Muse

Chapter 1

A little known myth of the nine muses is that there were originally only three: Aoidḗ, the muse of song and tune; Mnḗmē, the muse of memory; Melétē, the muse of meditation. As the years rolled on and the population of mortals grew exponentially, other sisters were granted the privilege of inspiring them but the bulk of decisions and duties always fell to the original three. For this, the knowledge of the three fell into obscurity, and they decided to spend their spare time in communion with said mortals in disguise as did the other gods and goddesses.

The night that the young man tossed aside his childhood friend, her divine father felt a ripple of energy flow through Tokyo. Lory sighed and shook his head. "That young man knows not what he's tossing away. He will most certainly regret it."

Meanwhile, said young man was sitting stunned in his buxom manager's lap with his mind emptied of all musical knowledge. If one were to ask either him or, his manager what a piano was, they would have been at a loss for words. Little did they realize that his muse was being forcefully removed from the television station and unceremoniously tossed out on her perfect little ass, taking his knowledge with her unwittingly. She was literally his muse and she wasn't even aware of it, at least not until now.

{"Aoidḗ, I want you to inspire this one. His soul has a great deal of potential to inspire the masses. Can you do that for me?" He smiled softly.

"Of course Father Zeus. I shall care for and inspire this musician. You can rely on me." She smiled brightly and enthusiastically, then a lightening bolt of gold shimmered down to Earth and gave Kyoko Mogami to her mortal mother.

Zeus smiled. "Nay Daughter, you will once again inspire the masses like you did in ancient times. This is not for him, but for you." He said to the empty room.}

The memory flashed before here eyes as she sat in silence. "What is that?" She whispered to herself, ignoring the two security guards lecturing her. Suddenly, Sho didn't seem so important anymore. She stood gracefully, bowed politely and smiled softly. "I am so sorry for the inconvenience. Please forgive my rudeness. I must be on my way."

An immense sense of calm washed over the two men and they nodded to her. "We are very sorry for the misunderstanding miss. If you ever need anything just let us know." They told her, handing her their business cards and completely forgetting why they were there in the first place. "What a nice young lady." The older one commented as they watched her walk away.

Something drew her to the large, imposing building that housed LME. She couldn't quite explain it, but she knew she had to be there. It was as if the whole thing glowed in a golden aura. It was dazzling.

As she entered, she thought that perhaps she should have put a little more thought into what she wanted from this place of extreme talent, especially when a young man by the name of Ren Tsuruga helped "escort" her to the sidewalk and place her, not so gently, on her bum. This was going to be more difficult than she anticipated. She thought as she fumed and a thick black aura surrounded her.

Lory shivered. "There is that feeling again. What on Earth is troubling her so?" He looked out the window and froze. "What is she doing out there?" He ran to the elevator and quickly made his way to the lobby, just missing her as she walked away. His shoulders slumped and a look of distress fell over his usually gleeful countenance.

"Sir? Is there something wrong?" Sawara-san asked, noticing Lory's mood change.

"Who was that girl just now?" He asked out of curiosity. Wondering if it was truly her.

"Oh not to worry Sir. Tsuruga-san escorted her out. It seems as though she's just another one of those girls that wants to get close to celebrities." Sawara-san waved off her importance.

Lory narrowed his eyes at the man. "Are you sure about that?" The air crackled with electricity around them and Sawara swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded.

Lory stood straight. "Make sure she gets an audition form next time you see her." He commanded.

Sawara-san nodded nervously. "Yes Sir."

"Send Ren up when you see him next." He was going to have a little discussion with that boy on how to treat potential talent. She and several others like her were not the types that a man in his profession wanted to anger.

Sho Fuwa sat at his table practically ripping his hair out. Ever since his little tiff with Kyoko, he hadn't been able to even think about music. The inspiration just wasn't there anymore and he couldn't find her anywhere. "Where the hell is she?" He slammed his pen on the table and groaned in frustration for the twentieth time that day.

"Sho! You need to get ready to go. We have to be at the record signing in 45 minute and I still need to gas up the van." His manager scolded.

"Fine... I'm ready." He bit out petulantly and stomped out the door.

Perhaps getting out and being with his fans was just what he needed. Ever since he met with those two at the gas station, he was on fire. The lyrics would not stop flowing and the music was sublime, he freely admitted.

"Sho! This is stunning." Shoko-san gushed. "Prisoner? Looks good. How many more did you do today?" She asked out of curiosity.

He tossed the thick 300-page spiraled notebook to her and she looked at him in shock, picking it up and thumbing through it. He smirked.

"You did all of this today?" She asked in awe.

He nodded again. "I'm just that good. Once the muse hits me, I can't stop." He told her arrogantly.

She nodded with impressed shock. "I guess the muse hit you pretty hard today."

"Pfft... As if I really believe in that stuff Shoko-san. I don't need a muse to be this good. It's all me." He strutted to the kitchen, grabbed a beer and sat in front of the television to begin his game show marathon. He deserved it.

Shoko shook her head and smiled as she walked through the apartment picking up the discarded beer bottles and snack wrappers. She sighed. Boys will be boys.

Ren sighed. There she was again. What is this? He asked himself as he picked up the audition forms that she had dropped. No, nope he wasn't going to toss her out today. Lory had warned him and he was determined to control himself, even if this infuriating woman got under his skin. Yet, there was something about her. A flash of gold from her eyes, her hair seemed to look so silky. He shook off the thoughts. This girl was here for all the wrong reasons, yet Lory had tied his hands on this one. Apparently he was to be the figurehead of LME. The unofficial welcoming committee. He could live with that, well at least until he heard the word revenge uttered from her lips and who exactly was this Sho Fuwa? If she wanted to beat him in the world of show business, all she had to do was sing. She obviously had the voice for it. The voice of an angel. Wait! NO! He shook his head. Where on Earth did that come from? He groaned. Too much of a distraction.

"It's almost time for the second half..." He mumbled. "I wonder how far that motive will get her..."

"What was that Ren?" Yashiro asked out of curiosity.

"Hm? Oh... the newcomer auditions." He commented.

Yashiro stood there staring at Ren is shock. Since when did he care about the newcomer auditions. Unless... Unless he's interested in one of the applicants. Yashiro smirked at the thought. Hmm...Interesting.