Friends Close; Enemies Closer
Summary: When Naraku infiltrates the inu-tachi in order to learn of their weaknesses and hidden strengths, he gets more than he bargained for. Will Kagome manage to do to him what she does to everyone she befriends and tame his heart, or will he destroy them all in the ways they fear most?
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
(A/N: Most of my stories go in dark directions, (not so surprising with Naraku as a main character) so this one was meant to be lighter and more on the humorous side. Naraku may be a bit softer and more humorous than cannon, aka. a bit OOC. There will also be a "girl" on girl scene at some point, be warned.
Takes place just before Mt. Hakurei, diverting from the episodes.)
Chapter 1: Infiltrated
He failed to defeat them more times than he could recall. They had a hidden strength he could not discern, and it foiled his schemes every time in the smallest of ways. Spying via Kanna's mirror revealed nothing to explain this occurrence and in person only got him attacked. Naraku needed a new angle, something Inuyasha and his companions would never expect.
"Where's the jewel shard, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked urgently as he leapt off another branch.
"Just up ahead, Inuyasha," Kagome answered enthusiastically from her perch on Inuyasha's back. "We are almost there, and it feels like its moving closer to us."
"Perfect," he grinned, then caught the scent he'd been following on the wind once again. "Naraku is up ahead too."
"We'll get him this time," Sango declared.
"Here it comes," Kagome announced, sensing the jewel just ahead. Inuyasha flexed his claws, preparing to slice. "There!" She pointed to the demon that just leapt out of the trees, nearly colliding with her and Inuyasha as she sped passed.
"You will never escape me," a familiar oily voice called from the direction she came from before Inuyasha could land a blow on the now retreating demoness. She didn't even spare him a glance as she continued to sprint through the trees, seemingly fleeing from Naraku.
"That demon has the jewel shard," Kagome informed everyone. "Naraku must be trying to take it from her." It was the most obvious explanation.
Torn as to which to go after, Inuyasha called out, "I'll take out Naraku. Sango and Miroku, you follow that demon, don't let her escape." They nodded and took off after her while riding Kirara.
Inuyasha set Kagome down in a tree and dove to the ground to block Naraku's path. "You're not going anywhere, Naraku."
"Ku Ku Ku," Naraku chuckled, "and what makes you think you can stop me Inuyasha? After all the times you've failed to defeat me."
Inuyasha growled, "Shut-up. Today you die." He swung his sword wildly, hacking away at all sorts of mismatched appendages that shot at him. Their numbers were just too great though, and he got tangled. A sacred arrow whizzed by, severing his bindings before Inuyasha could be run through. Kagome may have saved Inuyasha, but she also got Naraku's attention. He switched targets and shot a series of tentacles up into her tree. Inuyasha would not be able to reach her in time. "Oh no, Kagome!"
"Inuyasha!" she screamed for help. Just before the tentacles struck, they evaporated into ash. "Thank you, Inuyasha. You saved me." Kagome breathed easier. "I knew you would."
"It, it wasn't me," he stuttered out trying to figure out what happened. Looking back to where Naraku had been standing, he saw the same demoness from earlier, holding a wooden, hair-wrapped doll. "It was only a puppet," Inuyasha whispered to himself. Kagome was climbing down the tree to see what was going on, the canopy of leaves was hard to see through. "Hey you, who are you?"
"You have jewel shards," was all the demoness said, as if that explained everything.
"As do you," Inuyasha growled back at what he perceived as a threat, cracking his knuckles and flexing his claws. He noticed this demoness was some kind of cat, obviously strong since she defeated the puppet, but was fleeing earlier, so maybe not strong enough to fight the puppet one on one.
"Hand them over," she demanded with a bored expression.
"That's what I was just about to say," he smirked, this cat needed to learn a lesson.
"Wait, Inuyasha," Kagome called as she landed, realizing what was happening. "She saved me. She can't be all bad." She turned to address the stunning demoness. "Why do you want them?"
She was silent for a long time, but then spoke slowly, "That demon, he killed my family."
"You mean Naraku?" Kagome asked, displaying sympathy. The cat only nodded. "Does that mean you're after revenge?"
"Yes," she sneered at the thought, "I will shred him with my claws!"
"Why don't we join forces," Kagome suggested innocently.
"No way, Kagome. I'm not teaming up with some smelly cat," Inuyasha growled.
"Sit boy!" she reprimanded. "We are all after Naraku. It would be beneficial to join forces." Her words were for both of them to hear.
"What'd you do that for?" he grumbled.
"Because you don't need to be so rude," she explained. "So, what do you say?" she asked the demoness again, hoping she would except.
She nodded, "For the time being, but if your pet dog steps out of line with me, he'll regret it."
"Pet!?" Inuyasha snarled at the title she had given him. "I'll show you who's a pet." He lunged out of his hole to strike at the feline.
"Sit!" Kagome stopped a fight from starting. The leopard demon only laughed at his failed attempt. "So, what's your name? I'm Kagome and this is Inuyasha. Don't mind him, he's just a bit moody sometimes."
"You may call me Hyokurai (dark leopard)," she was still a bit uncomfortable in their company, but willing to establish them as strong allies.
"Nice to meet you, Hyokurai," Kagome smiled, "there are more members in our group that we should probably go find. Inuyasha, get up already. We need to go regroup with the others." He just grumbled from his prone position.
As they turned to leave, Hyokurai's icy blue eyes flashed wine red and a devious smirk crossed her face, 'I'm in. They fell for it easier than I had expected.' An evil, and very male, laugh resounded in her mind as she followed the unexpecting people in front of her.
A lot of thought went into "her" current appearance. The possibilities had been nearly endless for one such as her. In her normal form, she would have been recognized immediately, the first thing to do was create an image that would be completely foreign. For you see, she wasn't really a female. In her true form, she was male, a very specific male that was identified by the combination of black wavy hair, piercing red eyes, an ominously evil aura, and an incessant scar on his back the shape of a spider. Hyokurai, was simply the latest disguise of the most notorious spider in the lands, Naraku. Every trait had a tactical reason. First, he opted to appear feline, since if he let it be known he was of the spider species, they would automatically associate the two and hold deep suspicions. By choosing feline, he disassociated himself from their preconceived prejudices, and intentionally, took on new prejudices. The hatred between dogs and cats was long-held and legendary, and if anything he did happened to invoke Inuyasha's suspicions, he could simply claim it was the natural tension between the two species. His scent and aura had been altered using a black magic potion; a single-use item that he had bartered from a now dead witch. It would keep him altered for a full lunar cycle and he had that much time to gather the information he sought.
His normally red eyes were an icy blue, with only the slightest bit of red flecks in the innermost part of the iris, punctuated by the luminescent black "eye shadow" demon markings. There were white leopard spots over the black to denote species. His ears were pointed, and he displayed all the other typical traits of a normal, full-blooded demon, such as fangs, claws, and whisker thin, black stripe markings across both cheeks, three on each. His hair was still a midnight black, but straight, with white streaks, and only long enough to cover her slender back that still held the troublesome scar. His/her tail was much the same, with long, black, fluffy fur and splotched with white. All he had to do was make sure the scar would not be seen, keeping either clothing or his thick hair over his back at all times. He would also need to be wary about using some of his abilities, such as his barrier that held a very specific signature of power or his instant regenerative abilities. He developed a specific attack that was both foreign and familiar as well. Everything was in place, every detail accounted for. He would have a month, if it even took that long, to find their hidden strength in order to counter it. They had no idea who she really was.
(A/N: So, just in case it wasn't clear, Hyokurai is Naraku, I will be using both pronouns, he and she, to refer to the same person. Usually he when it's from his perspective and she when it's from other's perspectives.)
"Sango, Miroku, down here," Kagome waved to her friends high in the air.
Kirara landed with a heavy thump on the ground before Miroku spoke, "Sorry, Inuyasha, but we lost track of-" he stopped when he spotted the individual they had been chasing right behind his friends. "Umm, never mind. So, care to explain?"
Inuyasha just shrugged, still not happy about Kagome's decision. Kagome stepped forward to fill them in cheerfully, "This is Hyokurai; she saved me from Naraku's puppet and will be joining us. She has a grudge against Naraku as well." Turning to Hyokurai, Kagome introduced the rest of the group to her, "This is Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara." She merely nodded in understanding.
Before anything more could be said, Miroku took over the conversation, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend. On behalf of all of us, I must say it is quite the pleasure having another strong, and beautiful ally. If it would not be too much trouble, might I ask you something?" She just looked at him questioningly, which he took as a go ahead. "Would you do me the honor of bearing me a son?"
Whatever Naraku had been assuming the monk was going to ask, this was certainly not it, 'That's… disturbing. If only he knew exactly what he just asked. The look on his face would be priceless.' Sango was gritting her teeth and going for Hiraikotsu. Hyokurai's eyes stayed wide for a second before she regained his façade, "I must decline. If I were to bear offspring, I would be sure to choose a proven sire." 'Much like myself.' "I would not settle for an impotent and so virginal boy." Miroku turned a brighter red than any maidens he'd asked ever had, the intense embarrassment was obvious to all around and had him at a loss for words. All of his companions started laughing maniacally, gripping their sides as the muscles started to ache. "Besides, Monk, do you honestly think you would survive such an encounter?" He paled at the deadly implications.
"Haha, I like you," Kagome managed out through her laughing fit, "that was priceless."
"I've never seen anyone put him in his place quite like that," Sango agreed, wiping the tears of laughter from the corners of her eyes. "I think we will get along very well."
Sitting around a campfire that night, Sango ventured, "How did you come about a jewel shard, Hyokurai?"
"I stole it from Naraku," she pulled it out of her haori. "I thought I could use it to strengthen my powers and destroy him, but with the intense taint emanating from it, I dare not implant it." They bought the story easily.
"I could purify it for you," Kagome offered. "I'm kind of its guardian, I guess. We are trying to collect all the shards and bring peace to these lands."
"Wouldn't have to be going through so much trouble if you hadn't broken it, Kagome," Inuyasha accused, making the girl hang her head in shame, again.
'Couldn't he just let it go already,' she held back her tears. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. It was an accident," she whimpered.
This was new information to Naraku, he hadn't known how it got shattered and also was not aware of Kagome's guilt on the matter. "I would appreciate that," Hyokurai agreed and handed it over, watching his evil influence vanish instantly at her touch. He knew that if he brought his entire chunk of the jewel they might demand it of him, or draw conclusions; that was why he only brought a single shard. The rest lay hidden within the holy barrier of Mt. Hakurei that he had prepared ahead of time in case he needed to vanish.
"There, all done," she held her hand out to return the shard to her new ally.
Naraku knew if he touched the shard it would turn black again and she would see it; it would be best to decline, "You keep it. It is safer in your possession."
"Really?" Kagome asked surprised. Hyokurai only nodded. "Okay." Tucking it away with the others in the glass bottle, she struck up a conversation with the newcomer, "So, I know some cats don't like water, how about you?"
"I don't mind it," he wondered just where the strange girl was going with this line of thought.
"Great! Than what do you say we go have a dip in the hot springs?" Kagome declared cheerily, already moving to gather her bathing supplies.
That was much quicker than he had expected, but after saying water was tolerable, he couldn't really decline without drawing suspicions. This would certainly be entertaining, "That sounds like a marvelous idea." His body may currently be female, but his mind was still all male.
(A/N: So, let me know if I should continue this one. I only foresee 10-15 chapters at most, and I'll try to update weekly as long as my motivation holds out.)