InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Serendipity ❯ A New Master? ( Chapter 3 )

Hello everyone ... I've been gone a long time haven't I? >.< Been busy, then computer died and had to be reformatted, then come 5 projects, which I got stuck doing till I'm so tired of them I can't think straight, then now there's the finals and I've been stuck studying, and I still flunked my math. Oh well, and still studying for mandarin. Going to forget everything and just write something now. Very very sorry again for the super huge extra long absence T___T

A Big thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I'm going to put off replying to reviews in future chapter because it's taking off time for actual writing of the story. It's hard enough to find time as it is.

/Italics/ - thoughts [it was "italics" previously, but I found on some sites it won't show up properly, so in order to not confuse it with dialogue, I've decided to change it to something more obvious instead]
"blahblah" - dialogue
[blahblah] - author notes or translations.

AN: To clarify a little something, in my sense of youkai smelling a scent, it's not just a physical smell, but also emotions and character traits, and its also a bit like a feeling more than just smelling. Like how some animals can smell fear, and how some can feel danger or kindness from someone else.

Rating Alert: Some lustful hints on Inuyasha's part ... but very mild I think.

Serendipity
~ sometimes blessings are disguised in the most unexpected ways ...

Chapter 3
A New Master?

/Stupid wolf, why did he insist on coming when I've already offered to come anyway? He dislike me as much as I dislike him, so why .../ Inuyasha looked up sharply, sniffing the air. /What is that intriguingly alluring scent? I have never came upon any like it ... I wonder where it came from .../

Following his nose, Inuyasha wondered around the castle until he finally found himself in the gardens. /A very nice garden, almost as well kept as the ones at Sesshoumaru's castle./ He thought distractedly, trying to determine where the scent came from.

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of sniffling, then a shaky breath. /There's someone here! A human female, why didn't I noticed sooner? Must be that strange scent distracting me./ Inuyasha walked towards the origins of the soft sniffling.

/Wait a moment ... that scent is getting stronger! ... no way! This scent can't possibly be from a human ... can it?/ A bewildered Inuyasha cautiously approached the dark head he can see poking through the bush in front of him. Silently maneuvering himself around the tree the human is leaning against, he tried to have a peak at the human without her noticing.

Absently, it registered at the back of his mind that the human is no longer sniffling. When she came into full view, Inuyasha did a double take at the beauty in front of him. As a prince and heir to the title of Lord of the Western Lands, he has seen his fair share of beautiful people, human or youkai, male or female. However, Inuyasha was willing to bet his legs that this girl in front of him would be a match in looks to anyone he's ever seen. [AN: Though I would say, with the exception of Sesshoumaru, no one is a match with the beauty of Fluffy-sama, All Hail Fluffy! .. Ahem! back to the story.]

A soft breeze brushed past them, carrying a strong dose of that alluring scent straight into Inuyasha's face. He took a long whiff of the scent, trying to decide what it felt like. /Warmth, and light, like sunshine; something sweet and innocent, along with a fair bit of fire; lavender and jasmine, with a hint of cinnamon and mint ... there's something dark and melancholy there too, like the calm before a thunderstorm. Such an unique scent, I wonder how the human is like .../

Inuyasha moved to the front of the human, expecting the girl to prostrate herself at his feet immediately at the sight of a youkai lord. He knew she was probably a slave or servant, since there was no other human at the castle currently. However, the girl gave no indication that she noticed him at all, and continued to stare into space, even when he has occupied that space. Watching the girl intently, Inuyasha decided to wait for her to come to her senses without his help. Besides, it was a good opportunity to observe this delicate rose.

Raven black hair framed a softly pointed face, with dark onyx eyes half covered by long dark lashes, cherry red lips under a delicate little nose, completed with flawless pale skin. Inuyasha licked his lips; his mouth has suddenly gone dry. His eyes moved down her smooth neck, the firm swell of her chest, her shapely thin waist, swept over her exquisitely shaped hands, and finally down beautiful shapely long legs. A sudden image of them wrapping around him appeared; Inuyasha swallowed hard and quickly shook it out of his head before something decided to spring to life. Looking back at her neck, he frowned at the solid iron band encircling it, looking disturbingly out of place on such a delicate and pale creature.

/Must be a slave then./ Inuyasha thought, knowing full well what that band meant. Displeasure flowed through him for some reason, but he could not think of why. /Probably because such a delicate creature should not have been treated so harshly. I never liked the idea of torture./ A slight movement from the slave drew his attention back to her face, waiting for her to acknowledge his presence.

Kagome suddenly a tingle down her spine, like someone was watching her. Coming out of her daze, she blinked stupidly at the visage in front of her, somewhat fuzzy mind not being able to connect what she's seeing with the thoughts from her brain. Her confused eyes took in the startling honey eyes under silver eyebrows, and the silver hair flowing behind him. Absently she wondered if her daydream became reality. Her eyes continued to travel down his body, taking in the baggy fiery red haori. Something moved in the corner of her eyes, and she looked up at the top of his head, finally noticing the fuzzy pointed ears twitching in his hair.

/... wait a moment, he's that hanyou!!/ She thought in shock. That brought her out of her daze, dark eyes widening impossibly as she tried to scramble back and away from the hanyou, which only resulted in pushing herself against the tree she was leaning against. She was too shocked and still not recovered enough from her daze to remember how she should be acting, the intent scrutiny of the hanyou in front of her sending goose-bumps down her flesh.

Inuyasha stared at the girl, not sure how to react. /Don't any of the slaves here know how to behave?/ He thought with exasperation, thinking back to the other slave who had the audacity to talk back to him. [A/N: Inuyasha had not recognized Kagome yet, because she was covered in dirt and soot, but now she is clean.]

Glaring at her, he said: "Hey you! Isn't there something you should be doing right now?"

Kagome eyes went even wider as a multitude of emotions flashed through her expressive dark eyes, but the most dominant ones were fear and dread. Her breath caught in her chest, and she found herself unable to reply, her vocal chords having locked down in her fear. /What if he finds out?!/ The thought went around and around in her head.

Inuyasha blinked in surprise, not sure why Kagome would be so afraid. Then his eyes darkened in anger with the thought that she had probably been badly mistreated; he had seen many broken slaves terrified at the smallest indication of displeasure from their masters.

"a...a..I.." Kagome tried to form a reply, forcing her unresponsive body to move into a kneeling position, bowing her head submissively.

"It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you. There is no need to be so terrified of me." Inuyasha said softly, as if he was talking to a frightened pup. He knelt down on one knee in front of her, raising her chin softly with his fingers.

Kagome was dumbfounded. She had grew up in the midst of pain and torture and she handled it, but the sudden kindness from the hanyou took her completely off guard. She opened her mouth to form a reply, any reply, then closed it again when nothing would come to mind. She settled on just staring at him.

"Are you mute?" Inuyasha asked, noticing the difficulties this slave seemed to have with talking.

Kagome shook her head, swallowing hard. /Get a hold of yourself Kagome! If he was going to kill you he would have done so already, so snap out of it!/ She berated herself, /the last thing you want is for him to get mad at you because you won't talk!/

"I-I can talk." She said softly, her warm breath tickling Inuyasha's fingers, which were still holding her chin up. "I was just ... too shocked just now to react properly. Please forgive this lowly slave." Kagome lowered her eyes, since she was unable to lower her head.

"Don't worry about it. I don't really like all this slave business anyway, but it's been a tradition for so long, and I can't just abolish it out of the blue. Especially since I can't do so without causing friction with the Lords of the other Lands." Inuyasha suppressed a shiver from the sensations her sweet breath cause on his fingers. Hastily, he dropped his hand. Standing up, he motioned for her to do so as well.

/Her voice sounds familiar ... wait, isn't she that same slave who talked back to me in the dungeons?! / Realising this, Inuyasha drew himself up and glared down at the girl. "Say, aren't you that slave who said I had "cute puppy ears"?"

Kagome froze. /Oh my god I'm going to die now, I'm coming to join you mother!/

Inuyasha snorted at the terrified girl, knowing she's probably awaiting her death by his hands. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. Just make sure you behave from now on, not everyone is nice like me you know."

"Y-yes, I am very sorry for my behaviour. I was not thinking straight." Kagome answered in soft tones, eyes downcast.

He looked at her with curiosity, "What do you do here?"

"I ... I am Young Lord Hojo's ... personal slave." Kagome hoped he would just take it at face value and not inquire about her specific duties.

"Personal slave? Do you share his bed?" Inuyasha asked with interest. He felt his loins tightening. /Why am I reacting like this to her? No female has ever had this effect on me./

Kagome swallowed, not sure if she should answer the truth that no, she does not share Hojo's bed, or if she should answer according to her position that yes, she should be sharing his bed.

"Answer me!" Patience had always been an alien concept to Inuyasha, and the movement of her white neck when she swallowed was distracting him.

"No!" Kagome decided to go with the truth; she did not need the hanyou to get any less than savory ideas.

"Really, I'm surprised. Make sure you are not lying to me, or else ... " Inuyasha raised one of his claws in front of her face, crackling his knuckles.

"I am not lying to you, I do not share Lord Hojo's bed." Kagome tried her best to calm her racing heart.

"Well then, what do you do, if you do not share his bed." Inuyasha said the last few words with a slight sneer, letting her know that he did not believe her at all.

"I help him dress, clean his rooms, and accompany him to serve him." Kagome was getting nervous, she wondered if he would do anything to her.

"I see, well then, since you have no one to serve right now, why don't you serve me." Inuyasha smirked at her.

/Nooo ..../ Kagome mentally moaned. /Hopefully he would not ... do anything./ To answer the hanyou, she noded. It was not like she had any choice.

--------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------

"Yo dog-breath! I'm going back t... " Kouga trailed off, jaw dropping and eyes popping out of their sockets at the tenyo following demurely after the hanyou. [Tenyo: somewhat like angel, fairy, or goddess.]

"What stinky wolf, cat got your tongue?" Inuyasha sneered, knowing well what, or rather who, the wolf was staring at.

"Hey, where'd you get such a catch?" Kouga asked, still in daze staring at Kagome.

Kagome felt unnerved by the youkai's blatant staring, as she followed behind the hanyou with her eyes downcast. She wondered who the other youkai was, but did not dare to look up.

Inuyasha shrugged nonchalantly, though he was secretly gloating. "I came upon her in the gardens. You should learn to appreciate the beauty of nature too."

"She's a beauty alright, mind sharing?" Kouga had finally gotten a hold of himself, and is no longer gapping like a fish at the girl.

"No way!" Inuyasha growled. Somehow the thought of another person touching the girl angering him, especially if it's the stupid wolf Kouga.

"Aww, spoil sport! Anyway, as I was saying. I'm going back to my lands, there's no need for us to stay here." Kouga knew the rule of first come first serve among the youkai and did not try to steal the girl. He dragged his attention with some difficulty to look at Inuyasha.

"Good, the sooner you're gone the better." Inuyasha turned to go, Kagome following him.

"Wait!" Kouga called after them, stepping closer. Even though he cannot outright take her from the hanyou, there was nothing that said he could not make her come to him of her own free will, and if she wanted to go with him, he would not mind buying her from the stupid hanyou. He took Kagome's hand and brought it to his lips, then planted a kiss against the petal soft skin of the back of her fingers. "I am Kouga, prince of the wolves and Lord of the Eastern lands. It is my honour to meet someone as exquisite as yourself. If you ever want to get away from the stupid dog I'll gladly buy you from him."

Kagome blushed, a loss at how to react. However, she was saved from having to make a reply by Inuyasha's angry growl.

"Stay away from my slave, you stupid wolf! Get your hands off her!" Inuyasha was not pleased at all to see the slight reddening of Kagome's cheeks. He did not like the fact that the mangy wolf was the source of the girl's alluring blush. He moved to pull Kouga away, but Kouga has already stepped back.

With a wink at Kagome, he disappeared in a cloud of dust, calling behind him: "You'd better take good care of the girl for when I come to get her."

Kagome blinked at the onslaught of dust left behind by the youkai. /Who was that? I did not even get a look at him...but they're all the same anyway, wanting me for my looks and "services". Even if he buys me, I will just be going from one hell to another./ Kagome stayed as she was, standing behind Inuyasha forlornly.

Inuyasha turned from glaring after the wolf to Kagome, noticing her dejected look. Not sure why she look even more miserable than before, but suspecting that it probably had to do with the wolf.

"Keh! Just ignore the stupid wolf, no one cares what he says anyway." He tried to comfort her in a way. He also really wanted her to disregard what Kouga had suggested; there was no way he would let Kouga have her.

Kagome nodded slightly, she did not really consider going with the other youkai anyway. At least, from what she had seen from this hanyou, he was not one to randomly abuse his slaves. She actually thought he might be relatively nice for a part youkai master.

/I guess he is my new master ... I wonder if he will take me with him? I'm getting old, even if he leaves me behind to wait for Hojo's return, his father will still want to sell me soon since I am growing old and it is obvious Hojo is not using my "services"./ Kagome pondered. /Maybe this is for the better ... at least if I am forced to serve anyone, this hanyou is actually not bad looking./

I don't really like this chapter ... it was so hard to write ... and it still turned out crappy >.< Hopefully it is not too bad. Sesshoumaru shall appear soon ... in about one or two chapters at the most. (At least I hope so ... the story is writing itself ... I am merely its medium.) I'm not good at keeping characters in character ... forgive me if anything seems out of place >.<

Thanks very much to those who has reviewed. Sorry again for the super late chapter. Hopefully the next chapter will come in a week or so.

¡¡