Disclaimer:
Turtlequeen2: Hey, all! A new pairing for me to explore in so little time...
Kagura: What do you mean?
Turtlequeen2: Well, it does involve a few of your partners in crime…
Kagura: Oh, really? -raises eyebrow-
Turtlequeen2: Yep. So, if you could read this please… -hands Kagura a piece of paper-
Kagura: -reads it and scoffs- Pfft! As if I'd read that out loud!
Turtlequeen2: If you do, I'll make sure my next fic includes you with Sesshoumaru…
Kagura: Oh! In that case… -reads from paper and looks up with believable teary eyes- This is for my beloved sister, Kanna!
-Cough- Merry Christmas, K-chan!
I do not own Inuyasha. Only Rumiko Takahashi has rights to torture her own characters as she pleases…No wait…that is also my right. -laughs evilly-
WARNING: To some, this pairing is considered incest (I don't think it is…). So, if you don't feel comfortable with incest and believe this pairing to be incest, I wouldn't read below this line! Don't say I didn't warn you! Oh yes, there is a little bit of OOCness with Kanna and Hakudoushi near the end of the story, but it isn't major and it makes sense why they will become that way.
Oh, before I forget: This is an ALTERNATE REALITY fic. That means that Kagura is -spoiler- dead -spoiler- (as in the manga) while Hakudoushi is still alive.
The Game of Proof
"Kanna."
"Hakudoushi."
The voice came from beyond the darkness of the old castle. Enshrouded in shadows, an evil presence lurked, calling out to his servants.
The two incarnations stepped forward into the dim candlelight, both silently awaiting instruction.
"You are both to guard the place I designate to you. I already explained why you need to guard it, so I see no further reason for you to linger here," came the same voice, sounding bored and impatient.
"Yes, Naraku," both of them said in unison.
Gripping his halberd tightly, the incarnate that held the appearance of a young boy turned and walked out of the room without any question.
The pale young girl clutched her kagami close and followed after her collaborator silently.
Dark eyes watched the damp cave wall blankly. There was barely any blinking involved. Nothing was said.
Pale violet eyes regarded his partner with annoyance. Perhaps the late Kagura was not that far off in complaining about the girl she had to constantly work with? Working with silence was not his strong suit. On the contrary, taunting everyone else he came in contact with was more his style.
"Kanna," he beckoned, breaking the unbearable silence.
She blinked once and looked at him, showing him that he had her attention. She said nothing.
"Are there any suspicious people trying to breach our barrier?" he questioned, raising a simple eyebrow.
Kanna's kagami rippled like rocks bouncing across the surface of water. She showed him that no creature was around the area for miles. She never even looked down. She already knew the answer. "There are no threats, Hakudoushi," she answered in a breathless tone. The voice held no warmth nor coldness. The voice was void of any emotion. The kagami rippled back to show the face of the boy sitting across from her.
Hakudoushi sat against the opposite wall, his face showing clear signs of rising frustration. Shaking his head to rid himself of negative thoughts, he managed to push back his shoulder-length ghostly white hair. He crossed his legs and placed his weapon next to him.
It was going to be a long night.
Why was this a task given to him of all people? Kanna was more than qualified to handle this matter by herself. Hakudoushi had better things to do than just sit around all day.
By sunrise, no attacks came. By the afternoon, only one idiotic, miniscule demon hit against the barrier but was so weak that it proved no threat to either of them.
Hakudoushi grew so bored that he swore to himself that regardless of who approached the barrier next, he would kill them just to have something to do.
What was so important about what they were trying to guard? Oh, of course, it was for Naraku's power. It was just one of the many new demonic items that the "master" had to absorb into himself. The only reason the pair was sent to watch over it was because Naraku was too busy plotting new ways to torture their enemies to have time to make himself stronger at the same time.
That was Naraku for you. If he was not harming others, he was trying to make himself stronger. Of course, he would barely ever do his own dirty work. He made incarnations for that.
Hakudoushi pondered over Naraku's existence and narrowed his eyes. He truly hated his creator. Sure, he was nearly Naraku's miniature clone, but at least he still did his own killing. He planned for the time to come where Naraku did not exist. It would just be him and his other half who would take over and reign supreme.
"Hakudoushi…" Kanna's eerie voice called out, snapping the boy out of his thoughts.
"What is it?" he asked irritably.
"Someone is nearing the barrier," she answered in a simple manner.
"Oh, someone to relieve me of my boredom. How pleasant," the young incarnate murmured, a sudden smirk adorning his face. Rising to his feet, he grabbed his halberd and went to the mouth of the cave.
Kanna followed behind him because she knew that Naraku said that both of them had to work together in order to accomplish their mission. Though, at the same time, she knew that she would not be needed for this task.
The perpetrator from outside of the violet-blue waves of the blockade was a tall bear youkai. The beast slammed itself against the barrier, seeming to be angry.
"Oh, and what do we have here?" Hakudoushi said aloud despite inwardly cursing that the youkai was too weak for any true fun. "I think we've invaded his home, Kanna," he then added, knowing fully well that she was standing behind him. He let out a small chuckle before calmly walking through the barrier and moving beneath the bear before the beast could notice him.
The creature roared, rearing his head around to see the rather short incarnation standing behind him with his weapon poised to strike. The youkai charged mindlessly, attempting to slam his brown-furred front paws into Hakudoushi.
However, the boy was faster. Jumping up into the air, he lifted the blade of the weapon and swiped the bear's head off in one clean cut. Hakudoushi landed a few feet in front of the youkai at the same time the rest of the body tumbled into the grassy plains. Crimson liquid splattered onto the lands as the corpse lay still.
"That gave me a moment's worth of amusement, I suppose…" he mumbled to himself, turning around and walking back into the cave. The blue boundary rippled behind his form.
Kanna stood in place, awaiting his return so that they could return to their post. She never left the barrier and instead, watched the entire scene with no reaction of her own.
Unfortunately, for Hakudoushi, the killing was his only source of "fun" to be had for the rest of the day.
A week passed and still, no worthy adversary approached the cave. Who was Naraku trying to kid? The only groups of people who stood a chance were all of their enemies. From what Kanna told him, Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, Kikyou, and Kouga were all in opposite directions. Unless for some random reason they decided to turn around, they would not find out where the two were.
Hakudoushi was nearing the brink of his sanity. There was only so much more he could deal with. The more days they waited, the more plots he came up with on how to kill his master. When he found a way, he would kill Naraku and laugh all the more when he thought back to this time.
He saw a small rock next to him and picked it up. Not caring where it would go, he threw it down the dark tunnel of the cavern's path. He listened to the skids it made as it traveled farther into the darkness. He sighed and turned to face Kanna.
"Hakudoushi is very frustrated," the pale girl remarked. To anyone else it would seem like an obvious observation that failed to catch any response.
The boy's eyes narrowed slightly. "And your point is…?" he pressed, resisting the urge to growl.
"Patience. The time is drawing near," she advised in a haunting tone.
"Drawing near for what? For me to kill a certain partner of mine?" The thought of trying to kill Kanna sounded promising to him at the moment.
She gave no response, but kept looking blankly at him.
He let out a huff of breath and calmed himself. The smirk that came to him by thinking of Kanna's death died away. After letting a few awkward moments of silence pass by, he asked, "Do you even know what boredom and frustration are? Do you feel it?" His voice turned inquisitive.
"I feel nothing. I am void." The statement rang true and cold to his ears.
"So, how do you know if I'm irritated if you can't feel it for yourself?" This puzzled Hakudoushi.
"I am told little about emotions, but can tell when others are amiss with themselves. I make assumptions."
" 'Assumptions'?" he echoed in distain. "That's hard to believe…" His eyes tried to pick up any sensations from her movements or expression. From her white hair to her deathly pale skin, she showed no sign of emotion. The camellias in her hair only gave off a false account of innocence.
A sudden sneer formed on his face. He now had something to entertain himself with.
For the next couple of days, Hakudoushi began to play a game that he invented.
The object of the game was to either see if Kanna had a breaking point or truly had some hidden emotions she did not yet know of.
Kanna served to be an interesting playmate.
"Do you ever react to anything Naraku does that is idiotic?"
She had no answer. To Hakudoushi, that meant that she had no such reaction to display.
"Okay, so if, say… Sesshoumaru decided to take it upon himself to kill Naraku and succeeded?"
Again, no answer. She did not even shift in her sitting spot.
"You mean, you wouldn't even care if our creator died?"
A blank stare was his only response.
"Hmm…" He paused. "This is challenging…" He then mumbled under his breath. After three days of questioning and pestering, she showed no signs of changing her ways. Perhaps he was not approaching this right? Quickly coming up with an idea, he gripped his halberd and threw it across the pathway. It missed her by mere centimeters. However, she was not his intended target.
Ghostly wisps of white streamed out of Kanna's kagami. A spider web of cracks formed out from the center of the glass where the blade's tip hit.
Thinking smugly to himself, Hakudoushi hoped that his plan would work.
Kanna glanced down at her shattered mirror and did not even flinch. "It is broken. The souls are escaping," she observed in her simple tone. The pair watched the torrents of souls pour out of the glass and float out of the cave.
"Exactly," the boy chuckled. The smirk on his face nearly turned into a smile.
"It was a foolish action."
"Does that mean that you're upset that I broke your weapon?" He was grinning like a cunning fox.
No answer. She took the halberd out of her broken mirror and placed both of them aside. Her lithe hands seemed to fall useless into her lap. Without her kagami, she had nothing to hold onto.
The grin disappeared faster than it took to form. Hakudoushi stifled a growl. She was only stating something that should have been common sense to anyone else. "You don't even feel inferior to me? Your only defense against me was that kagami."
She did not even shake her head.
He resisted the urge to throw his hands up into the air. He knew that it would be a sign of defeat and he was far from giving up.
Another week passed between the albino incarnations. Nothing much changed between them. It was as if Hakudoushi were talking to the shadows that danced on the cave stalagmites.
He thought about tickling her, but decided that he would kill himself before such a thing came into action. His halberd was back at his side and he was currently working on polishing the blade. It had been a while since he cleaned the dried blood off of it.
Earlier in the day, he ripped an inner sleeve off of Kanna's kimono to see if she would protest. As expected, she never moved from her spot and allowed him to perform the stunt.
Now, he leered, thinking about how useful the shunned cloth was to him. Dipping the cloth into a bent leaf full of river water, he set to finishing his task.
Kanna only regarded him silently. She was the one who was made to get them water and food in the previous weeks. She never complained.
After about ten minutes, he felt satisfied enough and stopped caring for his halberd. The boy placed the weapon next to him with an air of purity. It appeared as if he were putting aside a toy with the youth façade he gave off.
Since Kanna had no mirror to depend on, Hakudoushi had to resort to using his inner senses. He had to occasionally close his eyes and concentrate in order to feel the frequency of who or what would try to get into the cavern. He chose this time to do just that. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms and closed his eyes as if he were sleeping.
The girl looked at the other incarnation with no expression written on her face. She was not curious.
Opening his eyes, he felt a heavy presence against the barricade. A small malicious sneer spread across his face. He had another shot at Kanna.
----------
The waves of the blockade flickered and lifted up to let the youkai into the confines of the two Naraku incarnates. The youkai let out a hungry snarl and stomped into the dark cave, not noticing the barrier shutting behind it.
Hakudoushi let out a soft snicker as the youkai approached them.
Kanna rose to her feet softly, noticing the beast waving its vine-like appendages. The creature was covered in white feathers, but had tendrils as hands. It was a beast that seemed to be artificially created.
She had no means of defense, but never faltered. She felt no fear. She sensed nothing as usual.
The pale boy was captured first by the vines. He made no change in his facial expression. He was still amused.
His partner followed soon after, being held inches above the ground by four tendrils wrapped tightly around her arms and legs. Her eyes stared at the sockets of the demon and never struggled.
With his halberd in hand, he chopped the appendages off of him and landed a few feet away from the main conflict. He leaned against a tall stalagmite and watched her lack of movements. He could not decide if she was acting helpless or brave by not resisting the youkai's advances.
"Kanna, do you truly desire to die by the hands of such a weak opponent?" he mocked, his pale eyes twinkling with enjoyment.
She continued to lay dormant within the beast's hands. The large jaws of the youkai began to open up, expecting an early dinner. Perhaps she would have killed the monster if she had her kagami working, but without it, she knew that she could do nothing. The only reason her life existed was to make sure her orders were accomplished for her creator.
Hakudoushi got fed up with her lack of emotion. He would have thought that in the very least she would express some desire to live. Since the youkai had very little intelligence, it was easy to sneak up on it. Turning the hilt of the halberd, he jumped up and sliced the creature into two halves in one strike.
The body began to disintegrate into dust, sprinkling the pair with tan color. (The reason that the other demon from weeks earlier did not turn to dust was because Hakudoushi simply beheaded it.)
Kanna dropped onto the ground with a light thud. She barely shook any of the dust off of her kimono. She just resumed her sitting position as if nothing ever happened.
The other young incarnation let out a low snarl of irritation. She was winning without even trying. He about had it with her silence and lack of feedback to everything he tried. Before he could express his distress any further, her voice made him stop dead in his tracks.
"K…Kagura…" she whispered softly. One last feather from the youkai lingered by her face before turning into dust like the rest of the creature. Her blank eyes followed the feather until it existed no more.
" 'Kagura'? That traitorous woman?" he murmured to himself. It was as if he was afraid to ruin the moment by speaking too loud.
For the briefest moment, a strange spark or maybe an illusion of a spark flashed across her eyes. He could not be sure since he wanted her to express emotions for so long. Maybe he finally lost his mind? For whatever reason, she appeared to recall the deceased woman's face.
She said nothing more and the queer glow of warmth in her eyes disappeared. Once again, he was not sure if he was just imagining things.
"Why did you say Kagura's name?" Hakudoushi pondered. Could it be that the girl felt an odd connection to her?
"I do not know." The statement held no feelings. She was just speaking the words.
"How don't you know? You were the one who murmured it. You just seemed like you wanted to recall what she looked like…"
"I still do not know."
Did she not understand what she had just expressed? It was the sure sign of emotions. Specifically the sensations of sadness and longing. "Could you believe it has something to do with emotions trying to make its way through you?"
"I believe in nothing." It was the truth. To believe in anything would imply that she had special feelings towards one thing or another. She held no such stance.
Hakudoushi felt as if he was scratching the surface of the simple yet hidden complexity of this girl named Kanna. "Maybe not, but you miss Kagura. That is what you expressed."
"I miss no one."
He snorted. "And now you're expressing confusion and denial." He smirked. "Who would have thought that one name could pull out so many emotions from you? If I knew that earlier, I would have asked about Kagura." Continuing to taunt her, he smacked a hand to his forehead. "How foolish I was."
She expressed no reaction. She was still telling the truth. Even if she was confused, she never would understand it nor accept that she would feel such sensations. She was made soulless. It was impossible.
"I would say that Naraku made another flaw-filled creation," he chuckled. "No wonder you feel close to Kagura. She was so flawed that she was constantly trying to betray her own kind to gain some superficial freedom."
Kanna felt no anger towards him for making such an offensive comment.
"You have no soul and yet you feel connections to others. Quite contradictory to Naraku's original plan to make a void youkai," he continued. Thinking upon the discovery some more, he remarked, "Interesting…" This would prove to be more fun for him in the long run.
The following morning, Hakudoushi began bombarding her with more questions than ever. He was going to gain the upper hand on this game one way or another. He found a crack in the dam and he wanted to make it completely break apart.
Kanna still never answered the majority of his questions.
That only made him question her more. After a half hour, he was beginning to grow frustrated and bored. He needed a different tactic.
Deliberating quickly, he got up and went over to sit beside her. Only an inch separated their sides from touching. He left his halberd on the other side of the path.
She made no move to increase the space between them.
Turning to face her, he made his best calm face. "You know, I never mentioned that I am probably an unplanned creation of his. Even if I'm not flawed, I was not completely planned on being made. My original form was cut in half and Naraku probably liked to keep it that way because of the last remaining shard he wanted." Could sympathizing with her do the trick? He sort of believed the statement, but found being "soft spoken" with anyone was difficult. It was one of the many emotions he had never dealt with before.
She still gave him naught to work with.
"Well, since Kagura desired to be free, do you have any wishes of your own?" he pestered.
"…'Wishes'?" she echoed aloud. Another crack was formed. One more and perhaps the dam would finally break.
"What? Is that another thing that that idiot didn't explain to you?" he pondered, his voice dripping with annoyance and disgust that Naraku went this far to deprive the soulless flaw of ever knowing that he screwed up on her.
She repeated, "Wishes?" It was very strange to hear her question anything. Kanna never questioned. Even if she was not sure of a command, she never asked queries.
"They're objects, whether figurative or literal, that you would desire. Kagura wished for freedom." Deciding to risk a bit, he added, "I wish for a bit more authority." He would never admit it aloud, but he sort of liked Kanna acting like how she appeared. She was the "curious child."
"I wish…" she began, but stopped. She was not confused. She just knew nothing of how to go about what he was explaining.
" 'You wish…'?" he pressed. "Maybe for Kagura's life to be returned? To see her again? For you to extract revenge on Naraku for all he's put you through?" He was listing off possible wishes for her to have.
"I wish to express…"
"Express what?"
"…" She could give him no answer. She behaved like a newborn trying to speak its first words.
"I guess I give up for tonight… I'm sure that you are confused, whether you know it or not." He did not want to question himself. Why had he admitted that he gave up? Even if it was for one night, he should have never mentioned it aloud in the first place! He inwardly cursed himself. He would not let the game overtake his senses. His excuse would be that he had gotten enough pleasure out of witnessing her act as if she were confused.
He rose to go back over to his normal spot, but Kanna's voice stopped him once more. "The time is drawing near."
"That again?" he threw back in an aggravated fashion. His mood was turning back to his sense of normal around her mostly because of his own confused emotions.
Of course, she had no more to say.
Kanna was not mistaken, even without her mirror.
Hakudoushi opened his eyes, snapping out of his concentration, when he felt a familiar energy. "Naraku's here…?" he pondered.
A dark laugh sounded through the cavern, answering his suspicions.
"I imagine that you're finally ready to take what is yours?" Hakudoushi questioned once the hanyou appeared before both of his servants.
"I applaud both of you for your superior work," Naraku smirked, mirroring his creation's earlier countenances. He glanced over where Kanna sat and noticed her broken kagami. Turning to face Hakudoushi, he raised his eyebrow. "Did you have any earlier conflicts?" The question could have been mistaken as one a father would asking his feuding children, but the tone gave away more amusement than anything. The purpose to inquire it was for his own entertainment.
Hakudoushi could not help the small tremor of anger that vibrated through his body at his unannounced appearance. Then again, was it not that a few weeks before, he was counting off the days before Naraku would call them back? What had changed? Thinking about it for a moment, he decided that it was mainly because he would have to leave his game unfinished.
Since he was inwardly arguing with himself, he never noticed that Kanna and Naraku had already walked a few paces ahead of him. Picking up his weapon quickly, he pursued the party. While he shuffled his feet, he added a semi-comforting thought to his mental agenda. The game was definitely not getting canceled. It was just postponed. He sneered at that last thought.
"Hakudoushi."
The incarnation shook any lingering thoughts of Kanna out of his mind. Looking up, he noticed that Naraku and the girl stopped and turned to look at him.
"May I ask what you're so smug about? Are you that happy to see me?" Naraku laughed.
Hakudoushi cursed in his mind. Conjuring up something to say fast, he answered, "I was just thinking of future plans I could pursue…" He maintained the leer so as not to cause any doubts.
Naraku seemed satisfied with the reply and nodded.
The three proceeded to the back of the cave. The pair never bothered to explore the back of the cave mainly because they found no need to. They knew that eventually their master would show them.
Resting on a stone pedestal was a glowing green gem. It looked crystal and resembled a much larger version of the youki crystal shards that the giant mountain demon that protected fuyouheki had. Picking up the green stone, Naraku held it within the palm of his hand and absorbed it into himself. The palm sucked up the gem like a vacuum.
"Now that that is completed, your job watching over this place is over with," Naraku said, sneering all the while. He already felt the added power surging through his veins. Yes, this power would do just nicely against Inuyasha and his companions.
The boy felt no reason to ask what exactly Naraku sucked into himself. It was a wasteful question since all it was good for was to make him even more powerful.
As the three left the area, Hakudoushi could not help but feel a slight depression overcoming him. What the hell was wrong with him and why did he look forward to the game so much? Did he not have more important tasks to attend to?
During the week while staying in the castle, Hakudoushi avoided seeing Kanna when Naraku was around. He was afraid that he would get suspicious and ask him about why he stared at Kanna with such intensity. The truth was, Hakudoushi had no answer either.
When the time finally came for Naraku to leave and go after the Inuyasha-tachi, the young incarnate grew anxious. Was the game as important as for him to lose himself? Over some emotionless girl that was created by the same master, no less!
Pacing around the castle grounds, he arrived in the overly spacious room where his own creation was housed. "Mouryoumaru…" he murmured, gaining the youkai's attention. He knew that his other half was within the pale, muscled beast. The blue stripe down his face gave him a makeshift appearance.
"What is it, Hakudoushi?" Mouryoumaru asked. In an instant, he noticed something wrong with his maker and essential other half. "Something is amiss with you."
Furrowing his brows, Hakudoushi knew that talking to the creature would mean that he would have to explain some things. "It is nothing that you should concern yourself about."
Narrowing his eyes, Mouryoumaru analyzed the thoughts in Hakudoushi's mind. "It's about Kanna?" He sounded surprised.
"I had to work with her for the past month. I learned some interesting facts about her…" Trying his best to keep up his image, he smirked. "She is very much like Kagura. A flawed creation."
Despite Hakudoushi's words, Mouryoumaru knew that it was much more than that. "Did you develop…feelings for her?"
The incarnation looked disgusted. "Don't compare me to the likes of Kagura. She was the only weakling that developed feelings for someone she didn't need to have any for."
Mouryoumaru gave a sigh of relief. Even if he did not completely believe his creator, he still found it reassuring.
"I'm going to inspect the grounds of the barrier. That bastard will throw a fit if it breaks," Hakudoushi explained before making a fast exit out of the room.
Letting out a breath, he paced out down the dark corridors until he arrived where Kanna usually stayed. It was Naraku's study.
Naraku had her stay in that area because she had to keep a watch on Inuyasha's group and the golems he sent out. Besides that, he was always needing her assistance the instance he returned.
Sure enough, she sat with her newly replaced kagami in hand. She stared straight ahead at the paneled walls. She knew that he was in the room, but never turned around to acknowledge his presence.
Plastering a small mischievous smirk on his face, he called out her name. "Kanna."
She took this time to face him. She remained silent.
"You know that I never got to finish what I started. I'm sure that you're still wondering about wishes."
When no response came, he continued. "Did you ever figure out what you desired?"
"I wish to express…" It was the same type of answer she gave him two weeks ago.
He hesitated to sit beside her and remained standing. "Express dreams? Wants?"
She flinched in the slightest way. He was close.
What did she not have that she needed? Thinking upon the question for a minute, he finally came up with the answer. "Emotions?"
"I wish to express…emotions…" she said, completing the sentence like a person finishing a puzzle.
Finally getting fed up with his pride, he sat down beside her. It was not like Naraku would barge through the shoji doors any time soon.
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was such a shame that Kanna had no clue about how to go about feelings. "I'm tempted to call you an idiot, but will refrain from it," he grumbled.
She heard him clearly, but had no reaction for it.
"You have emotions. You missed Kagura, showing longing. To wish for something shows that you yearn. Yes, you have no soul, but you still have some feelings." Narrowing his eyes in thought, he sustained his explanation. "I don't really understand why you do, but all you have to do is learn how to use them." He shook his head. It felt so wrong for him to be so soft spoken with her. Was it not supposed to be part of the game in the first place? So, then, why did he enjoy seeing her so lost? Did he like teaching her? For what purpose? All of these questions were giving him a headache despite the fact that many youkai did not have to deal with feeble human pains such as that.
"Kagura had many emotions…" she whispered.
"Yeah, sometimes too many for her own good…" he added bitterly. He could see that Kanna was struggling to grasp the facts he told her. It was probably too much for her to handle. Rising from his sitting position, he moved to the exit. "If you want me to explain anything else to you, please seek me out." He turned away from her and left.
"Emotions…" she repeated to herself before returning back to her work.
Hakudoushi vowed to himself that he would never go to search for her of his own will again. It caused too many of his inner thoughts to go haywire.
Sitting in a vacant room, he thought about Kanna. "Dammit, why do I act so weak around her?" he demanded aloud. "Not even Naraku could succumb to something such as humanlike emotions and he isn't even a full-youkai!" Punching the floor with his fist, he felt some of his frustration transfer into the wood as it cracked apart.
He was changing too quickly. To others, he was loosing his grip. Around Kanna, he acted even worse. Such weaknesses could cause him to die regardless of his lack of a heart. Could it have been that the heart that Naraku cast aside still lingered within himself even as his original form was cut in half?
No, that would mean that he would like Kikyou. Still, that would mean that he would be able of expressing the ultimate damning emotion of …love. He cringed. There was no way in the Seven Hells that he loved someone else.
It was impossible to even feel something of that sort for another within a month and a half anyways. Or was it possible? On this subject, he was about as lost as Kanna.
A horrible thought came to his mind. Perhaps he and her could learn about this emotion together?
He scrapped the idea as soon as it came to light. As far as he was concerned, he was still planning to overtake Naraku with Mouryoumaru. There was no way anyone could change his plans for domination.
The other problem laid within the fact that even if he did love her—which of course he denied—she would most likely be incapable of returning such strong feelings.
"Hakudoushi…"
"What?!" he snarled, his violet eyes ablaze with irritation and anger. He turned around and glared at the very same person who had caused all of his confusion.
She did not even jump in wake of his fury. Clutching her kagami to her chest, she approached him. "I wish…to learn." She was beginning to pick up on certain words she heard in use once, but never thought to use for herself.
Heaving a loud breath, Hakudoushi tried his hardest to calm himself. "Learn about what, Kanna?" he managed to get out without growling. That was a major accomplishment for him.
"Emotions."
He was sure that he gave the impression of being bewildered. He never thought that she would actually go to him! He could not exactly say that he was happy, but it was somewhere close to it.
"Alright, we will start tomorrow," he said, not even fighting back the urge to sneer. Unlike his previous smirks, this one was actually an attempt to smile.
Over the course of the next year, Hakudoushi taught her about every emotion that he knew of. It ranged from ones demons usually felt to the weak emotions that humans dealt with. Anger, feelings of revenge, sadness, happiness, guilt, and so on. The only emotion he never discussed with her was love.
Kanna was coming along nicely. Slowly, but surely, she began to show signs of developing expressions and feelings. Sure, she still had a long way to go, but at least she appeared more normal in the range of demonic emotions. It was unfortunate that she had to hide her acquired skills from Naraku.
All of their lessons were done in private. Hakudoushi made sure that no one could sense them by the way his barrier was set up in hidden places far away from the castle. Kanna provided her own nihility abilities to at least nullify any excess energies being released so outsiders could not sense them.
Her greatest accomplishment was being able to respond to a lot of the statements he made. Her expressions and reactions still needed work, but it was nothing that a few more years could not fix.
As predicted, Hakudoushi's feelings for her only grew stronger with each passing meeting they had together. He still could not explain why he liked her company. He even stopped thinking of them as creations under the same maker. To him, they were two separate beings forced under a dictatorship. Of course, his own ambitions never changed, but he wanted to be his "own boss."
Today would be their last lesson on various emotions. He would finally go through with the dreaded lesson. Regardless or not, if he loved her, he had trouble admitting it to himself.
After the barrier was created, Kanna set to work placing the mirror in the center of them so that the reflection of the glass would face up and her powers could flow through it, protecting the two of them.
"Kanna, you are aware of this being the last time we will discuss the various types of emotions you can feel, right?" Hakudoushi pointed out.
"Yes," she answered. Her voice never changed in sound, but held a bit of softness for her teacher.
His eyes flashed a rare emotion of sadness before returning back to their playful normalcy. "The supposed emotion of love is a feeble sensation that humans and other lowly creatures feel for each other. It is rare for demons to love others, but it does happen," he explained.
Her eyes glimmered as if she caught all that he had said. Despite not talking as much as any other normal being, she was intelligent and observant. "How is it expressed?" she inquired.
He hesitated. This was the question he wanted to avoid. It came up so quick into the lesson. He was hoping for it to wait for another half hour. "Well, uh, to humans it is their strongest emotion. Take Inuyasha for example, he supposedly loves two women…"
"The dead miko and her reincarnation." A statement that sounded like her old self.
"Yes." Continuing on, he added, "And from what I've observed from fighting him, he supposedly gains his bursts of strength from trying to protect the two of them. That desire to protect comes from love. Sometimes it is his weakness because his desire to protect gets him fatally injured by Naraku or by myself." He had to sneer at that last sentence.
"How do you know so much about this emotion, Hakudoushi?" She was experiencing a type of confusion. He claimed that it was a weak feeling, and yet seemed to know more about this than any other type.
Another question he wanted to avoid. He knew that sooner or later this would have to come out. "Kanna, I'm not exactly sure how to say this…" he admitted, feeling frail and exposed and sounding just the same.
She managed to try her best confused look she could muster. So far, it only consisted of a raised eyebrow. "What is it?"
"I think I have become like those idiotic demons that I just explained…"
She was clearly confused since her expression stayed in the same position.
He heaved a sigh and grabbed a hold of her free hand.
"Hakudoushi…"
She could not get out much else. He jerked her small hand forward with rough force.
Was this an example of a past emotion he explained? It felt like anger to her…
Her mind went blank after she was a few centimeters away from his face. What was he trying to demonstrate?
Pulling her even closer, he forced their lips to touch. It felt stupid for him to think, but he thought that despite her cold façade, her lips held a warmth that he had never felt before.
Her eyes were still open. She was frozen and within his grasp. What was she supposed to do? She felt…strange. It was not a bad feeling, but it was something she had never experienced before. He was warm. She was still confused, but accepted his weird display. She finally closed her eyes and returned the gesture.
After a few minutes, the two pulled away from the kiss, feeling even stranger than before.
"What was…?" she pondered innocently. Normally, a woman would feel flustered from such an occurrence, but she felt nothing of the sort. It was mainly confusion and happiness. She had not even blinked.
Honestly, that was the first time Hakudoushi had ever done that with anyone. Forcing himself to get over the awkward reaction, he flashed his trademark mischievous smirk. "That, Kanna, was an example of love."
" 'Love'?" she echoed in a murmur. It was possibly the most puzzling of all of the emotions she learned of. Whatever it was, she had strong "feelings" for it. Especially when it involved Hakudoushi. Since she felt no embarrassment, she kissed him lightly on the cheek.
His eyes widened slightly before he could stop it from happening.
"I think I understand this emotion a little better," Kanna remarked. The edge of her mouth curved up into the smallest of smiles. It was a first for her in terms of happy expressions.
"Perhaps I did win the game after all…" he noted to himself despite knowing that she could hear him.
The game to prove that Kanna underwent emotions had finally ended. The game was long and tiring but was ultimately worth everything.
A/N: Yes, I know that both Hakudoushi and Kanna were OOC by the end of this fanfiction. What about that cheesy expression that love changes people? Anyways, I hope the transitions and explanations are good enough to explain why their characters lose some of their original personality.
This one-shot was made as a holiday present for everyone who enjoys this pairing and who read my fanfiction in general!
Translations
Youkai - Demon
Hanyou - Half-demon
Kagami - Mirror
Inuyasha-tachi - Inuyasha's group
Oh! And any flames on this pairing just because it's considered "incest" by some people will be deleted. Flames just based on a pairing is immature on whoever does it. If you didn't like the pairing, you didn't have to read it!
Please review!
Ja ne!