Cure For The Poisoned Heart- A Naraku x Kagome FanFiction

Chapter 5: Friend

Kagome wandered around the outside of the castle. Kyoka wandered nearby, looking worried. Kagome watched her for a long minute, and then adjusted her school uniform. It felt nice to be in her normal clothes again, but she couldn't help but think about the ease at which Naraku had taken it off her, while his mouth had...she shook her head violently. No! She couldn't think about that.

"No." she told herself firmly, "I'm not going to think about that!"

"Hime?" Kyoka asked. Kagome stared at Kyoka, embarrassed, her face heating quickly.

"Um, I'm going to go over here!" she moved closer to the great hall of the castle. It had surprised her when Kyoka suggested that if Kagome got some air, things would be clearer, and had mentioned that the usual miasma that drifted about the castle grounds had been dissipated for a while. Kagome looked around the formal gardens with a hint of sadness. They were barren or nearly dead, not nearly the beauty they had once been.

"Kyoka!" a new feminine voice surprised Kagome. She looked over to see another, older woman standing near the sliding rice paper doors, which stood open. The woman had black fox ears like Kyoka, but the end of her fox tail was white for a good six inches. Her black hair was tied back at the center of her back and her kimono sleeves were tied like she'd been cooking or cleaning recently. She looked like a villager Kagome had seen countless versions of during her travels.

"Mother!" Kyoka danced over to the woman, beaming.

"Yes, dear. I thought, with the miasma gone, it would be a good time to air this castle out. There is a lot of dust to be removed. Also, the young master is quite upset. I have a pot of honeyed tea for him. Will you bring it to him and give him your company? His heart hurts for those he has lost."

"Yes!" Kyoka said, bowed to Kagome, and then ran into the castle. The woman smiled.

"Hime, please forgive my rudeness. My name is Naomi. I am the head of the household here at Tenraku Castle." she said, "It shall be my pleasure to oversee your safety as you wander." Kagome blinked, a little unnerved by Naomi.

"Uh...that's OK." she said, "I can't leave the barrier."

"But I shall ensure no demons within it come near." Naomi gestured the lesser demons that flew high above the castle now. Kagome was surprised by that.

"You're worried about my safety?" she asked.

"Of course. Lord Naraku would be most angry if you were to come to harm." Naomi said.

"Oh..." Kagome frowned a little and looked at the ground.

"Something I can help with, hime?" Naomi asked. Kagome jolted a little.

"Ah, no, not really!" she waved her hands at Naomi as she tried to sound cheerful. Then she hesitated. Naomi was like her own mother, back in the modern world. Would she understand? "Actually..."

"Yes?" Naomi asked, walking over to Kagome. Kagome pushed up her sleeve to show one of the bites Naraku had left on her forearm.

"Um, do you know who made that?" Kagome asked.

"Good heavens!" startlingly, Naomi's ears shifted to seem uneasy and her eyes widened in shock as her cheeks tinted pink, "I didn't think our Lord would be so feisty with his lady." Kagome felt herself blush.

"What?" she gasped. Then she shook her head, "Well, I didn't want him to!"

"Did you tell him?" Naomi asked.

"Huh...?" Kagome felt like she'd tripped.

"I have to say, I don't think it's easy not to do something in the throes of passion, but if you requested, surely our Lord..." Naomi began.