InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Bond of Thorns ❯ Wounds and Concubines ( Chapter 2 )

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

A BOND OF THORNS

Wounds and Concubines

oooooooooo

Kagome opened her eyes to the sound of clanging. The bright sun that was directly in her face blinded her for a moment, and she blinked a few times to focus her eyes properly.

She was confused when she found herself lying on cold ground. She looked around in trepidation, dread filling her as she noticed the bars on the doorway, before the previous night's happenings rushed back to her.

She blinked her tears back as she let out a small sob, thinking of her father. He was gone... and all because of those damn Soldarians. They attacked her palace; set flames on the temples; launched bombs at the towns of her tiny home. They destroyed EVERYTHING.

Now, she was a prisoner on some foreign planet, where the sun was cold but its rays were twice as blinding. She clutched at the burnt hem of her nightgown, cringing as her fingers brushed the burns on her leg. The pain was intense, she realized that now.

`Happy birthday to me,' she thought grimly, wondering how long she had been out, before fury enveloped her being as she thought of her father's killer - the man they had called `Inuyasha'.

“Oi, Calderian! Do you plan to get up at all?” a loud voice brought her out of her stupor. She looked up and glared at the dark-haired soldier who had keys hanging from his belt. No doubt the dungeon keeper.

“I won't get up, and you can't make me,” she said angrily, and the guard's eyes narrowed in anger.

“You Calderians are all the same... bloody bastards. You're all emotionless murderers. Damn stubborn too, the lot of you. Get up, you stupid bitch! I have strict orders to take you up once you awaken!” he said furiously.

“I won't! What are you gonna do about it, Soldarian?” she challenged, her eyes gleaming with fury.

“Oh, I dunno. For one, I could drag you out of your cell by your dirty hair. Or, I can pull you out of there by a leash. Or...”

“Or, you can just take her out of there nice and easy, so I won't have you killed. Doesn't that sound inviting?” a gruff voice suddenly cut the guard off, making him stiffen in fear.

Both Kagome and the guard turned to the speaker, and all color drained from the soldier's face when he saw who had come in.

“Lord Inuyasha!” he said in alarm, hurriedly straightening his coarse military uniform. The silver-haired man stood there in a strange, old-looking, oversized red kimono, a sword and sheath at his side.

Kagome's eyes, however, narrowed dangerously as the man stepped closer to her cell and turned to the guard. Again, that strange tingling began moving up her spine at the sight of the silver-haired soldier, but she brushed it away. She stood up angrily, glaring daggers at her father's killer. “Teme... what do you want now, murderer?!”

Inuyasha turned to her with a blank face, before raising an eyebrow. He then turned back to the quivering guard. “Well?! What are you waiting for? Open the damn cage! I'll take her up myself.”

The guard hurriedly fumbled around his belt, before grasping the proper key in his stubby hands. Kagome stepped back as the door opened, never once taking her furious eyes from Inuyasha. Her eyes widened suddenly when the guard grabbed her arm roughly, then used a set of strange metal links to cuff her hands behind her back.

“Wha- what do you think you're doing?! Unhand me, you monster!” she screamed, before the guard attached a metal chain to her cuffs and gave the other end of it to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha held the chain as he quietly watched the guard take a metal bit and force it into Kagome's mouth, literally quieting her down. He watched as she tried to speak through the gag, her eyes spelling bloody murder.

Inuyasha really didn't like the way the guard was treating Kagome. She was, after all, a living being, a princess at that. She should be treated with respect, even if she WAS from Calderia.

`There it is again,' Inuyasha thought, as the urge to look at her became stronger when they came in closer proximity. What was it about this girl...

He sighed inwardly as she continued to glare at him. `She really hates me, doesn't she?' he thought in grim amusement. `Well... I DID kill her dad. That's understandable.'

But what he really couldn't understand was how anyone, even if they were family, could possibly love a scumbag like King Higurashi. `Oh well. I guess he doesn't torture his family and pull their eyes out when he feels like it the way he does to the Soldarians he has captured.'

The guard bowed slightly as he turned to Inuyasha, who nodded before pulling on Kagome's chains, indicating that she follow him. She stubbornly stood her ground.

Inuyasha gave a heavy sigh as he watched the hime continue to glare at him. He pulled slightly harder, and Kagome finally followed, her eyes baring holes into his back.

She was planning ways on attacking him with her hands tied when two guards suddenly came up in front of them. `Escorts. Dammit!' she thought in disdain.

“Lord Inuyasha, your brother sent us here to help you with Higurashi's daughter. He was worried that she might be dangerous,” the guard explained shortly after giving a small bow.

`Damn that Sesshoumaru,' he thought. Ever since both their parents had died, Sesshoumaru had been taking care of him. Well, care was a little too much. Sesshoumaru had been assigned by their dying father to care for Inuyasha in his death, and Sesshoumaru had grudgingly agreed to cloth and give a home to what he considered was hanyou filth.

His watch over Inuyasha was completely on obligation, but he was doing his job entirely too well. And Inuyasha was rather sick of it.

“I can take care of this you know,” he said dryly as one of the guards took Kagome's chain from him. “Be careful with her.” They began to walk, Inuyasha in front, then the guard holding Kagome, Kagome being pulled rather roughly along behind him, and the other guard bringing up the rear.

“But Lord Inuyasha,” the guard not holding Kagome said. “It is our obligation to keep the younger son the late duke safe from all harm!”

Kagome was surprised at that. `He's a noble? Then why was he with those who attacked Calderia?'

“She can't harm me! She's a damn girl! I'm not a fucking infant. I've been in more than ten damn wars, and he's worried a girl would hurt me?!” he yelled, not even bothering to glance back at the guards.

“Besides, Inuyasha-sama,” the guard holding Kagome said. “Your brother wants us to see to it that you make it to your awarding perfectly fine.”

Kagome seethed at that. `They are probably rewarding him for killing my father, the bastards.'

A flight of stairs was their way out of the dungeon. Inuyasha blinked and stopped walking as the sunlight greeted his sensitive eyes once again. The dungeon was quite dark, and he took a while before his eyes adjusted. He started walking again.

Kagome though, was still blinking from the harsh light when they began walking again. And she had thought the light in the dungeon had been powerful?! Gods, how wrong he was! She tried to pause since she was still slightly blinded by the sun, but the guard holding her suddenly pulled her roughly. With her hands tied up, she was unable to brace them below her to break her fall, and she ended up falling painfully, face first on the hard ground.

She gave a small sound of distress, and Inuyasha turned around to look at Kagome when she whimpered. He found her on the floor, the guard looming over her.

“Get up, you weakling!” the guard roared, but Inuyasha growled louder.

“Didn't I tell you to be fucking careful with her?! Now why the hell did you do that?! Help her up!” he ordered brusquely, and both guards hurriedly rushed over her to help her to her feet.

Inuyasha approached the girl as she finally got on her feet. “Are you alright?” he asked, lightly touching her arm. The girl promptly pulled her arm away from him, glaring at him and snarling through her gag. Inuyasha sighed heavily before turning his back on her, going on their way.

Kagome glared at the back of the man. `That bastard... how dare he act as if he were concerned about me. As if I didn't know that he was a bloody murderer.' She thought, but somehow, she couldn't dismiss the fact that he wasn't being hostile with her.

Inuyasha led them all to a large white mansion. It was quite impressive, with its tall turrets and hints of ivy growing around the outer walls that surrounded a beautiful garden, but Kagome was too busy glaring at Inuyasha's back to notice.

A short distance from the mansion stood what looked like a larger version of it, only, its roofs were of thick black concrete. It was also surrounded by a long concrete wall with a black metal gate shielding the broad courtyard. Kagome only then noticed the hundreds of guards that surrounded the prison and the walls of both palaces.

Beyond the palace stood myriad, much humbler homes. `Probably the common peoples' homes,' she thought, then her eyes caught on a large blue building just at the edge of her sight. It was also surrounded by soldiers and it was undoubtedly the main headquarters of the Soldarian military.

Inuyasha yelled at the guards at the gate, who rushed to open the metal walls. He then strode calmly through the garden, Kagome and the two guards in tow.

The hanyou then calmly opened the door, then stepped into the wide entryway as he shouted.

“Sesshoumaru! I'm back!”

Kagome saw the Soldarian commander walk down the set of stone steps that stood before them, his white hair flowing behind him delicately. Unlike his brother, the general wore a fine white haori and an equally pristine hakama. She glared as he descended and he didn't even bother sparing her a glance as he approached Inuyasha.

“Brother,” Sesshoumaru said in a monotone voice. “Why do you insist on taking this wench with you?”

“None of your damn business, bro. Is the room ready?” he asked edgily.

“Yes, Inuyasha,” the commander said with a tolerant sigh. “I had the room fixed for you.”

Inuyasha nodded, then motioned for the guards and Kagome to follow him. They again pulled Kagome along, climbing up the stairs.

Kagome was puzzled. `Where are they taking me?' she thought as she realized that they were now in a long hallway with doors lining both sides. Inuyasha then turned to one of the doors and, taking a card out of one of his haori's pockets, he swiped it down a small slot on the side of the door.

He went in, followed by the guards, who pushed Kagome onto the bed in the center of the room. Inuyasha nodded at them, and both guards bowed before leaving the two behind, closing the door behind them.

Kagome's eyes widened when the guards left them. `What is this kusoyarou planning?!' she thought frantically as Inuyasha slowly approached her.

`This is just great!' she thought to herself. Here she was, dressed in a dreadfully thin, burnt nightgown, bound and gagged, and alone in a room with a strange Soldarian who had murdered her father. For the first time since her father's death, Kagome was frightened.

She closed her eyes tightly as Inuyasha knelt down on the bed beside her, his eyes on a part of her legs. `Gods, please don't let him rape me or anything!' she thought frantically.

Her eyes opened when she heard him speak. “You're wounded,” Inuyasha said as he continued to look down at her burnt leg. He then slowly reached up and pulled the metal bit from her mouth. He shook his head as he continued speaking. “Those idiot wardens didn't even bother cleaning you up, the assholes.”

Kagome was astonished as he pulled the gag from her lips. Her jaws hurt like hell from having the large metal bit stuck in her mouth for so long. “Nani?” she asked in confusion.

Inuyasha remained silent as he pulled his card out of his haori once again. He then took her bound hands and swiped the card on her cuffs, making them spring open.

“Stay still,” he ordered as Kagome stared at him in surprise. He reached underneath the bed and pulled out a small box. He opened it and retrieved a roll of gauze and a bottle of musty red medicine.

“You're human right?” Inuyasha suddenly asked, earning him a glare form Kagome.

“Of course I'm human, you...”

“Good. Then this medicine will work just fine,” he said as he opened the medicine vial. “Brace yourself. This will hurt.”

Kagome opened her mouth for an angry retort, but her snarl turned into a shocked yell of pain as Inuyasha quickly poured a generous amount of the red liquid on her burnt leg.

Tears stung her eyes and she clutched at her stinging leg, glaring at the hanyou before her. Inuyasha looked back at her squarely as he put the cap of the medicine back on.

“What did you do that for, you bastard!? That thing hurt like hell!” she screamed angrily, making Inuyasha's ears flatten back on his head.

“That thing could have just saved your damn life, bitch!” Inuyasha snarled, rubbing his ears. “Your wound was infected. I can smell it. And that thing stopped the infection.”

Inuyasha put the bottle back inside the box, but didn't slide it back under the bed. Instead, he stood up and grasped Kagome's forearms, pulling her up from the bed. Kagome stared at him through narrowed, suspicious eyes as he set her on her feet. He pointed towards a door by the side of the room.

“That's the bathroom. You smell, hime. Take a bath, cleanse your wound and put the robes that I had put in there for you. Throw your dirty clothes into the hamper. Then get your ass back here so I can cure your wound,” Inuyasha instructed, earning him a disbelieving look from Kagome.

She was speechless. `Did he just say that he would clean my wound?' she thought suspiciously, before saying, “Aren't you supposed to wash first before you apply medicine. You already put some on me, you moron.”

“That wasn't medicine, wench. That was something else. Go wash.”

“Why should I do what you say, you arrogant bastard?”

“Because you are in my kingdom, under my kingdom's jurisdiction, and don't forget that I saved your fluffy ass from death during the attack!” Inuyasha roared, and Kagome drew back slightly. His entire demeanor suddenly changed right then, his voice softening as he said, “So go and wash. Your burns still need some attention.”

Kagome blinked, before slowly turning around and heading for the bathroom. She whipped around and stared suspiciously at the hanyou before closing the door behind her. She stared at the door for a moment before turning and facing the bathroom interior.

She quickly stripped before going under the showerhead, then turned the water on. Kagome shivered as the cold water hit her tired body, and she absently noticed that the wound on her leg didn't entirely sting as much as it had when she was in the dungeon.

`Maybe that asshole really did put some sort of medicine on me,' she thought. `But why? We're enemies... he killed my father!'

But then again, there was that feeling of familiarity that ran through her when she looked at him. A feeling that they were somehow...

`Ugh, what am I thinking?!' She then thought back to what had happened when she had been captured.

--- Flashback ---

Sesshoumaru seemed to have grown weary of her shouting. “Kill her.”

Inuyasha immediately objected. “No! Don't. Let's bring her to Soldari with us. Please, Commander. She may be helpful. Besides, what could she do? I want her in Soldari. Just grant me this as reward for killing the king.”

--- End Flashback ---

`So he thinks I could be helpful,' she seethed mentally. `He's taking care of me because I may become a precious info source. Well, I'm not willing to help them. They could all die for all I care!'

Kagome furiously scrubbed at the dirt on her arms and legs. Having the enemy take care of her was degrading, but she knew that there was nothing she could do for now.

Oh, she would have her revenge. But first, she had to gain some good ground.

She was gonna enjoy taking this noble apart...

Speaking of which...

Why would he, a noble, have been in the war, as a foot soldier, no less?

She finished her short bath with a brief glance at the door. `That damn guy had better not be peeking!' she thought heatedly as she wrapped a towel around herself, drying up her hair and body. She found a rack near the door and sure enough, there lay a set of thick, warm robes.

She picked it up in distaste. It was nothing like the robes she had worn in her kingdom. The fabric of the clothing was rather coarse, like that of common men. Much like Inuyasha's actually. The clothing consisted only of a coarse white kimono and a wide green hakama. She put her nightgown into the hamper hesitantly. She never wanted to part with it - it was the only reminder of her lost kingdom.

She dressed in aversion to the clothing, feeling the material slide roughly against her skin. She paled in mortification as she realized that the murderer had completely forgotten to have underwear ready for her.

oooooooooo

Inuyasha sighed as he heard the water stop running inside the bathroom. `Why the hell am I doing this?' he thought in misery, punching the pillow that lay innocently beside him.

She had an aura he couldn't quite place... an aura that screamed for his attention. Eyes that begged for his stare. There was something that told him that he had to keep her safe - at all costs.

She was dressing up - he could hear the material as it slid across her skin slowly. She obviously didn't want to have to do anything with anything not from Calderia.

But one thing that the ex-hime should learn to accept was that she was no longer in Calderia. Her land was no more, and she was a prisoner of war. She was lucky enough to have the personal supervision of the duke's younger son, or she would be rotting in a dungeon cell by now... or worse, she could have died back in her planet if it hadn't been for Inuyasha.

The princess slowly opened the bathroom door, staring down at herself in something akin to disgust. She then turned flaring eyes at him as she made her way to the foot of the bed, where Inuyasha still sat.

He promptly got up as she approached, before abruptly grabbing her arm and pushing her down to sit on the bed. He then knelt before her and lifted her hakama slightly, much to the princess' indignation.

“Excuse me!” she yelled, pulling her garment from his hands, her cheeks red with embarrassment and anger. “What do you think you're doing?!”

Of course, Inuyasha knew that she had no underwear beneath the flimsy clothing...

“I am trying to see your wound, bitch! Now hold still. I have no interest in your skinny body,” he said in irritation as she huffed.

“Stop calling me a bitch you damn murderer! My name is Higurashi KAGOME!”

“I will once you stop calling me a murderer, wench! Now sit still and let me put medicine on your burns!”

Kagome crossed her arms in anger, wanting nothing more than to bash this man's head to the ground with her fists and a heavy brick. She began to flush when she felt him slowly lifting her skirt again, accidentally brushing her with his... wait... claws?!

“Why do you have claws?” she asked testily, and nearly grinned in satisfaction when she felt Inuyasha stiffen.

“Because,” was the eloquent reply. “In case you haven't noticed, I'm a hanyou.”

Kagome blanched. “Half human, half youkai?”

“No... half human, half handsome,” he said sarcastically. “What do you think?”

“I was just asking, asshole.”

“And I was just answering, bakayarou.”

Both kept silent as Inuyasha poured some bright blue medicine onto a few thin pads. He then taped the pads onto her burns with utmost care, wrapping them in gauze for extra measure. As he finished, Kagome had another question.

“You're a duke's son, right? Why were you in the war?”

Inuyasha looked peeved. “Because I wanna be a soldier.”

“Why do you have that sword with you even when you're at home?” she asked pseudo-innocently. “That's that sword that you used to kill my father, right? I can recognize that battered hilt anywhere... Now why do you still have it in the safety of your own home?”

Inuyasha looked at her sharply as he gave her bandages one last tug. “Because I want to.”

Kagome nearly cringed at the venom in his gaze. “I was just asking,” she repeated.

“Well, stop asking! You have too many questions!”

He got up and started for the door, upon reaching the door, he lanced back at her, his hand on the golden knob. “Go to sleep, lie down, I don't care. Food will be brought to you shortly. And TRY not to destroy your new room, ok?”

Kagome blinked as he left the room. `Why that arrogant bastard... wait... MY new room?' she thought in puzzlement. Prisoners of war shouldn't have their own rooms!

She heard him barking orders right outside the door, presumably to quite a few guards judging from the myriad grunts of “Hai, Inuyasha-sama” coming from them. She vaguely heard him say, “Let her out and die a painful death.”

Cheerful.

oooooooooo

Inuyasha strode towards his brother's door determinedly. The princess was much too talkative, much too inquisitive and much too arrogant for her own good. If he didn't do something about it, she was bound have herself executed for treason soon.

And that was something he didn't want to even think about. He already had too much on his mind, not the least of which was WHY on Soldari he was even trying to keep her from getting killed!

As the younger son of the late duke, there was only one thing to do... and the solution lay within the hands of his elder brother. `I still don't know why I want to do this,' he thought.

He knocked loudly upon reaching the door, waiting for his brother's scowling face to appear. He grinned widely as Sesshoumaru popped his head out with the expected scowl.

“WHAT?!?!” Sesshoumaru yelled angrily.

“I have a favor to ask you.”

“And I should grant it because?”

“Because this afternoon is my awarding... and if you don't give me what I want, I will embarrass you sooo thoroughly later that you will never, EVER, show your face to the public, ever again.”

That did it. “Ok... no need to use harsh threats. Come in, and we'll talk,” Sesshoumaru said in defeat.

Inuyasha grinned broadly. “That's what I like about you bro... you're easy to talk to.”

Sesshoumaru muttered something about murdering his brother in his sleep later that night as they walked into his room.

oooooooooo

Kagome punched her pillow repeatedly, imagining it was Inuyasha. Oh... how she wanted to get him alone when she wasn't injured... that way, she can give him a proper bashing.

“Damn murderer!” she yelled, and continued punching the pillow as she heard a knock on the door. “WHAT?!” she yelled.

A feminine voice called from outside the door. “Kagome-sama? I'm here with your food and dress robes. May I come in?”

Kagome's eyebrows nearly hit the ceiling. `Dress robes?'

“Yes, come in,” she said in confusion, putting her abused pillow down. She sat as she watched a dark-haired girl, who looked about her age, come in with a cart of food. On a second level of the cart sat a large box.

“Good day, Kagome-sama!” the girl smiled, brown eyes twinkling merrily.

“Ano... hello. Please, call me Kagome. Who are you?”

“I am Sango, your personal assistant,” the girl said cheerfully.

Kagome was really surprised now. “Assistant? I have an assistant?” she asked as Sango set the box down on her bed and brought the cart directly before her. “Prisoners don't have assistants!”

Sango looked at her in surprise. “Kagome-sama, you are not a prisoner here.”

“What are you talking about?”

Sango opened the box then to reveal a thick clump of green cloth, and Sango pulled it out to reveal a beautiful green gown. It was of the finest silk, and Kagome, despite the finery she was used to, couldn't help but be thoroughly surprised.

“This is beautiful Sango. What is it for? I'm just gonna be sitting around here all day.”

Sango smiled as she set about making herself busy with setting the foodcart. “Oh no you won't, my lady. You are going to the awarding tonight.”

“Awarding?!” she cried in outrage. “Inuyasha's awarding? You are going to make me watch the man who killed my father as he is awarded?”

Sango smiled unsurely. “Well... kinda. You see, in this land, it is a rule that the awardees' concubines must witness all of her lord's awarding, attend all of his parties, stuff like that.”

“And what has that got to do with me?”

Sango braced herself for what she was sure was coming. “Ano... just this morning... Inuyasha-sama had filed you in as his first concubine...”

oooooooooo

People worked diligently in the palace grounds, exchanging small tired smiles as they met their loved ones in the fields.

The peaceful façade that the contented workers had created was broken by a sole, furious feminine shout of shock and indignation from deep inside the palace, making birds flee from their perches in fright...

“NANIII???!!!”

oooooooooo