Naraku, Be Loved

Author's notes: Hello and welcome to my first InuYasha fanfic! This is going to be a Naraku/OC fic. Why? Its not that I couldn't write about him and Kagome: I intend to eventually, but only once I have a good original idea. I will be up front: I am new to InuYasha, and as such I feel more comfortable viewing this 'world' through the eyes of someone else who holds entitlement to possible minor errors. I hope that you will bare with me. I can write: I simply haven't watched the whole series.

Summary: When a mysterious girl arrives from the future, Naraku thinks she may be the key to collecting the remaining jewel shards. But he gets more then he bargained for when she begins to stir feelings in a heart he had long claimed not to be his own. A chance at love, but it could cost him everything...

Chapter One: Time Warp

Present Day Japan

Tempest Beckett shuffled the deck of cards in her hands, an easy excuse to caress each beautifully designed picture the way she might have otherwise caressed a lover. Had she had one. The cards were an acceptable substitute. They provided for her and protected her. And very soon they were going to help her solve a mystery: how Kagome, daughter of the host family she was staying with during her studies in Japan, had disappeared into the strange well located at the shrine the family operated. Tempest had always liked a mystery.

Right now, she was preparing. Pouches of hot chocolate, instant noodles, granola bars, and a bottle of tylonal got shoved into her satchel as she contemplated what she would find. She was no stranger to mysterious happenings: she'd found the cards, hadn't she? A wonderful way to remember her trip to Italy two years ago. She had hoped to find romantic inspiration ... Bah, she was thinking about it again. Love. Who needed it? All it caused was trouble.

Satisfied with herself over what she had packed she picked up the cards again and walked out of the house and to where the well lay in wait. Now what had Kagome done...? It had looked rather silly, like she was jumping into the thing, and then ... gone. Tempest sat down and let her legs dangle over the edge but nothing happened. Could she have been helucinating? The last thing she needed was to jump in the stupid thing and have one of the Higurashi find her there.

The cards began to feel warm in her hand, an indication th at she was on to something. She closed her eyes and began to shuffle them until the strange feeling stopped. Flipping the top card over she saw that she held the Priestess in her hand. How ironic, under the circumstances. Duh! She was at a shrine... what had she expected? The card lifted from her grasp and floated in the air before slowly falling into the well. Was there water at the bottom?

" Shit! " Tempest gave up on dangling her legs and let herself free-fall. A glistening mauve energy surrounded her and she felt slightly dizzy for a moment before landing gently on her bottom, the Priestess card resting in her outstretched hand. What the hell had just happened? Getting out of the well was rather easy, like it had shrunk. She felt grass beneath her hands and cautiously peeked over its edge. Oh, man! She'd really done it this time. Wherever she was, she was not at the shrine.

Naraku's Castle

Naraku sat in a comfortable chair, glancing at this and that through Kanna's mirror. Kagome was rumored to be returning from her era this day, and he intended to see where she was going. He watched the well intently but it was vacant, not a soul to be seen. Growing bored he turned his attention to InuYasha and his idiotic friends who were waiting in Kaede's village. So she had not returned there yet. He would keep watching the well.

As the image of the well once again reformed he saw someone lift a hand over the edge of the well cautiously. About time. Yet as she came into full view, the woman he saw surprised him. She had long dark red hair and brown eyes that were glancing about her surroundings with suspicion. Another had found their way through the well. Fascinating. How could this be used to his advantage?

" Kagura! " He waited with great impatience as the wind sorceress joined him. " This girl just came through the bone eater's well. I wish to be the first to ... welcome ... her to our world. You will bring her to me. "

He watched the sorceress' face form a pouty expression, amusement spreading through him at her reaction. He gave her a menacing look and she took a step away from him. " Very well. "

Naraku watched her walk away and then returned his gaze to the mirror. If the girl had used the well, she must somehow know Kagome. Yes, this could prove very advantageous...

InuYasha's Forest

Tempest walked through the forest, her satchel getting more heavy and annoying with every passing moment. Was she the only person in this world? She had yet to see a soul and it was beginning to creep her out. Was there a plague here or something? She shuddered, the thought increasing her sense of dread ten-fold.

Something swished through the air and she barely managed to jump out of the way. Turning she saw a woman with long black hair riding a floating pink cloud. Oh yeah, either this place was the weirdest yet or their was something bad in the air and she was seeing some very wacked visions.

" Good. I have your attention. " The woman sounded extremely bored, like she would love to have been anywhere else. Tempest looked at her warily, waiting to see what she wanted. " I am to bring you to the castle of my master, Naraku. You will come with me. "

" If your manners are a reflection of his, I am definately not interested. " Tempest turned from the stranger, intending to keep walking, but another swishing sound cut through the air and this time hit her satchel, sending her supples topping to the ground. Muttering a curse she turned toward the stranger again. " Not smart. "

Lifting her cards in the air she let go of them, watching as a glistening green aura surrounded them as they spread themselves, circling her in a shield. She kept her eyes on the woman riding the cloud, not wanting to be caught off guard by such an ill-mannered creature. The cards stopped spinning when she was faced by the Fool a second time. The card separated from the others in the pack and a blast of energy came forth causing the woman's cloud to evaporate. She dropped from her perch and hit the ground hard.

The woman gave her a murderous glare but Tempest ignored her, using the power of the Fool card to gather the cloud around her and lift her into the air. " Thank you for the transportation. I should have a much easier time finding civilization now. Fare well! "

As the cloud carried her away she shifted the angle of her bag, stuffing supplies back in as best she could, then tied a knot at the top to hold them in place until she could find someone to repair the damage. So far this strange would was ... interesting.

Kaede's Village

Kagome sped toward Kaede's village on her bike, the lunch she had packed swinging from one of her bike handles as she bumped over the uneven grass. She was finally away from that weird exchange student Tempest. What had her parents been thinking? Not only did she have a mouth as sharp and sarcastic as a whip, but there was some wacky aura surrounding her that Kagome had quickly decided she wasn't going to try and touch with a ten foot pole. That girl was on her own.

" Kagome! " She barely had time to stop her bike before Shippo came out from Kaede's hut, bouncing up and down and wanting a hug. " Yay! "

Sango and Miruko followed, with InuYasha coming last, definately taking his sweet time. Had he been with Kikyo again? Kagome tried to push the thought out of her mind before anyone could notice. She refused to allow herself to be jealous about whatever there was between him and the priestess.

" Took you long enough, Kagome. Lemme guess ... Getting candy for Shippo? " he asked when he finally met up with her.

" Of course. " she said smiling and then handing Shippo a bag of candy. InuYasha moved to take it from him. " Sit! Sit! Sit! I got that for Shippo. "

Shippo ran away with the bag of candy while InuYasha sat still under the spell and glowered at her. " Kagome, we have a shard to find. Sango and Miroku were talking to someone who mentioned that strange things have been happening near the village. "

She frowned when she heard this. Kaede's village was their place of refuge and none of them could afford to have it fall to a demon attack. " Well, once you're ready, InuYasha, let's go. "

She turned away to talk with the others and heard a growl escape his throat. Deciding to ignore it she walked over to Sango. If they were going after a shard, she could not afford to be unprepared.

Battlefield

The sound of clashing swords was her sole indecation that something was definately wrong. Lifting her head up so that she could look down from the cloud, Tempest saw a group of people battling a giant white baboon. Huh? What the hell was Kagome doing there? Tempest blinked once and moved her cloud closer to the battle, wanting a better view of what was going on. She saw something red appear in the hand of the white baboon, a ball it would seem, and he squeezed it hard.

" I know you're here, Kagura. " the creature had a deep and almost melodious voice. In fact it would have been beautiful had it not dripped with malice. " Come out and play. "

The was a whimper of pain below and she saw the woman she had encountered that morning stumble out of hiding. She had yet to form another cloud for herself and looked rather pitiful in the way she was almost on the ground. What was monkey-brain doing to her? A vibrant streak of blue energy shot through the air toward her and Tempest realized that Kagome had released an arrow. Pressing the Chariot card against the cloud she dropped it into a dive and grabbed the woman. The arrow zipped past her ear andevenshe had to admit it had been a close call. She'd barely managed to get out of the way.

" You okay? " she asked as the woman settled herself on the cloud as best she could.

The woman she was guessing was Kugara glared at her. " I'd be much better had you come with me this morning. "

Another gasp of pain escaped her, causing Tempest to hold back a sarcastic reply. " What's wrong with you? "

" Naraku... Punishing... " Tempest ignored the woman and began glancing around, trying to figure out which of the fighters Naraku was. This woman was not her favorite person, but no one deserved to suffer like this. When she found him he was going to suffer the wrath of her cards. She felt the woman grab her arm and turn her so that she was facing the baboon. Was that Naraku? " There... "

" I thought you said he was your .. um ... Lord? " Tempest heard another whimper of pain escape the woman's lips and decided her questions could wait until later. " What does he expect you to do? "

" Find you, he said. Now he will want me to aid him in facing InuYasha and his companions. Down there. " Kagura pointed at Kagome and her friends. Oh, brother was this a mess... Tempest couldn't let the daughter of her host family get murdered, and this fight was looking pretty grim.

" Well he'll have to face them another day. I'm not in the mood to be on a battlefield, and you're in no shape. Time for an illusion. " She reached down and shuffled her cards, her mind focusing on wanting to create a powerful binding spell. Reaching for the top card she flipped over the seven of cups. Perfect.

Day, sun, moon, night. Smell, sound, touch, sight.
Friend to friend and kind to kind,
your senses to each one I bind.
To those your heart doth wish great ill,
this day you've not the power to kill.
Night, moon, sun, day... May all those here go on their way!

Tempest watched as confusion began to spread and the gathered party backed away from the white baboon. He, on the other hand, merely glared up at her as she watched him from her lofty perch on the cloud. She had a feeling she was not going to be getting the joyous welcome she had originally hoped possible by somehow traveling through time. Pity.

The power of the spell wore off and Tempest felt herself beginning to spin with dizziness. Minor Arcana spells always cost her more because they were less familiar to her and she tended to put a part of herself into them. This had been no exception. Hoping Kagura would not decide to shove her flying to the earth she sank into darkness.

Naraku's Castle, Tempest's Chambers

Naraku watched the mysterious woman as she lay unconscious. She wasin the bed that was in the room he had prepared for her upon watching her arrival. It was not like him to spoil his gests, but she was lovely, small, delicate ... And apparently about as deadly as spreading flames. He shuddered at the unwelcome image that her long red hair had placed in his mind. Yet as he rubbed some of the strange colored strands between his thumb and finger he found the tresses soft as silk against his skin.

What was he going to do with her? He'd still not decided. Using her to threaten Kagome was still an option, but afterher display on the battlefield it did not seem as practical as it first had. And what had she done to him? He could see InuYasha, thestinkingmutt, but could he kill him? No... Stupid girl. He'd thought she was helping him until then. Well ... She would see that it was not wise to stand in his way. But how?

She began to move restlessly and he frowned. She had been burning with fever when Kagura had brought her here and her temperature had yet to return to normal. He walked over to the bed and sat down, reaching to touch her forehead, when she sat bolt upright. She moved closer,her arms wrapped around him and she nuzzled her face against his chest, her fingers brushing with extreme gentleness through his hair. What was this? Was she using some trick to pretend to be ill?

" Yukio... " Naraku wondered just what she was babbling about until he felt her mouth brush a soft kiss against his neck. She looked up at him, tears glistening in her eyes. Such beautiful eyes; not plain brown but speckled with glints of gold. Were they reflective of her magic, he wondered. She clutched ahold of him more tightly, her hands tugging his hair as she looked at him. Her eyes held desperation and something he could not name. " Please, don't leave. Please... I'm sorry. So sorry... "

An amused smile lit his face. Whoever this Yukio was he had just given Naraku a whole new plan. Carefully he guided her back onto the bed and moved her over so that he could join her beneath the covers. Pulling her against him he brushed a kiss against the lobe of her ear and made his voice little more then a whisper. " Rest, my sweet. Everything will be all right. We can talk in the morning. "

She quit her struggles and once again nuzzled against him, this time her body spooned up against his as they lay on the bed. I could get use to this, Naraku thought. He cought his relection in the vanity mirror across from the bed and smirked. When he was done, he thought smugly, it would be Naraku that meant 'he who gets what he wants'. The Shikon Jewel was going to be his and this girl was going to help him get it.

Request: First and as always, please review. It is nice to know what people think of my work. Second, if someone could explain some of the terms (hanyou, adding sama to certain people's names, etc.) that would be much appriciated. While I can guess that these are Japanese and have a guess at what they are, I do not want to use them without actually knowing.

Finally, please let me know if I have messed up on any minor details regarding Naraku or Kagura. I did a bunch of net research and fic reading to learn stuff but they have not played predominent roles in the episodes of the TV show that I have seen so I might be a little off. If there is a lot of errors e-mail me about it. Thanks.

End notes: How will Tempest feel when she finds out Naraku is in bed with her? What is NAraku's new plan? Did Kagome realize that Tempest has found a way into feudal Japan? This and much more when Naraku, Be Loved continues.