InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Jailbirds ❯ Off to work we go... ( Chapter 3 )

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A loud bell rang everywhere around me, I awoke with a scream and simultaneously bashed my forehead against the cold steel of the top bunk.

 

Wha… ? Is it a fire drill? More importantly, what the hell am I doing in a bunk bed? Hadn't Mama gotten rid of these years ago?

 

Don't tell me that old geezer of a landlord Ameda is having another early morning fire drill…?

 

My eyes peeled open to reveal a crappy turquoise room.

 

Don't tell me I'm still here…

 

“Kagome! Are you alright? You hit your head pretty loudly off my bed…”

 

Oh, it was, what's-her-name… Sango!

 

“Yeah, my heads fine, please tell me you escaped from that sorry place last night and dragged me with you…. I'm not really here right?”

 

She laughed, “I wish!”

 

The door jingled and flew open. It was Miroku. Sigh.

 

“Oi!! You weirdo, if you had of been 30 seconds later, and seen something you weren't supposed to, I'd be charged with first degree murder and an extra life sentence!!! I told you before to knock dammit!!!”

 

He blinked and straightened his posture, “Why? What might cause you to murder me my peaceful little cherry blossom?”

 

“You know damn well why!!!” yelled a very pissed off, morning Sango.

 

He looked down at the floor and grumbled something I couldn't understand.

 

“Anyway, the reason I am here is not to get an eyeful of the peachy fleshed Sango,” I could feel her tense with rage on the mattress above me… “It's to tell Kagome she has a meeting with the governor in 10 minutes,” he looked to me now not Sango, “Be ready in 5, I'm to take you to her”. He closed the door without another word.

 

Sango climbed down off her bunk, her pink nightdress riding up her legs against the mattress, I curled back under the covers to conserve some modesty, while she undressed right in front of me.

 

I could hear the birds outside the window, I wondered if they knew that this place kept people from their freedom would they still nest here, probably, birds are stupid and don't care about humans, which is why they crap on their cars and washing, ok I take back the stupid part, they know exactly what their doing…

 

“Come on Kagome, get dressed already, you're wanted in the office, you still have to wash your face and clean your teeth come on!!” a topless Sango pulled off my sheets, dragging me by the leg out of the bed.

 

I squealed and closed my eyes.

 

“Cop on to yourself Kagome, this isn't some silly camp, get dressed, and I know you've seen boobs before.”

 

I sighed and got up; she was fully dressed now, navy bottoms and white t-shirt.

 

I stood there deciding what to wear, it was my first full day here…

 

“Just pick anything; no-one cares what you look like here.”

 

I did as I was told and grabbed the first off each pile, grey bottoms and navy t-shirt, before I pulled off my nighty, I glanced around to see Sango looking at me.

 

“Do you mind? I don't like people looking at me when I'm in any state of undress…”

 

She snorted and mumbled something, opening the shoji screen to our mini en-suite, I heard her brushing her teeth.

 

Quickly done I went in to start on mine, but, there was no mirror…

 

“Sango how do they expect us to wash and clean our teeth without a mirror?”

 

“You know how to direct your hands to your face and mouth right?”

 

“Yeah…”

 

“So what's the problem? Quit whining and get ready Miroku is outside the cell waiting.”

 

Note to Self: Sango is not a morning person…

 

My first bathroom experience without a mirror was interesting. I walked out only to have Sango wipe toothpaste from my mouth, she then resumed her glare at the back of Miroku's head outside the door.

 

“You shouldn't be so hard on him...” I mentioned. This earned me a particularly stiff glare.

 

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I was sitting in a fairly large office for a while, it was pretty normal as far as offices were concerned, white, bookshelves, ornaments, computer, a triangular name thingy that read; “Tomita Nazuna”, yup the governors office was quite boring…

 

When she eventually decided to grace me with her presence I could smell the Miso soup off her, she was undoubtedly just after finishing it, and the smell made my stomach rumble in protest… I hoped she'd be quick about what she wanted.

 

She put on a smile, I wasn't sure if it was fake or not, I could never tell, and I just wanted food at that moment, it was all I cared about…

 

“Now Kagome, I have a special assignment for you, I've chosen you for this task because of your background, and it would be a shame to let your skills go to waste and let some amateur do it instead. I hope you don't mind, but you won't be given a choice of labour like everyone else, but don't worry, its very similar to your last career, only less pay,” she laughed at her own little joke, I laughed out of a mixture of nervousness and pity for her lame attempt at being witty,

 

“Here at Liberty Institute of Rehabilitation, we house some of the oldest and rarest books in the government's collection, we also have other items, but they are none of your concern. Now, our library is in a woeful state and your duty is to organise it for us, and put the entire collection on the computer, it won't be completely in vain however, there are a lot of other books down there, that fit into any library, we receive them when others have too many copies and such, these will be available to other rehabilitants of good merit like yourself when it is ready, before you agree to this, I must warn you, you have no other option, just whether or not you will do it of your own free will, or by force, now what do you say…”

 

“Umm, sounds great, but can I ask a question?”

 

She nodded.

 

“Why are these rare books kept here and not in the state archives like the rest of them?”

 

My curiosity was caught between, why they where not available to the public, under strict circumstances of course, and the fact that I could be the first person looking at them in years…

 

I am such a nerd…

 

“Well Kagome, since you will be working with these items I suppose it wouldn't hurt to indulge you with this information, the books and scrolls we have are mostly the only copies of records from before the Tokogawa Shogunate and even from before Oda Nabunaga, some scrolls contain legends and stories from centuries before that again, one of the only scrolls depicting the Kamikaze in the 12th century is in our possession, the only one not privately owned. These are big money in the black market and where else better to keep them. Of anyone that does know of their existence, none would ever suspect, here, the very place that houses criminals like them. Satisfied?”

 

She raised an eyebrow. I was still digesting all of this information.

 

“Yes Miss.”

 

“Very well, you will also be given an assistant, we have found someone trust worthy, but they do not have all the information I have provided you with, to everyone else here, I mean everyone that isn't you or me, those old books and scrolls are just old tax records and censors from the Tokogawa Shogunate, that the archives don't want to be clogged up with, and since your from there, they will believe you, am I clear?” The last sentence laced thickly by threat.

 

“Crystal,” I was trying to contain my excitement, oh I knew those ancient Japanese language classes in college would so pay off sooner or later…

 

“You can inform anyone who asks that they can use the facility, when it is done up, providing they've been good, that might give them extra incentive.”

 

“Yes Miss, Thank you Miss”

 

She nodded again, “You're dismissed”, she pressed a button on her phone and spoke, “Miroku.”

 

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I was brought to the breakfast hall, there was no queue so I marched straight up, I hated waiting in line with a passion...

 

My face fell when I saw the contents of the trays, or lack there of, most where empty, all that was left was some wilted vegetables, tofu cubes and a small amount of rice, just enough for one portion, and cold tea.

 

I couldn't find Sango when I looked for her, so I sat on my own.

 

When I'd finished my feast, I tried looking for her again, even in my Meerkat pose I still couldn't see her, but given that this hall was absolutely huge, I decide she could be anywhere and that it would be more constructive to make shapes out of my leftover rice...

 

Spoons weren't as good as chopsticks when creating masterpieces, as I soon found out…

 

When the bell rang, signalling the end of food time, I wondered why everyone was sitting on the tables and chairs in out little court yard instead of going back to their cells.

 

Break time!!

 

How could I forget?

 

Easy when it's me I suppose…

 

“Kagome over here!!” I turned around to see Sango waving frantically, and a small group of girls beside her.

 

Maybe she's over her little mood…

 

I went over and said “Hi” to the group, and was slightly miffed when I my only response was a bombardment of questions.

 

“So what are you in for?”

 

“Did you rob something?”

 

“Did you kill someone?”

 

“Was it your husband?”

 

“Your dog?”

 

The questions came at me from all sides; I wasn't given a chance to answer any of them before more came at me.

 

Soon I blanked out, and all the voices were just drifting across the void that was now my mind, not really hearing any of them, just a continuous drone.

 

It was so much like being with my friends in High School. If a boy so much as said hello to me in the hall they where on me, like starving dogs on a juicy stake, or in those instances, gossip.

 

My mind wandered to what each of them was up to now, anything to escape reality.

 

Eri didn't go to college after High School; she became a hair dresser and is now raking in a total fortune.

 

Yuka went to Tokyo U to do law, she was always quite aggressive maybe I should call her…

 

Ayumi was engaged to some son of the Sanwa Zaibatsu in High School, last I heard, she eloped with an Australian… who knew the girl had it in her…

 

I was snapped back to the present by a pinch on my arm; in front of me was Kaede shooing away all the girls that had surrounded me moments earlier, and Sango looking at me on my right side.

 

“You alright?” she was normal again.

 

“Yeah, just zoned out, I couldn't handle all those questions.”

 

“Yeah, sorry about that, I never thought you'd react that way to it, everyone goes through it though, so you'd better prepare for it.”

 

I nodded, Kaede was gone again. That old woman was weird.

 

“So what activity you got?” Sango said patting the butt of the chair beside her.

 

I sat down, “they have a library they want me to sort out, and you can take out books when I'm done.”

 

“Cool, can't wait, I've been reading that same Sherlock Holmes book over and over for months now, I know it inside out.”

 

“Well give me a few weeks and it'll be up and running”

 

“You're starting this week?”

 

“Yup”

 

“That's great!! We'll be on dry cleaning rota together.”

 

“What? Dry cleaning?” I slumped in my chair, it sounded hard…

 

“Yes, Dry-cleaning, it's a lot of work, very sweaty, but at least we'll have each other to talk to” she attempted a weak smile, not hiding the fact it was horrible at all…

 

“So what work do you do here?” could she be my assistant? That would be quite helpful since I already knew her.

 

“I'm in the garden, we grow vegetables and flowers and stuff, we sell some in the local market, mostly the flowers though, we eat the vegetables here, other wise we wouldn't have any.”

 

“I see.”

 

The bell rang again.

 

Sango sat there a few minutes more, everyone else was lining up in various places, she was watching one line in particular, the one for gardening I guessed.

 

“Ah shit, that perv is on watch this week again. Why me?”

 

I sat bewildered as she stomped off towards her designated queue.

 

Ayame came over to bring me to the library.

 

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* Zaibatsu = The name for the great family controlled Banking / Industrial / Business combines which dominated Japan's economy in the 20th Century. Following World War II, many great zaibatsu networked together to form keiretsu, helping Japan to become the world economic power that it is today. The top zaibatsu are Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Dai Ichi Kangyo, Sumitomo, Sanwa and Fuyo. Zaibatsu are comparable to the “Barons of Industry” in early 20th Century America… Take note, its important for future reference.

 

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Shorter chapter I know, but I'm really tired, and at least it's an update. The story is beginning to move forward after this chapter anyway…

 

Does anyone out there know which one of Kagome's friends is which? I know Yuka is the one with short hair, but which is curly hair and which is headband girl? Help, it may be important…

 

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Paranoid: thanks for your review, an inside, view, that's interesting…

 

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Youkai Obsessed: thank you, unfortunately no naraku/sess in this story, sorry, but theres other stuff you might like!!

 

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Inuyashaschick101: how'd you know I was a girl? That obvious or does it say it somewhere…? Ah well, thanks for reviewing!!!

 

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I know I got another one on mm.org tonight but mm.org is being silly and won't let me read it, so they'll just have to wait until next chap.

 

Thanks a million to everyone that read!!

 

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