InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Desecration of Innocence ❯ Heralding Behavior ( Chapter 3 )

CHAPTER THREE

 

Heralding Behavior

 

 

“How could you,”…

 

“Surprisingly quite easily, I thought playing your little group like the fools you are would have actually been more of a challenge.” One corner of his mouth curled up, revealing a fang. “You never saw it coming did you? The idea was never entertained within your self centered mind…does the fact that I'm increasingly stronger then you continually escape your thoughts? Or are the thoughts that go on behind those captivating eyes so one tracked that what really matters does not take precedence over frivolous musings? Such as an impossible relationship with a certain dog-eared hanyou?” he made a small almost imperceptible gesture to himself. Kagome caught it and her previous anger came rushing back.

 

“Don't you refer to yourself as Inuyasha, you worthless baka! You could never compare to him!” The very act of him imitating Inuyasha infuriated her. Not to mention the fact that the jab he had made towards her frame of mind had really struck a cord.

 

She didn't consider herself to be self-centered, but Naraku was right. She had been thinking a lot about her and Inuyasha, and where their relationship stood as of late. She felt that they had grown closer over the past few years.

 

`He really has opened up to me, even talked to me a little about his mother and childhood.' She remembered the day when he had absently told her about a time when he and his mother had gone on a picnic; it had been a good day.

 

She had been talking about how her family had gone to the beach the previous week, swimming, playing, and sunbathing. But the best part had been how, nearing the end of their excursion, they just sat around eating and enjoying each other's company.

 

Inuyasha's response had been, “Yeah, my mother and I did that once …” He had said it with such ease. There was none of the timid embarrassment, or fierce protectiveness that usually accompanied the mention of the woman who had brought him into this world.

 

He had been so comfortable and relaxed while they sat on the riverbank.

 

Kagome dangling her feet languidly over the edge, letting the brute current work its magic. She was propped up by her elbows and Inuyasha was taking a break from his normal Indian style position, looking quite content lying full out on the ground, hands lightly cradling his head, one leg bent at the knee, moving to some unknown rhythm.

 

She had watched him, loving the peaceful warmth that surrounded him.

 

With his face tilted slightly upward, the corner of his lips curled in a contented smile watching the clouds behind closed eyes; he unknowingly revealed one of the better memories of the times he shared with his mother. It was only when he got to the part where he had brushed her hair, and let slip that he had always enjoyed the act, that he blushed and cracked one eye open to peek over at her to see her reaction.

 

That had been one of the moments where another strand was weaved into the intricate web of their trust. She had seen his blush, had seen the way his features softened as he reverted back to the child he once was, having a good day with his mother when good days were few and far between. Her heart had swelled at the fact that he had shared such a memorable event with her; that he was so comfortable with her that he hadn't given a second thought to what he was saying; and most of all because she was allowed to see him. The real him, with none of the usual markings of stress, worry, annoyance, anger, or pain marring his now discernibly smooth features.

 

She had memorized it, burned every detail into her own memory to cherish, and to, every once in a while, take it out and look at.

 

Yes, she had been thinking about the two of them a lot, more so then usual because things had been relatively quiet lately, and the ever elusive resurrected miko (`clay pot'), was being … well, ever more elusive; having not made an appearance for the last few months. Not that Kagome had been complaining. Having Inuyasha more or less to herself was something she thanked the gods for.

 

It suddenly occurred to her that it was not any of the gods who had heard her heartfelt thank-yous, and it was not that lady luck was on her side. It was just the plan of an evil being playing out as smooth and hitch free as anyone who had ever concocted such plans could have hoped for.

 

It had been relatively quiet because he had let it be relatively quiet. Naraku had given her those few quiet months and with them the chance to bond with Inuyasha, and she did bond with Inuyasha.

 

She knew him better now because of Naraku.

 

But despite all of the hard earned trust she had still been deceived. `He tricked me and I fell for it, just like Kikyo…' but her feelings of guilt and shame just seemed to help coax the angry fire that was building within.

 

“You will never compare to him!” she hissed. “You can't even compare to a hanyou. You're just an abomination, not even a true half breed!”

 

Somehow, moving on its own, her body, trembling, raised itself up and began slowly stalking towards him. She wasn't trembling in fear, at least not for the most part, but everything was starting to catch up to her: the events, emotions, realizations, everything - all of it. It manifested as a flaming ball, roiling hot, and heavy in her stomach. It left her with the only option of either releasing it or letting it consume her.

 

Kagome wasn't one to give in so easily.

 

“You're made up of bits and pieces of hundreds of pathetic demons.”

 

He watched her as she advanced toward him, his guard already having gone up in response to the vast increase in her powers.

 

“You're lowlier than any hanyou could ever dream of being thought of,” her voice had risen from the hate filled growl and was now teetering on the edge of screaming, “You disgusting, worthless, horror of a-a THING!”

 

Whatever the purpose of that last rant had been, it had certainly hit a mark, intentionally or no.

 

A deep down anger flared within Naraku. He wasn't even sure where it came from but it was rapidly clouding his mind. It was like many tiny things were whirring around his brain, weaving a fog that left his rational thought patchy and uneven. He would have been more alarmed if the increasingly choppy, detached manner his mind was functioning in had allowed it.

 

Breathing heavy, seething breaths he strode the few remaining steps to her, like (she randomly thought) a bull beginning to charge the matador.

 

Her hasty analysis was not too far off, and as most of her current thought ceased to exist, the fact that the pain she was about to experience eluded her.

 

He drew back a fist and knocked her clear across the room, directly into the opposite wall.

 

She was shocked, dirty, bleeding, and if she could have thought through the mind numbing pain, she would have registered all the rest.

 

There were fireworks going off in her head. Multi coloured sparks blossomed and fell behind her closed eyes, her head pounded with thundering claps of small rocket ignitions. With the audio and visuals taken care of, her face took on the physical effects exploding in perfect synchronization with the latter, eyes bulging with each new display. The after effects were assigned to her mouth and nose, both emitting streams of blood instead of smoke.

 

She was in bad shape.

 

The force of the blow left her jaw slightly dislocated, but as she hit the wall the impact jarred it back in to place. Her nose wasn't broken but it hit hard enough so that it was bleeding freely. Due to the slight concussion and haze of pain, she couldn't stop herself from trying to move as the basic instinct to flee from danger somehow got through. It didn't help the situation, and with every labored breath, and wheezing cough she became aware of the full extent of damage.

 

Her shoulder was dislocated; it felt as though she had cracked a rib but couldn't be certain. She could barely feel her left foot, and the shooting pain racing up her neck could be accredited to whip lash. She had a few popped blood vessels in her left eye, and a multitude of quickly discolouring bruises that would make themselves known in a few short hours.

 

Having gotten her ragged breathing under a small amount of control and the effects of the concussions somewhat abating, she forced her rolling eyes open. A visible pulse and the tears falling unchecked further obstructed her vision - but they soon came into focus.

 

Dazedly, she realized that her attacker's clawed foot rested by her head. Rolling her eyes up as far as she could manage, she was met by miles of red fabric, which moved as its wearer crouched down to face her again.

 

Tsking, he wiped some blood from the corner of her mouth with his thumb, brought it before him, and rubbed it together with his index finger; a ghost of a smile playing on his lips.

 

“Kagome, Kagome…my little miko. I think we have gotten off on the wrong foot, ne?” He traced the curve of her swelling cheek leaving a streak of blood, looking almost apologetic. That was right before her body started screaming in protest as she was lifted by her hair off the ground.

 

She found her voice seconds later, vocalizing what her body could not. Her arms went immediately to the steel grip on the top of her head, but only one made it before she cried out even louder at her attempt to use the dislocated shoulder.

 

He marveled at how expressive her face was. It held so much pain, and anguish, `and tears.' He watched as they gushed over the puffy, discoloured round of her cheek, watched as the tears made their way down to mix with the blood from her nose, and as they speckled the whites of her clothes with the slightly diluted blood.

 

He couldn't deny himself the urge to reach out and taste them, and was just about to when she kicked him. It was a desperate kick and really didn't hurt, but that pesky anger flared up again resulting in him giving her a few jerks by the hair.

 

Crying out again and continuing to sob, she stopped kicking at him, instead forcing all she could into her own grip on his arm trying to relieve the strain on her scalp.

 

“Open your eyes Kagome I have something to say that you need to hear.”

 

He waited patiently for all of 10 seconds before he tightened his grasp.

 

“It would be wise to do as I say Kagome, my patience is wearing thin,” he growled.

 

Not really caring about anything other then the pain at this point she obliged to the best of her ability. Peeking through the haze of tears into his watery face, her captors golden eyes started to bleed red while his face took on its true form.

 

“They are not going to find you.”

 

His voice sounded echo-y and far away becoming lost in the pounding that now resided in her head. Any form of thought was becoming increasingly incoherent and her vision was spotting great pulsing black dots. She was passing out.

 

He growled something at her again but she couldn't understand. What she did understand was when he grabbed her right arm, pulled down and shoved up, forcing the appendage through the already swollen muscles back into its designated spot. After that she didn't know anything except darkness.

 

Naraku dropped her unconscious form in disgust and turned to leave.

 

His disgust wasn't aimed completely towards her though, and that made him all the more annoyed. `Why did I lose my composure? And it was our first confrontation too,' he reprimanded. He hated feeling out of control, and those annoying little sparks of anger left him feeling just that.

 

He had been experiencing these little `blips' in judgement on and off for a time, he just blamed them on flare-ups in unchecked anger, which all things considered, it technically was. `But there is something different about this anger… it's as if it runs deeper…' his thoughts broke off when he rounded the corner to one of his many balconies. Kagura was staring wistfully out at the darkening horizon. Her position was a little more provocative then he would have liked.

 

Naraku had no real interest in Kagura, in that way - although he couldn't deny that it hadn't crossed his mind in all the time she had served him. Being involved with her sexually would have been a mistake, even if she had no choice in the matter. It would have been amusing to watch her fight against him but there was too much of a chance that he would be left vulnerable at some point or another. He knew that, given proper incentive and an opening, Kagura wouldn't give a second thought to trying to kill him. The probability of her succeeding was laughable but in situations like that you can never be too careful.

 

But all of that aside it didn't mean that he couldn't appreciate her body; he was physically a man after all.

 

He took a few silent steps and watched as Kagura's form tensed as she finally acknowledged his presence. It was barely noticeable, and any random person wouldn't have picked up on it unless they were watching as intently as Naraku had been.

 

Every time he caught Kagura unawares he felt like giving himself a big pat on the back for a job well done. Kagura had disobeyed him numerous times, some of which he knew about, and some where he could only speculate. So sneaking up on her was a small form of payback, one that he delighted in.

 

`Yes, you just stand there and dream away. Dream about soaring through the skies as free as a bird.' he smiled at that. `But you will never be free my little wind demoness, no matter how hard you try. The only freedom from me you will receive will be in death.' He stepped closer.

 

“So, you captured the girl,” she asked in a bored tone. She could smell the girl and her blood. `I hope he didn't do anything too drastic. To kill her right from the start would be a waste, and all the shit that I've had to endure these last few months will be for nothing!' she mentally growled.

 

“Yes, she is here. Tell Shin to prepare the lowest east room.” He started to walk away before he causally threw over his shoulder, “And Kagura, don't plan any excursions. Your assistance will be needed.”

 

“Yes Naraku,” she stated in the voice she used when confirming stupid, unnecessary, pain in the ass orders from the bastard who held her very existence in the palm of his tainted hands; the one she refused to call master.

 

As she began to process his last orders a thought suddenly popped up quickly followed by memory. An all in all disturbing memory of when an innocent stroll had led her to stumble upon a not so innocent person doing a not so innocent act.

 

She shuddered remembering the night she came across Naraku beating off while repeating varied versions of the girl Kagome's name. Her stomach actually churned.

 

`He better not be planning on including me in any of his sick sexual practices with that girl, because I swear, something that cannot regenerate will be hacked off!”

 

She stomped away, a white knuckled grip on her deadly fan, seething over the thought of that pervert even considering the idea.

 

At the moment, she was more disgusted over the thought of Naraku fantasizing about what ever he thought of as `intimate contact' to really be plagued by thoughts for the girl who would be taking part in the `activities' (if her assumptions were correct). It didn't cross her mind until later that all the horrific scenarios her mind could come up with would not be acted out with her as the leading lady; and if she was ever guilty of anything in her ruthless life, it was that she was thankful she was not.