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But I Like My Guards!

Chapter 7

firefox369

Kojirou watched as the guards taunted his new friend, holding slices of bread in front of her face and teasing her in her hunger. It was hard to stand by and watch, but the determination in Kitty-chan's eyes told him that she would be fine without his interference. She was a miko, and if necessary, she would purify the demons to ash.

"Awwwww, are you hungry, wench? Come here and I just might give you some food." The youkai sneered, waving a piece of jerky and patting his lap. Kagome raised her head in defiance.

"Your stomach growls, woman, where's all your food?" She rolled her eyes. Couldn't the retarded demon come up with a better taunt? She'd heard four-year-olds with better jibes than him.

"Perhaps the prince will allow us to have some fun with you later tonight?"

That single comment made her eyes harden and she turned her head to glare at the filthy guard that dared to threaten her innocence. She could feel her magic rising beneath her skin, heating the blood in her veins and coursing through her body like a stream of lava. Her irises flashed lavender as she raised her hand and flexed her fingers.

The medic smirked before deciding to retrieve the young prince. Things were starting to become out of hand. If their antics progressed beyond the point they were currently at, he would not be able to piece together the ashen particles of the guards' remains. Though, he had to admit, some of the youkai he travelled with really did deserve the painful death of purification. A yelp pierced the air, followed by a round of laughter.

"Bitch!"

Kojirou sighed, sweeping the flap to the prince's tent aside and stepping into the darkness. Inutaisho was facing the opposite wall, a polishing cloth in his hands as he cleaned and polished his forgotten katana. Kirara sat beside the prince, glaring at him and watching his every movement. Even the two-tailed cat knew that the prince was the greatest threat to her owner, and not the guards outside by the bonfire.

"Kitty-chan will wipe out the entire regiment" Kojirou informed, watching as Inutaisho flinched at Kagome's nickname. "Maybe you should try to stop her."

"You two seem to be friendly enough with each other. Why don't you go stop her, Kojirou?"

"Ah, Inu-chan is jealous" the kitsune teased, smiling when the taiyoukai stood and spun to face him.

"I am not jealous of you, damned kitsune." Kojirou continued to smile, clearly ignoring the words that came out of Inutaisho's mouth. He nodded. "Uh huh" he agreed as the prince continued talking, nodding occasionally. "You're not even listening to me, are you?" the inu sighed, shifting his weight to his left leg and placing the katana back into its sheath.

"Nope!"

They heard a scream and a sharp slap, then another yelp.

"Maybe you should stop her now" Kojirou suggested, motioning to the tent entrance.

"Why don't you stop her?" Inutaisho grumbled. The conversation was going in circles.

"Because if I stop her, I will set Kitty-chan free."

"How dare you, you little brat, get over here!"

"Go, Inu-chan."

Inutaisho didn't need any more urging as Kagome's grunt of pain echoed in his sensitive ears. He blurred out of the tent, arriving at the fire just as a youkai lunged again at her bleeding, but confident, form. He jumped just in time to grab the lower-level demon by back of his hakama and roughly threw him into the crowd of the castle's most trusted guards. Kagome saw the silver-haired demon and her eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed in hatred. He looked her over as the youkai began to quiet and watch to see what he would do. He stepped forward, she stepped back. They stopped. He took another step forward and she took another step back. He sighed, getting sick of it after just two steps, and lunged, grabbing her wrist. She slapped his hand away and glared. His hand burned where she had touched him, and he glanced down to see the skin charred black and smoking. Inutaisho gently shook his hand and watched as a few particles of ash dusted off his knuckles.

"Don't touch me" she growled. Her stomach rumbled in hunger, but she ignored it. Inutaisho, did not. He gazed at her with a raised brow when he noticed something different.

He could see her face.

He was shocked to see that her black cloth was removed, but her overgrown bangs covered her eye and, likely, her secret along with it. The prince looked her over again, now that she was closer to the light of the flames, and saw that her dancer garb was ripped and shredded by the claws of the many youkai that tried to take advantage of her. He slowly raised his gaze and looked into her eyes to see nothing but loathing. He took a step closer but this time she stayed where she was, waiting for him to get close enough before she lashed out. She didn't expect to hit him, considering a youkai's reflexes were much faster than a human's, but she did. She felt her hand connect with the side of his cheek, listened as the slap silenced the entire forest, and watched as the taiyoukai's head snapped to the side.

Inutaisho tasted something metallic in his mouth, the first time it had ever happened. He felt around for the injury with his tongue and winced when it brushed against his cheek. He bit it on accident. As more blood flowed into his mouth, he fought the urge to swallow it and instead spit out the crimson glob. The inu watched as it splattered on the dirt, and marveled at the scent of his own blood. His guards, though, were not nearly as amused.. There was an immediate response from the soldiers as they bristled and snarled in anger.

Inutaisho turned his head to face the miko, shoving his injury to the back of his mind. He stared at her, his expression screaming curiosity as he noticed a small, dark, curve on her cheek. Part of a tattoo. His eyes widened in excitement. Part of her secret! There was a slight darkness of skin on her eye, a scar from when she went back to her home village, but that wasn't nearly as important as figuring out what she was hiding. He quickly raised his hand and was about to slice the bottom portion of her bangs when a clawed hand firmly grasped his wrist. Startled sunset met hardened emerald.

"Kojirou?" Kagome breathed, stepping back as he gently nudged her away with his tail.

"Run, Kitty-chan" he commanded. She hesitated but obeyed, turning around and racing into the darkness of the nearby forest. She ran as fast as she could, immune to the pain in her shoulder and not daring to look back. Her movements were quick and fluid, her feet not making a sound. The girl ran faster than she thought possible in a random direction, but didn't dare think of where she was running to.

"Kojirou, release me" Inutaisho demanded as Kagome disappeared but the grip on his wrist only tightened. "I was not going to hurt her."

"But you are going to chase after Kitty-chan if I let you go. I can't allow you to do that" the kitsune responded. His words caused an uproar as the youkai shouted their displeasure at him. A sharp glare from the prince quickly silenced them and they looked away sheepishly.

"Let me bring her back."

"If you truly love Kitty-chan, you will wait for Kitty-chan to come back to you. Believe me, Kitty-chan will come back" the medic stated before releasing his grip on the taiyoukai, knowing the gaze of resignation the prince had.

"You do know what the consequences will be if she doesn't return" Inutaisho murmured, dread filling his gut. He could not change the law for his friend, no matter how much he may want. The laws were written, and by disobeying the century-old code, he would be subjecting his own life to the same fate. "I don't want to-"

"If Kitty-chan does not return by the time of the harvest moon, I will take her place in committing seppuku at the court for all nobles to see. I will not put you to shame."

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Kagome stopped running after what felt like an eternity. Her legs ached and her lungs burned. Faintly, she could hear the sound of rushing water nearby. Panting, she slowly made her way through the underbrush and collapsed to the ground near the gentle stream. She knelt over it, dipping her hand into the running water and pouring the liquid between her dried lips. As the miko leaned over for another handful of water, she saw her reflection. In a sudden show of anger, she splashed the water and shut her eyes, not wanting to see her scarred face.

Her thirst eventually overruled her disgust, and she slowly dipped my hand into the water. After the young woman's thirst was quenched, she sat back and sized herself up. Her clothing was ruined. With a sigh, she ripped off a piece of cloth that was already dangling by a thread, and was about to tie it around the bottom half of her face when a hand grabbed her shoulder.

Recognizing the aura, she lowered her head in respect and waited for the being to address her.

"You've escaped, but not with the prince."

"I will return for him in the morning."

"Perhaps I've been too difficult with you, Kagome." She felt the clawed hand shift from her shoulder to her head, and was surprised when it did not tighten around her skull and prick through the fragile skin. "You, more than anyone else, must know that this is required of me."

"I do, Master."

"You're time is running short." There was a slight tint of sadness to the man's tone of voice, and Kagome couldn't help but smile sadly. So they were both mourning.

"It is" she agreed softly, and the man trailed a finger down her spine. She shivered involuntarily at the touch.

"I've brought you food and clothing. You'll be of no use, starving and naked."

"No, I suppose I won't" she laughed and the man released her, dropping the items next to her sitting form.

"Good luck."

"Yes" she stated. As if the word were an afterthought, Kagome then quietly whispered a soft "father." She knew the wind would carry it to the man, with his impeccable hearing, and the wind did not fail her. A moment after she whispered the word, amused laughter lightened the dark forest.

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He dreamt he was back in the castle, looking around wildly for something, but he wasn't sure what. A huge crowd of nobles were in the courtroom as he entered, and he forced himself to calmdown. His golden eyes calmly met with the eyes of all of his guests. Inutaisho saw a girl with ebony hair being dragged into the center of the courtroom, a dagger clenched between her two hands. She gracefully knelt on a small matt, proudly raising her head and waiting for a signal. When none was given, she took a deep breath and plunge the dagger into her stomach. She bit her tongue trying to keep her sceam at bay, and turned to face Inutaisho with ice cold eyes. Kagome. She began to drag the dagger across her stomach, but was forced to stop, shaking ehr head as tears of pain coursed down her cheeks.

"Please" she begged and the man behind her shut his eyes with a nod. Kojirou. The kitsune whispered a quick apology as he raised his katana and slashed.

"NO!" Inutaisho shouted just as the blade was about to connect with the fragile sking of her neck, and he found himself on his makeshift bed. His covers were strewn about, and his yukata was drenched with cold sweat. There was a movement in one corner of the tent and he turned his head to see what it was. A flash of black cloth revealed it to be Kagome.

"Did you have a nightmare, prince?" she sneered and he hesitated at her chilling gaze.

"What are you doing here?" he suddenly asked, "How did you get passed the security?"

"Oh, your guards? Don't worry, they're on the other side of camp trying to save a few of your soldiers from being suffocated by a fallen tent" she stated nonchalantly and fear gripped at his chest. Kagome was beyond angry, and he knew that their next travels would be far less comfortable.

"What are you doing here?" he growled in fear and she glared at him.

"I came to finish my job, and this time I won't fail. I was too soft on you last time and you ended up betraying me. I guess that's what I get for softening my heart up, even if for a few days" she growled. He felt the growl in his chest turn into a snarl.

"Get out of my tent!" he demanded, but she didn't budge. He lunged in a desperate attempt to avoid the torture she would put him through but the next thing he knew, the tent fell on top of him and he was trapped beneath the suffocating cloth. The prince looked around for the girl as he stood up, feeling the weight of the cloth on his head and shoulders, and found nothing. That's when he finally understood That Kagome was just a decoy, a shadow copy. How could he not have noticed? She didn't have a scent, and the shadows reflected off her form in strange shapes and swirls. The real one was-

He spun around when he heard breathing behind him.

"Sweet dreams, prince. Hope you don't have another nightmare."

He grunted when something hit the pressure point in his neck and he collapsed in a faint.