Disclaimer: All Inuyasha goodness belongs to the amazing Takahashi-san!

Beta Reader: Maya!

Behind the Curtain

By MissKatt

The Decision

Cerulean eyes scanned the papers scattered across her dining room table. Kagome propped her elbows on the table and pressed her hands to her forehead as she read over her expense report and current pending bills. After her bills, groceries, schooling, and train fare, she had a pretty good amount of money left. But, she knew she was forgetting something. Still, on her salary, there was no way she could pay off her half of Souta's debt, let alone keep paying for his treatments.

She ran her hands up into her bangs and through her hair before lying back flat against the tatami mats. How was she supposed to do all this? If she took time off from school and didn't pay her tuition that would give her a good extra chunk of money. But, that still wouldn't even put a dent in the debt. What was she to do?

Was Kikyou right in stopping Souta's treatment?

She mentally slapped herself and covered her face with her forearm as she inhaled deeply. How could she even think that? She wouldn't lose another family member! They had already lost their father and grandfather in their early childhood. Then, their mother had passed a few years ago, leaving her siblings with no one for parental guidance. She and Kikyou were forced to grow up faster in order to take care of their brother.

Still, the huge number was imprinted in her brain, making her see it every time she closed her eyes. She couldn't even begin to imagine how she would pay off her debt, yet Kikyou would have hers paid off in five months' time. How long would it take her?

She removed her arm from her face and looked up at her ceiling, pursing her lips together as she ceiling fan rotated in a perfect rhythm. Hmm, rhythm. She had a little bit of it, right? Sure, she wasn't as sexy as her sister, but she wasn't completely incompetent when it came to dancing. She had even taken a dance class in college for an elective and received a decent mark!

But, stripping was different from dancing, wasn't it? Of course it was. It involved a pole and taking off your clothes. How did you even dance with a pole to begin with? It just seemed so…awkward. Now that she thought about it, she had never really seen anyone dance on a pole before except for 'Pole Fail' videos on YouTube. Even then, she was paying more attention to their falls than their actual attempted trick.

Sitting up, she grabbed her laptop from across the table and opened the lid and double-clicked on the Firefox web browser. Once the main Google page was loaded, she brought up the YouTube homepage and typed in 'pole dancing'. Instantly, 140,000 results popped up after she hit enter. Frowning, she picked on a random clip and turned up the volume as music filtered through her speakers when the video began to play. She blinked as she saw a fairly built woman in workout shorts and a tank top begin to twirl around the pole elegantly as if it were a dance partner. She subconsciously moved closer to the screen when the woman effortlessly lifted herself from the ground and flipped herself upside down before hooking one leg on the pole, leaving her hanging upside down on the pole with nothing more than her knee, thigh, and side holding her there.

"What the…" She breathed as she continued to watch, the woman now back on ground and spinning around like she hadn't just defied gravity. She then furrowed her brow when the dancer put the top of one her feet against the pole and pulled herself up with her arms, her other foot coming around to hold the pole between her ankles. She then proceeded to climb up the pole in the same manner before crossing her legs and hanging upside down once she reached the top.

Kagome continued to watch the rest of the video, mesmerized by the woman's strength and skill. Was this what all strippers did? She had no idea! She simply thought they pranced around in stilts while flaunting their breasts. She didn't know they did crazy stuff like she had just witnessed. If they did, she gave them props because there was no way she could ever do anything remotely close to that. Hell, she doubted she could even twirl around the pole without tripping over her feet. Throw in a pair of heels? Pfft, hello Death!

She closed her laptop lid with a sigh and looked over at Bankotsu's card sitting on the table next to her laptop. She stared at it for a good twenty second before tearing her eyes away from the inviting gloss paper. No, no, no! What was she thinking? She couldn't possibly strip. She just couldn't! What if someone saw her? What if it got around to her friends? What if rumors began to spread about her? What if her teacher came in?

Still, what Kikyou said echoed in her mind. Why not get it out of the way? Why should she spend her life paying a debt she might not ever pay off? She would never be able to finance anything ever again with hospital fines looming over her head. What if she wanted to buy a car? Or a house? She snorted at the ridiculousness. She could hardly put money towards her brother's medical debt, let alone buy a house.

"Argh!" She growled and buried her face in her hands once again. What was she to do? Did she throw away all her values and pride to pay off a debt that could possibly ruin her life? Or did she deal with it and risk losing everything if she failed to pay it?

"Mama…" She breathed with a watery voice. "What do I do? Would you and papa, even Jii-chan, hate me forever for doing such a disgraceful thing? But, it's for Souta-chan," She breathed and then balled her hands into fists before slamming them down on the table. "This all your guys' fault!" She cried. "If you guys hadn't left us, we wouldn't be forced to deal with this alone!"

She knew she was being unfair, but she was so stressed and distraught she wasn't sure what to do with herself. She momentarily withdrew herself from her self-pity when her phone vibrated on the mat next to her. She reached down and lifted a brow at the unlisted number. Sliding her thumb across the cool glass of the iPhone screen, she answered the phone and pressed it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Higurashi Kagome?" Came the feminine voice.

"Yes, who many I ask I calling?" She inquired, not recognizing the voice.

"It's Kinomoto, Mayu from Koi Springs Apartments."

Kagome paled, the iPhone slipping through her fingers as she remembered what she had forgotten earlier during her expense report. She had applied for an apartment two months ago in Kawagoe for an apartment that would be opening up around this time. She fumbled for her phone and caught it again before speaking, "O-oh, yes! I remember. How are you?" Please let her be denied, please let her be denied!

"I just wanted to let you know that your check for your first month's rent and deposit cleared and we have finalized everything! You can pick up your keys tomorrow!"

Damn! "Oh, is that so?" She pursed her lips together. "Ano…something came up that is rather personal; is there any way I can cancel this? I just can't move at this time."

"My sincerest apologies, Higurashi-san, but it can't be undone. We told you as such when you applied. The only way it wouldn't go through is if your check bounced."

"But, you don't understand this is something really, really bad. My little brother has leukemia and I have to pay for his hospital bills now. I can't afford that and an apartment." She protested. Surely they would help her out. Right?

"I am so sorry to hear that, Higurashi-san," Her voice didn't sound the least bit sorry, Kagome mused. "But, as I said, we have already cashed your check and it has already been run through your credit. You signed all the paperwork making it official. Sorry!"

Her heart sunk. "Oh, I see," She murmured. "Thank you, Kinomoto-san."

"See you tomorrow!"

The miko pressed 'End' with a deep frown. Now she was really screwed. How could she have forgotten that? Now, with all her bills, she would be lucky to have $200 to last her through the month. That wasn't very much, but then again, she didn't really go out and waste money.

She sighed heavily and looked down at her phone. Kikyou should be on her way home from work soon and then she would be getting ready for her audition at Shikon. Swallowing her pride, she called her older sister.

She picked up after three rings. "Yes, Kagome?"

"Kikyou," She began nervously and chewed on the inside of her lip. "Are you still going tonight?" She heard her sister sigh annoyingly on the other end.

"Indeed, Kagome, and you can't talk me out of it so stop trying. I need this-"

"No!" She blurted out, cutting her off. She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I mean, I'm not trying to."

"Then why ask?"

"B-because," She took a deep breath to try and steady her nerves. "Because I think I am going to go with you, if that's okay."

There was silence for a moment, making Kagome fidget nervously.

"Of course you can come with me, Kags. Maybe it'll be better for both of us if we both work there. Moral support, you know? That way we won't be alone in a new place." She answered.

Kagome nodded. "Y-yeah. I'd feel better with you there," Not that she needed her big sister for protection, but it would be more comfortable for her if she knew at least one person. "What do I need to have?"

"I talked to Bankotsu earlier today. He said to make sure we bring heels and something sexy to change into. Also, he said to make sure we think of stage name."

"Stage name?" She echoed. "Like, a fake name?"

"Yeah, he said it's for our own protection. He said it's so people don't know our real names and can't look us up and try to stalk us."

She furrowed her brow. "Does that happen? Girls get stalked? Do they get raped? What about kil-"

"Kagome!" Kikyou snapped, cutting off her sister. "Stop it. He simply said it's to protect us. Just think of a good name, alright? I'll see you in about fifteen."

"O-okay. See you soon. Drive safe." She murmured and ended the call.

That conversation did not ease her panic. No, it made it worse to know that they had to create fake names in order to protect themselves. She couldn't help but think if stuff like that really happened. Did girls get stalked by customers? Did they die? This was insane! She couldn't do this!

She shook her head. She could do this! She had to. It was just like acting right? All she had to do was act like she was some dancer named…Ah, now she had to think of a name. What would she use?

Better yet, what would she wear?

Edited on: 3/4/16