Music's Story by Ponderousilvereyes

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me, it belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

This was first posted on FF.net as my very first story. Its still in progress but its getting written. :)

By the way...REVIEW! Please :).

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A curse, an affliction, something which causes ones self, or others strife. At first it appeared to be nothing, all the signs to this affliction were not alarming in any way. However as Kagome Higurashi got older it became more serious. And soon even her Grandfather was searching for the cure to her problem. Instead of giving her old relics said to possess certain healing qualities to whatever ailed you, he could be found researching over the internet and asking friends if they knew what could help his dearly beloved Grandchild so she might find peace. At times Kagome wondered if even her ever patient mother was taxed by her problem.

Because the cure to the affliction was easy enough to find, but it had to be the right cure and quite often it took hours and hours of running back and fourth between places and spending many hours researching to find the right kind of cure, and some times a large investment in money. And what was this curse you ask?

It was, for lack of a better word: Music.

Kagome had a natural ear and heart for music. But the music had to be played just right. For instance: If someone played Beethoven's 9th too quickly she would then say the composer was an idiot and didn't take their time to make the piece enjoyable, and quickly say to all her friends, (who were more interested in other things) why the composer didnt do well, or why that specific version of the piece wasn't any good. Sometimes it could go on for weeks. Or if the Orchestra didn't have all the instruments that she felt they should to make the piece truly enjoyable. or why certain things should be done this way or that way etc etc etc.

But Kagome didn't just listen to music. No, she was actually very good at playing the violin, cello, flute, harp, and piano. Some would say she was very accomplished. But few had the chance to comment since she didnt play for very many people. To Kagome it was like sitting and reading a good book and getting lost in its pages to the world the author had created, or how an artist could sit and draw for hours and loose themselves to the piece. Kagome had created her own special word with the music she played. And very few were invited inside that world.

It was Kagome's father who introduced her into the world of music. When he had married Kagome's mother, he had brought his piano into their new home. And after he came home from work he would sit and play for his wife. Mrs. Higurashi often joked that it was because of that that Kagome was introduced to music long before she was introduced into the world. Almost as soon as Kagome could walk, or even before, her father was teaching her how to play.After her father died, Kagome continued to play, sometimes to console her mother during that difficult period. Her brother Sota, who was a baby at the time, to love to listen to her play. Though he never actually played himself, he said all the musical talent went to Kagome.

Soon Kagome was aching to try new instruments, but the problem was that new instruments weren't cheap, and neither were classes. So Kagome tried to teach herself how to play different instruments with the help of books. But that still didn't make the the items she was learning about less expensive. When her mother had decided that they would be moving into her Grandfathers shrine she got a lucky break. Her Grandmother it seemed had played the Violin and Cello. So after proving to her Grandfather that she was careful around the instruments and knew how to use them, he gave them to her.

One time her mother had taken her to a concert, where she pointed out which instruments she thought were cool and wanted to play. So her mother decided that after school Kagome should start working for the money to get what she wanted.

Kagome started asking around after school if anyone had a job she could do, such as mowing lawns, even if the lawn didn't need to be mowed. She found various jobs over the years and, as soon as she could, she bought each of the items she had worked so hard for. Everyday after school, she would come home and play for a few hours before she studied. This became a habit that continued for several years.

And then the unimaginable happened.She somehow got dragged down the shrine's well 500 years in the past. And then a jewel was shattered, sending her on an adventure with demons, monsters and a hanyou, throwing her into dangerous situations and. Needless to say, it was quite perilous while she was in the fudal era, and there was no way she was going to let her instraments get broken or damaged in any way. So much to her dissatisfaction, she had to give up her playing for a while.

Soon though, she was making new friends and finding herself falling in what she believed at the time to be love with her hanyou friend Inuyasha the half dog demon.

But as the months started passing and he continued to see his old love who had died 50 years ago only to be brought back to an unnatural life her dreams of being his wife, or mate, when the jewel was complete began to slowly vanish. And as Kikyo continued to steal souls and walk the earth, Inuyasha seemed to become more violent and abusive towards his small band of friends. Especially towards Kagome. He would constantly compare her to Kikyo, or belittle her about how pathetic she was in one form or another. It was obvious to Kagome, that the feeling she felt when she was a 15 year old girl, were ones that were not the kind that last. Not against the storms that may come when married, or mating, in yokai terms.

As this continued, the rest of the team then began showing signs of wear. It had been 3 years since she had fallen down the well and they had banded together, and it was becoming more and more difficult to put up with Inuyasha's attitude and try to search of Naraku at the same time. Each tried to find their own way of dealing with the stress, and Kagome began to find herself taking long walks in the middle of the night while Inuyasha was seeing his lover. She would walk, without any destination in mind, and without thought of the time. Amazingly very few demons ever crossed her path, and those that did were quickly dispatched by her miko powers. However, as much as the walks helped, she still felt like she was on the verge of breaking down and ether purifying Inuyasha or running away down the well and never coming back.

So it was on one of those now rare trips home to gather supplies and school work, that she told her mother what was going on. Her mother had gone silent somewhere in the middle of the story, and Kagome knew that she was ether thinking very hard about something, or she was mad.

However there was little Mrs. Higurashi could do, since she could not pass through the well and Inuyasha stopped coming to the house a long time ago. But she did give her Daughter something before she left. It was to Kagome's surprise and joy when her mother gave her a case for her flute, and not just any case, but it was a metal waterproof case that would be able to handle the wear and tear of the fudal era. Now on her trips back to the past, she had a spring in her step that had Inuyasha miffed, and made the others wonder. Sango and Miroku were happy that their friend had found something she enjoyed, whatever that was. Kagome was what held the group together, if she wasn't happy, it tended to show.

Inuyasha then seemed to lecture her even more, and even had the nerve to ask if she had been seeing someone behind is back. But Kagome wasn't going to let him in on what she had been doing so he could insult her about that as well. So she simply replied with-

"Inuyasha, even if I was seeing someone it would be NONE of your business! SIT!"

And that pretty much settled it...because every time that Inuyasha tried to question the group about it he would be found kissing the ground. Dirt is not a very nice thing to kiss.

The gift her mother gave her seemed to give Kagome the push to take over as Alpha since Inuyasha had just about worn out his welcome and everyone's patience in his so called 'leadership'. Everything seemed to be picking up, the group was stronger, and they traveled faster without having to wait for Inuyasha to decide to show back up from his trips to see Kikiyo.

But every night, Kagome would walk, and then she would play, and she would find her solace and rest at the end of the day. She was so caught up in her small world she never noticed the creatures she would enchant with her flute, nor did she notice the two golden eyes that would watch her each night from beyond her barrier, who also took solace in the music she played, and also in her presence, as she put a piece of herself into the music, and made it come alive.