Faithful By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 5:: Aching Heart

Kyoyume lay back on her bed. She sighed, she had finger-shaped bruises on her arms from the demon lord and she hadn't looked Naraku in the eye since, it had been a week and she barely left her room.

She felt guilt, and dirty. She was sure that the demons scent was still on her, and she was afraid he might return. He was a demon Lord after all, wouldn't he be able to fight Naraku? Would he return though? Kyoyume shuddered. The thought had been on her mind for the entire week that she had been in her room, and it scared her whenever she thought about it.

Someone entered her room, but she didn't look up.

"How are you feeling?"

"What's it to you?" She asked looking up to see Naraku leaning against a wall.

"My, my. Aren't you the feisty one today?" He asked resentfully.

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to see how you were feeling." Naraku said, eyeing her.

"I'm fine."

Naraku watched her finger the marks on her arms, and wondered if she was still scared of leaving the room, she hadn't left the structure for days, he was starting to worry about her.

"What?" She asked, not looking at him.

"Nothing..." He said, preparing to leave, but stopped in the doorway. "That demon was publicly humiliated at the last meeting of the demon lords."

"Really?"

"Yes, and word is that he ran into the mountains in embarrassment." Naraku said, and, with that, slipped away.

"Hey! Come back!"

Naraku turned, and looked in at her. "Nani?"

"Uh...umm...you didn't perhaps do something that caused that demon to get embarrassed did you?" She asked smiling. "And...stay in here and talk to me...." She said, wanting some company for the first time in days.

Naraku sat down, a bit curious at her sudden attitude change. "I did nothing but tip them off that someone in their ranks was degrading them " She said biting her lip. "So...what have you been up to during my week of exile?"

Naraku didn't want to admit that he had openly gone to the demon lord's meeting and accused the demon, so he dodged the fact that he had been gone for several of the days that she had hid in her room. "Nothing much...."

"Oh...well..." she started to say something but refrained.

"What is it?" He implored, hoping he wasn't probing.

"Do I still smell like that demon?"

Naraku was taken aback by the question. He wasn't sure how to answer, she was touching the finger marks guiltily, waiting for his answer. "No, no you don't."

"Really?"

"Truly." He said with a small nod. "You haven't smelled of that demon since the moment you came back here."

She smiled a little. Then Hakudoshi rushed in.

"Naraku-sama!" He yelled, almost frantically. Naraku turned toward him grouchily. "What is it, Hakudoushi?"

"T-that demon lord is back saying 'he wants his woman' even though...he never did anything with Kyo! He wants to take her again!" He panted.

Kyoyume felt her heart jump into her throat, everything seemed to get smaller around her. Naraku got up and slammed the screen behind him, rushing Hakudoushi ahead of him.

Kyoyume followed, trying not to be seen.

"WHERE IS SHE?!" The demon growled, slamming his fist into the rotten tree that Kyoyume had sat on a few weeks before.

"She's not yours so it is not concern of yours!" Naraku growled.

The demon turned his head toward Naraku and glared dangerously, his red eyes flashing anger. "Hand her over!"

Naraku faced him, he towered a full four inches over the demon lord and looked un-intimidated. "Never." He hissed.

The demon took a step back and cracked his knuckles. "I, Demon Lord Ichiyasha, demand that you give her to me!"

"She is not yours, so you shall not have her." Naraku growled.

Kyoyume hid in the closest room and cracked the screen so that she could look out on the fight. Naraku was taller than the demon, but the demon lord looked formidable enough. She was sure that something would happen soon.

"Leave." Naraku told the demon lord.

The demon lord seemed to grow with his mounting anger. "You dare defy me?! Fine!" The demon Lord growled angrily. "Get out of my way hanyou!"

Naraku stood his ground. Hakudoshi drew his sword from where he sat on Entei's back.

Kyoyume gasped as the aura of the demon whipped into the air, rising and swirling, seeming to reach out for her. "Oh..." She gasped, terror gripping her. "Please, let Lord Naraku win..."

"Are you going to fight?" Naraku taunted the demon lord. "Are you that petty and stupid?"

Ichiyasha gave a deep growl and slammed one of his legs into the rock, smashing it and shaking the area around him. "Prepare yourself." He hissed before rushing at Naraku, claws and teeth bared.

Naraku dodged at the last second. Miasma hitting the demon lord to the point he was nearly suffocating.

Holding his breath, he quickly noted Naraku's power with poisons and tried another swift and powerful attack.

Kyoyume watched fearfully as Ichiyasha got a hit, a slash across his chest. 'Naraku-sama!'

'Oh no! I've gotta do something...but what...?' She thought frantically, looking around for some way of helping without shooting her own nerves.

Naraku hissed as claws slashed his chest. "You'll pay for that." He growled pulling out his katana.

Ichiyasha, glad that he had hit his target, licked the blood from his claws and sneered at his opponent. "Make it easier on yourself and hand her over. It's obvious she's of no use to you."

"...How do you figure that?" He growled.

The demon smirked. "I could smell it on her. No one else had laid a hand on her but me."

Naraku growled. "And you'll regret laying a hand on her to your dying day." He snarled.

"Will I? Such a cute little thing, feisty too." He commented, smirk widening.

Naraku slashed at the demon's face with his claws. "Stop."

Ichiyasha dodged, but only narrowly, receiving a small cut from the bridge of his nose, all the way down his left cheek. 'Damn.' He cursed, eyes darting in search of the cat girl he had come for in hopes of a quick getaway.

Kyoyume was barely visible to the demon lord, she didn't know he could see her but he could....

Still searching for a way to help, Kyoyume reached for her sword, but found that she had left it in her room, having taken it off before she had left for the village when she had been attacked. With a groan, she looked back out the screen to see Ichiyasha staring straight at the spot where she was hiding.

Naraku turned to see what Ichiyasha was facing. 'Oh no...Kyoyume...he can see her?!'

Before another thought entered his mind, the demon jumped forward and attacked Naraku with a powerful strike. 'Thought he could hide her did he?!' He thought angrily.

Naraku stumbled back in shock and before he could react the demon had ran to Kyoyume's hiding spot.

Kyoyume was immediately on her feet and seraching for an ulternate escape route, seeing none, she shut the door and pressed it closed with all her weight and power, hoping that he wouldn't be able to smash through by some twist of fate. But she felt his powerful aura growing nearer, and braced herself for impact.

He rammed into the screen door, collapsing it.

Kyoyume groaned as she was thrown across the room. Her arms and upper body slammed into the ground first, heavily, with her lower body and legs following soon after. Lying in a heap, she didn't dare move she wanted it all to be a dream.

Ichiyasha grabbed her off the ground by the back of her kimono. "We meet again." She growled, barely conscious.

"So it seems." He snickered, noticing that the kimono was starting to slip after she had been thrown and grabbed up so quickly and hastily.

"Lemme go you nasty pervert!"

Ichiyasha smirked and turned with her still in his arms. Kyoyume tried to get away, biting and scratching again, but to no effect, the burly beast wouldn't even loosen his grip.

Naraku was standing at the decimated door. "Let her go."

"Not hardly." Ichiyasha growled, noting that his opponent seemed tired and a bit battle stricken.

Hakudoshi appeared behind Naraku, sword held high. The shadow of Entei over him. "Let her go."

Kyoyume bit down on his arm, drawing blood, but he didn't seem to notice. He was calculating, she could tell by the way his eyes darted about. His hold on her increased until she thought she might suffocate. He let out a growl before taking two steps back and looking hastily over his shoulder. Glaring, Kyoyume bit him again and again, clawing and kicking and squirming as hard as she could. "Hyaa!" He cried, tearing a hole in the wall and leaping through. "Hey! Stop!" Kyoyume growled, kicking him in the ribs.

Naraku followed, and without warning stabbed him in the shoulder with his sword. Ichiyasha whipped around to face him, blood pouring from the wound.

"Get lost! She's mine now, dirty hanyou!" He cried, wounded shoulder slumping while still holding Kyoyume in one arm.

"No she isn't!" Naraku growled.

Kyoyume gasped as he increased his hold yet again. 'Hey, dammit, I can't breathe!' She cursed inwardly. Her captor growled, seeming to sense the remark. "Shut up." He ordered angrily.

Naraku walked up and punched the demon lord in the mouth. His grip loosened on Kyoyume and Naraku took that opportunity to grab Kyoyume away from him.

Kyoyume gasped as air filled her lungs once again. She was quite glad that the demon lord was no longer holding her, but she felt awkward being in Naraku's arms. A blush creeped across her face as he set her to her feet.

With a glare, her monstrous attacker rose and glared angrily at Naraku and Kyoyume. Blood dripped from one corner of his mouth as he roared: "I'll be back, mark my words." And he leaped away, leaving a trail of blood behind him.

Kyoyume shivered from his warning. 'What'll I do if he....' She thought, then trying to shake the thought.

'He won't come back.' She assured herself. 'It's only an empty threat...I hope...'

Naraku looked at her. "Are you okay?" He asked distantly.

Kyoyume looked at his wound and guiltily looked away again. "Yes." She said hollowly. "I'm fine. Thank you..."

"What?"

Turning toward him, she put on a fake smile. "Thank you saving me again, Naraku-sama. I'm sorry I cause so much trouble."

"...You didn't cause any trouble, whatever happened was worth it."

Kyoyume was quizzical at the question, but didn't venture into what he meant. "You're bleeding..." She commented instead letting some of the guilt flow free.

"Feh. I'm fine." He insisted.

Kyoyume looked at the cuts and small bruises. "You are not fine, you're hurt." She said earnestly, taking a step closer.

"I'm fine." He said taking a step back.

Kyoyume made a sour face, forgetting that the youkai lord had ever made a threat to her to return. "You're bleeding, plus, being a hanyou means that you don't heal as quickly as other youkai, so you're NOT ok."

"I'm fine."

Kyoyume felt one ear twitch in agitation. Grabbing him by the wrist, she led him through the hole in the wall and into the room.

"What?" He snapped.

Kyoyume forced him to sit down. "You have a large and rather deep cut across your chest, and have strained yourself to move with such a wound, causing the bleeding to be worse. You are not 'fine' in the least." She felt herself growling as she looked for something suitable to make bandages from.

Naraku sighed. "What do you care? I can take care of it myself!"

Kyoyume felt her heart twinge slightly at his words, but acted like she didn't mind at all. With a sigh of her own, she reached over to a conveniently located blanket and started to rip it to shreds. "I DO care, and I know you can take care of yourself." She mumbled, feeling like she was chastising a child.

Naraku grumbled under his breath as the cat-girl bandaged his wounds.

Kyoyume felt her ears twitching slightly still in anger, but slowly the feeling was fading away, and she just wanted to apologize for causing so much trouble all the time. 'They wouldn't be in all this trouble if I wasn't always here making it for them.' She thought.

Naraku looked at the cat-girl. "Are you done yet?" He asked.

Kyoyume nodded and sat back, hoping that he wasn't angry with her. 'I wonder if I aggravated the wound by tugging him around like that?'

"Thanks." He muttered.

Kyoyume nodded. "You're welcome."

"I strongly dislike that demon lord."

Kyoyume looked up in question, ears perking forward in a curious manner.

"...I'll get him killed eventually." He added, more to himself then Kyoyume.

Kyoyume felt a bit of relief spreading through her, hope that maybe the demon lord wouldn't return again. "But...how?" She asked quietly.

"One way or another. He'll die."

Kyoyume nodded, hoping that the demon lord would indeed die before he could follow up on his threat to come back.

Naraku smirked, thinking of the bloodiest way to kill Ichiyasha.

With a sigh, Kyoyume got to her feet and went to the door. Unsure if she should slip out or not, she stared out at the land before her, wondering what she should say to Naraku.

The silence seemed to cover both of them. For, in truth, neither of them knew what to say.

Naraku stood, finally, and went to the door, staring out at the land like Kyoyume, whose ear twitched in a small breeze, that blew by.

Kyoyume sighed. "I'm bored." She admitted, breaking the silence.

Naraku nodded, facing into a strong wind that blew across them. "Yes, it is quite still." He acknowledged.

"...Even the colors of the trees are dull and bored."

"True..." He said, wanting to reach out and touch her hand.

Kyoyume looked at him, one ear twitched with boredom.

Carefully, she moved one foot forward and turned to go, making her way toward her room so she could change out of her bloodied and torn kimono that she wore.

Naraku lay down on his bed and sighed. Sleep was gooood.

With a sigh, he wondered if he had been too harsh on Kyoyume, she had not appeared upset, but still, he wondered.

Kyoyume appeared back in the door in her other kimono. "Ah, I'm back!" She said with a little smile.

Naraku blinked at her once a bit stunned that the object of his musings would appear so suddenly. "Hello."

"Comfortable?"

Naraku nodded, unsure of what to make of her behavior.

Her ear twitched again, she scratched it. "Um...can I lay down?"

Naraku nodded again perplexed completely at her question.

She plopped down beside him and rolled over and propped herself up on her elbows to look at Naraku.

He watched her out of the corner of his eyes. "Nani?"

"Nothing...."

"Certainly there must be something..." He said, not wanting to point out that she had never wished to lay down beside him before.

"Just...looking at you."

Not sure what to say to that, he let his eyes lock onto hers as small thoughts floated around his mind.

"What'cha thinkin'?"

"..." Unsure of how to answer, he searched her eyes for what he should tell her. 'That you are so important to me, that I won't let anyone hurt you...'

Kyoyume just stared back at him silently.

"I'm not thinking of anything in particular..." He said, staring deeper into the orbs of her eyes.

Kyoyume shivered. "I'm cold." She pointed out.

Grabbing hold of his blanket, he moved a good-sized fraction of it over onto her. "Better?" He asked.

"Better."

Naraku nodded.

"Thanks."

"You are welcome." He said, wishing he could get the nerve to hold her hand, but was afraid of the impression the move might make on her.

Kyoyume yawned like a cat. And cuddled into the blankets.

With a small inward smile, he let his eyes close in sleep. 'I will protect her...that is enough...'

They both fell asleep. Hakudoshi peeked into the room and smiled. "So the truth should come out soon enough." He mused.

{end chapter}