Sango and Rin were still angry with Kagome and Inuyasha. Sesshomaru didn’t utter one word not matter how much Inuyasha tried to piss him off on purpose. Miroku was unconscious due to Sango’s rage in the closet and overall Kagome had a sneaky suspicion that they had all formed an alliance against Inuyasha and her self. Weird thing is that Miroku and Sesshomaru had agreed to their plan in the first place. Maybe it was just because Sesshomaru was in a bad mood or something really confusing happened. Maybe Miroku just wasn’t talking to them because he was ‘sleeping.’
Kagome tried to shake all of her mix-matched thoughts out of her mind as the curtains opened. They were performing their fourth song: Never Say Goodbye. The tempo was slow and relaxing, it was a pleasant song –definitely one both boys and girls could dance to.
Kagome sat on a stool from the back room. She was not to play any instrument during this song since it only required drums and piano. The stage was dark and Kagome looked around at the expectant faces of all the people in the club. Suddenly, a spotlight shone down on Sango who started the music at a lulling beat. Only Sango could be seen and the crowd cheered loudly for her, receiving many catcalls and whistles. Then it was Rin’s part. The spotlight shone on her and only Rin and Sango could be seen. More calls were made but after the beat was steadied, everyone quieted down.
The light almost blinded Kagome as she started her part, and no one dared call for her. Most of the people were already dancing and Kagome smiled warmly towards the people who weren’t. For a moment, she wished she could be dancing with someone that was special to her. She never had that really when she was younger and when she did, it was after she found out about Hojo and couldn’t remember because of all the times she had gotten drunk. Luckily, she had never lost anything either because she was too drunk to walk or move or her friends had stopped her before she went too far.
She wanted to dance with someone special…(Kagome/Sango and Rin/All singing)
“Never been in love ‘cause a girl like me never had someone to care for,
“Never thought there could be someone special for me.
“But now I’m all in love ‘cause a girl like me waited patiently for someone,
“Someone to care for me and there will never be…”
She looked at the wave of people. Some were slowly waving their arms in the air but most were dancing. Kagome had written this song on her own as well as Everybody’s Fool, Because of You and the song they were performing last. She had written four songs in total. She smiled once more and closed her eyes as she started the chorus and put her heart and soul into it.
“No more lonely,
“No more just me,
“I’ve been there before, I’m not going no more.
“And now that you’re here, I never want to say goodbye love,
“Never want to be without you.
“No more crying,
“No denying,
“I’m in love with you and now that you here,
“I never want to say goodbye love.”
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Kagome stood up from the stool and started to twirl slowly as she started her next part. She stopped and continued to sing, loving every moment of the song.
“Now it’s time for me, to find what the first time love could mean,
“Little scared but it’s cool ‘cause its worth it.
“Now I finally found love, and I know that it, has got to be for real (so real),
“Is the way that I feel, so come share my world with me,
“So there will never be…”
Now Sango and Rin sang the chorus with Kagome doing the backup lyrics where there were a lot of long and high notes. Kagome stood in the middle of the stage just swaying to the music.
“No more lonely, (No…)
“No more just me,
“I’ve been there before (Oh…) I’m not going no more.(Oh…)
“And now that you’re here, I (I never want to say, never want to say, no…) never want to say goodbye love,(I never want to say, never want to say, no…)
“Never want to be without you.
“No more crying, (No more crying…)
“No denying, (No…)
“I’m in love with you (With you…) and now that you here, (With you…)
“I never want to say goodbye love.”
The chorus ended and again the roles were switched. Kagome sang the main parts as Sango and Rin did backup. They had practiced this song constantly to perfect the timing and it paid off.
“So I’m standing here, (Oh…)
“Arms open wide,
“Ready to give my heart,
“I’m sure this time, (Yeah…)
“This love is going to last for life.
“Baby I know things change, (Oh…)
“And there might be some rain,
“But the clouds are going to clear and the sun is going to shine again,
“Shine light on our love baby, so let’s make it last forever.
“No more lonely,
“No more just me,
“I’ve been there before, I’m not going no more.
“And now that you’re here, I never want to say goodbye love,
“Never want to be without you.
“No more crying,
“No denying,
“I’m in love with you and now that you here,
“I never want to say,”
Kagome sat down on the stool and close her eyes as she hit the last high note.
“Goodbye…”
Everyone on the dance floor stopped and turned to cheer for the band. Rin walked up to the edge of the stage while both Sango and Kagome remained behind. “We’ll be back in half-an-hour with our final song so until then, dance the night away!”
Without speaking to each other, they walked into the back room. Kagome could almost feel the thick tension that hung over them. Kagome opened her mouth to say something but closed it when nothing came to mind. She mentally slapped herself for her lack of words at such a needed time and opened the door. She held it for Rin and Sango who didn’t even thank Kagome as they passed.
Kagome felt tears start to come but she pushed them back and walked to the counter and where Ayumi sat.
“Hey Ayumi,” Kagome muttered forlornly.
“Hey Kagome what would you like to drink?”
“Water please,” Kagome said and waited patiently for Ayumi to finish before she asked the questions that Kagome so desperately needed to ask.
“Here you go,” she said with a smile and leaned on the counter as if waiting for Kagome to spill.
“Thanks. Ayumi, what do you think I should do? About Sango and Rin I mean. They won’t even talk to me anymore since I got revenge on them for what they said to me earlier. I mean, it’s not like it was such a horrible prank like splashing a bucket of water on them or colouring their hair a different colour. I only pushed them in the right direction.”
“And what direction would that be?” Ayumi asked. She had nodded the entire way through Kagome’s rant and Kagome was glad someone was there to talk to her.
“Well, no matter how hard Sango tries to cover it up, its totally obvious she and Miroku have crushes on each other. I thought they would end up marrying each other since grade six for goodness sake. And Rin and Sesshomaru. They are such an odd couple but they are so cute together. They are exactly what the other needs. Sesshomaru needs to learn that there is more to life than money and the necessities and Rin needs to learn to be more mature. Its obvious they have at least some feelings towards each other since Rin is always blushing or giggling when she’s around Sesshomaru and Sesshomaru seems to be at much more of a loss when he talks to her as if he doesn’t know what to say.”
“It’s so romantic. And of course then there is you and Inuyasha. I swear you two are a match made in heaven.”
“Ayumi!”
“What?” she cried out defensively.
“There is nothing between Inuyasha and I. We are strictly good friends, but it feels like I’ve known him all my life.”
Ayumi agreed with Kagome but smiled and Kagome continued on about their ‘friendship’ and not ‘relationship boyfriend-girlfriend wise.’
Finally Kagome took a break and another sip of her water.
“Well,” Ayumi started, “it sounds like to me you six have a good relationship with each other –friend wise of course. I think Sango and Rin are just blowing off steam. You know better than I do since I only met her in grade ten that Sango can hold a grudge but eventually can’t take it anymore and comes rushing back. Rin is probably fighting with herself about what to do. She can never take silence and hates being in fights with her friends. It will resolve on its own but if I were you I would apologize and explain why you did it and that you think it wasn’t as big of deal as they are making it to be. It was just payback and the two of them should know about it more than you do. Remember how many times Sango got back at Miroku? And Rin got back at the two of you when you didn’t sign up for school spirit activities? In the end you’re still friends but sometimes you have some bumps in the road that make it hard.”
Kagome was silent for a moment taking it all in. Eventually she smiled. “Thanks Ayumi. I knew I could always talk to you,” and with that, Kagome left to find Sango and Rin in the dressing room.
Kagome approached the door cautiously, seemingly afraid of the possible outcomes her visit could cause. Just then, Sesshomaru appeared from another room and looked at her funny.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I’m going to talk to Sango and Rin, is that okay?” Kagome asked sarcastically.
“Of course, but you won’t find them here,” Sesshomaru said. He looked at her as if she was the stupidest being around.
“Well then where would I find them since you obviously know so much?”
“On stage.”
Kagome looked at Sesshomaru for a minute before looking around frantically. “What time is it?” she demanded.
“Time for you to perform. I thought Miroku was suppose to get you,” Sesshomaru said but Kagome didn’t hear whatever else he had to say since she had run off at top speed. She ran on stage and saw both Sango and Rin looking peeved.
“Kagome where were you?” Rin exclaimed.
“In the back room! No one told me and I assumed it wasn’t time yet!” Kagome retorted, defending herself.
“Its already 11:59 and people are already counting down until midnight!” Sango hissed. She walked over to the far side of the stage and grabbed her bass guitar. Rin went to the drums, drumsticks up in the air.
Kagome listened and realized that Sango was right. People were counting down for their last performance. At first she had thought it was just random yelling since with all the people speaking at different times nothing sounded together. Vaguely she heard the shouts and the timing was…fifteen seconds.
Kagome jogged to centre stage and picked up her guitar. The mike was once again in the stand and she tapped it lightly twice to see if it worked. The sound from her tapping resonated and with a nod of her head, the men working on stage left.
“Five…four…three…two…one!”
The curtains started to open as the band started playing their instruments.
Waiting eight counts and listening to the music, the cheers died and Kagome started the lyrics. (Kagome singing)
“What you see is not what you get,
“With you there’s just no measurement,
“No, way to tell what’s real from what isn’t there.
“Your eyes they sparkled, that’s all changed,
“It’s the lies that drop like acid rain,
“You washed away the best of me you don’t care…
Kagome danced a little on stage, as did Sango when they both played their instruments. The chorus came up and the tempo got faster but Kagome was prepared, they had worked on it before they came…
“You know you did it, I’m gone,
“To find someone to live for in this world.
“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel tonight,
“Just a bridge that I got to burn.
“You’re wrong, if you think you can walk right through my door,
“That is just so you coming back when I finally moved on,
“I’m already gone…”
Kagome stopped singing and noticed that Sango was about as far forward on the stage as she, so Kagome nodded Sango over and together they played, one guitar, one bass, facing each other.
“Some time’s shattered, never open,
“Nothing matters when you’re broken,
“That was me whenever I was with, you.
“Always ending, always over,
“Back and forth, up and down like a roller coaster,
“I am breaking that habit today…
“You know you did it, I’m gone,
“To find someone to live for in this world.
“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel tonight,
“Just a bridge that I got to burn.
“You’re wrong, if you think you can walk right through my door,
“That is just so you coming back when I finally moved on,
“I’m already gone”
Sango backed off and returned to her beginning spot as Kagome started the next verse.
“There is nothing you can say,
“Sorry doesn’t cut it babe,
“Take the hit and walk away,
“’Cause I’m gone.
“I doesn’t matter what you do,
“It’s what you did that’s hurting you,
“All I needed was the truth,
“Now I’m gone.”
Rin and Sango stopped playing and only Kagome strummed her guitar, making the tempo drop dramatically. It was almost a haunting sound and Kagome liked this part the best.
“What you see is not what you get…
“What you see is not what you get…”
The beat came back full force and the people of the crowd started jumping up and down, waving and pumping their arms in the air.
“You know you did it, I’m gone,
“To find someone to live for in this world.
“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel tonight,
“Just a bridge that I got to burn.
“You’re wrong, if you think you can walk right through my door,
“That is just so you coming back when I finally moved on,
“I’m already gone…
Kagome’s voice was now practically yelling at this part as Sango and Rin ‘oh-ed’ in the background. Her voice was in a slightly higher pitch and she stopped playing her guitar for this part.
“I’m already gone! Oh I’m already gone, gone, gone…
“Already gone…
“I’m gone…”
The cheering seemed to never end to the three girls as they held hands and bowed together jokingly. They were laughing hard when they came up from the bow that Kagome was completely out of breath.
When Sango noticed that Kagome was having trouble speaking she started to yell into Kagome’s mike that had made its way up to the edge. “Hey everybody!”
Kagome smiled gratefully at Sango who gave her a small smile in return. “Is everybody having fun?” she continued.
The crowd screamed so loud that Kagome was surprised the glass on the windows didn’t break. Faintly behind her she heard a familiar howl. “Christ! Holy shit, God damn it they’re loud!”
Kagome giggled as she winked to him backstage as he fumed, glaring at the back of her head when she had turned to face the crowd once more.
Kagome walked up to the mike now and looked at Inuyasha with a smug grin on her face before she looked at Sango and Rin. “Hmm, was that loud enough do you think?”
“No!” Inuyasha screamed from behind her but she didn’t look back to see his panic-stricken face.
The crowd boomed once more at Kagome’s unanswered question and Rin and Sango smiled when they figured out why Kagome had asked again.
“Alright!” Kagome said, waving her hands dismissively trying to get them to quiet down. It didn’t take long before they did and Kagome continued. “Thank you everybody! Tonight was a blast! On behalf of Black Majik I would like to thank everybody for cheering us on and Eri, Yuka and Ayumi for inviting us to play at the Kiss and Tell!”
Kagome took the mike out of the stand and gave it to Rin. “Now everybody I have a surprise for you! Everyone received a bracelet when they entered the Kiss and Tell. On the back of the bracelet is a number. Three people who you all know are going to come on stage and pick a number from one and three hundred. If your picked, you and two other people that will be chosen will get to come and meet us all backstage and receive a package from us with lots of prizes that have all our signatures on it! If you win, please go to the door to the left of the bar. You will have to show your bracelet as proof so don’t let anyone steal it.”
Kagome looked at Sango in confusion and she whispered quietly, “Miroku explained this to us before you came. I guess he never found you on time to tell you.”
Kagome nodded and then smiled when Rin handed her back the microphone. “Introduce the idiots Kagome,” Rin whispered and Kagome laughed before talking into the mike.
“Now I’m going to introduce you to the three men who will be calling you up!”
The crowd cheered and only got louder when Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Miroku walked on stage. Kagome glared at Miroku when he came on but then smiled sweetly once more and yelled into the mike, “Here’s our three special guys: Sesshomaru and Inuyasha Takahashi and Miroku Hoshi!”
Kagome walked up to Sesshomaru first. “Sesshomaru, will you do the honours of starting us off?”
Sesshomaru grabbed the mike and called out a random number. “One hundred and thirty-four!”
A loud, high-pitched shriek filled the room and many cheered for the girl who had won.
“Next, Miroku!” Kagome called.
“Twenty-three!”
Lots of cheering erupted again but nothing was loud and piercing. Obviously a guy had won.
“And last but not least, Inuyasha!”
Inuyasha looked at Kagome and smirked, “Three-hundred.”
Loud cheers again but no overly loud screaming, yet again, another male had probably won.
Kagome rolled her eyes while muttering, “How creative” into the mike. Many laughed at Kagome’s dry sense of humour.
“That hurt Kagome,” Inuyasha said shaking his head and putting his hand over his heart. It reminded her too much of Miroku.
“I’m sorry Inuyasha if I hurt your feelings. What can I do to make it up to you?” Kagome laughed and then walked to the edge of the stage. She rolled her eyes when Inuyasha pouted and that got a lot of whistling from the audience.
“Well thank you everyone for such a great night! Party on!”
The crowd cheered and the curtains started to close but not before everyone heard the distinct sound of the people chanting, “Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss…”
Kagome pointed to her self-bewildered and many from the crowd pointed to Inuyasha. Kagome looked back towards the just as confused half-demon. He walked up to the edge beside Kagome while the curtains continued to slowly close.
“Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!” the chanting continued.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and was about to walk away when he felt Kagome’s lips on his cheek. It ended as quickly as it started since it was only a peck, but the crowd continued to yell deafeningly.
Kagome waved goodbye and then ran behind the curtain before it fully closed. Inuyasha, of course, wasn’t so lucky because he had just stared at Kagome and then realized that the curtain had closed on him.
“Hey!” Inuyasha shouted and then pushed back one of the heavy curtains before leaving the crowds view.
Her heart stopped. No it couldn’t be. The others stopped as well, Sesshomaru because he was behind the rest and Inuyasha because he ran into Kagome when he was trying to catch her.
Kagome trembled for the third time that day as she saw him. No it couldn’t be.
Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her stomach so she wouldn’t collapse to the ground. The third winner from the contest came in as the first and second one left happy.
Sango was the first to react. “What the hell are you doing here?” she screamed maliciously towards the young man.
“Simple.” The man grinned and stared at Kagome as if she was a prize just waiting to be claimed.
“I won. I’m number three hundred.”
Miroku was the next to move and he stood in front of Kagome, blocking her from his view. “Take her to the dressing room,” Miroku whispered to Inuyasha who was still holding a shaking Kagome in his arms. Moving to her side, he left one arm wrapped around her waist to support her while they walked. Of course, as life would have it, the young man stood by the dressing room’s door.
The entire time the man looked at Kagome almost hungrily and Kagome started shaking even more. He walked up to her and Kagome cracked.
“Get away from me you bastard!” Kagome screamed and attempted to run to the dressing room, breaking out of Inuyasha’s grip when the man caught her arm.
Kagome started to struggle with her emotions but screamed in pain as she tried to jerk her wrist free. “You’re hurting me!”
In a flash, her wrist was free and she stood behind Inuyasha, his well-built body shielding her from him. Inuyasha’s hands held her protectively behind him and she snuggled into his back as if in doing so the man would go away. That’s when she felt it, a low growl coming out of Inuyasha as she felt the rumble on his back.
“Get the hell out of here now before I kill you and your sorry ass for touching Kagome you pathetic excuse for a human,” Inuyasha spat. He could feel Kagome holding onto him like he was her last lifeline and Inuyasha felt the need to protect her grow.
“I don’t think so,” the young man smirked. “I’m a winner in the contest. I get my prize no matter what. I don’t think you want the media to know that you kicked a guy out for no reason now do you?”
Miroku walked up to the man and shoved him against the wall, holding him up by the collar. “You hurt her, mentally, emotionally and now physically. That’s reason enough is it not?” Miroku threatened.
The guy didn’t say anything and his jaw clenched. “Miroku I see that you’re still as much as a protective brother to Kagome as you’ve always been.”
Miroku growled at that and slammed the guy into the wall once more. Sesshomaru calmly walked up to Miroku and looked at him.
“Who is this?”
Miroku didn’t seem to want to answer and when Sesshomaru turned to look at Sango and Rin, they didn’t either.
Then, from behind Inuyasha, Kagome’s voice came, sad and scared. “Hojo.”
Immediately at hearing the name Inuyasha’s growling increased.
Sesshomaru merely grabbed Hojo away from Miroku’s grip and put him against another wall, this time his feet were dangling in the air. “You can either get out right now or I call the guards to come and take you away. If you leave now, there will be no fight. Then if you chose to argue against me you may be taken away nearly dead. Either way you are leaving without a prize.”
Hojo scowled but said nothing. Sesshomaru put Hojo down to the ground and for a moment, Hojo just looked at Inuyasha who hid Kagome behind his back.
“Fine but just remember this. Kagome you will be mine again. Not even dog boy there will stop me from getting to you.”
Instantly, Inuyasha was holding Hojo by the throat, forcing him against the wall. “Is that a threat?” Inuyasha asked menacingly. His eyes tinted blood red with only little amber left in the pools. “If you ever come near Kagome again I will personally see to your death. I belong to the richest family and if I hear one comment about you going to the police for harassment you will never see the light of day again.”
Hojo now looked panicked and yelped as Inuyasha dropped him to the ground. Without a seconds hesitation Hojo ran from backstage and into the night.
“Kagome, are you okay?” Sango asked, hugging her friend fiercely. With old emotions forgotten, both Sango and Rin vowed to not leave Kagome’s side unless she wanted it.
Kagome nodded dumbly. She did not cry but she was shaken pretty bad. The way he had smiled at her was something she would never forget. Hojo had never been like that before. He had always been quiet around her and very down to earth. But maybe like his past love for her it had been all a scam.
“Do you want anything?” Rin asked, pulling a bottle of water out for her self in the dressing room’s mini fridge.
Kagome shook her head, causing her friends to worry. She hadn’t spoken since Hojo had showed up and they feared she would go off into the deep end once more.
“Kagome, what do you want me to do?” Sango asked, trying to make Kagome talk. Kagome looked up for a minute thinking.
The two friends waited patiently for her answer.
“I…I don’t know…” Kagome said, her words breaking slightly. “I’m so…Sango, Rin…I’m so afraid…”
At the same time, Sango and Rin engulfed Kagome in a huge hug. Kagome hugged them back less enthusiastically. She needed to continue.
“Like what if…what if Miroku or Sesshomaru…if Inuyasha wasn’t there? Hojo hurt me…Oh, why me?” Kagome asked, shaking her head. She laughed bitterly. “I guess being cheated on runs in the family…”
Rin grabbed Kagome’s shoulders and shook her lightly. “No Kagome,” Rin argued. “Hojo just wasn’t the one. He lied to you. He wasn’t the one that you could spend your life with. You have so many choices Kagome. You will find the right guy, it just might take time.”
Kagome sniffed and nodded. “You’re right. Thanks guys.”
“We’re your sister’s remember? We always have you back,” Sango said with a smile.
Kagome smiled to when she remembered the day they had become sisters. Not by blood but by friendship…
It was eleven at night when the telephone rang at Sango’s apartment. Since she was sixteen, she had moved out of the shelter in which that had kept her alive and warm and moved into a place of her own. She had just started to fall asleep when the phone rang and a sobbing Kagome started blabbing on the other end.
“Kagome, what’s wrong? Take a deep breath and tell me what’s wrong.”
On the other end Kagome had tried to stop her tears but her body wouldn’t comply. It was too horrible. How had her life become so horrible? When did everything start to go so horrendously wrong?
A policeman saw Kagome’s state and heard Sango trying to calm Kagome down on the other end. The man reached out his hand as if to take the phone from her, and Kagome gave it to him, letting him explain what had happened.
Kagome’s mother and brother had died.
Souta, Kagome’s little brother, had been at a sleepover before but had chickened out at the last minute and had called his mother to come and pick him up. It was dark outside when Mrs. Higurashi had gone to pick up her son and even later when she had started to head home with her six year-old son.
Then, a drunken teen coming home from a party crashed into their car when coming around a bend, and Mrs. Higurashi had no way to stop the head on collision. They had died instantly from the impact, but that hadn’t helped Kagome’s pain.
Sango had called Miroku and Rin and the three of them went in Sango’s car and drove to Kagome. She was rocking back and forth in a chair in her living room. Tears made her face shine in the dim lighting and together the three had stayed and calmed her. It was then they had decided that since all of their families had died, they would become their own family…
Kagome remembered once again the sad night when alcohol had taken her only family left. Miroku had lost his parents to disease, Sango to guns in a shoot out when her parents had been at the wrong place at the wrong time and Rin, who was orphaned since birth.
Suddenly, something inside of her forced the image of Inuyasha into her thoughts. He had protected her as he had vowed to do. She had to tell him.
She had to tell him about what had happened…
About her life story…
The truth behind who she was…
To reveal the pain she felt when she was sixteen…
It was time to tell him of her haunted past…
“Now it’s time for me, to find what the first time love could mean,
“Little scared but it’s cool ‘cause its worth it.
“Now I finally found love, and I know that it, has got to be for real (so real),
“Is the way that I feel, so come share my world with me,
“So there will never be…”
Now Sango and Rin sang the chorus with Kagome doing the backup lyrics where there were a lot of long and high notes. Kagome stood in the middle of the stage just swaying to the music.
“No more lonely, (No…)
“No more just me,
“I’ve been there before (Oh…) I’m not going no more.(Oh…)
“And now that you’re here, I (I never want to say, never want to say, no…) never want to say goodbye love,(I never want to say, never want to say, no…)
“Never want to be without you.
“No more crying, (No more crying…)
“No denying, (No…)
“I’m in love with you (With you…) and now that you here, (With you…)
“I never want to say goodbye love.”
The chorus ended and again the roles were switched. Kagome sang the main parts as Sango and Rin did backup. They had practiced this song constantly to perfect the timing and it paid off.
“So I’m standing here, (Oh…)
“Arms open wide,
“Ready to give my heart,
“I’m sure this time, (Yeah…)
“This love is going to last for life.
“Baby I know things change, (Oh…)
“And there might be some rain,
“But the clouds are going to clear and the sun is going to shine again,
“Shine light on our love baby, so let’s make it last forever.
“No more lonely,
“No more just me,
“I’ve been there before, I’m not going no more.
“And now that you’re here, I never want to say goodbye love,
“Never want to be without you.
“No more crying,
“No denying,
“I’m in love with you and now that you here,
“I never want to say,”
Kagome sat down on the stool and close her eyes as she hit the last high note.
“Goodbye…”
Everyone on the dance floor stopped and turned to cheer for the band. Rin walked up to the edge of the stage while both Sango and Kagome remained behind. “We’ll be back in half-an-hour with our final song so until then, dance the night away!”
Without speaking to each other, they walked into the back room. Kagome could almost feel the thick tension that hung over them. Kagome opened her mouth to say something but closed it when nothing came to mind. She mentally slapped herself for her lack of words at such a needed time and opened the door. She held it for Rin and Sango who didn’t even thank Kagome as they passed.
Kagome felt tears start to come but she pushed them back and walked to the counter and where Ayumi sat.
“Hey Ayumi,” Kagome muttered forlornly.
“Hey Kagome what would you like to drink?”
“Water please,” Kagome said and waited patiently for Ayumi to finish before she asked the questions that Kagome so desperately needed to ask.
“Here you go,” she said with a smile and leaned on the counter as if waiting for Kagome to spill.
“Thanks. Ayumi, what do you think I should do? About Sango and Rin I mean. They won’t even talk to me anymore since I got revenge on them for what they said to me earlier. I mean, it’s not like it was such a horrible prank like splashing a bucket of water on them or colouring their hair a different colour. I only pushed them in the right direction.”
“And what direction would that be?” Ayumi asked. She had nodded the entire way through Kagome’s rant and Kagome was glad someone was there to talk to her.
“Well, no matter how hard Sango tries to cover it up, its totally obvious she and Miroku have crushes on each other. I thought they would end up marrying each other since grade six for goodness sake. And Rin and Sesshomaru. They are such an odd couple but they are so cute together. They are exactly what the other needs. Sesshomaru needs to learn that there is more to life than money and the necessities and Rin needs to learn to be more mature. Its obvious they have at least some feelings towards each other since Rin is always blushing or giggling when she’s around Sesshomaru and Sesshomaru seems to be at much more of a loss when he talks to her as if he doesn’t know what to say.”
“It’s so romantic. And of course then there is you and Inuyasha. I swear you two are a match made in heaven.”
“Ayumi!”
“What?” she cried out defensively.
“There is nothing between Inuyasha and I. We are strictly good friends, but it feels like I’ve known him all my life.”
Ayumi agreed with Kagome but smiled and Kagome continued on about their ‘friendship’ and not ‘relationship boyfriend-girlfriend wise.’
Finally Kagome took a break and another sip of her water.
“Well,” Ayumi started, “it sounds like to me you six have a good relationship with each other –friend wise of course. I think Sango and Rin are just blowing off steam. You know better than I do since I only met her in grade ten that Sango can hold a grudge but eventually can’t take it anymore and comes rushing back. Rin is probably fighting with herself about what to do. She can never take silence and hates being in fights with her friends. It will resolve on its own but if I were you I would apologize and explain why you did it and that you think it wasn’t as big of deal as they are making it to be. It was just payback and the two of them should know about it more than you do. Remember how many times Sango got back at Miroku? And Rin got back at the two of you when you didn’t sign up for school spirit activities? In the end you’re still friends but sometimes you have some bumps in the road that make it hard.”
Kagome was silent for a moment taking it all in. Eventually she smiled. “Thanks Ayumi. I knew I could always talk to you,” and with that, Kagome left to find Sango and Rin in the dressing room.
Kagome approached the door cautiously, seemingly afraid of the possible outcomes her visit could cause. Just then, Sesshomaru appeared from another room and looked at her funny.
“What are you doing here?” he asked.
“I’m going to talk to Sango and Rin, is that okay?” Kagome asked sarcastically.
“Of course, but you won’t find them here,” Sesshomaru said. He looked at her as if she was the stupidest being around.
“Well then where would I find them since you obviously know so much?”
“On stage.”
Kagome looked at Sesshomaru for a minute before looking around frantically. “What time is it?” she demanded.
“Time for you to perform. I thought Miroku was suppose to get you,” Sesshomaru said but Kagome didn’t hear whatever else he had to say since she had run off at top speed. She ran on stage and saw both Sango and Rin looking peeved.
“Kagome where were you?” Rin exclaimed.
“In the back room! No one told me and I assumed it wasn’t time yet!” Kagome retorted, defending herself.
“Its already 11:59 and people are already counting down until midnight!” Sango hissed. She walked over to the far side of the stage and grabbed her bass guitar. Rin went to the drums, drumsticks up in the air.
Kagome listened and realized that Sango was right. People were counting down for their last performance. At first she had thought it was just random yelling since with all the people speaking at different times nothing sounded together. Vaguely she heard the shouts and the timing was…fifteen seconds.
Kagome jogged to centre stage and picked up her guitar. The mike was once again in the stand and she tapped it lightly twice to see if it worked. The sound from her tapping resonated and with a nod of her head, the men working on stage left.
“Five…four…three…two…one!”
The curtains started to open as the band started playing their instruments.
Waiting eight counts and listening to the music, the cheers died and Kagome started the lyrics. (Kagome singing)
“What you see is not what you get,
“With you there’s just no measurement,
“No, way to tell what’s real from what isn’t there.
“Your eyes they sparkled, that’s all changed,
“It’s the lies that drop like acid rain,
“You washed away the best of me you don’t care…
Kagome danced a little on stage, as did Sango when they both played their instruments. The chorus came up and the tempo got faster but Kagome was prepared, they had worked on it before they came…
“You know you did it, I’m gone,
“To find someone to live for in this world.
“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel tonight,
“Just a bridge that I got to burn.
“You’re wrong, if you think you can walk right through my door,
“That is just so you coming back when I finally moved on,
“I’m already gone…”
Kagome stopped singing and noticed that Sango was about as far forward on the stage as she, so Kagome nodded Sango over and together they played, one guitar, one bass, facing each other.
“Some time’s shattered, never open,
“Nothing matters when you’re broken,
“That was me whenever I was with, you.
“Always ending, always over,
“Back and forth, up and down like a roller coaster,
“I am breaking that habit today…
“You know you did it, I’m gone,
“To find someone to live for in this world.
“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel tonight,
“Just a bridge that I got to burn.
“You’re wrong, if you think you can walk right through my door,
“That is just so you coming back when I finally moved on,
“I’m already gone”
Sango backed off and returned to her beginning spot as Kagome started the next verse.
“There is nothing you can say,
“Sorry doesn’t cut it babe,
“Take the hit and walk away,
“’Cause I’m gone.
“I doesn’t matter what you do,
“It’s what you did that’s hurting you,
“All I needed was the truth,
“Now I’m gone.”
Rin and Sango stopped playing and only Kagome strummed her guitar, making the tempo drop dramatically. It was almost a haunting sound and Kagome liked this part the best.
“What you see is not what you get…
“What you see is not what you get…”
The beat came back full force and the people of the crowd started jumping up and down, waving and pumping their arms in the air.
“You know you did it, I’m gone,
“To find someone to live for in this world.
“There’s no light at the end of the tunnel tonight,
“Just a bridge that I got to burn.
“You’re wrong, if you think you can walk right through my door,
“That is just so you coming back when I finally moved on,
“I’m already gone…
Kagome’s voice was now practically yelling at this part as Sango and Rin ‘oh-ed’ in the background. Her voice was in a slightly higher pitch and she stopped playing her guitar for this part.
“I’m already gone! Oh I’m already gone, gone, gone…
“Already gone…
“I’m gone…”
The cheering seemed to never end to the three girls as they held hands and bowed together jokingly. They were laughing hard when they came up from the bow that Kagome was completely out of breath.
When Sango noticed that Kagome was having trouble speaking she started to yell into Kagome’s mike that had made its way up to the edge. “Hey everybody!”
Kagome smiled gratefully at Sango who gave her a small smile in return. “Is everybody having fun?” she continued.
The crowd screamed so loud that Kagome was surprised the glass on the windows didn’t break. Faintly behind her she heard a familiar howl. “Christ! Holy shit, God damn it they’re loud!”
Kagome giggled as she winked to him backstage as he fumed, glaring at the back of her head when she had turned to face the crowd once more.
Kagome walked up to the mike now and looked at Inuyasha with a smug grin on her face before she looked at Sango and Rin. “Hmm, was that loud enough do you think?”
“No!” Inuyasha screamed from behind her but she didn’t look back to see his panic-stricken face.
The crowd boomed once more at Kagome’s unanswered question and Rin and Sango smiled when they figured out why Kagome had asked again.
“Alright!” Kagome said, waving her hands dismissively trying to get them to quiet down. It didn’t take long before they did and Kagome continued. “Thank you everybody! Tonight was a blast! On behalf of Black Majik I would like to thank everybody for cheering us on and Eri, Yuka and Ayumi for inviting us to play at the Kiss and Tell!”
Kagome took the mike out of the stand and gave it to Rin. “Now everybody I have a surprise for you! Everyone received a bracelet when they entered the Kiss and Tell. On the back of the bracelet is a number. Three people who you all know are going to come on stage and pick a number from one and three hundred. If your picked, you and two other people that will be chosen will get to come and meet us all backstage and receive a package from us with lots of prizes that have all our signatures on it! If you win, please go to the door to the left of the bar. You will have to show your bracelet as proof so don’t let anyone steal it.”
Kagome looked at Sango in confusion and she whispered quietly, “Miroku explained this to us before you came. I guess he never found you on time to tell you.”
Kagome nodded and then smiled when Rin handed her back the microphone. “Introduce the idiots Kagome,” Rin whispered and Kagome laughed before talking into the mike.
“Now I’m going to introduce you to the three men who will be calling you up!”
The crowd cheered and only got louder when Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and Miroku walked on stage. Kagome glared at Miroku when he came on but then smiled sweetly once more and yelled into the mike, “Here’s our three special guys: Sesshomaru and Inuyasha Takahashi and Miroku Hoshi!”
Kagome walked up to Sesshomaru first. “Sesshomaru, will you do the honours of starting us off?”
Sesshomaru grabbed the mike and called out a random number. “One hundred and thirty-four!”
A loud, high-pitched shriek filled the room and many cheered for the girl who had won.
“Next, Miroku!” Kagome called.
“Twenty-three!”
Lots of cheering erupted again but nothing was loud and piercing. Obviously a guy had won.
“And last but not least, Inuyasha!”
Inuyasha looked at Kagome and smirked, “Three-hundred.”
Loud cheers again but no overly loud screaming, yet again, another male had probably won.
Kagome rolled her eyes while muttering, “How creative” into the mike. Many laughed at Kagome’s dry sense of humour.
“That hurt Kagome,” Inuyasha said shaking his head and putting his hand over his heart. It reminded her too much of Miroku.
“I’m sorry Inuyasha if I hurt your feelings. What can I do to make it up to you?” Kagome laughed and then walked to the edge of the stage. She rolled her eyes when Inuyasha pouted and that got a lot of whistling from the audience.
“Well thank you everyone for such a great night! Party on!”
The crowd cheered and the curtains started to close but not before everyone heard the distinct sound of the people chanting, “Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss…”
Kagome pointed to her self-bewildered and many from the crowd pointed to Inuyasha. Kagome looked back towards the just as confused half-demon. He walked up to the edge beside Kagome while the curtains continued to slowly close.
“Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss!” the chanting continued.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and was about to walk away when he felt Kagome’s lips on his cheek. It ended as quickly as it started since it was only a peck, but the crowd continued to yell deafeningly.
Kagome waved goodbye and then ran behind the curtain before it fully closed. Inuyasha, of course, wasn’t so lucky because he had just stared at Kagome and then realized that the curtain had closed on him.
“Hey!” Inuyasha shouted and then pushed back one of the heavy curtains before leaving the crowds view.
Her heart stopped. No it couldn’t be. The others stopped as well, Sesshomaru because he was behind the rest and Inuyasha because he ran into Kagome when he was trying to catch her.
Kagome trembled for the third time that day as she saw him. No it couldn’t be.
Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her stomach so she wouldn’t collapse to the ground. The third winner from the contest came in as the first and second one left happy.
Sango was the first to react. “What the hell are you doing here?” she screamed maliciously towards the young man.
“Simple.” The man grinned and stared at Kagome as if she was a prize just waiting to be claimed.
“I won. I’m number three hundred.”
Miroku was the next to move and he stood in front of Kagome, blocking her from his view. “Take her to the dressing room,” Miroku whispered to Inuyasha who was still holding a shaking Kagome in his arms. Moving to her side, he left one arm wrapped around her waist to support her while they walked. Of course, as life would have it, the young man stood by the dressing room’s door.
The entire time the man looked at Kagome almost hungrily and Kagome started shaking even more. He walked up to her and Kagome cracked.
“Get away from me you bastard!” Kagome screamed and attempted to run to the dressing room, breaking out of Inuyasha’s grip when the man caught her arm.
Kagome started to struggle with her emotions but screamed in pain as she tried to jerk her wrist free. “You’re hurting me!”
In a flash, her wrist was free and she stood behind Inuyasha, his well-built body shielding her from him. Inuyasha’s hands held her protectively behind him and she snuggled into his back as if in doing so the man would go away. That’s when she felt it, a low growl coming out of Inuyasha as she felt the rumble on his back.
“Get the hell out of here now before I kill you and your sorry ass for touching Kagome you pathetic excuse for a human,” Inuyasha spat. He could feel Kagome holding onto him like he was her last lifeline and Inuyasha felt the need to protect her grow.
“I don’t think so,” the young man smirked. “I’m a winner in the contest. I get my prize no matter what. I don’t think you want the media to know that you kicked a guy out for no reason now do you?”
Miroku walked up to the man and shoved him against the wall, holding him up by the collar. “You hurt her, mentally, emotionally and now physically. That’s reason enough is it not?” Miroku threatened.
The guy didn’t say anything and his jaw clenched. “Miroku I see that you’re still as much as a protective brother to Kagome as you’ve always been.”
Miroku growled at that and slammed the guy into the wall once more. Sesshomaru calmly walked up to Miroku and looked at him.
“Who is this?”
Miroku didn’t seem to want to answer and when Sesshomaru turned to look at Sango and Rin, they didn’t either.
Then, from behind Inuyasha, Kagome’s voice came, sad and scared. “Hojo.”
Immediately at hearing the name Inuyasha’s growling increased.
Sesshomaru merely grabbed Hojo away from Miroku’s grip and put him against another wall, this time his feet were dangling in the air. “You can either get out right now or I call the guards to come and take you away. If you leave now, there will be no fight. Then if you chose to argue against me you may be taken away nearly dead. Either way you are leaving without a prize.”
Hojo scowled but said nothing. Sesshomaru put Hojo down to the ground and for a moment, Hojo just looked at Inuyasha who hid Kagome behind his back.
“Fine but just remember this. Kagome you will be mine again. Not even dog boy there will stop me from getting to you.”
Instantly, Inuyasha was holding Hojo by the throat, forcing him against the wall. “Is that a threat?” Inuyasha asked menacingly. His eyes tinted blood red with only little amber left in the pools. “If you ever come near Kagome again I will personally see to your death. I belong to the richest family and if I hear one comment about you going to the police for harassment you will never see the light of day again.”
Hojo now looked panicked and yelped as Inuyasha dropped him to the ground. Without a seconds hesitation Hojo ran from backstage and into the night.
“Kagome, are you okay?” Sango asked, hugging her friend fiercely. With old emotions forgotten, both Sango and Rin vowed to not leave Kagome’s side unless she wanted it.
Kagome nodded dumbly. She did not cry but she was shaken pretty bad. The way he had smiled at her was something she would never forget. Hojo had never been like that before. He had always been quiet around her and very down to earth. But maybe like his past love for her it had been all a scam.
“Do you want anything?” Rin asked, pulling a bottle of water out for her self in the dressing room’s mini fridge.
Kagome shook her head, causing her friends to worry. She hadn’t spoken since Hojo had showed up and they feared she would go off into the deep end once more.
“Kagome, what do you want me to do?” Sango asked, trying to make Kagome talk. Kagome looked up for a minute thinking.
The two friends waited patiently for her answer.
“I…I don’t know…” Kagome said, her words breaking slightly. “I’m so…Sango, Rin…I’m so afraid…”
At the same time, Sango and Rin engulfed Kagome in a huge hug. Kagome hugged them back less enthusiastically. She needed to continue.
“Like what if…what if Miroku or Sesshomaru…if Inuyasha wasn’t there? Hojo hurt me…Oh, why me?” Kagome asked, shaking her head. She laughed bitterly. “I guess being cheated on runs in the family…”
Rin grabbed Kagome’s shoulders and shook her lightly. “No Kagome,” Rin argued. “Hojo just wasn’t the one. He lied to you. He wasn’t the one that you could spend your life with. You have so many choices Kagome. You will find the right guy, it just might take time.”
Kagome sniffed and nodded. “You’re right. Thanks guys.”
“We’re your sister’s remember? We always have you back,” Sango said with a smile.
Kagome smiled to when she remembered the day they had become sisters. Not by blood but by friendship…
It was eleven at night when the telephone rang at Sango’s apartment. Since she was sixteen, she had moved out of the shelter in which that had kept her alive and warm and moved into a place of her own. She had just started to fall asleep when the phone rang and a sobbing Kagome started blabbing on the other end.
“Kagome, what’s wrong? Take a deep breath and tell me what’s wrong.”
On the other end Kagome had tried to stop her tears but her body wouldn’t comply. It was too horrible. How had her life become so horrible? When did everything start to go so horrendously wrong?
A policeman saw Kagome’s state and heard Sango trying to calm Kagome down on the other end. The man reached out his hand as if to take the phone from her, and Kagome gave it to him, letting him explain what had happened.
Kagome’s mother and brother had died.
Souta, Kagome’s little brother, had been at a sleepover before but had chickened out at the last minute and had called his mother to come and pick him up. It was dark outside when Mrs. Higurashi had gone to pick up her son and even later when she had started to head home with her six year-old son.
Then, a drunken teen coming home from a party crashed into their car when coming around a bend, and Mrs. Higurashi had no way to stop the head on collision. They had died instantly from the impact, but that hadn’t helped Kagome’s pain.
Sango had called Miroku and Rin and the three of them went in Sango’s car and drove to Kagome. She was rocking back and forth in a chair in her living room. Tears made her face shine in the dim lighting and together the three had stayed and calmed her. It was then they had decided that since all of their families had died, they would become their own family…
Kagome remembered once again the sad night when alcohol had taken her only family left. Miroku had lost his parents to disease, Sango to guns in a shoot out when her parents had been at the wrong place at the wrong time and Rin, who was orphaned since birth.
Suddenly, something inside of her forced the image of Inuyasha into her thoughts. He had protected her as he had vowed to do. She had to tell him.
She had to tell him about what had happened…
About her life story…
The truth behind who she was…
To reveal the pain she felt when she was sixteen…
It was time to tell him of her haunted past…
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