Pet Spider

Summary: Inuyasha has the ultimate leash to control his tantrums, so why not collar Naraku, who has an even greater temper? What will the consequences be in subjugating such a volatile being? Kagome will find out soon enough. (Humor/romance/angst in that order. Lemon and Character death near end of story.)

Beginning is comedy ending gets more angsty, a mismatch of ideas thrown together just for the fun of it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. There is a lemon and character death near the end of the story.

(A/N: I know this sounds a bit ridiculous, but here goes:

Naraku has killed Kikyo after emerging from Mt. Hakurei, giving Kagome back her entire soul and with it her powers. I don't normally go with this cliché, but the idea I got for it sounded funny enough to give it a shot.

This is more fast-paced and simple than I normally write, it's a way for me to keep my mind working when I don't have time to really get into an in-depth storyline.

There is a very good chance the characters will be considered slightly OOC, maybe even CRACK-Fic at times.

Last minute, I decided to divide this into chapters, even though i'm posting them all at once, simply for ease of navigation.)

Chapter 1

Having received news of a jewel shard, Kagome, Inuyasha, and the rest trudged along through the forest in its pursuit. They knew Naraku's hideout was somewhere in this vicinity, but even after several scouting trips, never managed to find it. He had gotten evermore powerful, his massive aura expanding at an exponential rate. Kagome had begun to realize that if this continued, he'd surpass everyone, even Sesshomaru. They wouldn't have a snowball's-chance-in-hell to defeat him. That got her mind looking for alternate solutions. It was like a light was flicked on in a dark, cobweb-infested cellar when the idea finally hit her. She spent the entirety of her spare time since, getting the 'weapon' ready. Today, she was just waiting for him to show up and challenge them, it sounded even more exciting than running into the gorgeous Sesshomaru.

How fortunate it was then, when the sky darkened to a deep purple and black, announcing that the theatrical menace was near. Her lips twisted up into a smirk that would mirror Naraku's as she kept pacing as if nothing was happening. Before the miasma could engulf them or her companions could separate in preparation to fight, Kagome encased them all in a mobile barrier, not breaking stride, and stated confidently, "I've got this. He's mine."

They all looked around confused, but had no choice but to keep walking as her barrier gently nudged them along. Inuyasha stated barking about how he wanted to cut the monster down with Tessaiga and that she had no right to take that away from him. She all but toned him out, waiting patiently for Naraku to show. He was sure to be both curious and annoyed at her sudden lack of concern for his presence. It was only a matter of time.

To speed up the process, Kagome started chanting in a singsong manner a childhood song that suddenly popped into her head, "The itsy-bitsy spider went up the water spout, down came the rain and washed the spider out, out came the sun and dried up all the rain, and the itsy-bitsy spider crawled up the spout again." Having completed her song she couldn't help the giggle in response to the strength of his aura pressing harder on her barrier. Her friends just continued to watch her swaying steps, sharing glances between them, and wondering if she had finally snapped and gone insane. "Come on out to play, Little Spider."

Naraku was getting angry in response to her taunting, but refused to show it. She couldn't keep that barrier up for long and once it fell, they were no match for him. He had shown up himself this time, intending to end all of them now that Kikyo was out of the way. What he didn't know was that with Kikyo's death, and the return of Kagome's soul, her powers were unlocked; powers that rivaled, if not surpassed those of Kikyo. "Seems you have learned a new trick, Wench, but how long can you keep it up?" Naraku's voice echoed all around them.

'He thinks I'm weak still,' she noted, deciding to play that advantage. "Its all thanks to you, Naraku," Kagome cooed, feigning appreciation. "I don't think you even realized that you returned my soul to me." 'And now for the lie.' "But you are right, I can't keep this barrier up forever, why don't you come on out so I can see the face of the one who'll destroy me. Unless you're too scared…" A few more steps had Kagome squinting through the purple haze to see an outline of an inhuman figure. He slipped in and out of view to her right, seemingly matching her steps. "Oh, there you are." Inuyasha saw him too and tried to strike at him but bounced off the barrier. Kagome wasn't going to let any of them get hurt, not when she knew how to end this whole mission with a single word.

"Why do you prolong the inevitable?" Naraku attempted to rattle Kagome, who couldn't seem to care either way as she hopped along the trail, jumping from one dried leaf to the next. There was just something about that satisfying crunch sound they made.

"You were human once, so I'm sure you understand," she began, intentionally hitting a sore spot. She needed him to get a little closer so she had a clear shot. "Onigumo refused to die in that cave, even went so far as to let demons devour him if it meant he could live anew."

Naraku chuckled as he walked a little closer, unknowing the schemes of the typically clueless girl still out of his reach. "Do you intend to let a demon devour you as well?" his insinuation was hard to miss.

"There's no need," Kagome brushed off his threat, then suddenly stopped her childish antics and looked directly at Naraku. "I brought you a gift." Her voice was cheerful, innocent.

"What could you possibly give me that would be worth the satisfaction of ending all of your miserable lives?" he sneered as he mocked her.

"You should really see what I have for you before you make up you mind, you know," she sounded disappointed, like his words hurt her. 'Those acting lessons really are paying off, just a little more.' She set her large yellow bag down on the ground and began rifling through it, finding the object, she twined her hands around it and ever so discreetly, began chanting a spell. It was a familiar spell, one she used on a daily basis, why it took her so long to get this idea, she had no idea. Having recited all but the last word, she stood, a beaded necklace grasped in her hands. Inuyasha recognized immediately what Kagome was about to do and literally yipped and hid behind Sango and Miroku. Saying the last word, the beads flew from her hands and placed themselves around Naraku's neck. He jumped back, fearing they were some sort of a purification, but no pain accompanied the new accessory. He landed and grabbed at them, but they clung to him relentlessly.

"What are these?" Naraku growled.

Kagome just tapped her chin with her finger in thought, "Now for the word… hmmm, this is even harder than when I had to pick a word for Inuyasha. Lets see, it can't be as simple, have to account for all the exceptions I'm sure you'll try to find. I think, 'Intent.'" Just as the word left her lips, Naraku became alight with a fierce, holy flame that sent him to his hands and knees in pain. His outcry must have echoed for miles before the flames finally let up.

"You wench," Naraku growled between pants, "What the hell did you do to me?" His eyes burned a fierce red, displaying just how furious he now was.

"I thought you knew everything about us, Naraku," Kagome teased. "Guess not, for if you did, you'd know exactly what those beads were." Noticing the miasma had dissipated, Kagome lowered her barrier. "Right, Inuyasha?" The pup was still standing behind Sango and Miroku, hoping he wouldn't be used as a way to explain the beads to Naraku. "Oh, don't worry, Inuyasha, I'm not going to say si-" He visibly flinched at the word, bristling all over, making her giggle at the extent he was trained. Now, it was time to train the stubborn spider. She lowered her barrier for a reason, figuring it was only a matter of time before he tried to strike her down. Subjugating Naraku was risky, because she would have to sleep sometime, and needed to make sure he was controlled passively, as well as actively.

"I was going to kill you quickly, but after this infraction, I will make you suffer!" he declared as he sprouted out tentacles in her direction. Her friends screamed for her safety, tried to reach her or urge her to speak; she didn't move, not a word, just a grin cast in his direction. Just before the tentacle was able to strike her, it burst into the same flaming agony, spreading rapidly up along the appendage towards Naraku's body. He severed the unnecessary limb in a frightened attempt to keep the pain away, but the beads around his neck engulfed him anyways.

While he was still prone on the ground, trying to recover, Inuyasha leapt into action, "This is the perfect time to rid the world of that menace!" He raised his sword high to strike down the temporarily helpless demon.

"Inuyasha, no!" Kagome screamed, "Don't do it!" He didn't have time to register why she would protect Naraku before he too became engulfed in that same blindingly painful spell. The two were heaving on the ground in close proximity as Kagome ran over to check on her friend. He was still breathing, but raggedly, slowly recovering.

"What'd you do that for, Kagome?" Sango asked as the rest approached the downed demons.

"I tried to warn him," she shrugged, then turned to Naraku. He did not look happy about this, big surprise. "Well, dogs tend to learn best by example, but I'm hoping you're smart enough to heed my words so I don't have to hurt you anymore. I really don't like seeing anyone in pain."

"I find that hard to believe," Naraku spat out, finally able to pull himself into a sitting position. Kagome was sitting on her knees between the two of them.

"Anyways," she continued, "those beads won't come off until I take them off. They prevent you from harming anyone and," she turned towards Inuyasha, "prevent anyone from harming you."

"What!?" the rest of her friends screamed out.

"It was the only spell strong enough," she explained. "A normal subjugation wouldn't have worked on him with as powerful as he's become." Naraku scoffed and stood, turning to walk away. "Oh, and one more thing Naraku, unless I permit it, you are to stay within range of my senses. Can't have you going and harming anyone's mental well-being as I know you're so prone to or just using others to do your dirty work."

A deep growl reverberated around them. Naraku turned his scorching red eyes on Kagome. She fought back a chill even though she knew he couldn't harm her. "And what would you have me do, follow you around like a new pet?" he spat the words out with such distaste she almost felt bad, but how else would she keep him in line.

"For the time being," he just glared at her. "Now come on, there's supposedly a jewel shard just on the other side of this forest." She turned and started traipsing along the trail once more, the others waited until Naraku begrudgingly began to follow before following suit. They didn't trust him being behind them.

'This will literally be the death of me you foolish girl,' Naraku seethed. 'You do not know what you have done.'