Chapter 5: I'm Starting to Hate Whips!

It's called Pain...

Tears Left Uncried

Raye: …

KB: So she's really going to ignore me from now on?

Lee: Yep, until you bring her fully into the story.

KB: Thank God.

Raye: *Glares*

KB: *Sigh* Of course she could just switch to that instead. I think I'm starting to miss her loud rants.

Lee: Just be grateful. She could be throwing knives….

KB & Lee: *Stare off at Raye*

KB: Back away slowly…

 

-KB

 

 

Tears Left Uncried

Chapter 5:

I'm Really Starting To Hate Whips

 

 

"Lord Sesshomaru! Miss Lee received new clothes from a kind old lady!" Rin skips up to her two returning companions. Lee groans, preparing to face the inevitably long walk ahead of her. She glares down at the sandals on her slim feet just waiting for the feeble looking things to give one of those weak girly shrill you heard on cartoons and take off into the nearest escape hole they could find. She knows that inanimate objects can't move though…right?

 

"See? Doesn't she look pretty?"

 

Lee looks up from her new shoes to finish what the little Rin hadn't told them, that new anger tainting her words with a sarcasm that she'd have never used before. "Yeah, then the old fortune cookie ran off with my clothes. Stealing old hag."

 

What the heck is wrong with me?! Where'd that come from?, she thinks, covering her mouth with her hand. She quickly drops it though, the second she locks eyes with the tall 'lord'. His cold, golden eyes shift down her figure and Lee jerks back in surprise, adverting her eyes quickly as a rush of heat explodes on her face. Geez, what is wrong with me?

 

"Good." He states flatly before turning towards the road out of the village.

 

Lee flinches. The anger boils. "Good? What's that supposed to mean? I was just robbed and all you can say is 'good'?"  Again, she covers her mouth.

 

Jaken, the strange little gremlin, spins on her and waves that freaky staff in her face threateningly. "Watch your tongue, you stupid human girl! Do not dare talk to my Lord that way!"

 

Lee would take his threat seriously if not for the fact that he looked like a cartoon figure bouncing around like a green beach ball. She bites back a grin. Ever since meeting the little creature, she's quickly found out that no one really paid him much attention or took him seriously. Lee kind of felt sorry for the little guy.

 

"Jaken." Sesshomaru's emotionless voice calls back. Even though his tone is flat, Lee can hear the sharp edge of command under the word and she quickly swallows what she was going to say to the gremlin.

 

The sun finally reaches the horizon again, kissing the tops of the trees with a warm glow that makes the trees look like they're on fire, and Lee follows them to a small clearing where a river flows into a pool at the base of a cave.

 

Cave in the middle of a forest. Yeah, not weird at all considering that we're nowhere near any mountains. Lee finds a short rock to rest on, collapsing off of her wobbly legs and doubling over in exhaustion with a huff.

 

"Thank goodness." She mumbles to herself.

 

"Rin, you are on your own for now." Sesshomaru tells the child again.

 

"Yes, my Lord!" Rin nods her head, takes the two-headed dragon's reigns from him, and settles down on a log near Lee.

 

"Again." Lee grumbles under her breath.

 

"Wish to add something, do you?"

 

Lee looks up suddenly, finding the tall, silver-haired guy standing before her with all his demon features. Her throat constrict under his gaze, forcing her to choke on her words. How could she answer to that? Then again, just hearing him speak more than one word for once has her stunned, so talking at all is really not an option right now. Instead, she shakes her head and drops her eyes haltingly.

 

"Jaken." He walks off with his miniature sidekick following loyally behind. They disappear into the darkness of the cave, leaving the two of them sitting in the quiet with only the whispering of the winds to sing to them. Lee sighs, wishing desperately to go home.

 

If she'd felt lonely before, it was nothing compared to this. Having a demon with untold power that looked like he could snap her in half just by looking at her, a creepy green frog with obsession issues, and a crazy little girl who clearly doesn't know the meaning of 'dangerous' for company isn't really…company. She has nothing in common with any of them. She's not even from their world.

 

Again, she sighs, dropping her head in defeat. She's actually starting to miss the teasing the other kids back home shoved at her all the time. At least they all saw her; even if it was in a bad way.

 

"Miss Lee?"

 

She looks up as Rin sits down at her feet. The dragon has settled down on the grass and fallen asleep.

 

"Are you okay? You look pale." Rin touches Lee's knees worriedly, her deep brown eyes shimmering.

 

Lee quickly forces out a smile. Why worry the small child with problems that have nothing to do with her. It's not like she could help Lee anyway…unless she had a doorway back to Lee's home in her pocket somewhere. "No, I'm fine. My feet just hurt. And I kind of miss my backpack."

 

"Backpack?" Rin tilts her head.

 

"Yeah, it had all my school books and brush in it. I really miss my brush. I hate having tangles in my hair." Lee explains.

 

"But you have your hair up."

 

"Sure, but when I take it down, I like to brush it out before going to sleep. I haven't taken it down since getting here, I've been pulled down a river, trudged through the heat, and slept on it. I would really like to take a bath and get all the dirt out, but that's really out of the question." Lee trails to a stop, realizing that she's started to rant like a whining child who didn't get something she's wanted.

 

Moron!

 

Lee jerks up straight, her eyes darting around at the sound of the voice; it's familiar. "Did you hear that?"

 

Rin stands up quickly, glancing around too. "Hear what?"

 

The next sound has nothing to do with the voice, but it's something that they both hear this time. A snap. A twig under a boot.

 

Snap!

 

Lee reacts to the next snap, her memory registering it as something she doesn't like. Her first experience here melded that terrible sound in her mind and there's no way she's going to forget it anytime soon.

 

The whips tip just brushes the back of her head as Lee trips forward.

 

"Lee!" Rin cries.

 

Climbing clumsily to her feet, Lee grab Rin by the wrist and pulls her forward. Too soon they're forced to stop in their paths as a long line of the big, brawny men step in their way. Rin whines under her breath, hugging closer to Lee's side as they back away in horror.

 

"Well, well, well. If it isn't our little runaway."

 

That voice. Oh, crap! Lee mentally screams. It's the same group of greasy men from before, the ones who were obsessed with selling her or keeping her like property.

 

The man, the leader, tightens the grip on his whip, flashing a devilish grin that creeps her out more than usual. "Looks like you've brought along a friend for us this time too. How thoughtful."

 

Lee's eyes widen in panic and her grip on Rin hardens. Somewhere deep inside, she can feel that unknown anger begin to stir, shifting into a fierce wave of protectiveness; just one more thing to add to the list of stuff that's new about her. Too late to complain now-there's no way they're going to take Rin. She's just a kid.

 

"S-stay away from her." Lee tries to make her voice sound demanding, tries to draw on the strange anger for help, but the fear is stronger. Fear she knows. Fear is familiar to her.

 

The barrel of a man throws his head back and laughs in amusement. "Stay away? Are you ordering me around now, princess?" Another good laugh shoots out of him. "Alright, we won't touch her…but you didn't say anything about you."

 

Lee squeaks and her voice cracks up to a higher tone. "Me too!"

 

"Too late, princess. Negotiations are already closed." He snaps the whip forward and Lee just acts on instinct. She tosses Rin back and away from the attack, but leaves her body open to danger. The whip hits nowhere on her though. Instead, it wraps like a vice around her neck, pinching her throat and ripping into her skin. She can feel the exposed skin tear open and a drop of blood begin to slide down the side of her neck.

 

The pain stings like water on a fresh burn and Lee can't help but scream.

 

"Lee!"

 

The massive man howls with laughter as he yanks her forward. The whip clenches tighter and Lee's body flies forward and hits the ground hard. The hard dirt slams into her arms and stomach, no doubt leaving bruises that will show up later. Her hip bone flashes in pain as she hits the ground and she tries to turn over, but a heavy boot presses painfully across her back and into her spine. Her lungs cry for air, but the whip is so tight that Lee can't breathe.

 

"Careful, we don't want her too beat up. If we do, she won't be any good to us."

 

Lee shakes with a combination of fear and pain, her body pulsing with agony. She's never faced anything like this; she wasn't built for it. Opening her mouth, she tries to suck in air, but all she can manage is to choke out a cough or two.

 

"Bring some rope and tie her up. Can't let her go until we're sure she's secure. Wouldn't want her running off again."

 

"Lee! No, let her go!" Rin cries out, somewhere one of the men grabbing her and pushing her away, but Lee can't seem to focus. Her head is spinning from the lack of oxygen. Every voice around her sounds so distant now, nearly drowned out by the terrible pounding in her ears. Is that her heartbeat?

 

Can't breathe…can't breathe…can't breathe… Lee chants the words over and over in her head. Then another thought breaks through it, surprising her. Just end it already!

 

"What the-?"

 

Another whipping noise slices through the distant air, sizzling like acid, and Lee forces her heavy eyes open weakly. A flash of green and two of the beefy men are thrown to the ground clutching their chests or stomachs in agony.

 

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin shouts from somewhere far away.

 

"Back off or I'll strangle her for sure!" Lee's captor threatens.

 

If that's the case then do it already. Lee wants to yell at him. She can feel the skin on her face throbbing, heating up. God, I need air!

 

And just like that, the line is cut. She can just faintly feel her captors grip on the whip vanish and the rope go slack, but the remainder around her neck still remains constricted. Rin is yelling something about it, but already her mind is slipping away. Lee can feel her consciousness fading. At least she'd die in her sleep and not in pain.

 

Someone touches her shoulder then, rolling her over and then lifting her bruised body into a sitting position. An arm is around her back, but it doesn't feel familiar. The arm reaches around her, the hand coming up to press against the cold skin around her neck.

 

Fleetingly, Lee can't help but notice how gentle the touch is…

Author's Note

Author’s Note:
I started this story a long time ago on the Fanfiction site, but wasn’t getting any feedback on it what so ever. I didn’t know what was good or what was bad on the story at all. I didn’t even know if readers were liking the story either. Very few people were answering my pleas for help, so I decided to just delete the story.
Then a reader on Fanfiction decided to help me and I figured it was time to go back and redo the story chapter by chapter. The helpful reader asked if they could so a version of my story and sadly I agreed to it. Now, the reader isn’t crediting me for the work except when I say something about it and they refuse to answer my messages at all.
So here I am, forced to come to another fanfiction site and look for fresh new readers.
PLEASE let me know if there are any screw ups in the story. I really love the Inuyasha anime (PROPS TO THE ARTIST/WRITER WHO CREATED IT BECAUSE I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA) and I have always wanted to do a fanfiction on it.
There are nearly 40 chapters in this story and they can all be read on Fanfiction.net if you wish to skip forward a bit, but I’ll be uploading the newly rewritten chapters here.
I’m also on DeviantArt under Kizyoi if you’d like to check out my art.

-KB