Servant By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 18: Mistaken

Rain, lots of disgusting, nasty rain. Humans said that the rain symbolized purity and that it cleansed everything, but he thought differently. The rain made the earth smell, and the damp clung to everything, causing sickness and disease to those who stood out in it too long. Not to demons of course, and only on occasion to hanyous, but to humans the shill rain was almost a death trap. How could they believe something that could kill them to be a symbol of purity?

Humans had always confused him as to their silly and stupid 'emotions' that they claim to feel. Whatever it was that they got to pepped up about, it was not something that concerned him in the least. After all, they were nothing but an illusion when you got right down to it, right?

He was extremely angry, another of his brilliant plans defeated by Inuyasha again. There had been the plus of stealing three of their Jewel Shards, but he was still angry at having to retreat again. How did Tetsusaiga keep managing to get stronger at every turn?

Maybe it was fortunate that at the same time he was growling to himself he heard a reply not too far off. He stopped his miasma cloud which had been carrying him above the tree tops and dropped down among the foliage. Well, if he should stumble across some helpless human or some stupid demon, it would be a perfect opportunity to vent. He needed to good bloodbath right now. . .

Eyes of red found their kindred color washed into the mud and staining the green leaves around where the few minor-demons were assembled, leering at some broken creature that shuddered on the ground. They were mumbling and laughing at the obvious pain of their victim when one stopped to pick it up by its hair.

Naraku's brows rose some when he spotted the blood-splattered face of a woman. And not just a woman, but a hanyou by the looks of her; she winced as the demon brought his face close to hers and cackled evilly.

"Pretty little hanyou, wench." He ground out before releasing her so that she fell back into the mud with a gasp. A small growl seemed to form in her throat and Naraku thought he spotted claws growing out from her fingers suddenly, but he must have been mistaken for they almost instantly receded again.

She didn't budge though, didn't say a word in protest; he had to say that was a bit intriguing if nothing else about this scene. He had seen things like this happen before to hanyous and humans that got lost in a dangerous wood or were ambushed. The fact was that the others usually fought back, but this one just lay there as if she were ready to die. Hmph, how pathetic.

He turned to go but something made him stop. Maybe it was the scent of blood and rain mingling, or maybe it was just that he had the sudden urge to kill. Whatever it was, he turned back and rushed through, tearing off heads and sending limbs flying as he went. They didn't even know what hit them, and when he had finished disposing of the garbage, he saw that the little hanyou woman hadn't even blinked, as if she knew the whole time. Or maybe she had just gone out of her mind and really was drifting off into the big black sleep already.

He made a small scoffing noise. What had he just wasted that energy for? To slay a few demons tormenting a weak little hanyou woman? Foolishness, he would have to make sure to keep a tighter rein on urges like that in the future. It was very unbecoming to act as if he were doing something noble and good.

Her thin hand touched his ankle as he turned to leave, the miasma already starting to form. It was the barest of touches, showing that she had little to no strength left in her. He turned, glaring down at her, ready to kick her away if he needed to.

Her eyes slowly rose to his in almost a pleading manner, as if asking him to kill her too. He smirked at her mockingly. Yes, he would dispose of her, if that were what she really wanted. How pathetic, to want to die in a horrid way like this. Did the girl have no ambitions?

A thought struck him, and he contemplated it for a minute, but it was stupid and was surely another of his ridiculous impulses that he seemed to have a lot of lately. But what could it hurt? And if she were incompetent, he could kill her, maybe even use her as one of his mind puppets. Oh yes, Inuyasha would never suspect a woman, especially a half-human like him. It would most fitting for him to die that way. He smirked evilly again.

But what to heal her with? He had no skill in the art of healing, and it wasn't like he was going to go out of his way to find somewhere she could get medical attention. Oh well, so much for that plan. . .Suddenly the Jewel Shards in his pocket sparkled and he remembered. . .

Naraku woke with a start. How strange, how very strange to have a dream of that day at such a time. He rarely had dreams, and most of the times they ended up as nightmares, troubled goings-on of the memory of Onigumo.

His red gaze fell on a huddled form at the entrance to what he thought must be his sick bed. How could he let the stupid wench of a miko hit him with an arrow, let alone get so mortally wounded again? Now Yuhi had saved him twice, and he didn't like the feeling of being in someone's debt, especially someone whose motives were unclear. Not that he suspected her of anything; she was far too simple for that.

The question that kept humming in his mind though, ask if daring to be ask, was a simple one-worded question, one which so far still had no answer: 'why.' Why had she followed him? Why did she keep straining herself and forcing herself to go against her own moral code just for him? He couldn't think of any other reason except for one of those human 'emotions' to be involved. Forget why, how had she found him anyway? Coyotes might have a good sense of smell, but he knew that where she had been left was miles away from this site. Even if she did catch wind of their battle, how had she been able to get here in time, hanyou or not?

Plus her return was causing those foolish 'emotion' things to rise up in him again, and he despised them more than anything else. No, no, that was not true, he made a face as he realized this. No, the 'emotions' had been plaguing him everyday, reminding him of her since the day he had had her sent away. This was ridiculous; he certainly couldn't afford a distraction right now, and over a pathetic little hanyou girl with a big heart. He snorted derisively at himself; how could he let Onigumo take the helm like this? Or so he blamed Onigumo, for certainly Naraku would not get flimsy over a woman. That was what that pest Onigumo had been about from the start.

Her eyes flicked up attentively, and her form flinched at his small snort. She stiffened and slowly seemed to open her eyes, as if fearful. Carefully she sat up and peeked her head out of the opening, sniffing, ears twitching in search of intruders. When she found nothing, Yuhi said under her breath contentedly before sitting back against the earthen walls. It was then that she noticed a pair of red eyes watching her every move and she blinked wide eyes in return.

"Ah! Naraku-dono, you're awake!" She lowered her voice suddenly when she noticed she had practically screamed her happiness. She had to stop being so stupid and focus; she couldn't afford to give away their hideout at a time like this!

"Are you feeling better?" She questioned.

He gave no reply, as if still deep in thought. His eyes held her still, scrutinizing her and making her uncomfortable. Yuhi shifted, having trapped her tail in an odd position when she had gone to sit on her knees respectfully before him.

She felt awkward suddenly, wondering if he was angry with her. He had sent her away, it seemed almost as if it might be banishment now and she felt guilty. If he had banished her, he would surely be angry with her return; but would he be angry about her helping him? She dared not think of having 'saved' him, it seemed much too extreme a word to be used for someone like her. She was just a servant after all, and working by the code that was required of them, so why would she think she had saved him? Yes, it was more helping than saving. . .If she was to be punished, she wouldn't complain though, even if the punishment was death, though she hoped it wasn't.

'Just like Kikyou.' The thought struck him as he watched her, seemingly thinking to herself as well. It was his own thought; Onigumo never spoke to him any longer. Yes, now that he thought about it, she did in some way resemble Kikyou. A big, caring heart, never questioning the deeds of one in trouble and providing for them as much as she could. But other than that, there was no other comparison. They certainly did not look alike; Kikyou was far more beautiful and had long silky black hair and dark eyes that seemed to see right through you to your soul. Yuhi on the other hand had scruffy light-brown hair and eyes that immediately noted her as a hanyou if one did not take into account the tanned ears and fluffy tail on her rear. No, aside from that one thing, there were no further comparisons between the two.

Yet, he had never been taken with Kikyou like Onigumo, his human host had been. Still the man lusted for her, but he held no such feelings. She was an enemy and would be slain by his hand or someone else's in the end despite Onigumo's protests to such an act.

This girl, however he was not so sure about his intentions. Whatever it meant by this strange feeling that overcame him at the sight of her, he wasn't sure what was to be done with her. Kill her? No, though it might end the trouble of watching to make sure no one found his weakness, he wasn't entirely sure that killing her would resolve the problem of these strange recurring 'emotions' either. He had thought that sending her away would do the trick, but obviously that had gotten him nowhere. Sending her away again would most likely result in the same thing. It was useless, the only thing that could be done would be to take her back and guard her.

That didn't seem logical either, though. What was he planning to do, mate the little hanyou girl?

Yuhi shifted again, trying to find the right words to try and start another conversation again. Maybe she should apologize, but for what? Making a face, she tried to come up with the something, but all thoughts seemed to hang on the edge as the smothering silence that had dragged on for several minutes so far continued to slither by dully.

She looked at the food stuffs she had placed next to him, radishes, turnips, just a few odd vegetables that she had hoped her would find appealing. That was it! Maybe she could get him to eat something, or maybe even try to coax him to get up if he was well enough. If he could travel by now then she thought it best he leave for Inuyasha or some other discovered them here. She came forward slowly, keeping her eyes on him, waiting for him to object or strike out at her.

Working up all the courage she had, she tried to act as if she were not as nervous and worried as she truly was. It was probably better that she remain as optimistic as possible. "Do you wish to eat or drink, Naraku-dono? I'm not sure what you like, but I thought-"

At this point Yuhi had raised her head, wearing her usual warm smile with a bit of an apologetic quirk to it and found that Naraku was quite close to her face. She stopped mid-sentence, hands hovering over the vegetables that she had been about to pick up and present to him. Unsure how to react to this sudden change in proximity, she stared for a moment as if she had been struck. Eventually some pink came into her cheeks and she averted her gaze, going back to the vegetables. "I, uh, didn't know if you like the same things I do, so if you don't I can go and find something else. . ."

She dropped off as he grasped her chin and forced her to look at him again. She blinked, feeling very awkward and confused by his actions, but she dared not raised her voice and object or pull away. "Naraku-dono?" She questioned softly, unsure of what the look in his eyes meant.

Something stirred in the back of her mind as shock snaked toward it in pinpricks, but she didn't feel the presence of the bloodthirsty youkai yet and was rather glad. She didn't need a distraction at a time like this, especially a really moody distraction.

Briefly stood still as she felt her lips captured by her Lords. She held her breath, taking it in sharply and going rigid with fright. Confusion seemed overflow and there was the tiniest sense of outrage at him. She wasn't sure how at all to react to this, she had never had this kind of experience before and had not expected it at all. It felt as if all reasonable thought had been abandoned as one thought after another streamed by blindly, joining a chorus of other questions that furthered her confusion.

He pulled back almost immediately, though he had not sensed yet her distress over his behavior. He wasn't even too sure of it anymore, at the thought of taking the young girl for a mate he had suddenly felt the urge to explore her, but this was just all out wrong. A war was being waged inside of him between two opposing forces. Naraku's own mind did not wish to further any more towards the girl, it was quite obvious he didn't need her in his plan to capture the Shikon Jewel, so why bother taking such a pathetic weakling as his mate? Surely not out of pity; Naraku pitied no one. But the opposition, and he suspected this was led by Onigumo's lustful mind, said it was a perfect opportunity even if he didn't intend to take her as a mate. Surely she would not deny him, she was even blushing as if she had enjoyed the kiss so why hold back? It was ridiculous to deny himself something he obviously wanted, was it not? Besides, that was what two people did when they loved each other, right?

Yuhi gripped her yukata in her fists nervously, her hands getting clammy. He still had a hold on her chin and was watching her, but not seeing her. He seemed to have dropped back into thinking for a moment and she took the time and tried to quickly sort things out.

Her face was red as a beat and she could feel a nervous sweat forming in a thin film on her. She found herself strangely frightened by the strange look in his eyes, though she could not identify it. Lust, possibly? No, no of course not. A kiss was one thing, but that? No, she was just a servant, it wasn't plausible, she had never thought she was very good looking anyway, she what was that look for? Quickly she tried to find a way that she could get away, maybe if she went to fish for an hour or so he would be ok again. This must be a side effect or something from the slight illness that had gripped him while he had healed; though she doubted it. 'Have to stay optimistic.'

Another kiss, this time more demanding, and she screamed in her mind when she felt his hands travel over her and slowly lower er toward the earthen floor. She felt her own arms take a life of their own and try to force him away, but it was useless, she was took weak to do much good. She didn't even notice that the youkai had stirred awake in the back of her mind as she attempted to stave off her Lord. "N-Naraku. . .-dono, s-stop it. . ." She said feebly whenever her lips were freed from bruising kisses.

"Who dares?" A voice roared and for a moment Yuhi thought it to be someone on the outside that had discovered them. Then she recognized the slurred and grating tone that belonged to the youkai that occupied this body with her. "Who dares touch us, who dares upset you?"

Yuhi felt frustrated and frightened tears start to form at the corners of her eyes as she choked down a sob that strangled in her throat. Almost as if she had suddenly been swallowed up by darkness, she suddenly saw a mirror image of herself standing before her with concerned eyes. There was only a slight change in features; this woman appeared much more gruff and angry than she was, so immediately she took it to be her youkai self. Leaning down, it comfortingly wrapped its arms around her, stroking her hair with a hard, clawed hand. It growled when she started crying. "Don't worry, stay here, I won't let anyone hurt you." It said and then it disappeared and she was left in darkness, drifting softly and swiftly into beautiful sleep.

A fist suddenly curved through the air, striking Naraku in his cheek and driving him off the hanyou girl. More shocked than pained, he glared, coming back to his senses with the force of the punch. He looked to the dis-shelved form of the hanyou girl that was glaring back at him and panting. What had he done, attempt to rape the girl?

"You- you disgusting creature!"

Yes, he had acted on those instincts and tried to force himself on her and now it seemed her youkai self had taken over as an act of defense. Just peachy, it looked like her youkai self was considerably stronger than the regular Yuhi and growing increasingly stronger with rage. There was probably no way that Yuhi would ever forgive him for attacking her like that, but he couldn't let her demon self rampage now either. Who knew what kind of havoc she would wreak while it was in control?

She growled at him in a feral warning, eyes lighting up. They had changed color, and her hair had grown longer by a few inches. Red spilled into the places that were usually white in her eyes. "How dare you lay a hand on me you vile thing!"

She struck out at him suddenly then dodged back when he maneuvered to grab her arm and pin it to the earth. "Oh no, not yet, I'll not have you trap me yet."

Again she jumped forward, only this time faster and managed to drag her claws against the side of his cheek. He allowed her this, watching her dully as she licked the blood from claws, watching him with an arrogant look and cackling to herself. "Fool that you are to try and fight me, I will protect Yuhi, we don't need you." She pronounced in a growl.

A transformation was occurring before his eyes. As the youkai Yuhi sat in a crouched fighting position licking her new claws and laughing, she continued to change into more a full youkai form. It was impossible, but here it was happening before his eyes. Her ears grew larger, her tail longer, hair sprang out thickly on her arms and legs, and her face changed shape, a snout forming. Words became lost as the new creature became more and more feral and lost its ability to speak. Soon she would be nothing but an animal. Already she had expanded to about six feet tall, the hollow would soon no longer hold her if she did not leave.

The coyote cackled at him, as if it knew what he was thinking. "Don't try to intervene again, Naraku. I will not allow you to hurt my Yuhi anymore. Though I think I will have some fun while I'm out."

With that the half-transformed coyote-woman sprang from the hollow and instantly disappeared.

Naraku followed her out, but did not rush after her immediately. Indeed he was a fool for scaring Yuhi like that; she would likely never trust him again. This was probably a good opportunity to leave and forget about her entirely. The youkai would probably go insane by the time it reached a full-demon transformation state and be killed by some warrior or another. He would be rid of her, rid of everything that had do with her and these stupid 'emotions' that had troubled him for so long since her arrival.

He couldn't make himself abandon her though and he sighed to himself in exasperation. It was his fault that this had happened to her anyway. A lot of things were his fault though, so why did he care if he ruined this girl like he had ruined so many others? She was the same, wasn't she? Just another ploy, just another face in a crowd, right?

He could sense the Jewel Shards travelling far away by now, toward a human village, it seemed. Casting all other thoughts aside, he summoned his cloud of miasma and gave chase.

Wow, long chapter this time around. Not to mention a tad bit of a lime. sweatdrop Eheh. . .

Does anyone think Naraku is OOC? I sound like a broken record, I know, but I wanna keep him as IC as I possibly can during the course of this fiction. Also, while I'm talking about characters, a note on Demon Yuhi (I may provide some sort OC character summaries at the end of the story)- Youkai Yuhi has a mixed philosophy. It will not allow anyone to hurt Yuhi, but it will do anything within it's own power to gain control and kill, which would scar Yuhi. For short, it will not allow others to harm her, but does not hold against doing something that will emotionally scar her for the rest of her life. Now, why did it not come into play and help her when she was attack when Naraku saved her as is described at the beginning? I'll be sure to explain that in the next chapter or two.

Finally, I'd like to thank you for all yours reviews, as always, and for being consistently patient with me. Heh heh. Thanks a ton!

See ya all soon! Ja'ne!

Review Please.