Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: I love getting reviews...but even more, I love writing chapters. Especially since it gives me something to do so I don't go crazy. The group is sure lightening up a bit, aren't they? Well, instead of hindering you any further, I'll get going.


Chapter 22 - These Darkened Ages

"I was left in this darkened age
as
I flip through the pages of my short lived life.
Not able to speak.
Not able to breathe.
And I fell right down,
flat on my face.
Knowing that I shouldn't be in this place..."

"I can't even think of you.
It's too hard to wonder at all.
The only thing on my mind,
is if I'll ever get past this wall.
My suicide..."

Sango stopped playing, her fingers feeling frizzy from the thrumming of her guitar strings. She cleared her throat and shook her head as Tai moved to readjust one of the amps.

It was Friday already; they had a concert later that evening, and their meeting with Naraku the next afternoon. They were more than relieved that school was done for the week and there wasn't any homework - except for Kagome's history project. She wasn't exactly ecstatic for the upcoming Sunday, which Kouga had previously announced an official date. From Kagome's point of view, there was no way in hell that that was going to happen.

Kagome shook her head slowly and propped her guitar against the garage wall behind them. "Next song," she muttered, brushing her bangs away from her forehead. "Hate, Love, Life. One time through, whole thing."

As Sango returned to her guitar, and Kagome pulled the strap around her shoulders, Taiko began to set a beat on the drums. Sango's instrumentals were added in next, but Kagome took up the center as singer. She was solo on this one - it was a time for her to sing her heart out, quite literally.

"I bet you didn't know/you're always at the front of my mind/the one place I need to go/is where I always seem to find/you and your girl/What's it going to take/to get you to hate me?"

She dared a glance up, to where Inuyasha and Miroku were sitting, and didn't feel the least bit uncomfortable. Her mother often told her that when she was younger, she would run around the house singing at the top of her lungs and was always making up her own songs; unfortunately, they hardly made any sense whatsoever. Singing was her getaway, besides running till her legs were numb, and she felt invincible. Powerful and unbeatable. It was a euphoric feeling that she - and Sango, too - absolutely hated when it faded.

Inuyasha raised his eyes to watch Kagome, noticed her body swaying slightly from side to side. She probably didn't even notice, either. Her eyes were closed softly, lips moving perfectly to form the lyrics. She was dressed blithely, as she always was, in her rolled up jeans that went to her mid-calves and a red tee partially hidden beneath a black zip-up sweater.

"I hate you/hate how much I adore you/When I see you and her/I can't help but scream/I hate you/hate you/Hate how much I adore you/Hate how much I actually love you.

"Can't get over this jealousy/my envy/She's only a puppet/What's it gonna take for you to get/that through your thick-headed pride/You think that I actually care/About what the hell happens to you/It's too bad/Because I do.

Miroku felt slightly dazed as he watched Sango; her fingers moved skillfully over the strings of the guitar, pick in hand. Her hair was hanging down, unlike it's usual ponytail. She had white jeans, black tee, and a white denim jacket. Simple. That was one of the reasons he liked it so much; she could wear a brown tattered, stained old paper bag to school and she would still be beautiful in his eyes.

"I hate you/hate how much I adore you/When I see you and her/I can't help but scream/I hate you/hate you/Hate how much I adore you/Hate how much I actually love you.

Kagome was lost; lost in the music, her own voice, the feeling of the weighted microphone in her hands. The stand was no longer needed, and she pushed it to the ground as the beat sped up, as did her voice. The lyrics were no longer soft, but had turned almost to a shout. If this was what being crazy meant, then she loved every moment of it.

The music faded after the song was over. Kagome released the last of her breath and righted the stand, making sure that the microphone was turned off. "I think we practiced enough. I'm gonna fry my voice before the concert even starts," she stated, and Sango couldn't help but burst out laughing when her voice squeaked. They didn't bother to pack up - that could be done later.

Kagome sighed, somewhat contentedly, as Miroku stood to praise Sango on her 'fine work.' Miroku - the lecher known throughout all of Shikon High - would always be following Sango around in some vivacious desperate attempt or another. The prospect was entertaining.

She cringed when their conversation ended with a crack to Miroku's head and protests a moment or so later. So she turned her back on them and found her guitar case, opening it with the utmost care. It was now she realized that they had never found her father's guitar; she felt a stab in her chest, as if I knife had just plunged through her heart. Her head bowed practically on its own and her eyes closed, trying everything she could think of to keep the tears from leaking out of the corner of her eyes. 'I'm sorry, dad...' When the thought left her mind, she drew in a sharp breath and snapped the case shut. 'I'll find it. Tomorrow. That's a promise.' She steeled herself and turned around to see that Inuyasha was staring at her. "What? Do you have something to say or are you going to sit there and stare?"

He grunted and stood up deliberately, closing the pace between them in two easy strides. Kagome only now recognized the fact that Tai and Rizu had gone inside, whereas Sango and Miroku were outside, standing in the snow. Inuyasha's face broke out into a small smirk, his eyes boring into hers..."You sounded great," he muttered, partially under his breath, as if he was embarrassed to even say it."

Kagome paused and narrowed her eyes, and even as she did this, she could feel a faint blush crawling to her cheeks. "Really? I never thought you would be one to say something like that," she taunted. Silence followed afterwards, and one would be surprised to see that Inuyasha was flushing fairly as well. "Anyway, I appreciate the...compliment," 'Was that what it was?' "We should get inside. It's getting cold in here."

The temperature in the garage, was, in fact, dropping steadily. Kagome didn't wait for him to respond, but wove her way through the mess of things covering the ground and to the door leading into the kitchen. She stepped through it without hesitation, either unknowing or uncaring that Inuyasha wasn't following her. The door closed with a click, leaving him in the garage flooded with a fluorescent light and surrounded by piles upon piles of band equipment. He took a few moments to contemplate what he had just said before trudging after her.

Did he mean it? 'Of course I meant what I said, or else I wouldn't have said it...' Even as he sorted through the thoughts whirling chaotically in his mind, he wasn't sure exactly what to think.Why was it so damn confusing in the first place?!


Sango watched as the snow drifted to the ground, her hands stuffed inside her pockets for warmth. Her feet were buried beneath the sheets of white, and they were numb even inside her shoes, but she didn't care. Didn't care, because she was thinking too hard.

How could the outside be so peaceful when it seemed her - their - lives were so complicated? The old Kagome was resurfacing, but Sango felt trapped somewhere, as if she was stuck beneath a thick layer of ice, doused in freezing water and unable to find an opening. "Miroku," she whispered, dropping her head onto his shoulder. She was tired, exhausted, and wished that she could go crawl into bed, forgetting about the concert completely. "What if our plan doesn't work? What if Naraku finds out what we're doing and he...he-"

Miroku wrapped both his arms around her, silencing her, gently running a hand through her hair. "Naraku won't get to your family, Sango; I can promise you that." He didn't believe his words to be asinine - there was no doubt in his mind that he was meant to help Sango, that he was supposed to be there for her.

'I promise...I promise...'

Tai and Rizu had once, long ago, promised that if anything happened to their band, they would stay together. Sango wondered if something would finally manage to break them apart. One man, so many threats, and six teenagers trying to circumvent him. Even though the odds were in their favor...was it possible?

'I promise...'

Kagome had promised, too, that they would always stay together as a pair. Grade school, High school, college...She made Sango swear that they would never leave each other apart. And she didn't plan on it, either. It would be impossible to leave Kagome alone, her first and, up until now, only friend.

'I promise...' And now, Miroku. He made a promise that he wouldn't let Naraku kill her family. Sango nodded her head and opened the space between them slowly, offering a weak smile as his arms dropped from her shoulders. "We should go inside, then. I'm freezing. Maybe Kohaku can make hot chocolate while we work out this concert thing."

"I get a backstage pass, right?" Miroku queried, laughing as Sango slapped him playfully on the shoulder. One look from her told him that his question didn't have to be answered verbally.


"Rizumu, can you take this upstairs for me? You had better be careful - if it's damage, let's say you won't be seeing much of your keyboard anymore," Kagome both queried and threatened at the same time, a smirk playing at her lips. He responded by flicking her lightly on the forehead and taking the guitar case from her hands.

"You're lucky you and Sango are the young ones here. Nanami, and you're mom, would have our heads if we denied you two anything. What a joke." Rizu started up the stairs and to Sango's room, where they were storing things until later that night.

Kagome sauntered into the kitchen, only to find Kohaku rummaging through the fridge. She ruffled his hair and bent down so they were eye level. "Hey, kid; what about you make some hot chocolate? I was freezing in your garage. Maybe Tai'll let you play his drums later...By the way, you coming to the concert tonight?"

Kohaku slapped her hand away and closed the fridge door. "Whatever, Kagome; just because I'm younger than you doesn't mean I'm naive. But I'll make you guys some, anyway. And I'll go with you, if father lets me. He's up in his study right now, so I probably shouldn't bother him."

Kagome, satisfied, gave him a quick smile before returning to the living room. Taiko, she realized, left to get the van they were taking to the concert, but Sango and Miroku had just come inside. Inuyasha was laying on the couch, one elbow propped up and his chin resting in his palm. It reminded her of how Souta would watch TV, sometimes for hours on end. "Hey," she barked when she was leaning right above him from the back of the couch. "Don't you dare fall asleep. I don't think either me or Sango are prepared to drag you all the way back to your house; we'd probably just leave you outside."

He growled and swatted her away, missing her nose by a few mere inches. She smirked sadistically for a few moments before turning her attention towards Sango, whose white face and otherwise rosy cheeks suggested she had been outside for quite a few minutes, at least. "I had your brother get some hot chocolate on the stove already. Take a few minutes to warm up, I'll make sure it's still steaming whenever you're ready."

Sango nodded, slipped off her jacket, and started to the stairs. Miroku threw his coat over the edge of the couch, nodding briefly towards Kagome before making his way into the kitchen. She sighed and crossed her arms over her black jacket, fingering the black wristband she was wearing on her right arm.

It was peaceful; something that she hadn't felt in at least a month. With a small shake of her head, Kagome sat down on the couch opposite of Inuyasha and kicked her legs out, throwing her head back and laughing hysterically until hot, thin rivulets of tears fell from her eyes. This is what she wanted, she needed; to relax and enjoy the little time she had to spend to herself.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha watched on, trying to decide whether Kagome had gone crazy or not.


"Quick, Rizu; Kagome and Sango are still inside, right?" Tai asked from inside the van he had left to get, now jumping out the passenger's side and racing around the back door of the vehicle. Nanami was sitting in the drivers seat, one arm hanging out the window and honking the horn every few minutes. The back was thrown open carelessly, while Rizu's watchful deep green eyes continually darted from Sango's front yard, to the uncurtained windows.

"They're out of view. Get the boxes inside. Those girls had better be damn thankful; I used half the money we got last concert to buy this for Kagome," Rizu grunted as he jumped into the back of the van, retrieving a long, rectangular wrapped box from his car. It's wrapping was plain green paper, whereas the one that Tai had brought was blue.

After a few minutes of somewhat quiet bickering, they hid them on the seat in the front next to Nanami, since they would all be riding in the back. Taiko was glad they had found a place to put the packages when they had; Inuyasha and Miroku stepped out the front door moments later, Kagome and Sango behind them. In front Kagome's house, you could see Kea, Souta, and Shippou leaving the driveway in the maroon car. Kagome was more than happy to hear that her mother had gotten off early and was coming to the concert. It would be Shippou's first time, and backstage, too; she could envision the kit bouncing around behind the curtain and annoying the hell out of anyone who tried to tell him to stop.

Kagome walked out of the house and wrapped her arms around herself. She knew she would be cold after she changed clothes, which is why she brought the jacket along. But the air was chilling nonetheless. Her and Sango had gone crazy with their clothing, deciding that they needed to have some fun for a change. The only problem was now that they would have to clean Sango's room when they got back home.

Kagome's hair had been straightened, pinned up and twisted in several places while hanging down in others. Black eyeliner rimmed her eyes; otherwise, her face was left alone. Black arm warmers reached up to her elbows, allowing a few inches of bare skin until about half-way up to her shoulder; she donned a thin, black tank top, with a sea green off-the-shoulder shirt layering it. A blue jean skirt reached to just above her mid-thigh, with a pair of black flared sweat pants underneath.

Sango had put her hair up in two Chinese buns, one beneath each of her ears and a pair of chopsticks sticking out from her dark brown hair. Two strands of hair fell right next to her eyes, which had been tinted with red. She wore a red plaid blouse and maroon-ish boot-cut jeans, Vans covering her feet and a chain dangling from one of her pants pockets.

Kagome thought their choice of attire was quite hilarious; a completely new look for the lead singers and guitar players of a famous band. She heard Sango sigh, and then the two of them made a break for the van in attempt to get out of the cold. They shoved past Inuyasha and Miroku rather ungraciously, sprinting the last few meters to the van where they jumped inside. Sango ended up banging her knee on the edge. She all but shouted the blackest curses she could think of as she jumped back out of the van, and while holding her knee, hopped around the middle of the road while grounding out the aforementioned curses.

Kagome watched in malevolent humor as Sango nursed her sore knee. "Indeedy-do, Sango; you've managed to prove that you are, officially, a klutz." She clapped her hands together and flopped down on the edge of the back of the van, swinging her legs wildly over the edge. It was quite a sight to see her friend bouncing around the middle of the road with her hair into Chinese buns, a plaid blouse, abnormally colored jeans, and shoes that were probably a size too large for her. Kagome's only regret was that she didn't have a camera with her - better yet, a camcorder.

Sango finally got over her dramatic show of - clearly - traumatized pain, and made her way yet again to the van. Tai pulled her inside, and she was cast like a rag doll into one of the chairs scattered around the already cluttered space. "You, Kagome," she started accusingly, poking Kagome's shoulder as she did so, "are no more graceful than I am. Remember in school, that one time, when you tripped while walking outside and your food flew everywhere? Kikyou got a grain of rice on her shirt and she nearly had a heart attack," she snickered, apparently finding joy in one of her worst enemy's torment.

Nanami turned around from the drivers seat and glared at them, feigning annoyance and doing a horrible job. "Are you ready yet? I mean, come on, you guys are taking forever. I'll be old by the time we get there." She only frowned as Tai slapped her on the shoulder, and turned to start honking the horn again. "THIS VAN'S LEAVING IN TWO MINUTES!!" she shouted, satisfied when she heard them scrambling into the back.

Kagome ended up trapped between Sango and Inuyasha; on the floor, nonetheless. She found herself rather uncomfortable sitting on top a pile of cords. Tai and Rizu had claimed the chairs, while Miroku resided peacefully on one of the amplifiers. Sango felt herself scowling like a fool as she attempted to situate herself into an at least somewhat comfortable position...and ended up banging her head on something metal - coincidentally - behind her. "Damn it all to hell!!" she shrieked, rubbing her now sore head and closing her eyes bitterly.

Kagome sighed as Inuyasha smirked at Sango, saying something to her about being more careful; she guessed it was a sarcastic comment, because Sango responded by socking him in the arm. Quite hard...and yet, she somehow managed to restrain her tittering fit. 'It's like things are back to normal...' she mused with an unconcerned air, propping an elbow on her knee and resting her chin in her palm. Somehow she felt it was going to be a very long - and eventful - ride.


A few hours later, filled wardrobe criticizing by a man named Alphonse - who just happened to work for Nanami - practicing in the dressing room for a few songs before one of the assistants announced they had to be backstage in ten minutes, and good lucks from parents, the band was waiting behind a curtain rather impatiently.

Whoever was in charge of special effects certainly went overboard this time. Strobe lights hung from both the ceiling and were placed on each sides of the stage; lasers were hidden, but were planned to light during the last round of songs. Sango sighed. It was all so complicated, and in her own opinion, not worth the amount of money that the audience paid. But she wasn't in a position to complain - it wasn't her money, after all.

She heard Kagome, even through all the noise, take in a sharp intake of breath as the curtain slid open. Sango knew somewhere backstage, Miroku and Inuyasha, as well as Shippou, Kohaku, and Souta, were watching. Her parents had made it too, for the first time in a while, and she could say that she was more than pleased. It had been a full-house, to top it all off, and now that she could actually see the massive crowd jumping up and down and screaming at the top of her lungs, she felt good. Better than good - she felt ecstatic.

The first song went by cleanly.

As did the second.

Naturally, it came as quite a shock to everyone when the amps and microphones shut off just as the third song started, along with every single light in the concert hall. Everyone was left stranded in a blinding darkness.


A/N: Personally, I didn't think that chapter was all that great. But it might take a while to update again - I plan on writing a long chapter, mostly because I feel like it. There's plenty of suspense and angst coming up soon...I warned you beforehand; be ready.