InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Corporate Deception: Fate of Her Land ❯ A Voice Softer Than Naraku's ( Chapter 15 )

Corporate Deception: Fate of Her Land

Chapter 15: A Voice Softer Than Naraku's

By: TruSuprise

 

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and all affiliated characters belong to Takahashi Rumiko. The views expressed herein are solely those of TruSuprise. 

 

 

 

 

 

“Hiraikotsu!” Sango shouted as she lifted her bone boomerang. The muscles in her arms begged for mercy as she hefted the heavy weapon over her head and launched it from her grasp. As the dull edge sliced through a large, yet proportionally weak oni, she let out a strained breath. They had been fighting the hoard of lesser youkai for nearly thirty minutes with no sign of their ranks letting up. As she felt a trail of warm liquid slowly flow down her arm, the taiji-ya knew she had been injured. It was a minor wound, but she felt her legs tremble underneath her nonetheless as her weapon returned to her.

 

Miroku stepped backwards, somehow sensing Sango's exhaustion. He supported her hunched body with his back as he frantically grabbed a handful of ofuda from inside his robe. A string of shaky incantations left his lips before he threw the charms at their attackers. He watched as the thick rectangular papers homed in on their targets and stuck to multiple slimy, monstrous youkai bodies. The houshi smirked with satisfaction as five of them fell to the ground, their slithering forms thrashing in pain as they skidded to their deaths.

 

“Fuujin no Mai!” Kagura shouted and stumbled backwards as blades of wind launched forth from her fan. She panted heavily as she fought to regain her breath. She realized that Naraku must have employed every single being with youkai blood in the Southern Territory and beyond to battle against them. The blood of the latest round of lower youkai she had slaughtered splattered across her kimono, in some places, mixing with her own blood.

 

Sesshomaru felt his chosen's exhaustion through her aura, and his own echoed its same sentiments. It wasn't that the minions were particularly tough to beat, but they were relentless in their attack, never allowing any of his clan the chance to rest or regroup in their assault. As always, Naraku played dirty. Slicing through three large, centipede-like creatures, the Western Lord edged closer to Kagura and kept a close eye on each of his other pack members as the battle progressed. He sighed as he heard a vicious roar from his half brother. The fool was wearing himself out too quickly.

 

Inuyasha howled as he launched himself into a large group of worm-like youkai. He slung Tessaiga haphazardly, frantic to put an end to the lower beings and advance to Naraku, the only opponent that mattered. His breath came in short, labored gasps and cramps blossomed in his side from over exertion, but nothing would slow the Inu-Hanyou down. As the metallic taste of his own blood seeped into his mouth, Inuyasha detachedly realized that he had suffered a head wound. He slay yet another lower youkai and his hand traveled to his forehead where he felt the bleeding gash. It wasn't deep. It would heal. Still holding his hand to his bloody head, Inuyasha spun to face a trio of one-eyed oni.

 

“Hijin Kessou!” Inuyasha shouted, and the projectiles made of his own blood launched from his claws to slaughter the ugly oni. He winced as his breath caught in his throat and another cramp bit the muscles in his side. He had to hold out, how could he allow himself to weaken when he had yet to get to Naraku? The image of his beautiful mate materialized in his head and Inuyasha forced the thought of slowing down from his mind as he leapt blindly into the next wave of assailants.

 

* * *

 

Kouga slammed the clutch to the floor to keep the car from stalling as he slowed in the unusually heavy traffic on the road leading to the Higurashi Shrine. It had been at least twenty years since he had driven a manual transmission and he felt foolish for being out of touch when stick was obviously Kagome's preferred method of driving. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, hoping she wouldn't notice his ineptitude but found he wasn't relieved when he saw her lack of attention on him.

 

Kagome's hands were fisted tightly in her lap, her knuckles white, and she wore a vacant expression on her face as she stared blankly ahead. It was as though she was eerily drawn within herself, concentrating on sensing something right in front of her that Kouga couldn't even see.

 

The Northern Lord glanced up the hill that lead to the Higurashi Shrine still some miles away. When he finally saw the purple, translucent kekkai enclosing the shrine grounds, he cocked his head to the side in confusion. He realized immediately that the powerful barrier wasn't Naraku's, as if it had been, then Kouga would have detected the dark jyaki miles away. He asked himself who could have erected a kekkai of such magnitude. Its size and power was unlike anything he had witnessed in his entire 260 years of life.

 

“Kikyou.” Kagome whispered, answering the wolf lord's unspoken question.

 

Kouga frowned at the young miko. “Who?”

 

“My cousin erected that barrier.” Kagome clarified.

 

He wanted more information, but as he looked in his rear view mirror, Kouga's eyes widened and he yanked the steering wheel to the left and into the shoulder, narrowly avoiding impact with two police cars that blew right by them, their sirens screaming and lights blinking. The Ookami-Youkai's keen eyesight followed the red and blue flashing lights to where the cars joined a throng of others that had blocked off the road ahead.

 

“What the hell is going on? The police have blocked off the road!” Kouga exclaimed.

 

“Take a left!” Kagome ordered, snapping out of her trance.

 

Kouga reacted immediately, and the rear wheels of the car bit into the pavement as he turned and jetted in the demanded direction.

 

“I can't let the police see me, they'll identify me too easily, we have to find a way around them.” Kagome urged.

 

“I'm sure those stupid humans are so on edge because they don't know what to think about the kekkai.” Kouga said, smirking.

 

Kagome shot Kouga a disdaining look and the wolf lord lowered his head in embarrassment. “Sorry.” He mumbled in submission. “It's easy to forget that you're human.”

 

Kagome smiled tolerantly, though she didn't know whether to take Kouga's comment as an insult or a compliment. “You can't blame them, I'm sure they've never seen such a thing before. Besides the barrier, I'm sure Inuyasha made his presence obvious on the way in, so they know a suspected criminal is in there. They're only doing their jobs.” She pointed out kindly.

 

Kouga nodded dumbly. Of course she was right.

 

Kagome pointed to a side street. “Pull down there and park. I think you've gotten me as close possible. I'll have to go on foot from here on and try to sneak around them.”

 

The Northern Lord did as he was told and hopped out of the car after parking it, meeting Kagome on the other side where she was gathering her bow and slinging her quiver of arrows across her back. Wordlessly, he knelt down in front of her with his back to her.

 

“Kouga-kun?” Kagome asked, remembering when Inuyasha had offered her the same mode of transportation.

 

“I can get you there much faster and with my speed, there's no chance that those huma… those cops will see me, even if I blow right past them.” He grinned. “Hop on.”

 

Kagome examined the Northern Lord somewhat tentatively. She knew Kouga was quite possibly one of the fastest youkai around. Faster than even her Inuyasha, yet she did not want to get the Ookami-Youkai involved in her battle any more than he already had been.

 

The Northern Lord didn't give the reluctant miko a chance to think it over. Suddenly, he stood and turned. Instead of carrying her piggyback as he had originally intended, Kouga effortlessly picked Kagome up and held her to his chest before he took off at a blinding sprint towards the grounds of the Higurashi Shrine.

 

Kouga's legs pounded the earth beneath him as he scaled the hill leading to the shrine, all the while aware of his surroundings. He kept one eye on the translucent barrier ahead and though he was sure that his speed was almost too fast for human eyes to follow, he kept one eye trained to avoid the police officers milling about the streets and walkways leading to the shrine steps.

 

The sounds of battle began to filter through the kekkai and Kouga came to a screeching halt in front of the translucent purple wall. He gingerly set Kagome down on her feet and noticed the slight shake in the petite woman's frame. The Northern Lord didn't know if it was from the adrenaline rush of her arrival, or fear of the impending battle. He found he didn't want to know the answer to that question.

 

“Here we are.” Kouga said casually, squinting to try to see through the diaphanous barrier. He could make out blurry shapes and forms in the distance, but the battle was taking place far enough inside the barrier to obscure its images.

 

Caught in his thoughts, the Ookami-Youkai turned to see Kagome walking towards the kekkai. “Kagome! Wait!” He shouted.

 

The young miko barely even heard his words as she effortlessly entered the kekkai, a vague sensation of fear and worry clouding her mind as she passed through. It was Kikyou's thoughts, she absently realized. Then, a second wave of raw emotion slammed into her. Power unlike she had ever felt before. A dark, almost limitless power, and it belonged to Naraku. Suddenly, Kagome wanted nothing other than to run as far away as she could, yet it dawned on her that no place her legs could take her would ever be safe from Naraku. The hopelessness weighed heavily on her.

 

She turned when she felt a disturbance cause a ripple in the surface of the barrier. “Kouga!” Kagome exclaimed and turned to see the Northern Lord on his knees at the other side of the kekkai. The shock that the barrier had delivered to his system had been fierce. She rushed back to the edge of the purple-translucent barrier but stopped short of passing back through it. She could sense the energy that would deliver the same life threatening shock were she to try to leave its confines.

 

Kagome dropped to her knees. “Kouga-kun, are you alright?”

 

“Fine.” Kouga spat, even as the electrical jolts from the initial impact with the kekkai continued to course through his veins. “Kagome, I want you to come back. I can't come through and I can't help you from here.” He ordered.

 

The wolf lord lifted his head. His stomach dropped when Kagome's chocolate eyes captured his ice blue ones. Her resolute gaze told him that she was beyond convincing, that her mind was made up. She was going to battle and there was nothing he could do to stop her.

 

“Kouga-kun… go home.” Kagome said quietly. “Go back to your pack and be with them. See them one last time, just in case…”

 

The Ookami-Youkai stared at Kagome slack jawed and stunned. Now more than ever, Kouga longed for Kagome's bright and courageous nature. Never had he seen such darkness in her eyes, such hopelessness.

 

“Thank you Kouga, for everything.” Kagome whispered. And without another word, she turned and ran.

 

* * *

 

Heaving heavily, Inuyasha broke through a hoard of oni, Tessaiga swinging wildly about him. Blood covered his blade, his claws and his hi-nezumi garb. Most of the thick, viscous liquid belonged to the scores of dead lower youkai he had slain, yet some of it was also his own. The Inu-Hanyou faltered momentarily on shaky legs while he fought to regain his balance as his blurry vision sought the one he was looking for to no avail.

 

“Naraku, show yourself!” Inuyasha howled.

 

In his haste and exhaustion, the Inu-Hanyou's dulled senses didn't have the opportunity to detect Naraku's approach. With the dark hanyou's increased speed and power granted to him by the Shikon no Tama, even Sesshomaru barely detected the threat.

 

The Western Lord slaughtered the lower youkai in front of him before turning to his brother in alarm. “Inuya-” He began, but he was too late. A black bolt of unidentified energy was rapidly approaching his pack beta.

 

Inuyasha turned his torso towards his brother's direction when suddenly, a sharp pain caused him to drop Tessaiga. The impressive sword reformed to its battered, rusty state once it landed on the blood soaked ground. As though he were proverbially watching his life flash in front of his eyes, the Inu-Hanyou froze in shock, his golden eyes wide and dilated as detachedly, he slowly noticed each of his pack member's horrified expressions. Inuyasha's heart stopped beating momentarily before he gained the courage to look down to where he felt some sort of wound that was causing the enormous pain that blossomed in his stomach.

 

A hole, three inches in diameter gaped openly through Inuyasha's middle. His body shivered and shook from the pain. It was immediately apparent that he had been shot through with some form of miasma projectile. Naraku's poison. The shouki was quickly debilitating the Inu-Hanyou, cutting him off even from the power of his own youkai blood. Inuyasha dropped to his knees in shock, a trickle of blood seeping from his mouth, blood flowing from the hole in his stomach.

 

“Naraku…” Inuyasha mumbled slowly, almost incoherently as the shouki traveled through his system rapidly.

 

Prompted by an evil, menacing laugh, the ranks of lower youkai immediately dispersed, leaving the rest of the Taisho pack in empty, defensive positions. It was only then that finally, the dark hanyou revealed himself.

 

Wearing his repulsive white baboon pelt, Naraku emerged through a dark cloud of miasma mere feet from where Inu-Hanyou knelt on the ground. His dark form rippled with energy as though his own skin couldn't contain the amount of power his body held, From Naraku's neck hung the Shikon no Tama, the dark sphere swaying to and fro as he approached.

 

“Inuyasha,” The dark hanyou smirked, “Are you ready to meet your fate, to serve your final purpose in the scheme of my grand plan?”

 

From the corner of a crimson eye, Naraku observed Sesshomaru raising his sword and preparing an attack meant to defend his brother. Faster than even the great Inu-Youkai Lord's eyes could follow, the Southern Lord shot a second shouki projectile, this time aimed at the Western Lord.

 

Naraku's newly acquired blinding speed caught Sesshomaru off guard, but the Inu-Youkai managed to avoid being impaled as his brother had been by the barest of margins. Instead of landing a critical blow, the projectile only caught him in the arm, tearing through a decorative sleeve and narrowly singing his flesh on its course. Sesshomaru understood immediately that the attack was merely a warning. Fearing for the safety of the rest of his pack members, he backed down in response and silently urged the rest of his pack to follow suit until he could come up with a better plan of attack.

 

Naraku smirked at the deferred Western Lord and turned his full attention back to Inuyasha. It was obvious that the shouki he had infected the Inu-Hanyou with was doing its job. Inuyasha's body and mind was in shock, his frame stiff and unmoving, yet Naraku knew that Inuyasha would be able to hear his words. The dark hanyou grinned wickedly at the opportunity to mentally attack the Inu-Hanyou in his weakness. Inuyasha's despair would only increase his chances of fully corrupting the jewel Naraku held around his neck.

 

“Taisho Inuyasha… my greatest and most loyal pawn. Without you, none of this would have been possible, did you know that?” Naraku asked in an airy, whimsical voice. “Think about it, hanyou. Without Kikyou's false love for you, none of this would have even been possible. Her pain, my gain, and further my gain as you continue to suffer.” Naraku could sense Inuyasha's acknowledgement of his words and could see the Inu-Hanyou's frustration as he tried to focus his wavering, golden eyes on him.

 

Naraku happily continued. “It is through you that I have been given the hate and angst with which to corrupt this jewel that I stole from your woman. Yes. First, you failed with Kikyou when you found your love for each other wasn't strong enough. Your hate and confusion of her lives in you still, and is plentiful within her even now. And now, now you are with Kagome, a woman ten times more pure than Kikyou, yet for some reason, she allows you to defile her.”

 

A quiet, yet firm growl began to break through Inuyasha's throat once hearing Kagome's name from Naraku's tainted mouth. An image of his mate formed in the Inu-Hanyou's clouded mind and he fought twice as hard to gain his bearings through the shouki that continued to infect his tiring body.

 

Naraku took a moment to relish in the position he had rendered the Taisho pack. With Inuyasha on his knees before him and at his mercy, the rest of his pack was helpless to move an inch. And the Southern Lord had only just begun his torment. He turned his attention back to Inuyasha, calling forth every one of the Inu-Hanyou's flaws, both real and imagined.

 

“I wonder how long Kagome will allow that to last, how long it will take for you to fail with her, also.” Naraku said lightheartedly. “Or perhaps she will come to her senses first. How long will it take her to realize what a mistake she made to allow you to get close to her? She led a normal life until she met you, and you ruined that for her. Half-breeds are good for nothing. Surely you've been told this, Inuyasha. You can't know love, trust, or affection. You can't return the pure feelings of a human. No, it won't be long now before Kagome realizes that you don't feel the same way for her that she feels for you. How long do you think it will take for her to realize that she's allowed herself to become a hanyou's whore?”

 

His body felt heavy and weak, his mind disorientated. Inuyasha's thoughts darkened with doubt, yet as Naraku's words echoed in his head, the image of his mate strengthened in his mind and before he knew it, he was being visited by a vision of her. Kagome sat next to him with a small smile on her face. Her mouth was moving, yet he couldn't make out her kind words or hear her sweet voice.

 

Naraku's cold voice broke through Inuyasha's dream-like state. “Your issues with trust run deep, do they not? I see you have not even brought your mate to battle, hanyou. Is it that she doesn't trust you to protect her, oris she afraid of you?” The dark hanyou taunted, touching on Inuyasha's own insecurities.

 

Inuyasha's deep growl suddenly caught in his throat and his golden eyes continued to stare blankly ahead. Was Kagome afraid of him? Was she afraid of his youkai side as he had originally feared since before they had mated? Did Kagome not trust him after all? Had he really ruined her life as Naraku suggested? Such dark thoughts plagued the Inu-Hanyou, dragged him down into desperation as the shouki within him intensified, wrapping itself around his very soul. Yet, the vision of Kagome strengthened and became more defined in his warring mind.

 

Inuyasha's strange vision solidified in his mind. It was a cool, dark evening, and they were sitting on a hard, rounded platform. The sound of crickets filled the night sky and fresh, green leaves surrounded him. Goshinboku. They were in the Goshinboku. Kagome was close enough to touch, yet she kept her distance, as there was a tangible separation between them that he remembered having felt before they had begun their physical relationship. A gentle breeze caused Kagome's hair to blow across her face and her skirt to billow around her thighs. Her welcoming arms reached out to him, and finally Inuyasha could hear her words.

 

“As long as you trust in me, I'll trust in you.” She said.

 

A memory. It was a memory, Inuyasha realized with determination as he fought the darkness in his mind with renewed fervor. He had no reason to doubt himself or his mate. Not now, not ever. He would not allow himself to be tricked by yet another one of Naraku's deceitful games.

 

Inuyasha lashed out verbally at the dark hanyou. The mere act of trying to speak made the pain in his body overwhelmingly intense as the shouki continued to taint his blood, yet he was determined to make his point known. “Kagome and I… know a depth of trust that you'll never understand, fucker!”

 

Naraku frowned. Not only had he managed to speak through the massive amount of shouki he had infected him with, but Inuyasha had foiled his plan to use the Inu-Hanyou's own despair and confusion to finish corrupting the jewel. The dark hanyou shrugged. Though he had wanted to revel in the enjoyment of destroying the Inu-Hanyou's mind from inside out, he no longer had a use for Inuyasha. He would simply be the first of the Taisho pack to be eliminated. Naraku would have to find another tool with which to corrupt the jewel. Taking a quick mental catalogue of the rag tag bunch that compromised the Western Lord's pack, he knew there would be no shortage of victims for him to use.

 

A ball of light illuminated Naraku's palm, a concentrated sphere of miasma that, between his close proximity to the Inu-Hanyou and the shouki that was already weakening his body, would kill Inuyasha upon impact. He smirked as he prepared to deliver his pawn to death.

 

“Naraku!” A new voice shouted.

 

The dark hanyou didn't even have a chance to locate the source of the voice when a pink shimmer caught his eye. He looked down to the jewel that hung from his neck and was perplexed to find that the dark jyaki that had almost fully corrupted the Shikon no Tama had lightened significantly.

 

Before he could fully contemplate what or who could have purified even the smallest amount of his own corruption, Naraku felt a fierce, piercing pain above his heart, and the next thing he knew, his shouki projectile meant for Inuyasha's death was released upwards into the open sky and he was flying backwards. He hit the ground hard and continued to skid from the force of the weapon that had hit him.

 

“Hama… no… Ya.” The dark hanyou said to himself in shock. As the debilitating pain coursed through his body, threatening to purify the youkai blood from his body, Naraku's mind shut down in an effort to fight off the threat.

 

* * *

 

Inuyasha felt like he was floating. The numbing pain of Naraku's shouki was somehow slowly dissipating and he could feel the stomach wound he had suffered finally start to regenerate and rapidly heal with the absence of miasma. He remembered the internal battle he'd had with Naraku's words and idly wondered what had happened. He still had a pack to defend and a mate to fight for. He slowly opened a golden eye.

 

His blurry vision and ringing ears adjusted to the purple atmosphere of the barrier that enclosed the eerily quiet battlefield. Above him, he could vaguely make out four forms, but his acute sense of smell failed him in the stench of the multitudes of dead and dying youkai that littered the area. Finally squinting, he found the figures above him to be his pack members. Sango, Miroku, Sesshomaru, and Kagura. He then detected a startlingly familiar presence that held their hands to his stomach and he squinted harder and sniffed to try to identify the stranger's form better.

 

As his senses slowly returned to him fully, Inuyasha felt his mate's aura. His eyes finally outlined her familiar form at the same time that her scent was brought to him up wind. She was kneeling next to him, her hands on his stomach, her eyes closed tight in concentration as her very life force flowed through her and into him. She was using her budding miko skills to purify the shouki within him. He could feel the warmth that was her very being flowing through his body.

 

“Kagome?” Inuyasha whispered.

 

:Mate. I'm here: Kagome replied, too preoccupied to even speak as she directed her energy into helping Inuyasha beat the shouki left in his body and heal. Kagome silently thanked the gods that her aura had already known how to lend Inuyasha her energy. Upon seeing his struggling form, her instinct had kicked in and her miko skills rose to the surface. Without it, she was sure she would have lost him.

 

:Is mate a dream?: Inuyasha asked, still trying to discern between memory and reality.

 

“No. Mate not a dream. Baka.” Kagome replied lightheartedly as she realized that she had finished purifying the last of the shouki that had wounded Inuyasha.

 

“Keh!” Inuyasha exclaimed as he finally fully came back to himself after Kagome's light jab.

 

The Inu-Hanyou sighed as he felt Kagome retract her life force from his aura and he sat up to meet his mate. Her eyes were still shut in concentration as he went off on her. “What are you doing here, Kagome? I left you home so you'd be safe, it's too dangerous here!” He snapped.

 

Inuyasha noticed the disapproving glares his other pack members gave him as they backed off slightly to give the two their space, content with the fact that Inuyasha was going to be okay and were safe in the fact that Kagome hadn't expended too much energy bringing his sorry pelt back from the brink of death. Finally, Kagome opened her eyes, and Inuyasha flinched when he saw the tears that readily pooled there.

 

“I'm just… so happy that you're alright!” Kagome exclaimed and then burst into tears as she weakly collapsed into Inuyasha's arms.

 

The Inu-Hanyou sighed and embraced his mate tightly, resting his head on her shoulder submissively. He knew that he owed her his life. Without her miko skills, he most likely would not have been able to fight off Naraku's shouki on his own. Kagome had just risked her life to save his with her own life force by purifying the shouki within him, and in return, he had only snapped at her.

 

“Kagome…” He choked, no longer able to remain angry with her, instead he was angry at himself for his selfish decision to leave her from his side at battle. He had argued that Kagome's human weakness would only hinder the final battle, but it turned out that her human perseverance was what had saved his very life. It also was true that though his youkai determination had pushed his tired body forward in the fight with Naraku's minions, he couldn't deny the fact that it was his human dedication that had longed to come back from the brink of death. For all the time and energy that Inuyasha had spent telling himself that his human side was worthless and that his youkai side was dangerous, thanks to Kagome, he was finally beginning to understand that without both halves, he simply wouldn't be nearly as strong, either physically or mentally.

 

“Thank you for coming for me.” The Inu-Hanyou finally whispered to his mate.

 

Kagome only cried harder as Inuyasha's hand cupped the back of her head and held her to his collarbone. “Why did you leave me?” She wailed.

 

“I… I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping you safe. But I was wrong. I should have listened to you. I should have trusted you to know what was right. I should have trusted myself.” Inuyasha admitted quietly.

 

:Mate sorry.: He urged. :So sorry.:

 

Kagome merely hugged herself closer to her mate, her tears finally slowing. :Mate forgiven.: She finally replied with a sigh. :Love you. Want to fight by mate's side. Be with mate. Be good mate.:

 

:Kagome is good mate. Always.: Inuyasha clarified. :Inuyasha needs to be better mate.:

 

Kagome chuckled. “You got that right.”

 

Inuyasha face-faulted comically and was rewarded with a light laugh from Kagome.

 

From where she stood next to Sesshomaru, Kagura cleared her throat pointedly. She and the Western Lord were within eyeshot of the fallen Southern Lord and they both eyed his rapidly healing form wearily.

 

“I hate to break this to you guys,” Kagura informed the Taisho pack, “But I don't think Naraku's dead.”

 

Sango and Miroku nodded and moved next to the wind youkai and their pack alpha. Kagome and Inuyasha opened their eyes and turned towards their family, their sad yet relieved expressions hardening into that of cold determination to finish the job once and for all. They nodded and slowly stood.

 

* * *

 

The youkai blood in his body prevailed. She was strong, but she wasn't strong enough.

 

Kagome.

 

Naraku knew the arrow that had impaled him had belonged to her. That worthless human woman who had foiled plan after plan he had painstakingly arranged with nothing other that her own naive stupidity. Her pure heart was all she needed to guide her. In many ways, Kagome had reminded him of Kikyou years ago, before his darkness had corrupted her soul.

 

It was Kagome who had awakened the last traces of Onigumo inside of him. He was certain of it. All the time he had spent with her at her shrine had awakened that weak bastard Onigumo. And Naraku hated Kagome for it. As he seethed in anger while his body regenerated, the Southern Lord's dark, angered thoughts began to return the jewel secured around his neck to its dark, clouded state.

 

As he felt the gaze of the Taisho pack on his prone body, his eyes opened painfully and he made his next decision. Even before that of Inuyasha's, Kagome's death was now his first order of business. He would pay her back swiftly. Shakily, he turned over and slowly picked his body off the ground, standing slowly.

 

Without even a wince of pain, the Southern Lord plucked Kagome's arrow from his chest. It disintegrated in his hands, the dust scattering on the acrid wind. With thoughts of revenge on his mind and Kagome's pure but lifeless body hanging limp in his hands, Naraku expected the Shikon no Tama to darken to the color of coal, yet instead, its hue was once again lightening.

 

Naraku snarled in anger and shot his gaze towards Kagome where she stood in Inuyasha's protective embrace. He was infuriated that this young girl held such power over the jewel. Naraku searched for her chocolate orbs, yet instead of her meeting her eyes, he found that her gaze was directed behind him.

 

“Kikyou.” Naraku heard Inuyasha whisper.

 

The dark hanyou's head snapped back to catch the image of Kikyou stumbling in the distance, still disorientated from maintaining the barrier. So it wasn't just Kagome causing the drastic response in the jewel. Perhaps Kagome wouldn't be the first to die, then. The dark hanyou's breath caught in his throat as an intense, double heartbeat slammed inside his chest. Onigumo. The dark hanyou fought the human presence in his mind and used his newly acquired strength to battle back the human annoyance.

 

Realizing he was losing ground as the Shikon no Tama lightened further still, Naraku was finally struck with an idea. One that couldn't, that wouldn't fail.

 

It was true that the pureness of Kagome's soul was a contributor to the jewel's gradual purification, but it was Kikyou's spiritual powers and her love for Onigumo that the jewel responded to the most. Yes, Onigumo, who Naraku had thought was long dead was still alive in the recesses of his mind, and now, while he tormented Kikyou, Onigumo was trying to fight back.

 

Naraku fought a smile that threatened to crawl across his lips. Onigumo and Kikyou together were the keys to corrupting the Shikon no Tama. If he were to kill both what was left of Onigumo and Kikyou herself, not even Kagome's pure soul could stop him from corrupting the jewel.

 

Naraku smirked. He had little time to act, yet his plan had already developed in his mind.

 

* * *

 

Kikyou fingered the feathered end of an arrow as she approached the battlefield, skirting the masses of dead youkai that littered the ground. If she could even use the weapon against her would be master, she was unsure, but on the off chance that she might have an opportunity to free herself and Onigumo of their prisons made of Naraku, she had decided to come prepared. Focusing on the dark hanyou's form, Kikyou disregarded the entirety of the Taisho clan, her gaze centering solely on Naraku.

 

As Naraku locked gazes with her own, Kikyou shuddered at the intense wave of emotion that slammed into her from Naraku's aura, sentiments she felt him quickly regain control of and conceal from her. The former miko however instantly understood enough to know that her own life was in danger. Though she had no details, it was obvious to Kikyou that Naraku had developed a plan that no longer required her personal involvement. No longer was she of any use to the dark hanyou. After picking up hints of betrayal and emotions of last chance from Naraku himself, Kikyou knew she had to go for broke. Onigumo's redemption and that of her own would be now or never in this last stand to come. It was time to rebel against the tyrant who had held her heart and shaped her will against her for the past seven years.

 

“I can't make the Shikon no Tama grant your wish, Naraku-sama. Something is holding you back.” Kikyou explained calmly.

 

“Is that so, Kikyou? And what exactly might that be?” The dark hanyou asked coolly, already anticipating her response.

 

Kikyou frowned. She could sense Naraku's jyaki sizing her up, measuring the remaining power she had left after expending so much to raise and maintain her barrier. With an icy acknowledgment, it was suddenly clear to the former miko. Naraku knew. Onigumo's presence was no longer a secret to him, she had lost her final ace and she was out of options.

 

The startling revelation was suddenly forgotten when Kikyou gasped in shock as Naraku's cruel expression turned into one of acute pain. His back hunched as his fingers flew to his temple. She knew instinctively that Naraku's pain must have been due to Onigumo's presence.

 

Kikyou dropped her indifferent façade, it would no longer do her any good in these last moments she had left to achieve her seemingly impossible goal of saving Onigumo, eliminating Naraku, and winning her own freedom from the dark hanyou's clutches. Her one last chance would be to plead to Onigumo for help as she'd always wanted to do. “Onigumo-kun!” She cried out as she rushed to Naraku's side.

 

“Kikyou!” Kagome warned, worried for her cousin's safety as the older woman approached the Southern Lord. The former miko refused to acknowledge the Taisho clan. At the moment, Onigumo was her one and only concern.

 

Sesshomaru moved himself in front of his brother's mate. Whatever was happening was between Kikyou, Naraku and the miserable human who was apparently still alive in the confines of the dark hanyou's body. He would not allow one of his own to risk themselves in a battle that was not their own. The Western Lord proudly noticed Sango and Miroku behind him. Despite their obvious exhaustion, both of them were in defensive positions with weapons at the ready.

 

Inuyasha's grip tightened around his mate even as his jaw fell slack, wondering why Kikyou had cried for their old high school friend. Surely the youkai that compromised Naraku had eaten away the remains of the weak human's consciousness long ago. Yet the raw, unmasked emotion in Kikyou's voice took the Inu-Hanyou back to a time seven years ago when the woman he thought he might have loved instead had loved their mutual friend. Yes, Inuyasha had always suspected that Kikyou had secretly been in love with Onigumo, and now her voice relayed that truth. At once, despite his years old hurt and hatred of Kikyou, Inuyasha felt sorry for the woman, that she had never been able to express those feelings while Onigumo was still himself. Unconsciously, his clawed fingers tightened around Kagome's body.

 

Kikyou kneeled next to Naraku's prone form, the dark hanyou still on his knees and nursing his head as though it was splitting open. His thick, wavy hair concealed his face as his body shook in violent convulsions, his baboon skin pelt shaking as though it were alive.

 

“Onigumo.” Kikyou pleaded, her hand resting on his shoulder. “Onigumo, can you hear me?”

 

“Kikyou-san…” A voice softer than Naraku's own pierced the tense silence and all present held their breath. Could the other personality that compromised Naraku's being actually have the strength to fight off the dark hanyou?

 

“Onigumo, hang in there. I need you to help me fight this battle.” Kikyou urged, her hand resting on Naraku's head in an effort to soothe his human side.

 

“Kikyou -san, please tell me what I can do to stop this evil.” Onigumo's parched voice cried out from Naraku's chapped lips. “Please tell me what I can do to right this wrong. I never intended it to be like this. It hurts so much, Kikyou.”

 

The former miko's expression softened and she leaned closer to the body of the dark hanyou, wanting nothing more than to ease her first love, her true love's pain. She could neither feel nor sense the double heartbeat that again suddenly slammed though Naraku's body, and by the time she felt the dark hanyou's frame stiffen and his jyaki return, it was too late.

 

Inuyasha saw the minute change in Naraku's body, knew the reaction of the double heartbeat that signaled shifts of his inner blood too well. The Inu-Hanyou stepped forward, still clinging to his mate. “Kikyou, no!” He barked. “Run!”

 

Naraku's youkai blood returned with a vengeance and he viscously grabbed Kikyou by her hair, pulling her face close to his collarbone, effectively trapping her. Her now useless bow and arrow dropped to the ground, the hollow wood of the weapon clattering on the shattered rocks below her feet.

 

The dark hanyou's voice deepened as he spoke until it resembled the growl of a feral animal. “You foolish whore. You wanted that weak human Onigumo all these years yet you did nothing but stand aside and watch while this Naraku devoured him alive. You had known that I, a youkai, had pursued Onigumo for his body while that pathetic human lay dying. I know that your miko skills detected my presence. Yet you did nothing to stop me, blinded by your love for that miserable fool. His presence in my body has been too weak to help you since day one. Surely you knew that much, but do you know why, Kikyou? Do you know why he was too weak to fight against me?”

 

The dark hanyou pulled Kikyou's head away from his body by the roots of her hair. “I asked you a question, woman. Would you like the answer?”

 

“Fuck you, Naraku.” Kikyou spat, the obscenity rolling off her tongue in such a manner that made it obvious that it was something she'd wanted to say to the dark hanyou long ago.

 

Naraku only smiled. Between Kikyou's growing hate and the mounting fear and hopelessness from the human inside him, he could sense the jewel around his neck darken slightly. “Do you remember that day, seven years ago, when this body lay dying on a hospital bed?” Naraku paused for a moment, relishing Kikyou's angry expression before he continued. “They told you that your weak Onigumo had only hours left to live.”

 

The former miko frowned but held her silence as the dark hanyou continued. “You ran home to Inuyasha then. As I remember, he had left but hours before, angry that you never seemed to want to leave Onigumo's bedside. He was angry that your relationship with him was deteriorating as you kept vigil over Onigumo. Yet you had wanted Inuyasha to at least know that your mutual friend was finally dying, and so you went to him. But when you got to his apartment, what did you find?”

 

Kikyou's eyes burned with anger. Why was Naraku bringing this up now of all times? “He was… with another woman on the couch.” She answered coldly, tears pooling in her eyes at the memory, her anxiety growing, spiraling, becoming too much for her to regain her normal mask of composure.

 

Naraku smirked. “That's where you're wrong, Kikyou. So very, very wrong.”

 

The former miko's angry expression slipped slowly into one of utter confusion. Briefly, she glanced back at Inuyasha's golden gaze. There was something about those golden eyes that unsettled her. A hint of pity? For what? Naraku continued before she could process her own thoughts or draw her own conclusions.

 

“You see, that wasn't Inuyasha you found fucking another woman. It was me. In fact, it was Onigumo and I together. It was the price he paid to me for my gift to him of a living body.” Naraku said matter of factly.

 

Kikyou's stomach dropped and her jaw clicked shut. She couldn't find any words as her fingernails dug into her palm painfully, her knuckles turning white.

 

The dark hanyou chuckled. “Surely you remember the fact that this Naraku can shape shift. You've seen me do it for my own benefit countless times before. Does disguising myself as Inuyasha in the senate house to steal Kagome's land ring a bell?”

 

Inuyasha found himself holding Kagome back as Naraku admitted his trespass. A few well-aimed glances caught the anger reflected in the eyes of each of his pack members, yet they maintained their silence, waiting to see what would unfold next.

 

“Did it honestly never occur to you that I could have played such a trick on you, you foolish whore? Inuyasha never cheated on you. I staged it all and directed your hate and anger towards him, crafting you into the perfect tool for me to use repeatedly, all the while allowing me to feed off your raw emotions at the same time. It was genius, really. But I never thought you'd be so willingly malleable, so weak. The two of you made such lovely stepping stones on which I used to crush the weak human I now own inside of me.”

 

Naraku paused a moment, careful not to show the internal battle with the human side that carried on inside his head. Onigumo was outraged and the remains of his consciousness thrashed about in their shared mind. The dark hanyou knew that this was the one piece of information that the human had never wanted revealed to Kikyou. The one piece of information that, should the object of his love learn, could very well kill what little remained of him. The Southern Lord noted with satisfaction that the Shikon no Tama was growing darker and darker, returning to it's prior state with each passing second as Onigumo wallowed in the torture of the harsh truth being revealed to the woman that he loved.

 

“Liar!” Kikyou shouted, enraged and disbelieving. She lashed out at Naraku yet her range of motion was limited in the hold of the dark hanyou. The Southern Lord easily caught her swinging fist and squeezed it harshly in his palm. The slightest fraction of his newly acquired strength threatened to crush each bone in the woman's small hand.

 

“You don't believe me? Why not ask Inuyasha? I never thought the lesser of the two of you would have figured it out first.” Naraku responded casually. He released his hold from Kikyou's scalp to allow her to turn around.

 

Slowly, the former miko turned to find Inuyasha, yet when she saw the Inu-Hanyou's downcast gaze pointedly ignoring her, Kikyou's stomach lurched yet again, a painful lump rising in her throat, choking her slowly. He had already known. She, the one who had needed the most to know such a thing, had been the last to find out. Unshed tears pooled in Kikyou's eyes at the awful revelation. Her pure hurt at the betrayal against her was quickly enveloped by hatred and rage. She snapped her gaze back to Inuyasha. “You…you knew all along?”

 

Inuyasha refused to meet Kikyou's searching gaze, yet Kagome's pitiful eyes didn't back down. “Kikyou, Inuyasha only recently found out!” She begged of her cousin to understand.

 

“But why didn't you tell me?” Kikyou cried, her pride forcing her to ignore Kagome's comments as her eyes remained locked on Inuyasha.

 

The Inu-Hanyou held a steadying hand on Kagome's back, assuring her that it was all right before he spoke. “Would it have changed anything if I had told you?” He shouted across the distance that separated them. “You didn't believe me then and wouldn't have believed me now. Besides, your approval and forgiveness of me no longer mattered. I'd long ago moved on. I'm not sorry about that. But I am sorry for your pain, Kikyou. I never wanted you to know either.”

 

A low chuckle came from the mouth of the dark hanyou. “Such kindness from the otherwise cold Inu-Hanyou. My, how his new mate has changed him. It matters not. All of you have reached your ends now.”

 

As Naraku spoke, the reality of the situation slammed into Kikyou full force and the former miko dropped to her knees in shock. All thoughts of revenge against Naraku ceased abruptly as she wallowed in the pain that tore at her heart. It was enough that she had spent the past seven years of her life dedicated to hating Inuyasha, and now to find out that it wasn't he who had betrayed her at all, it was the man she had truly loved in the first place.

 

“Onigumo.” She whispered breathlessly, her bottom lip trembling uncharacteristically. “How could you have done this to me?”

 

The dark hanyou laughed maniacally as the human inside him screamed in agony. Naraku forcibly crushed Onigumo's will, battering the human in his own mind as he mentally spoke to him. `I told you that you should have given up hope long ago and allowed yourself to die. She knows now, you weak human, and she hates you for it.'

 

Kikyou looked up suddenly, sensing a shift in Naraku's jyaki. It darkened significantly. He smiled ruthlessly as the jewel around his neck solidified to almost the color of coal. Onigumo's presence had vanished. He was gone. Dead. Her lover, the one who had hurt her the most with his terrible betrayal, the one who she had hoped to be her last hope for her own salvation as well as Naraku's destruction at her hands was no more. Despite her anger and the pain of his betrayal, the former miko shed a silent tear for Onigumo's death.

 

Sesshomaru's amber eyes narrowed as Tenseiga came to life at his hip, the decorative sword humming to a hellish energy. The demons of hell had appeared around Naraku's dark form. But they weren't there for the Southern Lord himself, the dark hanyou's newly acquired strength was a testament to that. The demons had arrived for Onigumo. The small, dark, invisible creatures crowded Naraku's powerful form, clawing at him, taking away the soul of the dying human. The Western Lord frowned.

 

The dark hanyou smiled and looked at the nearly black jewel around his neck. It was now back to it's previous state, recovered from the setbacks suffered by Kagome and Kikyou, and soon it would take, just a little more hate and anger and the Shikon no Tama's wish would be his. The small threat that the Taisho clan and Kikyou presented would be no longer if he could just get what he needed.

 

Satisfied, the dark hanyou examined the confused and helpless expressions of the Taisho clan. The Lord of the Western Lands stood in front of his pack stoically, yet behind that unyielding expression, he could sense the Inu-Youkai's apprehension through his jyaki. Kagura, the wind youkai of his own upbringing stood defiantly against her master, yet there was an air of fear on the very wind, proof of her shaking will. Kagome, still in Inuyasha's grasp, glared daggers at Naraku's form, belying her aura that radiated her worry. A low growl emanated from the Inu-Hanyou's throat, his strong outward appearance a mask for his confusion and anger. Though they put up a strong front, the two exhausted humans, Sango and Miroku, leaned against each other, searching for the strength to go on.

 

Finally, the destroyed expression of Kikyou was a sight that Naraku vowed to etch into his memory for his reign to come. On the face of the normally stoic, composed woman, tears streamed down her dirty face. Her eyes started blankly ahead and her mouth hung open in empty devastation. A low chuckle escaped the dark hanyou's lips and echoed across the blood soaked battleground of their last stand as he prepared for certain victory.

 

“Game over.” Naraku growled as he clutched the Shikon no Tama in his palm.

 

* * *

 

 

Author's notes:

 

Did you like what you read? Please review!

 

This chapter was a long time coming and I'm sorry for the delay! This was my first real stab at an extended battle scene and it took a long time for me to be happy with the way it turned out. I only hope I pleased you, the reader.

 

The end of Corporate Deception is finally in sight and I've completed much of the next chapter, and am then to move on to the planned epilogue, which will both definitely be released much quicker than this chapter was. All encouragement, of course, will be appreciated!

 

Special thanks to my awesome beta and KS, YoukaiMusashi, author of Love Poison. Without this talented writer's help, my story would certainly be lacking. Love ya, girl!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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