Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters.
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Chapter 9: Busted
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Sick. If a demon could get sick then this must be what it felt like: crawling, twisting, nauseating.
Sesshomaru entered his room and closed the door. The warmth from the blazing fire reached for him as he neared the hearth. Silently, he thanked the female servant. A large basin and a cloth had been set near the fire place.
Untying the belt to his robe, he let the garment slip to the floor. Slowly, he lowered to his knees.
The cloth was soft and the water, warm.
With great care, he rubbed the wet cloth against his skin while he stared into the flames.It had been his first time.
Witch.He hated her.
She had taken what should have been his to give to his life mate.His heated skin dried quickly before the flickering flames.
A hint of spice tickled his nose.The water had been scented.
It helped.
But her stench lingered in his mind and her ghostly touches whispered across his flesh.
His thoughts wandered; trying to escape this place, her smell, those ghosts.
While performing the simple motion of cleansing, he wished for the impossible: for those damn, degrading sensations to wash away as well.A faint knock sounded at the door.
So deep in the drifting evasion from reality, that his senses had failed in detecting the presense.Immediately, he assessed the identity of the individual.
The dog demon relaxed. It was only the servant.Without getting up, he looked to the door and answered. "Yes."
Lianna entered but as soon as her eyes fell on him, she looked away.
A pink hue tinted her young features.With her gaze locked to the floor, she spoke hesitantly. "I did not.... mean to ...... interrupt.
He did not speak, but returned his gaze to the burning flames and continued cleaning himself while staring into the fire.Directly, he heard the young servant girl scurry about the room. She opened the wardrobe and walked with quiet steps to his bed.
Before leaving the room, she spoke softly. "I will return in the morning to wake you. Mistress wants you to be ready for traveling."
He barely noticed the clink of the latch when the door closed. Sesshomaru laid the cloth by the basin of water and rose from the kneeled postion.
Walking over to the futon, he noticed the girl had set out some clothes for him. He dressed then sat upon his bed.
For a long time, he only starred out at nothing.
Gone, all of it:
his freedom.....stolen.his power... lost
his title... stripped,
his dignity... ravaged,
and his pride.... shattered.
His soul had been emptied of everything.
All that he was, he could feel slipping away into a darkness he may never resurface from.
He was drowning.
His spirit was dying.----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sesshomaru sat on the chair, gazing at the glowing embers amongst the ashes.
The sun had not risen yet and he had awakened long before Lianna entered the room.She carried a covered tray over to the small bedside table and did not look at him. "I have come early. I made you some breakfast. You may want to eat before you leave. Mistress does not need to eat. She may not let you hunt while you travel."
With that, she bowed once and left the room.
He rose and inspected the meal, finding it quite close to his tastes.After eating, the dog demon set about the task of readying himself for the journey. He had dressed the night before; and now he attached his weapons to his belt. The kimono was good for travel. But he refrained from wearing his breast plate. If perchance they came upon a powerful rogue demon, he may have the good fortune of being removed from this plane of existence, thus escaping from this nightmare. And escaping from her.
Just as he had fininshed the preparations, his hackles rose.
He shuddered once then regained his composure before the door opened.Her cloaked form stood in the doorway. The woman's sultry voice sounded from beneath the hood. "Come, my youkai slave. I have much to do and I wish for you to follow me. Let us depart."
He took one step forward but stopped when she held her hand up.
A sickenly sweet smile played on her rose red lips. "Oh, and another thing. I want you to kneel before me from now on and I want you to call me Mistress, preferrably over Master."
Swallowing hard, he did as instructed and fell on his knees before her, keeping his eyes on the floor. "Mistress."
With a derisive laugh, she ran her fingers through his hair. "My, my, you are such a good boy."
He could not help but grit his teeth as her long nails scraped his scalp.
She bent down and her hot breath prickled his ear. "You learn well, we will have much fun, my pet."With that, she raised up. "Rise. It is time we leave."
He stood up and fell in behind his new Mistress.They left the stone, cottage like dwelling, and walked out into the early morning air which hung heavy with daybreaking mist.
Onward they trekked: through the thick trees, beyond oozing marshes and into a dark and dreary forested land. Along the way, he stole quick glances at the sun and surroundings, inwardly trying to determine what lands they tread upon.
Soon they came to another clearing. This one too, much the same as the others had been. And in the center, rested an iron like cage.
They neared the trap and he heard scuffling as if someone raising to their feet. He honed his sharp senses in order to find out just who or what had been unwittingly trapped this time.
A faint odor of electrical youkai energy lingered in the air a little ways from their location, leading up to the snare. He guessed the victim to be an elemental demon, probably lightening. A rough voice boomed from the trap. "Who dares to cage me! I will kill the wretched piece of dung that has dared to ensnare one of the Thunder Brothers!"
They neared the bars. Yes, it was an elemental demon. A grotesque creature which resembled a large fish like animal. And by the looks of him he had been there awhile. He could tell by the shallow, gaunt features his entrapment had lasted at least one moons cycle. His Mistress stopped several paces away from the front of the trap, close to a fallen log.
The elemantal demon stretched one arm through the bars and shouted. "Who are you?! Why not come closer so I can greet you properly?! Perhaps you be the ones who think that they can hold me...Monten.. one of the Thunder Brothers and bringer of most painful deaths?!"
He patiently waited next to his Mistress as she produced the box which reaped demon souls.
The thunder demon grabbed the bars and sneered. "What is this I see? A mutt and a human?" His laughter boomed. "I will blast you into the next world for this. Release me!"
It did not take long. The invading mist found it's prey and attacked. Iron like walls fell and vanished. Only a husk remained. Just as they turned to leave, the hollow shell began to crumble, scattering like dust in the slight breeze.
As the days wore on, the same scene played itself over and over again. Within three days: two wolf, six spider, one bear, ten crow, and one swan youkai met their end.
Wiping the blood from his hand, he sighed. She had made him kill the swan youkai. It's snow white feathered beauty would never grace water ever again.
He looked up to the sky as they continued on. Dark clouds loomed in the evening sky. As they approached a somewhat mountainous terrain, little sprinkles began to fall.
Pointing to a rocky hillside, his Mistress gave him an order. "Carry me to that cave. We will stay there tonight."
He did as ordered. After setting his Mistress on her feet, he waited. The dark cavern smelled like old earth but at least it was dry.
She turned to him and removed her hood. With an amused smile, his Mistress nudged his chest. "Sit down, my pet."
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Morning did not arrive quick enough and it found him sitting on the cold earth, resting his forehead on his knees.It had rained some during the twilight, but he had hardly noticed.
Memories of last night tormented him in dawns light.....making him shiver with a pain he had not known existed.
In this cave...... she had made him.....do things.......and she had.......she had.... ....twisted......what she did.......
His Mistress's voice, near the back of the cavern, whispered an order. "Go to the stream nearby, clean up, hunt, find your nourishment, then return before midday."Sesshomaru rose on shaky legs then left the cave.
Finding the stream, he hurried to the grassy edge and fell to his knees. Immediately, he cupped the cool water in his clawed hands.But he did not drink at first. Several times, he filled his mouth with water only to spit it out again. He desperately needed to remove that disgusting, nauseating taste from his tongue.
He gagged once as bile gurgled up into his throat. Then he vomited. The yellowish spew floated downstream.
After purging, he began to drink freely to satiate the thirst which had followed the vile retching.
The restraint gave a warning jolt. Quickly, he removed his clothes and slid into the water. As the coldness swept over his skin, the inu youkai waded for a while and looked up to the blue, cloudless sky.
He closed his eyes and let the water soothe some of the sickness away. Not knowing how much time he had, Sesshomaru cleaned up then climbed out of the flowing torent.
Shaking the wetness from his hair, he walked over to his garments.He dressed.
For a moment, he stood still, listening to the wilderness around him and sniffing the air for possible quarry.
Jumping up into a tree, he reached out with all senses.
Presently, the distant scent of a male stag whispered on the wind.Without hesitation, he sprang from the large branch to begin the hunt.
The kill had been clean, one slice to the throat.
Relishing in the rendering of flesh, Sesshomaru tore into his prey and ate till satisfied.Licking the blood from his lips and claws, he left the half eaten carcass behind and headed for the stream.
While running to the water, he looked up.
The sun had nearly risen to the apex of the sky.He must return soon.
Crouching by the rippling water, he proceeded to clean the remaining blood from his skin. Something rustled in the bushes on the other side of the stream.He did not move.
It was a youkai.
A powerful one.Silently, he stood and waited.
Directly, the undergrowth parted.A demon emerged. Eyes alight with static fire glared at him. "Who may you be?"
This was his chance. Sesshomaru growled at the male youkai.
With a flip of his long black braid, the demon laughed. "You wish to fight?"He growled louder and flexed his claws.
An electric current flashed from the forked staff the elemental demon carried. "Then you wish to die!"
Closing his eyes, the dog demon waited for his end; but it did not come.
Upon opening his eyes, he found the youkai hovering before him in mid air.The demon seemed bewildered, looking around as if he sensed something.
He sighed when he sensed the same thing. "Damn it."His Mistress walked up behind him.
The youkai hovered backwards, away from them both.In a soft, silky tone, she addressed the youkai. "May I ask, why you decided to attack one of my servants?"
The thunder demon gave no reply and stared in confusion at his Mistress who now stood beside him.
With a laugh, she raised her hand. "I think you had better leave now, youkai."
The puzzlement in the youkai's eyes turned into a spark of fear.
In a flash of light, the elemental demon vanished in retreat.
Without looking at him, she walked into the shadows of the forest. "Come."
The day wore on as they traveled through the dense wood.Soon, they came to a large, open, green field.
His Mistress stopped at the edge of the great expanse of grass.Faint laughter tinkled in the distance.
Tilting his head, he centered on the sound. Straining to see, Sesshomaru gazed at the swaying reeds.Directly, his sights fell on the sporadic movement beneath the wavering weeds.
Not to far from them, a small youkai ran out from the tall grass.
The young tyke was giggling with merryment.
Sesshomaru blinked.
No.
He clenched his fists tight to stop the tremors.
No.
The child fox youkai stopped and turned his head in their direction.No.
He tried to hide his rising panic.
The wind began to blow about them.Please No.
His Mistress turned to him and smiled wickedly. "I wonder. Can you tell me why that little fox youkai is still alive?" The pounding of his heart coupled with his quickened breathing."I......."
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Ras here. It seems Sess is in some big trouble! Hope all who read were entertained. Please review!Review responses:
jbramx2: Thank you for your compliments. I had been wanting to use her for a long time. She is quite a character. And I am enjoying developing her. ^_^.
Queen of Hyper Psychos: Ebay? Really? OH now I got to check that out! Thanx!
Akida: Ah Akida, Shi'an is male. And you will soon find out just what he is or get a very good idea.
Sake Girl Duelist: SGD? do you have a whole arsenal in there somewhere? lol.fan of story: Yes will we see more of the servant girl soon. And her character will be part of the small plot I have going here. Ras. ^_^
taskinLUDE: Shi'an will be explained later. He is not a mystery to me but to Sess he is. You will have to see about Lianna. All I will say is that she is vital to this story. Ras. ^_^
inuficcrzy: Well I can't really say about Shi'an or Lianna. They both tie into my little plot here. And both are vital characters. By the end of this story you will know a good bit about them. Ras. ^_^magic shield: I made a promise? oOpps don't remember. eeps.
Lil' Chi Chi: Oh yes, mental torture comming up. Yes, she is slowly breaking him. Ah, yes, Lianna and Shi'an are my secretive characters which have to be revealed as chapters go by. Thanx for the cookies and cream! Ras.
Thanx to all others who reviewed. And thanx for the uplifting comments about the lemon. Ras. ^_^
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