Kagome awoke the next with a long stretch and a smile on her face, surprised at how rested she felt. Laughing softly to herself she sat up, careful not to knock Buyo over. ‘Haha. Guess we should start performing twice as much more often. I feel great!’ She slipped out of the covers with another yawn and glanced at her clock.
"Wow, that's rare. I have a whole hour before Sango picks me up. Yes! That means I can take my time getting ready today." She started humming to herself as she rummaged through her closet and drawers, trying to find the perfect outfit for her first day back; first day as a senior.
After a few minutes, she held up her selection with a smile, then headed to the bathroom to change and fix her hair. Stepping out after about twenty minutes, she smiled at her reflection. She had chosen her dark jean hip-huggers and light green peasant shirt with flowing, sheer sleeves, topping it off with a white pinstriped half vest. After applying some chunky mascara, her favorite lipgloss and slipping her white hoops in her ears, she ran downstairs to eat breakfast.
Meanwhile, about five miles away, Inuyasha was still asleep until his sensitive ears picked up the sounds of chirping birds. He groaned and rolled over, trying to ignore them, but quickly gave up as they seemed to just get louder with each passing moment. With a growl, he slipped out of bed then walked over to his window, before shouting a warning, fist shaking for emphasis.
"You damned flying rats! Why is it that no matter where I go, you always wake me up?! Ugh." He stood there, grumbling for a moment as he ran a hand through his silver tresses. Suddenly he heard running footsteps coming up the stairs, stopping just outside his room.
"Inuyasha? Honey, are you finally up? If you don't hurry you're gonna be late!" shouted his mother, Izayoi, from the other side of the door.
"I know mom! I'm already dressed! Just let me brush my hair and I'll be right down!" responded the boxer-clad boy nervously, making his mom laugh from the other side of the door.
“Sure you are. I’ll just drop some Poptarts in for you. Hurry up! You know your father hates it when you’re late. Remember, first impressions are sometimes your only impressions!” she called cheerfully, sounds of her retreating footsteps letting her son know she’d returned to the kitchen.
“I know, I know. Thanks mom!” He quickly ran around, grabbing some clothes, before throwing them on then running to the bathroom to brush his teeth and slip his hair into a low ponytail.
“Only impressions, huh? Oh well, it's my first day at a new school, so it doesn't matter if I'm a little late, right? They are waiting on me after all.” He checked himself in the mirror real fast, nodding that his appearance was okay and slipped on his hat backwards before heading down to the kitchen.
Slipping a checkered belt through his baggy jeans and buttoning a couple buttons on his red shirt, he headed down to the kitchen where his mom was making some eggs. Her long black hair pulled up into a ponytail as she worked, dark lavender eyes watching the yellow goo in the pan solidify as her son stepped in. He grabbed his Poptarts and gave his mom a quick kiss to the cheek.
“Later mom. Thanks again!” He ran out the door, almost tripping as he pulled his black DC’s on, then hopped in his prized Shelby Mustang and headed to school.
As soon as he arrived, he parked the car and put his seat back, glaring at the clock. ‘Geez... I still have fifteen minutes! Dammit! I could have gotten a bit more sleep.’ He pouted a bit, finishing off his frosted strawberry Poptart. He sighed after a few minutes, picking some fuzz off his black tank top and readjusting the red button-up over-shirt, before slipping his arms behind his head to just relax until the bell rang.
Suddenly Kagome heard a horn honk, from where she was seated with her mom and brother in the kitchen. “Time to go.” She smiled, hugging her mom and ruffling Souta’s hair before heading to the living room to grab her bag and white crocheted hat. “See you later guys. Love ya!”
She pulled her hat on, then after checking that her low side ponytail didn’t get ruffled, she walked out the door, sliding into her flip flops as she went.
“Ohayou, Sango, Miroku!” Kagome called, before sliding into the front seat. “Hey, where’s Shippo?”
Sango waited til Kagome had buckled in, answering her as they pulled back onto the road. “Early theatre meeting. You know him. Haha.” Kagome and Miroku chuckled, before Kagome looked to her best friends’ shirt.
“Yup, always trying to get ahead on everything. Say Sango, when did you get that shirt? I don’t think I’ve seen it before.”
Sango smiled, looking down at her black shirt with neon scribble hearts all over the front. “Oh this? Don’t you remember? I got it when we picked Kohaku up from the airport after he got back from camp two years ago.”
Kagome looked thoughtful for a second before laughing and lightly bopping herself on the head. “Oh yeah. Haha. I remember we almost got in a fight about it because there was only one left.” She and Sango shared a laugh at the memory. Miroku rummaged through a compartment as they chatted, and after a minute or so, produced one of their favorite CD’s.
“How bout some tunes?” The girls nodded, comfortable silence following them all the way to school, sounds of one of their favorite rock bands filling the car.
Inuyasha, who had long grown tired of watching other students, had finally decided to exit his car and sat on a bench in front of the school, one arm propped up as he skimmed his schedule. He glanced up after a bit when he heard girls giggling and rock music blasting as a van parked a few spaces down from him. He was slightly shocked at who it was when they piled out of the vehicle.
‘Kagome?’ He stood up and walked a few steps towards them before raising his arm to wave. “Hey Kagome!” When Kagome saw him, she had to blink a couple times before she believed her eyes.
“Inuyasha?” When she saw him wave, she returned his gesture with a smile, and walked over, messenger bag slung over her shoulder.
“Hey stranger. Long time no see,” she joked, sapphire orbs sparkling.
"Yeah, imagine seeing you here," he said and put his hands in his pockets with a chuckle, meeting her joke with one of his own.
"I know! This is weird! Why didn't you tell me you were going here?" she asked, shifting her bag to the other shoulder.
"I tried to, but then Thing One and Thing Two ran up," he responded with a chuckle, pointing to said ‘Things’ as they walked up. Kagome just laughed, seeing her friends’ confused faces. Miroku stepped up, offering a hand to Inuyasha.
“I’m Miroku Houshi by the way. I don’t believe we were properly introduced last night.” Inuyasha smiled, politely shaking the other guys’ hand.
“Nice to meet you.” He looked to Sango and offered his hand to her as well.
“And you must be Sango. Kagome wouldn’t stop talking about you.” Sango quirked an eyebrow at Kagome as she shook his hand. “All lies, I’m sure.”
They share a laugh, then Kagome spots the schedule in his hand and points to it. "Ano… can I see your schedule? We might have some classes together."
"Sure thing,” he answered, handing it to her. She looked down at the paper for a moment, then pulled her own from her pocket to compare before looking back to him, eyes looking a bit surprised.
“We have the same schedule!” Just then, the first bell rang, and Miroku chimed in.
“Well that means all four of us have the same first period then. Shall we?” And with that, they all headed to homeroom.
As soon as Kagome and Inuyasha were about to open the door, Sango peeked in and quickly closed it. “Uhh… Kags, you may wanna brace yourself for this, demo… Guess who they finally let out of Juvenile Hall?” Kagome looked at her friend with a confused expression for a second and then her eyes widened.
"Please don't tell me Koga's back..." said Kagome, voice suddenly sounding hollow as she watched her friends’ face for a change in expression.
"Okay..." responded Sango, before glancing down the hall. "Then I'll just tell you that your ex-boyfriend is in there."
Kagome sighed and hung her head, before slumping against the wall. “Great…”
"Uh... what's going on here, Sango? What's wrong with Kagome?" inquired Inuyasha as he kneeled down with Sango to see if the blue-eyed girl in question was ok.
Sango motioned him closer, then whispered to him, so as not to upset her friend. "Koga is Kagome's ex-boyfriend and he was put in Juvie near the end of last year because he was caught rough-handling her one day. Her mom was the one who saw it all and called the police..."
The silver-haired boy looked like he had just been slapped in the face. "Why would anyone wanna hit Kagome?! She's a kind and caring person from what I can tell... What the hell is wrong with the guy?" Kagome blushed despite herself as she heard those words, sending him a glance as he and Sango talked.
Sango sighed and then continued the story. "Well... from what they said, they think he’s a bit mentally off. You know how we're a band, right?" Inuyasha nodded his head and sat quietly as Sango explained.
"Well, one day we had to perform a for a party at Ayumi’s. We couldn’t back out last minute. It was our good friend Eri’s birthday. And because of that, Kagome had to cancel a date with him. That was… well, unacceptable to him. Therefore, he got pissed off, and took it out on her next time he saw her.”
“The whole thing happened outside of Kagome's home, and luckily her mom saw what happened, and called the authorities to take him away. But what we didn't know, was that at the same time he was also going out with another girl. Apparently because he couldn’t have his way with Kagome, he decided to go with some slut from our rival school named Kikyo Mikoni. She’s a good cheerleader, but has the most promiscuous reputation. Not a very nice attitude either."
At this point, Kagome was fighting back tears, doing her best to block out bad memories as Inuyasha leaned in to her. "Hey, don't worry about him Kagome. I promise I won't let him hurt you."
“Yeah, me either Kags. And neither will Shippo or Miroku. You can count on that. I promise you that.” Kagome looked up to her childhood friend, a small smile on her lips despite her tear-brimmed eyes.
“Thanks you guys… That means a lot to me,” she said, light sniffle sound coming from her. They nodded solemnly, sitting quietly for a moment until the bell rang, then reached down to help pick her up off the floor.
She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, determined to stand up proud as she walked into the classroom. “Well… Let’s get in there then.” They each took one of her hands, and then walked in together.
As they passed through the door, Sango apologized for the three of them being late while Inuyasha led Kagome to where Miroku had saved them seats. The teacher looked up, seeing a new face, and asked him to state his name. "Uh... Inuyasha Taisho."
"Well nice to meet you Inuyasha. My name is Ms. Kaede and I'll be your homeroom teacher this year. Take a seat anywhere ye wish, just as long as ye don't think ye'll talk."
"Yes m'am..." Inuyasha answered with a nod, sitting beside Kagome and behind Miroku. Sango was already seated beside Miroku, pulling a notebook out. She gave Kagome a kind smile, then turned her attention back to their elderly teacher.
"Very well then. That shall be your seat for the rest of the year, unless I feel that ye need to be moved." said Ms. Kaede as she began the lesson. Since they were at tables and not desks, they were directly next to each other. In front of them sat Sango and Miroku, who had already gotten their books and paper out. Inuyasha glanced to the girl beside him after a few moments. "You feeling better, Kagome?"
"Yeah, much better. Thanks to you and Sango," she responded softly, shooting a nervous glance at a boy across the room. He had long black hair, pulled up into a ponytail and was wearing a jock sweatband across his forehead. He also had piercing blue eyes that glinted like ice as he watched the pair.
"Hey Sango..." he whispered to the girl in front of him. "Is that the infamous Koga?" he asked with a nod towards the pony-tailed youth.
"Yeah... that's him." she responded after looking to see where he had gestured.
After a few seconds, she thought she heard Inuyasha start to growl, and panicked a bit. "Don't even think about messing with him, Inuyasha! He may not look like much, but he's really strong. And he's leader of the small youkai gang downtown."
"Yeah, well if he messes with Kagome, then he'll have to worry about how strong I am," he replied, jotting down notes at an irritated pace as the teacher wrote them on the overhead, half listening as she droned on about what to expect that semester. He found he felt unusually protective of this girl he had just met, reasons unknown to him. He glanced to said blue-eyed girl beside him, watching as her hand moved across the paper, leaving elegant handwriting on the page. He watched for a few seconds more, then turned back to his own, the rest of class just spent note taking.
The next two classes flew by like nothing and to everyone’s relief, no homework was given out. That was one of the best things about the first day back in, Shippo’s opinion. “And now on to the best class of the day. Lunch time.”
“I don’t think lunch counts as a class, Miroku,” laughed Kagome, taking a seat at their usual table with her tray in hand.
“Yeah but if it was, it totally would be,” Sango stated, sitting to Kagome’s left while Inuyasha took the right, Miroku and Shippo across from them.
“So how was theatre class Shippo?” Kagome asked, sticking a straw into her juice box and taking a sip.
“Great! They’ve decided to put me at head of the preparations and ideas committee,” he answered enthusiastically, munching on some potato chips.
"So, Shippo... how is it to finally stop being called freshmeat?" asked Miroku with a laugh, trying to make friendly conversation.
"Awesome. I was getting so sick of all the jokes. People always yanked my tail too. THAT was annoying. Oh and by the way, as new head of the committee, I’ve decided to throw a talent show next Friday in celebration of a new year," he responded happily, adding after a few seconds. “And no Miroku, perversity doesn’t count as a talent.”
This earned a round of laughs from everyone, including Inuyasha, who had just met the little guy. ‘Must be because we both have demon blood.’ He thought with a faint smile, reminding himself to try and tell Kagome when he got a chance.
They were getting ready to go to their last class, everyone tossing out their garbage, when Kagome told them to go on ahead without her. She had to check something with her counselor about her credits. However, as soon as she started across the courtyard to the office, she suddenly heard an oh-too-familiar wolf whistle. She turned around slowly, praying it was just the wind or her mind messing with her. Her hopes were shattered right then and there as she heard HIS voice, and saw him step from around a corner she had just passed.
"Hey there, Kag-baby. You're looking good," he said, then walked up and ran a hand up her arm to under her chin, holding her face there. An uncontrolled shiver ran down her spine as she tried to remain calm.
"How long's it been since I seen you? Hmm…" He looked falsely thoughtful for a moment before he spoke again, a growl in his voice.
"Oh yeah! Right at the end of Junior year, before that bitch mom of yours called the authorities on me." He smirked when he saw her shaking, one glistening fang overlapping his bottom lip.
"What's the matter, Kag-baby? You're not scared of me are you?" he asked with cold humor in his voice, eyes glinting in dark humor.
Kagome was pretty much paralyzed by fear, unable to even call out to anyone as Koga leaned forward to nuzzle her neck. 'Inuyasha! Sango! Guys... help me! Please help me!' she thought desperately, blue eyes clenching shut as she tried to ignore his hot breath on her neck as he breathed her scent.
Then, remembering her friends’ words, and Sango’s promise, she took a deep breath to gather courage and called out, "Inuyasha! Sango! Guys help me!" She cried out again, even though she knew they probably couldn't hear her from wherever they were.
Koga silenced her with a swift slap across the face, making her cry out in pain and shrink back against the concrete wall. He looked around the courtyard, grinning when he saw it was empty before turning back to the frightened girl he had a hold of.
"Bitch. Heh. No one can hear you, Kag-baby… No one can help you…" He smirked when he saw the tears pooling in her azure orbs, a single pearl of saltwater rolling off her lash and down her cheek.
‘Why can no one hear me? Why is no one helping me?’ she thought, muffling a sob that had worked its’ way to her throat. She looked around the courtyard, not seeing anyone, not even the schools’ Rent-A-Cops.
‘Where is everyone?’ She was pulled from her thoughts as she heard his cold voice speaking yet again, daring to direct her gaze back to him.
"Oh, yeah. I owe you a lot more than that for sending me to Juvie, now don't I?" Kagome’s eyes widened as Koga took hold of her shirt and yanked her up to him. Feeling that all hope was lost if she didn’t try again, she closed her eyes, giving one last desperate cry for help.
“SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME!!!" This time, however, Inuyasha, thankful for his sensitive ears, had heard her from where he was in the hall, dropped his stuff and went running in the direction of her voice.
'Gods! How could I have been so stupid as to just leave her there by herself?! Gods, please let her be okay… Kagome!' He mentally scalded himself for being so careless. He quickly dashed through the hall doors and back out to the courtyard, then rounded a corner. He growled as he saw his friend, her body shaking, a bit of blood running down her lip. The small bruise on her cheek was making itself visible, a bruise no doubt caused by a hard slap from Koga.
His eyes saw red when he noticed the wolf demon holding her by the scruff of her shirt with a raised fist in the air, ready to hit again. "Don’t you even fucking think about it, you son of a BITCH!!" shouted an infuriated Inuyasha, stepping towards them, pointed canines bared, fist clenched tightly.
"And what if I don't feel like listening?" said Koga turning around with a smirk, revealing a mocking look in his cold eyes.
In answer his question, Inuyasha leapt forward and punched him smack in the face, the force of it knocking him into the wall and out cold. He dropped his hold on Kagome in the process, who quickly slid back, a couple of crystalline tears on her cheeks.
"Kagome are you alright?!" he asked, kneeling down beside her, one hand gently touching her cheek. She only nodded her head, then winced as she felt his claws graze her. ‘Wait… Claws?’
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you," he said, feeling guilt-ridden and a bit torn up inside. She forced herself to look up at him, tired expression in her eyes.
“It’s ok… You… I didn’t know he would… If you hadn’t come he might’ve…” she trailed off, looking a bit sick, then glanced down to his hands, noticing for the first time the claws on his fingertips.
"Ano… Inuyasha? Not to change the subject but… are those what I think they are…?” she asked timidly, pointing to his hands. He followed her gaze and quickly pulled them to himself.
“Uhhh… Yeah. About that… Kagome, there’s something I want you to know.” And with that he reached up and lifted the hat from his head… revealing two fuzzy triangles. Kagome just blinked for a moment, small gasp passing through her lips as they twitched.
“Are those… your ears?” The ears flicked to her as she spoke, then back nervously as he nodded. He took a deep breath, then proceeded to explain.
“You see… Like Shippo, I’m not exactly human. In fact… I’m more like half. A hanyou… I didn’t want to tell you right away because I wasn’t sure how you’d…”
His sentence drifted off for a second when he felt two hands gently rubbing the fuzzy appendages above his head. “… react. K-Kagome…?”
“Inuyasha, I don’t care what you are… To me, you’re just my friend, not a demon or half demon. You’re just Inuyasha.” She gave him a small smile, then leaned against him, making him blush a bit. “Thanks again.”
“Anytime.” He smiled, wiping the small trace of blood from her lip, before helping her stand so they could go to their last class. He took her small hand in his, eyes softening as she blushed faintly at the contact. He paused to scoop up his dropped things, then walked with her to study hall.
When Sango and Miroku had heard what Koga had done to their friend, the pair was nervous and irate, especially Sango. The brown-eyed girl was the first to speak, moving closer to her friend and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Oh my God! Kagome are you going to be okay?" Kagome nodded her head slowly, small sigh escaping her as she licked her split lip.
"And he had the nerve to call you by your old pet name?" Receiving another nod from Kagome, Sango turned away with her fist clenched, looking like she could get sick.
Seeing as Sango was unable to say anything more, Miroku spoke up. "Well, it's fortunate that Inuyasha here was able to help you." he said gesturing a hand to the newly revealed dog-eared youth sitting cross-legged by Kagome. She sighed again with a small nod and leaned on said boys’ shoulder, all of them sitting in comfortable silence, just waiting for study hall to end.
The quiet didn’t last long however, for Miroku, being Miroku, just couldn’t resist reaching for Sango’s backside as she leaned over for a book. Three, two… one.
*SMACK*
"Oh Miroku? What did I say about that?” Sango said, voice dropping a bit as she stood, palm a bit red from where it had made contact with the perverse young mans’ cheek..
He merely chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his head. “You wound me Sango. It merely looked like you were going to slip from your chair, that’s all.” Kagome rolled her eyes, then allowed a small smile to cross her lips, knowing her friends were just trying to cheer her up.
“Thanks you guys… I’m fine though, really.” The bell rang, a signal to the end of the school day, and they gathered their things before heading out.
Once reaching the parking lot, Inuyasha turned to Kagome. “So what are you guys doing the rest of the day? I know me and Kagome didn’t get any homework, but what about you?”
“Same for us, actually. As our little kit friend says, the first day is the best. No homework for anyone…” Miroku answered with a smile, leaning back on Sango’s van.
“Unless your teacher is a Nazi,” he added in a whisper that wasn’t really that quiet, making Inuyasha and the girls laugh.
“The only thing we really have to do today is practice for our performance next week at the Crazy Eights,” Kagome chimed in, shifting her book bag again before Inuyasha smiled and offered to take it for her. “Thanks…”
Just then, Shippo walked up, having seen the look exchange between his friend and the silver-haired boy. He chuckled, nudging Kagome with a grin. “You blushing Kags, or could that be a fever coming on?”
He leaned in to Miroku with a laugh and whispered, “Love fever.”
Miroku choked back a laugh, watching Kagome turn a darker shade of pink. “Oh hush up you guys. We have to get going. Mom says we can only practice until seven. It’s already…” She pulled her cell phone out, checking the time. “Three forty-five. So let’s go already.”
Inuyasha looked to the blue-eyed girl beside him and offered her a ride home. “Sure, that’d be great. That way, you can stick around and critique for us.” Sango and Miroku hopped into the van with Shippo in tow, motioning for him to follow.
On the way to her house, Inuyasha found he couldn’t keep his eyes off his lovely passenger. ‘Heh. I hope her mom likes me. It would put a cramp in my plans to ask her daughter out if she didn’t.’ He followed Sango’s van for a few miles, soft music playing throughout the car. He chuckled to himself as he watched Kagome messing with the buttons, amusement in his amber orbs.
“Wow. How do you remember what these all do?”
“Good memory,” he answered, giving her a wink. She laughed, finally just sitting back in her seat to admire the car.
“Neh, Yash. How much did it cost for a car like this?” He pondered her question for a bit, trying to decide how to answer.
“Well you see… I come from a… fairly wealthy family. My dad’s a pretty well known lawyer. I prefer working for what I have most of the time though.” He smiled, patting the steering wheel.
“I worked two summer jobs for this baby last year. I got most of the amount myself, but my dad helped me on the rest.”
Kagome smiled, just turning in her seat to watch him drive. “That’s so cool. I can’t wait to get a car. But mama says I have to wait til I graduate.” She stuck out her lower lip in a pout, making him laugh.
Sango finally slowed to a stop, pulling up beside a curb. He followed her, parking behind her after she stopped and setting his emergency brake.
“Wow, this is nice,” he commented, taking the key from the ignition before hopping out and going around to open the door for Kagome.
“Yeah, my grandpa was from a pretty spiritual line. This shrine’s been in the family for generations. He passed away a couple years ago, but me and mom still keep it going.” They joined their other friends, then proceed up the stairs to the house and shrine above, chatting about what songs to practice.
After making it into the house and slipping her shoes off, Kagome called out. “Tadaima! Mom, Souta! You guys here?”
“In here, Kagome!” came an answer from the kitchen. She started towards the sound of her mothers’ voice, waving for her friends to follow. Inuyasha suddenly found himself nervous.
‘What if she doesn’t like me? What if she doesn’t like hanyous and doesn’t want me around her daughter anymore?’ Shippo, sensing his bouncing nerves, patted his new friend on the back.
“Don’t worry Yash. Kagome’s mom is really nice. You’ll see.” And so they entered the kitchen, everyone taking a seat except Inuyasha. Mrs. Higurashi smiled as she saw him, walking over to him as she wiped her hands on her apron. “Well hello there. You must be a new friend.”
She smiled kindly, and all nervous thoughts left Inuyasha as he smiled back, introducing himself. “That’s a nice name. I’d guess from your appearance, you’re part demon right dear?” He nodded, accepting the cup of tea she handed to him. He found she reminded him a bit of his own mother, save for her appearance. Her hair was short and slightly wavy, a dark brown color. Her eyes were brown and kind as she regarded him. He could see where Kagome’s sweet disposition came from.
“Well it was nice to see you all. And to meet you dear.” She placed a hand on his shoulder before turning to her daughter.
“I must get going though. I need to pick Souta up. He had to stay a bit late today.” She grabbed her purse and keys, waving from the door.
“There’s snacks in the fridge. Help yourselves. I’ll be back in a bit.” And with that, she left, locking the door behind her.
“Well anyways. I’ll be right back you guys. My lyrics notebook is upstairs. Can’t practice without it.” Kagome said with a smile, rising from the table and headed for the stairs on the other side of the kitchen.
Sango rose just as she was about to start up the stairs. “Neh, Kags? Can I come with you? I need to talk to you about something.” She said, glancing back to Miroku for a second. Kagome took the hint and nodded, lips curving up at the corners.
"Sure, Sango. Come on up.” Once they reached the top of the stairs, Kagome called down to the boys.
“Can you guys go ahead and start setting up and tuning the instruments? We’ll be down in a few.” Miroku called up that they would, then, after finishing their drinks, they headed outside to the garage.
As the girls walked up the stairs to Kagome's room, Kagome turned to her friend. “So what’s up, Sango?” she asked, rummaging around on her desk and opening the drawers trying to find the notebook they’d need.
“Well… It’s about last night. I tried telling him how a felt, demo…” Kagome glanced over to her best friend.
“You lose your nerve hun?”
Sango shook her head, sitting on the corner of her friends’ bed. “No… I was about to tell him, then the club manager walked up and told us his ‘emergency.’ So yeah… I didn’t get a chance to finish.”
“I see… Aha!” her friend mused, then exclaimed as she found what she was looking for in the bottom drawer.
“I don’t know what to do Kags. I’ve known him so long, but I don’t know how to tell him. What if he laughs? Or freaks out then doesn’t talk to me after? I don’t want to ruin or friendship…” Kagome took a seat beside her friend, sympathy etched in her features.
“Well, you won’t know til you try. But I’m pretty sure he won’t reject you. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.” She gave her friend a smile, draping an arm around the taller girls’ shoulders.
“It’ll be fine. Just be honest with him.”
Sango smiled, then hugged her friend. ‘Good old, Kagome, always looking on the bright side.’ “Thanks Kags… Anyhoo, what songs are we going to practice?”
Relieved to see her friend feeling better, she opened the notebook in her lap and pointed to a page. “I was thinking this one.”
“Uhh… Kags, you do realize for it to sound right, when need both bass and guitar? Shippo is good on both, but he can’t play them simultaneously. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not make a background track.”
Kagome just gives her friend a smile before closing the book and standing. “I know. But Inuyasha said he used to be in a band back home. I’m pretty sure he can play at least one of them.”
“I guess…” Sango answers, then followed her friend back downstairs.
“That would be really great if he could. Four members doesn’t seem like enough sometimes.” Kagome rounded the corner, Sango on her heels as they headed for the garage.
“My thoughts exactly.”
Kagome couldn’t help but smirk at her intuition, taking in the scene before them. It seemed Shippo had lent Inuyasha his old electric guitar, for he was currently playing a light melody from where he was, seated in the corner. He looked up and smiled, seeing the girls.
“Finally decided to join us huh?”
Kagome chuckled and walked over to him, one hand on her hip. “Why didn’t you tell me you played guitar?”
His honey-colored eyes sparked with mischief before he answered. “You never asked.” Shippo walked over, standing beside Kagome.
“We got to talking while you guys were doing your girly talk. He’s good, Kags; real good. Better than me, even.” Rather than sounding upset, Shippo spoke with awe, definitely impressed by their new friend.
“We talked… And seeing as it’s okay with Shippo and I, we were thinking he could take over on guitar, and Shippo can move to bass,” called Miroku from where he was seated at his drum set.
Kagome looked down to their younger friend. “You’re really sure kid?”
He nodded enthusiastically, then sat and began tuning his bass. “Yeah. We want to be the best right? Well than we need the best. And he’s definitely it. I’m more comfortable on bass guitar anyways.”
Sango smiled, then looked to her friend who nodded. “Alright then, it’s settled. Welcome to the band Yash,” she said, holding her hand out to him, which he took, lips curving into a smile.
“Well, let’s get started then.” She took a seat beside Inuyasha, opening the notebook to show him the notes. Once he gave her the thumbs up that he was ready, she turned to the others and nodded for them to begin. After adjusting her mic a bit, Kagome began vocalizing the opening.
A couple hours later, everyone was pretty much wiped out so they called it a night. They all sat in the kitchen after putting everything away, each sipping a nice cool soda. “Well I’d say that went well,” Kagome said, smile gracing her lips, cheeks still flushed from all the singing. Inuyasha’s eyes softened as he looked to the girl on his right, then tapped her can with his.
“I’ll second that. Thanks again you guys, for letting me be apart of this. I have to admit, I’ve always been happiest playing the guitar. When I moved here, I thought I’d have to put my guitar up. I even gave it to my good friend back home. So… Thanks.” Sango smiled, saying she knew exactly what he meant.
“After awhile, music just becomes part of you. We’ve been doing this for five years, so we get what you’re saying.” Miroku and Shippo held their drinks up in agreement.
“To our new addition,” Shippo said, tapping drinks with everyone, and laughing before glancing at the clock.
“Oh crud. I promised my dad I’d be home by seven thirty. I was supposed to help him move some stuff around in the den.” The clock on the wall showed eight o’ clock.
“Guess that’s our cue to leave,” said Sango, rising and throwing her empty can out and heading to the door to slip her shoes back on.
“Miroku, you ready to go?” He nodded, sliding from his chair and tossing the empty can as well before joining her the door, Kagome behind them.
"Practice ran a little later than I thought it would. Tell your dad I'm sorry Shippo..." said Kagome, feeling a bit bad as she worried her lip.
"Don't worry about it, Kagome. It was fun, and we got a lot done. I’m sure he’ll understand," Shippo replied, hugging her.
She smiled, giving everyone a hug, before letting them out. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Inuyasha walked up behind her, quirky smile on his face.
“Well as much as I’d love to stay, I still have to finish unpacking.” Kagome nodded in understanding, saying she still had a few things to do before going to bed as well. He chuckled, then hesitated a second, before leaning down to place a soft kiss to her forehead.
“See you tomorrow, Kags. I’ll pick you up in the morning.” And with that he left, leaving behind a blushing girl. She laughed giddily, closing the door after a moment and headed upstairs to take her shower. ‘See you tomorrow Yash…’
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Japanese translation:
Ohayou= Good morning; short version
Anou... = Umm
Demo= But
Hanyou= Half-demon
Tadaima= I'm home
