Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Takahashi Rumiko et al., not me. I just borrow them to have some fun.

A/N: Raijin beta-ed this chapter really very efficiently, and we'd like to thank her a lot. Thanks Raijin! Thanks readers, your reviews cheer me on!

Chapter VII - Fireflies

I stood in the narrow doorway of the tiny pavilion. The sun fell on Naraku's figure through the windows and the ornately carved white wood, giving my enemy a polish of pink and red. The pavilion was intended for intimate meetings, for lovers, with only two benches. When he beckoned to me, I took place on the bench opposite of his. I assume, from afar, we may have looked like good friends or lovers, but both of us knew that the other wished nothing but the death of the other.

In that moment, I think, he felt like a victorious cat that had caught a mouse to play with. I, on the other hand, felt nothing but cold contempt for him - but also for myself. I felt that I had allowed him to manipulate me to a certain degree, although I still did not know how he had accomplished it. He had faked his death in front of Inuyasha and his friends, but why? To make all of us feel secure and gain victory in the end?

The Lord of Western Lands was nobody's mouse.

"I also wished to see her," he said.

Oh yes. He must have felt as if she were his creation, not mine. Now he was back, and Kagome was weak, defenceless on her way from human to demon. Her holy powers were diminishing, and her demon powers had yet to show. If the Jewel of Four Souls were to fall into Naraku's hands, she would not be able to purify it, and he would not be stopped. The shards were still safe with her, but I knew, and he knew that I knew that he would soon attempt to take them away from her.

I saw a shard glittering between his long fingers. He smiled. "The last one," he said. "I was keeping it for old times' sake." Suddenly businesslike, he continued: "I believe you wanted to ask me some questions?"

I tucked my hand into the folds of my haori. "You are here to brag about your supposed victory over me," I said. "Although I am not quite clear about the purpose of doing so. It seems foolish."

Naraku sighed. "You never had any sense of humour, Lord Sesshoumaru. Just humour me. I wish to talk until she senses the shard…"

I clenched my hidden fist under the soft fabric, intent on not letting him see my anger. My face stayed impassive. There was nothing that would have pleased me more than slicing Naraku to ribbons with my sword, but I also knew that Tokujin could not seriously hurt him. Not for the first time, I wished for Tetsusaiga in my hand.

"If you do not wish to ask me questions, I will ask you some," Naraku said.

I stayed quiet. He smiled again. Was it wise to let Kagome come near him? Then again, I did not think that he would have let me go and warn Kagome just like that. I decided to stay and teach the half-breed manners in time.

"So, you gave Kagome the necklace on the first night of the full moon, am I right?" He played with the shard. "So she should be … ready in, what? Two days?"

Naraku waited for an answer, but shrugged as he did not get any reaction from me, and went on:

"It was really rather funny to have that page in your book marked. You should check your staff for spies more carefully in the future… if there is a future, of course… I heard from Kikyo that Inuyasha had tried to transform before… your father paid the price for his - ring, was it? Of course, the poor dog could not bear it. Still, the fang was out, and… did you ever ask yourself where your useless sword came from?"

The half-breed's insult for Tenseiga, no matter how useless I myself thought it was, did nothing to change my sentiments towards him for the better. I decided to roast his flesh upon a fire, slowly. If I ever could get hold of the real Naraku, not only a puppet.

"So," he asked in a conversational tone, "how does it feel to know that your life is about to end?"

"You tell me," I said. "You must know."

He smiled and looked at the setting sun for a moment, his cheeks flushed by the red light. In a very short time, it would be dark. Perhaps he would attempt to end my life then?

"I always thought that you were a useful ally. Why did it not work out between you and me?"

I contemplated my empty sleeve. It would take me years and years to re-grow that arm. It was a painful remainder of my unfortunate alliance with Naraku - and of course, of Kagome's choice to give the Tetsusaiga to Inuyasha. Still, the Lord of the Western Lands is nobody's play toy, at least not for long.

He spoke to me for several minutes, telling me how he had planned to take out the greatest threat to his plans, the one that was protected so well by Inuyasha, her friends and me. And how, almost as a side-effect, he had rendered me helpless against the sword that was being made from my fang. He did not tell me everything he had done and what he had planned for the future, of course, but I could tell this thought pleased him immensely.

Somewhere across the garden, Rin's nurse picked up the little fox, who stirred in his sleep, and bid Rin to come inside. I let out a faint breath of relief to have the children safely in the house, for now out of Naraku's reach.

When the sun was down, Naraku started to hum a sad tune. For a very odd moment, with his black hair and young face, he reminded me of Rin. He looked very human, playing with the eyeholes of his baboon mask in the darkness. To my night-seeing eyes, his face looked silvery, framed by night dark hair, his eyes like dark holes in his face. I lifted my head; the moon had come out. First one window, then another lit up brightly with candlelight.

At the wall, I could see outlines of my guards, who were not aware that the enemy was already inside the walls. Or did they know? If I lived to see tomorrow, I would want to know from them how Naraku had made it past the walls of my gardens. It was my duty to protect my lands and those who lived on them. If my guards were lacking, it was my duty to set them straight. If they were traitors, it was my duty to find out and make sure such things never occurred again.

Once, late at night, Kagome woke up from her poison-induced sleep and touched my back with her hand.

"Why are you sitting here with me every night?" she asked.

"It is my duty," I said.

"Do you always think of your duty first?" she wanted to know.

"Of course," I answered.

"Is it because you think you are fulfilling a duty that you have taken me from my friends? A duty to your lands, to have an heir?"

After a long pause, I said:

"Of course."

She removed her hand and said nothing more.

Naraku stirred and distracted me from my thoughts. I saw lights floating through the dark, approaching slowly. My servants decorated the trees and bushes around the pavilion with red and white lampions. A maid, trembling in fear of Naraku, brought a tiny table into the small space between us; another brought sake, cups and some food and left them for us. A faint ringing of tiny bells was heard. Then a flute set in, joined by a shamisen and finally, a voice, singing a sweet song my mother's sisters used to sing for her in this very garden.

From the dark, a red light emerged. In its warm shine, my retainer Jaken walked, ceremoniously holding his staff, followed by servants who were throwing jasmine blooms to the ground, to sweeten the air. After them, a lady followed slowly, her ladies in waiting attending to her. Her hair was set in an elaborate style, with jewels spread generously over it. The face was painted only enough to emphasise her beauty. Her gown was very heavy, holding her down while she walked. When she had finally reached us, her ladies put a soft cushion on the bench next to me and helped her sit down, fussing with the folds of her gown.

I admired her to no end, not only her beauty, but also her courage. Although I did not approve of her coming here, I had to admit that she looked like a worthy lady of the house, doing her lord and husband credit. I had always known she would be like this, once transformed. Just another few days… but now, we had to face the enemy together, and she obviously wanted to show Naraku that his plan had not worked out as well as he had thought, and that she was not a mere puppet in his - or my - hands.

As soon as Kagome was seated at my side, her dress ordered about her to her approval, one of her ladies handed her a fan, which she unfolded. Jaken and the ladies bowed, and retreated into the shades of the trees. Contemplating the delicate drawing of a caged bird on the fan, Kagome followed a line of gold with her finger, before she snapped the fan close and looked at Naraku with curiosity.

He acknowledged her with a nod of his head: "Kagome," he said.

She did the same. "What are you doing here, Naraku?"

"I wanted to congratulate you on your new… station in life, of course.

Kagome frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Only two more nights, and you will not be able to interfere with my plans. You will be a member of a dying race, along with your half-dead beloved here, not able to purify the Jewel anymore…" he said earnestly. Kagome's expression changed a tiny bit; she wanted to tell him that it would be more than two nights, but the sudden tension in the leg that touched hers gave her a hint not so say anything. Naraku did not notice anything. Turning to me, he said: "Your life was over when your arm was cut off by your brother, because your beloved Kagome chose to give the sword to the weak pup. You just made her a demon to make her pay for all eternity." He shook his head and smiled. "What a pair the two of you are - so tragically mismatched. You asked why I am here? I wanted to see real tragedy with my own eyes."

Kagome's eyes froze over. She opened the fan and played with it.

"Whatever do you mean? Lord Sesshoumaru has made me a demon because he has fallen in love with me."

Naraku laughed his cruel laugh. "Love? He is all hurt pride and revenge, don't you see? You took his arm. Why do you think he was so interested in having power over you? I just had to give him a small nudge in the right direction and he flew to give away his life, just to have revenge."

"You seem so convinced that everything is as you believe, Naraku," Kagome said quietly. "I think my lord means well for me. I am thankful to him that he has taken me in, has given me a long life, and will make me his wife in time, and give me children to raise, when I am truly worthy of him…" She lifted her head to catch Naraku's eyes with hers. I saw his eyelashes flutter before he was his own composed self again. "If my lord is missing an arm, I can be all the left arm he will ever need," Kagome said. "If my lord wishes to have a new arm, I can give him an arm of his enemy instead…" Naraku was quiet for a while.

"You think he loves you?" he asked, intrigued.

"Will you give me the shard?" Kagome asked instead of an answer.

He thought about it. He probably knew that she would agonise over the fact that she probably would lose her soul if she tried to purify the jewel. The thought amused him for a while, but in the end he flicked the last shard into the air and caught it in his hand again.

"No," he said. "Not this time." He caught the hand that she had put out to catch the shard before he could with his other hand. My skin crawled at the sight of the pale thin fingers wrapped tightly around Kagome's wrist. Naraku tucked the shard safely away and held her hand with both of his. With a sincere look in her eyes, he admitted:

"You were the least satisfactory of my enemies, young lady, always protected by your watchdogs, always in the background. Still, you have cost me lots of time and energy. I congratulate you. But, my patience is over. Although you look so much like the one that Onigumo had craved for, I fear you must go. Both of you," he said with a look at me. He sighed and put on the baboon head. "The next time we meet, we shall not drink sake peacefully as we have done today." He stood up, bowed mockingly to Kagome, and left the pavilion to stand in the red light of a lampion. Kagome and I also came to our feet to watch him.

"I will come to take the shards when you are a full demon, two nights from now," he said. "Give my regards to the charming demon hunter. I am sure her child will be delightful." He chuckled. Kagome gave a furious sound and threw her fan at him. The next moment, our enemy was gone. In the tree behind where he had stood, the sharp ends of the fan had buried themselves in the bark. Kagome balled her fists and bit her lips. When I came closer, she turned to me, her blood burning red marks on her skin. With my one arm I drew her closer to me, and she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Don't think only because I told him those things that they are true," she said. "You will not make me a demon."

"Of course," I said, holding her close.

"How could he say such things? Does he really think that you will let him humiliate you in battle? If you were able to touch Tetsusaiga, he would be dead a hundred times by now!"

"But I cannot touch that sword," I said. "I will have to kill him some other way."

"Did he say the truth? Did you really risk your life to have me?" There was a hint of curiosity in her voice. I did not answer at first, content to keep her close. Then I said Yes in a forbidding tone, not willing to answer any more questions she may ask. She complied, for a while.

"Then you are a fool," she said. "It was all in vain. I will never stay with you."

I looked at the stars. The music and song had long faded away, now my servants started to remove the lampions under Jaken's supervision. One by one, the lights went out, for we needed none in the dark. The stars blinked at me indolently when the last light went out.

"You did well tonight, Kagome," I said. "Did you order the lights and the music?"

"Yes - but I still think that you are a fool, my lord."

"Be peaceful tonight," I ordered her in a mild voice. "Let me compliment you on your accomplishment. You did well tonight, like a great lady would have done. I expect you to do as well in the future."

"Sesshoumaru…" she set in, but I shushed her.

"No, be quiet. I want to stay here quietly for a while, and smell that you are here, and alive. Sometimes I think you are dying away, and I just need to confirm that you are not… I guess Naraku might have been right, at least in this respect. Or it is perhaps just me, who is a walking corpse, only thinking, foolishly, that I am alive."

"He will never be right!" Kagome said. "If there will be a corpse, then it will be him, not you or me. How dare he speak like that of Sango!"

"You can ask him when you see him again."

"Are you joking, my lord?"

"No."

"Why does he think that I will be completely changed in two nights? If it happens at all, it will be in four nights."

"This also is something you will have to ask him when you see him again."

She was quiet then, but still furious at Naraku. I could feel it in the stiffness of her neck and shoulders while I held her to me. Perhaps I would die soon. Perhaps she would die. My thoughts went to the mark on her back. Even if she died - even if she succeeded in breaking my hold on her - even if the world came crushing down the next morning - even if she decided to go back to my half brother - whatever happened, my claim on her would never be broken. Whatever the future brought to this Lord of the Western Lands, I was content to accept my fate.

I felt her hands on my shoulders, playing with my hair.

"Your hair is very beautiful, my lord," she whispered. Kagome sighed when I did not answer. "The hour will be soon when my pain is the largest, my lord…" With hesitation, she freed herself from my grip to hold my hand instead and look at the claws. "I guess you have given me all the scars you intended to give me, so I will have to live through it tonight?"

Silently, we walked into the house and into Kagome's room, where Sango was sleeping. I signalled to Kagome to be quiet and led her to my room, where we stood, looking at each other in the moonlight that came through the window. When Kagome opened her mouth to say something, I put one finger on her bottom lip and slipped the nail on to the inner side of her mouth. My claw started dripping with poison, and then I made a small cut.

"So it will not leave scars," I said in explanation. I led her to my bed and made sure she was under the covers before she fell asleep. For a while, I simply looked at her, before I sat dawn to keep watch until she woke up, as was my duty.