Chapter Fifteen: Naraku's Journey
Kagome's Era one week later...
Kagura was in a dark place when she awoke... The sound of a child crying drawing her curiosity, she quickly and easily jumped from the well she'd fallen into and quickly went to find the source of the crying... It wasn't hard to spot the child huddled near a large tree on the grounds of what looked like a temple... Thinking of helpless she felt when she saw her sister Kanna shedding tears over they're masters illness, Kagura knelt down and placed a gentle hand on his should... The boy jerked and looked up in fear when saw the woman staring at him with breath taking blood red eyes...
"Easy now... " Kagura said soothingly, "Why are you crying little one?"
The boy looked at her and quickly wiped his tears on the sleeve of the strange kimono he wore...
"My name is Soata... My sister was badly hurt by someone who I thought cared about her... But he just wanted to hurt her!" Soata exclaimed worriedly, "She's been unconscious for over a week now!"
"Do not worry... I'm sure your sister will be OK... " Kagura said smiling, then she frowned, looking around... " Where am I exactly? "
This is our time... Your a demon from the feudal era, right?" Soata asked...
"I'm a demon... My name is Kagura... " Kagura said bowing.
Soata smiled.
"Thanks for talking to me... Since sis has been in the hospital, no one talks to me... They're all worried about her... I'm really scared for her... She was bleeding so much... " Soata said through new tears... "I know brothers and sisters are supposed to fight all the time... I really care slot about her... I just don't want my friends to call me stupid or say I'm a sissy for caring about my sister... "
"Oh no... Just because you care about your sister doesn't make you strange or stupid... It makes you a good brother... " Kagura said smiling, "One that your sister is very lucky to have indeed... "
"You mean that?!" Soata exclaimed beaming a smile, "You really think so?!"
Kagura nodded and smiled, patting his shoulder...
"Thanks Kagura!" Soata exclaimed, "Your a great friend!"
Before Kagura could react to what Soata had said, he flung his arms around Kagura and hugged her tightly... Kagura gasped as she was filled was such an amazing warmth, it rendered her speechless... When she didn't say anything, Soata pulled away and looked up at her with concern in his intelligent dark brown eyes...
"Hey Kagura?" Soata asked timidly, "Did I do something wrong? Are you mad at me?!"
Kagura snapped out of her trance and looked at the who'd called her friend...
"No, no dear... I'm not mad... Just not used to being shown such kindness... " Kagura said wiping away some tears that had fallen, " No one has ever wanted me as a friend... "
Soata smiled and hugged Kagura once more, only this time, Kagura hugged him back... Suddenly, an idea struck her and she smiled widely at Soata...
"Tell me something Soata..." Kagura asked smiling, "Have you ever been... Flying?"
A few minutes later Soata was flying through the air at top speed, the wind whipping through his hair... He laughed and held tightly as Kagura controlled her giant feather and made it do a loop de loop...
"This is so amazing!" Soata exclaimed over the roar of the wind, " But why would you want to take me flying?! Your a grown powerful demon! I'm just a stupid kid... "
"Don't be ridiculous!" Kagura said smiling, "I don't have very many friends... So I'm happy to do what ever I can to help you feel better... "
They went flying several times that day, and later, Soata introduced Kagura to his grandpa... Hiyuke went grocery shopping earlier that day and had yet to return, meaning she was probably at the hospital checking on Kagome... Koga was still in his true form and had been guarding the hospital, only allowing in the injured, or people who were there to visit ill family and friends... Taking quite a liking to Kagome's mother, Koga wagged his tail and nudged her playfully when she got out of her car...
"Hello to you too dear, " Hiyuke said sweetly, " Still keeping a close eye on my baby girl I see... "
Koga whined and let out a loud bark, which Hiyuke laughed at...
"Your so sweet to guard her... You must care a great deal about my daughter... " Hiyuke said gently petting his silky fur, " Thank you so much... "
Koga whined and gently nudged her again with his big head...
"will you go back to your human form once Kagome starts getting better?" Hiyuke asked as she petted him a bit longer...
Koga nodded... Hiyuke petted him once more and more proceeded to go into the hospital to see her daughter... Once Kagome woke up, Hiyuke was planning to let Koga and inuyasha take her back to the feudal era for a week or so... Despite the fact that she was kind to Jorn, Hiyuke knew that deep down, Kagome was still very much afraid of what Jorn had done and it was only a matter of time before Kagome would feel the dramatic impact of what happened to her, get to her... She needed to get away from here for a while... Later that evening, grandpa was reading the paper while Soata was trying to explain to Kagura what TVs and video games were...
"See Kagura, the TV has what's called TV shows on it... They are sort of like plays that people make up... " Soata was trying to explain...
"It's so fascinating... " Kagura said mesmerized, "What types of plays can you watch?!"
"Action, adventure, war, comedy, romance... " Soata named each one off, "We got movies too, wanna watch one?"
"Yeah... Romance sounds nice... " Kagura said smiling.
Soata made a silly face, teasing her about her choice but went ahead and popped a movie in the DVD player and hit play... Kagura sat entranced as the movie started out with a little girl playing games with her father... It told how the little girl and her father loved each other very much, but her father decided that his little girl needed someone else besides him... So he married a duchess who had two daughters of her own... Everything seemed fine... Until the little girl's father suddenly died from s heart attack... Kagura of course, had never heard of one before, so Soata explained to her that a heart attack was when a person's heart is sick and stops working... Kagura was horrified, but continued to watch as the story continued to unfold... As the story went on, the little girl endured horrible treatment from her step mother and step sisters, made to scrub the floors and do everything for them... She was treated worse then a slave... It was sweet though, because once the girl became a woman, she became friends with some adorable little animals and loved to sing to them... The girl's name was Cinderella... Once day, one of the kings men arrived at Cinderella's house to bestow a royal invitation to all the young women of the house. The king was throwing a ball, so that his son could find a bride... Cinderella was told that if she got all of her chores done and found something suitable to wear, she would be allowed to attend... When it was time for the ball, the step mother and step sisters were about to go out the door when Cinderella came running down the stars in a beautiful pink and white ball gown... The step mother complimented her on the sash and beads her step sisters had thrown out earlier, saying they gave the gown just the right touch. Becoming furious, Cinderella's step sisters tore Cinderella's dress to pieces before heading to the ball, leaving Cinderella alone with her sorrow... She raced into the woods and flung herself down next to a stone bench and cried...
Kagura continued to watch as Cinderella's fairy god mother transformed her ragged dress into a gown fit for a queen and sent her to the ball... When the movie ended with the prince marrying Cinderella, despite her being poor, the prince fell madly in love with her and they lived happily ever after... Kagura sighed with stars in her eyes...
"Oh... " Kagura sighed, "What a lovely story... I'd love to have a happy ending like that... "
Instantly, an image of her dancing around the forest under the glittering silver stars with the handsome and distinguished Lord Sesshomaru came to mind... Oh he was soo handsome!
Soata rolled his eyes... After a few minutes, Hiyuke walked into her home and went into the kitchen to put her groceries away... Kagura looked at Soata in confusion...
"Soata, I your grandfather went to lie down for a bit... " Kagura said in confusion.
"Yeah. " Soata said, "He did. Mom's back from the hospital. Hey mom! We're in the livingroom!"
Hiyuke went into the livingroom with a bright smile on her face...
"Hi Soata, how are you doing sweetie? " Hiyuke asked sweetly.
"I'm OK mom. Feeling a lot better since I made a new friend... This is Kagura... " Soata said clinging to Kagura's hand, " She fell into the well and ended up here... She helped me feel a lot better... How's sis doing?"
"Oh, she's doing much better, dear, she should be home in a few days... " Hiyuke said sweetly.
Hiyuke then turned to Kagura and looked her over, smiling kindly.
"It's nice to meet you, Kagura, was it?" Hiyuke said sweetly.
Kagura looked at the woman for the first time and gasped...
'That woman!' Kagura thought to herself frantically, ' She's the one Naraku was having nightmares about!'
Kagura herself a bit and nodded.
"Yes... It's very nice to meet you my lady... " Kagura said bowing respectfully.
"Oh no no! None of that now dear. You can call me Hiyuke... Have you already met my father?!" Hiyuke asked with a glint in her eyes.
"Soata's grandfather?" Kagura asked. " Yes, he's a sweet old man... "
Kagura smiled fondly, remembering what Souta's grandpa had said when he first saw her...
"He didn't try to exercise you or anything?" Hiyuke asked in shock, recalling when inuyasha first paid them a visit..
"No... Actually, he said the sweetest thing to me when I told him that Soata said about me being a demon was true... " Kagura said smiling, " He said I looked more like an angel then a demon... Even though my eyes are crimson... It was a very sweet thing to say... It was very nice meeting you all... But my father is I'll. I must go... "
Kagura got up from the couch and started to leave when Soata flung himself into her arms...
"Please don't go! I just met you!" Soata said as tears streamed down his face, "I wanted you to meet sis!"
"I know dear... But I need to get back to my father... " Kagura said sadly.
"Kagura, why don't you stay for dinner... Then you go home, ok? It's been a while since I've been able to cook for a new friend... " Hiyuke said smiling.
Later that evening, after having a big dinner of fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, fried cabbage and homemade cheesecake for dessert, Kagura said her goodbyes after Soata, his mother, Hiyuke, and his grandfather walked her to the well house...
"You'd better come and see us again, Ms. Kagura... " Grandpa warned sternly, " We're your friends after all... "
Kagura nodded, delighting in the hugs that all three gave her and said a final farewell before jumping down the well and vanishing in a flash of blue light...
Back in the feudal era...
Kagura had made it safely back and had gotten out of the well, just as Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were heading back to Keade's village... Immediately upon seeing Kagura, Sango and Miroku got into a defensive fighting stance, and awaited for Kagura to attack... But... The attack never came...
"Hello... " Kagura said smiling instead, " How are two doing this evening?"
"I... I beg your pardon?!" Miroku asked in shock...
""The stars... It's so beautiful... Are you two out for some fresh air?" Kagura asked smiling.
"We just finished gathering herbs for our friend Kaede... " Sango said said with a puzzled look on her face...
" Oh... " Kagura said pleasantly, " Well, maybe once you give the herbs to your friend, you go for a walk together... It's too beautiful to go to bed just yet... Have a lovely evening... "
As Kagura began to leave, Shippo suddenly jumped on to her shoulder without warning and sniffed a few times...
"Kagura?" Shippo asked timidly.
"Yes little fox?" Kagura asked patting his head.
"I like the way you smell... " Shippo said shyly.
Kagura picked little Shippo up and hugged him before setting him back down on the ground...
"Thank you sweetie, your very sweet... "Kagura said smiling.
Sango and Miroku looked at each other as Kagura tossed one of her feathers into the air and rode the winds away from the village, her face a mask of peace and serenity... They all couldn't help but wonder what had gotten in to her... Suddenly, Shippo spoke up, breaking the silence...
"She's not evil anymore... " Shippo said watching the sky, "Her scent has changed too... It doesn't smell like miasma anymore... She smells like roses and rain...
"It's strange... " Miroku said scratching his head, "I didn't sense any evil aura around her what so ever... Very strange indeed... "
Later that night, kagura was about thirty miles away from Naraku's castle when a strange feeling of dread overcame her... Picking up speed, she got to the castle in about a half an hour and burst through the doors... After searching every room and and every hallway and coming up empty, Kagura began to panic...
"Naraku!" Kagura shouted, " Naraku! Where are you?! "
"He's not here... " Kanna said sadly, "He's gone... "
"Gone?!" Kagura asked worriedly, " What do mean gone?"
"After you left, Naraku's nightmares got worse... Unable to stand it any longer, he set out on a journey to find Boksuno the demon Tree... " Kanna said sadly, "Only he knows what Naraku's dreams could mean... "
End chapter...
