InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Price of Vengeance ❯ Chapter Twenty-Five: Wind Witch ( Chapter 26 )

Disclaimer: I do not own any of Rumiko Takahashi's characters or stories. This story is for private entertainment purposes only.

WARNING: Dark imagery and language in this chapter.

A/N: Thanks again for all the support and ideas. Shinigami Clara, again for Kagura, Akuma and Vyncent, great insight! (Vyncent...I might use your idea of Sess tossing Jaken off that tower...I wonder if I should name the chappie "Splat"...lol), Neo-Neko, the prologue in chapter one does throw the numbers off but thanks for the concern!, Amy Fushigiyugi - I do not mind if you want to link this story anywhere, and thank you for the offer! To all else, thank you many times for the support and encouragement!

Chapter Twenty-Five (Wind Witch)

*KOGA!*

Kagura froze, her mind screaming at her in terror, as her red eyes widened in shock upon seeing her most feared enemy right there in front of her. Her newly-found heart thudded in her hollow breast, and she could not escape the dull roar of fear that shook her to her soul.

*Naraku's revenge!*

The blue eyes, icy with rage and yet burning with the emotional fire of it, locked on her own.

"Kagura."

His voice, so harsh and deep, made her mind choke in terror.

*RUN!*

She was up and away like the winds she longed for, her bare feet scarcely touching the ground beneath them. Her hair fanned out behind her like a black, rippling wave, and she ignored the sobs of pain that were ripped from her as tendrils were pulled out by snagging branches. Her arms shielded her face from those same scratching limbs, and she bit back a scream as she felt the earth give out beneath her in a small depression.

She kept her balance only by lurching hard on one ankle. Her left leg throbbed as the pain shot up from her foot. She ignored it, for the pain that awaited behind her was much worse than any she could do to herself. She heard a roar behind her, and dipped under the reaching claws at the last minute, her body dodging in self-preservation even as her mind fled in sheer terror.

She dove to the left, and cried out as her full weight was put on her throbbing ankle, making her fall, but she rolled aside and lurched back on her feet, her toes digging in the humus for purchase. He was close, too close. She could not outrun him---even if he did not have the aid of the accursed Jewel shards embedded in his legs, he was a wolf, and catching prey was instinctive. She knew the futility of it all---and still she ran.

Something howled---far too close---on her right, and she shied away, her body jerking as the blood pounded in her ears and each sobbing breath was torn from her throat in lung-piercing heaves. Her body jerked and she screamed as a single, clawed hand clasped around her throat. She twisted, seeking freedom. Her body turned, and her own, still-healing claws scrabbled weakly at the forceful hold.

"Nooo...!"

Her body slammed into something hard. The back of her head smacked painfully into the rough surface behind her. Colors burst behind her closed eyes, and her body would have slithered down the harsh surface in numbed shock, except for the pinning hold that encircled her neck tightly, holding her upright against the tree. Claws clenched, and she could feel a trickle of blood going down her white skin as the razored edge of one claw nicked her throat in passing as the fingers curled and jammed into the tree behind her.

"Bitch of Naraku!" The voice hissed at her, and Kagura could not stop the tremble that went through her pinned body. Her heart beat thunder, and her chest heaved with the constriction of air into her lungs. His heated breath was on her cheek, and the purple-poisoned scar of Naraku inflamed with the contact.

"Why did you even bother to run, woman?" The wolf youkai baited her. Now that she was at his mercy, he was taking delight in her tormented fear.

Kagura's lashes fluttered, before determination sliced through her soul. She would die this day, but she would not die groveling!

Red eyes flashed as she opened them to stare coldly at the wolf-pack's leader out of the corner of them. Her left cheek was pressed against the scratchy bark of the tree behind her, and she couldn't turn her head for the grip on her neck. She watched as muscles tightened in the fur-clad arm that held her pinned to the tree behind her. His blue eyes showed loathing, hate and her guaranteed death in their deep pools of boiling rage. Lips were curled back over cutting fangs in a snarl as he taunted her.

"You will die, Wind witch!"

"Then kill me, you flea-ridden dog, and quickly!" Kagura hissed back at him, before choking as the hand around her throat closed her air off.

"You will die, bitch, but not quickly!" Koga growled. Kagura's eyes closed tight as her weakening hands tried to push him away from her. The wolf youkai only laughed, his hold tightening until Kagura saw stars bursting behind her eyes.

"K-Koga!" The startled cry was behind them, and Koga's head whipped around, his claws loosening a little as his attention was drawn away from her. Kagura gasped for breath, her hands coming up to pull at the one around her throat. The hard grip only tightened in response, and her body jerked.

"What are you doing, Koga?" One of the other wolf-brothers---the grey-haired one, Ginta, appeared to the side of them, a look of horror on his face.

"Is this your lady Yura?" Koga growled, menace in his harsh voice.

"Uh...Koga...why are you...?" Hakkaku came up beside his wolf-brother. Kagura used the distraction to pull her knees up. Her right leg kicked out at the imprisoning body before her, and she twisted, trying to win free.

Koga merely took her kick on his muscled thigh with a grunt upon impact. His attention whirled back on her, and his hand tightened on her throat until Kagura nearly passed out from the pain. She hung limp and gasping as his hold suddenly loosened, and her body crumpled to the ground in a white heap of torn yukata and weak limbs.

"This is Naraku's bitch." Koga snarled at her collapsed form. "Kagura of the Wind."

"That ain't no Kagura, Koga." Hakkaku came up beside his irrate leader. "That's Lady Yura."

"We rescued her, Koga. We found her badly injured and bleeding in the woods. She's not the Wind Sorceress." Ginta said, his eyes worried.

"I'll deal with you two idiots later." Koga roared at them, before turning his icy blue glare at the crumpled woman at his feet. "For now, I'll deal with her."

Kagura's weak body trembled with the pain, but she would not grovel. She forced her shaking arms to hold her weight, and she raised her head to glare back at the young leader of the eastern tribes. Her hair hung tangled and black in long waves over her heaving back and shoulders, partially obscuring her scratched face. The red eyes stared out at him in defiant rage, much as Naraku had at times. The resemblance sent the wolf youkai to snarling even as the wind youkai hissed back.

"You are a fool, Koga! A weak, pathetic fool!"

Koga's fist came swooping down, readying to crack the delicate jaw under his hot anger. The curled fist stopped a scant inch from the furious wind youkai, who could not stop the flinch that trembled her body. Her blood-ruby eyes did not close, however, and her lips curled with disdain.

"Koga!" Ginta and Hakkaku cried out together in shock at their leader's rage-filled actions. Koga would never hit a woman...would he?

"Take that as a warning, you miserable little bitch!" Koga snarled at her, before his fist came crashing down to the ground in front of her splayed hands. The ground shook at the impact, and Kagura's fingers tightened in the dirt, as if seeking an anchor.

"Kill me now, or do you lack the courage to kill a defenseless woman?" Kagura hissed at him, urging him to end her pain, and quickly. She did not want to experience the humiliation of her body's treacherous reaction to pain...Naraku had taught her all to well to fear the break down of her spirit. So much was gone, and she refused to give more to her most hated enemy.

Koga's blue eyes narrowed, and his lips curled back, but, instead of snarling back at her, he laughed---a hoarse, mocking laugh that made Kagura's eyes close. "Defenseless? You?"

A wolf whined in uncertainty, and Ginta stepped forward. "Koga." He pleaded.

"You can't kill her, Koga!" Hakkaku's eyes were wide, and his palms sweated on his gripped spear-shaft. "That would be murder!"

"Murder." Koga crouched above the wind youkai, his voice harsh with hate. "She murdered our clan!"

"Koga..." Ginta shook his grey-head. "We don't know that."

"I know that!" Koga roared, his anger fixed on his wolf-brother. "I watched them die! TWICE!"

"If she's so powerful, Koga, why did we find her all alone, beaten and bloody in the forest?" Ginta asked desperately. Kagura's eyes opened wide, her red eyes focusing past Koga's landed fist to the grey-haired wolf-brother.

*Is he...is he defending me?*

There was a low, menacing growl from the wolf youkai crouched in front of her. His gaze swept back to stare at her---Kagura could feel the intensity of it on her trembling body. Her own eyes snapped back to meet his, the rubied depths defiant.

"Did Naraku reject his bitch?" Koga's harsh voice curled over her with the taunt. Kagura flinched, but her eyes never left his.

Hakkaku was rubbing at the back of his spiked head. "Why would Naraku reject Lady Yura?" He asked Ginta.

Ginta gave a half-shrug, his worried eyes still on the tensed pair in front of them. A small kernel of an idea was forming in the wolf-brother's mind, and he held on to it fiercely, as those kernels were a rare thing indeed.

"Koga..." He said thoughtfully. Koga's head whipped around, pinning the wolf youkai with an angry glare.

"What now?"

"Would Lady Yur...Kagura...know where Naraku's castle is? We've been looking for it for years...could she...would she...know...where he lives?" Ginta hesitated, and then finished with a rush.

Kagura's eyes widened before they narrowed again in calculation. *That stupid wolf might even think I actually know where Naraku lairs...this might give me the chance to live for a few days more...and it might allow me to escape...*

Cold blue eyes stared at her for a long, long time. Kagura flinched when his fist came up out of the dirt, and his open palm swooped aside to grab her own supporting hands from the ground. Kagura let out a whispered cry as her body fell back onto the ground. The wolf youkai yanked her arms up and twisted her form to lie on its side.

"Rope." His order was steeled fury. Hakkaku hastened to obey, and Kagura found her wrists bound tightly together. The youkai chief was not gentle, and she had to close her eyes again as his jerking motions pulled her legs forward, ready to tie them as well. A hiss of air escaped her before she could stop it, as her twisted ankle throbbed at the sudden jerk on it.

"Your ankle's broken." The harsh voice held nothing---no pity for her pain, but no delight in it either. Kagura was shocked when the youkai stood up, ignoring her legs.

*He's...he's not going to bind my ankles?*

Naraku would have. Naraku would have delighted in it, making certain that her ankle was made more painful with each twisted knot.

"Ginta! Hakkaku! Pick this bitch up, and let's go." The wolf youkai was already stalking away from her, growling his frustration, but ignoring her as his pack-mates hastened to obey. Ginta and Hakkaku would not look into her eyes, but their touch was gentle and hesitant as they carefully helped her up to her feet. Kagura kept her left ankle up from the ground, and it was a slow procession that made their way back out of the forest, her two guardians careful with her broken ankle and yet not daring to carry her. Koga stalked ahead, surrounded by anxious wolves who kept looking back at them and whining, and when forced to wait by their slow progress, he just stood there, arms crossed and back straight.

Kagura's bitterness found its target, and even as she winced with the painfully slow steps, half-carried on the supporting arms of the wolf-brothers, she vowed, *I will live, Koga, and when I can, I will escape you...*

*~*~*~*~*

It was Shippo who first spied her, lying all alone in one of the surviving groves of InuYasha's forest. He was so ecstatic at finding his Kagome, that he didn't really pay attention to the condition she was in. He just couldn't wait to feel her arms tightening around him. He didn't really notice the wince that trembled over her small body as he launched his furry self at her, crying out his joy.

"Kagome! Kagome! You're here! I've been so worried!"

Kagome was there, truly there. After a slight moment, her arms did come up to wrap tightly around him, and Shippo could feel her hot tears on his copper-colored hair, but that was okay, because he was crying too---and with joy this time.

His call brought the others, and soon there was a small group crowding around them. Kirara---the one who first woke up in the darkened hut and hissed a warning of approaching youkai---came up and rubbed Kagome's side, her purrs almost as loud as Shippo's wildly beating, joyous heart.

"Kagome." Something passed over Lady Kaede's wise eyes---well, eye, really---that Shippo didn't understand and, truly, didn't care to understand. He only knew that his Kagome had finally returned to him, and she was safe and sound and here! With him!

"Kagome, don't ever leave me again!" He cried at her, hugging her shaking form tightly with his little paws. Kirara mewed in agreement.

"Kagome..." Miroku was there, a wrapped hand extended hesitantly toward the girl. His blue eyes were darkened with concern and worry. And...guilt? Why would he feel guilty? Or concerned, for that matter?

*Why should houshi-sama worry?* Shippo wrinkled his nose at him. *Kagome's here and she's okay!*

"M-Miroku." Kagome blinked watery eyes, and if anything, her hold on Shippo tightened. He didn't mind, he wanted to hug her until she never left him again. Kagome's sad eyes turned to the kind faces surrounding her...Lady Kaede, and Miroku, Kirara with her red eyes glowing, two of the village men who came with Kaede to hold torches up to light the way, and even on Koharu, who hung back a bit with the village men but still watched the girl with warm concern.

Shippo's furry tail wiggled, and he gave Kagome an extra squeeze for reassurance. "Kagome!" He interrupted her, bringing her attention back to him. "Kagome, you are all right! I was so worried! We weren't sure what happened to you when that nasty demon took you away! And then that dead mud-ball came and said you were here, and so I hurried back, and you weren't! Oh, Kagome! I've been so worried and sad! Please say you'll never leave me again! I couldn't stand it."

Tears sparkled in the brown eyes, and Kagome bent her head, hugging him again. Shippo buried his face in her chest as her black hair came forward to cover them like a curtain. He took in the scent of her, the wonderful smell of his Kagome---scent was so important to fox youkai, he still bore the memories of his own parents' unique, comforting smells. Scent meant home, and he had missed Kagome's so much!

But...but something was different...

"Kagome...?" He whispered the question hesitantly. "Why do you smell like that evil youkai SesshouMaru?"

His Kagome trembled, and Shippo's green eyes widened in worried surprise as he realized that Kagome was shaking, and crying, and sobbing as if she would never stop. Shippo's little body shook as well, and his paws tried to hug the hurt from his Kagome, who would not stop crying for all that he hugged and sniffled with her.

*Kagome! Kagome! What happened to you!*

*~*~*~*~*

A ghostly blue-white light surrounded the mirror that was presented to him. The dark lord ignored the small girl-form with the empty, soul-lost black eyes who held the mirror in white hands for his viewing.

A slight chuckle formed in the air between them as the narrowed red eyes watched the battle with smug assurance. The surprised yell of pain from the dying hanyou was truly enjoyable. He watched with relish as the broken body fell to earth. The scream of the hanyou's name on the taijiya's lips was even more delightful. He watched with avid joy as the girl from the slayer's village finally saw her brother.

*Delicious!*

The pain and shock on the taijiya's face were arousing. His thoughts turned toward his own heated desire as he waved the mirror away from him. Kanna, his first incarnation from the Void, turned the faintly blue-white glow from his distracted eyes, and she bowed her head, waiting for his next order.

Naraku wrapped the edges of his baboon skin closer, his fingers stroking the white fur as his red eyes grew almost dreamy. "Goshinki has proven to be a most surprising incarnation." He mused.

Kanna said nothing.

"Much better than that weak witch, Kagura." Naraku's claws tensed on the fur for a moment. The wind youkai should have been dead by now, but she wasn't. Perhaps that coarse, flea-ridden cur had some sense of cultured sadism after all. If it were he who had his most hated enemy in his hands, he would draw out their pain and torment for days, months perhaps. A feral grin shaped the cruel mouth.

Speaking of pain...

"Kanna." His voice, husky and dark, formed the Void's name with two, distinct syllables. His soulless incarnation merely waited for his command.

She was another of his better experiments.

"Bring me a girl, any girl. One of the peasant women that Kagewaki's men rounded up, perhaps. Just make certain she is young, and a virgin." His voice was like smoked velvet, and dark desire tightened through him. It would be an enjoyable evening.

Kanna merely bowed from the waist, and withdrew through the shoji screen, the soft scrape of her white sandals the only sound in the room before the click of the closing screen silenced even that.

Red eyes glowing, Naraku reveled in his triumph. A small smile played over his cruel mouth, and his thoughts turned toward the screams of heart-torn pain he had heard through the mirror. Another scream came from the innards of the house, as one of the terrified peasant girls was pulled from their holding cell. Naraku relished that scream. She would be...enticing.

*A delightful evening indeed...*