Author's Note: This is a re-posting of Silhouette. I have a renewed interest in this story and I'm going to try again. Woot.
Disclaimer: Any characters within this story are the creative property of Rumiko Takahashi. The only thing I stake claim to is the plot; the lyrics, on the other hand, are © Jonathan Larson, from the Broadway musical, Rent.
Summary: He was security looking for redemption. She was beauty looking for acceptance. Together they embraced each other and began a reckless dance within the flames – and, amidst the dying embers, they found exactly what they were searching for: each other.
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Chapter One
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes,
How do you measure, measure a year?
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She shielded her blue–gray eyes against the sun as she stared up at the building. It was a bright day and the rays reflected off of the cracked plastic sign advertising the club: The Demon Den.
She lowered her gaze to check that the address on the advertisement was correct. The ad, referring to an exclusive nightclub in need of attractive female dancers, gave the exact address that she had offered to the taxi driver.
She shrugged and, folding the paper before placing it in her pocket, tried to open the door. It was locked. She dropped her hand from the door handle and lifted it up to knock twice on the door. No one answered.
With a sigh, she took a step back and surveyed the small establishment. The windows were tinted so that she couldn't see inside and there was only one entrance. However, on the side of the right window, there was a sign:
The Demon Den, an exclusive human revue for youkai only. Open every night from sundown to sun-up for all your entertainment needs.
She read the sign a second time to reassure herself of its claim. No wonder she had never heard of the establishment before, no wonder the taxi driver has wished her luck when she exited the car. She had followed an advertisement for a club that served only youkai customers.
She pulled the ends of her long black hair in annoyance. All she had wanted to do was try to find a job – she was even willing to forsake her education and accept unemployment that was beneath her. But, instead, she was sitting outside of a place that, besides serving the seedy youkai crowds, was not even open yet.
She let go off her hair and blew her bangs off of her forehead. Then, removing the sheet from her pocket, she began to search for another place to request work. However, as she began to walk away from the Demon Den, a burst of wind surrounded her and blew the ends of her short black skirt up.
She quickly placed her hands to her sides in order to cover herself up.
"What did you do that for? I was enjoying the view there."
She whirled around to face the owner of the voice. Standing just outside the now open door to the Demon Den were two demons; the red eyes of the female and the brown tail of the male told her as much.
The female closed her fan before tucking it inside her jacket, a smile playing out on her lips. The male, on the other hand, the one who had called out his objections, approached her. Once he had taken a few steps closer to her, he took a deep breath before turning to face his companion. "It's her, Kagura. And she's definitely human," he informed.
Kagura nodded before gesturing to the door. "Help our guest inside, Kouga," she said before entering. Kouga nodded, though her back was turned, before turning to the girl. "Come inside, human," he said before offering his arm to her.
She refused his arm, and remained where she was. "My name is Kagome," she replied curtly, narrowing her eyes at the demon.
"Kagome," he repeated to himself, running his tongue across his fangs. "Are you here for a job, Kagome?" he asked when she began to walk away.
Kagome paused, thinking of the limited possibilities on the advertisement she held in her hand. She was aware that this was the best offer she could find on such limited experience and skills; fresh out of high school with no previous work experience, she would be lucky if the Demon Den would hire her. "Yes," she answered finally.
"Good, because we're hiring," Kouga replied, offering his arm to her a second time.
She hesitated, her arms remaining at her side. She cast a glance at the fur covering his muscular arms and quirked her eyebrow. Her eyes traveled downward until they found his tail again, twitching ever so slightly to fall into her line of vision.
He caught the looks she gave him and shrugged. "What, never seen a wolf demon before?"
Kagome, embarrassed that she had been caught staring, blushed. "Actually, I've never seen any real demons before. I mean, I know they exist but…" her voice trailed when Kouga picked up his wolf tail and placed the brush of it into her hand. Surprised at his forward action, she held onto the tail and ran her fingers through the softness of the fur.
Kouga grinned. "You poor, little hum—Kagome. At least I understand why Kagura assigns a youkai to each of the dancers. If they are all as innocent as you are, it's no wonder that she doesn't think that they can take of themselves."
Kagome dropped the tail immediately and crossed her arms over her off-white blouse. "I can take care of myself just fine," she muttered before turning on him and stalking away.
Kouga swallowed his laugh as he bounded forward and caught her elbow, gently so that one of his claws wouldn't pierce her creamy flesh. "I'm sorry, Kagome. Come on, let's go inside. Kagura is waiting."
Kagome paused, before shaking her arm out of his loose hold. He let her go, but chuckled to himself quietly as he watched the girl storm off again – this time toward the open door to the Den.
She paused right outside of the door, the darkness inside warning her of what she could find inside of such a club. When she felt the presence of Kouga right behind her, she huffed and walked inside before heading towards the only open door right inside the building.
Kagura looked up from her desk and gave Kagome a quick once-over as she entered. "You'll start tonight."
Kagome stopped just inside the office and looked at Kagura. "Umm – what?"
Kouga walked in after her and, walking around her, perched himself on the edge of her desk. "This bitch is Kagura," Kouga said, jerking his thumb towards his employer, "and she's the wind sorceress who runs this place – it's up to her who works here."
"Yes. And this mongrel is Kouga, one of the goons who guards this place and our dancers," Kagura said with a sniffle as she pushed Kouga off of her desk.
"Nice to meet you both, but, umm, I haven't actually applied for the job yet," Kagome said, almost apologetically.
Kagura turned her red eyes down as she began to shuffle through a pile of paperwork. "You're a human, right?"
"Yes…"
"And you can dance?"
"I guess…"
"Then you have the job," she concluded, before pulling a single sheet out of her pile. "You're personal guard is an inu-hanyou called Inuyasha," she added before writing something on the paper and placing it into a nearby folder.
Kagome nodded, still confused about how easy it was for her to get the job, while Kouga whirled on Kagura. "Kagura, I thought we all agreed that I would get this one," he spat, a fitful snarl escaping from him.
While Kagome jumped back in unexpected surprise, Kagura ignored his outburst. "We will do what I say, Kouga. Besides, Ayame is your dancer."
Kouga opened his mouth to retort but paused when he saw the uncomfortable Kagome begin to edge out of the office. He leapt forward and rested one of his clawed hands gently on top of her arm. "I'm sorry, Kagome. Don't mind me," he smirked and rubbed her arm gently as she stopped backing out of the room. "Are you going to work with us here?" he asked, his voice much calmer and smoother than his previous outburst.
Kagome looked from Kagura, so engrossed in her work that she had barely given Kagome a second glance, to Kouga, who was working hard enough to keep his tongue from lolling out of his mouth. She thought of the stack of bills waiting for her back at her studio apartment, as well as the empty wallet in her pocket. She placed a plastic smile on her face. "I'd love to work here."
Kouga equaled her smile, using genuine emotions to power it. "Come, Kagome, let me show you around."
Kagome followed Kouga out of the office, her head spinning at the pace in which everything was happening, listening as the wolf demon chattered on about the inner workings of the Den. She opened her mouth a few times to interrupt but thought better of it – she let him talk without cutting in on his tour.
"That was Kagura's office back there. Next to that is the back entrance to the club, where the bar is set up for the customers. Just past that is the microphone booth where the pervert introduces all of you dancers. And here—" Kouga paused when a short red-head, with a purple iris tucked behind her left ear, exited from the room he had been gesturing to.
"Kouga," she purred, before sidling up to him and putting her arm on top of his, "how have you been?"
Kouga slipped out of her slight embrace before reaching for Kagome's hand. He pulled the hesitant girl forward. "Ayame, this is Kagome," he said, smiling towards the pair, though his eyes lingered on the raven-haired maiden, "She's going to be working here with us."
Ayame's lips formed into a pout as she raised an eyebrow at Kagome. "Aren't you just the gentleman, Kouga, showing her around?" Kagome tensed up at the tone of Ayame's voice – rather than sounding friendly, the faintest hint of jealousy crept into her voice.
Kouga nodded, oblivious to the tension Ayame's hostility, but aware of Kagome's discomfort. He placed an arm around her shoulders, though his contact caused her to tense even further. Kouga ignored her added tension, instead taking the advantage to hold onto the girl. "The mutt hasn't shown up for work yet," Kouga began, and both knew him to be referring to Inuyasha, "so I figured I would show Kagome around before the Den opens for the night."
Ayame nodded before leaning in to kiss Kouga's cheek. The wolf demon flinched and pulled Kagome closer to him as a buffer. Ayame chose to ignore Kouga's proximity to the new girl. "That's so sweet of you, Kouga," she said, batting her lashes at him, "I guess I'll see you when I go out onstage tonight."
Kouga nodded. He and Kagome watched as Ayame flounced down the back ways of the club. He held onto Kagome for a moment longer than necessary before letting her go. Kagome, once released from his tight grip, took a step away. "So, that's your dancer? She seems nice," she said amicably, a little rattled at his continual touches to her arm.
Kouga gave her a wolfish grin. "Don't you worry, Kagome, I'm not interested in her – I'm interested in you. And, I promise, I'm going to make you my dancer."
Kagome nodded, but once Kouga had began to lead her into the room that Ayame had just left, she let out a breath. She was beginning to have second thoughts about agreeing to work at the Demon Den.
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Coming up next: Inuyasha, still holding himself responsible for his girlfriend's death, refuses to connect with any woman – especially one that so resembles his former love. Kouga tries in earnest to attract Kagome's attention, while she gets accustomed to being a human entertainer for a demon audience. We will also meet the "pervert" host Kouga mentioned in passing, as well as the female bartender who befriends to naïve new dancer.