Disclaimer: Inuyasha isn't mine.


I managed to escape my classmates at lunch time and found Miroku. The two of us snuck away to eat in our secret tree and discuss what it seemed everyone in school now knew: I'd outdone Yura as the school tramp. Some people hated me for my treatment of Hojo, but most were shamelessly intrigued, like this was a particularly juicy episode of a TV show. Now people were theorizing that I'd never been an Ice Queen at all, I'd just managed to keep my 'conquests' a secret until now. Some had even approached Miroku to demand if he'd known about this.

Smooth as always, he'd assured everyone that there's not a single thing I do that he doesn't know about it. He wouldn't confirm or deny anything without talking it over with me first, and in the meantime, he was happy to let people draw their own conclusions.

Miroku took a bite out of his rice ball and raised an eyebrow at me.

"What made you go with male dancer?" He asked. I flushed and looked down at my swinging feet.

"I'm not sure." I mumbled, "I needed an excuse for why I've never been seen with him and thought that they'd be impressed."

Miroku laughed, but I knew he wasn't mocking me.

"Well, it certainly worked. You're the talk of the town. Hopefully your mother doesn't find out."

I felt the blood drain from my face. Oh, Kami what had I done? If my mother heard about this, she'd probably have a heart attack. But she doesn't go out much apart from grocery shipping trips. Looking after the shrine and caring for Grandpa takes up most of her time.

"What should I do, Miroku?" I begged, "You're better at this stuff than I am!"

He gave me a cheeky wink for the compliment and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. I'm not the only one around here that people don't understand. The truth about Miroku is that he's actually very thoughtful and romantic. For him, flirting and looking confident is the easy part. Girls end up swooning over him without knowing anything about him. In fact, everyone is so busy making fun of me for being perpetually single that no one has seemed to notice that Miroku has never had a serious girlfriend. I'm his only friend and he is mine.

"I hate to say it Kags, but I think we need to get Sota involved. You know our classmates will need evidence or you'll be called out as a liar, right?"

"Right."

"We won't get away with anything unless Sota fends off your mom and grandpa."

"Yeah. I actually had a thought. What are the chances I could convince a male dancer to make a few appearances as my boyfriend?"

"Slim to none." Miroku replied cheerfully, "But if you pulled it off, you'd be a legend. Worth a shot, I think! So, here's what we'll do: bribe Sota into telling your mom that you and I are seeing a movie on Friday night, but instead, you and I will sneak off to downtown Tokyo and find you a fake stripper boyfriend!"

Oh great. I've lit a fire under him. It's nice to have such a supportive friend, but sometimes I think he enjoys the subterfuge a little too much. And of course, what eighteen-year old boy doesn't want to go to a strip club? Today is Wednesday. I can make it through two more days.

But what the hell am I supposed to wear to a strip club? How much money should I bring? I blush. Sometimes I really wish I had even just one female friend.


I finally settled on a navy sweater and pink pleated skirt. I wasn't sure what to do with my hair, so I put it in a ponytail, just to do something different. I don't often bother with makeup, but I decided to put on a little bit of eyeliner and mascara. This wasn't too much right? I was ostensibly just hanging out with my best friend, but I was going out. I knocked on Sota's door.

"Hey sis!" He greeted. "When do I get my reward?"

I knelt, so I was eye-level with the little creep.

"You'll get your reward when I can afford it. You had to choose the most expensive video game you could think of, didn't you?"

Sota grinned at me. I have a hard time staying annoyed with him. He's an eight-year-old boy, so he's obviously a creep, but as far as they go, he's not so bad. He was willing to help me after all; other little brothers would have ratted me out on principle. It doesn't hurt that he idolizes Miroku and he was the one to actually ask for his help.

"If Mom asks, you and Miroku are going to dinner and then to a midnight showing of The Ring. Afterwards, you'll come back and both of you will spend the night here. Mom will have the couch set up for him."

"Thanks, Sota!" I said, ruffling his hair just to be annoying. At that moment, the doorbell rang, and I headed downstairs, holding my small black purse. I normally carry a big across-the-shoulder brown satchel, but I didn't think that was a good idea.

I found that Grandpa had answered the door and he was attempting to convince Miroku for the millionth time to undergo training to be a monk. I don't know why he bothers. Miroku, a monk? Get real.

"Now don't be out too late now!" Grandpa called after us, "Enjoy yourselves!"

"I have been thinking about getting an ear pierced." Miroku said as we walked. "Ooh, if you really want to get everyone talking, maybe we should tell everyone that you've got a tattoo on your lower back." I punched his arm.

"I am not getting a tramp stamp, thank you very much!"

Miroku rubbed his arm, pretending to look hurt.

"I didn't say actually get one! But if you did…"

We talked all through the cab ride downtown. I'd left it to him to choose the place. Might as well let him have his fun. And, I had to admit it, I was starting to get excited as well. I wasn't acting like myself, and it was kinda fun! I knew that we were entering a den of debauchery, but I wasn't entirely sure what that meant. Mama did try to keep Sota and I clear of things like that. I remembered the time I'd snuck watching a 14A film when I was still only eleven and felt super rebellious. Miroku paid the cab driver and we stepped onto the sidewalk. We really did have to get dinner first; the scene wouldn't get going until around ten or so. Beaming, Miroku swept an arm through the air in a grand gesture.

"This is where we are going!" He announced proudly. I blinked up at it. It was so bizarre, as if a brothel from Feudal Japan had dropped itself in the middle of downtown Tokyo and someone slapped a neon sign on it.

Kagura's Palace.

Good grief. Posters adorned the outside, of muscled men striking poses. The first one I saw made it look like a double act. One was bald, apart from white hair styled into spikes and the other had grey hair with a dark patch in the middle. They had their arms around each other in a very intimate way and it didn't help that they were only clad in what looked like wolf-pelt loin cloths. My face felt like it was on fire.

Miroku laughed and took my arm.

"I don't think you should ask them, they look like they aren't available." He joked.

We went to WcDonald's for dinner, reasoning that we had to save our money.

"Hey Kags," he asked suddenly, "Do you have a type in mind?"

I had to think about that. As in what type of stripper was I looking for? Anyone willing to help me would do just fine. But ideally?

"Hmmmm." I sipped my drink, "I think ideally I want someone with a little bit of an edge. The story is that this guy swept me off my feet and convinced me to cheat on Hojo, after all." Miroku smiled.

"Well, let's see what we can find."


When we returned to Kagura's Palace, there were two bouncers outside checking ID's. To be honest, they were kind of freaky. They both had really pale skin and light hair that seemed almost purple. They looked like twins. And judging by their name-tags, they were either related or this was on hell of a coincidence. The one named Kageromaru took my ID and Juromaru took Miroku's.

After a moment, they handed our cards back and waved us in.

My jaw fell open. The stage made up an entire wall, with a pole near the end close to the staircase. There were tables and booths scattered all around, leaving barely enough space for the scantily-clad waitresses to walk around through all the patrons. I was a bit surprised by how many men were here. I'd naively assumed that a male-strip club would attract mostly women, but it was more of a fifty-fifty split. The music pounded in my ears and the lights flashed. The floor felt sticky under my feet and I was glad I hadn't tried to wear heels. Near the back, I could see two female bartenders working non-stop. One had her red hair up in pigtails and the other had long-dark brown hair in a high ponytail. Both wore black crop-tops that displayed their midriffs and showed a generous amount of cleavage. The dark haired one turned, and I saw a large tattoo taking up the whole left side of her back all the way up to her shoulder. I snuck a glance at Miroku. He looked as blown away as I was. I wasn't sure if it was the place or the hot bartender making him look like that.

"We better find a place to sit!" I shouted over the music. I took Miroku's hand and held it tightly. I had the feeling that getting separated would be a bad idea. As it turned out, there was nowhere to sit, so we had to settle for standing room. But we managed to get a spot surprisingly close to the stage.

"Ladies and gentlemen," A sultry woman's voice said over the speakers, "Please welcome our next performer! Get ready for a truly wild show, this is The Alpha!"

A man came out onto the stage, dressed in fur and an old-looking style of armour. He had vivid blue eyes and he had long black hair tied up in a ponytail.

"Does this place have some kind of fur-fetish?" Miroku remarked to me. I have a bit of a guilty pleasure when it comes to English music and I recognized this one as "Hungry Like the Wolf". Clever.

For the first few beats, he sauntered around the stage, eliciting cheers from the room. When the chorus began, he tore the armour breastplate off to reveal bulky, tanned muscles. Dropping to his knees, he gyrated his hips while slowly removing the fur pelt around his waist. I shrieked and covered my eyes. Under the fur, he was wearing the tiniest, tightest pair of black undies I'd ever seen.

Peering through my fingers, I saw him toying with the waistband of his underwear. Just when I thought I was about to see my first naked man, the song ended, and he straightened up. Tossing his head, he came down off the stage and walked over to what I assumed was a bachelorette party.

"That was the Alpha! Next up, for those of you that have a taste for the rare and exotic, you won't be disappointed! Please welcome, Half-Demon Inuyasha!"

Half-demon? Ok. Pretty sure there haven't been any half-demons for about a hundred years now.

I dropped my hands and looked back at the stage. The next song came on. This one was a little harder to place, but it turned out to be "Pour Some Sugar on Me". I don't know what all the lyrics to it are, but this song has always made me blush when I listen to it.

The next dancer came on stage and my jaw hit the floor. He wasn't at all like the first guy. He leapt through the air, doing a somersault and swinging around the pole. He slowly slithered down to the ground and threw his head back, so we could get a good look at him. He wore baggy jeans, slung low on his hips and an unbuttoned long-sleeved shirt that strained against his biceps. He had silver hair down to his waist and two triangular ears atop his head. When he looked at us, his eyes appeared gold.

He swayed and dipped to the music, running his hands seductively all over his body. I knew my face was flushed scarlet and I was gaping at him like a fish, but I couldn't help it. I couldn't take my eyes off him. Leaning into a crouch, he took a leap at the pole and wrapped his legs around it.

"Him." I breathed, "I want him."

The fake ears on his head seemed to twitch and his eyes met mine. He winked. I wavered on the spot and Miroku had to catch me. His song ended. Instead of using the stairs, he jumped down from the stage, landing directly in front of me.

"Enjoy the show?" He purred. I swallowed and nodded, unable to speak. He lightly took my chin and tilted it upwards.

"What do you say I take you upstairs and show you what I can really do?"

Oh. My. God.


TBC