"I'll buy you the shot, but you have to do it properly," InuYasha said cockily, "none of that weak shit."
"By weak shot do you mean using my hands?" Kagome tried not to giggle too much when he nodded seriously. She didn't know how a man could have such cute mannerisms whilst still insisting upon their own machismo. "I don't know anyone who can actually do that."
That must have sounded like a challenge to him because he ordered three and slid one across the table to his brother, "watch."
Sesshomaru scowled across the table, but collected his hair and wound it into a low knot at the base of his skull. He seemed to be waiting for InuYasha to do the same and then they both caught the cups between their lips and tipped their heads back.
"Now you know two people who can do it." He proclaimed cheekily, "so hop to it, arms behind your back."
Her reward was a slap on the back that -simultaneously- misaligned and realigned her spine.
Overall, heavy handed abuse aside, he was a pretty fun guy. Which did nothing for the crush that bloomed like cherry blossoms whenever he turned that wicked smile on her.
"Are you busy tomorrow? My cover band and I are performing at the park and my fiancée has plans so I'm looking for some friendly faces to kill the nerves."
She felt her hopes plummet.
"Fiancée?"
His expression quickly became wrapped in barbed wire, presenting her with a more guarded version of the devil may care man she'd been steadily befriending, "problem?"
It would seem that he was a victim of a good number of faux friendships.
Not hard to believe with the way he was built.
"Not really," but she sank into her drink anyways, trying to nurse her hurt feelings as discreetly as possible, "just didn't take you for the type to actually be capable of getting a girl."
The joke was a poor attempt to hide her disappointment, but he accepted her excuse gracefully.
"Maybe you didn't hear me. I'm in a band?"
"A cover band."
"It's still a band!"
"At your ripe old age?"
He crossed his arms over his chest, "that's it. You're taking another shot. You've gotten a little too witty for my liking."
She rolled her eyes, "who else is in this 'band' with you? Anyone I know?" She made certain to include the word band in air quotes.
"Koga, Miroku, and -since our other member quit- we made Sesshomaru join on bass, but sometimes he helps out on vocals too."
That was a surprise in and of itself. Sesshomaru was so soft spoken it was almost impossible to imagine him humming- let alone singing.
"I don't believe you." She decided finally, "there is absolutely no way that Mr. Silent likes to sing."
"Then come to Ueno park tomorrow at seven. That'll be all the proof you need."
xXx
Ueno Park was far more packed than she ever expected, but InuYasha was waiting at the entrance, "you sure took your sweet time."
"You said seven."
He held up his phone, "it's seven ten. You should be more considerate of talent."
Kagome apologized, gracious for the moment, and he led them to an area that was roped off. The space wasn't very big and -already- Rin and a few unnamed others stood within it.
"Hello Miss. Sango!" The child flounced away from the demoness she'd been standing beside and wrapped herself around the other human. "I've missed you, but Papa is punishing me for getting into trouble again so I couldn't call you. But I wanted to call you…"
Kagome turned away from their reunion and took in the steady gathering crowd.
"I didn't think they were so popular," she admitted to Sango once Rin's chattering died down, "I've never heard of them."
Their band name -Demonic Reiki- was unique enough that she felt she'd have at least remembered if she'd heard it in passing.
"InuYasha always was fond of inviting his groupies into VIP."
"Sesshomaru will have your head if he finds out you're being rude to his human." The dark haired demoness -the one with eyes and lips as red as rubies- teased, "you know how rare it is for him to make a friend."
Rin was whispering to Sango in the way that children did that was more hissing than whispering, "papa said that Miss. Yuna had to be on her best behavior 'or else'." An unpleasant reminder to the woman in question.
She rolled her eyes at the thought, "it's not me who should behave."
"But it's you who will regret it if you don't," the red eyed demoness reminded her, "let's not forget that he ghosted you for five years the last time you disobeyed him."
"Kagura!" Yuna glanced at Kagome and Sango as if they were a danger to her bad relationship, and then glanced back at her antagonist. "Our relationship is far more solid now."
That inspired a cruel, tinkling laugh, "yeah, but just in case, you might want to introduce yourself and play nice."
"No need," Sango sniffed, "I've never been fond of the
'brat' type."
Kagura made an instigating noise, a very animated kind of 'hohoho' laugh, before extending her hand to Sango first and then Kagome second, "don't mind Yuna. She's insecure."
The surrounding lights shifted at that moment until only the stage was illuminated in sherberty shades of orange and pink and their bickering died down.
InuYasha stood at the forefront of their little group, with his microphone in hand and his energy buzzing around him like lightning, and began their first song. It was an American song, full of highs and lows and riffs and even though the meaning of the lyrics was lost on her, she bounced along with the others.
Well, some things just, some things just make sense
And one of those is you and I
Proof of Sesshomaru's apparent vocal abilities became apparent as he filled the lines with the bass that InuYasha lacked. The other two were content to fill in the harmony -the oohs, the ahhs.
Some things just, some things just make sense
And even after all this time
I'm into you
Kagome watched with bated breath as InuYasha snatched his microphone off of its stand and put his hand to his stomach, bending and pressing and forcing the notes from his chest.
Baby, not a day goes by
That I'm not into you
His words rang out, helped along by Sesshomaru who seemed to have caught sight of something interesting in their little pocket of crowd.
Sango was staring -dumbfounded- as he took over the chorus, giving InuYasha a chance to catch his breath after belting his heart out.
I should be over all the butterflies
But I'm into you
That something in the crowd seemed to look more and more like his bratty girlfriend and her confidence made their little pocket feel stifling. He prowled the stage, much how InuYasha had, never letting his gaze settle and never slowing down.
After all this time
I'm still into you
I'm still into you
I'm still
Into
You
Kagome felt like a groupie by their last song. They'd worked their way through Korean hits and Japanese favorites, only to settle on one more English song to wrap things up.
Their lights went crimson, painting them all in the menacing shade.
InuYasha was moaning into the microphone, "you know that I want you. You know that I need you," and Kagome was eating it up. She held tight to her shirt, trying not to squeal when he rolled his body along the mic stand, "I want your horror, I want your design."
She really was trying to stay calm, but then he turned towards their little group, making love to the mesh of his microphone and then she was helpless. His eyes were glowing in that dark light and his hair clung to his face as the fruits of his labor made themselves known.
I want your love
And I want your revenge
If InuYasha's voice was clear and healthy and rich like velvet, then Sesshomaru's was raspy -like he'd spent his youth smoking cigarettes and drinking gasoline. He had a screamer's voice and -somehow- their combination was everything.
InuYasha shook out his hair as the 'ahhs' grew higher and more piercing, holding the microphone a few inches from his bared fangs and angling his body until his red tinted hair pooled on the stage at his heels.
Want your bad romance
Sesshomaru crouched in front of them, his eyes bearing holes into Sango as he took over, "I want your love, and I want your revenge. I want your love, I don't wanna be friends. Je veux ton amour et je veux ta revanche. Je veux ton amour, I don't wanna be friends."
What Kagome would give for InuYasha to make her a victim in the way Sesshomaru had with Sango.
Sango staggered back into Kagura, eyes wide as he aimed those noted at. , who laughed and shoved her back forwards.
The music mounted and he leaned off the stage, bearing his weight on the divider, "no, I don't wanna be friends. I don't wanna be friends." That line sounded like it hurt. It was raw and it was husky and Sango seemed like she would overheat any minute.
Kagura shoved her back into his gravity, hooting wildly as he grinned at the lot of them.
He snapped back onto the stage, leaving Sango flushing an impossible shade of crimson and their performance continued as if nothing of note had happened. Their fans screamed in disbelief, clambering at the edge of the stage, but they continued as if nothing had changed.
InuYasha leaned against his brother and his brother leaned against him as that last, impossible, 'want your bad romance' came tearing out of them.
The guitar picked up again and they were bounding around the stage, vocalizing and bouncing. Their show ended with a final slam of the drums and the dropping of curtains.
"Kikyo is gonna be so sorry she missed this!" Kagura crowed, "this is probably their best performance yet." And Kagome couldn't imagine how anyone could miss their fiancé performing.
Like that?
Absolutely not.
Kagura spent a few minutes typing something out before leading everyone out from the VIP section and into the hidden area of their set. Yuna had shoved past them and ran off muttering angrily about swords and so that left four people to go absolutely nuts on them.
Already, whatever charisma Sesshomaru had employed had melted away, leaving his boredom in its place, but it didn't matter. Kagura, Rin, and Sango descended upon him like moths, screaming praise and discontent at deafening and impossible volumes.
InuYasha, however, was still high from the thrill.
He was yelling along with his other band mates, all of them rebounding off of one another, and Kagome was happy to join them.
"You guys were amazing!" She slapped InuYasha on the back -his preferred mode of affection- before catching him in a quick hug. "And you too!" She swung around, breaking up his and Sango's heated discussion about what was considered a joke and what wasn't. "I didn't think you could talk- let alone sing!"
He rolled his eyes, "I'm already losing my voice."
Kagura snickered, "that's for the best. You won't be using it when Yuna chews you out for that stunt you pulled on stage."
"Miss. Yuna is super mad," Rin informed him, "she said 'if he wants to fuck with me then I'm gonna fuck with something he loves'."
His eyebrow twitched, "if she touches my swords she can consider herself dead," but the uncertainty drove him to act.
"Pretty boy can't stand having his toys fiddled with," InuYasha whispered, "drives him crazy."
"They aren't toys you empty headed goldfish. They're antiques, forged from our father's fang to protect your helpless mother-." He pinched the bridge of his nose, "I will not waste my voice on educating you."
Nastily, InuYasha sneered, "what voice?"
Sesshomaru dropped Rin into Sango's arms, "have a sleepover," and stuffed his debit card into the child's front pocket.
His feet left the ground as he ignored Sango's protests outright. It was clear that his mind was elsewhere.
"This is why you didn't want to change in front of us?" InuYasha launched his shoe at Sesshomaru, nearly hitting him, "you broke the seal?"
Sesshomaru glanced between his brother and his friend for several long seconds before saluting them and disappearing into the sky.