Damsel In Distress Challenge
Comin’ Under Fire
Kagome padded softly down the hall. She had missed dinner and was starving. Meals had a strict schedule, and if you missed one, you didn’t eat, and you couldn’t go to mealtime unless your scheduled work was done. Unfortunately for Kagome, she had missed all three that day. It was around two in the morning, and Kagome couldn’t wait any longer for breakfast. The hunger pains were just too much to bear.
Kagome walked slowly, placing her bare feet lightly on the floor so as not to wake anybody. Being in a castle full of youkai made this task difficult. She was taking a big risk, but she needed to eat something. Kagome slipped quietly into the kitchen and saw a loaf of bread on a counter. She slowly walked over to it, pulled off a chunk, and headed back to the door. She didn’t want to linger here too long, so she would eat it on the way back to her room.
Kagome slipped out the door, quietly heading back to her small room. Half way down the hall, she was stopped by a guard. “Stealing food are we? I’m sure Naraku would like to know about this.” The guard turned to his partner. “Go inform Naraku.” The second guard hurried off.
The first guard held Kagome there in the hall until Naraku showed up. When he did show, Kagome could tell he was not happy to be awakened at this hour. “What am I going to do with you?” Naraku said, slapping Kagome hard and then grabbing her arm.
“I was hungry,” Kagome pleaded, knowing it wouldn’t help. “I didn’t get to eat anything at all today.”
“Then you should have showed up for mealtimes. You’re just not going to learn are you? Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. I’ll get you to follow the rules even if I have to kill you to do it.” Naraku turned to the two guards. “Wake everybody and have them all meet in the courtyard. There’s going to be a demonstration to show what happens to someone who repeatedly breaks the rules.” Naraku tightened his grip on Kagome’s arm and dragged her down the hall.
Fear arose in Kagome as Naraku dragged her out into the courtyard. She had no idea what type of demonstration she was to be used for, but she knew it wouldn’t be pleasant. Naraku made sure punishments were severe. As they approached the center of the courtyard, Kagome saw the posts at the center, and she knew what her punishment would be. She started to struggle as Naraku dragged her to the posts. All that her struggling did was get her slapped again.
Just as Naraku had Kagome strapped to the posts, the first of the castle's occupants showed up, tired and upset for being awakened so early. Naraku waited until he was sure everybody was accounted for before he spoke. “We seem to have a problem with rules being followed. This slave is a repeat-offender, and I am now going to demonstrate what happens to repeat-offenders.” Naraku sliced down the back of Kagome’s nightgown, exposing her bare back. Kagome struggle in vain, trying to get lose as Naraku picked up a whip and walked a short distance away.
Kagome squelched scream as the whip lashed across her back for the first time. The hot, searing pain was unbearable as the lash ripped through her flesh, but she wasn’t going to give Naraku any satisfaction by screaming out loud. Lash after lash, Kagome could feel her flesh being ripped from the bone. About fifteen lashes into the brutality, everything went black as Kagome had passed out.
Kagome woke up disoriented, lying on her stomach. The pain radiating from her back cleared the fog quickly, though, and the memories of being whipped returned. She turned her head to check out her surroundings and noticed several other beds in a row. She must be in the healer’s rooms.
“Oh, you're awake,” a friendly voice said. Kagome turned her head in the direction of the voice and saw a redheaded female youkai walking over to her bed. She had one good eye and a patch over the other one.
“How long have I been out?” Kagome asked.
“Most of the day. It’s now evening.”
“I’m starving. Did I miss the evening meal?” Kagome asked in a panicked tone.
“It’s almost over. That’s where I came from.”
“I need…” Kagome stopped midsentence as a searing pain coursed through her when she struggled to rise.
“Lie down,” the youkai instructed.
“But I’m hungry, and I can’t go another day without food.”
“I got permission to feed you when you woke up, so just lie back down and relax; otherwise, you’re going to reopen your wounds. I worked really hard stitching and patching you up.”
Kagome relaxed at this news.
“My name is Ayame,” the female youkai introduced herself.
“I’m Kagome.”
“I know. I’ll go get you some food. Stay put until I get back.”
Kagome lay silently in her bed, wondering what happened to Ayame’s eye. Ayame was beautiful. She had long, wavy red hair that she kept in pigtails. Her one visible eye was a striking green color.
“Here we go,” Ayame said, returning to the room. She set the food down on a table before walking over to Kagome. “Let me help you up,” she added, helping Kagome into a sitting position and then bringing the food over to Kagome: a bowl of soup and some bread.
Kagome started shoveling the soup, spoonful after spoonful, into her mouth.
“Slow down,” Ayame laughed. “I know you’re hungry, but it’s not good for you to eat like that.”
Kagome slowed down a bit. “I hope you don’t mind if I ask, but what happened to your eye?”
“I don’t mind. I pissed Naraku off, and he punished me by gouging out my eye.”
“Oh my god.”
“Let’s just say I learned to keep my mouth shut. I suggest that you do the same. You didn’t make any friends this morning with your stunt either. A lot of the others are pissed off because after you passed out, Naraku ordered everybody to start work early, compliments of you. Everybody here hates to get up at six in the morning, let alone three.”
“I was so hungry. I didn’t think anybody else would be punished if I got caught.”
“I would watch your back from now on, and don’t trust anyone. You’ll be off duty for awhile to heal, so you won’t have to worry about missing any meals for the time being.”
There was no malice in Ayame’s voice as she told Kagome this information. She seem truly concerned for her. Still, Kagome wasn’t going to completely trust her, not yet at least. Ayame was right: she would have to be more careful.
Yuri, who was in charge of assigning workloads for the slaves, walked in right after Kagome had finished eating. “I came to see if Kagome has woken up yet. I need her to get back to work.”
“She isn’t healed yet. She can’t work,” Ayame protested.
“Not my problem. I’m just doing what I was told to do. If you have a problem with it, take it up with Naraku.”
“I will,” Ayame said furiously, getting up and striding out the door.
“What?!” Naraku asked, annoyed, as Ayame walked into his study.
“You can’t put Kagome back to work yet. She needs time to heal, and if she doesn’t get the time she needs, she could get a nasty infection and die.”
“And do you think I care if she dies?” Naraku flashed an evil smirk.
Ayame then knew that was Naraku's intention for Kagome: to have her die a slow and agonizing death. Kagome taking food was the catalyst that started his plan in motion. Ayame liked Kagome and had to do something to stop Naraku from killing her. “She’s more valuable to you alive than dead. I know Shin backed out on his deal, but I’m sure someone would pay a high price for a miko that’s both a virgin and a daughter of lord Higurashi’s. Put her up for sale at the slave auction you’re having at the end of next month.”
“You have a point. She can have off the time she needs to heal… for now. I'll think further on the matter.”
“Thank you my lord,” Ayame bowed and then turned to leave.
“Oh, and one more thing:” Naraku spoke as Ayame reached the door, "if you ever challenge my orders again, you’ll lose your other eye.”
Ayame left the room. Naraku didn’t give idle threats. Ayame wanted to help Kagome, but she needed to continue holding her tongue; otherwise, she would end up completely blind.
*******
From the balcony of his bedroom, Inutaisho watched Kenichi's niece and Sesshomaru walking around the garden below. Izayoi walked up from behind, encircling her arms around his waist. “The council is going to force me to pick a mate for Sesshomaru if he doesn’t chose one soon. They think I’m being foolish for letting him chose a mate on his own. They argue that arranged matings have been going on since the beginning of time. What do you think?”
“I think you’re doing the right thing,” Izayoi said. Inutaisho turned around to face his mate. “You don’t want your son to go through what you did. I don’t blame you.”
“I’m going to let Sesshomaru off the hook and send Kenichi’s niece home. Kenichi won’t be happy, but Sesshomaru isn’t interested in her, and forcing him to spend time with her isn’t going to change that. I just hope he chooses a mate soon.”