Oh my goodness! So, what do you all think of the nicely placed cliffhanger? Wouldn't you like to know what Kagura and Kouga are up to right now? What about Rin and Sesshoumaru? And how about Sango and Miroku? Aren't they all doing a really bad job of being the responsible leaders that they're supposed to be at their set painting? If you were Rin, would you really want to go out, or would you just want to go home with Fluffy? And what are Inuyasha and Kikyo and Kagome up to on this day? Will Kagome even care that Kouga's about two seconds from jumping Kagura? Will Inuyasha find out about Kouga's two-timing ways and get hypocritically mad? Will Kagura actually tell Kouga about her past with Naraku, or is she just going to use her feminine wiles to distract him? Will Kouga really care all that much? Did Sango mean what she said to Inuyasha and Kagome about shaping up or shipping out? Are they going to be able to get over their mutual anger and jealousy to pull off their parts convincingly? Or will things get even worse for those two before they get better? And what the hell is Naraku planning to do to Kouga? Why? All these questions and more might be answered in this all new and improved release of…
*****
Center Stage
Part 8
*****
"No!" Sango shrieked, laughing as she barely dodged Miroku's attempt to paint her shirt, whirling around to run toward the relative safety of the school. "You won't get me!"
"Like I'll let you get away with that!" Miroku's hair was still spotted with blue paint, matting the top of it slightly and making him look extremely foolish as he chased her, waving his own paintbrush threateningly. Sango turned to see him still chasing her and decided to throw him off her scent by losing him in the maze-like cross country course set up in the large field behind the school. Sprinting across the nicely mowed baseball diamond, Sango finally reached the intentionally overgrown grass that was marked only by a well-worn series of paths that were easy enough to get lost on if one didn't know where they were going. Sango had never been big on most sports; however, she'd always been a dedicated member of cross-country, as she loved the feel of running over all kinds of different terrain. It was like hiking, but faster paced.
"You think you'll escape in there!" Miroku wasn't in cross country, but he wasn't slow either, and he wasn't having a difficult time figuring out where Sango was on the course since he wasn't that far behind her. He knew that Sango was a distance runner, so his only chance of catching her was to do it in a short sprint that she wouldn't be expecting. "I've got you now!" he called out before putting on his full speed, gaining on her easily as she laughed, not being able to run her fastest since she was wasting so much energy on laughing. It wasn't long before he lunged forward, knocking them both into an overgrown area just beside the course as Miroku landed on top of Sango. She let out a soft grunt as they fell, but rolled him over under her, still smiling widely at him as she pinned his hands down in an attempt to stop him from attacking her with his paintbrush.
"I'll still win!" she declared, wrestling to try and maintain her hold on his wrists even as he struggled to regain control of the situation, rolling them over again so he was on top. However, she still had a firm grasp on his wrists as she continued to giggle breathlessly, her face flushed and her hair all in disarray. At some point in their fall, her handkerchief had fallen out, and now her bun was barely being held together in it's haphazard arrangement. Miroku changed his aim suddenly, letting her hold his wrists as he leaned down to kiss her softly. When he broke away, she looked considerably more serious, but she was still smiling up at him softly. Leaning down for another kiss, he almost smiled into it as she let go of his wrists so that she could pull him closer. He took advantage of her distraction to pull the brush up to her face, painting a broad band of her forehead and cheek.
"Oh! You asshole!" Sango screamed in indignation even as she began laughing again, pulling the brush away to attack Miroku across the neck, causing a heated struggle in which the brush was flung deep into the overgrown borders of the course. "You lost it!"
"You threw it." He maintained, wrapping his arms around the girl that was currently on top of him. "You're the one who lost it."
"Don't start with that." She wriggled out of his grip, standing to tromp in the direction that the brush had gone. "We need to find it."
"Sango, if you come back here, I'll buy a new one." Miroku whined, not wanting to get up all the way, but still sitting up to call after her.
"That's a waste of money when we already have one." She was deep in the grass by now, and though Miroku could hear the direction she was in, he couldn't see her. "Come on, get up and help me."
"I think we should leave." Miroku stood finally, picking up Sango's forgotten kerchief and patting the dirt off of himself with his empty hand. "We could rent a movie."
"I need a shower, dolt." Sango called back, still looking for the brush. "You painted my face, remember? And it got in my hair too."
"Oh, did it get in your hair?" Miroku affected mock pity. "That would be terrible to get paint in your hair."
"Stop whining, you're the one that started it." Sango shot back. "I can't find the stupid brush now! You totally lost it!"
"You threw it!" Miroku shot back at her, walking into the grass toward the sound of her voice. "Come out of there, we'll get lost in this field."
"I'm coming…oh!" Sango's voice was excited suddenly. "I found it!"
"Really?" Miroku hadn't expected her to be able to find it at all. He continued forward, breaking through the grass and almost running right into Sango, who had pulled the ponytail out of her hair at this point and was holding up a dirty, grass covered paint brush with one hand while the other moved to restore some order to her hair. Sango rarely wore her hair down, and Miroku loved the play of the light on the black strands.
"Look at it. It's all…icky." Sango held up the brush for Miroku to take from her. Once he had complied, she shook her hair out, trying to get out the bits of grass it had picked up from rolling on the ground earlier. Smoothing her fingers through her tousled hair, Sango tilted her head to one side and made a face as her fingers caught on the blue paint in her hair. "I hate you right now." She told Miroku firmly before pulling her hair back and putting it back up in a messy bun.
"Did you want this back?" he asked her, pulling the kerchief out of his pocket and offering it to her with his eyebrow arched in question. "I found it back there, but if you hate me right now, I suppose I can just keep it."
"Hand it over, smart ass." Sango reached for the kerchief, but Miroku pulled it back, causing her to lunge forward. He dropped the dirty brush and in one smooth move, swept his free arm around her waist as he kept the kerchief out of her reach. "Miroku, not right now…" she smiled slightly, belying the annoyance in her tone.
"Sango, I think you should wear your hair down more often." He spoke softly, his lips brushing against her ear. "I like it better that way." As he told her this, his fingers moved to deftly undo the work she'd just done, letting her hair fall around her shoulders in a thick wave. Smiling slightly, he kissed the edge of her jaw line as he let his fingers move through her loose hair.
"We're supposed to be working right now." She reminded him, trying not to notice the feeling of his lips on her pulse point, where he seemed to be concentrating his attentions.
"Mmm," he paused for a moment, wrapping his other arm around her, the kerchief still clutched in his fingers. "But it's time for a break."
"Lunch hour was not invented for—mmph" Sango was cut off when Miroku covered her mouth with his own. After they broke, she gave him a wry grin. "Okay, here's a deal for you. If you'll be good for the rest of the day, I'll wash your hair after we leave."
"You'll…will you let me wash yours?" Miroku's eyes flashed wickedly. "In the shower?"
"Don't push your luck, mister." Sango smiled, going up on her toes for one more kiss.
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"I can't be honest with you until you're honest with me." Kagura told him, biting her lip nervously. "If Kagome's most important to you, why are you here with me right now?"
"I…just…" before he could think of a good answer, Kagura leaned forward, her lips meeting his in a hesitant kiss. Kouga was shocked at first, but before he could stop to think of what he was doing, his arms were around her, crushing her to him as he returned the kiss, deepening it. After some time, they broke, blushing and panting slightly.
"What…was that?" Kagura nearly squawked. She had been scared that he would reject her, but instead he had jumped at the chance to kiss her, nearly bowling her over with his enthusiasm. "You…have a girlfriend. Remember?"
"I know…" Kouga looked like he was completely confused about what he should be doing. "Shit…that's right. I do. I'm with Kagome. I know…but it's just…dammit, I don't know."
"Kouga, you aren't making any sense." Kagura told him after some time. "How about you try to answer my first question? What are you doing here, holding me like this if you have a girlfriend?"
"I'm with Kagome right now, officially." Kouga attempted to explain. "But...dammit. She's only using me, and everyone knows it. You know it, don't you? I guess…I didn't really care at first. Since I wanted to be with her for so long. But it really sucks to be in a relationship with someone who's completely in love with someone else. You could basically say that the best thing to get me over my Kagome thing was actually getting to be with her. It wasn't what I expected, or what I wanted. It's not what I want anymore."
"So now you're like, what?" Kagura gave him a level stare. "On the rebound? Am I your recovery girl?"
"No!" Kouga shot her comment down. "No…I mean, I don't think so." He was still holding her, he realized, but he didn't want to move away. She felt warm, and she smelled so nice. Not at all like Kagome, but kind of similar in that she was a girl. She smells…kinda like cinnamon rolls. Sweet and spicy at the same time. It's nice.
"You don't think so." Kagura rolled her eyes. "Okay, um…yeah. You're going to have to step away from the Kagura right about now." She wriggled slightly, indicating that he was still holding her and that she was ready for the embrace to end. "Now, I think you might want to seriously think about ending that Kagome relationship. Obviously, it's not working out. And Kouga…I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you." She hopped down from the counter, smoothing her clothes unnecessarily.
"Uh…no problem." Kouga was still a bit dazed from what had just happened. Somehow, being with Kagura made him happier these days, and it didn't make any sense. But she'd just laid everything out for him so plainly. How could he have ever thought that he was in love with Kagome? Even though she was a great friend…being involved in her love life was just…exhausting. But now…how do I really feel about Kagura? And why did she kiss me? And why is she sorry she kissed me? Does she not want…wait! Isn't she supposed to tell me about Naraku? Was that all some distraction? What the hell!?
"Come on, we better go back. I'm sure that Sango and Miroku aren't helping get things done right now." Kagura beckoned for him to follow.
"Hey, what about…you know…what about Naraku? What's his story?" Kouga caught up to her, leaving the bathroom and walking down the hall toward the doors. "You said you'd tell me, right?"
"God…that's right." Kagura's face went a little pale. "I don't think I can do it right now though. It's kind of a long story. How about you take me out to dinner tonight?"
"Like…like a date?" Kouga wanted to know.
"Not if you're dating Kagome, it's not." Kagura told him sharply, moving ahead of them to rejoin the other crew members still working or eating lunch in the parking lot. I don't understand women at all. Kouga suddenly wondered if there was time left during the lunch break to go break up with Kagome. Not like she'd be really fucking heartbroken. She'd probably ask when we started going out in the first place.
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"Kagome! Phone!" Kagome's mom called up the stairs, bringing her daughter out of her room and down the stairs even though she did move a bit sluggishly.
"Is it Kouga again?" Kagome asked, not sounding as excited as a girl should about having her boyfriend call her.
"No, sweetie, it's another boy." Kagome's mother told her before returning to the other room where she'd been watching the news. Kagome looked at the waiting receiver with some trepidation. Could it be Inuyasha? But why would he be calling me? I thought we were fighting. Steeling herself, Kagome picked up the phone and spoke into it.
"Hello?" she tried to sound very neutral about how she might feel about being called by Inuyasha unexpectedly, but the voice that greeted her was not what she expected it to be.
"Kagome, this is Naraku." The smooth voice surprised her so much she almost dropped the phone. "I was wondering if you were busy right now."
"Um…no, not really." Kagome didn't know what she should say, but she realized after she spoke that it might have ended the conversation if she'd just lied and said she was busy. That was stupid, Kagome. She scolded herself. Maybe if mom would have warned me…
"Excellent." He spoke again before she could correct her mistake. "I wondered if you would be interested in some information."
"Information?" Kagome was confused.
"It's pertinent, believe me." Naraku assured her. "I was just concerned about your friends, and I thought that you would be interested in knowing exactly what type of people you've been associating with as of late."
"Type of people?" Kagome felt that she must sound a bit stupid. "What are you talking about?"
"I believe that lately, your friends have been introducing a pair of girls into your midst, and I thought that it might be best for you to know more about them, as they are very misleading." Naraku told her. "Kagura and Kikyo?"
"Kagura and Kikyo?" Kagome was confused by what he was saying. "What do you mean?"
"I don't really want to talk about it over the phone, but I was hoping that perhaps we could meet somewhere." Naraku suggested. "Would you like to go out for coffee?"
"Um…" Kagome didn't know what to say. She didn't feel comfortable meeting with Naraku, but she thought that perhaps if it were in a public place it would be okay. And she was interested to know what he was talking about. What could Naraku possibly know about Kikyo and Kagura? Also, if there was something that she apparently needed to know about these two girls, it did worry her a little. She may be mad at Inuyasha at the moment, but that didn't mean she wanted him to be tricked and hurt by Kikyo. "I guess that sounds fine."
"Alright." Naraku sounded very pleased with her response, and she again felt a little worried. "Would you need a ride to the shop on Fifth Street?"
"No, I don't need a ride." Kagome told him quickly. "I'll be there in ten minutes."
"I'll see you then." Naraku told her before they both hung up.
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"Inuyasha, would you buy me this dress?" Kikyo asked as she continued to watch herself in the mirror, turning around once more to see the skirt flow around her. "I think it looks really nice, don't you?"
"Weren't we supposed to go get coffee? You said coffee, not dress shopping." Inuyasha reminded the girl as she continued to twirl and model.
"I had to try this on, though. You saw it in the window, it's a really nice dress." She turned to Inuyasha, her eyes going wide as she attempted to pout. "Won't you buy it for me?"
"Can't you just buy it?" he asked, extremely irritated with the girl. God, fucking Kagome. It's all her fault I have to put up with this shit right now. I hope Kouga's fucking driving her insane.
"But Inuyasha, you're my boyfriend now. You're supposed to buy me things." Kikyo told him, the pleading still in her voice.
"I thought I was buying you coffee." He pointed out. "Now let's go."
"No." she stood firm. "I want this dress."
"If I buy you the fucking dress, will you shut the fuck up when we're getting coffee?" Inuyasha snapped. He regretted it immediately, as Kikyo's eyes began to glisten with tears.
"You…Inuyasha." Kikyo sighed sadly. "Why are you so mean?"
"I'll buy the dress, just don't cry." Inuyasha rolled his eyes. This is the worst punishment ever. All I did was let her fucking kiss me once, and now I'm stuck in the god damned relationship from hell. Damn Kagome.
"I'll change." Kikyo immediately went to change out of her dress so he could buy it for her. As he pulled out his wallet and paid, Inuyasha wondered yet again how he'd ended up landed with the single most demanding girlfriend in the history of girlfriends. After she reappeared, he took the bag with the dress and it's receipt, grumbling under his breath about the injustice of having to buy a twenty-dollar dress instead of a four-dollar coffee.
"I'm gonna take this back to the car. You go ahead to the coffee shop, okay?" Inuyasha told her as they exited the store. She seemed to consider this momentarily before releasing her grip on his arm and letting him free for his short detour.
"Alright, but don't be too long." Kikyo went up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek softly before flitting away to the coffee shop. It's not that she's a bad person, she's just an annoying girlfriend. I didn't even know they could be that fucking needy. Inuyasha sighed as he reached his old Carolla, putting the bag in the back seat before locking the door and heading back toward the coffee shop where Kikyo was waiting for him, their coffees already ordered and set out at the small table she'd chosen to sit at.
"You paid?" Inuyasha had to admit, he was a bit surprised by that idea. Kikyo seemed to be a firm believer in the girlfriend's right to mooch off their boyfriend.
"Well, I know you didn't want to buy me that dress. I guess I felt a little guilty making you do it anyway." Kikyo admitted, shrugging and stirring her coffee with an unnecessary amount of fascination as she avoided Inuyasha's surprised gaze. "I got you a caramel latte."
"That's my favorite." Inuyasha was surprised yet again to know that the girl had actually been paying attention to such things. He didn't want to admit it, but he wasn't actually sure what Kikyo's own coffee preference was. He'd never paid attention to what she made him spend money on before, just accepting it as part of his eternal punishment for betraying Kagome, even though he still maintained that he couldn't really help it if Kikyo had kissed him. He hadn't done anything.
"I know. It's what you always get whenever we go out for coffee." Kikyo told him, sounding as though she was a bit embarrassed to be caught showing such consideration toward her boyfriend. "You know," she spoke up after a while. "I know what's going on."
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha almost choked on his coffee at her casual comment.
"If you think I can't tell, that's pretty demeaning." Kikyo told him. "I know that you're using me to make Kagome jealous." Kikyo explained. There was a long silence as they both drank their coffees, neither of them offering further comment on the topic. "But I want you to know that I don't mind. Not really."
"Why not? Don't you like…want me to care about you?" Inuyasha knew that he was basically confirming Kikyo's words, but the fact of the matter was that she knew the truth and he wasn't going to bother to try and hide it from her. As it was, he felt more than a little guilty about using one of his friends in such a way, and he would have rather she didn't figure it out, but he knew that he hadn't bothered to hide it very well.
"I do." Kikyo told him, taking another sip of her cinnamon mocha as she gave him a measuring glance with sharp gray eyes. "And that's why I'm letting you get away with this for now."
"Huh?" Inuyasha was utterly confused.
"I'm saying that right now, I know that if you had to choose between the two of us, you'd pick Kagome." Kikyo told him calmly. "But I have an advantage that she doesn't. I'm your girlfriend, no matter what the reasons are. So that's why I'm going to make you see that I'm the better one. I'm the one who is in love with you."
"You're…" Inuyasha didn't remember how to speak anymore. She's in love with me? What the hell is going on here? When did everything suddenly get so serious?
"Yes." Kikyo told him, reaching across the table to brush her fingers over his. "And right now, since I have you with me, I'm going to try and do my best to make you see that this is the best choice. I just thought you should know. I know what's going on, but I don't hold it against you. You can't help who you love, can you?"
"I…guess not." Inuyasha was thoroughly confused. Kikyo was in love with him, and she was implying that he was in love with that two-timing Kagome? When did my life get so incredibly fucked up? Oh, that's right, I remember. I'm never kissing another girl again. As he sat thinking about all this, Kikyo got up to take her empty coffee mug up to the counter.
And just then, when he thought his life couldn't get any more confusing, he heard the crash of a mug breaking on the floor. He turned to see Kikyo staring at the entrance of the coffee shop, her eyes wide with shock, and deep laced fear. And there, standing in the entrance of the shop were Kagome and Naraku.
*****
The End (Of Part 8, That Is)