in my chest return.
Did I kill her?
Naraku doesn't call up to me again, though I sense him grow impatient as I ponder what the consequences to my actions may be. Jumping from the roof, I make my descent from one ledge to another, fearing I may not survive a fall from such a height. Reaching to ground, I approach him, both curious and fearful of what awaits me. Naraku's eyes wander about my tattered form, lingering on my claws and shifting my attention to them. I did a poor job of cleaning them, and the now dried blood has either congealed or crusted. I hide them both behind my back, feeling ashamed of my actions.
"You will be called 'Ikari' from now on," he states plainly. I look up at him, unsure what to make of these words. Naraku continues, changing subject without concern for my reaction, "There is a shard of the Shikon Jewel I have learned of that you are going to go retrieve for me. The beast that possesses it should prove to be little threat to you. Kagura will bring you there to dispatch it, and with her you will return. Do you understand?"
Though his assignment makes little sense to me, I find myself distracted by his mentioning of Kagura. I remove my claw from its hiding place to look at the sticky residue of our battle, hoping his words mean she is alright. Seeming to follow my thoughts, Naraku remedies my confusion, "Her wounds will be healed enough tomorrow for you to depart. Just like yourself, such wounds are mere set-backs," my body warms to know she is alright, "Now I need to know, do you understand what it is you are to do?" he presses. Thinking over his words, I nod. The small acknowledgment is enough for him, so he walks away without so much as another glance at me, returning into the confines of his rooms.
I ponder this exchange for a while. Though I am gladdened by the news of Kagura's recovering, and that I may finally leave this confinement, I feel sickened at being used. It takes little time for me to accept that this will forever be my fate in Naraku's presence, though it only intensifies my hatred for him. To further fuel my anger, I realize the word Ikari was being assigned to me, and that I now have to looks forward to hearing it often. To become associated with such a word that falls from his mouth is infuriating.
If my name is to be as foul as Ikari, then I am forced to find one which suites me better. I refuse to accept this my designation. Ikariis notmy name.
A/N: The way it's used (and spelled for people who understand how Kanji works), Ikari translates to "anger" and "hatred", as Naraku names her after watching her attack Kagura.