Author's Notes: Once again, I return. I've decided to actually complete the story, then go back and revise and fully edit it. That may seem very lazy of me, but if I don't keep moving on a project I lose interest and quit. I do that too often.
Again, more reviews please. I'm glad to see the story's finally catching on, though. It's a real ego boost. If ever you don't like something in this story, say it. I have had people tell me just how much they thought some of my works sucked, and I appreciated the input. The only way for me to make something better is to hear what I'm doing wrong.
I'm also very pleased at all the positive reaction I'm getting from the unorthodox roles I've put some of the characters in. You people seem to particularly like Shippo and Kirara so I may devote the next chapter to them. We'll see.
Finally, I'd like to send a big thank you to Ama (Shades of Oblivion who reviewed my story and put it on her favorites list. Her story Kinetics was one of my biggest inspirations to write Let the Music Be Your Master. I am very flattered, and though I feel sorry for inadvertently "de-railing her thoughts" for Kinetics, I send you my best wishes and support. It really made my day to see the author of one of my favorite stories give such praise to my own work and has really fueled my determination to continue and ultimately finish Let the Music Be Your Master.
That said, let's go on with the story.
Let the Music Be Your Master
Chapter 5: Some Enchanted Evening
"Take me to the mountains,
"Take me to Shagri La.
"Take me to El Dorado,
"Deep in America.
"Take me to Atlantis,
"Underneath the waves.
"Take me to Brigadoon,
"And into the astral plane.
"Deep in Otherworld, (Otherworld)
"Down in Otherworld, (Otherworld)
"Inside Otherworld, (Otherworld)
"Beyond Otherworld."
Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo were in Inuyasha's garage practicing their newest song which Miroku had written. He called it Otherworld. The drums and base created a hypnotic rhythm while the guitar work was made up mostly of very mystical-sounding chords. As the song wound to a close, Inuyasha couldn't help but smile. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of that song."
Miroku smirked proudly. "I told you. Ten bucks says this will be on our greatest hits album ten years down the road."
"You're on," Shippo said defiantly.
Inuyasha slipped off his guitar and propped it up on its mount. He switched off the amp and turned to his friends. "I'm gonna go get something to eat. You guys hungry?"
The other two boys nodded simultaneously and followed Inuyasha into the kitchen. They were a little surprised to see Sesshoumaru sitting at the island talking on the phone, but shrugged it off and proceeded to silently raid the fridge.
No sooner had the boys sat down with their food, which consisted of five plates of left over ribs and pizza, then the five dogs of the house came barrelling in and promptly sitting down facing the boys with their tails wagging.
"No," Inuyasha growled. "We already fed all of you three times today. You're gonna start putting on weight."
This did not deter the dogs, though. Being incapable of understanding English, they continued to sit and wag their tails with hopeful looks in their eyes.
Inuyasha sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll let you lick the plates when we're done."
As if the dogs could understand, they wagged their tails even harder and seemed to now be patiently waiting.
"That's really creepy," Shippo commented around a mouthful of pepperroni pizza. "I seriously sometimes think Spike and Hadrian can spell."
"Why is your family incapable of giving your pets normal names?" Miroku asked off-handedly.
"What's wrong with Spike and Edge?" Inuyasha replied defensively. He glanced over at the big Great Dane and the Husky with mismatched eyes. "I think it suits them."
"I suppose its better than Rover." Miroku shrugged and stuffed a folded piece of muchroom pizza into his mouth.
"Alright..." Sesshoumaru said as he stood up. "Alright then... We'll see you at 7... Oh don't worry. I don't think he'll mind... Goodbye."
Inuyasha looked up suspiciously at his brother. "Who were you talking to?"
"That was Keiko Higurashi," Sesshoumaru answered evenly. "She's bringing her family over for dinner tonight."
Inuyasha choked on a mouthful of ribs in surprise and ended up coughing it back out. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, his mother's Jack Russel Terrier, Sparks, was able to catch the half-chewed food in mid-air before it could ruin the recently polished hardwood floor.
"Well there goes my appetite," Shippo whined.
Miroku nodded in agreement and shoved his plate away from himself. "My sentiments exactly. That was something I really had no desire to see."
As soon an Inuyasha regained his composure, he looked back up at his brother, who still had an unreadable expression on his face. "What did you say?! Why?!"
"You may not remember Inuyasha, but your mother and Keiko used to be very close friends. She attended the wake and the funeral when you were a boy. If you recall, she was the woman who tried to comfort you, but you were inconsolable."
"Oh," Inuyasha said flatly as memory returned to him. Thoughts of his mother subdued him quickly. "But why did you invite her over?"
Sesshoumaru paused a moment as if considering his answer. "I thought it would be good for our families, or what's left of of ours, to catch up on old times. Aside from Kikyo and Kagome, we haven't had any contact with one another in years."
Inuyasha sighed resignedly. Sesshoumaru was the kind of person who would not make a decision unless they had ample reason to, and that decision was final. "Fine. But don't expect me to show Kagome anything beyond common courtesy. She hasn't earned anything else from me."
He was a little surprised when Sesshoumaru just nodded. "I assume she recovered from that lapse when she apologized to you and went back to hanging out with the obnoxious conformists?"
"How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess."
**************************
"WE'RE GOING WHERE?!" The Higurashi family was gathered in the living room and Mrs. Higurashi had just given the good news about dinner.
"Jeez, sis!" Sota whined, rubbing his ears. "I think I saw the windows rattle with that!"
"Honestly, Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi scolded, "you're blowing this a little out of proportion."
Kagome knew her mother had a reasonable point, but she wasn't one to give up without a fight. So long as her mother didn't use her patented 'The Glare!' or 'The Voice!' and fortunately, neither was being used right now. "But I can't sit at the same table as Inuyasha! We can barely stand to be in the same school, for crying out loud!"
Kikyo cleared her throat. "I think you're trying a little too hard to avoid him. I haven't heard him do anything to you without warning or cause lately."
"What?! I thought you were supposed to be on my side!" One thing Kagome prided herself on was that she had an impressive set of lungs. When she talked, you had to listen.
Of course, that didn't necessarily mean you had to agree. "Since when?" Kikyo asked with a smirk.
"That's enough, both of you." Mrs. Higurashi put her hands on her hips and glared down at her youngest daughter.
'Oh great,' Kagome thought miserably, 'she's using "The Glare!" on me. Now what?'
"Kagome, you seem to be the only one opposed to this. The Morimoto family has gone through some rough times in the past decade and they've had to face it alone for most of that time." She folded her arms over her chest and continued to glower, not daring to give her daughter one second of freedom from her burning gaze. "If Sesshoumaru hadn't invited us over, I probably would have invited them to our house myself. Either way, we're going to meet with them, and it makes no difference to me whose house we use. Take your pick: the Morimoto home, or here."
A 'damned if you, damned if you don't' situation if Kagome had ever seen one before. "Their house," she said in a tone that practically screamed 'I'll do it, but you can't make me like it!'
"I actually look forward to seeing young Inuyasha again," Grandpa said from his seat in the recliner. "The last time I saw him, he was only a toddler. Cute little thing."
Kagome had a hard time picturing Inuyasha as a cute little baby. All these years, she had seen him as a violent loner. It's hard to picture someone as a polar opposite of themselves after seeing them around for over ten years.
**************************
7 o'clock rolled around and Kagome found herself stepping out of the car with her family at the Morimoto home. They walked up te crushed shale path to the veranda and were greeted by the five dogs Kagome remembered from before standing behind the glass double doors wagging their tails. Now that she wasn't panicked, Kagome noted the breeds. There was the white Great Dane she remembered from last time, but there was also a Husky with mismatched eyes, a pudgy and greying Jack Russel terrier, a blue Greyhound, and a rather intelligent-looking Pit Bull.
All five dogs began whining and barking and Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha appeared. Sesshoumaru led the Pit Bull and the Greyhound away by their collars, gesturing for the Higurashi family to come in. Inuyasha wrapped his arms arouund the shoulders of the Husky and the Great Dane, leaving only the terrier to run in circles around the feet of the newcomers.
"Don't mind the dogs," Inuyasha said casually. "They're easily escited, but no threat."
"What are their names?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.
"Well these two are Spike and Edge," Inuyasha said, glancing to the Great Dane and the Husky respectively, "and the whirling ball of fuzz down there is Sparks. The Greyhound is Alexander and the pit bull is Hadrian."
Kagome looked at the silver-haired boy questioningly. "Hadrian? Spike? Sparks?"
Inuyasha just stood up and shrugged, letting the two huge dogs he had been restraining trot up to the visitors and proceed to sniff all hands and butts they could get close to. "Hadrian belonged to my father. He's named after the Roman emperor. Sparks was my mother's dog. She always liked the name Sparks for some reason."
"I'm guessing you named Alexander after the ancient conqueror?" Kagome's grandfather asked in a conversational tone.
"My brother did, yeah. Anyway, come on in." With that, he strode off for the living room.
"So, my boy," Grandpa continued as he followed after Inuyasha, "do you have anything planned for after graduation?"
"Sort of," Inuyasha said with a shrug.
Kagome was beginning to wonder if he shrugged like that out of habit. It was always exactly the same and he used it with almost every other answer. Was it some kind of nervous habit? Why the hell was she thinking about this?
"How long did it take you to grow your hair like that?" Sota asked from Inuyasha's other side. Kagome got a little nervous seeing the awe-struck smile on her little brother's face.
"Uh... couple years," Inuyasha replied casually.
"Cool!"
'Oh no," Kagome thought. 'Sota actually likes that freak? Why me? Why God? What did I ever do to you?'
She noticed that the families had split into two groups. Grandpa and Sota were with Inuyasha in the living room, while Kikyo and her mother were with Sesshoumaru in the kitchen. The choice was fairly obvious. She strode into the kitchen where the three adults were talking amongst each other.
"So, dear," Mrs. Higurashi said, "I heard you wanted to be a surgeon?"
"Yes," Sesshoumaru nodded, "but I have a few more years before I'm qualified for training. Getting a degree in medicine is, as I'm sure you know, a long and difficult process."
"Oh, I would imagine," Kikyo said. She smiled softly at Sesshoumaru. "Of course, you graduated fifth in a class of two hundred. You only beat me for that position by the skin of your teeth. It can't be too hard for you, can it?"
Sesshoumaru couldn't seem to stop the smirk from touching his lips. Kagome could see his male ego beginning to show and began to reconsider her choice.
She slipped out of the kitchen before anyone noticed her and headed back to the living room. Grandpa was seated in a very comfortable looking recliner, as Kagome had expected, and Sota was going through Inuyasha's library of CDs and DVDs. Speaking of whom, dog-boy was kneeling down on the floor with Spike and Edge sprawled out on either side of him getting their ribs scratched.
"What's The Rocky Horror Picture Show?" Sota asked, reading the label off one DVD box.
"Kinda risque," Inuyasha replied. "You probably wouldn't get half of it. I have Spider Man or X-Men if you want to watch one of those."
"Sweet!" Sota wasted no time in finding X-Men and put it on the big-screen. He rushed over to the sofa and flopped down in the middle, Kagome soon joining him on his right. "This is a great TV! Where'd you get it?"
"My dad bought it a few years back," Inuyasha replied, sitting down on the opposite side of the sofa. "You should see the system we have in back, though. Dad got it to celebrate Sessh's graduation and acceptance into his first-choice college. A giant plasma screen that can retract into the ceiling, surround sound speakers, luxurious seating, bar, movie posters everywhere. It used to be a game room until we added on four years ago. It went unused until we fixed it up."
Grandpa sat back watching the movie, while Kagome and Sota stared at Inuyasha in shock. Jeez, his family was loaded! He didn't seem to notice the looks he was getting though.
After a minute, Kagome turned her attention back to the movie while Sota continued to watch Inuyasha in awe and admiration.
"I know what you're thinking, kid," she heard Inuyasha say from his side of the couch. "You want to know if you can see that room sometime. Sure. I got Lord of the Rings special edition on DVD. Next time you're over here, we'll make some popcorn and watch it in the home threatre."
"Really? Awesome!" His childish desires for cinematic nirvana sated, Sota returned to watching X-Men, though he was clearly thinking about seeing Lord of the Rings on a big plasma screen.
*****************************
Dinner was called about a half-hour into the movie. The humans all sat around in the fancy dining room while the dogs stayed in the kitchen with their own food. Inuyasha was pleasantly surprised how well the night was going. Kagome had been pretty civil, if a little detached. Her brother seemed to worship the ground he walked on, giving Inuyasha's ego a strong boost. Mrs. Higurashi and her father were actually very polite and respectful to him, though it didn't come as much of a surprise. Sesshoumaru trusted them, didn't he? Speaking of whom, he seemed to spend most of his time talking surprisingly openly with Kikyo.
The night only got better with dinner. Sessh was apparently quite determined to keep Inuyasha at the table because he had gone through the trouble of making roast turkey, cajun shrimp, and scalloped potatoes. Any one of these could keep the younger Morimoto at the table indefinitely, and all three at once was a guaranteed to keep him there until there was nothing left to eat.
"So Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said from beside Kagome who was seated across from Inuyasha, "what do you plan to do after graduation? I don't think your brother ever told me what you had planned."
Inuyasha hastily swallowed a mouthful of turkey and carrots. He wanted to take his band and try to make it big in the entertainment industry, but that wasn't something he wanted to make public knowledge. He thought his cover had been blown the other day when he and Kagome had their little showdown in the parking lot.
He looked over to Sesshoumaru, as if his brother could give him an answer. He was only met with an expressionless look, however. He decided to just skirt around the truth without exactly lying.
"I thought I'd go into music." It came out more curt than he would have liked, but it was too late to take it back. Hopefully they wouldn't press on.
"You play an instrument?" Mrs. Higurashi asked encouragingly.
'Damn," Inuyasha thought. 'So much for that hope.' "Guitar and vocals," he said with a shrug.
"Electric guitar?" Sota asked with an excited smile.
"Yeah."
"Cool! Can you play us something after dinner? Please?"
Damn it! They all looked at him hopefully. Inuyasha glanced over at Kagome to see a very curious expression on her face. "Sure." Damn! Damn, damn, damn! Why couldn't he have said no?!
*****************************
The rest of dinner passed uneventfully and Inuyasha went upstairs to get his guitar and amp. He took his time going back downstairs as he tried to think of a song to play. He stopped in the middle of the hall, though, his sensitive ears picking up Sesshoumaru's voice from downstairs in the living room.
"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. He's quite talented, you know."
Mrs. Higurashi's voice joined his. "Oh, I don't doubt it. Sakura was such a wonderful writer. He reminds me so much of her I wouldn't be in the least surprised if he inherited her creativity."
Inuyasha felt his pride which had been battered and beaten all these long years start to swell. His mother had been a wonderful novelist and song writer. But she always published her works under various pen names, wanting the success without the unwanted attention.
He took a deep breath to prepare himself and walked downstairs, feeling much more confident now. He decided to play the song that just about every guitarist eventually learns: Stairway to Heaven. It was Led Zeppelin that made him want a double-necked guitar, anyway. It just seemed appropriate.
He set up in the living room, trying not to pay any mind to the considering looks the Higurashis were giving him. Inuyasha quickly checked to see if his guitar was in tune and finally looked up at his first audience. "I decided to play Stairway to Heaven, since it's one of the first songs I learned, and besides that it's just a classic."
He tapped the beat with his foot and began the familiar notes he had grown up on. All of his nervousness started to melt away as the song progressed, and by the time he was ready to start singing, he felt fully confident and ready.
"There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold,
"And she's buying a stairway to Heaven.
"When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed,
"With a word she can get what she came for.
"Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to Heaven.
"There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure,
"'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
"In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings,
"Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
At this point the song started to pick up and Inuyasha couldn't help but smile as he played and sang, letting his voice slowly become stronger with the music.
"Ooh, it makes me wonder.
"Ooh, it makes me wonder.
"There's a feeling I get, when I look to the west,
"And my spirit is crying for leaving.
"In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,
"And the voices of those who stand looking.
"Ooh, it makes me wonder.
"Ooh, it really makes me wonder.
"And it's whispered that soon if we all call a tune,
"Then the piper will lead us to reason.
"And a new day will dawn for those who stand long,
"And the forests will echo with laughter.
"Oh whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,
"It's just a spring clean for the May queen.
"Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run,
"There's still time to change the road you're on.
"And it makes me wonder.
"Ooh.
"Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,
"The piper's calling you to join him.
"Dear lady can you hear the wind blow, and did you know,
"You stairway lies on the whispering wind.
At last came Inuyasha's favorite part of the song. Nothing else in the world mattered except the fun he was having playing his guitar and the thrill of doing it in front of a real audience, even if it was a small one. He played the double-necker skillfully and flawlessly, letting himself be swept away by the music. When he started singing again, his voice was stronger than ever.
"And as we wind on down the road,
"Our shadows taller than our soul.
"There walks a lady we all know,
"Who shines white light and wants to show,
"How everything still turns to gold.
"And if you listen very hard,
"The truth will come to you at last.
"When all is one and one is all, yeah,
"To be a rock, and not to roll.
"And she's buying a stairway to heaven..."
Inuyasha looked up from his guitar proudly. Sesshoumaru had a grin of fraternal pride on his face as he applauded his brother. Mrs. Higurashi and her father soon joined in the applause along with Sota who now had stars in his eyes. Kikyo began clapping as well with a small smile. Inuyasha was truly surprised, however, to see Kagome clap lightly herself with a very interesting look on her face. He felt his face heat up slightly. 'Maybe I was wrong about her. Maybe she does have a softer side.'
****************************
Kagome began applauding without realizing it. She had heard of Stairway to Heaven before, but she didn't know who made it and she had never heard the song itself before. This was the first time she had ever heard it and Inuyasha was incredible. He put his heart and soul into his singing and his skill at his instrument was nothing short of amazing. Where had he learned to do this? But there was something more. Maybe it was the passion he put into his performance, maybe it was just a natural charisma he kept hidden from the world, but when he played his presence was captivating.
Kagome couldn't believe her eyes when he looked at her and blushed. Blushed! She had never seen Inuyasha show anything remotely close to emberassment before. 'I guess Kirara was right. He really isn't that bad. He actually looks pretty cool with that guitar and dressed all in red and black. He's kind of cute, too, when he blushes... Did I really just think that?'
"That was wonderful," Mrs. Higurashi said with a huge smile.
"Yes, very well done," Grandpa agreed.
"That was so cool! Can you teach me to do that?"
Apparently, Inuyasha wasn't very good at taking compliments. He looked at his shoes and scratched at the back of his head. Kagome was seeing him in a whole new light. He wasn't the cocky, rude outcast she had come to know over the past decade. Now she saw him as a human being with his own ambitions and goals.
Kagome tried to think of something else, worrying that this was beginning to sound like a scene out of a cheesy romance novel, but she couldn't help feeling a little bad about the way she had been treating Inuyasha all this time.
One thing was for certain, she definately needed to talk to somebody about this.
"Excuse me," Grandpa said as he stood up, "but could you direct me to the nearest bathroom? Old age does have its drawbacks."
There was something Kagome could have gone along time without hearing.
"Past the kitchen, down the hall to the left, first door on the right," Sesshoumaru said tonelessly.
"Hey, Inuyasha," Sota chimed in.
"Yeah?"
"Can I see that theatre thing you were telling me about?" If the boy got any more excited he was liable to explode.
"I don't see why not," Inuyasha said with a shrug. He turned to look at Mrs. Higurashi. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Oh of course not. You two go ahead and watch a movie. After all, its the weekend and we don't have to be anywhere tomorrow."
"Thanks, Mom!"
Inuyasha and Sota promptly vanished, though Inuyasha insisted on first putting his guitar away. That was three down, now Kagome just had to get rid of her mother and Sesshoumaru and she could talk to Kikyo.
Wait... scratch that. Kagome recongized the glances that her sister and the elder Morimoto were sending each other. Though that certainly explained why Kikyo seemed to never want to talk about Sesshoumaru in front of her family, Kagome couldn't help but feel a little wierded out. Not to mention the fact that she was annoyed to see the chances of getting her sister's attention in the immediate future were about zero.
"I'm gonna go join the boys," Kagome said lightly and left before anyway could say anything. Finding the theatre room wasn't too hard. Upon stepping in, she was overwhelmed. Sota and Inuyasha were sitting in the dark on an over-sized black leather sofa in front of plasma screen TV suspended from the ceiling with huge speakers mounted on the walls. There was a bar, mini-fridge, and microwave to her right and the left a tower full of DVDs.
The boys looked back when she came in and smiled. "Hey Kagome," Sota beamed. "We're watching Spider Man! Wanna join us?"
"Sure." As she shut the door behind her, Inuyasha went over to the bar. He pulled out two bags of chips, one plain and the other barbecue, two bags of microwave popcorn, a bag of pretzels, and a six-pack of Vanilla Coke from the fridge. "Go ahead and start the movie, Sota," he said as he tossed one bag of popcorn in the microwave. "I'll be with you guys in a minute."
Kagome took a seat beside her brother as the movie started. She liked the flick, but for some reason she did not like Tobey Maguire. Maybe it was because she had heard he was a jack-ass in real life. "I thought you guys were going to watch Lord of the Rings?"
"Yeah, but I figure Mom will come in telling us to go before its over." Sota promptly turned his attention back to the screen, letting high quality entertainment equipment take hold of his young mind and enslave it.
Inuyasha came by with the six-pack and set all six can down seperately on ceramic coasters on the coffee table in front of the couch. He then got out three bowls and emptied the chips and pretzels into them. "Popcorn should be done in a minute or two." With that, he grabbed a can of Vanilla Coke and downed half of it in three seconds. He flopped down beside Kagome and leaned back to watch the movie.
Kagome spent the time slowly picking at the pretzels and sipping her drink, trying hard to disguise the fact that she was trying not to look at Inuyasha. They came to the scene where Norman Osborne discovers he is the Green Goblin and begins talking to himself in the mirror.
"Willem Dafoe was creepy as hell in this scene," Inuyasha chuckled.
"He's an incredible actor, isn't he?" Kagome replied, forgetting for a while that she was talking to someone she had claimed to hate for years.
"Ever seen Shadow of the Vampire?" Kagome shook her head and Inuyasha continued. "It's a little artsy, but still a good movie."
The rest of the movie they spent in silence. As the credits scrolled by, Kagome got up and stretched out just as her mother came in. "Kagome, Sota, time to go."
"Okay, Mom," Sota said disappointedly. "I'll see you around, Inuyasha."
"Take care of yourself, kid," Inuyasha said with a smirk.
As Mrs. Higurashi and Sota left the room, Kagome was about to follow them, but she hesitated at the last second. She glanced over her shoulder at Inuyasha who was tossing empty cans into a wastebasket across the room, never missing once. "Inuyasha?"
The silver-haired boy turned to face her, a curious look on his face. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to say... that song you played for us... You were really good."
Inuyasha stared at her strangely for a moment, before his features softened and he smiled slightly. "Thanks, Kagome."
As Kagome slipped out of the room, she couldn't help but think about the smile Inuyasha had given her. And what's more, Inuyasha had actually said her name. She couldn't remember him ever having done that. She definitely would need to talk to somebody about this.
*****************************
Inuyasha 's smile lingered even after Kagome had left. 'I guess I was wrong about her. It just got so easy to think that...' His thoughts trailed off a moment and he shook his head to clear it.
'Maybe I should talk to someone about this. It's helped before.' With that, Inuyasha walked out to say goodbye to the Higurashis and hopefully talk to Sesshoumaru once they left.
Again, more reviews please. I'm glad to see the story's finally catching on, though. It's a real ego boost. If ever you don't like something in this story, say it. I have had people tell me just how much they thought some of my works sucked, and I appreciated the input. The only way for me to make something better is to hear what I'm doing wrong.
I'm also very pleased at all the positive reaction I'm getting from the unorthodox roles I've put some of the characters in. You people seem to particularly like Shippo and Kirara so I may devote the next chapter to them. We'll see.
Finally, I'd like to send a big thank you to Ama (Shades of Oblivion who reviewed my story and put it on her favorites list. Her story Kinetics was one of my biggest inspirations to write Let the Music Be Your Master. I am very flattered, and though I feel sorry for inadvertently "de-railing her thoughts" for Kinetics, I send you my best wishes and support. It really made my day to see the author of one of my favorite stories give such praise to my own work and has really fueled my determination to continue and ultimately finish Let the Music Be Your Master.
That said, let's go on with the story.
Let the Music Be Your Master
Chapter 5: Some Enchanted Evening
"Take me to the mountains,
"Take me to Shagri La.
"Take me to El Dorado,
"Deep in America.
"Take me to Atlantis,
"Underneath the waves.
"Take me to Brigadoon,
"And into the astral plane.
"Deep in Otherworld, (Otherworld)
"Down in Otherworld, (Otherworld)
"Inside Otherworld, (Otherworld)
"Beyond Otherworld."
Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippo were in Inuyasha's garage practicing their newest song which Miroku had written. He called it Otherworld. The drums and base created a hypnotic rhythm while the guitar work was made up mostly of very mystical-sounding chords. As the song wound to a close, Inuyasha couldn't help but smile. "I don't think I'll ever get tired of that song."
Miroku smirked proudly. "I told you. Ten bucks says this will be on our greatest hits album ten years down the road."
"You're on," Shippo said defiantly.
Inuyasha slipped off his guitar and propped it up on its mount. He switched off the amp and turned to his friends. "I'm gonna go get something to eat. You guys hungry?"
The other two boys nodded simultaneously and followed Inuyasha into the kitchen. They were a little surprised to see Sesshoumaru sitting at the island talking on the phone, but shrugged it off and proceeded to silently raid the fridge.
No sooner had the boys sat down with their food, which consisted of five plates of left over ribs and pizza, then the five dogs of the house came barrelling in and promptly sitting down facing the boys with their tails wagging.
"No," Inuyasha growled. "We already fed all of you three times today. You're gonna start putting on weight."
This did not deter the dogs, though. Being incapable of understanding English, they continued to sit and wag their tails with hopeful looks in their eyes.
Inuyasha sighed in defeat. "Fine, I'll let you lick the plates when we're done."
As if the dogs could understand, they wagged their tails even harder and seemed to now be patiently waiting.
"That's really creepy," Shippo commented around a mouthful of pepperroni pizza. "I seriously sometimes think Spike and Hadrian can spell."
"Why is your family incapable of giving your pets normal names?" Miroku asked off-handedly.
"What's wrong with Spike and Edge?" Inuyasha replied defensively. He glanced over at the big Great Dane and the Husky with mismatched eyes. "I think it suits them."
"I suppose its better than Rover." Miroku shrugged and stuffed a folded piece of muchroom pizza into his mouth.
"Alright..." Sesshoumaru said as he stood up. "Alright then... We'll see you at 7... Oh don't worry. I don't think he'll mind... Goodbye."
Inuyasha looked up suspiciously at his brother. "Who were you talking to?"
"That was Keiko Higurashi," Sesshoumaru answered evenly. "She's bringing her family over for dinner tonight."
Inuyasha choked on a mouthful of ribs in surprise and ended up coughing it back out. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, his mother's Jack Russel Terrier, Sparks, was able to catch the half-chewed food in mid-air before it could ruin the recently polished hardwood floor.
"Well there goes my appetite," Shippo whined.
Miroku nodded in agreement and shoved his plate away from himself. "My sentiments exactly. That was something I really had no desire to see."
As soon an Inuyasha regained his composure, he looked back up at his brother, who still had an unreadable expression on his face. "What did you say?! Why?!"
"You may not remember Inuyasha, but your mother and Keiko used to be very close friends. She attended the wake and the funeral when you were a boy. If you recall, she was the woman who tried to comfort you, but you were inconsolable."
"Oh," Inuyasha said flatly as memory returned to him. Thoughts of his mother subdued him quickly. "But why did you invite her over?"
Sesshoumaru paused a moment as if considering his answer. "I thought it would be good for our families, or what's left of of ours, to catch up on old times. Aside from Kikyo and Kagome, we haven't had any contact with one another in years."
Inuyasha sighed resignedly. Sesshoumaru was the kind of person who would not make a decision unless they had ample reason to, and that decision was final. "Fine. But don't expect me to show Kagome anything beyond common courtesy. She hasn't earned anything else from me."
He was a little surprised when Sesshoumaru just nodded. "I assume she recovered from that lapse when she apologized to you and went back to hanging out with the obnoxious conformists?"
"How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess."
**************************
"WE'RE GOING WHERE?!" The Higurashi family was gathered in the living room and Mrs. Higurashi had just given the good news about dinner.
"Jeez, sis!" Sota whined, rubbing his ears. "I think I saw the windows rattle with that!"
"Honestly, Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi scolded, "you're blowing this a little out of proportion."
Kagome knew her mother had a reasonable point, but she wasn't one to give up without a fight. So long as her mother didn't use her patented 'The Glare!' or 'The Voice!' and fortunately, neither was being used right now. "But I can't sit at the same table as Inuyasha! We can barely stand to be in the same school, for crying out loud!"
Kikyo cleared her throat. "I think you're trying a little too hard to avoid him. I haven't heard him do anything to you without warning or cause lately."
"What?! I thought you were supposed to be on my side!" One thing Kagome prided herself on was that she had an impressive set of lungs. When she talked, you had to listen.
Of course, that didn't necessarily mean you had to agree. "Since when?" Kikyo asked with a smirk.
"That's enough, both of you." Mrs. Higurashi put her hands on her hips and glared down at her youngest daughter.
'Oh great,' Kagome thought miserably, 'she's using "The Glare!" on me. Now what?'
"Kagome, you seem to be the only one opposed to this. The Morimoto family has gone through some rough times in the past decade and they've had to face it alone for most of that time." She folded her arms over her chest and continued to glower, not daring to give her daughter one second of freedom from her burning gaze. "If Sesshoumaru hadn't invited us over, I probably would have invited them to our house myself. Either way, we're going to meet with them, and it makes no difference to me whose house we use. Take your pick: the Morimoto home, or here."
A 'damned if you, damned if you don't' situation if Kagome had ever seen one before. "Their house," she said in a tone that practically screamed 'I'll do it, but you can't make me like it!'
"I actually look forward to seeing young Inuyasha again," Grandpa said from his seat in the recliner. "The last time I saw him, he was only a toddler. Cute little thing."
Kagome had a hard time picturing Inuyasha as a cute little baby. All these years, she had seen him as a violent loner. It's hard to picture someone as a polar opposite of themselves after seeing them around for over ten years.
**************************
7 o'clock rolled around and Kagome found herself stepping out of the car with her family at the Morimoto home. They walked up te crushed shale path to the veranda and were greeted by the five dogs Kagome remembered from before standing behind the glass double doors wagging their tails. Now that she wasn't panicked, Kagome noted the breeds. There was the white Great Dane she remembered from last time, but there was also a Husky with mismatched eyes, a pudgy and greying Jack Russel terrier, a blue Greyhound, and a rather intelligent-looking Pit Bull.
All five dogs began whining and barking and Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha appeared. Sesshoumaru led the Pit Bull and the Greyhound away by their collars, gesturing for the Higurashi family to come in. Inuyasha wrapped his arms arouund the shoulders of the Husky and the Great Dane, leaving only the terrier to run in circles around the feet of the newcomers.
"Don't mind the dogs," Inuyasha said casually. "They're easily escited, but no threat."
"What are their names?" Mrs. Higurashi asked.
"Well these two are Spike and Edge," Inuyasha said, glancing to the Great Dane and the Husky respectively, "and the whirling ball of fuzz down there is Sparks. The Greyhound is Alexander and the pit bull is Hadrian."
Kagome looked at the silver-haired boy questioningly. "Hadrian? Spike? Sparks?"
Inuyasha just stood up and shrugged, letting the two huge dogs he had been restraining trot up to the visitors and proceed to sniff all hands and butts they could get close to. "Hadrian belonged to my father. He's named after the Roman emperor. Sparks was my mother's dog. She always liked the name Sparks for some reason."
"I'm guessing you named Alexander after the ancient conqueror?" Kagome's grandfather asked in a conversational tone.
"My brother did, yeah. Anyway, come on in." With that, he strode off for the living room.
"So, my boy," Grandpa continued as he followed after Inuyasha, "do you have anything planned for after graduation?"
"Sort of," Inuyasha said with a shrug.
Kagome was beginning to wonder if he shrugged like that out of habit. It was always exactly the same and he used it with almost every other answer. Was it some kind of nervous habit? Why the hell was she thinking about this?
"How long did it take you to grow your hair like that?" Sota asked from Inuyasha's other side. Kagome got a little nervous seeing the awe-struck smile on her little brother's face.
"Uh... couple years," Inuyasha replied casually.
"Cool!"
'Oh no," Kagome thought. 'Sota actually likes that freak? Why me? Why God? What did I ever do to you?'
She noticed that the families had split into two groups. Grandpa and Sota were with Inuyasha in the living room, while Kikyo and her mother were with Sesshoumaru in the kitchen. The choice was fairly obvious. She strode into the kitchen where the three adults were talking amongst each other.
"So, dear," Mrs. Higurashi said, "I heard you wanted to be a surgeon?"
"Yes," Sesshoumaru nodded, "but I have a few more years before I'm qualified for training. Getting a degree in medicine is, as I'm sure you know, a long and difficult process."
"Oh, I would imagine," Kikyo said. She smiled softly at Sesshoumaru. "Of course, you graduated fifth in a class of two hundred. You only beat me for that position by the skin of your teeth. It can't be too hard for you, can it?"
Sesshoumaru couldn't seem to stop the smirk from touching his lips. Kagome could see his male ego beginning to show and began to reconsider her choice.
She slipped out of the kitchen before anyone noticed her and headed back to the living room. Grandpa was seated in a very comfortable looking recliner, as Kagome had expected, and Sota was going through Inuyasha's library of CDs and DVDs. Speaking of whom, dog-boy was kneeling down on the floor with Spike and Edge sprawled out on either side of him getting their ribs scratched.
"What's The Rocky Horror Picture Show?" Sota asked, reading the label off one DVD box.
"Kinda risque," Inuyasha replied. "You probably wouldn't get half of it. I have Spider Man or X-Men if you want to watch one of those."
"Sweet!" Sota wasted no time in finding X-Men and put it on the big-screen. He rushed over to the sofa and flopped down in the middle, Kagome soon joining him on his right. "This is a great TV! Where'd you get it?"
"My dad bought it a few years back," Inuyasha replied, sitting down on the opposite side of the sofa. "You should see the system we have in back, though. Dad got it to celebrate Sessh's graduation and acceptance into his first-choice college. A giant plasma screen that can retract into the ceiling, surround sound speakers, luxurious seating, bar, movie posters everywhere. It used to be a game room until we added on four years ago. It went unused until we fixed it up."
Grandpa sat back watching the movie, while Kagome and Sota stared at Inuyasha in shock. Jeez, his family was loaded! He didn't seem to notice the looks he was getting though.
After a minute, Kagome turned her attention back to the movie while Sota continued to watch Inuyasha in awe and admiration.
"I know what you're thinking, kid," she heard Inuyasha say from his side of the couch. "You want to know if you can see that room sometime. Sure. I got Lord of the Rings special edition on DVD. Next time you're over here, we'll make some popcorn and watch it in the home threatre."
"Really? Awesome!" His childish desires for cinematic nirvana sated, Sota returned to watching X-Men, though he was clearly thinking about seeing Lord of the Rings on a big plasma screen.
*****************************
Dinner was called about a half-hour into the movie. The humans all sat around in the fancy dining room while the dogs stayed in the kitchen with their own food. Inuyasha was pleasantly surprised how well the night was going. Kagome had been pretty civil, if a little detached. Her brother seemed to worship the ground he walked on, giving Inuyasha's ego a strong boost. Mrs. Higurashi and her father were actually very polite and respectful to him, though it didn't come as much of a surprise. Sesshoumaru trusted them, didn't he? Speaking of whom, he seemed to spend most of his time talking surprisingly openly with Kikyo.
The night only got better with dinner. Sessh was apparently quite determined to keep Inuyasha at the table because he had gone through the trouble of making roast turkey, cajun shrimp, and scalloped potatoes. Any one of these could keep the younger Morimoto at the table indefinitely, and all three at once was a guaranteed to keep him there until there was nothing left to eat.
"So Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi said from beside Kagome who was seated across from Inuyasha, "what do you plan to do after graduation? I don't think your brother ever told me what you had planned."
Inuyasha hastily swallowed a mouthful of turkey and carrots. He wanted to take his band and try to make it big in the entertainment industry, but that wasn't something he wanted to make public knowledge. He thought his cover had been blown the other day when he and Kagome had their little showdown in the parking lot.
He looked over to Sesshoumaru, as if his brother could give him an answer. He was only met with an expressionless look, however. He decided to just skirt around the truth without exactly lying.
"I thought I'd go into music." It came out more curt than he would have liked, but it was too late to take it back. Hopefully they wouldn't press on.
"You play an instrument?" Mrs. Higurashi asked encouragingly.
'Damn," Inuyasha thought. 'So much for that hope.' "Guitar and vocals," he said with a shrug.
"Electric guitar?" Sota asked with an excited smile.
"Yeah."
"Cool! Can you play us something after dinner? Please?"
Damn it! They all looked at him hopefully. Inuyasha glanced over at Kagome to see a very curious expression on her face. "Sure." Damn! Damn, damn, damn! Why couldn't he have said no?!
*****************************
The rest of dinner passed uneventfully and Inuyasha went upstairs to get his guitar and amp. He took his time going back downstairs as he tried to think of a song to play. He stopped in the middle of the hall, though, his sensitive ears picking up Sesshoumaru's voice from downstairs in the living room.
"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. He's quite talented, you know."
Mrs. Higurashi's voice joined his. "Oh, I don't doubt it. Sakura was such a wonderful writer. He reminds me so much of her I wouldn't be in the least surprised if he inherited her creativity."
Inuyasha felt his pride which had been battered and beaten all these long years start to swell. His mother had been a wonderful novelist and song writer. But she always published her works under various pen names, wanting the success without the unwanted attention.
He took a deep breath to prepare himself and walked downstairs, feeling much more confident now. He decided to play the song that just about every guitarist eventually learns: Stairway to Heaven. It was Led Zeppelin that made him want a double-necked guitar, anyway. It just seemed appropriate.
He set up in the living room, trying not to pay any mind to the considering looks the Higurashis were giving him. Inuyasha quickly checked to see if his guitar was in tune and finally looked up at his first audience. "I decided to play Stairway to Heaven, since it's one of the first songs I learned, and besides that it's just a classic."
He tapped the beat with his foot and began the familiar notes he had grown up on. All of his nervousness started to melt away as the song progressed, and by the time he was ready to start singing, he felt fully confident and ready.
"There's a lady who's sure all that glitters is gold,
"And she's buying a stairway to Heaven.
"When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed,
"With a word she can get what she came for.
"Ooh, ooh, and she's buying a stairway to Heaven.
"There's a sign on the wall, but she wants to be sure,
"'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings.
"In a tree by the brook, there's a songbird who sings,
"Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven.
At this point the song started to pick up and Inuyasha couldn't help but smile as he played and sang, letting his voice slowly become stronger with the music.
"Ooh, it makes me wonder.
"Ooh, it makes me wonder.
"There's a feeling I get, when I look to the west,
"And my spirit is crying for leaving.
"In my thoughts I have seen rings of smoke through the trees,
"And the voices of those who stand looking.
"Ooh, it makes me wonder.
"Ooh, it really makes me wonder.
"And it's whispered that soon if we all call a tune,
"Then the piper will lead us to reason.
"And a new day will dawn for those who stand long,
"And the forests will echo with laughter.
"Oh whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa
"If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now,
"It's just a spring clean for the May queen.
"Yes there are two paths you can go by, but in the long run,
"There's still time to change the road you're on.
"And it makes me wonder.
"Ooh.
"Your head is humming and it won't go, in case you don't know,
"The piper's calling you to join him.
"Dear lady can you hear the wind blow, and did you know,
"You stairway lies on the whispering wind.
At last came Inuyasha's favorite part of the song. Nothing else in the world mattered except the fun he was having playing his guitar and the thrill of doing it in front of a real audience, even if it was a small one. He played the double-necker skillfully and flawlessly, letting himself be swept away by the music. When he started singing again, his voice was stronger than ever.
"And as we wind on down the road,
"Our shadows taller than our soul.
"There walks a lady we all know,
"Who shines white light and wants to show,
"How everything still turns to gold.
"And if you listen very hard,
"The truth will come to you at last.
"When all is one and one is all, yeah,
"To be a rock, and not to roll.
"And she's buying a stairway to heaven..."
Inuyasha looked up from his guitar proudly. Sesshoumaru had a grin of fraternal pride on his face as he applauded his brother. Mrs. Higurashi and her father soon joined in the applause along with Sota who now had stars in his eyes. Kikyo began clapping as well with a small smile. Inuyasha was truly surprised, however, to see Kagome clap lightly herself with a very interesting look on her face. He felt his face heat up slightly. 'Maybe I was wrong about her. Maybe she does have a softer side.'
****************************
Kagome began applauding without realizing it. She had heard of Stairway to Heaven before, but she didn't know who made it and she had never heard the song itself before. This was the first time she had ever heard it and Inuyasha was incredible. He put his heart and soul into his singing and his skill at his instrument was nothing short of amazing. Where had he learned to do this? But there was something more. Maybe it was the passion he put into his performance, maybe it was just a natural charisma he kept hidden from the world, but when he played his presence was captivating.
Kagome couldn't believe her eyes when he looked at her and blushed. Blushed! She had never seen Inuyasha show anything remotely close to emberassment before. 'I guess Kirara was right. He really isn't that bad. He actually looks pretty cool with that guitar and dressed all in red and black. He's kind of cute, too, when he blushes... Did I really just think that?'
"That was wonderful," Mrs. Higurashi said with a huge smile.
"Yes, very well done," Grandpa agreed.
"That was so cool! Can you teach me to do that?"
Apparently, Inuyasha wasn't very good at taking compliments. He looked at his shoes and scratched at the back of his head. Kagome was seeing him in a whole new light. He wasn't the cocky, rude outcast she had come to know over the past decade. Now she saw him as a human being with his own ambitions and goals.
Kagome tried to think of something else, worrying that this was beginning to sound like a scene out of a cheesy romance novel, but she couldn't help feeling a little bad about the way she had been treating Inuyasha all this time.
One thing was for certain, she definately needed to talk to somebody about this.
"Excuse me," Grandpa said as he stood up, "but could you direct me to the nearest bathroom? Old age does have its drawbacks."
There was something Kagome could have gone along time without hearing.
"Past the kitchen, down the hall to the left, first door on the right," Sesshoumaru said tonelessly.
"Hey, Inuyasha," Sota chimed in.
"Yeah?"
"Can I see that theatre thing you were telling me about?" If the boy got any more excited he was liable to explode.
"I don't see why not," Inuyasha said with a shrug. He turned to look at Mrs. Higurashi. "You don't mind, do you?"
"Oh of course not. You two go ahead and watch a movie. After all, its the weekend and we don't have to be anywhere tomorrow."
"Thanks, Mom!"
Inuyasha and Sota promptly vanished, though Inuyasha insisted on first putting his guitar away. That was three down, now Kagome just had to get rid of her mother and Sesshoumaru and she could talk to Kikyo.
Wait... scratch that. Kagome recongized the glances that her sister and the elder Morimoto were sending each other. Though that certainly explained why Kikyo seemed to never want to talk about Sesshoumaru in front of her family, Kagome couldn't help but feel a little wierded out. Not to mention the fact that she was annoyed to see the chances of getting her sister's attention in the immediate future were about zero.
"I'm gonna go join the boys," Kagome said lightly and left before anyway could say anything. Finding the theatre room wasn't too hard. Upon stepping in, she was overwhelmed. Sota and Inuyasha were sitting in the dark on an over-sized black leather sofa in front of plasma screen TV suspended from the ceiling with huge speakers mounted on the walls. There was a bar, mini-fridge, and microwave to her right and the left a tower full of DVDs.
The boys looked back when she came in and smiled. "Hey Kagome," Sota beamed. "We're watching Spider Man! Wanna join us?"
"Sure." As she shut the door behind her, Inuyasha went over to the bar. He pulled out two bags of chips, one plain and the other barbecue, two bags of microwave popcorn, a bag of pretzels, and a six-pack of Vanilla Coke from the fridge. "Go ahead and start the movie, Sota," he said as he tossed one bag of popcorn in the microwave. "I'll be with you guys in a minute."
Kagome took a seat beside her brother as the movie started. She liked the flick, but for some reason she did not like Tobey Maguire. Maybe it was because she had heard he was a jack-ass in real life. "I thought you guys were going to watch Lord of the Rings?"
"Yeah, but I figure Mom will come in telling us to go before its over." Sota promptly turned his attention back to the screen, letting high quality entertainment equipment take hold of his young mind and enslave it.
Inuyasha came by with the six-pack and set all six can down seperately on ceramic coasters on the coffee table in front of the couch. He then got out three bowls and emptied the chips and pretzels into them. "Popcorn should be done in a minute or two." With that, he grabbed a can of Vanilla Coke and downed half of it in three seconds. He flopped down beside Kagome and leaned back to watch the movie.
Kagome spent the time slowly picking at the pretzels and sipping her drink, trying hard to disguise the fact that she was trying not to look at Inuyasha. They came to the scene where Norman Osborne discovers he is the Green Goblin and begins talking to himself in the mirror.
"Willem Dafoe was creepy as hell in this scene," Inuyasha chuckled.
"He's an incredible actor, isn't he?" Kagome replied, forgetting for a while that she was talking to someone she had claimed to hate for years.
"Ever seen Shadow of the Vampire?" Kagome shook her head and Inuyasha continued. "It's a little artsy, but still a good movie."
The rest of the movie they spent in silence. As the credits scrolled by, Kagome got up and stretched out just as her mother came in. "Kagome, Sota, time to go."
"Okay, Mom," Sota said disappointedly. "I'll see you around, Inuyasha."
"Take care of yourself, kid," Inuyasha said with a smirk.
As Mrs. Higurashi and Sota left the room, Kagome was about to follow them, but she hesitated at the last second. She glanced over her shoulder at Inuyasha who was tossing empty cans into a wastebasket across the room, never missing once. "Inuyasha?"
The silver-haired boy turned to face her, a curious look on his face. "What's up?"
"I just wanted to say... that song you played for us... You were really good."
Inuyasha stared at her strangely for a moment, before his features softened and he smiled slightly. "Thanks, Kagome."
As Kagome slipped out of the room, she couldn't help but think about the smile Inuyasha had given her. And what's more, Inuyasha had actually said her name. She couldn't remember him ever having done that. She definitely would need to talk to somebody about this.
*****************************
Inuyasha 's smile lingered even after Kagome had left. 'I guess I was wrong about her. It just got so easy to think that...' His thoughts trailed off a moment and he shook his head to clear it.
'Maybe I should talk to someone about this. It's helped before.' With that, Inuyasha walked out to say goodbye to the Higurashis and hopefully talk to Sesshoumaru once they left.