InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Wicked ❯ The Dark Side of the Demon ( Chapter 25 )

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

Chapter 25:  The Dark Side of the Demon

A/N:  This chapter is dark, with a bit of a graphic description of a certain type of torture that was actually used during the Spanish Inquisition.  If it will upset you, then skip the first portion of the chapter.  Simply scroll down to the second set of chapter breaks.

Amber

-wWw-

Naraku lifted his head weakly as he felt the enraged and overwhelming youki of his now most-hated enemy approaching rapidly, and croaked out a chuckle.

So, the blade has fallen, has it?  Now Kagome and Kikyou are gone, and I will triumph.  It truly does not matter now what the rabid dog does to me.

He watched through pained eyes as the daiyoukai suddenly just appeared before him, eyeing him with disdain.  “I see you found that this Naraku was not so weak-minded as to leave himself without an escape, mutt,”  he spat weakly, only wishing that his voice could actually echo his disgust and hatred for the male before him.

Mattaki, violet crests writhing and canines elongated as he snarled at the spider, was quick to answer.  “Your plans in the past will avail you nothing, insect – my mate will not fall at your hands, in this time, or that one.  But you,”  he said sinisterly,  “you are about to understand just exactly what kind of power that I have... and the agony that I can, and will, visit upon you.”

With that, his eyes began to glow, so bright now that they were scarlet, and his youki elevated even more, allowing his aura to become visible around him.  Naraku watched, just as stunned as Miroku had been... this being kept so much power contained within his form that he should not have even been able to exist in a flesh and blood body at all.  He had never suspected...

He knew, in that one second of time, that he was completely done.  There was simply no way to fight something like the daiyoukai standing before him with a truly dark bloodlust in his eyes.

Pulled from his fear-filled thoughts by the feeling of motion, and burning pain, he realized that the wall he was connected to was literally melting, dragging him down and laying him flat before the big Inu.  By the time he could breathe again, he was lying on a platform about five feet off the floor, and just as restrained as he had been when he'd been against the wall.

That little trick took power... and the Taisho wasn't even breathing hard.  Naraku looked back with regret on his attempt to swallow Sesshoumaru – with the promise of this kind of power, he would have been near invincible if he could have succeeded.  But he had failed... thanks to Inuyasha.

Damn these dogs and their interference!  he thought, with bitter hatred.  Had I even a portion of their power, I could have ruled these lands!

“You should have been smart, Naraku, and gone to the continent and sought power – there are not many there that could have opposed you.  But you chose to stay here and range yourself against me and mine.  That's what has brought about your downfall,”  he purred.  “And I can promise you that you will regret that choice,”  he finished softly, dangerously, unknowingly answering Naraku's thoughts.

Eyes still glowing scarlet, he turned and moved to the back of the cave, sniffing out the water source that was at this time, of course, frozen, and nodded to himself, pleased.  With a low growl, he unfastened and set aside his armor, and then bent to the frozen pool of water, and touched it with his hand, warming it with his youki just enough to render it back into its liquid state.

Letting his youki continue to pour into his hand, he formed it with a thought, and two objects soon lay across his hand – a cup, and an odd piece of cloth.  It was thick, but the edges were sharp, hard, metal-encrusted, and they lay at an angle upward.  Turning with a sadistic smile on his face, fangs gleaming and openly hanging over his lower lip, he moved back over to Naraku, and set the objects aside.

“Open wide, Naraku,”  he growled, voice guttural and wicked.  Without missing a beat, he once more melted the rock around the spider's face, sending it in thick strands into his mouth, forcing him to open, before allowing the rock to harden once more.  

He closed his eyes and smiled at the pained, hoarse screams from the hanyou.

“I enjoy your agony, spider – but even more will I enjoy what is about to happen.  For a ningen, this particular torture would kill.  For you... while you will be near death for a day or so, even your pathetic youki will heal you enough for my purposes.”  

With that, he picked up the cup and walked over to the pool, filling the cup and then taking it back to Naraku's side.  Once there, he carefully dripped some of the water into his open mouth, and then picked up the strange-looking cloth, and began feeding it down the spider's throat with the hard edges still facing up.

Naraku choked, panic taking him at the feel of it being forced into his throat, and tried to gag it back up.  That didn't work, however, Mattaki simply taking the cup and dripping more water down his throat, forcing him to swallow.

He could feel the hard edges scratching at his throat as it went down, and suddenly, he had a very good idea of what the Inu Lord was about to do to him... he wondered, in an almost feverish manner, where he had learned such a thing.  He, himself, had never even heard of such a torture.

“Getting the idea, Naraku?”  Mattaki asked as he caught the horror-struck look in his eyes.  “Are you beginning to understand why it is never wise to earn the ire of an Inuyoukai?  We are violent, vicious, deadly, possessive bastards that do not take well to others harming what is ours.”  

He fed a bit more of the cloth down, and then looked over what was left of it with an experienced eye, and nodded.

“Normally, the cloth would go even deeper – but I do not desire to kill you yet, so I will stop here.”  Placing a glowing hand over the cup, he heated the water that was left to almost boiling, and then looked at his victim, a truly terrible smile lighting his face.

“Prepare yourself, fool,”  he said, almost gently, and then yanked the cloth back out of Naraku's now ruined throat, enjoying the sudden scent of blood, agony, and fear as the cloth ripped through his flesh, sending sprays of blood in all directions.  Without even stopping to let the spider breath as much as possible, he poured just a little of the hot water into his torn throat, and then twisted the platform until it was on its side so that the blood and water could drain out of Naraku's mouth.

“I don't want you to drown, of course.  Because until my mate finds a way back, Naraku, I intend to stay here, and torment you beyond what any other has ever suffered.  Once Kagome returns, I may grant you death... if I think you have earned it.  If not...”  he trailed off ominously, and Naraku had no need for the daiyoukai to finish.

It was only too obvious what his murderous ways had gotten him...

After all, they do say that if you live by the sword, you will die by it.  And since he had lived by torturing others, and enjoyed it greatly while he was at it...

It was evident that he would now die by the same thing he had dealt out to so many others.

It was the last thought he would have for a while, as his damaged body shut down his mind to begin the healing process.

And Mattaki simply watched, propped against the wall of the cavern, patient and cold, for the spider to awaken...

So he could start all over again with some new way to administer overwhelming pain to his enemy.

-wWw-

Kagome was fervently wishing she had thought to bring her flashlight, and could only be thankful that the moon was full, because she and Kikyou needed every bit of light they could get traipsing along in the forest after nightfall.

They were holding hands, so as to keep from losing each other in the darker patches of forest, and moving rather slowly, so that they didn't fall or spill any blood that would possibly attract predators.  It was bad enough they already had the dried blood on them from the wounds to their arms.

“I should have stopped and bandaged us up,”  she said to herself, feeling a bit the fool.  After all, she always carried a first aid kit, and covering these wounds would not have been difficult.  She decided that she would do so as soon as they reached the Goshinboku – there was enough of a clearing around it to let as much moonlight as possible in.

“What was that, Kagome?”  Kikyou asked.

“Oh, nothing.  I was just thinking that I really need to bandage the cuts on our arms-”  she wrinkled her nose,  “-and disinfect them, as well.  After all, who knows where that stupid youkai's claws have been?”

Kikyou had learned what 'disinfect' meant since being given her life back and beginning to travel with the group, and agreed – that youkai had probably been none too clean.  She certainly didn't want to get an infection from something so stupid.

“That's probably a good idea,”  she said dryly.  “I would like to keep my arm.”

Nodding, Kagome pushed through the last bits of brush, and stepped into the clearing around the Goshinboku, pulling Kikyou behind her.

Both women stopped and stared with shock at what met their eyes.

Inuyasha, still pinned to the tree.

“Dear gods,”  Kagome whispered, stunned.  “We've been sent back to sometime in the fifty years that Inuyasha was pinned here.”  She shot a wide-eyed look at Kikyou, who returned it with one just as wide-eyed.

“What are we going to do now?”  Kikyou asked.

Kagome inhaled deeply, then let go of Kikyou's hand, and sank down to sit on the grass, and stare at her friend looking deceptively peaceful as he slept unawares on the tree.  She cast the elder miko a sidelong glance at the pained sigh that came from her.  It wasn't hard to see that Kikyou was seriously bothered by the sight, and Kagome understood – after all, this Kikyou hadn't seen Inuyasha as he appeared pinned to the tree, and she also knew that he hadn't betrayed her.  This whole thing was causing her a lot of guilt.

Patting her shoulder lightly, Kagome said,  “Don't, Kikyou.  What happened is over and done, and can't be changed.  Just make sure something like this doesn't happen again.

Kikyou nodded, then exhaled softly.  “So...”  she trailed off questioningly, and Kagome understood what she was asking.

“There has to be some reason we were sent back in time, to this particular period.”  She frowned as she stared at Inuyasha's resting place, thinking back in her memory.  “This can't have been too long before I came into the picture... the vines around him look almost the same as they did when I arrived.”

Brow also furrowed, Kikyou shook her head.  “Well...what could this period of time have that another wouldn't?”  She noticed the confused look from Kagome, and elaborated.  “Why now?  Why not some other time?  What's here that Naraku wanted us to run into?”

Kagome stared at the tree for long moments, working through things in her mind, and listening to the voice inside that was distantly warning her, trying to bring something to her attention.  Listening harder to her instincts, as well as what her mind was telling her, it soon became apparent...

And she scowled, irate.

“Dammit!  I know what he's doing! He sent us back to a time when he was still free... and there was no one around to protect us!  He seems to think we're completely helpless without Inuyasha and the others,”  she growled, not looking at her companion even as Kikyou gasped in sudden understanding.

“But how is Naraku in this time even going to know about us?”  Kikyou wondered aloud.  “Well, I mean, he knows who I am, though he obviously thinks I'm dead... but how is he even going to know that we're here – or that he needs to kill us?”

Kikyou was about to say something else, when Kagome's jaw dropped, and she stared straight ahead of herself for a few seconds, spluttering.  

And then she burst into laughter, to Kikyou's complete confusion.

“Kagome, what are you laughing about?  I don't think there's all that much that's funny about this situation,”  she said reprovingly, looking surprised when Kagome waved a hand at her.

Trying hard to control her laughter, Kagome drew in several deep breaths, and once she got herself under control, she spoke.  “I think Mattaki and I might have screwed up Naraku's plans without even knowing it,”  she choked, trying not to laugh again at Kikyou's confused expression.  

“Naraku is power hungry.  He would never fathom someone giving up the jewel, ne?”  Kikyou nodded, and Kagome continued.  “He was probably betting on Mattaki giving me the chunk of jewel that he took from him.  He did... but we left it behind in my time, sealed and hidden away.  Even Mattaki couldn't feel it when it was right in front of him.  So... Naraku expected me to end up back here with the completed jewel, and figured that the version of him in this time would feel the jewel, and come take it away from us before killing us... completely re-writing history, with himself as the winner.”

An incredulous expression now on her face, the priestess Kikyou stared at her reincarnation for quite a while, not knowing what to say.  

And then, she started laughing, too.

“Oh,”  she gasped,  “you are probably right.  It would never even occur to Naraku that you wouldn't have the jewel with you – that you would hide it away rather than use it for your own purposes.  He's going to be livid when he finds out... I wish I was there to see it!”  she chortled.  “It makes my day to see him lose out.”

Neither woman was, of course, aware of just what Mattaki was doing to Naraku... or that they really wouldn't want to see what was left of his face when he found out...

Not that they would even probably recognize the hanyou that had caused them all so much grief, anyway.

The angry inyoukai Lord was proving in blood and mutilation why his breed of youkai were so feared.  Powerful, honorable, they had deeply buried depths of bloodthirsty viciousness for anyone who crossed them badly enough.

Naraku, unfortunately, hadn't paid attention to the knowledge of Inu that he had garnered, his sense of superiority keeping him blinded to what he was unleashing against himself with his actions.

Naraku wa baka desu.

-wWw-

Mattaki looked at the remnants of the spider, and curiosity took him, making him momentarily break away from his torture of the hanyou.

“I have a question for you, Naraku.  If you wish to lessen your pain, you will answer.  Honestly.”  He waited, and the half-conscious hanyou nodded as best as he was able.  

“Just what did you think to gain by sending Kagome and Kikyou into the past?”

Naraku coughed, trying to clear what was left of his throat, and croaked, his voice barely understandable.  “Are you telling me you can't figure it out?”  he jeered roughly, a disgusting wet gurgle threatening to steal his voice entirely.

“Ah, ah, ah,”  Mattaki admonished, heating the rock near the spider's groin, and winding glowing strands of it around his manhood.  The hanyou hissed, groans of pain the most his almost totally destroyed vocal chords could produce.  The Inu watched him with a careful eye, and just as he was about to pass out, he pulled the almost molten rock away, and saturated the spider in cool water.

After all, he wanted an answer to his question – it would not do for the insect to pass out before he could gain it.

“Let's try this again, Naraku.  Are you yet ready to answer me?”

A few more gasps, and Naraku spoke again, rasping out his answer.  

“You gave her the completed Shikon, yes?”  Without waiting for an answer from the suddenly narrow eyed daiyoukai, he continued, gloating.  “When my past self senses her arrival, he will attack and kill both bitches, and take the jewel... rendering everything you do here to me a moot point, as this future will suddenly cease to exist.”  He could barely be understood by the end of his diatribe, but Mattaki had caught enough to know exactly what the spider had planned.

Too bad for him he hadn't taken into account that neither he, nor Kagome, were power-hungry bastards looking for any advantage they could get.  After all, Kagome had no desire for power, and he, himself, had far more without the jewel, than he would have with it.

He chuckled, suddenly immensely pleased, knowing that he was about to yank the last bit of comfort from under the spider.  Through all of the torture, Naraku had been holding on to that hope...

“Ah.  You know,”  he said, almost conversationally,  “if I didn't hate you so much, I'd actually feel sorry for you at this point.  But since I do hate you, I really don't feel sorry for you at all.  You truly are a fool, Naraku.  Certainly, it was a nice plan... if you had taken into account the differing goals of myself and my mate,  compared to your own.”

Naraku's eyes widened in sudden alarm.  The Inu Lord was too amused and pleased for this to be any good for him.  “What do you mean?”  he whispered.

Mattaki let his eyes wander down the ruined body of the spider that had tormented the lands for too long, enjoying the evidence of the suffering he had portioned out to the refuse.  After a moment, he spoke.

“Kagome and I didn't return with the jewel, Naraku.  It has been sealed... in her time.  So wherever it is that you sent her, she doesn't have it with her.  And between her and Kikyou, I have no doubts that they will defeat you, and find their way home.”

A choked gurgle came from the quickly panicking hanyou, his eyes darkening with abject horror as he realized that it was truly over for him – there was no hope left whatsoever.

He was going to die in agony, at the hands of the dog that had finally beaten him at his own games.

In that moment, what was left of Naraku gave up and accepted his pending death, only praying that it would come sooner, rather than later.

Mattaki smirked darkly at his victory over the opponent he had crushed so thoroughly.

-wWw-

A/N:  Creeped out, yet?

Amber


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