Free Game

Kagome awoke with a start as the carriage jolted to the side. She grasped the padding beneath her in an effort to keep from tumbling to the floorboards. She could tell right away they were going too fast, could feel it in vibrations in the wood. The wheels whirring outside the thin walls on either side of her rolled over each bump and hollow in the worn old road causing the carriage to jump and tip hazardously every few moments.

Kagome let out a small scream as the carriage tipped again, this time remaining on one wheel an instant longer than before. Kagome shrieked as she braced herself on the walls, feeling the carriage tip back and land with a menacing crack back onto the road.

“Mother!” Kagome cried.

“Calm yourself Kagome.” Kikyou grasped the carriage window as the wheels slid over a new patch of rocky terrain. She could not recall the roads back to their palace ever being so harsh.

“What’s going on mother? Why are we going so fast?! We shouldn’t be going this fast! Our roads don’t feel like this! Where are we?!” Kagome screamed as the carriage tilted again.

“I don’t know.” Kikyou stated, hoping her composed tone would help calm her frightened child.

Kagome turned to her, taking in a deep breath. “Forgive me mother, I did not mean to over reaACT!” Kagome screamed as she was thrown to the side, sliding into her mother and hitting the wall of the carriage with a thwack.

Shaking her head Kikyou pushed her daughter up, reaching back she rubbed the spot that had hit the wall. A small not was forming beneath her scalp but nothing to be overly concerned with. She redirected her attention back to her daughter who was rubbing her sore arm.

“We’ve stopped” Kagome observed, standing up and looking at the door to the carriage above them. “We were knocked completely sideways.”

“That or we can walk on walls.” Kikyou stated trying to stand up in her voluminous skirt. It was impossible to move in the tents she was obligated to wear.

Kagome squatted down to help rearrange her mother’s gown, untangling Kikyou’s pale legs from their prisons of silk and lace. Gratefully Kikyou accepted Kagome’s help and soon stood beside her daughter, preparing for the climb out of the door.

“Mother, do you hear that?” Kagome whispered.

Stiffening Kikyou listened to the thrum of horse hooves as the approached. Not a hurried pace but what sounded like a slow trot. Someone knew the occupants of this carriage weren’t going anywhere, and was taking their sweet time getting here.

“You can come on out ladies,” a deep unmistakably male voice thundered when the horse came to a stop a few yards to their left. “We won’t hurt ya.”

Kagome shivered at the next message.

“We just want whatever little prize you got down at that auction house.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

A zesty forest scent, sweet and invigorating and oh so delicious in his nostrils, earthy greens and tall spicy trees, dark musky earth and the sweet fresh scent of dew settling on each delicate emerald blade of grass and every velvet soft petal of the flowers, fragile and springy with life.

Inuyasha heaved a heavy sigh as he stared across the fire at his captor’s unyielding bronze countenance, highlighted by the iridescent ginger light cast by the dancing flames. The wolf had been out into the woodland, probably lying in some shaded glade as the midday sun danced through the canopy overhead in a radiant ballet of dazzling golden beams. Every breath he took sent a quiver of longing through him; gooseflesh trembled across his skin as he imagined the soft bristly grass fanning across his flesh.

Pure pleasure raced through him as a calloused hand brushed against his naked arm, startling him out of his reverie. Glancing away from the blazing performance of the fire pit he was met with scintillating sapphire gemstones floating before him.

Blinking slowly, knowing that jewels should not be hovering in mid air, his mind finally positioned the gems within the sculpted face of his subjugator. For some reason or another the ookami had moved from his position across the fire to crouch beside him, and without him even acknowledging the movement.

For the first time, Inuyasha found himself examining the wolf’s features. He had never been one for the details of a face; he could recall only so many who were really worth remembering. The forest, the lakes and trees and rivers, directions and landmarks, those were the details he committed to memory. But here, in the soft glow of the firelight, with the sun setting from the sky like a blazing circle of fire beyond the distant mountains, and the smell of the forest still so effortlessly detectable within the air around them, Inuyasha felt the sudden need to study every aspect of this bronze sculpture.

“You have not eaten” he stated plainly, his voice a harmony of low, smooth tones.

And it was true; Inuyasha had not so much as nibbled on the large strip of raw meat placed in his hands nearly half an hour before. He knew his stomach to be empty but he could not muster the strength to plow his teeth into the flesh and devour the morsel. All he could think when he turned to gaze at the cold chunk was how much the hanyou’s at the Auction House would give to have just a taste of this. And Jinenji, who depended on him for good meals, he has probably had only watered broth and stale bred this past day. How he wanted to return, if just for a moment, and share this with him. But he could not, he had been sold and even if his escape had been successful he doubted he could ever return.

“I just don’t have much of an appetite.” He replied solemnly, with none of the harsh bitterness he wished he could force. In truth he was just too weary. And now even the thought of escaping this new prison made his muscles quiver and his heart ache.

“You have had nothing all the day you’ve been here and probably little before that. Your energy is spent and your body still needs to recover. Your wrist is still damaged and the cut on your head still bleeds on occasion. You need to eat.”

Inuyasha could not ignore this wolfs logic; his wrist throbbed painfully at every slight movement and the jagged cut that raced across the back of his head like a bolt of lightning striking pain directly into his skull let trickle a stream of blood every time he turned his head to sharply or too far. Even now he could feel the odd sensation of warm drops of crimson rolling down his scalp disturbing small hairs as it collected on their roots to dry.

Slowly the wolf sat, but not back in his chosen place across the fire, but directly beside Inuyasha. His powerful presence sent chills across his skin, making the hair on his forearms stand direct and his hackles rise. This was a man used to authority; he gave orders and expected them to be followed, this was an alpha.

But Inuyasha was a loner, and born as such. He followed no authority but his own, and on occasion his brother’s. And though the wolf made no threatening move toward him every steely tendon rippling beneath the smooth bronze flesh demanded submission. A compliance Inuyasha would never give, not so long as his heart strongly pumped the inu-youkai blood through his veins.

He could feel his upper lip curling by instinct to show his deadly incisors as the wolf leaned closer. A small growl reverberated through his abdomen, ready and willing to become a snarl as it bubbled to the surface.

The alpha paid no heed, his hand gently enclosing around the back of Inuyasha’s neck. Inuyasha let out another warning growl; stiffening at the contact, ready to spin and latch onto the appendage should the wolf apply the slightest threatening pressure.

But the grip tightened no further, rather it released slightly, moving up and down his neck in gently movements, applying small pressures then again releasing. The massage was relaxing and Inuyasha felt his tension flee leaving him momentarily lightheaded.

The powerful hand continued up his neck to untangle the blood encrusted hair as his hackles smoothed back into place.

“Who are you?” Inuyasha breathed.

“My name is Kouga, leader of this tribe, and this,” he gestured around him with his free hand as the other settled on Inuyasha’s shoulder, “is my home.”

“Kouga, I see.” Inuyasha still made no move to devour the meat in his hands, his eyes turning back to the fire.

“And what is your name?” Kouga inquired.

Inuyasha snorted at that. “They didn’t tell you?” he looked back at the quizzical expression Kouga wore. “No I suppose they were too busy trying to sell me at the highest price without appearing too eager to be rid of me. Or perhaps you didn’t think to inquire when you made the purchase.” Kouga looked at a loss for words.

“Keh, figures.” he continued with mocking dramatics similar to Kouga’s own introduction. “My name is Inuyasha,” he said. “Brother to Sesshoumaru, and youngest son to the Inu no Tashio. My home,” he stated, “was ripped apart in order for some damned city.”

“Wait, what?” Kouga asked shocked, several of the conversations around the other fires died as well and all attention seamed to focus on them.

“Didn’t you inquire with the council at all?”

“What council? Hey, I didn’t buy you.” Kouga defended.

“You didn’t?” It was Inuyasha’s turn to be surprised. “I had assumed my last escape had ended like all the others, with a brutal capture and even worse beating.” Inuyasha looked down at his slowly healing wrist.

“Well it didn’t, if it pleases you to know you got as far as the center mountain peaks.”

“Then how did I—” he reached up to trace the blood encrusted gash.

Kouga closed his eyes with a sigh. “My men and I found your body, battered and bleeding, wedged between the rocks and roots that clung to the riverbed.” When he opened them again he could still clearly see the near death creature that had fallen into his care present in the hanyou’s countenance. “The river at the mountain’s center is brutal, deadly even, to those who unknowingly fall victim to its current. Sharp crocks and boulders lay clustered within the stream, both visible and not, often the ones below the surface are the harshest of them all.

“Inuyasha, the Auction House has no control here, and you may leave when you like. You are neither our property nor our prisoner.” Kouga finished.

Inuyasha looked up at him with hard, untrusting eyes. Eyes that had seen too much of this worlds cruelty, and longed only to drift close and never open again. He believed Kouga’s vow that he would not hold him here, but there was doubt, a question not yet ready to be put into words. If the Auction House came looking for him….

“What happened to you?” Kouga asked, wanting to divert his mind, he could not tell what the future would hold, but he knew, with every ounce of his soul, he knew. If the Auction House came, he would fight. He would protect this ethereal creature, even if his kinsmen did not. “How did the Auction House come across someone like you?”

“My brother gave me a forest, left in my name by our late father, when I was very young. I was, of course, in danger of being kidnapped and sold if I remained in populated areas so I was given a jeweled collar with our family insignia clearly seen for my protection. I loved it there, the clean air, the solitude, the way I could pass in front of the tribes of youkai and ningen who lived among the trees and not be the recipient of disgusted, hateful glares. It was….freedom.

“But one day the forests were set afire and many large youkai began tearing up the trees.” Inuyasha bent down to rest his elbows on his knee, his eyes clouding over with a strange golden mist as he gazed into his memories, reflected by the flickering fire.

“I fought, killing many of the youkai and, with the help of the youkai and ningens who called my forest home, put out the ravaging fires. But that was only the first wave of them. They came back three other times, enslaving the villages of natives and burning more and more of my home. Each time I managed to drive them back, but every time they left, they took more and more of my home with them. After the fourth attack I found myself alone, those who weren’t captured had fled from the fires, the rivers had been dammed and there was no water to extinguish the raging inferno.

“I was driven by the walls of flames into a clearing, I was trapped. The trees were exploding around me, the dry grass beneath my feet catching fire and encircling me. I stood, waiting for my death, but found as the flames moved closer, I was immune to their damage. The smoke was unbearable, yes, but I neither burned nor melted. My clothing, the last gift from my brother, protected me. Still, I couldn’t breath, and collapsed with cinders raining down on me.

“I woke to the sound of construction; believing myself to be dead. All around me was ash and the towering, skeletal remains of my beloved trees. I wandered through the charred blackened forest, my feet sinking into the ash like snow. It must have been several days for just outside the protection of the nightmarish wasteland that had once been a magnificent forest, the city was being built.”

“I heard of the Kuragari Forest’s destruction. Our western brethren lived near there; they said a silver wolf cloaked in the blood of his enemies protected the boundaries for years before Tokai was built.” Toji commented, snapping Inuyasha’s attention back to the present. “They say he was killed by a powerful taijiya.

“Yeah, well it wasn’t a wolf, it was just a little half dog dressed in red playing protector to a bunch of forest dwellers.” He looked away. “Besides, it wasn’t long after that that I was captured.”

Kouga hadn’t heard quite enough, and wasn’t about to let this Inuyasha close up due to a few bad memories. “What about your family’s protection?” he inquired.

“The huntress who captured me tore the collar from my throat and had it sold for its value in jewels.”

“Huntress? You mean a woman caught you?” Ginta looked doubtful.

“A powerful taijiya.” He looked towards Toji who nodded. “The city council hired her and her tribe after I was spotted one night. She meant to kill me, but when she realized my worth as an inu-hanyou she hid me away, caged and in chains under heavy tranquilizer, in a cart as she collected her slayer’s fee and lied to the populace that the ookami terrorizing their fair city was gone.

“When I came to a few hours later I was in the Auction House, being groomed and dressed up like some giant doll to be displayed before their prospective buyers. I tried to escape as soon as whatever gas I had inhaled had worn off. That was two months ago.”

“You were caught.” Kouga stated.

“I was careless, shoving servants away and crashing through the window. I had not yet fully recovered and didn’t have the sense to think there might be others outside. The moment I touched the ground the guards fell upon me.” He closed his eyes and took a breath. “They broke my legs, not a permanent damage to a hanyou, but definitely enough to hinder me for a few days. And the fact that it caused pain wasn’t bad for them either.

“Once I recovered I tried again, this time I used the corridors inside the building to get out.” He smirked, “At least I got to beat up a few guards.” His smile faded and his voice turned sad again. “But they found me. I had made it to the second floor where they kept many of the hanyous in chains and cages. I was trying to get the ring of keys to free them. I know now, if I had abandoned them I would have escaped.”

“Do you regret it?” Toji asked.

“No. I managed to unlock the cages and some of the hanyous I released made it passed the outer wall. I was, however, captured. This time, my punishment was worse.” He turned to lock gazes with Kouga, his eyes a smoldering fire of hate.

“You see, the hanyous on the second floor are special. They are bred to be beautiful, delicate, and infertile.”

“Infertile?” Kouga gasped.

“Yes, as you might have guessed, their bred specifically to be lovers to some high up, someone who doesn’t want the risk of their bed partner getting pregnant. Many of those that had escaped had already been bought and paid for, merely waiting to be retrieved by their new masters. When those masters arrived, you can imagine the outrage at finding their new toys had escaped.” He smiled a bitter mirthless smile outlined with glittering teeth, his sharp canines shining dangerously in the firelight. “The Auction House council returned their money and, to stay in their good graces, a consolation.”

“And just what was that consolation?” Someone from the group near them asked.

Inuyasha’s sharp golden gaze never left Kouga’s. He didn’t have to voice it, Kouga already knew the answer. He could see it in his eyes, the disgust and outrage at the injustice done to him. Still, he Kouga needed to hear it, just as Inuyasha needed to say it.

“Me.”

What is it about bad things that just force you to speak, to seek out someone who will listen, if only so your story will be heard? For someone to rest a strong, comforting hand on your shoulder, so you know that you aren’t some worthless nothing. That you were a person and this did happen to you. Yes, it happened and it could happen to someone else, anyone else. Even though it’s painful, even though you know if you start to talk you may not be able to stop, even though someone might not care, or say you brought it on yourself. Even when you feel like you just want to kill the person who did you wrong, or lie down and die yourself. You still want someone to just listen, and hear what happened.

And so Inuyasha sat there, with Kouga’s firm, calloused hand on his bare shoulder, staring into the fire whispering his tale to the three who had stayed when everyone else had gone to sleep.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Helloooooo everybody! Well guess what! I’m all better (been for a few weeks, sorry^^;) well, its not as long as I would have liked but here’s a nice new piece.

I have a million reasons not to post this. One, my beta who usually works on this is sick and all the way on the other side of the country so I can’t help her get better and I refuse to give her a reason to be up out of bed. Another reason, I’m not yet completely satisfied with this and so I should not even consider releasing it to the public until I’m sure I’ve done my best. *shrugs* However I know you’ve all been waiting quite a while, and I can always come back and revise. You’ve all be so wonderful, and I’m sorry for the long wait.

Good news? Though this is all I have finished I do have a rough draft of the full story. However I kind of killed off a few people I shouldn’t have. Now I’m busy reviving them and rewriting their destiny. See you in a week.


-RIN
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