InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dead Famous ❯ The Ride Back ( Chapter 3 )

Author's Notes: Well it's official, Inuyasha loses his prayer beads in the third movie, after countless renditions of such an event happening in countless fanfics. The actual moment when he loses them is accompanied by a big explosion (poor Shippo gets blown away) and an over-dramatic scream from Kagome (way to show confidence that you trust him enough not to slice you up when he's free, Kag)… and here everyone thought they would just drop off harmlessly onto the ground ^_^

If you wanna see for yourself, go to this site:

http :// inuyasha-info.virtue.nu/ download.html (no spaces)

Download the second trailer of the third movie labelled '2(DivX 5.02)' and then you can watch the trailer yourself (Looks like a good movie too ^_^)

Dead Famous

Chapter 3

The Ride Back…

Oh bless… she'd fainted. Inuyasha hid the small twisting of a smirk by passing a hand over his mouth, feigning to be shocked and surprised as everyone else in that room. Several people had already jumped out of their seats to go assist the poor overwhelmed girl.

He knew it was cruel… but he couldn't resist the temptation to traumatise the schoolgirl even more. Leaving his seat at the front of the room, he hopped down off the raised platform and made his way to the group of people gathering around the fallen teenager.

"Give her some air," quite a few people were saying, yet no one was backing away from her.

Perhaps he was needed after all, if only to make people back off if nothing else. "'Scuse me." He offered politely as he reached the cluster of reporters. No sooner were the words out of his mouth than they were stumbling over themselves to get out of his way, clearing a nice path for him to reach the girl.

Without further ado he crouched down beside her and gently took her hands in his, acting every part the dashing rescuer of the day. It nearly caught him off guard when he looked her in the face…

She could easily have been Kikyo's twin. Or at least a younger sister or cousin…

Now he understood why Miroku had chosen this one in particular. To get a good giggle most likely.

Another thing he noticed, slightly to his disappointment, that she wasn't actually unconscious. She'd just swooned and fallen, because the moment the people backed off, giving her some much needed fresh air she stirred and opened her eyes.

The similarities to Kikyo ended there. Her eyes were unique and when they eventually focused on his he turned every ounce of fake charm that he possessed to full power and gave her the best boyish grin he could manage - the one that often or not had fangirls fainting left right and centre. It would be the death shot for this girl.

But instead of squeaking and passing out again, she simply gave him an odd look and brought her hand to her head, closing her eyes with a flicker of exhaustion and basically ignoring him like every other concerned stranger around her… much to his disappointment.

"Maybe I should have eaten something before I came out…" She said weakly and began sitting up.

Hands rushed in at all sides to both help her up or keep her on the floor. Her eyes shot open as she seemed to remember the situation and gave everyone around her rather startled glances. "Oh no…"

"Are you ok now?" Inuyasha ventured, even more unsettled by the fact that she wasn't giving him a second glance now.

"Fine, fine," she said quickly, looking at him at last and giving him an embarrassed smile that she might as well have given anyone and not just the most famous person in the world. "Low blood sugar. I haven't eaten anything since breakfast."

"Well you can have some of my orange juice, if you want." Why wasn't she fainting again? Or at least getting flustered?

"Oh that's really kind of you, thank you!" she sounded surprised.

At a bit of a loss still, he helped her get to her feet and waved everyone off. They went back to their seats and Inuyasha led the schoolgirl back to the front of the press room and sat her down… without even needing prompting she reached over and pulled his glass of juice towards her. "Thank you." She said a little more meekly as she took a sip.

Strange… very strange…

Inuyasha glanced over at Kikyo who sat on his other side. The agent rested her elbows on the table, her fingers latched together, as she leant forward to raise her eyebrows at Kagome. "Are you ready?"

The girl named Kagome gave Kikyo a curious look, obviously wondering about their evident similarities, before nodding jerkily. She was obviously nervous about being up in front of so many people, something Inuyasha didn't quite understand. He'd never been nervous about this kind of thing, it was practically second nature to him. He wondered what it was like for someone as normal and unimportant as this girl to be suddenly tossed into the spotlight.

Kikyo gave a nod to the audience. "We'll take your questions."

A volley of hands shot up into the air and everyone started talking at once. Inuyasha began discreetly scratching his name into the table in front of him. His part in the interview was practically over, not since it was Kikyo's duty to select who should ask the first question.

"You with the blue shirt," Kikyo pointed to a man in the front row. Everyone else fell silent as he stood.

"Eiichi Matsumoto, Prime Time News," the guy introduced himself before addressing Kagome directly. "Miss Higurashi, are you ok now?"

The girl gave a nervous laugh but answered without much of a stammer. Sort of impressive… he would have been more impressed if she hadn't already fainted.

Kikyo inclined herself slightly towards him, hiding her mouth behind a hand so she could speak in a soft voice that no one would hear but him. "She's out of energy. She's running on fumes as it is. Remind me to fire Sango."

She always said that, but she never went through with it. He glanced sideways at the schoolgirl who was now happily chattering on about her experience that afternoon when she'd been announced the winner.

"I was shocked, I couldn't believe that out of all the people in the country it had been me… I mean, I think I won a teddy in a raffle when I was six, but this is completely different!"

She was losing her anxious nerves the more she talked. It was like she was forgetting that the whole world was watching her, as she focused her attentions on the people who had asked the questions, like she was having a one on one interview. Inuyasha recognised that as one of Miroku's tips - to ignore the world and only see the people who had made a query… and picture them in their underwear. Though Miroku liked to recommend that especially when being interviewed by a woman.

Kikyo selected someone new to ask a question, a familiar looking attractive woman who didn't like to smile. "Nariko Watanabe, Sunday Telegram." Inuyasha groaned inwardly but the girl called Kagome just smiled attentively. "Miss Higurashi, how do you feel about spending a week in the company of Japan's most sought after male?"

Inuyasha watched with interest as a rather fixed smile came upon the girl's face. Now either here was a girl who was secretly very, very nervous, or absolutely detested the idea.

He liked to lean towards the idea that she was completely besotted with such a gorgeous specimen like himself and that she was worried about being unable to keep her hands off of him.

"I'm really honoured," the girl told the reporter, seeming to opt for the pleasant, yet noncommittal answer. Another trick Miroku had undoubtedly taught her during their short time together. "This is a once in a life-time opportunity… and I'm just happy that I'm going to have a really fun week!"

That's what she thinks…Inuyasha pretended to inspect his claws vainly. If Kikyo and everyone else expected him to drop everything and devote a whole week of his life to a bubble-head, then they could go stuff themselves. No way was Inuyasha going to put up with this…

The girl beside him glanced over and he graced her with a pleasant, yet very meaningless smile. Poor thing would probably trail after him dotingly for the next seven days… but only if he was unable to shake her off first.

The interview went surprisingly smoothly after that first little hiccup. After a while it almost seemed as if the girl enjoyed the attention. A few questions were directed at Inuyasha, but since he'd already been interviewed in depth before the girl's arrival, most of his questions were in joint with the schoolgirl's.

Kikyo effectively put an end to the interview in her usual no-nonsense manner. She stood up, made a closing statement and then all but shooed him and Kagome out of their seats to lead the way out of the press room. Reporters still called after them, raising their hands to ask another question, but the ordeal was finally over.

The moment they stepped out into the corridor, the girl slumped against the wall, fanning her face like she was overheated. "God… I've never been so embarrassed in my life."

"You seemed ok to me," Inuyasha responded cheerfully enough. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Kikyo's chin lift slightly as she observed them both. Obviously his agent approved of his behaviour so far. Kikyo knew him only too well to expect a bad attitude on his part.

Miroku and Sango arrived beside them. Miroku's expression was somewhere between pride and an 'oh well, nevermind' look. Sango just looked concerned. "Are you ok?" she asked the girl when she reached her. "We saw you faint - you just crumpled like a flower."

Nice analogy. Inuyasha looked at the girl expectantly for her response.

"I'm sorry," She gave them both a reassuring smile. "I don't know what happened… I just felt really cold all of a sudden like something had just sapped all my energy and I just went down, I couldn't help it."

Kikyo's heels clicked as she moved past the group. "Perhaps someone should feed her once in a while." She said softly over her shoulder as she moved away down the corridor.

All three watched her a moment before Miroku gave Kagome a small nudge. "We thought you'd fainted at the sight of his almighty."

All the make-up in the world couldn't have hid the blush that spread across her cheeks. Inuyasha had to turn around and start walking to avoid them seeing the smirk that had spread across his own face. "Come on, kids." He called over his shoulder. "Don't want to miss our ride, do we?"

"As if it would ever leave without him." Miroku said under his breath to the girls as they obediently followed after him.

Outside the crowds were still there, as large as life and twice as loud. Fan girls had been building up along the barricades while they'd been inside, and instead of heading straight into the awaiting limo like the average diva, Inuyasha took a few minutes to sign a few autographs, kiss a few cheeks and shake many a hand.

"You guys want to see a trick?" he asked a group of girls as he finished up another autograph. He handed it back but kept the permanent marker. "Look what happens when I do this."

With the pen, he lifted his wrist and scrawled his name over the silver plated surface of his watch.

He only had to toss both wristwatch and marker into the crowd and stepped back to watch the mad dive everyone made for both items. A few moments later a rather triumphant (and lucky) girl leapt up cradling the wristwatch. "It's mine! It's mine! I got Inuyasha's wristwatch!"

"I got his pen!" cried another girl, equally as delighted.

Inuyasha smiled and turned back to see the new girl's progress. To his surprise she'd already been asked for a few autographs. Sango and Miroku had disappeared somewhere. Inuyasha, ever the predator, came up quietly behind the Kikyo-look-alike and gripped her elbow, surprising her, and drawing her away from the barricades. The girl barely had time to hand back the half completed signature.

"Where are the other two?" he asked her in a deliberately low, smooth voice.

"Erm…" she visibly swallowed as she looked everywhere except at him. "They said that I should ride back in your limo. They'd go back together in the one I came in… if that's alright with you?"

"Sure. Fair enough." He smiled amiably and beckoned her to follow him towards the waiting limo parked against the curb. He opened the door and gestured for her to get in, all the while giving her the award-winning smile. It sure was making her a little embarrassed and self-conscious and she quickly ducked inside and out of sight at last.

Inuyasha cast one final wave to the gathered crowd who began screaming even louder now that it was evident he was leaving, before slipping inside the limo and shutting the door after him.

The moment the door shut, the sound of the roaring crowd was muted and the girl who now perched meekly on the leather seats opposite him burst out. "I just want to tell you how grateful I am about all this - I mean - for you to even bother with someone like me and-"

He held up his hand abruptly to cut off her flow of her words, and with a smile he reached a hand over his shoulder to press a button beside his head. The tinted window that divided the drivers little cab to the back of the limo began winding up just as the vehicle began to move off the curb.

The moment that little gap between the roof and the glass divider closed… everything changed.

His smile dropped as easily as dropping a log and his whole pleasant demeanour vanished as fast as he could put it on. "Ok now listen," he started, rotating his shoulders as if to work out some kinks. "I don't care what you think you've heard from those goons I call employees, but aside from this limo ride and the awards evening, I don't want you under my feet."

The girl stared at him, a dawning expression beginning to grow. At least she wasn't completely slow and clueless.

"Got that?" he reasserted, giving her a questioning look. "This whole scheme to have a fan come up here for a week was Kikyo's idea, not mine. Don't have any delusions that this is your lucky break or your 'once in a lifetime opportunity', because it isn't. You're a tool in my own publicity, nothing more. Keep smiling for a week and we'll all be happy, yeah? And if you come out of this with a few sweet things to say about it I'll even give you a little… parting gift, as it were."

He'd probably shattered all her fanatic delusions, but there you go. He wasn't going to mess around sparing everyone's feelings at his own expense. If she was in his way, he wasn't about to hesitate to set her aside.

He watched her expression intently, waiting for her to do either one of two things. One: get angry and start shouting and screaming abuse (it was always the quiet ones) or two: burst out into tears and do nothing but unintelligible wailing for the next seven days.

To his surprise he watched as her own demeanour dropped. For where had sat a meek and anxious fangirl, now sat a much calmer person. She sat back slowly until she was rested up against the backrest and regarded him with a 'now look what you've done' kind of expression.

After a moment she scoffed and looked away, bringing a hand to her forehead. "I don't believe it… I was right all along."

"What?" he narrowed his eyes slightly.

She turned back to him sharply. "You know, famous people like you get to a point where you're so famous that you forget what it's like to be human - and before you say it I know! You're technically only half human but that's still human enough! You start seeing your fans as little ants that just beg and simper to your every whim."

Well weren't they? "You're point?" he shrugged, slightly intrigued that she was neither particularly angry at his 'betrayal' or upset.

"My point being that you're a bully and an egomaniac." She said simply. "I figured you were as much." She turned her head to look out the window. She feigned a slightly disappointed sigh. "Now this is going to make the journey really awkward…"

"You thought I was a bully, yet you still entered the competition?" he smirked at her. "And all this coming from a girl who fainted the moment you laid eyes on me."

"Get over yourself." She said so abruptly that he almost felt the need to obey. "For your information my friends entered me in this ridiculous charade. I thought it was a stupid idea the moment I read it on a billboard. And I only fainted because us humans tend to get dizzy and swoon when we don't eat or drink for twelve hours straight and then are pushed into a room full of everyone in the country."

"Don't be so full of yourself." He shot back. "Not everyone in the country were that bothered to watch you gloat about a win you apparently didn't even want." He was going to have to have a little word with Miroku about his choice of selected candidates.

"You know, I don't have to sit there and watch you try to manipulate me for the next seven days." She snapped, her irritation in him already growing strong enough to overcome her previous nervousness around him.

She seemed to be forgetting just who he was…

"I won't be manipulating you," he said smoothly, "I won't even have to look at you until the awards evening… and then perhaps the hour you leave next Saturday. I'll be keeping you under the carpet till then."

Her temper was beginning to flare, he sensed as much. She seemed to be counting to ten, but only got to four before she was up and dashing for the glass divider. She rapped on it urgently with her knuckles. "Stop this limo! I want out, right now!" she yelled.

"Sit down!" he tried to press a hand against her shoulder to push her back into her seat, but she shrugged him off roughly and hammered on the glass again. "Stop and let me out or I swear that I will sue every single one of you bastards!"

"That's enough!" he wrapped an arm around her waist and literally threw her back down onto her seat. She gasped in surprise, but the moment she sat up she was glaring white-hot daggers at him. "They can't hear you anyway."

"You're more of a bastard than I originally presumed." She hissed.

"And you're more fiery than I gave you credit for." He returned. She'd taken him by surprise. Really. And that wasn't necessarily a good thing…

"I was willing you give you benefit of the doubt - give you a chance to redeem yourself but the minute we're alone and you haven't got the world watching you, you turn into a complete pig! Wait till I tell-"

In a flash he was beside her and had clapped a hand over her mouth. "Now don't be so hasty, Kyoko."

She tore his hand from her mouth. "That's Kagome!"

"Whatever. Anyway, don't be so hasty to go slinging nasty words around." He was actually getting worried… but perhaps he could still turn this around. He had his ways. "You don't really think I'm a bastard do you?"

"You've shown me enough to be really certain." She glared at him.

"But I must admit that you really intrigue me. You know, being as famous as I am, people always watch what they say around me. They never want to offend me or say anything that is really on their mind. Even if they hate me they suck up to me-"

"I bet a lot of people do that." She said dryly.

Inuyasha would not be deterred. "For someone to actually open up and say they dislike me is unusual."

"Sucks, doesn't it?" she turned away from him.

"Well I think you're a bitch." He said derisively.

She snapped back to him. "Well that's the most hypocritical thing I've ever heard!"

"And two-faced." He shot back. "Coming in here pretending to be a doting fan and then turning around and biting my head off!"

"Because you turned around and bit me first!"

"I bit no one!"

"You're a bully and I find you disgusting!" she spat.

"You're a flippant cow and I find you absolutely fascinating!" Without warning he caught her chin and dragged her forward so suddenly that in a split second their lips were only a scant inch apart. "Are you as turned on as I am right now?"

She made a small squeak before flinging herself backwards. "URGH! NO!"

Ouch… she didn't have to tread so hard on that one. "Fair enough." He shrugged and reached over to the cooler to get a can of coke, at the same time wondering why his usual tactic of warming a frosty girl up hadn't worked…

"My god…" Kagome continued to edge away from him until she was the furthest distance possible in such an enclosed space. "You're even worse than I thought…"

Inuyasha happily cracked his can open and took a sip.

"You're even lower than a bully!" she spluttered in outrage. "You're a player!"

"Welcome to the life of the rich and famous."

*~*

"I'm telling you Mom, he's a completely pig-headed, pompous moron!" Kagome ranted into the phone that night. "He called me a bitch and had the nerve to tell me he was keeping me under the rug! I mean, come on! We all know rich people are divas but this is stretching it - he's a total creep!"

"So you got off to a bad start, I'm sure you two will make friends."

This coming from the woman who probably thought Hitler had a soft inner child. Kagome just shook her head. "No, Mom, I don't want to even consider being a friend to him. He views us lowly people as little insects that can be stepped on without thought. He's been up on that pedestal so long that we all look small and insignificant to him - he doesn't care enough about me or any other fan for that matter."

"Then change him."

Kagome blinked. "What?"

"Change him. You have a week to spend with him - from what it sounds like you're probably one of the only people who is willing to let him know what you think about him." Mrs Higurashi reasoned. "Open his eyes and get him to grow up."

"Easy for you to say." Kagome flopped back onto her too-soft bed and gazed up at the high ceiling. "I don't think I even want to bother…"

"You do what you think best, dear." Her mother told her warmly. "Just make sure you have fun and don't you dare let him spoil that."

Kagome smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"It's late now, Kagome. You better get some sleep. It sounds like you had a tiring day."

"Right."

"Have you had supper?"

"Sango practically jammed it down my throat the moment we arrived back." Kagome smiled slightly.

"Good to know someone's taking care of you." Her mother's smile could be heard even down the line. "Goodnight then, love."

"Night, Ma." Kagome made a kiss sound and hung up.

Her pyjamas were already laid out on her bed - silk of the finest quality and in just the right size. Kagome sat up and ran a hand over the delicate material with a happy sigh. She wondered if she'd be able to keep all the clothes they gave her…

~*~

"I don't like this." Inuyasha frowned as he rummaged around the kitchens at midnight. "It'll be too easy for to mouth off…"

"She seems ok to me." Miroku shrugged from where he was sat on the island counter in the middle of the kitchen, watching Inuyasha turf things out of the fridge. "We spent a whole delightful evening together."

"You make everything sound dirty."

"I'm being serious." Miroku yawned widely. "She was pleasant enough to me and Sango. A fast learner and despite fainting that one time… she handled herself well and came across as a lovely young woman, not a teenage bimbo as you're making her out to be."

"No sooner were we alone then she had a go at me - calling me a pig-headed diva!" Inuyasha straightened. "Why is there no damn food in this fridge?!"

"There's food stuffed in there to the brim, Inuyasha. And are you sure you didn't provoke her?"

"I did nothing of the sort!" he snapped. "I was the perfect gentleman, kind, helpful - you saw me! Trust me, Miroku, turn your back on a girl like that and expect to find a knife in it."

"I've told you a billion times not to exaggerate, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha made an irritated sound. "Where's the cook?"

"Sleeping. Like every other sane person in this place." Miroku rubbed his tired eyes. "And before you ask, I will not wake her up. You either make your own food or go to bed."

Inuyasha slammed the fridge door. "Then I will just go to bed, thank you very much." No way was he going to be reduced to the level of having to make his own supper.

"Suit yourself." Miroku shrugged slightly. Then he suddenly perked up. "Hey - I heard you were dating that French model."

"No, I was dating the weather girl from Channel seven." Inuyasha corrected him… though he wasn't entirely sure himself.

"No. I'm sure Angelique Spanner… or Spanish… Spaghetti… or something like that… well, she issued a statement earlier saying that you two were official."

"Oh dear… Eiko isn't going to like that."

"Who's Eiko?" Miroku asked.

"Um…" Inuyasha made a vague gesture. "The weather girl I think… or the new cleaner girl…"

"Jeez… don't let any of us mortal men have one or anything." Miroku hopped down from the kitchen counter. "Anyway, I'm going to call it a day. You better get to bed as well, you need to get up early tomorrow."

"Why?" Inuyasha scowled at him.

"Don't make me ruin the surprise. Just get up, alright?" Miroku smiled secretively as he headed for the kitchen door. On his way he picked up an apple from the fruit basket and tossed it hard over his shoulder at Inuyasha. The Hanyou caught it easily. "Have an apple. And if I find any one of those beers missing in the morning," he jerked a thumb at the fridge, "I'll make Kikyo extend Kagome's stay for another week. Ok?"

Inuyasha contemplated clocking him with the apple… but perhaps that wouldn't serve his purposes in the long run. Miroku was soon out of firing range anyway. "Why do I put up with them…?" he bounced the apple from hand to hand and headed off at a leisurely pace towards his own bedroom.

A tired looking Sango intercepted him halfway up the stairs. "There's a reporter here to see you, she wants an exclusive interview."

"If she doesn't smile and her name ends in Watanabe, send her away." Inuyasha took a bite out of his apple and shook his head as he continued on his way. "Too many people know where I live…"

Out of pure curiosity (or so he told himself) he went out of his way to pass by the guest room where the schoolgirl was supposed to be staying. He stopped outside her door and listened intently to any sounds within…

All he heard was her steady, even breathing. She was asleep.

With a faint roll of his eyes he went back on his way to his own room - one floor up and directly above the girl's guest room. In truth, that girl unnerved him more than he'd admit to Miroku or Kikyo or anyone else. She was strange - mostly because she must have been the one girl he'd met who didn't fancy him. She was also odd because she had the nerve to pretend to like him and then turn around and be so rude. No one had spoken to him like that before… and if they had they hadn't kept their job much longer afterwards.

Once in his room he collapsed on the bed, face down, still wondering.

"What did I do to deserve all this…?"

AN: That's what we'd all like to know. And here's another question: Just what exactly is Inuyasha famous for? I'll answer that one next time ^_^