InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Three ❯ Obedience ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

It wasn't as cold as it had been but the night still contained a chill and it was enough to bite through her thin jacket and into her skin. Teeth chattering, the shadow of a girl moved soundlessly through the alleyways, dodging trash cans, boxes, and the occasional stray cat or dog. Though her figure was obscured by the night, one could tell she was thin but powerful, as tastefully muscled legs moved swiftly and gracefully through the shrouded streets. She was dressed sparingly, with a thin black jacket and ripped and torn denim jeans. As the night wore on, she kept prowling, searching through every garbage bin she happened upon. Finally, she stopped and sat down under the cover of a pile of trash. Shaking from the cold of the night, she curled her arms around her bent knees and buried her face in the collar of her jacket.
"I just...want...some food.."Her strained voice cut through the silence. It was a desperate plea, one that fell to death's ears. Silent tears began to creep out of the girl's closed eyes and she began to shake with the effort of holding in her sobs. One escaped, a tiny, meek cry in the dark that was stifled as a trash can fell with a loud crash near the mouth of the alley. The girl's eyes shot open, all lingering traces of tears erased as she huddled closer into the corner made by the pile and the wall. Scratchy footsteps echoed throughout the alley and the girl shut her eyes tightly as they got closer and closer and closer. And while she waited for the sound of a human voice, she was annoyed by the fact it was being interrupted by some dumb dog whining in her ear. The girl opened one eye while the other stayed tightly shut but that too opened as she saw the lonely yellow eyes of a big brown and black dog staring at her. It might have been a handsome dog with some care but the streets had turned it into a ragged, bony thing. It whined again at her and licked its chops before sitting down on its ratty haunches and staring at her. The girl glared at the dog and made to shoo it off with her hands.
"Go on. Get out of here! I don't have any food! I'm just as hungry and tired as you are." But the dog didn't go anywhere. It did the exact opposite, instead choosing to make itself comfortable and laying down in front of her. The girl gave it a wary glance before settling down and sighing. "I'm just as hungry and tired as you are." The dog cocked its head to one side, stick straight ears trained on her. After a few minutes, it stood and moved closer and the girl gave in and gave it a scratch behind the ears.
"My name's Rainey. What's yours?" The dog shook its head and laid down once more, this time pressed up against the girl's body. Pretty soon the animal was snoring in sleep and the girl was halfway there herself.



*



Something jumped up on the pillowy mattress of her bed but she ignored it. The sweet scent of her pillow had been calling to her from the feudal era and now that she had finally laid her head down upon it and closed her eyes, nothing could stop her from enjoying it. Soft footsteps across her bedspread drew closer and then a sharp movement and there was a sudden weight upon her hip. Kagome cracked on eye open slightly and peeked through her eyelashes at her obese cat, who eyed her with a look of mild disgust. It seemed that Buyo was mocking her for taking so much pleasure in the simplicity of a pillow and Kagome promptly wiggled her legs to get the cat off her pelvic bone. But Buyo wouldn't move on anyone's terms but his and when Kagome finally lay still, the cat jumped off her hip and the bed and strutted purposefully out of her room.
"Nice to see you too, Buyo." Kagome hadn't realized she would be so tired once she got home and after she had made sure Inuyasha was gone through the well, she launched herself for her bedroom and the comforts of modern living. Souta, Grandpa, and Mrs. Higurashi had gone to the market to get ingredient for a special meal for Kagome's return so Kagome felt not at all guilty for taking a nap. So she shrugged off the whole Buyo incident and closed her eyes again, not letting the cat's gaze interrupt her moment with her pillow. But of course, the enjoyment was not to last for long as the sweet silence of her room was suddenly pierced by the shrill ring of her telephone. Kagome lay still for an instant before scowling and angrily rising from her mattress. Whoever was on the other line of that phone was going to get it.
"Hello?" Kagome snapped, hand clenched tightly around the pink phone in her room.
"Kagome? Is that you?" Kagome's bad mood disappeared as she recognized the person on the other line.
"Yuki? Hi! Wow, I haven't talked to you in awhile!" Irritation gone, Kagome set to work on the return to being a normal teenage high schooler and flopped backwards on her bed, animatedly chatting away with Yuki. Her smile dampened a little when Yuki began to prattle off about her ailments and Kagome was soon to change the subject by suggesting that the two of them go see a movie and maybe hit the mall afterwards.
"I'm starving for a little modern culture." Kagome sighed before realizing what she had said. But on the other line, Yuki just gave a small chuckle.
"I would be too if I was cooped up in there! I know that having the shrine means a lot to you Kagome but it's definitely something right out of another century!" Kagome gave a half-hearted grin and a weak laugh.
"Yeah. Well, I'll meet you around six over at the mall, okay? See ya Yuki!" As Kagome hung up the phone, she could hear her family coming up the shrine steps. With one last longing look at her pillow, She heaved another sigh and raced downstairs to break the news to the others that dinner would have to be early.



*


The place was dark but it was always dark. He always sat before the paper screen, a shadow to the unfortunate passerby plastered on rice paper. She could see his outline clearly from the entrance way and as she began to walk towards him, she felt the familiar sting as the miasma began to seep from the dirt. She didn't bother calling out to Naraku to stop the poison. They both knew that she would walk through unscathed and not even in the least bit woozy. As she traveled deeper into the purple haze, she could feel the throb of the shards within her, pulsating for the rest of the jewel in her master's hands. The resonating feeling only grew worse as she neared him but she ignored it, keeping her pace steady and her breathing even. As she cleared the miasma, she could see him in more detail and she stopped as the screen slid open to reveal her master. She promptly bowed, raising her head to look Naraku in his maroon eyes.
"You have come back to me, Kimi." He said to her, in his deep voice. Kimi swept two of her four long, black plaits behind her black-clad shoulder and smirked at him.
"Of course I have master. You have called and I have come." She purred. Naraku gave a smug smile and nodded.
"I never doubted your loyalty to me, Kimi, unlike some of my other servants." There was an open pause and Kimi looked past her master to the occupants behind him. Kneeling on pillows sat the strange white hair girl Kanna and the silent, dead-eyed boy Kohaku. Kimi narrowed her eyes at the standing woman behind them. The red-eyed Kagura glared silently back at her, fan concealing the other part of her face. Kimi dropped her gaze and shrugged.
"Some are not swayed by your power and charisma, my master. You deserve the utmost respect from all below you, and that is all, my master." She bowed once more before she felt Naraku rise and slowly walk down the steps. When the hem of his hakami came into view, Kimi could not help but avert her eyes and straighten.
"My darling Kimi. You are my most prized possession. Now you must understand what I want." Naraku drew her closer, pressing his body up against her lithe frame and pulling her ear to his lips. "Kill the hanyou and his obedient miko and then seek out the dead miko who haunts the forests and send her back to hell where she belongs." He whispered huskily before retreating and grasping her pale face in his clawed hands. Kimi stared back into his eyes with the utmost adoration and nodded solemnly before Naraku reached out and capture her blood red lips with his. Behind him, Kagura sneered beneath her fan and looked away, the odd feeling of jealousy snaring her insides in their hooks. In front of her, Kanna and Kohaku sat ever silent and still. As the passionate kiss between Naraku and his servant ended, Kimi bowed and walked back through the miasma, the kiss still hot on her lips and her master's wishes still burning in her ears. She smirked as she passed through the miasma. It was about time she got to kill again. Trapped inside the filthy mutt hanyou was more than she could bear and as she flexed her claws, she could almost hear the bitch's whining in the back of her head.
"Shut up. I've got work to do." She sneered to herself and promptly set off down the path leading away from Naraku's mansion.


*

As Naraku settled himself back on his pillow, he sensed Kagura's displeasure. He didn't smile but inside he let himself enjoy a certain satisfaction before clearing his throat and turning towards Kagura. The woman eyed him the intense hatred and maybe a flicker of something else. Fear, perhaps?
"Let us see is Kimi can accomplish what you could not." Kagura bit back her insults instead choosing to clench her lip firmly between her teeth. As the incisors broke the skin and blood filled her mouth, she could feel Naraku eyeing her the same way he eyed Kimi before tasting her lips.
"She is infatuated with you. Do you not find this disgusting?" Naraku allowed himself a smile before grasping the jewel in his fist tighter. He gave a slight glance at Kanna and Kohaku before standing and slowly walking towards Kagura.
"I demand that all who serve me love me. Obedience is a slave's best trait." As he spat out the last words, he leapt at Kagura, one powerful hand grabbing her firmly around the waist while the other grasped at her black ponytail and tugged her head roughly backwards. She let out a strangled cry as he assaulted her neck, gyrating his pelvis against hers, pushing her farther into the wall as he lapped at her jaw and finally captured her mouth in a violent kiss. He sucked on the cut made by her own teeth, enjoying the taste of her blood on his tongue. Kagura struggled but as Naraku loosened her kimono and slipped his hand inside to massage her breasts, she went almost deathly still. Naraku sneered and roughly threw her to the side, her body hitting the tatami mats with a dull thud. She fumbled with her kimono to cover herself, her lips swollen from the abuse and her face even more deathly pale than usual.
"Go keep an eye on Kimi and make sure that miko brat and her yelping mutt don't manage to pry out her shards." He growled before straightening his own clothing and stalking out of the room. Kagura waited until his footsteps drained away before she allowed herself a few dry sobs. She weakly put her kimono back together before standing up. As she turned around, she saw Kanna and Kohaku watching her out of the corner of her eye and she immediately stiffened her resolve. Yanking the feather from her hair, she threw the screen open and ran out into the open courtyard.
'The faster I get away from here and from him the better.' She thought as she mounted her giant feather and sped off through the whirling miasma. Naraku watched her from another room as she went, disgust and hatred written all over him. He wiped his mouth and left the window, his form becoming nothing more than another shadow in the compound.