Wish I Were You
Sakura's Note: And here is the latest update of Wish I Were You! It's a bit shorter than I anticipated because if I go on any further the next chapter won't flow as well…but, I think everyone will be pretty happy with it anyway.
Next update will be either next Thursday or Friday.
Thank you for all the wonderful reviews, I love to read them.
Also, this chapter is dedicated to Red RoseDragon, who stayed up until 3:42 in the morning to read all of Wish I Were You. Arigatou!
To all of my wonderful readers and reviewers, enjoy and R&R!
.-..-.
Chapter 15: Combination 50
.-..-.
Jumping the dividing fence between the two houses, Miroku casually stuffed a potato in the tailpipe of a lingering reporter's car. Then, as though he had never come near the automobile, he headed up through the dew-covered lawn to Inuyasha's doorstep.
For thirteen years now, October 7th had been the one day of the year where Inuyasha needed people the most. He never said it, but Miroku knew, and he was happy to comply.
Miroku rose his hand to knock just as Inuyasha's voice filtered out from inside.
"No! No! Left! Left!"
Odd…
Knocking and waiting for a response, Miroku continued to listen.
"You suck at being a vampire."
"Shut up!"
Very odd…
The door opened, revealing Sesshoumaru with a solemn look on his face. "You're early."
Miroku blinked. "Early for what?"
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow and left towards the living room. The door, as always, was Miroku's invite into the Dawson house. That would probably never change.
On the couch Kagome jostled Inuyasha with her elbow, frantically stabbing at buttons on her controller – much to Inuyasha's dismay.
"Down-x-square! Down-x-square! L1-Left-Square!"
"Gaah! Stop yelling at me!" Attempting the attack again, Kagome shot Inuyasha a glare. "It's hard being Bloodrayne!"
"It's hard watching you bomb!" Inuyasha corrected, taking the controller from her. "Let the Master show you how it's done."
Miroku stared at the two on the sofa in shock.
It couldn't be…Inuyasha couldn't have forgotten…
Yet there he sat, elbow-to-elbow with the girl it seemed would never make it to his good side. And they weren't arguing…well, not really.
"Oh yeah, because you are so much better at being a half-naked Vampire woman than I am."
Inuyasha growled at her, initiating his demonstration by sucking the blood of a German soldier. "What are you hinting at?"
"Think about it." Kagome said casually, looking up to see the newcomer. "Miroku! Hey!"
The grin on his face wouldn't come off. Miroku gave a quick salute, "Hello Kagome."
Inuyasha looked up out of the corner of his eye. "Miroku, why didn't you say anything?"
"I was enjoying the show," Miroku plopped down on the couch beside Kagome and watched Inuyasha; the Master of Videogames, defeat the flock of opponents on screen. "It looks like the two of you are getting along…"
Sesshoumaru regarded the three gamers briefly before heading down the hall with a cup of coffee. "If you wreck the living room I will personally kill you."
"Uh huh." Inuyasha called distractedly.
"By the way, we'll be going at six." Sesshoumaru informed coolly.
Inuyasha froze up for a moment, letting one of the enemy in to shoot Bloodrayne down.
Kagome blinked, "Going where, Inuyasha?"
"Huh? Oh…dunno." Inuyasha looked back at the screen, letting out an angry expletive at his situation. "Sesshoumaru's weird."
.-..-.
Rolling out of bed onto the floor, Sango looked up at her clock. Hair disheveled from tossing and turning all night, the temporary young heiress made her way to the bathroom.
Her view of the city, constantly changing because of the grand axis her part of the building sat on, now faced Miasma Corporation once again.
The week had been full of secret meetings with Kikyo.
Midoriko had kept quiet about the meeting with the Miasma heiress, making sure Naraku kept his mouth shut also. Eri and Ayumi were her closest friends in New York, and their (namely Eri's) dislike for Kikyo Graves made things complicated.
Yes, Sango knew that real friends didn't judge your other friends, but this was different.
With Kikyo as the daughter of Miasma's Corp.'s owner, Eri and the rest of Urashi had some rationale behind their convictions. Plus, Eri felt personally betrayed by Kikyo…
Yet, it seemed Kikyo had changed since then.
Eri didn't get that, though.
Which meant Sango now had her first official secret life.
And above all things, today was October 7th.
Thirteen years ago, she had become an orphan.
.-..-.
"I'm trying to tell you something! Listen to me!" Jacques ignored him. "¿Qué abre echo yo para ser maldecido para trabajar con este estupido y terco frances?"
Jacques glared, slamming his knife down onto the cutting board. "I know you're talking about me! Speak English!"
"I can speak it better than you!" Miguel sneered, stirring his sauce vehemently. "¡Cabeza dura!"
Midoriko sipped her coffee, slumping her shoulders. Pulling an all-nighter, followed up with two foreign cooks arguing in their native language was His cruel joke.
"Señora, tell this baguette that he should shut up now while he still can!"
Midoriko sighed. "Considering you both can speak fluent English, you can tell him yourself."
Jacques smiled appreciatively at Midoriko. "You, my darling, are a gleaming diamond in a sea of jagged rocks-"
"START COOKING!"
Both men jumped, scurrying back to their pots and kettles and bowls to fix breakfast.
Groaning, Midoriko swigged her coffee in an attempt of drowning herself.
That, of course, was the moment Naraku chose to enter.
Ayumi, still pulling on her blazer, hurried in behind him, grabbing up the coffee pot and preparing Naraku's morning fix before he could sit down.
Naraku leaned against the countertop, watching emotionlessly as Miguel and Jacques continued to argue back and forth, chopping and stirring furiously all the while. "Midoriko, what are you doing?"
Midoriko shot him a deadly look, her face still half hidden by her coffee mug.
"Her coffee has not kicked in yet." Ayumi observed quietly, "Midoriko, are you going to be okay?"
"Yes, Ayumi. Thank you." Midoriko was already straightening herself up, taking the final few sips of coffee although her exhaustion still clearly showed on her face.
Naraku took the coffee handed to him, "There are matters that we need to discuss."
Midoriko raised an eyebrow but nodded, getting up to place her mug in the large sink by the two quarreling culinary geniuses.
"This does not require your attendance." Shooting Ayumi a repelling look, Naraku left the kitchen, leaving Ayumi to her own devices.
After grabbing a fresh bagel, Ayumi stuffed her headset into her pocket.
Time to visit Sango.
.-..-.
After a brief searching period, Naraku was able to find an empty conference room. There, he closed the door behind Midoriko and picked the best seat in the room as his own.
"What do we need to talk about?" Midoriko checked her watch, then, she too found a seat.
Naraku's eyes narrowed and he leaned in, "What do you think?"
"With this place in upheaval trying to protect Kagome's whereabouts despite all the leaking information coming out of that city, the possibilities are endless."
"Kikyo Graves." Naraku hissed through gritted teeth.
Eyes widening in realization, Midoriko prepared herself for the worst. "Ah."
Naraku did not look too happy at her less-than-filling response. "Neither of us is able to keep this kind of information from Higurashi. He's already been informed about Kikyo's visit. And he wants to know what's going on."
"His concerns will blow over. It was only one visit."
"You know just as well as I do that the visit was not all." Naraku growled, "Sango has been keeping in touch with Kikyo all week long. We haven't said anything because of the potential bad press. Something's going on at Miasma. We stole the spotlight with this contest and they need it back."
"Kikyo doesn't do her father's bidding. She has no loyalties to him at all; she does what she wants." Midoriko remembered everything from twelve years ago. "The publicity she gives Miasma isn't even intentional. As Press Coordinator I can tell you that if it is true, and Kikyo is using Sango to infiltrate Urashi, it will be easy to turn the press on them. We have no other reasons to have bad press…do we Naraku?"
Naraku looked up at her warily.
"Then again…" Midoriko's anger began to surface. "You always do have your secrets."
"What are you-"
"I READ the contract, Naraku! Page twelve, section seven, line 31!" Twelve, seven, and thirty-one. They added to fifty; the number they added up to whenever Naraku tried to hide something in a contract. She had known exactly where to look. "Kagome is the only girl in the house!"
"When did you have a chance to read it?"
"You didn't think I would sit there and let Sango sign a thirty page document without looking it over first?" Midoriko ran a hand through her hair nervously. "Why didn't you find this out before?"
"Background checks missed it." Naraku admitted honestly. "Higurashi was looking for homes that would discourage his daughter from wanting that kind of life. Things that scared her, made her skeptical, made her disgusted…though nothing dangerous. The idea of a parentless home somehow didn't make it in with the criteria."
Midoriko narrowed her eyes. "What?"
Of course, the first time Naraku ever told Midoriko something he shouldn't have was the most important time in Urashi's history.
If Higurashi found out, he would be dead.
On the other hand, if he left things unexplained now, problems would worsen.
"His daughter has never wanted to carry on the business. She doesn't want much to do with this kind of lifestyle. She's more interested in the illusive 'normal' life." Naraku watched Midoriko for signs of possible danger. "So, he used this contest to give her a taste of what she wanted-"
"Only as tainted as he could make it to discourage her from accomplishing her true dreams." Midoriko said sadly, weakly getting up out of her chair. "This is sick…I want nothing to do with it."
"As the Press Coordinator of Urashi you are already too 'in it' to get out." Naraku found slight pleasure in her situation. "Now that you've voiced your knowledge…you have no choice but to fix it before the Press finds it. Unless you want to be fired, blacklisted…there are a lot of possibilities."
Midoriko's eyes hardened. "For Kagome's sake I will settle your problem. Your attempt at blackmailing me failed."
.-..-.
"Sesshoumaru, I need ten dollars." Kohaku held up a permission slip for the field trip to prove it.
"Oh yeah, me too!" Inuyasha added from the kitchen with Miroku.
Sesshoumaru didn't bother looking over at his kitchen-dwelling brother, instead opting to give his full attention to Kohaku. "Where are you going?"
"The people who qualify are going to a special exhibit at the Natural History and American History museums."
Sesshoumaru signed one of his checks; decorated with four fluffy, white wolf pups, and handed it over to his youngest brother.
"Thanks, bro!" Kohaku turned on his heel back towards the stairs – he was on the phone with Rin.
"The permission slip requires my signature, right?" Sesshoumaru sighed as Kohaku backpedaled into the living room with a dopey grin on his face.
As Kohaku ran past Inuyasha, his older brother frowned. "Hey, Sesshoumaru! Forgetting someone?"
Sesshoumaru looked up from his laptop with a furrowed brow, "Kagome, will you be needing funds?"
Inuyasha slipped on the newly mopped kitchen floor and almost fell to the floor. Miroku snickering behind him, Inuyasha growled.
Kagome looked up from the videogame Inuyasha left her playing and smiled, "No, thank you, Sesshoumaru. I've got enough to pay for it."
"Sesshoumaru! Give me the money!"
"You have a job, pay for it yourself." Sesshoumaru reprimanded, "Money does not grow on trees."
When Sesshoumaru resorted to clichéd aphorisms, all hope was lost. Defeated, Inuyasha stomped back into the kitchen to the refrigerator.
"Inuyasha."
Inuyasha continued muttering under his breath, surfing through the refrigerator's contents for something unhealthy.
Miroku sighed, "Inuyasha…"
"I know what you're trying to ask, Miroku, and I don't want to hear it." Inuyasha settled for leftover pizza and tossed it onto a plate.
"Well, then I'm right. Today is the right day and you just don't seem bothered by it." Miroku gave a bittersweet smile. "I'm glad."
"What the hell do you mean I'm not bothered by it? Of course I'm bothered by it." Inuyasha growled, setting the Microwave to nuke his food for a minute and a half. "My parents died. I can't do much about it. …Especially with Kagome around."
.-..-.
"There are still no leads in the disappearance of media reporter Musou Tearsman. The police have refused to comment on the case." With the reporter now on the subject of Avian Flu, Sango, Eri, and Ayumi turned their attention away from the television.
"Wow…so Naraku really did kill him!" Eri deduced excitedly, "Who knew he had it in him?"
Reluctant to talk negatively about her boss, Ayumi whispered out her comment. "If Naraku did kill him…we know he's totally off the hook. Naraku isn't the kind of guy to leave evidence all over the place."
Suddenly Eri turned to Sango. "You haven't commented yet, Sango, what do you think?"
"Me?" Sango leaned back into her bed, "I don't know…Would Naraku really risk so much to kill one guy?" Musou Tearsman was definitely not on Sango's buddy list, but he didn't deserve to die as much as he deserved to cower in fear at the hands of a very large hunting rifle…
"True." Eri agreed, "It's hard to say with that guy. You'd think he wouldn't take orders from anyone, but he listens to Mr. Higurashi like nobody's business…except ours, definitely ours. But anyway, he's unpredictable!"
Suddenly, Naraku's voice came from Ayumi's pocket.
All three girls jumped, Sango managing to salvage Eri's fourth sushi roll.
"Ayumi. Where are you?"
Scrambling around to put on her headset, Ayumi clicked it on to 'send and receive' mode. "Yes, Naraku, sir, I'm here!"
"And where exactly is 'here'?" Naraku patronized.
"Oh! Oh! I'm with Sango!" Eri placed her hands on her hips. "And Eri." Ayumi added.
There was a pause from Naraku's end. "Get down here. The women are here for job interviews."
Jumping up immediately, Ayumi waved a hurried goodbye to her friends before replying to Naraku on her way into the elevator.
"That girl follows his orders like her life depends on it." Eri ranted, "…well in a way I guess it does." Sighing, Eri brushed the rice off her pants and stood up. "I should be going too, I guess. Mr. Higurashi asked me to take over his personal training while his trainer is in Belize."
Sango nodded solemnly. Alone again…of all the days…
"Hey, I'll be back!" Eri grinned devilishly, "You can't get rid of me. Just let me get Mr. Higurashi as in shape as his daughter and I shall return!" The elevator door dinged, and Eri was gone.
.-..-.
Ayumi scurried into the room just as the doors were opened to allow a flood of hopeful women into the room.
Naraku raised his hand to gather the women's attention. "I assume you've all had the time to fill out your applications. Hand in your forms and we'll call you back one by one-" He answered his ringing phone with a fed up sigh, "Webb. No...that is not what he said. ...Hold on." He cupped the mouthpiece and beckoned over Ayumi. "Take care of these. I'll be back."
The intern looked around nervously, "But – you're already gone." Slumping her shoulders, Ayumi raised her voice enough to call over the random conversations throughout the room. "Alright, we'll start out with Loraine Sanderson."
.-..-.
Ayumi smiled and straightened her papers. "So, you went to Julliard."
The young woman nodded, "Yes. I was in a musical a few years back."
Shaking her head, Ayumi smiled, "I'm sorry, Miss, but I think you're overly qualified for this position…"
"Oh no! Since then I broke my foot. And, well, it hasn't allowed me to dance very much since then. I never was much of a singer, either."
"We'll call you." At Urashi, that was a hopeful sign. The young woman knew it.
"Please send in Raya Martin," Ayumi asked the guard. He smiled at her, escorting Loraine out to allow the new interviewee in.
That's when Naraku entered, muttering angrily at his phone. "I'll take over now. Go out there and make sure they all have their forms and give them an order." Naraku made himself comfortable yet intimidating at the desk. He leaned back on the edge of the desk, glancing over at the next name on the list.
All he could think about was Midoriko…the cursed woman complicated things.
When had she caught on to any of it? Surely she didn't sit there reading the entire contract. It was lengthy on purpose…
The entire duration of the remaining interviews, Naraku could not shake the feeling that things were getting deep.
And he was the one sinking.
.-..-.
Something heavy plunged to the pit of Kagome's stomach. Maybe she swallowed the lump in her throat, but wait, that was still there.
Miroku glanced over at her through his eyelashes, holding in a depressed sigh. "I'm sorry that you have to find out through me…but Inuyasha isn't one to share that stuff, neither is Sesshoumaru. Needless to say Kohaku is still trying to cope with the fact he never really knew them."
"I feel like I'm intruding." Kagome admitted timidly. "This is too emotional of a time for them. I shouldn't be here."
"It might seem that way." Miroku divulged, "But that's not the case."
Kagome looked up from the fence, "What do you mean?"
Inuyasha will kill me for this…Oh well. "This is the first time in thirteen years that he didn't open the door looking like he has nothing to live for." Miroku gauged Kagome's reaction; a surprised, dumbfounded face. This was a good sign… "It's been the same look every year, except for this one. And, the only thing that's different is that you're here."
"Come on Miroku," Kagome laughed nervously, "I'm not the reason! Inuyasha is just now starting to sorta tolerate me. I can't be the reason!" Could I?
"Well." Miroku jumped the fence, landing expertly on his leaf-covered lawn. "You'll realize it one of these days, I guess… For now, though, you should get ready to head out – they leave in an hour." Giving Kagome a reassuring look, Miroku disappeared into his house.
Standing alone in the middle of the Dawson's front lawn, leaves blowing around her with the cool breeze, Kagome tortured herself trying to figure it all out.
.-..-.
4:15.
In forty-five minutes, Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Kohaku, and probably Kagome, would be heading out to their parent's graves.
Finally, there was a true downside to this contest.
Rushed around all week to television interviews was perfectly fine, and actually invigorating. Shopping with Midoriko twice in the past week (and being mobbed by Sango-fans) was exciting even though she now owned more clothes than she would ever wear.
Hence, the reason her brothers would soon have over thirty new shirts and twenty pairs of shoes and pants.
Yet, now that she looked at it…there were a few things she would miss. Homecoming, Halloween, Thanksgiving…would she be back for Christmas?
Perhaps not…since that was not a full three months if she were to go home for it.
The phone rang from somewhere in her bed.
"Hello?"
"Sango!"
"Miroku?" Sango's smile seeped into her voice. "Hey!"
"Sango, are you okay?"
"Of course I'm okay! What? I can't be happy to hear your voice?"
"I mean…about today."
The heat rising on Sango's cheeks burned. "Oh! …I guess so…"
"You're a bad liar."
Sango sighed. "That's not true."
"You can lie to everyone except me." Miroku laughed. "You've been lying to me too long for me not to realize when you're doing it."
"H-how're my brothers?"
"They seem fine. Inuyasha's coming along…I think Kagome's starting to grow on him."
"That's great!" Sango beamed, "Maybe she can change him…I know I can't."
"The right girl can settle a lot of things for a conflicted guy…"Her stomach was twisting. "So, homecoming's coming up, right?"
"Yeah, you won't believe the theme; fairy tales."
"Fairy tales?"
"Fairy tales. And, they've extended it until midnight like in Cinderella."
Every year, including the year before Sango went to high school with Miroku and her brother, Miroku had asked her to the dance.
Now, more than ever, she wanted to hear him ask her again.
"Inuyasha's been turning down offers all over the place." Miroku continued amusedly. "And it seems now that Kagome will be going with Kouga."
Surprises were everywhere nowadays…
"So…um, who are you going with?" It was worth asking…
.-..-.
Leaning back onto the wall, Miroku stared out the window to Inuyasha's house. "Being the handsome devil I am, I've received a lot of offers…but I've turned them all down."
"You're an idiot. You chase girls around all year but when the time comes to ask one to the dance you don't!"
"For such angry words you don't sound too angry…" Miroku grinned; her reaction sounded almost jealous. It egged him on. "I'm waiting to ask the right girl."
"The right girl?" Sango scoffed. "Miroku-"
"So how about it? Do you think they'll let you come down here for a night?"
She sounded like she'd fallen off something. "Huh?"
"I'm asking you if you want to go to Homecoming with me, Sango Dawson." He repeated goofily. "You can't deny me…I'm the best catch in the school…Dashing…clever…intelligent…"
"Modest, too." Sango admitted, "You sound like you're trying to sell something!"
"I am!"
"…Well…"
Miroku waited with baited breath. She was actually considering it!
"I'm sure Midoriko won't find a problem with it." The thought of going back…just long enough to get rid of the homesickness she still felt, was a wonderful one.
Miroku fell back onto his bed, his head hanging off the side. He felt giddy.
Sango and Miroku calmly hung up a few moments later, both feeling butterflies in their stomachs and loving every minute of it.