InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Before There Was You ❯ Chapter Three: The Witch of Kunukanai ( Chapter 3 )

"Before there was You"

by: Banshee Puppet

Chapter Three: The Witch of Kunukanai

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In the Last Chapter:

"I am. . ." he paused, trying to decide whether or not it was wise to say, a mental battle ensued and the side of him that he despised won the battle. ". . . your father, Kuma."

Kuma stared at him blankly for a moment, perhaps a bit suspiciously, but she made no sign of speaking. Almost two full minutes passed in silence before he decided finally to speak again. And not knowing what to say, he was surprised by the words that came out of his own mouth. "I wanted to wish you a happy birthday."

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Kuma gaped for a long few moments, jaw slack. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to feel at first, but it wasn't long before her body decided on pure, unadulterated rage. Who the hell did this guy think he was?!?! Her father, as if! She wasn't even from this time! Her father was Ayame. . . Ayame. . . her mind grappled for a name. `Ooooooooo! Who cares already! Mr. Ayame, Ayame-san.' Whatever the case, this obviously wasn't him. He was about a thousand years early to be claiming her the fruit of his loins, whatever the case. A voice in the back of her mind cringed and said, `ew. Fruit of loins. Why'd I have to go thinking about that. Gross.' Kuma may not remember her parents, but that didn't mean she was comfortable thinking about the method of her creation. Thinking about your parents having sex is just sort of foul, regardless.

Finally, words clipped, she spoke. "Well. Mission accomplished. You can leave now," she said, and with an arrogant flip of her head which she used to get her hair out of her face, she turned with a slight "hmph" and began walking away from him.

"You don't believe me." He was surprised by the deadpan voice that came out of his throat. `Of course she doesn't believe me. When did I become a bumbling idiot?'

"Oh, it's not that, exactly," she said steadily, with a sweetness that bordered on venomous, stopping her stride but not turning to look back at him. "It's more like. . . I couldn't care less." The way she said those words, it seemed as if they were aimed at provocation. He wanted her to explain. They stood for a long time, just lost in the silence before he asked her why.

"A father isn't someone who just happens to be of the same blood as you. A father cares. A father protects. That's what they do. It's just. . . in their nature. You're my father? Yeah right. I don't have a father."

And this time, when she walked away, he let her. Staring at her retreating figure, he sighed again, "would that that were true," he said. "I would make it true in a second, if I could."

The memory of the child it took him almost three years to kill surfaced in him, his Kuma, his little kitten, and he knew that he cared, and hated that he cared. Leaving the village he thought, `I wish I'd killed you back then. I should have done it sooner, and made sure you wouldn't walk back into my life like this. Because before there was you, I was heartless. Before there was you, I was free.'

But suddenly, the small, tugging fear clutches his heart again and forces him to turn around. He lands in front of her.

With a disgruntled sigh she asks, "cripes, what is it now?"

"There's something else I wanted to tell you, but you made me forget until just now," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She flinched and stiffened at the touch, but didn't move away from it. That would be admitting defeat, which she wasn't about to do.

"Well?" she asked, prodding him to spit it out already.

"Beware the witch of Kunukanai, Kuma," he said seriously. "If she finds you, she'll kill you. And she's very strong. Perhaps even stronger than me."

He felt the urge to kiss her brow, but shoved it back. Even if she wasn't taller than he was, she would never allow it. HE would never allow it. `I'm being terribly foolish, and weak. . . I'm being awfully weak right now, what is my plan for all this, exactly? Do I even have one?'

"Stronger than you? I'M probably stronger than YOU. And I'm not very strong at all," she mocked.

"You would be surprised, at just how strong I am," he scowled darkly. Now she was mocking him. His own daughter was mocking him.

"Listen. I'm gonna ask you one last time, and none of this "your father" crap. Who are you, really?"

"I am Naraku," he answered steadily before turning to leave. "And I am also your father, whether you choose to believe so or not. I pushed you in a well when you were hardly three years old. Unfortunately for me, I seem to have chosen the wrong one," he said flatly, this time walking away from her, and his hair billowing as he turned in the breeze reminded her of something familiar, something black, something like hair, hair passing over a lip of open light as she called out "papa!" before the blackness consumed her.

She shivered. Not because she was cold, or because he creeped her out of for any of the usual reasons, but because. . . what he said. . . it could be true. And because, deep down, she wanted to know if it was.

"Kunukanai hm?" she whispered, looking up at the stars again. "I'll be waiting for you, whoever you are, witch of Kunukanai."

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Akija threw the smokey crystal ball across the room, her golden eyes flared in rage to a deep red for a moment, but faded back, her near platinum hair fell in long plaits around a sinuous feminine body dressed in an elegant navy kimono, the markings on her face, delicate pastels, were nearly invisible, save when she was angered so, as she was now, then they flooded with sudden color, peach stripes, and a simple pink diamond on her forehead; right now, they looked bright orange and deep red, but again, this faded quickly. `This was infuriating,' she thought with a huff as one of her more nondescript servants went to retrieve the skull-encased orb for her. She knew the girl lived, but she couldn't find her now! The orb had shown her the hanyou child before, so why not at this time, what was concealing her now?

It had been a pure accident that she had made this discovery, in truth. She had heard of a miko who travels through time and possessed much of the shikon no tama, which, of course, any evil demon in their right mind would covet, and she was no different. Besides wanting to keep it away from that worthless Naraku, of course. She had asked the ball, the Kunukanai, to show her the "girl who travels through time" and she had been given an image of her own daughter. Needless to say, she was a bit surprised, but she decided to play a little game. The girl was strong enough to survive at bizarrely disproportionate odds, perhaps she could bend her to her will. And if not, killing her would be easy enough.

"Haioh, contact the swordsmith. I want to know why our little trinket is not working properly."

"As you wish Mistress Ajika," the man who stood in the corner of the room bowed, dark shaggy ponytail flopping as he did so, silver eyes piercing and hypnotic, somehow. . . unnatural.

"And Haioh," she said as he moved to depart. "Use whatever means necessary to get the answers I desire."

Haioh nodded. "I understand."

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Kuma stood out in the cool night breeze for a long time, ruminating on the bizarre night and the figure of Naraku. "Keh. Like I care," she scoffed before turning back into the hut and moving to go back to sleep.

Inuyasha sniffed and stared up at her, confusion setting in his features, then caution. "You smell like Naraku," he said. "Why?" He would have been louder, yelled, but he didn't want to wake Kagome, who was nestled into his side.

"Like it's any of your business," Kuma said flatly.

"You smell like my worst enemy and it's none of my business?!? LIKE HELL!!" he half-hissed, still trying to be quiet, but wanting very badly to get up and scream, start shaking her.

"Whatever, puppy. I don't care about weaklings like that guy at all."

`She's hiding something.'

"Kuma so help me, if you don't talk. . ."

"If I don't talk you'll what?" she snapped at him. "My life is my own. Just do me a favor and. . . LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!!" she hollered at him, causing him to jump and waking up everyone in the tent. "Keh. Whatever. I'm outta here," she said before storming out of the hut.

As she ran full speed from the village, not knowing where she was going, or why, her mind hollered angrily. `I don't need them anyway! I don't need anyone! Like they would understand! They wouldn't understand. Nobody understands. NOBODY UNDERSTAND AT ALL!!!' And she stopped in the open field, letting out a loud, mournful roar before realizing where she was.

"The dry well. I wonder if. . ." She was going to say, "I wonder if I can find the answers I'm looking for by going back for a little while," but she wouldn't even fathom that possibility. "No," she said. "I'm never going back there. Never." But the fact was, she didn't know where to go right now. She knew that Inuyasha was right, that she owed Sesshomaru so many explanations, that Rin would miss her if she woke up and found that she wasn't there, but she'd already stormed off, so she couldn't go back right away. Best to let herself cool off a bit first. So she crouched down where she stood and took a few long, deep breaths, trying to decide where to go from here.

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okay, short chapter, I know, but it's sort of a…uh…prelude of things to come, and the next scene feels like it would fit better in the next chapter than this one, I think. *chews lip* It was a hard call to make, because nothing really happens in this chapter. But…with any luck the next chapter will be longer(I might know for sure if I had more than one scene of the next chapter figured out.) Mmn. . . not sure how long that one will take to write, since I'm also currently formatting some chapters for my FF8 fanfic and the idea for the next in my Sess/Kag series came to me. Yes, that's right, my sequel to my sequel of "Not that he Cared". But it's sad again! *frowns* Why do I have to go depressing myself all the time? Uh, anyways, something new will come soon, whatever the case. R&R if you want to try to inspire me to write quicker. I don't know if it'll work, but it might. . . and if you're good, I may even be inspired to get you a lollypop. . .

Well, that's enough rambling. Till next time,

Happy Haunting,

Banshee Puppet