Fair Trade

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Youkai Poison of the Summoners: I

Kikyou awoke early the next morning and set out to find Naraku. Considering it would take the whole day just to prepare the poison, she figured getting the unfortunately needed okay from Naraku as soon as possible would be better than just sitting around waiting until he found her. Besides, the sooner they started, the sooner she would have Kagome all to herself.

As it was still very early, and she wasn’t exactly sure if Naraku slept or not, she found that checking his bed chambers first would be the best place. Maybe not the most pleasing or even the safest, but again she wasn’t sure if he even slept there, if he slept at all.

It was unfortunate that she even knew its location, but at one point he requested her to meet him there (without specifying what room it actually was). Luckily, he did not request or even hint for any ‘favors,’ he was still healing from the battle with Inuyasha at that time.

After finally reaching to the lowest point of his castle, she entered the last and darkest corridor that would lead to his bed chambers. The floor was coldest here and there were multiple disgusting things that lived in and on the cracks and corners of the walls and floor. Every now and then some critter would be brave enough to cross over her foot in curiosity, only to be kicked away or killed.

As she continued down the corridor, its inhabitants began to grow in size and accumulate in numbers. They were no longer simply roaches or crickets and occasional spiders, but now bunches of maggots, flies, slugs, and more deadly spiders. Walking through this passage meant extremely disgusting feet by the time you actually reached your destination and required a very strong stomach. Where there were maggots and flies, there were sure to be corpses.

The stench of the corridor began to mix with Naraku’s own distinctive smell, symbolizing she was close to the end. A few more steps and she finally reached it. Since Naraku’s scent was strong and his aura became overwhelmingly apparent, she knew she’d made the mistake of coming here first (who wants to see him this early in the morning??). She paused outside of the door trying to decide whether it would actually be worth going in to inform him of their plan for the young miko.

Knowing he was in full health and that she had no idea what to expect once she entered, she decided against it. She turned around to make her way back up the corridor to her room when she came to face a gigantic wall of spiders and maggots blocking her escape. The spiders had weaved a most intricate web and the maggots crawled up to the very top to keep Kikyou from getting back. The flies buzzed threateningly a few inches from the wall, and the spiders moved their legs to and fro in anticipation. The slugs hugged closer to the foot of the wall and squirmed in and out of each others own slimy pile, creating the same effect that the maggots had, a very nauseating pile threatening mutilation for their own hunger.

Kikyou took a deep breath and turned back around to knock on Naraku’s door. It automatically opened, and before entering Kikyou took one last look behind her to make sure that the wall had not dissipated. Unfortunately it was still there and seemed to moving ever closer. Finally seeing that there was no way the wall was going to let her through, she entered the bed chambers and the door slammed behind her.

“You know, if you go through all that trouble to get here, you should not decide the leave so suddenly.”

“My mistake,” Kikyou replied to the darkness, “I won’t ever trouble myself to come here again.”

“I assume you and Miss Silbera have come up with something for the miko-“

“Yes.”

Suddenly a few torches lit to reveal Naraku advancing towards her with only his hakama's on.

Naraku pinned Kikyou up against the door and pressed the majority of his body close against her. He cupped her cheek in his hand and leaned dangerously close to her face.

“I’m waiting,” he whispered.

“Its called ‘Youkai Poison of the Summoners,’ its supposed to inflict everlasting pain on the victim. Miss Silbera has said that it is essentially Youkai Poison, save the victim never actually dies. It acts the same by coursing through the blood stream and infecting-“

“The counterpart,” he asked through gritted teeth. She was taking to long in simply explaining what the poison actually does. The title says enough, and he assumed the girl would not die because that is not what he requested.

Kikyou narrowed her eyes at him before continuing. “It can only be cured if she somehow gets a full blooded Youkai’s blood into her own blood stream.”

“Curable, but not likely accomplished...I like it.”

Naraku ran his claw down Kikyou’s jaw line, leaving a small trail of poison behind to eat away at her earthen skin. Immediately after he forced his legs between her own, closing the gap between them.
“I think I should go inform Miss Silbera to start the-“

Naraku eyed her suspiciously, and moved his hand from her cheek to her throat.

“Rejecting me?”

Kikyou lifted her hands to his own around her neck and glared at him.

“The poison takes at least one day to prepare.” She really didn’t want to be there, and it was noticeable.

In response, he pushed himself closer to her and used his other hand push her kimono up slightly and against her leg. He grinned wickedly down at her, all the while allowing his hand to wander between her legs.

“For being dead, you are mildly attractive,” he taunted. This pissed her off and left her in a state of anguish, which is exactly what he wanted. He kept his hand at her throat but moved it slightly so as to provide better access to her neck, which he began to kiss and bite.

Kikyou knew it would be useless to try and simply squirm away, so she opted to actually try to physically harm him. She placed her hands behind her back and allowed him to continue to kiss and bite at her neck while he continued to move his hand closer and closer towards her person. She tried to concentrate as best as she could on focusing her corrupt powers into a physical energy in her hands.

Naraku had finally reached her upper most leg, and began to rub lightly against her lips and entrance, attempting to arouse at least her body. At the moment Naraku touched her, she put her hands to his back and allowed her energies to purify him. To her utmost dismay, this only heightened Naraku’s arousal he continued to massage her but rougher than before.

“Mmmm, do it again, koi,” he whispered into her neck.

“Damn it Naraku let me go!”

He then bit down into her neck. She began to bleed freely and he allowed it all to flow into his mouth. She tasted of death and earth, which quit frankly he didn’t mind, and began to suck on the wound encouraging more to leave her body.

Kikyou grabbed a hand full of his hair and pulled his head back, breaking more of her skin but succeeding in getting most of him away from her.

“I need to go and tell Miss Silbera to start the poison-“

“Don’t worry, you can as soon as I’m done with you,” he smiled at her and came closer once again. This time he had one hand at her breast and the other between her legs, messaging both.

“Damn it Naraku! If you don’t let me go and start this Sesshoumaru will show up before we can finish! “

Naraku froze. He lifted his head from her neck and removed his hands. His eyes no longer held a lustful look, but rather threatening and angry.

“What did you say?”

Kikyou didn’t answer, merely glared at him. He heard her, and now that he was no longer ravishing her body she began to wonder if that was better than what was to come.

Naraku back handed Kikyou and sent her falling to the floor.

“You go and do your job, but if you breathe a word of any of this, especially of Sesshoumaru coming here, you –will- lose your head. Now LEAVE!”

Kikyou stood and quickly exited his chamber. She didn’t stop to check if the wall of spiders and maggots were still blocking her, she ran all the way to the tower, to afraid he might change his mind and call her back.

* * * *

Kagome had fallen asleep that night thinking about what Naraku had said, and woke up with the same thoughts. She couldn’t decide if she was getting off easy or not. Surely there had to be a catch.
‘Naraku wouldn’t just give me away, especially since I no longer have the jewel...would he? And that might not even matter, because there is no guarantee that Sesshoumaru would actually take me with him. Unless he already knows...’

Kagome sighed and sat up against the stone wall. She wondered what Inuyasha and the rest of the gang were doing at them moment, and then remembered why she was here in the first place and excluded Inuyasha from her thoughts.

She looked over to the pebble and decided that there was no way it was going to keep her entertained today. Instead, and because she really needed to do this anyway, she stood up and undid her tank top to see how bad the bruises and cuts were.

Her chest had a few cuts, her left shoulder was bruised purple with small blood spots. Her stomach was the worst. Her ribs constantly felt like they were going to crack at any moment and her abdomen was in worse shape than her shoulder. She attempted to look over her right shoulder to see if she could find anything on her back, but to her disappointment could only see her lower shoulder. She would have to feel for anything.

Sighing, she reached her arm behind her back and gently felt for anything she could. She started as far up on her back as she could and slowly rubbed downward for any wounds or soreness on both sides. The middle of her back was the sorest since she had been slammed against the wall and floor so many times.
She put her tank top back on and sat back down against the wall. She couldn’t believe that her body was in such a condition. ‘But,’ she thought satisfactorily, ‘I gave him a little beating to.’

She smiled to herself. She knew that she didn’t hurt him at all, or severely anyway, but she was happy with herself for at least getting to use her energy in ways other than empowering her arrows. But that was as far as it got, and she hadn’t even really figured out how to do it. It only happens spontaneously when she is getting beaten by Naraku. ‘But, that’s better than nothing right? You gotta start somewhere...’
Just then the door opened, and from it entered a woman Kagome had never seen before. She had long dark red (and by red I mean red, not the ‘red head’ orange color) hair and pale skin. Her eyes were green and she wore a long, flowing white kimono with red and green sakura blossoms on the sleeves and caller.

“Hello,” she said warmly. “My name is Miss Silbera. And you must be Kagome?”

Kagome only nodded and watched the woman suspiciously. The warmth in her voice was fake, and Kagome didn’t trust her.

“Well then,” Miss Silbera said after Kagome’s silence. “I’m simply here to heal what I can, amongst other things...”

‘What?! This doesn’t make since...why would Naraku send her to heal me?’

Miss Silbera began to walk towards Kagome and reached in the inside of her kimono for a small glass phial. Kagome stood and tensed just enough so that Miss Silbera know that Kagome didn’t trust her.

“Look, I don’t know who you think your trying to fool, but it isn’t going to work on me! So just leave!”

Miss Silbera removed the phial from her kimono and cocked an eyebrow at her. “We are rather rude, aren’t we?” She flicked her wrist up and vines shot out of the wall to wrap around Kagome’s legs, arms, and middle.

“Now, that’s better,” she cooed at Kagome.

Miss Silbera continued her advance on Kagome and tore open her tank top. She let a few drops from the phial fall into each wound that seemed most severe, and forced Kagome to drink one herself. The liquid stung upon contact, but the wound healed itself and disappeared within a few seconds.

“There. Was that so hard, Darling?”

Miss Silbera replaced the phial within her kimono and began to take her leave. She paused before she reached the door and flicked her wrist once again. The vines unraveled themselves and Kagome dropped to the floor.

“See you later,” she sneered.

* * * *

Naraku kept himself locked away for most of the day. He sent orders to Kikyou and Miss Silbera to inform him as soon as the potion was done, and that was the last they had heard from him. Not that either minded too much.

Miss Silbera had searched through her books the night before to find the spell they planned on using. When she heard from Kikyou that Naraku had approved, she thanked Kami that all the hours lost weren’t for nothing. She and Kikyou quickly gathered all of the required ingredients and took turns adding them in and watching over it as the day passed. Every hour or half hour, a different ingredient would have to added, and neither wanted to stick around all day just doing that.

Kikyou had been counting on these breaks to benefit her. Once the potion was mostly complete and the required ingredients added, she would add one of her own...for good luck, of course.

Finally that time had come, and as the potion bubbled soft pink, she produced a small leaf and recited an incantation she knew would bring pleasing results. The leaf was dropped into the now poison and sizzled then was burnt into it mid-chant. A bright flash filled the room and died away quickly, revealing the same color and same scented poison that was there not moments before.

Miss Silbera had seen the flash and rushed quickly into the room. She eyed Kikyou suspiciously, and made her way over to the poison to see what had occurred.

“Kikyou, did you add anything?”

Kikyou looked up to her lazily. “No, you old witch. Is it done yet?”

Miss Silbera leaned over and stirred the concoction three times counterclockwise and once clockwise.

“Oddly enough, yes,” she said eyeing Kikyou.

“Why is that odd? I did nothing. Maybe it is simply good fortune.”

“If you have done anything to this poison, I will kill you myself.”

“Deal.”

Miss Silbera cast Kikyou a dirty look then removed the small pot and carried it to a small circle drawn in the middle of the room. Once placed in the center, the circle’s edges glowed blue and shot up to the ceiling.

“Well, now to fetch Naraku.”

* * * *

A/N: BTW- sorry the chapter is so short! Okay, so I got the sixth chapter up. Youkai Poison of the Summoners is being split into two parts, this and the actual ordeal. I’m going to attempt to post as often as possible, but it will probably be once a week. The only reason I got six chapters up so fast here is because I’d already written five of them for A Single Spark (I’m under the same pen name there: kmoon). Anywho, promise to update soon! R&R and all that fun stuff!