Title: Work-A-Holic
Author: Tsubasa Kya
Disclaimer: I have created a mission. It is to cover the entire FF world with HieiKago love and then when I have massed an army of HieiKago fanfiction, we will march on to rule the UNIVERSE! Bwahahaha! (I still don't own.)

Chapter nine: Bane

Morissey Park was a great tourist attraction the last time Kagome had visited it. It was a small park that her family had owned and maintained over the years, located about a mile away from the shrine itself. She did have to take into consideration the fact that it had been nine or ten years since she had last been here.

Now the park was overgrown with shrubs and crabgrass, weeds and marsh grass. The shaped bushes that her mother used to brag about had become out of control, the apple orchard produced rotten fruit, and the mulberry bushes had taken control of much of the park.

She never did like mulberry bushes. The fruit was okay once in a while, though it could be bitter-sweet if not picked at the right time. But mulberry bushes were as bad as Naraku had been: if a single root remained in the ground, a new bush would sprout.

As she walked along the hedges, her silk suit-skirt getting caught on stray branches and creating rips and tears, she reflected on the memories she had of this place. Now it was her park, not her grandfather's. She would have to take care of it in her off time, if she ever got off time.

Souta had promised to stay around to take care of the shrine for her. She could sign it off to him if she wanted to, and go back to her life of blissful unawareness. But now that she was back, she knew there were things she had to face. The end wasn't truly over until she overcame the memories that wanted to consume her flesh.

"I will remain here." She had told Souta. Her face never moved from that dispassionate, uncaring, perfected façade that she often wore. He reached out and brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek affectionately. She knew he remembered somewhere deep down in his soul that they were related, but it was as if the memory was all but completely lost.

Only once since she had taken the identity of Aiko Soriusa had he called her by her given name, and that had been recently when he had the family shrine to think of, and the future of it. "Aiko," he sighed. "Don't push yourself, okay?"

She smiled grimly. "I am a bane to your very existence, Souta. Do not mistake me for another human. My presence here will cause you great harm. I am doing you no favor by remaining."

He chuckled sadly. "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. By the way, my…um…friend… is coming over for dinner tonight. I'm making oden… your favorite, right?" Souta looked like he was hiding a secret from her. She could drag it out of him if she wanted to, she thought, but she did not. He was entitled to his secrets.

"That is fine." She said as she turned away from him to grab her jacket from the coat rack in the hall. Her intention had been to go to the gas station and purchase a newspaper to begin her job hunt. She had gotten the paper, but then a presence had attracted her to Morissey Park, and that was why she was now here.

"Hello?" she called out, disturbing the quiet of the park. The previously chattering birds lifted from their previous spots and flew toward her, not away. The movement startled her, but she didn't stop it. She looked at the birds and smiled. "What presence has brought me here?" she asked them. "Was it you?"

The birds fluffed their wings and chirped amongst themselves, so she took it as a 'no'. "Alright. Then I shall continue further into this mess." The park was surrounded by an eight foot privacy fence that was breaking down. She wouldn't be able to replace it. As well as inheriting the shrine, she had inherited her grandfather's debt.

She was even poorer than she had been before. She would practically have to sell herself just to make ends meet, though if she actually did that, she promised herself that it would be kept secret from Souta. It wasn't that she wanted to, or had narrowed things down to that. She just knew it was a possibility.

"I should be making a family now, not thinking of ways to pay off old debts," she muttered as the path got narrower. The hedge maze that had once been the talk of the neighborhood was dangerously uncared for.

But she made it to the other end. Her clothes—job hunting clothes, and among her finer outfits—were ripped and torn in places. A man was there. He was a human, but she couldn't ignore the presence of another inside of him. A being that was totally different from his original soul.

Beside the red haired man were two others. All three of them wore black, much like one would at a funeral service, and they stood around a cleared space, as if someone had done some hasty gardening. They appeared to be in the middle of an argument, and hadn't noticed her yet, so she remained hidden among the darkness of the narrow hedges to watch.

"We don't know for sure," yelled the black-haired ruffian, who had the look of someone who often had his hair slicked back. She supposed he wouldn't have that look if he didn't have hat-hair, but he did. His brown eyes had a fire in them, one she had seen only in one other person with gold eyes and a brash nature, though she couldn't—or wouldn't—remember his name.

The one with orange hair interjected, "Hey, guys let's not argue! We'd have far more success if we just went and looked for the stupid shrimp than stand around here waiting."

Green eyes flashed with anger, a hidden calm rage that was exactly like another acquaintance of Kagome's. It was strange, but the two of them brought up memories that she hadn't prepared herself for. Sesshoumaru was his name, she recalled. She remembered a single night of passion that was bridled with that calm rage. "He had a contractual obligation." Said the man. It had been a contractual obligation that night too; she had given him what he wanted.

"Who gives a damn?" Asked the ruffian. "Unless we know for sure that he's dead, I am not being a part of your damn funeral. 'Honor the dead soul' you say? Well, fuck that, I don't honor dead people. It's a useless effort wasted when—"

The orange haired one grabbed the brown eyed one by the arm as if he knew something would evolve. Again he interrupted. "When you could be spending your energy better by searching for Hiei than if you sat here arguing over whether or not you think he's dead!"

"If he broke his agreement with Koenma, then the Prince would have known it. He has always kept his word, and he said he would be here yesterday for my bachelor party. He even said that there was something he wanted to give me. Now, unless you think he is a liar, or that the fact that Koenma can't even find his spiritual energy, the only logical assumption is that he is dead."

"And what if you're right?" asked the brown eyed one. "What then? We just say 'oh well, Hiei's dead now let's go kill some more bad guys'."

"Koenma can't sense the hell-dragon, so it's obvious." Kagome turned to leave. The trespassers had said something interesting. The dragon they had spoken of was something she had encountered on the paralyzed demon. It made her feel regretful that she had run away from him.

She left them, knowing her presence would have gone unnoticed for the most part, and continued on her way home again. Back to the shrine that held so many memories that she didn't want.

Souta greeted her at the door, confused by the state of disrepair her clothes were in. "Aiko, what happened?" he asked.

"A shrubbery decided it didn't like silk." She said. "Where do you keep the phone now?" It used to be in the hall, but it wasn't anymore. There were a lot of changes to the shrine now. The family room had been transformed into a dining room. The kitchen was just a kitchen. The basement was now where Souta made his home, with an extra large bed Kagome had noticed when he'd shown her.

"It's in the kitchen." Souta said. "There's one in the upstairs study, and my room as well. They're all the same line though."

She nodded. "I will retire to the study then. I have calls to make, but do inform me when your friend arrives." She didn't wait for an answer, only made her way up the stairs. The entire upstairs had been renovated. The master-bedroom and grandpa's old bedroom had been made into new master quarters. Souta and Kagome's old rooms were the study.

She closed the door behind her, but not before she heard Souta rummaging around the kitchen for what he would need to make that night's dinner. To be honest, she probably should relax and recover from any jet-lag she might have suffered. But she didn't feel she had the time to do that.

She opened the newspaper to the classified ads as she put the phone to her ear and dialed the number she knew by heart. "Thank you for calling Saiza Hosptial's non-emergency line. If you know the extension of the party you are calling, please enter it now and press the pound key. If you do not know the extension of the party you are calling, please stay on the line and the next operator will be with you as soon as possible."

She dialed the extension for Ward B, and heard Nina, one of her assistant nurses, pick up the phone. "Thanks for calling Ward B. Nina speaking."

"Hello, Nina." Kagome said. "I would like you to connect me to our nameless patient. Did you ever get his name?"

"Oh! Doctor Soriusa!" Nina sounded very pleased to hear from her. "You know, I wish you were here. Doctor Ahishimoru took over for you, and he's just as pompous as ever. I swear, Terrence looks like he wants to throw his bed-pan at him sometimes."

Well, that did say a lot about the current situation over there. If the calm Terrence was stressed after only a few hours, she could only imagine what the paralyzed demon was like. Ahishimoru was probably lucky that paralysis wasn't going anywhere soon. "Well, I do say I would want to as well," she confided.

Nina giggled. "Well, I'll connect you to his phone, but the doctor is with him at the moment, so I'm not sure if he'll pick up."

"Thanks, Nina." Kagome eyed her mother's computer for a long moment while she talked before reaching down to push the power button. She might as well multi-task. She never really was a good 'sit down and chat' person, or at least after she came back from the well that last time she wasn't.

"Oh, Doctor?" Nina said suddenly.

"Yes?" Kagome inquired, curious by the sudden change in tone. Nina sounded as if she were nervous now. As the computer booted up, she shifted through the drawers in the large cherry desk, looking for anything that might seem important.

"I hope things are going well."

"They are." Kagome lied. The sudden inheritance of great debt wasn't what she would say was 'well', but her business wasn't other people's problems. As soon as she got off the phone she had to start sorting out the mess that was given to her, tracking old finances, and look for a job. The phone barely started ringing before it was picked up.

"Hello?" That slithering voice was not her ex-patient's voice. It was Ahishimoru, and he sounded completely and utterly pleased, like he had just gotten a major promotion that he was searching for. He'd probably already rejoiced that Kagome wasn't there to be looked at as successor to her ex-boss's position.

So instead of letting him know that she was Aiko Soriusa, she raised her voice in a rather pitchy version of her normal voice. "Who the hell is this!" she demanded, praising herself for improvisation. "You better not be having any relation to my sweetheart!" Why would she choose such an act? Because she knew her paralyzed demon would play along. She didn't do things that she didn't already guess the outcome to (accurately).

The phone was handed over, she guessed, because there was an annoyed, much lower tone on the line now, and it sounded like her demon. "Who is this?" he demanded.

"Ah, now." She said, lowering her voice. "Is that how you greet your doctor?" She felt a smirk crest her features. "You're rather ungrateful."

"Yeah, well I just found out that my lower half lacks any sensation at all, and I may never walk again. How grateful do you want me to be?" Well, he didn't sound happy. She supposed he wouldn't be.

"Get Ahishimoru to go away and I'll tell you." There was a pause on the other end of the line, making her smile. He was debating it, or perhaps he was curious as to how she knew Ahishimoru was still there. Either way, he wasn't talking.

"Get out." Her demon demanded. Moments later, he spoke again. "Speak, woman. And it better be good."

"I want to know about your hell dragon." More silence. He wasn't talking again, but the silence wasn't good. She might have to barter, and that wasn't going to be fun. "Tell me about your hell dragon, and I'll have you flown to my new home."

"They said I can't leave here. They want to do tests on me. They haven't said it exactly, but I'm pretty good at reading people."

Ah, so that was what he wasn't happy about. And due to the paralysis, he couldn't exactly get up and walk out. "You haven't signed any documents, have you?" she asked. She thought he wasn't exactly as good at reading people as he likely could read their minds. Kagome knew all too well that certain powerful demons had the ability to read minds as if they were open books.

He responded, "No."

"Good. Then legally, if they do any tests on you, they're committing a crime. I am certified for in-home care for paralysis." More silence. "I take it you can't read my mind while I'm this far away." She chuckled as he made a little snort. "Well, that means I'm able to bring you here without too much trouble. I could put in a transfer."

Finally, he said, "Get me out of here, and I'll tell you whatever the hell you want to know about it. Until then, I'm not talking."

He hung up, so she hung up. It hadn't gone as well as she had hoped it would. She called the hospital again, but this time she asked for her ex-boss. He was put on the phone. "Aiko, I heard you called Ward-B a few minutes ago."

"Yes, I did." She responded. "I was curious about something. Do you think you could work up a transfer for me?" She had pulled out several important looking slips of parchment and her mother's diary from the middle drawer, a series of old checkbooks and transaction registers from the top left hand drawer, and a stack of officious looking letters from the bottom right hand drawer. She set them on the desk top and began sorting them into piles.

"What are you thinking, Aiko?"

She chose her words carefully. "I may wish to transform my new residence into a small clinic. I am already certified for it, but I never had the space for one. Now I do. Would you be interested in offering me my first client?" The computer had booted up, but she ignored it for now, shifting through the checkbooks. Her mother had terrible organizational skills. It looked like when she finished with a register or a checkbook, she just threw it in the drawer with the rest.

"Sure. I'll put it in tomorrow morning. Who did you have in mind? Terrence? Jillian? Both of them wish to see you greatly, though I don't fancy the idea of separating them. They've become nearly a family, and Jillian's presence is the only thing that keeps Terrence from tossing his bed-pan around the room."

She chuckled. "Yes, Nina told me about that." She began putting the checkbooks in order by date, since it looked like their numbers were absolutely useless. At least her mother had used duplicate checks, and it appeared she didn't have a check card. She did have a credit card, however, and those debts were accruing daily interest. Kagome wanted to get those paid off as soon as possible.

"Ah, was that a laugh I heard from you, Aiko?" her ex-boss inquired. "I do believe this move was the best for you if it has you laughing."

She rolled her eyes and drawled, "It is not a big deal."

"I've known you for quite some time now, and I have never heard you laugh. I think it is something to celebrate. I'll drink one for you tonight." Again she rolled her eyes. She was not a drinker…

"I was more thinking that you might help me transfer the newer patient. After I get settled here, I may be able to bring Terrence and Jillian in together, but until then I have hope that they will refrain from throwing anything at Doctor Ahishimoru. I feel it is safe to say that he is focused more on himself than his patients or relations. That could be why his wife left him." Kagome began piddling around with the computer, seeing if there was anything interesting. There were saved letters to someone that her mother had written.

Her boss sounded surprised, "I didn't know his wife left him."

"It pays to eat in the lounge once in a while." Kagome said simply, opening one letter. It was a simple one, written to a woman named Yuna. It spoke of simple things, such as the weather and grandpa's health and the family issues. It didn't speak of Kagome, but it mentioned Souta and his fiancée, though never spoke a name for the fiancée. It just said 'Souta and his fiancée are so sweet together' and things like that.

Kagome's eyebrows came together in confusion. Souta hadn't mentioned he was engaged. He had never said anything of the sort. In fact, he usually did exactly the opposite. When she asked him if he had a significant other yet, he would turn red in the face and say, "I don't need anyone else. Look what happened to you."

Things change, she supposed.

"Aiko, are you there?" her ex-boss asked.

"Yes, I am. I'll fax you information regarding where to send him, and I'll have a room prepared for his stay. If you need any information—"

He cut her off politely, clearing his throat. "Don't worry, Aiko. I know how this works, and I can make things run smoothly."

"Thanks. I really do appreciate this." He hung up, so she hung up. She wondered what it was with people and not giving her salutations. But she ignored that and opened up another letter. It spoke more family issues—nothing about Kagome—and about Souta's upcoming wedding. It mentioned Kagome's mother being excited for the change in pace.

The next, and last saved letter was an obvious slam on Kagome and her old lifestyle. It was like the other two, but it said, "I am glad that Souta has chosen to lead a normal life. I would have to disown him otherwise."

Kagome grumbled and began rifling through the papers again. It wasn't like she could have chosen her lifestyle. She had no option there. It was either continue the quest, or else have something come and threaten her family. In a way, she was protecting them even though at the time she had mostly done it to be with her old friends. Sango…

She shoved the memory of a bloodied face from her mind, a betrayed voice asking, "He was our enemy… why?" She wasn't going to let that grasp her. She had bills to sort through, a mess of past money to balance, and still had to find a job. The classified ads awaited her, she had to type up her resume, fit it with the proper contact information, and still had to call the school in Saiza to tell them she wouldn't be in school at the end of break.

When she peered at the old grandfather clock in the study to find it read seven o'clock, she was surprised. The chimes dinged and the sound rang throughout the study as if it were music. That clock used to be in the main hall. "Souta should have finished dinner by now." She thought, standing to approach the door that entered the master quarters.

Time had gone by so quickly. She changed into another of her suit-skirts, threw her hair up into that perfect bun she always wore in Saiza, and schooled her features. Souta's friend should have arrived by now, and Souta should have come to get her. Unless Souta was ashamed of her, like Kagome's mother appeared to have been.

She did, after all, bestow Kagome with a bane. It was as if her mother was saying, "Here you go, loser, clean up my mess."

Kagome always thought the pinstripe suit-skirt and jacket accented her features. The dark color contrasted with her odd pale skin and midnight eyes. Her raven hair pulled her look into that of a stern businesswoman—in her mind at least. She took her glasses from their case. She only wore them when she was feeling a little tired. Their semi-thick, rectangular rims were black and they sat near the middle of her nose.

She didn't bother with shoes, but put on her dark blue slippers. A quick check to her makeup in the mirror and she was set to go. She descended the stairs and actually thought for a moment that she was having a heart attack. What she saw was not right.