Bound by Corruption by BelovedStranger

Vengeance

AUTHOR'S NOTE: 

Word Count: 3,078

THE TRANQUILITY DID not last, however. She was half-asleep when moist breath bathed her ear, a soft demand. “Wake, aijin.”

“What—”

A large palm covered her mouth, silencing her. Kagome stiffened, instantly awake. That was when she heard them, men’s voices and the stamping of many feet. They were yet some distance away, but soon, the men would be upon them.

“Do not speak.” Another warning whispered next to her ear. When she nodded, Sesshomaru lowered his hand before repositioning them. He made it seem easy even though they were high up in the trees with only a thick branch to maneuver upon.

Kagome clung to the trunk while Sesshomaru balanced on bent knees next to her, eyes intent on the far distance, even though the path was dark and obstructed by branches. Nightfall did nothing to hinder his sight, she knew, but she doubted Sesshomaru could see through the numerous branches. Instead, she guessed he tracked them through hearing.

Dread sank deep in her belly, weighing heavily.

She was desperate to question these criminals about her sister, needed to put a stop to their brutality, even by force if necessary. But not like this.

Sesshomaru’s intentions were far from altruistic.

He cared nothing for her sister, or the innocent lives taken—or ruined—by these wicked men. He cared only to tempt her towards darkness.

The enticement he gave was subtle, the lure insidious.

She wanted to see justice done, for wrongs to be made right. And he’d used that against her, back at the hut. But that’s not what Sesshomaru offered. No, he wanted her to derive satisfaction in taking justice into her own hands. To relish in vengeance. Through him, she was coming to understood the danger of self-righteousness. The peril of justification.

Below, the bandits approached. Malicious men who had taken everything from her. She was angry. Grief-stricken. But she knew she would find no solace hurting those who’d hurt her, no matter how Sesshomaru manipulated the situation. She’d been so worried about how she would feel, how she would react to the bandits’ deaths. But now she knew, thanks to him. The day had been long, and spent mostly in silence. In self-reflection. Sesshomaru had given her a taste of vengeance—the chance to avenge a dreadful wrong. Back at the lone hut, she’d allowed him to punish a man for the violence he’d committed against his wife, with the sentence of death.

Afterward, it had left a sour taste in her mouth—when she finally understood why. Such a death had offered no restoration. No peace. Only a blemish on her soul. Left her feeling…sullied.

But how to convince Sesshomaru? To convey that she wanted the bandits to be held accountable for their crimes justly. Not as an act of rage fueled retaliation. And no matter how he tried, she just felt too strongly about it. A deep-seated conviction only truly aggressive coercion could alter. And he’d promised not to force her.

Nothing came to her.

Not unless she wished to recant their contract.

But, if she did that, Sesshomaru would kill her. And what would become of her sister? Or the people of the nearby, slumbering village?

The choice would have been a simple one—had Sesshomaru’s intentions not been nefarious.

To protect the innocent, Kagome had to continue with her agreement with the inugami. And in doing so, taint whatever good would come with putting a stop to these bandits.

In the end, did it really matter? Surely, the results absolved her. Or, would they pull her further down into the dark?

“I care not for your paltry understanding of morality, miko.”

Kagome closed her eyes against the condemnation she remembered in Sesshomaru’s eyes, but she could not close her mind so easily.

“I seek more. The opportunity to corrupt the pure light that surrounds you, to show you the darkness that dwells even within your heart, miko.”

She saw it now, that darkness. Feared it. Feared how easy seemingly simple choices could tip the scale, until she went hurdling over the precipice into a black abyss. Even if she never became as corrupt as he intended, Sesshomaru was corrupting her. How was she to combat him when he was so very good at manipulation? At bringing out the worst in her. Or, when he refused to see the good she did possess, seeing it as only lies.

Her chest tightened. Squeezing mercilessly.

Large hands cupped her face, tilting her head back. Her eyes opened, meeting amber fire. “Breathe, aijin.”

Only then did she realize she was suffocating. Her breaths came too quick, were too sharp. Her chest was on fire. She wasn’t getting enough air. Anxiety strangled her, panic suffused her. When darkness ate at the edges of her vision, she knew she was going to pass out. Unconsciously, she reached for Sesshomaru, her fingers curling around the two purple strips along his wrist, a wordless plea.

“Look at me.” His voice was low, intense.

She’d closed her eyes again. They blinked open at his command, and clashed with gold.

“You are hurting yourself. Be calm. Breathe. Watch me. Follow my breaths.”

Sesshomaru parted his lips and demonstrated by exaggerating an inhalation through his mouth. She watched how his massive chest expanded, then deflated upon exhalation. He repeated the exercise, and Kagome was helpless but to follow his breathing. That first indrawn breath was painful, burning her throat, her lungs, but by the third and fourth, she was breathing easier, the tightness in her chest easing.

“That—has never…happened…before.”

“Poor, aijin. You were like a rabbit caught by a wolf and panicked, scaring yourself half to death.”

Kagome’s heart pounded for a whole different reason, realizing that he still held her face in the palms of his hands. The intensity in his inhumane gaze captured her, prevented her from looking away. She tried to tell herself she was suffering after-effects of her attack, not wanting to admit to the powerful pull she felt towards this daemon.

He was frowning at her, his expression perplexed.

“You cannot truly be upset that your enemies shall die tonight. Have you already forgotten how it felt to watch the life of a brutal man come to an end?”

Forget?

How could she possibly even begin to forget when she was overcome with remorse, with the need to never repeat the same mistake? It was one thing to be angry, and quite another to react in a blind, murderous rage.

Desperation filled her, but Kagome was unable to find the words to convince him of the wrongness of their course. Instead, she found herself saying, “I don’t understand you.” Against her will, she was drawn to the magnetism in his golden stare. “One second you’re helping me, almost being nice, but then you say or do something cruel or upsetting. It’s like you want to hurt me.”

She heard the voices and marching of numerous men approaching closer, but she couldn’t seem to look away. Not when Sesshomaru’s face neared, until she felt his lips brush against her own, a ghost of a touch. He wasn’t quite kissing her, not yet.

“Am I being cruel?”

“Yes.” Her eyelids drooped, heavy. Her lips tingled. She wasn’t certain what she was agreeing with, his voiced question or the one she felt hovering against her mouth.

“Am I hurting you?”

“Yes.”

What was she saying ‘yes’ to? The world around her had become little more than an insubstantial haze. The only reality was his lips not fully taking hers, of his body not pressed closely enough against her own. Hers was alive with sexual tension. Her breasts felt too full, her nipples tightening, pressing against the fabric of her yukata, and between her thighs, she ached. Felt a strange emptiness. Lifting her hands, she fisted his haori, swaying towards the hard contours of his muscular frame.

What was it about this creature that drew her? Made her forget everything but him. His touch. And how it made her burn with anticipation.

“Sesshomaru.” A needy whimper.

A man’s loud laughter cut through the fog, jarring her. Kagome stiffened. What was she…? With a horrified gasp, she yanked her head to the side, tearing her mouth away from his. But there was nowhere for her to go. He had her pinned against the tree, high in the branches. Reflexively, almost in denial against the truth that she’d been trying to pull him closer, she shoved against his chest, yet he was immovable. Saving her from foolishly falling to her death.

Fingers curled around her chin, forcing her gaze back around. Sesshomaru peered down at her with eager anticipation. “Watch.” Then he was moving away and leapt from the branch.

Turning quickly, she watched him land smoothly in the center of the large party of men that had come up beneath where she still perched, their surprised cries and yells echoing into the night.

Sesshomaru’s demand whispered along her mind. Watch, or your sister’s life is forfeit, as will be yours, aijin.

Kagome sucked in her breath at the threat. She hated that he could communicate telepathically with her. It was too intimate. She hated more that he would dare threaten the life of her sister. It was one thing to threaten her, but a whole other matter to do so to the remnant of her family.

“Who the hell are you?” The speaker was a heavyset man who nudged his mount closer to Sesshomaru. With his superior height upon horseback, he stared down his bulbous nose at Sesshomaru.

The inugami ignored the men on foot surrounding him, their shifty postures conveying their uneasiness at his sudden appearance in their midst. They sensed something wasn’t quite right with him, and well they should, Kagome thought with a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach.

Sesshomaru’s attention never wavered from the fat horseman. An ugly scar marked the man’s left cheek, curling above his upper lip, which gave him a permanent snarl. Cruel eyes regarded Sesshomaru under bushy brows.

“Are you the leader here?” Sesshomaru inquired coolly, seemingly unimpressed by the man’s show of bravado.

The speaker sneered. “I’ll be asking the questions here, pretty boy! Now, who the hell—”

“No, I am.” A strong voice interrupted the fat brute. Another horse and rider moved through the crowd, who parted readily for him, before he stopped beside the heavyset horseman.

This newcomer sat his mount with regal pride. Even with the waning light and distance, Kagome noticed his handsome features. His long hair was pulled back in a high topknot, the dark mass waving in a way that any woman would envy. It was, also, obvious this man did not view Sesshomaru as a threat. A mistake he would soon come to regret.

His armour was black, and he wore a sword sheathed at his left hip. His left hand gripping the hilt, an unconscious gesture, she guessed. He oozed confidence. A warrior.

“Onigumo-sama, I can take care of this bastard. There’s no need for you to—”

“Silence,” the man named Onigumo commanded, never once looking away from the black and white clad figure before him. The other quietened immediately, though a scowl twisted the fat brute’s features, making him appear even uglier.

“Who are you, and why do you interrupt our march?” Onigumo demanded.

“Death has come to claim you. All of you.”

Onigumo looked taken aback, while his men shifted even more restlessly, casting uneasy glances into the trees, obviously wondering if they had been ambushed.

“Alone? Or do you have men yet hidden like frightened children?” Onigumo inquired. With a flick of his thumb, the click of his blade was loud in the heavy silence. A wordless signal his men were eager to take up. The sound of dozens of swords leaving their sheaths set Kagome’s nerves on edge.

She wasn’t worried for Sesshomaru. With a sense of dread, she knew what she was about to witness would forever plague her dreams.

Sesshomaru didn’t react to the crowds’ threat, seemingly unconcerned by the hostility surrounding him. “How insulting. As if I require assistance killing weak vermin.” 

Onigumo stared at Sesshomaru silently for prolonged seconds, before tossing his head back and roared with laughter. The other men joined in after a moment’s hesitation, adding their voices in mocking glee.

“You hear that?” one man called. “There’s only one of him and against all of us, and he thinks he can kill us all?”

“Look out, Onigumo-sama,” another hollered. “Pretty boy means business.” Then he hooted with mirth.

Kagome watched as Sesshomaru let them laugh, his attention never leaving Onigumo. “You will be the last to die.”

With that promise, Sesshomaru leaped, clawed hand outstretched. His palm slapped against Onigumo’s face, tightening around it as his momentum unseated the ningen from his mount, where his dark head cracked against the unforgiving ground. Before anyone could react, Sesshomaru released Onigumo, raised his fist, and brought it down with crushing force, shattering the ningen’s left kneecap. Crippling him, preventing escape.

Onigumo was still screaming when Sesshomaru stood and turned towards the surprised bandits. They were frozen, shocked by such swift violence, at how quickly their commander had been taken down.

The fat, scarred man, the only other on horseback, regained his senses first. With a shout, he pointed his sword at Sesshomaru. “Kill him!”

Battle cries from the group of men filled the night as they charged Sesshomaru with swords raised.

Sesshomaru held his ground, his face upturned, meeting Kagome’s apprehensive gaze. As he’d demanded, threatened, she hadn’t looked away.

Good girl. A whisper at the back of her mind. A lash.

Keeping his eyes on hers, he lifted his right hand and swung his arm around his head. A green light manifested from his claws in a long whip, striking the closest men surrounding him.

Kagome watched, horrified, as limbs were severed and terrible gashes lacerated the bandit’s chests and abdomen, easily cutting through their armor. Blood soaked the ground, appearing as black as oil in the darkness. Several men fell, unmoving. She saw the others hesitate in their mad rush towards Sesshomaru. The inugami, however, did not pause. Looking away from her, he moved towards a man on his left and thrust his arm into the ningen’s chest. Kagome saw it emerged from the man’s back.

She made a small noise, a whimper of distress. Crouching on the branch, she pressed her side into the trunk, her fingers digging into the bark. Unable to help herself, her eyes clenched shut at the gruesome sight.

Open your eyes. Watch them fall. I do this for you.

A command. An offering.

Her eyes popped open, only to witness him claw out another bandit’s throat, blood splattering across his white haori. He was already turning to attack another who was running away, screaming, before his cry was cut off by an awful gurgling sound. He fell, unmoving upon the ground. Other men tried to run with fearful screams that were horrible to hear.

Kagome was forced to watch as Sesshomaru used his green whip to corral them all together again, then witnessed their gory demise.

“How can you say this is for me?” she asked on a horror-stricken whisper as another man went down, blood spurting from his chest after Sesshomaru struck the ningen with his deadly claws. “This isn’t for me.” Her voice grew louder, shrill. “It’s for you. For your ends. Don’t you dare say this is for me!”

He didn’t seek to put an end to the bandits’ awful reign. He wasn’t trying to save the lives of the nearby town. Sesshomaru was slaughtering them. Murdering them for the pure pleasure of it.

And blaming her for his cruelty.

I do this for you, he’d told her.

“This isn’t what I want,” she whispered hoarsely.

This wasn’t her fault. He couldn’t lay the blame at her feet! It wasn’t her fault; it wasn’t! She didn’t realize she was saying it aloud, over and over again, as Sesshomaru stood before the scarred man still on horseback. “It’s not my fault, it’s not my fault, it’s not my fault.”

The horse’s shrill cry hurt her ears, and Kagome covered them with a wince. The horse reared, and the rider fell from his perch with a yell, before the horse bolted.

Your enemies fall before me, crying out for mercy. Mercy they denied all those you held dear.

Sesshomaru’s telepathic words reached her as he walked towards the cringing scarred bandit who tried to crawl backwards, away from Sesshomaru’s advance. The inugami lifted his foot as the man bellowed in fear, before crushing the man’s skull beneath his boot.

Do you not feel elation knowing that their comeuppance has come for them? Look deep inside your heart, and you will know what I speak is true. ‘Still waters run deep’, aijin, and there is more to you than the kindhearted miko you pretend to be.

There were two men left and they were already a distance away, screaming down the road. Sesshomaru speed after them, faster than her eyes could track. He beheaded one from behind, the ningen’s head rolling away from his body, while he ripped the spine from the other.

All was quiet then except Kagome’s heavy breathing as Sesshomaru walked sedately back, blood staining his clothes. He stopped just under her tree and smiled up at her, revealing his fangs. Even from her perch, she could see the splatter across his face. She shuddered.

“This is my gift to you,” he told her, before turned away to return to the only bandit left alive.

Onigumo had crawled from where Sesshomaru had left him, but he hadn’t been able to get far with his shattered knee. He’d ended up propping himself up against a tree, and was currently holding up his sword. Defiant to the end.

Kagome was amazed by the war lord’s courage, or did he react on instinct, in self-preservation?

Sesshomaru’s last spoken words haunted her. Somehow, she knew he spoke not of the lives he’d already taken, but the act he was about to commit against the helpless Onigumo.

Without thinking, she lunged forward, trying to rise to her feet. “Wait, Sesshomaru!”

She forgot that she was still high in a tree and lost her footing.

She felt strangely weightless for a split second, then she was screaming as she plummeted towards the ground.