A/N: I do not own Inuyasha: characters, anime, or manga. The Miko sisters would not say no to owning an Inuyasha plushie, I would wager...

"Hi, is this where the auditions are for The Wolf's Heart?"

Casting a jaundiced, bloodshot eye over the girl, the hanyou janitor snorted. She was about a head shorter than him, with deep blue eyes, roseate cheeks, and rich ebony hair that glimmered in the dim backstage light. His usual frown deepened as he realized what he was doing. Dangit, Sess, your bloody descriptive words are rubbing off on me. Grunting an affirmative, he turned and shoved the broom around the floor again.

"Oh," she seemed a bit put off by his manner, but rallied and smiled in relief. "Good, I'm glad I found the right place. I just arrived in New York a day or two ago."

And what's a girl like you doing in a famous and rough city like this? thought the other. Aloud, he murmured, "Oh, yeah?" and continued to sweep.

"Yup. I moved here from Hollywood."

Ah. So she came from the city of glitz and glamour but decided not to stay. Wonder why. "That so."

"I'm Kagome, by the way."

"Nice name." Sweep, sweep.

For a moment, Kagome looked at him in expectation. When he offered no other comment, she spoke up timidly, "Um…what's your name?"

"Inuyasha. Look, human, I'm not the director. I'm the janitor. The guy you want is Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha leaned the broom against a tarp-covered object and sighed, taking off his navy blue Yankees hat and running his claws through his hair.

At the sight, Kagome's breath caught. Before, she hadn't really noticed his long silver hair but now, she was entranced by the shining waves that surrounded two silver-furred ears on the top of his head. Her fingers tingled, longing to reach up and stroke them. She noticed his amber eyes were staring back at her questioningly and she looked away in the direction he pointed. "Um…Sesshoumaru?"

A finger pointing to the veritable maze of stage props, set pieces, and other junk that cluttered the backstage area, Inuyasha picked up his broom. "Go through there and you'll reach a curtain. Don't go through it – Sesshoumaru will bite your head off for messing up the auditions. He's a taiyoukai and the coffeemaker is on the blink – not a good combination. By the way," he looked her up and down abruptly. Kagome felt a slow blush rise. "What part are you trying out for?"

"Heilyn."

"You?! Heilyn?!" Inuyasha let out a great bark of laughter, moving away to sweep elsewhere.

Stung by his mocking response, Kagome was half-tempted to pursue and make a few choice insults of her own. Yet, this Sesshoumaru might be goaded into further bad temper if he discovered her arguing with the janitor. Instead, she picked her way through the back stage debris, forced often to scramble over piles of furniture. Finally, she found the curtain, a thick, dusty crimson velvet affair. In the dim light, the girl glanced along the length, sighting a door at the end closest to her.

She passed through it and down a flight of stairs and into a side corridor. Another door to the left of her had a small sign tapped upon it, reading "Auditions." Going through it, the girl halted and stared. While Kagome had been in bigger theatres, never before had she patroned one such as this. Something twitched the skin at the nape of her neck; an aura of life, of immense nobility, of crushing awe filled her, as though this were the theatre in which Gods played humbly in the Orchestra pit. A section of one hundred seats, all plush and red as the curtain, took the center. Slightly further back and higher were two hundred more. Across from her position and above were three boxes, marble dog heads carved into the center of each rim. Kagome was right in guessing there were three more above her.

On the stage itself, there was one auditioning: a petite girl, long black hair like Kagome's, a cheerful smile and big, soulful eyes. Currently, she stood at the edge of the stage and to the right of the orchestra pit, talking to someone in the front row. As she approached, Kagome caught sight of the unseen person and did a double take.

Silver hair, this time framing a pair of pointed human ears, was pulled back into a simple ponytail on the taiyoukai's head. Upon his cheeks and brow, ceremonial tattoos gave evidence to his status. His eyes, like Inuyasha's, shone golden, but with a hardness and nobility. Even with the lengthy fur stole slung over his shoulders and trailing down his back, he was a handsome sight. The way he sat calmly and the manner in which he addressed the girl onstage – both gave the impression he was one who knew precisely what was going to happen because he had already decided it.

Bracing herself, Kagome approached and bowed politely. Not looking at her, the taiyoukai motioned to a small stack of scripts next to his feet and then to a random chair.

She took that as an abrupt invitation to sit down, retrieved a script, and obeyed.

"All right, sir, how's this…" the girl on stage cleared her throat and began. "'But though I ken sleep retains the power tae turn us fulls-'"

"'Fools,'" corrected the taiyoukai, speaking for the first time. Irritated, he sighed, putting his chin in his hand. "Look, Ms…"

"Rin."

"I really do not think you are right for this part. Have you ever acted before?" His question was anything but delicate.

Kagome half expected the teen to get angry, but instead, Rin appeared crestfallen. "I only had a year at school," she admitted. "That's all I could afford."

"I see." Sesshoumaru, for that's who Kagome now figured him to be, leafed through a copy of the script. "Frankly speaking, Ms. Rin, I cannot see you being able to act the part of Heilyn. However, you might consider the other role."

Rin brightened up. "Really? I'll try anything!" she exclaimed. He raised an eyebrow. "The truth is, I love acting enough to be flexible."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "An admirable characteristic," he said in an approving tone. Kagome got the impression that he did not give out praise often. "I suggest you go backstage, read over the part of the handmaiden, and when I call you, try that one instead."

"Sure!" Eagerly, Rin flipped through her script and started reading, even as she disappeared through the curtain.

Sesshoumaru turned his unsmiling face to the nervous girl sitting one chair away from him. "Name and part?"

"Higurashi Kagome and I'm not sure." Kagome floundered, scanning her script. "I was thinking Heilyn, but if-"

"It does not matter. Try Heilyn and I will see if you are right for the part. If not, then you can either leave and try some other theatre or assist us in other areas. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Sesshoumaru glanced down at his script and pointed at a ladder leaning against the stage. "Get up there and turn to page 35 in your script, starting with the first response Heilyn gives."

Climbing onto the stage, Kagome turned to the specified part, looked at it briefly, then cast her gaze out over the vast rows of seats.

"Center stage," came an abrupt order from the front row.

She jumped, startled, then moved to centerstage.

"Begin."

Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "'But though I ken sleep retains the power tae turn us fools, my heart beats resolute. As sure as the sun drives away the night, I know my Wolf is in danger." As Kagome spoke, she strove to project a sense of surety into her words, allowing a worried look of conviction to cross her face. "He is as strong as mountain's bones, though perhaps his chivalry has mark'd him weak-appearing to slothful hounds desiring Hell's praise to exploit it." Her voice turned tender and lower as she finished. "My love for him will demand nothing less than immediate flight tae his side tae save his life."

For a moment, the taiyoukai looked up at her, his face neutral, then said, "Your projection needs work. Turn forward to the third to last scene in the final act." He reached down, unhooked a small walkie-talkie from his belt, and spoke into it. "Inuyasha, on stage. I need you to read across from someone." Scowling at the irritated reply, Sesshoumaru growled. "Just do it."

A moment later, Inuyasha's head poked through the curtain. "Oh, you're still here, huh?" he muttered when he saw the script-clutching Kagome. A think booklet came flying through the hair and hit him in the face. "Ouch! Sess, what the-"

Glaring up at him, the taiyoukai crossed his arms. "Last scene, Inuyasha, You are reading the General's part. Hurry up and act convincing for once."

Kagome struggled to contain a giggle at Inuyasha's expression and browsed through the scene, getting the gist of it.

"Fine, you want convincing?!" snarled the hanyou, disregarding the script near his feet. "I'll give you convincing…"

Without warning, he stormed over and shoved Kagome so that she fell on her backside with a startled yelp. Before the girl could protest, the hanyou was kneeling beside her, his hand pressing one of her own to his heard, his other arm supporting her shoulders. A fierce satisfaction at the tremble she felt at his touch filled Inuyasha's mind and he used the reaction well. Putting his face close to hers, he stared fully into the depths of her azure eyes and spoke," What is this love that you would count your life lost when contested against it?"

For a brief moment, Kagome could not speak, her heart drumming furious against her chest. His eyes conveyed a compassion that later caused her to wonder how she ever remembered her lines. "'Merely a love,'" she recited slowly. "'that I dared hope beat in my Lord Wolfheart's heart as well as my own. If love makes fools of us all, then gladly will I wear the raiment of the most slanderous of jesters.'" Her voice failed her and she couldn't continue.

There came the sound of a clearing throat. Both looked over to see Sesshoumaru watching them, his brow arching again. Kagome blushed and Inuyasha, almost reluctantly, released her and stood up. "Well?" he demanded, his belligerence returning.

"She is still not quite right for the role. Yet," here, taiyoukai sighed and rubbed his brow wearily. "if no one else auditions by the end of the day, Ms. Higurashi might have to play Heilyn after all. Ms. Rin!" he called.

Rin leaned out from behind the curtain. "Hai?"

"Let us see how well you do in the other role. Ms. Kagome, leave your name and number with Inuyasha and if you do not receive a call from me by tomorrow morning, then do not bother showing up again unless it is opening night and you are a paying patron." That said, Sesshoumaru waved her away and turned his attention to Rin.

Slightly miffed by his manner, Kagome followed Inuyasha back stage, commenting, "Geeze, is he rude or what?!"

Baring his fangs in a feral grin, Inuyasha snorted. "I did warn you about the coffee maker." He became serious. "Still, I'm surprised he let you do a reading with another person. Most people don't make it past the first part of reading by themselves."

"He said I needed better projection."

"And he's right. My half-brother is a stickler for old school techniques and methods. You'll notice we don't use microphones much. Every actor who works in this theatre is expected to project and make sure they are being heard."

"Your half brother?"

"Yes," snapped the hanyou, leaning on a high Roman column constructed out of plywood. "Director, writer, owner of the theatre, and all-around stuck up jackass. Lord's his taiyoukai heritage around me, the 'shame of the family,' the 'lowly hanyou.' Never lets me forget that Dad left him the theatre. Anyway," he moved his eyes to glare at the curtain. "I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"Sorry," apologized Kagome and tried to take his mind off the subject. "Where did you learn to act like that?"

"Like what?"

"Before, you know? When you, well…" The memory of him holding her rose to mind and she could not meet his eyes.

"Oh, that." He shrugged "I just hung out here a lot. People think you have to attend the pansy theatre craft schools-" a scoffing noise accompanied the disdain on his face. "-when you can learn all you want by spending time around a place like this. Back in the day," he went on, his face turning excited. "this place was busy. I learned a lot from actors who worked with my dad, even Drake Emerson."

"THE Drake Emerson? No way." Kagome couldn't believe it.

"Oh, yeah! Before he was famous, he starred in one of the plays my dad wrote." A genuine grin stretched across Inuyasha's face as he remembered. "Drake said one day he expected to see me in the Globe."

Laughing, the girl motioned back toward the curtain. "So why aren't you trying out for Sesshoumaru's play?"

As quickly as it appeared, the grin vanished to be replaced with a dark scowl. "I am not an actor," grated Inuyasha, enunciating every word with particular bile. "Because Sesshoumaru rarely gives me a chance. He thinks cleaning, reading lines with people, and all that crud is all I'm good for."

The girl winced in sympathy. "At least he doesn't make you do make up and wardrobe, right?"

"I flat out refused. Now, it's just another headache in the attempt to put on this blasted show."

"Hey!" Kagome's eyes lit up. "If I don't get the part, maybe I could do the wardrobe and makeup!"

"You?" Forehead crinkling in puzzlement, Inuyasha scratched his ear.

"Yeah, I used to do that stuff. Back in Hollywood." Her face took on a sheepish expression. "Basically, I did what everyone dreams of doing – finishing high school and going to Hollywood to be a star. Like the baka I was, I figured a class in stagecraft was all I needed." The sheepish expression became a wry one. "Two weeks of living in a run down apartment between interviewing at studios. Then, a man offered me a job at his small film company as gofer. I learned a lot about making movies – mostly wardrobe and makeup and very little about acting, though." Kagome shrugged. "So, I came here to find a theatre, act in its plays, and make a name for myself."

"Hunh." Inuyasha gave her a calculating glance. "You know, maybe you're right. Sesshy really is ticked we don't have a wardrobe mistress and since you have experience…" his voice trailed off. "I'd think it over, though. Maybe there's another theatre out there that'll be less finicky than Sesshy."

"Well, whatever I do, I'll keep you guys in mind." Kagome scribbled her name and cell phone number on a scrap of paper and gave it to him. "Give this to Mr. Sesshoumaru if he still wants me to play Heilyn."

"Whatever." He glanced at it and stuffed it into his jeans pocket. His golden eyes watched as her slim figure wound its way through the props and scenery and paused by the back stage door.

"Inuyasha?" her voice floated back toward him.

"What?"

"Arigato."

She left.