Author's Note: Hiya guys! I'm so happy – I topped 200 reviews, plus I just recently got confirmation that I'm going to be in an opera starting in August (yay!), which is really awesome (not to mention a load off my mind). On the other hand, I'm kinda sad because I know this story is coming to an end – but at the same time I'm excited to get to work on my next fic!
Speaking of my next project, the people have spoken, and it looks like Father's House, Husband's House is gonna be it. Type Casting ran a close second, and my hope is to eventually do all of them. I have to say though that even though it didn't get a whole lot of first choice votes (which is as I expected), The Best Man is likely to be the next in line for me after FHHH because, well…I like -- so there! I know it probably won't fare quite as well on the review front because it's a Sang/Mir focus, but I don't care. Besides, you don't see all that many Sang/Mir AUs (well, I don't at least).
Well, as far as this chappie, you'll all be happy to know that it's a longish one (long for me, anyway)!
koinu-no-ai: All I can say is I think you'll like this chapter…(--grin--)
Shamanic Destiny: Thanks so much! I'm glad you like my work! As far as Kouga/Ayame, I'm afraid it just won't fit this time around, but I'm going to try to do a better job of working in more characters in my next story(s), so I'll keep Ayame in mind. She's a hard one for me to write though, because I only know her from fanfiction -- haven't come across her in the canon yet…
Crazyblade: lol! I got that 'love and stoplights' thing from a quote that my psych teacher had on his wall and I just loved it so much that I had to use it. I want to use it as a fic title sometime (as just 'Love and Stoplights') but I have yet to come up with a good plot to fit it…
StarrFire: Thanks for the review. If Type Casting is similar to another fic out there, I haven't come across it, and swear it wasn't intentional. In fact I've been avoiding reading any fics that involve the two of them in the theater so I wouldn't be influenced. The idea behind it is to play on and reinvent the old cliché of Inu and Kag playing Romeo and Juliet (usually in a high school play or something) by having it be a slightly more artistic version of the production, as well as making Kag the director instead of the ingénue. Oh, and as far as the name change for FHHH, what do you think of calling it The Train Theory (that's one of the titles I considered)? I know it doesn't make much sense without an explanation, but do you think it's any catchier? I'd love to hear your opinion.
Fallen-Snow: (--author sways slightly, head covered in laptop-shaped bruises--blink blink--) Oh ye of little faith…be patient my child -- just trust me on this one! (--grins mischievously--) lol! (P.S. good luck on that math exam – I sympathize. Math beat the crap out of me this year…I loathe calculus…)
NinJinChan: Gasp! You reviewed before you read?! (--puts back of hand to forehead melodramatically--) That's simply not done! I shall have to send the review police after you! lol
Samsonite3599: I made you cry? Thanks! Don't worry, I'd be a total hypocrite if I thought it was stupid – I cry at Jif commercials for god's sake (you know that one where the little kid makes his mom a sandwich while she's working on something and he says "I thought in case you needed a break or something…" – it's so cuuute! I'm getting teary just thinking about it…I'm so pathetic…)
Wolf: Gah! Please don't kill yourself – suicide is not the answer! (lol)
funnyfan: I'm on par with As You Wish by Keolla? Score! Haven't read that one, but I've definitely heard of it, and I know some of her other stuff. Oh, and as for the ending of this one, well, you'll just have to wait and see which one of your theories is correct, won't you…won't be long now…
Alter EgoChapter 9: The Importance of Being Earnest
"Two vodka sours, a Long Island ice tea, and a strawberry margarita with extra salt," Sango rattled off as she plunked her empty tray down on the counter in front of Miroku and leaned up against it, trying to take some of the weight off her aching feet.
"Coming right up," he replied, shooting her a grin and letting his eyes linger on her just long enough for her to roll her own back at him in mock annoyance.
"Will you stop leering at me while we're working, please?" she said, but her attempted exasperation barely masked the note of flattery in her voice, making him grin all the more as he fixed the drinks.
"Oh come now, Sango," he retorted teasingly, faced away from her, "Would you rather I leer at all the other lovely ladies in the room?"
"You do and I'll have to hurt your 'motivation' for doing so," the woman growled threateningly back with a playfully dangerous gleam in her eye, to which Miroku raised an eyebrow.
"You're contradicting yourself, my dear," he warned with a sigh, placing the first three drinks on the tray between them. "If I can't leer at you, who am I supposed to leer at but the other women in the room?"
She gave him a half-smirk. "I'll make you a deal: You don't leer at anyone while we're working -- including me -- and I'll..." With a surreptitious glance over her shoulder, she drew his head forward before whispering in his ear something that made his eyes go wide and his eyebrows disappear beneath his bangs. When she pulled back she was smirking at his stunned expression with a suggestive gleam in her eye.
Miroku swallowed. "I think I can live with that," he mumbled, his voice only mildly husky as he carefully maintained his composure, "On one condition."
"And that would be?"
"This." He drew her forward into a deep and heady kiss, to which she responded willingly, her lips moving sensuously over his, eyes closed in complete and utter bliss. When they slowly drew apart, he marveled softly with a small shake of his head, "I love you," and she responded with a foxy sort of grin.
"You'd better," she murmured back, and he grinned as well.
"Are you two at it again?" came the irritated voice of a certain hanyou as he passed by on his way to his post behind the bar, a fresh bottle of tequila from the storage room in hand.
"Shut up, Inuyasha," said Miroku as Sango blushed slightly at the interruption. They had really meant to keep their new relationship a secret at first, especially in light of Inuyasha and Kagome's current situation, but Kagome had soon managed to extract the information from Sango, and Inuyasha caught the couple making out in the staff room not long afterward, so they finally decided it would be easier to just go ahead and tell everyone the truth.
The hanyou shot Miroku a moody glare over his shoulder but merely continued walking. The brown-haired man went back to fixing the margarita with a shake of his head, but Sango continued to observe Inuyasha warily. Sinking onto a nearby barstool and resting her chin in her hand, she watched with lowered brow the way the silver-haired man's jaw clenched restlessly every now and then, and his eyes kept shooting to the door as though he were looking for someone. He'd been like that all evening, and Sango had a feeling she knew exactly who it was that he was looking for; Kagome hadn't shown up for work today.
"Alright, how long do you think it'll be until he flips out and goes on a rampage trying to find out where she is?" she asked, glancing toward Miroku, who was just placing the last drink onto the tray.
"Who, Inuyasha?" he responded, leaning against the counter and turning his gaze to the hanyou in question as well. He shrugged. "Dunno. Why, do you think we should tell him?"
That elicited a short, wry laugh from the waitress, and she replied, "I don't know about you, but I'm sure as hell not going to confront him with that one. He'll find out on his own, one way or another -- that, I'm sure of."
"Yeah, you're probably right. No sense in taking the risk of being in his way when he does find out; I'm not entirely certain that Inuyasha would abide by the saying 'don't kill the messenger'."
-- -- --
Where the hell was she? This wasn't her day off -- he'd have seen it on the schedule for sure. What if something had happened to her? She could have been hit by a car on her way here, or maybe she'd been attacked or kidnapped...or worse.
But no, he assured himself, before his overactive imagination could run too far away with itself -- the others didn't seem at all worried, so apparently he was the only one who was out of the loop. He growled at that idea, his mounting frustration beginning to overcome him.
She was probably out playing hooky with that goddamn wolf or something -- and that thought didn't appeal to him at all. But if that were the case, wouldn't Kikyo be out here by now, bitching her head off about being short-staffed?
By the end of the evening as the bar was closing up, there was still no sign of Kagome, and Inuyasha was just about going crazy. Finally, when the last customer had left, he couldn't take it anymore and stormed into Kikyo's office -- an action that, under normal circumstances, was highly inadvisable.
"Alright, where the hell is she Kikyo? Don't tell me you don't know, because if you didn't we'd have heard about it by now. In fact nobody in this whole goddamn place seems the least bit concerned by her absence, so it seems that I'm the only one who doesn't have a clue what the fuck is going on!"
Kikyo arched an elegantly formed eyebrow as she regarded him from behind the large cherry-wood desk in the plush yet stylish office of beige leather couches and wildly expensive designer art -- her personal sanctuary, into which no one was ever permitted except by her summoning. The bar was her hobby of sorts -- an engagement gift to her from her very well-to-do husband, Naraku Hiko -- and the office was to her like the bridge of Naraku's favorite yacht was to him: a place of comfort and control that was completely hers, and no one else's. Needless to say, she was often somewhat possessive of her office and she did not react well to such disturbances.
However, through her recent observations, she knew full well the nature of the situation between Inuyasha and Kagome, and under the circumstances she had half-expected some such result this evening. In light of that fact, she merely took a final, calming drag of the cigarette perched between her fore and middle fingers before smothering it in the ashtray on her desk, getting to her feet and coming around to face the obviously vexed hanyou.
Kikyo's collected nature did nothing to ease Inuyasha's anxiety -- in fact if anything it only agitated him further, but he struggled to remain in control and wait patiently for her answer.
"I know you're under a great deal of strain, so I'll overlook your rudeness for the time being. I spoke with Kagome earlier today Inuyasha," she said in a businesslike manner, pausing only slightly before delivering the bad news. "She's resigned. Apparently an old boyfriend of hers has come into town recently and proposed marriage to her. She leaves for Kyoto in the morning." It was blunt and to the point -- classic Kikyo.
With those few words all the color drained from Inuyasha's face, and his eyes grew in an expression of mingled fear and dread. No, he thought, Oh holy shit, this can't be happening. He swallowed and sank into a nearby chair, dropping his head into his hands with his eyes closed in self-pity.
Kikyo smiled slightly at his reaction -- it was precisely what she had hoped for. Any second now...
Inuyasha's head snapped up suddenly, his face set in determination, golden eyes gleaming sharply. No way in hell was he letting her get off that easily, without even talking to him. Not a chance.
"Thanks," he mumbled distractedly, not even looking at Kikyo as he rose and left the office poste haste, nearly crashing into Miroku, who -- naturally -- had been eavesdropping.
The brown-haired bartender leaned back casually against the doorframe, watching his friend's retreating back before turning a critical gaze upon his boss. "That wasn't very nice of you, you know," he scolded, and she smirked mischievously in return.
"I said nothing that wasn't true. If he comes to the wrong conclusion it's his own fault."
"But you know as well as I do that she turned Kouga down."
"Of course I know that -- I probably knew it before you did. But do you really think that imbecile would have had the good sense to go after her with that much determination if he knew that? All I gave him was a little much-needed push; he'll take care of the rest on his own."
"But Sango said that it was best for him not to push -- that he should give her space," Miroku pointed out.
"Yes, and she was right -- at the time. But with women like Kagome, there comes a point when you have to take a stand. She has a tendency to run away from her problems rather than facing them."
"And you know this because..."
"I'm observant," she replied with a clever quirk of the eyebrow. "Besides, I'm not about to lose one of my best waitresses just because Inuyasha happens to be a complete idiot when it comes to women."
Miroku smiled slightly at that, saying thoughtfully, "You know, beyond that cold exterior I'm beginning to think you just might be a good old-fashioned romantic, Kikyo."
She smiled back -- a softer smile than one would normally see on that exquisitely beautiful yet strong and serious face. She lifted her chin slightly, turning her eyes to the window in reflection. "You've discovered my secret, Miroku; very perceptive of you, as usual." Then her eyes met his conspiratorially. "But don't tell anyone -- it's bad for business."
He grinned at her with a small laugh. "Your secret's safe with me."
"Miroku?" Sango's voice called from across the bar, over near the front entrance to the building.
"Coming," he called back, then glanced once again at Kikyo. " 'Night boss-lady -- the other boss-lady calls," he joked, indicating Sango with a nod of his head.
"Indeed," she replied, smirking. "Guess I'm not the only romantic in the room."
"What can I say, I'm in love?" he shrugged and pushed off of the doorframe, closing the door with a wave and a smile as he went to join Sango where she waited for him.
-- -- --
Kagome was busily rifling through the top drawer of her dresser, pulling out various things to be packed in the suitcase that was spread out on her bed. She was only planning to take the bare necessities along with her on this trip -- she'd have to return in order to do a more thorough job of packing up all of her things and making the permanent move at some point, but for that she needed help, not to mention an apartment in Kyoto to move it all into. At this point she knew that it was imperative that she at least get away for awhile, lest she find herself trapped in this transitional phase for god knows how long. She simply couldn't go on like this.
From the next room, there came a loud knock on her front door. Who could that be? she thought, puzzled, as she went to find out.
She opened the door to come face to face with the last person on earth she wanted to see at this moment -- Inuyasha. Without a word, she made to slam the door in his face, but he was too quick for her, catching it and pushing it back.
"Kagome, please, I just want to talk to you," he said, his tone utterly serious, a twinge of urgency threatening to escape. He looked and sounded as if he'd just run about ten blocks. "I can't let you run off and marry that-that Kouga without at least knowing the truth."
"How did you know about Kouga?" she inquired coldly, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.
"You told me."
"Oh no I didn't, I only told Ry- oh...that was you, wasn't it," she finished in a darkly sarcastic tone of voice. "Well that's beside the point; how did you know he'd even proposed?"
"Kikyo told me," he replied. "She said you were leaving on the morning train to Kyoto."
"Damn Kikyo," the woman muttered ill-temperedly. "Well it's none of your business what I do anyway, so get out!" she snapped, trying once more to shut the door between them, but he refused to let her.
"Please, just five minutes, Kagome," he begged fiercely, "Just hear me out for five minutes and if you still refuse to speak to me, I swear I'll walk out of your life forever and never bother you again."
She regarded him with distaste, but said stiffly, "Fine." Then she turned and walked into the room to allow him entrance and stood with her back to him, arms folded across her chest. "Start talking."
He breathed a small sigh of relief as he closed the door quietly behind him. Now that he'd gotten past the first hurdle, he found he was somewhat at a loss as to what to say. Perhaps he should have thought this through a little further. Well, it was too late to turn back now.
He took a deep breath and began. "This whole mess started out as a joke, and I guess it just sort of went too far." She gave a derisive snort, intoning wryly, "You can say that again."
"I don't even remember exactly how it happened, but...I was angry at you, I guess." As he continued, traces of his old frustration seeped into his voice, and he struggled to keep them under control. "I despised you for the way you looked down on me all the time, saying that you could never in a million years be interested in a slimeball like me, for the way you always managed to beat me at every little thing -- but most of all I think I resented the fact that you...you were a better person than I was, and you knew it."
"Don't blame me for your insecurities, Inuyasha," she spat venomously. "You had no right to do what you did, to treat me the way you did, even beforehand-"
"I know," he interrupted her before she could begin a tirade -- as justified as it might be. "I know that now, goddamnit -- I'm just trying to tell you what happened."
He took her silence as a signal to continue. "Anyway, one way or another, Miroku challenged me -- he bet me that I couldn't get you to sleep with me..." he paused a moment, seeing her stiffen, but she said nothing, so he went on, "within two weeks, and I just couldn't let it slide. I wanted to hurt you. I wanted to win, just once," he said, his voice heavy with regret and shame, "I was an asshole."
"That goes without saying," she muttered, but he ignored it.
"So I used this charm I'd had for years -- it makes my human side dominant while I'm wearing it, changing my appearance -- and I created this...this alter ego, I guess -- the kind of guy you'd always said you wanted; your version of Prince Charming." Unbeknownst to him, tears had begun to form in Kagome's eyes as he spoke of Ryoga, but still she said nothing.
"The plan was to have this...I dunno...whirlwind romance, I suppose, and then once I had won...I would show you who I was, and rub it in your face, show you that even you could fall for a 'slimeball'," he said, the words bitter to the taste.
"Well, congratulations -- you met one of your goals, at least. Too bad you lost all that money to Miroku, though," she said caustically.
"No Kagome, you don't understand," he began again, desperate to get the truth across. "That was the way it all started, but...something changed along the way, and I just couldn't go through with it -- I paid Miroku before the time was up-"
"Something changed?" she questioned skeptically, finally turning to face him with a glare, her voice gaining fire with each successive word. "What -- you grow a bit of a conscience? Begun to feel guilty for manipulating the poor helpless female? We both know damn well that you could have won that bet hands down that night at your apartment. I suppose I should be grateful to you for backing off, is that it?! Fuck you!"
"It wasn't just that!" he countered, beginning to get frustrated himself. "I don't know what it was or when it happened, but it was more than just a conscience. Somewhere along the line I got to like being with you, and playing Ryoga became easier and easier."
"That doesn't erase the fact that every goddamn word you said to me from the moment you walked into that bar was a lie! That sob story about your parents, and your relationship with your brother -- that was all nothing more than a sick twisted ploy to get me into bed-"
"No it wasn't! Yes, I lied about who I was, and I'm not proud of it, but everything else was true!" He released a frustrated sigh, putting a hand to his forehead and struggling to put his confused thoughts into words.
"Dammit, I'm not perfect, okay?" he blurted out, "I know that -- nobody is. But even though I was pretending to be someone else, I found myself being more myself around you than I had ever been with anybody. 'Ryoga' and 'Inuyasha' may be two different people, but the fact remains that they're both me. Jesus, this isn't making any fucking sense. Okay, bottom line is that 'Inuyasha' may not be as perfect and polite and polished as 'Ryoga,' but everything that Ryoga really was came from inside me," he said imploringly, eyes bright with veracity.
But Kagome wasn't finished yet. "I already know you, Inuyasha -- better than I care to! You're such a stupid, selfish bastard that you should have the nerve to come barging in here and dump all this crap on me after the way you fucked around with my life. What do you expect -- forgiveness? If I forgive you, will you leave me the hell alone?!"
"I'm not asking for your forgiveness, because I know I don't deserve it, okay?" he retorted. "All I'm trying to do is make you understand- dammit, I don't even understand it completely myself, but I know that I need you to know what- Shit, I don't know what I'm trying to say."
"Neither do I," she stated contemptuously, sending him a cold glare, "but whatever it is, you'd better make it quick. Your time's running out."
He growled exasperatedly in response, "What I'm trying to say is that I like who I am around you -- I become...better, more real somehow."
Finally his temper snapped, and he proceeded with reckless abandon, "Dammit, it may have been a joke or a lie or a bet or whatever the hell you want to call it in the beginning, but something changed -- I changed! Despite the fact that you knew me by another name, you know me better than anyone else -- better than I knew myself -- and I like the person that I've become because of you. Goddammit, Kagome, I love you, okay?! I need you, and I've never needed anyone. And all I know right now is that you're the only person in this whole fucking world I want to spent the rest of my life with!"
"Inuyasha, why are you doing this?" she pleaded painfully, tears of anger and frustration welling in her eyes.
"Because I love you!" he shouted, but she countered aggravatedly, "Stop saying that, because you don't! If you loved me then how could you do this to me?"
"I do love you Kagome-"
"You don't even know what love is!" she spat, and a silence fell between them, so heavy and thick it could be cut with a knife. After a pause he replied pointedly, his voice quiet but sure, "Do you?"
She opened her mouth to retort, but no words came. Finally she gave a weary sigh and lowered her gaze to the floor, murmuring achingly, "I miss Ryoga..."
"You don't have to," Inuyasha replied softly, "He's right here."
Her eyes met his fully for the first time in a week -- since she had found out the truth -- but they were dull and hollow, lacking their usual radiance, betraying no emotion but strain, and Inuyasha felt once more the familiar twinge of guilt as he gazed back into their scarred depths.
He stepped toward her, amber eyes willing her to let him in, to understand and believe him. "Kagome, please," he entreated when he was less than a foot in front of her, "Just give me a chance...one more chance..." his voice trailed off, words failing him at last, so instead he lifted a hand to caress her cheek, and when her lids fell closed, he drew her forward into a kiss.
It was slow at first, tentative and beseeching on his part, but with her eyes closed like this, the taste and feel of him so familiar, she soon found herself being drawn in, her arms moving of their own accord to wrap around his neck and pull him deeper. She had wanted this -- she had needed this, ever since that day. In that instant, everything felt so right that she could almost convince herself that this really was Ryoga, that he was real and he was here in her arms, as if nothing had ever happened. But then, when she slipped her tongue inside his mouth to taste more of him, the telltale prick of Inuyasha's fang was enough to bring her back to her senses, and she broke away, suddenly furious once more.
"No, Inuyasha!" she yelled angrily, shoving him back to distance herself. "No, it doesn't work this way! You can't just come in here and tell me you love me and expect everything to be alright. That doesn't erase what you did, and I can't forgive you for that -- I can't trust you!"
"What am I supposed to do then, huh?!" he demanded, seeing all the hard-won progress he'd made with her during their conversation slipping away before his eyes. "I swear to you, Kagome, that I will never intentionally hurt you again, nor will I let anyone else hurt you. I made a mistake -- a terrible mistake -- and I'm sorry for that, but I can't stand the thought of you going off and marrying that fucking wolf and-"
"I'm not marrying Kouga, you jackass, so if this is just some stupid competition thing then you can just forget it right now!" she interrupted.
"It's not just- wait a minute...what?"
"I'm not marrying Kouga; I turned him down."
"Then why the fuck are you going to Kyoto?!" he demanded.
"To get away from you, that's why! I left there because I couldn't stand to be around Kouga all the time after he and I broke up -- I thought if I could start over, things would be different. Obviously I was wrong, since you've managed to hurt me twice as badly as Kouga ever did," she shot at him. "Looks like trouble follows me wherever I go, so I might just as well be back there where I have family, at least. I'm going to live with my parents."
"But-"
"No, goddammit, this conversation has gone on long enough. I think it's best if you leave, Inuyasha. I have a lot of packing to do before tomorrow morning." She turned her back to him once more, and all he could do was look at her, his words all spent to no avail. There was nothing more for him to say, except goodbye.
"So that's it then," he said quietly. "Alright, Kagome, have it your way." He turned resignedly to leave, grasping the knob and opening the door with painful slowness, part of him praying for her to relent and stop him. But he had promised to leave and never bother her again if she wished it, and he'd be damned if he was going to break whatever fragile remnant of trust she might still have in him, regardless of the outcome. Just before stepping out into the hallway, he glanced once more over his shoulder, looking on her delicate yet determined form for the last time, and said softly, "Goodbye."
-- -- --
A/N: Wait -- don't kill me yet, I'm begging you! There's still one chapter left (and possibly an epilogue, if it makes sense…we'll see) – just trust me, I know what I'm doing…
Say, I asked this of StarrFire in my review reply, but I guess I might as well ask everyone while I'm at it. I'm going back and forth on whether to change the title of Father's House, Husband's House to The Train Theory (there's an explanation behind that one, but I can't really go into it here). Which do you guys think is catchier?
Please Review! TTFN!
(whoa, with the notes this chappie is over 5000 words – I think that's my longest so far…cool!)