Kurama, Sesshoumaru’s General: Rewrite

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Chapter Two:

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The crash of metal bars against stone snapped him out of his meditation, and Kurama opened his eyes to discover the fox demon from earlier, the subordinate of Gold Eyes, to be the source of the noise. He stalked directly towards Kurama with a deep scowl set on his face.

“Get up, human.”

Calmly, Kurama stood. The demon growled.

“Follow me. And if I see you try to escape, I will cut off that pretty little head of yours.”

Kurama watched him. “I’m sure you’d enjoy that.”

A hand flashed forward and slapped him across the face. It might have broken the jaw of a normal human. He let his face move with the motion to release some of the kinetic energy, and kept his expression neutral. He should have kept his mouth shut, but after a week of not speaking, it felt good to insult the demon. Most demons had such a short tempers.

“Follow me, and no more wise cracks. Or I’ll crack that head of yours in two, no matter what Lord Sesshoumaru says.”

Kurama did as instructed, watching as a regular guard shut the prison door behind them. They’d been moved into these holding cells two days ago and had had little contact with demons except for the one guarding the door and the servant bringing them bread and water.

The pain in his cheek was distracting at first, but he pushed it to the back of his mind and focused on his surroundings, memorizing the path they took as they moved through the halls of the prison and into a mansion. He looked around himself with curious eyes at the sight of paper sliding doors and artwork that had gone out of style hundreds of years ago. Where was he? And how had he gotten to this strange world?

Slowly taking in a calming breath, he turned his attention to the demon leading him through this maze. He seemed completely at ease in his surroundings, if a little annoyed. As if feeling Kurama’s gaze, the demon turned his head to glare at him. He blinked his eyes once, knowing the huge globes would make him appear as innocent as a kitten. There was an advantage to being merged with this human body, after all.

Finally, the demon came to a stop in front of a set of sliding doors that looked like any other. He knocked quietly on the frame.

“Come,” a quiet, familiar voice came from within.

The demon opened the sliding door and bowed. “I have brought the human as you requested, my lord.”

Kurama stared at the broad frame of Gold Eyes, who currently kneeled in front of a desk.

“You may leave, Hikume,” the demon said quietly, but definitely not softly. There was a hard edge of steel to that baritone.

“Yes, Lord Sesshoumaru.” The demon bowed and left.

Not really knowing what to do, but knowing that it would be rude to stand if a nobleman was sitting, he kneeled where he stood but couldn’t bring himself to complete a full reverent bow, with his head on the mat. Keeping his head bowed slightly, he waited.

It was close to five minutes before Gold Eyes, now known to Kurama as ‘Sesshoumaru’, finally looked up from whatever papers he was examining. Kurama kept his eyes stubbornly on the demon’s desk instead of his eyes. It would be stupid to get his head cut off in his second meeting with the demon that smelled like dog.

“Where are you from, human?”

Kurama blinked. He desperately wanted to ask why Sesshoumaru had bought him, why he was here at this very second, but he knew that showing such disrespect could get him killed. Pushing down his pride, he thought up an answer. The first city that came to mind burst out of his mouth. “Kyoto.”

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. “This Sesshoumaru has been to Kyoto, and there are no humans with your colouring there.”

Kurama blinked and had to remind himself not to look into the golden eyes. Was he supposed to say something to that? He kept his mouth shut, since it hadn’t really been a question.

“Why do you know how to fight, human?”

Oooh, how to answer that question… “There are humans and demons alike who kill and pillage villages, milord. Those who cannot defend themselves die quickly.”

The dog demon was silent for a moment, and Kurama could feel those eyes raking over his form. It was slightly… unnerving. He’d had humans and demons alike assess him and be attracted to him, but he couldn’t tell what kind of interest this demon had in him. He was so difficult to read in voice and facial expression.

“Would you rather die in battle or live as a slave to a demon?”

Kurama wasn’t sure whether ‘slave’ encompassed chores or sex, and either way, he didn’t care. He didn’t serve. “If this is an offer, milord, I thank you for the choice. I would prefer to die in battle.”

Sesshoumaru stood from his desk, and Kurama stiffened. What was the… Sesshoumaru came to a stop right in front of Kurama and a clawed came to cup his chin and turn his head upwards. He looked into cool gold eyes, wondering what was going through the stoic demon’s mind.

“This Sesshoumaru does not take pleasure in humans.”

Kurama just kept staring up at him. ‘Then why are you looking at me like that?’ he wondered to himself, but apparently Sesshoumaru couldn’t read minds because an answer wasn’t forthcoming.

The hand holding his chin released and travelled to his hair, where it absently began to play with the wavy red strands. Still, nothing was said, and Sesshoumaru’s expression didn’t even give away the fact that he was fondling Kurama.

“And if this Sesshoumaru did not give you a choice? What would you do, human, if this Sesshoumaru forced you into his bed?”

Kurama bit his lip. What could he say to that that wouldn’t get him killed? He was still planning on making an escape. And figuring out a way to get home. He’d probably use the gladiator matches as a cover. Cause some havoc. But if he got himself chained to some demon’s futon, he wasn’t sure he’d ever get out of here with his dignity intact.

When he had remained silent for too long, the hand in his hair tightened. Letting out a soft hissing breath at the pain, Kurama tried to think up a proper answer. “I- I would prefer to die a free man, milord.”

“You did not answer. What would you do if you were forced into this Sesshoumaru’s bed?”

While Sesshoumaru was indeed attractive, Kurama wasn’t sure he wanted to risk having sex with the demon. What if it got too rough for this body to handle? What if Sesshoumaru got tired of him and pawned him off to that fox general from earlier? Or even worse, a demon that wasn’t even humanoid in form? The possibilities were endless, and he’d never have control of his future if he remained a slave.

He still hadn’t figured out the answer to the question! The hand in his hair was tightening again, and Kurama could see an impatient anger in Sesshoumaru’s eyes. “I would survive milord, until I could escape,” he answered honestly, allowing the resistance to shine in his eyes again.

The anger in the gold eyes disappeared and was replaced with interest. “And what if you could not escape?”

Kurama bit his lip. “Then I supposed I would be forced to stay here, milord.”

“You were not born into slavery, human?”

Kurama was going to shake his head in a negative, but figured it unwise with the hand still tight in his hair. “No, milord.” Was the demon actually curious? For someone dead set on reiterating that humans meant nothing to him, Sesshoumaru seemed mighty interested in Kurama.

“For how long have you been a slave?”

Kurama counted the days. “About a week.”

A silver eyebrow rose. “Are you a demon hunter?”

Kurama blinked. Demon hunter? Sesshoumaru was probably talking about humans that trained to kill demons. Could Kurama be considered one? In reality he was an on-call spirit detective… who went around killing demons trying to take over the world and somesuch. “I guess.”

Gold eyes narrowed. “You are, or you are not, human.”

“Fine. I don’t actively go seeking demons to kill, but if a demon is attacking humans with no justifiable reason, I will kill him.”

Sesshoumaru inclined his head slightly in acknowledgement. “And if this Sesshoumaru wanted you in his bed, do you think you could defeat him?”

Kurama pursed his lips in thought. Appearances could be deceiving where demons were concerned. Sesshoumaru could either be a powerhouse or one of the weakest demons in the lands. Since he was a lord, however, and had an army to command, it was more likely that Sesshoumaru was one of the more powerful demons. If Kurama had had trouble going against Karasu in human form, he didn’t think he was going to have much luck in this situation. “Probably not.”

“So you are merely foolish, not lacking in intelligence.”

Kurama didn’t know what to say to that.

“The survivor of the battles faces the General of one of the Four Lords. This year it is Hikume, the General of the Western Lands. Do you think you can defeat this Sesshoumaru’s General and escape?”

Kurama thought back to the dim-witted fox demon he had observed during their travel to this stadium. His power levels had been around Karasu’s. Speaking of power levels, did Sesshoumaru always keep his aura suppressed? Kurama still didn’t know where he stood in comparison to this ‘lord’. “Yes, I believe I can.”

Two silver eyebrows rose slightly. “Then we shall see tomorrow if your belief will keep you alive.”

Kurama let out what was left of his breath, not realizing he had been holding it in the first place. Did this mean Sesshoumaru was sticking to his earlier vow that he didn’t take pleasure in humans?

“Hikume,” Sesshoumaru called, pulling his hand from Kurama’s hair. “Return the slave to his cell and ensure that all slaves have been fed and watered for the battles tomorrow.”

Hikume, who had slid open the door, bowed and pulled Kurama from the floor. With a shove, he was sent walking down the hallway, barely catching a glimpse of Sesshoumaru as the demon turned back to his desk and his papers.

Tomorrow was going to be an… interesting day, to say the least. With his spirit energy nearly completely recovered, Kurama figured he could survive it.

Hopefully.

-Toki Mirage-

And here’s chapter two. I don’t know how long this rewrite’s going to be, but it’ll be better than the original. I promise. :)