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.
Chapter 4: Origins
(A/N: This story is intended to be no longer than about 10 chapters, so things will progress faster than my usual. Keep that in mind.)
"Explain," Hyokurai looked on, baffled as Kagome sat on the edge of an old, dried up well, talking about how she was going home now. Kouga's men had finally caught up a few hours ago and the wolves had gone off to hunt when Kagome told them she was leaving for a few days, and that only Inuyasha could accompany her anyways.
"Oh, right," she remembered their newest member had no knowledge of her origins, "This well is a-"
"You don't need to go telling everyone you meet, Kagome," Inuyasha berated her trusting attitude.
"I'm not," she defended, "but I can trust our friends, can't I?" She knew what his rebuttal was, that he didn't see "that cat" as a friend, but she did, and it was her secret to tell. "The well is a portal of sorts; it connects to my home on the other side."
"Kagome's world is a lot different than it is here," Shippo piped up proudly with the knowledge he'd gained over the time traveling with them.
"That's right, Shippo," she agreed. "That's because much can change in 500 years."
"What!" Hyokurai outburst. Time travel; that was her answer? Impossible. Out of all the demons of the land, none, not even the most powerful, not even those that had consumed celestial beings, could travel through time. Stop it, yes, but not travel. How could this one human girl manage such a feat?
"I know it's kind of hard to believe," Kagome admitted. "No one in my era would believe it either; I'd be locked up in the psych ward for the stories I could tell. If it wasn't for the centipede demon dragging me down a magical well and ripping a long-lost sacred jewel out of my body, I'd never have come here."
"You have trained for far worse then; what you find here is mild in comparison?" Hyokurai guessed. Demons in five-hundred years must be even more powerful than now. Her constant training and fighting for survival must be why she has so much power.
Kagome laughed, a mirthful sound before correcting the assumption, "No. I had never even picked up a bow until after I came here. The only "training" I had was my education. Look, I promise I'll tell you more once I get back, but I really need to get to school." Hyokurai nodded and Kagome slipped off the edge. The blue light engulfed her and she was gone. Well, now he knew her secret, but what to do with it? With everyone standing around, now was not the time to sate his curiosity as to whether or not he, too, could pass. Jumping in now would seem far too suspicious.
In the time she was gone, he picked up more details from the others. Her family resided on the other side. He could threaten her home, her family; destroying them would surely break her. But could he get to them? She returned every other week or so like this, in order to continue her studies. During these absences, her friends would be weaker, vulnerable without the heart that holds them together. It would be a prime time to strike. Inuyasha did not like it when she left and complained the whole time. Perhaps Hyokurai could use that to drive a wedge between them. So many possibilities.
Naraku tried once, in the middle of the night to slip through and see for himself what lay beyond, but the well remained dormant, preventing him passage. There went the possibility of harming her family, it seemed they were forever be beyond his reach. No, not forever, only for 500 years; he could wait, and kill them later. It wasn't until she returned and regaled him with tales of the how there were no demons in her time, that they were thought to be nothing but myths and legends, that his plans to kill them crashed completely. There was no point in dwelling on something so distant.
He was really starting to wonder how she could be so strong though, if there had not even been demons to fight there to build her strength. It must be the power of the sacred jewel that had been inside her body since birth. He knew first hand how much power the jewel gave, even without making a wish on it; a single shard could more than double a demon's strength. He never thought it worked on pure beings through, but she was apparently an exception. He would need to be mindful of her powers; they may even be stronger than that of Kikyo's.
Kouga and Inuyasha, after halfway civilly exchanging information on where Naraku's castle wasn't, Inuyasha suggested a controversial idea, "Maybe we should look for Kikyo." Everyone who knew that name, and what it would mean to Kagome stopped in their tracks. "Naraku kidnapped her once before, so she should know where his castle is." His logic, for once, was sound, but his ignorance just as dense as usual.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Kagome countered, trying to keep this objective. "She tried to bring you to hell and stole the jewel from us only to give it to Naraku herself. We can't trust her; she might lead us into a trap."
Hearing the words spoken against his love, Inuyasha lost his temper first, "You're just jealous, Kagome."
"No, Inuyasha, its not like tha-"
"I have a promise to keep to her," he reminded, making tears prick at the corner of Kagome's eyes. She knew what that meant; she had heard that conversation. He promised that after this jewel hunt was over, and Kikyo's death avenged, he would be with her, in this world, or in hell…
"… I know," she barely got out, hanging her head in utter defeat. She was just worried about him; she wasn't trying to keep them apart. She wanted him happy, even if it wasn't with her.
"I understand your reasoning, Inuyasha," Miroku explained, already knowing how to deflate the situation, "but where do you suggest we search?" Kikyo was just as elusive as Naraku; she showed when she wanted, and vanished like mist.
"I-" his ears flattened, "don't know." He had forgotten that. Having met with her multiple times, it escaped his mind that it was always when she called, or rested nearby, not when he specifically sought her out. He had no way to find her.
Seeing first hand the agony his plots wreaked was very pleasing to Naraku, but Inuyasha's guilt was not the valuable information he gleaned from this exchange. He already knew that. It was Kagome's heart; she wore her emotions so freely. The usual light-hearted feeling from her presence, the aura that constantly surrounded her, had turned dreary. It affected each of them, souring moods and increasing the minor arguments. He grinned inside as his thoughts darkened as well. If something as simple as her mood could influence everyone around her, then all he had to do was corrupt her and the rest would crumble. He just needed the right angle. Her love for Inuyasha was one crack in her defenses, but it was not enough to get him inside. He needed to get closer to her. Trying to take Kagome out first, however, was like trying to besiege a heavily guarded vault before dealing with the guards. They gave her strength to resist suggestions. He needed to find their weaknesses before he could get to her.
Coming upon a village, the wolves stuck to the surrounding forests so as not to terrify the villagers, and the rest followed Miroku's lead to find lodgings. Once an agreement to slay a troublesome demon was concluded and rooms secured for the night, he went running off to indulge in his favorite pastime with a ridiculous grin on his face: flirting with all the beautiful women.
Hyokurai sat on the roof of the most affluent house they had agreed to stay at, just watching everything. Inuyasha wanted to go run off after Kikyo, did he? That could be arranged, all he had to do was spread a few rumors, and he'd be taking off in no time. Of course, he wouldn't actually be sending him towards Kikyo. She was one of the few that might be able to see through his concealment, and should thus be avoided.
"A handsome husband you say?" a young girl giggled as Miroku read her palm. The lecher worked fast, he already had a long line of women waiting their turn to get their fortunes read.
"Yes, and many children too," Miroku added. "Tell me, would you consider bearing my children?"
"Oh monk, surely you jest," the two laughed together before the next woman approached and got much the same fortune, with just a slightly different wording. This went on for a while, each woman blushing and politely rejecting the offer, before Hyokurai started to wonder what the supposedly holy man would do if one accepted. Telepathically, he sent instructions to Kanna to select one of the women, steal her soul, and have Kagura control her to do just that.
Waiting for the show to begin, he heard the voice of the slayer call out to Inuyasha within the courtyard of the inn, "Where has Miroku gone?"
"He's probably out flirting with the village women," the hanyou muttered as he lounged on the porch. The slayer went stopping off and the controlled woman approached Miroku, just as the others had. He could have controlled one himself, but the demonic aura would have been a dead give-away. This method held less chance of being detected.
"So, tell me, would you be interested in bearing my children?" Miroku asked once again after his flirtatious fortune telling, fully prepared for the young maiden to blush and giggle shyly like all the rest.
"Oh monk," she grabbed onto his sleeve, "I was waiting for you to ask me. Let us go, quickly. I have a room for us to use." Sango arrived in time to hear every word and grit her teeth in unbridled rage as the dance-of-the-dead woman led him off. Sango hadn't even seemed to notice that he was now resisting, trying to backpedal his way out of it. The woman ushered him out of sight and the slayer stormed off in the other direction, not at all paying attention to where she was going.
A few moments later, Miroku came running back out as if to escape. This girl was far too pushy, and he never really meant to do anything, he just wanted to flirt. "Good thing nobody saw that," he muttered to himself, unaware that someone had.
Having got what he was after with this experiment, Hyokurai ordered the woman's soul returned and retired to the inn to turn in for the night, 'How amusing.'
As they all sat together for dinner, the fury rolling off Sango had the usually calm monk too scared to even look at her, let alone reach for her backside.
"What happened now?" Inuyasha asked with a mouthful of food. "Did the pervert grab Sango's butt again or something?" It was a question most of them had been wondering, but were too tactful to ask outright.
"Like I care what he does with other women!" Sango snapped and stood abruptly, making Inuyasha hide behind Kagome and Miroku fall over backwards.
'So, she did see,' Miroku realized morosely.
'That wasn't what I asked,' Inuyasha whimpered in his mind.
"Hmph," the angry slayer turned her nose up and nearly threw the door off its tracks as she wrenched it open.
"She's scary," Shippo shivered. The only one not phased beyond a raised eyebrow was Hyokurai, who not only knew what happened, but had set it up himself. It was useful to know the monk's weakness was beautiful women, and the slayer's weakness was the monk. They could so easily destroy each other.
"What did you do now, Miroku?" Kagome stomped over, already having a pretty good idea from Sango's outburst just what happened. "You were womanizing again, weren't you?"
"What's the big deal?" Inuyasha had already gone back to stuffing his face. "It's not like Sango is his."
"Ugh," Kagome restrained the urge to send him through the floor.
"You're beyond dense, Inuyasha," Shippo remarked, making sure he got his share of the food before Inuyasha ate it all. And he would too; taking things that didn't belong to him.
"Honestly," Miroku raised his hands, "I was only giving out fortunes, nothing more. A free, charitable, and altruistic service."
'Yeah, sure,' thought those who knew him better.
Rising silently, not even noticed by the bickering people inside the inn, Hyokurai slipped out and followed the Slayer. He wanted to see what she would do now, and was pleased to see her attempt to take on the conscripted demon by herself, resulting in careless and irrational movements. A wound on her arm bled and her knees trembled from the impending exhaustions before the others showed up and charged in. The monk put his person in danger first, running right into an attack to shield the wounded female. It was obvious he cared for her deeply. Their feelings would be the perfect tool to crush their souls. The battle continued, and Hyokurai figured this was time enough to at least fake assistance, lest they no longer consider her an ally. She could easily take out this demon in a single strike, but it was fast enough to evade the Windscar, causing them a bit of trouble. When the bestial demon raised a clawed paw to strike at the clustered group, Hyokurai landed heavily on its back with a flourish, knocking it to the ground and making it an easy target for Kagome to hit with a sacred arrow. The pained howl reverberated as the creature evaporated into ash.
"Wow," Kagome praised. "Thank you, Hyokurai. That saved us." He wasn't sure how to take that, he'd never really been shown gratitude before, nor had he ever saved anyone. A nod was the only response. Kagome's aura was bright again, but this time, it was calming and healing. Just as when the kit had been injured, he watched as minor wounds clotted up and almost knit themselves together before his sharp eyes. She was remarkable, and he doubted she even realized what she was doing.
"Hey, how come you didn't shoot it earlier?" Inuyasha complained, holding his dislocated arm.
"Inuyasha," Kagome breathed after a sharp wince. If he wasn't already injured, she would so sit him right now. Was nothing ever good enough for him? He couldn't hit the thing either.
Inuyasha's callous disregard for her power actually got a reaction out of Hyokurai, as much as she kept her expression blank, but now she looked cross. The whelp should be kissing the ground she walked on; did he not realize how much strength she gave him? Something in him was close to snapping, something that wanted to teach the dog a lesson for lashing out at girl who just obliterated the demon, that was until he realized where his thoughts were going. Why did he suddenly care? He was supposed to be finding ways to kill them, not protect her. It must be her aura; there was no other logical reason. Turning and leaving her radius, he distanced himself before he found himself enjoying the feel of her power against his skin.
Naraku was still trying to make sense of his reactions late into the night as he wandered around the village and forest beyond, anything to stay away from her. The moon has risen several hours ago; Kagome was sure to be asleep by now. Heading back, his thoughts of destruction slowly began evaporating without notice, and the voices in his head got quieter with every step. Turning the corner, he caught the reason why. Sitting out on the edge of the porch, the one emanating a soothing aura stared up at the vibrant, star-filled sky in awe. She was not asleep, why?
So much had happened today. Sango and Miroku were fighting again, probably over his womanizing, and the demon had hurt many of them, wounds that needed to be healed as soon as possible. So she did what she had done on many occasions and stayed awake to make sure that everything would be better for her friends come tomorrow. Those eyes were on her again, intense and inquisitive, but she could feel something else; something dark, dangerous, and… lonely. Unable to stand being watched in silence, she let her words flow easily, "You're staring at me again." Kagome patted the wood beside her in invitation.
Snapped out of his thoughts, Hyokurai paused before responding, "You are an intriguing person." In his normal form, he would never engage in conversation so easily, he couldn't allow anyone in, but no one knew who he was in this form, he could be himself, as long as he was careful about what was said.
"I doubt that," she slumped, her gaze turning to the dull dirt beneath her feet rather than the remarkably expansive sky. "Inuyasha doesn't think so…"
"Inuyasha is a fool that does not appreciate nor realize all that you do," she responded, taking a seat as indicated. Sure, Kagome's aura affected his mind as well, but unlike those others, he had identified it for what it was, rather than blindly following her suggestions; he was not blind to her. "He uses you to get the shards; he wants the jewel just like every other demon." A whimper slipped out at the truth of it. "Tell me, what is it he wishes for?"
She swallowed hard to keep her voice from cracking, "To be a full-demon."
"So he's after power," Hyokurai stated, unimpressed.
"No," Kagome defended, shaking her head, "he just wants to be accepted."
There was a pause, "You accept him." Kagome gasped, it was true. Inuyasha already had his wish, why did he need more. "Yet he can't see that, can he?" The words, meant to be bitter and break the girl, came out softer than intended. "He can't see you for who you are." 'Inuyasha will never love you,' the meaning didn't need to be spoken aloud.
Kagome did not cling to the intended meaning, however, she extrapolated further, 'Someday, someone else will see me like Hyokurai does.' By saying Inuyasha couldn't see her, it meant that Hyokurai could. A smile covered her lips and she leapt at her newest friend, the one who could really see her, and enclosed her in a hug of gratitude, "Thank you." Hyokurai's words had meant more than she realized.
Naraku, Hyokurai, the most hated and feared demon of the lands, downright froze at the contact, completely thrown off-guard. Even after Kagome had returned to her room, he still sat there, his mind blank. What… just… happened? Had his words lost their bite; she was supposed to break, not find clarity. What went wrong? It must have been her aura; it altered him. Yes, she was truly dangerous, and this game he was playing, had just become many times more perilous. 'Perfect.' This could be entertaining.
(A/N: Next chapter is Sesshomaru, and it wasn't an easy one to get through, I'll tell you what. But it was essential, and I finally completed it. This story is still coming slowly to me, so please review/critique/suggest to help ME, write for YOU.)