Kagome stumbled behind the guards that had come to fetch her shortly after dawn broke. She was exhausted, her eyes felt gritty, and her back was stiff from sleeping against the stone wall of her room. Cell, idiot, it's a cell. You're a prisoner, and every time you heal one of these - these bad guys, you are helping the enemy. She sucked in a deep breath and tripped on the last step, falling into the soldier in front of her. Her palms slapped against his armor, but he didn't do more than slow her fall as he jumped out of her way to avoid touching her past that first, accidental brush. Her knees hit the floor and a painful shock reverberated up her thigh bones.
She gritted her teeth to keep from crying out in pain, or yelling at the coward that was too afraid of purification to catch her when she fell. She was stuck in the situation, at least for the time being. She had to wait it out until an opportunity - to escape, or attack, or something - presented itself. She had been afraid, with Gakuto and Arashi, that her power would fail her if she attacked. She had been afraid, in front of the Dragon Lord, that her reiki would not be enough, even if she was completely well. Then she had begun the healing, and her body tired quickly. Her well of power remained nearly full, and she could feel Sesshomaru's youki inside her as well, warming her and helping her power to recharge. No matter how much reiki she could feel humming inside her, she wasn't certain she could have purified a single, average demon in her current state. That rankled.
Kagome had concluded that she wouldn't stand around helplessly and wait for a rescue anymore; in a life-or-death situation, sometimes discretion was the better part of valor. Strength was good, she still wanted to do everything she could not to let the dragons know she was afraid, but she also needed to get the hell out of the North. Escape was her priority, and if she brought honor to the West in the process, that would be a nice bonus. Honor, however, wouldn't mean much if she was dead.
She straightened her shoulders as they approached the reception room where she had been the day before. So far, she had only healed injuries that were created expressly to test her. She could argue that she hadn't actually made the dragons any stronger - her power had just continued the status quo. That wouldn't last forever, though. Eventually, Ryukostokken would order her to do something that would harm Sesshomaru, directly or indirectly, and she couldn't do that. She refused to do that.
The doors opened, and she was roughly prodded into the room with the handle end of a spear. Kagome was grateful she had been working so hard to control her emotions. She probably would have peed her pants otherwise. In the center of the room was a dragon. Smaller than I imagined it would be, she thought wildly. It was the size of a family van, and covered in dark yellow scales the color of old brass. It's head swung around towards her as she stepped forward, peering at her with one huge orange eye. If Kagome hadn't been very aware of how small she was in comparison, how soft and munchable, she would have sworn the beast looked afraid. What on earth does a ten ton dragon have to be afraid of?
Ryukostokken's youki flowed across the room, a blatant reminder of who was in charge in the North. The Lord himself stepped around the dragon and greeted Kagome with an oily smile. "Step forward, little human." His pleased, anticipatory expression and tone grated on her nerves. "This is a great day for you."
Another prod to her back made Kagome's eyes narrow, but she refrained from telling the guard where to get off. Anger was beginning to stir within her again, and she could almost feel Sesshomaru's cold fury as well. She wanted to borrow his mask, as she had before, but she couldn't seem to manage it. If she was calm, she would think about the fangs the length of her arm and wings that would crush her if the dragon had a mind to do so. If she was calm, she would think about Ryukostokken breathing smoke on her face and digging his claws into her skin to see her flinch.
Kagome wasn't calm, she was temperamental. She was full of passion and life, and a quick anger that could frighten her best friends. She needed to be strong. She had to find a way to survive, to irritate, if not defeat, their enemies, and she had to make it her own.
The Lord continued, "This is the day you prove your worth to the North."
He laughed and the sound made Kagome's skin crawl. He held out his hand, and pulled a sword, the blade as long as Kagome was tall, from a sheath on his back The edge was serrated near the hilt, and honed to a deadly edge near the tip. He spoke, in grating hisses, and the other occupants of the room drew back to the walls. The dragon flinched, but at a second command, it extended its wings. The leathery skin of one appendage brushed against her ankles.
"Obey, Miko no Mao." He hefted the weapon and braced his feet. "Either a great day for you, or a pleasurable day for This One."
His flat, black eyes slid over her skin with eager hunger and Kagome wanted to slap his face. How dare he? As a fifteen-year-old who had been nearly eaten, killed, and raped on more than one occasion, Kagome would have blushed in mortification and shame, tried to hide from his disgusting interest. The four years she had spent in the feudal era had changed her, matured her. She wouldn't hide anymore.
"A great day?" she said, with as much sarcasm as she could manage. "The day will be great for me when Sesshomaru uses your foul head as a chew toy." She smiled, displaying her blunt teeth in an inu expression that promised violence.
Ryukostokken bared his teeth with a growl. As quick as his displeasure had come, it disappeared. "This One had not expected such defiance. Perhaps you will fail, and This One will enjoy breaking you." His tongue, a dead looking greyish-pink thing, darted out to moisten his lips in a revolting parody of flirtatious action.
Nauseating desire flared in his youki and he pivoted gracefully, despite his deformed posture. The Dragon Lord jumped, in a high arc that seemed to defy gravity. His form slowed and hung in the air, elevated above the heads of those gathered below. It was not truly a jump, but a prelude to flight. Lamplight flashed across the surface of his weapon, and time stood still.
Kagome felt every pulse of her heart, each rasp of breath as it moved through her lungs. Her empty stomach tightened. She licked her dry lips. There was fear there, deep inside her, so much that she knew if she allowed it to surface it would overcome her. She recalled an image of Sesshomaru in her minds eye to combat that fear. Tall and proud, she doubted he felt fear. Inuyasha came to mind, as well. He had always snarled in the face of defeat and pressed on. She bit the inside of her cheek, tasting blood, and focused on the present. She would not give in.
The moment before he struck, Kagome realized his intent. Her mouth opened in horror, but for a suspended instant in time, nothing happened. Then a scream of pain, too vast and deep to come from any human throat, pierced her ears. Involuntarily, her hands slapped over her ears, trying to muffle the sound. The wing fell, and she was sprayed in a thick wash of blood. The heavy bone and muscle thumped against the floor, twitching as though trying to reconnect with the body, but the sound was drowned out by the wail of the dragon.
Ryukostokken landed gently in front of her, blood spattering his kimono and hands. He met her eyes, and brought his blade to his mouth. His long tongue lapped against the metal, tasting the energy of his own vassal smeared darkly across the weapon. Kagome's stomach churned, even though her mind was blank. His greyish-black hair danced around his shoulders as he licked, cleaning every drop. When he finished, he smiled at her, his teeth washed pink with blood.
"Heal the wing, Miko," he ordered. "Heal what This One has destroyed."
He tipped his weapon towards her, tracing her obi with the point and drawing a slash through the rich silk. Kagome had trouble focusing on the deadly blade, distracted by the blood spray beading on her jaw and dripping onto her collarbone. She could taste the coppery red flavor on her lips. Ryukostokken had cut off the wing of one of his own men - just to test her. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. Kagome wished she had an arrow, just so she could shoot him, then pull it out and shoot him again. She wanted to close her eyes and wake up back in her bed at home, and find it had all been a terrible nightmare.
He walked around her, and leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear, "Show This One your worth, your value to the North." The pressure on his sword increased, and Kagome felt it prick her skin. He reiki rose, ready to spill out in response to the threat. She clamped down on it. There were too many youkai present. It would feel good - immensely satisfying - to burn Ryukostokken to a crisp, but she had to use her head. Even if she was successful in killing the Lord, she would have to deal with his subjects. Her hands fisted, and she trembled in frustration; she was too tired, too inexperienced and low on spiritual power to attempt more than a suicide attack on her captors. Any moves towards violence would mean her death.
She stepped forward to get away from his blade, her knees shaking, but her voice was steady and strong with her disgust and anger, "My worth is my own, asshole."
He followed her, faster than she could register with her human sight, his anger causing his youki to pulse with malicious intent. "You are human," he sneered. His breath was hot on her neck. Before she could lean away he spoke again, breathing smoke into her face that smelled of decaying meat. Bile rose in her throat and she was once again forced to push back her reiki. "You are nothing, unless youkai allow it." He snapped his teeth at her, making her flinch, and he smiled at her involuntary display of fear. His voice fell to a whisper, and Kagome was very aware of the sly cunning in his words, "You will do as This One commands. Your only choice is in how you will serve."
The sword prodded her again, making another dart of burning pain on her lower back. Then he strode away from her, taking his place on the dais, near the dragon's head.
"Poke me again, you sick sonofabitch," she muttered, finally shaking herself out of her stupor. "Where I come from, people like you never see the light of day."
Her attention was drawn to the dragon. The sounds of agony had grown quiet, but the dragon's eyes were wide and its breath quick. It was her enemy, but she could not help but feel that the dragon was not evil, so much as it too suffered under Ryustokokken's rule. As she drew closer, she could see that something had been applied to the wound, probably the same poison that had been used on the soldiers the night before, which did not allow it to close on its own. The youkai was in terrible pain, had been disfigured, might never fly again, because of her.
How would it feel, to be able to fly, and then have it taken away? Kagome pictured Sesshomaru, soaring over Japan on his cloud. She couldn't imagine how painful it would be for him if that ability was hampered in some way. She walked closer, taking careful steps to not tread on the dismembered wing or slip in the blood that was still running onto the floor.
Her power was flaring under her skin, begging for release. She could have easily turned it on the Lord - and then had the fight of her life on her hands as she was trapped in a stone room with twenty or so assorted soldiers and administrators. A vibration, like a low moan, rumbled in the room. Trapped with youkai soldiers, Lord Asshole, and a hurt, pissed off dragon. Great Plan.
Instead of attacking like she desperately wanted to do, she called her power softly. Her hands flared into pink light. The dragon flinched away, and Ryukostokken quickly reprimanded it by smacking the hilt of his sword against the beast's nose. One orange eye and two smaller black ones followed her movements as she closed the distance and examined the wound.
Kagome let her hands hover over the gash, ten inches wide and more than four feet in length. The wound was her responsibility, even though it was done to an enemy of the West. She closed her eyes to focus on her power as it coursed through the beast.
The wound was burning the dragon with cold as the drop in temperature where the air entered the dragon's body met the intense heat of the fire inside the beast. His thick hide was what kept him warm, it insulated the chemical heat that stirred in his belly. Once the scales and skin had been pierced, his body heat leached out into the cool air of the room. Muscles and tendons had been severed cleanly, as had the strong, hollow bones that supported the beast's weight in the air. She could sense the nerve endings, raw and shooting pain signals to the brain with every breeze or twitch. She started with those.
Nerves. Long, thin threads of axons, wrapped in connective tissues and bundled together like cables with a protective coating. Blood vessels. Tissue and smooth muscle shaped into a flexible tube and spreading like tree branches into tiny capillaries. Bone. Marrow and osseous tissue twined and branched like coral formations - full of tiny holes to make it lightweight but capable of immense support. Skeletal muscle. Myogenesis. She searched for and found germ cells and stimulated growth. Layers of keratin built one upon the other to create skin.
Kagome was distantly aware of sweat beading on her forehead and under her arms. The ache in her back grew more intense as she worked. After nearly an hour, she stepped back. A section of wing, two feet across and twelve inches wide, had been regrown. The flesh was still new and soft. She glanced at the orange eye. It had fallen to half mast, and the head rested on the floor, tongue out and panting. It was still in pain.
"Good," Ryukostokken drew her attention with his pleased tone. He grinned at her, showing his fangs, and licked his lips. "Complete it."
"This isn't Kentucky Fried Chicken, you creep," she replied. "I don't have an extra wing under a heat lamp, just waiting around for this occasion. It takes time."
He frowned at her unfamiliar turn of phrase, but it did not deter him. "It will take less time. A youkai can heal on his own - given centuries. This One has tested others of your kind in recent days - and been severely disappointed in the power of those few mikos my soldiers captured. Even with incentive," he grinned and ran his tongue along his fangs as though remembering a favorite treat, "they were not able to accomplish...what was necessary for their survival."
Kagome wanted to gut Ryukostokken; it was clear that the lives of those priestess he had captured depended on healing youkai, and that the Lord had had no use for them when they'd failed. She barely suppressed a shiver of fear. She had seen many horrible things in the feudal era, she could imagine worse. She did not want to think about what would happen if the dragon decided she failed. Her stomach roiled and her blood felt icy in her veins - she couldn't not imagine it, and the fear, no matter how she tried to push it away, was nearly paralyzing. She desperately focused on her anger to get such images out of her head.
His administrator stepped forward with a bow and spoke quietly to the Lord. Ryukostokken's mouth tightened in anger and his eyes had lost their malicious enjoyment when he turned them back to Kagome. "If you do not do it faster, then you serve no purpose. You will finish before This One returns." He tossed a command to his administrator as he left, "If she tries to leave, or ceases to work, cut off her foot. This One has no need for that part of her."
Kagome glared at the spot where he had been standing, but the combined moan of the dragon and the way the administrator, his ponytail streaked with grey and his aged face filled with malice, gripped his weapon made her turn away. The injury was awful. No matter what the dragon might have done in service to the North, it hadn't deserved such mutilation at the hands of his leader. Injury for no reason other than to make her use her reiki... She would heal him, because she felt responsible for his pain. But the moment she found an opening, she would burn a hole right through Ryukostokken's face. If she could she wanted to purify the slimy smile right off of his face before she escaped.
"Shhhh," she whispered. She ran her fingers lightly over the pebbly skin above the wound. The scales were hot and smooth, like river rocks. An orange eye blinked at her, warily. "I'll try to be gentle."
Hours later, Kagome slumped to the floor, exhausted. Her reiki was quiet and still, not even sparking when several soldiers crept closer to push her out of the way with their weapons and inspect her work. The room was full of dusky shadows. Her mind felt fuzzy and her body numb. How long have I been at this? she wondered.
Before her lay two wings. The one Ruystokken had removed was dark brass and splattered with blood, cold and lifeless. Shiny, new gold scales covered the one she had grown and it thrummed with heat and life. The dragon was asleep - exactly what Kagome would be doing if she wasn't surrounded by the enemy. The administrator looked over the wing, as perfect as she could make it, down to the deadly claw at the end, and sniffed at her.
"You will come with me." He snapped his fingers and two guards came to attention.
They poked her several times to stand, but between her exhaustion and the sticky, slick mess on the floor she couldn't manage it. The administrator finally ordered them to carry her. They hesitated, but a snarl and a threat to put them in chains to teach them respect forced them forward. Kagome flinched at his description of the methods that would be employed to show the two dragon youkai that orders should be followed.
"Apologies, Wei-san," they said in unison. One guard slipped his arm around her waist and lifted her to stand, while two more guarded her - in front and behind.
"Take her back to the Chamber of the Setting Sun."
Wei disappeared, and Kagome tried to wake herself up enough to think of a plan as they tugged her back to her prison. If she could get a weapon away from one of the guards, she might be able to… No way, maybe I'd get lucky and kill these three, but others would come, and I can barely walk. If they had a dagger she could lift without anyone noticing… Yeah, right. Pickpocketing is right up there in my skill set with fencing and judo.
Kagome thought of and discarded several ideas before she was unceremoniously shoved into her cell. She stumbled against the wall and sank to the floor. Kagome resolved that when she got back to the West she would demand Sesshomaru give her some training. Or maybe Hisao. Hell, Kento probably knew more about weapons and self-defense than she did.
The door closed behind the guards, and she barely managed to relieve herself in the small pot provided for her before leaning her head back against the cold wall to close her eyes and rest. Brief flashes of blood and power, lascivious smiles and dead youkai troubled her sleep. She was so exhausted, it seemed as though only a few minutes passed before it opened again.
A wave of dark, excited youki preceded Ryukostokken into the room, followed by a light-haired demoness in a blue kimono who carried a lamp. Two guards came behind, holding a wooden chest. Kagome scrambled into a standing position, fear and anger giving her a burst of energy. In other circumstances, the presence of the lovely youkai female would have given the miko some hope, but the blank expression on her pale face and the twist of the Dragon Lord's lips made the very idea of hope laughable. Ryukostokken had smiled while he'd hacked his own soldier, and it was clear he intended to chain her.
With a small wave, the demoness directed a tiny gust of burning oil from her own lamp into two more lamps secured on the walls and then she stood quietly, silently waiting. The new light revealed that the Chamber of the Setting Sun might once have been inviting. A tapestry, old and slowly disintegrating, hung from the far wall. It depicted a scene of dragons and dogs fighting an epic battle across the skies.
Ryukostokken's anticipation, a smile twisting his greyish lips, drew her attention back to him, "Little miko."
The guards approached, drawing chains from the leather bag, and the miko knew that she could not allow them to restrain her. Kagome lashed out, but no matter how much adrenaline she had, she was no match for youkai reflexes. An iron bracer snapped around her wrist, and a sharp tug on the chain brought her to her knees. She managed to dig her nails into the thinner skin at the wrist of the second guard when he grabbed her. Her nails tore, embedded in the leathery surface, and then both her arms were shackled. Youki buffeted her: the frightened, determined energy of the guards, and the malicious, sickeningly eager power of the Dragon Lord.
In a matter of moments, she was secured, panting and struggling weakly, between the two guards. If she moved one way, the chain on the other side was pulled taunt. The iron cut into her wrists, biting through the skin. Her blood was warm for a few seconds before the cold air and metal cuffs stole the heat and it trickled in cold rivulets down her forearms. Kagome gritted her teeth and did her best to burn holes through Ryukostokken with her eyes. She wished she had a weapon, anything, to charge with her power and gut the bastard. Or if he would touch her, she would let her reiki loose, regardless of the consequences. Whatever he was chaining her for, it wouldn't be good. She would purify as many as she could, but she did not want to be at the sadist's mercy.
He licked his lips with corrupt expectation. "That's it, woman, struggle. This One enjoys the scent of your blood." He leaned forward, close to her face but as always not close enough to risk purification, and his tongue flickered out, taking in her scent like a snake. "Yesss," he drew out the word and closed his eyes.
The sound of his enjoyment made her skin crawl and her stomach turn. She was fully dressed, but his gaze and the way he licked his lips made her feel naked in front of him. Kagome wanted to burn the flat black eyes out of his head, just to keep him from looking at her; she strained against the shackles, and finding no give, spit in his face.
His response was a lightning-fast blow to her cheek with the hard lacquered sheath of his dagger. The pain was sharp, numbing for a moment and then her face blossomed with throbbing heat. He growled, and wiped the spittle from his chin and looked at his palm. For a moment she thought he would strike her with his upraised hand, and she prepared her reiki to be ready for his touch. With only four youkai in the room, she had a chance. It was small, but she might be able to escape. Instead, he smiled, and it sent a shiver down Kagome's spine.
"This One enjoys your spirit, but breaking it will be even more pleasurable." He nodded to the guards, and they pulled the chains tighter, painfully forcing her hands up higher.
He circled around her and the guards, clicking his dagger in and out of the sheath. "You have been with the dog far too long; you do not know your place." A hiss of steel precipitated a cool blade pressing against her forearms where they were stretched high and bare, as though she would be crucified for the dragon's pleasure. She couldn't see the Lord behind her, and she was grateful. It made hiding her fear with anger easier.
"Ha," she forced a laugh, "but I know yours. Right below Sesshomaru's boot." The guards' eyes widened and one sucked in a breath in shock. The eerie dancing of the sharp edge on her skin abruptly stopped. Her eyes widened and she gritted her teeth against the instinctive scream clawing up her throat as a white hot line of agony dragged along her arm.
His breath was in her ear, close enough to make her want to retch from the smell of whatever he had eaten - or roasted alive. "You will learn there are consequences for your actions, woman. You will mind your tongue." The dagger slipped along her other arm, drawing another line of blood. She couldn't help but whimper, anticipating the cut and the pain that would accompany it. "You could have participated in pleasurable acts, at least for This One. Since you are unable to control your words, This One will have to bind your mouth when the time comes to teach you submission."
He inserted the sheath between her back and the neckline of her shirt. She bucked, trying to bend away, but it resulted only in the cuffs cutting into her wrists and her clothing parting and loosening around her - baring her shoulders and upper chest. Fortunately, the angle of her arms kept it from revealing her breasts completely. She was very aware of not only Ryukostokken, but of the eyes of the guards on her naked flesh. The Dragon Lord came back into her view, licking his blade and obviously enjoying the taste of her on his weapon before returning it to his obi.
Kagome followed the path of his weapon, wishing he would get close enough that she could seize it and vowing that she would demand Sango teach her how to use such a blade the next time they saw each other. He caressed the sheath with his claws, as though he was amused by her train of thought. She lifted her eyes to glare at Ryukostokken, successfully containing the tremor in her voice, "I take it you weren't pleased with my performance with your dragon friend? No flowers? No coins?"
"On the contrary, little miko," he practically purred. His eyes were half-lidded and his mouth parted slightly. Something in his face stopped Kagome's struggles, her sarcastic defiance, cold. He was enjoying himself. The Dragon Lord was - Kagome thought she might be sick.
Ryukostokken had a large bulge in his pants, clearly aroused by the pain he'd inflicted and the power he wielded over her. He pressed a hand to his own growing erection and made a short sound, and the demoness stepped forward from the cue. Her face was beautiful, although it lacked any youkai markings. Her red, full lips a sharp contrast to her pewter hair. Her eyes were a solid white. The milky, swirling surface did not shift to look at what she was doing. Kagome realized she was blind.
"This One is most satisfied with your skill, Miko. The display of your power was...stimulating." He made short work of his obi, folding it and laying it carefully on the floor. "Your worth has been proven, for now. But This One will be forced to deny himself the pleasure of your body for today. Fate has not seen to grant This One your skill and your wet heat."
He gave a malicious grin in her direction as he slipped out of his kimono and settled it on top of the obi. "Do not worry, This One will consider a solution so that he may have both."
The medical practitioner in her catalogued the pox scars on his face and arms, the strange distortion of his ribcage. The instinctive, survival-driven part of her was screaming. She very much doubted he had chained her and stripped so that she could examine him. So this is what fight or flight response feels like. The inappropriately timed thought floated through her head as he untied his hakama, leaving them to hang from his hips. He seized the demoness by her hair, digging his claws against her scalp and pulled her back against his nearly naked body. He groped her through her kimono, and Kagome felt a surge of horror and anger welling up inside her. He's going to rape her!
"This room shall remain yours as long as you are of use to the North." He gestured with one hand to the faded tapestry behind him, and Kagome noted the scene depicted showed the dragons defeating their inu opponents. The scene was so ridiculous, given that she had watched Inuyasha defeat a dragon; the hanyou did not come away unscathed, but he still won. Sesshomaru and his brother were immeasurably stronger than any dragon, in Kagome's opinion. She had to force down an ill-advised snort at the blind hubris of the Dragon Lord.
"Look upon the greatness of my kind. We will dominate the West again." Kagome scowled, but kept her thoughts to herself. You are nothing compared to Sesshomaru. He will end you with less effort than he spends on his breakfast. His eyes slid across her. "This One shall begin with you. You have lived with the dog, so you are chained like a dog. Watch closely, woman. Pay attention, because This One will envision your body in place of hers."
A/N Second Alliance is rated MA. Due to explicit nature, a portion of this scene has been removed in accordance with the posting rules for this site. It may be read on my website, linked on my profile page.
"Release the miko after This One has gone," he said to his guards. "Allow her to rest and do not damage her, I may wish to repeat this activity yet tonight. She cannot learn what is in store for her if she is too tired to watch Ko's submission." He tossed the semen and blood covered blue cloth onto the floor and began redressing, his eyes still on Kagome's restrained form. He smiled contentedly at Kagome, as if sharing a much sought after secret, "There is a new prisoner that will revive This One's lust, with appropriate incentive. Her mate's pain will no doubt be sufficient."
He folded his obi precisely, and stepped over to admire the miko's exposed body once more. "If she does not survive long, This Ryukostokken will return and teach you more. Rest now, Miko. Ko will be ready again in a few hours, but it will be you, little human, who This One will think of when he enters her."
Kagome gathered the saliva and blood pooling in her mouth and spit at him, but her ammunition fell short. Youki sped his movements faster than she could track, and one guard held a spear at Kagome's throat while the other removed her shackles. The moment she was free, she lunged after them. Her legs barely reacted, having been forced into a kneeling position too long The guards were quicker, and she earned a shallow cut on her shoulder from one of their weapons before they could close the door, locking her inside. Kagome beat against the wood, ignoring the stiffness in her arms, calling out profanities and promising death to the next person who came inside. Finally, she slid down to the floor, exhausted.
Her voice was lost, her throat sore. She closed her eyes against a dark, bitter feeling that she had not known since Naraku which churned inside her. She hated him. Ryukostokken deserved to die. He deserved to suffer for every malicious act of carnage he'd heaped upon the denizens of Japan. More than that, he intended to hurt her friends. Rin and Shippo, children, would be caught in the crossfire if the North attacked. Other children had already suffered. Paho, Nankae, Emi, and countless others - their small bodies wrapped in burial shrouds - they had lost their families, their lives, because of the Dragon. Kagome would revel in the moment Ryukostokken was finally brought down by his own arrogance and cowardice.
A quiet shuffle behind her drew her attention. Kagome opened her eyes to see the wind demoness, Ko, pulling together the stained scraps of her clothing and absently wiping at the blood that bubbled from her mouth when she breathed. Ko took no notice of her injuries, but felt around for something large enough to cover herself. A red, flaking crust was drying on her neck and face. Her ribs were already bruising, one was clearly broken. Thick white fluid seeped down her legs, mixing with the fresh blood still seeping from the claw marks on her thighs. How many times has he - Kagome cut off her own thoughts as bile rose in her throat. She hadn't eaten recently, so her heaves brought up nothing but acid. Still, she wretched, trying to get the desperate, dark image of Ko and all she had endured at Ryukostokken's hands out of her head.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve and fumbled with her obi after gaining some of her composure back. She stood and stumbled across the room to kneel near the demoness. "Here," Kagome said quietly. She removed her ornate shirt. Untucked, it would reach nearly to Ko's knees, she surmised. "It's pretty bloody, but it's all in one piece."
Realizing that Ko could not see what she held out, Kagome crawled closer, trying not to sob when bloody, naked flesh shivered and flinched at the movement. She laid the cloth on Ko's lap and sat back, turning her head to give her privacy. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"What have you to be sorry for?" Ko's voice was gravelly, no doubt from her strangulation, but she still managed to inflict it with scorn. "The Denka takes what he wants, and has always done so. You have no effect on my circumstance. Why would you think yourself so important?"
"I'm not - I don't -" Kagome was at a loss for words. She understood Ko's attitude, as well as someone who had never been so intimately victimized could understand. "I was not apologizing," she said at last. "I was trying to let you know that I would do something to help you, if I could."
"Help?" Ko laughed shortly, ending in a hacking cough that brought pink spittle to her lips. She wiped her mouth carefully with a blood stained sleeve. "Can you bring my family back from Ryukostokken's pox? Can you turn back time and kill that monster before he returned to Japan? No? Then do not speak of things which you know nothing about."
Her bitterness stung Kagome's heart, and made her hatred of the Dragon Lord stronger. He was the source of the disease; it disgusted her, and she was surprised she could feel any more contempt for the Lord than she already did. He was a cheater, a bully. He was too cowardly to fight Sesshomaru honorably - too aware of his own shortcomings when pitted against the Killing Perfection - so instead he'd tried to steal Sesshomaru's strength. Sesshomaru, her ally, her friend, her… He could have died. Rin could have died. Ryukostokken was willing to murder countless youkai and humans in his quest to rule Japan. Kagome felt even more ashamed that this revelation could make her hate the Dragon more. What is biological warfare in comparison to brutal, repeated rape? What is rape in comparison to genocide? She walked to the corner where a clay vessel and cup still sat, next to the chamber pot, and returned to Ko's side.
"I have water. I don't know if it is poisoned, but you are welcome to some if you aren't worried it-" The demoness grabbed the half-full cup Kagome pressed gently against her arm and gulped it down.
"It doesn't taste poisoned, but wait a few minutes and if I die, you'll know."
Kagome didn't know what to say. Ko seemed to have lost all hope for life, for a time when her pain and humiliation would cease. And yet, she didn't kill herself outright. She still fought, despite her situation. Even when it was clearly pointless, even though her body was acting without thought, she fought him. Kagome did not believe, she would not believe, that Ko had given up all hope - no matter what she said. If the demoness still had the will to fight against her rapist, even involuntarily, then she still had hope that the degradation would end - that she would one day escape.
Kagome couldn't believe that Ko had no chance to escape. If the situation was hopeless for a youkai who could fly, then Kagome might as well give in. She straightened her spine and pushed the disturbing images to the back of her mind. She would not give up hope. She was strong. Sesshomaru had said it: she was of the West. Even if Ryukostokken did that to her - Kagome shivered and forced down another wave of bile - she would not give up.
Kagome picked out the pieces of blue kimono that had managed to remain free of blood and semen and tore them into strips. She soaked a few in cool water, and folded it into a square pad. She considered infusing it with reiki, but she was already drained from healing the dragon from earlier in the day, and Ko did not seem eager for her assistance.
"Here, this will help." She slipped the cloth between the front gap in her former shirt and pressed it gently against the broken ribs. Ko hissed, and seized Kagome's raw wrist in a bruising grip. Remembering all that she had learned from Inuyasha and Shippo about demons, Kagome softened her voice and relaxed to show she was not a threat. "If you let me wrap it, the pain will be less."
The demoness paused, then gave a brief nod and released the miko. Kagome worked silently; the familiar work of treating injuries was a soothing balm to her mind - numbing the raw edges of her own, less visible, wounds. When she was done with her ribs, she cleaned the wounds on Ko's leg and neck, and dabbed gently at the deep scratches on the youkai's face with the damp pieces of cloth. Once she had rinsed her mouth and spit to remove the lingering taste of blood and bile, Kagome drank deeply before handing the refilled cup back to Ko.
Hesitantly, knowing she was prying in a highly offensive manner but needing to know, Kagome asked, "So, why don't you fly away?"
"You don't think I would, if I could?" Ko stiffened in anger. Her tone was flat, but her mouth curled down, revealing small, sharp fangs.
"Of course you would," Kagome quickly responded. They sat awkwardly for a few moments, until the miko could no longer stand the silence, "So what keeps you from doing so?"
There was a long pause, which Ko broke with a curious tone, "Can you not tell that I am blind?"
"Yes," Kagome spoke slowly, "does that keep you from flying? I thought you might navigate by smell, or something…" She trailed off, suddenly wishing she hadn't started the conversation. Ko had been through, well, more than anyone, even her worst enemy, should have to go through. It couldn't feel good to talk about how awful her situation was. Unfortunately, blindness was the least sensitive topic available. Kagome had a brief wish for the days when her most emotionally challenging conversation concerned an unavailable hanyou and his undead ex-girlfriend. She smiled wryly to herself. She would have never believed she would long for the drama of Kikyou.
"I can fly," Ko said shortly. She turned her head away in a futile attempt to hide her misery and whispered, "I need another youkai's eyes to guide me."
Kagome felt a surge of hope. She glanced at the window; it was large enough for her, and Ko was slightly smaller. The sun was just beginning to dip along the horizon and the snow was falling lighter than it had in days; she was sure she could see where they were going. Kagome opened her mouth, trying to find the best way to ask another prisoner to escape with her, but Ko was already shaking her head.
"Don't bother. Even if I was healed enough to fly, and it will be a day or so with my ribs and shoulder like this, I need a youkai. That is how I know where to go. They send directions to me with their youki - they let me see that way."
"Oh," Kagome's shoulders slumped dejectedly. Even if reiki could be used in the same way as youki, even if Kagome was strong enough, she had no idea how to communicate with it.
Both women fell silent, leaning against the wall. Kagome stared out the window, trying not to lose hope, trying not to let her desire to see Ryukostokken in pieces overwhelm her. He had too much to answer for. Sesshomaru would make him pay, she knew, but she wanted to be at his side when it happened. And she wanted Ko to be free as well. If Kagome escaped, but left Ko behind, she didn't think she could live with herself, knowing - having seen - what Ko went through at the Dragon Lord's hands. She shuddered. The silence was deafening, and she couldn't stand it. So she did what she always did: she talked. Kagome spoke of what she knew of air currents and the design of a bird's wing. She talked about biology and her difficulty with math classes, even when she was younger. She described her friends from home, and the silly coded notes they would pass to each other to avoid being caught.
Her throat was nearly raw when Ko interrupted her, "Why would you help me?" Her voice and expression were incredulous and almost scathing. Then she frowned, "You - you begged him to stop, I heard you, you...you cried for me. Why?" Ko's sightless eyes landed on the miko, and Kagome's heart broke just a little more at the idea that anyone would be so disbelieving of simple decency.
"Why wouldn't I?" Kagome stared at her in shock.
"I am a demon, you are a miko." The statement was frank, as if the reason would be blatantly obvious to a child.
"So?" Ko's eyebrows rose at Kagome's confusion. "What does that have to do with anything? Who could watch what he did and not react that way? I should have done more," she chastised herself. "If I had a weapon, or if I had trained harder - " Her voice fell to a whisper, "I can't be weak like this anymore." She tipped her head back against the wall, feeling tears of frustration pricking at the backs of her eyes. "Sango would have killed the guards before they could chain her," she muttered. She sank into herself for several minutes, trying to find a way she could have done better - a way she could do better, so that she would never be in such a situation again.
"Are you really his miko?" Ko asked quietly.
"What?" Kagome was startled out of her own internal examination. Her reiki was still there, tired, running on reserves, but not hurt, and a little tendril of Sesshomaru's youki remained as well. It felt comforting to have something of him with her, especially when it seemed hope for an immediate rescue was as far-off as the future she hailed from. She kicked herself for not having remembered it before. The heat of his youki helped her clear her mind and allowed her to push aside all of the emotions that threatened to overwhelm her into inaction. She tucked it into place and focused on Ko, taking comfort in the low hum of restrained strength it gave her.
"The," her voice lowered and her sightless eyes flickered to the locked door, "the Saidai Mao. Are you his miko?"
"I am my own," Kagome answered sharply. Ko's expression became withdrawn, and Kagome smiled in apology, even though she knew the demoness couldn't see it. With dawning realization that brought to life a little spark of her usual positive outlook, Kagome continued, "But I am of the West, now. I guess if I belong to anyone here, it would be him."
Ko leaned away, and a gentle youki breeze stirred around Kagome, lifting her hair and tugging at her clothes. The youkai's eyes widened. "You want to be with him? Is he your-" she cut herself off and pressed a finger to her lips, nodding to the door. Nearly silent footsteps stopped outside, then continued on after a few seconds. Ko leaned close to Kagome's ear and whispered, "Will the West take revenge on the North for this?" She gestured vaguely at Kagome.
Kagome shook her head. "Not just revenge," she spoke as softly as she could. "Sesshomaru will kill Ryukostokken, because he deserves to die." She stared into Ko's wide, milky eyes, thinking about the pox, and the many ways it could scar a patient.
"If you were to see your Lord, now, would you make certain of it?" There was something in her voice, something urgent and solemn that made Kagome reach out and grab her hands. Ko's sightless eyes searched hers insistently.
"Sesshomaru will end this," Kagome vowed solemnly, "I know it." She had not been close to the daiyoukai for long, but she knew that he was honorable above all other things. And, Kagome thought with vicious satisfaction, Sesshomaru will not stand to have a cowardly piece of shit like Ryukostokken threatening what is his.
Ko nodded slowly, and then squared her shoulders. "Come, before the light is too far gone."
She seized Kagome's hands with deceptive strength and pulled her to her feet. Ko hunched over her belly protectively and walked slowly while the miko tried to support her and fretted over her injuries. Her limp was prominent, and fresh blood still trailed down the insides of her legs, but she leaned against the wall and held her open hand out the window. A leaf, still green in the center but curled and browned along the edges, floated into her palm along with a scattering of snow. Kagome wondered where the turning leaf had come from, but did not have an opportunity to ask about a greenhouse or garden. "Once you are on, lie still," Ko commanded, "and do not use your holy power. I will command the winds to take you as far as they can, but with this storm you might not make it all the way across the water. Can you swim?"
Kagome blinked, uncomprehending for a moment. "Yes," she answered slowly, "I can swim, but-"
"Good." Ko forestalled any arguments, "Climb up onto the sill and-"
"But you said you couldn't fly without youki to help you," Kagome blurted.
"I cannot. But I can call the winds." A wrinkle of worry marred Ko's brow and her voice softened, "I cannot say for certain where you will land, but it will be as close to the mainland and as far west as I can get you. When you reach the shore, stay quiet, and keep moving southwest. Ryukostokken's troops are heading to the East, seeking a path through the chaos left in the wake of Kuren's assassination to the Southern Lands. There shouldn't be many soldiers for you to avoid."
"You - you would do this for me? You'll be caught, he'll know you helped me escape! I can't, you'll be punished." Unbidden, the memory of his twisted smile as he thrust mercilessly into Ko came to Kagome's mind, making her head ache and her stomach churn. She wanted to leave. Desperately, painfully she wanted to leave and go to Sesshomaru as quickly as the wind could carry her. She wanted to be safe, to be protected, to never think about the Northern Palace or what had happened there again. But she could not leave Ko behind. The wind demoness deserved to escape as well - maybe more, considering how many countless torture sessions she had no doubt endured. Kagome would not let her suffer alone. Her voice broke in sadness and fear, fear of what would happen if she stayed, and sadness over what Ko would go through if she left. "I can't!"
"You will," Ko insisted, her face hard. "You will go, and you will make certain the Saidai Mao meets Ryukostokken in battle." She spit out her words like a curse, "Make sure he kills that wingless son of a whore!"
Youki swirled down Ko's arm towards the leaf. A reckless idea entered Kagome's mind, and she seized Ko's hand drawing it back into the room. "Wait!"
"Damnit! Are all humans so stupid! I am trying to help you," she hissed.
"Just give me a minute," Kagome pleaded. In a warning tone she continued, "And don't move."
She pressed her hands at the sides of Ko's head, and called her power. Sluggish, her reiki answered, flowing up to her hands and seeping into the demoness. Ko's eyes were scarred. Kagome could see the tough tissue wrapped around the nerves that sent electrical signals to the brain. The organs were alive, but filmy with mucus that built up from deformed tear ducts. She tugged, gently, and her holy power slipped along each fiber, sliding under the thick remains of Ko's fight against the pox and stripping away the scars. Footsteps sounded outside again, startling her, and her reiki surged. Kagome jumped back, and Ko let out a tiny sound of pain. The miko ached with remorse. Twin spots of red flesh, burnt black at the edges, fanned out from Ko's temples. The demoness stared at her. Pale green eyes wide with-
Pale green eyes.
"I can see you," Ko whispered incredulously. Kagome gave her an uncertain smile, relieved at least something had gone right and hoping the wind youkai would forgive her for the accidental purification. "I can see you," she repeated. An amazed, joyful smile lifted the corners of her lips, and Kagome was stunned by her beauty. The smile broke into a grin, and Ko jumped. The air bent and swirled under her to give her extra lift. She immediately sank back to the earth with an expression of pain, holding her ribs and squeezing her knees together.
"Oh," Kagome said, alarmed, "let me just-" A wave of dizziness overcame her, and she had to lean against the wall to keep from passing out. A myriad of colors swirled around her vision and pulled her towards darkness. "Give me a minute and I'll take care of everything."
"No, you need to go." Ko straightened with a determined grimace. "The guards will have sensed your reiki and report to Wei, the administrator. It will take a while for them to get past his personal servant and wake him, but he will come to check on you."
Kagome breathed deeply through her nose, trying to clear her head and push away from the wall. "No, I can- I just need to-"
"You need to go," Ko insisted, "before they come back."
Kagome tried to make Ko understand reason, "But they'll see your eyes and know I healed you." Kagome watched, stunned as air swirled in from the open window. Cold moisture clung to her cheeks and hair, and circled Ko's head before settling and thickening around her eyes. When it dissipated, they were milky white once more. "Oh, you shouldn't have-"
"It is just fog." With a wave of her fingers the whiteness fell away, revealing green irises once more. "I can call it at will when there is enough moisture nearby. Now come," she urged, clearly not willing to waste any more time on reassurances.
Kagome pushed away from the wall, and the moment she was upright, dizziness struck again, and then she was falling, blackness closing around her vision. A leaf cushion, smelling of autumn and buzzing gently with youki, was waiting to catch her, and it curled around her as she sank into it in exhaustion. The last thing she saw was Ko's pretty green eyes as darkness clouded her vision.
Ko's lilting voice, with an undertone of unbending strength, pierced the haze of sleep that pulled at the miko. "Stay quiet, and remember this: black for treason, blue for danger to your allies, red for attack. Say it." Kagome mumbled the words, uncomprehending, but learning the mnemonic device easily as she started to sink into a comforting blackness. The light was rapidly fading, and Ko's lips pressed against her forehead like a blessing - or a final good-bye. "If you are of the West, Miko, then tell your Lord you have made allies today. And tell him Ryukostokken should suffer for what he's done."
15