Servant By: OtakuSailorV
Chapter 4:: Kitsune's TaleYuhi finished her duties swiftly the next day so that she could sneak back down and speak with the two-kitsune girls again.
She had not stopped thinking about them, and everything they had said to her since she had left them the day before. Even as she checked on Naraku, she did not stop thinking about them.
'So strange. . .' She thought, noticing that her Lord was getting better, though he was not yet well enough to move around much. 'Why would Naraku-dono keep them locked away like that?'
Biting her bottom lip, she waited for Naraku to dismiss her, which he did when she had finished.
Shutting the door behind her softly, Yuhi started off in the direction of the cave-like entrance that led to the two sisters.
She stopped as she caught wind of the miasma, putting one hand over her mouth and nose before stepping inside with no torch to guide her this time. Instead, she reached out with her youkai powers to show her the best way down.
Carefully, she listened to the dripping of water, trying to ignore the miasma that hung around her, thick in the damp air.
"You did come back." Kai's voice came from the corner as Yuhi came to a halt.
"Yes." Yuhi nodded, sitting down on the cold rock steps.
"Couldn't help but wonder what we were doing down here, eh?"
Yuhi smiled in embarrassment. "You've seen right through me." She sighed.
Kai chuckled roughly. "Well, I hope you're feeling better today, so we can actually carry a conversation without you being confused the whole time."
Yuhi blinked at her. "I wasn't sick. . ."
Kai rolled her eyes, the yellow-green orbs shining out at Yuhi in the dark. "You almost were, thanks to that stupid human blood in you." She said. "That's what's bad about humans, they get sick so easy. If you were a full demon, you could have exerted yourself all day and felt fine the next."
Yuhi hung her head, having always thought the same thing of her human blood, though she did not regret her father being human.
"Speaking of which, what did you do to get yourself all sick like that? Certainly you didn't stand out in the rain all night, letting yourself get soaked to the bone."
Yuhi bit her lip again; knowing the kitsune would not like her words. "I was helping Naraku-dono. He was wounded badly in a fight, and I had to stand out in the rain all night, waiting for him"
Kai blinked a few times, her arms crossed before she exploded with the knowledge. "YOU WHAT?!"
Her angry voice echoed in the cavern, and she threw herself at the bars of her cage-like prison, snarling at the coyote hanyou.
"You HAD to help him?! What for?! You helped him?!"
At this, Gin seemed to awaken from some kind of trance, shaking her head softly.
"Kai." She ordered swiftly as the kitsune reached through the bars, swiping at Yuhi in her rage. But it was too late, the golden collar around the fiery haired kitsune's neck had illuminated, and instantly shrunk, choking the poor girl.
"Gah!" Kai dropped from the bars in shock, clawing at the collar madly, trying to get it to loosen.
Yuhi shook, her eyes wide with astonished fear. "W-what?" She asked, her fingertips touching her lips softly.
Gin sighed, obviously used to it. "It is what the collars do. If we try to attack anyone on the outside of this cell, or even try to break free, it constricts us, cutting off our air and leaving us vulnerable."
Yuhi watched as the glowing slowly faded, and Kai was left, gasping for air and holding her sore neck in her hands. "Are you alright?"
"I'll be fine." Kai snapped at her. "At least until that bastard decides to get rid of us." She grumbled, glaring at Yuhi darkly.
"Please, Yuhi, tell us why you 'had' to help Naraku. There must be a reason you are here and doing everything he says so willingly. You said yourself you had a debt to repay." Gin said softly, her silver hair glowing in the dim light.
Yuhi gulped, recalling her tale. "It's kinda silly, you guys don't wanna hear it." She said nervously, blushing slightly with embarrassment.
"Yeah we do. I don't care if it's stupid. I wanna know what's up with you." Kai growled at her, crossing her arms and legs, ready for the story. "Gin likes stories anyway, she used to be a great story teller in our village."
Yuhi looked at the two sisters, both of them seemed eager to know about her past. Sighing, she gave in. "Fine, but only if you tell me about what happened to you two next."
Kai nodded. "Yeah, yeah, fine, just get on with it."
Taking a breath, Yuhi started. "It was raining that night, a few months ago. Some humans had chased me out of their village just because I was a hanyou, and beat me when I tripped on a root in the forest. They had left me there, assuming that if I weren't dead, I would be soon enough thanks to the horrible wounds they had inflicted on me. I lay there in the mud, cold rain washing over me until a pack of wandering demons happened upon me. They were just about to pick me up, for what reasons I will not say, when I heard Naraku-dono's voice."
At this, Yuhi dropped off, her head bowed so that the kitsune's could not see her expression.
"And? Go on." Gin urged Yuhi as Kai listened with intent interest.
"I don't remember much, except the screams. I think he could, the demons that had come upon me, I'm not sure, my vision was clouded with my own blood at that point, and I think I was even near death." Yuhi mumbled. "By the time I came to, I was in the castle, and all of my wounds had been healed, as if they had never been, I couldn't even find a scar on myself."
"Stop breaking off." Kai grunted at her.
Yuhi shifted slightly, and continued. "When I opened the door, Naraku-dono was outside, staring at me. He told me that I was now a servant, and gave a list of tasks before he left."
"And you accepted just like that? No thoughts of defiance? You were just like 'Well, ok, sure'?" Kai demanded. "Come on, I see no motivation behind that at all."
Yuhi looked up suddenly, her eyes shining. "Naraku-dono gave me a reason to live. When I fell in a pool of my own blood on that forest floor, I was ready to die. I didn't want to go on anymore. I didn't see any reason why I should be alive. I didn't even make an effort to get up or fend off the humans that attacked me. My whole life I'd been ready to just die, to get away from it all. But he gave me a reason to go on. Now, everyday, there's something I must do, something that must be done, that only b I /b can do. And that makes me happy, for living is so much better than the death I had once wished for."
Yuhi stopped, gasping for breath as she let out her reason for staying as a servant in the grim castle.
Kai and Gin were silent for a time before Yuhi spoke up again. "That's why I'm a servant here. That's my debt. He saved me, and I must repay him for my life."
"Well, that is quite interesting, and I have to say that I am impressed that you would be so devoted." Gin smiled softly at her.
"Yeah, I guess." Kai grumbled. "But the guys still a bastard. Now all we need is his motivation for saving you, and we can complete the puzzle."
Gin chuckled at her twin. "Naraku doesn't need a motivation, and I doubt he would tell us if he did."
"Shut up, Gin." Kai pouted.
"Excuse me, but, what happened to you two?" Yuhi asked softly, a little afraid of Kai's anger still.
Both of the kitsune twins looked up at her. "Well, Naraku burned down our village and killed everybody in it but us. It was a kitsune village by the way, not one of those stupid human ones."
"You must forgive Kai, she's not a very good story teller, her raw language often gets in the way, and she misses a lot of the other fox spirits that lived with us."
"Well I'm sorry that my storytelling isn't as good as yours, Gin! It just so happens that I'm a fighter, and stories aren't my forte. Besides, you were the official storyteller in the village. And of course I miss them!! We were all very close, and everything was perfect until that bastard came along!" Kai spat angrily.
Gin rolled her eyes tolerantly at Kai. "Bite your tongue, not everyone is used to such language." She scolded.
"Ah, stick it in your ear."
The silver kitsune shook her head at her sister before turning to Yuhi with an embarrassed smile. "You'll have to forgive young Kai again-" She started, with Kai breaking in with her little comment.
"I'm just as old as you are, idiot. So don't call me 'young' and act like you're this all-knowing wise person."
"-She doesn't know when to stop using foul language in her speech." Gin apologized, ignoring Kai's comment.
"Oh, that's alright, really I don't mind. I've heard every word in the book, so it's nothing new to my ears." Yuhi laughed as her fuzzy light-brown ears twitched on her head.
"Now, let's see. . .where should I begin?" Gin pondered, changing the subject.
"The beginning is best." Kai snorted sarcastically, not liking being ignored.
"Of course."
Yo, me again. I'm really trying not to make this mary-sue-sih in any way, shape, or form, so if anyone sees something that really doesn't add-up or something like that, please tell me. Thanks.
Thanks for the reviews too, it makes me happy to see that someone is actually reading this and that they like it.
Thanks again, ja'ne.
Review please!!