Dislcaimer: I don't own the rights to the characters but I own the deluxe Inuyasha plushie, the Naraku figure, the import dvds, an Inuyasha wall scroll and a t-shirt. I'm a bit Inyu-obsessed, lol. I write this for fun.

Naraku rolled over in his sleep. Part of his brain noticed that his futon had suddenly become softer, and more rounded. Much more rounded. It decided to wake him up. Naraku opened his eyes and found Kikyo's staring directly back at him.

"Either do something or get off of me." Naraku rolled off of her. Quickly.

"Why are you naked and in my bed? Again?"

"Why are a man and woman usually naked and in bed together?"

"I did not have sex with you. Not this time. Not the last time. You are trying to play with my mind."

"Believe what you will." Kikyo lifted the blanket and Naraku noticed the marks on her breasts, neck, inner thighs. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Maybe you did those to yourself."

"I was always a very athletic girl, Naraku-chan, but not a contortionist."

"I asked you not to call me that." He stood up and got dressed.

"If you are going to make tea, I would like some as well."

"Actually, I was thinking of something a bit stronger."

"There isn't anything else. You made a promise to me last night to stop drinking and you poured out all the bottles remaining in the castle."

"Nan da to? Why would I promise anything? Especially to you."

"Let's just say I had you in the palm of my hand at the time, and you were more than willing to give me anything I asked for. I want you sober and healthy, so that when I finally destroy you, you will be aware of it and able to feel the pain." Naraku went to sit by the window and sulk.

Kikyo stood, stretched and got dressed. "I notice you have made new kugutsu. Plotting again?"

"Always."

"I saw another baboon pelt in one of the villages in the mountains."

"So ka?"

"Hai. Someone had dyed the fur a lovely shade of purple, though. Or maybe it was more lavender."

"It wouldn't do, then. I cannot personify evil in a purple baboon pelt. What kind of person would dye a perfectly good baboon pelt? Especially purple?" Naraku shook his head. "Well, maybe someone like Sesshomaru. His fashion taste is a bit extreme."

"What kind of person would think a baboon pelt personifies evil?" Kikyo picked up one of the kugutsu. "Really, Naraku-chan, why do you bother with these when you can simply shape shift, like you did with Inuyasha and me?"

"If I shape shift that puts me in the middle of the action and at risk." He frowned. "I haven't exactly come out on the winning side in my recent encounters with Inuyasha and his companions."

"Ah, so what you are saying is that you are a coward."

Naraku glared at her. "What I am saying is that I am cautious."

"Wouldn't want to mess up that pretty face, ne? Almost as pretty as Sesshomaru. Maybe the two of you should move in together."

"He is busy with Kagura and besides he wants me dead."

"He will have to get in line behind the rest of us."

Naraku shrugged. "I've never played well with others. Don't you have anyone else you can annoy, onna? Like Dog-Boy?"

"Inuyasha. He is too boring and dull-witted. You are neither."

"I do have a question. If we have had sex, why is it that I have no memory of it?"

"Onigumo had the sex. You just provided the body. It's all a matter of common herbs mixed together in the right proportions."

"I guess there is no chance in my getting that recipe."

"None in hell. It was designed specifically for you anyway."

"Pity. Well, I have business to attend to, so if you will excuse me." Naraku stood up.

"I was beginning to wonder of you were going to do anything besides sit and stare out of the window. I will take my leave then, until my next visit. Tell Onigumo to wear the black yukata with the gold dragons. He will know what I mean. Ja ne."

"Sayonara."

*********

"Kagura!! Where in the hell is she? Kagura!!"

"Gomen kudasai, Naraku-sama. Kagura is still chained in the dungeon."

"Domo, Kanna. What is that smell?"

"I cooked breakfast, Naraku-sama." Kanna held up a bowl that contained something that looked as unlike food as you could possibly get.

"Ah. I am not hungry right now, Kanna. Where is Kohaku?"

"He said he wasn't hungry either and he left. What should I do with breakfast?"

"Bury it somewhere." He went to check on Kagura.

Kanna looked at her "breakfast" and decided to keep it in her chamber. It later developed into a small sentient lifeform with rejection issues and a hatred of Naraku.

"Kagura." She raised her head and glared at him. "I am going to give you an opportunity to return to my good graces. I have a bit more refining to do to my plans, then I will come back down and discuss them with you." He turned and left, leaving Kagura still chained and cursing.

Kohaku returned a short while later, carrying two chickens he had stolen from a nearby village. He put one in a small cage in the kitchen, then took the other out to the couryard to kill it. Naraku sat by the window and sipped his tea. He watched as Kohaku let the chicken go. It flapped frantically around the small courtyard, trying to find a means of escape. Kohaku stood and watched, impassive, then he beheaded it with his blade. Naraku smiled. Maybe he should let Kohaku have a little fun tonight and set him loose on a village. Too bad he had neglected to ask Kikyo the name of the village with the purple baboon pelt. Damned villagers deserved to die. He finished his tea, then returned to his chamber to work out the final details of his plans and prepare the kugutsu.

Owari