Servant By: OtakuSailorV

Chapter 20: Breakdown

The teeth set in the oncoming mouth were sharp and covered in blood. Spittle hung from the glistening canines as a deafening growl rumbled forth from the red throat.

The movements of the beast were hard to follow, but every eye present was turned on her as she sailed through the air at Naraku who was watching her impassively. The Inu-tachi's mouths were open in shock, sure that they were about to witness the death of youkai-Yuhi. Time seemed to stand still; the dark form called Naraku scowling while the blood-crazed monster bore down on him with burning red eyes, bent on killing. She hung there in the air, momentarily still before the inevitable strike. Everyone held their breath.

There was a bright flash as the five Shikon Shards in Yuhi's body reacted to the lager orb that Naraku contained. One was cleverly hidden behind her right ear, another two lodged in her ribs, a fourth was imbedded in her right thigh and the final one was glowing in her left flank. Or so Kagome guessed at the positions of the Shards as she caught the brief glow before it was swallowed by a wave of miasma.

Inuyasha cursed and jumped in front of Kagome protectively. Scooping her up, he sailed upward out of the haze quickly followed by his companions. He landed again just outside of the now-dissipating purple fog and set Kagome back down. Still shocked at what they had seen, the group peered earnestly through the miasma, trying to see what had become of their friend.

To their horror, they saw that the crazed Yuhi had latched onto Naraku's arm with her powerful jaws. Naraku seemed unmoved, his red eyes looking into hers coldly as her hind legs slowly began to quake and give under her weight. It was obvious that the beast was determined not to release him from her grasp, even as the rest of her body sagged. Upon biting Naraku, she had tasted his dark poison that inhabited his veins in the stead of blood. She was visibly weakening, her eyes loosing their focus and her muscles heaving in quivering spasms. Her lips curled over her bloodstained teeth, her scarred muzzle wrinkling as she gave him a weak, whimpering growl.

There was a smaller flash of light and the eyes of the beast closed reluctantly as the Shikon Shards were sent careening away from her broken body. Immediately Yuhi's transformation was undone, for it was the Shikon that had given her demon half so much power. Her teeth came out of his arm as her head slumped to the ground. Her bulky body already laid on its side, as if dead as it became smaller and smaller, the tufts of fur on her body receding or disappearing altogether. Her ears and tail swiftly regained their original size, though their were tufts of fur torn out or matted together with blood in places. The wounds that had started to heal before the Shikon had left let out bright crimson streams that slipped down her more human body easily now, staining the dirt further.

"W-what's going on?" Shippo asked fearfully as he watched the grotesque transformation. It was frightening to watch a beast so large and powerful suddenly shrink into the form of a young woman not even a fourth of its size.

Kagome seemed just as taken aback by this, the naked white form of Yuhi now lying on the bloody ground, looking as if she were barely breathing. Her face was pale; her cheeks only flushed slightly pink. It could be seen that the young woman had a mild tan on her face, forearms and feet, showing lines where her kimono or yukata's were usually worn.

"I have no idea…it looks like she's back to normal now," Kagome replied after a moment.

"Yeah, but why would Naraku leave her alive, that bastard," Inuyasha seethed, snarling at the dark figure that loomed over the fallen hanyou.

Ignoring them, Naraku looked down at Yuhi with cold indifference. She lay sprawled on her side, face turned toward the sky. She didn't look in too good of shape, blood had started to spill from the places where he had once put Shikon shards to heal her. Now that they were gone, they only added to the damage that had been done by Inuyasha and the villagers. Looking up, he surveyed the group of warriors that were watching to see what his next move would be. The monk looked about to say something, Inuyasha moved his blade as if to invite Naraku to a battle. He smirked at them, his eyes narrowed in distaste.

"Surely you aren't thinking of attacking when an innocent lies in your way," he taunted as he brought forth his white baboon pelt and stooped to wrap Yuhi's frail body in it before picking her up.

The group glared and started forward as if to challenge him when he touched her and he smirked at them again. They were so easily upset, and over someone they barely knew as well.

"Naraku, what business do you have with Yuhi!" The monk called to him, glaring at his archenemy and gripping his staff meaningfully.

"Heh, it is no concern of yours, monk, I would advise that you worry for yourself more at the moment," he replied.

Inuyasha snarled and heaved his massive sword to point at Naraku's heart from where he stood some yards off. "I'm gonna kill you," he growled menacingly, obviously vexed beyond reason by Naraku's pompous attitude.

"You can't Inuyasha," Kagome said quietly, looking at him in an imploring fashion. "He has Yuhi."

"Feh," Inuyasha lowered his sword, though he looked reluctant to. What else could he do though? Whether he trusted the girl or not – for there seemed to be some connection between her and Naraku - he was not about to kill her just to get at Naraku. Not while Kagome was with him at least…

Naraku stepped to one side, smirking at the wary group of warriors as he prepared to leave. With a small, dark chuckle he disappeared in a cloud of miasma that lifted him up into the air, the Saimyoushou swarmed about him, buzzing angrily.

Inuyasha, Miroku and Sango started as the villain took off, prepared to give chase to him. Inuyasha was about to fire off a Kaze no Kizu when he remembered the hanyou girl that Naraku was carrying in his arms. Gritting his teeth together angrily, he growled in frustration. "Damn," he cursed, the same thought crossing through the minds of his companions even as he uttered the word.

Miroku was scowling at his cursed arm, gripping his staff tightly. Sango stood nearby with the same expression as Inuyasha and Miroku, her eyes following the swarming venom wasps until she could no longer see them. Kagome and Shippo felt awkward, the hate and spite in their friends' hearts was almost tangible. Kagome felt a pang of guilt in her chest as she saw the bitter sorrow behind the masks of rage. She could have done more; she could have fired arrows at Naraku, tried to keep him away from Yuhi so that she would not be in the way of Inuyasha's attacks. She knew that there was nothing really that she could have done, but she felt guilty nonetheless. How had she not been able to sense those Shikon Shards when they had first met Yuhi? She remembered feeling a twinge when Yuhi had first been found and then again when she had left, but between those two times there was nothing. It was hard to believe that she could have missed five shards so easily…

"Well, it would appear that Naraku knows something of Yuhi-san," Miroku mused, his voice tight. Kagome and the others broke from their thoughts, continuing to scowl thoughtfully at his words.

"Yes, it is strange," Sango agreed, glancing back at the dark sky. "Do you think she is another of his incarnations?"

"No," Inuyasha said sternly. "She doesn't smell like him at all, she's definitely not one of his creations, but there is something weird about that woman."

"Maybe she was being controlled by him!" Shippo suddenly interjected.

"But why would Naraku lose control of her like that and come to retrieve her then? And she never seemed to be under any kind of control," Kagome said in a soft, thoughtful tone.

"This is a most perplexing mystery," Miroku said and sighed heavily. He looked older and very tired in that moment. "I think we should all get a good nights rest and think this over again tomorrow, there is no point in trying to chase after Naraku right now."

With silent nods they turned their backs on the bloody battlefield, hoping they might be able to find some comfort in their dreams that night.

Yuhi stirred in the folds of the baboon pelt, the sharp stabs of pain in her wounds waking her from her deep slumber. Her eyes flickered behind her heavy lids as she recalled the horrible nightmare that had visited her as she slept. She had dreamt that she had completely lost control of herself and could only watch as some foreign being willed her to tear innocent humans to shreds. Kagome and her friends had been in the dream too, and so had Naraku…

She roused fully from her sleep; the dream was thrust from her mind as she started to wonder why she felt chilly and exposed. She wondered where the warm, comfortable fur she was lying in had come from, and whose strong arms were holding her aloft. What was that stench? She had smelled it before, the scent of death, it seemed to cling to her, she could even taste it in her mouth. She wrinkled her nose in distaste as she fought to open her eyes, she was still so tired and yet the pain coursing through her body would not allow her to rest.

The thoughts had run through her mind swiftly and within a second of her first cognitive thoughts, she had opened her eyes, trying to focus as the wind rushing by and the poisonous miasma immediately stung them. Wrinkling her nose again, she moved her hand to try and rub her eyes with a fist, only to find that she could not work the hand through the small opening in the fur around her neck.

Yuhi opened her eyes again and stared around, turning her head so that her face was turned away from the wind. Her nose twitched at a familiar smell as she did so, and she took in a sharp breath. She had barely gotten a whiff above the stench of blood, but it was enough for her to be frightened.

'Naraku-dono,' Yuhi tried not to gawk, but she was utterly stunned. She had not expected him to do such a thing as carry around a lowly servant such as herself. He looked angry…had she done something?

She recalled her dream suddenly and swallowed reluctantly, the coppery taste of blood ran down her throat. She gagged despite herself and turned her head aside. So it had not been a dream at all! It was a nightmare come true! She had allowed that beast to take over and she had killed all of those poor people, those defenseless humans. She clenched her fists convulsively and flinched when she discovered that she had claws and her hands were sticky with blood. The white baboon pelt was soaked with both her blood and the blood of her victims. She was ashamed, utterly ashamed. A lump caught in her throat and she tried to free herself from Naraku's grasp. Tears brimmed in her eyes and she ground her teeth together to stop herself from sobbing aloud.

How could she have done such a horrible thing? Not all of them had been attacking her, some of them were even young children, but she had cut them down with relish, ending their short lives with a single swipe. It wasn't right, she was a murderer, she was no better than those men and demons that had killed her own parents, that had run her off while attempting to kill her too.

Kicking and struggling, she knew she was acting stupidly, but she did not care. She was distraught and had no idea what to do; all she wanted to do was run away and hide, to hold herself in a tight ball as she cried. It just was not right, how could she have done such a horrible thing, all of those poor people…

She let out a cry as Naraku tried to hold her still, he gave her a stern command, but her ears did not hear his words as she struggled even more to be free of him. She was frightened of him, she had always been, but now she was more than ever. She knew that she had been abandoned in that forest for a reason and yet still she had tried to make her way back to the castle. She knew that Naraku and Inuyasha were enemies and yet she had tried to be unbiased with her feelings. She had known something was wrong with her Lord when he had tried to force himself on her like that in the hollow she had hidden him in, and yet she had dared to attack him. She had no right to deny him anything, no right to strike him, no right to think anything evil of him and yet she had and she was frightened. She was only a weak hanyou after all, she did not believe very much in her own abilities.

There was a sudden, hard pressure on her neck and she gasped, fighting to be free. Before she could try to remove the obstruction to her windpipe, though, her body had grown limp and everything went black.

She had strength; he would give her that, though he believed she was rather hysterical at the moment. He wasn't sure what had triggered it, but he believed that the smell of blood and his presence had frightened her into the state she had been in not a moment before. His commands would not reach her, something which was quite unusual, and he was forced to knock her back out by pressing on the pressure point in her neck. Yuhi was immediately as she had been before she had awoken, though there was a clear wrinkle of worry on her forehead even as she dosed once more.

Such a pathetically innocent and vulnerable woman…How had she lived so long in this war-torn land?

He sniffed to himself and turned his eyes away from her, he was getting far too attached to this woman, and if he did not do something soon he was sure that Onigumo's heart would not stay buried much longer. She could prove to be a great hindrance in the future, he knew that his enemies would waste no time in striking if they believed he had a soft spot and he was not about to allow them that! He would figure something out when he returned to the castle, for sending her far away from him did not seem to have improved the situation any.

Kagura scowled as she saw the cloud of oncoming miasma and the insects that swarmed around it. She had hoped that Naraku had met his end finally, though she knew that there was no way that could have happened since her heart had not returned. Bitterly she turned aside, opening and shutting her fan in an angry flurry as she stalked off.

Where had he been for so long? Not that she cared, but it had taken him a long time to get back to the castle after that last battle with Inuyasha. He had been severely wounded at the time, and she had wondered if he would make it even if Hakudoushi and she did come to his aid. That little brat, Hakudoushi, he had quickly fallen asleep with his overgrown demon horse in his rooms, smirking when she mentioned if he supposed Naraku would return. He had known something, she was sure of it, and steadily his mood had grown more and more sour as the days went on. She hoped he was writhing in disgust now that Naraku was alighting on the castle steps.

She froze as her eyes caught the trailing white, shining brightly against his dark form. She had only been looking over her shoulder for a moment, but still the difference in color made her stop and wonder.

Ah, it was just his baboon cloak, she was about to dismiss it, but there was something different about how he was holding the pelt this time. Not only that, but it looked as if some dead weight were being hidden in its folds.

'What's he up to?' She wondered to herself and turned back, curious now as to what Naraku had brought back to the castle with him.

Attention All Author's: With the posting of this new chapter, I would like to pose a quick little question before moving onto the actual author's note. I have thought it over, and I am interested in writing a lemon for this fic, unfortunately, I am no good at lemons (I did rather poorly on the lime a few chapters back) and will require the assistance of another author/ess who is more proficient in this area. I feel strange asking this, but if you are interested in a lemon or even helping me with it when I get to that part of the story, I would appreciate a comment in a review. If not, then you are not to be bothered with reading it since it will not be posted at Fanfiction or Fictionised. I know that lemons are not allowed onFanfictionor Fictionised, so that leaves only my Anime Spiral account to post the lemon to. I'm none too thrilled with that idea, but that's not really part of the issue in the first place. Anyway, thanks for reading this minna-san and feel free to contact me via e-mail as well. My e-mail can be found in my bio.

Hello and sorry for the lateness of this update. Have been much busier than I thought I would be this summer, and its driving me up a wall. So much to do and so little time! Gah, I've been praying for a nice rainy day so that I can sit down and watch anime and write and read all day, but there is no rest for the weary I suppose…er, something like that…

Anyway, thanks for your patience and for your kind reviews. I'll try to be more punctual with my updates, but don't get your hopes up, since the dawning of my return to school is just on the horizon. And due to complications last year, it looks as if I will be banned from the compy except on weekends during the first half of the school year. (…Blah…)

Thanks again minna-san! Please stay tuned for another chapter, and I hope you are all enjoying your summer vacation! Heehee, ja'ne!

Review Please?