Chapter 3 Tit for Tat
The sounds of chaos could be heard throughout the estate. Inside Lord Naraku's suite, expensive pottery became piles of rubble and more and more statues began to lose their limbs. When the screaming rage finally subsided, the servant slowly crept out of his hiding place to stand behind his master and await his attention. After long moments of silence, Naraku finally felt his quiet presence. He waved the servant forward to give him instructions.
"I want you to find me the owner of Ichiban no Sakura, Nanano Han. Inform him, I want a... What is it?" Naraku asked, giving the servant an annoyed scowl at his motion of interruption.
"Forgive me master. But the owner of Ichiban no Sakura is awaiting your presence." That announcement caused the black eyebrows on Naraku's head to shoot up to his hairline. As the servant went to fetch the surprising visitor, he wondered why Nanano Han would seek to visit him. What could he want with me? Is it about the girl last night? It was only a small scratch. Ah, here he comes. I thought he would be a bit taller.'
"Welcome. To what do I owe this pleasure, Nanano-san?"
Han, after a brief bow, began to state his case. "Lord Naraku, as you know, you have used the services provided by the Ichiban no Sakura on frequent occasions. Last night was such an occasion. You required the services of Lady Kimiko. Though Ichiban no Sakura has a policy of any imaginable pleasure,' we also require that the customers not damage the goods." He then made another bow.
Naraku, obviously displeased at Han's mentioning of the previous evening, dismissed his claim offhandedly. "If this is about the minor damage to Lady Kimiko's face, then I have already compensated for it. The gold I left this morning should afford her many luxuries in the coming month."
"What you failed to realize, Lord Naraku, was that Lady Kimiko would never be able to work at the Ichiban no Sakura again. Her face is too scarred to do anything but scare little children from now on. No man would want her now! I want compensation for her. She may not be one of the most popular girls there, like your Lady Kikyo, but I still paid a pretty penny for her. I want compensations for your handling of her Lord Naraku."
Naraku, angry at the owner's impertinence, whispered, "Are you trying to threaten me, brothel owner? You seemed to have forgotten your place. Though the law does dictate that I compensate you for the damages I caused, what proof is there that you did not beat her after I left? One whisper from me to the emperor would shut your little place down forever. Or perhaps an accident suffered to the owner would better solve this problem. What do you think Nanano-san? It would be a pity for others to be denied the sweetness of your flowers should your establishment close or... accidentally burn down." Naraku almost purred at the last few words.
Han, frightened by the open threat in Naraku's words, could do nothing but cower. Unconcerned by the owner's blatant display of fear, Naraku went on with his negotiation. "Of course, I'm not an unreasonable man, Nanano-san. Lady Kimiko will be taken care of. But to pay off your debt to me, I request Lady Kikyo."
"What debt do I owe you, Lord Naraku?" Han timidly asked.
"The debt of the great dishonor you have done accusing me of damaging one of your girls. I will leave you to think this over, Nanano-san. You have until the full moon in five days. I'll send a messenger for your answer then." Naraku then dismissed the speechless owner of the brothel.
***
During Naraku's negotiation, a fight was breaking out between two brothers at another estate. Sesshomaru could not believe the stupidity of his little brother. He had seen the open display of hostility between Naraku and Inu-Yasha the night before and could barely believe his eyes. Normally, he would congratulate Inu-Yasha on his success annoying Naraku but this time the fight between them was over a woman. An emotion overcoming common sense was not something Sesshomaru could tolerate. He must be getting it from his mother. My mother never raised me to be an idiot.'
Inu-Yasha was becoming increasingly angry at his brother's accusations. Sesshomaru didn't understand anything. He was not in love with that girl. It had become his habit to sleep with Lady Kikyo every time he visited Ichiban no Sakura and the girl obviously didn't want to sleep with Naraku. He couldn't just let her go with someone she didn't want to be with. The fact that she had remained silent proved her dislike for the man. The Rat had no right to try to break our tradition and try to force himself on the girl! Besides,' Inu-Yasha thought furiously, didn't Sesshomaru say he was proud of me for annoying the hell out of Naraku?'
"Brother, dear. I am not saying you should stop provoking Naraku. In fact, I congratulate you on a job well done. But fighting with him over a woman is not the way to go about it. You said you weren't in love with her." Sesshomaru almost growled the last words showing that any emotion, besides contempt, would definitely bring on his displeasure.
"You bastard! You left before I could even say anything yesterday. Besides she didn't want to sleep with The Rat!" Inu-Yasha retorted back at his brother.
"If my hearing served me right, I'm sure you shouted your sentiments loud enough to be heard throughout palace." Sesshomaru almost sighed at his brother's lack of coherent thought. "Inu-Yasha, here is the truth about women like your Lady Kikyo: They cannot say no, they won't say noas long as the price is right. They are conniving and self-centered with greed in their eyes and ice in their hearts. They can raise you to the heights of pleasure but will tear you to pieces given the chance. That, my dear little half-brother, is what women like Lady Kikyo are really like."
Inu-Yasha, angry and confused about everything, bit out "I don't need you to mess with my life!" He stormed out of the house, randomly picking a direction, and left without a backward glance. He doesn't know what the relationship between Lady Kikyo and I is really like. I'm not in love with her or infatuated with her or any kind of shit with her. She's just a sleeping companion. It's comfortable to sleep next to her! Why the hell should I give her up?'
The sound of girls giggling interrupted Inu-Yasha's train of thought. It was a group of women on a shopping trip. Their seeming lack of concern or care drew Inu-Yasha's attention away from his furious thoughts. The hustle and bustle of the market place had not disturbed the women for their bodyguards stood in front and behind them to protect them from the crowd.
Most of the girls seemed excited to be at the market place, picking up the fabric and fans the venders had to offer, but a few seemed resigned to be there, as if they did not care one way or another. One of the girls in the latter group caught Inu-Yasha's eye.
Even among the disaffected girls, Lady Kikyo seemed separated and alone. Her hair was tied up with an indigo ribbon and her gray eyes coolly glanced at the wares but never looked back. Suddenly, something caught her attention and her eyes became alive with merriment. Two little girls with their mother walked pass the group. Lady Kikyo's eyes followed their movement as they walked down the street. Her open expression allowed the ghost of a nostalgic smile to grace her lips.
***
Her smile had made her seem real, human. Her eyes had seemed happy for the first time in his memory. Inu-Yasha could not get the image of Lady Kikyo's smile out of his mind as he walked into the doors of Ichiban no Sakura later that night. There was no prior celebration scheduled at the house for that night. He absentmindedly paid the odious owner for private dining accommodations with Lady Kikyo.
Instead of the usual room with a bed, this time, Lady Kikyo showed him to a suite. Serving girls set down a buffet at one corner of the room. Lady Kikyo bid Inu-Yasha to sit next to the table while she went to the buffet to select the dishes and set their places. They ate in silence the same as they did every time, but this time Inu-Yasha could not keep his eyes off of her as she performed her duties.
An overwhelming compulsion to see her smile again forced him to look at her face. Her gaze slid over him without any outward display of emotion. She served him sake like she had so many times before. Then she knelt down next to him, as she always did during the banquets. Everything was the same. Nothing had changed.
With an annoyed growl, Inu-Yasha seized her wrist in his hand and forced her to turn her body toward him. "Smile, why don't you smile?" He asked desperately. Lady Kikyo lifted her head up from her stare at the floor to give him a smile that had made men turn to jelly and filled them with lust. This was not the smile Inu-Yasha wanted. He wanted her to smile as he had seen her smile that afternoon. Frustrated beyond words, Inu-Yasha seized her other wrist and pulled her into a kiss.
Lady Kikyo, unprepared for this action, almost fought back against the hold and the kiss. But years of practice allowed her to melt into the kiss and to embrace him with passion. She expertly guided their bodies away from the table and toward the bedroom. Inu-Yasha had half a mind to stop her but a flick of her tongue stopped his protests.
Clothing was soon discarded across the floor as their bodies tumbled into the bed. There was no other source of illumination other than the candles placed around the room. Their shadow writhed with their lovemaking and flickered with the lights. Each stroke and caress brought Inu-Yasha closer to his climax. When his release finally came, he sprawled across Lady Kikyo's body.
"Kikyo," Inu-Yasha said reverently while he smoothed back her hair.
"Lady Kikyo." Lady Kikyo corrected softly.
Confused, Inu-Yasha raised his head above the pillow to look at his lover's face. "But isn't your name Kikyo? That's why you are called Lady Kikyo." Inu-Yasha was afraid he had said something to offend her when she didn't answer.
Finally, she said wistfully "Kikyo is not my name." That sparked Inu-Yasha's curiosity. He wondered what kind of name she had originally possessed. Several possibilities crossed his mind but none seemed to fit her. Finally fed up with his thoughts chasing each other, he asked her out-right for her real name.
Her answer surprised him. "The person I was before is dead. Lady Kikyo is now my name and who I am. She is me and I am her." With that, she turned her back to him and tried to drift off to sleep. A part of her warned her she was turning her back on a client. Words from her training ran through her mind, "Never turn your back to a client. Let them touch you. Only they can turn away from you." And up until now, she had never before broken from them—the secret to her success.
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Author's Note:
Hi everyone, thank you so much for reading this chapter! The trouble I had with the chapter is unbelieveable! First, I wasn't satified with the writting. Then I lost my disk! The only person in the entire world who had a copy was my friend Angela. She only had a hard copy and was beta reading the chapter for me. But finally, I'm done retyping the chapter. Thanks again to Angela and Rachel and all you great people who left reviews.
I hope this chapter answered some of your questions. I'm sure all of you by now know or at least suspect who 'Lady Kikyo' is. But alas, poor Lord Inu-Yasha is still in the dark. Keep on reading! The end is in sight. ^_^
If you guys have any questions about this chapter just drop a line in my email and I'll try my best to explain.
-love, Diana