Special Effects
By AriznGlori
A/N: This is a new story (obviously) about a glamorous movie star lifestyle. The entire movie society, from prestigious theaters to beautiful hotels and Hollywood-like cities are made up. I'm stuck in the tiny state of Maryland, nowhere near Hollywood or LA, and so I'm building my own movie society. NEET! Anyhoo, this is dedicated to the love of my young life: ('-,-') Kitty!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters, or any real-life people mentioned in this story. I do have copyrights on Kitty, though. Seriously! Thank you.
Chapter 1: The Red Carpet Arrivals
It was the largest crowd Tokyo, or Japan for that matter, had ever seen at any premiere in recorded history. The opening of this movie would start an uproar that would launch a wave of record-breaking box office success from the heart of the Land of the Rising Sun all the way across the world to Paris, Rome, and New York. Oh yeah, this was the big night.
The movie in question, "Sorrowful Gunshots," was the most groundbreaking project to hit the Japanese movie world, though an American movie by style. The plot was currently unknown, but as the prestigious Red Carpet was set up, tens of thousands of people surrounding the spot, and the largest mobile security force in one gathering showed, this was the most anticipated film of the year.
"Here we are, at the glamorous Red Carpet in front of the beautiful Shikon Theater! This is the first Red Carpet to be at the opening premiere of a Japanese film." Famous reporters and interviewers were already at their respective stations, awaiting the long limousines that would bear in their cabins the greatest stars in the modern world.
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Kagome sat in her limousine cab's plush leather interior, nervously sipping a martini. Her large brown eyes revealed everything running through her head, and so when one looked at her, they would see possibly the most nervous woman in the world. Her elegant green dress felt too tight, her elaborately done hair needed to be let down. She needed to be free. It was way too hot and stuffy.
"Kagome, everything is fine," said Sango, Kagome's co-star and best friend since…ever. "Just loosen up. It's no different from any other premiere. Don't you remember the last big blockbuster we were in? That one was just like this one."
"Oh really?" Kagome asked sarcastically. "Turn on the TV and prove it." Sango sighed, and shut up, sipping her own martini while making sure none spilt on her beautiful white gown, but couldn't help wanting to see what was going on outside. Of course, if she looked out the conveniently tinted windows, she would see thousands of people lining the limousine route, all snapping pictures of the signature black and gold limo used by the only tag-team pair of actresses on earth.
So, in all of her curiosity of the awaiting Red Carpet, she turned on the television.
"Well, here we are on the glamorous Japanese Red Carpet, awaiting the arrivals of some of the most talented actors in the business," rambled a pretty American news reporter. "I'm Katy Courick, and I'm standing here with one of the most important actors in the action genre, Denzel Washington. Denzel, how do you feel about being in Japan, at the premiere of the perhaps the most anticipated movie in the last fifty years?"
"Well Katy, I guess I'm pretty excited to be standing in Japan. You know, I really love this country. They produce some of the best foreign action movies in the world, you know."
"Really? That is fascinating. Now, what do you expect the movie to be like?"
"Well, I hope it's good. It looks good, anyway."
"Well, judging by the rave reviews in got at the Parisian sneak peek, it seems like it will be great. Oh look, here comes Leo! Can we get an interview?"
"Why, of course, Katy."
"Leonardo De Caprio, your upcoming movie, The Aviator, is also expected to be great! Denzel and I were just talking about Sorrowful Gunshots. How good do you think it's going to be? On a scale of one to ten, exactly?"
"I'm expecting ten stars, of course. I've seen commercials, but I don't know what the heck it is about. It looks great though."
"By special request of the Japanese Movie Alliance, the sneak peek in Paris was only for the prominent international movie reviewers, and they were only allowed to rate it, without revealing the plot. What do you think this means?"
"A revolutionary movie with pretty girls. The two female leads are a duo, aren't they?"
"Oh my God! Leo's talking about us, Kagome! On international television! Leo! The hot Leo! Leo the blond guy from Titanic! Oh my God! I'm going to faint!" Sango was in hysterical excitement at this point.
"Oh dear Lord, I'm gonna hurl out of pure nervousness," Kagome said honestly, but stared at the TV anyway. Plenty of time to watch, since the limo line was about a mile long and counting.
"Kagome, do you think he thinks we're as hot as he is?" Sango stared longingly at the TV, green eyes wide and anxious.
"Don't get you hopes up, Sango. He probably slept with every blonde and brunette in Hollywood, and not just the actresses." Kagome quietly sipped her martini and stared nervously out the window, an ear quirked towards the TV nonetheless. This really was something special for the two.
"Actually Katy, I really have to admit that they are pretty cute. I've seen both of them in the commercials. Kagome Higurashi and Sango Taijiya, right?"
"I knew it!" Sango declared. "He loves us! I really am going to faint! Oh, someone catch me!"
"But Leo, you'd better get to your next interviewer. Coming up right now is the beautiful Tyra Banks-" Sango clicked off the TV. "I don't like Tyra Banks," she said with a sniff.
"You know, for being a star, you sure are a fan," Kagome said with a smile.
"Gotta be appealing, Kagome!" Sango said happily. "How close do you think we are, anyway?" She looked out the window and peered as far up the street as possible. The great spotlights and brilliantly lit spires of the Shikon Theater were getting closer.
"I think another two blocks and we'll be there, right?" Kagome asked, looking out the opposite window.
"Good. I really have to go to the bathroom. I'm so nervous! Too many martinis, you know?"
"WHY? Too eager to see Miroku?"
"That pathetic hentai? No way!" Sago said furiously, blushing a little. "If anything, I hope I don't run into him! Seriously! He does it on purpose just to grope me! I really should sue, but the scandal would really mess up our schedule. We have to get working on a new film, right?"
"Sango, you are really desperate. It's getting sort of pathetic." Kagome snickered as she left Sango fuming quite angrily.
"Well, what about you and Inuyasha? He's already on the Red Carpet, just waiting for us to show up. Hah! You like him a lot." Sango crossed her arms in triumph and gave Kagome a haughty look
"I do not!" It now was Kagome's turn to blush. "He's just an evil hanyou. His brother however…" She giggled and looked at Sango's growing look of shock.
"Has a glass heart that's been frozen over for a thousand years," Sango finished for her.
Kagome sighed, nodding. "That is way too true for words. But somehow, you can come up with them." She went back to drinking her martini, finished it, and then drank another. "Are these non-alcoholic?"
"They're alcoholic to keep us numb to the pain of loud yells and screams of adoration and pleasantly happy enough to talk to the reporters. But before we get out of the car, we need to have fifty tic-tacs each. Got it?"
"Yup. By the time we get to the Red Carpet, I'll be as drunk as a fish, and have the breath of a winter-bound forest in Canada. A toast to stardom!"
"Cheers?" Sango asked with a smile, holding up her glass.
"Cheers." And with that, they clanked their glasses together, and downed them instantly, giggling like the drunken maniacs they were.
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"I've never seen a crowd like this," Inuyasha said in awe, looking around at the vast amount of smiling and happy faces. "This is going to be great for us Miroku. We'll get very rich!"
"Keep your voice down," Miroku whispered with a gleaming smile at a group of fan girls holding up a sign that said WE LOVE MIROKU in the brightest shade of pink lipstick ever seen on earth. "We have to keep up a good image, especially with those… rumors."
"I know dude!" Inuyasha hissed back. He then went and signed a few autographs before coming back to talk more. "Come on. Let's go get interviewed! Isn't Katy Courick here?"
"Is she?" Miroku asked, a little gleam of devilish hope in his eye. "Well, my hanyou friend, let's go and get interviewed!"
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"Sango, let's turn the TV back on! I'm getting even more nervous!"
"Wanna hic 'nother martini?" Sango said with a sloppy grin.
"Nope. But I'm up for some tic-tacs." Kagome pulled out a pack, emptied it in her hand, and dumped all of them, at once, into her mouth. She then forced Sango to start on a pack, stole the remote, and turned the TV back on.
"We are now interviewing both Inuyasha and Miroku, the two male leads for this film. Inuyasha, how do you and Miroku know each other? Are you two good friends?"
"Actually, Miroku and I grew up in the same neighborhood as Sango and Kagome. We all had a lot of chemistry that was perfect for this film, since we grew up together!"
"Miroku, how do you think you all performed on this film?"
"Well Katy," Miroku said, sliding close enough to bump into the reporter, "I guess we performed to the best of our abilities, and that is all that counts. Of course, I always perform the best I possibly can at everything I do." It was barely noticeable in the shot, but Kagome swore she saw Miroku rub the reporter's ass. Katy made a slight jumping motion, but then had a really placid, happy grin.
"Dear Lord Sango, I think Miroku just groped Katy Courick!"
"WHAT?!" Sango sat up, the drunken happiness gone. Mention anything about Miroku touching a girl and she's back to normal. "STOP THE CAR!"
"We're not moving Sango," Kagome sweat dropped.
"Oh…" Sango blinked, and stared in hateful anger at the man on the screen.
"Well, one last question for the both of you." The two guys leaned closer to Katy, but Sango only noticed Miroku doing it.
"Why that sleazy-!"
"Is it true you're gay lovers?" Inuyasha and Miroku anime-fainted before getting up, grinning idiotically, and saying, in unison, "NO!"
"Well, Inuyasha, we all are waiting to see what's going to happen with you and Kikyo. How's the relationship anyway?"
Inuyasha seemed to have frozen. His face was stoic, stony, and impassive. "It's fine, Katy. It's fine."
"Really? Kikyo was the one who accused you of sleeping with Miroku, right?"
"WHAT?! THAT BITCH SAID WHAT?!"
"Um…Next actor or actress please!"
Then the limousine door opened, and the escort driver came and opened the door. The two girls stepped out of the car, and onto the plush Red Carpet, and Kagome saw the scene between Inuyasha and Katy Courick unfold. Inuyasha was being dragged away by two huge demon bodyguards, the hanyou struggling to go and slice up the American interviewer. Katy was nervously being taken to a different location, Miroku leading her, apologizing for Inuyasha's behavior on the way.
Sango however, took off after Miroku, grabbed him by the ear, and dragged him, in perhaps the most embarrassing celebrity situation the last ten years, and not to mention the fact that they were on every major news station in the world, live. Kagome couldn't help but laugh when she caught up with the two of them. Inuyasha was placed right next to her, and when he realized the first thing he did was chase after the guards begging "Not by this bitch, guys! Please no! No please! Take me to prison or put me by Tyra Banks or… Miroku look! Britney Spears is here!" The guards stupidly ran running with autograph books and pens out, hearts in their eyes. Inuyasha grimaced at how ridiculous they looked.
"Well, I guess this is a big turnout." Oddly enough, Miroku thought Britney Spears was too smutty to be on his HOT (Honestly Overdue for Touching) list. He merely acknowledged the star as she walked by, and Britney, oddly enough, pecked him on the cheek before moving long. Oh yeah, you bet Sango was mad.
"MIROKU!"
"See you all, I'm going to go find an autograph to sign in Tibet," Miroku said with a nervous grin, before dashing up and down the red carpet, signing everyone's autograph books. He stopped by several people and talked a little to interviewers before making his way into the theater. He managed all of this in only four seconds.
Inuyasha, Kagome and Sango all did likewise, and finally made it into the theater, twenty minutes after Miroku. They then proceeded down the elegant hallway into the large dinner theater, taking their respective places at the Cast Table, the largest one there, not far above the center of the incline of tables and seats. They then sat down, next to Miroku who was speaking to a waiter about what kind of drink he wanted.
"Good news!" he said with a smile. "Only half an hour until the movie's opening credits role!" Sango took her particular seat next to him, and left Inuyasha and Kagome, secretly sworn enemies since pre-kindergarten, to sit next to each other.
"Oh yippy frigging doo, it's Dog Breath!" Kagome said, rolling her eyes as the hanyou sat down. Inuyasha scowled at her.
"Look you wench, I'm not enjoying this any more than you are. You're impersonating my fiancée."
"Really? Well then, I guess I'm doing my designated Life's Mission. Hey man, no hard feelings, but you have got to understand that this is my role in the Grand Tapestry that is Life." Inuyasha sighed, rolled his eyes, and glared at the plate, which was so shiny he could see his reflection.
"I don't need a damned theology lesson. I passed that."
Kagome smirked. "With a 'D' of course! You know about as much theology as I know about football. You couldn't name all the gospels."
"Matthew, Mark Luke, and John," Inuyasha said without blinking.
"The First Book of the Old Testament." Kagome countered.
"Genesis."
"The last one of the whole Bible!" Kagome was sure that he didn't know this.
"Revelations." Inuyasha smirked, settling back into his chair with a look of blissful content and utmost victory on his smug face.
"You know, nobody likes a smart ass. Especially such an ugly one."
"Well, look at the pot calling the kettle black!" Inuyasha accused.
"Sorry dude, but I'm made of aluminum."
"Bite me."
"Alright."
"Arrgh! My seriously bleeding shoulder! AH!"
"Is it really necessary for me to call security here?!" Miroku growled. "One more comment out of either of you two and I'll have both of you kicked out! I don't care if you are my co-stars! Act like the adults you are, or by the time I'm through with you there won't be enough sanity left between the two of you to be called understudies!" He smiled, and then relaxed, watching all the various actresses and female celebrities walk by and take their seats.
"Look at the pot calling the kettle black!" Inuyasha and Kagome exclaimed in unison.
"Sorry dudes, but I'm made of aluminum." Miroku didn't even blink, parrying them both with absolute ability to win a battle of words. However, Sango didn't use words when she wanted to communicate to the opposite sex. Quite simply, she broke her plate over the poor man's head, requested another from a passing waiter, and repeated the process before taking Miroku's own plate and putting it where hers should have been.
Then, when the very glorious appetizers came around, Miroku, being without a plate, had to wait a full ten minutes before getting a new one. By then the first appetizers were gone, and the second appetizers came. This was a long movie, with a longer meal. Speeches by the director, actors, and various others were made beforehand, and Inuyasha had to deliver the biggest one. Kagome stole his share of food during that time, and Inuyasha, stuck on stage with his reputation at stake, could only narrow his eyes and watch angrily.
When he got back to the table, he threatened to beat her over the head with a turkey if she didn't shut up. Of course, that didn't work, because she had it all tape-recorded and threatened to use it in court. So the dinner went, much fighting secretly going on, as their table was the only table to not focus on the movie.
à To Be Continued……………………………….......10 Reviews! Ha ha ha! I' evil! Ha!
A/N: How was that? Was it good? I hope so. Let me know if I should continue please! ; What? Didn't BOTH 8 yet, did you? Well, in the end, I made you promise! So keep it or I'll hurt you! Sorry, I'm a little bit hyper right now. HOW WAS YOUR THANKSGIVING? I swear this is not for blackmailing purposes.