InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Prisoner, My Prisoner ❯ Two Cell Prison ( Chapter 2 )

Prisoner, My Prisoner

Part 2

Author: profiler120

Email: profiler120@hotmail.com

Rating: PG-13 (Rated cautiously for language and other suggestive scenes.)

Genre: Romance/General [AU]

( . . . ) - Triple Periods denote point of view changes within the same scene.

Author's Notes: Questions --

1. Who is Rin's mother - Lady of the Western Lands is what I think I called her, she's dead, not really important. Future mentions of her will likely be brief.

2. Is Sesshoumaru Rin's biological father? - Yes, in this fic Sesshoumaru and Rin are actual father and daughter. Sorry for all those people who like the Rin/Sess pairing, I just cannot make myself like those two together, maybe it's the age difference.

3. What is the deal with Inuyasha aside from the jealous? - I guess you're asking about Inuyasha's feelings toward Kagome? I haven't really developed anything with that yet - I'm trying to focus more on Sesshoumaru, leaving Inuyasha as a background figure. I don't want him as involved as he was in my other story "Clumsy" - I just feel that Inuyasha would naturally be drawn toward Kagome.

4. What did Kajinbou do to Kagome aside from the kidnapping or is that why she wants to kill him? - She doesn't actually want to kill him, she just wants to inflict some pain. As for what he did, he was just generally rough, I might go back and elaborate a little, but it's not really important. She got knocked around, bruised, scraped - no rape or anything traumatic like that.

5. Will Kikyou come for Kagome? - Hmmm....

6. Why is Kagome counting the days? - A symbol of her depression and of her captivity. She's keeping track of how long she's been stuck with them.

"Rin!"

Kagome lifted her head as she heard the voice. Rin was coming to see her again, and her father was coming along with her it seemed. Moments later the door slid open with an old rattle and Rin almost leaped across the threshold.

Words flowed out of her mouth in an indistinct jumble, or maybe she was simply too distracted waiting for Rin's father to appear to have heard them. The man bothered her on too many levels.

"I'm sorry, " she said softly. "Can you repeat that Rin-chan?"

"The horsies!" She exclaimed. "I'm going to see my horsy, and I begged daddy forever and finally he said you could come with me!"

"Eh?" Horses? Outside? He was letting her out of her room? Moments later he appeared himself in the doorway, the bulky door guard beside him watching her as though he expected she'd bolt any second. Words of protest died on her tongue as she met his gaze. She should talk Rin out of this, or try to, but somehow, she wanted, she needed to get out of this room.

Still yet, she didn't move. She couldn't speak; she was frozen there on the spot.

"Well?" He snapped, his tone that of impatience.

"Well, what?"

"Get up."

Get up, she thought. No question - he wasn't asking her to go, he was telling her she was going with Rin. She felt her feelings turn for him again. He was such a jerk. It was amazing his daughter loved him as much as she did, especially for having an attitude like his.

Still, she stood and watched him watch her. He was so unreadable; in that aspect he reminded her of her sister Kikyo with that perfectly tuned expression that relayed nothing. Rin skipped ahead of her to the door, and stood by her father waiting for her.

She felt so unsure. So insecure. She walked slowly toward them and Rin came forward a few steps, grabbing her hand and pulling her more forcefully forward. She was tugged by Sesshoumaru and the guard and out into the hall she'd seen but once. She was led excitedly down the hall, drawing even more insecurity from deep within. Within minutes, after following corridor after corridor, she was outside. Kagome's feet stalled and Rin stopped too, her tugging ineffective as she turned back to see the cause of their halting. She breathed in deeply, and she heard behind her the guard's footsteps, and assumed that Sesshoumaru was with him even though she could not hear him.

"Kagome-chan?"

She dropped her head down, to view the little girl and couldn't help but smile brightly at her. Suddenly a balloon of pent up happiness burst within her and she exclaimed happily. She scooped up Rin laughing and twirling around in circles delighting Rin, and causing her fits of laughter.

"We are going to see horses, right?" She asked as she placed Rin back upon the ground, her eyes alit with a new life.

They ended up running ahead, laughing, and talking happily over nothing. She was aware of her guard, Sesshoumaru, and Rin's minder who was also in attendance. They were all there together, but Kagome was determined not to look at them. If she did she would feel the depressing binds of her captivity once more, and at this moment, she felt free. For the first time in a couple months she was completely and blissfully content.

Their visit with the horses was longer than she expected but felt short. Perhaps a half hour or a little more and then they were heading back toward the building. It was only now that she got a good view of the fortress that the Masaharu family owned. It dwarfed the castle her family owned and truly lived up to the name 'Western Citadel'. It was built to defend against and launch attacks.

As far as she knew her father owned no building like this one and yet her father continued to fight against them. She wondered suddenly how it was possible her family had not lost this war already.

This war that seemed to have no purpose. She was not sure why they were fighting; it had been going on long before she was even born. She longed to ask, but feared her inquiries would not be welcomed. A woman appeared in the doorway of the fortress and Rin released her hand and ran ahead leaving her alone, with only her guard and Sesshoumaru following. Rin's minder walked ahead and disappeared into the building.

She walked, unsure of what exactly what to do, but certain she wasn't about to make any sudden movements. She dropped her head slightly, folded her hands in front of her and stepped into the building and stopped. She felt him step up beside her as their kimono sleeves brushed and she looked up.

"I didn't know where to go." She said quietly, feeling the need to explain why she had not moved.

He started forward silently and she guessed she was to follow and did so. When she reached her room she stepped within without a word.

"How many days has it been?" The question made her feel cold and clammy.

"62 days."

He said nothing and she heard only the door snap closed behind her. She collapsed by her table suddenly more depressed than she'd been in weeks. Her previous happiness evaporated and seemed like nothing but a distant memory now. She dropped herself forward, slumping on the table. She felt more like a prisoner now than at any point she had so far.

The wind howled, the rain pattered, the very foundations of the building seemed to shake. Perhaps it was simply because she was gone. The only ray of sunshine in this desolate wasteland of a life, her younger sister Kagome. Now it all seemed like such a waste, she thought dismally. Everything she'd sacrificed to keep her sister protected and sheltered from the darkness of their own family... and now she was gone. Kidnapped by the enemy, and who knew what horrors could befall sweet, innocent, little Kagome in their hands.

Kikyo scowled as she made her way to her parent's audience chamber. She expected to be briefed there on what her role would be in her father's new attack plan. She had heard through third party sources she would be attacking the Western Citadel. Rumors about such were running rampant after the kidnapping of her sister some months ago.

The Western Citadel was a huge, sprawling fortress heavily guarded and near impenetrable. It served as the operational center of all the Masaharu family business. Going there in any capacity caused her great concern, and even a bit of worry. Their little group, not even an army could likely penetrate that building.

She reached the door and raised her hand to knock. Moments after which she heard the call to enter, and did so.

Her father, Naraku, beckoned her within. His dark locks spilling over his shoulders and red colored eyes watched her. Around the side of the table sat her mother, quietly sipping tea, paying no mind to her entrance.

Her mother, Higurashi Kagura was a strange woman. She had once been a beauty, but now she was thin and at times appeared sickly. She had been the princess of a wealthy, but small family. When Naraku was on his rise of power her lands had been conquered and her family slain. She'd been but a young girl when she witnessed the destruction of her home and family, and then she had been captured and forced to marry the man who'd wrought such destruction upon her life.

Knowing such it was perhaps no wonder that her mother was such a bitter, withdrawn woman. Pale and distant, and often snappish with her daughters - she spent as much time away from her husband as she could get, and made no motions to hide her loathing of him. There was no love in this household, none until Kagome had come.

Kagome had been a child that had danced with life and happiness from the moment of her birth. It was a true miracle such a child could be born into such a house of deceit and cruelty as this one was. Their father Naraku had been fascinated by this, and to everyone's surprise not forced her to undergo the same hard-line training that she, Kikyo, had had to endure.

She'd heard the stories so many times they were engrained into her memory.

"You wished to see me, Father?"

"Sit." He ordered and she lowered herself down onto a small cushion at the opposite end of the low table. "The Western Citadel is Inutaisho's main fortress, during an attack by another group part of the eastern wall structure was significantly damaged. It seems this area of the fortress is the servant's quarters, which should make it even easier to gain access to.

"Goshinki has been ordered to lead an attack on the fortress, you will meet with him two days from today once you leave tomorrow morning. When Goshinki is distracting the main guard forces, you will sneak around to the east wall and find your way within and retrieve your sister."

She nodded weakly. She wouldn't have much time, it was a dangerous, if not impossible task he was asking of her, and yet she had no choice but to go through with it.

"I understand."

Her mother didn't even raise her gaze. Not a word passed by her lips. Not an uttering of good luck, not a plea for her younger daughter's safe return, not even a 'goodbye' as she left the room for what could very well be, the last time. Kikyo took the coldness in stride, she had lived with it forever, and today would be no different.

From the moment of the first crash and then a chorus of shouts he knew it was trouble. His father rose and left the room without a word and his younger brother Inuyasha, rushed after him. He however sat where he was, staring down at his tea, waiting. Minutes later Inuyasha burst back inside with a wild exclamation.

"Higurashi's forces are out front!"

Sesshoumaru glanced up. What was the man thinking? Surely he didn't expect this pathetic charge could possibly result in Higurashi's occupation of the Western Citadel. Inuyasha, receiving no response, quickly left him alone again. Nothing could be accomplished by this inane attack. He paused suddenly remembering one important point - Higurashi Kagome was being held on the first floor.

He rose suddenly, rushing past servants who watched him run in stunned silence. He passed hall by hall, until he stood within eyesight of her doorway. There, on the floor was the guard, several arrows through his chest, the door partly open, and a pool of blood around his feet. He narrowed his eyes, moving his hand to the hilt of his sword at his waist.

A rescue attempt? Rash, he thought. Very, very rash.

He pulled the door open, slamming it back, turning his dangerous gold gaze into the room. Two startled heads shot up, and he was almost taken aback by their similarities. He'd known they looked alike but their similarities were striking. The two girls were almost identical - but only one recovered quickly enough. She tightened her grip about her bow, notching an arrow and leveling it calmly at his chest.

This one, he recognized immediately. Higurashi Kikyo - a damnable woman with a heart of steel. He had no doubts she was the one who had laid out the guard in the hall. Only one of Naraku's blood could be this impudent.

"Stand aside and I won't kill you," she warned him, not the slightest waver in her countenance.

She truly would kill him; of this he was already convinced. If he could be convinced she had the skill for it, which he did not.

"This girl is mine, I will not allow you to take her."

She snorted.

He drew his sword silently, holding it out before him. "If you think you have half the skill it takes to defeat me girl, you are more foolish than I originally thought."

. . .

Kagome watched the scene silently, but finally managed the strength to pull herself to her feet.

"Kikyo," she whispered, clutching loosely the sleeve of her elder sister's kimono.

"Stay back, Kagome."

Kikyo was always so calm. Kagome peered around her into the eyes of her captor. This was a battle not even Kikyo's impressive strength could overcome. If she didn't go - she would get hurt.

"Kikyo this is-" she trailed off sharply as she watched Sesshoumaru launch forward, quickly dislodging the bow from her sister's hands and knocking her clear to the floor. Kagome, holding her sleeve was torn away from Kikyo, and tossed behind him violently. She lost her footing and tumbled backwards and over the table, landing painfully on the floor. She whimpered in pain, helpless to watch as Sesshoumaru pressed the tip of his sword to her sister's throat.

She pulled herself up, knuckles white as she gripped the table staring at her sister.

"Please don't!" Kagome pleaded, tears bubbling. "Oh, no please, please don't! Please don't hurt her! Kikyo..."

Tears pooled and fell as she made her way, almost crawling across the floor to drop against her sister.

Kagome turned her eyes up to Sesshoumaru, tears still streaming. "Please don't kill her."

She was in no position to be making requests but she couldn't give up her sister that easily. If it took groveling, she was going to grovel!

"Stop it Kagome!" Kikyo reprimanded her voice curt. "He is our enemy, do not beg trash like him."

Kagome turned horrified eyes to her sister as she heard the man above them growl in response but make no threatening moves. In a moment, with the slightest of movements, Kikyo could be dead. "Do you want to die?" Kagome asked, clearly terrified of this very possibility.

"If I return home without you..." Kikyo trailed off, but it wasn't necessary to continue. Kagome understood completely. Their father would make her punishment a living hell. They were in a very bad way.

"Master! Ah, there you are - Higurashi's forces have withdrawn."

There in the doorway, a scrawny servant had appeared, croaking his news to his master. Sesshoumaru barely spared him a glance.

"Jaken, retrieve Inuyasha and my father. Tell them we now have both daughters of Higurashi in custody."

He scuttled out of the room in order to fulfill his task. Sesshoumaru continued to tower over them, and Kagome clung to her sister still in tears.

Minutes later she would again be alone desolately broken by the sight of her sister being dragged off by guards. Her heart plummeted. Kikyo.

It would have been impossible to tell the time, only that it was sometime during the night. Both girls were now being held outside the Western Citadel's walls in an outer structure. One that was open to the night elements by large open expanses, but high above reach overhead. The chilly night air drifted down on them. Neither spoke. One was curled up in a corner, eyes open but faraway, her mind gone lost in fields of thought. Kagome had been withdrawn from the moment she'd laid eyes upon Kikyo once more.

Her clothes were rent in several areas and small blood spatters and smudges dotted the expensive cloth. Bruises and welts were now forming across her perfect sister's flesh while old blood streaks dried. Who knew what injuries lurked beneath the once beautiful cloth. It had simply been too much for her, she'd simply shut off inside and seemed, for the moment, un-wake able.

The other sat across from her in the dirt floor room watching with still, silent eyes. The room was part of some outdoor structure; at best guess some animal keep. She peered around, her eyes falling once more on the broken katana blade she'd discovered under the straw next to where she sat. It was becoming clearer and clearer removing Kagome from this situation wasn't going to be possible. As the hour drifted on, she sneaked her hand into the straw and felt around for the old, rusty blade, gripping it tightly in her fist as tears blurred her vision.

It was the best thing to do. Kagome couldn't handle this type of life. She'd never be free, never. Innocent little Kagome would only be hurt, again and again, she justified to herself, steeling her resolve as she gripped the broken blade tighter. She silently crept up to where her sister sat, leaning back against the wall and pulled the girl forward, adjusting her to lean her shoulder against her chest exposing Kagome's back.

"Kagome?"

Her younger sister didn't even stir.

She gripped the blade tighter, lowering her arm down her back just far enough to keep Kagome from feeling the tip of the blade before it was too late.

"My sister... I love you."

With that she thrust the blade forward through the left upper portion of her back and a strangled, deathly gasp came from her victim. Kagome's distant eyes widened but didn't focus or even turn to her. Kikyo quickly released her, unable to stand to watch her sister expire. Her beloved sister. She had to do it. She had to do it. Kagome had to be saved and she loved her too much to leave her in their hands. Their dirty, unworthy hands. No one would touch Kagome; no one could ever hurt her again.

Never could she stand to allow Kagome to be defiled by that abhorrent lord who had so arrogantly proclaimed Kagome to be his. Never would she allow her sweet, precious sister to be his personal whore. Kagome was above that, she didn't have the character to be used in such a way, it would destroy her. More so than that, the guilt of leaving her sister in such a position would destroy her own heart as well, it would eat her alive from inside.

She stood quickly stalking to the other side of the room, taking a cursory glance around, but ultimately turned back.

"Kagome... please... I'm sorry. I hope you'll understand ... and forgive me."

Even as grief threatened to overwhelm her however she ruthlessly crushed it and focused herself. She and Kagome were very different young women and their training more so. While this little animal outpost may hold his other prisoners, he cut a sorry figure if he actually expected it to hold her. Did he think her the intellectual equivalent of a beast? She snorted slightly and set about escaping her peasant prison.

Daylight didn't bring comfort or peace to the eldest son of the Masaharu family. He sat at the breakfast table quietly, listening to the silence. No one else was speaking, not the servants in the room and not his father down the table from him. Inuyasha was still asleep.

"What about the girls?"

Sesshoumaru turned to view his father, but the elder man was paying no mind to him as he finished his breakfast. Sesshoumaru looked back to his own tray of delicately prepared food.

"What about them?"

"I was told you threw the girls outside into an animal hold."

"That is correct," Sesshoumaru replied primly not liking having to defend himself or his actions. It was really quite illogical. He had been treating the one girl well enough until her sister had arrived. Fortunately however he was saved from the embarrassment of having lost his temper and acting irrationally, as had been his true motive the evening before. He'd been angry from the moment he'd seen her there in the room. The girl's sister, Kikyo - he didn't like her at all. She left a bitter taste in his mouth. After so he'd ordered her removed and interrogated and he'd gone along with them.

He'd watched as she was struck and cut, tortured and questioned. He held no sympathy for her, the woman was his enemy. However as the interrogation drew to it's inevitable close he had become somewhat distraught. This girl was his enemy - she was also the sister of the young woman on the other side of the castle. The sweet, gentle person who so loved to play with his daughter.

It was the reason he'd interfered and not allowed his guards to rape the girl as they raked their eyes over her frame when he might otherwise not have gotten involved and left them. That he couldn't do - he could not allow that to happen. While the offenses he'd allowed in that room he felt were forgivable he felt she would not overlook the rape of her sister. Not to the sister of the girl his daughter seemed to love so much. These thoughts had only angered him as he thought to predict her reaction - anger, fear, horror at what he'd allowed her sister to be placed through. What he'd ordered be done to her, he thought grimly. Unable to leash his emotions, he'd acted on them and ordered both girls thrown outside in the keep. There would have been no way for him to face her last night.

He had a perfectly logical excuse already thought up for it. "I thought it best, that if Higurashi attacked again they would not cause anymore damage to the main building."

Somewhere along the lines however his argument fell short, but he wasn't about to dwell on it and hoped his father wouldn't press the subject.

"You plan on leaving them out there?" Inutaisho sounded more bored than interested, still preoccupied with his food but Sesshoumaru had a sinking suspicion his father was very interested in what was going on.

"I haven't decided."

This seemed to quell his curiosities and minutes later his father left him alone again. He didn't find peace in his solitude however. He'd had an unexplainable bad feeling hanging over him all morning and nothing he'd done thus far could extinguish it. When Jaken stepped within he was quick to inquire.

"How are the captives?"

"All is quiet, Master. There has been no noise from within all morning, we presume them to be sleeping."

"No one has checked?" He asked.

Jaken shifted. "What if she attacked me and escaped?"

This seemed to be a genuine concern for the servant; perhaps the sight of the dead guard from the previous evening had affected Jaken more than he'd thought.

He lowered his gaze toward his tray once more. He wasn't hungry; the queasy feeling in his stomach wouldn't fade. It was almost a feeling of nausea. He stood quickly vacating the room. Something in the air was stifling and making him feel trapped. He wasn't sure where he was going only felt the need to go there, but knew in moments, his wandering feet were taking him outdoors. Perhaps the crisp morning air would clear his head and his chest of this heavy feeling.

Once outside, he knew where he intended to go. Those females, or more specifically just Kagome had been on his mind all night. He regretted throwing her out of the castle; it was a natural thing for someone of her character to care about her sister's welfare. He liked her. He'd accepted the fact the girl had, somehow or other, grown on him. Perhaps it was how happy she seemed to make Rin. Maybe it was simply because of the transformation he'd seen her undergo several days ago when Rin had convinced him to allow Kagome to go with her to visit the horses.

She had turned from a despondent, dutifully cheerful prisoner, to a beautiful, sparkling woman in a short span of a few moments. She and Rin seemed genuinely attached to one another although he could tell she held no particularly friendly feelings toward him or anyone else in the castle. Not that it mattered, he told himself. He didn't need her approval - she already belonged to him. The thought lightened his mood somewhat but the heavy feeling remained.

The building was in sight now, two-armed guards standing out front attentively.

"Have you checked on them?"

"All has been silent sir, and since it is early, we assumed them to still be sleeping."

Well enough, he thought and stepped passed them, unbarring the door and stepping in. It was dim inside and the jutting walls made locating the young woman a bit of a challenge. They were not in his immediate sight so he crept around silently. He did not wish to wake them if they were sleeping, but he also didn't want to be caught off guard by that bitch, Kikyo either. Who knew what kind of stunt she might try to pull on him.

Yet as he neared the back, he noted it was eerily silent as if the building were empty completely. His suspicions continued to rise until he saw a foot jutting out from a shadow and proceeded stealthily toward the figure. He recognized the pattern of the kimono, and realized it was Kagome. Assuming her to be sleeping, he stopped and peered around, but Kikyo was gone.

He didn't worry over her apparent escape but turned back toward the sleeping girl, kneeling down at her side. He felt the cloth over his knee begin absorbing liquid, forming a warm patch as it soaked in, alarming him. Why was the girl laying in water? He reached forward, scooping up the slumbering girl, and walking to the exit. He regretted throwing her out.

He was disturbed by the feeling of her in his arms. So completely unresponsive and he could not feel or hear her breath.

"Master!?"

"What's happened?"

He was met with the guards startling cries of shock when he reached the door. Only then did it come to his attention the wetness on her clothes and his own was not born of any watery substance. No innocent puddle of rainwater, but deep pools of red that had soaked through her kimono, staining her, the ground beneath her and his garments as well.

The uneasy feeling finally registered and intensified ten fold. She was pale and blood was soaked through her garments, he could feel it soaking into his arm. She was still bleeding. He quickly rushed to the Citadel to find the doctor.

"What the hell happened? There's blood all over the damn place!"

Sesshoumaru glanced uninterestedly at his brother once and then ignored him.

"Well?" Inuyasha snapped impatiently, apparently not willing to accept silence.

"Kagome has been injured."

"How? Why the hell'd you throw them outside into the yard anyway?"

"I assume her fugitive sister is responsible." Sesshoumaru overlooked the other question, flat out refusing to answer it even if Inuyasha asked him a hundred times. His patience was wearing thin already with the doctor's tarrying.

Finally the door slid open and the elderly man stepped out.

"Ah, young master."

"How is she?" He asked directly.

"It is a miracle she still breathes, I have seen nothing like it. I found embedded in the back of the girl a small broken sword blade. She bled a lot, but is still breathing, although she is unresponsive and has not woken. We will know in several days if she will make it."

"And if you had to guess?" He pressed, the doctor had to have seen cases similar before. There must be some type of statistical average at least within this man's personal experience of survival cases, however slim.

"If I had to guess, I say she is dead before the week is out, but one never knows. This one is... unusual."

He made to leave.

"Unusual how?"

"Eh..." he sighed. "I would have expected her to bleed to death by this injury but... it's all so strange really. I don't actually know."

Sesshoumaru excused the man, irritated and moved to step within the room only to be near shoved aside by his impatient brother. He followed Inuyasha within. Being within the presence of the injured girl seemed to stem off any more questions Inuyasha might have had and after only a few moments of uneasy silence, his younger brother quickly left.

Sesshoumaru stared down at the pallid face that had so disturbed his brother and immediately thought of Rin. If she died, as the doctor expected her to, Rin would be heartbroken. How was he to tell her, her new best friend, was dead? His mind drifted on this, so much so when he raised his eyes and found his father staring down at him, he was startled.

The man simply gazed at him however, eyes impassive. "Do you know why I never assign prisoners over to Inuyasha?"

He didn't want to talk, not to his father, not to anyone. Why couldn't he get ten minutes alone? "No, I do not."

He could have come up with several solutions to that question but wanted to rid himself of his father as soon as possible.

"Underneath all that callousness is a soft heart - I expect such fixations to be formed by him. I never assumed she could get to you as well, she must be something quite special."

Silence was his reply.

Inutaisho reached out, touching the pale face of the girl and then withdrew his hand. Whatever thoughts he formed in that moment about her life span, he kept them to himself.

"Do you like this girl?"

Again, he refused to answer.

Inutaisho nodded slowly. "You are my eldest, my most trusted son, and I will accept any choice you make on this. But think carefully on it, taking this girl to wife will not dissolve the hatred between our family and hers; it will only breed more hatred. Forget not it was this girls own blood sister that put the blade to her back."

He was grateful when his father left. He was still processing everything; no decisions were being made now. He glanced back to the girl reaching to test her temperature as his father had done and found her skin cool. He frowned.

He vaguely realized she'd been right. The first opportunity they'd had - she'd been attacked with the intent to kill. What startled and angered him was that it was the same young woman Kagome had pleaded for him to spare. He wanted nothing more than to find and rip Kikyo in two for daring to inflict such a betrayal on this gentle creature.

So he liked her, he thought. He wanted this weak little creature to smile and laugh and make Rin happy. He wanted to follow them leisurely as she and Rin took long walks in the woods picking flowers and talking about nonsense. He wanted to raise his sword in defense of her.

He stopped short of wanting her for his own happiness however. He stopped short of wanting her to launch herself into his arms. He stopped short of wanting to taste her lips and the feel of her body pressed against his. Thoughts of her soft skin against his own came unbidden to him. He wanted to keep her. If it meant wiping out the entire Higurashi family - he'd see to it. This girl... this girl... she was going to be his. He wasn't letting her go.

"Amazing, I should say, quite amazing."

Luminous blue eyes gazed up from stale linens; a weak, unused voice caught his ears. "Who are you?"

The crooked old man's face cracked with a smile. "I am your doctor. Young Master!" He called suddenly, turning his head to the door. "The girl is awake."

The door slid open impatiently and Sesshoumaru filled out the doorway. Beyond the doctor the girl's eyes were open but she had not turned her head his way.

"Water..."

"Eh?" The doctor turned back. "Water!" he squawked suddenly. "Bring water!"

He watched the old man assist the girl in sitting up. She winced and whimpered but was otherwise silent. She returned to her laying position once more after she had sipped an adequate amount of liquid. The doctor, in his excitement, left the room, closing the door behind him.

"... Amazing! What kind of woman has such power?!" The girl's eyes shifted sharply left as she heard the doctor speaking of her outside making no attempts to conceal it. "It is a miracle she lives!"

She took a deep breath and licked her dry lips.

"Your sister has escaped."

She did not reply, but closed her eyes, turning her broken, pained eyes away from him. Really, what did he expect her to say? This was probably hard enough on her without him making it worse.

He reached forward, brushing his fingers against her face, her warmth had returned. Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she pulled herself painfully up, panting when she finally managed it. Her eyes were beyond him to the door, just staring.

"... What is..." She shivered. "Excuse me, Masaharu-sama, do you have guests?"

The comment caught him off guard - did she sense something? He knew some miko's had extraordinary powers and he knew not what the extent of hers was.

"One or two," he replied absently. "Why?"

He was beyond curious as to what had sparked the question. She looked worried; perhaps she thought a spy was among his houseguests there to finish the job of killing her?

She turned surprisingly calm eyes back to him. "A woman named Urusae?"

"We have no guests by that name."

She seemed to relax but only minutely and painfully set herself back down in her bedding. "I'm not sure what it is, but please keep a close eye on Rin-chan."

This immediately alarmed him. "Why?"

"Something seems to be here, something malicious. Something that wasn't here before, I'm sorry I can't pinpoint it. Kikyo was always much stronger than I am."

Her voice was low, and weak but not at all bitter.

"You tell me to look out, but not for what."

"A person," she replied. "There is a person in the castle who is dangerous. I can feel the presence of someone that has the pull of death surrounding them - " she gasped suddenly.

Her voice was getting weak and it was apparent her strength was quickly draining. She needed to rest. So the girl had brought him more trouble yet again, although he was not necessarily convinced this 'malicious' presence was connected to her. He just barely entertained the thought he might be in debt to her for the warning, even if he never mentioned such a thing directly to her.

He left her to rest and went to find his daughter.

[End Chapter Two.]