And the third chapter is up…

Although I am highly disappointed that no one saw the irony in me pinning Kagome to the tree. ah, well.

Chapter four: So this is where I stand

The cuffs that bound Kagome's wrists jostled against her skin with every step. Painfully too. Every time she moved them they would scrape and tear against her skin, cutting them open. And it didn't help when the youkai--

Kagome was suddenly jerked forward roughly by her holder.

"Keep up the pace, human."

--did that.

The chains that confined her wrist cuffs to her holder's fist clanked and jangled with every movement, reminding her painfully of the loss that she had experienced, reminding her of how she had fallen so fast from a highly prized Miko--to this. A slave, a worthless piece of human flesh who was probably going to be used as some kind of sex toy--something to please her new to-be master.

Who was her master? She didn't know yet. Instead of having the slaves thrown in cages and waiting for new owners to come pick them up, they simply walked them through town and tied their cuffs to door handles--nothing but a package to be picked up in the morning.

As they snaked their way through town, Kagome watched as her brethren were slowly picked off, each being tugged to the door and the holders banging on the door--soon swung open by the new masters--owners, and controllers of their new lives.

It was easy to tell with most of them, to depict what kind of lives they would now live. Some opened the door slowly, and cracked a mischievous grin when they laid eyes upon their house's new occupant. Then they would nod at the holder and thank them for the delivery, all while maintaining the same, horrid smile. Then they would ever so gingerly take the chains and lead the slave into the house.

'Sex toy.' Kagome thought miserably as she watched a young, fully decked woman be taken away. 'Good luck.'

Then there were the abusive owners--the ones that punched those who dared to look them in the eye. Those who yanked the humans into the house with one mighty heave. It wasn't hard to imagine the screams.

Then there were those whose lives looked like they might contain some smiles--and maybe, maybe some laughter. Those whose youkai opened the door, looked expressionlessly at the slave, thanked the holder and then held open the door so that the new commission could walk in.

A life filled with dusting and organizing. But a painless life at that.

'And what of me?' Kagome thought miserably. 'The houses are sparser now, and much farther apart. There is only a few of us left…' Kagome's thoughts were true, as there were only two slaves left. A small, black haired boy and herself.

The boy was left tied at a small, shabby, and broken down shack, which looked like it could, and most likely would, crumble if the boy pulled too much at the handle.

Kagome however, was lead on.

After several silent minutes, the youkai who lead her began to poke fun at her fate.

He chuckled. "What a miserable life you will lead, shinjatsu. Bound by our laws, forced to do everything our way. And there's nothing--you--can do--about it." With every word he pulled hard on her chains, so that by the time he finished, she crumpled forward on her knees with her hands gingerly clasped high above her head in an attempt to not damage them and more than they already were.

The youkai laughed. "That's right. Learn how to bow down before your superiors." He placed his thick, heavy boot on the back of her head. "Respect will get you nowhere now. You should have seen your fate coming when your pitiful kind first laid eyes on demons."

What little spirit Kagome had left bubbled up inside her. With a sudden shout of rage, she raised her head and swung her arms in a wider arc, and slammed her forearms against his calves. Scrambling to her feet, she madly attempted to re-gain her composure.

"I will bow to no one." She snapped angrily. (A/N: ah…gotta love clichéd lines.)

WHAM

Kagome heard her neck crack as his fist connected with her left cheek.

"You…" he was at a loss for words. "You dare…pitiful, little piece of…" he spat at her feet. (A/N: wow, this whole scene is clichéd. )

"I…I…" suddenly realizing that trying to beat a youkai twice as strong as her probably wasn't the wisest of ideas, she made several feeble steps backwards.

He turned sharply, and began walking quickly, yanking hard on her chain. She stumbled to keep up.

"This is where you stand, human." He snarled at her. "Lower than the lowest, you are so insignificant, and you don't even realize it. Can you think of one person who would truly mourn your loss? Can you honestly think of one singular person, who would actually miss you?" He paused as they rounded a sharp corner. Kagome saw a large mansion only a hundred yards away. The youkai who held her suddenly jerked her closer and hissed at her,

"Do you really think that it would strike any one as odd if you never showed up at this home? If you were found weeks later, rotting in a stream with all the blood from you washed out; do you really think anyone could care less?"

Kagome stared back determinately. "I think my new owner would find it as some kind of loss."

So they trudged on in silence.

When they reached the doorway, her holder whipped off her cuffs and placed on something else. It was a simple round, black ball that encased both her hands together. He pressed firmly on the bottom of it, and she heard something click. Then he wrapped the chains around her wrists, tied the other end to the door handle, rapped on the door sharply and yelled "Slave delivery!" Then with a whirl and snap of his cloak, he disappeared down the road.

Kagome didn't have to wait long for her owner.

She heard the tapping of bare feet on the floor before the door was swung open, yanking her wrists along with it.

Before her stood a young looking youkai, with long silver hair and what looked to be dog ears perched upon his head, and when she looked straight into his face, his golden eyes stared back at her. She knew that his face of shock mirrored her own.

His mouth fell open slightly, revealing small fangs before he uttered,

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

Then he slammed the door shut.

Kagome was already crouched down beside the door with her hands held above her head when the door slammed shut, so she was fairly close to it, allowing her to hear the unmistakable soft swoosh -ing noise of someone sliding down the door on the other side.

"I'm sorry if I'm such a disappointment." Kagome stated flatly. "Because obviously your life can't get any worse right?" There was a soft sigh on the other side of the door.

"It's not like that wretch."

The door was tugged open again and this time Kagome wasn't as prepared, which resulted in her flying in along with the door.

He stood above her, but didn't make eye contact. He began precariously unraveling the chains from the knob, and let them fall to the floor. He then took the chains that were tied around her wrists, and inserted one of his fingers into the links.

"It won't fit over this ball." Kagome told him, lifting the black ball that sheathed her hands.

"Don't need it to." He responded flatly. He twisted his finger ever so slightly and pulled his hand upwards. The link snapped effortlessly, and the chains slithered to the floor.

He then reached down and grasped the back of her hood, and pulled her to her feet. She jerked herself away from him, and snapped angrily,

"I can get up by myself!" Too soon had she spoken, for when she had pushed herself away from him she lost her balance due to her covered hands. She stumbled backwards before the silver haired boy caught her upper arm.

"You're really clumsy wretch, you know that?" Kagome's eyebrow twitched.

"I have a name, and it's not 'wretch'. It's Kagome, got it?" Kagome found herself shocked to be speaking to her new, not to mention powerful, owner. He grinned, and let go of her arm, so he could close the door behind her.

"Inuyasha." He stated flatly, then began to move up the stairs off to the right.

Kagome watched him walk away. 'So…dog, huh? Well, it makes sense…'

Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at her.

"Are you coming or what?"

She hesitated…

…then stepped forward. 'This shouldn't be so bad. So…' She thought to herself,

'So this is where I stand.'

'But he doesn't actually seem that mean…maybe he's different from all the others.'

Inuyasha looked back at her and scowled. "What's wrong with you? Keep walking."

Kagome's eyes narrowed. 'Scratch that, he's an asshole!'

Hope that was long/good enough!

Thank you to:

Serena221

TurtleHugs

xInUaDdIctx

Miko no Kaze

Cat demon92

Peacemaker (I love your name btw)

Pr3tty iin piink

AND! I'm doing a special un-thanks to a person who I'm 'not' thanking…but I sorta am…

Szahara! (buhahaha…sorry, but I just can't NOT thank you!)

Next update: Sunday the 19th