The Snow Angel by SunsetMiko

The Ghosts

Chapter 212 - The Ghosts

Donec - up to the time when, until, so long as, while (Stella's Latin Challenge)

They had been traveling for two whole days when Kagura suddenly landed before them. Inuyasha cursed up a storm, his hand on the hilt of his sword, while everyone else held his or her weapons close, waiting.

"I've come to help you," she said, hoping that the witch had conveyed that she had been the one to help them located the dark hanyou.

"Or lead us into a trap," Inuyasha yelled. "You work for Naraku! We're not stupid."

"Wait, Inuyasha," Kagome said as the hanyou stepped forward, ready to kill Kagura simply for being one of Naraku's minions. "The witch said Kagura was free of Naraku, and she placed the beacon."

"Yes, I am very grateful to the witch, because now Naraku can no longer use my heart against me."

"Your heart?" Kagome asked in confusion.

"That vile creature had my heart. He used it to force me to serve him against my will."

"I don't trust her," Inuyasha muttered, thinking of all the times she attacked his pack. "She could still be working for him. How do we know she didn't do so willingly?"

"Kagura came to me several times in the past asking that I kill her master," Sesshoumaru admitted. "She has even offered me shards to do so. I do not believe she has ever served him willingly."

"You're gonna listen to her?" Inuyasha asked in shock. "You could be risking our lives, Kagome's life, leading us right into one of Naraku's traps!"

"We could be doing the same following the beacon to his location," Sesshoumaru informed his brother. "Kagome?" he asked the miko for her opinion of the situation. She was an incredible judge of character, and he trusted her intuition.

"I say we hear what she has to share," the miko said with a nod to Kagura. "It can't hurt to have more information. We were about to camp for the night anyway. We might as well hear her out."

Kagura smiled a genuine smile. "Thank you, Lady Kagome," she said with a low bow, "and might I say, congratulations on your mating."

"Thanks," Kagome said with a light blush. She would never get used to being treated with such respect, and she had never expected it from a former enemy, but then again, her mate was a former enemy, as well.

Inuyasha stayed on guard as everyone else went about setting up camp for the night. Sesshoumaru had tried to get them to stay at one of his cabins as they had the night before, but it was decided that it was too out of the way. The group wanted nothing more than to arrive at Naraku's hiding place and finally bring this chapter of their lives to an end.

*Nonsensical Afterimage* (Stella's Soundtrack Challenge)

Once the fire was burning and dinner was started, everyone except the hanyou sat and looked at Kagura expectantly. The wind witch lowered herself to the ground and looked at each of her former enemies, her new allies. "The first thing you will encounter when you arrive at the village are Naraku's ghosts," she said.

"Ghosts?" Kagome asked. "I didn't think that was possible."

"They are not truly ghosts," Kagura explained. "They are the souls of the villagers who used to reside there. Kanna captured them with her mirror and Naraku, with the help of a dark miko, made use of them to frighten away strangers from his village. From what I understand, they are stuck in a loop, repeating the actions they would have done daily if they were alive."

"Do they know they're dead?" Sango asked.

"I do not know."

"Will they attack us?" Miroku inquired.

"No, they simply go about their tasks as if they were still alive. They do not seem to notice others at all."

"That's terrible! We have to free them!" Kagome exclaimed, in horror at the thought of souls being enslaved and forced to repeat the same actions day in and day out just to scare people away. Their souls needed to be set free so that they could move on and eventually be reincarnated.

"The only way to do so would be to break Kanna's mirror. It is what controls them, in a similar way to my dance of the dead, only with souls instead of bodies." Kagura hated admitting that because she knew that if Kanna's mirror was broken that the void youkai would die along with it. Kanna and the mirror were one and the same, and one could not survive without the other. She wished she could save her sister's life, but the girl was empty and followed Naraku's orders without thought. There was no convincing her otherwise.

"Are there any traps?" Kagome asked.

"That I do not know, though I assume there are. Naraku does not trust me with information I do not need, and he does not trust me with his protection while he sleeps. It would make sense that he has certain safeguards in order to keep him safe and protected."

Kagome nodded her understanding. "Thank you for your help."

Feeling like she was being dismissed, Kagura spoke once more. "I would like to participate in the battle," she said. "I wish nothing more than to be a part of Naraku's destruction."