These characters do not belong to me.

Choosing a Partner

Chapter 3

By Kenzie Kennedy

Sango wiped the sweat off her forehead with a towel. "I didn’t know your mom had this much junk," she complained.

Kagome shook her head and stood up to ease her aching back. "Neither did I. Maybe we ought to call a break and get some lunch."

Sango took a look at her watch and eeped. "It’s one o’clock!" she said out loud.

Kagome’s mouth fell open. "We’ve been working in here since eight this morning!"

"Girls?" Rimiko asked, knocking on the door. "I’ve got something to show you."

"I hope it’s lunch!" Kagome called back. "Geez, mom, I think I found dinosaur bones in ther-" She stopped talking when she opened the door and saw that her mother had two men with her. Her mother opened her mouth to say something…

Kagome slammed the door and leaned against it, breathing heavily. "What is it?" Sango asked. "Rimiko made us tuna fish again?"

Kagome shook her head. "They’re out there," she mouthed. Sango shook her head. Kagome did it again.

"I don’t understand, Kagome. What are you saying?" Sango asked.

"They’re out there!" Kagome shouted.

Sango’s mouth formed a perfect ‘o’ and she looked down at herself. "I’m filthy," she stated resignedly.

Kagome snorted. "I’m not any better."

"You slammed the door on your mother," Sango reminded.

"Yes, and the men are trying not to give you weird looks," Rimiko said from the other side. She winked at the men as they stared at her, then averted their faces. "I think they’re a little dirty from trying to clean out a room for you," she confided.

There was a little bit of scrambling on the other side of the door. "Um, Mom? Do you think they could go away and we could get cleaned up?"

"Sure," Rimiko answered casually. "Come on, guys. Knowing young men as I do, I’d bet you’re hungry. We’ll let the girls clean up and then we’ll have a late lunch." She walked down the hall and waited for the two males to catch up.

She drew both of them in close and whispered, "They’ll come out in about a minute when they’re sure we’re gone. If you look around the corner, you can catch a glimpse." She swallowed at the looks on their faces of horror. "Don’t worry, they won’t come this way. The bathroom’s in the other direction."

Hesitantly, the two men peeked around the corner.

Kagome and Sango slid the door open a crack and listened. Nothing was moving so they walked out and ran to the bathroom.

Inu-Yasha smirked. One of those little girls was going to control him? Not a chance.

Miroku was thinking slightly perverted thoughts but was interrupted when Rimiko tapped them on the shoulders. "Come on. Let’s get that lunch."

***

Kagome and Sango walked down the stairs after they had ran off to get a quick shower. Their stomachs were grumbling at them and they really wanted lunch.

They stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked at each other. "You go first," Sango mumbled.

"No, you go first," Kagome asked.

"Girls, quit arguing and come in. You must be starving," Rimiko called out.

Giving each other rueful smiles, Kagome and Sango walked into the dining room. Rimiko stood there all alone. The girls relaxed for a moment when a dark-haired male walked into the room carrying a plate full of sandwiches. Sango swallowed hard.

A white-haired male walked into the room next carrying a tray full of drinks. They set them down and then stood straight as arrows, looking straight ahead.

Kagome swallowed. She walked up to her slave and said, "Hi. My name’s Kagome."

"Yes, Master Kagome," Inuyasha said flawlessly.

Kagome grimaced. "Just Kagome."

"Yes, Kagome."

Sango wasn’t having any better luck. "I’m Sango," she said quietly.

"Yes, Master."

She sighed. "Just call me Sango." She grabbed the hand that was reaching for her rear. "I wouldn’t."

Miroku retracted his hand as soon as she let it go. "Sorry, Sango."

"Why don’t we all sit down?" Rimiko said.

Sango and Kagome took their usual seats while the males stood. The girls blinked at them. Why weren’t they sitting?

"Girls, you’ll have to order them until they get used to things," Rimiko said.

"Oh. Inuyasha, sit at the table," Kagome said while Sango gave Miroku a similar order. The boys sat and stared straight ahead.

Kagome shivered. She didn’t think slaves behaved like this. Her father hadn’t and her brother certainly didn’t. Where was the intelligence mentioned on his sheet? She shrugged and helped herself to a couple of thick sandwiches. Sango only took one to begin with.

Rimiko placed a sandwich on her plate and snapped her fingers. She got up from the table and went into the kitchen. She came out with a huge plate of french fries. "I forgot about these being in the oven," she explained.

Kagome and Sango exchanged a grin. They knew all about Rimiko and the oven. "Mom, did you turn off the oven?" Kagome prodded.

Rimiko winced and fled back into the kitchen.

Kagome helped herself to the french fries, using the scoop her mother had put into the dish. She motioned for Sango to hold out her plate while she dipped into them again. Once they both had sandwiches and french fries, Kagome looked at the two boys across from them. "Don’t you want to eat?" she asked.

"Yes, Kagome," they said quietly.

Kagome looked at them puzzled when they didn’t move. "Then why haven’t you got anything on your plates?"

"Because, dear, you didn’t tell them to," Rimiko said, coming back from checking that the oven was off. It hadn’t been turned off when she left the kitchen the first time.

"Huh?" Sango said.

Rimiko sighed. "Maybe I should have had a talk with you before now. They won’t do anything that you don’t tell them to. They won’t sleep, eat, clean themselves, or take care of themselves in any way until you tell them to. It is seen as disobedience." She sighed again. "The world laws say you can’t mistreat your slave, but you do have to tell them what to do."

Kagome frowned. "That’s stupid."

Rimiko laughed. "They’ll grow out of it." Rimiko gestured to the slaves. "Don’t you have something to do?" she asked the girls politely.

Sango gave Miroku a stern look. "Eat," she said simply. Miroku moved his hand toward half a sandwich and placed it on his plate.

Kagome motioned Inuyasha to eat. "Have a sandwich," she offered. Inuyasha took a sandwich and ate it mechanically.

With the men eating, Kagome and Sango gobbled down their food with as much grace as they could possibly manage being this hungry. In between bites they told Rimiko about how much stuff she had in that room and they were going to at least another two hours trying to clean it out enough to put the guys in there. Rimiko suggested placing some of the garage, throwing some of the questionable items away, and offered brooms and mops from the closet.

Kagome’s eyes went to Inuyasha’s plate. "Did you eat before you came here?" she asked curiously.

"No, Kagome."

"When did you last eat, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"At six p.m. last night, Kagome," he answered.

Kagome’s eyes bugged out. "You haven’t eaten in almost twenty hours? Why not?"

"I was put on the van before breakfast, Kagome."

"You’re not hungry?" she asked, not believing that someone could go for twenty hours without food and only eat one sandwich.

"Yes, I am hungry, Kagome," he said in a calm voice.

Kagome took a deep breath to control the anger she felt. It wasn’t his fault, he was programmed this way. "Inuyasha?" she said carefully. "At every meal in this house, I want you to eat until you are full. If we are out of this house and you are hungry, I want you to tell me. If we’re in public, whisper in my ear that you are hungry and we will find you something to eat. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Kagome."

"So what are you going to do now? You’re hungry, aren’t you?" Kagome asked patiently. Inuyasha nodded. "If you’re hungry, then you’re going to eat."

Inuyasha reached for another sandwich and ladled a huge serving of fries on his plate.

Sango looked suspiciously at Miroku. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, Sango."

She sighed. "What Kagome said goes for you, too. Don’t go hungry." Miroku reached for the sandwiches.

"Good, girls. Lay down some rules for them to follow and pretty soon they’ll act like your brothers," Rimiko said happily.

Kagome groaned. "Please no!"

Sango snickered. "Your brother’s not that bad. Except when he hogs the TV for those video games of his."

"Pow, pow, blam, blam, is all you ever hear!" Kagome wailed. She looked down at her plate. "Ready to go back to work?"

Sango nodded. "Yeah. We need to work off this meal." They got up and took their dishes into the kitchen.

"Girls?" Rimiko said as they passed through. They turned. "What do you want Inuyasha and Miroku to do after they finish?"

Kagome shrugged. "Come help us?" Rimiko nodded and the girls ran off.

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