Prompt: Living Sacrifice
Title: For Keeps
Author: cesuraee
Word Count: 1,998
Genre: AU
Rating: M, MA, NC-17, Salacious
Warnings: Kidnapping, Gore, Sex, Character Death, Stockholm Syndrome, PTSD
Summary: They say to be consistently aware of your surroundings, to watch your drink, and not let your friends out of your sight. Too bad Kagome hadn't heeded those words.
Disclaimer: I do not own, nor do I make profits from, InuYasha or any of the characters found within. I can only hope that I do them justice.
Author's Note: Well, for all intents and purposes I had wanted to enter this into the IK-eternal Halloween Contest. But apparently I don't remember deadlines well, and I missed it. I was off by half an hour, but I kept it in my possession a little bit longer to get out the rough mistakes. Also, I could have added more plot to it to have it make more sense, but I kind of like the mystery of it all. If you have any questions about it feel free to ask, but by all means I encourage you to make your own inferences about the story!
##
There was something to be said about the disoriented pounding that can take residence within a person's skull, combined with the nauseous swirling memories and heaviness of extremities. In short, waking up after being drugged was an experience Kagome never wanted to repeat. While she had never been drugged before in her life, the moment she woke up and felt the droopy weight of her eyelids she knew that that was what had occurred.
Her memories were another story.
One second she was out celebrating the upcoming All Hallow's Eve with her friends, and the next she was waking up to the feel of cold steel beneath her body and the taste of bile on her tongue. In that moment there was not much else that she was aware of, because the fear that curled in her belly was all encompassing.
The pounding of her heart was all that she could hear, and the strength of it settled beneath her breastbone, pressing an ache against her skin. When she attempted to cry out, the stretch of fabric that curled between her teeth ate whatever words she might have said. The tears that bled from her eyes caught against another row of clothe, and her thrashing was weak as her body protested any strenuous movement.
"Oh good, you're awake."
The voice, very much a male's, sounded much too close, and her heart plummeted as her muscles tensed in anticipation. She whimpered against the gag in her mouth, choking a bit as the lump of saliva wedged further in her throat.
"Poor thing." Cold fingers swept across the skin of her collarbone, curling stiff fingers into her shoulder when she attempted to move away. "You mustn't be scared."
Before she could comprehend the pain in her shoulder and the spoken words that followed, the blindfold fell away. The burst of color and light caused her pupils to dilate, and she slammed her eyelids shut at the pain that followed.
Slowly she cracked open one eye, then the other, allowing her vision to adjust to the fluorescent lights that hummed over head.
A brush against her forehead drew her attention back to the present, and the first thing she noted was a curtain of black grease that hung limp from the head of a pale figure. "That's a good girl," the voice said. The man in question had eyes so bloodshot they appeared red, and his lips were pressed into a tight smile worthy of a grimace. "We've been waiting for you, Miss Kagome."
The pronoun drew her attention to another figure that stood a little ways back. Standing in a room full of muted tones, the other man was almost invisible. The slate walls did well to hide the silver tresses and ears adorning his head, and his clothes consisted of nothing but boring grey. His eyes, though it took her a moment to focus, were a shade of amber so brilliant that it might have stolen her breath if the fear she felt hadn't already taken care of that.
Yet, despite the fear swelling in her body, her thoughts remained calm. She equated that to the golden eyes.
She took a calming breath before she attempting to speak through the gag. When she felt a little less hysterical she took in more air just to be safe. "What do you want from me," she asked.
Or at least she attempted to.
The words turned out to be nothing more than garbled whines, but the duo seemed to have no problem understanding. The dark haired man's smile turned into a grin that bared yellow teeth. He gave a 'tsk' of reprimand as he began to circle the metallic table that held her down. "Now, now, Kagome. You really mustn't be so eager. First we need to be formally introduced before you attempt to seduce me any further with your charms."
The dark haired man drew a knife from beneath the cloak he wore. It was thin, Kagome realized, nothing more than a long blade attached to a small handle. She wondered, in her haze, if it was a letter opener.
The fear she felt swam in her stomach, circling in her nerve endings before getting muddled by her drug induced thoughts. She was able to read the signs though, which meant that even though she didn't think she was as afraid as her body told her, she undoubtedly was. Tears and whimpers were produced at the right moments, and her heart felt like it had taken up residence in her throat. When she heard the names of her captures – "My name is Naraku, but all that came before you called me master. And my apprentice here is called InuYasha. He is a bit shy" – she had no response. Instead she stared as the man rambled, and she stared until he left. When the only door in the room slid shut with a snick of metal against metal she continued to stare as if they hadn't left her all alone in the room with a gag between her teeth.
The dark haired man, Naraku as she would continue to call him, had told her they had a plan, and strapped to a steel slab as she was, all she could do was wait.
She was more than confused about everything, but one thing she knew for certain was that InuYasha had the prettiest eyes.
##
"You're not like the others."
It was the first sound, other than her own breathing, that she had heard in what felt like days.
She rolled her head to look at the speaker, and realized InuYasha had entered sometime after she'd closed her eyes. The gag kept her from replying, but she wasn't certain what she would have said anyway.
"Aren't you scared," he asked.
She blinked once. Twice. Then tilted her chin down once in affirmation. She was terrified. It just so happened that whatever drug they had given her earlier kept her from fully comprehending that fact.
"You have something we want. If you cooperate, you might be alright."
Though his words weren't reassuring, his tone was soft in a gruff sort of way. She found herself believing him. Trusting him even. That was why when he told her he wanted to keep her safe, she felt the first flare of hope since she woke up in that room.
##
"Do you know where the jewel is?"
Days later he came back, brandishing a bowl and a dropper that he fed her water through. It made it so the gag didn't have to be removed, but she found herself not really minding. Not when she was permitted to stare at him.
In response to his question she shook her head. There was silence as he slowly emptied the water via the utensil he brought with him. He left shortly after, tossing out a tidbit that warned of Naraku's displeasure at her lack of cooperation.
##
An hour later she was forced to come face to face with Naraku's disapproval. The knife he had brandished upon their meeting was back in his hand, and it was taking turns diving into the soft flesh of her belly, arms, and thighs at random intervals.
The cries she let out felt hollow even to her ears, and even though the pain was there it seemed like nothing compared to the look InuYasha shot her every time she made a noise. For his sake, she tried to tame her reaction, and that was the moment she realized she would do anything for him.
##
"You have to tell us where it is." His voice was more desperate than she had ever heard him, but she couldn't respond. Not with the gag in her mouth. Not with her heart so far into her throat. At that point she didn't even know if it was out of fear or the love she had begun to feel for the man with the golden eyes. Either way, mere words didn't seem like it would be enough.
"Please Kagome!" He was urging her now. Touching with soft hands against the healing lacerations on her body. Sometime ago the clothes had been stripped from her body, leaving her completely nude except for the thin scraps that surrounded her body.
She stared in response. There was nothing she could give him. The answers he sought eluded her grasp, and she so desperately wanted to help him.
When he sat down next to her with his head between his hands, she leaned against him. Her naked flesh seemed to catch fire where it caught against his clothes but she ignored it. There had to be something she could give him. Something that would help to ease his pain.
The firmness of his muscles told her all that she needed to know, and she curled into him as much as her bindings would allow. His ears twitched in her direction first, followed by his eyes, and when he caught sight of her he finally seemed to understand an ounce of what she was feeling.
"You want to help me?"
She nodded.
"Would you give everything to help me?"
The nod she gave a second time felt redundant. Tears pooled in her eyes due to something other than fear, because she was happy. Seeing him excited made her happy.
His body turned towards her, and her heart beat accelerated the closer her got. "Promise you won't tell Naraku?"
That was a stupid question, and she gave a scoff in the back of her throat that informed him of such. There was nothing she would tell Naraku; whether it be willingly or forced.
Her actions or reactions seemed to speak to him, because in the next moment he was cupping her cheek, leaning over her body while his tongue licked over the marks Naraku had laid on her during her stay.
"I am so sorry you're involved in this," he told the skin of her shoulder. "The moment Naraku realizes you don't have what we want, I'm going to do my best to get you out of here without any more injuries. I'm going to keep you safe."
Whoever had said that romance was dead had never had someone promise to keep them safe. She felt like she was soaring, and it was as much his words as it was the feeling of his flesh melting into her skin.
His clothes had been stripped off, and she felt his lips everywhere while she arched into all of his touches. Her legs and hands were bound, her lips were pressed tight against the cloth wrapped around her face, but she did what she could to let him know she appreciated what he was doing to her. For her.
That was why when the hard flesh of his erection pressed against her entrance she didn't even hesitate. She welcomed him into her body like she had welcomed him into her life. There was something about him that called to her, and he must have felt the same pull if his grunts were any indication.
Their coupling was hard and fast. The push and pull of their bodies sang a song that had her doing her best to shout out his name, and he seemed to understand.
He panted into her ear: telling her that she was everything, that he needed her, and that he didn't think he could ever let her go. His words were all she needed to give in, and when she did it felt as though a bright light encompassed her entire form.
The last thing she remembered hearing was his reverent words before the pain struck. The last thing she remembered seeing were his bloodied claws buried deep within the skin near her hip. The very same claws that had stroked her so lovingly scant seconds before.
"We found it," he whispered, and her entire being shattered with a shuddered breath and one last pump of her heart.
##
AN:/I hope you enjoyed it; well as much as you can enjoy a fic with character death.
Sidenote: I'm back. There are a million ideas I've scratched out in my time away, and I just need to take the time to pen them now. Hopefully I'll get one out before the New Year, but I work slow.
Fellow authors, expect reviews. I'll be in reading/writing mode the next few months.