Walk Away

Chapter 3

The following day was torture for Kagome. She had been up all night worrying after Kagura's discovery. So far Kagura had used her new found power approximately… fifty times. But that was just a rough estimate. The afternoon found Kagome sitting in the top branches of the apple orchid.

Picking apples to sell is harder than it looks. You can't just pick any apple. If that was true, everyone would pick up the apples that fell off the tree. No, those apples are better left for beggars. You need to find apples that are very near perfection. Where do you find those apples? At the top of the trees, of course.

So that's what Kagome was doing; sitting at the top of the tree, picking apples, and placing them in the basket positioned soundly next to her.

"Hello up there," a voice called. It caught Kagome so off guard that she fell out of the tree. Lucky for her, two strong arms caught her before she hit the ground. Scratched and bruised but otherwise fine, Kagome regained her footing. "Damn it. Do you have to be such a klutz?"

Finally getting a look at her rescuer, Kagome manage to look annoyed. "Are you just going to show up everywhere?"

"Fine, then I won't return your purse. See if I care." Inuyasha swung the bag over his shoulder and started walking off.

"Wait!" Kagome called, running after him. Inuyasha smirked. "I knew you'd come around. Now take this. I can't believe I'm carrying a woman's bag."

"Whatever. But, anyway, thanks." Kagome said as she took her bag. Peering inside she heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, good."

"What? Did you think I'd take your money? In case you forgot: I'm royal. I don't need your money."

"Yeah, well, you can never tell with you palace people. Greed seems to be your people's best friend."

Inuyasha stopped walking and looked at her. "Feh. You really have a messed up view of me, don't you? Besides, what's so important about two coins? You live in a big enough house."

Kagome stared back at him. "One: It's not messed up. The people on the court are crooked. Two: It matters because I do not live here. My stepfamily does. I just serve them. That money is our food budget for next week and if I don't have it you don't want to know what I'll be making food out of!" Kagome was full out yelling now.

Inuyasha wasn't exactly sure how to respond. "So work for me." Or maybe he was sure…

"…."

"C'mon. It would get you away from here and you could once and for all see how normal people on the court are."

Kagome considered it. Nobody who knows her secret, more food, maybe even less work. "All right. But on one condition."

"Hm? And what's that?"

"I never have to climb an apple tree again."

For the first time in a while, Inuyasha genuinely laughed. "Deal. We have people for that."

They continued to walk for a while until they reached Kagura's house. "Do you want to get your things now? You can come back with me now, if you want," Inuyasha asked.

Kagome thought. The family was away seeing a play right then. The timing was perfect. "All right. I just need to leave a note."

Inuyasha nodded and followed her into the house. "Um, stay here," Kagome said, pointing to a couch, "I'll be right back."

"I'll help you."

"No! I mean, I can do it. There's not much."

Inuyasha gave her a skeptical look but sat down despite himself.

Kagome ran upstairs and put her other two dresses, a hairbrush, and an apron that she had taken from Kikyo's room (she was pretty sure that Kikyo would never miss one of her special "dresses") and then ran back downstairs. "All right."

"Where are your things?"

"In my bag."

"…."

"It's Ok. I have everything I need."

"… All right…."

After leaving a note, they both headed out the door and to the palace. "I have my carriage here," Inuyasha said. That made Kagome happy who wasn't too pleased at the prospect of walking for that long.

-

At the Palace

-

Inuyasha took Kagome to the servant's quarters. Opening the door, he let her enter in front of him, "This is it."

It took a while for Kagome to absorb it all in. The room was so much bigger than her closet room. It contained two mats, an amour, and a private washroom. Was that great or what? "Wow," Kagome breathed.

"What?" Inuyasha looked at her. "You're acting like you've never seen a room before."

"R-right. Of course I have! I w-was just… admiring the color!"

"It's brown."

"Yeah," Kagome said firmly, "and that's just the way I like it. No bright colors keeping you awake all night and no morose black. Brown; a nice, simple color."

"O…k…" Inuyasha said, wondering if she was slightly woo in the head. "Just put your things by that cot over there and I'll show you around."

"I have a cot?" Kagome wasn't expecting that.

"Yes. What did you expect? Hay?"

"Something to that extent. I've never had a cot."

"You've never had a bed?!"

Oops. Kagome hadn't meant to let that slip. She stuttered trying to collect herself. "W-w-what I meant to s-say was that… I have never had a cot! I-I usually slept on a hay mattress like everyone else!"

Something was up but, since Inuyasha couldn't put his finger on it, he let it slide. "Well, come on. I'll show you around."

Kagome followed Inuyasha out the door and through a few corridors. They went through many rooms and in each one Inuyasha topped to explain what went on in them. There was one particular room that caught Kagome's eye. Or rather it was the people in it that drew her attention.

"Sango?"

Indeed, sitting in a room with Inuyasha's lecherous friend was Sango. Sango looked up and, seeing Kagome, immediately went and hugged her friend.

"Kagome! What are you doing here?"

"Uh, I work here now. The question is what are you doing here?"

"After I took you home I went back to the gathering. Miroku and I started talking and we really hit it off. We're engaged!"

"…."

"Kagome?"

"……"

"Kagome? Are you all right?"

"You're engaged?! Sango, we just met him yesterday!"

"I know. But aren't you at least happy for me?"

Kagome looked at her friends earnest face and sighed in defeat. "Yes, Sango. I'm happy for you."

Mean while, Inuyasha had gone around to Miroku. "What's this Monk? You had better not be doing this just to get an heir."

Miroku gently pried Inuyasha's claws from his shirt front. "Inuyasha, I assure you that I have thought this through. Sango is an amazing woman. Far more amazing than any other woman I have ever met."

Inuyasha glared at Miroku. "All right, Monk. But if this is some dirty trick I will kill you myself."

"Wait," Kagome said, "You're a monk? I thought you were Inuyasha's personal advisor."

"He is," Inuyasha replied. "He also has some spiritual energy and he comes from a long line of monks. But there is certainly nothing virtuous about him."

"Oh, you wound me, dear friend." Miroku took a pained look upon his face. Inuyasha bashed him in return.

"Kagome! Does this mean that you're living here now?" Sango asked, suddenly realizing what her friend's new job meant.

"Yeah. I guess so." Kagome was beginning to have doubts. What if Kagura came and ordered her to go back? Then she would have to leave and she wouldn't even be able to explain why.

"That's so great! Now you don't have to work for Kagura! And I bet you even have a real r--" Sango was cut off by Kagome's hand over her mouth.

"Routine," Kagome finished for her. "Yes, I will. I suppose at least."

"But I wasn't going to say--"

"Inuyasha, can you tell me what I will be doing around here?"

"Huh?" Inuyasha said ingeniously, still trying to figure out what Sango was going to say. "You'll just be doing simple chores. In the mornings you clean; you serve food at meals; and, unless someone needs you, you have the afternoons off. We have too many people working for us to keep you busy all of the time."

'All right,' Kagome thought. 'Hopefully things are going up for me now. I really, really hope so.'

-

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DTAC!!Read for very important information that could affect your health (or not….)

Hey, ya'll! I want to thank my one reviewer! One reviewer. You know what that means? It means you need to scroll down or whatever you need to do until you see that big purple button and then click "review". Leave me pretty comments with lots of flowers and a happy birthday and such!

Hm… So I promised you would see Kikyo's good side way back in chap. 1 and so far all you have seen is her interesting side. We'll take care of that soon. In the mean time, follow the path to wherever my brain takes you at the moment. Hopefully you will find much food at the end.