A/n: Hello! Tis I again! So sorry that this took so long (again). Ack! I'm such a bad authoress...I'll try to be better, but I made the musical so it'll be harder to update because of a shortened after-school time period. (waves white flag of surrender)

Before anyone could blink, the two girls had latched onto each of Koga's arms.

"What the..."

"It is he! The star has arrived!" Rose crowed.

"What are you talking about, you crazy girl?" Koga growled, hauling his arm out of her grip.

"You're perfect!" Val answered, tightening her grip on the other arm.

Realizing that he was loosing feeling in his fingers, he made a rare smart choice, and relaxed. "For what?"

"The Phantom!" the two girls replied, eyes shining.

"What in all hells are they talking about, Kagome?"

She sighed. "We're doing a performance in exchange for a shard. And apparently, my friends here, who will be in charge, want to cast you."

Rose started to sing a part from the play that was strangely appropriate for the moment: "He's here! The Phantom of the Opera!" She skipped around in circles.

Koga's eyes twitched as he looked warily at Val. "What...do I have to do?"

The two girls' eyes flashed as identical evil grins spread across their faces. "Sing."

"WHAT!" Koga ripped himself away from Val, backing away in horror. "The leader of the Northern Wolf demon clan does not sing!"

"Too bad, wolf-turd. I already had to," retorted Inu-Yasha.

The wolf demon's jaw dropped. For a moment, the two stared at each other Inu-Yasha's gaze challenging, Koga's absolutely shocked.

And then...

"BUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Koga's knees buckled, dropping him to the ground, which he promptly began pounding. Tears of mirth leaked from the corners of his eyes as he gasped for breath between laughs.

Inu-Yasha's ears flattened against his head as he flushed. "Shut up."

"You – you SANG, puppy!"

"Damn it, Koga, shut up!"

"That's so rich..."

Inu-Yasha snarled and threw himself at the still laughing demon. "SHUT UP!"

"SIT!"

Inu-Yasha abruptly plunged into the dirt. "Kagome..." he grumbled.

"Well, I can't have you harming our star," she shot back flippantly.

Koga looked panicked. "STAR!"

Stepping over the flattened haynou's prone body, Kagome approached Koga. "Look..." she pleaded, "We need you. From what I gather, the Phantom plays a very important role.

"But singing?"

Kagome sighed. "Please Koga?" She didn't want to sink this low, but it looked like she had no choice. Kagome batted her eyelashes at the clan leader. "For me?"

His face reddened slightly. He grabbed her hands and said almost cheerily, "well, anything for my mate, I suppose."

Ignoring Inu-Yasha's rumbling growl, Kagome smiled. "Okay, then. Sing."

"Eh?"

Koga found himself being pushed over to the ever-smiling village leader by two uniformed adolescents.

"Alright then, Koga, let's start in the middle. Sing after me: Do re mi fa sol fa mi re do!"

Koga took a deep breath. Refusing to look at anyone but the village leader, he sang. "Do re mi –"

"Koga!" Ginta and Hakkaku burst out of the forest, gasping for breath, followed by the wolf pack.

Val screamed. "Wolves!"

Kagome automatically started to console her. "I – it's okay, they won't hurt...you..." But before she had finished the phrase, the dark-haired girl had rushed into their midst, cooing and shrieking with joy. She grabbed a wolf's head and began babbling nonsense in a "kissy-kissy-goo-goo" type of voice, oblivious to the animal's frightening whimpers.

"Um...is she like this about all animals?" Kagome asked weakly, thinking of poor Kirara and the horrors that would await her.

Rose shrugged. "This is nothing. You should see her around babies. Val! Come back!"

"Fine, fine," she muttered. She grabbed Ginta and Hakkau's wrists and dragged them both to the village leader. "Here. Test them, too." To Rose, she added, "If one's a tenor and one's a bass, they can play Piangi and Buquet."

"Good point."

"Alright, Koga, let's start again. Start here at do."

He groaned. "In front of my clansmen?"

"Yes. Now sing!"

Koga finally gave in and sang his scales. He had a wonderful baritone voice, slightly rough but still true and clear.

"Nice job, Koga!" applauded Kagome.

"Pfuh. Even I was better than that," Inu-Yasha muttered. "Sounded like a kind of ear-shattering howl."

Koga, overhearing, laughed. "You sure about that, dog-breath? Pathetic as you are, all that whimpering probably leaks into your singing."

"As much as I enjoy listening to your egos swelling," Rose interrupted, "we need to test Ginta and Hakkaku."

Although they continued glaring daggers at each other, Koga and Inu-Yasha refrained from going for each other's throats.

"So, the final cast list has been updated!" Val announced.

"Kagome plays Christine -"

"Inu-Yasha plays Raoul -"

"Kaede plays Madame Giry -"

"Shippo plays André -"

"Miroku plays Firmin -"

"Kikyo plays Carlotta -"

"Sango plays Meg -"

"Koga plays the Phantom -"

"Ginta plays Piangi -"

"Hakkaku plays Buquet -"

"And, of course, our wonder host and auditioner will play various other rose!" concluded Rose, dramatically gesturing at the village leader.

Val checked her watch. "I think that's enough for one day. Tomorrow we begin the first scene. We only need the village leader and Inu-Yasha, but anyone who wants to come may watch...quietly."

A/n: Woo. So next chappie will begin the actual play (at last!) The first chapter will be kind of boring, but it should get better after that while the plot thickens...(cues Phantom theme)