Star-Crossed

I've gotten some reviews about the pairings I use. Some people don't like certain pairings and I get that, but I just use the characters that feel right for my stories and I use the people that I think work. All the stories I've written so far are focused on Inuyasha x Kagome being together and the others are just side relationships. If you don't like the "side characters" I decide to pair, I'm sorry that you don't like it and thank you for sharing your opinion with me. I love all the reviews I get, both positive and negative, they give me something to think about for any future stories I may write. Maybe one day I'll consider changing up my "side couples", but for now I'm sticking with what I like and what I think works.

Disclaimer- I don't own Inuyasha or any song I may use in any chapter.

Chapter 10- Let the Games Begin

-.-

Kagome was so focused on putting the finishing touches on the song they were going to perform in three days that she hadn't talked to Inuyasha since the incident they'd had on the roof with Sesshomaru. She missed him, but Sesshomaru was right, they were starting to get distracted and she couldn't afford that. Not if she still wanted to win the competition.

Rin walked into their room with her signature smirk and Kagome nearly groaned. Whenever Rin grinned like that, nothing good ever followed. Nothing. Ever.

"Please tell me that whatever it is your about to say won't be something that'll make me stop writing. I've almost got the lyrics done, and the song is practically finished." Kagome pled.

"What's today?" Was all Rin asked.

"Wednesday? Three days from our next performance."

"Correct, but not the answer I was looking for." Rin handed Kagome a piece of paper and Kagome frowned, confused.

"What is this?" She asked.

"That, dear cousin, is an invitation to Jakotsu's birthday party." Rin said with an even bigger smirk than before.

"Okay… why do you have this?"

"It was outside on the door. You know we have to go."

"You can go, you can even take Sango and Miroku. I'm staying here and finishing this song."

"Come on Gomers! This is for Jakotsu!" Rin begged.

"Shouldn't there be some kind of rule against judges making friends with the contestants?"

"I guess, but Jakotsu's the one that comes up with all the rules. He and I are professional people, we wouldn't let our little friendship get in between the competition. Trust me when I say that he is not playing favorites, we talk and we've gone to the spa together, but he doesn't do anything to help us win. Plus, we're not the only band invited. Everyone on our floor had one of these on their door."

Kagome sighed and closed her notebook. "Jakotsu may not be playing favorites, but if another band found out how close you both have become, they may think he is, and it'll cause trouble for us."

Rin grabbed Kagome's shoulders, trying to shake some literal sense into her.

"We're fine. Jakotsu hangs out with everyone. Please, please, please, come to this party!" She practically yelled.

"Okay, okay! Calm down!" Kagome shook Rin off her and straighten her shirt. "What do we even bring? We should really be practicing instead of partying, you know. In case you didn't hear me earlier, the concert is in three days."

Rin rolled her eyes and sat on the opposite bed. "We'll be ready for the concert, after this party I'll even help you finish the song. As for gifts, we don't need one. The invitation said that the only thing he wanted was for everyone to be there… with their singing voices."

This time, Kagome did groan.

-.-

The party was in one of the ballrooms in the hotel. Sacred Soul entered and found the room decorated in pink and gold. Pink and gold balloons, streamers, confetti, you name it. The part of the invitation Rin almost forgot to mention was that everyone had to dress in either pink or gold, so the group had to make a quick trip to the store to find something to wear. Kagome and Sango hardly wore pink, so they hadn't packed a lot of pink items. The closest thing Miroku had to pink was red and Rin knew that wasn't going to work. And Rin had plenty of pink, she just wanted an excuse to shop for more clothes.

So, they all went shopping for something to wear. Kagome wore a cute powder pink dress, Rin had on a white tank top with pink high waisted pants, Sango wore a long black sleeved shirt with a gold skirt, and Miroku managed to find a black shirt with a golden dragon design. Kagome found it adorable that Sango and Miroku were matching, even if they hadn't planned it or realized it yet.

"Do you think that everyone will have to sing?" Sango asked as she glanced around the room. She could tell some of the bands decided not to show, but the room was still filled with a decent number of people.

"I think so, the invite said something about everyone bringing their singing voices." Rin answered. She looked around and spotted Animals, they were standing across the room from them, talking amongst themselves.

Kagome noticed the direction Rin was looking in and saw Inuyasha watching her. She gave him a quick smile before she went back to watching Rin. It was clear she was looking at Sesshomaru. Kagome didn't know how she was going to get Rin to start liking Sesshomaru more. She was just too stubborn, but she had to try. She made a deal, after all.

"Rin, are you looking at… Sesshomaru, by any chance?" Miroku teased. He'd noticed too.

"N-no! Absolutely not! Don't be ridiculous!" Rin stammered, with the faintest blush on her cheeks.

"You were, don't deny it. Maybe this night should be another 'freebie night'. You can talk to Sesshomaru all you want, and Kagome, you can flirt with Inuyasha to your hearts content! Just for tonight though."

Kagome and Rin both glared at Miroku before they each stomped a foot onto one of Miroku's before walking away. They went to the punch bowl together and huffed and complained about how dumb Miroku was.

"Why does everyone think I like that jerk Sesshomaru? He's so rude, and annoying, and…" Rin trailed off.

"He's kind of your type, Rin." Kagome admitted.

Rin groaned. "I know! I just wish we'd met before this competition. And before that log was jammed so far up his ass."

Someone laughed from across the room and Rin looked back and forth, trying to figure out who it was. Kagome knew, she wanted to slap Inuyasha for making it so obvious he was listening. Sesshomaru must've been listening as well.

"Ouch! Why the hell did you pinch me?"

Oh yeah, they'd been listening. And by the sound of it, Sesshomaru pinched Inuyasha for laughing at Rin's comment as loud as he did. Luckily Jakotsu walked into the room in a sparkly pink tux with a matching glittering gold tie at that moment, before Rin figured out what was going on.

"Hello everyone! Thank you all for being here! Especially since my lousy brother couldn't be bothered to come." Jakotsu scrunched his face up and rolled his eyes before he continued.

"Okay, I'll get right to the reason I wanted you all here. It's my birthday and I wanted to have some musical fun, so to say. I'm assuming you've all seen the movie Pitch Perfect, so I'm also going to assume you all know what a Riff Off is?" He waited for someone to correct him and when no one did he went on.

"I want to do something… similar. I don't want you all to sing acapella and jump in with a new song using the next word of the old one. I want you all to sing a song from a musical, anyone can start, and anyone can jump in, but the person that jumps in must be prepared to sing a new song after the current song ends. If you're confused, I'll give you an example."

Jakotsu grabbed Shippo from Eternity and Abi from Kuro-hime and had them stand in the middle of the room across from each other.

"Okay, for demonstration purposes, Shippo, sing something from a show that had a song in it. And if you know the song you'll join in, Abi."

Shippo looked nervous, being put on the spot, but he started singing Good Little Girl from Adventure Time. Abi sang Fiona's part, and Koharu, who was also from Eternity, jumped in singing Cake's part.

"Perfect!" Jakotsu clapped and turned towards everyone else in the room. "Now, Abi would sing a song following the theme. And since Koharu joined in, she'll have to stay and sing the next song Abi picks, and at least one person has to jump in every turn. And if she, or anyone that jumps in, doesn't know the next song, they'll be automatically disqualified. I'll be nice and allow songs from musicals and songs from musical themed movies, but everyone must sing. No one can sit around doing nothing."

"What if a group had four singers previously and the next song picked was a duet?" Ayame asked.

"Good question. In that situation, I'd say the person that picked the duet would also choose who to sing with from the group they sang with beforehand. Same rules would apply, if the next singer didn't know their part in the duet, they'd be disqualified." Jakotsu answered.

"If people are being disqualified, then there are supposed to be winners when this is over. What's the prize?" Hiten asked.

"A trip to the hotel's spa, and complimentary room service. If there are no further questions, let's begin!"

-.-

Jakotsu had a speaker ready to go. Abi decided to sing Cinderella from Cheetah Girls. Koharu knew the song, so she sang when it was her turn, and two girls from Angel jumped in. Once it was over, it was Koharu's turn to pick a song and she picked More Than a Band from Lemonade Mouth. Abi and the other two girls didn't know the song, so they were disqualified. Someone else had to fill in. Inuyasha wanted to get it over with, so he sang the next part while a male and two females from bands he didn't know jumped in to sing with him and Koharu.

"This is going better than I'd planned! Now it's your turn Inuyasha, you pick a song." Jakotsu said after they'd finished.

"Wait, I have to pick a song?" Inuyasha asked. Clearly, he hadn't been listening to the rules.

"Yes, you do, so come on and give me a song to play so you can sing it."

Kagome was watching Inuyasha with amusement written all over her face. He knew she thought it was funny that he wasn't prepared to sing again. He grunted and told Jakotsu to play Who I'd Be from Shrek the Musical. He expected someone in his group to know the song, but they all walked away with confused looks on their faces. Inuyasha was hoping Kagome would know it because he wanted to sing with her again, and just when he thought she was going to jump in, someone beat her to it.

"An ogre always hides. An ogre's fate is known…"

Inuyasha watched as Kikyo walked up to him with Naraku at her side. They sang together, and it was kind of hypnotizing. Kagome was in a trance as she listened to them, like everyone else in the room. But she just couldn't figure out why hearing them sing together sounded right… and wrong at the same time.

"I'm at a loss for words, I didn't expect you all to sound so… wow, together." Jakotsu was honestly too stunned for words for the first time in his life.

"Thank you, it did sound like it was meant to be. Wouldn't you say, Inuyasha?" Kikyo asked.

"Well, it was, kind of cool. I suppose." Inuyasha answered. He was a bit speechless himself. Singing with Kagome and singing with Kikyo were two different things. Different things he realized he liked for different reasons.

"I believe it's my turn to pick a song, correct?" Kikyo asked.

"Yes! It is, what'll it be?" Jakotsu asked, getting his tablet ready to pull up the next song.

"I think I'd like to sing Helpless from Hamilton." She said and got ready.

Naraku, caught up on her plan, walked away, disqualifying himself. Inuyasha stayed because he knew the song and could do Alexander's part. That left at least two people to come up, one for Angelica's part and one or two for backup. Kikyo knew who'd take the bait.

Kagome did exactly as she'd planned and came up to sing as Angelica. Her cousin Rin decided to join her. Kikyo wanted to see how Kagome would react if she showed Inuyasha a little attention, so as she sang, she moved around him and kept her eyes on Inuyasha, as if it were only the two of them in the room. Every now and then she'd glance at Kagome, and she could tell it was bothering her one way or another. Once Inuyasha started his part, Kikyo made sure to take his hands in hers so it'd seem as if he were singing the lyrics to her, just to her. Kikyo finished the song and placed a small kiss on Inuyasha's cheek as soon as it ended.

-.-

Kagome wasn't typically a jealous girl, but there was something about Kikyo that bothered her. Something she couldn't explain. Maybe it was the dark aura she gave off, or the way she stole Inuyasha's attention. Whatever it was, Kagome knew she'd have to be on her toes from now on.

"Hold on Kikyo, you still have to sing. Kagome, what song would you like to do?" Jakotsu said after Kikyo started walking away.

"I'm sorry, I would keep going, but I want to rest my voice a little. The concert is in a few days and I just don't want to overdo it." Kikyo said, stopping Kagome before she could answer. She didn't wait for a reply before she walked away and rejoined her friends.

"Well… okay. So, what'll it be Kagome?" Jakotsu asked again.

Kagome thought about it got an idea as she looked at Rin and then Sesshomaru not too far from them. She tried to signal Inuyasha as subtly as possible, and it might've worked quicker if he hadn't been watching Kikyo as she talked with her friends across the room. When he finally looked away from Kikyo, he read the looks she was giving him, and he knew what to do.

"I think I'm done too. I can't keep going man." Inuyasha said.

"Me too, I'm starting to feel a little drained all of a sudden." Kagome said, and it wasn't a total lie.

"Are you okay? Do you need to go back to our room?" Rin asked, very concerned for her cousin. She did look a little pale.

"No, I'll be okay for a little while longer. Go ahead and sing, win those prizes. Is it okay for her to sing alone, or does she have to have a partner?"

Jakotsu thought about it for a second. "I'd prefer a partner. Kagome, pick someone to take your spot before you go, and Rin can still pick the song."

Kagome had to lightly bite down on her lip to keep from smiling. She pretended to look around the room and think about who she wanted to pick, and eventually her eyes landed on her target.

"I'll pick, Sesshomaru."

Rin almost threw a fit, she would've screamed 'no', but Sesshomaru walked up to her before she could. She had no choice; she'd sing the song with Sesshomaru now and destroy her cousin later.

"What'll it be Rin?" Jakotsu asked.

"Wouldn't Change a Thing from Camp Rock 2." Rin answered.

Jakotsu played it, and Rin started to sing. She only picked the song because she thought it would be a song Sesshomaru wouldn't know. He did know it, however, and Rin was impressed. She'd never heard him sing before and she wasn't too proud to admit that she loved the sound of his voice. She also really liked that he wasn't afraid to sing this song with her in front of all the people surrounding them. She didn't like that Kagome set her up, but she wasn't as mad as she was before. The uncalled-for pairing went far better than she ever imagined it would.

"Very nice! That was awesome! Let's take a quick break before we continue. This night is just getting better and better!" Jakotsu said after they sang, with a huge smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

"Sesshomaru and Rin? Inuyasha and Kikyo? Maybe even Kagome and Inuyasha? This contest is turning into something else, something I'm starting to like… a lot." Jakotsu thought.

-.-

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