Alright, so here's Chapter 4 finally! Sorry, but this one is proving to be rather slow moving and I couldn't help but to spend a lot of time writing a chapter. I decided to put in a few of my made up characters from my other fanfic. It's kind of cool, they can be my trademark characters! Well, you see, I spent so much time in making them that I figured I could give them another shot a fan fiction stardom! One of them became a central character in my other fic, Sorrowful Soul. So if you've read that one then you should have a good idea as to who I am talking about. Well, enough chatter, here's the next chapter!
Mayu Kitsune.
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Chapter 4: No Bed Of Roses
Inuyasha let out a heavy sigh as he exited the small house. Now what? He had pretty much saved this girl's mother, so was she going to stick to him like glue now? That was something that he didn't need. That little kid was probably going to hang around too.
"Inuyasha wait!"
Great. He knew this was coming. Now she was probably going to thank him profusely and he was going to have to stand through all of it. "Yeah?" he prompted, turning to face her.
"Thank you so much . . . I don't know what I would've done -"
"Don't worry about it."
"Well, if there's anything I can do . . ."
"I'll be leaving in a few days, so don't get too used to having me around." Inuyasha stated, mounting his horse. He seemed to have a little trouble with that now that his arm was injured, but he looked to have gotten accustomed to it for the time being.
Kagome looked a little disappointed before her and Inuyasha's attentions were both drawn elsewhere. A wagon was coming their way, kicking up a good bit of dust but not seeming to be moving too quickly. It didn't look like too many people ever came this way, so who was this person?
Kagome seemed to brighten up when the wagon got closer, "Hey!" she shouted, smiling and waving.
"Who's that?" Inuyasha questioned as the driver of the wagon gave a wave back.
Now that he was close enough to see, he seemed to be a rather peculiar guy. He had dark brown hair with an odd hair style. One side of his bangs was grown out over the right side of his face so that it was covered completely and only one of his deep blue eyes was visible. He stopped the wagon near them, getting off. He looked to be about twenty or so and was pretty tall.
"Hi Kagome, I brought the stuff to fix that room." he stated. He seemed good natured enough.
"Thanks."
"Who's this?" the stranger questioned, looking to Inuyasha.
"Name's Inuyasha, got a problem with it?" Inuyasha piped in. He had a feeling he'd seen this guy somewhere before, he just wasn't sure where.
"Hey, just curious. I haven't been here for too long."
"And who're you?"
"His name's Seiya and he's just been helping us out with the house." Kagome interrupted. What was with Inuyasha and the third degree all of a sudden? "You're not getting cautious for me already are you?"
Inuyasha paused before turning his nose up, "Hmph, why would I? Just figured you should know this place's full of outlaws, you just never know who you're talkin' to."
Kagome just stared after him as he rode off. He was a confusing one, that was for sure. It was strange how he contradicted himself all the time. He didn't care a thing about her, yet he helped her save her mother after saving her life a few days earlier. He wasn't concerned about her safety, yet he was on the verge of interrogating her friend.
"He's wound a little too tight, don't you think?" Seiya's voice rang in, bringing her back from her thoughts.
"Yeah . . ."
"What was he doing here anyway? You don't seem like the type to keep rough company."
"He . . . Well . . . Was helping me out. He's so weird."
Seiya raised an eyebrow, "Weird?"
"Yeah, he paid for my mom's medication and everything, but then he keeps saying that he doesn't care and that he's leaving in a few days anyway. If he doesn't care, then why is he helping?" Kagome asked more to herself than to her friend.
Seiya shrugged, "Maybe you remind him of someone. Some people are kind of like that and that attitude could just be him trying to ignore it." he offered.
Kagome gave him a bit of a blank look. One thing she had noticed was that Seiya just had this weird way of reading people. He may have only been able to see out of one eye, but he certainly wasn't blind. Why couldn't she just know someone normal? It would make life so much easier.
"I don't know, it's just a wild guess." Seiya stated once he realized the way she was looking at him.
"Anyway, so, where's Moyuru? I thought she would want to help." Kagome questioned, changing the subject as Seiya began to unload a few boards and such from the wagon.
"Oh, she's with Kaede. Looks like she's taken an interest in medicine and wants to learn so I left her there for the moment." he answered, "It would be good for her to learn. It's a better earning than carpentry, that's for sure."
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"Come on, you're so quiet. Don't you talk?" a young woman questioned Rin.
Rin only stayed silent.
"She hasn't spoken a word since she came here. It is nice of ye to try and get her to speak, but it seems to be a lost cause Moyuru." Kaede stated.
Moyuru let out a heavy sigh. She had helped Kaede to change the girl's bandages and even helped to look after her once Kaede had gotten busy helping someone else. The fact that she hadn't spoken only bothered her. It was just too quiet; normally she at least had her older brother to talk to.
"It looks like she'll be leaving us now, here comes Sesshomaru." Kaede mused aloud.
Sesshomaru walked in, his normal air about him. "Has Rin been well?" he questioned the old healer.
Kaede nodded, "She has been perfectly fine, I even had a bit of help with her today. Her bandages have been changed and her wounds seem to be healing up as they should."
"Good." the sheriff stated simply.
Rin was already up and headed for her adoptive parent, now not seeming as restless as she had been. This was all confusing Moyuru a bit. She had only been in town for a few days and heard some not-so-nice things about the sheriff, but all of this seemed so contradictive to that. He really didn't seem horrible. A little icy, but not the spawn of evil. She felt like she had shrunk when his gaze settled on her for a moment.
"Is this your new helper?" he questioned Kaede.
Kaede nodded, "Aye, she's more of an apprentice. She does well with children."
"There's some business that I have to settle and I need someone to watch Rin in the meantime."
"I can watch her. She really isn't a hassle." Moyuru rang in, though her voice sounded a little less strong than she would've liked it to.
"Fine then, how does two dollars sound for your pay?"
Moyuru blinked, "Really?" she asked, looking a little thrown that that was the starting price. Normally people always wanted her to do jobs for a few cents.
"Unless you would rather work for less." Sesshomaru began.
"Oh, uh, two dollars sounds good." Moyuru said quickly.
"Alright then, I expect you by my office at five tomorrow morning."
Five? That was early! Moyuru didn't think about it for too much longer though. Heck, she was getting paid more than two cents! She could actually get something half-way decent to wear and still have something left over after . . . This was honestly the best job she had ever gotten. "Alright. I'll be there." she said.
"See that you're on time."
"Yes sir."
Without saying much else the sheriff left with the little girl not too far behind. It was getting later into the afternoon and the heat was just beginning to die off as they made it to the sheriff's office. Nearly the only time that Sesshomaru ever had the time to watch Rin himself was when he had paperwork to do.
He seemed completely satisfied when he received no more letters from Naraku. So, it looks like that really was his last offer. He thought to himself, but something just didn't seem right. Naraku had been so persistent, even when his father was sheriff. It just didn't seem like Naraku to ever give in. He had earned himself quite a reputation when it came to things like that.
Sesshomaru shrugged it off; he had more important matters to think on.
"Are you deaf? I said beat it; I already have a place to stay!" a very irritated female voice stated loudly.
Sesshomaru only looked up for a second before deciding to ignore it for now. It didn't seem like it was amounting to much anyway. Besides, it was that new woman and she claimed that she could take care of herself.
"Aw, come on . . ." another voice whined. Whoever it was obviously sounded a little drunk.
"I said no, and stop following me damn it!"
Rin seemed to become a bit scared now, moving considerably closer to Sesshomaru. She still stayed silent, but fear was obvious in her eyes. This seemed to happen to her every time someone sounded angry . . . Or used strong language. She would become so easily shaken.
Sesshomaru let out a bit of a sigh. He didn't much like Rin being scared like this and this woman wasn't helping matters. He didn't really much like her, or the drunks in this town. He stood, telling Rin to stay where she was and going for the door.
He got there just in time to see Kagura smack her harasser hard across the face. This only seemed to make the man angry though, and he grabbed her arm hard. "Ow! Let go of me!" she shouted.
Sesshomaru was beginning to step in when something a little more unexpected happened. It didn't even seem like but a split second and the drunkard that had a hold on Kagura's arm was staring down the barrel of a miniature revolver.
"Let go or I swear I'll put a bullet between your eyes." Kagura stated in a dangerous tone, cocking the little gun for emphasis.
The man nearly immediately did as he was told, "Yes ma'am."
"Alright, now get out of my sight!"
It didn't take long before the man was hightailing it out of there, headed back toward the saloon of all places. The look on his face said it all though. He thought that this woman was crazy. Something that made things all the more humorous was Sango staring from across the street. She had been heading over, but didn't seem to have gotten there in time before Kagura had taken care of things all by herself.
Sesshomaru let a small smirk cross his face for a second. It was rather amusing to see a man run scared from a woman like that. "Are you truly that used to rough company?" he prompted.
Kagura froze for a moment, quickly hiding the gun again. "He was getting on my every last nerve." she retorted.
"I see. Don't cause so much of a scene next time, you were scaring Rin." Sesshomaru stated in his usual tone.
"What? That's all you came out for?" Kagura exclaimed.
Sesshomaru didn't reply, only stepped back inside his office.
That was it? He just came out because the little kid he was taking care of was frightened by the racket? Kagura just continued to stare after him in disbelief. No wonder the outlaws liked this place so much! So long as you didn't bother the sheriff, nothing happened to you. Well, at least it didn't seem like she had blown her cover. It was a problem and a blessing that this sheriff didn't seem to pay attention to much.
She peered in the sheriff's office, curious about Rin now. When she looked inside, Sesshomaru had already gotten back to sifting through papers and a little girl played with a doll somewhere near him. Was that her? Rin?
"Do you wish to ask me something or are you just going to stand there all day?"
Kagura nearly jumped, but refrained from doing so. Sesshomaru hadn't even looked up from his papers when he said something to her. She gave him a bit of a glare before asking what she had come to ask about in the first place, "Where is the closest inn? I would like to stay somewhere near this place since I've heard about this town being full of ruffians. Staying near the sheriff's office seems to be a good idea." she said. Not that it really seems to matter much anyway. Some sheriff he is.
"That is an inn across the street incase you failed to notice the sign."
Kagura blinked, turning and looking. Sure enough, there was an inn across the street . . . Of course she hadn't noticed, the sign was so small! The way he had said it made it sound like she was stupid or something! She bit her tongue and forced herself to say a thank you before heading off.
He was seriously going to make this so hard on her! Naraku had told her what would happen to her if she ever failed, and this was as close to failing as she could ever remember getting. This wasn't right!
Naraku wasn't the type to wait, if she didn't do what she was supposed to in the right time frame, he would get tired and hire an assassin to take out both her target and herself! Or at least that was what he had always threatened. He always said that timing was everything.
She had to hurry, get close to the kid, get close to the sheriff, and . . . Get rid of him. The longest that Naraku had ever been known to wait was two weeks. Two weeks was all she had before she could consider herself dead. That had always been one of the other motives for her to do her jobs without much question. She had seen him track down one of his "servants" before . . . It hadn't been pretty.
Her eyebrows furrowed as she thought on it. She hated to admit it, but Naraku had been right. If she were to die, then no one would miss her. No one would notice. This was day one; she had thirteen days left to get this all right.
She didn't take too long to set up in her room. She lay back on the small bed after having dressed in a nightgown, fanning herself some with her decorative fan. Why did it have to be so damn hot? She didn't pay attention to the howling of a coyote in the distance as she began to drift off.
A slight knock came at her door, bringing her back from the edge of sleep. What the hell? She thought. Grumbling and putting on a housecoat she went to the door, jerking it open and getting ready to give the person on the other side a piece of her mind when she froze.
"Hello Kagura. Weren't expecting to see me here were you?"
"Goshinki, what are you doing here?" Kagura demanded. She had definitely been thrown by his sudden appearance. Had Naraku gotten tired already? She was tense as she prepared to do what she had to do to defend herself.
"Calm down Kagura, I'm not here to kill you if that's what you're thinking. At least not yet. I was sent here after someone else. And Naraku wanted to keep track of how you were doing."
Kagura scoffed, "Not worried about my well-being I'm sure."
"Of course not."
"So, what else are you here for other than being Naraku's watchdog?"
"It seems like there's a few more people he wants dead. A more straight forward approach wouldn't be unusual for Inuyasha; I'm just an outlaw out to kill him before he kills me." Goshinki replied.
"Is that all you came here to tell me?" Kagura demanded, seeming annoyed.
"Oh yes, and don't even think about changing your mind and trying to escape anytime. He's told me to kill you if you do."
Kagura glared at him. Why was Naraku putting her on such a short leash all of a sudden? He never had before.
"I know what you're thinking Kagura. Don't think he hasn't noticed you being more rebellious lately. That's why he's sending a 'watchdog.'"
Kagura sent him another glare. She didn't like him and his strange ways. How was it that he seemed to be able to read her thoughts? Naraku always had a way of getting the strangest people to work for him, but he wouldn't settle for anything different. Anything to throw people off and anything to get what he wanted.
"Goodbye Kagura." Goshinki stated, before his black clad figure slunk off.
Kagura closed her door, going back to the bed and lying down again. She was going to have one hell of a time trying to get back to sleep now. She couldn't keep going like this forever. She had to get away sometime or another . . . Perhaps after this was all over. If not sooner.
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"Seiya!" Moyuru shouted as she all but ran to the small campsite that the two had learned to call home. It was nearing dark and her older brother was setting up around the wagon and feeding the horses.
Seiya looked to her, seeming a little confused. She seemed excited, but what about? "Moyuru, what's that all about?" he questioned her once she made it to him.
"I got a job!" she exclaimed brightly.
"Really . . . Doing what?" he inquired, looking a little worried. He didn't trust too many people and he wasn't so sure about his sister taking on jobs for them. Who knew what some people were really planning sometimes.
"Babysitting."
Seiya didn't look to be expecting that one, "Well, that seems alright. Who is it for?"
"The sheriff. He said he'd pay me two dollars if I took care of that little girl for a day." Moyuru replied. She was all too happy about two dollars, but that was a good bit of money for a babysitting job.
Seiya blinked, "That's pretty good." he stated, sitting down finally. He had a campfire going and a tent set up. He let out a heavy sigh. Things had been so hard lately, especially since good jobs were hard to come by. It looked like Moyuru had had better luck than he had.
He stared off for a bit. He had so far only made enough money to get food for Moyuru and himself. They had hit some really hard times since running out this way, but they really didn't have any other way to go. The town had been rumored to be rather busy and that was what had drawn him to it. Busy towns meant a good bit of work, if only starting out wasn't so slow.
"Seiya?"
"Yeah?"
"Did you hear anything I just said?"
She had been talking? "I'm sorry, I was just thinking." he said in apology.
"When are we going to have a real place to stay? I'm tired of staying in a tent and trying to act like we're completely fine when we hardly have enough money to eat with."
Seiya seemed to nearly flinch. He didn't like this situation much either. He had offered to do the jobs he had done for Kagome and hadn't made her pay much. He was hoping that she would let someone else know about him so he could start getting some offers.
"Things'll pick up soon enough, don't worry about it. You stay with Kaede enough as it is so you'll be fine. She feeds you lunch and teaches you what she knows so you just worry about that and I'll worry about the rest of it. We'll be up on our feet in no time." he tried to assure her.
"I was thinking about taking a job as a waitress-"
"No. You remember why we left in the first place." Seiya cut her off.
"But we need the money." Moyuru argued.
"You know what other kinds of 'businesses' run out of saloons. Bounty hunters, prostitutes, and I don't want you around a bunch of drunks. You're safer with Kaede."
"I can take care of myself, and besides, you're not my dad so stop ordering me around! I just want to help!"
Seiya let out a heavy sigh. This was just what he needed, "What time do you have to go to your job in the morning?" he asked, trying to change the subject.
Moyuru crossed her arms. She still hadn't forgotten but was willing to let the subject go for now, "Five."
"I'll walk you there in the morning, just get some sleep." Seiya stated.
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So? I know it all seems a little unfocused at the moment, but it'll get put together soon enough. Especially when Kagura's time starts running low and things get a little desperate. Next chapter's when I'm going to try and link everyone's little plots . . . Like everyone's little world collides with the other's. I'm just not so sure about how things should turn out. . . Anyway, here's a preview.
PREVIEW!
Chapter 5: More Than Meets the Eye
So things seem to be pretty turbulent for just about everyone, but some have worse problems than others. There's also a lot more to some people than they would like others to know.
Reviews are appreciated and I hope you keep reading and I hope that I didn't confuse you too much.
Mayu Kitsune
