Kagome tapped her toes to the beat. She loved Daiyoukai. It was the hottest band in Japan. But she loved it mostly because they reminded her of a time and a place that was long gone. Friends that were lost to her. The songs that they sang reminded her of a golden eyed man she had once known and loved. And the fact that the band was named Daiyoukai was most likely coincidental. She doubted that he was alive. It had been over 500 years for him. Could demons live that long?
The songs changed and she thought of her family.Her mother had gotten her their new cd for her birthday. And her grandfather had pawned off one of the shrines less valuable relics to buy her two tickets for their concert that was in just over a month. Grandpa instructed her that she was to take her best friend and enjoy herself. She felt a little guitly accepting the tickets but her grandfather insisted that it was no trouble. Kagome smile. She truly loved her family and though they didn't have much, she and her brother Souta never went without.
With a sigh she turned off the cd player and went down stairs to watch tv. She turned it on and low and behold there was a Daiyoukai video on. She smiled. Must be her lucky day. She watched as the lead singers black hair swayed back and forth and frame his masked face, as he walked down a busy street. The other people on the street walking as if they were on fast forward and soon the world around him blurred. Kagome reveled in his voice. It was so smooth. She wondered what he looked like, but was intrigued by the mystery of it all. She watched on the world that had blurred into blackness soon began to regan it's color and then he was standing with his band, all of them in masks as well. As if by magic, a microphone appeared in his hand and he began singing again. When the music video was over Kagome lifted the remote to change the channel when the host spoke.
"That was another great song by Japan's hottest new band, Daiyoukai! The band had recently submitted a contest to win backstage passes to the concert. The rules are simple. Write a song and send it in! Yep, that's all you have to do! The band themselves will go through your songs and determine which one deserves a backstage pass! And as a bonus you will have a chance to have your song produced and sung by Daiyoukai!" Kagome sat up straight at this. She never thought in a million years that she would win but to have Daiyoukai read a song that she wrote would be amazing!! "The winner will be announced two weeks from today and 5 pm! Tune to us to see if you are the lucky winner! The address to send your submissions to is scrolling acrossed the screen now so pick up a pen and write this baby down!! " Kagome did just that. Oddly enough there was a pen laying on the table but no paper. No matter. She had a hand she could write on. She jotted down the address, turned off the tv, and then bolted up the stairs into her room and shut and locked the door behind her. She might not win but she wanted to try. She sat at her desk with a blank peice of paper and then, as if she already knew what she wanted to write, her pen flew acrossed the paper. Before she knew it she was done. She signed her work, folded the paper neatly and stuffed in the envelope. Stamped and addressed, it was ready to be sent. With a deep breath, she stuck it in the post office box and waited.
~oOo~
"Gods! If I have to read one more crappy song I think I'm gonna puke!!" The drummer complained.
"I hear ya, Koga." The base player agreed as his green eyes scanned another terrible song and cast it aside. "Most of these seem like they've been written by high school girls who've read way to may romance novels! And some of these people are just straight up crazy! I heard that someone tried to send themselves here! And some of these people actually sent their underwear?! Sometimes it really sucks being a demon because let me tell ya, not all of it was clean!" Koga laughed at him when a pair of panties hit him square in the face.
"Nasty!" He growled, peeling the offending aritcle off his face and tossing it in a near by trash can.
"I'm starting to regret agreeing to this." Ayame, the bands guitarist, said. "I mean sure there's a few good one's but geez... Some of these are so horrible I can't make myself read the whole thing!" As the band complained, the lead singer sat back with his nose stuck in a book.
"Hey, Sesshoumaru!" Yelled Koga. "How come you get to sit there and read a book while we have tosuffer through high school love notes?" Golden eyes resisted the urge to roll as he calmly sat his book aside.
"Let us not forget that it was you," He said sweeping a hand around the room, gesturing to the band and the mess that surrounded them, "that came up with this ridiculous idea in the first place. Why should I have to suffer along with you when you are the fools who put this upon yourselves?"
"Iceprick." Muttered Koga, when Sesshoumaru picked up his book and began reading again. Letter after letter, song after song was read. When Shippo thought that they must have read half of Japan's little love letters, Koga became unusually quiet.
"What is it, Koga? Find one that struck your fancy?" Shippo joked. Koga stared at the paper a moment longer before handing it to Shippo.
"You could say that." He said as Shippo's clawed hand took the paper.
"Wow this one's actually pretty good. I wonder who..." His voice trailed off as his eyes widened. Koga knew he had seen it. Shippo's eyes darted between Koga and the paper. "Could it be true?"
Sesshoumaru looked up from his book wondering what the two demons were talking about. Shippo noticed that he was staring and jumped over piles of fan mail to hand him the paper. When Sesshoumaru only looked at him Shippo placed it over his book. "Trust me. You want to read this one." He said as he watched Sesshoumaru glance down at the paper. When his eyes landed on the signature his eyes shot up to Shippo and then to Koga. Ayame was lost.
"Let me see." She said snatching the paper away from Sesshoumaru. She was lucky he had amazing restraint or she could have lost a hand. When she finished reading it and she too saw who wrote it her head snapped to Koga. "Is this..." He nodded. "So she's..." He nodded again. "We have to do this one. We owe it to her!" She held the paper back out to Sesshoumaru. Koga and Shippo nodded their heads in agreement.
"It is decided then." Sesshoumaru said blandly. Shippo smiled and Koga gave Ayame a wolfish grin.
"You miss her too, Sesshoumaru. You can deny it all you want to, but you can't fool us." Ayame said as she turned to clean up the tiny room. "Now," Ayame reached into her pocket and pulled out a lighter. Flicking it she smiled evilly, "Let's clean house." Koga and Shippo howled with delight as they began piling notes and panties into a large pile in the front yard. No one cared that Sesshoumaru didn't help them clean anything. They were far to excited to be able to see their friend again.
~oOo~
Two Weeks Later
Kagome was sitting on the couch with her mother and brother on either side of her. Her grandfather sat in the arm chair with Buyou on his lap and they all listened to the tv intently. The host came on with a silver envelope in his hand.
"Ok, kiddies, I know all of you have been waiting so patiently for the announcment for the Winner of the Daiyoukai contest and here it is!" He slowly, too slowly, opened the envelope and pulled out the silver card that had the winners name on it. "And the winner of the contest is LOST TO TIME BY KAGOME HIGURASHI!!" No one in the living room heard what the host said after that as Kagome and her mother screamed in happiness. Buyou hissed at the unfamiliar excitement and scittered from the room. Souta was shouting his congratulations and Grandfather was pulling out his hearing aid before he went completly deaf.
"Oh my god, I can't believe I won!!" Kagome squealed. "Yuri is going to be so jealous!" They vaguely heard the host of the show say something about her back stage passes being claimed at the gate when she came in to the concert and there was a special paper that she had to present to the desk and it was be coming in the mail tomorrow. "Congratulations again, Miss Higurashi!"
Three Weeks Later
Yuri was practically dragging Kagome through the gates of the concert after they'd given their tickets and Kagome had recieved her backstage pass.
"Remember to ask the drummer to sign something for me! And see if you can get them to take their masks and get pictures!! Yes. Pictures! Lots and lots of pictures!!" Kagome rolled her eyes at her friends enthusiasm.
"Yuri, you know they don't take their masks off for anyone. And they've never consented to pictures with fans."
"So? You won the contest! Maybe they'll make an exception for you!"
"I doubt it." Kagome snapped. "I'm just some chick that wrote a song and gave them publicity."
"Kagome! How can you be so mean? What if it turns out to be a hit? You might get some serious cash out of it!"
"I didn't do it for money, Yuri." The sadness filled her chest opening up a wound she thought had healed a long time ago.
"Don't tell me you did it for that biker boyfriend you used to date!" Yuri shouted. Kagome's eyes closed at the memory of Inuyasha. It had only been 5 years for her, since she had seen him last. But no. It hadn't been for him, even though she missed him dearly. Yes. She missed Inuyasha. And Sango. And the lecherous monk, Miroku. Her little Shippo and Kirara. Rin. A-un. And she even missed Jaken a little bit. But she wouldn't let herself think about who she had really written the song for. It was just to painful.
She felt like a wolf without a pack. It just wasn't supposed to be that way.
"No." She said quietly. "I didn't do it for him."
As Kagome and Yuri took their seats in the front row center stage, the lights dimmed, the amps were humming, and the fog machines were turned on. Yuri was practically vibrating with excitment. Kagome felt a little strange. A memory tried to drag itself up from the depths of her mind but before she could think on it, the band came onto the stage. The lead singer took the mic in his long fingers. Each member took their respective places and began playing their most popular songs. Yuri's eyes were trained on the drummer. But Kagome couldn't take her eyes off the lead singer. She'd seen him before on the tv but something about him was hauntingly familiar. She wanted to think it was the base but she was pretty sure she could hear her own heart beating in her chest. That strange feeling had never gone away.
'Why do I feel like this?' She thought to herself. 'I haven't felt like this since...' And then, realization etched acrossed her face. 'Since the fuedal era. Oh, my Kami!' Kagome's hands covered her mouth as her heart beat faster. Her eyes never left the lead singer. The way his mouth moved. The way his fingers caressed the mic. Even his posture gave him away. 'Sesshoumaru...' Tears stung her eyes as she looked upon her long lost love. Right in front of her the whole time and yet, she was completely blind. Now she understood why she like Daiyoukai so much. It had reminded her of everything that she had been missing in life because it was BASED on everything she was missing in life. Her friends. Her family. Her heart.
Before she knew it the concert was nearly to an end. The lead singers smooth voice echoed in the hall as he announced that they were now going to sing the contests winner's song. Everyone in the hall cheered and Kagome blushed a little as the lead singer, Sesshoumaru, she corrected herself, looked right at her. She almost missed the tiny smirk that played at his lips when he started singing.
Eyes like the sun, darkened now
Out like the lights of the city
Heart that warmed only to me, frozen now
Frozen now
And yet I see you everywhere
I see you, I see you
My heart calls out to you
I need you, I need you
Fingers so firm and gentle, have stilled now
Still like the pools before the rain
Arms so strong and safe, gone now
Gone now
And yet I still hear your voice at night
I hear you, I hear you
My soul calls out to you
I miss you, I miss you
Why must we be apart?
Why must you be lost to time?
Our love had fallen like the rain
Our souls intertwined
I dream of your heart
I feel you, I feel you
You hold me now, only in my dreams
I love you, I love you
I can remember your hair
So much like the moon
But now, so many years are gone
And so are you
Lost to time
Away from me
Only a dream
Of a memory
All the girls in the hall, and even some guys, were crying. Yuri bawled as she clung to Kagome.
"Oh, Kagome! Why didn't you tell me it was going to be a sad song!!" She wailed.
"Thank you dude's and chicks for coming to the concert! We hope you enjoyed it. And now, if our contest winner would make her way backstage, the real party can start!!" The drummer howled into his mic. "Tokyo, you rock! Goodnight!" He threw up both of his hands in the Rock and Roll symbols. The band made their way off stage and Kagome stood felt herself being pushed towards the back stage entrance.
"Go, Kagome. They're waiting for you!!" Yuri pushed Kagome up the stairs where she was greeted by the band manager.
"You Higurashi, Kagome?" The man asked. Kagome bowed and timidly answered yes. "Good. They're waiting for you." He grabbed her by the wrist and drug her away from Yuri.
"Don't forget to ask for autographs and pictures!!" Yuri yelled.
Kagome was dragged passed curtains and ropes and security, and some fans that had managed to get back stage but were not allowed admittance. The manager pushed his way through the crowd and opened the door to the bands room.
"Alright, guys, here's the winner of the contest, Higurashi, Kagome. Play nice." The manager said as he practically flung Kagome into the room. Kagome squeaked as her grace, or lack there of, took over and she fell right into the lap of the lead singer. She looked up into emotionless brown eyes. Kagome's face turned beat red.
"Looks like she couldn't wait to get the party started!" The drummer laughed. The lead singer glared at him but said nothing.
"Think we should tell her now?" The basist whispered eagerly. Before anyone answered Kagome flung her arms around the lead singers neck. Everyone in the room froze. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened a fraction.
"Sess. I never thought I'd see you again! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She wailed as she buried her face in his chest. "I tried. I tried to go back. But the well... The well closed. I just couldn't." Soon all her words just mushed together into painful cries. Ayame leaned over to Shippo and whispered.
"I think she knows." They all looked at each other and the three slipped out of the room to give Kagome and Sesshoumaru some privacy.
Sesshoumaru took Kagome by the shoulders and pulled away so he could look into her face. He smelled no lie on her. Her distess was sincere. Her scent was a mixture of dispair, happiness, and nervousness.
"Do you fear me?" He asked. Kagome's eyes widened a little before she smiled softly.
"No." She whispered. "Not you."
"Then what do you fear?"
"You're rejection. I'm afraid that you're angry with me because I didn't come back. But I tried, Sesshoumaru. I really did. I even broke my leg twice trying to get back." She was talking so fast that a normal human wouldn't have been able to understand her. He shushed her with a soft kiss on the lips. Kagome looked up to see that he had removed his mask. His hair was now it's normal soft silver locks and his eyes were back to their honey suckle gold. He was her Sesshoumaru again.
"You have done nothing wrong, mate." He whispered as he took her lips in a passionate kiss. In that singal kiss Kagome's heart filled up with everything she'd ever been missing."We are together again. I will never let you go again."
"Oh, Sesshoumaru!" She threw her arms around his neck and cried tears of happiness. Her world was whole again. And everything was right.
~oOo~
A/N: I do not own Inuyasha or any of it's characters. However the poem that acts as the song is my own creation. I hope you enjoyed this oneshot. Please read and review. :)