I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters except for Kaia. Thank you for reading!
The lifestyle of my village was that of many in my time. We were ment to serve the royal family in one way or another. The men were sent to fight the endless raging war that seemed to seige these lands. Trained as boy and died as men was their fate for any born son. Women were sacrifice to demons and other enemy villages in an attempt to bring peace between these dying lands. It was customary for young girls of the tender age of 9 to be sold off to the demons. The lucky ones, were those who held no beauty. They lead the life of slavery, personal servants to the royal family. Such was my fate. Born to a mother so blessed with beauty she could sway the hearts of millions with a simple smile from her plump cherry lips. Her elegant and slender grace never went unnoticed. The fragrance of her black silky hair always smelled of lilacs in its most sweet and potent season of bloom. To save my mother the heart break of forever servicing a demon or man she did not love, my grandmother scarred my mothers pearl white skin so that every time her clothes were removed, a purpled indent would show on her backside. My grandmother was then sentenced to death for such a heinous crime, but my mother never had any ill will towards her. She knew that it was all to save her. My mother was then granted the title of councilwoman of my village. This granted her the special privilege of having a choice on who she married. Of all the gorgeous men she could have picked, she chose my father. A peasant man who was too weak to carry a sword, to sick to go into battle, and to ugly to seduce even the most desperate of women. I don't know what sickness my mother contracted by choosing my father, but I can say with pride that they were very much in love with each other.
Despite my mothers beauty, I was cursed with my fathers looks. It could have been a blessing in disguise, but I have yet to decide. Born with broad shoulders, meant for a boy. Matted untamable brown hair, face plastered with freckles, and skin, a pasty white. The only thing I received from my mother, was her wicked tongue. I can not recount the amount of times I have been lashed on the hand for my misbehavior and inability to "hold my tongue" so many times that I am unable to recall them all. I often would run rampant with the boys. They had more freedom than I did. I was supposed to be preparing to be a slave at the royal house, constricted by ugly kimonos and learn the proper way of serving tea, introducing guests, cleaning, washing, cooking, gardening and whatever else the "royal pains" needed. I had the rest of my life to be a slave, I wanted to be like the boys. I wanted to run in the mud, play swords, collect wierd bugs and creatures to scare the other villagers with. My want had turned into a need. With the older I became the more rebellious I became. I hated wearing my kimono so much that I once tore it off in the middle of the lesson and ran around the village stark naked.I was not afraid of being scolded. It was when the scoldings no longer came that I started to fear.
I had reached the age of 9 and like clockwork a black carriage that symbolized a funeral carriage awaited for me at the gates. People gathered around as if to say their final words but none were said. Their looks had said it all. The last thing that I saw of my village was the image of my parents holding one another, tears streaming down their face as they watched my carriage disappear into the distance. My life as a slave began as my life as a child ended.
As I entered the castle gates, a sudden realization swept over me that I would have to live out my life as a slave. It all seemed like a horrible nightmare that would never come. I looked upon the yard and saw several workers all slaving away in the scorching sun. Not a single one had even an ounce left of life left in their eyes. The landscape was extremely breath taking but was tainted with the cruelty seen on the backs of the workers. The castle was surprisingly nothing to grand. It looked big enough to house everyone including its workers and nothing more.
When I entered the castle I was greeted by an elderly woman, and a young child that looked to be about my age. The old woman had a stern and proper look on her face. She must be the head woman, I thought to myself. As if to answer my thoughts she said, "I am the headwoman of the maids department. You will be assigned the west quarters if this building. This girl will show you how the young master of the house likes everything to be cleaned. You will wake up before the sun is up. If you fail to do so, you will be punished. If you do not properly clean, you will be punished. If you serve tea wrong, you will be punished. If you so much as look at the masters of the house, you will be punished. If you speak out of turn, you will be..."
"Let me guess," I interrupted, "I will be punished." As if intending a remark from me, she whipped me on the back leaving a pulsating red mark on my back. I yelped out in pain. "Again, Do Not Speak Out of Turn." Spit could be seen spewing out of her mouth as she emphasized every word. "Understood?" I nodded in compliance even though every fiber in my body screamed no.
"What is your name, girl?"
"Kaia." was my reply.
The young girl lead me through the west corridors and promptly showed me how I was to work as she was ordered to do so. I was assigned the floors, and dusting of the whole west corridor. On my first day of scrubbing the floors, blisters formed on my knees, and my hands callused and cracked from the chemicals in scrubbing the floors. I learned a hard lesson that every single time a person walked through those hallways, I would have to scrub the floors all over again. I began to dread the footsteps I would hear throughout the castle and hoped that they would not walk over to where I was. Food was scarcely given and I felt my body take a toll on the harsh environments of working from dusk till dawn with little sleep and little food. Through the weeks of slavery I found it odd that not once have I seen the masters of the castle. I pushed that thought aside as the pains of my stomach took over. It became hard to think of anything other than work, but on the night of a full moon, I noticed that no one was around guarding the gates. There was no hustle and bustle of the cooks preparing their meals. All was silent. This.. I thought,This could be my chance to escape!
My prayers have been answered! With each step towards the gate my pace quickened. Still cautious of my surrounds I started running towards the gate. I was inches away. My breath could reach outside these walls. The gates suddenly closed, almost crushing my feet. I fell back from the impact of hitting the wall. The noise in the background informed me that the guards were running out to grab me and kill me. The headwomans shrill pierced the air. Her tone was enough to say that I was as good as dead. I wasn't going to die in these walls! With the little energy I had left, I bolted through the castles, in hopes of losing the guards and the other slaves, long enough to think of a plan. That was when I approached a lone door in the seemingly endless hallway. I quickly and quietly ran inside, hoping that no one resided inside.
I quickly scanned the room and I quickly exhaled relief when no one was there. In the distance I could hear the commotion of the guards running towards the door. I searched the room for a place to hide and found myself crawling into a cupboard full of clothes. I swiftly closed the cupboard door just in time to hear the footsteps pass by. After what seemed like hours, I peeked out from my hiding spot to see if the coast was clear. I was about to completely expose my hiding place, when the door slid open. The cupboard was still creaked open but I didn't dare shut it now. With each shriek from the floors that marked the position of the intruder, I became increasingly nervous. I covered my mouth to keep my fears from bursting out of my mouth. I watched through the crack the shadows that were created. I could not tell whether they were a man or a woman, all I could see was an outline of wavy hair.
The clothed feet stopped before the cupboard. My breath quickened and tears stained my face. I closed my eyes and awaited my fate. The cupboard slid open and a male voice spoke. "So this is where you were hiding. You must be the one they are looking for."
I cried out in front of him begging him to let me live. When I finally opened my eyes, I was greeted by crimson red eyes. I gasped at the beauty of his face.
"W...Who are you?" I stammered out.
"I'm the young master of the house, Naraku. It's sad to see a servant who doesn't know their own master." He grabbed my wrist and yanked me out of the cupboard a little to roughly. "Do you know what happens to a rat when it's hiding place is found?" A cold sweat broke out upon my back. He lifted me up from my arm making me hover a few inches from the ground. He pressed his mouth ever so gently against my ear. The breath tickling my ear, creating a sensation I did not understand. A mix of pleasure and pain surged through me. My throat closed up and words could not escape. At my silence he answered for me. "They are caged up and killed." He tossed me to the ground like a piece of trash. Seeing him tower over me told me that I was in hell at that very moment. I was so sure that at that moment, he was going to rape me and use me like a play toy.
"Humph" He grunted out, glaring intensely at me. "I hate children." He set up his shikibuton, all the while never taking his eyes from me. "Be lucky, child, that I am weak. Now come here!" I noted that it was an order and not a choice. With hesitation I asked, "What are you going to do?"
His quick reply was, "If you don't come here now, it will be something you do not like." I shuddered in fear but complied to his demand. I scoot up next to him shaking. He handed me a brush in my shaking hands. I looked at him with a confused face. All that came to my mind were dirty and sick images that the innocent should never have to experience.
"Being confined to a bed most of the time makes my hair rather knotted. Brush it." What a weird command. Even so I still brushed. For the first time, I felt like I was at home brushing my mothers hair. His hair was silky soft just like my mothers atramentous (dark for those who don't know) black hair. Instinctively, I grabbed a lock and pressed it to my nose, reminiscing in the scent of lilacs from my mothers. He did not question my action, but instead patted my head in a gesture of comfort.
Moments later, the headwoman barged in. Her face morphed as she laid her eyes upon me. "Seize that traitor!" She looked at Naraku and bowed to the floor. "Please forgive me, M'Lord. She tried to escape her duties thus breaking her loyalty to you."
"Stand down. I have decided to forgive her for her past transgressions." This appalled the headwoman. "B...But young master, I must advise you against such decision."
"Do you question my judgement? I do remind you, headwoman, that you are still a slave in my eyes and I will treat you as such." His eyes were so intense with rage that even the strongest of demons would stagger back in trepidation. "From this day forth she is no longer a slave of the house, she will be my personal slave, my mistress.
I was not naïve of the word mistress. But what I was naïve about, was his decision to choose me of all the women of the world. I was, in short, ugly. By the look the headwoman gave me, she thought the same thing.
"Your grace, please excuse me for saying so but she's only a child of 9. She has yet to bleed. How can she be a proper mistress if she is unable to bear you a child?" Infuriated by her outburst, he stormed up to her and shoved her face into the ground, crushing her skull beneath his foot. "Does anyone else want to defy my order?" The guards shook their head concurrently, sweat dripping down their face, all with a knot stuck in their throat. "Clean up this mess, and prepare another shikibuton. Come child, we shall go eat."
"Y...Yes." I didn't know what else to do so I complied without hesitation. I was to stunned at the orders he had given. I should have been a lifeless body by now yet here I stood. This man was scary. I have yet to decided whether he is my savior or the demon from Hell. It took all my strength to not convulse at the sight of the blood stained floors and the deformed lifeless eyes of the woman who once was my superior. Naraku was not someone to defy, les I ask my fate to be the same.
I followed close behind him as he lead me through the castle to his own personal dining room. The room was filled with only the finest gourmet food that could be found throughout the lands. To get the scraps would have been a luxury compared to the slop we received. For the first time of my being here, I was at a loss of appetite.
He sat across from me and ate in silence. The only thing I could get myself to eat was a small bowl of plain rice. Even with that I mostly just pushed my food around. The rest of the night was very restless. I expected to no longer be a virgin but he did not touch me. He treated me like I wasn't even there. He got into bed, and fell asleep without a word. Unlike him, sleep did not come easily for me. I was too restless of the events that took place beforehand to calm down. I did not know what path the fates had laid out before me, but I knew that I should always keep on my toes. Escape was no longer a possibility for escape meant torture. Even though I was scared of the man who laid beside me, I felt a need to always stay by his side. As a child does to their mother, I pressed my head against his warm chest, and finally sleep welcomed me.
I hope you like it so far. This is pretty much an introductory chapter. Don't worry Naraku fans, I'm not making him a cradle robber. This chapter I just wanted to introduce their first meeting and most certainly not their last. I constantly change my stories through the years for I do grow and so does my knowledge of writing. Please review. Thanks to all who read!
Next chapter I hope to have some lemons! Yummy :p