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On top of a white grand piano sat Kagome's engagement ring, neatly in the center amongst a worn notepad and two sharpened pencils.  In a cozy white room with cherry wood flooring the Shigeru-Kawai SK7 stood alone with its bench, in the middle of the room except for a few burgundy chairs in one corner, and a huge window overlooking Tokyo sitting opposite from the doorway.  Soft footsteps sounded; white slippers clapped down the hallway until they reached the piano room.

Kagome carried a tall glass of water as she headed to the piano bench.  She took a sip, exchanging the glass for the notepad and a pencil from atop her piano.  As she took a seat on the bench, cozy in snow gray fleece pajama pants and white cotton tank top, her eyebrows furrowed.  Afternoon light filtered in through the window in warm yellow rays, and Kagome stared blankly at the sky while forming her thoughts.  The pencil's eraser bounced off of Kagome's notepad in time with her humming.  

It had been a little over three months since her trip to Cebu.  When she returned to Tokyo things were business as usual.  She was swamped in photo shoots and interviews for B-Pass and Pop Beat magazines because of her new single and promotional video.  New singles also meant that Kagome would be performing on, at the very least, Music Station, Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ, and Pop Jam.  This time Inuyasha flat out refused to have any more TV performances booked than the three.  Work on an album was going to start soon; though Kagome would only reuse choreography from the music video for her performances adjustments had to be made for each set and stage she would be on.  Her Pop Jam performance was only going to be a shortened version of the song, so it would be different from the other two.  Because of all of the talk about songs and the creative process in her interviews Kagome was inspired; she wanted to use the momentum to write more songs.  She had so many ideas bottled up inside of her...

Hojo had his own work to contend with, busying himself with commercial endorsements for Glico and appearing on a few variety shows.  The time he spent with Kagome was very little as they both predicted, and they were only able to spend a handful of nights together, and had maybe a handful of lunch and dinner dates.  If not for Kagome's insistence they would have met a lot less.  Hojo and seemingly the rest of the world knew how Kagome often buried herself in projects, and though she didn't mention it Hojo knew she wasn't allowing herself to sleep some nights.  She did this every time she wrote a new album, working tirelessly on lyrics and new beats in the studio as if she were possessed.  He wanted her to stay healthy.  To emphasize this, on their dates he often brought her things like herbal teas that helped the body relax, or a CD of rainforest sounds he picked up overseas to help her sleep.  On a brisk morning in mid-December Kagome fumbled to find her hanko stamp as she signed for a new electric massage chair, compliments of Hojo.  

The moment Kagome stopped humming she took some notes, and played the tune on the piano. 

"Yes!"  With a smile of accomplishment Kagome squealed excitedly, playing her song from the beginning.  Part of the way through Inuyasha appeared in the entryway to Kagome's home, followed by a dark-haired man in a black three-piece suit with a wisp of a ponytail at the base of his neck.  Inuyasha's white ears twitched and rotated as he heard the piano.  Once his shoes were removed he led his companion towards the piano room, stopping in the hallway so as not to interrupt her.  When the song ended Inuyasha and the dark-haired man clapped, startling Kagome as they entered the room.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing here?"  Kagome smiled at him, and tipped her head to see who was with him.  "Miroku-sama!"

"Kagome-sama!"  Kagome's agent smiled when she jumped up from the piano bench to give him a hug.

"You guys are dorks."  Inuyasha rolled his eyes at their exaggerated use of honorifics.

Pouting, the pair turned to Inuyasha.

"Don't be like that, Inuyasha-sama," giggled Kagome.

"Really, Inuyasha, Kagome-sama and I are just... eternally grateful to each other.  I find the kickass jobs..."

"...and I do the kickass work.  And we all win!"

"Okage-sama," laughed the pair in unison.  Inuyasha slapped his palm to his face.

"No, no, thanks to you.  Okage-sama de..."

"No, I insist, Kagome-sama, thanks to you."

"Thanks to you!"

"Okage-sama!  Kagome-sama!"

"Dammit, just shut the fuck up already, you two are so damned dorky when you're in the same room!"  As harsh as his words were Inuyasha was laughing.  He laughed even louder as Kagome swatted Miroku on the head for suddenly being... overly friendly.

"Keep your hand off of my butt, Miroku-sama."  Kagome's smile was wide across her face even as she scolded her friend.

Miroku rubbed the sore spot on his crown.  "Ah, Kagome-sama, I've now been put in my place.  Okage-sa--"

"Say it AGAIN and I'll rip that pretentious little ponytail out of your head!!!"

"Very well, let's just get comfortable." sighed Miroku, still smiling.

Miroku and Inuyasha took their seats in Kagome's burgundy chairs while she returned to her piano.  With her foot on the damper pedal she played softly and idly, looking over to her companions.  "What's going on guys?"

Inuyasha shot Kagome a thumbs-up.  "Before I forget-- a little good news, first.  New single debuted at number one today.  We accidentally dethroned Morning Musume again... keep it up and those little girls are gonna show up on your doorstep, crying!"

"Ah, nice."  

"What's with that nonchalant attitude?  You've been rolling in number one singles so much that you don't care anymore?" laughed Inuyasha.  He liked to tease her even though he knew she cared more about how well her work was done than its Oricon Chart position.  The days when Kagome was younger and struggling for a breakout hit had long since passed.

"Maybe you should offer Kagome-sama some kind of incentive for each number one?  Like a dinner date..."

"Keh, that's more like a punishment."  Inuyasha winked at Kagome.  "I'd be stealing away precious time that could be spent with her fiancée, after all."

"What's this?  Fiancée?"  Miroku directed his gaze to Kagome, who had stopped playing and was now staring into her lap.  She reached for her ring from the top of the piano and handed it to him.

"Wow.  Congratulations to the both of you.  Is this public knowled--"

"NO!" Kagome and Inuyasha were surprised at how loudly they shouted.

"An album's coming up.  I don't want people to think that this has anything to do with that."

"Of course, I understand.  When's the big date?"

Inuyasha looked at Kagome, curious about her answer.  

Smiling slightly, Kagome returned to her soft piano playing.  “We haven't set one yet.  I don't know if we're just gonna exchange rings or make it into a big deal for family and friends."

"Either way let me know so that I may give an appropriate gift."  

"Now that that’s all take care of," Inuyasha interrupted clearing his throat, ”As much as it's fun to visit with each other we came over for a reason."  The tone in the hanyou's voice was still jovial but now business-minded.

“I’m listening.”  For a moment the three were silent as Kagome practiced her newest song.

Miroku sat back in his chair, crossing his legs.  “How would you describe your career, Kagome?”

She continued playing, tipping her head in thought.  “Busy.”

“So would you say it was flourishing?”

“Easily,” she laughed.  “But I like things like this.”

“Fair enough.  Now the big question.”

Kagome already knew where this was going.  Ever since they realized that she could speak English well, Inuyasha and Miroku had always proposed the idea, even before she had made much of a name for herself.

“It’s that time, isn’t it?”  Kagome finally stopped playing and turned to face her manager and agent, resting her elbow on the top of the piano.  “Do you guys think I’m ready?”

With a smirk, Inuyasha folded his hands in his lap.  “You know we have to do it right.  What I want to know from you is if you’re ready to… to start over.”

“But even before we can make a commitment to you, Kagome-sama,” Miroku continued, “I have to know that you want to do this and that you’re going to commit to us.  Do you want to shoot for stardom in the U.S.?  If you pull it off there’s no question how easily it will catapult you into other things.  Right now, Japan has no International mainstream pop stars.  Can you handle the rest of the world?”

“As always,” she answered, “I’ll do whatever is asked of me.”  Kagome stood, crossing the room to hug Inuyasha and Miroku.  “I trust you two to take care of me as long as I do my job.”

It didn’t take long for Miroku’s hand to creep up to where it didn’t belong.  With a screech, Kagome’s hand tugged hard at her agent’s ponytail until he removed the offending hand from her butt.

“Make three to four songs in English for this upcoming album, and we’ll use them for your demo.  I’ll make some calls in the meantime, and Inuyasha, you keep her in line.”

“Hear that, Kagome?  Not too many dates in the meantime, do you think you can handle that?”

“Of course.  Hojo will understand.”

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Things were way too weird.  A few months passed since Kagome had even spent a Sunday with her friends from school.  Nobody but Ayumi seemed alarmed at Kagome’s sudden disappearance.  When asked, Ayumi would only say one thing: that Kagome was… just really busy lately.

Hojo knew that at some point Kagome snuck off to Osaka to see a concert.  She had been punished.  Perhaps she was restricted from going anywhere for a while, but for as long as he knew Mrs. Higurashi he knew that she wasn’t the type of mother who was so strict that she would punish Kagome for this long.  He had already given up trying to get any answers from Kagome, too.  Since he lived nearby he often saw her running down the steps of the Higurashi shrine on some evenings and almost every Sunday, as if in a hurry.  He grew even more curious on days when Kagome left her home dressed in what looked like expensive clothes.  When asked where she had gone, Kagome would just smile and change the subject.  

Because they had been friends for so long Hojo was frustrated that nobody would tell him anything.  Nobody but Ayumi seemed to know why Kagome was acting so differently.  She was still kind to her friends, funny, and energetic.  However something important was going on in Kagome’s life; he could at least figure out that much.  It was as if one day when nobody was watching, Kagome began to carry herself with infinite poise.  While she had never been an insecure girl something inside of her suddenly exhumed confidence and happiness, so much so that the popular kids in class were intimidated by her.  Now respectful and almost awed in her presence they invited her to hang out with them, inexplicably desperate to be associated with her.

She was never interested, however.  “I’m sorry,” Kagome would politely reply when invited to an outing or a party, “I’ve already got plans this Sunday.”

At school she remained with the same friends she had always known, oblivious to how differently people looked at her.   When Hojo finally got to speak with Kagome, it was as if she no longer cared about what was going on.  She could no longer be bothered or intrigued by everyday high school drama.  Only when she interacted with Ayumi was there something vibrant in her eyes.  She exchanged so many smiles and knowing glances with her, and the pair eventually separated themselves from everyone else more and more as the days passed.  

Sooner or later more of the student body was curious about Kagome and Ayumi.  What had started as respect for Kagome’s change in personality quickly became confusion and jealousy.  People misinterpreted Kagome and Ayumi’s detachment from the rest of the other students as snobbery.  Elitism.  It didn’t take long for people to begin teasing the two friends.  Hojo tried his best to diffuse potentially bad situations, but was saddened that he was growing apart from Kagome for reasons he couldn’t figure out.

People were harder on Kagome than Ayumi.  They left rotten eggs in Kagome’s shoe locker, hid her desk in other classrooms before school, and defaced her gym clothes with permanent marker.  Somehow, none of this seemed to outwardly affect her.  Hojo never saw her react to or care about such petty things.

On a late Sunday night close to eleven o’ clock Hojo was alone, walking home from the subway station.  He had spent the day in Roppongi, shopping and singing karaoke with his friends, including Ayumi for once.  As he passed a familiar set of stairs, the entrance to the Higurashi shrine, Hojo stared longingly at the light coming from the top of the hill.  Where was Kagome now?  He wanted to ask her out on a date months ago, but somehow lost his chance before ever having one.  He continued down the street, staring down at his shoes as he thought about her.  A black BMW Z7’s headlights flashed in his face as it sped past him, pulling over in front of the Higurashi shrine.  Hojo would have kept walking had he not heard Kagome’s voice.

“Hide-chan, you shouldn’t have to give me one.  I’m pretty sure Mama has one stored away somewhere; she used to play.”

“I’m almost certain this one’s a lot nicer than Mama’s old guitar.  You’ve gotten so good-- I just want to make sure you stay that way.  Promise me you’ll practice during the week.”

Hojo spun around slightly confused.  Who was that older man with Kagome?  He moved against a nearby wall, not wanting to be seen just yet.  A man in a black hooded sweater who was Kagome’s height linked one arm in hers escorting her from the passenger seat of his car up the stairs.  What looked like a guitar case was strapped to his back.  Hojo stepped closer to the stairs, unable to take his eyes off of his friend as she laughed and giggled with this man.  How dare that guy even lay a finger on her!  What was it about him that looked so familiar, too?

- Hojo seeing Kagome get dropped off at home one night by Hideto (not sure if it was him) (maybe)
- Hojo confronts Kagome about it, and she denies (maybe?)
- Hojo gets fed up and follows her to Hideto’s Building. Confronts Hideto late at night after he drops Kagome at home (“You’re taking advantage of her, aren’t you?!” “Who the fuck are you, kid?!  What Kagome and I are doing in my home is none of your business.” - uh, wrong idea starts) 
- Hojo tells Kagome and she only says that Hideto is helping her out; Hojo is suddenly scared for her
- Hojo is walking downtown somewhere and sees concert poster with Kagome’s face in corner (unknown artist showcase at local club).  Photocopies poster and posts all over school.

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Kagome and more shit to do.  Is pretty drained and irritable but makes plans with Hojo through Yuka, and Hojo doesn’t show up.  Kagome heads to his house.

Audience led to believe that Hojo got the time wrong and is meeting with president of fan club who happens to think she’s in love with Hojo.  Hojo is being extremely kind in letting fan club member into his living room, and FC member throws herself at Hojo while Kagome walks in (sees her trying to kiss Hojo).  Hojo’s first answer is, “Kagome, we weren’t supposed to meet yet!” and Kagome: “Apparently NOT, as I see you’re a little too busy for our date!”  Throws ring at Hojo, and Hojo calls Yuka: “What did you DO?!  I told you 6:00, not 8:00, you idiot!” (Hojo’s writing may be so sloppy that the numbers looked similar)

Kagome goes to Inuyasha sobbing, and the assholes get their fucking first kiss.  Of course he pushes her off of him and comforts her instead.  Of course... yeah...

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Notes: