Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha.
Strange Interlude
Chapter 18
In the palling light of the sun was the silhouette of a dauntingly tall figure standing on the highest point of a mountain. The figure's hair, pelt, and sleeves flew gently in the breeze. The orange tint the sun gave the silhouette made him look regal, as if he was basking in the sun's last glow without a care in the world. But as they say, appearances can be deceiving. The tall and noble being was not standing on the zenith of his mountain home only for the pleasure of viewing the sunset. He stood, taking in the evening air, searching for a scent to follow that would lead him to the whereabouts of a demon that had taken something of great importance to him.
This silhouette was none other than Sesshomaru, first son of the Great Dog demon, and the evil he sought was Naraku. So, Sesshomaru searched. Sifting through the smells, old and new, he searched for any scent of the presence of that amalgamated demon. Naraku, half-human though he was, was a master of disguise and camouflage. The poisonous aura he was so famous for had spread so quickly through the air that the scent was almost untraceable, however it was definitely present around the mountain. But from where the scent had come from or in which direction it had traveled with the girl was still a mystery to him.
But as Naraku was no ordinary half-human, Sesshomaru was no ordinary demon. Sesshomaru's canine senses could detect even the slightest subtlety in the change of Naraku's scent. With only an increase of his mental concentration could Sesshomaru differentiate the origin of the smell of Naraku.
But this tiny concentration of miasma, he found to the north was different some how—almost as if it wasn't completely Naraku. What was this almost bird-like scent? .
He set out from the mountain toward the north, the direction of this almost Naraku. Perhaps to the north he would find what he sought. The countryside below him passed in a blur. So quickly he traveled when he was angered. Miles passed in seconds. As he went, the miniscule concentrations of miasma grew larger. The farther north he went, the stronger the smell became. This happened until he came down out of the mountains, to the human-inhabited forests, where he found the smell its strongest—the rice fields of single human village.
"Was it here that the villain had set forth from?" Sesshomaru thought. The village seemed no different than any other human town. A rather unorthodox place for the hideout of a shape-shifting demon.
Perhaps...because the village was so like the others, it was the perfect place to hide. Of course...the demon Naraku, being part human himself, would blend in marvelously amongst these humans. But this still did not explain the smell of bird around Naraku's scent or the absence of the scent of dried blood. Sesshomaru scavenged the air for clues. Why did this place only have this one thick spot of miasma, while the village itself did not? His only answer was to follow the scent until he came across Naraku himself.
Sesshomaru took a second to re-orient himself, locked on to the path of Naraku's smell, and like a bolt of lightening raced off toward the northern horizon.
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Meanwhile, far from Sesshomaru's Western Lands, inside a dreary castle enclosed by mist, laid a pale, frail body of a young man in restive sleep. The man, known by Kagawaki to the humans, and Naraku to those who knew him as he truly was, was thinking on the last few days' events. A messenger from the castle had set out only a week ago for the Village of the demon slayers. The incarnation Naraku had sent to possess Kagawaki's father was controlling the affairs of the castle, but hadn't been doing very well. The amateur demon did not take kindly to humans, and had threatened Naraku on numerous occasions, so Naraku was plotting to dispose of him.
His chance arrived just the other day, when the demon slayers arrived. Naraku's complex plot to divert the demon-slayers away from their village in order to steal its jewel shards went into action. Naraku naturally employed puppet sorcery to obtain the shards instead of going himself and leaving his room and his real prize, the One of Prophecy. All went according to plan, and the demon managed to take the shards, destroy the slayers' village, kill his incarnation, and utilize a revenge-seeking slayer against the "perpetrator" of the destruction of her village: InuYasha.
Although the female slayer had failed in her mission to destroy InuYasha, Naraku had found a hefty consolation prize in her half-dead brother. The boy now lay recovering in the cellar of the castle. As soon as all but his back injury healed, Naraku would put him to good use.
But now, all Naraku had to do was relax and wait. But he found it very hard to do so. Naraku had become very anxious, for many reasons. Maybe it was because the kidnapped girl would soon be full grown, or maybe because soon his other human would be ready to fight for him. But the biggest reason for Naraku's inability to sleep was that, Kagawaki's body was dying. It would soon give out on him, unable to hold Naraku and the massive amount of other demon parts within it for mush longer. Naraku would have to dispose of the body, but was waiting for the utmost last second before doing so. He believed in utilizing what he had until he could exploit it no longer, but his prideful thriftiness was taking a grave toll on him.
Luckily for him, Naraku had the perfect servant to care for him. The stolen human girl obeyed Naraku's every command and hardly left his side. He had watched her grow older with every passing day. In one week she had doubled in years, and he expected that one more would bring her to her original age.
How wondrous it was that Naraku had stolen and kept her without any repercussions. It seemed that her owner had forgotten her. He chuckled and looked toward the girl who knelt beside him. It was all too easy.
At that instant there a thunk and a great buzzing sound outside the room's window.
"Not another one," muttered Naraku as he pulled his feeble body to its elbows.
"Get the window," he ordered the girl.
She stood and followed orders.
A different, much smaller hell insect flew in. Naraku uttered a pained groan and managed to stand. He slowly moved to the center of the room and fell/sat on the mat there.
"What!" he exclaimed, his eyes narrowing and his brow furrowing as the insect told him its tale. "Is he actually coming to retrieve the girl?" Naraku murmured to himself.
The insect proceeded to buzz the story while that soulless servant knelt back down on the floor mat by Naraku's bedding. She stared blankly at his tousled sheets, no though crossing her mind.
"I suppose we must set up reinforcements..."spoke Naraku.
Then he thought, "I had desired to leave Kagawaki's body tonight and create my own, but if he is soon to arrive, I cannot leave. If I were to leave, that beast would very easily take back the child. Even with all the barriers and shields I have erected that noble demon would find his way in. And what's more...I, myself, am without enough strength to use any sorcery to my defense, nor could any of those worthless humans do anything."
This frustrated Naraku much. What could he do? He searched the room as well as his mind for possible solutions.
His eyes came to rest on the human girl whose soul he had stolen. A sly smile crossed his face, "Oh, yes. How would he react when it was she that he fought?"
The hell insect continued to float about the room. It thought it very strange that Naraku was so calm about the whole ordeal. What was he smiling about? Why was he staring at that girl that way? Why was she so important anyway? That way he looks at her...if it didn't know any better it'd think that Naraku lo—
Naraku sharply turned and snatched the bug from the air, crushing it in his hand. Opening his hand revealed the crumpled body of the saimyosho. He smiled in delight as it then melted into his flesh.
Naraku then stood with a renewed, even if temporary, confidence and crossed the room back to the girl. She did not look up; she did not react. Naraku reached out with his right hand and laid it on her curly head. He let his fingers slide through her silky, black hair until he was longer touching her scalp. Then, with sudden force, he tore out her hair.
The girl still said nothing. Even though she now sported a new bald spot on the side of her head, the expression of her face was unchanging.
Naraku turned and sat down on his futon, and began the arduous task of cutting golems. Within minutes he had procured several, very crude, wooden dolls.
"It won't be long before Sesshomaru arrives," he muttered.
At the mention of his name, Jennifer's head turned slightly. Perhaps she remembered...
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A/N: I'm so tired of my floppy disks. They are ruining my update schedule. As you all may know, my family quit their internet service to get Cox High-speed Internet. SO, we decided we might as well get a new computer. Well, we got the computer, and the internet, but the new computer only accepts jumpdrives and not floppies. I usually type my chapters in the comfort of my own bedroom and then transfer the document to the internet computer via floppy. BUT NOW I'VE AN OBSOLEETE METHOD OF TRANSFERANCE! Le sigh. I tried taking my floppy to the library and updating there, but the computers are stupid and slow. I tried updating at school, but now there's a bug on my floppy. Curses!!! After many attempts at recovery and repair, I have managed to recover half of the document. So, I have spent this lovely Oct 2nd, Saturday morning re-typing the chapter. So now it is arrived. Chapter 18 is posted. I meant to update September twenty-something, but as you can tell, it didn't work out. Well, now I may have to transfer my mega-copy of the entirety of Strange Interlude to the new computer, but again...no jumpdrive. Grr...I guess I'll have to wait. It'll be at least fifty years before I'll get another computer in my room. But don't worry. I'll still try to update once a month. I'm still writing chapter 20---it's the super long climax to the Naraku arc. So give me some more time. It'll get easier after twenty. Only rewrites after that until about 30...
Anyway...please review!