A/N: Inuyasha and all characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, this story is the brainchild of Kajatk8, and belongs to her. No profits are being made from this, it is just a fun way to pass the time and expand my writing capabilities.

Some things on the last chapter - Nyght elf brought up some really good points and I thought I'd just discuss them here: they didn't believe that Kagome/Ena could have survived from her travel down the well, and I'm going to explain / elude to why this could / could not happen (Hopefully without showing my full-hand in the process) and I hope this will fix my failings. =)

First and foremost – I want to point out that none of these arrows are life-threatening. One arrow took her in the collarbone under her chin (I realize I didn't explicitly state that, so I'll fix it later, sorry), the other two she took one in each arm. Yes, it's likely that she will have a lot of damage, but people crack and break collarbones all the time (where middle arrow hit), and arrows in the arm (second and third arrows hit here) – we've seen many of the villagers/people in the show survive from arrows in more serious places, (and I'm not talking about Inuyasha.) The most likely cause of death would be infection, but she healed, so no death there.

Secondly these arrows were spelled, they were meant to curse her, not take her life.

Thirdly, she was wearing her armor, and I don't know if you remember but from Chapter 7, we learn that all of Kagome's companions (Including Totosai, Momiji and Botan and all the Edo crew/Inu-taichi) have made her a set of armor – that uses demon dragon and fish scales and demon bones. So this, while I haven't said exactly what type of protection this armor affords, we can assume that it does afford some protection.

Fourthly, I tried to make it subtle, but I think I made it too subtle in retrospect… The arrows made her think that she was more hurt than she actually was. She thought she had a punctured lung, but upon removing them, she realized she didn't, it was part of the dark arrows power/curse.

Fifthly, I haven't discussed at all what the tattoo of leaves do, Inuyasha and Kagome never found out either. I will rectify that soon.

And finally (sixthly), we don't know how long she was in the well for.

Now onto a guest reviewers concerns, noted only as DB to me:

First: yes, this chapter will include rape. I'm not going to go in depth into the actual act in this chapter, but it will happen. Kagome/Ena will deal with the consequences of the act probably for the rest of the story, but it will NOT be the focus of this story. I've got way more important things planned for that.

On that note: If you don't think that rape happens or you don't like reading about it, then I suggest you not read anything, because unfortunately rape is in every culture in the world. Particularly in the period that Kagome/Ena has found herself in. In this time, women were thought of only as a means of property/monetary value/land value, they were responsible for their fortune and the money was passed on through the daughters (Only if they were aristocratic or the daughters of lords, well to do with money etc.). However, the fathers would find a 'decent' or in their minds respectable husband for their daughter, and they would be wed, many times against their will. Then the women were subjected to their husbands rule. Additionally, lords would more often than not take one wife for her money and name, and he would take many additional wives based on their political prowess, beauty, and intelligence. Now this is in the more civilized and gentrified culture (the kizoku), this is not talking about the serfs (sen-min) which were essentially slaves, serving folk etc. to lords, or the ko-min which were freemen and could have been samurai-like lords who ran across the countryside and pillaged, or it could be the farmers who worked in the fields all day for the kizoku. Either way, there is a lack of respect for women, none of which have the same rights or allowances as men in most modern day cultures. This is drastically different from pre-historic japan, where women were often in heads of power as priestesses, shaman and heads of villages.

Second: it's practically unbelievable to me, a woman in the 21st century, that Kagome hadn't ever been raped in the 15th century. She's so foolhardy and naïve in many aspects! Within the first what was it, three episodes of the show? She was captured by a group of bandits who were looking up her skirt. And if it wasn't for Inuyasha's heroic save, she could have found herself a bed-warmer to that whole group, that's just the first of many other displays of what the culture/mindset she was of the time. And that's just one example, she could have easily been by any of the multitude of demons and humans that kidnap her in the show/manga, etc.

Third: Kagome/Ena has no one to rescue her, she's entirely alone, and has yet to find a "hero" or become a hero herself (aside from the manga/anime of course). This is kind of what the story I'm trying to write is about. She's growing into a woman, she's no longer a teen.

Fourth: Write what you know, right? I've been unfortunate enough in my life to have experienced rape. For me it was many years ago, and it took a long time to be okay with myself afterwards. Now, I'm a strong advocate for women's rights, self-defense classes being taught to young women in particular, and I practice Taekwon-do myself, so I can actually protect myself from any future attack. But that's not how it is with many people. The statistics are out there its 44% of rapes in the USA occur to women under the age of 18, and 80% of rapes occur to women under 30. There are a lot of other statistics out there too, like every 107 seconds a rape occurs. 4/5 times rape is committed by someone the person knows. And perhaps the worst statistic is 68% of the time, rape is not reported to the police. The resources are out there, please if it happens to you, get help. There is no reason that it should occur, and under any circumstances, it is NOT okay. There are free 1-800 hotlines, support groups and clinics that are designed to help you. To me I see rape as a horrific experience I went through, but that I can use in my writing and make sound believable. And hopefully have the added benefit of it not occurring to someone else if I were to write about it.

(Rape statistics from 2015 in the USA, Rape, Incest and Abuse National Network, www. rainn. Org, remove the spaces obviously because of ffn)

Thank you to the magnanimous Ariel-Mystic-Siren for Beta-Reading!

Warning, graphic scenes of violence and sexual violence. Viewer discretion is advised. See rating.

Chapter 11. Escape

The convoy walked at a grueling pace and she found herself struggling to keep up as the day went on. As far as she could figure it, it was a miracle that she was standing at all. She'd consumed no food or liquids at all for the past… day? Or was it two? She didn't know how long she had been unconscious and strapped to that damn horse. Nevertheless, she was weakening, and she felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest; its rhythm echoing painfully in her head.

Along the march, the men had been leering at her, casting looks her way that she wished she could wipe off their faces. She had no idea how to get out of her situation. After a few more hours of the grueling march one of the men took pity on her and offered her some water. She gratefully accepted it, and felt like she drank her entire weight in a matter of moments. She turned and thanked him, but he only replied that he didn't wish to rape the dead. She paled. After that, she kept all interactions to a minimum and kept her head down while she furiously plotted a means of escape.

To her surprise, when the sun sank below the horizon, the band of men didn't stop to make camp. They instead kept trudging on, and on, and she thought she would truly die walking if she were forced to continue. She could just see her cold dead body, slowly dragged along behind this morose crowd, just like they had threatened and she shivered at the thought. Eventually though, a shout rang out and all the horses halted. She looked about curiously, but couldn't see what had caused them to stop.

Several more orders were bellowed out from up ahead. She couldn't hear them, but understood the authority in their instructions. They must have come from Nao. All the troops behind her formed up and readied weapons waiting for a signal to attack. She however, was pushed up against a cherry tree and tied there, like a horse.

"Don't worry girly, I won't soon forget about you." The man whose horse she'd been strapped to said. He lingered for a little too long, and someone up ahead gruffly called to him to report to his post. Yet, before he left he grabbed her chin forcing her to look at him, while he manhandled her breasts. It happened so fast – she was abashed and didn't know how to respond. "For luck." He said before dashing off. She found herself staring after him, the longing in his eyes was sickening, and she was ready to dry heave at the smallest bit of contact.

Once he was gone, she looked around frantically, looking for anything to use to cut her bindings – a sharp rock, a pointy piece of bark, something, anything!

"Come on give me something!" she groaned kicking her foot in anger.

Except in the dark, she found nothing. It didn't stop her from looking however, but it sure slowed her progress. In desperation she started digging with her toes and heels into the dirt, in hopes of finding a rock.

She continued to dig, but came up empty handed. Apparently the man-handling pig chose the best spot to tie her; only rough course clay and dry dirt met her boots.

That was when she heard the cry. Thirty warriors shouting in the distance charging forward, which were echoed with men's cries of agony and women's screams. Children were also heard, louder and quieter at the same time. Their shouts were perhaps the worst – yelling into the night at mothers and fathers who were cut down by these men. Her blood ran cold, and it finally dawned on her why they had stopped. They had come across another village and from the sounds of it – the men were laying waste to it just as they had to the one by the well.

She listened disgusted as she heard several more shouts and cries from the throes of death of both men and women alike. She couldn't help it but she started counting. When she got to forty-two, she couldn't hold all her emotions inside anymore and she broke down, crying for these unseen villagers.

That's what she told herself of course. That she was crying for the villagers. Not herself. Never herself. But as she truly thought about the events of the past day, she grew to regret her prior interference. What had she really hoped to accomplish? Saving one single village? Many of the women had already been raped judging by their outward appearances. The old and young men still lay dead, cut down where they stood defending their village. The few children she'd seen alive would become orphans. Yet, when she had formed her plan, she thought she was saving them. She'd felt a righteous need to help. Now, she was terrified at her own unclear fate at the hands of such immoral men.

Eventually the shouts died down, and they were soon replaced with the sounds of men in the throes of passion and women squealing like pigs at the slaughter. She just knew instinctively that they were being raped and tortured. She could see it in her mind's eye, what the men had started to do, just like the other village; they'd segregated the women and started using them for their own amusement. She stopped crying abruptly for fear that they would hear her and she'd be next.

She hoped that they would forget about her, but no such luck. Barely even five minutes after the wails of passion had started she heard solemn footsteps approaching her. The man who'd previously given her water approached, and in that moment she'd wished it had been Nao instead to come and find her. Though she despised their leader, this particular man frightened her much more so than the prospect of rape ever could. It was something about his eyes. They seemed cold – dead.

"I'm to bring you to Nao, struggle, and you'll not make it there in one piece." The man said seriously as he eyed her up and down.

She jumped at his brisk manner; she hadn't expected him to speak. Then she cursed herself for her silent wish. Clearly the Kami's had been listening, and they hadn't been kind.

She nodded to him and stayed as still as she could be while he untied her bindings and roughly pulled her to her feet. She fell into step behind him as he forced her to walk towards the screams, pulling roughly on her bindings if she seemed to tarry.

They walked into the edges of the village and she looked around. It was déjà vu. She was walking through the other village, just on a different day. Again, the women were segregated and tied up individually with a single guardsman to watch them, just as she'd thought. Men were seen grabbing women and throwing them into huts, and there were corpses strewn about the place.

Again only the men and children were cut down, likely those who were too feeble, sickly or young to help the convoy in one way or another. She worried over where she was going, expecting to be thrown in with the other women, and meet their same fate. However, when they purposefully walked past the women, she became more distraught over what was to happen to her. Several of the women who were tied and guarded caught her eye. They looked at her and then quickly looked away, afraid that her particular luck might become theirs.

She wasn't sure where they were going, they were moving with such a purpose and she found herself filled with dread. If this man had wanted to harm her, he could have done so back where she'd been tied up. Likely no one would have heard her scream there, yet he kept marching her through the village, and she counted the bodies that she saw just to keep her mind busy. And yet, after twenty-two bodies, she decided to quit her macabre activity and completely averted her eyes.

'Look at that roof. What a nice roof it is, well built and thatched. And look at that cloud passing by over that roof, it looks like a dragon. Not a dead body eviscerated right in front of me, no siree.' She found if she kept up an ongoing inner monologue, her mind wouldn't have time to think about what was happening around her.

Finally they stopped marching and the back of her knees were kicked out from underneath her and she clattered to the ground, yelping in pain. Since her hands were still tied behind her back, she had to throw out a shoulder to slow her landing, just so her face wouldn't crash with the ground.

'Ouch, there goes the inner monologue…'

She looked up from her submissive position straight into Nao's sinful face. It appeared that he had sequestered the lord's house for himself, and had said lord on his knees and begging for his life.

"Ahh, there you are." Nao said, nodding to her and the man holding her restraints.

"Thank you Daku, like I promised, you may have your choice of women." Nao said gesturing to a line of six women standing behind the man on the ground. All were beaten and blood was freely flowing from several wounds on hands and arms. Yet, she noted that their faces had escaped the fray. These women seemed to be of a different class than those of the villagers. Their dress was of a higher quality silk, easily seen by the intricate patterns, layers and details in their clothing. These women did not appear to be simple field hands. She mused that they must be the Lord's family, though they all looked like courtly princesses. They appeared at a loss in the current atmosphere, and she pitied them.

'How awful.' She thought looking from one frightened face to the next. Only the oldest woman, who she thought must be the wife showed no emotion, she didn't even cry a single tear. The girl on her knees suspected that the woman had known violence before, likely at the hand of her husband.

Daku bowed and grabbed the youngest daughter, barely older than a child. She guessed the girl must have been twelve, perhaps thirteen or fourteen at the most.

Nao's face darkened at Daku's choice but he said nothing. Daku carried off the screaming girl and kicked the Lord who was grabbing his kimono and pleading with him not to take his youngest, his dear Aiko.

The remaining women were crying fairly loudly and she looked at them. None of them had known of this particular terror in their life before, of that she would have bet her life. She briefly wondered at what would have been worse for the Lord, to have five sons instead and watch them killed before his eyes without honor, or to watch as his daughters were taken by evil men, but left alive, to spawn bastards who would have an even crueler life than they'd experienced. The prospect churned her stomach and she looked away. If the Kami's were kind, they would bring some happiness to this family in the future. Yet, looking upon them, she was unsure if the Kami's were kind.

She hadn't paid much attention to Nao, but he'd apparently divided the remaining women up amongst his most trusted of men, who carried them off amidst screams. The girl watched on in silence as the family before her shattered, never to be the same again.

"You disapprove?" Nao said approaching her and grabbing her restraints.

"Of course, you're monsters and what you're doing is barbaric."

"That's one way to look at it." Nao replied pulling her bodily into the Lord's house.

"What other way is there?" She said following at a sedate pace. She observed the Lord's house as she went, anything to keep her mind occupied, and not contemplating where they were going. It was a modest home, but decorated with finery. The Lord was clearly hiding his wealth from the villagers, but she noticed it nonetheless. Fine silk screens were positioned throughout the house, scrolls on every wall of poetry and on doorways there were full floor to ceiling paintings. They passed an alter above which an intricate depiction of a dog was displayed along with several offerings and burning incense. She even saw a writing desk in one room of the rooms they had passed.

'Must be nobles, if they can afford such riches and they can write,' she mused.

They passed what looked like the dining room and she glimpsed a small sad table. It looked like the family had just sat down for their evening tea when the village had been attacked. Poufs had been kicked and left in disarray but the table was set beautifully, for seven. Their tea was left cooling, never to be drunk.

"We are conquerors and they are ours by right." Nao said opening a shoji door that led into a bedroom.

"What exactly are you conquering?" She asked.

"This land, it was wrongly taken from us, so we're here to take it back. These people deserve what they get, they sided with the enemy."

She decided instead of playing into his obvious mind games that she would ask a question that had been eating at her the whole time since she'd been captured.

"So what does that make me?" She asked.

"Why, that makes you my prize." He said with a twinkle in his eyes. He angled her right where he wanted her and knocked her down. She landed gracelessly in a heap on top of a futon which had been carefully laid out.

"Oh?" She said. She didn't know what else to say to that. She certainly didn't want to become anyone's prize, but there seemed little chance of escape. Her eyes darted around the room looking for anything to use as a weapon, but it appeared that Nao had anticipated her motives and removed all objects that could be used as such.

"Yes, it took quite a bit of convincing to make Daku take another prize instead of you. I think he likes you." Nao said coyly, unbinding her hands from behind her back and again tying her restraints in front of her body.

"What does it matter to me who rapes me? The outcome will be the same either way." She replied holding her head high.

"Oh I don't think you understand. The last woman I gave to Daku, we never found her body…" Nao laughed outright at the disgusted look on her face. She'd been right about Daku; he was evil, worse by far than Nao or any of the other men.

He seemed to be able to read her thoughts and he said, "You're right of course, they aren't a very refined group of men, but they suit my needs."

"And what needs are those?" She asked. Her mind was reeling, and she wanted more than anything to keep him talking and not onto the business that he obviously had in mind.

"War." He replied simply.

This had apparently concluded their discussion as he flipped her onto her stomach and began untying her armor. As he did so, he placed a knee into the small of her back and pushed, hard.

She immediately tried to struggle. She wouldn't give him any satisfaction. She'd decided that ages ago.

That was when she felt him grab ahold of something deadly, and she froze as she heard the 'shink' as it left its sheath and then cold metal was pressed against her neck.

"If you struggle I will slit your throat, don't give me a reason to. You can either have me willingly, or you can have all of my men unwillingly." He whispered into her ear and she felt his hot breath on her neck. She wanted to throw up, from the idea of him on top of her, to what he was planning to do with her body. But she'd rather have a single monster, than face a horde, so she made up her mind.

She gave him a faint nod, barely moving her neck for fear of slitting open her own throat. He took this for affirmation and slowly moved the tanto back to its sheath resuming his work on the ties at her hips. She wondered if she could take him unawares, but then thought better of it as she glimpsed the blades hilt in the low light. She weighed her chances of escape now against an antsy cold-blooded killer, or later after he was sated. She said a silent prayer to the Kami's to look out for her soul and went somewhere else in her mind, hoping that she had made the right decision.

After he was finished with her Nao tied her wrist to her foot, he rose off the futon, gave her a bowl of water and a cloth and told her to cleanse herself, before he turned and quit the room.

She reached for the cloth immediately, not caring that it had come from her abuser, anything to get the feeling of him off her skin. She had stayed away, far, far away as he did what he'd wanted to her body, and she'd only just come back to herself. She refused to think about it, and instead busied herself with the task of cleaning. She found if she could focus on a single simple task, then she could formulate a plan of escape. She wrung out the cloth, wanting to rid herself not just of Nao but also all of the grime and dirt from the road.

It was awkward work, and she soon found herself floundering on the floor in a sad heap. Her lips trembled and she felt tears dancing behind her eyelids, but she forced herself not to cry as the breath hitched in her throat. She knew if she started now, she'd never stop.

She heard footsteps approaching as she'd just barely straightened herself attempting to cover as much of her flesh up as possible as Nao re-entered the room. He carried a tray of food and a jug, likely sake, and a single cup.

He looked at her strangely, with an almost caring note in his eyes, and she was repulsed to see it. She looked away and stared at the far wall, memorizing the painting depicted there and observed the extremely small window just above it. The window was minuscule, absolutely unusable for escape, but it was strategically placed. She knew he must have specifically picked this room, just so that he could be in control. He let her know that her know freedom was there, but it was just beyond her reach.

"I will untie you, and you may get dressed, but if you make any attempt to escape, know that I am deadly with a knife." He said dangerously as he crouched towards her and untied her wrist from her foot.

As soon as he was done she jumped at the chance to cover herself. She had been surprised that all he'd removed were her pants, but she was also grateful. She doubted her ability to put all of her clothes back on, since she was trembling. Again she forced herself not to think of why she was naked, instead just filling her mind with the act of dressing. She jumped into her undergarment and her white hakama, and started the arduous task of getting her faulds back on and settled into the right places. She struggled silently with a greave tie, and he walked over to help her.

"If you learn to obey you'll find that I can be kind."

She cringed away from him, but he paid it no mind as he assisted her and when she was fully dressed she dared to look at him in the eye. He stared right back at her.

"Who are you?" He asked her again.

"I am no one." She replied. She knew that she was in fact someone, but she wasn't going to tell him that she didn't remember exactly who that was.

He smiled at her, and she was thrown for a moment. Then she felt the characteristic backhand across her cheek that she had unwillingly associated with seeing Nao's amusement.

"Manners." He said, rubbing his hand and taking a seat on the futon. He leaned against the wall, near the tray of food. He motioned for her to do the same, and since it didn't cost her anything, she obeyed.

"Eat. You'll need your strength."

"For what?" She asked midway to a pair of chopsticks.

"We march again tomorrow."

"Where are you marching, with such purpose?"

He declined to speak. Instead he reached for the sake jug and poured himself a cup. After downing its contents in one swig he poured another and then quirked his brow at her. She disliked the look he gave her and decided to pay very close attention to her food. It was a meager meal of rice and pickled vegetables, but she wasn't going to complain. She was unsure when and if she'd get any more.

"Let's play a game."

She kept chewing, and hoped he was joking. He wasn't. Shame.

"I'm going to guess who you are. If I am right, you will say so. And do not lie; I'll know if you do."

She glanced at him and then resumed her furious chewing.

"What happens if you are wrong?"

He didn't reply, instead he stared at her coldly, drained his cup and poured another.

"You were the daughter of a Lord, possibly even a prince. All he ever wanted was a son, except, he got you. So instead of being a disappointment to him, you trained as a warrior. Just to impress him. When that didn't work, and he shunned you even more, you decided to leave. You fled your castle, and go about the land proving your worth to him."

She said nothing as he spoke, but she slowed her chewing to listen. When he stopped speaking she thought furiously and stared in silence at the far wall. She didn't want to play this game.

"Well? Am I right?" Nao asked.

Truth be told, she honestly didn't know. She had no memory at all save for waking up in a well a day or so ago. Hell, she didn't even know her own name! But she couldn't tell him that. Not only would he likely not believe her, she'd already given him her dignity; she wasn't going to give the only piece of herself that was truly her own to him as well. She didn't know what to do, but decided that perhaps her best bet was to go along with his game.

"Yes, that's exactly right." She replied unfeelingly, resuming her chewing and her attention drifted back to the far wall. She was going to burn the image of this particular noble woman composing poetry by a river holding while holding a lotus flower into her brain. Anything to keep from looking and conversing with her rapist.

"Oh-ho? Which part?" He said.

She decided to play his game albeit carefully.

"I ran away from home."

"Why would you do that?" He replied.

"My father was going to force me to marry someone I didn't love." She wildly made up.

"I don't believe you." He said, relaxing further and pouring himself some more sake. His eyes had taken on a particularly obscured sheen, which she took to mean he was getting fairly drunk.

She could tell by his tone that he was amused that she'd decided to play.

"Oh, why's that?" She replied, trying to keep her voice as bored as possible and her anger at a minimum. She'd finished the measly meal, and replaced the chopsticks on the tray. She wished she had three more helpings and a sizeable portion of chicken too. If only.

"Because you're not pure." He replied, equally calm.

Her lips pursed as her eyes swung towards his, but he seemed far more interested in refilling his drink than judging her reaction.

She had realized somewhat dimly in her faraway world that she'd not been a virgin. When he'd entered her, it hadn't hurt as much as it should have. She added this to the simple list of things she knew about herself, but she hadn't been sure. She hoped she'd lost it to someone who meant something to her, and not been raped then too. Although, she supposed, since she couldn't remember, it didn't really seem to matter at the moment.

She was still struggling to come up with a response to this when a shout rang out throughout the house and a moment later footsteps could be heard rapidly approaching the door. She listened as one of the men banged on the door, shouting for Nao to come quickly.

"Nao, hurry! It's awful, please!" The man shouted from the hall.

Nao groaned but finally stood and walked to the door. She was surprised with the ease to which he'd stood. He must have a high alcohol tolerance, she thought she'd seen him down at least four cups of sake, maybe more. Before he opened the door however, he turned and gave her a cold look.

"Move from this room and you'll regret it." He said before he slid open the door.

He walked through it and the door closed behind him with a quick snap. She got up from her place by the futon and tried to listen at the door, but she was too late. All she heard were retreating footsteps.

She calculated her chances. The odds seemed good that she could escape before Nao came back. She put her ear to the door and listened with all her might. She tried to hold her breath in an attempt to still her hammering heart. It didn't really work, but she was fairly certain that only one guard had remained. She looked around the room wildly for anything to be used as a weapon and her eyes fell on the sake jug.

'What is it with this group and sake jugs?' She mused. She shrugged the thought away and snuck quietly to the door holding the jug with one hand. She was grateful that Nao had been called away so suddenly, in his haste to leave, he'd forgotten to re-tie her wrists together.

The man who was guarding her had his back to her, she could just make out his shadow. He was eagerly listening for whatever had called away most of the men. She took this as her chance and slowly opened the shoji door as much as it could go. When she didn't think she could open it any more without making noise, she quickly slid it open with a bang and brought the jug down as hard as she could on the man's head.

He'd barely had a chance to turn around halfway before he'd been caught in the temple with the ceramic jug. He dropped like dead weight and the jug shattered around him quite loudly. As the sake dripped down all around him, she slipped past him, and didn't spare him a backward glance.

If there was anyone left in the house, they'd be after her any minute now, if the loud racket that she'd caused was any indication. She cursed, "Shit."

Yet, she encountered no one else as she retraced the steps that Nao had pulled her through just a few hours ago. She got to the front door and crouched down so she could peer around at what lay in the courtyard.

She glimpsed outside and saw nothing, but the shouts and screams of the men were increasing in frequency, and she also heard women just as terrified yelling in the distance. She thought that odd. She looked around the courtyard and to her surprise, her eyes landed on a pair of horses. She cheered silently to herself and made sure the coast was clear before she darted out running to the nearest horse for cover.

After leaving the mansion the shouts became audible and the men sounded desperate. She could finally hear them clearly now: they were saying ridiculous things, that spirits were attacking, Kami save them, and to keep that demon away. Men and women were still screaming and they sounded to be in terrible agony.

She kept those thoughts from her mind as she walked around the horse and to her complete surprise; she found her pack, bow, quiver and sword. She grabbed her supplies, strapped her sword into her obi, and shouldered her pack, bow and quiver. She was surprised at the familiarity of the movements. While it wasn't really a memory, she had the feeling that she'd done just that, prepare for battle, many times before. A muscle memory, her mind supplied, and she smiled at the thought. Something else she filed away about herself. Finally a picture would form, and she could look at all the facts of who she was, after she escaped.

She untied the two horses and smacked their backsides. Both horses took off, not needing to be told twice, they were likely spooked from all the shouting. She hoped that once the men realized she had escaped, they wouldn't know which direction she had gone, and would assume she'd taken a horse. She smiled at her clever plot and ran back the way she'd come.

She snuck back past the mansion angling for the forest just beyond the hill. She was actually escaping! She couldn't believe her luck. She ran as fast as she was able, but stumbled several times. Finally she realized she must go slower or she'd injure herself in the dark. She somberly climbed the steep hill that lead out of the village and away from the horrible bandits she'd spent the last day with. She was about to make her escape! She would never have to be forced to walk or do anything like what she'd gone through in the last twenty-four hours ever again! She was almost free!

She could hear her heart singing at the prospect, and she kept climbing, despite her weariness. She slipped and caught herself on a rock, slicing open her hand, but she got up, dusted off and kept going. Nothing would deter her. Not when she was so close.

Despite her missteps, she pushed herself on. She was about to mount the hill, and leave the village in her dust, but a strong feeling took hold of her heart and pulled. Somewhere in the back of her head she heard the words 'youki and dangerous.' She stopped confused and turned to look back.

Perhaps it was the shouts of all the women in particular. Or perhaps she just wanted to watch as the men met a cruel but just fate, as their cries on the wind told her. She wasn't sure exactly why, but she turned. What she saw made her stop dead in her tracks. She gasped in amazement, and she was sure she'd never seen anything quite like it before in her life.

A gargantuan reddish brown beetle the size of an elephant was attacking the village. The back of her mind supplied her with the words 'Hercules beetle.' It was massive with two horns, one short that protruded straight outwards and the other below the first which was long and swept out and then bent backwards in a great arc. It threw its head this way and that, causing general chaos in its wake. It knocked down huts and de-thatched roofs. It lifted men and horses alike into its mouth and ate them, piece by crunching piece. She watched as one of the men's heads was ripped off, spraying blood upon any who were below. The gigantic beetle seemed to take great care and played with the headless corpse before deciding to take another bite.

She wasn't sure what made her do it. It certainly wasn't compassion for the men. Her mind surely wasn't in control of her body, because it had been left back at the top of the hill. Yet somehow, she realized in a rather distracted way that she was running towards the giant beast. Subconsciously she knew she couldn't let a gigantic beetle eat anyone, it wouldn't be right. Even the vilest men that she'd ever met couldn't be left to this particular fate, and she was one hundred percent certain that the vilest men were those that she'd just spent the last day with. Except, it wasn't just the thought of the men that propelled her forwards. There were also the villagers down there, who were entirely innocent. And a few children. She definitely couldn't let them all suffer.

"Archers stand ready!" Someone called from the fray and she forced herself to move faster. She watched as a few of the men rallied, taking cover behind huts here and there and aiming at the great red beetle. However, their arrows seemed to have no effect against his strong outer armor and deep within her mind she thought 'they can't penetrate the exoskeleton.'

The beetle did not like the rain of arrows upon it, despite not leaving a single dent in its thick armor. Instead it grabbed the first archer it could find and flung it around like a child with an unruly doll. The man's body broke with a loud sickening crack and she was so close to the fray that she felt a warm spray of the man's blood across her face.

She licked her lips and tasted blood on her tongue. It was the final wakeup call she needed. She stood there shocked for a moment, coming to. She realized unexpectedly where she was, what her feet had done while she'd left her mind on the hill. She was suddenly terrified. But somehow it felt normal, reasonable and rational… almost expected.

With that in mind she stole herself, and embraced the feeling. She grabbed her bow from her right shoulder and brought it up, aiming at the creature. She grasped an arrow and struggled slightly to pull it from her quiver. Cursing, she'd forgotten that Nao had broken several of her fingers.

She forced her limbs to move, and grasped the fletching tightly, nocking it and aimed at the beetle's giant beady black eyes.

"Hey! Big ugly! Over here!" She yelled out, and strangely enough, the beetle's clubbed antennae turned and faced her. He clicked at her, shaking the very ground she stood on, and he started rambling towards her in an earth shattering charge.

She steeled her resolve and dug deep within, praying that her aim was true. As she did, she felt her right hand grow warm and tingle. What she assumed was adrenaline she used to fuel her backward movement on the nock. But one way or another she knew it wasn't just adrenaline, and fueled this power into her arrow, which had started to glow a light pink.

The beetle was only about a hut's distance away from her when she released and she heard a collective intake of breath. The arrow twanged off of her bowstring and gleamed, lighting up the sky as if daylight were set in luminescent pink tones. The arrow twinkled like a comet leaving a shimmering trail of emerald-colored leaves in its wake. The beetle uncaringly continued his charge straight ahead into the arrows path. Likely it expected the arrow to bounce off of its armor as all the others had. What happened instead amazed her even more than the magic she'd performed in the well. As soon as the arrow hit the beetle's eye, it sparkled and singed and in a blast of 'reiki' (her mind supplied her with that particular word), the beetle slowly dispersed in a glowing explosion of pink dust.

Several murmuring voices fell silent and all eyes swung to her in askance and explanation. Nevertheless, she was just as stunned as everyone else in the village.

She looked on in awe at her bow and then glimpsed down at her right hand. It continued to glow faintly pink spotted with green leaves. Her arm and particularly the leaves continued to glow, and when she prodded one of the leaves; a hum ran through her, almost in happy greeting. It brought a smile to her face and she felt a warm presence fill her with strength. She gently poked her fingers and realized that the glow was mending her broken fingers. There was no other explanation to describe how they were re-knitting themselves. She felt strength return to her fingers as her bones snapped back into place. It was a very queer sensation, like her hand was experiencing time, but sped up to an inhuman rate.

When she felt the last bone realign, the faint glow slowly died. She was sad to see it go, and at that moment she realized what she had been doing. She was just standing in the center of the melee, staring in wonder at her fingers. Damn, she was supposed to be escaping! How could she have become so distracted?

She heard movement to her right and she spun to look at who faced her. Nao and the rest of his men, those whom had survived the attack were cautiously approaching.

"Stay where you are," she said in anger, more at herself than anyone.

One man kept moving, unheeding her words and in the blink of an eye she'd strung another arrow and fired it at his foot. It flew across the village and landed with an explosion of pink reiki at his feet. He jumped backwards, stumbled and fell onto his back in surprise, flailing like a beached turtle.

"I said don't move." She ground out.

"You will remove yourselves from my presence. And I will spare your lives. But only if you go — now."

"This isn't over Hime." Nao replied.

She looked towards Nao and his men, many of the men seemed willing to flee, as long as they could keep their lives. However, others were looking at her in terror, while others still were grasping wounds and seemed oblivious to the entire turn of events.

"I say it is, now go, or I will kill your men." She replied.

"You can't kill us all Hime," Nao said grinning evilly. He was calling her bluff. Unfortunately, he was correct. She wasn't willing to kill to gain her freedom, and they were.

Nao gave a nod to someone behind her and in an instant that happened to fast to follow, she found that her freedom had come and gone. Her chance at escape had passed her by; stupidly she'd wasted it saving these men from being eaten alive by a colossal insect. What folly.

Someone came up from behind and swiftly hit her over the head. She crumpled forward and met the ground bodily. Her vision swam and she laid there dazed as she actually envisioned yellow canaries circling over her head tweeting along.

While she was trying to collect herself, she found that her hands had been tied once more behind her back. She was pulled up short by her hair and came face to face with Nao.

"Well, well, well. You're just full of surprises." Nao said smiling widely.

She couldn't really process what he was saying as her vision was still doubled and her mind blurry. She felt a distinctive weight lifting off of her and dimly realized that they had disarmed her once more.

"Urrgh – noooo." She tried speaking but couldn't find the right words.

"Let's see, I did say you'd regret it… hrmmm as for your punishment…" Nao contemplated for a moment.

"Ahh, I have just the thing." He said with amusement, and she could feel him pulling roughly on her hair. She also heard an audible sing of metal leaving its sheath and her whole body filled with dread.

He brought the tanto right under her neck again and she choked out "Errkk!" in surprise. He breathed on her ear in a loving fashion and teased the blade across her neck.

Her eyes were tearing up from the pain of being held aloft by her hair, but she couldn't help herself. She moaned and finally a word came to her lips.

"Please!" She said desperately.

"Please what?" He asked as he paused in his movements. She could tell he was just toying with her, but on the off chance that he wasn't she didn't want her life to end on her knees.

"Please don't." She said.

"What will you do if I don't?" He asked.

She cast around for anything that would still his hand and she started when she realized she had a response.

"Obey." She said.

"Hrmmm…" He seemed to contemplate that for a moment and from her upside-down view of him, she could see his hand tighten.

She swallowed and closed her eyes, he was going to do it, slit her throat even though she'd saved them all. What an ungrateful bastard. She screamed inwardly in frustration at her own foolishness. Never again would she be so naïve. The next opportunity she had to escape, nothing would stop her from doing so. That was of course if she survived tonight.

Nao let out a sigh and she felt the knife withdraw from her neck. She was overjoyed to feel the cold weight leave her body. However the feeling didn't last, and he didn't let her go. Instead he brought the knife right up to her cheek, directly below her right eye, pressing it in slightly for effect. She felt her cheek cut, and blood start to well. Tears that she'd been holding back also broke through from the combined pain and she whimpered.

"You will not attempt to escape again, and you will obey." He said firmly.

"I will obey," she agreed.

He shook her roughly like a sheet, and she whimpered again.

"I will not escape and I will obey."

"See that you do." And with that he removed the knife from her cheek and she sighed in relief. That was until he wrenched her head upwards painfully again and she squeaked. He brought the blade back to where he held her, and she briefly thought he would stab her in the neck. Then she felt a small 'snip' and the pressure from his hold ceased. She fell forwards unexpectedly without him holding her up, crashing unceremoniously flat on her face. Blinking the dirt out of her eyes from her position on the ground she looked up at him, and there in his hand he held a length of her hair tied back in a pink ribbon. That was what he'd cut.

"Since you act like a samurai, I will treat you as such. You are hereby dishonored and captured. You belong to me now." He smirked and dropped the hair which fell and landed at his feet with a small flop.

"Take the hime back to the mansion." He said offhandedly to one of his men and she was roughly grabbed and pulled back the way she had come.

She could feel the tears that had been behind her eyes all night finally break through, and she cried as she was dragged back to her prison. She did so silently, not wanting to draw attention to her shame, yet she doubted she was able to. Everyone she passed stared at her in amazement. Likely they'd never seen anyone kill a beast as she had. She wasn't even certain how she had done it herself.

She felt so sad, weakened and alone. Far more than the rape, imprisonment or forced marching; losing her hair had been the straw to break the camel's back. She would be known as a serf or field-hand from sight alone. Many would think her impure taking into account her armor and the company she kept. Nonetheless, despite the truth of the statement, the thought stung her pride. She faced her head downwards in shame and assessed the damage; her hair fell unevenly past her cheekbones – almost to her chin.

In her saddened state, she didn't realize that the men, women and children of the village had bowed to her, and when she was abruptly stopped she looked up.

"Move!" The man who held her restraints said.

She saw men and women blocking their way up the lane. All of them were villagers and they were all deferentially bowing to her and praising her name. They called her hime, a gift from the Kami's and thanked her for saving their village. Somewhere along the way the villagers began chanting "Hime!" and "Ena!" Others combined the phrases and in a mob she became "Ena Hime-sama." They repeated this mantra over and over until several of the bandits came forth and beat the villagers back into submission.

The man holding her restraints pulled her hard to keep her moving, despite the village's outburst. In the last turn before walking up to the courtyard that led to the mansion she saw who she'd presumed to be the Lord's wife. The woman, who was unrestrained she noted absently, quickly ran away from the man who was watching her and threw her arms around her. She whispered in her ear "Thank you Ena-sama, Kami save you." And then she did something completely unexpected. The woman kissed her on the cheek, and then she pulled back and stared into her eyes with such love that she was taken aback. They only looked at each other for a moment before the wife was knocked down by her guard and crudely pulled away.

She didn't realize when she had stopped crying, but she felt the tears drying on her face. Then the man shoved her into a room in the mansion and had the shoji door closed right behind her and locked with a forceful snap.

She wasn't sure who she truly was, but it was clear that she had been given a name. It was given to her by an oppressed people, and she was damned if she wouldn't use it. While she hadn't escaped, she had done several good deeds. At least she had saved helpless villagers, and these people, even while being oppressed, they had shown her kindness and respect.

Her heart lightened as she sank to the floor on a futon in the corner. She was glad that she had returned. She might not have been able to escape, but she had at least saved this village. They appeared strong, and she knew they would survive this occupation.

"Ena," she said, testing out the name. No, they had called her, "Ena Hime-sama." She liked the sound of that.

She smiled to herself, feeling strength truly return to her spirit.

A/N:

So I googled the heck out of "hime" and the context of using "sama" after hime, and also then watched the show… if anyone knows the exact specifics, please let me know. I'm sure I'm butchering it but I tried not to with lots of research.

Kind of a point I was subtly trying to make, but since my last chapter's subtlety kind of flew out the window, I figured I'd just point it out. In the Heian period (which is where Kagome/Ena is, though I haven't quite said it yet) the length of hair was really important, and all noble women and actual hime's had really SUPER long hair. Supposedly longer than they were tall. So the fact that Nao cut off her hair… kind of the opposite and it's sarcastic when he calls her hime afterwards.

Also, I'm about to get 100 followers! That's so awesome! I can't believe it. I love you all! I've decided to do a special and fancy picture of what I think Kagome/Ena looks like in her armor when I get 250 followers. (That way it will give me some time to draw it.) =)

Pokémon joke of the day: google "Snorlax stand up" then click images. You'll die laughing.

This was perhaps the most difficult chapter to write, all the action, the introduction of characters, dialogue and more action. I hope it came through okay. I'd love to hear your opinions.

Happy reading, love to hear from you,

Kajatk8