The It Couple

Chapter Forty-Four

"Oi," Miroku knocked and yelled through the suite door, "It's one in the afternoon. You good?"

Inuyasha groaned, grabbing hold of an extra pillow and wrapping himself around it. His head felt like fresh hell, and his stomach wasn't much better.

"You have thirty minutes to be up and about," Miroku's voice called, "We've got some popular spots to hit and some press photos to take." There was a shuffling sound as Miroku walked off down the hotel hallway.

The thought of such a thing made Inuyasha want to hurl again. He moaned again and pulled up his phone, scrolling through his social media feed through half-lidded eyes.

An Instagram notification. "NEW POST: Kagome Higurashi posted a photo."

Okay. Let's do this. He clicked on it with his finger.

Just a photo of the outside of a dive-bar looking club, framed in glorious black and white by the light of a silvery moon. Jeez, she's good at making photos look fantastic.

The caption read, "So, what would you little maniacs like to do first?" Five thousand likes. Two thousand followers.

He fought back a snort in his throat. 'Weird Science.' This girl was quoting 'Weird Science'.

The small laugh was followed by an acute pain in his chest that very nearly crippled him and made him unable to move.

"Pumpkin!"

Sango hugged him but wanted to bolt as soon as she saw him. That face that she'd inherited so much of, those eager, calculating eyes that she couldn't ever claim to have not gained through genetics...

"Look at you, all fancy and done up. I missed you so much," her father said, taking a seat at the small Italian cafe she'd chosen. She sat down in the wicker chair opposite him, and the extra height her Louboutins had given her vanished.

"Did you?" She didn't feel like sugarcoating anything. At least, not until she'd had some coffee.

"You know I did," her dad said, as if that were the final word. He picked up the menu and moved on with his conversation. "I've only been here once before; all I remember is they have a fantastic bolognese."

Sango fought to keep her hands from shaking and decided the best way to go about it was to hide them in her lap. "Are you even going to ask about Kohaku? About Mom?"

Her dad looked up from the menu with a pointed stare. "I was," he said condescendingly, "but since you seem so eager to bring it to the forefront of conversation, how are they?"

"Fine." If you don't count the brain damage and the hospital bills that I have to keep paying for.

"That's good," her dad said, with an easy, almost endearing smile, "that's wonderful."

Sango wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. She closed her eyes and pictured Miroku's face, during all those months of her training, telling her to keep her cool, to not let anything outwardly bother her. But, then, picturing Miroku's face made her want to cry for a different reason.

"You really don't care, do you?" was all she could say.

Mr. Ryoshi looked irritated, folding the menu shut and fixing Sango with a particular glare. "If I didn't care," he hissed, "would I be talking to you?"

"No," she said automatically, disappearing behind her own menu, "Of course not. Silly of me."

"That's what I thought," he said lowly, dangerously. Sango heard him shift and wondered if he would be brazen enough to throw a punch at her at a roadside cafe with a ton of hard-assed New Yorkers watching.

He wasn't brazen enough. He just glared.

The waitress came over. Mr. Ryoshi ordered spaghetti bolognese. Sango ordered a side salad, saying she wasn't too hungry.

"How's the job going?"

Sango tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, hating how she felt fourteen years old again. "I'm doing okay. I got a promotion."

"Yes, I know," her dad said, helping himself to a sampling of the house wine, "It took some prying to get it out of your mom. What a ridiculous woman, am I right?"

Sango nodded. Her body was on autopilot and she was hating herself for it.

"But hey, who am I to complain?" her dad laughed, holding his glass up in a strange, awkward toast, "More money is always a good thing."

Sango mutely nodded again.

"Always good that you can take care of your mom and your brother when I'm away."

There it was. That rumble of anger in her belly. She crossed her legs and sat back in her seat. "The doctors have said Kohaku might not ever wake up," she said, her voice trembling.

Her dad glared at her. "Are you trying to accuse me of something?" He made like he was going to stand up, and suddenly she was a punk-ass kid again, cowering behind the kitchen counter.

"N-no," she said, fighting to keep the stammer out of her voice.

"I thought so," he said, his manner returning to an easygoing, friendly countenance, "You wouldn't do that to your daddy, would you?"

She shook her head.

The spaghetti bolognese and the side salad arrived.

"One more thing," her dad said through a mouthful of food, "Can you spot me a few thousand? Right here, right now? I owe some important people quite a bit of money again. I'd ask your mom, only she doesn't seem to have it-"

"No, no, don't ask her," Sango said, fishing through her own wallet, "I don't have it on me, but we can go to an ATM…"

"That's my girl."

She sighed, allowing herself to take a bite of her salad. She was sure it was probably good, but it seemed her mouth had lost the ability to taste anything.

"I just have one question," she said, "Is this ever going to end, Dad?"

Her dad raised an eyebrow. "Is what going to end?"

"Y-you asking for money," she said, her eyes fixed on the plastic tablecloth. They were in a public place. He couldn't hit her here. He couldn't hit her here. He couldn't hit her here.

"Pumpkin," her dad said lackadaisically, leaning back in his chair, a speck of red sauce on the corner of his mouth, "Why do you have to be like this? You're making so much now. You're a Hollywood bigshot, right? Why not share the wealth a little?"

Sango closed her eyes. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen.

"I've shared it around with the boys," her dad said, "I'm proud that my daughter is such a power player. You don't want me to look bad in front of the boys, do you?"

Sango didn't move.

"Plus," Mr. Ryoshi dabbed at his mouth with a cloth napkin, "It saves me the trouble of having to bother your mother with trivial things, right?"

Sango dug her fingers into the table. You put Kohaku in the fucking hospital and you threaten me? I'll kill you, you fucking bastard-

"Right," she said quietly, taking a bite of salad, never having felt more alone in the world.

When they were finished with their meal, her dad gave her a kiss on the cheek and left her with the check, without even mentioning it as he walked away, telling her over his shoulder he'd be in touch.

"Hey kid. How you doin?"

"Okay. They gave me a nice little room above the club. I guess it's vacant because there's no way anyone could sleep here with a heavy metal club one floor down."

Miroku smirked, leaning back in his chair in his nice hotel suite. There was one great thing about living off Inuyasha's money, and that was the luxury.

A few seconds later, his phone went off again.

"So how are things on your end?"

Miroku knew she wasn't asking about studio bullshit or publicity nonsense.

"Your sister's been putting the moves on your boy. HARD." No shame in being honest, here.

His phone rang a few seconds later. "Hi, Kagome."

"Thought this was easier than texting."

"It is."

"So she's been working him, huh?"

"Oh, yes. From what I could see on the plane yesterday, she didn't waste much time."

"I wish I could say I was surprised, but….you know…"

"You know your sister," Miroku supplied helpfully.

"Exactly." Her tone of voice wasn't exactly happy at being right, though.

"What are your plans today?"

"Clutch is playing a show tonight. I'm so fucking excited, dude. You have no idea. To get to photograph Clutch of all bands…"

"Lucky duck," Miroku said, though he wasn't sure if he remembered off the top of his head who Clutch was. He assumed they were good; Kagome wouldn't be happy about it if they weren't.

"So my question is," Miroku said, fumbling in his pocket for his pack of smokes, "How much do you want me to sabotage Inuyasha and your sister this weekend?"

She laughed on the other end. "Would it surprise you if I said not at all?"

He lit his cigarette, frowning. "Yeah, it kinda would."

"Just leave it," she said, her voice sounding more mature and reserved than he'd ever heard it, "If he loves me, it'll work out. If he loves her, well, he can have her."

"Where does that leave you, though?" he mumbled, taking a deep drag of the cigarette and exhaling a plume of smoke into the air.

"Well, tonight I'm going to jump into a mosh pit and photograph a band from the ground up. So I think I'm going to be okay, right?" She sounded shaky and hesitant, like she was looking to him for validation.

"Can I at least yell at him about being a fucking idiot?"

She laughed again. "I think I can allow that."

"Good," he said, ashing his cigarette in the empty coffee mug on the table, "Because I plan to."

Inuyasha was pulling on a smart wool sweater to fend off the chilly northern breeze when his phone buzzed again.

Kikyou. "Please don't be mad at me. I'm sorry."

He let out all his breath in a hiss, closed the message without replying, and immediately texted Miroku to announce that he was up and ready to play the wonderful bullshit game that his profession demanded.

"Hold still, please!"

Inuyasha visibly sighed and let Kikyou relax in his arms. This was an Annie Leibovitz-style editorial for Entertainment Weekly, and this photoshoot was key to their entire Oscar package. Miroku just raised his eyebrows and told Inuyasha as much with a look.

Kikyou snaked her arms up around Inuyasha's neck, and he took it, still visibly uncomfortable with being photographed like that. Miroku fought back the urge to laugh and ran a hand over his own mouth in the most subtle manner possible.

"Houshi." Sango appeared behind him, her eyes hidden behind dark sunglasses, holding up a coffee in her left hand for him to take.

He stared at her. "Thanks," he said, more hesitantly than he'd wanted to, but then again, he once again hadn't been sure where they stood as of yesterday.

"Don't mention it," she said, sipping her own coffee in the other hand and turning away from him while she did it.

"Sango," he said, concerned, "Are you okay?"

"Me? I'm fucking peachy. How's the shoot going?"

"Fine," he said, taking note of how much her cheeks seemed flushed behind her sunglasses, "Except Inuyasha's a little uncomfortable, given yesterday's events."

"Not surprised there," she said dismissively, stirring her coffee and frowning, "Let him be uncomfortable. I had to do a shitload of backflips to get Kagome to Amsterdam on a moment's notice. He can feel just a little of the fallout."

Miroku stared at her. "Wait a second," he said, "You were the one who got Kagome the job in Amsterdam?"

She seemed to realize what she had said, what she had admitted to. "W-Well," she stammered, shoving her sunglasses up on her face as she stirred her coffee even more vigorously, "She was starting to be a real pain in the ass, you know? I needed a break from her."

"That was a nice thing to do," Miroku said softly. He wanted to sweep her up in his arms and bend her over and plant a kiss that would make her collapse in bewilderment.

She twitched a little, fumbling with her cup until she found a nearby surface to set it down on. She seemed to be struggling for words.

Miroku leaned toward her, holding his coffee up to his lips and whispering behind it. "As her friend," he whispered, "thanks for doing that."

"And as a publicist?" Her gaze snapped toward him, still shielded by those damn glasses.

"As a publicist," he took a sip of coffee and nodded toward the two abhorrently famous people in front of them posing for the camera, "you just got your 'It Couple' profile. Now spin it."

HEY KAGOME WAS KIND OF IN THIS CHAPTER. KIND OF. SORT OF. Whatever. *cries*

Sango's dad, once again, I'm sorry for making you an asshole. But in this story, let's be fair. You are an asshole.

INUYASHA MISSES HERRRRR SO MUUUUCH AND HE DOESN'T TRUST KIKYOUUUUUUUU

Sango be frontin' all the time like she hard but we all know she ain't hard yo

SONGS

Inuyasha - "La La La" by Naughty Boy featuring Sam Smith (AKA SHADDUP I DON WANNA TALK TO YOUUUUUU OR ANYONEEEEEEE)

Sango - "To the Moon and Back" by Savage Garden (she iz teh bitter one)

Miroku - "Forever Man" by Eric Clapton (HOW MANY TIMES MUST I SAY I LOVE YOU BEFORE YOU FINALLY UNDERSTANDDDDDDD)

Kagome - "Wake Me Up" by Avicii (she findin herself, you go girl, gud girl we so proud of u)

Kikyou - "Bubblegum Bitch" by Marina and the Diamonds (needs no explanation)

Love love love to all of you! From some of the reviews some people either hate this story or are really blunt about the way they word things but hey whatevs. I'm doing my bestest. Laters! - meggz0rz