Chapter Two: King Kouga

Kagome awoke with a sense of dread and the feeling that she was being watched. She kept her eyes screwed shut in attempt to block out the world around her and tried, in vain, to keep the memories of the night before at bay. But her memories would not stay safely tucked in her subconscious. Instead they rose to the forefront of her mind, both vivid and shocking in their intensity. What had she done last night? What was it, exactly, that she was capable of? And where had she been taken?

The sweetly sick scent of dried straw rose to tickle her nostrils. She could feel the rough, crisp, stalks pressing at the side of her face. The sounds of impatient footsteps, the soft metallic clink of chains, and deep voices talking in hushed tones greeted her wary ears.

She didn't want to open her eyes. If she was asleep, is she could somehow slip back into the unconscious euphoric state she had just woken from, then none of this would be real. She could pretend she was at home, safely tucked under the covers of her warm twin bed. She could pretend that last night had never happened, that Yuri had never insisted on going to see Himo-Tailz, and that tomorrow would be another normal day in her average life. She'd wake up, get ready for school, kiss her mom on the cheek, and run to the bus stop. She'd go through her classes, gossip with her friends, and copy off of each other's homework during lunch. It would be just like any other day. With no freaky blue light and warm glow, no fierce blue eyes and cocky smile. And no heavy, cold, collar around her neck.

That last thought made her eyes snap open, her hands flying to the foreign weight on her neck. Questing fingers, tentative at first, met the cold bite of steel. What in the seven hells? Kagome blinked unfocused eyes, trying to somehow make what she was seeing disappear.

'This can't be real. This can't be real. Please don't let this be real.'

Thick iron bars met her questing gaze. She was slumped against a dirt packed floor, littered with old straw and long grasses. Dim light from flickering torches mounted on a cavern wall barely illuminated her surroundings. She appeared to be in some sort of medieval dungeon, buried deep within the earth. The air was damp and chill, and the rocky uneven surface of the walls glistened with moisture. Across from her a row of cells stretched down as far as her eyes could see. Within them she saw forms of all shapes and sizes. Al of them were deathly quiet, as if they wanted to draw no more attention to themselves than necessary. Across from her, a mere thirty paces away, a young girl sat curled into a ball in the far corner of her cell. Her shadowy hands gripped hard at her skinned knees, and her entire body quivered in fear.

There were more cells to the left and right of Kagome's, but they were all empty. Their occupants long gone. Why had she been placed on the other side of the corridor? Was there any order to this new brand of chaos?

Slowly Kagome got to her feet. She winced at the full body ache that was tearing at her muscles and gnawing on her bones. With one hand still on the collar that hung on her neck, she made her way tot he front of her cell. With her free had she reached out to trace tentative circles on the bars. They were, unfortunately, very real.

"What is going on?" There was a wealth of confusion in her voice. She looked around at all the dejected forms of her fellow captives, and that confusion gave way to sharp and biting anger. On some level kagome knew she should just keep her head down and her mouth shut. She knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that drawing attention to herself in such a place was only going to bring more trouble, and of the dangerous variety to boot. And, as he friends Aimee, Eri, and Suki liked to point on on numerous occasions and with distinct glee, their ever practical, logical friend Kagome Higurashi was occasionally overcome with bouts of insanity. She had, more than any one else in her group of friends, a fierce and fiery temper. Not to mention a backbone made of steel, forged in the fires of her own self righteous indignity. Not that Kagome was in any way arrogant or mean, she just wasn't known for taking abuse from anyone. Ever.

"What the hell is this!? Who's in charge here!?" Kagome's voice boomed through the caverns with startling clarity. Her voice was filled with anger and outrage as it echoed down the long corridor and around the corner.

Kagome hadn't thought it possible for her fellow captives to get anymore silent then they were. She was wrong. All of them froze, and a collective hush swallowed the room- as if everyone was too afraid to even breathe. That is, everyone except for Kagome.

"What kind of operation are you punks running here anyway?! Huh!" Kagome fisted the bars, jerking helplessly at the sturdy iron. They, of course, didn't budge even in the slightest. That didn't stop her foot from cocking back, and then slamming full force into the wall of bars that kept her caged in, though. This action was followed by a high pitched yelp as she grabbed her throbbing foot and did an awkward hoping lope around her prison, obscenities falling like rain from her lips.

"Wow that one has a loud mouth. And she don't look very bright neither. Kouga sure knows how to pick 'em."

"Yer tellin' me."

Kagome stopped long enough in her ridiculous dance of pain to glare daggers at the two oafs who were grinning like goof balls at her. They were gruff looking men, not at all out of the ordinary. Both were dressed in black cargo pants, or BDUs, with white ribbed wife beaters that perfectly encased their steely muscles. They were not jacked by any means, they just had the hard, wiry bodies of professional fighters. And the obnoxious tattoos to match. Both of them had claw marks inked in green across their foreheads. All in all they would have looked like normal guys, well normal guys who hung out in biker bars, if not for the sharp white k-nines that were flashing at her like mini-daggers.

"Who are you guys? Why the hell am I in here? Last time I checked I didn't do anything wrong." Kagome growled the words, the look on her face just slightly murderous.

The two goons actually had the cahones to laugh at her. Their eyes raked he up and down as they chortled loudly, their laughter ricocheting off the cavern walls to smother her in the sound of their voices.

"She looks nigh ready to kill us," One of them snickered, nudging his comrade with his elbow. "Look there! See? Her eye is twitching."

This, of course, started another round of throaty chuckles.

"Hey, Fric and Frac, let's focus here for a second." Kagome interjected, her arms folded stubbornly across her chest.

"Why am I here? What is this place? And why don't you let me out so I can kick both of your asses?"

"Aw, Lass, we'd love t' let you out. But you're a special order for one of Kouga's business partners and old friends."

"I think we should let 'er out Vrick," the other man chimed in, his grin eyes shining with mirth. "T'd be amusing to see the miko try 'n fight with her powers subdued."

A miko? Was that what she was? That blue light...had that been some kind of holy power? Nah. That couldn't be. Tales of mikos with the power to heal and protect the innocent were just that. Stories. Stories told to small children so that they believed in a higher power. In superheroes. Crinkey, what had these two been smoking?

"Alright Crackheads, let's get one thing perfectly clear," Kagome cheeks were flushed and angry red. "I'm not a miko, I'm not any body's special order, and at this point I'm pretty sure I wouldn't need any special powers to beat the tar out of both of your hides."

Vrick shook his head, a smarmy smile on his face.

"A human against a full bloodied demon? Who was it again that was smoking crack Dorn? I think the Miko's been dabbling."

"She must be. Makes me wanna let 'er out. Just for the hell of it."

Demons? Were these guys serious? Just because they had their teeth sharpened to fine points, and had gotten some crazy ink done, didn't make them demons- though Kagome was sure that thought it did. It was like that crazy vampire cult over in America. A lot of freaky teenagers had gone out, had their teeth sharpened into fangs, and had been drinking blood out of dixie cups- believing themselves to be vampires. There was a lot of biting going on too- boy had the media had a field day with that one. But, to the best of her knowledge, the "vampires" hadn't taken anyone against their will and kept them in cages.

"Why don't you let me out? I think I'll take my chances."

Or kick them both so hard in the nuts they'd be singing soprano for the rest of their lives.

"Can't. Kouga's orders," Vrik replied casually, his friend Dorn shrugging his shoulders in reluctant agreement.

Kagome's eyes narrowed into angry slits and a tic developed above her right eye.

"And who is this Kouga, is he your "leader" or something?"

The two goons must not have appreciated her finger quotation marks around the word leader, nor the sarcastic bite to her words, because their lips pulled back into full fledged snarls.

"Kouga is our King. And, little miko, he is to be both feared and respected. You're lucky he let you live. Most demons would have killed you on the spot. I know I would have."

"Gee, now why don't I feel blessed? And don't take this the wrong way guys," 'I don't really care if you do' went unspoken "but I don't see much to respect in anyone that'll kidnap innocent people and do god knows what with them."

Vrik and Dorn let out unholy growls.

"No one in this dungeon is innocent, stupid girl. That one," Vrik gestured to the child across from her cell, now watching them warily "has killed over one hundred humans, all of them children. She sucks their souls out and gobbles 'em up. Keeps her young forever. As a matter of fact, all of these demons are in here on account of murdering your kind."

"Demons, really? How stupid do you guys think I am? Demons don't exist any more than magical mikos do. You've been brainwashed, which is perfectly understandable. I promise not to press charges if you let me go right now. As a matter of fact, I'll even be a character witness for you when the cops drag your demon hides in front of a judge."

If kagome had been standing anymore closer to the bars of her cell, she was certain that the two men would try and strangle her.

"Look human, it'd be in your best interest to start believing what we're telling you. Your "Police" wouldn't stand a chance against us, let alone half the creeps in this place. We demons take care of our own and deal out justice as we see fit."

"Yeah, well, I'm not a demon and I don't belong here."

"You're right about that Kagome," a deep baritone voice drawled, "which is why I am sending you back to where you do belong."

Vrik and Dorn dropped to one knee in a movement so fast that the sound of their kneecaps striking against the hard floor even had Kagome wincing in sympathy. Her gaze flew to the new comer. Dressed in tight blue jeans and a loose button down navy shirt, he struck her as an imposing sort of figure even in his casual clothes. Jet black hair was swept back from his face in a low queue, accentuating his sharp cheek bones and full lips. He looked like he could be a model for a GQ magazine, all good looks and rugged charm. But it was his eyes that struck her the most. A fierce, burning blue, they were the same eyes that had bored into hers only the night before. When he had picked her up, tossed her unceremoniously over his shoulder, and...flown? No, that couldn't be right.

"So you must be Kouga. I'd say that I'm pleased to meet you, but then I'd be a liar."

Kouga smirked, shaking his head in silent amusement.

"That's a shame Miko, because I cannot express how pleased I am to finally meet you. I wouldn't worry your pretty little head too much over your situation. Who knows, someday you might actually thank me- I know that I want to thank you."

"Thank me for what?" Suspicion laced her tone as she eyed Kouga warily.

He replied with a cryptic shrug and a smirk.

"I'm sure I'll have many reasons to thank you- starting with how much profit I'll get from trading you off to a dear friend of mine."

Kagome stomped her foot in helpless frustration.

"I am not an item! You can't sell me!" She growled, "I don't get it. Aren't you guys supposed to be some sort of demon police? The good guys? What do you want with me? Why are you doing this to me?"

Kouga reached up to brush an imaginary fleck of lint off of his shoulder before regarding her with solemn blue eyes."

"You don't belong here Kagome. You never really have. You're needed elsewhere, in a place more suited to your particular talents. Let me assure you, you will thank me some day. I'm doing you a huge favor and someday I hope you'll remember that."

He turned from her then, nodding hat his two soldiers who were still kneeling on the floor.

"Release her and bring her to the temple. We leave......Tonight."

Authors Note:

Alright, so it's been a while since I've really written anything fanfic wise (Atleast that could be read on ) The last time I updated one of my fics on here I was fifteen years old. Ahem. So what do you guys think? I'm a little rusty with the characters... but it's a work in progress. Let me know if you like it or if you hate it and tell me why! I'm feening for reviews guys, help a girl out. XP

~Sarah