Agh...my eyeballs hurt sooo much. Never sleep with your contacts in, your eyes will make you pay for it later. I wouldn't have done it, but I was showing my best friend Fushigi Yuugi, and around three in the morning, I lost consciuosness. Apparently, he did too, so yeah. All around, it ended sadly. Except for jade and Agent Willow, who managed to get crepes out of the deal. Bunch of backstabbing skanks...grrr...okay, moving right along to stuff that matters. Like ninjas. Ninjas are totally sweet. Okay, story now.

Just in case that last super cute chapter lulled you into blessed forgetfulness, I will now remind you once more with unmistakable clarity: Naraku is a nasty head. So is Kanna.

*****

Fate's Reversal

Part 11

*****

"Come over here, girl." Naraku beckoned Haruka, who answered his call while trying to cover the disgust on her face. Didn't he believe in privacy?

"Yes?" she asked shortly. She didn't want to be in trouble, but there was nothing she hated more than how Naraku insisted she stay in the room even if he decided to have a little fun with that disgusting Kanna woman. It was bad enough standing at one end of the room, staring at the ceiling and trying to pretend she was somewhere else, but to be forced to approach him at such a time...

"Why don't you join us, girl?" Naraku's voice was teasing, but it lilted on the edge of dangerously serious at the same time. "Kanna could teach you a few things. Perhaps that wolf boy would thank her later."

"No thank you." Haruka had to clench her fists tight to keep from hitting the insufferable man. He knew about Yuki and her. Not everything, but more than he should. It drove her crazy to have to stand his taunts about it and not be able to strike back.

"Kanna, not like that, I've told you before." Naraku rolled his eyes, fishing around under the covers until he pulled up the white haired woman. "Don't do that, you're no good at it. Perhaps Haruka could teach you? How about it, girl? Does the wolf boy like your tongue?" Haruka almost vomited as Kanna glanced over, licking moist lips before turning back to her master.

"I don't bother to ask." Haruka was bordering on contempt. She knew it, but at this point, she didn't care. She'd been almost pleased when Naraku and Kanna returned with a couple dozen servants. She had thought they would leave her be, but apparently nothing could distract his attentions from her.

"Oh, don't you?" Naraku laughed. "She's quite feisty today, isn't she Kanna?"

"Yes Master." Kanna answered. Sometimes, Haruka wondered if she could say anything else.

"Come closer, girl." Naraku beckoned, his eyes flickering wickedly. Haruka wanted to run, but she stepped forward. As soon as she moved, though, her head swam and lights flashed white all around her. The world went blank as she collapsed to the ground. Kanna couldn't suppress a laugh as the hapless girl's head cracked and began to bleed slightly. "Now, now, Kanna, that's not very nice. We should help her. Get down and bring her to me." he commanded, laughing as well when Kanna hurriedly obeyed, leaping out of the sheets bare naked to pick up Haruka, who almost immediately woke up, batting about and scrambling away from Kanna.

"Get away from me you freak!" Haruka was torn between glaring and looking away from the pale body. She settled for a short, sullen glance.

"Don't be like that, girl. You know she's above you." Naraku was still laughing. "Why does it bother you? Wouldn't you like to feel what it's like? Kanna does seem to enjoy it. You're both women."

"I'm not like her." Haruka protested, but her voice lost strength as her head was pounding with the pain of her fall. She didn't understand what caused her fainting spells, but Yuki had a strange theory about her father's wish being erased and how it would erase her. She didn't know if that was true, but she wished that she could stop them, or at least stop showing weakness to these two. "I can't...I..."

"Oh, she's going to fall again. How boring." Naraku rolled his eyes. "Don't think you can end early because you're not feeling well, girl. Kanna, come back to bed."

"Yes, Master." Kanna replied.

----------

"Does it hurt at all?" Yuki asked, gently dabbing at the blood dried on Haruka's forehead with a damp scrap of cloth. The cut wasn't that bad, but there was a nice sized bruise drawing more attention to it and making it seem more serious than it was. As soon as she'd finally been dismissed, Haruka had come down, only to be practically shoved into bed by a concerned Yuki. At least Tsuyo was already asleep. Haruka was in no mood to deal with his jealousy.

"A bit, but I did fall on my head. It's to be expected." Haruka joked lightly, enjoying the care she was receiving, even if she would have just as soon not hit her head on the ground.

"Well, tell me if I'm making it any worse at all." Yuki smiled softly, still dabbing at her cut carefully in the dark of the cell. Haruka nodded, letting her thoughts wander as he continued his work.

"Yuki, do you know what a wedding is like?" she asked suddenly. Yuki almost dropped his bit of cloth.

"W--what do you mean?" he asked in shock at the change in subject.

"Oh, I was just thinking...you seem to know a lot about humans." Haruka shrugged. "I don't know much about youkai though."

"It's just because of who I am." Yuki explained. "My father...mother says he wasn't always like he is, but he's very good at keeping a good relationship between the tribe and the local villages. Not all the humans really like the idea of trading and dealing with youkai, but there are a few who do. To keep up relations, I had to learn about many of their customs. Some others I picked up on just by being amongst them when taking trips for my father."

"I see." Haruka nodded. "So you do then?"

"Yeah, I know what they're like." Yuki smiled. "Was there a reason why you wanted to know that?"

"Well...I kind of wanted to know...not that I've decided, but I just was curious about youkai mating." Haruka managed to tell him. "I mean...it sounds silly, but I've never...I don't really know what they do."

"Oh." Yuki blushed, finishing with her forehead and setting aside the little bit of cloth. "I guess...I could tell you."

"If it's too embarrassing...you don't have to." Haruka felt guilty for making him uncomfortable.

"No, you want to know." Yuki insisted, his face moving into different expressions as he went through some internal conflict. "It's like this." Yuki told her. He stared at her, opening his mouth occasionally but not saying a thing.

"You don't have to tell me." Haruka told him once more. Yuki chuckled slightly, shaking his head. Then he leaned over, kissing her right temple lightly.

"That's the first thing." he told her. "It starts like that. And then...then the woman has to do it back." Yuki blushed, but continued. "Next is this." He leaned down once more, kissing her between the eyes. "The woman does it back, and then...then you..." he turned slightly, so he was almost lying on the bed next to her, kissing her lips. "And then..." he moved down to her throat, right where it met her shoulder, kissing her for a long time. He came up, panting slightly. "Then...before he stops, the man has to bite her there. That's how he marks her. And then...they finish."

"She...doesn't need to mark him?" Haruka asked.

"No woman needs to. Everyone knows." Yuki told her, laughing slightly. "They know from how her mate acts."

"How?" she asked, moving her blanket so that Yuki could climb in bed with her.

"Like she has him on a leash." Yuki admitted, accepting her invitation willingly.

"I see." Haruka giggled a bit at that. "Yuki?"

"Yes?" he answered, wrapping his arms around her.

"Every night, before we go to sleep...you kiss me here." she indicated her right temple. "Is that..."

"Because I want to mate you?" he finished. "Yes. Also, it's an excuse to kiss you."

"So then...it's like you're asking me." she realized. "Every night, you're asking."

"Without words." he answered. "I don't mean to push...I just..."

"No, it's okay. I like it." Haruka admitted. "I just wanted to know."

"I understand." Yuki kissed her temple, yawning. "I love you."

"Goodnight." Haruka blushed, falling asleep in the safety of his arms.

----------

"It was very suspicious." Fuyu told his father. "That aura...there was something about it that seemed wrong to me."

"It smells bad." Natsu wrinkled her nose, agreeing with her brother. "And I was pretty sure that whoever it was must be pretty powerful. Because Fuyu and I looked around for it, but we couldn't find where the source was. I don't like it though. Makes my skin crawl."

"This is worth some consideration." Sesshoumaru rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I have my suspicions as to what might be causing that aura, and I want you two to investigate the area further. If it is what I suspect, we can't afford to ignore such a thing."

"May I ask what you think it is?" Fuyu asked curiously.

"Someone who should have died long ago." Sesshoumaru sighed slowly. "His name is Naraku, and my half-brother Inuyasha led a band that killed him before you two were born. It seems that someone has revived him, however."

"Why would they do that?" Natsu wanted to know. "Whoever this guy was, he seems like a pretty nasty character now."

"I don't know, Natsu." Sesshoumaru admitted. "It was a lot of trouble to bring him back, and it never seemed as though any of Naraku's followers were that loyal to him. It seems that at least one of them was, though. I want you two to find out if that's what has happened and report back to me."

"You can trust us, father." Fuyu stood, nodding sharply.

"We'll kick his ass!" Natsu added before chasing her brother out of the throne room.

"At least they're eager." Sesshoumaru sighed, rubbing his temples.

----------

"Mama, wake up!" a toddler shook Haruka to wakefulness, but she resisted, cuddling against her mate. "Mama, it's morning and I want breakfast."

"Have your dad make it." Haruka smiled slightly at the groan this brought from the man next to her. "I do all the work."

"Haruka...I'm the leader of the tribe. It's not like I do nothing." Yuki protested, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

"Is mama up?" another small child entered the cave where Haruka and Yuki were trying to sleep. "I'm hungry!"

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." Haruka smiled lazily as she let the two pull her out of her blankets.

"Mmm, Haruka," Yuki blinked his red eyes at her sleepily. "Do me a favor?"

"What's that, love?" she asked, leaning down to kiss his forehead. "Make some for you too?"

"No," he shook his head, pulling her ear to his lips. "Stay with me forever. See me in your heart. I've been there for all this time..."

"Yuki..." Haruka opened her eyes, noticing that she was not alone in her blankets. As usual, she was sleeping beside Yuki, who had woken up at the sound of his name. Or had he been awake before then?

"Were you dreaming?" he asked, brushing the hair from her face tenderly.

"I was." she confirmed. "Sweet dreams I don't want to lose."

"Then let yourself go back to them." Yuki smiled softly at her, kissing her right temple before settling down beside her once more. "Sleep, Haruka. You need your rest."

"I need..." Haruka's heart beat fast as she realized that no matter where they were, in her world or his, she wanted it to always be this way. She wanted to stay with Yuki forever, just as he wanted her to always remain beside him. Haruka wanted to tell him, but she wasn't sure of how she could do it. "Yuki...I need..."

"Is something wrong?" Yuki asked, looking at her with concern in his eyes.

"Not anymore." she answered, suddenly realizing the best thing to do in this situation. Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to Yuki's right temple, hoping he caught the meaning of her gesture. She didn't need to worry. As soon as he felt her lips, Yuki's body went tense with shock. He gasped, and when she moved back, he stared into her eyes as though looking for some answer.

"Haruka...you just..." Yuki was having a hard time saying just what he meant. "You...know what...that means?"

"I know what it means." Haruka answered, feeling a bit nervous even though she had never felt more right about any decision she'd ever made before. "I want this, Yuki. I want to be mated to you. I want us to be together forever."

"R--really?" Yuki was dumbstruck. Haruka nodded, stroking his hair gently. After a few moments, Yuki leaned forward, kissing Haruka between the eyes. When his lips dropped, she returned the gesture before seeking out his lips with her own. They had kissed before, but now, in this moment, Haruka felt all of Yuki's love pouring into her and all of hers pouring into him. It was so powerful, so addicting, she didn't want it to end.

"I love you, Yuki." she told him as he moved down to her throat, biting it as he had told her he would. His teeth were sharp, and it hurt, but at the same time it felt strangely sweet..

"And I love you, Haruka." he answered after finishing with her neck. "Always."

*****

The End (Of Part 11, That Is)