Author: cappie (chan)
Series: Inuyasha
Category: AU/Romance/Action/Adventure/Drama
Title: Shadows Against a Shoji Screen
Keywords: Inuyasha, Kagome, Kikyou, Naraku
Disclaimers: Inuyasha and all its characters are not mine. This world I created and the plot of the story, however, is mine.
Summary: In the feudal age, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are two feudal lords at war for precious belongings and past wrongs. Enter Naraku and Kagome, and suddenly, the tables turn.
Authors note: I was thinking about it today, and I came to a conclusion that Part II to this story should be ending in no more than 5 chapters. I know I want to make one of them focus on the Japanese festival known as Obon. I also know that I need to get back on topic with Inuyasha and Kikyou and Naraku.
Warning: This chapter does get ecchi!! Uhm, there is nothing particularly rated R here. As harmless as a teen movie, I would say. But, I do know some of the people who read my stories are young, so saying that: read wisely.
Shadows Against a Shoji Screen
Chapter 16
Allusions of the Night: Intermission
The air itself hung with the overripe sweetness of a summer's day, yet the wind which blew from the ocean was hinted with the cool and comfortable atmosphere that the countryside longed for. Fragrances of ripening plums and apples drifted lazily through the open shoji screens; shadows, from the nearby Japanese maple threw random designs onto the pure paper barriers.
Blinking back in surprise, Inuyasha closed his eyes quite firmly. This had happened before; so many times before he had longed for Kikyou that she had actually appeared in front of him. In his sleep, he could have sworn he felt her touch, in the air he could hear her voice. There had been that one time that he had been so disillusioned that he had even allowed his wife to take Kikyou's form.
It could not be, his mind screamed at him. She is dead, long gone! There is no hope for you, be content with what you have.
Yet, hope remained true within Inuyasha's soul.
There were so many things in this world that Inuyasha had yet to discover, so many things that Inuyasha couldn't comprehend—and for all he knew, the dead could return to him. Perhaps, if the will was strong enough.
And here she sat in front of him, bathed in moonlight. Her eyes were still deep and dark holding mysteries that only he could unlock. Kikyou's hair still retained that iridescent quality causing a halo to surround her figure.
Instead of her normal priestess garments she wore a light blue summer yukata, hanging loosely about her as though it acted as a robe. No obi was present, so the front of her body could be seen, glistening bare in the light.
Licking his lips, he felt that long forgotten emotion arise within him once again. The lust and the love, the desire that he had to possess her body, her mind, and her soul…it returned all so clearly now.
Outside the crickets amongst the grass and hollows sung sweetly and their song reverberated within Inuyasha's sensitive ears.
He wouldn't say anything, or else he was sure, she would vanish.
"It's me, Inuyasha…don't you remember?"
She will disappear and merge into the darkness. Say nothing, enjoy your illusion while you can; Inuyasha told himself, shutting his eyes and trying to find peace. Yet he could not shut himself against her; he could never close himself against her…
"Inuyasha…Please don't tell me you have forgotten about me."
Her eyes, so deep and dark, were now streamed with tears. Never had she displayed such emotion before; surely she was some vengeful spirit come to make mockery of him.
"I'm Kikyou, the-the girl you promised your heart to…" She stuttered slightly as she stepped forward from the ground to the interior of the room. Her wooden shoes clattered against the stone and her yukata fell open, revealing her breasts. Kikyou crawled like a crab towards the ocean, to its source of life.
She is not real! Inuyasha repeated over and over like a Buddhist chant. She is dead, gone, just a memory…she is not flesh and blood.
And then, he felt her cool hand against his neck and his eyes opened again, slowly looking deep into her own. The touch was no illusion; it wasn't a figment of his imagination. Her fingers ran underneath his evening kimono, as light as a feather and as tender as a memory. They probed deeper now, gathering and pulling away at the clothing about his shoulders, slowly undoing the loose knot that held the attire to his side.
The two were bare and unconcealed in the moonlight now; their eyes alit with desire, memories and with hope and despair.
"Kikyou," Inuyasha whispered, closing his eyes, a sad smile hinted on his lips, her smooth and pale form cradled in his arms, "How could I forget?"
Her transparent summer kimono fell away revealing a body that Inuyasha had longed to touch and feel for so many moons.
Her grip tightened, and sitting up on top of him she smiled down at Inuyasha, the tears still flowing from her deep eyes, "I knew you would remember, Inuyasha. I knew…"
Leaning down, her fingers combing softly through his silver hair, she kissed him. Slowly the kiss grew and deepened, interlocking tongues, tasting tears and sweat mingling with other flavors. Yesterday and tomorrow was forgotten for Inuyasha; there was only her, him, and their love.
No questions were asked. No answers were given.
*
Naraku closed his eyes and leaned against the wall to his room. A slight smile plagued his lips and his fingers ran idly through his hair. Except for a light blanket thrown over his lower body, Naraku was completely exposed.
He stood up quite suddenly, the blanket falling down to the ground in a crumpled heap. His path was direct like an arrow to its target, and opening the shoji screens swiftly, he entered into his most precious room. The basin glowed as it always did, its silvery liquid swirling in random patterns and circles, going nowhere and everywhere at once.
Leaning over the edges, he dipped his index finger into the substance and whispered in his deep husky voice, "Show me Kikyou."
The image materialized quite slowly and the darkness that was rampant throughout the house showed even more so here. Even the moon had become hidden from the world through a large cloud, so the chamber and its occupants were cast into shadow.
Before he could discern her figure, Naraku could hear Kikyou's ragged breath mingling with grunts, groans and sighs. He closed his eyes and chuckled. Really, Inuyasha was too easy to win over, especially in bed.
Naraku knew he would get his turn with the hanyou soon enough.
Turning his back to the basin that still hummed with the sound of their love, he closed the screen behind him and returned to his chamber to wait.
She was quick, although she could be slow if that was what he wished. Yet, at the moment, Naraku wanted the job to be done; a decisive victory, no more of this skirting around the subject. Kikyou's job was to win over Inuyasha's heart—and she had succeeded, at least, so it would seem.
Naraku's eyes, a deep purple in the night, swiveled to the door that was sliding open.
"So, you have finished?"
"Yes," Kikyou purred, kneeling by a bucket of water and cleaning herself of Inuyasha's scent, "I have finished."
"And how did it go?" Naraku questioned darkly, mild interest evident in his voice. Was he very good, Kikyou? How did my diamond taste? Hard?
He chuckled at his own pun.
"He was easy to win over." Kikyou replied, glancing over her shoulder, a mad grin swept across her features, her dark hair falling across her back.
"I must admit, I am not surprised. When was the last time he got any?" Naraku mused to himself, not really expecting an answer.
"I was his first and his last." Kikyou answered, combing her hair now. It had, in its haste, became rather tangled. "He told me so afterwards."
"By god. Can a man or youkai live so long without—," Naraku gasped, utterly taken aback. Perhaps such were the ways of hanyou, he could not guess. When he won Inuyasha over to his side and bed he would make sure the hanyou would never have to wait so long ever again.
Kikyou was standing now, her bare body towering over Naraku's reclined figure.
"What are you standing there for?" Naraku snapped with a wide smirk spread across his face as he grabbed Kikyou by the wrist and pulled her into a deep kiss.
*
Inuyasha awoke slowly and somewhat in a daze. Last nights events was a blur of emotion for him; so as he opened his eyes, he found it highly unlikely that Kikyou would have returned from death.
The call of a mockingbird rang through the house from its location somewhere outside; the wind caused the bell outside on the porch to chime.
"Good morning, Inuyasha." A voice greeted quietly behind him.
Turning over, he smiled lazily and whispered, "I thought you were a dream."
The morning sun was streaming over her seated figure. As though he had been transported into the past, he remembered similar mornings such as these. The buttercup color of the tatami mat reflecting from the morning sun, her kimono glistening in its rays, her fingers brushing against his forehead. Shifting from her position in front of a mirror that he had not noticed before, Kikyou smiled warmly.
"No. I am here. I'm real." There was such great strength and wisdom behind her voice, he noted absently as he hungrily studied her features.
The mirror glinted, almost sinisterly.
Inuyasha slowly sat up, a beam plastered on his face as he watched Kikyou comb her long hair.
"You still comb your hair the same way," he noticed, his amber eyes focused on her face, "You still take long strokes, first starting at the bottom and then working your way up."
Kikyou smiled a smile that did not reach her eyes. After a few more minutes, she placed her ivory handled comb down and once again turned to face Inuyasha who was still regarding her with looks of wonderment.
Do not think of the reasons, he told himself. Do not ask questions, do not…
"You should take a bath. You smell."
Had it been anyone else but Kikyou, Inuyasha most likely would have yelled something very obscene in their face. But it was Kikyou, and that made all the difference.
"Oh?" he questioned innocently, "Do I?"
She laughed her lucid giggle and insisted, "Yes you do!" She had hit him playfully on the shoulder in her jest, yet he had caught her hand and held it firmly in his strong grasp. Inuyasha's dark amber eyes turned to her, and asked seriously, "Will you take a bath with me?"
A flush came to Kikyou's pale cheeks and she questioned in a derisive tone, "Don't you think that is a little perverted?"
"Just a little," Inuyasha admitted, smirking with a dash of sparkles in his eyes. "But," he added, his tone serious and dark again, "I don't want to ever loose you…once was already too much."
Encircling him about her, Kikyou hugged him tightly and whispered in his furry ears, "I'm not going anywhere Inuyasha. I will be in the dining room waiting for you to join me for breakfast. I promise. I promise you."
She withdrew from the embrace a little sooner that Inuyasha would have liked. Her warmth seemed always temporary now, like the warm rays of the sun on a winter's day. He studied her, depressed and anxious and full of fear that he was still asleep. Dreams had never been this real before, yet there was a first time for everything, he supposed.
"Do you promise?" he insisted.
"Yes," she whispered, her eyes averted.
"I had to witness you die once…" Inuyasha whispered, cradling her face in his hands, "I would never want to see such a crime again…"
Kikyou, placing her hands over his, closed her eyes to stop her tears from falling down her cheeks. "I promise, Inuyasha, I will never die again unless you wish it. And you would never want that, would you? So you see; I will forever be by your side."
Inuyasha nodded and smiled blurrily at her form.
Gathering his clothes slowly, Inuyasha left her alone in the bedroom. Her words hung heavily in the air about her, but Inuyasha was too elated to notice their meaning.
A moment later the screen shut with a click leaving Kikyou alone once again. The mockingbird continued to sing, though the bell did not chime this time.
Kikyou's eyes began to close in a tired way. Lifting her hands towards the heaven, she called for the souls that she needed so desperately. She was still weak, she realized this…yet there was so much that needed to be done, so many lies to make Inuyasha happy, so many plans to scheme with Naraku…it was all so much…
*
The sounds of laughter, the clink of porcelain, the silence, the low voices; all was typical of breakfast. It was the time of day to begin things anew, the time of day that yesterday's deeds would be forgotten, or in the case of Inuyasha, replaced with new pressing matters.
Adjusting his hair ever so slightly, Naraku studied himself briefly in the koi pond near the garden path. As usual, he looked stunning. He did have to admit that this shade of red gave such a wonderful contrast against his fair skin.
Perhaps Inuyasha will notice…
No. Of course not. Inuyasha only sees Kikyou—there is no other for him now, Kagome is slowly becoming a memory…she will not even leave a watermark on his intellect.
Kikyou on the other hand sees only me…and such will be the way of everyone come the end of this ordeal.
Opening the screen to the hallway the sound of voices grew nearer. They were soft and low, as though neither wished for their information to leak like water through the floorboards.
Naraku had now reached the door to the dining room, and opening it, Naraku found his dark eyes meeting Kikyou's own cunning orbs. There was an exchange of looks so brief and so sudden that Inuyasha was still rambling on for a few more seconds to notice Naraku's entrance.
"I hope," Naraku began, bowing slightly, "That I am not disturbing anything."
"Well," Inuyasha began moodily. Ah, the boy was jealous and irritable when it came to his lover; yet such actions were expected of Inuyasha, were they not? Inuyasha the hot-headed, angry and distrustful little hanyou.
"You are not disturbing anything, I assure you, Naraku-sama," Kikyou hurried suddenly as she reached for Inuyasha's empty teacup. Pouring the steaming liquid most expertly into its depths, she continued formally, "I hope you slept well."
Raising his eyebrows in appreciation, Naraku smirked deviously and admitted, "Why yes, I slept most excellently."
Inuyasha snorted to himself before scowling down into his rice bowl. Yet suddenly, realization dawned upon him and he raised his head and inquired in a cool and aloof voice, or at least as well as he could manage it, "Naraku," he said slightly pausing, "How do you know Kikyou?" Naraku chuckled jubilantly to himself and conceded, "Ah, I knew you would notice. It is quite a long story, remind me to tell you later on. Breakfast is not the place to get into a lengthy story that could take the whole day—I find it better to wait until nightfall when there is nothing to do."
Inuyasha stared openly at Naraku's audacity and arrogance. Inuyasha could think of nothing to say—he very well couldn't force the information out of him, let alone spurn his questions of Kikyou's sudden appearance. It was Inuyasha's hope that perhaps the gods had granted him forgiveness—or perhaps Kikyou's powers were more holy than he had first believed; and through some bizarre turn of events she had returned. Yet, he had found himself wondering while bathing—why did it take her so long to return? Had she been trying for these past sixteen years? Or was it that his love had grown so strong for her that during the previous night, even through death, she had been drawn to his side?
This was a mystery Inuyasha was planning on looking into quite seriously. The proceedings had been so strange and out of the ordinary that Inuyasha still had trouble believing that Kikyou was sitting across the table, smiling at him.
"And you, Inuyasha," Naraku questioned, after observing him for some time, "How do you feel today? Better, I hope?"
The hanyou chewed on a bit of his pickled cabbage salad and didn't reply for a moment; he was lost within his confused thoughts. When he did finally respond, it was quiet and subdued.
So, he does not want to cause a scene in front of his precious. Understandable. Naraku supposed as he swirled the contents of his refreshed teacup.
"I slept fine."
And that was it. No elaboration, no flood of questions, no hints, no conspiracies: there was absolutely nothing.
"Ah. Well then. Shall we waste no time?" Naraku continued breezily on, hardly paying attention to Inuyasha but instead eyeing Kikyou with intensity.
"Continue on? With what?" Inuyasha stated, mildly ill at ease. His brows were furrowed together and a slight scowl tugged at his lips. Something he could not remember was bothering him.
"With plans, dear boy, with plans…" Naraku continued, turning his attention to Inuyasha, swiftly withdrawing his hand from the recesses of his happi jacket and running his fingers along Inuyasha's jaw line.
Promising, this boy. Promising.
Inuyasha withdrew suddenly, glaring at Naraku with his intent distrustful dark eyes.
Continuing on, Naraku motioned to a servant and whispered something into her ear.
She scuttled away, her face blank, emotionless and unattractive. The servant's hair pulled back in a crisp bun that gave away not one strand from her scalp.
"Now, you must send out an order." Naraku instructed, withdrawing a piece of parchment from a nearby shelf with a list of characters inscribed onto its yellowed depths. Naraku's eyes sparkled and shone with relish.
"An order?" Inuyasha repeated, rather dumbly. The poor boy just wished for him to leave, Naraku knew, but now was the crucial moment to assemble the armies. It was the peak of the monsoon season, so as far as rice cultivation went; few things could be done until the weather had cleared. By the time the rain ended, so would the battle. Early August was the deadline for these series of events to be drawn to a close—and Naraku, no matter what the consequences were, would demand that they prepare presently instead of anon.
"An order to call for arms, from your subjects, of course." Naraku sighed bitterly, sipping his steaming cup of tea and casting an irritated glance in Inuyasha's direction. Leaving no time for thought, he continued, "And I suppose you should also write a letter informing Sesshoumaru that you are planning on going to war. If I may remind you, Sesshoumaru has yet to taste your revenge."
That caught Inuyasha's attention, and he nearly spat out a gulp of miso. "What!?" he roared.
"Inuyasha…" Kikyou began hesitantly, reaching out a comforting arm.
"It will be a cold day in hell when I write to that asshole!" Inuyasha continued, successfully ignoring his lover.
"Ah, I feared your reaction would be as such," Naraku told in truth. Really, Inuyasha was just like a children's book in all of his actions. So predictable was he.
"Could you really blame me?" Inuyasha continued bitterly, a scowl stamped onto his features for the next ten minutes, "After what he did…to Kik—,"
"Of course, I could take the disgusting responsibility of writing to him I suppose. I would send him just the facts, you realize. I hardly know the youkai so there would be no other pertinent forms of information to be exchanged." Naraku cut in hastily. That had been close, too close. A second longer and perhaps Kikyou would have suspected that he had turned the tables on her. She might have realized that it was lies he had spoken to her on that humid day. Perhaps she would have changed alliances…
"Would you, Naraku?" Inuyasha questioned hastily, scowling into his half eaten cabbage salad.
"Of course, dear Inuyasha. After all, what are alliances such as these for?" Naraku purred as he touched Inuyasha's clawed hand. He pulled away almost immediately. But it was of no matter—his diamond would soon polish just enough to give a dull glow only for him. Like the fireflies, Inuyasha would only come alive at night.
The two men shifted their view to study the only female in the room; Kikyou was looking outside at a mockingbird building its nest in a pine tree.
*
To Lord Sesshoumaru
I hope that these past weeks have found you in extraordinarily good health. After all, you will need it for the upcoming battles, will you not? My spies have managed to gather information which notifies us that Inuyasha is planning for his attack to take place in the fourth week of July—this is the time of the full moon so he will be able to use his power to its maximum capacity. However, you too shall be in the peak of your strength, so I have no doubt in my mind whatsoever of whom the victor shall be. My spies have also managed to learn that he hopes to claim your defeat in no less than a week— although he is allowed unlimited supplies from the house of Higurashi, his other alliances grow short of patience and will only supply a limited budget. If you push hard in the beginning days, you can easily claim victory over Inuyasha and your father's sword.
I must apologize for so rudely leaving Inuyasha's bride at your residence those few weeks ago. It was uncertain business, but I have managed to produce the desired effect after having successfully brought Inuyasha's past lover back to life with help from a half-deranged witch. You may now see to whatever actions appropriate to deal with his bride, for she is no longer of no importance to the hanyou. Kill her, or let the courtier lady fend on her own in the wild. That would be amusing indeed.
I will contact you shortly with information.
Frowning, Sesshoumaru took the parchment and hung it over the flame of the candle and watched it burn slowly as the ashes drifted aimlessly to the ground.
**
*
AN: short chapter. Yes, I know. I know.
Read, review and the like.
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