The next morning, he couldn't help but feel weak as his stomach began to gnaw at itself, growling and groaning with the need for food. Sesshoumaru sighed before shaking his head; he'd ignore the hunger as long as he could, he wouldn't give Naraku another reason to wear that infuriating smirk again...no, that monster wouldn't be allowed to have the satisfaction of seeing him beg.
A sigh left him as he got to his feet, eyes closing in a relaxed manner before they opened to look at the outside, the murky grey fog that surrounded the castle was floating just outside of his window and prevented vision of any forestry, the town, everything. It was almost as if this castle was isolated from the rest of the world, were he in a different situation than he was now...he'd like it here. After all, there were no annoying villagers to contend with, no curious children asking about his ears before their mothers rushed them away, nothing to slow him down and stand in the way of his goals.
Of course, that last point was false, for there was still that tyrant to deal with. Of course, Sesshoumaru smirked as he began to think of this possibility; although his own suicide was prevented there was something else he could do. He could murder the lord, destroy him and his reign over this state, and in the process free himself from the man's grasp. But...the previous day came to mind, how easily Naraku had overpowered him caused his face to burn in utter shame.
How did he overpower me? Kagewaki's body is far too weak to do such a thing, and as a lord he shouldn't have had any former training... Circling the room as he was lost in theories on how Naraku was able to overpower him, it was only when he felt the end of an intricately carved wooden staff tap impatiently against the shin of his leg that he snapped out of the world of his own mind and turned his attention to the one who disturbed him. And, curse his luck, it was that toad-like priest again.
"Lord Naraku has demanded your presence, Sesshoumaru," He couldn't help but feel a bit of satisfaction as Jaken was forced to speak in a polite tone to him, for it was very easy to tell that he didn't like it one bit, "You had better mind your manners around our wise ruler or I shall personally have your-"
"Head?" Sesshoumaru interrupted, and within the blink of an eye he had his sword drawn and held to the priest's throat, said priest crying out in mixed shock and fear of the one in front of him, "You had better watch your tongue, and I have no need to caution mine, little man. Now, go and tell your precious lord that I refuse to meet his demand, he is no ruler of mine."
"You...! Such impudence, I'll not tolerate it a second longer!" It seemed that Jaken used all of the strength he possessed to hit the side of Sesshoumaru's leg with his staff, which in turn caused Sesshoumaru to smirk, that didn't even make his leg feel sore, "You dare to mock me, the high priest of lord Naraku? Why you-!"
Immediately Jaken fell silent as Masamune was pressed against his throat again, a moment later he gulped hard and began to perspire, eyes that were wide with fear meeting his own while he held the sword steady. It was too easy, to make this toad-man behave himself, and to stop him from speaking with that irritating voice of his.
"Leave, unless you wish this room to be your final resting place," Sesshoumaru smirked sadistically at the priest while he hurriedly hobbled out of the room, and soon he saw no need to keep Masamune armed to him and therefore sheathed it, gaze travelling to look out the window once more.
Of course, his time of quiet ended the moment the monarch stepped forth into the room, Sesshoumaru only acknowledging him with a slight twitch of his ears and the speech that gently and quietly flowed through his parted lips, "Do not send that annoying little man in here again if you wish for him to keep his life."
"Please excuse Jaken, he is not used to people defying him seeing as he has so much power," Sesshoumaru turned now to the man before him, for this was not the voice of Naraku but rather of the softer personality Kagewaki, "And, forgive me for allowing my other self to abuse you so, I hope he did you no real harm."
"What is he?" Immediately the question was asked, Sesshoumaru taking a few advancing steps towards Kagewaki while the other backed away slightly at the aggression of Sesshoumaru's tone, "He is not human, I know that much. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stop my murdering both of you."
"An evil demon," Kagewaki hesitantly replied, although the response made Sesshoumaru raise an eyebrow, for the sheer fact that he called Naraku a demon was pure absurdity in his opinion, "The night I became the ruler of this state, he appeared, like I told you before...he haunted my dreams before my reign began, eventually he was able to possess my body but didn't bother to do so until I had enough power."
...maybe it wasn't entirely absurd, for Sesshoumaru had heard of this sort of thing happening before, demons manipulating the human mind and possessing their bodies for their own purposes. Nonetheless, even if it explained how Naraku was able to overpower Sesshoumaru so easily, just thinking about that man being more than human was infuriating. Scoffing at Kagewaki, Sesshoumaru turned his back to him, keeping one eye on the other's form while he began to speak again.
"How do you know that it is indeed a demon, and not another personality that is a creation of your own feeble mind?" Growled Sesshoumaru, he still didn't like either personality one bit but Kagewaki looked like he might actually free him. Naraku, on the other hand... "You could simply be insane, unfit to rule this state-"
"I can only say that I wish it was merely another personality," Kagewaki sighed, catching Sesshoumaru's full attention once more as the flesh-coloured lips continued to allow speech to pass, "No, he gives my body power no mortal could even dream of possessing when he takes over, he only keeps my spirit alive so that his may rest. Like he is doing now, which in turn allows me to speak with you."
Narrowing his eyes at the monarch before him, Sesshoumaru once again sighed before closing his eyes, he could feel his arms crossing over his chest while he spoke again, "Naraku is a demon, and you haven't had a monk or a priestess expel him from you yet? Why, if I may ask," He couldn't believe he was being this polite to the idiot in front of him, "Did you not even try to-"
"I did."
Eyes of ebony that were filled with helplessness were the first things Sesshoumaru saw when he opened his eyes to look at the taller; eyes that were resigned to fate, to his supposed destiny of forever being Naraku's puppet, "All who have come to try and expel his form from my body have failed. They lost their lives in the process, all but one. The one who escaped was also the one who almost succeeded in purifying him, the priestess Kikyou."
"I think," Kagewaki paused in the middle of his story, a sigh leaving his lips while his eyes began to glaze, the eyes of an infatuated man who longed for the touch of a desired woman, "I think I became attracted to her, and despite the fact that the priestess embodied everything Naraku loathes, my feelings stopped him from utterly destroying her, and those very feelings allowed her to escape."
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at Kagewaki while he seemed to slip into a trance, he could easily end his own problem right then and there. But, he could tell that Naraku was indeed lurking behind those eyes of night, those eyes flashing crimson as if Naraku had just read Sesshoumaru's mind, almost warning him not to even try it if he wanted to avoid a world of hurt. What Sesshoumaru said next however, to his satisfaction, caused a shocked and horrified look to appear on Kagewaki's face.
"I could end the problem right now, simply by killing your body. Then, Naraku would have no host and would be exposed."
Like any man, Kagewaki seemed to fear for his life, and taking a few steps back away from Sesshoumaru, he began to perspire while he spoke in a hurried manner, "K-kill my body? No, that can't be the only solution! There has to be another way," This is far too entertaining, he smirked as the other finally tripped and fell onto his rump, still backing away from Sesshoumaru as he did so.
However, all feelings of amusement faded as Kagewaki's eyes once again flashed crimson, and feeling his own eyes narrow, Sesshoumaru crouched in front of the monarch and held out a hand to help him up, "I won't kill you, but only because of the fact that it would be playing into that monster's hands. For now, you shall continue to live and breathe in this world and not as a spectre that has died wrongfully."
A sigh of relief left Kagewaki as he gratefully took Sesshoumaru's hand, for it seemed that even if his reasoning wasn't the best in the world, Kagewaki was only glad that he got to keep his life. When they were both standing again, Kagewaki looked down at Sesshoumaru's eyes, and after letting him take his look Sesshoumaru backed away, giving an inquisitive look to Kagewaki while he parted his lips to speak again.
"You...you're like her, in some ways. You're different, yet similar to her. You're a lot like Kikyou..."
"And your point is?" Growled Sesshoumaru, now backing away almost defensively from Kagewaki while the other merely chuckled, shaking his head at Sesshoumaru while he did so, "What does it matter? I'm not her, no matter how you wish it to be so. I am Sesshoumaru, proud son of the great sword smith, not some priestess who managed to survive your attempted exorcism."
"I know. I just thought it was interesting," Serenely did Kagewaki smile at him, chuckling at the growl he received from Sesshoumaru as a result, "You're so very easy to irritate, do you know that? It's quite amusing actually."
"You weren't so amused when I said I would kill you," Sesshoumaru replied, smirking when the smile on Kagewaki's face faded into a serious look, he thought it was easy to irritate Sesshoumaru? It was easier to have this pathetic excuse for a lord running scared, although his amusement also faded when he saw Kagewaki's eyes flash red again, "I'm assuming Naraku is awakening?"
"Y-yes," Gasping and sinking to his knees, Kagewaki gripped the sides of his head, fingers clawing and threading through his long black hair as he clamped his eyes shut, it seemed to be painful to have Naraku take over once more, "He's...he's not happy at all...ah!"
He winced at Kagewaki's sudden collapse, the form of the other shaking rather violently before it stopped. Then, eyes the colour of blood were turned back upon him, Sesshoumaru narrowing his eyes at them while Naraku got back to his feet, a sadistic smirk on his face, "You're lucky to have caught me at a resting point, Sesshoumaru. But, you've also defied me again, attempted murder of your sovereign is high treason..."
"Attempted murder my foot," A glare was shot at the man in front of him, pouring all of his negative emotion possible into that one significant gaze while he parted his lips to speak again, "You're taking your anger out on me because of your host's big mouth, am I not mistaken?"
"Perhaps. But, maybe I am in need of some entertainment as well," Naraku was suddenly in front of Sesshoumaru, grabbing his upper arm in a painfully tight grip before he began to lead him right out of the room, and down several sets of stairs until they were in a dark and very damp dungeon, "And your mental pain amuses me so, why not your physical pain as well?"
He couldn't help but growl at Naraku as he was forced into the rusty shackles that laid on the ground and another pair that hung from the ceiling, struggling as violently as he could to get free once Naraku had his back turned. It made him even angrier when Naraku laughed darkly, he took everything in him not to react to the long leather cord the lord held cracking against the stone with sickening noise.
"It's no use, those are strong enough to hold most demons, including yourself," Sesshoumaru couldn't help but feel a bit of confusion as Naraku said those words, although his confusion was immediately replaced with pain as the whip was cracked against his back, tearing right through his clothing, "It will keep you still long enough for me to finish."
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It must have been several hours since they had entered the dungeon, for already the sun was setting as his weakened body was dragged out by the royal guard. Then, he was tossed unceremoniously into his quarters, a groan leaving him while he rolled onto his stomach so that he wouldn't touch his wounds against the ground. That bastard, whipped him to the bone...
But, he hadn't given the Naraku the satisfaction of hearing any pained noises or see any winces come from him. Even if it meant he probably stayed down there longer than he would have had to, it meant his ego was safe. Sesshoumaru, smirking with that thought, began to close his eyes with drowsiness. But, unfortunately, he also felt his stomach gnawing at itself worse than ever, it growled at him in a desperate plea to gain sustenance. But, he was still on the three day food ban, he was only allowed...water!
Soon enough his eyes fell onto the flask just to his left, and just barely Sesshoumaru managed to sit himself up and grabbed it by the neck, opening it and gratefully drinking down the cold, refreshing liquid. One sort of relief spread through his body, for he had been terribly thirsty and the water solved that problem, but he still lacked food. But...he wouldn't give into Naraku, not even if it killed him!
Unfortunately, it just might. A sigh left his lips as he put the flask down, a shudder emanating from the center of his spine as the cold wind from outside blew against the wounds on his back before he laid himself down again, a wince on his face while he pulled a blanket over his back and past his shoulders; as sore as his back was, he'd rather be in pain than freeze to death.
However, Sesshoumaru was unable to rest peacefully, for someone had opened the door, carrying a tray of food to rest in front of him, "Here, I heard what lord Naraku said about you not being able to eat for three days. I thought you should get something, even without his knowing."
It was a little girl, a girl with a big, toothy grin on her face and a bunch of her hair tied to the side of her head while the rest hung down, "Are you all right? I can help you clean your wounds, if you like."
"I don't need help or pity," Sesshoumaru glared coldly at the girl in front of him, and although he did a good job of hiding it, he was surprised that she didn't seem offended by it in any way, "You come to my aid at risk of your own well being? Who are you, to have such defiance against a tyrant such as Naraku?"
"Ah, my apologies, sir," The girl nodded and bowed respectfully before him before she faced him again, smiling with innocence he couldn't understand on any level, "My name is Rin, I was sold to the lord two years ago. I hope that I can be of service to you, sir..."
"Sesshoumaru. I have no place or title here," Turning away from the little girl, he put his energy into glaring at the wall, although he ended up tensing when he felt a cold cloth being pressed against some of the wounds against his back, "Why are you cleaning my wounds?"
"They'll get infected if I don't," Shyly the girl's voice responded to him, and with a sigh did Sesshoumaru face her again, eyes travelling to the food before they caught sight of her face once more, "Please, eat and rest, Sesshoumaru. You'll feel better in the morning, promise!"
"...I'll have to take your word for it," Sesshoumaru forced his tone to soften for the girl, he felt odd when she smiled down at him. It was a warm, honest smile, and only one other person had ever given him one of those, "Why? Why do you seem so happy when you too are in captivity?"
"Well...I'm glad to finally have someone other than that nasty priest to play with," Rin answered the question while going back to treating the whip marks, though Sesshoumaru could feel her eyes on him once more as he began to eat the bread provided for him, "I hope it's good, I made it myself!"
Sesshoumaru said nothing in response while he ate, narrowing his eyes at the plate before him while he felt the food slide down his throat and into his burning insides. He wasn't Naraku's only victim, he could tell by the slash marks on her arms, neck and legs that weren't covered by her poor excuse for a garment. He'd make the bastard pay, not only for his own pain but for the suffering of this little girl as well...
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Author's Note: Yay, chapter three! Rin appears, there's reference to Kikyou, and some toned-down Sesshoumaru bondage (seeing as I was too lazy to be detailed with it and wanted to get this up), what more could you ask for? Anyway, yeah, I'm getting better about updating, even if high-heeled shoes nearly make me do the splitz (which they did, unfortunately, in real life) I shall continue to write this piece of fiction! ...yeah. Done ranting, now review so that I can know what you thought of the chapter!
