InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unworthy One ❯ Chapter 17 - Celebrating Freedom From Old Burdens... ( Chapter 17 )

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

**Not for Kikyou Lovers! This story contains violence, sexual content and rape! You are WARNED**

Disclaimer: I do now own Inuyasha, nor any of the associated characters. But it ain't because I don't want or wish to do so.


***WARNING....RAPE IN THIS CHAPTER***


Chapter 17 - Celebrating Freedom From Old Burdens...


For a time, the weather held back, and travel was not to hard. She had done a lot of walking over the past four and a half years, and it was something that she was accustomed to doing. It might have been pleasant, had it not been for the pain that still gripped her throat, and the circumstances that now left her wandering to only the kami (gods) knew where, with nothing but the clothing on her back, and the blanket that had been the hanyou's last gift to her.

The hanyou who had once loved her, promised to protect her from Naraku, offered to be there for her so many times, tried to help her and now who had banished her. She had wandered in the direction of the animal trail that Inuyasha had pointed out to her, hoping to find a nearby village. Unfortunately, that was not to be. She no longer had her powers, and her Shinidama Chuu were no longer even in existance. Kikyou was stuck traveling like any ordinary ningen.

Things got a lot worse when the storm hit. She had not been able to find shelter before hand, and the best she could do was harbor in the shelter of some overlarge gnarled roots beneath an aged old oak. It provided some shelter from the wind, but not from the rain. By morning's first light, she was soaked to the skin and shivering like she had never known possible.

Many hours later, tired and dragging the blanket that she carried with her, she stumbled in exhaustion and fell. She stayed where she fell, not caring that it was in the mud.

She heard a noise, and only had time to raise her head before she was grabbed from behind by strong arms, and clawed hands. She immediately recognized the hands belonging to a youkai, but it was not until he had stripped her of her only set of clothes and forced her to the muddy ground that she realized it was a lizard youkai.

He grabbed her breasts in his claws, puncturing the tender flesh. She tried to fight him off, but as she had spent much of her existance relying on powers that had been Nature's gift, and which she now no longer had, she was more helpless than she could ever remember. He was much more powerful than she was, and easily clasped both of her hands in one of his own, and wrenched them up until he had them pinned to the ground just above her head.

He leaned down, and grabbed one of her now bleeding breast in his fang filled mouth, and sucked hard pulling the abused and tender flesh far into his mouth, reveling in the blood that oozed from the wounds his claws had inflicted. With his free hand, he raked the claws down her side and over her belly, until he reached her thigh. He violently parted her legs with his knee, and grabbed one of her legs bringing it up to rest over his shoulder, almost pulling her hip from its socket.

"Hmmmmmm! Fresh meat," was his rumble, as he plunged visciously into her, taking an innocence that she didn't think she had. The pain was excrutiating, and the beast that was taking her relished in her pain and the smell of her blood. He pounded harder and faster, driving deeper and deeper into her hot, dry core, as her blood spirted down his legs. Having sucked to his own satisfaction on the one breast, he readily took the other just as the first.

Her voice gone, she didn't even have the satisfaction of screaming. Her vocal cords no longer existing in her still sore and now damaged throat. She writhed and squirmed, not realizing that her actions only incited the beast all the more. He pulled from her quickly and grabbed her by the hips, throwing her over onto her stomach. He pulled her legs apart again, positioning himself behind her, and pulling her by her hips back, as he thrust violently and hard forward driving his overwhelming girth and length back into her torn and bleeding passage.

"Such a good bitch," he gloated and laughed. "So tight, and hot. If you were a youkai, I might be inclined to claim you. But for now, you are just a bit of relief, wench. Hmmm hmmm hmmm."

He grabbed her by her hair and yanked her head back, until he could reach her mouth, and roughly took her breath in his own unwelcomed kiss. His vile tongue reaching far into the back of her mouth, almost gagging her as he tasted every corner there.

He slammed hard and deep into her core, feeling his own release pending. His seed filling her womb, hot, sticky, and almost burning. Still holding onto her hair, he shifted his still swollen member, until he felt her rear passage beneath his touch. She squirmed a new, and tried to crawl away from the impending pain of his assault, but alas it was all for nothing. He grabbed her hips, digging his claws deep into her flesh until he met bone. Then rammed her back, as he pushed forward, slamming his harded member deep into her tight, dry, untried passage. Through it all, she could only scream in silence, unable to voice the pain she felt.

New blood bathed his legs, and his glee seemed to escalate with his lust. He didn't care whether she had her knees under her. He only pounded harder as each thrust pushed her further into the mud beneath them.

He was in heat, mating season was here. It was spring, and with it most of the youkai, especially the lesser ones, gave in to their lustful desires, some eagerly, others whether they wanted to or not. This lizard youkai happened to be one of the ones who sought his relief eagerly and was not picky about his choice of partner.

When he had spent himself in her tight, hot rear, he roughly threw her back over onto her back and rammed his still aroused flesh into her mouth. His lust knew no bounds, and reveled in taking her as often and as much as the long day and even longer night allowed for the run of his season of need.

When dawn finally broke the horizon, it found a mud covered Kikyou bleeding from several wounds, none of which serious enough to be life threatening, and most of which coming from the various acts of the lust blinded youkai. Her clothes were gone, and all she had left was the blanket that Inuyasha had given her before the group had banished her.

Where the strength came from, she never knew, but she managed to pull herself out of the mud, and as luck would have it, the first place she stumbled upon was a small, but servicable hot spring in a secluded area. She staggered to the pool, noting almost absently that there was sufficient herbs and wild plants growing in the warmth provided by the hot springs to help her to clean herself up.

Tears streamed down her face, as she remembered the night's events, and tried to scrub away the tainted feeling that seemed to cover her body. It was bad enough that she had been brutally raped, but what bothered her the most was that a being of youkai blood had taken her. Her only consolation, as she saw it, was that she was not in her cycle and would not become further tainted by the offspring of such dirty blood.

She spent two days near the spring. There was sufficient water for her to both drink and bathe, and she was able to clean and dry the blanket that was her sole possession. She would rather have stayed longer, but with no food, and not knowing how to catch any of the abundant game in the area, she was forced to venture forth in the hopes of running into someone who could provide her further aid, or to hope that she could get to a village and soon.

She lucked out two days latter, as she lay beneath a tree, exhausted and sure that she could not go further. A small wagon came down the small road, she had stumbled upon quite by chance, with a young man and his wife, who happened to be travelling in the direction she was going, stopped and offered her what aid they could.

The woman treated Kikyou's wounds, and her husband gave the ex-priestess his under haori to better clothe herself. The woman recognized the nature of the injuries, and while she was not able to tell what kind, she was sure that the injured woman had been raped by a youkai. She pulled her husband aside and let her know of her findings.

For his part, he recognized the woman's face once she had been cleaned up. His family had been in a thriving village that had once been prosperous, until the vile Naraku had passed through and decided that he had use for the inhabitants. What he left behind was a shadow of its former glory and the dying bodies of those who had once called the small community home.

Kikyou, as he recalled the woman's name, had chosen about that time to pass through what was left of the village. The man had been one of the few to survive nearly unscathed by Naraku's attentions, but he was only 15 and unknowledgable in the ways of the world beyond his home. He didn't know any healing, and all of those in the village who did know such skills, had been killed early on, Naraku not wanting to leave someone behind that might be useful.

A number of children and the hand full of near adults that had survived, saw the undead priestess passing by, and like anyone in desparate need, they had begged her for her assistance for the few adults who were alive, but barely. She had looked at them all coldly, and briefly glanced that the dying adults with an almost bored expression on her face.

She had then refused to help the crying children in their time of need, saying that she had neither the time to be bothered, nor did she care of they either lived or died. It was sometime later that the young man learned that by then the once revered priestess had given herself willingly to the vile beast that had destroyed his home. Not only given herself to him, but had also assisted him by betraying those who had set out to try to stop him.

The young couple gave Kikyou enough help to get her to the first village they came to, but beyond that they neither tried to help or hinder whatever happened to her. The young man told her of the last time he had seen her, and told her that while he would not bring himself to be as low as she was by not bringing her to where she could find means to support her needs, he would not offer her more aid than honour demanded.

The first community that they came to, they dropped her off with the village monk and continued on their own journey leaving her to her own ends. The young man made it known to the monk, not only who she was, but how they had found her. Unfortunately for Kikyou, small tight knit communities have big ears and it was soon widely known who she was and that she had been touched by tainted blood.

While she was not treated badly, she was not treated well, and she could tell she was not welcome in the small village. They barely gave her enough to eat, let her stay for a time in a run down shack at the edge of town, and provided her with a set of clothes to better cover herself. She was told, however, that she would be expected to pay for the things she was given, and from that day on, Kikyou began to learn what it meant to have an 'ordinary life'.

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With the rise of the sun on the second day at the cave, the odd mix of companions stirred and began a new and eventful day. Breakfast was quickly and readily prepared, things were packed for the journey to come, and the last remnants of their stay at the cave were being cleaned up.

Earlier, Sango and Kirara had taken Mayuki back to her own home. This made it easier for the group to pack everything up so that the doragon (dragon) youkai, and the neko youkai could ferry their possessions and their passengers on their trip.

While Sango was gone, Kaede with Rin's help, took care of changing the poultices on Kagome's feet. The worst of the damage was healing nicely, but the tender new flesh still needed a lot of time. All of the other injuries were well healed, even the scars were gone, except for the puncture wound in her shoulder. Even it was looking so much better, and Kaede figured that it too, would be all but gone in just a few more days.

It was decided that their first destination was to go to Inuyasha' Forest and the village they had all come to think of as home. The old miko needed to get back to those who also needed her skills, the others wanted to bring the news of Naraku's defeat to their humble community, and Kagome, Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru wanted to see if the old well still worked.

Though heavily laden, neither Ah-Un, nor Kirara protested their burdens. It was a happy group returning home. Home where all that they had been through had begun. Sesshomaru's youki cloud provided a smooth ride for him to sit and hold Kagome in his lap, protected from the cold by the ever present warm furs, letting her sleep while they flew between the doragon (dragon) and the neko (cat). A red blur could be seen through the trees, racing full tilt along below them all, as they made their way home.

Having left early, they arrived by a little after the sun reached its zenith. The odd group of travellers was readily greeted by the village sentry and many of the villagers, who had come not only to accept Inuyasha and his small group, but the strange Miko who had come to mean so much to them over the last five years.

At first seeing the Youkai Lord, set them all on edge, but with Kaede's and Inuyasha's reassurance all settled down and made even the Taiyoukai feel welcome, though it was difficult to tell by the expression on his stoic face. With the news of Naraku's defeat the entire village came pouring out. They all had to congratulate the rag tag group for their long and hard earned success.

The village Head Master and his Mistress, were soon seated and given the details of the group's past two weeks, and in short order the entire village was a buzz with the news, the tale, and preparing a feast of celebration. Several of the village hunters had been quite successful the day before, in bringing down a deer and a few of the village children had managed quite a haul of fish from the nearby river. Apples, and other vegetables that had been stored for the winter in the fashion of the times, were readily hauled out to add to the celebration, and the best bakers in the village soon had breads galore baking on their hearths to round out the intended feast.

Kagome was waited on hand and foot. Nothing was too good for the selfless little Miko from the future. She was a bit embarassed by all of the attention, especially being somewhat independent, but as weak as she was, she had little choice and let the villagers have their way. She felt a little better about the attention, when Kaede pointed out that to the villagers, this was their way of saying thanks and celebrating the group's victory over the vile hanyou.

The villagers, having learned of her ordeal, were considerate of her health and condition. Several of the village carpenters, getting wind of this, soon had a palanquin made up, and their wives decked it out in the finest fabrics that the village could find. There were more volunteers than anyone could count prepared to carry the little Miko anywhere she wanted to go, once the beautifully make carrier was presented to the small group.

Kagome felt like royalty with all of the treatment she was getting, and though she didn't let it go to her head, she did smile warmly and Shippo, who had set himself up, with Rin's help as his mama's spokes person, made sure that everyone knew how much Kagome appreciated their efforts.

A number of the village women converged on Kaede and Sango in the late afternoon. There was a much whispered and serious discussion, and soon the women left, dragging Sango with them, leaving a smiling Kaede to tend to other needs.

Kagome was in Kaede's hut, taking a much needed nap, Sesshomaru sitting nearby, not out of a need to rest, but just to be close by, making sure that she got the rest she needed, and to appease his Youkai's desire to protect his mate, and pup. He was not a big one for crowds, but he understood what was going on, and knew that it meant a lot to his mate. While he prefered a more serene setting, he would not deny her the festivities, especially as this was an important celebration to everyone, and only further helped her regain her confidence in herself.

Kagome had just awakened, the sun just kissing the western horizon, when Rin and Shippo came bounding into the hut, to let Kagome and Sesshomaru know that there was several villagers that wanted to see Kagome. Sesshomaru lifted and carried the little Miko out of the hut, only to find a dozen men and women standing outside, the newly made palanquin currently resting on the ground, awaiting its passenger, decked out in the richest forest green fabric that Kagome had ever seen, and piled around the couch of the carrier was the thickest and warmest furs that the village women could get their hands on.

With something of an air of mystery, Sesshomaru reluctantly agreed to let the villagers encourage him to seat himself and his mate on the couch of the palanquin. The women soon had Kagome warmly wrapped in the furs, and before they knew it, four of the strongest of the village men were lifting the device to their shoulders and heading into Inuyasha's Forest.

It was not a long trip, for which the Youkai Lord was grateful. It was hard to trust those you were not familiar with, but he reminded himself that these were Kagome's friends and they were not out to harm his mate, or pup. They were just out to help her to enjoy the celebration end of the evil Naraku's reign of terror.

Soon the palanquin was set down, and the villagers were careful to pull only the curtains on one side open. When they did, Kagome and Sesshomaru saw that the women, who had visited Kaede earlier that day, had put together a wonderful place for Kagome and Sesshomaru to enjoy the evenings festivities, while being comfortable and warm.

There at the base of the Goshinbuko, a spoke that had become so much more than just a symbol, the village women had arranged a partial tent, that opened outward, while its back was against the gnarled old roots of the old matriarch of Inuyasha's Forest. Underneath the protective shelter, furs had been arranged to provide comfortable seating for Kagome and Sesshomaru to sit.

Sesshomaru carried Kagome over to the provide space, and set her down comfortably in the warmth of the gathered furs, and then seated himself next to her. Though it didn't show on his face, Sesshomaru was amazed at how readily the villagers accepted him as a part of his brother's group. He was equally surprised that they all accepted the fact that Kagome was his mate, and didn't seem to hold it against her at all, nor that she was carrying his pup. News that had travelled around the village almost as fast as the news of Naraku's defeat.

With the two comfortably and warmly situated, the barers carried away the palanquin, only to reveal to the Taiyoukai and his mate, a huge bond fire nearby, and a feast fit for royalty laid out nearby. Entertainment abounded in the telling of stories, singing, even a bit of dancing. Kagome hardly had to lift a finger for anything. Between Rin, Shippo, and Sesshomaru, her every need was met. Food and drink was always at her finger tips, and a helping hand to make sure that she didn't want for anything.

On oneside of the small shelter by the tree, a reposing Ah-Un lay, and on the opposite side reclined Kirara. It made for a most impressive picture, especially with Sango, Miroku and even Inuyasha seated just in front and a bit lower down than Kagome and Sesshomaru.

Nearby a small pile was forming. It was gifts from the villagers and friends of the group. Their way of saying thank you to everyone there, and to offer their blessings to Kagome, Sesshomaru and their unborn child.

By nightfall, lanterns abounded around the old tree, and the celebration launched into new vigor. The village runners had obviously gotten word to other nearby communities, for soon people were pouring in from all over the region, bringing their own contributions to the group to help celebrate. It was a happy and joyous time for everyone, and while Kagome spent almost as much time sleeping as she did awake, she still was able to enjoy most of the festivities.

From the look of things, the celebrating would be running for at least a week, just to give everyone that was still just learning of the news time to make an appearance and to help the happy group take joy in their victory.

It was about mid-morning the next day that the small group decided to try the old well. They could not be sure that it would work at all, but they had to try. Sesshomaru hid well his anxiety. Would it let Kagome pass through? If it did, would it let her come back? If not, what would he do without the mate and pup that was rapidly becoming the most important things in his life?

He didn't let it show, for he didn't want to hurt her feelings. Nor did he let anyone know that in his heart, he hoped it would not work. She was his mate, bound to him for life, just as he was bound to her. The unfamiliar ache in his chest, at the thought of her leaving him forever, was almost too much to bare. Although he knew that it would not truly be forever, still, the idea of having to find a way to survive for 500 years, just be be reunited with his mate and child was more than he wanted to even think about. So for now, he forced those images to the back of his mind, and refused to let them surface unless it became necessary to accept them.

As it was known, that only Inuyasha and Kagome could pass through the time barrier, Sesshomaru reluctantly permitted Inuyasha to take Kagome from the warmth of his arms. It felt like the hardest thing he had ever done, and he fought back hard the raging of his blood beast to keep from holding her in a vice like grip that none could break. She needed this. She needed to know if she could still see her family. Without it, there would be no closure for her, no moving forward with her life, whether with or without him beside her. Forcing back the urge to howl his hidden anquish to the heavens, he carefully handed Kagome over the to arms of his hanyou little brother, and made himself step back to give them room to jump into the old well.

Kagome was anxious herself. On the one hand, she so wanted to see her mother, brother, and Ojii-san. She wanted to let them know she was alright that the Jewel was completed, and Naraku defeated. She wanted to tell her mother that Sesshomaru was her mate, and that she was with child. More than anything she just wanted, needed to be with her mother at least one last time. But she was also afraid that the well would work. What if she could not come back? Would Sesshomaru wait all of those years for her, and come back to her in her own time? What of their child? How would she raise their pup, if Sesshomaru could not be there? Five hundred years was almost an eternity, and a lot could happen in that length of time.

Inuyasha was just as anxious and for all of the same reasons. Just as his brother, he both hoped it would work, while praying that it would not. Kagome's family had been the first people to accept him for who and what he was. They didn't ask him to be something he was not, nor expect him to be other than he was. They had welcomed him with open arms, and opened their home to him like he was a member of the family. But the thought that he, too, might not get to see Kagome again, was almost too much to bare.

"Let's go Inuyasha," Kagome whispered, "before I can lose heart and change my mind about trying."

She closed her eyes, not wanting to see the look in Sesshomaru's eyes, or the expressions of worry, hope, and fear on the faces of her friends. Inuyasha gripped her tightly to his chest, and closing his own eyes, leaped into the well.