Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha or the song Owari nai Yume. Though, Christmas is once again just around the corner... Oh, Takahashi-sama!
She's drunk on life today,
But tonight, she'll cry.
Even people with the loudest laugh,
On the inside, want to die.
Kagome sat on a bar stool in the strip club with Agent Smith, who had suddenly stated that he needed to finish talking with the owners instead of telling Kagome that he had saw her in his 'memory', across from her. The Miroku and Sango look-alikes sat around them, blending in with the various customers inside. Tsubii and Kiki swayed with the rhythm of the fast-paced beat pouring from the speakers, which made it ever harder to talk to them.
"Can't we do this somewhere else?!" Agent Smith called over the music.
"No! We have a business to run! Speaking of which.." Tsubii turned her gaze on Kagome. "You need to get changed. Time for work."
Agent Smith growled, his eyes flashing golden for a moment, before reverting back to their blue-gray.
Miroku- Agent Bates, drooled at the strippers around them, mumbling objections to even having to work. Sango- Agent Holmes, hit him over the head with her notebook, grumbling.
'I finally went crazy', Kagome thought, a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes tugging at her lips, 'I'm seeing things and people that aren't there.. How do I know what's real or not anymore?'
Ignoring Agent Smith's growl, she changed in the designated room. Part of her didn't want to do this anymore.. After seeing Inu Yasha again and hearing his story. But then again, it could've been a dream. Maybe her whole Sengoku Jidai experience was one, huge dream...
Maybe she was dreaming right now.
Laughing softly, in a crazed manner, Kagome pulled her halter over her head, adjusted the mini-skirt. She looked herself over in the mirror and smiled. Dark rings, bloodshot eyes, sheet-white skin... She was the same Kagome as ever. Maybe she'd go have herself committed after work. Marshmallow walls sounded good right about now...
She shoved the rosary in the pocket of the miniskirt, not wanting to part with it. Was Agent Smith really Inu Yasha? He'd think her to be insane if she came right out and asked him. Besides, Inu Yasha said he didn't even know that he was him.. But, that he did get memories of the past. Maybe she'd ask about those...
Kagome broke from her thoughts and exited the door, being sure to make it down the stairs. No break-downs from haunting memories so far... Good. Maybe she'd gone past the breaking point of insanity. And maybe she needed to quit thinking about so many damned maybes... As she entered the main area, the agent's gazes turned to her, Miroku.. err.. Agent Bates drooling. Agent Smith blushed, even though he had seen her in her work attire before, though his eyes seemed to turn golden for a moment. She only decided her mind was playing tricks on herself and shrugged it off.
"You look great." Tsubii commented, before glancing around the club. Several other strippers danced on poles and served up drinks. "Hm.. Time to put you up to the test. Pole dancing. Get to it."
Kagome flushed and Agent Smith went pale, unable to stop the growl rumbling in his chest. "N-now?" Kagome squeaked.
"I knew it.. You've never done this before, have you?" Tsubii watched her intently, taking in the quiver in her voice and the blush filling her cheeks.
"O-of course I have."
"Then do it."
"No way." Agent Smith interrupted, narrowing his eyes. "Strip in front of these perverts? Hell no, Kagome!"
"She took the job, it's her decision!" Kiki snapped, crossing her arms.
Agent Smith opened his mouth to protest, but Kagome stopped him by walking to the pole. 'I took this job to forget about him.. But how can I when it seems he's right there? But still.. I've changed since the final battle.. I haven't been strong in so long, but right now, if I am going crazy... I'm.. I'm just going to do this.. To prove that my body is as attractive as Kikyou's..' She placed her hand on the pole, taking in a breath, and then looking at Inu.. Agent Smith. 'If that wasn't a dream, he didn't really leave me for Kikyou.. But I'm still not convinced that he didn't favor her body..' Kagome smiled, fakely, and then removed the rosary from the pocket of her skirt, placing it around her neck so she wouldn't lose it. 'And even if he really isn't Inu Yasha.. or if he doesn't have his memories.. I want him to have feelings for me.. I want Inu Yasha to love me no matter what form he's in..'
The song switched as a spotlight washed over Kagome on stage, Tsubii's voice coming over the speaker.
"Now preforming is the newest addition to this chain of strip clubs.. Higurashi, Kagome! Get ready, boys, because this not-so-innocent schoolgirl knows what she's doing!"
Kagome sweat-dropped. Tsubii could tell she hadn't done this before, but she would show her just how easy she could abandon her morals.
After all, broken hearts change nice girls.
Owari Nai Yume began to pour from the speakers around her, exciting cheers from many of the customers.
The city in the georama of the heart,
is sparkling with the light of hope.
The dream that flew up with the wings of an ephemera,
is something that we search for.
The truth is always,
hiding in the eyes bluely..
Kagome spun around the pole once, just fast enough for her short skirt to hitch up, exposing her bare posterior and the fact that she had adorned a black thong. Rocking against the pole in beat with the music, she racked a hand through her hair, down her breasts slowly, and over her hips. Many male cheers erupted at her display, and she winked out into the crowd, then looked directly at Agent Smith. He had a deer-in-the-headlights look to him, which caused her to smirk, burying the pain she felt at seeing him and the other agents looking so much like her friends from the past. Slowly, she brought her hands from her hips, hooked her thumbs under her halter top, and pulled it over her head. More cheers pursued her actions, especially when she flung the garment into the crowd, though her aim was at Agent Smith. Needless to say, it smacked him in the face because of his lack of attention.
Where shall we go up to?
Our future roams around now,
and we continue with our journey,
the place of eternity, and endless dream.
I want to chase after it without letting go of this hand...
Forever...
The lyrics struck something inside Kagome, the memory of coming back through the well and grabbing ahold of Inu Yasha's hand as they walked. She wanted to hold it forever.. Heck, she wanted to hold it right now. To have him tell her she didn't have to do this.. That she could go back to being the sweet, innocent schoolgirl, instead of the broken-hearted pole dancer.
And if last night wasn't a dream.. he could do it.. Of course, in front of all these people, he couldn't suddenly become hanyou and grab her. Silently, she prayed it wasn't a dream, and masked her memories with a blown kiss to the crowd of men, some of which were throwing money up to her. She pressed the pole between her breasts, rocking her hips against it some to the beat, pretending to like the feel of cold, hard metal against her skin.
The feeling really made her want to vomit.
In the ocean in the turquoise-colored heart,
the signals of the ship of light can be heard.
I need to go faster, for this impatient feeling..
No words are needed.
A lie is always,
hiding in the words sweetly..
Kagome tossed her head to throw away the tear from the corner of her eye before it had a chance to snake its way down her cheek. The lyrics "A lie is always hiding in the words sweetly" struck home. A lie.. Was last night a lie? If Inu Yasha really had come, was it because Kikyou rejected him, so he was lying to get her, the carbon copy of his love, as a replacement?
She reached behind her, unhooked the miniskirt and arching her back, pressing her chest more into the pole. The worn beads of the rosary clanked against the pole, the small tooth strung between every five purple beads biting into her tender flesh. She still had the bruises from the assault, but none of the men seemed to really care. She guessed it only added to her life as a stripper in their opinion, or made her look more vulnerable.
As she let the miniskirt slip from her hips and felt the cold air of the club sting her bare rear, Kagome began to wonder just when she began to think Inu Yasha would ever lie to her.
Let the two of us become one,
holding on to the coward waves.
We continue with our journey,
the space between our hug,
an endless dream,
cutting through the rainbow,
heading for the promised light...
"Let the two of us become one.." she whispered, the sound lost to everyone but her. Love: when two hearts beat as one.. She still loved him, even if he lied, didn't she?
'Oh gods! Why am I worrying over this all now?! First, I should find out if it was a dream or not! Baka, concentrate on pole dancing..' It was then that she realized she was standing on stage in front of numerous males, whom were calling to her and throwing money, and she was clad in a black thong and push-up bra, not to mention the rosary that belonged to her supposedly dead love from five hundred years in the past.
How screwed up was that?
Kagome wasn't sure what to do next, but she didn't want to be up there naked. Part of her didn't even remember why she had decided to pole dance in the first place. To defy Agent Smith? To make him love her?
That was even more screwed up..
Where shall we go up to?
Our future roams around now
and we continue with our journey,
the place of eternity, and endless dream..
I want to chase after it without letting go of this hand..
Forever...
An endless dream..
That song was so fitting.. Seeing as Kagome was convinced she was stuck in an endless dream. Her journey had ended months ago with the defeat of Naraku. She was in her rightful time now... She was where she belonged, wasn't she? Of course, the copy of her friends and the man that her heart yearned to have mend shouldn't be here. She should have a normal life, like before, where she could slowly get over him. Get over it all.. As her incarnation had told her so many times before, she didn't belong in that time..
Thankful for the music to be over, Tsubii came over the speakers,"Let's here it for Kagome! Her time's up, but next time, she might show you boys a little more! This time, it was tasteful, to leave you wanting a little more." Tsubii winked at Kagome, who looked relieved.
"Arigatou," Kagome mouthed, before stepping off the stage and making her way over to Agent Smith, unable to find her skirt. He only sulked at her defiance, though he couldn't help but feel as if he were struggling with control of his body the whole time.. It was like something inside him wanted to pluck her off the stage and shield her from the world. Despite his sulking, however, he shed his coat and placed it around his shoulders in hopes to stop the stares from nearby. She only smiled her usual painful smile up at him. It hurt him that she hurt, and he wasn't even sure why.
Miroku and Sango.. err.. Agent Bates and Agent Holmes were now seated at the bar, drinking sake'. Kagome thought there wouldn't be a better time to see if it was a dream.
"Oh, Agent Smith.." She looked up at him sweetly, trying to force cheerfulness into her tone. "Come with me for a moment."
He blinked as she took his hand, not noticing the tears she wiped away with her free one. Holding his hand reminded her of her memories on stage. It was painful..
She lead him to a back room with a chair, for the heavy pole dancing, she had heard Tsubii say once with a laugh. Slowly, Kagome pushed him back into the chair, then climbed into his lap. He stiffened and stammered out, "Wh-what are you doing, Kagome?!"
"Lap dancing. Unless you don't think you can handle it." Never in a million years would she think she would say those words. She rocked her hips against his, wrapping her arms around his neck. His groan made her smirk. Maybe this was just what she needed to get some answers.
"You zoned out when you looked at those pictures of.." She trailed off, not sure how she would comment on Inu Yasha's ears and clothing in the picture. "Inu Yasha and me.. What was that about?"
Agent Smith just shrugged. "Just wondering if he was your ex or somethin'.." Kagome frowned, grinding her hips a little harder against his. She was rewarded with a growl as his head tilted back. "And I've been having these weird waking dreams.."
"Waking dreams?" Kagome muttered, a blush creeping to her cheeks as she felt a response to her lapdance under her. "L-like?"
"Red haori sleeves.. wind in my silver hair.. then, there's bloodlust and a battle.. With you and an orb of light.." Agent Smith groaned again, his head swimming, as he raised his hips slightly.
"Then... It's not," Kagome let a hand trail down from his neck to his chest, tracing a small circle, before prying his badge off. She was rewarded with a small flash of light, as Agent Smith's hair seemed to flow around him, changing from black to silver before her very eyes. His eyes widened, going from violet to amber in less than a second, and his fingernails turned to claws, fangs showing in his slightly ajar mouth. "Owari nai yume.. An endless dream."
Inu Yasha smirked, snaking his arms around his waist, his ears flicking as he listened to her breathing, a sound he had missed. "If it is, I hope I don't wake up."
"I was thinking it was a dream because I woke up alone.. And I was scared.." Kagome muttered, her lap dance stilled. She fingered his badge, noticing the pink glow around it.
"Ii desu, I'm here.."
"Agent Smith's gaining more memories.. How long do you think before you're back to yourself as him? You know.. so you could like.. change between human and hanyou, but still remain the Inu Yasha I lo-.. know." Kagome caught herself, still not feeling comfortable admitting how she felt yet. At least when she was fully awake. Though, she hoped this wasn't just another part of the owari nai yume.
Inu Yasha shrugged and ran his clawed hand along her back, causing her to shudder slightly. The being trapped inside the body of his human form confused him to no end. His memories were surfacing in his human form, however, which brought Inu Yasha to believe that he would soon be the same with or without the badge- the shikon kakera.
"So.. all we have to do is get Sango-chan, Miroku-sama, Shippou-chan, and Kirara together and complete the jewel.. Then, we can make a pure wish on it, ne? And it'll all be okay again?" Kagome tilted her head slightly to the side, before reaching a hand up to tweak Inu Yasha's soft ear for a moment. She had missed the feeling so much..
Inu Yasha leaned closer to give her better access to his ear, suppressing a moan that threatened to escape his lips from the contact. Kagome didn't know how sensitive it was to touch.. "Hai.." he mumbled, wishing it were that simple.
Kagome smiled slightly, then slid off his lap. He covered his disappointment with a blink, looking at her questionably. "Be right back.. Gonna get Miroku-sama and Sango-chan's badges." Inu Yasha nodded in understanding as Kagome disappeared from the room, only to appear moments later with Agent Bates and Holmes in tow. Before they could lay eyes on Inu Yasha's hanyou state, she plucked the badges from them, then smiled at their dazed look.
"K-kagome-chan?" Sango's voice shook, her eyes filling with tears, before she clung on to Kagome for dear life. The last she heard, Kagome had sealed the well.. Gone for good. This meant the jewel's wish had worked! It was amazing!
"Kagome-sama." Miroku smiled, then glanced over at the hanyou, who was in similar clothing to him. "What happened?"
"It seems we're agents in Kagome's time with few memories of Sengoku Jidai." Inu Yasha leaned back in the chair. "Kinda weird.. Like being trapped in a stranger's body."
Sango's eyes went wide as she released Kagome from her death grip, her gaze darting from foreign object to object. "Wow.. the future.." she breathed, astonished.
"You guys.. we have to find Shippou and Kirara, complete the jewel, then purify it." Kagome explained, though she knew the pair's heads were probably reeling.
"Hai." Miroku nodded, his brow scrunched up in thought. "Just have your little brother look for someone who looks like Shippou.. and a cat.. Hm.. A cat that looks like Kirara.."
Kagome sighed. It might be harder than expected to find the two missing team mates.
"Kagome-chan?" Sango's voice broke into her thoughts.
"Hai?"
"I think it's way past due for a girl's moment. We have so much to talk about!" Sango smiled. Kagome couldn't help but smile as well, though her eyes glazed over. She couldn't believe she was seeing her best friend again, much less the perverted houshi, and her hanyou protector that had stolen her heart. Her family. Kagome finally nodded in response, before feeling a pair of eyes heavy on her. It was then she realized her state of undress and the fact that Inu Yasha's- Agent Smith's- coat was loosely draped over her shoulders, barely concealing anything from view.
"Mind explaining?" Miroku asked, an eyebrow raised, as Kagome's face flushed. Sango noticed it for the first time as well, her previous thoughts too overtaken with seeing Kagome again, than on her state of undress.
"Ano... You see.. I'm a stripper now.. A..a.. pole dancer and lap dancer..."
All three of the Inu-tachi's jaws dropped. "NANI?!" Inu Yasha cried out. He'd admit he noticed her in his lap when she took off the badge, and he noticed her state of undress, but he had been too preoccupied with the sensations in his groin to question it.
"Ka-kagome-chan?" Sango squeaked. "You have to tell me what happened! Let's find a hotspring or something of the like."
"No. I have to hear this, too." Inu Yasha growled. Kagome sweat-dropped, placing her hand behind her head and laughing nervously.
"This is only my second day working here.. Besides, it's where I met up with Agent Smith." Shrugging, she turned from Inu Yasha's smoldering glare that had then turned into a faint blush at her comment. Miroku smirked.
"You dog, Inu Yasha."
"It's not like I could help it- I'm not Agent Smith!" Inu Yasha huffed, then sighed. It was more like Agent Smith was Inu Yasha.. Like those complicated Geometry things about a rectangle being a square, but a square not being a rectangle that Kagome would always complain about... Or used to.
"No matter the case, we need to talk, Kagome-chan." Sango stated, looping her arm through Kagome's and pulling her towards the door.
"Matte.. Inu Yasha can't walk out there in that form." Kagome gestured to his ears and hair, only to get a 'Keh!' She untangled her arm from Sango's and crossed over to the chair Inu Yasha occupied, holding up the badge.
"Sure, bring back Agent Smith.. The human agent.." he muttered, causing Kagome to blink at his jealousy.
"Baka.." she whispered, leaning over and pressing her lips gently against his. He stiffened, then relaxed and melted into it, closing his eyes. Kagome's own eyes began to water at the tenderness she had longed for over her depression, but she could not grant herself the happiness of prolonging it, and instead, placed the badge on his shirt. Within moments, he was back to being Agent Smith, and she was standing upright in front of him.
"Well, I'd say my shift is over for the day. Let's go home. I've already invite San-.. Agent Holmes and Agent Bates to have dinner at the shrine."
Agent Smith blinked several times, wondering what happened. One minute, she's on his lap, grinding, the next, she's standing before him. 'I've finally snapped..' he thought, sighing, then nodding and standing. "Keh, let's go, then."
Sango and Miroku stood there in shock at the transformation, before Kagome glanced at them, sending a look that said play along. They both nodded and walked out of the door, only to pause and gawk at the strip club before them. Before Miroku could comment, Kagome stepped in front of the three. "Let me get my clothes from the dressing room real quick.. Stay put."
Agent Smith only scoffed as she disappeared into the dressing room, then reappeared dressed in her school uniform, his coat still around her shoulders, as well as the worn rosary. That irritated him, and he didn't know why. There was just something about that rosary that made him want to take it from her and put it on himself. Souta had told him it could subdue Inu Yasha.. He wondered if it would do the same to him.
Doubtful.
'It only works on youkai, baka.' He berated his thoughts, scowling once again. His impending insanity was putting stress on him and making him irritable with himself. And it didn't help that something deep inside him stirred whenever he was near her.. And that she was in his dreams, even his hallucinations during the day. He'd seen her so many times before in his dreams, which was why he felt it necessary to take residence in her house for the time being.
And the locket.. His hand went to his chest as she crossed the club floor, smiling that emotionally pained smile of hers up at him, then at his fellow agents. He felt the locket through his shirt, keeping his eyes locked on Kagome. The locket had been with him for as long as he could remember.. He didn't know where it came from, but it held an inscription in perfect kanji...
Ka...
Go...
Me...
Kagome.
He never could get it open, but somehow this girl was connected with him.. He just didn't know how.. Maybe he was this Inu Yasha guy. Hell, with all the memories that belonged to the hanyou instead of him, he was beginning to believe it. Or maybe it was him in a past life.. He mulled over the possibilities, not knowing the truth as of yet, while Kagome tugged on his arm.
"Daijoubou?"
He blinked, then shook his head to clear it, only grunting in response. "C'mon, let's get going." Agent Smith started ahead of them, Miroku and Sango following behind, with Kagome bringing up the rear. She watched her friends look at all the marvels of the buildings in the future, a smile curving her mouth slightly. It still held pain.. Kami-sama knows it would for a long time.. But this time for the time her friends left behind for her. Their era for hers.. She never would have guessed things would have turned out this way.
Kagome then pinched herself hard. The pain of her stomach eating herself, and the pain for her friends and Inu Yasha muted the pinch, causing her to barely notice any discomfort. She sighed, releasing her bit of skin, and bringing her hand up to finger the rosary around her neck instead. Emotional pain over physical pain.. Like a dream.
Owari nai yume.. endless dream...
But what happens if you wake up?
A/N: I got this update completed soon, just for you guys. . I have the ending all figured out, too, so I just have to deepen the plot abit.. I think you all will love it! I'm also going to start doing shout-outs to my reviewers, so enjoy! You'll get a cookie if you review!
BeccaPatty- I'm glad you like it! And as for the ending.. well, as much as I love angst, I think you'll love what'll happen! .
Ayame- Yay, I'm glad you'll be reading more or my chapters! Thanks for the support.
ex-Driver Liz- Great minds think alike! Arigatou!
ssp51201- Yeah, very confusing. Thanks for being so understanding as to my life getting in the way. Between school and traveling between my father and mother's houses, I was a little too stressed to try to remember my plot for this fic. Arigatou for waiting .
Sarcasm Girl8- Lmao. Hopefully, the wait wasn't too long this time. I know how frustrating it can be when people don't update very often. . It's something I'm working on again.
horsegal628- Your favorite fanfic on here?! Really?! Omg, I feel so.. special! Thanks so much!