Disclaimer: I hate these things... Not mine, never will be, never was.

Wow... thanks for the amazing reviews, guys! I never expected such good feedback! Some were a little too honest... but I respect that! There are only so many rare people in the world that have the unique ability to actually speak their mind!

And yes, Dark Inu Fan.... I did use a lot of your review... it's just that you're so damn helpful...

So... Here's the next crappy chappie of Forever...

Forever

Chapter 17: Evil is Beautiful

Kagome

She found herself telling the tall man with cool gray eyes about Inuyasha, the well, the feudal era... She knew she shouldn't have, knew she was making a mistake... but this man seemed the kindest she had ever met before. They were so compelling... One could drown in them, and be perfectly happy doing so. They were beautiful eyes, handsome eyes, amazing eyes...

And his grace! How he blinked at each sentence, a rhythmic pattern of soft motions. How he gently placed random locks of dark, wavy hair that spilled upon his face behind his ears...

He was handsome. Sweet, innocent... and by his second sentence, Kagome was completely won over. It wasn't that she'd fallen for this man... No, no one could ever replace Inuyasha. But this stranger... he acted like a father to her. And she felt like a daughter to him. He was the father she'd never had.

When she finished speaking of the well sealing and Inuyasha being trapped on the other side, she felt a lone tear spill down her cheek. The stranger wiped away gently, whispering soothingly.

"Don't cry," he whispered, "I can help..."

Inuyasha

He'd spent the better part of an hour trying desperately to open up the well. He pounded on it, whispered to it, used his sword on it... He'd even gone as far as begging it to open, on his knees at the bottom of the well.

But after the cool blue sky of the morning became a storming wreath of clouds, Miroku came to retrieve him.

The priest tried to help, Inuyasha knew, but nothing could help him now.

Kagome was lost.

Naraku

The girl was easily convinced that he was a friend. It saddened him, somewhat, to see his prey so dejected... and he truly wished to help.

Besides, where was the fun in killing something that did not fight back?

He had decided to weave her into a soothing web, tangle her in softness, help her meet her love and give them some time... And then he would tug on the web and bring both her and the hanyou whelp to his wrath. So caught up in his thoughts was Naraku, that he did not realize he had let a grin upon his face. The girl looked up, confused. Sniffing, she asked, "Why are you smiling?"

Shit.

He needed a reason... quick. He couldn't take the grin off his face; no, that would seem suspicious. He couldn't tell her he was thinking of something else; that would chip her trust. He had to tell her something reassuring, something truthful... Ah yes, of course.

"I am smiling, child, because I know how to open the well."

Naraku smiled inwardly at the expression of the girl's face. It was hope.

He'd given her hope.

How amusing... he'd never given hope before. Naraku had always taken it away. But this... giving was much more amusing than taking... after all, what use did he have for hope once he took it? He didn't need anymore hope... so here he was, giving pieces of his own away.

Naraku had never imagined he'd like giving anything... but this... it was quite a filling feeling. It made him feel warm, not scorching with heat as he would when he took away. He should try giving more often.

"Please..." the girl rasped, captured in his gaze, "Please tell me how..."

Looking down at the girl sitting beside him, Naraku smile gently. It seemed almost fatherly, how he smiled.

"I can do better than that..." he replied softly.

"It will take several days, however... perhaps longer, my child." He continued, and felt the girl's hope wither. He couldn't stand seeing her tremble in sorrow. So he stroked her cheek gently, whispering, "I'll get you to Inuyasha... I promise."

It took more than a few days.

He had to gather his power, save it up to open the well. The well's powers were great; he could not force the well open at this very moment.

He'd thought it would take a week, but Naraku was wrong.

Very wrong indeed.

As a week passed and he found his powers ready, Naraku was called on an urgent trip to America, where he was to discuss the production and sales of his many products there. The girl had trembled, barely holding back her tears, when he told her the news.

But he promised to open it as soon as he returned.

Kagome

For Kagome, those six months of waiting were the longest in her life. She went to school, skulking through the halls like a zombie, drained of her soul. She didn't smile in that time, though she feigned grins for her friends. No matter where she went, or what she did, everything reminded her of him.

Inuyasha... that silver-haired demon that had won her heart so easily, had broken it so ruthlessly, had mended it so gently...

Only to break it again.

Inuyasha

He waited.

Inuyasha returned every day to the well, hoping, wishing with all his might that a miracle would happen and Kagome would return.

But she didn't.

Every day he lost another bit of hope, letting it chip away slowly as his existence ceased to exist.

He wouldn't have eaten, had not Miroku and Sango and Kaede forced food into him. He'd not have slept, had Shippo not played his fox-tricks on him to lull the hanyou to sleep.

And even his dreams were haunted by Kagome's face.

What of Kikyo?

She didn't matter anymore. He'd loved her once, truly, but Kagome... Kagome was different. A better different, a more loving different, a different he'd been sure he couldn't lose...

And now he'd gone and lost it.

It had been a whole new world, a new blessed life for him, as a flower blooming or a butterfly hatching from its cocoon. But now she was gone. Gone like the wind blew away buds of the sakura tree's blossoms. Gone like the waves in the sea cast about foam. Gone like the clouds vanished into the cool blue distance of the endless sky, gone as the horizon swept away fantasies.

But he waited. Every morning he would come to the well and sit at the bottom, dreaming of what he would say if he could see Kagome once again. He dreamed of apologizing, of her soft eyes accepting his words with a soft kiss... And they would dance between the sakura trees until dawn faded to dusk and dusk gave his guard to the stars. And they would lay on the sweet, soft grass, and dream alongside one another, at length falling to sweet slumber in each other's arms...

Kagome

She had waited for six months, sitting on the steps of the well house, watching, waiting, hoping... until at last, a black limousine pulled into her driveway. She stood and rushed to hug the stranger, thanking him and thanking him again, spilling tears into his black suit, relieved by the soft hand patting her back gently.

She looked up and smiled at the stranger, and took his hand.

"Please..." she muttered, her voice begging, "I've waited long enough..."

Naraku

He found himself by the well. Telling the fool of a girl to stand by the far wall for safety, Naraku grasped a dry piece of straw between his right thumb and forefinger. The straw did nothing; but he didn't want to let the girl see his magic working on its own... that would be too risky. So he'd have to work through the straw.

Closing his eyes, Naraku focused on the feel of the straw; the cool, dry, hollow feeling held in his hand. He brought all the warmth in his body, focusing it on his fingers, and let the enchantment flow slowly through tiny gaps in his skin to the straw. He imagined the well, saw it closed. But he dug through the earth, digging, digging in his mind.

Until at last he reached a door.

He hastily opened that door in his mind's eye, marveling at the deep blue space beyond it. It was open.

Slowly, he let the straw drop, and opened his eyes to watch it plunge into the well and through the invisible portal... to the feudal era.

Turning around, he smiled warmly at the girl. The hope in her eyes made him want to make her happy again...

Then to crush her. Oh, how wondrous, that feeling of being feared by all... of being at the top of the food chain, able to kill all and not succumb to any. He adored hearing the satisfying snap of a victim's spine, or the dying scream from their dying throat. He loved seeing the last drops of blood spill from a death wound, loved to hear the whispers of the netherworld frighten the dying and the dead...

But most of all Naraku loved to hear their dying hopes. He adored the look in a victim's eyes, when all hope, all life was spilled from their existence. He loved watching torture; the slow, painful descent of one's final strength.

And he would ensure these two would be a great amusement to destroy.

Inuyasha

He was about to turn away and climb from the well when something caught his eye.

A piece of straw.

Strange. It hadn't been there before... And it couldn't have possibly fallen from above the well. Which meant...

"The well is open!" he exclaimed, climbing from the well to face a very confused Miroku. The priest stared at him, as if at a madman. Inuyasha didn't blame him. His face, though he could not see it, must have been quite alarming at the moment.

Not bothering to explain himself to the monk, Inuyasha jumped.

A familiar blue presence surrounded him, cushioning him softly, tickling his senses gently. He knew only one thing: he was going to see Kagome again.

And there, the edge of the well lay open. Kagome's time!

Climbing through the opened window slowly, Inuyasha hesitated to look up when he found himself at the bottom of the well.

But when he did, he was rewarded handsomely.

Kagome

She saw him; his long silver hair falling flawlessly, gracefully about his shoulders... those furry ears pricked up in excitement and joy. His eyes... oh those golden eyes! Hesitation clouded them a moment, then courage as he looked up... Oh, how she loved those eyes... that piercing gaze, soft and gentle, a caress of kindness that was so utterly Inuyasha...

She couldn't take it. Kagome threw herself at him as he climbed to the top of the well, laughing in joy as tears spilled from her eyes. He spun her around, then brought her close, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss.

Oh, how she loved him! Happiness filled every inch of her being, joy doing wonders to her now forgotten grief. She kissed him back, loving him with all her might; wishing this moment would never end.

But he pulled back, and they stared at one another, gasping for breath, each lost in the other's eyes. Then, breathlessly, he whispered "I love you, Kagome..."

Kagome kissed him again, and pulled back, only to embrace him tightly. She memorized his feel; the soft caress of his haori against her skin, and his scent; the freshness of sakura blossoms and the freedom of the wind. His voice, the soft tones soothing her; his gaze, the piercing golden eyes that made her heart flutter.

"Oh, gods... I love you so much..."

From the corner, gray eyes gleamed red. A smirk formed on the edges of the stranger's mouth.

Whoa... ok here's a longer chapter for you! Enjoy the cliffy! Muhahaha I'm so evil... and crazy... muhahahaha.....

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