A/N: Wooo! So proud I'm getting this next chapter posted so quickly after the last one =). It's another dark one, like the previous chapter was. It will probably continue to be dark for the next few, to be honest. I apologize for there not being any lightheartedness in there somewhere, but I promise it will return eventually! This FF did start out as a romantic comedy, after all xD. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!
Rip. Tear. Destroy.
Those three desires wouldn't leave Inuyasha's mind as he struggled to remain conscious. He had breathed in too much demonic miasma, that was obvious enough.
He growled loudly as he dug his claws into his palms, the pain keeping him awake as blood trickled down from in between his fingers. He would not lose control. Not now. Not when people he cared about needed him.
"Why are you so set on fighting your primal desires, Inuyasha?" Naraku asked, his voice as smooth and calm as ever, "did you not want to become a full demon, like your brother? Give in to it now, and you will become one," he promised silkily.
"I don't want to become a monster," Inuyasha ground out, and he had an odd sense of de ja vu at the feelings that began to surface inside him, "If becoming a full demon means I'll be killing everything in my path, then I don't want it,"
"That is the human blood inside you talking, Inuyasha. The blood that weakens you," Naraku scowled. Inuyasha snarled angrily in response as he whipped his head around in search of Naraku. He had transported Inuyasha into an enclosed room after capturing him in the underground tunnels. Excluding the few pieces of furniture – a wooden table, two chairs, and a long bench – the room was completely bare.
A steel door in the right corner of the room locked him in from the outside. He knew that because he had already tried to open it, multiple times, to no avail. Concrete walls painted an off white concealed his view. The room itself was small – Inuyasha could pace it from end to end it in less than a minute.
"Show yourself, Naraku! Or are you too frightened to face me?" Inuyasha baited before a smirk spread across his face and his glowing red eyes gleamed, "are you afraid that I'll kill you before you get the chance to fight Sesshomaru?"
"Make no mistake, Inuyasha, I could kill you right now if I wanted. But I have another use for you, so I'll keep you alive for a little while longer. Your friend Kagome is on her way here, and I was hoping to reunite the two of you. How will you react, I wonder, when you give in to your demonic desires and later awaken to find your friend torn to shreds? When you smell her blood coated on your claws? Would you weep, Inuyasha? Scream in terror?" Naraku asked before he laughed when Inuyasha began to feverishly search around the room that served as his temporary prison.
"I won't fall for your mind games," Inuyasha promised darkly as he pushed a chair aside and flipped the table. His raging actions continued as he kicked and punched whatever got in his way as he searched the room for anything. A camera, voice recorder, microphone; anything that he could destroy to stop Naraku from getting inside his head.
The man's dark laughter filled the room as Inuyasha fruitlessly searched until he left the room's contents completely unrecognizable.
"Yes, Inuyasha, get angry. Let my voice infuriate you," Naraku instructed as the half demon continued to demolish the defenseless furniture pieces scattered around the room. Inuyasha's fury rose as his search turned up nothing. Where was Naraku hiding? Where was the equipment that he was using to project his voice into the room?
When there was nothing left for him to destroy, Inuyasha's acute senses picked up a presence drawing near. It felt close, and demonic in nature. How could he have been so oblivious to it? Naraku was oddly silent in his head as Inuyasha tried to identify the new aura that was vastly approaching. His stance tensed as he braced himself for it.
The steel door shook and whined as a force was exerted against it from the other side. The sound of a loud snap quickly followed by the metal clank of a falling object had Inuyasha reeling on his heel as he turned to face whatever was shielded by the heavy barrier of the steel door.
The door was yanked open and shoved aside as a figure walked into the room, only to reveal that it was a woman with long silver hair and gold eyes. Inuyasha stared at the woman in awe, finding her features both familiar and exotic. She eyed him like one would to a friend before she began to cautiously approach him.
Her slender legs carried her hourglass figure slowly across the room towards him as he struggled to remain still. She looked like a vision. An angel. Was he hallucinating? He couldn't tell for sure, but he reveled in the moment as his glowing eyes watched her hungrily.
"Inuyasha," she called to him, her voice like chime bells. He smiled ever so slightly, even as her demonic aura collided with his. It was a silent warning to keep his distance.
"How long have you been here? What has Naraku done to you?" the woman questioned as she continued to circle him. He found her scent rather enticing. He watched her movements confidently as his hunger began to build.
"Answer me!" she growled when he remained silent, "this isn't like you, Inuyasha," she murmured as she lowered her golden gaze. It was then that he realized who she was. He'd recognize that expression anywhere.
"K – Kagome?!" he shouted suddenly in shock, "what the hell happened to you?" he asked in outrage as he snapped out of the trance her aura and scent had put him in.
"That's more like it," she smiled before it fell slightly, "I can't explain it all to you now. I will later, I promise. We have to get you out of here before Naraku does more to you then he already has," the mention of Naraku sent Inuyasha's mind reeling, and he grimaced slightly before he replied,
"I can't do that. He's already affected me. He's gotten inside my head somehow. I'm not safe around you,"
"You seem to be controlling yourself just fine now," Kagome noted before she faltered when the sound of Naraku's voice caught both of them off guard.
"You must not know Inuyasha as well as you think, miko," his voice teased before the man of the hour strolled in a second later with a confident smirk in place, "Inuyasha is under a lot of psychological stress. All he needs is a little push, and the man you know will disappear completely,"
"I'll never let you corrupt him," Kagome snarled as she bent at the knees and readied her body to strike Naraku down. Inuyasha silently agreed with her and prepared to attack him alongside her when something stopped him.
Suddenly his body wouldn't obey him. He stood perfectly still as he inwardly struggled to move his limbs. He realized all too late what was happening, but couldn't do anything about it. He wanted to call out to Kagome, to tell her to run, but his mouth wouldn't obey him either.
"You dare think so highly of yourself? You may have been able to defeat my puppet once, but it won't happen again," Naraku replied with a scowl before he snapped his fingers. Without a moment's hesitation, Inuyasha broke out into an all out run to Naraku's side. He stood facing Kagome while blocking her from reaching Naraku.
Kagome stared at him in shock before she calmed herself and glared back when a loud growl emitted from his throat. He glanced at her pleadingly as he fought to give her some sort of signal to let her know that he wasn't the one in control. Her expression never changed, so he could only assume she didn't pick up on his silent plea to stand down.
"He's under my control. My puppet, of sorts," Naraku smiled, "are you willing to kill your friend to get to me, Kagome?" he asked, and Kagome's expression darkened.
"Is this how you expect to win, Naraku? By hiding behind others?" she baited back, and Naraku faltered slightly.
"Strategy is something one needs if they expect to defeat an opponent. Brute force alone cannot guarantee a win," he replied coolly in return. Kagome made a move towards him, but Inuyasha felt his body move in turn, blocking her route to Naraku once again.
He wanted to turn and take Naraku out himself. He was so close...If only he could break out of whatever trance Naraku had him under.
"Inuyasha..." he heard Kagome murmur as she stared back at him helplessly, "please, if you can hear me, let me through. I don't want to fight you," she begged.
I can hear you! He thought in aggravation as he tried to will his body to move, to no avail. Instead, to his utter disgust, he growled at her again before he began to swiftly approach her.
"Impossible," he heard Naraku remark from behind him, "Inuyasha cannot hear you anymore. You'll have to kill him if you want to live," he added as Kagome faltered before she moved away from Inuyasha's claws as they made a swipe for her middle.
Inuyasha felt like he was going to be sick. He tried his hardest to regain control, but his body refused to listen. He watched helplessly as his claws came at Kagome's face, and she easily deflected the blow with a quick shove.
"Inuyasha!" she urged under her breath as she narrowly evaded another one of his strikes. He wanted to scream. He had to do something to let her know that he wasn't the one orchestrating the attacks.
She side stepped him when he made a grab for her right arm, but misjudged his speed. Both of his clawed hands wrapped themselves around her neck as her body jerked forward. She choked before she stared up at him fearfully as he hunched over her.
"Now, Inuyasha!" he heard Naraku order, "take her life with the claws that you have around her neck,"
No! he screamed from within as he surged all the willpower he could into his hands. He willed them to open and let her go. He watched them closely, and after a few moments his fingers slowly began dislodging themselves from her neck.
He noted her relieved expression, and it further motivated him to pull his hands away completely. His body began responding to his will, and before long Kagome was free once more. She stepped away with a small smile as he noted the proud glint in her eyes.
His chest swelled at the silent praise before he slowly began to turn to glance back at Naraku.
"No more games," he growled menacingly, but Naraku didn't so much as blink. Instead he smiled, and then he laughed. The other two watched him closely as his laugh seemed to echo within the room, it's excited nature unnerving the both of them.
"You think you've won? We've only just begun," Naraku grinned before he snapped his fingers again. The walls around them creaked as openings from all sides suddenly appeared. A purple miasma filtered in from them, and Inuyasha quickly covered his mouth at the familiar sight.
"Covering your mouth won't help, Inuyasha," Naraku informed him, "you'll need to breathe eventually," he chuckled. Inuyasha wanted to growl at him, but held it in for fear that he'd inhale some of the miasma if he did.
Kagome seemed unaffected by the miasma. She glanced around worriedly as the clouds began to surround her, but her eyes didn't glow and her body didn't change. Naraku's form began to steadily disappear behind the smog, and Inuyasha made a dash for him.
Covering his mouth the best he could with his sleeve, he ran at him. He caught sight of Kagome beside him, presumably following his lead. They charged the man that was quickly becoming a shadow, but by the time they reached him, he was gone.
Kagome growled and Inuyasha cursed, but there was nothing they could do. Then the sound of the steel door closing set them both on edge. The sound was almost deafening as horror began to sink into Inuyasha's system. He'd never be able to resist inhaling the miasma, especially if it was enclosed in a single room.
"Kagome, you have to get out," he commanded, his voice muffled behind his sleeve. He figured he'd be inhaling the miasma either way, so why not take advantage of the time he had left? Kagome turned to glance at him, and he was surprised to see how calm and collected she looked. This was not the Kagome he was used to seeing.
"Not without you," she answered determinedly.
"I could kill you," he told her urgently. Her expression softened slightly before she turned to stare at him straight on.
"I know," was her calm reply. He stared at her in shock before it quickly faded when he felt the miasma begin to attack his system. His throat nearly closed as he sputtered and coughed, struggling to breathe.
The last thing he saw before his world went black was Kagome's worried expression as she outstretched her hand towards him.
"What shall I do with you while we wait for Sesshomaru, little human?" Naraku asked as Rin stared back at him fearfully. Tears prickled at the edges of her eyes as she hung limply in his hold. Was this really the end? Was she really going to die here?
No. A voice inside her said, and sounded so certain of that. Rin gulped as she struggled to gain strength from that voice, and glared back at Naraku.
"You can't kill me. Sesshomaru will be here before you get the chance to do anything," she stated confidently as Naraku's smirk turned into a grin.
"Such faith in a man that isn't connected to you by blood. Do you really thing you matter that much to him?" he questioned. Rin faltered at that, but the voice from before assured her that he would come.
"You wouldn't have kidnapped me if I wasn't, and I wouldn't still be alive if I didn't matter to him," she answered him surely. Naraku's expression softened as he eyed her wistfully.
"You do catch on quickly, for one so young," he remarked, almost pridefully, before his expression returned to one of confidence, "your mind seems incorruptible to my words. Is it because you are strong willed, or simply ignorant?"
"I know Sesshomaru would never turn his back on me. He'll protect me no matter what," Rin replied firmly before she began to struggle against the tentacle wound around her legs. She clawed at it with her nails, but the skin was too thick to get through with her human strength.
Naraku seemed unfazed by her actions, and before long Rin felt her arms grow steadily weaker. The blood was still rushing to her head, and it became increasingly harder to move her hands. Before long her arms went limp and she hung suspended in the air like a tattered rag doll.
"It seems the fight has been drained out of you," Naraku noted with another smile before he set her down on the ground next to Kanna, "keep her here. If she struggles, punish her," he commanded as the white haired girl nodded her head.
"I would have liked to torture you a little before Sesshomaru got here, but it seems my fun will have to be cut short. I had expected Hakodoshi to be fully able of taking out the other miko," Naraku growled as he resumed the position he was in earlier when Rin had first arrived. This time, however, his body hung over defensively as his crimson eyes disappeared behind blue painted eyelids.
"Kagura...why?" Rin heard Kanna murmur sadly next to her. Rin moved her head slightly to glance up at her to note that she was still holding Hakudoshi's other half against her chest. She spotted a small fist come up from behind the bundle of blankets to tangle itself in her white hair.
Her dark eyes turned to glance down at the baby coolly, her expression never changing, but she brought up a hand to rest against the tiny fist.
"Please, you have to...help us," Rin pleaded, her breathing ragged as she struggled to focus her vision on the phantom girl towering over her.
"I am no traitor," she responded sharply. Rin's eyes softened slightly before she let out a pained cough when her chest tightened unexpectedly. Her body still tingled almost painfully as the blood was vastly returning to her limbs. When she was able to gain better control of her breathing she let out a small laugh.
"You're so loyal. I think that's wonderful," Rin remarked in a gentle murmur as Kanna's eyes widened slightly before she took a hasty step back.
"It's...you," she murmured shakily, and Rin glanced up at her in confusion. Her raven eyes remained open wide as she stared at Rin like she was the most frightening presence she had ever seen. Rin caught sight of the baby in the phantom's arms, but he didn't sport the same look that his guardian did. In fact, he looked rather pleased.
"How did you – it's been so long," she stammered, and took another hasty step back when Rin rolled onto her stomach and clumsily rose to her feet. Rin watched her uneasily as she wondered what about her had scared Kanna so badly all of the sudden.
Kanna's expression reverted back to her calm demeanor when she noted Rin's own uneasy, "You must understand. I only wanted freedom to escape with my sister. Now that she's gone...I have no reason to commit treason," she stated coolly.
"Do you not wish to leave with Hakudoshi?" Rin questioned, and oddly felt like it was the right thing to ask. Although, she didn't quite understand why. Kanna looked even more surprised than before as she turned to gaze down at the baby in her arms.
"He is my brother," she murmured, almost lovingly, as she caressed the baby's fist that was still clutching a few strands of her hair.
"Believe in him. Find the drive that motivated you before, and shift it towards Hakudoshi," Rin offered. Kanna's expression slackened as her hands tightened around the bundle protectively.
"I can't escape with him. Naraku would never allow us all to leave," she replied sadly before she glanced back at Rin. Without an explanation she lifted Hakudoshi slightly and angled him so that he was looking at Rin directly. The baby gazed at her with familiar violet eyes before he let go of Kanna's hair and reached his chubby arms towards Rin instead.
Rin approached them cautiously, weighing Kanna's body language as she neared. She didn't even blink. When Rin was within arms reach of Hakudoshi, Kanna pushed him into her arms. Rin jumped slightly in surprise before she awkwardly fumbled with the bundle until she had Hakudoshi secured against her front. Kanna still did not utter a word as she turned towards Naraku's slumbering form.
Rin could only look at her in surprise, and was about to ask what she was planning to do when Kanna held up a hand to stop her.
"You won't have much time to escape. Go now," she instructed. Rin glanced down at Hakudoshi before giving the other girl a quick nod.
A small smile brightened the girl's seemingly lifeless face as she gazed at Hakudoshi one last time before she walked forward and grabbed for the strap on her shoulder that was attached to her mirror. She angled it slightly before Rin recognized the shards of glass that emerged from it.
She felt a tug on a part of her hair suddenly, and glanced down to see that Hakudoshi had wound a lock of her hair in his fist. He gazed up at her expectedly before angling his head towards the trap door she had emerged from earlier.
"Right!" she cried out when she understood his intent before she made her way towards it. She heard the sound of glass shattering, and couldn't help but glance over her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she saw Naraku's tentacles shifting and knocking on the floor at Kanna's sudden attack. His body hadn't fully awakened yet, but Rin noted that the tentacles seemed to move on their own accord. They moved to protect Naraku's exposed human form while they hurled towards Kanna.
Rin watched in dismay as the young phantom was suddenly swarmed by a sea of tentacles. Her pale form disappeared completely in a matter of seconds.
Hurry, the voice from before commanded urgently. Rin jerked at the sound before she whirled her head back around and rushed towards the door. The remaining tentacles slithered and swept across the floor as Rin did her best to evade them. She jumped over low ones, and slid across the floor when others tried to make a swipe at her head.
Holding Hakudoshi against her made dodging the tentacles a lot harder for Rin, but she refused to loosen her hold on him. She wouldn't let her friend down, and she wouldn't let Kanna's sacrifice be vain, either. With another high jump, Rin evaded yet another tentacle and landed next to the wooden trap door.
She was just about to crawl down the still exposed staircase when one of the tentacles near her flew past and slammed the door shut. Rin jumped back to dodge it, but let out a withered breath at the sight of the closed door. With the way the tentacles were moving above them, Rin would need to be able to open the door and climb down in a few seconds. The tentacles aggressively hovering above them would never give her that much time.
Wait for a time window, the voice advised as Rin silently obeyed. Luckily, Kanna's attacks were still going on, and were keeping most of Naraku's attention away from her. Rin crouched down near the trap door as she waited for the tentacles above her to move away from the door.
Another wave of glass shot over Rin's head as the girl turned to spot Kanna emerge from the close knit group of tentacles, unharmed. Rin smiled slightly before she saw some of the tentacles hovering over the trap door move towards Kanna. As Kanna kept on the attack, more and more tentacles migrated over to try and stop her.
Now! The voice commanded when the last tentacle rose and lashed out towards Kanna. Rin didn't waste a second as she ran over to the door and grabbed hold of the handle. She grunted as she struggled to open it, only to stumble backward when the door came flying open.
She squirmed out of the way, barely missing getting her toes squashed under the heavy door. She hopped to her feet and began to hastily climb down the staircase into the underground tunnels. Not bothering to shut the door behind her, Rin balanced Hakudoshi against her front as she descended the parallel steel steps one handed.
When she made it to the ground she whirled on her heel and ran down the tunnel, hoping that the other Hakudoshi was somewhere nearby. He couldn't have gone too far, right?
Kikyo held her bow taunt in her hands as she plastered her body against the bark of a tree, her senses on high for any signs of an attack. She had just taken care of a couple of guards while using the forest as a shield, but had also wasted a good amount of her arrows in the process. She grimaced slightly when she spotted more guards coming to patrol the perimeter.
She'd never make it into the castle this way.
"Having a bit of trouble, are we?" the voice of a young boy teased her as Kikyo stiffened before she turned to spot a small boy standing behind her. His long white hair cascaded down his shoulders, and disheveled bangs hung over his amethyst eyes. He wore pale traditional clothing, and had his hands folded inside his sleeves. Her dark brown eyes narrowed slightly as she tipped her arrow and directed it towards the boy.
"Are you one of Naraku's soldiers?" she asked him sternly. The boy smirked at her before he shrugged his shoulders.
"If that's what you want to label me as. I was just passing through the area," he answered smugly, but Kikyo refused to let her guard down even for a second. The boy seemed to note her humorless expression as his own expression darkened slightly.
"What are you doing here, anyway? This isn't a safe place to be walking around on your own," he remarked as Kikyo glared back at him, her hand still taunt on her bowstring.
"I could say the same to you," she replied coolly before she inclined her head, "you should leave now, before you get hurt,"
"Heh, you think I'm really that helpless?" the boy sneered before he suddenly disappeared from her view. Kikyo's eyes widened slightly before she glanced around swiftly. She forced her mind to quiet her unease as she searched for his demonic aura instead. His presence was far easier to sense, and she whirled around just in time to spot him reappear.
He jerked his body out of the way of her arrow as it flew a few inches past his left ear. His soft features softened even further as he smiled at her almost happily,
"You're quite skilled to have sensed where I would teleport myself. Perhaps you will be more of a challenge than I thought," he commented before he came at her with his demonic speed. Kikyo had a right to be frightened at having to follow a being that most could not, but she calmed her thoughts and grabbed for one of her arrows instead.
Instead of knocking it to the bow, she held it in her hand and purified it. Her pink aura collected around the weapon's edge before she made the mental plan to jump back. She sensed the boy's aura swiftly shift to the right and she jumped forward to intercept him.
She saw a slightly shocked expression pass over his face as he jerked his body back, but not before Kikyo could get a good swipe at his right arm. The flesh that her arrow touched purified the limb on contact and it disappeared into ash.
The boy jumped a few yards away from her, and held onto what remained of his arm as he glared darkly at her. She simply smiled slightly in return.
"I thought you might be able to read my mind," she remarked as she twirled the arrow in between her fingers, "you weren't the least bit surprised to see me turn when I sensed your aura behind me. So I decided to test you," she added before she noted the slight unease that took over the boy's features.
She had disabled one of his abilities, simply by enticing doubt into his mind. Now, whenever he read her mind he'd be questioning whether or not her thoughts were the truth or a manipulative lie.
Her senses were back on high when his overconfident smirk returned.
"You can't outsmart me, no matter how you try to manipulate your thoughts," he informed her, "I'll still be able to sense your desire to lie. You just got lucky earlier," he added smartly before his arm that had nearly been purified regenerated itself. Kikyo paused at that before she knocked her arrow once more and took aim.
He crouched slightly before he teleported again. Kikyo held her breath as she waited to feel his aura collide with her own. When she did she darted quickly to the side before she released the arrow. With an angered breath she watched it fly past the boy's head as he easily dodged it.
He rushed at her as Kikyo quickly reached for her last arrow, but before she could line up the shot the boy stopped his assault altogether. A look that resembled surprise overtook his features suddenly as he stood completely still a few yards away from her.
His body remained tense for a few seconds before he whirled around so his back was to her. He looked up at the castle for a moment before Kikyo heard him softly mutter, "I can't believe she actually did it,"
"Who did what?" she urged defensively, but the boy simply teleported away without giving her an answer. She stood rigid in the clearing for another second or two before she relaxed her stance. It seemed something else had captured the boy's attention.
She returned her last arrow to her quiver as she hooked her bow over her other shoulder. She wasn't sure how much time she had left, but she knew she needed to make a few more arrows before she ventured inside the castle.
She turned around to make her way deeper into the dead forest. When she found thick enough trees that she could use, she placed her hand on the black bark to test its durability. It was as dead as it looked, but when her fingers caressed the timber it seemed to purify under her touch. When she pulled her hand back slightly she noted that perfectly good wood took its place.
Kikyo then replaced her hand on the bark before she exerted as much pure energy as she could into the tree. It lit up with her pink aura before the black coloring faded away, and a healthy tree was revealed underneath.
She smiled slightly before she reached for the carving knife that she always had stored in her quiver. She often used it to carve arrows out of chopped wood, but it seemed like it would also serve as her saw as well. She then began to cut away a thick piece of the bark. She inspected its sturdiness, and when she was satisfied with it she began to carve it into the shape of an arrow.
It would be a tedious project, but it had to be done. Kikyo would not face Naraku unarmed.
A/N: Another cliffy, I know T^T but I am getting really close to the end (possibly another three or four chapters to go) so I'm hoping to get the last few chapters out as soon as I can! Thanks for reading! Until next time!