Nocturne - Chapter Fifty: Subjugation
Author's Notes: Buckle up. We're going for a ride. There are some dark, dare I say pitch black, tunnels ahead, so let this serve as a trigger warning.
Warning! Dark, mature themes occur in this chapter, so if that's not your cup of tea...then the culmination of this story is not for you. Thanks for stopping by. Maybe try the next chapter?
We're getting close to the end! Hang on tight.
Happy reading!
Rated - M (for suggestive adult themes, references to violence, and coarse language)
o - o - o - o - o : Indicates scene or POV change
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
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She flinched back, scowling despite the pain and spit in his face.
Fan closed his eyes, sighed in annoyance, and wiped his face with the back of his hand. He looked every inch the warrior compared to the last time Kagome had seen him years ago, where his clothes were every bit as regal as one may expect a nearly immortal daiyokai who valued his appearance.
His appearance was a stark difference from then; His face was partially scarred, twisting his lips into a permanent smirk. It had to have been damage left from their last meeting. His clothes were fine but practical, covered with dark armored pieces consisting of a breastplate, gauntlets made from a lustrous metal. The feathered epaulets that adorned his shoulders were multi-colored and nearly as flamboyant as one would expect.
"Perhaps I can return the favor, Miko." His smirk transformed into a hideous sneer and backhanded Kagome hard, cutting her face with spikes embedded into his gauntlet.
The blow struck her hard, and stars erupted before her eyes. She grabbed at her face, disoriented, then glared back at him, spitting blood. He still knelt over her with an amused expression. Kagome could feel the pain dissipate as the healing powers she had gained took course. Even the excruciating pain in her shoulder had lessened, and she knew she would likely regain the use of her arm in moments.
Fan's head tilted to the side like a curious puppy. "My, my, my." He gripped her chin with lightning speed, squeezing her jaw between two clawed fingers, and tilted her about while all she could do was grip helplessly onto his arm with her only working hand. "It seems Sesshomaru has put some work into his pet to keep it from spoiling." The gash on her cheek healed up right before his eyes. He released her, and she fell back a few inches from where he'd held her up. "How intriguing."
Finally, the feeling returned to her right arm. Kagome clenched her fist open and closed a few times and released an internal sigh. She'd no idea how quickly she would heal or if the power would work on anything more than something superficial. It wasn't anything she would want to put to the test, but Fan Tsenpo held no such scruples. It seemed he didn't want her dead; otherwise, she would be, healing powers or not. His blade had pierced through her shoulder, and even though he'd twisted the sword before pulling it out, it had been a calculated debilitating wound only.
There was no time to waste. There was no telling what his plans were - nothing good, and Kagome knew she had to try and stop him. The side of Fan's face was evidence enough that her spiritual powers were enough to get the job done and in such a close range that should prove no issue.
She could feel the holy powers resting in a large reservoir on the peripheral of the spiritual plane. Years ago, her abilities would only come to her when her life had been threatened. It didn't take her long to learn to access them at will, but then some unknown force had capped her use. Once the restriction had been lifted, Kagome no longer had much use for her powers.
For some odd reason, she was having difficulty grasping onto the threads of her Miko powers, even as her life was particularly threatened. It was as if she were untethered to the light.
Focusing, she reached out and was able to grab onto the holy power. Her fingers flexed on the grass beneath her, the only physical manifestation of what she was doing, unbeknownst to the daiyokai in front of her. Kagome felt the wind stir behind her, whipping her hair over her shoulders and bolstering her resolve to end this here and now.
Fan quickly stood and stomped on her hand, grinding his heel on her fingers, chuckling at the sound of her bones snapping. "None of that now," he quipped as Kagome cried out. Her shaky grasp on the light now dissipated from the pain.
His head lifted, and it looked as if he were scenting the air, his nostrils flared. Kagome had no time to wonder what the bastard was doing or even nurse her crushed hand. Fan knelt, that evil smirk playing at both sides of his lips, and issued a quick punch to her head that sent her into the dark void of nothingness.
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Strange, she thought. It was daylight before, and now it was dark as night. It wasn't like her to nap; there was never the time to take for herself when she had Setsuna to attend to.
It was dark and damp where she lay, and pain jolted her back to reality. She inhaled sharply through gritted teeth, wincing as she worked her fingers.
"This place smells of you." A disembodied voice said quietly.
Kagome could barely make out the dark silhouette standing in front of her, but she knew, with a sinking feeling, that it wasn't Sesshomaru. She sat up, scrambling backward until she met up against a jagged wall. Her head whipped around as she tried to orient to her surroundings.
"Aren't you curious, little Miko?"
What the hell was happening? Where was she, and why the hell would he bring her here.
"I can tell you are," he answered himself. He knelt beside her and grabbed the front of her hakui, pulling her close. He inhaled in an exaggerated display. "You are fertile. I cannot help myself, and it will be the perfect disgrace." His eyelids were heavy, giving her a salacious gaze.
The blood ran cold through her veins, draining from her face and pooling into her limbs to make them heavy, too heavy to move or react. "Wha-" she stuttered, too surprised and flabbergasted to put words to the incredulous thoughts running through her mind.
"I'm intrigued to see what the result will be," he purred, quite pleased with himself.
"You fucking bastard. I will kill you!" She screamed. "Touch me and die!" She jolted upright, springing herself onto her feet to get as far away from this crazy monster as possible.
There was a small gleam of light pouring into the darkness. It took a fraction of a second to realize they were in a cave. That meant the opening was behind the daiyokai. Kagome sprinted forward. Fan stepped in front of her, and when she feinted to the left, he held out his arm with such speed that she ran into it, knocking her back so that her skull kissed the rocky slab beneath her. Again disoriented, she looked up and cursed these multiple head wounds. Was it possible to have a concussion with powers that healed you almost instantly?
Fan's voice whispered into her ear, "You will bear me the ultimate soldier. With my power and yours melded together, he will be unstoppable."
Sesshomaru's face appeared before her, cold and disapproving. "Sesshomaru…" she cried out nearly inaudible, despite herself. He couldn't hear her, even had she screamed at the top of her lungs. He was dealing with a band of hanyos, and even with Inuyasha's and the taijiya's help combined, it would be a difficult battle. This struggle would be hers alone.
"He can't help you." Fan purred. His hand slipped inside her hakui, and clawed fingers teased her soft flesh, trailing to her breasts. "Cooperate, and I may be gentle."
The blood that had frozen in her veins reignited with a fiery heat, boiled by rage and indignation. "Like hell!" She gripped his arm with her hands and reached out to the spiritual power. This would end now.
Fan must have sensed what was coming and thrust his head forward until it connected with hers.
Another blow to the head, and she blacked out just for the moment, at least until the sharp sting of a slap brought her rudely back to consciousness. "No, little Miko, you will be present for the moment."
Kagome worked her jaw, barely grasping onto reality. The dark bastard had found a rudimentary method around her only defense. He wasn't afraid to use this method as much as necessary either, and why would he?
She needed to try anything to stop him until help would come. "Ses-Sesshomaru will kill you," she stuttered, doing her best to sound menacing despite the pain in her head. It was subsiding, but not as quickly as she could hope.
"He has had ample opportunity to try. Yet, here I am with you." She could see him now, in the dim light, his features wild with inhibition. What did he mean? Did Sesshomaru know this would happen?
"I can see you trying to work things out." He rubbed at his chin mockingly. "You've come to doubt yourself."
Kagome shook her head, "What? No!" There was no doubt, was there?
Fan laid in deeper, "Oh, yes. It is because of him that you are here now, with me, about to receive the greatest gift before you bestow the gesture upon me."
"I would never carry your child!" Kagome screamed.
Fan scoffed. He rolled his eyes and said slowly, "You've no choice in the matter. You could not kill an innocent child. Is that not part of your creed?" He paused, looking for the effect his words may have upon her, but Kagome was too frozen with pain and fear to give him the reaction he desired. "Besides, why would the ingrate Sesshomaru want a used, soiled bitch like you?"
His lips were soft but crushed against hers with some feverous intensity that made her nauseous. It was completely unexpected, her eyes going wide, and she could not push him away no matter how hard she tried.
Her teeth were her only weapon, and she bit down as hard as humanly possible, causing Fan to cry out and pull away. He did not strike her as she expected. His insidious laugh echoed through the small cavernous space. "Bitch. You have some gall, but I cannot be surprised by a yokai's pet. I had almost thought he'd tamed you."
"Tamed me?" The words tumbled out before she could catch them up.
Fan pulled her close to him again, and though she bodily resisted, she could not keep her distance. "Oh, yes. That shall be the pleasure I take. That of putting you in your place."