Oh my goodness! The angst! The suddenly complicated love polygons! The sheer suspenseful torture! Why is Teresa so mean to all of you? Can't she just tell you what the hell is up with Kagura and Naraku and get it over with? What the hell is up with Kagura and Naraku? How many people are pretty sure that it has something to do with Naraku's sheer creepiness? And even though Kikyo's trying to be nice now and decided to swear off her former creed of crappy girlfriend, don't you still just really want to hit her or something? I mean, seriously, can't these people just end up happy right away? Why do they always have to work for it? Why am I even asking? Aren't I the author? Aren't I mean? How long will I continue to torture the characters for no real reason? Will it get better anytime soon or will it only get worse? What about Sango and Miroku? Why are they so happy all the time? Is disaster lurking just around the corner for them as well? Find out as you devour the newest part of…
*****
Center Stage
Part 9
*****
"Good afternoon, Kikyo." Naraku tilted his head slightly at the girl standing over the shards of the coffee cup she'd just dropped at the shock of seeing him enter the coffee shop. It wasn't only shock at seeing him; it was disbelief at his unlikely escort.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha stood up without thinking, moving so that he cut off the straight path between Naraku and Kikyo. He wasn't sure if he was trying to protect the frightened girl behind him or confront the surprised girl in front of him. "What are you doing here?"
"That is none of your business, Inuyasha." Naraku assured the other boy, casually placing one hand on Kagome's back as he urged her to walk with him to the counter where they could order coffee. Kagome seemed a bit confused, walking along with the tall boy, but sparing a shocked series of speechless blinks for Inuyasha.
"You…aren't angry…are you?" Kikyo asked in a voice that was notably lacking it's usual smooth assurance. Inuyasha turned; ready to ask her why she'd think he was angry at her when Naraku left Kagome's side to pat Kikyo on the head, his smile meant to reassure her never touching his cold eyes.
"Dear Kikyo." Naraku told her, "Have I any reason to be angry with you?"
"N-no?" It was obviously meant as an answer, but it came out as more of a question.
"There you are, then." He left her to rejoin Kagome, who was standing at the counter, ordering her own coffee and handing a five-dollar bill to the cashier. "Don't bother, I am the reason you're here, Kagome. I can pay for your drink."
"I can pay for my own coffee, thank you." Kagome glanced over to Inuyasha who was still watching her, questions clear in his violet eyes.
"Inuyasha, let's go." Kikyo still seemed a bit off, but she'd regained most of the calm coolness that she usually possessed. Inuyasha didn't know he'd been worried for her until he turned a smile at the other girl. "I don't like being involved in this sort of business."
"What…I…" Inuyasha seemed at a loss as Kikyo picked up her purse and left, obviously expecting him to simply follow. "Kagome? Can I talk to you for a second?" Now was the time to clear the air, while everything was still fresh in his mind. It wasn't that he thought Naraku might be plotting something with Kagome, he just thought the timing was convenient. And he definitely didn't care that Naraku had touched Kagome's back before. It was just her back. Why should he care?
"Right now?" Kagome didn't seem very keen on the idea of talking to Inuyasha anytime soon. "Isn't your girlfriend waiting for you?"
"She can wait." Inuyasha grabbed her arm impatiently, "This is important."
"Somehow, I doubt that." Naraku intervened, smoothly removing Inuyasha's grip from Kagome's arm as though it was no problem at all. "Now, I do realize that as the star of our play you are used to being the center of attention at all times, but just as Kikyo expects your company right now, I was promised some time with Kagome just now."
"Kagome?" Inuyasha's solemn tone gained her attention, and for a moment it was as though she wasn't angry with him anymore.
"Inuyasha, I'm fine. Naraku and I are just…talking." She assured him.
"Does Kouga know where you are right now?" Inuyasha felt angry and hopeful at the same time. He hated the idea that at the moment, Kouga had a claim to Kagome that he himself had forfeited, but even though he'd never admit it, he trusted the other boy. He definitely trusted him more than he did Naraku. And somehow, he felt that if Kouga knew of Kagome's presence here at the coffee shop with Naraku, Inuyasha would feel a little better about the idea. Kagome looked him over carefully before lowering her eyes slightly, not quite meeting his gaze.
"It has nothing to do with him." She assured Inuyasha. She glanced at where Naraku had finally sat, a table that was a good ten feet away from where she was still standing with Inuyasha. "I think…it may be something important, Inuyasha. I don't know yet, but I'm a bit worried. He says he knows things about Kikyo and Kagura that we need to know. I don't know what to think."
"I wouldn't believe anything he says." Inuyasha advised, his eyes drifting to where Naraku sat, still waiting for Kagome to join him.
"Inuyasha…" Kagome suddenly realized that when he'd looked at Naraku, he'd stepped closer to her, and barely a sliver of air separated them now. It had been so long since she'd been this close to him without letting something get in the way. She knew that Sango still had to be angry about how Inuyasha and her were continuing to let their personal issues interfere with their work on the stage. But every time she got close to him while they were up there, all she could think about was how quickly he'd turned on her, running to Kikyo and pretending as though there'd never been anything between the two of them. And now that he was dating the other girl…"Kikyo's probably waiting for you."
"Uh…yeah." Inuyasha wanted to wrap his arms around her, take her away from this stupid coffee shop, let her forget all that bullshit that had kept them apart for so long now. But he knew that wouldn't be fair to Kikyo. "She said…she's in love with me." That was brilliant. Now she'll just get more pissed off. Fucking great.
"Oh really?" Kagome stepped back, straightening up and trying desperately to ignore the ache in her chest. "You must be ecstatic."
"Kagome…" Inuyasha couldn't tell her how he felt. Not now, not when he wasn't even sure himself. "She's…um, probably waiting."
"Yeah." She offered him a smile, but even he could tell it was forced. He needed to say something, he knew it. She wanted him to say something, but what? "You better get going."
"Be careful." He didn't know what else to say. "I don't trust that fucking guy."
"Neither do I." She assured him, but her clouded features suddenly dissolved into a sunny smile. Inuyasha felt his breath catch in his throat. She's so fucking beautiful. I was so caught up in this damn fight I forgot how gorgeous she is when she's happy…I don't want to fight with her anymore.
"I don't love her." He snatched her arm, drawing her close. "She said it, but I don't feel that way about her."
"Really?" Kagome's expression became clouded again, and she pulled her arm out of his grasp. "Then why are you with her?"
"Kagome?" Naraku cut off any response Inuyasha could have possibly offered at this point, standing and wrapping an arm around her shoulder, sending Inuyasha's anger into a hot smolder. "Is Inuyasha bothering you?"
"He was just leaving." Kagome told him, turning for the table in a way that made his arm fall off her shoulder. Of course, this didn't make Inuyasha forget it had been there moments ago. However, before he could think of some effective threat he could offer the other boy, Naraku had turned and left, joining Kagome at their table and leaving Inuyasha feeling rather foolish before he finally decided to leave. After all, she'd be all right by herself, wouldn't she? She was grown up. And she didn't seem very concerned about it. She'd brushed him off like that…not that he cared. Maybe he'd come by later, just to make sure everything was okay. Not that he cared.
----------
"Okay, I think that's good for today…dammit, I knew there was no way I could finish this up by myself." Kagura grumbled to herself after telling the last few crew members to stop working where she'd placed them. "There's really only detail work left, so none of you need to come in tomorrow. Let's get this all cleaned up." As she worked with the other three remaining crew members, two freshmen and Kouga, Kagura attempted to resist the urge to curse Rin and her stupid anniversary.
"You know, you could just make her come in herself tomorrow." Kouga was by her side suddenly as she stood at a sink, rinsing out brushes while the flats and set pieces were laboriously carried back into the auditorium for the night. "You worked plenty today. You don't need to finish by yourself tomorrow, too."
"Oh, I won't be working alone tomorrow. Rin will definitely be here with me. She's slacked off enough for her stupid boyfriend." Kagura wiped hair out of her face with a wet hand, leaving watery paint on her forehead. Kouga smiled at her, offering her a small red handkerchief from his back pocket. She eyed it critically before raising her disapproving crimson gaze to his. "What's this, your snot rag? No thanks. I'd rather continue to believe that chivalry is dead if the alternative is wiping your icky snotty sweaty rag on my face."
"It's just a handkerchief. I was gonna put it on so I didn't get paint in my hair, but I forgot." Kouga told her. "Take it and don't be such a bitch. I'm just trying to be nice. Damn."
"Well, excuse me for doubting your pure intentions. See, I've kind of come to distrust guys like you. Sometimes, they tend to try and mislead girls. You know, things like trying to date two of them at once like there's nothing wrong with that? I've seen it happen before, so I'm just naturally kind of cautious around your type." Kagura snatched the piece of red cloth from him after turning off the water, using his handkerchief to wipe her hands and face before handing it back to him.
"What, no thank you?" Kouga affected a look of deep injury.
"Oh, yes I forgot." Kagura turned to him, hands on her hips. "Thanks for leading me on. Thanks for trying to jump me in the bathroom when I was too upset to stop you. Thanks for doing less than anyone else today because you were too busy trying to check out my ass. Thanks for showing up late to practice and wasting about an hour of valuable time I could have been working." Kagura's voice was an angry growl at this point, where she turned on her heel and tilted her chin up, refusing to face him. "And your carrot sticks were too thick!"
"Um…Kagura, are you mad or something?" Kouga finally asked her, his eyes widening with worry as he reached out to grab her shoulder. She shoved his hand away, letting out a deep sigh and walking off toward the final flat that needed to be carried back inside.
"I hate you." She told him firmly as he lifted one side and she lifted the other, but a small smile belied her words.
"Don't think that I'll let you out of our dinner date just because of that." Kouga teased her, sure that she couldn't stay angry with him. "And besides, you're the one who started the bathroom incident."
"Oh, so now it's an incident?" Kagura sounded upset, and Kouga was suddenly unsure as to whether or not she was serious. Girls are so fucked up.
"That doesn't mean I didn't like it." Kouga winked at her broadly, and she snorted at him, rolling her eyes.
"Fine way for you to talk to me while you're still dating someone else." She told him as they edged their way into the building, careful not to clip the edges of the flat against the doorframe.
"Is that why you're acting so weird still?" Kouga asked her impatiently as they reached the auditorium and moved toward the stage where the other flats were laying out to dry. "What, you want me to go break up with her right fucking now? Cause I will. I'll do it, and I'm not kidding. She won't care and neither will I. It's not a real relationship and you know it."
"That's fine for you to say, but the fact of the matter remains that you're dating someone else. I will not be your mistress." Kagura told him firmly as they set down the flat.
"Mistress? You make it sound like Kagome and I are fucking married or something!" Kouga protested as he followed her outside where the two freshmen were waiting for their parents to pick them up.
"We'll talk about this later. You owe me dinner now, if I recall correctly." She turned to his car, considering it carefully. "You can drive me there only if it starts up in three tries." She teased him.
"Thanks for the fucking vote of confidence, Princess." Kouga jumped in his car, which started on the first try. "Hop in, smart ass."
----------
"Want one?" Sango turned to the boy behind her who was wielding a comb and looking at her freshly washed hair with a wicked glint in his eyes. She was holding a handful of candy corn from the dish her mother had left in the middle of the living room table. "Miroku? Hello?"
"Huh? Oh, I don't like candy corn very much. Thanks anyway." Miroku waved away the offered treat, causing Sango to shrug and turn back toward the television, where the movie they'd rented had just started to play. "Hey, you said your parents were leaving for the whole evening, right?" Miroku asked her, reaching forward to run his fingers over her damp hair before he began to carefully comb it out from the bottom.
"Don't get any ideas, smart ass. They left for dinner and a movie, but they'll be back by ten, I'm pretty sure. They never stay out too late." She told him, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend before popping another piece of candy into her mouth.
"Well, it's only six now. That gives us four hours…" Miroku let the hand that was under her hair stroke down her back slightly. "And this movie is only a couple of hours long."
"Then maybe I'll make you go home early." She suggested cheerfully. "And besides, Kohaku is still here, you know. We can hardly say that we have the house to ourselves."
"What if I go and give Kohaku five bucks to stay in his room?" Miroku suggested, his tone just as cheerful as hers. "Then it would be just the two of us…what could we do?" He asked, leaning forward and kissing the skin right behind her ear softly. Sango shivered slightly, but attempted to shrug off his advances.
"You know, Miroku, half the time I'm pretty sure you're just teasing." She informed him as he went back to combing her hair, his free hand becoming a bit too free with it's liberty, moving over her back in broad strokes before it meandered up to her shoulders and neck. "But sometimes, I have a hard time telling, so I just assume for your own sake that you'd know better."
"Know better?" He asked, his comb finally reaching her scalp, working gently and soothingly to smooth her hair out.
"Know better than to suggest I have sex with you while my parents are out." Sango responded bluntly.
"Why…Sango, I would never suggest such a thing." Miroku insisted instantly. "However, now that you suggest it, I must admit that the idea does hold merit. I suppose if that's what you really want to do, I could do without watching this movie again."
"Miroku, do you want to comb my hair and be good, or do you want to leave right now?" She asked, her voice extremely calm. She was so used to playing this game with Miroku that it wasn't very difficult for her to avoid actually becoming angry when he twisted her words like that. He was silent as he finished her hair and she continued to slowly eat her handful of candy corn, but after a while he set the comb down and leaned forward, wrapping his arms loosely around her shoulders in a casual embrace. Of course, Miroku couldn't leave it at that, and he leaned forward, nuzzling against the back of her ear. Sango attempted to pretend that this was extremely annoying as she spoke up. "Did you want something?"
"I decided that I would like some of that candy." He told her, his voice serious enough for her to tell he wasn't joking. For once. Sometimes she wasn't sure if their entire relationship was based on sexual innuendoes and endless banter, or if that was just the majority of it. Sango couldn't tell why he'd use his normal tone on candy when she had to fight for a straight answer from him most of the time. Sighing slightly, she reached for the bowl that was just a little too far for her with the restraint of Miroku's arms holding her back.
"I can't reach it, idiot." She told him, turning her face slightly toward his, smiling slightly as he took care to let his lips drag over her cheek. "You have to let go."
"This way's better." He whispered before taking her lips with his own, examining her mouth carefully with his own, causing her to melt into the kiss, awkward though the angle was. After a few moments, Miroku broke away, grinning smugly. "Yeah, it tastes better when it's from you." He told her.
"Smart ass." Sango blushed at her own breathless reaction to the unexpected kiss. "I thought you said you'd be good?"
"I thought I was good." Miroku's purple eyes flashed mischievously. "You seemed to like it."
"That's not what I meant and you know it." Sango told him. "Now let go of me, Miroku."
"Only if you'll join me on the couch." Miroku offered her his most winning smile with this proposal, and she rolled her eyes, already knowing that fighting against this boy when he wanted something was utterly pointless. At least he let her pretend to be the one in control, after all. And since he gave her complete control of their public front, she was gracious to him. And she supposed she knew he'd never do anything she would really dislike. No matter what problems they shared, he treated her like a princess, and she knew that he did truly care for her.
"Fine then." She smiled slightly to let him know she didn't really oppose this idea, sitting next to him and letting him lean back, an arm wrapped around her pulling her with him. "You know…I was thinking about Kagome and Inuyasha."
"But…you're on the couch with me and you're thinking of other people?" Miroku gave her a mock pout before kissing the top of her head and shifting again. Sango noticed he was working toward the laying down position, and she thought it was pretty entertaining watching him try to be subtle about what he wanted. "They're still not up to par, are they dear?"
"I just…I mean, they are my friends, after all, and it worries me. They've never been so…upset with each other before. I think that this is deeper than simple jealousy." She smiled slightly as he shifted again. "Did I tell you about that kissing practice you told them to take? It lasted two hours." She informed him.
"Two hours? Well, that's about what I expected." Miroku sighed, shifting lower on the couch.
"What? You're saying that you set those two up?" Sango had to admit she was surprised that Miroku would interfere with Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship. "Miroku, I give you too little credit. You are very devious, aren't you?"
"I try." He shifted her again so they were almost lying down. "I knew that you wanted those two to get a stronger sense of the part, and the romantic tension between them told me that there was something there, they just needed a little push in the right direction."
"Apparently, they also needed to get a restraining order against interferences like Kikyo." Sango rolled her eyes. "I have to say, I don't know where that one came from. I didn't think Inuyasha showed an ounce of interest in her before, and now they're dating. Although, the motives that Inuyasha has for the relationship make some sense if you think about it his way. He's such a child sometimes."
"True, but Kagome started that game by deciding that she was going to start dating Kouga." Miroku shifted a final time, sighing happily as he wrapped his arms around Sango's waist, letting her snuggle back against him. "Cold?" he asked.
"I'm fine." She smiled at his concern. "I feel bad for Kouga. I know that he's had a thing for Kagome for a long time now, he's just been too scared to say anything. And you know he can tell she's using him now. It really…I hate to say it, but I had no idea my friends were so petty."
"I don't think they're any more proud of their behavior than you are, dear." Miroku planted a warm kiss on the back of her neck as he brought up one hand to fuss with her still damp hair. "But being in love makes you act like a child sometimes, and you don't have the time to regret it until all is said and done."
"Miroku, stop that. That's distracting." She wriggled slightly as he kissed along the edge of her ear. He paused, affecting a shocked tone.
"Distracting? Is it really?" Miroku asked her before leaning back down to kiss the shell of her ear again. "I apologize, it's just that I find you so much more fascinating than how those two are in a ridiculous battle over who will have to admit to their feelings first. It's terrible, really."
"Miroku…I was just thinking. Maybe we can fix this ourselves." She suggested. "I mean…I don't think I can force a confession out of Inuyasha, but Kagome might move if I push her a little. Like…you know what I told them before about replacing them?"
"Yes?" Miroku was still busy with the line of the tendon that went from the top of her neck to her collarbone.
"What if…what if we just made Kikyo and Kagome switch roles? Just until they figure things out." She suggested. Miroku paused, looking at her with disbelief.
"Sango, dear. I realize that you have the best intentions here, and Kikyo has improved a great deal…but the fact of the matter is that she's one of those actresses that director's hate to work with. She's needy, compulsive, issue-laden, and ridiculously arrogant, not to mention full of herself and completely assured of her talents even when she doesn't possess much. I think that if you did this to me, I would feel more as though you were punishing me than as if you were trying to push things along with your two dear friends." Miroku told her, his tone serious. "But…I suppose that if you think it's the only option, I would allow it. I somewhat enjoy critiquing Kikyo's acting abilities, and a larger part would undoubtedly yield more opportunities."
"Miroku, you are a wonderful man. Have I ever told you that?" Sango smiled, turning in his arms to face him more fully. "I don't know what I'd do without you. I mean it."
"Sango," Miroku kissed her forehead lightly, his eyes closing slightly as he stroked damp strands out of her face. "I think you should know, I love you."
"Somehow, you manage to make it sound terribly unimportant." Sango hid her sudden blush against his chest, moving her hands up to clutch at his shirt in her embarrassment.
"I'm serious, Sango." His hand was in her hair, stroking the dark strands as though he'd never tire of the feel of them.
"I…I know." She looked up at him after a few moments. "I just…don't know what I can say to that yet."
"It's okay." His eyes held some disappointment, and it pained her to see it there, but she didn't want the words to be meaningless. Especially not if she said them to Miroku. Whether she loved him or not, he was terribly important to her, and she wanted to treat him with the respect she felt he deserved.
"I'm not saying I don't." She explained. "I just…I'm not sure right now."
"Take your time." He smiled down at her. "You know I'll wait as long as it takes to win you over." She didn't know how to respond to that, so she simply kissed him. That was something she could do with assurance that it was right, that it was true.
----------
"Do you really want to hear this? Because…I could just give you the abridged version and I think we'd both be happier with that." Kagura told the boy as they both sat in his car with their half-eaten blizzards, Kagura picking at hers now that she realized she was going to have to talk.
"Tell me the abridged version, and we'll go from there." Kouga allowed.
"I hate Naraku cause he's a dirty prick who could die tomorrow for all I care." She told him. "And…yeah, I hate him. He's a prick."
"We covered that. Can I have a reason?" Kouga asked her, arching his eyebrow as he took a bite of his blizzard. After getting their food, they'd driven around for some time before he parked at an old playground and insisted that she tell him what it was she'd been keeping to herself for all this time.
"He's a prick?" she attempted. Kouga gave her a look that let her know that he was going to need a bit more than that, so she took a deep breath and tried again. "Okay, well then…where should I start? I guess this really started in first grade. That's when I met the girl who would be my best friend until a couple years ago, the girl who introduced me to Naraku. Kikyo."
"Kikyo?" Kouga's eyes went wide and he almost dropped his blizzard as he turned to her suddenly. "The witch?"
"The same girl." Kagura nodded, not looking up at him. It would be easier if she didn't have to face him when she told him about this. "Now…can you promise me something? After I tell you what happened…can you swear that you won't just…never mind. It's too much to ask, so I guess I can just hope that you'll stay as my friend. You'd be the first after…the incident."
"Nothing that dumbass did to you is going to make me just abandon you." Kouga assured her. "I swear, now just tell me. You don't have to be afraid of what I'll think. I know you're a good person, Kagura, no matter what happened to you."
"Then why do I have to tell you?" She asked. "If it doesn't matter, can't we just leave it as it is?"
"Kagura…I…god, you're making me feel like such an ass right now." Kouga blushed, but he didn't need to worry about Kagura seeing it as she still refused to look at him. "But the thing is…I really like you, you know? And I want…to know everything about you. If that's okay. I mean, if you really don't want to tell me…"
"No, I told you I would, so I will. It's just…you say it isn't true, but I know you'll feel differently once you know the truth." Kagura was slightly choked up, and she decided to just push ahead. "So…Kikyo and I met in first grade. She wasn't really…like she is now at that time. She was…more of a person, you know? I guess that with all that's happened, that Kikyo kinda…got buried under a lot of baggage, you know." Kagura paused, and continued at the feel of Kouga's hand on her shoulder. She could feel his eyes one her, and she know they'd be full of sympathy. She hated sympathy, but at least it wasn't disgust. "So then…when we were in sixth grade, I went on a trip with my parents during the summer. Kikyo went to this summer camp, and I wrote her every day, you know, post cards and stuff from the different places we were. But when I got back…something about her…it was really off. She was…you would have thought her parents had died or something, the way she acted. She was constantly…she couldn't really pay attention for very long anymore, and she was always going off to the bathroom to cry. I think she thought I wouldn't notice or something, but I did. I worried about her so much."
"What happened to her?" Kouga wanted to know, but his voice was gentler than she was used to. It brought tears to her eyes. He wouldn't ever speak that way…once he knew.
"I'm getting to that. When we were in eighth grade, she introduced me to someone…her cousin Naraku." Kagura could feel her throat tightening. She must be crazy to think she could tell Kouga all this and have things remain the same between them. No one would want to know her once they knew the truth. That's why she'd worked so hard to keep it hidden. "I feel stupid saying it now, but he was very…charming…and…pretty soon we started going out together." She waited for a disgusted comment, but Kouga simply dropped his hand from her shoulder down to intertwine his fingers with hers. The blizzards sat forgotten on the dashboard. "So…at first he seemed like such a good boyfriend, and I tried not to notice the way he'd look at Kikyo sometimes…a slimy kind of look. She was scared of him, and I couldn't figure out why she'd want to hang out with him if he frightened her, so I figured that she wasn't really afraid, it was just my imagination. But then…after we'd been together for some time…he started to…you know, say things that struck me as…well, kinda weird. He would ask what I thought of Kikyo, if I thought she was a good girl. He'd laugh if I said yes and tell me I was cute. I didn't mind that so much, but when he'd ask things like if I thought Kikyo was pretty or if I'd ever thought of kissing her…that was weird, you know?"
Kagura took a pause and Kouga squeezed her hand, his blue eyes full of worry as he began to suspect some of where this was all headed. "You can stop if it's too hard."
"No, not now. Not now that I've gotten so far." Kagura took a deep breath. "It…happened during Kikyo's sixteenth birthday, the beginning of sophomore year. I had a lot of friends then, but Kikyo was really…more reserved than me and she opted for a private party. Just Naraku and her and me. So everything was going fine, we were acting silly since we were at my house and my mom was gone for the day. Kept talking about how this party was so much more fun unsupervised. Then Naraku pulls out a few bottles of liquor. I still don't know where he got it, but he insisted that we party the right way since it was Kikyo's sixteenth birthday. Kikyo seemed pretty hesitant, but since I was with the two people I trusted most, I decided it would be okay. Pretty soon we were so completely sloshed…but I think that Naraku wasn't really drinking…or something. The last thing I really remember was him sitting there with his bottle, not drinking and not really seeming drunk. Kikyo and I, though…yeah, we were smashed. And then…the next morning, I woke up…Kikyo and I were both naked in bed and I felt like I'd just run a marathon and smashed my head against the wall about a hundred times. I didn't know what had happened, but then Naraku strolls in the room with two cups of coffee, wearing my robe and nothing else. He was so…fucking smug. He said 'Last night was great, wasn't it?' And I knew what had happened…I knew. He waited till Kikyo woke up to describe it to us in all it's gory details. Then he said that…if we really didn't remember he'd managed to tape quite a bit of it and…he said he had some 'rather interesting' pictures. I…didn't know what to do…or say. I waited till he left and then I called Kikyo up at home. She said not to get so worked up about it, that it was hard for her the first time too, but that's just the way Naraku was. She never really said what she meant by that, but I suddenly guessed why she'd been so…weird since that damn summer camp. Naraku had…had…"
"You don't…have to say it." Kouga's hand was tight on hers, and she wondered if he wanted to hit her, wanted to slap her for ever pretending to be normal, for kissing him, for tricking him. He must hate me now.
"He raped her. He did it to both of us…at the same time that night. But he'd already had her. Everything about him suddenly made sense, and I wanted to get away from him. He terrified me. But when I tried to leave…he got angry." Kagura choked on a sob. "Back then, I had this friend…he was a nice guy. His name was Nobunaga, and I guess he had a thing for me. As soon as I split up with Naraku, he was right there, trying to make his bid. I wouldn't say he was forceful…after Naraku, no one is. But you know, he'd liked me for a long time, I guess. So he was kinda eager. I guess I'd been in a relationship for so long, I felt like I needed that feeling, you know? So I agreed to go out with him, but I wouldn't tell him exactly what happened between Naraku and I. I couldn't. But I guess I should have. The day after we started going out, Nobunaga was in the hospital. Naraku's friends…I'd always disliked those boys, but I never thought of them as a gang…they'd waited for him after school and beat him up…so bad. He had a broken wrist, a fractured arm, three bruised ribs, a broken hand, two leg fractures, a twisted ankle and a split in his head that needed twenty stitches. I…it was my fault. I broke up with him, told him I was sorry I caused him so much trouble. I think he got the message since he avoided me after that. And then Naraku told me that if I didn't come back to him, he'd do the same thing to all my friends. I was terrified. And that's when Kikyo called me at home. She hadn't talked to me much after it happened, so I thought she was mad at me or something. She told me that she was sorry she introduced me to that rotten prick. I told her what he'd said about my friends. She was quiet for a while and then she said, 'You have two choices. Go back to him, or get rid of your friends. If you don't want anyone hurt, don't let him see you caring about anyone. It's the only way.' I realized she was right, and after that…after that I was a bitch to everyone. My friends didn't stick around for too long, and then Naraku didn't have anyone to go after. It was just me, and I could care less if he attacked me and put me in the hospital. I think he knew how much I wanted to die. He never came after me. But now…"
"Now you have friends again. And you're worried?" Kouga guessed, his voice still surprisingly gentle. "Don't be. I'm not the kind to abandon the people I care about, no matter what. I'm sticking."
"Kouga…if you do…he'll come after you. He'll come after all of you." Kagura felt her tears spill down her cheeks. She hated to cry, but she couldn't help it. "I'm so sorry…I should have known…I thought maybe by now he would leave me alone. I know he has…the pictures and all that. He'll show them to everyone if he thinks…I'm being bad. I'm surprised he didn't before. God…Kouga, what am I going to do?"
"I don't know." Kouga responded, his hand still entwined with hers. "But we'll figure something out together."
"You'll…still be my friend…even now?" Kagura sniffled slightly, looking up at him. "Doesn't it…disgust you?"
"It makes me want to kick Naraku's head in." Kouga told her fiercely. "It makes me wish that I'd met you sooner…maybe I could have protected you."
"Thank you Kouga." Kagura didn't know what else to say, so she fell against his chest, letting him speak words of comfort as she continued to sob. She never thought she'd have friends again, and here was this boy…it was more than she could have ever hoped for.
*****
The End (Of Part 9, That Is)