Naraku's Mind Games
Usagi grinned at his triumph. He had just jump kicked Naraku in the shoulder blades and sent him crashing. He was smart. He was strong and fast. He was evil. He was young. He was damn pretty. He was AWESOME!
(a/n: talk about ego...)
Naraku straightened up from behind him. "WHY YOU LITTLE-" he roared and threw a straight punch, which Usagi blocked and swept Naraku's feet out from under him, sending him crashing on the hard wooden floor.
Kohaku pressed his ear to the door. "So...I think they're getting violent." he reported to Katana, who just shrugged and said, "Well if they want to fight 24/7 then let them. It'll only increase the time that mother keeps them in time out in one room."
Kohaku raised a eyebrow.
"Come now. You have a lesson to learn." And she led a skeptical Kohaku outside.
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Kagome stood with her jaw dropped in the doorway. She had been delusional she assumed, because she had just seen Sesshomaru take ten minutes and memorize all her books. Damn him! He literally took a second for one page...but then again being that old probably does that to you.
Worse, or better was the fact that he knew it all cold now.
"Alright...What's the twenty-seventh element in the periodic table?"
"Colbalt. It's a metal with magnetic properties...whatever those are...it is meteoritic...whatever the hell those are too...and the ores can be found in Canada, morocco and Zair...wherever the hell those places are."
"DAMN! You're not supposed to know that! They don't ask questions like that!"
Sesshomaru gave her a skeptical look.. "Then why are YOU asking questions like that?"
She put her hand to her face thoughtfully. "Good point...but please don't write the 'whatever' the hell thing in my exams! Try and figure it out if you have to...and I guess I'll fail in English. Bummer."
Sesshomaru spoke up. " I already told you that I'm studying these books because of their worth in knowledge not so you can pass you weird exam."
Kagome batted her eyelashes. "Are you sure? Aaaawww...and here I was thinking that you came to help me." she turned serious. "No really. If I fail the exams that YOU gave for me, then believe me I WILL not hesitate to fluffy-damn...er...sorry..." she offered lamely as Sesshomaru got up from the ground, simmering.
STOP SAYING THAT YOU GODDAMN WENCH!
Don't mentally converse with me. I hurts in a big castle with loads of people like this one.
Whatever. "Hummoh." He turned his back and exited.
Kagome watched his retreating back. "He makes memorizing seem sooooo easy. But is it? Nooooooo. It's not goddamn fair." She muttered in self-pity. "Stupid math stupid science stupid English stupid history stupid geography...damn I suck at it all!"
Sesshomaru rolled his eyes. She was cursing so loud that he could hear her all the way down the hall...but that also may be due to his supersonic ears. Why she even wanted to learn about all these strange elements or as they were called, was a mystery to him. He didn't even bother questioning in depth about all the things in her books, because she probably didn't even know herself and it would take fifteen years to learn it all. Her era was too complex to learn overnight. Best let his curiosity drain out of him.
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"Hey, Kouuuuuugaaaaaa!" Kouga turned around. "Whatdday want muttface?"
"I'm bored...so thought we should pick up the fight we left off...a very very long time ago." he smirked. Training just wasn't enough. It had to be a real fight to get this hanyou's morale up.
"Nop. As much I would love to kick your butt right now, I have to go back and check on the pack. It's been way too long, and Hakkaku and Ginta can't take care of things forever." He spun around on the spot.
"Funny isn't it? A few days in the castle have turned you into a coward...I've never known you to turn down a fight before!" Inuyasha exclaimed, 'accidentally' out loud.
"Sorry dog breath. I have other things to do then to drag your sorry ass around the entire castle."
Inuyasha sat down on one of the trees in the gardens where he had followed Kouga. Is he being wimpy or acting mature? Weird. Kouga? Mature? Puh-leez.
But then again maaaybeeee it might be that necklace that 'want'ed some sense into him...
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"YOU KEPT US IN ISOLATION? WHAT KIND OF PUNISHMENT IS THAT? IT'S ALL HIS FAULT ANYWAYS! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU BRINGING ME INTO IT? BLAME USAGI! AND NO, KOHAKU BROUGHT HIM HOME, NOT ME! IF HE HAS A PROBLEM HE CAN GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE! I CAN'T STAND THIS BRAT'S PRESENCE FOR A MINUTED LONGER! I DON'T WANNA LOOK AT HIM! LEMME AT HIM! I'LL KILL HIM!"
Ataru sighed. This was going to be a difficult punishment to carry out.
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Sesshomaru stood my the window in his not-so-private-or-secret study, his hair flowing with the passing breeze. He was in very deep thoughts about everything in general. One could say he was in a depressing mood. Usually in times like these, he would go out into the gardens and relax until the mood lifted. But when he went out to do just that, he was disturbed by a bored miko.
"Hey! Sesshomaru! Wait up!" she called as she increased her pace to catch up with him on the stone path in the garden.
He groaned. Couldn't she see he was trying to relax here? Over what he was not sure of...but he was depressed.
She came up with a huge smile on her face and shone sickeningly all over Sesshomaru's rainy parade. He groaned again. "Go away miko." he growled at her.
"Hey! What's with the long face? And you do know that if you say that, I'm definitely not going to go?" she asked.
"So am I supposed to ask you to stay if I want you to screw off?" he shot back.
She tiled her head back thoughtfully. "You can if you want to. But I'm not going to leave anyways, you know that!" she responded shaking her finger.
He groaned yet again. "I know. And I hate it."
A cheery smile replaced the thoughtful look that was there a moment ago. "Look, I know your not going to tell me anything about what's bothering you, but for some reason kami must have decided that I'm a saint and I'm going to cheer you up!"
Sesshomaru glared down at the raven haired miko walking by him. "Oookaayyy...I'll help you get your spirits up!" his glare wavered a bit but then returned to it's full force. Too bad this certain person seemed to be immune to it.
"I know! Let me braid your hair!" she squealed.
Sesshomaru growled. "Not on your life."
"Mmmmmmmm...okay...then fine...I know! Lets play dress up!" she yelled happily with a ear to ear smile.
"Uh...how about no."
"Sheesh. It seems you're really down." she huffed.
He turned his head away. "PICKING FLOWERS!"
He gave her another stare. "I knew it! That's perfect! You'll love it!" and she rushed over to one of the flower beds, uprooted the entire thing in a speed that would make Rin proud, ad the next thing he knew he was walking along a girl, now dirty and carrying a arms load of flowers, and taking the liberty to chuck one at his face every now and then.
He growled. Needless to say the girl showed no fear. Whether it was because she was extremely brave or extremely dense, we cannot say. A combination of the two maybe?
"Hmm...how about singing a song?" she continued her irritating chatter.
And she had to pick out THAT song too.
"It's raining it's pouring,
Sesshy's gonna go balding,
he'll lose his hair,
and lose his flair,
and get up BALD in the morning!" she chanted more then sang, giggling all the while. Sesshomaru turned around. Honestly, he hated himself for not trying properly to kill her when they first met. If only he had been a little careful...he would have been so peaceful right now... "Why do you think I'd get cheered up by the same things Rin does?" he asked.
"um...Because she got her aggressiveness-to-Jaken streak from you...so something of hers must have rubbed off on you- oh wait! Lemme guess! Your dying to wear your hair in a onesided pony hair hairstyle! Or wait! You want to go ballerina dancing!"
He groaned and took a few steps.
"Wait! Don't go! I'll cheer you up!" she called and grabbed ahold of the first thing she could reach, which happened to be his tail.
She got a sly smile on her face. "Hey...are you ticklish?"
He gave her an annoyed glance.
That just proved to confirm her suspicions. "Yay! You are ticklish!" and she attacked his non armored sides. He didn't even flinch. He stared down to her slipping smile. "Release me miko."
Kagome frowned. Then she tried another tactic. "Ok...so how about I cheer you up in another way?"
"How can you be of any use to me?" he put his knee up on a rock and stared up at the moon.
"Fine." she huffed. "If you don't want my help...then ok. But I will tell you this." She paused for effect. "Things could be a lot worse." She put on a sober face. "You could have weird markings on your face and prettier then most girls...even though you're a guy!"
It took a full three seconds for Sesshomaru to realize where that had come from. By then Kagome was laughing her wits out on the ground. "You...should have seen your face!" she gasped. Sesshomaru turned away and walked off, but smiled inwardly to himself. Stupid miko needed lessons on how to cheer people up.
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Naraku stood his ground, with his barrier erect. "Kohaku! Mother! Father! Ataru! Taru! Everyone! Hurry!" he yelled, grimacing as he watched the destruction he was amidst.
His mother was the first to stand her ground infront of him with her barrier up, shielding her son's barrier and himself.
"Mother..." he trailed off. "GET THE OTHERS!" she screamed over the eerily loud howling of the wind and the splinters and chunks of earth and wood flying around. Every time a shingle hit her barrier, she grimaced due to the sheer energy it was taking her to keep it up in this intenseness. She also had a large slit across her arm and was bleeding profusely.
Blood wasn't the only thing that was wet on her though. She was crying, the tears blocking her vision and clogging her mind. Her eyes traced over once again to the corpse of her fallen husband on the ground and her barrier weakened. Katana's eyes flared red. She turned to look at the way with the majority of people were, her hair whipping around her face and everything within a ten foot radius of her levitating and swishing around in a huge whirwind in which she was standing.
Their house, now without a roof or walls, was oozing with a strange aura, like Katana's but condensed by a many time. Why?! Naraku shouted at himself. Why didn't she tell us? Why didn't I notice?
Katana had red markings around her mouth, and her hair had changed to reddish hue. Her eyes were all blood red, with no pupil showing.
She had! She was...! A hanyou!
The blood lusty Katana twirled around again with her arms up in the air. When she came to a stop the water around her formed a spear in her hand which then attacked Naraku's mother's shield with gargantuan force, once, again, and again. Naraku threw out his force field, making it explode by Katana. (It also left him vulnerable, but it saved his mother by a bit) It knocked the hanyou off course and sent her flying to the side, smashing headfirst into a tree. Naraku quickly ran over to his father. "Chechewe! Are you alright?" he shook him ferociously. His head limped to the side, bloody matted hair brushing against Naraku's arm. "No! Father!" He yelled, throwing the body in his mother's lap and shrieked in the air. "WHO DID THIS?!" Usagi was standing to the side, unaware what he should do. Kohaku and the servants were huddled over his mother and father.
Naraku walked surprisingly calmly over to Katana, now blissfully unconscious. "WHY?! WHAT DID HE EVER DO TO YOU?!" he screamed at her slumped body. There goes the calmness. Why had she gone into the hanyou's blood lust so fast? WHY? Unexpected! The second he turned around katana had her sword wet with his father's blood and the water in a bowl making her spear in her hand. Then next thing they learned that was hanyou's like Katana could make whirlwinds using their spears. Somehow all they had managed to do was to get through the barrier and stay protected...except for his father that is.
He kneeled down, letting his body drop down onto his knees. Why did this go wrong? Why did Katana not tell anyone she was a hanyou? And why the sudden bloodlust?
Naraku lowered his head. There were so many questions. Not that it would make any difference now. His father was dead. His real father. After he became hanyou, his father hadn't kicked him out, instead married a poor demonness to support him. And now, after everything he did for Naraku, Naraku couldn't protect him. He lost him. He was dead. Naraku was shaking visibly in a sadistic combination of anger, grief, and shock. How could this...?
He still couldn't get it right. After everyone he had killed, and enjoyed doing it, tortured, murdered, brought against each other, he had no idea that one man's death would affect him so much. Fate was just, maybe, but cruel. The old man had no idea about Naraku's misdeeds. He didn't do anything. He was innocent. And now dead.
How many innpcent people had he slaughtered? Too many to count. Innocence was a waste. What was left now was revenge.
He stood up shakily, leaning on a tree, and wobbled over to Katana's body. He drew his sword. He would get revenge. Admittedly, his father wouldn't have cared at all, but he did. He needed it. He needed to have the thought in his head that his father was avenged. Avenged. Such a viciously beautiful word.
He raised his sword, prepared to kill her, when the faint aura around her started to fade. He hesitated, his sword shaking. This was the crucial moment he needed. Her aura shot up in a split second and she had thrown Naraku's sword off to the side before he could even notice.
Katana stomped over to his mother, who was clutching the body of her husband in her lap. With her sword drawn out, she charged, a smirk flitted across her features. Naraku watched, frozen in horror as Katana changed, Hatu jumped in front, his sword out, and was skewered along with his mother in the stomach. Katana took out the sword, and plunged it in again. Naraku was petrified, and no one else seemed able to move either.
She pulled out the sword with a quick jerk and licked its tip. With that wild glint in her eye, she wasn't Katana. She was a ravaging, blood thirsty hanyou. Her aura was normally so powerful it had manage to cover up all her traces of being half human.
Ataru and Tori threw themselves at Katana with their swords drawn. It was really too bad that she was the best fighter out of them all. She took a stab to her right shoulder but kept her sword steady and whipped across Tori's head, slitting his throats instantly. Blood spurted. He crumpled.
Ataru charged again, fearing to look at him comrade's body. Katana manegd to dodge his sword enough so it went through her right shoulder again, but in the moment Katna managed to turn around, Ataru was decapitated.
Usagi and Kohaku cringed in the back round, clinging to each other, Kohaku's face marked by tears running down so hard and fast that there were three trails coming down from one eye. His memories had begun to come back to him, seeing all this blood once again. How he had slew his first family, and how now his second one was being killed before his eyes. He lost his home twice. Kohaku couldn't bring himself to rip his gaze away from the spurting blood and collapsing bodies of his adoptive parents. He couldn't. Through his frozen eyes, he watched as Naraku, across from him, stood up, shaking. He drew his barrier. Katana charged. Nothing changed. Naraku's barrier was as impenetrable as ever before. The bloodthirsty hanyou shot over the remains of the house, grabbed Kohaku in one swift, incomprehensible motion and pressed the sword to his throat. He was helpless over this mad power, and just thrashed around wildly.
No...Naraku whispered in his mind. He was tired, dirty, wet from the water splattered from the water spear when it moved abruptly. Kohaku... wasn't supposed to do this to him. He had brought him as a way to control the slayer, but in the end he had ended up controlling him instead. And now the sight of a sword at Kohaku's throat made him want to hurl. He really was evil, his conscious really had faded and died when the demons entered his body, but this...this feeling of protection from people close to him, maybe even villains had families? His brash actions in his love for Kikyou had drove him to be half demon, his thirst for power led him to kill her and play the drama with Inuyasha. The rest? The rest of the atrocities he had committed over the years...were just for amusement. He used to pride himself on this, he without a conscious. He without a feeling of guilt. He still didn't feel any guilt and the only remorse he felt was for the dead family infront of him. This family, it had brightened his life, felt like it was slowly purifying his sins, painful at times, but in the end, better. And now his parents...Hatu, with whom he had so many times to remember, Ataru the heroic one... Taru, the majestic one, whom he and Kohaku had tortured. Why did it always come back to him in the end? Kohaku...his smile wouldn't fade. After all he had went through...after all Naraku had deliberately put him through, it was a mystery to Naraku why he smiled at all. Perhaps he didn't remember his past? It was all his fault. He didn't deserve to do this to Kohaku. He took his first family from him, put him through so much misery, then played older brother to him? What would he say if he found out? That his older brother, his partner in torturing for fun, was the first one doing this to him? The things he didn't even know happen to him? The reason why when he , Naraku was careless, Kohaku had nightmares of him killing his family with his weapon, the reason, he froze in position when a painful long lost memory came back to him... he shouldn't do this. Kohaku was the only one who had managed to bring out his long dead concious, and it was for his case alone.
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Kagome and Sesshomaru, both wandering the corridors frantically, came to sudden halt when they met each other. With matching expressions... (ok, maybe not so much...Sesshomaru is stoic)
"Feeling in-"
"pit of stomach..."
"the goddamn-"
"MINION!"
Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Kouga, watching from afar, shook their heads. "They change their bodies so much now they even think alike..." Sango commented.
"Yep. Next thing we know Kagome will be trying to steal Tetsuiga from Inuyasha!" Miroku laughed. Inuyasha put him hand over Tetsuiga protectively, cracking Miroku up further.
"Wait a second...hey, mutt...how long has it been exactly since Sesshomaru had tried to steal your sword?" Kouga asked.
Inuyasha shook his head. "Not after he...I learned to use it properly."
"Or he showed you." Miroku said slowly, earning many confused glances.
Sesshomaru shot them an annoyed glance. NOW they figure it out. Humans...(halfbreeds and wolves)...are very slow in some aspects.
"And maybe...Sesshoamru will be the one Kougas running after..." Sango said slyly, making Inuyasha fall over in laughter, and Kouga fall too, in shock. "What the-?"
"Oh come on! He has really pretty hair..." Sango said grinning.
Miroku put his arm around her and leaned in closer to her face. She looked him unabashedly in the eyes. "My my, you make it sound like your the one in love with him..hmn Sango?" Miroku fell over promptly a second later, a angry slayers hand on his throat.
"Ok...break it up!" Inuyasha said as he picked up Sango like a misbehaving cub, by the collar and put her to the side.
Miroku flopped over and tried to breathe. "I thank you for that Inuyasha." he wheezed in relief, while Sango fumed at the side.
Kouga, now over Sango's...RIDICULOUS remark, ran over to the taiyouki and miko. "You guys...have GOT to stop doing that!" he huffed.
"Do-" Sesshomaru began.
"-what?" Kagome asked, although she knew perfectly well what he was thinking.
"FINISHING EACH OTHER'S SENTENCES!"
"Do we-" Kagome began.
Sesshomaru smirked and played along. "-really?"
Kouga turned around and wept tears of exasperation.
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Naraku balked. There was a water spear twisted around his body, not giving room to make his barrier nor his tentacles or such. Not that he had enough energy for his tentacles right now...and a sword pointed at his throat. He was too tired to try anything. His tricks, his illusions, nothing would work on Katana anyways. Kohaku was wounded, but alive, and Usagi, strong as he was, was still a child who couldn't move with the shock of everybody's murder so suddenly.
Katana smirked maliciously. She ran her sword through her hair to clean it, leaving her hair bloody with his family's blood, not that it showed, red on red. Her sword, now only wet with water, plunged Naraku through the heart.
His breath halted in mid inhale. "Ungh..." he groaned and his head slumped. Katana smiled widely, sickeningly, and observed Naraku as a young child would a new toy, his dark blood seeping through his clothes and staining her fingertips and pointing the tips of hair that bent over her back to reach Naraku's chest.
I...I'm...dead. Naraku thought in the last few seconds. But as quick as light, he was saw a flash of something through his eyes and white translucent ugly bunny jumping into his body from behind.
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"Huhh..." Kagome paused in the middle of the the feeling of falling. She shook her head and opened her eyes. They were still here eyes, and the hands feeling her face were also hers. "We're...not changed." she said in confusion. Beside her Sesshomaru nodded. " I think something might have happened to the minion."
"What the hell?" Inuyasha yelled as a bright red beam shot up from outside the castle's walls.
"Hurry!" Miroku picked up his staff and began running towards the light. He had just felt this black wave of dark aura pooling over the area, and now this red light. It HAD to be something.
Kagome jumped on Inuyasha's back, Miroku and Sango ran and leaped on a transformed Kilala, and Sesshomaru shook his head. These guys were SOOOO ready for the call. It looked like this practiced this a million times...which they probably did, but did it for battle.
Sheesh...
"It's the minion!" Kagome yelled excitedly as they dawned on the scene. Ouch, don't yell so loud in my ear...
They came to a halt, Sesshomaru reaching a standing position later then the others, and also closer to the minion. There was a red light coming from the middle of his forehead... and it seemed to be twisting in pain. It's muscles convulsed as it shook, bending every way it could. There was a ominous smell to top it off...like that of wild berries and death. The wild berries could also be the minion's last meal though...
Sorai came running up, her fan in front of her, a second later. "So it is...the minions being used!" she said. Heads turned to look at her. She looked sick, sweating crazily, even though she was only a minutes run from where they were in the castle. That much of a run shouldn't make her break a sweat... she tore her eyes away from the minion, avoiding it, as if it were hurting her to stare at that light. The blinding bright light. Maybe that's why she wasn't looking.
"Naraku's using the minion life source!" She clarified.
Inuyasha froze in place. "H-h-he's dead?!"
"No. He would be if it weren't to be for this minion. Right now he's taking it's life and coming back!" she said quickly, looking to Sesshomaru fro instructions.
"Damn it." Inuyasha swore. You could have stayed dead...saved me the trouble...
Kagome giggled, then fell off Inuyasha's back, she was laughing so hard. Damn...
Sango ran over to her, and Inuyasha just stared at her weirdly. "Uh...Kagome, if you're not feeling alright, you can stay here." He offered.
"Nop!" She said cheerily. "I'm good." She got up, brushing her skirt off and smiled.
Sorai whispered to Sango on the side. "Do you think she's well enough to make her won decisions?"
"No telling..." Sango shrugged. That just cracked Kagome up further. They really thought she had lost her mind, didn't they? Heh...she would probably think too so if Sesshomaru acted this way...cracking up for no reason. After her second laugh attack, she climbed on Inuyasha's back. "I'm good to go!" she cheered. Inuyasha looked at her and groaned.
Ok...maybe that was TOO cheery...she thought apprehensively.
Sesshomaru groaned to match Inuyasha. You've got that right.
I hope I do.
Lets not waste any time. Get going! Kagome nodded to no one in general (as it looked to the rest of them) and dug her bare heels (she had been running around barefooted) into Inuyasha's sides. "Giddy up horsey!" and flapped two strands of hair from the back like one would with a rein.
He gave a 'shouldn't-you-be-in-a-mental-hospital?' look from below. "Oh..um...yeah. Lets go Inuyasha!" she yelled. Just trying to cheer you all up, and you look at me like I'm mental...
He sighed and started running, everyone else keeping pace. Sheesh...the stuff I do for you Kagome...
I think Kagome-sama's gone a bit...off. That was definitely Miroku.
Is Kagome alright?
Stupid miko. Trying to cheer people up by acting mental isn't helping any...
I wonder why Kagome starts laughing like that...
Kagome...I'm glad she doesn't call me horsey when she rides on me... maybe I should be wary of those kicking feet too...
She giggled again, earning her another weird glance Inuyasha. Just WHAT had gotten into you? She should be the one thinking that. Did someone slip something into her lunch? Like aske in her water or something...but then she would be doing worse things...like she did when they all were on the infected water.
ah...that brought back memories...wait a second...why was she relishing in the memories of the past? She wasn't getting old was she?! Ahh!
What exactly was wrong with her? Something huge apparently. Maybe everyone's serious mood was getting to her.
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"UP UP AND AWAY!" Kagome cheered. Inuyasha, the adorable, smart genius, gave her a weird look. "What's gotten into you?"
"WE'RE FLYING!"
"We've done this before." Sesshomaru calmly stated, steering the cloud they were.
"Yeah, I know...but live the moment, ya know? so...I'M FLYING!!" she shouted at the top of her voice.
"Something tells me Kagome isn't well..." Sango whispered to Sorai. "I think so too."
Kagome ignored them and continued screaming her lungs out. "OH...I'M ON TOP OF THE WORLD...with uh...lots of other people..." she added sheepishly.
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Oooohh...they're up for it big now. I hope you liked it, and tell me how my scenes are, especially the serious ones!
So, now the story is actually moving. Wow. I got the feeling that this story should end now...(they have been WAY too many filler chapters) and so...this is it. GIVE ME FEEDBACK!
There are many reasons for the delay in this chapter...I apologize. Even though Ihad it written out beforehand (I have the entire story completed)PLEASE forgive me. 1. traveling halfway around the world 2. jetlag 3. relatives 4. lack of internet facilties 5. yeah, my second laptop not adjusting to what work I did on the first one...and intenet not adjusting to first...etc. You get my point...I wasn't lazing off!