Blood Tastes So Much Sweeter
By: The Gifted Ten & DerrangedBlonde
Part Four: Soul Searching
Hesitantly, Sesshoumaru sat up and leaned forward as well, as Naraku firmly held his eyes captive. "I must first show you how it's done; because as you well know, the person being looked into cannot see what is happening." Sesshoumaru raised his right hand and placed it close to Naraku's face but not touching. Their eyes were still locked as they viewed each other through Sesshoumaru's outspread fingers. "Now...I want you to focus on my eyes as you saw me do; widen your pupils so there is nothing that escapes your line of vision." He waited.
Naraku raised an eyebrow in curiosity and did as Sesshoumaru said. His virtually nonexistent pupils grew dilated until a small rim of violet purple was left around the outside of the black voids that his pupils had become.
"Good." Sesshoumaru took a deep breath to relax; he couldn't believe he was teaching someone how to peer inside his soul! 'This is dangerous,' his conscience was yelling at him, 'he will surely turn on you the second he is past your barriers and the mighty Sesshoumaru-sama will be no more!' He mentally shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Now, I'm going to begin to look into your mind again, but only until I reach your inner barriers, alright?"
Naraku nodded slightly. 'Heh.... And here I thought he trusted me.' A wicked grin spread across his face but was quickly suppressed as Sesshoumaru continued. 'He... does trust me... even if it is only a little....' If they could have widened anymore, his eyes surely would have.
As Sesshoumaru's own eyes dilated until they matched those of Naraku's, the hand in front of the Kumo's face became translucent, and as Sesshoumaru made the mental dive into the other youkai's mind, a type of blurry image appeared inside the hand and Naraku realized he was seeing the inside of his own mind! "Shhh," Sesshoumaru reminded him. Naraku watched in wonder as tiny bits of his memories and pieces of himself floated past his line of sight until suddenly it stopped. "This...is the wall that surrounds your soul, Naraku." He let his words sink in and then continued, "I will not intrude on you again, but I've shown you the proper way of traveling through another's mind without damaging or changing anything." Suddenly, Naraku saw everything as if in rewind, and after a few long seconds, he was once again looking through Sesshoumaru's upturned fingers. Sesshoumaru drew back his hand from Naraku's face. "Give me your right hand."
Naraku was still in a mild state of shock. 'How could he bring up memories..... I tried so hard to forget....' Once Sesshoumaru's words clicked somewhere in Naraku's mind, he did as was instructed, holding out his right hand.
Sesshoumaru took Naraku's hand and turned it to where the palm was facing him, and the fingers were upturned. He then made a fist, using his claws to cut into his skin, and as the dark blood welled up inside the wound, he smeared it on Naraku's palm and then placed his own hand behind Naraku's.
Naraku's body stiffened as the thick smell of Sesshoumaru's blood filled his senses. The words from their battle echoed in his mind. 'Your blood tastes so much sweeter from your lips, Sesshoumaru.' It took a great deal of self control not to react as the blood was so generously smeared across his palm. His tongue, as if control by something else, darted across his own lips. "What are you doing...?" His voice was a little different in tone and Naraku silently hoped Sesshoumaru wouldn't note the change.
Sesshoumaru had felt him tense, but he'd dismissed it as he finished the process by lacing his fingers over Naraku's upturned ones. Now, he glanced up at Naraku's question. "Hm?" He looked back down at their now joined hands that were smeared with his own blood. "This is so I will be able to see what you see. I do not think I have enough patience to teach you the Mirror Hand technique, so I am merely improvising." He studied him. "Is there something wrong?"
Naraku had to layer on the self control. "No..." He said in an acidic tone to cover up the wavering tone his voice might have assumed if he had spoken any more than that single word. "Proceed."
"Very well." He once again locked gazes with Naraku, "Now...try to look into my mind. If you can get as far as my inner barriers, I will lead you down the rest of the way--it is not so easy to tread past another's barriers if they know what's being done." He took a deep breath, "Now go."
Once again, upon the inu-youkai's command, the kumo obeyed. At first nothing came, but Naraku knew mostly what he was doing. Then the room faded as Naraku's mind crossed the imaginary border of Sesshoumaru's and now, all was dark. He waded through the black depths, past shallow wispy thoughts and on into the deeper part of Sesshoumaru's mind. Recent memories flashed by. He saw himself leaning over Sesshoumaru, blood on the inu's lips. He paused, not being able to resist passing up the opportunity to watch that scene once more from a third person view. The words before the kiss didn't matter. The kumo watched tentatively as he pressed both their lips together. 'And yet, I find your blood tastes so much sweeter from your lips, Sesshoumaru.'..
As Sesshoumaru watched the images being projected onto the blood on Naraku's hand, he couldn't help but watch as once again Naraku stood above him, uttering crude remarks, and then kissing the blood off his lips with unmasked satisfaction. Not wanting to re-live anything else after that incident, Sesshoumaru promptly put out the candle that lit up his memory banks, hoping Naraku could find the way to his inner barrier on his own.
And then the memory blinked out-due to Sesshoumaru's intervention, leaving Naraku in almost complete darkness. He wandered deeper and deeper until he found the small flicker of childhood memories drifting by like dark phantoms. He paused and then he tried to move forward, but from no where, a huge wall appeared. It gleamed in the dark, as if declaring its presence had existed the whole time during Naraku's expeditions. 'Nothing was there a moment ago.' Naraku growled to himself, trying to push against the wall,(figuring it was merely an imposing hallucination), but it was as hard as stone and seemingly quite immovable. He'd reached the inner barrier. Now, Sesshoumaru had to guide him.
When the vision on the hand became clear Naraku had come to his inner barrier, Sesshoumaru was already on his way to greet the Kumo and show him through the "door." His 'self'-which was a double of his physical body- suddenly appeared beside the waiting Naraku.
Glad you made it.
Could have spared me a little more light...' He didn't finish that thought for good reasons.
Sesshoumaru almost made an apology, but dismissed the thought at remembering the reason for it. "Follow me." He made to turn, holding out his hand.
Naraku blinked and forced a glare. "Must I?" There was nothing holding him back. No one save for Sesshoumaru would see. The only thing that forced the words out of his mouth was fear. 'Fear of what?!' Naraku thought furiously at himself and grasped Sesshoumaru's hand in his before the inu could answer or even inhale.
"I don't want to take any chances...the inner demon in my mind might lash out at you if I don't guide you through....that's all." He proceeded to the doors that guarded his soul--they slowly opened upon recognizing him. He walked past them and they quickly shut, keeping something from coming in, or to keep something from getting out.
Naraku inwardly grinned with smug satisfaction at smothering that annoying conscience that had been plaguing him for so long. Once again, as they began walking, the wall was gone as if it had never existed. A heavy, awkward silence greeted them as they pressed on for what seemed like ages. By this time, the kumo's hand had lost all tension and was merely resting in Sesshoumaru's. But Naraku paused as he saw a pair of glowing red eyes in the dark flicker open and shut and then do the same once more. "A demon awakening from its sleep." He said in a low voice. At his words, the red eyes opened completely, blue pupils gleamed in pools of crimson. "Trouble," Naraku breathed, ready to attack but unsure if he should. His body went numb under the eyes' intense stare and as the other youkai still continued forward, his hand slowly slipped out of Sesshoumaru's.
Sesshoumaru turned around at the absence of Naraku's hand in his. "Naraku, what are--?" Then he saw it. A flash of red eyes and white fur leapt out of the shadows for the Kumo. "Get down!!!" he pushed the other youkai out of the way and stood in his demon's path. The impact of the dog demon knocked the wind out of him and he was unable to stop it as it went for Naraku. "No!!!"
Naraku growled, quickly picking himself off the ground only to hear the pounding footsteps of a large demon racing his way. The bitter smell of acid filled his senses. He could barely brace himself for the attack as two huge white paws came crashing down on him, pinning him and burying him into the nonexistent ground, crushing his bones. He could hear the sizzle of acidic saliva hitting somewhere near his head. He heard the demon snarl, felt the heat of the dog's breath as its jaws moved in for the kill. "No!" Naraku shouted, expecting nothing more than to die in Sesshoumaru's mind by the jaws of the inu's inner demon. The kumo shut his eyes tightly as a blinding flash of light negated his vision for a moment. An ear splitting yelp and then a howl of pain filled the area and then died and the monstrous dog demon collapsed entirely upon the kumo, making his already troubled breathing worse as he tried to worm his way out from under its crushing weight. He rose on shaky legs, chest rising and falling heavily. He blinked a few times, barely able to make out the form nearby. "Sesshoumaru..?"
He stood there in shock; the dark blood of the inu dripping from his blood- stained claws. "What." he took two faltering steps backwards, "What have I done." He staggered and then fell to his knees, staring in disbelief at the slain demon.
Naraku rubbed his eyes, blinking and finally regaining a decent amount of eyesight back; though, part of him wished he hadn't upon seeing the agonized face of Sesshoumaru. He traveled the distance between them, faltering every other step. But now he couldn't turn back as he crouched next to Sesshoumaru, placing a shaky hand on his shoulder. "I... I think it's best.... if we save viewing your soul..... For another occasion." His grip tightened reassuringly. "Thank you." he whispered under his breath to the stunned inu youkai.
He blinked, barely hearing Naraku's words as if they were far away. Not able to form the words, he slightly nodded. As the other youkai helped him to his feet, he felt an instinctual urge to stay behind. But, remembering Naraku was with him, he knew somewhere that they must return to the outside world. Still staring in that unseeing way, Sesshoumaru concentrated on leaving his darkened mind and returning to where their bodies still waited. He felt himself being pulled away, through the layers of his mind until he reached the surface. Upon reaching it, however, he suddenly froze and blacked out.
Naraku found the darkness rushing by, making the hours and days of wandering seem useless. When he came to, he blinked in confusion as he saw Sesshoumaru begin to fall backwards. Without thinking, Naraku's hand shot out and gently wrapped itself around his neck and pulled the inu forward. Now, Sesshoumaru's body (still in a sitting position) was leaning against Naraku's. He blinked, trying to convince himself he didn't just do that and isn't savoring the feel of someone else that close. He swallowed hard and spent around five to ten minutes position Sesshoumaru until finally, the inu's head rested in his lap. 'What am I doing?' he thought, 'He'll kill me when he wakes; probably assume I took advantage of him.' He frowned and decided. "So be it."
A/N: ok ok!! I know I promised yaoi goodness in this part, but gimme some slack, ppl!! So this part is a little short-and lacking in the yaoi. But I SWEAR there will actually be *physical* yaoiness in the next part! Cheers~
By: The Gifted Ten & DerrangedBlonde
Part Four: Soul Searching
Hesitantly, Sesshoumaru sat up and leaned forward as well, as Naraku firmly held his eyes captive. "I must first show you how it's done; because as you well know, the person being looked into cannot see what is happening." Sesshoumaru raised his right hand and placed it close to Naraku's face but not touching. Their eyes were still locked as they viewed each other through Sesshoumaru's outspread fingers. "Now...I want you to focus on my eyes as you saw me do; widen your pupils so there is nothing that escapes your line of vision." He waited.
Naraku raised an eyebrow in curiosity and did as Sesshoumaru said. His virtually nonexistent pupils grew dilated until a small rim of violet purple was left around the outside of the black voids that his pupils had become.
"Good." Sesshoumaru took a deep breath to relax; he couldn't believe he was teaching someone how to peer inside his soul! 'This is dangerous,' his conscience was yelling at him, 'he will surely turn on you the second he is past your barriers and the mighty Sesshoumaru-sama will be no more!' He mentally shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Now, I'm going to begin to look into your mind again, but only until I reach your inner barriers, alright?"
Naraku nodded slightly. 'Heh.... And here I thought he trusted me.' A wicked grin spread across his face but was quickly suppressed as Sesshoumaru continued. 'He... does trust me... even if it is only a little....' If they could have widened anymore, his eyes surely would have.
As Sesshoumaru's own eyes dilated until they matched those of Naraku's, the hand in front of the Kumo's face became translucent, and as Sesshoumaru made the mental dive into the other youkai's mind, a type of blurry image appeared inside the hand and Naraku realized he was seeing the inside of his own mind! "Shhh," Sesshoumaru reminded him. Naraku watched in wonder as tiny bits of his memories and pieces of himself floated past his line of sight until suddenly it stopped. "This...is the wall that surrounds your soul, Naraku." He let his words sink in and then continued, "I will not intrude on you again, but I've shown you the proper way of traveling through another's mind without damaging or changing anything." Suddenly, Naraku saw everything as if in rewind, and after a few long seconds, he was once again looking through Sesshoumaru's upturned fingers. Sesshoumaru drew back his hand from Naraku's face. "Give me your right hand."
Naraku was still in a mild state of shock. 'How could he bring up memories..... I tried so hard to forget....' Once Sesshoumaru's words clicked somewhere in Naraku's mind, he did as was instructed, holding out his right hand.
Sesshoumaru took Naraku's hand and turned it to where the palm was facing him, and the fingers were upturned. He then made a fist, using his claws to cut into his skin, and as the dark blood welled up inside the wound, he smeared it on Naraku's palm and then placed his own hand behind Naraku's.
Naraku's body stiffened as the thick smell of Sesshoumaru's blood filled his senses. The words from their battle echoed in his mind. 'Your blood tastes so much sweeter from your lips, Sesshoumaru.' It took a great deal of self control not to react as the blood was so generously smeared across his palm. His tongue, as if control by something else, darted across his own lips. "What are you doing...?" His voice was a little different in tone and Naraku silently hoped Sesshoumaru wouldn't note the change.
Sesshoumaru had felt him tense, but he'd dismissed it as he finished the process by lacing his fingers over Naraku's upturned ones. Now, he glanced up at Naraku's question. "Hm?" He looked back down at their now joined hands that were smeared with his own blood. "This is so I will be able to see what you see. I do not think I have enough patience to teach you the Mirror Hand technique, so I am merely improvising." He studied him. "Is there something wrong?"
Naraku had to layer on the self control. "No..." He said in an acidic tone to cover up the wavering tone his voice might have assumed if he had spoken any more than that single word. "Proceed."
"Very well." He once again locked gazes with Naraku, "Now...try to look into my mind. If you can get as far as my inner barriers, I will lead you down the rest of the way--it is not so easy to tread past another's barriers if they know what's being done." He took a deep breath, "Now go."
Once again, upon the inu-youkai's command, the kumo obeyed. At first nothing came, but Naraku knew mostly what he was doing. Then the room faded as Naraku's mind crossed the imaginary border of Sesshoumaru's and now, all was dark. He waded through the black depths, past shallow wispy thoughts and on into the deeper part of Sesshoumaru's mind. Recent memories flashed by. He saw himself leaning over Sesshoumaru, blood on the inu's lips. He paused, not being able to resist passing up the opportunity to watch that scene once more from a third person view. The words before the kiss didn't matter. The kumo watched tentatively as he pressed both their lips together. 'And yet, I find your blood tastes so much sweeter from your lips, Sesshoumaru.'..
As Sesshoumaru watched the images being projected onto the blood on Naraku's hand, he couldn't help but watch as once again Naraku stood above him, uttering crude remarks, and then kissing the blood off his lips with unmasked satisfaction. Not wanting to re-live anything else after that incident, Sesshoumaru promptly put out the candle that lit up his memory banks, hoping Naraku could find the way to his inner barrier on his own.
And then the memory blinked out-due to Sesshoumaru's intervention, leaving Naraku in almost complete darkness. He wandered deeper and deeper until he found the small flicker of childhood memories drifting by like dark phantoms. He paused and then he tried to move forward, but from no where, a huge wall appeared. It gleamed in the dark, as if declaring its presence had existed the whole time during Naraku's expeditions. 'Nothing was there a moment ago.' Naraku growled to himself, trying to push against the wall,(figuring it was merely an imposing hallucination), but it was as hard as stone and seemingly quite immovable. He'd reached the inner barrier. Now, Sesshoumaru had to guide him.
When the vision on the hand became clear Naraku had come to his inner barrier, Sesshoumaru was already on his way to greet the Kumo and show him through the "door." His 'self'-which was a double of his physical body- suddenly appeared beside the waiting Naraku.
Glad you made it.
Could have spared me a little more light...' He didn't finish that thought for good reasons.
Sesshoumaru almost made an apology, but dismissed the thought at remembering the reason for it. "Follow me." He made to turn, holding out his hand.
Naraku blinked and forced a glare. "Must I?" There was nothing holding him back. No one save for Sesshoumaru would see. The only thing that forced the words out of his mouth was fear. 'Fear of what?!' Naraku thought furiously at himself and grasped Sesshoumaru's hand in his before the inu could answer or even inhale.
"I don't want to take any chances...the inner demon in my mind might lash out at you if I don't guide you through....that's all." He proceeded to the doors that guarded his soul--they slowly opened upon recognizing him. He walked past them and they quickly shut, keeping something from coming in, or to keep something from getting out.
Naraku inwardly grinned with smug satisfaction at smothering that annoying conscience that had been plaguing him for so long. Once again, as they began walking, the wall was gone as if it had never existed. A heavy, awkward silence greeted them as they pressed on for what seemed like ages. By this time, the kumo's hand had lost all tension and was merely resting in Sesshoumaru's. But Naraku paused as he saw a pair of glowing red eyes in the dark flicker open and shut and then do the same once more. "A demon awakening from its sleep." He said in a low voice. At his words, the red eyes opened completely, blue pupils gleamed in pools of crimson. "Trouble," Naraku breathed, ready to attack but unsure if he should. His body went numb under the eyes' intense stare and as the other youkai still continued forward, his hand slowly slipped out of Sesshoumaru's.
Sesshoumaru turned around at the absence of Naraku's hand in his. "Naraku, what are--?" Then he saw it. A flash of red eyes and white fur leapt out of the shadows for the Kumo. "Get down!!!" he pushed the other youkai out of the way and stood in his demon's path. The impact of the dog demon knocked the wind out of him and he was unable to stop it as it went for Naraku. "No!!!"
Naraku growled, quickly picking himself off the ground only to hear the pounding footsteps of a large demon racing his way. The bitter smell of acid filled his senses. He could barely brace himself for the attack as two huge white paws came crashing down on him, pinning him and burying him into the nonexistent ground, crushing his bones. He could hear the sizzle of acidic saliva hitting somewhere near his head. He heard the demon snarl, felt the heat of the dog's breath as its jaws moved in for the kill. "No!" Naraku shouted, expecting nothing more than to die in Sesshoumaru's mind by the jaws of the inu's inner demon. The kumo shut his eyes tightly as a blinding flash of light negated his vision for a moment. An ear splitting yelp and then a howl of pain filled the area and then died and the monstrous dog demon collapsed entirely upon the kumo, making his already troubled breathing worse as he tried to worm his way out from under its crushing weight. He rose on shaky legs, chest rising and falling heavily. He blinked a few times, barely able to make out the form nearby. "Sesshoumaru..?"
He stood there in shock; the dark blood of the inu dripping from his blood- stained claws. "What." he took two faltering steps backwards, "What have I done." He staggered and then fell to his knees, staring in disbelief at the slain demon.
Naraku rubbed his eyes, blinking and finally regaining a decent amount of eyesight back; though, part of him wished he hadn't upon seeing the agonized face of Sesshoumaru. He traveled the distance between them, faltering every other step. But now he couldn't turn back as he crouched next to Sesshoumaru, placing a shaky hand on his shoulder. "I... I think it's best.... if we save viewing your soul..... For another occasion." His grip tightened reassuringly. "Thank you." he whispered under his breath to the stunned inu youkai.
He blinked, barely hearing Naraku's words as if they were far away. Not able to form the words, he slightly nodded. As the other youkai helped him to his feet, he felt an instinctual urge to stay behind. But, remembering Naraku was with him, he knew somewhere that they must return to the outside world. Still staring in that unseeing way, Sesshoumaru concentrated on leaving his darkened mind and returning to where their bodies still waited. He felt himself being pulled away, through the layers of his mind until he reached the surface. Upon reaching it, however, he suddenly froze and blacked out.
Naraku found the darkness rushing by, making the hours and days of wandering seem useless. When he came to, he blinked in confusion as he saw Sesshoumaru begin to fall backwards. Without thinking, Naraku's hand shot out and gently wrapped itself around his neck and pulled the inu forward. Now, Sesshoumaru's body (still in a sitting position) was leaning against Naraku's. He blinked, trying to convince himself he didn't just do that and isn't savoring the feel of someone else that close. He swallowed hard and spent around five to ten minutes position Sesshoumaru until finally, the inu's head rested in his lap. 'What am I doing?' he thought, 'He'll kill me when he wakes; probably assume I took advantage of him.' He frowned and decided. "So be it."
A/N: ok ok!! I know I promised yaoi goodness in this part, but gimme some slack, ppl!! So this part is a little short-and lacking in the yaoi. But I SWEAR there will actually be *physical* yaoiness in the next part! Cheers~