A great combination of InuYasha and Buffy the Vampire Slayer,
the two demonic shows we thought couldn't mix. (Tim Seltzer, seltzer@seltzerbooks.com) Disclaimer: Don't own the shows, don't plan on trying to,
none use this fic without permission.
Author's Notes: This is an edited and
corrected version of the story originally posted to
Fanfiction.net January - March, 2004. The content is still
essentially the same as the first version, but I fixed some
consistency glitches, typos, and Japanese usage errors.
This story takes place after the second
Inuyasha film, "Castle Beyond the Looking Glass," (after Episode
74 in the series), and after the Buffy series finale. Contains
spoilers for events that happen in all seasons of Buffy, through
the beginning of the final season of Angel, Inuyasha episodes
1-74, and the second Inuyasha film.
Feudal Japan, Warring States Era
"Naraku-sama, it is said you are the most
powerful youkai in Japan. I, Arashthoth the Gatekeeper, humbly
beg your assistance in a matter of great importance," said the
demon kneeling on the floor of Naraku's audience chamber.
A foreigner youkai, by his accent. Has my
fame already spread beyond Japan's shores? From his place
on a low dais, Naraku frowned slightly, and adjusted the flowing
sleeves of his elaborate kimono.
The supplicant bowed low, both hands properly
placed on the floor before him. A long, hooded robe the color of
dusty earth concealed every feature save for two glowing red
eyes.
It was not that Naraku objected to the request
for a favor. It was the fact that he had a visitor at all.
Naraku did not approve of visitors.
The barrier around Naraku's castle was a
powerful one, concealing the castle's existence to all but those
who already knew where it lay. And in the unlikely instance that
any human might penetrate the barrier, the ground within the
barrier was covered with a poisonous purple miasma that roiled
and billowed over the raked gravel of the walkways and
courtyard. So how in the seven hells had this Arashthoth found
him, and managed to enter undetected?
Kill him! urged some of the lesser
youkai that Naraku had recently absorbed. Kill him and take
his strength as you took ours! They squirmed impatiently
and Naraku reined them in.
Perhaps later. He was the master here,
and he would tolerate no dissent in the unified body he had
created from hundreds of his fellow monsters.
"I am not in the habit of dispensing
largesse," Naraku said to Arashthoth, in the coldest tone he
could summon. "Nor do I seek vassals."
"If you would condescend to make an exception
in my case, as a sign of my gratitude I would offer you a
talisman of great beauty--and great power," said Arashthoth,
undeterred.
"Great power?" Naraku asked, his tone
disinterested. He already possessed four-fifths of the
Shikon-no-Tama, the fabled Jewel of Four Souls. What could a
foreign youkai possibly offer him that might be of interest?
"Yes, yes," said Arashthoth, eagerly. "I offer
you the use of a Portal Key!"
Naraku remained silent, unwilling to admit
ignorance of such a thing. In any case, a key did not sound like
a very impressive gift.
After a long moment, Arashthoth had the
temerity to sigh.
Arashthoth bowed again, the sleeves of his
loose robes billowing. A faint, dry scent, like medicinal herbs
on the verge of crumbling into dust, reached Naraku's nose as
his visitor's forehead touched the woven tatami mats that
covered the floor.
"It permits the bearer to travel freely to the
other demon dimensions," Arashthoth said. "Or within this
dimension, across any distance--or any time."
"That is...interesting," conceded Naraku.
More than interesting, actually, though he did
not permit his expression to change.
In addition to gifting him with the largest
shard of the shattered Shikon-no-Tama some months ago, the
treacherous undead miko Kikyo had given him one priceless piece
of information about his chief opponent.
The girl who holds the largest portion of
my reborn soul is unbound by time's constraints, Kikyo
had told him in her deceptively sweet voice. Kagome travels
in this realm, seeking to recover the pieces of the jewel, but
she dwells elsewhere. Even her friends cannot accompany her
there. Find Kagome's true home, and you will find her alone
and without her protectors.
"I will accept your gift," said Naraku. If
Arashthoth spoke true, then the portal through the Well of Dry
Bones might open for him, as it had failed to do on other
occasions.
"Thank you, Naraku-sama!" Arashthoth reached
into the breast of his robes, and withdrew a fist-sized sphere
crafted from dully-gleaming bronze. He placed it on the tatami
just in front of his knees.
The object was engraved with a sinuous pattern
that seemed to writhe as Naraku studied it, and studded with
polished, thumbnail-sized topazes. A silent howl of despair
echoed in his consciousness as his restive youkai components
comprehended that he did not intend to immediately dispose of
the intruder.
Quiet! Naraku commanded them as he
shifted slightly on his dais. This lot was proving more
difficult than the others to fully absorb. It was taking more
effort than usual to maintain his outward appearance of a
handsome young nobleman.
"And what is it that you wish of me?" Naraku
asked, when he had tired of studying the strange sphere.
"I want...her!" Arashthoth pointed to Naraku's
right, a warty, yellow-nailed finger extending beyond the hem of
his wide sleeve. "Just for a short while." Arashthoth smiled,
revealing crooked brown teeth. It was a singularly unpleasant
expression.
Naraku felt rather than heard Kagura's
suppressed gasp just behind his shoulder. "And what would you do
with my daughter?"
Suddenly remembering his manners, Arashthoth
lowered his head, once more concealing his features within his
dust-colored cowl. "I have heard that Kagura-sama commands the
winds."
"That is so." Naraku inclined his head a
little. Very interesting...
"I need her to conjure a storm for me, a
divine wind such as my dimension has never known."
"And how do I know that you will return her?"
Naraku asked, gently. "She is useful to me, and I would regret
losing her, even in return for this portal key."
Behind him, Kagura's outrage smoldered like
coals at the prospect of being traded away like a piece of
merchandise. But she knew better than to protest. Naraku smiled
slightly. She had not forgotten what he done to her the last
time she tried to disobey him.
"You have my word--the word of a
Gatekeeper--that I shall not keep the Lady Kagura for long!"
Arashthoth forgot etiquette and raised his head to stare rudely
at Naraku. The dim, bruised light of the audience chamber fell
on the features within the hood, revealing a face composed of
scabrous lumps. "And if nothing else, I must return to reclaim
my loan of the Portal Key."
A loan? What insolence was this? This
demon had invaded his castle, requested Naraku's most precious
possession, and had the temerity to offer not a gift but a loan?
Naraku made his decision. He opened the front
of his kimono, letting the lower half of his body dissolve into
youkai form. He heard the eager clamor of his legion as they
surged forward across the tatami.
The Gatekeeper screamed, but it was too
late--the thick pseudopods of Naraku's essence already held him
captive, flowing rapidly up and around the long hooded robe. In
a few seconds, he was completely surrounded. Naraku felt him
struggle weakly against his fate for a few moments longer, then
a new consciousness joined the multitude of others in Naraku's
being.
Where am I? What have you done to me?
came the Gatekeeper's terrified thought. Why is it so dark
here?
Naraku calmly closed the neck of his kimono
and retied the sash. Then he looked back at Kagura, who had not
moved from her position kneeling behind his cushion on the dais.
She was dressed like a noblewoman with her layered kimono,
elaborately upswept hair, and thick coating of rice-powder on
her face, but her gleaming scarlet eyes and pointed ears
betrayed her youkai nature.
"Fool! To think that I would trade away any of
my possessions for a bauble," Naraku said.
Kagura's eyelids flickered slightly at the
word possession, but he chose not to notice. He leaned forward,
and hefted Arashthoth's bronze sphere in his hand. It was warm,
and seemed to hum slightly.
And now, he addressed the demon he had
just absorbed. You will tell me how to use this...
