Bound by Corruption by BelovedStranger

Save Me

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

This story has been REVISED as of 2025. I have kept this story true to its original plot and characters. For the most part, the revisions are because my writing style has greatly changed.

This story was originally 32 Chapters. The revision is longer. Additional chapters are being written, so currently, this story is ongoing. When “Bound by Corruption” is fully revised, I will begin undertaking the completion of the sequel, “Soothed by Corruption”.

To those who love to read, and love our daemon lord and miko, this is for you.

PS: This story was originally a oneshot of mine, named “Spice of the Gods”, in my lemon oneshot collection “A Smell So Sweet”. “Bound by Corruption” deviates from the oneshot to turn it into a dark romance, multi-chapter story.

PSS: This work has no benefit of a beta. Sorry in advance for any typos! 

Word Count: 3,394

Glossary:

Obaasan—Grandmother

Miko—Priestess

Reiki—Spiritual

Youkai—Demon

Inu no Kami—Dog God

Kami—God

Haori—A Loose Garment Resembling A Coat

“FOR ONCE, OBAASAN, can you not believe in me?” The also went unsaid, but not unheard.

The elderly woman sighed, and Kagome knew a moment’s elation, understanding the sound for what it was: capitulation.

Victory.

Kagome was kneeling beside her grandmother inside the small hut she shared with her, along with her absent elder sister, Kikyo.

Rather than speak, Kaede leaned forward to stoke the embers in their cooking pit, coaxing the flames to burn brighter. Her hands were old, but beneath the wrinkles and gnarled knuckles were old scars and a resilient strength undiminished by time.

Kagome did not dare disrupt the ensuing silence as Kaede began preparing the tea, knowing that any sign of impatience from her would only prove her grandmother’s misgivings correct.

Too young, too inexperienced.

Kagome nearly snorted. Kikyo had been younger when she had first begun shouldering the weight of responsibilities they all had inherited at birth.

She watched her obaasan’s face covertly, hoping to gleam Kaede’s thoughts, but her wizened visage was smooth, expressionless. And unfortunately, Kagome sat on Kaede’s left; her blind side, preventing her from peering into Kaede’s one good eye. Beneath the black patch, only ruined flesh remained.

A mark of her bravery, as well as a warning. A reminder of the dangers they faced. When Kaede was a child, demons had attacked their village. The horde was of such a size and strength that she had been forced to take up arms alongside her own mother in defense of the villagers.

Kagome came from a long line of proud miko, human priestesses with spiritual powers called reiki, a pure energy capable of cleansing the taint of evil. It was in the very blood she shared with her sister and grandmother, binding her to a duty she had little choice but to follow.

And yet, her family coddled her, protected her.

As Kaede kept her one good eye on her task, Kagome realized the lack of scrutiny placed upon her was a blessing in disguise. For all the sisters’ physical likeness, Kagome was not Kikyo. A fact Kagome was painfully aware of every single second of every single day.

Because you are weak.

Kagome tightened her fists until her nails dug painfully into her palms, hating the voice inside her head. Words she’d never actually heard her family speak, yet their incessant coddling couldn’t have spoken louder had they shouted the accusation in her face. She swallowed the bitterness, and instead, salivated over the victory she sensed was hers—if she just kept her rouge tongue silent. For once, let her not speak rashly, she internally prayed to any kami who were listening.

At last, the silence was broken.

Kaede’s worries were yet made manifested, a last chance for Kagome to change her mind. “These are troubling times, child. As strange as this may seem, daemons are the least of ye worries should ye continue on this course, and I am too old to help ye.” Kaede turned her head, love and concern reflected in her one, brown eye. “Why not await Kikyo to accompany ye? She should return shortly, I expect.”

Anger and resentment spiked, a reaction Kagome was hard-pressed to conceal. Kikyo, Kikyo, Kikyo. Always Kagome lived under her sister’s shadow!

Kagome knew that if she waited for her sister, she wouldn’t be accompanying anyone anywhere. Kikyo would go alone, with no one questioning her ability to take care of herself. 

She loved her sister, even looked up to her. Kikyo was so capable, beyond courageous. But no matter how hard Kagome tried to emulate her, she never failed to fall impossibly short.

In regal bearing and confidence, in skill and power.

It was well-known that Kikyo was beyond gifted. None could match the potency of her reiki; none but the legendary Midoriko—their ancestor centuries past. All that power with the strength to control it.

Unlike Kagome.

Her own reiki could ravel the might of even Kikyo’s, yet unlike her sister, Kagome’s control was tenuous at best.

Everything seemed to come so easily for Kikyo, whereas Kagome struggled constantly. Even her mastery of archery, a miko’s sacred weapon, could not match Kikyo’s capabilities. Instead of seeing her accomplishments for what they were, the people of the village were too busy praising Kikyo, comparing the siblings, and finding Kagome lacking. The villagers were never purposefully unkind, Kagome knew, but it didn’t change the fact that no one seemed to see her. Not even Kaede.

Guilt assailed her. Perhaps she held an unhealthy dose of envy towards Kikyo, but how could she not? Frustration ate at her. How was it possible to love someone to the very depths of her being yet harbor such resentment at the same time?

Despite her jealousy, hatred for Kikyo had never touched Kagome’s heart. Such an emotion was impossible. Kikyo had always been there. Helping with her lessons, guiding her, and gifting her with warm encouragement. Kikyo had told her, on more than one occasion, that Kagome was not inadequate or lesser in any way, that what came easier for some may be harder for another. Kikyo had always pressed upon her the value of consistent effort and faithful dedication, which Kagome had in abundance.

For all her shortcomings, Kagome was resolute, her determination unshakable.

Kagome answered Kaede’s worries with forced calm. “Kikyo isn’t here. She was expected back days ago.” Kaede glanced at her sharply, but even had she not, even Kagome couldn’t voice the thought out loud, that Kikyo might be in danger. Hurt. Or worse.

“Our village faces a serious threat,” she stressed. “We cannot afford to wait much longer.”

For weeks, men and women of all ages had been passing through their village, or had collapsed in need of medical attention, as they brought terrifying news of brutality and destruction. Bandits had been raiding the countryside, pillaging, raping, murdering, and burning everything to the ground wherever they went. Kagome had never seen such devastation as described, her village a far remote place in the west. An occasional youkai problem arose, or a vengeful spirit attacked, but never anything a miko couldn’t handle. But bandits weren’t youkai. Miko could not purify humans, even those who were evil at heart.

Their village had been in turmoil upon receiving the news, but denial had been prevalent—in the beginning. Their village was small and out of the way of larger settlements. Surely, the villains would pass them by for greater rewards? Denials morphed into fear—then flight. Now, the village was little more than a shell of its former self, nearly abandoned as people Kagome had known all her life fled alongside the strangers passing through in a desperate bid to outrun the danger.

Restless and on edge, the remaining villagers were now clamoring for the village miko to go to the Inu no Kami’s shrine, a day’s journey on foot, and pray for the villagers’ safety. Kaede was too old to make the journey, and Kikyo was in the next village over, aiding the headman’s wife, who was in labor. The woman had lost her previous child the year before in childbirth, and the headman was determined not to lose another. There was no one to go to the shrine except Kagome, but Kaede was hesitant to put her in danger of traveling alone during these troubling times.

But Kagome was adamant. She would go, if only to prove her worth to her village, to her family. To herself. She was not Kikyo, but neither was she incapable.

Desperation and pain leaked into her voice. “Trust me.”

Only then did her obaasan nod once, her stooped shoulders sagging. Kaede’s following sigh was drawn-out, full of weariness. When she glanced over at Kagome again, her worried expression had intensified, but Kagome detected a resigned acceptance that had been absent moments ago, sending her heart to fluttering.

“Ye are right, Kagome. Ye must go and without delay, if we are not too late.”

Smiling in both relief over the older woman’s capitulation and gratitude for her obvious concern, Kagome placed a hand on her obaasan’s hunched shoulder. “I know you do, Kaede-obaasan, and I thank you, but I’ll be fine. You’ll see. I’ll be back before you know it.”

Her grandmother didn’t seem as confident, but Kagome was too elated to let her obaasan’s doubts dampen her spirits.

Nodding her grey head, Kaede rose slowly to her feet, her knees obviously paining her. Confused, Kagome watched her grandmother move around the interior of the hut. She grabbed a large cloth used to transport items on a person’s back, along with a sake bottle and a small clay cup. She wrapped the items in a strip of white linen, before putting together dried food, a bamboo container filled with water, and other necessities for a two days journey. Then she bundled everything together in the larger cloth and returned to Kagome, who had rightly guessed what she’d been about. Without a word, she stood and took the proffered sack.

“I am giving you the highest quality of sake our village has to offer, along with our ceremonial cup. Give this to the Inu no Kami when you arrive at the temple and pray for our deliverance,” Kaede instructed solemnly. “I have, also, added a special incense. Be sure to light it first before pouring the drink.”

Kagome knew her obaasan did not believe she would actually meet the Inu no Kami face to face when presenting her gifts and offering her prayers, but rather hoped her efforts would please the kami once they reached him in the spirit world. To Kagome’s knowledge, no one had ever met the Inu no Kami, who was known to protect the Western region.

“I will not fail you, obaasan.”

Before Kaede could even think to change her mind, Kagome swiftly raced to her room to add a few extra supplies to her pack. Then she was off after giving Kaede a fond peck on her papery dry cheek. Kagome left the village with a smile on her face, happily greeting those who bowed to her respectfully as she passed.

She had a long walk ahead of her, knew that she would not reach the temple before nightfall. Looking up at the midmorning sky, Kagome judged her way by the sun’s position, heading farther west where the shrine stood. All day, her spirits were high. It wasn’t until the last tendrils of sunlight had left the sky and darkness settled over the land that unease began to follow her steps. All around, the shadows crept closer, the forest loaming larger. Even the normal sounds of the night, made by insects and scurrying animals, caused the fine hairs on her nape to raise.

For the very first time in her life, she was alone. The one thing she’d strived for all her life, for the chance to rely on no one but herself, had finally arrived, and Kagome realized just how ill-prepared she truly was.

Everyone doubted her. Her obaasan, her sister, even the villagers. But not Kagome. She was a woman grown, able to care for herself. She’d burned to prove herself, to escape the cage of security her family had cocooned her within. Only now did she truly understand the disservice they’d done her. Coddling her, protecting her.

Crippling her.

Doubts she’d never allowed herself to feel suddenly encroached, slowing her steps, causing her to falter.

She wouldn’t make it to the temple. She’d known that. She, also, knew that she was close. Temptation to continue on beckoned; however, the forest was too dark despite the moonlight filtering through the break in the canopy of trees above. Kagome had never considered herself to be a coward, had never been afraid of the dark—until now. She yearned to have the comforting presence of walls surrounding her, to stave off the darkness surrounding her.

She shook her head. She was being silly, jumping at shadows. She wasn’t a child, she reminded herself, steeling her resolve as she made camp. As a distraction from wayward thoughts, she collected several fallen branches and built a small fire. Her tension eased the moment the cheery light combatted the thick cover of night.

Too late did she realize her error. The fire was a beckon—to her.

There were predators all around. Animals, youkai...bandits.

Fear returned, worse than before. Childish apprehension was one thing, but the threat of bloodthirsty bandits was real. Reacting swiftly, Kagome snuffed out the flames, her movements jerking with scarcely suppressed panic. Once again night enveloped her. Darker. More foreboding. Rather than wait for her eyes to adjust, Kagome crept through the forest, trying not to stumble on roots and fallen tree limbs. She had to remove herself from where she’d doused the source of light without delay, a precaution. However, she had not been expecting the minor depression in the earth. When her foot went down—down—her knee buckled, and she fell with a small cry of alarm that was cut off on a pained grunt when she hit the ground.

“Ow,” she muttered, shoving herself into an upright position, her bow falling from her shoulder with a clatter.

The abruptness of her fall was jarring, both physically and mentally.

Shame swamped her. Thank the kami no one had witnessed her panic, her fear. She’d never be able to live it down. The villagers, her family, wouldn’t let her. Neither would she. Pride came on swift wings, pulling her to her feet, while anger carried her towards a large tree, where she sat with her back against the trunk. She settled her pack beside her left hip and her bow and quiver of arrows on her right with more force than was necessary, before settling with a quite huff and cross of her arms.

Determination made her fist the sleeves of her white haori and glare defiantly at her surroundings. Tomorrow, she would do her duty. She would not fail.

One of Kaede’s many proverbs came to her: ‘If eating poison, don’t forget to lick the plate.’ When starting something, one must complete it—whether it was benefit or not.

Resolved, pride battling with fear, Kagome passed a fitful night in the forest, thinking she would never fall asleep; though, she did eventually—hours later. Early the next morning, her journey continued, her mood less chipper than the previous day. After her less than restful night, she was tired and aching from sleeping upright. The tree had been rough, the ground hard and cold.

A few hours later, she exited the forest and entered a grassy plain that led to a large hill a little over a mile away. At the apex was a shrine—her goal. Even from this distance, Kagome could see the beauty of the small building, remembered its elegant craftsmanship during her last visit with Kikyo.

Unconsciously, her steps quickened, but when she reached the hill, her progress slowed. The going was steep, her breaths becoming shallow pants as her legs felt the strain. She didn’t stop, didn’t slow.

Nearly to the top, Kagome became aware of a commotion below and far in the distance. Turning her head to look over her shoulder, her steps faltered. Behind her, men—dozens of them—where pointing and running in her direction.

They were already halfway across the field! How had they crept up on her without her being aware?!

A chill of premonition slithered down her spine. Turning on her heel, she raced upwards. She couldn’t return to the forest. The men were between her and the safety of the trees, and although she knew it was a bad idea, Kagome raced for the shrine. Where she would be trapped, but where else was she to go?! She couldn’t outrun them before they caught her.

No, she had to find a defensible position and stand her ground, and hope they would leave once she proved that she was more trouble than she was worth. Even as her mind whirled with strategies, she couldn’t prevent a gasping sob as male laughter and cruel taunts reached her ears. Enormous relief struck her as she scaled the short flight of stairs leading up to the shrine, before shoving the double doors open.

Over the frantic pounding of her heart and the mad rush of blood in her ears, the men’s words became horribly discernable, promising to do unimaginable things to her. Kagome threw herself inside and slammed the doors closed, before looking around franticly. Seeing a long, golden pole with a bowl at the top to light incense, she grabbed it, ignoring the burnt debris that fell to the tiled floor beneath her feet, and thrust the metal stick through the bars of the door, locking herself inside. 

Within minutes, pounding sounded against the doors. Kagome gasped, stumbling backwards when the doors shuddered. Inspiration sparked. She turned and ran for the temple steps, ignoring the majestic interior. Falling to the floor before the three steps that led to the altar, Kagome begged for divine intervention.

“Please, Inu no Kami! Help me!”

Frantic, she shook off her pack. Her hands trembled with fright as the pounding at the door intensified. Kagome almost dropped the clay cup when her pursuers demanded she open the door or her punishment for making them wait would be far worse.

When she placed the cup on the altar above her kneeling form, Kagome realized her error. She’d forgotten to light the incense! Praying for forgiveness for her lapse, she tried to control the tremor in her hands as she attempted to strike a flame with her flint. It was a miracle that she succeeded without burning herself in the process. She grabbed for the jug of sake, intending to pour her offering into the cup, but a particularly lewd comment made her jerk, where she spilled the precious liquid onto the floor instead.

With tears spilling down her cheeks, she prayed, begging to be spared.

She couldn’t die here! No, worse than death faced her. She knew it. Heard every awful threat flung at her from beyond her pitiful barrier. She had to be ready! Gripping her bow, she stood and faced the trembling doors. Only experience made the process fluid as she freed an arrow from her quiver and pulled back on her taught bowstring. The familiar steadied her hands. Hardly a trimmer shook her stance as she waited. It was not courage that bolstered her, only desperation. And still she prayed. Never had she faced such danger, least of all alone.

“Oh, kami! I beg you, look upon me kindly. Do not forsaken me. Deliver me from this evil!”

She wasn’t even praying for the Inu no Kami but for any assistance. She was going to die, but first, she was going to suffer. Why hadn’t she listened to Kaede?! Why had she fallen to pride? It no longer mattered what the villagers thought of her, or how her family coddled her. She vowed if someone, anyone, would come to her rescue, she wouldn’t complain anymore or try to move out from beneath her sister’s shadow!

A horrendous crash smashed against the doors, causing deep fissures in the wood. Reflexively, her eyes squeezed shut, her teeth biting into her bottom lip until she tasted blood.

They were breaking in!

Someone, save me!

Then she felt it. Warm fingers wrapping around her own where she held her bow. She gasped, intending to scream but her lungs seized on a spasm of fear. Her eyes opened impossibly wide, tears cascading in fierce waves down her face as she gazed at the one before her. At the same instant, her fingers slackened. Her arrow released.

Through watery eyes, she saw the shaft of her arrow, clasped between two long fingers. She waited for the stain of red blood to mar the pristine white haori as the unknown figure held the arrow against the wide expanse of a very muscular chest, only to blink in surprise. The point made a dimple in the cloth but hadn’t pierced beyond and reached flesh. Impossible!

Her mind skipped, jarring her with the horrible possibility that a bandit had somehow gotten inside without her knowing, that she was about to be raped and tortured.

Her fearful gaze lifted, higher, higher, before colliding with amber.