InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hate ❯ Hate 08 ( Chapter 8 )

A/N: Anyone confused yet? This story is only gonna get darker from here on in and it was already pretty damn dark. This is not a love story between Inutaisho and Izayoi, so if that's what you're hoping for, you might want to bail. For the rest of you twisted people…keep reading. And I would appreciate any honest feedback as well, just to see if this is going where I want it to go.

 

 

Hate 08

 

 

Amid the harsh voices and laughter of a dozen or more demons, Izayoi found that she was, for once, too afraid to hate. At first she'd been sure she was to be beaten, but he made no move to punish her. She didn't know if it was what he intended, only for later, or if he only wished for her to have sufficient time to dread. But as the hours wore on, she became so uncomfortable that she could barely keep herself from crying.

 

Tonight he met with his men, his lieutenants and trusted commanders, discussing the direction their army might take in the morning. She learned that there had been another bloody battle, and that the army was celebrating their victories. As a reward, their general had invited his favorites to his tent, to drink and feast, and entertain each other with rude jests and singularly cruel stories of brutal plunder.

 

The tent was large and the back partitions had been taken down to extend the length. The dog lord sat at one end of the tent, his back to the guarded wall, and his men lined the sides facing each other. The smells of alcohol and roasted meat filled the air, along with the thick smoke from guttering lamps. The rough wicks made the flames lurch and blaze unexpectedly, casting horrific shadows and making faces appear as sepulchral masks.

 

Izayoi was absolutely terrified.

 

She was forced to sit a few feet in front of him, open to the leering eyes of all. Exposed, her clothing felt too thin and she felt the demon gazes like a pure violation of her flesh. Sit still, he'd whispered as he'd made her kneel and stroked her hair away from her face.

 

Keep still, keep silent…it had been her mantra for survival. But now, she could hardly control herself, every muscle rigid with tension, desperate with the desire to flee. Her thighs ached and her toes had gone numb, but she practiced stillness just as she'd practiced hatred, and tempered herself in its fire.

 

She closed her eyes and let the voices wash over her. If she didn't listen, the sounds they made would fade into the background. Behind her eyelids, she could tell herself it was all a dream, a horrible dream that had become reality, but still on a dream and if she might wake…

 

“There's a human village not far from here, my lord. Some of the men were saying that they could do with a little distraction.”

 

Dark chuckles filled her ears and Izayoi clenched her fists. Suddenly her mind was seething with thoughts of her family's slaughter, picturing innocent peasants falling under this army's idea of “distractions.”

 

“How about it, my lord? Not all of us are so lucky as to have such a pretty little pet as yourself. Men get randy after so much fightin', my lord.”

 

Izayoi's lips twisted, biting back a scream. Torture…rape…defilement…she'd had enough! There was nothing she could do, nothing that could stop them, stop him. All she could do was lie helplessly and cry, wondering when her turn would come or when he'd tire of her and throw her like a piece of meat to his dogs…

 

“No.”

 

“But, my lord…”

 

“I said no. Leave the village be.”

 

Groans of disappointment surrounded her and Izayoi opened her eyes. He'd said no? They wouldn't ravage that village? Relief washed through her body and without realizing it, she let a tiny sigh slip past her lips.

 

“Of course,” his deep voice said, cold as ice, “we could all do with some diversion and my pretty pet here might provide it.”

 

Forgetting stillness, she twisted to face him, her palms already damp with sweat. The gaze he turned on her was chilling, emotionless and tinged with a hint of sadism. “You'll do as you're told, won't you, my lovely?”

 

Her eyes tracked his finger as he lazily gestured to a youkai nearest him. “You, Kurasawa,” he said, his voice curling around her like a vice. “Entertain the lady for us. She seemed to prefer our dragon friend, but with a little persuasion, might learn to enjoy your attention as well.”

 

She dragged her gaze to the youkai, seeing high cheekbones and a wide grin with razor-sharp teeth. Izayoi had a brief moment to let the horror seep into her skin. Just like they'd said, just like she'd feared…and everything she'd endured had been for nothing!

 

Unconsciously, her hand curved over her swollen belly. Was he trying to fool her, terrify her into submission? Golden eyes brushed over her and a glint of anger surfaced within the icy calm. Although his expression was only that of boredom or cruel amusement, she suddenly felt, like a spear in her chest, the demon's seething jealousy.

 

Jealousy that she had somehow provoked…

 

“Did you love her?”

 

“Such was my mistake.”

 

Noise swelled around her. The gathered youkai laughed and called out as Kurasawa stood up and swaggered to her side. Izayoi raised her chin and took no notice of him. Instead she met the dog general's eyes and slowly mouthed one word.

 

No.

 

“Come on, lass,” Kurasawa murmured as he knelt beside her and started to stroke her hair. “No need to make this difficult for me, you'll only suffer for it.”

 

Quick as a flash, her small hand shot out, bearing her tiny knife. She plunged in into the man's thigh and pulled down with all her strength. Blood gushed over her fingers; her ears rang with his scream. Then she scrambled away, leaving her blade in his flesh and flung herself at her master's feet.

 

Kurasawa howled with outrage, the men around him either shocked to silence at her treachery or already laughing at her foolish boldness. Now they'd all tear her apart in turns, it seemed. While the great lord watched and paid no heed to her death or that of his unborn child.

 

Unafraid, she lifted her chin and faced him, the blood of Kurasawa still staining her hands. “I refuse,” she said, her voice quiet, but hard as small pebbles of granite. “I will not let him touch me, my lord.”

 

His eyebrow lifted and the Inu no Taisho smirked at her. “Disobedient,” he said, throwing the threat at her like a feather. “You want to die, little girl?”

 

Izayoi shook her head.

 

“Then what do you want?” His voice sounded bored and she saw his gaze flicker in reflection of hidden jealousy and…hatred.

 

“I want you,” she said, whispering the words like a promise. He looked confused when she crept forward; her stained hands on his thighs, until she straddled him while behind her chaos and fury were building. She hadn't attacked without a plan, a desperate one, and the kind that destroys the last shred of hope in a heart.

 

“I won't let another man touch me,” she whispered in a sensual voice she'd never heard herself use. “Your hands, your mouth, your body inside of mine…I need them.”

 

Doubt glittered in his eyes, diamond-hard and ruthless. Somehow with her tiny blade of lies, she stabbed him somewhere raw inside his soul. He knew it too, knew that her hot eyes and soft flesh were every bit as false as the words she uttered.

 

Only…he needed them…and would need her too if she could salve the blistered sore within his soul.

 

“Say it,” he breathed, his lips brushing hers. She tasted blood on his breath and felt the heady intoxication again pulse within her body. His desire…her despair. His need…her loathing. His anguish…her salvation.

 

“Say it.” He was pleading with her now and Izayoi head spun with hatred and…strangely enough…pity.

 

“I love you.”

 

oOo

 

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