Naraku Giveth and Naraku Taketh Away

A/N:

Disclaimer: You know the drill, blah blah, I don’t own, blah blah.


Chapter 5: Death

Kagome leisurely ambled up the path toward Inuyasha. He was standing at the top of the hill with his arms crossed. The fading sunlight caressed him, giving him an ethereal glow. “He actually looks…good right now.” Kagome thought as she approached him. His long hair was blowing in the slight breeze and from where Kagome stood, it looked alive.

“What are you waiting for? We ain’t got all day!” he growled at her. Immediately the illusion faded. Kagome sighed.

“I guess some things never change.” She thought as she picked up the pace. The hanyou scowled at her as she neared the top.

“Why d’ya have to slow us down all the time?” he said as he turned away. “I should just carry you.” He added, almost as an afterthought.

Kagome turned away and tried to hide her distain. She was revolted. The thought of being near to the hanyou’s dirty, sweaty, person disgusted her. She didn’t know how she had borne the smell before. It was all too apparent to her now. “I guess once the rose-colored glasses are removed….” She thought as she followed him. Inuyasha was one rank smelling hanyou. In fact, she couldn’t think of anyone who matched his stench. “Well, I guess Koga could compete.” Kagome thought as she suppressed an involuntary shudder. That wolf youkai had smelled as bad, if not worse than Inuyasha. She supposed it was from living around so many animals. Still, it was nauseating. The realization that both of her love interests were immature, stinky animals hit her hard. “O, Kami!” she prayed “Please, please send me a clean man!” she continued as she looked toward heaven. That’s when the stench wafted to her nose, interrupting her thoughts. She turned around to find Inuyasha’s overlarge face right behind her. He was looking at her almost quizzically. The smell was coming off of him in waves. She could almost see it as it wafted through the air. It suddenly became too much for her to bear. “Excuse me.” She said and dashed off the path and into the bushes. The foliage sprang back into place and blocked her retreating form from Inuyasha’s view.

“Hey wait!” Inuyasha called and made ready to follow. He stopped short at the sound of retching. “Kagome?” he called out tentatively “Are you okay?” he added as a worried frown creased his face. The noise stopped, and all was silent for a moment before Kagome responded.

“Yeah…” she said “I’ll be fine. Must have had some bad ramen.” She added as she cleaned herself. “Yeah, right, ramen.” She thought as she stood. Inuyasha made an impatient sound, and she hurried back through the foliage and onto the path. He looked concerned as he stared at her.

“You sure you’re ok?” he asked as she approached him

“Yes,” she said as she walked forward “I’m just fine now.” She added as she disappeared over the top of the hill.

~~~~

Inuyasha could only follow. He was dumbstruck over Kagome’s odd behavior; he had never seen her get sick before. In fact, he had often wondered if she could get sick. With all of the things they had gone through, he would have thought Ramen was nothing to her. She sure had been acting strange lately. “I wonder what’s really going on…” he thought as he stared at her receding back. She was moving forward at a fast rate, clearly trying to put distance between them. “She’s hiding something from me!” he thought and frowned, his amber eyes aflame. He hated secrets. The thought of her keeping something secret from him hurt him like nothing else could. He knew she thought he was immature, but didn’t she still consider him a friend? “Hopefully, more than that.” He thought as he trudged forward, following Kagome’s hurried steps. She increased her pace and soon broke into a sprint. “What the-” Inuyasha thought as he watched her. He jumped into the air and easily caught up with her. Her eyes were wide and wild. She had a horrified look on her face. “What the hell is going on?” he yelled at her. She didn’t answer, she only pointed forward. Inuyasha looked in the direction she was pointing. His eyes widened in horror at the sight.

---

The more Naraku thought about it, the less he liked the idea of the miko getting hurt. It had been foolish of him to send Decima to the village with so few instructions. “I should have told him to spare her.” He thought as he closed his eyes. His mind was in turmoil, this girl, this miko haunted his every thought. His emotions toward her perplexed him, but he couldn’t deny them. In some way, he cared for her. “I, Naraku, actually care for someone?” he said to himself. His features formed a dark frown at the thought. If anyone knew, if they figured out that the girl was his weakness, they could use her against him. Kikyou had already tried using herself in such a way. Everyone thought that she was his weakness. In reality, she was only Onigumo’s weakness. His was Kagome. Having a weakness annoyed him. “I suppose it comes with the territory.” He mused as he opened his eyes and stared listlessly out the window. The sky around his castle was black as night. Dark clouds covered the entire expanse visible from Naraku’s vantage point. It was as if he was in the eye of a hurricane. The clouds swirled in a ghostly dance around the epicenter of his domain. His miasma intermixed with the damp air produced the same effect on ground level. It was almost…magical, the way the dark migrated to Naraku. Everything of the night eventually found a way to the sinister hanyou. Naraku smiled. He knew he was the strongest of the evil here. Everything else paled in comparison to his power. Still, some were strong enough to be useful to him, either as a part of his body, or as one of his minions. His time of weakness was near. Soon he would gather the strongest of the newcomers and replace some of the weaker elements of his body. He could only grow stronger. With menacing youkai flocking to his side and the nearly complete Shikon No Tama in his grasp, he was nearly invincible. “Nearly is the key word in that sentence.” He thought darkly as he continued surveying his lands. His imperfections were bothering him again. This new weakness the miko represented wasn’t helping any. She wouldn’t be allowed to interfere with his grand design any further. He would either have her, or kill her. Neutrality on his part was not an option. With this thought in his mind, Naraku stood and made ready to intervene in the events unfolding in Inuyasha’s village. He strode into the central courtyard and summoned his miasma cloud to carry him to the site. The thick poison formed around his feet and quickly billowed up into a giant cloud. It swirled around him and lifted him into the air.

The cloud carried him in the direction he wanted to go, and it wasn’t long before the accursed village of Inuyasha came into his field of vision. Decima had already destroyed most of the town and villagers. Burning buildings were everywhere. Instead of the usual green, red was the predominant color of the village. Even the rice paddies were on fire. The water burned as if it were oil. A baby cried somewhere in the village, only to be silenced by a wave of Decima’s hand. Energy flamed from his fingers and toward the unsuspecting innocent. It never had a chance. It was engulfed by the overwhelming force of Decima’s blow, and was no more. Naraku was somewhat disturbed by the display of indifference on Decima’s part. He didn’t know why, but somehow, the idea of killing an infant repulsed him. It hadn’t always been that way. He used to happily slaughter anything that moved: men, women, children, youkai, or ningen. It hadn’t mattered to him. He didn’t know when he had grown a conscience, but it was something he would always keep secret. “Fear of me is good for my enemies.” He thought as he gazed down at Decima. He stood in the middle of the chaos with his hood uncharacteristically thrown back. His red hair billowed out behind him in its own private storm. It danced to the music of destruction that was playing all around. Decima sensed Naraku’s presence and turned his head toward him. His eyes were aglow with sadistic pleasure. Naraku smirked at him. Decima had done exactly as he asked; his wayward spawn had come around. Decima smirked back at his master. He bowed low amongst the dead bodies at his feet. His hair fell forward and mingled with the blood of the fallen. The colors were almost identical.

“My lord, I assume everything is to your liking?” he said as he stood. Naraku appraised this cold-hearted killer and decided that he had done a fine job.

“He did do exactly as I asked.” Naraku thought as he stared at the bloody, mangled village. Dead bodies were strewn everywhere. Most were mutilated beyond recognition. A few, he saw, were still alive despite their massive injuries. “Are you sure you got them all?” Naraku asked. He looked down at Decima and smirked. Decima showed no surprise, he merely moved over to the living ones and extinguished their lives. His eyes were as hard as his heart. After disposing of the remaining living, he turned his icy gaze on Naraku.

“What are your new orders?” he said as he appraised Naraku’s miasma shrouded form. “My work is done here.” He continued. His eyes locked with Naraku and a heated battle of wills took place. Both looked away at the same time, something more pressing drew their attention. There on the hill Naraku saw the miko and hanyou. She was looking at the village, and Decima with absolute horror. She apparently hadn’t seen him, for her gaze was directed solely on Decima. To his dismay, she started running toward him. The hanyou trailed behind her, obviously not understanding the severity of the situation. Inuyasha leapt into the air and landed just behind the running miko. Naraku could hear his angry question to the girl. Instead of answering him, Kagome pointed at Decima, and the ruined village. Inuyasha looked in the direction she pointed, and like Kagome, failed to see Naraku. His gaze traveled over the decimated village before resting on Decima. His angry orbs narrowed on him, and he stopped and snarled. The miko also stopped and fell to her knees, the horror apparent on her face. Naraku felt uneasy as Decima smirked at the two figures on the hill. The girl was much to close for his comfort, he feared for her safety. She just sat there; oblivious to the danger she was in, blindly trusting the weak hanyou to protect her from this new menace. Inuyasha snarled and drew Tessaiga.

“You bastard!” He exclaimed as the sword flared to life. “I’m gonna take you down!” he raged as he leapt into the air, the Tessaiga lifted above his head. Decima watched him descend with a bored expression on his face. He easily dodged the blow, and counterattacked with a kick to Inuyasha’s stomach. The Tessaiga flew from Inuyasha’s hand as he was thrown back. He sailed through the air and hit a distant tree with an audible thump before sliding to the ground. Decima smirked in the hanyou’s direction and lowered his leg.

“Is that all you’ve got?” he said coolly, the placid expression never leaving his face. “What a waste.” He continued as he stared at the downed hanyou. Inuyasha grunted and attempted to rise from his crumpled position at the base of the tree, but found he could not. Decima’s well placed kick had injured him more severely than he thought. He was in bad shape.

Naraku watched the skirmish unfold from the nearby bushes. He couldn’t believe that Inuyasha had been knocked out of commission by just one kick from his offspring. Neither could the miko. She looked at Inuyasha, who was still struggling to get up, and at the village with a weird expression on her face. She was…calm.

---

The air crackled with a raging energy. Sesshoumaru could sense it. The flow of youki emanating from the village was astounding. In pursuit of his answer, Sesshoumaru had walked for days to reach the miko’s village. Now, when he was almost to his goal, he could sense it being attacked. The thought that he might never get a definite answer to his question infuriated him. He leaped into the air and sailed over the trees and toward the village. Behind him, Jaken wailed and tried to catch up. Sesshoumaru paid him no mind. He flew onward until he saw the village. A black robed youkai was whirling around in the middle of the buildings. He held a light purple energy sword in his hand, and was slaughtering everyone in sight. His face was cold, but his eyes were alight with sadistic pleasure. By watching this display of savagery, and taking into account the youkai’s garb, Sesshoumaru could tell his disposition. He was death delighting in his handiwork. Normally, Sesshoumaru wouldn’t have cared less about the number of ningens this youkai had slaughtered, but because this was the miko’s village, he felt a duty to protect them. He sank down into the bushes, and was just about to attack when Naraku appeared. The dark hanyou flew over the horizon, riding in his miasma. He knew the youkai sensed him for he let his sword dissolve and relaxed. “I should have known.” Sesshoumaru thought as he watched the two interact. Naraku was acting unusually cold. He didn’t even react when his spawn killed an innocent. He floated above the youkai and calmly surveyed the destruction. Sesshoumaru continued to observe the two until he was distracted by a shout. He saw his brother fly through the air and attempt to kill the red haired youkai. He was amazed to see the said youkai knock his brother back so easily. He knew his brother was weak…but not that weak. His gaze followed Inuyasha’s departure and for the first time, he noticed the miko sitting on the ground. His eyes widened in surprise as he took in her form. He scented the air. “Yes, it is definitely her.” He thought as he continued his surveillance, completely ignoring the others. She was alive. As the initial surprise of seeing her wore off, elation raced through him. “Alive!” he thought as a smile made its way to his lips, the corners turning up slightly. He was relieved to find his information incorrect. “It must have been the other one.” He thought, the smile fading from his features as distaste filled him. He had never liked that other woman. He didn’t know why everyone seemed to confuse the two, they were nothing alike. His gaze rested on the miko’s face. She appeared shocked to see such destruction. Sesshoumaru silently rued himself for not being there sooner. He could have prevented the destruction of the village had he only been a little quicker. Instead, he had allowed himself to wallow in his grief and anger, and take his time in getting to the village. He was distracted from these thoughts by the change in the miko’s expression. She went from being absolutely horrified looking to bearing a calm and detached expression. He watched with interest as she stood and began walking toward Naraku’s spawn, who was emanating a strange aura. His eyes glowed white and spirits began gathering around him. They rose from the dead bodies and coagulated into a giant ball. Sesshoumaru had seen this power before, it was the essence of death. The user had to be a youkai from the nether world, or one skilled in the dark arts. It was a powerful black magic that could only be wielded by the most capable. He watched with interest as the youkai’s hair began billowing up. The air crackled with energy as his hair danced. Inuyasha looked fearful of the sight, Sesshoumaru noted. Naraku’s spawn advanced on his brother. A heartbeat. Inuyasha’s claws flexed, lengthened. Another heartbeat. His eyes turned completely red, and jagged purple stripes found their way to his cheeks. He growled. The black-robed youkai was unfazed, he continued his silent approach, his aura building. As they faced off, neither of them noticed the miko, who had come to stand near them. Inuyasha leaped forward just as Decima released his weapon. The white energy surged forward and collided with a pink one. The miko had used a massive amount of her holy life energy to block Inuyasha from the attack. The energies, yin and yang fought for dominance as both surprised users looked on. Inuyasha was knocked aside by the force of their collision and resultant battle. He crashed back into the tree and lay still. On seeing his brother fall, the miko’s concentration wavered. The red haired youkai smirked as the energy’s balance shifted in his favor. The miko’s attention snapped back into place and she fought with renewed determination, but it was not enough. The combined energies flew toward her in one massive ball. Sesshoumaru cried out with her as the energy collided with her person. He surged out of the bushes just as the blinding flash flooded through the clearing.

A/N: I haven’t decided who lives and who dies yet. Sango, Shippou, Myoga, and Miroku’s fates are up in the air. Ideas are appreciated.

Edit: If you would like to be notified when I update, please leave your email address in a review! Thanks everyone! ^_^

Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I <3 you all!