Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any characters involved in the anime.

A/N: Hope you guys liked the last chapter! Here comes another piece! Enjoy…

GLADIATOR

Chapter 2

"Kagome! Wake up!" yelled a brown haired maiden. Her brown eyes flashed in annoyance as she stared at the grunting lump twisted amongst the bed sheets.

The lump being Kagome Higurashi.

Kagome moaned her protest at waking up, but eventually obliged. She never really was a morning person…

She sat up, her raven locks a complete mess, going this way and that. Her eyes were still slightly glazed over with sleep as she yawned and looked over at her hand maid, Sango.

Sango had been her personal servant for longer than she could ever remember. Even though she bore the title of a servant, she was no such thing, a sister to Kagome was more like it. They were best friends, and stuck together through thick and thin…

Naraku had spotted Kagome one day out at the big market, and immediately asked her to become his new bride. Kagome was skeptical…even though this was her king, she didn't really want to marry the man…she wanted to marry someone of her own choosing, and this man was not the thing.

She heard of how he treated the peasants, and didn't appreciate it one bit. She also never attended those "matches" that were held in the kingdom's arena. They were pointless right? Well, that's what she thought.

She would have turned him down, but when she talked to her mother about it, she immediately told her to comply with the king's wishes, not for the money, no, but because that if she declined, their lives would probably be on the line to spare the king some of his own pride.

So, here she was, sitting in an enormous bed, in the king's castle, amongst all of this luxury. She really wasn't used to this…and didn't think she ever would be.

"Kagome! Up! Now!" Sango ground out once more between clenched teeth.

Kagome just blinked for all she was worth and then finally opened her eyes completely, "Oh yeah…the match today…I forgot I had to go with the king…"

Sango rolled her eyes as if that was the most obvious statement all morning. "Yes, Kagome, you have to go with the king, which means you have to be dressed like a queen. Here, put this on and I'll work on your hair."

She threw a lavender dress at said girl, who slipped it on in record time. The color really did do wonders for her, making her hair and eyes stand out beautifully.

Sango sat her down in a chair in front of a vanity mirror, and began working out all of the snarls that had crept their way into her hair overnight.

"You know…I really don't want see why I should have to see that match today…its all just a barbaric show of masculinity is it not?"

Kagome watched herself in the mirror as Sango smoothed her natural waves in her hair to where it actually looked quite elegant, how did she do that?

Sango looked at her reflection, "Well…you know what your mother said, if I was you, I would do what the king asks…he doesn't really strike me as flexible you know…"

Kagome just sighed, but put her hand up to stop Sango when she tried to put makeup on her face. She never did like wearing it, what was the point? All it did was ruin your skin anyways.

Two weeks…just two weeks before she is married off to that pig-headed king of theirs. Of course, she would never let him know that was what she thought of him, for fear of him killing her family, and maybe even herself.

She wanted to marry for love! Not to save her behind! How crazy this all is…it was all so strange to her, as if someone just picked her up out of a box chock full of other people, and stuck her in a completely different box.

Well, in a sense…that's basically what really did happen…minus the box part.

Once finished with all the necessary primping, Sango made her way to the kitchens to fetch her lady some breakfast, and off they were to the arena where she would meet up with the king and join him on the balcony.

The arena was already packed, the crowd roaring and ready to get the event underway.

Kagome was ushered through the balcony's entrance and into the presence of Naraku himself.

She took in his dark form. His long dark brown hair mixed with those dark eyes and pale skin made an overall deadly combination. He would be quite the handsome fellow, had it not been for his corruptive ways.

He smirked upon seeing her, and also took in her appearance quite lustfully, which made her involuntarily shiver.

"Well, hello my dear…its nice of you to have joined me out here." He motioned for her to sit down in the ornate chair next to his own, not quite as big, but just as elaborate.

"Have a seat and enjoy the show love." And with that he swept his cape back and leisurely kissed the back of her hand before settling himself in that lazy posture he normally took on.

She stuttered a few thank you's and sat down in her respective seat.

As she did this, the crowd noticed her presence and began shouting. "Cheers to the beautiful queen Kagome Higurashi!"

She blushed quite heavily while Naraku just smirked his satisfaction.

Her attention was drawn down to the arena when she caught sight of a man with silver hair. The same man that had glared at her the other day. Although, come to think of it…he had been covered with blood yesterday, and gashes galore, what happened? How come there were no injuries?

Naraku caught sight of her confused expression, and as if reading her mind, explained.

"That hanyou is called Inuyasha, he is half human and half demon, his demon blood allows him to heal practically overnight. That is what makes him my prize fighter, he can keep coming back for more day by day."

She looked on in wonder and amazement. She just noticed the little dog ears sitting atop Inuyasha's head, she hadn't seen those the other day…"I have never seen a demon before, but that is quite the thing, to be able to heal like that. If he is so powerful as to do such a thing, has he ever tried to leave?"

She was merely curious, not conspiring, this Naraku could tell by her expression. So he decided to tell her his little secret, they were to be wed soon anyhow, so what hurt could it do?

He pulled a little black ball from inside his cape and held it in front of her to see.

The closer it was to her, the sicker she felt, it was like a ball of condensed hatred. It made her uncomfortable so she leaned away from it, but still looked on at it in curiosity.

"This, is the Shikon no Tama, I have removed a few pieces of the jewel and placed them on collars for the demon fighters. As long as I have this jewel, I can suppress their powers enough to control them and keep them from revolting. They still have enough strength to fight each other though, and provide for blissful entertainment, don't you think?"

She looked at him a bit confused still, "Well, I wouldn't know of such entertainment, seeing as I have never attended one of these matches before…"

"Well, you'll soon see my dear, you'll see." He pocketed the jewel once more and turned to face the arena, here comes the second fighter.

Kagome's face scrunched up as a huge, hairy, wolf-like demon made its way into the ring. She was beginning to worry for the small man known as Inuyasha, but was stunned when she saw him just stand there quite leisurely smirking, whilst cracking his knuckles.

It was customary protocol for the king and queen to stand and acknowledge the fighters and signal for the fight to begin.

So the two on the balcony stood as the fighters looked up to them for the gesture to start.

And once again, Kagome's eyes locked with Inuyasha's. Save for the fact that he was glaring rather pointedly at her, and she was merely staring out of curiosity.

She couldn't tear her eyes from him, and was saved when Naraku waved his hand for the battle to begin.

What happened next shocked poor Kagome to death.

Blood…

Tons of blood…

…flew through the air quickly as the wolf demon sliced Inuyasha's chest open.

The blood continued to splatter everywhere as the wolf demon continued his bloody assault on the hanyou, raking his claws onto every bit of Inuyasha's body.

After what seemed like a one-sided fight, Inuyasha suddenly retaliated, and the crowd went crazy. Using his speed and strength combined, he managed to knock the big oaf over and land a few good blows.

The fight dragged on as Kagome stared in open-mouthed horror.

How could people watch this? For fun no less?...

What is the world becoming these days? She wanted to just get up and leave but she wasn't allowed to. She was obligated to sit here and watch with the king.

Finally, as if bored with the fight, Inuyasha lazily whipped out his trusty sword once more.

"KAZE NO KIZU!" he yelled his finishing move, and once again his opponent was turned into nothing but ash as the crowds cheered him on for his victory.

He smirked as he wiped the blood from his chin with the back of his arm, and hefted his sword onto his good shoulder. He turned to the king, trying to look as intimidating as he could with all of his sustained injuries, but the king just smirked down at him, as if daring him to do something.

What he saw next took him by surprise. That dumb bitch looked horrified! Her eyes watered with pity, and he hated pity…but it was nonetheless a surprise coming from her.

Didn't she find this all to be fun and games?

Everyone else seems to think of it like that.

He strained his ears toward her when he saw her move her mouth to begin talking.

"Is no one going to tend to his injuries? Is this even allowed? What of the other demon, he has been killed!" she all but rambled on.

Inuyasha listened with disgust as Naraku supplied her with his distasteful answers.

"Now now, dear, as I've told you before, these are demons we are dealing with. Those injuries will be gone by tomorrow morning, and of the other demon, it was his own fault that he died. He didn't give it his all in battle and therefore did not deserve to live." He finished, but Kagome still looked on in shock.

What the hell does she care? She's marrying that ass of a man Naraku, so shouldn't she think the same way as him?

He watched her pace along the balcony, making her lavender dress swish about. He kept staring as if in a trance, before shaking his head and grumbling to himself as he made his way to the exit once more, limping as he went.

As Kagome watched the hanyou limp out of the arena, a tremendous wave of pity washed over her. She would go and tend to his wounds later, there was nothing wrong with that right? So long as no one knew about it.

Later that night….

Making sure the guards were gone, she made her way down the rat infested halls towards the cell block, using a torch to light her way. She had told the guards that they could take the rest of the day off, and offered to deliver the keys to the next shift workers for them.

Of course, they happily agreed to this, how often did they get to go home early?

Once she reached the cells, she gazed through the atrocious iron bars in search of the hanyou they call Inuyasha.

What she saw made her heart sink; so many demons were locked up, more like cooped up, in these cells, and for what?

To kill each other.

Most of them were asleep, but the few that were awake acknowledged her presence with widened eyes.

"Mistress, what may I ask are you doing here of all places?" one of the demons spoke, quite politely.

"I am here to tend to the demon Inuyasha's wounds. They looked rather terrible after his fight today…" the demon looked at her in astonishment, "I also brought some food with me, my personal maid told me of the conditions down here, and I am dreadfully sorry…all I can offer is food, water, and cleaning your wounds…"

The demon gave her a weak smile, "My lady, it is not your fault that we are here, but I greatly appreciate what you are doing. If Naraku finds out about it he might have your head…"

She nodded, but brushed off that statement as she slipped him some food and clean water. Who would have known how polite these demons were, even more so than most of the humans she knew!

He graciously accepted her offering and pointed her towards Inuyasha's personal cell.

Along the way she stopped to talk with a few other demons, offering them a share of the food and water she brought with her.

When she reached last cell on the right, she noted that this was the one that kind demon said Inuyasha was in.

She shivered involuntarily as a pair of golden eyes penetrated her from in the darkness.

"What do you want?" came a rough, masculine voice.

"Are you Inuyasha?" she asked, but got no answer, so she lifted her torch up to get a better look and confirmed that it was him.

"I'm here to clean your wounds…" she smiled at him, trying to be pleasant enough to get him to open up to her like all the other demons had.

All, she got was a grunt in reply, so she took that as his consent to come in. She had to admit that she was a little scared, after seeing what he could do in that fight, what if he turned on her?

She pushed her fears to the back of her mind and followed through with what she had planned as she pulled out the keys to his cell.

He just sat there on his makeshift straw bed, as she swept open the cell door, set her torch in a holder on the wall, and made her way over to him.

The scent of roses suddenly swept over him as she kneeled down before him.

He continued to stare at her, a little less crossly then before, but kept up the scowl that adorned his face.

"I need you to remove your top if you would please…" she said as she blushed, it might have been dark, but the light in the cell was bright enough to where he could see it.

He just grunted as a reply and stripped himself of his top, propping himself up against the wall.

She swallowed the lump in her throat that had form at the sight of his muscular chest.

The large gash that once adorned his chest was still there, but it was much smaller than before. Nonetheless, she began to work on it immediately.

She cleansed the area before beginning to massage some ointment onto his chest, and couldn't help but relish in the feel of his hard physique.

What was the matter with her? She had never felt this way before about anyone, so why now? She just laughed at herself and figured she was just imagining things. Then she noticed the black jewel fragment hanging around his neck, so that was what Naraku was on about earlier?

She was about to apply some salve when the hanyou spoke. "Are you done yet wench?"

Her face flushed red with irritation. Here she was helping him, and he calls her a wench? Not really what she would call a thank you, but she took it nonetheless, she didn't blame him for being a jerk.

After all, who wouldn't be under these conditions?

So instead of lashing out like normal, she calmly replied, "Just let me get you some fresh bandages and you'll be all done." Once again, there came a grunt as his reply.

After that rude question, she began feeling a bit antsy in his presence, so she worked a bit quicker than before.

Once finished she stood up and told him to help himself to the food and water she brought.

She made her way out of the cell when she heard him scoff. After shutting the door she looked at him.

He just stared at the food, and then looked up at her irritably. "I don't need your pity bitch…"

That was the last straw, "I don't know you very well, and so thus far have kept my calm! If all you can do is call me names after offering my help, then fine, you can just be that way you pig-headed jerk!" she huffed before finishing, "and my name is Kagome, not bitch!"

He got up angrily, and in a flash had her yanked up against his body, the only thing separating them were the bars of cold iron.

"Listen here bitch, I didn't ask you for help, you came here on your own accord. If I wanted help, I would ask for it, but I'll tell you this, I don't need your help, or anyone else's for that matter, got it?" he ground out between clenched teeth.

She gulped when she caught sight of his fangs, and shivered when his hot breath rolled off the sensitive skin of her neck.

But what was this? Something was giving off a pulse? She looked down at the jewel fragment on his neck and watched in astonishment as the tip of it had began to turn a light pink color.

Inuyasha seemed to have noticed too and looked at her, this time with curious eyes. "Who the hell are you?..." he murmured. He felt as if his strength had doubled, and realized that the jewel was suppressing his powers as much as it usually did.

She finally jerked away from him, taking hold of what little dignity she had left at the moment, and huffed out loud.

"You sir, are crazy…" she said airily.

He noticed that when she moved away the jewel turned black once again.

"Even though you were mean to me, I still encourage you to eat the food I brought you. It's the least I could do for you after having that gory battle earlier. Since you said you don't want my help, I will leave you alone from now on. Good night Inuyasha."

With that she turned and stalked off, not looking back at him.

Silence once again blanketed the cell block…

He just stood there at the bars, staring in the direction of where that woman had walked off, before one of the other demons broke the silence.

"You know young one, you should take help and support from others when you are given it, especially when you are in the position you are now. Seldom do you get a second chance once you turn your head away from it…"

Inuyasha just shook his head and snorted, "I don't need help from anyone, got that old man? That bitch is the king's soon to be wife, soon she'll be just as corrupt as him."

The other demon chuckled at the naiveté in the hanyou's words. "Dear boy, you wouldn't know a ticket to the promised land if it smacked you in the face it seems. Just pray that mistress gives you a second chance."

Inuyasha just grunted his reply again, and began to wolf down the food that bitch brought. It was pretty tasty come to think of it…and his wounds did feel a lot better…

Eh, what did it matter, he would just fight again tomorrow and go hungry once more.

He didn't want food and water, he wanted freedom.

And he would do anything to attain that…

A/N: So, how was this one? Please R&R, let me know what you think :

Until next time!

-Jinju-