InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Malice ❯ Revelations: Splintered Mind ( Chapter 23 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 23: Revelations: Splintered Mind

Kagome's mind was buzzing with all the terms she had come across in reading the report that lay inside the binder, almost making her dizzy. It was difficult to take in - and wasn't made any easier by Inuyasha, who didn't understand a lot of the technical terms used, and wanted her to start explaining.

So much of those things are true, and even though Naraku is a hanyou, and these are terms of a human disorder, still, it fits. Her mind wandered over various things, especially the portions about 'The Malignant Personality'...

'They are habitual liars.' Well, let's re-iterate - the whole set-up between Inuyasha and Kikyou fifty years ago... a total lie, so yeah, I can see that.

'They are egotistical to the point of narcissism. They really believe they are set apart from the rest of humanity by some special grace.' Hmm... nope, that
doesn't fit Naraku at all. Yeah, right.

'They scapegoat; they are incapable of either having the insight or willingness to accept responsibility for anything they do. Whatever the problem, it is always someone else's fault.' Yeah... everyone elses fault for getting in the way of what he wants.

' They are remorselessly vindictive when thwarted or exposed.' Well, gee... Inuyasha thwarted Onigumo's desire for Kikyou, and look at everything he's done to try to destroy him since.

'Genuine religious, moral, or other values play no part in their lives. They have no empathy for others and are capable of extreme violence.' Yeah... okay, don't even need to think about that one.

Sociopath... I would never have thought of applying psychological terms to that bastard, but, I have to admit, it all fits.

She was jerked from her introspection by Inuyasha's impatient demands to start talking, and she sighed, sending him an annoyed glare.

"Alright, already, geez. I was trying to fit it all together in my mind, baka. Give me some time, okay?"

He huffed even more impatiently. "I have given you time, wench... you've been sitting there for one of your 'hours' already! How much more time do you need?"

She glanced at the clock, surprised to find that he was right. "Oh! I'm sorry, Inuyasha... I guess you were being patient with me - at least, more patient than I thought."

"Feh. Just start talking. What's this 'sociopath' thing?"

"Ask an easy question, why don't you?" She shook her head, frustrated, trying to figure out how to present technical information in a way Inuyasha would understand.

"Kagome..." he trailed off, ominously.

"Alright... basically, what this is saying is that Naraku exhibits behaviors that have been identified in my time as a mental disorder, in other words, his brain is broken." At his snort, she rolled her eyes. "I know it sounds kinda like, duh, but this gives me information on ways he's likely to behave, and that, Inuyasha, can help me find ways on how to handle him. Like... how to counteract him, things that could send him off the deep end, and keep him off-balance. If he's not able to think clearly...."

Inuyasha sat back on her bed, a thoughtful expression running across his face at that. An enemy that's not thinking clearly... is an enemy that can be defeated. "Huh."

Kagome laid her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, obviously thinking hard. "One thing that all that stuff makes me think of is control. We've all seen how Naraku always has to be in control, and how he reacts with extreme rage when he loses it. He's afraid of losing control of whatever situation he is in..." she went silent for a moment, then continued. "I think we need to begin coming up with ways to take away his control of any and every situation he tries to set up - the more we do, the less he'll be able to think straight, and the more he'll be afraid."

Inuyasha nodded, knowing Kagome was right. That bastard always did everything he could, planned every situation down to grains of sand, so that he would always be in control of everything. He was maniacal about it - and if they could find ways to counteract that - they could start making him live with fear.

Poetic justice, if you ask me.

"Keh. But the problem is, how do we go about knocking the fucker off balance when we never know what he's up to?" He slammed his fist into the floor in frustration. "It's not like we have spies that can tell us what he's up to like his damn hellbugs that are always sneakin' up on us."

Her eyes still closed, Kagome watched flashes of past pain and horror crawl across the back of her eyelids, drawing her into an abyss of despair... and suddenly, she felt herself being lifted into Inuyasha's lap, as he responded to her mood through the bond and began once again drawing off Naraku's poison, helping to lighten her soul.

Soul... she frowned, and opened her eyes, slowly moving her eyes up to meet her hanyou, and said, "Maybe, what we need is inside us already, Inuyasha. Our souls," she whispered. "The fragments of the jewel that he has - if we learn how, maybe we can spy on him all we need to..." her voice went silent as his eyes widened, then narrowed.

"We can use the fragments he has to our advantage. And he would never know."

Inuyasha's eyes lit up. "You're right."

Poetic justice...

Sesshoumaru finally stopped for the evening, kowing that he wasn't going to get anything further tonight. He'd already sent most of his spies out, and gathered as much information as he could. Sooner or later, the dark hanyou would slip up, and then, they would have him.

He thought back over the happenings of the last few days, and then, moved his thoughts further back in time, to the few times he had actually had contact with Naraku. It seemed that he never made a move without planning everything out in advance -and that was something that he could appreciate. The hanyou was smart, he'd give him that. But...

He always made it appear as though he had no weaknesses, and he was extremely good at hiding. The most dishonorable thing, however, was the fact that he never fought his own battles if he could help it, he relied on others to do his dirty work, and only took advantage of the opportunities that they made.

So - what did that tell him?

The hanyou was a coward. But more than that, he really wasn't a trained warrior, either. The only times he'd actually fought, he used his captive youki, or the jewel, even his incarnations - but never a blade.

It really looked like they would have to find a way to draw him out. There had to be something that could be used against him - because so far, with all those that were hunting the hanyou, he'd always managed to stay ahead of all of them.

They had all fallen into the trap of reacting... instead of acting.

That was their problem. They needed to turn the tables on the dark hanyou - and make him start reacting.

Now... how to go about that?

Sesshoumaru sat up long into the night, planning and plotting, poking through everything known about Naraku, determined to find a flaw - a weakness.

It seemed that everyone was beginning to think along the same lines... and that was very, very bad...

For Naraku.

Inuyasha was still sitting up, watching his miko and thinking, when the sun came up. They had both agreed to work on training within the jewel's perview on the following night - they'd had enough running through their minds after last nights rounds with the information in the binder.

He looked over at the innocent seeming little book, frowning. It was still bothering him... who here in this time would have access to information about a hanyou that lived five hundred years ago? And more importantly - were they any threat to his Kagome?

Sure, it seemed as if the intent here was to help, but could they really be sure of that? His instincts were telling him that he needed to be very cautious here, and he was determined to listen to them - this time. After all, if he'd listened to them the last time...

Kagome wouldn't have been hurt by that fucker. That wasn't going to happen again.

It was to Naraku's detriment, though, that now, his loyalties were no longer divided - and guilt over Kikyou would not pull him from Kagome's side. Kikyou, by her choice, was on her own. Not that he wouldn't help her in a fight, or do as much for her as he would for any of his pack members, but from now until forever, Kagome had his undivided attention - and Naraku would find it hell to get past him.

His attention was pulled back to Kagome as she whimpered lightly, and he noted a frown on her face - even in sleep, you could see the pain she was in, and he hated it. Watching her hurt was worse than getting hurt himself. It was getting to the point that he was losing sight of his human heart when it came to Naraku - now, instead of just killing him, he wanted to keep him alive for a time... and torture the hell out of him. Just the thought of that made his youkai blood rejoice fiercely.

As she whimpered again, he sighed, suffering obvious in his eyes, and climbed up to rest himself against her back, and pulled her into his arms. He'd longed to hold her this way so many times over the years, and now, he wouldn't go back to any other way. She belonged right where she was - and even in her sleep, she knew it, because she instantly calmed, her brow soothing out and being replaced by a faint smile.

Mine...

His thoughts shifted back to that binder thing again. He'd gone off last night for a few minutes as she'd read, hoping he'd pick up some sort of scent, but there had been so many, that to pick out just one - even scenting the book itself hadn't helped much, as it, also had been handled by many people. He just couldn't understand how that book could possibly exist here... but somehow, he had to figure it out. Maybe, while they were here, and she went to school, he could keep an eye out around the shrine grounds for anyone hanging around.

He turned his head up and glanced out the window, watching the glow of the early morning sun move slowly higher within the frame, and looked back down at his onna as the sun finally touched her skin. This always woke her up - so he knew it wouldn't be long now, and the day would start. He was curious to see what she had planned.

"The hell? You want to spend the day at a festival? What kind of festival?"

Kagome shook her head with a sigh. Sometimes he could be so 'all work and no play'. "Inuyasha, does it really matter? I've had so much dark in my life lately that I need to stop thinking about it all for a little while." A pained look crossed her face then, and Inuyasha flinched at the sight of it.

"I need to just be a young woman again, someone who is just a normal girl, going out with her guy, to enjoy the day and for no other reason than that. Is that too much to ask?"

He shook his head wide-eyed, but before he could speak she said, "I mean, its not like there's much else we could be doing right now. It's saturday, so there's no school, and we can't train 'til tonight so..." she trailed of, hoping that he'd agree.

"Feh! If it's that important, then we can go. I didn't mean to sound pushy or anything, Kagome. I know you're not wasting time... it's just..." this time it was he that trailed off, sadness in his eyes, and a spark of rage as well. "I want to make that bastard pay so badly that I can taste it, and the longer he eludes us the jumpier I get. I can't help it. I want him to suffer, and then die."

"I know, Inuyasha. So do I. Sometimes, I want it so bad that it scares me," she admitted softly, a shamed expression in her eyes. "But then I hate myself, because I know that's not me, and then I begin to wonder... will I ever be myself again?"

Inuyasha moved to her and took her into his arms, burying his face into her shoulder and holding her tightly as he could against him. He'd worried about that same thing so many times since this had all started...

But if he had any say in it, she would find herself again.

No matter what.

That bitch! How dare she fight me as she did! She is mine to control - and she will pay for fighting me. I have never known such pain, and it has fed my hatred of her 'til it swells within me. I will enjoy rending her, destroying her light, slicing her flesh - all of these things, and her blood, oh her blood will be mine! All her pain... in the agony I will visit on her she will transcend beauty and mortality - she will be a goddess of suffering.

They may think they will take me down in the end, but I will deny them their victory - I will yank it out from under them in the very instant that they think they have won, and turn their joy to the deepest despair, such as has never been seen even in the deepest pits of hell!

The thought soothes me, funny enough. I can just imagine the looks on their faces as I yank Kagome from them, and drag her screaming into hell with me. Inuyasha will die, insane, and very likely attacking all those around him in his madness - leaving his brother to have to kill him.

Yes. Again, just like a line of stones. Push one over just right...

And they all will fall.

Since I am a master at manipulating the things around me, this will not be a hard fate to create for them.

They kept me from what is mine, and for that, they will all pay. I may go down...

But it will not be alone.