𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘰𝘯 犬夜叉 ♡ ; 𝚗𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚔𝚞 𝚡 𝚘𝚌

the honest moon

The moon felt so far away. Watching from above as humans tried to figure themselves out down below. Kagura felt.. a tinge of sadness loom up her spine the more she stared up in the sky.

She knew Mei for who she was. She remembered her now, and now it would be even harder to push that memory out of her head seeing her everyday. She thought she was dead along with Kenji and Reiko, but somewhere along the way the plan thwarted itself and she was the last survivor.

All for this stupid Shikon Jewel.

Her ears alerted at the sounds of her Shoji doors sliding open, but she didn't turn around. By the icy feeling permeating the walls, she knew it wasn't Mei's warmth entering inside.

No words, only footsteps closer to her until they abruptly stopped. She didn't have to look his way, but she could feel his disappointment in her. It seemed to bean ongoing emotion between the two, but she didn't care. She was too weak to put up a fight.

Closing her eyes, she braced for whatever strike Naraku had for her. Just make it quick so I can go back to bed, she thought.

There was a short silence before he finally spoke.

"Kagura, I'm leaving tonight to look for the sword. Mei is sleeping, and I need you to take her to a nearby village East of here for medicine."

Slowly, Kagura opened her eyes, her back still to Naraku. She fidgeted her fingers in her hair, pulling the feather that was affixed in her bun and placing it on her lap.

"Okay," she replied, "I'll take her tomorrow."

Naraku didn't expect much of a differing response. As much as Kagura's rebellious fashion infuriated Naraku, she was undoubtedly obedient to a fault. He turned on his heel, aiming to depart until-

"Naraku, do you remember the castle that stray demon burned down a few years ago for you?"

Her question caught him off guard. With a twitch of an eyebrow and a turn of his head to the side, he replied flatly,

"I ask demons to do a lot for me. What difference does it make from one significant event." Kagura lowered her head, disappointed in his response.

She tapped the feather on her lap, contemplating her next response.

"Do you remember that samurai whose castle you had burned down? Don't you think Mei's sword looks very familiar to it? If I remember, his sword had 3 shards embedded into it, whereas Mei's only has two of the three." Her eyes wandered across the fine details of her feather, counting the strands one by one, hoping this heaviness would rest on her lap like this feather.

Naraku's eyes shot open, his ears ringing back and forth. A flashback crossed his mind at lightening speed of him making a deal with a demon to exterminate a Samurai for his sword that had the Shikon Jewels. Then the battle between his comrade that he possessed thanks to that demon.

It couldn't be-!

When he put his face to the jewels and Mei's notebooks to the forefront, it all connected!

Hahahahahahahaha! Of course, you killed her father! You actually tried to kill her so many years ago! How could you be so forgetful, Naraku? The same girl you're trying to procreate with was the same girl who's father you had burned to a crisp! Oh, this is rich! You truly are no better than me, Naraku. Hahahahahahaha!

The room grew three times its size at his realization. It all came rushing back to him now like a lucid dream. Hide, Tetsuo, and, her father, Kenji. Hide lied to him saying he wasn't able to retrieve the sword in time and by how poorly maintained it was- just how could he not connect the two sooner?

"Naraku," Kagura called out, turning her head to the side. The moon's radiance beamed off the side of her face, giving her skin a hallowed glow.

"You remember, don't you?" In her eyes spoke a melancholy that nobody had ever seen on her face before. The creases in her brow signified that the ending of this fairytale bore no happy ending. And yet, it was only beginning. She didn't want to flat out say what was already known between the two of them, but all clues pointed in one direction:

Naraku was responsible for the death of Mei's family. And she doesn't even know.

He tried to conceal his surprise, but without a doubt he knew deep in his heart that the clues were lining up abruptly in front of him. He remembered that moment almost a year ago when he picked up Mei from the clearing. An old, money-hungry demon blabbed to Naraku about a girl carrying around a sword with Two Shikon Jewels inside. But after so many years and so many recent battles he fought with Inuyasha, he simply. . . Forgot.

He fell in love with a  woman whose family was murdered on his own hand. At first, it was just a matter of telling Mei the truth, that he was going to use the jewels in the shard to aid his mission in taking over the Eastern Lands, but in turn he would have the power to bring her back to life if tragedy were to undergo her fate if she were to bear him children.

But now. . . But now. . .

"Naraku, what are you going to do if she finds out?" Kagura asked, her back turned away from him once more. The room bore a chill to it that crept down both of their backs. It was uncomfortable, suffocating, and Stiff.

Naraku swallowed down his concerns, choking at its bitter taste. His mouth curled into a smile only to drop into a deep frown. Truth be told, he didn't know what to do.

But he didn't want to lose Mei. Not if he could have any say-so over the matter.

"She's not going to." he said, walking  towards the Shoji doors. Kagura softly gasped, her eyes bulging at his response. She's known Naraku for making selfish decisions for the greater good but this turned her stomach to the core. Needing  not to respond, she turned her focus back to the moon. The unwavering moon. The Honest Moon.

His footsteps felt heavier as he left the room. Before he closed the doors behind him, he called out to Kagura.

"Don't forgot she has to go to the village tomorrow for medicine." of course he would change the subject, she thought.

"See to it that this stays between us, Kagura. For her sake and yours." the doors snapped shut, his footsteps echoing down the hall till it fell silent again.

"Oh, kid." Kagura breathed, looking down at the luminescent pond in front of her.

"Why couldn't you escape when you had the chance. Silly girl. . . "

There was a ripple in the pond, breaking her reflection into waves. She wondered, if a human's tears had the same affect.