I have created a Spotify Playlist of the songs used, so you don't have to go hunting for them. The Playlist will be updated as the fic is updated, so there'll be no spoilers about what's coming down the road.
Link to playlist is in my bio
Songs in this chapter in order of use, and placed in the story when to hit play:
(1) Stay with Me (feat. Kronos Quartet) – Clint Mansell (from the film The Fountain)
"I think that that's the last of it," Kagome grunted through an exasperated sigh as she put down the last box, watching as Miroku and Sango lifted her mattress while Shippo and Inuyasha finished setting up her bed frame, "I really appreciate you guys helping with this. You've saved me a lot of trouble."
"There's no way in hell we'd leave you to move in all by yourself," Shippo replied as he and Inuyasha stood from the floor, making room for Sango and Miroku to slide the mattress into place.
"There! Now you'll be able to sleep comfortably while you get organized," Sango said, dusting off her clothes and hands.
"It's a huge weight off my shoulders," Kagome continued as she moved to take a swig from her water bottle she'd left on the kitchen counter, "There's nothing worse than not being able to sleep in your own bed while still moving into a space."
The apartment was definitely nice. Just off a side street and on the top floor of a triplex, it was quiet, well lit, and easily fit everything she'd had from her dorm on the campus, plus room to grow. Kagome was already excited about furnishing the place with more personal touches. She'd planned out exactly where she was going to put everything; room for her keyboard, an area dedicated to listening to music — she was giddy just thinking about it.
"It's really a great space, Kagome. I think you'll be super happy here," Sango said as she grabbed her own water bottle and took a drink.
Kagome nodded, "I think so too. You guys'll have to come over once everything's set up."
"Sure thing!" Sango agreed before crushing the empty bottle.
"Alright, I've gotta head out," Shippo called out as he slid on his shoes, "Sorry to cut and run, but I have some fox demon friends I'm meeting up with for a reunion in a few."
"Oh for sure! Don't let us keep you," Kagome moved to hug him, "Thanks again for coming to help out. I owe you one!"
"Haha, be careful. I'll hold you to it," Shippo replied before waving to the others and heading out the main door.
"We should probably be heading out ourselves," Miroku said as he approached Sango.
"You've got plans too?" Kagome asked.
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention it!" Sango exclaimed, looking down at her phone to check the time and remembering their plans, "Miroku and I have tickets to a show tonight, so we've gotta head out. Will you be okay to get yourself set up? I'd hate to abandon you like this with so much still to do."
Kagome shrugged and smiled, not wanting to burden her friend by making her feel like she had to give up her plans just to hang out with her. Kagome was more than willing to get the place set up on her own, "No worries, I think I can take it from here. You guys have already helped be so much, so please, have a great time!"
"You're sure?" Sango pressed with a worried tone.
Kagome nodded and smiled brightly, attempting to easy Sango's concern, "Of course! Besides, I'll want to take my time and get things exactly how I want them."
Sango offered her a smile, "Alright then. We'll see you next week I guess?"
"If not next week, definitely the week after," Kagome confirmed, offering Sango her purse as Miroku got his shoes on.
"Alright," Sango reached out and hugged Kagome tightly, "You have fun getting settled in!"
"Thanks! And thank you, Miroku, for helping too!"
"Think nothing of it," he replied, waving to Kagome as Sango made her way through the door and they were out of the apartment as well.
There was a beat of silence as Kagome heard the pair's echoing voices in the distance, leaving the building. She turned and addressed Inuyasha, who was the only one left in her apartment.
He looked a little uncomfortable, like he didn't know where to stand; hands in his pockets, and his eyes looking at something random on the floor to avoid directly looking at her.
Kagome gave him a sympathetic smirk, figuring maybe he wasn't sure how to politely tell her he wanted to leave for the day as well. She decided to gave him an out, "You don't have to stay, you know. Everyone else has already gone, and you've helped me a ton already."
Inuyasha's ears flicked a little at that, his eyes raising to meet hers tentatively as he tried to say a little too rushed, "I don't mind…"
"Hm?"
He shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant, "S'not like I have anywhere else to be. Unless… you want me to leave, then I can go."
"I mean…" Kagome started nervously, her eyes turning from him to look at her keys on the island counter, fiddling with them, "You're more than welcome to stay… if you want to, that is. I wouldn't say no."
He raised his head a little, "You sure?" he asked, not wanting her to feel obligated to host him.
"Yeah. We can order some food… make a day of it," she offered, cautiously looking his way to see what his reaction to that was.
He was smirking. Handsomely too, though Kagome wondered if he wasn't full aware of just how attractive he was when he smirked like that. He didn't do it often, and she felt like he would have used it as a secret weapon any chance he got if he was aware of just how good he looked.
"Sure, but on one condition," he proposed, raising a finger lazily to add to his point.
Kagome smiled and asked, "And what's that?"
Inuyasha took a step towards a box that was opened and lifted out an item that was sitting on top, eliciting a shriek of laughter from Kagome when she realized what he'd picked up.
"You tell me the story behind this," Inuyasha stated matter-of-factly, a soft chuckle in his voice as he held up a photo of Kagome from when she was fifteen and wearing a ridiculously neon pink princess costume from her high school play.
"Oh my god, that brings back memories," Kagome giggled as she crossed the room to retrieve the photo from his hand, taking it and looking at it with nostalgia, "I haven't seen that photo in ages."
"So, we have a deal?" He asked her teasingly, pulling her attention back up from the photo.
She smirked up at him, "Fine, but I pick the food."
"Fine with me," he replied, watching as she moved back to her phone to figure out what they were going to order.
Within an hour, they had their greasy pizza and were sitting on the floor of her living room while she was going through the boxes of keepsakes she had.
"I was so embarrassed," she laughed as she finished telling him the story about how her performance as Princess Escargot Pudding in her school's festival resulted in her falling off the stage because she'd been blinded temporarily by one of the spotlights, "I don't know how I ever managed to get the guts to get on a stage again."
Inuyasha, with a mouthful of pizza, chuckled with her, "Well, it's a good thing ya did. Otherwise, where would ya be now?"
Kagome giggled as she took another bite of her slice, her giggling causing her to slightly choke on the breading.
"You okay?" Inuyasha asked, mild concern in his voice.
Kagome tapped her chest lightly as she swallowed, "Yeah, just need something to drink."
"Oh! That reminds me…" Inuyasha said as he got up, looking for his jacket amongst the boxes and bags. Kagome watched him as he moved around, wondering what he was doing, but was suddenly hot in her cheeks when he came back with a tall, thin, holographic green gift bag in his hand. It was a fairly plain looking item, a little roughed up from being inside his jacket.
"What's that?" she asked him as he sat back down.
He offered her the bag and casually stated, "Something to wash the pizza down with."
Kagome wondered what he was talking about, giving him a fun, but skeptical, look, and proceeded to look inside the bag, finding a bottle of wine. She lifted it out of the bag and read the label.
"You brought wine?"
"Yeah… I've been told it's polite to bring something for a housewarming. Besides, since you just hit your 20th birthday, you seemed like you hadn't a chance to really figure out what your drink was. Figured maybe wine might be more your speed, based on how you reacted to whiskey," he answered, remembering how she'd practically gagged when they had that shot at the bar.
Kagome laughed, "Who knows, maybe I'll get used to it."
Inuyasha smirked, not believing her, "Well, in the meantime, maybe you'll like that. It's one of my go-tos."
Kagome smiled while looking at the label before turning back to him and saying genuinely, "Thank you."
"Keh, it's nothing," he replied, offering his hand and taking the bottle from her hand before slicing the metal cover off with his claws easily, stabbing the cork and opening it up.
Kagome stood from the floor, trying to find the boxes that had her glassware in them, but after a few moments of failing to find them, Inuyasha said, "Forget it. We can just drink from the bottle."
Kagome looked back at him and giggled at the notion, "You sure you wanna share cooties with me?"
"Trust me, if I was gonna die from human germs, I'd have been dead years ago by hanging around Miroku so much, "he joked, offering her the bottle to take the first swig. She took it from him and smelled the top of it, finding the aroma to be much more appealing than the beer or the whiskey she'd had thus far. Placing the rim to her lips, she took a quick taste, afraid of the burning sensation she'd felt before. However, she found the taste to be surprisingly pleasant. Not too sweet, a little dry, but overall, very smooth.
She really liked it.
She took another drink before exclaiming, "Mmm, this is great!"
Inuyasha just watched her in silent awe for a moment before he said, "Glad you like it. I'll be sure to keep some stashed for you at the studio."
She offered him the bottle again, taking a swig himself.
"You know…" he heard her start, taking a breath, like she was steadying herself, "When I first met you, I really thought you hated me."
He lightly coughed at that, choking a bit on the wine. Inuyasha looked toward her, putting the bottle down beside him as he wiped the corner of his mouth and cleared his throat, "What… makes you say that?"
Her cheeks were a little red, "I mean, you were so cold towards me that day," she said honestly, though not trying to be hurtful, "I genuinely didn't think you'd wanna hang around me at all. In all honesty, I was nervous when Sango asked me to come to the show after that. I was afraid you wouldn't want to see me there."
Inuyasha sighed, realizing just how much he'd put her off, "Oh…"
Kagome tried to ease the tension, reaching for the wine again to take another drink, "Honestly, it's okay… I just figur—"
"It's not that I..." Inuyasha started, but paused trying to figure out what he was trying to say, "It's not that I hated you."
"Hm? So… what was it then?" she asked, "Did I say something that upset you?"
Inuyasha was nervous to admit the real reason he'd acted so weird around her on that first day. How do you tell someone that they reminded you of their dead ex the moment you met them? Not exactly a great way of endearing someone to you.
"I just have a hard time saying what I mean sometimes," he trying to explain, not making a ton of sense to Kagome, "And like Sango's said, I'm not great at meeting new people. I'm not exactly the most sociable person on the planet."
Kagome giggled at that, "Understatement of the year," she teased lightly.
"Ha ha," he said dryly, "But… yeah, I'm more of an 'actions speak louder than words' kinda person, you know what I mean?"
"I think I'm starting to," Kagome replied, offering him the wine again, which he took gratefully. She then wondered out loud, "So you can't say what you mean, yet you write lyrics that so capture a sentiment. How does that work?"
Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders casually, "Hell if I know. I just write what makes sense to me in the moment. I never really questioned it."
Kagome gave a laugh and in a sarcastic tone, "A true lyrical virtuoso."
Inuyasha tried hard to not laugh at that, "Ugh, shut up!"
Kagome's laughter was infectious though, and he couldn't help himself but chuckle at least a little. As she calmed down, he started, "But, in all honesty… trust me when I say I never hated you. You just kinda —" he paused, finding the wording," —caught me off guard is all."
She was quiet at that, a little stunned by his admission. Inuyasha quickly tried to ease the awkward silence, "I gotta admit, you're not half bad to talk to."
Kagome gave him a sweet look, her eyes sparkling a little at that, "Thanks… You're not so bad either," before she turned her attention on one of the boxes littered around them, "Shall we get started then?"
Inuyasha followed suit, putting the wine bottle down beside him and using his claw to effortlessly cut open the packing tape.
"You're like a one-man toolkit, "Kagome commented, watching as he easily opened the box.
"Well, I don't work cheap," he chided back.
"I take it food is your incentive of choice?" she asked, pulling out some random paperwork and office supplies, placing them in a pile where her desk would eventually go.
He chuckled at that, "Sounds about right."
For the next little while, they'd made light conversation, mainly trying to focus on getting most of her things out of boxes and into shelves so that Inuyasha could cut down the cardboard and get most of it taken out for her.
They'd gotten into such a routine, and he'd lost track of what he was even opening, he found a box of old records, sheet music, and family photos.
"Hey, where to you want these?" he asked Kagome, showing her the box that clearly said 'Sentimental' on the side.
"Oh, you can put that over here," she pointed towards a short, empty bookcase that already had her record player on top of it, though her speakers still needed to be attached.
Inuyasha brought it to where she asked, and looked at a few of the items, pulling out a photo of the family he'd met just a few days ago. It was all of them standing into front of a huge tree at a shrine, with Kagome in a kimono and her brother still just a baby in their Mom's arms. Her dad looked healthy. He was tall, looked like he took care of himself.
'Must've been from when they were just kids,' Inuyasha thought to himself, not realizing Kagome had come up beside him to see what he was looking at.
"Oh, that's such an old photo," she said, gently taking the frame from him and looking at it lovingly before placing it on the shelf.
"You seem to be really tight-knit with them," Inuyasha commented, his voice a little distant and wistful.
Kagome smiled, "Yeah, well, after Dad got sick, it was rough for a while. We've sorted a lot of that out now, though."
Inuyasha nodded before continuing to pull out some old records from the same box, most of it music even he wasn't fully aware of, mainly classical stuff, "How did you get into classical music?"
Realizing what he was pulling out, Kagome answered, "It was my Dad. He was always encouraging us to listen to it growing up, and he'd play those records all the time. He gifted them to me when I was moving out to go to the conservatory, and every so often, I like to play them. Reminds me of being a kid and listening to them with him."
"Is your kid brother as into it as you are?" Inuyasha asked, careful to place the records on the shelf, and trying to do in some kind of order.
Kagome giggled a little, "Not at all. If anything, Souta would always complain about our Dad making us listen to it, but I always stay and listen with my Dad as he would explain the movement of a certain piece, or some history behind the composer. He knew so much about it, and he loved it so much — it was infectious."
Inuyasha could hear in her voice just how nostalgic it made her to think about those times. Her voice was soft and light, and he could so vividly imagine her sitting her with Dad, spending hours talking about music.
"When he got sick, I realized how little time I would have left with him to enjoy those moments. He'd always been so supportive of my music and believed in me. I'd started playing piano as a kid, but the singing came later, and once he got that diagnosis… I dunno, something in me just wanted to make him proud, and so I worked hard to get into the conservatory, just so that I could show him how much his love for it affected me. I wanted to see him happy," Kagome explained, losing herself for a moment. She shook her head, realizing she was going on a diatribe," I'm sorry. You didn't need to hear all that."
Inuyasha quickly said, "No! Actually, I had wondered where you'd gotten it from. I didn't realize your father had had such a big impact on you wanting to becoming a musician."
Kagome smiled, "Yeah… well, I feel like now that he's seen me perform at my best, I feel a bit easier about it all."
He gave her a fond look as she stared off into the distance for a moment before turning her attention back to the records, "Wanna listen to one while we work?"
Inuyasha gave a quick nod, "Sure."
Kagome scanned the albums, looking for something specific, before finding the one she was looking for. She put it on her record player, and swiftly attached the wires so that the speakers would play adequately, "Can't listen to vinyl without the proper set-up. It's a sin."
"Spoken like a true audiophile," Inuyasha said snarkily.
She giggled, "It's true, though! If you're gonna listen to a record, you need to listen to it how it was intended."
As she set the needle down, Inuyasha could hear the pops and scratches before it got quiet, and a low hum from some strings started (1). Kagome let it play for a few moments, reflecting on the music. She let her eyes drift closed as she listened, slowly and subtly swaying to the music.
Inuyasha stayed quiet, letting her enjoy the music, and letting himself really appreciate the nuisances of the instrumentation. He'd never really given classical or orchestral music much of a chance — not that he disliked it, he'd just never been exposed to it much. But seeing how much she enjoyed it, how lost she could get in it, it gave him an appreciation for the genre that he never thought he'd understand.
What was it about being around Kagome that brought out this side of himself?
Before he could even realize what was happening, Kagome turned back to him, turning the volume down a little so that the music was faded and in the background, "What about you?" she asked suddenly.
"Hm?"
"What about your family?" she continued, "I know you've talked about your father a little, but I don't know much else about them," she continued, casually restarting their earlier conversation as she opened another box.
"Ugh, well, let's just say my family life is pretty non-existent," he gave, a little unsure of how to answer her without too much detail.
"How do you mean?" she pressed.
Inuyasha stilled his hands, holding one of her older records, "Well… My older half-brother's been outta the picture since I was a kid. Don't even really know what he's doin' these days."
"Oh? What's he like?"
He paused, trying to find the best word to describe him, "Cold… at least from what I remember about 'im."
"Was there a big age difference?" Kagome continued to ask, soon forgetting about the items she'd been putting away, leaning against the counter in the kitchen as she listened to him.
"He was born about two decades before I was" he answered before raising his hands and gave a sarcastic air quote, "He's, for all intents and purposes, the 'rightful heir' to the family name, since his mother is a full-blooded demon herself and was married to our father."
"Wow, that's such a big gap between you two. No wonder you don't have anything in common," she said quietly.
"Oh, it's not that. He and that side of the family just can't stand the sight of me, and cut us out the moment my father died," Inuyasha said, his tone resentful.
"So… I take it your Mom isn't a demon then?" she said, following the logic of his statements.
Inuyasha nodded, "My Dad was having an affair with her. They'd been together for a while before they had me, but when I came around, the secret was kinda out.
"My Mom raised me after my Dad died. We didn't exactly have things easy, being associated with demons back then, and having our extended family, on both sides, ostracize you because of it certainly didn't help things.
"The only people that knew my family and paid us any mind were two demons who'd worked with my father, and they'd promised my old man that they'd help look after us after his passing."
Kagome realized what he meant. While society had come a long way from where it used to be, human and demon relations had only somewhat gotten peaceable in the last few decades. There were still many people who were prejudicial against demons, and of the humans who would associate with them. Her grandfather was definitely part of that generation that was more open with their distaste for demons. Kagome never understood it, personally, and she felt her heart swell with sympathy.
And, based on how Inuyasha had described the demon-side of his family, it sounded like demons weren't exactly thrilled with interactions with humans either — though she wasn't sure if it was because his father had an affair with a human, or just because he had a mistress at all.
Being half-demon, Kagome realized that his childhood must've been rough, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. No one deserves to be treated like that just because of their heritage."
Inuyasha tried to shrug it off, "It's fine. I survived."
"What's your Mom like?" Kagome tried to continue, hoping to move on to a cheerier subject.
"She was the best mother I could've ever asked for," he answered, reminiscing on his Mom for just a moment.
Kagome's hand stilled as she looked over her shoulder towards him, "Both your parents…?"
He nodded silently, "She passed about ten years ago. She got sick, and…"
Inuyasha paused remembering being in the hospital, sitting in the hallway outside his mother's room. How he'd been denied visitation rights. How the only thing that gave him comfort… was Kikyo. When his mom died, Kikyo had sat with him on countless nights as he mourned his mother. She'd pulled him through that time, because if she hadn't been there, he knew he wouldn't be around now.
He continued, "Well, the doctors weren't exactly the most helpful or welcoming to a sick woman with a teenage, half-breed son."
Her hand flew to her mouth to cover her shock, as she softly said, "Th—That's awful."
She could see his jaw adjust, as if trying to hold something back. He busied himself with the records again, not wanting to draw attention to it, "Yeah well… it's in the past now."
"But, still…" she tried to offer, but Inuyasha cut her off, turning back to look at her over his shoulder.
"It's in the past, Kagome," his tone wasn't angry, but it was insistent, "There's no use dwelling on it now. And, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not."
They sat there for a moment, their eyes just flickering back and forth between the others before Kagome gave a small nod, "Alright."
He nodded back in quiet thanks before timidly turning back to the box he was working on.
Kagome's eyebrows stayed knitted in concern as she just quietly watched him for a moment before realizing that the record she'd put on had finished and only the ambient sounds of a record scratching could be heard. She moved over to lift the needle, bringing the apartment back into a silence that was suddenly tense.
"I didn't mean to bring up old wounds," she said, hoping to ease the tension a little.
He sighed, "It's alright, "reassuring her, turning to look over his shoulder at her again to see her with a worried look on her face. He gave a gentle smirk, "Really, don't worry about it."
Kagome's body eased as she realized he was okay, giving an understanding smile in return.
"Let's find something else to listen to," she offered quickly, hoping to move off the uncomfortable topic as she reached into the box and grabbed another record, placing it on the player, and filling the room with light instrumentation once again, picking up where they'd left off.
Whew! That one took a bit to write, and I apologize for the long delay between chapters. I just want to be sure I'm setting things up write for what's coming later hehe.
I hope you're all enjoying this fic, and please let me know by leaving a comment/review, and giving it a fave or kudos!
Until Next Time…