Important A/N – if you read no other please read this one:

I wish to make it clear this story was originally written in another context and posted on sites that allowed a more risqué writing style. Since then, and after adding many more chapters than I'd originally intended, the plot has grown, magnified, and taken over in a way I'd never foreseen.

As such I am editing and rewriting portions to make a purely plot-driven version (which I think I will actually prefer) to post here, in conjunction with the two other versions floating around out there on and .

PLEASE NOTE this story is set in a bordello of sorts and deals almost exclusively with the social aspects and culture of prostitution, therefore while not explicit, sex will be referenced quite often. If you find any of this too extreme please let me know and I will do what I can to remedy it but just also keep in mind that this is the world the characters live in.

All that being said I hope you enjoy this story. ^_^

Shrine Prostitute by FlameTwirler

Chapter 2: Initiation
- formal admission or acceptance into an organization or club, adult status in one's community or society, etc.
- to begin, set going, or originate

Kagome held her hand ready to knock on the Tetsudai's door, hesitated, and lowered it again. She was nervous; more nervous than she'd ever been about anything. Taking a deep breath she remembered it was her duty, nay, her privilege to represent her family here and worship in the main shrine of Tokyo.

She thought back with a wistful smile at how proud and excited her family had been sending her off.

She looked up and stared at the beautiful kanji written above the door in front of her: 'Shrine Prostitute' it read. She had to shake her head. Not even a hundred years prior she likely would have been sent there when she was still a young teenager, but current laws about just what constituted pedophilia prevented that, thankfully. But now she was eighteen and her family was counting on her.

She took one last moment to brush her hands through her hair and straighten her outfit – the very one her mother gave her for this night. Pulling down on the miko top and making sure the seams were straight on the skirt variation of the conventional miko pants, she heaved a sigh.

Here goes nothing, she thought, her pulse beating in her ears as she raised her hand again to knock on the door.

Nothing happened.

She knocked again, and still no response. Looking about despondently, worried she'd come to the wrong room, or at the wrong time, or that the Tetsudai inside had a camera trained on her and found her quite lacking and thus refused to open the door, her eyes finally landed on the very non-traditional buzzer built into the wall adjacent the doorknob.

A nervous giggle made its way from her throat.

Of course. Trust her to miss the obvious and jump to all the wrong conclusions. She just needed to ring the bell and he'd answer the door. Just ring the bell...

Her finger hovered over the button for a few seconds, and she swallowed soundly, before firmly pushing the button.

A gruff reply sounded from the other side of the door as soon as the heavy object was yanked open. Her heart fluttered at the sight of the man in front of her: thick black pants, long silver hair, nice chest – wait, what! He's taking off his shirt already! She fought to keep from hyperventilating.

He spun to look at her, his heavy golden eyes gripping her. "We gonna do this or not? Let's just be done with it."

Noticing she had failed to close the door, he stepped behind her to do it. That's when he smelt her nervousness, her fear. "What you afraid of girl? It's not like you haven't done this before."

When she didn't answer but just continued to fidget and stare at the concrete beneath her feet, he hesitated. He drew himself closer to her face, and she could've sworn he sniffed at her. "Have you done this before?"

Her eyes flitted up momentarily before sinking to the floor again as she vigorously shook her head no.

He narrowed his eyes in disbelief and just a bit of suspicion. "Never with a shrine prostitute, or never never?"

"Never, never," she replied shyly, blushing as she finally raised her head to look at him.

"Of course they couldn't tell me she's a virgin," he mumbled to himself. "They want me to act like an ass…"

Clearing his throat he started to backtrack awkwardly. "Hey, I..uh..sorry 'bout that. Didn't know you were new to this and all. Promise I won't be like that anymore tonight." He smiled just a bit when he saw her relax, which in return made her calm down a bit when his face softened. Maybe he hadn't screwed everything up.

"Make yourself comfortable and come sit down." He sat on the bed, patting the spot next to him.

She looked up with a hesitant smile, trying to command her feet to work, but they were still decidedly working against her.

"What's wrong? I promise I won't bite. Unless, of course, you want me too."

He waggled his eyebrows for effect and she couldn't help it; it was just so ludicrous and cliché that she had to laugh. What started as a scowl - or dare she say, a pout? he had been trying to be nice after all - slowly melted into a smirk as he saw her relaxing as she released some of her pent up nerves.

"Look, it's all good doing some chit-chat to help you along in the process, but it doesn't do that much good if you're set on staying on the opposite side of the room."

Kagome couldn't really fault his logic, so she nodded her head. When she didn't move though, he snorted and patted the bed beside him again.

When she sat, Kagome quickly looked away from him; she could not believe that she was actually sitting there with a half-naked man that she didn't even know. "So what's your reason for being here?" he asked nonchalantly, hoping that conversation might loosen her up so she wouldn't remind him so much of a frightened rabbit in the sights of a predator.

His frustration got the better of him though when she would not turn to him, even as she began to formulate an answer. "I'm here for four weeks. I live in a shrine with my family and WAAHHH!" she exclaimed as she was abruptly picked up and found her new position quite compromising, as she was now straddling the stranger's legs, their faces dangerously close.

The worst part about the position was that her skirt had bunched at her hips; while it left her decently covered, her friends had advised her not to wear any underwear the first day - for which she would make them pay dearly when she got home - so she was feeling a bit drafty and thoroughly embarrassed. She hoped to any spirit or deity listening that he wouldn't notice.

Of course the furious blush she must be sporting, if the heat she could feel radiating was any indication, might be just a bit of a tip off.

"What did you do that for?!" she hissed when she finally had her breath back.

"You wouldn't look at me," he said with a shrug. "How are you supposed to get comfortable with me if you can't even look at my face?"

She knew he made sense, but that still didn't mean she had to like it, so she settled on glaring at him for the moment. "So what's your name?"

"Wha…my name?" He looked surprised as she nodded. "Inuyasha."

What's with people here and being surprised when their names are asked? she wondered.

"Nice to meet you Inuyasha, I'm Kagome," she extended her hand in the little space provided between their bodies and after a moment of suspicion Inuyasha shook it. Sure, it was a western greeting, but it did double duty of allowing her to initiate some physical contact while at the same time putting extra distance between their torsos and giving her some breathing room for a moment.

"So…" She searched for a new conversation topic, their earlier one forgotten. Her face brightened as her hand traveled upward. "…Tell me about these cute little ears of yours." She laughed slightly as her fingers brushed against one of the furry triangles, only to have her hand abruptly ripped away.

"Is that what this is all about!" Inuyasha bellowed, hot breath pouring in pants to blast against Kagome's face. "Damn it, I should have known."

"W-what are you talking about?" she asked, genuinely confused.

"Oh, don't play like that," he countered. "I can see right through innocent acts like that. You think a real virgin would ever pick to come here? To me? The only clients that come here are fucked up in the head and have their fun with me. What, you decide physical torture wasn't enough and you wanted to play with my head too?!"

Kagome had heard enough. She put both hands on his chest and pushed against him with all her might, sending him hurtling down to the bed. He lay still but coiled with pent up rage, while Kagome stared down at him, her anger coming off in waves he could almost see.

"How dare you?!" she yelled back at him. "You know nothing about me and yet make snap judgments like I'm evil incarnate. I would never – and I mean never – do that to anyone. It's just not right! I'm here for family reasons: as I said I live in a shrine. I am a virgin, and yes I did choose you."

She took a second to catch her breath, and realizing she had been moving closer and closer to him with each word of her tirade, sat back upright. Extending a hand down to him she pulled him back up to a sitting position as well.

"I chose you because you were the only Tetsudai here that I liked. The others that I saw pictures of or observed, they had this funny feel about them. The guys I saw in person either looked down at me like I wasn't worthy of their attention or they stared at me like I was a piece of meat to be scavenged. I don't think you even noticed me when I walked by you earlier and I took that to mean you didn't take the job as seriously. That's why I thought you wouldn't mind that I'm a virgin and don't exactly know what I'm doing here."

He couldn't believe what he was hearing, let alone seeing. There were tears swimming in her eyes, most likely due in the majority to her embarrassment at the moment, but also because of him. Maybe she really was telling the truth. He put his hand to her jaw to quiet her. "You stupid or what? Of course I don't mind that you're a virgin. Normally the guys fight all over themselves to get anyone 'untouched', like it's some kind of conquest."

She laughed half-heartedly at that. "I dunno, I guess that's just surreal, and not what I expected in this place. Out there," she nodded her head, indicating the world outside the Shrine, "occasionally you hear about or run into guys that are still like that, but for the most part they want girls who've already learned all the good tricks."

He huffed. "We do this every blasted night, and there are few, if any, tricks that any of us won't know. Innocence and freshness is so damn appealing because it's new. I just figured that, because of that, you must be lying."

"Why is that?"

He sighed and dropped his hand. "Didn't I explain this already? I'm the joke around here. They keep me on only because the sick ones like to have their fun. I stay because it's the only way a hanyou can stay alive in this world on his own. Got nowhere else to go. Good trade all around, ne?"

Hanyou. Glancing up for a split second, she realized that explained the ears.

She brought both her hands up to cup his face. "I'm sorry." His surprise was evident on his face. It wasn't every day, hell any day in his life that anyone had shown compassion for him – not since his mother had died. Looking in her eyes, he could almost believe that she meant it.

Feeling a need for a change from the serious direction of their conversation Kagome reached forward and grabbed a strand of his hair, fiddling with it. "I do like the cute ears, though," she smiled and winked at him.

She gasped as his entire demeanor changed, then suddenly turned her head to try to determined the source of a strange ripping sound she couldn't place. Looking down she saw the torn remains of his pants and the clawed hands hanging by his sides, making the connection; she hadn't truly understood, but oh did she now. Her entire face flushed red and she continued to intently study a single piece of fabric lying on the bed, refusing to look anywhere else for fear of dying from the overwhelming sense of mortification.

Inuyasha was sad to determine, looking at her apoplectic face, that her heavy breathing wasn't due to him – or rather it was, but not for the reason he was looking for. She looked to be struggling to refrain from either hitting him or running from the room. He wasn't good at dealing with a woman's discomfiture, but since he wasn't too apt for her to follow through on either notion right now he knew he had to try.

Leaning forward he whispered against her ear, "Just relax and do what you feel. Do anything you want, touch anything, say anything. It isn't possible to mess this up."

Her eyes weren't fixed on the bed anymore but still flitted about, landing anywhere but his face. All of a sudden it seemed she made a decision, squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, then opened them with renewed resolution as she leaned in to kiss him. Immediately she felt him tense up as he broke away, but upon seeing her broken and confused face he crumbled and leaned in for a chaste kiss. A moment later he pulled back again and silenced the forthcoming complaint with his own words.

"You know this is probably going to hurt, right?"

She nodded, laughing a little. "My friends do talk to me, you know. Just because I don't partake in the lifestyle doesn't mean I don't know anything about it."

Good, at least she wasn't completely naïve.

"Now look in my eyes," he waited until she finally stilled and relaxed in front of him, raising her eyes to his, "and don't look away no matter what."

He lifted her and even when she wanted to cry out at the burst of pain she found she couldn't. She was somehow paralyzed in his gaze, entranced by those amber eyes and the intensity behind them, the hidden depths that she knew he tried to hide. Whether it was intentional on his part or not, she was able to grasp tiny glimpses of him through that gaze and was amazed at what she saw, at the pain and sorrow hidden there behind a mask of bravado. So mesmerized was she that she was barely aware of anything else going on but the growing connection between the two of them.

Quite without her conscious knowledge the dam grew to overflowing and the universe burst behind her eyes. Inuyasha, stunned, stared at her, amazed to feel it coming upon him too considering how gentle he'd been with her. As one who worked with sex day in and day out it wasn't uncommon to be unsatisfied after a client was finished with her session.

Leaning up he kissed her exposed neck, such an innocent, unconscious sign of submission, and held her tightly against him.

Slowly they came down off their highs, panting breaths falling in each other's hair. He picked her up from on top of him and slowly laid her out on the bed. In the process she happened to see the clock and panicked, knowing the hour's time she'd paid for had already elapsed. She struggled to stand, her legs still a bit wobbly. "I've…got to go…you'll be late for your next appointment."

Strong hands pushed her firmly back down to the bed as he sat next to her. "What makes you think I have a next appointment? Besides, for virgins we give 'em the rest of the night free. That way they don't have to deal with the whole hustle-bustle, in-and-out quick, business side of things. Don't want to disillusion you too quick now, do we?" Kagome would've sworn she saw what resembled a snicker cross his face.

"So does that mean…"

"Yup," he interrupted. "You're not done yet."

Inuyasha got up from where he sat and situated himself until he was kneeling between her knees. As he crawled up her body Kagome suddenly got the sensation of being prey caught before the predator, but oddly enough this time it excited her more than it frightened her. "Wait," she asked breathlessly, noticing how he stopped and his ears drooped ever so slightly. "No, not that silly," she said, jokingly slapping him on the chest. "I just had a question I wanted to ask before I forget. When I kissed you earlier why did you tense up?"

Hmm...maybe the girl was more innocent than he'd even originally thought. "All prostitutes, even Tetsudai, have a general rule that they don't kiss. It's a bit more intimate, more emotion used. Helps prevent bonds from forming."

"Why is that so bad?"

Man, this girl was either really dense, or was just something else. "Why get close to someone you'll probably never see again?"

"Oh," she said lamely.

"Enough of this," he decided suddenly, leaning forward again. She shivered involuntarily as she felt his warm breath against her skin, then his lips, and finally his tongue, as he launched an all out assault on her neck.

She pushed back gently on his chest and he looked down at her curiously. He was so close she could only see his face and part of his chest but she drank in his countenance. The silence was deafening to him and he was afraid of what this meant from a girl like her. She was staring at him, a mix of marked astonishment and curiosity on her face. Slowly a small smile spread across her face as she declared, "Inuyasha, I hate to say it, but you're gorgeous!"

Her smile turned into a grin as she noticed he had the faintest tint of a blush on his face after her declaration. Did he not think he was the most magnificent male to walk the earth or had she just used too feminine a word? It would be too fun to find out…

"Sorry, sorry," she amended, careful to cover her giggles with a cough. "I meant that in an entirely macho, masculine way." She winked at him and he scowled back. "Should I instead say beautiful?" He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the floor. "Then how about amazing? Stunning? Glorious… striking… splendid… wonderful… magnificent…"

Her voice dropped and her smile faded with each new adjective she threw at him and his blush was back ten-fold. His eyes drew back to hers and the intensity was back and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't move her gaze from his. She felt like they were a snake with its charmer, though she couldn't figure out who played which role. She drew a hand up and caressed the side of his face, stunned when she saw him momentarily flinch. He caught himself immediately and stilled, watching her intently, almost in embarrassment? she wondered, but she just continued to smile at him and smooth her thumb across his cheek until he relaxed into her.

He lavished her with pleasures unknown for the rest of the night, being careful to not do too much in order to prevent her from being sore, knowing she had to do this again the following night and not knowing how rough her next Tetsudai might be. Kagome, amidst the sensations curling around her and settling in her belly, was amazed at his control, being able to do so much to her in one night without fulfilling himself. He was so gentle to her, so kind, and she knew she had picked the right guy. From the moment she saw him she knew that his gruff exterior belied a tenderness he refused to let show. She'd taken a risk that she'd be able to pull it out of him and see someone besides the rough foul-mouth Kazuma had warned her he was when making the assignment.

Inuyasha, for his part, was amazed at the woman in his arms, as she convulsed against him again and he was bowled over with the sense of power she invoked in him. The way she let herself go with him might have seemed normal to anyone else but to the outcast hanyou it was an unwarranted show of trust that made him feel like the most powerful man in the world despite his heritage and all other obstacles. For the moment he was able to forget that he was hanyou and she human and they were simply male and female.

He only prayed that during her next four weeks here he would be blessed with her presence once again and he'd get to enjoy all the things he could not let himself do tonight.

She exploded violently one last time for him and he could tell by her droopy eyes that she had taken all she could for the night. Carefully he pulled her sweaty bangs back from her face, placing a feather light kiss on her forehead. When he drew himself back up he noticed the steady rhythm to her breathing. She had already fallen asleep. Glancing back and forth, decision suddenly made, he leaned down one more time and brushed his lips delicately against hers.

Yawning himself, he laid down beside her almost exactly as he had been, one leg covering hers, head resting on her shoulder, arm thrown lazily across her stomach. Silently he thanked the kami for this one night, this one precious gift. It was too much to hope that this would ever happen again, but for once he was content, and he almost wished the dawn wouldn't come so he wouldn't have to say goodbye to the angel in his arms.

A/N:

Obviously, as I've had to edit this and rewrite many sections, the lengths of these chapters are going to vary widely. Hopefully you're alright with that, because that's the way it's going to be. ^_^