InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Entrapment ❯ Promises, Slavery, and Opportunities ( Prologue )
Entrapment
By: Jazmin Turner
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha so get over it!
Summary: He was bound to Kikyou because of one simple promise. It was because of that he was her slave. But, when Kikyou buys Inuyasha his own slave, it turns out that she may be the one person able to set him free.
Genres: Romance, Angst
Prologue:
Promises, Slavery, and Opportunities
~*~
"I promise to care for and protect you as long as I love you."
The sentence hung in the air like a warning. The air in the forest was suddenly stagnant, and it seemed as if all of the sound had been muted. It was if the whole world was holding its breath.
"You mean it?" Inuyasha stared down at the girl snuggled up in his arms. Her large gray eyes were moist with tears, shiny with anticipation.
"You know I do. I never lie." She boldly took a tendril of long, soft white hair and twirled it around her index finger. A faint smile struggled to come out on her lips.
There was a long, uncomfortable silence there after. Inuyasha buried his face in her dark hair, drinking in her crisp, cold scent. Kikyou continued to run her fingers through his hair and murmurs of pleasure came up in his throat.
"You know what you have to do, right?" Inuyasha paused. Amber eyes locked on cool gray ones. A loose wind blow their hair together, mingling together in a dark, grayish blur. Kikyou tucked her hair behind her ear and stared at him expectantly.
"No," he admitted finally with a sigh. Kikyou allowed a grin to poke at the corners of her mouth.
"It means you'd have to stay with me forever. You'd have to protect me from demons and bring me food and give me bath water…" Her voice trailed off after falling victim to the intense look in his golden orbs.
"I'd do anything for you Kikyou. I am bound to you by my promise."
"I know you'll always love me. No one will ever take you away from me." A tinge of jealousy spiked in her voice.
"No one," he agreed. Inuyasha leaned down and brushed his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. She remained motionless and did not return the gesture. He felt slightly hurt when she fisted her hands and pushed against his chest.
"You never know who might be watching," she said briskly, untangling herself from him. Kikyou ran her thin hands down her blood red miko pants, checking for dirt, evidence that she had not been doing her job. "What would the villagers say? What if they saw me kissing you, a hanyou?" she asked worriedly. Her eyes darted around the dense clearing, as if someone may have been lurking in the shadows, waiting to spring from behind the leafy shrubs.
Inuyasha felt his heart sting with pain. Did it really matter? So what if someone saw them dammit! He thought Kikyou understood him. He was positive that Kikyou would be the only person beside his mother who had appreciated him for himself.
But he was wrong. Horribly wrong.
Inuyasha leant back on his forearms as Kikyou picked up her bow and quiver of freshly made arrows. She counted them before placing the black bag on her back.
But I made a promise to take care of her as long as I loved her, Inuyasha thought. And my heart belongs to her still.
~*~
"Inuyasha!" Kikyou's clear voice rang out over the hills. The hanyou's ears perked and he hopped down from his perch to greet the miko at the base of the large sakura tree.
"Yes, what is it?" She shot him a cold glare, which sent a fistful of needles into his heart. "I mean, yes Kikyou?"
"Much better," she said a matter-of-factly. "Let's take a walk, shall we?" Inuyasha nodded and trotted obediently by her side. Kikyou tugged absently on a strand of her ebony hair. "How long have we been doing this?"
"Doing what?" Inuyasha wanted to know.
"Protecting me. Catering me. Falling victim to my every whim." Inuyasha wrinkled his nose at her implications. He had just thought he was doing his job.
"About a year now, Kikyou, though we have know each other much longer," he replied, "Why?" Kikyou moistened her lips. Inuyasha started drooling. She took her hand in his rather forcefully and proceeded to drag him along. His bare feet made streaks in the soft dirt. His ears flickered forwards. He heard the roar of a waterfall near by.
"Oh no reason. You still love me, am I correct?" Inuyasha bobbed his head up and down, giving her hand an appreciative squeeze.
"Kikyou, I will never stop loving you."
"Is that a promise?" He bit his lip and looked away. Kikyou stopped suddenly in her tracks and grabbed the furry flesh of his ear. Inuyasha yelped in pain as her nails dug into his most sensitive parts.
"K-Kikyou," he gasped, entire body racking with pain.
"Inuyasha," she growled. "Promise me. Promise me that you will always love me." The hanyou bit his lip again, almost drawing blood.
"I can't do that Kikyou."
"And why not?" she asked, releasing him. He freed some of the air that was hidden in his chest.
"Things change. People change. What if I die before you, Kikyou? I know there is an afterlife, but I cannot still remain loyal to you. I don't want you to hurt because of my death. What if you stop loving me? I don't want to continue loving you and suffer pain because of a promise." Kikyou paused and looked thoughtful.
"Inuyasha, I assume you are correct, but your words wound me," she told him in a chilling voice. "Our love will always be alive." Inuyasha nodded.
"Kikyou, I never said I didn't want to be with you," he offered kindly. "I just don't want anymore suffering."
"Yes, I know you mean well, Inuyasha." They began their brisk walk again; the cool, crisp autumn air send goosebumps up Kikyou's arms. Inuyasha stroked her cheek lovingly. She sighed.
Before they could continue, the villager's shrill cries reached Inuyasha's ears. His nose also picked up the sickening smell of blood.
"The village is in trouble," he said. Kikyou's eyes widened in shock. Her grip tightened on her bow and she turned and began running swiftly away from him, leaving him feeling cold and empty. "Good luck!" he called out.
Kikyou ignored him, and continued tearing her way viciously through the tall, feathery, green grass. Her ragged breaths reached his ears.
"Don't follow me, Inuyasha!" Kikyou yelled. "I couldn't bear what the villagers my say if they saw you and me together!"
Inuyasha's mouth hung open. Kikyou still didn't trust him? Not after many years of knowing him? He fisted his hands at his sides, body shaking with silent fury. She soon disappeared from his line of sight, and he was left lonely once again.
~*~
"Is this acceptable, Kikyou?" Inuyasha asked. He squat before the spoiled miko, offering her a pelt of tanned hide. She couldn't imagine how much effort he had put into making that coat. He had tracked down the furry beast, stripped it of its fur, cleared it of its guts and remains, tanned it out in the sun for a long time, and worked hard to make it fit her. Inuyasha had to wait until winter approached to offer her the gift, as the wind started picking up a frigid bite, and also, her birthday was in December.
Kikyou took the pelt from him and surveyed it.
"What is it?" Inuyasha scrunched up his nose. It had a thin body piece with sleeves attached to it, plus it was furry and looked very warm. What else would it be?
"It's - It's a coat I made for you." Inuyasha blushed. If only Kikyou knew the countless hours he had slaved over it, making sure every fiber was in place, making sure his claws cut the pieces precisely. He had even tried to sew it with a pine needle and bits of his hair (his mother had taught him sewing long ago) and he could only hope Kikyou liked it.
Kikyou tried it on, but it was a little too loose around the middle. Did Inuyasha think she was fat?
"Do you think I am overweight?" she asked. Inuyasha's mouth fell open in dumb shock.
"No!" Inuyasha barked. "I think you're beautiful! I'm just not the best at making clothes." He glared at the floor. This just wasn't turning out as he hoped he would. Kikyou was supposed to like it, Kikyou was supposed to thank him, Kikyou was supposed to kiss him, and then he was supposed to ask her to be his mate, and she was supposed to accept. That was the master plan! And was that working? No!
"Hm," she murmured. It was actually quite nice, if you ignored the crude, rugged design and the inability to measure adequately. "Sorry Inuyasha, I don't like it."
"What?!" he howled. Kikyou shot him an apologetic smile before shrugging off the garment that had taken months to make, as if it were some smelly piece of garbage. Was it possible to feel your heart break? Because Inuyasha was positive that his was crumbling and falling into teeny bits at the pit of his stomach.
"Inuyasha!" Kikyou snapped. "What would the villagers say if they saw me walking around in this? They would ask me where I got it from!" Inuyasha shrugged.
"Um…you could lie?"
"I can't lie! That's the point," she answered stoically. Her hands fisted at her sides. "Honestly Inuyasha you are so immature." The hanyou opened his mouth to protest, but he cast another forlorn look at he crumpled coat that was lying in a pile at her feet. He swallowed, and for the first time since his mother died, he wanted to curl up into a ball and whimper.
How could Kikyou do something…something so vile? That was just cruel! Inuyasha's hands curled into a fist, and he felt a strong need spike through him, the sudden urge to punch something. Hard. Kikyou looked at him coolly.
"Well?"
"Kikyou I don't know what I was thinking," he ground out, snapping his gaze on the quivering grass that played around his ankles. "I just…I just thought that you would like it, and it's getting cold." Inuyasha felt Kikyou's hand on his shoulder.
"Inuyasha, you did good," she amended.
"Then why don't you like it?" he questioned in a small voice. Kikyou bit her lip.
"I mean, you did a good job gathering the supplies and such, but quite frankly, the coat was crudely designed, badly measured, poorly sewed, and further more, it was ugly."
~*~
"Inuyasha," Kikyou cast him an odd smile. "Inuyasha come here. I have a wonderful surprise for you." The hanyou immediately hopped down from the tree where he had been sulking in. Kikyou had slapped his hands when he had attempted to steal some of her food and it had been mixed with a crackle of miko energy. His hand still stung at the mere thought of it.
"Yes?" he answered, still pouting. "What is it?" She sent him another meaningful glare, but he ignored it.
"This has been going on for three years, has it not? Have you heard that a new priestess will be coming to town, Inuyasha? This is my big chance to get a break. I won't be in the spotlight for once and I'll finally be able to spend time with you." Inuyasha nodded dumbly. "Well. Have you also heard about the new Slave Market?" The hanyou shook his head.
"What about it?" Kikyou stared at him, as if he were an idiot.
"Inuyasha you have been a very, very good slave for me-" At this point Inuyasha bristled, but Kikyou calmed him down with a smile "-I know that you love me, and I love you as well. For your obedience, I have decided to buy you a pet." He cocked his head, eyes wide with confusion.
"Huh? I don't get it." Kikyou sighed in annoyance.
"Inuyasha, since you have been of such good service, I want to buy you your own slave!" The hanyou's ears perked.
"All for me?"
"Of course. I mean, I'll be the Boss around here, but I thought that you'd like a nice little slave to help you complete your chores. And by the way, I need you to chop more wood for the village." Inuyasha mumbled something inaudible and very rude under his breath. "What was that?"
"Nothing!"
"Anyway, Inuyasha, would you like your very own slave?" Hm…the possibilities of having a slave were endless. That meant less chores, less work, and more time to follow after Kikyou - when she wasn't in the village of course! "But of course you'll have to feed it and make sure it doesn't get sick!"
"A slave is a person. Not a thing," Inuyasha corrected.
"Right," Kikyou said briskly. "Whatever you say."
"Keh!"
"So, do you want one, or not?" Inuyasha scratched his head and made a rash decision.
"Okay I'll do it!"