Better Left Unsaid
...OOO...
"Are you searching for me, Naraku?" Her voice entered his ears, dry and dead.
He spun around to face her but was surprised by her sight, "Kikyo?"
She stood- or rather floated before him, dressed not in her familiar priestess garb but in a long, flowing shroud held tight at her breast by one ghostlike hand. It was black, blending with the rest of her mind so that her image seemed almost nothing more than her upper bust interrupted by strands of ebony hair.
"Do I surprise you?" she asked in the same toneless manner, gliding closer.
Something isn't right... Again a strange sort of dread descended upon Naraku.
"You're not asleep," he stated plainly.
And she answered just as simply, "No."
Hi eyes narrowed, "What are you?"
"Your beloved- am I not?" The words amazed and mesmerized him and he stood still as she came to him, her hand gliding up his chest and around his neck, pulling him down to her as she whispered, "Come closer, Naraku. This is what you wanted, is it not?"
Confusion overcame him- something was not right.
But she continued to assure him soothingly as tentacles of energy sprouted from her shroud, wrapping themselves around him and forcing him to sink into her, "We can be together now just as you wanted. Always..."
At first he could not, did not resist, unable to fathom her actions, but as he plunged deeper and deeper into her- into her shroud- he felt it- the black hole of a void pulling at him- and in angry disgust he thrust her away.
She fell backwards and sneered at his scalding glare.
"So you noticed," she commented, her voice no longer dull but mocking. "It's too bad- it would have been so much easier for the both of us if you had only went along."
"What the hell are you?" he demanded.
"I am surprised you do not recognize the object of your own affections," she replied, picking herself up.
His answer came out flat but sure, "You are not Kikyo."
"But I am," she sneered. "The true Kikyo. The only Kikyo. And I must thank you for exposing the lies and deceits I have suffered and freeing me from the confines of that dead body."
"What have you done to her?" he snarled.
"You mean this?" she asked innocently. Her other hand appeared from the folds of her cloak, entangled in the long hair of a twin image.
"Kikyo!"
"Hmph," she scoffed. "This worthless doll tried to imprison her own nature." Her face twisted in rage at the thought, and she flung the body away from her, "How I despise it. But no matter- it will break soon, and I shall no more have need to keep such a useless artifact... You, however," she smirked, turning back to Naraku. "You have something that belongs to me."
A look of surprise formed on Naraku's face as she vanished and reappeared only a second later behind him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders in a vicelike grip.
"Don't resist," she hissed into his ear. "Be proud- I am your creation. It was because of you that I was born. Now feel the hatred which you inspired," she ordered. Once again the shroud around her coiled around him, holding him in place as her hands shrank beneath the surface of his body. "You of all people should be able to appreciate the works of your own design."
He was stunned.
He was the cause of this atrocity? This abomination?
...ooo...
Sesshomaru lunged for the shadow, but his fangs snapped at nothing but air as she scraped past him. Using her bow as a staff, she warded off his attacks while doling out her own as they collided and repelled one another again and again.
"Is this the best the great demon lord has to offer?" she smirked, seemingly unscathed by any of his efforts even as he bled from several lash marks.
Growling angrily he made for her again and this time caught her securely by the shoulder, his fangs sinking deeply in the odd flesh as he pinned her against the nearby mountain.
From somewhere deep within the shadow, a cry issued forth, small and weak but unmistakable in his ears.
Kikyo!
Instantly, he backed away.
She laughed at his apparent surprise and vexation, her arm sculpting itself good as new.
"Do you understand now?" she asked. "No matter how much damage you inflict upon this body, it is only that shell inside of me which suffers."
...ooo...
"Where is it, where is it?" Her hands dug deeper and deeper into Naraku, probing him for the coveted object, and growing angrier by the minute as it continued to elude her grasp. "You think you can conceal it from me?" she accused. "I never took you for a fool, Naraku, but if you refuse to return it to me, then I will simply have to take you- all of you."
The tendrils of dark matter around him elongated and grew, swallowing him into its depths as it crept up his body.
What is this woman? He wondered. What is this energy she exudes? He could no longer deny it- she hadn't been lying. This was in fact Kikyo.
But how? How did she warp into something such as this...this abysmal hole of unreasonable hatred? Even for him, it was beyondcomprehension. Never before had he felt such a force of pure malice.
"Ungh."
Suddenly her head snapped up, broken from its concentration by the pained groaning of the body which she had discarded.
Seizing the opportunity of her distraction, Naraku acted quickly to summon a confusion of razor sharp hooks to grow from his body and repel her. Her eyes widened in surprise and then glared at him in fury.
"Bastard," she spat as he held her aloft in his own tentacles. "Your pathetic power is useless against me."
Somewhere behind him the other Kikyo murmured softly, "Sesshomaru..."
...ooo...
Sesshomaru winced as the stinging bow slashed at his side. It had nearly missed, but he was too distracted by the sound of his name to dodge it enough. Kikyo was definitely inside that shadow somewhere, but if he tried to attack, he would only harm her. How was he to free her? He wondered.
Sensing his reservations, the shadow Kikyo sneered, "You've gone soft, Sesshomaru. Weakened by a mere woman- how pathetic. Just like your father."
At the perceived insult, Sesshomaru blistered but did not act.
Was this phantom right? Had he really allowed his feelings for that woman cripple him?
NO! He told himself. He would not allow it.
With anger driving him, he dashed for her, his fangs tearing away a large part of an arm as he forced himself to ignore the anguished cries from the body inside.
The shadow staggered back.
"That's better," she smirked in concession as her arm reformed itself. "But not quite good enough."
She launched herself at him and buried her bow deep into the rocky ground, but this time he avoided it completely, leaping behind her and using the weight of his body to slam her down after it.
"Damn dog," she muttered rising, but before she could completely recover, he rebounded and gnashed away at her arm again, severing it completely as he sent her crashing back against the mountain side.
"Enough!" she declared enraged. "You've had your fun. Now it's time to die!"
Her arm regrew as the one in his mouth dissolved and dripped into puddles around him.
He was readying for another attack, but instead a yelp of surprise escaped his throat as the puddles of matter around him elongated and shot into the air, plummeting back down to bind him fixedly to the spot. Fierce jaws tore at them, but it was futile- they wouldn't give, only regenerating whatever piece he managed to tear out.
In front of him, the shadow Kikyo drew an arrow and nocked it to her bow.
"Good-bye, Sesshomaru," she smiled.
...ooo...
Inflamed by her contemptuous smile, Naraku's hold on her tightened, trying to crush the loathing image.
"Have I upset you?" she asked in mock innocence. "Pitiful fool. Who else but you would seek redemption from a woman who not only despises you, but does not even exist."
"How dare you," he asked slowly, menacingly. "How dare you interfere with my plans. How dare you taint her with your presence."
"HA!" she laughed. "I exist because of you, and even after she tried to lock me away, it was you who set me free. You've no one to blame but yourself!"
Scowling, he flung her away angrily, and, without much thought, raced for the other body lying nearby.
Grabbing the unconscious figure by her shoulders, he ordered, "Kikyo! Awaken!"
"No!" the other one shrieked, reaching out for them. "Stay away from that!"
Slowly, Kikyo's eyes fluttered open but did not see Naraku as she murmured faintly, "Sesshomaru..." Her voice rose as she suddenly realized what her shadow body was about to do. "NO!" she screamed. "Sesshomaru! Don't hurt him!"
A flood of blinding light engulfed all three but the other Kikyo merely declared triumphantly, "You're too late! His life is mine!" Even if her other self managed to regain control, it would never be able to push her out completely again- the anguish from Sesshomaru's death would ensure that.
...ooo...
"W-what is this?" the shadow asked herself, temporarily distracted as her body rippled with flashes of light. "No... it's impossible. She can't have possibly..." Realization of the outcome of her inner conflict dawned on her and she returned her attention to Sesshomaru with a vengeance. "It matters not," she grimaced breathlessly as she struggled to maintain her form. "Your death will ensure she does not succeed!" And with that, she loosed the arrow, but its flight was unsteady and inaccurate. Still, it managed to pierce him through one shoulder, breaking his constraints and sending him flying backwards as his body reverted back to its human form, stopped in his course by an obtrusive tree.
With a small grunt, he collapsed beneath it, gripping his wound as he watched the shadow unravel, shrinking smaller and smaller before imploding into itself about a foot off the ground. Inured pride and anger kept him from calling out her name as Kikyo crumpled on her hands and knees, curls of steaming energy still rising from her bare body.
Agonized eyes met his as she shakily pushed herself up, stumbling forward only to drop to her knees once again beside him.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered, her voice heavy with unshed tears. "So sorry..."
A part of him wanted to shove her away, wanted to rid himself of her presence- his pride unable to cope with the truth her shadow had declared, that which he was unable to bring himself to admit: she had weakened him.
But he couldn't... He was unwilling to deny her.
Pulling out the arrow protruding from his shoulder, he tossed it away.
"It was not you," he told her, not meeting her gaze.
Diverting her eyes to her hands, she answered softly, "Yes, it was. That... that thing told the truth- that was and is what I am. All that I am."
"Do not speak such words," he commanded, bristling at her statement. "I will not allow you to hide behind such a feeble excuse. You are only who you allow yourself to be- nothing else."
"Sesshomaru..." The meaning of his words sank to her and though they did not fully convince her, she realized they were his way of comforting and reassurance. Slowly she smiled, "Thank you."
He looked away. Loosening his armor, he removed his haori and threw it at her.
"Cover yourself," he muttered, and for the first time, she was aware of her nakedness. Deeply embarrassed, she hurried to obey, pulling the white silken garment around her.
"Where is Inuyasha?" she asked quietly.
"Back at the castle, I suppose," he answered, keeping his annoyance to himself. Why must she always bring him up?
"Oh..." Scanning her surroundings for the first time, she was surprised how far they had strayed while in battle. "Should we return to them?"
"Are you capable of the journey?"
"Are you?"
After the encounter with Naraku last night and nearly being purified, the strength he had regained that morning was now completely spent. And she was little better. Because of the lack of civilization nearby, her soul collectors had to travel far and wide in order to replenish her. Side by side they sat back in silence.
Seeking to occupy himself, he studied her carefully for a moment as a lone collector demon glided down to offer her a glowing soul to absorb, one hand caressing it as it passed by. A hand whose strength was hidden beneath the frailty of its appearance.
Slowly his eyes roamed over every inch of her, dissecting her curiously. What was it about her that intrigued him so much? Tiny feet perfectly formed attached to the long legs he had never seen before, a slim body lost in his robe, those hands, her lips with their discreet smiles...
She turned to look at him quizzically, "Is something wrong?"
Her eyes, he thought. It was always her eyes- those dirt brown orbs that reflected the state of her physical existence, ever present but always retaining the underlying hints of absence. Distant eyes that saw beyond time and space. Always with a trace of bittersweet sadness that stabbed him right through.
In answer he turned fully to face her, reaching a hand behind her neck, and lowering his head to hers. Taken back by his sudden action, she tried to move back but he held her firmly. Their lips met, and involuntarily she closed her eyes...
It was a kiss which lasted only for brief seconds, and then without letting her go, he pulled back to study her expression- a blank.
"I'm sorry," she smiled sadly, but he understood. No matter how much she might have wanted to feel it, it wasn't in her capacity to do so. His hand lingered for another second before he withdrew it.
Sighing a little, she leaned against him and he let her.
They both knew it was impossible- in so many more ways than one. It was absurd for one thing, impractical to both, and even if they somehow managed to get past their own reservations, there was another whole mountain of objections to such a relationship. Even now they were pushing the confines of their alliance- an alliance that was already getting harder and harder to defend not only from any third party critic, but from themselves... It was a hopeless impossibility, a fruitless temptation. And so in mutual agreement, they let it drop unspoken.
...OOO...