Sweet Seduction
Disclaimer: Not mine...
Chapter Two – Anger
Miroku awoke to the angry yells coming down the corridor. The shatter of glass from somewhere outside alerted him that things were definitely not right. Pulling on his jacket and jeans, he hurried hastily towards the direction of the chaos.
Sango was currently tossing miscellaneous vases at the dodging reporters. "How dare you ask me to slander Kagome when she's the one who gave me this opportunity in the first place?" she yelled. "Just because she's perfect outwards, you feel that you need to find some inner flaw? Well, you're not finding it from me!" A small white statue of a cherub holding a flower smashed against the wall. "Get out of here! Out!"
"Sango, my dear, what the hell do you think you're doing?" a calm voice inquired from behind.
She glanced up at Miroku. "Well, one thing I'm doing is chasing these reporters out of this house, and the other thing is asking you if you would please remove your hand from my body."
He frowned. "Hey, Watanabe!" he yelled at one of the fleeing reporters, who turned, sensing that someone a bit more sane than Sango was present.
The reporter moved cautiously over. "Yes, sir?"
"Miss Higurashi gave strict orders that the media was to be kept off the premises. She also mentioned that any violators would be politely asked to interview her personally trained German Shepard."
"She...she did?" Watanabe replied nervously.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. Also, if her Shepard wasn't satisfactory, she also befriended a wolf, who's currently relaxing in the backyard, if you want to go talk to him."
Apparently, Sango's vase-throwing wasn't as effective as Miroku's not-so- subtle threats, because the reporter scampered out like a hoard of youkai were chasing him.
Miroku turned to Sango. "That's the way to handle them. However, you can't really afford to do that with every reporter you meet, of course. People will start saying that Kagome has bad taste in choosing you."
Sango shrugged. "True. I wonder how Kagome's doing, anyways."
Stretching, Kagome rolled out of bed and felt her head connect with a table. "That table's not supposed to be there!" she mumbled as she stood up. "Stupid table...wait, where am I?"
It took her a minute to remember her surroundings. Blearily entering the kitchen, she yanked open the cupboards and began rummaging through them for something edible. She pulled out a few packages of instant ramen, noticed that she was still in her pajamas, and went up to change.
Spreading out her various outfits on the bed, she surveyed them doubtfully. The silk gown might have fit in one of her well-known parties, but it certainly wouldn't do here. She tossed it into her suitcase without caring whether it wrinkled.
The same happened to the next sixteen silk gowns she stumbled across. They all tumbled unceremoniously into the case, growing rather creased in the process.
Pushing piles of clothes around, Kagome realized the flaw in her packing: she'd forgotten to put any normal outfits in her luggage.
She finally tugged on a stylish dress (of course it was stylish; everything she wore instantly became the new style) with slits up the sides and stepped into rather high heels. She'd never really gotten into the hang of heels. It seemed that every time she took a step, she'd teeter around unsteadily until she gained her balance, at which point she took another step.
Oh well. Kagome began to head downstairs, but turned and knocked lightly on the door of Kohaku's bedroom.
The boy was again seated by the window. "Good morning, Sango," he said quietly, watching the sun.
"It's Kagome," she replied, feeling mildly embarrassed.
He turned. "Oh, hello. When's Sango going to be back?"
"I think she'll come sometime soon," Kagome answered. "I'm not sure exactly when she's coming to visit."
Kohaku nodded.
"Did you want any breakfast?" Kagome asked softly.
He shook his head. "I'm not usually hungry. Maybe I'll just wait a while."
"Ok." She turned to leave, but he called her back.
"Kagome? If Sango's friend comes over, tell him that I'm sleeping," Kohaku explained, before curling back on his bed.
"Sure," she replied, but he was already in a restless slumber, tossing and twisting the blankets.
She closed the door slowly and made her way downstairs.
The ramen was gone.
"Inuyasha!" she yelled. "I know you're here! Give back my breakfast! I don't care what Sango told you; I'm hungry!"
The boy padded out from the living room, glaring at her. "What do you want, brat?"
"Don't call me that, hypocrite," she snarled.
"Well, you're wearing a fucking silk dress and you're not even planning to go anywhere!"
Her sapphire eyes darkened. "How would you know I'm not going anywhere? Actually, I'm going out for breakfast." She turned to the door.
"I wouldn't advise that," he hummed rather smugly.
"And just why not?"
Inuyasha grinned. "Never mind. I'll let you find out for yourself."
Kagome shrugged and yanked open the door. The nice, quiet, peaceful street was no longer nice, quiet, or peaceful.
"I should have guessed," she muttered as the news reporters clamored to get a clear shot of her.
Grabbing the nearest microphone, Kagome roared, "Everyone, silence!"
Quiet reigned immediately.
"Look," she snapped. "I came here for a nice, normal vacation, as in I don't want any of you following me around anywhere. Now, do you know where the nearest restaurant is?"
The resulting din was deafening.
"This is pathetic," she muttered, tossing the microphone to the ground and stepping on it. She moved to the curb, where a couple of taxis were gathered, waiting for her to make an appearance. Picking a random one, she leapt in a slammed the door shut.
"Miss Higurashi, where would you like to go?" the driver asked pleasantly.
Kagome considered the question. "Erm...do you know where I could get a decent breakfast?"
"Certainly," the other replied. As the taxi pulled away from the curb, Kagome relaxed. She didn't notice that all the news vehicles had pulled away as well, and were currently trailing her.
As soon as she stepped out of the cab, she was assaulted by more flashing lights and cameras. Kagome groaned and rushed inside the restaurant, where the owner peered up at the streams of people entering.
Kagome slipped behind the smallest table, very pointedly picking up the menu that a bewildered waitress handed her. Immediately, reporters slid next to her, calling out questions frenziedly.
She stood suddenly, her eyes flashing.
"Look," she said, extremely icily. "My threats, which I'm sure you've all heard, of my wolf and my German Shepard are not idle. And unless you stop bothering me in ten seconds, I will have them shipped from my house to here. Need I remind you that I also have an entire police force dedicated to me?"
The reporters rushed away from her table and out the door.
"Finally," she muttered. To the waitress, she said, "I'll have a glass of white wine, an omelette with mushrooms, onions, and peppers, and a large chocolate sundae."
"May I see your I.D.?" the waitress inquired. "There's the problem of the alcohol..."
Kagome pulled it out without thinking.
The girl grabbed it and gasped. "You're Kagome Higurashi? Can I have your signature? I'm, like, your biggest fan! I love your dress; it's so pretty! Could you come over to my house sometime? This is just, like, so cool! I can't believe I'm actually talking to you! Oh, my god! I think I'll faint!"
This continued on for some time until Kagome snapped, "The answers to all your questions except for the first are no, no, no." She got up, ignoring the flustered girl, and stormed out of the restaurant, still hungry.
As soon as she managed to get back to Sango's house, she slammed the door and rushed up the stairs, ignoring Inuyasha, who was watching her with somewhat of a cynical expression. She pulled out her laptop and flipped it open, logging onto her screen name.
SilverGoddess2000 has logged on.
Kouga grinned at the address. He immediately instant messaged her, under the name WolfYoukai1541.
Kagome was delighted.
SilverGoddess2000: Hi, Kouga! How's your medal collection coming along? WolfYoukai1541: Well, I hate to brag, but I'm the fastest runner the world's ever seen. SilverGoddess2000: Conceited. Hey, can you call me? If I stay on the internet any longer, some obsessed fans will start trying to IM me. WolfYoukai1541: Sure.
Kagome waited patiently for her cell phone to ring. "Hi, Kouga!" she yelled happily.
"Hey, Kag, how're you doing, anyways? I heard my little girl got famous!"
"Ugh! Kouga, don't call me that!"
"Whysoever not? What's wrong, anyways, darling? You sound a bit pissed."
Kagome sighed. "My vacation. I assume you read about the contest."
"Yes, indeed, I did. You exchanged places with someone called Song?"
"Sango, actually. Well, I expected a nice, quiet time, with no reporters, but somehow the address leaked out, and, well..."
"Ah." Kouga paused to consider that. "Hmm. That is somewhat of a dilemma. Haven't you threatened them with your wolf yet?"
"You're my wolf, Kouga. And yes, and it's worked for some time, but they keep swarming back every day." She sighed.
Kouga paused again. "What do you say I come over? Maybe once they actually see your wolf they'll all be scared and run away."
Kagome laughed. "Not likely. But can you really come over? It'd be great! Address is 15 Wasai Lane, Tokyo, Japan."
There was a short silence before Kouga replied curtly, "I'll be there on Sunday. Bye, Kag." There was a sharp click, and the phone died.
"I wonder why he sounded so angry at the end?" Kagome wondered, before dismissing the thought. As her stomach gave a loud rumble, she sighed. "I guess I'd better go get something to eat."
Sango peered closely at the closet. "You mean...this is all mine?"
Miroku nodded. "Actually, it used to be Kag's, but she never wears the same thing twice." He rolled his eyes. "Besides, you need something decent to wear. Your concert's at two."
"My what?" Sango demanded, turning to face him. "Did you just say 'concert', or was it my imagination?"
"Taking over for Kagome includes her recitals, too," Miroku explained. "Did you think it was all fun and games? The only thing you don't have to worry about is modeling. Kikyo's taking care of that."
"Who's Kikyo?"
"Some random girl. She auditioned for the contest, too. She looks just like Kagome, so Kagome decided to set her up in the modeling business. Kikyo's really grateful, and offered to take over the modeling for her."
Sango grimaced. "She sounds ambitious. Anyways, where's this concert I'm supposed to take care of?"
"It's only a half hour drive from here. However, Suki needs to take care of your appearance, so choose a dress and hurry up. She's not a very patient girl."
"Suki? Is that my makeup artist or something?" Sango joked.
"Of course. By the way, you're scheduled to play the Mendelssohn concerto. I doubt you'll have any problems with that." He grabbed a gown and thrust it into her hands. "Look, Suki's going to murder me if you don't hurry up, so get going!"
Clutching the dress, Sango scurried in the direction that Miroku gestured. She knocked tentatively on the door at the end of the corridor and waited.
She didn't wait for long. The door opened almost instantaneously. "You're going to be LATE!" shrieked the girl who yanked her inside. "Get into that dress right now! No, don't tug, you'll stretch the shape! I don't know what you were thinking, waiting until you only had ONE HOUR left, and if you look bad Miss Higurashi will slaughter me."
"Er...Suki?"
"No, Suki's in the back. I'm supposed to do the first stage, which is basically getting you dressed. She's the artist; I'm the apprentice. My name's Kirara; not that you needed to know that, but still." She pulled the dress into place.
Sango squirmed. "This is going to rip as soon as I start playing."
"That's too bad. Suki!"
A slightly older girl came calmly out of the back. "Hello, Miss Taijiya. I just want to inform you that you are a complete idiot. Now, if you would pivot slowly so that I may arrange your purely disgusting hair...?"
"Don't worry," Kirara whispered. "She thinks that everyone except for Miss Higurashi is filthy."
"Silence, Kirara. Now, tilt your head slightly. Perfect." She poked a few pins into Sango's head – that's what it felt like, anyways.
"Tilt to the left." Another stab. "Right." Another stab. Sango gritted her teeth.
Miroku poked his head in. "Suki, I appreciate your wonderful hairstyling, but SANGO IS LATE!"
"Wonderful, Miroku. By the way, you really should let me trim that mop on your head..."
"The answer, as always, is no. Sango, hurry up!" He was clearly getting extremely irritated.
"I'm being tortured here!" Sango wailed as another pin dug into her skin. "Do you think I want to stay here?"
"You're done," Suki snapped curtly. "The nerve! I'm only doing my job, as you should be well aware. Why do you think Miss Higurashi hired me in the first place?"
"She didn't; her mother did," Miroku reminded the obsessed hairdresser. "Sango, come on, you look fine, let's get going." He grabbed her hand and they flew down the hallway.
"Miroku?" Sango panted, clutching her side.
"Yeah?" he replied, clearly sounding stressed.
"Don't you think it would be a good idea for me to have my violin?" she inquired curiously.
He stopped abruptly and blinked at her. "Oh. Possibly," he answered. "Hang on...where is it?"
"My room," she said breathlessly, still holding her side.
"Hang on, I'll go get it," Miroku sighed, and threw himself down the corridor before Sango had time to say, "or it could be in my closet, or in the kitchen, or in the auditorium, or at my normal house, or..."
She waited.
And waited.
And waited.
By the time Miroku came back, she was pissed, he was pissed, and the taxicab driver was pissed. As the two piled into the cab, Miroku hissed, "Do you know where I found your violin? It was buried under a pile of romance novels, hidden securely under your bed, locked in a suitcase without a key." He glared at her.
"See? I told you it was in my room," she retorted triumphantly. "Driver, could you hurry up? I'm late."
"I'm sorry, Miss Taijiya, but I am not letting this vehicle drive above eighty miles per hour!" the harassed driver yelled back.
Sango peered intently at the speedometer. "Well, you're only driving at seventy-six mph, so go faster, would you?"
"Do you want to get us all killed?" Miroku roared. "You're even more of a speed devil than Kagome is!"
"That's nice," Sango muttered. Picking up a pencil from the top of her case, she began fingering the chords in one part of the Mendelssohn, humming as she did so.
Unfortunately for everyone save her, she may have been an exceptional violinist, but she couldn't carry a tune.
"Sango, do us a favor and shut up," Miroku requested calmly as possible, despite the fact that his new client was extremely late, he'd just realized that Sango was a suicidal driver, and he now had a splitting headache from the singing.
"Well, how do you expect me to perform if I can't warm up?" she snapped. "By the way, do I have a piano there?"
He blinked. "You're a violinist."
"No kidding, but is there a piano?"
Miroku shrugged. "Possibly, why?"
"I need to TUNE!" Sango shrieked. "Besides, the cadenza is supposed to complement the piano, and that obviously can't be done if there's no piano."
"Oh, there's a piano," Miroku assured her.
Sango sighed in relief and relaxed, but his next words were hardly comforting.
"There's just no pianist."
Kagome's cell phone rang again. Sighing impatiently, she snapped it open. "Hello, Kagome Higurashi speaking, if you're a fan, I'm very sorry, but I don't have time right now..."
"Kagome, you fool, it's me!" the other voice yelled.
"Oh. Hi, Miroku. You sound rather...angry."
On the other end, Miroku took a deep breath. "You must be kidding me. Angry barely even scrapes it. Sango's a complete idiot! First she forgets her violin, then she mentions, halfway to the concert, that she needs a pianist, and now she's blaming me for everything! God, why did I ever persuade you to take a vacation?"
"Because you care about me," Kagome purred. "Nah, I'm being ridiculous. Let me talk to Sango."
There were a few minutes' pause before a female voice murmured, "Hello, Kagome."
"Hi, Sango? Miroku just informed me of what's going on."
There was something that sounded like muttered insults on the other end. "I know. I'm sitting in the taxi next to him."
"You're sitting in a taxi?" Kagome gasped. "The concert started two minutes ago!"
"Um..." Sango stuttered. "Yeah. We're almost there. We're pulling in now."
"You're ruining my flawless reputation!" Kagome yelped. "I'm never late! Oh well, there's always a first time. Anyways, just remember, since I'm assuming this is your first concert: DO NOT LOOK AT THE AUDIENCE!"
"Ok," Sango answered, a bit perplexed. "Well, we're here. Bye, Kagome."
"Good luck," Kagome replied. She closed her phone. "What a waste of cell phone batteries!"
"Was that Sango?" a surly voice inquired.
She turned slightly. "Yes, as a matter of fact, it was, Inuyasha."
He nodded and began flipping channels on the TV.
"Oh, by the way, I've invited one of my childhood friends over here. He's my boyfriend, actually, except no one knows about it." She smiled slightly. "Is that ok, Inuyasha?"
"Feh. Who is it?"
Kagome frowned. "His name's Kouga..."
The soda Inuyasha had been sipping spurted out all over the floor as the boy knocked it to the ground. "You're not serious! Kouga the track star?"
"Are you a fan of his?" Kagome asked innocently.
"As if. I hate his guts. You two suit each other. I'm not letting him in this house!"
Kagome's eyes blazed. "Sango gave me custody of this house! I could have you kicked out if I wished, you arrogant jerk! Why are you prejudiced against all rich people, anyways?"
"I'm not," Inuyasha retorted. "Kouga and you in particular. Actually, you're nothing compared to Kouga. The only reason I dislike you is because you look like someone I used to know." He shrugged. "Kouga's the only one I really loathe."
Curious now, she leaned closer. "Why? Did you two know each other?"
"We were best friends, actually," he replied. "We did everything together. You could say we were inseparable." He laughed mirthlessly. "Then, well, in sixth grade, this girl comes." He looked away from her for an instant before turning back. "Her name was Mimi Sukari. Really pretty. All the boys were after her, of course."
He didn't notice the horror on Kagome's face.
"The worst thing about it was that Mimi actually went out with me for a while. I thought she actually cared." He shrugged. "Then, of course, I was waiting by the cherry trees for her one day – that was where we always met – and...she told me. I'll never forget it."
"What did she say?"
Inuyasha glanced at her. "She said, 'You're not good enough for me, Inuyasha. I'm choosing Kouga.' You have no idea what I felt. And now, he's dumped Mimi for you? Well, I should have guessed."
He turned to look at her again and was surprised to see the crystalline beads of water dripping from her closed eyes, streaming down her porcelain cheeks. "Hey, what's wrong? I've gotten over it."
She looked at him for a fleeting moment before rushing up to her room and locking the door.
Leaning against the wall, she closed her eyes and let the tears come. She stumbled over to her suitcase and tugged at the front compartment, pulling out a small bundle of dog-eared photographs she carried everywhere she went.
The first was of a young girl, held tightly in the arms of a smiling man. Kagome tossed it into a corner, not wanting to look into her father's face and see the lie she embodied.
Next was a scene with the same young girl, wreathed under the cherry trees.
The next was the same picture, except this time...
The girl was standing next to a white-haired, golden-eyed boy, who was clutching her hand and gazing at her with undeniable love.
And in the next, the same girl was clasping the arm of a different boy, whose dark hair was falling into his eyes though he'd tried to secure it with a headband.
She peered more closely at the picture, noticing something she'd never seen before: a glimpse of another boy, the one who'd been holding her hand in the previous picture, hiding behind a tree and watching the couple...
Inuyasha.
"I can't do this," Sango murmured, gazing out into the audience.
Miroku sighed. "This is why you're supposed to listen to Kagome and ignore the audience."
"I forgot," she apologized lamely. Her violin was wobbling in her hands.
"Look, Sango, you'll be fine. Now hurry up." He pushed her lightly onto the stage.
There was scattered cheering among the spatter of applause.
Which really didn't boost Sango's confidence.
She looked deeply into the swirling patterns of her violin and carefully placed it under her chin. She played the first, vibrating note...
And she knew she would make Kagome proud.
Her fingers flew across the violin, the bow pausing on the top harmonic in her favorite run. She smiled as she played, the sweet notes echoing hauntingly across the concert hall.
And she put down her violin.
No one clapped.
Confused and trembling, Sango almost fainted. But a sudden storm of clapping erupted, and she glanced up at the standing, cheering people.
"They liked me?" she whispered to the air as she dipped into a bow and walked dazedly off the stage.
Kagome heard the doorbell ring. Groaning, she flopped downstairs, but Inuyasha had already pulled open the door.
"What are you doing here, mutt?" she heard a cocky voice demand. "This is the house of my girl right now, and I'm telling you, she doesn't appreciate unemployed losers like you!"
"Kouga, your greetings grow more eloquent every time," Inuyasha sneered back.
"Tut, tut, Inuyasha. Are you still jealous that I stole Kagome from you?"
"What are you talking about?" the other boy demanded. "You stole Mimi, you memory-impaired freak of nature."
Kouga laughed delightedly. "You don't know?" he exclaimed.
"Kouga!"
The track star glanced up and saw his girlfriend, her eyes snapping. "Um...hi, Kagome."
She advanced, her gaze promising a slow, painful death if he didn't do what she instructed. That was what he loved about her; he never could tell whether she was planning to kill him or kiss him.
"Kouga, you are NOT to mention THE FACT to Inuyasha. Is that UNDERSTOOD?"
He cowered. "Erm...yes."
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha interrupted.
Kagome whirled on him. "Get out," she snapped.
"What?"
"Out! I need to discuss some...things with him." She jerked her thumb at Kouga.
"You can't chase me out! Sango..."
"Sango's condition was that I be allowed to let you in once every day, for at least ten minutes, to check in on her younger brother. You've been here long enough. Get out." It was rather interesting that the softer she spoke, the more menacing her voice was.
Impudently, Inuyasha barged out, slamming the door.
Kagome turned to her boyfriend. "Kouga, you really weren't supposed to be here until Sunday, remember?"
He kissed her softly on the forehead. "Darling, are you saying you didn't want to see me?"
"Of course I wanted to see you," she hurriedly replied, gazing at her reflection in the polished gold medal hanging around his neck. "But, well, Inuyasha mentioned a few things that I don't want him finding the truth about."
"Mimi, Kagome, I thought he would have figured out the resemblance," Kouga replied scornfully.
Kagome shrugged. "He's not aware that I changed my last name after father...well..."
"It's ok, Kag," Kouga whispered, enveloping her in a warm hug.
But though Kagome returned the embrace, she felt, somehow, that something was missing.
And she found herself transported back to the cherry trees...holding the hand of the white-haired, golden-eyed boy who was gazing at her with undeniable love.
Ok, the title does actually have something to do with the story, as you'll find out later. Please REVIEW!!!! Also, if you have the chance, can you read/review my other fanfic too? Thanks. -Silverwolf