InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Fool's Redemption ❯ Crossing the Rubicon ( Chapter 8 )

A/N: Ten pages! Who loves ya? Sorry it took a while to get this update out. I decided to do a partial revision on this chapter and then everything got crazy. The past few weeks have been insane. Car broke down, started a new job that turned out to be a nightmare, so scrambled to find another one, fall tuition was due, family surgeries, sick pets, etc. As a result I had no time to write until recently. Thanks for bearing with me. Remember, if your ever wondering about my progress on a story just check my author page. I update it at the very least once a week. I've found that people get twitchy if I don't :)

Chapter 8 - Crossing the Rubicon

As per their agreement the night before, Kagome arrived at Inuyasha's door at precisely 7pm, with all her possessions shoved into a large backpack that hung heavily from her shoulder. She was exhausted, having gone all night without sleep. She'd sat up the entire time, second-guessing her decision. The oath hadn't been made yet. There was still time to back out. That thought had repeated itself dozens of times in her mind, until she'd finally resolved to honor the agreement and just deal with the consequences later. Backing out now would be admitting defeat, and that was something she refused to do. She still had some pride left. And so, standing before the apartment with an air of decisiveness, she squared her shoulders, raised a hand and knocked on the door.

Inuyasha was the one who answered, looking as if he were trying to hide his surprise that she was actually standing there before him. But, just as quickly, he seemed to collect himself and gave her an arrogant smirk. “I didn't think you were gonna show. Guess you're not completely gutless after all.” Before she could reply, he reached out and took the bag off her shoulder, turning to toss it just inside the door. “Emory!” he called.

She heard the young man's muffled answer from somewhere within the apartment.

“I'm taking her downstairs now. Come get her stuff so I don't trip over it later!” Without waiting for a reply, Inuyasha stepped out into the hallway and closed the door behind him, the latch automatically locking itself with a soft metallic click. Not wasting any time on pleasantries, he headed to the elevator, and Kagome quickly followed. The last thing she needed right now was to lag behind and further spoil his already caustic mood.

The ride down to the bottom floor was spent in silence, Inuyasha staring through the glass as they descended as if he were the only person in the elevator. She didn't mind, really. She wasn't in the mood to make small talk anyway. Once they arrived at the ground floor, Inuyasha headed straight for the vaulted foyer at the entrance to the tower. Kagome didn't have any time to admire her surroundings this time around as she followed his brisk pace through the foyer and to the right, into the passageway framed with the solemn looking statues.

The passageway itself was short, and in a few steps they had emerged into a large, rounded room with another domed ceiling, this one covered in an intricate swirling design of various shades of red and gray. Standing at the far end was a long stone table, cut from dark granite. Three people sat there, facing the room, and as she and Inuyasha approached, she was suddenly surprised to discover that she recognized one of them.

As she stopped before them, she stared at the man sitting on the right side of the table. He had the long, wavy black hair and reddish eyes that she remembered from meeting him once before. It was Naraku, and he appeared to be just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. Quickly recovering, he smiled pleasantly at her, tossing Inuyasha a questioning glance, but Inuyasha didn't seem to notice.

The man sitting at the middle of the table looked up at her as well, and when she met his eyes, he grinned. He had long, straight black hair pulled back into a ponytail, tanned skin, and light blue eyes that shined with confidence. Kagome returned his smile with the best one she could manage despite her nervousness. The last person, an older woman sitting on the left, nodded a greeting as well.

“Ah, there you are,” a thin man with wire-rimmed glasses said as he appeared from a side room. “Good, we can start the session now.” He carried a thin, transparent computer screen tablet in his hand, which he deftly stabbed at with his finger, switching through screens rapidly until he seemed to come to the one he was looking for.

He looked up at Kagome. “Since this is your first time taking an oath, I'll take a moment to explain things,” he said. “I'm the magistrate, in charge of record keeping and overseeing every oath that takes place here. These,” he motioned to the three people sitting on the other side of the table, “are our witnesses. Each one of these people represents the interests of one of the three parties that the oath will affect.”

“Normally, the three witness positions are held by each of the three princes, but obviously we had to improvise for this. So for this session, these are the people who will act as your witnesses: Ingary, who was randomly chosen and asked to sit in for Inuyasha, and who will represent the interests of the oath taker; our Black Prince, Naraku, who will represent the oath giver; and our Gold Prince, Kouga, who will represent the interests of the community as a whole, which is indirectly affected through the actions of the first two.” He motioned to each person in turn as he introduced them.

“The witnesses will hear out the terms of the oath, and if they have any concerns, will discuss them with you. After everyone is satisfied that the terms are reasonable, I will confirm once again that you both wish to solidify the oath. If you both answer yes, at that point you are bound by Alduray law to fulfill the requirements of the oath or risk penalty, the heaviest of which is expulsion from the city. Do you understand all of that?”

Kagome nodded. She suddenly found herself feeling very intimidated by the seriousness of the situation.

“Basically, we're here to make sure everyone gets treated fairly,” Kouga said, grinning up at her. She assumed he was trying to lighten the mood.

The man with the wire-rimmed glasses nodded and pushed another point on his screen. “More or less,” he said as screens suddenly materialized in front of the three sitting at the table. “The terms of the oath are in front of you,” he said to them.

She noticed Naraku lean forward a bit suddenly, as if something on the screen had caught his attention. “Higurashi?” he asked, looking up at her inquiringly. His eyes were narrowed slightly, as if intrigued by this new discovery. “What a coincidence. You share the same last name as the king.”

She had done a very good job of keeping her identity secret so far, especially if one of Alduray's most prominent figures still wasn't aware of her connection to the city's leader. If she didn't think quickly however, that was all about to end. She tried to think of some way to dodge the question, but she wasn't fast enough.

“She's his niece,” Inuyasha sniffed. It was the first thing he had said since they'd left his apartment.

Kagome cringed inwardly, resisting the urge to smack him. Evidently, no one had told him that her relationship with the king was still supposed to be kept under wraps.

“Seriously?” Kouga asked, leaning forward excitedly.

Kagome hesitated, trying to think of something to say.

“Yes,” came a deep voice from behind, and she turned to find her uncle standing just inside the room. “Kagome is my niece.”

“What? Why didn't you tell us?” Kouga asked loudly.

“We didn't tell anyone because we didn't want people to make a big deal over her. We wanted to give her time to settle in.” Seeing his niece's look of dismay from having their relation revealed, he shook his head. “It's alright, Kagome. People would have eventually found out, anyway. Especially after this.” He held up a screen identical to the one the magistrate had. He didn't look happy at all. “Please, don't let this sidetrack you. Continue.” His voice had a sharp edge to it.

The magistrate looked back and forth between Kagome and her uncle, then cleared his throat. “Alright then. Inuyasha, as the oath giver, please present the witnesses with the conditions of your agreement.”

“Kagome will take over the position of my assistant, starting today. She'll carry on the responsibilities and daily activities of my current assistant, and remain in service to me until I decide to release her from her contract,” Inuyasha said simply.

“Any idea when that will be?” Naraku asked, raising an eyebrow.

“When I get tired of her,” Inuyasha replied, and Kagome felt her face grow hot with anger and embarrassment from being talked about with such disregard. But she wisely decided to bite her tongue. He was only making himself look bad. That was evident from the exasperated looks the others gave him.

There was an uncomfortable pause, and then Kouga asked, “What's the reason for the oath?”

“Personal reasons,” Inuyasha replied dryly.

The three witnesses sat in silence for a moment, until Naraku spoke up.

“I do have one concern,” he said, looking to Kagome. “Ms. Higurashi, you do realize this is an open-ended oath, don't you? Once you agree to this, you enter into a contract with him until he decides to break it. Technically, he can keep you in his service for the rest of your life.”

Kagome glanced sideways at Inuyasha. He was staring straight ahead, expressionless. He looked bored. Either that or he was putting on an excellent act of indifference.

Gutless, huh? You don't think I can go through with this, do you? she thought, her ire rising further. She looked forward again and raised her chin defiantly. “I understand.”

Naraku paused, glancing at the other two. All three of them looked a bit perplexed. “Are there any other questions or objections?” he asked. When neither of the other two spoke up, he nodded at the magistrate and shrugged. “We find no reason to reject the oath.”

The magistrate turned back to Kagome and Inuyasha. “Do you agree to Inuyasha's terms?” he asked Kagome.

“Yes, I do,” she replied.

He looked to Inuyasha. “Do you still wish to finalize the contract?”

Inuyasha nodded and said, “I do.”

The magistrate tapped his screen. “You are now bound by this oath. Remember that this is not only an agreement between the two of you, but also an agreement with the city of Alduray. Your word is your bond.” And with that he nodded and smiled. “Thank you for your time.”

The solemn atmosphere of the room seemed to clear instantly, and Kagome felt herself relax a bit, grateful it was all over. As the magistrate and the older woman left the room, Naraku looked up her.

“It's nice to see you again, Kagome,” he said warmly.

Kouga looked back and forth between the two of them. “What, you two know each other?”

“We met a while back. You remember that girl I told you about who's been spending a lot of time with Sango lately?” Naraku asked him, and pointed up at Kagome.

Kouga looked back up at her with wide eyes and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Kagome.” With an impish grin, he turned his head toward Naraku and added, “You were right. She is a babe!”

Kagome felt a hot blush rise, but a sudden, tight grip on her forearm distracted her. Without a word, Inuyasha pulled her away from the table and off to one side of the room.

“Inuyasha!” Kouga shouted after them. “You're an asshole!”

Inuyasha replied with a wave of his middle finger, then stopped and looked down at Kagome. He seemed to be in a bit of a daze. “I won't be returning upstairs with you. Go on ahead without me. Emory will get you settled in. Let him know I have to sit for a few oaths, then I'll be going downstairs. Tell him to meet me there at nine. You won't be joining us tonight, so take the time to get used to the apartment and put your things away.”

Startled by his sudden talkativeness, she could only stare up at him for a moment. He was almost being… nice to her.

Irked by her silence, his eyebrow twitched. “What?” he snapped.

And it's gone, she thought sourly, making a face and looking away. “Nothing,” she muttered.

He sneered at her. “Don't tell me you're getting cold feet already.”

“You'd like that, wouldn't you?” she shot back finally, and turned on her heel, heading for the door and leaving a shocked Inuyasha in her wake. At that moment she made a decision. She may be stuck with him now, but he was also stuck with her. He was going to be civil about this, or else she would make him severely regret this whole idea.

*****

Inuyasha stared after her, shocked into an indignant silence. Her angry retort had caught him completely off guard, and now he was even more apprehensive than he had been when they walked in here together. Here he was, giving her a chance to redeem herself, and she was already taking it for granted, popping off at him. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He wasn't really doing it for her.

You don't care about forgiving her. You just want to make her suffer a bit, don't you? a voice in his head accused. That was the truth.

But now he found himself completely torn. He didn't know whether to be excited by the fact that he was now in a position to take his revenge, or terrified that, from now on, she would be a major part of his everyday life. When the idea of having her work for him had occurred to him the night before, he hadn't taken any time to really think it through. An opportunity had presented itself, and without stopping to consider the consequences, he had immediately seized upon it.

He hadn't really expected her to accept the option when he'd offered it. He'd honestly been expecting her to throw it back in his face angrily. But she didn't. Even after she had accepted, he'd had his doubts as to whether or not she would actually show up on his doorstep the next afternoon. And even if she did, surely she would end up backing out just before making the oath. The whole time he had been expecting her to turn tail at any moment. But, surprisingly, she hadn't. And now…

His eyes narrowed. Now she was his, and he was free to make her as miserable as she had once made him. The idea should have thrilled him. But instead he found his palms suddenly clammy, and his heart beating unusually high in his chest. What was I thinking?

He swallowed his nerves and willed himself to calm down. It was too late to change things now. Besides, he could release her from the contract any time he wanted to. And maybe, if he could make her really miserable, she would break the oath on her own, giving him the right to make her leave the city. When he thought about it like that, things didn't seem quite so overwhelming. It would have certainly been easier if she'd just agreed to leave him alone like he wanted, but this could be fun too.

“Inuyasha, we've got another one in five minutes,” the magistrate called to him.

“Right,” he replied over his shoulder, and headed back to the table.

As Inuyasha took his seat, Kouga smirked and raised an inquisitive eyebrow. “You've got some balls, man. Ropin' the king's niece into an open-ended oath like that. The old man looked pissed.”

Inuyasha wasn't sure if the look was one of amused concern or admiration. He snorted and yawned.

“What did she do to deserve it?”

“None of your business.”

“How'd you manage to get her to agree?”

Inuyasha shot him an annoyed look. “I thought part of our responsibility in this position was to not pry into the details of the oaths we hear.”

“Is she the reason you've been in such a bad mood lately?” Kouga continued.

“Shut up,” Inuyasha groaned.

“How long have you known the king had a niece here?”

“A couple of weeks."

“That's two weeks you've had to tell us!”

“Look!” Inuyasha snapped. “Drop it! You know now, so shut the hell up about it. You sound like some nosy old woman!”

Kouga leaned back in his chair, tipping it onto its hind legs. “Well, if nothing else, this seems to have gotten you out of your bad mood. This is the most civil you've been in weeks,” he said, staring up at the ceiling. “Cranky and obnoxious suits you much better than sulky and brooding.”

Inuyasha propped his chin on a hand. “Just be quiet already,” he growled.

Kouga grinned. “It's good to have you back, sunshine.”

“Fuck you.”

*****

Kagome's uncle wasted no time in letting her know exactly what he thought about her arrangement with Inuyasha.

“What the hell are you trying to do?” he asked as soon as they were out of the room.

“I told you, I want him to forgive me. He said I had to earn it, and this was the option he gave me.” She wisely forgot to mention Inuyasha's first offer.

“You should have told me about it first,” the older man said, running a hand through his hair. “Are you sure about this?”

“Too late now,” she shrugged lightly.

He gave her a pained smile. “That's very true.” He considered her for a moment, his expression growing serious. “Kagome, if you decide later on that this was a mistake, there's nothing I'll be able to do for you. You're the only one who can break your oath, but by doing so you risk having to leave the city.”

“I understand.”

“And as long as he wants may end up being a very long time, you know.”

“Maybe,” she said, a small, cunning smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. “As long as he wants, until he gets tired of me. That was the deal. If it becomes unbearable for me then I'll just have to make sure that it's equally unbearable for him. I'll make him want to free me from the oath if it comes down to it.” She smiled reassuringly up at him. “The oath only gives him so much power over me. I'm a big girl. I'll be alright.”

Her uncle gave her a look of admiration. “He can be very stubborn,” he warned thoughtfully.

“So can I.”

The older man chuckled. “Well, nothing can be done about it now, anyways.” He began walking away, waving a hand in the air. “Good luck!” he called back in a teasing voice.

Kagome shook her head at his suddenly blithe attitude. She realized he was concerned about her, but knowing his mischievous side, he was probably also eager to watch and see how this whole thing would play out. She turned and headed back out into the atrium, but as she passed through the arch, a hand caught her arm and stopped her dead in her tracks. She turned to find Sango standing behind her, an annoyed look on the girl's face.

“I just heard.”

Kagome blinked. “But how…”

“Word travels fast,” Sango said dismissively. “What were you thinking? I told you to talk to him, not bind yourself to him with an oath. You could have at least told me before you went through with it.”

This conversation was going in the exact same direction the previous one had. But it was what Kagome had expected. They were only upset with her because they cared about her. “I'm sorry. But you would have tried to talk me out of it, and my mind was already made up. This was the only way. Well, the only way I was willing to agree to,” she admitted. Her slight blush must have given away what the other options had been.

Sango caught on immediately. “I'll kill him,” she said flatly.

Kagome laughed. “No, it's alright.”

Her friend looked down at her with a bewildered expression. “Kagome, I don't think you realize how big of a deal this is. You made an open-ended oath with him. He doesn't ever have to release you from it.”

“It's alright, Sango,” Kagome repeated. “I know what I'm getting into,” she lied. She really had no idea what she was getting herself into, and had only a hastily constructed exit plan in case things went bad. But she put on a brave face regardless, to ease her friend. She told Sango the same thing she had told her uncle about making Inuyasha want to break their oath if life with him became too unbearable. It seemed to do the trick, and Sango finally consented to the idea. In fact, the older girl's concern seemed to disappear rather quickly, which struck Kagome as a bit odd. She had expected a bit more of a fight from her friend.

Sango stared at her for a long moment, as if mulling over something in her mind, then looked away. “Just don't take any of his crap, okay?”

Kagome assured her that she wouldn't, and they parted ways. As she headed up to Inuyasha's apartment, she marveled at the fact that just two days ago she couldn't even get close to him, and now she would be living with and working for him. It was strange how things could change so quickly.

And so, for the second time that day, she stood before his apartment door and knocked. Almost an entire minute passed, and she worried that no one was home, until she heard footsteps rush up to the other side of the door.

“Sorry!” Emory said breathlessly as he opened the door. He stepped aside to let her in. “I was upstairs putting some things away.”

“It's alright,” she said, stepping inside. Upstairs? she thought, blinking suddenly as her eyes were filled with late day sunlight that came streaming in from the windows on the opposite side of the apartment. Weren't all apartments only one story? She raised a hand to block the glare and looked out into the sun-drenched apartment, answering her own question.

It was one of the most impressive rooms she had ever seen. The entire apartment was one large, long room stretched out before her, easily ten times bigger than her apartment downstairs, its ceiling set incredibly high—almost three stories tall. It was a true loft, with a second floor built over the far end of the room, and two flights of stairs, one along either wall, leading up to it. The apartment was decorated cleanly in white and deep greens, with bright white tile covering the floors and a few large, potted plants scattered about.

Just as in her own apartment, the far outer wall was made entirely of glass windows. To her left was a kitchen that was separated from the rest of the room by a curving counter, and to her right sat a dining set, thought it didn't look as if it had ever seen a day of use. In the center of the apartment was a comfortable sitting area, with white couches arranged before a large, freestanding video screen. In the area under the loft, she noticed a piano sitting proudly, surrounded by bookshelves that lined the walls.

“What do you think?” Emory asked.

I think Sango wasn't being completely honest when she said the lofts weren't anything special. “It's nice.” She was still so stunned that that was all she could think of to say.

“Yeah,” the boy said wistfully. “I'll probably miss it when I'm gone.”

His comment snapped her out of her reverie, reminding her that, as nice as the place was, she wasn't here to enjoy herself.

“Come on, I'll show you your room,” he said, starting toward the stairs that ran up the left wall. “You can look around down here later. Right now I just want to show you the loft.”

There was a small landing at the top of the stairs, furnished with a rounded chaise and a tall, three-paneled mirror. Sliding closet doors lined the wall, and she guessed that this was a dressing area. Glancing across the apartment to the stairs on the opposite wall, she noticed no similar landing, and no line of doors. Instead, the stairs on that side led directly up to the loft.

As they moved beyond the landing, she found that the loft itself apparently served as one huge, sparsely furnished bedroom. A large platform bed, fitted neatly with dark green bedding that matched the rest of the décor, sat faced out against the left wall, accompanied by identical nightstands, one on either side. A long, L-shaped couch stood near the window, turned to look out toward the mountains in the distance.

Across the loft on the other side was what appeared to be another sleeping area. But unlike the first, this one was surrounded by flowing curtains that hung from a tall, ornamental iron frame, sectioning the area off from the rest of the open space. The long, translucent curtains fell across each other in green and coral layers, parting in the middle to reveal the bedroom furniture within. She assumed from the differences in the two sides of the room that the more elaborate one belonged to Inuyasha.

Even on the second floor, the ceiling still towered above them, and the windows seemed to stretch up forever. Beyond the massive glass panels, the earth stretched out for countless miles below, finally terminating in icy, mountainous peaks that sat far away on the western horizon. The late day sun hung low in the tremendous sky, painting the clouds with brilliant oranges, purples and reds. The sight was enough to leave her speechless, and she stood there for a moment, unable to pull her eyes away from the incredible view.

Emory seemed inclined to let her enjoy the moment, and waited patiently until she finally turned to him with a smile. “This place is amazing,” she said softly.

He grinned widely at her. “One of the best parts of the job is living here.” He motioned for her to follow and moved quickly to the right side of the loft, stopping just outside the curtains. He pointed across to the other side. “That's Inuyasha's side. And this,” he turned to look through the sheer material, “is yours.”

Kagome's jaw dropped. “You're kidding,” she said, slowly walking past the curtains and into the `bedroom'. The setup was almost exactly like the opposite side, with a large platform bed resting against the wall and a sitting area near the window. The ornate iron frame supporting the curtains ran from the window, across to the railing overlooking the first story, and from there to the wall, creating a completely enclosed area. In the corner created by the curtains stood a tall, freestanding, oval mirror, with two benches placed on either side. Her bed had been prepared with sheets and blankets and pillows the color of vibrant coral. It was certainly the most luxurious living accommodations she had ever had.

She heard Emory walk up behind her. “He had all this put in today before you got here. Well, not the bed. That was already here. But the rest of it is new. The linens and the curtains and the mirror and the couch over there. I never had any of this stuff.”

Kagome gave him a confused look.

“This was where I slept,” he explained. “And he never put up any of this for me,” he pouted and motioned around. “He went out first thing this morning and made arrangements for all of this to be brought in and set up. The curtains were evidently a huge pain in the ass for him to get with such short notice. He kept grumbling the whole time, `Watch I go to all this trouble and she doesn't even show',” the young man gave his best cranky Inuyasha impression and giggled.

“All of this is new?” she asked in disbelief.

He nodded. “Yep.”

Kagome sat heavily on the edge of the bed and looked around. The new sheets were cool and soft beneath her fingers, and the sun setting outside lit up the color of the fabric to a fiery orange. “Why?” she thought aloud. “I don't get it.”

“What's wrong?” Emory asked, sitting next to her.

“I don't understand,” she said in a humbled tone. “Why would he go to all this trouble if he hates me?”

The young man considered her, then turned his eyes up toward the ceiling thoughtfully. “I don't think he hates you, not really,” he said, crossing his legs at the ankles.

“He does,” she said sadly. “You heard what he said last night. He hates me so much he wants to make me his servant.”

Emory looked at her seriously. “You're not his servant, you're his assistant. Trust me, he knows the difference between the two. This job isn't as bad as you think it is.”

“But then why are you so eager to get away? You didn't try to stop him from giving me your job at all,” she lamented.

“Oh.” He blinked and laughed loudly. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mislead you. God, you must think I'm miserable here, huh?” He smiled apologetically. “I don't want to leave because I'm unhappy. I want to leave because I want to take my girlfriend to meet my parents in Redan. She's never seen the ocean before, and since they live right along the water, I thought it would be great to go stay out there for a few months. But I couldn't do that unless Inuyasha found someone to replace me, so when he suggested you take over, it seemed like the perfect opportunity. That's why I was so excited. It wasn't because I hate working for him or anything.”

Kagome stared at him for a moment. She didn't know whether to feel foolish or relieved that she had been wrong about the young man's motives for so easily handing over his job.

“You're actually taking over a highly coveted position,” he admitted. “Lots of people would love to be a prince's assistant, but usually the princes only choose people they really trust and don't mind being close to for the job. Since you're constantly around each other, you have to be able to get along. That's why I don't think he hates you. He wouldn't choose someone he hated to help take care of him.”

Kagome wasn't entirely convinced, but it was a relief to know that she wasn't taking over a nightmare job. Besides, she thought, feeling the comfortable bed beneath her. The living conditions alone might make this all worth it.

“He can be a bit of a pain, but it's never been anything I've found intolerable. You'll be with him most of the time you're not at your other job or sleeping. You'll wake him up for work at 7am. He's normally pretty good about getting up. You just have to make sure the coffee pot in the kitchen turns itself on automatically. Sometimes it doesn't and you have to do it yourself. He gets grouchy if he doesn't get his coffee. He works with his construction team until 2pm, but a lot of times he'll put in longer hours and help out on the second shift.”

Kagome remembered her uncle mentioning that Inuyasha was a hard worker, and had been awarded his position in the city because of that.

“So he pretty much gets home in the afternoons whenever he feels like coming home. Technically, from the time you get home until 7pm is yours. But if he gets home and decides he needs attention, you'll be the one who has to give it to him. Normally, he'll take a bath and then a nap until he gets up around seven-ish, gets dressed and heads downstairs for the night. He usually stays underground until it closes at 2am, but sometimes he leaves early, and sometimes he decides not to go out for the night at all.

“I don't know if he'll actually have you doing anything when you're on the terrace with him. I just serve drinks and stand at the door to greet people when they come in.” The young man shrugged. “Honestly, sometimes I just feel like decoration. It's not a hard job, but it can get really boring. Especially when everyone else around you is having a good time and you're `working'.

“The biggest pain is when he's had too much to drink and you're the one who gets to drag him back here and up to his bed. Honestly, he's been so drunk before that I've just had to leave him on the couch,” he grumbled. “He gets mad when I do that, but it's not like I can drag him up here by myself if he can't even move his own feet.”

Kagome smiled and shook her head at what she had to look forward to.

“He normally only drinks like that when there's something really bothering him though, so he doesn't do it very often.”

“What will I be doing here in the apartment?” she asked.

Emory shrugged. “Not much. Make his bed, pick up any clothes he leaves around. He eats downstairs or brings stuff home, so there's hardly ever any cooking besides getting him a drink or a quick snack or something, and even then he normally gets it for himself. Sometimes he'll have you get the bath ready when he comes home.

“You shouldn't need to clean anything. There's an older lady in the middle tower who comes by once a week and cleans this place from top to bottom. Same thing with his laundry. All you need to do is make sure it's all waiting by the door for it to be picked up, and then put it away when it's brought back.

“The drop hatch for the incinerator is right outside around the corner, so taking any trash out is easy. Other than that, the job's just a lot of waiting around until he needs you for something. If he's too tired or feeling lazy, sometimes he'll have you run errands for him in the afternoon. That's a pain because you can't get a nap,” he said, wrinkling his nose unhappily.

Kagome nodded. “Doesn't sound too bad.”

“It's not,” he smiled up at her. “I think you'll like it.”

“I wish I had a little more privacy, but I can't complain after all the trouble he went through for all this.”

Emory stood. “It's way more accommodating than anything he ever did for me,” he said, crossing his arms and sulking playfully.

“But what about when he… brings someone home with him,” she asked hesitantly. “You can still see through the curtains, and they're not soundproof…”

The younger man looked down at her. “You shouldn't have to worry about that. Inuyasha…” He paused suddenly, looking to a clock on the nightstand. “Crap! I was gonna go see Anike before I went downstairs! I promised her I would tonight! I'm sorry I have to leave so quickly, but my girlfriend will kill me if I don't stop by. Working for Inuyasha doesn't give me a lot of time to see her, so I sneak in whatever extra time I can. Don't tell him though, okay? He'd get mad that I didn't come downstairs immediately.”

Kagome grinned and shook her head. “No problem. I won't say a thing.”

“Thanks! Feel free to explore the apartment. Just don't touch the piano. He doesn't like anyone messing with it. Your stuff is in the closet over there.” He motioned to a door to the right of the bed. “I don't know what time I'll get back with Inuyasha tonight, so just enjoy your night off.”

She nodded and the young man left her, rushing out of the apartment. He seemed so happy to be heading off to see his girlfriend that she found herself momentarily jealous. It must be nice… she thought with a yawn, lying back onto the bed. The linens smelled like strawberries and vanilla. Together with the retreating daylight and the wonderfully soft mattress beneath her, she found it impossible to resist the pull of sleep. I'm sleeping in Inuyasha's bedroom, she thought as her consciousness began slipping away. How strange…

She was driven from her sleep hours later by the sound of footsteps coming up the staircase on the opposite side of the loft. She sat up to find Emory dutifully dragging Inuyasha up the stairs, the white haired man's arm slung across the younger man's shoulders, Emory sagging helplessly under his weight. She climbed out of bed and rushed over to offer her help, but by the time she reached them, Emory already had him to the bed. The young man bent forward, depositing a thoroughly intoxicated Inuyasha unceremoniously onto the mattress.

“Something really got him going tonight. He was like this the whole time,” Emory sighed down at the pathetic figure grousing unintelligibly on the bed, and then crouched down to take off Inuyasha's shoes. “You have to be careful sometimes,” he added quietly. “If he's in a really bad mood he'll kick at you.”

Kagome made a mental note to rip out a few of his leg hairs if he ever tried that with her. She stood quietly as the young man undressed Inuyasha down to his pants and turned him the correct way in the bed.

“He sleeps with his pants on?” she asked.

Emory cleared his throat. “Well, no. But he's not wearing anything underneath.”

Kagome's expression dropped flat. “I see.”

“Grab the other side of the sheet, would you?” he asked Kagome, taking the bed linen and sliding one side out from under Inuyasha. As they moved the sheet out from beneath him, it roused him from his stupor just enough to open his eyes and look up at Kagome as she gently pulled the sheet over his chest.

It took him a moment to focus on her, but when he did, a pained expression crossed his face. “What the hell was I thinking?” he groaned miserably, turning away from her and closing his eyes. Within seconds he was fast asleep, his steady breathing the only sound in the room as the other two stood over him, one silenced by the suddenly awkward situation, the other silenced by dejection.

Continued in Chapter 9 - Labyrinthine Days

A/N: Mmmmm… Kouga. Expecting someone else, perhaps? Some other dark haired, handsome, leading man maybe? Hmmmmm?

Bwaaha!

I just want you all to know, I only do these things because I love you. And because it's fun for me ;)

I've decided to just keep all of my reviewer responses together from now on, cuz honestly, it's a pain making 3 different files with comments for reviewers on 3 different sites. Also, this way if people reviewing on different sites have similar questions or something then I'll have killed two birds with one stone :) This will, of course, make my A/Ns rather large from now on, but oh well.

FF.net A/N: Thanks for the awesome reviews guys :) Btw, Spirit, I never did get that question of yours X)

AFF.net A/N: Thanks for the great reviews as always everyone!!

BakaUsagi: I actually did consider Shippou for Emory's role. But the more I developed the character, the less Shippou-ish he became. The role just ended up being too passive. Besides, I can't really see Inuyasha and Shippou being able to live together without a mediator ;) And yes, as of right now, Inuyasha is the only one who escaped. However, if I ever decide to do a sequel, that could change.

MM.net A/N: Its great to see more people responding now :D Thanks so much to all of you!

Xaenthe: Thank you for the huge review! I wanted to address your comment about the role of jealousy in my setting, cuz it was something that I had actually hoped to explore more in depth with the story. Herein lies the problem with doing that however (Which also ties in with your curiosity as to why well written fics tend to get less reviews). A lot of readers (certainly not all, but many) tend to have very short attention spans. Hit and run readers if you will :D. They want whatever it is they're looking for in a fic, they want it now, and they don't want to wade through oceans of long chapters, highly detailed worlds, complex character development, and long, plot developing blocks of conversation, etc, to get it. The more substance a story has the more it seems to confuse and scare off some people. So that's why I decided not to make an effort to specifically explore the mentality of the society in my story, at least not in this version (if I ever decide to publish though I'd more than likely reconsider, cuz I'm an anthropology/ex-psych major and studying societies and picking brains fascinates me ;D). I'm already pushing it with the extensive descriptions of the world, which I know made the first few chapters a little hard to sit through for a few readers.  Focusing on things other than the characters themselves would probably turn off readers, and the main reason I post my writing is to have people read it and then get their opinions and suggestions, so that hopefully I can become a better writer. If I can find some way to work it into the story and not have it detract too much from the plot's momentum, then I will try to work a brief explanation of it in here somewhere. If not, then I will just have to leave it to the reader's imagination. I've noticed the same thing you have though. The really good fics always seem to get the least attention, unless they are heavily advertised on a fanfiction forum, or get nominated for an award, or the writer already has a huge fan base, or they have a ton of naughtiness, or they constantly get bumped to the front page every other day to `fix grammar' (review whores), or something. All that really matters to me is that the reviews I DO get are intelligent ;). That's enough for me.

Haha! My longest response for my longest review! But that's ok, cuz I like interacting with my reviewers :)

Influential music for this chapter:

Hey Bad Boy - Tommy February6, Paradise Kiss OST

Sophie's Tomorrow - Joe Hisaishi, Howl's Moving Castle Image Album