The Final Bow by undecidedly certain

The Audition

Disclaimer; all standard disclaimers apply, I don't own any of the characters, or People magazine, or the country of Eukapotamia, but the plot is all mine! Muwahahahaha!

Title; The final bow

Summary; AU/ Kagome gets the chance of a life time when she is chosen to be the leading lady in the new upcoming film 'When Empires Falls '. The only problem, the producer is a real jerk, but when strange things start happening on set, who will protect the young starlet from the arising danger, and why is she so drawn to the one man who seems bent on making her life miserable. Kag/Sess.

The Final Bow

By; Undecidedly Certain

Chapter One

The audition

It was a pleasant enough day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and Yuka was squealing like a banshee over the latest issue of 'People' magazine.

Ok, well maybe that last one wasn't so great, but she is a friend regardless, Kagome reminded herself as the squealing upped a notch. They were sitting at one of the outside tables in front of Yashimoto's Ice Cream Parlor enjoying the sun and the freedom that comes with summer break.

Both girls attended Tokyo University, and both girls had just yesterday finished final exams to end the last semester of their sophomore year.

Two down, two to go, Kagome thought wistfully, only half listening to what her friend was going on about. Her mind was else where, as always. She really did need to get a handle on her daydreaming.

"OH! OH! Look! Look!" Yuka howled in a nearly inhuman pitch while shoving said magazine in Kagome's unsuspecting face.

Huffing in annoyance, Kagome gathered the magazine from the clearly over caffeinated girl. Who ever came up with the idea for mixing coffee and ice cream should be dragged out into the street and shot.

"Yuka, you're going to make me cross-eyed."

Yuka stuck her tongue out and settled back in her white wicker chair and sighed dreamily. "Isn't he just the hottest thing you've ever seen?"

Kagome could only assume she was referring to the picture of the young man that was ever so rudely shoved in her face. She examined the picture with a critical eye, Yuka's ideas on what was 'hot' greatly differed with her own.

She had to admit, he was handsome in a very clean cut and business-like way. Short platinum blond hair graced his head in a controlled unruly fashion that accentuated his pale but flawless skin.

He was leaning languidly against a tall stool, his long legs gracefully extended before him and crossed at the ankle. His arms were crossed over his chest in what was obviously a practiced pose, showing off the expensive black silk dress shirt he was wearing with a pair of well coordinated charcoal slacks.

Even through the picture he seemed to exude an air of confidence, or perhaps it was arrogance. His facial express, his body language, every thing about him reminded Kagome expressly of a stereotypical runway model; snotty and egotistical. His soft mouth was stretched into an impassive line, smooth and firm.

His eyes, while the most beautiful shade of honey she had ever seen, were cold and commanding.

He was definitely attractive, that she could not deny, but he just didn't look like a very friendly person.

"He's ...cute." Kagome finally conceded, handing the magazine back to her friend in favor of perusing her strawberry milkshake once more.

"Cute?" Yuka repeated flatly, looking totally affronted. "Cute?! Kagome, puppies are cute, fluffy pink bunny slippers are cute, Sesshoumaru Takishima is a sex god, placed on this earth for the sole purpose of fueling the fantasies of young women such as our selves."

Kagome had to try really hard not to laugh at her friends over zealous proclamation. Yuka did have tendency to go all 'drama queen' on her at times.

"Sex god? Yuka, honestly, don't' you think that's a bit much?"

"Blasphemy!" Yuka shrieked covering one of her ears from the verbal assault with one hand and putting the other to her forehead as if she would faint.

"Yuka!" Kagome hissed in warning, a faint blush staining her cheeks. "People are staring." Kagome sunk down in her chair as much as possible with out completely sliding out of it and under the table. If there had been a table cloth she might have considered it, but as it was she would only look stupid...er.

"Oh, sorry." Yuka said waving a placating hand at her audience, completely unfazed by the attention, and settled back into her chair as well.

"hmm...Takishima..." Kagome pondered while idly twirling her straw between her fingers. "Why does that that sound so familiar? Isn't he an actor?"

"An actor, director, producer..." She paused to take a sip of her coke. "...and one of 'People' magazine's top ten most eligible bachelors. His father is the Inutaisho Takishima who owns White Dog movie studios. Sesshoumaru Takishima has been in movies since before he could walk and has won awards for both his acting and directing. He went to Sarisake Private high school and then studied abroad in England for two years. His favorite color is white, favorite food is filet mignon, his birthday is November 12th, and most importantly he is 24, single, and sexy as sin."

"Spoken like a true stalker." Kagome laughed lightly at the way her friend could rattle off facts of the mans life, a true testament to Yuka's gossip addiction. " And does he wear boxers or briefs?" Kagome teased lightly while trying to scrape the last of her milkshake from the bottom of her cup.

"Mmmmmm." Yuka groaned like she was visualizing a German chocolate cake instead of underwear. " Boxers, but...." She added with a devilish grin, "he sleeps naked as the day he was born."

"Oh, Yuka," Kagome sighed. She was starting to worry about how her friend had obtained such personal information on the poor celebrity. Yuka could be a little, well... how's the best way to put it...enthusiastic when it came to perusing men.

"Oh, can't you just imagine that toned body, all buff and wrapped up in silk sheets like a Christmas present!" She sighed dreamily.

"Yuka," Kagome began sternly, "you haven't been going through his garbage have you? Please tell me you didn't get slapped with another restraining order."

"No, of course not." She retorted defensively. "I just happen to be an avid reader."

"I see." Was Kagome's noncommittal response.

"You don't believe me do you?" Yuka asked from over the top of her magazine, a small pout marring her features.

"Well, your track record is against you."

"Oh? How so?"

"Well, there was the time you had that crush on that American news anchor man, Tom Brockaw or what ever his name was. You sent him a letter confessing your undying love every single day for an entire year."

"Uhhhh..."

"Or the time you turned you bedroom closet into a shrine for that boy band you were so into in high school. I swear, that was creepy. I still can't figure out how you got that lock of hair."

"Ok, ok, so maybe I was a little... extreme in the past, but I swear, this time I'm not stalking, harassing, or doing anything illegal or questionable, on my honor."

"Yuka, your honor is questionable in itself." Kagome giggled at her friends increasingly flustered state. It took a lot to get to her, but it always embarrassed her to bring up the 'Brockaw incident' as it was now called.

"Listen here." Yuka huffed defensively as she began reading from the article corresponding with the picture of young master Takishima.

"At 24, Sesshoumaru Takishima has achieved more in his career than most twice his age. Takishima is about to open a new frontier in the fall when he begins filming a new movie entitled 'When empires fall' which he wrote himself and will be producing. The film is being said to be an adventure of epic proportions with elements of romance and the supernatural to augment its spectacular plot. It has even been rumored that the leading role will be played by none other than Naraku Himura, son of the critically acclaimed Onigumo Himura. It has not yet been released who will be our leading lady for the greatly anticipated hit, but rumors of Kagura Cain laying her claim to the part have been rampant. Only time will tell. Takishima will be holding open auditions on may 23rd for bit parts and extras at White Dog Studios from eight am until five...

Kagome! WE HAVE TO GO! It would be so cool to be in a movie!"

"OH, I don't know Yuka. I really need to get a job this summer to help mama."

"Kagomeeee!" Yuka whined, sounding not unlike a five year old trying to stay up after bed time. "You get paid ya know, even just as an extra. They probably wouldn't even need us until shooting begins in the fall! Oh, come on Kags. Please!"

Kagome worried her lower lip between her teeth, a nervous habit she had developed over the years.

Truth be told, she agreed with Yuka, it would be exciting to be in a movie. Even just as an extra, but Kagome didn't have much acting experience, just a couple of high school plays that were more embarrassing than anything else.

What if she made a total fool of herself?

It seemed, she realized suddenly, that she didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Yuka was already pulling her out of her chair by the hand and dragging her down the street.

"Wait! I don't know how to act Yuka, what if I make a fool of myself..."

"Oh, don't be silly." Yuka said off handedly. "You took drama in high school. Besides, extras don't' usually have lines anyway. We'd probably just have to walk down a street in costume or something like that." She threw her hand up to hail a cab.

"No lines?" Kagome reiterated.

"Nope, probably not." Yuka said shoving into the back of the taxi before climbing in behind her.

"To White Dog Studios, and step on it!" Yuka hollered up to the driver, beating on the back of the seat for emphasis.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

By the time the cab pulled up in front of the studio Kagome was having serious second thoughts. Butterfly's were starting to form in her stomach, giving her a weird, slightly nauseous feeling.

She didn't know why she was feeling so nervous. They were just signing up to be extras, right? Right?

Then why did she have such a strange feeling of foreboding wrapping around her like a noose.

"Yuka, maybe this isn't such a good idea..." She began nervously nibbling at her thumbnail, another nervous habit of hers.

"Don't be ridiculous, this is going to be fun." Yuka quipped tossing a few wrinkled bills up to the driver. "Now lets go sign up for our 15 minutes of fame."

"I'm still not sure about all this." Kagome whined, desperately grappling at the back seat as Yuka tried to pry her out by her belt loops.

"Oh...(Tug)...Come on...(Tug)...Kagome." Yuka panted while alternately yanking at the back of her jeans. "What ever happened to Higurashi the fearless?"

"Higurashi the fearless?" Kagome sent a speculative look over her shoulder at her friend.

It was just the distraction Yuka had been waiting for as she gave one last mighty tug sending both girls sprawling to the sidewalk.

"OUCH! Geeze Yuka are you trying to kill me?" Kagome grumped as she stood up, brushed her self off, and straightened her disheveled clothing.

"You'll thank me when you're watching your face on the big screen." Yuka jibed, spreading her hands out before her for emphasis. She laughed at Kagome's goaded look while dragging her friend toward the gate.

After getting by security with explicit instructions to proceed to Studio C for auditions, Kagome found herself being unceremoniously frog marched through the lot, getting a lot of strange looks from passers by.

Studio C was easily discernable amongst the rows of metal movie magic warehouses. It was the one with throngs of young people lined up outside, roughly 90% of whom were giggling females, there hoping to get a glimpse of the famed Takishima himself no doubt.

Kagome had to forcefully stop her self form rolling her eyes at the whole ordeal.

Really, all this trouble for the chance, not even the guarantee, to get a look at a decent looking guy.

Ok, so maybe that was a bit of an understatement.

Kagome and Yuka joined the queue of shrieking shrews at the back of the line, nervousness all but forgotten as she got a good look at the craziness around her.

This was going to take forever, Kagome sighed shifting her weight uncomfortably. What a waste of a perfectly good Saturday afternoon.

An older gentleman was making his way down the line handing out sheets of paper and pens. He looked to be in his mid 60's with terribly thin gray hair, the greasy strands were swept over his forehead in a pitiful attempt to cover his bald spot. Kagome had to suppress a shiver, comb-overs were the worst.

The portly fellow seemed to be trying his best to ignore the squealing females he was catering to. Kagome giggled lightly as he approached them, the soft tinkling of her laughter caught his attention over the abhorred squawking of the pack of rabid fan girls.

When their eyes met he started a bit, but said nothing.

Kagome smiled nervously, wondering what on earth she had done to warrant such an intense look from a perfect stranger. It was very unnerving.

Maybe he was a pervert! Ewww, gross. An old pervert.

Just as she was beginning to fidget under the man's gaze, Yuka unwittingly came to her rescue.

"Is Sesshoumaru Takishima here today?" She squealed at the old man pushing Kagome out of his line of sight, and while she was grateful for the distraction, she didn't really appreciate the elbow to the gut.

"Mr. Takishima is in closed auditions all day." The old man rattled off in such a well practiced manner that Kagome wouldn't be surprised if he'd been saying it all day. He quickly scurried on down the line and away from the clutches of the obviously disgruntled Yuka.

"Well that sucks." Yuka pouted at the retreating bald head.

"You know what else sucks." Kagome griped, shooting her friend a dirty look. "Attempted disembowelment with a blunt, bony object, but that didn't stop you from doing it to me."

"Oh, don't' be such a baby." Yuka admonished with an overindulgent eye roll. "Turn around."

It was Kagome's turn to roll her eyes, but complied none the less. "You know, I don't know why I let you drag me into things like this," She grumbled as Yuka pushed her forward in a half bow and slapped her form on her back. "And now I've been reduced to being used as a writing surface."

"You like it and you know it." Yuka chortled as her pen flew across her paper tickling Kagome's back. "Someone has to save you from the hum-drum monotony that your life has become lately."

"Whatever."

"Ok, your turn." Yuka said turning so Kagome could use her back as well.

Kagome settled the form on her friends back and began to fill it out half heartedly.

Name; Kagome Higurashi

Age; 20

Sex; female

Address; 22 West Haven way

Apartment 3B

Tokyo

Phone; 555-6724

Background;

'Background?' Kagome gnawed at the end of her pen in contemplation.

"Hurry up Kags, I'm getting a cramp here." Yuka whined.

"Ha! That's what you get for elbowing me in the stomach."

"Just hurry up."

"Ok, ok, I'm going."

Background; grew up on at sunset shrine in Tokyo, 15 years of dance experience, some high school drama.

Occupation; Second year nursing student at Tokyo University.

"Alright, I'm done." Kagome chirped quirking a brow at her friend who was making a big show of stretching her back like an old man with arthritis.

"God Kagome, could you have gone any slower?"

Kagome snorted in a very unladylike fashion. "Drama queen."

"Kagome? Yuka?" She heard someone call out over the din of chatter boxes.

"Aumi?" Yuka asked rising up on her tip toes looking at the dark curly head making its way through the crowd.

"Hi guys! I didn't know you were coming!" Aumi said excitedly.

"Neither did we." Kagome responded dryly. Yuka shot her a glare and popped her in the back of the head.

"Don't mind miss spoil sport here." Yuka chided happily as Kagome's mouth worked in silent indignation.

The two girls started chatting avidly about the injustice of life, mainly concerning the absence of a certain platinum headed 'sex god', it took all of the will power Kagome had to not start ripping her own hair out.

Kagome found the entire conversation unbelievably boring. As a general rule she chose not to hero worship someone based on their looks and the size of their wallet. In all honesty, Sesshoumaru Takishima was probably just some spoiled rich jerk living off his daddy's success.

Not really considered respectable in her book.

Well, ok, so the guy could act. She'd seen a couple of his movies, but she'd also heard the horror stories about his attitude. So he was a talented, spoiled, rich jerk living off his daddy's success.

So caught up in her own thoughts was she, that she didn't realize her friends were speaking to her until Yuka waved a hand in front of her face.

"Hello? Earth to Kagome."

"Are you Ok?" Aumi asked with genuine concern written clearly across her face.

"Huh? Yeah, sorry. Just zoned out for a minute there."

"You aren't nervous are you?" Yuka teased.

"No!" Kagome spouted indignantly. Ok, so maybe it was a lie, she was a little nervous.

"I think I'm going to go find a bathroom." She excused herself from her friends.

"Ok, but hurry back." Yuka called after her.

"We'll hold your place in line Kagome." Aumi added sweetly.

She didn't really have to go to the bathroom and Kagome almost felt bad for lying to them, that is until she heard the topic of their next conversation; the supple perfection of Sesshoumaru's posterior versus the buff bod of Naraku Himura. I swear, you'd think they just hit puberty.

The lot was much bigger than she'd first thought and it didn't take Kagome long to get hopelessly lost.

"Great." She huffed turning around from yet another dead ended alley. 'They really should have a map posted somewhere, or a directory like the one at the mall.' She thought bleakly. The place was like a maze.

A faint whimpering caught her ear just as she was about to round yet another corner. Turning sharply toward the source of the noise, Kagome found only a stack of discarded wooden pallets.

She shrugged her shoulders in dismissal and started to head on when she heard it again. Walking around the stack of pallets, Kagome was shocked to find an adorable little girl curled up on the ground sniffling pitifully.

She couldn't have been older than six, her dark russet hair was pulled up in a pony tail that stuck off her head at an awkward angle. It was quite obvious that she'd styled it herself.

Kagome kneeled down in front of the child, gently reaching a hand to rest softly on her shoulder. The little girl jumped at the unexpected contact, but threw herself into a very startled Kagome's arms as soon as she saw her smile.

Kagome was shocked at first, the child nearly knocked her over backwards with the force of the blow, but quickly shifted into protective maternal mode.

"Shhh." She cooed, gathering the crying girl into her arms. "Its ok sweetie. What are you doing out here all alone?"

The little girl sniffed loudly and wiped her nose on the shoulder of Kagome's shirt causing the older girl to grimace slightly. It never ceases to amaze her, the way kids tend to confuse clothing and handkerchiefs.

"Papa Sess told Rin to stay with Jaken, but he is old and grumpy so Rin tried to find papa Sess and got lost." All this was said within the span of one breath, an amazing feat for such a small child. She must have incredible lung capacity.

Kagome patted the child comfortingly on the back as her whimpers subsided. "Its ok now, I'll help you find your daddy."

"Really?" She asked, looking up at her with the biggest weepy brown eyes Kagome had ever seen.

Her heart turned to goo. The kid could have asked for a pony at that point and come hell or high water Kagome would have found her a pony.

"Really." Kagome said confidently, pleased at the grin it brought to the girls face. She was missing a tooth right in front, making her completely irresistible.

Boy was she gonna give someone a piece of her mind when she found out what fool left a helpless child to wander around a movie lot on her own. It was confusing enough for an adult, let alone a child. Not to mention that someone could have snatched her up.

"I'm Kagome." Kagome introduced herself setting the girl back on her feet and taking her chubby little hand into her own.

Rin's little bunny nose wrinkled in concentration as she tried to remember what she was supposed to say. "It is very nice to meet you Miss Kagome." She finally managed to get out in a practiced formality. Kagome had to swallow her giggles, but at least someone was trying to teach the child manners.

"Rin's name is Rin." She concluded flashing her million dollar gap-toothed grin.

Kagome really did giggle that time, the child was really something. "So I gathered." She smiled at her. "So Rin, do you know where your daddy is supposed to be?"

"Nope." Rin smiled even brighter. "Papa Sess had to work, that's why Rin was supposed to stay with Jaken."

Oh boy. This should be fun. Maybe they could find a security officer, whoever her father was he obviously works here so maybe they could direct her.

Oh well, Rin was much better company than Aumi and Yuka anyways. Who wanted to listen to them fawning over a man they'd likely never meet.

They walked for a while, Rin telling about how much she liked flowers, and how she wanted to have a puppy, but her father wouldn't let her. The child was delightful and never seemed to run out of things to say.

She reminded Kagome very much of herself when she was younger. Rin seemed like the kind of child who could spread joy to everyone around her just by walking into a room.

Kagome couldn't help the ache that formed in her heart. She wanted a family of her own one day, but she couldn't even seem to get a boy friend let alone a husband. It wasn't for lack of interest though, she had plenty of guys ask her out. It's just that they all seemed to be ....lacking something. Her friends called her picky, but she didn't think it was that because she didn't even really know what she was looking for in a guy.

She figured she would know when she found the right one. Isn't that supposed to be the way it goes. Catching each others eyes across a crowded room and all that romantic crap.

Well, she thought dismally, there's always the sperm bank.

Wouldn't mom be proud.

Just as they were turning another corner, a young man with black hair gathered into a small pony tail at the nape of his neck caught her eye as he was walking into a large studio warehouse.

He immediately stopped dead in his tracks, hand still on the door knob. He did a double take, staring intently at her face with an odd look of recognition.

'Ok,' Kagome thought irately, 'that's the second strange look I've gotten today. Do I have a booger or something?'

She self-consciously raised her hand to swipe at her nose, breaking into a grin when the man copied her actions a moment later. He must have thought she was signaling that he had a booger.

She giggled when he realized he was all clear and dropped his hand back to his side. His face broke into a charming grin and Kagome couldn't help but notice that he was a fairly handsome fellow. She stood there admiring his deep brown eyes, and tanned complexion, that is of course until his gaze lowered to very inappropriate places.

Blushing furiously, Kagome crossed her arms over her chest in a protective manner. She realized she still had her sign up sheet clutched in her hand as he snapped out of his ogling.

"Excuse me," She said a lot nicer than she should have after being visually accosted in such a manner, "Perhaps you can help me?"

An impish grin formed on his face as he stepped forward. "It would be my honor to assist such a beautiful young woman." He purred in his silky tones giving her a sly wink. "Are you here to audition?" He asked eyeing the paper in her hand.

"Oh," She started, looking to the paper as well. "I was," she began before reaching behind her to guide Rin to stand in front. "but I got a little side tracked."

The young man looked slightly startled at the sight of the small girl. "Rin?" He asked incredulously.

"Oh good." Kagome beamed.

He couldn't help but stare at her, she was gorgeous, and she bore and eerie resemblance to...

"you know Rin?" Kagome continued, oblivious to the mans appreciative stare. He nodded. "Then you must know where we can find her father. I'm Kagome by the way." She offered her hand.

"Miroku." He said graciously taking her hand with in both of his own. "You truly are a beautiful young woman. Would you do me the honor of baring my child?"

Kagome's smile ran off her face like water. "WHAT!" She screeched covering Rin's ears with her hands. "You pervert!"

Miroku just grinned at her. "Can you blame a guy for trying?" He asked innocently.

"Yes!" She huffed, still very red in the face. "Now are you going to tell me where to find Rin's father or not?"

"I'll do you one better than that." He said.

Kagome raised a skeptical eyebrow. "How so?"

"C'mon," He said snatching her paper out of her hand and walking into the studio he'd been heading into earlier.

"Where are we..."

"I'm going to get you your audition." He said holding the door for her and Rin. " And then we'll take Rin to her father."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Sesshoumaru Takishima tapped his pencil against the script in front of him in irritation. So far the entire day had been a complete waste of time and to say that he was frustrated would be a grievous understatement.

They had seen nearly one hundred girls today, and not one of them had struck him as anything special. No star quality as his father would say.

"That's enough." He bit out, interrupting the poor girl auditioning mid-sentence. She looked stunned, but stood and took her leave regardless.

His scowl deepened as his thoughts turned to his father. He didn't hate his father, no, he respected his father, but that didn't mean that he liked his father.

Before his thoughts could take a darker turn, Miroku rushed in with a triumphant grin on his face. Probably coped a feel on some unsuspecting female on his way in.

"Look no further my friends," He announced melodramatically, "I have found our girl."

Sesshoumaru had to forcibly stop himself from rolling his eyes in irritation.

"You can not drag in every attractive female you find on the street." He told him flatly pinning him with his best 'you are wasting my time peon' glare.

"I'm telling you, this girl is perfect." He boasted, beginning to squirm under Sesshoumaru's scrutiny.

"Miroku, you didn't promise the girl a part if she slept with you, because you know what happened last time." Sango, the casting director scolded the young publicist, her eyebrow twitching in an irritated fashion.

"Why Sango, you wound me." Miroku feigned and innocent look. "I would never do something like that....twice."

"Why are you so anxious for us to meet this girl?" Sesshoumaru asked with an almost imperceptible sigh. He could feel the beginnings of a migraine forming.

"Well, for one thing she has experience."

"So do all of the girls who have auditioned today."

"No, not acting experience, miko experience." Miroku said putting Kagome's form on the table in front of Sesshoumaru.

"She was raised on a shrine." Sesshoumaru stated while reading over the form.

"And that's not even the best part. Wait until you see her." Miroku said, his excitement building as he bounded back out of the room.

Sango looked over at Sesshoumaru challengingly. "200 bucks says she has a double D bra size and her favorite words are 'uh' and ' like'."

Sesshoumaru eyed her skeptically. "I know Miroku far too well to take that bet. He said with a smirk. He really didn't know why he was even humoring the letch. Obviously exhaustion was taking its toll.

If this girl was, as they suspected, just another one of Miroku's bimbo's he would have to give the part to Kagura, something he was not readily willing to do.

Kagura Cain, while a very talented actress with an impressive portfolio, was a premadonna and nearly unbearable to work with. Not to mention the fact that she'd been shamelessly throwing herself at him for the past six months straight. If he had to work with her for nearly a year straight, he might just end up killing her.

'What is taking Miroku so long?' He thought restlessly. The twinges of his oncoming migraine were quickly progressing into stabs of throbbing pain shooting across head. He pressed his thumb and forefinger to the bridge of his nose in effort to thwart the pounding.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru." Sango said quietly leaning toward him. "You ok?"

He shot her a pointed look, but said nothing. If she was too thick to tell that he wasn't 'Ok' then he surely wasn't going bother going to go to the trouble of answering her. Sango had her uses, she was a good judge of character, that's why he had her handling all of the important casting decisions. He was only sitting in on these auditions because the part was so vital to the film. She had to be perfect.

Hushed voices could be heard coming down the hall, one soft and nervous, the other smooth and polished. Sango leaned over to him once more.

"Try to at least be polite to this one?" She begged. Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes, but again did not grace her with an answer.

Suddenly the door was flung open and a somewhat hesitant young woman was shoved into the room, the door closing forcefully behind her. She immediately grabbed for the door handle and began to tug furiously at the door to no avail, obviously the letch had anticipated her attempted escape and held the door closed from the other side.

She was pretty enough, from what he could tell. Long raven hair cascaded in soft waves like heavy silk down her back to her small tapered waist. She was petite, but not overly so. He still couldn't see her face, she was still frantically trying to get out the door.

"Miroku," he heard the soft lilt of her voice call out softly. The sound was quite pleasing to the ears and oddly familiar, though he could not place it. She still had her back to them, but he was quite certain he did not know her. He didn't recognize the name anyway. "I don't think I can do this!" She hissed urgently.

"Yes you can." Miroku shouted from the other side of the door.

Her shoulders drooped momentarily before she seemed to gather her courage and straightened her shoulders and lifted her chin. Sesshoumaru found the whole scene to be quite amusing, though you wouldn't know it by looking at him. The poor girl looked like she was about up against the firing squad instead of just having an audition.

The girl finally turned, her long raven hair fanning out behind her like a silk cape. She flashed them a nervous smile. "Heh, Hi."

Oh my god.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Kagome fidgeted nervously in the room Miroku had told her to wait in with Rin. She was suddenly feeling very nervous about the whole ordeal and was seriously contemplating making a break for the front door. If it weren't for Rin's chubby hand anchoring her to the spot, she would have.

Picking at her denim skirt with her free hand she wondered if she was terribly under dressed. They passed a girl on the way in who was wearing a pair of dress slacks and a silk blouse. Maybe she was here for some other reason. Yeah right. She started fidgeting again until the tiny hand clasped tightly in her own gave a sharp tug.

"Don't be nervous Miss Kagome." Rin told her, gazing up with those wide mahogany eyes. "Miss. Kagome is very pretty. They will love you."

Kagome smiled down at the little girl, she somehow managed to make her feel more at ease just with those sweet little words. However, her comfort was short lived. Miroku came bounding down the hall looking pleased as a peacock and grabbed her hand pulling her behind him. Rin giggled as she was pulled along as well.

"Miroku, I don't know about all this." She panted as they ran down a long hall way.

"You'll be great. Just be confident, and show no fear."

"Higurashi the fearless." Kagome said softly, remembering what Yuka had said earlier.

"That's the spirit." Miroku said swinging her around and inspecting her. He rearranged a few strands of fly away hair then ran his eyes over the rest of her, a lecherous grin on his face. Kagome fisted her hands on her hips and fixed a threatening glare at him. He immediately held up his hands in a placating manner before giving her a playful wink.

"What about Rin?" Kagome demanded, looking down at the little girl who currently had her legs in a death grip.

"We will wait right out side the door." Miroku promised.

"Will you be ok?" Kagome disentangled herself and kneeled before the child. "I'll be right inside this door if you need me. It shouldn't take long, and then we'll go find your daddy and maybe we can find some ice cream on the way. How does that sound?" The little girl smiled brightly and nodded her head vigorously.

"You are wonderful with children Kagome." Miroku commented. "Are you sure you wont take me up on my offer."

"Positive." Kagome said quickly, but not angrily. For some reason his perverted sense of humor amused her, though she would have to be careful not to encourage him.

"Ok, then." He shrugged, then grabbed her by the forearms and pushed her through the door without another word.

Suddenly every beat of Kagome's heart was pounding at an almost deafening level. 'Oh, I am so going to kill Yuka for this, and Miroku.' Maybe this really wasn't such a good idea, I mean anything that made your insides squirm like they were trying to escape the confines of your body couldn't be good.

Kagome grasped the door handle ready to make her escape only to find that it wouldn't budge. 'Damn you Miroku!' She thought angrily as she tried in vain to push the door open.

"Miroku." She hissed out panicky. " I don't think I can do this."

"Yes you can." He called back.

Kagome felt her shoulders droop. God, how do I always end up in these situations. Not to mention that now she felt like a total idiot for trying to run.

Oh well, she steeled herself, Might as well get this over with. She took in a deep, steadying breath and turned to face her fear.

The room its self was very plain. It looked to be some sort of meeting room, sparsely decorated with a few framed movie posters and a plain concrete floor. A long fold out table was set up in the middle of the room with two occupants seated behind it. A lone stool was positioned about six feet in front of the table with a book marked script lying atop it.

Kagome fought the blush that threatened to consume her as she realized they had witnessed her whole little performance with the door. 'Kill me now.' She begged silently, forcing a smile onto her face. Spontaneous combustion was definitely a possibility, the heat burning on her cheeks was hot enough to fry an egg.

"Heh, Hi." She said nervously. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why didn't you just drool and say duh.'

The young woman sitting behind the table smiled warmly at her. She had long auburn hair pulled up in a high pony tail and pretty brown eyes. The woman had a strong, yet kind look about her. Kagome immediately liked her.

"Miss Higurashi?" She asked sweetly.

Kagome merely nodded. She didn't trust herself to open her mouth anymore than she had to.

"My name is Sango Tayjia, and this," She motioned to the man seated beside her who was looking at her with such intense scrutiny that she cringed. "Is Sesshoumaru Takishima."

Kagome's jaw dropped. "What are you doing here?" She burst out before realizing that yet again her mouth had opened and out flowed the unmerciful wrath of her self incrimination. She blushed again and clapped her hand over her mouth.

Sesshoumaru simply quirked a brow at her and crossed his arms over his chest, much like he had been doing in the photograph. Sango, however, was grinning brightly at her.

"It says here that you are a shrine maiden?" She asked, still flashing an amused grin at her.

"Well, sort of." Kagome said. She could still feel Takishima's eyes on her, it was very intimidating.

"Sort of, I was not aware that you could 'sort of' be a shrine maiden." Sesshoumaru's cool tones cut across at her like a whip making her flinch. He smirked faintly and she realized that he was trying to intimidate her. 'Why that...'

"Well, I was raised on the shrine and brought up with the ancient teachings," She began timidly before steeling herself and snapping a glare at Takishima, 'Higurashi the fearless,' she repeated like a mantra. "But I wasn't sure I wanted to take care of the shrine for the rest of my life, though my grandfather would like nothing more." She finished with more confidence than she would have thought possible under such scrutiny.

Sango smiled even wider. This was the first girl all day not to crumble under Sesshoumaru's glare.

"It says here you have 15 years of dance?" Sango asked, accessing her paper again.

"Yes, I've studied since I was five. Ballet, jazz, modern, pretty much you name it and I've done it." Kagome said proudly, dancing was one thing she was really good at.

"That's all very well and good Higurashi." Sesshoumaru snapped, "Unfortunately this is not a musical, so unless you have some other skills that might be of use to us..."

Kagome felt her hackles rise, how incredibly rude...

"What Sesshoumaru is trying to say," Sango interjected quickly, "is that we need to hear you read some lines."

'Read,' gulp, 'lines? I guess they want to make sure I can speak coherently under pressure. Hopefully they won't give me any lines for real, if they even pick me to be an extra. Though she probably blew her shot when she tried to pull a Houdini.'

Kagome mutely walked up to the stool and picked up the script. Her throat had suddenly gone dry and her hands were shaking slightly.

"Ok," Sango said calmly, "Just turn to the book marked page. You are Miya, a priestess sworn to protect the Shikon no tama from evil. You have just come across the great demon lord of the west, Norihiko. He has been ambushed and is injured to the point of death. Your conflict is that as a miko, the demon is your natural enemy, but for some reason you can not let him die. Sesshoumaru will lead you into the monologue."

Sesshoumaru shot her a fierce glare, obviously not pleased, but Naraku had already left for the day so he didn't have much choice.

He stood and walked around the table toward the slightly quaking girl. He didn't even need the script, already knowing the lines by heart. He did, after all, write it.

Kagome looked up at him, having to crane her neck slightly to look into his honey toned eyes. He was a good head taller than her and now that he was so close she could smell the sweet musk of his cologne. It was a little distracting to say the least.

He perched himself comfortably on the stool so they were at a more even level, pulling up his knee and draping his arm across it comfortably. Kagome took a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable. She could do this. She would not make a fool of herself, and above all else she would not let Sesshoumaru Takishima get the better of her, no matter how good looking he was.

"Are you ready?" He asked, his smooth voice caressing her ears like silk. She nodded and looked down at her script preparing herself.

Then he began.

"So, you have come to finish off the western lord while he is down miko?" He barked out in the raspy tones of someone injured and in pain, yet it still held the arrogance and pride of a lord. He really was good.

Something flashed in Kagome's startling blue eyes, something akin to deja vous. She felt a nagging twinge at the back of her heart as the words flowed from his mouth. "And if I am?" She replied haughtily.

"I may be injured, but I will not die by the hands of a wretched woman such as your self. You will be dead before you can even reach me."

"Please Lord Norihiko, save your high and mighty attitude for your courtiers. I have no intent to kill you, though I probably should rid the lands of your tyranny..."

They went on for some time, Miya finally tending to Norihiko's wounds and hiding him in her hut under the guise of a wandering vagabond. It was an incredible performance, Kagome slid into the part as though it was written for her and she and Sesshoumaru played off each other with natural ease.

When it they were through Sango clapped enthusiastically while Sesshoumaru resumed his position behind the table.

"That was wonderful Kagome!" Sango praised her generously. Kagome blushed furiously, she really had just fallen into the soul of the scene and forgotten all about her being there.

"It was adequate." Sesshoumaru corrected, looking down at her form almost angrily. "Tell me Higurashi, why is it you have come to this audition with out your portfolio?" He demanded, sending all decent feelings Kagome was beginning to foster right out the window.

"Portfolio?" She questioned.

"Please do not feign ignorance, it is most unbecoming."

"Excuse me?!" She was angry now. He was insulting her and acting like a complete and total jerk. She knew she wasn't great, but it wasn't like she was auditioning for the lead roll or anything.

"You heard me, or are you deaf as well?"

Sango was staring at Sesshoumaru as if he'd grown a second head. The man was a jerk, he could be cold and callous, but she'd never seen him just go off on someone for no reason like this before.

"Listen here you...you...jack ass!" Kagome shouted getting red in the face. She was unaccustomed to swearing and it was painfully obvious, but she was too angry to care at the moment. "I do not have to put up with this. First I get dragged up here to mingle in the throngs of your psychotic fan girls and have to listen to them talk about your underwear and sleep habits, then I get lost on the lot and found the sweetest little girl who's father apparently doesn't know how to find a decent baby sitter because she was lost as well, then I get checked out by a pervert and shoved into this little room to get run into the ground by 'mister high and mighty my under ware are too tight and its making me crabby'. I have better things to do with my time thank you very much. If you'll excuse me, I won't take up anymore of your time." She turned and began to stalk toward the door.

"Kagome wait!" Sango shouted jumping out of her seat. Kagome turned, he face bright with anger.

"You know MR. Takishima, I was right about you all along. You are nothing more than an egocentric, spoiled, jerk. Now, I have a date with Rin and the ice cream parlor. Then I have to track down her good for nothing father. Good day!" She shouted, stomping out the door and slamming it behind her.

Sesshoumaru settled back in his chair, his finger tips resting upon each other as he smirked in satisfaction. That was most definitely amusing. He wasn't exactly sure why he goaded her the way he did, it was rather childish in truth, but he couldn't help himself. She was good, a little too good to only have some high school drama.

"Wait, did she say Rin?"

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A/N; Hello there peoples! So what do you think? I have most of the plot outlined and am pretty excited about this story. All of my chapters probably won't be quite this long, but we'll see how good to me you are with the reviews! Anyways, I really need a beta reader, so if there's anyone out there willing to help me out drop me an email at undecidedlycertain@yahoo.com . Thanks and please R& R!