InuYasha Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Feudal Weather Witch ❯ Drizzle ( Chapter 10 )

last time on Feudal Weather Witch...
He could feel her presence. Kikyo was near and waiting for him. His suspicions were confirmed as a soul snatcher greeted him in the courtyard.
"Kikyo, show yourself," he said.
The undead priestess stepped out from behind a column and faced him, her face devoid of any emotion and her dull brown eyes fixed upon him. What was it she could possibly want from him?

Drizzle

Kikyo face Naraku with a calm demeanor. She felt disgusted with herself for needing his assistance, but she had no other choice. Slowly, but surely, her strength was diminishing. The amount of souls she needed to survive were increasing. She knew her time was drawing close. And with her reincarnate steadily winning the affections of InuYasha, her vengeance would never be complete. Honestly, Kikyo had nothing personal against her reincarnation. It was the insufferable InuYasha she truly wanted, and Kagome just proved to be an obstacle to her goal. And now an even greater opportunity for vengeance had appeared.
Naraku watched as a flicker of emotion actually crossed the deceased priestess's face. If he was surprised at this, he showed it not. He stood in the courtyard, his hair flickering in the light breeze. His expresso colored eyes held her gaze easily.
"I need your help," Kikyo spat.
"You need my help?" he asked, a brow raised, "Whatever for?"
"My time draws near and I do not have the strength to do what must be done. The reincarnation of my father has appeared in this world. My desire for revenge is too strong for my clay body."
"You wish for a jewel shard," Naraku stated, "You do not even have the strength to retrieve one on your own. Where I still Onigumo, I would have granted that to you. However, you've made it clear that you wish to kill me, Kikyo. Why should I help you?"
"Name your price, Naraku," she said tiredly.
Naraku felt the corner of his mouth tilt upward in a smirk of triumph. He nodded and motioned for Kikyo to follow him inside his palace. Kikyo didn't hesitate as she walked gracefully after the evil half demon. She hardened herself for whatever she may have to do to please Naraku and gain the strength for her vengeance.
Her thoughts turned to the past. She had been only 11. Her father, a great man in her eyes at the time, was leaving that day. He said that he could no longer provide for his family and it was only right that he leave them. She had cried, and even more so when her mother had screamed after him not to leave. Her hero had never turned to look back as he continued to walk away. Their small family struggled to survive with no one to provide for them. Her mother was heart broken. That heart break sapped her of strength and it wasn't long after that she died.
Kikyo had to raise herself and Kaede. They had wandered for a year, dirty, unkempt, and on the brink of starvation, until a village had taken them in. The priestess of the village saw the potential in Kikyo and trained her and Kaede for the next four years of their lives. On a tragic day, the old priestess died and left Kikyo the position. Kikyo's life had been decided for her because of her father's selfishness.
And now that his reincarnation was in this world, she would allow herself to feel that anger, that hatred toward him once again. Even if this was a new life, it was the same soul. And she would let that soul know of her hatred and her fate. Above all else, everything came down to that day when her father left.
Naraku sensed the hatred and rage coating Kikyo's aura. He smiled in delight. He remembered when this shell of a woman behind him was once a regal, pure priestess. In her current state, Kikyo could fully taint the Shikkon jewel. It was as he had planned it so long ago. He could almost see the beauty of the Shikkon, suffused with her dark thoughts. Yes, he would help Kikyo, if only to see the beauty of the jewel before he consumed it.
The following morning, Kaede awoke early, urging Kagome to wake up as well. It was time for her priestess training to begin. The air was damp and cool and the sun was not even close to showing up yet. The stars and waning moon decorated the deep blue sky. Kagome quickly slipped into the red and white priestess robes that Kaede offered her. The two women took a long walk into the nearby forest. Kaede sat upon an old boulder with a flat top. She instructed Kagome to sit on the grass.
"One of the most important things to learn as a priestess is how to control your emotions. Ye have good enough control for your 'mutant' powers, but it must be better. We will begin with meditation exercises. Then we will work on bringing out your purification powers at will. This will take time and dedication, Kagome. And ye must learn to trust in your friends during this time, because I cannot allow ye to join them in shard hunting for the duration of your training," Kaede said solemnly.
"I understand. Kaede, how long will this take?" Kagome asked, curiously.
"It all depends on how much dedication and will ye have, child. Ye have a natural talent, and that will help ye. Let us now begin."
"Hai, sensei," Kagome smiled.
Kaede nodded and smiled at the younger priestess and began to instruct her on how to achieve a heightened meditative state.
Rogue woke up to the sound of InuYasha yelling about Kagome missing. She yawned and stretched, glaring at the noisy half demon. The others soon woke up to the same noise. Storm blasted InuYasha out the door with a biting cold wind and dragged herself out of the futon. Logan huffed and walked outside to talk to InuYasha. He'd been awaken by Kaede's movements that morning and he knew where Kagome was. He had to calm InuYasha down.
Shippo woke up Kirara and Sango, who promptly slapped Miroku. Apparently the monk had been sleep groping yet again.
"Good morning to you too, Lady Sango," Miroku said, rubbing his cheek.
Miroku turned to look at Rogue and smiled.
"Ya touch me, ya die," she warned, before leaving the hut.
Miroku sighed. He was surrounded by women and yet he could have none of them. What was a cursed monk to do?
Outside, InuYasha had been effectively calmed. He paced back and forth.
"So what do we do while Kagome trains?" Sango asked.
"Why don't we train too?" Rogue spoke up, "No use waistin' time, right?"
"I agree," Storm added, "It would be wise to sharpen our own skills for the battles to come."
"Feh! Fine! But only until Kagome finishes her training. And if we hear of any jewel shards, we will go after them!" InuYasha said, decisively.
"Sounds like a plan," Logan agreed.
"Well, then. Lady Sango would you train with me?" Miroku asked.
Sango looked at him skeptically and shrugged, what did she have to lose. She doubted Miroku would try anything with Hiraikotsu in her hand.
"Alright," she agreed.
Everyone soon split up into groups. Sango and Miroku, Storm and Rogue, and Wolverine and InuYasha made up the three groups. They went outside of the village and began their training. Shippo wasn't in a particular group, but he would float between Sango's and Storm's groups. He could tell he wouldn't be able to keep up in InuYasha's group. Those two were really going at it.
Noon was as hot as the prior day. All the groups paused to refresh themselves and eat. Kaede and Kagome came back from the forest. Miroku could tell that Kagome had indeed gotten stronger by sensing her aura. And for such a short amount of time, it was impressive. Kagome smiled an exhausted smile at her friends and sat down on the porch of the hut. She fanned herself and gratefully took the cup of water offered by Sango.
"So how's the training?" Rogue asked.
"Not bad," Kagome said softly, "A little harder than I was waiting for, but not that much harder than my training in the future."
"You look exhausted, Kagome. Maybe you should take a break and go to the river for a bath?" Sango suggested.
"A nice cold bath does sound heavenly, Kagome," Storm said, "Let us all go and cool off."
"Yes, that does sound wonderful. May I join you ladies?" Miroku asked.
The ladies looked at each other before a resounding echo of a slap could be heard. Miroku walked dazedly toward the guys and sighed. InuYasha and Logan took one look at the two slap marks on his cheeks and the two goose eggs on his head and chuckled while shaking their heads.
"You never learn. Do you, bouzo?" InuYasha asked.
"You're just lucky Storm didn't fry you," Logan spoke up.
"How can I not want to join four beautiful women in a soak at the river?" Miroku spoke up in his defense, "I'd have to be an idiot."
"He's got a point you know," Logan said to InuYasha.
"Feh! If you two want to take the chance of pissing off the girls, I'm not gonna stop ya. But don't blame me if you come back hurtin'!"
"I never said I wanted to be a Peeping Tom, InuYasha. I just meant he would have to be an idiot."
"Hmph!" Miroku replied, leaving the two.
Miles away, Mesmero smiled at his accomplishment. He had over a quarter of the Shikkon jewel fragments already. All that was left was the half of the jewel the demon Naraku held and the remaining fragments a certain young priestess and half demon held. He turned away from the latest demon under his hold. He found himself face to face with a young boy holding a sickle and wearing a mask. His dull brown eyes surprised Mesmero.
"My master, Naraku, wishes to meet with you," the boy spoke.
Mesmero tried to put a mental hold on the boy, but he found it was impossible. He frowned. Seeing the boys dull eyes once more, he knew that he was of the undead. He shivered lightly, wondering just what kind of demon this Naraku was. Nevertheless, he chose to follow the boy. Naraku, after all, held part of the jewel needed to free his master, Apocalypse.
"Take me to him," Mesmero spoke.
Kohaku turned and lead Mesmero and Chronos toward the palace. Naraku watched from Kanna's mirror, Kikyo by his side. He turned from the mirror and revealed a chunk of the jewel. It was the same chunk she had stolen from her reincarnation. It was laced with evil, it's deep purple swirling with black. She hesitated.
"Take the fragment as it is, Kikyo. Can you not see the beauty of it? The raw power? As it is, it could help you exact your vengeance powerfully. You want revenge don't you?" He whispered in her ear, "Take the jewel and all it's evil within you. Can't you feel it calling you?"
Indeed, Kikyo felt the call of the evil aura. It lured and seduced her hatred and anger. She could feel herself slipping into it's wicked grasp. Where she would have once resisted and purified the jewel, she found she lacked the strength and will to do so. The evil aura of the jewel felt too good to be denied. She shivered as Naraku's knuckles brushed the nape of her neck as he fasted the necklace on her.
Naraku removed the tie in her flowing black hair and laced his fingers in it, letting it cascade through his hand like silk. He could feel her give up her resistance against the power of evil in the jewel. He smirked darkly from behind her.
"That's it, Kikyo," he urged in a seductive whisper, "Take it all in, feel the pleasure the power can provide you. Your vengeance is nigh."
"Yes. I will have my revenge," she spoke in a heated whisper, laced in hatred and malice, "I will kill them...both. My father, and InuYasha..."
"Yes," Naraku whispered in delight, his hands delicately caressing her neck and shoulders.
Kikyo's eyes closed and she shivered. The jewel glowed a menacing red and sank into her flesh. She fell into the waiting arms of Naraku, her aura tainted black. Her flesh gained a healthy color and she felt a faint heartbeat in her chest.
Naraku watched as warmth flooded through her body and gave it real life. He smirked to himself. It couldn't have been more perfect had he planned it from the start. Kikyo opened her eyes, full of new life granted by the tainted jewel fragment, yet tinged crimson by its malice. The once protector of the Shikkon jewel had now become slave to the evil that had merged with it. Her hate and anger grew and she could not deny the almost feral need to kill those that had wronged her. The jewel within her breast called out for blood and death. She had no choice now but to follow its beckoning.
"Now, Kikyo, I will name my price," Naraku whispered, setting her on her feet again.
"What is it you desire?" she asked.
"Only you," he replied, sliding the top of her robes off.
Kikyo's crimson-brown eyes became half lidded at his request. The evil in the Shikkon fragment within her wanted to merge with the evil that was Naraku. She could not deny the pull, it was too strong. She was almost trapped in her new body by anger and hate. Even if she would change her mind, she could no longer escape. She had made her choice. And as she found herself beneath Naraku, her bare flesh pressed flush against his, she had to wonder. Was this really worth revenge? Her cry of invasion echoed off the walls in the palace as Onigumo's fantasy had at last become reality.