The Way I Feel Inside
Chapter Five
A/N: Are you enjoying it so far? You can let me know by way of review ;-)
When they came back to the table, Sango looked at Miroku, sensing something was up.
"What was that all about?" Miroku just put on a dashing smile.
"Oh, something I'm not suppose to mention." As soon as he sat down, his arm went around her waist. In an almost involuntarily movement, she lean into him. The song that was playing came to an end. Inuyasha swallowed hard as he waiting for the next song to play. To his fortune, it wasn't one that he would want to remember as their first dance to. Kagome began to laugh.
"Can't believe they'd play Something Stupid here." Inuyasha wasn't really all that surprised. She knew so many bands and songs. It was almost like reading off his own personal collection at home.
"You know this song?" He asked. She nodded.
"My mom is a huge Sinatra fan." Souta nodded.
"One of my first loves in music. It's actually a fun song to play." Miroku looked at him.
"Really? Hm..." He said, rubbing his chin in thought. Kagome began humming along with the music. In unison, her and Souta began singing it.
"I practice everyday to find some clever lives to say to make the meaning come true.
But then I think I'll wait until the evening, it's late an I'm alone with you.
The time is right. Your perfume fills my head
The stars get red and oh, the night so blue.
But then, I go and spoil it all
by saying something stupid like I love you."
The song broke down into a bridge as Kagome glanced over at Souta. "It's been a really long time." He nodded his head in agreement.
"Yeah, it has."
"You're voices blended quite well, I thought." Sango said.
"Thanks." Kagome said.
"Back in the day, she used to do back-up vocals with the band." Souta said. "We actually have a few songs together. I think I brought that old mix-tape of the original recordings." He said to Kagome.
"I bet they sound awful."
"The quality is awful. But as far as our voices go, you can tell that we matured since then, but it's not too horrible."
"We'll have to hear it sometime." Miroku said. Kagome shook her head.
"Not if I have anything to do with it." Miroku laughed. A new song began to play and almost immediately Miroku and Sango stood up as if with one mind, heading to the dance floor. Inuyasha immediately recognized the song and smiled lightly. He looked over at Kagome.
"Would you care to join me in a dance?" Kagome looked at Souta, who seemed passive, and back.
"Sure." Her voice was steady, but her heartbeat wasn't. He held out his hand to her and she took it. This time she didn't trip as he began to lead her to the dance floor. Inuyasha paused for a moment, turning to Souta.
"You don't mind being by yourself, do you?" He mocked. Souta sneered at him.
"Ha ha... Get out of here." Inuyasha laughed lightly. As soon as the step foot on the dance floor, he spun her, catching her in his arms. She had been caught by surprise, but found out that she liked it. He laughed at her surprise. They danced slowly, in smooth, even steps.
"Even though he doesn't act it, Souta really does like you."
"I can tell. He reminds me of myself at times. It's scary and funny all at once." His throat went dry as a nervous shiver went down his spine/ He hadn't felt like that since their first concert in an amphitheater, but yet he managed to hold his facade of calm.
"I love this song. The Cure is definitely at the top of my list of influences."
"They have many good songs. Just Like Heaven, Pictures of You, Friday I'm In Love..." She stopped there.
"So, where do you learn of all these bands?"
"My family throughly enjoys their music. Some older things I know by m parents. My grandparents liked the jazz and swing music. More recent stuff I'll learn about online or pick up the CD at the store. A friend of mine has really been influencing the music I've been listening to."
"Oh, did they introduce you to the Feudal Era?" He asked, changing up his dance steps at the same time. Kagome didn't miss a beat and stayed in step with him.
"No, that was completely me and Souta. Ever since we were young, we'd combine our allowances to get a new CD. We'd decide on who to get depending on if there as something that we both knew we wanted, but occasionally we'd pick up a CD of a band we never heard before. You guys were one of those wild card draws. It was monumental for both of us, since your first album hadn't became a hit when we first got it."
"Oh, I see." His eyes closed as the solo to the song came along. He pictured hitting the notes on guitar. As the verse came around, he began singing it.
"Whenever I'm alone with you,
you make me feel like I am young again.
Whenever I'm alone with you,
you make me feel like I am clean again."
Kagome joined in singing the chorus when it came along.
"However far away, I will always love you.
However long I stay, I will always love you.
Whatever words I say, I will always love you.
I will always love you."
The next solo came and Inuyasha looked down at the woman in his arms. Being there with her was like a dream come true. "Would you like to know a secret?" Inuyasha asked her. She looked at him.
"Are you allowed to tell me?" He shrugged.
"Depends. Will you tell anyone?" She shook her head. He pulled her closer, whispering in her ear. "We're preforming this song tomorrow. This is Sango's and Miroku's song.
We're going to play it and he's going to announce their engagement." Kagome smiled.
"That's so sweet." He nodded in agreement.
"I'm thankful in a way that it'll be in the open. It's hard to hide things like that. He missed her so much while we were on tour. It got on my nerves once in a while." She laughed.
"That's so kind of you to say." He shrugged again.
"It's honest." The song was beginning to come to a climax as Kagome finally spotted the couple. They were completely oblivious to everything but each other's presence. Miroku whispered something into her ear. If it was possible, Sango's smile grew more and more radiant.
"I'm happy for them. I knew Miroku only by the things Sango told me about him... Or that's the only things I heard that I trusted anyways. I wondered if everything she told me about him was realistic. I can see for myself now that they were. He's the only one who can put a smile like that on her face." As the the song slowly faded, Inuyasha dipped her. Again, it wasn't something that she expected. She grabbed his shoulder for support as he chuckled lightly at her being startled. As he brought her back up, a couple thoughts passed through his head. Ignoring most of them, he decided to use one of them.
"Is there someone who does that for you?" He asked as they began walking back to the table. She turned to look at him, but they reached the table before she had time to ask what he meant. Her thoughts were disturbed by Sango and Miroku. She did notice Souta was missing. Must have gone to the bathroom...
"We were talking about it and..." She stopped as she looked over at him. A smile played on her lips. He had one of the most charming smiles that Kagome had ever seen as he looked into her eyes. He finished for her.
"... We plan to be wed October 2nd." Kagome hugged Sango.
"Congratulations." She said, hugging Miroku in turn. Inuyasha took his turn and hugged Sango, offering his congratulations as well. Then he turned to Miroku.
"As much as it confuses the world, she appears to love you." He extended his hand to Miroku. As if they had the same thought, they did a rather complex secret handshake. Kagome just smiled at their friendship.
"Um... Kagome?"
"Yeah, Sango?"
"I have a question for you." Kagome nodded for her to continue. "Will you be my maid-of-honor?" A grin spread over Kagome's face. She nodded enthusiastically and hugged Sango again. Miroku looked over at Inuyasha. He had been watching Kagome rather closely. Miroku cleared his throat and clapped him on the shoulder.
"Best man?" He offered. Inuyasha returned the clap on the back with twice the force.
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
All good things must come to an end. It was later than they realized whenever Miroku asked the waitress for the check. Whenever she brought it to the, Inuyasha quickly grabbed it before Miroku could. Miroku just looked at him inquisitively.
"Save it for the wedding expenses." Miroku sat back in shock, but nodded his head in approval.
"Alright. Thank you." It didn't seem like much longer, they were in the parking lot, saying their goodbyes as the group split.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Sango said as they took their leave. Miroku decided to take a different approach and bowed deeply.
"Know that my heart aches at your departure, but fear not. We shall meet again. Whether it's-" Kagome laughed at his performance as Sango smacked his shoulder.
"Do you have to be so dramatic about everything?" He looked at her.
"Yes, my sweet." She shook her head in amusement. Miroku decided to drop his act. "It was fun. We'll all have to get together again."
"Maybe the next time we won't play 20 questions." Souta said, looking over at Inuyasha. He just smirked.
"I'll catch up with you tomorrow." Inuyasha said. With that, they went their separate ways. Kagome and Souta followed Inuyasha to his car. Souta, who was showing signs of exhaustion, climbed into the back of the car. Kagome wasn't sure where to go. She didn't want to seem like she didn't like him, but at the same time, thought it might be awkward if she sat up front. Making a quick decision, she just sat up front. As soon as Inuyasha got situated and turned the key, loud music blasted out of this speakers. He laughed a little nervously and adjusted the volume to a suitable level. "Sorry about that."
"It actually answered a question I've always wanted to know." Inuyasha looked over his shoulder to see if it was clear for him to back-out.
"What's that?"
"If musicians listen to their own music." Inuyasha laughed.
"I have been lately." He admitted as he backed out and shifted into drive. "I don't use a teleprompter on tour, so I have to memorize the lyrics. It's easy to forget them if you haven't played or listened to the song in a while. Which way should I turn?"
"Left. So, can you shed anymore light on tomorrow's show?"
"Do you want to know all of the surprises?" He asked. She thought about it.
"No, actually, I don't. There is a rumor that I'm curious about though."
"I can probably settle that for you."
"Are you recording the show to put onto DVD?" He laughed lightly.
"That's been going around? Hm... I wonder who leaked that information." He said, as if he didn't already know. "That's the plan. Hopefully everything goes fine so that it'll be a good capture."
"Capture?" Souta mumbled from the backseat. Kagome turned to look at him and laughed.
"Thought so. He's sleep-talking. On days like this, you can carry on conversations with him while he's asleep."
"I don't sleep-talk." He mumbled fiercely. Inuyasha decided to use this to his advantage.
"Souta?"
"Yeah?"
"What exactly do you think about me?" He asked. Kagome snickered behind her hand.
"I think that you are a..." Light snores took over. Inuyasha laughed.
"That's too bad. The poor guy just got in before he was dragged out." Kagome stopped for a moment. As she turned to him, her questioning look told him he made a slip-up.
"How'd you know he just got in?"
"Well, I gathered that by your conversation. Plus, I figured someone would have mentioned it to me that we've have another person at dinner unless it was a last minute thing."
"Oh." was all she said about it. Inuyasha sighed. All through dinner, no one slipped in calling him by his first name or he didn't say anything too suspicious that he couldn't cover-up. That was the first real screw-up for him. "Turn left up here on Madison." He got into the turning lane, but was stopped by a red light. "Thanks for everything. We both did appreciate it, uh..." She laughed lightly. "I guess I should say Dogboy, but it sounds a little odd." He laughed along with her, though he didn't like where that could lead to.
"I suppose it does sound odd. I got that nickname back in the high school days. Kouga (I assume you know who he is) and I were rivals back then. He gave me the nickname and it caught on. I despised it at first, but I kept it whenever we starting getting big. I guess it was my way of getting back at those who tried to smear it on me." They laughed lightly. He saw she was about to say something else, so he kept talking, hoping to chance the conversation with the next statement. "You never really had the chance to answer my question before." It changed the subject.
"Well, I guess it depends on what way you meant the question." The light turned green, so he continued driving after he made the turn, he looked over at her, catching her gaze.
"I think you know what I mean by it." She looked down.
"I know what you mean, but it's still complicated. Am I seeing anyone? No, I'm not. Is there anyone who can make me smile like that? The answer to that is yes." His eyes lit up
a little bit.
"What would-" Souta's cell phone went off, interrupting the conversation and waking up Souta. I wonder what he was going to ask. Kagome thought as Souta checked the caller id and answered his phone.
"Hello?" There was a short pause. "It's a long story. I'm almost back at Kagome's place." They actually were there. Instead of interrupting, Kagome pointed at the parking lot and Inuyasha turned in. Souta sighed in frustration. "Sorry. I guess I'll get a cab." As Souta paused to listen, Inuyasha leaned over to Kagome.
"Which building is it?" He whispered.
"Third one on the right."
"No, mom. I haven't. I've been with Kagome all evening. You can ask her if my word isn't good enough for you." Souta snipped. Kagome knew exactly what that was about. He was hurt that she asked if he had been drinking. Souta's pause was much longer than before. Inuyasha pulled into the parking space. He, also, knew what that was about. His mother lost some trust in him. That probably hurt just as much as his heartache did. Finally, Souta sighed.
"I have to go. I'll see you ask soon as I get there." Souta's tone was sharp and booked no room for argument. On top of that, he hung up his phone, not wanting to hear anymore. They stepped out of the car. Kagome put a hand on Souta's shoulder.
"You can crash at my place tonight if you'd like."
"It's alright. She's worried with good reason and been waiting up for me." Kagome nodded, knowing what he meant by that. Inuyasha spoke up.
"How far is it?" They turned toward him.
"About 15 minutes or so."
"It'll take forever to get a cab over here at this time of night. I can take you if you'd like." Souta looked at him.
"Uh... Kay. Thanks." Inuyasha scratched the back of his neck, looking around.
"Don't mention it." He said. It was funny how in tune he was with her. Feeling her gaze upon him, he looked over at her. He was captured by her doe-like eyes. A shutter ran down his back. Thankfully, she took it for a shiver, though it wasn't the cold night air that made him shake.
"Sorry. I guess Souta needs a couple things from inside. Come on in." They followed her in. Souta wiped the sleep from his eyes and quickly grabbed the door before Kagome could reach it, holding it open for them. Inuyasha looked around the small apartment. It was a comfortable little place. She kept it tidy, maybe not spic and span though. As soon as you entered, the living room was dead ahead with a kitchen to the right, where the kitchen hit the living room was a hallway leading to the rest of the rooms. The first thing in the living room was the couch, next to it was an end table, in front was a coffee table. On the coffee table was her laptop. He noted with interest that it was opened to her e-mail. So she sits down there when she gets in to see what 'Inuyasha' wrote her today. He thought, unable to hide the smile playing on his lips. He laughed as he noted something else. Lookie there. She has a new message in her inbox. Souta headed off toward the bathroom to gather his belongings there. Inuyasha saw the corner where Souta's luggage was.
"Wow... He packs a lot. I don't know if I'll have room for all of this."
"It's alright. Some of it can stay here it's no trouble." He nodded. Kagome just looked over at him. She couldn't get over it. He was so familiar to her. Something about him just clicked. Once again, while she was looking at him, he looked over at her. She flushed lightly.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing." There was a short pause. "I don't want to seem weird or anything, but why are you being so- I don't know- generous with us?" He just looked at her, smiling ever-so-lightly.
"I guess it's just my nature. You'll learn more about that the more you get to know me."
"How do you know that we'll be around each other enough?"
"We're both in Sango and Miroku's wedding. That requires some time together." She nodded. That made sense. "Besides, it have a gut feeling about it." She turned to him once again. Her gaze became more intense with curiosity. Before she could say anything, Souta came out of the bathroom with a little bag with his toiletries." He unzipped one of the bags, setting them inside. Afterward, he hugged Kagome before doing anything else.
"I'll be seeing ya tomorrow." Kagome wasn't expecting the hug, but was glad he did it. She hugged him back.
"Yeah. See ya." Souta then grabbed as many bags as he could. Inuyasha followed suit, taking a hold of many bags. Kagome quickly grabbed the door for them. Souta went out first, not stopping for anything. Inuyasha paused as he passed her.
"I'm glad you two were able to make it tonight." He said, flashing a smile and nodding before following after Souta. Kagome closed the door after they were out of sight. Whenever you think of a rock star, it's almost automatic that you think of a rich, spoiled, jerk, who has nothing better to do that get drunk or high. He wasn't anything even similar to that. She went to the couch. What is it about him that makes me feel like this? Dazed, she absentmindedly reached for her laptop to find a sobering e-mail.
They dropped the bags into the back of the car, barely managing to fit them all in there. They got into the car and Souta turned to him. "Thank you. I do appreciate this."
"No problem, buddy." He said, inserting the key into the ignition of the car, turning it. It was quiet for quite a bit of the trip. It gave Inuyasha time to think about things and he came to a conclusion. He knew what he was going to do, but was unsure of the results. Glancing over, he saw Souta beginning to doze off again. "Hey! I need you to stay awake. I don't know exactly where I'm going."
"Alright, alright." Souta said, sitting up straight and rubbing his eyes.
"I know something that'll get those eyes open." Souta turned.
"What's that?" He asked, inquisitively.
"Listen to this. Since your doing to be there tomorrow, there's something that I think you should know ahead of time."
"What?"
"For starters, I know more about you than you think." Souta looked over, confused completely.
"How?"
"Well, I talk with Kagome... quite frequently."