Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

In a New Light	By : Sylean Category: InuYasha > Het - Male/Female > Naraku/Kagome Views: 17606 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I make any profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I make any profit from this story.

The next morning, Inuyasha was still all bent out of shape. The most Kagome was able to get out of him was, "Keh, not like it matters to me if you want that disgusting, flea-ridden wolf." After defending herself and explaining that she did nothing wrong to the determinedly obtuse dog, who in turn slung more degrading insults at his confused friend, he ended up flung face first in the dirt. Kagome couldn't understand what his problem was. It's not like she returned Kouga's affections, she was just too surprised and shocked to do anything within the few short seconds he invaded her personal space.
Tuning out their repetitive and idle argument, Tamari noted the sun's position and realized it would not be long now. The events from last night came back to her, reminding her of the aggravation of it all.
She had slipped out last night, unnoticed or unconcerned about, either way suited her unwanted mission. She had no idea how to find Naraku. It was always he who found her. Eventually, she was intersected by a small swarm of those damnable wasps. It infuriated her that he only saw fit to send a mere insect to her. Was she not even worth a puppet of himself? She had told the wasps that she had information for their master, pertaining to the human, Kagome. She wasn't sure how the link between those bugs and her master worked, but she was beginning to think he could project his own senses through them, for the instant she mentioned Kagome, Naraku seemed to materialize right out of the shadows. If it would not have angered the very powerful and volatile demon, she would have scoffed out loud. 'Why couldn't he have done that to begin with? It would have saved me an hour or more of searching for him.'
"Speak," he ordered. Tamari had unwittingly interrupted a plan in progress and he needed to return quickly.
After an inward and silent sigh, Tamari stated, "Kagome requests you confront her group."
This got his attention, she could clearly see the curiosity flash in his eyes. He had never expected this. If anything, he'd expected her to request he remain distant. It would keep her companions safe as well as diffuse their paranoid behavior. "For what purpose?" he asked, already plotting. Her intentions would determine how he made his entrance.
"She did not have time to divulge her plan to me," Tamari paused, but seeing his intense gaze decided it would be best to give him her best guess. "She has been training, under what I assume is the guise of being able to protect herself from you. Should she succeed, her friends agreed to lessen their vigil over her actions."
"Hmm, interesting," a sinister grin spread across his lips. It seemed the little miko was playing right into his hand. "Tell me more."
Tamari was pulled from her thoughts as another "sit" caused impact echoed throughout the surrounding area. She could only shake her head at the clueless pup. If this was his reaction to the wolf, she couldn't imagine how he would handle the truth.
Kagome had been extremely vigilante today, a preoccupation not lost to the easily aggravated hanyou. However, with his simple one-track mind, he assumed she was watching and waiting for 'her' wolf to return for her. She was waiting rather impatiently, but not for Kouga. Earlier, a questioning gaze from Kagome to Tamari was answered with an affirmative nod. Kagome was anxious for Naraku to show so she could finally gain her freedom from her friends. Love them as she did, she needed her space from them at times too. So, she continued her nervous behavior, jumping excitedly at every sound and aura she sensed.
"Calm yourself," Tamari said just above a whisper as she walked up to a very jumpy Kagome. She let her gaze fall on the growingly suspicious individuals in front of them, trusting Kagome would follow her line of sight and ascertain her meaning. She had to admit, the little human's perceptiveness was quite sharp for her typically weak and stupid species.
Kagome followed Tamari's gaze, and realized that Inuyasha was listening intently, even with his back turned and while grumbling about his recent subjugation. His ears were twitching and turning to pick up every little sound. And Sango, Miroku, and Shippo were whispering to each other while glancing towards her. Could they be any more obvious? A few slow, deep breathes later, and her nerves settled down into a dormant attentiveness. It would be disastrous to appear so excited when Naraku showed. Her judgmental, traditional-minded companions might get the wrong, or would it be right, idea. She gave a quick nod, showing she understood.
"If you continue with such bothersome behavior, I may find need to extricate myself from your company," Tamari's seemingly innocent, albeit slightly insulting, statement was anything but. Every word had a double meaning. She was attempting to remind the girl of the dangers to both of them should their machinations be discovered, but in a non-incriminating way. The others would simply take her words as a complaint at Kagome's strangely excitable state, being as it was an annoying quirk. If they ended up suspecting anything, such as Kagome's inexplicable knowledge that Naraku would show, Tamari, herself, would be among the list of suspects. It would be hazardous to her health to get on their bad sides, as their combined fighting prowess was topped only by their quick to judge tendencies of those they deemed evil.
Said miko had recognized Tamari's mannerisms enough by now to know that when she spoke in such an undertone way, every word was important and far from idle conversation. That's what kept her from getting angry at the jab-disguised warning. She was too discombobulated to dissect her own chaotic temperament, even her hands were shaking uncontrollably, but she knew for certain that she was eager to get this whole charade underway. The reason she kept telling herself was so she could regain her freedom, but deep down, she knew her true reason was based on a growing and strange desire to get close to Naraku once again.
It was not long after when Inuyasha suddenly halted in his tracks. Naraku's scent wafted from every direction, as if they were surrounded, but why hadn't he detected it sooner? His defensive stance along with the frantic glances in every direction indicated to the others that an enemy was near. One word was all they needed to follow suit, "Naraku." All except for Tamari readied their weapons, who opted instead to mosey on over out of the way.
Kagome nearly squealed with glee at this news but held it in, albeit with great difficulty. She had an objective to complete and wasn't going to let anyone sabotage it, herself included. Her heart pounded in her chest as she waited for him to make his move, ready to raise her barrier in an instant.
Inuyasha was growing increasingly frustrated with not knowing the exact location of his opponent. It was even more baffling that the scent seemed to emanate from several different locations, putting all his instincts on high alert. When the unease got to be too much, he belted out, "Show yourself already Naraku, you coward!"
"As you wish," a deep, sinister voice echoed all around as a figure materialized directly in front of them. The figure was Naraku, but also, not him. It was merely a puppet. Having faced his puppets before, it was easy to identify for the entire group since it lacked a demonic aura. For a second, Kagome's heart dropped, unnoticed by the rest, worried that he decided to only send a puppet and not show up himself, that was, until she sensed him still hidden in the shadows nearby. His jewel shards revealed his presence to her and her alone.
"Keh," Inuyasha scoffed. "Haven't you realized by now that those weak puppets don't stand a chance against us?" As the last word left his mouth, Inuyasha charged in, haphazardly waving Tessaiga and having full confidence in his abilities. He began the process of destroying the puppet, dodging tentacles as he gained ground. If it had been just the puppet, he would have been correct in his assumptions, but as he lept forward, his hair billowing out behind him, he was narrowly missed by a blast of sharp wind. It succeeded in slicing off a piece of his long, silver hair. Before the hair even touched the ground, Kagura swooped down and snatched it up. It remained in its small clump due to all the dirt and oil Inuyasha rarely washed out of it.
"Disgusting!" she exclaimed out loud as Inuyasha turned to see where the attack had come from. "Geez Mutt, don't you ever bathe?" She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the hair clump held at a distance from her face and between her fingers. Inuyasha's attention was quickly pulled back to the puppet as more tentacles shot towards him. He dodged quickly and resumed his task as Sango jumped into the fray with Kilala, going after Kagura to keep her from ganging up on Inuyasha while he was busy.
Miroku was standing back with Kagome and Shippo. Furiously contemplating what the objective of this meeting could possibly be and why Kagura would collect a piece of Inuyasha's hair. If he could decipher it soon enough, perhaps they could turn the tables on Naraku's scheme. He was pulled from his musings rather suddenly as the sounds of a blade singing through the air and the rattling of a chain chimed way too close to his ear. Turning sharply, his hair fluttered down, parts of it swaying in front of his eyes. That attack was so close, it apparently severed the tie holding his hair back into its small pony tail. His gaze finally settled upon a small boy, unmistakably recognized as Kohaku, crouched on the ground near him. He held his chain sickle in one hand as he tucked a small piece of short black hair into his outfit.
"Kohaku?" Miroku questioned loudly. It was odd of the boy to target him. Normally, Naraku forced him to try and kill his own sister, causing her untold torment. Perhaps his goal was to anger Sango enough to kill her brother should Kohaku manage to kill him off. He raised his staff to fend off the skilled slayer. He could not hurt the boy, he could never do anything that would cause anguish to the one he cared so deeply for.
Sango heard Miroku's outburst, followed by the clash of bone to metal as he battled with her brother. Her heart clenched at seeing the two she cared the most for fighting each other. The thought of either one of them being harmed at the others hands tore her apart and tears threatened to fall. Her concentration fled from her battle as she turned and rushed to theirs.
Kagura watched disconnectedly as the slayer let her emotions cause her to falter in battle. Had she been commanded to kill, the slayer would have been taken care of by now. Fortunately for the wench, her orders were strictly to distract. She didn't know why Naraku was going through so much trouble to destroy these pathetic humans. They didn't seem all that formidable to her. Knowing that sadistic fiend, he probably just enjoyed toying with and tormenting them for his own twisted amusement.
"You're next Kagura," Inuyasha barked out. She turned to face him, looking completely and utterly bored with the whole situation. Apparently, he had finished off the puppet and needed a new target for that sword of his. She remained airborne, where her mobility allowed her to most easily avoid his attacks as well as send a few of her own. All for show as it was, no one was getting seriously hurt, only the impression of fighting to kill was needed to hold their attention.
Unnoticed by a single person, Kanna walked unhurriedly up behind Shippo as he stood next to Kagome, shaking slightly in the face of battle. The only sound she made was a quiet slicing of hair between her petite claws before vanishing back into her realm of the void and out of their sight once more. The only evidence she had been there at all was the glimpse they caught of her and the one spot on Shippo's bun that was shorter than the rest.
Kagome watched avidly as the events unfolded around her. She felt a little guilty for requesting this confrontation, especially as she saw how emotionally tormented Sango was with her darling little brother fighting against Miroku and herself. Her throat clenched in regret, but knew that this was the only way she could calm their fears. And it wasn't like any of them were getting hurt. She had noticed early on that Naraku's incarnations, Kagura especially, being as transparent as she is, only seemed to be playing with her group. There had been ample opportunities for real damage to be inflicted, yet not a drop of blood had been spilled. If she was ever to make peace between enemies, she needed to have access to both sides. Hopefully, her deceit now would work to save their lives later.
Kagura continued to goad and duel with Inuyasha, frustrating him more by the second and thus gaining his undivided attention. Shippo now clung desperately to Kagome's leg from his recent 'epic' encounter with Kanna. And Miroku defended against Kohaku as Sango tried furiously to get her brother to notice her and snap out of it. Kagome knew it wouldn't be long now until Naraku showed, being that all her companions were already preoccupied. She shuddered a bit in anticipation and excitement then steeled her features into a look of anger and worry to await his entrance.
"Kohaku, please," Sango begged desperately, "don't you recognize me?" The boy was knocked backwards by Miroku as he parried another merciless attack. As the tears poured down Sango's cheeks, a spark of realization seemed to shine in the young slayer's eyes. He grasped his head as if in agony, then looked up timidly, a much softer, but pained look covering his previously blank face.
"S-Sango?" his voice was meek, unsure of the scene around him. He seemed full of questions but too scared to ask, whether due to the circumstance or afraid of what those answers would be.
"Yes, Kohaku, it's me," she responded comfortingly, rushing to her brother with indiscretion, eager to envelope him into a loving embrace. She never even heard Miroku's words of caution that he might still be under Naraku's control. "I'm so glad to have you back Kohaku. I was so worried about you." She professed his 'indisputable' return to himself without a shred of caution in her actions.
"Sister," he trailed off as he too wrapped his arms around Sango, knelt down in front of him. Miroku could not speak fast enough to warn Sango as Kohaku's eyes flashed back to cold and he pulled out a small hidden dagger. Panic swept through him but was quickly abated when all Kohaku did was extricate a segment of hair before back flipping out of reach.
Sango moved to chase after him, convinced she could bring the real him back out, but Miroku snagged her arms and held her back. She finally snapped out of it when he once again turned his blade upon her secret love. He seemed to have fallen back under Naraku's complete control, his little bout of consciousness buried once again as he attacked Miroku with practiced ease.
With everyone sufficiently distracted, Naraku seized the opportunity to carry out his primary purpose, the one which Kagome requested of him. Ironically, both of their goals could be reached by this same action. Kagome would regain her independence and Naraku would have easier access to Kagome to manipulate and corrupt her. They may have originated from different sides of the field, but it seemed they had found a suitable middle ground in this instance. He stepped out of the trees, taking long confident strides towards the observative priestess. Naraku could see the elation in her eyes despite the angry mask she wore as a facade for her friends. It delighted him that she could be this deceptive when she so chose, it was a tantalizing facet to her unforeseen persona.
At seeing Naraku approaching, Kagome took that as her queue to raise her barrier. She was honestly curious as to whether or not her barrier could withstand him or not. His aura was immense as it whipped around his breathtaking form. Shippo began quaking violently, his legs rattling beneath his small body as the oppressive demon drew closer to his mother-figure. He knew she was strong, but worried she would not be strong enough to defend herself against Naraku alone. He didn't want to lose her like he did his birth mother.
"So, priestess, it would seem we meet again," his slick voice sent tremors up Kagome's spine. "You're 'faithful' guard dog does not appear to be of much use to you, seeing as he is never around nor paying attention when you are in most need of his protection."
"I can take care of myself, Naraku," Kagome joshed back. "Why don't you come see for yourself."
"Oh," he feigned surprised at her confidence, knowing this upcoming part was all to be an act, negating any possible danger in her eyes, "I think I shall take you up on that offer. Indeed, penetrating your barrier should prove to be quite pleasurable." He let a leer show in his eyes, as Kagome caught the double meaning. She blushed and gulped down those thoughts. Now was not the time for such enticing images to be dancing around in her head.
Shippo thought Kagome's tone sounded more like playful banter than fear or anger, but attributed it to the newfound confidence in her abilities, which in turn gave him the confidence to speak up against 'his' formidable adversary, trusting Kagome would be able to protect him. "You'd better run while you can Naraku, or Kagome will purify you," his young voice rang out above the sounds of battle, calling attention to Kagome's predicament. Naraku spared not even a glance at the demon child. He was of no threat, and even somewhat useful in alerting Kagome's companions. He needed them to witness this encounter afterall.
He let an inconsequential tentacle slip out of his back and toward Kagome within her protective barrier. His movements were slow, calculating, gauging the strength of her defenses before commencing with his act of being 'thwarted.' As the tentacle touched her barrier, he felt her holy powers surge through him. It would seem, he didn't need to put up much of an act, since a little show of aggression would be enough for her powers to flare in response to his intrusion and purify the tentacle. That was not to say that he couldn't get to her if he so chose, but she had become strong enough to purify some of his weakest segments.
Kagome watched in fascination as the tentacle struck her barrier, thus causing it to burst into a flame of purity and promptly turn to ash before her eyes. Naraku's smirk turned into a very frustrated scowl at his 'botched' attempt. Kagome's expression changed suddenly as well, fear and uncertainty, understandable to those who would see her, but in reality, it was not fear for herself. No, she became worried that she had accidentally harmed Naraku and was uncertain if he was angry at her or still playing out his 'act.'
Continuing with their deceitful dance in front of an unwitting audience, Naraku increased his efforts to shatter the firmly held barrier 'protecting' Kagome from his touch. Eight insectile appendages sprung from his back. Their sharp edges spread out wide and all directed towards Kagome. Her eyes widened a bit at the daunting sight, reminding her just how dangerous he could be. She braced herself as they began to shoot towards her. Slight doubt crept into her mind that she might not be able to withstand his assault. Before the attack could hit, a well-aimed blast from Inuyasha's wind scar sped past her barrier, forcing Naraku to leap away and distance himself from her. Fearing for Kagome's safety, her companions moved to converge on her location and assist her. As they all made it to her, their respective opponents assembled near Naraku. It 'appeared' that this encounter had resulted in a stand-off, with neither side being injured. That was not to say they were content to leave it as such.
"What purpose do you have for collecting our hair, Naraku?" Miroku pressed fiercely, letting his contempt show for the one who purposely caused his Sango such emotional trauma.
"You seem to be under the impression that I would simply tell you that which I have planned, Monk," Naraku countered smoothly.
"Whatever your intentions were, it required Kagome's hair as well, did it not?" Miroku continued to probe for a reaction on which to base his assumptions. "Without it, you can't fulfill your scheme."
"I can assure you, you will have your answer when and if I deem it beneficial to myself, and not a moment sooner," Naraku let a scowl mar his face, for Miroku to assume his beliefs to be correct, despite the exact opposite. He had indeed accomplished every one on his objectives flawlessly for this encounter and the 'intuitive' monk was making it all the easier for him. All of them were unceasingly predictable, save Kagome.
With his supposed target, Kagome's hair, out of reach, Naraku made his exit in an explosion of miasma. Kagome and Shippo, still within Kagome's barrier remained unaffected but the rest went into a coughing fit until the gas cleared.
"What was all that about?" Inuyasha questioned irritably, not completely expecting an answer.
"It would seem that whatever he was after by acquiring a piece of each and every one of us, it was thwarted when Kagome's barrier withstood his assault and thus prevented him access to her person," Miroku commented to everyone before addressing Kagome. "It would seem you have proven your capabilities Lady Kagome." He turned his attention toward the still grumbling hanyou. "Don't you agree, Inuyasha?" His question left no room for an undesirable answer, seeing as Kagome had not only successfully defended herself, but also managed to single handedly halt Naraku's latest foul scheme. Kagome grinned hugely and Inuyasha folded his arms across his chest as a feeble display of defiance.

(A/N: This chapter took me forever to write since I'm not as adept at battle scenes. Please tell me what you think about it. Too much detail, too little, too fast, too slow. I hope it was clear and not too confusing. Your input would really help me to improve.)
- 11
- 12
- 13
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

In a New Light