A/N: I know. Starting a new story while still in the middle of the old one. But I just ran into a bit of a plot problem with my other fic, so I thought, why not try something new while I'm thinking about it? Besides, the other title looked so lonely, the only one on my page...

Disclaimer: Don't even own any merchandise, let alone the real thing.

Tutu's Company

1. How Did That Happen?

"Come on Kagome, please?" Kagome sighed and looked away from her best friend's pouting face. "Please, please, please?" Sango batted what Kagome had always considered unfairly long eyelashes, sensing that her friend was close to giving in.

"Sango, don't bat your eyes at me, that only works with susceptible male fifteen-year-old ticket sellers at the movies. And please stop begging. It's so uncharacteristic that it is seriously creeping me out!"

Sango grinned unabashedly, "Well, logic wasn't working on you, so I thought I'd resort to my feminine charms." She placed short-nailed hands on sassy hips and winked.

"Oh god," groaned Kagome, burying her face in her hands, "Nou're not going to stop, are you?"

"Nope," agreed Sango cheerfully. "Now listen, there are three very good reasons why you should do this with me. One: you said you wanted an extracurricular to keep you out of the shrine and look good on college applications. Two: It's an incredible all-body workout--"

Kagome shot Sango a death-glare, "I hope you are not implying, oh-bestest- friend, that I need an all-body workout?"

"Not yet, Kagome, but you are approaching the danger years. You know, they say one of the real reasons for the freshman fifteen is that eighteen is the natural time for a young woman's body to start bulking up in preparation for childbirth," Sango raised her voice to be heard over Kagome's renewed groaning. "Now, as I was saying, a great workout, and three: it's wonderful for your balance and helps to tone up your body for martial arts."

"But I don't do martial arts!" wailed Kagome.

"Well, we'll sign you up for that just as soon as we get you started on ballet. And if your balance improves, you won't have to worry about any more little incidents like yesterday at lunch, hmm?" Fire engines would have been embarrassed of their pallor if they had been compared to Kagome's face at that point. Sango allowed herself a smirk at the sight of her best friend's rosy cheeks. She knew that little tripping-and-accidentally-throwing-a-bowl-full-of-lukewarm-goulash-over-an-available-male incident would come in handy. She went in for the kill. "Now, our first lesson is tomorrow at three. You need to have a leotard, tights, and shoes." Kagome knew when she was beaten. "Fine," she said, pouting, "but no way am I ever wearing a tutu."

"Come on, Kagome, I thought you wanted to look more feminine for Hojo..." Sango let her voice trail off, and jumped out of the way of Kagome's incoming arm.

"Forget it," said Kagome. "He can just work on looking more masculine."

"And less goulash-enhanced?" Sango easily sidestepped a small fist aimed straight for her head.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"NO! No, no, no, no." A loud masculine voice could be heard drifting out of a suburban house window. The house was very ordinary, two stories, small flower garden, white with green trim. The voice was not ordinary. It seemed to have reverberations much deeper than was found in the normal male register. It was gruffer too. Almost, one might say, furry.

"Come on, Inuyasha. Please?"

"Hell no! Do I look gay to you?" Inuyasha, owner of the angry voice, whipped around to stare at his, formerly, best friend, his long white hair swirling around him. After this latest scheme of Miroku's, Inuyasha was a little worried. Friend was friend, but there were some lines that he just wasn't willing to cross. Ever. For anyone. These lines tended to consist of things like sequins, feathers, and tights.

"It'll be a great way to meet some new people," Miroku's voice was low and reasonable as always.

"Girls, you mean," Inuyasha shot back with a glare.

"The only people worth meeting," Miroku agreed, letting a lecherous smirk touch the corners of his lips. "Come on, you don't want to start a new school without knowing anyone at all, do you?"

"Somehow I'd rather start school knowing no one than being known as a...a..." he stumbled to a stop, a slight flush rising in his cheeks.

"Ballerina?" Miroku helpfully supplied.

"Keh." Inuyasha turned back to his window.

"You know," Miroku commented, as if it had just occurred to him, "they say that dance is really good for the martial arts. Apparently it helps you develop your balance and flexibility while toning your body."

Inuyasha snorted, "Like I need any help with my martial arts."

Miroku's lips turned up as he heard the usual Inuyasha-arrogance. Now he had him. "I heard that you and Sesshomaru got into a little fight the other day," he said. It was a low blow, as he was well aware if the smirk on his face was any indication.

The rivalry between Inuyasha and his older half-brother had reached epic proportions within the last couple of years. In their old town, the two's squabbling had become the thing of local legend. Mothers would point to pieces of barren ground and tell their children of the two half-brothers who couldn't get along. At recess, school children would whisper stories of the battles held for hours, days even, at a time. As a last resort, babysitters were known to whip out their cell phones and threaten to call over one of the white-haired two.

Miroku could tell that his last comment had made an impression by the way the muscles on his friend's jaw were twitching. Finally, the other boy looked up to meet his eyes. "Fuck. Okay, you win, monk, even though I know you are only doing this for your own perverted reasons."

Miroku smiled, "All I ask is that you be there. Tomorrow, three o'clock."

"Fine, but no way am I wearing a tutu."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

All noise stopped as they entered the room.

"Kagome," hissed Sango, "Did you have to go for the leopard print? Couldn't you have opted for sober black like everyone else? And the fluorescent pink tights really don't match."

Kagome just smiled. As far as she was concerned, if Sango was feeling a little embarrassed, well, that was just fine. She wasn't the one being dragged to sissy dance classes against her will. She had brought it upon herself, coercing Kagome like that.

As the two girls went to stand at the barre, their teacher suddenly twirled around. "Hello class, my name is Kaede. We have four new students joining us this summer. Are you all here?" she looked around. "No, I can see that you aren't. Hmm. Well, will you two please introduce yourselves?"

Sango stepped forward, "Certainly Kaede-sensei. My name is Sango and my former friend with the appalling fashion sense is Kagome." Kagome gave a half-smile to the crowd and waved at the teacher. "Hi!" she chirped.

"Right," Kaede nodded her head. "Okay everyone, places. Lets do plies in first, second, and fourth."

Ohmigod, Kagome thought with a glance at Sango, it's a foreign language. Staring at the teacher, she tried to imitate her foot position, then began bending her knees. It was at that point that she learned that ballet was not as wussy as she'd always thought it was. It was, in fact, damn hard.

"Watch your turn-out, Kagome. Shoulders back and down." Kaede called above the noise of the music. And so the lesson proceeded. Sango, with her slim build and natural grace, took to ballet like a worm to a compost heap. Kagome was more like a swan attempting to tango. With a bull.

"I swear to god, Sango, my body was not built for this," Kagome huffed, trying to get into a position in which her knee would touch her ear. Two body parts, she had always felt, that should be kept far away from each other. Luckily, at that moment there was a commotion at the doors.

"Come on," a male voice could be heard, "you don't look that bad!"

"It's not me I'm worried about," another male voice growled back, "it's you!"

"What's wrong with me?" the first voice asked, sounding more amused than offended.

"Your tights are...are...are..."

"Purple. I know. What's wrong with that?"

Sango and Kagome exchanged glances with each other, then with everyone else in the room. It sounded like the other new students had arrived. Kagome took advantage of Kaede's distraction to sit down on the floor, her back up against a mirror. Kaede moved towards the studio doors and threw them open.

"I assume you are my other two new students," she said. "Come in. You are twenty minutes late. I trust that won't happen again?"

"No ma'am," the one on the left answered, wearing a very innocent expression in addition to the aforementioned purple tights. His friend mostly wore a furious blush. Which only got worse as Miroku opened his mouth again. "I just had some trouble getting Inu here into his tights, ma'am."

"Shut up," the one called Inu glared at the other.

"Ah, I see," said Kaede, "and that would make you...?"

"Miroku, ma'am. Here to learn." And he swept the instructor an elaborate bow.