InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heart Blood and Soul ❯ The soul exchange ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: Nope don't own!

Chapter 9 -Soul exchange-
Souls are strange things, they never die, they are merely passed down. You can't kill one outside of a body. To make it pass on to the next life you have to destroy the body it resides in. Even then that person is not gone. The souls still hold it's previous lives memory deep inside it. That was the information Naraku knew, that's what he intended to do.

The soul exchange was created for souls to switch bodies, one going from a weaker one to a stronger one and vice versa. The clay body that many sorcerers used to house souls were easy to kill, another reason the soul exchange was created. Naraku planned to use this basic information of souls to make the miko Kikyo rise again and this time not die. Not only would her new soul have a powerful home but his ex-mate's soul would reside now in a weak body. Therefore he could kill her with ease if she became too much of a bother.

Naraku smirked as he gave the clay body his perfect soul, watching the clay come to life. She smiled and tried to rise but he placed a hand on her shoulder laying her back down, "not yet mate. You must rest, don't worry, when you awake again you will be in a much more suitable body."

Kikyo's eyes closed again at his soothing <gag, lie> voice. Naraku placed a hand over each girl, at their hearts, where the soul was most present. They needed to pass through him, one more reason why he needed a stronger body.

Rin and Sango sat outside the room, waiting patiently for what was inevitably going to come. Naraku's scream of pain, that ripped from his soul caused both of them to smile sadistically at his pain. He was passing both souls through his own, that would cause any person pain, and he deserved it too.

After a moment silence passed over the castle giving the sign that either Naraku succeeded or, he had died in the process. The creaking of the shoji door and Naraku stepping out with the clay body proved differently, "here, I put her in you care. Now leave!"

"Hai, Naraku," both Sango and Rin said, the latter taking Kaida from her master.

Naraku smiled and turned back into his room, waiting for Kikyo to reawaken.
*~*~*~*~
Ryu was shaken awake before clasping his hands over his head. <how often do I deprive this poor child his sleep?> He started to shake whispering over and over again the same cursed word, "no, no, no, no, no, no. THIS IS NOT FUCKING POSSIBLE!"

The shout had thrown Inuyasha to the ground and awaken everyone else who slept. Shippo and Kagome were over at his side the moment his scream had awaken them while Inuyasha jumped back into his branch, "what isn't possible Ryu?" Shippo asked his little brother while watching Kagome rub the hanyou's back.

"Kaida, our connection, it's, it's gone. I can't feel it anywhere!" he cried trying to find his sister's presence in his mind.

That small fact made Inuyasha fall out of the tree again, but this time he ran over to Ryu looking him in the eye, "are you sure?"

"Inuyasha, does that mean," Kagome didn't even dare to venture that far with the thought.

"It has to, unless Naraku was able to kill the connection, but even that is a risk in it's own," he said mournfully.

Shippo fell back on his haunches and stared blankly ahead, "so that's it? Naraku killed his own mate. How cold hearted is that bastard?"

Up until that moment Kouga, Tama and Ookami had stayed silent seeing as it was a family problem, but with that said Ookami couldn't keep his guilt in anymore. It had been eating at him ever since they had fought each other the night Naraku had taken control of her mind.

The crashing of the tree that Inuyasha had rested in broke the tension, making all attention turn to Ookami who's fist was still raised, back turned. "It's my fault. She's dead because of me. I let Naraku get back into her mind that night, I let her be controlled!"

Tama tried to comfort her son, "Ookami, it's not your," she didn't get so far.

Ookami turned around, baring his fangs, "YES IT IS! I was the only thing stopping Naraku from getting her. I shouldn't have gotten at her, if I hadn't none of this would have happened."

Shippo stood by his friend, "no it's not, Naraku was the one to kill her, Naraku was the one to mate her. You could say if Kaida had not been so weak as to fall for Naraku's tricks and promises then none of this would have happen. But you don't. We must put to rest Naraku."

"You make it sound like we're doing that bastard a fucking favor!" Ryu growled, his tears gone with the knowledge and revenge coursing through him, "Naraku will not be 'put to rest'. He will be massacred!" The howl erupted from him, surprisingly not making anyone cringe at the sheer tone of it, unheard by human ears. Instead it was joined by Shippo, then Inuyasha and Kagome, Ookami and his parents as well, the promise of the demise of Naraku sung through the air for every youkai in the vicinity to know.
*~*~*~*~*
Kaida blinked, wondering why she was in the dark. The hanyou eyesight never left her unseeing. She blinked again, sitting up and bumping heads with someone. "Itai," she muttered, "gomen." The candle was lit and she saw one of the faces of her nightmares, "SANGO!"

Kaida struck out trying to claw her but she was too slow, "stop! I'm not going to fight you. It wouldn't be a fair fight."

"Where am I? Why do I have human senses?"

The exterminator sighed, "you switched bodies with the not so late miko Kikyo. You reside now in a clay body, the form of the miko is what you now have."

"So she has my body now, and she is mated to Naraku? I'm stuck as a human, a clay thing that can die in WATER!"

Sango laughed, "you belittle these people who made those bodies. They have magic in them that make the body just as water proof as a human body and your skin look, feels and is pretty much skin for as long as it stays together, but if a part breaks off, it crumbles, never to grow back." <Don't know if that's true but how else could Kikyo live when it rained there?>

"Why doesn't Naraku just get it over with and kill me now? Or is that what you're here for?" Kaida asked fingering the long black hair.

"You suffer more like this no doubt," Sango said shrugging, "and I can not kill you because Naraku has not asked of it yet. I can however let you have a way out."

"A way out? What are you going to give me a dagger and give me the option of suicide?" a dry laugh escaped her throat.

Sango glared at the hanyou girl, "no, I will not let you die, Naraku doesn't want you dead. I can however allow you to escape."

That made Kaida blink, "why would you care? Why should I trust you? How do I know this isn't a trap?"

"Like your mother said, I hate Naraku, you leaving, slipping through his grasp in another way than death would anger him."

"So this is just a way to spite Naraku?" Kaida sighed and closed her eyes, trying to connect with Ryu, "what the? What happened?"

"Your connection to your brother is through the youkai and miko blood that courses through you both. As humans, regular hanyou twins would lose that connection, but with your mother's powers you get some of that so it is only weakened."

"But since I'm in a clay body with neither there is no connection, which means Ryu thinks I'm dead," Kaida finished, "before they do anything rash I better find them, especially that baka, Ookami. With him and Ryu together, I'm afraid what they might do in a fit of rage."

"That clay has a perfume so only those with keen senses can smell you are not human, but clay and ash. It doesn't help you will be around canine youkai, but Naraku won't be able to smell you, and if you disguise yourself, it will be hard to tell where you are."

Kaida nodded, surprised Sango, her mortal enemy was helping her. Thinking for a second she finally nodded, a plan formed, "first give me a dagger so I can chop off all this hair. Then I'll rip a kimono to rags and stumble across a village. Naraku probably knows all the kimono's you have right?" With Sango's nod she smiled, "do you know a village that is plagued with a disease, for a very long time, a month at least?"

"Of course, there's one about 50 miles, away from the castle, and in a weeks or so journey from your pack. Why?"

"I was taught about herbs by mother. I'll cure them and in exchange they might allow me to stay in the village. My parents use to do this with other villages, and being in a clay body, I don't really have the option of sleeping in the woods."

Again Sango nodded, before standing and opening the door, "I'll get you the dagger you want, and a different kimono to tear. I figure that way they will give you a new one?"

"Hopefully," Kaida said with a smile, "and maybe while in that village I can see how truly human like this body is."

Sango didn't return, it was Rin who came with the dagger. She watched as Kaida just took all the hair and made a straight cut, the silk like texture turning to dust and ash. It now hung just above her shoulders, jaggedly cut, but in the ribbon that was used to hold her hair up before, it was hard to tell.

Kaida was then handed the kimono which she cut to be knee length, and the sleeves jagged too. Rin hadn't said anything to her before inclining her head to the window, "we leave at dust. Naraku sleeps with his mate now. By midnight we should reach the village, claim a youkai attacked you in the woods and you seek refugee. You don't look too weird so they will accept you. Heal them in the morning, when you take notice of the illnesses."

Kaida nodded, finished putting on the kimono, "arigato. And if I do not see Sango, tell her thank you as well."

A smile crossed the inu-youkai's lips briefly before she turned and left.
*~*~*~*~*~*
The village wasn't much bigger than Inuyasha's village. That was Kaida's thought as she hung from Rin's back, looking at the village that she would reside in until her pack came to find her. She sighed and laid her chin back on Rin's shoulder, she hadn't had an ounce of sleep.

"Come on. Stay awake!" Rin hissed at Kaida, "you can do that after they offer you a place to rest!"

Kaida nodded, getting off Rin's back and then dropping down from the tree, bruising herself and cutting her leg and palms. Rin blinked once before jumping gracefully, "nice landing," she commented helping Kaida up, "any point to jumping out of that tree hanyou?"

"I look beat up now don't I?" Kaida demanded as she turned to the village where a light was coming, the village elder hearing the crash most likely.

Rin rolled her eyes, "unfortunately yes, you do," she was up in a tree quickly though as the torch shone on Kaida.

"Who are you?" an old man demanded as he watched Kaida cover her face.

"I'm merely a traveler who was uh, attacked. My name is Kaida," she said revealing her face which was marred with dirt that wasn't her own.

"You seek vacancy I figure?" he asked sighing.

"If only you can provide it. I don't wish to be a burden."

"No you are hurt, I figure one nights of rest will do our village no harm," he said motioning back to his house, "you may sleep here tonight."

Kaida followed him to the room she was staying knowing Rin had left the minute the man had accepted her. She had tested the water with her hand and saw she didn't crumble. From the bath she looked at the sky, "I miss you guys. You better be alright, and not do anything stupid."

"Who you talking to child?" the owner's wife asked walking into the room.

Kaida shook her head, not averting her eyes, but cursing her senses for not being more attentive, "no one, just thinking of my family. They're likely to pass through her in a week or so."

"That's nice. Mind telling why you so far from you family? They must be really worried about you."

"Probably think I'm dead," she muttered, "I hope they travel quickly."

"No need to worry, they'll find you," she said, "you can stay as long as you want. You may call me Kaede and my husband is called jii-chan by all the people in this village." <sorry I'm really tired and don't know what I'm thinking but hopefully you get the implication, Kaede, jii-chan alright good>

"You mean I am able to stay?" Kaida asked finally looking at the woman.

"Course, we are plagued with illness though. You might wish to be wary around the village, don't know who has it. Well it's late, best be going to sleep. You should too Kaida, you said your name was right?"

She nodded getting out of the bath, "hai, my name is Kaida, Kaede-san. And I will be wary."

End chapter