Author's Note: Wow, Inuyasha DOESN'T belong to me! *collective gasp* The anime community weeps openly, I'm sure…Y'know, Believe by Tamaki Nami should really be the next Inuyasha opening. It just screams out Inuyasha, don't you think? And, in the last chapter, for some reason half of my italics came up and half of them didn't…Hm…If that happens again in this chapter, please bear with me. I'll try to fix it, but until then, just note that it's a mistake.

~

Sesshoumaru was later than Kagome had expected. According to Sango, today wasn't one of the days he was required to go to classes, so what was he doing? She sighed heavily, rolling up her sleeves. She had done so much work in the past two hours that the room looked absolutely heavenly. The bed was arranged, the pillows were fluffed, the windows were sparkling, every single surface was dusted, the rugs were clean, the clothes put away, and the freshly changed curtains were billowing in the wind of the open windows. As Kagome went about completing her self-made tasks, she was able to see how magnificent Sesshoumaru's room was. For one thing, it was huge. The bed was large and fluffy, and Kagome wanted nothing more than to just lie down and try it out for a little while. But she knew if she were to even sit down on it for more than a second she'd be fast asleep, and she couldn't risk Sesshoumaru finding her like that. A detailed description would be pointless, but it's fair to say that everything in the room was incomprehensibly expensive. There was a large wooden desk with a similarly colored chair, which looked just as comfortable as the bed. On the desk there was an amazing mirror, with a golden dragon surrounding it, lined with extravagant patterns and Chinese characters. This was, decidedly, Kagome's favorite part of the room. While cleaning it, she often had to stop just to examine more closely the golden border.

The room completed, the next issue was the bathroom. And, as was mentioned before, this bathroom was more than just a pretty bath and shower. The floors, walls, bath, sink, and towel racks were all made of marble. Kagome had to stand in the doorway connection the bathroom to the bedroom for a few minutes to decide which one was larger, the bathroom winning by a hair. Wow…This man sure cares about his hygiene.

In her own home, Kagome didn't really have a bathroom. They had an outhouse, of course, but nothing like running water. There was an old wooden bathtub in their house that worked wonders, and she couldn't help but become nostalgic when thinking about the happy times that she had shared with her family during those times. So, while standing there in the midst of this grand bathing room, she wasn't quite sure what to do first. It wasn't a mechanical process to her, so it took a lot of snooping around to see just what was an option. She finally decided on scrubbing the bathtub, since a ring was beginning to form on the near-perfect surface of the white marble.

Grabbing a few rags and some soap, Kagome rolled up her dress and kicked off her socks, climbing into the giant bath. She started by turning the water on, letting it drain away until it turned steaming hot. Of course the scalding water hurt her, but having practice with scrubbing dishes every day after dinner, she knew that hot water worked ten times better than cold water. Once the water was at an acceptable temperature she pushed the plug into the drain, letting the water rise up one or two inches before shutting the pipe off. With that and the sweet-smelling bar of soap in hand, she began scrubbing at the sides.


~

"Sesshoumaru-sama, please forgive this meaningless Jaken for his intrusion!" Jaken stumbled close by his lord and master's side; head low as a sign of humility. Sesshoumaru just sighed. "If you keep on talking, Jaken, I will have no hesitations about killing you here and now."

For some reason that Sesshoumaru couldn't quite understand, Jaken had an obligation to check up on his new maid. He knew that the girl had some cuts and bruises on her legs, since he had noticed them himself, but he hadn't seen any major problems with the maid. Most servants in this castle would never get a check-up for their wounds, even if they lost a limb. If injured to a point where completing their duties would become a hassle, people of the lower class were usually just killed off and replaced. However, Kagome was a special gift from the wolf-clan to Sesshoumaru, and it would be in bad faith if they killed her off so quickly just because of cuts that weren't affecting her work.

"Just hurry up. I don't want you in my room too long." Sesshoumaru growled, throwing the door to his room open and practically tossing the toad in. He didn't particularly mind the thing's company, since it would shut up when it was told to. However, in any case, Sesshoumaru preferred to be left alone.

"Eh? What's this?" Jaken looked around to see the maid nowhere in sight. "Sesshoumaru-sama, where did the huma-…"

"Water." Sesshoumaru looked emotionlessly to the door of the bathroom. "She's in there." What the hell is that wench thinking?

Jaken scurried to the door, peeking his head in. "Oi! You! Get out here this instant!"

Sesshoumaru stared down at the toad-youkai, crossing his arms. "What is she doing?"

The little man blinked his big yellow eyes up at the youkai prince. "The human is cleaning Lord Sesshoumaru-sama's beautiful marble bath."

…What? He flinched a little. What is she trying to accomplish?

In a few seconds Kagome was at the doorway connecting the bathroom to the bedroom, her dress straightened out a little and her sleeves still scrunched up at her elbows. She didn't say anything, she just bowed her head low in mock humility, even though Sesshoumaru could sense the look of amusement on her face.

"A good thing you've been attending to your duties, useless wench!" Jaken gave her another smack in the head with his staff, and in response, Kagome just nodded obediently. The toad, obviously thrilled with how quickly she had been broken in, lowered his cane. "Seems Kouga did something right for once! Only the best for Sesshoumaru-sama!"

"Quiet, Jaken." Sesshoumaru looked as calm as ever, but his voice had a definite upset tone to it. Now that he thought about it, his chambers were amazingly clean. The bed was straightened out, the windows and mirror were literally sparkling, and there wasn't even the slightest hint of dust in the whole room.

Jaken immediately quieted up about it, turning back to Kagome and nudging his staff into her shoulder. "Now, human, take off that dress."

Kagome nearly choked. She had been doing her best to act the obedient servant to win Jaken's approval, but, he had to be joking. Sesshoumaru immediately noticed the change in the girl and smirked victoriously.

 "I won't ask you again." Jaken hissed at her, his cane winding up to give her another good whack.

So, blushing the whole while, Kagome pulled off her dress, folding it and placing it to the side. As she did that, Jaken turned to his lord. "If Sesshoumaru-sama would prefer to leave, this humble servant will only take a few minutes."

"No, that's all right." Sesshoumaru stared down at the embarrassed maid, only making her more uncomfortable. "I want to see the condition of my servant for myself."

That bastard! Kagome new damn well that Sesshoumaru just wanted to make her fidgety, and she swore to get him back for it.

"Now, kneel down!" Unexpectedly Jaken jumped up and pushed Kagome to her knees, giving her a little shove so that her back was facing the two youkai. Immediately Kagome reached back to pull her own hair to the side. She knew there was no way to get out of this, so she figured she might as well keep up her little act.

There was a few seconds of silence that only caused more heat to rush to Kagome's face. Finally, Jaken moved forward, pressing his disgusting little hands into the skin, causing a familiar pain to shoot up to Kagome's neck. That's right…my wounds. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief, even though the feel of Jaken touching her made her wince and grit her teeth in horror. He's only checking my cuts…that's all…

Sesshoumaru just stared down at the girl, more surprised than anything else. He could see why it was necessary that Jaken checked up on her. Her back was so cut up and bruised that it was barely distinguishable as skin. He could tell that she had been treated with the same herbs and medicines that Jaken used for most of his patients, since the scarring was turning the skin hard and a recognizable bluish-gray color.

"Hmm…Yes, much better than yesterday." Jaken pulled his hands away and began searching through his brown sleeves, looking for something.

Kagome breathed in and out slowly, placing her hands on the ground beside her. She was curious as well about her condition, but she couldn't very well turn her head around to see her back, and even trying would be dangerous with Jaken and Sesshoumaru still in the room.

Sesshoumaru watched silently, the stoic expression plastered to his face as always, while Jaken pulled out a little bottle of something, uncapping it and without warning pouring it down the maid's back. I wonder what happened to her. He couldn't stop his curiosity from growing when he noticed that the back of her arms and shoulders were equally as battered up.

Kagome gasped noticeably the second the liquid touched her skin. It felt like every cut on her back had just caught on fire, and she had to bite her lip and grip the ground in front of her to keep from crying out. The ever-alert Sesshoumaru noted this with amusement, just waiting for her to start whining, or something to that extent.

However, much to his disappointed, Kagome stomached it all with as much dignity as she could. Her knuckles were pure white from gripping the rug so tightly in her fists, but even though it burned like hell, she didn't allow herself to utter a single noise. Not in front of Sesshoumaru, at least.

All things considered, Sesshoumaru would normally have been impressed with this much resilience in a human woman. But this was his insufferable servant, and it just annoyed him to see her doing so well. Getting rid of her would be impossible if she kept this up.

"There. Now get back to work." Jaken hobbled away from Kagome, stopping at the door to give his lord a deep bow. "This humble servant appreciates Sesshoumaru-sama's valuable time!"

"Get out."

"Of course, Lord Sesshoumaru-sama!"

To Kagome's distress, she was left alone with her master once more. To make the situation even worse, she was sitting there in her underwear, back burning so violently that she wasn't sure whether she'd be able to gather the energy to stand.

"So, wench." Kagome sighed inwardly when she heard him say this. That seemed to be her nickname ever since she'd entered this castle. 'Wench' and 'oi, you.' "Just how did you get those scars of yours?"

Very slowly and very carefully she stood, grabbing her dress on the way. She slipped it over her head, biting back a cry of pain when it brushed over her tender back.

Sesshoumaru growled, annoyed. "You heard my question."

When Kagome had finished redressing herself, she turned to Sesshoumaru, a confident sparkle in her eyes. "Is Lord Sesshoumaru-sama giving me permission to speak?"

"Don't try me, you insolent little human." The youkai-prince looked down at her, examining every inch of skin he could see, trying to count all of her cuts and bruises.

"Well, Sesshoumaru-sama." Kagome bowed her head low to him, using the best Jaken impression she could muster. "This humble servant fell off a cliff."

Sesshoumaru stared at her, silent, thinking that over in his mind. "What do you mean?"

"This humble servant means that this humble servant fell off a cliff." Bowing once more, Kagome took a step to the bathroom. "Now, if Lord Sesshoumaru-sama will allow this humble servant to get back to her work…"

Bearing his fangs to her, Sesshoumaru grabbed onto the girl's wrist tightly, yanking her up quickly. "I know what you're trying to do, human."

As calmly as possible, Kagome looked up to her lord, smiling politely. "I just want to make Lord Sesshoumaru-sama's life as comfortable as possible. I live to serve you. Until the death."

The youkai narrowed his eyes and dropped her, gracefully brushing his beautiful hair to the side. "I am in no mood to deal with you."

With that he walked past her, standing in the bathroom's doorframe. "Go get me some towels."

Obediently, Kagome walked towards him, preparing to enter the bathroom and grab one of the towels that she had previously hung up on the rack. Sesshoumaru didn't budge. "No. Get them from downstairs."

Kagome narrowed her eyes up at him. She was right; he was going to send her on meaningless, tiring tasks that involved her running back and forth like some sort of dog.

"Hurry up. You live to serve me, correct?" His eyes shone with amusement. "Don't keep me waiting."

~

Kagome had rushed to the maid's chamber straight away after being ordered out. Half was to see Sango, who (much to Kagome's disappointed) wasn't there, and half to get changed into the day clothes. Also, she didn't exactly know where she was supposed to get towels, and she figured the best people to ask would be fellow maids. As she entered the room, she was surprised to see how empty it was. Only a few girls were around, and they seemed to be as much in a rush as she was. Unfortunately for her, none of them were particularly friendly, either. One was a girl with pitch-black hair that was tied back in a bun, and she was busy yelling at a young girl with pure white hair about something Kagome didn't understand. "Kanna, you stupid child, you've gotten Naraku-sama angry! Not only will he punish you, but me as well! Don't just stand around looking useless, hurry up before you get us in even more trouble!"

The little girl with the palest skin and hair Kagome had seen yet was being yelled at by her older counterpart, whom Kagome would soon find out to be her older sister. "I'm sorry, neechan."

Although the child had apologized, she didn't look sorry at all. She had a voice and expression that rivaled Sesshoumaru's in its lack of emotion.

After Kagome had slipped the black maid's outfit on, including the hood, she stumbled over to the pair. "Um, excuse me, but…Do you know where I might find towels?"

Kagura, Kanna's older sister, glared at Kagome with a startling look of annoyance. "Why not try the bathroom?! Now go away!"

Kagome sighed inwardly. This was turning out to be a very, very, very bad day. "Down the stairs to your right. Take a left, and go straight until you see another staircase. Down on that floor, the towel and laundry room will be to your left."

Both Kagura and Kagome were a bit surprised by Kanna's abruptness. Grateful, Kagome gave the child a little bow. "Thank you very much!"

"Oi, you." Kagome was stopped from leaving by the oldest of the pair, giving her a dry look. She couldn't help but curse to herself, one, for being held back even longer, and two, for being referred to as 'you' once more. "You're Sesshoumaru's new one, aren't you? You were here last night, I remember. Raven, was it? You put on quite a show at dinner."

"Well, I…" Kagome inched back to the door, a tad uncomfortable. Kagura just smirked. "Why don't we switch masters? I'm sure Naraku would love to have a bitch as faithful as this one. Don't you think, Kanna?"

Kagome could do nothing but stand there, disgusted by the little show. Kanna looked as if she didn't care either way, staring ahead with no expression whatsoever. Kagura just waved her hand to Kagome, sending her off, as if she had a position of power above her fellow servant. "Run along, then! Can't keep your lord Sesshoumaru-sama waiting."

Kagome was infinitely grateful to be out of that room. She didn't mind Kanna much…Actually, she found her adorable. But, as she would see again soon enough, Kagura was someone to watch out for.

~

With the towels close in hand, Kagome sprinted back up the stairs, careful to keep her hood from drooping down to a point where she couldn't see where she was going. On her way back up, she nearly ran over a little girl who was simply running around in little circles, much as Souta used to do whenever he wanted to bug her.

Realizing her mistake, Kagome turned and bowed to the child, extremely embarrassed. She looked no older than 8 or 9, and her black hair was all pulled to a ponytail on one side. She was wearing a simple black dress with short, puffy sleeves, and unlike Kagome, she had shiny black shoes on over her shin-high socks. The little girl smiled up at her, shaking her head. "No, no! It's all right! You're the only girl who's ever bothered to stop for Rin."

Kagome nodded, smiling warmly down at the girl. "Well, I'm sorry, Rin-chan. I should just look more closely to where I'm going next time."

The child giggled, revealing a gap between her two front teeth. "Sesshoumaru-sama told Rin that this morning, too."

Sesshoumaru?! Kagome paled at the name, staring down in shock at the little girl. "Sesshoumaru…? How do you know him?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama is Rin's teacher! Every morning he comes and takes care of Rin. Rin loves him very, very, very, VERY much!"

Kagome was, needless to say, shocked. Sesshoumaru takes care of this little girl…? "You mean…you just play around the castle all day?"

Rin shook her head frantically. "No, no! Of course not! Rin-chan is going to be Sesshoumaru-sama's maid some day! Right now, Rin just helps out in the kitchen until she's old enough to stay with Sesshoumaru-sama all the time. But, baa-chan let me come out and play for a while until Jaken comes and yells at me." She giggled again, nearly bursting with energy.

Kagome couldn't help but smile. "Well, I have to go now…But I'm sure you'll make a fine maid."

Rin nodded, waving her hand towards the raven-haired girl. "All right! Bye bye! See you later!"

Kagome's steps were much lighter as she returned to Sesshoumaru's room. So, Sesshoumaru DOES have a soft spot…she grinned. Rin was so much like Souta that it was painful and refreshing at the same time. It reminded her that life wasn't completely horrible; there's still good left in the world. No need to be depressed! I always have tomorrow. That is, if Sesshoumaru doesn't kill me first…

She swallowed hard, realizing that she had made it back to her lord's room. She entered quietly, peeking around for him. Hm? Where'd he go? That's when she saw the bathroom door shut tightly, and his clothes crumpled up on the floor beside the bed. Sighing, she leaned over and picked them up, folding them neatly and placing them in the corner with the rest of his cleanly ordered outfits. He must be taking a bath…Geez, can't he do anything for himself?

Hesitantly, she knocked on the door, waiting for an answer. When she didn't get one, she tried again. "Lord Sesshoumaru-sama…? Are you in there…?"

Again, there was no reply. Kagome was starting to get nervous, and she couldn't resist looking in to see if everything was all right.

Much to her horror, there, floating in the water, she could see the tips of Sesshoumaru's hair. He was completely submerged, and not moving a muscle. In a state of panic Kagome dropped the towels on the bathroom floor, running over to the bath and immediately grabbing onto his shoulders, yanking him out. "Sesshoumaru-sam-…"

In a matter of seconds she felt claws digging into her chest. She stumbled back, falling onto her back as Sesshoumaru sat up in the tub, glaring violently down at her. "What the HELL do you think you're doing?!"

Kagome, confused, raised a hand to her chest, feeling the blood there. "I…I thought Sesshoumaru-sama had drowned…"

His eyebrows immediately shot up, realizing what he had just done. "Stupid wench…"

The poor maid's heart was beating like mad. He hadn't hurt her badly, in fact, his claws had just barely broken the skin. It had just startled her, that's all. Her reflexes were quick enough for her to pull back before she could be in any real trouble. "I'm sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama…" She bowed her head and turned, stumbling out of the room, hand still tightly pressed on her collarbone.

The youkai prince sat in the water, staring at the doorway, where she had just exited. He sunk back down a little, staring down at his hands. His nails were only just barely stained with blood, telling him that he really hadn't hurt her very badly. But still, something about the whole situation bothered him. "I…I thought Sesshoumaru-sama had drowned…"

He growled to himself, cleaning his hands off in the water. What was that all about, anyway…?

~

Kagome was pacing back and forth nervously in front of Sesshoumaru's bed. Now he really did have a reason to kill her. She had foolishly rushed in, making stupid evaluations and nearly got herself impaled. How could I have thought he had drowned?! He's a goddamn youkai! They don't drown! Kagome, you're such an idiot…Such a complete and total moron…

A few minutes later Sesshoumaru emerged from the bathroom, his hair wet and stringy. He was wearing the same style of clothes as before, except these had hints of purple and yellow instead of just pure white.

Without even sparing Kagome a glance he sat down at his desk, pulling a brush from the drawer. She was surprised to see how bad he was with his hair, roughly pushing the bristles through his tangles, making Kagome wince every time. She was surprised he didn't yank all of his hair out with every stroke.

Sesshoumaru suddenly moved his eyes to her, raising an eyebrow. "What are you waiting for, human? Go get me some wine."

Startled, Kagome nodded, pulling her hood back up as she walked out of the room. Once she was well out of hearing range, she breathed out a tremendous sigh of relief. Oh god…I really thought I might have lost it just then…

"Raven-chan?"

Kagome blinked, turning around. There, standing in the corridor, was Sango, blinking curiously with her hood already pulled back from her face. "Sango-chan!"

In an instant Kagome was clinging on tightly to her friend, nearly cutting off the poor girl's circulation. "Sango-chan, I was so scared!!"

"Hm?" Sango got a worried look, rubbing Kagome's back comfortingly. "What's wrong? Sesshoumaru didn't do anything to you, did he?!"

Kagome shook her head. "No…well…I went down to get some towels, and…I came back, and he wasn't responding…He was in the bath, but he was submerged, and he looked dead…so I…I grabbed onto him and he…"

Sango snickered. "H-hey! I'm being seriously!" Kagome made a huffy face, but even she realized how ridiculous it really sounded.

"Kagome-chan, you're so cute!" Sango was giggling uncontrollably now, taking Kagome's hand. "C'mon, before you have to run off again, this'll only take a few seconds. I want to show you something."

Kagome blinked and nodded, following after the youkai exterminator (even though she still didn't understand the origin of the nickname.)

Once they had reached the maids' chambers, Sango pulled Kagome over to the old cabinet, searching through one of the numerous drawers. "Hmm…Here we are!" She turned, holding her hands out to Kagome. In her palms were the coins that Kagome's mother had given her the last day of her freedom. Kagome almost couldn't control her eyes from swelling up. The coins…They were her last connection to her family.

"S-…Sango-chan…"

"Here!" Sango took Kagome's hand, placing the coins into them. "Keep these close. They must be important to you."

The raven-haired girl swallowed hard, nodding. "Yes…Yes, they are…Oh, Sango-chan!" She pulled her in for another tight hug. "What would I do without you?!"

"C'mon, Kagome-chan…" She just smiled. "Pull yourself together. You probably have a job to do…right?"

…Blink. "Oh! Damn! That's right! I'm sorry, Sango-chan!"

Sango just laughed. "See you later, Raven."

~

It only took a few minutes for Kagome to find the kitchen, get a bottle of red wine from one of the maids, and rush back up to Sesshoumaru's room. When she entered the door, Sesshoumaru was busy with some document at his desk, staring down at it in a state of intense concentration. Knowing better than to speak, Kagome stood there for a few moments in silence before he finally had the hindsight to look up.

"What's that? Red wine?"

Kagome nodded slowly, able to guess where this was going. "I don't like red wine."

She had to resist hanging her head in defeat. White wine. Of course he liked white wine. He liked white everything. Obediently she nodded, turning and walking out of the room once more.

~

In the kitchen, the maid who had helped Kagome before was gone, and Kagome wasn't positive where the wine was. She snooped around the cabinets for a while, before she felt someone tapping her on the back.

She started with a jump, turning around quickly, relieved to see that it was only Rin. "Oh, Rin-chan! I'm so happy to see you!"

Rin tilted her head for a moment before Kagome pulled back her hood. "Oh, it's you!" Rin smiled brightly, holding her hands behind her back. "What'cha doin'?"

"I'm looking for the white wine. Would you happen to know where it is?"

Rin nodded, pointing to the cabinet above Kagome's head. "N'there."

"Thank you very much, Rin-chan." Kagome bowed her head to her before reaching up, searching for the most expensive looking bottle of wine she could fine. Needless to say, she didn't know much about it. It all looked pretty much the same to her, but she decided that one guess was just as good as any other. Sesshoumaru would probably just end up sending her back down anyway.

"So, what's your name?" Rin was kicking her feet back and forth on the ground behind Kagome, still smiling that gap-toothed smile of hers.

Once Kagome had found what she felt was suitable, she turned back to the young girl. "My nickname is Raven."

"Raven?" Rin wrinkled her nose. "Like the bird?"

Kagome laughed a little. "Exactly! Now, I have to go, but maybe I'll see you later, okay?"

Rin nodded excitedly, stepping back a little. "All right, Raven-chan! We met twice today, so it must be an omen that we'll become real close!"

Kagome thought about this a moment before patting Rin on the head. "Y'know what? I think you're right!"

~

"Goddammit!" Kagome stomped down the halls, back to the kitchen, bottle of wine in hand. Again Sesshoumaru had sent her away, telling her that the wine was too rich for his tastes.

She burst into the kitchen, throwing the cabinet door open violently, again searching for a bottle of wine that didn't look as refined. "Stupid wining little…"

"Oi."

Kagome jumped, startled, smacking her head on the top of the shelf. She winced, rubbing her head and turning back around. "What do you…Ah! Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha stared at her, his eyebrows raised in a questioning sort of way. Kagome laughed hesitantly, pointing to the shelf. "Just getting some wine for Sesshoumaru, that's all…"

The hanyou growled a little, looking to the side. For some reason, he just didn't like the idea of someone as clever and as Kagome serving his bastard of a brother. "You know, I don't think he likes me much." She sighed a little, turning back to the cabinet, digging her arm in again.

"Sesshoumaru doesn't like anyone." Suddenly, something caught his attention, and he sniffed the air curiously. "Hey…where's the smell of blood coming from."

Kagome paused from her work once more, raising a hand to her collarbone. "Oh, right…"

Inuyasha grabbed onto her shoulder, turning her around and pulling the neck of her hood down far enough that he could see the slight wound. "What's this?!" He was nearly snarling as a sense of protectiveness washed over him.

"It was just a mix-up that's all…" Kagome sighed heavily. "Don't worry about it. I'll wash it up after I get the great Lord Sesshoumaru-sama his stupid wine."

Angrily, Inuyasha let go of her. "The 'great Lord Sesshoumaru-sama'?!"

"Oh come on, Inuyasha! I was joking!" Kagome was getting a little exasperated, once more turning to her work.

"Well…" He huffed childishly. "I still don't like the idea of you having to serve a pompous ass like him."

"Ahah! I got one!" Kagome pulled out another bottle of wine, shutting the cabinet door behind her. "I appreciate it, Inuyasha. I don't really like it either. But what am I supposed to do? It's either this or get killed…"

"Just take care of yourself, all right…?"

Kagome blinked up at him before smiling. "Of course. Don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow, all right? I don't want his almighty majesty to get angry by being late, so…You take care as well!"

She gave him a little hug before hastily walking off, leaving the hanyou alone in the kitchen with an intense blush on his face.

~

"That is IT." Kagome was more than pissed. She was livid.

"Are you insulting me? I wouldn't drink something as low-class as this. Go get me something better before I have you killed for being so foolish"  That's what he had said to her. The NERVE…

"I'll get you your goddamn wine…" she growled, forgetting about her pact to keep quiet during her stay in the castle. "I'll get you your goddamn wine laced with some arsenic, that's what I'll get you…"

Once more she had ended up in the kitchen, and once more she was digging through the racks of wine bottles, trying to find something 'not too expensive' but 'not too cheap,' either. "Ah, excuse me!"

Smack. Once more Kagome had been startled to the point of thrusting her head up, only to have it smashed painfully into the ceiling of the cabinet. "Son of a…"

"Raven, my beautiful young friend, is that you down there?"

She turned to see Miroku standing there, although she soon realized she shouldn't be surprised. First it was Sango, and then Rin, and then Inuyasha. Of course Miroku deserved his turn as well. "Oh…Hello there, Miroku. I'm just getting some wine for Sesshoumaru."

"Ah, what a good maid! If only my Sango-chan was just as kind…" Miroku sighed melodramatically, hanging his head down low.

Kagome returned back into the wine shelves, sighing. "I'm jealous of Sango. She has someone as kind and friendly as…" Suddenly, she felt a hand wandering down onto her behind.

Smack.

"I take it all back." Kagome was literally hissing down at the perverted man, who was rubbing his bruised head and laughing hesitantly.

"Ah, I was only joking! Really!"

Kagome rolled her eyes before looking back into the shelf. "I wonder what Sango-chan would say if she found you caressing other women."

Miroku was about to reply when another voice joined the pair. "What the hell are you two doing?"

Smack. Again, Kagome had whacked her already battered head against the godforsaken shelf, and she didn't even bother pulling out to see who it was this time. She was far beyond caring.

"Ah, it's the sinful priest Miroku, is it?" Kagome just barely recognized the voice. It was Kagura.

"Kagura, you shouldn't say such things to a man of higher standing. Especially to a man of higher standing who could report your misbehaving to Naraku-san."

The woman growled. "I have no quarrels with you, priest. I just need to get some wine. Unfortunately, this useless human is preventing me from getting my job done."

Kagura was one of the few non-human maids that inhabited the castle. Naraku, a man very rarely seen but often gossiped about, had such a place of power that he had numerous maids and servants, just like Inutaishou.

For the third time in the past half an hour, Kagome pulled out another bottle of wine, backing up for Kagura. "Oh. It's Sesshoumaru's bitch." Kagura smirked as she insulted Kagome, who was far too annoyed to be hurt.

"Please, Kagura. Be my guest." She swooped her arm towards the cabinet, and then swiftly slammed the door shut, almost catching Kagura's hand with it. "Hey, Miroku, what time is it?"

Miroku paused for a moment, rubbing his chin. "Hmm…I'd guess it's nearly three."

Kagome just let out a great puff of breath. "What a waste of a day…"

"Hmm…" Kagura had her hands on her hips, grinning widely at the two of them. "I wonder what Sesshoumaru would say if he heard his maid was conversing with a lowly priest?"

"I'm not sure." Kagome shot a glance at Kagura, talking in an icy voice. "It couldn't be much worse than what would happen if Naraku heard you had attacked us, could it?"

Kagura laughed coldly. "Attack you? That's a lie! You really think Naraku would trust your word over mine?"

Kagome shrugged. "Maybe not. But I'm sure Miroku could convince him."

The truth was, Kagome didn't know a thing about Naraku. But twice Kagura had become scared stiff at the name, and she figured that he was just as cruel a master as Sesshoumaru was. If someone had threatened to reveal lies to Sesshoumaru, Kagome would be frightened as well.

Kagura turned her nose up snottily, leaning down and grabbing a bottle of red wine from the top, turning and stomping off without another word.

"A real charmer, that one." Kagome said blandly, watching her tread off in a huff.

Miroku grinned. "You're tellin' me!"

~

Sesshoumaru had finally accepted her choice of wine for him, but not happily. He had put a show up about it, but not in a way one would imagine. He just stared at Kagome blandly for a while, as if she were the lowest piece of dirt he had ever had to deal with, before violently pulling it from her hands.

"So? Aren't you going to pour some for me?"

Kagome gritted her teeth to keep from snapping and yelling something dirty at the insufferable demon. Leaning up on her tiptoes, Kagome opened the cabinet that was on the wall to the side of the desk. She had dusted it before, so she already knew its contents included some wine glasses. Pulling one out, she went about trying to cork the wine bottle, which ended up being a more difficult task than she had imagined. There had been one lying under the glasses, and she recognized it for it's purpose, but for the life of her she didn't know how to use it.

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her, amused. "Well?"

It took her a few minutes, but Kagome was finally able to discover how the thing worked without making too much of a fool out of herself. She carefully poured enough so that half the glass was filled before putting it back down and pressing the cap back on.

"Good." Sesshoumaru turned back to his papers, sipping on the wine every once in a while, leaving Kagome to stand there in silence behind him, like some sort of lap dog.

Now more than ever Kagome could feel the effect of exhaustion on her body, and Sesshoumaru sensed it as well. He glanced back at her nonchalantly, seeing her paling with the effort of keeping perfectly still.

"You're of no good to me like that, wench. Sleep for an hour or two, if you must. You'll need it with the work I'll have you do tonight."

Kagome didn't even think about how that sounded. All she heard was 'sleep,' and she accepted it happily. She didn't know exactly what Sesshoumaru expected her to do now, but she didn't particularly care either. Right where she was standing she laid down on her side, back facing her lord and master.

He stared down at her in surprise, since he had expected her to lie down on his bed or something to that extent. Before he even had time to yell at her for her stupidity she was sound asleep, and Sesshoumaru could only sigh. Stupid girl…if that's where she wants to be, then fine.

He returned his attention back to the papers he was looking at, unconsciously swirling the wine around in his glass with his free hand. However, he was finding it hard to concentrate, because every so often he could hear the girl shift around on the uncomfortable floor, and when that happened he had a hard time keeping from looking at her. She looked so ridiculous there, curled up at his desk like some sort of pet. If someone were to walk in and see how she was treated they would think of Sesshoumaru as a crueler youkai than he already had a reputation for. By all means, maids weren't supposed to be treated well, especially by demons in a position such as Sesshoumaru's. But, at the same time, they weren't expected to be treated horribly either. More than causing sympathy for the servant, it just reflected poorly on the master. Normally the maids were just ignored, except when something was needed. Going out of one's way to make someone as insignificant as a servant miserable was frowned upon.

I'll really have to get her a bed or something. He sighed inwardly. Sometimes he felt that these maids were more of a pain than of a convenience. Having one was a sign of power, and it was odd in most respects if the son of a famous youkai lord didn't have one or two servants following in his heels to obey his every command. Of course he had Jaken, but…He had long since ordered that Jaken was never to be seen with him at public occasions, for obvious reasons.

Over the next half an hour or so Sesshoumaru finished the documents he was given in silence, before deciding he needed to get out of his room and do something else before he went insane. He rested the glass onto his desk, standing and collecting the completed documents into his hands, glancing one last time at his maid's figure. With that he gracefully left the room, leaving a tired Kagome sleeping peacefully on his bed behind him.

Author's Note: Gyahaha! Ten pages, baby! Ten pages! In one day! …Now I just have to write my stupid essay. *hangs head* I got more reviews today, so I'm thrilled. You people inspire me! I don't know if I'll be able to post another chapter tomorrow, but I'll try my hardest. It always annoys me when I get into a story and then the author's just give up. No doubt I'll slow down, but I have enough time as that I won't go for long gaps of time without updating. As a side note, I've decided to do something a bit different with Rin. In all stories I've read, Rin has absolutely adored Kagome. I'm not going to make Rin any less Rin-ish, but I'm just going to try being a bit more original, all right? All right! Second of all, the next chapter is going to focus MAINLY on Kagome and Sesshoumaru, since I want to develop their relationship a little. And a little bit on Kagome and Inuyasha, cause I need to develop a background for Inuyasha too, and all that…Of course Sango and Miroku will come along, but I don't know if I'll be able to fit them in next time. _ Sorry!

Oh yeah, did you notice how I got Kagura and Kanna in there? Whoo hoo! Shippou will be the next chapter. (In all reality, I forgot about him. X_x;) Kikyou and Naraku will come along with Inuyasha's past woes, don't worry. I'm trying to get as many characters into here as possible, so bear with me. All righty then! *group hug to everyone, especially the people who have stood by her in their reviewing* Kagura, Suki, lilfrozenfire, sashlea, Fallon, profiler120, riichan, Ami, Chibi Minko, Divine Discontent, and nani-chan. (Haha, Jaken getting his little ass kicked. XD I'll see where I can fit that in.) So, I'll see you all later! Baaai!