Friends Close; Enemies Closer

Summary: When Naraku infiltrates the inu-tachi in order to learn of their weaknesses and hidden strengths, he gets more than he bargained for. Will Kagome manage to do to him what she does to everyone she befriends and tame his heart, or will he destroy them all in the ways they fear most?

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter 10: All He Wanted

Back at camp, Inuyasha explained what had occurred. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo could hardly believe it. It it wasn't for Kagome's distant mood, they would have definitely questioned his tale. "We will kill him for what he did to you," Inuyasha promised her. He couldn't believe he let his enemy get to the one he swore to protect.

They were debating if they should do as they originally planned, since Naraku had heard everything. He might not even be inside the barrier, not when he knew they'd be coming for him and have the ability to get through his barrier. Kagura had not come for them, so she was either being cowardly, dead, or he just wasn't there. Should they all charge in, or proceed as previously decided? Several suggestions later, Sango attempted to bring the catatonic woman into their battle strategy; she had barely spoken since the incident, "Kagome, what do you think?"

Kagome slowly looked up, meeting their worried eyes before voicing her thoughts aloud for the first time, "Guys, I, I think I love him."

"What?!" they exclaimed in a mixture of outrage and disbelief.

"Kagome, don't you get it?" Inuyasha lashed out. "He was tricking you; he lied, he doesn't love you. It was all in an attempt to get to me. Open your eyes."

Kagome let him have his say, but once the yelling died down, she asked him, "What if he wasn't lying?"

Inuyasha dismissed the idea immediately, "Kagome, be serious-"

"I am, Inuyasha," she insisted he at least ponder it. "What if Naraku was telling the truth; what if he truly does love me?"

Inuyasha shook his head, "It doesn't matter-"

"Yes it does!" she shrieked, loosing her barely kept composure. They all paused to listen to her. "He protected you! Don't you remember? On your night of weakness. If he really wanted to kill you, don't you think that would have been the perfect opportunity?" She turned to the rest of them. "He protected all of us at one point or another. Why would he do that, if what he wanted was our deaths?" She let her question linger in the air a moment. "The only thing that makes sense, was that he meant what he said to me; he meant it!"

"Kagome, this is Naraku we are talking about," Sango soothed.

"Yes, it is," she acknowledge without denial, but she had a different definition of the same demon. "Naraku, the man who sold his soul to countless demons for a chance to live again. The same demon that has devoted his new life to attaining the sacred jewel, but did any of you ever stop to wonder why? What is it he truly wants? He can increase in power without it; he doesn't need it for power, so why? Anyone?" She looked at each one, one by one. All they did was turn their gazes away. None of them had an answer; none of them had ever taken time to think about it before now. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe all he wanted was a friend; someone that would make him no longer feel so lonely?"

"Lonely?" they echoed. None of them had ever thought of it that way, but she had felt it, in Hyokurai, and thus, in Naraku. He had been so lonely, so very sad.

"I think," Kagome began, ignoring the terrible ache in her chest, "all he wanted was to be accepted, to be loved."

The air was tense; theories so thick they were nearly visible floated about the group. "Not everyone has good in them, Kagome," Miroku advised sagely.

"That's what I need to find out," she admitted. She was not stupid, she knew there was a chance it was all a lie, but on the small chance it was real, she could not just abandon him. She could not turn away from him, not when he needed her acceptance most. "I have to find him; I need to talk to him." Sango and Miroku looked at each other, and then back to her tear-streaked face. "Please!"

A dejected sigh came from behind her, "Get on." Kagome's head whipped around to see Inuyasha crouched to the ground, waiting for her to climb on. Her expression must have been one of incredulity, for he elaborated, "I'll take you to him."

Inuyasha hated Naraku, no two ways about it, but he couldn't stomach Kagome's tears. He understood what it meant to love someone he shouldn't; to desire acceptance and only be shunned. He would not make her feel the same. At least he had Kagome's friendship, family in Miroku, Sango, and Shippo, and Kikyo's heart, even if it didn't beat. He was loathe to admit it, but Naraku had no one; he was in the same place Inuyasha himself used to be. It was a dark place, left on the brink of madness. A demon could do terrible things in that place; he, Inuyasha, had done terrible things in that place. It wasn't until he met Kikyo, and then Kagome, that he found his way out; perhaps, that was all Naraku needed too.

Her arms latched around his neck; her embrace and the scent of her tears was smothering combination, "Thank you, Inuyasha."

"Yeah, yeah," he brushed off the intense emotions she was radiating. They made him uncomfortable. "Just hold tight already."

Why the hell was he still here, still waiting? Naraku stared absently out the window of his chambers, checking once again that the barrier surrounding his castle was perfectly intact. They could break through at any time, and yet they hadn't.

Why didn't she come? Did she not want to see him. Was it all a lie, feelings shallow enough that appearance, or identity, could extinguish? He was a fool to let her in, a fool to fall in love again. History was repeating. He was spiraling.

No, he wouldn't give up yet, perhaps they just thought he went elsewhere? It had been his original plan. Maybe they waited for word. "Kagura!" his voice bellowed through the stale space. "Follow through with your scheme."

"What?" Kagura feigned ignorance. "I don't know what-"

"Tell the Inutachi I have returned," he spelled it out.

Kagura's eyes went wide, "How did-"

His patience with the disobedient incarnation evaporated. He summoned her heart to his palm and squeezed, "Now!"

Kagura stumbled out of the room, her hand on her chest; anything to get him to stop. He let up once she moved to obey, and she was able to exit the barrier within moments on her feather. She had not expected to see Inuyasha and Kagome preparing to head straight for her. Dropping to the ground in the middle of their camp, she relayed her message, "He's back, but I think it's a trap. He knows of my plan-"

Inuyasha scoffed loudly, "Obviously. You pitched it to his face."

"What are you talking about?" she disregarded his attitude before glancing about. "Isn't one of you missing. A cat?"

"You mean a spider," Miroku corrected, sipping a cup of tea and making no move to go to battle.

It took Kagura a moment, before the words sunk in, "Naraku, he was…"

"Took you long enough," Inuyasha remarked snidely. "Ready, Kagome?"

"Mhmm," she nodded, and he leapt away towards the barrier, leaving Kagura where she stood, trembling in fear.

'He didn't kill me…' Kagura fretted over what might happen to her when she returned, 'but why?'

Inuyasha already knew exactly where the barrier was, so it didn't take long to get there. Setting Kagome on the grass beside him, he drew Tessaiga and slapped it against the barrier, making the entire thing ripple. "Open up or I break it down; then you'll have the wolves to deal with as well. You know I can!"

Kagome waited with baited breath until the barrier shimmered and opened up, just enough for them to walk through. 'This is a good sign,' Kagome told herself. 'He is cooperating.' She strode on through, with Inuyasha at her heels. Nothing blocked their path, even the miasma seemed to part.

The front gate was swinging open, only half on its hinges. "This is too easy," Inuyasha couldn't shake the paranoia. Hopefully, Kagome's intuition was right. If fact, it seemed every door was left open, except one. "He's in there." It was where Naraku's scent was strongest.

Inuyasha reached for the door. "Wait," Kagome stopped him. His hand immediately retracted and rested on Tessaiga's hilt, waiting for something to jump out at him. "I want to talk to him alone."

"I'm not just leaving," Inuyasha countered loudly, then added in a whisper. "What if it's a trap?"

"How about you just wait right outside?" Kagome suggested, giving him the most compelling eyes.

He stayed silent for a long moment. "Call if you need me," he whispered into her ear and stood aside. He just couldn't tell her no.

Kagome gave him an appreciative smile, before slowly sliding the door open and walking through, closing it behind her. She peered into the dark room. Her breathe caught in her throat when she caught two glowing red eyes staring back, "Na- raku."

He rose from his place on the floor and smoothly crossed the room. Kagome backed up against the door, her hand subconsciously groping for the handle, just in case. He frowned at her actions, "Are you afraid of me now, Kagome?"

"N-no," her voice cracked. She cleared her throat to try again, this time, keeping the words intact. "No, I'm not scared." Who was she trying to fool? She was terrified, not only for her physical safety, but her emotional sanity. He could crush her heart with only a few words, and he probably knew it too. Even with Inuyasha just on the other side of the door, she was more afraid now than ever before.

Naraku let out a small smile at her attempt to appear calm, "You don't need to be." He held out his hand, a silent invitation to beckon her away from the door. He couldn't help the accelerated rate his heart was beating over this sensitive situation; this was his only chance to show her who he really was. If he scared her off now…

Kagome hesitantly let her fingers slide into his larger hand, keeping her eyes on his face that morphed into a smile. He led her over to a low table on the opposite side of the room and settled down onto one of the cushions. His gentle pulling urged her to fold herself on one beside him, he spoke, "I am sure you have questions."

Taking the opening for what it was, Kagome asked what had been on her mind from the first moment, "Naraku, you could have killed us many times. Why didn't you?"

Reaching across the table, he plucked a shriveled, white flower out of a vase. Kanna must have left them there. Kagome flinched when he plucked off a single petal and began talking, "I can't stand Inuyasha; he is a loud and callous imbecile." Dropping the first petal, he pulled off a second. "The slayer is spiteful and bitter; a close-minded woman who can only see her own problems." Moving on to the third, he continued. "The monk is a hypocrite, never acknowledging his own condemning habits." Twirling the sad plant in his fingers, he declared, "They pushed my patience to the brink many times. However," he handed her the wilted flower, watching as it straightened up and regained its life now that it was in her possession, just as her aura could affect those around her, "your presence more than made up for their annoyances." The flower looked many times better with only half its petals, than it did wilted in the jar. "Everything I told you in confidence, Kagome, was from me, not my disguise."

She clutched the revived blossom to her chest, "Do you really mean that?"

"But of course," Naraku leaned back, "Inuyasha is indeed a fool." He ignored the growl coming from the other side of the door.

Kagome's slight laughter at his joke told him he had succeeded in lightening her mood. "You know what I mean," she batted playfully at his arm, put at ease by his use of humor.

"That I do," he acknowledged. "You had been speaking directly to me, Kagome; unfettered, uninhibited by expectations. Everything I told you was how I felt towards you."

She nodded, clearly thinking about something, "So, this past month, that was basically you, undisguised?"

He couldn't resist teasing her, especially seeing as it caused a favorable reaction last time, "Did you miss the part were I turned myself into a female cat and hid my identity?"

"I'm not talking about outward appearances," she smiled back at him, "I mean inside." She put her hand on his chest, subconsciously biting her lip when she felt just how strong he was. "Was that what you're really like, on the inside?"

His hand covered hers and he leaned closer, "Only when you are near."

"Why me?" she locked stares with him. Maybe it was the prior associations she had about him, but how had she never noticed how attractive he was before? The eyes that once elicited unrestrained fear, now made her want to get closer.

"You are the only peace I have ever known," he answered honestly, only a hairs breadth from her lips. "Your aura is soothing; when you are around, I am no longer haunted by bloodlust."

She could resist his pull no longer. Her lips touched his, tentatively at first, but fell into her familiar rhythm at the recognized movements. His kiss was the same now as when he was Hyokurai; they were the same. Her feelings for Hyokurai, were also her feelings for Naraku; it had been him all along. Her arms flew around his neck and he pulled her closer, tight against his chest and settled across his lap. When they parted, breaths heavy, she whispered against his mouth, "I think I love you."

The second the words left her lips, Kagome found herself in a crushing embrace. His form trembled and his face buried against her neck. "Naraku?" she inquired.

"Stay with me?" he whispered against her neck, his voice never before coming out so vulnerable.

It took her breathe away and tears pricked at her eyes. She returned his passionate gesture and gasped out, "Yes." She couldn't imagine leaving him; he needed her, and she needed him.

He bolted upright suddenly, something didn't feel right with his back. Dropping his haori from his shoulders and twisting around, he could hardly believe what he saw. Concerned over the expression in his eyes, Kagome inquired softly, "What is it?"

Turning back around to look straight in her apprehensive eyes, he breathed out his disbelief, "It's gone." She climbed off his lap to see for herself what he was talking about. The gasp from behind him affirmed what he had felt. "The burn marks, Onigumo, is gone."

"How come?" Kagome inquired, gently running her fingers over the smooth skin she found there. Demons were hard enough to understand, but Naraku was an entirely different entity. "Is that a good thing?"

"Hai," Naraku affirmed. He had only tried to carve the mark off a dozen times. "His wish has been granted." It was the only explanation.

"What was his wish?" Kagome asked, still running her hands over his back and shoulders, missing the sly smirk Naraku let out.

He grabbed her wrist from his shoulder and pulled her down into his lap. His breath ghosted across her ear, "Do you really need to ask?" Love and acceptance, that's all Naraku, and thus Onigumo, ever really wanted, and now, he had it in Kagome.

Her small hands reached up, brushing the the wild hair from his face and taking time to really look at him. "You were beautiful as a woman," Kagome commented, partially to herself.

He rose one eyebrow at the seemingly random statement, "Do you want me to transform back?"

Kagome shook her head, "You were beautiful, but I always felt like something was missing."

"What might that be?" he willingly played into her hand. Something told him, this would be worth it.

They had technically already explored each other while he was under the disguise; now she had a whole different body to memorize. Her hand slipped between their pressed bodies to the prominence she was currently seated on. She gave a squeeze for emphasis, "I think I like you like this better."

Her temptations elicited a pleased groan, "My dear, inciting my lust so, is darker, and far more dangerous, that that which you have experienced before," he made sure to show her exactly what he meant by pulling her down tight against his erection. "It is not wise to tempt me so." It had been hard enough to resist her when he had need for restraint; there was little holding him back now.

"Not unless I'm prepared to follow through," Kagome remarked, leaning up to initiate another searing kiss.

"As you wish."

(A/N: The End! Perhaps a bit corny there at the end, but it was always meant to be a lighter take on this pairing and it was really fun to write. Please tell me what you thought of it.)