Disclaimer: InuYasha and co. belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The story belongs to me.

Warning: This story is rated M for strong language, sexuality, and violence. You have been duly warned.

Summary: After a tragic accident Kagome is left penniless and homeless. She turns to prostitution as her only escape from destitution. A few years later she meets an interesting surprise client who isn't interested in sex. Soon, freak accidents involving fire begin occurring and Kagome is convinced someone is out to get her. Her only hope lies with the strange client who took her heart by treating her as someone other than a common whore.

A Whore's Life

Prologue

The flames licked the wood like an aroused lover, the choking black smoke rising in the sky and blocking out the moon's light. Firemen raced onto the scene with thick hoses and turnout gear, shouting orders each and every direction.

There was chaos all around her. Police officers behind her put up yellow tape and forced the crowd back with harsh words and hands. The spectators watched the house now entirely engulfed in flames like it was some sport, all of them eager to see if the honored shrine would succumb to the blazing hot flames.

She stood there, fixated… horrified by what she saw and entranced by the sheer power and heat of the fire. She could feel the skin on her face burning from a hundred feet away and the thick black smoke made her cough.

An explosion shook the ground. The second story of the building collapsed and Kagome screamed while running toward the building in a vain attempt to save the only life she had ever known. Strong arms grabbed her from behind and forcefully dragged her away from the scene and to an ambulance nearby.

Without realizing it she fought tooth and nail with the paramedic, scrambling to get back to her home and her family that was still trapped inside. If she could only get inside she could save them, but the man holding her back wouldn't let her.

The paramedic gained the assistance of two police officers to detain her and bring her to the ambulance. He applied a mask over her face and supplied it with oxygen, while asking her questions, which she ignored.

There were more sirens in the distance and yet more chaos. She took no notice of these things and continued to stare helplessly into the distance where her home, her family, her life was losing the long-fought battle.

There was another explosion and the entire house collapsed, sparks spraying everywhere. Kagome screamed, ripped off the mask and fled towards the destroyed home. Within moments she was tackled from behind and not-so-gently forced to the hard ground cracking her skull on the pavement and immediately blacking out.

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The methodic beeping woke her some time later. She felt sluggish, her throat raw, her head pounding, and her body feeling like a sack of rocks. When she forced her eyes to open and take in her surroundings she was surprised to find herself in a hospital bed. The beeping noise was the monitor to her right keeping tabs on her pulse and blood pressure. Wires were connected to her chest and an IV was attached to her arm supplying her with fluids.

Kagome tried turning her head but found that her neck ached too much and she groaned in the process. With her eyes she located the button for the nurse and after some shaky fumbling managed to press it.

Within moments a slightly heavy, severe looking woman entered the room with a police officer in tow. The two of them regarded her with pity and went about their separate duties: the nurse took her vital signs while the police officer brought over a chair to begin asking questions.

Suddenly Kagome found herself extremely wary. Where was her family? Were they all right? Had they been in the house when it collapsed, or had they managed to escape out the back door?

"Higurashi Kagome?"

"Y-yes." Her voice, damaged by the smoke, came out hoarse and quiet. It hurt to speak and she instinctively swallowed to ease the pain.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news, child."

"Where's my family? Are they okay? When can I go see them?" She asked, too afraid to hear the bad news.

"I'm sorry, Kagome, but your family is dead. They were in the house when it collapsed. On the bright side, they suffocated from the smoke and suffered relatively little."

"How does that make me feel any better? My family is still DEAD, you insensitive prick!" She cried out and attempted to sit up. The nurse forced her back into bed and made her drink a thick, foul tasting liquid.

"I am sorry for your loss, Kagome."

She let out a disbelieving, hysterical bark of laughter. "No you're not! This is just daily routine for you! This is Tokyo, not the suburbs, people die all the time! You don't give a shit about me or my loss!" She threw her hands up in the air and let out another peal of hysterical laughter.

"Listen to me, Kagome. I need to know if any of your family members smoked."

"No, none of them. Why?"

"The fire was started by a smoldering cigarette at the base of the front wooden steps."

"My family doesn't smoke, sir." Kagome emphasized the respectful "sir" and laced her words with mockery.

"Is there someone that is holding a grudge against you? Anyone at all? Someone you owe money to? Did your family get into an argument with anyone recently?"

"No, no one. My family was highly respected; we lived in a shrine for crying out loud!"

"I've looked through some past records and noticed that your parents filed a restraining order against a young man two years ago. Could he possibly have a connection to the fire?"

"What? Him? No, he wouldn't do anything like that. He moved to the U.S. after my parents filed the restraining order. We haven't heard from him since. Listen, are we done here? That medicine made me tired."

"For the moment. Get some rest, stay with a relative. I'll be in touch." The officer stood to leave and the nurse followed. They left the room without a backward glance and let the door close with a soft click, leaving Kagome feeling more alone than ever before.

"What family? My parents, grandfather, and brother were all I ever had." She whispered to no one.

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Three weeks had passed since the fire. The funeral was short and though many people showed up it was out of respect for the priest who had run the shrine, her grandfather. The fire was deemed an accident, yet no one was able to figure out how a cigarette had caused so much destruction.

The day Kagome left the hospital she was confronted by a lawyer and a financial consultant, both with more bad news. Her parents had no living will, and since the property belonged to the government Kagome had been left homeless. The financial consultant yielded even worse news. Her family, though seemingly had been well off, had truly been in severe debt, which left her in debt. The cheap funeral was made possible by the many donations from the people who visited the shrine on a regular basis.

So there she was, three weeks later, walking down a deserted street in the middle of Tokyo. No family. No money. No connections. No food. No shelter. Worse yet, it was her nineteenth birthday that day and she was all alone, cold, and hungry.

Kagome still hadn't cried for them. She wouldn't allow the tears to come. In order to survive she had to be strong and crying was a sign of weakness she could not afford.

The wind blew from behind and Kagome shivered. She wrapped her arms around herself and continued to trudge down the street, trying to think of any way to save herself from her current predicament.

There were footsteps to her right and immediately she went on guard. She was an easy target for the thugs on the street and because of her stubborn nature she refused to be caught unawares.

The person approached her, garbed in the tackiest looking attire she had ever seen. The young woman was no older than herself. Her face was plain and her face was brightly colored with poorly done make-up, but her clothes… her clothes spoke volumes and plainly said "I'm a hooker".

"Hey there, what's a pretty girl like you doing out so late?" The stranger asked. Kagome let the girl approach but took a step back when she became too close.

"I'm lost." Kagome lied.

"Somehow I don't believe that. I'm Yuka."

"Kagome…"

"It's nice to meet you, Kagome. I hope you don't mind me saying so, but you've got the hopeless look about you that tells me you're out on the streets and you have no where to go."

"How… how did you know?"

"I was you about a year ago. I know that look. I can offer you a job, though I warn you it isn't glamorous. A pretty girl like you will make a bundle."

"Sorry, but no. I won't reduce myself to prostitution." Kagome replied. And yet, in the pit of her stomach, she was afraid that was the only option for her.

"Listen, hun, I know it ain't glamorous, and you get a bunch of perverted sleezebags breathing in your face, but what other choice do you got? I wandered around for months, stealing food; sleeping in alleys… it's rough. There are no jobs out there, especially not for a girl our age. Take it from someone who knows. I was desperate back then, and you look just as I felt. So what do you say? Stick around me for a while and it'll be no big deal. I'll teach you the ropes and I'll even get a decent John for your first time."

Kagome pondered her words and knew them to be true. For the last three weeks she had been searching for a job and was left with nothing. The managers at the local fast food chains wouldn't even consider her. She took in her surroundings and looked at the dark sky laced with thick clouds. It looked like rain.

"I can quit, right? At any point in time?" The girl named Yuka smiled and nodded. "Okay." Kagome felt like she was condemning herself. But what other choice did she have?

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AN: I hope you all enjoyed the prologue. This story will be a long one, I can already tell. Inuyasha and the gang will show up around chapter 2 or so.