Over The Edge

two

He stood tall, his frame towering over her small five foot one, and it was startling to her how tall he really was. Yet as she let her gaze roll over his form she could only swallow thickly. Rarely did he ever appear without his baboon pelt, only recently had began to let his hood fall back in their encounters.

Yet there he stood, wave black hair tumbled down his back to rest above his hips, his skin was pale making his dark red eyes stand out under. Said eyes were narrowed at her with dark amusement. 

“Miko.” The word tumbled from his lips, a smirk pulling at his lips as her scent, normally a light lavender and honeysuckle darkened with fear. He loved the way her breath hitched and her heartbeat picked up, yet despite that,she glared up at him a fire burning in her deep blue eyes.

He lost a bit of his smirk, he had much more preferred her dull glassy eyes as she sobbed the day before. Her narrow shoulders trembling with her gut wrenching sobs the tantalizing scent of despair curling around her...pity.

 “What do you want? I don’t have the shards anymore.” Her voice held a bravado she didn’t feel. All she had to do was keep him talking long enough for her to slip into the well one last time.

His low chuckle made her tense as he waved his hand as if dismasing her words. “I know, that’s not why I’m here...” He trailed off watching as she frowned at his words, his emotions playing on her face like an open book.

Furrowing her eyebrows she could only gaze at him, the wind dancing around them making their raven locks dance with the pull of it. If he knew then what did he want with her? She was useless, an unwanted burden, her only value was being able to see the shards but she knew that wasn’t why he was here.

No, she wasn’t as stupid as everyone thougth her, she knew he could sense the shards. He, like her, had an odd bond with the jewel, contrary to popular belief the jewel was a sentient being. How else could it whisper promises of power to people in order to corrupt them to bend to its will?

She had tried to broach the subject with her group, for how else could they explain how easily he gathered more than half the jewel on his own? Yet they had shut her down, calling her silly, there was no way she, let alone Naraku, had a bond with the jewel. It was merely a tool to be used, not the other way around.

At the time she had laughed and agreed that she was being silly.

Naraku gazed down at the small woman, the urge to snare her in his web growing. She had intrigued him from their first meeting, at first he thought it was due to her being Kikyo’s reincarnation. Then he mused it was the jewel that was trying to drag them together, hoping to use them to fulfill its desire to recreate the battle that raged within it.  Yet as time went by it became something more, a desire, an obsession a need.

Though he had never had an opportunity to corner her, she was always surrounded by her so called friends. Friends that had finally shown their true colors, seeds that he had planted had finally bore fruit. Now she was alone, hurting, and willing to just give up.

“I can give you the power you want. The power that should be yours.” He expected her to reel back, to reject him and try to run yet he was surprised as she licked her lips mulling over his words.

Power.

It was what she was lacking, the reason they had left her behind. No one had ever offered her to help claim the power they said she lacked. They just talked down to her, dismissed her and then when push came to shove they left her behind.

Years of trust and friendship had all been nothing, a grand lie to use her to fulfill their desires.

For revenge.

For power.

The only one who had been earnest in his feelings for her had been Shippo and he had too left her behind because they all knew she was too weak to protect herself let alone him as well.

“Why are you offering me power.” Kagome chuckled, bitterly. She wasn’t strong, and getting power would be pointless if she didn’t know how to use it. She didn’t even know why she was even thinking of taking his offer. She would not even have to think about it and say no....but the dark feeling in her wanted her to give in. Give in and get that power and show her ‘friends’ who left her feeling powerless. A deep part of her wanted to show them who was the powerless ones...and it wouldn't’ be her. 

“You have such potential....but no training...” Naraku paused, his eyes watching the young woman's face to see if he could gadge what she was thinking, “...you could be stronger than Kikyo ever was...” 

Kagome gave a low hiss at the mention of the elder Miko, “Don’t compare me to her...” She didn’t want to be compared to the woman, or even mentioned in the same sentence with her.

“I am not her, and I don’t want to be compared to her. I am myself...” Her blue eyes narrowed as her heart beat faster, her anger becoming the prominent emotion over her fear for the demon in front of her. 

“...a sore spot I see...” Naraku chuckled, as he took a step closer to the Miko, handing her a small object.  Kagome took it, a frown on her face, and she looked what he had given her. 

It was a small marble, black in color with small markings on it, that she couldn’t understand. 

“When you decide when you want to be stronger, break the pearl and it will bring you to me....” He gave her another smirk, as he brought a couple of fingers and caressed her cheek, causing a shiver to go down Kagome’s spine.

“You are worth more than they know....Kagome.” Then he disappeared in a black cloud of miasma, leaving a bewildered Kagome, who didn’t know what to make of the encounter she just had.