The idea for this came to me last week when I was driving home from work with my windows down and this song playing. Song "Perfect" by Simple Plan. Inuyasha and Co. not mine and never will be. Le sigh.
This is written very on the fly with little or no back story. Sorry, that's just how it came.
Perfect
Kagome led Mr. Taishou to a table near the back of the bar. She felt silly leading the tall man in jeans and a polo shirt through a crowd of people in t-shirts and a haze of smoke. Spotting an empty booth, she slid in with Mr. Taishou following her.
It had been several years since Inuyasha and his father had spoken. Inuyasha moved out of his parents' house four years ago when he was 17 much to his mother's despair and his father's delight.
Growing up, Inuyasha and his father had been close. They played games together, rough housed, and worked on hobbies together. When Inuyasha turned 12 his father was promoted and was hardly ever around to spend time with his youngest son. Inu Taishou became more and more focused on personal gain and reputation. He felt like he was falling away from his youngest son and that their previous activities were coddling the boy and causing him to be weak.
Arguments were started at the dinner table concerning Inuyasha's interest in music. Inu wanted his son to focus on law and become a lawyer. Inuyasha refused to study law and was adamant about wanting to pursue a career in something related to music. The dissonance in the house grew day by day until it cumulated into an explosion.
Flashback…
Inu Taishou threw the remote against the wall as he stood from the couch. His eyes threw a blazing glare at his youngest son who was standing in the doorway, a police officer behind him.
"Yes, he's my son. I'll take care of it from here, officer. Thank you," he said in a cold, measured tone of voice. The officer nodded and closed the door behind him. Inuyasha stood on his own facing his father.
"Vandalism? Really, Inuyasha. What am I going to do with you?"
"It's really not that big of a deal," Inuyasha muttered.
"Not a big deal!?" Inu bellowed. "What do you take me for? An idiot? I bust my ass to pay for a roof over your head, food on the table, and the clothes on your back and what do you do to repay me? You go around fucking it all up. Why can't you be more like your brother Sesshomaru?"
Inuyasha visibly bristled at the mention of his older brother. "I am nothing like him," he growled. Inu scoffed.
"Damn right you're nothing like him. Instead of wasting his time with music and juvenile delinquents as friends he went to school and is making a name for himself." Inuyasha had had enough. Three years of listening to his father's bullshit was enough. Being compared to his older brother Sesshomaru was something his father always did no matter what he did.
"Fine, you know what? I am so out of here," Inuyasha spat as he rushed up the stairs to his room.
"Good," Inu growled, "get out of my house."
Within two days he had emptied out his closet of all the things he needed and all the things he himself purchased. Anything that his parents had provided for him he left. Over the next two months he stayed where ever he could find a place. Kagome, being one of Inuyasha's closest friends, begged her mother to let Inuyasha stay with them until he was able to find his own place. Her mother allowed it as long as he helped out around the shrine and didn't cause trouble with the law.
…End Flashback
Over the years Inuyasha got his act together and began focusing more and more on his music. After high school graduation Kagome went off to college while Inuyasha, with permission from Grandpa Higurashi, was allowed to stay at the shrine while pursuing a music career. On weekends Kagome would go to any shows he had and offered critiques for new songs. She was so proud of her friend. When she had read over the lyrics of the song they were opening with tonight she knew she had to bring Mr. Taishou out. Ever the peacemaker, Kagome wanted both of them to stop hurting.
Kagome still kept in close contact with Inuyasha's parents. The two had been close friends and she wanted to keep his mother updated on how he was doing even if his father refused to listen to her updates.
"Thank you for coming out tonight. We are "Dysfunction" and we're happy to be playing for you tonight. We're going to start out tonight with a new one." Inuyasha cleared his throat and strummed the beginning chords of the song before the rest of the band burst in to join him. Kagome had told Inuyasha that she would be at the show tonight but she didn't mention that she was going to bring his father.
Hey
dad look at me And
now I try hard to make it 'Cuz we lost it all I try not to think And now I try hard to make it
Think back and talk to me
Did I grow up
according to plan?
And do you think I'm wasting my time doing
things I wanna do?
But it hurts when you disapprove all along
I just want to make you proud
I'm
never gonna be good enough for you
I can't pretend that
I'm
alright
And you can't change me
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect
Now
it's just too late and
We can't go back
I'm sorry
I can't
be perfect
About the pain I feel
inside
Did you know you used to be my hero?
All the days you
spent with me
Now seem so far away
And it feels like you don't
care anymore
I just want to
make you proud
I'm never gonna be good enough for you
I can't
stand another fight
And nothing's alright
Inu listened closely to his son's singing and the hint of heartbreak and melancholy that colored his lyrics. He never realized his son thought he wanted him to be perfect. He just wanted him to be more like his old man. He didn't think that he, himself, was perfect. There was no way in hell a man like him, divorced once and remarried, running a company that wore away half of his life was perfect. He would never wish this on either of his sons. I've made some mistakes in my life, he thought, and it's about time I started fixing them.
Nothing's gonna change the things
that you said 'Cuz we lost it all 'Cuz we lost it all
'Cuz
we lost it all
Nothing lasts forever
I'm sorry
I can't be
perfect
Now it's just too late and
We can't go back
I'm
sorry
I can't be perfect
Nothing's gonna make this right again
Please
don't turn your back
I can't believe it's hard
Just to talk to
you
But you don't understand
Nothing
lasts forever
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect
Now it's just
too late and
We can't go back
I'm sorry
I can't be
perfect
Nothing lasts forever
I'm
sorry
I can't be perfect
Now it's just too late and
We
can't go back
I'm sorry
I can't be perfect
Kagome applauded and whistled with the rest of the room. She glanced at Mr. Taishou from the corner of her eye and was saddened to see that he wasn't applauding. Looking closer she noticed that his face had a far away look to it like he was lost in thought.
"Mr. Taishou is everything okay?" she asked. At her question he seemed to shake out of his thoughts.
"Yes, Kagome, I'm fine," he said with a sigh. "I've made some huge mistakes, haven't I?"
Kagome looked at her friend's father with sad eyes. "It's better to make a mistake and be able to admit it than to make a mistake and take no responsibility," she said sagely. Inu looked over at the girl. He knew that she had kept his wife up to date on their son's activities and, he had to admit, he had been secretly listening in over the past 7 months.
--000--
"Thanks guys, great show. I'll see you later," Inuyasha said as he packed his guitar into the case, making sure everything was secured properly.
"Inuyasha." He froze, his back straightening and the hair on his neck bristling. That voice, he thought. He wouldn't dare… Slowly, Inuyasha turned around and his eyes met gold and white. Eyes scanning lower he saw brown and black. Standing in the doorway was Kagome with a sheepish expression while his father stood behind her. His expression was blank but something in his eyes spoke volumes.
"Why is he here, Kagome?"
"I, uh, well-" she started.
"Inuyasha, I think it's time we talked," his father said.
"There's nothing for us to talk about. As far as I'm concerned we were done talking 3 years ago," Inuyasha spat and turned his back toward the door.
"Inuyasha, please listen," Kagome begged. "When you had me read over the lyrics for 'Perfect' I knew I had to do something."
"Son, I made a terrible mistake. I tried to force you into something that I knew you'd be unhappy doing. I was wrong. I only wanted you to be happy but I went about it the wrong way. I didn't take into consideration how you felt – I was being selfish and only trying to make you do what I wanted." Inu took a step toward his son.
"Kagome has kept your mother updated on your career since you left. At first I was so angry to hear that you were going through with your dreams of doing something in music. But then I started listening and realized that, even though it was hard and not very profitable, you loved what you did. Son, I wish I could say that I feel the same about the path I've chosen for myself." Inuyasha's eyes flicked back and forth to the corners of the room, watching his father come closer.
"Inuyasha." His father was right behind him. "I'm sorry." A low growl began quietly and grew until Inuyasha turned around and faced his father.
"You're sorry?! Sorry means nothing to me! You mean nothing to me. I've done just fine without you in my life," he said hurriedly as he gathered his equipment and brushed past his father after giving him a piercing glare. Inuyasha stomped past Kagome without making eye contact, leaving the building.
Kagome sighed. "Mr. Taishou, I'm really sorry. I-"
"No, Kagome, it's okay. I deserved that. You can't fix every mistake. Hopefully, with time, he will forgive me but that's up to him and not me," he said with a sigh. "I hope he doesn't take this out on you."
"It was my idea," she said sadly. Mr. Taishou walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug. She wrapped her arms around him and sighed.
"Thanks, kid. I needed to hear it," he mumbled. "Let's get out of here. You know how the Mrs. can get when I'm out late," he said with a sad smirk. Kagome smiled as well and walked out of the bar with her best friend's dad.
--000--
Inuyasha sat in his car in the parking lot of a grocery store. He had driven around for an hour after he stormed out of the bar without anywhere in particular to go. He was angry, embarrassed, confused, annoyed, and most of all, scared. He hadn't seen his father in 3 years. It had taken him three years to come see him. Why had he waited so long? He angrily beat his fists against the steering wheel. That asshole. He thinks he can just say he's sorry and I'll forgive him? Turning the key in the ignition, Inuyasha revved the engine before peeling out of the parking lot.
--000--
He turned the door knob and pushed the front door open, letting himself in. Not much had changed in the past 3 years. He noted that his mother had finally painted the hallway a different color and had moved the photos on the wall around a bit but it was the same home as his childhood. He could hear a TV on in the den and the sound of water running in the kitchen.
"Mom?" he called out from his place at the front door. A few seconds later he saw his mother stop in her tracks at the doorway between the kitchen and the hall.
"'Yasha?" she breathed while wiping her hands on a towel.
"Mom," he said softly as his mother dropped the towel and ran to hug the son she hadn't seen in three years. She cried loudly as she clutched her youngest in her arms. "Mom, it's okay. I'm here," he said softly as he hugged her, rubbing her back. A soft cough caused him to look up and see his father standing in the doorway of the den. He immediately straightened while still holding his mother. "I didn't come to forgive you," he said with a stony expression. His mother looked up at him and followed his gaze to her husband. She straightened and let go of her son, straightening her shirt and wiping her eyes in the process. Inu sighed and stuck his hands in his pockets.
"I know. I can't make you forgive me. Can we at least try to start over?" Inu held out his hand, an offering of peace toward his son. His wife watched in anticipation as her son looked at her husband's out reached palm before extending his own. The two males shook hands while Mrs. Taishou looked on, tears glistening as they rolled down her cheeks.
Fin.