InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Captive Inu ❯ Chapter 2

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"Wooooow!"

 

Kagome glanced down at the little ningen girl, Rin, as she gazed up at her in admiration. Her little brown orbs were wide, her mouth a big "o". Kagome arched a brow, regarding the little girl curiously. Lord Sesshomaru had taken the young girl under his wing apparently. And from the brief encounter she'd had with the brute, it was a rather odd combination.

 

The girl was a chatterbox! And so full of joy and happiness and a hundred other emotions it was near blinding. She smiled at everything, seemingly having a simple love for life. Meanwhile her male counterpart was the complete opposite. He was silent and brooding, cold and distant. So far the only emotions she'd even scented from him was either complete boredom, or blatant anger. It was clear he disliked any and all life forms bred below him.

 

So why on earth did he carry a human girl, a presumably annoying one at that, with him?

 

Or maybe it was the fact that he simply disliked Kagome herself? And if so, why? Sure she'd accidentally ran into him, literally, but she'd tried to leave right after that. She wasn't a threat, not in her weak state. Yet he'd refused to allow her to escape, broken several bones in her body, and had knocked her unconscious afterwards. And then he'd fought her again the following morning! All for what?

 

While Kagome continued to sulk in her mind, she allowed the little girl continue staring up at her. Upon reaching Sesshomaru's group, she had taken notice of the girl, the two headed dragon, and the ugly little imp who fluttered about Sesshomaru, sputtering questions. Along with the girl, Kagome had also wondered about the dragon. Sesshomaru had said Inu and dragons were longtime enemies, so why did he have one for a pet? Kagome sniffed. It wasn't a full blooded dragon, she knew, but still...

 

Kagome shook her head, confused. Without a word, Sesshomaru began to lead his troupe back on a trail. Rin rode atop the dragon, who she introduced as AhUn, and had asked Kagome to ride. She was about to decline, when she saw the pleading look in the girl's doe brown eyes. With a sigh, Kagome mounted, thus began the bombardment of questions from the little girl.

 

Kagome wasn't in the mood for talking, never was actually, but she answered the little girl every now and then. When the girl asked a particularly personal question, Kagome remained quiet. Rin had only shrugged that off and began to ask other questions, mostly random ones such as which foods did Kagome like best, which flowers she thought were prettiest, etc.

 

...

 

Despite the ache that had begun that had nothing to do with her split skull, Kagome found the girl rather charming. She even began to adore her on a minute level, even if she'd only known her for the three and a half hours they'd been traveling. Sesshomaru didn't speak at all, but the little toad muttered here and there about drastically annoying females.

 

Rin had transferred from asking questions about Kagome's favorite things, and was now prodding random spots on her body. Kagome had reeled back on a reflex, but after seeing the hurt look in Rin's eyes, forced herself to remain still as the girl joyfully examined her to her heart's content. When she got to Kagome's exposed cheek, she rubbed at it and pulled her hand away.

 

Kagome saw the muck on the girl's hand and flushed. The dungeons she'd been trapped in were filthy, years of mold and decay covering nearly every inch of them. There were a few rare times when a bowl of semi clean water had been given to her, and she'd used that to clean as best as she could, which wasn't much. Not having had an actual bath with clean water in Kamis knew how long, the dirt and grime had clung to her skin and clothes, blanketing her like an old friend.

 

The girl didn't look disgusted, however. She only smiled and wiped her hand on her checkered kimono, leaving a stain behind. When she looked back up at Kagome, she gasped. Alarmed, Kagome spread her senses, expecting an enemy to emerge from the thick brush on the sides of the road. None ever came.

 

Curious, she glanced back down at the child, and nearly fell off her seat on the dragon trying to get away from the face that had been an inch from hers. That didn't deter Rin, however. She moved forward again, and squinted her eyes. Her eyes then widened and she grinned, one front tooth missing.

 

"You have markings just like Lord Sesshomaru!"

 

Kagome blinked. "Eh?

 

Rin pointed a small finger to her cheek. "Rin's lord has two stripes on his cheeks. You have those same markings, but yours are blue."

 

Taken aback, Kagome reached a dirt-blackened hand to her cheek, but could feel nothing but smooth skin. Thinking nothing of it, she dropped her hand back to her lap. Rin's outburst had caught Sesshomaru's attention, however. He stopped suddenly, walked to stand off to the side of Kagome, and glared at her. More specifically, her cheek. She may have been seeing things, but she could have sworn his amber eyes widened a fraction of an inch.

 

However, he simply gave a "Hn," and went back to his spot as head of the tachi.

 

'Odd,' Kagome thought, but didn't question it. She only hoped his very slight interest in whatever marks were on her face would work in her favor.

 

...

 

When told she was going to be staying in the Western Palace, Kagome had assumed the place was going to be an ice castle, not the grand, almost dazzling one that arose on the horizon. Her only experience with castles, at least from what she could remember, was limited to the old dark one she'd been kept in. As she looked ahead, she again shoved her hair out of her face and stared in wide-eyed amazement at such finery.

 

Who would have known that that frothy bastard Sesshomaru had such fine taste?

 

From her vantage point, his castle stretched far in all directions. A high top wall fortressed the entire area, the opening door made of wood with spaces between them. Two men guarding the front gate began to open it, welcoming their lord.

 

As they drew closer to the main entrance, Kagome saw that they were youkai, both dressed in a fighting attire with a crescent moon on their chest armor. They greeted their lord warmly, then began to signal others of his arrival. Inside the gate, Kagome looked around in amazement. Decorating the majority of the courtyard were dozens of gardens, and even a small koi pond here and there. Many youkai wandered about, some guards, some servants. Each stopped and greeted Sesshomaru as he passed by, then sent disgusted looks her way.

 

Kagome frowned, ignoring them. Apparently they've never seen a dirty vassal before. Or perhaps they're not use to seeing their lord with one. She bowed her head in a poor attempt to remain invisible, though she knew she stood out like a sore thumb. A servant Kagome assumed was a stable boy came and took AhUn's reins. Kagome hopped down, giving Rin a hand to help her. Kagome heard several gasps and hushed murmurs.

 

"What nerve!" Someone hissed. "Touching Lady Rin with her filthy hands."

 

Kagome quickly snatched her hand back, feeling heat rise to her cheeks in both embarrassment and anger. Rin frowned and reached out a little hand towards her. Kagome tried to move away, but the little girl grabbed her anyways and held onto her hand tightly.

 

"Don't worry about them, Kagome-sama. I'll take care of you."

 

Surprised, Kagome stared down at the little girl for a while. Rin only gazed back up at her with an adoring smile. Kagome couldn't help but return it. The gesture felt odd and foreign. Kami, when was the last time she even remotely cracked a smile? Nonetheless, she squeezed the girl's hand gently, causing an even brighter smile.

 

Sesshomaru watched the interaction with narrowed eyes. It seems his young ward was already attached to the wench, and vice versa. Rin, being one of the few humans in his palace, didn't have many friends, mostly because the other children were the children of his youkai servants, which meant they were almost always busy. Even still, more than one harbored an inner contempt for his ward due to her being human, but they treated her with the utmost respect. They had to, otherwise they'd suffer their lord's wrath.

 

Though he still had suspicions about the woman, and he will discover her true reasons for being in the east, perhaps she would be a good model for his ward. The girl's current caretaker while he was home never seemed to be able to have a full grasp on the girl, and even seemed to detest her job ofttimes. Though his little Rin seemed to have a love for everything and everyone, she didn't just mold to someone as quickly as she did the Kagome wench. Actually, besides Sesshomaru himself, she seemed to take a while before she actually opened up to all others.

 

'Hn,' Sesshomaru thought, seeing the genuine happiness in his ward's wide eyes. 'I now know what to do with the wench.'

 

With that thought, Sesshomaru summoned two housemaids. They bowed to him with an adoring look in their eyes. Sesshomaru acknowledged them with a "Hn."

 

"Take that woman to the bathing chamber and clean her to your best ability. Then take her to the guest bedroom closest to Rin's. I will send someone with a kimono to assist her in it."

 

The two women looked at said woman and cringed with disgust. They began to sputter. "B-b-but...milord! We can't possibly-"

 

"You can and you will. Otherwise it is your life," he said coldly. With that, he turned on his heel and gracefully entered into his home.

 

...

 

If not for the fact that Kagome had longed for a real bath for the longest, she would have fought mightily against the two young women who seemed to reluctantly assist her. She'd told the girls she could clean herself, but they ignored her, scrubbing viciously at her skin until it was pink in color. She muttered incomprehensibly the entire time, while Kagome just sat there getting bathed as if she were a child.

 

There came a point when Kagome had thought they were trying to drown her when they'd ducked her head under the steamy water of the hot springs and kept her there longer than necessary. Her arms flailed wildly as she fought to get back up. Finally, the two women allowed her to get up.

 

Kagome glared daggers at them.

 

"Gomen nasai, Kagome-San, but we needed to wash your hair as well," one said. Her tone was sincere but from the smug and amused look in their eyes, Kagome knew they'd done that on purpose.

 

She grinned lethally, and allowed her poison tip claws to glow. In a surprisingly calm tone, she said, "Perhaps you should leave that task to me, hai?" That wiped the smug look right off their faces. They gave her jerky nods, clearly frightened. And well they should be.

 

One handed her a bowl of hair soap with shaking hands. Kagome gave a polite smile and thanked them in a sugary sweet voice. They were not fooled, only nodded again.

 

Thoroughly scrubbed clean, Kagome allowed the women to dry her off and lead her to a room in the western portion of the palace. There, they left her with another woman, this one a bit older, and literally bolted away. Kagome shrugged and turned to the other woman.

 

She was kind looking enough, but Kagome learned to never judge one from outward appearances. She had long black hair that was loose, save for the end of her hair being tied by a ribbon. She wore an attire that wasn't quite a kimono, but was common looking enough. She had kind brown eyes and freckles decorating her petite nose. She matched Kagome in height, which was saying something since Kagome was fairly tall, even for a youkai. Kagome sniffed slightly, scenting the other woman to be a ningen.

 

"Hello," the other woman said with a bow. "I'm Sango, nice to meet you."

 

Kagome gave a slight nod. "Kagome."

 

Sango smiled and indicated the futon in the center of the room. "Lord Sesshomaru has asked me to assist you in dressing."

 

Kagome looked at the garment, blushing in amazement. The kimono was simple like all the other servants', yet it was beautiful nonetheless. Made of a soft material, it was a pale yellow color with red and orange flower petal decorating the hem and sleeves. The obi was a darker yellow with red and orange trimmings. She smoothed a hand over it, then froze.

 

Attention now on her hand, she stared at it with wonder. It'd been so long, so very long since she'd last seen the actual color of her skin. Free of years' work of grime, the appendage was white and smooth to the touch. Her overly long nails that had been chipped and cracked were had been filed down to a short, but well manicured length. What surprised her the most was the twin blue markings that circled her wrist. She looked at her other hand and saw the same thing.

 

Perhaps that was just a symbol of her Inu status?

 

Sango approached quietly. "Is there a problem, Kagome-San?"

 

Kagome traced the markings with a nail, and felt a delicious shiver go down her spine. Whoa. She did it again and nearly purred. "Yes," she finally answered the onna, dropping her hands to her sides. She glanced at the kimono. "I cannot wear that. It is too fine a garment for me."

 

Sango blinked, clearly perplexed. She looked at the kimono, then back at Kagome. "But...that kimono isn't fine at all. I mean, sure it's a nice decoration, but it's actually homely, believe it or not."

 

Kagome looked at her doubtfully. "Are you positive, or are you just saying that to get me to wear it?"

 

Sango paused, then let out a giggle. "Gomen nasai!" She said from behind her hand. She smiled at Kagome. "I think the two of us are gong to get along just fine."

 

Confused, Kagome only shrugged in response. Sango settled down with her laughing, and lifted the kimono. "Okay. Lets get you into this."

 

Kagome nodded slightly, and disrobed. She felt her face heat to a boiling point when Sango stared in disbelief. "Y-you have twin markings everywhere!"

 

Still blushing, Kagome glanced down and noted that the same markings on her wrists were also on her waist, hips, and ankles as well. Feeling self conscious, she moved her hands to cover her body and glared at Sango. "Yeah, what of it?" She demanded.

 

Sango blinked in surprise. "You don't know?"

 

"Know what?"

 

Sango frowned. "Seriously? You don't know what twin markings mean? Surely you jest."

 

Kagome frowned as well. How could she know? She couldn't remember a bloody thing! "No. I...can't remember anything about myself, other than my name. Or that I'm an inuyoukai."

 

Sango's eyes widened. She bowed her head. "Gomen nasai! I had no idea-"

 

"It is quite alright," Kagome cut off. She didn't want anyone's pity. It was downright embarrassing.

 

Taking a hint, Sango cleared her throat and straightened. "An inu's markings are based on their level of birth. Facial markings are a sign of high birth. I don't have much knowledge about the Inu breed itself, which is surprising considering I live in a house full of them, but I do believe double stripes are a sign of one of the highest brith rates."

 

Kagome gasped as her heart began to beat frantically. The blood in her head seemed to drop elsewhere and she felt temporarily lightheaded. "I have double stripes, though. That means..."

 

 

Sango gave her an odd expression. It was a cross between a reassuring smile, and a worried frown. "You, Kagome-San, were born of nobility."