(((Chapter One: Indie Love)))

As Kagome exited her house that day, clad in bright blue converse, a gray skirt, and a tight blue top with some bright white su

As Kagome exited her house that day, clad in bright blue converse, a gray skirt, and a tight blue top with some bright white sunglasses, she was feeling pretty spiffy. The record shop downtown had finally gotten over its renovations, meaning she was able to get back into it again. She absolutely loathed the way it was shut down, how her perfect haven of love had closed for five months—but now the dark ages were over. She now had light.

Bouncing with a skip in her step, she began bobbing her head to sway with the imaginary music around her. Life was, essentially, a song, she concluded. A happy, wonderful song that just made you want to dance. Some people could hear the music, she thought, and she was one of them.

Yes, she decided after a moment of getting strange looks from a group of girls that attended her high school. She definitely was one of them.

She had made it into town pretty easily. The reason why she loved The Rocket was because it was so accessible in her mess of a life. Even though she had to juggle classes, her irritable mother, and drama from her friends, she would always make time for Rocket. It was what made her sane in the land of insanity.

In a mad dash of jay-walking (or, in her terms, jay-running), she stopped in front of the silver and blue sign. Pursing her lips, she drew down her white sunglasses to survey the damage of what used to be the most run down, hip place in the city.

It was now silver and blue with a hint of lime. She sighed, her blue eyes rolling to the heavens.

Lame!

Kagome hated it (but, alas, there was a new owner…nothing could be said), but she would have to make do. Though it was a different color scheme, the music wasn't about to change. If there were a change, there would be some bloodshed. Major bloodshed.

"Hallelujah!" Kagome cried as she entered, hearing a tingling bell above her head. The lay out remained the same (Pop, Jazz, Hip-Hop, R B, Rap, Rock, Indie, Punk. In other terms, love) and she had to give God a thanks for that. If that had changed, she would be disoriented, and disorientation to a girl who's life's fuel ran on music wouldn't be healthy. If it had changed, she wouldn't get her dose.

Music, in essence, had become a mandatory drug to a junkie like Kagome.

"Yo, babe! Need something?" a girl with a high brown ponytail called, playing with the nose ring indented in her left nostril. It probably itches seeing as though she got it yesterday. Good job even not trying to hide it, Sango! Kagome thought sarcastically before sighing as she bounded towards the counter.

"I need more soul, San," the raven headed female sighed. "Since this place up and closed, I've been withdrawn from society. Do you know how much shipping costs on Amazon? Fuck it, I say!" She paused as she listened to the vocals playing up above. The guitar piece and the vocal seemed so familiar… "What MGMT is this? I can't recall the song."

"It's Pieces of What," the older girl replied. "On album Oracular Spectacular."

"Nice choice," Kagome nodded. "Haven't listened to it in a while. Have you heard if they're coming any time soon?"

"No," Sango shook her head. "I'm unaware as of yet. I haven't really looked through their site much, so you should check it out. Anyways, what do you need?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "What's the latest hit?"

"Well…" she began, tapping her chin. She leaned her right hand on the ledge of the counter and spaced her legs so she could put a cock to her hip to make her seem like she was contemplating the reason to life on her Earth or other philosophical ideas. "I quite enjoyed the last Broken Social Scene. Simply fantabulous! But if I had to take a blast to the past for a while, I'd say Joy Division. I've been looking for some of that, or New Order. Have a prescription for me, Doc?"

"I would say I could help you locate some goods, but I'm too terribly busy," she said dramatically (Kagome snorted then because all she was doing was manning the counter, and that hardly counts as terribly busy). Kagome wasn't expecting what Sango was about to say next, however. "The new guy can help you."

Kagome leaned forward, incredibly interested, and leveled her blue eyes with Sango's coffee ones. NO ONE jointed staff and did not know Kagome. And hearing it was a guy particularly turned on her "potential lover" siren in her head.

"New guy? Tell me: is he cute? Is he indie? Does he look as scrumptious as Eugene Hutz?" she asked eagerly, changing her stance to one of an excited girl waiting for a lollypop at a candy store.

"I don't want to ask about that last one about Eugene," Sango sighed, shaking her head. "Your tastes are WAY off."

"Tell me!" Kagome pleaded. "Is he cute?!"

"What kind of cute?" Sango retorted, suddenly deciding to stay on topic. "I have a boyfriend, you know."

"Meh," Kagome replied, waving it off. "You have right to judge, even if you're hitched. Is he cute?"

"Gorgeous," Sango squealed, breaking her calm, I-will-always-be-loyal-to-my-boyfriend-for-he-is-my-boo composure. "And, for a new guy, he's got things down here flat."

"Piercings?" she asked.

"None," Sango replied with a grin as she leaned her elbows on the counter to lean forward to Kagome. "They'd mar his pretty face."

"Height?"

"Tall, taller than Miroku." (Miroku a.k.a Sango's squeeze and the man who wants to have her babies).

"Hair?"

"Weird," Sango said simply. "Silver."

"Dyed?"

"Nah. Don't think so."

"What? How can it not be dyed?" Kagome questioned, extremely puzzled. "No one can be born with silver hair unless they were an albino. Is he an albino? And if he is an albino, can I hug him?"

"Maybe. I haven't asked," she shrugged. Kagome nodded, thinking about how frigging awesome it would be to have an albino lover, and then stilled as she remembered the most important question looming in her skull.

"The dreaded question of all…" Kagome began dramatically, leaning forward to touch foreheads with her friends. "Music taste?"

"As he explained it," Sango began, "he can go from the highest peaks of rock to the lowest valleys of rap, though he tends to enjoy long hikes uphill rather than down sulking in the rivers. Indie is a pleasant land he walks in often and he often treads through the punk waters."

Kagome snorted and grinned, "You made that up, you little bitch."

"You know very well I did!" Sango laughed. "Gosh, Kagsy, if you want to meet him so much, I can introduce you. Or you can find him and introduced yourself."

The girl in question stood up and dusted off her skirts in a fashion before turning to the large mirror behind the counter to look at her reflection. Pursing her lips once more, she played with her hair that was conveniently up in a messy bun. Pushing some loose strands behind her head and asking Sango nine more times is she looked either a) sexy, b) cute, c) beautiful, or d) pretty, she set off.

"Good luck!" Sango smiled. "He should be in the back room with the exclusives."

Kagome didn't look back to her friend, but jabbed her arm in the air to give her a thumb's up that she received the message loud and clear. Passing another glance to her left to see a mirror, she smirked.

Marilyn Monroe, eat your heart out, the devious music junkie thought deviously.

Stepping through some very hippie styled beads hanging from the doorway, she stepped into the official VIP section where everything was stored. As a special guest to this haven of music, Kagome was officially allowed back here merely because the workers of Rocket couldn't keep her out.

Stepping in timidly, she looked around to find the new guy. She was looking from left to right (the exclusive room was big, but not too terribly big) and didn't even stop to look if a body was coming towards her person. And so the forces collided, much like Star Wars—but this, much unlike Star Wars, ended up in an extremely painful fall.

CDs were strewn everywhere from the open cardboard box someone had been lifting, and she was about doused in plastic covers. They poked her skin and she winced as she looked over the damage of the person she walked into (which had to be the new guy, and now her potential lover now had the knowledge she was a walking tornado).

"Damn," he cursed, leaning up. Kagome's eyes met the most beautiful, unique male she had ever had the pleasure of seeing in her short seventeen years of life. His hair was made up of fine silk threads from the loveliest part of Asia, all silver with the appearance of being incredibly smooth. His skin pale, almost like a vampire (Kagome would check for teeth or a reflection in a mirror later) and eyes lighter than the sun, Kagome was absolutely hypnotized.

"Hey, I apologize for that," he said, giving her the look over much like she did him. Snapping out of the spell he placed on her, she smiled embarrassedly.

"It's my fault," she said meekly. "I should be the one apologizing for it."

If Sango had heard that mousy voice, she would've rose a very comical eyebrow. Jesus, when had she forgotten how to have a personality around men?

He stood up, allowing her to see a green plaid shirt and black jeans. Instantly appreciating them, she began imagining what he would look like without the pants. And what she pictured made her just want to do handstands and cartwheels all around the place before jumping on him to see if her vision was correct.

"Here," he offered, extending his hand. She ignored it for a moment, still thinking incredibly dirty thoughts about the male in front of her and whipped cream, before he waved the same hand in front of her face.

"What? Can't you see I'm fantasizing?" she snapped. A grin stretched across thin, pale lips and she saw a perfect row of teeth.

"You're an odd one," he commented as he took her hand and helped her up. "Why has this little mouse lost its way? You shouldn't be back here, giving me this company."

"I can," she commented, waving off the question of her authority or presence as she smiled up at him. He was very tall. If she could, she would have squealed.

She loved—no, bad word…ADORED—tall, indie guys.

"No," he disagreed playfully. "I don't believe you have permission."

"But I do!" she retorted with a pout on her lips. "I really do! I'm not just some random chick coming in here to knock into someone!"

"Then what are you here for?" he asked, raising a perfectly silver eyebrow. She watched its ascent before shaking her head.

"Erm…well…maybe I came in here to just run into you?" she asked smartly, although her reasoning did have the underlying tone of LAME. She turned scarlet as he gave her an odd look, though there was an amused golden tint in his eyes.

"And that's a perfectly logical answer," he ended. "Now why don't you, little doll, help me pick these up?"

"Fine," she grumbled, disliking (though secretly enjoying) the way he called her "little doll". As she began tossing the neatly packaged discs in the box, she could feel his eyes on her for the majority of the time and she couldn't help but be proud of herself. Perhaps potential lover would become what she hoped he would be?

As they rounded the rest of the runaway discs into their case, she offered to help him with the box though he could carry it on his own without worry. He agreed, if only to make her happy.

"I'm Sesshomaru," he stated suddenly, surprising her so badly she was about to drop the box. "I don't believe we've met before our spill back there in the exclusive room."

"Kagome," she smiled prettily. "I nearly live in this place. Sango, your manager, is my best friend and the music here is my soul mate."

"Another music enthusiast," he smiled genuinely. "And all of them are female? I'm beginning to feel like the luckiest male on Earth."

Unable to hold it in, she burst out into giggles at that comment. At least she knew he was heterosexual! Though she had the nagging doubt in the back of her mind he was into guys (not like that was a bad thing…but seeing as she was a girl, she would be out of the picture), the way he spoke let her know he was into females. And if the look over back there didn't help assure her, she didn't know what would.

"I'm glad you two are hitting it off," Sango commented as she came by with a sticker gun to tag the new arrivals. Kagome pushed some hair behind her ear and smiled a smile that said I-hate-you-with-all-my-being-right-now.

The worst part about it: Sango knew about her plan chatting up Sesshomaru to make him fall head over heels in love with her. She knew and she was interrupting the time she desperately needed to make him swoon! Kagome decided (with evil thoughts in her mind) when Sango was going to catch a quickie from Miroku later that day in the back room, she is going to "randomly appear" and ruin their time.

You see how it feels, she groused, glaring at her friend. Sango ignored it, and completely was unaware of Kagome's plans of interrupting time with her boyfriend.

"…Kagome is a regular," Sango was explaining whilst she had spaced out, thinking very inappropriate thoughts of Sango's sudden and near death. "She's been coming here ever since she was eleven and befriends each of the workers. You're the newest, so she needs you to know she's the head bitch around here and she'll do whatever she wants. The old boss really enjoyed her, and it seems the new one is digging her too."

"Head bitch?" Sesshomaru asked, giving that same quirky smile as he gave her another look over at her small frame. "I like it."

Before Sesshomaru could say anything else, Kagome took a hold of his sleeve and began pulling him forward.

"I am head bitch," she concluded, only repeating what Sango said minutes earlier. "And you are going to buy me a coffee and we're gonna talk upstairs until I approve of you inside and out."

Though I do appreciate and approve the outside of you very much, she thought simply.

"Sango, I'm on my break!" he called as she began the process of dragging, and Sango just stood there laughing away as Kagome practically shoved the newcomer up the stairs to the coffee shop up above.

Poor guy, Sango thought with a grin. She's gonna make him either cry or fall for her completely. Either way, she'll be pleased as hell. And so she turned her attention away from the two upstairs to an impatient customer.

(((End Chapter One)))

So, I just got back from Lollapalooza and let me say this; so much Indie love! SO MANY INDIES!! And it made my heart swell as I joined the crowd. So, I think there needs to be a fic solely based around music. I love music and I shall give you this as a sort of story/review of some of the great stuff musicians have to offer. Sounds like a plan, huh? And maybe if I'm effective in writing this, you get to know of some really great bands. I'll be mentioning quite a few, so be prepared for some music knowledge!

I also don't own anything, and I mention quite a lot in here. None of these songs, artists, movie references, or people are mine. Not even the characters. I'm just transforming them into a fun story for people to read.

Thoughts? Ideas? Listen to some of the music and give me some feedback. I love hearing what people have to say with what I listen to.

Oh, and I apologize for it being so short. The next chapter should be longer; this is more of an introduction. And I will be writing this on my free time, so be prepared to be left hanging for a bit.

Cheers!

Lilith-dono