The Webs Entangled by Fate- Kagome is at rock bottom. In a financial crisis with no source of income, she feels that she has nowhere to turn to. Luck would have it that she meets Inuyasha. The promises of financial support, security, and stability all the things she was lacking but at a price. She would have to become his wife.
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Chapter One
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Kagome woke up with the sun shining directly in her face. She let out a soft yawn as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Another day like always and another day of not knowing exactly how she was going to survive. Looking around she noticed that everyone was still asleep. The cramped apartment was barely enough for the eight of them to be living in. However, hard times had fallen on the economy and this was the best that they could afford with little income.
Kagome twenty years old suffered a great deal in her life and of course she wouldn't let that get to her. She's always been that way and would never let these hardships break her. Her life started off happily or as far back as she can remember what happiness actually felt like. She was the eldest of two. Her mother had fallen in love with her father and of course out of their love both she and her younger brother were born. She didn't know her father all too well. He died when she was just five years old leaving her mother with two small children. Her brother was even born yet. Time gone by and the economy slowly plummeted to the ground. They lived in the area where the crime rate was at an all-time high. Unfortunately things gotten tough and her mother and brother both passed away in a house fire. She was out that day, so the fire didn't claim her life.
She didn't have any place to go. Her only known relatives were her mom and brother and they were dead. Someone did take pity on her. Her childhood friend Hojo and Yuka. Their mother knew that Kagome was as good as dead if she didn't have a place to stay. Although they didn't have a lot, they were willing to help. From that day forward, Kagome knew that she needed to repay them for their kindness.
Living in the poor area of Lower Plainsboro everything was what you would think of in a dystopia society or in a place that lacked the funding to even build or construct decent roads or housing. It was the bottom of the barrel and got the scrapes and leftovers of any and everything. Whether it was education, healthcare, even food. Surviving was the people of this time defense and way of living. So it wasn't uncommon to hear violence on the daily basis, stealing, rapes or even someone being killed. It was just that kind of area that everyone just grew accustomed to. Not like that had a choice in the matter. It was either eat or be eaten and the mentality showed.
Kagome stretched a bit as another yawn escaped her mouth. Standing up, she maneuvered her way through the cramp bedroom, not wanting to wake anyone up. That plan didn't work, as Yuka stirred a bit before opening her eyes.
"You're already up Kagome?" she was drifting in and out of sleep.
"Mhm, go back to sleep Yuka. It's maybe a little after 7." Kagome said softly not wanting to wake the others up as well.
"That's okay. I should be getting up as well." She closed her eyes for a bit but quickly opened them. She looked around the room and didn't see her brother Hojo anywhere. "Kagome do you know where Hojo has gone off to?"
"No, he was already gone when I woke up."
Yuka short brown hair was ruffled in a messy bush on her head. Her complexion was a tad lighter than Kagome's. She was on the short side at just 5'3. She shared similar features with her brother, only her hair was longer stopping just below her ears but cut low.
Hojo and Yuka were twins. Hojo was older than Yuka by fourteen minutes. He was also the eldest out of all of his siblings, which included a 10 year old Satsuki, and 6 year old Taichi.
"He's always going out before the crack of dawn. Doesn't he know how dangerous it is out there? He could be killed if he isn't careful."
"Don't worry too much about it. I am sure that he is fine. We should get started on our day if we want to make any money and get some food." Kagome washed her face and brushed her teeth.
Yuka nodded.
The two bedroom home they lived in was just enough for the family to live in. Not only them but Hojo's grandmother lived with them as well. For the past year she's been suffering from an unknown illness and the family did whatever they could to make money to get some sort of treatment for her. Yuka saw her grandmother lying in the bed of her mother's bedroom. The cold damp towel must have been on her head for quite some time. She removed it and ran some water on it before squeezing the excess water from the cloth. She placed it back on her grandmother's forehead.
"You're back Hojo." Her voice was rough and you could hear her pain in it.
"No, granny it's me Yuka. I came in here to check on you. How are you feeling?"
"Just the same as I always feel but I will be alright. You know I am a fighter." She coughed a bit covering her mouth with her hands to avoid spreading any germs.
"Was Hojo the one to put the cloth on your head?"
She nodded her head softly. "He left maybe an hour or so ago. I figured he would be back by now. I guess he is still trying to get some food. He said he would go to the lake and catch some fish."
"That sounds good. We will have something nice to eat for dinner tonight." Yuka smiled. "Is there anything that you need?"
"No." she coughed a bit. "I'm just going to rest my eyes for a bit." Yuka nodded as she walked out of the room.
"How is granny doing?" Kagome asked.
"She's still the same but you know how she is. She won't tell us exactly what type of pain she is feeling." Yuka spoke softly.
"I'm going to fix Taichi and Satsuki something to eat. I know they may be hungry when they wake up." Kagome grabbed one of the pots in the back hanging from the racks that was on the wall. She grabbed one of the boxes of oatmeal and poured the contents inside the pot. She mixed some water in the pot as well and placed it on the stove. Walking pass Yuka, Kagome reached over for the eggs and small skillet. It was a bit rusty but it would have to do.
"Do you need any more eggs?" Yuka asked watching Kagome cook.
"No, I think this will be enough. Mrs. Xiao gave me a few. I do want to repay her though." Kagome cracked the eggs as they fell onto the skillet.
"She's nice, although a bit eccentric." Yuka smiled a bit.
Kagome and Yuka were talking up a storm; they didn't realize that Hojo walked in holding two bags in his hands. He wasn't trying to make too much noise, not really wanting to wake up the others.
"Sshh, you are making a lot of noise. Granny and the others are still sleeping." Yuka helped him with one of the bags. Grabbing the bag, she noticed that there were some fruits and vegetables inside. "Where did you get this?"
"I've been working for the past couple of days and I saved up my earnings to get us some food." Hojo smiled as he set the other bag on the counter. The other bag contained some meat, which included fish.
"No wonder you would disappear in the morning." Yuka said taking out some of the fruits and vegetables. "You have a lot here. You sure you didn't steal this?"
"Why would I steal? I worked hard for this money, and I know that the family would need something to eat. This should last us for a week or so." Hojo emptied the contents that were in the bag and placed them on the table.
"I'll put them up, you should rest." Kagome said.
"I'll finish the cooking then Kagome." Yuka grabbed one of the utensils and continued to stir the oatmeal not wanting it to stick to the pot.
Kagome noticed the look on Hojo's face. She knew that something was bothering him. He was tired and probably did a lot of work for very little payment. "So how is your mother? Is she doing okay? What did the doctor say?"
The lines on Hojo's forehead creased. She knew what that meant. Something heavily was weighing on his mind which indicated he was stress. She hadn't noticed but it was becoming more evident whenever they would talk about something that obviously stressed him out. Yuka turned off the stove and finished the remainder eggs, pouring them into a clean bowl before bringing them to the table.
"You went to see mom and didn't tell me. Taichi and Satsuki miss her terribly. Is she coming home soon?"
Hojo let out a sigh before nodding his head.
Yuka smiled. "That's great, she must be doing better."
"No." was the brief word that Hojo muttered. The frustration was beginning to show. "She's going to be discharged later this afternoon, but her condition is still the same."
"Why are they letting his go? If she is still the same then she should stay in the hospital until she is well." Yuka spoke visibly upset.
"That's the problem, when you are low on money or better yet in our case, have no money. They cannot keep her because we aren't paying for her stay there."
"What about the money from father's insurance policy? Don't we still have some money left from that?"
"That money has been long gone."
"They can't do this. If she comes back now, she will surely die." Yuka could feel the tears stinging in her eyes.
"Yuka calm down or Taichi and Satsuki will hear you…" Hojo stopped when he noticed his younger siblings standing at the corner of the hallway. The look on their face told it all. They were listening to the entire conversation.
"Mommy is going to die." Taichi small innocent voice chimed in, barely above a whisper. His brown hair was in disarray. He was identical to Hojo with gleaming brown eyes and a noticeable gap in his mouth. Holding on to his sister's Satsuki's hand. Satsuki was the 10 year old who was full of fiery energy and inherited their mother's hazel eyes. Like her brothers and sister, she inherited the same brown hair from their father that was in two pigtails.
Hojo immediately walked towards his younger siblings silently scolding himself for allowing them to hear such news. He knew he needed to reassure them. "No, mom is just a little sick is all but she'll be coming home back to us. That way we can take care of her when she gets here."
Taichi sniffled a bit. Being the baby of the family he was sheltered a bit. Blame it on his older siblings for wanting to keep death at a distance especially for a boy at his age. Hojo thumbed the tears away that were now falling on his brother's cheeks.
"Mommy is just fine. When she gets here you can tell her all of the stories that you wanted to tell her. She'll be happy to hear them from you." Hojo smiled brightly wanting his younger brother to see that everything was okay.
It didn't take much to turn the tears into a big hearty smile. Gap and all. "Yeah, she's going to be so impressed with me too. I lost two of my teeth."
"That's the spirit. Now you and Suki get freshened up so you two can eat breakfast." Both Satsuki and Taichi rushed to the bathroom to wash their hands and brush their teeth and Yuka prepared their plates for breakfast.
Kagome walked over to Hojo, placing a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her with sad eyes and faint smile. They both nodded at each other knowing that they would have to do something before things got worse.
And with luck, things always seemed to take a turn for the worse.
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"I will need you to travel to Lower Plainsboro and scout out the area. It seems that throughout the years that area of the country has been hit with poverty. It is one of the poorest if not the poorest town in the country." The king's voice bellowed with in the grand walls. "How has is come to such a state is beyond me."
"It was in the developmental stages but now it is at a standstill. The war there has long ended and everyone is now on the path of reconstruction but has hit a halt with high crime rate and illnesses."
"Where is my son?"
"He's out right now. There was a prior engagement that he was already committed to. Would you like to wait for his return?"
The king shook his head no, "This is important. Within the next hour I would like for you to assemble some men to accompany you to that town. Collect and gather as much information as you can. Provide help and assistance but please be discreet."
"How many of us would you like for me to select?"
"Not too many about four or five will do."
"If that is all, then I will dismiss myself."
"Oh before you leave, inform the maids that I want to speak to Inuyasha as soon as he returns from his little engagement."
He nodded his head and bowed in respect before exiting the chambers. He now needed to assemble a group to venture on his little trip to Lower Plainsboro. The town was ridiculously poor that he didn't understand just exactly why the city was still fighting for survival. Maybe it was the basic instincts of the people in the town. When you are faced with life and death situations you will use any type of instincts to just survive.
"I know exactly who to ask for this little trip."
…xx…
Hojo left the house an hour ago with Satsuki and Taichi to pick up their mother from the local hospital. Although he was against his younger siblings coming, he knew that they really missed their mother. Yuka and Kagome remained behind to tend to granny just in case she needed anything.
"So are you ready?" Kagome asked.
Yuka closed her eyes for a brief moment before opening them up. "Yeah I can't believe that we are actually going to do this."
"What other choice do we have? We are running out of options and this will help us but you have to trust me Yuka. I couldn't talk to Hojo about it because he would definitely talk me out of it."
Yuka nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, I'm ready. Let's just get this over with so we can come back. I really don't want to be out at night time, you know how crazy this town can get when it gets dark."
"That's why we have to do it now." Kagome made sure that her shoes were secured. "Is granny sleeping?"
"Yes, I just gave her some medicine for the pain. It's not much but she'll just sleep it off anyways." Yuka grabbed the two hats and tossed Kagome a heavy jacket.
Venturing off in town, it was everything you would expect a lower level town to be. Many years ago there was a civil war within the country. Call it rebellion or whatever but the underdeveloped towns suffered the grunt of it. Many buildings, schools, and hospitals were either severely damaged or destroyed. Now the city was on the verge of total anarchy. Not that the other cities were willing to help. They considered the area a red zone and didn't even bother to throw water their way.
The roads were damaged and worn. Cracks and even potholes engraved in them. Glass was shattered everywhere and if you didn't have any shoes you could endure a painful walk just to get to your neighbor's home. It wasn't as bad as it could be. People here would stick together to help each other out. Most of them were selfish and only cared about the well-being of their own family. Kagome and Yuka maneuvered through the busy streets making sure that they kept close. Many times you could get pick pocketed for any valuables that you may have on you. And just like that without you even noticing it, they would be gone within the crowd.
There was a local outlet strip that was just a few blocks away from where they lived. Even though the town was in bad shape, there was still some sort of funding for stores and other necessary things. It wasn't all that fancy but it would do. Kagome scanned the area, there were plenty of people walking around and that held its pros and cons. However, the pros would have to outweigh any cons that Kagome could possibly think of.
Yuka followed behind Kagome, not wanting to give away their position. They were acting as if they were on a stealth mission trying to lurk in the shadows as if they were ninjas sent to assassinate some upper class lord. It was a mission though, a mission to steal.
"Do you remember what I told you?" Kagome asked. They were going to put their plan in motion.
"It wasn't much to remember, we go in, take as much medication as we possibly can and we get out. I just hope that this works." Yuka had her doubts and reservations.
"It'll work. I'll cover for you and you go first." Kagome said as they walked inside the building.
Compared to most buildings, the outlet mall was in pretty good condition. Sure it did have graffiti written on it and trash rolling around the ground. It was pretty much at a decent location in the town.
There was a room in the back of the building that contained a vast amount of supplies. Most rooms were separated due to different needs. The agricultural, the pottery, from food processing, down to clothing, this building was basically the warehouse that would distribute its products accordingly. Even though this was a poor town, it still managed to bring in some sort of revenue. Maybe that's why prices were out of this world, due to the condition of the town. Vendors charged an arm and a leg and maybe even a kidney to sell half the stuff. Most people out of pure desperation would purchase the products without a second thought.
Kagome scanned the area and the cost was clear. She signaled for Yuka to proceed. Yuka nodded her head as she rushed as fast as she could to the room. Opening the door, she was surprised that they didn't keep the doors locked or anything. Who knows how many people thought about stealing from here? It was a goldmine. Dismissing her thoughts, she walked in and saw so many different types of medications and prescriptions that she didn't know where to start. She just stuffed her pockets and bra with whatever she could manage to fit it. Although it seemed like an eternity, only thirty seconds passed by. She quickly hurried back with Kagome waiting.
"What did you get?" Kagome asked.
"Pretty much any and everything."
"Okay, my turn. Be on the lookout and if anyone comes just leave okay. We already have some stuff no point in losing it."
"I can't do that, what if something bad happens?"
"That is why you are going to be on the lookout for me." Kagome assured her. Yuka nodded.
Kagome proceeded into the room. Her eyes scanned the area. She quickly stuffed her pockets in the same fashion as Yuka. Not leaving until she knew absolutely that she couldn't fit anything else inside. After about a minute, she was able to walk out of the room.
As she exited the room, she ran into a big bulky man. The expression on her face was worth a thousand words. The man noticed that she dropped some of the medication that were in here pockets.
Yuka was waiting just at the other end of the hallway. She knew she needed to help Kagome. Kagome would be upset if they both were caught. She was at an impasse but decided that since she did get some of the medicine she might as well leave. She could only silently pray that Kagome would escape from this.
"What do you think you are doing girl? Were you actually stealing the merchandise in here?"
Kagome didn't have time to think so she just threw some of the medicine in the man's face before taking off running. She could hear the rapid footsteps behind her in hot pursuit. Racing out of the building through the back entrance, Kagome was finally outside. Looking back she saw that he was hot on her trail. Running pass several crowds of people, Kagome maneuvered through not wanting to knock anyone over but she wasn't planning on getting caught. She could only imagine what would happen to her if he caught her.
"Stop! Stop that girl!" he yelled out. People were beginning to wonder exactly what the spectacle that was going on. Kagome could feel her shoes slip of, she didn't have the time to adjust them, so when they managed to slip off she could feel several glasses colliding with her delicate skin.
"Owwww!" Kagome cried out in pain. She could feel the blisters beginning to form as she felt the mix combination of blood and dirt. The cracks in the street and sidewalk weren't helping either. Kagome somehow lost her footing, and went crashing into one of the stands where one of the city merchants sold various knick knacks and other things.
She scraped her chin and elbow as her hands took the grunt of the landing. The bulky man finally caught up to her, his breathing was rapid and short. "How dare you steal and try to escape from punishment, I'll see to this that you won't steal from that building again." He withdrew a sword and aimed it towards Kagome.
Kagome could only look on in fear as he was attempting to cause harm on her. She tightly shut her eyes waiting on impact.
Nothing came.
"What the hell. What are you doing?" the bulky man voice was gruff and held a hint of surprise in it.
Kagome slowly opened her eyes and there she saw a man standing before her blocking the man attempt to strike her.
"Violence is never the answer, especially when it is directed towards children and women."
Kagome blinked as she made eye contact with her hero. Her brown eyes locking onto his blue ones.
"She stole from me. What right does she have to take something that doesn't belong to her? She didn't even pay."
"What did you take from him?" he ignored the man and kneeled down besides Kagome.
"I took some medicine. My friend's mother was released from the hospital because we can no longer afford her stay in the hospital. She's really sick and so is granny."
He raised a brow. "Granny?"
"I'm sorry, his grandmother. The medicine that we do give her isn't really helping and I just thought that if I could get my hands on something, it would help them out." She could feel the tears brimming in her eyes. Not because she got caught or anything but the glass in her feet were hurting like crazy.
"How much would it cost to get the all of the medication that she stole?" he asked still not looking at the man.
The bulky guy scratched the back of his head. "Uh I'm not sure. Maybe around 2200 oyin."
Without hesitation, the blue-eyed man gave the bulky guy 4500 oyin. "I think that this should cover it." He handed him over the money.
The bulky man stood there wide eyed, he couldn't believe that he received over double of what the price was. Maybe he should let some people steal from him more often. He glanced over at the girl, glaring at her. "I better not catch you stealing from me again." He said tucking the money in his pocket before leaving.
"Are you okay?" he voiced in.
Kagome nodded her head a bit. "I'm okay, my feet they are hurting. I cut them while running. My shoes must have fallen when I was running." Kagome winced in pain trying to get up on her own.
The blue-eyed guy extended his hand and helped Kagome to her feet. He quickly picked her up and carried her to the back of the car.
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Well that is the end of this chapter. This is a new story that I am writing. One thing about this story is that it is in an AU. So the characters and settings aren't based on the show. I want to experiment with different character types and such. I have been playing around with this idea for a while and decided to finally put it on paper. Another thing is that this story is expected to be quite long. It may be more than fifty chapters, I really haven't decided but it will be long.
Terms
Oyin- the currency of the country.