DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters of the Inuyasha series nor do I own the original storyline.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Darn, times just flows like a river...it has already been a week since my last
update. Well don't worry; I've speeded up my pace of writing chapter (on paper)
so the updates will come a bit faster for the following chapters! Anyway, enjoy
reading!!
Italic: thoughts or emphasized words
-- --: locations
"...": spoken words
~*~*~*~*~: time gap or change of perspective
*...* : noises
-by Kittymui-
Sold
Previously:
Inutaisho wanted to argue with him but Inuyasha was ahead of him when he stepped
forward. "I will go search for her," he said with a determined tone.
"If Takada-sama is willing to grant me that permission." Both lords
were surprised to hear this. And of course, Lord Takada gave Inuyasha his permission
eventually. And even Inutaisho was happy that his son was finally going to do
something to be proud of.
Yet none of them knew Inuyasha was doing this for the maid and not for the
lady.
~*~*~*~
Inuyasha stood in the garden of Lord Takada's mansion, ready to take off. Since
he was half youkai, he only asked for some money for on the way. He didn't need
any servants following him, because that would only slow him down and add another
human to his responsibility to protect. Nor did he need any nourishment. All
he needed was his Tetsusaiga, his claws and determination, which he didn't have
to worry about.
He had also received a letter from Lord Takada himself in case there were obstacles that prevented him from continuing his search. With his status, Lord Takada was surely not unknown in this part of the Western Lands so a letter with his personal crest on it might come in handy.
Lord Takada, Inutaisho and some of the servants and guards were standing near the main entrance outside the mansion, to see Inuyasha off.
All attention was drawn when someone suddenly called out to Inuyasha.
"INUYASHA!!!"
The hanyou turned to his name and immediately recognized the person running towards him. "Miroku!"
"I heard that you were going to start your journey in search of your betrothed, is it true?" he asked, breathing heavily of the run.
Well, part of the truth... he thought to himself but nodded anyway.
"Wow! That's so heroic of you! Not that I've expected anything else!!" Miroku praised as his eyes traveled to the crowd behind him. And within a blink of an eye, he disappeared from the hanyou's side to in front of one of the maids.
"Oh Sango! How I have longed to meet you face-to-face!!" he said with a wide smile as he took her hands in his.
Sango was surprised by the sudden praise. "D-do I know you s-sir?" she stammered.
"Call me Miroku, please. You don't know me but there hadn't been a single day that I didn't think about you after I saw you at the Festival," he explained.
The maid shifted her gaze to Lord Takada and back to Miroku, who was still holding her hands. "P-pleased to meet you...Miroku-san," she said hesitatingly.
Lord Takada turned to Inuyasha. "Funny friend you have here," he said
amused.
The hanyou smirked. "Yeah," he replied before turning to Sango. "But he's inherited some lecherous traits from his ancestors so you better watch out from now on."
The maid quickly jerked her hands out of Miroku's. "Eh...thanks for warning me..." she said awkwardly.
Miroku turned to his hanyou friend and scowled. "You just had to spoil it for me, didn't you?!" he pouted.
"Well, see if you can prove and persuade the girl that you're not. I'll be heading off now," Inuyasha responded with a grin.
"Take care," Inutaisho said to his son.
"I will," he nodded. And so he set off to search for his missing betrothed, or so he said.
~*~
It's so peaceful here... Kagome thought as she walked through the streets
of a small village called Shika. She was wearing a plain blue yukata with white
sakura-blossoms embroidered on it near her left shoulder and right leg. This
is what I call freedom. she smiled to herself as she approached a fountain
and sat down on the edge.
She looked up at the sky, which was starting to get an orange color. I better search for a place to stay for the night. she decided and stood up again.
After searching a while, she found a quite luxurious inn just outside the village
and entered.
"Hello?" she called out when she found nobody behind the counter.
Suddenly a middle-aged man appeared in the doorway behind the counter. "Good evening, how can I help you?" he asked, stepping up.
The man had brown hair and dark-brown eyes and he was wearing a formal brown outfit.
"I want to rent a room for the night," she replied.
"That won't be a problem, what's your name young lady?" he inquired.
"It's Maya."
"All right," the man responded, scribbling something down. "Your room will be the second one on the left after you reached the first floor. Here's the key to it." And he handed over a key.
"Don't I have to pay first?" Kagome asked surprised.
The man grinned. "Oh no, it's not necessary to do it now, we'll ask for it eventually."
Bewildered by the answer, Kagome still took the key and prepared to go to her appointed room upstairs.
When she was halfway up the stairs, she heard the man talk again.
"I'm sorry old woman, but we don't have any rooms affordable for you."
She turned around and realized there was an old woman standing at the counter. When she saw that the woman was about to leave, she quickly ran down the stairs again. "Wait!" she halted her and turned to the clerk. "If you don't mind, I would like to pay for her stay."
The man behind the counter frowned. "If you do that, I'm afraid I'll have to ask for you to leave as well."
What a jerk! Kagome thought angrily but turned to the old woman again when she felt her sleeve being tugged.
"You are very kind, young woman, but even I would have to refuse to take your offer for I don't see myself worthy of it. Goodbye." With that, she left the inn without sparing the man another glance.
After standing there a short moment, Kagome reluctantly went to her room upstairs
while blaming herself for not being able to help an elderly woman.
~*~ that night ~*~
Kagome tossed and turned in her bad as she failed at finding a way to dreamland.
I wonder if I'll ever get to remember everything of my childhood...?
she pondered and reached into her breastpocket. She pulled out the small porcelain
medicine bottle and studied it. I wonder if I'll ever see him again...
Her thoughts were cut off when she heard voices coming from below. It's past midnight already...shouldn't everybody be sleeping by now? With that thought, she climbed out of her bed and sneaked out of the room in her thin white nightdress.
She traced the origin of the voices to the stairs and stopped when she could understand what was being said.
"I'm tired of her low prices. Doesn't she know how tough it is nowadays
to get good qualities? It's like they're becoming extinct or something."
Kagome recognized the voice of the man of before. He was probably talking to another person.
"I know, but if we cut our contact with her, we'll have no buyers left. And besides, we were able to fetch a nice one today, weren't we? I'm sure we'll be able to discuss a high price." the other person, who was apparently a man, responded.
"Yeah, you're right. Man! Was I scared that she would refuse to stay here just because of that old hag."
Kagome widened her eyes. They're not talking about me, are they? She
didn't know why, but something inside her told her that something very wrong
is going to happen if she stayed here any longer.
She quietly made her way to her own room again, but just when she was about to open her door, some faint noises caught her attention, coming from the room next to hers.
Curse my curiosity!! she scolded herself as she walked to the door of the neighboring bedroom.
The door was locked, but luckily Kagome kept a small hairpin in her sleeves for times like this. And within seconds she managed to unlock it. She opened the door and quietly entered the room.
Her eyes widened as she found herself standing between a couple of other girls on the floor, who were tied up and silenced with a tape sealing their lips.
"Oh my god..." she gasped.
But just when she turned to leave and wanted to act as if she had not seen what she had, she bumped onto a firm chest. When she looked up, she realized it was the man who stood behind the counter before.
"Where do you think you're going young lady?" he asked with a smirk.
Kagome instantly froze and held her breath. Uh-oh...
~*~ meanwhile ~*~
"So you're saying that that friend of yours called Inuyasha only participated
in the battle for the bride just to punish Naraku for what he tried to do to
milady??" Sango said wide-eyed after she listened to Miroku's explanation.
They were sitting on a bench in the garden of the mansion. After may attempts made by Miroku, Lord Takada finally allowed him to meet the maid several times a week to prove his innocence (of being a lecher ^-^).
He nodded.
"So the one who saved her on the day of the Festival really was Inuyasha," she concluded aloud.
"The one and only."
"That's strange...milady said she had met her fiancé and that he was a total jerk," the maid recalled.
"You said it was at night, right? Well maybe it was too dark for them to recognize each other back then." he hypothesized.
Sango tilted her head slightly. "But your friend's an inu-youkai, right? He should have recognized her by her scent then."
"He's not a full-blooded youkai; he's partly human," Miroku explained. "And sealing him in a room with purifying wards forced him into his human form. Losing his youkai strength also means losing the keen senses of a youkai, so he couldn't have been able to recognize your mistress."
The maid thought for a while. "Hmm...you have a point."
Miroku turned to the maid. "All right! Now back to us," he smiled.
Sango's face dropped. "But I want to hear more about that hanyou friend of yours!" she pleaded. "Like why he knew milady was in danger on the day of the Festival!"
Miroku wanted to object, but that was until he got confronted with the maid's irresistible puppy look. Aw man!! he pouted inwardly.
~*~ the next day ~*~
"Let me go!! Where do you think you're taking me?!" Kagome cried as
she was pulled out of the room where she was kept in with all the other girls.
Her wrists and ankles were tied together but her mouth wasn't sealed like the
them.
A tall and strong man, with a tanned skin-color, flung her over his shoulder. "You're going to make us some money, girl," he chuckled as he descended the stairs to the floor below.
"WHAT?! No way!! Let me go!!" she cried wide-eyed.
"You better lower your voice or I'll have to seal your mouth like all the others, which we all don't want to since it might cause bruises on your face and decrease your worth," he warned.
Kagome immediately shut her mouth and let the man carried her until they were standing in front of a carriage outside the inn.
He carefully put her down on the seat inside the carriage and sat down from across her. It was then that Kagome couldn't withstand the big question anymore that was buzzing in her mind. "Are you guys slave drivers or something?" she blurted out.
The man waited a while before answering. "I wouldn't call ourselves that."
"But...you're selling girls...like me, right?" she reasoned.
He chuckled. "Let's call it investing, girl," he said. "We're going to deliver you to a place where you can make money for us. Of course, we will receive a first payment first from the manager of that place. And if you do your job well, you might even be freed eventually."
The carriage started to depart and a moment of silence took place until Kagome
decided to speak again. "So...where are you taking me? Where is this place
you said you're delivering me to?"
The man raised a brow. "You're really talkative, aren't you? Oh well, it might come in handy when you're working there."
Kagome frowned. "Where?" Somehow, she felt she wasn't going to like the answer the man was about to give her.
"I guess it won't hurt telling you, since you'll find out eventually," he told her. "We're going to the famous Phoenix's Paradise...does that ring a bell?"
Kagome widened her eyes and gasped.
The Phoenix's Paradise, as the name probably said it, was a very well-known
brothel in the Western Lands. It was run by humans for youkai and men of their
own kin. She had heard stories and rumors about the place. Humans would sell
their daughters to the place and receive a share of the rewards when guests
are pleased with them. And there were also people who would kidnap or cheat
girls to sell them into the business to make money for them.
And Kagome just couldn't believe herself to be one of those unfortunate girls. What the hell does fate want me to become?? she sighed inwardly as she looked out of the window at the passing trees and fields of grass.
"Hey girl, you want a napkin or something?" the man suddenly spoke.
Kagome turned to him with a bewildered expression but when she touched her cheeks she realized they were wet.
"Man! I just hate to see women cry..." he confessed in frustration. "Look, it's not as bad as you think it is okay? If you do your job well and get those customers pleased, I promised I'll set you free again."
"H-how long...will that take...?" she sniffed.
He scratched his head. "Well, that's not really up to me to decided...but I promise I will persuade the manager to give you back your freedom after you helped us getting rid of our debts."
Kagome dropped her face. I guess he at least has a good reason to kidnap me and use me... Being sold to a brothel...isn't that bad...is it? she comforted herself. I wonder what's worse? Marrying a jerk or being sold to a brothel...
She quickly shook it off. Heck! What the hell am I thinking?! Not that bad?!? Kagome...you do realize what 'pleasing' customers means, don't you?? And then more tears started to well up in her eyes.
The man suddenly became angry. "Hey girl! I was trying to be nice to you but you're starting to piss me off with that sobbing of yours!!" he growled as he pushed a napkin into her hands. "If you don't stop crying now, I'll make you!"
She almost instantly covered her nose with the napkin and dried her tears with the back of her hand. Although being sold to a place like that was bad, but being killed before she even had the chance to meet the person of her childhood was worse.
After she let out her last sob, the trip went on with the two silently gazing out of the window.
~*~*~
After a couple of hours, the carriage finally came to a halt. They have finally
arrived at their destination: the Phoenix's Paradise.
It was located in a big city called Omoshi, which lied not very far away from Shika. Omoshi was mainly inhabited by youkai, and almost all of them were rich lords who didn't mind spending thousands just for an amusement.
The man untied the rope around Kagome's ankles and held her by her tied wrists. "Come on," he ordered as he climbed out of the carriage and pulled her with him.
Kagome widened her eyes when she looked up at the huge building in front of her. It was a wide building consisting of two floors and there were red lanterns hanging everywhere just outside the entrance. Above it, a large gold-coated display-board could be seen, saying "Phoenix's Paradise" in capitals. But she didn't get to watch for a long time as the man jerked at her wrists again and pulled her into the building.
From the inside, the brothel looked more like a crowded restaurant. There were
tables everywhere with youkai sitting around them, accompanied by several sexy-dressed
human girls, who were either pouring wine in their cups or playing alcohol games
with them.
From across the main entrance stood a pair of wide red-carpeted stairs that leaded to the upper floor. But Kagome really didn't want to know or imagine what's mainly going on up there besides claiming your everyday rest.
She snapped back into reality when she realized someone was walking in her direction. It was a woman dressed in a gorgeous thin and revealing red dress that almost covered her crystal high-heeled sandals. The dress had a very wide and deep V-shaped neckline and it accentuated every single curve of her body that in Kagome's eyes could not be more feminine and desirable by men as well as women. It was a red silk dress with a thin golden snake embroidered on it near her waist. The woman looked very youthful, although she could be around her forties by now. She had long wavy dark hair and seductive pale blue eyes.
She smiled, shifting her gaze from the man next to Kagome to Kagome herself. "So...what have you come to offer me today?" she said as she turned to the man again.
He pushed Kagome forward. "How much will I fetch for her?"
Kagome dropped her face to the floor but was made to look at the woman again when she pushed up her chin with her hand.
"Hmm..." she said while brushing several misplaced strand of hair out of Kagome's face. "Where did you find this one?"
"No questions, how much?" the man responded sternly, without looking at Kagome.
"My, aren't you in a hurry," she giggled and finally let go of Kagome's chin. "You know that really depends on the girl's skills..."
Somehow, the word 'skills' sent shivers down Kagome's spine as the woman said it.
"But..." she continued, giving the newcomer an approving look. "...if we give her something nice to wear and a nice treatment, I'm sure she'll even attract a great deal of customers with her looks only."
"I'll give you 5000 gold coins as a first payment. And depending on her achievements I'll have someone deliver an amount of money at the end of each month to you. Do we have a deal?" she offered.
The man's gaze shifted to Kagome and back to the woman. "Deal!"
With that said, he turned to leave.
Kagome quickly ran after him, with her mouth already opened to say something,
but she stopped when the man looked over his shoulder to her. "Be a good
girl and I will keep my promise," he said and left before she could say
anything to halt him.
"Well then, shall we?" the woman asked as she walked to Kagome's side.
She turned to her with a clueless expression on her face.
"Follow me," were the woman's only words before she turned and walked pass the occupied tables, further into the building.
Kagome followed her until they were standing in a small study room. There were several red bookcases filled with scrolls and documents standing against the walls and a small brown desk could be seen at the far end of the room.
"So..." the woman started as she walked over to the desk. "...is my little ugly duckling ready to become a phoenix?"
Kagome's face instantly dropped, as she knew what it meant.
The woman smiled. "Hey don't look so gloomy...it ain't the end of the world yet. This place really isn't as bad as you think it is."
"You're...waiting...for someone...or searching...aren't you?" she suddenly asked after a moment of silence.
Kagome finally looked up at the woman with wide eyes.
"The look in your eyes told me," she explained. "I know this must be the last place you ever want to be, but whatever you story may be and no matter how touching it is, I still paid a big sum to have you work here, you do understand that don't you?"
"I honestly don't really care how you're going to do it but you will earn me back all that money. Do I make myself clear?"
Kagome nodded but her expression remained the same: gloomy.
"What's your name girl?"
"Maya...ma'am," she replied.
"Aha! So you can talk! For a moment I thought I had spent 5000 gold coins for a mute girl," the woman laughed. "You can call me Kaya. As you can see, I'm the manager of this place." She sat down on her desk and flipped on leg over her other one. "Look Maya, you're going to work for me whether you want or not, but why don't you look at it from a brighter perspective? If you've become famous, that person you're waiting or searching for will surely hear about you and come here to find you. I mean...this is the Phoenix's Paradise you're going to work in. There will be little people who have not heard about this place. And if he really finds you, he might even buy you back your freedom."
Kagome thought about her words. Famous huh...? She does have a point...
"Let me know when you're ready and I'll have someone lead you to your room," the manager said and jumped off of the desk to leave the girl to think on her own.
"Wait!" she halted her.
The woman turned to her with an expectant look.
"I...I'm ready..." she said after a moment of silence.
I will become famous...somehow... she thought determined.
I hope you liked this chapter ^-^. Nothing special really happened here, but I still have to write it whether you like it or not haha. Anyhow, please look forward to the next chapter!!
Next chapter: The Phoenix of Ice
~*~
\\"Yeah it's true!! I met the Phoenix of Ice today, she was really nice!!"//
\\"And look! She even gave me her purse before she left." (...) "She gave it to me willingly and you know what? I found this in the purse."//
\\"What is it?"//
\\"I think it's a porcelain medicine bottle, it's pretty don't you agree?"//
\\"Yeah, look at that blue crest on it...that's a dog...howling to a crescent moon right?"//
\\His ears twitched. A porcelain bottle with a blue crest...?! A dog howling...to
a crescent moon?!?//
~*~
Vocabulary:
Ever wondered how I came up with the names 'Shika' and 'Omoshi' respectively
for the village and the city?
Shika is actually an abbreviation of the word 'shizuka' which bears the meaning
'quiet' or 'calm'. (Shika is a calm village)
And 'Omoshi' is the abbreviation of the word 'omoshiroi' which means 'amusing'
or 'interesting'. (Omoshi is a city where you can amuse yourself)
~*~
REPLIES ON REVIEWS:
crystal singer, michelle: Thank you!
KitsuneNeko, EH, Shortlegs: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!!
lightmiko: Hahaha well, reviewers are the ones who help me keep my motivation to continue this story so it's the least I could do ^-^. Besides, I myself like it when authors reply to my reviews so I figured it would be the same the other way around. Thanks for reviewing!! I'm glad you like the plot!
Ks-Starshine: Thanks for waiting! Hope you liked the twist! (Hope you aren't too shocked hehehe)
Kaiyouu: Hahaha it might seem that I plan out my chapters very well, but at the end I just keep changing things. Sometimes I receive too much inspiration from my muses that I have no other choice but to amend the whole plot haha. Although I have to say that this is one of the most frustrating plots I have ever written (even to myself as a fanfic-author). Because I have to keep in mind what they do or do not know of each other or else I would end up writing nonsense if you know what I mean ^-^.
Kyia: Hey thanks for telling me, I have changed the eye-color thingie in the previous chapters and I will keep it in mind for the coming chapters.
kokoro: I'm sorry, but what exactly is a "pocket lent". I'm not a native English speaker so forgive me for my shortage in vocabulary ^-^. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!
Guardian-of-the-night: Thanks, it's great to hear that from readers!!
Dragon Man 180: Hahaha, that's just how destiny works huh? It likes to toy and play with people like that ^-^. Thanks for reviewing!
Shrimple13: I hope you're not too confused, but still, thanks for reviewing!
Inukamisashi: Hahaha, well you could say she's safe...but then again...
Clearwater-Faerie: Hahaha thanks! I'm glad you liked the chapter. And thanks for the emails! We'll keep in touch!
Rhexi: Sorry for the late update, I had some problems with my deadlines and...well you probably know the drill, but I'll try to update a bit faster! Thanks for reviewing!
ANgirl: Hehehe, sorry but they're not going to find out any time soon, so be prepared ^-^. But I'm glad you like the story so far.
Milk.shake: Thank you very much ^-^. My English may be good compared to most Chinese ppl, but compared to most English speaking 20-year-olds, I'm quite below the average I think hehehe. Thanks for your compliments!
osuwariIYK: Hmm I've never thought about that kind of twist...*evil grin*
Kagura wind fairy: Glad to have you back again! And that you still remembered this story ^-^ thanks!
~*~
Lots of greets
~Kittymui~
Posted: 18 March 2004
Last Edited: 18 March 2004
Spelling check: YES