Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Temptation

"So… we're just going to follow this baboon pelt all the way to Naraku on the advice from the voices in your head?"

"Yup."

Miroku shrugged and smiled. "Okay. Good enough for me."

"But isn't it a trap?"

Kagome grinned at Sango as she straightened the straps of the backpack. "Yup."

Sango shared a look with Miroku, then she shrugged as well. "Just checking." She walked a few steps before asking, "Do any of those voices tell you if we are going to win or not?"

Kagome got quiet for a moment, obviously having an inner dialogue with one of the priestesses. The she shook her head. "No. None of them seem to have any kind of precognitive abilities." She quickened her pace to walk beside Sango. She linked arms with the slayer. "But don't worry, I know we'll win!"

"Can you see into the future?" asked a curious fox kit.

"Nah, but I have something better!"

"What's that?"

"Faith!" She gave Sango's arm a squeeze before dropping back once more to walk beside the dog demon. "Faith," she repeated softly.

She wasn't just saying it either. There wasn't a doubt in Kagome's mind that Naraku didn't stand a chance against them. Yeah, he may be strong, but he is only one man. Well, monster. She couldn't really bring herself to think of him as a man. And if there was one thing she learned from all those games is that if you have a good team of good offensive and defensive members, you are unbeatable, no matter how great the boss fight may be. As long as they stuck together and supported each other there was no way they could lose.

A warm hand on her forearm froze Kagome's steps. She looked up into a pair of apprehensive golden eyes. She couldn't help but smile when she saw his nose twitching as he sniffed the air.

"We're close."

"I know."

He paused for a moment. Looking over her head into the trees he avoided eye contact. "If you aren't ready for this, we can still turn back."

"No."

"Not that we would be giving up, stupid. Just giving you more time to heal."

Kagome smiled, touched by his concern. "Hmm… I seem to recall someone mentioning that the longer we wait, the stronger Naraku gets. No side trips."

Putting her hands behind her back, the miko walked after her friends in order to hide the grin on her face as he cursed colorfully. It just wouldn't do for him to ever find out that his potty mouth amused her to no end.

"We can make ONE side trip."

The amusement faded quickly as she realized that Inuyasha was really worried about her. Her nightmares probably disturbed him just as much as they disturbed her. Maybe even more. It occurred to her that he wasn't worried so much about her physical health as her mental health. Was he worried that she would freak out if she met the man who had beaten her nearly to death and murdered her nightly in her dreams?

"I can do it."

For a moment Inuyasha was still. Then he gave a curt nod before pushing her in the direction that the others were walking. It was tempting to let their footsteps drag, but they knew that they could not put this off. It was time to face Naraku.

Though they had worked hard to get there and had fought countless battles, they still felt ill prepared when they first caught sight of the ominous looking castle.

"Well," said Shippo, "That's just creepy looking."

The others nodded in agreement. After a few moments to collect themselves and make any sort of last minutes preparations (checking supplies, say a few prayers, potty breaks…), they decided that it was time to follow the floating baboon pelt into the castle. Together they stepped through the darkened entrance.

Too bad they didn't end up together when they got to the other side.

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"FOXFIRE!"

With the green light from his fire, Shippo looked around for his friends.

"Great," he grumbled, "It split us up again."

He took a breath and took in his surroundings. He had expected stone walls and medieval torches on the wall. What he didn't expect was that he would be standing in the empty hallway of his old high school.

"Oh good, I'm in He…" he stopped in mid phrase as he saw a movement in the shadows. Quickly he extinguished his flame.

Not that turning out his flame did any good. As soon as it went out all the florescent lights in the hallway came on, temporarily blinding him. He put his hand up to his eyes to shade it from the glare. The shadow went from being singular to plural. There were two shapes now. One shape was wearing a baboon pelt.

Fighting Naraku by himself wasn't really in any of the battle plans, but Shippo was determined to fight until the end. If nothing else, if he was following the game patterns that he had set up himself, fighting him would at least whittle down his hit points some. Maybe it would be easier for the others later on. That was a pretty big IF though.

"Do you honestly believe that you are man enough to cause me any harm?" laughed the man coming slowly towards him. "You are weak. Pathetic."

Shippo glared silently as he reached into his pocket for the transformation leaves. Ideas were thought of and discarded quickly. His specialties were illusion and defense, not taking down maniacal evil demons single-handedly. But, he told himself, I am not completely defenseless. I may not kill him, but I CAN hurt him.

He grabbed a handful of leaves, prepared to make a dozen doppelgangers of himself so that he could attack in the confusion. But Naraku's words caused him to freeze.

"I can make her want you."

"What?"

"Kagome. You can not hide your feelings for her from me, young one. You love her, but she only sees you as a child."

"Shut up! She's just my friend!"

"I can make her want you," Naraku purred.

"No…" Sure he had strong feelings for Kagome. Yeah, he maybe had a bit of a crush on her in the beginning, but he didn't anymore. She loves Inuyasha.

"She sees you as a child, but I can make her see you as a man."

Shippo's mouth went dry. His hand clenched around the leaves in his pocket. Kagome would see me as a man?

Naraku swept his hand to bring the kit's attention to the school hallway. "They laughed at you. They all laughed at you. You have always been the baby. The child. The kid. Too young for a driver's license even though you are in college. You don't fit in. You have never fit in. Kagome could never love you the way you are now. Not while you are so much younger than she is. Perhaps in ten years, if she has not married that ignorant thug that she is currently enamored with."

"He's not a thug," Shippo denied weakly.

"But I can change that, Shippo Seriyo. I can make you dreams come true."

Not that he was really interested… not really… but he was compelled to ask. "How?"

Naraku smiled. He stopped walking once he was a couple of yards away. "I have great power. I can move time forward for you, make you older. Five years? Ten? You tell me how many years you would like added and I can do that. You are intelligent. You have wit and charm. It would not take Kagome long to see that you are the kind of man that she needs in her life."

"That's not possible," Shippo whispered.

"It is. If you have enough power, anything is possible."

"Why?"

The chuckle the echoed in the hall seemed to lack all humor. "Do not think that I do this out of the kindness of my heart. There is always a price to pay. You are a brilliant young man, I would like for you to work for me. In the real world. You can name your price. You will have more than enough money to keep any woman in the world in the comfort she deserves."

"A job?"

"Nothing dastardly," Naraku assured him. "Head of the programming department, specializing in computer games. You would be paid an obscene amount of money to play with computers and games all day. A dream job."

Shippo shook his head. "Money isn't the most important thing in the world! I don't need your job! I don't need your money!"

"But think of the other benefits." Naraku smiled again and shifted to the side, revealing the other person in the shadows.

"Kagome!"

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"Helloooo!"

Sango coughed twice. All the calling had been hard on her throat. Oh what she wouldn't give for a hard piece of candy or a throat lozenge. Suddenly she missed snack machines. Where is everyone? Somehow she had ended up back outside, though she didn't recognize the wooded area and the castle was nowhere in sight.

"Helloooooooooo!"

You'll always be alone.

Sango froze in midstep. She looked around to try and find who had whispered to her. But the woods were quiet. Not even any wildlife made any sounds.

"Who are you?" she called out.

You'll always be alone.

"That isn't funny!" Sango tried to project as much anger as she could into her voice. "If you want to fight, show yourself!"

You'll never be loved.

The demon slayer grabbed her sword with one hand while using the giant boomerang as a shield with the other. Whoever it was thought that they could try and cause her to feel emotionally insecure. Sango snorted. Just because she was a woman didn't mean that she was a slave to her emotions.

He will never love you.

Not that she was emotionless, she did have feelings. And that last dig cut pretty deep. She knew who the 'he' was. She was also pretty sure who was doing the whispering now. It wasn't really in the plans to fight solo, but she was pretty sure she could take off a limb or two. If she was lucky she could take off the head. Some back up would have been nice, but she was ready to fight.

"Come out, Naraku!"

How could he love you? You are not even a woman, the voice taunted maliciously.

"I'm not listening to you! Come out and fight, you coward!"

A woman is soft and warm. There is no part of you that is soft.

"Fight me!"

A woman is not so quick to fight. A woman is gentle and sweet. There is no part of you that is either gentle or sweet.

Sango whirled around, trying to locate the voice.

He does not see you as a woman.

"Liar!" She screamed into the woods. "Now fight me or leave me alone!" Personally she was hoping he'd fight her. Questioning her femininity was a sure way to set her blood on fire and send her into a killing rage. She was feminine, dang it! And she'd clobber anyone who said different.

I can help you.

"What?"

I can make him see you as a woman.

Sango glared. "You don't know what you're talking about."

Does he look at other women when he is with you? Does he try to touch other women? Flirt with them? You are not enough for him as you are.

"Yes, I am." Sango wasn't about to admit that the things that he was saying hurt her, and that some of it was true.

No. But I can help you.

She paused, curious by the offer. "How?"

A figure appeared behind her. "If you have enough power, anything is possible."

Spinning on her heel, Sango swung her sword in the direction of the voice. He simply disappeared and reappeared a few feet to the left. Each time she would swing her sword he would dodge until she was nearly ready to snap with frustration.

"Look at yourself, Sango Chikara. Sweaty. Filthy. Nearly clawing the earth like some animal. If you were a man, could you love a woman like you?"

Her arms felt like rubber, she barely managed to push herself back up to her feet. "And you can fix me? Make me worthy of love?"

Naraku smiled. "I can."

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"Imagine, Miroku Kinomoto, all the women you could possibly want. And all of them willing to do anything you could possibly imagine."

"A manager with fringe benefits?" asked the monk from the middle of an empty dance floor that looked like it came straight from one of those old disco movies.

"Yes."

It was a job offer to be the manager of a club that specializes in the catering to a male clientele. The women would all be beautiful, and all would be accessible to the manager. And, of course, the position would pay oodles of money. Perfect job for a man whose online history mainly involved sites that included three X's in the names.

"Very generous offer," Miroku said as he watched Naraku circling him from the outside of the barrier he had erected. "You'll forgive me if I don't entirely trust you."

Naraku laughed. "Of course you don't. Why should you?"

"Er…" Miroku wondered if the villain had lost his marbles. Wouldn't it make more sense to keep trying to persuade him instead of feeding his distrust?

"You don't know me. You don't even know these people that you are playing hero with. Once this game is finished, however, you will be back out there in the real world. With real bills to pay. Student loans don't pay themselves, you know. And someone who never graduated college will have a very difficult time finding a job to support themselves. How long do you think you will be able to support yourself tending bar at a seedy strip joint? Think of what is best for you." Naraku leaned closer. "This is just a game to them. You are just a name on a screen. Not a real friend. When this is over, they will forget about you."

Miroku frowned. "I don't believe that."

"Kagome and Inuyasha will go off together, get married, have a dozen or so children. They will not be able to fit you into their lives. Shippo will be working hard getting so many degrees that he will have no time for you. And Sango. Sango is dangerously close to being the weight that drags you down and drowns you. You can not tie yourself down to one woman, Miroku. You are too young. Too virile. Your life may as well be over if you become too involved with her. You're not ready."

Miroku watched Naraku as he continued to circle him.

"You need to live! I can make your every dream come true. Only I have the power to help you."

"You do?"

"I do."

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"I don't need your stupid magic!" yelled the dog demon as he took a swipe at the man in the baboon pelt.

Naraku chuckled. "Of course you don't. You are strong. You are fast. You are impossible to defeat." His voice dropped a level, "At least, while you are here." He dodged another attack. "While you are in the jewel you have the power of a demon. But out there… out in the real world… how much power do you have?"

"I have enough," Inuyasha growled.

"Do you?"

"Yes."

"Do you think that you have enough power to protect the woman you love? There are others out there who are stronger than you. More powerful than you. Others who would do anything to take her away from you."

"You don't know Kagome if you think that would happen."

Naraku laughed. "I did not say that the little miko would leave you voluntarily." Inuyasha growled his response. "But I know of a way that you could keep her safe."

Growl.

"You like this world, don't you? You are strong here. You can spend your days fighting and your nights under the stars with Kagome. You never grow old here, you never grow weak or tired. There is no sickness. And you would never have to share Kagome with anyone ever again."

Inuyasha kept his grip on his sword, but the tip lowered slowly to the ground. "What are you talking about?"

"I am saying that you, Inuyasha Ryoku, can live within the jewel with Kagome for all time. You could spend many lifetimes with her. You can stay a demon forever."

"You can't do that… can you?"

"I can. With enough power I can do anything."

"Why would you do that for me?" he asked suspiciously.

Naraku smiled. "Oh, I would not be doing it for you, demon. I would be doing it for myself. Having you here instead of in the real world saves me a lot of headaches. And I would be assured that Kagome is safe. I can't have her hurt or killed. I need her safe and sound. And I know that she would be safe with you." He paused for a moment. "Can I entrust her safety to you?"

"I will protect Kagome with my life."

"Good," Naraku purred.

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"Poor little miko," Naraku made a sad tsking sound, "All alone."

"I'm not alone."

Ok, so what if her friends seemed to be frozen, technically she wasn't alone. They were here, they just weren't… here… Of course she was frozen as well, but at least her mind seemed to be alert. The others were in some kind of trance.

"They have abandoned you," he stepped closer, setting off her personal space radar.

"No. That's a lie."

"Yessss, little girl. They have left you alone."

"They wouldn't do that." She would have shook her head, but so far the only thing she had been able to move was her fingertips of her left hand. She kept herself from looking at her friends. They were as still as statues and it made her feel uneasy to see them. Their eyes just seemed so dead. Even the voices in her head had grown quiet.

"You have too much faith in them." He ran the back of his hand down her face, causing her to shiver in revulsion.

Wait. Shivers were good. That meant she could move!

"They'll get past your traps," she said confidently as she worked on moving her right foot. She could feel the spell on her melting away. It was almost as if it had been waiting for her to realize that she COULD do it. She held herself as still as possible. If the others were caught in a trap she would be on her own, and she would need every edge she could get.

"They are not traps." He leaned close enough that his breath brushed her ear. It took all of her self control not to cringe away. "I am offering them their hearts desires. I am giving them everything they have ever dreamed of. What is that compared to you?" He stepped back and frowned at her. "What are your desires, Kagome Higurashi?"

"To see you dead."

Naraku laughed as if she had told the funniest joke he had ever heard. "My death is one wish I will not grant you." He smiled at her in what was probably supposed to be a warm manner. "Tell me what you desire. Let me grant your wish."

Kagome was about to reiterate the fact that she wanted him dead, when it dawned on her. "You can't read me." She laughed. "You can't read what I want and it's driving you insane! Insane-er."

When she looked up again she saw him looking at her in horror. That was when she realized that she had moved while laughing. Quickly she grabbed an arrow from her quiver and took aim. Looks like her surprise attack was even a surprise to her. Naraku had been so shocked that he hadn't moved a muscle. The arrow struck his shoulder, lodging deep.

Cursing herself for her stupidity, Kagome grabbed another arrow. This time she concentrated on filling it with purifying energy. Unfortunately this gave the wounded monster enough time to retaliate. Just as the arrow began to glow, Kagome was knocked off of her feet by a slimy tentacle. The bow was knocked from her hand and her arrows scattered around the room.

"You drew first blood. Congratulations, miko."

Scrambling to her feet, Kagome dove for her bow. Once again a tentacle slammed into her. This time it knocked her into the wall. Rolling to the side she dodged the next blow. Before the next one could come, she was on her feet and racing towards her bow. Another tentacle shot in front of her path. For a moment she was afraid that she was going to trip over it, but she managed to jump it in time.

"Looking for this?" asked Naraku as one of the tentacles picked up her bow.

Kagome gasped as he crushed her weapon. It was nothing but splinters and string as it fell to the ground. She dropped beside it, not trusting herself to touch it without bursting into tears.

"Alone and weaponless. Poor helpless miko." One of the tentacles that was attached to his body wrapped around her stomach and lifted her off of the ground until she was at eye level with him. "You have no one to help you now."

"She has ME."

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Author's Notes:

Please don't send hate mail about this chapter until after you read the next one.