For a Price

Summary: Welcome to a world where your fantasy's can come true. Where the most beautiful women will indulge your every desire, where your sins are encouraged. Where your secrets are kept. This is a place where even the purest of lights may be extinguished by the night. Kagome is a girl bound. Her innocence is her most prized possession, not only to her but to the one that binds her. Inuyasha is a young man who is seeking redemption. Plagued by the ghosts of his past, he has turned his back on all that he knows. But when fate brings these two together, will they be able to see through all the lies and save one another before it is too late?

Rating: T for most chapters, M/NC-17 for excessive violence, adult language and adult themes.

Disclaimer: Any and all characters used from the Inuyasha series and franchise does not belong to me.

Warning: A/U, OOC

Chapter 1

The cold November air had come in from the bay, bringing with it a frigid moisture that soaked through her clothes and chilled her to the bone. The electricity had been cut off a month earlier and the heart from the hearth was barely enough to keep even the living room warm. Her younger brother sat by the fire, his small nose pink from the cold. He didn't seem to mind the frigid air, far too caught up in the game of Jack's that he had been trying to perfect.

"'Gome, do you think Mom misses us?" The question was so sudden, his voice raw from the frost.

"Of course she does Souta. Every day she looks down at us and sends us her love. Can't you feel it?" She took the blanket from her lap and draped it over his thin shoulders.

"Nah. I can't feel much of anything anymore." He never looked at her, but his voice held no laughter nor any malice. Only an emptiness that frightened her. It was the same voice their father had for the last year or so.

Leaning forward, Kagome placed a kiss upon his forehead and ruffled his black locks. The sound of gurgling made her smile. "Well, at least you still feel hunger hey kiddo?"

At his shoulder shrug, she stood and walked to their near empty kitchen. Rummaging through the cupboards she produced a box of crackers and a bruised banana. With a sigh, she ignored the pains of her own stomach and brought what little they had to the boy. "Eat something and then go to bed Souta. You have to return to school tomorrow."

He didn't protest, to which she was thankful. Instead, he ate and rolled over onto the mattress that she had laid before the fire. She tucked him in and softly sang to him the song their mother had lulled them into sleep with as children. Once he was asleep, she pulled her jacket on and left the small apartment. She was careful to lock the door behind her as quietly as possible.

Holding the jacket tightly against her body, Kagome sat upon the steps of her building. She often times did this to escape the house that she had once been so happy in but now, only contained sadness and loss. She couldn't bear to watch her baby brother sleep, knowing she was failing him. She couldn't risk him seeing her cry or clutch her stomach as the gnawing pain of hunger kept her from sleep. She had to be strong for him.

Lost in her own thoughts, she barely registered as the sleek town car pulled up. A beautiful woman stepped out from the driver's side and opened the back, right door. With little interest, her grey eyes swept over his perfectly tailored suit to his immaculate coal locks, to the handsome lines in his face. There was a spark of recognition but it soon faded as indifference reclaimed her. 'He must be lost.'

"Miss Higurashi?" His voice was like velvet, sliding over her ears and coaxing her back to reality.

She had meant to ask his pardon but instead, she merely stared dumbfounded at the blue-eyed gentleman before her.

Looking at her strangely, he stopped just before her. "Kagome Higurashi? Daughter to Kenjin?"

Warily she nodded, her eyes guarded. If this man knew her father, he was not likely to be on the right side of the law.

He cleared his throat, sliding his gloves from his fingers with a calculated grace. "My name is Bankotsu. Bankotsu Shichinintai. I was a regular customer at your father's teahouse. Before it closed, that is. I believe I had seen you work there a few nights after school. It must have been almost three years ago."

She relaxed a little, understanding washing over her features. She knew she had recognized him. He was the man who had always given her brother sweets. "I remember you, yes. If you are looking for my father, he passed away almost a month ago."

Something flashed in the blue depths before a look of sadness washed over him. "I had heard. Unfortunately I have been away on business for the last month and have not had a chance to come by to check on you and your brother. That was his wish after all."

"His wish?"

"Your father's. He had asked me, after your beloved mother's passing that is, to look into the welfare of yourself and your younger sibling. He is ten, correct?"

"Yes, just turned ten a few months ago. I am sorry Mr. Shichinintai, I don't see how you can be of any help to us." She didn't mean to be rude but there was something to this man who made her feel on edge.

His eyes flashed yet again but a kind smile drew attention away from the emotion that swam in them. "I would like to offer you employment Kagome. I run a club in Manhattan. I know from your father that you had, at one time, aspired to be a dancer. He told me you were very talented. We are always looking for new talent to showcase."

"I am only seventeen. I don't think they would allow me to work for you."

"Who wouldn't? I would pay you under the table and no one would be the wiser. And to make things a little easier for you, I will arrange for your brother to attend a prestigious boy's school. You would live in the apartment's above the club, with a roommate of course. All your meals would be provided for. Clothes, jewelery, whatever a young girl your age could want."

"And what would you get out of this?"

"I would get the satisfaction of knowing I helped my dear friend Kenjin." His answer was too quick for her liking but she was caught up in the glamorous things that he offered.

"Let me take you away from all of this Kagome. Let me show you America as it really is. You are too beautiful of a girl to let your life waste away on the memories that bind you to this place. I can see that you are starving. I am willing to wager that your brother is in barely better condition. What I offer you is the chance to live your dream as a professional dancer, earn some money and ensure a future for both yourself as well as your brother."

Snakes are really quite beautiful when you look at them. Sleek, smooth, cool to the touch. Their eyes can mesmerize you. Their touch can seem so gentle and benign. But inside them flows the poison that can kill a grown man in minutes. Their touch can become harsh and unrelenting on a moment's whim, often times noted too late for anything to be done.

His hand was out to hers, offering her a new life. She took his hand and smiled as he gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Alright. What do I have to do?"

This smile seemed to be the first genuine one. With his free hand he waved for the beautiful and silent woman to move forward. She handed him some papers. Releasing her hand he withdrew and pen and handed it all to her. "Just sign the last page my dear. I will be able to take care of everything from that point onwards."

Ignoring the feeling in her gut that screamed at her that there was something amiss, Kagome scrawled her name upon the paper before handing it back to him. "Now, go get your brother. Tonight, the two of you shall sleep at my estate. I want you both to be fresh for the days events tomorrow."

Not wasting another moment, Kagome turned and all but ran up the stairs of her apartment. This time she wasn't careful in opening the door. In a state of happiness and shock, she woke her half-asleep brother and took him in her arms. "Souta! I can not explain everything now. But the most wonderous thing has happened! We are leaving at once. Pack whatever you can in your bag. We must go!"

Downstairs, the raven-haired gentleman began to slowly puff on a cigar, a wicked grin plastered to his face. "That was far easier than I had imagined it to be."

"She has nothing Bank. You saw the state of the poor girl. She is halfway to death's door."

"I do so love playing the hero Kagura. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy."

The crimson-eyed demoness looked to him, not bothering to hide her disgust. "You are no hero Bankotsu. That girl has no idea the price of what you offered her."

With an almost inhuman speed, his hand was around her throat, his body pressing hers against the car. "There is a price for everything Kagura. You had one, a fairly low one might I add. Her's... well I know you could smell the innocence on that one. They are going to eat her right up. I imagine she is simply delicious."

Ignoring the pressure on her throat, she sneered at him. "You are sick. She is a minor."

"Oh now, now. I am going to make them wait. She will dance as a teaser. Until her eighteenth birthday. Then the bidding will begin." He let her go, fingering the enchanted locket that lay beneath his suit. "So long as I have this, you will keep your opinions to yourself. You will train that girl, just as you have done all the others. You will keep her in line. Or I will sell you back to Naraku."

It is the slow suffocation of a snake's grip that can be ever more agonizing than the bite. The bite, you know you are going to die. The squeeze gives you the hope that you will find a way out of his iron grip. An illusion that only breeds heartache.

((A/N: These are probably going to be short until I get into the more juicy parts of this story. Please Review!))