Okay, I promise that this time, I really will give you a costume party.  I apologize for before, but it was worth it, ne?  Oooh, the scandal and…stuff.  Yes, well, what could possibly take place at the long awaited costume party?  How will the guys feel about Rin's costumes?  Will there be any party crashers?  Will Kohaku continue to hit on Rin, or will Sango wisely leave him at home where he cannot tempt Sesshoumaru's wrath?  Will Kagome possibly admit that making out for two hours is not just practice?  You'll find out…or maybe you won't, in this installment of…

*****

Center Stage

Part 4

"Your costume is the coolest Inuyasha!  I was gonna be Spiderman before, but then I wanted to be scary so I changed my mind to Frankenstein and now I think mine is okay, but yours is the best!" Souta, his face covered in green make-up and his body clad in a dusty looking outfit, clunked across the front walk after Inuyasha, whose face was mostly hidden by a black ninja mask.  A third person walked alongside Inuyasha as they entered the house, her identity hidden by the black robes and hat of a witch costume.  "Kagome will be really excited that you're here now, cause you were kinda late and she was worried cause you're the coolest person she knows and you're the coolest person I know too.  Who's this?  Is she your friend too?  I've never met her before."

"Souta, who was it?" Kagome came into the living room at that moment, two trays balanced on either arm, each one full of snacks.  She paused, looking at the two guests a moment before smiling brightly at the ninja, "Nice costume, Inuyasha."  Inuyasha was unable to respond, struck dumb by Kagome's costume, and suddenly glad his mask hid his face.  At least she couldn't see the way he was gaping at her.

"Inuyasha's here?" Sango's voice called from the other room, and it was moments before she joined them, looking from the ninja to the fairy carefully placing her burdens on the table.  "How could you even recognize him?"

"His eyes, of course."  Kagome brushed off the question.  "Plus, think about it.  Inuyasha would dress as a ninja, wouldn't he?" Kagome smiled at him again, finally taking note of the witch beside him.  "Who…Kikyo?" she aimed a quizzical glance at Inuyasha.

"Uh…she…I…um…" Inuyasha began.  "I told her yesterday…asked her, I mean.  If she wanted to come.  I thought…um…is it bad?"

"Oh my god." Sango rolled her eyes, cocking her horned head to one side.  "You two are ridiculously obvious."

"Obvious?" Inuyasha asked, confused as he turned to the she-devil, reaching up to loosen his mask.  It was getting a bit stifling, and he wanted to eat some of the snacks anyway.  Kagome was glad he was too busy with his mask to notice the blush that immediately rose to her cheeks at Sango's comment.

"It's fine." Kagome gave Kikyo a smile, forced as it was.  If Inuyasha wanted to be friends with Kikyo, that wasn't a bad thing for her.  And she was not jealous.  She wasn't.  Thankfully, the doorbell rang just then, shattering the awkward moment.  "I'll get it." She practically ran to the door, her iridescent wings flapping slightly as she moved, her costume shimmering as her gauzy trim flowed around her.  Thankful for the distraction, she opened the door with a warm smile  "Hey, Kouga.  I love your costume!" she laughed out loud, reaching forward to touch the eye patch Kouga was wearing.  "Where'd you get this?"

"Wasn't too hard." Kouga shrugged as though it was no big deal, but he was blushing under Kagome's praise of his pirate costume.  "I like your…um…costume too." He gulped as he let his eyes rove over the firmly fitting outfit.  "Yeah…the wings…very nice." He tried to focus on an aspect of the costume that wouldn't get him in trouble.

"Hey, Kagome!" a cute voice came from behind Kouga, and his impatient younger brother finally pushed past him into the house, struggling in his baggy wizard robes.  "You look really pretty!"

"Wow, Shippo, that's a really great costume.  Did your brother help you with it?" Kagome took Shippo's little hand in her own, leading both boys into the house.

"Nah, mostly mom did it, but she did make him go buy the wand.  See?" Shippo waved the wand so exuberantly that he almost fell over, and his hat fell over his eyes.  Kagome was unable to stifle a giggle, and Sango immediately rushed over to gush over the cute little boy.

"Oh, isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen?" Sango's hands covered her mouth as Kagome helped Shippo fix his hat.  Neither of the girls noticed how irritated Kouga and Inuyasha looked to suddenly not be receiving any attention whatsoever.  "Ooh, Rin, come out here!  You have to see."

"I'm coming!" Rin came out, Kohaku behind her carrying two large bowls of chips while she only carried a small bowl of salsa and another of dip.  "Thanks, Kohaku." She nodded to him as though it were an afterthought.  "Oh, Shippo, you are so adorable!  I can't stand it!"  Forgetting about her work, Rin shoved the bowls at Kikyo, not even looking to see if the other girl had them before she kneeled in her white robes to fawn over Shippo as well.

"Hey, Shippo." Souta walked past the girls, not taking note of their adoration of his friend.  "Want some candy?"

"Cool costume, Souta." Shippo nodded, waving to the girls and walking off with his friend, much to their disappointment.

"Who brought the witch?" Kouga asked, now that he had a chance to look around and noticed Kikyo.

"Inuyasha brought her."  Kagome attempted to sound neutral on the topic, but she didn't do a very good job.

"Is it a problem?" Kikyo arched an eyebrow, tilting her head high so her face was visible under the brim of her hat.

"I don't see why it would be." Kagome attempted not to glare at Kikyo, and finally settled for returning to the kitchen for more food so that the other girl could not see how unsettled she was.  As she left the room, the doorbell rang again, and Sango rushed to answer it, her red forked tail whipping behind her as her hair flipped up, revealing the deeply cut back of her costume.

"Hey, oh, Rin, guess who's here?" Sango smiled as she waved the attractive man in.  Rin had said something about making Sesshoumaru a costume, but she'd been unsure that the stoic man would want to participate in a costume party.  However, he managed to wear the costume, which gave him the look of a medieval European nobleman, with so much dignity that Sango almost didn't notice that he was wearing anything out of the ordinary for a moment.

"Hello." He nodded to her politely before entering the house, barely getting in the door before Rin flew at him, jumping at him so forcefully that he made a slight noise as he caught her.

"Ooh, you look so good!" she squealed in delight.  Sango saw Inuyasha rolling his eyes and gave him an encouraging smile.  It may be hard for him to see his brother and his friend so close, but it had been going on for so long that she wondered whether he'd ever give up on his opposition of the situation.  "I told you this costume would look great!  I'm just glad I got your measurements right…although, I think it might need a little adjustment." She let go of him to look the outfit over critically.  "Let's go upstairs."

"No costume adjustments in my room!" Kagome called from the kitchen before appearing with two heaping bowls of candy.

"We'll only be a moment!" Rin waved to the others as she went upstairs with her boyfriend.

"At least they pretend they're doing something other than…well, you know." Sango sighed, turning to shut the door just as another car pulled up.  "Oh, someone else is here." She frowned as she tried to think of who was missing, but she didn't have to think long as Kagura, clad in a black latex cat suit that somehow looked indecent while showing only her face, and her hair pulled up into two cat ear buns skipped to the door, looking very pleased with herself.

"Hey, Sango." Kagura waved her gloved and clawed hand, smiling happily.  "I'm not late, am I?"

"No, not at all." Sango tilted her head to one side.  "That's…quite the costume."

"Yeah, I know.  I wanted to prove myself to Rin, you know, since she hasn't seen my sewing abilities so far.  I thought that it would be nice if I could help her with that part of the artwork too, so I thought…here's my big chance.  Like my tail?" Kagura swooped one hand behind her to lift it and show the other girl.  "Oh, you have one too!  I love your costume, by the way!  Did Rin do it for you?"

"Uh…yeah." Sango was now slightly distracted by the vampire standing behind Kagura, smiling at her cheekily around false fangs.  "What's he doing here?" she asked, not censoring her tone.

"Oh…um, well…I didn't know if it was okay…I mean…he said that…since he had to drive me…" Kagura seemed suddenly unsure of herself.  Sango didn't know the girl very well, but she had picked up on how she often seemed very outgoing and confident when it came to art and her abilities, but when the conversation shifted to anything else, it seemed she was almost shy.  She was even blushing, after all her immodest excitement about her skintight costume, she was blushing over her cousin's presence.  Perhaps she was only afraid of making a misstep with them, since she didn't have very many friends.  At least, Rin had said as much to her earlier.

"It'll be fine." Kagome interrupted, almost shoving Sango aside to greet them both as well.  Kagura was confused by a sudden exchange between the two which seemed to consist of Sango shooting a surprised look at Kagome, after which the fairy tilted her head toward another girl inside dressed as a witch.  After this, Sango nodded, shooting a glare at Miroku before forcing a hospitable grin over her features.

"Yeah, the more the merrier." She gritted.  Somehow, she didn't sound very pleased.

"Who is it?" Kouga took the opportunity to sidle up to Kagome, crowding the doorway further.  "Oh, art chick and Miroku.  This should be good." He shot Sango a teasing smile before they all moved to allow the two guests entry. Kagome left to start up some music, and Sango headed to the kitchen to get the rest of the snacks out since it seemed that Rin wouldn't be helping her anytime soon.

"Hey, art chick.  Nice costume." Kouga told her, his smirk looking strange with the eye patch he wore.  She spared him a mocking smile, turning on her black-heeled boots to face him.

"Who are you supposed to be?  Captain Crunch?" She asked him, tilting her head to one side expectantly.

"No…he wears a hat." Kouga knew the instant he said it that he sounded stupid, but it was hard to come up with a clever comeback when he was trying to think if Kagura could possibly be wearing underwear underneath that tight fitting costume.

"Okay then…" Kagura rolled her red eyes at him turning to the kitchen just as Sango re-emerged.  "Hey, you guys have anything to drink?"

"Yeah, there's some punch inside the kitchen if you want to carry it out." Sango smiled at the other girl.  "Although…it is kind of heavy."

"I could carry it." Miroku moved smoothly beside Sango, flourishing his cape slightly as he looked Sango over with obvious appreciation.  "Remind me to tell Rin that she is a genius.  Bringing out your beauty so fully is a skill that few could muster; yet her costume creation is absolutely exquisite.  I am utterly bewitched."

"Then…shouldn't you go talk to Kikyo?" Sango pointed across the room to where the loner girl was talking with Inuyasha, who had since removed his ninja mask to eat snacks.  "I mean, maybe I'm not catching your meaning, but I believe your pun was more appropriate for her.  It's pretty lame, but you usually are, so you should leave us alone and go talk to her."

"Oh, Sango dear, don't tease me with you're baiting." Miroku smiled winningly, moving to wrap one arm around Sango's waist, his fingers creeping ever downward as he spoke.  "You know that I only care for you!  You're the only woman I see!  I am blinded by your beauty."

"Then how can you see me?  Besides that, if you were so devoted to me, why were you out with that Koharu girl just last week?" Sango was unable to slap him without dropping her tray of vegetables and dip, but she did manage an admirable wriggling maneuver that allowed her to escape Miroku's wandering hands. 

"Sango, do not mistake me." Miroku was not chased off by her comments.  "Koharu is a dear girl, but she is only a friend.  You are the only woman I will ever love."

Sango paused before blinking at him and continuing toward the living room"If your eyes are bothering you, maybe I should get Inuyasha to drive you home."

"If I were to need a ride home, I would hope that you would help me, dearest Sango."  Miroku prevailed, heedless of the endless walls Sango kept throwing in his path.  "After all, you are not only the most beautiful woman I've ever known, you are also the most compassionate and caring friend I've ever had."

"Really?" Sango turned slightly as she continued toward the table with Miroku in pursuit.  "I wasn't aware that we were friends.  I would say that to me…you're the biggest mistake of my life.  But a friend…not quite."

"Sango, my sweet temptress, you tease me so skillfully, and yet your ability to avoid my advances only draws me closer to you, longing for the day when I will once again find myself in your arms." Miroku continued to speak poetically as she bent to set the bowl on the table, reaching forward smoothly to grab her bottom.  Her reaction time was nearly instantaneous as she spun, punching him in the gut smoothly and knocking the wind out of her unwanted suitor.

"Watch your hands, asshole." She hissed as he was bent slightly, gasping as his smile disappeared momentarily with the shock of the impact of her fist.  "Kagome said you can stay, but if I had my way, I'd get a restraining order so that I never had to look at you again.  I hate you, Miroku.  Do you understand that?  I…hate…you." Sango stormed out of the room, leaving silence behind her as everyone froze, watching the scene unfold.

"Man, you better not fuck with Sango." Inuyasha finally spoke up.  "I don't know what the deal is between you two, but you need to know where you stand here, Miroku."

"Yeah, if it comes down between you and Sango, we're going to side with her." Kouga agreed, obviously putting his constant rivalry with the ninja on pause for the moment.  "And it ain't gonna be pretty if she comes to us.  So maybe you should just catch a hint and leave her alone."  Miroku had recovered at this point, and somehow he managed to look unperturbed by all the threats he was receiving, even the silent glaring coming from Kohaku who was seated on the couch.

"Ah," he smiled, taking a deep breath and straightening his cape.  "I love a woman with spirit."  And with that, he left the room to follow Sango.

"What a dumbass." Inuyasha shook his head.  "He better watch his back."

"No shit." Kouga adjusted his pirate sword in his belt, as though he was preparing for battle.

"I thought you two hated each other." Kagura joined them, looking curious.  "I think this is the first time I've ever heard you agree on anything."  Instantly, Kouga and Inuyasha looked completely horrified to be caught agreeing with each other, each of them looking at the other with mortification clear on their faces.

"This party is boring." Kikyo commented.  Just then, the music began and Kagome rejoined them, beaming happily and looking excited.

"Hey guys, how's everything going so far?" Kagome's smile faltered as she saw and felt the mood in the room.  "Um, guys?"  At that moment, Sesshoumaru strode down the stairs, looking extremely proper, or as proper as he could manage to look considering that on second glance, anyone might notice the mysterious disappearance of the white shirt he'd been wearing under his jacket.  The fact that he had glitter all over his face did not help matters.  Everyone fell silent once more as he strode to the kitchen, his highly dignified glare daring any of them to comment on his missing garment or his altered appearance.  He disappeared momentarily, and after some rustling, reappeared with a can of Redi Whip, heading back up the stairs silently, back straight, composure completely calm.  As he reached the top of the stairs, he looked down on the group of teenagers staring up at him, smoothed his hair slightly, and then disappeared down the hallway.

"Kouga, why don't you go get the punch?" Kagura ordered, pointing her finger imperiously toward the kitchen.  Her edict was the only noise until a giggling Rin, wearing extremely tousled robes, skipped down the stairs and ran over to the table, stealing a handful of cherries from the fruit platter before running back upstairs once more.

"Um…I guess." Kouga considered arguing, but he didn't think it would win him any points with either of the two girls.  And so he went as directed, still trying to figure out why latex costumes were so utterly fascinating as he went about the errand.

----------

"There you are." Miroku closed the laundry room door behind him, moving toward the girl as she whirled to face him, her cheeks streaked with tears.  "I was worried when you ran off like that."

"You are…I hate you." Sango told him, her voice thick from crying as she turned away so that he couldn't see her face.

"Sango, please." Miroku's voice was more gentle than she remembered hearing it for a long time.  "Please calm down." He reached forward to touch her shoulder, but she batted him away.

"Stay away from me, you dirty ass." She sobbed, leaning against the washing machine as the tears fell from her eyes.  "You're always…so….so…"

"Handsome?" Miroku couldn't resist, but he regretted joking as soon as the word left his mouth.  Sango turned back on him, her hair whipping through the air as she slapped him across the face so hard his cheek went numb.

"Miroku!  Gods…I told myself that it wouldn't bother me…" Sango wiped her eyes, sniveling and wondering absently how terrible she must look right now.  "Working with you.  Strictly professional…that's how it was supposed to be."

"Sango, I apologize.  I know that you are trying to be serious now, and I'm not helping matters." Miroku reached for her shoulder again but she slapped his hand away.

"Why…does it have to be so hard?" she asked, her breath shaking as she willed herself to stop crying.  "I hate you."

"I know it, Sango dear." Miroku slowly reached for her shoulder again, and this time she didn't fight him.  "I believe you hate me nearly as much as I adore you." With that he pulled her forward gently, hugging her to him in a surprisingly innocent embrace.  His right hand stroked her long hair absently as his other arm wrapped around her waist.

"I hate you…when you say things like that." Sango's voice was muffled as she spoke into his chest, thinking absently that perhaps her makeup would ruin his costume.

"I do apologize for it, Sango." Miroku buried his face in her hair, careful to avoid her horns.  "I will try not to worship you so blindly in the future if that would make you happier."

"Why do you…have to be so damn sweet?" Sango felt her arms snake around his neck slowly, and somehow she didn't mind the feeling at all.

"I want only to make you happy." Miroku told her, letting his eyes drift closed as he soaked in her scent.  "I want only for the ability to please you."

"I don't trust you.  I don't want to trust you." Sango told him, trying to shoo away the warm feeling creeping into her chest and spreading through her body.

"I will continue to prove myself to you until you feel that you can trust me." He answered, rocking her slightly back and forth to the music that was drifting to them from the party.

"Can't you just leave me alone?" she asked.  Miroku missed a beat, and then he continued, reaching down with his right hand and twining his fingers with hers, moving their joined hands out so that they were actually dancing.

"Do you really hate me?" Miroku asked her, spinning her out from him.

"I…don't know." She answered, allowing him to spin her back into his arms.  Sango had taken dancing lessons when she was younger at her mother's urging, but outside of that, she'd never danced with a guy who knew what he was doing before.  She felt a little dizzy, and she wasn't sure if it was from the spinning or maybe the closeness.  "No…no I don't."

"Sango, I've said this before, and I'll say it as many times as you want me to." Miroku dipped her low, "I'm sorry for what I did.  I didn't mean to hurt you."

"I know." She breathed, realizing that if he leaned down slightly, they'd be kissing.  He lifted her, launching her into a spin and then catching him against her with his other arm, dipping her again with a slight smile on his face.

"Will you ever forgive me?" he asked, his breath warm on her face.

"Will you ever stop groping me in public?" she asked in return.

"Touche." His grin widened as he lifted her slightly, doing a complicated turn that Sango was almost sure she would ruin, but he pulled it off.

"I didn't know you knew how to dance." Sango told him, smiling slightly as they moved around each other, palms pressed together before reversing and moving back to their original positions.

"I didn't." Miroku told her.  "Until I met you."

"What do you mean?" Sango wasn't angry anymore, and somehow she couldn't think of what had made her upset in the first place.

"When we spent that week together, I had no idea how I would fall for you until it was too late." Miroku told her, swaying her as they moved around the room more calmly than before.  "But then…after what happened, I lost you and I knew I'd do anything to win you back.  I remembered you saying once when we watched an old Fred Astaire movie, and you told me that you thought men who could dance were so incredibly sexy…as soon as I got home, I begged my parents for lessons."

"Did you tell them why?" Sango couldn't believe this.

"My mother couldn't have been more pleased." Miroku spun his partner, whipping his cape slightly as he stopped the turn and continued.  "My father's never cared one way or the other about anything I do."

"I must admit…no one's ever learned to dance for me." She smiled, feeling a little foolish.

"I should tell you something." He dipped her down low, his voice soft as their noses touched.

"What?" she barely breathed, wondering if he was going to kiss her, or simply say something incredibly romantic.

"Your friends want to kill me." He told her, his purple eyes twinkling as he whipped her back up, their dance ending, neither moving away from the moment they had frozen.

"They're good friends, aren't they?" she asked, tilting her head to one side as she saw his face lowering toward hers.

"Sango," his voice was a bare whisper.  "Please don't slap me right now.  It will ruin the mood." She nodded slightly and he closed the distance, pressing his lips to hers as they kissed for the first time in a long time.

----------

"Sango, Miroku, where have you two been?" Kagome was in the kitchen making more popcorn when the two exited the laundry room, both of their costumes looking slightly mussed.  "We started watching the movie without you guys.  Sorry, but I wasn't sure…"

"It's fine, Kagome." Sango smiled at her friend, grabbing Miroku's hand and pulling him out toward the living room.  "We were talking."

Kagome watched them leave, slightly confused at their sudden closeness, but not wanting to bother Sango about it quite yet.  There'd be plenty of time for that later.  Emptying the popcorn into it's awaiting bowl, she went back into the living room packed with the other party guests, including Kohaku, Souta, and Shippo who were sitting under the table and sneaking as much candy as they could without getting in trouble.  It seemed that Rin and Sesshoumaru, after briefly reappearing at the beginning of the movie for a bottle of Hershey's syrup and some vanilla ice cream, had left once more.  Kagome wondered absently if they just gave up appearances and decided to go home.  Kouga had commented that perhaps they were making a sundae, only to receive a sharp smack to the back of his head from Inuyasha.  Sango and Miroku were now seated in the loveseat while Kagura separated Kouga and Inuyasha from attacking each other on the couch.  As she set down the popcorn bowl, both of the boys attempted to make room for her, but with both of them scooting in, they only managed to squish and anger Kagura, who slapped Kouga sharply on the back of the head.  Kagome shrugged it off, returning to her seat next to Inuyasha and reaching for a handful of the popcorn.

"Shippo, quit it with the candy or mom'll get totally pissed." Kouga threw a caramel at his younger brother's hand.

"I don't think throwing candy will help him stop." Kagura pointed out thoughtfully.

"I don't think shoving your chest against me will help either." Kouga elbowed her.  She elbowed back and smacked the back of his head.

"I don't think being a dumbass will help either." Kagura told him.

"I don't think being a slut will help either." Kouga told her.

"I don't think sitting so close to me will help." She pushed against him, shoving him into the corner of the couch.

"I don't think throwing yourself at me will help." He retorted, shoving her back against Inuyasha who reached around to smack Kouga upside the head.

"You two fucking knock it off or you're kicked off the couch." Inuyasha glared at them, casually draping his arm around Kagome's shoulders.  She didn't notice, since she leaned forward at the same moment for another handful of popcorn, and he was forced to put his hand back in his lap, feeling a bit foolish.

"Good going, Captain Dumbass." Kagura grabbed a handful of M&Ms and popped one into her mouth innocently, flicking a second one at Kouga.

"Bitch." He leaned forward, grabbing his own handful of M&Ms as they began a silent battle against each other.  It lasted precisely twenty-three minutes and almost a full bowl of M&Ms before Kagura dodged a well-aimed shot that hit Inuyasha squarely in the eye.

"That's it!" He reached behind them and pulled his arm forward, launching both his unsuspecting victims off the couch and onto the floor.  "Stay down there with the kids until you can fucking grow up."  Scooting over into the newly vacant space formed by their exile, Inuyasha found the cushions they had occupied were now pebbled heavily with candy treats.  "What the….damn it, you two, there's M&Ms everywhere."

"She started it." Kouga defended himself.

"No way, it was Captain Dumbass." Kagura shot back.

"I don't care who started it, you need to clean it up." Inuyasha scooted back toward Kagome, giving them more than enough room to clean up the remains of their vicious couch battle.

"This movie isn't very scary." Kagome commented after they had finished and were continuing to mope about their exile to the floor.

"Really, I think it's idiotic." Kikyo spoke up.  Kagome hadn't noticed she was still there, back in the chair on the far side of the room.

"Kikyo, stop your fucking whining for five fucking seconds." Kouga told her firmly.

"Don't get pissed at her cause you're stuck on the floor." Inuyasha defended the witch.

"Can I lodge a complaint?" Kagura spoke up, raising her clawed hand for attention and then pointing at the loveseat where Sango and Miroku were cuddled under a blanket.  "Can those two get a room before I'm scarred for life?  I don't really want to watch my cousin copulate."

"Oh, you guys made up!" Kagome squealed happily.  "That's so sweet."

"I thought Sango hated him." Kouga looked around in confusion.

"Yeah, what the fuck." Inuyasha shrugged, deciding it was about time to try out the foolproof yawn and grab technique on Kagome.  Just as he was halfway through, Rin and Sesshoumaru stumbled downstairs, Rin giggling so loudly that Kagome turned to look and Inuyasha's efforts were stymied yet again.

"We're…um…going home now." Rin giggled slightly.  "Great party, Kagome."

"Um…okay." Kagome rolled her eyes and turned to Inuyasha.  "I don't know why they even bothered to put the costumes on."

"Don't talk about that." Inuyasha's face scrunched up slightly.  "That's my fucking brother.  Disgusting."

"Um…I think I'm ready to go home now too.  Go out to the car, okay Souta?" Sango seemed to be rustling quite a bit under the blanket.  "Just…in a second here…"

"Thank the gods for that." Kagura sighed, leaning her head back against the couch, her arm brushing against Kouga.  "Hey, watch it with the space bubble, Captain Dumbass."

"You know what, I'm gonna think of a really fucking annoying cat name, and when I do, you'll be sorry." Kouga told her matter of factly.  Kagura laughed so hard she almost couldn't breathe.

"Whew, keep me updated on that mission, okay?"  she shook her head.  It was a good party and all, but between Miroku and Kouga, she was ready to go home.  After the couples had left, the movie ended, and Inuyasha agreed to take the nagging Kikyo home.

"Wow, she was the fucking life of the party.  What'll we do now?" Kouga snorted as they left, waiting for his brother to go find his wand that was apparently in the void of Souta's room.  "Hurry it up, Shippo.  Mom wants you in bed!"

"I'm not tired though!" Shippo shot down the stairs at super sugar speed, launching into his startled brother's arms before jumping down and running out the door to the car.

"Mom's gonna be so fucking pissed." Kouga shook his head before turning to Kagome.  "Hey, great party Kags."

"Thanks a lot." Kagome stood from where she was picking up stray M&Ms from the carpet.  "It was really fun, huh?"

"Um…can someone perhaps…drive me home?" Kagura moved forward from where she had been standing since she realized her cousin, so preoccupied with Sango, had left without her.

"Oh, what the fuck?" Kouga tossed his head back, supremely irritated.  "You better fucking live really close."

"Um…actually…not so much." She offered him an apologetic smile.  "I promise not to call you Captain Dumbass on the way!" she offered.

"Promise not to talk and you got yourself a deal." He told her.

"I'll do my best." She offered, skipping out to his car.

"Thanks, Kouga." Kagome smiled warmly at him.  It was worth it to deal with that stuck up bitch, he supposed.  Anything was worth it to make Kagome happy.

*****

The End (Of Part 4, That Is)

As a post script, I would like to thank Madeleine for the sundaes.  All the ice cream, all for you honey!