Chapter Three: Compliance
I see everything, yet I am blind. I know so much, yet I feel so little.
Kanna stood alone in the small room that was her assigned place. The room was very empty, as she didn't have many things. She didn't need or want any possessions. She had her mirror, which was more of an extension of her body than anything. And the small white kimono that was never taken off as she never got dirty. Looking into the mirror, she gathered all the sights and information she could about the outside world. Her mind gathered new information like a sponge gathers water. She learned a lot within the couple of months she had been in existence. The void in her knowledge was filling quickly with things both beautiful and horrid. But with no opinion of her own, it was hard to tell the difference between the two.
She was restricted to things that Naraku's poison insects saw, but they seemed to be everywhere and see everything. Kanna took an interest in the image of two people, a man and a woman. Human people laying down on the grass and holding each other tightly. The woman placed her lips on the mans and he smiled. She looked on with curiosity as the two held hands and whispered into each other's ears.
"Why do they hold each other this way? Master Naraku has bestowed me with such a great intelligence, but with no feelings to comprehend them. I know all that goes on, but it is simply knowing. What would it be like to hate? To cry? To love? If I were capable of loving him, what would that make me? What if I were able to hate him as Kagura does? What would that mean? I feel him calling to me now.. I cannot confide in my creator. To ask him these questions would only anger him and give him reason to take my life."
She willed the images in her mirror to fade and looked to the door. Without moving a muscle, she had transported herself before Naraku. He sat there, looking out of the window of his chambers. She walked over to him and kneeled down, her blank eyes looking into him. Naraku turned to look at his incarnation beside him.
"Tonight you will leave the castle to go on your first mission." He said, watching her face as if it would change from its usual blank stare. Of course, it never did. She simply nodded, and continued to look at him. "It took long enough, but I believe you are ready."
He relayed the plan to her, and she sat there patiently, waiting for him to be done speaking.
"Remember, you must take Kagome's soul before you join Kagura to battle Inuyasha. He will use the wind scar on Kagura, but you must be ready to deflect that attack back to him."
"Yes, Master Naraku." Her little voice whispered.
"Good. I trust that you will not fail me.. You will waken your sister before you leave. She has had more than enough time to heal from her injuries." He said, his fingers reaching for a piece of paper in the breast of his clothing.
…
"Kagura.."
The sound of the whisper caused her to wake from her slumber. A weary eye cracked open as she came into consciousness. Kagura did not know how long she had been lying there but her grief and her injuries had caused her to fall into a deep sleep. Still cloaked under her kimono, she lifted one of her long, dainty fingers and pulled down the kimono from over her face, looking around the room cautiously. There was no one there. But she had heard a voice. Kagura wanted more than ever to be alone in her dreams again, where Naraku could not find her. Her eyes traveled over to the corner of her room where she saw a large bowl that was not there before. She pulled her kimono completely off and looked at her body. Her injuries were completely healed, but she had a little blood still stained on her skin from the attack. Crawling a few feet over to the bowl, she saw that it contained water. There was a cloth on the side of the bowl and on the opposite side, her rouge was neatly placed. She figured Kanna must have been in here while she was unconscious and laid these things out for her to find.
"That child is so quiet." She thought. "So undetectable. She is the only one who could steal into this room without my noticing. But what is this?"
Kagura found a small piece of paper on top of the cloth, she picked it up slowly, unfolding it with her delicate fingers. Inside, there was a note.
"You are forgiven."
The first three words made her whole body shiver and her eyes widen. It was clearly Naraku who had written it. She huffed in disbelief at his choice of words.
"Forgiven..Forgiven for what? He is the one who deceived me. How pompous can he be?" Kagura whispered to herself before continuing to read.
"Come to me when you look presentable."
Her arms went limp at her sides for a moment. She was still coping with his deception, and had no wish to see him. But she knew she had no right to refuse. He could just as easily destroy her heart. Her pride was not worth dying for. She ripped up the note angrily and threw it on the floor.
"So I am to have my vanity if nothing else?" She asked aloud, to an empty room.
When she saw her own reflection in the water, she stopped. There was red throughout her face, from a mix of blood and rouge. She immediately began to scrub with the water, and all the redness began to fade from her pale face. She breathed in deeply and she continued to scrub her face and neck. The water was cold but it felt nice to be clean again. She dried her face with the cloth but then dipped it in, scrubbing her legs and stomach with it. Pretty soon all the mess had been washed off of her and she threw the cloth down on the side of the bowl. She handled her kimono delicately, dressing herself. She took her time purposefully, not wanting to rush to him. Tying her obi in the front, she withdrew into herself. Why had she been born into this body? Putting her hand over where her heart should have been, she shivered again.
Reaching for her rouge, she dipped her finger in, and dabbed it onto her lips. When she looked back into her reflection, she saw herself as she had been before her first battle. She looked beautiful, but she did not notice. She pulled her soft black curls into a ribbon on the top of her head and sighed. She felt a horrible anxiety come over her as she was to go to the man who caused her so much grief. She feared him, resented him, and wanted nothing more than to be free from the hold he had on her. Now that he had shown her his true colors, she was filled with hatred for him. He had touched her gently, used kind words, and had seduced her into a false sense of trust. And for what? For her to find out that she was not only at his mercy, but that he could care less about her. The trouble he had gone through to seem kind and affectionate was merely to get "the best performance out of her". She became sick at the thought of going to him. But she had no choice.
Sliding the door of her chambers open, she slid into the hallways of the dismal castle. Her feet were barely heard as she slowly walked down the dark hall. The closer she got to his chambers, the more her body shook. Noticing this, she scolded herself.
"Be still, do not show your fear to him."
Standing at his door, her fingers lingered. She took a deep breath, and her limbs stopped their trembling.
"Enter, Kagura." She heard his deep voice call to her from inside the room.
She slowly slid open the door and put one foot after the other inside. Naraku was sitting quietly against the wall of his chambers. His red eyes burned holes into her, and his face remained stoic.
"You're just on time. I was starting to think you'd be late." He snickered as she entered.
Kagura turned to close the door behind her, taking a deep breath as she shut it. She slowly turned around and took a few steps toward Naraku, her eyes never leaving the floor. He looked at her face, and watched her body language. He could tell by the way she moved that her spirit had been cut. Standing there silently, she waited for him to speak.
"You've been asleep for two days, Kagura. Surely, that was enough time to heal completely from your injuries."
Kagura nodded her head, keeping her eyes cast down. It was not a sign of submission, but disgust. She didn't want to have to look at him.
"Good." He said, reaching into the chest of his clothing. He pulled out her fan and her feather in one hand and held them up. "You may have these back."
Kagura nodded and kneeled down slowly, placing her palms out flat, not wanting to look eager about her weapons being returned to her. His arm stretched out, he dropped her weapon into her hand. She placed the fan in her lap as she pinned the feather into her hair. Letting her fan rest in her hand, she began to stand again, not saying a word and never once looking to him. He watched every little movement she made, and knew that she was not looking at him out of distaste.
"Kagura, you never told me what you wished to tell me before you left on your first assignment." He taunted her. "It seemed important."
"It was not important." She reassured him.
"Look at me when I am speaking to you." He ordered, his red eyes staring daggers into her.
She lifted her eyes to meet his, and he saw the fear and anxiety lingering in them. Her body was unreadable, but her eyes told him everything he needed to know. She was scared, and she was angry.
"Naïve girl, did you think I would return those feelings? That you would come back a champion and that I would take you as my lover?"
He watched her eyes gloss over. He knew exactly how she had felt and he was toying with her. She hated him so much she wanted to strangle him. But she resisted. "No.." She lied in a soft voice.
"No, indeed. You would be foolish to believe that I could ever come to have feelings for something like you. Silly little rag doll. I crafted you with only one purpose, and that is to kill my enemies. Just because I created you does not mean I hold any sentiment towards you whatsoever. You are merely a possession. A killing machine. You are not worthy of love."
Kagura was cut deep by his berating, and she knew she could not show it. She could not let him see the damage he had done. He saw this change and smiled internally. Now that he had cut her down, he could build her up for battle.
"Your life here is only as difficult as you make it for yourself, Kagura. It's your choice to make the best of it. Obedience and loyalty are all I want from you and Kanna. You have a place to be, a purpose, and the power that only I allow you to possess. Without the weapons I've provided for you and the protection of my barrier, you would fall prey to other, more experienced demons. I'm certain that wolf demon Koga would not think twice and about ripping you to shreds if he saw you unarmed and alone. But with the power I've given you, you are able to easily annihilate that filthy beast. Being with me means you have strength and power. Power most demons wish they had. Without me, you have nothing."
Kagura thought about what he was saying, and looked into his eyes. He was telling the truth. Without her weapon and her means of escape from deadly strikes, she would have been destroyed. But that did not mean that she had any wish to stay under Naraku's control. She reached deep into herself and vowed that she would not let his words hinder her spirit. She would only obey him as long as it would take to gain her independence from him.
"I understand. You have my loyalty." She said, nodding her head.
"Good.," He said, changing the subject. "You have a new assignment. There is a village that Inuyasha and his friends are staying in tonight. Your sister, Kanna, will be stealing the souls of every last villager. That is where you come in. You will possess the villagers into attacking Inuyasha. While he is distracted, Kanna will steal the soul of the young priestess Kagome. This is the most important part of the mission. Kanna will come to you and you will allow him to see the wind scar. You will let kanna take your place after he cuts through it."
Kagura stood there, just taking in his words. "If I allow Kanna to take my place, she will be destroyed. Won't she? No, she won't. The mirror will deflect the attack. I think I understand."
"With the blows you received from the Tetsaiga, I was able to comprehend the sword's power. Go forth now, Kagura. Your sister Kanna has already been dispatched."
…..
"Who knew such a pathetic human girl would contain such a huge soul? I am impressed. Kagome is able to see the jewel shards, and now this. Kanna's mirror had thrown Inuyasha's attack back at him, but it was no match for her arrow. Kanna had to release all the souls from the mirror before it burst, becoming useless. She seemed to know exactly what was happening before I did, which means she is comprehending a lot more than I gave her credit for. Her silence is not to be mistaken for stupidity. Luckily I got to relay my message to Inuyasha before we all had to depart. Kanna may have broken his bones, but Kikyo broke his heart when she gave the jewel shards to me."
Naraku thought as he looked out of the window of his chambers. They had just gotten back from the battle. He had been able to transport both himself and his incarnations back with him in his barrier. The girls were there behind him. Kanna was fixated on her mirror and Kagura looked angrily at the girl, flustered form battle.
"What are you doing? Kanna, why were not able to steal that woman's soul?" She asked aggressively. "I could have been killed."
"Kagome's soul was too large." The girl answered simply, turning her mirror left and right as she looked into it.
"Disgraceful. You are no more fit for battle than a human child." She scolded the girl.
"Kagura." Naraku interrupted her. "What do you hope to achieve from shouting? Kanna does not have the capacity to feel remorse for her failure. Do not waste your energy on her."
"Does that mean that you are not also angered by it? I know this cannot be true."
"My anger is none of your concern. Is it your desire that Kanna should be punished for her failure?"
Kagura lightened up a bit. While she was angry at the girl, she wouldn't want to witness anything of that sort. "No, sir."
"Do not be concerned for Kanna. Pain is not in her range of senses. Punishing her would be pointless."
Kagura straightened herself out before whipping her fan open to cool herself off. She stood there, staring at the girl as Kanna looked into her mirror. Looking into it as if she were trying to figure something out. Naraku approached her, taking a gander into the mirror. There was no image in her mirror but her own, but it looked as if she was communicating with the mirror. His eyebrows tightened, as he wasn't completely sure what she was doing.
"Kagura, leave us." He said, not taking his eyes off of Kanna and her mirror.
"I thought you'd never ask." Kagura whispered under her breath before heading for the door. She looked back at the image of Naraku and Kanna before sliding the door closed. It gave her a strange feeling, but she ignored it and began to walk down the halls of the castle.
Naraku slipped the mirror out of Kanna's hands. He felt her hands tighten on it for a moment before she released it to him, as if he were interrupting something. Her arms rested at her sides as she lifted her eyes to meet his. He became immediately paranoid, and filled with the need to prove that she was not hiding something from him.
"Tell me, Kanna, what did you see?"
"I saw myself." She said.
"Hmm." Naraku said, thinking of a way to see if she was lying. "Do you want the mirror returned to you?"
She felt a great pull towards the mirror, as it was part of her. But wanting?
"I will have it only when you choose to give it to me."
"Of course you will. That is not what I asked. Do you want it?" Naraku tested her, holding the mirror up above her head.
"No." She answered.
Naraku smirked, and used his other hand to grasp the girl's chin, lifting her head so he could look into her eyes. The dark black orbs in her eyes were unreadable.
"Good. There will be no secrets. Everything you see, you will tell me."
"Yes, Master Naraku." Kanna said before he released her. He placed her mirror in her hands once more.
"Now show me Inuyasha and his comrades, my saimyosho should be right on their tails as we speak."
…
It had been a couple days, and Kagura had not seen much of Naraku around the castle, which she was happy for. Although, she hadn't seen much of her sister, Kanna, either. A few times she had spied them in Naraku's room, merely looking into the mirror, watching Inuyasha and his friends closely as they found shelter to recover in after the last battle. She became concerned for the girl. Naraku trusted her more, for reasons obvious to Kagura. The girl had no reasons to defy or go against his wishes, and so she was favored by him. But there was a fragility about the girl that made Kagura feel for her.
"Ugh, this dismal places bores me. Why am I not able to roam as I wish when he doesn't need me? What is the point of cooping me up in here?" She complained aloud for the hundredth time.
"Hm?" She heard a small noise down the hall way. Curiously, she followed the hall where it came from.
When she got to the end of the hall there was a tiny room no bigger than a closet. She peered in through the blinds and saw a face. "It's the boy.." She thought. "Did he move?"
She had seen the boy here in this room before, motionless and unresponsive. She did not know why Naraku kept around a human boy, but he did catch her interest.
"Kohaku?" She asked through the blinds, to complete silence.
The small figure of the boy didn't move, it merely kneeled there as if it were waiting for something.
"Can you hear me?" She asked the boy, curiously.
"Yes.." The young figure answered, making Kagura's eyes widen.
"Why are you here in this castle?" She whispered, leaning in. "What does Naraku want with you?"
The boy again remained silent. She didn't know if he was silent because he was daft or silent because he had been ordered to be. She moved the blinds aside and stepped into the small room, kneeling down by the boy. Kagura looked into his face, and saw the blankness behind his eyes. Naraku had definitely bewitched this boy. "But why?"
Kagura lifted one of her fingers and ran it down his face, hoping he would flinch. But he stayed as still as ever. The state of the human boy gave Kagura an uneasy feeling. She felt a hand on her shoulder and shouted, shooting up onto her feet. She turned to face what it was that had touched her. Kanna stood there beside her, looking up to her.
"You scared me, Kanna!" She shouted at the young girl.
"Master Naraku does not want you in here. The boy is to be left alone." She said, looking over to Kohaku's motionless figure. "He wants to see you in his chambers."
"Does this mean I finally get to go outside and do something for a change?" She huffed, brushing past Kanna and the boy.
Kanna stood there, staring at the human boy Kohaku for a moment. The blank look on his face almost matched hers. He did not feel things because he did not wish to remember the events that happened before he came here, whereas she never had feelings to begin with. She turned, never taking her eyes off of him as she exited the room.
Kagura's toes connected with the floor lightly as she glided down the hallway. She made sure to always make him wait for her in some way. She would not go running to him at any rate. She lingered by his door, as she usually did. But he didn't seem to notice she was waiting for him to call her in. Kagura heard him stabbing into the floor before him, grumbling violently.
"That filthy whore." She could hear say aloud. "Who does she think she is? Worthless."
"Is he talking about me?" She wondered, now very hesitant to enter the room.
"Kikyo, you torment me even now." She heard him grumble, as he stabbed his knife into the floor one more time. "Horrid wench."
"He speaks of the priestess." Kagura whispered to herself. She knew little about the woman who had given Naraku shards of the sacred jewel. All she knew is that the woman was a priestess and had died a long time ago. Naraku didn't speak much about her. So she had no idea why he was cursing her name.
Naraku stopped, putting his knife down, looking to the door of his chambers. "Stop milling around in the hallway and get in here." He said angrily.
Kagura slid his door open and entered, sliding the door shut behind her.
"You called for me, Master Naraku?" She asked, trying to act nonchalant. She looked at the marks he had left on the ground before him. He looked jaded as his eyes were bloodshot and he was hunched over angrily. His red eyes pierced through her.
"Bored, are we?" He queried, already knowing the answer. He couldn't help but overhear her dismay over the past few days, as she made it a point to be very vocal about it.
"Bored of this place? Surely, you are mistaken. I enjoy sitting around all day and doing nothing."
"Hm. Sarcasm. Your attitude, while sometimes amusing, is not going to be welcomed this day. There are important things to discuss and I will not steady my hand should you choose to be impudent."
Kagura nodded, knowing that it was better to be silent at a time like this. She put her arms at her sides, ready to be cooperative. Even if she didn't want to be.
"You know that Kikyo is the priestess who had given me the shards that made it capable for me to create you and Kanna. After a recent visit I made to her, I have reason to believe that she is trying to pull one over on me. I'm not sure what she intended when she gave me the jewel. But she is not going to fool me."
"So what am I to do?"
"I need you to follow Kikyo and keep an eye on her. I do not trust her."
"Is that all?"
"You will report back to me should you find out any odd details. Be careful and do not follow her too closely."
Kagura nodded and turned, anxious to get out of this room and the castle. She slid open the door, and placed a foot outside of it.
"One more thing." Naraku said, and she turned slightly to look at him. "This isn't an in and out mission like the ones in the past, so you are very likely going to have contact with other demons. I expect you to kill any demons or humans, for that matter, who try to distract you from your job."
"Why should they want to have my attention?" Kagura asked curiously.
"I think you know very well why." He glared.
"I do not intend to make any friends if that is what you are suggesting." She said, putting her other foot on the opposite side of the door.
"Good. Now go." Naraku said, watching her slide the door shut.
"Smart mouth wretch." He thought to himself. "I better have one of my saimyosho stay nearby as well to make sure she is on task. Kikyo… I will find out what it is that you are trying to pull. And when I do, I shall see to it that your plans are thwarted."
….
"Ugh, I can't believe what a waste of time this is. It's been two days, and all I've seen this miserable woman do is take care of human men who were injured in battle. Why does Naraku take such an interest in her? It's not like she's his type or anything. If he even had a type. That man is a mess worrying about her like this. Well, at least it did get me out of his estate for a while. I guess I should have her to be grateful for. It's been very peaceful on the outside."
Kagura was sitting beside a lake, close to a human village. She took a moment to dip her feet into the lake as she didn't see any humans around. She did a good job of keeping herself hidden from them. She picked at a few flowers she found on the ground, smelling them and then crushing them in her palm. Letting go of the petals, she watched them float away from her. She thought of her own hopelessness, and how she would never escape from Naraku at this rate. It wasn't like she could take the opportunity to take off and never return. If she took off, he would crush her heart and she would die where she stood. Kagura couldn't let this happen. She held her hand to her chest and sighed.
"One day.. I have to have faith." She said to herself.
"Hello miss." She heard coming from a bush.
"Who is that?" She said aloud, hand on her fan.
"Hands off your weapon, miss. I did not come to fight." The voice said again.
Kagura stood up defensively. "Show yourself."
From the other side of the bush, she could see a man. He was clearly not human, as he had gills on his neck. Otherwise, he looked like he could have been human. He had brown hair pulled back and blue eyes.
"What kind of beast are you?" She demanded to know.
"I am called Juru and I am the guardian of the lake here. A fish demon, if you want to get specific. I happened upon you when you dipped your lovely little feet in my lake."
"I am sorry to have trespassed in your territory." She said, turning to leave. Kagura had no quarrel with him.
"Do not apologize, miss. I should be thrilled that such a beauty has graced my lake with her presence."
"Please, your flattery is wasted on me." She said, whipping her fan open, covering her mouth and nose.
"That is not true." The fish demon took another step toward her. "I've never seen you around before. Please, tell me, what is your name?"
She smiled underneath the veil of her fan. "Kagura."
"Well, Kagura, you are certainly a sight for sore eyes. I don't see too many demonesses around here with such great beauty."
"Stop." She remained coy, fanning herself. Kagura couldn't help but enjoy the attention she was getting. She wasn't especially attracted to the demon before her, but it was nice to have kind words spoken to her. Naraku hadn't spared a kind word for her since before she left on her first mission. She sighed.
"Where do you come from, Kagura?" He queried, sitting down by the bank.
"I am not at liberty to say." She responded, thinking of Naraku's last words to her. She did not want to have to harm this polite creature if she didn't have to. "I should really go."
"Please don't." He said gently. "I should wish to get to know you and gain your favor."
"You are shameless." She smirked behind her fan. "But really I.."
Kagura's body went cold when she looked into the distance and saw one of Naraku's poison insects peeking at her from behind a branch. She closed her eyes and sighed.
"I am sorry.." She said quietly, hiding her face behind her fan.
"Sorry for wh- AGH!" He shrieked as he was cut down swiftly by one of Kagura's wind blades.
She stood there for a minute with her fan lifted in the air, breathing deeply as she watched what remained of Juru fall into the water and sink. She placed her arms at her sides before looking back up at the saimyosho. She turned, walking in the opposite direction. She hadn't wanted to cut down such a peaceful beast, but she had to make it seem that she was being compliant. Kagura frowned, without a doubt Naraku was watching from far away, getting a cheap laugh out of the death of the fish demon.
"Damn you, Naraku." She whispered under her breath.
She gasped when she saw Kikyo traveling through a path in the woods, hiding herself behind a tree as not to give herself away. Kikyo stopped for a moment, looking to the tree that Kagura was hiding behind.
"This woman Naraku created is not at all clever. Over the past two days, I allow her to follow me at a distance. She doesn't think I know she is there. However, I know that she is here merely on Naraku's errand so I will not draw any arrows unless she tries to harm any of the humans I'm caring for."
...
Thank you for reading this chapter! More to come soon. A bit more action. Thank you to the followers as well! The Young Bride is my popular fic (probably because Sesshomaru is a more popular character than these guys but he is going to make an appearance at some point in this) , but it makes me feel good to know that people are reading this as well! Kagura and Kanna are def. favorite chracters of mine. Have a good day! :))