AUTHOR'S NOTES:
I HAD A DREAM AND THIS IS THE RESULT. NOT TOO SURE WHERE IT IS GOING JUST YET, BUT HOPE YOU LIKE IT ANYWAY!
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Faded, tired sapphire eyes squinted against the morning sun; her brow slightly crinkled as she groaned in protest to being wakened so soon. Cursing within her mind, for it was the only voice she possessed due to her situation, the once fiery young woman thought about trying to return to the blissful realm from which she had been pulled. She preferred that realm to this one; this one held nothing but pain and suffering for her. If she dared to consider just how long she had been like this, she would be shocked to find that it had been seven long years for her, a fact that she was better off not thinking about. It wasn’t like she could do anything about it anyway, not anymore. Once she might have been able to solve the issue with her cleverness and her words, but they took that from her long ago; they took everything from her and left her this pitiful, silent soul. How she hated them for what they had done to her…what they had stolen from her in order to hold her there and never let her go.
Once, what seemed an eternity ago, she had been content with her life; she had everything a girl like her like her could want, but not anymore. Now she served them, she cleaned their floors and cooked their meals – even washed their filth encrusted clothes…by day. When the sun left the sky however, she became a target for every vile, disgusting urge that eeked into their minds and she had to fight to keep their grubby hands off her person. Thank goodness she held some fighting skills, though not much if the truth be told; she had been in the process of learning that art from her Captain when they took her from his ranks.
Oh, that day would forever be etched into her mind and haunt her until the day they burned her body, scattering her ashes to the wind. Underhanded bastards they were, the entire lot of them; having ambushed her company while they rested like that. They should all burn in hell for slaughtering her friends and comrades, and they would to; she was certain that the gods would punish the bastards for their actions. She just had to be patient was all. In any case, even if she were to be freed, she had nowhere to go; her entire group had been overrun that day, including her Captain. The girl still had nightmares of his death. He fought valiantly and with great honor, but their numbers had been too great for him to withstand the brutality they enacted upon him and he fell…her mind would never let her forget the sight as they carted her off, thrown into the back of their vehicle like a bag of feed, her body bruised and bleeding from the attack. The blade of his combat knife gleamed in the dimming light as he slashed yet another enemies’ belly wide open, and then…they got him down to his knees.
She would ever recall the sound of her voice screaming his name, as well as the way he turned his eyes toward her as she was carried off. He had said her name, her real name, and not merely her rank like he usually did. She had seen his mouth form that very word, his eyes wide with worry and horror mere seconds before they took him down.
Her Captain; with his gleaming quicksilver hair and his amber eyes that could still even the most fearsome of beast with but a glance, he was a glorious sight to behold on any given day. His strong jaw and tall lumbering frame had always instilled extreme awe and adoration within her. How fortunate she was that he chose her to join his group; her slight build had been cause for her to be overlooked by many a Captain when choosing his subordinates, but then he chose her. His was the best, most elite team there was, and it had been a great honor for him to even consider her, let alone choose her. He had been impressed with her skill with a bow, which was what he told her; she could drop a target from a remarkable distance, and she had been proud of that. It was not a combat technique frequently used and few saw worth in such a skill; but not him, not Captain Maru Yomiuri. He recognized the value, and took her into his company without hesitation.
Gods, how she missed her company; may they rest in peace. Her captors had kept her locked up, chained to the floor in a cold, damp dungeon in order to break her spirit and make her compliant; it took a couple of months or better for that to happen. When she was first captured and chained, none could approach her without her going into a furious rage and attempting to inflict great injury upon whoever dared to venture in her proximity. One guy damn near lost a finger and later, one insufferable degenerate deemed trying to accost her worthy of being rendered a cripple for. The bastard still could not walk or talk right to this day; he deserved it though.
Sitting up on her crude bed, the girl shook her tousled ebony hair, noting how long it had grown since the last time she had trimmed it. A pounding upon her door startled her, and she turned in the direction of the noise; they were telling her it was time to start their morning meal. God how she hated cooking for them; they treated her as nothing more than a common serving wench, when she was so much more. Still, at least she was no longer chained to that dungeon floor, shivering and hungry. The commander of this group, the one who had carted her off from her own group that day, died off a couple of years prior, and the man who took his place was a bit nicer…kind of anyway. He had forced her into her new position when he killed the previous cook for not properly preparing his meat; although, she would dare to guess it was because his men had questioned his ability to lead, seeing how he was so young and somewhat green. Anyway, she had been given the task and it was definitely better than the one she had before, and so she did not complain too much.
Thoughts of her friends plagued her mind more and more as of recent; her Captain specifically. Now he had been a true leader; he was fierce and brutal to his enemies, but fair and understanding with his own men. No one dared to challenge him of course, but he did give them privileges and rights that no other Captain gave their men. That earned him their respect and loyalty, each and every one of them willing to die for their Captain if the need arose; she had been included in those ranks. She, herself, would have laid down her very life for him just to spare the world from losing such a valuable leader. Compared to him, she was nothing.
He did not make her feel that way though; quite the contrary. None knew that they would secretly indulge in urges that sometimes arose between a male and a female; which was exactly how they had wanted it to be. Her Captain would sometimes need release from pent up emotions and frustrations brought on by his position, and she had needed the same. It was only logical, considering that the only other two women in the group were unsuitable for a man like Maru Yomiuri. They would tell anyone that would listen that they had bedded their Captain; which would have undermined his position with his men, and most likely would have caused him to lose his station. Besides, one of those women had an extreme fancy toward the female gender, but hid it rather well.
The first time they had indulged had been quite by accident, having been pinned down and separated from their group. They took refuge in an abandoned shack along the outer perimeter of the neutral zone, waiting for word from their group. It was a night she would never forget fro as long as she lived. It was her first sexual experience and he had taken great care with her; something that surprised her, but also made her feel special at the same time. Oh, he didn’t just ask her outright to tend his frustrations; he had actually tried to hide them like he was embarrassed about them. She had always been an intuitive woman though, and picked up on his problem right away. Her test proved to be successful, having removed her sopping wet jacket and long sleeved shirt, bringing her down to just a tank shirt and no bra. She had ruined her last bra during a mission and therefore, had none to wear until she could manage to get somewhere to buy one. The fire was the perfect cover for her actions, she told him she needed to dry out her clothes and he innocently reminded her that her fatigues were known to become uncomfortable when wet. Now, that statement may have indeed been innocent, but if it was, then why had he been staring at her pants when he said it? That was when she knew.
Secretly she had housed a desire for the man she followed so blindly into any situation, no matter the risks. He was the epitome of masculinity and strength to her; everything a female could want in a man, and so much more. Her pants came off as soon as the words left his mouth, and his fatigues quickly followed. After that night they would indulge on occasion, to take off the edge or work off some kind of stress; be it good stress or bad. After a while, she was sure she was falling in love with that silver haired man, but knew it was not returned. How could he love her, honestly? She was his subordinate, unequal to him in every way, and so she just enjoyed what they shared and said nothing to him. She had been afraid that he would put an end to their trysts if he knew of her feelings for him, and she could not let that happen.
Then, she was taken and she saw him fall; it was almost too much for her to stand. She wished they would just kill her so she could join her beloved Captain in the hereafter, but they didn’t. To make matters worse on her, while she was held captive, it was discovered she had been with child and that brought such sadness to her as well. She knew what they would do, for she had learned of their ways prior to the attack and therefore was aware that they would either kill the child, or sell it into servitude or worse. Male children brought a nice sum, but females brought more. The gentler of the sexes had more uses than the more aggressive one; they could be raised as servants, or as mistresses – and made excellent test subject in pharmaceutical labs; therefore, females were deemed more valuable for some reason.
As her child grew inside of her, she could only fear he day her baby was brought into the world; with very good reason too. It had been because of her and her Captain’s child that she was able to be broken; if not for that, she could have held out much longer. The young woman had dared to hope that if she became compliant, they would allow her to keep her baby, but they didn’t though. As soon as the child was born, they took her away. She had a girl. That was when she stopped using her voice. There was no reason to talk to anyone anymore; she had nothing to say that anyone would listen to anyway, so there was no point in uttering a damned word. They did let her name the child before whisking her baby girl away to parts unknown though; she named the girl Rin, having absolutely no clue as to where she had come up with the name.
There was no chance for her to escape their clutches, this she had found out rather painfully a few times after she healed from giving her child life. She had intended to run away and seek out her daughter; but they caught her and beat her badly, just short of killing her. As she healed she learned just how far away from friendly territory she was and it dawned on her that should she escape, they most likely had spies that would apprehend her and return her to her keepers. The punishment would have been severe then; but they would not kill her, this she was aware of too. They wanted to continue to torture her and have her there for their amusement. There was no use in running, this she accepted over time, besides; she had no one to run to anyway. Her friends were gone, her Captain was gone, and so was her child. She had nothing; she was nothing and, they made sure she knew that too. Every fucking day she lived, they reminded her of that.
Finally dressed she shuffled her feet out into the hall and made her way toward the kitchen to cook their meal. She did not seem at all shocked when they informed her that she needed to prepare extra for their guest; they frequently had visitors that stayed somewhat regularly and so she just nodded her head as she began to cook. Their loud and boisterous laughter echoed through the halls, and made her blood turn to ice. Of course they were happy; they did not have a care in the world. Bastards; all f them.
The trays were rather heavy, but she managed nicely; there always seemed to be at least three to be carried out to the long table of ravenous vermin, and none of them would offer assistance. She did not expect them to anyway. However, as she brought out the second tray, she damn near dropped it when a friendly voice asked her if she needed help. Instantly she knew it was not one of her keepers, but the visitor who was trying to show her kindness. Despite the harsh words from those that kept her, the man asked her again if she would like his help in carrying the heavy tray. Her eyes slowly lifted to his face, and her brows knitted together. Why was he offering to help her, a mere servant? His green eyes sparked as he scanned her grungy and flour smeared face, reflections or intense curiosity and confusion shined back at her.
“Do I know you?” the young red haired man asked her.
She just stared at him.
“Won’t do you any good trying to get her to talk; she hasn’t said a word in years,” one gravel voiced man called out from the table. “Get that food over here, woman!”
Her eyes flitted over to the owner of the voice, anger flashing briefly before it was replaced by shock and disbelief almost instantly. The young man took the tray from her and carried it over to the table, much to the dislike of every man sitting there. She watched as he sat down, raising his head to look at her and ask if there were any others that were just as heavy as that one had been, silently, she shook her head no and hurried back into the kitchen.
“Why are you so concerned about that wench for kid? I thought you were here for negotiations?” the Commander questioned as he tore off a piece of bread and shoved it into his smelly, diseased mouth.
“I am here for negotiations, just as I said. I was raised to be a gentleman is all. Tell me, what is that woman’s name? I feel I know her from somewhere,” he inquired as his young eyes drifted toward the doorway.
“Don’t know, don’t care. She was here when I took over here and no one knew her name. Try the stew, it is rather good.” He shoveled the mentioned item into his mouth, slopping some down his chin and making his guest quite disgusted in the process.
“So, you don’t know who she is or what her name is either? Curious.” The man stopped talking as the woman appeared again, carrying a smaller tray with beverages for the men. For some reason, he watched her make her way around the table, offering mugs to each guy seated; there was something about her that seemed familiar to him. He just could not put his finger on it though. His was the last mug on the tray when she reached him, and the woman lifted the mug to offer it to him. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, and the nagging feeling that he had seen this woman before intensified. Her hair, while dirty and unkempt was a familiar color, black as night with a slight blue sheen to it; her eyes damn near matched the color of the blue in her hair too. Even more curious. Where had he seen this woman before? She broke gaze and hurried out of the room, head down and feet shuffling; it was clear to see that this woman had known some kind of abuse at some point in her life. Her skittish mannerisms told him that.
Noticing the young man’s preoccupation with the wench, the Commander spoke up in warning. “I wouldn’t even think about trying to get close to her; she is a fighter. I have a guy who walks with a limp because of her.”
“Really? She doesn’t seem the violent type to me.”
“Looks can be deceiving kid. Now, let’s get on with these negotiations; I have things to do today and can’t be tied up all day long.” His fat greasy hand lifted his mug and he drew heavily, eyes glued on his visitor.
“Sure,” the guy began, instantly setting his mind in business mode, “I think you will like what we have to say on this matter. It would prove to be very beneficial to all.”
In the kitchen, the raven haired woman went on with her daily routine, mapping out her day to try to find a moment or two for herself. Suddenly, she felt as though she needed a proper bath and clothes that did not have tears or stains upon them. That was definitely not normal for her, not anymore anyway. Still, it might be nice to look somewhat human. It had been a while she desired to clean up her appearance, and it had something to do with the visitor, this she was sure of. He was so clean and nicely dressed, but not overly so. It told her that he was not from the territory and was most likely seeking an alliance between the cretins who held her, and his own – wherever that may be. He wasn’t in any faction she knew of, he was not dressed in fatigues or uniform, but his clothing did imply he was some kind of official somewhere. The way he had looked at her was quite odd. It was almost like…no that was preposterous, he did not know her; she had never seen that young man before in her life. She would remember his vibrant green eyes and flame red hair, for those were features one did not forget. She heard his voice carry into the kitchen from the dining hall and something sparked deep inside of her; something she could not explain. With a heavy mental sigh, she set to completing her duties, just as she had for the past however many years. Still, that tiny spark remained, nagging at her relentlessly. It was most distracting.
That evening, she had been instructed to prepare a room for the young man she met earlier, owing to the fact that the negotiations were not over yet, and she did as she was ordered. For some reason, she took extra care in making up his bed, noting how much nicer and more comfortable looking than her own. Maybe she was hoping to impress him? Why that was, she could not say. She made sure that the sheets were nice and tight for the guy, pulling them as taut as she could manage and tucking them securely as she had been taught to do her bunk long ago. The young man’s voice startled her, making her jump and pull away from the bed. Her eyes went immediately to the floor.
“Hello there. I am Shippou Takeshi, we met earlier. What is your name?” he asked her and then paused to wait for an answer. When he received none, he took a step toward her and she backed away, her hands clenched into fists.
“I am not going to attack you; you can relax those hands you know. I was told you don’t talk, and I was wondering why that was. Did you suffer and injury that caused you to become mute?” He kept his voice soft and gentle, just as his training as a negotiator had taught him to. It would not do for him to rile the woman up, not if he wanted answers.
She shook her head at him, still not looking up from the floor.
“You seem so familiar to me, but I cannot place how. I’m sure I would remember meeting you; have you always lived here?” Again she shook her head. He turned his eyes to his bed, noticing the tight sheets, as well as the manner used to tuck the corners in. He instantly snapped his eyes back to her. “Where did you learn to make a military bunk? I’m sure these…people did not teach it to you.”
He edged closer to her, his eyes trained upon her frightened face and wondering why she was so terrified, especially of him. Her shaking hand came up to push a few strands of hair from her face, and shifted the sleeve of her shirt. Like a shot he crossed the distance between them and seized her wrist, only to be hit square in his jaw for his actions. Clearly the girl did not like to be touched. Damn, she could hit hard for a servant girl. Wanting to test a theory he had, the guy came at her again, marveling at the way she deflected his attacks and he realized she had training of some kind. She was not very accomplished though and so his knowledge of hand to hand was very effective in subduing her so she could not strike him again. She writhed and pitched in his grip, fighting his hold on her tooth and nail and becoming rather vicious in her efforts for freedom.
“Where did you get that insignia on your wrist, woman? Calm down! I am not going to hurt you; I just want to know where it came from. That insignia is from a company that was exterminated many years ago, and I have to know how you came to have it on your wrist,” he hissed at her harshly, not wanting their conversation to be overheard by his hosts. Dodging her head as she reared back to try and catch him off guard and most likely break his nose, he tightened his grip on her to the point of possible pain. “Were you or someone you know part of Captain Yomiuri’s company?”
At the mention of her beloved Captain’s name, she immediately stopped fighting the flame haired man. Her chest heaved as she struggled to even out her breathing while her mind raced with painful memories. Tears formed in her eyes as she relived that day once more, just as she had done many times in the past. Her body went slack and signaled to her captor that she was not fighting him anymore, at least for now. When he finally released his hold on her, she stepped away from him, wrapping her arms around herself and fighting back sobs.
“Miss, I can’t help you if you do not tell me anything. I know you don’t belong here; I could tell that when I saw you come out of the kitchen this morning. Were you forced to become their servant?” the man asked, seeing her nod her head. “So, they took you from your home and brought you here to be their slave; okay, now we are getting somewhere.”
He touched her shoulder and she cringed, but did not attack him; this was a good sign. Gently he maneuvered her over to a chair and had her sit down. “Will they miss you if you stay here and talk to me?”
She shook her head no.
“Well, you fight like you have had training; do you?”
Another nod of that raven head was the response he received. It wasn’t what he was going for, but it was better than getting the piss beat out of him. “I need for you to talk to me, if you are able to. Can you talk?”
Nothing.
“How about telling me your name? You don’t have to say it loud, and you don’t have to give me a last name either unless you want to. Please? I want to help you get back where you belong. I bet there are people wondering where you are; don’t you want to see them again?” The woman could not honestly want to remain there, serving these pigs for the rest of her life.
The woman cleared her throat a couple of times, a humming noise came from her throat as if she was testing to see if her voice did, in fact, still work properly. It took a few moments, but the woman did manage to break her silence and answer one of his questions at least.
“They’re gone.” She whispered so low he almost missed it. “All of them.”
“All of who?” His heart began to pound then, kind of like when watching a slasher film and the eerie music starts.
“My friends…” she cleared her throat softly, quietly, “I have no one left.”
“Well, you can’t want to stay here?” he asked her incredulously, eyes wide like saucers.
She shook her head, “I don’t but they won’t let me go.”
His eyes lowered to her left wrist once more, hoping he could get an answer from her this time. “Where did you get that insignia?”
“My company. Maru Yomiuri was my Captain.” She was crying now, hot streams of tears streaked her face and stung her eyes.
“What is your name?” It was like he was holding his breath as he waited for an answer. If she said the name he thought she was going to say, then it was certain he had to get her out of there by any means necessary. The brass would want to see her, talk to her and understand what had happened that day.
Her fingers traced the tiny blue mark upon her flesh with reverence, her eyes swimming with the memories of those she had served with.“Ka...Kagome. My name is Kagome Higurashi. I was a lieutenant in Captain Maru Yomiuri’s company, codenamed Crescent Moon. I received this mark when Captain Yomiuri hand selected me and I have been here since my company was slaughtered by these bastards.” After that confession, she broke down into tears, heavy sobs from years of repression wracking her whole body. The damn had broken and out came the torrential emotions it had been holding back for some time now.
Once started though, she found she could not stop. Her hands covered her face, hiding her shame for being so weak as to wail like a banshee, for she should be stronger than that. Her Captain would be so disappointed and ashamed of her right now, this she knew but she could not help it. She just hoped that he understood.
Shippou ran his hands through his red hair and exhaled loudly; his keen mind working quickly to find a way to get this woman back to his superiors without risking a war between those who held her, and those whom she belonged with. This was going to be difficult; very, very difficult in fact.
It was a good thing he was such a gifted negotiator.
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