Naraku stepped out of the castle, sensing her. What was the girl doing so close to his home? His feet were silent upon the soft dirt, and yet she heard him anyway, turning to look down on him from the tree.

"Don't bother," she muttered. "I was just leaving."

He blinked. "Was I asking you to go?"

Kikyou stared at him, and Naraku cursed his own words. Why in all the Hells had he said that?

Is this real enough for you?
You were so confused...
Now that you've decided to stay...
We'll remain together...

Tilting her head, she hopped down from the tree and stepped closer to him, eyes narrowing. "You said nothing of the sort, but frankly I don't feel like having you try to kill me today. Oh, wait...that's right. You already DID kill me. I'm just back to be a little reminder that you're a fuck-up."

You can't abandon me.
You belong to me.

Her words stung, but rang true. Naraku drew foreward, until the were barely four feet apart. There was no fear in her eyes; only anger, and...what else? Something...

"You're right," he said simply, sarcasm tainting his next words. "As usual."

The two watched one another, and a look of doubt came over the miko. You could kill her, a voice in his mind hissed, kill her now. But he searched for the hatred, the murderous rage he once possessed. It was nowhere to be found. His heart was weakening to her again, and he could only curse himself...

Breathe in and take my life in you,
No longer myself, only you...
There's no escaping me, my love.
Surrender...

"I regret it, you know," Naraku added, his gaze looking towards the sunrise.

Kikyou followed his eyes, then looked back at him. "Then why?" she asked softly. The voice that slayed the darkness. "Why do you keep trying to kill me?"

She couldn't move, even as he closed the last few feet between them. Her feet were frozen, and her eyes couldn't tear from his...She was trapped by her enemy. Her heart was pounding, and he could hear it.

Darling, there's no sense in running...
You know I will find you.
Everything is perfect now,
We can live forever...

"Because," he murmured, brushing a lock of her hair from her face. "I couldn't have you...You didn't want me..."

"You're an evil, manipulative killer," she whispered, commanding her voice to be steady. "You're full of your preverted, vile passions. You do not love me."

You can't abandon me.
You belong to me.

A low, feral purr rumbled past his lips and turned into a low chuckle as he leaned closer, tilting her chin up to face him. "I only deny one of those things; can you guess which?"

Her eyes flashed, and suddenly his lips took hers in a violent kiss, his mind going numb to common sense. Kikyou let out a muffled cry, pushing him away and stepping back, her eyes blazing. Even he moved backwards, surprised at his own action.

Naraku did not see her hands and body, trembling.

Breathe in and take my life in you...
No longer myself, only you.
There's no escaping me, my love.
Surrender...

He only saw her turn, hair flying behind her as she ran into the woods, like a sprite's phantom. He only saw the empty spot where she had stood, finally...briefly...within his grasp. The same emptiness in his soul.

"She will come back to me," Naraku said to the air, voice flat. "...Someday..."

Breathe in and take my life in you...
No longer myself, only you...
There's no escaping me, my love...
Surrender...