InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Waking ❯ Almost ( Chapter 5 )

"Waking" by Jezunya

Chapter V: Almost

I still don't own Inuyasha, but that's about to change ^_^ *holds up prayer-beads* Here doggy! Here doggy, doggy, doggy demon!

AN: This chapter follows Naraku around quite a bit, so be prepared to get to know everyone's favorite villain!! And I'm sure many of you will be hating me by the end of this chapter, but just remember that I would NEVER turn against my favorite pairing of all time (Inu/Kag!!!) And beware, Inu & Sess might seem a little OOC in this chapter…

Chocho-chan - can you tell me where the locker computer voice's line is from? (Spell e-o…) ^___^

** ** ** ** **

13…7…Damnit! Naraku glared furiously at his locker. As hard as he tried, he just couldn't remember the last number in the combination. "Um, 8?" he said aloud, pressing the button, then Enter.

The locker beeped angrily at him, its computer-generated voice announcing, "I'm sorry. That is incorrect."

Naraku slammed his fist against the metal door in frustration. This day's just getting better and better, he thought sarcastically. He'd already been caught daydreaming in several of his classes. All of my classes since lunch, now that I think about it, he thought, leaning his forehead against his locker and closing his eyes. It was because of that girl he'd seen in the cafeteria; he couldn't keep his mind off her. He didn't even know who she was and he was already completely stuck on her.

What was it that had caught his attention so? She was pretty, there was no denying that, but there had been something else, something… special about her. Like he'd seen her before, like he knew her… Naraku shook his head, knowing that that train of thought would do no good. He had never met the girl before and he would probably never-

"Ah, sumimasen?"

Naraku opened his eyes in surprise and lifted his head off the locker to find a girl looking up at him nervously. Speak of the devil… Naraku thought, staring down at the very person his thoughts had lingered upon all afternoon. Or perhaps I should say speak of an angel, he corrected himself as he straightened up and got a better look at the girl. She reached about to his shoulder in height, with long, soft, wavy, black hair that fell to the middle of her back and large, long-lashed blue eyes that looked up at him over the top of a wrinkled piece of printer paper. Her mouth was small and delicate, her lips full and red. A soft blush colored her cheeks as she glanced from him, to her paper, to his locker and back to him. All in all, she was gorgeous.

"Sumimasen," she tried again, looking at the paper in her hands. "Are you um, Kokuhyou Naraku?"

It took Naraku a moment to stop watching the girl's lips move and realize what she'd asked. "Eh..? Oh! Yes. Yes, that's me. What can I do for you?" he asked, turning up his charm and leaning against his locker casually.

"Um, I think this is yours." The wrinkled printer paper was held out to him at arm's length and he took it, quirking an eyebrow. Naraku recognized what was on the paper immediately: all his registration info, including the number and combination of his locker. "I found it in the cafeteria at the end of lunch. You must've dropped it or something."

"Arigatou," Naraku smiled, earning a hesitant smile in return. "This helps more than you could know." He turned back to his locker, and punched in the correct combination. 13, 7, 6. The door popped open with a cheerful computerized musical note. Naraku felt his smile fade as he looked over the years-old cobwebs and moth corpses.

"Um, most people don't use their lockers," the girl spoke up next to him.

"Why not?" he asked, raising one eyebrow in inquiry.

"The combinations are too easy to figure out."

"Eh..?"

The girl calmly stepped forward, closed his locker door, and pointed to the numbers printed on a small metal plaque that was welded on near the top of the door. The plaque read: 2A7D1. "You see these numbers? These tell you both which locker you're at as well as the combination for the locker."

"I don't quite follow you…"

"It's simple. Look: A means multiplication, B means addition, C means division, and D means subtraction. The whole thing is to get the first number, see? 2 times 7, 'cause there's an A between them, minus 1, because of the D. That gets you 13."

"What about the rest of the combination?" Naraku asked, furrowing his brow at the locker.

"The second number is always just one digit, and it's always this number right here in the middle." She reached up and pointed to the 7.

"And the last number?" Naraku asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

"The first number minus the second number," she shrugged.

"Always?"

"Always."

"Well, that's dumb. I mean, what's the point of having lockers if any idiot can get into them?" he said wryly.

"Yeah… They designed it that way so the Janitors could clean out the lockers during the summer without having to look up each and every combination. Most people just carry all their stuff with them anyway or store it in their cars, if they have them," the girl agreed, smiling up at him.

Naraku just smiled back for a few moments before saying casually, "Hey, I don't think ever got your name."

The girl blinked. "Oh. It's Higurashi," she smiled. "Higurashi Kagome."

"Well, Higurashi-san," Naraku said, once again turning his natural charm on. "Please allow me to give you a ride home," he said, holding up a finger when she started to turn him down. "Please, it would be an honor - no, a privilege. You took all the trouble to stay after school and inform me about a locker that I won't even be using. And besides, I can't just leave a beautiful girl to fend for herself in a big school like this."

Kagome smiled and ducked her head, pushing a strand of stray hair behind her ear. "Actually, I only live a few blocks from here, so I don't really need a ride."

"Oh. Well then, allow me to escort you home," Naraku said, offering her his arm. Kagome giggled and shook her head as she linked her own arm through his.

The words "King of the World," would not have done justice to how Naraku was feeling as they left the school.

***

"So you're really only half human?" Kagome asked in wonder.

Naraku nodded. "My Father, Onigumo, is human."

"And your mother's a youkai?"

"Yes…" Naraku answered slowly. "A shape-shifter. She and Dad divorced a couple years ago. She's somewhere in America now, I think."

"Oh… I'm sorry," Kagome said quietly, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. Talking about people's families always made her uneasy, reminding her that she didn't have any real family, just Kaede-obaa-chan.

Naraku just shrugged. "It's okay. They parted on good terms, actually. Dad wanted more sons, Mom didn't. They couldn't decide, so they just went their separate ways. Okaa-san travels a lot, and I get to go around with her during the summer. They've both raised me, just from different sides of the planet," he grinned.

Kagome smiled back, still feeling a bit uneasy. "Well, this is it," she said, coming to a stop at the Shrine steps.

"You live in a Shrine?" Naraku asked, looking between her and the steps.

"Hai," Kagome smiled. "I'm a miko in training."

"Is that… so..?" Naraku stared up the long marble stairway, his chocolate eyes wide. Something clicked in his mind. "I bet you're pretty powerful, huh?" he said, casting her a perfect super-model smile. Powerful enough to be a formidable enemy to even he, Naraku…

Kagome looked away, a cute blush coloring her cheeks. "Kaede-baa-san seems to think so, but I don't know…"

"You are," Naraku assured her, a strange look coming over his face. "You're not fully trained yet, but when you are, I'm sure you'll be the strongest miko to ever live."

"Arigatou," Kagome replied in a small voice, her blush deepening.

Naraku grinned. "No thanks needed for simply stating a fact."

Kagome couldn't help smiling as she turned to start up the Shrine steps. "I need to go; Kaede-san will be expecting me. Thank you for walking me home, Kokuhyou-sempai," she said, glancing at him over shoulder.

Naraku watched her gracefully climb the steps for an instant, his mouth hanging open slightly, then ran up to grab her hand. Kagome turned around, blinking down at him, her blue eyes surprised. "Um," he faltered for a moment. "You can call me Naraku," he said quickly.

Kagome looked down at him for a moment, her lips beginning to curve up in a smile. "Then you can call me Kagome," she replied.

"Alright, Kagome," Naraku smiled. "Do you have any plans for Saturday night?"

Kagome looked surprised, her blush coming back full-force, before she smiled and replied coyly, "Nothing that can't be postponed."

"Reeeeally..? Then how does dinner and a movie sound?"

Kagome looked down at their still-linked hands and smiled at Naraku. "That sounds wonderful."

"Alright. I'll pick you up here at eight o'clock on Saturday." Naraku smiled, showing all his perfect, white teeth, and gave her hand a small squeeze, then turned and walked down the steps to the street.

Kagome watched him go until he rounded the corner and disappeared from her line of sight. Her mouth hung open as she stared down at her hands. A smile slowly worked its way over her lips. She had to tell Kaede about this!

***

Sesshoumaru stepped into his house, quietly hung his coat in the closet, and then continued on into the family room where Inuyasha sat watching TV with Rin balanced precariously on one knee. The full youkai calmly stepped in front of them and pressed the button at the bottom of the large screen, switching the machine off.

"Hey! I was watching that!" Inuyasha cried indignantly, snatching up the remote control and turning the TV back on.

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and turned it off again.

"Sesshoumaru-samaaaaa!" Rin spoke up this time. "Inu-nii-chan and Rin were watching the TV!" she whined, sticking her bottom lip out imploringly at her adopted-father.

"Yeah!"

"Go watch TV upstairs, Rin. Inuyasha and I need to talk," Sesshoumaru replied, ignoring the hanyou's furious glare.

"Oh. Okay." Rin cheerfully climbed out of Inuyasha's lap and disappeared down the hall, blissfully unaware of the tension hanging in the air between the two demons.

"Well, what d'ya want?" Inuyasha sulked, slouching down on the black leather couch.

Sesshoumaru sighed and grabbed a chair from the adjoining kitchen, settling himself in it across from his younger brother. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Your Principal called," he stated casually, studying the intricate pattern of the rug between his feet.

"Yeah, so?"

"He said you misbehaved quite a lot today. Hitting people, threatening other students, and being generally unpleasant were only a few of the examples he gave."

"So?"

"Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru sighed, looking up into his younger brother's hard amber eyes. "We are not living in the feudal ages anymore. You do not need to kill or be killed."

"Well, maybe if people didn't bug me about my ears, they wouldn't be in danger of getting killed!"

"I understand that there are still some who are prejudiced against mixed-bloods like yourself, but the answer is not violence. You come to me or tell a teacher whenever that happens."

"Funny," Inuyasha sneered. "The teacher was the one who made a snide comment about me being a 'bastard child.'"

Sesshoumaru sighed again, his eyes returning to the rug. "If anything- anything at all - like that ever happens again, I want you to come to me immediately."

Inuyasha snorted. "Oh yeah, Mr. Big-shot-International-Senator, you think that's gonna hold any water in a high school?"

"Actually," Sesshoumaru said slowly, looking up again. "My political position will give me quite a bit of authority when dealing with the police."

"Police?"

Sesshoumaru smiled grimly. "Yes. Ridiculing someone in public, especially because of their heritage, is strictly illegal." Inuyasha absorbed that bit of information, looking down at his hands, his face slightly troubled. Sesshoumaru watched him for a moment, then stood and walked out of the room. "Don't worry about it too much," he said as he passed him. "Just try to do better tomorrow." With that, he continued down the hall.

"Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha called softly from the family room, his voice sounding small and almost childlike.

"Yes?" Sesshoumaru asked, turning around.

Inuyasha was still sitting, the back of his white hair and his fuzzy white ears visible over the top of the couch. He didn't look up as he spoke. "I'm… sorry…"

"For what, Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru couldn't keep the slightly sad note out of his voice. He, too, was sorry. Now, in this life time, his little brother was among the most important things in Sesshoumaru's life. He sometimes wondered how different life would have been had he only seen things in a different light back then, had things only gone differently… "For what?"

"For everything, I guess…"

Sesshoumaru smiled a bit sadly. "I forgave you for 'everything' in our last life." He moved forward, placing a hand on the younger demon's shoulder. "And I'm not about to start holding grudges again now."

"Thank you," Inuyasha said, his voice thick. He smiled up at his brother, who gave his shoulder an affectionate squeeze in return.

"Think nothing of it," Sesshoumaru said, patting his shoulder again. "Now, you have homework to do, young man."

"What?!"

***

"I'm home!" Naraku called, letting the huge iron-bound door swing shut behind him.

There was a clatter of dishes, a rustle of cloth, the sound of a heavy chair scraping against polished wood floor, and Naraku's father emerged from the adjoining dining room. "Where have you been?!" Onigumo almost yelled at his son as he approached.

Naraku shrugged coolly. "I just felt like walking home."

"You could have called and told me! Gyosha was driving around looking everywhere for you!" his father fumed. He glared down at his son, then sighed and shook his head, defeated by the calm, nonchalant expression Naraku wore. "I'm glad you're safe, son. Now come on," he said, putting an arm around his shoulders and steering him toward the dining room. "Let's go have dinner."

Naraku allowed himself to be led to the dining room, then seated himself at the opposite end of the long mahogany table from his father. A moment later a servant came out of the kitchen, pushing a large cart of steaming food. "Here you go, Master Naraku," she said cheerfully, placing a covered tray in front of him and setting out his chopsticks and silverware. Naraku nodded his thanks and the servant moved away, making her way back to the kitchen.

He poked unenthusiastically at his food - teriyaki chicken and rice, cooked just the way he liked it - for a moment, then set down his fork and looked down the long expanse of table at his father. "I met someone today," he said conversationally, picking up his chopsticks instead.

"Oh really..?" Onigumo said absently, managing to sound interested even as he studied a report from one of his lawyers.

"She was a girl," Naraku continued.

"Absolutely amazing… never would've thought she would be a girl." Onigumo set down the report and looked over at his son, smiling slightly. "So, tell me about this girl you met."

"She's pretty."

"Always good."

"Nice."

"Another important point."

"Human."

"Hmm."

"And… She's a miko." Naraku cringed slightly, unsure how his father would react to that. He relaxed, though, when Onigumo just nodded and 'Hmm'ed again.

"A little advice, though, son: don't make her angry." Onigumo said, resting his elbows on the table and leaning forward slightly. "Even though you're only half youkai, a miko's power to purify could still kill you. I want you to be careful, alright?"

"Right…" Naraku nodded. Onigumo smiled at him, then picked up the case report and resumed reading. Naraku poked at his food for a few more minutes, his mind wandering. Finally he set down his silverware and stood. "I'm not really hungry. I think I'll just go to bed," he said in reply to his father's questioning look.

"Alright," Onigumo said, still raising an eyebrow at him. "Good night, Naraku."

"Good night, Father."

***

He could feel the puddle growing around him, his life slowly being drawn out of him in a fluid crimson mass. They'd almost finished him, almost killed him. Almost. But almost was enough; he could feel oblivion nearing. His mouth opened, the parched lips moving of their own accord, forming words not his own. Words of revenge, harsh and desperate, even to his own ears.

He could see the little wench in the corner of his eye, kneeling on the ground in the midst of all the carnage. She was crying, it was obvious. Crying over an unmoving body, its head cradled in her lap.

Heh. He might be dying, but he'd managed to take that bastard mutt down with him. He grinned cruelly, exposing to the cloud-choked sky teeth stained in his own blood. He'd managed to take them all out. They were all going down with him…

He was finding it difficult to breath. His vision was beginning to blur, and he could no longer feel his legs. It was strange, hearing one's own heartbeat slow, and slow, and slow, until…

A bright, white light filled the sky, falling over the whole battleground. It surrounded the girl, and her eyes fell closed, almost as if she were asleep. The last thing he saw before the light engulfed him was the girl's face, slack in peaceful oblivion.

***

Naraku's eyes flitted open groggily. He sat up slowly, looking around his bedroom. He was back in his own four-poster bed, surrounded by the protective walls of his father's mansion, not a blood-soaked battlefield. He slipped out of bed and stumbled to his private bathroom, tripping once on the black silk sheets that tumbled to the floor after him.

He gripped the rim of the sink tightly, looking down into the porcelain hemi-sphere, opening and closing his eyes several times. After a few moments and a long, calming breath, he looked up into the gold-rimmed, oval-shaped mirror. He froze, staring into the eyes of a man who looked exactly like him, and yet exactly opposite.

The reflection merely stared back at him, seemingly unaware of the deep, bleeding gashes covering his face, shoulders, and chest, and he wore the bloody scraps of a once-fine kimono. Naraku tilted his head to the side; the reflection mimicked him. He touched his face, feeling reassured that his skin seemed devoid of the wounds his other self sported. He lowered his hand and stared into his own brown eyes.

Then the reflection grinned at him.

Naraku's mouth dropped open in horror, and the reflection's grin grew, blood-stained teeth showing through, its eyes leering at him cruelly. He just stared for a moment, and then, when he blinked, all he saw was his own frightened face staring back out at him.

** ** ** ** **

Woohoo! Another chapter!! What'd you think? Hehe, I think this is probably my favorite so far. ^____^

^-^ Don't forget to review!

-(o)baa - name suffix meaning grandma/old woman (polite)

Okaa - Mother, Mom

-(o)nii - name suffix meaning older brother

-sempai - respectful name suffix for upperclassmen, superiors, etc…

sumimasen - "excuse me," used to get someone's attention or as a mild apology