Chapter 3: Friends and Enemies
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Kagome found her bed and slumped into a hunched sitting position, her forehead cradled in the palms of her hands. She hadn't said anything to Naraku after he revealed his message.
And he could see the pained expression on herself that looked like a portrait of disappointment and self-targeted frustration painted with a fine brush. He huffed.
"I take it you do not know what this message means." He crossed his arms, feeling as though his awakened state was somewhat wasted on some silly message. It was clear that it hadn't triggered any sort of positive reaction, and that the 'he' in which the message refers to is still unknown.
Kagome lifted her head from her hands, still seeming somewhat upset, "You know, I should be happy. Even if I don't know the who, at least I know that there is a who out there." She shook her head, "And yet, I feel as though I'm one step back from where I was... I was used to isolation and hopelessness, and now I have hope for answers that are right out of reach..."
"Well, I don't even know who implanted this cursedly vague message in my head, so don't get your hopes up. It could be nothing. It could be something. But it seems there is nothing that you can do right now to find out." He mumbled in the same gruffy tone. Pessimistic lines were etched above his furrowed brows.
"What do you mean nothing? I can go looking! I can investigate!" She protested, detesting his theory that all she had to do was sit still and wait for whoever it was to find her. What if he's not even looking for her? Then it could take years before they bump into each other.
Naraku growled, "Idiot, there is a whole world of possibilities and you think you can investigate? I was sent to deliver you this, it'd be wise to wait for fate to give you the next clue when it sees fit."
With that, the black haired man turned to leave, his movements fluid and sure. He didn't even look back at the woman as he passed through the doorway, satisfied with his message deliverance, but not feeling inclined to remain there any longer to aid in her thoughtful investigation. And the farther the demon strayed, the wider her eyes became.
"Hey! W-Where are you going?" Kagome scrambled off of her bed and rushed over to the doorway to see him already half-way down the stairs. He didn't respond, though, but rather gracefully continued descending at a fixed pace. She watched him with stillness for a bit, trying to figure out why he was leaving just as suddenly as he came.
But when she couldn't figure it out and he disappeared from view in his trek to the back door, she quickly rushed down the stairs to catch up, still wholesomely confused.
"Naraku? Naraku, where are you going?" She asked again, this time not stopping in her tracks. He had made it a few steps out of the house before she grabbed onto his shoulders. He flinched but remained stoic in his expression.
She growled, "Hey! I'm not gonna let you ignore me, you got that? Where are you going?"
This time, he reacted, turning calmly though it was clear that he was a bit irritated, "I'm going to the well to see if I can die again and get back to my eternal peace."
"You're gonna try to kill yourself?" She questioned, appalled at the response.
He shrugged, "Well, I guess I'm not opposed to it."
"You're supposed to help me!" She protested, putting both hands on her hips and leaning forward in anger. She squared her at at him, feeling partly betrayed that he would show up and just leave.
"I'm not supposed to do anything. Now, quit annoying me so I can rest." He tried to turn back towards the shrine, his lips twisted into a frown now, but was stopped by the priestess who grabbed his wrist and pulled.
"You're not going anywhere! Even if I have to drag you, you're helping me." She pulled hard, preventing him from turning his back to her, "I've been through hell here alone, so your eternal peace can wait a bit."
"Kagome, I may not be the monster I was, but I will rip that tongue out of your mouth if that's what it gets for you to shut up." Using the arm she was latched to, he shoved her to the ground and kept moving, now at a quicker pace, to the well.
She fell in a sitting position, a bit shocked that he did that, but not phased by it. She quickly jumped to her feet in pursuit of him again.
"I thought you wanted to make amends!" She shouted, hands balled into trembling fists.
"I did by saving your shitty life. Though I can't say I don't regret it now." He grumbled, feet dragging along until he met the well doors and pushed them open. A wave of relief washed over him as he saw the well, knowing that it was the vessel of the Shikon's dormant powers. And knowing that it was his place of rest.
Although, his contentment didn't last long as he surveyed the room a bit. What he saw quickly caused him to lift an eyebrow, and remain still in his place.
"Naraku! You can't just leave-" Kagome barged in and stopped when she realized the spider demon was heavily concentrated on something in the room. She maneuvered around him and stood at his side, quickly following his gaze and finding a small, decorative jewelry box placed against the well.
"D-Did you put that there?" She cautiously asked, not recognizing the small box from her late grandfather's collection.
Neither removed their gaze from the box.
"No, I'm afraid not." He replied, in a toneless voice.
The box was gold with an eye engraved into the center of the lid, as well as a engraved wave border around the lid and up and down the corners of the box. It was quite pretty in its simplicity, although still creepy.
Kagome took the first step forward towards the mysterious object, moving slow at first but gaining speed. Naraku raised his hand in protest.
"Kagome, you don't just walk up to mysteriously placed objects you stupid-!" Naraku was quickly quieted by her dominating shush. In truth, the priestess was not concerned with the dangers. If Naraku's message was true, it meant that someone or something put the message in his head in the first place. And that same being must have also placed the box on the ground.
She knelt down on one knee in front of the box and completed one last visual analysis, her breathing steady but each beat intense. She blinked, looking for any detail she may have missed. Any answers she could find before even touching the object.
But she found nothing of the sort. Just vague designs on a gold box sitting on the ground.
So, she picked it up, feeling it on the skin of her palms more, becoming more attuned with her senses and still looking for some sort of hidden clues.
"Kagome, be smart. Be cautious." He warned again, steadily watching her movements.
"I'm not an idiot. Stop being so scared and shaky about this!" She turned back towards him, shooting him a look of defiance, "There is literally nothing else we can do but open this."
And he knew she was right. There was not a middle option between opening it and leaving it alone. And if some otherworldly being put it there, it was clear that they wanted to communicate something to them. Ignoring it would not mean being left alone. This mysterious entity would not giving up.
Kagome stood back up and walked back towards her former enemy, box in hand, and faced him. The golden object was sitting in the palm of her hand, while the other hand rested on the lid.
"Here goes nothing." She murmured.
And she lifted the lid off of the box, her eyes squinted for fear of what she might find inside.
But there was nothing but a small, rolled up scroll peacefully resting inside. No tricks. No monsters. No black smoke. Just a scroll.
"Look Naraku!" Kagome quickly handed the box over to him while pulling out the scroll, "This must be another hint!"
He groaned in annoyance, though he was partly relieved that there was nothing malicious hiding inside. Still, he wasn't interest in this mystery and desired the peace and tranquility he had in his death.
Kagome took a peek up at him while she unrolled the paper, ready to read its contents and begin solving the riddle of who Naraku's message was referring to. In fact, she was hoping that she would find the answers to everything.
She peered down to find cursive handwriting scribbled across the discolored page.
"Jump to the Mother City." She raised an eyebrow at the note.
"What the hell does that mean? What's the hell is the Mother City?" Naraku growled, irritated with the lack of direct answers and clear communication. But Kagome just shook her head.
"I...have no idea..." She sighed and looked up to him, "But we're going to find out."
Anyone wanna guess what the riddle means?
I have big plans for this fic so please comment and let me know what you think so far! I can't wait to write the next one so review, review, review! I take all comments into consideration to write the best chapters I can!
Hope you enjoyed this!
