Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha or any of the other Inu-Yasha characters. This story is partially based on the anime series Gravitation, but it is mostly mine.

"Love is a force of nature… it's gravitation."

Gravitation

Chapter 1: Hell Hath No Fury Like Kagome

Kagome checked the interior of her wallet for the fifth time that day, the outcome was the same as the past four times: it was still empty; with a sigh she closed it and tucked it away in the safety of her purse. Today had not been a very productive day for her; at the moment she was walking back to her apartment complex after yet another failed attempt for a job. She had thought she had finally hit it big when a man she took to be a talent scout scheduled an interview with her, handed her his card: Hiroki Nagi, Eye Candy Strip Bar Owner; upon seeing this she promptly crumpled up the card and smacked him upside the head.

She folded her arms and scuffed the toe of her high heel shoes against the concrete. 'Ugh! How dare he! I'm a singer damnit! Kagome doesn't strip for anybody... even if he was eye candy in his own right...' A mild blush crept up on her face as the urge to drool upon thinking of the man's figure became hard to control. She froze, shocked at her own actions and quickly waved her hands in front of her face while shaking her head vigorously. 'Whoa there Kagome, don't let your imagination get away with you... again.' She closed her eyes and sighed in defeat; a low rumbling stopped her short.

"Great, just great. Now I'm broke and hungry too."

She picked up the pace of her walk; the sooner she got back to her apartment the sooner she could enjoy a steaming bowl of microwave noodles. Unfortunately, the promise of food took her attention away from the ground below her and a chunk of concrete sticking up snagged her foot and she tumbled gracelessly to the ground

"Ow."

She managed out, in pain, but was more embarrassed than anything else; the empty organ growled once again and she whined.

"Please stomach, stay quite for a little while longer."

Kagome tenderly pushed off the ground, back up on her feet and brushed herself off; other than some skinned knees and sore wrists she was fine. Things were just not going in her favor today; she closed her eyes and took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly and when she opened them again, her face held the look of determination as she raised a clenched fist eye level. 'Stay positive girl! You'll find a job and besides things could be worse; at least you still have a place to live.' With her confidence renewed she walked the rest of the way home with her head held high; upon arriving at her apartment she saw a yellow paper taped to her door as she drew up the words became clear enough for her to read "Notice of Eviction". Appalled she ripped the paper off her door and read it over with accumulated rage reaching its zenith.

"Four months without pay?! Bullshit!"

With the notice clenched in her fist she stormed up the stairs to her landlord's residence and pounded on the door so hard that the dust that had collected above was now falling off.

"Hakudoshi! You bastard open this god damn door right now!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs, not caring about the vulgar form of language she used, around here no one ever cared. The girl heard movement inside and a few moments later her demon landlord appeared in all of his fully-grown, white-haired, violet-eyed, no-shirt-on glory.

"You called, baby?"

He smirked as he looked down upon her and she wasn't intimidated by his height or strength as she shoved the papers in his face.

"What the hell is this?!"

She demanded and he scanned it up and down before looking back at her with a raised eyebrow.

"You forget how to read?"

Out of anger she threw down the papers and stuck an accusing finger in his direction; he didn't seem the least bit concerned, in fact, he seemed to be enjoying the little rampage this lovely figure had.

"We had an agreement! I sing for your stupid parties, get grabbed, degraded, and leered at and you consider my payment fulfilled!"

He thought for a moment, looking up in the distance as if he was searching his memory to account for her accusation until the little performance of his ended and his violet eyes snapped back to pierce straight into hers. She didn't like the look he was giving her; she froze as his head slowly descended down towards her, too close for comfort and violating her space. His mouth lightly brushed against the shell of her ear, she shivered in disgust at the contact as he whispered into it.

"I don't see any agreement papers."

She quickly pushed him and he let her; if it were possible, she was even angrier than before. Kagome paused for a moment as she saw a different look in her landlord's eyes, it was not the mocking from before, but she had seen this look enough times: lust.

"You know if you want to stay so badly I know a way that might make me forget for a week of two."

He stepped out of the door frame with an air of male smugness and confidence making her wary and her defenses quickly went up; for every step she took back, he took one forward until he had her up against the second story balcony railing. There was nowhere left to run now, by placing both hands on either side of her on the railing he boxed her in and spread out his legs to prevent her from ducking underneath him. He was close again, way too close for her liking. Her miko (priestess) aura flared up in alarm; it was true that she was a priestess, but in ability only, she had given up her title and that way of life when she left home.

Her family came from a long line of priests and priestesses; her father had seen first hand her natural affinity for becoming a great spiritualist, the strength she carried with her and trained her from a young age, taught her in the ways of the miko, how to fight, to purify, to properly defend herself, but it had been so long, she had shut that part of herself down, hid it from prying eyes and feared what the outcome would be if she tapped into that part of her again. 'Otou-san(Father)... help me.' She whispered in her mind as she shut her eyes tightly with her heart pounding out of control.

"Find their weakness Kagome."

A young girl of six looked up at her father standing before her in the traditional robes of the priesthood holding a bokken (a traditional Japanese weapon, it's a substitute for the Japanese sword, instead of the blade being made out of metal this one is made entirely out of wood).

"But before you can find your enemies weakness, you must know and master your own. Tell me Kagome, what is your weakness?"

The girl's gaze went from her father to the ground; she toyed with the edges of her priestess robes of red and white and picked at a splinter in her bokken, questions like this always made her nervous. When she looked up, her father's gaze was still upon her, waiting patiently for a response.

"Fear."

The single word mumbled out of her mouth; her father smiled and pointed his weapon at her.

"Then use your fear Kagome, allow the adrenaline to course through you, concentrate it and then..."

Kagome closed her eyes and listened to the pounding of her heart, felt the power in her veins, blocking everything else out, but it took a while, she was still new at this. Her father could see the outlines of blue flames dancing around her; he smiled as pride filled his heart and nodded his head.

"... let it go!"

As he said those words he swung his bokken around and brought it straight down towards her head. Her eyes snapped open, in a flash her hands moved the weapon with grace and skill and blocked his attack. She stood there stunned, for she didn't even see her own hands move. One moment her father was attacking her, the next his weapon was laying on the ground, the force of her power knocked it out of his hands.

"Very good, Kagome."

Kagome snapped her eyes open, slightly stunned with the memory fresh in her mind; okay then, his weakness, what was it? The answer quickly became obvious by the way he looked at her, tried to touch her; her brain clicked and an idea formed in her head and she mentally crossed her fingers that he would be stupid enough to fall for it. She smiled seductively, hiding her miko aura beneath a façade of sensual movements to distract the alarm bells going off in his head; she wrapped her arms around his neck and playfully toyed with his long white hair.

"Oh really?"

She said in her sweetest voice and pressed herself lightly against him, the act convinced Hakudoshi enough and he visibly relaxed and let his guard down. Big mistake. The moment she felt his senses dim she yanked him down and drove her knee right into his groin; the demon cried out once in pain and doubled over clutching the injured area. When he looked up through teary, blurred vision he saw both her middle fingers pointed in his direction.

"Go slip on a banana peel and drop dead!"

With that said she grabbed the railing and jumped over it, falling down to the first story concrete; she released a burst of her power and slowed the fall, protecting her from injury, but before ran away she looked back up to see him peering down at her.

"Oh yeah, and fuck you!"

She yelled at the top of her lungs and took off in a sprint, she fumbled to get the keys out of her purse and put it the correct one in the lock; her hands were shaking so much. When the girl finally got the door open she leapt inside and slammed it shut, fell back on her rear end and leaned against the wall; with her eyes closed she could feel her former self reawakening, her power humming her veins like it never left. Kagome was a priestess again. She didn't allow herself to move from where she was until her aura and adrenaline calmed down.

"Thanks Dad."

She whispered for the little gem of information he gave her, but realizing the situation she just put herself in she groaned out of regret and misery. Even though she lived in a shady part of the city, room was cheap, she just had to watch out the perverts, the wannabe yakuza (and authentic ones too), the thieves and all those other low lives. These apartments were the last resort for most because they didn't have the money or were kicked out from everywhere else. She had felt ashamed when she moved in hoping her family would never find out, but this place was still a legitimate place to stay; an intact roof, hot, but mostly cold running water, and electricity. Oh well, so much for this dump.

"Shit. What am I gonna do now?"

Because of the little incident she had just caused, she felt it would be in her best interest if she left the next morning. Kagome looked around her tiny one bedroom, one bathroom apartment with a kitchen that also doubled as the living room. With no furniture and most of her belongings still at home, she could probably have everything packed up by morning, but where could she stay? She could never go back home, she still had too much pride left to prove that her crazy idea of becoming a singer didn't work out like she expect, plus she didn't want to burden them by having another mouth to feed; can't stay at a motel or inn, hell if she couldn't afford living here how could she afford one of those?

With a snort she figured that now her abilities had reawakened she could dust off her old garbs and do dirt cheap exorcisms and blessings, but again, she knew that wouldn't really work. She wanted to make a living off her voice and returning to her old way of life would provide the unneeded 'I-told-you-so' from her family. No, she absolutely would not allow that to happen. Fresh out of ideas she took out her very feminine, pink cell phone began going through her extensive list of friends and family, who knew maybe they could lend her a hand until she could get herself back on her feet.

As she was searching down one name stood out from all the others: Aki, her best friend since elementary school; in their teens they founded the band: Bad Luck and played small time local gigs for pocket change, but as Kagome got older, for a reason she couldn't remember, she decided to go solo; she and Aki went their separate ways. Last time he called was three weeks ago; it took him three months to get a new band together and now he and his band were cutting through miles of red tape to green light their record deal.

With her permission, Aki kept the name that the two of them came up with in order to preserve the memories of the band's roots. A little spark lit up in her eyes; perhaps they already hit it big? She wouldn't know, she couldn't afford a TV or even the damn newspaper; out of the year and a half she had lived by herself she learned one thing: being poor was a pain. But, at that moment, she didn't care about money, she just wanted to see an old friend again which was why she was going to call him up and beg him for a job as road crew. She pressed the call button and put the phone to her ear, after a few rings and no answer she was about to hang up when a tired voice on the other end stammered out a meager

"Hello?"

She was both ecstatic and worried when she heard his voice, it was a mixture of pure exhaustion and frustration; she couldn't help thinking that Aki was having his period.

"Hey Aki it's me! Are you okay? I haven't heard you sound this tired since we pulled those two all-nighters together to study for finals."

She laughed half-heartedly, hoping to cheer him up and he couldn't help but smile in response.

"Hi Kagome, sorry I haven't been calling; we've been completely swamped by corporate bastards. They refuse to leave us in peace until we add another member to our band."

He sighed, closing his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose to rid himself of his ever growing headache; from the way he spoke to her she could tell he was about ready to tear his hair out. Feeling his anxiety all the way from his apartment to hers she absently sang a little tune that she hoped would improve his spirits.

"I'm falling further down

to the reincarnation to you I say

color your eyes, without smiling alone.

Even if the world you've long for

has suddenly burned to ash

the miracle could still happen to come again."

She waited expectantly for the positive results to present themselves; after all, she was singing a song by Nittle Grasper, the band Bad Luck, back when it was just the two of them, worshipped and always wanted to become; the dead silence on his end didn't pass by her notice. 'Oh crap, did I make it worse?' She thought and then laughed nervously trying to change the subject.

"Uh sorry about that; sometimes I can't help myself. Anyway, I was just calling to see if you had an opening somewhere on your staff; I'll do anything: moving equipment, set-up, even transportation."

Aki felt like kicking himself; how could he have forgotten Kagome's voice? The girl had some damn good talent and it was the whole reason why the two split up. He noticed that after her song had finished his headache had somehow gone away; in fact, he felt better than he had in days. His guilt was quickly overridden when he looked back at his burned out band mates and then back at the phone; an idea hatched in his mind and he couldn't help but sound a little over excited.

"Kagome, do you know where Tohma Studios is?"

"Of course."

She responded immediately, remembering how she had used some of her precious savings to buy herself studio time there to record her demo. It's expensive, but they do good work there; she sent her demo CD about a month ago, but still hadn't got a response, she wasn't going to get her hopes up.

"Great! Meet me there outside the front entrance at nine. You've got yourself a job."

A huge smile couldn't help but spread across her face.

"Really?! Oh thank you Aki! You have no idea how much this means to me!"

Kagome was about to say goodbye when she turned around, looked at her apartment, and the situation she had put herself in smacked her in the face and the big smile slowly faded away. She bit her lower lip unsure of what to do; her friend already gave her a job, she felt bad asking for more, but if his band was really getting signed then they should have plenty of money to spare.

"Uh Aki…"

He could hear the preparation for the asking of a favor in her voice; he playfully rolled his eyes and sighed.

"What do you need?"

He spoke with a slightly amused tone, but she didn't catch it.

"Transportation and a place to stay."

She said without missing a beat and before he could say anything she told him the fresh events that had transpired between her and Hakudoshi; when she finished there was a pregnant pause between them. He sighed and threw his hands up in the air in defeat and couldn't help but laugh at the fact that the craziest things always happened to her.

"I'll give you a ride and you can stay with the band in our apartment complex."

She smiled, not daring to question his generosity lest he change his mind.

"Thanks Aki, you're a life saver."

"Keh, well somebody's gotta be there to save your ass."

She snorted and put her free hand on her hip.

"Don't presume that I'm always in need of saving."

She warned and he laughed again and shook his head.

"The thought never crossed my mind."

And without saying goodbye they both hung up, knowing that they could fill in the gaps between them face to face instead of over the phone. Aki pressed the button that ended their conversation and turned to his band.

"Guys, we've got ourselves a lead singer. I'll be bringing her here tomorrow morning to rehearse with us."

Four sets of eyes and heads snapped towards him at the statement, all taken aback by what he had just said; their bassist, Koga, was the first to step forward.

"Her, uh Aki, are you feeling alright?"

He nodded his head and the members exchanged slightly worried looks.

"Did you forget that we signed a contract as an all guy band, as in no girls what-so-ever?"

He nodded his head and waved an uncaring hand towards them.

"Don't worry guys, I've got it all figured out."

Again, more looks were exchanged and this time Miroku, their keyboardist spoke up.

"What are you gonna do? Give her a sex change right in the middle of the studio?"

This time he laughed, grabbed his guitar and began plucking away at the strings like he didn't have a care in the world; a devious smile tugged at the edges of his lips.

"Something like that."

The band mates instantly became wary of his laid back look with that mischievous twinkle in his eye; whatever was in store of this girl was obviously something worth worrying about.

The next morning Kagome stood in the middle of her complex's parking lot with a stack of boxes containing all her possessions behind her. She had been careful to avoid Hakudoshi all that morning, she taped her apartment keys to his door and when she was transferring her belongings from her apartment to the parking lot she moved quickly and quietly. She did look pretty stupid though trying to run silently with two over-packed boxes under each arm, it was more of a challenge than she first anticipated.

Nervously, she looked at her watch and then behind her to see if Hakudoshi had discovered that she was running away, Aki wasn't here yet and the anxiety was getting to her. She calmed her nerves by ensuring herself that he was still in bed; she sent out a tiny wave of her power out in all directions; it acted like her own radar seeking out and focusing on one's demonic or spiritual power. Much to her relief, she found the damn pervert was still in bed, in too much pain from her blow he couldn't even get out of bed. Even though he was a demon, she had used a lot of her spiritual energy in her kick so he should be there a while. She smirked knowing that she had accomplished something that probably many women had wanted to do for years.

"Hey."

She jumped and spun around when she heard a voice from behind her; a six foot two man with blood red hair that went half way down to his back smiled down upon her. Dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans he didn't look like much of the rocker Kagome knew he was. A huge smile pulled at the edges of her lips and she couldn't resist herself as she jumped up and latched onto his neck.

"Aki!"

She squealed like a little school girl and tightened her grip.

"Ak! Kagome it's good to see you too, but I need my oxygen."

Realizing the extent of her death grip she quickly leapt off of him and smiled; he looked around at her stuff and pointed to it.

"This all yours?"

She nodded her head and picked up one of the boxes, he did the same and they both headed to his car; they managed to cram them all in the trunk and back seats. As he drove them out of the parking lot Kagome switched on the radio and turned it to their favorite station and on the way to the studio they lost themselves to the songs, singing in harmony like they always used to. It was as if nothing had ever changed, they picked up right where they left off like a chapter in a book.

"So do you have a girlfriend yet?"

She screamed over the music that was blaring from his speakers.

"No."

He cried back.

"Boyfriend?"

She asked; he gave her a dirty look and she burst out laughing.

"What about you?"

He questioned and she shook her head.

"Nope. There's been no one since you."

It was true, they dated for a couple of months, but it didn't work out; they had been best friends for the longest time, they felt like family, but Aki mistook his brotherly affection for a crush and asked her out one day. Never having a boyfriend before, she thought that she could force herself to have more intimate feelings for him, but no such luck. Their "love life" was just too awkward, holding hands felt weird and whenever they tried to kiss, they always chickened out. To salvage their friendship they broke up. Kagome would always be his best friend, anything more was just too much; he would always care for her, protect her, but through past experiences he found out that she could take care of herself when it came to protection.

He was always leery about her spiritual abilities; the power the emanating off of her sent mild chills running up and down his spine; he always knew she was strong, never forgot that, as were her father and older sister Kikyo. Her father was an all around spiritual prodigy, excelled in every way, when he trained his two daughters his saw that his eldest leaned more towards the healing and purifying arts, her abilities were graceful and precise, but focused correctly and they were as effectively lethal; his younger daughter was much less elegant and clean in her power, but made up for it by the staggering level and her tendency to pick a fight geared her training to be in the martial arts and self-control.

"We're here."

He finally said after a half-hour drive; they stepped out and walked in through the front doors which opened up automatically to reveal a vast lobby; it took three stories to reach the ceiling, black marble floor, and multiple secretaries all behind an intimidating stone desk. She knew it was all a façade to show the place had a lot of money to throw away, but that didn't stop her mouth from dropping open stupidly as she openly gaped at the casual luxury of the place.

Kagome stepped inside, confident, like she belonged there, even if it was just to clean up after Aki's band; she wore a figure-hugging shirt and snug jeans and only a small amount of make-up since she didn't know if her job was going to be laborious enough to make her sweat. She walked in expecting to be noticed and recognized, but Aki on the other hand had a completely different idea in mind; the moment her foot set inside the building Aki was right in front of her shielding her from everyone's view. He didn't want her to be seen by anyone the way she was now.

"What the hell is going on?!"

She hissed after being shoved behind a random bush; her best friend quickly put a finger to his lips in the universal sign of "shut-up"!

"Shh! Be quiet! I promise I'll explain to you once we get up to our studio."

She continued to get shoved and yanked behind him or some large object; it was only until they were inside the elevator did he finally give her some breathing space, but when the doors opened it started all over again. There were less people on the twenty-third floor where Aki's band and one other practiced and recorded all of their songs. He looked down both ends of the halls before quickly bringing her in front of him and shoving her inside the recording studio. Mission accomplished and he let out a sigh of relief, but she wasn't; not noticing the four band boys behind her, she turned around and faced her crimson haired friend as he quietly and calmly closed the door behind them. The moment she knew the door was closed she stormed up, grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him into wall.

"What the hell was that all about?!"

She screamed none too gently in his ear and wasn't afraid to let him see the extent of her power as she released some of her spiritual energy, now that it was out and active again, she decided to use it to her advantage. It took the form of translucent blue flames and ripples, pulses of cold energy completely coating her; feeling the chilly burn he coughed into his hand and tried to regain some of his composure.

"Kagome, before you maim me, may I introduce you to the band?"

He extended his hand out; she looked over her shoulder and paled; there stood four guys frozen in place with identical expressions of shock all plastered on their faces: eyes wide and jaws practically touching the floor. Seeing as she just botched her first impression, the miko tried to do a little damage control by quickly letting go of Aki, turning and faced the band with her hands clasped nervously behind her back, and laughed in a shaky voice.

"Hehe… um, hi. I'm Kagome."

The band turned to their guitarist accusingly.

"This is her?!"

Inu-Yasha, the band's drummer, cried out exacerbated, but when Kagome took notice of him she could have cared less for she was too fixated on the adorable set of doggy ears covered in multiple piercings perched on his head of silver-white hair. Without a word she walked up to him and he froze thinking he was going to be fried until he saw the mesmerized look her face; before he knew it she grabbed his ears.

"So cute!"

She squealed like a little girl and he was about to protest when she began rubbing them; he shamelessly lost himself to his animal nature, closed his eyes in bliss and snuggled closer; Miroku smirked and picked up the sheet music that had fallen out of his hand when she first came into the room.

"Looks like she's won Inu-Yasha's heart."

Upon hearing this, the half-demon snapped out of his daze and quickly pulled away from her, his face already turning red; the half-demon huffed and looked turned away to save himself from further embarrassment and the band laughed, not even trying to hide their humor in his suffering. Her gaze found the youngest member: their DJ dressed up in his street clothes with his orange hair tied back in a high ponytail and his vibrant green eyes downcast, he looked like a punk kid who was raised on the streets, but didn't belong in them. With his hair up she could see his pointed elfish ears and half covered by his shirt were two long and sleek cream-colored tails; he glanced up at her once and when their eyes met he quickly looked away again, embarrassed, but she caught enough to see the slit pupils set in a deep forest green. He was a pureblood demon, it was easy enough to see, but she didn't seem to care as she impaled him.

"You're adorable too!"

She cried and caught him in a death-like vice, but preferred to call it a hug; his cheeks quickly turned red as his face was smack dab in the middle of her chest, smothered in their softness; being only fifteen and generally innocent he wasn't exactly experienced in this kind of situation. As strange and as unpredictable as the girl was, the embarrassment and humor caused by her actions were priceless teasing fodder as the few who hadn't been noticed by her snickered at their youngest member's misfortune.

"Kagome let Shippo go. I thought you wanted to know why you're here and I can't tell you if you suffocate one of my guys."

Aki came to the poor kid's rescue; she released him and he quickly pulled away trying to catch his breath.

"Didn't you bring me here to help load all of you're crap onto some truck?"

While the band mates were confused and exchanged puzzled glances the red-haired guitarist looked at her dead in the eye, his look quickly went from playful to serious.

"Kagome, how much would you sacrifice to be in a band, to be famous and have hundreds of thousands of fans?"

"Anything."

She answered easily with no doubt, but becoming slightly suspicious.

"Would you sacrifice your gender?"

That question threw her for a loop and she gave him a funny look.

"What the hell kind of a question is that?"

He looked over at the band that was preparing themselves for a lot of screaming; no matter how he tried to go about saying what he wanted to say, he knew that no scenario would make her happy and mentally crossed his fingers for a mild reaction.

"We both have one major issue going on at the moment, Kagome and I think we can help each other out here. Bad Luck needs a lead singer and you need a job and a place to stay; so here's the deal: you join our band and be our singer and all of your financial and living needs will be taken care of."

She raised an eyebrow.

"But."

She said for him and he was a little hesitant when answering, rubbed the back of his neck as a show of nervousness, looking at anything but her.

"A couple things changed after you and I split up Kagome; I tried finding a new female lead singer, but they were all useless, so when I brought this new band together I wasn't really thinking too clearly and drew up a contract that Bad Luck would become the face of Tohma Studios new boy band, it's our trademark, so in order for you to be in the band you'll have to… make some changes."

Realization dawned on her and as expected she exploded; luckily for the band, they already stuffed their ears with the cotton Aki gave them while she was latched onto Shippo.

"You want me to be a guy?! What the hell? Did you smoke something funny this morning or did are you really asking me this dry sober?! No! No! No! Fuck no! How can you even suggest such a thing?!"

She paused only for a slight moment to take in enough air for one last comment about his proposal.

"Go dress-up in your own drag if you want to play the gender-bender game because I won't!"

Those of demon blood in the band felt like their ears were about to bleed; if it wasn't for the soundproof room no doubt half of the building would have heard her. When she was done she took a few deep breaths, grabbed her purse and made her way towards the door, but a hand shot out and grabbed her gently, but solidly by the elbow, bringing her back to face him.

"Kagome listen to me! This is your dream! I know it's not exactly the way you wanted it, but you've got the once-in-a-lifetime chance to make it big! Why not try it?"

He had a bit of a point; she wasn't getting anywhere by herself, her efforts had driven her out of money, job and luck, nobody wanted another single female singer, it wasn't bringing in the people anymore. She also took into account the things he wasn't saying out loud, the words hung heavily in the air; he was desperate, if she didn't join Tohma Records would drop their record deal. Her eyes went from his face to the other band members, all waited patiently for her answer, their expressions didn't help much in her decision-making. 'Oh God am I going to regret this.'

"Show me what you've got."

She said when she looked back at her long time friend; he smiled and motioned for the band to set-up; they all parted instantly and went to their own respective equipment. Inu-Yasha twirled his sticks as he sat down behind his drum set, Koga placed the strap over his shoulder and began tuning his bass by adjusting the strings, Shippo slipped the oversized headphones on his ears and brought out several records, as Miroku walked past her he slipped some lyrics into her hand before setting himself up at his keyboard, and Aki placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder before walking over to the stand where his guitar rested. In truth the band members were about as skeptical over her as she was over them. She looked over the sheet music and lyrics entitled: "First Time", read them a couple of times seeing when and how she was supposed to sing and what cues would signal her entrance.

The song started with Shippo, Aki and Inu-Yasha in a balance of sounds blending energetically together, setting the mood; she began to feel the beat pulse through her body, wrapping her hands around the microphone she took a deep breath and came in.

"We're both looking for something we've been afraid to find.

It's easier to be broken, it's easier to hide."

"Looking at you, holding my breath

for once in my life I'm scared to death

I'm taking a chance, letting you inside."

She was instantly enthralled by the music and didn't even realize that everyone was staring at her completely taken aback; her voice captured and left them almost begging for more. They were just as amazed by her as she was by them, but not Aki, being exposed to both sides' talents he just stood back, strummed on his guitar and smiled.

"I'm feeling alive all over again,

as deep as the sky, under my skin

like being in love, she says for the first time.

Well, maybe I'm wrong,

but I'm feeling right where I belong

with you tonight like being in love

can feel for the first time."

"The world that I see inside you waiting to come to life.

Waking me up to dreaming, reality in your eyes."

With Aki's lead, everyone else snapped back into focus and followed behind Kagome's voice as it quickly lost them to its spell; unbeknownst to them they had an audience pressing their ears up against the locked door. Before the band was only playing half-hearted, unconfident and unsure if there was even a point to their presence here, but as they allowed the music and that voice to take control, half-hearted just wasn't enough, the song on general principles deserved better and, only half way through, they gave it. By the end of the second refrain, sweat from the sheer effort they gave began to drip down the sides of their faces.

"We're crashing into the unknown.

We're lost in this, but it feels like home."

"I'm feeling alive all over again

as deep as the sky, under my skin

like being in love, she says for the first time.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm feeling right where I belong

with you tonight like being in love

can feel for the first time."

"Like being in love, she said, for the first time.

Like being in love can feel for the first time."

As the song faded away and the last bit of Aki's part ended they all stood there, too stunned to say anything, but knew what the other was thinking: she's in. She knew it too; once that song was over, that high she felt, that all encompassing feeling she could no longer live without would only be obtained with them, with this band. She took a couple of deep breaths before turning to Aki, the biggest grin on her face.

"Where do I sign?"

There was a general burst of excitement from everyone knowing that they just snagged this priceless gem of talent; there was something about her that sent them spiraling into the world she created with her voice. Exhausted from before, now they were pumped up; the anxiety and stress that had been plaguing them was gone. Singing was her form of healing, the only way to channel her destructive aura in a way that helped instead of hindered; she could soothe or excite on a whim and mend just by willing it so.

"You'll sign in just a minute; you've got the part, no doubt, but now you need the costume."

The joy from before plummeted to the bottom of her stomach and was replaced with dread as she hesitantly allowed Aki to grab her by the hand and lead her to a lone chair Miroku had set up.

"Now?"

She whined like a little kid and he turned to her, hands cautiously resting on her shoulders and guiding her to sit down which she did very timidly.

"Now."

The band placed their instruments down and went into their packs, pulling out various items that would serve as Kagome's disguise. Shippo brought the clothes since he and Kagome were relatively the same size, Miroku brought the scissors to cut her hair, he was the designated hairstylist because, for very immoral reasons, he was good with his hands, Inu-Yasha brought different extras: hats, shoes, sunglasses, etc, and Koga brought some padding to get rid of the curves that she was blessed with, which included long stretchy strips of cloth to hopefully flatten her chest.

The moment she sat in the chair her hands and feet were bound to it.

"What the hell?!"

She cried and tugged violently at the bonds, but they held her down.

"Look Kagome this is for your own good; well, mostly for ours, but please just do this for us."

The red-head reasoned with her and she calmed down, not liking it one bit especially when Miroku came around with the scissors. Her eyes went wide at the sight of them and darted back to Aki accusingly who gave her an apologetic look; she refused to close her eyes as her long hair was skillfully made short, she was able to keep her long bangs, but everything else was shortened to a few inches. They all crowded around her, each watching intently on her transformation; the binding was next and Miroku made sure not to miss out, he volunteered to do the deed, but the guitarist strangely butted in and decided to instead.

"Sorry Kagome."

Aki said in advance as his hands slowly went up her blouse; he knew he would have been fried by her purification if she didn't trust his good intentions. He reached around to undo the straps of her bra and she instantly went stiff with self-consciousness as the garment was removed and snipped off of her arms. She didn't like being surrounded by male strangers with no undergarments on, but the feeling was only made worse when he wrapped the straps around her chest. He was blushing furiously, refusing to look up at her for he knew what her expression would be, the "try-anything-and-you're dead" look. She gasped when her long-time friend suddenly yanked hard on the cloth, constricting the binding and tightly flattening her chest; several layers were added on until her entire upper torso was covered.

Lastly came the padding, proving to be the most difficult since they boys did not take into account just how ticklish the miko was. With a lot of screaming and biting on her part and their strength in numbers they got rid of her curves. They untied her and Shippo handed her the clothes, turned their backs to give her some privacy, but Miroku had to be restrained by half the band to keep him from looking. Checking every few seconds, Kagome slipped off her blouse and fitted jeans and removed her feminine styled sneakers; she pulled the t-shirt over head and slipped on the loose pants, slightly taken aback by how comfortable they felt; unlike the constriction of tight flashy shirts and pants, these were comfy like pajamas.

"You can look now."

She called and they immediately turned around; she still look like a girl, but if they tried hard enough to sell her image as a guy, people might believe them. They played around with her like a life-size doll, trying on different hats and shoes, backpacks and even jewelry; when they were satisfied they shoved her out of the door and into the men's room, she inwardly groaned and suppressed the shiver that wanted to crawl down her spine, another thing about her life that was forever going to change. They turned her around so she could see her reflection in the mirror; her eyes widened, she reached out and touched the surface of the mirror. Kagome looked like a guy, well, a pretty boy, but a guy none the less and looked back at them with raised eyebrows.

"You do good work, granted scary, violating, and down right creepy work, but good work. I could fool my sister with this get-up."

They smiled in response, satisfied with their job well done and turned to leave, but Aki stopped them; he reached into his bag and pulled out a spray bottle filled to the brim with a blue liquid. Without warning he began spraying her from top to bottom, he even the inside her mouth; the girl gagged and spat it out, but before she could say anything Aki shoved Inu-Yasha, Koga, and Shippo in front of her.

"Take a whiff guys. Can you smell anything?"

The boys of demon descent hesitantly sniffed her, but when they couldn't smell anything they became more thorough, getting very up close and personal before pulling back confused and turning to their guitarist for answers; he played with the little bottle looking very proud of himself.

"This is a formula of my own creation; it completely masks someone's scent so well that even those of demon blood can't pick up it."

After wiping off her tongue to get rid of the awful taste in her mouth she furrowed her eyebrow at him.

"What's the purpose of hiding my scent?"

He seemed surprised that she was asking him that.

"You of all people should know that there are still many demons in this world Kagome, all with supernatural senses of smell, if one of them got a whiff of you, your cover is blown and everyone will know the truth."

He placed the bottle in her hands and she cradled it against her chest.

"Alright then, let's get to rehearsing shall we gentlemen."

He emphasized the last word while looking at Kagome.

"Yeah sure."

She said in her normal voice and they froze.

"Whoa, what was that? You can't go around talking with that voice; no one would believe you're a guy."

It took her a while, but she managed to get a voice that satisfied them, it still sounded feminine, but they had to settle with crossing their finger and hoping she might be able to scrape by. When they got back to their studio, President Tohma was waiting for them; an extremely tall man with long blonde hair tied back in a ponytail and a sniper strung around his back stood by his side, making the president look even shorter than he already was. Mr. Tohma was a petite man who appeared way too young to be in his mid thirties, had platinum blonde hair and wore a very expensive business suit, but even dressed up he barely looked eighteen. They all bowed to each other except for the tall man who looked like he couldn't give a damn as he caressed the body of his gun, clearly he was American.

"Good day Mr. Tohma, what brings you here?"

Aki looked down upon the man who smiled a little too brightly to make it genuine.

"My employees came into my office and were making quite the fuss over your band, Aki."

Everyone held their breath as their anxiety hit the ceiling.

"Our band, sir?"

The small, but powerful man nodded in response, that same smile plastered on his face.

"Yes, they heard you playing and rushed to my office claiming there was an angel's voice in Bad Luck."

They all looked at Kagome who shuffled uncomfortably in her new outfit; she hated being put on the spotlight like this, she wasn't a guy for five minutes and already she had the president of Tohma Studios in their room and not only was he the man that could make or break her career, he was also a former member of her favorite band: Nittle Grasper; the little die-hard fan inside her head was currently having a heart attack. The man's eyes seemed to read hers too much and she could barely stand his gaze on hers, but Aki forced her front and center, she would have stepped on his foot in retaliation if she wasn't trying to make a good first impression.

"It's true. Sir, I'd like you to meet Kagome Higurashi: our new vocalist."

He bowed and she stood there in a frozen stupor for a moment until she remembered her basic manners and quickly bowed back.

"Nice to meet you Higurashi-san, I'm—"

"Tohma! Seguchi Tohma! The famous keyboardist from Nittle Grasper! You guys have always been my favorite band! I cried for weeks after you broke up three years ago."

She couldn't control her excitement any longer, the groupie in her won over her nervousness and better judgment, not even noticing that she spoke to him using her regular voice. The man was a little taken aback, but he chuckled none the less when he saw the stars dancing in her eyes as she clasped her hands together looking like she had just seen heaven.

"Is that so? I'm glad to meet one of my loyal fans."

Before they could go into further discussion, Aki butted in.

"Mr. Tohma, we would very much like Kagome to be part of our band, but there's one thing that only we can entrust you with that is extremely important."

A blonde eyebrow perked up; the guitarist bent down and whispered in her ear.

"Sorry."

She was about to ask what for, but quickly got her answer when he grabbed both ends of her shirt and lifted it up well over her shoulders to reveal the constricted chest and slim waist layered up in padding. Tohma momentarily lost his composure and blinked a couple of times in shock and to convince himself he wasn't seeing thing. Kagome growled and in a blur of unseen movement, she whipped around and punched her friend square in the nose and sent him crashing into the opposite wall.

"You could have told him, you dumbass!"

She screamed her face red from anger and embarrassment.

"I didn't think he would have believed us."

He replied weakly as he stood up with blood flowing out of his nose; she would have hit him again for the stupidity of his logic when the Nittle Grasper band mate laughed openly and turned to her with her contract and a pen held up for her to take.

"Nice hook. It would be an honor to add Miss. Higurashi to our label, provided she okay living with her ruse as a man."

She nodded and signed the papers the he had conveniently brought up with him, hardly bothering to read them any more than a quick scan, she didn't care was the restrictions or legal bindings were; he read them over before holding out his hand for her took shake; she took his hand with both of hers and shook it vigorously smiling like a little kid. Not a moment after the ink had dried the tall man behind Tohma coughed into his hand and looked down at the president, expecting to be introduced.

"Pardon my manners. Bad Luck, I'd like you to meet your manager: Mr. K; he was my manager and helped make my band famous. He's good at what he does so please respect him even though he won't give a damn about you."

That last line was said so innocently they collectively raised their eyebrows and looked at the man who surpassed them in height and intimidation. For the first time he looked at them with those cold blue eyes and rested the body of the gun against his shoulder; his expression screamed: just try and defy me you little bastards.

"Well, I don't want to be keeping you from your rehearsal."

With that, he waved good bye and walked out the door; the band watched him leave and warily looked back at the gun loving American who stayed behind. He waited until the door closed then cocked the automatic rifle and pointed it at them.

"Get. Working."

Were the first words he said to them and he didn't need to repeat himself as they all scampered back to their instruments; Kagome took the mic as the guys were quick to set themselves up. After a few hours of nonstop practice Mr. K finally left; the second they were sure he was out of earshot they collapsed, completely exhausted. During their practice, whenever someone wanted to take a break they found themselves staring down the barrel of a very scary looking gun and quickly they discovered the energy to continue on.

"Breaks are for failures and garage band kids who live off their parents' money and don't have the decency or intelligence to get a real job."

He said every time someone found the courage to ask if they could stop; of course with a gun pointed at them they would believe and listen to anything he said.

When Mr. K approached the end of the hall, Tohma was there, waiting for him; the keyboardist pushed his back off the wall in one smooth motion.

"So, what's your verdict?"

The American sneered.

"If your band really does come back together, you're gonna have a run for your money. That Kagome reminds me a lot of Sango."

The president smirked at his words and looked back at the closed door before walking away motioning for his ex-manager to follow.

"Sango had a lot of experience, that girl looks like she hasn't been up in front of an audience in years. Push her as far as you want Mr. K; let's see how much she can take before she breaks."

Kagome dropped her knees; when she was younger her father put her through similar training and she always did it, but never at gunpoint. Damn Americans with their damn guns. With four hours of practice left to kill and no furniture to sit on they all decided to call it a day and formed a loose circle in the middle of the room swapping their life stories in a nutshell.

Shippo Kemuri was orphaned when he was only five years old; his parents were murdered by a mob of humans who managed to get their hands of some rather nasty sutras. The gang was loyal to their leaders: the Thunder Brothers who were well know murderers, but less known demons; sentenced to death years ago with the help of Inu-Yasha's family, they were now just a distant memory that popped up once in a while in a nightmare. He was an orphaned demon child that a human-run government hated, so when no family stepped forward to claim him he was sent to an orphanage in an unpleasant part of the city, which, unfortunately for him, hated demons. Next to the orphanage was an underground rave, he grew up hearing its beats and rhythms and sounds; the music fascinated him to the point that he convinced the disk jockey of the place to teach him.

All the while, he had to disguise himself as a human; he covered up his pointed ears in multiple piercings and hats, wore a long black trench coat to hide his two tails, convinced everyone that he dyed his hair, and learned to fit in with the people of the area. One day, he forgot that he was "human" and showed off his demonic talents in front of the entire rave; they chased him down and beat him into unconsciousness. He knew he wasn't welcome there anymore and could go back, so he ran right into the heart of the city, to his last lifeline: Inu-Yasha where he eventually met Aki and joined the band.

Miroku Houshi was a priest before he joined the band, lived up in the mountains with many other monks in training; the head monks knew well of his lecherous ways and tried to curve his desires by teaching him something that would take up all his concentration. They taught him the piano. For ten years it seemed to work, he became a phenomenal pianist, better than they expected, but just as they saw hope for him they found a stack of pornographic magazines underneath his futon; with the last straw burned and gone they threw him out so fast he didn't even realize he had been evicted. He headed into Tokyo with a backpack filled with sheet music and porno, found a job at a run down bar playing jazz piano to drunks who were too swashed to notice, sold sutras and seals on the side, and even did an exorcism or two before he saw a flyer advertising for Aki's band. Seeing this as a sign from the heavens that his time of suffering was over, he left without a word and didn't even ask for his paycheck which was due the next week.

Inu-Yasha Takahashi came from a fine family; his father died when he was a baby from similar mobs that killed Shippo's parents and his mother died when he was a teen from sickness. He had two older half-siblings, a brother and sister. Since the sister was the oldest of the bunch she inherited everything their father left behind and even married Tohma which made him and the president brothers-in-law. In order to escape the grief of his mother's death and all the prejudice against him for being a half-demon he took up the drums. He found comfort in banging the hell out of the thing and actually went through many drum sets because he kept breaking them. He met Shippo when they were younger during the Thunder Brother's Case, but they never really got to know each other until a few years back. They kept each other company, both had mutual feelings towards the humans and demons the scorned them and found solace in the other's misery. So when Shippo joined Bad Luck, Inu-Yasha eventually did the same.

Koga Fukaimori came from a long line of wolf demons who had ruled the forests before they were all destroyed and replaced with cities and suburban neighborhoods; he was the second son of the leader of their pack and was always overshadowed by his older brother's accomplishments and perfections, in turn producing none of his own. Because of this, his family felt his existence was… unnecessary and was ordered by his clan's elders to commit seppuku (the honorable way of suicide) so he would no longer be a burden or hindrance to the pure blood of his family lineage. He of course didn't follow through with it and ran away into the countryside where there were only small, self-sustaining human villages.

In the calm of the slow-paced village life, surrounded by people who believed his presence was a blessing, he found he had an affinity for music and spent much of his time with the local musicians who taught him the guitar and eventually the bass, much to the surprise of his teachers. He took up the bass because of its role on in music: as a back up instrument, but still necessary for the full sound it gave. Koga wanted to prove to his family, especially his brother that he could be second, but still important.

They talked for hours on end; it was well into the afternoon when they decided to call it quits and head back to their apartment. That was the moment Kagome began feeling the uneasiness, not only was she going to have to pretend to be a guy, she had to live with five of them. The band had mixed emotions as well; Aki didn't really mind since he knew her; Shippo was used to living with people of all ages, gender, and species so he could probably get used to her in a matter of days; Miroku was more then happy to have her in the complex, now he had a reason to buy that water-proof camera for the shower; Inu-Yasha was little wary about having Kagome around, he hadn't lived with a woman since his sister moved out; Koga was like Shippo, he lived with a clan where there were no walls separating them, everyone, male and female alike, huddled close together for warmth and comfort.

She was very wary and attempted to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible when she stepped out of the studio; she kept her head down, hiding her face from the preying eyes of the people there. Some girls younger than her eyed her with too interested gazes that sent shivers down her spine. Contrary to his attitude before, Aki shoved her in front of him and did everything short of making a fool out of himself to attract attention to her. He waved to people he barely knew and yelled greetings to get everyone to turn their heads, wanting to ensure that everyone saw the way she was now and who she was with.

When they got to the parking lot, Inu-Yasha got on his motorcycle and Shippo climbed on behind him, Miroku climbed into his slightly battered used car, Koga, being a demon from the wild, preferred running opposed to using human transportation, Aki and Kagome climbed back into his car. They drove for about fifteen minutes before they reached a quieter part of the city; surrounded by homes, the apartment complex stuck out like a sore thumb. It was very unique Kagome soon found out when she stepped inside. The place was just one large, single room; kitchen, living room, bedrooms all rolled into one. There were five beds along the sides of the walls with different possessions sprawled out everywhere, clothes, CDs, video games, DVDs, sheet music, books, and a porno magazine here and there.

The people who designed the building believed that everything should be shared, that they could take complete strangers, stick in them in a room together, and poof they've got themselves a new family; the place didn't hit off as well as they founders expected and they had to sell it. Since it was cheap, had everything the band needed, and they were all guys it didn't bother them; the only minor issue was when they brought ladies home, the lack of privacy encouraged the large closet be turned into a small guest bedroom. They didn't expect in all their wildest dreams that they would get a girl as their new roommate, Kagome looked around for her place to crash, but found none and turned to the band helping her carry in her belongings.

"Uh, where am I supposed to sleep?"

Aki motioned for her to follow him across the room to the closet turned guest room; they opened the door and turned on the single dying lamp; it was a little dusty, but looked comfortable enough. There was a soft futon in the corner, a plain wooden dresser with a large mirror above it and no more; one by one the guys came and went into her new room and dropped off the boxes before leaving and giving her some much needed privacy. Aki was the last one to leave; he turned back and gave her a look of concern.

"Kagome, are you okay with this? We kinda dropped a pretty big bombshell on you in just one day."

She smiled at his worry for her and waved her hand to be done with the matter.

"I'll be fine. I just need a little time to adjust."

He nodded his head and left her alone to set up her room however she wished; when he closed the door her false smile vanished and she looked back at the stark room, sighed and tried not to let her despair completely overtake her. She had to stay positive. She had a job, a place to stay, and surrounded by people who seemed to care about her, all the things that she almost didn't have the night before, but she was going to live in a lie. Could she live as a guy? She quickly shook her head to clear it of such thoughts, looked down at her belongings and began unpacking; she stared longingly at the boxes of clothes she could no longer wear, put them in the corner and threw a blanket over them to resist temptation.

"I guess I'll just have to play it by ear."

Kagome had been living with her band for two months now and learned quickly; for the first month there, the guys had to help dress her, she wasn't used to the complicated strategy of the bindings and padding. They guys donated whatever clothes they didn't wear to her cause and helped teach her how to be manly. Out of everyone, Shippo became the most attached to her; he never had someone step-up and care for him since his mother whom he barely remembered. As time progressed, she became more of a motherly figure than a friend or sister. Inu-Yasha and Koga both had mutual feelings towards her: she was a good person with a big heart and very accepting of those around her, especially those of the demon persuasion.

Miroku had taken the brunt of her anger many times for his constant grabbing and peeking; she was more upset than any other girl he had ever encountered when it came to perversion, from her background she was taught to never tolerate it and during her solo mission she was surrounded by it, leaving a very short fuse in its wake. So for the most part he stopped. Aki felt the same about her as always: she was his closest friend, the girl he grew up with and being under the same roof with her brought back the feelings of their past.

In return for all they gave her, Kagome provided the womanly touch the apartment was desperately lacking; showed them that cramming garbage under the rugs won't make it disappear, that the broom and mop were for cleaning, not kendo practice, and just because the shirt can be turned inside out and worn, doesn't make it clean. After a thorough cleaning which she had insisted upon the first morning she was there, they discovered the long lost carpet that the boys thought had been stolen.

While the guys had been exposed to or lived with other women long enough to experience their cycles, with Kagome they quickly found out that seven days out of every month they should leave her the hell alone. She warned that the women in her family had a history of ill will during their times of the month, but they didn't take into account the extent of how ill her will would go. Most of the time she paced like an animal in the apartment, swearing under her breath about one thing or another; she would scream about the noise and yell at the quiet.

The miko would pick a fight just for the sake of fighting with the hope that letting out a little steam would better her mood. She would writhe and cry in her bed because of the pain of her cramps, the band tried to offer her comfort, but every time someone came within range she would throw a hard object or her fist, so instead they chose to offer her hot pads and chocolate. Bad Luck learned to arm themselves with candy, helmets, and pillows. Hell truly hath no fury like a woman having her period.

It was well into the night when Mr. K finally allowed the band to end rehearsal and let them drag their tired feet home; as hard as their manager tried to make life for Kagome, she refused to let him beat her and she improved as a musician because of it; "break me if you can" her glare silently told him every time they saw each other. While the guys tried to persuade her into riding back home with one of them, she declined feeling that tonight was a great night for a walk; the moon was out and so were many of the stars, not to mention she wanted a little breathing room from her band. The inspiration she had at the beginning was becoming suffocated by the subtle pressures and reminders by the mere presence of Bad Luck; one song in particular gave her the impression of hitting an all-time low, the lyrics were half-written and even what she had sounded forced and lifeless.

She felt that the fresh air would help clear all the excess thoughts in her head and get refocused; as everyone left, she walked down the sidewalks cluttered with people, filled with their chatter and deafened by the noises of the roads. The miko walked to a specific short-cut through a wide cobblestone road illuminated by streetlights, it was empty, quiet and right behind a park, the density of trees and bushes muffled the city sounds and gave the illusion of walking through a forest. 'The boys would sure love this place. Once I'm out of this rut, I'll bring 'em here.' She moved her hand holding the paper up to her face so she could read over her lyrics again, but right as she did a gust of wind blew it out of her hand.

"Ah! Wait paper! Come back!"

She chased after it down the street, around a bend and watched it as it flew passed the figure of a man standing just outside the rim of light from a streetlight; she saw a hand shoot out and catch it with inhuman speed. She froze, her senses going haywire, heart pounding with adrenaline, time seemed to slow down as she saw the silhouette calmly walk into the light; she was alert and tense until she saw his face. Air escaped her lungs as her eyes registered him; she had never seen someone so amazing before. Long silver hair cascaded down to his waist, slit and golden eyes pieced mercilessly into hers, magenta stripes caressed his cheeks and wrists, and an indigo crescent moon appeared through the bangs on his forehead. He wore a black business suit over a tall and fit figure and a lit cigarette protruded from his mouth; power clung to him as casually as clothes. He read over the lyrics once before his eyes shot up to bore themselves into hers; her heart skipped a beat, his gaze made the blood in her veins run cold.

"Is this your writing?"

He said cruelly, his voice deep and resonating in her very being; she was too stunned to speak so he took her silence as a yes and looked back down at the lyrics. Even by the obvious sound of distaste, the rumble in his words made her knees feel weak and her entire body very warm.

"This is worse than a child's; you shouldn't write love songs with your lack of skill."

She wanted to believe that he was walking up to her, but his demeanor showed that he was going to continue on and she was only a pause in his course; he stood beside her, looking on in the distance as if she didn't deserve his gaze. He took a long drag from his cigarette and let the smoke escape from his mouth before speaking.

"You have zero talent. Give it up."

With that said he let the paper go and the wind took it away; that last declaration snapped her out of her daze as she turned around. Give up? Kagome didn't give up! She opened her mouth to snap a retort only to see him round the corner and disappear.

"Hey!"

She cried and chased after him. She had had it! She was done with being told off and pushed around like a rag doll, first her band, then her manager, now this guy, well no more! He was going to pay for what he said to her; she was going to make him suffer; the hunt was on as she took off in a sprint, confident in her ability to catch him, but when she rounded the same corner he did, he was gone. She knew he was a demon so she had to be fast in order to catch up to him and there was only one path so she knew she was heading in the right direction. She ran until she came to a road just as she saw a black foreign car begin to drive away with the first three digits of the license plate: G86.

Kagome growled low in her throat and kicked a nearby tree in frustration; she was so close she could have yanked him out of his car and beat an apology into him if only she had started running a few seconds earlier. 'That demon! What a mouth! What an attitude! What a sexy voice…Gah! Kagome don't you dare start that again!' She refused to acknowledge the other sensations besides anger which accompanied his image popping into her head. Stalking back home, she burst through the door, her face red from running and the rage that seethed through her. Her band mates jumped at the sound of her arrival and the look on her face sent chills running up and down their spines; Aki leaned over to the other men; his movements deliberately slow so he wouldn't attract any attention to himself.

"Battle stations guys; I think Kagome just started again."

They nodded in acknowledgement and slowly slipped under their covers, when they came back out again they were all wearing helmets on their heads and pillows on their chests with candy ready to offer if she came close, trying to make themselves as small as possible so they wouldn't attract her notice. Kagome growled at them and slammed the door.

"Take that crap off you assholes. I don't start for another week."

It felt a little weird saying that to guys, but she was already annoyed beyond the point of caring about modesty and having them treat her like they do during her cycle would send her over the edge. They quickly peeled away their protection, hoping that would please her; it was enough to have her storm past them without any further argument as she plopped herself on the old couch, took the remote, and turned on the TV. As she watched a show she hardly cared for the band could see her digging her nails into the pillows and a scowl appear on her face. Shippo was the band member who suffered the least of her wrath so he volunteered himself to wander into enemy territory; he put down his book, cautiously walked up to her and sat down on the couch next to her.

"What's wrong Kagome-sama?"

He asked in his best adorable voice; she turned to him and the anger visibly faded as she switched off the TV and turned her body over to face him and the band.

"You wanna hear a stupid story?"

They all nodded their heads; she sighed, running her fingers through her shortened hair and bit her lower lip in agitation before reciting the night's earlier events to her attentive audience.

"I'll get him back, that arrogant bastard."

They would have been wary of what she said when if it wasn't said in the tone she used; her voice was strangely spoke almost with affection; when she was done she stared distantly into the ceiling, her expression not of anger, but of wonder, which made them ponder: did she really hate him?

It had been eight days since the mysterious demon had degraded her, but he was still plaguing her mind; the encounter had changed her. She grew distant, was unfocused during practice; start with one song, but change her mind in the middle of the set and request to do another. The singer's mental disarray exhausted her, she grew tired more easily and, at the end of the eighth day, Mr. K was only a practice away from breaking her. She couldn't get him out of her head, the sound of his voice, the cruelty of his words, the sharpness of his gaze; they enthralled her long after they parted ways.

"Kagome! Snap out of it already!"

Inu-Yasha yelled after reaching his breaking point with her, slammed his hand on the table they were all sitting around, causing her to jump and look up at him. He bent down so their faces were inches apart; his golden eyes bored into hers. Those eyes… she had seen them before, that same gaze she could loose herself in, but, before she could delve deeper into the subject, his screaming brought her back.

"You're never going to see that guy again and even if you did what are the chances that he remembers you? He's probably forgotten all about so you should just wise up and forget about him!"

That was the first time any of the band members actually yelled at her; instead of standing up for her, the band, without words or actions, stood behind Inu-Yasha, but all were too ashamed to look her in the face.

"Is that how all of you feel?"

She asked in a hurt voice; her eyes went from band mate to band mate and none of them could bring themselves to lift their gazes from the floor, but she got her answer all the same. She hung her head, hiding her eyes behind her bangs in humiliation.

"I see."

Without warning she rose to her feet and ran out, past Mr. K and other employees, down the escalator to her salvation: outside. It was raining that day, but she didn't care, she ran until her feet refused to run another step and she slowed down to a walk, wandering through the crowded streets as a soaking brunette in a sea of colorful umbrellas. Her clothes clung to her skin and she was thankful that she was wearing a loose long sleeve shirt with a vest over it to keep her gender concealed, but she was sure that the "perfume" Aki gave her had been washed away by the rain. Again, she didn't care and at the moment she was glad it was raining so no one would notice her crying; warm tears mixed with the cool rain, battling for space on her cheeks. 'Those assholes…' She thought to herself as she tilted her head up to the stormy sky, 'I will see him again… I will.' Not caring that she sounded pathetic, not understanding why she wanted to see him so much, and not sure how much of an excuse her plot for revenge was to cling to his image. His eyes seemed so cold, but there was so much to them, she wanted to see them again. 'He was…so cool looking…'

"Is that a foreign car?"

"You don't see many of those around here."

"It's all black. Look even the windows are tinted."

"Wonder if there's somebody important inside?"

Kagome looked over at a group of girls gossiping loudly over the noise of the city not five feet away from her; they pointed and gushed openly at a foreign car that was waiting at a stoplight; her gaze went from the girls to the car. Her eyes widened and her heart almost leapt out of her chest; that was the car! She could clearly see the G86 on the license plate, 'never see him again' keh! How could she have ever doubted herself, ever wavered? The light turned green, the car started moving and she panicked, if she didn't do something now she might never be able to see him again and exact her revenge. Without any form of logic thought, Kagome jumped over the railing that separated the sidewalk and the road, ran right into the middle of the street, turned and faced the car and threw her arms out wide like an offering.

"STOP!"

She screamed at the top her lungs, the driver hit the breaks and the tires screeched loudly in protest; people screamed and cried thinking that she was going to be run over, but the only thing she was hit with was water the car's wheels kicked up. As she watched the car nearly skidded off the slippery road the thought that this was a bad idea crossed her mind, but the gods determined that today was not her day to die and the vehicle finally stopped a few yards away from her. A moment passed before the door opened and he stepped out: the demon she had met in the park. Those eyes she had been longing to see met hers and her heart seemed to stop before it pounded wildly in her chest; as he walked up to her she quickly came to her senses, reached into her pocket and drenched herself in Aki's spray. She looked back up and he was so close to her that if either took another step their bodies would be touching; he opened his mouth to say something when the screams and squeals of many girls in the crowd filled their ears.

"Oh my God! It's Sesshomaru Takahashi! The famous romance novelist!"

"Did you just say Sesshomaru?!"

"No way!"

"I love your books, Mr. Takahashi!"

She froze, 'Romance novelist?' her gaze went back up to his face, he wasn't looking at her, but at all the girls and even a few guys who were coming after him from all sides.

"Damn it."

He muttered under his breath, turned around and briskly walked back to his car, but when climbed back in something was amiss; as he glanced over to his right he saw Kagome sitting in the passenger's seat of his car, she already locked the door with the seat belt was strapped across her chest. She up the inside of the car in awe, felt the leather interior and played around with all the little buttons; this was her first time being in a foreign car, much less a luxury one.

"What the hell? How did you get here so fast?"

He sounded more annoyed than surprised and she smirked.

"I ran inside while you were staring at your fans. So you're a novelist; is that why you degraded my lyrics?"

He raised an eyebrow, having no idea what the brat was talking about, couldn't recall ever seeing a human like him before; he had the features of a girl and upon attempting to take in the pretty boy's scent he got nothing. Perhaps it was a ploy, a game of one of his more psychotic and mentally unstable fans, all the more reason to kick out this boy even sooner.

"Whatever, just get out of my car."

She dropped her jaw in shock.

"Are you kidding? You nearly run over me and you expect me to get out? No way."

"Get. Out."

His eyes narrowed and his voice deepened, but she merely folded her arms and sat back in the seat like a stubborn grade-school child; the demon was about to reach over and shove Kagome out when his car was suddenly impaled by fans trying to break his windows and steal a picture of him, a piece of his clothing, or him. With no options left he hit the gas pedal and drove away with the strange human in his car. Unfortunately, his presence brought a lot of unwanted attention as he looked through the rear view mirror and saw cars jam packed with paparazzi chasing after him with their cameras already taking pictures, shouting different headlines to their employers via phone.

"Persistent bastards."

He muttered and then looked down at the soaking wet miko next to him; he unlocked the car and opened the passenger door just as he merged into a busy freeway.

"Get out."

He repeated to her and she looked first at the asphalt that sped beneath her feet and then at him like he grew a second head.

"Are you fucking nuts? I'm not leaving until you apologize to me!"

He was surprised when she claimed he was nuts for not apologizing instead of his threat of first degree murder. And this brat thought that he was nuts. Kagome turned her back on him and reached out to close the door, not a moment later she felt a foot impaling her in the back, trying to shove her out of the car. She clung to the door for dear life and thanked her mother for drilling car safety into her brain; the novelist gave her a strange look, the guy screamed like a little girl, but swore like sailor.

"AH! Are you trying to fucking kill me?! Shit! You really are a demon!"

He continued to try to force her out onto the road when he saw the cameras behind them go off like crazy and with his heightened sense of hearing he caught their titles.

"Sesshomaru: Murderer and Demon!"

"Novelist Gone Nuts!"

He rolled his eyes and grabbed the screaming human by the collar of his shirt, pulled him back into the car and closed the door, immediately he heard a change in the photographers' attitude.

"Sesshomaru: Hero in Disguise!"

"Writer and Savior!"

He smirked. 'At least I'm the good guy again.' He thought to himself, but his mood instantly changed when his gaze rested upon her; the miko was close to hyperventilation as she dragged air in and out of her lungs, eyes wide and nails digging into the leather seat, but she was still alive and she had to settle with that for now. The paparazzi followed them all the way to the gate of his home, but couldn't go any further; his car went through the gate and when the crazed photographers tried to follow he rolled down his window and stuck his hand out. Green whips of acid grew from his index and middle claws and struck out at the tires of the cars; the rubber bubbled and fizzed into a sticky liquid, glued tight to the asphalt and halted the armada. A smirk grew again at the cries of protest and drove through the thick forest-like grounds surrounding the mansion; the density made it highly unlikely that they would be able to take anymore pictures.

His claws had itched to melt the heads off the humans' shoulders instead of their tires, but surrendering their lives meant surrendering his own. The balance of power between demons and humans constantly shifted, in this new age there were constant wars between the species; demons were still roaming free, but their numbers were few. Only the strong had survived the many genocides. What the humans lacked in power they made up for in sheer numbers, not to mention they had the most advanced technology for destruction at their fingertips, this deadly combination prevented the opportunity for demons to ever seize control again. Other than a low count, demon had one other fatal flaw: they held onto the old. The sword, the arrow, and the spear had been replaced with guns, Kevlar armor and machinery; the armor of the ancient times could not protect its wearer against a barrage of bullets from a semi-automatic, not even their rapid healing was rapid enough anymore.

Sesshomaru was one of the few descendants of pureblood demons; being only twenty-five, he was still considered a fledgling in the eyes of the elder demons, not that he gave a damn, but too many youkai had given up trying to find a mate in another youkai and found one in a ningen, a simple human. In a single blood exchange a human could gain the longevity of the demon he or she is with; Sesshomaru's father was lucky when he found a pureblood demoness and bore him a daughter and then a son before she passed on, but then quickly moved on to Izayoi, the mortal princess whom he chose to share his life and the length of his years with. Disgusting.

As they drove through the forest-like grounds, the house came into her sight and her jaw dropped. It was a perfect mixture between the olden times and the new, a traditional Japanese mansion with all the perks of the 21st century as Kagome gazed at the exterior of his home she felt she had been whisked back in time, but upon entering, the latest in everything necessary for a home, and many things that weren't, found a place in his house. A fluffy white towel impaling her face snapped her out of her daydream, when she pulled it away her eyes met his.

"Dry yourself off. You're dripping all over the floor."

With that said, he disappeared into another room and she did as she was told; this was one of the few times she was grateful to have short hair, even messy and wet it still looked good and it was much easier to dry. She slipped off her soaking wet shoes before she dared actually enter the front room and after using three more towels was she convinced that she could sit on the leather couch with a high-end flat screen facing it. Not a moment after she sat down, he returned with an open can of beer in one hand and an unopened one in the other.

He had changed clothes, no longer in a business suit, but a simple silk shirt the top four buttons he left open to reveal a finely toned chest and black jeans. She almost couldn't contain the blush that tried to spread across her face; the singer had lived with her band for some time now and saw them in nothing but boxers and even accidentally saw a few naked, but other than severe embarrassment she was never really affected by it. She was thankful she was sitting down; her legs would have probably collapsed on her with a stomach full of knots. He threw the drink to her and she caught it with ease, at least her reflexes were still intact; her gaze went from the alcohol to him.

"I take it you're old enough to drink."

Even though the legal drinking age in Japan was twenty, her next birthday was in seven months; besides she had had more than her fair share of drinks with the band on the weekends. She muttered a 'thank you' before opening the can and taking a long swing, needing something to douse the fire that dared try to turn her face a beet red. He watched her like a predator, his eyes never leaving her, studying her up and down, and only turning away so he could light himself another cigarette.

"I'm Kagome Higurashi. What's yours?"

She said after a few minutes of silence and a consumed can of beer; he looked at her from the corner of his eye and frowned.

"Huh?"

She smirked.

"Your name. You have one right or was your mother too busy to give you one?"

His eyes narrowed dangerously, but said nothing; oblivious to the malice being sent in her direction she tried to spark up another conversation.

"You still owe me an apology by the way."

That rewarded her a quirked eyebrow in her direction.

"For what? Trying to get you out of my car?"

She shook her head vigorously, slammed her drink on the table, and stood up; he could sense more that see her anger rising.

"No! For what you said to me in the park eight days ago!"

He put down his drink as well, leaned against the wall, and folded his arms across his chest.

"Now what are you going on about?"

Her jaw dropped in complete shock, without thinking she grabbed her empty can and chucked it at his head which he caught in one smooth motion of his arm and crushed it in his hand like a wad of tissue paper.

"You forgot?!"

She cried and clenched her hands until her knuckles turned white; this little human was beginning to piss him off as he took a drag from his cigarette.

"About what? I don't ever remember meeting you."

Now it was an ash tray that was hurdled in his direction, he caught it without a scratch on it and set it down on the table beside him, more than tempted to pitch it back.

"Eight days ago jackass! Late at night in the park, I lost my lyrics; you found them and said it was worse than a child's! You owe me a goddamn apology!"

He blinked once, his memory clicking back into place, properly placing the loud-mouth in his long-term memory recall and pushed himself off of the wall.

"Figures. Did my comment affect you that much?"

She froze for a moment.

"So you do remember!"

He made no form of response, but his words effectively sunk in; she wasn't sure if she should be even angrier or happy that he remembered.

"Why did you say you didn't remember from before?"

He rolled his eyes at her obliviousness.

"I repressed you, stupid, but not your shit for a song. How can I forget such crappy writing?"

She growled low in her throat, but let it go.

"Do you have a problem with me?"

She mused and he momentarily snapped.

"Of course I do! You could have put a dent in my car!"

She paid no mind to his outburst as she took it upon herself to look around the room and, without asking, she walked down the nearest hall and began exploring the rest of the mansion. He followed her into a guest room that was right across from his study where all of his novels were written on a clean, up-to-date laptop. He saw her still for a moment at the scene change, the guest room looked like a normal bedroom, there was a four-poster bed, a dresser complete with mirror, and even a nightstand with a lamp for reading and a digital clock; a window on the wall opposite to the door that had a perfect view of the gardens outside. She circled the room before plopping herself on the bed and sinking into the soft mattress.

"What do you think you're doing?"

He asked and she jumped to her feet and turned around to find him standing in the doorway, didn't even realize that he was following her. She took a deep breath and tore her gaze away from those dangerous eyes to look around at the room again.

"I'm trying to get a feel for this place, learn where everything is."

His eyebrow couldn't help but disappear in his bangs.

"And you are doing this because…"

"I'm staying of course."

He was visibly taken aback and blinked a couple of times as she nodded her head as if he needed a visual confirmation to get the message through to his head.

"Yep. I'm not leaving until you apologize to me."

This statement made him smirk; his aura grew tainted with an air of male smugness as he folded his arms and leaned on the doorway with his shoulder, making sure that his sneer was big enough so she could see his fangs.

"First off, you're not staying and second, I'm never apologizing."

Now it was her turn to smirk; she sat up on the bed and crossed her legs.

"Did you already forget your little escapade in the car when you tried to shove me out? There are probably hundreds of pictures of that special moment and dozens of magazines who would die for a scandal on you. If you kick me out alls I have to do is go to the most popular one and tell them how you tried to get rid of me. You'll be arrested and your life will over; they could execute you since people don't want such a dangerous demon running freely. Face it, I hold your career and maybe even your life in the palm of my hand."

He narrowed his eyes at her. Oh, how badly did he want to tear a neat row of gashes across this brat's neck, but he restrained himself; he didn't want another human death on his hands especially with the higher powers of government just itching for an excuse to take down another pureblood demon.

"I'm not apologizing."

He repeated and her smirk grew; she calmly stretched herself out and lay back down on the bed looking up at the ceiling; Kagome didn't know why she felt so giddy when he said that, she didn't care. She tried not to let her female smugness show, even in the eyes of this demon she had to be a guy, pretty boy, whatever, she just couldn't be a girl, but that didn't mean she couldn't wreak her promised feminine wrath on him, she just had to very careful. Still feeling his eyes upon her as she smiled, her lips parted and sang out sweetly

"Then I guess I'm not leaving."

Okay first chapter is over! I have rewritten this first chapter since I realized my past writing is not up to par with my present; it's the same quality as my later chapters, but is much better than its original. I'm already at work updating my other earlier chapters.

For all those who have read or seen Gravitation I have provided a list of character switches.

Kagome Higurashi-Shuichi Shindou

Sesshomaru Takahashi-Yuki Eiri

Aki-Hiro Nakano

Sango-Sakuma Ryuichi

Kikyo-Shuichi's older sister

Inu-Yasha's older sister-Mika Tohma

Everyone else is either an original character from Gravitation or Inu-Yasha.

Song's in the story (changed them too): "Sleepless Beauty" by Nittle Grasper and "First Time" by Lifehouse

Please review, I know it sounds boring, but I would like a little feedback from my readers.

Thank you for reading!

-Love's Essence