Author's Note: I'm back everyone! I noticed that my chapters have been shorter than what I'm used to writing, but that's only 'cuz I'm trying to set everyone up for the story ahead. Trust me, the story will progress and get ready for some 'darkness' and even sex. The beginning was the easy breeezy part.

Just to let you know, I have an itch to write a fanfiction for Vampire Knight. I just finished watching it for the... second?... time on Netflix and I am hooked again. The last time I saw it, it left me feeling bereft, and I was a little irritated that I had gotten addicted to the anime to begin with when the ending seemed a little unfinished to me. At least for me, I wanted more. Now that I rewatched it, the desire is back to write my own story for Vampire Knight, on what happens after the anime (I'm not a manga person). So just to put a bug in your ear, if you're in to Vampire Knight, I will be working on that too.

Anyways, for my love... Inuyasha... enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha (I won't say it again ^_^)


The early morning hours were always a nice time to catch the train or walk the streets of Tokyo. But around this time, people were starting their day just as she was and she was finding the train ride a little hectic. 'Hmmm… maybe I should get there an hour early and just stretch so I can bypass all this.' Kagome sighed, looking out the window of the train as it bounced along, thinking about what her day would bring.

It has been one month already, one month of long days of learning all the songs and constantly practicing them. True to his word, Inuyasha had practiced with her every day after they had their morning workout with the gang. Kagome was shocked and envious at how dedicated they were to their fitness and to each other. They worked out every other day, or sometimes more, either at a gym nearby or in the academy since they all had access keys and it would be free. The gang obviously liked working out together and enjoyed spending time with each other. They weren't just coworkers, they were friends, good friends who ate together, worked out together and sometimes went out on the weekends together. Of course she had been invited many times over the past month, and she had to decline them all as she had to work on the weekends, but everyone still wanted to spend time with her which made her feel welcomed.

Kagome sighed, changing the song on her iPod before focusing on the passing buildings again. Her body ached in many places it hadn't before and it reminded her that she was getting fitter by the day. She still had her curves, curves that she was born with and that never went away no matter how many hours of dancing she put in at Midnite. But she loved her figure and never would want that to go away just because she's exercising a lot more now. Inuyasha had told her that things would start to settle down once the show was over. They were only practicing every day with her so that she could get all the routines and transitions, which she did. And everyone needed the practices anyways to make sure the show went off without a hitch. She looked forward to after the concert when things go back to whatever 'normal' the group knows and she can see how she can fit her life around this new job. 'Hmmm… I wonder what'll happen once the show is finish. It seems like we're only needed to work for the concert… I have to ask Sango.'

The train's speakers came on, announcing the next station, and began it to slow down. This was her stop. As the train came to a stop, Kagome got out into the arrival crowd of people and began to head down the stairs to the street level. She made her way towards the dance academy and thought about today. It was Monday and Inuyasha had told them that starting this week, Kikyo would be joining them in practice so they could practice with her. Of course, they would have to sit back and watch him teach her her moves. But once Kikyo got it, they had to join along to make sure that Kikyo and Inuyasha liked the way the dancers' moves blended with Kikyo's moves. They both had to compliment each other. Kagome was excited to see how this line of job works, how everything is put together behind the scenes in making a pop-star's concert.

She opened the doors into the academy and smiled as she walked past the front desk.

"Good morning, Ginger," she said with a wave, moving her keycard up to the door lock. The door dinged opened.

"Good morning, Kagome."

She made her way into their usual studio room and looked to see that almost the entire gang was here. She looked at everyone, noting that Inuyasha, Shippo, and four other dancers were still not here.

"Kagome!" She smiled at Sango and went to sit next to her on the ground, plopping her duffle bag down. "Did you bring all your clothes?"

"Yeah. I did what you told me to," she said with a smile. Even though she had to work last night, she at least had a good four hours of sleep. That would be enough for her to function through an entire day of practicing. Sango had told her that it would be better if Kagome brought extra clothes and her toiletries to the studio so that they could take a bath after practice and head out for lunch together. Since lunch became a regular thing for them, Kagome almost completed her mission to try everything off Yura Yura's menu. She had decided to start bringing her duffle bag, much to Sango's advisement, just so she could change out of her sweaty clothes in case anything happened. Sango had mentioned that it was that time for them to stick around after practice and go over the logistics of the concert, especially with Kikyo.

"Good. We usually do that if we know we're going to be at the academy the entire day. I'm sure Yura Yura's guests would appreciate it too," she said with a giggle.

Kagome followed suit and began to stretch out her legs. She looked around the room and noticed Miroku talking to some of the girls as he crouched beside them and laughed at something they said.

"Where's Inuyasha?"

Sango smiled as she followed Kagome's line of sight. "He's with Kikyo. He met up with her early this morning. They should be here soon." Sango turned to look at Kagome, her eyes dancing with mischief. "Do you like him?"

Kagome nearly choked, looking at her in disbelief. "W…what?!"

Sango laughed. "Oh come on, Kagome. It's obvious."

"What's obvious?" she sputtered, turning her head from Sango? "There's nothing between us, Sango."

"Oh, really?" she asked suspiciously, leaning forward on her knees to try and see Kagome's face. "Because I've known Inuyasha a long time. I've seen the way you guys dance together and the way you both look at each other in the mirrors. He seems very comfortable with you."

Kagome turned to look at her, intrigued. "W…What do you mean?"

Sango arched her eyebrow knowingly. "I mean… he seems to have taken a liking to you. But, he hasn't told Miroku anything about it. I've asked Miroku to talk to Inuyasha about it and he wasn't able to get anything out of him," she said with a pout. Kagome shook her head, irritated. 'Oh my goodness, this woman…'

"Sango… you really are an interesting person," she said, shaking her head in exasperation.

Sango laughed. "Well, I like to call it for what it is. You'll get to know me better."

"I think I know you enough." The two of them laughed, stretching out on the floor. Kagome laid back and began to stretch out her thighs and glutes, pulling her knees into her chest. The two of them made small talk about their weekend as more people began to show up. Finally, Inuyasha and Kikyo were the last to show.

Kagome sat up and noticed that Naraku was the last one in behind the pair. He wore something casual, just a black shirt with jeans pants, but he still looked like a businessman in them. She then looked towards Inuyasha and Kikyo as they looked at each other, clearly still talking about something. The chatter in the room began to dim down as they noticed the pair walk in and everyone looked to them, waiting for practice to start.

"Morning, everyone," Kikyo said, reaching up to pat Inuyasha on the chest fondly. "We were just talking about how well Kagome has done this past month in getting down all the routines and making it this far." Kikyo's eyes fell on her, making everyone else look at her with smiles of approval. Kagome smiled back, embarrassed. "I want to say congratulations to you, Kagome. And I hope Inuyasha and the others haven't worn you out yet."

She shook her head. "No, no. I'm still here." Kikyo nodded.

"Well," she said, taking in everyone as they sat scattered on the floor while she and Inuyasha stood in the center of the room in front of them. "From today on, I will be here with you guys. Inuyasha has choreographed my moves and we'll go through each song and see how much we can do today," she said, turning to him to see his nod of approval. "I at least want to get one song done today so that shouldn't be too hard. But at the end of practice, I also want to spend an hour or two looking at the venue pictures and starting to think about our placements and the lighting."

Everyone said their agreements and Kikyo called them to stand. Inuyasha moved to the front and Kagome moved her duffle bag to the side, fixing her clothes. Today she decided to wear a blue spaghetti strap with a white basketball pants that had a blue line going down the side of each leg. She went back to stand next to Shiori in the back.

She watched as Inuyasha stood in front of Miroku and Sango, then the two lines of everyone else behind the pair. Kikyo moved to the middle of the front mirrors where Naraku sat and leaned against the mirrors watching everyone. She had on a big dark green shirt that went past her butt and Kagome could only assume she had at least dancer's shorts or booty shorts underneath. She was sure to find out once Kikyo began to dance.

"Okay. Let's start with 'Who's Got You?' since that will be your opening number," Inuyasha said as he looked at Kikyo. She nodded her agreement. "And this one will be quite simple for you, Kikyo. I think it'll be more of the transitions for us than anything else for you."

Inuyasha nodded at Naraku and he pressed play on Inuyasha's iPod. The song began to play and everyone began to move, getting warmed up to dance. Kagome began to like all of Kikyo's songs now that she had to dance to them all and pretty much knew them by heart after all the times she listened to them over and over while she learned the moves. But she didn't mind them. She liked the way Kikyo sang and her lyrics. She nodded her head, waiting for the verse to start.

The gang began to dance on cue but Kagome noticed that Inuyasha didn't dance along with them. He was doing something totally different and she realized that he was doing Kikyo's part. She couldn't pay attention to him as he was too distracting for her, so she just focused on her own part and moved along with everyone else. When the song ended, Naraku paused it and Kikyo moved forward.

"That wasn't too bad," she agreed, going to stand next to Inuyasha. "I did like most of it, although some of it was a little boring."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Let's just try it and see how you like it once you do it yourself. You still have to sing the entire time. No lip-singing." Kikyo stuck her tongue out at him with a face. She stood a step behind him, off to his side but in front of Miroku and Sango, and watched his every move. Inuyasha began the count, just like how he did with Kagome when she first learned the songs, and everyone behind them watched. Kagome noticed how this practice, and she was assuming from here on out, was different from the others in that Kikyo was now learning, not herself, and now they would have to watch and wait on Kikyo to get the moves before they could all join in and dance. But the moves were much more simplified for Kikyo since she would have to sing and dance. Kagome smiled with a tilt of her head, liking the change now that it wasn't her having to learn it all and be in the spotlight. Kikyo was probably used to it, though.

"Now, step, step, step, push and down," Inuyasha said, his eyes focused on Kikyo in the mirror. He had his right hand up the entire time as if he was holding a microphone, his eyes glued to Kikyo's reflection. "Ready?" She nodded and the two of them moved to his count, their hands and feet going along with his count.

"Good." They moved back to their places and he did the next four count. "Rock, rock, sway your hips and whip your hair." Kagome watched as Inuyasha did it for Kikyo. She was amazed and loved how she was learning how choreographers worked with singers. It was something totally new to her because she's never had someone to teach her how to dance. She had learned everything on her own and just by watching the girls in the club. Before Onigumo put her out on the floor, she would be in his office for weeks watching the girls dance, learning moves from them and the way they mingled with the gentlemen. She learned by watching.

"Got it?" Kikyo nodded at Inuyasha and he counted down for the two of them. He nodded his head as she did the eight count, still a little unsure, but watching him the whole time.

"Okay. Now I want all of us to do the first eight count. Kikyo, you and I will do your part." She nodded. Inuyasha signaled to Naraku and the music began to play. This time everyone moved and Kagome watched as Kikyo and Inuyasha both did her part, the two of them holding up a pretend microphone and waving their free arm, ending with a flip of their hair. She had to refrain herself from laughing. It was strange to see a grown man flick his hair, but she understood that he was only teaching Kikyo her part. He turned to Kikyo to ask her how she felt about it.

"I like it. Once I get it down, I'll be able to do it better."

"Okay. Let's try it three more times." Naraku kept the beat playing, this time having the extended instrumental version of the song. Kagome liked how they had a track that had Kikyo singing and a track with just a long instrumental version, which was what they used most of the time when practicing.

"Good." The music kept playing as Inuyasha then looked at Kikyo again. "Next move. Step, step, kick, move, move, kick, pump, kick." Kikyo nodded her head to the beat as she watched him move along the floor. "Hands," he said, going back to his original spot. "Up, chest, wave out in front of you and snap, snap, hands, hands, hands." Kagome noticed it was the gang's same moves but now he had to adjust it for Kikyo's hand that was to be holding a microphone while she sang.

"Let's do it." They waited for Inuyasha's count and then began to move together. It was surreal to her to be dancing with everyone. It was much different from Midnite and it made her feel much more connected and alive, especially with all the bodies around her moving to the same beat. She had shared with Midoriko and Ayumi how she had become good friends with everyone in the group after being here for a month. After a month, she was finding out that she liked having friends. Sure, Ayumi and Midoriko were her friends, but for some reason, Kagome felt like they were different. Their friendship started at a dark point in her life and because of their lifestyle and work, their friendship just had a different twist to it. Whereas, the friends she made here with Kikyo's group, it was more in the light and more relaxing, like a breath of fresh air. She never had these kind of friends before. But she found that she was liking it.

"Okay. Good." Inuyasha waved them all back to their spots. "Let's do the two eight counts." Everyone agreed and waited for him. He counted them down and they started from the top. Kagome looked at herself in the mirror while occasionally watching Inuyasha and Kikyo move together. It was amazing to see the entire routine play out. They didn't move on until Kikyo got comfortable with the dance thus far and was making less mistakes.

"Okay, on to the chorus," Inuyasha said, nodding as he noticed Kikyo starting to memorize the first verse. They all began to watch him as he started up on the next set.

By the end of the second song, it was almost lunchtime and Kikyo waved her hands in the air.

"Let's go for lunch. I need a break," she said, placing her hands on her hips to catch her breath.

Inuyasha turned around, gazing at her for a moment, judging to see if she really meant it or was just faking it. "Fine. Let's break for lunch but be back here in an hour. So… 12:30," he said, looking down at his Fitbit.

Everyone nodded and moved off the floor towards their personal belongings on the sides. Kagome went towards hers, bringing her hair back away from her face to put into a ponytail. She was sweating enough that her bangs clung to her face. She sighed as she sat down, going to her knees in an easy stretch while getting things from her bag and checking her phone.

"Hey, Kagome. Lunch?"

She looked up to see Sango looking down at her with a smile. "Sure," she said, smiling back. "Now, or are we changing?"

Sango waved her off. "We can shower later. After practice we'll go over more logistic things with the venue so we can take a bath then. There's a locker room area but it's okay if you leave your stuff here. We all do it."

Kagome nodded, grabbed her phone and wallet, and stood up. Just then, Miroku walked over to the two of them and snuck a kiss on Sango's cheek.

"Ready for lunch?" he asked her, his eyes going to Kagome. "You coming, right, Kagome?"

She nodded. "Yup. Lead the way." Miroku nodded and the three of them began to walk towards the door.

"Come on, Inuyasha!" he called. "We're heading to Yura's." Inuyasha turned from his spot talking with Kikyo and he nodded, waving his hand at them.

"I'll meet you guys there."

Miroku nodded his understanding and held the door open for Kagome and Sango to head out. The two women talked about the practice and how things were going so far. Kagome had admitted her feelings of how much she enjoys being here, the dynamics of the group and the great vibe that she felt with everyone.

Sango laughed as they exited the academy with others from the group joining them. They all waited for the crosswalk signal to change. "Yeah, everyone is like family here. I'm glad that you feel comfortable with us now," she said, putting one hand on Kagome's shoulder. She looked expectantly at Kagome, but then smiled with a wink. "A month ago you wouldn't let us touch you. I remember how you reacted when Miroku tried to put his hand around you," she said with a laugh.

The light turned as Kagome smiled it off, the three of them heading across the street. "Yeah, sorry about that Miroku." He simply waved off her apology with a shake of his head. "I have a thing about men touching me like that. With you it's okay. But with men… it takes me a while to trust them before I let them touch me."

Sango frowned, letting Kagome go as she thought about her confession for a moment. They reached Yura Yura and Miroku opened the door for them. As they walked in, Kagome noticed that some of the gang were already here and they waved as the three of them entered. She waved back and went straight for an open booth, this one a little close to the others who were already seated in a booth. She sat down and watched as Sango and Miroku sat down opposite of her. She smiled and noticed that Sango had her thinking face on.

"Kagome… were you… did someone hurt you? Is that why you have a hard time with men touching you?"

Kagome looked away, feeling her heart speed up. 'No… Calm down, Kagome.' She could tell that Sango was someone who could read people, which made her feel uncomfortable now and immediately her walls went up. 'I have to be careful around her,' she thought, even though she knew that Sango wasn't a person with bad intentions. She just saw too much. And right now, Kagome wasn't ready to open up to anyone, let alone these people whom she just met a month ago. If she still hasn't opened up with her best friends at Midnite, she was definitely not going to do it with the gang here. Although, she had to admit, she was opening up to them much quicker and easier than she did with her friends at Midnite.

She shrugged, looking off to the side so that Sango couldn't read her anymore than Kagome wanted her to. "It's not like that." She looked at Miroku, catching his eyes rather than Sango's. "Sorry," she apologized again.

Miroku smiled, a little exasperated. "Don't worry about it, Kagome. Honestly, it's my fault for crossing the boundaries. But now that I know, I obviously won't do it again 'cuz I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable." She smiled at him and dropped the subject, hoping that Sango would do the same.

Thankfully, the waitress came by and left menus with them. They all greeted Kanna as she left to give them a minute on their orders. Now that Kagome was a 'regular' here, she noticed that Kanna worked on the weekdays at Yura Yura. She glanced at the menu and decided to try the next new thing, checking off another item on the menu.

"So… from now on, we'll be practicing with Kikyo?" Miroku and Sango nodded at her question. "Is this how practices usually go? He teaches her and then we just wait until we all do it together?"

"Yeah. Pretty much. It's slower than when we are learning the routine ourselves. But it's also nice because we get a little bit of a break and it's not so intense for us. So at least our days are spent without too much work on our end."

"Yeah, it's nice," Miroku said with a nod, placing his arm around Sango's shoulders. She leaned into Miroku and the two of them looked back at Kagome. "At least we don't have too much work to do. But we still have to be there so that Inuyasha can visualize what we all look like cohesively. And make any changes either to our routine, our placements or based on whether or not Kikyo likes everything."

Kagome arched her eyebrow. "So, you will change the routine if Kikyo doesn't like it?"

Sango nodded with a snicker. "Yeah. When we all dance it together, sometimes it might look a little off… we might move further from her than we first thought, or she just might have a diva moment and not like what Inuyasha put together at all," she said, rolling her eyes, sounding like it's happened before. "So then Inuyasha will have to change it to make her happy because in the end, Kikyo has to approve it."

"It gets a little complicated," Miroku explained. "But that's why he has me and Sango. We help Inuyasha with the routine for each song and the three of us come up with all the moves. He is the one in the end who decides if we go with it or not. But we all work together so that not only one of us has the pressure of making up all the routines."

Kagome nodded her understanding. There was so much more behind the scenes than she originally thought. And she knew that the three of them were probably the 'leaders' of the dance group, but now she sees that they're all the choreographers in a sense. Inuyasha was just the head choreographer and decided the final moves while also making up Kikyo's moves too.

"So… Inuyasha listens to you guys? Or were you guys brought on to be choreographers too?"

Miroku looked down at the top of Sango's head. "Well… when we were hired… it was sort of like a friendship thing at first."

Sango nodded. "We've known Inuyasha and Kikyo for… I think about five years," she said, moving so she could look up at Miroku. He nodded his agreement. "We met at a charity function. Our families were introduced to each other and that's how we met."

"That's when I met Sango for the first time… and fell head over heels," Miroku said, kissing her forehead. She smiled up at him and rubbed her cheek on his chest, gazing at Kagome.

"Inuyasha's parents are wealthy and it was one of their charity events for hanyous. Our parents along with Kikyo's are… comfortable in life," she said with a smile. "We all met each other there for the first time, hit it off, and we became good friends since then."

"A year later, we helped Kikyo kick off her desire to be a singer," Miroku explained. "While we got to know each, we realized that Kikyo loved to sing and it was her dream to perform for people and be an entertainer. Coincidentally, myself, Sango and Inuyasha had a love for dancing and we just naturally fell into the part of being her dancers. So then because we all had the money to help her start this new career path, we all pitched in and… well, here we are."

Kagome shook her head in wonder, placing her elbow on the table to cup her head in her palm. "Wow. That's amazing. So you guys are rich too?"

Sango snickered. "I wouldn't say rich. But we live comfortably."

"More comfortably than most people," Miroku added. "Our families are pretty well-known in Japan, but we aren't as rich as most families are. Like Inuyasha's."

"That's because he comes from a youkai family," Kagome said, knowing what he meant. "And I'm sure when you live as long as youkai do, you tend to collect more money than you know what to do with."

Miroku nodded with a smile. "Exactly. But Inuyasha's family has always been one to give back. Whether it was to charity or to investments, they always gave what they had or invested in something new just to see what this new generation can do with it."

Kanna showed up at their table, stalling their conversation. She was a young woman with short brown hair that went to her shoulders and she always loved to wear a teal butterfly hair-comb in her hair. She wore her light blue apron and a white knee-length skirt with a white short-sleeve shirt underneath. The three of them ordered and then Miroku ordered for Inuyasha.

"What about Kikyo?" Sango asked him. Miroku just shrugged.

"Who knows if she'll come. You know her. Inuyasha said he would meet us here, so I better get his ramen before he blows a fuse."

Kanna smiled with understanding and bowed as she disappeared from them. Kagome looked around at the business of the place, really liking the air and vibe of this restaurant. Just then, Inuyasha popped into her view and she gasped, pulling back to look up at him.

"Inuyasha."

He smirked down at her. "Move over." She glared at him and just moved over with a grunt.

"You need to work on your manners."

Miroku and Sango burst out laughing, gazing at Inuyasha as he sat down with a smile, knowing the same thing they did.

"Inuyasha… manners?" Sango said.

"Never gonna happen, Kagome," Miroku said.

"Hey! I do have manners!" Inuyasha defended, glaring at the two. Kagome rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Yeah right. To the birds."

The couple simply laughed even harder and Inuyasha turned his head to glare at her. She turned to look at him and smiled innocently, but then bursting out into laughter along with Sango and Miroku. The look on Inuyasha's face just made her forget about her anger at his rudeness and think of how cute he looked with his fake menacing glare. He growled, making her laugh even harder, and she slapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry… it's just…" she said between laughing, "the look you have… priceless!"

Inuyasha growled and shrugged off her hand. Even though the three of them were laughing at him, he enjoyed their teasing. He also enjoyed Kagome's laughter. He found that he was enjoying his time with her. He could see that Kagome was getting comfortable with the gang and that she was making friends with everyone. Everyone accepted her and she began to open up more. He also noticed that she was much better at allowing people to touch her, which he had noticed ever since that first instance with Miroku when he had introduced Kagome to the gang. She had tried to play it off smoothly, probably to not hurt Miroku's feelings, but he noticed. And while he practiced with her, he also noticed how she would usually take a step back from him when he got too close. It was those subtle movements that he picked up on and knew that she had boundaries, placed there for a reason, and while he would respect them, he also wanted to know why they were there. 'Why should I even care?' But as he asked himself this, he also knew the answer to his own question.

"Inuyasha…" Miroku said, calling the hanyou's attention, as he wiped the tears from his eyes after that laughing fit. "I ordered you ramen."

Inuyasha nodded. "How much?"

"Just three. I figure you can do with only three today."

Inuyasha made a face, sort of in agreement with him, and shrugged. "Should be good enough."

Just then, Kikyo popped up beside their booth and smiled at everyone. "Good job, you guys. I'm happy with the way things are going today."

"Yeah. You're doing well too, Kikyo," Sango said, looking up at her. "You're catching on to the routine."

She nodded in agreement. "Even though Inuyasha tried not to make it too hard," she said, looking at him with thanks, "I think they're easy and fun enough to not bore the audience. But I'm sure I'll be in for a treat as the routines get harder."

Inuyasha nodded. "They do a little bit. So don't get too comfortable."

"I'm never too comfortable with you," Kikyo said with a smile, brushing her hand towards him. "Move over." She moved to sit so Inuyasha was forced to inch his way closer to Kagome.

Kagome moved over as much as she could but the booth wasn't that big to fit three people. So now, it was Inuyasha's shoulder against hers and Kikyo's shoulder on his other side. The three of them were scrunched together with Inuyasha in the middle. For some reason, she was fine with him sitting so close to her like this. Kanna came back to bring waters to their table and said her hellos to Kikyo. She was happy for the welcomed distraction so that she could have a minute to center her thoughts. She reached out for her water and drank, the movement making her rub against his arm the entire time since she sat on his left and she was right-handed. 'Eating is going to be a challenge.'

"You okay, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked quietly, not wanting everyone to hear him.

Kagome turned to look at him, noticing how close he was to her and oddly enough, feeling familiar with him. She didn't get the feeling that she got at Midnite when the men would touch her and she would flinch immediately. But she also knew why. He wasn't actually touching her. His shoulder was against her, that was totally different from him reaching out to grab her. And for one reason or another, she didn't mind him being that close. Although it was a bit uncomfortable because he was handsome and he was sitting so close to her.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she lied.

"You're lying." Inuyasha gazed at her, making her feel uncomfortable now. 'What is he trying to get at?' He obviously could sense her emotions since he was a hanyou. But he couldn't read her mind. Could he? No. He was just trying to pry and she wasn't ready to talk about. Especially not here. She was stuck between a wall and him.

Kagome smiled at him, hoping he would drop the subject. "I'm okay. Really." He was about to say something when Kikyo grabbed his attention.

"Hey! Are we still going to go over the venue?" she asked, turning to Inuyasha as Kanna left the table.

"I thought that was the plan," Miroku said, noticing that Inuyasha and Kagome were having some sort of private conversation. "Sango and I brought extra clothes because we thought that's what you wanted to do."

Sango nodded as she looked over at Kagome. "Kagome brought extra clothes too." At the sound of her name, she tore her gaze from Inuyasha and looked to Sango, trying to remember what they were talking about.

"Yes. Sango told me to bring clothes since it was going to be a long day."

Kikyo nodded, leaning forward on the table. "Okay. Well, if you guys are prepared then let's do it. We have two months left and I want to start working through things before we lose time." She looked to Inuyasha and noticed that he wasn't paying any attention at her, only looking at Kagome. "Inuyasha? What do you think?"

Inuyasha blinked and turned to the woman sitting on his right. He was in the middle of two women, which he had no problem with. It was just the situation and the things that he knew about both of them that made it a little awkward. He shrugged at her but nodded. "It's fine with me. We talked about this a couple days ago and we've always done it this way, so why change it now."

Kikyo frowned and looked to her glass of water. "Well… I just want things to go smoothly. And you know how I get when we can't really see the place until a couple weeks beforehand. I freak out and just… everything has to be perfect."

Inuyasha groaned. "I know, I know, Kikyo. We've been together for four years. I know how you like things."

Kagome looked at him, shocked, but quickly looked away, reaching out to take a sip of her water. She let the two of them continue their conversation about the meeting today, going over photos of the venue and making sure the lineup was correct. 'Why am I so bothered by this?' She immediately felt bothered when he made that statement. 'Are they together? Is Inuyasha dating Kikyo?' Miroku and Sango had explained how they all knew each other for four years and how they became good friends, now business partners in Kikyo's career. Miroku and Sango were together ever since they met. Did that mean that Inuyasha and Kikyo were together? 'Why do I even care?!' she wondered. As much as she wanted to convince herself she wasn't bothered by it, as she sat there in her thoughts, thinking about all the reasons why she wasn't bothered by it at all, Kagome still felt like a small part of her was bothered when Inuyasha said that he and Kikyo have been together for four years. 'It's not like I should care who he's with. And they've been friends for years. I barely even know him' Oh, but who was she fooling? She was drawn to Inuyasha on a deeper level and that female part of her, the one that craved to be wanted by a man, immediately began to put up a wall once she heard Inuyasha say those words.

"I think we just need to look at the pictures first before we start growing grey hairs at the thought of it," Miroku said, moving and allowing Sango to sit up now that Kanna came back with their food. Kikyo's food was still missing because she had just ordered a few minutes ago, but Kanna had assured her that her food was on the way. Kanna dropped off the plates and bowed as she left.

Just as they were about to dig in, a couple of young girls came to their table and asked Kikyo for her autograph. By then, Kagome was in her own world, wondering why she cared so much about Inuyasha's love life with Kikyo. She fought with herself the whole time she ate, wondering why she even cared. It bothered her so much that when everyone started talking again, she didn't join in on the conversation but just kept to herself, smiling when she needed to and nodding when they expected a reply from her. She knew what she was doing. She was putting up her wall. She loved doing that when she felt like things were getting out of control around her. She would draw inward and forget about things around her and just focus on herself and protecting herself from anything and anyone. She had learned this at a young age and was comfortable with it. It was her go-to. And right now, she needed it.

But of course, Inuyasha noticed.

"Kagome… is everything okay?"

Kagome sighed, snapping out of her thoughts as she turned to him and smiled, putting on her mask that she knew how to do every day. "Yeah. This yakitori is good. I see why Miroku likes it."

He didn't say anything but just watched her. Kagome went back to eating, hoping that he would drop the subject, which he did. But ever since then, she felt this odd detachment from him, and she knew that it was because now she realized how much of an outsider she was and how little she knew of Inuyasha… 'And what, Kagome? There's no chance for you now?' Where did that come from? Since when did she ever think of having a chance with any man? She was losing her mind. This was one of the reasons why she didn't want to have friends. Attachments. Emotions. Clouded judgment.

When they all finished their lunch, Miroku got the check this time and everyone stood to leave. Since Inuyasha and Kikyo were heading back, it meant time for work again, so everyone who came to the restaurant all got up from their tables and followed them out.

All in all, they did three songs for the day. Kikyo had learned her parts and she told Inuyasha that three was enough for today. She was tired and she wanted to look over the venue before she got too tired. Inuyasha called it a wrap and everyone began to head to their belongings and filed out the door.

"Come. Let's go shower," Sango said. She led the way to the women's locker room.

It was at the end of the hall, and Kagome followed Sango and the others until she led them into the locker room. With a swipe of her key, they were let in and the sound of chatter from the women filled the room.

"You can use this room anytime. This is part of our access into the entire building," Sango explained as they went towards the showers.

Each stall had a shower curtain that gave them privacy but one that you could see the feet of the women inside. And in the center, between either side of the shower stalls, was a line of benches where they would setup their belongings or changing clothes. Kagome noticed that some of the women left their shoes and belongings on this bench instead of using the lockers that they had passed by.

"You can either bring your own lock and use a locker," Sango explained. "Or you can just leave your things here and grab them as you finish taking a shower." Kagome nodded her understanding.

"If you don't want to expose yourself out here, you can always go in the shower stall and close the curtain to change," Sango said, pointing to a pulled back shower stall where they could see inside. "You can change in there and just drape your clothes over the curtain rod or just strip out here," she said with a shrug. "It really is up to you. Most of the women prefer to go inside the stalls. But there are some other academy members that just walk around butt naked. So just a warning if you're uncomfortable seeing that sort of thing."

Kagome smiled with a shake of her head, thinking of her job. "It's fine." Sango nodded and dropped her bag on the bench in front of an open stall. The two of them began to grab their toiletries and their towels and made their way into their own showers. Once they were finished taking a shower, they came out, grabbed their clean clothes, and went back into the stall to change. Kagome just took her underwear and put them on in the stall. She came back out with her hair wrapped in her towel and wearing only her underwear. Sango came out fully dressed and her eyes widened as she looked at Kagome, surprised.

"What?" she asked.

Sango just smiled and shook her head. "It's good to see you're not uncomfortable in your underwear. I kinda still am but when I'm backstage at a concert, I have no problem running around in my underwear since I really have no choice sometimes," she said with a giggle.

Kagome waved her off as she went to her things and grabbed out her clothes, changing out there in the open. "I have no problem with my underwear. It's butt naked that I have a problem with," she said with a laugh.

The sounds of the women around them filled the locker room. Sango smiled and laughed with Kagome.

"I get it. Me too." She waited as Kagome got ready, putting on a jeans shorts with a black t-shirt. She looked comfortable and very laid-back, which Sango appreciated. She liked the fact that Kagome wasn't one who was into over-the-top things, or trying to out-do others in her style of fashion or even her dance style. She noticed from the first time she met Kagome that she was a laid-back and fun person and that's why she had latched on to Kagome so strongly. She knew that she and Kagome would be good friends.

"You have a beautiful body, Kagome."

Kagome laughed nervously and blushed. "Thanks, Sango."

"I'm not kidding," Sango said, zipping up her bag and sitting back down, turning so she could look at Kagome next to her. "You have a beautiful body. Your body is not the 'norm'. You're not skinny like us, or at least most Japanese women. You have curves but it's muscle. And you're in shape. And…"

"Okay, okay, Sango. I get it."

Sango smiled apologetically. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just meant to say that you have a beautiful body. That's it."

Kagome giggled, taking her hair out of the towel and grabbing her leave-in conditioner and comb. "Thanks, Sango." With that, she finished getting ready and so did Sango. The two of them left the locker room and headed back to the studio.

When the two got back, they noticed that Inuyasha, Miroku and Shippo were talking together with Naraku and a whole bunch of pictures were splayed out on the floor in front of them. They sat on the ground around the photos with a couple of the other dancers forming a circle around the pictures. Sango dropped her things off to the side, Kagome following suit, and the two of them headed over to the men.

"You haven't showered yet," Sango said, moving to sit next to Miroku as he looked up at her. She patted the floor next to her and Kagome sat down.

Miroku shook his head. "No. We were talking too much. I think I'll go now since almost everyone isn't back yet."

"I'll go with you," Inuyasha said, standing up with Miroku as they left the group. Shippo stood up a couple seconds later to join them and the three of them headed out of the studio.

Kagome focused her attention back to the photos that lay scattered on the ground. Their circle wasn't complete as most of the dancers were still in the locker rooms, so she leaned forward to get a better look at the pictures. Most of the pictures were of the venue. From what Kagome could tell, it was a huge auditorium, more like a stadium, with rows of chairs around the circular stage in the center. And there were the upper level seats that went up into many rows that she couldn't count. It was much like a stadium style concert.

"Cool, huh?" Sango asked her, leaning forward to look at the pictures herself.

Kagome nodded her agreement. "I've never been to a concert before. But I've seen some on television."

Sango turned to look at her with shock, but decided not to say anything when Kagome didn't look back at her. "Wow…" she said softly. She shook her head, wondering how this woman who was such a good dancer and who aspired to be in a dance group had never been to a concert before. She turned as she heard the door open and Kikyo along with four other women walked in, fresh from a shower. They were laughing and smiling at each other, dropping their things off away from the circle and making their way towards them.

"Did we miss anything?" Kokoro asked, her hair wet and limp as she sat next to Kagome.

Kagome shook her head, turning to welcome her. "No. Some of the boys just left to take a shower."

She waved her hand in the air. "They're faster than us doing that anyways." Kagome giggled with a nod and they all began to chit chat until all the gang returned and they could finally talk business.

"So as you know," Naraku began, calling their attention as he looked at all twelve of the dancers and Kikyo sitting around in a circle, "The concert in O'ahu is in two months. Since it's Kagome's first time, I'm going to go over every little detail so that she understands and is comfortable with the process. Maybe… she might be staying longer after this concert," he said, his eyes falling to her as he caught her gaze. Kagome simply smiled back with a nod, waiting for him to continue.

"Usually two months before the show, I like to go over how we want things setup, especially when it comes to the stage so the crew can get that done. In venues that are far from home, all we have to work with are pictures."

Kikyo nodded, her eyes falling on Kagome. "It gets a little frustrating using photos because you can't tell the scale of the stage but only get to imagine how big the stage is and what we have to work with." Kagome nodded her understanding. "The photos don't do justice… but it's all we have for now."

"It helps," Inuyasha said sternly. "Kikyo doesn't think so, but it's better than nothing. It's best not to fret over things we can't control," he said, crossing his arms, his eyes hard on Kikyo as she turned to glare at him. He didn't want Kikyo to put any wrong ideas in Kagome's mind since she was new. She needed to learn for herself, to see what worked for her and how she could work with what she was given.

"Whatever the case," Naraku said, calling everyone's attention back to him. He glanced down at the photos, his eyes scanning over all of them laid out in a mess. "How do we start this?"

"First…" Inuyasha said, his eyes still on Kikyo. "What songs do you want to do for O'ahu?"

Kikyo needed to pick out which songs she was going to do at each venue. It was unlikely for her to do the same numbers at back-to-back venues. Especially at two locations in the same state. She had to keep her fans interested and possibly if those who flew in to the state were going to follow her from one island to the next, that was even more motivation to not do the same songs so that her fans wouldn't get bored and would still want to buy tickets. If Kikyo did that, then she would lose fans and people might think she didn't have any talent or wasn't a good performer.

Kikyo reached for the tan accordion binder that sat in front of Naraku and pulled out a piece of paper. She placed it on the ground in front of her and pressed a finger to her lips, her eyes deep in thought as she stared down at it.

"I know I want to do 'Who's Got You?' and 'Let's Make Time For You and I'. Those are fan favorites." She glanced up to see Inuyasha nod his agreement and she smiled. She looked back down and began writing the songs she wanted to perform in one column that was for O'ahu and another column that was for Maui. Kagome liked how Kikyo included everyone in her thought process. Before she wrote a song down, she would tell them her idea of what to do next and the others would consent or voice their opinion on why they thought it was a bad idea. Kagome liked how they all trusted each other and helped Kikyo to do and be her best.

"Fine," Naraku said. "That leaves eleven songs per venue with three songs being switched up. Plus we'll keep the crowd guessing by switching the song list around when we switch islands." Kikyo nodded her agreement and he looked up at Inuyasha. "That's what… about four, five minutes per song? So about fifty-five minutes for the concert at the very least?"

Inuyasha tilted his head side to side, weighing Naraku's calculations. "Give or take transitions, fillers while she's changing backstage, and our wardrobe changes too. I'd say the concert would be about an hour and a half or so. We need to figure out if we need transition songs while she's changing backstage so that I can put a number together to cover her."

Kikyo nodded with a smile. "We'll figure that out next month when we practice in the warehouse. But for now, this is good. We got the place paid for two hours. It's just me with no opening artist so that's a good timeframe. I like it." Naraku shrugged, going along with what she wanted.

Sango turned to look at Kagome and spoke. "We still need to get Kagome's measurements," she pointed out.

"Oh yeah…" Kagome said, studying Sango. Miroku nodded his agreement and closed his eyes.

"It's also best that we all be remeasured just to be sure. If we need to have alterations… now is the time since we're ordering new ones for Kagome," he said.

Inuyasha nodded his agreement, uncrossing his arms as he reached for his phone in his pocket. "I'll text the costume designer to come in tomorrow to do our measurements." He set to his task as everyone got back to the discussion.

"So the venue is The Neal Blaisdell Center Arena," Naraku said continuing on. "It's located in downtown Honolulu, pretty much near Waikīkī, which is where we'll be staying."

"Oooooo" Sango said, squirming around happily. Miroku chuckled, placing a hand on her thigh to calm her down. Her excitement at going to the Hawaiian Islands is exactly what everyone else was feeling.

"Is this your first time performing there?" Kagome had to ask, sensing that everyone was growing in excitement.

Kikyo's smile was infectious. "Yes. I've never been to Hawai'i before. This time, I'll be visiting for my first time and performing there for my first time. That's why I'm doing so much press conferences and television interviews to promote my first concert in the state." Kagome nodded, feeling the energy in everyone and getting excited to go back herself.

"You've been there before, right, Kagome?" Miroku asked.

Kagome nodded. "Only once. I've been to Maui, though. I only had a short layover in O'ahu so I wasn't able to walk around and take in the sights. But I'm excited to go back to Maui and see how things have changed."

"We're there for work," Inuyasha said, placing his phone back in his pocket. His eyes sought Kagome's and she could see the discipline in his eyes, but she heard his teasing note. "It's not a vacation."

"Oh whatever, Inuyasha," Shippo said with a roll of his eyes. He leaned back on his palms, studying him. "Like you don't want to see the islands and jump in the ocean."

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha and saw him close his eyes, raising a shoulder. She smiled, shaking her head. He had to try and be the reasonable boss.

"I want you guys to have some R&R," Kikyo said with a smile, looking over at everyone. "You guys deserve it. And I trust you guys by now to know that when it comes to it, business is business and when you need to get your butt in gear, you'll do it." Everyone nodded their agreements. She trusted her crew and knew that they knew their obligations and their limits.

"How many concerts have you all done?" Kagome asked, wondering how well they knew each other when they were out on the road doing shows. They all seemed to have a mutual trust in one another, maybe it was the contracts that they signed or their commitment to their job and each other, but she could tell that they knew what to expect from one another when traveling together.

Sango turned to look at Miroku in silent confirmation. "I think this is our fifth concert," she said with Miroku nodding his agreement.

"Kikyo's first two years were spent building up her fan base and making a name for herself," Naraku said. "We also spent that time making music videos and even performed at some small, local shows in city squares and what-nots. But the big-time arenas and theaters came later once her fame soared and her songs went on to the Top 10 list."

Kagome nodded her understanding, glancing at Kikyo in awe and wonder. To have waited that long for this moment. She was still growing as an artist now more than ever if this was her fifth concert. And Kagome felt honored to be included in this ladder that Kikyo was climbing. She would be climbing it with her, gaining in her fame along with Kikyo and the others. They would all be gaining fame and stardom, which Kagome didn't want to think about right now because she was a on a high that she didn't want to come down from. But she was so glad that she was able to be a part of this group, to go to different areas of the world and perform with a rising star. Who knew what the future held for her?

"Let's get back to the venue," Naraku said, doing the manager thing and steering them back to business. "The Neal Blaisdell Center Arena is indoors. The first floor has portable, padded chairs that they can arrange to our liking. The upper levels are theater style upholstered seats." Naraku rummaged through some of the photos and then picked out a few that showed the entire indoor arena and the seats. "The manager there told me we have freedom to setup the place however we wish. But we need to tell them at least four weeks ahead of the concert so that their crew can move the padded chairs around to accommodate our needs."

Kagome looked over at the pictures in Sango's hands as they all tried to share the pictures with one another. She noticed that there were three different layouts in the arena. One layout was made for a basketball game, with the basketball floor in the center and the chairs setup around the floor with what could be the VIP sections upfront near the court, and the above areas were where the fans were seated . The second layout was of a theater stage setup with two stages. A huge curtain draped over the top and bottom section of the theater style seating area in the arena to allocate the entire area as the 'backstage'. The main stage in front of the curtains connected out on a small, short runway into another smaller stage that had a couple blocks of portable chairs setup, which she assumed was the VIP sections. There were more portable chairs setup in front of the two stages on the first floor behind the VIP sections, and then came a short wall with the first level of theater style seats that continued up. The third layout was one of a circular stage in the center of the first floor, which reminded Kagome of a boxing match. The portable chairs were setup all around the center stage and then up to the theater style seats on the floors above.

"I like how versatile they are," Miroku noted, looking over to Inuyasha who agreed and nodded his head, his eyes examining the pictures in front of him. He kept three photos for himself as he studied them, his face in deep thought.

"I like the layout with the two stages," Inuyasha said, dropping the other two polaroids down in front of him and keeping his favorite in his hand. "It gives us room to move around and for Kikyo to have more freedom to be independent and to address her fans out on the smaller stage. The cameras can move in on her at all angles as she walks back and forth between the two stages while giving us space and freedom to dance."

Miroku nodded his agreement. "I agree. Although, it would leave us more work to figure out how much movement we have to compensate now that we have all that space, but it's the best idea for Kikyo. I like the blackout curtains too. It's much more convenient for us to run backstage that way than having a stage in the middle of the room and us have to run through the mass crowd of fans just to change and try to make our way back without being hounded on."

Sango nodded, along with the rest of the gang now that they heard explanations. Kikyo nodded her agreement as well. "I agree. It's more rational to do the layout with the curtain so that we can change outfits. But I also like Inuyasha's idea of me having more freedom to move around than having one small circle stage with all thirteen of us having to share it. I would feel… claustrophobic."

They all agreed.

Naraku sighed, shaking his head. "Section 13 through 21 would be cut off," he said, finding the blueprint of the layout that they decided on and showing it to everyone. He pointed to the areas where the curtains would block off the seats. "That means that we lose about a fourth of our potential ticket sales. So maybe we'll be able to sell out 7,500 tickets, give or take."

Inuyasha growled. "Doesn't matter." He knew that it was Naraku's job to think about these sort of things, numbers and logistic bullshit, but he only cared about what was rational and what made sense for the group. "I don't care about the sales. That's why we added a second day on both islands since we'll probably sell out."

Naraku glared at him. "You might not care, but I do. And don't be so sure about yourself, Inuyasha. You haven't seen our sales in the USA yet."

Inuyasha shrugged. He didn't need to be told about Kikyo's sales in the USA. In Japan, she was at the top of her game. Of course, in a different country she would be seeing less of a quick rise to the top when she wasn't living in the country or relatable in culture. "Kikyo is doing great as it is and she's still climbing. She'll sell out. It's her first concert there and I'm sure she'll have fans flying in. My concern isn't the ticket sales…"

"No, it's mine," Naraku interrupted and reminded him.

"But whether or not we have what we need and that everything makes sense," Inuyasha continued, unfazed by Naraku's interruption. Kagome looked between the two and could tell that the both of them fought with each other constantly as it was obvious that there was tension. But she could also tell that it was 'business-as-usual' for them and even though they spoke to each other heatedly, they were unfazed by each other. It was just the two of them trying to get their point across. Maybe an alpha-dominance kind of thing too.

"It makes sense to have the two stages with the curtains. Since we have costume changes, it makes sense to have the curtain for a backstage area," Inuyasha finished, his gaze on Naraku even though Naraku had his eyes closed. He knew the logic that Inuyasha said was rational and true. But Naraku still had his job to keep in mind, his job to keep money flowing for them.

Kikyo smiled with a nod, diffusing the tension between the two men. "I like it. It does make sense. I get the ticket sales, Naraku, I do. But I think it helps that we're doing both cities for two nights each, so hopefully if we sell out one night, the rest can go to the second night. Or they can try and make it to one of the two nights at the second location," she said with a shrug. "Whatever the case, for this venue, it makes sense to go with the curtain even if it cuts the amount of seats we have available."

Naraku nodded his understanding and looked around for the polaroids for the next venue, moving on. They were all written on in the white areas of the polaroids so they knew what they were looking at and for what location. He kept the photo with 'Neal Blaisdell- #2' in front of his crossed legs and searched for the next venue.

"Now… the Maui Arts and Cultural Center is going to be a bit harder to work with." Naraku found the photos labeled 'MACC' and picked out the three that he was looking for. "This gets a little tricky and complicated so we have to choose our demons." He found the picture labeled '#1' and looked at the grassy lawn. "The first layout we have is called the Community Lawn. It can hold up to 4,000 people, but that's with the guests bringing their own chairs. Keep in mind it's a flat lawn in the open elements and our stage would be a white pop-up tent." Kikyo frowned as she looked at the polaroid that showed the wide expanse of the green grass with a lonely white tent draped with curtains on the legs to try and give it an elegant allure. "The second layout is called the A&B Amphitheater. It can hold about 5,000 people with portable chairs and bleachers in the back that would be an extra cost. At least this one has a pavilion for us and our equipment, but still open to the elements." Everyone looked over at the copies that they held in groups since there were only a few copies of each individual photo for everyone to share. This one had the pavilion at the bottom of a sloped hill where the portable chairs were lined up in long rows cut by walking aisles and the bleachers were at the top, in the back. "The third layout is called the Castle Theater and that is the smallest of the three. It holds up to 1,200 people with a theater style seating like the mezzanine, balcony and what-nots," he finished.

Kikyo frowned as she went back and forth between the three photos. "Hmmm… not much options to play with."

Inuyasha shook his head. "Two of the three are open to rain, wind and who knows."

"My least favorite is the Community Lawn," Sango said with disapproval. "We can't do anything with this," she said, waving the picture in between her two fingers and then flicking the photo back down onto the pile. "There is no where for us to run off stage to change and have some sort of privacy."

"It might be cold," Kagome said softly, not wanting to get in the way of their brainstorming but just thinking out loud.

Inuyasha looked over at her, a small smile forming as they locked eyes. He was thankful that she spoke up, appreciating her input. "True. It might be windy or raining. But if it came down to it and we had to choose this layout, we would just rent a couple trailers and those would be our dressing rooms," he said with a shrug.

"But," Shippo said, leaning his elbows on his knees. "We don't want to do the theater because that's only twelve hundred people. That's not even worth us flying to Maui."

The others nodded their agreement. If they were going to fly across the Pacific Ocean to perform, at least they could do it for a crowd that was big enough to make it worth their time performing. Inuyasha had to agree with Shippo and the others. So that only left one option.

"So I guess we're going with the Amphitheater then." He still didn't like it. It was still open to the elements. But the only good thing was that they had a pavilion, meaning a solid structure that wouldn't blow over. The pavilion looked big enough that they would have enough room to move around in while also being able to move offstage to change. They would have to improvise with what the venue had available to them. He could see the main building of the MACC behind the pavilion and he thought about having Naraku call to see if those could be their dressing rooms or if they would need to rent trailers.

Naraku sighed. "I know we can't do much with this," he said, grabbing the photo everyone agreed on while tossing the other two back into the pile. "But we'll have to make it work. I can ask them if they could setup some curtains behind the pavilion area to make that our backstage so we don't have to run to changing rooms. I still need to contact them and ask if there are changing rooms, what rooms we can use, and just figure out the logistics of you guys running back and forth. I have the blueprints, but I wasn't given any approval of what rooms we were free to use."

Kikyo sighed, not liking the idea, but having to go with it. "Try, Naraku. Ask them about the curtain. If we have to pay for it… make it work. Or if they have rooms available nearby already that we could use, that would be great too. If not, we can still rent trailers, like Inuyasha said." Naraku nodded his agreement. They had the money and they needed a backstage.

"Alright, so that's settled," Inuyasha said, placing the photos down in front of him, satisfied that they had caught on to his concerns about the dressing rooms. "What's next?"

Naraku placed the chosen layout for Maui down on top of the first choice for O'ahu and looked out at the rest of the photos. "Now… we brainstorm based on our layout decisions… how we want to setup the dance crew around Kikyo. That way, next month we can practice in the warehouse with the measurements and the brainstorm ideas."

Inuyasha nodded, checking his time. "Okay. Does anyone need to leave?" he asked, looking around, trying to be considerate of people's time. "We only need to brainstorm where we feel dancers should stand based on the layouts we decided on," Inuyasha explained, looking at Kagome since she was new. She looked up at him and nodded her understanding. "Next month, we'll go into the warehouse where we'll setup the measurements of both venue's stages and actually practice our routines to see if what we brainstormed actually works."

"We do it this way when we have venues that are inaccessible months before the concert," Miroku said, trying to explain everything so that Kagome could understand their process. "Otherwise, we would just drive to the venue and practice on the actually stage, so we would bypass all this brainstorming and picture-taking."

"This month…" Naraku said, trying to finish what everyone was explaining, "is all about having Kikyo with the group to learn her part, and for everyone to dance with her so you guys are cohesive. Also, I will be giving out your itineraries for the trip. Basically, it's a packet of the hotels we're staying in, our day-to-day schedule, bus pickups and drop offs, contact informations, mealtimes and dietary preferences, etc. The itineraries are what we live and breathe by when we go on tour. And in this case, since we'll be there for about a week and a half, I want everyone to understand what we're doing each day so you can plan your free time around work time."

"Yes, Dad," Sango said, knowing the routine and giving him a hard time.

Naraku glared at her and she giggled, waving him off. "Not funny."

Kikyo shook her head with a smile. "This month, we'll also go over videos of our past performances to see what we did wrong, what we did well and what we can do better."

"It's always good to evaluate ourselves because there's always room for improvement," Miroku said, looking around at everyone and landing on Kagome. "This month is more learning and logistics."

"You guys ready to brainstorm?" Naraku asked, looking at Inuyasha to see him shrug his shoulders. He looked out at the group, seeing them all nodding their heads, and then he looked back at Naraku to nod his head. It was now four in the afternoon and they had about two, maybe three more hours to brainstorm and make any changes or choose another layout altogether. They needed to choose the layout as soon as possible so that the venue could move things around for them. 'It's going to be a long night…' Inuyasha thought, listening as Naraku began to speak.