InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ That's Show Business ❯ Coffee With Kagome Tastes Better ( Chapter 13 )

Disclaimer: Hey…um…don't tell anyone, but I DO OWN INU YASHA!!!! mwaHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! And he is MINE! MINE! ALL MINE! Lalalalalala!

chihiro-san: Howdy-hey everybody! Please don't kill me! I have no say in what he does! For some reason, I make a basic plot and then my characters (or in this case, Takahashi's characters) take over. I honestly have no control over them. Hmm hm hm hm hmmmm hm HM! Sorry. I'm listening to Tchaikovsky's "Waltz of the Flowers"…hmmm very pretty….aHEM! Sorry yet again. Well, uh, on with the show!

~*~*~*~

Inu Yasha awoke with much difficulty that morning. At first he mainly moaned and groaned before snuggling down deeper into the covers. After about five minute's time, he caught things that hadn't immediately registered. For example, the bed was soft, cushy, and smelled like…

"Perfume?!" he yelped, leaping out of bed. Suddenly, the room pitched something awful. He looked around frantically until he noticed the en suit bathroom. Clasping a clawed hand over his mouth, he staggered into the tile sanctuary. A good portion of his first hour awake was spent over the toilet, and every second of it was full of regret from having gone on such a drinking binge. When the foul poison was out of his system he came out groggy, but alert. He thanked his lucky stars more than ever now for being a hanyou. His demon blood helped him recover quickly, which meant wounds healed quicker and only minor hangovers. This didn't mean that he'd start drinking more often, though. He knew that he shouldn't have had that beer, but for some reason he needed to get Kagome out of his head, and that was the only way how. Too bad for him that he met her at that bar last night. And he had tried so hard to forget her…

He scanned the room and cringed at everything he saw. The walls were pristine white with enormous bay windows set in them. Long, flowing curtains blocked a menial amount of the morning sunlight. A petit, white, wrought-iron table had a silver tea-set placed attractively on its glass top. The bed…well, it was nothing less than nightmarish. There was one large poofy top comforter and many layers of silky pink sheets beneath it. At least a dozen lacy pink pillows were sprinkled around the edge. The covers were completely disheveled. `Oh God,' Inu Yasha thought, bringing a hand to his mouth. `I deflowered her…Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God…She'll never want to see me again, or speak to me. Ah shit. Why did I have to get drunk?'

Just then, something caught his eye. A small something was poking out of one of the teacups. He inched over to the table and pulled it out. It was a note.

"Inu Yasha, sweetie:

Thanks for a great night. It was the most fun I've had in a long time! Sorry that I didn't wake you, but you were so cute when you were asleep that I couldn't bring myself to disturb you. Can't wait to see you at work today. We should do this again, don't you think?"

Many Kisses,

Kikyo

"Ki-?" he choked. The thought disgusted him so much that he couldn't even finish her name. `I am low. No, lower than low. Oh Gods…HA! I didn't deflower Kagome! YAY! AW CRAP! I deflowered Kikyo! Erlack, erlack! Ugh…I'm so glad that I don't remember last night. I don't want to remember. Kikyo…Oh Gods. That tart was first deflowered long ago; I don't matter to her. Forget deflowered! She was de-weeded! Jeez, just thinking about it makes me shudder. I just-KAGOME! What will Kagome think? I can't face her like this! I-I'm not wearing anything…' He suddenly noticed his lack of clothing for the first time. He spotted them on the floor just a few meters from the bed. Rolling his eyes, he strode over to the wrinkled articles and snatched them up off of the cream colored carpet. He yanked on his various items and did up the buttons. Without a backward glance he snuck out of the room.

~*~*~*~

"Okay, everybody! Let's try to live through today without any more accidents. All right, Inu Yasha! You're up!" Naraku barked. The hanyou nodded curtly and jogged onto the set. He was back in his mail and, quite grudgingly, mind you, his make-up. Sesshomaru stood just off camera, waiting for his entry. This was the last scene that Inu Yasha had to do. After this one he was home free until the premier. Just the thought of leaving Naraku for five months brought a smile to his lips. A small smile, but either way. The only thing that bothered him was that he wouldn't see Kagome. It's not like he could just invite her over. He was never a gracious host. But maybe, just maybe, he could invite her to his flat in New York for a week or so. She might like to see something on Broadway. In an instant, he forgot all about Kagome and concentrated on the scene.

"ACTION!"

"Tishina! Tishina, please, run!" He begged Kikyo. The actress stared at him with fake, imploring eyes.

"No, Bonaki. I won't leave you!" She clung to his arm helplessly and sobbed crocodile tears. Sango rolled her eyes off set and nudged the recovering Miroku.

"Can you believe this?" she whispered. "I could be more convincing than that!" Miroku chuckled silently, soon wincing, he held onto his side. Sango placed a hand on his shoulder in sympathy. "You okay?"

"Yeah, fine," he breathed. Inu Yasha's next sentence drowned out Miroku's sigh of pain.

"You must go! Go…FLEE! NOW!"

"No!" she wailed, embracing him. "I won't. I can't. I-I love you…" A painful expression like that of a heart being broken fell on Inu Yasha's face. Kagome felt her eyes well up, but blinked away her tears. `What am I doing? Its not real…he's not in pain. But he's so convincing…' She folded her hands in her lap and stared at the floor.

"I love you too," he said in a stage whisper, pausing only for a close-up before kissing her. Even though Kagome wasn't looking at them, she felt a strange sensation fill her. She felt like someone had force-fed her hydrochloric acid. Her mild interest in the floor soon turned to bitter hate for the grime on the cement. After a few seconds worth of footage, Inu Yasha shoved Kikyo away.

"Please! You said you love me, true?"

"True."

"Then if you love me, you will run." She looked like she wanted to protest, but nodded dumbly and accepted a close up from camera 2 of her crying. She then sighed pitifully and dashed off-stage.

"Cut! Great job, you two. Kikyo, you're done for today. Inu Yasha, this is your last scene. Now remember, Sesshomaru advances first." The actor nodded and waltzed back up onto the set. Kikyo, however, found a nice spot to watch from. She chose one of the foldout chairs that were placed next to Kagome. The actress hiked up her mediaeval gown and bounded over to Kagome's side.

"Hey, doll," Kikyo panted.

"Mmghf," she mumbled, which in anyone's language is `get the hell away from me, you horrible, evil, nasty woman'. The actress, it seems, was uneducated in the art of `mumble'. She merely smiled at the dialect coach and then looked back at Inu Yasha. He was in the middle of a fight scene with Sesshomaru. The two brothers snarled and scratched as they clashed swords.

"Mmmm…very sexy, don't you think?" Kikyo sighed.

"Sure, if you like morons butting heads," Kagome scoffed.

"Moron? Are you crazy? Inu Yasha's a genius."

"Alert the media! It's a miracle!"

"Laugh all you want, but he is a genius. Well, a genius in bed at any rate." Kagome's heart almost stopped when she heard Kikyo say those words. `Genius in…what the? You mean they..? But I…He can't have…'

"W-what?" she breathed. A smile crept onto Kikyo's face as she recounted the past night's events.

"Yeah. Oh my Lord, was it magical. You should see him drunk sometime!" `Already have, thanks, and he's an ass when he's drunk. But…they actually…' She stared at the hanyou who was stage fighting with his half-brother. Suddenly, his moment had come. Using his trick sword, Sesshomaru came around from behind his brother and "stabbed" him in the back.

"Goodbye, Bonaki," he hissed, ripping the sword from Inu Yasha. The hanyou fell prostrate in the grass and allowed a dazed look to fall on his face.

"CUT! PRINT! Wonderful boys! Just amazing! Okay, Inu Yasha, you're done. See you when the sequel comes out." The actor straightened up and shot Naraku a dark look. `Oh hell no. I'm NOT coming back for another movie! Especially when-is Kagome crying?' He stopped short and stared at her with concern before walking over to her.

"Kagome? Are you okay?" She shook her head and looked away from him.

"No, no I'm not." she mumbled.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He crossed his arms and tapped one foot in annoyance.

"Nothing, huh? Then it sure is a lot of nothing to cry over."

"Did you sleep with Kikyo?" she choked. He started in surprise. `How did she know? Was she there? I wouldn't remember even if she were. Well, I can't lie to the girl…' He hesitated and, eventually, nodded.

"Yeah. Last night. How did you know?"

"YOU PIG!" She screamed and slapped him upside the face. A red handprint exploded to life on the side of his cheek. She turned to storm off, but he caught her by the arm and twirled her around.

"Let go of me!" she snapped.

"Answer me this, will you? Since when do you care? Why would you care if I slept with anyone here? When have you ever cared about me?! I could jump out of my hotel room window and kill myself, and I bet you anything that you wouldn't even come to my funeral!" Anger blazed in his eyes like white fire. She began to cry harder, but only out of frustration.

"That's not true! None of that is true! I've always cared about you! You're my friend, Inu Yasha. More than that, you're my…" She would have finished her sentence, but there wasn't a word for it. What earthly word could be said to describe someone that she loved as much as she loved he? It wasn't possible to find one. Unfortunately, before she could find the closest word to how she felt, he ran her through.

"Just get out of my life. Forever." He pushed passed her and disappeared behind the changing room door.

~*~*~*~

"Hi. Can I have a double-shot espresso?" Miroku asked the man behind the piano shaped counter.

"Sure. That'll be…seven twenty-eight." The producer dished out the money and picked up his, almost instantly prepared, coffee. After a second of searching he found Inu Yasha. The actor was slumped over in the farthest booth from the door. `Seven twenty-eight for a damned cup of coffee…what is this world coming to?' Miroku grumbled as he sat down across from the hanyou. Inu Yasha swirled his decaf with a wooden "not made with rainforest wood!" stirring stick. His stare pierced the leftover bits of muffin that were scattered across the tabletop. Miroku took a sip of his brew and raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure that the crumb is scared shitless, Inu Yasha. Give it up." One fleeting glance gave Miroku the idea that it was time to shut up.

"I can't help it," Inu Yasha muttered at last.

"Help what?"

"I…I'm in …never mind."

"If this is about Kagome, we already know." Inu Yasha choked on his decaf and sat straight up in his seat.

"Wha-who?!"

"Sango and I; we know."

"How? How do you know?"

"For one thing: Sango and Kagome are best friends. They share everything."

"Everything?" Inu Yasha seemed skeptical.

"Everything." Miroku sighed. The actor gulped and fidgeted in his seat. Everything was a lot of things. "Secondly, I've seen the way you look at Kagome."

"The way I-what? I don't look at her in any special way."

"Yeah, and I'm sure that you look at every girl like you want to-"

"Too much information, just shut up!" Inu Yasha barked. `Is it that obvious? Who else knows?'

"Know one else knows, by the way. You didn't say anything, but I can tell that you're worried. Heck, Kagome doesn't even know, and she's the one out of all of us that needs to know. It's too bad that she left."

"Left?" The hanyou echoed.

"Yeah. She quit."

"SHE WHAT?!"

"Q-u-i-t. I.e.: to leave. Dismiss."

"I know what it bloody means! Why did she quit?"

"Because of you." The words hit him harder than anything he's ever experienced. She gave up her job because he had been a fool. No, worse than a fool. He was a monosyllabic, unemotional, self-centered, jerk.

"I don't believe it," he murmured.

"You're telling me." Miroku muttered. Inu Yasha took a long drink of his coffee, finishing it off. He set down the mug and examined it in a bored way.

"Coffee with Kagome tastes better," he said at last.

~*~*~*~

"NOW BOARDING FOR SACRAMENTO. ALL THOSE WITH TICKETS FOR THE FIVE O-CLOCK DEPARTURE, PLEASE GO TO PLATFORM 7. HAVE A BRILLIANT DAY." Kagome looked up from her book at the noisy loudspeaker. Five o-clock to Sacramento. That was her train. She collected her bags, tossed her book into her blue rucksack, and headed off for the mentioned platform. The train wasn't going to leave for another forty minutes, but she was a very punctual person and would like to be early rather than late. She wormed her way through the crowd, being jostled here and there by hurrying people.

*

"When does she leave?" Inu Yasha asked, mildly concerned. Well, he was mild on the outside. On the inside he was a wreak. The love of his life was running away, and it was all because of him.

"In about forty minutes, why?" Miroku wondered as he pulled out his keys.

"Forty minutes?!" The actor balked.

"Yeah."

"I thought you were going to tell me that she'd left already!"

"She didn't leave. She's probably down at Littleton Train Depot right now."

"Well, in that case-!" Inu Yasha shot out a hand and stole Miroku's keys. The hanyou leapt out of his chair and bolted for the door. Miroku stood but wasn't quick enough.

"What about my ride home?!" he yelled. Inu Yasha turned around and tossed Miroku his cell phone.

"Ask Sango for one! I gotta run!"

*

Kagome found an unoccupied metal bench on Platform 7 and sat down. That was a long trek, especially through the enormous crowd. She sighed and was quickly lost in thought…

… `"Since when do you care?"… "I bet you anything that you wouldn't even come to my funeral!"… I sure won't now. Selfish pig. What does he know? He's only the guy that I…The guy that I love more than anything. What am I doing? Why am I running? Because I'm afraid, that's why. But what am I so afraid of?'

*

"Kagome!" Inu Yasha called as he wandered aimlessly through Littleton Train Depot. He needed to find her, fast. The traffic was horrendous and he just had ten minutes until her train left. The only problem was, he didn't know which train she was on. He gritted his teeth, forked over his last scrap of dignity, and ran over to the information center. He hated to admit it, but he needed to ask for directions.

"Excuse me, which trains leave at five?" He panted. The man behind the counter was a kindly old man. He had rich, gray hair and bifocals.

"There's two that're leavin' at five. There's the one on Platform 2, and Platform 7."

"Platform…Um, where's the one on Platform 2 going?"

"To Seattle."

"Okay…and Platform 7?"

"Sacramento."

"Um, right. Thanks." Inu Yasha paused for a second and thought. `Which platform? They're both a possibility. I mean, she'd probably go to Sacramento, but if she really was upset with me…oh God. She's going to Seattle.' Once again, his split-second decision-making proved wrong as he sped off in the direction of Platform 2.

*

"NOW BOARDING FOR THE FIVE O-CLOCK TRAIN TO SACRAMENTO; PLATFORM SEVEN. NOW BOARDING ON PLATFORM 7." Kagome stood behind a portly old man as she waited to board, ticket in hand. A disgustingly pretty lady in uniform stamped Kagome's ticket as she climbed onto the train. It was fairly nice inside. The walls were a bit old, but still maintained a soft rusty color. The carpet was springy and looked like imitation Berber. She bounced along the aisle until she found her seat. The luggage she brought fit perfectly below her seat. She plopped down onto the comfy seat cushion and gazed lazily out the window. `Well, it won't be forever,' she thought. `I have to go back when we're nominated for an Academy Award. I mean…I hope that we're nominated, otherwise…I'll never see Inu Yasha again.'

*

Inu Yasha skidded to a halt on Platform 2. The "train" that was going to Seattle looked more like a red wagon that held at least five billion chickens. They were shipping dinner to Seattle, not people. The actor cursed under his breath and turned on his heels. `Platform 7 it is, then,' he thought bitterly.

After running for about seven minutes or so, he arrived on Platform 7 just as the train was beginning to pull out. His eyes grew with fear as he chased after it.

"NO! KAGOME!" he yelled, right arm extended as if to catch the train. In her soft little window seat, Kagome thought she had heard her name. She stopped zoning out and looked around. Suddenly, they spotted each other. Just as she looked out the window, Inu Yasha looked in.

"Inu Yasha?" she said aloud.

"WAIT KAGOME! DON'T GO!!" he called. She couldn't hear him, but she got the gist of what he was trying to say. The ticket checker reached out and poked Kagome.

"Hey, you. Got a ticket?" She handed it to him, but was hesitant to take it back after he punched it.

"I need to get off the train," she said simply. The man laughed at her gruffly.

"Get off? We're almost out of the station, and you should have thought about staying before you bought a ticket."

"I'm serious! Let me off!"

"You ain't getting off."

"LET ME OFF, DAMMIT!"

"Listen you! We ain't stoppin' this train for no one, especially a no one like you! Now sit down and SHUT UP!" He walked down the row, scowling. Tears formed in Kagome's eyes as she turned her attention back to the window. Inu Yasha was even with her window as he sprinted for all he was worth. She placed a hand on the cool glass, as if somehow that would help to ease her pain.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. Inu Yasha read her lips just in time, for as she said that the train pulled completely out of the station, leaving a broken hanyou in its wake. He was utterly shocked. She was gone. Possibly forever and he didn't stop her. He barely tried. He fell to his knees on the cold, hard, unfriendly platform, as if the weight of his sadness had become physical as well as mental. She was gone.

~*~*~*~

chihiro-san: Sorry if the last bit (as in switching from him to Kagome) was a little confusing, but I think it works. I dunno. And don't worry y'all. It'll be all right in the end, trust me. Also…I hate to admit it…but I only have MAYBE one or two mere chapters to go…I HATE IT! I wish I could write on this forever, but my story is coming to a close before my eyes and I HATE IT! Ah well. End of story means start of new story, and I've got a few ideas that I think are pretty good. But until then…Let's hear it for show biz!

Ps: sorry that this chapter is a bit longer than normal, but I had to finish this scene!