Chapter Three (!): Chains

Notes:

Note: '-sama' is a prefix of respect. I'm not so sure about this, but in this chapter I use '-dono' as a step up. It translates to 'master' or something like that. :-)

Note 2: I've made Renkotsu (and all the Shichinintai) into demons. I know that they're actually revived humans in the series, but…

Last note, I swear: Koujun is a purely fictional character. His name means "obedience" as far as I can tell…

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and co. are not mine.

THANK YOU to my Beta reader Julie! Mwah!

• • •

There was just blackness for a long time. And then, suddenly, there was a little arc of light. What… he thought drowsily. His thoughts kept swimming out of his grasp, like fish. What… Someone was touching him. He leaned toward it, but the touch moved away. He wanted touch. He wanted reassurance of a living, warm body. Come back…come back…!

Then something metal touched him, and he leaped into consciousness.

He was bound, spread-eagled on the stone wall. He was sore and aching all over. His fingers twitched.

"Easy," someone whispered. A needle lowered itself into his vein. He tensed, and then found himself relaxing. "Easy. It's okay. Your battle is over. The battles are over for a while. Take it easy."

His head bowed. He was sinking back into oblivion. Through the crescent of light between his half-shut eyes, he saw a face. It was turned away from him, but it seemed somewhat familiar. The face turned to him for a split second, and he saw. "Kikyo," he tried to say, but the words weren't coming. They were sticking in his throat, as the blackness crashed back down and drove all thought away.

• • • • •

The Festival was finally over for the day. The stadium was silent. But now, it was the back halls that rang with noise. The cries of wounded humans. The snarls of hurt demons. The orders of the division leaders and superiors. The bustling about, to prepare for the following day.

Kagome was just leaving E-4's cell. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. She'd wanted to believe he was the victim, somehow. Something had made her feel some kind of…pity… for him. But the way he'd jumped on the stricken girl, when her father had just been killed…they had been fighting for their lives… They had to fight or be killed. It was E-4 who had killed, ruthlessly.

Naraku-sama had saved the life of that girl, though. Kagome snuck past E-25, just to check on her. She was moaning and feverish, and Kaede herself was tending to her. The girl, close up, was only about nineteen­– only four years older than Kagome herself. Kagome felt sick, and hurried away.

E-4 has done that. He has killed so many, injured so many. That demon…he's like the other demons. They're all the same.

• • • • •

The next day, everyone woke early. Kaede shook Kagome awake at the crack of dawn. "Go and tend to E-10 through E-15. They'll be fighting first."

The thought that those people or demons might be dying today made Kagome physically sick. The world was reeling around her. Death was around the corner…

The world seemed more upside-down then she remembered it. Had things always been this way? Random? Unstable? One throw of the dice and you were dead, with blood seeping into the sand. And another, you were the victor. And here she was, unable to control any part of herself or her life.

The feeling was so overpowering that Kaede hit her twice with a roll of paper before she noticed anything at all. She stuffed the thoughts in the back of her mind. They were fragmented, vague. She couldn't tell what was going through her head, exactly– so she shoved those thoughts back and away, and washed and dressed herself.

• • • •

E-10 was Miroku. His weapon-staff was padlocked outside to the wall outside him door. Kagome had no keys; she was not the weapons-master. She opened the gate to his cell and stepped inside. He moaned and turned over, but no sooner did he do so that he let out a sharp breath.

He shouldn't be fighting today! Kagome thought worriedly. She rushed to his side and brought out the medicines and bandages. He's human, not demon! He can't heal so quickly! "I'll be right back, Miroku," she said to him. I have to speak to someone about this. He gave a weak laugh.

"Does that mean the same kind of 'right back' as it did yesterday?" he asked. Kagome felt a rush of guilt. She had been so caught up in her stupid emotions, she had neglected this man's needs. "I am so, so sorry," she whispered.

"Don't be. Lady Kaede covered for you, Kagome-sama. Ah!" He bit back his groan as Kagome unwound yesterday's bandages and renewed them.

"Here. I've got painkillers, right here–"

Miroku showed great self-restraint as Kagome fumbled with the painkilling herbs. When she handed them over, he gulped them down, and smiled at her. "Thank you. I-"

Kagome had never found herself hating to be thanked before, but she did now. Sure, it had made her uncomfortable, in the past, to be thanked by humans; but she now blazed up in such a fury of passion that Miroku cringed back.

"Why do you thank me?" she cried. "Why? I am no better than– than they are! Here I am, reviving you just so you can be reused! Why can't I–" She attacked the chain links that bound Miroku's chains to the wall, scrabbling at them. But just as demon gear could only be unlocked by humans, so human gear could only be undone by demons. Her efforts to free him were useless. Miroku flung himself at her as best he could.

"Shh. Shh," he muttered quietly, trying to calm her outburst. "I don't want to see you get in trouble. Kagome-sama. Kagome! Stop this!" She stared at his sudden anger. "If you continue, you will surely be part of the act today. You are lucky to have the position you hold. You mustn't lose it!"

Kagome shook her head wildly. "I- I can't take this…I don't know– I can't think–"

"Good! Don't think! Here­–" he forced the bandages into her hands– "take these! Don't think! Just do!"

It was like what Kaede had always told her. She forced the wild brain activity to shut down. For years it had been her norm to block all disturbing thoughts from herself, keeping her mind neutral and blank. It was something you had to do to survive. She couldn't behave like this in front of him. No matter how her insides raged, it wasn't fair to him to burden him like this. She swallowed the flames of her confusion and emotion.

"I am sorry, Miroku. So sorry…"

A demon appeared in the doorway. Kagome spun around. It was Renkotsu. He glared at her. "You! Girl! Again! What the hell do you think you're doing?" He grabbed the front of her smock and lifted her to the tips of her toes. She did not resist.

"If you keep behaving like this, you'll be a free snack for the low-breeds! Get back to work, scum!" He threw her against the wall. "If you don't have this human ready soon­–"

She crawled to his feet, her mind stumbling for words. "Oh my Superior! Forgive me! Please, allow me to explain! It is best that you in your wisdom decide this, not me!"

He glared icily. "Explain. Now."

"Mir– This human has not recovered properly. After all, as you know better than I, he does not have the demon power to recover. Please, please, do not have him– I mean, it would be a shame to spoil the event with a quick match, over too soon. He would make a terrible fighter today, of no entertainment at all." She lowered her head to the floor. "It is for you to decide, Superior."

"Damn right it's for me to decide! Does your division leader know you're this cheeky!" He kicked at her with spike-edged boot, and three lines of blood appeared on her face. "You've failed to heal this human. I'll deal with you later. There's much to do. Tend to this human, and get back to your chores, you filth! And prepare…let's see. Prepare E-27 instead." He kicked at her again. She could have easily dodged, but allowed the boot-spines to scrape across her back. "Useless human!" Then he was gone.

Miroku was trying to reach her, but his chains prevented him. "Kagome-sama… Kagome-dono," he whispered to her. Kagome looked around at him. "You've saved my life," he whispered.

Kagome turned her face away in shame. "It was nothing," she said so quietly he barely heard it.

"Kagome-dono?"

She moved away from him, into the corner shadows. "I…I … You may be spared, Miroku…and I cannot regret that…but I've just condemned another…"

Miroku could say nothing. There was nothing to say.

• • • •

"So, Inuyasha is scheduled to be put against Blocks B and then A today?"

"Yes, Koujun. With the sword. It's always the top spectacle. Don't mess it up."

Koujun rubbed his head, and nodded. "I'll work that sword thing into my commentary."

Moryomaru gave Koujun a glare. "Remember, demon, you'd better do well out there. There's not a lot standing between you as announcer as you as participant."

Koujun gulped. "Yes…yes sir."

"Oh, and don't reveal anything about the sword, Koujun. You know what will happen if you do. Just say that…say that to make it interesting, Inuyasha has to kill the demon before it kills some humans." Moryomaru sat languidly in his chair, an expression of distaste on his face. "I can't understand why Naraku…you won't let this leave this room, Koga…I can't understand why he'd give Inuyasha his sword back."

"But that sword is Naraku-dono's."

"Oh no, it's not. His little secret." An angry and scheming expression crossed Moryomaru's face. "He can't use it. But when demons see Inuyasha use it, and know that is Naraku's sword, they will infer than Naraku is demonstrating what he could do with it."

Koujun was taken aback slightly. The sword was one of Naraku's symbols of power. And yet…

Moryomaru suddenly stood up and swept past him, out of the stone room. Koukun bowed very low as the large demon strode by him. The instant Moryomaru slammed the door behind him, Koujun sat down weakly on his stone bed, with the schedule for the day's fights in front of him. Each time a new fight was up, it was his job to make a small statement of some kind. He began to practice what he'd say for Inuyasha's introduction.

"Demonkind, this demon here has a record of 238 to none: wins to losses! Here we'll see how he can do against the monolithic Goshinki! No…I have to mention the switch from D and C to A and B, that's a dramatic shift. And the sword, I have to talk somehow about the sword."

Koujun sat and tried to think of something concise and exciting with which to begin the event, but he found himself drifting. He forced his mind back to the task at hand. It was no time to be thinking of the pack life, of freedom, of living like a demon. Was he the only one who remembered the days before Naraku? Perhaps that was why he was little better off that the gladiator demons and humans. He wasn't free, but he wasn't completely degraded like they. Have some pride, demon! he told himself.

But it was hard to let go of thoughts of the primitive, down-to-earth, natural way of life with the coyote-demon pack so long ago.

• • • •

There. This was originally the first part of chapter two but the way things are going I am already on chapter three! Woot! Um, just ignore that…

Anyway, please review if you haven't done so. I take writing pretty seriously…:-( I can't help it!