Honor's Price by 33andobsessed

Chapter One

Inuyasha and crew do not belong to me, I only claim the story line.

Chapter 1

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The clock on the wall seemed to mock me as it hovered just a few minutes to closing time. With a sigh, I once again tried to explain why the book that was ordered just that morning had not yet come in. "I promise, the very moment that your book comes in, I will give you a call, Mrs. Katyama." After making me swear and ensuring that I had her phone numbers, I was finally able to usher the last customer out the door and gratefully lock it behind her.

Resisting the urge to collapse wearily into the overstuffed armchair nestled invitingly amongst the mysteries, I went over to the register and started to close it down. I was busily trying to count the pile of coins that a couple of kids used to buy their books and didn't notice that I was no longer alone in the small store until I felt someone touch my shoulder.

"Aaahh!" Spinning quickly, I jumped and my elbow knocked the register to the floor with a crash. I took a step back and I almost fell; I would have except for a steadying hand on my arm.

"Are you okay, Kagome?" I looked up and grinned at the elderly woman standing beside me, amusement twinkling in her eye.

I could feel myself blush in embarrassment as I answered, "Yes, Kaede. You just startled me." With a quick apology, she knelt down and helped me gather the dropped coins and bills.

Kaede owned the little bookstore that I worked in and she treated me like family. She was probably in her seventies; her hair was a steely grey, and her face was creased by a mass of wrinkles. She only had one eye; the other was covered by a black patch. Kaede liked to tell the kids who came into the store that she lost it while fighting as a samurai before she was discovered to be a woman in disguise. Needless to say, all the kids thought that she was wonderful and would often come to hear her stories. One day, she actually confided that she had lost it in a childhood accident, but made me promise not to tell anyone. I, too, preferred her samurai tale of its loss and agreed to keep her secret.

"How is your brother doing?" I sat back and smiled thoughtfully.

"He is doing really well. He only has two more years of medical school and then he will begin his internship." My brother, Souta, was only 16. He was one of the youngest to be accepted into medical school where he managed to maintain high grades. I was especially proud of him because I had raised him by myself for the past 5 years after mom and dad were killed.

Kaede smiled, but I noticed her studying me intently. "I am glad to hear that, but you need to take better care of yourself. I am afraid that you are spreading yourself too thin." I shook my head. I had to work two jobs in order to make sure Souta could get through school okay. It didn't matter to me that I lived in a dump located between two rival gangs, or that my clothes were too old to be considered fashionable or that I subsisted on packaged ramen and dry cereal. I only cared that Souta's schooling was paid for, and that he was happy.

"I wish that you would at least move in here above the shop. That way, I wouldn't worry about you going home alone." We both stood up and Kaede insisted on carrying the cash till to the back.

"You know why I won't move here, Kaede. What would the kids do in the mornings?" I held a before-school childcare out of my small apartment, although, if you wanted to be technical, I babysat between 2 and 4 kids from 4 am until 8 am when they went to school while their parents were at work.

Kaede sighed. "I know, but I am worried about you." I put my arms around her small frame. She measured in at 5'1" to my 5'2", but for some reason, she seemed especially frail that evening.

I cherished the time I spent in her embrace, only to gasp and draw away when I saw how late it was. "I am sorry, Kaede, but my bus..." My words trailed off as I scrambled for my things and hurried towards the door.

Kaede followed and handed me my purse as she opened the door for me. "Be careful going home and you get some rest. I will see you in a few days." I nodded and waved as I ran towards the bus stop, praying that I hadn't missed the last bus home for the evening.

The bus was ready to pull out as I arrived panting for breath, but the driver waited for me and allowed me to board before lurching back out into the now dark streets. I stumbled to an empty seat near the front of the bus and sat down with a sigh. A quick glance showed that I was the only human on the bus, but there were four demon passengers towards the back – 3 wolf demons and a wind demoness. All four belonged to gangs. I saw just enough to know that I wanted nothing to do with them and proceeded to ignore them the best I could for the rest of the ride.

Ignoring them was proving difficult as it appeared that one of the wolf demons had been drinking and now was trying to flirt with the demoness, his friends egging him on, while the demoness refused to respond to his advances. I slouched in my seat in hopes that they would not notice me and I would be left alone.

My stop approached none too soon, and I gratefully got off the bus and headed home. I picked up the pace when I realized that the others had also gotten off at the same spot. I kept my head down and stayed near the buildings, walking as quickly as I could. I could hear the one guy, Kouga, tell the demoness, Kagura, that he could show her what a real demon could do. She laughed at him as his friends realized that they were no longer alone and tried to get him to leave quietly.

"Come on Kouga, just let her go. She ain't worth it." I took a quick look back and saw one of the wolf demons with a shaggy mohawk, grab the good-looking demon with his long, brown hair pulled into a ponytail, by the arm and try to drag him away. The other demon kept looking around nervously. Kouga roughly pulled his arm away.

"I ain't going anywhere until I show this bitch that she is on the wrong side of the street. She shouldn't be hanging around Fang territory unless she wants to be messed with." I quickly ducked into a doorway and placed a hand on my wildly beating heart. This was not good, I knew that trouble was coming. The Fangs were one of the gangs that held territory near my apartment. For the most part, they didn't cause much trouble, but I recognized the demoness Kagura. Her boyfriend, Naraku, was the leader of the Spiders. I sometimes watched Kagura's younger sister, Kanna, before school.

The Spiders held territory nearby and were vicious rivals of the Fangs. The Spiders were notorious for their escapades and their ruthlessness during fights. I peeked around the doorway and saw Kagura give the wolf demons a mocking smile as she shouldered past Kouga and stepped into the embrace of a shadowy figure.

"Hey babe, are these mutts giving you trouble?" Naraku and a few of his gang stepped into the light and stared menacingly at the three Fangs.

"Not really," Kagura answered as she wrapped an arm around Naraku's neck and licked his cheek. "They are nothing more than a group of puppies yapping for attention."

"Who are you calling a puppy?" Kouga demanded as he threw a punch at the demoness, only to be dropped by a kick to the gut by one of the watching Spiders. With a growl, the other two Fangs started into the fight. Seconds later, the street in front of me turned into a battlefield as more Fangs and Spiders joined in the melee.

I cowered in the doorway, too scared to move. Not that there was anywhere I could go at the moment without making a target of myself. I could hear gunshots and the clashing of swords and knives above the shouts and cursing catcalls. A stray gunshot struck the wall in front of my nose and I instinctively jumped up and ran for home. That probably was not the smartest thing to do, but to be totally honest, I panicked. My only thought was to get home and lock the door.

I ran blindly for about a block before a crack sounded and I felt a sharp, stinging pain in my wrist. I looked down and saw blood – my blood – and immediately grew faint. Now don't get me wrong; I don't get squeamish at the sight of blood, as long as it belongs to others. I can and have bandaged my share of bloody gashes, and have watched in fascination as Souta's broken arm was reset several years ago, but if I knick myself shaving, I pass out. Kinda stupid, I know, but what can I say?

Anyway, when I saw blood on my arm, I gagged back the bile that rose in my throat and staggered to a stop before I quickly and no-so gracefully sat down. I tried to steady my breathing as my vision began to fade. I was vaguely aware of someone standing beside me, but all I could make out was white hair and intense golden eyes. My feeble attempts to keep from passing out failed and I sank into darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Change of viewpoint~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Up and down the street, the Fangs were cleaning up the mess left behind when the Spiders made their strategic retreat. Inuyasha ran a hand through his silver hair and spied Miroku and Sango tending to the few injuries of the few human members of the Fangs; the wounded demons would all heal fine on their own. Sango caught his eye and nodded towards the sidewalk where Kouga and his cousins sat nursing their own injuries.

With a sigh, Inuyasha walled over and stood above the three wolf demons, only to shake his head in disbelief; Kouga, as well as the other two, reeked of alcohol. "Are you okay?" he asked the three demons. They all nodded and Kouga smiled sheepishly up at him.

"Yeah, we're okay." Kouga looked around and sighed in relief when he didn't see any bodies lying around. "Any serious injuries?" he asked. Inuyasha shook his head.

"None of ours," he said with a glare as the wolf demon started to smile. Inuyasha smirked as he prepared to take Kouga down a notch. "But a civilian was hit by a stray bullet." Inuyasha watched in satisfaction as all three wolf demons paled.

"Ah, shit! How bad?" Kouga prayed that it wasn't serious. Hopefully, as long as it wasn't bad, their leader, Sesshomaru wouldn't find out. Sesshomaru had a very strict sense of honor and held his gang members to the same rigid rules. One of the biggest rules in the gang was that no civilian was to be involved in gang business. The fact that one was injured during a fight that he had started, meant that Kouga was in deep, deep trouble.

Inuyasha was enjoying Kouga's discomfort. He and Kouga were "friendly" rivals and each would gloat in the other's failures, but when push came to shove, there couldn't be any two closer friends. Inuyasha allowed his ears to flick forward as he tried to relieve some of the stress from Kouga. "Oh, the wound isn't that bad, it is only a flesh wound." Kouga sighed in relief.

"Good. Then Sesshomaru doesn't need to know." Kouga stood and dusted off his pants. He looked up and stared in dawning realization when Inuyasha didn't answer him. "He doesn't know, does he?"

"Sorry, Kouga, Sesshomaru already knows. After all, she passed out at his feet." Inuyasha pointed behind Kouga, who cringed as he turned around to see the tall, silver-haired demon leader of the Fangs glare in his direction. At the leader's feet lay a petite young woman in a dead faint.

Kouga swallowed painfully and tried desperately not to whimper in fear. "Oh shit," he whispered as Sesshomaru slowly smiled and beckoned him over. Kouga shuddered; whenever Sesshomaru smiled, awful things happened around him.

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TBC

A/N: Well, here is the first chapter to a new story. Please let me know what you think. Thank-you to my wonderful beta, Breezie for waiting for me so patiently; it finally paid off!

As always, Read, Enjoy, and Review!