A Blank Expression Tells a Secret and The Prank is Planned

~ A day that started with a pounding headache and got seemingly better, has just made a turn for the worst. And it will end in three broken hearts... Better make that six. 'Houshi' looks like he's doing pretty well, at least in front of you as he speaks with 'Dogboy's bother'. 'Wimpy wolf' and 'Naive' have disappeared, so 'revenge' decided to leave as well- to search for them, she explained. 'Dogboy' stood near 'his brother', glaring at the ground one minute, then sulking the next. You just stand there listening to the endless argument with no interest what-so-ever. Your heart doesn't have anything left in it, and neither does that clever mind of yours. Oh, how are you going to be able to stand and watch your 'band'- yes, yours- up on stage- knowing that's the last place you'll see them in person? Life sucks... But why? Like it matters. Knowing the answer won't change a thing. So, just live with it! ~

"Sesshomaru, this is not fair to any of us in the least!" Miroku shouted.

I honestly think this was the first time I had ever seen him lose his temper, completely.

"I wasn't going to mention anything until you arrived," he stated. "But I thought better of it."

"You still want to ruin our lives, don't you?" Miroku hissed, looking away for a moment. "You didn't have to set the concert for today- it could have been tomorrow! It would have been much more convenient, ne?"

"Hai, but I do not care what is convenient for you," he said, looking over to me and frowning. "Kagome, was it?"

"Hai."

"Do you know where Rin is?"

"Iie, but I can find her, if you want," I muttered, expressionlessly.

He nodded, but I didn't move. He frowned. "Is something wrong?"

"Hai," I said, looking passed him and wishing I could laugh. But my heart wouldn't let me. "I found Rin."

He turned just in time to see Rin wave out the window of a taxi before it was lost in the crowd of vehicles. "Nani?"

"See, we don't care what is convenient for you, either," I stated, walking beside houshi. "My mother's friend is taking your sister on a shopping spree with my son, and won't be back until the concert is over- maybe a short while after. I hope you weren't planning to leave immediately after the show."

He was stumped, thoroughly stunned, utterly shocked, completely taken aback- I think you get the idea. He turned back to face us, his mouth opened slightly. He studied me for a moment, then looked at his brother, who hadn't looked up from the ground the entire time.

"The show will not be delayed, no matter what tricks you pull."

"Huh?" Inuyasha looked up in confusion. "Nani?" he asked, surveying his surroundings.

"He didn't do it. He probably doesn't even know that Rin is gone," I said. Inuyasha's eyes rounded in fear- most likely thinking the worst. "She went on a shopping spree, Dogboy. I set it up, not him," I told Sesshomaru.

"Kagome," he whined, "I'm gonna get punished for that!"

"No you won't."

"And what makes you so sure of that?" Sesshomaru wondered.

"Because, if you do, Inuyasha here will file a lawsuit against you," I stated, nodding knowledgably. Inuyasha nodded to, having no idea what I was talking about.

"On what grounds?"

Inuyasha stopped shaking his head, thoughtful for a second. "Yeah, what grounds?"

"For animal cruelty," I stated, a laugh starting to form.

Inuyasha nodded vigorously. "Yeah! For animal cru-" he paused, then looked at me and growled. "Bitch."

"That is no way to talk to a lady," I huffed, pouting.

Miroku laughed, hugging me to his side for a moment. "You are the strangest of the bunch, ne?"

That just made Inuyasha growl louder. Sesshomaru seemed to be debating on whether he should actually respond with emotion to that joke or not. He chose to laugh, before he turned away.

Miroku paused in mid laugh, almost choking, while Inuyasha face faulted from the fitting stance he had taken. "Sesshomaru?"

'Jeez, they act like they've never heard him laugh before... Now, why does that thought sound so familiar?'

"Yeah, you are definitely the strangest," Miroku said, still in a daze.

"Yeah," Inuyasha echoed, getting up and dusting himself off.

I stood silently with Miroku still hugging me to his side, my mind completely blank. Sesshomaru had left us there, not telling us where to go or how to get there. Kouga, Ayame, and Sango were still gone. Our mothers had gone with the kids on the shopping spree... What were we supposed to do, now?

"HENTAI!" Sango screeched, and bashed Miroku and me on the head.

"Nani?" I sputtered, then felt it... "YOU!" I shouted. Then yelped and jumped away when the lech actually squeezed this time. "GET AWAY!"

"Aww, c'mon Kagome," Miroku pouted. "It was only for fun."

I backed away from the delusional drummer. Sango was right behind him and he had said that?

"Houshi," Sango called, but to my surprise, she didn't seem to be mad at all. "I was thinking... How much longer until we have to leave?"

"No idea," Miroku mumbled, creeping slowly away from her with a suspicious look.

"Oh. Well in that case..." She walked over to him, grabbed his hand, pulled him to his feet, and smiled. "Let's go have some fun of our own."

"Nani!?" Miroku and I gasped. That was not something that Sango would say... and the suggestion behind it...I shuddered.

Before Miroku could answer, Sango drug him away, humming to herself.

"Um... What just happened?" I asked, unsure of my mind at the moment.

Inuyasha just shook his head. "No idea."

"That seems to be a popular statement today," I mumbled, looking at Inuyasha.

I could feel the beginning of tears as he looked away from my gaze. It was truly a bad sign- when a person couldn't look a friend in the eyes- and I knew something was bothering him... I wanted to know, but that would only tie me to him even more. Ignorance is bliss- 'well, in this case,' I thought.

"Inuyasha," I began, also looking away. I found the ground quite interesting. "I'm sorry. I know that I haven't done anything to help at all."

"That's not true... You've been a big help, especially to me. I just... don't want it to end like this," he said. "There's nothing I can do to stop the concert though."

"I know," I said, plastering on a smile as I looked at him, craning my neck to look him in the face. "I don't expect you to, either. But you better send me a postcard or two- and an extra one for Shippo-chan, okay?"

He chuckled, "Of course I will."

"Good," I hummed. "But, it's not good bye, yet, so... What should we do?"

He was thoughtful for a moment, frowning. I was going to say that old 'don't overheat yourself' comment, but he didn't think for long... Well, at least I could still joke around- and think properly again.

"You hungry?"

******


"How much longer, Myouga-jiichan?" I asked the elder man as he drove the limo down a dirt path.

Kouga and Ayame had re-occupied the back seats, just like our last limo ride. Inuyasha and Miroku took the left side with Sango and I facing them from our right-side seats. It was much quieter without Shippo and Rin.

"Only a few minutes, miss," he replied, humming some tune under his breath.

"My name's Kagome," I said, tired of him calling me 'miss'. "Where are we going anyway?"

"To Tobiki."

"Tobiki?" Inuyasha repeated, a thoughtful look crossing his features. A moment later, he grinned slyly. "Well, imagine that..."

"What?" Ayame asked, curiously. "Have you been there?"

"Hai," he chuckled. "I think you'll like the place, Fangirl."

"And why is that, Dogboy?" I asked, emphasizing the nickname.

"Because." His old arrogance appeared again, though I don't know why. He seemed to be laughing at an inside joke that no one else knew.

"Because?" I prompted irritably.

"It's known for the best brandy in all of Japan," he stated, smirking. "I'm sure you'll love Tobiki."

"Oh Kami-sama, I'm going to be sick," Ayame cried, burying her face in Kouga's shoulder.

I clutched my stomach, scowling at the singer. The very thought of alcohol made my stomach churn. Plus, the fact that Myouga swerved all of the sudden didn't help when I ended up sprawled on the ground.

"Omphf!" All the air in my lungs rushed out as Sango fell on my, her elbow jabbing my side. "Get off!"

As soon as the words were out of my mouth, Myouga swerved once again- in the opposite direction. This sent Inuyasha sailing through the air and into my seat. Miroku, on the other hand, choose to hit his head on the roof and land on Sango, squishing my already flattened body to the floor.

"Itai! Get"- I gasped, trying to get some more air into my deflated lunges- "OFF!"

"Houshi, don't try ANYthing," Sango hissed. "Just get off." She sounded much better off than I.

"I wouldn't dream of taking advantage of you, my dear Sango," he said smoothly, pushing himself away.

"Arigatou," Sango wheezed, standing up and sitting on one of the open seats.

I didn't bother to look up, or even attempt to get off of the floor. I just didn't have the strength.

"You getting up or what?" Inuyasha muttered, yawning.

"Oh, iie," I said happily, putting a slight 'are you crazy' kind of edge to it. "It's much to comfortable down here. I think I might just fall asleep," I said with as much sarcasm as I could muster.

"Suit yourself."

I growled at him, glowering at the ground. A few minutes later, I propped my head up on my hands, then glared at the back of Myouga's skull through the divider.

"I'm bored," I murmured, switching my chin to one hand and making figure eights in the carpet. "What time is it?"

"No idea," Sango answered with the same monotonous tone I spoke with.

"Time for the band to start rehearsal," Myouga said, bringing the limo to an abrupt stop.

The sudden action caused me to slip forward, then do a full summersault, and fly toward the divider. Thank Kami-sama Inuyasha had such good reflexes. He caught me around the waist and pulled me away from the danger of another horrible headache.

"Careful there, Kag," he whispered. "We don't want you back in the hospital."

"Arigatou," I sighed in relief as my heart calmed down.

The door was opened by none other then the 'toad man' who yelled at the band continuously, cursing them for being late by fifteen minutes and thirteen seconds and still slacking off. The boys grumbled incoherently and exited the vehicle. My friendly trio followed behind by a step or so as we walked to the concert hall.

"Everything is set up," Jaken said in an annoyingly high pitched, strained voice. I was quite pleased with myself for having remembered the man's name. "So hurry and get to work, you pests."

"What are we supposed to do?" Ayame asked, looking around the enormous room. "Sit back and watch?"

"Iie," Jaken squeaked. "You are not allowed in this building at this time."

"Where's Sesshomaru?" I asked. I thought he'd be there to oversee the rehearsal.

"That's Sesshomaru-sama to you, you disrespectful little witch," he sneered.

"Nani!?" I screeched, glaring daggers at the man. "What did you just call me?!"

"A disrespectful little wi-" was all he said before falling to the ground, unconscious.

Sesshomaru stood behind his fallen employee, shaking his head slowly. "He doesn't know when to shut up, does he?"

"Iie," I stated simply, turning to watch Demonic picking up their instruments. "Why do you do these kind of things to your own brother?"

He didn't answer, and I hadn't really expected him to. Ayame and Sango went to stand infront of the platform, giggling about this, that, and the other. I sat down in the nearest chair, wondering to myself what my life would have been like had I not drank the drugged Coke all those years ago. 'It couldn't be worse than what my life is now,' I thought, sighing.

"Inuyasha wouldn't stop singing, even if I let him," Sesshomaru said, sitting next to me. "No matter what he says. He loves the attention- and it helps him keep his mind blank."

"So he isn't always thinking about his problems," I muttered. 'Less hurt on the heart.'

"I do this to help, if you can understand that," he said, looking around the room. "I can't tell him that, though. He hates me and always has."

"You've always been a jerk though, ne?" I laughed.

He shook his head. "I suppose that's true."

"Is this a secret, or what?" I asked, raising an amused brow.

"Can I trust you?" He wondered aloud.

"It's kind of late to ask that, but hai, you can. I won't tell," I said, then stood to join my friends. "I'll take the girls out to do something and give the guys some peace for once."

'Sugoi, I thought the guy really was heartless,' my mind spoke, giggling to a joke I didn't quite catch... How is that possible? Maybe my subconscious was the part with that information. It was a bummer that Inuyasha thought his brother didn't care. I was getting much to attached to this family.

"Oh," I muttered, turning back to the manager. "Um... Arigatou."

"For what?"

"Shutting Jaken up, for one. And trusting me," I said, smiling genuinely. He merely nodded.

"So, this is the line up?" Inuyasha asked into the microphone.

I turned to see him holding a paper up. He looked slightly confused. Miroku and Kouga seemed just as puzzled as Inuyasha, reading over their own paper.

"Does the concert never end?" Kouga asked. "There has to be some mistake. This is like... All of our songs."

"Hai, that is the list," Sesshomaru replied. "All of your songs, save for 'Fangirl'."

"Fangirl?" I muttered. "You have a song called 'Fangirl'?"

"Hai," Sango answered for them. "You didn't know?"

"How should I? You know I didn't listen to them before," I huffed. "You're the one with every single CD by them, not me."

"You have all of our CD's?" Miroku asked, a strange sparkle in his eyes.

"Hai," Sango blushed, looking at her feet.

"Sugoi," he breathed, grinning from ear to ear. "You really do love me."

"I never said anything about loving you," Sango huffed indignately, frowning.

"You don't have to hide it, ne?"

"I'm not hiding it if it's not true," she said, smiling at her cleverness. I caught her trick though.

"So, are you hiding it or not?" I asked. She didn't answer.

Ayame giggled, patting Sango on the back. "You can't hide anything from her."

"That's not true," Sango said, smirking. Miroku and Kouga nodded in agreement.

"Nani?" I asked, looking at each of them in turn. Inuyasha didn't understand either.

"Kagome. You forgot," Sesshomaru called.

"Oh! Yeah. Girls, we have to leave until they start collecting tickets," I told them, sighing in helplessness.

"Okay," Sango mumbled, shuffling away from the stage.

On her way out, she tripped over the unconscious 'toad man' and went stumbling straight into Sesshomaru. He caught her, steadied her, then brushed himself off, the whole time Sango mumbled apologies. When he disregarded them, Sango huffed, kicked Jaken for making her look like a fool, then left.

Ayame looked at me with amused, watering eyes, trying to hold back tears- whether they were from holding back laughter or the fact that she had to leave the band, I'd never know. Smiling, she waved the boys goodbye and followed Sango.

Laughing lightly, I also looked up to the band, smiling sadly. "Try to have fun, alright?"

When I left, walking passed Sesshomaru, I whispered a warning. "Push him too hard and he'll lose his only way out." I watched from the corner of my eyes and saw him nod, still straightening out his clothes.

'Well,' I sighed, 'I should try to take my own advice... Have fun,' my mind laughed. 'How?'

******


"So, I'm planning on going back to that cabin," I told Ayame who sat across from me.

We were in a strange gaijin restaurant that I'd never heard of before, but the food was great. Our Waitress seemed like a gaijin herself, which made this place much stranger. Sango had left for the restroom a few minutes ago and I had a funny feeling that she was either crying or re-applying her eye-shadow.

"You put everything back in place for me, right?" I asked. She nodded. "Arigatou. I want to surprise my mother."

"Good luck," Ayame muttered. "Your mother knows everything that's about to happen, ne?"

"Honto," I sighed. "But it's worth a try."

"Hai."

"What do you think we should do tonight, anyway? Just sit back and watch?" I asked, pushing my food around on the plate.

"Umm... Kagome... Sango and I were talking and we think that Sesshomaru needs to be taught a lesson," Ayame said, taking a deep breath. "Do you think you can set up something?"

It took me a while to sort out what she meant. Another prank by the brilliant Kagome Higurashi! But...

"I don't think so," I sighed. "How am I supposed to set something up on such short notice? Plus, I don't even know where he's going to be."

"Oh, come on. We all know that if anyone could pull it off, you could," Ayame muttered. "And Sango knows exactly where he will be and when."

"How?" I asked, startled.

"You remember when she tripped over Jaken?" She asked, giggling at the memory. "She didn't exactly do that on accident."

"She pick pocketed Sesshomaru!?" I squeaked in disbelief. "No way!"

"Yes way! She took his palm pilot right out of his inside coat pocket," she squealed. "She's lucky that he didn't notice."

"He was probably too disturbed with the fact that she touched him," I giggled, shaking my head. "Sugoi..."

"I know."

"Hmm... A prank on Sesshomaru. What do you think would get him the most?"

"Chotto," Sango said, rejoining us. "We have about... another hour or so. We should get ready."

"An hour? Kami-sama, you take too long," I muttered.

"It's just in case," she argued defensively. "You need to find something appropriate to wear, anyway."

"I've already got my outfit picked out, Sango-chan," I told her. "Plus, I'm supposed to work on that prank."

******


Ayame turned the engine off, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. I followed suit, as did Sango.

Ayame had decided to wear her best short, forest green, no sleeve dress. Her hair was curled and piled on top of her head, a few curls reaching her shoulders. Of course, she wasn't going anywhere without her leather high-heeled boots.

Sango had donned her spaghetti strap, off white dress, which stopped just above her knees- the same one that she chose for me at the mall. Her hair, for once, was down, tucked behind her ears. She was also wearing the oh-so popular leather high-heeled boots.

I, on the other hand, had chose a very different type of outfit. Ne, the kind you actually wear to concerts. I wore a newly bought pair of low-riding flares and a 'Demonic's' shirt with the skull and two swords. My hair was braided, my bangs curled, and a few strands dangled on each side. Still, I had to wear the leather high-heeled boots...

"Well, doesn't this scene look familiar," I commented dryly, looking up to the concert hall. Taking a deep breath, I stepped out of the car. "I'll go find Sesshomaru," I said, grinning before plastering an innocent smile in place. "Time for some payback."

Sango handed me the few supplies I would need, including his palm pilot. "Good luck."

"Kagome?" Ayame called, frowning. "What exactly are you going to do?"

"Don't you worry," I said, flashing another grin. "You'll see soon enough. But, I've got to talk to Miroku and Kouga really soon, so ja!"

And I sped away, leaving all further questions to plague their minds. First stop, Sesshomaru.

Showing my VIP pass to the men guarding the doors, I slipped through, went straight to the backstage area, and gathered my nerves together. There, I shown my pass once again, went through the doors, and searched for Sesshomaru. He was speaking to Myouga and Kaede, Jaken beaten and bruised stood behind him.

"Sesshomaru!" I called, running forward. "Thank Kami-sama I found you." I breathed, huffing and puffing as if I had been running all over.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, slightly annoyed that I'd interrupted him.

"Iie," I stated, watching him drink from his bottle of water. "It's just that I found this," I said, holding up his palm pilot. "It's yours, right? I don't know anyone else who would be scheduled for a meeting with both Kaede-bachan and Myouga-jiisan."

"Nani? Where'd you get that from?" he asked, grabbing it from me rather rudely. "I was looking all over for it."

"It was on the ground at the dock," I lied. "We went back to get my cell phone. Sango left it in her room and we had to go to the souvenir shop. I had four messages, can you believe that! Four!"

He looked skeptical, but said nothing, checking over his schedule. "Oh, I forgot that... and that, too..."

"Anyway, my mother was calling to say that they were going out to eat at some diner and would be back on the shopping spree, spending everything- to the last penny," I frowned. "She wants to be paid for baby sitting your sister."

"Nani?" he asked, looking up from his life. "I never asked her to-"

"I know," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "Oh! Shoot! I forgot! Where's Inuyasha? I have a message for him."

"Third door on the right, but he's going on stage in..."

"Four minutes," Kaede informed me.

"Kya! I have to hurry then!" I shouted, pushing passed Sesshomaru and slipping the pill into his drink. However, he surprised me by stopping me. 'Oh, Kami-sama, he caught me!'

"What do you need to tell him so badly?" he implored, narrowing his eyes.

I sighed in relief, thinking as fast as possible, I answered, "Kikyo's here," and ran toward the room he'd pointed me to. Knocking once, I opened the door. Luckily, Miroku and Kouga were also there.

Kouga was grumbling for some reason or another, gazing out of the window with some girl brushing his hair. Miroku was lounging on the couch, staring at the ceiling, telling Kouga to shut up in annoyance. Inuyasha, if the muffled curses meant anything, was locked up in some closet.

"O~kay..." I mumbled, watching the door that had momentarily adopted Inuyasha's voice and... quiet colorful vocabulary. Everyone looked at me- at least, those who could.

"Kagome?" Miroku mumbled, confused. "What are you doing here? Sesshomaru let you pass?"

"In a way," I muttered, looking over to the bass player questioningly. "Why...?"

"He just needs some alone time," Kouga muttered, walking over to the closet to unlock it.

"Sonofabit-"

"Inuyasha!" I shouted warningly to stop him. We were wasting TIME!

"Nani?" He muttered, looking at me for a second, then frowned. "How-"

"I'll tell you later," I said, turning to the woman who started fiddling with Inuyasha's hair, tsking. She hadn't even acknowledged me. "Yura, is it?"

The woman looked at me, then scowled. "Girl, you're hair," she whined, tsking again. I fumed, but held back a retort.

"Yura, could you leave for a moment?" I asked.

She stopped brushing the silver strands and narrowed her eyes. "Anything you have to tell them can be said in front of me."

I thought about it for a moment. Even if she knew, she couldn't stop it. What could she do? Telling Sesshomaru his drink wasn't 'drinkable' would only upset him- and possibly get her fired... So...

"I have a way to get back at Sesshomaru, but I need your help," I told the boys.

Yura raised an eyebrow, then grinned and went back to taming the silver tresses. "Oh, this is going to be good."

I explained Sango's reason for tripping, which Miroku hooted at, then I told them how I got passed Sesshomaru, which caused everyone to stop. "I didn't see her, but there's always a chance," I said. Then I explained my plans... and with an extra person on our side, I gave Yura her own part.

Miroku and Kouga grinned, Yura chuckled, and Inuyasha mouthed, 'I knew you'd find a way.'

I'm glad everyone agreed...

But... Later, I knew it was going to cause a few repercussions and it would end up hurting me more than anyone...

Pranks aren't always one-sided.