Ritsu pov:
The time we took to get back to Mt. Hakurei felt like forever. I told myself a hundred times that nothing happened but obviously, it wasn't something that was easy to ignore. Nonetheless, I did relax enough to lift my head up and look around along the way.
When we did make it to Mt. Hakurei, I raised my brows a little. "The Spiritual Barrier has gotten really strong." I mumbled out looking at the foggy presence around the mountain.
But as we passed through, the path which we used to get into the mountain cleared off so that Naraku wouldn't be purified. Of course his barrier sparked as well as cracked a bit but it didn't shatter completely. He was safe from being purified and whoever had put up this barrier was making sure nothing happened to Naraku.
"That's correct. I was able to help a saint break free from his fears of dying for the sake of other foolish people." Naraku said and I looked up at his face. The minute I did though, my heart jolted. I looked away immediately, my cheeks getting warm as well. Darn....I still hadn't come back to normal! I couldn't even bring myself to look at his face!
"Y-you mean the saint K-Kanna mentioned earlier?" I mentally cursed again for stuttering.
"That is correct. Saint Hakushin is powerful and he will be keeping this barrier up during the time I take to reconstruct my body. It will be advantageous to me since I won't have trouble dealing with my consistent enemies. The Band of Seven along with you and Kohaku will keep them busy in that time." Naraku said again and I just nodded without looking at him.
"Okay....so I'm guessing I'll be meeting this Inuyasha person and his gang soon?" I took another chance to glance up at him. He met my gaze and my heart felt totally out of control.
"Yes, you will." He replied. I just gave another nod and we landed at a cave entrance on a high ledge.
Kagura was glaring at us from inside. Because of the strong spiritual barrier as well as the lack of a miasma barrier herself, she couldn't even come to the entrance of the cave. Naraku let me go and I followed him into the cave.
"You may do whatever you want for now, Ritsu. I will call for you when I need you to assist Bankotsu or do anything else. You may walk around Mt. Hakurei but you are forbidden to leave the barrier without permission. If you do so, results will not be pleasant." I mentally cringed at his warning. But I managed a smile as I looked at him and nodded. I did my best to act normal after the weird incident earlier.
"Whatever you say." He gave me a nod before walking into one of the caves on the other side of this central hollow area in the mountain.
I sighed deeply finally feeling like I could breathe again. Seeing Naraku's hair swaying as he walked away from us didn't help my thoughts at the moment. I always had this habit of running my fingers through people's hair especially if it was long. I had been itching to touch his hair since the day I accepted being around him. He wasn't such a bad guy once you got to know him and he was pretty nice to you as long as you did whatever he wanted you to do.
I sighed deeply again coming out of my seemingly endless thoughts of Naraku. "Could you stop glaring holes through my head, Kagura? What is your problem anyway??" I turned to her deadpanning.
"What is my problem?? You're my problem! Its so unfair that you get to go out of this stupid cave! Sure, you're just a measly human but what the hell does Naraku treat you so nicely?!" She hissed out making me roll my eyes.
"I don't know. Why don't you go ask him, oh great Wind Sorceress?" I spoke rather dramatically. I was pissed off at the moment because I already had a line of crazy thoughts going through my head. I didn't need her to yell at me for something that wasn't even my fault.
"I cant believe you accept Naraku's gestures so easily! Letting him hold you like that and agreeing to do whatever he tells you to do! you may be his servant but he's so selfish! How can you stand being controlled by him?! Don't you have any self respect?! Besides, he's a half demon! You should be disgusted of him!" Kagura ranted as she continued to glare at me.
"I don't know what you mean, Kagura." I said calmly as I looked at the walls of the cave. "I mean sure, half demons are really different. They're like a mix breed, not complete of either. But I don't think that its right to treat them as something disgusting. Naraku said that the way he was created was different. But for a human and a demon to fall in love regardless of their differences in looks and power and have a child....I think that its really amazing. Their love is pure and beautiful and the child is a gift that represents that beauty."
I looked back at Kagura who was still frowning deeply. "If I had the choice to be reborn, I would have liked to be a half demon with parents who shared a loving bond."
"You're an idiot. I don't even know why I'm wasting my time talking to you." She closed her eyes waving off my opinion.
I rolled my eyes and looked ahead. "Well if I'm an idiot, why do you even bother asking me those questions? You know that I wont give you answers you like anyway...."
She didn't say anything to that so I pushed it off and headed back to my room. When I did get to my room though, I collapsed on my knees. I broke out into a sweat and covered my mouth as I took deep breaths. I'm surprised at how I kept up my composure till now!
I sighed deeply. Well, I guess I couldn't really do anything about what Naraku had done. I mean, sure, I was his servant and I wasn't really allowed to do anything without his permission especially because of the bracelet. But love? I didn't have time for stuff like that! I barely met anyone who I could consider as a possible date candidate and even if I did run into a handsome guy, our meetings would be one time.
I don't know how long Naraku planned to stay here at Mt. Hakurei though. I wonder who all I would meet....
Shaking my head, I got up from the floor. I didn't really have anything to do at the moment. Naraku did say I could go wherever I wanted to as long as it was well within the barrier. I think I should do some exploring. It would help get my mind off the incident with Naraku too.
I gave an involuntary shiver as goosebumps erupted on my skin. Darn....just thinking about it made me feel weird!! I rubbed my arms rather roughly trying to get the creepy crawly feeling off my skin.
I picked a random direction when I walked out of my room to do some exploring. Someway throught though, the spiritual presence around began to increase. Curious to know more, I continued in that direction and came across a wooden ledge on the outside of the mountain.
"That's strange....the air here is so pure. Almost like its the very center of the barrier around Mt. Hakurei." I mumbled.
It was foggy so everything wasn't clearly visible. I walked further and finally came across some sort of shrine. It wasn't a building but there was a pedestal and four pillars that supported a rather intricately designed roof. I pouted slightly noticing a person sitting on the pedestal. As I got closer, my eyes went wide.
It was a person sitting there. He actually looked mummified. He wore purple and yellow holy robes. He had holy beads in his hands that were held up in some sort of sign. I could feel the strong spiritual aura literally radiating off him.
I stopped barely two feet from the shrine. Everything here felt so serene. All the turbulence that I usually felt in my heart when I was around Naraku or fighting any demons wasn't there now. I felt so light. Being in the presence of a spiritual barrier and a saint who was so pure....it was wonderful.
I broke into a small smile. I remember what my mother had taught me when we visited shrines back at home. Assuming that it was applicable here as well, I closed my eyes and brought my hands together in prayer.
"Dear saint, thank you for blessing me with all good things in life. Please watch over my family and bless all humans, demons and half demons alike. Please protect them as you protect me....I hope for happiness for everyone." I kept my eyes closed, silently letting the serenity settle into me.
It wasn't just a prayer that I wanted to say here. Many things that I had been undecided about came to my mind. I was able to think clearer, knowing what I wanted to do whether it was good or bad. If my decision was good, I felt good. If my decision would result in hurting someone physically or emotionally, I would feel a queasiness in my stomach. Its just as they say - being in a holy place with energies of the powers that watched over our existence, you felt tiny and insignificant. It made you want to accept your good points and your flaws with no shame.
I opened my eyes halfway staring ahead blankly as my thoughts came back to the biggest presence in my life at the moment - Naraku.
He's been acting strange lately. It was quite common for him to carry me during our flights to different places but now that I thought about it, I wasn't normal at all. Being a demon slayer, a priestess and not to mention, just a tool to him, he had no reason to have to take me with him like that. He could have just told me to come on my own or just travel with Kagura on her feather. What made me special?
Was it because I was a mere human? No....I had thought about that before. Kohaku was human too but he never got any special treatment.
That's not the only thing here though. Naraku had almost kissed me. Remembering it made me feel embarrassed but I couldn't say that I didn't like it. He was always gentle with me, his embrace as we flew was warm and almost protective. Was there something here that I was missing? I wasn't being controlled by him in any way. I wasn't being forced to do anything so to say because I was serving him out of my own free will.
Perhaps I was afraid to die at his hands or afraid he would hurt innocent people. Or....its because I had become too comfortable around him.
I no longer saw him as an enemy. I don't think I even saw him as my superior even though I did call him Master when I was around him. He was someone I had gotten used to being around. Like he was someone I've known since so long and felt so fine to be around.
I....loved him.
My eyes went wide at the thought that just crossed my mind. I loved him? I loved Naraku? How....what....for what reason had I just thought that?!
I was his tool! Even if I did like him more than I should, there's no way I would be accepted. He wanted power. He wanted to rule this world. He didn't care about people's feelings, in fact using it as a weakness to destroy them from inside out!
Why did my chest hurt so much now?
"A priestess." I was snapped out of my thoughts by a hoarse voice. I looked up and immediately dropped my hands to my sides as I took a step back.
"You're.....you're alive." I mumbled out now seeing the mummified saint looking at me with creepy yellow eyes.
"You're heart and soul are so pure, child. You are not affected by my barrier." He spoke again making me twitch.
"Your barrier? So....the barrier around Mt. Hakurei is because of you?" I asked now getting a little confidence that this wrinkly guy wouldn't do anything to me.
"That is correct. I am Saint Hakushin and I have created this barrier."
"So you're helping Naraku." My words came out more like a statement. Well, that's what Naraku had said....Saint Hakushin would maintain the barrier until he got a new stronger body.
"He freed my soul from the eternal darkness I was to suffer in. He voiced out feelings that I would never have dared to say on my own. He has given me freedom so I am merely repaying his favor." The saint said.
I looked down sadly. Naraku sure knew how to exploit people. Perhaps this saint was suffering. Naraku must have used words of deceit to make him hate everyone and think that Naraku was the good guy.
My eyes stung as a bitter laugh threatened to escape my lips. How is it that I just accepted to be in love with a man so heartless? I didn't care if he was a half demon....I never differentiated between demon, human or half demon. Right now I saw Naraku as just one man. How on earth did I end up thinking that I actually loved him when he was actually so evil?
"Why is it that you shed tears, child?" The said spoke again curiously. "I have heard from Naraku, that you are the human that serves him. A demon slayer with priestess level spiritual powers."
I felt the coolness on my cheeks and I wiped the tear tracks off with my arms. I sniffled but managed a half-hearted chuckle. "No reason.....I was just thinking about something."
"You wished for everyone to be happy. Despite being a human, you wished for the happiness of demons and half demons. Surely you are not so selfless." The saint changed the topic.
"Everyone fights for survival. I can just hope that everyone finds happiness without creating sadness to others. I think its unfair to think from only one perspective." I said looking down with a small smile.
That's right. I couldn't look from only my perspective, could I? I had to look through Naraku's as well. I didn't know what he was after....what he really wanted to achieve with the Shikon Jewel or all the power that he was trying to gain. His methods of hurting other people were wrong....I knew that. But it didn't stand as a barrier between him and my feelings. I wanted to reach out to him and try to stop him.
Not just for my happiness but for others as well. There was a solution for every problem and I'm sure this one had a solution too.
My thoughts were correct, right?
>>Timeskip
I hummed to myself as I sat behind Naraku running a small wooden comb through his hair. He had his eyes closed as he sat with an arm resting on his upright knee.
I had always wanted to touch his hair and run my fingers through it. After going to see Saint Hakushin, I had understood what I really felt towards Naraku. I had realized that I wanted to do....whether he returned my feelings or not didn't matter. I loved him despite him being an evil demon and so I had gotten the courage to be even more friendly around him than before. That's also the reason why I was able to ask him myself if I could comb his hair.
He had accepted on my very first request. It was a little strange but I just considered myself lucky. Now it was something I did for him almost everyday. He would be stiff in the beginning but as I kept brushing his hair, he would relax.
He was even suspicious about my change in behavior at first but he got used to it.
I stood up on my knees bringing all of his smooth wavy hair into a high ponytail. I combed it at the top again before reaching for the white ribbon on the floor beside me and tying it around his hair. When I was done, I ran my hands through his hair again enjoying how it felt like silk on my hands. I smiled and let go completely.
"I'm done!" I said cheerily as I went to sit on my knees in front of Naraku.
Just like always, he narrowed his eyes as he stared at me. I looked straight into his eyes not showing any hesitance.
"You've been going often to Saint Hakushin's shrine, have you not? Kanna has been keeping me updated." He said to which I just nodded.
"Yup, I have been going there often." He narrowed his eyes further and I looked down at my hands in my lap. "Being there somehow makes me feel at ease. The air is just so comforting."
"I see." He said nothing more and I looked up as he got up from the floor. He walked towards the entrance of one of the many cave rooms here but he stopped at the entrance.
"I will be going into an immovable state now to reconstruct my body. I will not be moving around as I do now for a while." He said before walking out.
Knowing that this chance was now or never, I quickly got up from the floor and ran after him. I caught up with him in the central space of the mountain.
"Wait!" I called out to him and he stopped to face me. I stopped in front of him panting slightly.
When I looked up at him, I felt a throb in my chest. No matter what, I couldn't help but think he looked handsome. That face, those eyes, his nose, his lips, that beautiful ebony hair....I loved it all. I knew that he had come here to get rid of the human heart inside his body and somehow, I felt sad about that.
Kanna had told me that since he was formed from a human, the heart that continued to beat inside him was that of the human that he once was. Coming here was to get rid of it so he could finally defeat the one person who posed as a threat to him - the priestess Kikyo. The human's love for her stopped Naraku from being able to overpower her.....even though she was just a revived clay doll now.
I didn't meet Naraku's eyes as I lifted my hand and placed it on his chest right above his heart. He clenched his fists in response to what I did but he didn't say anything. I could feel his heart beating at a rhythmic pace below my hand and it warmed me.
"You know.....I've been thinking a lot every time I went to the shrine." I started in a soft voice. "I didn't realize it until I went there.....more like, I didn't want to accept it. Perhaps I just didn't have courage to accept something that others would call foolish and bad. But....I have accepted it now."
"What are you talking about?' Naraku asked. I could feel the vibration of his chest as he spoke.
I looked up with a smile that he seemed to find suspicious. I took a deep breath summoning the courage I needed for just ten seconds here.
"I love you." He gave no reaction to what I said. "I love you, Naraku." He still gave no reaction besides narrowing his eyes further. I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and looked away momentarily gathering myself to complete my confession.
I looked back at him and held the front of his clothes in my hands. Standing on my toes to desperately try and reach his height, I closed my eyes. Even though I was standing on my toes, I still could reach his height fully and merely touched his bottom lip with my lips in a kiss. I lingered there for a few moments before pulling away.
It was slightly hard to breathe because of the pain that only seemed to increase in my chest. My eyes stung seeing that he looked absolutely unaffected by what I said and did. I felt like I couldn't keep up my composure anymore.
I moved away from him stepping back. "Well.....I told you what I had to. I'll take my leave now." I have a short bow before quickly running away from him and back to my room.
By the time I was there, I couldn't control the tears and they were now freely falling. He didn't react at all! Not even a bit! How could he not react at all?!
At least if he had laughed about it calling me a fool for thinking of such things, I wouldn't gave felt this hurt. Why didn't he say anything? Why had he just started at me with no emotion? He was so indifferent!
If I knew that it would hurt this much to confess, I wouldn't have. Although, this probably was my only chance. I had done what I could and I shouldn't regret it. I did it knowing fully well that he might not accept me at all. I had no right to expect any sort of reaction from him.
I was no longer crying but my heart was heavy. I shook my head and got off the floor so I could wash my face and stop acting so silly. It would be rather awkward for me to look at Naraku in the face from now on but at least I had told him how I felt. It was alike a load off my shoulders. And even knowing his response made me feel all the more at ease in my heart.
When I had washed my face, Kanna was waiting for me in the room. I raised my brows at her curiously and she walked out of my room. Assuming I had to follow, I did so silently.
We stopped at the entrance of a cave and I could see the forest that was at the base of Mt. Hakurei. She turned to me then and spoke.
"Master Naraku has given you instruction to observe the Band of Seven as they fight Inuyasha and Koga." She said in that airy voice of hers.
"Observe them?" I asked curiously. She didn't say anything else and I rolled my eyes as she walked away from me.
I could sense the Jewel Shards as well as demons. So finding them on my own wouldn't be much of a problem. Clearing my head of unnecessary thoughts, I headed out of the barrier of Mt. Hakurei to find the Band of Seven.
~~~~~~~~~
O.o Ritsu said she loves Naraku!! WHAT A DEVELOPMENT!!!
And I cant believe Naraku pretended like he didn't even care....baka! Be nicer to the one person in the whole Feudal Era who loves you, you moron!
Lol Vote!
COMMENT! COMMENT! COMMENT!!!
:D