Kagome danced a little, holding his hand. She was in that state of mind where she could feel many emotions at one time. Worry, happiness, excitement, and wonder for the city ahead of her, for the man next to her, for herself.
"Exactly what do you want to see, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked. He was in heaven. Kagome's small and soft hands fit perfectly in his, he never wanted to let go. She was perfect in the streetlights, an angel walking amongst sinners on the Manhattan streets.
"Well, even though I've been here for two years, I've never really seen the city. Mostly I was rehearsing or at parties, never actually seeing the city, ya know?" she said, looking up at him. He remembered that she had been in Broadway before the band.
"You don't seem much like a party girl, Kagome," he said, smiling. She smacked him playfully on the shoulder, making his heart soar.
"Dinner parties, Inuyasha. Things more like cocktails and banquets. I've been to quite a few socials for charity, actually," she said. This worried Inuyasha. How high class was Ms. Kagome Higurashi? Of course, price wasn't an issue. Inuyasha had more money than he knew what to do with it. But he wasn't a classy guy. His idea of a dinner party was a pizza and video games.
"How'd you get invited to these sorts of things?" Inuyasha asked.
"My, uh, significant other usually brought me. We went to more socials than I can count, now that I think about it. I was on his tuxedo-clad arm a lot," she said, frowning. Now he was worried. He hadn't known Kagome was in a relationship. Suddenly everything seemed wrong. He shouldn't have been holding her hand; he shouldn't have been thinking these thoughts, albeit a little lecherous, but mostly pure, about her. She's taken.
"But I haven't been in a formal dress in a while, since it ended. Actually, I didn't really like them all that much, but I was constantly at places like the Velvet room or the Grand Ballroom. The White House has some of the nicest staff you'd ever meet, you know, and…I'm sorry, I'm going on and on about something so stupid." She blushed.
"Don't be," he said, stopping. Since it ended. She was single. People rushed past them, but Inuyasha couldn't see them. "I like hearing your voice," he said. She smiled and he blushed.
"Well, what about you? How long have you been in the city? I mean, it seems like you guys know the area pretty well." He led her into a small alcove, opening the door quickly for her to enter.
"I've been here for a couple years, I guess. This is where we got our start, as a band I mean," he said, walking up to a couch. The large room was dark, and the scent of coffee was everywhere. A woman came up in a smock and asked them for drink orders. Inuyasha asked for coffee, black, and Kagome asked for iced mocha. They sat and Kagome looked at Inuyasha.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"The Hard Bean Underground. I love this place." Kagome looked around at all the other couches are easy chairs. There were people reading, writing, couples making out, but there was a stage with a woman on a stool, reading. "It is mostly just a place to hang out, but people come to read poetry."
Inuyasha was worried. He had brought this amazing woman to his secret place, his guilty pleasure. He just hoped she didn't think he was a nerd for liking poetry.
"Have you ever been up there before?" she asked. He was about to answer when the waitress came with their drinks. She took a sip. "Oh my God, this is THE greatest coffee I've ever had."
"So you're not going to dump it on me?" Inuyasha joked. Kagome frowned and took another sip, looking at her lap. "Kagome?"
"I'm sorry that I did that Inuyasha…I'm sorry about everything did," she said quietly. Inuyasha saw a tear land in her coffee.
"Kagome, please, don't cry," he said. Damn it, I hurt her. Her cupped her face in his hands, both of them perfectly healed. "Kagome, look at me," he said. She kept her gaze down. "Kagome, please, look at me," he whispered. She did. Her eyes were brimming with tears.
"I'm sorry, I'm ruining it, making this whole night suck. I'm just-," She stopped talking. He pressed her against him, in his own way trying to bring her comfort.
"Please don't cry, don't be sad. I…I don't want to see you cry," he said. She relaxed against him when she felt cool air across her back. She looked beyond Inuyasha at the door to see that it had opened.
Oh my God…
He felt her stiffen in his arms.
"Kagome? What is it?" he asked. He pulled away, looking at the girl. "What's wrong?"
"I…I need to use the ladies room," she said. He pointed in another direction and she stood up, walking to the double doors in the back of the room. He followed.
"It's been a while, Kagome," he said. Kagome looked back to see a depressed Inuyasha staring into his coffee. "Imagine my surprise seeing you here."
"You're following me, Naraku?" It wasn't a question.
"Word is that your working on an album, isn't that right Kagome? How is the recording studio? You've never been in one, so I imagine that it is pretty exciting for you," He said. His red eyes looked her over, and she felt nervous under his gaze.
"Please, leave me alone, Naraku. I've moved on, and you need to go," she said. He backed her against the wall, placing his hand son both sides of her head, trapping her.
"Think you can tell me what to do now, whore?" He placed one hand on her hip and the other on her chin, making her look him straight in the eye. "You're still mine. Don't you forget that, bitch," He kissed her lips hard and rough, making her feel queasy. He eased away from her and slapped her butt, pleased. Then he left.
Kagome leaned against the cool wall, a few tears sliding down her cheeks. She gave herself a few moments to gather herself before she went back to Inuyasha. So, now I'm being stalked. She wiped her eyes and walked back over to Inuyasha, feigning a smile. He smiled back up at her.
"You alright? You were in there for a while," he asked, genuinely concerned. She felt her heart break. How could she possibly bring Inuyasha into this? It wouldn't be fair for her to expect him to take a girlfriend who was being watched by someone like Naraku. She was falling in love but she had to stop before she hurt him.
"Yeah, there was a line," she lied. She sat down and played with her hands in her lap, not wanting to lock eyes with Inuyasha. Inuyasha looked at her, skeptical.
"You sure?" he asked, worried. He placed his hand on hers, stopping their movement. She blushed, noting where his hands were. No, I won't do this. I can't do this to him.
"God, I said there was a line, so there was a line, okay?" she said. She made sure to raise her voice, causing a few people to look their way.
"Geez, keep it down, will ya?" he asked, waving away anyone's concern. "I only wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Well, I don't need your concern, Inuyasha," she said. Every word broke her heart. It was like someone was shredding it into confetti, tearing each piece smaller and smaller, until it was so tiny she couldn't feel it anymore. Kagome took Inuyasha's hands and put them in the space between them. She stood up, adjusting her bag on her shoulder. "I want to go."
"Kagome, come on," he said, reaching for her hand. The night was falling apart so fast. He was just making a connection with her, and suddenly she was upset. "No one get pissed off so quickly, now tell me what's wrong," he said.
"Inuyasha, back off!" she said, pushing him away. She dashed for the door, pulling it open and running into the busy New York sidewalk, hoping for a crowd of people to carry her away. She had no such luck.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, chasing after her. "Kagome, are you insane?" he asked, grabbing her wrist. He shoved his way past a few people, ignoring their protests. He pulled Kagome into a rough embrace, holding her against him as she struggled. "Kagome, stop it," he shouted. Eventually she stilled, crying into his chest.
"Kagome, I don't know what happened in there, and if you don't want to tell me, fine." He pulled away slightly so he could look at her. Her face was red, her eyes swollen from crying. "But don't punish yourself. I…I want to spend time with you, outside of work. I find you…uh, well, I find you-"
"I like you too, Inuyasha. But…I have baggage, and I don't want you to carry it for me. I think it would be best if we were friends," she said, pulling away from him. She smiled up at his frown, faking it all the way. I love you.
"Oh, okay, yeah," he said, faking a smile back at her. My heart has never hurt so much before.
"Hey friend, you want to get some pizza?" she asked, grabbing his hand. I want to be with you so much. She began walking, leading him along the busy city street.
"Sure, friend. I'd like that," he said. I want to kiss you so badly.
They walked along the streets, making small talk late into the night, thinking the same thing:
I can do this. I won't fall in love with you, no matter how much it hurts.
Duckgirl566: Comment please!
Ducky alter ego: Or we will be the living tar out of you!
Duckgirl566: Ducky, I thought we had a talk about the whole making threats thing.
Ducky alter ego: Okay, so we won't beat you. We just won't like you.
Duckgirl566: Not the best, but an improvement.