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Kagome was sitting by the pool in their little hotel. Her boyfriend, Kouga, was supposed to be spending the day with her. They had come on this vacation for her 30th birthday. She had told him it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted she deserved it. Then he freaking abandoned her at the hotel. Sure, she slept in a bit, but it wasn’t like 9 was late. Why couldn’t he have waited for her? She tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the longer he stayed away, the more angry she got. She was sitting in a lounge chair soaking up the rays of sunshine and sipping on a mimosa and reading a book. She hadn’t even wanted to come.
It was now a little after 1pm. And she was getting more furious by the minute. She finished her drink and was about to stand up and go back to the room, when his voice boomed across the pool area.
“Hey Beautiful. How are you?” She sent him a glare instead of responding.
He almost looked hurt, almost. “Oh, come on, Babe.” He tried to wrap his arms around her, but the glare stopped him short. “I was on the hunt for something important.”
He pulled out a small gift bag and handed it over. It was sea glass, which had captured her heart for ages. It was also the whole reason he insisted on coming here since it had one great location to find it. Which also meant he had gone to the island without her. The whole reason she wanted to come here was to see it sparkle in the sunlight.
At first she almost smiled upon seeing the beautiful piece until the realization dawned on her. Then, more than anything, she felt hurt. She stepped up to him, and turned a bit, him following her lead, which put his back towards the pool. She lifted her arms as if she was about to hug him, then shoved him. Hard. He fell backwards into the pool and spluttered as he came up. She stormed away, back to their unfortunately shared room, locking the chain behind her. She couldn’t believe he went on the trip without her. On her birthday. She’d been sitting by herself at a pool, when she could have been at home with her friends and family.
She plopped on the bed and held back her tears. What on earth was she doing here? After a few seconds of calming her heartbeat, she stood up and began packing. She refused to stay here with him. She didn’t need this bullshit. It only took her a few moments to pack up her bag, it’s not like she had brought a lot. They were only going to be here for 4 days, anyway. She unlocked the door and left the room key card on the table. He would have to figure it out. As she was waiting for the elevator, he must’ve used the stairs. His voice was booming across the hallway.
“Babe, where are you going?”
She didn’t bother to look back at him. The elevator dinged, and she got on, hoping the doors would close before he reached her. She was not that lucky.
“What the hell is your problem, Kagome?”
She looked him dead in the eyes, “You’re an asshole. Do you know the one place I wanted to go while we were here in Bermuda? Ireland Island, where I can find the sea glass. We were supposed to go together. And you knew that. I hope you enjoy the rest of your vacation, Kouga. I am going home. Thanks for ruining my birthday.”
His hand dropped from holding the door open and a flash of anger hinted in his eyes. But she knew it didn’t match the hurt in hers. The door closed, and she rode the elevator down. She left the hotel and walked outside to hail a taxi. She climbed in and requested the airport as politely as she could. Then she felt a hand grab her arm and a pinch on her neck. Then the world went black.
She woke up in a very large bed. The world was spinning, and she felt sick to her stomach. She glanced around, but had no idea where she was. She tried to sit up but ended up heaving her stomach into the trash can. She blinked back tears as she continued to be sick, then a hand landed on her back.
“I’m sorry, Baby Girl. I didn’t think it would make you that sick. I must have made a mistake on the dosage.”
The voice was deep and greasy, and her heart was pounding in her chest. Her head flew up to see who was touching her, but the movement made her stomach turn violently again and her head fell back into the trash can. After finishing emptying the contents of her stomach, she took a deep breath and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She rose her head slower this time, and she was met with dark eyes that looked half crazed.
“There you are. You know, you are perfect. You look just like her. You will be the perfect replacement. Once I teach you what to do.”
Her eyes were wide, and she tried to stand up and pull away from him, but he grabbed her hair in a tight fist and yanked her back to the bed. She let out a yell, and then his hand was over her mouth.
“Don’t try to be cute. You belong to me now. What is your name, Beautiful?”
She glared daggers at him and wished he would erupt into flame.
“I think if I did my research correctly, it is Kagome? Is that right?”
Now her glare vanished. He knew who she was? Her eyes went wide. Was he going to hurt her?
“Now, now. Don’t act so foolish. You can say, ‘Yes, Master.’ Can’t you?”
She closed her eyes and wished with all her might she would awaken from this nightmare. But his hand remained on her mouth, keeping it closed. His other hand had left her hair and was pinning her arm down to the mattress. She felt sick still, and the longer he kept his hand there, the harder it was to get a full breath in. Was she going to die like this?
She opened her eyes and found his face close to hers, those dark eyes staring into hers. Tears fell down the sides of her cheeks and into her hair.
“I’m not going to hurt you, so long as you obey, all right? I will let you up, but you have to do what I say. And your new name will be Kikyo.”
He released her arm and removed his hand from her mouth. She wanted to scream and cry for help, but something told her it would never work. She sat up slowly and her voice was hoarse and foreign to her own ears.
“Where am I?”
He gave a deep chuckle that scared her even more.
“Why my dear, you are with your new Master. It doesn’t matter where you are. Now, since the sedative seemed to have messed with you a bit, I will have one of the servants bring you in some water and maybe some broth.” His voice turned harsh and firm. “Do NOT leave this room. Do you understand me?”
All she could do was nod. She had been kidnapped. Her family would think she was on vacation for at least 3 more days, and Kouga would assume she was ghosting him because of their fight. No one was going to know she was missing for a few days at least. She sat still as stone, holding back tears. Then there was a small knock on the door, and it opened silently.
“Miss, I brought you some water, and something to settle your stomach. Master Naraku said you have gotten a little seasick.”
Naraku. So he had a name, after all. Seasick? They were on a ship? They could be anywhere then. She had no way of knowing how long she had been out, or how far they had traveled. She reached into her pocket, hoping to find her phone, but no. Her wallet was gone too, which was probably how he got her name. Her stomach turned as all the information flooded her.
She lowered her head into her hands and tried to rein in her emotions. She needed her wits about her if she was going to make it out of this. She mumbled to the servant something about a restroom and was pointed to a small door that led to an en suite. She washed her face and rinsed her mouth in the sink.
After returning to the bed, she sipped on the broth, and fell asleep shortly thereafter. She awoke to the man’s arm laying over her waist. She tried to pull away in disgust, but his hand tightened on her hip.
“Don’t even think about it. You are mine, and I am enjoying this.”
She took a deep breath. Was he going to rape her? A knock on the door pulled him away from her and she sighed in relief.
“This had better be fucking important.”
The man standing in the hall had long black hair and deep brown eyes. He spoke in low hushed tones and when Naraku turned he met her eyes and gave a sympathetic look. She wanted to beg him to help her, but she was already terrified of what Naraku would do. Naraku came back and threw his shirt on. She thanked her lucky stars she was still clothed. Then he stormed out of the small bedroom and locked it behind him.
She sunk onto the bed and wept. She had no idea what else to do. A small piece of paper slid in under the door and she leapt for it.
“I know you’re scared. I’m gonna get you out. Just hang in there.”
No name or anything else. Did she dare to hope?
~~~~~~~~~~~
It took everything in him not to just kill the fucker. He knew there were a lot of illegal things the fucker was involved in, which is why he was here undercover. His brother had sent him in, trying to get proof. But now the fucking bastard kidnapped a woman and was keeping her locked in a fucking room on his yacht. This was beyond ballsy. Inuyasha knew he would have to get her out, but it would have to wait until he could get more actual proof. It hadn’t taken much to get hired under Naraku’s crew, and even less to earn his trust, apparently. Now he was one of his lackeys, helping him make plans to go visit other crime syndicate families, which while it looked bad, didn't prove anything. He needed substantial proof. And every time he thought he had something, Naraku's closest underlings were there to clean up the mess before he could get to it.
He needed to catch him. He needed more. There were rumors that he had a black book of secrets in his room, but he wasn't able to get there yet. He needed to earn his trust more. But this girl would likely not be safe for much longer. He couldn't let her get raped by the bastard. He had smelled her when he went in and he knew he hadn't raped her, but that was no guarantee he wouldn’t do it soon.
Inuyasha felt like an idiot slipping the note under the door, but he needed to alleviate some of her fears. The terror he saw in her eyes broke his heart. Not that he was normally that easily swayed, but something about her was screaming for him to protect her. He would need to get word to his brother immediately. He had to get her somewhere safe. He didn't even know her name, though. How could he let her family and friends know that she was safe? Was she safe? Fuck. He had to help her.
He went back on deck and waited for the next orders from Naraku or Bankotsu, his second in command. Eventually he would find what he needed. After standing still as a bodyguard/gopher for a few hours he requested a chance to hit the head, and when there he sent out a text message coded for his brother. They used a special cypher. It took him a while to get the hang of it, but now that he’d been doing it for over a month, it went smoothly. His response was quick and what appeared to be a message telling him to enjoy his vacation and to catch up soon, was a message on when a small craft could be there to help get the girl off the ship. It was more than a week away. Would she be able to hold on that long? Would the yacht still be at sea, or would Naraku change course again? What if he took her and called in that fucking chopper of his, took her somewhere else? There were too many variables. He sent another message telling him sooner would be better and got back to work. He couldn't be gone too long or they would become suspicious.
He arrived back at his post and got a quick nod from Bankotsu, who walked away now that he was back. This was going to be a fucking nightmare.
That night a small speedboat came up filled to the brim with bags. All designer clothes of all sorts. Naraku apparently wanted the girl to be eye candy, which might actually bode better for her. But not for him. Naraku finally allowed her up on deck, and the stunning red dress that hugged her curves was enough to kill him. He wasn't on duty, but was lounging on the edge of the yacht, watching the ocean. Or at least that's what he wanted it to appear like. But his eyes were drawn to the beauty who was sat in a fancy chair and handcuffed to the table.
Naraku’s voice almost made his skin crawl, “Kikyo, dear, since your stomach is all better, I thought that maybe you would like to have a real dinner. I believe this is your favorite.”
A small shrimp and pasta dish was set in front of her and she cringed.
“No, it really isn’t. You guessed wrong. Perhaps you should check your sources.”
He felt a small smile tug at the corners of his lips. Damn, this girl had guts. Handcuffed to the table and forced to sit across from the psycho who kidnapped her and she still wanted to fight. He couldn't help but appreciate her spunk.
The smug smile fell from Naraku’s face, “Ah, but you are mistaken. This IS your favorite. Now eat up.”
She sat still as could be and shook her head, “I’m allergic to shellfish. If I eat this, I will die. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
The murderous glare Naraku shot her only gave her a moment's hesitation. “I mean, unless you want to have to throw my body in the sea? I may despise you and hate being your prisoner, but I don't really want to commit suicide by food allergy.”
He snapped his fingers, and the servant took her plate away and brought out another dish of something else. It looked like a small salad or something. She ate a few bites, then sipped her water. Almost as if she didn't trust him not to poison her, which made sense unfortunately. He hoped with all his heart that the bastard wasn't drugging her again. But he couldn't stop him. Not yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Kagome was handcuffed to the table and being fed food that could kill her. She really wasn't sure who she had wronged to earn this kind of karma, but she would apologize forever if it would save her. Unfortunately, she seriously doubted it would. When he had the servant bring her out a second dish, she was relieved for a moment, but then realized he may have been angry at her disobedience, even if obeying would have killed her. Would he punish her? Would he drug her again and then do something terrible to her? She ate a few small bites and sipped the water. She couldn't trust anything here. She had one ally, but didn't know who it was. What was she going to do?
After Naraku ate his fill, he had the servants clear the table. “Would you like dessert, or would you like to dance?”
Her eyes shot up to his. She didn’t want either. But there wasn't a third option. She looked around, trying to see what she had at her disposal. Dancing gave her a chance to escape, didn’t it? She would die at sea, but better to die at sea than in the arms of a maniac.
“Dancing, I guess.”
The sickening smile he gave her made her stomach drop. He undid the handcuff from the table, stood her up, and handcuffed her hands together behind her back. He pulled her body against his and he kept one hand on the chains of the cuffs, and the other went to her hip.
“I was hoping you would choose this one. I have been wanting to touch you since I found you.”
She cringed away from him, “I wish you wouldn’t.”
He snarled in her ear, “You are mine. I will not take you until you submit to me. But hear my words, bitch. You will submit to me.”
She pulled away as much as she could and he yanked her back. This time his hand that was on her hip slid down and grabbed her ass. She flinched from his touch, but couldn't pull away.
“I think I changed my mind. I’d rather have dessert.”
The hand that was on the cuffs landed on her throat and squeezed.
“You really are going to have to learn. I can’t wait to show you. Fine, you can have dessert, but don’t forget you asked. You can eat yours first, then I will enjoy mine afterwards.”
He turned her around and marched her back to one of the bedrooms. It turned out to be his. Once there, he strapped her one ankle to the bedpost and forced her to her knees. He attached the cuff link to the same strap that held her ankle and began unbuttoning his pants.
“Are you ready to eat? I am more than ready.” Just as he was about to pull himself out of his pants a knock on the door and a shout from up on deck stopped him. The snarl that left him made her cower, and he buttoned himself back up and stormed out of the room.
She was trying to hide when the door burst open and the man with the long black hair appeared.
“Hey, this isn't what I had in mind, but we have to move now. Come on.” He undid the buckles and snapped the cuff chain with his bare hands. He stood her up and took off with her.
“Can you swim?”
She looked at him terrified but nodded. He smiled, good. You’ll need to do that, tomorrow. For right now, I am gonna hide you. Not a sound. Okay?”
He dragged her to another bedroom and hid her in the closet. Then after a minute she heard a loud splash. The shouting increased and Naraku was bellowing something. If he found her, he would kill her for sure. But she would rather die than do what he had in mind a few minutes ago. She fell asleep huddled in the closet and praying no one would find her.
She awoke to the door slowly sliding open. She jumped, ready to fight with everything she had, but the man who saved her was standing there with a couple bottles of water and a plate of food.
“Look, I know you have no reason to trust me, but here. You need to eat. I know he hasn't been feeding you much and you haven't been eating it, anyway. Here’s some water. Still sealed in the bottle so you know it isn't poisoned or drugged, okay?”
She took the plate and ate the sandwich. Peanut butter and jelly. Then drank one of the bottles in a few swallows. She’d been fighting off her hunger, not wanting to trust the man who kidnapped her. And she probably shouldn’t trust this man either, but he was definitely the lesser of two evils. He then handed her some sweats and a t-shirt.
“I don’t think that dress is very comfortable. Once the sun goes down tonight, I have a friend coming to pick you up. This is my room, you can use the bathroom, but it would be best if you stayed hidden in there. And don't flush. They'll hear it, and that's the last thing we want. I’ll be back in to check on you when I can. But stay out of sight. Please.”
All she could do was nod. Once he was gone she went to the restroom and changed into the clothes he’d given her. She felt completely covered for the first time since she had woken up here. Which felt so long ago, but really was only about a week ago as far as she could remember. Though there was no telling how long she had been unconscious. But she hadn’t felt like she had been dying of thirst when she woke up, so it was more likely that she had only been out for a few hours to a day at most.
She huddled in the closet, after stealing one of the throw pillows on the bed. She needed something, her body was hurting. She was too wired to sleep, but her brain was in panic mode and nothing seemed to be working. She had to remain completely silent. When all she wanted to do was sob. The memory of last night was too close. That monster kidnapped her from her vacation and was going to rape her. He was a terrible person who would take whatever he wanted from whoever he wanted. She tried not to focus on him, though. She had to keep herself in check.
Instead, she focused on the man who she hoped was really going to save her. But there were so many questions. Why was he working for that monster? Why couldn’t he get her out now, or have stepped in days ago when she had been abducted? Not that she wasn’t grateful, but still. She needed to know why if he wanted to save her; he let her suffer like she had. Tears slid down her cheeks unbidden. She held back the sniffle and used the dress she had been wearing to wipe her nose and cheeks. Several times she heard feet stomping down the hallway, and shouts from up on deck. Each time they came closer her heart beat so hard in her chest she thought she may be having a heart attack. Each shout and scream made her flinch.
She tried to think back to the strong, independent woman she was before this. Would she ever be able to be that person again? She silently made up her mind that she would not let this monster destroy who she was. She was stronger than he knew. He would not break her. Hours passed and the rays of sunlight through the small porthole window faded. She thought of a million things she could do when she got home. A hot bath, a cup of hot tea, hell snuggle with her cat; there were things waiting for her. Things she was eager to get home to. She was surprised to realize that Kouga didn’t pop up as one of the things waiting for her in her mind.
A small smile spread across her face. She was a lot stronger than she realized. She did not need him to feel complete. She could do this without him.
The door burst open, and she huddled into the corner to be as small as possible. Not daring to peek or move.
“They are starting to search the ship, we have to find somewhere else to hide you.”
He hadn’t opened the door to the closet, so she didn’t move at all. She would not be tricked. Just because someone came in talking like they knew she was there meant nothing. She would remain so still, barely breathing. After a few seconds, the door cracked open, and she felt a wave of relief at seeing him standing there.
“Did you not hear me? Come on, we gotta go.”
She stood up carefully, wincing in pain as her muscles moved after being cramped for so long.
“I heard you, but I couldn’t be sure it was you. So I didn’t move. You told me not to.”
The small smile that appeared made her feel more safe than she had felt since she arrived at this shit hole.
“Good girl, now come on. I have to find somewhere to stash you for the next couple hours before your escape ride shows up.”
She nodded and followed him. He weaved them down deeper into the ship. And she was more lost than she could explain. He was taking lefts and rights and backtracking his routes. Doing his best to avoid being seen. She followed dutifully and silently. Until something wrapped around her ankle and she fell forward. She tried to thrust out her arms to catch her, but she barely had a chance to think about it, before something grabbed them both, and wrapped all the way around her middle.
She didn’t scream; she was terrified, but she would not scream. After releasing a deep breath, she saw what appeared to be yellow flashes, and she fell to the floor. Her butt bouncing painfully on the hard surface. She still remained as silent as she could. The slight grunt as the wind was pushed out of her lungs was all the satisfaction she would give anyone. Then a hand was on her arm.
“Come on, he found us. We have to go, Now!” Followed by a mumble, “My brother is gonna kill me.”
She looked over to her would-be hero, and was baffled to see the same handsome face, but now with silver hair, and small triangular ears on his head. Dog ears? Why did he have dog ears? Why did he put on a costume? Is he some sort of vigilante or something? She voiced none of this out loud, knowing she was being hunted. When she stumbled again while running; she knew she had definitely done some damage to her ankle. Every step was throbbing. She kept trying to run, but he was so much faster than she was. Finally, he let out a growl of some sort. Really? A growl? He was taking this cosplay too far.
He grabbed her and pulled her up onto his back and gripped her thighs in his hands. Her hands went around his neck.
“You are moving way too slow, what happened?”
She flinched at the remark but whispered, “He hurt my ankle.”
She didn’t have time to go into more detail. As they turned a corner Naraku was there waiting for them. Her heart fell into her stomach. She was never going to escape this monster.
“Why Yash, it seems you have finally shown your true colors. Crown Prince Inuyasha. So, did your brother the Inu no Taisho send you? He must be really worried if he sent you undercover to spy on me. Unless, of course, you are really here to steal my mate?”
She felt his back reverberate with his growl, “She ain’t your mate ass wipe. You fucking kidnapped a human. That shit is against the rules and you know it!”
A sneer spread across the monster’s face, but it turned into a terrifying grin.
“Oh, Prince Inuyasha, is she your mate? Is that why you care?”
The growl that reverberated through his back and into her chest was strangely comforting. She felt safe, even with the monster right in front of them. Then she felt the same cord-like thing wrap around her middle and rip her from his back. She saw a brown tentacle grab him and pull them apart, yanking her safety net further away from her. The wicked smile on Naraku’s face was terrible. He was happy about causing pain. He didn’t care to whom.
She watched in abject horror as a sharp end of one of the tentacles burst through Inuyasha’s ribcage. Blood spilt from his mouth and her heart was pounding.
“You fool, you were never a match for me. You are a worthless hanyou. What makes you think a beauty such as she would want you? A fucking half-breed that has no right to exist!”
Suddenly, Kagome saw red. The world was almost glowing. A part of her was wondering if she was dying, and this was her spirit seeing things her mortal body couldn’t, but she was in too much pain to be dead. She looked back to her savior lying on the ground and she had to save him. He had tried so hard to save her, she couldn’t leave him to die. She didn’t know the man, but he had put himself in danger to do it. She knew that if she let him die like this, she wouldn’t deserve to live. Someone, who is kind enough to give everything to someone else, deserves the same kindness in return.
She didn’t know how she landed on the ground on her own two feet, but the tentacle that had been wrapped around her middle was gone. She stepped forward. Even on her injured ankle, she had much bigger things to worry about. The room seemed to be glowing, but she assumed it was just her anger affecting her vision. She had been through a hell of a week and nothing would surprise her at this point. As she stepped towards the beast, he seemed to flinch back and released her would-be savior. One glance at him as he hit the ground and she could see that he was still breathing. She wasn't sure how, though. She would see to him in a minute.
“You are the monster. You are a beast! How dare you speak so badly about someone with such a good heart. He was willing to put himself at risk to save me. He was willing to die to try to protect me from the likes of you. You are the one who is worthless. You are the true monstrosity. You do not deserve any love or kindness. And after I get done with you, you will never know it again.”
As she stepped towards him he backed up until he hit the wall behind him. He could go left or right, but somehow, she knew exactly what to do. She could feel the power within her. She would use it to defeat this terribly pathetic being. She raised her left hand, and a barrier formed on his right side; her left, and blocked that hallway off. She smiled wickedly. It was her turn to be the one in control. He had taken too much from her already. She raised her right hand and the other pathway was blocked off as well. Now with both hands raised, she looked him dead in the eye and pulled her hands together. The barriers closed in towards him, and he shrunk as small as he could go. Everywhere the pink luminescent wall touched him, she could see burn marks appearing. But he was covering his head, trying to protect his pretty face. She would not give him that kindness. He did not deserve that either. She pulled the barriers back a bit and his head raised the tiniest bit.
“Stand tall and be brave. Are you such a coward that a human girl is more than a match for you?”
The sneer in her voice provoked him just enough. He stood back up and lunged at her, and she thrust her hands out in front of her. She saw the burning pink light dance across his face and down his back. His clothes were becoming tatters and shreds the more the flames danced across his flesh.
“Naraku, you are a kidnapper, and a rapist. A monster and a criminal. Now your outside can match your inside. Your dark and corrupted heart now matches your damaged and destroyed flesh. You do not deserve to look like a normal person. You do not deserve to fit in.”
He fell to the ground howling in pain, and she lowered her hands. She had to take a deep breath, so much power spent, and she hadn’t felt strong enough before all this. She watched him crawl on the floor trying to put out her flames, but unlike ordinary flames, these would not be extinguished. She saw one of his lackeys bring a bucket of water, but it did nothing. She glared at him. Now, since he was so eager to help save her would-be rapist.
Her hand flew up on its own accord and his body flew into the wall nearest him, leaving him slumped unconscious on the floor. No one else was in the hallway now, everyone had run off somewhere else, or maybe there hadn't been anyone else here to begin with. She had been a little preoccupied. Then her mind went back to her savior.
She rushed to his side, but as she approached, his hair turned black instead of silver, and his dog ears faded away. His chest was bleeding, and she placed her hands on it to try to slow the bleeding down. Her pink light continued to burn in her hands, and she watched as the flesh knit itself together. His bleeding came to a trickle, then stopped completely. She rolled him over to make sure both sides were healed and let out a sigh of relief. Now she held her hands there to make sure his bleeding didn't continue internally. She couldn't have her savior dying because of her.
She stayed by him and held her hands to his chest until his eyes burst open.
“Fuck, why didn't you try to get away? Fuck, where is the bastard?”
He stood up on shaky legs, looking for the monster and still trying to be the hero. What he saw was not what he clearly expected, though.
“What the hell happened to him?”
As his eyes left the haggard, groaning mess on the floor, they landed on her, and her hands lit up bright pink in response.
“I-uh- I really don’t know?”
His voice went up more octaves than she would have expected after only ever hearing the deep rumble, “You’re a MIKO?”
At the word miko, she knew she must have made a very confused face.
“Ummm, what’s a miko?”
His head dropped to his chest, and he took a deep breath. After a few seconds he grabbed her hand, “Come on, we’ll discuss it later, right now let's get you to safety.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, she heard booming footsteps. The hallway was packed with soldiers being led by another man with long white hair.
“Inuyasha, there you are. I assumed something had gone wrong, when there was a strange beacon in the sky. Are you injured?”
He almost said yes, but when he looked down, he realized that his chest was fine, and even though he was covered in blood, he didn't seem to hurt at all. Kagome spoke up for him.
“I don’t know how, but I think I healed him. He was pretty severely injured, but I needed to stop the bleeding.”
A single nod was all she got in response, and then the soldiers muscled by dragging Naraku away. She couldn’t express the relief she felt watching him disappear down the hall. Her shoulders sagged, and she felt the tension leave her body. Apparently too much tension left her body, Inuyasha caught her as she slumped down unconscious, and carried her up to the top deck and to Sesshomaru’s waiting speedboat.
She awoke in another fancy big bed, in an unknown room, and she felt the panic well up inside her again. Had it all been a dream? Had she just dreamt of saving herself and even saving her savior? Had it all been a way for her mind to try to make it okay? Tears were streaming down her cheeks and a sob ripped out of her throat.
Then she felt a hand land on her ankle, rubbing gently. Her eyes opened, and she saw Inuyasha. Her attempted savior. She sat up and wrapped her arms around him, placing her face against his chest. His arms wrapped around her back after a second and he rubbed her back. She was surrounded in his soft scent of sandalwood and musk.
“Hey, it’s okay. Did you have a nightmare?”
His deep rumbling voice set her nerves on fire, and her sobs turned into laughter.
“I thought escaping had been the dream. I was so scared not knowing where I was.”
He pulled away and wiped her tears from her cheeks.
“You don’t have to be scared anymore. I called your ma, she’s happy you're okay and we’re arranging a flight to get you back there safely. But there is a slight problem. Being that you are now a miko, we can’t necessarily just let you leave without being trained. You’re okay to go home and heal. Recover, but we need you to come back. We have some very good priestesses that can train you, but it wouldn't be safe to everyone else out there. Okay? This isn’t gonna be a prison, though. Once you’re trained, you can go back to your regular life, unless you want to use your abilities to help out around here.”
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. It made sense if she had an ability that could hurt people she would have to be trained in using it. She nodded after a second.
“Where is ‘here’, anyway?”
He cleared his throat a little, “Uh, well you are in my room, unfortunately. I couldn't let you sit in a guest room by yourself. Every time I tried to leave, you started crying. So I brought you to my room, so I could at least try to get some things done. Umm, bigger picture, you are in the Western Capitol, it is a Youkai kingdom, hidden from most mortals. I can give you a tour later, but first, you’ve been asleep for a couple days, you need to eat, okay?”
At the mention of food her stomach growled loudly, which left her in a fit of giggles, and he started chuckling at her outburst.
“Come on, do you have anything you might be in the mood for? We can make almost anything here.”
She debated for a minute and thought back to her happiest memories. “How about, yakitori?”
He pulled her up off the bed and handed her a bag of clothes, “Get dressed, and then we can have some yakitori. I’ll go tell the chefs to get cooking, okay?”
He left the room, and she dressed quickly, eager to have a nice hot meal. She was safe.