(A/N: Right after I finished writing chapter three I got to work on chapter four. I hope I haven't made you guys wait too long.)
Chapter 4: Smile for me?
After Sango had gone, Kagome was left alone in Inuyasha's large bedroom. Once the light had been allowed to shine through the large curtains draped over the windows it didn't look as gloomy as it had before, but standing in the middle of it gave her stomach a sinking feeling. The room was cold and she was still a little wet from her bath. She hadn't put on her old clothes after she had finished washing up because they were still dirty but what else could she wear?
She frowned a little and glanced around the room. Her gaze fell a large wooden dresser in the far left corner. She made her way over and stopped to admire the beauty of it for a moment. It looked expensive and the artwork it had carved into its surface was simply amazing. Whoever had done it was truly talented.
What am I doing? I need to get some clothes on before someone comes into the room. Kagome thought. She wrapped the towel tighter around her body so it wouldn't fall off while she was busy looking for something to wear in the dresser. She opened the first drawer and found stacks of red silk shirts with golden patterns around the front breast pocket. Kagome took one up into her hands and relished the feeling of the silk against her fingertips.
Kagome turned and held the shirt up against her breast. It was rather large but she could wear it as a nightgown. Quickly she tossed the towel aside and scrambled to pull the shirt over her head.
Just then the door to the door flung open, startling Kagome. She had barely enough time to pull the shirt down over her exposed body before a lovely female youkai came striding through the doorway. She had long, flowing silver hair that swept down to her feet. Her eyes were the same color as Inuyasha's but they had a tint of green to them and they possessed a ferociousness that Inuyasha's did not have. Kagome tore her eyes away from the female youkai and glanced around the room in panic. Should she hide? Should she stay put? She didn't know…but she didn't have enough time to make a choice. Before she knew it the female youkai was standing in front of her, gazing down at her with mild interest. "I thought I smelt an unfamiliar stench in the air. Who are you?" she demanded firmly.
Kagome just stood there and stared blankly ahead of her, unsure of what to do or say. This only made the woman angry. "I'm talking to you, human."
Kagome blinked in surprise, finally mustering up enough of her nerve to speak. "I-I'm Inuyasha's slave. I was brought here last night…" she said softly. She hated saying the word 'slave' but she saw no other way out of this then to tell this youkai why she was here in the first place. The woman frowned and appeared to be looking Kagome over, saying nothing for quite some time.
"Hmph, and here I thought Inuyasha would never get a slave…" she said, but mostly to herself. "Very well then, I will not punish you for being insolent, human. But I will warn you not to be so rude to me in the future. You may be Inuyasha's slave but I have the authority to do whatever I see fit with you." Kagome nodded despite herself. This woman was frightening and from the way she looked and spoke she must have a very high rank in Inuyasha's family, but who she was exactly Kagome had no idea…
"I am Shouri Ouji, but you will only call me 'mistress.' Understand?"
Kagome nodded again, saying not a word.
"Good. Now, I assume Inuyasha has already taken you to receive a tracking chip---"
"A 'tracking chip' what is that?" Kagome asked. Shouri stared at her a moment then her frown deepened. "Just as I thought. That boy can never do what is required of him. Fine then, we'll just have to install it right here and now."
Shouri reached out and grabbed Kagome by the arm, making no moves to hold back any of her demonic strength. Kagome bit her lip until it bled in order not to cry out in pain as she was tugged down the many magnificent corridors of the Ouji mansion. Finally, they reached a large door down a dimly lit hallway and with merely a wave of Shouri's delicate, pale hand the doors opened and allowed the two of them to pass through. Inside was a room similar to Inuyasha's though this one seemed to stand out far more. Seeing Kagome's wide-eyed expression a small smile appeared on Shouri's red lips. "This is my room. And as you can see I insist on having only the best for my quarters."
Shouri's smile suddenly disappeared as quick as it had come and Kagome found herself being thrown onto the cold floor. "Don't move." She ordered. "Jaken should be here soon…" She had called the bumbling fool using telepathy and he was always quick to answer the family's calls.
And sure enough Jaken did come moment later, scrambling through the door with something clutched into one of his claw-like hands. "Mistress! Mistress!" he said over and over until he was right beside her, huffing and puffing from loss of breath. "I have retrieved what you asked for." He said and opened his hand, revealing a small computer chip.
Shouri nodded then motioned to where Kagome was on the floor. "Apparently Inuyasha has forgotten to equip his new slave with a tracking chip…and we simply can't have that now can we?" she began. Jaken shook his head in disbelief, being as overly dramatic as he could. "T-that boy has no respect for authority whatsoever! Son or no son, I think Ouji-sama should have disowned the boy long ago!" he muttered. "So, what do you wish to do, mistress?"
"What do you think? The chip needs to be put inside the human as soon as possible so I want you to do it." Shouri snapped, causing Jaken to shrink away. "Y-yes, mistress…" he nodded then turned to approach Kagome.
No way! There is so way I'm letting that thing touch me and I'm not having some chip put inside me! Kagome thought and as Jaken laid a hand on the girl's shoulder she began to scream at the top of her lungs. Jaken immediately covered his ears, as did Shouri. Her ears were especially sensitive to loud noises and as Kagome continued to scream it only made her anger grow. She cursed and stormed out into the hallway where two female servants were standing, wide-eyed wondering what was going on. She glared at them and screamed: "You two. Into my chambers, now."
They quickly did as they were told and Shouri followed after them. After she was once again in the room she looked at the two girls. "Hold her down." They looked at each other, at Kagome then at their mistress. "What are you waiting for, you fools. Do as I say!" she snapped.
The two girls frowned and got on their knees, reluctantly grabbing a hold of Kagome's arms and legs, holding her still on her stomach with their own body weight. Kagome groaned, gasping for air and then began to cry. She cursed and tried to kick away the two girls. "Let go! Get off of me!" she yelled but it was no use. They would no budge.
I don't want to be here! This is a dream! It has to be a dream…a bad dream…
Kagome clenched her eyes shut, afraid to open them. She didn't want to see what was going to happen next. She was too frightened.
She could hear the sound of fabric tearing and she could feel a sort of pressure on her hip. What was going on she didn't exactly know but she had a pretty good idea…
"What are you waiting for, idiot? Make a wound and then deposit the chip." She could hear Shouri hiss. "Y-y-yes mistress." She could hear Jaken stutter.
There was a silence for what seemed to last for ages, the only thing that could be heard was Kagome's cries and whimpers, begging them to stop and let her go. Why couldn't it be over already? And where was Inuyasha?
Inuyasha! Help me!
Suddenly there came a crash and another voice, one she recognized and was relieved to hear. "What the hell is going on here?!" Inuyasha.
Kagome instantly felt the pressure holding her body down being lifted and when she opened her eyes she saw the two servant girls on their knees a little ways away from her, in tears. Suddenly Kagome realized that they were only doing as they had been told. Like Sango she could imagine these two young girls were working to keep their families stay alive.
"Are you all right?"
Kagome turned her head and saw Inuyasha kneeling down beside her. There was no look of concern on his face but his eyes told a different story. They had changed somehow. They were no longer hard and cold like they had been before. "Yes…" she said finally, but she barely heard herself. Her voice was hoarse from crying and screaming. "Don't give me that shit, you're bleeding. What did she do to you?" he demanded, but he didn't sound angry with her.
Kagome looked at him in surprise and glanced down at her hip, which was cut and bleeding a little. Was that the pressure she had felt? She wondered.
"I did nothing to your precious slave." Shouri stated, finally choosing to speak. "I merely observed that she didn't have a tracking chip on her yet so I decided to make sure she got one."
Inuyasha glared up at the female youkai. "You had no right to---"
"Hah! You might want to think so but the truth is I have as much say if not more so then you do, Hanyou. So I suggest you not get in my way or would you rather have the girl killed?" Shouri grinned in mock satisfaction when Inuyasha made no move to argue further with her. Instead he gathered Kagome up into his arms and left the room.
. . . .
Inuyasha had headed straight back to his room with Kagome and once inside he slammed the door shut then locked it behind him. He had had enough. It was bad enough that his 'family' was constantly invading his privacy and space and talking down to him as if he were dirt but this…Shouri had gone too far! If he had known that this was going to happen he would have never left in the first place. He had let his anger get the best of him again. Inuyasha knew he had a problem controlling his temper but he was far too proud to admit it to anyone.
He turned and set Kagome down onto the bed as gently as he could without hurting her then he knelt down to inspect her wound. He paused a moment before touching her, expecting the girl to start to struggle or scream like she had just moments ago but Kagome made no move to stop him.
"Does it hurt?" he asked.
Kagome shook her head. "No."
Inuyasha nodded and stood to his feet again. "Damn that woman. She always sticks her nose were it doesn't belong…" he grumbled as he walked over to a tall cupboard and pull out a small first aid kit then made his way over to the bed, taking a seat next to Kagome.
"Who was that woman?" Kagome asked, hoping that Inuyasha wouldn't get angry with her again for asking questions. To her relief he seemed more relaxed then he had before and he replied: "she's my stepmother."
"What?" Kagome blinked, not bothering to hide her surprise. She remembered years ago that Inuyasha's parents had been happily married. Inuyasha's mother was one of the only people who actually understood him and loved him for who and what he was. Kagome's mother had said many times to her before when she was younger that the compassion Inuyasha's mother had displayed for her son was simply out of pity or just it was just an act but Kagome had always disagreed with her mother. Inuyasha's mother had been a kind, gentle and loving woman not to mention beautiful. She couldn't imagine why Inuyasha's father would separate from her unless…
Had something happened to her?
Inuyasha seemed to ignore the curious look on her face and went on bandaging her wound. After he was done he put the first aid kit away and fished something else out of the cabinet and tossed it into Kagome's hands. It was some sort of choker…
"What is this for?" she asked, holding it up into the light.
Inuyasha made a face. "It's to prove you belong to me. I refuse to get that chip and put it into you so you'll have to wear this instead." He said. "I'm not worried about you running away anyway…if you do happen to run I can find you without some damn chip." He scoffed.
Kagome stared down at the choker with a small frown. So, this is the label of my slavery, huh? She thought. She didn't like the thought of being thought of as Inuyasha's property but at least the chocker was better then getting cut open and having a chip put into her body. She sighed and put it on without any complaints.
A brown bag was tossed into her lap moments later and Inuyasha began to bark at her: "I bought you some new clothes. Put them on. We're going out."
"Where?"
"To school. You're coming with me."
To be continued…or not… =p
(Ehehe, yikes. I bet going to school with Inuyasha is going to cause trouble. The insanity shall resume once I get high on caffeine again! YAY! XD
Anyway, please review! Reviews are nice! Let me know what you think! ^___^)
