Chapter Twenty Seven: Hiyuke's Awakening

" Naraku!" Kagome gasped in surprise.

" Please, don't be alarmed! I promise, I mean you no harm..." Naraku quickly and calmly explained, " I only wished to speak with you... Come..."

Despite the small tremor of fear fear that ran down her spine at such close contact with the man who was once her and her friends most dangerous and feared evil enemy, Kagome swallowed her fears and placed her hand in Naraku's and allowed him to lead to a cave in a meadow about five miles outside of Kaede's village... Since it was so far away, Naraku decided to fly so that they would have more time to talk...

" I know this place..." Kagome said sadly, " It's Onigumo's cave..."

" Yes... The place where I was born fifty years ago... Since I've transformed into a full demon, Onigumo's soul is at peace now..." Naraku said quietly...

" Naraku..." Kagome said after a good amount of silence had passed between them, " Is my mother?"

" Be at ease... Thanks to my full demon powers, she is alive..." Naraku said hesitantly.

" But?" Kagome asked worriedly.

" But it's taking far longer for her to awaken then I was hoping for..." Naraku said sadly, " In order to save her I had to blood bind her to me through a demon bloodbonding ritual..."

"But she is still alive..." Kagome stated confidently.

" Yes... And she will remain alive... Unless... She cannot except our bloodbond..." Naraku said sadly.

" What do you mean?!" Kagome asked worriedly.

" She has to except the monster I was before as well as what I'm striving to become in order for the bloodbond to work..." Naraku said sadly, " And after all the pain and suffering I caused so many people, I fear all may be lost..."

" What's that supposed to mean?!" Kagome asked worriedly.

" If she can't except what I used to be... The bloodbond fails and we'll both die..." Naraku said, anger flinging in his eyes...

And for a moment, Kagome was reminded of his darker side...

" You don't know very much about my mom then..." Kagome said, remembering fondly all the times her mother had shown her just how excepting and goodhearted she was, " Do you want to know why momma doesn't have a man?"

Naraku shook his head yes.

" My dad was a strong brave warrior who gave his life to protect momma and me before my little brother was born... We were coming back home from our Sunday picnic, singing, laughing and having so much fun as a family... When a big black van ran us off the road... Daddy told us to stay in the car, that he would take care of everything and for us not to worry..." Kagome said, her tears beginning to flow after keeping the truth hidden for so long, " The men were bad men... They wanted to hurt me and momma, I heard them talking about doing things that I didn't understand at the time..."

Kagome took a deep shuddering breath before continuing...

" The men started taunting daddy...' How much do you really care about that pretty little wife and daughter of your?!' One man said laughing hatefully as he shoved daddy to the ground...' How much are you willing to give to keep them safe?!' Daddy dug all the money he had on him out of his pockets and threw it down in front of them, along with all his credit cards, and the keys to our car too... ' What else?!' The same man said hatefully, ' What are they worth to you?!' I watched as daddy bowed his head before he spoke to the man again... Whatever he told the man, he seemed happy, so I thought everything was going to be ok... But I was wrong... The price daddy paid to keep me and momma safe... Was his life... He didn't even fight back as the men took turns stabbing him until the life was gone from his eyes... The last thing he said to me, was to live..." Kagome finished finally, wiping her tears away, " Even after what those men did to us and after they killed my father... Momma still managed to forgive them all... I still don't understand to this day... But that's just the kind of person she is... She loves wholly and unconditionally... And as happy as she was that day I saw you with her... I'd say she's already welcomed you into her heart..."

" Thank you Kagome..." Naraku said, trying to hide the fact that he was near tears as well, " I'm truly sorry for the loss of your father..."

" I've come to accept it..." Kagome said, smiling sadly, "Why else have you come, by the way?"

Rather then answering, Naraku reached into his robes and produced the nearly completed shikon jewel, and offering it to her without a word. Kagome was struck speechless as Naraku pressed the jewel firmly in her hand...

"You've truly changed for good... Haven't you Naraku?!" Kagome asked softly.

" I have..." Naraku confirmed, offering her a warm smile, "And I wish to keep changing for the better..."

" So your giving me the sacred jewel?!" Kagome asked in amazement.

"Yes... Let's just say the jewel doesn't like the decisions I've made... It's become very bothersome as of late and I no longer wish to have in my possession any longer..." Naraku said standing and reaching out his hand to help Kagome up as well... " Come, you should return to your friends and get some rest..."

Kagome nodded as Naraku flew up into the air with her hand in his and soon, they were back at the edge of Kaede's village...

" Thank you for listening to me Kagome..." Naraku said bowing, " It means a great deal to me..."

" Wait! What are your plans for Kohaku and Miroku?!" Kagome asked worriedly.

" Kohaku is no longer under my control, he was free the moment I removed the jewel shard from him and plans on returning to his sister after he heals a bit more..." Naraku said calmly.

" But, how can he still be alive without the power of the jewel?!" Kagome asked worriedly.

" I offered him an alternative..." Naraku stated simply.

" Bloodbonding?!" Kagome asked in surprise.

" Yes... He's bound to me through our blood but I cannot use the bond to control him or anything like that..." Naraku said honestly, " It doesn't work that way..."

" And Miroku?" Kagome asked worriedly.

" I'm unable to remove the wind tunnel because it's become a part of him and doing so now would undoubtedly kill him... The only way it can be removed is for me to die..." Naraku said with a serene smile, " And now that I've found my soul mate in your mother... I don't plan on dying for a very very long time..."

" So what then?" Kagome asked.

" I can't remove the wind tunnel and I don't plan on dying... But I can alter the wind tunnel so that he can use it any time he needs to without having to worry about ever losing his life because of it..." Naraku said smiling, "That I promise you... I can also amplify it so that it works with his spiritual powers, that way if he happens to use it on a poisonous demon, the wind tunnel will purify any poison that enters his body as well..."

" That's incredible!" Kagome said in amazement... " All this because of my mom..."

" Your mother brought light into my life, simply by treating me as a man instead of a monster... And that's the reason why I never could bring myself to actually hurt you during our many battles... Your light is so very much like that of your mother's... And I am so very grateful now for you coming here..." Naraku said as he stood, " Thanks to you, I was able to meet your mother and know true happiness..."

" I've seen firsthand how much you've changed, just from prescence alone... As long as you truly love my mother and wish to always keep her safe, you have my blessing..." Kagome said smiling warmly, " But I need to know one more thing... Are you willing to protect my little brother and grandfather from harm as well?"

" Of course... You have my word..." Naraku said solemnly, " Anyone she loves I vow to protect... That goes for you as well, my child..."

" Thank you!" Kagome exclaimed happily, " I'm so happy! I can't wait... Hey! I'm not a child!"

" By demon standards, you most certainly are..." Naraku said, very uncharacteristically flicking her on the forehead and winking at her.

Then in the next instant, Naraku was gone... Kagome smiled, her heart feeling much lighter and happier since her conversation with Naraku and clasped the shikon jewel close to her breast in relief... Naraku truly had changed... And he would continue to change because of the powerful love he now felt for her mother... Her and her friends most dangerous evil and powerful enemy had now become a beacon of light and hope to the world...

"Love truly is the most powerful force there is..." Kagome said smiling to herself...

"You have no idea..." Midoriko said quietly as she watched the young time traveling priestess head back to where her friends were waiting, " You have not seen the most incredible of miracles yet... There is more to come dear Kagome..."

Meanwhile, Naraku had finally made it back to his castle, exhausted because of how much energy he'd used, healing and bringing so many back from the dead, as well as how much it took out of him to create a body for Kikyo's soul so that she could live again... And before he actually left Kaede's village, he'd also went ahead and corrected Miroku's wind tunnel so that it would no longer be a danger to him when he wielded from now on... Still, dispite how much he desperately needed rest, e dragged his weiry body to Hiyuke's room, intent on checking on her... As he got near we pallet, however, his vision began to blur and exhaustion pulled Naraku down into the dark abyss of sleep... He was already out as he began to feel his body fall forward... So he didn't see the worried brown eyes showing concern for him, nor did he comprehend the soft warm arms around him as he was gently helped into Hiyuke's pallet...

Hiyuke had finally awakened, and she laid by Naraku's side the rest of the night, intent on caring for him, just as she'd seen him do for so many others, since that first day she'd met him and he'd risked everything to save her life...