Of Two Minds
Written By Sarga
October 2007
Edited & Reposted May 2008
Summary: Inuyasha and Kagome find themselves the target of Naraku's evil plot when he switches their bodies with each other. Can they make it back to Kaede before Naraku moves in for the kill?
Disclaimer: I didn't create Inuyasha, but I can bake a mean devil's food cake!
Bursting forth from a purple colored cloud of miasma, Inuyasha, clad in his distinct red clothing, carried on his shoulder an unmoving heap of a girl. Kagome, overcome by the hazy cloud of poison that threatened the area, did nothing in argument of the crude manhandling of her person. The demon slayer Sango, mounted on Kilala and with a firm grasp on an unconscious monk, choked in her protective mask as she dragged her friend's limp form upward and to safety. The debilitating fog had once again facilitated Naraku's escape, thwarting their efforts against him.
"Dammit!" Inuyasha fumed as he raced to the relative safety of their nearby camp. Another confrontation lost due to the conniving trickery of the vile half-demon foe. Another chance lost to right so many wrongs.
Kilala, not uneffected by the poison herself, collapsed in a heap with her human cargo. Sango stumbled from her mount's back and grasped the monk by the coller with one hand, slapping him soundly across the face with the other in a desperate attempt to revive him. Rousing nothing more than a moan, Sango braced herself and hauled him over her shoulders like a beast of burden. Kilala, transformed from her larger from into her smaller one, limped after their leader in an attempt to provide any support that might have been necessary.
After a heartfelt battle, the ragtag group had come so utterly close to finishing off their vile foe, Naraku. Barely in time to escape, however, they had realized the trap, poisonous gas had been mere seconds from bringing an end to their quest and their lives. For the fourth time in as many weeks they had come to a draw with their rival. The frequent encounters were testament to their improved ability to track him, but Naraku was not going down silently.
The half demon leader muttered darkly as he reached the unadulterated encampment, cursing his inability to attain his ultimate goal, the destruction of Naraku and the re-amalgamation of the jewel. It had become about more than just mere power or revenge, this all consuming desire to see Naraku defeated had become the core of his very existence.
Naraku chucked as he watched his enemies regroup from the safety of Kanna's mirror. Their dejected attitudes fueled his glee as he nodded to himself approvingly.
"Kanna," Naraku gloated to his incarnation. "I believe it is time to finish them off for good. Having watched them so closely for the past few weeks I have developed the perfect plan." Naraku grinned like a madman possessed, his cruel eyes glimmering coldly with the promise of painful things to come.
Inuyasha was taken by surprise, the attack coming so quickly he barely had time to counter it. Yelling for the others to get to safety, he was ignored as per normal by his comrades in arms who opted to stand by his side. His attacker, a short and burley demon, appeared as if from thin air and took advantage of his surprise attack.
"Inuyasha, look out!" Kagome gasped as her friend was attacked yet again, this time from behind by a second demon. Inuyasha was knocked to the ground by a third demon who pinned him soundly with his body. The ambusher motioned to his free ally to cover him as he stooped toward the struggling half-demon. Reaching into his cloak, the demon pulled out what looked to be a sutra and placed it on the incapacitated half demon's body. with a great shudder, Inuyasha went ridgid and his subduer jumped up, gutter proclimation of joy satisfying his counterparts. Turning their attentions to the attacking humans, the trio of demons ignored the body lying on the ground and attacked without remorse.
In the distance, the three humans could hear the unmistakable hum of Naraku's poisonous insects as well as the sharp snarls and growls of a horde of vicious demons. If they did not reach Inuyasha before the enemies reinforcements arrived, they would all be dead...or worse.
With a wave of righteous fury, Kagome shot an arrow toward the attacking demons. In a brilliant flash of purifying energy, the vile creatures were disintegrated, not even dust marking their passage into the next life. Seeing the reinforcements cresting the horizon, Kagome ran to her fallen comrade, tears of fear and worry streaming down her cheeks. Reaching for her friend, she attempted to pull him upright, only to be met with a violent wrenching feeling deep in her stomach as she made contact with his skin. She too collapsed into unconsciousness, adding to the body count.
Not knowing what to make of the pair, Miroku approached as cautiously as their situation would allow as he tried to assess how to get his fallen friends to safety. Sango brushed past him, only to feel his arm pull her forcefully backward.
"You can't touch them with your skin, this magic looks contagious," Miroku warned.
Sango nodded in understanding and burst into action. Grabbing Kagome's abandoned backpack, Sango rifled through until she found Kagome's sleeping bag. Moving quickly, she wrapped the blanket around her two friends and motioned for Kilala to lift it by the corners.
"Come on, we've got to get to a safe place before backup arrives," Sango ordered, running into the forest. They made quick work of the surrounding vegitation and made it back to the shelter of the cave they had camped in the night before.
As her demon companion carted her precious cargo, Sango used her knowledge of demon senses to disguise their scent from the hostile demons, burning a mixture of scent-neutralizing herbs. Miroku meditated diligently over protective sutras, erecting an impenetrable barrier around the cave entrance to keep out would be intruders. Shippo, who had been tending the campsite, ran to Kagome and jumped on her stomach before Sango could warn him of the danger.
"Kagome? Inuyasha? What happened," the small kitsune cub cried, hugging Kagome's unconscious form for dear life.
"Shippo, you'd should let them rest," Sango coaxed, gently lifting the child off of the pair. He had not fallen like the other two but that could have been because he was full demon or because he was a child. With the oncoming horde of demons approaching, the most they could do at the moment would be to wait for the pair to wake up. Once the coast was clear, they could seek out a priestess to diagnose what had happened, until then, Miroku would have to focus solely on maintaining their invisibility.
As morning progressed to afternoon and afternoon turned to evening, the demon menace slowly ebbed. By nightfall, they had all but disappeared and Miroku was granted a much needed reprieve. Satisfied that Sango's herbs and her strength would protect them all from any stray demons, Miroku approached the pair cautiously.
"Hands pervert," Sango warned before he could even think about reaching for Kagome's undefended body.
"Sango, you wound me," the monk feigned shock. "Besides, we both saw what happened when they touched each other...ah ha!" Miroku pulled one of Kagome's 'pencils' from her bag and used it to turn over the sutra still attached to Inuyasha's body.
As he peered at the sutra, Miroku frowned, his brow furrowed in thought.
"What is it, monk?" Sango asked, the suspense was thick enough to feel.
"I don't know, Sango, the sutra is blank. Whatever it was, the magic has been spent, it should be safe to touch them now," Miroku proposed, reaching for Kagome's shoulder. As soon as he touched her...nothing happened. Grinning rakishly, he started to slide his hand downward only to find himself slumped in a heap with a splitting headache.
"I told you to watch your hands, pervert," Sango ground out between gritted teeth, her Hiraikotsu still extended above the monk's head.
Watching Miroku from the corner of her eye, Sango pulled the pair apart and tried to make them more comfortable. Smoothing out the blanket on the cave floor, Sango dragged first Inuyasha then Kagome on top of its comfortable warmth. Laying a second blanket on top of the pair, she hoped they would wake up soon.
Magic of this kind, especially coming from Naraku, could only bring pain.
'What happened,' Kagome thought to herself as she felt as if her head split open. 'Did someone ambush me while I was trying to free Inuyasha?' She brought a hand to her forehead and winced as she felt her fingers scrape her forehead. Her eyes shut tight as the throbbing subsided, Kagome took several steadying breaths in an effort to calm her rapidly beating heart.
'Damnable dishonorable demons!' Inuyasha thought to himself. 'They must have put a weakening spell on me, I can barely feel my body.' He too sat up with a groan, his voice much lighter than he was used to. Feeling a warm body next to his, Inuyasha turned towards it.
The pair opened their eyes at the same time, startling the others with their reaction.
Kagome jumped up, fingers bared like claws, crouched low to the floor as if to attack. Inuyasha scuttled backwards like a crab, yelping in surprise.
"What are you doing demon? Are you expecting to get away with replacing me?" Kagome demanded of Inuyasha, her voice low and grating.
"Kagome," Sango soothed, placing her arm around Kagome's shoulder. "Calm down, what are you talking about?" she asked gently, the girl in question looking at her sideways like she had three demon heads instead of her own.
"Who are you calling Kagome," Kagome growled impressively, for a human.
"Inu...yasha?" Inuyasha quietly whispered from the floor where he was hugging his knees.
"What!" Kagome spat.
"Look...look down..." Inuyasha timidly suggested, pointing to Kagome's body.
Furrowing her brow in annoyance Kagome complied, her eyes widening in realization. Looking at two swells on her chest, Kagome proceeded to grab herself in confusion. Realizing they were really attached, she hissed as if burned and threw her hands hastily into the air. Frightening all who were in the cave, Kagome let out a mighty roar worthy of any demon.
A string of curses spewed from Kagome's mouth as the onlookers became more and more confused. Muttering words she usually sat Inuyasha into the ground for, Kagome proceeded test out her other less provocative appendages.
"Inuyasha, what's going on, my friend?" the monk questioned the hanyou on the floor.
"I'm not...she's not...we're..." Inuyasha took a deep breath, trying to steady his shaking voice. "She's me and I'm her," Inuyasha whispered, eyes widening as shock kicked in.
"Let me get this straight, when they attacked us back there, it was to switch your bodies?" Sango tried to get some clarification.
Looking at his hands, Inuyasha nodded his head. "I'm Kagome," he said in a small voice.
"Shit!" Kagome growled, confirming that she was truly their half demon comrade.
"So he's her and she's him...How are we going to straighten this out?" Miroku questioned as he poked the campfire with a stick, bringing the flames back to life.
"We should speak to Kaede to see if she can reverse this," Sango suggested as the pair in question tried to figure out how to cope with such a strange situation. It seemed arguing would be their choice weapon as Kagome (trapped in Inuyasha's body) proceeded to scold Inuyasha (trapped in Kagome's body) for taking liberties.
"I think time is of the essence, my dear Sango," Miroku relayed smoothly above the din of his neighbours. "I'd say as soon as the morning comes we should head back to the village." Looking sideways towards the pair, Miroku made a proposal. "I suggest we call the person in Kagome's body 'Kagome' and the person in Inuyasha's body 'Inuyasha'. This is Naraku's doing and he's going to undoubtedly be watching for signs that his plan succeeded." Miroku suggested. Nodding in agreement, Sango, Shippo and Miroku faced their friends for a reaction.
Inuyasha and Kagome, who had be utterly oblivious to the nearby conversation, paused mid-insult as they noticed their attentive onlookers. Chuckling discreetly behind his hand, Miroku proceeded to explain his proposal. Kagome grunted in ascent, her arms folded across her chest as she scowled menacingly, while Inuyasha nodded, his smile unusually out of place at a time when he would normally be brooding.
"Let's get back to town as soon as possible," Inuyasha suggested in an almost falsetto voice. "I don't think either of us wants to be like this for long."
When morning came, the five friends set out. Kagome started running, her small body moving steadily forward while Inuyasha walked slowly with the others.
"Where does she think she's going," Sango questioned her normally reserved friend's actions.
Inuyasha's eyes went wide in understanding. "I don't think 'she's' going anywhere, I think 'he's' doing what he always does," Inuyasha's body dashed after his human counterpart, easily overtaking the slower human form.
Jumping ahead of the girl, Inuyasha gave a sideways smirk, his arms folded across his chest as Kagome came to an abrupt halt, almost sliding into the hard immovable body.
"What do you think you're doing," Inuyasha laughed lightly. "You aren't a half-demon anymore, remember?"
Kagome panted heavily and blinked a couple of times before nodding.
"Come on, I'll carry you, you must be tired after that sprint," Inuyasha offered, seeing the sweat forming on her brow. "Plus I really don't want you breaking one of my legs because you think you can still jump to the top of a tree in a single leap," Inuyasha joked.
"Your body is rather weak," Kagome spoke, her voice more guttural than normal.
Harrumphing noncommittally, Inuyasha bent low, taking the girl on his back. Finding his center of gravity, he ran back towards his friends.
"Why don't you three get on Kilala's back?" Inuyasha suggested. "I'll run on ahead with him...um...with her while you guys fly."
Without waiting for a response, Inuyasha and Kagome were off like a shot.
Inuyasha ran hard, liking the strength and ease at which his body moved. He could hear with great amusement what was going on behind them, the monk slapped by a fuming demon slayer as she spat sharp words when his hands wandered. He could smell with profound clarity what was in the air, most of the scents foreign to him, but distinct nonetheless. He could see with remarkable detail the world around him, the sharpness of his vision allowing him greater dexterity when he moved.
Kagome on the other hand, was furious at the current turn of events. She couldn't hear as well, she couldn't run as fast, she couldn't smell at all, and she felt as week as, well, a human. Grumbling under her breath, she cursed the situation, Naraku and the world in general.
"I heard that," Inuyasha muttered.
"I know," Kagome growled. "You've got my hearing remember?"
Still finding joy in his newly acquired senses, Inyasha just laughed as he tested his capabilities, jumping higher than he ever could in Kagome's body.
Inuyasha laughed aloud as he felt Kagome tighten her grip. "Now I know why you love it up here so much," Inuyasha confided as he skimmed across the treetops.
Inuyasha stopped suddenly as a foreign scent made his blood run cold. Jumping quickly to the ground, Inuyasha let out a growl.
"I don't know what that is, but I really don't like it," Inuyasha bit out between gritted teeth.
At the same time Kagome gasped out loud, coming to her own realization.
"Two jewel shards, coming on fast!" Jumping from Inuyasha's shoulder, Kagome took a low defensive stance, grabbing Inuyasha's tetsusaiga from it's scabbard. Inuyasha, not knowing what else to do, grabbed Kagome's bow and arrow from her backpack and prepared to fight.
Within seconds, the pair met their foe head on.
"What are you doing with that bow, Inu-trasha?" Kouga insulted. Instead of the usual growling, he was met head on with a grinning hanyou. Not wasting his time with the mutt, Kouga ran to his favorite human girl and grasped her free hand longingly.
"Get your hands offa me, wolf-turd!" Kagome growled, startling both Kouga and Inuyasha. The girl bore the rusty sword and lunged in attack.
"Wait, Inuyasha," Inuyasha hastily interrupted. As per usual, however, the headstrong hanyou (currently trapped inside the girl's body) ignored the plea and leaped toward Kouga.
"Kagome?" Kouga asked in confusion, jumping easily backward as she went on the offensive.
Doing what Kagome would normally do, Inuyasha yelled out the one word that put a crashing halt to it all.
"SIT!"
Both Kagome and Inuyasha found themselves face planted to the ground, Inuyasha looking more startled than Kagome. As the pair pulled themselves off of the ground, Kilala and her passengers landed behind the prone pair.
"Okay, what's going on?" Kouga asked in confusion. "Normally she's the one yelling at him to stop, and now they're both eating dirt."
Kagome jumped up, sword negligently loose in one hand, as she effectively ignored Kouga's question. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she yelled at her counterpart. "How the hell does that work? I'm human and you can still floor me?! How do you like it, wench? SIT!"
Again the pair were forced to the ground.
Getting enraged himself, Inuyasha jumped up and stalked towards the girl. The pair began a comical yelling match as Kouga looked on, dumbfounded.
"Um, you see, Kouga," began Miroku. "Naraku has placed a curse of some sort on Inuyasha and Kagome such that their bodies and minds have switched." Kouga looked at Miroku blankly. "Kagome has Inuyasha's soul and Inuyasha has Kagome's soul." Kouga went wide-eyed as he realized what that meant. Falling to the ground in gales of laughter, he soon found himself the target of two angry pairs of eyes.
"What is so funny," Inuyasha spat at the howling wolf.
Without a word, Kagome launched herself at the oblivious demon, Inuyasha's sword, still as rusty as ever, glowing slightly as it swung down. Barely missing his neck as he deflected the blow, Kouga rolled backward and out of range of the unusually dangerous female. Kouga hissed aloud as he felt a burning on his arms where he had deflected the blow
"What the..." Kouga exclaimed as he nursed his wounded arm.
"Kagome's powers of purification," Miroku gasped.
"My powers...Oh crap!" Inuyasha growled, lunging at the girl before she did any more damage.
"Inuyasha stop," Inuyasha growled as he wrapped his arms around the girl to restrain her. "Either you're going to get my body pummeled or you're going to kill Kouga. Either way, you need to back off." Feeling the girl slack off somewhat, Inuyasha took his sword back and sheathed it.
Glowering at the intruding demon, Kagome curled her lip in disgust. "You got lucky this time. When I get my body back, you won't know what hit you."
Her threat dispatched, Kagome stalked into the trees, knowing that her friends would follow shortly behind.
Kagome walked quietly beside a yammering half demon, the group deciding to take it easy in case any other unexpected encounters occurred. Grunting in annoyance, Kagome stomped her foot and whirled towards Inuyasha.
"Would you shut up already? You should be using those ears to scout ahead for strange noises, you should use those eyes to scan the forest, anything but what your doing now!" Kagome spat in annoyance.
Frowning silently, Inuyasha scowled at the interruption. The pair stood glaring at each other for several minutes before their companions began to tire of the staring match. Inuyasha's ears, reacting on their own accord, swiveled on his head as his nose caught the scent of something unusual if vaguely familiar. Not able to associate a meaning behind the scent, Inuyasha broke eye contact and opted to scan the direction from which it came.
"Little brother," a cool voice made Inuyasha's eyes widen.
"Bastard," Kagome yelled, drawing the attention of the demon lord.
Sesshoumaru glared at the girl as she brandished Inuyasha's sword. Narrowed eyes the only indication of his displeasure, Sesshoumaru gave Kagome precisely one warning to retreat.
"I will not repeat myself, human, I am giving you one chance only to back away or your life is forfeit."
"Sesshoumaru-sama," Inuyasha rushed towards the girl, pushing her forcefully behind his body. "There is a situation that I think warrants your restraint."
Sesshoumaru blinked at the advanced language coming from his brother's mouth. Normally all he heard was 'die' and 'you bastard'. And never in his entire life had Inuyasha addressed him so respectfully.
"Speak," Sesshoumaru ordered, his eyes narrowing fractionally more.
"Thank you," Inuyasha breathed. "As you can see, the two of us are not as we should be. Naraku has placed a curse on us. I'm really Kagome and she's really Inuyasha. So you see, if you kill me now, you'd be killing a human in a hanyou's body and if you killed Inuyasha now, you'd be killing a hanyou in a human's body."
Sesshoumaru moved so swiftly that no one saw him. One instant he was standing across from the pair and the next he had Inuyasha by the throat, his back against a tree.
Moving his head towards his brother's body as Inuyasha's hands clawed at the hand at his neck, Sesshoumaru breathed deeply before dropping his brother back to the ground.
"If you do not rectify this situation, I will not bother to choose one or the other, both of you will die," Sesshoumaru stated as calmly as ever. Forming a cloud at his feet, the group watched him leave as quickly as he had arrived.
"We really have to get those two back to the village," Sango sighed, helping the hanyou to his feet.
Naraku stood by Kanna's mirror, a look of ferocious anger on his face as he growled in disgust.
"They have failed me!" Naraku ground out, speaking of the demons who were sent to switch Inuyasha's body with one of his poison insects. Once the sutra had been placed, a poison insect should have touched the half demon cur. The remaining demons were sent to cannibalize their comrade during the switch, permanently ridding him of the half demon's interference. Instead of an incapacitated half demon, however, there stood Inuyasha laughing joyously with his friends.
"Incompetent fools!" Naraku growled in frustration before turning from the mirror with disgust.
"Bring me a puppet," Naraku ordered his attending demons. "It seems I'll have to do this myself."
Inuyasha could hear the distinct sound of Naraku's poison insects in the distance. Stopping suddenly he yelled a warning up to Kilala.
The flying group landed on the ground and prepared for battle.
"Alright. You," Inuyasha pointed to Kagome. "Focus on using my bow and arrow, we don't want him to know that he's succeeded in switching us. Do whatever it was that you did to call up my powers when you attacked Kouga and you should be fine."
"Use your claws," Kagome retorted, "You suck at using a sword."
Before they could prepare any further, one of Naraku's puppets burst from the trees, followed closely by his flying vanguard.
"Naraku," Inuyasha growled. Swearing quite convincingly, Inuyasha launched himself toward the enemy, barely giving him enough time to react.
Dodging the attack expertly, Naraku's puppet was shocked to feel pain in his leg. Looking down, he saw an holy arrow protruding from his limb.
Using the distraction to his advantage, Inuyasha again leaped towards his foe, making an impressive, if somewhat clumsy hit across Naraku's chest.
Not to be outdone, the evil hanyou ran forward, almost too fast for the humans to see, and slapped a white sutra on Inuyasha's forehead.
Kagome, her arrows keeping the bugs at bay, ran to her friend and helped him to his feet. An electric jolt between the two left them, leaving them disoriented for a moment before they could right themselves. Looking at each other in shock, Inuyasha made the first move. Grabbing his tetsusaiga from its sheath, Inuyasha blasted away Naraku's puppet and the few bugs that had been lingering.
In a far off palace Naraku cursed the hanyou. Even when the girl had touched him, his mind was not switched with hers, he had reacted far to normally for the plan to have worked.
Bringing forth the dark monk who had offered him this magic, Naraku allowed the man to gloat over what he assumed to have been a successful switch. Without chance for reprise, Naraku decapitated the arrogant human. His head rolled across the floor, mouth still open in self-praise.
"I should have known better than to trust a human to know what he was doing," Naraku grumbled. Watching the body come in contact with his miasma, Naraku felt some of the tension leave his body as the monk disintegrated before his very eyes. One less human in the world...oh, it made him giddy.
As the last of the poison insects were killed or had fled, Kagome and Inuyasha stared at each other in disbelief before Kagome latched onto Inuyasha and the pair did a victory dance.
"Um, Kagome? Inuyasha?" Sango asked of the unusual behavior.
"Yeah?" Kagome replied with a giant smile on her face.
"From your reactions I take it you two were successfully reintegrated?" Miroku asked.
"Hell yeah," Inuyasha gloated. "The fool probably doesn't even realize it, either."
Sango smiled at the pair as they continued to celebrate their emancipation from each other's bodies.
Miroku looked slyly towards Sango, a smarmy smirk on his lips. "Do you think Naraku has any more of those sutras?" Miroku proposed.
Hiraikotsu to the noggin, Miroku found himself slumped to the ground with a spitting headache. The monk never even saw it coming.
FIN
Read and review, pretty please.
- Sarga