Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.
Chapter Nineteen: Pelt of a Baboon
Naraku watched the computer screen as Kagura abandoned Kanna and fled from the battle. He wondered if the woman had forgotten that this was merely a game, that her real body lay not ten feet away from him hooked up to various wires and tubes that let her experience this virtual existence.
The temptation to unplug her was great. It would be interesting to see what would happen. Would she go insane after being ripped from the virtual world? Would she die from the shock? Or would it simply be like shutting off a video game and everything goes back to normal? Getting people into the game to experience it as real life was not the same as getting them out with their sanity intact. Then again, he never promised anyone that they would be sane once the game was completed. He smirked. No, he never promised that.
It was also tempting to simply kill the woman for disobeying him. Betraying him. Very tempting.
"Fly, my little wind demon," he whispered to the screen. "While you still can."
Next he checked on Kanna. She had disappeared from battle shortly after Kagura flew away. She was sitting at the edge of a stream, looking hard into her mirror. Naraku suspected that she was looking for her way back.
"Not yet," he told her. "You're not finished yet."
Not far down the stream from Kanna was the group of players that Naraku had sent into the game. The looked confused at the sudden departure of their enemies. It was the first time an enemy had fled from battle. But the battle had given Naraku exactly the information that he was after. Kagome was the one. There was no doubt anymore.
Grabbing his keys from the top desk drawer, Naraku whistled happily and left the office. The corridor was empty, which was no surprise. Naraku employed very few people. The ride down the elevator was silent, but that did not keep the man from humming his own little tune. Once he reached the bottom floor he took out his key ring and strolled across the lobby towards the storerooms at the back of the building.
He unlocked the third storeroom door and flipped on the light. Still humming his tune he went to the back of the room and unlocked another door and stepped into a small elevator. He pushed the button that would take him down into the rooms below the basement. It had been a very long time since he had been able to smile like this.
"Greetings, my love," he said once the door opened.
Chained to the wall was a woman slumped on the floor and glaring at him. Her clothes were worn and dirty and her hair was matted and knotted. Cinnamon colored eyes were bloodshot and shadowed from lack of sleep. She gave him her usual greeting.
"Now, sweetheart, it is not very ladylike to use such words." He paused. "Or gestures."
Casually, as if he wasn't approaching a woman who looked ready to kill him, Naraku walked over with his hands in his pockets. He mentioned the weather and tsk tsk'd that she couldn't enjoy the beautiful sunshine. He didn't even bat an eyelash when she lunged at him, screaming and roaring. But he knew exactly how far the chain would let her go, and he stood just a breath away from it. There was a faint stirring in the air from where her nails barely missed his skin.
"Now, now, my love, is that the way to treat the man who has come to you with great news?" He smiled as she stopped struggling and looked at him suspiciously.
"What news?"
"I have found your reincarnation."
The woman froze. "Kikyo? Kikyo is…"
Naraku nodded with an almost sincere look of sadness on his face. "Yes, dead. Tragic. Though," he grinned, "I did manage to keep her soul." His smile widened. "I have kept all of their souls."
Her brown eyes opened wide in horror. "You didn't… didn't… you…"
Smiling indulgently, Naraku shook his head. "No, my love. I did not bring her back. You are the only one I have ever brought back." He reached forward to pat her on the head. "You are the only one who will ever be brought back."
She began to cry. "Please… stop… just let me die…"
His eyes flashed with anger. "NO. You are MINE!" He tugged ruthlessly on her hair, jerking her head up to look at him. "When I find the rest of the jewel I will bind you to me for eternity." Her weeping only made him angrier. "There will be no more reincarnations when I have it! Your soul will belong to ME and me alone!"
Taking a deep breath he let go of her hair, closed his eyes, and stood a little straighter. When he opened them again he was smiling.
"I found the girl. Her name is Kagome. She is powerful." His voice had lost its vicious edge and was now once again friendly. "I will have her hunt down the rest of the shards for me. When I have them I will use her life force and soul to bind the jewel together, then we will be together at last. You will have your soul back." He turned back to the elevator. "And I will have you, Midoriko."
Naraku was irritated that the woman had not seemed more excited about the prospect of getting back her soul. He knocked over a box of electronic components. After all, he was doing this for HER! He knocked over another box and howled with rage.
It wasn't long before the storeroom had been torn apart.
Once his temper had been sufficiently purged, Naraku straightened his clothes, smoothed his hair, and walked back out into the lobby. Grabbing the telephone he punched the four numbers it would take to connect him to the technicians' office.
"It's time I joined the game," he said.
ooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOooOOoo
An uneasy feeling just wouldn't let go of Inuyasha all day long. It had been two days since their last major battle, if you want to call having a wind demon just up and take off for no good reason a major battle.
Lack of a good battle wasn't the only thing bothering him. Kagome couldn't sense a single fragment of the jewel, but she also seemed to have that uneasy feeling. She had been fidgety all day, which in turn made Inuyasha fidgety. She kept looking for… for something. She hadn't been able to describe it to him. It made him nervous.
Looking over at his traveling companions Inuyasha glared. Miroku was more interested in flirting outrageously with Sango than in concentrating on finding a way out of the game. It was well past being funny and cute. Sango was getting more and more attached to the fire cat game sprite, cooing to it and stroking its fur. Shippo was busy playing games like the child he looked like. Their behavior was starting to worry him. We look less like warriors and more like a group tourists on their way to a stinking picnic!
"Inuyasha?"
The dog demon's eyes softened as he looked down at Kagome, who was resting on a fallen tree.
"Hmm?"
She paused, obviously trying to gather her thoughts. Inuyasha uncrossed his arms from in front of his chest and sat beside her.
"I can't sense any more jewels."
He shrugged. "You said that before. So what?"
Kagome picked up the half formed jewel and let it roll awkwardly in her palm. "Every since we got into this stupid game I could feel it pulling at me. All the pieces had their own bit of energy and… well… called to me. No matter how far away it was it would call. But there aren't any more. I can't hear or feel any more at all."
Inuyasha studied her eyes. She wasn't saying what she was really thinking. "What do you think that means?"
"I do believe that she means that our search is over," supplied Miroku, sporting a brand new red hand mark on his cheek. "Perhaps we are near the end of the game."
"Good to hear you remember this is a game," Inuyasha muttered.
Kagome shook her head. "That's impossible. The jewel is supposed to be whole. I know it is. We can't be near the end… there is still so many more pieces to collect. I just don't understand…"
"Maybe we should go ask the old hag."
"Inuyasha, that's rude." Kagome scolded. "It is a good idea though."
"Keh."
Grinning, the miko reached up and scratched Inuyasha behind the ears. "Good boy!"
"I ain't no DOG!" He jerked his head away, pinning his ears to his head. They were almost hidden in his silver hair.
Now that the group had a direction, they quickly gathered their supplies. Although Inuyasha still had that uncomfortable feeling, it felt good to start moving. Kaede might not have the answers they were looking for, but it was worth a shot. He glared at the back of Sango and Miroku. He knew that they still didn't trust him one hundred percent. Sometimes at night he would hear them whisper, questioning his humanity. Go on one or two bloody rampages and suddenly I'm not trustworthy anymore…
"Lemon meringue," said Kagome suddenly.
Inuyasha blinked. His feet stopped moving and he looked at the miko like she was crazy. Suddenly he felt a warm feeling blossoming in his chest and he couldn't stop the smile. Beyond a shadow of a doubt he realized that he was undeniably in love with the girl. He had an insane urge to laugh.
"Chocolate cream."
He smirked when Kagome raised an eyebrow and grinned while looking at his doggie ears. The other three companions looked back at them with some confusion. Shippo shrugged, made a comment about their sanity, and the group continued to walk in the direction of Kaede's village.
Somehow, the continuation of their game relaxed the dog demon. The fact that she was just as reluctant as he was to share their game made him feel even better. He filed away what her favorite pie was for future reference. Who knows when it may come in handy.
"Flower?" he asked in a hushed voice.
Kagome's eyes sparkled as she opened her mouth.
In the space of a heartbeat, Kagome disappeared. Inuyasha was in shock. He screamed her name frantically, causing the others to turn around, prepared for battle.
"KAGOME!"
Laughter was heard through the woods.
"It would seem that you are a failure as a protector, Inuyasha. Perhaps she would have been better served to have a toy poodle as her guard dog."
Inuyasha spun around. Rage was building inside him. His teeth were bared and his claws were ready to slice into flesh. He felt every bit the animal that Sango and Miroku had feared that he may become. Every bit as uncontrollable. He was ready to kill. All he wanted to do was tear apart the man who was standing in front of him, holding his Kagome by the throat.
"LET HER GO!"
The man in the baboon pelt laughed. "I don't think so, Inuyasha. You see, I need the girl. But I no longer need the rest of you."
"NARAKU!" Inuyasha screamed the name.
Miroku stood protectively in front of the demon slayer. Inuyasha would have thought that was funny if he wasn't two seconds away from going on a killing spree.
"Now that Kagome has fulfilled the quest, I will unplug the five of you and let you rest in peace. I will leave in the one to your brains, however. I will let you mull over your failure in this world while your bodies waste away in the real world."
"Five?" asked Shippo.
Miroku whispered to him, "Koga."
"Oh yeah… I almost forgot about him…"
Inuyasha pulled out his sword. "Get your hands off Kagome, NOW!"
Once again Naraku laughed, tightening his hold on her neck. The sound of her whimper nearly drove Inuyasha insane. "Or what? You have no hopes of defeating me here. This world and everything in it is mine. I control EVERYTHING!"
The dog demon lunged, but met with only air as Naraku disappeared. He reappeared only a few yards away from them, still laughing. The kicking and screaming miko in his grasp did not seem to affect him. Her teeth didn't even break the skin. In fact, he seemed terribly amused by her efforts to escape.
"I have come for what is mine," Naraku told them. "Enjoy the time you have left here." Once again Naraku disappeared, taking a screaming Kagome with him. All that was left was a baboon pelt and a yellow backpack.
With a roar, Inuyasha's world turned red.
