The Frog Demon Princess by Twilight Dawn

Tsubaki's Return

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or its characters or the fairy tale 'The Frog Prince.'

Naraku made sure Inuyasha’s group was long gone by sending out his hell wasps to check the area before he entered the clearing, where Tsubaki had taken her final breaths. Receiving the message from his servants that the clearing was safe, he willed his red orb away as his feet touched solid ground.

Its not that he’s afraid of Inuyasha or his group. He could take care of them easily, but he didn’t feel like getting involved in another encounter with the brazen half demon. He would see them soon enough when his newest plan took form. His eyes lit up with wickedness as he went over the plan in his head. Inuyasha and his group would never know what hit them.

He stared at the dark blue priestess garment, shaking his head as he did so. “What a fool you were, Tsubaki. I warned you about underestimating that girl.” A smile curved at the corners of his mouth. “But you may prove useful to me yet.”

Kneeling in front of Tsubaki’s remains, he ran his finger across the material, collecting a small amount of gray ash. Curious as to what death tastes like, he stuck out his tongue and touched his finger on the spot where the gray ash lay.

He found the taste to be bitter and realized he liked the taste of death. Maybe that is why he loves to kill humans and demons so much. To hear their screams and see the blood flowing out through their bodies in what was their final moments, brought him a sense of sexual pleasure. It was like a drug to him. He craved it all the time and needed more to satisfy his needs.

Naraku brought himself out of his thoughts and went back to the task at hand.

He rubbed the ash across the inner part of his wrist and lifted it to his mouth, piercing the tender flesh with his fangs. Pulling back, he watched as a few tiny droplets of blood began to seep through his skin and mixed with the gray ash he had spread across his wrist moments ago. The instant the blood and ash began to mix, turning it into a dark red color that was pleasing to his eyes, his skin began to boil and fester. He felt no pain as his flesh began to rise up and take the shape of a tiny human child.

The newly formed flesh, too heavy for his wrist to support, fell onto the priestess garments and continued to grow. It cried out in pain as bones grew longer and stretched it’s skin. He watched in fascination as the bottom of the limbs formed feet and tiny toes, while the top half formed arms and long, slender fingers. The process was only moments away from completion as the head began to form eyes sockets, nose, and its mouth.

Tsubaki slowly opened her blue eyes and focused them on the being leaning over her. She didn’t remember what had happened or why she was lying naked on the lush, green grass. She couldn’t even remember who the man was leaning over her and it frustrated her. The only thing she could remember was being upset over the fact her master had given Kikyo the Jewel of Four Souls instead of her.

She remembers leaving her master to confront Kikyo, demanding she hand the jewel over to her. Tsubaki knew she was stronger power wise then Kikyo and she wanted what was due to her. Is that too much to ask for? She didn’t spend all those years training under her master for nothing.

Naraku could hear his fledgling’s thoughts and mentally grinned at the possibilities her memories provided him with. He could use them to his advantage and she will have to obey him until she learns the truth. By then, his plan will be in full force and he wouldn’t need her any longer.

“Here let me help you,” he said, reaching his hand out to her.

Tsubaki didn’t know if she could trust this man. Sure his eyes and smile revealed he was concerned for her, but her instincts screamed at her not to trust him. But she was getting sore from lying on the ground and she wanted to stand on her own two feet. Ignoring her instincts, she reached for his hand.

His grip tightened and he lifted her off the ground by his strength alone. She didn’t know how long she had been there for, but she knew it was a long time by the way her legs wobbled and her body falling backwards. He caught her easily and his arms wrapped around her waist as he tried to steady her.

She lifted her head to get a good look at him and found him to be a very handsome man. But she couldn’t see herself falling for him. Their love would be doomed from the start with her being a priestess and she sensed he was a well off lord from his style of clothes.

“Do I know you somehow?” she asked him, staring into his red colored eyes, trying to locate the reason for this new feeling. “I feel like we have met before.”

Naraku smiled gently at her. He would play the good guy until he got what he wanted from her and if he had to pretend to be in love with her, then so be it. Breaking her heart at the end could be quite entertaining. “Has the fall caused you to lose your memories, koi,” he asked, trying to hide the evil smirk that threatened to emerge.

Tsubaki felt a sense of relief that the man recognized her. She blushed when she remembered him calling her his love. “Could you tell me what happened? I might remember something if I hear it.”

“I will tell you once you have dressed,” he said, nodding towards the priestess garment still on the ground. “I don’t want you to catch a cold.”

Tsubaki glanced down at herself and gasped. She couldn’t stop the blush from growing darker on her cheeks or the way it spread across her body. She was mortified. This man claimed to be her lover, but he could be lying to her and until she learned or remember the truth, she needed to be cautious of him.

Quickly gathering what was left of her wits, she stepped out of his embrace and bent over to pick up the clothing. She motioned for him to turn around allowing her some privacy as she redressed, even though he has seen everything already. It gave her a small amount of comfort that she could do this much to protect her modesty. She let him turn back around once she was finished and waited for him to explain what happened.

Naraku decided to use the same storyline he did fifty years ago with Inuyasha and Kikyo but this time, things would go differently. He will be the victim instead and Kagome would be the evil priestess in this tale. After all, a good fairy tale has to have an evil villain.

He turned his head away, making sure Tsubaki saw the glimmer of tears at the corner of his eyes. He had to make his story plausible enough for her to believe him and tears always sealed the deal. “The woman who wants to break us apart and have me for herself, shot you with an arrow. It didn’t pierce you, but you moved to the side to avoided and tripped, hitting the back of our head on a rock.”

“An arrow shot by a mere human would not hurt me,” she told him, not believing the story he was telling her.

“She is a priestess as well,” he informed her. “In fact, she is Kikyo’s sister.”

Tsubaki shook her head. “I know you are lying to me now. I have met Kikyo’s sister and she is not old enough to even think about marriage.”

Naraku had enough of her doubting him and planted the thoughts inside her head. He realized he should have done this in the beginning. It would have saved him time and she could be putting together the curse he wanted her to make.

She saw the images Naraku implanted inside her head and believed they were her memories. She clearly saw the event he describe and was furious the girl wanted to take what was rightfully hers. She would never forgive that family for the transgressions they have made against her. She will make sure that both of them pay.

“I want them to suffer,” she gritted through her teeth. She didn’t even realize she was returning to her old ways and her old scar was beginning to reappear over her right eye. “Kikyo was chosen to have the jewel and now her sister wants to take my lover. When am I supposed to get what is due to me? Why do the two priestesses get everything handed to them?”

Naraku knew he had her and went in for the kill. “I have a plan that will make Kagome wish she never set sight on me,” he started to tell her, loving the evil look in her eyes. If he wasn’t careful, he could fall for this dark priestess. “But I can not do it alone. I need your help.”

Tsubaki agreed without a thought. “I will do anything to have my revenge.”

Naraku summoned his demons. They darkened the sky with their massive cloud and hovered over the couple in the clearing, waiting for their master to give them their orders. They could taste the evilness coming from the priestess below them and shivered in anticipation of corrupting her soul even further. This is what they lived for. This is what they craved.

“Their power is yours, Tsubaki. Use them to have the revenge you so desperately crave.”

Tsubaki’s eyes glowed an eerie red. The demons went to her willingly, sensing the power within her. She tilted her head back as dozens of demons entered her body. She licked her lips after tasting such a delicious meal. When the last of the demons was devoured, she focused her attention back on Naraku.

“Explain my part in this,” she demanded.

He reached underneath his white baboon pelt to retrieve a single vial. It encased a few strands of hair. “I want you to place a curse on the girl.”

Tsubaki’s eyes widened. “I can’t do curses. I am not a dark priestess.”

Naraku was getting tried of her constant defiance. She hasn’t even realized only a dark priestess can allow demons into her body. “It’s not really a curse,” he began to explain more of his plan. He didn’t want to reveal to much to her, since she still had a role to play in it. “It’s more of a transforming spell.”

She nodded her head eagerly. She has always wanted to try a transforming spell, but never got the chance to perform one. Besides, it might bring this Kagome girl down a few pegs and teach her a lesson. “What form do you want her to take?” she asked, curious to know his answer. She figured he would have already chosen what form he thought was best, and she was right.

“A frog.”

Tsubaki raised her gray colored eyebrows. “Let me get this straight,” she spoke, placing her hands on her hips, shifting her body to the side to get a better look at him. “Of all of things to chose from, you chose a damn frog.”

Naraku grinned evilly. “Yes, a frog.”

Tsubaki shook in head in disbelief. “I can’t believe it. This is your grand plan. You have got to be kidding me. You insult my powers by asking me to perform such a curse.”

He leaned towards her and whispered something into her ear. He explained the use of the vial and how the curse would be laid out. “Are we clear now?” he asked her, pulling back.

Tsubaki grinned evilly. “Very clear,” she replied, keeping the grin on her face. “I can’t wait to get started.”

She didn’t waste any time in calling forth her shikigami. She felt the red eyed, silver colored serpent wrapped itself around her body. With it’s head positioned near her neck, looking up at her, it waited for its orders. “Go collect the blood from the girl Kagome once more, my pet. Make sure you bury your fangs deep enough for her to experience immense pain.” The serpent like creature slithered across the grass headed towards its target.

“We need to leave ourselves, Tsubaki,” Naraku spoke, after watching the serpent leave. “We have much to prepare in such a small amount of time.”

Tsubaki nodded and allowed him to pull her into his body, forming his red orb around them. He lifted them in the air and took off toward Tsubaki’s hut, where everything was already set up for the curse to take affect.

Once they stepped inside the small hut, Tsubaki lit the fire in the middle of her working table. Naraku handed the vials over to her and she rolled them between the palm of her hands. Knowing her serpent would return soon, she got out the materials she would need.

She felt her pet entered the hut and wrap itself around her once more. She held a tiny white plate underneath its mouth and let the drops of blood fall onto its surface. She placed the plate back on the table and patted her pet’s head to reward him for a job well done.

“It won’t be long now,” she informed Naraku.

She dipped a brush into the blood and began to write the girl’s name on a sutra. Satisfied with her brush strokes, she folded the sutra in four ways until a small square remained, and wrapped a couple of hair strands around it.

“Would you like to do the honors?” She asked Naraku, showing him the finished product.

Naraku shook his head. “No,” he informed her. “Are you positive this curse of yours will work?”

Tsubaki didn’t bother to answer him. She lifted the paper over the fire and began to chant. The fire caught the edge and it quickly burst into thin air. “The curse will take affect momentarily. I have made sure this curse won’t be so easily to break as my last one.”

Naraku tilted his head back and laughed. “Well done, Tsubaki. Shall we head to the well and watch our efforts unfold? I assure you it will be quite entertaining.”

***

Kagome waited at the bottom of the well for Inuyasha to haul her up, but he never appeared. She wondered if she was late or Inuyasha forgot she was coming back to the feudal era today. Knowing she couldn’t wait for him much longer before the sun set, she slipped her yellow backpack onto her back and began to climb towards the top of the well with the vines that seemed to grow within.

She breathed a sigh of relief as she reached the top and used the extra strength she had to haul herself over the edge of the well. She sat down, deciding she need a few moments rest, and eased the backpack from her shoulders.

Kagome felt something was wrong and glanced about the clearing, trying to locate the source. Finding nothing, she shrugged her shoulders, believing what she sensed was an animal.

She cried out in pain as she felt her body shrinking at an alarming rate. Her eyes seemed to grow larger and fall out of her head. Her nose grew longer, almost in the shape of a beak, and her voice grew high pitched. Her fears intensified as she watched her skin turn a dark green color. The pain seemed to recede and she noticed instead of five toes, she had webbed feet. Screaming at the top of her lungs and hopping up and down on the edge of the well, she lost her balance and she fell onto the ground beneath her.

She picked herself off the ground and practically ran to her backpack, to rummage through its contents in hopes of finding a mirror. She called out in triumph as she located the object and took a couple of deep breaths to calm her nerves. She knew she might not like what she sees and she wanted to brace herself for the shock that was about to occur.

Kagome held the mirror up to her face and screamed, dropping the mirror. “I’m a demon,” she managed to whisper, finding the ability to speak. “And not just any demon. I am the female image of Jaken.”

She couldn’t seem to come to grips with her dilemma and wobbled unsteadily on her feet. “Somehow,” she whispered, as darkness seemed to beckon her. “This is Inuyasha’s fault.”

To be continued…