Special thanks to my reviewers: Sessyloverdreamer, icegirljenni, smpt
And very special thanks to my beta reader naru-chan14. :D
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I'll try to be consistent and have new chapters every Sunday.
Enjoy the story :)
Chapter 2 Caged Little Princess I
Rin opened her eyes and was greeted by darkness. She brought her hand in front of her face and saw nothing. Her head leaned to the side, remembering the little black kitten at the pond she was petting. She remembered that nauseating feeling that overcame her when she peered at its unusual colored irises. Did it bring her here?
She shook her head, bringing herself up to a sitting position. Her arms hugged her body as a cool chill crept down her spine.
"Where am I?" she wondered aloud.
Silence answered her.
As her sight adjusted to the lack of light, she scanned the area for the ball of fur. She made the clicking noise with her tongue, in hopes that the little animal would appear, but there was no sign of movement.
Disappointed, she ran a hand along the soft surface she sat on, feeling the smooth blankets underneath her palm. She could easily tell she was just on the floor with a pile of blankets underneath her small body.
Rubbing her eyes, she could make out the faint shapes of furniture such as a small dresser, an oval mirror, and a box all placed in a corner of the room. The pallet of blankets resided in the middle of the opposite wooden wall. The girl looked to her left and right and saw nothing but two unlit candles resting on candle holders, flanking the "bed" with some distance.
Whatever this place was, she couldn't stay. She had to get back to Master Jaken before Lord Sesshoumaru discovered she was gone.
Clumsily rising to her feet; Rin stepped off of the pallet of blankets to cold tatami mats.
She felt her way around to a sliding shoji screen and slid it open. She tiptoed out of the room and into a long corridor dimly lit by flames dancing behind other screens. Shapeless shadows occasionally moved about and overlapped the faint light. Her body stood still and her ears strained to hear any noises that may correspond to the restless figures beyond the paper and wood.
Strangely enough, there were none.
It was then, that she decided to run, almost uncaring if the unknown beings happen to see her.
She ran as fast as she could, hearing her feet thumping all the way down the corridor despite her attempts to be light on her toes. She could almost feel the shadows' stares burn through her as she passed by. She shivered, paranoia rattling her as she followed the path a ways down before making a left, right before she met a dead end.
She figured she wasn't in the residential area any longer, judging from the wooden panels seemingly encasing her within the narrow walkway. The illumination of the invisible flames had faded, leaving her with only the reliance of her sight to continue.
The little girl eventually came across another hallway with five different entryways, including the one she came from. It only took a second for her to choose the one on the far right before she resumed sprinting.
Rin stopped on her heels before she collided with a wall. Dead end.
She went back the way she came and tried the counter direction. She jogged, forcing herself to see ahead for other paths to follow.
Another dead end.
She retraced her steps back to where she started, then decided to run straight. The path curved slightly to the left, then demanded she turn right. The path led to a pit of darkness. Rin knew better. She turned on her heels again and returned to her starting point.
A small sigh left her lips. She didn't seem to be making any progress.
Her breathing came out as pants as she approached another passageway, slowing down to a walk.
meow!
The soft tap of paws trekking the wooden floor echoed in her ears from ahead.
She paused, her eyes widening in surprise. "Kitty?"
A smile spread across her lips as she lightly jogged forward, the cat's calls steadily increasing in volume. "I'm almost there, kitty!" she giggled, uncaring that she was out of breath.
A distant, low hissing sound came from behind her.
The smile immediately fell. Her heart beat erratically in her ears as she peered frantically over her shoulder to locate the owner of the noise, but the lack of light caused her mortal eyes to see nothing.
The thing didn't sound too friendly. Her feet picked up their pace, hearing the sound of scales scraping against the wooden floor advancing rather quickly. She could almost feel its hot breath against her skin and its teeth near her head, or perhaps that was just her imagination playing cruel tricks on her. She hoped it would be the latter.
She wanted to scream, but her throat had closed up as salty tears rolled down her cheeks.
Her body felt numb and she could barely breathe.
For the first time since she had awakened, she was scared.
Master Jaken and Lord Sesshoumaru weren't there to protect her.
She was on her own.
A metallic taste filled her taste buds as she turned right and opened the next screen she could get her hands on and hastily shut it behind her once she leaped inside.
The hissing sound came closer still, and only lingered a few moments longer before all became quiet again.
She placed a trembling hand over her heart, gasping for air.
"What are you doing?"
Rin recognized that voice. Her head tilted upwards to see a short woman dressed in a white and violet kimono with a yellow obi encircled around her waist. The blood red eyes glared at her from beneath the curtain of her black bangs, a hint of recognition sparked in them. Her violet stained lips curled into a sneer.
"You're that kid that always follows Sesshoumaru around." Kagura observed.
She could only manage a nod, keeping her gaze on the floor. She adjusted herself to where she knelt on her knees and smoothed her kimono out. Then she remembered, she was in her yellow underrobe. Her kimono was draped over a bush back at the pond, where she was supposed to be.
"How did you get here?" Kagura went on, interrupting her brief train of thought.
Rin swallowed. "I-I was playing in a pond and I saw a cat. I went to go pet it a-and.." she trailed off, unable to recall the events afterwards.
"Hm. Sounds foolish."
The demon spawn snapped her fan open, fanning herself in silence. Rin heard her take a few steps closer and finally looked back up. The woman watched her carefully, scrutinizing the little girl before her.
"You must be of use to Naraku," She almost spat the name. "though I can't think of what for."
Rin blinked. "Be of use?"
"You wouldn't be here otherwise." Kagura chuckled, pulling the girl up to her feet. "Now, be a good little girl and go back to your room."
"B-but I.. Do you know how to get out of here?" She managed to get out, trying to regain her balance.
The fan abruptly snapped shut. The woman's hard gaze stared at her again, a frown wrinkling her brow. She looked as if she was debating something. It was intimidating to look at her, so the girl's chocolate brown eyes returned to the floor.
She felt uneasy, a lump form in her throat; perhaps she said too much.
"Even if I did, why would I tell you?"
"Lord Sesshoumaru would be worried if I wasn't where he left me."
Kagura's eye lit up. "Ah. You probably won't see him again." She chuckled.
Rin's heart dropped. "Wh-what?"
"Run along now."
The woman pushed the girl out before she could protest, slamming the screen shut behind her. Rin was in the dark again, with whatever was trailing after her earlier.
She shuddered. Maybe she should take Kagura's advice.
She began treading the hallways again, retracing her steps to the best of her ability. The wooden floor beneath her feet had very notable scratches that could only have been made with a specific kind of tool or scales. That thing was long gone, she tried to convince herself.
The path gained less illumination the longer she ventured, and pretty soon she was almost in complete darkness once more. Her ears struggled to hear the dreaded sound of wood being scraped to death and the low hissing noise.
To her slight relief, it was quiet.. for now.
She made a left, then right into another path that seemed narrower than the others.
A sudden coldness rushed through her as she turned the corner. Her feet nailed to the ground and her heart almost froze.
Large, crimson red eyes glared at her from a distance, the low hissing clearly audible. At the position the eyes were angled, Rin knew for a fact that it wasn't the cat that stood before her.. it was something much larger, and deadlier. It slithered to her slowly, its scales deliberately tearing at the floor to heighten her fear.
The claustrophobic feeling twisted her stomach into knots. Her feet instinctively moved backwards, prepared to run at any given moment.
"Come." a low, masculine voice commanded.
Hesitation. She had no intention of being someone else's meal, though, she vaguely wondered if it would become of her if she didn't do as she was told. Going against her voice of reason, she obeyed; despite the warning bells the mysterious being set off in her head. As she came closer, she heard the sickening sounds of bones being broken and realigned and flesh tearing. Her heart slammed against her ribs.
She was beginning to have second thoughts when a man appeared from the shadows. He wore a traditional Japanese kimono and a vest. Long, dark hair cascaded past his back, and his eyes were the color of blood.
A smirk darkened his features as he offered a hand to her.
As he led her through the labyrinth of corridors, she couldn't swallow the fear plaguing her mind. He was the invisible entity following her. She assumed that he had changed his form to accommodate her so she'd approach him more willingly, though willingly she was not. She took note of how cold his skin was, almost as if he were a walking corpse.
They came across her designated room and he held the shoji screen open for her. Reluctantly, Rin climbed back inside and plopped down in her tangle of blankets. She peered back at the man, his eyes observing her passively in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.
"It'd be wise of you to not to wander about."
She cocked her head to the side. "Why?"
That smirk twisted into something devious. "We don't want the little princess to be torn to shreds, now would we?"
She rapidly shook her head, vaguely confused as to why he bothered to call her a princess. Kagura's words suddenly echoed in her ears.
"Why am I here?" she inquired.
Rin heard him chuckle. He stepped inside the room and knelt down to her level. With him being so close in proximity, she felt goosebumps pop up on her arms. His large hand gently grasped her chin.
"I have something special in store for you, but I need you to be a good little girl and stay in this room."
She could feel a little feather of hope flutter in her stomach, but she dreaded what was going to happen to her in the process.
A simply nod of her head caused the man to rise, walking out of the room and shutting the screen behind him.
Rin exhaled, unaware she was holding her breath.
She had to get out of here before he returned. The little girl remained in her spot until she was certain he was gone. She jumped up, sliding the screen open again then gasped.
Next Chapter: Preperations