A/N: Thanks to fenhuang for catching my German errors. Thanks again to RowdyJaner for beta-ing.
Chapter 3:
Eight long weeks had passed since the tutoring sessions had begun. Kagome knocked on the front door of the Genshu's mansion, as usual, and it was opened by their skittish maid, as always. The poor female's nervous fidgeting typically put Kagome on edge; she couldn't help wondering if the maid was just a nervous person, or if the Genshu's were such terrible employers that they caused such apprehension in the slight youkai.
Kagome nodded courteously, murmuring a soft greeting as she entered and removed her shoes. She passed through the foyer, and into the living room where she began to pull her teaching materials out of her backpack in preparation for the tutoring session.
As usual, Inuyasha was late. It was annoying, but she didn't really care. It was his money to waste, his grade and his participation in the Kendo club; none of which mattered one lick to her. She didn't even particularly like him. Though he'd grown on her a bit, rather like a fungus on rotting wood, as opposed to real friendship. She'd learned to deal with his selfish, self-centered behavior as an inevitable, but she wouldn't choose to be in his company if she wasn't being paid.
As the minutes ticked by, her annoyance increased. She'd been waiting fifteen minutes for the ass. Scheiße, his lack of consideration was really irritating. She didn't have the patience to sit around waiting for someone who was just wasting her time. She could be doing any number of things that didn't involve waiting for a spoiled brat to show.
She gave a low growl. Five more minutes had passed; she'd been sitting there for twenty minutes now. That was it, she was finished, let him waste someone else's time. Standing in a huff, she inadvertently sent her papers fluttering off the coffee table and onto the floor. It just wasn't her day. How she managed to get involved with that ass was beyond her. Oh, wait, she remembered, it was a simple matter of asking for a ridiculous amount of money in exchange for teaching the fool English and hoping to get out of it. She should have just said no, why the hell hadn't she?
Seeing a flicker of silver hair out of the corner of her eye she straightened, half the scattered papers clutched in her hand. "Inuyasha," she hissed malevolently. She was going to make him pay for wasting her time. "How dare you make me wait?" She snarled in English, the rest of her words died as she rounded on the errant hanyou and came face to face with Sesshoumaru.
"Gomen," she said recoiling and switching unconsciously to Japanese. "I thought you were Inuyasha. My apologies." Looking up into the youkai's golden eyes her face knotted with annoyance. "You wouldn't happen to know where Inuyasha is, would you?" If he didn't have a good excuse he was going to be one sorry hanyou, she thought, her temper rising.
"Inuyasha received a call from Kikyou and ran off. I am surprised to discover you here. You were not informed." The last was just as much of a statement as the rest had been.
"He ditched our tutoring session for Kikyou?" Another human growl of annoyance, this time mixed with anger, slipped out of her compressed lips. "He is one dead hanyou," she hadn't even noticed that, in her anger, she had slipped into her native Deutsch. "When I get my hands on him, I'll purify his cute little puppy ears right off his thick head. Let's see how his girl likes it when he's missing a few vital body parts." Her eyes had narrowed as she continued to contemplate the various means of torture she could perpetrate on her errant pupil. She no longer noticed the silver-haired youkai standing before her as her gaze traveled inward, whilst she visualized each horrific act.
She felt a sudden crackle in the air, the same kind one experienced right before a lightning strike. The energy danced along her skin and lifted the fine hairs at the base of her neck and along her arms. Glancing up, confused, she didn't react in time to the danger she hadn't known existed until too late.
Two brutally strong, claw-tipped hands took her throat in an iron hold. Terror coursed through her, shaking her bone-deep. He wasn't choking her, but holding her firmly in a grip she couldn't break. She grasped his wrists, her eyes wide with fear. She met his eyes, the gold burned with a madness she'd never seen before. The corner of his mouth was lifted in a tiny smirk, barely noticeable if she hadn't been mere inches from his face. Perhaps Inuyasha's assertions that he was a sadistic bastard were correct; perhaps he was far more dangerous than she'd ever dreamed.
Magic; hot, thick and potent. She could feel it flowing from his massive aura, which he had kept concealed while in her presence. She could feel it surging from his hands, pressing against her throat, so thick it almost choked her in its intensity as it burned into her skin. She half expected the gut-wrenching stench of her own flesh burning as his energies seared her. She strained against his onslaught, digging her fingernails, unnoticed, into his wrists in an effort to free herself. She could feel a scream lodged in her chest, unable to escape through her tortured throat.
Her own magic pushed against his like a cool wellspring, but it didn't seem to be enough as his burned away hers and force itself into her skin. As his grip on her neck tightened, her power surged forward in a desperate attack. Her magical energies swept around him like whitewater rapids, pulling, squeezing, trying to force him away. The scream that had been caught within her abruptly ripped from her throat, assaulting his sensitive ears.
He summoned more of his magic, scorching her energies away in the blaze of his inferno, imposing his will, forcing his power into her tender skin, marking her, marring her. Vaguely she realized that while she might be strong, he was a Daiyoukai.
Why? Why was he attacking her? Why was her hurting her? What was he doing?
It hurt!
It hurt to have her magic burned away as if it were water poured on a hot furnace. It hurt to have his hands clamped tightly around her neck while his magic seared her flesh. It hurt most of all to know that, no matter how hard she pulled and scratched at his hands and wrists, no matter how forcefully she pushed against his magic, it wasn't enough, she was losing.
Finally, her world went black, her power overwhelmed. Gratefully, she wound the surrounding mantle of darkness about her. The last thing she saw was his golden eyes smiling triumphantly down on her.
CD
Her eyes felt heavy and crust-laden, she groaned as she fought the fog surrounding her mind. Thinking was difficult and didn't seem worth the effort. Allowing the fog of unconsciousness to wrap around her like a burial shroud seemed like a better choice. If not for the sense of panic that scratched beneath the surface of her mind, she would have succumbed to the desire to float back into the black depths. But unbridled panic bit and scratched at her until breathing was difficult and she fought to open her eyes.
The darkness of twilight greeted her while she struggled for breath, trying to reassure herself that there was no need for fear. Glancing around the room she took in the elegant decor. She was lying on an unfamiliar dark wooden bed in an equally unfamiliar room, which was decorated in dark wood furniture complimented by silver and blue accents.
"What the hell is she doing in your room?" She knew that loud, irate voice: Inuyasha. Now, if only she knew whose room she was in and why.
"That is no concern of yours, half-breed." The voice was cool and dripping disdain. It seemed familiar, but was, at the same time, different. Kagome was unable to place the arctic tones.
"The hell it isn't!" Inuyasha hollered, "I get back here to find you hiding my tutor in your room! Of course it's my business!"
"Did it ever occur to you that she is merely...resting." The pause before the word 'resting', and the innuendo therein, sent shivers down her spine. Surely she would have remembered what it suggested. Panic again threatened to overwhelm her. What if something happened that she couldn't remember, or something happened while she was out? No, she reasoned, her clothes were still on, just minus her shoes. If someone had raped her, they wouldn't have bothered redressing her. While the panic eased back into the dark recesses of her churning mind, the feeling of unease didn't waver.
"You may think you're the kami's gift to women, Sesshoumaru, but I don't buy it. I've known Kagome for months now, and she ain't the kind to sleep around. Especially with a pretty boy." They must be standing outside of the door, she thought. Inuyasha's voice was loud as always, but she was able to hear Sesshoumaru's quieter tones clearly.
"Be that as it may, Half-breed, her reasons for being present in my room are my own and hers."
"I'm not leaving until I make sure she's alright. I know what a sick bastard you are." The hanyou snarled. "She's human and you hate humans. There's no telling what you've done to her."
Kagome waited with bated breath as the silence on the other side of the door stretched. As the fog finally began to fade she remembered Inuyasha standing her up. She remembered fighting Sesshoumaru, then nothing. Would Inuyasha be allowed to see her? Why the hell had Sesshoumaru attacked her in the first place? From the disdain he heaped upon his brother it wasn't for her idle threats against him. He hated humans? Was that all the reason he needed?
"Very well. You may see her, then you leave. Remember, Inuyasha, she is not your concern."
As the door swung open, bathing the twilight-lit room in bright white light from the hall; Kagome shielded her eyes and slid up the bed to rest against the headboard. Sesshoumaru was the first to enter the room, flicking on the lights, causing her to wince. He glanced briefly at her still-tender neck; the corner of his mouth tilted upward ever so slightly at whatever he saw there. Probably the bruises; Kagome was sure she had bruises, if the tenderness there was any indication. He moved silently into the room, leaving enough space for Inuyasha to enter and he leaned against the wall watching the proceedings.
Kagome blinked rapidly as she waited for her eyes to stop hurting from the sudden brightness. Grumbling, Inuyasha followed his brother into the elegant room. When Kagome choked out his name, his head snapped up, eyes locking on her trembling body. Like his brother, his gaze settled on her surely-bruised neck. His amber eyes widened and he sputtered, nearly tripping over his own feet. His white ears flattened to his head as he turned to his brother and snarled.
"As I told you, Inuyasha, the girl is not your concern." Sesshoumaru's voice was smug and condescending, oozing satisfaction.
"What's going on?" Kagome asked in Deutsch not even realizing in her rising fear that she had switched to her native tongue. Her voice was strained due to the soreness of her throat but it was strong enough to catch Inuyasha's attention as she repeated the question in Japanese.
"You don't know?" Inuyasha asked incredulous. "How can you not know?"
"I know he," she waved a hand weakly at Sesshoumaru, her voice gaining volume as she used it, "snapped and started choking me for some reason. I think I have bruises." Her hand went to her throat and gingerly massaged it, wincing at the contact.
"That ain't no bruise, Kagome." Inuyasha snorted. "Though I'm sure you're going to wish it was." Seeing her open her mouth to question him he headed her off. "He marked you!"
Kagome managed to look both horrified and confused. "That's not possible, Inuyasha, I think I'd notice if I was someone's mate!"
"As if this Sesshoumaru would take a human as his mate." He gave her a look of disgust. "This Sesshoumaru marked you as personal property. You now belong to me."
"Don't be stupid, that's illegal. The only marks legally acknowledged are mating marks. Any type of mark other than a mating mark is illegal and has been for over a century," she snapped.
Inuyasha looked away, uncomfortable at her declaration, while Sesshoumaru looked smugly superior. Neither, however, said anything. The silence stretched and pulled at her nerves, causing her anger at the conceited bastard to slip into the panic that lurked beneath the surface of her conscious mind. It was skulking there, just waiting for a chance to erupt into a screaming, crying, hyperventilating fit. She mentally shook herself. She would not break.
"I'm leaving. Inuyasha," she grated out, scrambling off the bed and onto her feet, "forget any more English lessons. Dealing with a deranged youkai is not part of our agreement." A snarl ripped through the air. Turning swiftly to face the youkai, she matched him with a human snarl of her own. She ruthlessly pushed away the part of her that was about to run screaming because of the angry youkai threatening her. "Don't even think you can stop me. I don't know what kind of psycho you are, and I don't care. You can't go around owning people. I am leaving."
"Uh, Kagome, that's just it, he can." Loosing another snarl she turned her anger, confusion and fear toward the hanyou; her aura snapping around her form. "No, no, listen to me," he begged, flapping his hands at her in a placating manner. "It is the law. It's not used much, but is legal. He's allowed to mark you in any way he sees fit, consent or not. He does, however, have to pay your family recompense for marking you. That's why it's not used much, most can't afford it, or they mark humans or hanyou that aren't worth much."
"Recompense!" She shrieked. "It cannot possibly be legal to mark someone as anything other than a mate. What kind of savages are you?" Kagome suddenly found herself forced face-first onto the bed, a heavy weight pressed into her back. Before she knew what happened, her arms were pulled roughly behind her and held, while her head was shoved violently into the soft comforter, nearly suffocating her before she managed to turn her head to the side. A knee dug painfully into the small of her back. She hadn't even had time to gasp before she was securely pinned to the bed.
"Get off me!" She grunted, as the knee in her back ground with excruciating force into her spine.
"You will learn your place, human." He snarled. "You belong to this Sesshoumaru now." She could feel his silver hair tickle the sides of her neck and her bare arms before it veiled her sight completely as he leaned over her helpless body. "This Sesshoumaru may do whatever he so chooses to you - without legal recourse."
"Let her up, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha took a step forward, concerned for the girl, for once.
"Hn. It seems you have already forgotten that she is not your concern, half-breed." The pressure on her lower back lifted and the curtain of silver withdrew, allowing her to see again. "However, this Sesshoumaru is not without mercy." He ignored Inuyasha's snort of derision at that statement. "I will allow you to return home for this night only to pack your belongings. Tomorrow I will retrieve you from your residence and take you to be registered." Sesshoumaru calmly walked out of the room, brushing past a fuming Inuyasha before disappearing down the hall.
Kagome lay on the bed staring at nothing, while trying to come to grips with this new reality. She had never known that any marks other than mating marks were even recognized in modern, developed countries. She had never bothered studying the archaic markings that were previously used. She knew that there had been other marks, it was part of history class, but they had been outlawed over a century ago. Yet, they were still legal here? No, this couldn't be! She prayed that this was just a cruel joke. She needed to see the mark herself.
Sitting up on the bed, she glanced around the room until she spotted a mirror standing in a corner. Steeling herself, she climbed off the bed and moved to stand in front of it. Fearfully she looked at her reflection. Lines of red and gold swirled with those of silver and blue forming an intricate, filigreed tattoo, etched by his magic into her skin. Nothing could remove it, save for the youkai who placed it there.
It was a complicated design of both broad and thin threads of color, in swirls and angles. It was beautiful and complex, bold in color and slick in newness, like the ink of a fresh tattoo. If his personal mark was this exquisite, she was a little curious as to what the other two of his marks might look like; but she hoped, fearfully, to never find out. She just knew there were ways to combine the marks, to display the change in status of the one marked.
She ran her finger over her painfully sensitive flesh. Despite the beauty of it, she wanted to dig her nails into her throat, to claw her own skin off. To make it go away. To deny the obvious, that she, a modern, human, deutsche woman was now property. Personal property. The personal property of a Japanese youkai. One who hated humans and thought nothing of using his physical might to bend her to his will. She could feel her chest heaving and the barely suppressed horror leaking out of her with every trembling breath.