Chapter 10: Naraku's Insidious Plot

"They say Kagura has returned to Kyoto on Sesshoumaru's orders, sir," Kanna reported quietly.

"She has, has she?" smirked Naraku. He remembered that little bitch.

"Yes, Lord Naraku."

"Excellent. We must thank Sesshoumaru sometime for this advantage he has given us."

"In what sense, lord?" Kanna didn't particularly like Kagura too much, but she cringed anyways. Naraku's idea of 'advantages' were not always too fun for others.

Kagura was probably having the time of her life, servicing a new rich handsome youkai. Naraku envied the bastard. "Kanna, show me her whereabouts."

The mirror shimmered, before an image swam into view. Kagura was sitting alone, in a beautifully decorated room.

"Let me talk to her."

Kanna bowed, and set the mirror on a low table before leaving quietly.

"Kagura," Naraku said to the mirror, a sly grin on his face. "Kagura, it's me."

Her eyes widened in the mirror, to Naraku's amusement.

"You rememer how much money I spent on you? Buying you expensive kimono and jewellery; paying for you to perform at the Spring Dances… You disappoint me, Kagura."

She was shivering, Naraku noted with glee.

"You would turn your back on me so easily. Don't forget, Kagura, I know your secrets. Your dirtiest, darkest secrets."

Her lips were trembling. "Now, Kagura, don't cry. You do remember me, don't you? Our nights together… The time you wanted some vicious girl in your okiya gone and I helped you? The time -"

He cut himself off abruptly. "Find her, Kagura. Find that Kagome Higurashi and bring her to me."

Kagura trembled for ages after Naraku's voice appeared in her head.

Oh, how could she have ever been so stupid? Swept off her feet by the powerful shogun, she had thought his affirmations of love for her were true. Happily, she had agreed to a blood bond with Naraku. One that would let him into her head whenever he wished to see her thoughts.

Now, he was only interested in using that bond for his own purposes. Kagura didn't know why he wanted Kagome, but she knew it wasn't going to be good.

His blood ran through hers. He would talk to her in her head – drive her to insanity with his constant ranting and rambling.

Her head drooped. The room seemed so cold, so cold…

The news of Kagura's bond with the shogun did not go down well with the rest.

"Get rid of it," Sesshoumaru ordered. "You have to sever the bond."

"I can't! It's there for eternity!" If she could, Kagura would have done so a long time ago.

"And you're going to let him drive you insane for eternity?" Sango asked. "He can talk to you through the bond. He will know your thoughts. Nothing will be safe from him."

"So send me back," Kagura said. "Return me to my okiya. Tell me none of your battle tactics."

"What did Naraku say to you, Kagura?" asked Inuyasha.

Kagura paused. "He wants Kagome. But…" Kagura shot a glance at Kagome, "he doesn't know where to find her."

"That cannot be allowed," Sesshoumaru said. "Kei, do you know any mikos around here? The only way blood bonds can be broken is by the command of a miko…"

"I know a miko?" asked Kagome.

"Go and find one," he said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"I know a miko!" Kagome said brightly, walking out confusedly.

"And I will assist your search," said Sesshoumaru, to the surprise of Inuyasha and the rest.

"I don't know any mikos aside from Kaede!" Kagome exclaimed when they left the group.

"She did teach you to shoot arrows?"

"Well, yes, a few"

"Good. You will purify Kagura of Naraku's blood." Sesshoumaru handed her a bow and arrows.

"Halt!" Kagome said. "Just because I can handle archery doesn't make me a miko."

He pointed to the other side of the room. "Try," he said.

"And blast a hole through the window?"

Sesshoumaru merely waited.

"Fine! Just wait till they send the bill for a broken window. I heard the price of shoji screening has gone up," mumbled Kagome. Kagome preferred a sword to arrows, no question. Arrows were clumsy; a bow had to be dragged around with it. Swords were light and easy to use.

Sighing, she notched an arrow and aimed for the window. She pulled it taut, just until it quivered, like Kaede had taught her.

Releasing it, the arrow flew quickly, a miserably wisp of blue light following it.

Sesshoumaru reached out, and caught the arrow quickly before it ripped any windows.

"You're a miko," he announced.

"Am not!" exclaimed Kagome, fingering her bow.

"Then explain this." He held out the hand he had caught the arrow with. A long streak of burned skin lay across the length of his palm.

"Uhhh…" Kagome began.

"The point is, if you were stronger, this would have purified me to hell and back. Well, it wouldn't have – I could've dodged this easily," he clarified, getting a loud snort from Kagome. "But if you work on your powers you should make a good enough miko."

Kagome's ears perked up at the last few words. "Good enough! What do you mean, good enough?"

She'd show the bastard. Training, he wanted her to do? Fine.

Of course Kagome agreed to training before she realized what exactly it entailed. While the sky was still pitch black, Sesshoumaru had hauled her out of the middle of her sleep only to shove her onto the freezing training grounds outdoors.

"I need… sleep…" moaned Kagome.

"I thought you were trained as an able fighter; surely you don't crave sleep after a few hours of practice?" Sesshoumaru said.

"Training? This isn't training! This is bedtime exercises! Fighting is with fists and weapons!"

"A bow and arrow is a weapon," he countered. "And until you hit that target, you are not going back to bed."

"I never asked for night time training! Why can't I train in the day?"

"Well, seeing as you so cleverly dressed a boy, we can't have others see you are a miko, can we?" Sesshoumaru said simply.

Kagome marched up to the tree trunk. A lopsided man had been carved onto it by some palace servant already as a type of training target. She was supposed to aim for his heart, but…

She grabbed a slim dagger for her side and added a bit more detail to the tree trunk.

For example, long hair, two swords, a crescent moon and face stripes. Pointy ears, clawed hands, and…

To finish off her artwork, Kagome carved neat characters onto the bark.

"You wrote the second character for my name wrong," Sesshoumaru said, surveying her handiwork critically.

"Oh, shut up. And you watch; I'll make this target."

"If you'd stopped your arguing and used that energy on training instead we would make so much more progress."

He just always had to be right, grumbled Kagome silently.

And she let the arrow fly into the Sesshoumaru target.

Which caused an uproar among the palace servants the next morning.

"Apparently someone shot an arrow into a tree trunk on the grounds, and burned a hole right through it," said a palace servant.

"What of it?" asked Sesshoumaru, devoid of expression.

"Well, they had first carved your name on it. People say this is a black miko trying to curse -"

"Nonsense."

It took awhile to convince the terrified servant otherwise.

"I hate being a boy," complained Kagome, aching and running on very little sleep.

"A bit late to grumble," Sesshoumaru said. "Kagura, any news from Naraku? Because even if Kagome genuinely attempts to become a miko, she won't be getting anywhere for at least two weeks."

Kagura shook her head."No. I think he only wants Kagome, and he'll be patient."

"Really?" whispered Naraku in her head. "How patient? Tattling to Sesshoumaru-sama now, are you? Good. I like that. He'll be so furious when you snatch the girl from under his nose, especially when he knows my plans."

Kagura froze, petrified. Kagome looked at her uneasily.

"Nothing," Kagura said.

"Look, palm reading," Miroku said, pointing to a stall with curiosity. He had meant to sneak off with Inuyasha to visit one of the Gion teahouses again, but found out Inuyasha had no money on him.

"What?" asked Inuyasha.

"Palm reading," he repeated. "Let's take a look."

Inuyasha stared. "You crazy? Only superstitious old women go for palm readings!"

"Oh, nonsense," Miroku said, heading for the stand. "You need your fortune told."

"Hell no!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Hell yes. How much per palm, madam?" Miroku asked the old lady in a tattered miko's garb.

"Depends on the palm," she said quietly.

"Ok, me first," Miroku said, sitting across from the miko.

She grabbed his palm and barely studied it before glaring at him. "Perverseness gets you nowhere."

"Oh, but it does," he replied cheekily.

She ignored him. "You have a goal to fulfil, but at the rate you're going, you'll never get there."

"Get where?" Inuyasha asked, intrigued.

"Get to his goal," the miko said.

"Ok, Inuyasha, you were right; this is stupid."

The miko looked haughty. "You two have absolutely no appreciation of the finer arts."

"Hey, maybe we should use her to purify Kagura's blood bond," Miroku whispered.

"You don't even know if you can trust her!" Inuyasha argued.

"Fine, fine," Miroku sighed, walking away.

"And, young man with the golden eyes, I should remind you," the miko called after them. "Homosexuality is normal, and lovers aren't always who they seem."

"Crazy," muttered Inuyasha, flushing red, remembering a certain Kei.

The miko watched them till they vanished out of sight.

"Naraku, I have what you want," she said. Her greying hair was a sheet of silky black and her lips were a deep red. Wrinkles were replaced with smooth pale skin.

"I heard, I heard," he said crossly, coming out from the teashop behind the palm reading stall.

"They plan to get a miko to get rid of the blood bond."

"She would have to be damned good," Naraku said calmly. "And since Midoriko there hasn't been a miko that can be classified 'damned good'."

"You never know," murmured the dark miko.

"Well, except for you, of course," Naraku said with a little smile.

"Flattery gets you no place; you owe me money, good sir."

"Later, later," Naraku said, gliding down the street.

"I can't continue teaching you," Sesshoumaru said a few days later.

"Why, scared I'll purify you to hell and back one day?" Kagome asked, shattering another tree trunk with her arrow. She had improved a tad, she was pleased to note, although Sesshoumaru was stingy with his praise.

"For the obvious reasons; I'm not a miko," he snapped. "And not to mention your powers are shooting out of control. Do you know any women of use to us?"

"Kaede?" Kagome said. "My old nurse. Very, very feisty old woman, who has more strength in her left than some healthy young men. And you'd better be nice, because she'll purify your ass and send the pieces to hell."

"For a noble-born lady, your use of language is appalling," noted Sesshoumaru. "Where can we find this Kaede?"

"Back the recruitment camp village."

"I assume she helped you escape."

Kagome nodded vigorously. "She's been a big help."

"Jaken will fetch her tomorrow," said Sesshoumaru.

"So can I go to bed for tonight?" Kagome said hopefully.

He dashed her hopes, as usual. "Later. I want to see what you can do on the battlefield."

"Wait, this isn't honourable," Kagome said, trying not to stammer. Her? Against Sesshoumaru? She knew she was good but she wasn't that good.

"We are not fighting for real. But I would think a person trained by the late Lord Higurashi would have acceptable skills," taunted Sesshoumaru.

"Well, guess what? I never paid attention to my father's boring lessons," lied Kagome.

"We'll see about that," he said. "Try hands-on combat."

"Can't I verse Inuyasha or someone? You'd still be able to see my abilities."

"Yes, I would see, but I wouldn't know."

"But -" Kagome stopped short when five claws just barely missed her face.

Ok, that bastard was bossy enough; she didn't need him to hit her either. Kagome Higurashi would smile when he ate dirt. She caught the sword he threw her and raced towards himself, drawing her blade.

They clashed.

Though, after a round of hard fighting, Kagome could barely see how she could defeat him. He knew every rule in the book, and added in a few ones. Within seconds she was forced into defence mode, blocking and ducking helplessly.

Swordplay. Technically one of her least favourite areas. In her opinion, swords were almost all clumsy and cumbersome. You have to drag those rods of metal around, for god's sakes. That said her dislike of the sword didn't stop it from being her forte. Her father had had a motto: If you do not enjoy the activity, learn to enjoy it.

Hours of practice were finally paying off. She knew her moves well, and performed them effortlessly.

Unfortunately, so did Sesshoumaru.

Up, down. Across, backwards. Slash, parry. Spin, duck.

If they had been putting on a show, it would've been a great show.

Her mind wandered. Inuyasha. Now, compared to his damned brother, Inuyasha was the perfect man. Maybe not as beautiful but certainly gorgeous in his own way. Not to mention, Inuyasha was way nicer to her.

Kagome was brought back to the present by a sharp pressure on her arm. Blood was seeping out; staining her clothes, and she gasped more from shock than pain.

"You hit a nerve end!" Kagome exclaimed, sinking to the ground dramatically. "I'll never move my arm again, you idiot!"

Sesshoumaru sheathed his sword and examined the cut closer. "You'll live, it's barely -"

She leapt up and pushed him back.

"Got you," Kagome said triumphantly, grabbing her sword at the last minute and holding it to his throat.

"That was dishonourable," he said, holding perfectly still.

Kagome looked nonchalant. "It's not like honour gets you anywhere when you're up against a thousand year-old youkai."

"I must've cut myself in my sleep," Kagome lied, rubbing her arm. "You know, some people sleepwalk. Maybe I sleepfight."

The rest seemed satisfied, but Kaede cast a disapproving look at Kagome. No, Kagome couldn't lie to Kaede, not ever.

"Maybe you should see a doctor," Inuyasha suggested anxiously.

"No, I'm fine," Kagome insisted.

"She'll be fine," Kaede said, pulling the bandage around her arm extra-tight.

Kagome yelped and snatched her hand away. "Oww! That hurt."

God, he acts just like a girl, Inuyasha thought in wonderment.

"I don't want any water touching that cut," Kaede ordered. "And please, no more rough exercises to reopen the wound."

Kagome shot Sesshoumaru a victorious glare. No more midnight battles. It wouldn't be… honourable to fight the injured.