Chapter 1-The first step on the path to darkness
He struggled to open his eyes as he awoke from his deep slumber. Even then as he became awake he still felt tired not remembering what happened to him the past few days before his unconscious sleep. He looked around and found himself in a dark and mysterious place that looked like the internal part of a castle of a noble lord. He tried to move, but found himself restrained on a flat table with chains and metal cuffs around his feet, hands, and one giant one around his waist. He felt pain all over his body as if he had been in a fierce battle with an army of demons. He couldn't understand what had happened to him. It didn't make sense. "Where am I? What happened to the other?" he thought as he looked around for any sign of life only to find…none.
(Three days earlier)
"Is our guests properly restrained Kanna?" said a man wearing in baboon face and pelt as he and a sliver haired little child with a mirror walked down the hallway.
"Yes master. He was severely wounded when we found him and had to be treated immediately or else he would have died sooner," said Kanna in a quiet and almost innocent voice.
"How was his condition after you started on his treating him?" said the man as he opened a rice papered sliding door and both entered a room on the left.
"His body is healing as expected master. However, he was near death at the time so it may take a few days for him to become conscious again," said Kanna as she stood their while her master pushed back the top part of the baboon pelt revealing his black hair and evil looking eyes.
"That's perfectly fine Kanna. I want didn't expect him to heal himself back into a conscious state of mind for the next few days. Especially in the condition you found him. What about his sword? Was it near him?" said the man as he now sat down near an opened door showing a beautiful courtyard.
"Yes, but it wasn't easy to take with me," said Kanna.
"That's not surprising either. Had Kagura not betrayed me and stolen her heart from me you wouldn't have been severely hurt by the swords barrier," said the man as he stared out into the courtyard.
"Yes master. Fortunately the wounds I receive were only temporary," said Kanna as she just stared at her master with those doll like eyes.
"That sword was meant to be wielded only by him and still will after I'm done with him," said the man who cracked a small, but still noticeable smile on his face.
"What do you intend to do with him master?" said Kanna in a curious yet still innocent voice.
"It's quite simple Kanna, but I'd rather explain it to you when I'm talking to him about it when he's more conscious. In the mean time Kanna you'll just have to be patient with me for the next few days," said the man as he poured him self some tea and took a drink from his cup. He then removed from under his baboon pelt coat a purple, gold lined, and spider shaped jewel that glowed with a dark energy inside it.
(Three days later. Back to before a few hours later after the conversation. At Night)
"Ah I see you are finally awake. Good. I was a little surprised when Kanna came to me telling me you were awake. Personally I thought you would require at least two more days healing before you would regain consciousness considering the shape your body was in when Kanna found you," said the man who was behind his guest, but still in the shadows and out of eyesight range to be seen.
"I know that voice. It can't be you. What have you done to me? What happened to my friends? What have you done with them?" said the restrained man as he tried to free himself from the restraints only to feel pain in his chest and stomach area.
"Calm yourself or you will reopen ALL your wounds that you sustained from the fierce battle you fought several days ago," said the man who snapped his fingers causing the chains and other restraints on his body to tighten around the mans body.
"Go ahead kill me it makes no difference to me. One way or another will die at the hands of your enemies with or without my help," said the man as he released a small smile from his face showing one of his demons fangs.
"You don't get it do you my old enemy. I could have let you die where Kanna found, but I didn't. I have no intention of killing you my half-demon nemesis. I want you to join me…Inuyasha," said the figure who stepped into what little light their was in the room and was now in eyesight view next to Inuyasha.
"Naraku! I knew it. I could smell your miasma like scent all over the place. Seeing you just confirmed what I suspected," said Inuyasha who found his restraints were too strong to break free from.
"Stop trying to resist me Inuyasha. You will join me because my enemies are your enemies," said Naraku who as he now walked around the table that Inuyasha was restrained on.
"You're wrong! My friends are not my enemies and they never will be," said Inuyasha who was becoming more enraged at the very sight and sense of Naraku.
"Even if THEIR the ones who caused your injuries. The ones who LEFT you for dead and LEFT your body to rot in the ground or be eaten by demons," said Naraku who now stopped walking around the table and was next to Inuyasha right side.
"WHAT! No, I don't believe you. They would never do that to me. NEVER!" said Inuyasha as he tried again to get free, but was stopped as Naraku grabbed his head and slammed it back down onto the wood of the table.
"Oh, but they can…and they did Inuyasha. Kanna showed me what happened when she saved all that took place in her mirror. I was quite surprised myself that they did that, but then it occurred to me that their betrayal would bring us together for a common purpose," said Naraku who parted some of the silver hair on Inuyashas face so he could see clearer.
"And what purpose is that?" said Inuyasha whose angered voice was did not have such an angry sound in it as it did before.
"To destroy those who have hurt us that is our enemies. Recently before your...fall out with your friends, Kagura betrayed me when my guard was down. She stole her heart that was her life that was once under my control. I had big plans for her, but now that she is her own sentient being I have no wish to keep her alive," said Naraku as he stared at a less angry Inuyasha and more of a listening one.
"What do you want from me?" said Inuyasha who felt his restraints slowly loosen to a point where they were actually comfortable around his body.
"I'm dying Inuyasha. The miasma in my body is destroying me from the inside out. Even the sacred jewel if put together completely would never be able to cure me. Right now it is slowing down my inevitable demise and walking through deaths door...permanently. What I WANT Inuyasha is for you to be...my apprentice. Some one who I know and will eventually...trust to surpass me with what I will bestow upon you in do time before my death. I will teach you what I know. I will share with you all my knowledge, all my power, and it will be all for you to use as you see fit when I die," said Naraku.
"I don't understand. Why make me your apprentice? Why not use Kanna or Kohaku as your apprentices. Why me?" said Inuyasha curiously.
"For one Kohaku is all human and without the jewel in his back he would die. Without my invisible hand to guide him he a brainless puppet. As for Kanna...she may be my incarnation and most loyal of them all, but she lacks the free will and intellect to truly wield my power to its full potential if I were teach her what I knew. You Inuyasha...are the perfect apprentice. You always were and have been ever since this game started when you were freed and we first met each other," said Naraku who slowly and very carefully took out the jeweled spidery object he had shown Kanna earlier.
"Wait! You have been doing this from the start?" said Inuyasha in surprise.
"Of course Inuyasha. In everyone of your fights I have sent upon you the strongest of warriors that were each stronger then the last to test and push you to your limit only to break it at the very end of each fight. And after every fight you proved yourself more worthy each time in becoming my apprentice. Especially after that incident with the moth demon and his human bandits that my insects saw and reported back to me about," said Naraku.
"When I changed and was driven by my inner demon nature," said Inuyasha who knew full well what Naraku was talking about.
"Yes. They also told me of your fight with Sheshomorru the first and second time when you transformed and actually scared and surprised Sheshomorru even if it was only for a second. How you surprised him in your first transformation in front of him and when you knocked Tokijin away with one punch to the sword itself. You have a great evil demonic nature that cries to be freed from your human soul of a prison. The only side-effect of such an evil demonic nature for a half-demon like yourself is that it eats away at the soul causing you to go...berserk for the lack of a better word. But...through me I could teach you to harness it and achieve a power that would be greater then any half or full blooded demon. Including...your brother," said Naraku as he now got Inuyashas interest.
"What do I have to do?" said Inuyasha who had a serious yet interested look on his face.
"First...you must trust me when I tell you that Kagome and the others you called 'friends' are not your friends anymore. Second...you must allow me to place THIS amulet I created on your forehead. Once I place the spider amulet on your forehead it will dig into your skin so it can't be removed by force. Then it will allow me to speak with you always telepathically with my mind. So I may instruct you and teach while you make your presence known to others and whom you now serve. It will feed on your evil nature and strengthen you immensely," said Naraku showing Inuyasha the spider jewel like amulet in his right hand.
"The first one I have no choice, but to trust in what you say...for now. As for the spider amulet...do what has to be done...master Naraku," said Inuyasha who gave wicked smile.
"Good. Now another reason you are restrained is because when this first connects with your mind as it integrates with the rest of your body you will experience pain so great that you may want to rip out your eyes to numb its inflicting pain," said Naraku who almost sounded worried for a moment.
"I've probably felt worse then what that spider amulet could ever do to me so hurry and put that spider on my head," said Inuyasha.
"As you wish, but just so I didn't have to tell you I told you so...bite down on this when the pain comes," said Naraku as he put a rectangle shaped bar of compressed Japanese steel horizontally in Inuyashas mouth.
"Just put the damn thing on my forehead already...master," said Inuyasha who had a weird smile on his face due to the bar of steel in his mouth.
His smile however, changed to horror as Naraku first put the spider amulet on his forehead and then slammed into the skin where the real pain began. And the sound of a dogs howling and sound of pain echoed into the night sky as the moon glowed a dark blood red in the night sky as an omen of dark things to come.