Protector
Sorry, I have no time to check my email and see who won. I promise that I will come back and change this as soon as I can. Warning: lime in the first few chapters.
Chapter 10: Darkor
Kariyu reclined in his sitting room. Jaken sat opposite him. Both held steaming cups of green tea. Kariyu winced as Jaken slurped noisily. Thick black velvet drapes shielded the room from the bright sunshine. Kariyu, as a vampire lord, could stand the touch of sunlight, but it weakened him. Flickering candles lit the room. The vampire smiled as Kagura's figure approached. Using her fan, she slid apart the shoji screens and stepped into the room, curtsying. Kariyu put the cup down.
"Ah, dear Kagura. Come over here, sit on my lap," he beckoned to her, smiling in twisted pleasure as she glided over to him gracefully. "Jaken, have you met her?" he enquired, sliding an arm around Kagura, forcing her to lay her head on his shoulder and smile sweetly up at him. "I have, my lord. She is the wind witch," Jaken set his teacup down. Kariyu's smirk disappeared in a flash. "Witch is too strong a word. Kagura serves me better than you do. Treat her with respect. Apologize," he ordered. "H-hai, my lord. K-kagura-sama, I am sorry. This Jaken will not repeat the offence," he stammered, hanging his head.
"I am thirsty, Kagura dearest," Kariyu breathed, his tongue delicately tickling the tip of her elfin ear. Obediently, she tilted her head to the left, baring her pale swan neck. As he lowered his head, he realized that Jaken still knelt there. "Get out!" he snapped sharply. Bowing, Jaken scrambled to his feet and scurried out.
Kariyu plunged his fangs into her flesh, sucking up the blood that seeped out steadily. As he drank, Kagura grew confused.
(Kagura's POV – thoughts manipulated by Kariyu, although she doesn't know)
Pain and pleasure has mixed, stemming from my neck. My master, Kariyu, is drinking my blood. He is whispering to me… he says I'm naughty and rebellious? I'm rebellious? Why am I rebellious? Am I defiant? Have I displeased my master? Why do I not please him in any way I can? Why do I do anything?
(Normal)
Kariyu smirked in triumph when intelligence entered Kagura's scarlet orbs and she made no effort to strike him. Instead, she relaxed more in his grip and let a full smile tilt her lips, winding her arms around his waist as she burrowed her face into her shoulder.
A notion entered Kariyu's mind, and he seized it eagerly. Kagura would not be bad as his mate now that he had tamed her. He could do far worse than the stunning elemental demoness who was currently snuggled up to him. She was beautiful, powerful, and she had surrendered all. The miko Kagome would be so shocked at their mating that she would be unable to act, giving him a momentary advantage that would give him time to kill her. If they were mates, Kagura would be bound to him for all time, unable to go against him forever. Yes, the idea certainly appealed to him.
Kariyu continued lapping at the spot he drank from on Kagura's neck., lust lighting his eyes when she let out a soft moan. Abruptly, she sat up snarling and kissed him brutally, their lips locked together even as Kariyu wrapped both arms around her and pushed her to the floor.
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Jaken sighed as pleasure-filled screams echoed through the air, loud although he stood at the other end of the house, staring out at the pristine landscape beyond the clear glass of the window. It seemed that both his master and mistress were rather vocal, and had no qualms about it.
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Kagome's eyes opened as the morning sunlight hit her face. Kirara's tails flicked from side to side as the miko sat up, yawning widely. Kirara trotted over to Aun and sat by one large head before beginning her grooming session as two pairs of draconian eyes stared down at her.
"Good morning, everyone. I'm going for a bath, would you like to come with me, Rin-chan?" she asked sleepily. "Good morning, Kagome-chan! Rin would love to!" Rin chirped gaily. Kagome smiled, drawing a folded piece of paper out of her sleeve. A dab of sparkling black fire burned neat Japanese script onto the parchment. Kagome tossed the paper to Kirara, who caught it and transformed, flying away speedily.
"How will you bathe if you do not have what you require?" Sesshoumaru asked in a detached tone. "I have an agreement with the villages I protect. In return of my protection, they give me items like soap, towels and arrows, but not food. I have one spare outfit at every village – when Kirara comes back, she'll pass my dirty clothing to them and they'll clean it and keep it until I need it again," Kagome explained patiently, choosing to ignore his frosty tone.
"Come along, Rin. I asked for what you need, too," Kagome took Rin's hand. "The hot spring near here is poisonous," Sesshoumaru informed her. Kagome sighed. "I'm a miko, remember?" she reminded him. "A walking earth, air, water and demon purifier. And no peeking!" With that, she pulled Rin away with her, vanishing from sight once they walked down a steep embankment.
Moments later, Kirara streaked past overhead, a heavy cloth bag hanging from her mouth.
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Kagome and Rin approached the hot spring warily. Sure enough, a purple fog hung above the surface of the water, and the hot liquid itself was tainted. Kagome motioned for Rin to stay back and knelt down. When her hand passed through the mist, it gradually dissipated. At the touch of one long finger, the water turned crystal clear. "Wow! Sugoi, Kagome-chan!" Rin exclaimed.
They quickly stripped, hurrying to enjoy the warm water. The water was only waist deep for Kagome, so she sat on a rock, immersing herself up to her chin. Rin stood shoulder deep, laughing and splashing joyfully. Kirara soared over the treetops, and came down to land, passing the bag to her mistress with the flick of one huge paw. Shrinking into her small self in the blink of an eye, she tossed the hot spring a disdainful look and began to lick herself clean.
The hot water had a soothing effect on Kagome's tense muscles, and she sighed in bliss as the stress melted away like snow on a warm spring day. Rin frolicked about, frisky as a young colt. As Kagome watched her, she realized that there was a question she wanted to ask.
"Rin-chan, how are you still alive?" Kagome enquired bluntly, reaching for the bar of soap and lathering her hands with it. Rin looked up. "Sesshoumaru-sama says that my life is tied to his since I was revived by his Tenseiga. I will stay in this shape, unless I am deliberately killed, in which case I will die," she elaborated, wading over to get the soap. Kagome nodded in understanding, ducking under the surface to get the suds off. Coming up again, she tipped a liberal amount of shampoo into her palms, working it into her hair. They finished their bath in companionable silence.
Kagome got out of the spring first, Rin a breath behind. Kagome handed her a towel, rummaging around in the bag. She pulled out a twilight blue cotton kimono with silver sakura petals embroidered at the hems, cuffs and collar. A shining silver obi accompanied it. Passing both items to Rin, she dried and dressed herself efficiently, tossing her dirtied clothing into that same cloth bag which Kirara scooped up and took away.
Taking Rin's hand, Kagome led her back to her guardian.
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When they reached the clearing, both girls were stunned into silence. Sesshoumaru wielded his Toukijin against a foe that seemed to be a pool of shifting darkness. The battle was eerily silent, and the blade crackled with blue demonic energy. As they watched, a pair of eyelids cracked open, revealing two eyes the color of dried blood. Sesshoumaru unleashed a storm of energy daggers that disappeared as soon as they came into contact with the shadow.
Kagome pointed a finger at the darkness. A ball of fire laced with purity slammed into it, pushing it back a little but leaving no visible wound. The shadow, which Kagome christened a Darkor, surged forward as though it was furious. Sesshoumaru's poison whip lashed out, leaving a glowing green slash mark that rapidly disappeared.
Kagome narrowed her eyes and gestured. A half globe of light covered the Darkor. It threw itself against the barrier, thrashing wildly. "Gather stones and put them in a circle around it," Kagome ordered. Her forehead shone with gathering sweat, as Aun and Rin hurried to obey. When they were done, Kagome unraveled a thread from her sleeve, laying it atop the pebbles. As she circled three times, she murmured under her breath. A spelled light barrier sprung up over the smaller original one, and intensified in power until Kagome cut off the thread. She absorbed the inner barrier and paused to check her work. And as always, she was the first to speak.
"Okay, so what was that?" she asked, tying her raven tresses back with a blue ribbon. She looked a little tired. The trees and bushes rustled in the wind and she held out a palm. Blue lines of energy streamed towards her from every plant, collecting together in an orb. Kirara landed with a thump, having just returned. She seemed unperturbed at the Darkor, who squalled at her. Kagome pressed the energy ball into her chest, and became sprightly as ever.
"Kagome-chan, what did you do?" Rin tugged on her hand. "The plants gave me energy in return for protecting them from that," she indicated the Darkor. Rin smiled in wonder.
"So, what was that?" Kagome demanded again.
Sesshoumaru said nothing, forehead creased in thought. He had never seen the like, and he had traveled all over Japan and China already. The shadow creature was immune to his Toukijin and seemingly resistant to his poison. This was disturbing indeed. How could he fight a foe who was unaffected by his weapon? How could he fight an enemy he did not know?
"I do not know," he admitted. Kagome gasped. "Aren't you the well-traveled one? How can you not know?" she paced about in worry. He sent a cold golden glare at her. "Do not presume to answer back to this Sesshoumaru. I was unaware that I was the expert on shadow creatures here." Both gazes locked together, as they stared at each other hard. Another battle of wills was on. This time, they would be uninterrupted. Who would emerge the victor?
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A/N: That's all I can manage in half an hour's type time. Again, not beta-read. Gotta go now. Reviewer replies will be done when I can do them. Bye!