Proverbial Pandora's Box!
Summary: "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Kagome scoffed at the man who stole a fish from the stand in the village, "A waste of effort...but whatever...rewards a reward..."
Anime/Manga: InuYasha/Samurai 7
Pairing: Kagome/...I have an idea...let me think on it a little longer.
Genre: Romance
Rated: M for Mature Content
-x-x-x-
"Are you sure she can do this? She doesn't look all that capable a fighter, Tessai."
Tessai sighed, eye twitching in irritation a bit. "Yes Young Master, positive, she has been wandering around doing bounty's mostly, but she'd not yet failed to bring in someone's head."
"I see, quite beautiful, she's even more precious a find than my beautiful Kirara...though...she doesn't look to be as fragile."
Tessai rolled his eyes.
"What do you think Tessai? Who would you choose?"
Eyes widening, he had never been asked for his personal opinion on anything from the Young Master. "Who...would I choose? Well, certainly not the farm girl, this one based on muscle and usefulness, not only that but she's beautiful. I'd say you could keep her as a lover and a bodyguard, in the most literal of senses, Master." He looked at his young Master, his light blue hair fell to the middle of his back as he stared at the girl curiously. Ukyo was his retainer, and he had and always would remain loyal to his retainer, as sworn when he became his personal aide, or...in his master's eyes, sycophant.
"I see your point, but I don't feel that I can simply discard my lovely Kirara...all that aside, bring her to me if you think her competent, I want her tested...in front of me..."
Tessai bowed and disappeared from Ukyo's sight, leaving to do as his Master had ordered.
-x-x-x-
"This scum bag is worth two-hundred pounds?" A soft sigh seeped past sinuous lips, a soft red in color, and small hands moved to a kadachi blade hidden in the sleeve of a white and blue kimono. Light blue eyes looked with annoyance at a nasty balding old man, black marks came down from the center of each eye and stopped above her cheek, marks of a demon, but she was no demon, not by blood at least, just by reputation.
Rushing forward, she bumped the shoulder of the man and watched him turn angry eyes on her; it was a tactic of her for men like this, scum that looked with their lower half, and not their upper.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry sir!"
A grin appeared on his lips, unshaven, yellow teeth, nasty breath...it was just a greasy man with a bad hobby. "Oh, unforgivable, you bumped me pretty hard, bitch,"
"I-I don't want to make a s-scene...sir, can we take this...elsewhere?" She motioned to an alleyway, a coy smile on her lips causing him to let out this absurd noise like a laugh and cough mixed into one obscene noise. She the wheels turning in his head, and grabbed her wrist painfully.
The woman cast a nervous look to the wrist he grabbed as he pulled her into an alleyway, yeah, a couple people looked, but she knew better, no one would intervene, not just because they didn't care, but because a lot of them knew of her reputation, the ones who didn't were criminals and samurais, but civilians knew her, knew her skills, and knew her precision. Once in the alley, and hidden by the shadows of the buildings, she pulled her Kadachi out and had the blade to his neck when-
"HEY! LET HER GO!"
"Wha~?! Bastard! Get lost!"
She turned her eyes to a boy a little younger than herself. "Damn," She cursed under her breath, "Stay out of this!"
"YEAH!"
The boy seemed surprised, "Aren't you being f-forced to...uh," a blush appeared on his cheeks.
Sighing, she kept stride with her strike and the mans head fell to the floor. "No dear, I wasn't about to be raped, I lured him to the alleyway," She dropped her Kadachi at the nervous look on the boy's face, she didn't kill innocent people, "Put your sword away, little samurai, I mean you no harm." She pulled the obi around her Kimono and it fell to the ground in a pool of silk. His eyes widened at the show of skin, she wore black shorts that clung gently to her curves, a black tank top, and a black jacket that was made of a hard and shiny material. On her feet were tabi and closed toed shoes. She had long black hair that was released from the bun she'd had it in and now fell to her waist.
"So, little samurai, you sure were ready to jump into a fight," she pulled free a thin bag from the sleeve of the Kimono she had earlier been wearing, bagging the head of her bounty before binding it tightly, "Got a death wish, or just one of the few guys left in the world with a good conscience?"
"...I..." he looked down at the dead man on the ground, the girl gave a small laugh. "What's so funny!? You kill a man in cold blood, then laugh?!"
Her laugh ceased, and she walked up close, picking her Kadachi up on her way, she flicked it clean of the blood and sheathed it in a silk sheath hand made by herself which hung at her waist and was attached to her shorts. "That man was wanted for rape, and child molestation. He forced men, to watch their wives get raped by him...he forced mothers, to watch their children get raped by him," she took a lock of the boys hair, pulled him forward and forced his eyes on the dead body on the ground, "Tell me he deserved mercy," her words came out like ice, "TELL ME HE DESERVED LESS THAN WHAT HE GOT!"
The boy flinched.
Sighing, the girl released him, "Sorry, I hate men like him, he deserved worse, for what he's done to women and children alike, innocent people, stained with impurity..." she closed her eyes, opened them, and looked the boy in the eyes, bring a hand to his cheek, she gave a small smile, but there was no light touching her eyes, "Don't turn into a man like that, little samurai,"
He closed his eyes for a moment, when the touch of her hand vanished, he opened his eyes and mouth to say something only to find she was no longer anywhere around.
-x-x-x-
"My reward, kind sir?"
A large man looked at the woman in front of him before laughing, "Kagome, back so soon? I thought you just left!"
She scoffed, "I would have been back sooner if some brat hadn't gotten in my way and tried to save me."
A large group around her laughed, "Did you kill him too?"
Narrowing her eyes, Kagome looked at the man next to her, "No, and who the hell are you?"
"Tessai, I am the Young Master's personal assistant, and personal guard. He has a job for you, pays very well, and wishes to have a word with you."
"...how much are we talking?"
"You needn't worry about the expenses, he is the Emperor's son, and financially set, he wants you specifically, and will pay any price."
Kagome squealed, "Oh, then take me to him!"
Tessai stared in slight surprise.
"Don't look so shocked," the man behind the counter said as he handed Kagome a large bag of gold coins and she handed a bloody bag to him over the counter. "Kagome here is a loving mother, and has always been ready to throw her life away for her son. She will kill anyone for money, if it means providing her son a better future."
Kagome frowned, "You're talking too much!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry!"
Kagome rolled her eyes and left with the man, Tessai, to the castle where her client was awaiting her.
-x-x-x-
"Kotsushiro, are you alright? You seem pale. Why did you run off?"
"...Kirara, ah...no reason, I'm fine...I just...I'm fine," he sighed.
"Perhaps we should head back, we haven't found anyone today, and we've been out since well into the early morning."
Kotsushiro nodded, "You're right, of course. Perhaps the others have had better luck..."
-x-x-x-
Kagome was jumping cheerfully by the time she arrived at the top floor with Tessai. "Oh wow!" She ran forward to the window overlooking the city, "You can see everything from here!"
"Then you should stay, such a beautiful diamond, up close, you are even more radiant."
Kagome turned curious eyes to a man wearing a little too much makeup. She noted the two bodyguards behind him, both smelled of blood...one more so than the other. "...has anyone ever suggested you take off the makeup? You'll look more like a man and less like a doll...or was that perhaps the look you were going for?"
The man fumed and pouted, "Not funny! I'll have you know, women flock to me!"
Kagome smiled, "Willingly?"
He stared shocked, but made no comment to argue her claim.
"Yeah, I've heard of you, Ukyo, the heir to the thrown after the Emperor, and the main reason why woman with exceptional looks keep vanishing off the streets after coming in contact with your carriage."
"How mean..." he sighed, "You are most definitely cutthroat, though...only with your words from what I've seen thus far, how are you with a sword?"
Kagome stepped up close to him, her nose just an inch from Ukyo's. "You wanna find out what kind of skills I have, young prince?"
His cheeks lit up brightly, and when he was about to say something, he saw his hair move with the shine of silver on the side of his face and went ash white.
"I'd say I'm pretty skilled, it's not my skill you should worry over though, but my speed and accuracy. I honestly was never taught how to use a sword, I was an archer..." she stepped back and her blade fell free from his hair, she looked to the guards and smiled, "Your friends didn't even move, though, I think they knew I wasn't going to hurt you,"
"YOU MUST DO A JOB FOR ME!"
"What's the job?"
"I need you to kill a group a samurai, a group that stole away something of mine,"
"What was this something?"
"My beautiful Kirara!"
'Kirara?' Kagome frowned, "A...girl? Or a two-tailed demon cat?"
Ukyo stared at her blankly, "A girl..."
Kagome shrugged, "Just asking,"
He sighed, "Do this job for me, and you will be paid generously,"
"..." Kagome frowned, "I need to kill them?"
"Of course," he scoffed.
"I don't kill without due reasoning, so unless these Samurai are guilty of rape, murder or any other form of caused purgatory, I won't have anything to do with their demise, besides, the handsome duo behind you seem well capable of taking them out,"
"Well, they're not! Kyuzo is on equal grounds apparently,"
Kagome glanced curiously at the two, noting how the blonde glanced away, she smiled, "Nothing wrong with that, a good match I'm sure, too bad I have no interest in this fight." She made to leave.
"I can pay you enough money to keep you and your son, living healthily and abundantly for the next twenty years!"
She stopped; her heart was racing at the thought. She could leave this place, find a new home with her son, and start over! "...show me who I'm supposed to kill...and I expect payment, I will kill you if this turns out to be a lie."
Ukyo shivered, walking forward, he took Kagome by the waist and led her away from the view she stood by. "Tessai will show you your hit, they grow in numbers every day,"
"That's fine, they'll be dealt with...just show me who..."
-x-x-x-
ME: Hope you guys enjoy this fic, I'm kind of new to Samurai 7, so I'm still learning the spellings of the names and the terminology to the anime, but I will do my best to impart a respectable story for anyone who is in fact a Samurai 7 fan.