Chapter Eighteen

"Miho will not leave my custody. I do not relinquish her into your care, it is out of the question!" The elderly woman stared up from her seat behind the cover of the tea table. She held in her hand a pot of boiling tea, which trembled in her arthritic hand to the point where drops began to drip out from its spout.

Kagome's chocolate brown eyes flared as she gazed down the tip of her nose with dwindling hope. "Out of the question?" She was dressed in a peculiar garment that did not resemble anything like Hisoka or Kasumi had ever seen before. Kagome's attire included a single strip of fabric that somehow managed to keep her entire body covered from the chest down, but her arms were bare naked. Her clothing was only being held up with what looked like two pieces of cream colored string rope. If anything, it looked as if Kagome had just crawled out of bed in a provocative nightgown that made even the members of the tea house blush.

Kagome looked down at her flowing silk skirt and heaved a weighted sigh. "I don't think that you understand the urgency of the situation."

The elderly woman huffed and set down her flower covered tea top, hoping to keep the hot drops of the herbal thirst quenching substance from spilling out any farther. "Miho is eligible to pursue her freedom once her debt to me is paid. The only way for that to happen is for when she distributes her talents to many suitors who will then, in turn, shower her with gifts in hopes of attaining her mizuage. The highest bidder will then provide her with the money that is necessary to ensure her right to come and go as she pleases! Until then, she is not allowed to leave for any reason!"

Kagome clenched her jaw, attempting and failing at keeping her anger in check. "You would parade her around a flock of strange men, hoping that one would pay a great deal just to take her virginity? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard!" She slammed her clenched fists down onto the table and sent the tea kettle flying into the air in her own direction. Kagome had to hop to the side in order to dodge it. It shattered into hundreds of shards of razor sharp porcelain points. "I will not stand by and watch this freak show go down!"

"Mind your tongue, Lady Kagome, or I will have you ejected from the property!"

"She is DYING, damn it!" Kagome shouted to the top of her voice, determined by a protective sisterly instinct that she hadn't experienced in decades. "Can you not see that she has been ill and suffering for the past few weeks? I have stayed so long as to keep an eye on the one woman here who has shown me great respect and dignity. I have been her physician, not caring that I have not been paid to do so because it is not in my nature to demand it! I have saved you the hassle of paying a village doctor to come out here and attend to her, and yet you ignore the warnings that I am giving you that she is severely ill and in need of more medical attention. Without that attention, she will most surely die!"

Hisoka ignored her. "Out of the question! She will remain here until I see fit to dismiss her from my house!"

"She is not your property!"

"I own her very life, and you shall do well to remember that!"

Kagome refused. "You must have misunderstood my meaning behind 'Miho is dying' and I need to transfer her to my lodgings in the mountains to ensure that she does not succumb to the illness that is eating her alive! I did not ask you to release her into my custody for treatment. I came here to inform you that I have already taken custody of her and that your arguments are considered invalid to a priestess who can end your very life with the power that I harbor lurking beneath my fingertips."

Hisoka jumped to her feet and struggled to balance herself, all the while sputtering in angry, dirty obscenities that made Kagome's jaw drop in disbelief. "There is no evidence to support your claims!"

"About what?" Kagome stood her ground in a deadly calm that froze the old woman in her throws of determination. "There is no evidence to support Miho's terminal illness?" She cocked one eyebrow and took a step forward without warning, taking the older woman by surprise. "Or there is no evidence to suggest that I can end your life without so much as laying a finger on you? Believe me when I say…I have no qualms about sacrificing your life to preserve hers."

Hisoka didn't speak. She just glared at the determined woman standing before her, not knowing how best to handle the situation. With minutes of a never ending death stare behind them, the old woman sneered, furthering Kagome's annoyance. "Prove it."

Kagome did not hesitate. "You would have me end your life this very moment in order to take Rin away from this place? You must really be that stupid!"

"Rin?" Hisoka stared. "You say her new name with such familiarity…as if you have known her for far longer than these past weeks." The old woman gazed past Kagome's left shoulder and caught Kasumi's stoned eyes. The younger woman had been standing in the shadows, silent as a breath of wind, determined to remain invisible from the eyes that were fixed upon her at that moment. "You have grown careless with Miho's visitors, daughter. What say you of your blatant disregard for my rules?"

Kasumi dropped her black eyes to the ground near Kagome's naked feet and whispered. "I had…reason to believe that she was destined…for a greater purpose in life, mother."

"Greater purpose…I see." The old woman closed her eyes and somehow managed to travel across the room in less than three seconds, or so it seemed to Kagome. Hisoka appeared before Kasumi, back stiff as a board and looming despite her tiny stature against a woman who was at least a good foot taller. "Her purpose is to benefit this house…just as yours was not long ago. I want all of these people gone by the end of the hour, do you hear me? Or else I will find an even better purpose for you, cleaning rooms for a year!" At the word 'year', Kasumi's head snapped sideways as a loud crack echoed in the room. The crack was the sound of Hisoka's back hand making contact with Kasumi's cheek.

Kagome's feet left the floor. She had somehow managed to fly across the room mere seconds before the closed door separating the three women from the hallway blew off its hinges, taking Kasumi and Hisoka with it.

Kagome froze just in time to catch a glimpse of honey colored eyes and auburn hair. "It is bad enough that women in this day in age must endure this type of behavior from poorly trained men with low self esteem. We do not need it to be displayed by our own sex to demonstrate one's endless drive for power." Ura stood tall and very lovely in a modest dress, provided by her sister in law, that resembled that of a waterfall in its deep ocean blue and ivory silks. Her scars seemed to evaporate beneath a light tone of powder. But her lovely appearance did not disguise her anger toward an old woman who had found herself stumbling to stand up from a new pile of rubble that used to be a very sturdy door.

"Ura, that was…unexpected." Kagome blinked through her struggle to contain her disbelief. "But it was also very much welcomed."

Ura, though clearly still peeved, glanced sideways at Kagome and grinned slyly. "Demon or not, I cannot stand idly by while a woman is being struck by someone she should trust. You!" Ura snapped in Kasumi's direction.

The dark headed female, who was still reeling from the sudden impact with the floor and clutching her vibrating skull, looked up and blinked. "Lady Kagome, the room is moving at an alarming rate!"

Kagome took off for the struggling woman while Ura glared at the gray haired old woman. "Hisoka, is it?"

The old woman snarled. "I have seen you lurking in the shadows at night, demon! You have no business here!"

Ura grinned wickedly, while her eyes blazed with uncontained rage. "I could not help overhearing your objections to the Lady Miho's departure from your care." She stepped forward, feet barely touching the floor as if she were floating on a cloud. "Though you do not deserve this, I am giving you payment for her freedom." Ura produced a black velvet pouch from behind her back and threw it at the old woman, who managed to fail at catching it. The bag, almost as big as a sack of fresh, harvested rice, hit the floor and scattered some of its contents at Hisoka's feet. "Gems…and precious metals worth more than the price of this entire village, in exchange for Miho's freedom from your barbaric home…as well as your daughter's freedom. I understand that even though she is not yours by blood, Kasumi is indeed recognized by the rest of this village as your heir. What say you, foul beast of a human being?"

Every woman, aside from Ura, stared down at the array of uncut crystals, precious gems, and gold and silver bars. It was Hisoka, however, that appeared to want to dive head first at them. "All of this…" she began. "…for two women that you do not even know…why?"

Ura did not blink, nor remove her gaze from the face of the woman that held her deep displeasure. "I have seen first-hand what greed in human beings brings about. You are consumed by it, disregarding the well being of every woman who has come to find themselves willing or unwilling to work for you rather than with you. These trinkets are worthless to me, but they are not a gift. This is strictly a contract, guaranteeing that once these women and I leave, you will never seek to contact us, or Miho again. Do you understand?"

Hisoka nodded without taking her eyes off of her rainbow treasure trove.

Ura closed her eyes and sighed before she turned on the spot and ventured into the deserted hallway.

Kagome blinked stupidly for a minute while she watched the back of Ura's head disappeared behind the corner. "Well…that escalated quickly…" She spoke aloud to no one in particular before she returned her attention on a still dazed Kasumi. "I think that you might have a concussion, Kasumi."

"What is a con…whoa!" Kasumi was quickly brought to her feet and swayed until Kagome grabbed hold of her shoulders.

"It makes you dizzy and gives you one hell of a head ache. Come on, let's get out of here before Hisoka snaps out of her trance."