Dark Jewel
Story #: 0070
By Kaline Reine

WARNINGS: This is somewhat of a dark/angsty fic, and its written in AU not the world of Inuyasha. Everything is different, but I will try my best to keep everyone as in-character as possible. This fic is rated M for a reason, there is violence and bad language throughout, and later on there will be graphic (extremely graphic, as you will know if you've read my other fics) adult scenes later on. This is my first Inuyasha fanfic ever, so please be nice. I'm new.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and I am just doing this for fun. Inuyasha is property of Rumiko Takhashi, not mine.

Chapter 1:

Kagome slowly opened her eyes. She didn't remember anything. Her head hurt. Her whole body hurt, for that matter. But most of all it was her head. It was like she'd been injured somehow...

'Wh-what happened? Where am I?'

She opened her eyes to find that she was inside... a cage?! That was when her temper kicked in. How dare anyone do this to her!

"What is the meaning of this?!" She shouted, pounding the bars with her fists, which only served to make them hurt that much more. "Where am I?! What is this?! Let me out of here right now!"

She was on her knees in a small steel cage. It was polished to a dull shine. Her knees and back already hurt from being in this position. She could just barely manage to sit up without hitting her head. And there wasn't much space to move around.

"Yeah yeah, quiet down..."

A harsh tone was heard, as a man stepped into the room. He was sort of tall, with short dark hair. Part of it was pulled neatly behind his head, and he wore a dark robe of some kind. She recognized him as a monk.

'Why would a monk trap me here?' She thought she should wait for his answer, before speaking. She was the one inside the cage, after all. And he was the one outside, with the power to free her, if he chose...

"All your questions will be answered in due time," He dangled a set of keys a few inches from her cage. To his surprise, this girl didn't move. She just looked at him, as if she were trying to figure out his motivation, or read him somehow. It was creepy. "Stop looking at me like that!"

When she didn't answer, he cleared his throat and continued talking.

"My name is Miroku, and I am an honorable Monk. As you can see, I have captured when I found you collasped in the forest. You will serve as a fine prize, and I am confident that you will earn me enough money..."

"Money? What the hell are you talking about? Just tell me how I got here and... Wait... forest? I don't remember any forest. How did I get there?"

"I don't know. You were already there, and already unconscious when I happened upon you. But here's the deal: You be a good girl, and don't cause me any trouble, and you'll be free from that cage soon enough. Deal?"

"No!" She spat at him. "There's no way I'll cooperate with you! What kind of man puts a girl in a cage?! Honestly! You'll let me out, if you know what's good for you!"

He just chuckled, and walked out, leaving her in the dark. "Have it your way then, wench."

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It didn't take long for Kagome to figure out her situation. She was obviously in some kind of slave trade or something. Miroku was not the kind sort of man that most Monks are made out to be. He clearly was into whatever he could get his hands on that would fetch him a price.

Every once in a while, the lights would come on, and she would see another girl being transported in the room by henchmen. There were hundreds of them! They all came in, but only some went out. All of them were frightened, and sometimes they would try to talk to her. Kagome had no interest in speaking with any of them. She chose to stay silent, and ever since that day she would not speak to anyone.

It would appear that her spirit was already broken, but that was not the case. She was merely contemplating her means of escape from this wretched place!

"How long has she been here?" One of the girls in the other cages asked.

"Who knows?"

"Why is her cage marked 'special'? What does that mean?"

Two others responded.

Kagome never paid them any mind anymore. She was intent on one thing, and one thing only: escape.

'Wait... Did they say my cage was... marked as special? How?' She tried to see, but to no avail. She couldn't see whatever it was they saw.

She was still wearing the same clothes she had been wearing when she'd woke up in here. The only thing she remembered was her name. Kagome. It was all she had. She thought this was some kind of uniform she was wearing, but she couldn't really be sure. Dark green skirt, and matching top, with her long white socks and shiny black shoes... Why did it seem so familiar to her?

She had already spent about four months in this place, and no one had let her out of the cage for even a moment. Needless to say, being hunched over like that was bad on her back. It was more of a crate that she stayed in, really. But over time she was becoming accustomed to it.

They only gave her enough food to keep her alive, and hardly any water. Kagome wondered why this was happening to her... She'd seen so many girls come and go from here, but none of them had been here as long as her. Where were they all going, and why was she never sent away? Little did she know that today was the day she would be released from her cage.

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Later, just before she had recieved her only meal of the day, some men came in to take Kagome. At first she was thrilled, because it was finally her time to go. But then she began to be afraid of where they might be taking her. No one seemed willing to answer any of her questions anyway, so she just kept quiet.

'Where are we going? Stop it! Where are you taking me?!' She continued the onslaught of questions, in her mind, even though they couldn't hear her.

Soon she found that she'd been dragged into another room. She hadn't seen any of the other girls come in here. 'So why me?'

"Let us have a look at ye!" An old lady addressed her. She moved in on poor Kagome, and began examing her, lifting her chin up, and tilting her head forcibly to the side.

'Uh... Can you let go?!' She wanted to shout at this stubborn woman, but she hadn't spoken in so long, she wasn't sure if she knew how to.

"Ah yes," The woman remarked. "She will make a fine slave for my Lord. Name your price, young Monk."

'Price?' Kagome wanted to know what was going on.

But before anyone answered her unspoken question, Miroku was talking again. "That'll be eight-hundred thousand Yen."

"Do ye take me for a fool, Miroku?"

"Very well," He let out a bored sigh. "Six-hundred thousand Yen, for you Lady Kaede." He gave her a scroll and a pen. "Sign here, and here."

"Alright, done."

The old woman shook hands with the Monk, and Kagome was instantly frightened at the sinister look in their eyes. Whatever just happened meant certain disaster for her, she was sure of it.

'And what was that they said about me being a slave? This doesn't sound good...'

Before she left, Miroku looked at her one last time. "You are to behave yourself for your new master, wench. Do not misunderstand me. You will belong to him mind, body, and soul. And if you disobey, you don't want to know what he may do to set you straight," He seemed satisfied by the look of fear in her eyes. "Farewell. We will not see each other again."

Kagome didn't know whether he was bluffing or not, and she wasn't sure she wanted to. Before she knew it, she was being led out of the room in chains.

'Sweet freedom!' She thought. 'It's right there, and yet... Why don't I feel free? I am chained; I've been made into a prisoner again! Will this nightmare never end?'

"Allow me to introduce myself," The woman's kind eyes sparkled. "I am Kaede, a High Priestess, and servant of a very powerful Lord."

Kagome just looked at her. She didn't want to talk to anyone.

"Don't ye want to know who it was that bought ye?"

'Bought me?! Buying people, now that's just absurd!' Yet she continued to give this Kaede person the cold shoulder.

She was led into a rickety old carriage which was pulled by a single plain brown horse. Nothing special about any of it. But to her dismay, the carriage was covered, and she wouldn't be able to see outside. So Kagome would once again have no idea where she was going.

"Well that's alright, I suppose ye shall find out when we get there, then."

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The two rode in perfect silence until they reached a huge and dark castle. Kagome was taken inside, before she even got a good look around. She did notice the entire area was surrounded by what looked like an impenetrable iron fence. It was so tall, she knew there was no way she could ever hope to get over it. And were those gargoyles? There was a garden, but all the flowers and plants that should have been there were dead. The fountain seemed to work, but the water had a murky quality to it.

The whole thing reminded her of the feudal era, really. She had no idea that places like this still existed.

"Here we are," Kaede led her just inside the front door, before removing her chains. "There's no way ye can escape, even if ye tried, my dear. So ye won't be needing these chains anymore."

Kagome only watched, as she fastened the long set of various locks which were used to secure the main door to the castle. Kaede's clothing was strange, she noticed as she watched the woman's actions. She didn't look as if she belonged in modern-times...

She wasn't sure if she was expected to stand there, or to go somewhere else, so she waited until Kaede was done. It took several minutes to fasten all the locks. Kagome didn't even see where she put the keys. The woman looked at her expectantly, as if seeking out an answer or even a question of some sort. But Kagome never spoke. She didn't want to talk to anyone.

"I'd watch myself if I were ye, girl," Kaede chose her words carefully. "It's almost time for ye to meet your new master. While he's not kind or gentle by any means, my Lord is just. He will see to it that ye find your voice."

'Whatever.' She crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Hey, is that the new slave?" A tiny voice said. The two females were soon joined by a bouncy ball of fluff. "The name's Shippo, it's nice to meet you!"

Kagome almost fainted on the spot. 'Is... Is this thing my new master? Is he a pomeranian, or a poodle, or what? You've got to be kidding me!'

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A/N: I have no idea what I am doing with this fic. I know it's not very exciting at first, but I tried. As I said, this is my first fic for Inuyasha, and I hope it doesn't disappoint. I have everything planned out and... It should be fairly smooth writing and consistent updates from this point on. Or so I hope. Please, please, PLEASE tell me what you thought of it! I really value my readers' opinions. Sorry for the cliffhanger, but you'll feel slightly better when you read the next chapter... maybe.

-Kaline Reine