Disclaimer: I do not own any characters. Any and all characters of Inuyasha belong to the wonderful Rumiko Takahashi.

Also. I do not own any music mentioned.

This fic is very music oriented so i highly suggest listening to the song either before or during reading.

Songs in this chapter:

"You Don't Know Me" by Michael Bolton

"Skinny Love" by Bon Iver (Cover by Birdy)

content warning: language and adult situations in later installments. mild lime.

Kagome sat down in the comfortable chairs of the dimly lit café, adjusting her borrowed kimono. The whole idea of the Anonymous Night was that all patrons and performers had their identity concealed. The café handed out kimonos other traditional clothing to go with a mask of your choosing. Kagome wore her own mask from home, a simple pink half mask with lace overlay on the right side. She was fidgeting in her seat, hoping he would come tonight. It was hit or miss whether or not the mystery acoustic artist would show up. Sometimes he would come and play a few sets, always leaving the crowd wanting for more.. and other times he wouldn't show up at all. The small stage had a traditional paper door cover with back lighting. It helped the performers be able to do their best without feeling pressure by seeing the audience. Then, the light dimmed. She had arrived at just the right time. The mystery player took stage, taking his mask off and setting it on the table to the side of the stood. Only his silhouette was visible to the viewers, driving Kagome crazy. She had been coming here for over a year and she desperately needed to know who this guy was.

Unscrewing his water bottle, the shadow took a quick sip and pulled his guitar over his head. He turned slightly, allowing his profile to be viewed. He only did this on nights where he was playing something he really put his heart into. He always kept his head bowed, as if he were embarrassed. He started off strumming slowly, patting a beat on his guitar face.

Then it started. His soothing yet rough voice.

"You give your hand to me..

and then you say hello.

I can hardly speak my heart is beating so.

And anyone can tell,

you think you know me well..

but you don't know me. "

He continued with a very Michael Buble sounding version of Michael Bolton's "You don't know me" Kagome couldn't help but lean her cheek into her hand as he played, he sang with such love and compassion it had her heart breaking for the man. You could tell from his music that he was singing from his heart of hearts.

"Oh I'm just a friend, that's all I've ever been. Cause you don't know me"

There was someone he loved that didn't know he existed. Sometimes when he would sing love songs like this, Kagome would pretend that she was the one he was singing about and would swear that she would never leave this beautiful soul in so much pain. How could this girl not know he loved her? If he treated her with just a fraction of the admiration he held in his voice then she must be truly blind to see his feelings. During the remainder of the song, Kagome closed her eyes. Listening to his strumming and smooth voice always made goose flesh creep across her arms. Then as abruptly as he began he finished, gathering his things and exiting the stage before the crowd had a chance to roar with applause. Shaking out of her trance, Kagome clapped loudly, her smile spreading widely across her face. It was disappointing to only hear one song, but then again she only had one prepared for the night as well. It was 7:10, 5 minutes before she was to take stage. So quietly, she moved to the back of house area to grab her keyboard. There was always a lot going on back here, people adjusting instruments and rehearsing quietly. She had been practicing at home all week and knew if she tried any further she would mess herself up. A flash of red to her left had her turning quickly to view the object. But the person was gone in an instant, the neck of an old guitar case the only thing to be seen. She had thought she'd seen a glimpse of a sticker for a local pub. But all she could make out was a pink orb. "Next." the stage director whispered, ushering her on.

Quickly she went on, standing between the light and the paper door. Kagome took a shaky breath and set up her piano. Once she took a seat, she gathered her hair quickly and pulled it back into a bun to remove it's distraction from her view. After tapping out her beets, she began with a slow melody, her fingers gliding quietly over the keys. After a breath she closed her eyes and began, her Alto a lower, more sensual version of the cover by Birdy.

"Come on skinny love just last the year.

Pour a little salt, we were never here.

My-my-my My-my-my muh-muh My-my.

Staring at the sink of blood and crushed veneer."

She closed her eyes, letting the lyrics flow from her mouth as her delicate fingers danced across the keys. Getting to the chorus, she raised her voice, demanding more from the keyboard in front of her.

"And i told you to be patient

And i told you to me fine

And i told you to be balanced

And i told you to be kind

And in the morning i'll be with you

But it'll be a different kind

Cause i'll be holding all the tickets

And you'll be owning all the fines"

Her voice became almost breathy as she brought it back down, gently stroking the keys.

"Who will love you? Who will fight?"

And when she finished, lightened her strokes and bowed her head. Standing, she gave a little wave to the hidden spectators and gathered her things and left. The sound of their applause made her smile. She wondered how many of them she she went to school with. She decided to go ahead and go to her car, it was rather late and she had an 8 am class in the morning she needed to catch if she was going to pass. After stopping by the changing rooms and dropping off her kimono and removing her mask, Kagome toted her keyboard to the small, yet well suited, 1967 Volkswagen beetle that had served her well since she got her permit. It's powder blue exterior always made her smile. After fiddling with the keys in the dark for what seemed like forever, she finally managed to locate the one for the door. As soon as she got the key in the lock, a familiar aura came close to her. "Hello, Koga." she sighed, popping the trunk and moving to the front of her vehicle. Koga was a wolf demon that she had known for quite some time now. He never managed to take the hint that she wasn't interested in him. And now he was leaning unceremoniously against the driver's side of her car as she crammed the keyboard into the trunk and shut it, looking to her right where the wolf was smiling his toothy grin. The old children's story about Little Red Riding Hood popped into her mind just then "Oh my, what big teeth you have."

"Do you mind?" she asked, trying to maneuver past the youkai. But Koga had other plans, "Actually, doll, I was gonna see if you wanted to catch a flick with me." he growled seductively, leaning closer to her face. Now she had to lean backwards to avoid breathing in his breath. "I really can't tonight, Koga. I've got class in the morning and my cat has been alone all day. So if you don't mind i'm just going to-" but before Kagome had a chance to push past him, Koga had moved her to the rear end of her car past the door and placed a hand on either side of her head. "I HATE cats.." He mumbled, shivering as he breathed in her scent. "But i guess i can forgive you of all people, Kagome."

Half a block down the street, an inu-hanyou was loading his acoustic guitar into the bed of a faded red 1998 Chevy Tracker. He had always figured that the car was just as much as a reject as he was so why not give the old monster a chance. The breeze caught his nose as it shifted. He smelled Kagome.

Her scent was extremely original, never before had he smelled anything like her before he met her. The scent of sunshine and fresh flowers, though, was marred with the scent of fear and anxiety. Then he caught another smell on the breeze. Koga. The mangy wolf boy had been breathing down Kagome's neck for the past two years since they have been in University. Somehow he just couldn't take a hint and often required Inuyasha to step in and teach him some manners when it involved ladies. What made Inuyasha's hair stand on end was that Koga's scent held the thick spice of arousal. No. Not acceptable. Looking toward the scents he found his targets. Koga had Kagome pinned to her car, drooling like a starving man. He wanted to bum-rush the bastard but thought against it. Kagome didn't know that he sang at the coffee house and he had no intention of letting her know now. Thinking quickly, he pulled on a pair of jogging pants over his jeans and pulled up his shoulder-length white hair into a loose bun. Putting his headphones in (not easy since he had to loop them around his ears to keep them in place), he jogged over to the pair.

"I just need to go home, Koga. I'm sorry." Kagome whispered, trying to move her face away as the wolf leaned in to smell her neck. "Hey, Wolf!" Inuyasha growled, jogging up to them, taking out his ear-buds and shoving them into his pants pocket. It looked to them that he had just been out for a run and stumbled upon them. "She said back off. " He growled, grabbing Koga's shoulder and not-so-gently pulling him into the street. "Get lost flea-bag!" Koga growled, standing straighter, his tail fluffing with anticipation of a challenge. Inuyasha looked over to Kagome then, making eye contact with her. They spoke to each other through their eyes only.

"Go home. I'll call you when I get done with him." Inuyasha nodded.

"Thank you. I owe you big time. " Kagome smiled, ducking into her car and starting it. The old beetle roared to life and Kagome left for her apartment.

"What the fuck was that?!" Koga growled, shoving Inuyasha by the shoulders. It didn't even phase the half demon, barely making his body jerk. Smiling slowly, Inuyasha cracked his neck. He knew he had to move quickly to take the wolf off guard. Then, with one swift motion, came around with a south-paw and sent Koga sprawling on the pavement. Moving to go stand over him, Inuyasha got serious very quickly, his smile falling from his lips. "If i ever hear of you tormenting her again," he snapped, his fangs lengthening as his rage built," I will make sure you don't have a silver tongue to wag around any more. Or a tail to tuck as you haul ass away from her." Koga was furious. His own growl building in his chest as he stared up at the hanyou. But instead of reacting, he only stood and walked away, wiping the blood from his lip. "Yeah, whatever, Dog-breath. You aint worth my time." He growled, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth as he made his way to his motor bike. He was no fool, and seeing the purple jagged stripes appear on the hanyou's cheeks as the whites of his eyes twinged with red let him know that it was too dangerous to provoke the man even more. If Inuyasha lost control of his demon now, the entire neighborhood would be bathed in crimson.

After Koga left, Inuyasha felt his blood began to cool as he made his way back to the Tracker. "That was close." he grumbled, hauling himself into the front seat. He had taken the rag-top off earlier in the night due to the warm summer atmosphere, so he rolled down the windows to match. Scrubbing his face with his left hand, he started the old engine. The beast roared to life and the hanyou shifted it into drive and took to the road. Instead of calling Kagome, though, he sent her a quick text.

I The jerks been dealt with. You need me to bring anything by the house?

Kagome responded seconds later.

K Thank you so much! I didn't want it to come to that but he was getting really pushy.

oh, and no. I grabbed groceries this morning after lunch.

we still on for tomorrow?

Laughing, Inuyasha typed out a quick affirmative and headed to his apartment. He was going to have one hell of a time trying to get to sleep after all that.

The drive home did calm his nerves, though. He didn't even turn on the radio, but instead allowed the sound of the engine and wind and the tires on concrete be his life song. Sighing heavily, Inuyasha raked his clawed nails through his hair, forgetting it was still up. He grumbled as he tugged at the tie, letting his mane loose. How could he have not noticed his hair not hitting him in the eye? As he turned on to his street he managed to slow down both his thoughts and the grumbling engine. The old Tracker bumped it's way into a coast and glided effortlessly into the resident parking. After only fiddling with the switches for a minute (he had to hold the lock while he pressed for the windows to rise) he grabbed his things and trudged up the stairwell toward his third story apartment, not worrying about locking the car or even sealing it up for the night. The car was so ugly and outdated that anyone who would want to steal it or anything in it was obviously down on their luck and desperate, seeing as though the car shared a parking lot with several BMW's and Audi's.

After fiddling with his keys for a moment and finally unlocking the door, He was greeted by the smell of a wax warmer that he had forgotten about before leaving. "Dammit.." he mumbled, tossing his guitar onto the couch and subsequently on top of the pile of clean clothes he had yet to put away. He didn't even bother turning the light on, seeing as though his night vision was perfect. He had never understood folding and hanging up laundry, it was all going to get wrinkled anyways, right? But Kagome and Miroku often chastened him for being lazy or unkempt any time they saw his careless trail of hoodies, band Ts and sweatpants strewn across the microfiber of the sectional. Kicking off his converse by the door, his bare feet made no noise as he strode across the room to the warmer and clicked off the light, the stronger lavender scent of the wax tickling his sensitive nose. He had finally been convinced by Sango and Kagome to get one last fall. "How are you ever going to invite a girl over when your place smells like a bachelor pad mixed with a doggy day-care?" Sango had asked, obviously trying to strike a nerve. He remembered her sly smile as she avoided eye-contact nonchalantly, flicking at a pair of boxer-briefs that had been draped on the arm of the recliner. Her chocolate bangs had hidden her challenging glance as she basically asked for him to retort.

He still hated how his friends could so easily manipulate him like that. And he wouldn't have even bought the damned thing if Kagome hadn't agreed with her, nodding her head and raising her eyebrows as she cleared off a section of couch to sit. Kagome. She was a deciding factor about a lot of things he did. Not because she made him do anything, but because her happiness was the single most important thing that he could think of. He hated how every time she left town to spend time with her family, he would get angry or short with her. It was never her fault, he just hated being away from her.

"Fuck." he sighed, opening the fridge and illuminating the small, yet modern kitchen. He grabbed a beer and let the gravity of the door slowly draw it closed. Not even bothering with an opener, the half-demon brought the top to his mouth and popped the metal cap off with his teeth, spitting it into a glass jar he kept on the counter for such items.

He was never one for drinking to get drunk, seeing as though his tolerance was roughly triple that of a large human. But instead he allowed the taste and mere idea of the beverage to calm him down. "Kind of like humans and coffee.. Huh.." he thought, taking a sip of the offending liquid and opening the sliding glass door to his patio. The night really was perfect. The white-haired man sighed again as he sat down on the concrete, drawing the leg closest to the railing up to allow for an arm rest. No matter how much he drank. No matter how much music he listened to or wind he breathed in. Inuyasha couldn't stop himself from thinking about the raven haired girl across town with a beat-up casio keyboard and a love for the smell of lavender as he stared up at the stars, forgetting the drink in his hand altogether.

a/n: sorry this one is so short. I plan on this being a multi-chapter fic so hopefully I can give you guys some more meat as this progresses!

r/r because reading your comments makes me smile like an idiot. Also would love some tips, tricks, questions, comments and concerns.

thank you guys so much! Im going to try and update soon!

-EtS