We finally arrived at the castle after a long flight. Naraku eased me to my feet and we walked together into the dark castle. As we made our way down the hallway, I passed Kagura, who was standing beside Kanna and Kohaku.

"Hmph. Still alive I see," Kagura hissed at me. I gave her a very icy glare as I continued to follow Naraku. We ended up in a dark room with a bed as its only furniture. Naraku went to a wall and lit the candles on it for lighting. He then walked over to a closet and pulled out some bandages and a bottle of alcohol. He then walked back over to me with the items and told me to sit on the bed. I obeyed and he sat down beside me. He took the bottle of alcohol and opened it.

"Ummm...that's okay. I'll be fine," I said, staring at the bottle with fear.

"Don't be such a coward. It will only sting a little," he said grabbing my wrist so I wouldn't try to escape. He took some and poured it into his hand and then rubbed it on my wound.

"EEEEYEEEEEAAAAAUUUUHHHHH!!!!" I cried out feeling the alcohol's sharp, burning pain in my wound. Hmph. Sting a little my ass! Naraku gave me an annoyed look. I guess he thought that I was exaggerating, but really I wasn't. That really hurt like hell. It was almost worse that the initial wound itself.

After a few moments the burning sensation of the alcohol began to wear off and Naraku began to patch my arm up.

"So, Inuyasha did this huh?" he said

"Mmmhmm."

"You're a lucky girl. He could have ripped your arm off with those claws of his. You should be more careful next time."

"You should have told me about his attacks."

"That doesn't matter. In times of battle you should always be on your toes. One small mistake could very well be your last." I sighed. He was right. "Lift your arm," he said. I raised my right arm high above my head as he continued to wrap bandages around it.

"Say Naraku..."

"Yes."

"Why are you so harsh sometimes."

"What do you mean?"

"Why do you insist on making so many enemies? Don't you care about people's feelings?" He stopped his work for a minute and looked at me in my eyes. His stare gave me the feeling that maybe I shoudn't have asked him that.

"I seek to obtain all of the sacred jewel shards. By any means necessary. I cannot help it if some people do not like my methods of getting them. Its not like that matters anyway. Feelings are a weakness. Something that I'm trying to rid of myself, but that fool Onigumo won't let me." That's right. I had forgotten that he had a human side to him too. He originated from a human named Onigumo. He had told me before that Onigumo was a bandit who had been badly burned and he let demons feast on his body in order to gain a new one. And that's how Naraku came to be. "That foolish bandit's heart is still apart of me," Naraku continued, "I can't seem to rid myself of him. But once I do, my feelings which hinder me will be no more. That and that infamous mark will disappear."

"Mark?" I asked confused.

"The spider scar," he said. I still looked at him confused. After he had finished patching up my wound, he turned around and lowered his kimono top revealing a huge spider shaped scar on his back. "These burn marks are proof that I am still only a mere half demon." I eyed the great mark with awe. I had never seen anything like that before. I slowly reached a hand up and lightly traced the scar with my fingers. Naraku kind of shivered at my touch, but didn't stop me. I couldn't for the life of me understand why Naraku insisted on freeing himself of emotions of love and compassion and concern. Those were what made us human. Okay so he wasn't all human, but still half of him was. I didn't really know what all went on in Naraku's past or why he hated Inuyasha or why he even considered emotions as a burden, but I couldn't help but get the feeling that Naraku was lonely. Sure, he was a strong demon who could get anything he wanted, but one thing that he didn't have was any friends. I mean, Kagura hates his guts, he controls Kohaku, and Kanna doesn't even have emotions herself. Maybe I was being naieve, but all I could I think was that all Naraku needed was for someone to show him some kindness because he obviously wasn't getting any. And with that thought I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head on his back. He gasped at my action. "Tayo?" he said.

"That human heart of yours is very valuable," I said still holding him in my arms, "its more valuable than gold, silver, or even the Shikon Jewel. I wouldn't be so quick to get rid of it if I were you. You might lose the people who care about you." Naraku let out a light laugh as if to say that I was crazy.

"Oh is that so? I know of no one who cares about me," he said.

"I do," I sofly said, "if you would stop treating me like your servant and treated me like a friend, you could see that. I mean, I am helping you out of my own free will. You don't control me in any way. Now would someone who didn't like you do that for you?" He didn't reply. He didn't even move an inch. He was completely silent. I didn't know if my words were getting through or not. I released him from my grip and got up off of the bed. "Thank you for fixing my arm," I said before leaving the room and walking to my bedroom.

As I lay in bed remembering what I had said to Naraku, I rememebered my own bestfriend and family. I hoped that they weren't worried about me, but I knew that they were. I surely wished that I knew some way to get back to them. But at the same time, I didn't want to leave Naraku after what I had said to him. My consience wouldn't let me live with that. I was about to drift off to sleep when I heard footsteps outside of my door. I sat up as I saw the door slide open and Naraku enter. He just stared at me silently for a couple of seconds.

"Do you wish to see your friends again?" he asked. No freakin way! Could he read my thoughts or something? I quietly nodded my head. He sat on the floor beside my bed. "Tommorrow I shall take you to the bone eaters well. Its the portal between your world and mine. I will allow you to visit them, but only if you promise that you'll return to me in a couple of days." I smiled as I nodded my head.

"I promise," I said. Naraku lightly smiled back. He got off of the floor and left my room. I laid back down on my bed and smiled. Hmmm. Maybe my words got through after all.

A/N: Awww how sweet, lol