Wish I Were You
Sakura's Note: No matter how much I try, with all the physics and math homework, I can't update as often as I want. So, don't expect an update every week, although that might sometimes be the case. I have a lot to do, and most of it, if it didn't determine my grades, could be exchanged for working on this story. But, since that will never happen, updates will probably come every other week. This week, I also have a one shot, which is a holiday special as well as a gift for all of you. It's in the WIWU universe, but a few years earlier.
Anyway, this chapter is extra long (all the extra of which I did this morning and after school yesterday) I have to finish Christmas shopping, and go to my friend's birthday party. Whew!
Enjoy and R&R!
.-..-.
Chapter 7: Attention
.-..-.
"Keep your...behind covered or else. Either sit down or stand against a wall, table, anything."
Normal people, Kagome concluded, could be quite odd. "Why do I have to do this again?" Without even looking over at him she could hear him slapping a hand to his face.
"Are you listening to me?! Have you heard anything I've said?"
Sesshoumaru looked up from his paperwork with a raised eyebrow.
"Is this guy...Miroku...really all that perverted? I mean, if he is what you say he is, then why are you friends with him?" Kagome bit into her apple.
Inuyasha looked over at her from the countertop, "He has his qualities I guess...they're hard to find, but when you look hard enough...they're there." He popped open a can of soda, taking a large gulp. "You're a good judge of character."
Kagome frowned, taking an aggressive chomp from her apple. "Don't mock me!"
With a shrug, he continued. "He usually loses interest in the girl after a while, once he finds someone else...but, being a celebrity you're pretty much lost."
"And, he doesn't get beaten up everyday for groping someone?" The heiress walked over to where Inuyasha was sitting and frowned. "Don't you know that our food is fixed on that table?"
Inuyasha leaned his head back, resting it on a cabinet. "'Course he does, it's rare for him to go through a whole day not getting slapped at least once." After a moment, "Hey...are you calling me dirty?"
She rolled her eyes with a sigh, "When's he coming over?"
"Dunno." Inuyasha slid off the counter, heading off to the living room. "He had to do something first. I gotta do some homework...stay out of trouble."
"I'm not a child, I don't need to be told to stay out of trouble..." Kagome folded her arms across her chest and trailed upstairs after him. She stopped at his door, mindful of the scaled beast in the corner.
Inuyasha tossed his backpack up onto his bed and shifted his gaze to her. "What do you think you're doing here? I already told you, my room's off limits."
"Well I thought-"
"You thought since you've already let Killer escape from my room you'd be welcome?"
Kagome winced. He'd hit the proverbial nail right on its head.
The angry-at-the-world teen scoffed, "I must be psychic." He picked a textbook up off the floor and opened his binder. Without giving Kagome another moment of his valuable time or attention, he started working.
Kagome shifted her weight to her other foot, an upset look on her flawless face. "What am I supposed to do?"
Inuyasha looked up, remembering she was there, and sighed.
"She's all alone here, and she's probably homesick. If Sango was treated that way, how would you feel?"
Cursing just how right his best friend was, and swearing he would never admit it, Inuyasha gave a resigned sigh. "You're a sneaky wench, you know that?"
She bristled, but was grateful for what seemed like consideration on his part. "I don't think you've used my name the entire time I've been here...It's Kagome, in case you've forgotten."
"I didn't forget; I choose to use some better alternatives." Inuyasha yawned and leaned back in his bed. Miroku's words wouldn't leave him alone, but that didn't mean he was going to completely change his attitude for the girl. If Sango could live with it, so could the heiress... "And, for the record, guilt doesn't work on me, but you're annoying me, so you can come in. Just keep quiet, alright?"
With a small smile, Kagome stepped a foot inside his sanctuary. Immediately after, she stepped back out.
Inuyasha watched with a raised eyebrow, proving him and Sesshoumaru were definitely related. "What are ya doing? Are you coming in or not?"
"Don't rush me!"
"Oh, sorry...I forgot that people have to warm up a few minutes before they can go into a room. Must've hit my head somewhere." With a roll of his eyes, Inuyasha went back to his math work. "....square root...X squared---absolute value of..." He gave an aggravated sigh and slammed his pencil down. "ARE YOU COMING IN OR NOT?!"
Kagome jumped, stumbling and almost falling over herself. "Don't do that!"
"Look, I can't concentrate when you're just standing there. Either come in or get out of here!"
"You aren't very social, are you?" Kagome tromped into the room, standing awkwardly by his bed. "If you were, maybe I'd feel a bit more welcome. I didn't ask for this, it wasn't my decision." She stopped herself and quickly covered her mouth.
"What?"
"Never mind." Kagome shook her head and plopped down on the bed next to him. I can't slip up...if they knew I never asked for this; that I was forced...
Inuyasha looked as though he was about to ask something, but just went back to whatever he was doing. By the looks of it, he was taking the same math as her.
.-..-.
"Are you sure?" Sango turned around, her back to the mirror, "Mr. Higurashi won't mind?"
"I promise you, he doesn't mind. He handed it to me this morning and told me to tell you to 'have a wonderful time'." Midoriko's expression was thoughtful, her eyes taking in the ensemble Sango was currently trying on. "This one is good, try another."
Sango loved to shop, but this was too tiring...
Twenty-six ensembles later, the two women exited the store with enough bags to fit enough food for a small country.
"Fashion experts will study your clothes and see where they come from, no matter how much research it takes. They'll find out the price, the store, and where they can find cheaper versions of it. If we bought something you could buy at Walmart, we'd be in trouble. Based on their judgments, you just might get on the most fashionable lists."
"That's..."
"Sad?"
Sango nodded. "Very."
"People's fascination with celebrities is getting worse all the time..." Midoriko admitted sadly, "Kagome's mother could barely walk for all the publicity." The press coordinator continued on, parting the crowds with her regal attitude.
"Kagome's mother?" Sango jogged up to Midoriko's side, confused, "I know Mr. Higurashi is famous because of the famous inventions that have come from his company, and his innovative business skills...but I never knew Mrs. Higurashi was in the spotlight that much."
"Her mother wasn't in the spotlight because of her father." Midoriko's lips curved into a fond smile, "She sang."
"Really?"
Midoriko eyed her for a moment, "I'm surprised you didn't know. Kagome's family has been famous ever since her father took over the company from his father. They've been in the news more often than most of celebrities." She paused to glance into a store, "But yes, Aya sang. She had the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. I never met her, but I was a big fan of hers during my college years."
Sango wanted to know more, but knew the topic was closed. They were about to enter another department store when Midoriko asked her another question, "Do you want-"
"It's her! She works for Arashi!" A flood of reporters appeared, coming from the escalators. Camera's flashed and people yelled excitedly. The paparazzi were flocking towards them like starved hounds...and there wasn't a way out.
"Go, Sango!" Midoriko gestured in the opposite direction from the reporters. "I can handle them."
"But-"
Midoriko pinned her with a firm gaze, "They can't find out who you are here...it would seem like a big scandal, they would say we were trying to cover everything up." She gave the girl a nudge --just go!
"Mido-" Sango turned, but the mobs of reporters were already on the scene. She stumbled into the dimly-lighted store in a daze. Was this how it was going to be from now on? Was this how Kagome lived everyday of her life?
"Where is this new heiress the Arashi company is hosting?"
"Where's she from, and where is she now?"
"Getting the feel for the rich life?"
"What's her eye color?!"
They were shooting questions like rapid fire, pressing their microphones up to Midoriko's face.
"You'll find out soon enough..." Midoriko pushed a microphone out of her face, taking the questions in stride. "Now, I have some important matters to attend to...so even if you do mind; excuse me." She calmly escaped the mob of hustling and bumbling reporters by entering the same store her charge escaped into moments before.
The final reporter, dissatisfied with the lack of info he'd gotten in the scramble, slid open his phone. "Yeah, nothing. There's no word on her or the girl." He swerved around the security guards expertly, avoiding an arrest on his disturbingly clean record.
.-..-.
Kikyo leaned back in her ghostly pale loveseat, staring emotionlessly at the picture on her dresser. It showed a woman in her early thirties, her eyes calm and loving, not a hair out of place...except for one. Her eyes were warm, although they looked like glass, and her skin was pale like the girl, who at the moment, was sitting comfortably, cellular to her ear.
"It won't be an easy job. The contest winner's name is confidential until the ceremony tonight." She darted her eyes away from the silver framed photo, and added in monotone, "Are you invited?"
There was some commotion on the other end, and then a low chuckle. "Idiots..."
"Could you stay on task?" Kikyo jumped up from her seat and strode over to the nightstand. With one swift movement the photo was turned over, the woman's eyes now staring at the polished oak table. "This isn't child's play."
"Have you seen that movie?"
"I'm hanging up." Expertly covering the annoyance and disappointment in her voice, Kikyo snapped her phone shut, hanging up on him automatically. "If you want a job done right, do it yourself..." She threw off her white pajamas and changed into street-chic clothing.
Without signaling her personal bodyguards to follow, Kikyo glided down the hall. The five men standing by her door lazily drifted off after her, silent as always.
The phone lying atop the other belongings in her purse rang with the Halloween theme song. She knew who it was, and against her better judgment answered.
"Are you going to be serious now?" At his affirmative answer, she continued. "Find out about Higurashi and the new girl. Don't leave a single piece of info unanalyzed. Once you find out who won, fly out to her family. It'll be easy to find Kagome."
"I don't get why I'm even doing this..."
"Information for information. You don't need to know my motives because they don't concern you." Kikyo crossed the street with the other hundreds of people until she stood right in front of the Arashi corporation. "Just do it."
"Why are you so into this, Kikyo?" Silence followed; he'd hung up. She snapped her phone shut, and pushed open the glass doors.
Why, she couldn't fathom, but she was intrigued by the girl who looked so much like her, yet lived such a different life. Although sheltered, Kagome Higurashi was one of the most famous girls in the world, and followed by everyone.
They looked alike, walked alike, were alike in age, lived in the same city, and were both heiresses to fortune's their father's would leave them.
Due to their similarities, people had always compared them, and both companies always tried to dim the other's spotlight. While she had been dubbed the Princess of Ice, Kagome had been named the Princess of Parties.
Frankly, Kikyo thought, two Princesses could never live in the same kingdom.
.-..-.
Killer's tongue shot out, disappearing before you could really register what had just happened. The large lump in his throat moved slowly as his muscles contracted around the week old rat. There was a whimper-like sound and then a shuffle of sheets and fabric.
Inuyasha looked over at the girl beside him and then back at the paper in his hand. "You can stop staring at him now."
"Give me a break, will ya? I don't like snakes, just like you don't like the lobsters that attacked you." Kagome picked at a loose thread in his rumpled comforter. She quickly released it when it began to unravel.
"Keh. I got over it." Ignoring her indignant look, Inuyasha went back to his homework. "If you don't like him so much, why are you here?"
"Kohaku's gone to Rin's to practice before the game and Sesshoumaru's nowhere to be found. You're the only one left."
He gave her a dry look, "Don't you make a guy feel special..."
"I shouldn't need to, look at you!" Kagome pointed at his hair for emphasis. "How'd you do that, anyway? It's almost silver..." She reached for it, but he jerked away. The look on his face was a mix of confusion and anger.
"Are you trying to tell me something?" Inuyasha growled, voice low. "'Cuz I ain't in the mood."
Kagome huffed, "Don't you know a compliment when you hear one?! Geeze...the way you act it's like you can't tell them apart..."
Up until then, barely anyone gave him compliments about his more...unique features; the perfect example being his hair.
Like his father, father's father, and so on, he was born with hair so blonde it was rarely classified as such. It was a silvery white, something Kohaku had oddly not received. The Dawson genes were weird, to put it lightly. Along with their golden eyes and extremely powerful strength. Ever since he was a child he'd been able to lift things sometimes two times his weight. Then again, as a child, that was a lot.
Of course he couldn't pick up a car, or, say, a boulder, but he could pick up a stove with only a little help, and most everyday tasks barely let him break a sweat.
Sesshoumaru shared these traits, although they were all a little more shocking than his own. He had a feeling that if Sesshoumaru had been made fun of as a child...the cruel child who had made the remark wasn't remarking anymore.
Kohaku was another story. He looked much more like their mother than he did; so did Sango.
A hand waved annoyingly in front of his face, and two curious blue eyes came into view. Stormy... Before he could figure out why such a weird word had come to his mind, Inuyasha was batting the hand away. "WHAT?"
"I said, you were made fun of as a kid, weren't you?" Kagome's look was one he had always hated. Ever since his parents had died...people gave him that look. This rich heiress wasn't going to be one of them.
"Me? Made fun of? Feh! If anyone had tried I would have beat them to the ground." Inuyasha slammed his textbook shut triumphantly, sliding it across the floor until it stopped under his desk. "Where's Miroku?"
.-..-.
The door opened. Standing in front of him was the most serious man he had ever met. Most people would think he'd changed once he got a job, but Miroku knew better. Sesshoumaru Dawson had always been this way.
"Hey Sesshoumaru. Is Inuyasha here?"
Sesshoumaru's golden eyes stared at him for a moment, then he looked behind him. "Sadly, yes." Leaving the door open for Miroku to let himself in, the head of the Dawson household disappeared into the kitchen and back to the in-use phone lying on the counter there.
Miroku couldn't shake the feeling that Sesshoumaru could tolerate him more so than his own brother. With a smug smile, he made his way up the stairs.
"WHAT?"
"I said, you were made fun of as a kid, weren't you?"
The lavender-eyed teen stopped beside Sango's room to listen. He had a feeling he knew what Inuyasha would say, but maybe...
"Me? Made fun of? Feh! If anyone had tried I would have beat them to the ground."
Miroku sighed. His best friend was a very proud fool.
"Where's Miroku?"
That was his cue. "Right here." With a smirk Miroku entered. Automatically his eyes focused on the girl sitting next to his best friend. The smirk changed to one of awe. "You must be Kagome Higurashi...I never thought I'd be standing this close to royalty...I'm Miroku."
"She ain't royalty, Miroku." Inuyasha reminded dryly. "She's just a celebrity."
"Close enough."
Kagome blushed despite herself and smiled, "It's nice to meet you." Without thinking of how it might look, Kagome stayed seated when she shook his hand. "Inuyasha told me about you."
Miroku eyed Inuyasha for a moment, and then nodded, letting go of her hand. "I can see that...otherwise, you wouldn't be guarding your...assets like that." With a light laugh, Miroku crossed his arms. "Thanks, 'Yash...I appreciate it."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "You know you don't."
"Anyway." Miroku smiled, "Has Inuyasha given you a tour of the city yet?"
Kagome shook her head in unison with Inuyasha's noncommittal "Nope."
Miroku coughed, "I see...well, despite what Inuyasha's told you, I'm not a lecher. I just highly appreciate the fairer sex, so if you don't mind me giving you a-"
"Really?" Kagome jumped up, ignoring Inuyasha's previous 'guidelines' and grabbed Miroku's arm excitedly. "You'd show me around?"
Inuyasha scoffed, shooting a mini basketball into a hoop above his door. What was she getting so excited about?
"Sure!" Miroku replied enthusiastically, "I'd be honored. We can take my car..."
"Oh no! You are not gonna be alone in your car with her!" Inuyasha dropped the ball, allowing it to bounce aimlessly around the room until it slowed to a stop. "I'm coming."
"Trust, Inuyasha. Trust is a beautiful thing, and something you should practice." Miroku gestured to Kagome, "I would never try something underhanded with your houseguest. Not only is it not my style, but I'd also be sued for much more than I have."
"I don't care what you say, I'm still coming." Inuyasha stomped over to his door and waited. "Come on, we don't have all day."
Kagome smiled knowingly, trailing after him down the hall, followed closely behind by Miroku. Surprisingly he didn't try a thing.
.-..-.
"Is that how it is all the time?" Sango followed Midoriko through the main lobby, carrying countless bags from the hippest clothing stores in all of New York.
"Not always, sometimes they give Kagome a break. For the most part, however, she is always in the spotlight and the press always wants to know more." Midoriko stopped for a moment, setting down a few of her bags to reach into her pocket. She slid the card key into the slot and the elevator dinged. "This is kind of like her safe haven away from it all."
"Ms. Spears."
Midoriko froze, moving back out of the elevator with her bags. She turned, confused, towards the owner of the voice. For only a split second, she thought it was Kagome. But, the formal remoteness in her eyes gave her away instantly. "Miss Grave?"
Sango stared with a new intensity. She was staring face to face with Kikyo.
Kikyo elegantly tossed her hair over her shoulder, making it much less pretentious than most would have. "About the invitation to tonight's welcome celebration you're hosting...I'm accepting the invitation."
The press coordinator frowned, "We received a call from your father's secretary stating that he was declining both of your invites. What changed his mind?"
"My father hasn't changed his mind. I'm coming despite it." Kikyo's gaze shifted over to Sango, who was still staring at her openly. "It's rude to stare." She didn't give Sango time to retort; she was already gone.
"I pity that girl..." Midoriko sighed and entered the held elevator. "There was a time she was different."
"Hold the door!" A raven-haired girl, up to her neck with paperwork, dived for the elevator's closing doors.
Sango jumped, stabbing at the hold button just when the nervous girl slid inside. "Do you need some help?"
"Thank you! I'm just...this is the first big thing Mr. Webb is letting me do and I can't let him down! If I do, then I won't move up and Eri will make fun of me and...it's the biggest publicity day of the year for Arashi!"
Midoriko blinked. As did Sango.
"Um..." Nervous Girl smiled sheepishly and shifted the papers in her cradling arms. "Sorry for my outburst...it's just been a busy day." With a self-conscious laugh, she shuffled over beside Sango and avoided all eye contact.
Midoriko smiled politely, knowing exactly who the boisterous, yet very panicky, young woman was. "Hello Ayumi."
Ayumi jumped, apparently still on edge, "Hello Ms. Spears." When the press coordinator opened her mouth to object, Ayumi smiled, a little calmer. "Midoriko."
"Ayumi, this is Sango."
"Oh! Oh! I'm so sorry I didn't say hello sooner! It's an honor having you here! I've heard great things about you from Eri."
It took her a moment, but Sango could never really forget bouncy Eri. She chatted with her all throughout breakfast. It seemed wherever Eri had been heading in the morning hours wasn't important, seeing how until Midoriko took her away to go shopping, they had been inseparable.
The elevator dinged, and another two people shuffled into the elevator.
One was none other than, "Naraku!" Ayumi jumped for a second time, "How did you get here so fast?"
"Unlike you I know where I'm going and get there." Naraku's phone rang, and he was off to another planet. "Webb..."
Sango looked over at Ayumi sympathetically. Naraku was the biggest jerk she'd ever met, and was getting worse all the time...
"We have five hours before the party," Midoriko informed. "We'll have you ready by then, and hopefully Naraku will have put his human disguise back on by then." She watched him with an air of annoyance as he chattered away on his cellular. She could tell it was the poor new intern, Bridgette, who was the unlucky/lucky girl who was liable for the nights seating.
"You know you're trying to sit the head of the largest car company in the world next to the man who's son snuck around with his daughter last year, don't you?" There were frantic-toned noises coming from the other side of the phone. "You have time to change it."
Midoriko tapped on Naraku's head, blatantly irritating him. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye; his version of 'what do you want?'. "You heard me didn't you?"
Naraku had chosen to ignore her offensive comment. Instead of gracing her with a response, he went back to his conversation. "You can't sit them together...his wife left him for Mr. Hayes."
More frantic words.
"They're competitors, they broke up, and if you sit the Perry's next to Silvia, Mrs. Perry will find out that Mr. Perry is seeing Silvia." Naraku paused for a moment to listen to more of the intern's naïve seating arrangements.
Sango watched him in awe.
"It's odd." Midoriko leaned back on the mirrors with a thoughtful look on her face. "Kikyo said she was coming...despite her father's wishes."
Sango nodded, not really understanding it either. Why would she want to come to her biggest competition's cocktail party? The most obvious answer was the publicity...
A hush fell over the elevator.
Naraku eyed Midoriko for a moment, in shock, and quickly went back to making the intern think she was the scum of the earth. "I've got an interesting job for you..."
.-..-.
Miroku's car zoomed down the quiet road, "Can you feel the power of this thing? Just one change of the Catalytic Converter and look what happens! It's increased the horse power by three times."
He was so proud, Kagome didn't want to point out that in showing them the 'power', she would most definitely be running on a little old woman any moment now.
"Miroku-"
"SLOW DOWN!" Inuyasha jerked forward as much as his seatbelt would allow (because heaven knows he would never unbuckle with Miroku being the driver...) and bonked his friend on the head. "You're gonna kill us if you keep driving like this!"
Miroku looked hurt, "Oh come on, I was just showing how fast it could be...I'm not gonna drive like this the whole time!"
Kagome looked over at him, sympathetic until she noticed the twinkle in his eye.
"Besides-" Miroku's fist delivered a light punch to the top of his friends head, "You've never really cared when I drive fast before. Could it be that Inuyasha is worried for Kagome...?"
"If I wasn't afraid you'll slam into something, I'd unbuckle my seatbelt and show you how much I can hurt you..." Inuyasha growled indignantly. "I've only known the girl two days and she's annoyed me the whole time!"
"Hey! You haven't been the nicest person to live with either! You're always ranting about something, and yelling at me no matter what I do."
"So? It's my house, not yours."
Miroku ignored the arguing going on and resumed his 'tour'. "This is the library..."
"It's not like you're going home, either. So live with it!"
"I could so go home!"
"Oh no you won't! Sango is too into this contest for you to come traipsing back in to kick her out."
"This is the elementary school...cute kids."
"I would never do that!"
Inuyasha scoffed, crossing his arms like a stubborn child. "I knew you wouldn't."
"Oh, because you know so much about me."
"That's right!"
"And here's the bus stop..."