Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha
Surprise! You all thought I forgot about you right? Well, I didn't. I just took a really long break because I was really stuck, but I finally got around to it. One of the things I promised myself when I started writing stories was to NEVER abandon a story. Take a long break, sure, but NEVER abandon it, because I hate it when a good story just cuts off. If I do ever lose inspiration for this story, I'll donate it and if no one wants to take it off my hands I'll just ask for suggestions and keep writing. I will never leave you guys in the dust so don't worry about it. So…I know a lot of you have some colorful language to throw at me, pertaining to the year it took me to update, but let's wait until AFTER you read the chapter so you can vent AND review at the same time. Very conservative, right? Okay, I REALLY hope you like this chapter because you guys deserve a good chapter. Anyways, without further a due, CHAPTER 8!
One Year of Hell
Chapter 8: Anger Management
"Midoriko, I honestly don't see why I have to go to the sickingly happy couple's engagement party."
"Because of publicity? Because you're part of this company? Because I'm your boss and I said so?" Midoriko looked briefly over her shoulder. "Need I go on?"
Naraku growled in frustration and ran his hand through his hair as he watched his boss move around behind her desk, flipping through files and scribbling little notes in the margins. Why did this lady insist on his attendance at the damn engagement party? There just wasn't a logical reason behind it. The miniature girl had blabbed the thing to the entire world so there wouldn't be much of a surprise and if he heard correctly, Kick Ass was getting too much publicity. There wasn't a need for more.
"Look, I don't even write their songs, so can I just not go? Kagome hates my guts anyways and she pisses me off so our hate is mutual. If I just stay in my own little hotel room everyone will be happy."
Did he still not get that this was her own little form of payback? Nobody wanted to go to an engagement party—Kagome was still ticked off about the whole 'revealing of her personal life' thing—and that's the exact reason Midoriko decided she'd throw it. She didn't want to pay for the damages at McDonalds, the hotel door, bust the idiots out of Wal-Mart jail, or apologize for the mess they made on the show the other day. It was time for them to do something they didn't want to do even if it was only dressing up and being in the public eye after a serious news leak. Even if Naraku wasn't wreaking havoc 24/7 he was constantly pissing Kagome off and Midoriko didn't enjoy sitting through that.
She turned around to face the irritated songwriter, her face displaying the look that meant she wasn't a force to be reckoned with. "Look here buster, you're going to that party just like the rest of us because if you don't, you're fired."
Naraku's jaw hit the floor.
"You can't do that!"
"I'm the boss. I can do whatever the hell I want."
Naraku opened his mouth to comment, but closed it, not wanting to get fired because of the very unkind things he's more than tempted to let loose. His hands clenched into tight fists at his side and he prepared to sever his pride and dignity.
"Okay, the thing is you have to have dates for these kinds of events and, if you haven't noticed, I left my girlfriend in Japan. She wasn't fit for all this traveling and I didn't want to put more stress on her. She can't make that long flight and get here on time"
"I'd tell you to just arrange for her to come on a superfast jet, but you and I both know you're lying." The manager smirked at the songwriter's pinched face. "Just call one of those… escort service thingies."
"Do you know how desperate that is?"
Considering she had just called for her own escort, she didn't.
"Here are your two options," Midoriko held up two fingers, "go to the party with an escort or lose your job. Your pick."
"But I need this job!"
"Then I advise you to find a date. You have…" She looked down at her watch, "nine hours. Be at the party nine-thirty sharp."
"But I don't wanna go!" Naraku whined, his voice hitching and sounding like one to rival a two year old with a temper tantrum.
"You're an adult Naraku," Midoriko scolded, sitting down in her regal chair and pinning the man in front of her with a hard look. "Start acting like one."
Naraku took a few seconds so stare down at the devil living in a human's body. What kind of lady would threaten a man with his job just to get him to go to a little rock girl's stupid engagement party? On top of that a girl who hates him. What. The. Hell. Was there no logic in that…thing's brain?
Midoriko looked up from the request a local club had sent, asking Kick Ass to perform, to see Naraku looking at her with anger slapped on his face. Placing down the file, she sighed. "The problem has been solved Naraku; you can get out of my office…now."
Naraku blinked twice before turning so she couldn't see the scowl that marred his features. He then left the office wordless, slamming the door shut behind him.
Midoriko jumped at the echoing sound and glared at the door in which the spider demon had exited.
"Bastard."
Naraku glared at the door that led to the devil hidden in a women's body.
"Bitch."
-0-0-0-0-0-
Miroku had just stepped out of the shower, drying his hair with a towel, when there was a knock on the door.
"Must be Sango," Miroku mumbled to himself as he headed to the door. "She always forgets her key card." He stopped for just a second before opening the door, thinking back to make sure he actually hid the playboys this time. 'All good.' Miroku thought, relieved, as he opened the door.
"Well hello—uggh!" Miroku leapt back from the door in disgust when he looked up to see his girlfriend not standing there.
Naraku pushed his way into the room, ignoring the look of disgust Miroku's face wore. "If you were going to say sweet cheeks or anything remotely close to that phrase…you should rethink your nickname choices and come up with something from, like, this century."
"Naraku," Miroku deadpanned as he shut the door. "What an unpleasant surprise." Miroku moved over to the couch and flopped down, grabbing the remote and bringing the television to life. "What the hell do you want?"
Naraku turned to address Miroku, but stopped short when he saw Miroku just lounging in his towel that was wrapped around his waist, the towel he was drying his hair with now draped around his neck. Naraku's lip curled up in disgust as he turned his back to Miroku. "First, put some clothes on; then I'll explain my plan to you."
"Ooh…what kind of plan?"
"Clothes," Naraku demanded. "Now."
"Whatever," Miroku mumbled, disappearing into the bathroom after grabbing a few pieces of clothes from his suitcase—he never unpacked, despite how much Sango complained—and reappeared less than a minute later, dressed in dark jeans stained with cheese and a wrinkled Linkin Park tee. "Now; what did you want?"
"You know the engagement party tonight?"
"Unfortunately," Miroku grumbled as he fell back down on the couch, flipping through the channels. He did not want to have to get dressed up and go to a party with a bunch people he didn't know. All their friends and family were in Japan and they should be the ones at the party. Though…they did already have an engagement party in private for friends and family…why the hell was Midoriko pushing this so hard again? Miroku sighed, shaking his head. The only up side was that he'd see Sango in an overly priced but gorgeous dress that he might be able to rip off when it was over; if he was lucky.
"You have to have dates and crap for these events and…" Naraku sighed. He really didn't want to have to admit this fact twice. "I don't have a date," Naraku mumbled.
"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you," Miroku said, not even looking at Naraku, too focused on trying to find something worth watching to really pay attention. "Could you repeat that?"
Naraku glared at the boy and repeated, a bit louder, "I don't have a date for the engagement party."
"And?" Miroku asked, not caring. "Go get one."
This was going to be harder than admitting he didn't even have a date. Naraku took a deep breath. "I'm not…the best at getting a date actually…" He mumbled, looking away from Miroku, a light pink dusting his cheek.
"No shit," Miroku said offhandedly, still searching for something to watch, completely oblivious to the murderous look Naraku was giving him. "You give off this creeper vibe."
"The reason I'm here, jackass," Naraku started through gritted teeth, "is because I need some advice on how to get a date. And you owe me one since I did get you those p—"
"Shhh!" Miroku stopped Naraku, hopping off the couch and clamping his hand over the spider demon's mouth. "The walls have ears."
"I think you mean cornfields," Naraku mumbled as Miroku removed his hand and wiped it off on his jeans.
"No, somehow these walls can hear everything and tell Sango because I always get caught with things she doesn't approve of." Miroku looked around the room as if there was actually someone else in the room that was capable of hearing their conversation. "You can never be too careful."
"Doesn't matter when you're already insane." Naraku mumbled to himself.
"What?"
"So are you going to help me or not?" Naraku asked, getting them back on topic. "Midoriko is being the ultimate bitch and is going to fire me if I don't show up at the party and with a date."
"She can do that?"
"She's the boss," Naraku grumbled, glaring at the memory of the scene that unfolded only minutes ago. "So am I getting your help or not?"
"What kind of help do you want?" Miroku asked, sitting back down on his couch. "Do you want me to set you up with somebody or give you advice on how to get a girl?"
"Advice," Naraku decided after giving it a little thought. He wanted to know the girl before he brought her to the party so if Midoriko decided to stick her giant nose in his business he could make it look like he actually had some sort of relationship with the girl, unlike the escort she probably hired.
"That's easy," Miroku assured. "Just turn your creepy look into a…mysterious kind of thing and girls might actually give you a second look."
"Alright…" Naraku said, nodding. "But how exactly do I make myself mysterious?"
"Wear a pair of dark jeans, throw on a dark t-shirt and a leather jacket then sit around on a motorcycle outside a club. And wear some shades," Miroku added as an afterthought. "Very mysterious."
"I don't own a motorcycle, or a leather jacket."
"Rent one?"
Naraku thought over how much money he had in the bank. He could rent a motorcycle and buy a leather jacket without putting a huge dent in his wallet.
"Alright, what would I say?"
"Attention grabber; ask for directions in smooth voice to…I don't know, a coffee shop or something and if she takes the bait and asks more questions about you, never give her a direct answer. Always remain discreet," Miroku advised and Naraku took it all in, nodding his head. "Then, mention that you're a songwriter and there's a party your manager is throwing—do not mention the engagement because Midoriko doesn't want fans or press wandering in—give her the address, and then say, 'if you want to solve a mystery, you should come.' wink, then, drive off."
"That seems corny," Naraku deadpanned. "And I can't ride a motorcycle."
Miroku sighed. Naraku sure knew how to make helping himself quite difficult. "Make it around a corner before you fall off and make the line un-corny."
"Fine," Naraku huffed, not liking the hostility in Miroku's tone. "And what if all that fails?"
"Tell them you're a songwriter touring with Kick Ass and know the manager very well. If they're interested in the music biz, you could help them if they attended this party with you. But that's only a last result solution," Miroku told the spider demon, looking him in the eyes. "You don't want to come off as desperate."
"Okay," Naraku agreed with a nod of his head. He made his way to the door, "Thanks for the help." He reached for the doorknob before turning back to Miroku. "I got a new porno the other day and I'll send it to you as a token of my gratitude." He said opening the door.
"The walls have—"
"Porno?" Sango asked from the hall in front of the door and Naraku cringed at the murderous look she was sending the man on the couch behind him. "Really?"
"Sango," Miroku squeaked out as he too caught her facial expression, "I didn't ask for it, I—"
"It was nice seeing you, Sango." Naraku said as he squeezed by the woman who had a bag of groceries in her hand. He didn't want to be included in Miroku's beat down if Sango got out of control. "I'll see you at the engagement party."
"Yeah…Miroku might not be able to walk to the engagement party!"
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Do you know where—"
"Don't talk to me creep!" A girl shouted as she ran by him, dodging the outstretched hand Naraku had held up. "I don't talk to strangers!"
Naraku watched the girl run off in disbelief before shaking his head, ready for a second try.
A pretty girl with a miniskirt, low cut shirt, and stilettos on walked by and he called out.
"Do you—"
"Look, I'm not a prostitute, jackasss, and just because I dress like this it doesn't mean I don't have a respectable job, so fuck off!" Naraku was taken aback by her sudden outburst. "You and your god damn assuming! See a girl in…"
Naraku decided he'd let that one go. She had too much of an attitude.
Another girl walked by.
"Hey, I saw you and—"
"I know I don't look it, but I'm already knocked up and I don't need any of you dumbass men trying to coax me into bed!"
Another acceptable prospect walked by.
"I—"
"I charge way too much than what you've got to offer in your little… get up," The lady said offhandedly as she marched by, not even blessing Naraku with a glance.
A girl with two long braids came by with a quick shuffled walk, but Naraku decided to try his luck anyways.
"Hey, I need—"
"Don't touch me!" she screamed with a terrified look at him. "I have pepper spray and I swear to God I will blind you!"
Maybe he was waiting around in the wrong part of town.
Naraku was about to leave and scope out a different area instead of in front of Starbucks, but then he saw her walking towards him through his tinted shades.
She was walking by slow enough to make it obvious she was checking him out and she wasn't too fat or ugly and around his age. With long, straight, brown hair accompanied by bangs, tight jeans and a band tee for Kick Ass she made things too easy. She seemed to be flirtatious enough to go out to a party with him without knowing him for very long. This was it. She was going to be the one.
"Hey," Naraku called out after she had walked by him and she didn't hesitate to turn around and bat her long eyelashes at him. "You know the way to Silent Bunny?" It was a club where a lot of bands played. He had Googled it.
"Depends," She walked over to him, licking her lips seductively. "What are you going to do for me if I help you out?"
Naraku gulped down the tennis ball in his throat. This girl got straight to the chase. "There's this party at a hotel I'm going to at nine tonight. A lot of important people are going to be there."
"What kind of important people?"
"Important ones," Naraku answered, not giving out too much information and remaining 'mysterious'. "If you want to crack a mystery you should stop by," Naraku said, taking her hand and writing the address on it, surprised when she didn't rip her hand away, "You might like the conclusion." He was in the process of hopping on the bike when the girl grabbed his elbow, stopping him.
"Wait," she let go of him giving him a small smile. "I can't go to a party and not know your name."
"Naraku," he answered the girl. "And the party is formal, so wear a dress." He was about to drive off when he thought he should probably know her name too if he wanted to look impressive in front of Midoriko. "And your name is?"
The girl smiled a somewhat devious smile that made Naraku a bit skeptical, but he waved the feeling off.
"Misty."
-0-0-0-0-0-
Knock. Knock.
Inuyasha looked away from the T.V to stare at the door, wondering if it would be worth answering. He didn't want to move out of his perfect spot, strain his legs by walking to the door, use his muscles to open the door, and then have to actually speak if it was just the maid wanting to clean. All that energy wasted for nothing!
Knock. Knock.
Considering the persistency, it can't be the maid, Inuyasha concluded as he stood up begrudgingly from the couch, 'straining' his legs to walk to the door. I swear, if this isn't important…
Inuyasha's thoughts ended when he opened the door to reveal Miroku standing there, covered in egg yolk and shells, a pad and pencil in his hand.
"What the—"
"Naraku came for help, I gave it to him, he offered porno as a token of his gratitude and Sango heard." Miroku answered before Inuyasha could even finish asking. "She had just bought a carton of eggs for breakfast tomorrow."
"Oh…well, I guess you won't be eating tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, well, she needed some time to calm down and kicked me out." Miroku moved past Inuyasha who closed the door. "I figured she'd actually listen to my side of the story when she's not thinking about killing me."
"And teachers thought you were dumb."
"You have a towel you could spare?" Miroku asked, ignoring Inuyasha's smartass comment. "I don't exactly enjoy this gooey feeling."
"Yeah. Just a sec." Inuyasha disappeared into the bathroom and came back with a handful of towels. He tossed one towel to Miroku and used the others to cover the couch. He didn't' want Kagome to come back to see yolk all over the couch.
"Is Kagome here?" Miroku asked as he scrubbed the yellow substance from his hair. "I kind of need to interview her about the engagement. I know my boss is going to be pissed that I didn't get the lead scoop on this considering I'm traveling with y'all." Miroku sighed as he fell onto the towels that were strategically placed on the couch. "So, do you think she could tell me some stuff and not tell any of the other press?"
"Kagome is out right now," Inuyasha told him, sitting down beside his egg-covered friend. "But I'm not going to kick you out…yet."
"You just don't know how it feels to have your girlfriend threatening to break every bone in your body before you even get to tell her the whole story." Miroku sighed.
Suddenly the door flew open, revealing Bankoutsu, Kouga, and Sesshoumaru, all with goofy grins on their faces. Minus Sesshoumaru that is.
"How the hell did you get in here?" Inuyasha demanded to know as the three boys filed into the hotel room. If they broke the lock again, I swear…
"I knew it!" Kouga laughed as he pointed at Miroku's head that still had trails of yolk in it. "Oh damn. Ayame told me Sango told her she covered you with eggs, but I thought you'd have a little more pride."
Miroku covered his face with his hands, not able to take the verbal abuse of his friends as they pointed and laughed. Minus Sesshoumaru who chose to mock the guitarist's boyfriend in his head. "You don't get it," Miroku mumbled. "If I forget to make the bed Sango might flip out!"
"Whoopish!"
"Yeah Miroku, you're so whipped. Even Naraku said it."
Miroku ran a hand through his hair and exhaled through his nose trying to ignore the teasing of his travel mates. "You guys don't know what it's like to have a temperamental girlfriend."
The guys were quiet for a second before they looked at Inuyasha who was looking at Miroku with a quirked brow.
"And who's girlfriend's at Anger Management?"
-0-0-0-0-
"And why do you find the need to express your anger with violence?"
Kagome tapped her foot impatiently and crossed her arms over her chest, her lips twisting into a bitter, impatient grimace. She always thought therapy was a waste of time and found it ironic that she was being forced to sit through it. She wouldn't say she used violence, exactly, just her hands more than a calming voice. But honestly, did they not see her boyfriend—now known as fiancé to the rest of the world ever since Rin opened her big mouth. Hello, something was bound to rub off on her.
"Look, I don't need to be—"
"Ah, ah, ah," the psychologist shook his head not approving of Kagome's tone. "Let's try to get that hostility out of your voice."
Kagome exhaled through her nose like an angry bull.
This was a fucking waste of her time. So she tossed a few donuts around and a handful of mints and majestically managed to destroy the morning breakfast display of Melissa Live in the mist of it all. She apologized, she wasn't mentally unstable—it's called a short temper and she owns one. Some people have patience and some people don't. She didn't. And she didn't 'lose her senses when she was in a state of rage' (as the stupid psychologist's put it) she just…didn't think much of anything else when she was in the act of…serving justice.
"I don't think I need to be in anger management," Kagome repeated in a calm voice that she used mostly when talking to her parents and other respectable adults. "I was only—"
"Judging by your previous incidents, you're not the best when it comes to handling your anger," the psychologist cut her off, making Kagome agitated, as he flipped through a file he had on her. "There was that time after that article of you and…your fiancé, right?" Screw Rin. "Yes, you apparently cursed out a number of paparazzi and then you exposed a young lady to an entire audience as…an act of revenge?"
Kagome thought back for a second. I don't remember—
"The girl's name was Kikyo Hanami as you unashamedly announced to everyone."
Ooooh… "Well, you see, Kikyo deserved that," Kagome began in her calm voice, trying to reason with her new—not needed—doctor. "She sent in this article about me with all these lies—"
"And who gave you the right to punish the girl? Who said, 'Kagome Higurashi, you are now able to deal out Karma'?"
"Uh…" Man, this guy was actually good.
"And what about Kikyo? How did her family take those pictures? How did she feel to be so ashamed to have the public see her so…exposed? Did you think about how her life might be affected when you decided to completely ruin this girl's image?"
"They were online!" Kagome argued. "If she didn't want the world to know she shouldn't have—"
"Were they under an anonymous name?"
"No!" Kagome felt proud of the fact that she had made a point that he couldn't argue back at. "She was under the name, Kikyo Hanami."
"Was this a password protected site? As in, if you weren't a pervert you would have never known about Kikyo?"
"Um…"
"So now all the un-perverts know about Kikyo's indecent acts and you have completely shamed not only her, but her family." The psychologist leaned over his desk, giving Kagome an assessing look. "How does that make you feel?"
Shit. "Not very good," Kagome mumbled, not looking the man in the eyes as she admitted defeat. "But she—"
"And then there was that verbal assault on that fan in Ohio…"
"She kissed Inuyasha!"
"And as of recent, you attacked your drummer on the set of Melissa Live." The man kept flipping through Kagome's files, shaking his head. "I think you're being influenced by your environment."
"Not all bands are rowdy and 'let's smash stuff'," Kagome mumbled, getting tired of having to sit in the same chair and be analyzed.
"I'm not talking about that. It seems that your boy—I mean, fiancé"—Damn Rin—"has also had quite a few violent run ins of his own. Was it trashing a McDonalds and injuring a man?" He looked up at Kagome expectantly and Kagome shrunk a bit in her seat.
"It was an accident."
"And your buddy Bankoutsu here shot someone—"
"Out of a form of protection!" Kagome protested vehemently. She'd be damned if this guy was going to try and flip what Bank did to save her life into a bad thing. "That guy was trying to… to—"
"And you friends Sesshoumaru and Kouga seem to have a number of charges made on them…" The man continued on, deciding he could care less about Kagome's argument. "And this Sango girl, the guitarist? She has made a number of threats and even carried out a few." The psychologist shut the file shaking his head. "To be honest, I think just about all of you could use therapy."
"So…are we done here?" Kagome asked, already easing herself out of her seat. She had been here, what, twenty minutes? Far too long in her opinion.
"Sit down, Ms. Higurashi," her doctor scolded like a school teacher. "We are going to go over some techniques on how to correctly control our anger."
Kagome grumbled as she slumped back into her seat, crossing her arms. "What are we going to do?"
"First, let's start with some deep breathing." The psychologist placed his pen down and gathered his hands at his diaphragm. "Breath in…"
A fucking waste of her time.
-0-0-0-0-0-
Confession Cam:
Kagome— "Really, what the hell is deep breathing going to do to help me calm down? As far as I got today, the man is still telling me I sound like an angry bull rather than…I don't know, what the hell am I supposed to sound like when I'm doing deep breathing? And then he says 'find a way besides angry words to express your anger'. The only other way I know how to express my anger is with my fists and I'm pretty sure he doesn't want me to do that. That mind shit is a waste of my time because it didn't help anything!
-0-0-0-0-0-
"He is definitely in the closet," Inuyasha predicted as he watched the girl move towards her coat closet to look for the killer, a metal bat in her hand, "and he's going to pop out and cut her head off with a chainsaw." Inuyasha laughed at the image of the girl screaming as the chainsaw went for her neck, throwing a handful of popcorn in his mouth.
As predicted, the girl's head was disconnected from her neck and Inuyasha rocked with giggles, almost choking on a popcorn kernel. Cheesy and predictable horror flicks like this always humored him.
"You know there's something wrong with you if you're laughing when a girl loses her head."
Inuyasha yelped as he looked behind him to see Kagome standing behind the couch and he visibly relaxed. "When did you get here?"
"In the middle of your giggle fest." Kagome stated emotionless as she came around the side of the couch and plopped herself down in Inuyasha's lap, giving him a quick kiss. "What happened to our door? I didn't even need the key to get in."
"Kouga's what happened," Inuyasha grumbled. "He barged in to get a look at the egg covered Miroku."
"What?"
"You'll hear the story later," Inuyasha waved off, adjusting Kagome's weight so he was a bit more comfortable. "Oh, and Miroku needs an exclusive interview from you about the engagement so his boss won't eat him alive."
"I don't even want to think about any kind of press," Kagome mumbled as she buried her head in Inuyasha's shoulder. "Even if it's just Miroku."
"You're going to have to give him the interview," Inuyasha told her, not sugarcoating the truth, as he rubbed comforting circles in her back "And Midoriko called and said you need to work on your 'Thank Yous' for the album."
"Uggh…"
"And we have to be ready for the engagement party by nine or Midoriko's firing." Kagome snapped her head up. "At least, that's what she told Naraku. I highly doubt she can fire the band."
"I thought so."
"How was Anger Management?" Inuyasha asked, trying to hide his smile, but the twitching at the corners of his lips gave him away and Kagome's eyes narrowed.
"It's not funny," Kagome grumpily mumbled and Inuyasha just smiled up at her. "My psychologist thinks you need therapy too."
"Really?"
"Yup," Kagome nodded her head, running her hands through Inuyasha's silver hair. "But it doesn't really help, I'm learning. HE just told me a bunch of mumbo jumbo, like…'deep breathing' and 'don't use angry words'," Kagome scoffed. "Like that's ever going to help."
"You never know."
"You know what I need?" Inuyasha raised his brows. "I need a stress reliever. That session was extremely stressful and I need something to…to…make me forget it ever happened."
"Oh…I get it." Inuyasha smiled mischievously, leaning in to kiss Kagome.
"No! Not that you perv!" Kagome scolded, pushing Inuyasha's pursed lips away from her. "I was talking about comfort food."
"What?"
"You know, food you eat after a bad experience to make you feel better?"
"You mean that weird theory girls made up as an excuse to pig out?"
"Inuyasha!" Inuyasha ducked just in time for Kagome's hand to miss his hand.
"I know what you're talking about," Inuyasha said. He looked at Kagome who was giving him pleading eyes. "You want me to get you some food so you can avoid all that paparazzi outside, right?"
"Snickers and Mint Chocolate, please."
"I don't know…the paparazzi out there are pretty vicious." Kagome pouted. "They want to know all about our engagement."
"I'll love you forever…"
"I thought you already did."
"Come on, Inuyasha," Kagome huffed. "Pleeease." She batted her lashes for extra effect.
He really didn't feel like dealing with annoying paparazzi but when Kagome gave him that look and was sitting on his lap…
"Fine."
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Are you insulted she hid the engagement? Do you think she's really ashamed of you?"
No; but then they'll start accusing me of lying and try to convince me that I should be ashamed by it.
"No comment."
"Do you think you will be one of the rare celeb couple that will actually stay together?"
Of course; but if we break up for some reason they won't hesitate to shove that back in my face.
"No comment."
"Do you think you're settling down too early?"
Demons find their mates early; but then they'll throw in how Koga or Sesshoumaru aren't engaged. Fucking bastards.
"No comment."
"Did you ask her to marry her because she was pregnant?"
Does she look pregnant!
Inuyasha stopped mid stride and turned to face the reporters who had been trailing him since he got out of the car rental in the parking lot. He'd been following Midoriko's directions of answering "no comment" to everything and keep walking because the last thing they needed was a huge made up scandal provided by the paparazzi, but that last comment had struck a nerve. He asked Kagome to marry him because he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his fucking life with her. The fact that they went and questioned his motives pissed him off.
The reporters caught the angered look of the hanyou and immediately started to ease off. America was short on their supply of demons and the half demon's fangs and sharp talons made them back away a bit.
"No. Fucking. Comment!" Inuyasha erupted, throwing the hotel doors back, almost ripping them from their hinge and the paparazzi stayed frozen in place, making the smart decision not to follow.
"Damn, nosy paparazzi…" Inuyasha mumbled angrily as he stormed towards the elevators. This was the last time he went out to get Kagome's comfort food.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Midoriko," Naraku called out when he saw the manager by the drink table in her floor length white gown, a well groomed man on her arm. "You see that I'm here, right?"
"Considering I have eyes, yes." Midoriko mumbled as she glared at the smug look on Naraku's face. Her gaze shifted to his date under his arm who was dressed elegantly with her hair pulled up into a bun. She looks familiar… "So which escort service did you hail from?" Midoriko asked, eyeing the girl. "Was it Great Dates? Date for a Day?"
"Actually—"
"We met at Starbucks," Naraku cut the girl off, drawing the girl closer to him. "Only desperate people actually go to an escort service for a date. Makes sense that you went to get that guy from an escort service." Naraku tried to ease the last sentence out as a yawn, but Midoriko caught on and folded her hands into a fist, preparing for a fight.
"Listen here, you slimy, stubborn, perverted—"
"It looks like the happy couple has arrived." Midoriko's date cut her off before she went too far, pointing at the two figures descending the large staircase that led them to the ballroom.
"About time those two got here," Naraku mumbled, tugging at his tie to loosen it around his neck again. "Now I can leave earlier."
"This is a party for Inuyasha and Kagome," Misty said, pretending to be honestly shocked at their appearance, even though she had been scheming the entire time. "Oh my god, they are important people."
"Told you."
"Wait a second…" Midoriko squinted her eyes at the couple as they descended the stairs. "Those two idiots are arguing." she growled, missing the happy look on Misty's face. If they cause a scene, I'll lock them up in that bus for months.
-0-0-0-0-0-
"Kagome, I hate this monkey suit."
"Just wear it for about an hour or two and then we'll slip out."
"We shouldn't have even come," Inuyasha mumbled, tugging at his bowtie. "I went through paparazzi hell to get your food and you owe me one. We should have ditched the party."
"And let Midoriko bitch us out?" Kagome shook her head. "We're getting this done and over with."
"You make it sound like our engagement is a bad thing."
"You know I don't think that," Kagome sighed, linking her arm with Inuyasha's as she shot a fake smile to a few people at the bottom of the steps that she didn't even know. "I just hate having everyone in our business. And you do too!"
"But you keep making it sound so bad," Inuyasha pointed out, looking at Kagome. "If you don't want to—"
"I do!" Kagome cut him off. "I do, okay? Stop…trying to talk me out of this."
"Okay," Inuyasha mumbled smiling secretly to himself before looking up to survey the crowd. "No shit. Naraku actually got a date."
"Really?" Kagome looked up and scanned the crowd for the perverted songwriter. "No way! And she's not even ugly."
"Wait a second…" Inuyasha squinted at the girl underneath Naraku's arm. "She…"
"She looks kind of familiar." Kagome finished for him, now slowing her steps as she took time to look over Naraku's date.
"I've definitely seen her before."
"I just can't put my finger on it…" Kagome
"She's looking at me kind of weird…" Inuyasha whispered uneasily as Naraku's date licked her lips, her eyes locked with him. "She reminds me of—"
"Misty!" Kagome finished for him, now glairing daggers at the brunette under Naraku's arm as she simply smirked back.
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Confession Cam:
Inuyasha—"You see, this is why we should have avoided the party."
Kagome—"What. The. Fuck!"
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Okay, that is all for this chapter. I had a few more things planned, but I have to be up at, like, 4 in the morning tomorrow to get ready and leave for a funeral and I still have to find something to wear so… don't really have time to make this perfect and I REALLY wanted to get this out so I haven't even put this through editing so please, try to overlook the mistakes until I get it all polished up. And REVIEW! And yell at me for how long it took me to update. I can take it.
~Kimiko888~
Have you heard the news that you're dead? Ahahaha, (silly My Chemical Romance) hanmajoerin certainly hasn't. Editing for One Year of Hell? DONE!