InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Falling for the Enemy. ❯ A Piece of You In Me ( Chapter 4 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Kinoko 
Importaint turning point for our beloved Kagome.The plot takes a turn. MUST READ!
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.15.2006 | Updated On: 03.16.2006 | Pages: 5 | Words: 7.1K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Completed
Importaint turning point for our beloved Kagome.The plot takes a turn. MUST READ!
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 03.15.2006 | Updated On: 03.16.2006 | Pages: 5 | Words: 7.1K | Visits: 1.1K | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I don’t own InuYasha, but I do own this plot!
Falling For the Enemy. Chapter 4: “A Piece of You In Me.”
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Many shards had been found, more than what Kagome was used to encountering when traveling with InuYasha, which seemed absolutely convenient to her since all she really had to do was point them out, and Naraku, while out of sight of Kagome, would take the demon elsewhere to slaughter it, then return with the tainted shard and give it to her to purify.
He always enjoyed watching her purify the tainted shards, if fascinated him to no end. At first, he had been curious whether or not she would still be able to accomplish to do it since she was no longer ‘pure’ in the sense of chastity. Apparently though, she was still able to do so, and with growing efficiency.
Night had fallen finally on the land of Edo, and here in the middle of a little clearing within the thick forest, both of them ate quietly, enjoying the crackling of the fire by the light of the moon. Two weeks had passed now, and nearly everyday was touched with passion, but not tonight, Kagome was bleeding, and she wouldn’t allow it. Something about it being gross, whatever that meant, so he had just shrugged in response, quite frankly, he didn’t care, but she made a big deal about him not making any advances towards her today.
Women, so picky.
“Kagome,” Naraku purred as she fluffed her pillow while kneeling on the large, made for two plush futon.
“Yes?” She replied, her stormy eyes meeting his wonderfully crimson gaze, moving on to his pillow to fluff it up for him while she waited for him to continue.
“I’ve taken notice that you are not as uneducated as other women of the land, are you perhaps aquatinted with the royal court’s calligraphy?” He asked, taking note of how she seemed to think before speaking.
‘That’s right this is the feudal era, during the time that ladies of the court of Japan’s emperor learned to change Chinese characters into their own personal type, while it was still popular for men to write in Chinese. Damn…. But the language is so old…. Could I write it to his expectations? Perhaps….’ Kagome thought rapidly, bringing up her history class notes as reference to the type of writing of the time.
Noticing that she still had to answer, she blushed and said, “I can, however, because of my upbringing, it differs slightly from the wording of traditional court ladies’ calligraphy.”
“About your upbringing, I’m curious as to where your family resides, or what family clan you come from, for it seems to me that it must be from one of the two warring families since you are so ‘untraditional’ as you stated.” Naraku said, though he didn’t expect her to respond as she did, but this worked in his favor, now he would learn where she came from and who her family was.
“….” Kagome didn’t know how to respond at first, but, remembering her state of supposed amnesia, she answered with a question, “Did you not meet my family when we were wed?”
“No, as far as I know, because of your own information prior to our marriage, you at least come from a family that carries with it the duty of being dedicated to tending to shrines and traveling to distant villages to help the helpless.” He said in response, thankfully being blessed with quick thinking. “Aside from this, I met you while you were tending to a village, and we married shortly after, without your family present, nor my own.”
“I see…. Well…. From what I do remember…. My family wasn’t terribly known, it consisted of my grandfather, mother, and little brother, Sota,” Kagome informed with a sad smile, homesickness settling within her as she recalled their faces. “I inherited my shrine duties from my grandfather on my father’s side of the family…” She reminisced, trying to recall her father’s face, however she found herself unable to do so.
“I can’t even remember what my father looks like….” Kagome confessed in a tiny whisper, her eyes glazed in a faraway look that depicted her lost thoughts.
Naraku studied her as she seemed to drift away from him, her mind blanking out as she stared unblinkingly off into space, looking at nothing in particular as a slight breeze picked up the ends of her hair and sent them to dance around her.
“I miss my family…,” Kagome said so quietly that he almost missed her utterance, however he did manage to catch the tears that started to gather in the midst of her stormy colored eyes, making them swirl and swim in their pools before she blinked and large tears spilt onto her perfectly rosy cheeks. She looked at him then, her cheeks stained with the glistening tracks of her spilling tears upon her cheeks and her eyelashes spiked from the moisture gathered in them.
Deep within him he felt himself break in half at the sight of her sadness, however he was able to keep his face void of emotion, angry that instead of delighting himself in her pain he was pained himself as well. What the hell was going on!? He hid his inner turmoil by bringing her into a tight hug, hiding his face that was about to burst under the immensity of the emotion she caused within him within her perfectly inky locks of thick hair.
He held himself there, holding her near to him with his arms while she cried on his shoulder, her hot tears making the silk on his shoulder stick to his skin and burn him to his very soul. He had to distract her; he somehow had to make her stop this because it was affecting him in a way he had no clue how to deflect.
“Dearest, I asked because I need you to do a favor for me, I didn’t mean for this to happen…” The dark hanyou gently spoke into her hair, kissing the top of her head where his lips rested unmoving.
“I’m sorry….” The priestess sniffled, wiping her face with one of the oversized sleeves from her kimono as she attempted to wipe away the signs of her sadness. “What was it you needed me to do?” She asked once her face was dry, though her nose was still pink, evidence of her earlier tears.
Instead of responding with words Naraku stood, walked a little ways to their traveling packaging and pulled out four scrolls, a black mass that looked like coal, and a calligraphy brush. Wordlessly, he took a stone that seemed to fit his purpose, and placed a little clay cup at the end of the stone so that if anything fell on the stone, it would roll into the cup. He took some water that hadn’t been used for making tea and wet his hands as well as the stone before he took the black square and started to rub it in his hands.
From this motion, black droplets started to fall onto the stone and drip into the little clay cup at the end of it. Kagome was absolutely transfixed as she watched the seemingly endless cycle go on until the cup was filled with ink from Naraku’s own two hands.
“I must wash…” Naraku mumbled as he attempted to cast his long kimono clothed sleeves away from his hands without actually using them, failing miserably. Kagome took this as her cue and she immediately went to his aid, rolling up his ridiculously long sleeves so that he could wash his hands in the near by stream without getting his sleeves wet.
“Thank you.” He bit out with embarrassment, which was met with a beaming smile on her behalf.
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“I summon you, Demon Lords of the North, South, East, and West, to a meeting designated to establish a new order of land rights now that I have a significant hold of methods by which to acquire Lordship. I fully intend to rise in position by law of demon politics, but if need be I am not one to shy away from other means.” Naraku said in the most diplomatic tone possible, though the underlining threat was prominently standing forth within his deep powerful voice. Meanwhile, the young compliant Kagome skillfully stroked the fine calligraphy brush against the precious scroll of paper before her, eyebrows scrunched together in concentration as she tried her best to keep her hand from slipping into modern strokes and kept it strictly old-fashioned.
“Alright, I’m done, what do you think?” Kagome asked, her face displaying a variety of emotions through the way she bit her plump lower lip and raised one perfectly arched eyebrow as if scrutinizing her work before handing it to her dark lover, Naraku.
Well one thing was for certain, he definitely wasn’t expecting such wonderfully crafted calligraphy from a mere priestess, no, he was expecting a mediocre type of handwriting, but nothing compared to what he was currently witnessing. A noble man must have taught her; there was no other way her handwriting skills could be so advanced in beauty as well as spelling and word order. She had written everything he had said and managed to convey his message laced with the beauty of her writing. What an art she possessed! She must have been gifted by the gods themselves, not only to be born with goddess like beauty, but to be also blessed with perfection in such a high art such as this high quality of calligraphy!
Of course he kept his face from expressing his surprise, though his eyes shined with pride and praise when he glanced from the scroll in order to look into the glistening stormy orbs of the magnificent miko whom he had standing before him seeking his approval.
What could he do? He had no way of expressing how highly he thought of her without breaking his expressionless facial features, he had no way of praising her verbally without conveying something deeper within him that held her in a pedestal of honor within his sight…. He was unable to do what she wanted without first undoing himself….
Was it worth it?
No…. She was his mere plaything; he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that he had trouble holding himself together because of her.
No.
Clearing his throat, Naraku turned his back towards her and grimaced, for he could almost taste her vulnerable need for acceptance on his tongue when he did so. Did she truly need his approval that desperately? Or could it be his imagination playing tricks on him? With a look over his shoulder that hid his face with the exception of his eyes from her view he saw that she did want to hear those words of acceptance from him, however, with a sigh, she dropped her gaze from his and kneeled on their futon, only to lie down in silence.
With his teeth clenched tightly together and his fists holding on as tightly as possible without breaking the scroll he held his breath steady, bidding his voice to sound as unbreakable as possible. He steeled himself from displaying anything he didn’t want her knowing, and finally responded, “You exceed at the art of calligraphy.” There, he said it, though it was one of the most difficult things to say without displaying his utter amazement at her talent, he succeeded in hiding, and succeeded in fulfilling her heart’s desire for his approval.
Instead of replying Kagome simply smiled in contentment, her wonderfully colorful large eyes coming to rest on his perfectly crimson ones as she lovingly rubbed at the empty space on the futon that was Naraku’s side of the plush traveling accessory. He couldn’t help but smirk at her action, and promptly put the scroll a ways from them so that it could fully dry off, shed his outer robes, and joined her on their portable bed for two.
He made quick work of adjusting himself against her smaller form, bringing his arm to wrap around her waist, cupping her breast while the action completed to bring their bodies closer together, her back against his abdomen, her posterior against his lower regions, while their legs tangled together comfortably. Her head, wavy black hair the color of ravens and all rested perfectly against the bicep of his other arm that he provided as a pillow for her, so that her head may rest more softly against rather than her pillow that had lost it’s place.
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“I’ve never felt him like this…” Kagura said to the little white haired girl, as the both of them gazed down into the magical mirror that the younger girl held, watching their master in unbelief.
“He’s becoming different…” Kanna stated in a blank tone, not conveying to her sister that she didn’t only mean emotionally, but also in his aura…. His human heart was somehow shrinking, and yet, though his demon was growing and becoming whole, he was exceptionally vulnerable.
‘He hasn’t even marked her and yet she’s already undoing him…’ Kagura thought, expecting her freedom to come not out of her own hands any longer, but by the hands of this young miko girl. She was unaware however that his inner demons were uniting into one, finally becoming Naraku, and getting rid of his human torment, Onigumo as well as the torment of many demons swirling within him. Soon he would be a whole being, no longer plagued by schizophrenic like symptoms.
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“You stupid dog turd! I leave her in your care and you let something like this happen!? I should have known better than to trust a dog breath hanyou!” Koga fumed as he and InuYasha ran throughout the forest, in search of Kagome whom had been missing for a very long time now, too long for either of them to ignore.
Of course, InuYasha had never wanted to involve the help of the smelly wolf, but it had been Sango and Miroku that had informed the wolf prince of the situation at hand.
After three days of non stop battle, and wounds that took another three days to heal, both had tired themselves out enough to simply curse at each other without wasting anymore time in looking for their lost comrade, Kagome.
“Shut up you mangy wolf! If you’re so perfect why don’t you try putting up with Kagome!? Why did you leave her in my care!? I’d like to see you do any better with her sitting you all the damn time!” InuYasha roared, not missing a step as they both kept going in the general direction that they had mutually agreed Kagome had headed off to. His comment wasn’t lost on Sango and Miroku though, and while they glared at him from Kirara’s back, it was little Shippo that stood up for his surrogate mother before another word could be spoken by the wolf prince.
“InuYasha! How dare you say things like that! She sits you because you are always hurting her! It’s out of defense! Kagome is always so good to you, to all of us!” Shippo shouted, tears filling his big green eyes and spilling out from the sheer force of not only his emotions, but also the force behind his loud shouting. Sango hugged the little kitsune kit closer to her chest in a comforting manner willing him to calm down for the sake of them all. It hurt her that she had lost Kagome whom she had to come to treat more like a sister than a comrade in battle, but she had to keep it together, for the sake of the little one that was now in her care in Kagome’s absence.
While she tried to steadying the fast and hard heart beat that threatened to burst out of Shippo’s small frame, she took note of how InuYasha’s usually perky ears pressed down to his head, a look of guilt flashing before his golden eyes as he bit his lower lip to keep himself from saying another stupid thing.
The poor kitsune…. She could almost feel the hurt and despise he felt towards InuYasha in that moment, his green eyes filled with such fury, scorn, and sadness that they spilled over with such large tears that her hands were covered in them in no time at all. He didn’t sob however, it was silent crying, his eyes unblinking as it seemed he tried to burn a hole into InuYasha’s head by simply willing it with his eyes.
She wanted to comfort him, but it wasn’t that he was sad…. He was also full of contempt towards InuYasha, and that wouldn’t die down no matter how much she’d let him cry on her shoulder. He had long stopped his wailing and sobbing and had now started being quiet in an attempt to stop his sadness and hurt by being angry with InuYasha.
For once Koga didn’t say anything, deciding that the atmosphere was thick enough as it was and opted to concentrate on Kagome’s lingering scent.
The entire group had been on pins and needles ever since Kagome’s disappearance, and it wasn’t only because she was the glue that held them together, but also because her scent was tied together with Kagura’s, which meant that she was with their common enemy.
“Stay alive Kagome….” Miroku whispered in a prayer, wrapping his arms around Sango’s torso, and for once, she didn’t shoo him away with a slap, but rather leaned against him in agreement. The whispered plea wasn’t lost on her or Shippo’s ears, and they both silently prayed for the same thing.
‘Stay safe Kagome, I’m on the way…’ Koga thought when the wind carried the monk’s prayer to his hearing, his heart clenching in the thought that he’d find her broken apart by the time he got to her. She was so nice, too nice… she didn’t deserve any of this, and to be honest, he didn’t deserve her either. She was too good, too kind, far more perfect than anything he deserved, even if she was human and he a wolf youkai. If this was so however, then InuYasha also defiantly fell short of her as well, no doubt about it!
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“F or you my Lord!” Rin happily exclaimed as she handed a large bouquet of flowers to the strong stoic youkai lord, Sesshomaru. Every day she improved her flower arrangements to appeal aesthetically to the eye, and as everyday, he was pleased with her present of flowers.
“Your arrangement of flowers is exceptional today,” He said in his usual tone, though he let his usually cold yellow eyes show it’s warmer golden tones as he displayed his praise for her work of art, “Put them in the vase in my resting chamber.”
The young bubbly child bounded out of her Lord’s study/library and ran throughout the large expanse of the castle to do her master’s bidding with a never wavering toothy smile. As soon as Rin had left however, the warm look that the Lord of the western lands had permitted to come forth had quickly vanished into coldness once more.
The letter had arrived just a minute ago, and he didn’t take Naraku’s threat well—that is, he detested that a mere hanyou would dare make such demands. Another thing that had been upon Lord Sesshomaru’s mind was how the detestable Naraku had stated that he had acquired means by which to overthrow a Lord if he so wished to.
Lord Sesshomaru was anything but simpleminded and understood exactly what the letter meant…. The question was if his allies had the sense to not take Naraku’s threat lightly.
With a groan of annoyance he rubbed his temple, much like his father would do when he had to deal with the nuisance of political power matters, he mulled over the implications of every possible rule and law Naraku would try to use in his favor. At the same time, he hoped that Jaken had done his job by now and would return so as to deliver even more things to the other Lords of the land so that they could all meet in one accordance. No, Sesshomaru was no fool, if a house was divided, it would fall… and though he doubted Naraku’s strength, within the laws and demon politics, it was definitely possible for him to rise in rank, something that he would never allow.
He was allied with the youkai Lord of the North as well as the Lord of the East…. It was the Southern Lady that was at odds with them, though she would inevitably come to agree with whatever it was that he decided, for it was within her lands that Naraku resided in, and would look to take over.
Aside from all of the political matters, there were also matters of his idiot half brother whom had lost his little shard detecting miko wench. All other things aside, the truth of matters between himself and his half brother where stiff, however, the idiot hanyou still had his father’s blood flowing through his veins, and therefore, within youkai law, he was responsible for him and any family he may come to acquire.
The only reason why he left him alone and ignored him was simply because of the fact that he was still young according to demonic aging, and therefore, he decided to let InuYasha live a little before barring him down with demon law and politics. It wasn’t that he hated him, though he held spite against him for his stupidity, it was simply that he didn’t think InuYasha was ready to live life as his half brother.
Yes, that was it, he was being gracious to him, and it appalled Sesshomaru to no end that InuYasha was so dim that he couldn’t realize that the life of leisure he was currently living could easily be stripped away from him so that he could take his place at the castle as the caretaker of their father’s lands. That was his true place, to be a protector of the lands of their father so that Sesshomaru could fully focus on the political side of things.
“Lord Sesshomaru!” Jaken nearly shouted as he slid open the rice-paper screen door that closed the library/study apart from the hallway. Snapped out of his silent brooding, the tall majestic Lord of the Western lands turned to acknowledge the little toad looking creature as he bowed before him.
“What is it now Jaken?” Lord Sesshomaru asked, cold sharp icicles laced within every word.
“My Lord, I brought the Lords of the northern lands and the Lady of the south with me, they decided against waiting until later to discuss the matter at hand master Sesshomaru.” Jaken stated quickly.
“Bring them in…. and make sure you keep Rin safely away….”
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“This is absurd!” The beautiful Lady of the South, Murasaki nearly shouted in exasperation, holding her palm to her heart through the elaborate folds of the kimono she wore. She was a lovely cat youkai, and though she was slightly older than Lord Sesshomaru was, she didn’t seem to be a day over eighteen. She possessed long thick white blond hair, and demonic markings upon her upper eye lids did nothing but accentuate her lime green eyes and thick eyelashes.
“Lady Murasaki, I know by experience that Lord Sesshomaru is quite well with youkai law. We must meet with this Naraku if we are to do things properly.” The handsome and strong looking Lord of the North, Doeske, said in a somewhat sympathetic tone. He really didn’t want to entertain the dark hanyou Naraku either, but they had to do what needed to be done without losing their vassals in the process. Doeske had an enchanting olive colored tone of skin, his eyes and hair matched, a color of orange that could remind one only of fire. He was dressed less modestly than the Lady and Lord Sesshomaru since his attire was meant to reflect his natural home in the mountains of the North. He wore what was the equivalent of a kilt made of leather, and slightly thicker sleeveless leather armor on his chest.
“Where is the Lord of the East? Shouldn’t we include him in this decision as well?” Lady Murasaki asked in hope that they would hold of a final decision until the wolf prince could come and deliberate the situation with them.
“He is with my half brother, InuYasha, looking for the miko that detects the shards of the Shikon no Tama that Naraku longs to possess.” Sesshomaru informed, standing from the low table, the other two following suit.
“Jaken, take my guests to their quarters, they will stay until the Lord of the East finally decides to grace us with his presence.” Sesshomaru said icily, annoyance obvious in his tone at his displeasure with the wolf prince, Koga, also Lord of the East, whom had been occupied and had therefore been unable to attend the meeting as swiftly as the other two youkai
“As you wish milord,” Jaken replied, ushering the two powerful youkai allies out of the study and into their own guest rooms.
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H e was closing in on them, and was doing so at frightening speed, still neither the half dog demon, InuYasha, nor the wolf Prince, Koga, had yet picked up his scent or his demonic aura.
‘Pathetic.’ He thought bitterly as he suddenly appeared before the group of visibly weary travelers, at the same time, the bird-like pack animal that he rode squawked in an irritated manner as he abruptly pulled it’s reigns back to bring it to a halt.
“Lord Koga?” The white haired male asked formally, putting all his thoughts and feelings aside while his mount folded it’s large light blue wings.
“Who the hell asks?” Koga growled out after skidding to a halt in front of the stranger that held Lord Sesshomaru’s crest on his robes.
“I am Ryokiro of the house of the West. Lord Sesshomaru has called all of the Lords of the land for an urgent meeting that can’t be held off any longer by your absence. I was told to inform you that the hanyou Naraku is the reason behind the urgent meeting, apparently he has acquired means by which to overtake lands and become a Lord.” He said, the wind tossing his long hair that was held in a high ponytail to dance in the wind.
“What the hell is Naraku up to this time!?” InuYasha questioned angrily, approaching his half brother’s servant in an attempt to intimidate him. He was in no mood for things like this at the moment– he had lost his Kagome, and nothing would keep him from finding out anything he could about the miko’s kidnaper.
“Master InuYasha....,” Ryokiro began in a semi irritated tone, though he regarded him with his rightful title since he was Lord Sesshomaru’s half brother, as well as the son of the Great Dog Demon, Inu noTaisho, “I am unaware of the details of Naraku’s schemes, I believe that if anyone had an incline to his plans, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in now. If we are to progress against Naraku however, I suggest we leave now and do as Lord Sesshomaru has requested.”
“That bastard has never requested anything, why the hell is he doing it now?” InuYasha stated in a tone that spoke of the enormity of the tension and strife between his brother Sesshomaru and himself.
“I know not, but you may ask him yourself if you wish.” Ryokiro said, losing his patience with the little group as he cast his pale green eyes to the sky. With a whistled command, two large winged bird-like pack animals came swirling down from the sky, landing perfectly on either side of Ryokiro’s animal.
So the odd group that consisted of a monk, demon exterminator, small fox demon, a half dog demon, a fire-cat demon, and a loyal vassal of Lord Sesshomaru’s traveled quickly upon the wings of phoenix like creatures in order to gather their force along with Lord Seshomaru’s. Neither knew of what to expect from the usually stoic cold Lord of the West, however, any ally that was willing to help with their search for the abducted miko was very much appreciated by the group led by InuYasha.
Before the blanket of night covered the land in darkness, the majestic sight of the House of the West was visible in the twilight of dawn’s illuminating touch. The sight touched the hearts of all, it’s beauty temporarily stunning everyone minus Sesshomaru’s vassal, whom simply looked on with pride pouring out of his strong youkai being. The sight brought a look of awe and sadness from InuYasha’s expressive golden eyes and emotion wrought face, memories of the life he had after his mother’s death under the watchful care of his older brother, Sesshomaru. It had been hard, but he had never gone hungry while living with his brother, never went without a warm bed and a roof over his head. The only reason he held such resentment against his older brother was because he was still considered young when he was told to leave and fend for himself– he had only reached male demon reproduction maturity when a week later his brother told him to leave.
It had been a day that was tainted with tears of confusion and anger on InuYasha’s behalf, while Sesshomaru had been as hard and cold as ever, not even gracing him with one last good bye or a reason as to why he was being kicked out of the castle as well as his father’s lands. Damn prick bastard...
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“It’s decided then.... we meet that bastard tomorrow morning....” Koga announced in a low tone of voice that sent a sick feeling to settle over everyone, though it was effectively hidden by a brave mask and underlying hate for the evil hanyou, Naraku.
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“Master Naraku....” Kanna called in a monotone voice, waking Naraku from his slumber.
“What?” He said in a threatening manner, though keeping his tone quiet enough from waking Kagome.
“The Lords of the land will meet with you in the morning, shall I prepare the castle?” Kanna asked, her mirror reflecting her master’s face as she waited for his response.
“Yes... you know what to do...” He said maliciously, a low chuckle vibrating the still air of the night as he thought of being one step closer to the demise of InuYasha and his little shard hunting bandwagon of humans.
Kagome pretended to be asleep, however she couldn’t help but shudder at the tone of his voice, the chill of it’s evilness sending a sharp fear through her stomach to expand throughout her very being– her pure nature rising in response as she concentrated to push away her miko powers from protecting her from his evil aura. She had even almost forgotten that Naraku was ever evil to begin with, this soft caring side of him being the only thing she had been exposed to since she had arrived.
“And what of the miko?” Kagura asked, lightly tapping her closed fan against her thigh as she noticed the slight shivering of the small looking female that laid curled beside the loathed half demon that held her heart captive. They were polar opposites, and they didn’t, in any way fit together.
Noticing her shiver, and with the simple dismissal of thinking her cold, he ran a hand over her arm to reach for the covers, pulling them up to cover her uncovered torso before he stood from the plush futon and walked towards both his reincarnations. Motioning them to walk with him, he led them out of ear shot of his prized prisoner, Kagome. Once they were a bit away, Kagome rose from the futon, standing in the darkness of the moonless night, stealthfully moving towards the three in order to hear, though not close enough to be seen.
“I want you both to stay with her tomorrow, when the Lords arrive, I want Kanna to move her into my quarters and place a sleeping spell over the miko, Kagura I want you to come to me as we entertain our guests.” He said as he ran a hand through his long wavy locks of ebony hair, his thoughts lingering on the miko that now held his heart and mind captive to obsessing over her. He had to end this, she would only weaken him if she stayed by his side and he went through his original plan of keeping her as his mate.
“Kanna... when she’s asleep, I want you to take her soul, trap her in your mirror, then place her body in the cold to keep it from smelling. I will take it to InuYasha and ...” Before he had finished Kagome had backed away from the conversation and dashed back into the futon, her hand cupping against her mouth lest her sobs be heard, her heart shattering into a thousand pieces, mirroring what had occurred with the Shikon no Tama. He wanted her dead, all this time he was just playing with her, everything had been a lie, and she the fool– but how?
It was real sincerity that he had shown– he couldn’t just fake what was real! No! She had sensed that he was different, it wasn’t just an act... in every kiss, every look, every touch.... in every night of passion... he was different from the Naraku he led everyone to believe he was. He was capable of caring, of feeling joy, and maybe even loving. How could he just want her gone... how could he want her dead?
Memories of their passionate nights made tears fall from her eyes in disbelief of his trickery, disbelief of the fact that he just ordered her to be killed tomorrow. Kagome buried her head into her pillow and cried harder than she could ever remember, her sobs making her whole body tremble from the force with which she cried. How could he simply cast her aside the way he did? Moreover, how could she be so stupid?
At hearing her sobs, Naraku sent a glare towards both his reincarnations, sending them to disappear to the castle immediately, then he turned and walked towards the miko that held his mind and curiosity captive, despite the fact that it was she that was supposed to be the prisoner in his scenario– how ironic.
“Are you alright Kagome?” Naraku asked in a gentle manner that made her cry even harder, sending her fists to fly into the futon over and over again in outrage, beating it until it threatened to burst at the seams. This made the bad intentioned male feel awkward when it came to try and calm the girl that was currently about to ruin their bed.
“How could I be so stupid!?” Kagome yelled into the mattress in complete abandon, her voice cracking with the amount of emotion behind her words. Naraku took a step back from Kagome’s uncontrolled form, the sleeves from her elegant silk yukita beginning to tear from her sudden outburst. Pure energy began to shine, sparkle, and crack like electricity within Kagome’s aura in a way that Naraku had never seen, and that Kagome was currently unaware of.
“Control yourself Kagome.” Naraku stated in a cold tone of voice, one that punctured through the miko’s out of control state, sending her to pause in her seemingly unexplained act of lunacy.
“Control myself?” She repeated in a sarcastic manner, her slightly shaking form coming up from kneeling on the futon in order to stand, her eyes coming into breathtaking hold upon Naraku’s own crimson eyes. Behind her pink glowing aura her stormy colored eyes swam in the sea of the sharp broken pieces that had become her heart, her pain visible with every bladed tear that sliced down her creamy porcelain cheeks.
She knew.
She had some how figured him out.
And now she had broken through his web of lies.
It had come to this... and he had no other choice but to finish her before she would finish him.
Naraku lashed out first, his fist coming to connect with the barrier she had unintentionally erected around himself, burning his flesh slowly. Kagome was angered beyond anything she had ever before felt, in which a side of herself had been freed, and she let it take control of the situation. She let down the barrier, effectively dodging Naraku’s burnt fist, as she buried her knee into his stomach with strength she never knew she possessed. As he doubled over, her hands lit up incandescently from the amount of spiritual power in them, bringing them together, she raised them high above her head only to forcefully connect with the back of Naraku’s neck.
Just as suddenly as such power came, it left her, and she wavered on her feet at the loss of all of her physical energy. Naraku recovered quickly from the shock and pain of her attacks and had her pinned to the nearest tree before she could register what had occurred.
“When did you discover the truth little miko?” Naraku asked in a sickeningly sweet tone, his hand squeezing Kagome’s neck relentlessly, her feet weakly kicking him until he pressed his body against hers, effectively stilling her movement. She then looked at him, her stormy eyes once more coming into a violent hold with his. Her eyes captured every single one of her emotions perfectly, igniting the sea of broken glass into bright flames that consumed his crimson orbs, causing him to look away from her gaze momentarily before meeting it again.
She loved him.
She hated him.
There was nothing separating both truths from the windows to her soul, and thus was her battle, a battle against herself rather than him, a battle that she would never win or loose, but continue fighting for the rest of her mortal life.
Then she cried.
Not the usual kind of crying that was accompanied by sobbing, no, rather it was a silent cry, one where tears simple poured out of her soul, falling haphazardly from her face to land on his hands, clothes, and eventually the ground.
She decided to speak then, nothing more than a whisper, but he could hear it well enough. What she said shocked him more than anything else had within his collective life, and he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
She had fainted within his monestrous arms after her confession, and he gazed upon her motionless form within his care, replaying her breathless reply over and over again within his tortured mind, his heart beat pounding loudly within his ears as he heard her delicate response within his mind just one more time.
“I found the truth... when you first kissed me .”
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Authors Note: Thank-you all for your wonderful reviews, they truly motivate me. I had some trouble half way through this chapter with how in the world I was going to develop the plot in order to sway it in the direction I wanted it to go, in the end I figured it out and was able to deliver this chapter to you. I know I took long to up date, but bare with me, I also go to college and I have to sort through all my thoughts in order to type them down– that’s what really takes me so long– the mental planning. If you have any good ideas on how I should portray the characters or their point of view, please share! I want to apologize on how I’ve portrayed InuYasha in the past chapters.... sorry, I’ll try to be more fair to him.
Please Review!!
-Kinoko
Falling For the Enemy. Chapter 4: “A Piece of You In Me.”
Please Review
Many shards had been found, more than what Kagome was used to encountering when traveling with InuYasha, which seemed absolutely convenient to her since all she really had to do was point them out, and Naraku, while out of sight of Kagome, would take the demon elsewhere to slaughter it, then return with the tainted shard and give it to her to purify.
He always enjoyed watching her purify the tainted shards, if fascinated him to no end. At first, he had been curious whether or not she would still be able to accomplish to do it since she was no longer ‘pure’ in the sense of chastity. Apparently though, she was still able to do so, and with growing efficiency.
Night had fallen finally on the land of Edo, and here in the middle of a little clearing within the thick forest, both of them ate quietly, enjoying the crackling of the fire by the light of the moon. Two weeks had passed now, and nearly everyday was touched with passion, but not tonight, Kagome was bleeding, and she wouldn’t allow it. Something about it being gross, whatever that meant, so he had just shrugged in response, quite frankly, he didn’t care, but she made a big deal about him not making any advances towards her today.
Women, so picky.
“Kagome,” Naraku purred as she fluffed her pillow while kneeling on the large, made for two plush futon.
“Yes?” She replied, her stormy eyes meeting his wonderfully crimson gaze, moving on to his pillow to fluff it up for him while she waited for him to continue.
“I’ve taken notice that you are not as uneducated as other women of the land, are you perhaps aquatinted with the royal court’s calligraphy?” He asked, taking note of how she seemed to think before speaking.
‘That’s right this is the feudal era, during the time that ladies of the court of Japan’s emperor learned to change Chinese characters into their own personal type, while it was still popular for men to write in Chinese. Damn…. But the language is so old…. Could I write it to his expectations? Perhaps….’ Kagome thought rapidly, bringing up her history class notes as reference to the type of writing of the time.
Noticing that she still had to answer, she blushed and said, “I can, however, because of my upbringing, it differs slightly from the wording of traditional court ladies’ calligraphy.”
“About your upbringing, I’m curious as to where your family resides, or what family clan you come from, for it seems to me that it must be from one of the two warring families since you are so ‘untraditional’ as you stated.” Naraku said, though he didn’t expect her to respond as she did, but this worked in his favor, now he would learn where she came from and who her family was.
“….” Kagome didn’t know how to respond at first, but, remembering her state of supposed amnesia, she answered with a question, “Did you not meet my family when we were wed?”
“No, as far as I know, because of your own information prior to our marriage, you at least come from a family that carries with it the duty of being dedicated to tending to shrines and traveling to distant villages to help the helpless.” He said in response, thankfully being blessed with quick thinking. “Aside from this, I met you while you were tending to a village, and we married shortly after, without your family present, nor my own.”
“I see…. Well…. From what I do remember…. My family wasn’t terribly known, it consisted of my grandfather, mother, and little brother, Sota,” Kagome informed with a sad smile, homesickness settling within her as she recalled their faces. “I inherited my shrine duties from my grandfather on my father’s side of the family…” She reminisced, trying to recall her father’s face, however she found herself unable to do so.
“I can’t even remember what my father looks like….” Kagome confessed in a tiny whisper, her eyes glazed in a faraway look that depicted her lost thoughts.
Naraku studied her as she seemed to drift away from him, her mind blanking out as she stared unblinkingly off into space, looking at nothing in particular as a slight breeze picked up the ends of her hair and sent them to dance around her.
“I miss my family…,” Kagome said so quietly that he almost missed her utterance, however he did manage to catch the tears that started to gather in the midst of her stormy colored eyes, making them swirl and swim in their pools before she blinked and large tears spilt onto her perfectly rosy cheeks. She looked at him then, her cheeks stained with the glistening tracks of her spilling tears upon her cheeks and her eyelashes spiked from the moisture gathered in them.
Deep within him he felt himself break in half at the sight of her sadness, however he was able to keep his face void of emotion, angry that instead of delighting himself in her pain he was pained himself as well. What the hell was going on!? He hid his inner turmoil by bringing her into a tight hug, hiding his face that was about to burst under the immensity of the emotion she caused within him within her perfectly inky locks of thick hair.
He held himself there, holding her near to him with his arms while she cried on his shoulder, her hot tears making the silk on his shoulder stick to his skin and burn him to his very soul. He had to distract her; he somehow had to make her stop this because it was affecting him in a way he had no clue how to deflect.
“Dearest, I asked because I need you to do a favor for me, I didn’t mean for this to happen…” The dark hanyou gently spoke into her hair, kissing the top of her head where his lips rested unmoving.
“I’m sorry….” The priestess sniffled, wiping her face with one of the oversized sleeves from her kimono as she attempted to wipe away the signs of her sadness. “What was it you needed me to do?” She asked once her face was dry, though her nose was still pink, evidence of her earlier tears.
Instead of responding with words Naraku stood, walked a little ways to their traveling packaging and pulled out four scrolls, a black mass that looked like coal, and a calligraphy brush. Wordlessly, he took a stone that seemed to fit his purpose, and placed a little clay cup at the end of the stone so that if anything fell on the stone, it would roll into the cup. He took some water that hadn’t been used for making tea and wet his hands as well as the stone before he took the black square and started to rub it in his hands.
From this motion, black droplets started to fall onto the stone and drip into the little clay cup at the end of it. Kagome was absolutely transfixed as she watched the seemingly endless cycle go on until the cup was filled with ink from Naraku’s own two hands.
“I must wash…” Naraku mumbled as he attempted to cast his long kimono clothed sleeves away from his hands without actually using them, failing miserably. Kagome took this as her cue and she immediately went to his aid, rolling up his ridiculously long sleeves so that he could wash his hands in the near by stream without getting his sleeves wet.
“Thank you.” He bit out with embarrassment, which was met with a beaming smile on her behalf.
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“I summon you, Demon Lords of the North, South, East, and West, to a meeting designated to establish a new order of land rights now that I have a significant hold of methods by which to acquire Lordship. I fully intend to rise in position by law of demon politics, but if need be I am not one to shy away from other means.” Naraku said in the most diplomatic tone possible, though the underlining threat was prominently standing forth within his deep powerful voice. Meanwhile, the young compliant Kagome skillfully stroked the fine calligraphy brush against the precious scroll of paper before her, eyebrows scrunched together in concentration as she tried her best to keep her hand from slipping into modern strokes and kept it strictly old-fashioned.
“Alright, I’m done, what do you think?” Kagome asked, her face displaying a variety of emotions through the way she bit her plump lower lip and raised one perfectly arched eyebrow as if scrutinizing her work before handing it to her dark lover, Naraku.
Well one thing was for certain, he definitely wasn’t expecting such wonderfully crafted calligraphy from a mere priestess, no, he was expecting a mediocre type of handwriting, but nothing compared to what he was currently witnessing. A noble man must have taught her; there was no other way her handwriting skills could be so advanced in beauty as well as spelling and word order. She had written everything he had said and managed to convey his message laced with the beauty of her writing. What an art she possessed! She must have been gifted by the gods themselves, not only to be born with goddess like beauty, but to be also blessed with perfection in such a high art such as this high quality of calligraphy!
Of course he kept his face from expressing his surprise, though his eyes shined with pride and praise when he glanced from the scroll in order to look into the glistening stormy orbs of the magnificent miko whom he had standing before him seeking his approval.
What could he do? He had no way of expressing how highly he thought of her without breaking his expressionless facial features, he had no way of praising her verbally without conveying something deeper within him that held her in a pedestal of honor within his sight…. He was unable to do what she wanted without first undoing himself….
Was it worth it?
No…. She was his mere plaything; he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of knowing that he had trouble holding himself together because of her.
No.
Clearing his throat, Naraku turned his back towards her and grimaced, for he could almost taste her vulnerable need for acceptance on his tongue when he did so. Did she truly need his approval that desperately? Or could it be his imagination playing tricks on him? With a look over his shoulder that hid his face with the exception of his eyes from her view he saw that she did want to hear those words of acceptance from him, however, with a sigh, she dropped her gaze from his and kneeled on their futon, only to lie down in silence.
With his teeth clenched tightly together and his fists holding on as tightly as possible without breaking the scroll he held his breath steady, bidding his voice to sound as unbreakable as possible. He steeled himself from displaying anything he didn’t want her knowing, and finally responded, “You exceed at the art of calligraphy.” There, he said it, though it was one of the most difficult things to say without displaying his utter amazement at her talent, he succeeded in hiding, and succeeded in fulfilling her heart’s desire for his approval.
Instead of replying Kagome simply smiled in contentment, her wonderfully colorful large eyes coming to rest on his perfectly crimson ones as she lovingly rubbed at the empty space on the futon that was Naraku’s side of the plush traveling accessory. He couldn’t help but smirk at her action, and promptly put the scroll a ways from them so that it could fully dry off, shed his outer robes, and joined her on their portable bed for two.
He made quick work of adjusting himself against her smaller form, bringing his arm to wrap around her waist, cupping her breast while the action completed to bring their bodies closer together, her back against his abdomen, her posterior against his lower regions, while their legs tangled together comfortably. Her head, wavy black hair the color of ravens and all rested perfectly against the bicep of his other arm that he provided as a pillow for her, so that her head may rest more softly against rather than her pillow that had lost it’s place.
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“I’ve never felt him like this…” Kagura said to the little white haired girl, as the both of them gazed down into the magical mirror that the younger girl held, watching their master in unbelief.
“He’s becoming different…” Kanna stated in a blank tone, not conveying to her sister that she didn’t only mean emotionally, but also in his aura…. His human heart was somehow shrinking, and yet, though his demon was growing and becoming whole, he was exceptionally vulnerable.
‘He hasn’t even marked her and yet she’s already undoing him…’ Kagura thought, expecting her freedom to come not out of her own hands any longer, but by the hands of this young miko girl. She was unaware however that his inner demons were uniting into one, finally becoming Naraku, and getting rid of his human torment, Onigumo as well as the torment of many demons swirling within him. Soon he would be a whole being, no longer plagued by schizophrenic like symptoms.
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“You stupid dog turd! I leave her in your care and you let something like this happen!? I should have known better than to trust a dog breath hanyou!” Koga fumed as he and InuYasha ran throughout the forest, in search of Kagome whom had been missing for a very long time now, too long for either of them to ignore.
Of course, InuYasha had never wanted to involve the help of the smelly wolf, but it had been Sango and Miroku that had informed the wolf prince of the situation at hand.
After three days of non stop battle, and wounds that took another three days to heal, both had tired themselves out enough to simply curse at each other without wasting anymore time in looking for their lost comrade, Kagome.
“Shut up you mangy wolf! If you’re so perfect why don’t you try putting up with Kagome!? Why did you leave her in my care!? I’d like to see you do any better with her sitting you all the damn time!” InuYasha roared, not missing a step as they both kept going in the general direction that they had mutually agreed Kagome had headed off to. His comment wasn’t lost on Sango and Miroku though, and while they glared at him from Kirara’s back, it was little Shippo that stood up for his surrogate mother before another word could be spoken by the wolf prince.
“InuYasha! How dare you say things like that! She sits you because you are always hurting her! It’s out of defense! Kagome is always so good to you, to all of us!” Shippo shouted, tears filling his big green eyes and spilling out from the sheer force of not only his emotions, but also the force behind his loud shouting. Sango hugged the little kitsune kit closer to her chest in a comforting manner willing him to calm down for the sake of them all. It hurt her that she had lost Kagome whom she had to come to treat more like a sister than a comrade in battle, but she had to keep it together, for the sake of the little one that was now in her care in Kagome’s absence.
While she tried to steadying the fast and hard heart beat that threatened to burst out of Shippo’s small frame, she took note of how InuYasha’s usually perky ears pressed down to his head, a look of guilt flashing before his golden eyes as he bit his lower lip to keep himself from saying another stupid thing.
The poor kitsune…. She could almost feel the hurt and despise he felt towards InuYasha in that moment, his green eyes filled with such fury, scorn, and sadness that they spilled over with such large tears that her hands were covered in them in no time at all. He didn’t sob however, it was silent crying, his eyes unblinking as it seemed he tried to burn a hole into InuYasha’s head by simply willing it with his eyes.
She wanted to comfort him, but it wasn’t that he was sad…. He was also full of contempt towards InuYasha, and that wouldn’t die down no matter how much she’d let him cry on her shoulder. He had long stopped his wailing and sobbing and had now started being quiet in an attempt to stop his sadness and hurt by being angry with InuYasha.
For once Koga didn’t say anything, deciding that the atmosphere was thick enough as it was and opted to concentrate on Kagome’s lingering scent.
The entire group had been on pins and needles ever since Kagome’s disappearance, and it wasn’t only because she was the glue that held them together, but also because her scent was tied together with Kagura’s, which meant that she was with their common enemy.
“Stay alive Kagome….” Miroku whispered in a prayer, wrapping his arms around Sango’s torso, and for once, she didn’t shoo him away with a slap, but rather leaned against him in agreement. The whispered plea wasn’t lost on her or Shippo’s ears, and they both silently prayed for the same thing.
‘Stay safe Kagome, I’m on the way…’ Koga thought when the wind carried the monk’s prayer to his hearing, his heart clenching in the thought that he’d find her broken apart by the time he got to her. She was so nice, too nice… she didn’t deserve any of this, and to be honest, he didn’t deserve her either. She was too good, too kind, far more perfect than anything he deserved, even if she was human and he a wolf youkai. If this was so however, then InuYasha also defiantly fell short of her as well, no doubt about it!
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“F or you my Lord!” Rin happily exclaimed as she handed a large bouquet of flowers to the strong stoic youkai lord, Sesshomaru. Every day she improved her flower arrangements to appeal aesthetically to the eye, and as everyday, he was pleased with her present of flowers.
“Your arrangement of flowers is exceptional today,” He said in his usual tone, though he let his usually cold yellow eyes show it’s warmer golden tones as he displayed his praise for her work of art, “Put them in the vase in my resting chamber.”
The young bubbly child bounded out of her Lord’s study/library and ran throughout the large expanse of the castle to do her master’s bidding with a never wavering toothy smile. As soon as Rin had left however, the warm look that the Lord of the western lands had permitted to come forth had quickly vanished into coldness once more.
The letter had arrived just a minute ago, and he didn’t take Naraku’s threat well—that is, he detested that a mere hanyou would dare make such demands. Another thing that had been upon Lord Sesshomaru’s mind was how the detestable Naraku had stated that he had acquired means by which to overthrow a Lord if he so wished to.
Lord Sesshomaru was anything but simpleminded and understood exactly what the letter meant…. The question was if his allies had the sense to not take Naraku’s threat lightly.
With a groan of annoyance he rubbed his temple, much like his father would do when he had to deal with the nuisance of political power matters, he mulled over the implications of every possible rule and law Naraku would try to use in his favor. At the same time, he hoped that Jaken had done his job by now and would return so as to deliver even more things to the other Lords of the land so that they could all meet in one accordance. No, Sesshomaru was no fool, if a house was divided, it would fall… and though he doubted Naraku’s strength, within the laws and demon politics, it was definitely possible for him to rise in rank, something that he would never allow.
He was allied with the youkai Lord of the North as well as the Lord of the East…. It was the Southern Lady that was at odds with them, though she would inevitably come to agree with whatever it was that he decided, for it was within her lands that Naraku resided in, and would look to take over.
Aside from all of the political matters, there were also matters of his idiot half brother whom had lost his little shard detecting miko wench. All other things aside, the truth of matters between himself and his half brother where stiff, however, the idiot hanyou still had his father’s blood flowing through his veins, and therefore, within youkai law, he was responsible for him and any family he may come to acquire.
The only reason why he left him alone and ignored him was simply because of the fact that he was still young according to demonic aging, and therefore, he decided to let InuYasha live a little before barring him down with demon law and politics. It wasn’t that he hated him, though he held spite against him for his stupidity, it was simply that he didn’t think InuYasha was ready to live life as his half brother.
Yes, that was it, he was being gracious to him, and it appalled Sesshomaru to no end that InuYasha was so dim that he couldn’t realize that the life of leisure he was currently living could easily be stripped away from him so that he could take his place at the castle as the caretaker of their father’s lands. That was his true place, to be a protector of the lands of their father so that Sesshomaru could fully focus on the political side of things.
“Lord Sesshomaru!” Jaken nearly shouted as he slid open the rice-paper screen door that closed the library/study apart from the hallway. Snapped out of his silent brooding, the tall majestic Lord of the Western lands turned to acknowledge the little toad looking creature as he bowed before him.
“What is it now Jaken?” Lord Sesshomaru asked, cold sharp icicles laced within every word.
“My Lord, I brought the Lords of the northern lands and the Lady of the south with me, they decided against waiting until later to discuss the matter at hand master Sesshomaru.” Jaken stated quickly.
“Bring them in…. and make sure you keep Rin safely away….”
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“This is absurd!” The beautiful Lady of the South, Murasaki nearly shouted in exasperation, holding her palm to her heart through the elaborate folds of the kimono she wore. She was a lovely cat youkai, and though she was slightly older than Lord Sesshomaru was, she didn’t seem to be a day over eighteen. She possessed long thick white blond hair, and demonic markings upon her upper eye lids did nothing but accentuate her lime green eyes and thick eyelashes.
“Lady Murasaki, I know by experience that Lord Sesshomaru is quite well with youkai law. We must meet with this Naraku if we are to do things properly.” The handsome and strong looking Lord of the North, Doeske, said in a somewhat sympathetic tone. He really didn’t want to entertain the dark hanyou Naraku either, but they had to do what needed to be done without losing their vassals in the process. Doeske had an enchanting olive colored tone of skin, his eyes and hair matched, a color of orange that could remind one only of fire. He was dressed less modestly than the Lady and Lord Sesshomaru since his attire was meant to reflect his natural home in the mountains of the North. He wore what was the equivalent of a kilt made of leather, and slightly thicker sleeveless leather armor on his chest.
“Where is the Lord of the East? Shouldn’t we include him in this decision as well?” Lady Murasaki asked in hope that they would hold of a final decision until the wolf prince could come and deliberate the situation with them.
“He is with my half brother, InuYasha, looking for the miko that detects the shards of the Shikon no Tama that Naraku longs to possess.” Sesshomaru informed, standing from the low table, the other two following suit.
“Jaken, take my guests to their quarters, they will stay until the Lord of the East finally decides to grace us with his presence.” Sesshomaru said icily, annoyance obvious in his tone at his displeasure with the wolf prince, Koga, also Lord of the East, whom had been occupied and had therefore been unable to attend the meeting as swiftly as the other two youkai
“As you wish milord,” Jaken replied, ushering the two powerful youkai allies out of the study and into their own guest rooms.
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H e was closing in on them, and was doing so at frightening speed, still neither the half dog demon, InuYasha, nor the wolf Prince, Koga, had yet picked up his scent or his demonic aura.
‘Pathetic.’ He thought bitterly as he suddenly appeared before the group of visibly weary travelers, at the same time, the bird-like pack animal that he rode squawked in an irritated manner as he abruptly pulled it’s reigns back to bring it to a halt.
“Lord Koga?” The white haired male asked formally, putting all his thoughts and feelings aside while his mount folded it’s large light blue wings.
“Who the hell asks?” Koga growled out after skidding to a halt in front of the stranger that held Lord Sesshomaru’s crest on his robes.
“I am Ryokiro of the house of the West. Lord Sesshomaru has called all of the Lords of the land for an urgent meeting that can’t be held off any longer by your absence. I was told to inform you that the hanyou Naraku is the reason behind the urgent meeting, apparently he has acquired means by which to overtake lands and become a Lord.” He said, the wind tossing his long hair that was held in a high ponytail to dance in the wind.
“What the hell is Naraku up to this time!?” InuYasha questioned angrily, approaching his half brother’s servant in an attempt to intimidate him. He was in no mood for things like this at the moment– he had lost his Kagome, and nothing would keep him from finding out anything he could about the miko’s kidnaper.
“Master InuYasha....,” Ryokiro began in a semi irritated tone, though he regarded him with his rightful title since he was Lord Sesshomaru’s half brother, as well as the son of the Great Dog Demon, Inu noTaisho, “I am unaware of the details of Naraku’s schemes, I believe that if anyone had an incline to his plans, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in now. If we are to progress against Naraku however, I suggest we leave now and do as Lord Sesshomaru has requested.”
“That bastard has never requested anything, why the hell is he doing it now?” InuYasha stated in a tone that spoke of the enormity of the tension and strife between his brother Sesshomaru and himself.
“I know not, but you may ask him yourself if you wish.” Ryokiro said, losing his patience with the little group as he cast his pale green eyes to the sky. With a whistled command, two large winged bird-like pack animals came swirling down from the sky, landing perfectly on either side of Ryokiro’s animal.
So the odd group that consisted of a monk, demon exterminator, small fox demon, a half dog demon, a fire-cat demon, and a loyal vassal of Lord Sesshomaru’s traveled quickly upon the wings of phoenix like creatures in order to gather their force along with Lord Seshomaru’s. Neither knew of what to expect from the usually stoic cold Lord of the West, however, any ally that was willing to help with their search for the abducted miko was very much appreciated by the group led by InuYasha.
Before the blanket of night covered the land in darkness, the majestic sight of the House of the West was visible in the twilight of dawn’s illuminating touch. The sight touched the hearts of all, it’s beauty temporarily stunning everyone minus Sesshomaru’s vassal, whom simply looked on with pride pouring out of his strong youkai being. The sight brought a look of awe and sadness from InuYasha’s expressive golden eyes and emotion wrought face, memories of the life he had after his mother’s death under the watchful care of his older brother, Sesshomaru. It had been hard, but he had never gone hungry while living with his brother, never went without a warm bed and a roof over his head. The only reason he held such resentment against his older brother was because he was still considered young when he was told to leave and fend for himself– he had only reached male demon reproduction maturity when a week later his brother told him to leave.
It had been a day that was tainted with tears of confusion and anger on InuYasha’s behalf, while Sesshomaru had been as hard and cold as ever, not even gracing him with one last good bye or a reason as to why he was being kicked out of the castle as well as his father’s lands. Damn prick bastard...
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“It’s decided then.... we meet that bastard tomorrow morning....” Koga announced in a low tone of voice that sent a sick feeling to settle over everyone, though it was effectively hidden by a brave mask and underlying hate for the evil hanyou, Naraku.
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“Master Naraku....” Kanna called in a monotone voice, waking Naraku from his slumber.
“What?” He said in a threatening manner, though keeping his tone quiet enough from waking Kagome.
“The Lords of the land will meet with you in the morning, shall I prepare the castle?” Kanna asked, her mirror reflecting her master’s face as she waited for his response.
“Yes... you know what to do...” He said maliciously, a low chuckle vibrating the still air of the night as he thought of being one step closer to the demise of InuYasha and his little shard hunting bandwagon of humans.
Kagome pretended to be asleep, however she couldn’t help but shudder at the tone of his voice, the chill of it’s evilness sending a sharp fear through her stomach to expand throughout her very being– her pure nature rising in response as she concentrated to push away her miko powers from protecting her from his evil aura. She had even almost forgotten that Naraku was ever evil to begin with, this soft caring side of him being the only thing she had been exposed to since she had arrived.
“And what of the miko?” Kagura asked, lightly tapping her closed fan against her thigh as she noticed the slight shivering of the small looking female that laid curled beside the loathed half demon that held her heart captive. They were polar opposites, and they didn’t, in any way fit together.
Noticing her shiver, and with the simple dismissal of thinking her cold, he ran a hand over her arm to reach for the covers, pulling them up to cover her uncovered torso before he stood from the plush futon and walked towards both his reincarnations. Motioning them to walk with him, he led them out of ear shot of his prized prisoner, Kagome. Once they were a bit away, Kagome rose from the futon, standing in the darkness of the moonless night, stealthfully moving towards the three in order to hear, though not close enough to be seen.
“I want you both to stay with her tomorrow, when the Lords arrive, I want Kanna to move her into my quarters and place a sleeping spell over the miko, Kagura I want you to come to me as we entertain our guests.” He said as he ran a hand through his long wavy locks of ebony hair, his thoughts lingering on the miko that now held his heart and mind captive to obsessing over her. He had to end this, she would only weaken him if she stayed by his side and he went through his original plan of keeping her as his mate.
“Kanna... when she’s asleep, I want you to take her soul, trap her in your mirror, then place her body in the cold to keep it from smelling. I will take it to InuYasha and ...” Before he had finished Kagome had backed away from the conversation and dashed back into the futon, her hand cupping against her mouth lest her sobs be heard, her heart shattering into a thousand pieces, mirroring what had occurred with the Shikon no Tama. He wanted her dead, all this time he was just playing with her, everything had been a lie, and she the fool– but how?
It was real sincerity that he had shown– he couldn’t just fake what was real! No! She had sensed that he was different, it wasn’t just an act... in every kiss, every look, every touch.... in every night of passion... he was different from the Naraku he led everyone to believe he was. He was capable of caring, of feeling joy, and maybe even loving. How could he just want her gone... how could he want her dead?
Memories of their passionate nights made tears fall from her eyes in disbelief of his trickery, disbelief of the fact that he just ordered her to be killed tomorrow. Kagome buried her head into her pillow and cried harder than she could ever remember, her sobs making her whole body tremble from the force with which she cried. How could he simply cast her aside the way he did? Moreover, how could she be so stupid?
At hearing her sobs, Naraku sent a glare towards both his reincarnations, sending them to disappear to the castle immediately, then he turned and walked towards the miko that held his mind and curiosity captive, despite the fact that it was she that was supposed to be the prisoner in his scenario– how ironic.
“Are you alright Kagome?” Naraku asked in a gentle manner that made her cry even harder, sending her fists to fly into the futon over and over again in outrage, beating it until it threatened to burst at the seams. This made the bad intentioned male feel awkward when it came to try and calm the girl that was currently about to ruin their bed.
“How could I be so stupid!?” Kagome yelled into the mattress in complete abandon, her voice cracking with the amount of emotion behind her words. Naraku took a step back from Kagome’s uncontrolled form, the sleeves from her elegant silk yukita beginning to tear from her sudden outburst. Pure energy began to shine, sparkle, and crack like electricity within Kagome’s aura in a way that Naraku had never seen, and that Kagome was currently unaware of.
“Control yourself Kagome.” Naraku stated in a cold tone of voice, one that punctured through the miko’s out of control state, sending her to pause in her seemingly unexplained act of lunacy.
“Control myself?” She repeated in a sarcastic manner, her slightly shaking form coming up from kneeling on the futon in order to stand, her eyes coming into breathtaking hold upon Naraku’s own crimson eyes. Behind her pink glowing aura her stormy colored eyes swam in the sea of the sharp broken pieces that had become her heart, her pain visible with every bladed tear that sliced down her creamy porcelain cheeks.
She knew.
She had some how figured him out.
And now she had broken through his web of lies.
It had come to this... and he had no other choice but to finish her before she would finish him.
Naraku lashed out first, his fist coming to connect with the barrier she had unintentionally erected around himself, burning his flesh slowly. Kagome was angered beyond anything she had ever before felt, in which a side of herself had been freed, and she let it take control of the situation. She let down the barrier, effectively dodging Naraku’s burnt fist, as she buried her knee into his stomach with strength she never knew she possessed. As he doubled over, her hands lit up incandescently from the amount of spiritual power in them, bringing them together, she raised them high above her head only to forcefully connect with the back of Naraku’s neck.
Just as suddenly as such power came, it left her, and she wavered on her feet at the loss of all of her physical energy. Naraku recovered quickly from the shock and pain of her attacks and had her pinned to the nearest tree before she could register what had occurred.
“When did you discover the truth little miko?” Naraku asked in a sickeningly sweet tone, his hand squeezing Kagome’s neck relentlessly, her feet weakly kicking him until he pressed his body against hers, effectively stilling her movement. She then looked at him, her stormy eyes once more coming into a violent hold with his. Her eyes captured every single one of her emotions perfectly, igniting the sea of broken glass into bright flames that consumed his crimson orbs, causing him to look away from her gaze momentarily before meeting it again.
She loved him.
She hated him.
There was nothing separating both truths from the windows to her soul, and thus was her battle, a battle against herself rather than him, a battle that she would never win or loose, but continue fighting for the rest of her mortal life.
Then she cried.
Not the usual kind of crying that was accompanied by sobbing, no, rather it was a silent cry, one where tears simple poured out of her soul, falling haphazardly from her face to land on his hands, clothes, and eventually the ground.
She decided to speak then, nothing more than a whisper, but he could hear it well enough. What she said shocked him more than anything else had within his collective life, and he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.
She had fainted within his monestrous arms after her confession, and he gazed upon her motionless form within his care, replaying her breathless reply over and over again within his tortured mind, his heart beat pounding loudly within his ears as he heard her delicate response within his mind just one more time.
“I found the truth... when you first kissed me .”
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Authors Note: Thank-you all for your wonderful reviews, they truly motivate me. I had some trouble half way through this chapter with how in the world I was going to develop the plot in order to sway it in the direction I wanted it to go, in the end I figured it out and was able to deliver this chapter to you. I know I took long to up date, but bare with me, I also go to college and I have to sort through all my thoughts in order to type them down– that’s what really takes me so long– the mental planning. If you have any good ideas on how I should portray the characters or their point of view, please share! I want to apologize on how I’ve portrayed InuYasha in the past chapters.... sorry, I’ll try to be more fair to him.
Please Review!!
-Kinoko