A/N: I only own the idea. Many thanks to my reviewers and Lady Safire for the beta reading. Enjoy!

Inuyasha wandered into the manager's office and shoved the paper on a stack on the desk. Due to the hanyou and taiyoukai being the only employees, menial tasks, such as paperwork, were neglected and often done frenziedly with gallons of strong coffee the night before they were required. Any attempts at hiring a secretary proved fruitless. Naraku had scared away any applicants.

Naraku… the thought of that particular name caused the hanyou to let out a growl.

Naraku was the owner of an extremely popular club in the red light district a few blocks away. He held a considerable bit of power in the local government by way of bribery and intimidation. Rumors also flew about his association with the Mafia, as well. No one wanted to deal with him, with the cruelly handsome and charismatic man who talked smoothly and employed large bodyguards.

When Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru's father died, leaving the old Taisho Theatre to his elder son, Naraku immediately offered to buy it, obviously planning to start another club. Friends of the Taisho family were certain Sesshoumaru would accept. Yet, the taiyoukai refused and began to run it himself.

Every single actor and employee resigned when Sesshoumaru took over, stating their contracts ran out with the death of the former owner. Only a few were happy to leave – they were the ones who had worked with Sesshoumaru when he acted and suspected he would be just as cold and indifferent directing and running the theatre as he would acting.

To this day, Inuyasha wondered why his father drew the contracts with that clause. Despite his suspicions, the lawyer who represented their family told the hanyou Naraku had not bribed him to add it and that it was the wish of his father alone. In a way, Inuyasha thought it served his controlling older brother right. Dad left you a clock with no gears, Sesshy, Inuyasha sneered.

Over the past two months, the half-brothers kept the theatre going despite the growing offers from Naraku. First Sesshoumaru, then a reluctant Inuyasha sunk the rest of their inheritance into improvements; the hanyou was loathe to allow his older brother to continue his father's legacy by himself, even if it meant filling the roles his brother set for him as janitor, prompter, etc.

At last, Sesshoumaru finished his latest play and set the advertisements. By this time, Inuyasha's patience was wearing thin. His hope for acting or keeping the theatre out of Naraku's clutches was faltering. Especially since Naraku engineered the breakup between him and Kikyou.

Inuyasha dug his claws into his palms. Why do I keep thinking about her all of a sudden? She left a month ago and the last time I thought of her was a week ago. He'd thought he at last could forget his former girlfriend and move on, but then came that girl this morning. What was her name…Kagome? The way she smelled, her flowing hair – the same as Kikyou's.

With a forceful wrench, he pulled his mind to other thoughts and continued on into the lobby. His eyes flickered over the English-style bar through a set of open oak doors. Sesshy's never gonna sell this place, he thought. Not after he and Dad spent so much time here. Memories of his own times spent in this place paraded in his mind, chiefly of Inunotaisho doing different things around the theatre: painting a set piece one day, filling in for a secretary or helping rehearse when an actor was late on another. Theatre was his passion, one he transmitted to his sons.

That passion, that love his sons respected enough to grudgingly get along with each other and continue running his theatre.

Still, Inuyasha was feeling the strain and, judging by how much more he and Sesshoumaru had been bickering lately, his older brother was as well.

To take his mind off things, Inuyasha wandered through the bar doors and behind the wide granite countertop, rooting around under it for a glass. Opening the mini-fridge, he rummaged among the bottles and found an opened liter of Tequilah.

A loud banging on the locked front doors caused him to hit his head on the fridge ceiling. Cursing, Inuyasha turned and glared at the wolf youkai standing outside.

"Hey! I thought this where the auditions were!"

Same old hustle and bustle as Hollywood, though a sight more business suits on the streets than shorts and tees, thought Kagome as she walked down the busy street. Less surfboards and more suitcases tucked in hand. Here the town hosted more business offices and apartments, along with a few shops and restaurants. Towering buildings hemmed in the streets, pillars to the Parthenon that was New York. Kagome had yet to explore New York fully and so, took her time.

Block after block passed under her feet until she found herself passing through the Diamond District. In the sun, a thousand stars sparked in shop windows, lining the drab asphalt and burning the edges of vision with a flame that preyed on the mind and not earthly fuel.

"Kagome!"

The girl's head whipped around at the sound of her name. Past the geometric lamp posts marking the end of the Diamond District, she spotted a woman waving at her from a coffee shop's outside table. Recognizing her, Kagome broke into a smile and crossed the street.

At the table sat a tall, lithe girl about her own age. Her dark brown hair was done up in a ponytail and her cappuccino eyes sparkled in welcome. Beside her sat a female wolf youkai with flaming scarlet hair and sharp lime-green eyes; she also smiled and nodded as Kagome ran up and hugged the brunette.

"Sango-chan!" cried Kagome in delight, breaking away. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be back in California, filming Tears of Assyria!"

Sango's face fell. "The studio finally ran out of funds, so Ayame and I were out of a job, we packed everything in our duffels, and arrived an hour ago," she explained, motioning to the redhead. "By the way, Ayame, this is Higurashi Kagome, the finest costume maker around."

Kagome rolled her eyes as she shook Ayame's hand. "Don't take her seriously," she said in a stage whisper. "I just never got caught sewing pockets and sleeves shut."

The wolf youkai's smile grew bigger. "Pleased to meet you Kagome. I hired on two days before the studio went under. Some luck, huh? When Sango-chan decided to head east, I tagged along."

Nodding, Kagome asked, "Was it Myouga who hired you? The director?"

"Yeah."

"That guy…" Kagome shook her head with a fond smile. "He'd give anyone a job even if he couldn't afford it." She raised a finger. "One minute, that's all it took. One minute to tell him I needed work badly and he hired me on the spot." Sighing, she shrugged. "I hope he has a back up job."

The other two agreed. "He was a nice old man," murmured Sango, then cleared her throat. "So, what have you been doing since you got here, Kagome-chan?"

"The same thing I did before Myouga hired me." Kagome filled them in about the Taisho Theatre and the play. "Why don't you two try out? If you can stand the director and his Joseph Stalin managerial skills and manners, that is…"

Ayame made a face. "I don't think I have the actor temperament. However, Sango-chan must try out. Can't let all that talent go to waste, after all."

"Ha." Sango snorted, hiding her embarrassment behind the rim of her coffee mug.

"It's true," insisted Kagome. "I overheard Myouga say you were one of the best beginner actors he'd ever seen."

"Was he sober when he said it?" retorted the girl in a cynical voice. Kagome gave her a playful whack on the shoulder.

Ayame stood up, pulling a protesting Sango to her feet. "Let's go," she ordered. "You're going to try out for this part right now."

"But I haven't found a place to live, yet! Even if I did get the part, I'm still homeless. My van's still parked down by the marina with all our junk."

"The place I'm staying is nice, not to mention affordable," offered Kagome. "It's a nice boarding house for single women run by a sweet old lady named Kaede. We can visit her after we go to the theatre." She led the way back down the street, her friends following.

At a table next to the one they vacated, a newspaper lowered slightly and a man in a dark violet business suit watched them go. Then, giving a small sigh, he tore out a section of the paper, put it in his suit pocket, arose, and began to follow them at a distance.

Inuyasha was thoroughly ticked.

First, a wolf youkai had surprised him into banging his head. Then, that same wolf youkai made a few smart remarks about dog youkai being clumsy. The subsequent shouting match at last roused Sesshoumaru who stormed in, demanding silence. To cap it all, the wolf youkai, whose name turned out to be Kouga, tried out for and was given the main male role in The Wolf's Heart. Thus, any hope of Inuyasha had of never seeing Kouga again was dashed for the next month or so.

Glowering at the smug smirk on Kouga's face, Inuyasha tossed aside the script and jumped off the stage. He returned to the lobby and bar and was just about to pour himself a shot of Tequila when a polite knocking on the main doors interrupted him yet again. Okay, the next baka that knocks on that door without reading the "Auditions-Back Stage Entrance" sign will get a pounding, he growled silently. Turning, he saw the girl, Kagome, waving at him through the glass doors, two other girls behind her.

He unlocked the door and held it open. "Good grief – can anyone read?! You're supposed to go around back!"

"Gomen," apologized Kagome. "We saw you while we were heading there and we thought, well…"

Inuyasha grumbled something, going back to the bar and at last pouring himself a shot. "So, what, you three came up with an act to do during the intermission and want to sell Sesshoumaru on the idea?" he mocked and threw back the drink without blinking.

"No, Sango-chan is going to try out." Kagome introduced the two girls.

The hanyou snorted indifferently. "Hah, with the way things have gone since you left, girl, I wouldn't be surprised if she actually got to play Heilyn." He led them to the side door of the auditorium and waved them inside, restraining Kagome. "Hold it. Just those two if you don't mind. My stick-up-the-arse brother won't like it if you show up again after you tried out."

"Oh." Kagome looked crestfallen. She had wanted to put in a good word for them. "Well, good luck, Sango-chan, Ayame-san."

"They're going to need it," muttered Inuyasha. He walked further down the corridor to the backstage entrance.

Kagome followed. "I was thinking about applying for the wardrobe job. So, should I see Sesshoumaru afterwards?"

"Look, have you even tried looked elsewhere?" The question fell like a blunt axe as the hanyou shoved some stage props around. "Trust me – this ain't the only theatre in town."

Laughing, the girl nodded. "Gee, ya think? It's not like New York's a major center of showbiz. Seriously, though, I'd like to work here."

"Why?" Why am I asking this? Don't we need people? The hanyou took his time shifting a long plywood board. Since Kagome left the first time, he'd gotten a feeling deep in his youki, a prickling that could be danger or elation. And he didn't understand it at all. And it was starting to tick him off. Maybe it was her resemblance to Kikyou- Again, the hanyou deflected his thoughts on that subject by turning to face her.

Probably a bad move. She was looking at him, puzzlement in her eyes.

"I mean, do you even know why we don't have a wardrobe mistress?" he asked.

"No…I'm new here, remember?"

He grunted. "Naraku couldn't have gotten his claws on you yet, I suppose. See," here, his golden eyes dulled to a harder gleam and he cracked his knuckles. "Naraku's the local Mafia rep, slicker than snot and smoother than raked sand. He wanted to buy this place after Dad died but Sesshy told him to bugger off. Since then, he's been trying to get it and recently, he started scaring all potential employees away, hoping we'll cave and sell out." In his throat, a guttural murmur sounded. "Not bloody likely. Still, unless we can get a secretary, a bartender, a few more stagehands and some halfway decent actors, I think Sesshy's going to work until bankruptcy."

Sympathetic, Kagome nodded. "It's a dream, right? He's following his dream." She thought for a moment, then nodded again, making up her mind. "I think that's great. I'll ask your brother for the job. We can't let that guy win."

Her decision was met by a bark of laughter from Inuyasha. "You stupid woman. Don't you know anything about Mafia? If they can make youkai lives miserable, think what they can do to humans like you."

"You need help, don't you?" What is his problem, all of a sudden? Kagome crossed her arms and glared, offended at the "stupid woman" jibe. Before, it sounded like he wanted the help. Now, it's like he's trying to drive me away. "Well, I need the work. That'll show Naraku he isn't winning."

Rolling his eyes, the hanyou felt his humor leaving him. "You are stupid. He'll get to you eventually."

"I can take care of myself!" Kagome's eyes sharpened as he let out a sarcastic "Ha." "I lived in Hollywood, after all."

By now, Inuyasha felt sure he didn't want her in the same city, much less in the same theatre as him. The way her jaw clenched when she was mad, the way her eyes glittered, the way she stubbornly resisted attempts to sway her from her present course: all reminded him of Kikyou. Uncomfortable memories raised their smirking faces and he let out a frustrated growl. "Look, you-"

"Kagome."

"I'm trying to be nice. Since my older brother won't come right out and say it, this theatre's in serious trouble. We may be youkai, but we can't keep it running without putting on shows. When we finally put one on, Naraku's gonna come down on us and everyone else who works here. You could get hurt." He hadn't realized he was speaking so loud until the girl took a step back, wincing slightly.

Yet, this did not deter her. "I said, I can take care of myself!"

"Fine!" yelled Inuyasha, temper finally at the nitroglycerin stage. "Just don't expect me to look out for you if you can't!" As the words left his mouth, he realized he was not arguing with Kikyou and blushed at her momentarily baffled expression.

It disappeared with a scornful laugh. "In your dreams," she retorted. His eyes blinked and she was surprised to see sudden hurt in them.

In the awkward silence that followed the dying echoes of the argument, the walkie-talkie at the hanyou's belt crackled and Sesshoumaru's cold voice filtered through, "Inuyasha, when you and Higurashi have finished screeching at each other, show her the wardrobe room and inform her that her wage will be minimum."

Neither dared to look at the other's reddened face. Inuyasha muttered, "Keh," under his breath, and jerked his head. "C'mon."

The wardrobe room was a makeshift affair, about four times the size of an office cubicle with plywood walls that did not reach the ceiling. Inuyasha booted open the plywood door. "Your domain, O Mistress."

Inside, rows and rows of clothing, hats, scarves, and boots of ranging quantity, quality and size took up most of the space. Some of them were on racks, most were piled carelessly on the floor. In one corner, a sewing machine on a table and makeup stand stood as two columns rising up out of the ruins of a bombed-out department store.

"Whoa."

"Yeah," Inuyasha slouched on the doorframe, favoring the mess with a disgruntled look. "I've avoided coming in here ever since Sesshy got the theatre. Wouldn't be surprised if the place is infested by now."

At that, Kagome's skin crawled. Lice? she wondered, then shot a glance at the hanyou's ears. No, likely fleas.

Oblivious to her thoughts on his hygiene, Inuyasha strolled off. "Anyway, good luck with that."

Kagome was now alone with the mess. With another glance around, she shrugged and set to.

A/N: You can prevent forest fires and reviewless fanfanfiction.