Disclaimer: You know I own nothing. Why do you keep making me say it? TT
Author's Note: Let's start off with this review I received:
Reviewer: I'm sick of seeing these idiotic Chrono fics. I guess you gave up on Inuyasha. Bye.
In and of itself, the review doesn't annoy me. But I would like to take this chance to point out two important things:
Firstly, I admit- as I have admitted before- that I have been spending a lot of time on Chrono fics recently. Why? Because one- there aren't that many out there (compared to Inu-Yasha, anyway), and two- BELIEVE IT OR NOT- I write what I feel like writing.
I love you guys to pieces and I'm so thankful that you read my fics, but I'd greatly appreciate it if you did NOT call the things I love "idiotic". Whether or not you like my actual writing is up to you, and I respect your opinion- but I bite people's heads off when they say 'Inu-Yasha' incorrectly (seriously, where do they get the 'w' sound from?!) and I'm sure as hell not gonna sit by and let some fool chew up a wonderful series like Chrono Crusade. So bite a rock and get over yourself.
Secondly: I'll NEVER give up on Inu-Yasha! You guys do know that, right? My updates may be slow, and I do plan on starting more chapter fics for other series (Chrono Crusade and DNAngel, to be precise), but Inu-Yasha will always be my first true anime/manga love and I'll never give him away- or stop exploiting him in stories. (-; I'm actually already planning the chapter fic I want to start after Stardust. (Though I'm currently torn as to which to pick. . .)
XD Moving along, I believe I promised you all a present, didn't I? Oh, yes I did! So here you go- the URL (with spaces between everything, so you'll have to delete them. Sorry!) to the Headlines sketch I made. I hope you enjoy it! (-:
http : w w w . art wanted . com / image view . cfm ? id 153791
And now- - - to the next pathetic chapter! Weeee! XD
- - - Headlines: A Hollywood Romance- - -
-Chapter Twelve: Whodunit?-
"Oh my God! Have you seen the most recent headline?!" Yuka gasped overdramatically as Eri and Ayumi slowly shook their heads, exchanging curious glances. "You haven't?! I repeat- oh my God!"
"What are you talking about?" Ayumi arched an eyebrow, understandably confused as Eri randomly attacked her backpack- ripping through the pockets of the sack until she found what she was searching for: a new magazine. Quell surprise. "The next issue of People doesn't come out until this Tuesday!"
"Yeah, right! They wouldn't wait- not with a story like this!" the short haired girl proclaimed, slapping the magazine cover up on her desk. "Check it out!"
"Haaaaa?" the other two students blinked slowly, leaning closer until the crowns of their heads were touching. "Oh my!"
This certainly WAS news. . .
"Kagome's Stalker," Eri read aloud in a poor stage whisper- as if for the benefit of the poor saps who couldn't read, wherever they happened to be. She 'eeped' in poorly contained excitement, running her fingers over the picture again- the one of her favorite actress glancing frightenedly over her shoulder. "It came out yesterday- special addition! You probably can't buy it anymore- it'll be sold ou- - - oi!" She cut herself off angrily when her friends suddenly tore the magazine away, rapidly flipping through the glossy pages. "What are you doing?! That's MINE!"
She was bluntly ignored.
"Yes, as shocking as it may be to hear," Yuka breathed, face pale as Ayumi craned her neck to read over her shoulder, "we have evidence confirmed by the police that Kagome Higurashi, famed star of Windy GirlCastle in the Air, My WillBouncing BackRed as the Rose, as well as many others, is currently being stalked! No information on the stalkers has been released to the general public yet, but everyone is encouraged to stay alert and contact proper authorities immediately if they happen to see two suspicious looking characters dressed in black."
"Isn't that true in any case. . . ?" Ayumi questioned a bit dryly, ever the voice of reason. This being the case of course, she, too, was bluntly ignored.
"No comments have been released from Miss Kagome or her boyfriend, Inu-Yasha, but we do hope to hear more on the situation soon. Continued- - -"
x
"On page 39." Sango sighed, closing the magazine and taking off her half-moon reading glasses; dropping her hands to her sides. "And that's about it."
Kagome stared flatly at her agent from her make-up chair, as did Miroku and Inu-Yasha from their resting places in the corner ". . . How did this get out?" she managed to ask quietly after a few moments, more irritated than anything. Which was understandable, really, seeing as the result of this news had been a tsunami of inquisitive correspondents- reporters who clogged the hallways, and drank all the coffee, and prevented all filming because of their big noses. In fact, because of this, she and the three others around her were currently locked in her dressing room, having fled from the rabid journalists with a fear for their lives. "Did anyone tell?!"
Inu-Yasha growled once, glowering at the furniture-blocked door as it jiggled from the force of hundreds of reporters and news casts. The lamp that completed the pyramid of comically stacked barricades tottered precariously on the top of the mountain- - - before falling to the carpeted ground with a muffled thump. They were growing desperate. . . Crud.
"I can assure you, Miss Kagome," Miroku attempted to sooth, "that we're all doing our very best to make these pests go away. Until then, we just have to wait."
The actress narrowed her eyes at the man, instinctively slapping his inching hand away. "That doesn't answer my question!"
"Kagome-chan, calm down," Sango commanded coldly, though the ice in her voice was due more to her co-worker than anything. Miroku grinned apologetically up at her, rubbing the back of his neck. Not that it mattered what he did. . . He knew he'd be punished later, anyway. (Yea!) "We're doing everything in our power to evacuate the media. But since everyone- even the police- are anxious to hear your side of the story. . ." she trailed off, expression taut. "It may take a while."
'Guess I better get comfortable, then,' Kag thought, irritated as she slunk further into her chair, pulling her knees to her chin. Inu-Yasha shot her an unreadable glance when she did so, but turned away before she could make anything of it. Noticing this only made her cheeks turn red, hiding her face in her thighs. Why did he do that. . . ? Did she have something in her teeth? Were her panties showing? She silently checked both. Nope. Perhaps he'd wanted to say something?
Well then- why didn't he, dammit?! Someone needed to break the ice between them. She privately surveyed him from the corner of her eye, wishing he would do something. Instead, he sat casually against the wall, one leg flat against the ground and the other crooked, providing a resting place for his arms. Wearing a tight, sleeveless black shirt and fingerless gloves in addition to his usual jeans, Kagome had to confess that she could see why so many teens lusted after him. '. . . Not that he'll ever know I just thought that.'
Her face turned an ever darker shade of magenta.
". . ." 'Maybe it's a good thing he didn't say anything. I dunno how to act around him anymore.' After all, they may have shared a kiss or two a few nights ago, but years of hatred (no matter how forced) where hard to forget. Yes, she felt herself torn between throttling him and glomping him, strange as it was to admit.
. . . And judging by the expression on his face and in his golden eyes, he felt the same way.
"- - -aurds get 'em out manually, using elephants and a cattle prod."
. . . Cattle prod?
"Huh?" Both Kagome and Inu-Yasha suddenly straightened, staring guiltily up at Sango- who had been talking at them for the past few minutes. She crossed her arms over her chest resentfully, offended at being ignored, but summarized her previous ramblings for them as Miroku finished pushing the final couch out of the way of the door. He instantly replaced a bit of the force with his back, but heaven knew the lock would only hold for so long. "Us take security make baddies go bye-bye."
Inu-Yasha (unsurprisingly) seemed to understand this perfectly. Kagome, however, was lost. "What the- - -? Oh, never mind. But speaking of security- where were they earlier, when the paparazzi broke in?"
Sango looked flabbergasted, stunned that the question even had to be asked. "Trying to save the coffee."
. . . Oh.
With that, she and Miroku attempted to slip through the door as gracefully as possible, but the hundreds of microphone-holding hands made this maneuver a little more difficult than they'd hoped. It took a few minutes of shoving and grunting, but the pair eventually managed to round-house kick their way into the hall and shut the door, giving Inu-Yasha a chance to fix the lock once more. This he did, with the speed only a hanyou-fearing-for-his-life could muster.
. . . This left the two actors alone. In a locked room. A tiny locked room. A teeny tiny locked room with more than half of Japan's journalists outside the flimsy wooden door- presently being beaten back by their two insane agents.
Life sure was funny, wasn't it?
". . . SoOoOo. . ." Kagome began conversationally after a few moments of thick silence, their eyes having locked from half way across the enclosed space. "Uh. . . Anything new?"
His dry expression shut her up quite quickly. She hid her face behind her knees again, trying not to whimper.
x
Thirty minutes slowly ticked by, full of nothing but the muffled begs and whimpering of the frantic reporters outside the door, and uncomfortable exchanged gazes between Inu and Kag. It was all becoming too painful to stand. . .
When- FINALLY- Inu-Yasha spoke.
"I. . . Don't understand it."
"Eh?" Kagome spun in her chair to face him completely- noticing in surprise that he hadn't moved an inch since he'd flopped back into the corner a half hour ago. Well, except for the fact that now all of his senses were trained on the entry way. "Don't understand what?"
"This stalker business," he blew out his cheeks, though his eyes remained grave. "If someone strange had been lurking around here, I would have noticed. I would have been able to smell them in your house and in this room after they left you that oh-so-scary alarm clock- - -"
The girl flushed, ducking away as a small smirk overtook his lips. "Shut up!"
"But seriously," he continued after a soft snort, quickly calming down. "These 'stalkers' are human- I can't detect the stench of foreign youkai anywhere. Yet at the same time, no one unusual- oni or otherwise- has trespassed in your space. I just don't get what's going on . . . !" He bit the pad of his thumb in frustration, canines sinking into the flesh so deeply that a bit of blood dribbled upon his lap.
"Oh. . ." Kagome's hand shot to her mouth as she noticed the dome of red growing on the male's fingertip. "Inu-Yasha, are you all right. . .?"
"What? Of course I am. What're you- - -?" he blinked, not having realized anything was wrong until he glanced down. "Oh." He shrugged. "It's nothing."
She started at him perplexedly. "Of course it is- You're bleeding." Sliding off her chair, the actress crawled over and took his hand in her own, giving it a meticulous examination. Inu-Yasha arched a bewildered eyebrow.
"Kagome, I barely cu- - -"
"Shush!" she snapped, gracing him with a suddenly furious stare. He did so- watching in confusion as she reached into one of her many overall pockets and pulled out a small white packet.
His already flat expression grew even more exasperated while she carefully applied the adhesive medical strip- which, it should be mentioned, was decorated with patterns referring to the kid's show Rainbow Brite. ". . . You generally carry kid's band-aids with you?" the half demon inquired monotonously, though he was silently amused. Nonetheless, her grip tightened at his words; sharp nails digging into his skin. He couldn't help but flinch slightly. Maybe he better shut up. . . It was looking like he'd need more of Rainbow Brite soon.
But then- without warning- her vice-like hold loosened, allowing his clawed hand to drop unceremoniously into her lap. "You just don't get it, do you?" she grumbled, cheeks pink as a tear sparkled on the tip of her eyelash. Inu-Yasha's quiet gulp echoed through the room. 'Shit!'
"Ka- Kago-chan, wha- - - ?"
"I was just trying to be nice," she informed him curtly, staring at the floor with watery eyes. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything. So go ahead- bleed on my bloody carpet or whatever. . . I don't care. . ."
". . ." Inu-Yasha exhaled loudly, ruffling his own bangs. Then- with a sudden urbane charm that Kag had forgotten he possessed- he slipped his fingers underneath her chin and tenderly lifted her gaze to meet his own. She felt her voice catch in her throat as their eyes locked, wild amber pools meeting her own deep navy orbs. ". . . Let's go get pie."
x
How they managed to escape the chaos that was the studio without getting noticed still alluded Kagome, but after a few moments of deep pondering she decided to pin it on the fact that both she and Inu-Yasha used her extensive wardrobe to their advantage. And since Sango and Miroku had long since managed to herd the more brilliant reporters towards the other star's hideaways, they had been able to slip out of her dressing room and the building itself with relative ease- hiding their features behind dark glasses and gaudy clothing.
"Ahhh!" Inu-Yasha took a deep breath of the contaminated city air, allowing it to fill his lungs as they stepped onto the busy sidewalk. "The sweet stench of decaying waste and depleting layers of ozone in the late afternoon!" He threw off a tacky, retro-seventies scarf and allowed it to fall into a nearby sewer, along with a 'bling bling' necklace. But to her mild amusement, he kept the stolen, yellow 'Dick Tracy' hat firmly on his head.
"You're disgusting," she noted, pulling off the hood of her polka-dotted poncho; slipping her rhinestone sunglasses into one of her many other pockets.
He tossed his head nonchalantly, skimming his fingers along the felt edge of the cap in a rather sexy manner. "You're living in it."
"So are you."
"Yeah- but I recycle. So I share less blame."
". . ." Point for him. Kagome muttered inaudibly under her breath as he smirked haughtily at the girl, unexpectedly grabbing her hand and pulling her rapidly in the direction of their favorite café. "That's what I thought. Now shut up and let's go eat."
x
"Are you ever gonna take that hat off?"
Inu-Yasha chuckled as Kagome glared at him from over the rim of her milk, which she held firmly in both hands; like a child.
"What?" he questioned innocently, fondly patting the top of his own head. "Don't you like it?"
"Not really, no."
"Well, pity. You'll just have to suffer." Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a lighter and a packet of cigarettes, lighting one and taking a drag. "So there."
". . ."
He blinked blankly at Kagome's horrified stare. "Now what?"
"You smoke?" she gaped in shock, nose wrinkling in disgust. When he took another drag she went so far as to cringe. "That's disgusting! Even more so then the whole waste-ozone thing."
He blew a large gray ring at her face, snickering as she batted the smog rapidly away from her nose. "Really now? That's pretty bad of me, then, huh?. . . Sorry you don't approve."
"Of course I don't! When did you start? You never smoked when. . . When. . . You know. . ."
His grin became rather forced, casually flicking a bit of ash off the end of the lit butt. "When? When what? When we were together?"
Kagome gave a timid nod, not trusting herself to say anything. Inu smiled thinly. "Hm. Yeah, I know. I started right after we. . . 'broke up'." A soft, icy laugh fell from his lips as he took a moment to stare out the window of their booth, half-lidded eyes taking on a wistful expression. "You don't know the sort of things you put me through, doll- the things you drove me into doing. . ."
". . . You sound like a corny old movie."
He winked, her sympathetically gibing tone not going unnoticed. "They don't call me the best for nothing!"
"Hey! I thought I was the best!" she pouted, poking him from the other side of the sticky table.
"Keh. You're nothing without me," he teased, nodding his thanks to the waitress who abruptly glided over, dropping off twin pairs of pecan pie. Kagome giggled as she picked up her fork, beaming at him.
"I know."
". . ." His heart stopped. Watching the girl before him with a new kind of fascination, Inu-Yasha allowed his smoking hand to fall from his mouth, wrists bent lazily as he rested his chin on the back of his hands. And then he dared to speak the thing that they had both thinking.
"So. . . Now what?"
Kagome- a huge chunk of pie half way to her waiting jaws- paused. ". . ." The bite fell silently back to her plate as she hesitantly lifted her gaze to meet the boy's. ". . . I don't know," she confessed quietly, shuffling her feet restlessly underneath the booth. He offered her a reassuring half-smile.
"Well," he rolled his tongue over his teeth, deep in thought. "Do you hate me anymore?"
"Um. . ." she thought about this for a moment, considering seriously, so that she could answer honestly. And then she did: "No. No, I don't hate you. . . Do you hate me?"
"No," Inu-Yasha replied easily, not realizing how big of a weight was being lifted off of Kagome's chest. "You may be a stubborn wench, but you're tolerable."
She offered him with a dull stare. "Gee, thanks."
He simply retorted with a chortle.
". . . So. . ." Kagome bravely ventured after another few seconds of quiet nothingness, picking up her fork and giving the tongs a tentative lick. "Does. . . Does this mean we're friends again?"
". . ." The actor glanced towards her, face expressionless as he leisurely stubbed out his cigarette- - -
And swiftly slid into the seat beside her, pinning her carefully against the wall; one arm above her head and the other caressing her cheek. She barely had a chance to gasp in surprise before his warm breath was tickling her skin, the lingering scent of smoke on his clothes. "But what. . . If I don't want to be friends. . . ?" he whispered, affectionately nipping at her earlobe. A shiver ran down her spine as her eyes slowly fluttered shut, brain turning off.
"W. . .well. . . If you stop smoking. . ."
His lips curved upward against his skin. "Deal."
Instinctively lifting her chin as she felt his warmth grow nearer, Kag began to assist in closing the remaining space between them- - -
Biddle dee dee! Biddle dee dee! Biddle dee dee!
When her cell phone began to ring wildly, making both stop.
"?" Inu-Yasha's curious tawny orbs fell upon her chest pocket. ". . . Your breast is ringing." Kagome glared at him, eyebrow ticking warningly as she pulled away slightly.
"Perv. . ." she mumbled, yanking out the phone and flipping it open. "Hello?"
"Kagome-chan?" a familiar voice on the other panted, out of breath and frantic. Inu's sensitive ear's perked, showing that he, too, was listening. "Kagome-chan! It's Kikyo!"
"Kikyo-chan?" Kagome returned, sounding confused. "What's wrong? You sound . . . Panicked."
"No time for that, Kagome-chan," the woman on the other end replied hurriedly, cutting off any other comments about to be made. "You have to get over here- NOW!"
"What? Why?"
"The police- they found them."
"Found who?"
"Your STALKERS," Kikyo clarified impatiently. "They figured out who your stalkers were! And they're here!"
". . ." Kagome's eyes widened, catching Inu-Yasha's as she gaped at her cell. "P-pardon?!"
"The idiots who were breaking into your house and leaving you clocks have been apprehended. We were gonna kick 'em straight into prison, but we thought that you might want a chance to talk to them first. So? Do you?"
She glanced at her co-star. He nodded seriously, a virulent look now in his eyes. "Hold 'em. I think I'd like to have a little chat with them. . ."
x
Hm. . . I think I caught quite a few hints of the authoress's sarcasm in this chapter. Oh yes. . . (-; Hope you didn't mind the stupidity of it all.
Anyway- Yea! Aren't cliffies fun? XD
Well, I hope you all enjoyed! I'll try my very best to update soon, but be careful what ya wish for because the next chapter is the LAST! (Oh my goodness!)
(-: Anyway, please review- I love you guys!
Ja ne!