Fools. All of them. May their wretched souls shrivel and burn to ash at the bottom of hell.
Naraku floated atop a rocky outcrop near the top of the mountain, nearly thrumming with excitement as he waited for those two idiots to emerge from the trees and challenge him. It was only a matter of time, the pinnacle of all his hard work and labor was at hand.
The samurai Ronuku hadn't been hard to fool, as expected. All he'd needed was any sort of word that Sango had perished and he would come running; Naraku happening upon the squirrel had only been an unforeseen fortune. A trustworthy face to deliver the message.
Kohana required a little more prodding, her mind was just a bit sharper and her 'faith' in Sesshomaru just a bit stronger. She needed proof, a solid corpse and a bit of theatrics, before she too proved that she was not above falling victim to a weak human heart.
Any minute now the two of them would appear through the trees, thirsting for his blood.
Naraku smiled.
Normally it wasn't in his nature to dirty his hands, that was work for underlings, but it was imperative that he alone be the target of their rage. Besides, he was running in short supply of semi-capable pawns to run his errands these days, what with the deaths of Kagura and Kanna…
Not that he needed them anymore. No, he now had absolute power within his grasp, they would only hold him back and be a waste of time. The Shikon no Tama, the jewel of four souls, pulsed within his palm, glowing beautifully dark with malevolent power. All that time he spent planning, watching, and calculating his strategies and attacks; Inuyasha never stood a chance. Naraku's patience had been rewarded, and now he alone was the bearer of the glorious powerful gem.
If only it didn't contain one tiny flaw.
Deep within the darkness of the jewel, barely perceptible but still present nonetheless, was a speck of light. Thankfully, Naraku had noticed it before he'd done anything hasty with the jewel undone all of his efforts. As long as the light persisted, there was a chance it could be used to purify him. Until he had a safeguard against it, he dare not make a wish on the gem and advertise his presence to those who sought his demise.
Damn that Kikyo, even in death she still manages to defy me.
His fist closed around the jewel and he stared off into the distance angrily. That priestess had been crafty in preparing for his destruction, he'd never noticed her trap until long after the fact. Kikyo's light, her power as a priestess that could purify any darkness, had been left behind hidden within Kohaku's shard. Had Naraku absorbed the shard as it was, he and the jewel would have both been purified and vanished from this world forever.
Ironically, Kikyo's soft heart had been what spared him.
Unable to sacrifice an innocent person, her power chose at the last second to restore Kohaku's life instead of destroying Naraku. He'd been able to absorb the final shard and held a completed jewel unscathed, escaping death by a mere fluke. That was the first and last time he would act with any haste or carelessness.
Despite not being purified by Kikyo's light, the jewel's power was still manipulated by the wills of those around it. Naraku had worked hard to taint every other shard with fear, sorrow, and anger until they dripped with hatred and malice, but Kikyo's final act of mercy had planted a seed; even if she hadn't killed him, that one speck of light still existed because of her. No matter how he tried he could not get it to vanish.
It wasn't a glaring weakness, he was now invincible to the likes of Inuyasha and even Sesshomaru. The monk would soon be done in by his cursed wind tunnel, Sango was weakened by birthing two infants, and the rest of their group were no more than children. Naraku was certain that he now contained the power to take them all out without question, and Kikyo wasn't here to stop him.
Kagome, however, was.
Much as he hated to admit it, that puny human girl was the key to his demise. Her spiritual power was enormous, most of it perhaps unknown to even her, but he sensed it nonetheless. There was no doubt in his mind that once she noticed the speck of light within the jewel, perhaps an inevitability, all it would take was one well-aimed shot from one of her holy arrows and he would be obliterated.
Her death must be first.
With Kagome gone there would be no one to stop him and he could do as he pleased with no obstacles. Of course that required killing her quickly before she noticed her advantage, and with Inuyasha nearby the chances of that were very slim. Naraku was not the sort to take chances, not if he didn't have an easy escape ready. This situation would require meticulous planning, it could take weeks before he found the right opportunity to act…
That was when the jewel offered an alternate solution.
He wasn't quite sure how, but Naraku was aware that there was some sort of sentient presence within the gem. The notion was not far-fetched, the Shikon no Tama had been created from the warring souls of a priestess and many demons. Perhaps some vestige of their consciousness was able to communicate outside of their crystal prison.
Whatever the case, when one of the demons within the jewel was suddenly ripped out, Naraku knew instantly. Some sort of ancient power had resurfaced, something capable of manipulating the jewel from within. He immediately investigated the situation, and was met with a pleasant surprise.
The power to harness massive amounts of pure energy and bend it according to the user's will. The jewel came in contact with this power many years ago when a demon attempted to use the Shikon no Tama to defeat it. Who would have thought that it would be wielded by the two insignificant humans who'd been sent away because they'd been too weak to continue the fight with Inuyasha's group?
This was almost too easy. Once he had access to their power the light within the jewel would vanish and he would be completely unstoppable. A shame that he'd only had lies instead of real blood to fuel their malicious intent, but the lies had worked well enough.
It matters not. They will soon usher in the very fate that drove them to this madness.
His hour was close at hand, he could almost taste it. His miasma clouded the sky above sending the forest into darkness. The fog beneath him rolled away granting anyone who stood below a clear view of himself.
The stage was set.
His waiting came to an end as he sensed them approaching, their murderous intent palpable through the air. The darkness within the jewel began to swirl.
"Naraku!" And angry voice bellowed, "You're gonna pay for what you did! Fuckin' bastard, come here and fight me!" Always one for complete subtlety, Ronuku exploded through the tree line howling like a wild animal. As soon as the boy was in the clearing, he glared up at Naraku and raised his sword.
"Ah, so you've come at last," Naraku taunted, smirk exposing his teeth, "A shame you weren't in any sort of hurry, poor Sango never got a chance to see you before I sent her soul into the depths of hell."
"HELL'S FLASH," Ronuku wasted no time in spitting out insults. Intent on killing, he sent out his fiery signature move, the scorching flames setting the nearby trees ablaze, plunging the clearing into a hellish arena. Naraku, who had effortlessly dodged the attack, laughed at the samurai's efforts.
"You're nothing more than an insect," the demon mocked, "How can you hope to avenge her death with such meager power?"
"Not just hers," Ronuku snarled, "You killed my child as well!"
"No," Another angry voice rang out into the clearing, "Not just them…everyone!"
Ronuku turned, perhaps intending to run the interloper through with his sword, as Kohana burst through the burning tree line. Tears sparkled in the light as they ran down her face; the look she gave Naraku was that of utter contempt.
"Futeki, Rin, everyone's blood is on your hands!" The grieving mother shrieked as she raised her sword again, "I don't care if I live, but you're not getting away with this! Ronuku, let's use everything we've got! Just like that tengu, let's tear him apart!"
The samurai nodded and the two of them mirrored each other's stance. The jewel began to pulse within Naraku's hand as a white light began to glow between the two grieving parents. The air between them crackled and their hair flew about wildly; a sudden burst of light erupted and ran out connecting the two. They were surrounded in a blinding white aura, their angry eyes aglow as though they were demons themselves.
This must be the manifestation of their power, Naraku thought; the jewel pulsing in affirmation against his palm.
He grinned.
"ARE YOU READY, BASTARD?" the two screamed in unison, "TIME TO DIE!" Moving as one, Ronuku and Kohana swung their swords, their voices an inhuman roar as a wave of white hot energy shot forward intent on obliterating their foe from the inside out.
In another time or place, Naraku might've been intimidated; perhaps even afraid for his life.
Instead he held out the darkened jewel, malevolent power swirling wild as the blinding light struck it dead center. The moment it did, Naraku could feel it: their burning hatred, their deep anguish and sorrow, the all-consuming need to end his life…The jewel began to swallow their light, the darkness within growing stronger.
"TEAR HIM APART!" The two below screeched as their flow of energy swelled. The jewel drank their hateful energy, a constant stream of malice that the Shikon no Tama sucked in without hesitation. The darkness grew and grew, the jewel heating up and nearly burning through Naraku's flesh as its evil power became all consuming.
Kikyo's light, the last weakness in Naraku's defenses, flickered before gasping its final breath and vanished for eternity.
The jewel was completely dark.
Naraku's laugh started as a low chuckle, growing within his chest before he threw his head back and cackled to the darkened skies.
"At last!" He shouted, "I am invincible! The jewel has lost all purity, there is none who can challenge me and hope to-"
A scream interrupted his gloating. He looked down to see that the blinding light continued to crackle as it flowed, connecting the two below to the Shikon Jewel.
"R-ronuku!" Kohana wailed on her own, voice sharp with physical pain, "P-power down! W-we have to stop!"
"I…I can't!" Ronuku responded though clenched teeth, "Wh-what's he doing?!"
What's this? Naraku looked down at the jewel in confusion, before his red eyes widened in surprise. The flow of energy had reversed direction, now leaving the dark jewel and entering the two humans below. Their cries grew from that of pain, to incoherent terror as the jewel continued to turn their own energy against them, trapping them in their own electric current.
It happened slowly at first, but a thread of black light crept forward into the white. Any white that touched it immediately turned dark, until the entire thread glowed black from the jewel's malevolent power. The darkness rushed forward, raining down on the two human's below.
Naraku at last grasped the jewel's intent and chuckled eagerly.
"Well, well, this was an unexpected gift," he said, voice smug as though he were thanking the jewel, "I'll be sure to use them as I see fit." He laughed once more, allowing the jewel to continue with its purpose.
Kohana and Ronuku's screams continued, but they were unable to escape their power. Almost immediately, their voices died and their faces became masks of muted pain and horror. The electric current between them glowed with the same darkness as the jewel. Their eyes, the last traces of white, shook violently until they too were completely black.