**********
Prisoners: the Bone Eater's Well
Before the Storm
**********
Ms. West paced nervously in the new house, awaiting Kagome's arrival. She and her husband had purchased the large home (absolutely palatial, considering how close to the center of Tokyo it was) just for this purpose, and Ms. West hoped desperately that Kagome would agree to take the job and live here. Ms. West was working on a pay plan *It has to be enough, but not too much, or she might get suspicious...* when the knock at the door snapped her out of her reverie.
*Well, she all but agreed over the phone, I'll just have to play it cool,* she opened the door to see Kagome, dressed in a short but still modest pale blue dress with a yellow jacket over it. "Kagome! Won't you come in?"
Kagome stepped inside, her footsteps echoing in the huge empty house. "Thank you... This is a beautiful home, Ms. West."
"Please, call me Renee," she followed Kagome through the entrance hall, as the girl looked all around, awed.
"It would be a pleasure to work here," Kagome looked down at her reflection in the marble floor. "When will you be moving in?"
'Renee' took Kagome gently by the shoulders and showed her the view through the main windows. "Actually, dear, I won't be moving in. You see, my husband and I would like this house to be a gift to my brother in law. As you said, it's very beautiful, but it's still bare, and I'd like you to help me decorate before he moves in."
Kagome's jaw dropped, and she blushed, embarrassed by her behavior, "Ms... um, Renee, wouldn't you prefer the help of a professional decorator?"
The older woman made a face, "Professional decorators are stuck up snobs that make a house unlivable. I want this place to be a home, not a museum. Besides, it also needs a maid, and I'd like it if you were to stay on, as a maid, after you help me decorate."
Kagome nodded slowly, "Of course, I'd love it..."
"There is the matter of a salary, how much did Yuka's family pay you?" Kagome blushed and named a figure. It obviously embarrassed her to discuss monetary issues. "Oh, dear, I'm afraid I could not, in good conscience offer you that..."
"Oh, I'd work for less, I can-"
"No, we'll have to double it." Kagome's jaw dropped. "Careful, dear, you'll catch flies, now, sit with me on the floor and we can discuss your schedule for a while. Please forgive me if I seem rushed, but I have an appointment for dinner with an old friend."
*****
**that night**
Ms. West folded her napkin neatly and dropped it into her lap as her salad arrived. She stabbed a little bit of everything onto the end of her fork and had the bite halfway to her mouth when she was interrupted.
"Glad to see you didn't wait."
She let the fork down onto her plate, "Inu Yasha," she stood to embrace him warmly.
"Where's your husband?" his eyes twinkled mischievously, "People will talk, Rin."
Rin sighed, smiling, "People have been talking ever since the first formal function you attended and you threatened to rip that poor man's throat out if he didn't let you keep your hat on. Honestly... Sessho Maru agrees to hide his tail, I don't know why you don't do the same with your ears."
"Because Sessho Maru was the first to suggest it to me, and I hate to agree with him on anything," Inu Yasha said firmly.
Rin laughed, "I thought you two buried the hatchet years ago..."
Inu Yasha shrugged, "We did, but he's still fun to argue with."
Rin began to eat while Inu Yasha ordered, "You really should be grateful to your brother, you know," she admonished between bites, "He just bought you a house."
Rin could see Inu Yasha's ears perk up under his bandana, "He did? But I already have a house..."
"It's not the house as much as it is the maid..."
Inu Yasha leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily, "Rin, are you and Fluffy still trying to fix me up? Even now, with Kagome alive...?"
Rin looked him in the eye, "And just why haven't you gone to Kagome yet, Inu Yasha?"
The hanyou shrugged, "Feh, I'm just biding my time, that's all. Look at how long it took you and Fluffy to get together."
"That was because of Fluff- oh, Sessho Maru's hatred of humans, not because he had cold feet!"
Inu Yasha sat up, "Whaddya mean, 'cold feet'?"
Rin stabbed her fork through a particularly stubborn tomato skin, "It's understandable, Inu Yasha. You've been waiting for Kagome for so long that now you're afraid that something will go wrong when you do see her again."
"I am not afraid!" Inu Yasha nearly yelled. People were starting to stare now.
"Then prove it, dog boy, move into the house Sessho Maru and I bought you!"
"Listen," Inu Yasha "I don't want the house, I don't want your advice, and I absolutely do NOT want this girl."
"You will move in," Rin said resolutely, spearing the last of her salad, "and I think you'll like the girl... her name is Kagome Higurashi."
**********
Boy! Cliff hangers are fun! :) I think Inu Yasha and Kagome are going to meet again in the next chapter, and I will of course make it as happy, peaceful, and tear-jerking as possible.
Just kidding! Tune in next time, Kagome gets mad, Inu Yasha gets confused, and Shippo gets amused. See ya!
Prisoners: the Bone Eater's Well
Before the Storm
**********
Ms. West paced nervously in the new house, awaiting Kagome's arrival. She and her husband had purchased the large home (absolutely palatial, considering how close to the center of Tokyo it was) just for this purpose, and Ms. West hoped desperately that Kagome would agree to take the job and live here. Ms. West was working on a pay plan *It has to be enough, but not too much, or she might get suspicious...* when the knock at the door snapped her out of her reverie.
*Well, she all but agreed over the phone, I'll just have to play it cool,* she opened the door to see Kagome, dressed in a short but still modest pale blue dress with a yellow jacket over it. "Kagome! Won't you come in?"
Kagome stepped inside, her footsteps echoing in the huge empty house. "Thank you... This is a beautiful home, Ms. West."
"Please, call me Renee," she followed Kagome through the entrance hall, as the girl looked all around, awed.
"It would be a pleasure to work here," Kagome looked down at her reflection in the marble floor. "When will you be moving in?"
'Renee' took Kagome gently by the shoulders and showed her the view through the main windows. "Actually, dear, I won't be moving in. You see, my husband and I would like this house to be a gift to my brother in law. As you said, it's very beautiful, but it's still bare, and I'd like you to help me decorate before he moves in."
Kagome's jaw dropped, and she blushed, embarrassed by her behavior, "Ms... um, Renee, wouldn't you prefer the help of a professional decorator?"
The older woman made a face, "Professional decorators are stuck up snobs that make a house unlivable. I want this place to be a home, not a museum. Besides, it also needs a maid, and I'd like it if you were to stay on, as a maid, after you help me decorate."
Kagome nodded slowly, "Of course, I'd love it..."
"There is the matter of a salary, how much did Yuka's family pay you?" Kagome blushed and named a figure. It obviously embarrassed her to discuss monetary issues. "Oh, dear, I'm afraid I could not, in good conscience offer you that..."
"Oh, I'd work for less, I can-"
"No, we'll have to double it." Kagome's jaw dropped. "Careful, dear, you'll catch flies, now, sit with me on the floor and we can discuss your schedule for a while. Please forgive me if I seem rushed, but I have an appointment for dinner with an old friend."
*****
**that night**
Ms. West folded her napkin neatly and dropped it into her lap as her salad arrived. She stabbed a little bit of everything onto the end of her fork and had the bite halfway to her mouth when she was interrupted.
"Glad to see you didn't wait."
She let the fork down onto her plate, "Inu Yasha," she stood to embrace him warmly.
"Where's your husband?" his eyes twinkled mischievously, "People will talk, Rin."
Rin sighed, smiling, "People have been talking ever since the first formal function you attended and you threatened to rip that poor man's throat out if he didn't let you keep your hat on. Honestly... Sessho Maru agrees to hide his tail, I don't know why you don't do the same with your ears."
"Because Sessho Maru was the first to suggest it to me, and I hate to agree with him on anything," Inu Yasha said firmly.
Rin laughed, "I thought you two buried the hatchet years ago..."
Inu Yasha shrugged, "We did, but he's still fun to argue with."
Rin began to eat while Inu Yasha ordered, "You really should be grateful to your brother, you know," she admonished between bites, "He just bought you a house."
Rin could see Inu Yasha's ears perk up under his bandana, "He did? But I already have a house..."
"It's not the house as much as it is the maid..."
Inu Yasha leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily, "Rin, are you and Fluffy still trying to fix me up? Even now, with Kagome alive...?"
Rin looked him in the eye, "And just why haven't you gone to Kagome yet, Inu Yasha?"
The hanyou shrugged, "Feh, I'm just biding my time, that's all. Look at how long it took you and Fluffy to get together."
"That was because of Fluff- oh, Sessho Maru's hatred of humans, not because he had cold feet!"
Inu Yasha sat up, "Whaddya mean, 'cold feet'?"
Rin stabbed her fork through a particularly stubborn tomato skin, "It's understandable, Inu Yasha. You've been waiting for Kagome for so long that now you're afraid that something will go wrong when you do see her again."
"I am not afraid!" Inu Yasha nearly yelled. People were starting to stare now.
"Then prove it, dog boy, move into the house Sessho Maru and I bought you!"
"Listen," Inu Yasha "I don't want the house, I don't want your advice, and I absolutely do NOT want this girl."
"You will move in," Rin said resolutely, spearing the last of her salad, "and I think you'll like the girl... her name is Kagome Higurashi."
**********
Boy! Cliff hangers are fun! :) I think Inu Yasha and Kagome are going to meet again in the next chapter, and I will of course make it as happy, peaceful, and tear-jerking as possible.
Just kidding! Tune in next time, Kagome gets mad, Inu Yasha gets confused, and Shippo gets amused. See ya!