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: I'm glad this story was received so well. It will move fairly quickly, skipping over time and focusing on the important encounters rather than daily monotony.)
Chapter 2: Desires
It was certainly a good thing that he adopted a female disguise, since arousal was much less visible in this gender, however, that did nothing to lessen the intense heat in his gut that was not from the hot water. Sango was a bit shy, holding a towel over her chest and keeping her lower body hidden, but Kagome would stand completely bare before "him." If he were a male at this moment, he would surely take the fragile priestess bouncing around in front of him. Her bountiful breasts tempted his hands, itching to grasp the soft handfuls, as her impossibly pure, virginal scent drove him to taint her; the urge to defile and deflower the girl nearly had him dropping his disguise. It was only the promise to himself that he could have her later, after he discovered their weaknesses, that kept his patience intact.
He was completely unconcerned with modesty and having anyone see his female body, except for the permanent spider scar on his back. He kept his back turned away from his fellow occupants and made sure his life-like hair blocked it from view if say, a certain pervert tried to catch a glimpse of the three female bodies. There was no way to rid himself of it; he learned the hard way that no matter how many times he changed flesh or cut it off, it would always find its way back.
He listened distractedly as the two females chattered about things of minor importance, never knowing when something of use might be brought up.
"You're braver than I, Kagome," Sango mentioned. "You never know when that pervert will come stalking around."
"I promised Shippo a lollipop if he kept the lecher away," Kagome let her in on the little secret, "and you know how he gets about his candy."
"He's just as protective of his candy as Inuyasha is of you when Kouga comes around," Sango joked.
"Ugh, don't remind me," she groaned.
"Why would Inuyasha act possessively over you in the presence of another male if you are not marked?" Hyokurai spoke up. He already had a pretty good idea of the dynamics, but hearing straight from the source, without defensive biasness, could expand on that gist.
Taken off-guard by Hyokurai's sudden, and blunt, question, Kagome froze, but then looked away as she answered quietly, "I don't really know. He can't really make up his mind, between me and… someone else."
"What about you, Hyokurai?" Sango came to the rescue seeing Kagome's distress. "Do you have a mate?"
"No," he caught the change of target easily, but played along. He could answer this truthfully and not give himself away. The best lies are actually truths misinterpreted. "I had my sights on someone some years ago, but they were killed. Haven't found anyone worthy since."
"I'm so sorry," Sango apologized. "I didn't know."
"Since we seem to be touching upon each of our love lives," Hyokurai was not about to let the slayer off easy for diverting the conversation, "what of your obvious infatuation with the monk?"
"I- I don't know, what you are talking about," she blushed and tried to avoid eye contact.
"I shall spell it out for you then," Hyokurai smirked. "You reeked of jealousy when he came onto me, and smell strongly of arousal whenever he attempts to grope you, yet you rebuke his attempts. It is quite evident that you want him to take you, but you do not give him the chance. Why?"
Each word of truth spoken had Sango's cheeks darkening more and more, until she was so embarrassed that she could not get the words to form on her tongue. 'Was it that noticeable?' she wondered.
"It's because he's a pervert," Kagome came to the rescue, just as Sango had for her earlier. "You'll see what I mean when we pass through a village." She swam over to the edge and retrieved her soap bottles, squirting the colorful substance into her palm and rubbing it into her hair until it became white and frothy.
Between the entire shard-hunting group, Kagome was the only one whose origin was still unknown to him, and these strange objects she possessed had him curious. He had pondered over her being from a foreign land, but to travel to a separate country would imply either wealth or absconding from home. If she was of a wealthy upbringing, she did not show it. She was kind to those that would be considered lower than herself and lacked a proper escort to keep her safe in her travels. Had her escort been slain and Inuyasha took that role? If she fled, she would have very little, and these luxuries would not have been of much import, nor would she have the means to acquire them here. He had never even seen such peculiarities and had no idea from where they could be found to begin with. She just appeared one day, seemingly out of nowhere, and he was sure that her secret would be the key to their downfall.
"From where do you get such strange…" Hyokurai motioned to the colored bottles along the edge of the spring.
"Soaps," Kagome supplied the name. "I get them from my home whenever I visit."
"I have never seen such oddities, from where do you hail?" he asked carefully, trying to pry the secret from her.
"Not far," she shrugged. "It's easier to show you than try to explain it." Hyokurai nodded and opted to wait. He had a month until he reverted back, plenty of time to bide.
"So, where is Naraku hiding, Cat?" Inuyasha demanded of Hyokurai as they began traveling the next day.
He withheld a snicker, 'Right under your nose.' "I am uncertain, Dog," she responded with equal distaste, "my dealings with him were never in the same place twice."
"You contracted with him on multiple occasions?" Miroku inquired. "What for?" For all they knew, this could be a trick.
"To get close enough to steal the jewel shards," she explained, "but he discovered my intentions before I could."
"I see," Miroku mused, getting a better picture of their newfound allies capabilities. "Well, it is certainly nice having another demon in our company." Inuyasha may not admit it, but Miroku could see that staying up all night, every night, had taken its toll on him. Having a chance to sleep soundly, with their new ally on lookout, would do him wonders. Little did he know, he was basically thinking of putting his enemy in charge of their most vulnerable moment.
"It'd be better if they didn't reek like cats," Inuyasha grumbled, playing right into Hyokurai's plot. The more he let it known that he didn't like her simply on race, the less the others would listen to his complaints.
"You don't exactly smell of roses yourself," she goaded back. "Have you ever tried soap, or even just water; I'm sure it would help with the flea problem."
"Why you, I'll kill you for that," Inuyasha growled, reaching for Tessaiga.
"Inuyasha, Sit!" Kagome stopped him from attacking. She let out a sigh at the tension. He started it anyways.
"It would be wise not to cast insults if you cannot handle then in return," Miroku advised as he stepped around the shallow hole.
"A female demon that could control the wind?" Miorku repeated what a terrified priest had told him. They found the man at a decimated shrine and promptly inquired about the lingering scent of Naraku.
"That sounds like Kagura," Sango supplied, speaking aloud what all of them were thinking.
"Kagura?" Hyokurai feigned ignorance. He knew far more about her than any of them, obviously, and even in this form could summon her heart to his hand in an instant. From the sound of things, she had done as commanded, for once. By having his new "friends" confront her, it would cement that Kagura knew not of Hyokurai, for he had not given her knowledge of his ultimate goal, and visa-versa.
"Naraku's incarnation," Kagome answered the question.
"Shouldn't you already know that?" Inuyasha said, his voice slightly accusatory. She had dealings with Naraku, or so she claimed; shouldn't she know who Kagura was?
Hyokurai shrugged noncommittally, not bothering to answer any more than that. He was the master of deceit, but had to be aware of the dog's sense of smell; Inuyasha should be able to smell a lie.
"She attacked the temple and broke the seal on a fearsome demon that was sealed there," the priest continued his story.
"A demon? What can you tell us about this demon?" Miroku led the investigation into finding out what Naraku wanted here.
"It is a fearsome beast, standing three houses tall with frightening red eyes and wings that looked to be made from the darkness itself. Luckily, no one was injured and the demon took flight to the forest," the priest made a gesture of praise to his deity, grateful for his life being spared.
"Do you think Naraku intends to absorb this demon?" Kagome spoke up.
"Probably, why else would Kagura release the seal?" Sango concurred.
'Hook, line, and sinker,' he had no use for such a weakling, but he would let them think whatever they wanted. Really, he just wanted to see them in battle, hear their strategy, and discern weaknesses.
"Let's go," Inuyasha ordered, "before Naraku gets it."
"Damn it," Kagura cursed to herself. The demon was not supposed to get away, but she was barely keeping up with it. Naraku had made sure she understood that she was to remain with it, not to kill it, but protect it. Such a strange command, but the phantom pain in her chest from the memory erased all thought of disobeying his orders. She assumed that Naraku intended to make it into some kind of slave, but apparently, the demon had other ideas. How infuriating it was then, when that annoying band that hunted her hated master interrupted her task.
"Kagura, what the hell is Naraku up to now?" Inuyasha barked after throwing a clawed attack her way.
"Like I know," she scoffed back with just as much attitude, "he doesn't seem to trust me all that much." Oh how badly she wanted to tell them exactly where his castle hid, lead them there herself so they could free her, but would not risk her life to do so. She could only drop subtle hints about how she wasn't loyal to him, and hope the imbeciles caught on. If they ever thought to ask themselves why he didn't trust his own incarnation, they'd figure that out already. Kagura was forced to stop her pursuit of the demon, cursing again as it slipped away; Naraku would surely punish her for the failure. "You have no idea what you have done."
"Keh, like I care if I ruined his plans," Inuyasha had set his miko cargo down and pulled out his sword to fight.
"So be it," Kagura clicked her fan open. "If you so insist, I'll make sure you suffer." 'Just like I surely will,' she added. She sliced her wind blades and prevented Inuyasha control over his wind. Without his sword's special abilities, he was no better than a child blindly trying to hit a piñata. His companions tried to get a shot in when possible, but Hiraikotsu was all but useless when the wind it relied on could be gusted unnaturally, and the Siamyosho buzzing around kept Miroku's wind tunnel closed. Kagome tried to strike with a sacred arrow, but her aim went askew from the lack of a stationary target.
That left Hyokurai. Each person had been so consumed with getting their own hit in the battle, they barely noticed that he was not much participating, only dashing around and throwing half-assed claw attacks at Kagura that he knew would miss. Even so, he knew Kagura would not win, he had sent her after them any number of occasions, and each time they managed to take her down. Aaand there it was, one of Inuyasha's blades of blood halved her feather and grounded the demoness. Not about to let the battle end yet, Naraku decided to add a new element to the fight. The sky clouded over, a dark purple as a horde of demons gathered over the battle only to swarm down and cause chaos and fear.
It was in this mad scramble for survival that the wounds began appearing on his new "comrades." They didn't even seem to have a battle plan. With a sigh, he realized that if he were the only one to emerge unscathed, it would look suspicious; he would have to sustain at least a flesh wound and not heal it, 'How bothersome.' How, again, was it that these fools hindered his plans so? Making his move swiftly, Hyokurai dashed square in to the densest part of the horde, making a display of shredding the mass of bodies that were coming for the other members and allowing one to slice into his leg with a garishly hooked claw. Feigning more pain than it actually caused, namely because his body was all but numb and even being disemboweled was not enough to cause the slightest twinge, he retreated back a short ways, standing beside the monk.
"Are you alright, Lady Hyokurai?" Miroku checked up on their newest ally. He watched as many demons fell to her claws only moments ago, as well as the blood now seeping from her long, slender, tempting legs.
"I am fin-" Hyokurai's response, and Miroku's wandering hand, were interrupted when a shrill scream beckoned their attention. Not fifty feet away, the young kit had been struck, blood now oozing from his shoulder.
"No, Shippo!" the priestess called, suddenly gaining more strength than Naraku had ever seen her display. Any demon that got within five yards of her was instantly dissolved in her harsh aura. Yet strangely, as she lifted the kit to cradle him in her arms, he remained unharmed. If anything, the blood seemed to clot faster and the wound mend together, leaving both of them weakened. Kagome's aura had more effects than just that; her companions became enlivened by the surge and fought many times harder, quickly finishing off the last of the demons and pushing Kagura to flee in defeat. Even he felt suddenly stronger. Now more than ever, he knew she was their secret strength, and simultaneously, their weakness.
Walking across the blood-soaked battlefield to where everyone was fussing over the fatigued girl still clutching the small fox, both recovering slowly, he had one last question, "Why bring a child with you into battle?"
Kagome's fierce eyes met the vibrant blue of Hyokurai's, hiding the scarlet red of Naraku behind their veil, "He's my son; I could never leave him behind." He only nodded; there was no reason to let on what his thoughts on the matter really were. The fox would make the perfect hostage; young, defenseless, and obviously, valuable to these fools; just one more piece of leverage to exploit.
(A/N: So this chapter shows Naraku's dark intentions have not changed, and his focus has been drawn to the heart of the group, in more ways than one.
Next chapter brings Kouga into the mix.)
