Sakura's Note: Thank you to everyone who has been waiting patiently for this update.
I know that everyone out there reading Wish I Were You gets aggravated when it takes me forever and a day to update, and I know how it feels as well. Remember, I read fanfics too, and when they lie dormant for so long, I get just as frustrated. But, you also need to remember that there may be things that have happened that cause the hiatus, too.
I've been sick, my mom has been sick, and my dad was so sick he is in another country right now having surgery. Forgive me, but working on this fic, although I love it to death, has not been my first priority. A few encouraging emails and reviews asking for me to please hurry are appreciated and shows me I haven't lost my readers…but not ones that threaten, are rude, or insult my lack of updating.
I've put the multiple emails I've gotten of that nature behind me, and I'm not holding any grudges, but rude emails have never exactly sped up the process. Aggravating the writer is not the way to go. So, please be patient with me until summer starts, and I assure you it'll be worth it. Until then, let me just say that now that 9th grade finals are around the corner, fics might go another two weeks without an update. But, after that I'm finally free.
I'm sorry about the long author's note, I'm done now, anyone still reading – please enjoy chapter ten.
.-..-.
Chapter 10: A Hangover You Don't Deserve.-..-.
Waking up to a silent room was unsettling, especially when the taste of bile still hung on her breath.
Jackhammers attacked her skull, attempting to break it open, and nausea made her lose it right there. Groping for the trashcan she remembered to be beside her bed, Sango let it out fiercely.
Something painful echoed through her confused mind. Crying out in pain, the hung over girl let out a cry. "Oh God…how did Sesshoumaru ever get over this that one homecoming of his…?"
The echo increased in volume, and a click sounded from somewhere to her right.
"Sango?"
Midoriko's voice was too loud…like something sharp pressing against her eardrum.
Upon seeing her charge lying across the bed with a tortured expression, Midoriko froze. "I know that smell anywhere." Ever since that night when she'd gone out with her colleagues for drinks only to drag Naraku's drunken behind up to his room. Her voice was icy, eyes passionate. "Who did it?"
With the press agent's head bobbing from side to side distracting her, Sango couldn't tell if she was supposed to answer. "You're talking to me, right, Midoriko?"
Midoriko nodded, letting Sango think about the question for a moment. "I am."
"My ginger ale…it tasted funny. But, I took a big gulp and started feeling tipsy…" Frowning, Sango looked up at her. "Someone spiked my drink." With the voice of a lawnmower, and the puffy eyes of someone who hadn't slept in a week, Sango gave off the perfect image of why not to accept an offer for a refill from total strangers.
Especially not from the man she had accepted from.
"Who gave you your drink, Sango?"
"I think his name was Musou. He seemed nice enough, so I forgot everything my brothers ever told me about accepting drinks from complete strangers- Midoriko?"
Her eyes, Sango swore, were red. She was the perfect image of an enraged mother hen. Eyes ablaze and mouth set in a firm line, Midoriko slowly pulled out her cell phone. It rang once before she cleared her throat. "Naraku. Bistro. Now!" Snapping it shut, she sat down beside Sango took a deep breath. "It's finally our turn."
Without an explanation for her cryptic mutter, Midoriko looked into space worriedly. "I'm so sorry…"
With that, Midoriko left Sango to handle her splitting headache and queasy stomach alone.
.-..-.
Drumming his fingers on the counter impatiently, Naraku watched one of his favorite waitresses disappear into the kitchens.
The Rose: one of New York's finest and most famous bistros.
Some of America's biggest stars made their way into the cozy establishment every day to sit, drink overpriced coffee, and look pretty for the press they tried to escape everyday. Tourists traveled over states to come have a mug of its famous java.
Naraku only had to traveled down the elevator.
Looking back down at his mug, he silently counted down. Midoriko would arrive in 5…4…3…2…
"We have a serious problem." Not bothering to motion him to follow, Midoriko continued on to a window seat.
Glaring at her from his stool Naraku got up to sit across from her. "What is so important that you got me down here this early in the morning?"
With as much composure as she could muster, Midoriko straightened out her napkin and looked out the window casually. "Do you have any idea where Sango is right now?"
Raising an eyebrow, Naraku began to grow concerned. "Her room."
"Where in her room?"
What was she getting at? "Her bed…?"
Nodding but still not looking at him, Midoriko clasped her hands together. "Why?"
"I've had enough of this." Naraku growled, "Tell me, or so help me-"
"She was drunk!"
Refusing to shrink back at Midoriko's cold hiss, he narrowed his eyes. "What?"
Finally looking over at him, Midoriko let go of the crinkled napkin in her hands. "Kikyo brought him as her guest, so we had no authority to kick him out. Sango had no idea who he was, and she'd been getting attention from the boys all night…Mr. Reporter spiked her drink."
Eyes ablaze, Naraku stood and straightened his tie.
Their first meeting in New York had resulted in a bloody brawl where Naraku had almost suffocated the young man for trying to publish Kagome's diary. He had not been about to lose his job because of some amateur reporter, and the obnoxious idiot had given him great stress relief.
Midoriko jumped up to follow him out of the bistro, "Where are you going?"
The silence in the hallway pressing on, Midoriko jumped at the coldness in his voice. "Higurashi is not to know of this. Not of what happened last night, and not what's about to happen."
"What do you mean, 'what is about to happen'?" Concerned, and still trailing him, Midoriko followed him out onto the streets.
A taxi screeched to a stop in front of Naraku and he calmly opened the door. "Kill him."
It was ludicrous. There was no way… Midoriko laughed nervously; he'd get out any moment and hustle up to his office to sort this whole thing out on paper…with a lot of cursing and under the table lawsuits involved.
But, as the intense yellow taxi continued down the road, her laughing faded until she stood there, jostled by crazy New York pedestrian traffic, mouth agape.
.-..-.
"Oooh, look who's late!" Howling cynically, one of Kouga's lackeys ignored their teacher's disapproving glare.
Inuyasha, oddly in a tolerating mood, only glared at the boy as he entered the class. The door swung open again behind him, but Kouga ignored it. Dog-boy was his prey…
Smirking lazily from his seat, Kouga leaned back to watch his favorite sparring partner.
Ayame leaned over to Ginta, "Can you believe it? Inuyasha's sister won! Kagome Higurashi is in this school right now! I wonder which class she's in."
Ginta shrugged, just as intrigued. Ayame wasn't the only one abuzz with the latest from the cafeteria that morning; half the class had been talking about it until the bell rang. Now that the winner's brother was in the room, yet another round of discussions was in the works.
Lost in the wonders of Ayame's shiny autumn red hair, Hakkaku missed her question entirely. It took him a moment to regain his thoughts enough to nod at whatever Ginta was saying and then his mind was off again, into the deep worlds in his spiky head.
The whispers from the other classmates only agitated Kouga, but his angelically innocent face stayed in place. Everything had clicked last night when his little sister had finally spilled the big news before the primetime special. Now he knew why she had looked so familiar on Saturday at the restaurant... Actually, he had felt a wave of stupidity at his slowness once Rin had sorted everything out.
Just then, Kouga realized just why everyone's whispers had quieted and his own thoughts bounced around his skull.
Eyes wide, their teacher cleared her throat and looked to the odd pair that had just a minute ago entered her class. "Um, I-I assume you have a pass." Why hadn't she been notified? Must have been one of the cruel main office jokes…
Inuyasha grunted, "Yeah. I had to help her get her schedule."
Angrily, Ayame looked from the famous face to Kouga. "You're gonna start catching flies if you don't close your mouth." Forcibly slamming the boy's mouth shut, she went back to watching the new girl out of the corner of her eye. A new threat…and a celebrity too… Sighing, Ayame ignored Kouga's dumbfounded expression and went back to her paper.
Girls other than her always had easily pleased Kouga… why would their school's new superstar student be any different. Ayame huffed. It was gonna be one of those days…
"Well, Ms. Higurashi, there aren't many free seats. But, since you already know Inuyasha here, I suppose a seat next to him would be best." Pointing over to where Inuyasha sat, Ms. Young gave a nervous smile. "Welcome to our class. It's a great treat to have you here."
"Thank you." Kagome smiled, flattered, and made her way through the rows until she reached her desk. At least she hadn't been required to introduce herself…it would have been quite redundant.
"Come back here after school and I'll assign you a textbook and your classmates can catch you up on anything you feel you need help with." Ms. Young clapped her hands together. "Well, this is certainly a surprise! But, we need to get back to work. You have ten minutes to complete the warm up." Ms. Young turned towards her new student, "Kagome, if you haven't learned this material, feel free to ask Inuyasha or Miss Monastral to help you."
Kagome received a nod from the emerald-eyed girl beside her. About to turn away, she spotted a familiar face out of the corner of her eye.
Kouga.
It was easy to tell he had his own following by the tough looking ruffians around him. He leaned back slightly, winking in a deliberate manner before going back to work.
Instantly the feeling of two pairs of eyes bore into her head. Amber and emerald glanced at one another for a moment before looking back at their victim. Added to the sneaked looks half the class was giving her, the atmosphere was anything but educational.
Pulling out a pencil, Kagome looked up at the overhead. Might as well dive right in…
And dive in she did. Quietly, and into the kitty pool. What else could she do? She received attention with even the slightest movements.
Forty minutes or so into class, when nature had called for a Kleenex, Kagome had received more attention in two minutes worth of blowing her nose beside the door and throwing away the soiled tissue than a boy would have if he'd set his finger on fire. (Which had been proven when one of Kouga's friends acted on said example.) Not to mention that the quiet boy in the back of the room had proceeded to walk over to the trash can, pretend he'd dropped his pencil in the wastebasket, and finally return to his seat with his disgusting used tissue wad treasure.
"Page five-fifty-eight for homework, ten through twenty-eight even." On cue the bell rang and the class swept up their things and merged with the hundreds of others walking through the halls.
"Oh, Inuyasha!" Kagome dodged around the excited, chattering classmates towards the retreating figure. "Wait a sec-"
"Didn't think I'd ever be standing face to face with someone as beautiful and famous as you before…" Two pools of cerulean blue entered her vision, the rest of his body a moment later.
With everyone moving around the two in an effort to avoid a collision, curious passersby soon surrounded Kagome as they made their way to class like, Kouga blocking their path like a boulder in a river.
"Kouga!" Kagome recovered from her jump and smiled. "How's Rin?"
He raised his eyebrow, ignoring the attention they were receiving. "She's fine. You're down to earth, too. Wow, you are a catch."
The green-eyed girl that sat beside her appeared at Kouga's side, eyebrow twitching, arms crossed.
"Excuse me?" Backing up with a frown, Kagome bumped into a strong chest. "Oh, sorry-Inuyasha!"
From her position, Inuyasha towered over her, all six feet two inches of him (one of the many factoids she'd learned from Kohaku).
Tension surged between the two guys, pressuring Kagome more than Inuyasha's penetrating stare ever could.
"Your class is next door to mine, are you coming or what?" It didn't seem to matter what it looked like to anyone else, Inuyasha wasn't putting on a 'happy host' act for anyone. Not even for Kouga.
The hallway, teachers included, was clearing out, despite the famous guest still standing there. Kagome wished she was one of them, but if she left… Inuyasha would be out numbered.
"Yeah, I'm coming."
Kouga moved aside for the two to go through, peacefully.
Smiling politely, Kagome gave a quick wave. "I'll see you around!"
As soon as they were far enough away, Inuyasha rounded on her.
"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into." It sounded like a plea.
Kagome looked right back at him, blinked, and finally replied. "You're staring me square in the eye…"
There he went slapping himself on the face again. It wasn't like he needed any more brain damage…
"Just don't mess with Kouga."
Inuyasha rattled off a few reasons why she shouldn't hang around the gang leader, and, for the most part, Kagome listened.
"Anyway, if you don't want to get lost – not to mention getting mobbed, then you'd better be right here when the bell rings. Otherwise, you can find your own way to our table." Shrugging his backpack higher up his shoulder, Inuyasha gave a quick little salute and gestured to her room one door away before disappearing with the rest of the crowd into his classroom.
She stood alone for about a minute before she was able to voice her question to the almost empty hall.
"You're inviting me to sit with you?"
.-..-.
After being thoroughly disturbed that the delicious Spanish drink she'd been sipping down for five minutes contained another raw egg of Eri's, Sango was silent. It was so good…but so…raw.
"She's pacing now." Eri sipped at her homemade banana batido, looking over at her hung over friend.
Poking at the shake with her straw, Sango looked up from the table. Midoriko was certainly entertaining to watch…
"How are you holding up? Hangover gone yet?" Turning back to look at Sango, Eri rested a hand on her shoulder.
Nodding, Sango took a sip of her milkshake. "Yeah, my head only hurts when I shake it back and forth really fast."
"Don't do it then." Eri stated wisely, jumping up. "I have the perfect solution to this post-hangover of yours. Something that fills everyone with joy."
Genuinely desperate for something to rid her of her final hours of intoxication, Sango looked up hopefully. "Really?"
"Yep!" Winking, Eri danced around the kitchen towards the huge sinks. "Shopping! You need your own ensemble anyway. Everyone's already seen Kagome's clothes." Cheerfully, Eri grabbed the girl by the arm and dragged her towards the elevators.
"Where are we going?" Jerked into the elevator by excited Ms. Eri, Sango held her head. "I thought we were going out-"
Pressing for one of the business floors, Eri grinned. "Well we can't leave out Ayumi, can we?"
"But Naraku-"
"Uh uh uh!" Waving a finger, Eri checked her watch. "Her lunch break starts in six minutes, and it takes five to get up there. Plus, Naraku isn't even here. If you ask me, it's because he's nowhere to be found that Midoriko is digging a path in the hallway." After a short pause, Eri added, "They're an odd two, Midoriko and Naraku. Complete opposites to the point where there is no line between hate and love. It's really messed up, but really entertaining."
Popping out of the elevator doors excitedly, Eri bounded down the hall towards Naraku's office. No one really stopped to acknowledge the two girls, too busy with their own big, important duties to question them as to where they were heading.
Stationed right beside the intimidating doorway of Naraku Webb's office was Ayumi. Looking as though she'd just gotten back from the employee lounge, the intern was typing away at her desk.
"Lunch break!"
"Gaah!" Ayumi jumped, throwing her pencil and almost hitting Sango. "Eri, what the heck!"
"Sango's still sick, so I'm taking her shopping. Coming?"
Thrilled but terrified at the idea, Ayumi waved her hands. "But if Naraku comes back-"
Eri's tone still cheerful; "Then he'll go torture another poor, unfortunate soul." Grabbing the girl by her wrist, the fitness trainer grabbed a sticky note. "He hates when people leave him memos on his door, so…" With all too much relish, Eri scribbled something down illegibly and slammed it on the businessman's door. "If only I could see the look on his face…"
"You have a little too much fun bothering my boss…I might get fired just by knowing you!"
"Oh, stop being a worrywart and get your credit card."
.-..-.
"Ooh! You've got to get this one, Sango!" Holding up the blue maternity shirt and jeans combo, Eri beamed. "Ruffled maternity shirts for non-pregnant woman are in this year."
Sango had to admit it had looked good on her in the dressing room. Looking down at the price tag, the clothing was almost instantly back on the clothing rack.
Ayumi looked over her pile of clothing she needed to try on and raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong Sango? That was one of the best ones!"
"Yeah, for eighty dollars."
Eri and Ayumi traded a look and giggled. "You're an heiress right now, hon. Eighty dollars really isn't that much."
That was when it dawned on her.
Eighty dollars wasn't that much. The clothes she'd seen only a handful of her classmates wearing were easily acquirable to her now. Why shouldn't she take advantage of it all?
"I think she's getting it…" Looking pleased, Eri headed towards the dressing rooms.
Ayumi smiled. "We'll be out soon."
Smiling, Sango waved them off. "Have fun."
Finding her way to one of the cute little chairs by the dressing rooms, Sango sat and closed her eyes, laying the pile of new clothes on the chair beside her.
Suddenly, to the right of her, she picked up a conversation.
"It's our agent. Sorry Kikyo, but we have to bail early."
"It's alright."
"Rain check?"
"Sure."
Straightening up in her seat, Sango peered around a rack of clothes on her right.
Close by, her fellow heiress and the Felony sisters were saying their goodbyes by the over-stylish jeans.
Impulsively, Sango gathered her things and she made her way towards where Kikyo was, hanging back just long enough for the band members to leave.
"Oh, Kikyo!"
Freezing, Sango stopped beside an underdressed mannequin.
Touran was waving Kikyo towards her, pointing at a punk jacket of some sort. "I think I found you something!"
Interested, the pale heiress glided across the store, even closer now than she'd been before. They were only a rack apart.
With a dead pan stare, "Touran, this is green."
"What? You look great in green."
"So does Higurashi. I don't feel like another 'who looks better in what' competition in People. I finally have a vacation away from her for a while. Just go along to meet your agent, I'll be fine."
"Alright." Touran made a clicking sound with her tongue, "You'd look good in it though…See ya!"
As soon as the musician and singer disappeared out of the store, Kikyo picked the ensemble up off the rack. It wasn't that green after all…
Entering between a rack full of plaid and a rack full of neon jackets and ponchos, Sango made her inept entrance. No one had intimidated her like Kikyo did…she didn't think someone so calm and as young as Kikyo could ever intimidate her. What made Kikyo Grave so different?
Kikyo regarded her the same way a run of the mill stick model regards a donut.
Curiously, but with just enough indifference that no one else notices.
"Thank you for helping me last night."
The only proof that Kikyo had understood was a lightening fast glance out of the corner of her eye.
What could she say? Her plan had backfired, and threatened a girl she didn't even know. She hadn't deserved that hangover, not in the slightest, she wasn't Kagome, she wasn't a threat at all. There was nothing she could say, but the girl had tons of things she was probably about to ask.
Sango caught Kikyo's reflection in a full length mirror. It was obvious Kikyo wasn't exactly comfortable with the conversation either. "You stayed a while, didn't you? I don't remember you leaving."
"Only long enough to make sure you had stopped vomiting everywhere."
An extreme exaggeration, yes, but it didn't make Sango any less embarrassed.
Turning to face Sango, Kikyo's eyes drooped in a bored expression. "I'm not exactly what you call a heroine, Dawson. I had two choices, neither all that thrilling. Either I could let you bumble around the bathroom like a drunken fool and be blamed for it or I could take you upstairs and risk getting caught by Urashi security."
"I'm not really surprised to hear that coming from you." Sango shrugged, "The fact that you chose to help me upstairs says enough about your conscience for me."
Getting an incredulous stare from her "savior", Sango realized she'd read Kikyo's actions perfectly. She couldn't be that bad…or she'd have left Sango in a bathroom stall, retching onto the floor. There would have been no evidence pointing Kikyo to her spiked drink…she could have just walked away.
"If you ever want to…hang out, feel free to come over. The people at Urashi are really nice, and I seriously doubt that they'll shoot you down if you come in to say hey." Giving Kikyo a quick and joking solute, Sango walked off towards the dressing rooms.
"And just what was that about?" Eri's arms were crossed, "What were you doing inviting Kikyo Grave into our building? I'm not trying to be prejudice against Miasma people or anything, but you're wasting your kindness on her-"
"Come on, Eri!" Ayumi broke in before anything more biting could come out of Eri's mouth within Kikyo's ear range.
Huffily, Eri headed off towards the register, calling "I'll be back" icily over her shoulder.
Sango looked between the two girls with a look of confusion. Before she could ask Ayumi was offering an explanation.
"She puts it upon herself to protect Kagome, like a best friend should." Ayumi began calmly, "and she's one of the few people who has tried getting the two to be friends. If there was peace between them, then the media wouldn't hit them so hard… Well, Eri went over to Miasma and tried talking to Kikyo. Not only did Kikyo's father scream at her, but Kikyo herself said some hurtful things. Deep down, I think she wanted to befriend Kikyo too, and when Kikyo said what she did, it hurt her."
"Wow…I didn't-"
Ayumi smiled, "Don't worry about it. Eri gets over things quick. By the time she gets back she'll be as bubbly as-"
Running onto the scene with designer bags full of clothes in hand, Eri squealed. "There's a sale at Dolce and Gabbana! Fifty percent off, let's go!"
Shaking her head, Ayumi followed. "And she's off."
Sango laughed, looking back in time to lock eyes with Kikyo.