Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in this story, all rights to the characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
Part Four: Classical Music
Night had draped the city in a deep velvet, the stars twinkled brightly overhead, and a peaceful quiet drifted through the streets. Masahiro laid in bed, beside him, in another bed, Yuji and Kameka already slept soundly, but his thoughts were on the artist. He couldn't sleep when such wonderful images flashed in his mind with vivid colors. Meeting her in the park was such happenstance and he really believed that his luck had taken a change for the better. Especially if he ignored the sudden onslaught of headaches that plagued him whenever she came around. He figured that such ailments were worth it, when Sango's company would be a much greater gain. The connection the two shared after such a short time was refreshing and Masahiro had every intention of seeing where things would go with her.
He sat up slowly, the rustling of the sheets had his male campanion opening his golden hazel eyes. He watched the musician in silence as the latter raked his hand through his hair, and sighed aloud. "Is something on your mind, Masahiro?" Indigo eyes darted towards the voice that was raspy with sleep, in the dark Yuji could still see the surprise on the man's face, he had thought himself the only one awake. "She's on my mind. That artist. There is just something about her. I feel like I've known her my whole life." If Yuji found his feelings to be a bit alarming or strange, he showed no signs, instead he offered his friend a reassuring smile. "That's what I would call a soul connection. Just like Kameka and I, you two were connected once before, so your souls recognized each other."
Masahiro had never believed in such things, even if one had a past life, he always figured that the soul would never recognize such things. "I don't know about all that, Yuji. It just seems so far fetched. I mean, what would be the odds of meeting another old soul when there are so many millions of people in the world." His smile faltered a bit, as if the words spoken were stark and painful to hear, but he pushed forward anyway. "Crazier things have happened. You can't deny that the two of us shared a quick and strong bond and I truly believe that you and I shared a past life together." Masahiro should have known what his friend's opinion would be on this matter. The guy strongly believed in reincarnation.
"Maybe you're right. There has got to be some explanation for the effect she has on me. I'm gonna call her tomorrow and see if she would like to travel together for a while. I would hate to let it end so quickly." He figured Yuji would try to convince him not to invite the woman along, he typically told him that a relationship would get in the way of his music. "I say go for it. It wouldn't hurt to ask, I mean, she might agree." Masahiro couldn't hide the utter shock he felt, that was not anything like the response he was expecting. "Really? So you're not gonna tell me what a distraction she'll be? What's gotten into you tonight?" The drummer gave him a knowing look, almost as though he had read his friend's mind. "I like her and I think as someone with artistic tendencies herself, she will understand your work and allow you to be you."
Yuji laid his head back onto his pillow and his hushed voice once again broke into the silence of the night. "Just try and get some sleep, we have another long day ahead of us tomorrow, and if you don't get enough rest those headaches you kept getting today will come back full force." The advice lingered in the air, as Masahiro settled back into bed, and closed his eyes. Sleep crept up on him slowly, he slid into the dream realm without a fight, and his subconscious took reign. The dream he slipped into was quiet, he stood in a large kitchen, giving a plump cook an order for lunch. Just as the chef began to shoo him away, so he could return his focus to his work, the chime of the doorbell announced the arrival of an unexpected guest.
He swept through the kitchen with fluid steps and entered into an opulent dining room. The sun that streamed through the window, sparkled off the crystal chandelier, and colorful prisms of light danced on the walls. He entered into a pristinely clean foyer, his white gloved hands smoothed away the wrinkles on his suit, and with grace he opened the door. Behind the wooden apparatus he discovered the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Before he could even truly consider his words, he gave her the standard greeting for the manor. He managed to keep his poise, even when she spoke, and her voice draped over him with lyrical perfection. She wanted to speak with the lord of Silver Inu and request permission to paint the grand home that stood over the village of Yu.
He granted her entrance and guided her towards the parlor and though it pained him, he left her to go and fetch the master of the house. He stood outside his lord's study before he firmly rapped on the door with his knuckles. He waited for just a mere moment when a gruff voice rang out, "Enter." He did as was ordered of him and swept into the dimly lit room, the white haired lord was seated behind a large oak desk, and kept himself busy with books in hopes of finding a way for them to break the curse without the help of a stranger. "Lord Inuyasha, it appears that we have a visitor. She is an artist and she wants to stay in the village to do a painting of Silver Inu. She may very well be the one to free us. I must insist that you go and speak with her at once."
Inuyasha eyed him skeptically, the man was so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed the appearance of his wife, and was only snapped out of his reverie when that lady clapped her hands together in excited delight. "Oh! Allow me to greet her first, while you get yourself prepared to speak with her. I do love guests and it's been so long since we last had one." She need not wait for her husband to grant her premission to go down first. Kagome was never one to allow Inuyasha to make all the calls in the manor. She practically ran down the hallway, leaving the two men alone in the study. "Don't just sit there. I implore you to make haste and grant her any wish she may desire."
Inuyasha lifted a thick brow, he had never seen the butler filled with such hope and excitement. "What makes you think that she will not merely leave as the others before her had?" He wasn't sure as to why he had such trust in the stranger, but something about her caused such a flutter in his stomach. "I cannot say, sir. I just have this feeling. I would explain it to you, if I had the words to, but alas I do not." Golden eyes peered at the butler with intensity, it lingered a moment, but faded slowly as realisation dawned on him. He recognized this look, the feeling, even though he had only ever felt it once in his life. "I must ask you to tread carefully, you will be walking a wire, my friend, and if you fall, well I am sorry to say that you will never be the same."
He supressed a smile, if only to spare his butler anymore confusion. As it appeared, the man had yet to figure out what the stirrings he experienced meant. The poor man was doomed, just as he had been when he first met Kagome. Inuyasha removed himself from his desk chair, prepared to allow the artist into his home, and with the hopes that she would be the one to free them from their curse. "Miroku, let us go. I am fully prepared to greet our guest. Take me to her." The lord left his study, his bare feet padded softly on the hard wood floor, and the butler groaned outwardly at his lord's lack of manner. He turned on his heel and called out to him in an exasperated manner. "Sir, you really should put on shoes before meeting the guest." His lord grunted indignantly, in a way that was strictly his own. "Give it a rest, would ya, Miroku? It's not like I care about such things anyway, shoes are stupid."
He stepped back, opting to not follow up with a second attempt at convincing the man to put on his shoes. He watched as the master practically barged into the room like an utter madman and all he could do was pray that his antics wouldn't scare away the fair artist. She appeared unfazed if but a bit surprised that such a man could call himself a lord. He could only watch on in silence as the lord and lady spoke with the woman, he was so enraptured by her beauty that he almost hadn't heard the orders made of him. He bowed quickly and parted to fetch the refreshments for the small party gathered in the parlor. He returned with the tea and dumplings and chose to pour the artist a cup first. "Tea, miss?" The simple question had caused her delicate cheeks to color and her eyes avoided his gaze.
The simple reaction delighted the butler and a small smile played across his lips. He would have to see what other feelings he could elicit on her fine face. He wanted to reach out and brush her hand with his finger tips, but resisted the urge. Instead he kept to the task of pouring the tea and was disappointed when after the task was complete, Lord Inuyasha dismissed him from the room. With a collected calm he left the room and he only hesitated once he had closed the door behind him. If only because he knew that he would have plenty of time to get to know the woman. So he continued back up the corridors and busied himself with the tasks assigned to him daily.
Masahiro woke with a start, his mouth was painfully dry, and the pounding headache throbbed behind his left eye once more. He grasped for the pieces of the dream, which had at one point been so vividly clear, but now faded away all too quickly. The clear faces grew fuzzy and the names he had heard within the deepest recesses of his mind became a slur of sounds he could no longer hear. He climbed out of bed and made his way towards the sink, he grabbed a plastic cup, and filled it with water from the tap. He swallowed it down in one gulp, trying to get the sensation of having a mouth full of sand to abate. He raked his fingers through his hair before glancing in the mirror. He splashed his face with cold water in hopes of softening the dark circles that had formed under his eyes. The dreams must have kept him from sleeping as soundly as he would have liked. Today would be a long day indeed.
AN: This story is coming along quite nicely. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. I will be sure to thank anyone who does review in my next chapter and feel free to check out my other stories.