The Scent of Sandalwood and Sage.
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha; all credit goes to Rumiko Takahashi.
Note: Set in an Alternate Universe with non canon events! Trigger warnings for noncon/dubcon, child abuse, drugs and extreme gore. Reg flags flying everywhere! You've been warned, so please continue at your own risk!
-Last time-
As Kagome headed to the stables, she cut through the gardens. She felt satisfied with her cruel cousins' distress knowing soon that her revenge was just on the horizon. They would all pay for their crimes.
Upon passing a goldfish pond with ornate topiary, a rough hand bursted from the bushes grabbed her. She whipped around, only to find herself staring into Kirihito's angry eyes.
Chapter 2. A Butterfly In A Nest of Spiders.
"Haha! Did you think you could just run away after embarrassing us all like that, bitch?" Kagome tried to jerk her arm from his grasp, but he was too strong.
"Grandfather said you're to leave me alone, Kirihito! So let go or I'll report you!" She warned loudly, drawing the attention of some nearby servants.
"Keh! I'm not afraid of that old man! You should know that spreading your legs for the Takeda Clan isn't going to make you a noble lady! You'll still be an illegitimate little whore!" Kirihito sneered in face.
The garden slaves viewed the scene with concern, but Kirihito told them to get lost. In fear for their lives, they quickly exited the area. A smaller maid who'd suffered the lordling's wrath in the past, took pity upon the young miss and ran towards the main house to warn the master about his son.
"Ugh! Let go! As if I would do something like that! Why are you so concerned about what I do anyway? You should be happy; you'll never see me again once I marry into the Takeda Clan!"
Kirihito quickly glanced around to ensure they were alone, then pulled Kagome closer. He shamelessly sniffed her hair, much to her disgust, enjoying the scent of red camellia.
"I'm infatuated with you Kagome; you're so selfish! You know I love you! Please? Give up this foolish plan, relinquish the bridal position to Kikyo, and you can become my mistress!"
Kagome couldn't believe what Kirihito was proposing as she struggled in his grasp. Her brow pinched, and she looked at him with frustration.
As the spitting image of his sister, albeit masculine, he was conventionally attractive to all. However, Kirihito had a taste for forcing himself on women. Despite Kagome leaving home years ago, he still retained an obsession for her, which sickened her.
"Never! You forget that it was your perverse nature that drove Uncle Guijao to send me into the temple! I would never give anything up for the sake of you or your wretched siblings! Were it not for grandfather's request, I would never have returned here!"
Her answer wasn't what he imagined she would say. He deliriously thought she would jump at the idea and into his arms. Her harsh rejection caused an internal fracture in him.
Kirihito snapped! Kagome screamed as her cousin pinned her against the large trunk of the family's prized wisteria holding her shoulders painfully tightly. Bright purple floral-scented petals floated in the breeze around them. The smothering scent induced dizziness and nausea in the young priestess.
"How did you seduce the lord, hm? Was it this wicked tongue between your lips? Did you use it to caress his cock until he spilled his seed into your wonton mouth?" He asked heatedly.
"N-no! I didn't!" She replied in sheer embarrassment. Kirihito didn't believe her and he enjoyed the pained cry that left her lips when he applied more pressure to her shoulders. The freak smiled as he loomed over his pretty cousin with a crazed look in his eyes.
"Oh then perhaps you let him between your legs! Did he spill it into your cunt then? How often did you let him do it and did you do the deed on temple grounds like a vile whore? Show it to me, it's only fair right?" His dark eyes swirled with madness as he leered at her.
"Urg! Stop it! Kirihito, quit saying these horrible things! Kuranosuke is pure, unlike you, and he would never do something like that!"
Kuranosuke! Kuranosuke! I'm so tired of hearing that man's name! What do I have to do to prove my love to her? Can't she see how badly I'm yearning? I've begun to drip through my fundoshi as to how close her body is to mine! Kirihito screamed out from the confines of his mind.
In a bold move he lowered his head, forcing his lips upon hers. Kagome squirmed, pushing at his chest in earnest. She tried with all her might to resist him. His tongue pushed past her unwilling lips and stabbed at her clenched teeth.
Kirihito suckled greedily at her mouth. There he tasted sweetness; delightful whispers of fruity herbaceous tisane dwelled in the girl's saliva. His hand released her shoulder so that he could grope one of her large breasts through her shirt.
However, before he could begin to ravish her, she slapped him. Kirihito finally let go of her out of shock, and the two stood panting, staring at one another.
Kagome held back her tears, not wanting the scum before her to enjoy the suffering he inflicted. His hand immediately found her neck, and he slammed her against the tree again.
"That rich bastard is only taking a wife because he has to fulfill his father's expectations! When it comes to men like him, you'll never be the only woman. Can't you see that I am your only salvation? Give yourself to me!" He urged wildly, almost drooling as he licked his chops.
"Urg! Enough of your lies! I shall not forget how you all made me suffer! The gods always punish the wicked for their crimes and atrocities!"
The amount of fearlessness in her blazing eyes irked Kirihito who let go of her neck, and he proceeded to strike her hard. Despite the stinging pain flowing across her cheek, Kagome recovered steadily and stared up at him defiantly.
"Audacious wench! You think I'll let you marry anyone else? I'll put my bastard into you right here in the garden! That's an honor for whore like you!" He screamed, his heart breaking further with her continued rejection.
"Go-to-hell! I won't let you defile me in my ancestral home this way!" She screamed back, trembling with fury. Kirihito, emboldened by his madness, cocked his arm back and slapped her even harder this time, earning a cry of pain from her lips.
The arrival of blood in her mouth made Kagome even more enraged as she glared up at her cousin. The pain wrapped around half her skull, flesh throbbing immensely.
How dare he! Goddess, I want him dead! I can't kill him or else I'd forsake my marriage to Kuranosuke. I can't let anyone get in the way of the happiness I deserve!
"I'm finally going to leave this wretched place, and once I'm gone, I'll pray for the destruction of you and your wretched siblings!" She promised, bloody spittle dripping from her lips.
Part of her didn't believe that Kirihito was deranged enough to force himself on her in such an open area. It wasn't possible for someone to be so cruel.
"Fear not, I shall do it gently, my little Kagome." He murmured into her ear. Tears trickled from her blue eyes, amusing the monster in front of her.
Kirihito laughed at her as he began to undo the ties of her sacred robes. Her cousin ignored the screams of rejection coming from her mouth and continued to disrobe her despite her desperate struggle.
"That's enough, Kirihito! Let her go!"
Guijao's voice startled Kagome's assaulter's hands away. Kirihito backed away from the trembling girl and faced his father, who made his way over to them.
Guijao's expensive orange shoes crushed the bright purple fallen blooms of wisteria as he approached the pair. His dark eyes fell upon his son first, then slid in the direction of the battered girl who clutched her clothing to her chest crying.
He'd rushed over when the little maid burst into his study and told him what happened. He arrived early to witness the whole scene from the shadows, only intervening when he felt it was necessary.
The elder man couldn't fault his son for being taken with the wench's bewitching beauty; she was a rare flower, even if she was an illegitimate rebellious child.
Guijao produced a handkerchief from his robes and gently raised his hand toward her. He brushed aside the curtain of her silky black hair, ignored her reactionary flinching, and dabbed the folded fabric against her bloody mouth.
"You would do well to mind your tongue around him in the future. Do you understand me, girl?" He mentioned under his breath.
Despite the overwhelming urge to defend herself, she swallowed down the blood in her mouth and nodded hesitantly.
Guijao smirked approvingly at his niece's obedience and stroked her head, which made her skin crawl. Kagome stared at the ground gritting her teeth while he brushed aside her hands and diligently helped fix her dressings.
He admired his niece's lips, which were lusciously full and rosy like the skin of a ripe wild fragaria berry. His fingertips teasingly brushed the skin of her lower neck before he remembered himself and slipped her outer robe back into place.
Guijao's retreating hand did not miss the swell of Kagome's heavy breasts as he carefully tied the fabric back into place over her waist. The temptation felt all too real, and Guijao internally pitied his son.
"There, you look better now. Speak no word of this incident to anyone and return to your temple immediately."
Kagome lowered her head, thanking her uncle begrudgingly. She raised and hurried off for the stables without sparing the two males a glance.
Guijao and his son stared after her like a pair of wolves, silently appreciating the little lamb's shapely form until she was out of view. Thanks to the passing wind, her alluring scent quickly washed away from the area, leaving both men desiring.
Guijao turned to his son with a glare, flicked his sleeve back, and struck him hard. Kirihito staggered some, holding his bleeding mouth. His eyes swam with confusion at his father.
Guijao tested his wrist before staring at the boy indifferently. He then fixed his hands in clenched fists to rest upon his lower back.
"Foolish boy! I specifically instructed you to stay away from the girl, did I not?" His dark eyes bore heavy judgment toward his firstborn. Kirihito dropped to his knees, lowering his head in shame.
"Aye, y-you did! But f-father, how can you s-strike me when the w-wench s-seduced me?" Stammered the boy, pulling at his father's clothing for forgiveness.
"Oh, get off," Guijao fussed as he swatted Hito's hands away and shook his head in dismissal at the bumbling fools' words.
"You dare lie to me? I saw you trying to steal her maiden honor! I will warn you, but this once! You are the next head of the family after me! Control yourself, Kirihito! You shall have any woman you desire when I take over the family! Now, get up!" He commanded.
Kirihito spat his blood into the ground and wiped his mouth. He raised from the flower littered ground, staring at his father like a punished child.
"Any girl won't do, father! You can feel it for yourself, that forbidden desire she inspires in a man with just her haunting blue gaze alone. Those eyes of hers, they beg me to take her!"
Guijao scoffed dismissively at Kirihito's claims. Deep down, he knew the feeling oh too well. The girl's late mother was born to one of his father's favorite concubines, and he also felt the same emotions toward her.
The future head of the family placed his hand on his son's shoulder and pulled him along, encouraging the boy to walk beside him.
"The most forbidden flowers always taste the sweetest, but they are deadly, my son. We must quell these cravings and perform our familial duties efficiently as men."
Kirihito gazed at his father and in his eyes he found a level of vulnerability had not seen since his mother got sick.
"How can I recognize them, when all I see is that vile blossom?" Kirihito lamented, clutching his chest bitterly as he did so.
"You remove that blossom from the garden and destroy it! You'll learn, as I did, which flowers are to be kept. Now, how about we go and talk with your uncles about the future of you heading the family trading business?" He suggested as they walked toward the main house.
-Kikyo-
The doors to Kikyo's lavish green chambers flew open, and the lady entered, followed by her four ladies in waiting. She pulled her mother's borrowed finery from her body and tossed the trinkets carelessly on the floor.
Her servants scrambled to collect the fallen jewelry knowing how priceless the items from their former mistress were. They helped her remove the heavy outer layers of her dress.
"Tomorrow is the eve of the goddess's festival, and the man of my dreams is marrying the family bastard! Can you all believe that Lord Kuranosuke picked that ugly wench over me?!"
Kikyo complained as she flung herself down into her parlor chair in just her small clothes.
Her maids, Mako and Yuki shook their heads in disbelief, offering their ladyship sympathetic gazes as they handled her expensive clothes with care. Sayu stood in the corner silently preparing her ladyship's favorite afternoon tea.
"I overheard his lordship making plans with the village leaders for the upcoming wedding. Daimyo Isago is sparing no expense on this event! What a shame!" Pouted Wynri as she carefully unbraided the intricate knots in Kikyo's silky hair.
"Ugh! It infuriates me that the Takeda Clan is going to spend large amounts of money on that wretched girl instead of me! I deserve only the finest! Where am I going to find a man just as good as a daimyo's son?" Kikyo complained, slamming her first down on the vanity.
Wynri secretly eyed the pearls and priceless jewels resting in the pearlescent seashell tray nearby. Her hands brushed the elegant lady's hair dutifully while she privately imagined the tresses to be her own.
"Nay, milady! I'm sure if the two of you met, Lord Kuranosuke would quickly rescind the offer for that filth and choose you indeed," Sayu suggested as she brought over the tea on a jade serving tray.
Kikyo almost ignored the woman's words as she took a delicate sip of the hot liquid.
Suddenly the maid's words trickled into her mind and something clicked.
"Why yes! That's it!" She mused as she sat the cup down on the tray. "I just need to show Lord Kuranosuke that he's making a poor choice!"
Kikyo laughed deviously, shoving the maid on her hair away as she stood up from her vanity. Wynri recovered, glancing over at the smug Sayu with an annoyed gaze.
"That wretched little whore seduced him with her body! I won't allow it! I must stop the wedding one way or another, and only then will I have the young master for myself! I can already imagine the sweet babies we will have!" Her eyes sparkled with a tender insanity similar to her brother's.
"Gather around your mistress and listen closely, my little birds. I shall tell you of my plan to get rid of Kagome once and for all!" Kikyo beckoned deviously to them.
"We are at your service, milady!"
"Yes, anything you say!"
Of course, her maids were here for her; they would do anything she asked of them. The four women shared dark smiles amongst themselves at the nasty ideas circulating in their minds. Their shadows on the rice paper walls twisted into demonic forms.
"A bold little butterfly dares to wander into a nest of spiders, but it shall soon find itself trapped in an inescapable web. The only fate that awaits it is a slow agonizing end!" Kikyo's red lips curved into a sinister smile at the cackles of her sinister bunch.
End.
Feel free to drop a review and let me know what you think! Constructive criticisms are very much appreciated.
Until next time, GR.