Chapter Two:
Naraku's Plot/Sesshoumaru's Intervention


Naraku laughed to himself as he realized ironic fate could be. He was borne of Onigumo's desire for Kikyo and now he would have a child borne from her reincarnation. Naraku knew that even he, a powerful half-demon, could not fathom the power that a Priestess such as Kikyo could possess. Now that Kikyo was not an option he would take second best; the foolish girl that followed InuYasha around.

It was true that she was not as powerful as Kikyo, but she held Kikyo's power nonetheless. Bearing a child that held his immense demonic powers, combined with those of a priestess would unleash a destruction that would be unmatched. Such power was something that Naraku must possess.

InuYasha had been a bother, defeating everything that was sent his way. However, now he no longer had his powerful Tetsusaiga to depend upon. The monk was useless when his poisonous insects were around, and as long as he had Kohaku, he had guarantee that the exterminator was his as well. Taking the young priestess would not be a problem now, and once he had her he knew he would have very little trouble convincing her to do his bidding. She held the kind heart of a priestess, the same priestess that took pity on the pathetic thieve Onigumo. She would do anything to see that her friends remained unharmed. Bearing his child would be much less burden to bear than if she were to refuse, he would see to that.

InuYasha could smell the demon before it arrived. "Miroku, be on guard there is a demon headed this way; Kagome can you sense any jewel shards near by?" Kagome focused around her then nodded.

"Yes, it's faint but it's definitely getting closer"

Soon what looked like a grotesque, giant badger appeared before them and immediately went for InuYasha. While the others took on the demon; Kagome stood back in wonder.

'The jewel shard isn't on the demon, yet I sense it near by.'

"INUYASHA! The demon doesn't have a jewel shard!" She shouted.

"What? I thought you said you could sense one near by?"

Having heard this, Miroku lifted his hand and prepared to use his wind tunnel, if there were no shard to put in jeopardy, there was no sense in drawing the battle out. As if waiting for their opportune moment, Naraku's poisonous insects appeared, stopping Miroku in his tracks.

The monk gasped, "Where did they come from, and why would Naraku send such a weak demon with no jewel shard?"

A perplexed InuYasha didn't have the answer. 'Naraku doesn't play around, there has got to be more to this.'

Knowing that using the Tetsusaiga was useless and the demon was not a challenge, InuYasha attacked with his claws...only the demon didn't die. The two pieces dropped to the ground and immediately reformed into two new demons.

One demon went after InuYasha, Miroku and Sango with a strength that seemed to surpass the original demon. The other ran directly towards Kagome. Not having time to grab an arrow, she ran towards the trees.

Shippo watched in horror as the demon chased his surrogate mother and then suddenly stopped before entering the forest. The demon then just disappeared into a puff of smoke. The other however, still remained. As soon as Kagome entered the trees she realized she wasn't alone, she could sense a shard of the jewel very close by. As she turned to go back to her friends, a hand clamped over her mouth and she was lifted into the air.

At this very same time, the demon that was attacking her friends also disappeared just like the one before it. Everyone stood in a cloud of confusion as the battle ended as abruptly as it began. Shippo ran to the others and told them what had transpired with Kagome and the second demon. They ran to the forest but their friend was gone, much like the demons that had set the trap. The monk was the first to say what everyone was beginning to realize.

"InuYasha, those demons did not possess jewel shards because they were not here to fight us. They were only a diversion so that Kagome could be chased into the forest and taken."

The look he saw on InuYasha's face was a mixture of worry, pain and most of all anger.

"What would Naraku want with Kagome?" Miroku knew it would be best to keep InuYasha calm or he would do something irrational and make matters worse.

"Don't worry InuYasha; I doubt he kidnapped her just so that he could kill her. It is most likely he wants her to find shards of the jewel for him. Or possibly try to use her as leverage so that we will give him our shards," he said calmly.

But it was too late. There would be no reasoning with InuYasha now. Naraku was heartless and had already killed one woman he cared for; he would not let it happen again. The half demon took off running the direction of Kagome's scent. The only thought on his mind was Kagome. He had to save Kagome.

Kagome couldn't see who had snatched her off the ground, but she knew they were in human form. She also knew they possessed a shard of the Shikon jewel. She dared to turn her head and look at her captor. He appeared to be human, but his eyes were dead. He looked like a doll, not a person. The face held no emotion; it was as though he were merely a puppet. She knew better than to struggle, because there was no way she could survive the fall. She had seen Naraku's insects seconds before she was chased to the forest, so there was no doubt in her mind that he was behind this. But what could he want with her? Was this just a plot to make InuYasha follow? Would he be led into a trap and his life put in danger?

'Why didn't I move faster? I should have had an arrow ready.' Running into the woods was a mistake. Now her life and the life of her friends were in jeopardy.

Not much went on that Sesshoumaru, Great Lord of the Western Lands, did not know about. He was aware that Naraku was plotting something. He was also aware that his plan had been set into motion. Normally, Sesshoumaru did not bother himself with these matters. He was only interested if there were some personal gain to come from his involvement. However, he did not like nor trust Naraku. He certainly did not want Naraku to come to possess the Shikon Jewel. A half breed such as Naraku did not deserve such great power bestowed upon him. He was also aware that no other, including his fool brother InuYasha, was capable of stopping Naraku.

"Jaken, I must go now. I want you to remain here and look after Rin. If anything happens to her while I am away, you will pay with your life," he said simply.

"Y-y-yes, Lord Sesshoumaru." The little imp replied with a slight bow.

Rin was but a mere human, but unlike those Sesshoumaru was used to dealing with. She had come upon him in his weakened state after doing battle with InuYasha. Though she was only a child, she was unafraid of him. She had done her best to care for him, and that touched him in a way he could not understand. Most humans would rather he be dead, but this innocent child did not fear or hate him.

Then came a time she returned to him, bruised and swollen. It was obvious that humans had not treated her much differently than they had treated him. She was but a child and yet they beat her. Even a great demon, such as him, could not fathom such an evil deed. After he had recovered, he came upon her lifeless body.

The poor child had been mauled to death, and she did not deserve such a retched fate. He had used his sword, the Tenseiga, to bring her back from death. From that day on Rin had followed Sesshoumaru. She was an obedient child and brought him no problems. Anyone that dared harm Rin would pay dearly.

Kagome was brought to a small castle. It appeared to be deserted but Kagome knew that running was senseless, because she had no clue where she was. Surely, running would only make the demon pursue her. Her only hope was that InuYasha and the others would arrive before anything happened. The demon still stood emotionless. She had no intentions of going inside the castle, she had no idea what lay inside. Just then she heard a familiar voice from behind the door.

"Hello, Kagome. How very nice of you to join me." It was Naraku. She instinctively grabbed for her bow and arrow, only to realize they were no longer with her. The demon must have taken them. She was too freaked out to even notice.

"What do you want, Naraku? Why did you bring me here? If you think you will lure InuYasha here and kill him, you're crazy."

Naraku laughed an evil laugh and stepped outside the castle.

"I will kill InuYasha in due time. What I want now is from you, young priestess. You will bear me a child, a child that will not only possess my powers, but those of a priestess."

Kagome was shocked, how could Naraku believe that she would agree to this?

"I'd rather die," she said honestly. He gave her a threatening look and took another step closer.

"I have no patience for you, Priestess. You will do as I say, or you will watch me slaughter your friends. I will start with the young fox demon that regards you as a mother. One by one you will stand by and watch as your friends meet a horrible demise."

What happened next took only seconds and was over before Kagome even processed the situation. Sesshoumaru was there and killed both the demon that captured her and Naraku. Of course, when he struck Naraku down, a small wooden doll fell to the ground. She should have known that even now, Naraku would only send puppets. When it was over, Sesshoumaru turned to her. The look in his eyes frightened her. She had a feeling she had been safer with Naraku.