Yojikin's eyes brightened as he took the servants burden. His hands caressed the box tenderly, almost lovingly, and Kagome instantly felt sick. Whatever lay in that box did not bode well for her.

Chapter Nine: The Mystery Box

Kagome hated when her intuition was right.

The lid was carefully lifted from the rectangular case, and Yojikin's eyes glowed as he pulled forth the object hidden within. Fear shot through Kagome as the object inside came into full view; it was a whip.

Fine white hands caressed the plaited handle for a moment. Kagome trembled as she watched Yojikin flick his wrist in her direction, causing the long leather thong to snap. "I gave you your chance. But always you refused to learn; you refused to accept your place. Now you will have no choice. By the end of this day, I will have you begging me for mercy!" the sadistic lord took a step forward. "I will break you, in one way or another!"

Kagome struggled against the guards but they continued to hold her fast. Desperation kicked in, and she brought her foot down hard on the instep of the man on her right. He let go for a moment, and Kagome took advantage of her free arm by thrusting an elbow into the stunned man's nose. Before the other guard could react she blindly swung her fist toward his face. Without pausing to see if she had caused any damage, she turned and ran.

Even as she took those first steps toward freedom, Kagome found herself lost. She had no idea of where the exit would be, since she had been blindfolded during her treks through the castle. So she let her feet guide her, hoping that they would lead her to safety.

Kagome quickly noticed that she was heading for the strange building she had seen earlier. There was something about the place that made it stand out from the carbon-copies that surrounded it, and Kagome prayed that she might find some sort of haven in the small structure. The door slid easily as she shoved it aside, and it closed just as quickly when she slammed it shut again.

"There's gotta be something in here I can block it with!" she cried as her large, chestnut eyes scanned the room.

She found her answer in a statue that stood almost as tall as the door. Quickly she ran over to it, not even trying to identify the figure as she pushed against it with all of her might. Her heart raced as she listened to the sounds of pursuit drawing closer; the guards had recovered their composure and were nearly to the door. With the last of her strength, Kagome somehow managed to shove the statue in front of the door.

The adrenaline that had fueled that final push fled the moment that the statue slid into place. Kagome collapsed against it in exhaustion. She sat with her back to the stone figure, listening to the cries of rage that sounded just outside the barricaded door. This was only a temporary solution at best; she needed to find a way out of here, and fast.

Tired muscles cried out as she forced herself to stand. Kagome ignored them, though, and after pushing the pain and exhaustion aside she began to search the room. The building had seemed to be some sort of storage house from the outside, but as the miko scanned the area she found it to be much more. Candles and incense burned at the base of a stone altar, which was located in the center of the room. Atop the altar sat a cushioned pillow bearing a single black stone. The deep onyx radiated a soft pink, bathing the darkening hut in its soft glow.

Pink was the color of a priestess's aura.

Kagome had no time to consider the importance of her find. The shouting outside had grown louder, and the girl quickly began to circle the room. But it seemed that this was the only room in the small hut, and that the only object here was what sat on top of the stone altar.

A loud crash brought the girl's eyes back to the door. The guards had toppled the statue!

The day's fading light outlined the silhouette of a single man standing in the open doorway. Kagome knew that she was trapped, that there was no way out of here, except at the point of the man's drawn katana. The guard then strode confidently into the building, assured that his prey had no where left to run. His confidence was doubled as three more guards came in behind him, intent on recapturing the scared girl.

Surrounded on all sides, Kagome knew that it was only a matter of seconds before the guards had her again. They closed in quickly, and when they were within arms reach of the priestess, she sprung into action.

Kagome grabbed the glowing object from its pedestal, not even thinking of the consequences as her hands closed around it. The black stone was heavier than it looked, and was large enough that she could barely hold it in one hand. The guards halted as they watched her lift the stone, their jaws dropping in amazement. Kagome, however, did not pause, and she leapt over the altar. Landing with her feet already in motion, the girl sprinted for the door. Her prize was still clutched in one hand. The guards reacted instantly, turning back toward the single exit and their bolting prey.

The purpose of taking the stone soon became apparent as the men closed in. Kagome swung her burdened hand toward the nearest man, flinching as she felt the cartilage in his nose smash beneath the weight. He reeled back, only to be replaced by the other three soldiers. With the semi-circle closing in on her, Kagome realized that her only escape lay in the door at her back. She brandished the onyx stone menacingly in an attempt to ward herself, then turned once more and fled. In the excitement of her escape, however, Kagome had forgotten one important detail.

Yojikin and a score of soldiers still awaited her outside.

As soon as she had managed to clear the doorway, her thin body slammed into something large and solid. Brown eyes trailed up the wall, widening in fear and sudden defeat when she met the ice blue eyes at the top. The stone fell from her nerveless fingers, crashing to the ground at her feet. She never even noticed when the stone shattered.

Yojikin did notice, though, and the mindless fury that burned in his eyes grew tenfold as he stared at the onyx shards littering the ground. The scream of rage that ripped from his throat caused Kagome to shrink back. Noticing her attempt to slink away, he grabbed her roughly by the hair, stopping her short.

"Do you know what you have done?" he screamed at her, pulling her head down so that her face was nearly in the pile of shards. "You have destroyed my barrier! No one should have been able to even lift that damn stone, and now…" he trailed off, deciding that words would not suit his anger just now. Instead, he dragged Kagome across the courtyard by her hair, ignoring her yelps of pain. When he stopped, the girl noticed that they stood next a post that was about her height, with a small hole in the center.

Yojikin threw the girl to her knees. The rough earth tore and scraped her skin, but Kagome barely noticed; she was too focused on what was happening around her to notice the small trails of blood that trickled from the wounds. Yojikin had motioned for the guards to lash her hands to the post, and they went about their work silently. Kagome's arms were forced around the other side of the wooden pole, and the rope was twisted through the small hole and around her hands until she was securely bound. One guard, who Kagome recognized as one of the men she had assaulted, pulled the rope extra tight, effectively cutting off the circulation to her hands.

After their captive was secure, the guards stepped back. Kagome was still on her knees, and the way that she was bound left her back exposed to the waiting men. The tall, pale lord nodded his approval.

Kagome struggled against her bonds as she heard her captors moving behind her. She knew what was coming even as she heard the snap of the whip behind her, followed by a fire that spread across her back. The pain was intense, and Kagome had to bit her lower lip to keep from crying out. This man had taken so much pleasure from the torture of other innocent women, and Kagome silently refused to give the sick lord the satisfaction of hearing her scream. Soon blood trickled down her chin, but she barely noticed as Yojikin flicked his wrist once, then twice, each time hitting his mark.

Spots danced before her eyes, tempting her with an empty darkness where she would feel no pain. But the fires that lit her back refused to let her slip away, and Kagome was left at the mercy of the madman. The crack of the whip sounded again and again, tearing and ripping at Kagome's flesh. Still she did not cry out, did not even whimper loud enough for the deranged lord to hear.

Yojikin paused for a moment, staring at the damage that he had inflicted upon the girl. Her back was a mass of shredded tissue, the large welts dripping blood onto the ground below. Her shirt was in ruins, and what little was left had long since been stained crimson. But still she did not cry, did not beg him for mercy as so many other wretches had once they felt the sting of his whip. He could not understand how this pitiful little bitch had lasted so long against him. All of the others had given in so easily, and those that had not...well, he thought with a twisted smile. Those who had not had broken surrendered quickly enough under his brutal hand. All but this one.

Something deep within the lord told him that this one would never break, and the thought sent Yojikin into a rage that he had never known. This, when coupled with the knowledge that she had destroyed his barrier, made Yojikin swear that he would not rest until the fire had gone out of this wench's eyes. And so the strikes came faster, driven by the unholy rage that consumed the lord. Even the guards, who had gathered to watch the sport, backed away when they noticed the sickening hatred that drove each lash of the whip.

By now Kagome was barely conscious of what was happening. Slowly, the courtyard and the guards had vanished, replaced by the vast forests of the Sengoku Jidai. Forgotten were the pain and the fear as Kagome soared on invisible wings over the bright and cheery earth. She had no idea of where she was going; only that she was content to lose herself in the peace of the quiet day forever.

But fate had another idea, and the fluffy clouds of the warm summer day turned dark and heavy, bringing with them a chill wind that threatened to pull Kagome from her flight. She began to tumble uncontrollably, falling to the earth at a speed that promised to shatter her bones. The earth loomed closer and closer, and Kagome knew that nothing would be able to stop her before she hit the ground. She closed her eyes, and as she crashed into the darkness that waited, one word fell from her bloodied lips.

Yojikin did not hear her last conscious word, but he watched as the girl suddenly slumped against the post. He continued his assault on the prone figure in a vain attempt to sate his anger, even though he knew that she was beyond all sense of pain. Finally, the crack of the whip began to slow, eventually stopping altogether. He cast one final look at the unconscious form that knelt before him, then threw down his whip in disgust and stalked away.

Inuyasha sat straight up; nearly falling from the tree branch he had chosen as his bed. Though he had fully recovered from his earlier wounds, he had searched for Kagome until exhaustion claimed him and forced him to find a safe place to take his rest. Now, as the sleep completely vanished from his golden eyes, he swore that he had heard the miko call his name a moment ago. The half-demon looked about frantically, searching for some sign of the voice that he knew had just uttered his name. But there was no one around, and he realized that it must have been a dream.

He leaned back against the trunk of the old zelkova tree. It had seemed so real…even as he closed his eyes, he could see the horrible image that had forced him to wake. There was Kagome, falling into the darkness of death, her body bloodied and torn as it tumbled into the abyss. She had whispered his name before the dark had consumed her; a broken cry that begged to know why he hadn't saved her, why he had left her to this horrible fate.

In an attempt to banish the haunting dream, Inuyasha shook his head. But the nightmare would not go away; instead it settled into his gut, wrapped in the dreaded trappings of a possible truth that he could not ignore.

"I could have saved her!" he growled as he slammed one clawed fist into the trunk behind him.

His next thought was quickly silenced as his sensitive ears picked up on a sound far below him. After shifting into a crouch and leaning forward as far as he dared, Inuyasha bent his head to see if he could find the source of the noise.

He quickly spotted a small band of armed men gathering below his tree. Confident that they had not spotted him, Inuyasha began a silent decent, slipping down onto a lower branch for a closer look.

"I've found them, sir. The group that Lord Yojikin searches for hides in the village nearby."

The man that Inuyasha assumed was the commander of the group nodded his approval. "The Lord will be pleased. We shall return to the castle and gather our forces; Lord Yojikin must know of this. He will want us to capture the girl's companions and any treasures that they carry. Then the rest of that worthless village can burn beneath our torches!"

Another man, armed and armored like his companions, patted his sheathed katana in anticipation. "When do we attack, sir?"

Even from his high vantage point, Inuyasha could see the vile grin that crept onto the commander's face. "We attack at dawn."

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! And congratulations to DawnRising, who, after three chapters, was the first to notice that I hadn't mentioned Inuyasha in awhile! I decided to try and give everyone else a little air time while our favorite hanyou was out looking for Kagome. But I assure you, he's here until the end. In other news, I may be awhile in updating again, because of a hectic work schedule, combined with a lot of drum corps rehearsals.