Sold.

InuYasha looked around his tiny cage, and wished that he had more room to move around. His right leg was going numb from being bent underneath him at a weird angle. He tried to pull it out from underneath him, but to do that he would have to get up. And to get up, he would need to get rid of the cage's top, which pressed into his skull. He snarled in pain and frustration, and slammed his hands out as far as he could, which wasn't far. He pushed against the mesh wiring of his cage, wishing he had more room to move, there was barely enough room to breathe. He could feel his body heating up, and the anger that coursed through his body didn't help any either. He was starting to think he was afraid of tight spaces. There was a word for it, he knew, but he didn't know the word. He knew that he didn't know a whole lot, except that he had to get out of this cage or he would start hyperventilating. The cage was really really small, and he was starting to get pissed.

Just then, when the sounds of the other frustrated caged animals and half human things surrounding him started to grind on his nerves, a door at the other end of the room flicked on, making all the animals shut up, for this could be the chance. InuYasha glared out the bars of his cage, and tried to see who was coming into the room. A second later, his eyes confirmed what his nose already knew. It was a female, and her scent told him that she was slightly scared of the room she was in. InuYasha saw her glance around uncertainly as she was guided into the room by the store's owner and pet keeper.

"So what are you looking for, miss?" The man asked, guiding the girl around as she peered into all the cages.

"Um," She looked into one cage, and drew back, a grimace on her face. "I'm looking for an animal that can work, it doesn't have to be smart, but strong." She said. The man directed her to InuYasha's end of the room.

"Well now, " He said. "There's this one here." He pointed at a cage next to InuYasha's, and the girl bent down, looking in the cage. After a few seconds, InuYasha saw her nod.

"Yeah, he looks capable." She said. The man nodded and reached for a keyring on his belt.

"Do you want to buy him?" He asked. The girl shook her head. "No, I'll keep looking." She said.

They stopped at his cage. InuYasha looked out his cage and got a good look at the girls face for the first time. Her eyes were black, or so they seemed in this low light, and her hair was brushed and pulled back into a ponytail. Her face was quite pretty, he noticed. He stared her in the eyes, and prayed that she got him out of here. She looked at him a few seconds more, then shook his head.

"I like the other one better." She said. "Looks much stronger than this one here." She tapped on his cage. The man nodded, and opened the cage, slapping a collar on the animal while it was still looking out the open cage door. After handing the end of the leash to the girl, he walked her to the same door they came in, and once it shut, they were plunged into semi-darkness again.

Nothing happened for a few hours, except that InuYasha lost all feeling in his leg, and his back was starting to ache from being bent at such a weird angle for so long. Just as he was about to fall into an uncomfortable sleep, the door opened again, and he heard the remaining bit of a sentence.

"...cause it's just about closing time." The man was saying.

"Thanks for letting me in." Another person said. InuYasha discovered that it was another girl. He knew that not a lot of boys were interested in having male slaves. He waited to see if the girl would wander down this way. He held his breath as she started walking toward his cage. He watched her take a few hesitant steps in the direction of his cage, then growled softly as she started to walk to her left, something apparently catching her attention.

He had almost given up when the girl bent down, and examined some other animal. He shut his eyes, not expecting her to come over here. He tried to block out all outside sounds, grunting, whining and growling, and concentrated on a time when he wasn't stuck in a cage. He thought back as far as he could, but there was no point. He couldn't remember a time when he wasn't stuck in a cage.

"Is this one asleep?"

InuYasha was startled into opening his eyes by a voice right beside his cage, and when he looked up, he saw that it was the girl that had been looking at other animals, and had come so close to his cage, and then moved to look at some other thing. He looked at her hopefully, and tilted his head to the side, as if asking her to take him home.

She stared in the cage, and was inwardly cursing the store owner for keeping these people in such poor living conditions. She saw the thing in the cage look up when she asked if it was sleeping, and wondered if it could understand her. It looked at her with large golden colored eyes, and tilted it's head to the side, and she felt her heart break. She looked at the price tag on top of it's cage, and she sighed. She didn't have enough. She would have to come back tomorrow. She stood up, and looked down at the animal trapped inside the tiny cage, and wondered what it was. She started to walk away, and when she looked over her shoulder, the animal was looking at her, whining softly. She felt so bad about leaving the animal behind, and then wondered why she didn't feel sorry for all the other animals she had seen and left behind.

"Kagome!" Her mother called, getting a bottle of milk out of the fridge. Kagome peeked around the corner of the kitchen.

"Yeah mom?" She asked. Mrs. Higurashi looked at her daughter, and smiled.

"I know you were really never interested in owning a slave, but did you drop by the place and at least take a look?" She asked. Kagome nodded.

"Yeah, I checked the place out..." Kagome said.

Mrs. Higurashi knew when something was bothering her daughter.

"Whats bothering you, honey?" She asked her daughter. Kagome shook her head.

"Nothing, but when I went there, I seen lots of different animals, but one of them, he seemed more than that, almost like he was intelligent, and he was practically begging me to take him home, but I didn't have enough money, and when I walked away, he looked so sad." She said.

Kagome's mother smiled, and hugged her daughter. "Some of those poor animals can be intelligent, or are half demons, who never had a chance from the moment they were born." She said. "It's sad, but it's just the way the world goes."

"We'll go tommorrow and get him, okay?" She asked. Kagome nodded. "Okay." She said. She was about to walk away, when something her mother said caught in her mind.

"Mom, whats a half-demon?" She asked. Mrs. Higurashi sat down at the table as she poured herself a glass of milk.

"Well, a half demon is the child of a set of parents, one who is a demon, and the other a human." She said. "Demons are much respected for their power and obvious strength and skill, while humans are respected simply because we are all humans, and it would be pointless to hate what we are. But half-demons, theres another story." She said, taking a sip of her milk.

"Half-demons are usually pretty deformed anyway, considering your making a child from two separate species, and the defects can be physical or mental, so buying a half-breed can be dangerous, and you might not get your moneys worth. And, if they do turn out alright, then they still aren't liked by society, having the appearance of a human, but some traits of the demon parent." She said.

Kagome nodded. "Okay, thanks." She said. "I'm going to bed now, I'm not really hungry." She said. Kagome's mother nodded.

"Can we still get him tomorrow though?" She asked. Mrs. Higurashi smiled again. "Yes dear, first thing in the morning." She said.

Kagome smiled. "Thanks Mom!" She said, hugging her mother. Her mother patted her on the back, and got up, draining her cup and moving over to the sink to wash out her cup. Kagome ran up to her bedroom, and flopped on the bed. She closed her eyes, and thought of the animal she had seen in the cage, and the look of pain on his face as he was cramped into that tiny cage. She just knew by the look in the animals eyes that there was something more there, not just a dumb, mute animal. She sighed, and rolled over, turning on her stereo, determined to drown out her thoughts and the sounds of the animals whining and whimpering inside their cages, for she could still hear it.

InuYasha sighed, and settled in for another lonely, tiring, cramped, painful sleep. He closed his eyes, and wondered if he would be stuck in this cage and room forever, or if he would be bought. Even becoming someone's slave would be better than this. As the sounds of the other animals activities died down, he closed his eyes and wished for sleep.

Kagome got up, and stretched, shutting off her alarm. She climbed out of bed, and gathered her things, getting ready to take a shower. She remembered what she was going to do today, and she started grinning. She couldn't wait. She heard her mother moving around downstairs, and she hurried into the bathroom.

InuYasha awoke to the sound of keys rattling nearby. He raised his head, and saw that the store owner was unlocking his cage, and a female stood nearby, giving him an odd look. He waited until the door was open, and minded the katana in the owners hand. He stuck his neck out and let a collar be locked around it. He was dragged out, and for the first time in three days he was allowed to stretch his tired and sore muscles. His leg, the one that had been bent underneath him, was really sore, and he didn't think he could move it. The end of the leash was given to the girl, and she yanked on it sharply, making him wince as the collar bit into his neck. He walked, his leg giving out and not supporting his body for the first few steps. He was led out of the shop, and told to get into a car.

"I own you now, so you better listen to me, or I'll make you pay." She said, withdrawing a small knife. She waved it in front of InuYasha's face a few times, and InuYasha nodded. The girl who now owned him sat beside him, and InuYasha glanced over at her. She had long black hair, and dark brown eyes. Her face was somber, but there was a strange look in her eyes, and it only got stranger when she looked over to him. She looked him up and down, and smiled dangerously.

She leaned over, and licked his cheek, grinning mischeviously.

"We're gonna have lot's of fun, you'll see." She said. "All you have to do is listen, and everything will be just fine."

InuYasha didn't know why, but he felt strangely uneasy with this girl beside him. She looked to be about 16 years old, and InuYasha considered her quite beautiful, but she acted so damn weird, and gave off strange vibes. InuYasha began to feel even more uneasy as the car started moving, taking him far away from the only place he knew.

Kagome walked into the store, and asked to see the same area of animals that she had seen the other day. The store owner recognised her and took her to the right aisle. Kagome dragged her mother over to the spot where InuYasha had been, and stopped dead when she saw his empty cage. She looked at the store owner, and asked the question.

"Someone already bought him?" She asked, afraid of the answer. The man nodded. Mrs. Higurashi felt sorry for her daughter.

"But we have lots more for you to choose from." He said, trying to be helpful. Kagome shook her head, and tried to hold back her tears.

"I wanted that one." She said softly, shrugging off her mothers hand that rested on her shoulder.

InuYasha was led into the house, and immediately shown where the bathroom was. He was told to strip off, and bathe himself. InuYasha waited until the door was closed, before starting to take off his haori. He knew that all the muscles on his body were there from sometime before he lived in that cage, he just couldn't seem to remember when. He looked around, and realized that he was free. Or as free as he was ever going to get. He was sure that they wouldn't bother to tell him to get cleaned up if they were just going to stick him back into a cage. He turned on the shower, and jumped in, finding a face-cloth and soap on the edge of the tub.

He was midway through cleaning himself, when he heard the door open. He froze, and waited to see if the person that came in would leave. No such luck. The door closed, and he heard a tiny clicking sound, much like that on his cage door. So he couldn't get out now. He wiped off his face, getting the water out of his eyes, and had just opened them again when the curtain was drawn back. He came face to face with the girl that had bought him, and she was looking at him strangely again. He backed up, and hit his back against the wall of the shower. She smiled, and started taking off her clothes, stepping into the shower.

"So you're getting all cleaned up, are you?" She asked, her voice soft, yet full of malicious intent. InuYasha couldn't stop himself from looking at her body, and she grinned as she seen him looking.

"You like what you see, eh?" She asked, moving closer. "You want some of this?"

InuYasha swallowed nervously, and wiped water out of his eyes again. By now he could feel that something was going on with his member, and when he looked down, he saw that it had grown in size, and was now standing erect. He was embarrassed, for he didn't know what was going on, never having been near a woman before, always being stuck in the cage as long as he could remember. He looked back up at the girl, who was looking down at him also. She moved a bit closer. She reached out, and grabbed him with her left hand, making InuYasha jump. He felt her squeezing him, her hand around his length, and just when it was starting to get painful, she started stroking him, moving her hand up and down his length, turning pain to pleasure. InuYasha jerked away from her, not liking what she was doing to him. It felt good, but it didn't feel right. She glared at him, and advanced, grabbing him again. She pressed her body up against his, and grabbed his hand with her free one, putting his hand on her breast. She saw the confusion and pain in his eyes and she loved it, thrived on it. She guided his length down between her legs, loving the powerful feeling that came from taking sexual advantage of her slave. InuYasha squeezed his eyes closed as he felt her hands running all over his body, as she tried to make him do something he didn't want to do. He finally got angry, and pushed her away, growling at her. She fell back against the wall of the shower, and the water from the shower head rained down on her head. She glared at him, and got out of the shower, grabbing a towel off the counter. She dried herself off and put on her clothes.

"You better listen to me and do what I want you to next time, you bastard!" She said. "I own you now, so get used to it!"

InuYasha shivered, despite the hot water pouring down on him, and he turned away as she walked out. He now felt even worse, and wondered what living here was going to be like. He wished that he had got taken home by the other girl he had seen, she seemed nice. He finished his shower and got out, drying off and getting dressed. The weird girls mother had put out clean clothes for him outside the door, so it seemed that the only disturbing one was the daughter. But InuYasha knew that there was no way he could tell what had just happened and have the family believe him. Plus, he thought, he only knew a few words of english. He shook his head. He would have to deal with whatever came along until he could get out of here.

Later that day...

Kagome was given the phone number and address of the person who had bought InuYasha, and she was intent on giving this person a visit, to see if she could buy InuYasha off the owner. She read off the address again, and her mother turned down a side street, stopping in front of a plain looking house, painted blue. Kagome got out, and approached the door, knocking on it. She waited, and no one answered. She knocked a few more times, and had to be called back to the car by her mother. Depressed, Kagome walked slowly back to the car, wishing that someone had opened the door. She couldn't get the poor animals face out of her mind, and as she was driven home, she felt an incredible sadness welling up inside her.

InuYasha grimaced he was dragged inside the house. He was given the task of hauling all the stuff that was bought today at the stores into the house. He didn't mind. He loved work. What he didn't love, however, was the way the daughter of the family was leering at him everytime he walked past her with an armful of shopping bags. He didn't even know the girl's name, but he didn't care. He thought again of the girl that he had seen, she had looked into his cage and she looked so sorry for him. InuYasha wished he was with that kind of girl. He didn't know what kind of freak this bitch was, but he was staying as far away from her as possible, for the time being.

InuYasha walked back out to the car, and didn't notice the girl following close behind him. As he bent over to grab the last few bags in the back seat of the car, he felt her hands on his behind, groping him wildly. Surprised, he stood up straight, hitting his head on the roof of the car. He growled, and backed out of the car, spinning around to face her. She shrugged, and looked at him funny, looking all over his body. He felt the need to hit her, for violating him, but he saw that she clutched the knife in her hand, at the ready. He shyed away from her, and picked up the bags he had dropped. He walked wide around her, and continued on into the house, leaving the strange girl by herself out by the car.

Later that night, InuYasha was shown his bedroom, a tiny cubicle upstairs at the end of the hallway, down the hall from the bitch's room. He walked in, and closed the door, laying down on the floor. He stared at the ceiling and thought again of the girl that had seemed to actually care about him. He wondered if he would ever see her. Just then, his thoughts were inturrupted when he heard voices from downstairs. He turned over and pressed his ear to the floor.

"..don't know what his problem is, did you see his face? Isn't he glad we gave him a home, food to eat, clothes to wear, work to do?"

InuYasha heard a male voice speak up.

"Well, you don't know that he's unhappy, just cause he's happy doesn't mean that he has to show it. He's a slave and he might not think he's allowed to smile."

"I don't like the looks he's giving our daughter, I want him out tomorrow, he's too smart for my liking, I just know he's planning something."

InuYasha tore his ear away from the floor as his door was opened. Standing in the doorway was the bitch, the daughter, holding the knife.

She motioned to him, and as a slave he couldn't disobey an order, or she could freely use that knife in her hand. He stood. She motioned for him to follow; he did.

He was led to her room, and he hesitated when she pointed at the bed. She held up the knife warningly. He climbed into bed, and lay still, arms at his sides. He felt the bed dip a bit as she slid in beside him. A few seconds later, she started to take off her clothes, dropping them on the floor beside her bed. InuYasha started to feel nervous, for he knew what was coming. A few seconds later he felt her hand on his stomach, rubbing him softly. A few seconds later, her hand went a bit lower and a finger slipped inside his waistband of his pants. He inhaled sharply when she started pulling his pants down, revealing his semi-erect member. She began playing with him, massaging and stroking him until he was fully erect, then she slid over him, straddling his waist. InuYasha curled his hands into fists at his sides as she lowered herself onto him to keep from hitting her. He really hated what she was doing to him without asking, and he was nearing his limit, for he really wanted to punch her right now.

When she was finished, she got off him, pushing him away. He figured that this was his signal to leave, and he pulled his pants up, walking out. He was halfway to his room when the hallway light flicked on. Standing there, with his hand on the lightswitch, was the father of the house.

"What are you doing, Kid?" He asked.

InuYasha shrugged. "Going to bed, sir." He said, in a monotone voice. The father moved a bit closer.

"You just came from my daughter's room, didn't you?" He asked.

InuYasha, unable to lie, merely nodded.

The father walked over to the door and opened it, revealing the girl sitting on the bed, crying silently into a pillow. The father hesitated a second, then ran into the room, and sat down beside his daughter, asking her what was wrong.

Between sobs, the girl told her father that InuYasha had come into her room and ordered her to strip off. Then he had taken advantage of her, and was sneaking out when her father had come up the stairs. InuYasha knew it was a complete lie, the reverse of the truth, and he felt the uncontrollable anger pounding in his chest, making his head feel light, and he knew that he was going to snap. He looked at the girl as she hugged her father, giving InuYasha the sweetest, innocent smile ever over her father's shoulder. That made InuYasha snap. He growled, and pointed at the girl.

"You bitch!" He yelled, walking over to her. Her father stood up, and a knife was in his hand.

"Get out!" The father screamed. "You hurt my daughter then call her names, you dirty ungrateful piece of shit! Get out of my house!"

InuYasha snarled, and backed out, turning and running. Angrily, he ran down the hallway toward the window at the end of the hall. Jumping, he sailed through it feet first, smashing out the glass. He dropped down onto the pavement, and hit the ground rolling, broken glass falling all around him. He got up, and continued running, anger and frustration and pain driving his body. He didn't know where he was going, what he would do when he would get there, or if he would get there. He didn't even know what there was. it was dark out, and the scent of rain threatened to overwhelm him. A few minutes later, it started raining, but that didn't stop InuYasha. He kept running, never looking back, not caring if he ever had a place to live, as long as he wouldn't have to go back to that place. He had only spent half a day with them, and already he was getting kicked out. He thought back to what that girl had done to him, and he decided that if he ever saw her again, he would never forgive her. He slowed down as he approched a park. He figured that he was sufficiently far enough away from the house that he would not be found, or caught, and he yawned. He walked over the grassy field, to the soft sand that his feet sunk partially into. He was thankful that he was wearing shoes. He climbed the slide, and sat at the top, underneath the plastic top of the slide. It protected him from the onslaught of rain. He shivered and slipped his arms inside his T-shirt. He rested his chin on his chest, and closed his eyes, eventually falling asleep, lulled by the rain.

The next day, Kagome went to the house again, looking for the slave. This time, the door was opened. Kagome smiled at the girl who answered the door, and asked if they had bought a slave. She described InuYasha. The girl smiled, and looked over her shoulder, before turning back to Kagome.

"Yeah, actually, he was here until last night. I took advantage of him, and my dad almost caught us, so I told my dad that the slave had forced himself upon me, and I got him kicked out." She giggled at this. "Pretty funny, ne?" She asked. Kagome glared at the girl, and shook her head.

"No, not funny, your sick. Go get help." Kagome said, shutting the door and walking away. She was beyond sad now, she was starting to get pissed off. She decided to go to the playground near her house, and sit on the swings for a while, and think things out.

InuYasha was awakened by the screams and giggles of little kids at the park. He climbed out of the slide covering, and jumped off it, hitting the ground and running across the field, not wanting a bunch of kids pointng at him and asking their parents what he was. InuYasha walked deep into the field, and lay down on the grass, staring up into the bright blue morning sky.

Then his stomach growled.

InuYasha sighed, and wondered where his next meal was coming from. He knew that he was technically a homeless person now, so he should start acting like one. He got up, and silently walked across the grass to the park, sitting on one on the picnic tables and begging for money everytime someone passed by. He kept his head bowed everytime he asked, embarrassed to look them in the face. He collected a few dollars and was about to give up and start wandering again when a certain smell reached his nose. He got off the table and walked over to the other side of the play ground, seeing a lone girl sitting on the swings, her head bowed. InuYasha inhaled deeply through his nose and realized that he was smelling the scent of the girl that had almost bought him. The kind one. For a second he couldn't move. He just stared at her. What should he do? Should he approach her?

Kagome kicked the sand at her feet and sighed. She wondered if she would ever find that kid again. She was lost in her thoughts, thinking that she only wanted that slave to be hers, and nothing else, when she had the feeling that she was being watched. Stared at.

She looked up and saw a guy standing a few meters away, looking at her. She looked away, wondering if he was just checking her out, then something clicked in her mind.

I remember that face...

She looked back, and saw the hanyou that she was going to buy, the one she had been looking for all this time. She sat very still, and wondered if he had an owner. She looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to him. She beckoned him over, and he obediently came over, stopping a few feet away. She got up off the swing, and walked toward him a few steps.

"Your the one I was going to buy..." She said.

The hanyou nodded. Kagome reached out, surprised that he had nodded. She gently touched the side of his face, staring up into his golden colored eyes.

"I heard what happened." She said. The hanyou growled. "I know the truth, I know you didn't do anything." She said, letting her hand fall to her side. The half demon blinked at the loss of contact.

"I only have one question." She said. "Will you please come live with me?"