A/N: Okay, new way of doing things. Because people have been complaining about the length of time between updates, I have decided to compromise. Quicker updates in return for shorter chapters, beginning with this one. Hope you like it – and to those with an eye for detail, notice that the chapter title is different to what I said it would be! All part of the new plan, guys!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters from the manga by Rumiko Takahashi.
Tempting Fate
Chapter 8: A Turn For The Worse
Naraku could not be happier with the way things were progressing. From what he could tell from Kanna's mirror, his enemy was slowly but surely falling apart at the seams. Of course, there had been that one annoying instant when the impudent houshi had dared to interfere, but since that night there had been no interruptions.
For a brief instant he wondered why that was, but then he dismissed it as unimportant.
He had to admit that the effort of casting the dreamspell on the inuhanyou tended to be rather draining. It required an enormous amount of concentration to keep the mirror link focused tightly upon Inuyasha. But the satisfaction that he derived from torturing Inuyasha mentally far outweighed the slight discomfort and fatigue that he was feeling.
***
Kagura leaned wearily against the cave wall, idly fiddling with her fan. Random gusts of wind rustled the youkai woman's robes as the instrument twitched to and fro in her nimble fingers. She fought to suppress a groan as her master's voice drifted over to where she stood.
"Ah, Inuyasha – it hurts, doesn't it? To see your beloved with that upstart wolf. You could just kill him, couldn't you? You know, the miko probably planned this all along. Didn't you see the way she always defended him? She'll betray you in the end, just as Kikyou did before her!"
Kagura rolled her eyes, wishing the man would stop muttering into the mirror for a while. For one thing, it was indescribably annoying, hearing him ceaselessly implanting the ideas vocally into his foe's thoughts. She was getting sick of the sound of his voice…even more than she already was.And for another thing, the constant pressure that Naraku was putting on Inuyasha's mind would likely drive him insane. And that would never do. Especially if she were to ever seek his help in ridding the world of the insidious being she was forced to serve. She was unhappily aware of one all-important fact; if she appeared before Inuyasha in his present state of mind, she would be dead before she could even begin to explain her purpose.
No, if any help were to be given, it would have to come from the miko girl. The question was – how could she approach the girl without Naraku's knowledge? She had been foiled more than once by those accursed saimyoushou spies of his. Kagura continued plotting and planning in silence. This would be harder than she had originally thought.
***
"Hn. He woke up." Naraku watched as his prized victim wrenched himself from sleep, his eyes wide and haunted with what they had seen during the night. The mastermind chuckled softly as relief flooded Inuyasha's face at the knowledge that it had only been another dream and not reality. The emotions that warred for dominance in his expression were clearly reflected in Kanna's mirror. Naraku tapped the mirrored image with one pale finger, amusement flitting across his features.
"So, hanyou, you think it's over? I'm afraid not…"
Inuyasha bolted upright, hurriedly digging his claws into the branch he had been resting on in order to prevent a sudden tumble to the forest floor. The last thing he wanted to do was be seen falling out of a tree, much to his embarrassment and ridicule. He looked around in momentary bewilderment, then closed his eyes in realisation.
"Ah, dammit – I fell asleep again! But at least that…that damned dream is over now." The images from this latest nightmare floated up from his memory and he shook his head violently, pushing them back to the deepest recesses of his mind. 'I don't want to remember that.' Despite his struggles, the things that he had seen forced their way back into his mind. He clamped his eyelids shut, thinking of anything but what he had dreamt. 'It's not true!' he thought viciously. 'There is no way that it could be true!'
Kagome had often said that talking to yourself was the first sign of madness in a person. Well, maybe he was mad, but in the absence of more interesting conversation, he had begun to do just that in an effort to stay awake. He reasoned that the less he slept, the less he would dream.
However, the heavy sleep deprivation was beginning to tell on him.
Inuyasha shook himself into action. "Gotta do something. At all costs stay awake! Come on, baka, what can you do that will keep you awake?" He frowned, his fuzzy thoughts leaving him momentarily stumped. Then inspiration hit. "Ha! You need to eat. Time to get some food. No ramen here, so hunting it is!" He tried to focus his bleary eyes on the surrounding forest, attempting to sound out any game nearby. Finding some promising scents just a little way off, he began to track his prey.
"Deer, it smells like," he muttered to himself. "Should make a good meal."
In a matter of minutes he was stalking the unsuspecting animal, already tasting the meat that he would enjoy later. However, just as he was going to strike, a very unexpected voice reached his ears.
"Inuyasha. I'm over here." He blinked, losing interest in the hunt.
"Kagome? Is that you?" The next voice made him snarl in reaction.
"Ha. Of course it's her, Inukkoro."
"Kouga!" he yelled hoarsely, startling the deer into a panicked flight, "get away from her, or I'll –"
'Wait,' a quiet voice insisted firmly in his head. 'They can't really be here; you're too far away from the wolf tribe, and there's no way they would have travelled through the night.' He stopped his roared challenge in confusion. Then he did a double take at what he discovered.
'They have no scent!'
Before his very eyes he saw Kagome approach – he had to fight himself not to run to her side. Kouga followed not soon after, wrapping one arm around the girl when he reached her. The hanyou watched in numb dismay as the couple began to completely ignore him, lost in each other.
'This isn't real! I would have smelled the wolf, at least! Something's going on here.' Aloud, he shouted, "I don't believe this! Kagome would never turn away from me like that, this isn't real!" Soundlessly, the two figures in front him melted into the forest, leaving no sign that they had ever been there at all.
Inuyasha clutched at his head in confusion, trying to make sense of what had just happened. "That wasn't Kagome – she wouldn't act so cold towards me, even if we were just friends." He stopped.
"Which we're not!" he yelled to the trees in sudden anger.
"And it wasn't Kouga – that wimpy wolf stinks so bad I would have sensed him coming from ages away." His ears flattened, showing the dread that he felt. "What's going on?"
A/N: Please leave a message at the beep.
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Reviewer replies from Chapter 7: Halfway Point…
Mvdiva – Shoulder musings? Hee, that's not a bad idea! She does get carried around a lot, doesn't she? I'm guessing she doesn't weigh very much…
Lady Tiger Lily – Male bonding. Argh, I have to write male bonding?! Not my best stuff, but I'll give it a shot!
XBlackMoon13x – Thanks, coach *grins* Such an enthusiastic review! Wow…
Ashley (aka InuMad) – Hmm, hope your brain isn't too damaged by the waiting LOL. As for Mizumi, wait and see. And yes, Kouga deserves a mate. Trust me, it's coming! But I'm afraid poor ol' Inuyasha is gonna have it rough for a little while longer…
Aamalie – Congratulations! ; )
Poohsbestfriend – Yep, the chicken rules. Poor Miroku has not seen the last of that bird!
Time's mortal enemy – I'll be putting 'Kohaku interaction' through the whole of this fic. He is horribly underrated and deserves much more attention than he gets! Beta readers…I'd rather get the fic out quickly, and the apology was just in case. I have studied to be an English teacher, so my standards are pretty high.
A/N: Because of the quicker updates, I will not be emailing notice of new chapters unless you ask me specifically for a message. It will be easier if you just put me on Author Alert, really. Thanks for reading!