-1Hourglass, Chapter 1: Well met, Gentlemen

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, Rave Master, or Trivium.

Great, another day in a crappy high school with a crappy name without a band. Crap… These are the thoughts that entered the mind of Haru Glory, freshman at Gala & Pogo's College Preparatory High School. His days of summer were long gone, and his dreams of becoming the lead guitarist in a great band seemed farther and farther away. Sighing, he heaved himself out of bed, shouldered his guitar, and packed up his already stuffed backpack. His locker had been rendered useless by a rat infestation in that particular wing, and his first period, which was right next to his locker, was moved to the smelly portable building by El Camino.

As he walked to his class, something caught his eye. He saw a guy with a guitar case walking next to him. Except that it wasn't a guitar, or even a guy. He stopped and stared rather awkwardly at the chick with the bass. It was really rare for chicks to play, but a BASS! Wow, she must be new, he thought, as she seemed to walk alongside him all the way to first period.

When they got to the portable building, she turned on him and yelled, "Who the HELL ARE YOU?" Haru leaned back, then responded, "What did I do to you?" Taken aback, the girl flinched then said, "I asked first!" Rolling his eyes, Haru introduced himself. The girl calmed down a little, then "I'm Kagome. Sorry about that, my ex won't stop following me."

Glaring past Haru, she extended her middle finger to an unknown person who snorted in indignation. Turning around, Haru saw an angry looking teenager with long white hair that went down to the backs of his knees. He possessed disturbingly weird yellow eyes, almost like a dog's, with white ears to match his incredibly long hair.

Kagome sighed. "Stupid Inu-Yasha, always yelling at me, then trying to make up." Haru smiled awkwardly. "My sister had the same kind of boyfriend two years ago. I socked it to him, he made her cry too much, but I digress. You play bass very good?" Kagome shook her head. "No, I'm just bringing this to Hamrio." Haru cocked his head. "The gang banger?" "Yep. He's looking for a rock group, but every band here has a crappy-ass bassist who can't play for shit, and they still stick by 'em."

Raising an eyebrow, Haru said, "You know I don't have a band either. Musica in here?" Kagome nodded. "He says he needs a guitarist. You play?" Haru grinned and opened his guitar case. "Gibson SG Supreme. Dark Green Plush paint. Sounds perfect."

The girl's eyes widened. "Wow, Hamrio'll love this!"

Inside the portable, Kagome went over to Hamrio Musica, the resident gang banger. His long black hair hung straight down and parted at both sides of his face. Over his left eyebrow, he had three silver studs implanted. When Haru introduced himself, Musica grinned and said, "Okay then. We'll jam. Silver Rhythm Recordings. Bring an amp."

When Haru arrived, Musica had set up with two other guys. One was rather nondescript, with black shades and a red Mohawk. The only distinguishing feature about him was the tattoo on his forehead. Some sort of Japanese symbol. The other guy was about sixteen, with a black Nirvana shirt on and a cowboy hat on his head. His face was grizzled, and had several scars on his cheeks and nose. He looked at Haru with a cold nonchalance as Musica introduced them. "Hebi's the dude with the Mohawk, and this here's Red Harlow." Picking up his blue four string, Musica grinned. "Let's jam!"

Once Haru had set up, Red grabbed a seven string guitar and Hebi sat down at the drums. With a warning to just try and keep up shot at Haru, The three set a blistering pace by hitting a hard thrash metal beat. Haru shrugged, then matched the chords as Musica gave a throaty scream into a nearby mic:

"Behold our beloved revels
In tragedy."

Haru, sensing a chance to keep the pace, screamed his own "In tragedy" as Red played an upwards moving riff, and Hebi grooved his drumsticks so fast, they were merely a blur. Musica stepped away from his mic to let Haru take over, which he did with as much force as he could muster from his tonsils.

"Self-denying avarice for bloodshed
Behold hypocrite."

Changing the rhythm suddenly, Red shoved Haru and growled "Those who run," Music shouldered them both away and screamed "Will be burned." This continued as Haru took over the lead riffs and banging his head in time to the drums. Red, once he was done growling, hit a new set of chords, and Haru followed along perfectly, adding a powerful double-effect to their song. Haru then took over the mic and sang melodically:

"Devoutly wished for blinded eyes
This tragedy's like light to the flies
This seems to suit you better."

Musica and Red followed Haru through the lyrics, then Hebi leaned over to a mic hanging over a cymbal and called "Bleeding out the eyes!" Haru let him go, then continued.

Hope's left in chain suspension
Holding onto lies, to make the truth."

The group continued with the rhythm, but started the lyrics over, with Musica's fingers blurring, Haru's pick striking each chord perfectly, Red's screams holding perfectly, and Hebi's feet pedaling crazily.

After the melodic singing ended again, Musica, Hebi, and Red hit their ending notes, but Haru kept going with a slower melody. Hitting another lasting note, the other three got onto what Haru was doing, and Red began his solo.

It was amazing. The guy's furious fingers never missed a beat. Every single note seemed to screamed "GOLD!" When he hit the last note, his speaker blew out and signaled the end. Musica collapsed from exhaustion, Haru broke a string when he tested it, Hebi fell over backwards and Red cursed at his broken amp. But despite their tiredness, there was a definite surge of adrenaline. They all now had a band.