Spider
Part Ten, "Hunger"
by Vega
We passed the day in silence.
We were walking for hours - I was too out of breath, trying to just keep up with my prolonged exhaustion, to make conversation. Kohaku seemed incapable of it. And Naraku wasn't in the mood.
We paused very rarely, only when Naraku was forced to stop. He had been hurt very badly in the battle the night before by the Miko-girl's glowing arrow. I don't know exactly what had happened. He had been shot through the heart, I had seen it. Yet somehow he still moved, he still lived.
But when we paused for a rest, me collapsing to the ground, trying to catch my breath, Kohaku kneeling with his head down and eyes closed, and Naraku clinging desperately to a tree to remain upright .
When we took a breather... he would -oh, I don't know how to explain it... flicker.
His body would fade in and out in pieces - an arm once, a leg... it was as if it was pure will alone and nothing else holding him in his physical shape. If that were truly that case, I could believe it. From what I had heard the night before, this shape-stealing Naraku was some sort of taiyoukai himself - a Great Demon Lord... but the evil kind.
It made me wonder - was it even possible for a taiyoukai to BE good? Could this mythical ancestor of mine have been a good person? A worthy and just leader? Or had he or she been a tyrant? Could he have been Naraku himself?
That would explain the luminescent eyes we both had.
The thought made me shudder and I forced it from my head, trying not to think about it at all I was mostly successful until we got where it was we were going.
It was well after nightfall before we reached our destination - a black and gloomy castle.
Servants met us at the front gate and bore Naraku, who was now just as weak as I, away in a litter. Kohaku walked quietly and blankly behind it and I, exhausted, famished, and trembling with weakness, just fell to the ground and lay there, forcing back tears.
One of the human servants came over to me and looked into my face with such a pitying expression I wondered if he could be under the control of Naraku at all, or if he was just some poor pawn as I was.
The man who picked me up looked human enough, and his skin was warm. But he DID serve Naraku.
I just closed my eyes and prayed that whatever he was going to do to me didn't hurt too much. I wasn't exactly surprised, but was relieved, when all that happened was that I was brought into a small, elegant chamber, so like the last one, tucked into bed, and fed a bowl of thick broth.
When that was gone he brought in tea and sat beside me until that was finished as well. I wondered if this man was a doctor... or a guard that Naraku had sent to watch over me closely. I hadn't done any real damage last night, but I knew far more now than I did before, and I wouldn't put it past Naraku for eliminating me just for knowing.
I decided to avoid conversation and instead turned my face away and lay down on my left side, cradling my throbbing right arm. My arm was still unbandaged and I could feel the wounds drying out painfully, some of the burns splitting to let a few precious drops of blood ooze out when I moved too much. The air was drying out my arm, the wind cutting at the sensitized flesh cruelly.
My simple cotton kimono was already liberally spattered from our walk to the castle and as I ate more blood had welled up and coloured my clothing.
I felt smooth warm hands on my burnt flesh suddenly and turned to look at the servant man - he was pulling the sleeve of my kimono up, bunching it around my shoulder. Before I could ask what he intended to do, he lifted a familiar lacquered clay pot and uncorked it.
I could smell the pungent healing ointment before he dipped his fingers in it and spread it liberally along my arm, massaging it gently into the driest areas. Then he bandaged me swiftly and gently with clean linen strips.
I thanked him in a small voice and he bowed so low that his forehead touched the ground, then climbed gracefully to his feet and glided out the door.
I watched his silhouette as he walked down the hall and out of sight.
Then I lay back down and closed my eyes, trying to think.
He had helped me. Why?
Because Naraku still wanted something from me? Because he had just been nice?
Did this man even know that Kagewaki (for I heard the men carrying the litter refer to Naraku by this stolen title) was dead, and that a demon had stolen his shape?
While thinking of Naraku my thoughts turned to the last thing he had said to me that morning: "Until I learn how you were able to appear in the Exterminator's Village so suddenly, where your taiyoukai blood originates, and why I can sense a Shikon Shard inside of you."
So I had to keep my vague knowledge of my origins to myself if I wanted to remain alive - that, and I had to figure out where it was exactly that the Shikon Shard was inside my body that shielded it from Naraku, and try to keep it from him.
I had to protect it - and I had to get the hell out of there.
But how to do it was another matter entirely. How do you escape a powerful demon when you can barely stand on your own?
Praying that Naraku was too injured and weak to go prying in my mind, I closed my eyes and finally allowed my exhaustion to overtake me.
Maybe I would be lucky, and be dead before I could awaken.
~~~
Around midnight the cloying scent of Sandalwood filled my nose and I found myself in my dreamscape, Naraku, still wearing Kagewaki's form, stood a few feet away from me, looking extremely unimpressed.
"How did you get here?" he asked bluntly, and I knew from here on in there would be no more manipulating my nightmares to get the information he wanted. I answered, or I suffered.
"I don't know," I replied truthfully. There was no point in lying. "I was asleep in my own bed, at home. Then I was jolted awake when I fell onto the floor of the hut. Then the monster attacked."
His eyebrows drew down in a scowl, but he seemed to be mulling over what I'd said. Finally, after a long, tense silence, he nodded to himself and looked up at me again.
"Are you descended from a youkai?"
"I don't know," I said again, and watched as the frustration began to build on his face. I decided to amend my answer quickly, before he chose to strike at me with the first I could see him starting to make. "My father could have been! He died when I was small, too small for me to remember him."
Again there was a pregnant pause.
"Why do you have a Shikon Shard and where in your body is it? I see the glow of power. But it is too deep within your flesh to see clearly."
I gapped like a landed fish for a second or two, unable to think of anything to say.
"Come now, speak!" he bellowed, "Or I will simply rip open your rib-cage and search for myself!"
"B-but..." I stuttered, "you do that and you'll never know where I'm from!"
One corner of his lip curled up. "Little girl, don't misunderstand me. I NEED the Shikon Shard - while your origin is a tantalising mystery, it is not above my need. You will die if needs be."
I felt a sudden twist in my guts of fear - and something else. Something else was ... pulsing... throbbing... warm...
I folded my arms over my abdomen and bent double. What was this warm spot inside of me? I recognized it too - I felt this same warmth while watching the fight the night before.
Naraku's red eyes narrowed and I knew he was studying my posture, trying to see where I held myself. I prayed that my hands blocked the glow of the shard, where ever it was in my body.
"Ah. I see," he said slowly, his voice so low that I almost didn't hear him. I collapsed to my knees and pressed my forehead against the floor.
"Please... please don't..." I whispered, not quite sure what I was asking him not to do. To not look at me? To not see the Shard? To not take it away?
He was suddenly kneeling before me, having moved faster than I could see, and hand my chin gripped in his sharp-nailed hands. It hurt and I whimpered, and he gave me rough shake. When my face was forced up to meet his, I felt a surge of fear jolt through my blood - he was smirking.
"I guess that explains your eyes," he crooned, and his lips pressed against mine.
He tasted bitter.
~~~
I awoke.
I could still taste the sourness of his kiss on my lips and I hated it. I could feel the sweat trickling down the bridge of my nose, sticking my kimono to my back and chest, and I hated it. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins, giving me the shivers of a junkie, and I hated.
I hated him.
Then I noticed something new: another scent had begun to permeate the room I was in, drowning that of the sandalwood.
It smelled like things that had been dead for a very long time.
~~~
Over the next two days I spent much time sleeping, eating, or gazing out the window. I was afraid to look at my reflection in the mirror, even though a maid had come and helped me to bathe and dress properly.
I was terrified of the demon blood I would see there.
The stench of death got worse everyday and soon I could hear the ferocious crashes and roars that came from the nearby mountain range. When I asked, the maid said that they were demons that served the master practising for battle.
I knew that there was something more ominous to the truth of the matter than that, but it appeared that the maid knew even less of our perilous situation than I, so to avoid panicking her, I said nothing.
Narkau did not visit me those two days, nor did he walk in my dreams again.
I had just begun to build up my strength and had begun to think of escape when, on the third evening, Kohaku entered my chamber without first announcing himself, or my permission. As the Japanese around me were, as a general rule, unfailingly polite and formal, this rude behaviour disturbed me greatly.
I shrank back as the boy approached my futon and then knelt beside me. He was not wearing his uniform today, nor did he carry his weapons. All he had on was an almost indecently short robe, tied simply at the waist.
His blank eyes flashed fed and began to glow and I heard myself whimper as he raised a hand and let it rest lightly on my throat.
"I know where your shard is," he said to me, barely moving his lips. But his voice was not his own - it was Kagewaki's. It was Naraku's. It took me a second to understand, but then things were clear - Naraku was talking to me through Kohaku, which meant he was still too weak to come in here and threaten me himself.
The realization making me feel foolishly cocky I spat back, "Oh, yeah? Where?"
I wish I had not said that.
"The only place deep enough inside a woman's body to hide such a thing..." Kohaku rumbled, and his free hand dropped to my thigh. I gulped and tried to push him off, but I might as well have been beating my fists against concrete for all the good it did me. "The only place that my senses could not reach..." the hand on my thigh flicked away the folds of my robe and I was exposed. I tore at the hand that held me immobile by the throat, to no avail.
"The only place it could be..." Kohaku continued, his hand moving upwards, "is... here."
I threw back my head and screamed.
~~~
A/N : Next Chapter will contain themes unsuitable for the underaged. Ye be warned.
Part Ten, "Hunger"
by Vega
We passed the day in silence.
We were walking for hours - I was too out of breath, trying to just keep up with my prolonged exhaustion, to make conversation. Kohaku seemed incapable of it. And Naraku wasn't in the mood.
We paused very rarely, only when Naraku was forced to stop. He had been hurt very badly in the battle the night before by the Miko-girl's glowing arrow. I don't know exactly what had happened. He had been shot through the heart, I had seen it. Yet somehow he still moved, he still lived.
But when we paused for a rest, me collapsing to the ground, trying to catch my breath, Kohaku kneeling with his head down and eyes closed, and Naraku clinging desperately to a tree to remain upright .
When we took a breather... he would -oh, I don't know how to explain it... flicker.
His body would fade in and out in pieces - an arm once, a leg... it was as if it was pure will alone and nothing else holding him in his physical shape. If that were truly that case, I could believe it. From what I had heard the night before, this shape-stealing Naraku was some sort of taiyoukai himself - a Great Demon Lord... but the evil kind.
It made me wonder - was it even possible for a taiyoukai to BE good? Could this mythical ancestor of mine have been a good person? A worthy and just leader? Or had he or she been a tyrant? Could he have been Naraku himself?
That would explain the luminescent eyes we both had.
The thought made me shudder and I forced it from my head, trying not to think about it at all I was mostly successful until we got where it was we were going.
It was well after nightfall before we reached our destination - a black and gloomy castle.
Servants met us at the front gate and bore Naraku, who was now just as weak as I, away in a litter. Kohaku walked quietly and blankly behind it and I, exhausted, famished, and trembling with weakness, just fell to the ground and lay there, forcing back tears.
One of the human servants came over to me and looked into my face with such a pitying expression I wondered if he could be under the control of Naraku at all, or if he was just some poor pawn as I was.
The man who picked me up looked human enough, and his skin was warm. But he DID serve Naraku.
I just closed my eyes and prayed that whatever he was going to do to me didn't hurt too much. I wasn't exactly surprised, but was relieved, when all that happened was that I was brought into a small, elegant chamber, so like the last one, tucked into bed, and fed a bowl of thick broth.
When that was gone he brought in tea and sat beside me until that was finished as well. I wondered if this man was a doctor... or a guard that Naraku had sent to watch over me closely. I hadn't done any real damage last night, but I knew far more now than I did before, and I wouldn't put it past Naraku for eliminating me just for knowing.
I decided to avoid conversation and instead turned my face away and lay down on my left side, cradling my throbbing right arm. My arm was still unbandaged and I could feel the wounds drying out painfully, some of the burns splitting to let a few precious drops of blood ooze out when I moved too much. The air was drying out my arm, the wind cutting at the sensitized flesh cruelly.
My simple cotton kimono was already liberally spattered from our walk to the castle and as I ate more blood had welled up and coloured my clothing.
I felt smooth warm hands on my burnt flesh suddenly and turned to look at the servant man - he was pulling the sleeve of my kimono up, bunching it around my shoulder. Before I could ask what he intended to do, he lifted a familiar lacquered clay pot and uncorked it.
I could smell the pungent healing ointment before he dipped his fingers in it and spread it liberally along my arm, massaging it gently into the driest areas. Then he bandaged me swiftly and gently with clean linen strips.
I thanked him in a small voice and he bowed so low that his forehead touched the ground, then climbed gracefully to his feet and glided out the door.
I watched his silhouette as he walked down the hall and out of sight.
Then I lay back down and closed my eyes, trying to think.
He had helped me. Why?
Because Naraku still wanted something from me? Because he had just been nice?
Did this man even know that Kagewaki (for I heard the men carrying the litter refer to Naraku by this stolen title) was dead, and that a demon had stolen his shape?
While thinking of Naraku my thoughts turned to the last thing he had said to me that morning: "Until I learn how you were able to appear in the Exterminator's Village so suddenly, where your taiyoukai blood originates, and why I can sense a Shikon Shard inside of you."
So I had to keep my vague knowledge of my origins to myself if I wanted to remain alive - that, and I had to figure out where it was exactly that the Shikon Shard was inside my body that shielded it from Naraku, and try to keep it from him.
I had to protect it - and I had to get the hell out of there.
But how to do it was another matter entirely. How do you escape a powerful demon when you can barely stand on your own?
Praying that Naraku was too injured and weak to go prying in my mind, I closed my eyes and finally allowed my exhaustion to overtake me.
Maybe I would be lucky, and be dead before I could awaken.
~~~
Around midnight the cloying scent of Sandalwood filled my nose and I found myself in my dreamscape, Naraku, still wearing Kagewaki's form, stood a few feet away from me, looking extremely unimpressed.
"How did you get here?" he asked bluntly, and I knew from here on in there would be no more manipulating my nightmares to get the information he wanted. I answered, or I suffered.
"I don't know," I replied truthfully. There was no point in lying. "I was asleep in my own bed, at home. Then I was jolted awake when I fell onto the floor of the hut. Then the monster attacked."
His eyebrows drew down in a scowl, but he seemed to be mulling over what I'd said. Finally, after a long, tense silence, he nodded to himself and looked up at me again.
"Are you descended from a youkai?"
"I don't know," I said again, and watched as the frustration began to build on his face. I decided to amend my answer quickly, before he chose to strike at me with the first I could see him starting to make. "My father could have been! He died when I was small, too small for me to remember him."
Again there was a pregnant pause.
"Why do you have a Shikon Shard and where in your body is it? I see the glow of power. But it is too deep within your flesh to see clearly."
I gapped like a landed fish for a second or two, unable to think of anything to say.
"Come now, speak!" he bellowed, "Or I will simply rip open your rib-cage and search for myself!"
"B-but..." I stuttered, "you do that and you'll never know where I'm from!"
One corner of his lip curled up. "Little girl, don't misunderstand me. I NEED the Shikon Shard - while your origin is a tantalising mystery, it is not above my need. You will die if needs be."
I felt a sudden twist in my guts of fear - and something else. Something else was ... pulsing... throbbing... warm...
I folded my arms over my abdomen and bent double. What was this warm spot inside of me? I recognized it too - I felt this same warmth while watching the fight the night before.
Naraku's red eyes narrowed and I knew he was studying my posture, trying to see where I held myself. I prayed that my hands blocked the glow of the shard, where ever it was in my body.
"Ah. I see," he said slowly, his voice so low that I almost didn't hear him. I collapsed to my knees and pressed my forehead against the floor.
"Please... please don't..." I whispered, not quite sure what I was asking him not to do. To not look at me? To not see the Shard? To not take it away?
He was suddenly kneeling before me, having moved faster than I could see, and hand my chin gripped in his sharp-nailed hands. It hurt and I whimpered, and he gave me rough shake. When my face was forced up to meet his, I felt a surge of fear jolt through my blood - he was smirking.
"I guess that explains your eyes," he crooned, and his lips pressed against mine.
He tasted bitter.
~~~
I awoke.
I could still taste the sourness of his kiss on my lips and I hated it. I could feel the sweat trickling down the bridge of my nose, sticking my kimono to my back and chest, and I hated it. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins, giving me the shivers of a junkie, and I hated.
I hated him.
Then I noticed something new: another scent had begun to permeate the room I was in, drowning that of the sandalwood.
It smelled like things that had been dead for a very long time.
~~~
Over the next two days I spent much time sleeping, eating, or gazing out the window. I was afraid to look at my reflection in the mirror, even though a maid had come and helped me to bathe and dress properly.
I was terrified of the demon blood I would see there.
The stench of death got worse everyday and soon I could hear the ferocious crashes and roars that came from the nearby mountain range. When I asked, the maid said that they were demons that served the master practising for battle.
I knew that there was something more ominous to the truth of the matter than that, but it appeared that the maid knew even less of our perilous situation than I, so to avoid panicking her, I said nothing.
Narkau did not visit me those two days, nor did he walk in my dreams again.
I had just begun to build up my strength and had begun to think of escape when, on the third evening, Kohaku entered my chamber without first announcing himself, or my permission. As the Japanese around me were, as a general rule, unfailingly polite and formal, this rude behaviour disturbed me greatly.
I shrank back as the boy approached my futon and then knelt beside me. He was not wearing his uniform today, nor did he carry his weapons. All he had on was an almost indecently short robe, tied simply at the waist.
His blank eyes flashed fed and began to glow and I heard myself whimper as he raised a hand and let it rest lightly on my throat.
"I know where your shard is," he said to me, barely moving his lips. But his voice was not his own - it was Kagewaki's. It was Naraku's. It took me a second to understand, but then things were clear - Naraku was talking to me through Kohaku, which meant he was still too weak to come in here and threaten me himself.
The realization making me feel foolishly cocky I spat back, "Oh, yeah? Where?"
I wish I had not said that.
"The only place deep enough inside a woman's body to hide such a thing..." Kohaku rumbled, and his free hand dropped to my thigh. I gulped and tried to push him off, but I might as well have been beating my fists against concrete for all the good it did me. "The only place that my senses could not reach..." the hand on my thigh flicked away the folds of my robe and I was exposed. I tore at the hand that held me immobile by the throat, to no avail.
"The only place it could be..." Kohaku continued, his hand moving upwards, "is... here."
I threw back my head and screamed.
~~~
A/N : Next Chapter will contain themes unsuitable for the underaged. Ye be warned.