Naraku Had a Baby

Xu Zhiqiu sighed. The three of them must have found themselves in another romantic battlefield.

Oh, Inuyasha, you silly dog. You still ended up breaking Kikyo's heart.

With the Shikon Jewel Shard in hand, Xu Zhiqiu had no reason to go looking for Inuyasha, so she chose to retrace her steps.

Someone sat on a thick tree trunk. Seeing Xu Zhiqiu return, Naraku raised an eyebrow. "Qiu, why aren't you going to find them?"

Xu Zhiqiu stepped onto a vine and leaped up, landing beside him. She handed him the Shikon Jewel Shard Kikyo had brought. "Together with your piece, you should have almost all the shards now, right?"

Naraku's gaze shifted when he saw the Shikon Jewel Shard. He took it from Xu Zhiqiu's hand and tucked it away, then slipped an arm around her waist. "Now that we have the Shikon Jewel Shard, let's go back, Qiu."

Without another word, he raised a cloud of miasma and carried Xu Zhiqiu away with his arm around her.

He did not even give her a chance to refuse.

After returning to the castle, Naraku set Xu Zhiqiu down, then went off to attend to his own affairs.

Xu Zhiqiu tilted her head back to look at the sky above Inuyama Castle, sighed, and walked to her room.

After obtaining a piece that was just under half of the Shikon Jewel, Naraku combined it with the piece he already had and began absorbing the jewel's power into his body.

Xu Zhiqiu slept for two days, making up for the sleep she had missed while running around over the past several days. After two comfortable days in bed, she woke feeling refreshed.

After bathing and changing into clean clothes, Xu Zhiqiu had a servant bring her food. Once she had filled her stomach, she went to find Naraku. However, the Naraku in the room was a puppet. As for where the real Naraku was, she had no idea.

She sat on the railing and gazed at the gloomy sky. Inuyama Castle was now a dead city; its former bustle had vanished.

After looking up for a while, she gathered her thoughts, hopped down, and returned to her room to pick up her bundle and sword. She did not particularly want to stay in this dull castle. She wanted to go out and have fun.

But when Xu Zhiqiu tried to leave, an invisible wall blocked her way.

Clearly, there was a Barrier.

Unable to leave, she had no choice but to return to the puppet. "Naraku, I want to go out. Sorry for the trouble, but could you take down the Barrier for a moment? You can put it back up once I'm outside."

"No. I'm at a critical stage right now. Qiu, wait a few more days," the weakened version of Naraku said.

"If I stay here any longer, I'll start growing mold. Where are you, then? I'll come keep you company and chat." Xu Zhiqiu caught his arm, almost pressing herself against him.

Naraku pressed his lips together and remained silent for a moment. "I'm in the dungeon. A Mōmō Bee will bring you here."

"All right." Xu Zhiqiu released his arm, picked up her bundle, and stood.

After leaving the room, she saw the Mōmō Bee.

Following the Mōmō Bee, Xu Zhiqiu reached the dungeon where Naraku was staying. After passing through the Barrier, she entered another space and followed a wooden staircase farther inside.

The Mōmō Bee stopped below a spot secured with iron chains.

A basement beneath the dungeon?

A flicker of confusion crossed Xu Zhiqiu's mind. She crouched down and heard thumping coming from inside.

When she opened the hatch, two coarse tentacles reached out, wrapped around her body, and dragged her inside.

Had she not recognized Naraku's presence, Xu Zhiqiu would have drawn the sword in her hand.

After pulling her down, the tentacles released her.

Xu Zhiqiu landed safely and looked around.

It was dim, cold, and desolate, thick with demonic energy.

At a glance, she saw many large, living demons on the floor. Noticing her arrival, they opened their eyes and stared at the intruder.

Besides the living demons, there were severed tentacles, half a demon's body, and all sorts of other miscellaneous things.

She also saw several jars as large as people beside the stairs leading up. Red light shone from their mouths, and gurgling sounds came from within.

Her gaze shifted to the head hanging in the middle of a spiderweb at the far end.

Xu Zhiqiu lifted a foot to walk farther in, but the demons on the floor stirred. She drew her foot back and sat down beside the stairs.

"Naraku, what's going on with you?"

Hearing Xu Zhiqiu's voice, Naraku lifted his chin and looked toward her. "The Shikon Jewel's power is greater than I imagined. Right now, I urgently need to separate out the demon bodies I don't need."

Too much nourishment?

Xu Zhiqiu raised her eyelids and glanced at the piles of demons and severed limbs around her. "Oh. You look pretty weak."

Naraku gave a low chuckle without answering. Instead, he asked, "Qiu, aren't you afraid of me? Apart from my head, every part of me is assembled from other bodies."

He had agreed to let Xu Zhiqiu come precisely so she would see him like this. He, Naraku, was an amalgamation.

Xu Zhiqiu remained calm and answered without hesitation. "Why would I be afraid? Haven't I known that from the very beginning?"

Naraku pressed his pale lips together, his red eyes narrowing as he stared at Xu Zhiqiu. Whatever crossed his mind, he suddenly began to chuckle. After laughing, his voice softened. "All right. I understand."

"Mm." Xu Zhiqiu murmured in acknowledgment, though she had no idea what Naraku understood.

Naraku continued his work, only occasionally staring at the woman sitting by the stairs.

Xu Zhiqiu sat with her sword in her arms for a while, gradually falling asleep amid the gurgling sounds around her.

Some unknown amount of time later, someone poked her cheek.

"Hmm?" Xu Zhiqiu opened her eyes to find a naked, white-haired girl kneeling in front of her, without a trace of expression on her face.

Xu Zhiqiu shifted and looked down, discovering that someone had draped the Baboon Garb over her at some point.

"Kanna, don't touch Qiu." Noticing his incarnation's behavior, Naraku frowned and reprimanded her.

The finger hovering in the air withdrew. The girl sat silently to one side, motionless and eerily quiet.

Xu Zhiqiu draped the Baboon Garb over the white-haired girl, covering her naked body, then glanced toward Naraku. "Naraku, where did this girl come from?" There was no demonic energy coming from the girl at all.

"Kanna, my incarnation," Naraku answered.

"Oh."

Xu Zhiqiu understood. So this was a child Naraku had given birth to. She reached out and poked the little girl's soft cheek.

Seeing that the girl had no clothes and was only covered by the Baboon Garb, Xu Zhiqiu had an idea. She stroked the girl's hair and said gently, "Stay here for now. I'll get you some clothes."

As she spoke, she stood and looked toward Naraku. "Naraku, keep an eye on her. I'll get the clothes and be right back."

Hanging in the spiderweb, Naraku lowered his eyelids without a word.

Xu Zhiqiu ran out and returned to her room, rummaging through the wardrobe for a set of white clothes. Because Naraku's order had been rather large, the people making the clothes had slipped some smaller garments in among the larger ones.

When sorting them, Xu Zhiqiu had noticed several outfits meant for little girls. Since she already had plenty of clothes, she had simply accepted the smaller ones and set them aside. She had never expected them to come in handy now.

Xu Zhiqiu carried the clothes back to the dungeon. When she entered, she saw that the little girl was still sitting there without moving.

Had the white-haired girl not turned her neck slightly upon noticing her arrival, Xu Zhiqiu would have thought she had suddenly died.

She crouched before the little girl and told her to stand and spread her arms. The girl obediently did as she was told.

Xu Zhiqiu dressed the little girl piece by piece. Once she was finished, she tied a bow and ruffled the girl's hair. "Give me a twirl so I can see whether it fits."