InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Of Strings and Kevlar ❯ Enter the Cellist ( Chapter 1 )

DISCLAIMER: I have no rights to Inuyasha or any of its characters. I hope to retire someday, so please don't sue.

Opening one of the double doors to the Music Building, Inuyasha was met with the much cooler air inside compared to the sweltering heat and humidity of Louisiana in August. He wiped the sweat off his face and stood just inside the entryway for a moment to take in his surroundings, picking up the sounds of various instruments playing behind closed doors. Numerous practice rooms lined the hallways, most of which were already occupied by students working on scales, solos, auditions, and so on. Considering the fall semester would be starting in two and a half weeks—meaning marching band season would begin in just a few days—this wasn't surprising; placement in the most coveted of ensembles was high competitive, and every hopeful had to be on top of their game if they expected to land a spot.

The unmistakable scents of valve oil and instrument cases filled the hanyou's nostrils, and he smiled a little at the sense of comfort they induced. He took a deep breath and started scanning the walls for a directory that would lead him toward the percussion instructors. Passing a lounge area occupied by a dozen or so students, he noticed with some relief that most of them didn't give him a second glance, despite his hanyou appearance. While most of this could be attributed to the natural acceptance of all walks of life most musicians were characterized with, Inuyasha imagined it could also be because he was in America now, where diversity was supposedly more welcome than it sometimes was back in Tokyo. At least, according to Sesshomaru, it was.

Sesshomaru had been living in the United States for the past ten years, since he had graduated high school. He had followed his high school sweetheart, Kagura, to Penn State and had graduated with honors, naturally. They had married during their senior year, and after graduation he began working on a career in law, which meant graduate school, for starters, as well as a demanding internship. Unfortunately, Kagura had quickly discerned that Sesshomaru's interest in the law left little time for her, but she solved that problem by having an affair with one of the men at the law firm at which he was interning.

They were divorced within two years of marriage.

Sesshomaru was now living alone in New Orleans, working as a contract specialist for a publishing firm. His tactics were cutthroat, earning him the admiration of the board, as well as a competitive salary nicely padded with benefits. He may have been well-off financially, but he was bitter and jaded. `Must run in the family,' Inuyasha thought to himself, thinking of his own misfortunes in the Significant Other department.

Reaching into his back pocket, Inuyasha pulled out the paper that held his class schedule and unfolded it. Having just registered for classes that morning, it was a blessing he had been able to get into the classes he did. Never mind his music history class was at seven-thirty in the morning, and he hadn't signed up for his lessons yet, but that's why he was here now. He was praying to get a time slot with Dr. Higgins, the most sought-after percussion instructor in the School of Music, and if what he heard was correct, a complete hard-ass. But then again, the best ones usually were.

Next to the lounge was a directory, and he stopped in front of it and skimmed over the departments, once again grateful his father had forced him to learn English when he was in high school.

Father….

`No. No time to think about that right now.' He minutely shook his head and focused on the directory again.

Dr. Higgins, Percussion. Room 304.

Turning toward the nearest stairwell, he noticed the practice rooms on this end of the hallway were empty, except one. Arpeggios were sounding deeply and smoothly from a finely tuned cello, which in and of itself was an oxymoron. `No such thing as an in-tune string instrument,' he thought as he peered into the small window of the door from behind which the sound was emanating.

All he could see was the body of the instrument nestled between two shapely, tan legs, and a toned forearm gracefully gliding the bow back and forth across the strings as she rounded her circle of fifths. The neck of the cello—as well as the upper half of the female's body, save her arm—were hidden from his view. He found himself intrigued and briefly considered knocking on the door before he stopped himself. He knew how he hated being interrupted when he was practicing, and besides, it was just plain bad etiquette.

Then again, he was never known for his moral standards.

`Nah. I'll leave her be.' He had just turned away when the door flew open wildly, making him stagger back in surprise.

In the open doorway stood those same gorgeous legs being shown off by gray soccer shorts, leading to a white tank top that was probably a little too loose to be considered decent. A few tendrils of her hair had escaped her messy ponytail and were spilling over her shoulders, giving her a somewhat stressed appearance. Her eyes were the most exquisite brown he'd ever seen, and the blistering anger illustrated on her features only made them more intense, like rich espresso.

Wait…anger? What was she -

“What the hell do you want?” she demanded, hands on hips as she stared down the shocked hanyou.

A little stunned by her outburst, he recovered just enough to shoot off an appropriate response. “Nothing! Damn, what's your problem?”

“Well, for starters, you're staring inside my practice room like a deranged lunatic! Did you lose something, or do you always interrupt people when they're practicing?” She crossed her arms, unwittingly drawing his attention to her bust.

“What the fuck are you talking about? I wasn't staring! And I don't see your fucking name anywhere!”

The girl's nose twisted cutely as her scowl deepened, and she grabbed a clipboard off the wall next to the door, which he had failed to notice until now, and thrust it in his face. “See right here? `One o'clock: Kagome Higurashi.' That's me, jackass! So considering it's about a quarter after, this is my room for the next forty-five minutes!” She shoved the clipboard into his chest, his quick reflexes saving it from falling to the floor. “So get lost!” She punctuated her tirade by slamming the door in his face.

“Argh! Bitch!” he roared, throwing the clipboard to the ground in front of the closed door, where it clattered noisily. Her middle finger made an abrupt appearance in the small window, and then was gone. Shaking with no small amount of rage, he stooped to pick up his class schedule, having dropped it when the bitch threw the door open, and stuffed it into his back pocket. His ears swiveled when he got the impression he was being watched, and he looked back in the direction of the student lounge.

A man holding a pair of drumsticks was standing in the hallway, snickering in his direction. His black hair was pulled back into a short tail, and his dark eyes danced with humor, obviously at Inuyasha's expense.

The hanyou sneered, balling his fists. “What's so fuckin' funny?”

The man laughed out loud at this point and took a few steps toward him, holding up his empty hand in defense. “No, no! I'm not laughing at you! I just happened to notice, or rather hear that you met Kagome.”

Inuyasha relaxed a bit and shook his head. “Yeah, I met her, all right. Damn! What the fuck is her problem?”

He shook his head and chuckled some more. “Yeah, she's pretty intense when she's practicing. Goes kind of crazy sometimes.” He gestured at the hallway surrounding them. “Why do you think all these practice rooms are empty? People usually don't take a room near her when she's here unless no others are available, except the people who don't give a shit about her attitude.” He grinned. “Like me.”

“Why? Bitch thinks she owns the place or something?”

He laughed. “Nah, it's nothing like that. It's just…well, she has a reputation, that's all.”

Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow. “What kind of reputation?”

He idly beat his drumsticks against his thigh as he contemplated his answer. “Let's see, how shall I put this…. I guess the nicest way to say it is that she's a perfectionist.”

Scowling, Inuyasha almost argued that most musicians were perfectionists, but he was already sick of talking about her. He shook his head. “Whatever. She's crazy.”

“She's really not that bad once you get to know her. You just can't let her push you around.” He stuck out his hand. “By the way, I'm Miroku.”

“Inuyasha.” He shook Miroku's offered hand and gestured toward his sticks. “Percussionist?”

“How'd you guess?” Miroku teased.

“Yeah, that's funny,” Inuyasha muttered, turning away. “Anyway, I'm heading up to Dr. Higgin's office. I'm hoping to get a spot on his roster.”

“Ha! Good luck! Sorry, dude, but he's been filled since early summer. You gotta sign up quick if you want to get in with him. Either that, or play your ass off for him. You any good?”

Inuyasha crossed his arms smugly. “I'm better than any of these jokers, at least on snare. That's for damn sure.”

Narrowing his eyes, Miroku crossed his own arms. “How do you know? Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you just get here?” He gave Inuyasha the once over. “You look too old to be a freshman. Transfer?”

“Not that it's any of your fucking business, but yes. I transferred from Tokyo College of Music, and I know because it's the damn truth. Why? Think you're better than me?” Inuyasha smirked.

Miroku made a show of laughing hysterically at the challenge, slapping his knee comically. “That's hilarious! You just got here from Tokyo and already think you've got everyone beat.” He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye, still full of laughter. “Well, my friend, I suppose we shall see who the better player is. I've been lead snare since sophomore year, which, by the way, is unheard of. I seriously doubt you'll beat me.”

“Feh. We'll see who's lead snare by the end of auditions. Now if you'll excuse me, I got a lesson slot to kick someone out of.”

“Ha! Just don't come crying to me if -”

Miroku's comeback was abruptly cut off when the door of the practice room they were standing in front of swung open again, a very irate cellist standing in its place. “If you two don't mind, there are some people around here who have auditions to prepare for!” She looked Inuyasha up and down and scowled. “Are you seriously still here? Didn't I tell you to get lost, like, five minutes ago?”

Inuyasha glowered at Kagome and took one menacing step toward her. “Listen, wench -”

“Okay! It was great meeting you, Inuyasha,” Miroku quickly interrupted and stepped between the two hot-headed students. “Good luck with Dr. Higgins. Maybe I'll catch you later.”

Kagome actually started laughing, puzzling Inuyasha by her abrupt attitude change, until she spoke again. “You're going to try to get a spot with Dr. Higgins? Oh, that has to be the funniest thing I've ever heard in my life!” Her laughter died immediately as her face resumed its scowl. “I can't believe you would think so highly of yourself. Yeah, good luck, Inuyasha,” she mimicked in a nasally voice. “You'll need it for sure.”

Inuyasha clenched his fists, his claws drawing blood in his palms. His voice was low and dangerous. “Bitch, nobody told you it was okay to call me by my name. So let's come to an understanding before you get hurt: You don't talk to me. Ever. And you sure as hell don't consider yourself in a position to pass judgment on me when you haven't even heard me play.” He smirked, deciding at the last minute to take a swing below the belt. “I, however, can do that to you, since I've had to endure you squawking out half-assed arpeggios for the last five minutes. So here's some advice, from me to you: invest in a tuner. Your intonation sucks.” It was a lie, but it served its purpose.

Kagome gasped and covered her mouth with her hand before narrowing her eyes and nearly knocking over Miroku to get to him. “How dare you?! What the hell do you know about intonation, anyway, drummer?”

Matching her scowl with another one of his own, Inuyasha was only held back from ripping the girl's throat out from Miroku's intervention. “Inuyasha, please! Go do what you need to do. You can't show up at the Doc's office in the mood you're in now!”

Inuyasha looked at Miroku, and then past him at Kagome's enraged expression. `He's right. She's not worth it. But she will be dealt with later….'

“Feh. I'll see you later, Miroku. Nice meeting you.” He turned away and headed for the stairwell, but just before he was out of their sight, he turned and smirked at her again. “Good luck with your tuning, bitch.” He waited until he caught her furious reaction before chuckling and confidently heading up the stairs.

***

`What an asshole!' Kagome pursed her lips together and stared at the empty doorway through which the arrogant hanyou—`Inuyasha,' she recalled Miroku calling him—had just disappeared. Who did he think he was? When she had seen him peering into her practice room, she had been startled at first by his blazing gold-colored eyes. They were so intense, like the sun itself. And she had also caught a peek at his ears, which were fuzzy and triangular on top of his head, like dog ears. `A hanyou,' she had thought to herself curiously. But as soon as her surprise had worn off, she was pissed. Who in the hell thought he could just stare into her room while she was practicing? Was he crazy?

`And my intonation is near perfect!' she thought smugly to herself before whirling around to face a still chuckling Miroku. She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at the amused percussion student. “Hmph. Friend of yours?” she asked snidely.

“Nah, I just met him. He seems all right though.” Miroku flashed an amused smile. “He certainly put you in your place.”

“In my place? Screw you! He's a jerk, and so are you for defending him!” She curled her fingers into fists at her side.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, there, girl! I'm not `defending' him, per se. I'm just saying that, maybe, perhaps, you were a tad harsh on the guy.”

“H-harsh?!” She stammered, nearly trembling in anger. “Are you kidding me?”

“Come on, Kagome,” he chided teasingly. “I was trying to be nice. You gave him an extra heavy dose of bitchy.” He twirled his sticks in his hand, winking at her. “Was he checking you out or something? Is that why your panties are all bunched up?”

“Stuff it, Miroku!” she shot back, blushing furiously.

“I can't say I blame him,” he went on, not one bit intimidated by her. “You are one hot piece of ass. Even for a string player.”

Kagome smirked, relaxing a bit at his twisted attempt at humor. “You'd better watch it. Don't let Sango catch you saying that to me, or she'll have your balls in a sling.”

He laughed and shrugged it off. “She knows to trust me around you. You and I can joke around together, can't we? I mean, three years of you being my cymbal player in Tiger Band have created a friendship between us, right?”

“Friendship? Yes. But something tells me Sango had better keep an eye on you,” she added jokingly, punching him in the shoulder on her way back to her practice room.

Miroku rubbed his shoulder in mock pain. “Hey, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't hesitate to hit that if I weren't spoken for.” His smile dissipated a little. “Of course, I'd have some competition.”

Kagome frowned. “I'd better get back to my warm-up. Those scales won't play themselves!” she laughed nervously before turning away again.

“Kagome?”

Pausing mid-stride, she sighed and turned, but one glance into Miroku's worried expression and she had to look away. “Yes?”

He paused. “You'd tell me if… anything was wrong, wouldn't you?”

Another nervous laugh. “Oh, you worry too much. Stop being so protective of me, I'm fine!” She plastered on a fake grin and swiftly turned back into her room, shutting the door before he could get another word in. Stepping into the corner so she couldn't be seen through the small window in the door, she covered her face with her hands. `Ugh. He's going to see right through me one of these days, if he doesn't already. Why can't I just tell him? It's not as if it's that serious, but I know him. He'll make a huge deal out of it and say that I'm traumatized from….' She stopped herself and shook her head. `No. It's not that serious.' She ran her shaking hands down her face and turned to sit in her chair. Picking up her cello, she leaned it into her shoulder and picked up the bow, taking a moment to adjust her fingers on the strings.

Kagome closed her eyes and sighed. `Home….'

As she began her arpeggios once again, she was reminded of Inuyasha's interruption, and she furrowed her brow. He had been incredibly rude, and completely arrogant. And cocky. And …and mean. And….

Those golden eyes….

She stumbled in her rhythm and grunted in frustration. `I've already lost fifteen minutes because of him. I'm not going to let him ruin any more for me!' And with newfound determination, she shuffled some of her music around and once again put bow to string, working on the trouble spots in her solo. With auditions right around the corner, there was no time to think about men, especially the conceited asshole of a man she had just so turbulently met.

`No matter how good looking he is….'

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