Above It All
Disclaimer: I gain no profit from the use of the honorable Rumiko Takahashi's characters. The characters and all proprietary rights belong to her. I use my perception of them solely to exercise my own imagination. My only gain from their use is the joy of writing!
Inspired by GMDDN 9.27.14
Prompts: Unaware, Exposed, Spying, Hidden, Unwanted, Lurking, Stalker, Voyeurism, Pervert, Scopophiliac
She lay flushed and panting on the bed, the pale sheen of herb infused oils meant to calm her fever flickering in the candlelight. Her eyes were closed, but she knew she wasn’t in her own bed in her own home. She was naked, but in her fever induced haze it mattered little. Young marriageable women had been falling ill of this affliction for the past year and so far none had survived. Several decades ago the reproduction rate for females dropped dramatically and thus society took upon itself to make every effort to correct the problem. This mysterious illness exacerbated the tenuous situation.
Around her, dozens of other women lay on cots, beds, and sometimes even the floor as the males walked between them quietly discussing their attributes and strengths. It felt as though they were at an auction ready to be sold to the highest bidder, but something just wasn’t right. The girl on the cot next to her was recovering well, but Kagome had seen her just yesterday before the illness took her. She was being buried in her family crypt. Here, she was healing and being courted by a youkai gentleman with pale lilac hair. If finding a husband here removes her from her family, Kagome wanted no part. She wanted no part of the males at home either.
Kagome’s mother lived through the most trying times of their nation. Men began to battle other men for the right to take a woman as their wife. Violence had blossomed into civil war, for the rights of both men and women. A compromise was eventually reached. Married or engaged women would have their own walkways in order to prevent arguments over engagement rights. A single woman could choose to use the walkways to avoid crowded areas or to portray her disinterest in the process for the time being. It became illegal for a woman to remain single past her 21st year. When the illness had struck down the young, marriageable women in the past year, fear had settled into the hearts of the whole populace as to the ability to continue the nation. Talk of joining other countries was breached until the evidence was found that the lack of females was widespread. The proposed walkways became elevated and almost all attention was turned to propagation of the species.
Kagome loathed the walkways and equally loathed the men who sought her as a prize. She came from a privileged home, with royal blood in her ancestry. She was well versed in the arts of language, music, dance, and literature. Her keen mind was often of great use to her father in the times of war; often it was her own strategic maneuvers that secured not only victory for her faction, but a minimal loss of life all around. She is the pride of her family, but her mother hoped beyond hope that her daughter would settle down and help her nation in the way that creation intended – producing young. In some ways, this illness was a boon – it would delay her requirement to find a suitable husband.
Fighting the effects of the fever, she opened her eyes and took stock in the room. Males of all shapes and sizes contemplated the ill women surrounding them. Youkai. Kagome had heard of them, but there were so few of their kind left in her world that she had never been introduced to one.
She knew of kodama as they lived in what she considered as her tree. It was ancient but it carried a peace that she loved. When society and life weighed her down, she climbed the tree to find her solitude and ease. Climbing so high was dangerous, and even more embarrassing in her skirts and corset, but she needed her hiding place. The kodama knew her and were often happy to see her as she brought them little trinkets and offerings.
These youkai were different. Most wore human guises but with startling differences. Unusual hair and eye colors, tails, paws, or markings stood out even to hazy eyes. Even for all their differences, they still seemed to blend together as though simply being of the same kind was enough to dissappear into the masses. A door sliding closed abruptly made them all turn. Kagome couldn’t see the entity at the door, but she caught a glimpse of a bright color sliding along the edges of her vision. After a moment, the youkai in the room seemed to give a collective sigh as though an unnoticed tension had relieved itself. The hair on the back of her neck seemed to prickle: not from a fever wrought chill, but from another sensation, one she felt she should know but had never experienced. There. In the darkness behind her, she again caught a glimpse of bright shining silver, dulled only by the shadows of the corner in which stood a youkai she could only barely see.
Sesshoumaru stood in a darkened corner watching several of his nobles contemplate the sick women who had recently arrived in his kingdom. Inexplicably, every 500 years women with intense fevers would appear near various ancient trees throughout the kingdoms. Those that found suitors would often heal and marry into the families. It was always a bit odd though how the women seemed to not have family here, but none had ever traced their origins back to before their fever. Those who found no suitors often would perish and their bodies disappear into the ether. No explanations had been forthcoming in the past 1500 years he had been alive. It was bewildering and Sesshoumaru was determined to discover the source.
It mystified him how the women were always ningen – never youkai. There were plenty of youkai women to choose from, and they held great esteem in their society, but these onna had a certain quality that tended to give their new families more strength in every generation. He himself had never been drawn to any of them. The last group had come just after the cusp of his full maturity, but he doubted any would be able to catch his eye. Healthy youkai of unparalelled beauty and grace had sought to gain his favor and none were able to catch his interest. It stung his honor and made him feel voyeuristic to watch over the ill women in their nudity. The healers assured him it would help the males to find a suitable female and had the added benefit of cooling their fevers. They were all delerious and unaware of their surroundings, so what would it hurt?
As his gaze leveled over the sick room, his eyes caught two glazed but focused blue eyes. Perhaps some were merely stronger than others. As he watched her eyes scanned the room and finally, somehow, settled on him.
Her eyes seemed to intensify and focus on him before a soft breeze wafted through the room, causing the onna to shiver and close her eyes, breaking the intense contact. She reopened her eyes and resumed scanning the room herself, but this time, her eyes caught on a male unlike the others. Most were respectful - as mildly staring at unclothed women could be respectful – but this one looked almost furtive she thought, tensing as he shifted his weight several times before beginning to rub the front of his pants.
Sesshoumaru caught her shudder and followed her eyes as they again scanned the room tensing as he noticed the same miscreant he did.
“Lord Kurosawa.”
At Sesshoumaru’s voice, the hall went quiet and the males in the room turned toward the rather guilty looking party.
“Save your perversities for another time and location. You are hereby demoted and no longer worthy of attempting your suit with any of these women. I would hope your family had instilled some sense of honor in you, but I see I was mistaken.”
Kagome’s eyes widened at the insinuation and she tried to rise when she noticed her state of dishabille. The fever was too strong though and her weak attempt pulled her back into her cot and pressed a tired strain behind her eyes. As Sesshoumaru ordered two guards in full regalia to escort the former lord of the swamplands out, he noticed the particular young woman he had been watching as she attempted to rise, only to succumb to defeat as the illness drew her down again. Grabbing a light blanket, he walked over to cover her gently before returning to his corner to watch the proceedings.
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Please read and review. I am looking for a beta who I can bounce ideas off of. I'm new to long chapter stories and would greatly appreciate help in keeping the storylines/arcs consistent and also who'll bug me if I don't get to work on something to post!!