The wind howled as Kagura's fan sliced through the air, sending razor-sharp blades of wind hurtling toward Inuyasha. The hanyou dodged with ease, his crimson fire-rat robe billowing as he launched himself into the air. His golden eyes narrowed, Tessaiga gleaming as he swung down at her.
Kagura twisted away, dancing backward on the breeze, letting out an exasperated scoff. She wasn't fighting to win—Naraku's eyes were on her. She could feel it. If she didn't put up a convincing enough show, he'd punish her later. She knew better than to think she could escape that fate entirely, but at the very least, she could make it seem like she was still useful to him.
Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "Damn it, Kagura! You still gonna play Naraku's lapdog?"
She opened her mouth for a retort, something sharp and mocking—when it happened.
The air behind her twisted, the very fabric of reality rippling like disturbed water. A gaping rift split open, swirling with inky darkness, wind howling as if trying to consume her. Kagura barely had time to register the shift before the force took hold.
"What—?" Her eyes widened as the vacuum dragged her in. She struggled, slashing her fan in vain, trying to summon the wind to break free, but it was useless. The rift pulled harder, stronger than any force she had ever felt.
"Kagura!" Inuyasha lunged toward her, his claws outstretched, but he was too late.
The last thing she saw was the flicker of his desperate expression before everything turned black.
She hit the ground hard. Pain lanced through her body as she tumbled across dirt and grass, her kimono whipping around her like tattered wings. The air was thick with an unfamiliar scent—blood, smoke, something deeply wrong.
Kagura groaned, pressing a hand to her side as she pushed herself up. Her vision spun, her body aching from the impact. She was in a forest, but not one she recognized. The trees were tall and gnarled, their branches stretching like skeletal fingers toward a sky far darker than it should be. The air was heavy, unnatural.
Where in the hell was she?
She sucked in a breath, trying to steady herself, when she heard it—a guttural, inhuman growl.
Slowly, Kagura turned.
A pair of glowing, predatory eyes stared back at her. A grotesque figure emerged from the shadows, its skin pale, its mouth stretched wide into a grin filled with too many teeth. It didn't feel like a yokai, but it wasn't human either.
Her grip tightened on her fan.
"Tch. Just what I needed," she muttered.
The creature lunged.