Without the Mind
written by: Madness
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A/N: My bestfriend just hates cliffhangers....I'm surprised I'm not dead yet...x_x
And by the way, in this chapter, Tasukete's thoughts are the ones being placed in [..] this time.
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Satisfied, Naraku had left her alone after telling her a few things - such as it would be meaningless for Tasukete to kill him [Naraku], and that someone was definitely going to die as a result of her "curse".
Things seemed to be going well in his case; it really didn't matter to him who would die - Sesshoumaru or Tasukete. Though he much rather prefer Sesshoumaru to be killed, it would be much more difficult to get Tasukete at any rate than if she died. Because...if Tasukete were to be killed...just as Kikyo was killed and resurrected, Naraku would also bring Tasukete back - only she would be completely under his control.
He smiled inwardly. Tasukete must be going crazy right now...running out of ideas on how to get out of this predicament. '...either way, someone is going to die,' he insisted, his eyes turning that eerie red color in preparation to invade her thoughts again.
Naraku found and read her thoughts easily.
["That bastard, Naraku! Why can't he just leave me the hell alone!?"]
He smirked at her thoughts. She was panicking and running as quickly as she could to be by herself. 'She doesn't want to risk running into anyone...not with her personal feelings being read like a book.' He guessed it would be a little embarrassing if he find out anything private in her soul, but he didn't care - he looked into her heart already. 'In love with Sesshoumaru...best friend of Inuyasha...is a dragon youkai with a lot of unused inner power, which she fears to let out...unknown parents....hatred for Kikyo....'
What Naraku found most interesting was knowing that Tasukete loved Sesshoumaru, but to her, it was one-sided. Also knowing that she hated Kikyo deeply would be a useful bit of information.
["This can't be happening to me..."]
Naraku kept listening - you never know what you might find out when someone decides to blurt something important out in a panic.
["I can't kill Sesshoumaru, Naraku! You know I can't."]
He laughed. Of course she knew he was listening to her; she wasn't stupid. "Why can't you kill him?"
["You know I care about him. And even if I didn't, I wouldn't want to kill anyone for my own sake. And even if I tried to kill Sesshoumaru, I wouldn't be able to...he's much stronger than I am."]
"So what are you saying...?" Naraku wanted to know. If Tasukete thought about killing herself...
["I'm not."]
"Not what?"
["I'm not going to kill myself. There's gotta be another way. Isn't there, Naraku?!"]
She was getting angry now. Oh well. "I told you how already. You die or Sesshoumaru dies."
["But why are you dragging Sesshoumaru-sama into this!?? I would understand if you wanted Inuyasha dead, but Sesshoumaru-sama isn't..."]
"I eliminate threats." Soon Naraku felt Tasukete becoming confused, but she stayed quiet. "And I have plans Sesshoumaru-sama. You shouldn't worry about me killing him."
["You couldn't if you tried."]
"I'm not attempting to do so. But Tasukete, you should not be so eager to say what I can or cannot do. I'm much more powerful than any half-demon...and I may as well add, I won't be a hanyou for long."
["But Sesshoumaru-sama told me that a hanyou can never become a full-youkai, even if their blood smells like one...."]
"...if they are *born* a hanyou, they cannot change." Naraku knew Tasukete had to agree. He breathed heavily and decided to cut the conversation short; he had plans to work out. "I'll leave you alone with your thoughts. I'll come back for you later...maybe by then you will have decided who shall be the one to die."
["Wait."]
She instantly gained Naraku's attention. She never would have asked him to wait so she could talk to him more.
"Yes?" he asked, his tone appearing with uninterested.
["....can't I...um...."]
Naraku smiled. Her thoughts were so easy to see, and her particular question was rather *very* interesting.... "Do you really want to...?"
["I don't....know....but it wouldn't break my curse anyway, so forget it..."]
"I could make an exception," he said softly. He could hear Tasukete's heart racing, her mind overflowing with various decisions on the matter. The female youkai was in a turmoil, but Naraku never said he wouldn't offer to make things a little easier for her.
Of course he'd lie to her; this was obvious and without a doubt. Anything that would force her to eliminate an even *greater* obstacle would be of help...for him, of course. But she was too scared to realize his feign.
["I want to...but I promised Inuyasha I wouldn't."]
Naraku figured that it wouldn't be much of a problem. "Why is that stopping you? It's either that....or Sesshoumaru is to be killed, or you."
She didn't want Sesshoumaru to die. And she didn't want to die without a fight, either - and killing Naraku wouldn't....
Wait...
["No, Naraku....if I kill *you*, then obviously you would not be able to read my thoughts…"]
Naraku sighed. "Would I really be out of your mind by then? I'll always read your thoughts, even in hell."
["….I wouldn't be able to kill you by myself anyway…."]
He was growing impatient by the minute. 'She's stalling…hoping I'd forget her sudden thought to kill…'
["Naraku."]
"Have you decided yet?"
["You know I have. Can you just get the hell out of my head now? You said you'll get back to me, right…?!"]
She was panicking again. But Naraku couldn't care less – his plans were running smoothly…perhaps even better than he would have thought. "I will be back for you." He replied darkly, and decided to leave Tasukete alone and see how things would turn out.
Once Naraku stopped looking into her mind, Tasukete began to run towards her destination before he could return. She knew he wasn't listening to her now; she could feel it. 'Naraku, I don't know why you're allowing me to…'
She stopped herself from finishing the thought. Even though he told her that he'd leave her alone for now, and even though she didn't *feel* his presence…she didn't want to take any chances. She continued to run to the temple where Kikyo resided.
'demo….someone is going to die tonight….and I've decided who it's going to be.'
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A/N: Who's going to die…? Who do you think? ^_^ Next chapter coming soon – reveals a whole bunch of secrets.