The Demon's Love

II

Lucretia's body hurt. But that was to be expected after falling 20 something feet. As his mind slowly awoke from sleep, he became aware of a few things. The first was that he was sitting on the ground, leaning against something hard that felt like a tree. The second was that there was a light pressure on his chest. Opening his eyes, he saw that the light pressure was Rin's arm. She had snuggled up beside him after he had passed out, shortly after Naevia had, and fallen asleep with her arms wrapped around him.

Lucretia blushed as Rin moved closer to his warm body. This was embarrassing. Why was she with him of all people? Wouldn't she sleep by Kael or Ah-Un?

Looking around, he spotted Naevia nearby, covered by the large furry sash that Kael wore over his shoulder. At first Lucretia feared the worst, but he relaxed as her saw the steady rise and fall of her chest.

'She lived. Thank goodness. I don't know what I would have done if she died.'

Naevia had become like a sister to him, though his real sister, Sango, would probably be hesitant to accept that. But it was true. Even Naevia would call Lucretia 'little brother' on a few occasions.

'I guess that's what happens to two people who risk their lives for each other. Especially with someone like Naraku…'

Fear gripped Lucretia as he realized something very important. Where was Akago? The last time he had seen that demon baby had been just before he passed out. But where is it now?

"Lucretia, you're awake!" Lucretia looked down and saw that Rin had woken up. "Rin is so happy that you're ok." She said cheerfully.

Unfortunately, there was no time for pleasantries. "Rin, where is Akago?"

Rin's smiling face became a confused one. "Akago? Who's that?"

"The demon baby I had." Said Lucretia impatiently.

Rin smiled. "Oh, Master Jaken has him. Rin wanted to play with him, but Lord Kael told Rin not to go near him. Is he Lady Naevia's son?"

Lucretia sighed, glad that the evil creature hadn't gotten away. Kael must have known that Akago was one of Naraku's incarnations. It was very wise not to let Rin near him. Akago had a way of getting a hold of people's minds. The thought of that vile creature doing anything to Rin infuriated Lucretia.

"No, Rin. That infant is very bad, and very dangerous." He said.

"I thought as much." Came a voice from behind him. Lord Kael was there and had been for who knows how long. "That infant smells of Naraku. It is one of his incarnations, is it not?"

Lucretia nodded. "Yeah, and a very dangerous one too. Oh, by the way, thank you for your hospitality, Lord Kael."

Jaken chose that moment to arrive, carrying Akago. "Lord Kael didn't do it for you or that wench. He did it so he could find out Naraku's weakness."

Lucretia immediately began to worry as Jaken approached, carrying that 'thing'. "Rin, stay back." He warned, gently pushing her away.

"What's wrong, Lucretia?" asked Rin.

"Nothing, Rin." He held out his arms to Jaken. "Give him to me."

Jaken was more than happy to oblige, quickly handing Akago over. "Please, take it. There is something very wrong with that thing."

Lucretia took him, being careful not to look into Akago's eyes. Kael showed the smallest bit of curiosity. "Why did you come here? And why did you bring that creature?" he asked.

"Yeah, you said that you knew how to kill Naraku!" Jaken cried. "If you were lying, boy, I'll kill you myself!"

Rin giggled. "Oh, Master Jaken, stop being so mean."

Lucretia gave her an appreciative smile. "I didn't lie. We did find out Naraku the key to immortality. But you'll have to ask Naevia when she wakes up." He didn't want to let Kael know that he also knew why Naraku seemed to be indestructible, or else the dog-demon may feel like he resurrected Naevia for nothing if he could have found out just as easily from Lucretia. And he didn't want to get on Kael's bad side.

"Shall I awaken her?" asked Jaken.

Kael looked at Naevia. "No, let her sleep. We will wait."

Rin looked happy about that. "Will Lucretia play with Rin?" she asked hopefully.

Lucretia gave her a sad smile. "Sorry, Rin. I would like to, but I can't right now. I have to watch Akago. I promise to play with you later though."

Rin seemed disappointed at first, but then she smiled. "Ok, Rin will wait."

Lucretia made sure to keep his distance from everyone, Rin especially, as he kept careful watch over Akago. He didn't want this evil creature anywhere near her. Akago may not be able to do much on his own, but he acted through others, which made him very dangerous. He wanted to get rid of this evil infant as soon as possible.

He glanced over at the still sleeping Naevia. Kael stood over her, watching her almost protectively, or so it seemed. This confused Lucretia. He had thought that the Lord of the Western Lands cared about no one and nothing, except for Rin.

Almost as if he felt himself being watched, Kael looked at Lucretia. The demon slayer quickly looked away, feeling very uncomfortable under the demon lord's gaze. The two weren't exactly on friendly terms. Lucretia had attacked him and attempted to kill his ward in the past. True, he had been under Naraku's control at the time, but that didn't seem to matter to Kael. The only reason the dog-demon hadn't killed him back then was because he knew that he would be doing just what Naraku wanted.

"You, boy." Kael growled, causing Lucretia to wince from the demon lord's harsh tone. "Your name is Lucretia, is it not?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Well, Lucretia, you should know that Naevia is beginning to wake."

Lucretia raised an eyebrow. "How can you tell?"

"By her scent." Was the dog-demon's answer.

He was right too. Naevia began to stir, her red eyes flickering open. She was momentarily worried when she didn't recognize her surroundings, but once she saw Lucretia and Kael, last night's events came back to her and she relaxed. It was then that she felt the beautiful sensation of her heart beating in her chest. When Kael had brought her back to life, her heart had regenerated inside her. She was finally free from Naraku's control. It was a glorious thing for her. While most people don't even notice their heart pounding in their chest, Naevia, having never felt it before, save for the short time Naraku had faked his death to draw out Kaguya, found each beat as something precious.

"Naevia!" cried Lucretia, hugging the wind-demon. "I'm so glad you're alright!"

Naevia was surprised by the hug, but returned it all the same. "I'm fine. Thank you for worrying about me."

Rin chose that moment to arrive. "Oh, Lady Naevia, you're awake! Rin is glad you're alright."

Naevia was once again surprised by the concern everyone was showing her, but she gave the girl a smile. "Thank you."

When Lucretia released her, she noticed that he still held Akago. Lucretia realized what the wind-demon was looking at and they both silently came to the same conclusion: business first, pleasantries second.

"I'll take him now." Said Naevia, accepting the demon child.

Lucretia turned to Rin, wanting to get her as far away as possible from what was about to happen. "Hey Rin, I'll play with you now."

Rin's face lit up. "Lord Kael, can Rin and Lucretia go play?" she asked hopefully.

Kael didn't show it, but inside his mind was buzzing. He didn't trust the demon slayer, especially with his ward. The boy was Naraku's pawn. He had reason not to trust him. But he did trust Naevia, even though she was one of Naraku's minions too.

"Very well." He said. "But take Jaken with you."

"What?" Jaken cried, terrorized at the thought of having to baby-sit two brats. "B-B-But, milord!"

"This Kael will not repeat himself."

Jaken sighed and followed after the two children. Kael waited until they were out of hearing range before turning back to Naevia and Akago. "I am assuming that this child is of importance to Naraku." His assumption was proven right when Naevia nodded. "Care to enlighten me?"

Naevia sighed. "I suppose it will be best to start at the beginning." She said. "Naraku may be a half-demon, but he was not conceived by a human and a demon like your brother was. Over fifty years ago, there was a bandit named Onigumo. He suffered from multiple burns and was completely paralyzed. He was taken care of by the priestess Kikyou."

Kael recognized the name. "Inuyasha's former lover?"

Naevia nodded. "Yes, her. After awhile, Onigumo began to desire her until he became completely obsessed with her. He summoned countless demons and agreed to give them his soul in exchange for mobility. Things didn't go as he planned though. All the demons and Onigumo merged together and Naraku was born."

Kael nodded. So a bunch of demons and a human merged together, resulting in Naraku's birth. He understood that. But it didn't answer his question. "That does not tell me the importance of this child."

"Akago is no child." Naevia snapped. "And I was getting to that." She cleared her throat before continuing. "Though Naraku was not Onigumo, he still inherited the bandit's desire for Kikyou. He saw his desires as a weakness, which drove him to develop a deep hatred for her. But the part of him that was Onigumo prevented him from harming her."

"He managed to do it before." Kael pointed out, referring to how Naraku had killed Kikyou, making her and Inuyasha think that they betrayed each other.

Naevia shrugged. "Yeah well, at the time Kikyou and Inuyasha were about to end up together. I suppose the part of him that was Onigumo was jealous, allowing Naraku to lash out. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to do it again. So he decided to expel his heart, the part of him that was Onigumo. His heart became an incarnation."

She looked down at Akago and Kael figured the rest out. "That infant contains Naraku's heart?"

Naevia nodded. "Most of it. His twin, Hakudōshi, contains the rest. A while back, Akago was split in half. He regenerated the damage, but the other half became a whole other being. As long as Akago and Hakudōshi live, Naraku can't be killed. And as long as Akago lives, Hakudōshi can't be killed."

Finally things were beginning to make sense. Kael looked at Akago in disgust. 'So this infant hold Naraku's heart. How did Naraku manage to do such a thing? It's disgusting! It's an abomination, a blasphemy, not to mention very foolish.'

"After Lucretia and I discovered Akago, we fled." Said Naevia. "We came to find you in hopes that you could assist us."

Kael raised an eyebrow. "For what reason did you decide this? Why did you search out this Kael?"

Naevia gave a snort of laughter. "For two reasons. The first being that only you can defeat Naraku, and the seconds being that Naraku would kill us for our betrayal."

"And he managed to kill you." said Kael. "How did he accomplish this?"

Naevia looked away. "Naraku could kill us any time he wanted. You see, Lucretia was killed awhile back, but Naraku used a shard of the Shikon Jewel to bring him back to life, almost like you do with Tenseiga. But should the shard be removed, he will die."

She sighed, not wanting to relinquish this next bit of information. "For me it was even worse. You know that I've always come to you asking you to kill Naraku, but I never told you why. You've insulted me and called me weak and cowardly for not facing Naraku myself, but you don't know why I can't face him." She glared at the demon lord. "Naraku is my father. I am one of his incarnations. When he created me, he extracted my heart. Before you resurrected me, he literally held it in his hands and could kill me at any moment."

Kael's emotionless mask broke as a look of pure surprise and horror crossed over his face. Naraku had been holding her heart, forcing her to do his bidding. The thought disgusted and infuriated the demon lord. He became even angrier knowing that Naevia had withheld this information from him. Had he known the truth, he wouldn't have treated her as he had.

"Why did you withhold this information?" he demanded. "You should have explained the situation fully."

Naevia glared at him angrily. "Well I'm sorry, but I didn't want to risk anyone else getting my heart before I did and putting me in the same position I was in with Naraku!"

This only infuriated Kael even more. "Do you think that this Kael would do such a thing?" he cried. "Do you believe that this Kael would do anything so disrespectful?"

Naevia didn't back down from his wrath. "You just don't get it, do you?" she shouted. "When someone holds your heart in their hands, there is nothing you can do! It doesn't matter how strong you are or how weak your opponent is! All they have to do is this," she made a crushing gesture, "and you're dead!"

Kael was taken aback by her tone. Very, very few people spoke to him like that, and even fewer lived to tell about it. But Naevia did, and he let her, though he didn't know why. He should kill her, but he didn't. He couldn't bring himself to do it.

Naevia angrily pushed Akago away from her, towards the demon lord. "There, that's what you're looking for. The first step to killing Naraku. Kill Akago, then you can kill Hakudōshi, and Naraku will be mortal once more. That's all you care about, isn't it?"

She got up and began walking away, not looking back. Kael glanced down at the infant. He had most of his questions answered, but there was still one more thing he needed to know.

"Why did you not kill him when you first discovered him?" he asked, his voice becoming emotionless again.

Naevia stopped walking. She remained where she was for a moment before whipping out her fan and unleashing a wind attack on Akago. Before the blade of wind struck, a barrier appeared around him. The attack bounced off, slicing several trees in half.

"That's why." She said. "Any attempt to harm him is reflected. Both Lucretia and I tried to kill him, but couldn't. I knew only you were capable of doing it."

Kael gave Naevia a curious look. She was praising him again. She did that a lot, even though she continued to show him disrespect. It made him curious of her intentions. Rin claimed that it was because Naevia was in love with him, but Jaken was quick to dismiss the idea.

Putting these thoughts aside for now, he unsheathed his other sword, Toukijin. Naevia watched him with interest, all traces of anger gone. Akago looked up at the demon lord with a look that clearly stated that he was looking forward to challenging his power.

"You should be more fearful for your life." Kael told him.

He swung his sword. Just like with Naevia's attack, his sword bounced off. He stumbled back as the shockwave hit him. It was almost like he had attacked himself. Akago gave him a smug look.

"Impressive." Said Kael. "But this Kael will not be defeated by you."

Akago just smirked. "Try me." He said.