InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Entrapment: A 21st Century Adventure ❯ Dining with the Enemy ( Chapter 5 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: King Baka 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.26.2011 | Updated On: 05.26.2011 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.7K | Visits: 907 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 05.26.2011 | Updated On: 05.26.2011 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.7K | Visits: 907 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.
Dining with the Enemy
Mrs. Higurashi examined herself in the mirror, not quite believing the sight which reflected back at her. Could that woman with the sunken eyes, the black dress perfectly complimenting the hollowness of her normally bright mahogany orbs, really be her? The utter lack of makeup certainly didn’t enhance her appearance. But she just didn’t care anymore, and she felt as bad as she looked.
It had been two days since the death of her only daughter, and she would be the first to tell you that she had not been coping well. Sleep came sporadically, only when her body’s exhaustion demanded it. The sole reason she had agreed to eat something this morning was because Souta and Jii-chan had begged her. Even then, she had barely managed to keep it down. Things were not about to get any better; in forty-five short minutes, she would be at Kagome’s funeral.
The police had given her some of the ashes from the crash site, though of course nobody had any idea whether or not they actually belonged to Kagome. Still, she was grateful to have something tangible. The only thing of her daughter’s found at the crash site was her school backpack. Even now, the police couldn’t say with complete certainty that Kagome was—
Mrs. Higurashi shook her head, cutting off those thoughts as soon as they surfaced. Foolish visions of hope had plagued her, having everything to do with the fact that Inuyasha had not yet returned. The most logical explanation for this was that he had found out about Kagome’s death somehow, and was too grief-stricken or ashamed to show his face. She wished she could hold him, comfort him, tell him it wasn’t his fault. She also wished she could come to terms with Kagome’s death, but that probably wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. She couldn’t shake the stubborn feeling that she was missing something, that things were perhaps not as they appeared.
Ridiculous. She had thought the same thing about her husband until she identified his body at the hospital. His accident had at least provided her some closure, enabled her to come to grips with that fact that he was really gone. Unfortunately, it appeared such closure was going to evade her in Kagome’s case. But she would persevere, live for the half of her family which still remained, and pray every day for the health and safety of her only remaining child. And she would try not to let false hope buoy her, lest she condemn a small part of her to death every day Kagome did not come home.
Kagome was gone. Mrs. Higurashi bit her lip, holding back tears. She at least wanted to make it to the funeral before she broke down again. But she knew she would grieve for the rest of her life, as she still mourned her late husband. In quiet, lonely moments, when the gusting wind reminded her of how alone she was, and conjured up memories of those she had lost. No, she would never forget Kagome. But from experience she knew that someday, as unlikely as it seemed now, she would smile again.
Taking a deep breath, Mrs. Higurashi gazed once more at the pitiful figure in the mirror. Then she exited her room and trudged down the stairs, where what remained of her family waited for her.
Unfortunately, her captors had been smart enough to drug her during transit. One minute she had another needle in her arm, and the next she awoke on the incredibly soft mattress to her right. She had no idea where Inuyasha was, and only a very limited notion of where she was. Her immediate surroundings, however, were nothing short of extravagant. Few prisoners in history had enjoyed such a luxurious ‘cell,’ and even fewer an attached bathroom with a full tub. The room itself was at least twice the size of her bedroom at home, the bed a full queen size. The aforementioned mattress was not a standard box spring, but some kind of more comfortable—and probably more expensive—material. A television easily dwarfing the one in her family’s living room sat on an ornate wooden table across the room. A similarly crafted bureau stood empty against the far wall. That was not to say she didn’t have clothes to wear; since yesterday afternoon, the walk-in closet had been hung with dozens of newly-purchased summer dresses, kimonos, and yukatas.
Of course, she refused to wear any of them. She was being held here against her will, a fact brought home by two of the room’s less opulent features: the perpetually locked door, and the utter lack of a phone or other conceivable means of communicating with the outside world. She was not on vacation in a fancy hotel, and refused to treat her stay here as such.
She heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock, and rolled here eyes. Yep, it was about that time again. Each of the past two evenings, Sasaki had come in and invited her to eat dinner with him. Neither of her refusals could legitimately be termed polite; the bastard had some nerve! She had absolutely no desire to have anything to do with him, especially since he’d been willing to allow her to eat in her room instead. Tonight would be no different.
The door opened, but Kagome remained kneeling and gazing out the window. Two men entered judging by the footsteps, no doubt Sasaki and one of that insane mercenary’s lackeys. Apparently ‘Yoshida,’ as Sasaki called him, was unwilling to completely trust Sasaki to keep her in line. Unfortunately for her; if it were just one of them, maybe she could surprise him at the door and make a break for it. But with two, that became impossible, especially when one of them was a young twenty-something year old buck who could probably run her down without breaking a sweat. She wouldn’t even bother trying to escape that way. But she had other ideas and even tentative plans, having made good use of her recent abundance of free brainstorming time.
“So, Kagome, are you in a more congenial mood tonight?” Sasaki inquired edgily, having already anticipated her answer.
“Nope.”
Sasaki practically growled, unused to being spurned by his inferiors. “You know, I could have locked you in the basement, or let Yoshida stick you in a hole somewhere. Instead, I chose to put you up in a room that’s nicer than anything you’ve ever stayed in before. It wouldn’t kill you to show a little gratitude.”
Kagome spun, gritting her teeth and glaring at the asshole whose audacity continued to surprise her. Oh, my, I’m just so grateful that you KIDNAPPED ME and almost abetted my MURDER!!! Those words were on the tip of her tongue, but a flash of insight caused her to bite it instead of uttering them. The jackass had a point. Not a good one, but a point nonetheless. He was treating her far better than he had to under the circumstances, and upon a moment’s reflection, she could admit that she was grudgingly grateful that he hadn’t chosen either of the two alternatives he just mentioned. And where had being a bitch, for lack of a better term, gotten her? On his bad side, and probably closer to the basement or Yoshida’s lovely accommodations. She shuddered at that thought, goose bumps erupting on her skin at the memories of that cold dungeon. She wanted to avoid being sent back to him at all costs.
Perhaps she was thinking about this the wrong way. Repudiating her captor at every opportunity was not a sign of strength, but one of stupidity. She could think of a few things she would like to request from him, but if she asked him now, he would probably refuse out of spite. The only way to get anything from him was to get on his good side. Besides, if she was friendly with him, maybe he would let his guard down. Ultimately, she had much to gain from at least being civil with Sasaki, and only her self-respect to lose. Or maybe she would respect herself more for thinking with her head rather than being ruled by her emotions? Either way, she decided to be nice to Sasaki, as nauseous as the thought made her. And she could start by having dinner with him.
The sound of the door closing broke her from her musings, and she immediately realized that the room was empty. Sasaki had apparently taken her silence as confirmation of her rejection and left. Kagome hurried to the door, knocking loudly on it in the hopes that they were still within earshot.
“What is it?” her host’s voice came through the door a few seconds later.
“I’ll—I’ll eat with you,” she declared, her tone containing only some enthusiasm, all of it false. It was a long moment before she received a response.
“Okay,” Sasaki replied with some genuine excitement. “I’ll come get you when it’s ready.”
After listening to his footsteps spring lightly down the hallway, Kagome turned and slumped against the door. What have I gotten myself into?
Security had been beefed up; five men with guns now stood around the cage instead of three. And they were posted farther away from it to give them more time to react. The key to any escape would be incapacitating all the men inside the warehouse before they had time to call Kagome’s keepers on their mysterious cordless ‘fones.’ Then he would beat Kagome’s location out of one of them. But because of all the extra precautions Yoshida had taken, accomplishing that goal seemed impossible. In the time it took him to break out, the guards would have time to make the call, and Kagome’s life would be in mortal danger. And as much as he hated not being able to save her, that was a risk he couldn’t take.
So he would bide his time, behave himself so his custodians would hopefully let their guards down, and stay alert for an opportunity to make a quick escape. In the meantime, he would let Yoshida gloat. And when the time came, he would teach the arrogant prick a lesson he would never forget.
“He’s awake?!” he heard someone exclaim. “Why didn’t you call me?” Glancing in the direction of the voice, Inuyasha discovered the owner to be the other leader, the one he had pinned to the wall the other day. Oh, joy. He’s probably gonna try to get all chummy with me again.
“It’s nine o’clock in the morning,” Yoshida answered. “We knew you were coming in soon anyway.”
The first man frowned, but let the issue go. Then he strode purposely over to Inuyasha’s cage, locking eyes with the hanyou. “Hello, Inuyasha,” he greeted, echoing the tone he’d used at their previous encounter. “You may call me Sasaki-san. How are you feeling?”
Inuyasha made no reply, and after a few seconds, Sasaki sighed. “Now, we know you’re not mute. You made that abundantly clear the other day. I really didn’t want to have to resort to threats…”
“I don’t mind,” Yoshida interjected, pulling out his knife, twirling the blade playfully as he continued. “It’s true that we won’t kill Kagome if you refuse to talk to us. But we don’t have to kill her to hurt her.”
Inuyasha snarled and leapt to his feet, striding over to the bars and slamming his fist against them for emphasis. “If you harm one hair on her head, I’ll fucking tear you to pieces! That goes for all of you!” he shouted, loud enough so everyone in the building could hear him.
“Heh, too late for that. I already shot her full of drugs to get at all your secrets, and slapped her one when she mouthed off. Like I said, half-breed; I ain’t afraid of you.”
“We don’t want to harm her anymore!” Sasaki declared hastily, annoyed at his companion’s attempt to rile Inuyasha up. “We just want you to cooperate with us.”
Inuyasha glared daggers at Yoshida for several more seconds; bystanders could practically see sparks shooting from their eyes. But eventually the hanyou looked away, turning his attention back to the more reasonable of the duo.
“Fine, I’ll cooperate. What the fuck do you want?”
“You can start by answering my question.”
Inuyasha growled in irritation. “I’m feeling pretty shitty, if you’re so fucking curious.”
“That’s normal; you’ve been under sedation for awhile. I’m sorry we had to do that, but you understand the need for security.”
“Fuck off.”
Sasaki sighed exasperatedly. I was really hoping he would be more like me and less like Yoshida-san. Said mercenary cackled.
“I bet him and me could have one hell of a swearing match.”
“Charming,” Sasaki muttered under his breath. “Absolutely charming.”
“You say something, Sasaki-san?”
“Never mind. Let’s bring in the first test.”
“Test?” Inuyasha inquired.
“Yes. I’m very interested in learning the extent of your physical abilities. The first test is a simple assessment of strength.”
A grinding noise turned Inuyasha’s attention to his left, where a new wall of bars, formerly perched atop the cage, was lowering close to the end, essentially cutting off perhaps a quarter of the cage from the rest of it. Inuyasha soon realized its purpose; the cage’s only door was on the other side. The bifurcating wall allowed his captors to enter the cage without coming into contact with him. Damn, the bastards thought of everything this time.
Two guards locked the wall into place, then opened the door and began carrying equipment into the cage. The first object was a thin, low table padded in black, with a silver metal frame standing at one end. A freestanding iron bar rested in semicircular cutouts atop the frame. Next came a cart filled with black circular objects, which were apparently heavy because the men had difficulty pulling it. Finally, they closed and locked the door, and the bifurcating wall rose to its previous position sticking out the top of the cage.
“Have you ever used a bench press before, Inuyasha?” Sasaki inquired, and Inuyasha shook his head. “It’s quite simple. You just lie down on the bench with your head beneath the bar.”
Inuyasha did so, only to have derisive chuckling reach his ears from Yoshida and his lackeys.
“Well naturally you have to put the weight on first!” Sasaki said, amused himself. Inuyasha gritted his teeth. It’s ‘natural’ to you because you’ve done it before! Assholes.
“The large weights are one hundred pounds, and the smaller ones are fifty. Let’s start with two hundred pounds and see how you do.”
“Better make it a hundred with those chicken wings he has for arms,” Yoshida quipped, earning snickers from his men.
Inuyasha had officially had enough of that guy’s conceited attitude, and resolved to do something about it. He still didn’t understand what he was supposed to do, but there was no way he was asking for help now. He figured it out fairly quickly. It was a strength-building machine; you put weight on the bar and lifted it repeatedly. Inuyasha put the two hundred pounds on the bar, but didn’t stop there. This earned more contemptuous comments about how the ‘dumb hanyou couldn’t do math.’ When he’d gotten up to seven hundred pounds, Sasaki finally said something.
“Maybe you should stop there, Inuyasha. We don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
But Inuyasha ignored him, not ceasing until every single weight from the cart was on the bar, which was bending noticeably under the strain. He turned to Yoshida and looked him right in the eye as he spoke.
“Now, that’s eleven hundred pounds by my count. Or were those numbers too big for a ‘dumb hanyou’ like me to add?”
“Eleven hundred pounds,” the mercenary replied gruffly. “You won’t even get it off the frame.”
Inuyasha lay down on the bench, grasped the bar above him firmly in both hands, and pushed up briefly to test the weight. It was heavy, for sure, but he’d lifted boulders heavier than that in the feudal era. The laughter which had started up again at his apparent failed attempt abruptly ceased as he smoothly lifted the bar from the frame. He relished in the complete silence as he slowly lowered the bar to his chest, then raised it again, exhaling sharply for effect as he did so. It wasn’t even that hard; he could probably do this a couple dozen more times before his arms started to get tired. But he had grander plans in mind.
Drawing the bar to his chest once more, he gave a mighty heave and launched it high into the air. Gasps of astonishment sounded as it nearly touched the top of the cage, then plummeted down only to be caught by the sure hands of the hanyou. After a few moments to gather his strength, Inuyasha once again threw the bar upwards, even harder this time.
*Clang!*
The impact against the top of the cage rang through the warehouse, and the bar seemed to bounce off with additional momentum as if plunged toward the floor. But this time there was no hanyou to catch it; Inuyasha had rolled out of the way and now simply watched the results of his efforts.
*Thud!*
The bar hit the bench with incredible force, the impact curving it like a bow as five hundred and fifty pounds of swiftly-moving weight pulled each end toward the floor. The bench itself gave way in the middle, bending into a v-shape. What had once been a nice bench press set was now a distorted heap of metal. Inuyasha turned to Yoshida, momentarily catching his mouth agape in amazement. But the mercenary quickly came to his senses and closed it.
“Freak,” he muttered as he spun on a heel and marched off.
Inuyasha smirked, glad he had taken that arrogant bastard down a peg. A victory was a victory, no matter how small.
Kagome sighed, not looking forward to the meal. She checked her appearance once more in the mirror, satisfied that she had spruced herself up a bit but not overdone it. She was wearing one of the dresses she had found in the closet, a light green and blue floral pattern design with a square neck that covered her shoulders and was not too low cut. Most of the dresses were similar in the amount of skin they revealed; at least Sasaki wasn’t a total sleaze. He seemed to have good taste in fashion, but Kagome had to wonder why he had bought clothes for her in the first place. Was he trying to impress her, or did he feel guilty for assenting to her execution?
Either way, Kagome hoped she could use whatever his motivation was to her advantage. She had applied a little makeup from the case on the bureau, but not much. She wanted to project tolerance, nothing more. If Sasaki got any ideas, they would be solely because of his own imagination. No, Kagome would not end up with Stockholm syndrome. Sasaki was merely the lesser of two evils, which wasn’t saying much considering Yoshida as the other option. Just thinking of what they could be doing to Inuyasha at any moment would be more than enough to dispel any positive feelings she could conceivably develop toward her host.
“Kagome?”
Taking a deep breath and wiping the grimace off her face, Kagome stepped to the door and opened it. Both men seemed surprised to see her in the dress, and each took a moment to scan her from head to foot. At least Sasaki seemed to be observing how she looked in the dress. The guard, on the other hand, appeared to be attempting to see through the dress. She could practically perceive his imagination dancing in his eyes. Sasaki was apparently the lesser of two evils in his own house as well.
She could understand why they were so enthralled. Her school uniform revealed more of her legs, but it hid her figure. The dress did just the opposite, covering much of her thighs but hugging the natural contours of her body fairly snugly. Kagome suddenly wished for a pair of sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt. She folded her arms over her chest, glaring at the guard, hoping to get some shame out of him. But he just smirked, shrugging as if to say, ‘what do you expect me to do?’ She very much doubted he cared what she thought anyway.
“It looks good on you,” Sasaki declared conversationally, and Kagome was surprised that the compliment didn’t make her feel more uncomfortable than she already was. At least her host was willing to behave like a gentleman. But she had seen some of his darker side, and knew that his demeanor could change at any moment. Hopefully she could prevent that from happening tonight.
“Thank you,” she replied, managing to make her gratitude sound not overly forced. Sasaki led them down to the first floor and into a good-sized dining room. Along the way, Kagome contemplated trying to kick the guard in the balls and make a break for it, but concluded the odds of success were too low. He would probably deflect the blow with his leg or something, and then she would be in trouble. The whole purpose of her eating dinner with Sasaki was to garner some good will, not make a rash and most likely foolhardy escape attempt.
Sasaki held her chair out for her as she sat, then the guard knelt and deftly fastened her ankle to it with a set of handcuffs. The horizontal bars connecting the legs prevented her from simply slipping the cuff off the chair.
“Is that really necessary?” Kagome demanded exasperatedly.
“Yep. I’m gonna go watch the ball game. See ya.” With that, the guard stood and departed. Kagome was actually glad for his decision; given the choice between being cuffed to the chair and eating with him watching her the whole time, she’d take the cuff any day.
Sasaki shook his head. “He’s such an unrefined brute,” he said, “but apparently I don’t have a choice in the matter.” For just a moment, Kagome saw hard anger flare in his eyes, but then his expression reverted back to the pleasantness it has reflected since she emerged from her room.
“Alright, let’s eat. I hope you’re hungry.” He strolled over to the other end of the table, taking the covers off the dishes in the center as he went. The table was relatively small, only long enough to seat six people comfortably, but in order to reach everything Kagome would have to drag her chair around with her. Sasaki realized this and came back over, holding his hand out to her.
“Give me your plate and I’ll serve you. What would you like?”
Kagome gazed across the table, recognizing only some of what she saw. But all the smells were delectable, reminding her of how hungry she was.
“A little of everything, I guess,” she replied hesitantly. Sasaki smiled, pleased by the request. Kagome half-listened as he explained what everything was, how it was cooked, where he’d gotten the recipe, or any number of other self-serving details she didn’t care about. He set her plate in front of her, filled his own, and seated himself across from her. Kagome felt his expectant gaze as she scooped up a portion of what was obviously the main dish, making sure to get some rice with it. Her eyes widened slightly when she placed it in her mouth. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t cooking which rivaled her mother’s in pure taste.
“How is it?” Sasaki asked, failing nonchalance.
“It’s delicious,” Kagome answered honestly, going for another bite.
Sasaki sighed and visibly relaxed. “I’m glad. I don’t get to cook for others very often. Would you believe I’ve never actually had a woman over to my house before?”
Kagome rolled her eyes inwardly. Actually yes, I would believe that.
“Really?” she replied instead, feigning astonishment.
“Yes. I guess I’ve been too busy with work. I’m an archaeologist, you know…”
Again Kagome tuned him out. She tried to keep from snickering as she held a private little roast of Sasaki inside her head. Oh, yes, you don’t have a girlfriend because you’re ‘too busy with work.’ I’m sure that’s the reason. It’s not your fascinatingly boring personality, or those fabulously bland looks. And it’s definitely not the arrogance or the creepy evilness lurking just below the surface. No, the reason you don’t have a woman is because you’re unavailable. Right.
Kagome grinned, masking her contempt with another bite of her meal. If Sasaki noticed, he probably just assumed it was because of what he was saying. Kagome was dead set on continuing to ignore him, but one word flowing through one ear on its journey out the other caught her attention.
“…Inuyasha, he could be one of my most exciting projects.”
Kagome’s smile faded at the sobering reminder of her friend’s predicament, and she set down her chopsticks. Up until now, she had not been given the opportunity to really speak on Inuyasha’s behalf. Maybe she could convince Sasaki that even though he could hold her and Inuyasha captive, he shouldn’t do so. It was a long shot, considering how ‘excited’ the academic was with his ‘project,’ but it was worth a try.
“Sasaki-san?” she said loud enough for the man to hear over his blathering.
“Huh? What is it?”
“How…how is Inuyasha?”
“Oh, he’s fine. As foulmouthed and rebellious as ever, I imagine.”
Kagome was happy to hear that, but Sasaki’s description provided all the more reason to question his conduct.
“Have you thought about what you’re doing?” she asked seriously. “I mean, really thought about it?”
Sasaki sighed and likewise put his own chopsticks down. He leaned back in his chair and spoke in an unnerving monotone, as if he had rehearsed this speech a hundred times. Or perhaps he had mentally repeated it to himself so many times that he believed it.
“Every scientific advancement has a cost, Kagome. In order for humans to gain knowledge and improve themselves, someone or something must—”
“Don’t give me that! You can’t just say ‘oh, we’re learning and making money, so if somebody gets screwed, it’s fine.’”
“The only person being ‘screwed’ is you! Do you think your life is more important than the progression of the human race?”
“What you’re doing isn’t progress; it’s perversion. But you want more victims? Fine! Think about all the people in the feudal era who will die if Inuyasha and I don’t complete our mission and kill Naraku. You remember how you forced me to tell you about him, right?” (1)
“Or maybe Naraku won, died of natural causes, and history happened as it was meant to happen. Who can say for sure? Besides, I don’t believe you can go back in time and change the present. Now is now.”
“It doesn’t even really matter. What you’re doing to Inuyasha is still illegal and immoral. How can you say he’s not being screwed?”
“I didn’t. I said you were the only person being screwed. As much as you like him, Inuyasha isn’t human. He’s sub-human. He doesn’t get human rights.”
Kagome saw red flash across her vision; she gritted her teeth so hard her jaw ached. It seemed that even after five hundred years of human ‘advancement,’ bare prejudice against those who were different was still alive and well.
“So what if he’s hanyou? Inuyasha is not an animal! He’s far more human than any of you greedy, heartless bastards!”
“That’s enough!” Sasaki shouted, slamming his fist into the table. “I will not be insulted at my own dinner table!”
Kagome jumped slightly and shrunk back, fear coloring her expression. She’d gone a little too far there, and now wondered what the consequences would be. Sasaki glared at her expectantly, and Kagome swallowed. She couldn’t blame herself for getting angry at the sewage which had been spewing from her host’s mouth, but now she had to appease him or risk going back to square one.
“Sorry,” she muttered in a voice barely above a whisper. It was by far the must insincere apology she had ever given, but it was what Sasaki wanted to hear, and what in his conceit he felt he deserved. Kagome belatedly wondered where she’d crossed the line. Probably with the ‘greedy’ comment; his justifications were ludicrous, but it was clear he was not primarily motivated by money. Fame and professional recognition, perhaps, but not money.
“Fine,” Sasaki ground out, calming visibly. “Let’s talk about something more pleasant.” Neither of them attempted to start another conversation, however; they simply ate in uncomfortable, irritated silence. But the passing minutes seemed to pacify Sasaki’s sour mood, and when they both finished eating a quarter hour later, he spoke in a much more amiable tone.
“I tried to make you comfortable upstairs, Kagome. Is there anything else you need?”
Kagome frowned thoughtfully. She really wanted to ask him what was going to happen to her, for example whether Yoshida was still intent on killing her, but sensed that now was not the time for another potentially contentious conversation. She also wouldn’t ask for anything major, but a few minor requests shouldn’t hurt, since he was inviting them. One such item immediately popped into her head as she recalled her thoughts upon exiting the bath last night. Putting sweat-soiled underwear—hey, it had been a stressful few days—on a clean body certainly wasn’t ideal. She could only wash them so well in the tub without the benefit of proper laundry detergent. And it would be nice to have more than one set.
But she obviously had her reservations. Beyond having a strange man buy her underwear, since she was sure he wasn’t going to let her out of the house, the purchase might suggest to him that she needed her clothes washed as well. And if she had received a lecherous vibe from him, that might have been enough to keep her quiet on this one. But Sasaki had gone out of his way to not be a pervert since he had taken over her custody. Besides, there was really no point in worrying about it; if he wanted to do something perverted, there was little she could do to stop him in any event. Maybe if she asked he would let her do her own laundry. She could offer to do his as well to sweeten the deal.
The other thing she needed even more urgently also helped her reach a decision. It had been more than three weeks since her last period, so she really couldn’t avoid asking for tampons in the likelihood that she was still imprisoned here when that special time of the month arrived again. And if she was going to ask for something so intimate, she might as well ask for underwear as well. Ultimately, it was time to behave like a confident adult rather than an embarrassed little girl.
“Some underwear and tampons would be nice,” she stated smoothly, proud of the lack of stutter in her voice, especially after seeing Sasaki’s response. The man blushed like an awkward teenager, and he honestly appeared quite uncomfortable at the prospect of having anything to do with the items in her request. He was a great warden from her perspective, Kagome mused, but still a sad, sad little man. After a moment, an idea occurred to Sasaki and his face sagged in relief.
“Oh, I know. I’ll ask Inoue to pick those things up for you.”
“Who’s Inoue?”
“My housekeeper. She comes by once every two weeks to clean the place, but I sometimes have her do odd jobs on the side.” He must have seen the wheels turning in Kagome’s head, because he sneered as if to say ‘do you think I’m stupid?’ “Don’t worry; she won’t ask questions. And you won’t see her. Just write down exactly what you need and I’ll let her know.”
Kagome’s momentary enthusiasm melted away as Sasaki got up to get a pad of paper and pen, but she didn’t lose heart. Her captor was smart, but he wasn’t infallible. Sooner or later, she would find a way to escape.
(1) I got the idea for Kagome’s objection here from a couple reviews. But I think Sasaki actually has a halfway decent counterargument; nobody knows how time really works. He’s full of shit the rest of the time though. :)
A/N – If you’re wondering why I used the bad guys’ last names in this chapter, it’s because Inuyasha and Kagome don’t know their first names. It’s not random. Just remember: Sasaki Kurou (professor), Yoshida Saburou (mercenary). The context usually makes clear which one is which anyway.
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Dining with the Enemy
Mrs. Higurashi examined herself in the mirror, not quite believing the sight which reflected back at her. Could that woman with the sunken eyes, the black dress perfectly complimenting the hollowness of her normally bright mahogany orbs, really be her? The utter lack of makeup certainly didn’t enhance her appearance. But she just didn’t care anymore, and she felt as bad as she looked.
It had been two days since the death of her only daughter, and she would be the first to tell you that she had not been coping well. Sleep came sporadically, only when her body’s exhaustion demanded it. The sole reason she had agreed to eat something this morning was because Souta and Jii-chan had begged her. Even then, she had barely managed to keep it down. Things were not about to get any better; in forty-five short minutes, she would be at Kagome’s funeral.
The police had given her some of the ashes from the crash site, though of course nobody had any idea whether or not they actually belonged to Kagome. Still, she was grateful to have something tangible. The only thing of her daughter’s found at the crash site was her school backpack. Even now, the police couldn’t say with complete certainty that Kagome was—
Mrs. Higurashi shook her head, cutting off those thoughts as soon as they surfaced. Foolish visions of hope had plagued her, having everything to do with the fact that Inuyasha had not yet returned. The most logical explanation for this was that he had found out about Kagome’s death somehow, and was too grief-stricken or ashamed to show his face. She wished she could hold him, comfort him, tell him it wasn’t his fault. She also wished she could come to terms with Kagome’s death, but that probably wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. She couldn’t shake the stubborn feeling that she was missing something, that things were perhaps not as they appeared.
Ridiculous. She had thought the same thing about her husband until she identified his body at the hospital. His accident had at least provided her some closure, enabled her to come to grips with that fact that he was really gone. Unfortunately, it appeared such closure was going to evade her in Kagome’s case. But she would persevere, live for the half of her family which still remained, and pray every day for the health and safety of her only remaining child. And she would try not to let false hope buoy her, lest she condemn a small part of her to death every day Kagome did not come home.
Kagome was gone. Mrs. Higurashi bit her lip, holding back tears. She at least wanted to make it to the funeral before she broke down again. But she knew she would grieve for the rest of her life, as she still mourned her late husband. In quiet, lonely moments, when the gusting wind reminded her of how alone she was, and conjured up memories of those she had lost. No, she would never forget Kagome. But from experience she knew that someday, as unlikely as it seemed now, she would smile again.
Taking a deep breath, Mrs. Higurashi gazed once more at the pitiful figure in the mirror. Then she exited her room and trudged down the stairs, where what remained of her family waited for her.
* * *
Kagome sighed, staring out the window of the room which had become her cell. She spent most of her time in here, alone with her thoughts. At least it had a nice view; she could see across the landscape from her third floor vantage point. In the foreground was a very large front yard, more like an estate, really. Beyond that were roads, patches of forest, and in the distance, city skyscrapers. She despondently leaned her head on her hands. Apparently that’s Morioka, and somewhere within is Inuyasha. How on earth am I ever going to find him? Unfortunately, her captors had been smart enough to drug her during transit. One minute she had another needle in her arm, and the next she awoke on the incredibly soft mattress to her right. She had no idea where Inuyasha was, and only a very limited notion of where she was. Her immediate surroundings, however, were nothing short of extravagant. Few prisoners in history had enjoyed such a luxurious ‘cell,’ and even fewer an attached bathroom with a full tub. The room itself was at least twice the size of her bedroom at home, the bed a full queen size. The aforementioned mattress was not a standard box spring, but some kind of more comfortable—and probably more expensive—material. A television easily dwarfing the one in her family’s living room sat on an ornate wooden table across the room. A similarly crafted bureau stood empty against the far wall. That was not to say she didn’t have clothes to wear; since yesterday afternoon, the walk-in closet had been hung with dozens of newly-purchased summer dresses, kimonos, and yukatas.
Of course, she refused to wear any of them. She was being held here against her will, a fact brought home by two of the room’s less opulent features: the perpetually locked door, and the utter lack of a phone or other conceivable means of communicating with the outside world. She was not on vacation in a fancy hotel, and refused to treat her stay here as such.
She heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock, and rolled here eyes. Yep, it was about that time again. Each of the past two evenings, Sasaki had come in and invited her to eat dinner with him. Neither of her refusals could legitimately be termed polite; the bastard had some nerve! She had absolutely no desire to have anything to do with him, especially since he’d been willing to allow her to eat in her room instead. Tonight would be no different.
The door opened, but Kagome remained kneeling and gazing out the window. Two men entered judging by the footsteps, no doubt Sasaki and one of that insane mercenary’s lackeys. Apparently ‘Yoshida,’ as Sasaki called him, was unwilling to completely trust Sasaki to keep her in line. Unfortunately for her; if it were just one of them, maybe she could surprise him at the door and make a break for it. But with two, that became impossible, especially when one of them was a young twenty-something year old buck who could probably run her down without breaking a sweat. She wouldn’t even bother trying to escape that way. But she had other ideas and even tentative plans, having made good use of her recent abundance of free brainstorming time.
“So, Kagome, are you in a more congenial mood tonight?” Sasaki inquired edgily, having already anticipated her answer.
“Nope.”
Sasaki practically growled, unused to being spurned by his inferiors. “You know, I could have locked you in the basement, or let Yoshida stick you in a hole somewhere. Instead, I chose to put you up in a room that’s nicer than anything you’ve ever stayed in before. It wouldn’t kill you to show a little gratitude.”
Kagome spun, gritting her teeth and glaring at the asshole whose audacity continued to surprise her. Oh, my, I’m just so grateful that you KIDNAPPED ME and almost abetted my MURDER!!! Those words were on the tip of her tongue, but a flash of insight caused her to bite it instead of uttering them. The jackass had a point. Not a good one, but a point nonetheless. He was treating her far better than he had to under the circumstances, and upon a moment’s reflection, she could admit that she was grudgingly grateful that he hadn’t chosen either of the two alternatives he just mentioned. And where had being a bitch, for lack of a better term, gotten her? On his bad side, and probably closer to the basement or Yoshida’s lovely accommodations. She shuddered at that thought, goose bumps erupting on her skin at the memories of that cold dungeon. She wanted to avoid being sent back to him at all costs.
Perhaps she was thinking about this the wrong way. Repudiating her captor at every opportunity was not a sign of strength, but one of stupidity. She could think of a few things she would like to request from him, but if she asked him now, he would probably refuse out of spite. The only way to get anything from him was to get on his good side. Besides, if she was friendly with him, maybe he would let his guard down. Ultimately, she had much to gain from at least being civil with Sasaki, and only her self-respect to lose. Or maybe she would respect herself more for thinking with her head rather than being ruled by her emotions? Either way, she decided to be nice to Sasaki, as nauseous as the thought made her. And she could start by having dinner with him.
The sound of the door closing broke her from her musings, and she immediately realized that the room was empty. Sasaki had apparently taken her silence as confirmation of her rejection and left. Kagome hurried to the door, knocking loudly on it in the hopes that they were still within earshot.
“What is it?” her host’s voice came through the door a few seconds later.
“I’ll—I’ll eat with you,” she declared, her tone containing only some enthusiasm, all of it false. It was a long moment before she received a response.
“Okay,” Sasaki replied with some genuine excitement. “I’ll come get you when it’s ready.”
After listening to his footsteps spring lightly down the hallway, Kagome turned and slumped against the door. What have I gotten myself into?
* * *
Inuyasha sat propped against the bars, resting peacefully with his eyes closed. He had awoken not long ago from what he guessed was two or three days of drug-induced unconsciousness. He fuzzily recalled at least one instance of stirring only to be immediately tranquilized again. His captors had probably kept him under that long so they could complete construction on the cage in which he currently sat. It was a larger structure, with much thicker bars going both horizontally and vertically for added strength. The door was reinforced with several bars lying across it. Though it appeared to have been hastily welded together from available metal, Inuyasha knew escaping this cage would be more of a challenge than the last one. He could probably do it, but it would take a lot more than two swipes with Sankon Tetsusou. And because of what the man with killer’s eyes—‘Yoshida,’ if he remembered correctly—had said about Kagome when he woke up, a breakout attempt was not likely to happen anytime soon. Security had been beefed up; five men with guns now stood around the cage instead of three. And they were posted farther away from it to give them more time to react. The key to any escape would be incapacitating all the men inside the warehouse before they had time to call Kagome’s keepers on their mysterious cordless ‘fones.’ Then he would beat Kagome’s location out of one of them. But because of all the extra precautions Yoshida had taken, accomplishing that goal seemed impossible. In the time it took him to break out, the guards would have time to make the call, and Kagome’s life would be in mortal danger. And as much as he hated not being able to save her, that was a risk he couldn’t take.
So he would bide his time, behave himself so his custodians would hopefully let their guards down, and stay alert for an opportunity to make a quick escape. In the meantime, he would let Yoshida gloat. And when the time came, he would teach the arrogant prick a lesson he would never forget.
“He’s awake?!” he heard someone exclaim. “Why didn’t you call me?” Glancing in the direction of the voice, Inuyasha discovered the owner to be the other leader, the one he had pinned to the wall the other day. Oh, joy. He’s probably gonna try to get all chummy with me again.
“It’s nine o’clock in the morning,” Yoshida answered. “We knew you were coming in soon anyway.”
The first man frowned, but let the issue go. Then he strode purposely over to Inuyasha’s cage, locking eyes with the hanyou. “Hello, Inuyasha,” he greeted, echoing the tone he’d used at their previous encounter. “You may call me Sasaki-san. How are you feeling?”
Inuyasha made no reply, and after a few seconds, Sasaki sighed. “Now, we know you’re not mute. You made that abundantly clear the other day. I really didn’t want to have to resort to threats…”
“I don’t mind,” Yoshida interjected, pulling out his knife, twirling the blade playfully as he continued. “It’s true that we won’t kill Kagome if you refuse to talk to us. But we don’t have to kill her to hurt her.”
Inuyasha snarled and leapt to his feet, striding over to the bars and slamming his fist against them for emphasis. “If you harm one hair on her head, I’ll fucking tear you to pieces! That goes for all of you!” he shouted, loud enough so everyone in the building could hear him.
“Heh, too late for that. I already shot her full of drugs to get at all your secrets, and slapped her one when she mouthed off. Like I said, half-breed; I ain’t afraid of you.”
“We don’t want to harm her anymore!” Sasaki declared hastily, annoyed at his companion’s attempt to rile Inuyasha up. “We just want you to cooperate with us.”
Inuyasha glared daggers at Yoshida for several more seconds; bystanders could practically see sparks shooting from their eyes. But eventually the hanyou looked away, turning his attention back to the more reasonable of the duo.
“Fine, I’ll cooperate. What the fuck do you want?”
“You can start by answering my question.”
Inuyasha growled in irritation. “I’m feeling pretty shitty, if you’re so fucking curious.”
“That’s normal; you’ve been under sedation for awhile. I’m sorry we had to do that, but you understand the need for security.”
“Fuck off.”
Sasaki sighed exasperatedly. I was really hoping he would be more like me and less like Yoshida-san. Said mercenary cackled.
“I bet him and me could have one hell of a swearing match.”
“Charming,” Sasaki muttered under his breath. “Absolutely charming.”
“You say something, Sasaki-san?”
“Never mind. Let’s bring in the first test.”
“Test?” Inuyasha inquired.
“Yes. I’m very interested in learning the extent of your physical abilities. The first test is a simple assessment of strength.”
A grinding noise turned Inuyasha’s attention to his left, where a new wall of bars, formerly perched atop the cage, was lowering close to the end, essentially cutting off perhaps a quarter of the cage from the rest of it. Inuyasha soon realized its purpose; the cage’s only door was on the other side. The bifurcating wall allowed his captors to enter the cage without coming into contact with him. Damn, the bastards thought of everything this time.
Two guards locked the wall into place, then opened the door and began carrying equipment into the cage. The first object was a thin, low table padded in black, with a silver metal frame standing at one end. A freestanding iron bar rested in semicircular cutouts atop the frame. Next came a cart filled with black circular objects, which were apparently heavy because the men had difficulty pulling it. Finally, they closed and locked the door, and the bifurcating wall rose to its previous position sticking out the top of the cage.
“Have you ever used a bench press before, Inuyasha?” Sasaki inquired, and Inuyasha shook his head. “It’s quite simple. You just lie down on the bench with your head beneath the bar.”
Inuyasha did so, only to have derisive chuckling reach his ears from Yoshida and his lackeys.
“Well naturally you have to put the weight on first!” Sasaki said, amused himself. Inuyasha gritted his teeth. It’s ‘natural’ to you because you’ve done it before! Assholes.
“The large weights are one hundred pounds, and the smaller ones are fifty. Let’s start with two hundred pounds and see how you do.”
“Better make it a hundred with those chicken wings he has for arms,” Yoshida quipped, earning snickers from his men.
Inuyasha had officially had enough of that guy’s conceited attitude, and resolved to do something about it. He still didn’t understand what he was supposed to do, but there was no way he was asking for help now. He figured it out fairly quickly. It was a strength-building machine; you put weight on the bar and lifted it repeatedly. Inuyasha put the two hundred pounds on the bar, but didn’t stop there. This earned more contemptuous comments about how the ‘dumb hanyou couldn’t do math.’ When he’d gotten up to seven hundred pounds, Sasaki finally said something.
“Maybe you should stop there, Inuyasha. We don’t want you to hurt yourself.”
But Inuyasha ignored him, not ceasing until every single weight from the cart was on the bar, which was bending noticeably under the strain. He turned to Yoshida and looked him right in the eye as he spoke.
“Now, that’s eleven hundred pounds by my count. Or were those numbers too big for a ‘dumb hanyou’ like me to add?”
“Eleven hundred pounds,” the mercenary replied gruffly. “You won’t even get it off the frame.”
Inuyasha lay down on the bench, grasped the bar above him firmly in both hands, and pushed up briefly to test the weight. It was heavy, for sure, but he’d lifted boulders heavier than that in the feudal era. The laughter which had started up again at his apparent failed attempt abruptly ceased as he smoothly lifted the bar from the frame. He relished in the complete silence as he slowly lowered the bar to his chest, then raised it again, exhaling sharply for effect as he did so. It wasn’t even that hard; he could probably do this a couple dozen more times before his arms started to get tired. But he had grander plans in mind.
Drawing the bar to his chest once more, he gave a mighty heave and launched it high into the air. Gasps of astonishment sounded as it nearly touched the top of the cage, then plummeted down only to be caught by the sure hands of the hanyou. After a few moments to gather his strength, Inuyasha once again threw the bar upwards, even harder this time.
*Clang!*
The impact against the top of the cage rang through the warehouse, and the bar seemed to bounce off with additional momentum as if plunged toward the floor. But this time there was no hanyou to catch it; Inuyasha had rolled out of the way and now simply watched the results of his efforts.
*Thud!*
The bar hit the bench with incredible force, the impact curving it like a bow as five hundred and fifty pounds of swiftly-moving weight pulled each end toward the floor. The bench itself gave way in the middle, bending into a v-shape. What had once been a nice bench press set was now a distorted heap of metal. Inuyasha turned to Yoshida, momentarily catching his mouth agape in amazement. But the mercenary quickly came to his senses and closed it.
“Freak,” he muttered as he spun on a heel and marched off.
Inuyasha smirked, glad he had taken that arrogant bastard down a peg. A victory was a victory, no matter how small.
* * *
“Kagome, dinner is ready.” Kagome sighed, not looking forward to the meal. She checked her appearance once more in the mirror, satisfied that she had spruced herself up a bit but not overdone it. She was wearing one of the dresses she had found in the closet, a light green and blue floral pattern design with a square neck that covered her shoulders and was not too low cut. Most of the dresses were similar in the amount of skin they revealed; at least Sasaki wasn’t a total sleaze. He seemed to have good taste in fashion, but Kagome had to wonder why he had bought clothes for her in the first place. Was he trying to impress her, or did he feel guilty for assenting to her execution?
Either way, Kagome hoped she could use whatever his motivation was to her advantage. She had applied a little makeup from the case on the bureau, but not much. She wanted to project tolerance, nothing more. If Sasaki got any ideas, they would be solely because of his own imagination. No, Kagome would not end up with Stockholm syndrome. Sasaki was merely the lesser of two evils, which wasn’t saying much considering Yoshida as the other option. Just thinking of what they could be doing to Inuyasha at any moment would be more than enough to dispel any positive feelings she could conceivably develop toward her host.
“Kagome?”
Taking a deep breath and wiping the grimace off her face, Kagome stepped to the door and opened it. Both men seemed surprised to see her in the dress, and each took a moment to scan her from head to foot. At least Sasaki seemed to be observing how she looked in the dress. The guard, on the other hand, appeared to be attempting to see through the dress. She could practically perceive his imagination dancing in his eyes. Sasaki was apparently the lesser of two evils in his own house as well.
She could understand why they were so enthralled. Her school uniform revealed more of her legs, but it hid her figure. The dress did just the opposite, covering much of her thighs but hugging the natural contours of her body fairly snugly. Kagome suddenly wished for a pair of sweatpants and a baggy sweatshirt. She folded her arms over her chest, glaring at the guard, hoping to get some shame out of him. But he just smirked, shrugging as if to say, ‘what do you expect me to do?’ She very much doubted he cared what she thought anyway.
“It looks good on you,” Sasaki declared conversationally, and Kagome was surprised that the compliment didn’t make her feel more uncomfortable than she already was. At least her host was willing to behave like a gentleman. But she had seen some of his darker side, and knew that his demeanor could change at any moment. Hopefully she could prevent that from happening tonight.
“Thank you,” she replied, managing to make her gratitude sound not overly forced. Sasaki led them down to the first floor and into a good-sized dining room. Along the way, Kagome contemplated trying to kick the guard in the balls and make a break for it, but concluded the odds of success were too low. He would probably deflect the blow with his leg or something, and then she would be in trouble. The whole purpose of her eating dinner with Sasaki was to garner some good will, not make a rash and most likely foolhardy escape attempt.
Sasaki held her chair out for her as she sat, then the guard knelt and deftly fastened her ankle to it with a set of handcuffs. The horizontal bars connecting the legs prevented her from simply slipping the cuff off the chair.
“Is that really necessary?” Kagome demanded exasperatedly.
“Yep. I’m gonna go watch the ball game. See ya.” With that, the guard stood and departed. Kagome was actually glad for his decision; given the choice between being cuffed to the chair and eating with him watching her the whole time, she’d take the cuff any day.
Sasaki shook his head. “He’s such an unrefined brute,” he said, “but apparently I don’t have a choice in the matter.” For just a moment, Kagome saw hard anger flare in his eyes, but then his expression reverted back to the pleasantness it has reflected since she emerged from her room.
“Alright, let’s eat. I hope you’re hungry.” He strolled over to the other end of the table, taking the covers off the dishes in the center as he went. The table was relatively small, only long enough to seat six people comfortably, but in order to reach everything Kagome would have to drag her chair around with her. Sasaki realized this and came back over, holding his hand out to her.
“Give me your plate and I’ll serve you. What would you like?”
Kagome gazed across the table, recognizing only some of what she saw. But all the smells were delectable, reminding her of how hungry she was.
“A little of everything, I guess,” she replied hesitantly. Sasaki smiled, pleased by the request. Kagome half-listened as he explained what everything was, how it was cooked, where he’d gotten the recipe, or any number of other self-serving details she didn’t care about. He set her plate in front of her, filled his own, and seated himself across from her. Kagome felt his expectant gaze as she scooped up a portion of what was obviously the main dish, making sure to get some rice with it. Her eyes widened slightly when she placed it in her mouth. She didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it certainly wasn’t cooking which rivaled her mother’s in pure taste.
“How is it?” Sasaki asked, failing nonchalance.
“It’s delicious,” Kagome answered honestly, going for another bite.
Sasaki sighed and visibly relaxed. “I’m glad. I don’t get to cook for others very often. Would you believe I’ve never actually had a woman over to my house before?”
Kagome rolled her eyes inwardly. Actually yes, I would believe that.
“Really?” she replied instead, feigning astonishment.
“Yes. I guess I’ve been too busy with work. I’m an archaeologist, you know…”
Again Kagome tuned him out. She tried to keep from snickering as she held a private little roast of Sasaki inside her head. Oh, yes, you don’t have a girlfriend because you’re ‘too busy with work.’ I’m sure that’s the reason. It’s not your fascinatingly boring personality, or those fabulously bland looks. And it’s definitely not the arrogance or the creepy evilness lurking just below the surface. No, the reason you don’t have a woman is because you’re unavailable. Right.
Kagome grinned, masking her contempt with another bite of her meal. If Sasaki noticed, he probably just assumed it was because of what he was saying. Kagome was dead set on continuing to ignore him, but one word flowing through one ear on its journey out the other caught her attention.
“…Inuyasha, he could be one of my most exciting projects.”
Kagome’s smile faded at the sobering reminder of her friend’s predicament, and she set down her chopsticks. Up until now, she had not been given the opportunity to really speak on Inuyasha’s behalf. Maybe she could convince Sasaki that even though he could hold her and Inuyasha captive, he shouldn’t do so. It was a long shot, considering how ‘excited’ the academic was with his ‘project,’ but it was worth a try.
“Sasaki-san?” she said loud enough for the man to hear over his blathering.
“Huh? What is it?”
“How…how is Inuyasha?”
“Oh, he’s fine. As foulmouthed and rebellious as ever, I imagine.”
Kagome was happy to hear that, but Sasaki’s description provided all the more reason to question his conduct.
“Have you thought about what you’re doing?” she asked seriously. “I mean, really thought about it?”
Sasaki sighed and likewise put his own chopsticks down. He leaned back in his chair and spoke in an unnerving monotone, as if he had rehearsed this speech a hundred times. Or perhaps he had mentally repeated it to himself so many times that he believed it.
“Every scientific advancement has a cost, Kagome. In order for humans to gain knowledge and improve themselves, someone or something must—”
“Don’t give me that! You can’t just say ‘oh, we’re learning and making money, so if somebody gets screwed, it’s fine.’”
“The only person being ‘screwed’ is you! Do you think your life is more important than the progression of the human race?”
“What you’re doing isn’t progress; it’s perversion. But you want more victims? Fine! Think about all the people in the feudal era who will die if Inuyasha and I don’t complete our mission and kill Naraku. You remember how you forced me to tell you about him, right?” (1)
“Or maybe Naraku won, died of natural causes, and history happened as it was meant to happen. Who can say for sure? Besides, I don’t believe you can go back in time and change the present. Now is now.”
“It doesn’t even really matter. What you’re doing to Inuyasha is still illegal and immoral. How can you say he’s not being screwed?”
“I didn’t. I said you were the only person being screwed. As much as you like him, Inuyasha isn’t human. He’s sub-human. He doesn’t get human rights.”
Kagome saw red flash across her vision; she gritted her teeth so hard her jaw ached. It seemed that even after five hundred years of human ‘advancement,’ bare prejudice against those who were different was still alive and well.
“So what if he’s hanyou? Inuyasha is not an animal! He’s far more human than any of you greedy, heartless bastards!”
“That’s enough!” Sasaki shouted, slamming his fist into the table. “I will not be insulted at my own dinner table!”
Kagome jumped slightly and shrunk back, fear coloring her expression. She’d gone a little too far there, and now wondered what the consequences would be. Sasaki glared at her expectantly, and Kagome swallowed. She couldn’t blame herself for getting angry at the sewage which had been spewing from her host’s mouth, but now she had to appease him or risk going back to square one.
“Sorry,” she muttered in a voice barely above a whisper. It was by far the must insincere apology she had ever given, but it was what Sasaki wanted to hear, and what in his conceit he felt he deserved. Kagome belatedly wondered where she’d crossed the line. Probably with the ‘greedy’ comment; his justifications were ludicrous, but it was clear he was not primarily motivated by money. Fame and professional recognition, perhaps, but not money.
“Fine,” Sasaki ground out, calming visibly. “Let’s talk about something more pleasant.” Neither of them attempted to start another conversation, however; they simply ate in uncomfortable, irritated silence. But the passing minutes seemed to pacify Sasaki’s sour mood, and when they both finished eating a quarter hour later, he spoke in a much more amiable tone.
“I tried to make you comfortable upstairs, Kagome. Is there anything else you need?”
Kagome frowned thoughtfully. She really wanted to ask him what was going to happen to her, for example whether Yoshida was still intent on killing her, but sensed that now was not the time for another potentially contentious conversation. She also wouldn’t ask for anything major, but a few minor requests shouldn’t hurt, since he was inviting them. One such item immediately popped into her head as she recalled her thoughts upon exiting the bath last night. Putting sweat-soiled underwear—hey, it had been a stressful few days—on a clean body certainly wasn’t ideal. She could only wash them so well in the tub without the benefit of proper laundry detergent. And it would be nice to have more than one set.
But she obviously had her reservations. Beyond having a strange man buy her underwear, since she was sure he wasn’t going to let her out of the house, the purchase might suggest to him that she needed her clothes washed as well. And if she had received a lecherous vibe from him, that might have been enough to keep her quiet on this one. But Sasaki had gone out of his way to not be a pervert since he had taken over her custody. Besides, there was really no point in worrying about it; if he wanted to do something perverted, there was little she could do to stop him in any event. Maybe if she asked he would let her do her own laundry. She could offer to do his as well to sweeten the deal.
The other thing she needed even more urgently also helped her reach a decision. It had been more than three weeks since her last period, so she really couldn’t avoid asking for tampons in the likelihood that she was still imprisoned here when that special time of the month arrived again. And if she was going to ask for something so intimate, she might as well ask for underwear as well. Ultimately, it was time to behave like a confident adult rather than an embarrassed little girl.
“Some underwear and tampons would be nice,” she stated smoothly, proud of the lack of stutter in her voice, especially after seeing Sasaki’s response. The man blushed like an awkward teenager, and he honestly appeared quite uncomfortable at the prospect of having anything to do with the items in her request. He was a great warden from her perspective, Kagome mused, but still a sad, sad little man. After a moment, an idea occurred to Sasaki and his face sagged in relief.
“Oh, I know. I’ll ask Inoue to pick those things up for you.”
“Who’s Inoue?”
“My housekeeper. She comes by once every two weeks to clean the place, but I sometimes have her do odd jobs on the side.” He must have seen the wheels turning in Kagome’s head, because he sneered as if to say ‘do you think I’m stupid?’ “Don’t worry; she won’t ask questions. And you won’t see her. Just write down exactly what you need and I’ll let her know.”
Kagome’s momentary enthusiasm melted away as Sasaki got up to get a pad of paper and pen, but she didn’t lose heart. Her captor was smart, but he wasn’t infallible. Sooner or later, she would find a way to escape.
(1) I got the idea for Kagome’s objection here from a couple reviews. But I think Sasaki actually has a halfway decent counterargument; nobody knows how time really works. He’s full of shit the rest of the time though. :)
A/N – If you’re wondering why I used the bad guys’ last names in this chapter, it’s because Inuyasha and Kagome don’t know their first names. It’s not random. Just remember: Sasaki Kurou (professor), Yoshida Saburou (mercenary). The context usually makes clear which one is which anyway.
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