Accidental Time Traveler-InutaishoxOC

3. Bandit Troubles

Layla crouched in a small vegetable garden a paltry pile of weeds slowly growing beside her. Sweat trickled down the back of her neck as she gave a particularly nasty clump a vicious tug. "I never should have left Boston." She muttered darkly.

After escorting her back to the village Inutaisho left with the others in search of jewel shards. Before they left Layla had asked Kagome to deliver a letter to the university to explain her absence. It had taken her awhile to craft a believable excuse, involving a family emergency. Which inevitably reminded her to send a letter to Grams too so she wouldn't worry herself sick because Layla was missing.

Layla ripped out another clump of weeds viciously. "But no, I had to be ambitious and travel half-way around the world to improve my resume."

She'd had her eye on an assistant professorship at a liberal arts college in Boston but to compete with the other hopefuls she needed more than three years of adjunct teaching to become a viable candidate. When the offer appeared in her inbox from Tokyo University she'd jumped at the opportunity.

With the sun searing her scalp and the soil hot beneath her bare feet, Layla regretted her decision. She'd spent the next three days curled up in the corner of Kaede's hut, despair wrapped around her like a cloak. Not eating, hardly sleeping as her mind raced in circles over her predicament.

The university probably wouldn't accept her excuse. Vanishing with no advance warning was hardly the mark of a professional. She was going to have a hard time repairing her reputation if she got back to her time.

When I return to my own time. Layla corrected herself sternly, adding to her pile.

Eventually, the old priestess had grown tired of Layla's sulking and coaxed her outdoors and put her to work with simple tasks. Gathering firewood, cleaning the iron cooking pot, sweeping the hut. Mindless tasks that helped keep her mind off being trapped.

Her situation wasn't something easily fixed with a wave of a magic wand. Five hundred years was a large ravine to leap across.

Layla discovered it was good to channel her anger, fear, and frustration into something useful even if doing chores did nothing to alter her circumstances.

There is one good thing to come of this Dr. Who extravaganza. She met a gorgeous man. Inutaisho had been nothing but kind to her, considering she had sexual harassed him within minutes of meeting him.

Her cheeks burned from the memory of her humiliating sorority girl behavior.

Layla turned around to work on the next row, catching a whiff of herself when she gathered a pile of weeds in her arms. The pungent stench of body odor emanated off her sweaty skin. She longed for a bath but none of the huts in the village were equipped with a way to bathe.

Well, if she got desperate enough (and she was getting there) she'd take a dip in the river after dark when the villagers were in bed and wash her clothes. Dirt streaks marred her nightgown. As her only clothing, it was getting grimy and needed a solid scrubbing.

Trust her to fall into a time where the concept of frequent bathing wasn't important. And don't get her started on the toilet situation.

Layla tried to look on the bright side. She had a roof over her head and food in her stomach. She was fortunate Kaede had extended her hospitality to her. The priestess owed her nothing.

She was more than willing to do a few chores for room and board.

Layla finished weeding the garden and walked deeper into the village to find Kaede and see if the priestess had any more tasks for her.