An all new chapter, and oh, so many questions that might be answered! When will Kouga finally appear to defend himself? Will any other characters make cameo appearances or become important parts in this web of deceit and um…high school drama club??? What's with Inuyasha and his hatred of Kouga? As if we don't know…And when will we find out why Sango looks like she's ready to castrate Miroku as soon as she's given permission? Wow! Will we learn all of these things or will Teresa be mean and just fill this chapter with useless nothingness? Well…I suppose only time and the cursor can tell…
Now, on a short author's rant, I would like to address a certain issue that was brought to my attention. Apparently I'm in big trouble for having Kagome say the word hell in the last chapter. Apparently, she's only fifteen, and that's just wrong. To demonstrate, I shall invite my imouto-chan Jade, a fellow writer here at fanfiction.net in for a short interview. Here we go.
Teresa: Hello Jade! How are you today?
Jade: I'm fine, thank you.
Teresa: That's good. Now, have you been following Center Stage at all?
Jade: Yes, I've been an avid reader.
Teresa: Now, could you tell the readers out there how old you are, just for the record?
Jade: Fifteen years old
Teresa: Thank you. Now, on the subject of fifteen year olds cussing, what is your opinion?
Jade: Fucking fifteen year olds don't fucking cuss! What kind of whacked ass bitch do you have to be not to see that? We fucking talk like goddamn angels, fuck.
Teresa: So, you're saying that fifteen year olds don't cuss? Because I had a concerned reader telling me that I was wrong to have Kagome cuss in this story, even though I was unable to find any cussing on her part other than the word hell.
Jade: That fucking reader was right to fucking tell you that! Hell is a pretty fucking dirty word. Shit, how could you have her fucking say that?
Teresa: Well, I thought that it might be okay since Kagome's a high school senior, as I've stated before as the entire premise of this story, and therefore she's eighteen, not fifteen.
Jade: Well that's still fucking pretty questionable. I mean how many fucking eighteen year olds do you see cussing? I think her saying 'darn' would be pretty fucking appropriate but anything beyond that is just fucking bad. Especially at her age!
Teresa: Well, thank you for giving me your expert opinion on the cussing of fifteen year olds. I'll try to be more careful in the future.
Jade: That's fucking right. Can't have fucking teenagers cussing...it's a fucking crime.
*****
Center Stage
Part 2
*****
"Hmmhmmhmmm…" Kagome hummed along to the music in her CD player as she brushed her hair out, standing in front of her bedroom mirror as she readied herself for the school day. "I don't know who you are…but I'm with youuuu!" she sang out, her soft alto voice lifting in volume.
"Shut up!" She rolled her eyes at the sound of her brother's voice. "That song sucks!"
"You suck!" she called back as she poked her head out of her doorway.
"You two! Stop that right now and get down here so you aren't late!" their mother called up the stairs. Just then, the sound of their doorbell rang through the home, and Kagome halted any protest before it could leave her mouth, hurrying down to see who could be visiting so early.
"Inuyasha!" she smiled to see her friend standing outside the door her mother had opened, looking a bit unsure. At the sight of her excited smile, his nervousness fled.
"Kagome!" he sounded relieved that he had found her as he'd intended. "Um…Sango told me that the cast lists are gonna be up this morning, so I kinda thought maybe you'd want to go with me to school. I mean, not that I wanted to drive you all that much, but it was kinda on the way and I thought it was kinda like a special thing, so it'd be okay this one time."
"Um…I think he wants to offer you a ride to school, honey." Kagome's mother turned, not bothering to cover up her amused reaction to Inuyasha's speech. "Would you like me to get your lunch for you?"
"Oh…uh, that sounds good. Thanks a lot, Inuyasha." Kagome smiled despite his grumbled response.
"Hey! Inuyasha!" Souta came storming down the stairs, his eyes intent on the face of his personal hero. "Are you gonna drive us to school?"
"Uh…I was just…" Inuyasha looked a bit worried about the prospect of his number one fan talking his ear off all the way to school.
"Oh, that would be very nice of you, Inuyasha." Kagome gave him her sweetest smile. "I mean, his school isn't out of the way or anything, and then he wouldn't have to ride his bike all the way in."
"But then you'd have to pick him up after school as well, Inuyasha." Kagome's mother came back, carrying both lunches and handing them to her children. "It would be very thoughtful of you, though."
"Please!" Souta added his own plea in.
"Um…I guess…whatever." Inuyasha shrugged as though it all made no difference to him whatsoever.
"Wow! Great! I get shotgun!" Souta ran out of the house ahead of them. Kagome laughed as Inuyasha and her followed at a more leisurely pace to where his car was parked.
"Thanks again, Inuyasha. Kouga drives me to school sometimes, but he usually doesn't want to take Souta." Kagome told him as they reached the car.
"What? That guy takes you to school too?" Inuyasha's lip curled in disgust as they both got into the car with the thoroughly excited Souta.
"I don't like Kouga!" Souta piped up. "He never wants to take me to school."
"And he's stupid." Inuyasha added, glad to have someone on his side.
"Would you knock it off? You know I'm his friend, and I won't stop hanging out with him because you've got some stupid problem with him." Kagome sighed heavily as they started down the road. Souta switched the subject swiftly.
"Hey, Inuyasha, guess what?" Souta was desperate to impress the older boy, and had idolized him since he could walk. "For Halloween this year, my mom said that Kagome and I could have a party! You should come! I'm gonna dress up like Spiderman, and mom's helping me make my costume and it's really cool."
"Really?" Inuyasha glanced at Kagome in the rearview mirror. "I haven't heard about this."
"Oh…that's right. She just confirmed it last night. I didn't really care but Souta seemed pretty bent on having all you guys over. Plus, I think his friends are pretty excited about it, so you know." Kagome fidgeted with her skirt. "I don't know if I'm even gonna do anything since I can't think of a costume."
"Yeah, well, we're a little too old for trick or treat and all that shit, but a party sounds pretty good." Inuyasha shrugged as though it made no difference to him. "But if it's not happening, then don't bother."
"Well…I'm sure I could come up with something to wear." Kagome somehow had the urge to make sure that this Halloween party was a success. And in her mind, it would not be successful unless Inuyasha came. "Let's see if Sango and Rin and Kouga want to come when we get to school." Kagome hadn't been excited about the idea of a Halloween party before, as it sounded like a lot of work so that Souta's friends could wreak havoc on her household. But now she really wanted it to work.
"Feh! I don't wanna go anywhere with that damn Kouga." Inuyasha grumbled, but she knew it was a bluff. He often tried to have Kouga excluded by threatening not to participate in their activities if Kouga was there as well, but he never followed through on his threats.
"Oh! Turn right up here, Inuyasha." Kagome suddenly noticed that they were close to Souta's school, so she reminded Inuyasha, who veered dangerously in his effort not to miss the turn she had indicated.
"Whoa! You're a cool driver, Inuyasha!" Souta laughed as the car straightened out with Kagome in the back seat clutching onto her armrest as though it might save her life. "You should drive me to school every day!"
"I don't think…" Kagome mumbled, a bit shocked from the terrifying turn as Inuyasha pulled up to the middle school and let Souta out. "Oh…um, have a good day."
"Seeya! Later, Inuyasha!" Souta looked extremely pleased to have been driven to school by his hero.
"Hey, ya gonna sit back there or move up?" Inuyasha asked, affecting an aloof tone.
"Oh, ah, sure." Kagome stumbled in her efforts to quickly move to the front seat, and Inuyasha chuckled lightly at her. "What? I'm a little freaked out from your amazing driving skills, Inuyasha." She assured him.
"Whatever. I didn't say you had ta ride with me." Inuyasha shrugged, starting up again.
"Man, you're really perfect for Sakage's part, aren't you?" Kagome crossed her arms, huffing slightly. There was a long pause and Kagome noted that Inuyasha's cheeks were a bit flushed.
"Ah…what does that mean?" he asked.
"Isn't it obvious? I'm talking about how you speak as well as how obnoxious and conceited you are!" Kagome told him.
"Oh." He didn't seem to be angry at her comments. "I thought you meant something else."
"Like what?" Kagome wanted to know.
"Oh…nothing." Inuyasha's face was definitely red now. Kagome couldn't think what had him so embarrassed, but brushed off her curiosity as they pulled in to the school's parking lot. Both of them walked without speaking to the school, and entered together. Not very many people seemed to be around since school wouldn't start for another fifteen minutes, but there were still clumps of students talking here and there.
"So where was the cast list going to be?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha shrugged so they continued to walk together until Kagome noticed three students attaching something to a bulletin board in the main foyer. "Look, that's got to be it. It's Rin and Sango and that guy."
"Miroku." Inuyasha supplied. "You ever find out what his deal is?"
"Yeah, Sango said that he's their director, but she certainly didn't sound very happy about it. I don't know, I think there's something behind it, because she doesn't seem to want him around, but Rin doesn't seem to mind. Plus, I thought Sango was going to be the director."
"Maybe he's got experience and he's better than her." Inuyasha suggested. "So she asked for his help."
"I kinda don't think so." Kagome giggled slightly at the idea. "She can't talk about him without sounding like she wants to kill him. Maybe I should ask her, but I don't know, maybe she doesn't want to talk about it…" Kagome drifted off as she noticed that Inuyasha didn't look very interested in her gossip. It made her feel a bit foolish, but she shrugged it off as they approached the cast list.
"Morning!" Rin waved at them happily. "Come and see! It wasn't too hard to place most parts, we just hope everyone's happy!"
"Good morning Sango, Rin." Kagome paused. "Miroku, right?" she asked the arrogant looking young man that stood next to Sango. He nodded, offering a hand for her to shake.
"Yes, Miroku Houshi is my name, my dear lady." He smiled winningly. "And you would be Kagome Higurashi, our Midoriko."
"Somehow I'm not surprised." Kagome sighed slightly. "It's a good part, so I won't complain, but Sango, I just hope you were being fair in the casting."
"Of course!" Sango shot Miroku a quick glare before smiling at her friend. "When Inuyasha and you did that scene, there was no question who I would cast for Sakage and Midoriko. Rin agreed with me, of course. Even the pervert did."
"Now, Sango dear." Miroku sighed as though he was starting into an explanation that he'd been through many times before. "I don't understand why we can't work on this project of yours peacefully and without any hard feelings. You know how good I am at what I do."
"That's exactly the type of thing I'm talking about!" Sango whirled on the taller boy angrily. "Miroku, I can still change my mind about this partnership, so you better watch yourself very carefully if you want to stay on."
"Um…is there…do you want us to leave or something?" Kagome could tell there was more than a natural amount of tension between Sango and Miroku, and she couldn't help but wonder where it came from, but she didn't want to just eavesdrop on their argument.
"No, it's fine. I don't want to talk to that boy right now, anyway. Come on, guys." Sango's friends joined her as she left Miroku looking contrite and a bit wistful as he watched them leave.
"Sango." Inuyasha was surprisingly the first one to bring up the topic after they stopped and entered the homeroom class. "What's that all about?"
"It's my fault…I shouldn't have told Miroku about the play." Rin sighed, looking a bit sad. "Then he wouldn't have had enough time to join in."
"Wait, here's what I want to know." Kagome began. "Why are you working with Miroku?"
"Because!" Sango sounded flustered. "Because…he's really very good. I guess I care more about this play than I do about my sanity."
"Is there…do you have some sort of problem with Miroku?" Kagome asked, willing to interrogate her friend now that she seemed willing to talk about it.
"Well…I don't know if I want to talk about it, really." Sango scrunched up her nose. "But yeah, we have…something of a past."
"If you don't want to tell us, that's fine." Kagome was a bit hurt, but it was Sango's decision whether or not she told them such things.
"Yeah…it's just. Maybe some other time, okay?" Sango offered.
"Hey! Morning, Kouga!" Rin waved happily to the young man walking to stand with them around Sango's desk.
"You guys are here early." He noted. "Hey, Kagome, I came by your house to pick you up, but you were already gone."
"Oh, yeah." Kagome felt a bit foolish. "I'm sorry about that. Inuyasha drove me to school this morning."
"Did he?" Kouga and Inuyasha had a brief but vicious glaring contest, the winner of which was unclear. "Well, now you'll probably be able to appreciate my driving skills more next to his."
"I thought we were going to die when he made that turn for Souta's school." Kagome laughed lightly, not meaning any harm, but there was obvious injury on Inuyasha's features.
"Whatever, don't expect any more favors from me then." Inuyasha huffed.
"Oh, don't be such a baby. It was very nice of you to drive me, and I did thank you, after all." Kagome reminded him. This seemed to assuage his ill mood a bit, but he still moped as she went on. "But that reminds me. What do you guys think about a party at my place for Halloween? Mom said it would be alright, but if no one wants to, then we can just scrap the whole idea."
"That sounds pretty fun, actually." Sango nodded.
"Yes! Halloween parties are great!" Rin obviously supported the idea. "Oh! I'll have to get a costume…"
"Well, if you guys want, it sounds good to me." Kouga shrugged, smiling at Kagome. "What about shit-face? Is he going?"
"Damn straight I am!" Inuyasha hopped up defensively using his slight height advantage to look down on Kouga. "I can't leave you alone with—" Inuyasha cut himself off, sitting as quickly as he'd stood.
"With who?" Sango asked, but she had a knowing expression on her face.
"With…all you guys." Inuyasha mumbled.
"Uh huh, sure." Sango laughed slightly. "Well then, I suppose you'll be sure not to miss any rehearsals."
"Whaddya mean by that?" Inuyasha looked a bit alarmed.
"Didn't I tell you? Kouga's my technical director. He's in charge of lighting and things like that." Sango told Inuyasha.
"Feh. Fucking great. He'll blow us all to hell if you put him in charge of that." Inuyasha grumbled.
"Nah, only you, shit-face." Kouga assured him. For the millionth time, Kagome wondered why in the world those two couldn't simply get along like normal boys.
----------
"Never mind then. It's useless trying to tell you anything, you don't listen." An elegant looking girl with long black hair rolled her eyes at Inuyasha as she held a script and faced him from halfway across the stage.
"Bitch." Inuyasha grumbled, ignoring her as she began to pay extreme attention to her fingernails.
"Okay, Kouga, fade to black here." Sango called up to the back of the auditorium where Kouga was sitting at the light board. The theater went dark slowly, and she nodded in satisfaction although the only people who might be able to see were Rin and Miroku sitting on either side of her. "Okay, bring them up again, I want to take a break right here."
"No problem, boss!" Kouga mocked slightly, fixing the lights to a normal position and then heading down toward where the cast was pouring slowly from backstage to hear what she had to say. She usually had something to say during their sporadic breaks, and if she didn't, Miroku did.
"Okay, that was fine, everyone, but I had a few problems with that last scene." Miroku spoke up after everyone had gathered. "Kikyo," he spoke to the arrogant looking girl who had been playing across from Inuyasha in the last scene. "You aren't…Rei isn't supposed to come off as cold. She's supposed to be angry."
"That's not necessarily the problem I see. I think you need to cut back on the ad libs, Kikyo." Sango refused to agree with Miroku most of the time, but usually when she disagreed, it was much like this, where she tried to seem at least a little subtle.
"I just don't think the lines fit me very well, so I make them better." Kikyo told them. "And I don't see her as an angry character at all. She's just being shoved down by her sister, and if I'm cold, Kagome's frigid."
"Midoriko is cold at this point in the play. Rei is very passionate, however. You need to remember that and try not to downplay your problems by blaming them on someone else." Miroku told her, his voice not the least bit angry.
"Aside from that, can I put a general announcement out?" Sango spoke up again. "We need two young boys for the first scene. My little brother isn't really young enough, and I've already got him working crew, though I did get Kagome's brother to agree, but I need another one. Does anyone have a brother or cousin we could ask to help us out here?"
"How about mine?" Kouga suggested. "Shippo never minded a little time in the spotlight, that's for damn sure."
"God, not that brat." Inuyasha grumbled. "Bad enough I have to see fucking Sesshoumaru every day."
"He's your brother, Inuyasha. Besides, he only has a small part." Kagome reminded him, gently touching his arm. He grumbled something about how his brother shouldn't be acting, but he seemed to calm down as she left her hand on his elbow.
"Good, yes, bring him in and we'll see what we can do with him." Sango nodded sharply, writing something down on the notebook she always held while watching rehearsal. "Okay, everyone. Let's take a short break and then we can start again from Kikyo's scene with Inuyasha. We'll see if we can't get it down a little better this time." The cast and crew members began to disperse immediately for the short break. Sango sat poring over her notes when she noticed that her younger brother, Kohaku, was approaching them. She looked up, expecting him to have some question for her, but instead he went straight to Rin.
"Hey, Rin, can you come backstage for a second? I'm having problems with the back curtains and I wanted you to look at them." He asked her.
"Oh, really?" Rin cocked her head to one side. "I don't see how much I could help…"
"Rin," Sesshoumaru still stood on the stage, and it was obvious that he was waiting for Rin to join him before he left.
"Oh, Sango, do you think we have time to run to the store? I really want something to snack on, if that's okay." Rin turned wide blue-grey eyes on her friend.
"That's fine, but hurry back." Sango waved the girl off, and she enthusiastically ran up to the stage, lacing her arm through that of her stoic boyfriend as they left the building. Sango turned to address her brother, but he had already left her alone with Miroku. "That's weird, I thought Kohaku needed help with the curtains."
"He seems to be interested in Rin." Miroku commented, not looking up from his copy of the script. "That's interesting, huh?"
"Kohaku? No way!" Sango scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Besides, Rin and Sesshoumaru have been an unofficial couple for two years."
"Unofficial." Miroku repeated the word. "Maybe Kohaku thinks he has a chance."
"You know, he was just asking her about the curtains." Sango pointed out, a bit impatient about the vein of this conversation.
"No one's backstage right now. They could be alone…" Miroku raised his eyebrows at her suggestively, earning him a sharp slap across the face. "Ow, what was that for?" Miroku asked, a little indignant.
"I don't need a reason for you, but if you must know, I would rather you didn't lower my brother to your level, pervert." Sango jutted her chin out sharply, crossing her arms stubbornly.
"You didn't always think I was so bad." Miroku's tone was normal, but the words brought a look of fury from his companion. She stood up and kicked him sharply in the shins.
"Asshole!" she growled before all but running out of the room. Miroku was left to watch her and feel extremely foolish as he felt the eyes of nearby cast members on him.
"Smooth, Miroku." He winced, rubbing at his shin tenderly. "Really smooth."
*****
The End (Of Part Two, That Is)