Don't Leave
by bittersweet-memory
Insert standard disclaimers here
I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Special noteto itzjustme…O.O…you're psychic aren't you? You'll see what I mean.
Part Eleven
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Footsteps echoed down the silent hallway as two figures attempted to sneak their way into a certain blue-eyed, black-haired girl's room. Kagome and Inuyasha were making reservations at the local karaoke bar for tonight. Miroku and Kouga were sleeping and Rin and Sesshoumaru were at the beach, soaking up the last few rays of the day. It was 5:00 now and the plan was for everyone to be downstairs by 7:30, so that gave them about two and a half hours to set up "Operation: Get Back".
"Ayame, could you possibly make any more noise? The point of this is for us to be quiet! Inuyasha will kill us if he finds out what we're doing. Not to mention Kagome…"
Sango and her green-eyed companion both shuddered at what would happen if Kagome caught them.
"All right I'll be quiet! Not that it matters. Remember? Kagome said she and Inuyasha were gonna check the place out first. They won't be in their room 'til we all get back later. So we've got all the time in the world."
Sango paused for a moment in her sneaking.
"Do they even need this anymore? I mean, remember Kagome at the carnival? She was all over him."
"Yeah but she apologized a million times for 'pouncing' on him the next day. Inuyasha didn't look very happy about that."
"Who can blame him? The first little sliver of progress he's made and she apologized for it."
"True. Exactly why we must assist them! As her best friends, it's our job to make sure she doesn't let the 'man of her dreams' get away."
"Right. So you've got everything?"
"I've got the chocolate and the lingerie. You've got the aphrodisiacs and the Dom?"
"Yep."
"So we're all set."
"Yep."
They opened the door with the key they'd "borrowed" from Kagome earlier that day, claiming that they wanted to take a look at her clothes and pick tops out from her "endless selection". Kagome, being the kind and generous friend she was, thought nothing of it and handed the key over willingly, never suspecting for a minute that she'd ever regret her decision.
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Poor, poor girl.
At 7:30 on the dot, Inuyasha and Kagome were in the lobby, waiting for their friends to come down. The silence was awkward, the tension thick. Kagome alternated between twirling her hair around her finger and looking at her nails. She started thinking about the other night, when she'd hugged Inuyasha from behind, and felt the most comfortable she had with a man since…since…
Ever.
It scared the hell out of her. How was she supposed to get over him? How was she ever supposed to be happy with someone else if he would forever be her source of comparison? Did she even want anyone else anymore? She was so confused.
She looked up and was startled to find that his intense golden-gaze was riveted on her. She almost shivered at the look of intense desire in his eyes. The world could have stopped turning and Kagome would never know it; she was so hooked on his eyes. Luckily, (or unluckily, depends on whom one asks) destiny intervened before Inuyasha and Kagome were arrested for public nudity.
"Are we interrupting?"
Inuyasha cursed and tore his gaze from Kagome (who was blushing furiously) to the smiling violet-eyed man smirking down at him. Damn Miroku! Sango wasn't exactly helping the situation with the giggles she tried (and failed) to stifle.
"Shut up. Where are the others?"
Miroku stopped, but only because Kagome looked like she was in danger of passing out from all the blood rushing to her head.
"Kouga and Ayame are still getting ready. Sesshoumaru and Rin—"
"Are here. Hello, pup."
Inuyasha growled at the hated childhood nickname.
"Nice to see you too Fluffy."
Kagome, who had since recovered from her "discoloration", smiled warmly at Rin.
"Hello Rin, Sesshoumaru. Did you have fun on the beach today?"
Rin giggled.
"Yes we did. But Sesshoumaru here was making the strangest sounds all day. He kept purring. Oh! And I met this nice boy named Hojo who wanted to take me out tonight but I told him about our plans. He said he'd try to meet us there. Isn't that great? That means you all can meet him!"
Miroku and Inuyasha noticed the tint of red that had sneaked into Sesshoumaru's eyes and switched to a safer topic.
The singing.
"So Fluffy, what do you plan on serenading us all with tonight?"
The subtle shift worked. The red disappeared and the stoic mask was back in place along with the drop-dead sexy smirk.
"Hn. You'll all see soon enough. You will bow down to the Karaoke god that is me."
Kagome, Rin and Sango gaped at him in shock. This was really quite odd. Inuyasha and Miroku weren't surprised in the least by his comment, which meant that this was not unusual. Inuyasha's eyes took on a competitive glint.
"How about we make this interesting?"
"How so brother?"
"I'll bet that I sing better than you tonight. Kouga, Miroku and Sango will be our judges."
Kagome was a bit offended.
"Why them? Why not me?"
Inuyasha looked at her in an infuriatingly patronizing fashion.
"Well it's pretty obvious who you'd vote for. I want Fluffy to have a fair shot at winning after all."
Somewhere in Inuyasha's decidedly male brain, a switch was flipped and he suddenly realized that he should not have said that. No indeed. Definitely not wise. However, Inuyasha was male and therefore he didn't know any better.
Miroku and even Sesshoumaru took a step back. Kagome looked at Inuyasha and tip-toed so her face was almost even with his. She looked at his lips and licked her own in a decidedly seductive fashion. Still Inuyasha didn't hear the warning bells. She pushed up 'til their lips were a hairsbreadth apart…
And calmly slapped him.
Sango and Rin winced and left to get him ice. Miroku and Fluffy were shaking their heads. Did Inuyasha know nothing about women's behavior?
Kagome walked to Sesshoumaru and told him that she too would be one of the judges for the karaoke contest.
Inuyasha was furious.
"You…wench."
The smoke was practically flying out of her ears and her eyes held an angry challenge. But she didn't acknowledge him. She'd be damned if she answered to anything other than her name.
Miroku saw the tension escalating and scrambled to calm the "battle combatants".
"Come on now you two! You're adults! Not hormonal teenagers! Please act like it."
Kagome pouted petulantly, sticking out her lower lip in an extremely erotic manner (at least to Inuyasha).
"Inuyasha, what are the stakes for this bet?"
His eyes slowly moved from Kagome's bottom lip to Miroku's amused gaze. Then he began to wonder. What would be a good enough punishment?
Miroku saw his indecision and smiled widely. Perhaps this could be more entertaining than he first thought…
"How about, the loser has to be the winner's slave for the rest of our stay here?"
Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow at the suggestion. The faintest hint of amusement danced in his eyes and he turned to Kagome.
"Fine. But just to make it even more interesting, if I win…Kagome can have my prize. It would be quite amusing, to say the least."
Said girl smiled at Sesshoumaru and before he could protest, gave him a chaste peck on the cheek.
Rin was upset.
Sesshoumaru looked dazed.
Kagome was oblivious.
Inuyasha was fuming.
Sango was silently smiling.
Miroku was grinning perversely.
Kouga and Ayame were confused when they came down ten minutes later at 8:00 and saw their companions were in various stages of (in their opinion) madness.
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They got to Kyo's Karaoke ten minutes before their reservation ran out. The private room Inuyasha had asked for was furbished with a mini-bar, which they used to serve themselves.
After everyone had their fair share (two each), the contest began. The judges decided that the brothers would be awarded one point for choice of song, three points for proper key, and five points for the stage presence. But Kagome had one last interruption.
"Hey guys… why should it just be those two competing? I say, we have a battle of the sexes. The girls will definitely score better than the guys."
Miroku grinned, shook his head and replied in a chiding manner.
"Oh Lady Kagome, I'm afraid I'll have to disagree with you there."
"Keh. Yeah right. You're all just a bunch of tone-deaf sirens."
Guess who that was…
Sango, Ayame, Kagome and Rin were angry. Miroku, Kouga, Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were unimpressed. The battle sparks were flying between their eyes. Finally, Kagome sealed the deal.
"Fine! It's settled. The machine will be the judge. We'll worry about the punishment after we win, right ladies?"
"Right."
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
Sango spoke up, a devilish look in her eyes.
"The last performance will have to be a group one! It'll be worth twice as much as the solo performances. Deal?"
Miroku chuckled wryly.
"Lady Sango, please don't be too angry when I have to order you around."
"Please! Spare me…"
"You too Ayame. I don't want to hear any complaints about me being too hard on you."
"You're going down wimpy wolf!"
Rin turned a surprisingly evil looking smirk at Sesshoumaru, who would have whimpered had he not been the kind of proud man he was.
"Fluffy…I'm going to enjoy the next two weeks."
Fluffy…er…Sesshoumaru regained his composure and fixed her with his iciest glare. He was not amused.
"Hn. We'll see."
The stage was set.
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It would be a battle of karaoke.
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The stakes: pride.
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The prize: sweet torture.
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I hope you enjoyed this installment.
wait 'til you see the songs they sing….
Review responses next chapter!
'til then, R&R.
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Thanks!