Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha
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Chapter 14
Plans
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A shrill scream tore the air in two – a scream that was far from human. All the mortals near enough to hear the cries and feel the trembling of the earth sank lower in their hiding places, praying to their god that whatever nightmare stalked the dark would pass them by. But while the nightmare may pass by them that night, they wouldn't escape for long. Not if he wasn't stopped.
Naraku drew out the limb that was buried deep in the gut of the other youkai. His red eyes gleamed with satisfaction at the sound of his opponent's dying moans, and he spared the mutilated body a tight smirk as he stepped away. Usually he sent a minion to deal with nuisances like this, but ... this time, he wanted to do it himself.
The hanyou glanced down at his hand, uncurling his fingers to reveal the ebony jewel shard lying on his palm. Almost reverently, he pulled out the rest of the jewel and pressed the two together. And there, lying in his hand, was the whole Sacred Jewel ... minus three shards, of course. A pain, but hardly a problem. It wasn't as if he didn't know where the remaining three were.
The wolf, and the boy. A pity I didn't think to remove the wolf's shards during the ambush ... but no matter. They will be as eager to find me as I am to find them. The only decision now is how to proceed ...
Naraku walked away from the corpse, oblivious to the blood staining the ground he walked over. It hadn't been much of a fight – he had the power of the majority of the jewel to draw on, after all. The other youkai hadn't been much more than an animal with the madness the jewel had caused.
Separating them is an option ... or I could use the boy ... or the miko ... Hmm. So many choices ...
Kagura ducked her head as her master walked past, flinching almost unconsciously. She still felt a phantom pain from where the bruises had healed. Naraku hadn't been happy that Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Kouga had gotten past her so easily on their way to rescue the miko. She'd gotten off relatively lightly – the hanyou had been too preoccupied with getting the jewel shard. But that look in his eyes now ... he was planning something horrific. She had no doubts that he had some elaborate, vicious scheme in mind to retrieve the remaining jewel shards.
The wind witch clenched her jaw, tightening her hands into fists. He can't be allowed to get those shards. If he completes the jewel ... I'll never be free. But how can I do anything? She could see the power radiating from him, having only increased with the addition of another shard. The jewel was almost whole, and so powerful ...
Can the miko's group possibly stop him now?
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In a flurry of motion, Sesshomaru had pulled her towards him and pressed a hard kiss to her lips. He was drinking her in, showing her a little of the desire he controlled so tightly – a little of the mad heat of the beast inside, that wanted her so. He pulled back enough to breathe his reply in her ear. The deep rumbling in his voice made her aware of how close the edge of his control was.
"Silly girl. Can't you see what you do to me?"
Kagome's breath caught in her throat at his words. She could never have predicted something like this happening, let alone with Sesshomaru. There was a side of him that she was discovering, and it was breathtaking. It was uncontrollable, unpredictable, and completely spellbinding.
She reached out her hand, running it along his cheek and trying again to take in the feeling of having him stare at her just like that. There was so much feeling swimming below the surface between them, so much unsaid and unexpected. Neither of them had asked for this. Neither of them had expected this. But there was no changing it, no turning back.
Kagome hesitated a moment, biting her lip, before she leaned forward slowly. She paused, her lips a breath from his, meeting his eyes almost fearfully. There was such an untouchable quality to him – something so aloof and proud. When he kissed her, it seemed like there was a momentary chink in that perception. But ... Some part of her couldn't imagine why he would want her. She was human, and this ... this was everything that he despised. He'd hated his father for what they were about to do. How was this any different? Would he hate her for this?
Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand laid over hers. She looked up, and Sesshomaru's eyes seemed to warm to a deeper shade of gold as he slid his hand up her arm, burying his claws in her hair. There, in his eyes, was the answer. The acceptance.
So she closed the distance between them, letting herself accept that it was his comfort she needed – his touch. He was the one she wanted. And she ... it seemed like she was the one he wanted as well.
"What about what you do to me?" she asked, her question a soft gasp as he brushed his lips over her skin.
She could feel it when his mouth curved in a smile. Her hands tightened around his neck when he lavished his attention on the curves above her heart. He leaned over her, forcing her slowly back until she was lying on the fur of his pelt. She looked up at him, eyes glazed with the feelings running through her that lined her skin with fire. And there, on his lips, was the smile she'd felt.
"What I have done to you?" he asked with a lazy smirk. Sesshomaru leaned closer, until there was only a breath separating them. She was mesmerised by the red bleeding into his eyes, held so tightly in check. But even more than that, she was fixated on the heat radiating from his skin. The expression in his eyes made her shudder in anticipation.
"Kagome ... I haven't even begun what I plan to do to you."
...
"Is that a promise?" she asked with a cheeky grin. And there, that spark in her eyes, was a glimpse of the girl he'd become so captivated with.
He smirked rather self-assuredly back at her. "What a strange mortal you are."
"You have no idea," the miko replied.
Her witty banter was put to a rather sudden halt when his hand ghosted over the bare skin where her shirt had ridden up on her stomach. She pulled him down into a demanding kiss, made all the more delicious by the rumble of amusement she felt from him. Her fingers slipped inside the edges of the material around his neck, teasingly scraping her nails along his skin. The youkai obviously approved, because he'd ripped off the bottom two buttons of her shirt before she could stop him with an exasperated sigh and unbutton the rest herself. The appearance of more bare skin demanded further exploration, and Sesshomaru followed the path of his hand with his lips, drawing the most interesting and pleasing sounds from his little miko.
Kagome arched her body upwards into his touch, her eyes closing with the wave of divine feelings washing through her. She reached out, bringing his hand to her lips. With half-lidded eyes, she watched him while she pressed a kiss to each finger, and then the palm and inside of the wrist, before going back and repeating the movements but replacing her soft lips with gentle nips. That action drew his mouth back up to hers, and she used his distraction to loosen his clothes further so that she could run her hands over the smooth skin of his rather deliciously defined chest.
It looked like things were going to progress further and, caught up in the moment, Kagome couldn't have said that she would have done anything to stop it. Sesshomaru, however, exerted some of his iron control to roll over, pulling the girl with him so that she was sprawled over his chest. He held her to him tightly, running his hand in soft caresses over her shoulder, waist and hip.
Kagome raised her head to look at him, but the youkai was staring straight above. She hesitated, worrying that he'd stopped because of something she'd done, but his warm expression when he finally met her eyes calmed that fear.
"Why?" she asked him quietly. That was all she could bring herself to say, but he knew she meant why stop.
He brushed her hair back from her face before returning his hand to his soothing strokes over her waist and his eyes to their upward gaze. She followed his stare, and saw only the thick canopy above them with a bare hint of stars in the rare gap.
"Not here, in this dark place." he replied softly. He shut his eyes, and she admired their magenta lining, longing to trace all the marks on his skin. The youkai sighed, drawing her attention away from his skin. "Not now, when Naraku taints your memories." He met her eyes again, and again she was hypnotised by his golden irises. Sesshomaru studied her face, his expression completely serious.
Kagome sighed, understanding his reasoning. He didn't want her memories of their moment together to be of a hasty tumble in a dark forest with Naraku's evil so nearby and so recent. It was more than amazing that he felt enough for her to restrain himself until the right time and place. It was usually girls who worried so about such things.
That didn't stop her from feeling a little frustrated. All she wanted to do was jump him!
He must have caught some of her emotions, because the inu's lips curved in an amused smile. He tilted his head so he could speak with his lips brushing her hair.
"When it is you and I, beneath open sky. Then ..." I will make you mine. He couldn't finish the words, still fighting himself.
Kagome smiled, the action lighting her face and making her even more beautiful. And then her body shuddered, and she turned to cough violently with her hand covering her mouth.
Sesshomaru sat up, holding her through the spasms. His expression turned grim as he supported the miko, but his eyes ... his eyes showed rare hints of true fear.
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"So what's the plan?" Kagome asked, breaking the silence. She seemed a bit pale, but managed to mask the worst of her condition. The miko sat close to the Taiyoukai, a proximity that was closely observed by all her friends, with Shippo on her lap.
Kouga slouched back, brushing off the question with a toss of his head. "What plan? Let the bastard come to us!"
"Keh!" Inuyasha scoffed, giving the wolf a contemptuous glare, "I'm not sitting around waiting for that fucker – I'm gonna find the piece of shit. Its time he gets what's coming to him!"
Kagome looked questioningly at the slayer and monk. "What do you think?"
Sango shrugged, uncertain. "I understand both approaches. We could fall into a trap if we try to chase after Naraku, but at the same time ... we don't know what plans he could come up with if we give him too much time to prepare."
"It is certainly a difficult choice we must make." Miroku agreed.
Kagome was just turning towards Sesshomaru, when they all felt a familiar youkai approaching. In moments, the youkai and humans were on their feet and wary. Inuyasha had his sword drawn, vicious eagerness twisting his features.
"You have a lot of guts, coming here," the hanyou snarled.
"I don't have much to lose." Kagura replied, stepping off her feather and facing the group without flinching. "Either Naraku kills me, or you do. Something tells me his methods would be a lot more painful." The wind witch gave Kagome a sideways glance, and the girl winced away from the memories those words sparked.
"I'll give you painful, you fucking bit-" Kouga growled, stepping forwards.
"Stop!" Sesshomaru interrupted him. With some grumbling, the wolf subsided under the western lord's glare and the inu turned back to Naraku's offspring. "Speak, woman." he ordered.
Kagura clenched her fists, holding in her anger at being talked to like she was such a lower being. "Despite what you think of me, we share the same goals. Naraku is planning an ambush for you." She paused for a moment, letting that knowledge sink in. "In Inuyasha's Forest. He seems to believe that you will return there."
"What?!" the hanyou snapped. The thought of that evil bastard in his forest ... where so many of his memories were ... where-
"The well!" Kagome exclaimed, and although Kagura didn't know of the miko's origins and the well's significance, it froze the others in their tracks. The girl's eyes were wide and frightened, and the witch noticed that her hand had stretched out to grip Sesshomaru's wrist. "If he destroys the well ..." I can't go back to get help for what's happening to me ... I can never go home ...
"That won't happen, Kagome." Miroku promised her. "We won't let it."
"What else?" Sesshomaru asked Kagura tersely.
"Is Naraku planning to use ... Kohaku?" Sango asked, hugging her brother tightly to her side.
Kagura shrugged. "He hasn't said as much. I think he enjoys different twists to his plots. The one in the most danger of manipulation is her."
Kagome didn't have to see it to know that the witch was pointing in her direction.
"We'll see how he gets through me first!" Inuyasha spat, followed closely by similar statements from Kouga, Miroku and Sango. Even Kohaku and Shippo nodded their support while Kirara leapt to the miko's shoulder, rubbing herself comfortingly against her cheek.
Kagome fought back tears with a vibrant smile at the love shown by her friends. The inuyoukai by her side didn't have to say anything. He didn't need to say anything. She knew.
Kagura watched their interaction with interest. So this is why Naraku has never been able to defeat Inuyasha or this group. This is why he didn't truly win all those years ago when Kikyo was alive. I've never seen this emotion so openly displayed by anyone like this mortal shows it. Love. I didn't believe there was such a thing, and I'll never understand it. She stepped back on her feather, letting it lift slowly off the ground while wondering if this strange mix of fighters would be able to do anything to stand up to Naraku and an almost complete Sacred Jewel.
"He's got all the shards but three," she felt she had to warn them, "and he's much more powerful. You'd better come up with something good."
The miko stepped forward, surprising the witch into pausing in her departure. "Stay with us, Kagura," Kagome said softly, compassionately. In her eyes was the understanding, the empathy. "I know now what he's capable of, and you don't deserve that."
Kagura's expression darkened. "You have no idea." She looked away from them, not wanting their pity. "But my master has my heart in his fist, and I would be dead the instant he realised I was not going to return." She smirked at the miko, flicking open her fan. "Perhaps you will be successful, and I won't have to try even more desperate measures!" With a short laugh, the witch was gone.
There was a long moment of silence after Kagura left. But silence never lasted long in their company.
"I'm gonna enjoy introducing that bastard to the end of Tetsusaiga," Inuyasha mused, almost thoughtful. Kagome didn't want to imagine the pictures that must have been going through his head.
"I feel so sorry for her," the miko said softly.
"She killed my brothers!" Kouga turned on her, his fur bristling.
"It wasn't her fault, Kouga! You have no idea what Naraku is really like, how he ..." she swallowed hard, trying to keep composed. Sesshomaru brushed his hand across her lower back, offering silent support. Kagome locked eyes with the wolf prince. "What she did was wrong, but she's not evil. No one deserves to have their lives in the hands of that monster."
Kouga looked away, conceding the point.
"I think we all agree with you on that, Kagome." Miroku added softly, clenching his right hand into a fist. He still hadn't gotten used to the absence of the wind tunnel in his palm, and would keep the beads around his hand until Naraku was dead. Just in case.
"But what is Naraku thinking, planning an ambush there?" Sango wondered aloud. "There isn't really anywhere to hide in that forest."
"What else matters except that we know to be on our guard?" Inuyasha interrupted abruptly. "We know what he's planning now, don't we? What else could that fucker do?"
Silence fell again, as they each wondered ...
Until Sesshomaru voiced what they were all thinking.
"What else, exactly."
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Kagura landed quietly in Inuyasha's Forest, a short way from where Naraku was staying. She had no idea what fascination an old cave under a dead tree could hold for the hanyou, or an ancient well for that matter, but she wasn't going to ask any questions. The witch slipped through the trees, her thoughts preoccupied with Kagome and her band.
She didn't notice how silent the forest was.
Out of nowhere, a hand wrapped around her throat, slamming her against a tree trunk. Kagura gasped, dropping her fan in her panic to bring her hands to her neck and try to loosen that death-hold. She stared in terror into Naraku's crimson eyes, struggling to free herself. But it was no use.
The spider hanyou smiled, a truly venomous baring of his teeth. He pressed in close, and Kagura turned her head away from him, flinching. The hand that wasn't strangling her reached up to brush a strand of hair from her face.
Naraku drew in a deep breath, and sighed. "I love the scent of your fear, Kagura. You know that that is one of the things that has kept you alive so long."
The witch closed her eyes, not wanting to see the darkness swimming in the depths of his. "I haven't done anything against your wishes, Master," she choked the words out, trying ... trying to survive his madness. Hoping that he didn't ...
The monster laughed with that velvet voice of his. He breathed his words into her ear, enjoying the shudders she gave as he spoke.
"I know that you've just paid a visit to my dear Kagome and her band of miscreants ... I know you let them past you without a fight just before they broke my barrier ... I know you think they can stop me, and free you ... and I know that you are going to tell me everything, yes, everything that you told them, that they said, that they did. Every action, every word, every emotion. You will tell me everything, Kagura.
"And when you have nothing left to say ... Well. You're going to wish that you did."
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A/N: Geez. Naraku scares even me sometimes ... and this dialogue comes straight from my own head! This fic has been nominated in the angst category at the Feudal Association – I'm completely bowled over that even one person thought to nominate this, so thanks so much :) I'm loving all the reviews – it motivates me to give you more SesshKag moments! He strikes me as having real honour and I like that. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and you're ready for more angst to come.
Thanks for reading!
PS: after one of the reviews I realised that I may not have been completely clear about what happened to Kagome with Naraku, because I like implying things rather than saying them straight out. Naraku did not rape Kagome – he decided that it would cause her more harm if he drugged her until she didn't know her own name, get her to sleep with him willingly, and then enjoy her despair when her memories returned and she realised that she'd betrayed her friends and herself, rather than literally raping her. It wouldn't have been her fault either way, but she definitely would have blamed herself if she hadn't fought him. Unfortunately for Naraku, he hadn't found a combination of drugs strong enough to make her forget that he was definitely not someone she wanted touching her before she was rescued, but he plans on trying again after he's killed everyone she loves. As villains do. I hope that's cleared things up, and if you ever think I've been unclear about something, drop me a line. Cheers! :)