Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or profit from this story.

Elevator Music

Doesn't Change a Thing

(Shadow)

"When do you think we're going to get out of here?" Kagome asked, her face flushed. She had started to relax a bit more, momentarily forgetting where she was at certain points in the conversation. Still, her face was red and her breathing was a bit quicker than normal.

Inuyasha pressed his head against the wall. "I wish I knew. If that damned mangy wolf doesn't get this shit done soon–"

"Why would you call him that?" Kagome interrupted.

"We were on a football team," Inuyasha replied, as if it explained everything. "That's what I called him."

"What did everyone else call him?"

Inuyasha scoffed. "I don't know. Twister or something? Tornado? Whirlwind? Something lame."

Kagome raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "You're ridiculous."

"How the hell am I ridiculous?" Inuyasha snorted. "You women are all the same: nosy and extremely judgemental. It was high school! Aren't we over high school yet? Aren't we mature enough to let go of high school?"

"Whoa there," Kagome said, laughing. "Don't turn this around on me because you think you're being backed into a corner. And clearly, you haven't let go of high school either."

Inuyasha wasn't pleased. "I have so."

"Obviously."

"Don't use that sarcasm with me wench," Inuyasha snarled, turning his head to look away from her. He knew that it was childish and probably proving her point over his. Regardless, it's what he felt like doing, so he was doing it.

"In high school, I used to daydream a lot," Kagome whispered, telling a secret as she hugged her knees to her chest. "I used to daydream about missions, journeying with friends, travelling to a different era."

Inuyasha refused to look at her, even though he was dying to see her face. The woman stuck in the elevator with him had such expressive features, her entire body melting into whatever discussion she was in. If she was happy, her entire body vibrated with life. When she was sad, everything about her presence just drooped. Still, Inuyasha wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

"I was like the heroine in a fairy tale. I fought monsters and collected little pink shards and helped my friends battle an arch nemesis." Kagome sighed, pillowing her head in her arms.

"Why did you do that?"

Looking up, Kagome frowned when she saw Inuyasha's intent brown eyes gaze upon hers. He looked genuinely interested, completely focused on her. "It helped sometimes, to get through high school."

"You were bullied?" Inuyasha exclaimed, eyebrows rising. "You? But you're...you know."

Kagome didn't know but she shook her head anyways. "I wasn't bullied at all. I had a ton of friends who I hung out with. It was just–" Kagome sighed, knowing that she got into this conversation herself. She wanted Inuyasha to realize that she didn't care if he was still attached to what he was in high school. She was still attached too. Not many people wanted to change. "I had this neighbour," she started. "Her name was Kikyo Hidaka, and I swear, she was the most amazing girl ever."

Inuyasha tilted his head. "I really don't see the connection."

Laughing slightly, Kagome waved at him dismissively. "Let me tell you first, silly. Kikyo was beautiful and smart and friendly and generous and everything that every parent wanted their child to be like. She lived beside me and I saw her a lot. She was either out with friends or helping those in need around the neighbourhood. My parents...I know they never meant to do it. They loved me, still love me, but sometimes it's just hard to compare, you know?"

Inuyasha nodded, understanding a whole hell of a lot more than she realized.

"It was kind of like being in someone's shadow, even if you shouldn't be there to begin with. My parents never asked me to be more like her, hell, they never even hinted it. It was just like standing beside the world's greatest model who has her hair, makeup and nails done, wearing the hottest clothes off the runway. And you're just standing there in a t-shirt, jeans, with a bit of eyeliner and Converse shoes.

"So I started daydreaming," Kagome continued, "where I was the heroine and had the most amazing features and did good work for everyone. Sometimes I still like to think back on it, remember how it made me feel when I entered that little world." Smiling, the woman shrugged. "Kikyo never did it on purpose. She was even nice to me when we saw each other. It's my fault more than it is hers, for thinking and worrying about something that I shouldn't have."

Watching her intently, Inuyasha shifted around the elevator so that he was sitting directly beside her, their bodies relaxing against the wall with only inches between them. "I get it," he said roughly. "Do you see who you work for?"

It wasn't hard for Kagome to put the pieces together, comparing Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. They were so very different, even though she'd only known this man for minutes instead of years. "Aren't you only half-brothers?"

"Doesn't change a thing," Inuyasha answered simply. "Like you said, sometimes we're in shadows we're not even supposed to be trapped in."

Thick silence followed, leaving the two sitting there not looking at each other, both facing the closed door. It wasn't uncomfortable though, as Kagome fidgeted to make sure she didn't feel anymore suffocated than she had when he was on the other side. Inuyasha merely waited, dark eyes scanning the box they were trapped in.

Suddenly the speaker crackled to life, Kouga's voice rumbling through. "Kagome, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Kagome responded, slightly confused by the question as Inuyasha snorted and rolled his eyes.

"Good because I've given up on getting you to the lobby," Kouga said. "I'm going to try to get you out on another floor. Cross your fingers and you'll be out soon."

Kagome crossed them.

Inuyasha just looked at his hands.

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