InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ My Hatred, My Obsession ❯ The First Kill ( Chapter 16 )

My Hatred, My Obsession

Chapter 16 - The First Kill

 

“Murder! There's been a murder!”

 

Kagome groggily opened her eyes, her ears ringing from the sharp screaming of a woman just down the hall. She threw off the covers - briefly wondering how it was that she had made it to bed last night - and walked to the door, sliding it open.

 

“Oh Kami-sama! Murder! Murder!”

 

There were sounds of doors sliding open, beating of feet against the floor, and more yelling and shouting. She padded over to the quickly-growing crowd of strange youkai she'd never seen before and pushed - with difficulty - through the bodies to see just what it was that was so important as to awaken her so early in the morning. Her eyes widened, her stomach doing an unpleasant flip.

 

Blood.

 

There was blood soiling the entire span of the floor of the second guest room. At least, she supposed that it was a guest room, since the decorations were similar to the ones in her own temporary chambers. She didn't recognize the face that was contorted into a picture of horror - eyes wide and unseeing now in death. His mouth hung open, blood spilling from his neck. Wounds covered his stomach, his arms, and legs - signs that his death had been everything but quick.

 

The smell was disgusting - copper mixed with some sort of food product gone bad. She wanted to hide, to close her eyes, to do anything but to continue staring helplessly at the victim who had been murdered only several yards away from her last night. She tried remembering what she had been doing, feverishly trying to recall whether she'd heard some sort of noise, but nothing came up.

 

After an uncomfortable conversation with Sesshoumaru - throughout most of which, the fox had spoken with the Taiyoukai about political matters as if she wasn't there - Kiba had left the room. Sesshoumaru hadn't said anything to her, and they had parted without an argument. She saw the door close after him, and touched a hand to her lips, remembering the passionate kiss he'd forced on her. During her musing, Kagome remembered walking to the window and thinking about the events she'd gone through, but after that, there was a long blank.

 

A deafening screech snapped her back into reality.

 

A female youkai burst into the room, tears pouring down her face. She pushed her way through the impossibly thick mass of demons and threw herself at the dead corpse. She was sobbing, most of what she said turning into incoherent mumblings. The body was shaken, fiercer and fiercer until the woman was satisfied to know that he was dead. Her head rose and she let out a piercing wail -

 

“Riku! My Riku, what have they done to you?” Hands reached for her, maids softly mumbling words of sympathy, but she resisted any sort of contact, digging her claws into what appeared to be her beloved and refusing to let go. Blood was coating her clothing, skin, her face - everything - and Kagome suddenly felt very sick. She put a hand over her mouth and ran away, pushing and elbowing demons as she desperately tried to reach a safe place to puke.

 

Sure, she had seen many corpses, many battlefields ravaged by the cruelties of war, but there was just something more frightening about knowing that someone was murdered so close to where she slept. The blood and guts spilling from the victim's stomach didn't help either. She fell to her knees right in the middle of her doorway, doing everything in her power to prevent what she knew would be a hurl fest. She coughed, chocking on an invisible mound of saliva and feeling as if her own guts would come spilling out of her body.

 

“My dear Lady…” A hand came to rest on her shoulder and she whipped around, ready to scream, but she saw a handsome face looking at her in concern. “…I am very sorry that you had to witness such an atrocity.” He smiled and it felt like her soul slowed its mad fluttering. He looked around her room curiously, his brow furrowing over kind, violet eyes. “You must be the one who stays here, am I correct?”

 

She didn't know how to answer him. He didn't feel like the others - he felt…good. His aura wasn't like Kiba's aggressive one, and not like Niran or Digar's angry one, but almost like Inuyasha's - kind and gentle. She collapsed weakly on her butt, one hand still over her mouth. He smiled again and reached into his side pocket, pulling out a handkerchief. She accepted it gratefully and wiped the corner of her mouth. He sat down on his haunches and for the first time, she noticed that he had ears - not pointed like was customary, but long, furry, and graceful ones. He must have seen her confused expression:

 

“My name is Hiren; Misamoto Hiren of the Northern Lands - Son of Guin and brother to Misomoto Kiba.” There was a silence in which Kagome almost failed to comprehend his words, but she quickly recovered, her face openly showing her surprise. She really didn't know how to behave, suddenly very much embarrassed to have made such a deftly idiotic first impression. But Hiren showed no outward sign of displeasure, instead kindly looking into her eyes. A lock of pure blond hair fell into his face - high cheekbones and finely carved features giving him the appearance of a porcelain statue of a god.

 

“Please, Lady…do not keep me in suspense; I would very much like to know the name that belongs to such a lovely creature.” She opened her mouth, gasping at her rudeness.

 

“Oh please forgive me, Misamoto-sama!” But her tongue refused to obey her, it seemed. Why was she suddenly calling him so formally? Why was she being so nice?

 

She instantly knew the answer.

 

His warmth was contagious.

 

“I am Kagome. Higurashi Kagome.”

 

Why was she telling him her name?

 

“Ah! Kagome…what a beautiful title…so fitting.” She blushed, suddenly all too aware of his closeness. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was uncomfortable. He was too close…invading her personal space to enough of a degree to make her tense. He must have noticed, once again, for he stood, reaching down to give her a helping hand. She was pulled up in an instant, supporting herself on the door. He smiled again and inclined his head to her.

 

“I had heard from the servants that there was a lady here that refused medical treatment.” He sounded amused, his eyes sparkling. “So I decided that it was because she was afraid to let just anyone treat her.” He turned away, gesturing vaguely. In a few moments, a tiny woman came padding around the corner, dressed nicely in a fine kimono. She bowed.

 

“Good morning, My Lady. I am called Kira. Hiren-sama asked me to assist you.” Kagome waved her hands in a sheepish gesture.

 

“Please don't bow to me. I'm not royalty or anything.” The woman straightened and smiled.

 

“Well! If you will excuse me, Kagome-chan, I must take leave of you.” There was an unreadable look in his eyes. “I'm afraid that murder is a rather messy thing to deal with in a castle.”

 

That's right…there was a murder…

 

OOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

“Who would have done such a thing?” She asked Kira later as she was tending to her wounds. The girl was surprisingly gentle and rather deft with her fingers - a fact that Kagome complemented her on. Unfortunately, she was rather silent as well - speaking only when she was directly asked a question.

 

“I do not know, My Lady.” She had a quiet sort of voice - blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and soft features that were pleasant to the eye. For a moment, Kagome wondered how she had come to be in Hiren's service. But when she asked, Kira didn't answer, simply blushing a deep red and muttering something under her breath and out of Kagome's hearing range.

 

All she could get out of her was a “Hiren-sama is very kind.”

 

She finished the bandaging in less than an hour, ending the séance with an offer to brush Kagome's hair. The miko acceded, already fed up with seeing her rumpled outlook in the mirror Kira had brought with her. But she hadn't expected to be treated with such lavish splendor. Oils were rubbed into her hair - gardenia and other flowers whose heavenly scents lulled her into a bit of a “zen state”. Kira's fingers were magic, massaging the fragrant substance into her scalp until she was certain she could feel the blood rushing through the neglected skin there.

 

Once again, her consciousness faded into a deep and soothing darkness. She was barely aware of the softness of her futon, and only heard fragments of words she knew were nearby. Slowly - like a hesitant traveler - she fell into a deep sleep, her mind working over the idea of a murder, and wondering how it was that such a thing had happened.

 

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

My dearest readers,

 

Forgive my absence. Life got in the way.

 

Those words alone should send some kind of light of understanding through you ^_^. Life simply got in the way. Somehow, between applying for college, going to school, and working two jobs, I managed to put this together. It's very short, I know, but more is on the way. I felt that this was a good cutting point for this chapter.

 

Please don't give up on me,

--Raven91