He could do whatever he likes now. Oh, but I still love him, even if I'm supposed to hate--
A large hand raised Mizoshi's wet chin.
She was going to meet his crimson gaze, and he was going to react. For better or worse.
At first, his ruby orbs were unreadable. Then, a mixture of awe, shock, and yes, annoyance swirled in their sparking depths. Meanwhile, dewy tears continued to roll down her cheeks. Naraku took this in calmly enough, although his lips curled in irritation.
"Why do you cry?" he asked softly. He wasn't asking matter-of-factly; the dark hanyou seemed genuinely interested.
Mizoshi couldn't form the words. "I'm…I'm…" she sputtered.
"What is it?" Naraku sighed heavily. Her display of emotion was evidently unnerving him.
"I'm…s-s-sorry," she stammered. "For everything. I'm sorry I lost my t-temper in the hall…I'm sorry I r-ran away last night…I'm…" Seconds later, her voice failed her completely.
"Silly girl. Stop this foolishness at once," he snarled. Naraku's expression remained impassive, but anger clearly flickered in those blood-red eyes. Anger…and something else.
Disbelief? Confusion?
Regret?
"Stop," he repeated. "Before you have something to really cry about."
There was no mistaking the menace in his tone. It was the same tone he used when he had locked her in the stone cell.
Immediately, she pressed her hands to her eyes in an attempt to cease the flow. When she chanced to open them again, she found his features had lost some of their fury.
"Don't you dare waste tears on something so trivial. It's over now," he proclaimed crisply.
Wonderful. Now, I really do resemble an infant.
Yet, no matter how repelled Naraku was by her weeping, he did not let go of her.
Strange. I half-expected him to revel in my tears. Maybe even lick them like a precious elixir.
In the space of tense silence, his breath stirred the air once more.
"So, are we no longer foes? Can we live in peace now?" Again, he looked fascinated with her impending answer.
I honestly don't know. Can I? Can we? Is there a chance? My feelings for him haven't changed, but circumstances certainly have. He could and would kill me in the future if I continue to displease him…
So, I won't.
"Yes," she replied, her voice cracking a bit. "Everything can start…fresh."
No, it can't. You know it can't. You're just making him happy. But, what's wrong with that?
The dark hanyou was smug. "Excellent. Forget about what happened yesterday. Kagura hates all that come in contact with her, including myself. I wouldn't take anything she says to—heart." He lingered on that particular word, as if it too intrigued him.
She wondered abstractedly if he knew about Kagura's fondness for the dog youkai named Sesshoumaru.
"And now," he pronounced excitedly, "this will be proof of our reunion."
One moment she was peaceful in the relative sanctuary of his arms, the next, his mouth was invading her own. Reluctantly, she forced herself to return his ravenous kiss.
He still desires me as well.
Mizoshi found this less than comforting.
I'm still his obsession. I'm still his possession. So, to him, nothing has changed. My opinions do not count.
Finally, the dark hanyou broke away from her. Privately, she was relieved.
"I shall call on you tomorrow so we can continue our lessons. Do not worry. Kagura will not be invited to any. I wish to keep our actions…intimate from now on."
She smiled sweetly at her "lover." He noticed this, and permitted himself a smirk of accomplishment.
Assured of his power over her, Naraku then stalked away, that smirk still twitching his lips.
This is what I am now. The escort to a demon. Why was I so naïve? Did I honestly think I would earn a place in his affections? Did I think we would get married? Have a family?
Mizoshi hated to admit it to herself, but the wind witch was absolutely right. All along, she had spoken the truth. Now, Naraku would twist and manipulate her until she was just as bitter and wanton as his own incarnation. Should she refuse, she would break.
No! It won't end that way. I'll find a way to escape. I'll play along with my captor and the next time he takes me out of this castle, I'll run.
No, she had not forgotten that Naraku had once taken her out of the castle. No better than a fool, she had picked flowers under his scrutinizing gaze instead of darting towards the trees.
She would distract him on the next occasion. Yes, a fantastic plan was starting to from in her anxiety-ridden mind.
I shall set his robes aflame with the very power he seeks to usurp. Then, with his concentration broken, I will run into the underbrush and seek out the closest village I can.
However, she first needed to oust the spider out of its poisonous web. A near impossible feat.
In spite of everything, I'm beginning to become him already. Here I am, plotting, just like Naraku would do.
This fact would not disappear, no matter how far she traveled.
Mizoshi was not a good actor.
Underneath, her sweet and vulnerable façade, Naraku could sense her taking up arms. Against him. She was formulating plans in that artistic brain of hers no doubt. Plans she probably would've never had the opportunity to from if she had remained with those idiotic mortals. Nor would she have had the opportunity to light a fire with a mere eye-blink.
She doesn't trust me. I know it. She may not even like me anymore, but still…she could learn to.
Smirking, Naraku held the hive in his thick-fingered hands. The winged insects were inside, calmly waiting for his direction. At least he had some obedient servants.
The sting had been taken out of the wound, but the wound itself still remained. Time would heal it. He would make it so.
However, all would come to naught if she entertained notions of running away.
I shall cease those imaginings, should Mizoshi have painted them on the blank canvas of her thoughts.
"Keep a watch on her," he instructed the buzzing hive. "Don't let her do anything out of the ordinary."
Satisfied, he watched several saimyoushou crawl out of the hive and take flight; ready to do his bidding. They would keep his prize under constant surveillance. Indeed, the venomous hell wasps already watched Kagura. Why should Mizoshi be any different?
I should've kept my eye on her from the start.
Yet, his own thoughts disturbed him.
Why do I want her to like me? Should the disdain of a childish village girl unnerve me, Naraku?
After considering, the answer was quite simple. He had no control.
I want her to want me. I want her to have an eternally burning torch blazing in her chest. Then, she would be mine. And, I, would be hers.
Apparently, he had pushed his prey too far. Now, the bird thrashed wildly against her bonds. So, the spider would have to subdue her. Not kill her with its toxins, but incapacitate her. Who knows? She might even enjoy the pleasure the drug would bring.
Smoothly, he slid the hive into the richness of his robes. He would always have need of the hive's services.
Turning on his heel, he went to exit the veranda that he had chosen as a suitable spot for his mechanizations when he spotted a glimmer of stark whiteness.
Kanna. He had expected her company.
Eyes fixed on her master; she glided towards him. "Naraku-sama? You are troubled."
"Yes. So I am." It was useless to embellish the truth with falsehoods. Kanna knew.
That polished mirror he himself had bestowed on her gleamed with her every step. Her fair head rose to meet his own. "Shall I take her soul, master?"
This would be the second instance she asked him that. A few days ago, he would've seriously considered. Luckily for the girl, he had new resolve.
"No. Should she need to be eliminated, I will handle it personally. Be sure to shadow her whenever she wanders the halls, as well as your sister."
Kanna simply nodded, her hematite black eyes absorbing the information into her very being.
This youkai daughter in particular lives for me. She would die for me. Unfortunately, she's a mere incarnation of my own flesh. Though useful, she has no will or devices of her own. She serves me not by choice, but by rote. Mizoshi on the other hand…
Waving Kanna away, Naraku was left solitary in the night-black darkness that had swept over the balcony. The breeze blew his ebony locks about him.
Mizoshi will not be leaving. Either through death or by escaping. I have never had any successfully untangle themselves from my threads.
Should Mizoshi continue to disobey him, she would discover the price was dearer than she could have ever anticipated.
Thanks to all reviewers out there for your support!
NarakusTwinSister: No, there won't be a friendship between the two. Kagura just likes confusing her. :) (I guess good cop, bad cop.) And yeah, Naraku was a bit OOC for the chapter's end, but I'll try to keep him in character for the most part right up until the end of the fic. (And it's not going to be a fairytale ending.)