Disclaimer: Inuyasha is quite obviously not mine. Not yet, anyway...
A/N: I have been thinking about writing this fic for soooo long, and now I finally have the time. Especially since Kagome and Sango are like, kick-ass singers. Don't even bother trying to tell me the plot's going too slow or whatever...It will get there in good time, and if you don't have any patience, that's tough. Deal with it.
Note: All of the songs in this fic are written by me, unless I state otherwise.
Summary: Kagome and Sango have a secret; one that they didn't want anyone to find out - they're lead singers in one of Tokyo's most well-known bands. Metal/Punk Rock, to be exact. Yet when two boys from their school figure it all out, their worlds are thrown into chaos, turned upside-down and inside-out. But it seems that someone's out to ruin their reputations - how far will these games go? Kagome's about to go insane, Sango's having a meltdown, Inuyasha's in serious denial, and Miroku...he's just completely out there.
But how far will things go before everything becomes serious? The wrong decision could cost more than one person their life...
Chapter 1 - Performing Miracles
Kagome frantically ran around the dressing room, blow drying her hair, getting dressed, and searching for Sango all at the same time. She slipped a red tank-top over her damp hair and pulled it into place as she shouted Sango's name for probably the hundredth time that night. She slipped on her black flats and stuck her comb in between her teeth.
"SANGO! Hurry the hell up! The show's gonna start without us! Everybody else is already backstage!" Kagome shouted again and straightened out her black pre-faded, boot cut jeans. She pulled the comb out of her teeth and ran it through her smooth tresses, satisfied now that her hair was completely dried. Hastily, she pulled her hair into a bun high on the back of her head.
Minutes after her name was called, a girl with dark brown hair poked her head out of the bathroom. "Chill out, Kagome, you know they can't start without us," she replied calmly and stepped out of the doorway. She was wearing a pair of tan jeans, a brown halter with a tan belt around the middle, and brown tennis shoes with tan stripes.
Despite their concert performances, they hated dressing up. They had been best friends practically their whole life, and were neighbors in a friendly, albeit expensive, neighborhood. It was only natural for them to be together twenty-four seven.
Kagome threw the blow dryer on one of the many counters, wincing slightly as it landed with a clash, and watched as Sango tied her hair in a high ponytail. She hurried to the right corner of the room and grabbed her electric guitar - it was a deep red color and white in the center. Sango's was the same, only her's was navy blue.
Guitars in hand, they turned the lights in their private dressing room and ran out the door. They sprinted, side-by-side towards the backstage entrance, only imagining what Tai and Rizu would say. They were both strict, in a playful sort of way, about being on time, which unfortunately, Kagome and Sango weren't very good at.
They found the entrance without any hesitation at all, and immediately burst through, stumbling right into Taiko. He glared down at them, although a spark of a smirk could be seen in his deep brown eyes. "You're late," he commented as he twirled his drumsticks in his hand.
Kagome strapped her guitar around her shoulder and strummed it once. "Yeah, we're sorry. Maybe we should get an earlier start." She shrugged helplessly, and both of the girls broke into a fit of laughter. As if that was ever going to happen.
Taiko rolled his eyes and turned his back on them. "Whatever. We're going on in a few minutes, so get your asses on stage." He walked away and decided to talk to Rizumu instead, the one who usually played the keyboard, and occasionally, the guitar.
Their band, Faded Light, consisted of four members: Kagome, Sango, Taiko, and Rizumu. It had started as Kagome and Sango, playing songs they had written themselves in Kagome's garage. The usual, cliche beginning. The idea of starting their band had ran across their mind, and when they met Taiko and Rizumu at a benefit dinner held by Sango's parents, they got their group together. They had found each other when they were 14, surprisingly, and though young, they were already performing. Two years later and two years older, they were still together.
They had decided on a name and practiced together whenever possible. Kagome's mother had listened to them play, and suggested they meet with an agent. Of course, the idea seemed ridiculous at first. But after many meetings and recordings, they had soon topped the charts with their original hits, and were now the most known band in Tokyo. However, when this happened, they decided together they would keep everything a secret.
Taiko and Rizumu went to a completely different school in Kyoto, meeting together when they had a new idea for a song or just for practice. They didn't generally hang out with each other all that much, since their towns were quite a distance apart. But that didn't stop them from getting together for public appearances and such.
It was a wonder no one found out who they were. They usually called each other by their nicknames: Kags, San, Tai, and Rizu. Yes, they received comments from different people that they appeared similar to the band, but they had denied all of it. It was ludicrous, really. Who would think that four 'normal' teenagers would be in an off-the-chart band?
On to the concert performance.
Kagome took her place on the center/left place on the stage, whereas Sango's place was center/right. Taiko was situated further back, placed in the center of the gap between Kagome and Sango. Rizumu was somewhere further off to the right. They could hear cheering, shouting, and only because they were going to be performing on stage. Typical.
Kagome turned to Sango and smiled. Even in the dark backstage, she knew that Sango was smiling back at her. They both turned back to the guys and gave a confident thumbs up, which they readily returned.
Some random people on stage, whom nobody really knew, had taken care of the amplifiers, while the microphones were already placed. So all they needed to do was get to their places and perform.
Kagome narrowed her eyes, and it appeared as if she was trying to peer through the dark curtain. Perhaps she was, but nothing could be seen beyond it. After what seemed like ten minutes of just standing there (although it was probably more like three), there was a voice speaking into a microphone, more shouting, and then the curtains began to rise.
The voice had been announcing their band. Now, as the dark curtain slowly began to rise, Kagome's heart began to race. It happened before every concert. No matter how many times she was on stage, she felt nervous. She had never asked if Sango or anyone else felt the same. But there was no more time for biting fingernails.
Here they were, the four of them exposed to thousands of fans. Kagome couldn't hear herself think as she stared out at the mob. She sneaked a glance at Sango, and she looked equally surprised. In an attempt to soothe the headache that was forming from the already loud noise, Kagome smiled and inhaled deeply. No more time to waste.
Somebody cued from backstage, and Taiko confidently set the beat on his drums. Five seconds later, Rizumu started, and after another three seconds, so did Kagome and Sango.
After strumming a few notes and after the crowd quieted down somewhat, Kagome opened her mouth to sing. This was the part where she was most nervous. But it was now or never, and she knew the crowd didn't want to wait any longer.
"Locked in my room,
I'm left hanging by myself.
Your words are merely an echo in my head,
Your eyes a faded dream."
Kagome's voice rang out, strong and easy to place even above the instruments. Her words were clear and confident as she continued to pick at the strings on her electric. The next verse was Sango's, and a sideways glance showed that she was as ready as ever.
"Hanging out with your 'friends,'
Isn't all it's cut out to be.
When you're left by yourself,
With no one else around,
You begin to think this is the ways things are bound
To be."
Sango's voice was as strong as Kagome's, yet her tone and pitch were slightly different. Nonetheless, they sounded perfect, and by the time the chorus came around, their anxiety had faded. Their duet began at the chorus, leading them through the rest of the song.
"Now I need you to lead the way,
So I'm able to find myself.
You've been the only one I can trust.
So I need you to lead the way,
Back to the outside world.
Back to you."
At this point, Taiko and Rizumu were singing background vocals. The strum of the guitars, the beat of the drums, and the notes on the keyboard became seemingly louder as Sango and Kagome recited the memorized words in their head, soon to be sung out into the microphone.
"I'm not here because I want to.
Before you walked into my life,
I had been too wrapped in myself to care.
Yet I can't pull myself out of this dark place.
I need you to lead the way."
"Now I need you to lead the way,
So I'm able to find myself.
You've been the only one I can trust.
So I need you to lead the way,
Back to the outside world.
Back to you."
"Locked in my room,
I'm left hanging by myself.
Your words are merely an echo in my head,
Your eyes a faded dream..."
The lively, upbeat music faded, the last notes played on the electrics undulating a few times throughout the huge concert hall. The crowd erupted into cheers and Kagome had to resist the urge to plug her ears. Her heart was beating rapidly in excitement. She waved her hand high above her head and waved, as did Sango, and the two girls exchanged a quick glimpse. Even Taiko was whacking his drumsticks against each other in praise. It was going to be one helluva night.
Kagome whipped her hair out of its now mussed bun and let it fall loosely around her shoulders. She was dressed in long, black striped pajama pants and a matching black plain tee. Sango was wearing a pair of red boxer shorts and a black sweatshirt. She pulled her hair out of her ponytail as she sat down on Kagome's bed, their guitar cases stored in what they called their "music closet," just outside Kagome's room.
"You did awesome, Sango," Kagome praised as she sat down beside her best friend. "It's a shame we have to go to school tomorrow. It's only Sunday night." That meant five days of school up ahead. Five days of torture, being shunned by the other students. Kagome sighed and grabbed a brush off her desk, forcefully running it through her hair.
Sango nodded and placed her hands in her lap. "At least my dad gave me the okay to stay the night." She shrugged and stood up, stretching her arms high above her head. "We should go get a snack or something, Kagome. Do you think your mom's awake?"
Kagome stood up as well and replaced her brush on the desk. "How the hell am I supposed to know? Let's just go." She walked across the inky black carpet and opened her bedroom door, greeted with a lighted hallway.
Kagome lived in a two story, four bedroom house with mother, Kea, Souta, her younger brother, and Buyo, her extremely fat cat. They kept the extra bedroom for guests. Connected to Kagome's room was a master bathroom, and taking up about half a wall, her walk-in closet. Her room was painted an almost hot pink rose color, with an aforementioned off-white carpet. She had collections of CDs and a laptop sitting on her desk, a stereo system in the corner right next to a flat screen TV. Sitting in the opposite corner of the room was a couch draped over with a pink and black blanket. In truth, she paid for mostly everything she owned with her own money.
Kagome and Sango walked through the hall in silence, their feet quietly padding on the carpeted floor. They were soon standing before the stairs, and instead of actually walking down them like they were made for, they jumped on opposite banisters and slid down.
Once their feet were safely back on the ground, the two giggling girls stumbled into the kitchen. Kea was sitting at the long, mahogany dining table, sipping at a cup of green tea. "So I guess you girls aren't that tired either. How'd the concert go?"
Kagome's mother worked most of the day at a law firm, ritually coming home late and setting for work early in the morning. Occasionally, she would make it to her daughter's concerts and spend the next day at home. She was a well-respected worker and made up for all the time she was gone by being the mother everyone wished their's could be on her time off.
Sango shrugged and began rummaging through the cupboards, knowing well that she was more than welcome to anything in the Higurashi household. "It was great. Kagome did a really good job," she replied as she pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge. "Too bad the weekend's over, though. Now we have to go back to school."
Kagome grabbed a bag of potato chips off the granite counters and sat in the chair beside her mom. She popped the bag open, the scent of salt and grease instantly wafting into her nose. Sango sat down on the opposite side, reaching across the table to snag a few chips, both girls crunching them loudly in their mouths.
Kea shook her head and chuckled softly. "You girls are so alike. It scares me sometimes." She drained the last of the tea from her cup and walked into the kitchen, rinsing it out carefully in the sink. "I'm going to bed. You two don't stay up too much later. Souta's already sleeping." She waved good night and walked up the stairs towards her bedroom, across the hall from Kagome's.
Buyo came waddling into the dining room, hoisting all twenty-five pounds of cat onto one of the chairs. Kagome absently scratched his head while she continued to snack on the chips.
Sango took a sip from her water bottle and leaned back in her chair. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight," she offered. "Just as long as we don't listen to music all night, like last time." She smiled widely and stole another chip from the bag. "This time we can't be late for school, or my dad will ban sleep overs for a while."
Kagome nodded in agreement and rolled up the bag of chips, walking back into the kitchen and tossing them unceremoniously on one of the counters. "Then we should get to bed. I'm beat, anyway." Sango nodded, and they began walking up the carpeted stairs once again. It was much harder to slide up the railing than down, something they had both discovered when they were younger.
Once she got to her room, Kagome opened the door and flicked on the light. Black curtains blocked the moonlight from coming through the window. As soon as Sango situated herself with a pillow and blanket from the closet, she turned the light back off and crawled into her own bed.
Stephenie: I thought that chapter went rather well.
Kagome: I'm a singer...Never thought that would happen
Sango: As long as I can still talk the next morning
Inuyasha: Yeah, there's just one problem
Stephenie: What?
Inuyasha: I ain't in it!
Stephenie: Inuyasha...shut it already...Do I really care about your petty problems? You'll be in the next chapter.
Kagome: Don't forget to review!
A/N: There. I finished. And when I get to, say, Chapter 20, I'll come back and redo all this. I always do that in my stories...because most of the time, the first few chapters suck. But for now, you're going to have to live with it. It's going to get better, hopefully. I'll update soon. Please review on your way out, if you have a heart at all.
Hey, see that button down there? I wonder what happens if you press it...