Kizu by Murasaki K

Filial Affection

KIZU

Chapter one: Filial Affection

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

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"Kagome Hime, please, your father asked to see you."

"No." Her eyes were still red from the crying. They had killed her, but she was dead long before she was murdered. Kagome could almost still smell the reek of opium pipe in the room, the same poison that she inhaled night after night, the addiction that was caused by her unhappiness, the unhappiness that was caused by harassment, humiliation and helplessness. They all had killed her, by hating her, and even her father, by loving her.

"Kaa-san," she ran her fingers through the silkiness of her mother's hair, caressed the peachy flesh of her cheek, even in her death she looked youthful.

Kagome had not yet closed her eyes. She didn't want to, in her inside she still prayed for any signs of life in her, even after ten hours she managed to convince herself that it was indeed only ten minutes ago when her breathing had stopped and her heart, her mother's heart in the cocoon of her warm breasts that now were ice cold, had stood still, it was only but a moment ago.

She clutched desperately her mother's hand, tucked it in under her kimono to warm both of her hands, this she had done for about hundred times in the wretched ten hours. No, she convinced herself that she had done it only two times before, it was merely ten minutes ago.

Her child's tender skin flinched from the coldness of the hands, she brought the two hands on her lips, breathing warm breath in them and rubbed them with her own tiny hands, she whispered again and again a simple child's plea 'Kaa-san'.

And then she saw her bare feet and the feeling of panic started to creep in, how could she forget to warm the most vital parts of her body? She touched her mother's feet and was jerked back in surprise over their coldness, colder than any biting winter wind. She opened her kimono front and tucked the cold feet under her clothing, at first she wanted to scream from the shock, feeling the unbearable iciness of her feet against the soft warm skin of her stomach, but she bit her lips and contained her pain.

Her hands... she started, now she couldn't warm them anymore, she tried to reach for them but the length of her mother's body wouldn't allow her to bend and reach for her hands, but her hands...

She looked around, certainly... certainly someone could help her, but they all sat back, gaping at her in horror. 'The child has gone mad' they all thought. Seeing their reaction, a wave of cold rage washed over Kagome, her body shook with fury, but then again she caught the sight of her hands. They were still cold. So she gulped down her anger and pleaded to them with helpless eyes, "please, if you would only help me to warm her hands, so that they would not turn cold, please..."

Kagome could hear a snicker behind the closed slide-door, a teenage snicker, and she knew to whom it was belonged, she could then hear a soft half hearted admonishing sound behind the door, "Kikyou Hime, you will behave yourself."

And all the ladies in the room sat up straight, they bent their body slightly when the pair entered the room.

The teenage hime cast an insulting glance to Kagome and then to the corpse. Kikyou's mother, Lady Sorano gave Kagome a veiled sympathetic look and reached out to pat Kagome's head, but Kagome jerked back fiercely and threw her and her daughter a haunted furious look.

Lady Sorano narrowed her eyes at her dangerously and raised her hand to strike Kagome; she paused in her act and glanced down at the corpse of Kohana, Kagome's mother. She smiled wickedly and lowered her body towards it.

It all happened too fast, Kagome didn't have the chance to stop her, Kohana's dainty feet against her stomach had hindered her movement, she could only watched in shock as Lady Sorano reached out her hand to close her mother's eyes.

The awaiting ladies in the room sighed in relieve, they almost smiled at the action, but caught themselves as they remembered that it was indeed the time of mourning.

Kikyou Hime covered her nose with her dainty hand and hissed, "When are we going to get rid of the cadaver? The palace would soon reek of opium and the foul stench of that farmer's whore."

Kagome breathed hard, rage was consuming her and the helplessness of it all only fueled her fury. The murders of her mother were in her mother's room and dishonored her death. She looked to the right to find the small black opium ball, ready to mold into the pipe, she wondered how it would taste when she swallowed it, surely it would kill her instantly.

Kagome took her mother's feet out of her kimono, she straightened her kimono and bent over her mother to reach for the raw opium, she molded it between her fingers as she turned her vengeful eyes towards Lady Sorano, "death came in many ways, sometimes it was just a redemption from the suffering," Kagome gazed at her mother's feet with moistened eyes and caressed them tenderly, "I would certainly anticipate the thought of seeing you again, Kaa-san," she lifted her gaze to meet Lady Sorano's panicked eyes and whispered in a heavy dangerous tone, alien to her own child's voice, "but not before I put you to your place, criminals, I curse you, I curse all of you in this room, may you all suffered what my mother-"

But someone pinched her nerve behind her, she didn't sense him, nor did she feel the hand that took away the opium ball from her hand.

::OoOoOoO::

Kagome found herself in her room; someone was stroking her hair tenderly. She held her eyes close and whispered, "Kaa-san?"

"Child..." an aged voice answered her; it was full with sadness and loss. It belonged to her nanny.

"Kaede Baa-chan," Kagome's hands reached out to hug her and the old nursemaid pulled her fiercely into her embrace, "cry, child, let it out... Baa-chan is here; I will take your sorrow in me and feed it someday to the oni."

"No, I won't cry anymore, they would never see me cry, Kaede Baa-chan. Those murders, one day I would avenge my mother's death, I swear." Kagome pledged solemnly as buried her face against the warm chest of the old nanny.

"Kaede Baa-chan, where is her body now?"

Kaede closed her eyes and answered her with trembled voice, "Lady Kohana's body was cleansed ritually and now they're preparing for the cremation."

"NO!!! Not yet! Not so soon! Why didn't they wait?!" Kagome wrenched herself out of her embrace, she searched Kaede's face for answers, but then she already knew the answer, it was because of her mother's heritage, a lower commoner didn't deserve a proper burial, even though she was the favorite concubine of the daimyo.

Kagome rushed to the hall where the ritual cremation was being held; when she got there she could already smell the smoke of the burning flesh. Ten monks on the side were chanting their sutra vigorously. She stood there numbed, watching the procession and the slowly cremated body of her mother.

Kohana, or little flower, was indeed too delicate for this world, had she not born beautiful, she would've escaped her fate of doom and made to be contented and protected.

Protection... it was something that his father offered her mother a long time ago, but he had not fulfilled it. Kagome knew that it wasn't his fault, that the fact he favored her mother the most had wounded the pride of the concubines from the higher rank. His first wife was burned by jealousy that she had committed hara kiri, but the second wife, Lady Sorano was set out to destroy Kohana out of fear of her position.

But still he had failed, and she gazed at her father with contempt. He looked at her guiltily, a weakling who couldn't even protect his soul mate, he never felt so low before. And now what pained him the most was the fact that his most beloved daughter hated him, he almost couldn't fight the urge to curl down and weep.

::OoOoOoO::

After the procession Kagome made her way into the garden. She gazed at the pale winter moon, not even the moon would glow for her tonight, all that she loved defied her of what she most wanted, company.

A small cough answered her silent plea, a beautiful man with long wavy black hair made his appearance known, he was tall and well built, he wore a beautiful black silk kimono with family crests designs, indicating his royal heritage, but what captured Kagome the most was his eyes, they searched her face acutely, almost hungrily, the eyes of the predator.

If she was mature in her age, she would've known what the look meant, but being a child of twelve she couldn't discern the attention, she acknowledged it as sympathy and accepted it, in a room at the palace she could be strong and cold, but under the moon she tended to soften and now possibly break.

The stranger tucked a stray wisp of hair away from her eyes tenderly as he said, "I would take your sorrow away if you would only shed your tears."

"No, you would tell them if I do." Kagome held her tears back defiantly.

"I, Lord Takeda Naraku, daimyo of Kai, solemnly pledged to Morikawa Kagome Hime, daughter of Lord Morikawa Shinosuke, daimyo of Owari, to not betray her of the knowledge of her mourning state in the solitary of the full moon winter night."

After he finished his little speech Kagome dashed to him and wept bitterly against him, he lifted her to his embrace and cradled her tenderly.

When she receded her crying, Naraku pulled a silk perfumed pouch out of his sleeve, he opened it and drew its content out, it was the small opium ball he had taken from her when he pinched her nerve to hinder her suicidal act.

Kagome's eyes were glued to the small orb of the opium; anxiety slowly crept in as he held the opium close to her lips. He ran the sweet scented mold along her lips, she opened her mouth a little to welcome her fate, but the sweet taste of death never came, when she opened her eyes she saw how his eyes were looking at her lips intently and then he kissed the small opium, his tongue tasted it a little as he closed his eyes and groaned.

Kagome was frightened by his reaction, and she struggled her way out of his embrace, but he tightened his hold over her and whispered huskily against her ear, "Remember, I was the one who saved you, when the time came, I will claim you, my princess, body and soul."

He put her down lovingly on a bench and disappeared, Kagome shivered as she noticed his sudden disappearance, had she made an encounter with a demon?

::OoOoOoO::

A jealous pair of brown eyes watched the scene intently, the sixteen years old Kikyou Hime closed her hands into small fists, she was promised to the hanyou lord by her father, now it looked like as if the whore's daughter caught his attention more. But she had decided that she would have him, when at first only because of his power and beauty now the feeling intensified after she watched the scenery under the moon.

She called her protector, the samurai Onigumo, his father most faithful retainer, but she knew that his blind faith towards her father was partly because he desired her. His attention to her was almost like a sick mélange of obsession, desire and love, devotedly, but revolting to her.

She caressed him with her look, turning him putty into her hands, not that she would touch him, but still she enjoyed playing the seductress, only a glimpse of her naked feet would turn any man feverish with desire. She voiced out her order to him slowly and huskily, she even gestured him to bend over to her so that her breath would tickle the sensitivity of his ear, and she watched as his eyes hungrily raked her exposed throat, down to the hidden skin of her mounds, she shifted her kimono unnoticeably to the side, baring the swell of one of her breasts as she emphasized her deadly order.

::OoOoOoO::

Kagome had won a dangerous ally in form of a half demon and a deadly enemy in form of an evil miko hime, but as a child she only recognized the latter. But still it was enough to know that she had to be careful, the palace intrigue was a play of seduction and dirty betrayal, she knew that her life threat came in form of a man madly in love with her half sister.

These were the facts that should not be known for a child in her age, but the moment her mother sought her salvation in the form of sweet poison she had lost her innocence in life. At that early stage of life she learned that she must be aware and strong, so she trained herself secretly in the art to wield a katana as samurais did. Her mind was incredibly perceptive and quick; she understood the way of the ki and how to port it into her advances. Skilled in speed that exceeded the power of normal human, she showed a great talent as a warrior in her young age.

To carry a katana that was longer than two shaku would only hampered her movement, so she decided for a much shorter shoto instead, in shoto she discovered a weapon that she could truly master. Her first shoto was given to her by an old retainer of his father whom she affectionately addressed as Jii-chan, the feeling that she had a grandfather, a family out of bond of blood warmed her heart, and she was sick of relatives, most of them were opportunists and despised her.

Though she was masterly skilled to defend herself, she would never guess what her half sister had schemed upon her. It was the same trick Lady Sorano used against her mother.

::OoOoOoO::

Why would Kikyou Hime need Onigumo, a man's help, to carry through such actions? When she could ordered the servant to put some opium in Kagome's food, first only a little so that one wouldn't become suspicious of the effect and then dosed it increasingly in Kagome's daily dish, it was only the matter of securing one's safety, Kikyou could never trust the staffs in the house as they stood on a good term with Kaede, as in that matter with Kagome as well, the awaiting ladies from the good houses or the concubines of her father were out of the questions, as such act was to implicate that she was digging her own grave, no matter how great they showed their loyalty to her and her mother now, she knew how easily such faith maneuvered sides.

So why would one not choose the one who was most devoted to her, who would even take the burden on himself when the plan went wrong, such small matters as to choose your ally was the wheel of your action.

And the reason that she used opium was that Kagome would never guess such moves, Kagome was trained well to defend herself from any frontal attack but as she trusted the staffs of the palace she would never considered that she was in danger because of her daily routines.

::OoOoOoO::

At first she didn't notice the sleepy feeling she had often had than before, she had merely thought it was because of the strained training she put herself through the day.

The sleepiness was not the only thing that bothered her, her difficulty in concentrating was also another thing, everyone could see what was wrong with her, it was the same symptoms Lady Kohana had when she was on the early stage of her addiction, but nobody warned her.

The plan went perfectly well, Lady Sorano had sent Kaede away to accompany one of the concubines to go home to her village. And as she was already gone, two days later Lady Sorano sent the old Jii-chan home to relieve him of his task as a samurai, normally such things were done by the daimyo lord, but when one had taken a strong ally such as her as a wife, the daimyo himself couldn't restrain the practice of her authority.

The old samurai was restricted to see Kagome, he was to be sent home immediately, and to accompany him on his way was a young samurai named Suijin, an ambitious young man that was ordered to assassinate the old samurai on the way home, which he succeeded.

Who could've warned her? The staffs of the palace? And have the great daimyo beheaded them when he found out through which way the poison found itself in Kagome's system?

Soon Lady Sorano would make an introduction of a pipe to Morikawa Kagome Hime, daughter of the Lord Morikawa Shinosuke and Lady Kohana.

::end of chapter::

Shaku: one shaku equals approximately 12 inches or 30 centimeters

Shoto: short swords, between 12-24 inches

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AN: hope you like it, I mean I hope that someone would read this, and if you do, yes please review, I would really like to know your point of view, is this fiction worth it to be continued, or should I just drop the project?

Kizu: Inuyasha used the technique of 'Kaze no Kizu' for the Tetsusaiga, and Kizu mean as much as scar, but what I actually referred in this fiction was Kizu translated as flaw, which is flaws on katanas/swords (a chip, blister, crack or split).