Part 2: Envy: "That's a real nice heart you got there"

"Here we are. This is Sesshoumaru's place."

Kagome had parked in front of a mega-mansion in the same neighborhood as where Kagura's mother used to work all those years ago. Being back only a few streets away from where her mother died caused a pinch to her heart, but the wind sorceress pushed down her emotions. She needed to be clear headed so that she could charm Sesshoumaru and his wife and be hired as the nanny for their daughter.

She almost gasped upon seeing the house. It was beyond her expectations. Kagome had insisted on driving them as the security system would allow her car to pass the gates, saving them 'a nice little hike' as the human had put it. Kagura now understood what her neighbor meant. The lawn was ginormous and going by foot would indeed have been a hike.

"Sesshoumaru hates tardiness, so we should hurry up." Kagome swung her yellow purse over her shoulder and headed straight for the front steps, Kagura following close behind.

Stepping over the threshold the wind sorceress felt as if she was being taken back in time to one particular afternoon. She remembered one time her teacher had been out sick and due to lack of childcare options her mom had brought her along to one of the houses she cleaned. The little Kagura had been amazed that people could live like this. All that space, all those beautiful things, she had been stunned. While her mom had been busy scrubbing one of the bathtubs Kagura had snuck into one of the bedrooms and taken a little souvenir for herself: a beautiful silk fan. She had hesitated before spiriting away the small artifact. She knew her mother worked hard and that her clients trusted her, so being accused of theft could be a terrible blow to her employment. However, at the time Kagura could not stop herself, she had wanted that fan more than anything that she had before. Why was it that she was stuck living in a crappy one-bedroom apartment with her mother and the twins when some people got to live in such luxury? She envied them and figured that considering all their riches they would not miss one small fan. To this day she still owned the artifact. Not only did it come in handy as a weapon to channel her wind powers, but it was a constant reminder that she deserved a better life. Looking around Sesshoumaru's foyer, she could imagine herself living there. She was more determined than ever to get the damn job.

A dark-haired little girl ran down the staircase and launched herself in Kagome's arms with a squeal of pleasure.

"Rin, you're getting almost too big for me to catch you now." The human woman joked as she hugged back the child.

"Honey, meet Kagura. She's my friend and she came to meet with Sesshoumaru to see if she could come stay with you guys to look after you."

Intrigued at the idea of a newcomer, Rin looked up and smiled at the visitor. "Hello Miss Kagura, nice to meet you." The bright smile revealed a charming gap.

Kagura was surprised to see that the child was human. Why would a wealthy youkai raise a human child? She sensed there must be a story there. Once she was hired there would be more than enough time to snoop around an find out what was going on. For now, she knew she needed to play nice to convince the kid's parents to hire her, but despite her best intentions, she could only manage a grimace.

"Nice to mee you too Rin." Kagura forced her smile to big bigger. "I hope we can become friends." She was amazed she did not barf after uttering the achingly sweet statement.

"Rin knows we will be good friends!" The child agreed. The way she bobbed her head in agreement made the hastily tied ponytail at the top of her head titter precariously.

"Kagome thinks so too." Kagura's neighbor agreed, running her hand over the child's head.

The wind sorceress looked over the two humans. She was shocked to see how open both were. Just as Kagome had easily introduced her into her circle of friends and made sure to invite her to her gatherings and dinner parties, Kagura could feel the little girl was also the kind of person who could open her heart up easily. A part of her envied these two for their ability to be so emotionally opened to a virtual stranger. Early on Kagura had learned that the only thing that mattered was money. People were shit and will hurt you or take advantage of you if you let them. The only way to get past that was using them first and getting your pockets lined with cash.

She had lived her life not trusting anyone except herself, and had fought by herself for the well-being of her family. But sometimes, only sometimes she wished that she too could be open, trusting and allow herself to count on others. How nice it must feel not to have to immediately evaluate whatever she could win from someone upon meeting them. She had been called a heartless calculating bitch in the past, and even she could acknowledge that she was emotionally stunted. But in her defense, had she not grown up like she did, she would not be wired like she was. She too would be nice, and sweet and cuddly. For a split second, she thought to herself that if she could have slit Kagome open and tear her heart out so that she could place it in her own empty chest cavity, she would have.

"Ms. Onigumo?"

The male voice calling to her pulled her out of her dark thoughts. She looked away from the snuggling Kagome and Rin to face the newcomer. She faltered. The man, an inu youkai was way hotter than she had expected. She had met Inuyasha, and sure he was cute, but with a boyish charm, but his older brother, he was just stunning. Too bad the fine male was already taken with a family of his own. She wouldn't have minded having some fun nights with him.

"Step into my study so we may speak."

"Sure." She cleared her throat to remove all traces of her attraction. "Lead the way."

She followed him through a long corridor that ran through the house. Her eyes darting all over as she took in the gleaming wood flooring, plush oriental rugs and beautiful artwork hung on the walls. She realized then that she had indeed hit the jackpot. She needed to get that job.

Kagura had barely had time to sit and analyze the richly appointed study that the man started questioning her.

"Name and credentials?"

She put her game face on. It was show time. "Kagura Onigumo. I have extensive experience in childcare and I've worked for many years as a tutor and an instructor." She fished from her purse her freshly updated, and slightly embellished, resume and slid it towards him. Who knew that her years raising the twins and tutoring kids after school to make a few bucks would come in handy? Maybe Rin would be interested in learning ballet, she could throw in some classes too.

"Will your wife be joining us?" Kagome had not mentioned a Mrs. Sesshoumaru, but if Kagura was going to do her dog and pony show she wished to only do it once. No sense in having to find a way to charm Rin's mother as well.

Sesshoumaru did not answer. Instead he briefly ran his amber eyes over the sheet of paper before pushing it to the side. That irked her, she had put quite a bit of effort to prepare that resume.

"Inuyasha's human seems to think that you would be a good fit as Rin's nanny, why?"

She was taken aback to hear him refer to Kagome like this, but she recovered quickly. It would take more than that to destabilize her. "Other than my professional experience I'm the most competent person as I raised my sister and brother alone while I was still a teenager myself." Kagura paused to briefly collect her thoughts. She did not like sharing about her life, but she needed to convince the man to hire her. Thinking about Hakudouushi's upcoming tuition payment was enough to bring a note of despair in her voice. She needed that job.

"After our mom died, I fought hard to get custody so I could take care of them. I did a damn good job. Now Kanna teaches high-school and Haku is going to be a surgeon." She was damn proud of the job she had done raising the twins and would be happy to shout their accomplishments on every roof. "In comparison to raising two teenage youkai, one sweet human child will be easy to handle. I'm the best nanny you could find. I may not have a degree from a fancy school, but I have strength, grit and determination. I can do just about anything."

A long silence followed her statement. Thinking this might be some intimidation tactic, Kagura stared back into Sesshoumaru's eyes without blinking. It was not an easy feat, the man was beyond intimidating, but as she told him she was highly determined.

"How much?" He suddenly asked.

"Sorry, what?"

"Your salary, how much do you expect to be paid?"

Kagura rattled off an obnoxiously high number that she did not expect him to accept. She had looked up online the going rate for fancy nannies who graduated from famous schools and decided to align herself. She needed to pay off her debt and she had to admit she had her eyes on the most gorgeous leather purse. "And of course that doesn't include room and board." She figured if Sesshoumaru had not shut her down, she could keep pushing her luck.

Another long pause. As he stared at her, she took her time to study his features. The man was indeed gorgeous. Maybe she could give him some private tutoring lessons, very private lessons. She almost blushed at her dirty thoughts. She needed to focus. Her libido had been dormant since her last disastrous relationship ended, now was not the time for it to rear its head. She pushed down her attraction and placed a cold mask on her face, mirroring her interviewer's facial expression.

"You start tomorrow. Be here at eight in the morning."

As soon as Kagome had driven her home, Kagura had sent in her notice to her job. As an executive assistant staffed by a temp agency, she knew she would not be missed. She had immediately started making provisions to pack up her apartment and move in with the Tashio family. To her surprise Kagome had been a huge help. By that very afternoon she had a team of professional movers come in, pack up Kagura's stuff and move her furniture in a storge unit while her personal things were packed up and delivered to Sesshoumaru's house. The sure to be hefty price for such quick and professional service had worried the kaze youkai. When she had asked Kagome how much all of this would cost, her soon to be former neighbor had shrugged her shoulders and answered that Sesshoumaru would receive the bill. No way would she argue that point.

The wind sorceress had shown up the next morning bright and early and had been introduced to the household. Turns out there was no Mrs. Sesshoumaru to impress. The inu youkai was the only captain of that ship. Sesshoumaru and Rin lived with a grumpy imp named Jaken and some staff came during the day to take care of the cleaning and gardens. By seven Kagura was settled in her own living quarters wich included a large bedroom, a bathroom with a bathtub, and a dressing area fit to display all her treasures. Her designer shoes and purses, her favorite clothes, her expensive toileteries and jewelry. Sure, four-inch heels, bright red lipstick and precious jewels were not proper nanny attire but seeing them rightfully displayed brought such joy to her heart.

Things were moving fast, but Kagura was not the kind of youkai to hesitate or second guess herself. She had no choice but to make herself indispensable to Sesshoumaru and Rin and as long as she did, she would be able to enjoy living in such finery.

First things first, it was time for a google search. She only had one hour to figure out what the hell a nanny was supposed to do.

To be continued…

A/N: Kagura has made it in, but will she be able to keep her job? The next chapter will be on the theme 'Lust for Life'.