Disclaimer: Inuyasha and characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi.

All songs used are copyrighted by their industries.

Keys to Love is property of sportiegrl/Justine Tran

P.S the italics between the songs are flashbacks :]

enjoy!

Chapter 1: First Day, First Time

"Who is that?" Everyone wondered and whispered to one another as they crowded around the door to a private practice room. They heard the beautiful melody of Beethoven's Fur Elise being played by a teenage girl with long raven hair and deep brown eyes. Everyone stood in awe as they tip-toed up to look through the small glass window on the door. Never have they heard someone so young play so beautifully before.

"Excuse me; can I help all of you?" A beautiful woman in her thirties asked as she gave them a polite smile. Her raven hair trailed to her waist—just like the teen playing the piano—and her brown eyes brightened in the light. The birthmark on her forehead that looked slightly of a flower or jewels gave her more of a goddess type look—someone that was beyond what words could describe. "So," her word grabbed them out of their trance, "how may I help you?"

"Ah yes." A woman began as she stepped forward to grab everyone's attention. "Shikon-sensei, we," the woman motioned to everyone around her, "were wondering who the young lady playing the piano is. I've brought my daughter here three times a week and I have never seen her before nor have I ever heard someone here ever play so beautifully, well, besides you of course."

"Ah yes, Hanazawa-san, that girl is an old student of mine. Her name is Higurashi Kikyo. She's been coming here since she was a child and she only comes here once in a while, just to practice and get whatever help she needs when she learns a new piece." Shikon-sensei replied.

"Higurashi Kikyo…isn't she the one who won the International Tchaikovsky Competition last summer?" A man asked.

Shikon Midoriko nodded with a smile. "Piano section; took home the first place prize and made Japan proud." She glanced down at her watch and checked the time. "Actually, if you would all excuse me for a while, I need to go talk to her." The group of people cleared the way for the beautiful teacher to get through to the door. She closed the door behind her and quietly walked to the side of the room to wait until Kikyo finished playing. Once Kikyo finished playing the last measure of Fur Elise, the sound of the piano stopped and Midoriko's clapping sound filled the air instead. "Amazing. Still playing it perfectly as you did the first time ever touching a piano—10 years ago—when you were seven."

Kikyo nodded. "Thank you."

"Well how's Bankotsu? You visited him yesterday right?"

Kikyo kept her eyes on the piano keys and lightly touched the keys with her index finger. "Still the same."

"Is there a possibility that he'll get better?"

"They don't know."

Midoriko sighed and walked over to the piano. "Well, it's already almost seven. You better start heading out to school—can't be late on the first day." She smiled.

Kikyo nodded and grabbed her bag as she stood. "Bye." She walked out of the room—ignoring the people standing outside the practice room—she made her way through the doors of the building and to her new school.

-Tokyo High-

"So you're second year, Higurashi Kikyo?" A man with orange-brown hair and light green eyes asked as he sat in his chair in the teacher offices. Although he was already in his late twenties, he never did out grow his baby face feature.

Kikyo merely nodded to confirm his question.

He nodded. "I see you don't talk much." He glanced at Kikyo to see if she would reply, but she just stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "I'm Sakurai Shippo; address me as Sakurai-sensei please." Kikyo only nodded.

The school bell chimed and all the teachers began leaving the office as students were hurrying to class. "Well, I guess I'll take you to the classroom." He led her out the office and up the hall. "Here we are, 2-A." He said as he opened the door and led her inside. Once they walked in, the classroom immediately quieted down.

Whispers of the new and beautiful student immediately filled the room, but once they saw her face, the whispers ceased. Each and every student's face froze, looking as if they've seen a ghost.

Kikyo observed the class. Surely, the school couldn't have picked a different uniform? A green sailor outfit for the girls with a red ribbon and a navy blue military like outfit for the boys. She swore she never hated green so much as this in her life.

"Class, this is Higurashi Kikyo; a transfer from Sakura High. She's 17 just like everyone here, but she doesn't talk much, so be friendly to her alright?" Shippo introduced.

"Ok." The class said in unison, almost in a whisper.

"Alright, Kikyo take a seat next to the window behind Hiraikotsu-san. Hiraikotsu Sango, raise your hand."

The girl Sango—a girl with long brown hair and dark brown eyes—did as told. Kikyo nodded and walked over to the seat, ignoring the eyes and whispers of her peers. Kikyo quietly took her seat and turned to her left, keeping her gaze out the window.

"Alright, time for role call."

Kikyo ignored whatever the teacher said and thought about what song to play later on today. She already played Fur Elise not so long ago, so which should she play next? What would Bankotsu enjoy? She made a small "ah", which no one but herself heard, as she thought of the song she decided to play—Vanilla Twilight, by Owl City.

"Tessaiga Inuyasha." Shippo looked at Inuyasha's empty seat. "Kazaana-san, where's Tessaiga at?"

This name brought Kikyo from her thoughts. She wondered, 'Why does that name sound so familiar?'

Kazaana or Miroku, as his friends called him, had black hair in a short pony tail and brown eyes. Kikyo noticed that he was in the same row as her and was only a couple of seats away. The boy shrugged, "Who knows. Knowing Inuyasha, he's probably still at home sleeping."

At the statement, the whole class began to laugh and some boys shouted, "Yeah, he would!"

Suddenly, the door slid open with a bang and the class abruptly quieted down and all the laughter ceased. A boy with silver hair and golden eyes stepped in. He held his bag slung over his shoulder as he walked in.

"Tessaiga, you're late." Sakurai-sensei said with irritation. "Again."

Kikyo only naturally assumed that this boy was Tessaiga Inuyasha. He definitely seemed familiar to her.

Inuyasha simply rolled his eyes and muttered, "Whatever." He walked through the aisle and towards the empty seat on the right of Kikyo. He threw his bag on his table and sat down. He crossed his arms and ignored the anticipating stares.

Kikyo at first did wonder why they kept staring at her and the Inuyasha kid, but she simply ignored it and returned her attention to whatever was outside the window. Inuyasha opened his eyes and noticed the girl sitting to his left. Immediately, he sprang from his seat and slammed his hands down on Kikyo's desk. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in Kagome's seat?" He screamed at her with his brows furrowed, eyes narrowed, and voice full of rage.

Kikyo slightly jumped, but quickly composed herself and leaned back against her chair. She looked up at him and gave him an emotionless look.

His eyes slightly widened as he observed her features. "Kagome…" He whispered to himself as the anger quickly vanished from his face and a pained, but relieved look appeared on his face. His eyes quickly softened as he reached his hand out to touch her cheek. Kikyo immediately swatted his hand away before he could touch her. Inuyasha snapped out of his trance and Kikyo gave him the most terrifying stare she could muster. He shook his head. "I'm going crazy." He muttered to himself. Inuyasha brought his attention back to Kikyo and saw her cold glare. "What the hell are you upset for? This is KAGOME'S seat, not yours!" He yelled as his voice got louder and louder with each word.

Kikyo remained silent and held her glare. Unwavering and unafraid, she wasn't going to let some silver-head punk tell her what to do.

"Are you deaf wo—"

"That's enough Inuyasha." Shippo said with a stern voice. "That's Kikyo's seat now. If you were here on time, then you would have known that we had a transfer student. Now sit down and leave her alone."

Inuyasha growled and gave one last glare at Kikyo before her banged his hands on her desk in frustration on last time and finally sat down. Kikyo leaned forward and put her elbows back on her desk as she put her head in her hand and turned to look outside the window. 'Annoying' was the only word that ran through her head. 'Inuyasha…Kagome…that's right! Kagome said her boyfriend's name was Inuyasha.' Kikyo turned her head and snuck a small glance at him—angry eyes, scrunched up nose, and looking mad twenty-four-seven. What exactly did Kagome like about him, Kikyo wondered. She remembered Kagome being a happy and bubbly person that always looked to the positive side, the exact opposite of the silver-haired bad boy sitting next to her. Who knows, maybe opposites really do attract. Well, she could say she wasn't one to disregard the whole "opposites attract" thing as well. She does have Bankotsu and he's the total opposite of her. Kikyo looked out the window once again and gave one of her rare small smiles as she thought about her memories with Bankotsu.

"Higurashi-san," Sakurai-sensei said, which automatically grabbed Inuyasha's attention. "If you're going to stare outside the window, then you should know how to solve this problem don't you?"

Kikyo looked at the board and nodded as she stood from her seat and walked to the board. All eyes were on her, but she, as usual, ignored all of them. She grabbed a chalk and read the problem in her mind. 'Easy', she thought to herself. Without writing all the steps on the board, she simply just wrote a four, put the chalk down, and walked back to her seat.

Shippo looked at his answer book to see if it was correct. And bingo, she was spot on. He was simply amazed. Her transcripts were already amazing especially with her being the top of her class, but he didn't expect her to solve the problem with just one glance at it. And that problem was up on the board for almost a week because no one in class has been able to solve it, well except for the transfer student of course. "Wow, good job Kikyo, you're right." He said with a smile.

Kikyo simply nodded and turned her head back to the window. She found that nature was more interesting than these people.

-4 Hours Later-

There were about three breaks between the start of school and the start of lunch. Currently, it was lunch time. Most of the students stayed in class while some went back to the cafeteria. Kikyo grabbed her bento and walked out of class, she was tired and annoyed of the whispers saying how she looked like Kagome and anything that related her to Kagome. She went up the hall and went up all the flights of stairs, reaching the door to the roof, she opened the door and shut it behind her—hoping no one else was coming up. She walked over to the fence, sat directly across from the door, and began eating her bento.

Tessaiga Sesshomaru was a third year with silver hair and golden eyes; he was someone that no one at school ever crossed. If none of you guessed yet, yes, Sesshomaru was Inuyasha's older brother. He was a quiet, unemotional, and intelligent person. He, as well as many other arrogant and high status people, believed that commoners or the working class should follow his orders. It has been this way for as long as he could remember. His personal motto was "rule with fear and respect, and no one would dare to go against you."

Sesshomaru made his way to the roof—his roof. He opened the door and automatically narrowed his eyes at the sight her saw. Who did the girl think she was, to actually believe that she was allowed to sit on his roof? He calmly walked over to her and hovered over her little frame.

Kikyo noticed the lack of sunlight and stopped eating to look up at whatever was shadowing over her. She noticed his glare and simply gave him an unemotional and uncaring look. Her eyes glanced at his nametag, 'Tessaiga Sesshomaru; third year' it read. 'What's with Tessaiga's glaring all the time?' Kikyo thought to herself. She looked up at his face once again and he stayed there just glaring at her. Kikyo simply didn't care and resumed to her eating.

Sesshomaru was stunned that someone dared to ignore him. He examined her features and noticed that she looked really similar to his little brother's ex-girlfriend. He looked at her nametag and noticed the two girls had the same last name. 'That explains it.' He thought to himself.

"Move." Sesshomaru said in a threatening voice, but Kikyo just continued on eating. A few minutes passed and Sesshomaru was getting no where. He ended up having to deal with her sitting there and decided to just sit a few feet away from her. As soon as Sesshomaru sat down, Kikyo finished eating her lunch. She packed up her bento, walked to the door, and down the flight of step to her classroom.

She put her bento back in her bag and looked at her watch. 'Still have 25 minutes.' The other students were still gossiping, so she left the classroom once again. She walked down the hall, looking for some place to go where she could be alone. She stopped when she saw a secluded classroom at the end of the hall. 'Music room.' She read to herself as she peeked through the window. The room was pretty dim mostly because the lights weren't on and little sunlight showed through the windows. Kikyo opened the door and slid it closed behind her. She didn't bother looking for the light, she liked the dim lighting. Her eyes slightly brightened up as she saw the grand piano in the middle of the room.

She quickly walked over to it, lifted the hood, and sat on the bench. She uncovered the keys and ran her fingers over the smooth keys. She played a "C" and listened as it filled the room. She gave a content sigh as she began playing the song Vanilla Twilight by Owl City. She closed her eyes as she let the music flow and breathed in a breath of air as she prepared to sing along.

"The stars lean down to kiss you
And I lie awake and miss you
Pour me a heavy dose of atmosphere

'Cause I'll doze off safe and soundly
But I'll miss your arms around me
I'd send a postcard to you, dear
'Cause I wish you were here"

The sound of the piano playing and the voice woke Inuyasha up from his nap. He grumbled slightly as he sat up from lying on the chairs. He was on the darker side of the room, so it was obvious that whoever was playing the piano, didn't notice him there. He sat there and stared at whoever was playing the piano. He was going to say something at first, but he was somehow mesmerized by her playing and singing.

"I'll watch the night turn light-blue
But it's not the same without you
Because it takes two to whisper quietly

The silence isn't so bad
'Til I look at my hands and feel sad
'Cause the spaces between my fingers
Are right where yours fit perfectly"

Inuyasha knew this song. What was it again? Vanilla sky? No, that wasn't it...Vanilla…Vanilla Twilight by Owl City! He was amazed, not only was her piano skill amazing, but her voice was beautiful as well. He examined her features and noticed that she didn't resemble Kagome that much. She seemed more mature, dignified, and proud. He began to see many differences between the two. Kagome was more cheerful, happy, and child-like while this new girl seemed t be the opposite.

"I'll find repose in new ways
Though I haven't slept in two days
'Cause cold nostalgia
Chills me to the bone

But drenched in vanilla twilight
I'll sit on the front porch all night
Waist-deep in thought because
When I think of you I don't feel so alone

I don't feel so alone, I don't feel so alone"

Sure he thought she was a beauty, but she still wasn't Kagome.

"As many times as I blink
I'll think of you tonight
I'll think of you tonight

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again

And I'll forget the world that I knew
But I swear I won't forget you
Oh, if my voice could reach
Back through the past
I'd whisper in your ear
Oh darling, I wish you were here"

Kikyo continued playing the last few measures of the ending melody. Once she stopped, clapping filled the air. Her eyes snapped open and instantly glared at the boy that stepped out from the shadows. 'The annoying one.' She thought to herself.

"What? You woke me up with your piano playing and singing and you wanna be the one to glare?" Inuyasha said with an amused look as he folded his arms.

Kikyo kept her glare on him.

"Aren't you gonna talk?" Nothing. "What? You were singing all fine earlier and you suddenly can't talk?"

Kikyo could tell that he was already annoyed. With each word, his expression was getting more and more irritated. Kikyo took a quick glance at her watch and closed the cover for the keys. She stood up and closed the hood as well. Kikyo made her way to the door and didn't bother to even say "bye" or look in Inuyasha's direction.

"Hey! You can't just ignore someone like that!" Inuyasha yelled in fury as he grabbed her hand to stop her.

She turned around, giving him her hardest glare, and yanked her hand away. She pointed up towards the ceiling.

Inuyasha raised a brow. "What are you pointing there for?" At that moment, the bell chimed, signaling the end of lunch.

Kikyo quickly slid the door open and walked off to the classroom, hurrying before Inuyasha decided to stop her once again.

"Geez, what a weirdo." He muttered to himself as he slowly strolled to class. He entered class and Sakurai-sensei still wasn't there, but all the students already were. Inuyasha walked towards his seat and sat down. He turned to Kikyo, who was staring out the window. "Hey."

No reply.

"Hey, new girl."

Nothing.

"Clone."

Kikyo kept on ignoring him. 'Just a few more hours of this and I'll get to see Bankotsu.' She repeated to herself.

"Hey, trans—"

"Inuyasha, leave the poor girl alone. She hasn't done anything wrong that you had to torture her with your annoying voice." A girl said with a smirk. She turned around to face Kikyo. "Hi Kikyo, I'm Hiraikotsu Sango. You can just call me Sango."

Kikyo moved her gaze from the window to the Sango girl sitting in from of her and nodded.

"And I'm Kazaana Miroku. You can call me Miroku." Miroku introduced as he popped up from behind her chair. Kikyo nodded but froze once she felt a hand on her lower back trailing down south.

Sango knew right away what was happening when she saw Kikyo's stunned face and Miroku's blissful one. "Miroku!" Sango yelled.

Instantly, Kikyo's hand flew up and grabbed Miroku's arm. Using whatever she could remember from when Bankotsu taught her self-defense, she used all her strength and flung Miroku onto the floor. He yelled as he flew off his feet and groaned once he hit the ground. Miroku opened his eyes to see Kikyo's killer glare.

'If looks could kill.' Everyone in the room thought as they slightly inched to the edge of their seat.

Sango and Inuyasha laughed. "That's what you get Miroku." Inuyasha said as he helped Miroku up.

"Serves you right perv." Sango grinned.

"I'm sorry Kikyo. It's a habit." Miroku apologized, but was still met with the same killing glare.

"So transfer girl." Inuyasha started once again. "While I'm asking nicely, move out of that seat."

Kikyo turned her head away and looked out the window again.

"Move from the seat." He repeated in a slow threatening voice.

But still no movement.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha got up and banged his hands on the desk. "Get up from the seat! It's not your table! It's Kagome's! So move it new girl!"

Kikyo leaned back and glared at Inuyasha as she remained seated.

"GET U—"

The classroom door slid open with a lout bang. "INUYASHA!" Shippo yelled in an angry voice. He quickly walked over to Inuyasha and hit him over the head with his lesson plans. "What do you think you're doing? Kagome doesn't sit there anymore, get over it! She's not here and you need to stop harassing Kikyo, because that's her seat now."

Inuyasha lowered his head, grit his teeth, and balled his fists. He fit his fist on Kikyo's desk in anger and stormed out of the classroom.

"Inuyasha!" Sakurai-sensei called out.

"Sensei, it's best to just let him be." Miroku said as he walked to his seat.

Shippo sighed. "Yeah." He turned over to Kikyo. "Are you alright? Don't mind Inuyasha. He's a retard and aggressive sometimes, but he's a good kid."

Kikyo nodded and looked at her desk. 'Can't he just beat up his own desk?' Kikyo went back to her original position and looked out the window once again and waited for her school time to be over.

-After School at Tokyo Hospital-

School ended twenty minutes ago at three o'clock. Kikyo was already inside the elevator, heading to Bankotsu's room. The elevator made a ding sound, signaling that she arrived on her floor. She stepped out and walked to the end of the hall, to room 10-12. The name plate of room 10-12 was Banryu Bankotsu. She slid the door to the room open. She walked in and slid the door closed behind her. The room that she was in was bigger than average. It was basically two rooms in one and was a private room, paid for by the Kaze family.

Kikyo walked over to the bed and sat in the chair beside it. She reached out a hand and touched the Bankotsu's tanned cheeks. She moved her hand to his forehead and traced the cross like scar that he received from the accident. He laid there in his coma, unaware of his loved one's pained expression. Kikyo moved her hand and touched his long jet-black hair. "Onyx eyes to match your jet-black hair." She said with a small smile. "If you were awake, you would be upset that your hair wasn't braided."

Kikyo interlocked her hand with his. "Today was my first day of school. I didn't talk to anyone; like usual, but it's not like it matters. And I met Kagome's boyfriend today. He's really arrogant, demanding, and aggressive. I don't really like him that much. I met his brother too. Well, I'm assuming that's his brother since they have the same last name and look similar to each other. He's really similar to Inuyasha, Kagome's boyfriend, except for the aggressive part. A girl named Sango introduced herself to me and a guy named Miroku groped me. But don't worry; I threw him down like you taught me." Kikyo said with a small smile. Kikyo laid her head down on the bed and looked at him. "When are you going to wake up? It's not fair that you worked so hard to get close to me and then just leave like that. Plus, Dad and Kagome left too. It's not fair." Small tears formed in Kikyo's eyes, but she shook her head to take the tears away.

"How about I play a song for you?" Kikyo said as she walked over to the grand piano. Yes, the Kaze family added it in the room as well. "I was going to play Vanilla Twilight by Owl City, but…" Kikyo thought back to the time in the music room. "Something unpleasant happened. So I'll play First Time by Michael Wong instead." Kikyo started the song by playing the melody in a soft tone. As she began to play, the sweet memories of their time together played in her head.

"When you look at me, I haven't opened my mouth
You've already figured out, I'm still not certain
I still haven't filled your requests

Is it that I'm thinking too much, or that you are also avoiding?
If you've really chosen me, I'll muster up the courage to accept
Unwittingly, my line of sight has begun to become evasive"

"Hey, what's your name?" Bankotsu asked with a grin, but Kikyo gave no reply. "Not much of a talker huh? That's okay. Would mind if I just sit here and listen though?"

Once again, Kikyo didn't reply.

"I'll take that as a yes." His smile never faded.

"…" Kikyo waited to see if he would leave, but he never moved. He just sat there, waiting for her to play, with that wide grin of his.

"Oh, the first time I said I loved you
Breathing was hard, my heart wouldn't stop trembling
Oh, the first time I held your two hands
I lost my way, didn't know where I was walking
That's the reason for us to be in love
That's the two of us protecting each other

To me

"Oh, the first time I kissed your deep dimples
I wanted to be sober, but I became giddy
Oh, the first time you laid down on my chest
We didn't part for 24 hours
That was the first time I knew what 'everlasting and unchanging' meant"

Bankotsu grabbed hold of Kikyo's hand. "Hold on and stick close to me. It's getting dark and I don't wanna lose you." He said with a smirk.

Kikyo looked down at their locked hands. She moved eyes back up to his face and just stared. She didn't know what to do for she was still new to this.

"What?" He raised a brow. "Am I that good looking?" He smirked.

Kikyo gave a slow nod.

Bankotsu threw his head back in laughter. "You're honesty is too cute." His charming grin was back on his lips.

"Banryu, Higurashi! Hurry up! This may be a class vacation trip, but it's getting dark and we need to stick together!"

Bankotsu nodded and pulled Kikyo's hand. "Well, let's go!" He gave a wide grin and began running to catch up to their peers as Kikyo clung tightly to his hand and followed.

"I feel that you are a part of me, I feel your pupils
It's the first time deciding, it can't be wrong

When you look at me, I haven't opened my mouth
You've already figured out, I'm still not certain
I still haven't filled your requests

Is it that I'm thinking too much, or that you are also avoiding?
If you've really chosen me, I'll muster up the courage to accept
Unwittingly, my line of sight has begun to become evasive

Oh, the first time I said I loved you
Breathing was hard, my heart wouldn't stop trembling
Oh, the first time I held your two hands
I lost my way, didn't know where I was walking
That's the reason for us to be in love
That's the two of us protecting each other

To me

Oh, the first time I kissed your deep dimples
I wanted to be sober, but I became giddy
Oh, the first time you laid down on my chest
We didn't part for 24 hours

When you look at me, I haven't opened my mouth
You've already figured out, I'm still not certain
I still haven't filled your requests

Is it that I'm thinking too much, or that you are also avoiding?
If you've really chosen me, I'll muster up the courage to accept
Unwittingly, my line of sight has begun to become evasive

Oh, the first time I said I loved you
Breathing was hard, my heart wouldn't stop trembling
Oh, the first time I held your two hands
I lost my way, didn't know where I was walking
That's the reason for us to be in love
That's the two of us protecting each other

To me

Oh, the first time I kissed your deep dimples
I wanted to be sober, but I became giddy
Oh, the first time you laid down on my chest
We didn't part for 24 hours"

"I had fun today." Bankotsu said as he stood with Kikyo in front of her door.

Kikyo nodded and gave a small smile. "Me too."

Bankotsu grinned. He leaned forward and kissed Kikyo on her cheek. "Nights." He said in a deep voice as he turned to leave.

"Wait!" Kikyo grabbed his arm, stopping him from leaving.

He turned and raised a brow. "Yeah?"

"I…" A blush crept up to Kikyo's face. "I love you."

Bankotsu grinned and gave her a warm hug. "I know." He pulled away and looked her in the eyes. "I love you too." He said with a soft smile and the two shared their first kiss.

"That was the first time I knew what 'everlasting and unchanging' meant."

Alright!

That's the first chapter of Keys to Love! :D

Hope you guys enjoyed it. :]

And if you guys haven't checked out my other KikyoxInuyasha fanfic yet, go check it out! :D

it's called Our Own Fairytale. :]

Tell me what you guys think!

-sportiegrl out~