Disclaimer:    Inuyasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.  Other characters are property of Dark Star.

Rating:         PG-13: for language and just in case

Summary:    [Nar/Kag] The ningen foiled his plans again! What was it about this human girl that allowed her to infinitely ruin his plots? He would find out for himself what she was really able to do…

Genre:            Romance/Drama

A/N:            Hey!  I'm back again!  ^_^  My updates, obviously, will be less frequent due to the commencement of school.  -.-;;  Sorry!

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True Love

Chapter Eight: Weakness

January 2003

Chilling arms of wind embraced a female figure, allowing the bleak white sleeves of a kimono churn about her arms.  Long, flowing red pants (so to speak) rippled in the breeze.  A lone figure, the one adorning the red and white miko garb, stood in a desolate clearing, her gaze transfixed above by the dark sky.  Billowing clouds foretold of a storm, one of those unpredicted spring rain.  Dry, cracked earth underfoot stretched from side to side, graciously bordered by an ominous forest.  Ebony hair flew back from a pale face; Kikyo was oblivious to it all.

She sought answers from the heavens, asking answers she could not retrieve alone.  Although the Fates above could not simply bless her with all her solutions, Nature could provide a temporary gateway for what she quested.  With Nature at its peak, during a storm, her senses, as a former miko, would heighten; she would be able to glimpse her environment far and wide, find her inner peace, and then, perhaps, she would sort through her tangle of thoughts.

          "Let me see," she whispered to the wind.  "Show me."

Thunder rumbled in the distance, loud and commanding in its tone, as if it was answering her.

          "Show me; find my peace," she said more firmly, relaxing her body.

The gales of spring's breath whirled about her, lifting dirt up from its cradle in the earth.  It, too, answered her.  Lightning forked the sky, sparking down with unbridled fury.  Several struck at once, felling a few of the ring of trees around her.  They burst into flame, popping and snapping as the creak moan of the trunk echoed through the clearing.  Even as the temperature escalated, the miko remained standing, eyes closed, open to receive what Nature deemed her worthy of.

          "Show me," she murmured.  "My thoughts."

Images raced through her mind, those of the past, those of the present, and perhaps some of the future.  Each one spoke a thousand or more words, explaining to her alone what the jumble of reflections meant.  They showed her, in a matter of seconds, what was most important, what she needed to do, what she should understand.

There was a slight gasp and then she grew silent.  A wash of raindrops began to beat rhythmically on the parched earth.  It steadily grew to the roar of a waterfall.  The flaming tree branches fizzled out, leaving no trace whatsoever of the infernos save the fallen trees.  Wind ceased its dance, and the dirt fell back towards the ground.  What was left of the thunder remained a low drone in the background.

Kikyo collapsed to the soft ground, marring the unblemished cloth of her kimono.  Is that really what's going to happen?  Her mind was even more mottled than before.  Inuyasha…  The familiar name echoed in the chasms of her consciousness.  Would I really…?

~*~*~*~*~

Inuyasha had been in a foul mood the whole day.  And the day before.  Ever since Kagome 'took leave' as he had put it, the hanyou had been downright irritable and entirely distracted.  It was beginning to take its toll on the whole Inuyasha-tachi.

          "Oi!  Inuyasha!" Shippo whined childishly, "Where's Kagome?"

          The hanyou sent a freezing glare towards the fox before punching him into a tree.  "DON'T TALK ABOUT KAGOME!"

After all, what was he to do?  She had disappeared in Naraku's arms.  After HE, Inuyasha, couldn't even lay a finger on her!  WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!  He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, if Kagome was really safe at home, and the whole Kikyo and Naraku incident was just a dream.  Truthfully, he wished it was.  But it had all been too real to even have come close to a dream.  His brain was working in overtime just attempting to figure out what to do.  The fact that Miroku, Sango, and Shippo all bothered him about Kagome wasn't helping much.

          "Ne, Inuyasha," Sango called hesitantly, Hiraikotsu slung over one shoulder, "Where did Kagome go?  Did she go back home?"

          "Inuyasha, did you anger Kagome-sama again?" Miroku prodded.  "You must go to her and apologize."  Miroku yawned.

They both awaited the half-youkai's answer, but of course, he gave none, as he was too busy configuring his next move.  Go to the well.  That would be the most logical course of action, he reasoned.  To the well, it was.  Without offering explanation, he bounded off into the forest, leaving a momentarily confused group in the dust.

          Sango caught on.  "Kirara!" she commanded.

The tiny youkai transformed into the grace feline beast while Sango and Miroku jumped on, pulling Shippo with them.

          "Where are we going, Sango-sama?" Miroku inquired as they flew past the foliage.

          "It seems," Sango replied, "that Inuyasha is going back to the well."

          Miroku nodded knowingly.  "He has finally decided to apologize."

          Shippo stared off into the distance, even as the plants blurred by.  "Kagome, come back."

~*~*~*~*~

As his soft footsteps echoed down the empty corridor, he could just pick up the stifled moan that escaped the young woman's throat.  Lately, Naraku had just taken to observing her, and at the same time, starving the 'Dark' Kagome.  He was only on his way now at sunset, as it was every day, to pay her a visit.  Unfortunately, the process of weakening the youki was taking longer than expected.  It just went to show how strong Naraku's energy was.  Sliding the bolt back, he pushed the door open to enter her dungeon.  The head of dark hair hung low, resting on one of her shoulders, and her arms were limp.  All of her skin had taken a lighter tinge, paler than usual.  Even so, the remaining youki still spurted freely around her, keeping alive what should have left the girl's body already.

          "Naraku," she rasped, voice weak with thirst.

She didn't look up to him, give him any sign that she was even alive save her voice.  Her breathing was inaudible, her scent nearly dissipated, and the lustrous, healthy sheen of black hair gone.  She looked half-empty.  He would have thought the girl would've fought off this darker side to her long ago, considering the purifying powers she possessed, but here it was, plain as day.  Although, he mused as his eyes drawled over her pathetic figure, the darker side was significantly weakened already.

Naraku raised his arm to the side, and a glass of water miraculously appeared.  Striding up to the limp girl, he, using one hand, lifted her chin, and, with the other hand, raised the glass to her lips.  The normally vibrant eyes were closed in fatigue, too exhausted to even open them a crack.  Once the glass had been drained, he tossed it to the side, allowing the broken glass to spill across the stone floor.  He wondered how much longer she would last.  Using the same method he had before, he drained a little bit more of youki from her; maybe it would speed up the process a little.  He would have taken out all of the sinister energy had he the option, but right now, the girl needed it to survive within this castle; she was still too weak to ward off the sanctuary's evil aura right now.  She needed time to adjust.  Unfortunately, with the atmosphere inside the castle, the 'Dark' Kagome's existence continued to linger, feeding off what it could of the caste's energy.

Removing his mouth from hers, he stepped back and allowed himself the routine of observing her still form.  Now, she provided no protest, no attempt to attack him; she seemed content fighting to remain in control in the human's body.  Naraku questioned her reason for the possession of body.  With weakening energy, even with control over her appendages and mind, the girl had no benefit.  It was totally pointless to remain outside, starving.

          "I thought you were stronger, miko," he stated dispassionately.  "Why do you not take over this lower, darker spirit?"

          "She cannot hear you, Naraku," the limp girl drawled.  His name was accented softly.

          "Maybe so, but," his eyes roved over her body, studying her posture and expression, "you can certainly hear me, and you two are connected.  She is aware of my moves and words, even though she may not know it."

The girl didn't answer; resentment hung thickly around her.  Naraku smirked and turned towards the door, pulling it open before pausing in the corridor.

          "Surrender, dark one," he commanded softly, "You've no purpose in this world."

A/N:                *waving* How was it?  Is Naraku starting to become OOC?  I'm sorry; the story isn't planned out or anything.  It makes the quality a lot worse, I say, but not knowing what's gonna happen is pretty irritating.  I, myself, am not even sure of the ending.  So, of course, your comments count!  ^_^ Guess what?  My b-day's coming up soon!  XD  And then, I'll finally be able to tell everyone my age!  ^^;;  Well, everyone who cares to know (for those who don't).  In any case, review, please!

~*~*~Dark Star~*~*~

P.S.  Contrary to one of the reviewers' comments, this is not going to be a lemon fic; I don't think I have the guts to write one of those, and no, it's not NC-17.  PG-13's a far cry from that, so I assure you, nothing too graphic.  LOL, don't worry too much about the story; I'll try to stay within the rating.  ^.~