{The Road Between Souls}
{chapter 2 - three years later}
Standard disclaimers apply here. Enjoy!!!
~~~
Kouga sat in a circle of youkai wolves, all of whom were discussing their mates and the satisfaction - or lack thereof - that each gave the men. Kouga was the one with the strongest physical mate, which was odd, since he was also the only one with a human mate.
There was only one problem, according to the rest of the tribe: she hadn't given birth to his pups yet. Kouga really didn't care, but humans aged a lot faster than youkai. If she didn't sire any children soon, her life would be over. Kouga didn't want to think of that for one reason: he loved her, which was very rare in a youkai, but facts are facts. She didn't love him, but Kouga didn't know that, and so contented himself with the idea that they were the perfect little couple.
So wasn't he surprised when Kagome came tearing in, her normally orderly yukata a mess, he hair blown all around. She smelled a little...different.
"Kouga-kun! Minna-san!" she cried out, skidding to a stop in the center of the circle.
"Eh? What happened, nee-san?" one of the youkai asked, plainly puzzled as to the source of her joy.
"Kouga-kun, I'm pregnant!" she squealed out. Kouga sat there dumbly for a minute, as creatures with lesser minds are wont to do, and then jumped up, pressed her tightly to him, kissing her a little roughly.
The men gathered around, whooping happily. The women, children, and wolves came forth, rejoicing at the news. Kagome was hoisted up, and a festival was planned.
In the midst of all this celebration, nobody noticed the 20-foot long snake that slithered in, snapping out and grabbing one of the young females.
"Yuki!" her mother cried out, dashing forth. Kouga set Kagome down quickly, yelling at her to go hide in the tree close to the mouth of the cave.
"I can fight!" she screamed back.
"Not now, not now," Kouga yelped. "Those bastards are slavers, and I'll be damned if I let them take my pregnant mate from me!" Sighing, Kagome took off at a run, heading for the tree. Kouga watched her for a few seconds, then spun on his heel, heading after the snakes.
She didn't say goodbye...he thought sullenly. Kouga was prone to jealousy, and wondered momentarily if the pups she now carried were really his. He shook himself, ridding the disturbing mental image from his mind. She was just upset that she couldn't fight. Yes. That was it...wasn't it...?
~~~
Kagome didn't know exactly how long she hid within the trunk of the tree, but she knew it wasn't long.
She had been there less than fifteen minutes when the snakelike youkai burst it open yanking her forward. Kagome decided abruptly that it was better to die fighting, and so she began. She knew, of course, that she was unarmed and they had all sorts of spears, kunai, katana, and bokken - though she wondered why they bothered with a wooden sword.
Realization came to her in a snap as the lizard-like commanding type with the bokken steeped forward, leering at her. Suddenly, the claw that was clutching the bokken swung around, soundly smacking the back of her head with it.
"Itai..." she whispered softly, before slumping to the ground in blissful unconsciousness. The bokken-youkai smirked.
"A fighter, ne, boys? I think Shuuraishi-sama'll pay a pretty penny for this beauty. That human woman of his likes these types of girls for her handmaidens."
"Why?" one of the dumber katana-youkai wondered aloud. A satisfying crack resounded as the leader smacked him much in the same manner he had Kagome.
"Because, nitwit, she feels sorry for the pretty little girls that are dragged off. She'll either give this one to her son, or keep her for herself. That's Shirobou." the leader's men noticed that the -sama that was added to the Western Lord's name was omitted from his mate's.
The slavers shrugged it off, regrouped, then headed to the palace in the Western lands.
~~~
As Kouga fought his way through a hoard of reptilian slave-hunter youkai, he found his eyes wandering. Abruptly, the youkai drew back, retreating at an alarming speed. As they ran from battle, Kouga noticed a scrap of slightly brownish green silk was on the ground...brownish green...that - that was the colour of Kagome's favorite yukata: the one she had been wearing as she had fled to a hiding place...
Kouga spun on his heel, his blood pounding fear through his veins, a million made-up scenarios flashing through his mind. Those bastards are slavers, and I'll be damned if I let them take my pregnant mate from me!
He'd said that, hadn't he...? Only a few short minutes before, but it had seemed like an eternity to him. An eternity of fighting, of bloodshed, of anger, of fury, of death. Kouga had never prayed, unlike his mate, who loved visiting the nearby human villages to dart into the temples for a quick prayer. Now, though, he sent a silent, wordless prayer to whatever god, goddess, or deity had ever existed...if only Kagome was alive and still hiding...please, please...
...Oh, gods, no. She wasn't there, and there were signs of a short struggle. Kouga felt a burning anger, hatred burning deep inside of his chest.
"We're leaving - NOW!" he roared. "Kagome has been taken, and we're gonna follow those bastard to the end of the fucking earth if we have to!!!!"
The tribe silently lined up, ready to go. A temporary nomadic life posed no problem for them, especially not to save the freedom - and, quite possibly - life of their beloved ne-chan.
~~~
When Kagome awoke, it was in a carriage, which in turn was outside, in a forest. She was in metal chains, in a line of young female youkai, all of whom seemed either angry, upset, or...asleep. No, she realized, peering closer at the sleeping girls, they had been clubbed to unconsciousness.
"What's going on?" she asked a girl who looked human, though a fairly powerful one.
"We're at the Nishi Oukyuu," she whispered back. "Meaning, they're going to sell us to Shuuraishi-sama and his mate or possibly one of his sons. Say, you don't look like a youkai...are you a human?"
"You don't look like a youkai, either." Kagome shot back.
"Shhhh...if they hear us talking, they'll probably beat us. I'm human; they got me because I'm from the taji-ya village. What's your story?"
"I was the mate of the youkai-wolf tribe's lead-"
"You mean sex slave."
"No, I mean mate. Kouga-kun cared for me," Kagome snapped, irritated.
"You sure...? Oh, by the way, I'm Sango."
"My name's Kagome," she replied, her anger fading away.
"Well, it's nice to know that I have a fellow friend in this hellhole." Sango grinned. "With any luck, we'll both be appointed to Shirobou-sama. She's really nice, from what I hear."
The carriage containing the slaves lurched forward suddenly, and Sango reached out, and clasped Kagome's hand. Kagome looked over at the brave taji-ya girl, and saw fear in her eyes; the fear of one who is doomed and they know it. Kagome remembered that look from her own face when Kouga had carried her off three years ago. She squeezed the Sango's hand, knowing all too well the feeling of damnation.
They came to a stop, and the bokken-lizard led them out, parading them down a silent hall, filled with grisly carcasses - the trophies of the Lord and his sons, no doubt. Finally, a huge door, with the kanji for West Palace written upon it in huge, elegant script, opened, and the slave-girls were lead into another hall, this one with other servants walking up and down the rows between tables. At the very far west of the room, a very regal-looking man sat, close to a quiet, docile-looking human, who was a stark contrast to the man's doggish ears and bright amber eyes. On the other sides of the table sat two other men. One was very beautiful, looking distinctly feminine. The other was considerably less girlish in appearance. He had not the pointed human-like ears that the girly man, but dog ears matching those of the regal youkai.
It was this younger dog-eared man that drew Kagome's attention. His eyes were just as amber as the elder dog-eared one, and his hair was every bit as silver as the girly one, but something...something oddly different about him compared to the others seated at the table. He didn't have the regal good looks of the oldest male, nor the feminine features of the other striped one, but there was a rough handsomeness to his face that made Kagome's heart flutter slightly.
"That's Shuuraishi-sama," Sango whispered, gesturing to the oldest man. The human woman is his mate Shirobou-sama, and that girly guy with the crescent moon is Shuuraishi-sama's son Sesshoumaru-sama, but by another woman, a youkai. The man in the red kimono is his and Shirobou-sama's son Inuyasha."
Kagome processed this information, noting that the younger son's name did not have the -sama on the end. Still, his hard, angry-seeming face did appear - to Kagome at least - to be far more handsome than that of his half-brother's.
The bokken-lizard stepped forward, giving a deep respectful bow.
"Good evening to you, my lord Shuuraishi-sama. We bring you many young girl slaves, just captured today, both human - though only the strongest ones - and beautiful, deadly youkai." With that, one of the kunai-snakes yanked the girl in front of the slave-line out of the carriage.
Sesshoumaru's bored-seeming face perked up slightly as the line of pretty young girls paraded in front of him.
"That one," he declared, pointing at a particularly well-figured youkai female, who smiled flirtatiously at him.
"Slut," Sango muttered under her breath, knowing full well by the perk of the girl's ears that she'd heard the remark.
Abruptly, Inuyasha stood, making the low table wobble slightly. "This is stupid," he said, rolling his eyes. "We have more than enough girl slaves, and that's all that's here. I have better things to do with my time - like master Tetsusaiga." he looked to Shuuraishi for permission, and with his father's curt nod, he strode briskly out of the room, his clawed hand resting on the tattered sword handle at his hip. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes briefly, then returned to examining the girls still in line.
Shirobou whispered something in her mate's ear. He called out, "The two human ones. That will be all then, Konton-ko." The bokken-lizard - who must have been Konton-ko - gave another deep bow in Shuuraishi's general direction. Straightening, he hissed something to his lackeys, who scrambled to unchain Sango, Kagome, and Sesshoumaru's youkai girl. Another slave came up, and at Shuuraishi's bow, ushered them off towards the east of the room, where there was a door Kagome hadn't yet noticed.
~~~
"This is the female servants' quarters. I'm Tsuraiuta," said the other youkai girl. "give me your names, please." Sango and Kagome introduced themselves, and the other new slave stepped forward, calmly stating that she was Yumeyari but just Yari would be preferred and when would they begin work?
Tsuraiuta chuckled. "So eager...hmph. You'll begin in three days. Shirobou-sama will chose who you serve. Yumeyari, you'll definitely be with Sesshoumaru-sama, but I don't know about you two...Sango and Kagome. I wish you luck. You'll spend the next two days training, this day will be spent resting and getting acquainted with the castle."
The door burst open, and a human male strode in, wearing the robes of a houshi. His right hand was wrapped in cloth, and sealed with a rosary. Kagome sensed both evil and holy energy radiating from it, though he seemed to be doing his best to keep it in - enough to fool a youkai, at least.
"Miroku-sama," Tsuraiuta said, disapprovingly. "This is the servants' quarters for girls. You can't stay here."
"Yes I can," he returned with a rather handsome grin. "You won't tell on me, will you?" Tsuraiuta growled, and cuffed him upside his head. He rubbed the sore spot gingerly, a sheepish smile on his face.
"Guess I'll go then...wait..." he paused, turning to address Yari, Kagome, and Sango. Suddenly, his hand shot out and grabbed one of Yari's well-developed breasts.
"Hentai!" Sango yelped out, pulling a huge boomerang out of nowhere, clubbing him soundly with it. Tsuraiuta shook her head pityingly.
"He does that all the time. It's a habit with him. You'll get used to it, I promise. Just don't hurt him again - or Shuuraishi-sama will get mad at you for hurting his mate's priest."
Kagome sighed, and slumped to the ground. "I'm going to sleep," she informed the rest of the group, yawning slightly. "Oyasumi, minna."
~~~
Phew! I hope you read the next chapter!
Ja ne!!!
-Katra Winner
