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Though he was expressionless on the surface, beneath the glassy exterior, Sesshomaru was in turmoil. He was being draw in
two different directions and had no idea which way he should go. On the one hand, he could continue as he had been, taking
care of each problem as it arose, and continue forgetting the truth of the matter. He could continue pretending that his daughters
weren’t in danger and that there was nothing to be concerned about in this business of his.
But the FBI was swarming around him like wolves, preparing the final killing strike.
It was unnerving, but at the same time it seemed natural. After all, he couldn’t possibly have evaded discovery forever.
In the past it had been easy to keep silence, a few threats here, a well placed hit, and in the end, everyone kept their silence
like good little dogs.
This time, however, it was as though someone were feeding them information from the inside.
Sesshomaru could not imagine who would be the one. The thought that he was helpless against this unsettled him and he began
making preparations to extricate himself from the situation.
It
was all very simple really. About ten years ago, he’d purchased a beautiful little Caribbean island near the Virgin
Islands. He’d been intending to use it as a sort of traffic stop when shipping in from overseas, but it had proven to
be a fruitless attempt after two shipments were lost amongst the storms of that year.
Of course, when he’d purchased it, he hadn’t had anyone but himself to be
concerned about. Now, he found himself more concerned with the well-being of the two tiny girls than that of his massive international
business. He’d put it off for a long time, convincing himself that the girls were safe closest to him, but suddenly
it had been demonstrated that they weren’t safe, even under his very roof.
That miserable wretch of a creature, Naraku was also housed under that roof and his presence
and proven to be a nuisance far greater than Sesshomaru could have imagined. How was it that he had lured Kanna there? Rin
had been there, too, but Sesshomaru knew that Rin was too light-hearted and cheerful to willingly go into the dark and dismal
room where Naraku was kept. No, he knew that Kanna was the leader in that escapade, and still he wondered what else Naraku
had given to them. What would he have told them?
To this day, neither of the girls knew what it was that their father did. Kanna most
likely knew that her father was into something illegal. She was a perceptive creature, much like her mother. Kanna had not
inherited Kagura’s striking dark beauty though, but had favored Sesshomaru, not only in appearance, but in her quiet
reserve, holding her emotions beneath an icy surface that few could see through. Sesshomaru frowned slightly, and wondered
what sort of abilities Kanna might have. The blood of her demon parents was clear to any who looked at her, but still she
had shown no particular skills or powers. Well, Sesshomaru mused, with the exception of that mirror trick.
Sesshomaru had ordered her to be rid of the mirror immediately. He was not a childish
man, prone to fears of inanimate objects, but he knew exactly what that mirror was. It was a soul-collecting artifact dating
back from centuries before. It could draw the very core of a person into it and then allow the possessor to manipulate the
empty husk as they wished. He suppressed a shiver at the thought of spending the rest of his days without a soul, at the total
command of another.
His mind shifted back to his state of affairs. As it stood now, he would be lucky to
get out of the way without any trails clinging to him. How many people would he need to have silenced to remove himself carefully
from the business? How many would just obey without question? Yet another question assaulted him, who would take the fall?
Naraku was the obvious choice, but still something made Sesshomaru shy away from using
him that way. Naraku, on occasion, showed remarkable cunning for one who’s mind was supposedly destroyed by shikon.
Was it possible that he would not be a believeable center?
With
a small sigh, he moved away from his desk and stood by the window. The vertical blinds made narrow bars of black across his
chest and on the floor behind him. It reminded him of cell-bars made of shadows. He tensed and moved away from the window
to contemplate in a darker corner.
* * * * * * * *
*
Kagura stood in the door with a calm and icy face that did not honor her true inner turmoil.
Before her, hunched in the corner was a man she’d grown up hating. He rocked back and forth slowly, singing some foolish
child’s song. He had obviously cornered some small animal in the corner, to which he was now singing. His black hair
hung in greasy clumps around him and his robes, fresh and new only yesterday, hung in shreds around his waist revealing that
wretched scar on his back.
She shuddered, her father was truly a horrid creature.
“Kagura Kagura has come to play . . .” he muttered, not even looking up at
her. “Kagura Kagura visits today . . .” he rocked back and forward more quickly now, “Kagura Kagura will
have to stay . . .” At that moment, he stopped rocking and there was a sickening squishing sound accompanied by loud
squeaking.
“Naraku!” She snarled.
He
whirled around, his face and hands covered in blood with a headless rat in his grasp. The carcass twisted spasmodically and
then stopped, blood running through Naraku’s fingers and dripping on the clean white marble floor. “Kagura, Kagura!”
He hissed and spat the bloody head in his mouth at her.
It
struck her squarely in the chest, and trailed slowly down the front of her crisp linen blouse. She gagged and slapped the
offending refuse away, resisting the wave of nausea that washed over her.
“Poor
little Kagura.” He said sadly, a drop of blood falling from his chin. “Weren’t you happy enough growing
up?”
Her nausea vanished at the rage that welled up inside of her. “You filthy disgusting
vile creature!” She said lowly, “How dare you! When was there a moment when I was happy? When was there a moment
when I was safe from you?”
“Kagura Kagura has come to play!” He pronounced, unaffected by her rage.
At that moment, she turned, slamming the door behind her, locking it carefully and leaned
against it. She slid slowly down it until she was sitting on the floor. There were days when she regretted her decisions of
the past. Today was one of them. Her father was a despicable person, one who had abused her in so many ways all her life,
but he had always been shrewd and heartless when it came to business. How she could have used his advice today!
It had been her choice to render him into this state, however, nearly fifteen years ago.
She chose not to recall the events that led up to her decision, but merely mused that he would not have beaten her so soundly
had he known that that night would cement his fate. It had been easy to get the drugs, she and Sesshomaru had been dancing
around one another since high school by then. She’d merely stolen them from him, not wanting to explain she meant to
kill her father with them.
Oh how her plan had backfired though! Sesshomaru had seen such an opportunity in the
senseless old demon. He decided to use him as a cover, to make him his shield so that none would suspect the true mastermind.
Hense, Naraku had never left her life, and despite her dearest wishes, she knew she could not finish what she’d started.
Naraku was far to valuable to Sesshomaru, and she did not dare destroy what Sesshomaru considered his.
In her own way, Kagura loved Sesshomaru, though not in a way that would inspire romance
novels and sweeping tragedies. She saw much of herself in him, in the ruthlessness with which he pursued everything he desired,
and despised. They understood one another. However, he was much softer that she’d ever realized. When she’d come
to him pregnant, demanding that he pay for a proper abortion, he’d been horrified. He informed her that the child would
not be harmed under any circumstances, that he would not allow it.
Kagura
drew herself out of her reverie and stood, peering around her with confidence and intelligence. She marveled at how quickly
she’d gone from being nothing more than a cheap prostitute with a drunken abusive father, to being the co-head of an
international business. True, the business was smuggling illegal drugs into the country, but in all honesty, why did she care
who this affected?
From here, they could only become more powerful. At this point, she even doubted that
the government could touch them! Maybe she would just buy her own country and make herself Queen! She smirked, after all,
anyone who got in her way was easily dealt with.
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