A/N: First off I'd like to thank Nizuna Fujieda for their review on chapter 6, thank you so much! I'd also like to thank anyone who put this story or it's author on their lists, your support helps me through the more difficult passages greatly. =)

Now to the chapter at hand. This chapter doesn't contain any of the Inuyasha gang, be prepared for that. Instead it focuses on how Naraku is even alive again. Hopefully it will satisfy any questions that the last chapter presented. ;)

Anyways, enjoy! =D

(And please, please, please leave a review. Any critique is welcomed as well. I'd love to know how this story is being recieved.) =)

Timeless

Chapter 7 - The happenings inbetween

"Who are you?" The small boy wimpered from the corner against which he had his back pressed. He didn't know why he was here. Why these demons had come for him. They had known his name and he was frightened, frightened beyond belief. What did they want from him?

"Come on now. You can't seriously mean that you don't recognise us?" The demon in front of him sneered.

"Yeah, come on Naraku, don't play innocent." Another smirked. Naraku shrank back further into the corner. He didn't know what was going on or what these creatures wanted but he wanted to go home. Go home to his mother and father and many siblings. Even his family's constant fighting seemed like heaven compared to this.

The other demons around the two in front hissed and chuckled in both amusement and disbelief. The three year-old in front of them was cowering in a corner of the cave to which they had brought him. Panic was clear in his eyes as he whimpered in fear. The boy reeked of terror, he truly didn't seem to know who they were. While it amused some and while others wanted to take their revenge on him the small proportion of other demons wanted to let the boy go. This wasn't the evil Naraku who had been formed because of them. This was only a small child. A small, innocent and absolutely terrified child. They felt guilty at making him feel this way. But they knew that the others wouldn't listen to them. They had after all been "tainted" by Onigumo's human heart. In their eyes they were worth less than trash. They didn't understand why they even kept them around if they held so much contempt for them.

Naraku closed his eyes and prayed for himself to wake up. This was all a bad dream, it had to be. There was no way that he was sitting in a cave right now, surrounded by demons who all knew his name. What had he ever done wrong to deserve this?

"Hey there! We've found her!" A group of excited voices came in from further near the entrance and Naraku cracked an eyelid open to see who they had found. To his shock it was another human girl from the village in which he lived, Aimi.

"She's the reincarnation of that strange priestess." One of the demons raised their high voice in excitement. The small girl quivered in his arms. She was frightened, so very much. She had been looking for Naraku in the woods after he had suddenly vanished. They had just gone out to pick some wild blackberries because they were hungry. Both of their families were poor.

The demon holding her roughly threw her next to another figure which had huddled itself in the corner. In shock she realised that it was Naraku. He looked absolutely terrified and she felt sure that her face bore exactly the same ones as his.

Huddling closer for warmth they both closed their eyes and prayed for someone, anyone, to rescue them. They wanted to go home. Aimi began to cry softly. She wanted her mother and sister. Naraku saw her tears and with the gentleness that only a young child can have he hugged her close, attempting to comfort her in some way. Aimi hugged him back, knowing that his frightened heart needed as much reassurance as hers did.

"What should we do with them now? They don't seem to remember their past lives?" One of the demons muttered uneasily. This wasn't how it was meant to go. After Naraku had discarded them in favour of a newer, better body, they had banded together in an attempt to try and defeat him. But then that half-demon and his group had destroyed the Shikon no Tama jewel as well as purifying Naraku. They had contemplated for a long time whether or not to act out their revenge on that small group but eventually decided against it. If they wanted revenge then they would kill the priestess who had destroyed the jewel but she had vanished along with it and nobody knew where she had gone.

So they had settled into this small cave behind the deserted demon-slayer's village. It was a perfect place, all the people in the area feared it, calling haunted and cursed. They despised going near it so therefore the demons were left in peace to heal their wounds and hatch new plans to do that which Naraku had been doing before he got defeated.

It was around a year ago that one of them had picked up faint traces of what appeared to be Naraku's scent near a human village close-by. They had immediately swooped in and investigated, their lust for revenge and power not yet satisfied. There they had found these two small children, and through the more superior powers of the demons that possessed intelligence they were able to find out that these children had been born not but a year within the deaths of their two predecessors.

Now presented with an actual target the demons began to hatch a plan. They had originally thought that these two children would remember the past events but obviously this was not to be so. Still, they would proceed with their original plan of inhibiting these two, they somehow knew that they would be able to call forth their old personalities and powers and hopefully twist them in such a fashion as to make them do their will.

Next to this smaller cave was a much larger one. None of them had been able to enter it before the Shikon no Tama had been destroyed but now that didn't seem to be the case. Several of them had been able to enter the cave and were slowly working on devouring the statues and mummies inside. Soon all the puzzle pieces would be in place and they would be able to go forth with their plan of domination and power. It wouldn't be long now.

The current demon in charge was the strongest one and he had inhibited the body of another human, now going by the name of Hisashi. As his name suggested he had been the long-lived ruler of a group of other demons before he had been devoured by Naraku and now he was the ruler of this group. He smirked. Life certainly couldn't get any better than it was at the moment. And once Naraku reverted back to his old self he would control him, using the powerful half-demon to act out his revenge against the humans and that lousy group that had defeated them all. He snarled. They wouldn't know what was coming at them.

He turned to the children in front of him. It was pathetic really. These two had once been enemies, despite lusting after one another and now they were hugging each other for support. His grin grew truly diabolical as it spread across his face. Over the past two years he himself had devoured a fair amount of demons, but even he knew that Naraku was too powerful for a demon of his calibre to eat. He may not like it or ever even admit it, but the only chance to get revenge was to try and manipulate Naraku.

Naraku and Aimi hugged each other close. They had heard a lot of stories over the years, ever since they were able to listen and comprehend what was going on around them. These demons would kill them. They were sure of it. So they just tried to find some final comfort in the fact that they were together with their best friend, that no matter what at least one other person would know what had happened to them. They squeezed their eyes shut, their breath hitching higher and higher in fear and panic. Any moment now. Any moment it would come. The order from that maniac demon grinning evilly in front of them.

"Devour them." The demon snarled and as the demons descended down on them they shivered once more. They only thought of their families and each other and how they had wished that they would have been able to see them one more time.

"I'm so sorry." The two children cried, letting the tears run freely down their faces as the first demons reached them.

¬.¬.¬.¬.¬

"Damn it all." Hisashi muttered as he stared down at the pulsing bodies of the two now lifeless children. It had been three weeks since his demons had entered the bodies of the children and he knew for a fact that they were taking incredibly long. The smells coming off the children were becoming more and more like those of their predecessors but that was what worried him. They hadn't been prepared to try and mask the growing smell over such an extended period of time. He was worried that soon others would pick up the scent and then they would have to fight them off while they waited for them to be ready to emerge once more.

The bodies had covered themselves in some sort of silk, shaping themselves in shapes similar to cocoons of a butterfly. And they had been steadily growing over the past three weeks, having reached their final sizes a few days ago. Now they were just waiting for the two of them to come forth from their slumber.

He looked at the woman standing next to him, Midoriko. Surprisingly one of the demons that he had sent next door to investigate the cave had somehow reawakened the ancient priestess whose heart had formed the Shikon no Tama. Sadly that demon had given its life to become her new heart. But now that very heart was twisted and dark and yet she managed to hold herself with the composure and grace of her former self. She still possessed all of her memories and she reminded him of the clay Kikyo from three years ago in some ways. She was definitely more twisted than Kikyo had been and she also counted herself as a demon or at least an ally of the demons now. But she still cared for humans, helping them whenever she went out. She had changed her outdated attire to a simple kimono found in the deserted slayer's village. In the process she had also acquired a sword and bow and arrow from the village, claiming to feel insecure and unsafe without carrying one constantly around.

She was truly beautiful and the two of them shared a special connection of sorts. Shun had been his mate and the human man here found the form of the human priestess delectable. Thus they had been getting on very well so far. He had filled her in on his plan and she was currently helping to speed up the reawakening process through the use of her former miko powers.

Both of them watched over the two cocoons as the other demons hurried to prepare for the awakening. Nobody could wait until they had finally exacted their revenge. They had been waiting for a long time. A much too long time.

Suddenly the cocoons began to move. Everyone in the cave held their breath as the cocoons slowly cracked open.

¬.¬.¬.¬.¬

Naraku held his head as a sharp pain shot through it. He didn't know what was going on. The last thing he remembered was being purified by that dratted human priestess that that Inuyasha had cared so much for and then being awake shortly inside the Shikon no Tama. What had happened after that?

Somewhere in the back of his mind a small boy's voice was crying out in fear and apprehension. The boy wanted to get let out. He wanted to be freed but the demons that had formed around his existance quickly shushed him. They had also been the ones that had been around Onigumo's heart. He looked down at his human form and his eyebrows twitched in annoyance. Where the hell was he?

Suddenly he heard a soft moan beside him and he turned his head. He pulled in a shocked gasp. It was Kikyo. She was lying there, her eyelids fluttering softly, her expression mirroring one of pain. Incidently she was going through exactly the same motions as he was. Aimi was crying out to her in the back of her mind, pleading her to let her go. She steeled her heart and shut her out. She looked down at her human form. She wasn't made of clay anymore?

She looked over as she heard a small rustle and with surprise saw Naraku staring at her, sitting in exactly the same position as she was. Suddenly she blushed as she realised her situation and she looked up gratefully at the person who had thrown her some clothes. With an even greater surprise she recognised her as Midoriko, the pristess who had created the Shikon no Tama from her heart. Quickly she pulled the clothes over her head, as did Naraku. Both were intent on having their questions answered.

What no one could know was that the demons had been forged with the innocent souls of these two children. They had become one entity and while both Kikyo and Naraku remembered everything, their personalities would had changed. Much of their old selves remained but the character of the two children, as well as the affection that the two had held for one another despite their three years of age, would change them greatly. As would the demons that had become one with them. They would now not be able to ever eject these creatures from their bodies ever again. The innocence of the children had purified them and had made them a facet of their souls. And nobody could reverse that, no matter how evil they may be.

~.~.~.~.~

Midoriko stared down at the two humans that she had helped to create. According to the displeased face Hisashi was showing these two weren't acting as they had before their deaths but that was only to be expected. After all, they weren't the same people. They now contained the souls of two complete innocents as well as a great amount of evil. It had been nearly fated that they would become two very similar yet also very distant people. They would act differently and form different relationships, but the escence of them would remain the same. She knew that since she was going through it right now herself.

She knew why she was here. She knew what she had to do. She had completely destroyed the demon that had become her heart and yet a trace of that demon remained. She frowned unconsciously, knowing that that still annoyed her. But no matter, she couldn't change that now. The important thing was that she had herself back, her body and her heart. The Shikon no Tama was destroyed and she was incredibly angry about that fact. She felt as if she would never be able to recover her original heart and yet that was still her ultimate goal. She knew that she would find a way somehow. After all, she was the creator of it.

Midoriko didn't even try and fool herself. She wasn't as pure or good-hearted as everyone was lead to believe. She had, even during her natural life, had a fair amount of darkness in her heart, as was usual to any human being. Even the purest ones had regrets and worries, even they held anger and resentment. And her anger was directed to one particular person, one particular human being. She somehow knew that that girl from five hundred years ago was still getting underneath her skin. She hated that she resented the purity of the small one so much. She was a pristess. She should honestly know better.

The small girl had appeared out of nowhere in a flash of light, standing in front of Midoriko and the demons she had battled against in some sort of daze. Her eyes had looked up at her imploringly and asked "Where am I?". Midoriko hadn't been able to answer, she had been so surprised at seeing someone so young appear out of the blue.

"Are you a demon?" She had asked the small girl.

The small girl had replied with; "What is a demon?".

Midoriko had scoffed and had quickly finished off the still stupified demons, they had looked as surprised as her. She felt nothing but contempt for the creatures, they were stupid lowly monsters that attacked humans for no reason what-so-ever. The girl had just watched, her eyes showing a great amount of pain.

"Stop it!" She had cried out, tears running down her delicate face. "Stop hurting them!".

That had stopped Midoriko. Why was this child protecting the demons. They were nothing but mindless killers.

"It's people like you that kill, not them!" The small girl had screamed in agony and that was when Midoriko had noticed the smoke in the distance, not too far off. She had come through the charred village before being attacked by the demons. It had obviously been the work of some passing through samurai. She detested those kinds of men too. They were too cocky, too full of themselves.

The small girl had cried and what had followed left Midoriko scarred to this very day. A sudden aura had surrounded the small human girl, and suddenly some strange crystals or objects had shot out of nowhere, seriously wounding Midoriko. The demons had stared at her in wonder and had then tried to move in for the kill, only to have the same happen to them.

"Stop killing!" The girl had whimpered. "No one should die anymore. Not one person more." Tears had been rolling down her face as she said it and she had crumpled into a small heap, sobbing away. Then the strangest thing had happened. One of the demons that she had been fighting against had gotten up and slowly walked to the girl.

"Little one." The demon's voice had been gruff and she remembered how astonished she had been at his ability to actually form a coherent sentence. "Don't cry. We won't kill her." The small girl had looked up, pain and hope playing in her eyes.

"Really? You promise?" The child had breathed, looking up with trust into the demon's eyes.

"We promise." The other two had nodded and they had all gotten up. Midoriko stared after them in anger. What were they doing?

"Thank you little one, for being merciful today." The one who had spoken turned around.

"What does that mean?" The little girl had asked, her eyebrows scrunched together as she wiped away the remainder of her tears.

"For not killing us." One of the others had said.

"But I didn't do anything." The little girl had said rather sadly and rather confused too.

The first demon had smiled and then turned around, raising his hand in farewell. "Bye!" The little girl had shouted, seemingly happy at the turn of events.

"Why did you help them?" Midoriko had hissed. "They are nothing but monsters who need to be purified."

The small girl had looked at her sadly then. "They didn't hate you and yet you hate them." She sounded too wise for her years, too old. Her eyes told Midoriko that she had seen things that no three year-old should have seen.

The small girl had then pulled Midoriko to a nearby tree with a lot of effort and had handed her some sort of herb.

"Eat it, it helps." The girl smiled. "My mama always gave it to me." And with that she had walked back onto the road, holding up her hand in farewell before running off, calling her family's names.

To this very day Midoriko wouldn't understand why the little girl had done what she had.

~.~.~.~.~

Kaede looked out at the setting sun. Tomorrow they would deal with what Lady Taishou had told them. When Inuyasha and the others had come back from the meadow they had told her everything. Somehow she had the feeling that something would happen. Something bad. She didn't like the feeling that was flowing through her old bones at all.

But tomorrow would be another day.

Tomorrow they would be able to deal with the new threat and the problems that came with it.

Tomorrow.