AN: I didn't like the way the story was going so I rewrote it. Hopefully this one will be better :)
Perfect Notes: Chapter 1
Elegant fingers danced across the keyboard producing a beautiful melody with haunting notes. The musician's head was titled downwards in concentration and dark hair obscured the view of a beautiful face. Several moments passed with no interruptions before the door slammed open and loud voices broke through the melody. With a sigh, Rin looked up to see her friends, Kagome, Sango and Ayame, sitting in the front of the room chatting animatedly. Sensing her gaze, the girls looked at her with wide smiles and beckoned her over. Standing up, Rin stepped down from the platform where the piano stood and walked towards her friends as the room began to fill up with more students. Sighing, she pulled out a notebook and a pen as she sat down heavily, waiting for the teacher to start the lesson.
It was just another ordinary day for Rin Oshiro. She was 20 and had enrolled at this university specifically to study music. Here she sat in a classroom full of people all here wanting to improve their existing skills and eager to learn. In her own mind, she doubted whether some of the students in the room had any existing musical skills. She knew that Kagome and Ayame had none but Sango and she did. Rin looked around the room with vague curiosity and recognised some faces from high school and people she had met through her friends.
Her attention was brought to the front of the room as the teacher stood up, ready to begin the lesson, but like the rest of the class, she was soon turning her gaze to the doorway as four figures walked casually into the room and towards the empty seats beside her. The late comers were four of the most popular men in the music department, although they were probably well known throughout the other departments as well.
"Today we are going to find out the kinds of music that appeal to you. From that we can determine how to proceed with the lessons this year," the teacher announced and handed out questionnaires to the class. "We also need to know how much experience you each have so we can work on your strengths and weaknesses. That will start next lesson and you will be assessed in pairs. I'll pass around the list so you can see who you'll be assessed with and when. Please make note of the date and time."
With a sigh, Rin accepted the paper the teacher handed her and sank down into her seat, preparing for another dull lesson. This course wasn't nearly as much fun as she thought it would be.
Hours later, Rin walked towards the practice rooms where should could play her music in peace. Finding an empty room she set her books down on the table and moved to close the door. As she did so, loud music came from the room directly across the corridor from her. Curiously, she looked through the door and saw the same four males she had seen earlier. Kouga Hanamoto sat behind a drum kit at the back of the room, Miroku Ashida stood near Kouga holding a guitar. Inuyasha Taisho stood at the front of the room clutching the microphone stand as he screamed the lyrics to the song. However, it was Sesshoumaru Taisho, Inuyasha's half brother, who caught her attention as he sat off to one side playing his guitar.
Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him. His long silver hair hung loose over his shoulders and his long slim fingers moved surely on the neck of the guitar as he played. She shook her head and stepped back. They could have had the decency to close the door. She fumed at the lack of respect for other students. She had only intended to look in to see who was in there, but she found herself wanting to berate them for their lack of consideration. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped inside. The music came to a stop as all four men stared at her.
"Was there something you wanted?" Inuyasha asked, confusion written across his face at her sudden entrance.
"You could have been considerate enough to close the door," she said in a quiet voice and took a step back into the hall way. "You're lucky I like the music you play." She gave them a hard look and turned away, slamming the door behind her.
The four men stared incredulously at the door for a moment before Miroku finally spoke.
"Isn't she in our music class?"
"Yeah, she's friends with those popular girls, Kagome and Sango I think," Inuyasha said.
"And Ayame," Kouga added.
"You wouldn't think someone like her would be in with the popular crowd, would you?" Miroku asked with a crooked smile.
After a moment, they shrugged off the incident and continued their practice. Their band had been formed over a year ago and they played in local bars. They needed to practice for the performance they had in a week's time.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Rin sighed as she stood in the middle of the room looking the microphone stand that stood in front of her. Behind her, her band mates prepared for their practice. Sometimes she wondered how she had gotten into all of this. She would never have dreamed that she would be the lead singer of a band. In fact, she would never have dream she would be a singer. Suikotsu, the drummer, walked up to her and smiled.
"We're all ready, are you?"
"As ready as I'll ever be I guess," Rin said with a slight smile. "I'm still not used to this."
Suikotsu nodded and patted her shoulder as he turned to go back to his drums. "Don't worry. It takes time."
Nodding, Rin took a deep breath and looked at the band mates that had become her close friends over the past few months. The pair smiled back at her encouragingly and played the opening of the first song.
Hours later, the trio sat on the chairs in the practice room. Suikotsu was on the phone to his girlfriend and the guitarist, Bankotsu, was engrossed in a puzzle he had found in the newspaper. Rin smiled to herself - she enjoyed the hours spent with the two men. Despite their similar names, they weren't related, something she always found strange. The pair were like brothers to her and were always protective of her. In a way, she was closer to them than she was to Kagome, Sango and Ayame. Looking down she looked over the programme for the evening ahead. It was their first live performance. They would be performing at a local bar to their first audience. Rin knew she would enjoy herself, but she couldn't help but feel very nervous.
"We're all set!" Suikotsu said with a grin as he snapped his phone shut.
"We are?" Bankotsu asked, not looking up from his puzzle.
"Yeah. Natsuki's going to be at the bar waiting for us," Suikotsu said with the usual grin that came to his face when he spoke of his girlfriend.
"How does that make us 'all set' then?" Bankotsu asked with mild curiosity.
"She's got some clothes for Rin and she's packed a meal for us to have after the performance."
Rin looked up at the mention of her name. "Clothes for me?"
He nodded. "She said she found some clothes that you might like to wear tonight."
"Oh. I'll have a look when we get there tonight."
"Speaking of getting there," Bankotsu said as he looked at his watch. "We should be packing our equipment up and heading over to the bar to make ready."
"We're only fourth on the list though!" Suikotsu protested. "It'll be going on 10pm by the time we get to perform. What's the hurry?"
"He's right. It'd be better to get there and have to wait around than be late," Rin said quietly. "Besides, we can watch the other acts and see what we're up against."
Suikotsu's eyes widened. "I didn't think of that."
He grinned and ran towards his drums and began going through his collection of drum sticks trying to decide which to use. Rin watched him with a smile while Bankotsu shook his head before heading towards his large guitar case.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Sesshoumaru sat in the back of Inuyasha's car as they sped towards the bar where they were performing that evening. Kouga sat beside him and was babbling about the girl he currently had his eye on. Ayame. The girl who was friends with that strange girl who came into their practice session a week previously. His mind wandered back to that day as he watched cars speeding past in the opposite direction, their lights a blur as they went. He found out that her name was Rin. Rin Oshiro. She was in his music class at the university and always seemed to be the first person to arrive and to leave. She never waited for the other three girls and seemed to disappear when she left the class. He had only ever seen her once outside class. The day she had reprimanded them for leaving their door open during a practice session.
He watched her occasionally during lessons and found her to be a very strange individual. She had dark brown, almost black, hair that was always tied up in a bun and her face rarely showed any expression. He had never seen her smile, although he was willing to bet that she would look beautiful if she did. Her pale face was accentuated by thick, long eyelashes that framed a pair of the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. At first glance they seemed to be brown, but after scrutinising her closely, he found that they had flecks of gold in them as well which gave them a surreal quality. Her lips were full and he had lost count of the number of times he'd wished he could find out if they were as soft as they looked.
As he realised the implications of that thought, Sesshoumaru jerked himself back to reality. He was not the type of person that would entertain thoughts of that nature. That job was left to his brother and fellow band members. Still, he couldn't help wishing she would show him her smile any more than he couldn't help wishing she would look his way even if it was only once. Shaking his head, he tuned into his brother's conversation as he tried to rid himself of the thoughts that had plagued his mind for the past week.
"We're the second band on the list so we should be able to watch the fourth act. We'll need to pack our equipment up and by the time we finish, the third act will probably have finished as well," Miroku said as he examined the programme for the evening.
Inuyasha nodded his agreement. "We'll watch the fourth act. It's some new band isn't it?"
"Yeah. It's their first live performance tonight."
"They'll probably get nervous and mess it up," Kouga said thoughtfully. "It could turn into something quite funny."
"It could," Miroku admitted. "We'll have to save our laughter for when we leave the place though. We may never be invited back if we're too harsh on the newcomers."
"We'll deal with that later," Inuyasha said shortly as he pulled into a parking space behind the bar. "Let's unpack and go get ourselves ready."
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Rin sat in the dressing room she shared with Suikotsu and Bankotsu staring at the girl in front of her in absolute amazement. Natsuki held an outfit on a clothes hanger and was trying her hardest to convince Rin to wear it on stage. She had to admit, the outfit was incredible. It consisted of a tight black bodice with red ribbon lacing up the back and a black skirt that reached mid thigh. She couldn't deny that she liked it, but she wondered how appropriate it would be to wear such an outfit on their debut.
"Natsuki… isn't that a bit too revealing for a first performance?" she asked dubiously.
"That's the whole point!" said girl exclaimed with a grin. "Have you seen what the other acts are wearing?"
Rin shook her head. "No."
"They're boring. They're all wearing everyday stuff. This is your debut Rin. Make it memorable!"
"I suppose it makes sense, but I still think it's a bit too revealing."
"Can we compromise then?" Natsuki pleaded.
"How?"
"Wear the bodice with your jeans. It'll look fine, I promise."
"Alright," Rin conceded eventually and disappeared to try on the outfit.
When she returned, she felt somewhat uncomfortable at the looks her band mates were giving her. The black was stark against her pale skin and gave her an almost delicate look. Natsuki grinned and undid the bun Rin's hair was in, letting the thick, dark tresses fall over her back and down her back.
While Rin and her band mates were still preparing for their performance, Inuyasha and his band were packing away their equipment. Sesshoumaru led the way back into the small building and found seats for them at the front, right in front of the stage. On the whole he thought their performance had been very successful. The crowd welcomed them and enjoyed the music they played and cheered for them at the end. He smiled inwardly as he put his drink down on the table and waited for the next act. Looking down at the programme, he smirked when he saw it was the new band.
"Get ready to laugh, Sesh," Kouga said as he nudged him in the ribs from his seat beside him. "This is bound to be funny."
Before Sesshoumaru could respond, the lights in the room dimmed and there was the faint sound of movement on the stage in front of them. Suddenly, the room was lit up again, this time by a spotlight that showed a drummer wearing a black tank top seated at the back of the stage. The next light revealed a guitarist, again clad in black, standing to the right of the stage holding a black and red guitar. Without revealing the vocalist, the guitarist began to play and was soon joined by the drummer. The words seemed to come from nowhere, but gradually, the vocalist was revealed. Sesshoumaru felt his breath catch in his throat as he recognised the girl. Rin Oshiro stood on the stage in front of him.
Sesshoumaru listened carefully to her voice and had to admit it was beautiful. It echoed hauntingly in the room and he felt like he would be quite content to sit and listen to it all night. He was almost disappointed when she finished the song, but applauded nonetheless.
With a vague smile, Rin turned to look at her band members. It had gone well. Their first song seemed to be a success. She could have jumped for joy. Looking out into the audience she saw Kagome, Sango and Ayame waving at her with huge grins of approval. Then her eyes settled on the table at the front and she recognised Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, Miroku and Kouga. She smirked inwardly as she saw the look of shock on Inuyasha's face. Sesshoumaru's face, however, held an expression she couldn't recognise. He looked her directly in the eye and nodded slightly. The motion was so slight, she could have missed it. She blushed and broke the eye contact as the band began to play again. She dearly wished she could have known what he was thinking just then.