DISCLAIMER: As always, I don't own the original story of the Inuyasha series nor do I own the characters and I don't own the Chinese fairytale that I'm basing this story on. But as far as I'm concerned I do own the idea of mixing these two things together :).
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hey everybody. I haven't exceeded the 10days-limit as I have promised so don't
sue me!!
Anyhow, I'm afraid I cannot update until the 2nd of July. My sister has planned a barbeque-party on the 26th and my tests are taking place on the 28th and 29th of July...so...you see the problem? Not to mention that I have a pretty important deadline on the 2nd of July. I can't combine fanfiction and studying when the tests and deadline is right after the bbq-party. So for the sake of having fun on the day of the bbq-party, I'm studying very hard in advance.
In short, the next chapter won't be posted before the 2nd of July, I'm terribly sorry about that. But I still do hope you would enjoy reading this chapter :).
'...Italic...': thoughts
-- --: locations
"...": spoken words
-.-.-.-.-: time gap
=capslocked words=: noises
-by Kittymui-
Cruel Reality
Previously:
He silently watched how the girl breathed in and out heavily through her dry
mouth, as if she was still fighting for her own existence.
Slowly and carefully, and without giving it much thought, the demon lord placed
his right hand around her right shoulder and gently turned her over, placing
her onto his left arm.
After he'd made sure that his arm wasn't touching the critical injury on her
back, he slipped his right arm underneath her knees and slowly lifted her up
from the grass as he stood up again.
Ignoring the loud screeching of the vultures above, Sesshoumaru turned to leave.
Taking the girl, who had become unconscious, with him in his arms.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
[DREAM SEQUENCE]
"It's this way, hurry!" the man said as he quickly continued his way through the forest.
"I'm right behind you!" Kagome responded as she kept up with his pace without much difficulty.
Suddenly, the both of them ran into a deep darkness and everything around them disappeared.
The man stopped abruptly and turned around to Kagome.
"W-what's wrong?" Kagome asked in pants, noticing the sudden change of expression on his face. He seemed to be smirking. "Took you long enough, onii-san." She heard him say.
Before she could even turn around to look, two strong arms already captured her around her wrists from behind.
"Gotcha!" an unfamiliar rough male's voice spoke.
"This is her, onii-san! We can pay off all our debts if we use her!" the man in front of Kagome laughed.
At that moment, Kagome finally realized what situation she had gotten herself into. "L-let me go!! H-help!!" she cried and began to struggle for her life.
Suddenly the hands that were holding her wrists turned into iron chains. When Kagome tried to move her feet, she found them to be chained as well.
In a flash, the two men stood before her again.
The middle-aged man with short curly brown hair and dark-brown eyes stood next to another one who appeared to be the 'onii-san' he mentioned. The other man had the same hair but darker eyes; he was dressed in a white sleeveless tunic instead of a brown one.
"W-what do you want with me? P-please...let me go..." she pleaded.
The younger brother stepped closer to her. "If you make your wings appear again, we promise we'll let you go," he said.
"Y-you promise...?" she asked with an unsure voice. Little did she notice that the older of the two had walked to stand behind her.
"If I sprout my wings once...would you really let me go?" she asked again.
The man in front of her nodded. "Of course we would!"
Kagome thought to herself for a moment. 'I guess...it wouldn't hurt to show them...besides...I'll be able to go home again once I do...'
After deciding, she slowly stretched out her arms and closed her eyes. After taking a deep breath, she pulled her hands to her chest in one swift motion.
When she felt her wings on her back, she was immediately greeted with two loud gasps. But when she opened her eyes again, she realized that both men weren't standing in front of her anymore but behind her.
'...Eh?' she thought alarmed when she heard them laugh.
Just when she was about to retract her white wings again, two strong arms got hold of them.
"Oh no you don't!" one of them spoke. It was the older of the two.
"W-what are you doing?! You promised you would let me go once I've shown you my wings!!" Kagome reasoned panicked.
"Oh we will let you go...AFTER we've done this..." the younger one replied.
Kagome froze when she heard the sound of something leaving its leather sheath and turned her head to its side to look over her shoulder. Her eyes widened when she saw a long edged shimmering iron blade in the younger brother's right-hand. "N-no..." she gasped with a terrified look on her face.
The man raised the blade up to the air with both his hands on its hilt. "Hold her tight, onii-san!" he said to the other man who stood outside of Kagome's vision.
Kagome struggled once again when she felt the grip on her wings tighten. 'No...this can't be happening!! I don't want this!! I want to go h' Her train of thoughts crashed when the sound of the swishing blade filled the darkness.
And the next things she knew was experiencing a tremendous tormenting pain that even death could not overcome. It was as though her back was being ripped apart.
[END DREAM SEQUENCE]
"NO-O-O-O-O!!!!!!" she screamed with a hoarse voice as she shot up from her lying position.
Round drops of sweat rolled down her forehead as she panted heavily with her face down and eyes wide.
'I-it...it was a dream...?' she thought, as she looked at her trembling hands that were clasping the white covers of the bed she found herself to be in.
She slowly raised her gaze and scanned her surroundings. It was a dark room with some furniture standing here and there.
'Where am I...? Am I...still dreaming...?' she wondered puzzled.
She slowly released her grip on the covers and hesitated before stretching out her arms. 'Please...I must be dreaming...let it al be a dream...please...let me wake up in my own warm bed...in Celes...'she pleaded inwardly with all her might and closed her eyes.
In one swift motion, Kagome pulled her hands to her chest. She immediately gasped aloud and regretted trying as the moment her hands touched her chest, a surge of tormenting pain shot through her entire back.
Her hands started to tremble even worse as they slowly parted from her chest. "N-no..." she panted as tears stung her eyes.
Unable to accept the cruel reality, she stretched out her arms once again.
Just when she was about to pull her hands to her chest again, a firm voice stopped her.
"It's no use, so stop trying."
Kagome quickly turned to where it came from and stopped when she noticed a silhouette in the now open doorway in front of her.
It was too dark to distinguish any features, but from the pitch of the voice, she knew it had to be a man.
"Who" she asked but was cut off before she could finish.
"Rest, you'll need it." he spoke again and left the bedroom before Kagome could even say or ask anything else.
After the sound of the door closing, Kagome dropped her face. She knew the man was right. It's no use trying again...everything that she had experienced in her dream was reality and there's no use denying it.
Her wings had been torn off. She had lost her ability to go home...forever. And she had got no one to blame but herself.
Suddenly yet silently, she bursts into tears as she slowly lied down on her side on soft mattress. 'I shouldn't have doubted mother's warning...I shouldn't have left the group...I-I...I shouldn't have trusted them...those...Earthlings...' she blamed herself inwardly. 'I...want to go home...mother...Kikyou onee-sama... please take me home...'
-.-.-.-.-
"Rest, you'll need it," were his only words before he exited the chamber.
He knew the girl had started to cry the moment he closed the doors behind him as he caught the salty scent in the air. But he would not waste any more time on the girl.
Ever since he had brought her to the castle, the nights have become quite unquiet. With his excellent sense of hearing, he would even be able to hear her moaning if she was locked up in another keep.
Why he went to check the girl out instead of letting a servant do it was even a mystery to the demon lord himself. Although he had to admit that he felt less annoyed when he found out that the girl had awaken from her seemingly endless slumber, he would certainly make sure it would never happen again.
With that thought pinned down onto his memory, he walked away from the chamber and down the hall.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Kagome woke up the next morning with the sun shining on her face through the large rectangular windows.
'I fell asleep...' she thought as she slowly pushed herself to a sitting position.
She squeezed her eyes shit and bit her lower lip when she felt the pain coming from her back. 'Face the reality Kagome...there's no denying it now...' the voice in her mind told her and she slowly opened her eyes again.
She didn't notice it last night since it was too dark, but now she realized she wasn't wearing her own outfit.
Instead of her silver-blue Greek one, she was now dressed in a simple white outfit that resembled a nightdress. It had long sleeves and a small V-shaped neckline with a simple collar. Beneath the soft fabric, she saw that her entire chest was wrapped up with white bandage.
Kagome quickly held the covers against her chest when she remembered she was covered in blood before. She was taken by surprise when a voice broke her thoughts.
"You don't have to make such a horrified face, I was the one cleaning your body and changing your clothes."
Kagome looked up and followed the voice, only to find a girl standing in the open doorway of the chamber.
She was holding an iron tray in her hands. Yet from her appearance, she didn't look like a servant at all. She was wearing a fresh orange outfit with long sleeves and tiny white flowers embroidered on it. It was a garment Kagome had never seen before.
The girl, who seemed to be older than Kagome herself, had brown eyes and long black hair tied into two thick braids that were resting on each of her shoulders.
Kagome quickly scooted backwards on the bed when she saw that the girl was walking closer to the bed. She winced with her teeth on her lower lip when she felt the pain in her back again.
"Be careful! You might open up your wounds again!" the girl with the tray spoke hastily.
But Kagome only gave her a wary look. 'The nicer they look...the more ugly they are within...' she warned herself in her mind. 'Except...for him...' she added, slightly being able to recall a certain man saving her life.
The girl smiled. "You don't have to trust me, but you can't fight your own stomach...can you?"
Kagome dropped her gaze and put a hand on her belly. She hated to admit it but she was indeed starting to get hungry. But before she could make a decision, the girl already decided for her as she put the tray on the dark-brown nightstand next to the bed.
"I'll come back later to retrieve it," she said before turning to leave.
Kagome watched her close the door behind her and finally dropped the wary expression on her face.
Her attention was soon drawn by the fine smell of bread and she turned to the tray beside her. Water filled her mouth when she saw a piece of warm bread on a white plate, accompanied by a glass filled with liquid at the corner of the tray.
'If you don't eat...you will die...' the voice in her head warned her.
'If it's poisoned...I will die sooner...' she snorted back.
'Then you'll die either way. Why not die with a filled stomach then?' it reasoned.
After pondering on the words for several minutes, Kagome finally gave in and stretched out her hand to pick up the bread.
Reluctantly, she tore a small piece and put it in her mouth.
After she had made sure it wasn't poisonous, she started to chew faster and quickly took a bit before she even swallowed the previous piece.
Within minutes, she finished up everything. Without hesitating, she reached out for the glass on the tray and drank its content, which appeared to be water.
It was that moment; Kagome had started to study her surroundings.
She found herself sitting on a large wooden bed with white sheets and covers. It was located in a quite big chamber with gray walls of stone and a floor made of wooden boards. A wardrobe could be seen next to the doors from across her and a long mirror was standing beside it. Together with the nightstand, they were all made of the darkest wood she had ever seen.
The last furniture in the room, which stood not too far away from the bedside, however, amazed her the most. It appeared to be a chair. But it was covered with a thick burgundy material that looked extremely soft.
Unable to suppress her curiosity, Kagome slowly crawled her way to the chair and without leaving the bed; she stretched out her arm to touch it.
'It's soft...' she thought as she caressed the thick arm of the chair. 'I wonder how it feels to be sitting on it...'
"It's called a divan," a voice suddenly spoke from the doorway.
Kagome immediately retracted her hand as if she had burned it and turned to the voice. It was that girl again.
Slightly ashamed of her curiosity, Kagome scooted back to where she was sitting a moment ago. But she realized that the girl was actually more focused on the now empty tray than her.
"I'm glad you gave up fighting with your own stomach," she smiled as she made her way to the nightstand.
She picked up the tray and turned to Kagome. "By the way, sorry fro not introducing myself earlier. I'm Rin. What's your name?" she asked. "I suppose you do have a name, do you not?"
But Kagome only responded with a wary expression on her face. 'Is she to be trusted...?' she pondered inwardly.
With a sigh, the girl named Rin gave up the staring-competition and started to leave.
Just when she was about to reach the doors, Kagome opened her mouth. "Where..."
The girl quickly turned around. "Hm?"
"Where am I...? Where...is this place...and why...am I not...dead...?" Kagome asked hesitatingly.
"You're in the castle owned by Sesshoumaru-sama, the great lord of the Western Lands," Rin began. "You arrived here a couple of days ago. You were in very bad shape, since you lost a lot of blood. I guess you were lucky to have encountered Sesshoumaru-sama."
Kagome raised an invisible brow. 'Sesshou...maru-sama...? Is that...the one who was here before...?' she thought to herself, recalling the silhouette at the doorway last night.
Just when she thought about another question, the girl drew her attention again. "You better get some rest, since you are still very weak of the loss of blood. I will come back later to change the bandage," she said and turned around to leave with the empty tray in her hands.
Kagome carefully settled herself under the covers again after the sound of the door closing. She had to admit that the girl was right, as she felt indeed very weak to even remain in the sitting position for too long.
'Sesshoumaru-sama...' she thought as her eyes drifted towards to the blue sky beyond the glass outside. 'Why...did he save me...?'
-.-.-.-.-.-
=KNOCK KNOCK=
After receiving no reply, Rin opened the door to the balcony.
Just as she had expected, Sesshoumaru was indeed standing on his balcony and gazing at the horizon under the clear blue sky.
"Sesshoumaru-sama," she greeted him with a polite bow.
"She had finished the food I brought her and she should be resting right now," she explained on her own initiative.
A moment of silence passed before she dared to ask the question that had been haunting her the moment she saw the in blood covered unconscious girl on Sesshoumaru's arms when he returned from his patrol.
"Why...did Sesshoumaru-sama save the girl...?"
Needless to say, the demon lord didn't answer her question and remained silent.
"I see..." Rin said sounding disappointed. "I'll go and pick some flowers for the castle." With that, she turned to leave.
"Rin," his low voice suddenly halted her, but after calling her name he did not say anything else.
Rin formed a smile upon her lips, as she knew what Sesshoumaru wanted to say. "Don't worry Sesshoumaru-sama, I'll be careful."
And then she left.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Sesshoumaru slowly looked over his shoulder to the balcony door. It was not that he didn't want to answer Rin's question, but he did not know the answer to it himself either.
And furthermore, he didn't even want to think about such trivial matter. He had got more important things to think about.
Yes, like how to send that impudent Naraku to oblivion once and for all.
His gaze dropped to the two swords that were attached to his waist with a long sash, which was yellow with purple ends.
Surely he won't be able to count on his reckless half-blooded brother...correction...half-brother, since his mind is only set on retrieving the stupid jewel from Naraku for his undead woman.
His eyes then traveled up to his left arm. Not to mention that he still had something to settle with the hanyou.
Sesshoumaru raised his left hand and flexed his clawed hand. 'There's no way this Sesshoumaru would let someone get away after cutting off my arm...even if it's my half-brother.' These past 15 years, which his arm took to regenerate, seemed forever in the demon lord's eyes.
'And there's no way someone could get away after dishonoring this Sesshoumaru, the great lord of the Western Lands!' he growled inwardly, recalling how foolish he was when he accepted that disgusting human arm with the jewel shard in it from Naraku and used it to get Tetsusaiga from his stupid half-brother. Without knowing it, he had been caught in the dispute between the two hanyou. As a result, not only had he failed to retrieve the Tetsusaiga, becoming one of Naraku's tools for revenge had dishonored him greatly.
Yes, revenge shall be sweet.
A scowl appeared on his face as he recalled what a disgraceful scene it was when the stupid hanyou failed to retrieve the last shard of the jewel in front of their father's grave. Luckily, he was able to arrive on time.
Sesshoumaru looked at one of the swords around his waist. He was truly surprised when the guards of the youkai graveyard let him pass when they saw Tenseiga.
He was even more surprised when he was able to cut through Naraku's barrier and dealt the most damage to that ugly body of his. Something the hanyou couldn't do even after learning the new attack of Tetsusaiga.
The demon lord reached into his sleeve and took out a small glass shard. 'With his sick obsession of completing the jewel, he would surely appear at his castle someday.' he thought to himself.
His annoying little half-brother would become a nuisance as well since he wanted to destroy Naraku with his own claws so badly. But if the rumors were true about that wolf prince having some of the remaining shards, then he would have nothing to worry about.
All he had to do right now is wait.
Mindlessly, his eyes traveled to the windows of the chamber where the now wingless girl was staying.
Suddenly, the demon lord recalled the words of the winged one named Kikyou.
"I'm afraid that my father would never stop sending people to your lands if his dear daughter is still missing. So the sooner we find her, the sooner we'll stop intruding your lands."
"We will leave for now, but we will come back when the moon shares the same shape as tonight (a month) again. I hope you would be able to bring us good news by then."
An invisible amusement appeared on Sesshoumaru's face.
'She could be of some use to me by then...'
-- Celes --
"A whole month!!?" the kind cried out disbelievingly as he jumped up from his throne. He was dressed in a grand red robe with a golden-colored sash around his waist.
Kikyou, dressed in a white long-sleeved robe with a wide neckline, bowed. "Yes father. We're intruding his lands after all, so one month is necessary to ease that lord's pride."
With wide eyes, the king sat down again.
"I'm sure the youkai lord would lend us a hand somehow since he wouldn't want us entering his property repeatedly," Kikyou added reassuringly.
Moira, who sat beside Kronos on the throne, turned to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Kikyou is right, my dear, if that lord really that filled with pride like she told us then it's better that we not disrespect him any further. We wouldn't want him to hurt our sweet Kagome, would we?" she reasoned.
Kronos balled his fists. "If only I could go there to reason with that"
"You know it's not possible," the queen cut him off. "This kingdom cannot lose its ruler, not even for a day."
"I know," the king sighed. "But I swear on my father's grave, that if that youkai lord tried to hurt my daughter, I will definitely make him pay!"
Moira placed her hand on the king's. "I'm sure you wouldn't have to," she smiled.
But inside, the queen couldn't help but worry about her youngest daughter. 'Something is definitely wrong...' she thought disturbed, when she remembered Kikyou telling them that they couldn't sense her presence. 'As long as winged ones still have their wings, they can feel the presence of each other...but then that means'
Moira shook off the horrible thought. She knew it was just a possibility and that it wouldn't be wise to tell the king about this. 'Until we've heard anything about her whereabouts....it's better to keep this to myself...' she decided inwardly.
'Kagome...please be okay...'
Hahaha, a reviewer once told me that it would be better to keep Sesshoumaru's character as original as possibly. And personally I have to admit that I like that better than making him OOC (though he's quite OOC in An Elves' Child).
What did you think of this chapter? Not much fluff...but I guess you can't expect that if you want Sesshoumaru as original as possible hehehe. Please tell me by review okay? Thanks!!
Lots of greets,
Kittymui
Next chapter: Unwanted existence
-.-.-.-.-
"Why did you save me? (...) You could have let me die...back then...why
did you save me?"
"Why?!!"
"Leave, (...) you are becoming a nuisance."
-.-.-.-.-
Vocabulary:
onii-san: big brother
onee-sama: big sister
youkai lord: demon lord
Tenseiga: Sword given to Sesshoumaru by his father. It's said that it
can heal any wound and revive the dead if its master wishes to.
Tetsusaiga: Sword given to Inuyasha by his father. It's said that it
can kill 100 demons with one swing.
-.-.-.-.-
REPLIES ON REVIEWS:
bad-girl4: Yeah I know, very harsh of me huh? Sorry for not entering the fluff that fast, the reason is explained above though. I think your question has been answered after reading this chapter no? Anyhow, thanks for reviewing!
Tinkerbell-69-4ever: Thanks for reviewing! I hope this pace of updating is fast enough, although the next time won't be before 2nd of July. I will explain bit by bit (with dreams haha) how everything happened by the way :). I'm glad you like the story so far.
meaghan: Thanks!
drow goddess: I'm glad you like it! And yeah, those stupid humans did tore off her wings like that...
Shadow-Demon14: Yeah, it's really mean...and cruel too. Don't worry, they will pay...I'll make them pay hahaha and if I don't I think Sesshoumaru will...oops...did I just say that? Never mind! Hahaha, I'm glad you understood what I meant!
weird0: Thank you very much! Hahaha hmm never thought my story would sound uninteresting, but I don't mind at all :).
Mysthique: Thanks!
seishi1: Woops, didn't mean to make you nearly cry, I'm sorry!! But the answer is no...her wings won't grow back. Kagome doesn't have the powers to heal or to fight, but a combination of them: to purify :).
robin's-hope: I'm happy to know that you love the story :). Thanks for reviewing! I hope this pace of updating is fast enough, but I'll have to apologize since my next installment won't be there before the 2nd of July.
silverstargazing: Thanks for reviewing :).
Guardian-of-the-night: Hehehe, it's really a sad chapter...this one's a bit better no? I'm happy that you could picture everything.
demonswty: Nope, her wings won't back anymore sniff. But don't worry, she will overcome it, somehow.
HanyouAkita: Thank you very much :).
White Fox 612: Thanks! I'm glad you like it!!
Fire Kitsune Goddess: Woah Fire Kitsune Goddess is becoming angry...I better go hiding somewhere safe...hides behind a rock. Euhm... don't worry coz euhm...they will regret taking her wings away...later...ok? peeks from behind rock
Defafaeth Mechqua: Haha I don't mind. Thanks for reviewing!
Kyia: Good to hear that. Thanks for telling me about the mistakes; I'll prevent those mistakes from occurring in the future :) (too lazy to correct the previous chapters hehehe). And nope, the wings won't grow back.
boo: I'm doing my best :).
Posted: 20 June 2004
Last Edited: 20 June 2004
Spelling check: YES