InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shards of Foxfire ❯ Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. If I did, well, just read my fanfic!

"Welcome to the Shards of Foxfire concert!" Kagome said into the microphone. "Now, to introduce the band, for those who don't know. I'm Kagome, and I'm on the keyboard!" The crowd cheered loudly. "Next, it's Inuyasha and Kouga on the steel guitar!" The applause, cheers, and screams were deafening as the guys played a short duet. "Miroku on the drums!" He waved and twirled a drumstick. "Sango on the guitar!" People clapped as she grinned and played something short on her guitar. "Kikyo with her harp!" Kikyo smiled and waved to the cheering crowd. "Kirara and Shippo doing the special effects!" The audience roared with approval as fire shot up from the stage. "And, Sesshoumaru on the bass drum!" The cheering grew louder as he nodded slightly. "Now, tonight, we have a special treat for you. We have been training two new people for our band, and they've worked really hard! So, let's give a hand for Rin, Sesshoumaru's little sister!" Rin blushed and waved. "Also, Ayame, Kouga's friend, on the flute!" Ayame acted much like Rin, blushing and smiling. The crowd was louder than ever. "Well, enough talking! Let's start the music!"

"Awai sora ga utsushita Omoi ga kezu me ni tonde kita houseki…" The band decided to start with Yura Yura, with Sango singing and playing guitar. Kikyo was singing with Sango, and Inuyasha and Kouga jumped around onstage, playing steel guitar, banging their heads wildly, much to the approval of their many fans. Kagome was playing her heart out, eyes closed. Ayame played her flute well, especially since this was her first time onstage. Sesshoumaru was having a good time, and loving the crowd. Miroku was playing better than ever. Even the effects had better timing. It was their best concert yet. When the song ended, the applause was thunderous. Everyone was exhilarated from the success of the first song.

Now, it was time for the girls to play while the guys set up for their song, and Rin's debut. The curtain closed for a minute as a different curtain closed, in front of the guys. The girls quickly moved their equipment to the front of the stage. As they got set up, Sango went to the front as the curtain opened again, microphone in hand. "This is a prelude, so the guys can get set up for their song, and it is called, `Kagome and Inuyasha'. We hope you enjoy it." The crowd cheered as she went back to her seat.

Kagome and Sango played the lower part as Ayame and Kikyo played the higher part. Rin stood in the middle, waiting for her cue. When it came, she wavered slightly, but only for an instant. Her soprano voice arced over the other music, as Sango and Ayame fell silent. As the first part ended, Sango began again, along with Kagome and Kikyo. Rin was silent once more, until her cue, which she got beautifully. The entire audience was transfixed by her voice. As she got softer, the rest of the music did as well. When the music finally ended, the audience was silent for a few seconds before applauding loudly. Rin was so elated that she practically floated offstage.

As the girls moved their equipment further back, everyone was congratulating Rin. Her face shone brightly, and she looked happier than she'd ever been. As she passed by Sesshoumaru, he said, "Well done, Rin." She glowed with pride as she helped Kagome move her keyboard. Sango heard Inuyasha mutter discreetly, "Hmph. The way Sesshoumaru was staring was like he was listening to an angel's chorus, and all he says is `Well done'? Geez, what is it with him? If he's trying to hide his emotions, he's doing a horrible job!" Inuyasha slouched off, still muttering.

Everyone got in place quickly as the curtain began to open. The crowd began to cheer, as they knew what was coming. The girls began to play their part quietly as the guys began to sing. "I want to change the world, Kaze wo kakenukete, nanimo osorezu ni…" The crowd began to cheer louder, almost drowning out Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sesshoumaru's singing. The crowd loved the music, cheering wildly. As the girls finished playing, the crowd burst into applause.

After that song, the rest were successes as well. Kikyo had a harp solo, and then they played `Fukai Mori'. Inuyasha had a steel guitar solo, much to the delight of the young women in the audience. After that, they played `Owari Nai Yume', followed by Miroku's solo. They played four more songs afterward: Every Heart, Grip, No More Words, and My Will, interspersed with solos by Sango, Sesshoumaru, Kagome, Kouga, and Ayame. It was the best they had ever done. The crowd cheered louder than ever when the concert ended, and were throwing objects onstage.

As the curtain closed, everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief. Kirara and Shippo left the effects box and went to clean up the stage. They came back with arms full of stuffed toys. Inuyasha took a lot of teddy bears with Shippo still attached. He fell to the ground with a thump, running to Kagome. She comforted him as Inuyasha dug through the bears and toys, letting everyone see them. Rin was about to go for her collection of bears, but Sesshoumaru held her back. "Let's look at these once we get on the bus." Rin nodded, and Inuyasha strode out to the bus with the bears.

Everyone started to pack up equipment. It had been a long week, and everyone was tired. They were about to have a month-long break, so everyone was in a big hurry to leave. They packed everything up in about 20 minutes, a record for their band. Sango was walking next to Kirara, making sure she didn't drop anything, when someone ran into her and hugged her tightly. Sango was about to yell at him when she noticed that it was Kohaku, her younger brother. She hugged him back, happy to see him. "I loved the concert!" he said as he helped the guys. "Everyone did great!" As the compartment was closed, Sango said, "You are coming with us on our break, right?"

"Of course!"

"Great! How's school been?" Kohaku went to high school while everyone else was on tour.

"Pretty good. Not as good as being on tour, I bet."

"You're probably right."

"Stop yakkin' and get on the bus, or it'll go on without you!" Inuyasha's voice rung out from the bus. Sango sighed, and led her brother onto the bus.

"Nice! So, this is where you guys are living! Got a place for me to stay?"

"Of course we do! We've got 6 bunks, silly! You'll have one, don't worry."

"Only six bunks for eleven people and me?"

"Well, yeah! Kirara shares mine, and Shippo shares Kagome's…"

"That's ten…"

"And Kouga drives all night, and Ayame stays up with him…"

"Eight…"

"Rin sleeps in Sesshoumaru's bunk, since he doesn't use his…"

"Seven…"

"And Miroku and Kikyo just sleep in chairs."

"OK, then."

Kohaku was looking at everyone around the room. Ayame was being a navigator for Kouga, yelling at him to stop looking at her. Kikyo, as usual, was sitting on a chair, reading. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were playing video games, while Kagome was helping Rin learn to play keyboard. Miroku sat on a three-person bench, watching TV. Kirara was sitting in his lap, and Shippo was bouncing off the walls as usual. Sango and Kohaku joined Miroku, and stared at the screen vacantly until Miroku turned it off.

"We're not paying attention to the TV anyway, so let's do something useful, ok?" Miroku retrieved his laptop from his chair, and said, "Since we have about two weeks worth of break, where should we go?" Sango shrugged, but Kohaku had an idea. "What about a beach somewhere nearby?" "Good idea, Kohaku!" Miroku and Sango said in unison, then looked at each other and laughed. "So, let's look at beaches nearby, shall we?" Miroku typed in something, waited a few seconds, and then turned the laptop around. "How about there?" Sango took the laptop from him and began to look at the place he had chosen. "Wow! Five star hotels and restaurants, white sand, clear water, presidential suite, I LOVE IT! Tell Kouga where we want to go, ok?"

As Kohaku stumbled up to the front, Sango gave Miroku his laptop back and sat on her bunk, bored. Kirara left Miroku and joined Sango, purring happily. Sango scratched Kirara absently, thinking about the tour so far. Miroku, bored as well, sat on the edge of Sango's bunk. "Um, Sango?"

"Yes?"

"Want to play video games or something? Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru aren't on any more."

"I don't know how."

"I'll show you. I'll get Kagome to help me out, too."

"OK, I'll try, then."

"Great!"

Kagome soon left Rin playing a simple song on the keyboard, and went over to Sango and Miroku. She bit back a smile as Miroku was helping her learn the controls, then cheering her on, no matter how horribly she did. When Sango threw down the controls in anger, Kagome decided to help.

"I can't do it!"

"Give it a chance, Sango! When I first started, Inuyasha laughed at me, but I'm really good now! You just need to practice!" Kagome said as she picked up the controls. Sango shook her head, not wanting to play. "Well, how about you be the navigator."

"Navigator?"

"Yeah. Just read from the strategy guide, and Miroku will play the game."

"Ok!" Kagome got the strategy guide from the bookshelf, and tossed it to Sango. Kirara trotted over to Sango once more, and grew large, Sango leaning against her pet. Miroku took the controls, and began to play, Sango guiding him. Kagome left the two lovebirds, and went to join Inuyasha, who was busy reading. She twiddled with his ears, and he turned around, about to slap whoever it was, saw Kagome, and relaxed.

"You seem to be in a good mood!"

"Well, yeah! I just set up Miroku and Sango!"

"Again? You know it never works out! I'll give it five minutes, ten at the most."

"Why do you have so little faith?"

"Because this has happened, oh, about a million times before, give or take a few."

Kagome ignored this last statement, and leaned against Inuyasha, sighing. He bit back his retort, and started to read again, listening hard to see if Kagome's plan would actually work.

In the back room, the video game had progressed considerably, probably thanks to Sango's encouragement. "Come on! Jump! You can do it!" Sango and Miroku turned out to be a great team, and soon they had gotten a higher score than Inuyasha. Inuyasha grumbled a bit, but he was happy that Kagome finally worked it out between the two. As they were saving their progress, Inuyasha heard telltale noises, Miroku moving closer to Sango. "Ten…" he counted under his breath. "Nine… Eight… Seven …Six …Five …Four …Three …Two …One" A scream and a slap echoed through the bus, both noises from Sango. She huffed out of the back room, throwing dark looks at Miroku, who walked past, rubbing his face, which had a bright red hand mark, courtesy of Sango. Inuyasha woke Kagome up. She looked over at Sango and Miroku, then sighed in exasperation. "It's so obvious that they're in love, but why can't they get along?" Kagome wondered to herself, then looked at Inuyasha and laughed to herself. She and Inuyasha were just like that about six years ago, when they met.

Sango looked at a photo on the wall of their bus. It was of the band, Kohaku, and Kagome's family, taken five years ago, a few days after they defeated Naraku. Kagome was in the center, with a big smile. She looked like an adult now, unlike the teenager in the picture. Ayame was on Kouga's back, both of them sporting canine grins. Kouga had longer hair then, and was more reckless. Ayame had grown up a lot, being the youngest teenager in the picture. She didn't change much, but acted more mature now. Inuyasha stood behind Kagome, a small smile showing, looking exactly the same as he used to look. Miroku had his arm around Sango, the two of them smiling. Although it was just a pose, Sango slapped him afterwards. Miroku didn't look very different, though he changed a lot. He stopped acting as perverted a while ago, after Naraku was defeated, and he figured out that he didn't have a hole in his hand any more. He still wore the prayer beads and wrapping around his arm, as a reminder. Sango had changed quite a bit, too. She grew up quickly, after the picture was taken, acting more like an adult than a teenager was. Kohaku was on the other side of Sango, with his arm around her as well. He was sixteen now, and driving everywhere. He was a lot taller than Sango, and was completely changed. Rin sat on Sesshoumaru's shoulders, going from an eight-year old to an eighth grader. She was beginning to look a lot like Sango and Kagome, and could pass as their sister. Everyone else looked the same, one being dead, and three being slow-aging demons.

As Sango looked over at Kohaku, Miroku was teaching him to work on the website. He acted like Kohaku's older brother, and was treated almost like family by her brother. But to Sango, Miroku was more like a boyfriend though, even as she thought that, she realized how absurd that was. He hasn't acted like a boyfriend at all, even after he asked me to bear his children, and I said yes. He's acted like he always has, even though he probably knows I love him. And with that disconcerting thought, she leaned against the seat and fell asleep.

Kohaku looked up from the small computer, and stared at the sleeping form of his sister. She looked so vulnerable, completely different from her battle stance. A lot had changed since that fateful day at Naraku's castle. Back then, it was like a bubble had surrounded them, protected from any misfortunes or troubles the world around them had. Then, Naraku, a malicious demon who took control over Kohaku, had destroyed their peaceful life. Kohaku shuddered, remembering how it felt to be controlled; seeing everything you were doing, and being helpless to stop it. Sango was the only one who believed in him at first. When he was a little boy and had nightmares, Sango was always there to assure him that nothing would happen. Even when he was under Naraku's control, Sango saved him when she could, and loved him even though he had tried to kill her time and time again. He realized that without Sango, he wouldn't be here at all. Feeling tired himself, he moved over to Sango, and leaned on her shoulder. She woke up, and smiled at Kohaku as she put her arm around him. Kirara jumped into Sango's lap, and the three of them fell asleep.

Kagome was headed to the back of the bus to play video games, leading Inuyasha. They passed by the sleeping siblings, and Kagome felt a pang as she realized how much she missed her family, though she'd see them tomorrow. Inuyasha stopped, and opened his mouth to say something cynical to ruin the moment, but Kagome gave him a sharp tug on his rosary. Knowing that that meant that he would be on the floor if he said anything, he passed by them, grumbling. Kagome grinned, happy to keep Inuyasha from ruining anything. The siblings slept on, unaware of what just took place.