InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ No Such Thing As Fate ❯ The Prince ( Chapter 14 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Yay The next chapter is here. I was told this chapter is boring so I apologize but I need it to move the story along. I think the fight scene in this chapter sucks too.

I thank my beta anime_fairy_13 for her help with this chapter.

Thank you all my reviewers. I hate to sound stuck up but I would really appreciate it if more of my readers would review. The option is there and it takes like 2 minutes to give a little feed back. It really helps out when people tell me how to fix things or even just give a little encouragement. This is the start of another arch. I find this next arch morbid and hilarious at the time so you might not agree with my sense of humor in these next few chapters. ...lets begin!

Chapter 14: Wandering: The Prince.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Shippou raced through the forest and paused to glance around frantically. A crack echoed through the forest. Shippou paled and tucked himself against a tree to hide. Sniffing the air to search for any danger he was satisfied to find nobody was too close. He stepped out of his hiding space and darted through the forest to find another place to hide. It was never wise to stay in one place too long.

A noise made him freeze and he looked around nervously. He spun around slowly his ears twitching as he searched for the sound that had caught his attention. Finishing his full turn his eyes narrowed in thought.

Shippou saw something move in the forest in front of him. despite his enhanced vision he couldn't make out what it was and his nose wasn't finding anything strange. Stepping back nervously he searched frantically for the blur that was in the forest.

“Shippou-kun!” came an inhuman purr.

Shippou spun around completely in time to face a girl covered from head to toe in plants and mud in her attempt to camouflage herself.

It worked frighteningly well.

Shippou wailed as the girl tackled him and they went rolling across the ground. More girls in similar camouflaged states emerged from the forest like hyenas closing in for the kill. All of them giggled insanely, whispering to one another, as they got closer.

“I want to pet his tail!” Came a cry from one of the girls. Shippou couldn't see who it was, he was currently pinned on his stomach by the girl who had tackled him.

Over the month living in the village Tsukiyama, he had made friends with plenty of the human kids, at least the ones who could keep their mouths shut about playing with a youkai kit. In his time in this village, he had learned lot of things, one of those things was so horrible he couldn't utter its name aloud for fear of drawing them closer.

Fan Girls.

Shippou shuddered in fear as all the girls squealed.

“Help!” he screamed wiggling frantically. There was a crash followed by an outrageous battle cry.

“OOGA!!!” came a boys shriek

“OOOGA OOOGA!!!” was the response as more boys jumped from the forest.

The girls shrieked as the boys descended on them with sticks and slingshots as their weapons of choice.

Shippou watched in morbid amusement as a mini battle broke out in front of him. The girls scattered with shrieks of fear, some taking ups sticks to defend their capture, and the boys screamed their glee. A pale hand grabbed his arm and Shippou looked up to see a boy with a mask made from a very large leaf. While he couldn't see his face, he recognized his scent

“Ogata,” Shippou gasped in relief as the fellow boy pulled him from under the girl sitting on him. The girl fell over with a shriek but quickly recovered enough to grab Shippou's leg.

“Go away you icky boys, Shippou-kun is playing with us today,” she sneered. The boys flung sticks at the girl, not really to hurt her but to scare. She flinched and released Shippou. With their target free, all the boys turned and fled into the forest with Shippou.

“You okay Shippou?” the leader of the little gang of boys asked.

“Yeah, they didn't have a chance to do anything bad. That was great, whose idea was that?” Shippou laughed breathlessly.

“Me of course,” Ogata snorted. Shippou only snickered but a cry made the group slide to a halt.

They looked back to see one of the boys had been tackled by a girl. He was mugging the girl who clung to him in anger.

“Let me go!” he cried.

“Kai I'm going to tell kaa-san you threw sticks at me!” the girl cried.

“Mina if you tell kaa-san, I won't help you with your chores anymore,” he threatened.

Mina blinked and quickly released him and her older brother shoved her off and ran to join the other boys. They quickly kept going when yells alerted them to the approach of other girls. Not a minute later, they finally made it out of the forest and into their `hide out'. The girls never came this far into the forest alone so they were safe finally.

The whole group collapsed to the ground laughing in their tiny clearing, their haven.

“That was great,” one of the boys gushed still high off the energy rush the `attack' caused.

“I have to think of another way to get around them, they're getting better at hiding from me,” Shippou grumbled.

The other boys snickered. “Maybe if you cut that fluffy thing off your butt they won't chase you as much.”

Shippou held his tail protectively and glared at the other boys. “This is my tail, I can't just cut it off,” he huffed.

“Suit yourself,” the leader shrugged.

“What are we doing today?” another boy asked.

“Fishing,” the leader said with a grin.

A few of the boys frowned “Why didn't you say something earlier? I left my fishing rod back in the village.”

The leader shrugged. “Just make one at the river.”

A few scowls made their disapproval known. “I'm going back to the village and grab my fishin' rod. I'll meet you at the river,” Came irritable grumbles as the boys began to pull off their war regalia and stuffed them into little hiding placed at the base of trees. The remaining boys turned and began to walk toward the river

“Hey, I don't know how to make a fishing rod,” Shippou said with a pout.

“Nas will show you how, he makes the best fishing rods,” was the leaders response.

Shippou shrugged and moved closer to walk with Nas as the older boy explained how to make the item. They made good time getting to the river. This area of the river was usually empty so the group thought nothing of making themselves comfortable. Shippou watched amused as one of the boys wiggled around on his back much like a dog.

Nas flicked him and Shippou covered his abused forehead glaring at the older boy.

“Pay attention idiot. I'm not going to explain this again.” Shippou nodded as Nas showed him to make a temporary fishing rod with a stick and some string. The other boys were digging in the dirt for worms as bait.

“I'll show you how to make a permanent one later if you promise to give me one of your fishes.”

Shippou shrugged. “Sure.”

“Your suppose to tie it like this right?” Shippou asked absently.

Nas didn't answer; in fact, everyone had gone eerily quiet. Shippou looked up to see everyone staring across the river. Shippou looked too and immediately paled. There was a group of samurai standing on the other side of the river staring at them, more so at him. Something from the corner of his eye made him turn his head. There were two more men standing on their side of the river and one man had what looked like a -

Shippou yelped when a rock fired from a slingshot popped him right in the forehead. He hit the ground unconscious a bit of blood slipping down the side of his face. The men moved toward them and the boys screamed in fear turning to run. The remaining boys tried to wake Shippou. A few well placed kicks and they were unconscious too.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Kagome stepped from the house and took a deep breath. She had never imagined she would end up a midwife for anyone. The newborn babies screams of displeasure quieted to whimpers and Kagome smiled at the husband that stood outside the door waiting anxiously.

“You can go in,” she said softly. He nodded and rushed past her. Kagome walked numbly over to a bucket of water that had been brought for her to clean herself up with.

Kagome had never imagined she would have such a huge clientele, but what could she do. She had quickly become famous in the village as a healer. Her fame had quickly spread to other villages in the vicinity. Now they came from all over to receive medicine from her. She rarely used her healing powers. Her promise to Kuro now made a lot of sense. If she showed she could heal in that manner her problems would only get worse and even she didn't have energy to heal people constantly.

For that same reason, she was very thankful for her knowledge gained as Jiji's student for all of eight months.

Kagome scrubbed her hands quickly and prepared to go back in and give the baby a quick exam to see if everything was okay, when someone cried her name. The crowd that had gathered outside the little hut to hear news of the new addition to their village looked too. There was a group of filthy little boys running toward her. A nervous fire lit in the pit of her belly when she saw they were Shippou's friends.

“Kagome-sama, they took Shippou,” The first boy to reach her bawled. The other boys caught up and Kagome noticed they were all a little bruised and sobbing fearfully.

“What?” she whispered as the world around her seemed to freeze.

“T-The samurai took Shippou.

Kagome felt the world come crashing down around her. “What…show me, show me where!” she demanded urgently.

]They nodded and grabbed her hand to lead her where they had woken up a few minutes ago. Hearing the commotion, she found a fairly sized group of villagers following them. The little boys lead her to a river bank. Everything seemed normal besides the fishing rods laying forgotten on the ground. Kagome stopped and looked around searching for anything out of place. She closed her eyes, her miko powers only worked to search for youkai presence and she was supposedly looking for human samurai. She scanned the area for unfamiliar auras.

Nothing.

She tried again looking for Shippou's youki.

Still nothing.

Kagome felt the tears burning her eyes “Shippou,” she whimpered. She turned and looked back at the group of villagers.

“Please help me look for him,” she pleaded.

There were uncertain nods and sympathetic glances as everyone slowly spread out to search for the missing kit.

XXXXXXX

Kagome sniffled, letting lazy tears slip down her face.

“Shippou-kun,” she whispered into the darkness of her room.

She didn't want to see anybody, she didn't want to move, it even hurt to think.

The first days of searching hadn't brought a clue of the missing kit's whereabouts. The villagers tried to help in her search effort but it was hard and many were scared of the youkai that lived in the forest. One too many times the villagers had to drag Kagome back to the village to make sure she didn't stay out and get herself killed in her grief.

The second week the villager spent a lot of time keeping her from marching to the lords' castle and demanding he help with her search. After all the children assured her samurai had attacked Shippou. The closest place to find samurai was at a lords' castle.

…The end of second the villagers began to give up.

Kagome threw herself into her work, if she wasn't searching, as a means to get her mind off Shippou even for a moment.

When she wasn't working or looking for the kit, she locked herself in her room and cried. She knew he was alive. He was a stubborn little kit, and he wouldn't die so easily. That didn't make the pain of being without her son any less intense.

Kagome rolled over and stared listlessly at the table silently willing it to explode into flames. No such thing happened but she did finally sigh and give up.

Kagome propped herself up on her futon and glanced around her ominously darkened room. She didn't want to get up but she knew she would have to eventually. The shrine maidens made her eat something at least once a day especially when they knew she would run off into the forest and search for Shippou.

“Lady Kagome?” Kagome shot up completely in bed and stared at her closed door

“Have you found Shippou?” she asked eagerly.

The silence from the girl on the other side of the closed door was her answer.

Kagome sighed as she glanced at the scroll posted on her wall. She had another appointment with one of her patients in about 10 minutes.

She knew if Shippou saw her moping about him he would probably pout and run off to give her a silent treatment of sorts. He didn't like being looked at as if he couldn't protect himself, no matter what logic and fact said.

“Then why are you bothering me?” she called.

Was her patient early or something?

“I was told to warn you that lord Taishi is coming to the village, if you don't wish to be bothered then I'd advise you to stay inside today.” Kagome grunted in acknowledgement and sighed when she heard the sound of the girl walking away. Kagome only looked back to the garden as she turned her thoughts back on Shippou.

She missed Shippou but she felt rather stupid to sit and cry in a room every day. She couldn't find the kit by normal means like searching.

So what!

When was anything she did normal anymore?

It was just time to search in a different way.

Kagome opened the door to the garden to let some light and air into the room. She winced when the outrageously bright light reached her eyes.

`Hang on Shippou, I'll come get you,' she thought scowling at nothing.

She picked up her things around the room and stuffed them into her bag, it was time to leave and go find Shippou…as soon as this Lord Taishi was gone. She would see the patient but that was all for today.

As she packed, Kagome's thoughts wandered. She had tried to send a message orb to Shippou but it hadn't even activated. That led her to question if the orb had a distance limit for use. That didn't make sense though. She had used it at the temple to contact Jiji and Shippou and they were a week's travel away.

A group of auras caught her attention as they stopped in front of shrine. They didn't move much but Kagome was sure this was Lord Taishi and his group. Kagome set her packed things aside and looked out over the garden. Winter was approaching again, she couldn't afford to waste time. She had to find Shippou before the cold weather really set in. They needed to find shelter for the winter and she doubted they would make it back to Tsukiyama in time before winter hit.

She had a pretty large range and she would bet her life Shippou was a couple of days out of said range. A strong gut feeling told her he would be near Lord Taishi's home where more samurai would live in the villages. She had seen very few samurai in Tuskiyama.

But they usually weren't here on missions from their master. Their clans were in the village and so they weren't of interest to her. She rarely had contact with them and none of them had Shippou, she had checked and double-checked.

`I should have listened to Shippou and Jiji, they told me I should try to use my powers to enhance my senses and I brushed it off to do later. I could have followed Shippou's scent if only I had listened,' she thought bitterly.

There wasn't much she could do at the moment but think of how to enhance her senses like they told her too. `So how do I make my sight hearing and smell better. I don't think I need to enhance touch or taste…at least I hope not…I should just do that too' Kagome rubbed her temple ignoring the auras of Taishi and two of his lackeys as they moved slowly through the temple.

`So how do I enhance my sense of smell first?' Kagome stared into space a moment deep in thought.

`I just put energy behind my eyes to do the night vision thing, problem is now I can't stop it and the glowing eye thing gets me in more trouble than it's worth.'

`Can I do the same with my nose? …I don't need my nose to start glowing or something stupid like that.' A flash of amusement raced through her body at the thought.

`I don't think the way my eyes work is going to work for any other enhancements.' Kagome sighed deeply and blew her hair from her eyes in frustration. Her stomach decided then that it was immensely hungry and made this fact known by howling like a dog. Kagome glared down at her stomach as if it were a separate entity from herself she could scold. Her door opened and Kagome turned her glare on the intruder.

In the door way stood a young man in expensive looking robes and very heavy looking armor. He was about twenty-four and actually quite handsome. Two samurai flanked his sides. He was obviously lord Taishi, but that in no way meant she was going to be nice to him.

`Today is just not my day is it?' she thought bitterly.

He stepped into the room and looked around distastefully. Then, as if finally spotting her, he walked over.

“You must be lady Kagome. I was told you are as beautiful as a goddess but how can I think so with your hair cut short and hanging in your face like a man's.”

Kagome shrugged the comment off, “Is there something I can do for you lord Taishi?” she asked coolly.

One of the samurai stepped forward, “How dare you talk to Lord Taishi in such a way. Show proper respect, you bow before royalty.”

Kagome raised an eyebrow but didn't respond or obey. The guard drew his sword and Kagome stood ready to fight if she needed too.

“Calm down lady Kagome.” Kagome glared at the blade pointed at her then glared through her hair at Taishi. “It is unbecoming of a priestess to act in such a way. Do you know who I am? I am lord Taishi.”

Kagome almost shrugged but she caught herself. She needed to get to Shippou, making this lord mad would make it a lot harder.

“I know who you are,” she said quietly, a dangerous edge in her voice. Taishi swallowed thickly when he felt the violent vibes she gave off.

She pushed the samurai's blade away from her body and Taishi gasped when the blade cut into her hand.

“Lady Kagome, why do you mar your beautiful pale skin?”

Kagome shrugged, licking the blood away. Taishi swallowed heavily and looked away. He couldn't figure out why that was so erotic.

“Look, Lord Taishi, I honestly don't care who you are, you're standing in my way,” Kagome murmured quietly her patience finally wearing thin.

He scowled. “That is enough, I command you to come with me.”

Kagome made a face. “I'm not one of your lackeys, you don't command me,” she sneered.

“You will do as I say or I will make you,” he hissed stepping a bit closer. He was using his height to intimidate her and it obviously didn't work.

“How dare you!” Kagome snarled. She moved to step around him but he caught her arm and yanked her back.

“I am a lord and you are a commoner. Not only that but you dare to talk back to a man, know your place,” he bit out.

“I'm not a normal woman. You want me to obey, you'll have to fight me,” she sneered in his face. He wrapped his free hand around her waist and pulled her flush against him. Kagome gasped in outrage and he only stared at her while a blade was pressed to her throat to keep her still.

“Wild and beautiful, what an enticing combination. I never thought I would desire a wild defiant woman but you are an exception.” He smirked down at Kagome, who was hissing angrily at him.

“Let me go!!” She snapped.

He completely ignored her outburst. “I will tame you mind and body then you will be my wife.” He explained as if talking to a child.

He brushed a hand across her ass and Kagome screamed in anger bucking in his arms, he struggled to hold on to her and the blade proved useless against her. She lifted a hand to smack him but he caught her wrist grinning arrogantly even as his hand throbbed from the action of trying to stop her blow.

She turned and bit into his wrist, drawing blood. He cried out in surprise shoving her into the arms of his men. The two samurai restrained her as she struggled wildly screaming in anger.

“Lord, are you okay?” One of the men asked as Taishi checked his wrist.

Taishi only glared at Kagome. “My lord, this one is savage. Surely there must be a more respectable Miko,” one of the samurai grunted.

Taishi didn't respond a moment. He stepped forward and brushed her hair out of her face. He smirked a bit, “Blue eyes, that's different, you will give me fine heirs with spiritual powers,” he chuckled coldly, his smile tight in anger.

He looked back to his men. “She will do. I will not find another Miko in time,” he grunted.

“Let us leave this disgusting village,” he sneered. One of the guards restrained Kagome's hands and dragged from the room; another grabbed her bag and followed. Kagome screamed at the top of her lungs fighting wildly. The way he held her wrist sent pain racing up and down her arms and back as she fought.

“No, release me!!” She howled.

They arrived back outside to find a good fraction of the village standing outside trying to see what the commotion was about. Kagome went limp refusing to walk as they moved toward the horses. The samurai merely slung her over his shoulder. Kagome kicked and beat on his back screaming obscenities. The poor soldier groaned at the surprisingly strong blows but he held her tightly.

Chimei rushed out of the shrine and dropped to her knees before Taishi sobbing and pleading.

“My lord, please let her go she's done nothing wrong,” she pleaded.

“I didn't say she did anything wrong.”

Chimei paused a moment to digest his words.

“But lord-” He knocked her aside, frustrated.

“Chimei!” Kagome cried.

“Lady,” she whimpered, eyes wide in shock and clutching a bloody nose.

Kagome looked at Chimei's form laying on the ground and something in her snapped. Her eyes flashed blue in her rage. She brought her hands up over her head and they flashed yellow. She brought her clasped hands down on her captors back and his armor shattered as he collapsed to the ground. Kagome collapsed awkwardly when she was dropped and her captor hit the ground dead to the world.

She stood slowly her powers becoming visible around her body. She glared at the remaining samurai hatefully.

“How dare you,” she hissed. They shifted nervously, uncertain what to do.

“She's a Miko you fool, her powers only harm youkai.”

Hearing the comment Kagome's power seemed to be drawn into her arms and they appeared in her hands as blue flames. She smirked at them evilly and the flames turned yellow.

“M-master what about that? I've never seen a Miko do such a thing.”

“I'm not a normal Miko ass hole,” she spat.

She flung her flame at the closest samurai and there were screams of horror as it exploded and sent him flying to the ground.

Kagome smirked, “Cool, I didn't think it would work.”

At the command from Taishi, the samurai rushed forward to restrain her. Kagome danced around the first wave of attackers and a well placed tap sent them flying back with shattered armor and tattered clothes.

She hadn't planned to kill anybody but that thought was thrown out of the window as the remaining samurai drew swords. With a snort, she yanked a random weapon off her necklace and a second later she had a full grown monks staff in her hand. She twirled the staff and fell into a fighting stance. Taishi scowled as his samurai looked on awed.

“I get guinea pigs for random attack tests. That is just fine with me,” she purred.

Two samurai charged her at once. It was very unusual for a samurai to double team a girl but she thought nothing of it as she nimbly danced around their blades. She swayed, out of the path of a blade that would have slit her throat and blocked the other blade with her staff.

The first samurai took s few quick swings and Kagome found herself struggling to stay out of range. He was fast but she was stubborn. She blocked the last swing and kicked her opponent in the side. She turned to her other opponent as his partner hit the ground dazed from the blow.

She twirled the staff and charged into battle. The other samurai was down; this was a good chance to try and take the standing one down. Their weapons met viciously a few times but neither of them backed down.

Samurai number one, who had been knocked down, charged at her back. She ducked the swings and a quick kick to his knee had him on the ground again. Jumping back when samurai two bought his sword down intending to cleave her in half, she gave a wide swing and caught him in the side of the head seconds before he could bring his arm or sword back up to parry the blow. He staggered a bit and Kagome prepared to attack again when a shout caught her attention. She turned around in time to have a rope thrown over her head.

A yank and Kagome cried out when the rope tightened around her pinning her arms at her side. She hissed angrily trying to pull free. The samurai holding the other end of the rope yanked intending to knock her over. Kagome only ran forward before stopping and holding her ground as she tried to get the rope to loosen up.

Kagome shrieked in pain when something hard hit the side of her leg and she toppled to the ground. She hit the dirt with a hiss. Samurai number one rushed over to her, a sneer on his face. Lifting her head, she spat at him. Her last sight was his foot before everything went black.

The samurai stared down at the now unconscious girl as blood flowed from her nose from the kick. Certain she was unconscious; he looked to his master who was rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

“Tie her tightly; we don't need any more `accidents' on the way back,” he murmured. The samurai nodded and used the rest of the string to bind the girl tightly.

Other samurai were seeing to their wounded comrades as Kagome was flung across a horse's saddle. His eyes narrowed on the girl, he was going to guard her closely. Anyone who could wound seasoned warriors like Taishi's samurai was not to be taken lightly. Taishi nodded thoughtfully walking toward his own horse.

“I made a good decision after all.”

XXXXXXX

Kagome sniffled angrily peering at the bustling young women through her swollen eye. Servants were at her bedside cooing over her and offering food and other delights. She didn't want anything but to be let free so she could find Shippou.

Two days ago she woke to find herself tied and bound laying on a futon in a beautiful room she didn't recognize. Of course, she was very pissed and, unable to do anything about it, had opted to scream for hours on end. Her rants and crying didn't seem to do anything against her twenty-four hour guard but the servants were another story. The problem was her pleas never got what she wanted.

“Lady do not cry, it'll be okay, you'll enjoy being Taishi-sama's wife.”

Kagome gave a chocked sob.

“I'll bite my tongue off before I'm forced to be his wife!” She yelled. For the first time in seventeen hours, she had the strength to wiggle against her bonds. The servants moved back a bit looking fearful. Rumors of what Kagome had done to samurai had obviously gotten around. The guards tensed ready to jump and restrain her if needed.

“Let me go!” she yelled.

“I don't want to be his wife! I hate him and I wish he would die!” She roared

“Please don't say things like that, he'd surely punish you,” one of the servants hushed trying to calm the enraged girl.

“Punish me? I'll bite his face off!”

The servants glanced at each other warily; they fully believed she would keep her word.

“I'll never marry him!” Kagome wailed turning onto her side. She curled into a little ball and sobbed pitifully, “Shippou-kun, I want my little Shippou-kun.”

Kagome shook in pain and exhaustion as sobs racked her body.

“What is this Shippou?” a servant asked gently.

Instantly Kagome stopped screaming and looked up. Her eyes were heavy and red, tear streaks stained her face at all different kinds of angles. She had developed a fever so her face was red and still bruised; her powers had been routed to fight her body's weakness. For two days, she had refused to eat or sleep, of course she was getting sick.

Kagome's eyes shifted nervously as she gathered her thoughts.

“Shippou-kun?” she whispered hoarsely.

“Shippou-kun is a fox kit. I miss him I want him back…Shippou-kun,” she whispered laying her head down and, for the first time since she woke, lay there on her futon quietly.

Seeing her sudden calm state the servants knew they had to find this fox child if they wanted Kagome to remain calm and more importantly quiet.

“Someone go tell Lord Taishi.”

There was the patter of feet as one of the servants ran to obey. Kagome didn't react, simply staring off into space. Her throat hurt like never before, she knew she wouldn't have a voice in soon if she didn't stop screaming. She longed to reach up and put a healing hand to her neck, to stop the pain, to get rid of the headache and the fogginess. Her swollen eye shut of its own accord and the burning calmed a bit. Kagome sighed thankfully when someone put a cloth on her forehead to combat the fever.

Taishi appeared in the doorway not five minutes later and stared at the suddenly subdued Miko.

“A fox child you say?” he asked to the servant who had come to fetch him.

“Yes, milord, she speaks of a child named Shippou. She calmed immediately when we asked about him,” the servant responded timidly.

He turned on the still girl. It was indeed a miracle to have her so quiet.

“Guards, bring her. Don't be fooled by her weak appearance,” he ordered. Kagome was vaguely aware of her feet being cut loose and then her arms. The guards hoisted her to her feet, a guard restraining each arm.

The whole walk she was forced to stare at Taishi's back. They walked through the halls slowly servants scrambling to get out of the way as they passed. She was led down into the dungeons.

The dungeons were dark with bits of light from the breathing holes in the walls. The holes in the walls did nothing for the smell.

It was horrible; smelling of bodily waste, rotten food, and decay. She choked at the offensive smell and swayed. The sound and feel of her bare feet meeting cold metal made her pause and look down. There were cells in the floor.

Glowing eyes stared up at her from the darkness and Kagome gasped and looked around quickly at the other cells on either side of her. The angry and pained snarls and growls made her tremble

“Demons.”

Familiar seals carved into the metal bars told her why the demons hadn't broken free.

Hearing her speak made all eyes turn on her both human and demon. The demons in the cells were a lot easier to make out then the ones beneath her. Most of them were humanoid in form but many were beastly looking.

“What did they do?” she asked nervously. There had to be some really good reason he would do this. She wondered how he had done it; these were demons after all.

“Eating villagers, wandering my lands…I can't remember.” He shrugged nonchalantly.

“Are you out of you mind?” She asked in disbelief.

“You locked some of these demons up for wandering your lands; they were here long before you were what right do you have. I kind of understand you for being angry at them for eating humans but…” Kagome shook her head at a loss for words.

“Shut up it is of no concern of yours. I am the reason these youkai haven't feasted on your body yet.”

Kagome completely ignored the second half of the sentence as she screamed outraged and kicked at the arrogant human lord, the guards held her tightly.

He smiled at her, “When you become lady of this castle you may decide what to feed them.”

A look of absolute outrage flashed across Kagome's face.

“How about I blow your head off? I don't want to see brains but I'm sure I can handle it for your sake,” she sneered

“Be quiet or I will leave you down here to rot in your feces like the monster you defend.”

“Look you bastard, was that supposed to scare me? I'll still spit in your face.”

Taishi backhanded her and Kagome blinked not quite as surprised as she was angry. She didn't even flinch but she did have the nerve to stick her tongue out and blow. Taishi raised a hand to hit her again but a yell from one of the cells caught her attention.

“Kagome?” came a whimper.

“Kaa-san is that you!?” Kagome jerked pulling against her captors.

“Shippou?” She gasped.

“Kaa-san, let me out. I hate it here!” He wailed.

Kagome snatched free and the guards let her go. She ran toward Shippou's voice. Shippou was in one of the cells against the wall. Besides being filthy, he looked fine. Shippou reached for her through the bars wanting nothing more to be in her arms.

“Kaa-san,” he whispered happily.

“Shippou, I missed you so much,” she whimpered.

Kagome touched his hands then gripped the bars that kept them apart then turned toward Taishi's advancing form.

“You took Shippou from me. I'll never forgive you,” she spat with such intensity Shippou flinched in his prison. Taishi snorted at her obviously still pissed. The guards opened the cell and Shippou leapt into her arms. Kagome squeezed him tightly and glanced up at the only other demon in the cell.

He sat against the wall bound in chains and wards and simply stared at her not really making any move to get up. He nodded to her faintly and she returned the gesture without thinking. The guards yanked her up and she was dragged from the dungeons now calm and submissive. she had Shippou in her arms again and for her, everything would be okay eventually. Shippou clung to her top refusing to let go.

Once back in her room they tossed her onto her futon and bound her feet and hands again. Shippou found himself trapped in her arms but he didn't care at the moment. Kagome smiled and cuddled him close, she didn't care that he smelled bad. It didn't take much for both of them to pass out.

XXXXXXXXX

Kagome glanced out the window absently as her hands stroked Shippou's hair. The kit smiled contently in his sleep and buried his face in his mother's fine new silks. Taishi had quickly seen that taking care of the kit would gain her favor and so he had gotten the boy silk robes to wear and gotten Kagome extravagant layer kimono's to wear in his presence. The ever-present servants sat in the back of the room talking quietly, waiting for the time when their mistress would need something they could fetch for her.

They didn't realize Kagome had excellent hearing.

“Our mistress is so graceful and beautiful.”

“Yes, she had gone insane with grief over the missing fox child.”

“I couldn't imagine her screaming and fighting like she had before. Insanity had befallen our mistress, but she is well now.”

“Did you hear, our mistress is to marry our lord Taishi.”

“Wonderful, our mistress will look lovely by our master's side. She is already so lovely, being our lady is befitting of mistress Kagome.”

Kagome tilted her head.

`Marriage?' She thought in disgust though her outward expression remained content and calm. She still didn't have the strength to get away. What could she do?

“You're irritating. Keep your gossip to yourselves,” Kagome growled. She saw the shoulders of her servants sag but they didn't talk again.

Kagome had plans to get out of this hellhole. Marrying Taishi was not part of those plans…but they could be. She had plenty of experience with escape attempts; all she had to do was think of something to match this situation. Kagome's eyes flashed as a small sinister smile made its way onto her lips. Now to put her knowledge of seals to work. How can you let youkai free from sealed cells like that without killing them…

Kagome hummed in thought attempting to run her fingers through her shoulder length hair. Her hands met with the expensive clips being used to hold her hair back and she gave a sigh of frustration. The only reason the servants hadn't cut her hair and given her bangs was because she threatened to remove limbs if they did so.

Now, `Seals, seals, seals… Ah!' Kagome nodded to herself, she already had a plan.

Kagome twitched and something touched her. She blinked owlishly at the kit who was staring up at her intensely. It was a strange expression to see from him, she hadn't even realized when he had woken up. He was giving her the strangest look and sniffed at her, she only looked at him in question. He tilted his head a bit and his frown deepened. Finally, he lay his head back down on her lap. She pet his head as if trying to comfort him for a reason she didn't understand.

Shippou sighed and began to trace the flower pattern on her clothes.

“Lady Kagome.”

Kagome glanced up to see a man in the doorway. His clothing told her he was a soldier. He pressed his lips together in dislike but bowed, “Lord Taishi wishes you to join him for tea.”

Shippou glanced at Kagome before slowly standing as she rose in one flowing movement

“Without the demon child,”

Kagome paused and glanced at Shippou who sat back down and sent a half smile at Kagome.

Kagome sighed and stepped through the door. The guard followed her through the halls surprised to find he didn't need to show her which direction to go. The stopped before a door, it was a common room where Taishi liked to relax.

The guard glanced at her suspiciously. “How did you-“

Kagome sent him a cool glance. “I'm a Miko. I sense auras.”

The explanation seemed to satisfy the guard. He opened the door for her and, after a small introduction, quickly left. Kagome stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.

Taishi was already in the room and two guards were on either side of the door ready to restrain her should she decide to attack their master. Kagome twitched fighting the urge to hurt someone as she slowly got down and bowed properly before Taishi.

No matter how proud she was, having a sword pressed to her neck was not a nice experience. He smiled pleasantly at her and motioned for her to take a seat across from him at the small table.

He was already drinking his tea so Kagome shuffled over and slid into the seat. She sent him a cold glance.

“You look lovely today.”

Kagome didn't make a sound but simply stared at him. She glanced at the tea then back to the handsome young lord. “I won't keep you long. After all, you still need your rest.”

He set his tea cup down and Kagome stared him dead in the eye, her expression blank.

“You're to be my wife.”

No!

“I will expect you to act your station. You will bear children to carry on the line”.

Never!

“You are to never speak of your commoner upbringing to anyone. If I am to make this work, I don't need the other nobles snooping around. You are the daughter of one of my vassals who was never able to come to important gatherings because he was sick. Simple and effective”

I hate you!

Kagome stared at him loathingly.

He smiled pleasantly at her. “There won't be a public wedding. I don't need you acting like a savage and shaming my family.”

Fuck you!

“You will behave for the next week while we are finishing up the documents to secure our marriage. You will cooperate and do your part or I'll have the fox child killed.”

Kagome froze.

`Did he just threaten my son?' she thought, her mind numbing in horror.

“I'll kill you,” she said with a frigid stare.

The room seemed to drop in temperature.

His eyes narrowed. “Not before you're pregnant with my son. You may try what you like, you aren't the only clever one here.”

Kagome glanced down at her lap then smiled toothily at the lord showing off her pearl white and strait teeth. He looked interested seeing her teeth in such good condition.

“A week?”

Taishi nodded slowly his eyes narrowed in caution, she was being a little too agreeable.

“What if I manage to kill you before then?”

“You won't,” he promised.

Kagome chuckled to herself and Taishi shifted warily.

“What if I get close?”

“My lord!”

Taishi held up a hand to silence the guard.

Kagome smile seeing how much Taishi like to play with dangerous matters.

“If I get close you will swear your eternal protection to Shippou.”

Taishi's face tightened angrily. “He's a youkai.”

“He's a child. He can't protect himself from you,” she reasoned. Shippou had held his own in battle before but Taishi needn't know that.

“He's a youkai and you're a miko. Why do you even bother with him?”

Kagome shrugged. “He's my son. He's my heart and as long as you threaten him you will never get any kind of peace of mind where I am concerned.”

“You will have my son to care for then you need not attach yourself to evil creatures like youkai.”

“See that's where you're mistaken. Shippou will always be my son and if I had your son he would have a big brother youkai.”

Kagome had no intention of bearing Taishi a son before she got away from him, but this was also something Taishi didn't need to know.

Taishi tensed and Kagome watched all kinds of emotions flash through his eyes. His eyes went blank and Kagome could have grinned. Shippou was safe as long as she pressed the idea of him being a protector for Taishi's child.

“I agree.”

Kagome smiled coolly, he had just agreed to allow attacks on himself and he didn't even realize. Kagome pouted when she saw confusion flash through Taishi's eyes followed by a flicker of horror.

“Wait, no, I change my mind.”

Kagome tilted her head innocently. “You can't keep your word to a silly girl like me?”

`Watch what you say around me, Taishi. I love this game.'

His skin paled having heard the underlying hint loud and clear. “I mean-”

Kagome's frowned blinking rapidly. Everything was suddenly swirling violently and Taishi looked like a giant blob of something she couldn't identify.

He paused and stared at her warily `I don't feel so well' she thought absently

Kagome chose then to faint.

When she woke, she was back in her room on her futon.

“Kaa-san?”

Kagome groaned and rolled onto her stomach. She blinked a few times and glanced around sleepily. The sun had begun to go down so her room was much darker than earlier.

“Shippou,” she croaked.

Kagome heard the patter of feet and Shippou stepped in front of her.

She smiled and took his hand in hers. He smiled weakly. “I heard you fainted.”

Kagome frowned. “Yeah… speaking of that, I don't feel so good. I got really dizzy. Maybe I'm still sick…,” she grunted in displeasure. The fight with Taishi was just getting good too.

Shippou made a few strange faces before settling on resignation.

“That lord guy said you can come eat with him. I wasn't going to say anything but I think you might need to eat.”

Kagome chuckled, amused. “I wasn't going to say anything but I think your right.”

She slowly got up still swaying uncertainly and Shippou watched her apprehensively hoping she wouldn't pass out again.

“Come on kit we're going to eat.”

Shippou grinned and followed her from the room.

XXXxXXXXXXXXXX

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