After the last few months of Quarantine, I've been throwing around a lot of creative ideas and projects that I've put off for a while due to just never having time to do them… but I do now!
This fic came from my late nights watching a lot of music theory YouTube videos, and really getting into some pop music that reminded me of InuYasha (especially having just rewatched it at the start of quarantine).
I'll be sure to list the songs used in the fic at the top of each chapter, so you can have them if you'd like to listen to them, especially if you'd like to listen to them as you read along.
In regards to character singing voices, I tried to pick singer who had a voice I was aiming for that matched the characters voice in my head, but song writing and themes are generally the overriding factor, so don't always use the song as a 1:1 of how the character "should" sound. Essentially, feel free to use your imagination and my descriptions of their voices to modify the sound as you read.
ALSO! By no means am I an expert in music theory, nor am I musically trained (other than when I was in school). A lot of what I'm gonna use in this story is my own interpretation of music and describing as best I can what is happening, but I can be totally wrong. Hopefully you guys will be able to understand what I'm trying to convey instead of being 100% technically correct.
Enjoy!
Songs in this chapter in order of use:
"Love Me Harder" – Ariana Grande and The Weeknd
Prologue
They'd finished for the day, everyone slowly gathering their instruments, music sheets, and belongings, heading back to their dorms for the night.
"Geez, I thought that session was never going to end," Ayumi complained as she put away her violin.
"You said it," Eri agreed as she tapped her sheets, placing them carefully in her folder.
"Really?" came a sweet voice. She had long midnight black hair, and deep blue eyes. She slid off her modest, but still stylish, over-sized knitted grey cardigan, taking it off to free her arms for movement while she practiced. She continued, sitting from her piano bench and looking at her friends, "I wished I'd had another 30 minutes to just practice the finale again."
Yuka clicked her tongue as she disassembled her flute, giving her a sideways glance, "Of course you would, Kagome. You're such a perfectionist!"
Kagome looked at her friends, bewildered at their lack of energy, smiling as she spoke, "Come on, you guys! Aren't you excited? The final performances are almost a month away, and I wanna be sure the piece is as well-rehearsed as it can be."
The three girls giggled at her enthusiasm. It was infectious. Ayumi nodded as she picked up her violin case, "I guess you're right, Kagome. But maybe it's because you're composing and performing in the finale. It's a great honor! But it's no wonder you wanna rehearse it for days on end. We still have a month to practice, so don't worry. It'll all be amazing!"
Kagome smiled nervously, "Thank Eri. Yeah, I was really intimidated by the responsibility, but the professors seemed to have confidence in me, and they've been a great help."
"You gonna stick around for a bit longer?" Ayumi asked as she and the other girls collected their things, noticing that Kagome hadn't grabbed her bag or any of her music to leave.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna go over the finale again, so I have it down," Kagome replied sweetly, "Besides, I'm waiting for a friend, and she's gonna meet me here in a bit."
"Alright," Yuka replied, "Just don't work yourself to the bone!"
Kagome giggled, "No worries. I won't be long."
"Have a good weekend, Kagome!" the girls waved as they left the hall, leaving Kagome alone to practice with her piano. It was hard to get time to practice with it. Unlike a violin, a flute, or a clarinet, like her friends had, she couldn't just pick up her instrument and bring it home to practice. And piano was her weaker instrument of the two.
As she placed her hands at the keys to start playing, she focused intently on the tuning to make sure she wasn't mishearing it earlier, but yeah, the piano was somehow out of tune ever so lightly. She couldn't quite tell with the rest of her classmates playing as well, so she had waited until she as alone to make sure she wasn't wrong.
She rose form the bench and tried her best to tune the massive grand piano on her own.
"Need some help?" she heard a calm and light voice ask.
Kagome turned and saw the brunette she was going to be performing with for vocal performances in the finals week, "Hey Hojo! Yeah, I could really use some help. Can you hit the B flat?"
"Sure thing, Higurashi," he replied politely as he strode over and hit the correct key she was looking for.
"Excellent, again?" He did as he was asked, and she carefully tuned the piano until it hit the resonance she was looking for, "Perfect! Thanks, Hojo."
"Not a problem. Staying late to practice?" he asked with a smile on his cute face.
"Yeah, I have a keyboard in my dorm, but it's just not the same as practicing on this guy in a hall," she replied happily as she positioned herself back on the bench.
"I won't keep you then. Enjoy your practice!" Hojo replied as he gave a polite wave to her and made his way to the exit.
Kagome thanked him before he left and proceeded to use the time to practice the piece she'd written for the final performance. It certainly wasn't a classical piece, but it was deeply personal and she was eager to hear it when it was being performed in the giant theatre a month from now. She was going to be performing it while she sang as well, and she was still nervous about doing both simultaneously in front of such a large crowd. In rehearsals was one thing, but in front of people, her originally composed work – basically her debut… yeah, she was definitely nervous.
She'd finished the song just as she heard the heavy soundproofing door swing open and heard the voice of her dear friend come in, "Hey, Kagome! You ready to go?"
She turned on her bench, and spotted her friend, her deep brunette hair in a high ponytail, swaying back and forth as she walked over to her, "Hey Sango! Yeah, just finishing up."
Sango grinned as she watched Kagome pack up her music sheets and equipment quickly, sliding back on her cardigan and bag as she asked, "You wanna get anything after the session today? Maybe we can go out for a few drinks, as an early birthday celebration?"
Kagome blushed, "Sango! I'm not 20! I can't drink yet!"
Sango laughed as she finished, "… yet. You're not 20 yet…"
As she threw her bag over her shoulder, Kagome asked incredulously, "Won't I get in trouble? I can't show up at the dorm drunk!"
"No problem, you can stay at my place if you want, that way you won't have to worry about showing up hammered with your roommates," Sango replied happily.
Kagome sighed sarcastically, "You're a terrible influence, you know that?"
Sango giggled, "Blame Miroku. He's been having the worst influence on me since we started seeing each other last month."
As the pair of women made their way out of the conservatory building and heading towards the subway, Kagome pressed, "So, when am I gonna meet this boyfriend of yours? I've still never even met him or the bandmates you play with. I feel like you're cheating on me with them."
"Well, if you come out with me tonight, maybe I can convince the guys to come with us and you can get a good look at who I've been spending all this time with," Sango answered, teasing her friend.
Kagome laughed, "Fine! I'll come out, but I'm not gonna drink!"
"Goody two-shoes, "Sango taunted as they made their way across the city.
Kagome was stunned at how inconspicuous the building was. You'd never guess from looking at it that it was an impressive record label's studio. The entrance was hidden around the back and was almost creepy, but kinda cool too. It felt like you had to be a who's who to know where to go to get in there.
Sango led the way as they easily swiped into the building and made their way down the various hallways of studio spaces. Kagome had never been in a studio space like this before. She was actually kind of shocked Sango invited her to come to watch a recording session.
Sango had been working as a session drummer for a while now, and she'd been headhunted by these new bandmates of hers about six months earlier, when they caught her drumming in a recording session with the producer they were both working with at the time. Apparently, they said they'd been looking for a new drummer to join their collective, as their last one left to pursue a career to become a lawyer. From what Sango was saying, their music was really interesting, and she enjoyed the laid-back nature of their playing style. They'd done a few gigs together so far, but it was all still relatively new and it gave Sango a side-project outside of working as a session drummer.
They'd stopped in front of "Studio Room 5" and Sango peered into the small window to make sure she wasn't interrupting a recording, "Good, it's just him."
"Him?" Kagome asked.
Sango turned the knob and entered the studio room, "Hey Kouga!"
'A demon!' Kagome thought to herself when she saw the man.
Demons certainly weren't uncommon; they were actually really common. But she hadn't met too many in her last few years at the conservatory. It was a mostly human institution, and she thought maybe it had to do with demons not being as interested in classical music.
The man who sat back lazily in the swivel chair by the board and had an expression of boredom, like he'd been waiting for an eternity for them to show up, "Sango! What the hell? You're 20 minutes late!"
"Sorry, I had to grab the friend I told you about," Sango replied as she put down her purse on the couch, gesturing back towards Kagome, who stood awkwardly in the doorway.
Kagome saw the man turn his attention towards her and his face instantly brightened up, "Ooh, so you're the singer Sango was telling me about!"
Kouga stood from his chair and approached Kagome smoothly, reaching out a hand. Kagome looked at his claws and back up to his pointed ears before smiling and taking his hand and replying sweetly, "Hi, I'm Kagome."
"Nice to meet ya, Kagome. I'm Kouga. Sango's told me you've got quite a set of pipes, just the kind I'm looking for for this demo," Kouga replied, keeping his hand firmly over hers.
"Demo?" Kagome asked as she looked over Kouga's shoulder to her friend, "Sango?"
She shrugged with a guilty face, "Kouga needed a singer who could hit the whistle notes. You're the only singer I know who can hit them! I thought it'd be a great opportunity for you meet some producers and get into the industry a bit."
"Ooh, so this was just a rouse to get me here?" Kagome asked coyly.
"No, I was genuinely asking if you wanted to come to watch my drumming session. It just kinda worked out is all," Sango replied as she grabbed her sticks, "Wanna get going, Kouga? We've got plans after this, and if you want to record her singing too, we'll need to work pretty fast."
Kouga laughed as he finally relinquished Kagome's smaller hand and moved back to the station, "Well good thing you're a quick player, Sango."
Sango smirked as she went for the booth door, she turned back and pointed to the couch, "You can make yourself comfortable there, Kagome. Feel free to steal any of the drinks in the fridge."
She closed the door behind her and saw the red light flick on to indicate that recording had begun. She sat quietly on the couch, watching as Sango situated herself at the drum kit in the back of the booth, making sure everything was tightened and tuned properly.
"We'll go from the top?" Sango asked.
Kagome watched as Kouga hit a microphone button to switch on his sound to Sango's headphones, "Yup, give it a go, and we'll refine from there."
She nodded, doing a quick roll across her kit to make sure he could hear everything alright. When he gave her the thumbs up, the music started, playing the other sections that already been recorded, including guitars, bass, and a keyboard, maybe even a saxophone in certain parts, but she couldn't quite tell. The song started very light and airy, but the bass had a distinct groove in that Sango's drumming helped to amplify and drove the song to a definitive climax as it went on. It was very RnB, which Kagome immediately loved.
She'd been trained mostly in classical music, but she had written her own music before – other than the composition she was writing for the finals performance. Lot of it was RnB in its vibe, and she was excited that this was the music Sango had recommended her for.
Sango's drumming was truly on another level. Kagome's definitely seen many drummers in her time in the conservatory and saw how intense they had it. It was vocation more than it was a skill; you had to be driven to do it. Sango, if nothing else, was definitely driven. There weren't many female drummers out there, but she'd easily made a name for herself as one of the best working session drummers in Tokyo at the moment. Kagome always enjoyed watching her go.
As the session finished, Sango returned to the main booth to hear the playback, taking a towel to her face, as she'd worked up a sweat. Heading to the mini-fridge, she grabbed a water for her and Kagome before sitting down on the couch beside her.
The trio listened to rough composition, and Sango gave an approving nod as she spoke, "It sounds good, Kouga."
"Course it does! Like I'd let anything that sounds like shit leave this studio," he joked.
"This is just the rough version?" Kagome asked, already impressed with the mix.
"Yeah, I still have to get the demo vocal for the female part, and add any effects I need to it," Kouga explained, seeing how interested she was in this process. He grinned a wolfish-smirk as he asked, "So, you can hit whistle notes?"
Kagome nodded shyly, "Yeah, though I try not to rely on them too much."
His brow perked up as she replied, "How come?"
"I'm in school at the Music Conservatory of Tokyo; about to graduate. They don't really like too many vocal gymnastics, so I try to keep it simple, or at least, stick to the sheet music, "she explained, fiddling with the edge of her mid-thigh length skirt, feeling unsure if she was the best choice for this project.
She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She turned as saw Sango leaning back against the couch, reassuring her, "Well, you can do as many runs or vocal gymnastics you want here. Kouga doesn't mind a show-off," she teased.
Kagome turned back and felt a bit better, "You wouldn't mind if I tried some things out?"
Kouga smirked, "Try whatever you like. You're a trained singer, and you can hit the whistle notes, anything more than what I need is a bonus for me."
Kagome smiled as she stood up to move into the booth, "Alright, shall we then?"
She approached the microphone and music stand that had the sheet music with some notes already made on them. It looked like multiple people had already tried to have a go at it, as there was different writing on some notes compared to others.
She carefully grabbed the headphones from the stand and placed them over her ears. She was initially taken aback, by hearing her own voice in both ears, so she moved the right side off, so she could still hear her voice outside her own head.
She heard Kouga's voice come over the headphones, "You need to do some warm-ups, or you good to go?"
Kagome nodded, "I'm good. I've already been singing today."
"Alright, just remember, this is just a demo for the studio to shop around to some artists in their roster, so you're doing me the solid of just performing the music I've got. Go from the top, and we'll work our way through section by section. Sounds good?"
She gave a thumbs up to indicate she was good to go. Luckily she was a quick sight-reader, and the music wasn't as difficult as some of the challenges she'd had in school.
"Alright, come in on the 5th," it was the last thing she heard from him before she heard the music quietly come through.
Tell me something, I need to know
Then take my breath and never let it go
If you just let me invade your space
I'll take the pleasure, take it with the pain
And if in the moment I bite my lip
Baby, in that moment, you'll know this
Is something bigger than us and beyond bliss
Give me a reason to believe it
'Cause if you want to keep me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder
And if you really need me, you gotta gotta gotta gotta gotta got to love me harder
Love me, love me, love me
Harder, harder, harder
She heard the music cut out after the chorus, and wondered if maybe she'd done something wrong, "Sorry, can we do it again? I can do it better."
There was a moment of silence. She looked through the glass, and Kouga had turned back to Sango, who had a wide and proud grin across her face, saying something to each other that she couldn't hear. Wondering if maybe the mic from the booth was broken, she spoke again, "Kouga? Should we try again?"
Kagome saw him spin around quickly in his chair, realizing he'd left her hanging. He stumbled as he clicked on his mic, "Sorry… ugh… That was… That was perfect, Kagome."
She blinked, not realizing what he'd said, "Really? Are you sure? I can do it again if it wasn't good."
Kouga stammered, "Ugh… S-sure we can go again, but honestly… that was exactly what I had wanted."
She blushed, "Awesome! If you'd like, I can add some flourish to it."
"Go for it, whatever you think works," he replied, before counting her in again.
She sang the music with a breathiness that wasn't there in the first recording, and she thought it suited the lyrics much better. It was such a sensual song, and it wasn't mean to be sung so bluntly. It needed some nuance.
As she finished the first chorus, she finally got a listen of the second half of the song's vocals. Whoever it was, his voice was smooth, deep, but not too deep. It sounded a little gruff, but in an interesting way. She started to wonder who'd they'd gotten to sing the male part. She was really into his voice and thought it complimented the lyrics so well.
The vocals hadn't been in the rough version Kouga was listening to earlier, but Kagome figured they didn't really need to have vocals playback to record or assess the basic instrumentation for Sango's drumming.
As they continued, Kagome adjusted some of her vocalizations to counterbalance the other performer in the demo. Her voice got more airy and feathery as she went.
After about an hour of recording, Kouga felt they'd gotten what he was looking for and called her back over. As she came into the room, Kouga was beaming at her, amazed at her talent. He'd never had a singer just pick up exactly what he wanted from a song so quickly, not to mention she was able to make such refined adjustments that only made it more unique to her voice.
He finished quickly mixing her raw vocals into the track, adding just a bit a reverb to give the effect he was hoping for.
"Ready?" he asked her. She smiled and nodded eagerly.
They stood and listened to the track, and she was so happy with how her vocals came out, considering she'd only just heard the music that same day and had no rehearsals.
"This is really good," Sango said in awe at how good the rough mix came out.
"You can say that again," Kouga commented as he looked at Kagome, a look of appreciation crossing his face, " Thanks for loaning us your pipes. You've really saved my hide in getting this demo finished in time."
"Oh, don't worry about it!" Kagome waved off his thanks, "Thanks for letting me get some experience in the booth. I've never had this opportunity before, so I feel like I've learned a lot."
"Trust me, you're welcome to come by whenever you like," Kouga said eagerly… almost too eagerly.
There was a beat of silence, and Sango quickly interjected, grabbing her things from the couch, "Well, we'll see you around Kouga. Kagome and I have some plans with the guys at a bar across town, so we gotta head out if we wanna get there soon."
"Seriously, Sango, I don't know how you put up with those guys, especially mutt-face," Kouga scoffed back.
Sango turned back as she slid on her jacket, "For one thing, they're much nicer than you give them credit for. And secondly, you know Inuyasha's talented, so don't deny it. Otherwise, you wouldn't keep working with him."
Kouga grunted in a disgusted tone, "Trust me, I'm painfully aware! It's the only reason I tolerate him. If the higher-ups didn't like his playing so much, I wouldn't keep hiring him."
Kagome looked back and forth between the two musicians, wondering who they were talking about, but she guessed she'd be meeting them soon enough.
"Anyways!" Sango redirected the conversation, "Let me know if you need any more drumming! You know where to find me! Come on, Kagome."
Sango walked past and out the studio door, but before Kagome could follow, Kouga stopped her, "Hang on."
"Yes?" she asked, adjusting her bag on her shoulder.
Kouga rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Listen, you really did do me a huge favor by giving me vocals for this demo. Let me repay you some time. Maybe... I can take you out?"
Kagome blushed, 'Is he asking me out?'
Kagome had spent most of her teenage years so focused on her music studies that she'd never really had time to date. This was the first "real" time she was being asked out by a guy, especially so casually; like it was the easiest thing in the world.
"Ugh… me?" she stuttered.
"Well yeah. Who else?" he joked.
Kagome thought about it for a moment, carefully considering the offer.
She basically had a professional relationship with his guy now. For all she knew, he could hire her for work in future projects down the road. But that meant that a romantic relationship would be pretty messy. She wasn't really into the idea of mixing her personal life with her career, at least not right now. What if they dated and then broke up? It might really affect her ability to work in this industry if he had as much influence as Sango made it seem like he did. And she really enjoyed being able to come into the studio. He was definitely cute, as she'd never been bothered by demons before – if anything, she was pretty sure she was strongly attracted to demon guys – but she was going to play this as safely as she could for now.
"Sorry, Kouga. I'm really busy with some school stuff for the next little while. You know, graduating year and all. But maybe after then?" she said, making the excuse as realistic as possible.
Even if she wanted to go out with him, she was legitimately busy for the next month as she was preparing for her final performance.
Kouga took the rejection well, taking her hand in his, and saying, "I'll hold you to it, then."
Kagome smiled weakly before hearing Sango call her name down the hall, "Kagome! Come on! The guys are waiting!"
She turned to leave, "Sorry, gotta go! See ya later, Kouga!"
"See ya, Kagome!" he called back as she ran off.
Kagome quickly caught up with Sango and the pair of women made their way back to the subway station. Sango asked, "Sooo, what were you two talking about?"
Kagome blushed, "Huh? Nothing! Nothing at all!"
Sango smirked, "Liar. Let me guess, he asked you out, didn't he?"
Kagome blinked back at her, dumbfounded, "How did you know?"
Sango sighed as she adjusted her purse, "Kouga can be a bit of a creep. When we first met, he tried to ask me out, and only stopped when I threatened to throw his head through my kit. He's got some boundary issues, so be sure to keep your distance around him. As much as he gives us a lot of work, he's not exactly my favorite producer to work with."
Kagome listened intently, "Well, good thing I turned him down then."
"Oh thank god!" Sango replied, "I was going to say, I hoped you didn't accept his offer."
"Nah," Kagome giggled, "I told him I was going to be busy for the next little while, so I wouldn't have time for a date.
"Good. That guy doesn't really know how to read body language or social queues, so the more direct you can be with him, the easier time you'll have with him," Sango continued as they made their way down the stairs into the subway station.
"Good to know, "Kagome replied, "So, where's this bar we're going to?"
As the two entered the underground bar, Kagome realized that they weren't carding anyone who was going in, and it was very out of the way. Sango flashed a smile and a wave to the bouncer, who looked like he was a demon as well, indicating she knew him, "Hey, Jinenji! Are the guys here yet?"
The massive demon seemed very gentle as she smiled at Sango, and he had a very soft spoken voice as he replied, "Not yet."
Sango groaned but nodded, "Figures. Thanks!"
She walked by, and Kagome tentatively followed close behind, amazed she wasn't stopped by the huge bouncer. Clearly, Sango and these guys were well known here.
As they went down the flight of stairs into the darkened bar, neon signs lighting up the space, Kagome took in everything around her. She realized very quickly that she was definitely in the minority in this bar. Everywhere she looked, she saw more and more demons.
Sango kept moving and Kagome rushed to catch up, asking Sango, "So I take it you're friendly with a lot of demons?"
Sango laughed a little as she and Kagome took a seat at a table towards the back against a far wall. It was hard to hear anything in the middle of the room or by the bar, and Sango seemed to know exactly where the best spot in the place was, "You could say that. I've always found myself more at home around these guys than I do around other humans… oh, except for you and Miroku that is."
Kagome joined her at the table, setting her bag against the wall, "So I guess some of your bandmates are also demons?"
Sango nodded, before waving down a server, "Hey! Can we get two lagers?"
Kagome tried to stop her, but Sango was too fast, and the server was already heading back to the bar to get them their drinks, "Sango! I told you, I'm not drinking!"
"Oh come on, just one beer? We're celebrating!" Sango exclaimed as the server dropped off their beers.
"Celebrating…?" Kagome bemoaned.
"Well, okay, so it's not your birthday yet, but we can celebrate your first demo being cut!" Sango encouraged, handing Kagome the beer, "Besides, you're only a month away from turning 20. It's not like one month will make a difference."
Kagome took the beer, and sighed, "I guess it's a good enough reason to have just one."
"That's my girl!" Sango exclaimed as the pair cheered their pints and they each took a swig. Kagome initially coughed a little, not used to tasting alcohol, but she did enjoy the flavor, going for another sip to adjust her taste buds.
"So how much longer do we have to wait for them?" Kagome asked, "I thought you said they were here already? I'm excited to see the guy who's been such a terrible influence on you to peer-pressure your best friend into underage drinking."
Sango laughed, "Like you weren't curious to have some alcohol before you were legal."
"Oh, of course I was. I just don't want to get in trouble. You know me; straight laced and follows the rules," Kagome giggled, making fun of herself.
"Well, you get to enjoy a month of knowing that you broke the law once in your life. What a rebel," Sango said sarcastically as the pair laughed.
They waited for another five minutes for the guys to arrive, but there was still no sign of them.
Sango excused herself to the bathroom for the moment, and Kagome occupied herself, thinking about the proposed date Kouga had suggested before.
'I guess I kinda dodged a bullet there,' she thought to herself, thinking about how Sango had described her previous interaction with him, 'Besides, if Kouga's likely to hire me for more work, which it seems like he was eager to, I don't want that to be potentially ruined by any failed romantic feelings. It's better this way.'
Kagome was driven to make a career for herself in music, as she'd worked really hard for the last five years to get to where she was; top of her class, and with the best prospects of a bright future. She certainly wasn't going to have those prospects ruined by some guy.
'Maybe it's best if I just stay single until I get more established in my career,' she rationalized to herself, 'Doesn't seem like I've been missing out on much anyways.'
"'S'cuse me, do you know Sango?" a harsh, gruff voice asked from behind her.
She turned in her chair and stared back at the most beautiful eyes she'd ever seen in her life. Bright amber reflected back at her, and for a moment, she was left speechless. Long silver hair tied in a high ponytail, pure white dog ears that twitched, perched at the top of his head, and fangs that just barely poked out of his lip as he smirked down at her; she'd certainly never seen a demon like him before.
Hahaha, what a place to leave off for the prologue!
I hope you enjoyed this prologue, as this will likely be my baby for the next little while (other than "Toward Tomorrow" my other InuYasha fanfic). Definitely have it outlines for the next 5-6 chapters, and ideas for later down the road and ending, so stay tuned!
If you guys want more of this fic, please be sure to leave a review, or follow/favorite the story, as it's a great indicator/motivator for me to keep writing.
I can't wait to hear your thoughts!
Until Next Time…
