Before reading, please note that this is rated MA for a reason.

The next chapter contains gore and torture. Readers' discretion is advised.

19º - Torture

(*)

Kagome opened her eyes and stretched her arms. Apparently, she was more tired than she thought, because even though she was in an uncomfortable position, she had ended up sleeping with her back against the tree. Looking around, she realized that it was already dark outside, yet she was alone. No one had come to get her. But there was a strange sound interrupting the silent of the night. Closing her eyes, she tried to focus on what she was hearing. It was screams…

Her immediate thought was that someone, or something, was attacking the castle. Without thinking twice about it, she raised herself and ran towards the entrance. She wasn't powerful, but maybe if they were under attack she could help somehow. It wasn't hard to find the door since the candles were lit. Once inside the castle the screaming got louder. She couldn't trust her eyes to find the location, so she closed them and followed her hearing.

One step at a time the screaming was getting louder and louder. But something was off. If in fact the castle was under attack, why couldn't she hear the clinking of swords? The guards should be defending and attacking, not just screaming. The castle was, also, very empty. She had now run across different hallways and doors, yet she couldn't find a living soul. Where was everyone? Where was Aimi? Could they have been captured? No, Inu no Taisho would never allow it.

After roaming countless hallways, Kagome saw an open door, which led down to a staircase. 'Strange, I don't remember ever seeing this here.' The staircase was leading down, and whatever was happening, was happening downstairs. The screams were definitely coming from there. Looking around her, Kagome saw a sword hanging on the wall. If she was going to have to fight, she would feel more secure with that in her hands.

Not wanting to lose any more time, she managed to grab the sword and went straight to the door. Once inside, she tried to see anything that justified the screams. However, the spiral staircase didn't allow her to see anything ahead. The flames from the candles were producing horrible shadows behind her, and she felt herself tremble. She thought about going back, but she needed to see what was downstairs. They could need her help.

Swallowing all her fear, she grabbed the sword with both her hands, and started slowly descending with each step bringing her closer and closer to her destination. The screams were now filling the halls and her ears. The stairs seemed to never end. Or maybe she was just going too slowly. When she finally reached the end, she wished she hadn't.

The smell was discussing, like someone had just burned some meat. There were only two candles lighting the small corridor, making it a bit hard to see anything. Under her feet was a sticky substance that she could almost swear was blood. There were also two massive, dark, wood doors, and one of them was open. Taking small steps, she got a bit closer to the one that was open, until she was able to identify voices under the screams. It was Inu no Taisho's voice.

"Tell me who…" More screaming. A green light was coming from the inside. Then it disappeared, and she heard another voice whispering.

"I don't think he will talk. It's been too long." The voice was cold and unattached. Nevertheless, Kagome recognized it. It was Hideo. However, the warmth in his voice was long gone. He was more like Sesshomaru, now. Inu no Taisho and Hideo were down here. But what the hell was happening inside? Again, the green light and more screaming. This time, it was for a long time, almost a minute, before it stopped.

Inu no Taisho spoke again. "Sesshomaru, turn up the heat."

Wait, Sesshomaru? He was here, too? But… Not wanting to lose any more time, Kagome ran to the door and stopped at the entrance. What she saw was just unthinkable. In the middle of the room, on the opposite side, was a man strapped to a chair by his wrists and feet. In the far corner was Inu no Taisho and Hideo looking at the man with disgusted expressions. Near the man, almost on top of him, was Sesshomaru. His rising hand was glowing green and moving towards the man's face. Kagome looked at the man's face and nearly screamed. His face was raw. Blood everywhere and she could swear that he had lost an eye. His skin was no longer were it should be, almost like it had melted away.

Despise the green, Kagome could see that Sesshomaru's hand was covered in blood. Before his hand reached the man, Kagome heard, "I'll talk… I'll talk… just… make it stop…"

That's when realization hit her. They were torturing him. Killing him slowly. And Sesshomaru was the main actor in all this bloodshed. He had done this. He had tortured the guy in the chair. Forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be here, Kagome let the sword in her hands slip. When the steel touched the rock floor, the noise was loud enough to draw everyone's attention toward her, and everyone in that space looked at her.

(*)

While walking towards the castle, Inu no Taisho told them what had happened. But Sesshomaru just couldn't believe it.

According to his father, there was a rumor that the last heir of the Northern lands was alive and living under the protection of the West. Someone must have heard the rumor and decided to investigate, using spies within the castle. His father had caught one trying to leave their lands the previous night. The problem now was to identify the mastermind behind it. Therefore, Sesshomaru's skills were necessary. His poison could kill anything in seconds when used to the extreme or it could make one beg for death if used in small doses. Sesshomaru was perfect to extract information out of spies and his father knew it.

Following his father, Sesshomaru, with Hideo on his heels, went to the basement where the prisoner was being held. Three guards were keeping an eye out for any trouble. Inu no Taisho looked at two of them and said, "Go and find my mate and my younger pups. Take them to the "safe place" and do not get them out until I give the order. Is that clear?" The guards nodded and went to follow his orders. When Inu no Taisho said 'pups', he meant Inuyasha and Kagome. She was already part of the pack. However, the guards misunderstood his words and only went looking for Inuyasha and Aimi.

Inu no Taisho looked at the third guard and said, "Run around the castle and join all the servants in the main hall. Take half of the guards with you and ensure that everyone stays there. Tell the other half of the guards to run though the perimeter of the castle and bring me anyone who looks suspicious to you, alive. Clear?" The third guard nodded, and just like the other two, the guard went to follow his orders.

Inu no Taisho took a deep breath. He knew he was being overprotective, but he didn't want to take any chances with his family. If there were any more spies within his castle, he would find them and kill them. No one threatened his pack and lived to tell the tale. Now that his family was protected and under supervision, he could take the information out of the spy without any concerns.

Inu no Taisho told them to enter and closed the basement door. Then, the three of them descended the stairs and found a bald, short and very ugly man, strapped to a wooden chair.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Hideo said. His voice was cold and disgusted. His battle mode was on. Looking at the spy, a crooked and evil smile appeared on his lips. "It seems like a little mouse to me…" To anyone who didn't know him, they would think that he was enjoying the possibility of torturing someone. Inu no Taisho, however, knew better. Even if Hideo was a cold blooded killer, he never enjoyed doing it. Yet, he was capable of changing his expression, and that was what most terrified his victims. The fake pleasure in his eyes was horrible.

'This is necessary,' Inu no Taisho kept thinking. To safeguard his family, he needed to know where the threat was coming from. Inu no Taisho and Sesshomaru went to the corner of the room, while Hideo got closer to the spy and looked him in the eyes. "I'll give you two seconds to tell me willingly who sent you. If not, I'll make you." The spy looked at Hideo and smiled. He was scared, but he wouldn't open his mouth. Seeing the spy's smile, Hideo said, "Very well. Your choice." And started working.

A few minutes later, they were interrupted by a guard who gave Inu no Taisho his report. His family was safe, the servants were being observed by half of the guards, while the other half was searching the castle grounds. Inu no Taisho nodded and the guard went back to his post.

Within an hour, the left eye of the spy was rolling on the cell floor, while Hideo started cutting off one of his fingers. No one was enjoying this, but they needed the information. One more hour and Hideo was getting tired. He was already sweating from the effort. The spy had just passed out from the pain, and yet he hadn't cracked.

"Hideo," Inu no Taisho called, "Let Sesshomaru take it from here."

Hideo nodded and started cleaning his hands. Before he could move away, the spy woke up. "I'll give you one more chance to tell me what we want to know. If you don't, my friend here will take over, and he will not be as kind as I was." Fear, yes. The one good eye of the spy was laced with fear. But it was still not enough. Hideo shook his head and let Sesshomaru take over.

Slowly, as if trying to give the spy time to reconsider his decision, Sesshomaru's hand started glowing green. He was especially famous for his poison and the atrocities that Hideo had done would feel like a vacation after he was done. When Sesshomaru's poison touched the spy's skin, his screams became much stronger and powerful. The sensation was that his skin was melting and falling apart. No, this was too much. How could anyone survive that?

But he did. For a long time, Sesshomaru didn't stop. He didn't ask anything. He wasn't even giving the prisoner a chance a say a word. He wanted to get his message across. He was not forgiving. He was a cold hearted killer that wouldn't mind spending the night torturing him if that gave him what he wanted.

Truth was, as cold as Sesshomaru was, he didn't enjoyed it. To him, this torture meant nothing. The man receiving the torture was nothing. He didn't particularly enjoy it, but it would also not upset him. That was what made him the killing perfection. He would kill anyone or torture anyone who represented a danger to his family. Kagome was his soul mate, meaning that anyone who crossed their path would die a slow death. The man in the chair was just a means to an end.

Time went slowly. The four individuals down in the basement lost track of time. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, was getting impatient. He wanted to go to Kagome and make sure of her safety. When the spy passed out again, Sesshomaru looked at his face. Almost eighty percent of his skin had melted way, leaving a lot of blood on his hand. The pain should be immense but not enough to kill him.

Apparently, he wasn't the only one who was getting impatient. Inu no Taisho was, also, clearly losing his patience, because as soon as the prisoner woke up, he screamed, "Tell me who," while Sesshomaru used his poison again. The spy screamed and screamed. But Sesshomaru stopped before he could pass out again. They needed him awake.

When the spy didn't say anything, Hideo looked at Inu no Taisho and said, "I don't think he will talk. It's been too long."

Inu no Taisho nodded and told his son, "Sesshomaru, turn up the heat."

When Sesshomaru heard his father, he could hear the impatience in his voice. It had been a long time since anything like this had disturbed his father. Not thinking twice about it, he increased the amount of poison in his hand and went for the spy's face again. Before he could reach it, however, the man said, "I'll talk… I'll talk… just… make it stop…"

'Finally,' thought Sesshomaru. He was getting tired of this little game.

And that's when they heard it. Clear as a bell, the sound of steel against rock. There was someone at the door. He looked up and followed the noise with his eyes. There was someone at the cell door… It was Kagome.

(*)

*A big thank you to my beta, BelovedStranger! She's absolutely amazing!

**Also, a big thank you to everyone for reviewed! Really, thank you!