Wish I Were You
Sakura's Note: Wow, it feels like it's taken forever to update. (I guess because it has) But, I finally found some spare time to write this. I've been planning it out in my head and now it's finally in my comp. Well, two things:
1) I've gotten an update mailing list for anyone who wants to know when I've updated and doesn't have an account, or has one and doesn't fully trust ff . net sometimes. (Link can be found on my bio)
2) I've finally posted something under my deviant art account. The account has been around since April of last year, but I'm just now starting to get involved. Ha ha. So far, there is only one Inuyasha fan art posted, which is based on my fic, Thief of Hearts. Soon, there will be a Wish I Were You pic up as well. Until then, continue to visualize. (It makes ya smarter!)
.-..-.
Chapter 5: The Dotted Line
.-..-.
"That over there is the Safeway, not much to look at, actually..." Kohaku laughed, "Oh! Here's the comic book store! They have all kinds of stuff in there." Kagome looked out the window intently, following Kohaku's finger as it pointed from place to place.
Inuyasha looked out the window sulkily.
He was being punished.
Not only had he made a total fool of himself when the heiress had come, but now he was being forced to go out to a seafood restaurant. It didn't matter that he'd never tasted seafood before--he didn't like it.
And that was that.
Not that Sesshoumaru cared, of course.
"And they're planning on putting some kind of health club here, once it's finished..."
Inuyasha watched as the young heiress took in the city. How could such a rich girl be so entranced by a little city like theirs? Shouldn't she be yawning and struggling to stay awake? He glared into the side view mirror. Ms. Priss was up to something...he knew it.
"Oh! This is where Inuyasha works!" Kohaku gestured enthusiastically out to the brightly lit theater to their right.
Much to Inuyasha's dismay, Kagome seemed extremely interested. "Really? You work there, Inuyasha?"
It took a lot not to throttle his dear little brother at that moment. "That's what the kid said, ain't it?"
Sesshoumaru gave a quiet sigh. It was a miracle Kagome wasn't hightailing it back to New York that instant. Inuyasha had that effect on people.
"So, what do you do there?" Kagome leaned up towards were the two white-haired brothers sat.
What kind of inane question was that? "The normal stuff...work the box office, sometimes the concessions." The way she seemed so enthralled by such normal, mundane things irked him. The 'deprived of life' act was getting old fast. Who did she think she was kidding? She was rich, and certainly seen more places than he had.
"We're here." Sesshoumaru stepped out of the car, everyone else following suit. Kohaku ran ahead to check if Rin had already arrived, leaving Kagome to find conversation elsewhere.
"Come on, Inuyasha, aren't you hungry?"
"Not really."
Kagome frowned, taking note of his scowl, and crossed her arms. "Did I do something to make you angry with me?"
As a matter of fact, you did. Inuyasha bit back his retort at the sight of a black Honda pulling into the parking lot. He cursed under his breath and stepped away from the curb.
The car pulled up to where the Dawson party stood. A moment later both doors opened. From the passenger side Rin stepped out, her medium length brown hair out of its usual side ponytail and her usual denim-covered body dressed in semi-formal attire. From the driver's side, a crystal blue-eyed boy a little taller than Inuyasha exited.
Inuyasha's brow twitched, fighting back a scowl.
Kagome nudged Inuyasha in the side--something he did not appreciate--and whispered from the side of her mouth, "Is that him?"
He could have been sarcastic, but instead Inuyasha nodded curtly, "Kouga." Maybe she'd be the first chick who didn't think the guy was a god and they'd find a common bond.
"What's so bad about him?"
...Or maybe not.
Inuyasha mentally berated himself on his momentary lapse into deliria. "I left my list at home."
"Oh come on, he doesn't look that bad..."
"Doesn't look--" Inuyasha cut himself off, shooting the black-haired boy--who was currently talking to his brother--a murderous look. "You suck at judging people Higurashi."
"Actually, I'm pretty good at it." Kagome divulged proudly.
"Well, hello."
Kagome jerked at the new voice and turned around. Before she could respond, he continued. "I'm Kouga." He paused a moment, "You look really familiar, have we met? Middle school, maybe?"
"I don't think so," Kagome shook her head bashfully. Something about this guy made her feel shy. She hadn't felt like that since she was eight.
"I've seen you somewhere..." He muttered, giving a charming smirk. "Help me out. What's your name?"
"I'm--"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, moving to stand in front of the heiress. "Wolf, do you mind? We have to eat."
Kagome watched as the two attempted to bore holes into the other's eyes. Neither seemed to be ready to back down any time soon. Whatever their grudge was, this was not the time to handle it. Especially with Kohaku and Rin so close. "We better get going, wouldn't want them to start without us, would we Inuyasha?"
For a moment he didn't respond. Without looking away from his rival, he snarled. "Keh. Like I care."
Kouga scoffed, "This is a waste of time, and my car's running. We'll finish this later, dog face." With a quick glance at Kagome, he slid back into his car and slammed the door. The Honda pulled out of the parking lot and zoomed off down the busy street.
Without even a look to Kagome, Inuyasha stormed off towards the restaurant.
.-..-.
"I'm sure Mr. Higurashi will be pleased to learn that you want to meet with him." Naraku drummed his fingers lightly on the desktop. "Yes, noon tomorrow." His other hand scribbled down a cartoon-like baboon on the corner of his paper. "I'll be sure to tell him... You as well, sir."
"Naraku!"
Naraku groaned inwardly, keeping the slight smile on his face. "Ah, Kaede, what a pleasant surprise."
Kaede frowned, "Don't insult me by pretending you enjoy my visits."
"Done." Naraku crossed his arms across his chest, leaning back in his seat. "What do you want?"
"You fixed the contestants for Kagome's contest, correct?" She watched Naraku's face twitch slightly at the accusation.
"Under Mr. Higurashi's orders." Naraku eyed the old woman, "Why?"
"You screened the entries, how could you let something like a parentless home slip?"
The room fell quiet, except for the low hum of the air cleaner in the corner and the buzz from Naraku's laptop.
"Parentless home?" He straightened, "What are you talking about?"
"You sent Kagome to live in a home that is not only without parents but without any other girls! When the media gets a hold of this they'll have a field day!"
Worry flashed across the businessman's face. Paparazzi would most definitely go after this story, giving them bad press. Her father would find out, and when he did...
"Kagome cannot stay there without her name being slandered." Kaede pointed out worriedly.
"You're telling me this...why? I don't want to be dragged down with you for knowing once her father finds out. After all, you did rig the drawing after I approved the contestants. You wanted to dirty her reputation."
Kaede backed away from the man in front of her. "What lies are you spewing now, Naraku? You know I did no such thing! Kagome is like my granddaughter, I could never hurt her."
"But of course you did." Naraku stood, watching the old woman carefully as he filled his briefcase. "At least, that's what I'll be telling Higurashi should he find out."
"You're a crook, Naraku."
"And you'd be homeless if you were fired. You wouldn't want that, would you, Kaede?" With a click he closed his briefcase and walked towards the door. "Now, until I can straighten out this little slip up, where is our lovely winner Ms. Dawson?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
Kaede glared at the air where he had stood moments before. "Monster..."
The elevator dinged in the hallway.
.-..-.
The merry brunette looked up from her podium. "Dawson, party of five. Please follow me to your table." She trotted off down the aisle of eating groups, stopping across from the bar. "Here you are, there will be someone to come take your orders shortly."
Their booth managed to fit everyone in. Kagome scooted in first, followed by Inuyasha. Across from them were Sesshoumaru, Rin, and Kohaku.
"You can order whatever you'd like, Kagome." Sesshoumaru added composedly, opening his menu.
Kagome skimmed the menu diligently. "Hmm..." After a moment, "Inuyasha."
She heard a sigh. "Yeah?"
"What are you getting?" the heiress prodded lightly.
"I don't like seafood." Was his simple and grumpy reply.
Kagome scrunched up her nose in distaste. "You're not all that sunny to be around, are you?"
Inuyasha turned to fully face the girl he was destined to be plagued by and frowned. "Depends on who you are. Why do you care what I'm ordering anyway?"
"I thought you had good taste, despite your obvious faults." Kagome retorted smartly. She placed her menu on the table, oblivious to their audience.
That certainly caught him off guard. He sat there, staring at her for a minute, with a strange look on his face. "...How do you mean?"
Kagome didn't respond, instead opting to fold her napkin into a crane (a very hard thing to do with a rectangular, flimsy piece of cloth).
She didn't notice, but Inuyasha was staring straight at her. His golden eyes narrowed as she sat the cloth bird in front of her. "What obvious faults?!" He exploded. They caught the attention of an elderly couple, as well as the people at their own table. With a quick glare, Inuyasha took care of that little problem.
Sesshoumaru sighed in disappointment, turning the page of his menu evadingly. His mouth moved behind his menu, "Inuyasha..."
With a grumbled "whatever", Sesshoumaru's ardent brother dropped the subject. Kagome could tell that he wasn't about to let it go; this was just an intermission.
She sighed softly and raised her menu in front of her face as Sesshoumaru had done. "Your clothes."
Two golden eyes focused in on her, covered partly by silver bangs. They narrowed for a moment, then Inuyasha's menu raised as well. "What? You've got a problem with them or--"
"It's supposed to be a compliment. I meant you have good taste in clothes." Kagome huffed with irritation. "What's up with you being so pessimistic all the time, anyway? You'd be a lot friendlier looking if you weren't always glaring off somewhere." Kagome mimicked him by glaring at her fork venomously.
Inuyasha smiled against his will. The girl looked cross-eyed.
"I knew I could get you to smile." Kagome said cheekily, dropping her menu back onto the tabletop.
He instantly tried to smother the stupid grin on his face, but only achieved making himself look dopier.
Wonderful.
"My name's Kevin, can I take your orders?" The waiter pulled a pen out of his apron and flipped open an order pad.
Everyone looked expectantly at Kagome, her being the guest of honor at the table. With a slight flush, she looked up. "I'll have...the Shrimp Feast." She pointed to the meal in her menu for emphasis.
Kevin seemed bored, but did a double take when he really looked at her face. "Alrighty, what three kinds do you want?"
"Um...the shrimp scampi, fried shrimp, and popcorn shrimp." Kagome finished up her order. The other Dawsons did as well, save for one.
"What about you?" 'Kevin' asked Inuyasha breezily. His eyes strayed over to Kagome for the tenth time.
"He's going to share with me." Kagome cut in, "Since he isn't feeling well he can just pick and choose."
Kevin looked at the two of them pointedly. "Sorry, but you can't share when it's an all-you-can-eat."
"It's ok, Kagome, he can order something." Rin interjected, "If his stomach isn't up to it then it's ok..."
Their waiter started, "I knew you looked familiar!" He snapped his fingers excitedly, "You're that Higurashi girl, aren't you?"
Inuyasha slapped his forehead, letting his hand slide down his face. This was going to be the beginning of a long trend...
"Um, I'm not sure what you're talking about..." Kagome laughed nervously, fingering her paper crane.
His expression changed as something dawned on him. "Oh, I get it. You're keeping it on the down low, huh?" Before anyone could answer he winked, "I gotcha. Don't worry about it, my sister didn't bother me for a whole week because of all those things about you on the TV... I owe you."
He redirected his attention to Inuyasha, "Wow...you're a lucky guy. Real lucky. You get to share food with her!"
Kagome and Inuyasha shared a look of bemusement as energetic Mr. Kevin dashed off into the kitchen.
The table was silent for a moment, "What just happened?" Rin nudged her boyfriend in the ribs.
"Kagome just got Inuyasha free food!" Rin giggled happily, "That was great!"
"I didn't ask her to." Inuyasha retorted snippily. "It's not like I'm gonna eat it."
With a roll of her eyes, Kagome leaned back into her seat. "You're welcome."
.-..-.
Sango looked around the table with starry eyes. The food looked too perfect to be real, especially whatever you called the thing to her far left.
Heels clicked on the marble floors from the hall, louder with each step. In a matter of seconds a woman entered the room, dressed in a classy red and white business suit with matching shoes. Her hair cascaded down her back in ebony waves, accenting her warm, chocolate eyes. She was beautiful, and in an unexplainable way, reminded Sango of her mother.
"Hello, I'm Midoriko Spears. You must be Sango."
Sango nodded, "Yes, I'm Sango."
"Nice to meet you, Sango. Congratulations on winning, as well. You must be tired of hearing that by now." Midoriko smiled. "I assume Kaede has told you why I'm here?"
"She said you were going to teach me how to handle the press before the cocktail party tomorrow. But I really don't think I'm prepared for a cocktail party..." Sango admitted honestly. "I mean, I just got here."
Midoriko laughed, seating herself down next to the 90-day heiress. "Don't worry, you'll be fine. It's all just a matter of nerves, actually. Once you realize the press is just desperate for this week's paycheck you'll be able to handle them like a pro. As for the guests, most of them are just stiffs or flaunters." She paused, "You didn't hear that from me, of course."
Sango smirked, "Alright."
"There will be some media there, but not more than you can handle. Maybe a few photographers, but most of them will be other Higurashi employees. Once they take the pictures, we sell them to some of the more classy newspapers. Now, can you smile for me?"
With a questioning look, Sango resigned herself to smiling the best she could on cue. By the look on Midoriko's face, it wasn't her greatest.
"Smile from the heart, not from the mind." Midoriko advised, "Paparazzi know when you're faking or not. In order for them to believe you, you must look sincere."
Sango thought of her little brother and smiled again, this time much more heartfelt. Without relaxing her face, she asked, "Is this good?"
Midoriko studied her for a moment, "You're a natural." Sango grinned at the praise. "Smiling isn't the only thing you have to master. Answering their questions is a whole different issue. Now, I'm going to ask you some questions. Answer them however you think you should, and we'll go from there. Ok?"
"Alright."
Midoriko served herself a helping of pasta onto one of the china plates. "What's your name?"
"Um, Sango..."
The press coordinator took a sip of wine and looked over at the girl with a penetrating stare. "Are you enjoying your new life as an heiress?"
"It's great! I really like it here, although I haven't met that many people yet."
"So, what's the newest gossip around here?" Midoriko shot out the question almost immediately after the last.
"Gossip?"
"Have you met Mr. Higurashi yet?"
"Uh, no."
"Ok." Midoriko took a bite of food, happy it was still warm. "Well, I see we have some work to do. I have to admit, I've never really trained anyone before... Kagome was born into it, so it came to her naturally." The older woman clucked her tongue, "First thing, don't use the three forbidden words. 'um', 'uh', and 'like.' Once you use one, they'll jump at the chance to get something out of you."
Sango nodded. "What else?"
"Make sure they can't twist your words into something else if you can. For example, have you met Mr. Higurashi yet?" Before Sango could answer, Midoriko continued. "Instead of saying 'um, no' say 'Not yet, but I'm sure I'll meet him soon. From what I've heard, he seems to be a very nice guy. No wonder his business is so successful.'"
"That really doesn't sound like me..." Sango looked over at Midoriko questionably. "Are you sure all that is necessary?"
"Yes, absolutely. They live for information, and they want as much as they can get. Make the answers your own, but don't sound negative. I'll be near you the entire time, as well as other members of staff. So if you feel like you're blanking out, someone will be there to assist you."
"Of course they will."
Sango looked over at the new arrival, noting absentmindedly how alike the stranger sounded to villains on television.
Midoriko's look darkened but her voice remained light. "This is Mr. Webb. Mr. Higurashi's right hand man."
"Midoriko." The new addition to the room bowed his head slightly. "And, Sango. May I call you Sango?"
Sango nodded, "Sure."
His eyes narrowed and his smile deepened, "Lovely."
"Well," Midoriko cleared her throat, giving Sango an excuse to look away from the man without looking intimidated. "What brings you here, Naraku?"
Naraku set his briefcase down onto the table and snapped it open. "Just legal matters Mr. Higurashi wanted me to handle before the hour got too late." He said flippantly.
One of the maids walked into the room and picked up the empty plates of food. "Will you be wanting anything, Mr. Webb?"
"Oh no, thank you." He pulled out a thick packet of paper and a pen. "I'll need you to sign this, Sango."
She eyed him and then the document carefully, "What is it?"
"Nothing much." Naraku flipped through the pages, "It's basically an agreement on your part. Once you leave here you won't auction off any of your souvenirs, any private information you learn while here won't be spoken of to any of the array of outside sources..."
Midoriko watched the legal document as the dark businessman slid it over to Sango. "Feel free to skim through it, just be careful not to fall asleep from all the legal terms...they can get pretty boring." With a small smirk Naraku handed over a sleek black pen.
Sango nodded, looking over the first page.
A cell phone rang, and both Urashi employees pulled out their mobiles.
Naraku sighed, "Excuse me, this is an important call." He took a few steps away from the table and looked out the window. "Webb."
Sango frowned; all of this meant she couldn't talk about their personal lives or sell stuff on eBay? "Ms. Spears..."
"Midoriko."
"Midoriko...have you looked over this?"
The ebony-haired woman extended her hand. "Let me see it, I can get the gist of it for you." Sango handed it over and Midoriko began to speed read the document.
A few minutes later Naraku snapped his phone shut and muttered something under his breath. "Are you ready to sign?"
"All done," Sango handed over the thick agreement with a smile.
Naraku's exterior seemed to brighten. "Excellent. I'll have to cut this conversation short, I have to pass something on to Mr. Higurashi." He retrieved the signed contract and snapped his briefcase closed.
Sango watched the man go, dropping her smile as his footsteps faded and the elevator dinged shut. Something told her Midoriko's advice wouldn't only be used for the press...
.-..-.