A/N: Oh my god, I forgot this site existed. It took me 3 hours to remember my email and password! Anyway, I'm trying to get back my writing skills. I feel like I've lost them and need to brush up on them, so I'll be focusing on fanfiction.

I still remember this story, thank god. But if my writing skills are sub-par, please forgive me, and don't give up! Reviews encourage me when I have serious insecurities like now, so please leave encouragement or helpful criticism! I'd appreciate it:)

Disclaimer: Basically I don't own InuYasha. Hence the fanfiction thing.

If you want to know what Kagome's voice sounds like: watch?v=KmH4l_Z20tM the best part is 3:07 (I am awed every time). The note at 3:11 is the note Kagome is practicing in the chapter.

The singer is Luna, a vocalist from a girl group F(x). I pictured Kagome as having a very gentle voice (much like her speaking voice that her voice actress has) with the ability to go high and be powerful as well, and I couldn't find anyone better than Luna that I knew of.

Plus, Luna is super underrated. She gets no recognition despite her voice, which kills just about everything in life ;)


Scroll 3- Music

Our first class, as it turns out, was music class.

I'll always think of music as my first love. I fell in love with music at the age of seven, when we'd gone out for a Christmas concert Back then, mom and dad took us with them everywhere, even if it was a date or a special night for them. They loved having us around, but the biggest reason was that mom was afraid to leave us with Onigumo or in the care of anyone else. She'd dealt with several bad babysitters and nannies as child, and she didn't want us to go through the same thing.

So mom dressed Kikyo and I up in matching velvet dresses- mine green, Kikyo's scarlet red- and took our hands, leading us to the Shikon Hall, a beautiful, state of the art auditorium where the professional orchestras and opera singers often performed.

We sank into velvet seats on the balcony, mom and dad behind Kikyo and I, holding hands fondly. I always wished I could fall in love the way mom and dad had. A lot of kids I knew had divorced parents, or talked about parents who fought all the time, but my parents had never yelled. I guess, simply put, they looked at each other as if they were the most brilliant and delicate thing in the room. They treated each other with such care and affection, each touch woven with tenderness and love.

Anyway, the lights had dimmed and a lone figure had appeared on the stage. It was a woman. The orchestra began to play, and the auditorium seemed to inhale in unison- and then she opened her mouth, and I fell in love. Not with her, but with music.

I'd never heard anything so beautiful. Her voice was like crystals, rolling sweetly into my ears, as gentle as the trickling of water in a stream. It seemed to echo in my bones. Then I heard the sorrowful cry of the violin and human song of the cello wove into a single, precious melody, adding to the woman's beautiful song, and I lost myself completely, disintegrating into the music. I suddenly wanted to cry- not because I was sad sad, not because I was happy, but because everything around me suddenly seemed so rich, so beautiful. The world changed right before my eyes as I listened. It's impossible to describe, and the most wonderful feeling in the world.

And just like that, I fell in love with music. I wouldn't speak the rest of the night- I was holding on to the echo of the woman's voice, hoping desperately to keep her song alive in my ears as long as possible. I later found out she was Rimi Natsukawa, and she became my role model in music. The next day I couldn't get the song out of my head, so I started singing, and I wouldn't stop until my mom finally signed me up for singing lessons. But it didn't stop there. Soon I wanted to learn more than singing- I wanted to play instruments, compose music, completely belong to that beautiful world of sound.

And now here I was, in first period music class, awkwardly trying to keep my eyes from Inuyasha's direction. However odd and twisted my life had just become today - I mean, it was already the anniversary of my mother's death, and then you go and add arranged marriages and my birthday into the mix? - I wouldn't let it ruin my mood, especially not during my favorite time of the entire day, music class.

I took a deep breath and molded my lips into the familiar, bright smile everyone was so used to that they no longer bothered to check whether or not it was fake. With a small nod at Inuyasha, I pulled open the door to Music Room One and was instantly showered with greetings and congratulations.

"Happy Birthday Kagome!"

"Hey Kagome!"

"Good morning, Kagome! Happy day of birth!"

The room was full of colorful greetings and joyful waves, and I couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. I hurried to my assigned seat when I saw the professors stalk out of their offices, and leaned back as they began their morning speech (which was the same everyday- hello, hope you're having a good morning, blah blah, grades, blah blah). Curiously, I shot a glance at Inuyasha, wondering which group he'd be in - did he write songs, sing, play an instrument?-, what he liked, if he had as big of an attitude as he did an appetite.

"We have a new student today," Mr. Holbrook, the orchestra instructor, smiled down at us. He was tall with long, pencil-like arms and a crop of short black hair. He waved towards Inuyasha, and instantly all eyes flew to where he sat slouched behind me. There were no desks in the music room, so everyone sat down in rows. We had assigned seats, but most kids shifted around, and the teachers didn't seem to care. I was technically supposed to be sitting by Andrea - a pretty cheerleader with bleached blonde hair and pink lips - but I'd moved one row down, sneaking in between my two good friends, Rin and Sango. I'd met Sango freshman year in AP English class. We were the only ninth graders that had tested into college-level English, so we'd had nobody but each other and become instant friends. I'd befriended Rin in music class just this year. She'd transferred in at the end of last semester, and her bubbly, talkative personality had matched perfectly with mine- plus, she sang, like me. We'd been inseparable ever since.

"Didn't he come in with you?" Rin whispered loudly, not even bothering to hide her curiosity as she turned around to gawk at Inuyasha. "Ooh, his hair! I like it! I've been wanting to dye my hair. Maybe I should dye it silver like his!" Sango and I smiled, and I replied, "It's a long story. But basically, he's marrying my sister." I could almost feel Rin gasp and Sango flinch. I shook my head, mouthing tell you later as Inuyasha stood confidently and nodded.

"Yeah, that's me. The name's Inuyasha." I heard sighs all around me as many girls began to swoon at his silky, snow-colored locks and amber eyes.

"Welcome! We're so glad to have a new pupil to teach the art of music to! What is it that you do, Inuyasha?" I slid my eyes back over to the boy with honey eyes. Maybe he wasn't a singer like me, or even a violinist, but hopefully he at least played in the orchestra. Although my family had always supported my love for music, none of them had shared it with me. It'd be nice to have someone in the family - I grimaced again at the thought of Kikyo marrying - that understood my passion. Maybe we'd be able to become friends, despite our earlier altercation.

"I do a lot of things. Eat, sleep, listen to music, hang out with friends-"

"That's nice, but I meant what form of music do you perform?" Inuyasha cocked his head as if processing the question, and I heard several giggles. A slightly peeved expression crossed his features.

"Right. I knew that. Anyway, I write songs, sing a bit, play guitar, mess around on the drums..." He shrugged, talking as if he were discussing what he had for lunch instead of his talents. Mr. Holbrook lit up even more and clapped his hands.

"Fabulous! Well, Inuyasha, welcome to the team! Everyone here is very welcoming. I'm sure you'll have no trouble at all. Now, our music program is a little different than others, so why don't you have...Miroku! Someobody wake him up."

At Mr. Holbrook's words I became aware of a faint snoring sound coming from the opposite end of the room. I caught sight of a dark head of hair resting against the blue carpet, eyes tightly shut, a pool of drool forming beneath his lightly parted mouth. I bit my lip to keep from laughing while Rin let out a chiming giggle and Sango rolled her eyes.

Miroku was a baritone in the choir, but most of the time he just mouthed the words and messed around. The thing was, Miroku was also the most talented singer we had, so nobody ever got on his back about his poor work ethic- especially after he won the national solo singing competition last year. Nobody - except Sango - really felt entitled to tell him what to do. She, on the other hand, never hesitated to shoot him a scalding glare, tell him to stop slacking off, or force him to do his work. Although Miroku ignored it when everyone else told him to try harder, somehow, when Sango said it, he seriously started working.

His antics could be annoying, but most of the time he served as the class clown, and was generally well-liked. Especially among the girls.

Shippo, a scrawny freshman with bright brown-red hair, smacked Miroku on the head to wake him up. Miroku let out a startled "Gah!" and flailed around wildly, confusion painted over his dark eyes. He glanced around, lost, until reality seeped back into his head.

"Oops. Did I fall asleep again? I was awake all night volunteering at the vet's office! This poor little...dog...got sick, and I just couldn't leave him alone." With a dramatic flourish he closed his eyes, feigning exhaustion. The girls swooned, offering him their laps to rest with, but Mr. Holbrook didn't bat an eye.

"I see. Then, helping Inuyasha understand how our class works should get your brain going. Why don't you walk him around and help him find the right groups for him. That should get your body moving!" Mr. Holbrook winked at Miroku, shot a winning grin at Inuyasha, and waved his arms in a motion of dismissal. I stood, excitement rippling through me- Inuyasha sang, and even wrote songs! Now we definitely had something concrete in common. It would make this entire "arranged marriage" process less painful if we had something to bond over. I stood, turning around to shooting Inuyasha an encouraging smile.

"Miroku's nice. He may be a little...flamboyant...dramatic...all that, but he's very friendly. Good luck! You can ask me any questions. I'm glad you're in this class! Finally, someone I can talk to about music." I laughed, a little nervously, but my slight bout of shyness dispersed at the loopsided smile he shot me.

"Come on, Kagome! Let's go see Mrs. Adams first," Rin sang, looping her arm through mine. Mrs. Adams was the composition teacher. Sango followed us. She didn't sing - she was fiercely committed to her cello - but she liked to compose her own pieces. All three of us had started a collaboration piece using the cello, violin, piano, and Rin and I's vocals. We were planning to present it as our midterm piece, and Mrs. Adams was helping us. With one last glance towards Inuyasha - whom Miroku had early taken to the room next door - I wondered how everything would turn out. For me, for him, for Kikyo- for everyone involved in this whole mess.


Inuyasha P.O.V

I'd been a little more than surprised when Kagome had smiled at me. After this morning, I'd been pretty sure she didn't like me, and I had been preparing myself with snarky comments for when she would next attack me. But she seemed like a different person- not at all stingy, rude, but rather nice and friendly. Huh. Maybe she just wasn't a morning person. Either way, all my feelings of wariness and the sarcastic comebacks I'd been thinking up for our next encounter had melted away when she'd smiled at me.

To be honest, Kagome wasn't ugly, but she wasn't particularly pretty either. She had kind of a cute face, in a girl-next-door-way. Which is why I hadn't expected her smile to have such a big effect on me. But when she smiled, her entire face had changed. Her smile seemed to make her shine. Her chocolate eyes had lightened to a creamy brown, and everything about her was just...I don't know, shining. Whatever it was, suddenly my thoughts had gone blank, and I'd found myself smiling before I could think twice about it. It wasn't until Miroku extravagantly swept me to another room - the plaque named it Music Room Two - that I was able to recover and respond to Miroku's chatter.

"So, have you set your eyes on one of these lovely beauties yet?" I pulled back at the question, startled by the random topic. Was that really the first thing he was going to ask me?

"No way. I've been here about ten minutes," I shot back, but he only laughed, putting a casual arm around me in a gesture of comradeship.

"That's more than enough time. Look at the wide selection, the variety, that we have! It's the best part of the school," He cackled. I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, well, whatever. All I care about is getting out of here and chowing down some food." Practically my whole life revolved around food. I hated being put on a schedule, which is exactly what school did, and no matter how many pretty girls or cool classes there were, I'd always hate being told what to do, when to do it, and - worst of all - only having half an hour a day to eat. Miroku stirred me around the room.

"So, we all receive a schedule every month. I only train as a singer, so I have one hour of vocal technique class with Mr. Quincey, who is in charge of teaching the advanced baritones. But each person's schedule is different depending on what they do. We're usually split into thirteen groups. Each group focuses on something - writing music, playing instruments, or training vocals for different voice types and levels. Each group rotates every forty-five minutes. The rest of the time, you can choose to work on homework or train by yourself." He explained how the system worked and I nodded. It was a bit complicated, but soon it was easy to follow. Miroku went around introducing me to people. He'd point at a person, tell me their name, and some things about them. I was a little unnerved by how much he knew- especially about girls.

"That's Shampoo. Chinese. Great hair, C-cup, 5-3-2 leg ratio. Great at martial arts, though, so might want to be careful." He pointed to a pretty girl with big purple eyes and long, thick blue hair.

"That's Akane. B-cup. Also very strong and terrifying. Wouldn't recommend getting near her unless she approaches you first. Sadly, a very hard to get beauty." This time his finger motioned towards a short-haired girl with blue-black hair and a feminine, small face. He continued to name off names and descriptions of girls. He sounded like he was advertizing them, in a way, and I felt my face twist into something like disgust, confusion, and awe.

"Ah, you see, I can tell a girl's sizes simply by looking. In addition, I've gone after most of them, so I learn from experience." He beamed proudly. My eyes slid into suspicious slits. He was a total womanizer. He told me the sizes and personalities of each girl. I zoned out, letting him walk me around the rooms and groups, until he mentioned Kagome.

"And there's Kagome, the school's sweetheart, a very nice girl. Her face isn't hard on the eyes, but I admit there are better, if only she'd wear some makeup. Her singing is truly enchanting, however. A bit on the flat side-" I didn't really want to hear Kagome's bra size, so I hurriedly pointed at the girl next to her. "Uh, and her?!" Miroku stopped just in time to spare me an embarrassing piece of information. To my surprise, his entire face lit up like a child on Christmas morning.

"Her? Why, Inuyasha! That is my dearest, most adorable, most extraordinary Sango!" I smirked. "Is she your girlfriend?" Miroku's hand flew to his chest.

"Blasphemy! Sango is truly the very definition of angel. Pale, flawless skin like marble; Long hair like melted chocolate, eyes the color of the beautiful soil in which flowers bloom; lips rosy and soft like flower petals. And, best of all, a perfect body proportion. Her cup size is even...36C." His eyes were shining. I was afraid he'd cry. "At only seventeen...how wonderful...neither too much nor too little, with room to grow..." I couldn't decide if he sounded like a parent, a pervert, or both.

"So, you like her?"

He scoffed. "How dare you dirty Sango with the mere word 'like'. She deserves nothing but worship, adulation, adoration, reverati-"

"Okay, got it. Does she...feel the same?"

At this, Miroku's entire face darkened, his eyes turning a dull black. "No." The word was flat and cold. I sensed there was more to it, but chose not to ask. He went on, "How could a mere mortal like myself hope...I don't deserve her. Not after what happe- well. Shall we move on?" He continued to list off names and sizes, but I noticed a new slump in his shoulders, less excitement as he spoke.

Finally, Mr. Holbrok shouted, "Rotate!" The rooms were thrown into chaos as people began shifting. "Alright, I'm off to vocal gymnastic crap. Woohoo. You can just go join Holbrook's group, since he teaches your voice type. He'll tell you where to go after. Nice to meet ya, Inuyasha." Miroku winked and disappeared. I made my way to Holbrook's roup. The the teacher had smiled and given me an explanation about what we were doing when, just as I sat down, a beautiful, piercingly powerful noise made it's way into my ears.

It was Kagome. She was standing by the piano, and she was singing. Not with words- she looked like she was doing something like vocal warm ups, going higher and higher. I felt my jaw drop, my body go slack. I'd never seen someone sing like that. And she wasn't even really singing.

It wasn't just me paying attention. The entire room had turned to face her. Mr. Holbrook had to clear his throat to gain our attention.

"Alright, guys, we'll have plenty of time to hear the girls singing later." He shouted over to Kagome, "Nice, Higurashi! Was that a C6 I heard?" She burst out into a wide, bubbly smile, and I felt myself go blank again. What the hell? That smile did some serious damage to my brain, and I wasn't even sure why. "We're working on her vocal range," Called out the teacher playing the piano by Kagome. She had thick glasses, red lipstick and crazy orange hair piled in a bun.

"I think her range is fine," Laughed Holbrook. Kagome's teacher frowned. "Let me teach my own students, Holbrook! Besides, she's straining above A5." Argued the teacher. Kagome looked mildly embarrassed. She caught my eye and smiled again, and I felt time freeze gain- what was it with that smile that did so much to me?

Looking back on it, I think that was when a little piece of my heart left my chest and ended up in her hands. I didn't know it then- that I was already falling in love with her, for some inexplicable reason.

But looking back on it now, it's obvious that this was the first time I felt the beginning of what would come to be both the greatest and worst part of my life.


A/N: Honhonhon~ What is Miroku and Sango's secret past?

The link for the high note Kagome was singing is at the start, I recommend it, so beautiful.

I decided to probably do SesshomaruxRin. Sorry for the short chapter. I just wanted to pbulish *something*