Disclaimer: I Do Not Own InuYasha
Sesshomaru Takahashi was never the most agreeable of clients. Almost every Record Company in the world knew it., and they hated working with him. His hard, cold, and aggressive attitude and seemingly stoic nature set them all on edge. Most of them feared for their wellbeing when around him, if they may count even their lives.
All creditable cons aside, one thing could always make them suck in their guts and grow another thick layer of skin; he sang like an angel… And that's why they wanted him. If one could brag that they had the great Killing Perfection in their office for even a minuet, it was recognized with a substantial amount of praise.
He was all the rage. With people of all ages! Young and old, demon and human-kind alike would crowd seats of any auditorium, be it big or small, to hear the silver haired mystery sing.
And you would never had guess it had you once laid eyes on him. He looked fairly ready to take a nap or flip the bird to a bystander in all of his recently taken photos, even if he appeared to be enjoying himself.
Some say it was his father's fault; the troubles in his once luxurious childhood.
Taisho Takahashi was once a high acclaimed humanitarian, even though most regarded this with a sneer, because of the fact he was a demon. He had everything he wanted in life; wonderful wife, a strong, healthy son, and wealth. Everything except… happiness.
He found this with his secretary, with whom he claimed to be madly in love with. Years into their secret affair they found themselves expecting a bastard child, whom they named InuYasha; a disgusting half demon who inherited more than seventy percent of his father's wealth after he died.
Sesshomaru, in turn was furious at the favoritism shown to his younger sibling and found a way to get back at his father the only way he knew how; through his music.
He was never taught what difference it made whether he was happy or unhappy. It made no difference. As long as there was a tremendous crowd of people, screaming his name and demanding his voice… did anything else really matter?
"Life isn't all about you, you know." said his mother, glancing down at her son with irritated amber eyes.
Sesshomaru rolled his equally amber eyes. There he lay sprawled on a dusty-grey leather couch, clothed in simple black pants and a loose white dress shirt which he hadn't particularly cared to button all the way. It didn't matter. More likely than not, when he left this place there would be a swarm of hungry paparazzi. They loved that sort of thing.
His hair, tied low in a simple navy ribbon, let the long tresses of his silver locks dangle behind his back. Only a few rouge strands fluttered upward to tickle his magenta striped cheeks. He snatched one and began to idly twist it between his fingers.
He knew he was attractive. Why else would the entire world scream his name? Women showed up to his concerts clothed in wedding dresses, for crying out loud! And yet he never gave it a second thought. Looks did not pay the bills or provide the money to carry on such a life he chose to lead. If Sesshomaru of Killing Perfection ever did in fact, choose to settle down, it would be with a woman of taste and stature. He would never waste his time with attraction.
"How 'bout this one hmm? She's pretty. Her voice is absolutely stunning!" beamed Airi Takahashi, Sesshomaru's famous novelist of a mother.
He came back to the situation at hand, peering through the glass at the young blond who sat before the chrome microphone. Her eyes were closed as she sang the famous Shania Twang song, and gave off the clearly evident overuse of electric green eye-shadow she had swept below her brow.
Sesshomaru sat up for a moment, threading his fingers together and placing them underneath his chin. He had almost forgotten. He was here, in this stuffy recording room. Dully lit and black with only the faint luminescence of red, blue, and green lights that adorn various buttons on the recording software. Though it was not only to view a fascinating promenade of beautiful women, but to find the perfect female vocalist who would be doing a duet with him.
He nodded. "She's good." he said coolly, batting his long eyelashes.
His mother seemed to perk up at this, the cold sweat of relief made almost evident on her brow. "She's the one, ne?" She clicked the back of a fountain pen, ready to finalize the contract laid before he her on the clip board in her hands.
In another case perhaps, had he been anyone but himself, he'd have signed the deal single handedly. Only one problem.
He hated country music.
"Next."
"What!" Airi gasped, exasperated, almost dropping her pen. She stared wide-eyed at her son, nearly ready to pose an insignificant argument Sesshomaru would rather not take part in.
"I said, next." he growled impatiently. He was tired. Irritable, even. All he wanted to do was go back to his overly large mansion, which he shared with no one but the few servants he had, and comb through his wide selection of alcoholic beverages which would serve as his sleep-aid for the night.
Fathoming this for no more than a discouraged second, the clacking sound of Airi Takahashi's heels rang through the room, bouncing off the narrow walls as she bent over the small microphone installed nearby. "Number twenty-three," she said flatly, curling her lip in agitation. "You've been excused. Please send in number twenty-four on your way out."
The girl behind the one-sided Plexiglas window looked shocked for a moment. Her lip shook and her now apparently violet eyes watered as she snatched the head-piece from her hair, slamming it harshly on the stool behind her.
By the looks of her she seemed to be a blogger. She must have had more than a few things to say about Sesshomaru Takahashi of "Killing Perfection" at that moment. Most fans, he found, went to different sides of the board when they had discovered for themselves who he really was. All Sesshomaru really had to say to it all though was… get in line!
Why did he need a duet anyway? It was not like every star in Hollywood was getting one. In fact he could name a few who were recognized as some of the most famous in the world who had, in fact, remained solo on everything they did.
Was it because his manager had mentioned it? Was it because he had mentioned the five magic words? The five magic words it was said that one would be a fool not to take heed to; It. Will. Help. Your. Career.
That had to be it.
Sesshomaru sighed, abandoning the strand in his fingers. These stupid fools. They all marched into his studio with over-filled confidence levels from all around the country, having little to absolutely no musical experience whatsoever.
To him they were all amateurs , no matter which or whatever way you cut it. All of them just hungry little gold-diggers hoping for a shot a stardom. Pathetic…
A careful twist at the doorknob of the vocalist room made its presence known. It must've been number twenty-four. The twenty-fourth maggot who would try her luck at Sesshomaru's talent. But who stepped through that door, was indeed, not a maggot at all…
A girl. She looked exactly, that! A girl, no more than a little above the age of thirteen with long black hair and dull, chocolate brown eyes. At first glance, she could be presumed painfully ordinary and perhaps in need of a few hair-style tips as the girl wore a small ponytail .
The girl, clothed in a bright, sunny yellow tank-top, orange and white scarf and grey, tattered skinny-jeans, stepped up to the microphone. She seemed to be taking her own sweet time, combing her long fingers through her hair, dry-washing her hands, and humming quietly to herself as she reached for the headphones.
"The whispers in the morning, of lovers sleeping tight… Are rolling like thunder as I look into your eyes." She began softly. It was a slow and light symphony that spun in her ears, as well as the people behind the glass in which the girl couldn't have been aware of. Her voice could have nearly came off as a whisper, had it not been with the faint tune in which she carried them.
"I hold on to your body, and feel each move you make. Your voice is warm and tender, a love I could not forsake…"
For some odd reason Sesshomaru seemed to be intrigued by the girl. He sat up slowly, eyebrows creased ever so slightly in confusion and an idle emotion that seemed to flitter across his features for no more than a second.
This did not go unnoticed by anyone. "That's Rin Shimatani," said a short, fat man, obviously responsible for rounding up these girls. "She's from a small choir in Sasebo. No one really knows about her yet, but¾"
"Did I not make it clear about children?" Sesshomaru's tone should have been irritated, or in the very least angry. He couldn't help himself really. No one could. For a short moment the room was silent as they watched the passion explode from the small woman through song.
"'Cause I'm your lady! And you are my man… Whenever you reach for me, I'll do all that I can!" The girl, now presumingly under the name of Rin sang. Oh, dear god did she ever sing! It was incredible; a simply awe-beholding sight to see as she poured the rest of the song from her heart into the microphone.
Sesshomaru looked expectantly at the man, pulling away from the music for a short instant. "Oh, well, yes! Children! You made it very clear about that sir, and she indeed does make the age requirements." The man stuttered, a nervous sweat cascading down his large forehead.
The silver haired man cocked an eyebrow, "Does she…"
"Yes! The girl is sixteen sir, just hitting the nail on the minimum."
She looked so much younger. Like such a little girl…
Sesshomaru, while daring to express it, was impressed. She, with looks all aside, had such a powerful and magnificent voice, he looked at it as a waste if he were to let it free into the world. And Sesshomaru Takahashi was never one to turn down a beneficiary up-boost for his career… Suppose he wouldn't start now.
Airi, already sighing in impatience as she readied to rip up the girl's contract as she had with twenty-three others, tapped her boot heels and looked to her son. She was surprised to see a rare smile (even though it was a small one at that) on his usually melancholy face. And with that, she knew right away.
With blinding speed the woman sprinted to the microphone and announced, "Congratulations! Number twenty-four! You've been selected to perform a duet with Sesshomaru Takahashi!" She signed the paper swiftly and handing it to someone. Anyone! For heaven's sake, her son had finally made up his god damned mind!
The expected reaction was for the girl to be jumping up and down with glee. Instead she stood frozen for a few moments, contemplating things. The fact that she had won… that this would change her life forever…
Rin looked up after a moment, stared directly at the double sided mirror and smiled. Everyone assumed she thought she was smiling at her own reflection… But it was the way that her eyes met directly into Sesshomaru's… that had him thinking otherwise.
Xxx 2 Months Later: The Set Date of Duet xxX
The music started in it's familiar sweep of melody.
Sesshomaru Takahashi glanced down at the small girl that stood at his side. She smiled in return.
They started their song and nothing could have ever been more beautiful. It was as if their voices were dancing on a platform, dipping and synchronizing until reaching dizzying heights of musical bliss. And Sesshomaru… why, he was enjoying it all. But not because he knew that his thousands upon thousands of fans would scream in delight with his name…It was because through every break in her lines, Rin smiled with encouragement and , perhaps, something else.
That part of him throbbed to life a little bit; the part he had hidden and buried so deep in his spirit to keep from this very thing from happening. That little part… it wanted to see her smile. And it wanted to do anything and everything to keep it there. For himself…
"Tale as old as time…" she sang softly, staring at him again.
"Song as old as rhyme.." He harmonized back.
"Beauty and the Beast…" The sang that together and Rin closed her eyes. She listened for a while, waiting for the violins to fade.
They had stood for a while, like that. Listening…
Rin was the first to wake out of the trance. She plucked the headphones from her ears, giggling. "You were good! That was so much fun!" she said, before waving as she disappeared behind the door. There was no way to tell, but it might have been the squealing voice of a relative that greeted her on the other side.
Sesshomaru hadn't had time to think about that. All he knew is that he had found that girl and would find a place for her somewhere. He was not sure how, but he simply knew that he couldn't let her get away. Besides, he was certain he was going to see her on every magazine and news station all over the country. Why would he worry about her fading away?
All of this, was indeed too much for the current moment. He sighed, laying his own head-set on the nearby stool.
If it had anything to do with it, perhaps attraction wasn't as insignificant to him as he thought…
Xxx
A/N: Still on this crappy comp. Sucks. Finished this a while ago… I just saw it and went "Oh! Look-y here! Tis that a fan fiction I see? MUST POST." Funny how it's, of course one of my favorite InuYasha OTPs. Ha-ha, Dork…
I remember I was inspired by riding in the car with my Grandmother, just BLARING Celine Dion music ( love her!~ ^.^)
Ring sings: The Power of Love by Celine Dion
Sesshomaru and Rin Duet together in Beauty and the Beast by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson
Peabo Bryson's voice is almost, like, EXACTLY what I would imagine Sesshomaru's to be like… If he, ya know, sang o.O
I SHALL POST LINKS!
~ Stormy