Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any related characters, except for Yuniko.

My muse is EVIL! You'll see why very soon…

Chapter Three: The Darkness of the Heart

Yuniko lay awake as night fell. She had been conscious long enough to hear Inuyasha's threat, and it frightened her. In the darkness, she cried her heart out.

"He hates me!" she whispered. "He wants to distance himself, does he? Well, see if I protect him next time. And Father…" She looked at her father, asleep nearby. "You're just too protective. I love you, but I need to get away, or I'll choke." She stood, and packed. I'm leaving, and I'm never coming back!

As she stepped outside, she smelled something. "Who's there?" she said, drawing her sword.

A figure dropped from the tree. "I am a friend. One who senses the darkness and bitterness that surrounds your heart. I can help you to gain your revenge, young one."

Yuniko snorted. "Revenge? I don't wish—"

"Yes, you do wish revenge upon he who has recently broken your heart. Now do you want my help, or not?" The man stepped into the spare light of Yuniko's lamp. She gasped softly. He seemed so familiar… She sniffed, and recoiled.

"You! You're the one who attacked me earlier!"

"Well, my plan was to get you to hit the monk in the first place, to get his companions to kill him. However, in you I sense great untapped reserves of demonic power. I can help you release that power, if you join me."

Yuniko stared at the stranger. Who was this man?

"What is your name? I should know who I am working for."

The man smiled triumphantly. "I am Naraku, young one. And I am glad to have you as my friend."

"Not a friend," Yuniko snorted. "I can never be that. But I'll settle for ally."

"Done."

The two of them bowed to each other, and sealed the deal.

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Yuniko waited a few nights, until the night of the new moon, before launching her attack. Revenge, to her, was so much sweeter when you had the victim weak and begging for your mercy. And she knew she couldn't beat him at her current strength. She had refused Naraku's shards earlier.

"I want to beat him my own way. You understand, right?" she had asked.

Naraku had nodded and given the go-ahead. Now Inuyasha was alone. Yuniko leaped out of her hiding place and confronted him.

"Yuniko?" Inuyasha said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

She smiled unpleasantly, baring her fangs. "I'm here for your blood, my dear elder brother. Prepare to die!" She swung Kiba, cutting his arm. Blood flowed freely from the wound.

"Have you gone insane!" Inuyasha yelled, clutching his wounded arm.

"With rage, big brother, at your betrayal. Your hate of me is a candle compared to my burning hatred of you."

"You…heard me?" Then he saw the blood-stained blade. There was too much blood on it to be his… Inuyasha's eyes widened as he realized what his sister had done.

Yuniko laughed. "Yes, I killed Father. Now it's your turn."

Inuyasha stared at his sister in shock. Was this all his fault? There was no time to wonder, however—Yuniko's blade again slashed through the air, now slicing open his chest, then his legs…

Suddenly, he realized what she was doing—slowly mutilating him, making him suffer physically as her heart was suffering. At last, it was over. Inuyasha was covered in cuts, and couldn't even breathe without pain shooting through his entire body. He lay in a pool of his own blood, shivering.

"…Why?" he choked out. "Why did you kill Father?"

Her reply chilled him to the bone. "He tried to stop me from leaving. He said the only way past him was to kill him. I merely honored his request."

"You're sick!"

Yuniko smirked. "Blame my friend."

"Your friend?" Inuyasha spat. "Who would be friends with you?"

"I would." Naraku said. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Inuyasha?"

"Naraku!" The word came out as a snarl. "What is your business with my sister?"

"Ah, so now you become protective of her?"

"From you, yes. Now what do you want of her? And why did you have her kill Father?"

"I think the question should be how she, a weak and pitiful half-breed, managed to kill our father, the great Dog Demon."

"Sesshomaru?" said Inuyasha and Yuniko at the exact same time. "What are you doing here?"

"I was in the area." He became a blur of movement as he grabbed Yuniko by the throat, lifting her into the air. "Now how, I wonder, did you manage it? Did you kill him as he slept? Or did you accept help from this pitiful excuse of a demon?"

"Let her go Sesshomaru! Please!" Inuyasha's plea was lost on his older brother.

"Se…sshy…sama…" Yuniko gasped as Sesshomaru tightened his grip. Her face was starting to turn blue from lack of air.

"You don't deserve to live, you little traitor," he hissed. "I will kill you, here and now, and avenge my father."

"That won't be necessary—"

"Drop her." Naraku's voice cut through the forest like an arrow. Sesshomaru merely gave the other demon an icy glare

"Just try and make me," he snarled.

"I said killing her isn't necessary, Sesshomaru," came a deep voice out of nowhere.

This time, Sesshomaru dropped Yuniko. "F-father?"

InuTaishou staggered out of the forest, trailing blood. "It's not her fault. It was Naraku. He's controlling her. It was he who made her attack me—ugh!" He groaned and fell to his knees, clutching at a deep stab wound in his chest. Yuniko's blade had pierced him through his heart.

"Don't…kill her…Sesshomaru. Save them from Naraku. Save them!" Then he was still.

Naraku chuckled darkly. "How sad he died so ignorant of the situation. Isn't it fortunate I can still educate his two equally ignorant sons?"

"What're you talking about?" Inuyasha growled, or more accurately, groaned.

"She did the deed of her own free will. I had no hand in this."

"Yeah, right."

Sesshomaru didn't speak. He was busy thinking. If what Naraku says is true, then Father's wish is no longer applicable to Yuniko. However, can I trust such an individual as Naraku? This is certainly an interesting dilemma. Meanwhile, Naraku and Inuyasha were still arguing.

"She couldn't have done it! She's not the type!"

"Why don't you ask her, then?"

"Yuniko…"

"I did do it of my own free will," she stated firmly. "Naraku helped me to see it was necessary to kill him. He even offered to give me power, but I said I had enough of my own."

Inuyasha had had enough. "Naraku, that kind of answer only comes from somebody being controlled! Release her at once!"

"And what will you do, half-breed? Kill me? Not in that form. You won't even live long enough to get your revenge. I can see how much blood you've lost, Inuyasha. Before dawn, your last reserves of strength will drain away…forever."

"I'm…I'm sorry, Inu-chan. But it had to be done. You betrayed me, and Father wouldn't give me the freedom I needed. I'm really…" Her cold outer appearance shattered, and she broke down in tears. "I didn't want to go this far! Father…"

Naraku watched her impatiently. "Of course this is what you wanted. Once he dies, you will have all the freedom you desire."

"No! Not at this price. How could I have let you talk me into this?"

"It's too late, young one. But the least I can do is take away your pain." He didn't so much as touch her, but Yuniko's sobs ceased. When she looked up again, her gaze was blank.

"Yuniko!"

"Too late. She is mine now, for eternity!" With an evil cackle, Naraku vanished, taking Yuniko with him.

"Damn it, Sesshomaru—!"

"Be quiet. You've lost enough blood as it is."

"What?"

Sesshomaru picked Inuyasha up. "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't want to kill you later. It's my duty to end your miserable life, not Yuniko's."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sure. I bet that we're goin' after Naraku. Softie." He fainted.

After the two brothers had left, InuTaishou groaned softly and opened his eyes.

"I thought they would never leave." He traced the almost-healed stab wound above his heart. "Now I can go after Naraku without him suspecting." I'm coming, Yuniko.

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When Inuyasha woke up a while later, his first thought was, Where are Father and Yuniko? His second was, Where is Sesshomaru? Then he remembered. Naraku had taken Yuniko. And Yuniko had killed their father.

That left Sesshomaru, who was in the corner, facing away from the group of people in the room. Inuyasha couldn't read his feelings, if any, by his back, but he knew that inside his elder brother must feel terrible. Probably not for Yuniko, though it was likely that the two of them had grown up together, but for their father, killed with such indignity.

"I still don't understand how that weak little hanyou girl managed to kill him. She wasn't lying, I know that, but how…?" Sesshomaru said this so quietly that no one except Inuyasha could hear.

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"Yuniko? What are you doing? You're not going away, are you?"

"Yes, I'm leaving."

InuTaishou grabbed Yuniko's arm. "You are not leaving this house. I can sense a strong, evil demonic aura nearby."

"You mean Naraku? No, he's a friend."

"Yuniko, listen to me—"

"No, Father, you listen to me. You have kept me locked up and protected far too long. He helped me see that."

InuTaishou drew his sword. "I'll see to it he never 'helps' anyone ever again."

Yuniko drew Kiba. "You'll have to let me go, Father."

"Over my dead body," he snarled. Yuniko's eyes glowed briefly.

"Suit yourself." She raised her blade…

Blood spattered the hallway. Yuniko stepped over her father. Naraku waited outside.

"Good job, Yuniko. Now no one will stand in the way of your revenge. Or your freedom."

"Except for Inuyasha."

Then she saw the shock on Inuyasha's face as she drove the sword into his chest…

Yuniko woke up screaming.

Naraku slapped her across the face. "Be quiet, girl!" he snapped. His bad mood only worsened as she fainted, terrified by the memory of the other night.

The cause of his irritability was simple…the power he sought within her was also keeping him from taking over the hanyou girl. His control kept slipping.

"Damn," he snarled, addressing Yuniko. "How am I supposed to get you to finish off your family if I can't even control your mind?" His hand closed around her throat. She whimpered in her sleep, but didn't wake up. "What is keeping your mind here? Power alone doesn't do that. Why won't you just let me command you?" He moved closer, whispering. "Just tell me why."

"Mmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnnnggg," she mumbled, rolled over…and her lips contacted with Naraku's.

He fell backwards, wiping his mouth. "Filthy half-breed!" he hissed. "How dare you!"

She continued to slumber, unaware. The faintest ray of moonlight touched her face, and Naraku's face softened.

"I'm sorry," he said softly, not knowing why he was being so gentle. She just looked so innocent and helpless while she slept. And he had destroyed that innocence.

What am I thinking? She is the sister of Inuyasha, and a dirty little half-breed. The only thing I want of her is the power that resides in her body. Nothing more.

But what was this feeling, though…?

The end…of this chapter! Up next: Naraku has to deal with growing feelings for Yuniko, InuTaishou has to deal with finding his daughter, and Inuyasha has to deal with his wounds! Sesshomaru needs to get his head on straight about his sister, and figure out what he feels…about anything! See you for the next chapter of Family Ties!