Kage Houseki no Himitsu

-Chapter 6-

Inuyasha's forest, Feudal Japan

"Who's Naraku?" I asked, holding tightly onto Sango as Kirara bounded through the foliage of the forest. Kirara was certainly an interesting creature; I'd fawned over her adorable two-tailed cat form, but had been petrified with fear when she'd transformed into her enormous, sabre-toothed form.

"He's a demon," Sango replied shortly. "He's messed around with all of us at least once."

"Messed around with?"

Sango didn't reply; maybe she hadn't heard me.

Now, why, I bet you're wondering, did they allow me to come with them on what was probably going to be a dangerous encounter? Simple. I'd badgered and whined and complained until even Inuyasha had been willing to let me go. Just as long as I stayed out of his way, he'd said. I planned to do just that.

"How far away is Naraku, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked; she was riding on the boy's back. I got the feeling that they were a lot closer than they first let on.

"Not far," Inuyasha replied. "He's hiding in that Onigumo guy's cave."

"I wonder why he'd go back there?" Miroku wondered. He was running on the other side of Kirara; I had no idea how the man was able to move his legs fast enough to keep up with us.

"Maybe he's just toying with us again," Shippou said angrily from behind me. "It'd sure be like him, dontcha think?"

Nobody replied; the rest of the ride was silent and uneventful. Soon we had run from under the cover of the forest onto a grassy, hilly plain. We soon came to a tiny crevice in a hill, a gap between two enormous, half-buried boulders.

"What's that?" I asked, shivering. I was referring to the strange chill I felt enveloping my body; it gave me the creeps. That and the feeling of being closely watched.

Miroku looked at me with surprise. "You can feel that?"

"It's a demonic aura," Sango told me. "It means a powerful demon is nearby. It's not a very pleasant feeling."

"Agreed," I said miserably.

"Everyone shut up," Inuyasha barked. We did so; he drew his sword. I gasped as the blade glowed brightly, and a sword much wider and thicker than its sheath had appeared to be was drawn out.

"That's Tetsusaiga," Kagome whispered to me. "Inuyasha's sword, I mean. It's made from the fang of a very powerful demon, and has great powers."

"Ah," I breathed back, awed by the display of magicalness.

"Stay back, blue girl," Inuyasha instructed. I assumed he was talking to me.

As he finished speaking, the strangest thing I'd ever seen in my entire life stepped out of the darkness of the cave.

It was a man wearing a monkey suit.

I burst out laughing.

"A-Aoi?" Kagome asked in surprise. I doubled over, my eyes watering.

"That… that…" I gasped, trying to suppress my laughter but failing. "That's… the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen in my life!"

I could feel the stares of everyone, even the 'monkey man', as my laughter slowly fizzled out. I could tell that this was not the reaction expected for my first encounter with this Naraku, so I sheepishly shuffled my feet once my laughing fit was over. "Er… go on."

There was a silence for a prolonged moment, then Naraku chuckled. "An interesting girl you have travelling with you, eh, Inuyasha?"

"She just called you 'ridiculous,' idiot!" Inuyasha snapped.

"Well, she doesn't know who I am quite yet, does she." It was not a question, but a statement. "No matter; that girl is, indeed, very interesting. I'd like to get to know her better sometime. Sometime soon…"

Hokay. This guy gave me the creeps. I was starting to regret laughing at his outfit, stupid as it was.

"Like hell you will!" Inuyasha snarled; he braced Tetsusaiga. "You won't get the chance to catch up with her again! This ends here!"

"Ah… poor, naïve boy." Naraku chuckled again. "You can destroy my dancing doll, but the puppeteer lies elsewhere, above the centre stage…"

"You bastard!" Inuyasha roared; he ran at Naraku, and swung his sword with all his might at the man.

Suddenly, Naraku was gone.

"I think I'll take the liberty of speaking with this girl now," Naraku's cool voice came from right behind me. I shrieked, and spun around.

Naraku's body had changed shape; he was now sprouting tentacles, extra arms, legs, and other things in replacement of his lower body. His torso, arms and head remained unchanged.

"Stay away from her!" Kagome yelled; a flash of purple light shot at Naraku – an arrow? The projectile rebounded off some kind of invisible wall before it could hit the man, flying off into the sky and disappearing from view.

"He has a barrier!" Sango shouted, stepping protectively in front of me with her hand on the giant boomerang she always carried; I had no idea when she'd changed, but she now wore a full-length, black-and-pink body suit. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail.

"I'll take care of him," Miroku said, also stepping in front of me. His hand was on the string of beads that wound around his left wrist.

"Now, now, Monk-san; we'll have none of that," Naraku said icily. He grinned as a swarm of huge, wasp-like insects with yellow-and-purple bodies swarmed around him. Miroku made a sound of dissatisfaction – "Che!" – and re-wound the beads around his wrist.

"FOX-FIRE!"

Blue flames erupted from behind me, and enveloped Naraku's writhing body. The man grinned even wider, and dispelled the fire with a few flicks of his new limbs. An illusion?

"Outta the way!" Inuyasha shouted; the others dashed in opposite directions, clearing a wide path for him. Miroku grabbed my arm and dragged me along behind him.

"Eat this, disgusting bastard!" Inuyasha roared; he raised Tetsusaiga. "WINDSCAR!"

I shrieked as three extremely bright flashes of light erupted from the sword's length – they sliced through the land, moving incredibly fast, toward the form of Naraku, who now looked minuscule in comparison to the enormous attack. I squeezed my eyes shut as the lights connected with Naraku's body, but not fast enough to see it slice into his flesh, slashing and ripping him to pieces.

"Do you honestly think that old trick will work on the likes of me?"

My eyes popped open; he was still alive?!

From the looks of it, Naraku had barely sustained a scratch. Yet I knew I'd seen the lights make contact with him – what was going on here?

The others knew that they were going to lose; it seemed that Tetsusaiga had been their trump card. I could tell they thought this way because of the desperate faces, and the way they all started edging back slightly.

They were going to lose.

As if I'd let that happen.