AN: Just a little something I came up with…hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
The Sinner's Priestess
Chapter One
Pursuit
All Kagome could hear was her own breathing and the crunching of leaves beneath her feet as she ran. She didn't know where she was going, but then again, a destination wasn't exactly necessary.
Trees flashed before, and she evaded them easily enough. Even so, she knew she was losing speed. Her heart was hammering against her chest, and the only thought running through her head was don't let them catch you, don't let them catch you…she yelped when she tripped over a gnarled root.
Wasting no time, Kagome flung her body back up, breath hitched in her throat when she could make out the shadowy figures several yards behind her. The fog obscured any details, but she didn't need to see their faces to know they were her enemies. If she didn't gain some ground, she would be caught and most likely tortured as she heard the others before her had been. She couldn't risk anything.
"You're not going anywhere, girlie!" A voice projected.
It seemed to echo all over the misty woods, ringing in Kagome's ears over and over.
She told herself to be strong, if not for herself, then for the others risking their lives to protect her, but found it difficult to prevent choked sobs from rising out of her throat. If only she had her bow and arrows! At least she could've fended them off, held them back temporarily. But seeing as they had been left behind, she would have to rely on evasive skills alone.
The landscape soon started to blur into one. She was growing dizzy from the nonstop running and uneven terrain. Eventually, her mind told her, her body would tire, and she'd have to give up. She couldn't run from these mercenaries forever. Kagome's stubborn streak refused to listen to the logical half of her which was why she kept running.
In the back of her mind, she wondered if Sango and Miroku were doing alright. What if they had already been caught? Perhaps it had been unwise to split up; by doing so, they left themselves vulnerable for attack. Kagome had reasoned though that they were mainly after her, and if they split up, they'd be forced to place their crosshairs in her direction.
After all, they were priestess-hunting – why bother wasting energy on other humans?
It was a risk, a foolish one at that, but Kagome slowly came to a halt, turning around to look behind her. The woods were eerily silent, the mist swirling around with a gentle caress. Had she not been running, attempting to evade the mercenaries, she would've believed she were entirely alone.
With every step backward she took, she cringed at the sound of crunching leaves. This must've been what a deer felt like when running from its predators. She turned her head right and left, seeing nothing but gnarled trees and mist. Had they given up?
She warily turned back around, facing the direction she had been running when she let out a short scream.
There stood one of the mercenaries, leaning against a tree. He lunged for her, clamping a hand over her mouth. She struggled to pry him off, clawing at his arms and biting his hand. He merely shook her roughly with the hand covering her mouth, and Kagome ceased all movement.
The game was up.
She was caught, and now she'd have to pay the price.
Seeing the quiet defeat in her eyes, the mercenary chuckled, a self-satisfied smirk twitching his lips upward.
"Well, well, well…" he purred. "You gave us some trouble, priestess."
Kagome shuddered.
"But," he drew away, still keeping a hand on her mouth, "we finally caught you. Well, I finally caught you. I'll be sure to let Naraku know that. I like credit being given where credit's due, you know.
"Come on, priestess. We have places to be."
The mercenary roughly pushed her back up toward the hill she had been running down earlier. Kagome's eyes widened when he released his hand from her mouth, the other tightly holding her wrists behind her back.
"Don't even think about screaming, priestess. I wouldn't hesitate to kill your friends."
Kagome's heart sunk again. She couldn't risk their lives; he may have been bluffing, but if he wasn't, the she believed his words wholeheartedly.
They walked for what seemed like hours, Kagome vaguely impressed by how far she had run. They soon reached their abandoned campsite, Kagome mourning the fact that her bow and quiver full of arrows were currently in the grasp of one of the four other mercenaries. She would've used her spiritual powers, but in her weak state, she could barely feel the hum of her energy running through her veins.
The mercenary roughly forced her to the ground on her knees. She didn't dare run.
"Look what I caught, Bankotsu!" An effeminate voice yelled from behind them.
Bankotsu, the mercenary who had found Kagome, gave a bemused look before turning his head to the right.
Another mercenary came into view, Sango being pushed in front of him.
"Stop struggling, bitch!" The man's tone quickly turned rough, losing the girlish quality it previously had.
Sango merely dug her heels in the ground, refusing to give the mercenary any satisfaction.
A few moments later, Sango was dumped next to Kagome. Kagome gave her a worried glance, settling for silent communication. Sango gave a short nod, barely noticeable. For now, it seemed she was relatively uninjured. A few bruises marred her face, but overall, nothing too threatening.
"I wish Suikotsu had let me have a go at the monk!" The mercenary who had Sango whined.
Bankotsu gave an exasperated sigh. "As I do recall, you have a tendency to play with your food before you eat it, Jakotsu. Given the circumstances, we don't really have time for those antics."
Jakotsu pouted, which Kagome would've found oddly humorous had she not been in her current predicament. She figured at this point, she didn't have much to laugh about.
The group of now six mercenaries stood around, waiting for their last member to arrive. Apparently they had also decided to split up during the chase, and each one was powerful enough to take them on single-handedly. Kagome figured they must've been looking to up their bounty when they showed up with not only a priestess, but a monk and demon exterminator to boot.
"Ah, there he is," Bankotsu said at last, staring off behind him, to the left.
A shadowed figure emerged from the mists before Kagome and Sango saw that it was the last mercenary with an unconscious Miroku being dragged behind him.
Kagome instantly looked at Sango, and wasn't too surprised to see the demon exterminator holding back tears. From what Kagome could tell though, he still looked to be breathing.
"Hope you enjoyed yourself, Suikotsu," Bankotsu drawled, eyes following the mercenary as he discarded the unconscious monk in front of Kagome and Sango.
Suikotsu merely grinned, and Kagome shuddered at how sadistic it looked. Kagome figured Miroku must've been lucky enough to come out of that fight only unconscious.
"Alright men, take anything you find; weapons, jewels, money…perhaps we can earn a little extra profit!"
The men dived on the camp, ransacking it right in front of Kagome and Sango.
"Oh, oh, give me the monk's staff!" Jakotsu squealed. "I'm sure it'll fetch a high price – real gold, I suspect!"
Bankotsu handed it to him with a shrug, before turning to Sango
"Ah, that boomerang will do." He made to grab for it, but Sango fiercely pulled back.
"Like I would let filth like you touch it!" She hissed, brown eyes flashing.
Kagome silently begged for Sango to just give it up. Arguing would do them no good. They were defenseless enough as it was, and she couldn't bear to watch them kill her right in front of her own eyes.
Bankotsu's eyes narrowed considerably before grasping his hand around her throat. She choked and tried to rip his arm away from her, but Bankotsu's grip only tightened.
"Give – me – the – weapon," he hissed.
Kagome leaned forward so that Sango could see her and shook her head fiercely, pleading with the girl to give up her boomerang. Sango saw the look and finally gave up her struggle.
Bankotsu gave a grim smile, tossing her away roughly and ripping the boomerang from off her back.
"I might keep this thing for myself," he mused, skimming his fingertips along the boomerang's edge.
Sango refused to look at him, her mouth set in a thin, firm line.
"Bankotsu," one of the mercenaries called, pointing up at the sky.
Bankotsu looked up, seeing a flying dot coming toward them before coming to a stop, hovering a few feet above him. It looked like a mutated sort of wasp, eyes large and red.
"Ah, Naraku's come to see if we've been successful." The demonic wasp hovered silently in front of him. "Go tell him we've found her and her friends and completely disarmed them. We'll be back soon." The demon hovered a few more seconds before turning around and flying back.
Bankotsu turned back to the group, beaming.
"I do believe it's time to collect our reward, men."
AN: Reviews would be lovely! I need some feedback! And this is just a working title for now. I might change it, but for now, it is what it is.