Chapter 3: Friends and Enemies

Sorry Sorry Sorry! I don't have a good excuse for this! But I hope it's still good!

Kagome found her bed and slumped into a hunched sitting position, her forehead cradled in the palms of her hands. She hadn't said anything to Naraku after he revealed his message. Instead, she had resigned herself to an empty state. She was mentally confused, beating herself up. For what? She had no clue. She had no idea what to think. No idea what to do. She couldn't even muster up words to say to Naraku.

And he could see the pained expression on herself that looked like a portrait of disappointment and self-targeted frustration painted with a fine brush. He huffed.

"I take it you do not know what this message means." He crossed his arms, feeling as though his awakened state was somewhat wasted on some silly message. It was clear that it hadn't triggered any sort of positive reaction, and that the 'he' in which the message refers to is still unknown. And while he felt the smallest tinge of sympathy for the girl before him, it didn't compare to the general irritation he felt with the source of the message, who couldn't apparently be bothered for more details.

Kagome lifted her head from her hands, still seeming somewhat upset, "You know, I should be happy. Even if I don't know the who, at least I know that there is a who out there." She shook her head, "And yet, I feel as though I'm one step back from where I was... I was used to isolation and hopelessness, and now I have hope for answers that are right out of reach..." She could just picture her head reaching upwards towards something, her fingers brushing against her prize, but still not being able to get a hold on it.

"Well, I don't even know who implanted this cursedly vague message in my head, so don't get your hopes up. It could be nothing. It could be something. But it seems there is nothing that you can do right now to find out." He mumbled in the same gruffy tone. Pessimistic lines were etched above his furrowed brows.

"What do you mean nothing? I can go looking! I can investigate!" She protested, detesting his theory that all she had to do was sit still and wait for whoever it was to find her. What if he's not even looking for her? Then it could take years before they bump into each other. What would be the point of the message, anyways, if she wasn't supposed to act on it?

Naraku growled, "Idiot, there is a whole world of possibilities and you think you can investigate? I was sent to deliver you this, it'd be wise to wait for fate to give you the next clue when it sees fit."

With that, the black haired man turned to leave, his movements fluid and sure. He didn't even look back at the woman as he passed through the doorway, satisfied with his message deliverance, but not feeling inclined to remain there any longer to aid in her thoughtful investigation. She watched him leave, somewhat still in her blank state of confusion, unsure of what he was doing fully. But becoming aware that if she just let him go, she wouldn't find out. And the farther the demon strayed, the wider her eyes became with that realization swimming inside of her.

"Hey! W-Where are you going?" Kagome scrambled off of her bed and rushed over to the doorway to see him already half-way down the stairs. He didn't respond, though, but rather gracefully continued descending at a fixed pace. She watched him with stillness for a bit, trying to figure out why he was leaving just as suddenly as he came.

But when she couldn't figure it out and he disappeared from view in his trek to the back door, she quickly rushed down the stairs to catch up, still wholesomely confused.

"Naraku? Naraku, where are you going?" She asked again, this time not stopping in her tracks. He had made it a few steps out of the house before she grabbed onto his shoulders. He flinched but remained stoic in his expression.

She growled, "Hey! I'm not gonna let you ignore me, you got that? Where are you going?"

This time, he reacted, turning calmly though it was clear that he was a bit irritated, "I'm going to the well to see if I can die again and get back to my eternal peace." It was simple to him, and he stated it in the most matter-of-fact way he could.

"You're gonna try to kill yourself?" She questioned, appalled at the response.

He shrugged, "Well, I guess I'm not opposed to it."

"You're supposed to help me!" She protested, putting both hands on her hips and leaning forward in anger. She squared her at at him, feeling partly betrayed that he would show up and just leave.

"I'm not supposed to do anything. Now, quit annoying me so I can rest." He tried to turn back towards the shrine, his lips twisted into a frown now, but was stopped by the priestess who grabbed his wrist and pulled.

"You're not going anywhere! Even if I have to drag you, you're helping me." She pulled hard, preventing him from turning his back to her, "I've been through hell here alone, so your eternal peace can wait a bit." Her bottom lip was sticking out in a childish pout as she pulled his arm like she was playing tug-of-war. Her brows furrowed together both in agitation and in focus as he put her strength into keeping him in place. Naraku would have been amused at the effort she put in, seeing as she was concentrating wholly on using what little strength she had to make her stay.

"Kagome, I may not be the monster I was, but I will rip that tongue out of your mouth if that's what it takes for you to shut up." Swinging the arm she was latched to, he shoved her to the ground and kept moving, now at a quicker pace, to the well. He didn't even bother to check if she was okay after the display, but just hoped it was enough to end her tantrum.

She fell in a sitting position, a bit shocked that he did that, but not phased by it like he had hoped. She quickly jumped to her feet in pursuit of him again, this time with a little bit more determination in every step she took. Her eyes were glazed over with a sort of fiery passion she hadn't felt in years as she eyed the back of his head. A sort of passion she hadn't felt in so long.

"I thought you wanted to make amends!" She shouted, hands balled into trembling fists.

"I did by saving your shitty life. Though I can't say I don't regret it now." He grumbled, feet dragging along until he met the well doors and pushed them open. A wave of relief washed over him as he saw the well, knowing that it was the vessel of the Shikon's dormant powers. And knowing that it was his place of rest.

Although, his contentment didn't last long as he surveyed the room a bit. What he saw quickly caused him to lift an eyebrow, and remain still in his place.

"Naraku! You can't just leave-" Kagome barged in and stopped when she realized the spider demon was heavily concentrated on something in the room. She maneuvered around him and stood at his side, quickly following his gaze and finding a small, decorative jewelry box placed against the well.

"D-Did you put that there?" She cautiously asked, not recognizing the small box from her late grandfather's collection. There was an aura of unfamiliarity surrounding it.

Neither removed their gaze from the box.

"No, I'm afraid not." He replied, in a toneless voice.

The box was gold with an eye engraved into the center of the lid, as well as a engraved wave border around the lid and up and down the corners of the box. It was quite pretty in its simplicity, although still creepy.

Kagome took the first step forward towards the mysterious object, moving slow at first but gaining speed. Naraku raised his hand in protest.

"Kagome, you don't just walk up to mysteriously placed objects you stupid-!" Naraku was quickly quieted by her dominating shush. In truth, the priestess was not concerned with the dangers. If Naraku's message was true, it meant that someone or something put the message in his head in the first place. And that same being must have also placed the box on the ground. Not to mention, she gave up fearing danger when her life became what it was, which was less than worth protecting at all costs. Especially when there was a chance for something good to finally happen to her.

She knelt down on one knee in front of the box and completed one last visual analysis, her breathing steady but each beat intense. She blinked, looking for any detail she may have missed. Any answers she could find before even touching the object.

But she found nothing of the sort. Just vague designs on a gold box sitting on the ground.

So, she picked it up, feeling it on the skin of her palms more, becoming more attuned with her senses and still looking for some sort of hidden clues.

"Kagome, be smart. Be cautious." He warned again, steadily watching her movements.

"I'm not an idiot. Stop being so scared and shaky about this!" She turned back towards him, shooting him a look of defiance, "There is literally nothing else we can do but open this."

And he knew she was right. There was not a middle option between opening it and leaving it alone. And if some otherworldly being put it there, it was clear that they wanted to communicate something to them. Ignoring it would not mean being left alone. This mysterious entity would not giving up. No, ignoring it wouldn't do anything, and they both, even him, had some curiosity about what was going on.

Kagome stood back up and walked back towards her former enemy, box in hand, and faced him. The golden object was sitting in the palm of her hand, while the other hand rested on the lid.

"Here goes nothing." She murmured.

And she lifted the lid off of the box, her eyes squinted for fear of what she might find inside.

But there was nothing but a small, rolled up scroll peacefully resting inside. No tricks. No monsters. No black smoke. Just a scroll. And it sat lifelessly in there, dashing away any of the demon's concerns.

"Look Naraku!" Kagome quickly handed the box over to him while pulling out the little message, "This must be another hint!"

He groaned in annoyance, though he was partly relieved that there was nothing malicious hiding inside. Still, despite his curiosity, he wasn't interested in being part of this mystery and desired the peace and tranquility he had in his death. And he had the sneaking suspicions that his wants would be ignored by the feisty little priestess, who was adamant on figuring everything out together.

Kagome took a peek up at him while she unrolled the paper, ready to read its contents and begin solving the riddle of who Naraku's message was referring to. In fact, she was hoping that she would find the answers to everything. Or at least a name. Something that could get her started on whatever fate had in store for her.

She peered down to find cursive handwriting scribbled across the discolored page.

"Jump to the Mother City." She raised an eyebrow at the note.

"What the hell does that mean? What the hell is the Mother City?" Naraku growled, irritated with the lack of direct answers and clear communication. He knew better than to expect that the girl would know what this was. Given his luck, she wouldn't have the slightest clue. It had appeared that whatever was trying to talk to them enjoyed their frustrations, especially his. He looked over at the Kagome, who just shook her head.

"I...have no idea..." She sighed and looked up to him, seeing the annoyance swirl in his red orbs.

"Of course you don't. Why the hell would you? Perhaps fate is just toying with you at this point." He rolled his eyes, hands on his hips.

"No one's just toying with anyone. Something happened here, back when everyone disappeared." She looked down at the message as she spoke, becoming increasingly sure of herself, "And I don't know what it was. And I don't know why. But now, there's a chance to get some answers. I... don't care how vague this message is. Because this is bigger than us just being annoyed. The whole world died in some mysterious way."

"Everyone dies, Kagome." Naraku spit out unsympathetically, his cynical response almost automatic. However, he couldn't help that agree that whatever happened was bigger than anything that had ever taken place in the history of the world.

"No. It's more than that. It's not just about people dying. It's about how. It's about why." She quickly lifted her head to meet his gaze, "And we're gonna figure it out."

Anyone wanna guess what the riddle means?

I have big plans for this fic so please comment and let me know what you think so far! I can't wait to write the next one so review, review, review! I take all comments into consideration to write the best chapters I can!

Hope you enjoyed this!