InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Family Instincts ❯ Family Instincts - Absorption ( Chapter 21 )

Family Instincts - Absorption

By Majicman55

 

Okay, okay. I do not own any part of InuYasha. I just like to play with the characters.

 

 

InuYasha watched as Kagome put the hundred-metre puppet of Naraku through its paces. Over the last hour, she had developed the ability to raise its arm merely by thinking about raising an arm…or to cause it to walk merely by thinking about walking. She still couldn't see through its eyes, however…although she had an explanation for why she couldn't.

 

She believed that Naraku could perceive through his puppets because he placed a miniature kugutsu within each, and that each of these miniature kugutsu carried a personal token (say, a few hairs), linking him with his puppet.

 

She was controlling this crude puppet purely through her miko powers, so she would still have to fly overhead with Kagura to see well enough to direct its actions.

 

It would have to do.

 

Unfortunately, after all the exercise, Kagome was feeling the call of nature. Also, unfortunately, the abandoned amusement park that hid Naraku's dungeon did not have any working restrooms. Oh, there were boarded up restrooms, but when that big spider had crawled out of the one semi-clean fixture InuYasha had torn open for her…

 

…well, that was it. So the miko had the hanyou dig a small latrine and had enclosed herself within an opaque barrier for privacy while she did her “business.”

 

InuYasha was just outside said barrier, waiting impatiently.

 

The Great Lord of the Western Lands glanced upon the scene and raised both eyebrows. It seemed the miko had forgotten to suspend her connection with the puppet and the hundred-metre-tall Naraku was moving into a squatting position. Seshomaru's walked to one of the cars. He knew he had a digital camera in that one. At least he thought he did.

 

He actually smiled when he found it. Then he positioned himself and called out to his brother.

 

“InuYasha?”

 

“Oi. What do you want?”

 

“Would you mind moving a little to the left?”

 

The hanyou cocked his head. What was Sesshomaru up to? He watched as the taiyoukai pointed his camera at him. He wanted a picture? Now? “Feh!” InuYasha moved to the left.

 

“Now back a little, this Sesshomaru thinks.”

 

“Keh!” InuYasha stepped back.

 

“Perfect! Now, keep still for a moment.”

 

“What's Fluffy up to?” thought Kagura as she glanced in InuYasha's direction. “Oh,” she thought, as the giant puppet squatted over the hanyou. “That monstrosity must still be imitating Kagome. Wait a second. Imitating Kagome?” she thought. She yelled, “InuYasha!”

 

“Feh! What do you want?”

 

<CLICK>

 

<PLOPPPPP>

 

<CLICK-CLICK-CLICK-CLICK>

 

The Great Lord of the Western Lands patted his digital camera. The ability to preserve moments like these was one of the things he liked about this age.

 

 

******************

 

 

Some time later, as Kagura was finishing blow drying a grumpy hanyou…

 

“Be reasonable, InuYasha,” exclaimed Kagome. “How was I supposed to know what Sesshomaru was up to?”

 

“You coulda made the barrier so you could see out, but no one could see in!”

 

While the kids kept an eye on things, InuYasha had slipped away to the nearest car wash. Using his youkai abilities, he had managed to run himself through without injury…and had returned posthaste for the blow drying by Kagura. Currently, this was resulting in an angry hanyou with a bouffant.

 

InuYasha was having a bad hair day…and he was not about to listen to Sesshomaru's suggestions (shouted from a safe distance) on how to get his hair under control.

 

Kagome was having trouble not giggling.

 

“I…I'm sorry, InuYasha,” she managed to stammer. “I guess I could have made the barrier transparent from the inside, but it would feel weird…even if I knew no one outside the barrier could see me.”

 

“Keh!”

 

 

******************

 

 

“It did what?” Naraku sounded almost…amused.

 

“For lack of a better term,” answered Bengoshi, “it took a dump on InuYasha.”

 

“And it's still there? InuYasha didn't destroy it?”

 

“No.”

 

Naraku smiled evilly. “I like it. I don't know where it came from, but I like it.” The evil hanyou closed his thoughts to his sons. “They must hope to use it against me, or the hanyou would have destroyed it for the insult. Perhaps I will absorb the creature and use its power to destroy them all.”

 

“Father?”

 

“Report to me anything it does.”

 

 

******************

 

 

Akamaru was having trouble maintaining his composure. Part of him understood that they all had to be careful; and that all he, Midoriko and Aoimaru, were to do now was to maintain a guard, ensuring that Naraku didn't escape.

 

Another part of him (presumably inherited from his father) wanted nothing more than to charge right in, carve Naraku into tiny pieces and fly out of there with Nyoko.

 

Except that the situation was so…complicated.

 

Their council of war hadn't helped. Mom didn't want him killing Naraku because the baby whose body he inhabited was her first grandson (through him, anyway). And, after all, she might be able to purify Naraku's ass right out of it.

 

Then there were Nyoko's feelings to consider. Even if their baby had Naraku's dark soul fused to it, by killing the baby he would be killing their firstborn. Nyoko would never forgive him.

 

Yet Naraku couldn't be allowed to go on living.

 

Akamaru realized barely in time that he was about to collide with the amusement park's rusty old ferris wheel. He wobbled and almost fell as he avoided the hulk. Mom may have convinced him that all this was so important that he had to get over his flying phobia, but that didn't mean he wasn't out of practice.

 

He started thinking about Nyoko again.

 

Akamaru held his head and groaned. Complicated situations gave him a headache. At least he and dad had that in common.

 

 

******************

 

 

Akamaru was not the only one with a headache.

 

Cradled in Nyoko's arms, Naraku brooded. With his idiot sons describing the locations of his enemies, he had finally been able to calibrate his youkai senses, but he was highly conscious of how weak he was in comparison to his former glory. Sure, he could throw up a substantial barrier, but he was pretty sure it wouldn't stand up to InuYasha's Red Tetsusaiga. And what of the miko? Had her power atrophied over the years…or was she stronger than ever?

 

Naraku looked up to find Nyoko cooing over him and offering him her breast for a feeding. He remembered when, even with Onigumo's lust for Kikyo, he had found the thought of being with a ningen woman enough to make him sick, yet he found the sight of Nyoko's pink nipple compelling.

 

It certainly wasn't compelling in a sexual sense. No, the thought of laying with a ningen woman still made him ill. Yet he felt a powerful drive to latch onto his mother's nipple.

 

It was almost…instinctual.

 

 

******************

 

 

Outside the dungeon, InuYasha, Kagome, Sesshomaru, Kagura and Shippo were gathered for another council of war; but this time they were gathered around Kanna, who was gazing into her mirror with a look of deep concentration.

 

“Anything yet?” asked Kagome.

 

“I'm having a little trouble getting a clear image.” Kanna sighed. “I think it's all those ofudas they have pasted around the place.

 

“Is that all?” said Kagome. The miko concentrated for a moment and there was a series of minor eruptions that sounded rather like kitchen matches being lit. When it was all over, Kanna's mirror cleared.

 

“Th-That's Naraku,” said Kagura. “He may be a baby, but you can tell by the eyes.” The wind witch shuddered. Up till now she had hoped that this incarnation of her former master would be like the last one: the barest shell of his former self.

 

“What's he doing to Nyoko?” asked Kagome, who then turned to Kanna. “Can you pull back a little so we can see more?”

 

Kanna nodded and the field of view widened.

 

“Oh, gross.”

 

“Couldn't she at least cover up with a blanket?”

 

All of a sudden there was a voice from above. “You can see her? You can see Nyoko?” Akamaru was descending from his watch position. “Is she okay?”

 

“Oi! Get back up there!”

 

“Kirara can take my place for a minute.”

 

“Keh! You get right back up there…now!”

 

Akamaru stopped his descent. “Yes…father.” He ascended to rejoin his brother and sister in their leaguer.

 

InuYasha glared at his son for a moment before turning back to Kanna's mirror. “Did I miss anything?”

 

“No,” said the Great Lord of the Western Lands. A sort of temporary truce had sprung up between him and the hanyou, now that they had to turn their attention to Naraku. “He was indeed suckling Nyoko's breast, although he seems done for the moment.”

 

InuYasha turned to his mate. “Why didn't you eliminate the ofudas earlier? It would have saved a lot of time.”

 

“Which ofudas, InuYasha?”

 

“Keh! All of them.” The hanyou smirked at his mate. “I know your power. You could have destroyed all ofudas in Japan, if you wanted to. We both know you could.”

 

Kagome sighed. “Including some that are helping to keep that beast prisoner under Mount Fuji?”

 

“Keh. No. Not those.”

 

“And some I know are there, but I don't know what they're guarding?” Kagome regarded her mate seriously. “There's an old saying in this time, InuYasha. Let sleeping dogs lie.”

 

“What's that supposed to mean?”

 

“It means, idiot, you shouldn't disturb something unless you know what you're getting into.”

 

InuYasha looked back at Shippo and raised his fist. “I liked you better when you were small and I could bop you over the head.”

 

“Mommm!”

 

“Osuwari!”

 

<WHAMMM>

 

“Thanks, mom!”

 

 

******************

 

 

“Father.”

 

Naraku stopped what he was doing and turned his thoughts outward to his sons. “Yes?”

 

“You asked for a report if it did anything.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“It is moving this way.”

 

“It is? You mean it is attacking?”

 

“Not yet, but it is advancing. It appears to be under the control of the miko. She and Sesshomaru's mate seem to be flying above it on a giant feather. Also, the children of InuYasha and Kagome seem to be flying closer.”

 

“The `creature' is a puppet. Kukukuku. So that's her game! But she can't see through its eyes,” thought Naraku. The evil hanyou rubbed his hands together in glee. “I will take control over it and use their own weapon against them!”

 

Naraku sent a directive to his sons. “Keep it busy till I get there. I will handle the miko and Kagura…and InuYasha and Sesshomaru, if need be. You three will take care of the small fry.”

 

“You are coming out? Is that wise?”

 

“You question me?”

 

“N-No. Of course not, father.” Bengoshi had already lost one arm to his father's temper. He had no wish to lose the other.

 

 

******************

 

 

“Look!”

 

Kagome looked where Kagura pointed. A large door in the ground had opened to reveal a set of stone steps that descended into what must be Naraku's dungeon. Slowly emerging from the hideaway was Nyoko…carrying a bundle that had to be Naraku, himself. As mother and `child' emerged, the three sons of Naraku split off, each to face one of the children of the miko and InuYasha.

 

A large, malformed bird flew out of the dungeon and quickly rose up to attack the girls. As Naraku's incarnations went, it was more bothersome than perilous, yet it did disrupt the girls' concentration.

 

The thing would fly under Kagura's feather, tearing at it with its beak.

 

“Can't you do anything about that, Kagura?” asked a white-knuckled Kagome. “I'm having trouble maintaining my control.” The puppet below them was wobbling in place and looked like it might fall over at any time.

 

“I can't attack it where it is, Kagome. I'd be aiming at us at the same time. Maybe your puppet can do something.”

 

“You'll have to fly lower, then.”

 

“Huh? Oh, I see.”

 

The wind sorceress descended till they were within easy reach of the puppet, while the bird obligingly continued attacking the whole time. Finally there was a loud “smack” and the feather rocked slightly.

 

Once Kagura settled things down, the bird was nowhere to be seen. Below the girls, however, stood the puppet, hands together.

 

Kagura smiled. “You mean you had the puppet…?”

 

“Like a bug.” Kagome had the puppet open its hands, revealing the bird lying on it's palm. After a moment, the thing began to twitch.

 

“Damn, it's still alive.”

 

“What should I do with it, Kagura?”

 

“I don't know. Wait, why don't you give your puppet a turkey dinner?”

 

“'Kay.” Kagome concentrated and the hand holding the bird rose up to the puppet's mouth. The two girls heard one squawk and the bird was gone.

 

“Now, let's get Naraku!”

 

“Right.” Kagome willed the puppet to walk.

 

Nothing happened.

 

“Huh?”

 

“What is it, Kagome?”

 

The puppet raised one hand to cover its mouth…and burped.

 

Kagura stared at the thing, confused.

 

Kagome was also confused. “I didn't do that.” She looked down to where Nyoko was standing, holding Naraku.

 

The baby was smiling.

 

“Kagura?”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You see Naraku's expression?”

 

“Y-Yes?”

 

“That could be gas, but I've got a feeling we'd better fly higher.”

 

“Right.”

 

The eerie sound of baby Naraku giggling reached their ears just as the puppet swatted Kagura's feather, sending both girls sailing up into the air. When they started falling again, they had a tumbling view of the puppet, then the sky, then the puppet, then the sky, then the puppet with its mouth open…

 

Kagome had just enough time to think “what a way to go” when two flashes streaked through. Sesshomaru caught Kagura and InuYasha caught Kagome, bridal style.

 

“I didn't know you could jump this high.”

 

“Feh. I didn't, either.”

 

“Wake me up when we land,” said Kagome, who then fainted.

 

“Kagome?”

 

InuYasha couldn't believe it. His mate was snoring.

 

 

******************

 

 

“Feh. That could have gone better.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

Shippo and Kanna were tending to Kagome. Although the miko wasn't seriously hurt, she was still extremely woozy. Kirara insisted on remaining at her side.

 

Kagura, being youkai, had recovered quickly…although Sesshomaru insisted on keeping her close for the time being.

 

Akamaru had flown down briefly to say that the thing had acquired a large spider mark on its back. The two brothers looked across the field to where the hundred-metre puppet now stood guard over the entrance to the dungeon.

 

Nyoko had carried Naraku back down the steps.

 

“There is one thing you've forgotten about that puppet, InuYasha.”

 

 

******************

 

 

Down inside his dungeon, Naraku planned his next moves. He was about done with his idiot sons and he had - plans - for them. Then there was the beast he had sensed under Mount Fuji…

 

 

 

 

A/N: Uh-oh. Looks like that beast under Mount Fuji is about to be released. What will it do? Can the sons of Naraku stop their strange dance long enough to fight the children of Kagome and InuYasha? And can Akamaru save Nyoko?

 

Remember, this is a rewrite.

 

As always, please read and review. Thanks!