Okay, I think there's some secret conspiracy against me ever finishing this chapter. See, I thought I had it done, but I forgot that I'd not really written more than a page, so then I had to go back and write it, but then...oh man, somehow the entire file got deleted. What the heck? I mean, can't I ever get a break here? I think it's the whole unlucky 13 thing maybe, or perhaps my computer has decided I need to stop this whole Nasty Naraku thing...Oh well. Let's try this thing again.
*****
Fate's Reversal
Part 13
*****
"Do you know what we need, Kanna?" Naraku asked the woman who was draped over him bonelessly, her fingers stroking his naked chest in lazy patterns. "We need some more servants. Real ones. Like you."
"Do I not meet your needs, Master?" Kanna asked, making a face that was obviously supposed to be a pout.
"Not really, Kanna. You aren't good for much, to tell the truth." Naraku told her, rolling his eyes and sitting up in bed. She slowly moved up next to him, nuzzling at his neck. "Besides, for what I have in mind, we'll need more than just you."
"Master...why don't you just use the children? They are pretty enough, don't you think?" Kanna asked, nodding toward Haruka, who was quietly standing in the back of the room, trying to look as unnoticeable as possible.
"That's not what I mean, Kanna." Naraku rolled his eyes again. "I can't trust the children. They are my playthings, not my true servants. We need other youkai. Fighters."
"What for?" Kanna asked. Naraku suddenly slapped her so hard, she fell most of the way out of the bed before crumpling to the floor compliantly.
"You know better than to question my intentions, Kanna." Naraku informed her, glaring down at the woman. "Besides, we cannot discuss such things in front of her." Naraku turned his calculating gaze to Haruka, who wished she could simply disappear from his view. Naraku had other ideas, though. "Girl, come here."
"Yes." she scuttled over reluctantly, stopping a good three feet away so that she was still a comfortable distance from him. Naraku sighed impatiently and beckoned her closer.
"I said for you to come, and I mean for you to come closer." Naraku told her. "Close enough to touch you."
"Yes, the Master is not to be disobeyed." Kanna was up on her feet again, standing stark naked behind Haruka, apparently uncaring about her nudity.
"I...don't want to." Haruka finally managed, amazed she was brave enough to speak those few rebellious words.
"You don't want to?" Naraku laughed before becoming deadly serious. "I didn't ask if you wanted to, girl. I said come here." he ordered, his patience wearing thin.
"N...no!" Haruka backed up a step, only to find her escape blocked by Kanna. And then there was no time to think as Naraku let out an angry snarl, leaping from the bed and catching Haruka before she could escape, pulling her against his own naked body, much to her revulsion.
"Bitch! Don't you dare to defy me!" Naraku slapped her, holding her in place with his other arm locked around her waist. "Would you like to know what I'm going to do to you? Would you?" he growled, carrying her kicking and screaming back to his bed. She battled with everything she had, but Haruka was simply no match for Naraku, and though her struggles annoyed him, they did not actually impair his ability to dominate her.
"Let me go!" Haruka screamed, wiggling in his grasp helplessly as he pinned her to the bed, squeezing her wrists painfully in one hand, his other hand furiously working at the ties on her garment.
"Does it scare you to know that no matter how many times the boy takes you, your body is mine, and I can claim it whenever I wish to do so?" Naraku chuckled at her futile attempts to escape as he moved from one tie to the next. "Or does the idea that you'll enjoy me more than him scare you? I am more of a man than he is, more than he can ever become. He is only a small piece of me, so inconsequential as to not affect the whole."
"You say that, but he's more human than you!" Haruka growled, angry at his jibe enough to almost forget her situation. "You'll never be half the man he is!"
"Bitch!" Naraku slapped her angrily, ignoring Kanna's giggle coming from nearby. It was an altogether eerie sound, but he was concentrated fully on Haruka. Nothing could distract him from the unwilling girl pinned beneath him, giving in to him against her will, exciting him more than Kanna ever could. "Don't you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to take you myself! I'm going to bless you with the privilege of my only naturally conceived child. What do you think of that, eh girl?"
"Fuck you, you limp-dick bastard!" Haruka snarled, spitting in his face. Naraku's eyes widened in surprise at her defiance.
"What, no whimpers? No pleas for mercy?" Naraku laughed finally. "Yes, you really are Inuyasha's daughter, I suppose he would do the same if ever in this situation. There was a time when I considered taking Kikyo and him both if they were so inseperable..." Leaning down, Naraku pulled aside Haruka's skimpy outfit, revealing curves of pale skin heaving with her angry breaths.
"Asshole! What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you find someone who wants to be with you?" Haruka shot at him.
"You forget Kanna." Naraku growled slightly in anger. "Although her willingness does not excite me half as much as your resistance. How beautiful will it be when I break you? When I finally finish what I started so many years ago and kill your father, but not before I show him the mother of my child, his own, dear daughter. Will you be able to fight me for long, I wonder?" Naraku considered her carefully, noting that her anger was giving way to fear slowly. "You did not resist me for long when I requested that you become my servant. Perhaps I should let you choose...who would you rather I do this with? You..." here Naraku ground his hips into the struggling girl, and she realized with terror that she was dangerously close to being taken against her will, and that she couldn't do a thing to stop him. "Or that little one? What was her name again? Amai..."
"No! Not Amai! She's only a child! You bastard!" Haruka struggled, but her wriggling only excited Naraku further. She felt bile rise in her throat as he chuckled before leaning down to lick at her bare skin, leaving a slimy feeling all over her. "Dammit! Let me go!" Haruka fought him, but it was useless. He was much stronger than her, and she knew he would win. "You...you'll never make me love you..."
"Who said I wanted your love?" Naraku looked up incredulously, laughing before he lowered his head to her chest, tasting her breasts before he moved to her stomach, enjoying the taste of her skin as well as the desperation in her screaming struggle. But then, as he bit at her flat stomach, he froze, noticing something odd. Sniffing her skin deeply, he lowered his ear to her stomach. She didn't notice the change in his demeanor at first, but after he lay silently for several moments, she stopped screaming, looking down in confusion.
"How...disgusting..." Naraku murmured finally, sitting up and releasing her. Haruka didn't waste any time scrambling off the bed and grabbing her dismantled scrap of clothing. "You whore." he glared at her in disgust.
"I'm not your whore!" Haruka backed away, trying to cover herself while keeping her eyes on both Kanna and Naraku.
"This is almost better, now that I think of it." Naraku chuckled slightly. "To think, that boy who you care for so much will kill you! Will you curse him in death, I wonder? Perhaps you'll return to me, wanting to show him how you hate him."
"What...are you talking about Yuki?" Haruka was confused, but she didn't stop her cautious retreat.
"Didn't you know?" Naraku laughed in shocked pleasure. "This may be interesting, eh Kanna?"
"Indeed." Kanna looked a bit confused, but she agreed with Naraku on pure instinct. "Very interesting."
"What are you talking about?" Haruka glared at them both.
"You carry it inside you, idiot girl." Naraku told her. "His seed, the thing that will rip you apart and kill you. Pleasant, isn't it? Knowing that he's killed you.. Aren't you happy, girl?"
"You...I don't believe you." Haruka hit the wall and stopped, still covering herself and keeping her eyes locked on the two youkai.
"Then go. Ask your precious boy." Naraku waved her away. Haruka didn't have to be told twice. Without pausing to get dressed properly, she bolted out of the room, running down to the dungeon, her mind whirling with questions.
----------
"Is...she okay?" Tsuyo ventured the question as he watched Yuki carefully tucking the sleeping woman in. "She's gonna be fine, right?"
"I don't know." Yuki admitted, brushing his fingers through her snowy mane and then over her tear blotched face. "I don't even know for sure what happened."
"Well...we couldn't really understand her." Tsuyo recalled the terrifying moment when Haruka had come running into the dungeon, escorted eventually into her cell by Kanna. She had scared everyone, clutching her skimpy outfit to her desperately as she sobbed and babbled something about Naraku's child and Yuki killing her while Kanna calmly let her in the cell before leaving without responding to any of their shouted accusations and questions. She had then promptly passed out in Yuki's arms. "Do...do you think that Naraku...I mean..."
"Do I think he raped her?" Yuki felt a sharp stab even as he spoke the words. "He...might have. I just don't know."
"Why...do you think she was saying you would kill her?" Tsuyo ventured. Yuki couldn't tell if the boy was just frightened about the scene Haruka had made, or if he genuinely wondered if Yuki would do such a thing.
"Naraku did something to her." Nigai answered from the next cell. "She wasn't making any sense. All we can really do is wait for her to wake up again. See what she says then, you know?"
"You're right, Nigai." Yuki caressed her cheek, kissing her forehead gently as he watched over her diligently.
"You...should probably sleep with her tonight." Tsuyo suggested, though he couldn't believe he was actually encouraging the other young man.
"You...know?" Yuki's eyes widened in shock as he looked up at the boy across the hall.
"We all know, Yuki." Amai answered from her cell. "It's kinda obvious. Plus, I saw the mark on her neck."
"Yeah, and then Naraku had you whipped." Sekatsu added. "Obviously he was angry cause she kept turning him down."
"I'm not really that mad." Tsuyo admitted. "After all that's happened...I can tell you love her. And she loves you, too. I won't get in the way. I never really had a chance with her anyway."
"What about you, Sekatsu?" Yuki was surprised at all this. He had thought Haruka and him had been careful enough to not be discovered.
"I think Sekatsu's more interested in Amai now." Tsuyo teased his brother, who blushed slightly and mumbled under his breath.
"Good joke." Nigai's voice grated angrily as he glared viciously at Sekatsu, his eyes telling the other boy to stay far from his precious sister.
"I...don't mind." Sekatsu finally spoke up, not wanting to anger Amai's twin. He understood what it was to be a twin, and though he'd never felt much need to protect Tsuyo from girls, he could understand what Nigai was feeling.
"Sorry for not telling you all." Yuki sighed. "We thought...it'd cause problems."
"No problem." Tsuyo shook his head. "But then...wait until you meet her father." There was a strongly foreboding tone in those words, and Yuki felt a bit worried as he climbed into bed with Haruka. Angry father or not, she was his mate, and he would keep her safe.
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"Sekatsu...are you asleep?" Amai's voice was no more than a whisper, but Sekatsu could hear it clearly. He turned over in his futon, seeing the dark haired youkai girl sitting right next to him.
"No." he answered, sitting up and stretching slightly. "What's wrong?"
"I just...do you think she'll be okay?" Her blue eyes glowed with worry even in the dark cell.
"Sure." Sekatsu assured her. "Haruka's the strongest girl I know. Nothing can hurt her."
"She just seemed so..." Amai shook her head. "Sekatsu?"
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Can I...um...can I sleep with you tonight? I'm kinda scared to be alone." Amai asked him, her voice trembling.
"Amai..." Sekatsu was surprised at her request. "I...don't know."
"Why not?" she asked, persistent.
"I don't think...um...your brother would like that idea." Sekatsu admitted. He couldn't believe this! He was turning down a beautiful girl who wanted to spend the night in his bed. When did he become so noble?
"Nigai...I guess you're right." she sighed, standing up and shuffling back to her own bed. "Well then...goodnight, I guess."
"Goodnight, Amai." Sekatsu told her, still not believing he had refused her. It wasn't as though he didn't find her attractive. Forget the fact that she was only twelve, it was obvious that youkai children matured a lot faster than humans. Yuki looked like he was older than Haruka by a year or two, but he was almost three years her junior. And since when was he so cautious with girls? If it had been Haruka, he couldn't have cared less how angry Yoru or Mottomo might be. What was it about Amai? He felt something for her, but it was different from with Haruka. Was it love? Did he even know what that word meant?
----------
"Where is she? Sekatsu! Wake up dammit! Where's my sister?" Nigai was on a rampage. He'd woken up to discover that his precious twin was seemingly missing. He knew he was waking everyone up, but he didn't care. "Where the hell is she? Sekatsu, dammit!"
"Wha...who's where?" Sekatsu woke up, rubbing his eyes groggily as he blinked at Nigai.
"Amai! Where is she?" Nigai repeated his inquiry.
"Shit!" Yuki's voice came from his own cell. "They took Haruka again. I didn't even wake up. They took her away again. I didn't even get to talk to her."
"Some protector you are." Tsuyo shot angrily. He was cranky at being woken up and worried about both the girls, so he wasn't in the best of moods. "You...hey, why aren't you in her bed? Didn't you sleep with her?"
"She...um...she kept kicking and hitting me in her sleep. I figured she didn't want me over there..." Yuki felt stupid admitting it, but he had really believed she'd be better off by herself.
"Well, you would've done a better job protecting her if you'd stayed with her, you idiot!" Tsuyo growled.
"Like you would've done any better!" Yuki shot back.
"You two knock it off! Where's Amai?" Nigai went back to his interrogation of Sekatsu.
"I...um...don't know." he answered. "She was here last night. We talked...cause she was scared. She wanted to sleep with me, but I didn't think that was a good idea..." Sekatsu cut himself off, realizing he probably didn't need to tell Nigai that part.
"You said no? To Amai?" Tsuyo rolled his eyes and went back to his futon, flopping down. "I don't even know you anymore, Sekatsu."
"You told her no? And she was scared! What's wrong with you?" Nigai stomped angrily, glaring at the other boy.
"I...only said it cause I thought you'd be mad if you...saw us together." Sekatsu defended himself weakly.
"She was scared! Dammit, you aren't worth it!" Nigai growled, pacing his cell.
"Worth what?" Sekatsu asked, confused.
"Can't you tell? She's..." Nigai drifted off. "I don't like to admit it, but I guess she's a woman now. She wants to be with you. Didn't you know?"
"Amai...wants to..." Sekatsu's eyes went wide as he smiled a bit lecherously. "Is this a trick?"
"You didn't know?" Tsuyo asked from his cell. "She practically worships you, idiot."
"I...guess I didn't see." Sekatsu was struck by all this. "I was too busy trying to keep Nigai happy."
"Me? What for?" Nigai was confused.
"You're her twin. If you hated me, I'd never have a chance." Sekatsu explained. "I have a twin too, you know."
"Dammit..." Nigai shook his head. "Sekatsu?"
"Yeah?" Sekatsu looked up questioningly.
"I misjudged you." Nigai offered him the barest of smiles and an approving nod.
*****
The End (Of Part 13, That Is)
And now, since Jade finished Finding Forever and I will miss the grand tradition that we...um started long ago with that one story she wrote, I will do the patented Jade and Teresa question thingy...yeah...
Will Sekatsu and Nigai remember that Amai's gone? Or will they sit there all day planning the wedding? Will they pick out china patterns? Did they have china in feudal Japan? Where did Amai go? Perhaps she only needed to use a restroom? And what about Haruka? Are the girls off gossiping about sex and boys? Or maybe she's taking a pregnancy test because she doesn't trust the time honored Sniff The Tummy Method of pregnancy determination? If they're always having sex, why hasn't Yuki noticed this development? Is Sekatsu going to get a piece of youkai loving? Or maybe Nasty Naraku has something...um...nasty in mind? What part could Kanna play in this newest development? And when are we going to get a bittersweet Kouga and Kagura scene? Did Teresa forget they exist? And what about Inuyasha and Kagome? Is Kagome going to go ballistic and come kick some Naraku ass, much to the joy of all the readers as well as the writer? And what are the other two couples doing? Perhaps they haven't appeared for a while because Teresa's afraid to write lemon? Or maybe she just wants to get this story finished and doesn't want to waste anymore time on mushy lovey scenes with no real point? And what was with that last lovey dovey cutesy poo chapter? Not to mention Myouga-jiji!
Until next time, remember that Elijah Wood is really hot and will someday marry me. Oh...just pretend I said something deep.