BlueMoon Goddess: I decided to update two chapters just to speed things up a bit and because not much excitement was taking place in the previous chapter. But this chapter the foraging starts and some action takes place. So I hope you enjoy this chapter, and happy reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, its characters, or 'Royal Dragon' which this plot is based on.
Summary: Why did life hate her? Kagome's day couldn't get any worse. First, she gets fired from her crappy job, then, she gets kicked out of her apartment and was homeless. But the cherry on top was getting kidnapped and taken to be hunted by demons so she can mate with one of them. Yea…she probably shouldn't have gotten out of bed that morning.
Turned out the new girl's name was Vivi. She was quiet and was a law student in her final year. Her mom had just thrown her out of the house because her new boyfriend felt that a twenty-two year old should be able to support herself. She had been on her way to crash at a friend's house when she had been taken. It looked as if she was going to have to drop out of school and get a job. She was hopeful that she would be able to finish her degree part time.
In addition, the man with the bad attitude who wouldn't answer their questions ended up being a very attractive male, with black hair that reached his back. He wore a blue kimono with green checkered patterns on it, along with blue sashinuki hakama that gathered around the ankles and black ankle-length boots. Looking at him, they could easily tell that he was a demon. What kind, they weren't so sure. But despite his eye-catching looks, the male refused to answer any questions. The only thing he said was that if any of them tried to escape that they would regret it.
On the up side, he brought them food and water, and he lit the fire in the two large fire places within the enormous room. With light enveloping the room, the space they were being kept in was actually gorgeous. The ceilings were high, and there were a few pieces of furniture that all looked like they were from the previous century. The bathroom was what a woman would dream about. It was light marble with gold taps and finishes, a walk-in shower in the corner and an oval shaped tub near the shower.
Another demon, but this time a woman with blue hair and eyes also entered the room. They were careful to lock the door with a key that was on a chain around their necks. She brought knitted blankets and blankets made from fur. She certainly was a bit nicer than the other guy. But what struck Kagome was that the lady was beautiful as well. Were all demons good-looking? They must be, from what Kagome recalled earlier about them able to find willing bed partners.
With the women's stomachs full, their hair and bodies washed, and wrapped up in soft blankets, they all soon fell asleep. Their dreams were of scary demons, sharp claws and terror.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Two days later…
"The last of the females are secured. The foraging will begin in two days at noon. I hope you're ready?" Sesshomaru stated, turning his golden stare on Inuyasha.
Inuyasha nodded. "As ready as I'll ever be."
Honestly, he wasn't. He was actually nervous about the whole situation. He still didn't understand how he ended up participating. Sure, he thought this was a good idea to help the lands, but why was he doing it? Sesshomaru was the one who needed an heir, not him. But according to his brother, the fact that Inuyasha was next in line and something should ever happen to Sesshomaru, he needed to assure that they'll be next generations to help rule over the Western lands. Of course, Inuyasha knew that was bullshit. Deep down, he knew it was all an excuse so Sesshomaru wouldn't have to mate with a human. Even though his older brother agreed to this plan, Sesshomaru wasn't going to change his ways overnight. He still despised humans and was going to have his younger brother do all the work just to ensure he wouldn't have to. The bastard.
"Good. Only ten females were acquired, and you have to win one of them."
"Just remember that if a woman doesn't agree to be with the demon that won them, we won't force them." Inuyasha said.
"I also said that you are to succeed in capturing a female that you are to win her over at all costs."
Inuyasha made a noise of affirmation. He could catch one, sure, but to win one over. How the hell did he go about doing that? He never had a problem with humans, his mother was one. Though his interactions with them were limited. It was rare he went to the human world and when he did on occasion, it wasn't as enjoyable as other demons made it out to be.
There was a knock at the door and Sesshomaru's gaze snapped in that direction. "It's about time." He muttered. "Enter." He said, projecting his voice.
A small imp demon, who carried a two-headed staff walked in "M'Lord." He bowed in front of Sesshomaru. "I wanted to inform you that the humans have arrived."
"Where are they now?"
The imp looked up. "They are secure in the moon room and will remain there for the night."
"Is anyone with them now, Jaken?"
The imp, Jaken's eyes widened for a second, and then he looked down at his feet. "Um… no…they're locked in."
Sesshomaru locked his jaw. "They should not be alone. They might try to escape, and we cannot have them escaping. I cannot afford to have anyone of them getting injured and losing their appeal to those participating in the forage."
"What a minute, did you explain to them what's happening?" Inuyasha inquired.
"Well, um…" Jaken stammered.
"Have you at least fed them?"
"Um, no. I was told to ensure that they didn't escape. They can't escape from the room they're held in so all is well."
"And you should ensure that they don't hurt themselves." Inuyasha chided him. "Those women must be scared shitless."
"They're fine." Jaken stammered. "Perfectly fine."
"That is enough, Jaken." Sesshomaru interjected, looking irritated.
"Ye-Yes m'Lord." Jaken stammered again.
"Send someone to explain to them what is happening. Give them food and drink and anything else that they might need. They are not to be left alone. Not for a minute." Sesshomaru growled. "If anything happens to any of them, I will kill you and those responsible."
Jaken gulped and nodded. "Y-Yes, Lord Sesshomaru. You will need to forgive me for my insolence. I will send someone over to keep watch on them."
"I gave you the task and I expect it to be carried out. They are weaker, they do not have our vision, our hearing or healing capabilities."
"If I may ask, m'Lord, why then? Why would you agree to allow humans to mate with demons? Mix blood with us?" His voice quivered with the emotion and his eyes shone.
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes at Jaken and immediately, he stepped back. "Forgive me m'Lord for speaking out of turn."
"This is a trial run." Sesshomaru spoke. "If it succeeds, then within a few months' time, more demons will take part."
"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru. With that in mind, I shall entrust two demons to watch and feed them."
"Nothing better go wrong." Sesshomaru stated. "For your sake. Along with the other demons."
"What can possibly go wrong?" The moment the words were out, Inuyasha regretted them. Hundreds of males would assemble at noon tomorrow all vying for a chance at a female. A human. Every muscle in his body tightened.
-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Their early morning was much of the same, the demon pair would come and bring them food and water, and a few more girls were dropped in the room. In total Kagome realized that there were ten of them. And yet within the days they were held up, no one would explain to them what was going on. However, this day was at least different. Besides the food and water, the two demons came back carrying a whole lot of dresses.
"We have been tasked with getting you ready." The female demon said, hanging the dresses over the backs of one of the chairs. "Each of you need to take turns bathing and dressing."
"Why?" Ashley held her head high. "For the last time," she all but growled. "Where the hell am I? What is going on? I will sue you if you—"
"Silence you wrench!" The black-haired male yelled, causing Ashely to stagger back in fright. "I don't have the time or patience for back talk." He said, his eyes were wide and blazing. "You all want to know what your future holds? Get washed up and dressed and I will tell you."
"You can't do this" Kagome said. "This is illegal. It's kidnapping."
The male laughed, as he threw his head back. "You're no longer on human territory. Your rules and regulations don't apply here. We aren't governed by your laws."
"Why did you kidnap us?" Kagome asked. She knew she was risking this demon's wrath but she didn't give a damn. "We already know that your demons. What are you going to do with us?" She had a good idea what the answer was to that.
"All in due time. Now, whose first?" Before anyone could answer, he gestured to the tall dark woman. "Vitalia, take the insolent one." He pointed at Ashley.
The woman demon, Vitalia, did as the male said and escorted Ashley to the bathroom. The normally feisty heiress didn't say a word.
Each of them went in one by one. Vitalia, watched them while they washed and dressed. The hot water felt good on Kagome's skin. For just a second, she was tempted to close her eyes and enjoy the sensations. Once she was done, she toweled off and was handed a tan cotton knee-length dress. Just a dress.
"Um… I need panties and a bra."
Vitalia looked at her confused.
"You know, bra, and panties. The basics." When the female demon still looked confused, Kagome just blurted out. "Undergarments."
"Ah." Vitalia said, in understanding. "Sorry, but these were all that were given to us. Most demons don't normally wear undergarments. You'll just have to make do with this." She handed Kagome the overly large garment.
"Fine." Kagome bent down and picked up her already worn underwear. She'd just have to put on her panties inside out.
Kagome certainly didn't like this. Not one bit. She never went braless. Never. Her boobs were on the bigger side. Big enough to be an irritation when trying to move quickly. There would be no running or jogging for her. She put on the dress next. It was too big. So big that one of the straps were falling off her shoulder. And by the way all the women had their hands folded over their chests, Kagome would say that the braless situation was an issue across the board. They were also given shoes that resembled flats.
"It's nearly time." The black-haired male announced.
"Time for what?" Ocean asked.
"Time for the foraging." He smiled. It was cold and calculated.
"Don't be cruel to them, Orrin." Vitalia said.
"They wanted to know why they are here and what their fate is, well, I'm going to tell them."
"We were told by Lord Sesshomaru that we are to reassure them." Vitalia's brows were raised.
"We were also told to enlighten them." Orrin looked smug before turning back to the group. "The reason you are here is to take part in the foraging."
"Foraging." Ashley rolled her eyes and shook her head. "That's barbaric. I would never hurt anything. I refuse to hunt. I won't and you can't make me."
"I feel sorry for the male that gets you." Orrin shook his head.
A feeling of dread unfurled in Kagome's stomach.
"You aren't going to hunt anything, stupid woman." Orrin spat. "Most of the demons from the Western lands are assembling as we speak. You'll be given a head start and can choose to remain in a group or go on your own. They will hunt you on foot…"
"What?" Vivi asked, her face pale. "That can't be right."
"From the frying pan into the fire." Ocean swallowed hard.
Pia whimpered. She hugged herself tighter. She was the smallest of the women. A tiny little thing with fine blond hair and huge blue eyes.
"You're here for the demon males." Orrin smiled. "Such small frail beings." He cocked his head, looking at each of them like they were bacteria under a microscope or bugs in a nest. "I think its lunacy. You'll be torn to pieces."
This elicited whimpers and scared moans from the women. Ocean grit her teeth but Kagome could see her lip tremble despite her trying to be brave. She couldn't blame them.
"Stop it!" Kagome tried to keep her voice even. "You're scaring them."
"Good." Orrin snarled. "They should be scared. The other males will hunt you and fight for you. The successors will get to keep you. To rut with you."
There were cries of outrage and disbelief.
"No, but why would…?" Vivi stammered. "This can't be happening." Tears coursed down her cheeks.
Orrin smiled. "You're to be mated and impregnated."
"No!" Ocean shouted. "I refuse to—"
"Quiet!" Orrin pointed at Ocean, who paled. "Your fate is sealed. There's no point in arguing. It's done." He shook his head. "I can't believe my Lord had succumbed to the whims of the other rulers and brought you here. Small, frail, pathetic humans. I doubt you'll survive the mating let alone the pregnancy. It's crazy they would attempt this."
"Stop it." Kagome's voice quivered this time. "We have rights. It's not—"
"I told you." Orrin spat. "You're in demon territory. I would suggest that you run, that you fight and that you pray. We demons are big and strong, if they try and rut you, you'll be torn apart."
Vitalia stepped forward. "That's enough, Orrin. You're scaring them. What you're saying isn't true. There are—"
"We demon are males big. Much bigger than human males." He put emphasis on the word
much.
Vitalia was silent for a time. "That may be true, but—"
"But nothing." Orrin cut Vitalia off. "It's time for the foraging to begin."
"No!" Vivi shrieked. The woman was completely terrified. Kagome couldn't blame her. It was how she felt inside. She had learned long ago that it didn't help to panic or to scream and beg. She would bide her time and find a way out, hopefully for all of them.
"Don't come near me." Ocean tried to act brave. "I'm not going anywhere with you."
Ashley folded her arms. "My lawyer will—"
Orrin slapped Ashley with such a speed that it only registered what had happened after the fact. Her head was flung to the side and her cheek was already turning a light shade of red. "I'll hurt you, all of you. I hate humans. You can choose which you would prefer. I'll kill you quickly, I'd snap your neck like a thin twig. Or you can face the other males who'll hurt you a whole hell of a lot before you finally—"
"Orrin!" Vitalia shouted at him. "You need to stop toying with these women." She then turned towards the group, her voice reassuring. "He won't kill you. Yes, demon males are really big and strong, but—"
"But nothing." Orrin interrupted. "You don't have a choice. I would recommend that you head for the waterfall. Find the river and follow it. They'll have a hard time picking up your scent. It's your only hope for escape. Be very quiet. Our hearing is extremely good. Cover yourselves with mud to try and mask your scent. We also see well at night. You never know… if you're quick, quiet and careful, you might just get away. I hate humans. I want nothing more than for all of you to be gone." He shrugged. It seemed like the he was helping them. "This is your only hope for escape. They won't expect it."
Even though Orrin's words made sense, he clearly didn't like any of them. Maybe it was all a trap.
"You would like nothing better than for them to escape." Vitalia shook her head. "Just because you're one of the demons who hate humans and didn't agree on this plan, it needed to be done. Lord Sesshomaru has already approved it, so let it go. Besides, you're not participating in it anyway."
"I wouldn't stoop so low as to mate with a human wretch. Why else do you think Lord Sesshomaru isn't participating as well?" He then turned towards the group of women. "I have a woolen shawl for each of you. It can get cold up here in the mountains. Apparently, you humans struggle to keep yourselves warm." He rolled his eyes. "So weak." He tsk'd. "Do as I've instructed and you'll stand a chance. Ignore my advice and…" Orrin shrugged. "It'll be your own fault."
-0-0-0-0-0-0-
Kagome's feet touched the ground and for a moment, there was a feeling of suspension. Then gravity took hold and she was dropped on the ground. She staggered but managed to stay on her feet. The others were deposited the same way. She pulled off her blindfold. Ocean was looking around her. Pia was picking herself up off the ground, and the others were scrambling to remove their own blindfolds.
They were in the middle of nowhere. The grass was about knee-high and a beautiful, bright green. The field for the most part, was clear of trees with only a few small bushes here and there. But beyond that, with thick forests as far as the eye could see. And beyond the forests, were giant, mountain peaks.
It was breathtakingly beautiful and terrifying, all in one. How on earth were they going to escape this? It seemed that the nearest civilization would be thousands of miles away. If they escaped the demons that were taking part in this foraging, they might just end up dying out here in the wilderness. The fact that they were in demon territory, other demons could come after them along with wild animals.
Either way they looked at it, it wasn't going to end well no matter how things turned out. Kagome shivered recalling Orrin's words. If she was captured by one of these demons and used in that way…no! There was no way she was going to allow herself to be used in that matter. She would rather die trying to escape and would fight to the death if one of them managed to catch her.
The other women were talking amongst themselves. Arguing about which direction to take.
"We need to go that way." Ashley pointed to the route that would take them further into the valley.
"That demon, Orrin, said to head for the waterfall and to follow the stream." Ocean pointed to the right. True enough, a white mist could be seen on the side of the mountain. The undergrowth looked thicker and greener as it moved away.
"Yup." Kagome nodded. "That looks like the waterfall alright."
Ashley shook her head. "You're actually going to trust that demon? He has it in for us. He wants all those horrible things to happen to us. It's obvious that he shouldn't be trusted."
"Yeah, but what he said makes sense." Ocean put her hands on her hips.
Pia chewed on her lower lip and the others looked like they were about to pass out at any second.
Ashley put her hands on her hips as well. "I don't give a rat's ass about what he said. I'm going that way. It's easier going and I'll be able to get further away quicker. The sooner I can find a road or some sort of civilization the better."
"I don't think you're going to find much of anything going that way. Nothing human lives anywhere close to where we are right now. I think you're fooling yourself big time." Ocean countered.
"Well, that's the route I'm taking. You can go wherever the hell you want to. I'm not stopping you."
"Whatever." Ocean huffed. "You heard the brief. We only have a four-hour head start." Right before they were dropped off in the area, Vitalia gave them a bit information on what would be happening during the foraging.
"Yeah, I heard the brief loud and clear." Ashley pursed her lips for a few moments. "They also said that they have to stay in human form for the duration of the hunt."
Ocean choked out a humorless laugh. "They'll still be way faster than us. I think you're fooling yourself thinking that you can outrun them by taking the easy route. I'm going to find that river and I'm going to use it to mask my scent. It's also common knowledge that if you follow water, it will eventually lead you to settlements. Once we're far enough away, we could even make a raft or some sort of a vessel to get further downriver even faster."
Ashley shrugged. "I'm done arguing. Good luck, ladies." She curled her hand around the water bottle that was strung around her neck and started to walk down the gentle slope that would take them further into the valley. The woolen shawl was tied around her waist. They had all done the same.
"We should stick together." Kagome tried. "I agree with Ocean, for whatever reason, that demon jerk is really hoping that we escape. I don't trust the bastard, but it's the route that makes the most sense. Besides, that water bottle won't even last until the end of today and what then?"
Ashley ignored her and continued to walk.
Kagome turned back to the rest of the group. "Okay, I'm going to assume that the nine of us are going to stick together and head for that river."
Ocean nodded. "If we head out in a northeasterly direction, we should hit that stream without losing too much time."
"Agreed." Kagome nodded. "We need to be sure to keep an eye on the time. Those demons are heading out at midday. We need to make sure we hit that river way before then and that we're completely silent once noon rolls around."
"I'm not coming with you." Vivi blurted. She sat down and folded her arms around herself.
"You have to at least try." Pia said, a slight quiver to her voice.
Vivi shook her head. "It's pointless. I don't want to die out here from hunger or thirst." She shivered. "I don't want to be savaged by wild animals either." She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "I'd rather take my chances with one of the demons." As she spoke, her eyes filled with tears.
"They plan on raping us." Ocean swallowed thickly. It was the first time that they had been able to talk about it since hearing their fate from Orrin.
"Only one." A single tear fell and Vivi wiped it away. "They have to fight and win us. One guy for each of us. I'm going to do what it takes to survive. Maybe we can reason with them and we can come to some sort of an agreement." By now the tears were streaming down her face.
Anger coursed through Kagome. "That's bull." She said. "It's complete and utter bull. They have no right to use us in this way. I'm going to stand up and fight, even if it means I end up dead."
"I'm with you." She could see that Ocean's teeth were clenched and her shoulders were back.
"This just feels like some bizarre nightmare. I keep pinching myself, trying to wake up but it's not happening." Vivi shook her head, her eyes were wide. "I just wish I would wake up already!"
"Stick with us." Kagome gave the other woman's arm a squeeze. "Maybe we can get out of this thing. We have to try and we have to go right now. Please come with us." She looked down at Vivi.
The other woman shook her head, still crying. Kagome hated to leave her but what choice did they have? She sighed. "If you change your mind, you know where we've headed. Follow us." She leaned down and squeezed her shoulder. "Good luck."
Vivi gave her a half smile, she sniffed. "It's useless you know, running. It's useless." Her shoulders slumped.
Kagome prayed that she was wrong even though a tiny voice inside her told her that Vivi was probably right. Instead of listening to that little voice, she prayed even harder. The eight of them set off for the river, they had to formulate a plan to try and disguise their scent. To try and fool the demons. Or die trying.