Chapter 11:
A/N: To everyone that has added this story to their favorites/follows: THANK YOU SO MUCH! For a story that has not been beta'd or even edited very much, it means the world to me that you like this as-is. I still can't promise regular updates, but your support definitely gives me life 3
As always, pretty please leave me a review with your thoughts and enjoy the chapter :)
Kagome stretched on her towel, enjoying the warm sand against her back and the even warmer sun on her front. This was exactly what she'd needed. She could hear Shippo's distinct laughter off somewhere as he joined in a game of volleyball, while Sango was probably still keeping a sharp eye on said teenager. With a content sigh, Kagome rolled onto her side to reach for the phone she'd stashed away in their shared tote bag. While she had a quiet moment to herself, she might as well check her messages. Settling herself comfortably on her belly, she unlocked her phone. Sure enough, there was at least one text message from Naraku and one from Koga. She frowned at the message from Naraku- Usually he called. At the same time, it was nice to not have to hear his voice; his tone always had the effect of making her skin crawl. And of course the content of the message was as unpleasant as she'd expected it to be. Just the usual implied threat of what would happen if she didn't get her hands on another shard soon.
Scowling, she tapped out a quick reply to let him know that she would have another shard to him soon before she went back over to Koga's text. In his message, he asked her out to dinner, promising to treat her like a queen, yada yada...
She smiled a bit. That wolf never knew when to quit.
Before she could reply with a polite refusal, another message came through from the wolf-demon. "Convenient" she thought to herself as she scrolled through it. It seemed that they needed Kagome to do some small stunts. An eager grin spread across her face. It'd been a while since she'd been asked to do real stunt work like this. Plus, it would get her back on set to work out Hiten's schedule.
She didn't waste any time in texting back her agreement, still grinning widely at her luck. Shoving her phone back into the bag, she returned to laying on her back. The loud, happy voices of her two friends returning drew her attention and she propped herself up on her elbows to look at them. Sango was teasing the red-faced teen about a cute girl that had been flirting with him while Shippo denied everything, waving his hands to emphasize his point. Sango laughed as the fox became even redder than his hair.
Kagome smiled warmly at the sight. They didn't do this nearly enough and it warmed her heart to see her two best friends having so much fun. They looked so relaxed and happy in this moment as they ran across the sand towards her, Shippo wearing a pout.
He skidded to a halt and flopped down dramatically on the sand. "Kaagooommeee!" the fox whined. "Sango won't stop teasing me!"
"I bet you deserve it!" Kagome shot back.
The fox crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out childishly. "Why is everyone so mean today?!"
"Maybe it's because you don't eat your veggies?" she teased.
Shippo groaned and rolled his eyes while the two woman laughed at his antics. Still pouting, he grabbed the tote bag they'd brought and handed Sango her towel before pulling his from the bag to dry his hair. After drying off and spreading their towels out, Sango and Shippo settled comfortably next to Kagome.
As they settled comfortably onto the sand, Kagome turned her head and flashed Sango a bright smile. "I got asked to go back to the set for stunt work!"
Sango gave out a small cheer and sat upright. "All right! What kind of stunts?"
"Sounds like it's going to be a bunch of miscellaneous small stuff. I haven't done anything like this in a while so it'll be fun!"
Sango and Shippo returned Kagome's enthusiastic smile as they began speculating about the types of things she'd have to do. Usually when Kagome did a stunt it was something like getting pushed in a pool, getting wine spilled on her, or falling down. Stuff that the lead actress simply didn't want to deal with. And with Kikyo being a bit on the prissy side, there was always something for Kagome to do.
After talking for a few minutes, Shippo spotted a game of volleyball starting up. Of course, Kagome and Sango couldn't resist some ribbing and good-natured teasing before he went over and joined in the game. Sango and Kagome watched from a safe distance, laying comfortably on their bellies in the warm sand.
"So," Sango began, propping her head up on her hand and looking at her friend. "How's the movie going anyways?"
"I'm assuming it's going well. I haven't been on set for a few days; they wanted me working with Inuyasha pretty much exclusively for now." Kagome responded.
"How is that going?" Sango's nose wrinkled as she thought of the Hanyou's well-known foul temper.
Kagome almost laughed out loud at Sango's face. "Actually not too bad. Attitude aside, He's pretty agile and light on his feet, and he's so naturally..." her voice trailed off, the word "sexy" on the tip of her tongue as the steamy memory of their last lesson replayed in her mind's eye.
Her light blush didn't go unnoticed. Sango's eyes narrowed in an expression of amused suspicion. "Oh? Is that all?" she prodded.
At that, Kagome's face pinkened even further and her gaze slithered away from Sango's. "Y-yep!" She chirped in a voice several octaves too high.
Sango's piercing gaze didn't waver and she made a sound of disbelief. "It doesn't sound like that's it..."
Kagome shook her head vehemently. "Nope! We just danced exactly like we were supposed to!"
Her friend wasn't letting this go. "MmHmm. What was it you were practicing again?"
Kagome went redder than Sango had ever seen her as she mumbled out the name of the Salsa moves they'd practiced.
"Isn't that the one where you straddle the guys' thigh, Dirty Dancing style?"
And with that, Kagome buried her burning face in her forearms while Sango laughed outright at her friend. "Sounds like you got a little hot and bothered by Inuyasha!"
Kagome popped her head back up to look at Sango, her face still red, scowling. "I did not!"
Sango said nothing, but raised an eyebrow until the other woman crumpled in defeat.
"Oh alright...I don't know. I mean he's like the sexiest man alive after all. And he's actually a really good dancer. He's got so much sex appeal to tap into. I think you'd have to be a lesbian to not be attracted to someone like Inuyasha."
Sango shrugged. "I guess. He's not really my type."
"Oh come on! Have you seen him?" Kagome protested. She bit her lip as the memory of his body against hers once again replayed itself, his eyes like molten gold that turned her knees to jelly.
Her friend just shook her head with a smile, noticing her friend's dreamy expression. "I'm not judging. You just know that you can't get involved with him, right? That'd put his life in danger more than yours. You-know-who doesn't like his pawns to have 'distractions'".
Kagome flinched visibly. "Yeah, I know. I'm not gonna get involved beyond this movie. But c'mon, can't I at least enjoy my eye candy?"
Sango laughed and playfully hit Kagome's arm. "I didn't know you had such a dirty mind!"
"You try dancing with him and keeping your thoughts clean at the same time!"
They were still laughing together when Shippo rejoined them, shaking sand out of his hair and onto his friends. Kagome squealed in playful protest, while Sango calmly brushed herself off as the fox plopped down next to them.
"Whatcha talking about?" he asked.
"Not much. Just work." Kagome quickly replied, shooting Sango a look of warning.
Shippo just shrugged and looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the sun with one hand as he leaned back on the other. "Isn't it about dinner time?"
As if to punctuate his statement, his stomach gave a loud rumble. Kagome and Sango just chuckled, but decided to have mercy on the poor, hungry Kitsune. Kagome was the first to stand, shaking sand out of her hair and off her towel. "All right," She said, neatly folding her towel into the tote bag "Let's go get something to eat and then head back home. After tomorrow I'll have a better idea of when we can get our job done."
With that, they proceeded to head off to a nearby casual restaurant. Living in California definitely had its perks, Kagome mused as they headed in wearing flip flops and shorts with their bikini tops. No shirt? No problem for these beach-front places. Everyone was dressed the same way. She grinned as she slid into a booth next to Sango. Her friends' chatter became background noise as she stared out the window, lost in her own thoughts.
Tomorrow. She'd be able to get her hands on a shooting schedule and put their plans into motion. As always, there was always some anxiety that came with each job. Would someone get suspicious of them this time? Would Naraku find out about Shippo?
That was always Kagome's biggest fear. If Naraku knew about his involvement, there would be no way to keep the kitsune safe from the greedy demon. The fox had already lost so much in his young life; Naraku would destroy him. The thought made her shiver.
Later, as she laid alone in bed, she allowed herself a moment of self-pity. What had she done to piss off whatever gods that had decided she deserved this sort of life? She could barely have friends for fear of Naraku, let alone a romantic relationship. And as much as she loved Sango, it would be nice to have other people in her life without fear of them becoming targets. Strangely, Inuyasha sprang to her mind. If she didn't have to deal with Naraku, would she have indulged her attraction to him? The handsome scowl she pictured made her smile. Despite his gruffness, she had the distinct impression that he wouldn't raise a finger to hurt anyone. She was pretty sure that there was a shy cinnamon roll underneath that tough action star if his blushes were anything to go by.
She wondered what had made him angry enough to destroy half a studio. It had to be something serious.
Rolling over in bed, she chastised herself for her thoughts. She had no business being curious about him, no matter how cute he was. Still, the handsome half-demon wouldn't get out of her mind. She buried her face in the pillow, remembering how acutely she'd been aware of his chiseled form pressed against her when they'd danced. His scent made her want to bury her nose in the crook of his shoulder; it was so masculine and musky. A dull throb between her legs startled her- damn. She was turned on just by thinking about him.
Groaning, she forced her thoughts off Inuyasha and back onto her upcoming stunt work and job for Naraku. The thought of that particular demon successfully doused her libido. Stupid Naraku. Stupid jewel shards. Stupid ability to sense them.
Cursing the gods again, she finally managed to drift off into a fitful sleep.
