Face the Music
Chapter 4: Unruhig (restless)
Disclaimers: Inuyasha and co belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al.
Author's Notes: Gosh, I am soooooo sorry! I realize that it's been quite a while since I last posted, and I'm so, so sorry! I really do have quite a bit written, it's just that it's such a pain in the neck to transfer it from one computer to the one with Internet access. Anyway, I have most of the story on the computer with Internet access so hopefully updating will be a bit easier.
Inuyasha struck a chord and waited. A moment later a voice reverberated throughout the arena. "Try it again, Inuyasha. I think we may have a faulty connection, but I'm not sure."
Inuyasha hit the same chord again, once again waiting for the result. What he got was a solid D minor chord echoing in the empty space. He gave the thumbs up to the sound booth before putting his guitar down. Miroku was busy setting up his drums while Koga tuned his bass to Hakakku's keyboard.
"Hey guys, I'm gonna go get some water," Inuyasha said as he jumped off of the stage. The pyrotechnics crew was busy setting up a few fountains at the base of the stage, so he was careful to avoid the guys. There was something that unnerved him about someone who made a career out of playing with fire.
"Mr. Taji?" a voice asked.
Inuyasha turned around to see one of the security guys glaring down at him. "Did I do something wrong?"
"No sir, it's something else. Do you know a Kagome Higurashi? She's here claiming she needs to rehearse with the band."
Inuyasha grimaced. She was going to expose the Smurf boxers for sure after this. "Yeah, she's here to rehearse all right. I must have forgotten her rehearsal pass. Damn, she's gonna string up me for this one."
"Right, we just wanted to be sure. Bring her in boys."
Kagome was brought in between two rather beefy looking guys, and she looked pissed off. The minute she saw Inuyasha, the pissed off look became one of pure, livid anger. "You prick!" she spat. "Did you want me to do this number for you or not!"
"I'm sorry?" Inuyasha said with a shrug.
"You're so lucky that I don't work for you any more," she growled.
"Believe me, I know," Inuyasha muttered. He made a mental note to count his underwear before he went to bed that night.
"So, where do you want me to be?" she asked, looking around the arena.
Inuyasha knew he wasn't supposed to stare, but he couldn't help it. Kagome looked good. She was wearing a pair of faded boot cut jeans with Vans and a black Nintendo tee shirt that said, "Don't Make Me Go Zelda On You." She had pulled her hair back at the nape of her neck into loose ponytail to keep it out of her face. Sadly he couldn't tell her how cute she was, she'd rip out his tongue if she knew. So he turned his attention to the stage with a shrug. "I suppose you should get on stage. Miroku and the guys will get you situated. And avoid the pyrotechnics team, they've been testing some of their products."
Kagome gave him a quick salute before running off and jumping onto the stage, being careful to avoid the guys working with the gunpowder.
Inuyasha took this as an opportunity to run as fast as his legs would carry him to the hallway. He needed fresh air, a cool drink, and a cold shower. Too bad that someone else had other plans for him at that moment.
"Should we record the concert?"
Inuyasha snapped up from over the drinking fountain, wiping the dripping water from his chin with the back of his hand. "What?"
"The fans are going to want something, obviously. Should we have a preorder sheet for a live recording of the concert?" Sesshoumaru was busily writing on a clipboard. What he was writing, Inuyasha couldn't begin to guess.
"Whatever the hell you want."
"Be serious, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru answered, glaring at his younger brother over the clipboard and a pair of reading glasses that were perched at the end of his nose.
"I was, dumbass."
"Do you want this concert to take place or not?"
"Fine, record the whole damn concert if you want. Whatever song the fans like we'll release as a single. Does that work for you?"
Sesshoumaru looked thoughtful for a moment, unconsciously sucking on the end of his pen. "I like it. We could even circulate it to local radio stations."
"Hey, I don't know about that . . ."
"I wasn't thinking the big ones, yet. I was thinking the smaller, more localized ones. Hopefully that doesn't offend you."
"I'll have to talk to the guys, so I don't know yet. Just give us a couple of days, okay?"
Sesshoumaru put his hands up. "Sure, anything the creative genius wants. And while you're at it, I want you guys to start thinking contract negotiations."
"Why?"
"Because you might have a label by the end of the night," Sesshoumaru answered, one eyebrow raised. "And decide if you want Kagome to be permanent part of the band. Guest spots are good, but another voice could make or break the band."
Inuyasha was left to ponder his brother's words as Sesshoumaru went off to draw up a final cost for the whole affair.
"So anyway there's this really famous hypnotist and he comes from a long line of hypnotists. He decides that for his next show he's going to try something no one has ever tried before and hypnotize the whole audience. He pulls out a pocket watch that's been in his family for years and begins to swing it back and forth. 'Keep your eyes on my watch,' he tells the audience. 'Feel yourselves relax and come under my control. You will all . . .' But he was swinging it just a little to hard because he dropped it shortly after. 'SHIT!' he yells really loud as he watches this priceless watch shatter before his eyes."
The band, with the exception of Inuyasha, were gathered around Miroku's drum set, telling jokes until their fearless leader returned from whatever he was doing. It didn't take fifteen minutes just to get water, did it?
Miroku had decided to start the joke session with one about the difference between the Rolling Stones and a Scotsman, and now Koga was telling one. All eyes were on the bassist, who was grinning.
"So what's the punch line?" Ginta asked.
"It took him a week to clean up the auditorium!"
Kagome looked disgusted while the guys burst out laughing, thinking that it was the most hysterical thing they'd ever heard. She realized that all men were amused by toilet humor, and this didn't change until after they were dead.
"Okay, okay, Kagome, you tell one," Hakakku said.
"Oh, I don't know . . ." she said, looking around the group.
"Aw, even you know a good joke," Miroku said, tapping her playfully with one of his drumsticks.
Kagome shifted her weight nervously. "Do I have to?"
"Go for it," Ginta grinned.
"Okay, so one day this elephant was walking through the jungle when he stepped on a thorn. He started screaming in pain and hopping around, calling for anyone to help him. Suddenly this little mouse appears and tells the elephant that he can help, but for a price. The elephant is in so much pain that he agrees, without even asking what the price was. The mouse easily removes the thorn and the elephant is so grateful that he agrees to anything that the mouse desires. The mouse replies that the elephant must let him have his way with the elephant. The elephant rolls his eyes and agrees; after all, he did take that thorn out of his foot. The elephant is just sitting there, thinking that this was totally lame, when a monkey sees this mouse humping the elephant. 'That's totally disgusting!' the monkey thinks and begins to throw coconuts at the elephant. Taken by surprise and pain, the elephant shouts, 'Ow, ow!' The mouse just replies, 'Take it all, bitch!'"
At first the men were silent, totally shocked that their sweet, innocent Kagome would tell such a joke, but then they burst into applause, oh yes, she was one of them now.
"Did I miss something?"
"Oh Fearless Leader, you have shown up at last!" Koga said in his best (and worst) Russian accent.
"Stuff it, Boris," Inuyasha grumbled. "Okay guys, we need to do a warm up, so if you'll humor me and take up your instruments, we'll do a quick mini jam before rehearsing. Kagome, how long do you have?"
"A couple of hours," she replied.
"Great, we'll rehearse your number first and then after you leave, we'll do the wrap up. Sound like a plan?"
"Of course, mon Capitan!" Miroku said with a salute.
"Don't make me stick those where the sun don't shine, Miroku."
Miroku chuckled nervously. "Right, four count, and we'll tune."
"You aren't tuned?"
"Just kidding. I guess we'd better do this, before one of us dies. One, two, one two, three, four!"
For a freeform jam session, they weren't bad. Miroku started with a simple rhythm that Hakakku started to play with. Before long Inuyasha started up a riff that Koga was having no problems going along with. The Youkai Hunters were good at what they did, and Kagome knew that they'd be huge. If she'd be huge with them was an entirely different story.
After three minutes or so they wound down until they reached a stopping point, and for anyone who didn't know that they'd been goofing around, it sounded like they'd been playing intentionally.
"We sound good guys," Inuyasha said. "But we need to sound better tomorrow."
"Yeah, raves of screaming girls throwing their underwear on stage," Miroku said, his eyes glazing over.
"Snap out of, little pervert man," Koga said, snapping his fingers in front of Miroku's face. "You'll be in back. Inuyasha and I will be receiving the panties."
"And poor Kagome," Ginta added from his post in the front row. He had little to do with the rehearsals, with the exception of making sure that they sounded okay.
"Any panties thrown in my direction get kicked back to the audience," Kagome replied, walking up to the microphone. "Test, test, hello, this is Kagome Higurashi and you're on the air with the Youkai Hunters."
The band chuckled.
"Okay, c'mon Miroku, let's get this underway," Inuyasha said, quickly double-checking his tuning.
"Right, one, two, three, four!" He started into "Endless Dream" and Kagome could feel the familiar wave of the song wash over her. She'd been singing it non-stop for the last few weeks, annoying her brother to no end.
They went through the song five times before Inuyasha felt that they were able to perform it without a hitch. Kagome loved how they sounded, and she hung around for another half hour to listen to them run through a few of their other songs before dismissing herself. She was going to need some sleep and a hot shower before the performance.
It was a warm summer evening, the kind where the crickets came out early and began their serenade that would last well into the night. She was two blocks from home when her friends came running up to her, breathless.
"Kagome, there you are!" Eri panted.
"We've been looking all over for you!" Yuka explained. "We've got some great news!"
"Like what?" Kagome asked, still heading for home.
"We have tickets to a concert tonight," Ayumi told her.
"Tickets?" Kagome asked, puzzled.
"A local band, they're called the Youkai Hungers," Eri said, producing four tickets from her pocket.
"Youkai Hunters," Kagome corrected. "I hate to disappoint you, but I can't go with you."
"But why not? You don't have homework, do you?" Ayumi asked.
"No, no homework, just other plans. Why don't you guys ask Hojo to go with you?" she suggested. Oh, the shit was going to hit the fan when they found out why she wasn't going to be with them.
"Well, okay," Yuka said slowly. "We'll see ya later then."
Her friends walked down the street as Kagome began to trudge up the stairs towards her house. Man, she was going to have a hell of time explaining just how she managed to join the band. Her friends were going to have a field day with this for sure. She entered the house, heels dragging, feeling an urge to either drown herself in the bath or hang herself with a pair of pantyhose that she swore she'd never wear.
"Kagome, telephone."
Oh fan-freakin'-tastic! "I'll get it in the living room," she called. Picking up the extension, she sighed into the phone. "This is Kagome."
"Sound alive, cuz."
"I wish I could. Please tell me you'll be at the concert."
"Rooting you on from the front row."
"Inuyasha got you the best seat in the house, huh?"
"Of course. He's such a great boyfriend."
"Woo-hoo for you."
"Kagome, you sound like you're either going to be sick or you're going to drop dead at any moment. If not both. What's wrong?"
"Eri, Yuka and Ayumi invited me to the concert. They already bought me a ticket!"
"That's nice of them."
"Kiki! That's not funny! They're gonna string me up by my bowels after this! They're going to accuse me of holding back juicy gossip. They're my friends, they have every right to know that I'm part of the band!"
"Aren't you a guest vocalist?"
"They're still debating on whether or not they want to keep me on as a permanent member. It's entirely possible that I could be in on this for the long run."
"Now that's cool."
"Kikyo! Be serious!"
"I was. Listen Kagome, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know . . ."
"We've known each other for our entire lives. And you've always loved to sing. Remember how we used to put the radio on and pretend that we were singers? I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but you've always been able to sing well. Don't knock your talent Kagome, they'd be stupid not to keep you. I know deep down you want to do this badly. Don't let the opportunity slip by."
"But I don't know . . ."
"Kagome, remember how people used to tell us that we were twins? Well, sometimes I think that we could be. We're complete and total opposites. I don't like getting up in front of lots of people. Public speaking scares the bejeezes out of me."
"You're kidding!"
"I'm not. But you're natural when you're in front of huge crowds and I don't think that you have anything to worry about. Think of this concert as a trial run. If it's something that you love, you shouldn't run away from it."
There was silence on the line until Kagome spoke. "Thanks, Kiki."
"No problem, Kag. I'll see you later tonight. Inuyasha said there's supposed to be a killer after concert party as his place afterwards."
"I didn't know about that."
"Wonder why . . . maybe they weren't gonna tell you until after the concert. Well, tell your mom that you're staying the night with me. That should be fine, right?"
"Well duh. Granted we ever get to your house, right?"
"Right! And don't worry, I have pjs and a sleeping bag you can borrow."
"You rock, Kikyo."
"I know. But you do too. Don't forget it either."
"Thanks. See ya."
"See ya."
Kagome hung up the phone and stared at the floor for a moment and was startled out her thoughts when the phone rang again. Her hand flew to the phone and answered, without missing a beat. "Hello, this is Kagome."
"Hey Kagome."
"Oh, hey Sango. What's up?"
"What do you wear to a concert?"
Kagome bit her lip. "Say what?"
"I got a ticket from an anonymous person, and I was wondering what wear."
"So Miroku sent you a ticket?"
"Miroku? Are you sure?"
"Remember, he's the one that keeps asking you to bear his child."
"Yeah . . . why does he keep doing that?"
"Ahh . . ." Kagome laughed nervously, "he's a perv, that's why. And as for what to wear, just wear whatever you want. It's not like anyone is going to care. Concert going rule number one: wear something comfortable. Rule number two: don't wear anything that you'll get over heated in."
"I'm sitting in the front row . . ."
"Yeah, so you'll be close to lights and the pyrotechnics. Better not wear anything flammable."
"That goes for you too."
"Gee, thanks. Not even Kikyo had that warning for me."
"She's probably too worried about that hunk of burning love known as Inuyasha."
"Oh gaah! Like I really need that image, Sango!"
"Why you're welcome. Okay, I'll let you go. You probably want to take a nap and a bath before you have to perform in front of a full auditorium."
"Full?"
"Yeah, the concert sold out."
"Sold out?"
"Oh yeah, all of the radio stations were talking about it. What they're looking forward to is a single. If you guys are a hit, I want to be the first one to buy a single."
"I think I'm going to barf."
"Not while you're on the phone with me!"
"Oh Sango," Kagome groaned, her voice wavering.
"Right, you, go bathe. I'll see you at the concert."
"Thanks Sango," Kagome muttered.
She hung up the phone and shuffled out of the living room to the bathroom. She drew a bath and then stripped and got in. The hot water did little to relax her all ready frayed nerves. It was going to take a miracle to get through the night.
Inuyasha paced around the stage, knowing that he should have said something to Kagome before she left.
"Hey Inuyasha, what's Kagome going to be wearing?" Miroku asked as he handed the bandleader a bottle of water.
"God dammit! You mention that to me now? I should have told her before she left!"
"You mean you don't know what she's wearing?"
"No clue!"
"Inuyasha, we had this talk, remember," Koga said from his seat at the front row. "She's going to be wearing a pair of faded blue jeans and a tee shirt. I don't know what's going to be on the shirt, but I can guess something tasteful. Kagome's not the kind of girl to walk around in a tee shirt with a hemp leaf on the front of it."
"I know that!" Inuyasha growled. "But at least our tee shirts match. We're all wearing our Nintendo tee shirts."
"So call her and make sure she wears the one she was wearing earlier. I mean, I have the 'Know your roots,' Hakakku and Miroku have the Metroid ones, and you your Mario one. Her Zelda one will round off the bunch," Koga pointed out.
"Oh yeah, I'm sure she'll love the suggestion."
"Don't be a chicken shit and give her a call. Or I will."
"I'll call!" Inuyasha snapped, pulling out his cell phone and dialing Kagome's house.
"Hello, this is Kagome." Gah! She wasn't supposed to answer after the first ring! He wanted to leave a message!
"Ahh . . . Kagome, imagine that." Doh! Now he sounded like an idiot.
"I live here, stupid. What do you want?"
"Wear your Zelda tee." Now that was a random way to start off a conversation.
"The one I wore earlier?"
"Yeah, that one. We're all wearing Nintendo tee shirts and I wanted to make sure that you matched."
"Yeah, sure. I just got out of the bath, and I don't think I spilled anything on it."
"Great. Well, see you in an hour or so. You'll be watching the whole thing from the wings, so don't worry about trying to go through the main entrance."
"Wait, I won't be sitting with the audience?"
"Sorry, Kagome. Since you're performing, it's easier if you're on stage with us. I hope that's not a problem."
"Oh, of course not . . . no problem."
"Great! See ya later."
"Yeah . . ."
Kagome felt her stomach lurch as she hung up the phone. She was going to be sick for sure.
"So?" Koga asked.
"She'll be wearing her Zelda shirt," Inuyasha said as he pocketed his phone.
"Right on! We'll match!"
"Stuff it, Miroku."
When Kagome arrived at the arena, the main entrance was swarming with people, and for the first time she was glad that she didn't have to wait in that line to get in. Rather she flashed her pass to the security at the back entrance and walked backstage. Koga and Ginta were playing BS while Miroku and Hakakku were discussing rhythms. Inuyasha was quickly scanning over music, ticking off parts that were being changed before handing out the revised copies to the rest of the band. Kagome waved at Sesshoumaru, who was yakking away on his cell phone, but was nice enough to wave back at her, along with one of the knees-turned-Jell-O smiles.
It wasn't fair that he could be so beautiful.
"Kagome, great you're here!" Inuyasha said, walking over to her.
She handed her jacket off to an assistant who put it with the rest of the band's excess clothing. "Yeah, I'm here. So what do I need to do?"
"Just hang out until your cue. I'll signal you when you can come on stage. Until then, just hang out in the wings and watch."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Are you okay?" His amber eyes were a mix of concern and fear.
"If you're asking if I'm going to be sick, I think I'm over that. But I'm still nervous."
"We all are. But I think we're doing okay."
"Yeah, Miroku looks like he's doing just fine."
"Miroku is the world's biggest ham so you know he's loving every minute of this."
"Kagome! There you are, babe!" Koga wrapped her into a tight hug and then kissed her flush on the mouth.
"Koga!" Kagome laughed when her mouth was free. "How are you holding up?"
"Great, I just hope that my instrument stays tuned. Nothing sucks more than when your instrument decides that it doesn't want to stay tuned."
"I hear ya."
"Kagome, our Goddess of Victory!" Ginta cheered. "Listen, I got to get my ass to the sound booth. I'll be recording you guys the whole time, so keep your language clean and we'll be good."
"Right, Chief!" the band replied with a salute.
"Is everyone ready?" Sesshoumaru asked. Instead of his normal business suit or polo and khakis, he was wearing a Good Charlotte tee shirt and jeans. He wore a pair of well-worn Nikes on his feet and his long silver blond locks were drawn back into a loose ponytail.
"Where's the business man?" Miroku asked.
"Out," Sesshoumaru replied. "Okay guys, everything's set. I talked to the Thunder Brothers and all pyrotechnics are ready to go off at the precise moment."
Hiten and Manten Raimaru were a pair of brothers who made their living by doing pyrotechnics for any occasion, but they loved doing rock shows best of all, there was an energy that was required for those shows that they loved. They even had a little sister, Souten, which they were training. But no one said anything about her tagging along. If anything, the runt knew how to handle herself.
"So I guess this means that we're ready," Koga said slowly.
"That's right. You guys better assume your positions," Sesshoumaru said, jerking a thumb behind his shoulder to indicate the stage. "The public is getting restless."
The guys nodded and then each took a turn kissing Kagome on her cheek.
"For luck," Miroku said.
"For luck," Hakakku repeated.
"For . . . love!" Koga said with a grin.
Inuyasha hesitated a moment before swooping in and quickly kissing her on the cheek. "For luck, or whatever," he mumbled.
The band took their positions on the stage and waited. And then the curtain went up.
Okay, like I said, I am so sorry that it took so long. I kept thinking, "Oh, I'll update one of these days . . ." Yeah, it's been, what? A year? At least I'm updating, right? Well, from here on out, life with the band won't be the same. How will their first performance pan out? Will they be the hottest act or a total flop? Will Koga admit his feelings for Kagome? Will Inuyasha rip his heart out when he does?
Only time, and the author, will tell.
TTFN-
Mercy-Angel-09