InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Blackout ❯ In Naraku's Clutches ( Chapter 24 )

Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.


In Naraku’s Clutches


“But…I love him.”

Inuyasha, on the verge of charging to Kagome’s side and rescuing her from her captors, suddenly froze. Kagura and Kanna appeared ready to intervene, but he didn’t care. He’d followed the wind sorceress for a significant distance, eventually losing sight of her but tracking her and Kagome’s scents on the breeze. His nose had eventually carried him to this temple in the mountains, just as the first light of dawn started to break over the eastern horizon. He’d smashed in a wall and burst inside, fangs and claws bared, prepared to take on all comers. That is, until Kagome’s soft utterance reached his ears. She hadn’t named the man lucky enough to be bestowed with her affections, but there was no doubt in Inuyasha’s mind as to his identity.

He’d never dared to ponder how he might react upon hearing her say those words. He’d simply been too torn over whether he thought she felt that way about him, or whether he wanted her to. Before this moment, if he’d had to hazard a guess, he would have imagined that he’d feel a jumbled mix of emotions, some good and some bad. Not this. His lungs were paralyzed in shock, and there were hard lumps of dread in his stomach instead of butterflies. It wasn’t the words themselves which afflicted him so, he reflected when his brain recovered from its momentary skip in time. It was her tone, delivered as though everything else in her world was pain and suffering. As though her love for him was her last ray of hope, and a faint one at that. As though…she had already lost faith completely.

“Yes, but he does not love you. You have always been, and will always be, second best.”

The infant in her arms spoke those horrible words, each cruel syllable shoving the knife deeper into Inuyasha’s heart. The little cretin glared smugly at him the whole time, as if trying to twist that figurative blade while simultaneously crushing the tattered remains of Kagome’s resistance. He succeeded on both counts. Kagome’s head slumped forward and she began to collapse onto the floor, still holding the child in her arms. Her normally bright aura dulled, a sinister energy taking hold. The infant smirked in victory, but it wasn’t until he began to turn transparent, his fading form melding into Kagome’s body, that Inuyasha finally found his voice.

“Kagome!” he cried, rushing toward her. Time seemed to slow, his footfalls sounding loudly in his ears as Naraku’s infant continued to disappear before his eyes. A high-pitched cackle rang out as the tiny body vanished completely, leaving Inuyasha’s claws to swipe only empty air. On the verge of panic now, he knelt by Kagome’s side and lifted her up by the shoulders, supporting her head when it lolled backwards. He was aware of Naraku’s other incarnations on an instinctual level only; his focus was entirely on the girl in his arms.

“Kagome, wake up!” he shouted, shaking her as vigorously as he dared. “Come on, wench. Don’t listen to that bastard’s words! Don’t you give up on me!”

She made no response, and Inuyasha gritted his teeth against his despair, blinking his eyes at the sudden burning sensation centered there. He had been in this situation before, on the cusp of losing Kagome. But at least in the previous instances, he’d known exactly what was wrong and how to fix it, whether that meant speaking from the heart or obtaining an antidote for poison. Here, he could only guess at what that vile infant had done to her, and none of his theories were particularly encouraging. Worse, he had no idea what he could to do make her better. Don’t try anything stupid. You’ve done enough damage already. Inuyasha shook his head violently, pushing those thoughts aside. He would hate himself for this later, when Kagome was well. Now, he needed answers. He snarled low in his throat, adopting his most feral, menacing glare as he regarded Naraku’s incarnations. Kanna didn’t so much as blink, but Kagura did flinch and step back involuntarily. The wind sorceress had strong instincts of self-preservation, which Inuyasha fully intended to exploit.

“What the fuck did that brat do to her?” he demanded, eyes boring into Kagura’s. She raised her fan and narrowed her eyes, prepared to defend herself. Inuyasha was contemplating the best way to beat a confession out of her when a soft voice caused his head to snap around.

“Inu…yasha?”

He found her gazing up at him with a dazed expression, but his joyous return greeting died in his throat. Something wasn’t right. Her voice was slightly off its usual tenor, which he supposed could be explained by a scratchy throat resulting from her ordeal. But beyond that, there was something wrong with her eyes, which had always been so special to him. They were her normal chocolate orbs, but they lacked their usual depth. Where once there had been so much life, now only emptiness resided. Her eyes were still there, but the soul behind them had vanished.

So lost was Inuyasha in this disturbing mystery, that he didn’t notice Kagome raising her arms until her palms touched his flesh, firmly gripping either side of his head. If anyone else grabbed him like that, he’d pull away almost instantly. But this was Kagome, who could short-circuit his survival instincts like no other. So he remained hopelessly entranced, even as her eyes transformed literally during a blink. Now the true soul inhabiting her body made itself known, as Kagome’s beautiful face became twisted with cruelty. Inuyasha knew the hateful look in her eyes would haunt him for many nights to come. Still, he was powerless to pull away, as her brow furrowed in concentration.

Nothing happened. Inuyasha held his breath, as the malicious smirk on Kagome’s lips shifted into an irritated frown.

“Damn,” she cursed after several moments, her words giving Inuyasha the same impression as her eyes. It was her voice, but it was not her speaking.

He was contemplating the significance of this development when his face suddenly exploded in pain. He spun away instinctively, shielding his eyes with an arm. He sensed Kagome scrambling away from him, but made no move to stop her. It was difficult to wrap his head around what had happened. Kagome had attacked him, dug her human nails into his face; it felt as though she had literally been trying to claw his eyes out. When he dropped his arm, the sleeve of his kosode came away bloody. He blinked to clear his blurred vision, but that only resulted in stabbing pain, as more of the world became tinted red. If he was human, this incident would probably result in permanent loss of vision. But if he could recover from having a pearl ripped from his eye, then he would heal fully from a few scratches as well, even severe ones. His own health was the furthest thing from his mind at the moment, anyway.

“Kagome…why?” he asked out of reflex, only to have her laugh in his face. She stood gazing cruelly down at him, flanked by Kagura and Kanna, her vicious smirk firmly back in place.

“Do you honestly still believe that I’m Kagome?” she posed, as if speaking to a child.

Inuyasha wasn’t stupid. Deep down, he’d known almost from the moment she opened her eyes that Naraku’s infant was in control of her body. But that observation shocked him to the core; even now, he struggled to fully come to terms with it. To think that his strong, determined Kagome had been possessed by an incarnation of Naraku…it was almost unfathomable. And yet, this cold reality was literally staring him in the face.

Seeing that Inuyasha was still too dazed to find his voice, the infant decided to wrap this up. His business here was completed, and there was much work to be done. Not before he had a little fun with the pathetic hanyou, of course.

“I suppose I should thank you, Inuyasha. Kagome was tougher than I’d imagined. I would not have been able to corrupt her heart if it weren’t for your help.”

The hanyou’s eyes widened, his guilt-ridden expression indicating that he knew exactly what the infant was referring to.

“Don’t worry, though. I’ll take good care of her. I need her eyes, after all. I will use them to find the last shard of the Shikon no Tama. I could offer to return her body to you when I’m finished, but I suspect that Naraku has other plans.”

The thinly-veiled threat seemed to get Inuyasha’s attention; he stood and growled furiously, though the sound didn’t have much bite to it. “If you hurt Kagome, I’ll–”

“You’ll what? The only way for you to hurt me is to hurt her. Face it, Inuyasha, there’s nothing you can do. Kagome is mine now, thanks to you. You practically handed her over to me yourself.”

Inuyasha stumbled back as if physically struck, clutching his chest. Naraku’s infant chuckled to himself as he drank it all in–the despair, the remorse, the self-hatred…sweet nectar. But alas, it really was time to wrap this up.

“Oh, and one more thing,” he said, fiddling with the knot at his waist. Once that was unfastened, he shrugged off Inuyasha’s haori and tossed into the hanyou’s face. “I no longer have any use for a half-breed’s robes,” he sneered, knowing that comment would cut deep, delivered in Kagome’s voice as it was. He was still chuckling quietly to himself as he and Kanna flew off with Kagura on her feather. Much as he would have loved to stay and torment Inuyasha some more, there really was a lot of work to be done.

But first, an appointment with the boss. He had a feeling that Naraku was going to be thrilled to finally meet his nemesis up close and personal.

* * *

The strength in Inuyasha’s legs deserted him, and he slumped to the hard floor on his backside. The burning sensation in his retinas returned with a vengeance, and this time he was unable to stop the tears from flowing. They ran down his cheeks, tinged with blood, and dripped onto his clothing. Inuyasha noticed none of this; he was deeply imprisoned within his own private hell. If an enemy had attacked him at this moment, it was questionable whether he would even react. Perhaps a part of him would have accepted death as a fair punishment for his failures. “Kagome is mine now, thanks to you. You practically handed her over to me yourself.” His mind rebelled against those words, resisted their devastating implications, but he could no longer deny the truth. He had a tremendous amount of faith in Kagome. She never would have allowed herself to be possessed, unless her resolve was fatally weakened by someone she held dear. Someone she loved. “Yes, but he does not love you. You have always been, and will always be, second best.”

“I…” he mumbled, the rest of his statement cut off by a shuddering sob. I did it. It was me. Kagome’s gone…and it’s my fault.

Inuyasha squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lower lip hard enough to draw blood, fighting the urge to howl his misery to the heavens. If only he had known how strongly his continued commitment to Kikyou was affecting her, maybe things would have been different. You did know. You saw how badly Kagome was hurting, and you did nothing. That realization made him want to disembowel himself with Tetsusaiga. He had gotten Kagome pregnant, then instead of doing the honorable thing and marrying her, he had merely promised to stay until their child was grown. That of course implied that there would be no additional children born to them, if there was to be any physical intimacy at all. And to top it all off, he would only stay by Kagome’s side when Kikyou wasn’t calling him or in danger. Then the younger miko truly was, to use the infant’s words, ‘second best.’ Inuyasha had always considered himself an honorable man, but treating the mother of his child this way was a huge stain upon his honor, and hers. He had dishonored her, taken advantage of her selfless nature and love for him to relegate her to an inferior status, when in fact she deserved nothing less than his full and complete devotion.

Why had he always elevated his obligations to Kikyou to such a paramount position? Kagome was carrying his child, so surely honor dictated that he place her above all other responsibilities. She and their child were his family, after all. Yeah, staying with Kagome is the most honorable thing, his own mind snorted at him. It’s also what you really want. And yet, he had set aside the true desires of his heart, and hers, in favor of an old, self-imposed obligation to a former love who yearned to drag him to hell with her. Did that just about sum up his idiocy? Although ‘idiocy’ was too benign a term; cruelty was a more apt description. Intentional or not, his treatment of Kagome had been downright despicable. Yes, he had made a commitment to her, but had he informed Kikyou of even this most anemic and feeble of promises? Of course not; he had stuck his head in the sand instead. Was it any wonder that Kagome had lost faith?

“I…I’m sorry, Kagome. Kami, I’m so, so sorry.”

He felt marginally better for having uttered those words of apology. There was only so much self-blame he could take before he really was tempted to commit seppuku. But killing himself would be the easy way out, and it would be counterproductive. He felt his heart throb with renewed vigor, his hands clenching into fists. He pulled himself to his feet and dried his tears. He was a failure, as a man and a friend and any other way he could think of. But he was also Kagome’s best chance at salvation. With Tetsusaiga, he was by far the strongest person interested in killing Naraku, aside from Sesshoumaru. And that heartless bastard didn’t give a shit about Kagome. Inuyasha did. He cared, so deeply it scared him sometimes. It had taken him far too long to get his priorities straight, but he would never abandon Kagome to the likes of Naraku. He would follow her to the ends of the Earth and beyond if need be. He drew reassurance from the infant’s words; Kagome would remain alive until the last jewel shard was found. She could still be saved. He had to believe that her consciousness was in there somewhere, because the alternative was horrifying beyond all description.

An encouraging thought occurred to him. When Kagome first woke up…that little bastard tried to purify me! Inuyasha was sure of it now; there was no other reason to grab his head like that. And yet, the hanyou hadn’t felt the slightest tingle of spiritual energy. Judging by his quiet curse, the infant had honestly been expecting to be able to control Kagome’s power. In reality, it seemed that he possessed her physical form only. Optimistically, this meant that Kagome’s consciousness could still be alive, and still resisting. That’s it, Kagome. Fight him! Stay alive until I can free you. These revelations raised Inuyasha’s spirits significantly. To be honest, he was now more concerned about the fate of the child in Kagome’s belly, since the tiny quarter-youkai held no usefulness to Naraku whatsoever. But there was nothing he could do, except pray. Please, Kagome, if you’re in there…watch over our son.

Now that he had firmed his resolve, Inuyasha debated what to do next. He could try to follow Kagome’s trail, but that would be almost impossible. He had given them too much of a head start; airborne scents did not last long before dispersing. And unlike the previous chase, Kagura would surely try to throw him off the trail. Before, she had basically flown in a straight line, as though she had been ordered to let him follow her. Inuyasha wouldn’t put it past the infant, who struck him as sadistic enough to want to meet him just so he could throw what he’d done to Kagome in his face. Ultimately, chasing after them now was far more likely to get him lost in the wilderness than it was to actually lead him to Naraku. It would also force him to abandon what remained of his friends, who would have no way to find him. Kirara’s nose wouldn’t be able to track his movements over such distances, even if the villagers pointed them in the right direction. So there was really only one viable option left to him, as loath as he was to accept it.

Inuyasha gulped, less than thrilled by the prospect of explaining Kagome’s abduction to his friends. Not that he didn’t deserve any verbal abuse or physical retribution they decided to visit upon him. They were entitled to the truth, and he could man up enough to give it to them. And if they decided that he was scum which they no longer desired to associate with, he would let them go. But if that was the case, then what chance did he have of ever getting Kagome to forgive him? It doesn’t matter, he decided. Even if the Kami assured him that Kagome would hate him for the rest of her days, he would still give his all to rescue her. He would pour his heart and soul into this mission, and if he succeeded, he would deal with the aftermath when the time came.

As to the here and now, Miroku and Sango had promised to arrive at the village in the early morning, as long as Kirara was well enough to carry them. Dawn had come and gone during his time at the temple; the birds and other diurnal creatures had already roused and were going about their daily business. It had taken Inuyasha at least an hour sprinting at top speed to reach this location, probably longer. If he didn’t head back soon, he might not beat his friends to the village. And if he wasn’t there to meet them, they might decide to go off looking for him and Kagome, which could cost all of them valuable time. Time was one thing they did not have in abundant supply. Somehow, they had to find the last shard of the Shikon no Tama before Naraku did. Only then could they ensure Kagome’s safety; as long as Naraku did not possess all of the shards, then he wouldn’t harm her. In theory, at least. But it was a theory Inuyasha had to cling to, lest he lose his mind imagining all of the varied and disturbing possibilities.

His heart wasn’t in it, but he made good time as he ran back to the village, covering the distance in a couple hours at most. The majority of the settlement still stood, though Inuyasha knew many of the inhabitants were dead. This, combined with the fact that the surrounding fields had been reduced to a youkai graveyard, meant that the survivors would probably relocate their village or disperse to join other nearby towns. Inuyasha didn’t particularly care what they did; he and Kagome had already done enough for these people.

His friends had already arrived, but crucially they hadn’t left yet. It looked like they were debating what to do when Sango spotted his approach.

“Inuyasha!” she called, her relief turning to concern when she noticed who wasn’t with him. “Where’s Kagome-chan?”

Inuyasha grimaced as he drew to a halt before them, dreading his inevitable confession. They deserved to know and he deserved their anger, but that didn’t make it any easier to actually admit the truth. He valued their opinions of him, which were about to take a severe blow.

“Inuyasha!” Sango exclaimed, fear and fury mingling in her tone. “Where’s Kagome-chan?!” Still Inuyasha failed to respond, which caused the taijiya to assume the worst. “Oh, Kami,” she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand. “Is she…”

“No!” Inuyasha replied immediately, though whether he was trying to convince Sango or himself, he couldn’t say. “Kagome’s alive. At least…I think she is.”

“What the hell happened?” Sango demanded through gritted teeth, her temper seemingly ready to explode at his evasive responses.

“She…was possessed by Naraku’s incarnation,” Inuyasha finally admitted. “An infant. He took over her body, then left with Kagura.”

“Wha–how did that happen? How could you let any incarnation of Naraku get close to her?!”

Inuyasha bristled at that; Kagome’s abduction was his fault, but not because he’d been negligent in guarding her during the battle. “You try protecting Kagome and saving a whole fucking village at the same time!”

“Inuyasha,” Miroku interjected before Sango could retort. The monk had remained silent throughout the exchange, studying his friend’s body language. Obviously, he had not liked the sense of remorse he could feel rolling off the hanyou. He only hoped his suspicions were incorrect.

“Kagome-sama has proven resilient against possession in the past,” he stated, thinking of the incident with Tsubaki in particular. “Are you sure she has fallen completely under Naraku’s influence?”

Inuyasha gulped and nodded, knowing that his time of judgment had finally arrived. Miroku already suspected something, and there was clearly no point in beating around the bush any longer.

“I-it’s my fault,” he choked out, voice barely above a whisper. “Because I couldn’t let Kikyou go…the infant was able to corrupt Kagome’s heart.”

Inuyasha sensed the anger in the air, frightening in its intensity. Sango’s eyes narrowed, her intent almost murderous.

“You bastard.”

Then hiraikotsu was moving, its leading edge tearing toward him. Inuyasha closed his eyes and waited. He felt the displaced air brush against his cheek, as the boomerang swung in a great vertical arc and smashed into the ground directly to his left. Sango tore the weapon out of the earth, face flushed with fury, and stalked away from him. After a few steps, she visibly took a deep breath to take the edge off of her rage, then turned to face him once more. Though he was glad that the taijiya hadn’t actually struck him, Inuyasha knew he wasn’t getting off so easily.

Sango marched right up to him and grasped the front of his robes in her hand, shaking him harshly as she glared up at him. “Inuyasha, you’d better make a fucking decision. You promise me, right now, that you will devote every waking moment of your life to getting Kagome-chan back. If you so much as sniff in that dead bitch’s direction, so help me, I’ll leave your sorry ass behind and go look for her myself!”

“You won’t be alone, Sango,” Miroku promised. “I will join you.”

“Me too,” Shippou added, and when Kirara mewed angrily in agreement, the ultimatum was complete.

Inuyasha nodded, truthfully not surprised by their demand. He’d had a lot of time on the way over here to consider how they might react, and this ultimatum or something similar had seemed very likely. So he already knew what answer he was going to give. Initially, the thought of not following leads on Kikyou’s whereabouts had caused him angst, but he’d gotten over it. She’d been surviving without him since her resurrection; she didn’t need him. Kagome, on the other hand, most definitely did. Just as he needed her. It had occurred to him that even after learning of Kikyou’s apparent demise, he’d never cried over her. He’d searched frantically for any sign of her continued existence, of course, but had shed no tears. This morning marked at least the second time he’d cried for Kagome. And it hadn’t been a case of a few rogue tears sneaking out; he’d wept like a baby, plain and simple.

So what did that mean? Did he return the love which Kagome had professed before losing herself? He’d resolved not to think about that. Now was not the time to reflect on his feelings; he could sort out his emotions after getting Kagome back, and learning how she felt about him after her ordeal. He did vow that he would never again allow her to feel like she was ‘second best.’ Because she wasn’t. He didn’t know exactly where Kagome and Kikyou fit into his heart, but Kagome was second to no one. One day, he hoped to have the opportunity to make sure she knew it.

“I promise,” he told his friends, seemingly surprising them with the strength and conviction in his tone. “Getting Kagome back is my one and only priority.”

What followed was awkward silence, succeeded by an even more awkward conversation in which Inuyasha refrained from participating. Miroku and Sango debated what to do now, and agreed that they should continue to wander the countryside, checking out every rumor of suspicious activity. They unknowingly confirmed Inuyasha’s belief that it was absolutely crucial to find the final jewel shard before Naraku did. The also reached the conclusion that the infant was likely a piece of Naraku’s heart, which the dark hanyou had discarded at Mount Hakurei in order to make himself capable of harming Kikyou. But what did that mean? Could Naraku be killed while the infant, his heart, still lived? And if not, how were they supposed to kill the infant while it was safely hidden within Kagome’s body? Their mission suddenly seemed more daunting than ever.

After a brief and fruitless conversation with the local villagers, the Inu-gang set out. They had no particular destination in mind, but were sure they would run into trouble sooner or later. No one spoke, and Inuyasha got the distinct impression that he would be receiving the silent treatment for a while. Again, nothing he hadn’t expected. This had gone about as well as it possibly could have. His friends were beyond pissed at him, but they had at least given him a chance to redeem himself. He could ask for nothing more.

He would not disappoint them. Wait for me, Kagome. Please, wait for me.

* * *

“Kukuku, Kagome, how nice of you come,” Naraku greeted with a malicious smile, appearing ridiculously pleased with himself. “Welcome to my castle.”

The infant gazing at his master through the miko’s eyes barely resisted the urge to roll them. So he still thinks that my infant form is with Kagura, controlling this body from the outside. The wind sorceress had been only too happy to drop him off at the castle entrance, leaving him to enter their master’s chambers alone. She obviously wanted as little to do with Naraku as possible, an emotion he was beginning to understand himself. Though he supposed he couldn’t blame Naraku for the misconception; the dark hanyou’s understanding had been the original plan. But plans could and should be changed, especially if they were deemed unsuitable by those who had to stick their necks out. Cowards like Naraku who loved to send others into harm’s way from behind the scenes had no right to complain when every detail failed to fall into place according to their machinations. The ultimate goal of possessing Kagome had been accomplished, even if the end result wasn’t exactly what Naraku had intended.

Though looking at him now, the infant realized that Naraku might have more in mind for Kagome’s body than using it to find the final shard of the Shikon no Tama. His borrowed skin crawled at his master’s suddenly leering gaze. Lust and its brethren were just a few of the emotions the infant did not share, and was glad for it. They only complicated matters and clouded judgment. He had been born an infant, and though his mind was fully matured, he supposed his physical being would always be that of child, no matter whose body he inhabited. As a result, he did not share Naraku’s attraction to Kagome’s female form. Gender was essentially immaterial to him; all he cared about was strength. Kagome’s human body was weak and fragile, but dwelling in it was certainly better than being trapped inside the form of an infant, even a full-youkai one.

There were downsides, of course. Naraku approached, grinning lasciviously now, and walked around him in a slow circle, giving his incarnation the distinct impression that he was undressing Kagome’s body with his eyes. A disturbing realization, to be sure, almost as distressing as the way the hanyou took her hair in his hand and deeply inhaled its scent.

“I’m could defile you, Kagome,” Naraku rasped, his voice throaty and full of promise. “I could make it so that no one will ever want you again, not even Inuyasha.” Then abruptly he released her hair with a casual flick of his wrist, and stepped away from her with a contemplative sigh.

“But then again, one could say that I’d only be using you as a replacement for Kikyou. And I’ve left those filthy desires behind me.”

While relieved to hear this, the infant was nonetheless driven to make sure his master knew where the line for his conduct was drawn, lest the sick bastard change his mind again.

“You will not touch me, Naraku,” he declared firmly in Kagome’s voice. “This body is mine, not yours.”

“Do not forget your place, worm,” Naraku growled, delivering his rebuke with his head cocked to the side, still believing that his incarnation’s physical form was elsewhere in the castle. “You are controlling this girl on my orders. Kagome is mine to do with as I please.”

“She is not. Kagome belongs to me now. If you require my assistance in completing the Shikon no Tama, you will leave Kagome’s body alone. Your ‘attentions’ are something I do not wish to experience.”

Naraku scoffed. “You speak as though you are actually inside her body, rather than a helpless infant I could crush under heel as easily as I breathe.”

“That is because I am inside Kagome,” he announced, using Kagome’s lips to deliver his own voice. “I told you before, this body is mine.”

Naraku’s eyes went wide, then narrowed in fury. In the next instant, the dark hanyou’s face hovered mere centimeters from Kagome’s, his hand clenched around the delicate flesh of her neck. Whatever he glimpsed in her eyes did not please him.

“Explain,” he demanded, tightening his grip on her throat. The message was clear; if the next words out of her mouth were not satisfactory, he would kill Kagome, reabsorb his heart, and come up with a new plan.

“This girl proved tougher than I had anticipated,” the infant stated, using Kagome’s voice once more. “I can exert more control over her if I am inside her body.”

That wasn’t a lie, but it was nowhere near the whole truth either. He really could control Kagome better from in here, in theory at least. If he’d remained in his infant form, however, he probably could’ve accomplished the same objective with a tainted jewel shard. But Naraku didn’t need to know that. Nor should he be made aware of the real reason why his supposedly loyal incarnation had chosen to take the body of his hated enemy as his own. The infant had decided early on that no good would come from helping Naraku complete the Shikon no Tama. The hanyou was a fool, driven by his hatred and lust for a mere human woman. He was an unfit master, both of the Shikon no Tama and of those born from his own flesh. And he thought nothing of said incarnations; he would destroy them all once he had what he desired. So the true rationale behind the infant’s decision was very simple. When the day came for Naraku to destroy him or absorb him back into his body, which form would he rather fight for his life in? A helpless infant, or a powerful miko?

The answer had been obvious, also in theory. That is, until he discovered that he could not control Kagome’s spiritual energy. The stubborn girl still survived on some plane of consciousness, and as a result her power as a miko remained beyond his grasp. He hoped that eventually he could completely break what remained of Kagome’s mind and wield her spiritual energy as she did. Provided that Naraku didn’t kill him here, he had some time to complete this task. It was worth the risk of incurring the hanyou’s wrath, because if he reverted to his infant form, he was as good as dead anyway. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday soon. The only way he would survive to live his own life, aside from the unlikely proposition of Inuyasha and his friends actually defeating Naraku, was to remain within Kagome and gain access to her power. So that is what he would do.

Again, provided that Naraku didn’t kill him here and now, which still seemed like a distinct possibility. But fortunately, the dark hanyou appeared to be using the small portion of his brain devoted to logic and reason. That’s right, you fool. You know I’m your best hope of getting your grubby hands on that damn jewel shard, and your only hope of finding it quickly. Finally, Naraku released him, though he clearly was not happy about it. That was fine; let him be angry! Let him be suspicious too, for none of it mattered so long as Kagome was useful. And she would be; her possessor would make sure of that. I will help you get what you want, Naraku, and then I will destroy you. You have underestimated this girl’s power for the last time. Now, all he needed to do was figure out how to tap into Kagome’s massive reserves of spiritual energy.

But a pissy Naraku would not be pleasant to deal with, and having his plaything taken away had clearly put him in a petulant mood. The infant did know of one thing which would raise his master’s spirits, however.

“I have a bit of unexpected information which you might find interesting,” he stated with an amused smirk, placing a hand on Kagome’s belly. “Kagome is with child.”

“What?” Naraku breathed, his surprise quickly turning to delight. “Is it Inuyasha’s?”

“It is.”

“Kukuku, that is rich. Oh, Inuyasha, you profess undying devotion to Kikyou, and yet you sire a child upon her copy. I wish I had known before I killed Kikyou. I would have loved to have seen her face…”

This time the infant did roll his eyes. She already knew, you idiot. His access to Kagome’s memories told him as much. And she’s not dead, either. This he couldn’t be sure of, but he honestly believed it. He wasn’t about to share either of these thoughts with his master, however, who seemed to be in a much better mood than only a few moments ago.

“How must Inuyasha feel knowing that I hold his child’s life in my hands?”

One of said hands reached slowly for Kagome’s belly, its owner apparently seeking to confirm for himself the existence of Inuyasha’s spawn. Her possessor had no complaints, so long as those attentions did not turn violent. He didn’t think they would, but honestly there wasn’t much he could do if they did. Pretty much his only recourse at this point was refusing to help Naraku find the final jewel shard, and that threat would only have so much effectiveness. Fortunately, it appeared that Naraku’s intentions were relatively benign.

A sudden explosion of spiritual energy shocked both males, as Naraku reflexively yanked back his burned hand. His fingers had actually been a few centimeters away from making contact with Kagome’s blouse, but that hadn’t stopped her miko power from giving him a nasty shock, much to the surprise of both master and incarnation. The former, however, glared furiously at his underling, believing him to be at fault.

“I didn’t do that,” the infant swore. “I…do not have control over her spiritual power.” He grimaced; he hadn’t wanted to admit that, but there was no choice now.

“Really?” Naraku asked doubtfully.

“It’s true! If I could control her power, would I not have used it when you had your hand around my throat?”

Naraku pondered the truth of that statement, eventually reaching the correct conclusion. “Can you still see the Shikon no Tama?”

“I can.”

He had made sure of that before even setting foot inside the castle. From the skies overhead, Naraku’s portion of the jewel had lit up like a beacon to Kagome’s eyes. He could not use her spiritual energy, but at least her unique visual ability was completely functional. Upon hearing that, Naraku actually seemed somewhat pleased by this turn of events. Heh, he probably thinks I’m less of a threat now. That’s right, Naraku, let your guard down. One day, I will make you pay for it.

“One thing I still don’t understand,” Naraku wondered aloud, “is why her power manifested when I moved to touch her stomach, but not when I threatened her life.”

The infant shrugged Kagome’s shoulders. “A mother’s protective instinct, I would assume.”

“Humans,” Naraku snorted with a derisive shake of his head and a dismissive wave of his hand. “That is all. Go put on some more appropriate clothing.”

The infant bowed and left, thrilled to be departing from his master’s oppressive presence. He could only take so much of the hanyou’s foolishness in one sitting. He yearns for a human, but he doesn’t understand them. He wants to break Kagome, but he doesn’t know her. It was a shortcoming the infant did not share. He knew Kagome, knew what made her laugh, cry, feel excitement or sorrow. He knew what had made her who she was today, and what she hoped to become in the future. And he would use that knowledge to destroy her.

There was no time like the present to get started.


A/N – Okay, so here’s the scoop. For the longest time, I interpreted the infant’s words in the manga to mean that he intended to merge with Kagome and literally use her eyes as his own (as opposed to going into hiding and controlling her from the outside). When I looked at the anime/manga again recently, however, I realized that this might have been a misunderstanding on my part. But I had already outlined the entire remainder of this story based on that premise. So if this isn’t a strictly canon interpretation, I can live with it. I don’t think it’s an unreasonable interpretation by any means, so I will once again ask you kind readers to ‘just go with it.’

And in case you were wondering, Mimisenri doesn’t exist in this story, or at the very least Naraku doesn’t know about him. He’s the guy with the big ears who ‘hears’ where the final jewel shard is in canon. No offense to Rumiko Takahashi, but that always struck me as a cop-out on her part. Naraku fails to get Kagome’s eyes, then almost immediately goes and talks to a guy with an even more reliable method for locating the jewel shard. So…why bother trying to take Kagome’s eyes at all? Why not just kill her when you had the chance? Anyway, the point is that Naraku doesn’t know of a good ‘Plan B’ in this story, which is part of the reason why he allows the infant to live even while harboring suspicions about his loyalty.