Upon entering the water castle, Sesshomaru, for one of the first times slightly regretted his anti-social demeanour. Subarashi's domain was light and airy, with white washed walls and the continuous, lulling sound of the shore outside.
Unlike Mikata's run down, derelict home. This castle was pristine and completely untouched by the winter season. Most of the sliding doors were wide open to let in the warm balmy air. Whilst his mother's palace drifted in the clouds, Subarashi's castle seemed to float in the sea. Salt water moats and soft grey painted bridges could be seen in the distance, schools of Ningyo leaping and splashing in the water.
Jade statues of dragons were everywhere, which was unsurprising, as Subarashi had the ability to transform himself into a gargantuan sized dragon.
Sesshomaru wandered the halls restlessly, his nose questing for Miyu.
At last he spotted her in a quiet room that overlooked the sea. Before he could reach her, Subarashi sprang forth, barring his way.
The water demon was, unusually, not surrounded by his normal gang of underling demons. Sesshomaru expected a certain belligerence from Subarashi, but on the contrary: he looked rather jovial. Unlike Natsu, Subarashi did not notice Seshomaru's haggard state. He clapped Sesshomaru on the back annoyingly, looking thrilled.
"Sesshomaru, you sly old dog! If I had known you were on board with attacking the human filth, I wouldn't have bothered to trade your involvement for Natsu's hand! You've done a remarkable job with starting the culling, remarkable! I never imagined you would have the ferocity to attack every single major human settlement in Japan!" Subarashi said delightedly, looking at Sesshomaru like he was his new best friend.
For a moment Sesshomaru struggled to comprehend what Subarashi was going on about. Then he realised; his suspicions that Naraku was hiding in a human settlement, and his unsubtle terrorising of the humans whilst he searched for Kikyo…Subrashi believed he had joined the fight against the humans.
Sesshomaru was not interested enough to converse about this mistake. "I need to speak to Miyu. Now," Sesshomaru demanded coolly, his golden eyes fixed on Miyu in the next room.
Subarashi looked crestfallen. "I-well yes I suppose…I was rather hoping we could plan our next attack. Hit the humans when they are down."
Sesshomaru ignored Subarashi and strode to where Miyu was sitting. Miyu looked up at Sesshomaru's towering form with serenity. Her pale purple eyes glittering in the sun.
"Lord Sesshomaru, I had a feeling I would be seeing you again," she said languidly. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at Miyu.
"You…you saw me 'riven in grief and covered in blood.'"
"You've done a poor job of cleaning yourself up, Sesshomaru. The smell of blood is still thick around you," Miyu told him sadly, she turned her attention back to her view of the waves.
Sesshomaru blocked her view of the waves insistently and sat across from the demoness, the sun lighting up the edges of his silver hair but casting his face into shadow. "I need your assistance, Miyu. I cannot find Kikyo, she had been taken. You can see what cannot be seen. I need you to find her, find something."
Miyu eyed him mournfully, shaking her limp brown locks. "It doesn't work like that, I told you it doesn't."
Sesshomaru leaned forward with a baleful stare. His eyes began to glow red and he looked menacing. "Try harder, Miyu."
Miyu raised her thin eyebrows at the dog demon's boorish words. "Sesshomaru? Are you threatening me?"
Sesshomaru regretted his need for this vindictive behaviour. He liked Miyu generally. She was quiet and unassuming, her company never irked him. But he had come too far to back down now.
"If I have to," Sesshomaru told her quietly. Subarashi was skulking in the background, watching the exchange with outrage. He stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger at Sesshomaru. "You cannot come into my home and threaten my wife!"
Sesshomaru turned on Subarashi quickly with an ill-natured gleam in his eye. "Perhaps you should return to your affair with my mother and leave us to talk," Sesshomaru said scathingly. He could faintly smell Lady Sora's scent of Subarashi's clothes.
Subarashi sputtered and puffed. "I-what!"
Sesshomaru refocused on Miyu, who was watching her husband gibbering with a reticent expression. "You witness the future, yet you refuse to see what is right in front of you," Sesshomaru told Miyu contemptuously.
Subarashi's demonic power pulsed with fury. His turquoise eyes began to glow a fluorescent blue. "Enough! You have insulted me for the last time!" Subarashi roared as scales began to form on his cheeks and his teeth began to grow into fangs.
Miyu raised her bony hand, and Subarashi's transformation faltered. Miyu sucked her teeth, watching Sesshomaru with a tinge of fear in her eyes. "Please husband, I would be honoured to help Sesshomaru in his plight, if I can. Especially as it seems my life is on the line," Miyu said. She reached out her palm. "Hand," she said to Sesshomaru.
With no hesitation this time, Sesshomaru plunged his hand into Miyu's. Like before, her pale purple eyes pierced him for a moment, then went vacant as her face became slack.
After a moment, the spark returned to her eyes. "I can't see anything."
Feeling a twinge of guilt, Sesshomaru enclosed his hand around Miyu's, crushing her knuckles together painfully, his expression wicked. Miyu was his last hope. "Try…Harder."
Miyu gave the dog demon a frightened glance, then delved back into her meditative state. She drifted for longer this time, but Sesshomaru was prepared to wait.
Miyu returned to reality, still clutching his hand. "The spider…The one who started it all…You'll find him…One day from now….At a place called Wicker Hollow," she said slowly in a rough, shaking voice. Sesshomaru retracted his claw, relief flooding his bones...Now he had it, he had his chance to save Kikyo.
"Thank you," he said in a gruff voice, getting up stiffly. Subarashi looked flabbergasted.
"Some mistakes that we make are fatal and cannot be learned from, only endured," Miyu whispered to the dog demon oddly. Sesshomaru had no idea what she meant, but he nodded anyway.
Time was short for Sesshomaru to find the palace called Wicker Hollow, he had to move fast.
The dog demon barged past Subarashi without a second glance, heading back north.
Subarashi shook his head, appalled. He sat beside Miyu, who had not moved an inch since Sesshomaru had left. Some inertia had stilled her limbs.
"The gall of that dog! Can you believe him? One of these days I'll knock those fangs right out of his mouth!" Subarashi growled bitterly.
Miyu said nothing, refusing to look at her husband. Subarashi waited patiently for a reply, then sighed when it was clear he would receive none. Unbeknownst to Sesshomaru, since the banquet at Sora's, Miyu had hardly said a word to Subarashi.
Subarashi's liaison with Lady Sora had been seen by all and Subarashi had admitted to sleeping with the dog demoness that night.
"Are you still not talking to me? I told you I was poisoned, Miyu, we all were. That is why what happened…between Sora and I...happened. You can't really blame me for that!" Subarashi huffed, avoiding her gaze and smoothing his small green moustache.
He got no reply from his wife. "I'm sorry alright!" he said in a temper to the floor, before storming off with a roll of his sea coloured eyes.
But Miyu knew the full extent of his infidelity. And not just with the dog demoness. Miyu had loved her husband unconditionally for so long…But now, she had had enough.
Miyu watched the water demons retreating back.
"It's too late to apologise," she whispered.
The past few days had been harrowing for Hokai. His careful schemes, his entire world had been turned upside down. And what was worse was that his current predicament was of his own making.
His weaver Kumonosu was dead, killed by Mikata and Tsumetai, who were in turn murdered by Naraku. His plans of dominance and power had been shattered. It had never crossed his spidery mind that Naraku's main objective would be Kikyo. Nor did he foresee the wrath Sesshomaru would display at losing her.
Naraku had told him to lay low, until Sesshomaru lost interest in finding the priestess. Hokai had tried to do as Naraku asked, but the force of Sesshomaru's fury and the subsequent massacre that had then started, made survival more complicated.
Hokai had summoned all of his craftiness and guile to evade Sesshomaru's slaughter. Hundreds of the spiders he was responsible for had been killed mercilessly by the dog demon. His soldiers had no information on Kikyo to give Sesshomaru, as Naraku had kept those spiders and demons that knew her whereabouts on the island with him.
Apart from the demons based on Kukoyoseki isle, the clan, the north and eastern demons had virtually been wiped out. Humans and demons alike had been targeted and Hokai was unnerved to learn the humans boats had all been destroyed.
So much death, and all because of a dead priestess.
The minions that managed to keep their lives on the isle and the scant few that had survived Sesshomaru's rampage, began to squirm with panic.
An unguided uprising began. The demons called for Naraku to be removed from power. Those that knew of the priestesses capture, begged for her to be released.
Hokai had brooded over the relationship between Sesshomaru and Kikyo. When they had coerced Kikyo into lifting the sealing arrow off of Tsumetai, Sesshomaru had transformed into his dog form and defended her ferociously. When they had broken through the barrier and been ambushed, Sesshomaru had refused to leave and defended her. Even at the banquet, his spies had reported a heated embrace between the two. In Naraku's damned mirror they had slept beside each other, sometimes kissing, other times just gazing into each other's eyes…
Naraku was mistaken. Sesshomaru would never give up searching.
The priestess had no value to anyone apart from Naraku. She was not worth the countless lives of those that had already been lost.
Hokai had no choice but to return to the isle and try to persuade Naraku to let Kikyo go free, and hope Sesshomaru would be so reluctant to leave her again that they would have an opportunity to make their escape. There had been a reprieve in Sesshomaru's relentless assault. If Naraku would listen to reason and return the priestess swiftly, they may be able to avoid the next wave of attacks from the dog.
Hokai made his way back to Kukoyoeski isle, traversing the great snow storm around it with difficulty. He skittered down into the onyx cave, wondering how the hell this conversation was going to go.
Hokai waited outside the obsidian gate for Naraku to emerge. Naraku made him wait a long time. Eventually, he stepped through the gate and sat in his stone carved chair, as lazily and as confidently as an emperor, a satisfied smirk painted on his face.
"Ah, Hokai. I wondered whether you'd be crawling back to see me soon," Naraku said nastily.
Hokai fought to control his temper. Naraku did not consider him an equal, perhaps he never had. "You need to give up the priestess, for all our sakes."
Naraku raised his eyebrows in amused incredulity. "What foolishness is this?"
Hokai took a deep breath of cold, dank cave air. "Sesshomaru has attacked every demon community he could get his hands on. Not just the Wicker clan, everyone. Thousands have been slaughtered. The other demons are turning on us now. They know the priestess has something to do with this unprecedented attack from the dog."
If Naraku was shocked or surprised at this news, he did not show it. His red eyes were as unfeeling as always.
"He will tire eventually and find another woman, once he comes to terms with the fact that Kikyo will never be found," Naraku said assuredly.
Hokai could not believe what he was hearing.
How many lives would Naraku sacrifice until he faced the truth?
"He WON'T!" Hokai yelled with a hissing shriek, "It's over Naraku, give up the girl. We must hope that with the priestess returned, that Sesshomaru's wrath will subside. This is the best we can hope for now." Hokai did not suggest that Naraku go out and try and kill Sesshomaru himself, his brother had already shown a lack of inclination to sully his own hands and fight head on.
Naraku looked up to the cave wall, contemplating.
"I do not believe the dog is capable of finding this place. But if you are convinced, Hokai, then I shall leave this accursed land with Kikyo. You will find me a ship. We will sail the sea and go far away from Sesshomaru's reach."
Hokai was confused by this plan. They were spider demons after all, spiders did not do well inside wet, rocking vessels surrounded by bottomless salt water. How was this plan feasible? Hokai supposed that the males could shrink for a time and the females could adapt a humanoid form…Bu that took effort and they could not keep that shape change for long periods, and there were still a large number of clan spiders on the isle.
"The spiders could not do this. I can't go on a ship, you know that, I'm not built for that kind of travel."
Naraku gave a brittle laugh. "You? Who said anything about you?"
Then Hokai understood. Naraku meant to use a ship to save himself, only himself…Leaving the rest of them to face Sesshomaru alone.
"I'm afraid your escape plan is no good. Sesshomaru and his forces destroyed all of the ships. There is nowhere for you to run…I've heard from the other demons here that the priestess is in a catatonic state. If that is true, what use is she to you? We are finished, Naraku." Hokai had been most intrigued by this scrap of information, he had never heard of a catatonic state before, but that is what the demons on the isle had whispered to him.
Naraku looked furious. His eyes held a frantic madness in them, a madness that was not there before he had the priestess in his clutches. He advanced on Hokai with a spiteful gleam in his eye, his face hard.
"We are finished when I say we are finished! I will never let Kikyo go! Now, get out," Naraku yelled at Hokai.
And Hokai knew it was hopeless, whatever brilliance Naraku used to possess, whatever cunning he used to have, he would no longer use to save them. His obsession with the priestess had unhinged his mind, blinding him to the danger around.
Hokai would follow his brother's orders no longer. Hokai turned his back on Naraku, his eight legs feeling heavy.
"I think I will go home…If I knew all this would happen…I would have left you in hell, brother."