InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ That's Show Business ❯ A Turn For The Worse ( Chapter 16 )

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha or anybody else. I do, however, own a LARGE bottle of Sparkling Cider that I'm about to down in one go. Heh heh heh…*devilish laugh*

chihiro-san: Well, it's about 11:29 pm in Freezeyourassoff, USA. The date…is December 31. Why am I up so late? Reason #1 is because I never sleep. Reason #2 is because IT'S ALMOST THE NEW YEAR! Let us not forget baby New Year in out holiday bustling. He has feelings too, you know. And for those of you who didn't get invited to a new year's party, well, join the club. I was invited to one, but I declined so that I could get some peace, quiet, and write to you guys. You should all feel loved. Which you are. But that's beside the point. By the by, if you don't like the upcoming `turn for the worse', don't kill me. *whimper*

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Inu Yasha glared at his pristine reflection with disgust. He hated tuxedoes, especially when they were freshly dry-cleaned. It felt to him like he was ironed along with the deep blue fabric. He stared at himself critically as he turned in a slow circle.

"Are you sure that I look alright?" he asked Darla. The agent seemed to be lost in her own little world, though, because her eyes were the size of dinner plates and her jaw was unhinged. The actor raised an eyebrow at her and cleared his throat. She shook her fiery head quickly and composed herself.

"Y-you look fine, just fine," she mumbled, switching her gaze from him to the floor. He fidgeted with his tie (always an annoying thing) and frowned. After about five minutes of adjusting, Darla couldn't take it anymore. She set down her notebook in a nearby chair and waltzed over to him.

"Oh, just let me do it," she grumbled, taking the silken tie in both hands. As she fixed him up, Inu Yasha couldn't help but think about something that had been on his mind for a long time. He eyed himself again in the mirror before he found the right words.

"Hey Darla? You're a girl, aren't you?"

"Since last I checked. What about it?" she said distractedly, tugging at the tie to tighten it.

"I was just wondering, you know, if you didn't know me…how I would look to a girl." She stopped tugging and looked him up and down skeptically. Suddenly, it hit her.

"Who is she?" A coy smile played at his agent's glossy lips. He shifted feet nervously and crossed his arms.

"What on earth are you talking about?" he said airily.

"The crossing of arms is usually a sign that someone is hiding something. Who is she?" Just then, the small, wrinkled owner of the tailoring shop that they were in shuffled through the dressing room door. The folds of his skin rose and fell like waves as he spoke.

"Thur's a limoseen oot thur wiatingk for yoo, Mistur Inu Yaksa." The hanyou nudged his agent in the ribs and bent a little to speak into her ear.

"What did he say?" he whispered.

"I think he said that the limo's ready, but he could have said anything with that accent of his," she breathed. Inu Yasha stood up strait, smoothed out the front of his jacket, and followed the owner out of his shop. It seemed that Darla had translated correctly, for parked out front was a pearly white limo. The tinted windows concealed everything inside, but the driver was shaped like Bendil, his butler. Inu Yasha opened up one of the back doors and slid inside. He held it open for Darla, but she shook her head.

"Nope. I'm getting a ride to the premier with my boyfriend. Sorry, but it's kind of a date." She grinned sheepishly at him.

"No problem. Sounds romantic, though, going to a movie premier that Naraku is hosting. Love will certainly be in the air, or cursing. Either one." She laughed and shut the door on his smiling face as the limo pulled from the curb. The buildings around the car meshed together as they sped down the strangely empty streets of Hollywood. It was almost ominous to see the roads so bare, but then again it was almost eight on a Tuesday. Inu Yasha leaned back and decided to just enjoy the ride.

Suddenly, to his amazement, the limo began to slow down. `We can't be there yet,' he thought, pressing his nose against the glass. The limo crawled up alongside a dark, deserted alleyway and stopped abruptly. Adrenalin began to seep through the half-breed's veins as he heard the driver get out of the limo. Something wasn't right. He fingered the handle on his door nervously, as if deciding to make a run for it or to simply stay put. They could just have some mechanical problems, but then again he didn't hear or feel anything go wrong. He warily stepped out of the vehicle to find the driver not a yard away.

"Kouga!" he barked. A twisted smile lifted the corners of the environmentalist's lips.

"That's right, it's me. Were you expecting Bendil?" His voice was raspy, as if he hadn't spoken in months. A droplet of cold sweat fell from Inu Yasha's brow.

"Actually, I was. What did you do to him?"

"Oh, nothing really. He's just taking a bit of a nap on the front seat." It was just then that Inu Yasha noticed Kouga's clothes. He was wearing Bendil's charcoal uniform and in the right side near the stomach was a tear. The rip had blood surrounding it, and he knew that it could only be one thing: a stab wound.

"You killed him," Inu Yasha hissed through his teeth. Kouga chuckled and pulled a soiled dagger from the inside of his coat.

"He was in the way so I got rid of him, just like what I'm going to do to you. You filthy, conniving, stupid, worthless, fool! You took my precious Kagome from me!" An almost amused grin fluttered onto Inu Yasha's face as he gaped at Kouga. `So this is what he's going on about? Kagome? She's a great girl and all, but I wouldn't kill someone over her.'

"You're crazy, d'you know that? She's just a girl."

"She is not just a girl! She's my love; my only. I was going to propose to her that night, but no. You had to intervene and force her to break up with me! This is your fault!"

"Look buddy, that night when you found us in her hotel room was not brought on because of anything that we had created. She had ordered too much food and asked me to finish it with her. She broke up with you because she was sick of you being gone all of the time, not because we were having a sordid affair or anything!" `Okay, that's a bit of a lie about the food, but who cares really? We weren't doing anything wrong; just eating.'

"You're a LIAR! Kagome loved me more than anything! I was always there for her!"

"Then why did she dump you?" Kouga twitched and raised his bloodied dagger.

"Because of YOU!" he yelled, thrusting the knife deep into the side of the limo. Inu Yasha had leapt to one side just in time. He snarled and tried to take the blade from Kouga, but he was too strong. They struggled against one another for a few minutes before an idea came to the hanyou. He stuck his ankle behind the inside of Kouga's knee and pulled backwards. The result was Kouga falling to his knees and his grip weakening. Inu Yasha stole the dagger away and lifted him up by the collar of his stolen uniform. He flailed and kicked at the half-demon, but to no avail. In one swift motion, Inu Yasha slammed him against the side of an ancient shop, took the dagger in one hand, and sunk it into the wooden wall behind Kouga. The youkai shuddered as if he had been stabbed. Apparently he thought that he was going to be, for he opened an eye warily.

"Y-you didn't kill me," he stated in a shocked voice.

"No, but the State of California might. Now, if you don't mind, I'm late for my movie premier." Inu Yasha trotted off down the street, leaving Kouga to fend for himself. At first the youkai tried to make a run for it, but he soon found out that Inu Yasha had nailed him to the wall with the dagger. It had gone through the coat, shirt, and undershirt of the uniform. Kouga tugged and yanked on the handle of the blade, but it was too deep into the wood. Sighing, he resignedly stared at his feet, wondering if prison food was as bad as he thought it would be.

*

"He's late. Why is he always so God damned late?!" Naraku barked. The movie was going to start in almost an hour and a half and Inu Yasha still hadn't showed up. It was just like him. Naraku imagined the actor arriving just as the movie was about to start, completely missing his director's speech and avoiding the paparazzi altogether. The director began to pace the foyer of the Chinese Theater agitatedly, grumbling swear words and various obscenities under his breath.

"You just said the `f word' twelve times in one sentence, so you must me talking about me!" chirped a voice from behind him. He whirled around to find Inu Yasha, beaming.

"You…" Naraku hissed.

"Me…" Inu Yasha mocked. His director shook with rage and merely pointed to the stars around them. Taking the hint, Inu Yasha grudgingly slumped away to mingle with a million tabloid rats. This was just like every other premier that he went to, and by now it was all routine: 1) greet a million fan girls on the red carpet 2) schmooze with a bunch of strangers 3) listen to an ass-numbingly boring speech from `Mister Director' 4) finally watch the movie and 5) the after party. Number five on the list of torture was always the highlight, because by then he was the only sober one and he enjoyed watching uptight jerks become slushed fools. After searching for about ten minutes, Inu Yasha found a familiar face in the crowd.

"Miroku!" he called, worming his way through the bodies. The producer spotted him and they met halfway.

"Hey, you. What's up?"

"No time for pleasantries. I need your cell phone and I have to find Kagome."

"Kagome, huh? She's been looking for you."

"She has?" He tried to sound composed and unconcerned, but his voice raised an octave and gave him away. Miroku fished his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and tossed it to the actor.

"Who're you calling?"

"The police."

"WHAT?! Why?"
"Because my driver was killed and I almost was, too."

"Ah. That would be a good reason to call the police, then. I thought that you were going to prank call them."

"I only did that once. Shut up." In the end, the cops were directed to where Kouga was `pinned' and Inu Yasha got a straight answer from Miroku about where Kagome was. The producer seemed to take joy in the fact that his friend was so intent on finding her. Eventually, he told him.

"She's way over there with Sango," he laughed, pointing to the western corner of the foyer. Inu Yasha didn't even thank him as he turned on his heels and stormed over to the girls. Well, he tried to storm over to them, but the five million-odd people in his way made storming a touch difficult. He shoved a fat broad out of the way and stopped dead. There she was. After eight months of waiting, he was going to finally speak with her. Or, at least he thought he was. She had her back to him, and just seeing her not see him made a lump the size of Kansas form in his throat. `She's so beautiful,' he thought, sighing to himself. She was wearing a velvety, forest-green dress that flowed gracefully down her hips and stopped just a bit past her knees. Her hair was done up in an elegant knot, and even though he couldn't see her face he knew that it was perfectly make-upped. As if sensing his gaze, Kagome turned around. The first thing that caught his eye wasn't her face, but her front. Her dress was cut in a V-shape that, well, went a bit lower than modesty allows. His eyes snapped up to hers before he could be slapped, though.

"Inu Yasha?" Kagome said in a surprised way.

"Hi, Kagome," he muttered. Sango, who he hadn't noticed at all, decided that an awkward moment was coming and left before she was told to go. Inu Yasha slipped his hands into his pockets and looked away.

"I'm sorry that I didn't see you or anything."

"Yeah, well you should be." An anger bit at her words that surprised both of them. She blushed and tried to start again. "What I mean is…I thought that you didn't want to see me anymore because of what happened between you and Kikyo."

"What happened?" he asked, thoroughly puzzled.

"You slept with her!"

"Oh, yeah, that. Well, that didn't mean anything."

"You sleeping with her didn't mean anything? You're shallower than I thought."

"No, that's not what I mean! Kagome, I was drunk for a reason! You think that I wanted to sleep with her?! I went with her because I thought that she was you!" A long, slightly uncomfortable silence followed. Kagome's mouth fell open in surprise. `He thought that he was sleeping with me? Do Kikyo and I really look that much alike? What am I saying? After three pints of beer, everyone looks alike. But does that mean that he really wanted to…'

"Inu Yasha, is this a joke?" he almost took a step back with surprise. He had expected almost any response but that.

"What?"

"Are you saying this because you think that you might be able to get off with me?"

"No, I'm not saying anything like that!"

"Just because I dated Kouga doesn't mean that I'm easy."

"I know that you're not-Kouga! You just reminded me!"

"What about Kouga?" Her voice was steely and cold. `He had better not make fun of him.'

"He's here in town, and he might try to see you, but you mustn't let him. He's out of his head. He tried to kill me!" `What the - `

"What?!"

"He killed my butler and then he tried to…why are you looking at me like that?" Tears of rage had filled her eyes. She balled her hands into fists and gritted her teeth.

"You're a liar! He would never do such a thing!"

"I am not a liar! You want proof, just check out the seven o-clock news." The anger was quickly replaced with blank shock.

"I can't believe that I waited eight months for this…you're despicable." Her words pierced his heart like an arrow as she turned away from him and followed the crowd into the center of the theater. The lights above his head flickered a few times, indicating that the movie was about to start. It didn't matter to him if the movie was about to start or if it was ending. He just stood there, gaping at nothing at all. `That must have been the most confusing fight I've ever had. How did I get from Kikyo to Kouga, and why did I tell her that I was attacked? Oh God, just rethinking about it makes my head hurt. She is one confusing, complicated, beautiful girl. Well, there's no sense in seeing the movie. I was in it, for crying out loud. I'll just meet Miroku at the after party. Maybe by then Kagome will have calmed down and I can explain everything to her.' He slumped his shoulders and slid through the dissipating crowd with ease. Deciding that the front door would have fan girls and reporters, he inched his was along the wall and slipped out of an emergency exit. He found himself in a side street behind the theater, so he climbed up the fire escape and sat on the roof to think about what he would say to Kagome.

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chihiro-san: Confusing, yes? No? Maybe? Good, I have trained you well. I hope that it wasn't too confusing guys, but I wanted her to come off kind of sporadic. I think I got that down okay. I also wanted to get to the topic of Kouga, and you'll find out why. By the way…..IT'S ALMOST OVER!!!! WAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!! *cry* I want it to go on forever….*sniff*….ah well. HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVERYBODY!!!!