Sold

Pairing: Sesshomaru/Kagome & Inuyasha/Kikyo

Rating: M

A/N: I've actually worked really hard on this, and have taken my time to create a story that I'm hoping you all will enjoy, so if you have any comments/ideas/concerns, feel free to review and let me know!

Pulling out another piece of gum from a well-worn blue pack, Sango Tajiya grumbled angrily to herself. Carelessly removing the old gum from her mouth with her fingers, she bitterly stuck it underneath the driver's seat that her rear end was unhappily planted in. Smirking only when she realized how large her little collection had grown, she popped the new piece of gum into her mouth.

"Not my car." She chuckled darkly and glared at the high tech vehicle she was driving. Turning down a familiar, shady street, she sighed and winced as she saw the scenery change from good to bad in seconds. That area of the city was the worst. Homeless people littered the streets and sidewalks, scrounging around for any money, food, or scrap of clothing they could find.

Picking up the manila folder that laid on the passenger's seat, Sango kept her eyes on the road as she dumped out its contents and she picked up a small package. Glancing quickly at the object, she scowled and tossed it away from her. Doing her boss's pathetic errands was not what she had in mind for a Friday night. The reason she got stuck doing this was because her boss was too lazy to follow her own boss's instructions.

"Damn Kagura." She hissed under her breath. Pulling up to a suspicious looking apartment that had seen better days, she rolled down the passenger side window. She quickly unbuckled and reached over to shove the little package back into the envelope, stretched even further to open up one of the many mailbox compartments, and throw it inside. She hastily shut the box, rolled her window up and began driving out of there. She shivered as she watched the strange and poor people staring at her as she drove along. She truly did hate that area. It was never a safe place to be, with all of the gangs that hung out there and the people drowned so far into poverty, that they'd do anything to ease their situation.

Speaking of doing anything, Sango narrowed her eyes as she looked ahead at the sights she was all too familiar with, since she drove down this part of the city often. She scoffed as she watched a car pull up to a group of scantily clad women that were all sharing the same knowing smirk. She observed as one of the women, smoothed out her hair and bent over to the driver's window. A wink and a flip of her poorly dyed hair later, and she was hopping into the stranger's car. She couldn't help but feel disgusted and unnerved as she drove past the scene, feeling slight pity for what those ladies had to do to make some money. Continuing on her way, she continued to look around and when she was telling herself there was only two more blocks until freedom, she did a double take over towards the darker end of the street. Being it was nighttime, she couldn't see perfectly, but she let her mouth drop as far as it could as she noticed something that was clearly recognizable. Her eyes widened as she covered her hand over her mouth.

"No way."

Kagome hummed lightly to herself as she stepped out of her car. Shutting the door behind her, she reached her arm over her shoulder and clicked the button on the car keys. She gave a satisfied nod once a returning beep was heard, and she turned to move to her mailbox. Opening it up, she frowned and reached inside. Pulling out a decent sized pile of mail, she walked away to get to her front door. She looked up at her quaint home and shook her head in dismay. The shingles on the roof were starting to come loose, and the gutters were filthy. Not to mention the large, obnoxious cracks on her driveway. She had originally picked the small home because it was close to her and her sister's jobs. It was an added plus that it was in good shape at the time, but now it was falling apart. Being literally right outside the city in a very small and close-knit suburban area had the perks of not being too far from the places she needed to get to and it was still cheaper than living within the concrete jungle.

Walking up the cracked, stone steps, she struggled with one hand in her purse, trying to find her keys. She smiled when she found them and unlocked the door. Stepping through the doorway, she cringed at the wave of heat that blew over her. It had to be 20 degrees hotter inside than it was outside. Sighing softly, she shut the door behind her and deposited the mail onto a nearby table. She slipped out of her heels and wiped the sweat out of her face and into her hair. She passed a small mirror and continued on quickly when she caught sight of her ghastly appearance. Flipping on multiple fans as she went by, she headed towards the small kitchen. Once inside the space, she leaned over towards the wall occupied with the silent air conditioning unit. Staring at the evil white box in front of her face, she angrily pushed it to on and heard the whirring sound of the air conditioner turning on.

Staring up at the skylight above the kitchen, she silently cursed it. She had thought of it as a pretty little quirk when she had first moved in, but now it only served to turn her home into a giant oven. Knowing that the small upstairs would be even hotter, she grabbed a chair at the table and sat down. She reached over and moved the pile of mail over to her body before she began sorting through it. Singling out the junk mail, she left that to the side while she contemplated some of the bills in front of her. Opening them up, she gasped at the seemingly angry, bold letters of 'Overdue' popping up at her. Reading through very skeptically, she scowled, only staring at one part of the phrase:

'Your electric service will be cut-off on or after June 22nd '

"What?" she stared at the paper in confusion. Her sister had told her she had paid that bill already, so why-? Reaching for her purse, she grabbed out her old cell phone and began to dial a number on the paper. Before she could continue, a rushed knock at her door startled her. Standing up, she hesitantly walked over and straightened out the sweaty work clothes she hadn't bothered with taking off. Looking cautiously through the peep-hole, she opened the door and watched as Sango stumbled inside. Seemingly out of breath, the woman held onto Kagome before realizing the stifling heat that was inside.

"Ugh! It's so hot in here! Open some windows or something, this is disgusting." She huffed and moved to sit down.

Kagome smiled weakly at her friend and rushed to grab her a warm glass of water filled with already melting ice. "Sorry, I just got home and turned the air on."

Sango waved her hand away. "Whatever. I didn't come here to complain about your hot house. I have something urgent to discuss with you."

Frowning at her serious tone, Kagome tilted her head to the side, curious. "What is it?"

Sango cleared her throat. "Well, you see, I was driving down through the slums today, when I discovered something very strange and surprising."

"You were in the slums?" Kagome accused, knowing why she was there in the first place. "Why don't you just quit already? They treat you like-like dirt! Sending you out on these dangerous tasks that have nothing to do with your job to deliver things you have no reason to be delivering."

Sango shook her head. "Please, Kagome, we've been over this before. I only still do it because they cover all of Kohaku's medical expenses. That accident he was in was bad enough, but when we found out he lost his memory after he woke up in the hospital, the costs shot up through the roof. Do you know how many specialists and therapists I've taken him to? He's improving, but there's no way Miroku and I can keep up with all those bills. I'm thankful enough Miroku is helping out as much as he can, but Kohaku is not his little brother, so I need to make sure I can get everything covered."

Kagome furrowed her eyebrows and placed her hands on top of her friend's. "I know, and I'm really sorry. I just wish there was some way I could help, or find you a new job."

A moment of silence passed over them before Sango blinked slowly. "Oh. We went off topic before I could really explain why I'm here."

"Right, sorry about that. So, what is so important that you rushed all the way over to me for?" Kagome stole a sip from Sango's water as she listened intently.

"Well," Sango cleared her throat, suddenly much more content to look at the faded rug beneath her feet. "I saw something today that I don't think you're aware about…how bad has your financial situation been?"

Kagome flushed slightly, embarrassed by the sudden questioning about her money problems. "Uh, well, not the best, I guess…why do you ask?"

"I think that…Kikyo has been doing some...work on the side."

"Work on the side?" Kagome frowned, suddenly very worried about her elder sister. "What do you mean 'work on the side'?"

Taking a deep breath Sango smiled sheepishly at her friend. "I saw Kikyo…being paid…for services."

Blinking twice, Kagome stared blankly over at the wall. She turned back to Sango, "Huh?"

"I was driving away, and I noticed her standing on the darker side of the street. Trust me, I recognized her as though it were day time. She was wearing this nasty, scanty outfit, if you could even call it an outfit, and had her arms wrapped around some guys. I saw her take some money from them before they left her."

Looking down at the bills on the table, certain things began to click in her mind. Her sister's strange behavior was making more sense now…

Sango looked at her friend with concern in her eyes. Reaching an arm towards her, she nudged her gently. "Hey, you okay? I can't really tell what's going on in that brain of yours."

Something seemed to snap as Kagome shook her head. "Sorry, I'm just trying to wrap my head around the idea that my sister is…whoring herself out to men to try and pay our bills. Oh God. That's what she was trying to explain when she was saying that her boss was offering her another part-time job! Sango, my sister is a prostitute!"

Sango sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Doesn't she have a full-time job already? Maybe I was seeing things and now I've just made a mess. We don't even know if she was actually sleeping with anyone."

Another silence fell upon them as an up-beat ringtone blared. Sango jumped and quickly pulled her phone from her pocket. Tapping the answer button with a grim face, she moved it up to her ear. "Hello? Oh, okay…yes, I'll be over soon. Thanks for calling." She hung up and a wave of exhaustion seemed to engulf her entire being. She looked at Kagome and moved to leave the kitchen. "I'm sorry, I have to go. Kohaku's aide just called, said he's having another panic attack. I should really go and be there for him."

Her friend nodded, completely understanding her need to go. "Of course. Drive safe and I'll talk to you later. Give my best to Miroku, and Kohaku as well."

She walked her friend to the front door and accepted a tight hug. "Just don't be too harsh on her, okay? Get the whole story first. I just want you two to be safe."

Kagome nodded solemnly and waved as she got into her shiny company vehicle and drove away with haste. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly and she shivered, even though the sweltering heat was enough to give anyone heatstroke. Rubbing the sudden goosebumps on her arms, she turned and shut the door behind her. Moving to sit on the well-worn leather couch in their petite living room, she began to think about what Sango had told her, wondering how long Kikyo had been doing whatever it was she'd been doing.

It soon became night and the house was adequately cooled to the point where Kagome was able to open some window and shut the air conditioner off. Finally throwing the last window open from her upstairs room after a long struggle, she heard a familiar squeak and slam of the front door opening and closing. She nervously wrung her clammy hands together and took a deep breath, ready to confront her sister. All the late nights recently, the sudden influx of money, it made a lot more sense from what she heard from Sango than what her sister had mentioned about a raise and a second easy job she took on. Being realistic, there was no way her stingy boss would've given her a raise. She hadn't been granted one the past three years working at the same florist.

Reaching the last step to the lower level, Kagome's eyes widened and her breathing shallowed as she took in the sight of her sister. Kikyo was frozen in place, equally wide eyes as she stared back at her sister. A bruised lip marred her fair complexion, and bright fishnet stockings with an overly short skirt and revealing top had Kagome feeling faint. Her gaze travelled even further down to notice a pair of high heels that she recognized instantly as her own.

"Kagome," her sister spoke first, sounding breathless. "I-I thought…Aren't you supposed to be home late tonight?"

Kagome numbly shook her head, not believing the situation. "No, tomorrow night is the late shift."

A deafening silence hung over the two as either one thought about what to say next. Kagome felt her throat tighten and she boldly stared her sister in the eye, mustering up enough courage to step closer to her. Her hands clenched in sudden anger as she caught sight of the bruised lip again and shook her head. "Sango stopped by earlier, I didn't want to believe what she said she saw but this…" she gestured to her older sister's outfit. "this is…Kikyo, what is this? Tell me you aren't selling yourself on the streets!"

Kikyo's skin began to flush until a bright red covered her face and neck. She kicked off her heels with a hiss and stomped over to Kagome until she was nearly in her face. She had never seen her sister in such a furious state before. Once the cool, calm and collected older sibling, now she could barely speak as her entire body quivered with rage and her face was red in humiliation.

"We don't earn enough Kagome! I don't earn enough. Tsubaki refuses to pay me more, and we wouldn't be able to pay any bills without me doing this." Kikyo spit out bitterly. She reached into a small clutch and pulled out a crisp envelope, throwing it at her sister. "Here, you see? This is all for the electric and gas bills I haven't paid yet, and even extra for groceries."

Kagome shakily lifted the flap of the envelope open with her index finger and her mouth dropped at the amount of money crammed inside. She let the envelope fall to the floor and held her hand to her chest as though she had been burned. This, this was not a good way to make money.

"Kikyo, please, let me help you find a more respectable job." Kagome whimpered, saddened to see that her very capable sister had fallen into such a state. "Mama would be so disappointed…she wouldn't have wanted this!"

With a grimace on her face. Kikyo bent down and retrieved the fallen envelope, walking into the kitchen and placing it on the counter next to a few due bills. She sighed and leaned over to pull off her stockings. Kagome followed her into the kitchen, hovering nervously about until Kikyo spoke out again. "Kagome, I'll be fine, I promise. We need this. I've only just started, but if I continue whenever I don't work at the flower shop, I can make enough for the bills, and we can even begin to put money aside for those online classes you wish to take. Then you can get a real job."

"I can't stand knowing that while I'm home safe or at work that you're out in the slums doing whatever a man bids you to just because he throws a wad of cash your way." She cried out and reached her hands out to grasp her sister's. She reached one hand up and gently cupped her face, looking into her brown eyes. "I don't need to take the classes, working at the restaurant is good enough with tips, I can get another job and we'll find you a proper second one. We can do this the right way."

Kikyo shook her head and pushed her younger sister's hands away gently. "I'm going to do this Kagome."

"What about diseases? And that bruise, how did that even happen? This isn't safe for you." Kagome's voice rose higher until Kikyo hushed her so she wouldn't disturb their neighbors.

"Fine. I'll look for another job. But until then, I'm doing this. Can we finish this talk another time? I need to shower…and rest." Kikyo began walking away and headed towards the stairs. Kagome looked after her sadly, not finding the right words to say next. As she listened to her sister shower and crawl into bed, she stayed up most of the night allocating the cash to different bills, sealing them in envelopes ready to send back or take to whatever offices she had to. She kept a newspaper by her side the entire time, shuffling through the classified job listings, circling the ones that she thought Kikyo would qualify for.